(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. (This chapter posted early as I'm not sure if I can get online tomorrow.)
Previous Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
New Chapter:
Chapter Five
I'd been living with Koichi for a few weeks, before I was finally allowed to leave the house. In that time the three of us had grown used to our new routine. Koichi and Meto took turns guarding me, whilst the other did as he pleased. Every other day Koichi would drink a small amount of my blood, filling his needs with the clone blood he constantly complained about. Never once though did he take more from he than the taste he had grown used to.
The blood drinking was always accompanied by some form of sex. It was usual for me for me to have him buried deep inside me, as he drank from my neck. Blood drinking became just one of those kinks we shared, along with the way that Koichi almost always performed some form of bondage on me.
As innocent as our relationship had started, the sex had become a large part of what remained. We were both bored, trapped in such a small space, and it became our go to activity to pass the time. Meto had taken to teasing Koichi about it, to the point that I no longer even thought of it as embarrassing.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Koichi suddenly asked me one day. Stunned I looked up from his guitar, which served to pass the time, and gave him a cautious glance.
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“It'll be fine,” Koichi said. “Things are settling down now, the vampires know not to come near here for food. Those who remain are those who belong to one of the Clans. There's an agreement not to touch humans wearing the collar of a rival clan, and nobody in my clan would hurt a man under my protection. Not even father, not without reason.”
“So what, you put a collar on me like a pet dog?” I demanded.
“I knew you would get angry,” Koichi complained. “I'm trying to be nice.”
“Let's go for a walk,” I decided. These walls were beginning to drive me insane. Smiling Koichi retrieved the collar, and two leather arm guards for my lower arms. Having bite scars on my neck, and both wrists, I knew perfectly well why these had been provided to me. Should a vampire try to bite me, they would soon learn that I was protected by the Meji clan.
I picked up the collar first, a thick strip of black leather with the engraving of a winged heart in the centre. Pink lace decorated the edges, a personal touch from Koichi perhaps? I let him help me into it, surprised that it felt more like a choker than anything else once on.
The arm guards were the same in style, though there was extra engraving on the leather including a small K near the very bottom. I had been marked as his property, and I had done so willingly.
He took my hand firmly in his own, and we walked towards the front door and a cursing Meto leapt up from the sofa. He knew exactly what the collar meant, as well as Koichi's intentions. I expected him to put an instant ban on us leaving, instead he stalked behind us, extra protection from harm.
“The park is kind of depressing now,” Koichi apologised, “But it's better than the streets.”
“Let's go to the park,” I agreed quickly. I can see a human corpse down the street, abandoned and rotting on a park bench. The shop on the corner, that used to sell bikes, had been looted and vandalised, and not a single person was in sight. It's glaringly obvious that an apocalypse had happened, and I don't want to be reminded of it. Or hang out with the vermin that had grown brave enough to leave the sewers.
The park was, as Koichi promised, better. We walked around the small lake, spotting sleeping ducks among the reeds. A pack of wild dogs ran in the distance, most still wearing collars that reminded me of my own. They had been people's pets, now they were feral.
It was our second circuit of the lake when we saw the vampire. As Koichi had reassured me, he passed us with only a nod of greeting. I wanted to ask who he was, what clan he was, why he was here. I stayed silent, enjoying the false freedom and the fresh air.
We took a seat on some park benches, far away from the rotting rubbish in one of the bins, and silently enjoyed the night. I couldn't guess what Koichi was thinking, though Meto's face read that he thought this was a terrible idea. I merely thought of what could have been. A different reality where Koichi and I could have sat here, without knowing what had happened to the people.
A rustling in the bushes caught our attention, and Meto was on the watcher in an instant. I had no idea vampires could move so fast, it makes me glad I never tried to run. A man is dragged out of the bushes, and I recognise him from my old office.
“Tai? Is that you?” I call, even as Meto strengthened his hold on the man. This is the first time I've seen a living human in weeks, it makes me forget that I don't even like him.
