Tyrant Fanfic: Blood, love and tears. Chapter 22
I have another chapter for you. ^-^ You’ll see familiar characters in this chapter. I’ve mentioned putting them in this story but never said what role they would play. Now you’ll know. ^-^
I have nothing more to say so enjoy reading!
Title: Blood, love and tears
Author: yaoilovefan
Beta: elyrian
Warnings: language
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Souichi, Kurokawa, Isogai, Tomoe, Kanako
Note: It's an AU fic.
Summary: Morinaga is a vampire and wants to play around. One night in a club he finds an interesting human and is mesmerized by him. Will he only use his new prey or will he fall in love? And how will the other one react on an immortal lover? What will his feelings be?
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Souichi was thawing slowly. He was trying to process everything that had happened during the last hour or so. He had dressed the way Hiroto thought he should, he had acted the way Hiroto told him to, and he had managed to convince Morinaga to return him home. He should be feeling successful, happy that he was again in his own world, but he wasn’t feeling like that at all.
Morinaga had managed to surprise him yet again. Without him having to do anything, the vampire had agreed to return Souichi home. He had seen that Morinaga wanted him and still, despite the desire that shone in the vampire’s bright eyes, Morinaga had let Souichi decide what he wanted to do as a parting gift. The gesture had moved Souichi a lot more and a lot deeper than he wanted to admit.
‘That’s probably why I did… what I did. He didn’t force me to blow him. I wanted to do it,’ thought Souichi, shivering from the cold evening air. He ignored his surroundings for the moment. Thinking about the recent happenings was more important in Souichi’s opinion. ‘Act as if you want it. Stupid Hiroto. I didn’t need to act. What does that make me? What does it mean for me?’
Souichi looked around, taking in the familiar structure of the buildings and the sounds he had never paid any mind to before he was kidnapped.
“I’m home,” Souichi whispered. Oddly that thought wasn’t making any feelings well up inside him. “Probably because of the near death experience,” he muttered under his breath contemplatively.
Souichi winced at the memory of meeting Morinaga’s brother. He had thought that the perverted vampire was dangerous and scary when pissed, but now he knew better. Morinaga’s anger was nothing compared to the vampire’s brother’s anger. When Souichi noticed the fear in Morinaga’s eyes he knew that the situation was very serious and that he should shut the hell up and let Morinaga handle everything. He didn’t know what would have happened to him if the elder Vampire Lord hadn’t let him go, but he figured he would have been sucked dry. And that might have been the easy way to die.
What made him shake his head in disbelief was that he knew that Morinaga wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him, that the vampire would fight for his life. He had not been mistaken. The vampire had managed to talk his brother out of killing him. Instead, he was sent back home.
One particular memory caused Souichi’s chest to constrict in a painful way. ‘He was practically begging.’ Souichi remembered all the times he had talked with the vampire, all time they had spent together, in bed or out of it. From what he had gathered from the books, from Hiroto, and from what he saw with his own eyes, he knew that vampires were very prideful.
‘And he still was about to beg for my life…’ The thought disturbed Souichi on a level that made him want to go back to the Demon World and kiss the perverted vampire for the amount he sacrificed so that Souichi could go home unscathed.
He agreed wholeheartedly that it was not his fault that he had ended up in the Demon World. He shouldn’t be the one paying for it but he didn’t want anything bad happening to Morinaga, either. It looked like the elder vampire wasn’t inclined to take his younger brother’s feeling into consideration. That thought angered Souichi immensely. He was an older brother himself and he couldn’t understand how the elder vampire could have disregarded the evident fear in Morinaga’s eyes.
‘Are the vampires really that different from humans?’ Souichi wondered. Morinaga and Hiroto almost managed to convince Souichi that the difference between their races was not that big, but now after meeting yet another vampire he wasn’t so sure anymore.
There was also one more thing that Souichi couldn’t comprehend. From the argument Morinaga had had with his brother, Souichi gathered that the elder one didn’t like the fact that Morinaga was attracted to other guys. ‘I would have thought that everything considered scandalous, profligate, and highly perverted was okay with that lot, but it looks like I was wrong.’
The way that elder vampire had reacted also shocked Souichi very much. He imagined what he would have done if Tomoe had come to him and told him he was gay. He wouldn’t have liked it, but he would never disregard the matter or his brother. He would have been there for him and supported him no matter what. Souichi doubted that the Vampire Asshole supported Morinaga in any way or form. He felt like going back there and punching the jerk.
‘I think I learned a lot more about the vampires during the last hour than I learned from the time I met Morinaga.’ Souichi thought. ‘And now I don’t know what to think anymore.’
Souichi groaned suddenly, annoyed with himself for letting thoughts of Morinaga plague his mind even now that he was back home and probably wouldn’t be seeing the vampire ever again. Abandoning his not so happy thoughts, Souichi concentrated on his surroundings so he could figure out where he was exactly and how to get home.
