learashi | Blood. Lust. (1/6)

Pairing: Sakumoto

Genre: Vampire AU, fantasy, drama, romance

Rating: NC-17

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Arashi or its members – this is a work of fiction.

Summary:Jun is the youngest son of a Royal House of vampires. Sho is only son of a rival Royal House. In order to maintain a peaceful status quo the Vampire Council decrees that the Royal Houses mate their sons with each other. After a humiliating incident in the past Jun wants nothing more than to stay as far away from Sho as possible and is determined to deny the match. Will Sho be able to win Jun’s love and more importantly does he even want to?

Notes: Um…I have no idea where this even came from…since it’s about Vampires…a subject that I know next to nothing about and probably nobody is even vaguely interested in. Welcome to the new me - writing utter foolishness just because it makes me happy, and proud of doing so. Woooo.

“Happy Valentine’s Day Senpai.”

The older boy looked at him with disdain, his lip curling as he glared at the box of candy wobbling dangerously on the younger boy’s sweaty palm. His eyes glowed deep red as he looked down at the shorter boy who was blinking up at him with huge hopeful eyes.

“Why on earth do you presume that I would accept a gift from a skinny little bug-eyed insect like you?”

The older boy’s friends laughed sycophantically as one of them knocked the box onto the ground, its contents spilling across the concrete like tiny jewels.

The mocking laughter seemed to grow ever louder as the small boy blushed deeply and began to scrabble around trying to pick up the candies and stuff them back into the dented box.

The same boy who had knocked the box onto the ground pressed forwards, his eyes sparking orange with malice as he shoved the small boy hard enough to knock him down onto his hands and knees, the rough concrete scratching deep grooves into his palms.

To his everlasting shame, the smaller boy felt hot tears running down his cheeks as the circle of laughing faces pressed in on him; the object of his affections turning and walking away from him, apparently not even caring enough to stop the bullying.

“NO!” Jun jerked upright as he struggled to free himself from the dream. It had all happened so long ago and he couldn’t understand why he had dreamt the same thing three days in a row.

A cool hand was pressed to his forehead and a pair of concerned bright blue eyes looked at him, glowing gently in the darkened room.

“Jun, is everything okay? I heard you cry out,” Satoshi, Jun’s older brother asked softly.

Even though Satoshi’s room was at the far end of the corridor, his sharp hearing meant that he missed very little.

Wiping his face with a trembling hand, Jun said, “It’s ridiculous. Why do I keep dreaming about Sakurai-senpai? I haven’t seen him since high school.”

“He was your first love, that’s not someone you forget easily,” Satoshi said, plopping himself down on the edge of Jun’s bed. “Especially since he broke your heart,” he added with a growl.

“He didn’t!” Jun protested. “He may have trampled on it and dented it a little, but he didn’t break it.”

“Oh really? Then why haven’t you ever had a proper relationship?”

Jun’s eyes glowed an angry purple as he glared at his brother, “What do you know about my relationships?”

Satoshi looked slightly shifty for a moment before returning his face to its usual blank mask; Jun would be angry if he knew that he watched over him from a distance to make sure that he was safe, given Jun’s propensity for one-off sexual encounters with unsuitable people.

“Has Father been checking up on me again?”

“I don’t really know for sure,” Satoshi replied. “But I’d be careful about who you see just for the next little while.”

“Why”

“I saw Ninomiya-san leaving Father’s office the other day, and a visit from him usually means trouble,” Satoshi said warily.

++++

In a world where vampires and humans lived alongside each other in harmony, strict rules had to be formulated on both sides to allow the peaceful co-existence to continue. With the development of synthetic blood products that were good enough to be palatable and widely available the vampire population, humans had finally lost their fear of the other, perhaps more unusual, inhabitants of their planet.

Whereas the human world was made up of countries run by duly elected politicians, the vampire world was divided into territories ruled by Royal Houses. Much like the United Nations Organization, the Vampire Council handled disputes between the Royal Houses and maintained peaceful relationships between the vampires and humans. It was also their responsibility to hunt down rogue vampires who fed off humans without their consent, an act punishable by the harshest discipline.

The Council employed many agents to ensure that their wishes were carried out, and one of these agents was presently sitting in the hallway awaiting an audience with King Matsumoto who ruled over one of the largest territories, second only to that of King Sakurai’s in this particular region. The Council was displeased with the ongoing disputes between the two territories, which often affected the lives of the humans who lived in the region and were almost universally employed by businesses owned and operated by either of these Royal Houses.

They had come up with a plan to settle these disputes once and for all and it was to this purpose that their most trusted agent had been dispatched to speak to the head of both of these Royal Families.