“MiA?” Tai asked. I nodded, studying his dirty clothes, unwashed hair and stubble that was closer to a beard. This could have been me, I thought, for the first time relieved that my choices had brought me comfort. I had been lucky, insanely so. Meto sniffs the man's neck, and I realised in an instant that if I say nothing, this man is going to die.
“He's an old friend,” I begin to explain to Koichi, even as Meto shakes his head and branches end the man's life. “You killed him!”
“It's the better way,” Koichi replied with a shrug. I felt tears falling down my cheeks as I ran to Tai's side. Had I been living in denial? These vampires were monsters, how had I forgotten that?
“You could have taken him in,” I protested, “Meto could have had him. He didn't need to die.”
“He was dead before we came,” Meto snarled, “His blood was bad.”
“Bad?” I repeated.
“Leukaemia,” Meto replied, stepping away from the body without a second glance. “The hospitals are gone, his options were a slow painful death, or to end his suffering now. Don't you dare accuse the Prince of being a monster, oh yes I can see you thinking it. This is the world we live in now, his only choice.”
“His only choice,” I replied, but I can't argue any further. Meto is right. With the walk ruined we returned home. Koichi made no effort to touch me that night. It was for the best, I have no idea how he would react if I rejected his advances. In all our time together, I never did.
I couldn't stay mad at Koichi for long, he was clearly feeling bad about upsetting me, if not by what he had done. He took to giving me gifts ever night. Some were small, like a flower picked from a park, whilst others consisted mainly of jewellery and clothes. It was the night he gave me a guitar of my own that I told him to stop trying to treat me. He couldn't buy, or steal, my happiness, though that guitar had certainly helped.
“What then?” Koichi asked, clearly frustrated, “What can make you stop looking at me with judging eyes.”
“I'm not looking at you with judging eyes!” I protested. “I swear Koichi.”
“You're my Princess, I want to make you happy,” Koichi complained. I knew him well enough to know that his pain didn't come from the same source as my own. Perhaps he was sad his treat was ruined, or that the incident had damaged our relationship, he certainly didn't care that he had killed a man in cold blood.
“I have an idea,” I suddenly announced, “Of something we could do together, that nobody could ruin for us.”
“I'm listening,” Koichi said, a grin covering his face as I explain to him my idea. He ran out to the shops in an instance, leaving me an hour or so in front of the mirror to remove the hints of sadness from my appearance. Life was terrible now, and I didn't have the option to sulk about it.
Koichi returned with all the things we needed, locking me in the bathroom as he bleached and dyed my hair. I'd always had it blond, but the black roots were beginning to show and it was time for a change. Once the dye was on my hair, I helped Koichi dye his own black roots with his usual pink dye. Once done his hair was as perfect as the day we had first met, and mine now had flashes of violet among the blond. It was longer than I would have liked now, falling just past my shoulders, but cutting it wouldn't have pleased Koichi at all.
Whilst in the shower Koichi had helped me remove any traces of unwanted hair. I liked to keep my body as hairless as possible, growing it only on my head and trimming it neatly in more private areas, but I had learnt over the last few weeks that Koichi liked removing the hair for me. It was one of the many things that weren't worth arguing over. During my weeks here I had quickly learnt the happier Koichi was, the happier I was in return.
In the bedroom he painted my nails with the same violet as my hair, curled my hair and applied make-up to my face. A little jewellery and a dress later he was showing his Princess off to a bemused Meto.
“This was your idea?” Meto asked, laughing in my face as I told him it was. He points out Koichi had forgotten shoes, and he runs out to find some in an instant. It was then that Meto's smile faltered, and he watched me with a critical eye. “You've learnt to control his moods.”
“Isn't that better for both of us?” I asked. There's no point denying it, all of this had been to distract Koichi and make him smile.
“Yes,” Meto agreed, “Depending on how you use your power. I'll be watching you MiA, I'm not as hard to fool as our dear friend.”
“How would I use this power, other than to make him happy?” I demanded. “You fear I'll turn him against you?”
“Impossible,” Meto scolded. “But yes, you could easily bend Koichi's will now. He adores you, it's not healthy for him, but I dare not warn him. You will say nothing of this, I will deny ever saying a word.”
