One Step Ahead of the Devil 3

[snoozing_kitten]

Two more rooms filled with nothing but gloom and the stench of long-dead bodies and he caught up to Ryo. The other man pressing forward relentlessly. “Does it still hurt?” He still felt guilty about it.

“What?” Koyama assumed Ryo must have been giving him a look so he tried to look sincere, Ryo could see him at least.

“Where I burned you.” There was a child-like giggle at that and Koyama barely repressed the urge to look around again. The last three times had turned up nothing, he highly doubted there was anything to see now either.

“No.” Ryo said, voice oddly strained. Maybe it did hurt? Witches were capable of doing considerable damage to vampires. The two races had played a millennium long game of tag, killing and slaughtering each other without consideration for the lives lost back and forth. Something about opposite wave-lengths of energy that just made them seem particularly deadly. “We can talk later. So not the time.”

Koyama made a face, but gamely pressed on, right, probably not the right time for a talk.

The next room flickered under his light, things that were long gone showing like the shadows in the corners of his eyes there and then gone when he tried to look straight at it. He got the impression of a bedroom, wooden cross hanging over the bed. The bed itself was now nothing more than dips worn into the hardwood floor from where it had been but the sheets had been white. A body maybe in the bed, too big to be a child, round and thick, the swell of a stomach pushing the bedding upwards, then it was gone again.

“I don’t like this place.” Koyama said softly.

“It feels weird.” Ryo agreed. “Is this the place?”

“I don’t think so.” The pitter-patter of feet ran down the hall behind him, shrieks of laughter fading down the hall the way they had been going before. “But something bad happened here. No doubt about that.”

“I can taste it.” Ryo turned and ushered Koyama ahead of him out of the room shutting the door behind them as if to lock whatever was in there inside. “Don’t let anything else crawl in your head.” Ryo warned sternly.

Koyama nodded making a small sound. Whatever happened in that room felt sick. It had brushed against his shields in those few seconds like cob webs trying to pull him in beckoning and desperate. What more horrors could one place hold?

“Are you coming to play with me? I’m so very bored.” The little girl was back, shining in the darkness ahead of them, malicious smile on an angelic face. “All of the others are going to love you.”

Then she flickered out like a burnt bulb. Koyama blinked away the negative image and found Ryo pressing into his personal space again.

“Stop zoning out.” Ryo hissed, Koyama could imagine the worried little frown between his eyebrows that he’d been giving him all evening.

“Sorry, we’re close I think.” He touched Ryo’s elbow and felt the other man lean into the contact for a brief moment then it was gone and they were moving again.

As soon as he saw the door he knew that this was it, this was where they were waiting for him. There was a body propped against the wall, its brains splattered out behind its lolling head like a red halo. But that wasn’t what was important; it was the series of dirty fingerprints left at about chest height all across the surface of the door. They looked like they were burned, charred into the wood itself.

“Can you see those?” Koyama nodded at the door.

“See what?” Ryo said simply. Answering his question quite obviously.

“I think we’re here.”

“Are you ready?” Ryo slipped back, the snik-click-clicking noise of him double checking the clip in his gun.

“Yes.” Well not really. Koyama checked the clip in his gun, the sudden surge of adrenaline helping with the lead weight of his hands. It helped clear his head, something whispering to him, telling him to go sit beside the body just close his eyes for a few seconds and everything would be okay. Trying to hide the way his fingers trembled and refused to co-operate with him long numbed by a cold that only he could feel.

Part of him wanted to be selfless, the way he knew he should be and tell Ryo to leave him because there was no way he was going to be able to do anything once they got in there, he was half-way done for already. Yet he was terrified, knew that with the vampire at his side that there was a slim chance that they could do this.

Like being trapped back on the roof scared, but not alone.

Before he could say anything the door creaked open as if it had been waiting for his indecision. Looks like they were out of time.

Ryo moved to go first and Koyama all but stumbled over his feet to keep up with him, unwilling to leave the other man on his own. It was the room with all the double bunk beds, long and narrow, a high vaulted ceiling. Before his eyes the walls melted and dripped displaying childish drawings along the walls. Someone had scratched words into all the plaster in the one clear spot between two begs, the lines cut over and over as if done by many over time.

I don’t want to play. write in messy scrawling hand writing.

“Okay. Now I see it.” Ryo snarled and the air around him seemed to shiver, it slipped across Koyama’s skin in a comforting balm, his power unfolding from his small body as he dropped the last pretence of humanity. While witches learned to build delicately woven shields around themselves, vampires used raw power to push things out.

“Hard to miss.” His own voice squeaked, the air thinning in his chest.

“You came back.” A hundred voices speaking at once, all layered on top of each other it tore through his ears almost painfully. The very air shook around him, and it felt like needles against his skin, pressing against the backs of his eyes. Everything hurt all at once like someone had grabbed his whole nervous system and just pulled. Koyama sucked a quick breath through his teeth to stop from crying out.

“Had to.” Koyama gasped, Ryo took a step closer to him, enough so they their shoulders bumped.

“You brought your pet too, I wonder if he tastes good?”

The creature speaking was a giant ball of flesh, hovering as it dripped thick globs of congealed blood into a growing pool on the floor. The stink of blood, piss and terror was thick in the air. Faces peeked at him with glittering eyes from between fingers and the curve of elbows and knees. Mouths displaying hungry teeth, all gnashing and clicking or grinding and in the front of the chaos one recognizable face of a little girl. It looked as though all the bodies had been jammed together without thought of form or function.

It was the tortured souls given a physical form, he could feel it the moment it touched his mind. Breaking through the walls easily given the link he’d let inside. It was splitting him open and leaving him raw, the crack of his ribs giving and the searing pain of his own skin being flayed from his bones as he took in a tortured breath.

“Do you like it?” He was surrounded by children all of them looking at him with wide expectant eyes shifting eagerly, Ryo was long gone. Dreaming, he had to be dreaming.

“Stop. Please.” Koyama gasped, hadn’t realized that at some point he had fallen to his knees so he was at their height. “It hurts.”

“Of course it does.” The girl who seemed to be in charge giggled. “That was how we felt when we died.”

“No.” The pain was endless, making him gasp desperately for each breath teetering on the edge of consciousness and a yawning inviting blackness.

