Promise

Chapter 3-Be Safe

Tsukiyo lifted his eyes slightly, having felt oddly at ease in Irihis embrace, but the tension returned to his body hearing Ruby’s comment.

‘Lovers?’ he thought, already feeling his cheeks heat up an instant later. He frowned. Since he’d reached his teens, he’d hated how easily he blushed. While as a child, he’d been embarrassed by little but as he got older and his clan had begun speaking of certain things he must do as a man, things had changed greatly. And with his pale, moony complexion it was all too easy to tell. He was never more thankful for the cover of darkness than at that very moment.

He shifted slightly, touching the pendent that laid beneath his shirt, lifting his eyes, giving Ruby a cool stare, no emotion in his eyes.

“No, just…very good friends, my lady,” he said, his voice even, his eyes averted from Irihis gaze.

Ruby smirked at the teen, showing the tips of his delicate fangs. “Good,” she purred, wrapping herself around Irihi, practically pulling him away from Tsukiyos side. “Because I believe he should belong rightly to me.”

Irihis mouth turned in an annoyed frowned, his eyes flashing. He shook his head and grabbed Ruby’s hand, removing it from it’s place on his chest, gently pushing her off of him. “Must we go through this again?”

Ruby smiled charmingly and playfully stuck out her tongue at the tall silver haired man as she guided her hand back to his arm gently caressing the corded lean masculine muscles, tracing his fingertips to his shoulder blade. “Oh…Irihi, my love…I bore of this place. Let’s move on to greet the others now that we have done this trivial walk down memory lane.”

She passed Tsukiyo a small glare and smirked coldly and looked at Irihi with a faint mocking smile. “I’m quite disappointed in you Irihi, to see that this is the boy you constantly ran to every night all those years ago. I stayed back with the Kiss which was frightfully boring as my beloved drifted off to amuse the living.”

She kissed his shoulder lightly, her hand once again wandering over his chest. “You saw now from it’s earlier display that this mere human will turn on you, dear Irihi. He’s a vampire hunter,” she said in disgust, removing her hands and casting a dark look at Tsukiyo before turning on her heels and stalking towards the door. “I know of his kind.”

The sound of her footsteps on the cobble stones faded as she disappeared into the night. Tsukiyo watched the empty doorway for a moment, his eyes darkening, before he closed them sadly and opened them, glancing at Irihi.

“Your entire Kiss has returned then?” he whispered softly. “Am I right to presume that you are now their lord?”

Not a word came from Irihi as he shot a cool stare at Tsukiyo and crossed his arms, turning his back to the teen. “Yes, and you have taken after your fathers blood-soaked legacy, correct?”

Tsukiyo smiled faintly. A blood-soaked legacy was what his father had left him…but he had not acted upon it. He shook his head staring into the shadows. “Not really,” he whispered. “For unlike my father, who hunted everyone of your kind…despite innocence …I only hunt those who have taken human lives.”

He saw from the corner of his eyes, when the silver haired man glanced back with a raised eyebrow. He rubbed his shoulder, able to feel his scars through his shirt. “I’ve learned very well vampires need not kill their food…but there are those who are consumed by bloodlust…that must be dealt with.”

He touched the pendant again and looked away from Irihi bitterly. “I am not a murderer like my father was Irihi…but tis a murderer I seek…I hunt his murderer…”

He rubbed his shoulder again, tracing the jagged, deep scarring of fang marks that laced the delicate skin. “The very man that marked me as his…,” he muttered. “Or so he said…”

“His?” Irihi question turning around to face him.

Tsukiyo looked up into Irihis eyes with a blank face. “he said I was his…,” he murmured. “but he also said I was spoken for…”

He frowned glancing away. “I still know not what he meant with such strange words…only that he swore to break that bond…” Tsukiyo snorted in irritation. “What bond that bloodthirsty monster spoke of I know not…I am bonded to no one…but what I do know is when I l find him I will secure an answer before burning his black heart.”

Irihis eyes widened slightly hearing such darkness come from Tsukiyo. The boy he’d known truly was gone, vanished into a sea of shadows and horror. But unlike Tsukiyo…he knew exactly what bond the vampire had spoke of. It had been his own doing.

“Tsuki…,” he said softly, staring away from the teen. “You’re bonded to me.”

Tsukiyo frowned slightly. “How?”

“By the pendant I gave you on the night we made our promises. Do you not remember? It was a way I could find you and for you to find me.” He glanced at Tsukiyo from the corner of his eye. His blue eyes seemed to burn cold; as if he saw something no other did. “It seems to me, that you and I chose our own paths to walk on. Sadly, they’re very different.”


He turned his back to Tsukiyo closing his eyes. “Goodbye, my dear friend.”

Tsukiyos eyes widened and he looked up and stepped forward quickly, grabbing the silver haired mans hand in a tight grip. He squeezed tightly and then pulled back slowly, letting his hand slip from Irhis grasp. When his pale hand fell away there was a golden ring in Irihis hand, a dark blue gem glittering, set in the center.

He made himself look away from Irihis questioning eyes and turned his back to the taller man. “Our paths may be opposite…but they will cross again,” he whispered. “That is my gift to you, my friend. I’ve held it close for many a year. I’m finally able to give it to you.”

