(no subject)
Title: After Dark
Rating: 18
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Band: Mejibray
Pairing: Koichi x MiA
Summary: The sun protects us, a shining beacon that has kept the darkness at bay. Evil fears it, for the light is their weakness and they shun it. Even the sun can't protect me now, nothing can. Except perhaps for the man I know only as 'Koichi'.
Author's Note: New chapters every Monday and Friday. (I may post early due to having no access to a computer on the posting day).
Previous Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
New Chapter:
Chapter Fourteen
The next few weeks passed without incident, though I noticed subtle changes in Koichi's behaviour when we were alone together. He asked my opinion more, often asking me how I wished to spend that night. I spent evenings swimming, or in the hotels arcade when I could, but the time I spent alone in my room with him was the best.
In comparison Koichi's behaviour outside my room got noticeably worse. He was cruel, mean spirited, often slapping my ass or making crude remarks at my expense. The only time he was publicly nice to me was when only Meto or Tsuzuku were around, other humans, or surprisingly his brother, Yuuki. Yuuki too was putting on the same act I noticed, something that was quickly confirmed by Zero.
“Yuuki wants out,” Zero confided in me one evening. “But the vampire's are in the middle of a clan war, until that's settled we won't be able to leave.”
“Is that why Koichi often spends days away?” I asked.
“Yes,” Zero agreed. He was about to say something more, when we noticed a couple of vampires outside. “Get inside, lock your balcony door if you can.”
“Why?” I asked, I froze up as I saw that the vampire had noticed us. I'd never seen them before, and I was sure I had met the whole clan by now.
“They're Raven's,” Zero answered. I didn't get chance to ask any questions, as Zero had rushed inside. I thought he was foolish for being afraid, until I realised the vampire's were climbing up the outer walls.
I bolted inside, unable to lock the balcony door as Koichi had the key. I shut the door anyway and began to bang on the door to the hall outside. Surely there was someone outside who could help me?
“Look what I found,” came a female voice from behind me. I turned to see one of the Raven Vampire's was in my room, “A scared little mouse.”
“I belong to the Meji Prince,” I warned, alarmed when she laughed.
“Who cares about the Meji Princes?” she asked, “Not me.” I was going to surely die, I thought, just as the door opened behind me. It was Zero who was letting me out, the key to the door in his hand. I was shocked, as there were no vampires here who could have given it to him. Zero dragged me into the hall, locking the vampire in the room and dragging me away as he called for help. We didn't get far until some of the Meji vampires arrived, just in time to capture the Raven woman who was still after me. In this distraction I noticed Zero hide the key inside his collar.
“A master key,” he whispered, “Yuuki gave it to me, just in case.”
“Thank you, for saving me,” I replied, waiting with him in the hallway as the vampires dealt with the threat. It didn't take long for the princes to arrive, each taking one of us to their suite of rooms.
“Are you all right, princess?” Koichi asked, affectionately holding me in his arms. “She didn't hurt you?”
“No, I got out in time,” I replied. I didn't tell him about Zero, and he didn't ask. He must have assumed another vampire had rescued me. I'd been escorted to his rooms almost immediately, where both Tsuzuku and Meto had been ordered to guard the windows. I very much doubted any vampire was going to attack again, but even so I felt safer having them there.
“I would never have left you, if I hadn't believed you were safe.” Koichi worried.
“They don't fear your clan any more?” I guessed. “Is that what it is?” Before Koichi could answer, there was a knock on the door and a vampire informed him that his father wanted us all downstairs in the next ten minutes.
“Take of your t-shirt and do your hair and make-up as quickly as possible,” Koichi ordered, as he hurried to get himself ready as well.
“Let me help,” Tsuzuku requested, “You know I can do more than MiA can, given the time restraints.”
“If he wants you to,” Koichi answered, hurrying into his bedroom to get ready. He didn't realise how shocking his statement actually was, he'd never given me freedom when it came to appearing before his father. I gave Tsuzuku my agreement, growing slightly concerned when I realised that he had tricked Meto into leaving us with concerns of needing a patrol.
“I'm still on your side,” Tsuzuku whispered, as he did my make-up, “If everything goes bad, head for the swimming pool.”
“Bad, like it did today?” I asked. I don't understand what he's saying at all, only that he thinks the information is important.
“No, worse,” Tsuzuku answered, “If the Ravens attack here in force, which is likely, it's your only chance. Koichi can't know, nobody can.”
“You said when you became a vampire, that you felt no changes,” I remembered, “You're still trying to resist the vampires? Even though you're one of them? You knew your people would get out, that's why you gave their location.”
“Don't accuse me of such treachery,” Tsuzuku replied. I knew that I was right in my accusations, and that Tsuzuku truly did have humanities best intentions at heart. Did I trust him? Not entirely. I always did suspect he blamed me for loosing his humanity, would never forgive me for the day I betrayed his trust.