Souichi shivered from the chilly evening air. He was stranded alone in the middle of a thankfully deserted street, with the same clothes on that he had used to seduce Morinaga. ‘Of course that guy wouldn’t give me a few minutes to change in something normal!’ Souichi snorted, not thrilled at all about his current situation. Even the thought that he was in his own world hadn’t set in yet. He still wasn’t feeling any joy in returning here.
‘I should get moving. It’s freezing.’ He looked around, hugging himself. The weather was really bad. Rain seemed imminent. Souichi huffed a breath, looking around. He tried to recognize the neighborhood but before he could place the name of the street on his imaginary internal map he noticed two men nearing him in a very fast pace.
Before Souichi could decide if he should hide since he didn’t really want other people seeing him in such scandalous clothes, the others advanced. Within seconds Souichi found himself pinned to the wall by a guy that didn’t look that strong. He wasn’t even that tall and definitely not taller than Morinaga. His hair was fair and short although it fell into his eyes, which the other man seemed to ignore.
“Hey! Let go!” Souichi tried to thrash and get away, but whoever the guy holding him was he wasn’t letting Souichi escape. Although he wasn’t as unmoving and solid as Morinaga was, Souichi still couldn’t force his way out of the guy’s grasp. The stranger pinned Souichi to the wall with his whole body, successfully blocking his kicks and preventing Souichi from gaining any leverage while trying to shove the guy away. Soon Souichi found his hands pinned to the wall behind him as well.
His heart began to race. This situation was a mile away from his comfort zone. Even with Morinaga, he hadn’t felt as scared as with this stranger. And given the way he was dressed and by the way the other guy was pinning him not letting him move, Souichi started to seriously worry that something really bad might happen to him. He had accused Morinaga of raping him, but he knew that the experience could have been a lot worse for him. Souichi could tell that the vampire had wanted him to enjoy it, had done a lot to make Souichi enjoy the sex. Even their first time when he had forced Souichi he had given not only pain but also pleasure, a lot more pleasure than Souichi thought his body could receive. Now he was dressed like a whore and pinned by another man that might not have Souichi’s best interests in mind.
“Now… what have we here? Hmmm?” the stranger hummed to himself, regarding Souichi with a encompassing although bored look.
Souichi didn’t like the look or the way the guy’s lips twitched when he stopped looking Souichi over and concentrated on his face. Souichi was sure the guy wanted to give him shit about the outfit.
“Fuck you! Let me go!” Souichi hissed, glaring at the unknown man.
“Sorry, my lovely. I don’t swing that way, but with this outfit you won’t look long for someone to screw you,” the man said playfully. “If I let you off the hook…”
His eyes were now steel sharp, boring into Souichi’s in a way that he liked even less than the previous looks the guy had given him. “Who are you, pretty? What are you doing here? Exactly here, alone, looking like you wanna get some action. Coincidence?” The stranger spoke with a creepy smile plastered on his face. It was an expression that Souichi didn’t like because he couldn’t tell what was hidden beneath. The tone of the other man’s voice wasn’t hostile but Souichi still felt like he was implying something salacious.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Souichi yelled, annoyed. “And let me the hell go!”
“Aww… you say you don’t know? Then what are you doing here? In this place of all places in this very moment?” The guy’s smile widened and became even more creepy.
It sent chills down Souichi’s spine. Somehow the more the guy smiled the more frightening he seemed. Whether it was only an illusion or if he really was someone dangerous was still something unknown to Souichi.
‘Morinaga looked harmless too,’ Souichi thought, frowning.
“What’s it to you? Why are you so interested in what I’m doing here?” Souichi asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Something wasn’t right about this guy and the whole situation but he couldn’t put his finger on it yet.
“Because I don’t believe in coincidences, my pretty,” the guy answered flatly. He then looked Souichi up and down again, giving him a calculating, bored look. “You seem human but I might be wrong…”
“I am fucking human, you idiot!” Souichi yelled outraged, and then narrowed his eyes and asked, “Are you…?”
“Isogai, come on, you - “ the other guy that had up until now stood back came closer. He stopped mid sentence when he noticed who his companion was pinning to the wall. He frowned and looked intently at Souichi.
Souichi glared back at him wishing that the other guy, Isogai apparently, would let go of him. The other man was tall, had dark hair and looked harmless, not at all like the one who was pinning Souichi to the wall. Souichi wondered who the two were. He was starting to have a suspicion about the two of them and wasn’t sure if he wanted to be right or wrong. He shivered. ‘Now it rains. Just my luck.’
“Kurokawa?” Isogai looked at his companion but at the same time kept an eye on Souichi. “Why did you stop so abruptly?”
“Are you perhaps Souichi Tatsumi?” Kurokawa ignored his companion and asked Souichi.
“Yes,” he answered curtly then frowned, confused. “How did you know that?”
