Oikakeru Yume

Author’s Note: After months of leading up to this, Hide finally gets to confront the master vampire, Menumorout. No lemons in this chapter, just some history and a lot of bloody violence. Oh yeah! As much as I love the lemons (and I DO love the lemons) nothing gets me going like blood… lots and lots of blood.


April


Hide HAD to go on the offensive, or he and Taki would never be able to live without constantly looking over their shoulders. Though he found the very thought distasteful, he had to find the master vampire who had created him… and destroy it.

Menumorout, that was his name, well, at least that was the name the woman who bore him gave him a millennia ago. He was amazed he could still remember it. He didn’t remember her though. The years had erased any trace of her from his memory. All that remained was the blood… always the blood. He’d been barely twenty-five years old when he’d been made a vampire. Two years afterward he found the creature who’d turned him and drained it dry, drawing all of its knowledge and power into himself. By the turn-of-the-century he’d become the most feared vampire in all of Europe.

Bored with his surroundings, he set his sights on new territories. For centuries, around and around the world he and his followers traveled, leaving a trail of mayhem and bloodless corpses in their wake.

Then the East threw open her gates, beckoning. Menumorout gathered his acolytes and made for the distant shores. They landed in Nagasaki in the late 1800’s. By day they slept in burial mounds they’d desecrated, hollowing out their former occupants and discarding the bodies, but covering their misdeeds so that they wouldn’t be discovered. By night they hunted, at first seeking out the old and infirm, then as time passed and they became more daring and more familiar with their surroundings, finding the stronger ones. Ones they could turn and make part of their kind.

The smarter humans, those from the cities, had heard of such things. But they were just stories from foreign shores. Surely, they would not be happening HERE.

Then more drained bodies would appear.

“Kyuuketsuki,” the people whispered. Vampires.

One evening, on a usual foray, Menumorout came across a young child, a boy with titian hair and eyes the color of the sea. The boy looked at him with a gaze that seemed a thousand year’s old. It belied wisdom and not a single shred of fear. Menumorout knew, in an instant, that this child would be his heir. The master of all vampires was old and tired. He had taken a small gathering of vampires from around the globe and had built an empire. It was time for him to move into the unknown; time for him to find capable hands to lead his legions into the future. He found that in Hide. The boy was young, though, too young to be turned. So, it was decreed that no one was to touch him. Menumorout would decide when the time was right and he, himself, would be the one to take the boy.

In the meantime, the vampires continued to rampage through the villages and cities. The Feudal Era had been a great time for the vampires, using the countless wars and skirmishes as cover for their activities. But once the Meiji Era began, they were forced to become more discreet if they expected to survive. So they took on the guises of regular people; merchants and craftspeople. They built splendid homes from the spoils of their victims and became part of society’s elite. No one questioned that these “people” were never seen during the daytime. Their seemingly endless supply of money afforded them whatever eccentricities they desired.

By the time Hide turned twenty-three year’s old, Menumorout was the most beloved foreigner in all of Nagasaki. Everyone either knew him or knew OF him. He commanded attention everywhere he went.

When Hide came into his life, Menumorout had never been so interested in creating another vampire as he was in turning the boy. He was obsessed. He followed the boy at every opportunity, studying his habits. He bristled at the cruelty heaped upon the child. This was perhaps the only genuinely human feeling the master vampire had in centuries of existence. “They will pay,” he vowed.

And pay they did.

The night Hide became a vampire Menumorout sent his minions out with a single order; kill anyone who had ever made Hide’s life a misery. Kill them all. Only Hide’s mother managed to escape the blood bath. She had been out of the country with her husband when it happened. She returned to find everyone she’d ever known gone. Men, women, children… no one escaped Menumorout’s wrath; it was a complete slaughter. It was exactly what Hide encountered when he “awoke”.

But then, the unthinkable happened. The young whelp denied his calling, refusing his destiny to become the “heir apparent”. Menumorout grew increasingly disenchanted with his young “chosen one” as Hide obstinately did everything in his power to foil the master vampire’s plan. Of course, the whole “allergic to human blood” situation nearly caused the master vamp to blow a gasket. What kind of twisted joke was this… to finally be granted an heir, only to have the young one be an “incomplete” vampire? Still, Menumorout held out a glimmer of hope. The boy was special. There HAD to be a reason.