“We came here because we had nowhere else to go.” The girl laughed. “Then he would play with us. It always hurt so much.” Koyama sobbed, trying to pull his scattered wits about him, they were closing in on him with tiny hands curled into hooked claws.

“No.”

“Then he killed us when he got bored with us.” He could see it, so many kids over so many years, a home for children with no family was the perfect place for a serial murderer and child molester to reside. So much anger and pain seeped into one place like blood that wouldn’t wash out. He wouldn’t be surprised if the bones were still here, packed into the walls or into the floor, this much rage in one spot would need a hell of a focus.

“Keiichiro.” For a moment the pain was even worse, he hadn’t through it was possible, but there it was. He faded, everything going hot and then cold as he slipped from consciousness, just the impression of them closing in, covering him and piling on top. Buried alive in cold dead flesh.

When Koyama opened his eyes it was to shrieking, unearthly demonic shrieking. He was lying on the wet floor, and everything was blurry from the wetness in his eyes. His head hurt so badly he thought that it might be broken somehow, his ribs hurt when he breathed and he felt like he had drained every last bit of energy left in his body. It was hard to keep his eyes open.

There was a snarl, almost a howl and the ground shook as the creature slammed Ryo into the floor, children’s eyes wide and blinking as the arms all flailed and twitched. Ryo rolled out of the way as the ground split beneath an invisible hand. He rolled to his feet with supernatural grace, leaping back even as he pressed his arm to his rib cage protectively.

He tried to speak but the effort was too much, still it turned to look at him as if it had heard the words he intended, grotesque and bloated. “No, over here.” Ryo’s voice was thick and deep, slurred from speaking through his elongated teeth.

They went another round, Ryo moving around like he was dancing, batting its many hands away but he seemed unwilling to hit it. The world lurched and Koyama fought to keep his eyes open even as his head swam. Where had Ryo’s gun gone? For that matter where had Koyama’s?

Ryo went flying and hit one of the beds sending the whole mass skidding and bumping into the bed next to it, metal scraping against the floor. Ryo groaned from the dark corner he had been tossed into, a low pained sound. Koyama struggled to get up, everything hurt, getting into a sitting position took all the energy he had. It was impossible to get to his feet. The gun was still in his hand, realized it when it squished his finger as he pushed himself up-right. His hands were mostly numb and he actually hadn’t noticed.

“I know what happened to you.” He croaked, voice the consistency of nails on a chalkboard. The monster floated towards him, huge and menacing and unstoppable, if it heard him it didn’t care. “I know how much it hurt.” His voice cracked, breath coming in shallow gasps. For a moment his vision greyed out and he was hit with the realization that he was dying, not maybe about to die, but the energy had been drained from him, and his heart was beating through stubbornness alone and it was only a matter of minutes. The sudden coldness was shock setting in. This was his death in a dingy church for the second time and there was no one else to save him, it was in his head and leeching his life away. “You know what? Fuck you.”

He thought he heard Ryo snort with inappropriate laughter, but everything was fuzzy at this point. His hand was heavy, and his aim was shaky, but the target was huge and baring down on him too fast. With a steady hand and a strong link to the very last dregs of his strength he took aim and pulled the trigger. For a moment it was like nothing moved, like he’d clicked empty or missed in that last critical moment. He wasn’t even breathing, as he felt the bullet tear trough his own heart infusing it with magic, pure magic, couldn’t even pull enough strength to cast a spell just throw energy at her unblinking eyes.

He watched long enough to witness the bullet splatter her innocent face, exploding one of her eyes on contact. The whole side of her face was blown away. Then his vision washed out completely, he might have heard screaming and more shots and then he knew nothing.

~~

Ryo’s… well Ryo’s everything was bruised. That last toss had made him pull on the burn on his chest and that hurt too. A reminder at least of what he was fighting for, and it had little to do with the protection of humanity, and a little more to do with how Koyama made him desperate and alive in ways he couldn’t explain. He pulled himself out from behind the bed in time to hear Koyama’s words. He laughed, blinked a few times because blood and sweat were dripping into his eyes and making the room blur alarmingly.

Then there was a shot, and a shriek, Ryo was scrambling over the bed, seeing an opening, his gun laying where it had been knocked from him on the floor on the other side of the room. Watched Koyama fall and tried to bite back on the panic when he felt Koyama’s power fading from the room, the hand print on his chest burning and throbbing (a little deeper and it could have burned out his heart leaving him dead for real). Instead of going around it he pushed off the floor and vaulted over the creature feet skidding on the ground as he landed just on the other side of his gun. Stooped to pick it up and fired off three shots in rapid succession.

Shige helped boost Massu into an open window, darkness was falling all around them and his heart beat too hard watching his assistant crawl over the sill and vanish into the yawning darkness of the old church. He waited, completely aware that he couldn’t feel evil the way that the other could feel it, but still feeling his skin crawl like something watching him from a distance. It was a humid night, the monsoon rains not helping enough to keep the humidex down. It felt like hours, his heart beating too fast and adrenaline slowing time down, worry for Massu, for Koyama tearing up his stomach from the inside out.

“Hey.” The window next to him opened and Shige barely managed to bite back on the urge to scream. It was Massu, a smear of dust on his cheek and a small smile for him, as if he knew just how freaked out Shige was. In fact Massu did, mostly people thought he was kind of dumb because he didn’t speak much. In reality he just didn’t’ really like to talk, all the better to observe and catalogue, that and it was painfully obvious the older man was terrified. "Come on." He helped Shige crawl through the lower window and over the threshold.

It smelled really really bad, like, well like bodies left to rot in a hot enclosed space for days. It would be awhile before Massu could eat meat comfortably again after some of the things he had seen in the hallway. The smell was another issue entirely. Shige was still scrambling in through the open window when a shot went off, muffled from somewhere to the left. They looked at each other, worry suddenly pounding fast and hard. That was all the motivation he needed to get the rest of the way in the window.

They took off in the direction the noise had come and Shige tried really hard not to look at any of the bodies piled around the old hallways and rooms. Those had all been people, dead or missing already, happy bright people trapped between life and death and unable to do anything to assuage the hunger that quashed all ability for rational thought. Together they skidded through the halls, Massu who was faster in front and Shige bringing up the rear. He prayed to every god he knew that his vision had not come to pass. The future wasn't set in stone and maybe they had managed to change something.