He saw both Isogai’s and Kurokawa’s eyes widen, and then before Souichi could speak, Isogai hugged him crushingly.
“Tatsumi-kun!” he yelled with a grin. “I am so glad to meet you!”
“Hey! Let me go, you creep!” Souichi yelled, baffled. First the guy had shoved him against a wall, giving Souichi the impression that he might get raped, and now he was hugging him as if he had just found a long lost friend.
“Aww… I only wanted to apologize for my previous behavior.” Isogai pouted, still crushing Souichi in his arms. “You don’t need to be so mean, Tatsumi-kun.” He finally let go of Souichi who backed away and hit the wall. He looked suspiciously at both of the weird men in whose presence he happened to be.
“Who are you?” he asked with narrowed eyes. He was starting to become agitated. Instead of going back home to his siblings, he was standing in an alley with two irritating guys that didn’t show any signs of letting him go anytime soon.
“We’ll tell you!” Isogai smiled slyly. “But only if you answer a question we have,” he said, rubbing his jaw.
“Shoot.” Souichi was sure he had just stepped into some sort of a trap but he still wanted to know who these two were, and if his suspicions were true.
“You were kidnapped by a vampire, right?” Kurokawa asked cautiously.
Souichi’s eyes widened. “I knew it!” he yelled. He pointed from one person to the other saying, “You two are Hunters!”
“I wasn’t expecting you to know that.” Isogai cocked his head to the side, intrigued. “Oh well. At least we won’t need to explain it to you.” He shrugged easily.
Even so, Souichi suspected that Isogai would have taken great pleasure in shocking Souichi with the knowledge of who the two of them really were. ‘Ha! Serves him right! He thought he’d shock me? Tough luck.’
“This is Mitsugu Kurokawa,” Isogai pointed to his companion. “And I’m Taichirou Isogai. You can call me Isogai-san,” he grinned at Souichi, then turned to his friend and asked, “By the way, Kurokawa, how did you know it was him?”
“Tomoe-kun showed me some of his pictures,” Kurokawa mumbled, blushing. Isogai rolled his eyes.
“Really?” Isogai smirked. “I wonder what else he showed you.”
Kurokawa sent him a dirty look and was about to answer when Souichi spoke.
“Wait a minute! You know Tomoe? My younger brother? How do you know my brother?!” Souichi demanded, glaring at the Hunters. He didn’t like the thought that they were sniffing around his brother. Tomoe had always been very naïve, and putting that together with the fact that his brother was kind of a sweet guy made Souichi go into protector-mode often.
“Calm down, calm down, Tatsumi-kun. We met him by chance, while he was looking for you,” Isogai explained and gave Souichi a meaningful look.
Souichi closed his eyes. The thought of his brother looking all over for him pained Souichi. He had known his siblings would be very worried about him. He also knew that he had had little say in his kidnapping, but he still felt a bit guilty about the whole situation. If that wasn’t enough, the rain started pouring heavily, making him shiver from the cold. Kurokawa noticed his shivering, took off his coat, and set it on Souichi’s shoulders.
“Put this on,” he instructed. “Otherwise you’ll get sick in this weather dressed so scantily.”
“Thanks,” Souichi mumbled and put the coat on. It was really warm and Souichi felt grateful to the Hunter. Now he wasn’t cold anymore and he wouldn’t be walking practically naked through the town.
“Too bad you’re cold. You look nice in those clothes,” Isogai smirked.
“Shut up! It wasn’t my choice to wear these stupid clothes.” Souichi glared at Isogai. He didn’t like him and he doubted his feelings would warm up to him. Kurokawa, on the other hand, seemed nice enough so Souichi was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“So that vampire forced you to wear these? Why did he kidnap you anyway and why did he return you? Why didn’t he kill you?” Kurokawa asked, his brows furrowed as if he couldn’t believe that Souichi hadn’t ended up dead.
Before Souichi could answer Kurokawa’s questions Isogai spoke. “He can answer those questions later. And I think it’s clear why he was kidnapped. You just need to look at his clothes and you’ll know, Kurokawa,” Isogai chuckled and turned his attention from his friend to Souichi. “This is the most important question right now, has that vampire come to this world with you?”
“No, he’s not here,” Souichi answered coldly, not liking the pang of longing he felt when he thought about Morinaga.
“Awww… and here I thought we’d get some action,” Isogai whined and Kurokawa rolled his eyes at his friend‘s antics.
Souichi watched this, not really believing his own eyes. He never would have thought that people that were defending others from demons could act in such a way. ‘They’re not serious, are they? Can they even defend themselves, not to mention others, from demons?’ Souichi wondered.
“Ah, well. We’ll make sure you get back home safely and then look for inhuman activity.” Isogai smiled at Souichi, rubbing his hands eagerly, a bit too eagerly in Souichi’s opinion. He wasn’t feeling very safe with Isogai so near him and couldn’t make himself trust these two.