He glanced over his shoulder before vanishing into the deep dark recesses of the house, his heart suddenly feeling heavy and broken, the pendent hot against his skin. He now knew. It had been Irihis gift that has saved him from the darkest grasp of the monsters he’d faced and now his own gift, a item his family had long coveted as a precious heirloom, would save Irihi from the dawns vengeance.
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Somewhere deep into the forests paths ruby walked at a quick pace, her gown flowing around her feet with an almost life like quality. Her eyes burned angrily as she muttered to herself. The look she’d seen in Irihis eyes had been so soft and loving when he’d embraced that mortal in his strong arms.

She let out an angry cry stopping in the middle of the trail, her eyes flaring red. A low chuckle sounded nearby and out from the shadows a figure appeared. A tall, debonair black haired man walked out from the deepest shadows, his eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. Ruby stared entrance for a moment. She herself was an ancient by some standards but she had not even heard this man approach her. He appeared to be around her age and wore a dark blue cloak, his attire beneath the velvet silk was that of a lord.

“well now…young Ruby…,” the stranger chuckled, bowing regally from the waist in a fluid movement. “It’s been over 10 years since I’ve seen you….how you’ve grown.”

Ruby frowned. Something about this stranger seemed strikingly familiar. “Aye…,” he said softly. “Do I know ye?”

The man laughed, his voice as musical as a wind and as sharp as broken glass. “Aye, aye,” he chuckled. “My name is Malakai.”

Ruby’s eyes widened in shock. Malakai had been one of the vampires that had been confidence to their old vampire lord. But he’d vanished mysteriously, weeks before they’d fled in fear of the hunters. “Aye…I remember ye. You often stayed by my side when the others were restless and bored.” She raised an eyebrow. “You vanished so long ago…we thought you dead…”

Malakai smirked coldly, his yellow eyes flashing. “nay, young Ruby. Not dead. But biding my time to do what I thought was right….now tell me…seeing you here means young master Irihi has returned as well? He must be, for I smell my little pet slayer upon you.”

Ruby’s eyes widened in confusion and interest. “Little pet slayer? What do you mean by that?”

Malakai grinned, flashing long fangs, his eyes burning with a dark fire. “I am merely hoping to finish what I started…and that by visiting the boy, hoping young master Irihi will take back his foolish bond…”

The man smirked as Ruby’s lips curved into a intrigued smile.

“what you started?” she questioned. “What bond? Oh, I love a good scheming. Tell me, lord Malakai…what exactly are you up to?”

She frowned for a second. “I hope it has naught to do with harming lord Irihi.”

Malakai chuckled coolly and offered a hand to Ruby. “Join me on a walk my dear…and I shall tell you of what you have missed in these lands the past ten years,” he hissed softly. “and fret not…your beloved will not be harmed…but my plan to claim to one who loves him.” He sighed softly closing his eyes, a dark lust burning in those yellow eyes. “My little pet slayer….”
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Irihi growled in annoyance walking through the empty streets of the small village, moving away from the alleyway near the tavern. Bright blood streaked from the side of his mouth as he glanced back at his prey, a drunken blonde lass who now lay out cold at the corner of the alleyway. He didn’t bother with the effort of hiding her as he would normally do.

His head spun as be made his way through the streets. The woman had had excessive amounts of alcohol coursing through her blood, a fact he had not realized when he’d lured her into the darkness of the alleyway. He stumbled, unable to walk straight a moment longer and leaned against the wall of a shop, it’s windows dark as it was closed for the night. He closed his eyes, pressing his cheek to the cold glass trying to regain his senses.

“damn humans these days,” he growled. “Can’t drink from a human without fearing to become ill.”

He pushed away from window, sliding down to the ground, his eyes drifting close, his mind fogging, drifting towards sleep. The light from the street lanterns flickered slightly as their light began to mingle with the rising light of the dawn as the sun began to rise from over the forest.

Irihis mind suddenly cleared, his eyes shooting open. He gasped and dashed down the street, pulling the hood of his cloak around his face to protect himself from the early dawn. His ice blue eyes quickly began searching for a dark place to hide away from the dawn until dusk.

But the sun quickly arose from it’s slumber, it’s rays shining over the village to begin the new day. Irihi closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of death to overcome his body but the burning sensation he’d always imagined never came. The sun had now fully risen over the hills yet he had not burned into ash. He raised his head slightly and a glimmer on his finger caught his eye. The ring on his finger was glowing faintly.

A smile curved Irihis lips as he stared at it in pure amazement. “could this small treasure be my reason for still living?” he asked himself.

On the other side of the village Tsukiyo stood at his window staring out as the sun rose from beneath the hills of the forests. His eyes slowly drifted close as he sat down and laid his head on the window sill.

“Irihi,” he whispered as he drifted into a dreamless sleep. “be safe..”
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Irihi looked up and started walking towards the other end of the village, the ring on his finger growing warm as if answering his question. The Latin words scrawled into the ring seemed to glow: I protect thee, beloved creature of night, from the light of the day.

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That's chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it.

Oh and Thank you to Kiix for your review. You are my first reviwer for this story. ^_^ Hope you enjoy'd this chapter.