“You think this whole arrangement is wrong, don't you?” I asked. Meto after all had been the one encouraging Koichi to let me go.
“It's decadent, but it is what it is.” Meto answered. “He's always been like this you know, for sixty years I have been by his side. Before you ask, he was my creator.”
“I guessed as much,” I admitted. I long so badly to ask more, but I've learnt not to. “Can I ask a question, or will you rip out my throat?”
“We both know I can't hurt you,” Meto replied, “If you cross me however, I have my ways to manipulate Koichi into ripping out your pretty throat himself.”
“I'll take that as a yes,” I decided, “But you don't need to answer. Only, if vampire's are so selfish, what is it that you want?”
“I want his power,” Meto answered, surprising me with his honest answer. “He has magic, and I want to know how. One day perhaps I'll learn his secret, but only if I prove myself to him. On top of that, by serving Koichi the way I do I've learnt I can manipulate him. As you realise, it's not hard. I protect him from others, of course, and wish him no harm myself. So tell me MiA, for a man who wants power, why wouldn't I serve a Prince?”
“It's more than that,” I found myself adding, “You like him, he's your friend.”
“The affections of a human, never change once that human dies,” Meto answered. “Now answer my question; as a human, as selfish as they are, what do you want?”
“I want to go back,” I admited, “To before.” he nods, my sentiments clearly something Meto agrees on. The Meji Clan hadn't wanted an apocalypse, like myself Meto missed the simplicity of before. “It's impossible, so I stay here. At first it was about survival, then I got used to the comfort.”
“Now?” Meto asked. “You have no desire?”
“I have desires,” I corrected, “I want him. His love, his attention, his affection, everything he has to offer, I want. I will keep him happy, don't you worry about it. My happiness rests very much upon his own.”
“It seems MiA,” Meto began, “That at long last we have come to an understanding.”
“It seems that way,” I agree. Smiling shyly at the vampire who had once scared me so badly. I wondered, as I pretended to watch TV with him, if he would protect me should something happen to Koichi. I can't help but think he just might.
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. (This chapter posted early as I'm not sure if I can get online tomorrow.)
Previous Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
New Chapter:
Chapter Five
I'd been living with Koichi for a few weeks, before I was finally allowed to leave the house. In that time the three of us had grown used to our new routine. Koichi and Meto took turns guarding me, whilst the other did as he pleased. Every other day Koichi would drink a small amount of my blood, filling his needs with the clone blood he constantly complained about. Never once though did he take more from he than the taste he had grown used to.
The blood drinking was always accompanied by some form of sex. It was usual for me for me to have him buried deep inside me, as he drank from my neck. Blood drinking became just one of those kinks we shared, along with the way that Koichi almost always performed some form of bondage on me.
As innocent as our relationship had started, the sex had become a large part of what remained. We were both bored, trapped in such a small space, and it became our go to activity to pass the time. Meto had taken to teasing Koichi about it, to the point that I no longer even thought of it as embarrassing.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Koichi suddenly asked me one day. Stunned I looked up from his guitar, which served to pass the time, and gave him a cautious glance.
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“It'll be fine,” Koichi said. “Things are settling down now, the vampires know not to come near here for food. Those who remain are those who belong to one of the Clans. There's an agreement not to touch humans wearing the collar of a rival clan, and nobody in my clan would hurt a man under my protection. Not even father, not without reason.”
“So what, you put a collar on me like a pet dog?” I demanded.
“I knew you would get angry,” Koichi complained. “I'm trying to be nice.”
“Let's go for a walk,” I decided. These walls were beginning to drive me insane. Smiling Koichi retrieved the collar, and two leather arm guards for my lower arms. Having bite scars on my neck, and both wrists, I knew perfectly well why these had been provided to me. Should a vampire try to bite me, they would soon learn that I was protected by the Meji clan.
I picked up the collar first, a thick strip of black leather with the engraving of a winged heart in the centre. Pink lace decorated the edges, a personal touch from Koichi perhaps? I let him help me into it, surprised that it felt more like a choker than anything else once on.
