Blossoms of Evil

Originally Titled: Saku no Waru. Written for a writing contest at my school (I got first place!) as a fanfic when I was 13, back when I was still in my fanfiction stage.

Terachi no Shinya fell to his knees in the genkan at the morbid sight before him, blood splattering the torn shouji. His eyes darted back and forth from each of his fallen friends and family, unable to believe that within the two hour time frame he had been away from the celebrations that such a massacre had occurred. He looked around for signs of life as he forced himself to his feet, praying that his beloved brother had not been amongst those who had fallen. All of the shouji were torn and broken as though there had been a great struggle against the assailant of whom had murdered his loved ones.

 

He clasped his hand over his mouth with sickened astonishment as his eyes fell upon a youth no older than fifteen, lying face up, his nails curled into the tatami floor mat and his eyes wide open. A trickle of dried blood remained on the side of his cheek and the pool of blood that had gushed from the gash in his neck had long ago dried. Once again Shinya was brought to his knees beside the body of Hara no Toshiya—his brother. As he stared down at the body, his shoulders hunched, he saw pieces of thin wood and paper sticking to his bright kimono; seeing the sight brought a solemn smile to Shinya’s lips. He knew Toshiya had not gone down without a fight, he had probably caused such trouble to the assassin that they had been fighting all throughout the house and were the ones who broke the shouji.

 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, forcing himself to control his emotions. He had vowed never to cry in front of his brother and he never would, even in death. Shinya found himself sitting there on his knees for hours in a dazed state, never once lifting his eyes from the corpses that littered his home. They had been celebrating for him, they were brought to his home because of his accomplishments, because he had gained the shogun’s favor as a Kyuuketsuki Karyuudo, a hunter of the vampires that had plagued Edo. He had left on a call from the shogun…but if he had stayed…perhaps they would all be alive.

 

“By the gods…is that Toshiya-kun?” Shinya jumped, surprised by the voice. At first he had not recognized the voice and his hand went instinctively to the hilt of his sword. He looked up, his hand still on his sword and saw a short man standing in his doorway, shrouded in a cloak that covered him head to foot.

 

“Kyo…please…go away,” Shinya muttered, taking his hand away from the hilt of his sword and adjusting his kimono.

 

Instead of obeying the grieving man’s request, Kyo stepped fully inside the house and shut the door behind him. He walked around, making sure he would not receive direct contact with the sun from any angle of the house. Shinya watched him take down the hood of his cloak and slide it from his body, letting it crumple on the floor in smooth ripples beside the body of his cousin. He marveled at Niimura no Kyo’s appearance as he stood in his white under kimono held together with a black obi, his flesh almost as pale as the smooth silk that donned his slim, lanky figure. His lips were full and pink that contrasted greatly to his pale flesh that seemed unnatural for someone of Japanese decent. His irises were lined with light brown and yellow and his thick black hair was layered around his face and thinned near his shoulders.

 

“I knew you were crazy, Shin-kun, but I hadn’t expected this of you,” he said, kneeling beside Shinya and the lifeless body of Toshiya.

 

“Don’t even uttered such words, Kyo! I do not want the sosakan-sama coming to arrest me for a crime I did not commit. I would never kill them…not Toshiya-kun,” Shinya let out a sigh, realizing that no matter how much he grieved for the loss of his younger brother there was no bringing him back. “All I know is that your people committed this act.”

 

“My people?” Kyo cried in surprise. “How are they my people? They abandoned me the day I became a day-walker and befriended you. My clan has forsaken me and yet you still blame them for every vampire related crime that is committed in all of Edo!”

 

“I am not talking about your clan, I’m referring to all of the Kodomotachi no Yoru in the area,” Shinya growled.

 

“Kodomotachi no Yoru,” Kyo mused with a smirk despite the tragic event that was before him; he appeared as though he had forgotten he was surrounded by corpses. “Even in these times you humans still refer to us Children of the Night. Do we honestly look that childish?”

 

“That is not the point, Kyo, the point is that my family and friends are dead and no human could have killed them so fast nor in such a manner. All of them have a gash in their neck…all of them were killed by vampires,” Shinya knew his voice was cold and emotionless, but at that point it did not matter. He had every right to be in the state he was in and no matter how long Kyo prodded him to speak his mind could not snap him from his shocked state.