“Why were you here anyway?” Souichi asked, stalling their departure. He was grateful for the coat but would have preferred going home alone.
“We felt the portal,” Kurokawa answered Souichi’s question.
“You can do that?” Kurokawa’s answer surprised Souichi. Nowhere in the books he had read was anything about Hunters feeling a portal.
“We can’t open a portal but we can recognize the energy released when someone opens one. It’s easy to follow it,” Kurokawa shrugged. “Now it’s best we move. It doesn’t seem like the rain will stop anytime soon.”
‘So there is a use for them after all, but… they might try hunting Morinaga if he comes here.’ Souichi twitched out of his thoughts. He forgot for a moment that it was raining and that he had Kurokawa’s coat on, leaving the Hunter exposed to the heavy raindrops.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go,” Souichi mumbled and made his way out of the alley after Kurokawa. Isogai was walking behind him leaving Souichi unnerved and on his toes.
They haven’t talked much after leaving the alley. Kurokawa walked quietly, seemingly in deep thought, only occasionally glancing at Souichi who had ended up walking beside the Hunter, with Isogai walking behind both of them. Souichi ignored Kurokawa’s concerned and slightly frightened glances for the moment. He didn’t know what the Hunter was thinking about to result in such looks and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. It was mildly annoying but not as much as Isogai’s humming.
Before he could tell Isogai to cut it out they stopped and Isogai came up from behind Souichi. The Hunter stopped a taxi and they all got into it. It looked like he was going to be home a lot sooner than had he thought. Souichi was happy about it. It would have been humiliating if he had had to walk home through the whole town dressed like he was. Souichi cursed Morinaga’s brother again for not giving him a few minutes to change into some other clothes.
He frowned when Kurokawa was the one who gave the driver his address. Souichi wanted to ask how they knew where he lived but refrained. He doubted they would tell him anything while in the cab. Souichi wondered if they would leave him alone when they were finally at his place. He would have preferred that they leave him alone and move on to some other town, but considering how shitty his luck had been recently he doubted they were planning something like that.
Finally the taxi stopped in front of his house and Souichi’s breath hitched. He gulped, trying to pull himself together. He hadn’t even realized how much he had been afraid that he would never see the house he had grown up in again. Suddenly he wished the two Hunters would leave him alone so that he could cry to his heart‘s content. Unfortunately it seemed like Kurokawa and Isogai had other plans. Kurokawa paid the cab driver and both of them followed Souichi to the door.
When they reached the door Souichi spun around and addressed the Hunters. “Look, I appreciate your concern and that you escorted me home, but - “ Souichi stopped talking, his eyes widening when Isogai reached out and rang the doorbell. “Hey! What do you think you’re do-“ He couldn’t finish this sentence either because the door behind him opened.
“Ni-san!!!”
“Oof! Kanako!” His sister hadn’t given him time to turn around and hug her properly. She had thrown herself at him the minute she saw who was standing at the door. It also looked like she wasn’t thinking about letting him go anytime soon.
“Souichi-nii-san! You’re home! We were so worried!” Kanako cried, pressing her face into Souichi’s back.
“Kanako-chan, please let us all come in first. Then you can celebrate all you want,” Isogai said and Souichi felt Kanako nodding her head. He was pulled inside by a very happy and surely crying girl. The Hunters walked in after him and closed the door. Souichi finally managed to twist around in his sister‘s unrelenting arms and hug her back; he then watched mutely as the Hunters made themselves at home in his house. Isogai took his coat off and then they both took off their shoes.
When he heard his sister sniffling into Kurokawa’s coat, Souichi concentrated his full attention on Kanako. He desperately tried to hold back his own tears. He didn’t want to cry in front of strangers but he was fighting a losing battle. Souichi knew he lost when he heard thudding on the stairs and saw Tomoe running to him.
“Nii-san!”
In a moment both his siblings were hugging him and crying, desperately clinging to his clothes as if they were afraid that he would vanish once more. He couldn’t take it anymore and felt fat tears running down his cheeks. He tried to hide them in Tomoe’s hair but his voice was thick with them when he told his siblings that he was fine, answering their questions. He didn’t even notice the two Hunters leaving them alone in the hall, going inside the house. He was too absorbed in his siblings.
Without even trying Souichi forgot all about a certain vampire and the more or less pleasant ordeal he had gone through. He also forgot about his vampire’s brother and the Hunters. The only thing that mattered was that he was home with his family.
Chapter 23
Note: Somehow it seems as if I could end the story here… but you all would kill me if I did, right? XD You don’t need to worry. I’m not planning ending this fic anytime soon. I have a few very nice scenes in mind before you see “The End”. ^-^
Are you happy to see Kurokawa and Isogai? ^-^ I wasn’t sure if the Isogai I’ve written acts as he should but then I’ve reread Challengers again and I think I like my Isogai after all. *^-^*
Now you can tell me what you think.