Ryo jumped out of the way as soon as he felt the air displace, he couldn't see it but he could feel just before it hit, sometimes giving him enough time to get out of the way. It was slowing, melting it seemed, still lashing out at him but with less power. Whatever Koyama had done seemed to be working. He couldn't afford to be distracted, and he needed to keep its attention on him because the other man was still lying limp and crumpled, but couldn't help the worry. He dodged again, running straight into something invisible and solid, it tossed him against the wall and his ribs screamed with fire, something had snapped in that last attack. It was turning, staring at him with ruined faces. He took aim and fired randomly into its bloated body, both shots exploded with gore, ripping through flesh but it gave no indication of feeling it. Still its movements were slowing and bigger pieces were sloughing off, falling with sick plops to the floor under it.

The two idiots came barrelling in through the door and it turned towards them. There were two panicked shouts, Shige's eyes going wide as he slid across a floor slick with blood and went down hard on his side, Massu managed to keep his balance but just barely. He swallowed hard, tanned face going completely white.

"Over here." Ryo cried, shooting his last three rounds into the center mass, and it swung back to him lazily. More pieces were cracking and falling, it was breaking apart and he only needed to keep it busy. Well he hoped because there wasn't anything else Ryo could do, and he highly doubted the seer and his pet would be any help at this point. "Get him out of here." He shouted.

Koyama was still curled in a heap and Shige was crawling towards him when it attacked again. Shige was flung away like a carelessly thrown doll and he knocked into Massu taking down his tenuous balance and the two of them hit the wood hard as they fell. Ryo didn't have the time to check if they were okay, shouting and waving his arms until it was looking at him again. It wobbled in the air, dipping suddenly as a large piece broke off and landed with a wet squelch, the center of the room had become a mess of body parts and thick rotten blood. It was slick under his feet, the tread of his boots sliding as he carefully circled it, keeping all the attention on him. He was wondering about his chances if he rushed it when it let out an unholy shriek and split in half.

~~

Koyama was floating, there were voices all around him, soft childish voices. He thought he could taste chocolate too, and smell prayer smoke. He tried to open his eyes but found there was nothing there so he closed them again. Waste of energy, he needed to try and stay awake. "Why won't you just die?" It was the girl, her skull shattered and speaking to him through broken teeth. He tried to close his eyes before realizing that they were already closed. "You should be dead by now." She sounded accusing.

"I have no interest in dying." He replied, voice thin and reedy and unfamiliar to even his own ears.

"Why not? It makes the hurting stop." Such a simple and childish answer.

"I've got stuff to do." He didn't want to die. He wanted to see his mother and his sister. He didn't want to die cold and forgotten in this cursed church.

"What kind of stuff?"

"Adult stuff." He laughed weakly. "Why don't you leave?"

"I just want to eat and I want to play." She looked like she was going to say something else when her mouth opened and all that came out was a screech. Koyama winced, watched as her body was ripped in half by unseen hands, felt flecks of blood and bone splash against his face. Her presence was gone from his mind, the oppressive cloak and pain and fear that had been clouding his mind was finally lifted.

His chest hurt, too much of his life siphoned away, his heart was beating too hard. Could almost feel his blood pressure dropping. Would have laughed if he had the energy.

~~

Shige was freaking out. That much was obvious from the pallor of his skin and the too-wide look in his eyes. He was touching Koyama all over, hands in his hair and down his face as Massu took his pulse. "Is he okay?" Ryo limped over to them, bloody and bruised but victorious.

"I can't find his future." Shige almost wailed and Ryo's world stopped.

"His pulse is shallow." Massu added, not really looking any better. "I think he's dying."

"No." Anger and frustration snapped in Ryo's stomach. "I've looked for you for too long." He was kneeling and shoving Shige out of the way without regard for the other. Shige stumbled and caught his hand in some chunk of flesh, it made a sick squelching sound. "I can save him." Ryo stated flatly.

"No." Shige scrambled back, smeared in blood and gore. "If you do that his family will never accept him."

"He is the healer. And he is going to die if we don't do something." Ryo snarled, close to losing his temper on the humans. Shige shivered as Ryo's power whipped through the room like a storm, he couldn't really feel it but it made the small hairs on his arms stand up, a sensation of something pressing against him. The instinctive terror of standing before a predator.

"Can you take some of my energy?" Massu asked quietly.

"Probably." Ryo shrugged, it wasn't like he ran around saving a lot of witches, most of them wanted him dead and he was more than happy to return the favour.

"Well, do it."

"Massu!" Shige looked alarmed, but didn't move to stop them when Ryo took Massu's arm and made a long cut with the small knife he pulled from its sheath. The smell of fresh blood filled his senses, he could feel the warmth and life pulsing just right there, so different from the death all around them. Massu flinched but didn’t make a sound, going tense and biting down hard on his bottom lip.

He lapped at the cut delicately; less interested in the blood then the power behind it, life and energy seeping into him from the other man. He licked and sucked on the cut until he could feel it start to knit through his body infusing him with renewed energy. Massu was looking rather uncomfortable when he stopped and Shige was faintly green but there wasn't anything he could do about that. When he let go of the other man's arm he snatched it back against himself wrapping the cut with his shirt looking everywhere but at him.

Koyama looked pale as death, unmoving and breathing rapid and shallow. Ryo took his palm and instead of making a cut he tore into it with his teeth, it was messy but more effective. The taste hit him first, hot and warm and the sweetest thing he could imagine, like spun-sugar flowers and sunlight, Ryo closed his eyes against it and tried to pour his own life into the other man. It wasn't as easy as drawing out life to give it back. Ryo had never been one for the gentle touch and he silently apologized as he more or less shoved life back into Koyama's body.

It was impossible to tell how long it took; Ryo had his eyes closed and was so completely focused on the faint feeling of his mind trying to reach out to Koyama's, their connection glowing between them so bright that it hurt. Well actually it hurt to rip the energy from his own body draining as much as he could into Koyama. Something stuttered and clicked, almost like a car turning over, flaring between them. He sat back, feeling heavy but full of pride.