 

Kyo had been whispering in his ear; he had not heard a word that the vampire said but he felt hot, constantly moving breath on his ear. He could feel Kyo’s hand just beneath the shoulder of his kimono, his long, nimble fingers sliding barely beneath the white under kimono. For a moment Shinya did not acknowledge the touch, but soon he realized Kyo’s nails with digging into his skin in a last attempt to get his attention. He flinched slightly from the pain, though his eyes did not move from Toshiya’s body.

 

Finally, in a desperate attempt to catch his attention, Kyo lifted his chin and moved directly in front of him, leaning his face in so close he could feel the vampire’s nose touching his. As though awakened from a dream, Shinya jumped and locked eyes with his friend, taking sudden notice the intense awkwardness of being so incredibly close to a man who could tear out his throat in a matter of seconds. “Shin-kun? Can you hear me? Or are you already going deaf?”

 

“I’m only twenty, there is no way I could being going deaf now,” he told Kyo with a sigh. “What is it?”

 

“Remember our talk?”

 

“What talk?” Shinya eyed him strangely.

 

“About you becoming a vampire, you agreed,” Kyo said, his usually jovial appearance suddenly turning serious as though it were a matter of life or death. He smirked somewhat at the shocked look of Shinya’s face and explained, “I once asked a year ago to become a vampire, I told you how it would enhance your skills and you argued how you would have to drink blood and stay out of the sun. You said only if there was no one left would you ever become a vampire…well, I’d hate to be the one to point out the obvious…but everyone you ever loved was here and now they’re all dead.”

 

Shinya stared at Kyo for a long time with his mouth agape, unable to believe what the vampire had just said. “How…at a moment like this…can you think about no one but yourself—you have merely brought this up so you can once again taste human blood instead of chicken blood!” Shinya snapped. He knew how badly Kyo desired human blood ever since they had agreed he should stop attacking humans, and for him to propose the idea at a time like this! Yet he remembered the agreement vividly—they had been talking about how close of friends they had become over the past few years and how sad Kyo would be when Shinya grew old and died. That was when Kyo had voiced the idea of Shinya becoming a vampire. At first the proposition was revolting, the thought of becoming one of the creatures he killed daily, but after a few hours of discussing Shinya had said that if he were ever to be abandoned by his friends and family he would agree to converting.

 

“If I really cared to drink human blood at a moment like this I would have grabbed Toshiya-kun’s body and licked every inch of blood from his neck! I am merely saying this before you decide that nothing in the world is worth living for and commit seppuku, or before you die of grief,” Kyo said in a frustrated tone. He waved his hand to be rid of Shinya’s disgusted look form his previous comment. “I don’t want to lose my greatest friend because of what happened today.”

 

“I will not kill myself, I am not a samurai and have not a reason to commit seppuku. Look, I understand our agreement and I live by my word—”

 

“Then say you will let me turn you into a vampire.”

 

Shinya was unsure how to respond to Kyo’s urgency towards the matter or why he was acting the way he was about it. Despite their long friendship Shinya had a habit of keeping an eye on Kyo’s motives—friendship or not, he was still a vampire and was devious by nature. “Listen, I will allow you to turn me…if you help me get revenge on the one who did this. I need you to go back into Chi Kamisori clan and poke around, I have a feeling that they are the ones who did this. If you do that for me, and we survive, I will allow you to turn me,” Shinya explained.

 

“My old clan? Why them?” The mere mention of their name seemed to bring a sudden wave of fear and nervousness to Kyo’s face. Clearly the matter upset him.

 

“They’ve had a grudge against me ever since I took you away from them and destroyed their top leaders. They have been trying to kill me for years…they finally found a way to get back at me,” Shinya said solemnly.

 

“I know you want revenge but you can’t go storming into Chi Kamosori’s head quarters again, after knowing that a rogue vampire and a human brought down their tops defenses they have increased security and are much stronger—luck won’t save you this time,” Kyo said in a low tone as though someone were eavesdropping on them. He bit his lip and Shinya caught a glimpse of his pure white ivory fangs, making him inadvertently glance down at the neck that had been torn apart. “You’re going to need a lot more strength if you want to stay alive. I know vampirism is a burden, but you’ll get used to it and you will be able to rid Edo of all the vampires that threaten the innocent citizens of this land.”