The vampires’ mission changed from then on; from turning Hide into a vampire to KEEPING him one. Unfortunately, they’d gotten overzealous in their “protection” of Hide and the young “heir” had gone to ground, disappearing from the map entirely. It took them nearly a century of frantic searching to finally locate him. Over one hundred years of Menumorout’s ire at their incompetence for having allowed Hide to vanish in the first place. And to think, the young vampire had been hiding right under their noses the entire time.

Menumorout was ecstatic at having found his “heir” again. Surely, after all this time the young vampire would have had a change of heart. But, no… it was not to be. Not only had Hide’s mind not changed, but his resolve appeared to be more steadfast than ever. The young Tadanori had easily dispatched the first set of “couriers” the master sent after him. The second set failed to return from their appointed task as well. Then, against the master’s orders, some of the lesser vampires had taken it upon themselves to kidnap the “heir’s” companion. If the “heir” hadn’t disposed of them in the subsequent building fire, the master would have done it himself, though not quite so handily. They would have met their fate in quite a different way had they survived to face their master’s displeasure.

The feeling of dread hung like a pall in the air. It was so thick Hide and Taki had to struggle to keep from choking on it. After Taki’s abduction, the pair was only rarely seen in public. The extent of Taki’s injuries so upset Hide that the vampire made him take time off from work. A huge argument ensued, but Hide refused to back down. Taki finally relented, calling his workplace and arranging to work from home via his computer, claiming that he’d had a bad fall and was now recuperating from a serious back injury. He explained that he had no idea when he would be able to return to the office. His boss was so concerned for his health that he was given permission to work from home for as long as he needed to.

With that done, Taki turned to Hide and snapped, “Just remember, this is temporary. I’m not running and hiding forever.”

Hide hung his head. “I know, Taki. I don’t intend to. I just need to figure out what to do next.”

Neither of them was given much of a chance to think about it. That evening, on the news, there was a story about a dead body discovered in Isogo. The thing that had the police baffled was the fact that the body had been completely drained of blood. The next day two bodies were found in Shinagawa, also bloodless. The following day there were three bloodless corpses in Tsurumi and the day after that there were four dead in Asakusa; five on the fifth day in Negishi, six on the sixth day in Kanazawa and seven on the seventh day in Nakano.

Everyone in the country was in a panic, particularly those living in the Tokyo to Yokohama areas, where the attacks appeared to be centered. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that the murders were Menumorout’s way of calling Hide out. Hide and Taki both realized it on the second day.

On the eighth day the entire country cringed, waiting with baited breath for the bad news to arrive. But none came. Was it over? Had the perpetrators gotten scared… or bored? Just as the country was about to breathe a collective sigh, the body of a young man was discovered in the early morning hours of the ninth day. Some joggers had come across him in Shibuya. His throat was torn out. Upon closer examination, a slip of paper was found in one of his coat pockets. On it was written:

Destiny awaits
for the one who was chosen,
where shoguns worship.

“Kamakura,” Hide whispered the minute he heard the completed verse.

Taki looked at him in surprise. “How’d you figure that from just one crappy haiku?” he asked.

“Menumorout is the master vampire and has been for a VERY long time. He’s used to being ‘Number One’ or ‘The First’. ‘Where shoguns worship’ is a reference to Kamakura, or more precisely Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kamakura. It was the first major shrine founded by the first Kamakura Shogun, Yoritomo. Menumorout will be waiting for me there.”

“Us,” Taki corrected, softly.

“Hmm?” Hide responded, unsure of what he’d heard.

“Us, Hide. He’ll be waiting for US there.”

“No…” Hide was about to argue, but Taki’s mind had already been made up.

“We do this together, Hide. You made me promise not to go back to work until this got resolved. I’ve kept that promise. You made ME a promise not to go anywhere alone, but you’ve broken it twice. Now what? They say ‘third time’s a charm’. You gonna lie to me a third time or can you actually manage to keep your word this time?”

“Your ribs…”

“… are not an issue. What are you going to do?”

Hide’s eyes filled with pain and indecision. “What SHOULD I do? He’s killing so many innocent people. I don’t want YOU hurt… or worse. What can I do?”

“You already know the answer to that question, Hide. You have to destroy him,” Taki told him, dark eyes gazing seriously at the vampire.

Hide shook his head.