The arm guards were the same in style, though there was extra engraving on the leather including a small K near the very bottom. I had been marked as his property, and I had done so willingly.
He took my hand firmly in his own, and we walked towards the front door and a cursing Meto leapt up from the sofa. He knew exactly what the collar meant, as well as Koichi's intentions. I expected him to put an instant ban on us leaving, instead he stalked behind us, extra protection from harm.
“The park is kind of depressing now,” Koichi apologised, “But it's better than the streets.”
“Let's go to the park,” I agreed quickly. I can see a human corpse down the street, abandoned and rotting on a park bench. The shop on the corner, that used to sell bikes, had been looted and vandalised, and not a single person was in sight. It's glaringly obvious that an apocalypse had happened, and I don't want to be reminded of it. Or hang out with the vermin that had grown brave enough to leave the sewers.
The park was, as Koichi promised, better. We walked around the small lake, spotting sleeping ducks among the reeds. A pack of wild dogs ran in the distance, most still wearing collars that reminded me of my own. They had been people's pets, now they were feral.
It was our second circuit of the lake when we saw the vampire. As Koichi had reassured me, he passed us with only a nod of greeting. I wanted to ask who he was, what clan he was, why he was here. I stayed silent, enjoying the false freedom and the fresh air.
We took a seat on some park benches, far away from the rotting rubbish in one of the bins, and silently enjoyed the night. I couldn't guess what Koichi was thinking, though Meto's face read that he thought this was a terrible idea. I merely thought of what could have been. A different reality where Koichi and I could have sat here, without knowing what had happened to the people.
A rustling in the bushes caught our attention, and Meto was on the watcher in an instant. I had no idea vampires could move so fast, it makes me glad I never tried to run. A man is dragged out of the bushes, and I recognise him from my old office.
“Tai? Is that you?” I call, even as Meto strengthened his hold on the man. This is the first time I've seen a living human in weeks, it makes me forget that I don't even like him.
“MiA?” Tai asked. I nodded, studying his dirty clothes, unwashed hair and stubble that was closer to a beard. This could have been me, I thought, for the first time relieved that my choices had brought me comfort. I had been lucky, insanely so. Meto sniffs the man's neck, and I realised in an instant that if I say nothing, this man is going to die.
“He's an old friend,” I begin to explain to Koichi, even as Meto shakes his head and branches end the man's life. “You killed him!”
“It's the better way,” Koichi replied with a shrug. I felt tears falling down my cheeks as I ran to Tai's side. Had I been living in denial? These vampires were monsters, how had I forgotten that?
“You could have taken him in,” I protested, “Meto could have had him. He didn't need to die.”
“He was dead before we came,” Meto snarled, “His blood was bad.”
“Bad?” I repeated.
“Leukaemia,” Meto replied, stepping away from the body without a second glance. “The hospitals are gone, his options were a slow painful death, or to end his suffering now. Don't you dare accuse the Prince of being a monster, oh yes I can see you thinking it. This is the world we live in now, his only choice.”
“His only choice,” I replied, but I can't argue any further. Meto is right. With the walk ruined we returned home. Koichi made no effort to touch me that night. It was for the best, I have no idea how he would react if I rejected his advances. In all our time together, I never did.
I couldn't stay mad at Koichi for long, he was clearly feeling bad about upsetting me, if not by what he had done. He took to giving me gifts ever night. Some were small, like a flower picked from a park, whilst others consisted mainly of jewellery and clothes. It was the night he gave me a guitar of my own that I told him to stop trying to treat me. He couldn't buy, or steal, my happiness, though that guitar had certainly helped.
“What then?” Koichi asked, clearly frustrated, “What can make you stop looking at me with judging eyes.”
“I'm not looking at you with judging eyes!” I protested. “I swear Koichi.”
“You're my Princess, I want to make you happy,” Koichi complained. I knew him well enough to know that his pain didn't come from the same source as my own. Perhaps he was sad his treat was ruined, or that the incident had damaged our relationship, he certainly didn't care that he had killed a man in cold blood.
“I have an idea,” I suddenly announced, “Of something we could do together, that nobody could ruin for us.”