++++

“Good morning Sir,” Aiba said as he drew back the curtains of the bedroom, revealing clear skies and a shining silvery moon.

“Do you ever get tired of not seeing the sun?” Sho asked as he sat up in bed and ruffled his hand through his hair. “Sometimes I wonder what I’m missing, but you’re a human and it's not natural for you to spend so much time in the dark.”

“After three months I'm used to it by now,” Aiba replied, “and besides, the moon is beautiful in its own way.”

Usually Aiba’s chirpy outlook on life was a boon to Sho, who had only returned to live with his father after a long absence, but the knowledge that he had a meeting with his father after breakfast made it impossible for him to see the bright side at that very moment.

++++

“Father why is Ninomiya-san here?” Jun filled his goblet from the smaller jug full of deep red liquid that sat next to his place setting and took a tiny sip, grimacing slightly at the taste. He sometimes wondered what real blood tasted like, but he wouldn't get the chance to know until his eventual mating rites, if he ever found a mate, that is; something that seemed increasingly remote if his recent love life was any indication.

“He had a proposition for me, or rather, you, Jun,” King Matsumoto replied, ignoring the look that passed between his two sons. “I have already accepted on your behalf so it's nothing that you need to worry about. I have meetings all day so I asked him to convey the Council’s wishes to you in my stead.”

Without any further explanation he pushed back his chair and strode from the room making the servants nervously leap to open the doors for him.

Before the doors swung shut, the small figure of the Council’s Agent slipped through and bowed to the two Princes before taking a seat and pouring himself a goblet of the synthetic blood from the larger ornate crystal jug resting in the middle of the table.

“Nino, would you like some food to accompany that?” Satoshi asked, nudging a plate of fried fish in his direction. Most vampires ate other foods to supplement the manufactured blood product, finding it made things easier when dealing with humans socially and greatly improved their own wellbeing.

Nino however, shuddered and pushed it away from him, food held no interest for him and in fact he would have been perfectly happy to forego the blood if he didn't need it to keep himself alive.

“You always were a picky eater, even when we were at school,” Satoshi grumbled, taking the fish back and stuffing a piece into his mouth with great enthusiasm.

Nino ignored him in favour of looking at Jun, who was toying nervously with his own breakfast.

Although small in stature and delicate in appearance Nino possessed an intimidatingly strong personality; something which he was eternally grateful for given the sometimes difficult and even dangerous tasks given to him by the Council as part of his duties. Vampires were born and aged at the same rate as humans until they reached their full physical maturity, usually around the age of 25. After that point the ageing process slowed down, ensuring that their lives were hundreds of years long. But even for a vampire Nino appeared to be unnaturally young. For him it seemed that his aging process had stalled in his late teens.

“Prince Jun, I need to speak with you regarding a private matter,” Nino said with a respectful incline of his head. “Perhaps once breakfast is over?”

“Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of Satoshi,” Jun said, grateful for the calming presence of his brother sitting opposite him.

“As you wish,” Nino said, finding it hard to retain his professional distance when faced with two of the very few people he counted as friends.

“Nino, stop being so formal, Father isn't here and you're making my baby brother nervous,” Satoshi said with a roll of his eyes.

Nino started to speak, but the words wouldn't come, so he took another mouthful of blood to calm his nerves. “The Council has become tired of the petty squabbling between this Kingdom and that of the House of Sakurai. The humans have complained that their livelihoods and personal safety are in danger.”

“I know that Father has a short temper, but I've been trying to keep the peace as much as I can,” Satoshi said with a frown.

“The Council is aware of your efforts and appreciates them, but they have decided that something more...concrete is needed.” Nino said, turning to face Jun. “It has therefore been decreed that you will be mated to the only son of the Sakurai King.”

“What?” Jun’s face lost all trace of colour as he glared at Nino. “I presume my father refused.”

“No, actually he agreed immediately. It seems that he doesn't approve of your recent sexual habits and wants you safely mated before something untoward happens.”

Jun growled and flung himself across the table, wrapping his hands around the Council Agent’s thin neck.

++++

Aiba bustled into Sho’s office carrying the usual metal box full of paperwork that the Prince was expected to complete each night but jerked to a halt as he saw that Sho was gazing gloomily out the window, staring listlessly at the lights of the city.

“Um, Sir?” Aiba asked nervously as he placed the box on the large glass topped desk with care. “Are you feeling okay? Do you need any blood or anything?”

“Aiba, not every problem can be solved with blood,” Sho replied with a heartfelt sigh.

“But I have plenty to spare if you need a little pick-me-up.”

Sho turned to his assistant with the hint of a smile working at the corners of his mouth. “I don't remember ‘snack’ being listed on the job description that you were handed when you started working here.”