Grabbing the vampire by the shoulders, Taki shook him, hard. “Damn it, Hide. Listen to me! I KNOW you don’t want to and I wish to the Gods that you wouldn’t have to, but lets’ be realistic here, you have no choice. If you don’t kill him, he’ll kill us… BOTH of us. And, quite frankly, dude, I have no desire to be dead just yet!”

He knew Taki was right, even though he was afraid to admit it. He WOULD have to kill Menumorout if they wanted any kind of chance to have a life together. Because Menumorout saw him as the “heir”, the master vampire would never let him go. They would be pursued to the ends of the earth and beyond. He didn’t want to live that way and he certainly didn’t want to subject Taki to it. In the end, whether Menumorout willed it or not, it WOULD wind up killing them both. Hide’s shoulders fell as he finally succumbed to reality. “I know.”

Sliding his hands further around Hide’s shoulders, Taki pulled the vampire to him as Hide buried his face in the crook of Taki’s neck.

Hide’s body shook, out of fear and out of frustration. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. As long as the vampires didn’t know where he was, he’d been okay. Then he’d found Taki and along with the wildly insane young man came happiness. He was happy, damn it. For the first time in his entire life, he was truly content. No one had a right to take that from him… not even the freaking master of all vampires. The anger started welling then, building up in him like magma in a volcano; just waiting to erupt.

When he drew back from Taki, he was a different person. The frightened, shivering Hide who’d so often sought the safety of his lover’s embrace was gone. In his place stood a defiant young man, his rage seething from every pore of his body. “Let’s go,” he commanded, teal eyes blazing as Taki cocked an eyebrow in his direction.

Without saying a word, Taki dialed the taxi company they normally used as Hide walked outside, standing in the bright sunlight, soaking in its warmth. He realized that this could possibly be his last sunrise, his last look at his home; his last few precious moments with Taki. Shaking his head to clear out the negative thoughts, he focused on what needed to be done.

Silently, Taki stepped through the front door, drawing it shut behind him. As both men turned to look at one another their eyes met. One look into the burning dark eyes told Hide everything Taki wouldn’t verbalize. Separately they were strong, but together… they were invincible. He would NOT die. As long as he knew Taki was at his side, neither of them would perish. They WOULD get their lives back.

Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine was founded in 1180 by Minamoto Yoritomo, the first Kamakura Shogun. Its present incarnation had been built after a fire destroyed the original in 1191. The shrine grounds measured roughly eighty thousand square meters, which was a lot of area for just two men to cover, that was, unless one of them happened to be a vampire.

Hide left Taki at the main hall with a promise to be back as soon as he found the master vamp. Less than ten minutes later, he had returned, slightly winded. “It’s weird. I don’t sense any other vampires here,” he told Taki. “I was sure they’d be here with him.”

“Where is he?” was all Taki wanted to know.

“There’s a small sub-shrine a little way back from here; the Shirahata. I’m sure he knows I’m here because I felt his presence somewhere near there and if I felt him, he sure as hell felt me.”

Taking Hide by the arm, Taki led the way outside. “Let’s do this.”

Hide paused. “Are you sure?”

“We’re not going over this again,” Taki growled, as he continued walking.

The Shirahata was located in the eastern part of the temple grounds, easily identifiable by the white banners flown along the pathway leading up to it. Painted black, it gleamed in the mid-morning sun. It was while gazing at the sub-shrine that Hide realized why he hadn’t sensed the presence of any other vampires. It was morning. Menumorout must have planned on facing him alone or he never would have ventured out in daylight. Hide also realized that the master vampire must also be able to withstand sunlight.

Just then a figure emerged from the shadowed entryway of the shrine. Waist-length black hair gleamed against a ruddy complexion, the raven tresses held back by a single leather tie at the nape of the person’s neck. Thick lashes rose to reveal eyes the color of the irises in the Meiji gardens, a purple so deep as to be almost black. Lush crimson lips parted in a smile as the creature’s fangs glinted threateningly. A throaty laugh broke from the creature and a chill ran up Hide’s spine.

This was the man from Nagasaki… THIS was Menumorout.

“I knew you would come, my brilliant young warrior,” Menumorout said, confidently, backing into the shire as Hide followed.

Hide snarled, “What choice did I have? You’ve been killing everyone between Tokyo and Yokohama.”

The master vampire sneered. “It got you here, didn’t it? I’d say my plan was a rousing success.”