"That's all I can do." He said, throat tight, Shige was sitting against the door stop and watching him with narrowed dark eyes, the kid was gone.

"Is he okay?"

"Dunno." Ryo ripped the bottom of his shirt, well Koyama's shirt but he was wearing, to tie around the wound on his wrist. It was probably the only clean spot on the whole shirt. "Where is the piggy?"

"Eh?" Shige blinked and looked around. "You mean Massu?"

"Whatever." Ryo smiled thinly, and Shige glared at him.

"He's getting things ready, we are going to burn this place down."

"That'll do it." Koyama said too softly barely a whisper, Shige tripping over himself as he tried to get to the other man's side, and Ryo pulled him closer in his arms. Shige's hand slipped in the pool of blood and he recognized his vision, almost sobbing with delight. "We need to get rid of this place." He continued like he wasn't lying in a puddle of someone else's blood too weak to do any more then speak.

"Shh." Ryo brushed his hair from his face leaving a smear of something wet on his cheek and Koyama made a face at him.

Between the two of them Shige and Ryo managed to get Koyama on his feet and more or less dragged him outside of the building. No one was really sad to see it go, the smell of death clinging to everything, and the faintest feeling of eyes watching, hands tugging at you, begging 'please don't go'. Koyama was sitting on an old blanket in Shige's car, probably still getting everything dirty, watching Shige and Massu through narrowed eyes. Like a guard dog Ryo never left his side, just sat exhausted and watching them as well, quiet and triumphant.

Massu went into the church once more and Koyama's heart beat funny for a moment, scared that maybe this wasn't the end. Like something more could possibly happen at this point. Massu emerged a moment later, looking faintly amused, the entire box of matches he had gone in with gone.

"We should go." He said definitively. “The fire is going to big and we really should be gone.”

"Yeah." Shige agreed. "I'll take you back to the shrine?" Now Shige was looking at him eyes wide, dirty and bruised. Koyama shook his head with a smile, realizing belatedly that if he had died in there Shige would have been more then guilty, maybe they were actually friends after all.

"I want to go home." He would need another shower and to sleep. It seemed too familiar. He watched Ryo out of the corner of his eyes; the vampire looked dead on his feet. Koyama managed to bite back a slightly hysterical laugh at the stray thought.

When they stopped at his building it was the middle of the night and no one was about which was probably for the best because they looked like they had been rolling in medical waste. Ryo got out first and propped him up as they staggered towards his door like a pair of drunks. Shige had tried to stop him, but his mouth had snapped shut with a click when Ryo had snarled at him. Massu was mostly quiet, but Koyama heard him tell Shige that he just wanted a bath as they were leaving. He definitely earned one at this point.

"You going to shower with me again?" Koyama tried to look flirty but probably didn't manage it given that Ryo needed to hold him up. Like a really trashy date.

"If you can do it on your own, you are welcome to try." Ryo smirked at him faintly.

He probably had a point there.

Together they somehow got Koyama out of his clothes, an entire hamper that now probably needed to be burned, the thought alone made him tired. He was leaning against the wall of the shower letting it beat down on his head when Ryo joined him, all naked and sleek. Koyama cracked an eye open to look at the sodden vampire, there were bruises and long gashes all over his body. Most prominent was a burn mark on his chest in the shape of Koyama's palm the edges puffy, red and sore looking.

"Hi." Koyama said rather dumbly. Ryo just grinned at him, the water quickly making his wild black hair flatten against his head. The water ran pink.

"Hey yourself." Ryo reached past him rubbing their naked skin together in a smooth glide.

"This seems kind of familiar." Koyama gestured vaguely at the shower around them, Ryo himself, the water maybe, or maybe the bits of congealed blood and random matter that was sliding out of his hair and down the drain. The remains of countless people in his bathtub.

"It seems so." Ryo hummed, lathering some shampoo between his palms and reaching up to rub it into Koyama's hair. He had his eyes closed against the soap and it gave him the courage he needed to bring up something that had been bugging him on the drive back.

"You gonna go all growly all over me again?" Not that he objected, but he highly doubted he could get it up if he tried, he was having enough trouble just standing up himself.

"Growly?" Ryo sounded more scandalized then embarrassed and Koyama smiled, tasting soap before he remembered to tilt his head to stop the water from getting in his mouth. "I... no?"

"Hmm." Koyama hummed, trying to decide if that was a pity or not. Ryo was a vampire, but he also seemed to have this uncanny habit of saving his life, that and he was adorable. Good qualities in a man. The silence stretched on long enough that it seemed like the conversation was over and Ryo had nothing more to say on the subject.

"Your energy." Ryo said his voice kind of high, obviously embarrassed. "It is not like anything I have ever felt. Like honey." Koyama opened his eyes a crack, water sticking to his lashes and making everything blurry, but Ryo was looking somewhere over his shoulder looking distinctly uncomfortable face flushed with embarrassment or heat.

"You feel like chocolate." Koyama said simply, and as far as confessions go, that seemed like a good one.

"Oh." the fingers which paused, moved to rub behind his ears and if Koyama wasn't so damn tired he'd probably be about to get laid because that was usually how these things worked. Strong fingers massaging his scalp and the steam from the shower and he was going to fall asleep standing up any second now. "There, all clean." Koyama moved under the direct spray so it could wash the soap from his head, and from the webbing between his fingers and all the other awkward places it got.

Ryo sped through his part of the shower rinsing his hair, careful when he lifted his arms over his own head in a way Koyama hadn't noticed because his eyes had been closed before.

"Are you hurt?"

"I think I broke some of my ribs." When Ryo moved what had at first looked like a series of small bruises was actually a large bruise across his chest and under his arm. It looked painful.

"I can-" Koyama began, but Ryo shook his head, spraying water droplets everywhere.

"It can wait. You need to rest." Ryo shut off the water leaving them in sudden silence, the only sound his own breathing and the faint trickle of water down the dark drain.

"Okay." The truth was Koyama didn't think he could pull himself together enough to heal the other man right now. Still it was only polite to ask.

With Ryo's help they collapsed into bed, Ryo hissing with pain and Koyama trying to sooth him with light brushes of his fingertips. They finally settled with Koyama curled around Ryo's back, pressing his nose against the other man's hair and falling into a deep sleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Koyama didn't dream. Ryo did.