It looked like the king had called an emergency meeting, for all the vampires were present, though the only humans here were Zero and myself. Even Alden hadn't bothered bringing his own humans out tonight. Perhaps, like Koichi, Yuuki was too worried about what might happen to us if we were let out of their sight.
The two Raven vampires were handcuffed and kept under armed guard in the centre of the room. I shivered, despite myself, when seeing the vampire woman who had tried to kill me. I knew why I had been singled out by her, she had wanted to hurt the clan by attacking those who belonged to the highest ranking vampires possible. Zero and I had made it easy, being the only humans allowed to hang out on the balconies outside.
The king acted as judge and jury, calling his sons to be the executioners. Predictively Yuuki used his whip, lashing out at the vampire who had attacked Zero at least twenty times before finally ended his life in flames. I'd seen his expression when performing punishments before, usually so blank but today he wore an expression of satisfaction as he returned to Zero's side.
“That's one vermin down,” he snarled, as he pulled Zero into his lap where the man sat in the protective arms of his vampire lover.
“That's one way,” Koichi agreed, “But I want her to really think about what she's done. Take her outside.”
His orders were obeyed without question, the woman then chained to the gates screaming in horror as a trees branches grew towards her. The branches grew around her, circling her arms and legs with sharp branches at her heart and throat. With a smirk Koichi ordered for her to be kept under armed guard until the morning, which was when I realised what her punishment actually was. By the way she was pleading it was clear that death by sunlight was a terrible way to go, but Koichi showed no mercy and neither did the clan.
“I see you got her first,” a man's voice sounded from the other side of the gates. “Believe me, I had no involvement in this act of treachery. You caught them both?”
“Of course we caught them both,” the king replied, warily watching the other man and his seven companions. “Do you really have so little control of your clan? I expected more from you.
“My clan is far larger than yours,” King Dominic, for surely that was who he was, replied. “It can lead to certain members forgetting who exactly is in charge.”
“You expanded too fast,” Alden scolded him, “Too many new vampires who haven't learnt the hierarchy. I warned you this might happen, but you went and ordered the beginning of the vampire world anyway.”
“So my clan would be left out, when the new world order came into effect?” Dominic questioned, “I think not. Let's put out petty grievances aside, tomorrow we will meet for dinner. Just us and our princes.”
“Of which you have four, and I only have two,” Alden replied. “The odds seem a little unfair, just one of my sons could take on a dozen of your lot with their eyes shut.”
“Well then, as you are so powerful, you will have no issues meeting in my lair.” Dominic answered. “For the sake of peace, I suggest that you come.”
Koichi had been sulking for the most of the night, refusing to talk even to me. Growing tired of his silence I had left him alone in his room, and joined his two guards in the main room of his suite. I knew that I wouldn't be allowed back to my own rooms for awhile, not alone anyway, so hadn't even asked.
“Is he still not talking?” Meto asked, “He knows perfectly well he's going to have to tell you at some point.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, jumping as Koichi suddenly appeared behind me. I hadn't seen or heard him enter the room.
“It's not for you to say,” Koichi scolded Meto, taking me by the hand and leading me back into the bedroom. “He is right, I will have to tell you.”
“I'm the dinner,” I replied, “Is this it then? He expects for me to die?”
“I'd take another human, if that were the case,” Koichi tried to reassure me, though I found nothing reassuring in his confession that murdering another human would be so easy for him. “It was the old way. Now, at a vampire dinner, they hook a human up to a source of cloned blood and drink from them like a vessel. It adds flavour to the cloned blood, and the human in theory can survive indefinitely. Some of the vampires do this here, but it's so dangerous that I would never.”
“Except now you have to,” I finished for him. I hated the idea as much as he did, not just because it was dangerous but because it stripped a human down to nothing but a meal. Like a glass being constantly filled with wine.
“Father will become suspicious if I take anyone but you, but how can I ask such a terrible thing?” Koichi asked. “I promised to keep you safe.”
“It's safer than not taking me,” I concluded for him. “You're always so careful. I never fear when you drink from me.”
“Even in the presence of two kings?” Koichi asked, “I don't believe you, adrenaline will fill your blood for sure.”
“Your father wasn't bragging when he said you could take on twelve vampires,” I reminded him. “What is King Dominic compared to you?”
“A fool,” Koichi answered. “You promise that you don't hate me, for this?”
“It wasn't your decision,” I reassured him. “I don't hate you, only, the vampire outside?”
“Look outside,” Koichi ordered. Nervously I pulled back the heavy curtains and looked through his balcony doors. I could see her outside, defeated and waiting for the sun to rise. A sunrise that she would never see, as the tree finished her off once and for all. “Is that punishment more to your liking?”
“There's nothing enjoyable about death,” I answered, “But yes, it's better for her to go quickly.”