“Bastard.”

“Tsk, tsk. Is that any way to talk to your sire?” the master vampire teased as Hide seethed.

“You think too highly of yourself,” the younger vampire spat. “You’re nothing to me but a disease carrying menace that just happened to infect me with this infernal plague.”

Menumorout’s hand lashed out, catching Hide in the side of the face and sending the younger vampire spinning across the room. “You need to learn respect, boy. What I gave you was a gift… the gift of eternity.”

Taki took Hide’s disorientation as his opportunity to jump into the fray. Pulling his “lucky stick” from the back of his pants, he charged the master vampire recklessly.

Stepping aside, Menumorout struck young man’s hand, sending the piece of wood sailing out the door to clatter harmlessly on the walkway outside. The clawed hand wrapped around his throat, effectively cutting off his air supply and Taki thought it was the end; until Hide flew across the room. The younger vampire collided with the master with such force Menumorout was startled into releasing Taki, who fell to the floor gasping for breath.

“Do NOT touch him,” Hide hissed, his eyes glowing dangerously at the master.

Menumorout grinned. “Ah, good. You’re finally starting to realize your potential, aren’t you my young heir.”

“Don’t call me that,” Hide spat, venomously.

“But it’s what you are. You are my heir, the next master of the vampires. Everything I have will be yours.”

Slapping the hand that reached for him away, Hide growled, “I don’t want it; ANY of it. Find another heir and leave us the hell ALONE.”

“I can’t do that, young one. YOU are the chosen. YOU are the only one fit to lead.”

“I refuse.”

Menumorout blinked, as if considering Hide’s outburst. The master vampire had finally reached his limit. He was not going to argue with the obstinate young vampire any longer. His rage boiled over. “You ungrateful little whelp,” he growled. “Everything I have done, I did for YOU. All that I have was meant for YOU. I have provided everything for your future and THIS is how you show your gratitude?” He was beside Hide in a fraction of a second, craggy fingers tangling through long titian locks, grasping them painfully. “If you continue with this insane charade, I will kill the boy.”

Still defiant through his pain, Hide spat, “Leave him out of this. It’s ME you want.”

The master vampire snorted, “You misunderstand, young one. By killing the boy, I WILL have you. His death will crush you and all you will have left… is me.”

Hide struggled. “You deluded old bastard! Is THAT what you think? That I’d come running to you if Taki dies? Guess again, asshole! If you kill Taki, I’ll kill MYSELF. And you STILL won’t have your precious ‘heir’”.

Menumorout howled in frustration. How DARE the young one threaten him like this! Had he not learned ANYTHING in all of his years of life? Years that HE, Menumorout had given him. The older vampire snarled, whipping Hide around and tossing him easily into the nearby wall. Staggering forward, Hide tried to regain his balance, but the master vampire was too fast, grabbing Hide by the throat and swinging him face-first into another wall. Blood trickled down his forehead, blurring his vision even more.

“You WILL obey me.” the master vampire growled.

“No, I WON’T!” Hide refused, blindly fighting the hands clutching at him.

They resembled wolves in the manner that they fought, snarling and spitting, attacking one another viciously before backing away to regroup. The master vampire clearly had the advantage in the fact that he was quicker and much stronger than Hide. He appeared to be unharmed, whereas Hide was bleeding profusely from a number of wounds. The gash in his forehead was the injury that annoyed him the most since the blood from it refused to stop pouring into his eyes, temporarily blinding him.

There were a multitude of other injuries, slashes across his face and down his neck. His sleeves hung in tatters from severely lacerated arms and more blood oozed from the freshest wound Menumorout had given him, a deep, jagged carving spanning from his left hip to the middle of his chest. The master vampire’s claws were more like talons, razor sharp and tough as steel. When they dug into Hide’s flesh, it was like a hot knife through butter. Hide’s breathing was labored, but still he fought. As he struggled against the screaming pain coursing through his body, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Taki had crawled across the floor toward them, apparently unnoticed by the master vampire in his single-minded pursuit of Hide. Without turning to look and give Taki’s position away, Hide realized that this was his advantage. His ever unpredictable human friend would be the deciding factor in the battle between vampires. Hide slowly maneuvered Menumorout closer to where Taki crouched, withstanding all of the abuse the master vampire heaped on him to get him in just the right spot. Taki grinned and flashed Hide a “thumbs up” when Menumorout was exactly where the young man wanted him.