He woke sometime in the late morning and shut the curtains that were letting the morning sun in. Took a piss and grabbed a glass of water before returning to bed, his ribs still ached, every other bump and bruise playing second fiddle to that throbbing pain. His whole body hurt to varying degrees. Koyama moaned, uncurling when he moved back into the room and rolling into the warm spot Ryo left, and Ryo smiled fondly.

He slipped back into the room and gathered the tall man in his arms, pressed his face against his soft skin and inhaled deeply, tasting the air and all the latent power. After so long looking for him, he’d finally found it. He twisted, easing off some of the larger bruises before falling back asleep.

The next time Koyama woke up it was mid-afternoon and his mouth tasted terrible and he really needed to pee so he wiggled out of bed and padded into the bathroom. It smelled of rotting meat and he shivered, kicking the closet door to the hamper closed and made a mental note to deal with that later. He felt so much more alive, like he was seeing in colour again after seeing only shades of black. In the mirror his face was pale from sleep and his hair was sticking up everywhere but he was standing and he gave himself a small smile. There was something to be said about every day he woke up alive, having not been eaten by the living dead or his soul sucked out by the evil dead. Horray indeed.

After brushing his teeth he wandered into the bedroom, his head felt full with too much sleep. Back in the darkened bedroom Ryo was still fast asleep curled under the thin sheet. The bruising on his torso had worsened as they slept, deep purples marring his smooth skin in abstract patterns. Koyama had vague recollections of Ryo being tossed around. Probably would have crushed a normal person, a surge of affection for the one who had stuck by his side.

He touched the wound and felt the pulse of his power reaching out for the injury, finding broken blood vessels and bones. He resisted for a moment, letting the energy back up in his spine resisting the flow. So much flashed through his head at once, resolving itself without answering any question because none of it really mattered. Vampire taint running through his own energy, marking him irrevocably, and he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry.

He pressed finger tips against the smooth skin of one shoulder and focused. It was easy letting his mind sink into Ryo’s like falling off a bicycle easy. Smooth dark chocolate exploding across his brain, and it was so wrong that helping someone would feel this good. He started with the ribs, one broken and two of them cracked. He felt Ryo roll and arch into the touch as the bones knit back together. Infused the damage with a touch of himself with traces of Massu, smoothing over Ryo's skin and mending broken blood vessels, stemming bruises and helping them heal back into his body. There was some internal bruising on his kidneys and liver so Koyama fixed that too.

Part of him was aware of the soft little growling sounds Ryo was making but it seemed unimportant at the moment, tertiary. All of the skin damage closed those long scrapes and deep cuts; all of it. The last thing he healed was the burn on his chest and he could still feel his own energy there, seeped into the wound. When the skin was smooth and clean again he pulled back into himself, immediately missing the feeling of being immersed in the other man's mind.

"Kei." Ryo snarled, and he was rolled, his back pinned to the softness with Ryo straddling his waist even as he took a startled breath. The other man looked hungry. Starving. "You." He said, looking like he wanted to say something more but unable to find the words. Koyama had probably been expecting this, maybe he'd even wanted it. Probably shouldn't. He reached up, cupping the back of Ryo's head, and it wasn't difficult to pull him down, the other man swooping and claiming his lips hard. Koyama brought his other arm up to wrap around Ryo's shoulder pulling him down on top of him, chests rubbing together in a slow glide of naked skin.

Ryo kissed him like he wanted to crawl inside of him and live there, slick wetness and the faintest press of teeth as the shorter man tried to push him into the bed with the slender weight of his body. He could taste the faintly sour note of Ryo’s morning breath, but Koyama had had Ryo's come all over his skin, in the bigger picture a little taste of morning was nothing he couldn't handle. He was hard against Koyama's stomach already, not kidding about how Koyama's healing powers affected him, he was trying to wiggle and rub against him without giving up his mouth. When it finally did break, Koyama was breathless, moaning as he tossed his head back Ryo kissing his throat, the faintest pressure of his teeth like the first signs of danger. His cock throbbed as it hardened, more turned on by the inherent risk then he the sensation of lips on his neck.

"Kei." He sighed, breath against the saliva slick skin making Koyama break out in shivery goose-bumps. "If you want me to stop."

Koyama pinched his thigh hard. "Don't you dare." Ryo laughed against his neck and that was a whole different sensation right there, heat and chills simultaneously.

"Anything you want." Koyama tugged him up and they were kissing again. Heat flared between them and Koyama surrendered himself too it easily. Ryo was darkness and danger and he couldn't help himself, arching under the other man, loving the way flesh rubbed and caught, so very alive. He ran his fingers across the other man's back feeling the sharpness of bones just under skin. Ryo's mouth was warm and wet, landing against his cheek, wet tongue making Koyama laugh, the other man's teeth and lips as he smiled there. Ryo had one hand in his hair, the other running down his chest to toy with one of his nipples. A small pinch made him jerk, pleasure radiating from that point.

"Ah." He moaned, Ryo smiled again before sliding down his body so he could mouth across his collarbone and shoulders with sucking open-mouthed wet kisses. "What are you doing?"

"Tasting you." Ryo said with a strangely happy grin. Koyama returned it, petting his hands through Ryo's thick and coarse hair, rubbing fingers behind his ears and cupping the curve of his head, gently pulling him back down to his naked chest.

"Well, carry on." Ryo made a little noise somewhere between amusement and annoyance. Koyama moaned loudly when Ryo's lips attached to the sensitive side of his neck and bit down lightly, sucking. It was going to leave a mark and the thought had him clawing his nails into Ryo's shoulder, the slender man lifting into the harsh touch a muffled sound against his skin.

Ryo's lips made an almost smacking noise and Koyama's laugh caught in his throat when the other man tugged at his other nipple this time. Clever tongue touched there next and Koyama muffled a small noise with his palm, the other hand tangled in Ryo’s hair, caught somewhere between tugging on the thick strands and pulling him closer. They twisted together, Ryo riding the cant of Koyama's hips as he arched up into the heated contact, Ryo's cock sliding hotly against his abdomen.