I have nothing more to say so enjoy reading!
Title: Blood, love and tears
Author: yaoilovefan
Beta: elyrian
Warnings: language
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Souichi, Kurokawa, Isogai, Tomoe, Kanako
Note: It's an AU fic.
Summary: Morinaga is a vampire and wants to play around. One night in a club he finds an interesting human and is mesmerized by him. Will he only use his new prey or will he fall in love? And how will the other one react on an immortal lover? What will his feelings be?
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Souichi was thawing slowly. He was trying to process everything that had happened during the last hour or so. He had dressed the way Hiroto thought he should, he had acted the way Hiroto told him to, and he had managed to convince Morinaga to return him home. He should be feeling successful, happy that he was again in his own world, but he wasn’t feeling like that at all.
Morinaga had managed to surprise him yet again. Without him having to do anything, the vampire had agreed to return Souichi home. He had seen that Morinaga wanted him and still, despite the desire that shone in the vampire’s bright eyes, Morinaga had let Souichi decide what he wanted to do as a parting gift. The gesture had moved Souichi a lot more and a lot deeper than he wanted to admit.
‘That’s probably why I did… what I did. He didn’t force me to blow him. I wanted to do it,’ thought Souichi, shivering from the cold evening air. He ignored his surroundings for the moment. Thinking about the recent happenings was more important in Souichi’s opinion. ‘Act as if you want it. Stupid Hiroto. I didn’t need to act. What does that make me? What does it mean for me?’
Souichi looked around, taking in the familiar structure of the buildings and the sounds he had never paid any mind to before he was kidnapped.
“I’m home,” Souichi whispered. Oddly that thought wasn’t making any feelings well up inside him. “Probably because of the near death experience,” he muttered under his breath contemplatively.
Souichi winced at the memory of meeting Morinaga’s brother. He had thought that the perverted vampire was dangerous and scary when pissed, but now he knew better. Morinaga’s anger was nothing compared to the vampire’s brother’s anger. When Souichi noticed the fear in Morinaga’s eyes he knew that the situation was very serious and that he should shut the hell up and let Morinaga handle everything. He didn’t know what would have happened to him if the elder Vampire Lord hadn’t let him go, but he figured he would have been sucked dry. And that might have been the easy way to die.
What made him shake his head in disbelief was that he knew that Morinaga wouldn’t let anything bad happen to him, that the vampire would fight for his life. He had not been mistaken. The vampire had managed to talk his brother out of killing him. Instead, he was sent back home.
One particular memory caused Souichi’s chest to constrict in a painful way. ‘He was practically begging.’ Souichi remembered all the times he had talked with the vampire, all time they had spent together, in bed or out of it. From what he had gathered from the books, from Hiroto, and from what he saw with his own eyes, he knew that vampires were very prideful.
‘And he still was about to beg for my life…’ The thought disturbed Souichi on a level that made him want to go back to the Demon World and kiss the perverted vampire for the amount he sacrificed so that Souichi could go home unscathed.
He agreed wholeheartedly that it was not his fault that he had ended up in the Demon World. He shouldn’t be the one paying for it but he didn’t want anything bad happening to Morinaga, either. It looked like the elder vampire wasn’t inclined to take his younger brother’s feeling into consideration. That thought angered Souichi immensely. He was an older brother himself and he couldn’t understand how the elder vampire could have disregarded the evident fear in Morinaga’s eyes.
‘Are the vampires really that different from humans?’ Souichi wondered. Morinaga and Hiroto almost managed to convince Souichi that the difference between their races was not that big, but now after meeting yet another vampire he wasn’t so sure anymore.
There was also one more thing that Souichi couldn’t comprehend. From the argument Morinaga had had with his brother, Souichi gathered that the elder one didn’t like the fact that Morinaga was attracted to other guys. ‘I would have thought that everything considered scandalous, profligate, and highly perverted was okay with that lot, but it looks like I was wrong.’
The way that elder vampire had reacted also shocked Souichi very much. He imagined what he would have done if Tomoe had come to him and told him he was gay. He wouldn’t have liked it, but he would never disregard the matter or his brother. He would have been there for him and supported him no matter what. Souichi doubted that the Vampire Asshole supported Morinaga in any way or form. He felt like going back there and punching the jerk.
‘I think I learned a lot more about the vampires during the last hour than I learned from the time I met Morinaga.’ Souichi thought. ‘And now I don’t know what to think anymore.’
Souichi groaned suddenly, annoyed with himself for letting thoughts of Morinaga plague his mind even now that he was back home and probably wouldn’t be seeing the vampire ever again. Abandoning his not so happy thoughts, Souichi concentrated on his surroundings so he could figure out where he was exactly and how to get home.