“I'm listening,” Koichi said, a grin covering his face as I explain to him my idea. He ran out to the shops in an instance, leaving me an hour or so in front of the mirror to remove the hints of sadness from my appearance. Life was terrible now, and I didn't have the option to sulk about it.
Koichi returned with all the things we needed, locking me in the bathroom as he bleached and dyed my hair. I'd always had it blond, but the black roots were beginning to show and it was time for a change. Once the dye was on my hair, I helped Koichi dye his own black roots with his usual pink dye. Once done his hair was as perfect as the day we had first met, and mine now had flashes of violet among the blond. It was longer than I would have liked now, falling just past my shoulders, but cutting it wouldn't have pleased Koichi at all.
Whilst in the shower Koichi had helped me remove any traces of unwanted hair. I liked to keep my body as hairless as possible, growing it only on my head and trimming it neatly in more private areas, but I had learnt over the last few weeks that Koichi liked removing the hair for me. It was one of the many things that weren't worth arguing over. During my weeks here I had quickly learnt the happier Koichi was, the happier I was in return.
In the bedroom he painted my nails with the same violet as my hair, curled my hair and applied make-up to my face. A little jewellery and a dress later he was showing his Princess off to a bemused Meto.
“This was your idea?” Meto asked, laughing in my face as I told him it was. He points out Koichi had forgotten shoes, and he runs out to find some in an instant. It was then that Meto's smile faltered, and he watched me with a critical eye. “You've learnt to control his moods.”
“Isn't that better for both of us?” I asked. There's no point denying it, all of this had been to distract Koichi and make him smile.
“Yes,” Meto agreed, “Depending on how you use your power. I'll be watching you MiA, I'm not as hard to fool as our dear friend.”
“How would I use this power, other than to make him happy?” I demanded. “You fear I'll turn him against you?”
“Impossible,” Meto scolded. “But yes, you could easily bend Koichi's will now. He adores you, it's not healthy for him, but I dare not warn him. You will say nothing of this, I will deny ever saying a word.”
“You think this whole arrangement is wrong, don't you?” I asked. Meto after all had been the one encouraging Koichi to let me go.
“It's decadent, but it is what it is.” Meto answered. “He's always been like this you know, for sixty years I have been by his side. Before you ask, he was my creator.”
“I guessed as much,” I admitted. I long so badly to ask more, but I've learnt not to. “Can I ask a question, or will you rip out my throat?”
“We both know I can't hurt you,” Meto replied, “If you cross me however, I have my ways to manipulate Koichi into ripping out your pretty throat himself.”
“I'll take that as a yes,” I decided, “But you don't need to answer. Only, if vampire's are so selfish, what is it that you want?”
“I want his power,” Meto answered, surprising me with his honest answer. “He has magic, and I want to know how. One day perhaps I'll learn his secret, but only if I prove myself to him. On top of that, by serving Koichi the way I do I've learnt I can manipulate him. As you realise, it's not hard. I protect him from others, of course, and wish him no harm myself. So tell me MiA, for a man who wants power, why wouldn't I serve a Prince?”
“It's more than that,” I found myself adding, “You like him, he's your friend.”
“The affections of a human, never change once that human dies,” Meto answered. “Now answer my question; as a human, as selfish as they are, what do you want?”
“I want to go back,” I admited, “To before.” he nods, my sentiments clearly something Meto agrees on. The Meji Clan hadn't wanted an apocalypse, like myself Meto missed the simplicity of before. “It's impossible, so I stay here. At first it was about survival, then I got used to the comfort.”
“Now?” Meto asked. “You have no desire?”
“I have desires,” I corrected, “I want him. His love, his attention, his affection, everything he has to offer, I want. I will keep him happy, don't you worry about it. My happiness rests very much upon his own.”
“It seems MiA,” Meto began, “That at long last we have come to an understanding.”
“It seems that way,” I agree. Smiling shyly at the vampire who had once scared me so badly. I wondered, as I pretended to watch TV with him, if he would protect me should something happen to Koichi. I can't help but think he just might.