"Ryo." He moaned, the other man biting softly at his nipple and tugging it with his even teeth. The sharp sting of almost-pain pushing him up even higher. When he pulled back to sit on his legs, regarding Koyama from his position perched on his thighs. Koyama followed him up; leaning on his elbows, the places where Ryo had been gnawing on his skin pulsed and throbbed pleasantly.

"You did that on purpose." Ryo accused him with narrowed eyes and Koyama smiled carelessly, Ryo was probably more right than wrong.

"Yeah so?" He planted his feet and tried to press upwards against the teasing heat of Ryo's ass, wanting more of the delicious skin against skin contact. Ryo stared at him incredulously, like he couldn’t find the words to convey how weird he thought Koyama was, but that was okay, sex didn't need a whole lot of words anyways. Let actions explain. "Come on." He tugged Ryo back down to him, the other man shifted and pressing his legs between Koyama's without losing his balance. A hand on his chest pressed him down with unyielding pressure until he was lying on his back again.

"Then I get to do what I want." Ryo smiled at him, deadly sharp, while with his other hand he reached down to fondle Koyama's dick, already hard and curling towards his stomach.

"Then do it. I said anything." Koyama arched his hips up, rubbing his shoulders across the sheets, the faint rasp against his skin felt good, hypersensitive already. "Whatever you want." He stared at Ryo, trying to convey permission with his eyes, watching the way Ryo went perfectly still and swallowed hard. His face actually flushed a little.

"You can't-"

"Come on, you know you want another taste." Koyama laughed, delighted when Ryo snarled at him smiling thinly.

"Don't," Ryo hissed, “push me.”

"Do it." Koyama sat up on his elbows again, staring into the too-black eyes of the other man, distracted by the way the Ryo’s tongue flicked out to lick at his thin lips. When Ryo kissed him it was hard, desperate and hungry, Koyama tilted his head back and gave back as good as he got, biting the end of Ryo's tongue softly and the other man moaned into his mouth. Ryo broke the kiss and slid down his body, fluid like a large cat. He flicked Koyama's already sore nipple as he passed and Koyama hissed, letting his head hang back, staring unfocused at the ceiling. Ryo was letting the soft skin on his chest drag against the skin on Koyama's cock, the slight stickiness at the head catching and sliding against his skin sending thrills of sensation racing up his spine.

"Watch me." Ryo growled, voice rough like sand paper as the tip of his tongue touched Koyama's hip, hands digging into the sparse flesh of his thighs and holding them apart to give Ryo space.

He really could only see the top wild black hair, even more messed up from sleeping. The first sting of teeth scraping across his skin burned and Koyama's breath stopped in his chest, stuttering as he desperately tried to breathe properly. It was more intense then he could have imagined panic and arousal in equal measures, hot lips and his tongue spreading fire through his system burning sting as his skin was split in a neat line along the thin skin across jutting bone of his hip. He clawed at the sheets, arching against the feeling that was washing through him, Ryo was doing something to him paper cuts never felt like he was being turned inside out in the best way possible. At this point he didn't care what. Lips on either side of the cut, sucking, tongue flicking against the tear in his skin and Koyama was moaning low in his throat almost covering the desperate little noises Ryo was making.

Koyama actually squealed a little when Ryo's lips suddenly switched, sucking on the soft skin of his balls, all star-bust pleasure behind his scrunched eyes. Ryo's tongue stabbed at the soft skin and Koyama wiggled, hands reaching down to press against Ryo's head to keep him in place. Soft warm hair and the roundness of his skull under Koyama’s hands. Ryo licked up the length of his dick, taking the tip into his mouth and making Koyama's thoughts scatter like so much dust in the wind. He whined, unable to rock into the teasing heat of Ryo's mouth with hands holding his legs like that, didn't stop him from trying pain sharp and bright where his thumb was digging into the cute he’d made. Ryo pulled himself away pulling an annoyed sound from Koyama's throat, dick shining with Ryo's saliva and probably traces of his own blood. Ryo looked at him, half wild and licking his shining lips.

"Good?" Koyama laughed and Ryo dove in to kiss him, pressing their bodies so tightly together that he could feel Ryo all over his skin, trying to press into his mouth and his ribcage at the same time. He tasted like the salt of sweat and the iron-tang of blood, Koyama chased the taste to the farthest corners of Ryo's hot mouth eager for more. Ryo sucked hungrily on his bottom lip, a faint sting and he could feel the skin there split and Ryo made a desperate little whining noise, tongue licking the faint sting until it settled into a dull throb with the rest of Ryo's marks.

"So good." Ryo growled licking into his mouth again, Koyama's lip felt raw, just on the right side of painful, just one more sensation for his hazy mind to try and focus on. He tried to sit up again to follow Ryo's lips only to be pushed back again, hands on his shoulders pinning him to the bed.

"Hey." He whined, and Ryo smirked at him.

"Shh." Fingers pressed to his lips and Koyama bit back, catching the fleshy pad of one finger with his teeth and Ryo's lips twitched in a smile pressing his fingers deeper into Koyama's mouth. Koyama moaned faintly around the digits, feeling the contrasting texture of soft flesh and hard nail with the flat of his tongue. Ryo's thumb brushed his cheek gently and Koyama's hands moved up to hold his elbows, flushing when Ryo's fingers slipped deeper into his mouth before pulling back and dragging along his tongue pleasantly before doing it again. Ryo's eyes were fixed on the spot where he was pretty much fucking Koyama's already-sore mouth with his fingers. "I get to play." His voice was strangled, like he’d half forgotten what he wanted to say.

Koyama scraped his teeth across his knuckles in answer, trying to promise retribution with his eyes. The next time he was going to pin Ryo down and have his way with him. Ryo pulled his fingers from his mouth; letting the wet tips press against Koyama's other nipple, the coolness making it tighten quickly, oversensitive to the faint rubbing. "Can I fuck you?" Ryo's voice was sex-rough, bitten lips and dark eyes.

"Yeah, there is lube in the drawer there."

His bed was narrow and Ryo didn't need to shift over very far stretching out over Koyama all pointy bits and skinny limbs. One of the books balanced on his nightstand crashed to the floor with a solid thump, Koyama laughed, pulling Ryo back down to him. "Forget about it." He murmured against the other man's hair, pulling him down for a quick kiss.