Suddenly, Taki’s leg flung out, sending the master vampire sprawling backwards, off-balance. Such a simple, childish tactic, yet it was all the opportunity Hide needed. Pouncing upon the temporarily distracted master vampire, he wrenched Menumorout’s head to one side, exposing the pale length of the master vampire’s throat. Claws ripped frantically at his arms as Menumorout fought to break free, but Hide was through being his plaything. Breaking through the blood and pain filling his mind and patterned across his body, the young vampire struck without further hesitation.

Hide’s fangs sunk into the pink-tinged skin as Menumorout struggled against him. Without relinquishing his grip, Hide drank, deeply. Slowly Menumorout’s fighting weakened, the younger vampire effectively overpowering the older as the master vampire’s strength was sapped drop by precious drop. As the old one’s blood gushed down his throat, Hide bore him to the ground, pinning him to the floor of the shrine. A gurgling sound bubbled up from Menumorout’s throat as the younger vampire drained him of his blood and of his power. Clawed fingers clutched at Hide’s arms, but they were already too weak and held no effect.

The power coursing through Hide was astonishing. He could feel it pulsing through every cell of his body and it gave him such a rush.

Hide drank until there was nothing left for him to drink, as Menumorout gradually slid into oblivion. The master vampire’s body gave one final rattle, one last moan and gasp, then, it was still. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Hide’s mouth to his chin, dripping to the floor as he licked his lips. Raising himself off the completely drained corpse of the old master vampire, Hide brushed the drying husk off him, snapping the brittle bones as they fell to dust. It was such an undignified end for the once great Menumorout, though, in a warped sense, his greatest desire had finally become reality. Hide was now the new master vampire.

Suddenly, the full force of his new powers came rushing to him and Hide crumpled to his knees, clutching his head, crying out in pain. Voices called to him, so many voices, he could hear them all but he couldn’t distinguish one from the other. Everything started to move around him, spinning, blurring, going by too fast for him comprehend. Falling to his side, he curled into a small ball, lying on the floor and whimpering in agony.

Then, tender hands were on him, stroking, soothing; trying to easy away the pain. A soft voice broke through all the others. “Shh, Hide. It’s okay.” Arms lifted him to lean against a masculine chest. He clutched at his friend, desperate to make it all stop.

“It hurts,” he cried, tears streaming down his face, his eyes squeezed shut to block out the bright, whirring figures racing by him.

Gentle fingertips brushed the tears away as cool lips pressed to his forehead. “You can do this, Hide. Just relax… let it happen. Don’t fight it.”

“It’s too much. Too many voices; too much of everything,” Hide lamented.

“Just focus on me, then. Focus on MY voice,” Taki instructed. He kept talking to Hide as the young vampire tried to concentrate. It hurt like hell, but the more effort he put into it, the easier it became. Finally, the other voices faded into the distance and all he could hear was the comforting sound of Taki’s words.

“I can hear you.”

Taki smiled, stroking the long titian hair that had fallen forward, obscuring Hide’s face. Pushing it back, behind Hide’s shoulders, he tilted the chin up to look at him. “Good. Now, baby, open your eyes.”

Hesitantly, Hide did as Taki asked. “Whoa,” Taki gasped as he got his first glimpse of Hide’s eyes. The blue-green was more intense than he could remember it ever being, now with gold flecks glinting around the irises. They were breathtaking.

“What?” Hide asked, panicked.

Smiling, Taki drew the frightened vampire to his chest again, burying a kiss in the matted red hair clinging to Hide’s forehead. “They’re beautiful.”

“What is?” Hide was confused.

“Your eyes, baby. Your eyes are beautiful. They’ve changed color a little. That’s all.”

Tears filled the teal eyes again, as the vampire turned to bury his head in Taki’s shoulder. “What have I done?” he sobbed. “What have I become?” His hands balled in Taki’s shirt, his distress overwhelming.

“Hide, stop.” Taki commanded, the brusqueness of his tone immediately garnering the vampire’s attention. “Now pay attention, damn it.” Running a finger under the vampire’s eyes, Taki caught some of the teardrops on it. He held them up for Hide to see. “Look at this. Clear. Not blood, Hide, real tears.” Grabbing the vampire’s hand he pulled it toward the little beam of sunlight streaming in through the doorway of the shrine. Hide tried to shrink back, but the withering look Taki gave him made him relinquish. Taki thrust Hide’s hand into the light as the vampire cringed, expecting the worst.

