Koudai sat down on a tree stump, turning to face Tomoya, who currently looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. It keeps playing in my mind , over and over and over…
A crushing weight on Tomoya’s chest, jagged claws digging into his flesh.
A piercing scream, ringing out through the forest, making Tomoya’s heart pound.
The weight being torn off of him, claws ripping out of his flesh, the lovely sound of Koudai’s desperate screams intermixed with the feral’s.
“Tomoya?”
Koudai’s sweet smile, blood dripping down his face, his eyes glowing red through the night…
“Tomoya!”
Tomoya’s head jerked upward, a cold hand gripping onto his wrist. He was staring into the dark eyes of their newest companion, his dark eyes boring into Tomoya’s soul. Saburo, was that his name? He looks young, too young Poor thing...
“I...I just wanted to say hello. And thank you, I guess? For not throwing me out, that is.” Subaru bit his lip, a small trickle of blood flowing down his chin.
Koudai crawled over, resting a hand on the youngest vampire’s shoulder. “You don’t have to say thanks. It’s just nice to see a fellow vampire who hasn’t gone completely mad, so we had to snap you up as soon as possible.” He forced a chuckle from his lips.
Subaru looked up. “Vampire?”
Kuina looked from where he was trying to drown his shirt in the river. “Yeah, vampire . Can’t go out in the sun. Have to drink human blood. Get gnarly red eyes when we get pissed. Honestly, it’s-”
“Who says gnarly these days?” Both Koudai and Tomoya looked at each other, their mouths open.
“Okay, you two have to stop doing that. It’s creepy.” Kuina sighed. “Hasegawa-kun, by the way, your shirt’s kinda…” He made a gesture with his hands.
Tomoya grabbed his shirt, seeing an explosion of blood soaking the white fabric. “Oh, oh yeah, I was going to wash it, just…” He gave an awkward smile.
Koudai glanced at his boyfriend out of the corner of his eye. Later. Away from those two.
“Uhhh…”
Koudai stood up. “Oh! Explanation! Right.” He grabbed Tomoya’s hand, forcing him to stand up. “So, I’m Yamashita Koudai-” He gestured to Kuina- “That’s No Family Name Kuina-” he raised Tomoya’s hand in the air- “And this is Hasegawa Tomoya. My boyfriend.”
Tomoya’s stomach twisted when Subaru gripped his hand so tightly he felt it might break. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuc-
“Oh, it’s not-I’m not homophobic or anything- I’m gay! ” Subaru blurted out, a bruise-colored blush spreading across his face.
The grove went silent, the only noises being the sounds of animal’s heartbeats and the rush of running water. Fuck, I forgot he’s got those freaky telepathic powers. Oh god, this is so embarrassing, Jesus Christ I hope he doesn’t find out-
“Sorry!” Subaru grabbed Tomoya’s other hand, yanking him downwards. “I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything, it’s just-”
He’s scared. He’s scared and young and doesn’t know what’s going on and he latched on to the first thing that seemed normal.
Tomoya nodded. “Yeah.” I know.
The grove went silent again as the three vampires sat down, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Tomoya’s mind refused to stop twisting. His life, after being kidnapped and changed into a fucking vampire (fuck he still can’t get over that) had been at least regular, at least safe in its own fucked-up way, until this, this poor kid who’s apparently the only other vampire who hasn’t gone completely mad, who’s so fucking terrified and doesn’t have anyone else to-
Kuina cleared his throat. “This is all very charming, but I really want to talk to our new acquisition about a few things.”
Subaru suddenly clung to Tomoya, slender fingers digging into the older vampire’s chest. Could you not touch me right there ? Koudai walked over, running his fingers through Subaru’s hair, a quiet smile on his face.
He’s so sweet when he smiles like that. Subaru hummed under Koudai’s touch, the red-haired vampire gently guiding Subaru to a sitting position, an adorable smile on the blond’s face. I wish that were me.
“Hey, Subaru?” Tomoya sat down next to his boyfriend, Subaru curled up in Koudai’s arms. “I know you’re probably freaked out, but Kuina isn’t going to eat you or anything like that. We aren’t ferals.”
Subaru said something in a quiet voice.
Koudai stopped humming. “Sorry, I didn’t hear that.”