“Working for the Crown Prince of a Royal House is an important job and I promised my mother that I wouldn't screw it up,” Aiba said with a determined look. “So if you ever need a nibble…”

“Just being an efficient assistant is enough for me,” Sho replied. “I have no plans to nibble anyone at the moment, or at least not until I have to.”

“Sir?” Aiba was confused by Sho’s gloom returning.

“You might as well know that the Vampire Council has ordered me to take a mate of their choosing.”

“But that's so outdated and barbaric, nobody should be forced into something like that,” Aiba protested, before turning bright red. Although he’d received full training in etiquette after successfully finding employment with the Royal House he still sometimes forgot himself. “Sorry Sir, I didn't mean to imply that vampires are um…”

“Don't worry Aiba-chan, it's nothing that I haven't already told my father, not that it made any difference,” Sho replied resignedly. “I have no choice but to follow their orders and mate with whoever they’ve chosen for me, otherwise this Kingdom and all of its inhabitants will suffer. I only hope that it's someone I can get along with.”

++++

“Nino, let him go!” Satoshi ordered.

Looking up from where he had Jun pinned face down on the floor with his arm twisted painfully behind his back; Nino gave Satoshi a gummy smile before nodding slightly and releasing his hold.

Jun stumbled to his feet, hissing at Nino and lunging towards him with fiery purple eyes, only to be grabbed around the waist by Satoshi who held him firmly in place.

Nino’s eyes glowed a deep gold before gradually dimming as he brushed dust from the sleeve of his black jacket. “Look at the state of this!”

“If you didn't insist on dressing entirely in black all the time you wouldn't have this problem,” Satoshi snickered.

“It adds to my aura of mystery,” Nino replied with a raised eyebrow.

Jun stopped struggling and laughed, the purple fading from his eyes, “The mystery is why you dress all in elegant black and then wear those ugly sneakers.”

“Because they are comfortable, help my mobility, and most importantly come from the Night Market and only cost twenty dollars a pair,” Nino said, wiggling his foot to show them off.

“Does that mean that you two are friends again?” Satoshi asked. “And you'll stop fighting?”

The other two nodded and he slowly released his hold on Jun who immediately sank down onto his haunches and buried his face in his hands.

“Why him? Of all the vampires in this world I have to mate with him?”

“What's wrong with Crown Prince Sho? From what I know of him he's hardworking, dependable and also quite handsome if you like the chiselled muscular type with an ass you could bounce a coin off,” Nino said, patting Jun’s shoulder consolingly. “I mean, in the being joined-in-an-arranged-mating department he is definitely top shelf.”

“He also broke Jun’s heart and walked away without a second glance, leaving him at the mercy of his bullying cronies,” Satoshi said angrily. “And for that I will never forgive him.”

++++

Sho nervously stroked his fingers over the finely tooled black leather cover of the file folder sitting on the desk in front of him. It had been sent from the Vampire Council and contained the details of his destined mate. He’d been staring at it for almost an hour now, but had been unable to bring himself to open it.

He had tried to reason with both his father and the Vampire Council with no success. Both proved to be implacable in their determination for this mating to take place. Even his sister had encouraged him to accept the match, although she herself had gone against the wishes of their parents and chosen her own mate based solely on love.

“It’s almost sunrise Sir,” Aiba said with a barely concealed yawn as he drew the curtains and closed the blinds. “May I bring you anything before you retire for the day?”

“No...Thanks,” Sho replied distractedly.

“Oh, looking at photos?” Aiba asked as he spotted the folder. “Sorry. There I go being nosy again.”

“It's fine.” Sho came to a decision and pushed the folder towards Aiba. “As a matter of fact I would appreciate it if you would take a look for me.”

“Don't want to be stuck with a dud?” Aiba asked. “Oops.”

“Do not apologize again. I need all the friends I can get right about now.”

“F-friend? I couldn't possibly…”

“Because I'm a vampire?”

“No! Because you're Royalty and I'm just a common person.”

“Your mother would be very disappointed to hear you call yourself ‘common’,” Sho said with a small smile.

Aiba laughed, releasing the tension in his shoulders. “You're completely right.”

“So will you please take a look?”

“I sure can, since I am absolutely bursting with curiosity,” Aiba said, eagerly snatching up the file and flicking through it.

++++

“There has to be some way to change this decision,” Satoshi said angrily.

“Afraid not.” Nino hunched his shoulders apologetically. “Once the Council sets its mind to something that’s it and any attempt to change things will only bring fire and brimstone down on the heads of those who disagree, and I’m not talking figuratively here.”