Souichi shivered from the chilly evening air. He was stranded alone in the middle of a thankfully deserted street, with the same clothes on that he had used to seduce Morinaga. ‘Of course that guy wouldn’t give me a few minutes to change in something normal!’ Souichi snorted, not thrilled at all about his current situation. Even the thought that he was in his own world hadn’t set in yet. He still wasn’t feeling any joy in returning here.
‘I should get moving. It’s freezing.’ He looked around, hugging himself. The weather was really bad. Rain seemed imminent. Souichi huffed a breath, looking around. He tried to recognize the neighborhood but before he could place the name of the street on his imaginary internal map he noticed two men nearing him in a very fast pace.
Before Souichi could decide if he should hide since he didn’t really want other people seeing him in such scandalous clothes, the others advanced. Within seconds Souichi found himself pinned to the wall by a guy that didn’t look that strong. He wasn’t even that tall and definitely not taller than Morinaga. His hair was fair and short although it fell into his eyes, which the other man seemed to ignore.
“Hey! Let go!” Souichi tried to thrash and get away, but whoever the guy holding him was he wasn’t letting Souichi escape. Although he wasn’t as unmoving and solid as Morinaga was, Souichi still couldn’t force his way out of the guy’s grasp. The stranger pinned Souichi to the wall with his whole body, successfully blocking his kicks and preventing Souichi from gaining any leverage while trying to shove the guy away. Soon Souichi found his hands pinned to the wall behind him as well.
His heart began to race. This situation was a mile away from his comfort zone. Even with Morinaga, he hadn’t felt as scared as with this stranger. And given the way he was dressed and by the way the other guy was pinning him not letting him move, Souichi started to seriously worry that something really bad might happen to him. He had accused Morinaga of raping him, but he knew that the experience could have been a lot worse for him. Souichi could tell that the vampire had wanted him to enjoy it, had done a lot to make Souichi enjoy the sex. Even their first time when he had forced Souichi he had given not only pain but also pleasure, a lot more pleasure than Souichi thought his body could receive. Now he was dressed like a whore and pinned by another man that might not have Souichi’s best interests in mind.
“Now… what have we here? Hmmm?” the stranger hummed to himself, regarding Souichi with a encompassing although bored look.
Souichi didn’t like the look or the way the guy’s lips twitched when he stopped looking Souichi over and concentrated on his face. Souichi was sure the guy wanted to give him shit about the outfit.
“Fuck you! Let me go!” Souichi hissed, glaring at the unknown man.
“Sorry, my lovely. I don’t swing that way, but with this outfit you won’t look long for someone to screw you,” the man said playfully. “If I let you off the hook…”
His eyes were now steel sharp, boring into Souichi’s in a way that he liked even less than the previous looks the guy had given him. “Who are you, pretty? What are you doing here? Exactly here, alone, looking like you wanna get some action. Coincidence?” The stranger spoke with a creepy smile plastered on his face. It was an expression that Souichi didn’t like because he couldn’t tell what was hidden beneath. The tone of the other man’s voice wasn’t hostile but Souichi still felt like he was implying something salacious.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Souichi yelled, annoyed. “And let me the hell go!”
“Aww… you say you don’t know? Then what are you doing here? In this place of all places in this very moment?” The guy’s smile widened and became even more creepy.
It sent chills down Souichi’s spine. Somehow the more the guy smiled the more frightening he seemed. Whether it was only an illusion or if he really was someone dangerous was still something unknown to Souichi.
‘Morinaga looked harmless too,’ Souichi thought, frowning.
“What’s it to you? Why are you so interested in what I’m doing here?” Souichi asked, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Something wasn’t right about this guy and the whole situation but he couldn’t put his finger on it yet.
“Because I don’t believe in coincidences, my pretty,” the guy answered flatly. He then looked Souichi up and down again, giving him a calculating, bored look. “You seem human but I might be wrong…”
“I am fucking human, you idiot!” Souichi yelled outraged, and then narrowed his eyes and asked, “Are you…?”
“Isogai, come on, you - “ the other guy that had up until now stood back came closer. He stopped mid sentence when he noticed who his companion was pinning to the wall. He frowned and looked intently at Souichi.
Souichi glared back at him wishing that the other guy, Isogai apparently, would let go of him. The other man was tall, had dark hair and looked harmless, not at all like the one who was pinning Souichi to the wall. Souichi wondered who the two were. He was starting to have a suspicion about the two of them and wasn’t sure if he wanted to be right or wrong. He shivered. ‘Now it rains. Just my luck.’
“Kurokawa?” Isogai looked at his companion but at the same time kept an eye on Souichi. “Why did you stop so abruptly?”
“Are you perhaps Souichi Tatsumi?” Kurokawa ignored his companion and asked Souichi.
“Yes,” he answered curtly then frowned, confused. “How did you know that?”
He saw both Isogai’s and Kurokawa’s eyes widen, and then before Souichi could speak, Isogai hugged him crushingly.