 

Shinya stared down at Toshiya’s body again, his eyes large as he considered his options. Kyo had a point, no doubt after the attack on Chi Kamisori had forced the strong clan of vampires to build a stronger defense to prevent human’s such as he from infiltrating their base. ‘What would you want?’ he asked in his mind, wishing his brother would answer him. His brother would want revenge, he knew that if he and Toshiya had switched places, his brother would get revenge for him. With a hefty sigh, he diverted his eyes from the corpse and looked at Kyo. “Fine…turn me,” he nearly choked on his words. Why were they so forced? He knew there was no other way. He wanted the men who had done this to his friends and family to suffer, he wanted them to pay for what they had done to him no matter what the cost.

 

“Are you sure?” Kyo asked with complete sincerity. “If you are going to hate me for this I do not want to be the one to do it to you.”

 

“No…I’m sure…do it,” Shinya said, making sure his voice did not waver as he spoke the words. He slid the top of his kimono from his body and lowered his obi so the extra cloth pooled around his waist, leaving his torso exposed. He saw hunger spark in Kyo’s eyes and felt his heart beating faster in his chest; he wondered what it would feel like, to be bitten by a vampire. In all his years of vampire hunting, never once had he been bitten by them—some said it was painful and other said it felt like a natural high. He wondered which one it would be.

 

It seemed to be in slow motion as Kyo moved closer to him, the hungry look in his eyes growing stronger as he inched closer. He slid a cold hand around Shinya’s back to support him and placed a firm hand on his thigh to keep him from getting up. Shinya shuddered from the cold touch of his friend, realizing that in a matter of moments his own flesh would lack warmth as well. He would be as cold as a corpse. “Trust me,” Kyo said as he lowered his face to Shinya’s neck. Shinya’s entire body tensed as he felt the fangs puncture his flesh, grabbing onto Kyo’s wrist and squeezing down hard to keep from crying out.

 

Pain shot from the two puncture wounds up his neck and down his chest as thought someone had injected him with acid. Every inch of him felt as though it were on fire as Kyo began to drink, as though his saliva were a foul poison. He cried out involuntarily as Kyo sunk his fangs deeper into his flesh, “Stop!” It was the only thought going through his mind, he wanted the pain to stop. Kyo brought up a hand and clasped it over his mouth to silence him as Shinya fell back onto the ground—he had not realized that the man at his neck was supporting him so greatly. He felt Kyo’s weight atop him as he continued drinking.

 

It seemed an eternity as his friend fed off of him before a sudden wave of numbness washed over him, his pain fading so fast it left him dazed. He could no longer feel Kyo on top of him, he could not feel the burning pain that had coursed through his body only moments before. Little dots of black and white began appearing before his eyes and the intense feeling of lethargy consumed him. What was happening? Was he dying? His eyes widened at that prospect, realizing there was the faint chance that Kyo could kill him.

 

As though the vampire had read his mind, Kyo pulled away, throwing his head back and licking the traces of blood from his lips with extreme delectation. He looked deep into Shinya’s fading eyes and bit down hard on his own wrist, whipping his head to the side and tearing through the flesh; he showed not an ounce of pain. He pressed the gushing gash to Shinya’s lips and tilted his head back so the blood would drip into his mouth and down his throat. Shinya felt a deep perturbation at the fact he was drinking blood and felt the desire to spit out the substance, but it was so unbelievably sweet he lie there limply and accepted the crimson liquid.

 

Slowly his vision began to fade as his stomach churned from the blood and he averted his gaze from Kyo’s smirking face to his brother’s body. He reached out as best his numb extremities would allow him to and stared at his hand touching his brother’s, wishing he could feel the flesh-contact one last time. ‘For you…I will get revenge,’ he thought to himself before his world turned black.

 

---

 

Kyo watched Shinya’s beautiful black eyes flutter open, for a moment seeming blank and emotionless. He smiled as life suddenly returned to the black orbs and blinked several times. Slowly, he sat himself up, looking around the unfamiliar home and slouching. He stared at his flesh as though astonished by its sudden whiteness and lack of color. He ran the tip of his tongue over his ivory fangs and sucked on his lower lip. “How are you feeling, Shin-kun?” Kyo asked softly.

 

“Like someone beat me in the head with a bat,” Shinya groaned as he grabbed the edges of his kimono and pulled them back over his exposed flesh. “Where am I?”

 

“My home, sosakan-sama had been tipped off that a massacre had taken place in your home,” Kyo explained. “While you were out I managed to gather some information who had entered your home and killed Toshiya-kun and the others. We have to pay a visit to the Parasol Shop near the Kabiki-cho; I think a vampire there knows something about what happened.”