As the other two continued to argue their voices buzzed around Jun’s head like a swarm of angry bees. Now he knew why he had been dreaming of Sakurai Sho for the past three nights and waking in a cold sweat at the memory of those mocking eyes. Although Sho had left the school shortly after the incident, the rest of his friends, and one in particular, had continued to bully Jun until his life became intolerable. It was only when Satoshi became aware of the situation and swept through the bullies like an avenging angel that the torment had ceased.

“Jun are you okay?”

Satoshi’s voice seemed to coming from a great distance, as the room revolved around Jun’s head. He tried closing his eyes, but that only meant that his head was filled with the vision of an orange-eyed boy heading towards him with malice in his eyes as Sho’s back receded into the distance.

“Jun!” Satoshi gripped Jun’s upper arms and shook him lightly, worried that he was about to pass out.

“Drink this,” Nino ordered as he shoved a goblet of blood under Jun’s nose.

“N-no,” Jun said faintly as he attempted to push it away.

“I mean it,” Nino said with a glare. “If you don’t drink it yourself I will knock you down again and pour it down your throat myself.” For someone who looked so small and fragile, Nino was actually very agile and surprisingly strong. He passed the goblet to Jun who held it with trembling hands and took the smallest sip, his teeth clattering against the rim.

“Sorry for being so pathetic, but I haven’t been sleeping much these past few days and this has been quite a shock.” Jun’s hands gradually stopped trembling as the blood calmed him. “There may not even be anything to worry about. I’m sure that Prince Sho will be even more horrified than I am about the prospect of us mating and if that’s the case then he might be able to find a way out of this for both of us since their Royal House has a much stronger influence on the Council than ours.”

++++

“Wow.”

“Wow?” Sho couldn't tell if Aiba meant it in a good or bad way.

“Wow wow wow.”

“Aiba can you try and use some other words?”

“He is…”

“Ugly?”

“No!” Aiba spluttered. “He’s…”

“Aiba!” Sho growled, his eyes glowing a faint red.

“S-sorry.” Aiba tried to remain calm. Even though he'd been working for the vampire for a few months, it still made him nervous when his eyes took on that glow. “Beautiful. He is beautiful.”

Aiba handed Sho the portrait. “See?”

Sho blinked in confusion as he looked at a small round face with features that were unusually strong, which was strangely familiar and yet different. It was only when his gaze caught the expressively luminous eyes that he felt a jolt of recognition.

“Jun-kun?”

“Yes, it's Prince Jun from the Royal House of Matsumoto,” Aiba said, reading the biography included in the folder. “Do you know him? That would be really nice and make things much easier for the two of you.”

“Easier?” Sho laughed bitterly. “Since he probably wishes me dead, that wouldn’t be the first word I’d choose to describe our future relationship.”

++++

Jun straightened his spine and took a deep breath before raising his hand to knock on Satoshi’s bedroom door.

“Just come in Jun, no need to knock,” Satoshi called out.

“Of course I was going to knock. What if you were entertaining someone? And stop doing that, it's really annoying,” Jun grumbled as he joined his brother.

“I can't help it, somehow I just always know where you are.”

“But not what I'm doing? Right?” Jun found himself blushing at the thought of Satoshi knowing about some of his recent activities.

“No, of course not,” Satoshi replied innocently, not quite lying. For some reason since Jun’s birth if he concentrated hard enough he could get a vague sensation of Jun’s emotions. It was something which had come in handy when their mother only too often despaired of ever getting baby Jun to sleep, and Satoshi found that he could feel why Jun was upset and soon have him tucked into bed. He still regretted not realizing sooner that his brother was being bullied at school, but at that time his own thoughts had been clouded by his first proper adult relationship with a woman, and the first exploration of his sexual desire.

“I tried reasoning with Mother and Father, but they are more than happy to comply with the Council’s decision. I can't see any way out,” Jun said unhappily as he flung himself down on Satoshi’s bed.

“I've been speaking with Nino, and much as it pains me, I think that forging such a bond between our two Houses would only bring benefits to not just the vampire population, but to humans as well. People need stable surroundings if they are to prosper,” Satoshi said with a serious expression.

“Wow, you sound like an old man sometimes,” Jun teased. “Something that I didn't think would happen for a few hundred years. But I understand your point and also Father's, and I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't Sho-senpai.”

“Maybe you should speak with him. Perhaps he's changed,” Satoshi said encouragingly. “And if he hasn't then I can just go and rip his throat out for you.”

At the sight of Jun’s slightly horrified expression Satoshi threw up his hands. “Joke. I'm joking.” Once again Satoshi was being a little slippery with the truth. He would never allow anyone to hurt Jun in any way; especially not Sakurai Sho.

Current Mood: jubilant
Current Location: Settling in under the rock for a long stay