“Yeah.” His voice rumbled against Koyama’s lips, moist and warm. “Sure.”

They shifted so he could grab a pillow out from the pile at the head of the bed and tucked it under his hips, letting himself fall back against the mattress with his hips canted, Ryo caught in the cage of his long legs, splayed to either side of the small man. Ryo’s fingertips were bony where they dug into his thighs forcing his legs further apart until he was exposed in every way possible to Ryo’s eyes and shortly followed his tongue. Ryo’s hot tongue twisted hotly where his leg met his body, sending cascades of sensation rushing through his body, ticklish bites scraped into his skin there.

Tongue against his dick, sucking lightly on the base while a finger pressed into his ass making him jolt and arch up against the mouth and away from then burn of the sudden intrusion. It felt for a moment like Ryo was reaching inside of him, pressing too fast and the feeling was scattering all over because he was sucking hard on the head of his cock and Koyama was whining, writhing, gone. Ryo wasn’t gentle, not too rough, but too intense.

“Oh god.” Koyama groaned, and Ryo hummed around the head of his dick, and it vibrated through his whole body shaking him to his very core. The finger inside of him pushed and pulled and his whole body rolled with it, wanting more and yet unable to choke down what he had already hissing and moaning as Ryo drove him up higher. Too soon he was being stretched further; fingers probing and rubbing his insides and lighting him up.

“You’re so tight.” Ryo growled, licking at the cut he’d made earlier and Koyama squeaked.

“Yeah?” It wasn’t like he’d never done this himself. But Ryo’s fingers were going deeper, pressing harder, rubbing up against the nerves. “D-do it.”

“Hmm?” Ryo’s humming was buzzing under his skin and Ryo’s hands in his ass felt like a hand on his dick, only better. Ryo was either pressing another finger in or going deeper it was impossible to tell, Koyama only knew that it was splitting him wide and leaving him gasping shallowly, begging under his breath.

Ryo pulled back and Koyama didn’t have time to miss it, Ryo was all over him in the next moment, hard lips and he dug his nails into the other man’s arms, leaving pink welts in the pale skin. His legs were being pressed up against his body, but Ryo’s lips were on his again, almost too raw, but all the more soft for it, tongues slipping hotly against each other. Ryo sat back on his haunches, licking his lips and regarding Koyama through the messy fringe of his bangs. “Ready?” The corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

“Fuck yes.” Koyama wiggled in his grip, twisting his fingers in the sheets and giving Ryo a defiant look.

“Breathe.” Then Ryo was inside him and all around him, pushing too hard and too fast and Koyama didn’t have the leverage to resist at all, could only take it. Thickness filling him from the inside out, almost burning hot and tight. He moaned low in his throat, there was nothing like the feeling, impaled on the thickness of Ryo’s cock, the other man’s heat holding him down against the bed.

He was given a moment to breath, just one shaky breath and Ryo was grabbing his hips, the width of his hands spanning Koyama’s waist as he twitched his hips, grinding his hips against Koyama’s in sharp little bursts. He wrapped his legs around Ryo’s hips, pulling him tight with heels digging into the small of Ryo’s back. The other man was watching him carefully, like he was gauging his reactions and remembering them all. Koyama arched up against him, watching the flush spread down Ryo’s chest through narrowed eyes.

“Harder.” He demanded and Ryo grunted his laugh strained. “Ryo.”

“Okay.”

There were a few moments to adjust, Ryo shifting for a better grip on his hips and better leverage. The first forceful thrust still shocked a gasp from him, breath leaving in a stuttering rush. Ryo set up a quick and punishing pace each thrust wringing a gasping whine from deep within his chest. Each sharp smack of bony hips against his own rocked his body, making his back slide a little on the bedding. Ryo reared back out of his clawing reach, putting himself in a better position. The marks on his shoulders already glowed pink and red trails of Koyama’s nails through the constellations of moles that covers his pointy shoulders.

“Oh my god.” Koyama hissed, twisting and trying to push back against Ryo, biting at his already sore lips and trying to rip the sheets from the bed. The friction and the sensation was pushing him up to that inescapable point coiling tight in his belly. He couldn’t stop the stream of words that poured from him, pleas and curses, begging Ryo for more, harder, faster, please.

Ryo’s hand on his dick, hot and slick and without anything to smooth the way, too rough and at the same time just right. It sent sparks dancing down his spine and they settled in his balls, drawing up tight as his desperate little jerks against Ryo’s hold trying to get himself that much more friction. He just needed a little more to push himself over that edge, his body tightening. Freefall a single moment where his mind failed to catch up, going blank as he eyes press shut against the sensation. Back curling Koyama moaned softly as it tore through him like lightening shock. His dick twitched and pulsed in Ryo’s hand drooling sticky heat on his own tummy.

So sensitive, floating somewhere on a haze of sex endorphins, Ryo’s fingers digging into his hips and pulling him back. He was making soft sounds in his throat eyes pressed shut and his face flushed with his impending orgasm. Every place they touched was too hot, too slick, moaning softly as Ryo wouldn’t let him come down, sharp pleasure still echoing through his system. It was almost painful, and he was whining low in his chest. The words were on his lips, a plea for Ryo to just stop, when he paused, shivering visibly as he came, lip caught between his teeth and a small sound trapped in his throat.

He was stunning, impossibly gorgeous as his head tipped back exposing the sharp lines of his chest and the jut of his adam’s apple. His eyelashes were dark against his sharp cheekbones, mess of wild black hair shifting with him. Koyama imagined that he could feel it inside of him, and smiled, as Ryo jerked against him, almost like an afterthought.

There was a sluggish rearrangement of their bodies in the bed, Koyama curled on his side facing Ryo and Ryo facing him, creating a pocket of afternoon sunlight and sheets that had to be fished off the floor for just the two of them to enjoy. He was sticky and sore and not in the mood to do anything about either fact. Ryo was warm at the points of contact and Koyama was more content then he had been in a long time. He felt safe, an odd sentiment. “We’ve got to stop meeting this way.” Koyama said softly, lazy but not really in the mood to sleep again, Ryo huffed softly in response, smiling at him faintly anyways. “Why were you at the church anyways?” It had been bugging him, and in the slow state of mind it seemed like a good a time as any to ask.