Rating: 18
Genre: Supernatural Horror
Band: Mejibray
Pairing: Koichi x MiA
Summary: The sun protects us, a shining beacon that has kept the darkness at bay. Evil fears it, for the light is their weakness and they shun it. Even the sun can't protect me now, nothing can. Except perhaps for the man I know only as 'Koichi'.
Author's Note: New chapters every Monday and Friday. (I may post early due to having no access to a computer on the posting day).
Previous Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
New Chapter:
Chapter Fourteen
The next few weeks passed without incident, though I noticed subtle changes in Koichi's behaviour when we were alone together. He asked my opinion more, often asking me how I wished to spend that night. I spent evenings swimming, or in the hotels arcade when I could, but the time I spent alone in my room with him was the best.
In comparison Koichi's behaviour outside my room got noticeably worse. He was cruel, mean spirited, often slapping my ass or making crude remarks at my expense. The only time he was publicly nice to me was when only Meto or Tsuzuku were around, other humans, or surprisingly his brother, Yuuki. Yuuki too was putting on the same act I noticed, something that was quickly confirmed by Zero.
“Yuuki wants out,” Zero confided in me one evening. “But the vampire's are in the middle of a clan war, until that's settled we won't be able to leave.”
“Is that why Koichi often spends days away?” I asked.
“Yes,” Zero agreed. He was about to say something more, when we noticed a couple of vampires outside. “Get inside, lock your balcony door if you can.”
“Why?” I asked, I froze up as I saw that the vampire had noticed us. I'd never seen them before, and I was sure I had met the whole clan by now.
“They're Raven's,” Zero answered. I didn't get chance to ask any questions, as Zero had rushed inside. I thought he was foolish for being afraid, until I realised the vampire's were climbing up the outer walls.
I bolted inside, unable to lock the balcony door as Koichi had the key. I shut the door anyway and began to bang on the door to the hall outside. Surely there was someone outside who could help me?
“Look what I found,” came a female voice from behind me. I turned to see one of the Raven Vampire's was in my room, “A scared little mouse.”
“I belong to the Meji Prince,” I warned, alarmed when she laughed.
“Who cares about the Meji Princes?” she asked, “Not me.” I was going to surely die, I thought, just as the door opened behind me. It was Zero who was letting me out, the key to the door in his hand. I was shocked, as there were no vampires here who could have given it to him. Zero dragged me into the hall, locking the vampire in the room and dragging me away as he called for help. We didn't get far until some of the Meji vampires arrived, just in time to capture the Raven woman who was still after me. In this distraction I noticed Zero hide the key inside his collar.
“A master key,” he whispered, “Yuuki gave it to me, just in case.”
“Thank you, for saving me,” I replied, waiting with him in the hallway as the vampires dealt with the threat. It didn't take long for the princes to arrive, each taking one of us to their suite of rooms.
“Are you all right, princess?” Koichi asked, affectionately holding me in his arms. “She didn't hurt you?”
“No, I got out in time,” I replied. I didn't tell him about Zero, and he didn't ask. He must have assumed another vampire had rescued me. I'd been escorted to his rooms almost immediately, where both Tsuzuku and Meto had been ordered to guard the windows. I very much doubted any vampire was going to attack again, but even so I felt safer having them there.
“I would never have left you, if I hadn't believed you were safe.” Koichi worried.
“They don't fear your clan any more?” I guessed. “Is that what it is?” Before Koichi could answer, there was a knock on the door and a vampire informed him that his father wanted us all downstairs in the next ten minutes.
“Take of your t-shirt and do your hair and make-up as quickly as possible,” Koichi ordered, as he hurried to get himself ready as well.
“Let me help,” Tsuzuku requested, “You know I can do more than MiA can, given the time restraints.”
“If he wants you to,” Koichi answered, hurrying into his bedroom to get ready. He didn't realise how shocking his statement actually was, he'd never given me freedom when it came to appearing before his father. I gave Tsuzuku my agreement, growing slightly concerned when I realised that he had tricked Meto into leaving us with concerns of needing a patrol.
“I'm still on your side,” Tsuzuku whispered, as he did my make-up, “If everything goes bad, head for the swimming pool.”
“Bad, like it did today?” I asked. I don't understand what he's saying at all, only that he thinks the information is important.
“No, worse,” Tsuzuku answered, “If the Ravens attack here in force, which is likely, it's your only chance. Koichi can't know, nobody can.”
“You said when you became a vampire, that you felt no changes,” I remembered, “You're still trying to resist the vampires? Even though you're one of them? You knew your people would get out, that's why you gave their location.”
“Don't accuse me of such treachery,” Tsuzuku replied. I knew that I was right in my accusations, and that Tsuzuku truly did have humanities best intentions at heart. Did I trust him? Not entirely. I always did suspect he blamed me for loosing his humanity, would never forgive me for the day I betrayed his trust.