“Tatsumi-kun!” he yelled with a grin. “I am so glad to meet you!”
“Hey! Let me go, you creep!” Souichi yelled, baffled. First the guy had shoved him against a wall, giving Souichi the impression that he might get raped, and now he was hugging him as if he had just found a long lost friend.
“Aww… I only wanted to apologize for my previous behavior.” Isogai pouted, still crushing Souichi in his arms. “You don’t need to be so mean, Tatsumi-kun.” He finally let go of Souichi who backed away and hit the wall. He looked suspiciously at both of the weird men in whose presence he happened to be.
“Who are you?” he asked with narrowed eyes. He was starting to become agitated. Instead of going back home to his siblings, he was standing in an alley with two irritating guys that didn’t show any signs of letting him go anytime soon.
“We’ll tell you!” Isogai smiled slyly. “But only if you answer a question we have,” he said, rubbing his jaw.
“Shoot.” Souichi was sure he had just stepped into some sort of a trap but he still wanted to know who these two were, and if his suspicions were true.
“You were kidnapped by a vampire, right?” Kurokawa asked cautiously.
Souichi’s eyes widened. “I knew it!” he yelled. He pointed from one person to the other saying, “You two are Hunters!”
“I wasn’t expecting you to know that.” Isogai cocked his head to the side, intrigued. “Oh well. At least we won’t need to explain it to you.” He shrugged easily.
Even so, Souichi suspected that Isogai would have taken great pleasure in shocking Souichi with the knowledge of who the two of them really were. ‘Ha! Serves him right! He thought he’d shock me? Tough luck.’
“This is Mitsugu Kurokawa,” Isogai pointed to his companion. “And I’m Taichirou Isogai. You can call me Isogai-san,” he grinned at Souichi, then turned to his friend and asked, “By the way, Kurokawa, how did you know it was him?”
“Tomoe-kun showed me some of his pictures,” Kurokawa mumbled, blushing. Isogai rolled his eyes.
“Really?” Isogai smirked. “I wonder what else he showed you.”
Kurokawa sent him a dirty look and was about to answer when Souichi spoke.
“Wait a minute! You know Tomoe? My younger brother? How do you know my brother?!” Souichi demanded, glaring at the Hunters. He didn’t like the thought that they were sniffing around his brother. Tomoe had always been very naïve, and putting that together with the fact that his brother was kind of a sweet guy made Souichi go into protector-mode often.
“Calm down, calm down, Tatsumi-kun. We met him by chance, while he was looking for you,” Isogai explained and gave Souichi a meaningful look.
Souichi closed his eyes. The thought of his brother looking all over for him pained Souichi. He had known his siblings would be very worried about him. He also knew that he had had little say in his kidnapping, but he still felt a bit guilty about the whole situation. If that wasn’t enough, the rain started pouring heavily, making him shiver from the cold. Kurokawa noticed his shivering, took off his coat, and set it on Souichi’s shoulders.
“Put this on,” he instructed. “Otherwise you’ll get sick in this weather dressed so scantily.”
“Thanks,” Souichi mumbled and put the coat on. It was really warm and Souichi felt grateful to the Hunter. Now he wasn’t cold anymore and he wouldn’t be walking practically naked through the town.
“Too bad you’re cold. You look nice in those clothes,” Isogai smirked.
“Shut up! It wasn’t my choice to wear these stupid clothes.” Souichi glared at Isogai. He didn’t like him and he doubted his feelings would warm up to him. Kurokawa, on the other hand, seemed nice enough so Souichi was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“So that vampire forced you to wear these? Why did he kidnap you anyway and why did he return you? Why didn’t he kill you?” Kurokawa asked, his brows furrowed as if he couldn’t believe that Souichi hadn’t ended up dead.
Before Souichi could answer Kurokawa’s questions Isogai spoke. “He can answer those questions later. And I think it’s clear why he was kidnapped. You just need to look at his clothes and you’ll know, Kurokawa,” Isogai chuckled and turned his attention from his friend to Souichi. “This is the most important question right now, has that vampire come to this world with you?”
“No, he’s not here,” Souichi answered coldly, not liking the pang of longing he felt when he thought about Morinaga.
“Awww… and here I thought we’d get some action,” Isogai whined and Kurokawa rolled his eyes at his friend‘s antics.
Souichi watched this, not really believing his own eyes. He never would have thought that people that were defending others from demons could act in such a way. ‘They’re not serious, are they? Can they even defend themselves, not to mention others, from demons?’ Souichi wondered.
“Ah, well. We’ll make sure you get back home safely and then look for inhuman activity.” Isogai smiled at Souichi, rubbing his hands eagerly, a bit too eagerly in Souichi’s opinion. He wasn’t feeling very safe with Isogai so near him and couldn’t make himself trust these two.