“Do we need to talk about it? I wanted to get rid of that guy too.” Ryo scrunched up his nose, and it sort of looked like a kid who didn’t want to eat his vegetables. If he had any more energy he would shift over and kiss it.

“Why? Vampires don’t hunt.” Koyama pursed his lips, wrong choice of words. “Vampires don’t hunt bad things.” He tried again.

“Vampires do whatever the fuck they want. Don’t generalize it’s rude.”

“Okay, so what were you doing hunting here?” For the longest time it had only been Koyama here.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Even now, sleepy, Ryo’s eyes were unusually dark, depthless and Koyama found himself trapped. “What is a white witch doing hunting?” Well Ryo did have him there, when it came to fighting he was little more than an average human.

“I needed to protect people.” There wasn’t anyone else in the area and mostly it was dealing with the occasional haunting.

“The other witches?”

“I don’t like them.” Koyama pulled a face, to match the one Ryo made when he mentioned the others. People like Koyama born with the power of old flowing through them. Bunch of assholes and idiots, Koyama loved everyone but there was a special dark corner of his soul where he kept the contempt for the others of his kind. Maybe fucking a vampire was fate. A bit of a ‘fuck you’ to his heritage. Not that it mattered anymore, he’d be banished at best for having vampire swimming through his energy now. Anything else with a hint of power would be able to feel Ryo all over him.

“I was there.” Ryo scooted closer so he could press his nose against Koyama’s cheek, wrapping one hand carefully around his hip in a comforting gesture. “Because I needed to protect something important to me.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Koyama was baffled, speaking into the thickness of Ryo’s hair and tasting it on the tip of his tongue.

“It means you are not the only one with a seer for a friend.” Ryo paused, and when Koyama opened his mouth to question him Ryo cut him off. “Subaru is a bit of an ass but he knows things, understands things in ways I can’t even imagine. Crazy fucker.” Ryo pressed his face deeper, moving so he could slip under Koyama’s chin and curl against his chest. “He told me that there would be something precious, someone that I couldn’t miss or my future lines would get tangled, whatever the fuck that means, and that I needed to find them.”

“Me?” Koyama blinked, pulling away to look at Ryo’s face. The other man was looking over his shoulder cheeks glowing bright pink and looking really adorably pissed off. Koyama laughed delightedly, kissing the other man softly and quickly. He was so cute.

“I started to follow you to see if I could understand any of what he said. He gets drunk and babbles.”

“How romantic.” Koyama bat his eyelashes at him and Ryo laughed a nervous chuckle that still seemed kind of forced.

“Then you went into that church.” Ryo shrugged and the movement brushed against Koyama’s naked shoulder. He should probably freak out, maybe be a little pissed that he was essentially being stalked by a vampire. But he had been about to be eaten alive, chunks of his flesh being stripped from him alive by human teeth, then Ryo had rode in like some knight on shining armour and ripped them apart. He couldn’t be bothered to care.

He kissed Ryo slowly, they should probably at least brush their teeth or something, trying to express how much he didn’t care about all the circumstances around them. He was alive, and Ryo sort of was too, and that was all that mattered. If they could take down a den of zombies together, then there was little that could harm his precious city that Koyama couldn’t deal with.

“Idiot.” Koyama kissed the word from his lips.

“I guess you’ll have to keep watching me or something.” He grinned and Ryo squeezed his hips, cheeks going even redder, his face was more like a tomato. This time he did bite Ryo’s nose and the other man glared at him.

Comments

[strawberryparty.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. Sweet. Jesus *_*

I love how you much you didn't say about the functioning of this world, because it made the whole thing just a little creepier and more mysterious. Koyama needing to protect people and getting in over his head with zombies, and then Ryo swooping in -- so good! And, all the bits about Ryo watching out for Koyama are great and distinctly show that, while their relationship isn't normal/acceptable, they also can't really help it.

This is just lovely, and it will be bookmarked forever.

[snoozing-kitten.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you for that. I was really worried about that because I couldn't really explain everything without going into Lord of the Rings epic-levels of ridiculousness, so I hoped that it was still sort of understandable despite everything I left out. Thank you ;_;

I'm glad you liked it :3

[zaziemuto.livejournal.com]

O_O asdffphjjjklllqertyuioosjdjfbcm
*keyslasssssssh*
That was fucking awesome!!
Normally I dont read stories that are sooooo long, but since I knew that you ALWAYS write very good stuff, I had to give it a try.
So i can't say something apart from OMG -simply cause I can't describe how much I loved this o_o
Asdfghjklasdgfhkxndjrueoso
♥

[snoozing-kitten.livejournal.com]

Haha, I don't normally write stories so long, so it was a bit of a shock to us both lol!

Aww thanks! That's super sweet of you to say. I'm really glad you liked it!

[ice-colour.livejournal.com]

This was just...WOW.
Took me long enough to read, but whoaaaa... So epic!
And I don't even usually like zombie AUs, but this was just pure awesomeness!!! Honestly, as I was reading this when it was nighttime, at some point I even started to feel uncomfortable, so wow, I guess it affected me so much.
I absolutely loved the way it was written, the language and all. Idek what to say, I can just flail atm.
Thank you for creating this!

[snoozing-kitten.livejournal.com]

Lol yeah, it went on a bit longer then anticipated. Just a bit. Lol!

Aww, thank you, I'm glad you read it despite all the zombie bits! And I'm not really sorry for scaring you, since that was my job and all! :3

Super glad you liked it! Thank you for the sweet comment~!

[natsudive]

it's four in the morning and i can't really think of anything to say other than this was amazing. i don't particularly like scary things, and especially not zombies, but i read this twice anyway. i just loved it that much. ♥

[snoozing-kitten.livejournal.com]

Lol, sorry for keeping you up! I'm glad you gave it a chance despite the zombies and the ick~ also glad I didn't let you down, and you liked it!

Thanks for reading!

[sanjihan.livejournal.com]

I kind of really love how these two historical nemeses end up coming together. It was interesting getting the little glimpses of the world and how it must work and that was totally intriguing. Also... I love your badass/showoff-but-totally-fail Koyama. <3 I really enjoyed it. <3 Thank you!