Moments later, Hide’s eyes reopened in confusion. Taki let go of his hand and Hide crawled cautiously up to the beam of light. He stared at the hand held in it, turning it over and examining it as though seeing it for the first time. Then he slunk forward until the ray of sunshine crossed his face, as he closed his eyes once again. Delicious warmth filled him. Lifting his chin, he opened his eyes. The world rushed to greet him through that doorway. He could see the outside just as clearly as if there were no walls around him. He gasped, spinning to look at Taki, wide-eyed.

“What do you see?” his lover asked.

“Everything,” was his awed reply. “I can see everything going on out there. I can see the trees and the buildings and the people. If I concentrate I could probably narrow it down to specifics. I can see what they’re all doing… as if this building doesn’t even exist; like there are no walls at all… anywhere.”

“Well, you finally got that x-ray vision, I guess.” Taki chuckled, nudging Hide. “Better late than never, I suppose.”

Hide’s head cocked, “And... I can hear what they’re thinking,” he added.

“Really… you can hear thoughts now, huh?” Taki teased. Dark brown eyes trained on Hide, turning serious. “So tell me, what am I thinking?”

“What?” Hide asked, still trying to comprehend everything that was happening to him.

“You said you read minds now… so tell me, what am I thinking?” Taki smirked, repeating his request.

The vampire blinked, studying the young man whose dark eyes burned with an intensity he’d never noticed before. He concentrated, trying to find the link to Taki’s mind in the web of thoughts filling his head. It wasn’t as hard as he’d anticipated. Taki’s was the brightest thread of all. A slow smile worked its way across his lips, as Taki’s thoughts drifted through the clutter in his mind. “Aishiteru.” Taki’s thoughts radiated pure love. There was nothing artificial or pretentious about it. Even his mind was solely Taki. Drawing the younger man’s mouth to his, Hide sealed their lips together.

Taki’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, holding the vampire against him tightly as Hide’s hands fell about the younger man’s waist. “See, Hide. You’re still you,” Taki assured him, “just… better.”

The vibrant teal eyes clouded, “What if I change?” he asked.

“Baka!” Taki replied, in a clipped tone. “You think I’d love you any less? If you change, we’ll deal with it. I don’t think you’re going to, though. You’ll always be Hide; MY Hide.”

“Your Hide,” the vampire whispered, savoring the taste of the phrase as it fell from his lips. Contouring himself to Taki’s body, his lips sought the other man’s, their tongues dueling, delving deeply into one another’s mouth. It was a mind-blowing, heart-stopping, weak-in-the-knees kiss of all kisses. The crisis was over… and they’d won.

He’d gained all of Menumorout’s powers. Just what other kinds of powers were among them, Hide had yet to discover, but it seemed that he’d retained most, if not all of the human traits he’d fought so hard to maintain. “Best of both worlds,” as Taki said.

“Mmm-hmm,” Taki agreed through their kiss.

Hide jumped, startled, thoroughly engrossed in the kiss and not realizing he’d been thinking aloud.

Taki chuckled then, dark eyes glittering at the older man. “It’s good to know I can still surprise you, oh, great all-seeing, mind-reading master vampire,” he teased.

Not knowing how to react, Hide just stood there, staring at Taki in mock-anger.

A gale of howling laughter was the younger man’s response to Hide’s blank look, forcing Hide to kiss him again, just to put a stop Taki’s raucous glee. Spinning them around, Taki backed him into the wall, both of the younger man’s hands braced on either side of Hide’s head. Hide’s vision swam as Taki kissed him senseless. A gentle hand caressed his cheek, brushing over his swollen lips once the kiss ended.

“Come on,” he heard Taki say, the voice sounding a million miles away through the fog in his head. There was a tug on the front of his shirt and his eyes slid open. Taki was smiling down at him. “Come on,” the younger man repeated. Wrapping an arm around the new master vampire’s waist, Taki led him outside, into the bright sunlight of a glorious spring day. Leaning in to claim another kiss, Taki murmured, “Let’s go home.”

As simple as they were, at this particular moment, those were the three sweetest words Hide had ever heard.


~End of Chapter Nine~