It looked like the king had called an emergency meeting, for all the vampires were present, though the only humans here were Zero and myself. Even Alden hadn't bothered bringing his own humans out tonight. Perhaps, like Koichi, Yuuki was too worried about what might happen to us if we were let out of their sight.
The two Raven vampires were handcuffed and kept under armed guard in the centre of the room. I shivered, despite myself, when seeing the vampire woman who had tried to kill me. I knew why I had been singled out by her, she had wanted to hurt the clan by attacking those who belonged to the highest ranking vampires possible. Zero and I had made it easy, being the only humans allowed to hang out on the balconies outside.
The king acted as judge and jury, calling his sons to be the executioners. Predictively Yuuki used his whip, lashing out at the vampire who had attacked Zero at least twenty times before finally ended his life in flames. I'd seen his expression when performing punishments before, usually so blank but today he wore an expression of satisfaction as he returned to Zero's side.
“That's one vermin down,” he snarled, as he pulled Zero into his lap where the man sat in the protective arms of his vampire lover.
“That's one way,” Koichi agreed, “But I want her to really think about what she's done. Take her outside.”
His orders were obeyed without question, the woman then chained to the gates screaming in horror as a trees branches grew towards her. The branches grew around her, circling her arms and legs with sharp branches at her heart and throat. With a smirk Koichi ordered for her to be kept under armed guard until the morning, which was when I realised what her punishment actually was. By the way she was pleading it was clear that death by sunlight was a terrible way to go, but Koichi showed no mercy and neither did the clan.
“I see you got her first,” a man's voice sounded from the other side of the gates. “Believe me, I had no involvement in this act of treachery. You caught them both?”
“Of course we caught them both,” the king replied, warily watching the other man and his seven companions. “Do you really have so little control of your clan? I expected more from you.
“My clan is far larger than yours,” King Dominic, for surely that was who he was, replied. “It can lead to certain members forgetting who exactly is in charge.”
“You expanded too fast,” Alden scolded him, “Too many new vampires who haven't learnt the hierarchy. I warned you this might happen, but you went and ordered the beginning of the vampire world anyway.”
“So my clan would be left out, when the new world order came into effect?” Dominic questioned, “I think not. Let's put out petty grievances aside, tomorrow we will meet for dinner. Just us and our princes.”
“Of which you have four, and I only have two,” Alden replied. “The odds seem a little unfair, just one of my sons could take on a dozen of your lot with their eyes shut.”
“Well then, as you are so powerful, you will have no issues meeting in my lair.” Dominic answered. “For the sake of peace, I suggest that you come.”
Koichi had been sulking for the most of the night, refusing to talk even to me. Growing tired of his silence I had left him alone in his room, and joined his two guards in the main room of his suite. I knew that I wouldn't be allowed back to my own rooms for awhile, not alone anyway, so hadn't even asked.
“Is he still not talking?” Meto asked, “He knows perfectly well he's going to have to tell you at some point.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, jumping as Koichi suddenly appeared behind me. I hadn't seen or heard him enter the room.
“It's not for you to say,” Koichi scolded Meto, taking me by the hand and leading me back into the bedroom. “He is right, I will have to tell you.”
“I'm the dinner,” I replied, “Is this it then? He expects for me to die?”
“I'd take another human, if that were the case,” Koichi tried to reassure me, though I found nothing reassuring in his confession that murdering another human would be so easy for him. “It was the old way. Now, at a vampire dinner, they hook a human up to a source of cloned blood and drink from them like a vessel. It adds flavour to the cloned blood, and the human in theory can survive indefinitely. Some of the vampires do this here, but it's so dangerous that I would never.”
“Except now you have to,” I finished for him. I hated the idea as much as he did, not just because it was dangerous but because it stripped a human down to nothing but a meal. Like a glass being constantly filled with wine.
“Father will become suspicious if I take anyone but you, but how can I ask such a terrible thing?” Koichi asked. “I promised to keep you safe.”
“It's safer than not taking me,” I concluded for him. “You're always so careful. I never fear when you drink from me.”
“Even in the presence of two kings?” Koichi asked, “I don't believe you, adrenaline will fill your blood for sure.”
“Your father wasn't bragging when he said you could take on twelve vampires,” I reminded him. “What is King Dominic compared to you?”
“A fool,” Koichi answered. “You promise that you don't hate me, for this?”
“It wasn't your decision,” I reassured him. “I don't hate you, only, the vampire outside?”
“Look outside,” Koichi ordered. Nervously I pulled back the heavy curtains and looked through his balcony doors. I could see her outside, defeated and waiting for the sun to rise. A sunrise that she would never see, as the tree finished her off once and for all. “Is that punishment more to your liking?”
“There's nothing enjoyable about death,” I answered, “But yes, it's better for her to go quickly.”