“Why were you here anyway?” Souichi asked, stalling their departure. He was grateful for the coat but would have preferred going home alone.
“We felt the portal,” Kurokawa answered Souichi’s question.
“You can do that?” Kurokawa’s answer surprised Souichi. Nowhere in the books he had read was anything about Hunters feeling a portal.
“We can’t open a portal but we can recognize the energy released when someone opens one. It’s easy to follow it,” Kurokawa shrugged. “Now it’s best we move. It doesn’t seem like the rain will stop anytime soon.”
‘So there is a use for them after all, but… they might try hunting Morinaga if he comes here.’ Souichi twitched out of his thoughts. He forgot for a moment that it was raining and that he had Kurokawa’s coat on, leaving the Hunter exposed to the heavy raindrops.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go,” Souichi mumbled and made his way out of the alley after Kurokawa. Isogai was walking behind him leaving Souichi unnerved and on his toes.
They haven’t talked much after leaving the alley. Kurokawa walked quietly, seemingly in deep thought, only occasionally glancing at Souichi who had ended up walking beside the Hunter, with Isogai walking behind both of them. Souichi ignored Kurokawa’s concerned and slightly frightened glances for the moment. He didn’t know what the Hunter was thinking about to result in such looks and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. It was mildly annoying but not as much as Isogai’s humming.
Before he could tell Isogai to cut it out they stopped and Isogai came up from behind Souichi. The Hunter stopped a taxi and they all got into it. It looked like he was going to be home a lot sooner than had he thought. Souichi was happy about it. It would have been humiliating if he had had to walk home through the whole town dressed like he was. Souichi cursed Morinaga’s brother again for not giving him a few minutes to change into some other clothes.
He frowned when Kurokawa was the one who gave the driver his address. Souichi wanted to ask how they knew where he lived but refrained. He doubted they would tell him anything while in the cab. Souichi wondered if they would leave him alone when they were finally at his place. He would have preferred that they leave him alone and move on to some other town, but considering how shitty his luck had been recently he doubted they were planning something like that.
Finally the taxi stopped in front of his house and Souichi’s breath hitched. He gulped, trying to pull himself together. He hadn’t even realized how much he had been afraid that he would never see the house he had grown up in again. Suddenly he wished the two Hunters would leave him alone so that he could cry to his heart‘s content. Unfortunately it seemed like Kurokawa and Isogai had other plans. Kurokawa paid the cab driver and both of them followed Souichi to the door.
When they reached the door Souichi spun around and addressed the Hunters. “Look, I appreciate your concern and that you escorted me home, but - “ Souichi stopped talking, his eyes widening when Isogai reached out and rang the doorbell. “Hey! What do you think you’re do-“ He couldn’t finish this sentence either because the door behind him opened.
“Ni-san!!!”
“Oof! Kanako!” His sister hadn’t given him time to turn around and hug her properly. She had thrown herself at him the minute she saw who was standing at the door. It also looked like she wasn’t thinking about letting him go anytime soon.
“Souichi-nii-san! You’re home! We were so worried!” Kanako cried, pressing her face into Souichi’s back.
“Kanako-chan, please let us all come in first. Then you can celebrate all you want,” Isogai said and Souichi felt Kanako nodding her head. He was pulled inside by a very happy and surely crying girl. The Hunters walked in after him and closed the door. Souichi finally managed to twist around in his sister‘s unrelenting arms and hug her back; he then watched mutely as the Hunters made themselves at home in his house. Isogai took his coat off and then they both took off their shoes.
When he heard his sister sniffling into Kurokawa’s coat, Souichi concentrated his full attention on Kanako. He desperately tried to hold back his own tears. He didn’t want to cry in front of strangers but he was fighting a losing battle. Souichi knew he lost when he heard thudding on the stairs and saw Tomoe running to him.
“Nii-san!”
In a moment both his siblings were hugging him and crying, desperately clinging to his clothes as if they were afraid that he would vanish once more. He couldn’t take it anymore and felt fat tears running down his cheeks. He tried to hide them in Tomoe’s hair but his voice was thick with them when he told his siblings that he was fine, answering their questions. He didn’t even notice the two Hunters leaving them alone in the hall, going inside the house. He was too absorbed in his siblings.
Without even trying Souichi forgot all about a certain vampire and the more or less pleasant ordeal he had gone through. He also forgot about his vampire’s brother and the Hunters. The only thing that mattered was that he was home with his family.
Chapter 23
Note: Somehow it seems as if I could end the story here… but you all would kill me if I did, right? XD You don’t need to worry. I’m not planning ending this fic anytime soon. I have a few very nice scenes in mind before you see “The End”. ^-^
Are you happy to see Kurokawa and Isogai? ^-^ I wasn’t sure if the Isogai I’ve written acts as he should but then I’ve reread Challengers again and I think I like my Isogai after all. *^-^*
Now you can tell me what you think.