The blond vampire looked up from Koudai’s arms. “What are ferals?”
Kuina walked over to the small group, clearing his throat. “Ferals...they’re like zombie vampires. You know how even after we’ve turned-” Subaru audibly swallowed at the mention of turning- “we’re still like ourselves, we still think like people and not monsters ?”
Subaru nodded.
“Ferals are vampires who don’t do that. They’ve gone completely insane with bloodlust and they can’t be reasoned with.”
“How...how many ferals are there?”
Tomoya couldn’t help himself, laughter bubbling out of his stomach, Kuina joining in. Subaru looked around, confused.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
Koudai smiled. “It’s just…”
“You’re pretty much the first sane vampire we’ve found in a while.” Tomoya blurted out, Subaru staring at him in shock.
Uhhh… “Well, it’s true. I haven’t seen any vampire that isn’t either a feral or in Kisaki’s pocket since…” Since I met Kuina. Tomoya fidgeted with his shirt hem.
“Oh.” Subaru sighed. “Why are there so many of them?”
Koudai snickered under his breath. “Who knows? I’m guessing it’s the bloodlust, you know. If you don’t have something to hold onto, it drives you mad.”
Mad indeed, Tomoya thought, his mind delving back into the images of his own turning-
Tight, tight, his body twisting and contorting, begging for his limbs to snap so that it could end, he could hear it, every second he swore he could hear the snap of bones or the pop of joints, but it never did happen-
Thirst, thirst, his throat wouldn’t stop burning, his body was being torn, flayed, every cell, every bone, every muscle crying out for relief-
That lovely sweetness, mixing together with a rich scent and the heady rush of pain going away, the sensation nearly orgasmic-
“ Tomoya! ”
Tomoya’s body jerked back into reality, Koudai clutching his hand.
“Sorry...I just...turning.” Koudai nodded, his eyes clouding with understanding.
“Ummm…” Subaru shifted in Koudai’s arms.
Kuina sighed. “If you have anything to say, spit it out now.”
“Where...Where are we?”
Kuina rolled his eyes. “Fuck if I know. Somewhere in the forest?”
“What Kuina means to say-” Koudai shot the purple-haired vampire a sharp glare- “is that we don’t know where we are.”
Subaru slumped down into Koudai’s arms, tugging at Tomoya’s heart. Oh, poor thing. “So…”
Koudai turned around. “So what?”
“So why aren’t we trying to...you know...escape?”
“Seriously?”
Everyone turned around to see Kuina standing up, his gaze fixed on Tomoya. “ That’s- ” He pointed to Tomoya’s blood-soaked shirt- “The reason why.”
Subaru turned to Tomoya, his eyes raking down Tomoya’s shirt, soaked in blood. Bugs squirmed under Tomoya’s skin, the vampire frozen in Subaru’s gaze. “Oh.”
Tomoya’s stomach twisted. “I...uh...we tried to sneak our way out of the forests and-
Claws tearing through his skin, high-pitched giggling, a wet tongue wriggling around inside his chest -
Kuina took over. “Yeah, one of Kisaki’s self-appointed border guards got him.”
“Border guards?”
Koudai turned to face Subaru. “There’s a group of vampires who are loyal to Kisaki, they’re like his-”
“Harem.”
Tomoya snickered under his breath, the tightness in his chest releasing at Kuina’s words.
Subaru looked up, his expression strangely amazed. “Harem? You mean that some people actually-” He wrinkled his nose in disgust, causing Koudai to laugh and Tomoya’s chest to tighten. Cute. Cute. So cute.
Kuina stifled a grin. “Yeah, apparently, some of us poor unfortunate souls decided that they were suddenly going to start fucking some failed drag queen with a shitty haircut.”
Tomoya leaned in further, his chest starting to lighten. “Don’t insult drag queens like that!”
Koudai giggled, resting his head on Tomoya’s chest. It’s nice to see you relax for once. The moonlight was illuminating Koudai’s soft features, the smudged makeup, his eyes shining like a predator’s. The redhead nestled closer, making Tomoya sigh. Finally. Finally, we’re safe.
Subaru suddenly jolted up, his eyes wide like a prey animal, muttering something under his breath.
Kuina whipped around to face him. “What?”
“Something’s coming! It’s angry!”