 

“Wait, Kake-san is a vampire?” Shinya asked quizzically, thinking back to how often he had met the kind woman in the daylight. There was no way Kake-san was the one behind this; she was simply to old and kind to be a Kodomo no Yoru.

 

“Not Kake-san, her son, Kaoru-kun; he joined with Chi Kamisori last year and was amongst those injured when we invaded the place,” Kyo explained. “Get up, I’ll send for a palanquin. And strip to your under kimono, we need to be sure no one will recognize you.” He pulled his under kimono to the side and exposed his thigh, grabbing the dagger that he kept in its hidden sheath. “Do not protest, okay? We don’t have much time.”

 

As Shinya removed his bright kimono and untied his obi, Kyo moved behind him and grabbed a fist full of his long black hair. He winced as he felt the dagger sawing through his long tresses of hair, realizing that he treasured the unnatural length of it. As he retied his obi around his under kimono, he realized what had happened. He was a vampire now, he would never be able to see the beautiful sunrise again…never again could he taste sukiyaki or onagi. He had become the thing he had grown to hate from his childhood when vampires killed his parents…he was the thing that had killed Toshiya and his friends. He felt a sudden wave of disgust wash over him by what he had allowed Kyo to do to him; he felt the strong urge to grab Kyo’s dagger and plunge it into his chest, to be rid of himself before he could cause harm to anyone.

 

“All done,” Kyo announced, his soft voice snapping Shinya out of his trance-like state. “Go look at your hair in the mirror. It’s down the hall.”

 

Shinya reluctantly stood up and walked down the hall, stopped as he reached a full length mirror. He fingered his hair as he saw it cut unevenly in layers that gave him a attractive appearance that outlined his thin face and defined his cheek bones. He leaned in close, examining his face and trying to figure out if turning into a vampire had changed his appearance, but he saw only fangs when he smiled and his flesh having become as pale as his white under kimono. He tugged at the bottum of the garment as thought trying to elongate it, realizing that if he and Kyo stood beside each other they looked almost identical in features and body—excluding the fact that he was much taller than Kyo and had longer hair.

He sighed, realizing it was too late to have regrets. If he still felt as he did in the future—that feeling being that of disgust and self-loathing—then he simply walk into broad day light. As he walked back into the living area of Kyo’s home, he plastered on the best smile he could as thought satisfied with the hair cut; he did not want to give his friend any reason to suspect that he was considering suicide. “Have you spotted a palanquin?” he asked, looking around for his sword that Kyo must have removed after he passed out.

 

Shinya spotted it on the rocking chair in the corner and moved over to it, fastening it around his waist and pulling at his under kimono—only now did he wish he had not been so careless when buying clothes and actually took the time to buy the proper size.

“Yes, so let’s get on and find out who did this to you,” Kyo said, opening the door and taking in a deep breath of the fresh night air that greeted them.

 

Shinya shifted uncomfortably on the palanquin’s seat as it carried them into town. They enclosed walls around them were coated with a velvet cloth and the cloth entrance rustled in the faint breeze. The seats he and Kyo sat on were mere planks of wood covered with silk, the pace between the wood and underside of the silk stuff with feathers and wool. They had barely spoken since they entered the palanquin, there being a distance between them and an awkwardness that neither of them could get over. When Shinya finally found words to speak, he spoke slowly as though unsure of what he should say. “What…what did you do after I passed out?”

 

“I cleaned up your house and took every single one of those who had been slain to the cemetery. I paid ten thousand yen for each grave marker and fifty thousand yen for your brother’s grave, and I had the Shinto burial ritual performed for all of them,” Kyo said with a faint smile.

 

“Kyo…there were over fifty people at my home…and you paid ten thousand yen for all of them?” Shinya asked in disbelief. He knew that Kyo was wealthy, but he had clearly under estimated his friend’s wealth if he had paid such a hefty fine for the burials—it was over one million yen! “Thank you,” was all he could say. He did not know what to say to such a generous act of kindness. Perhaps it was Kyo’s way of saying he was sorry for having placed the burden of vampirism on him. It was almost as though his friend knew Shinya would never adjust to the life he was to lead—it was a shame that he only now discover the true friendship the two shared.

 

After he avenged his brother, he knew he could not lead this life of draining the lives of others to continue his existence, it was the very thing he had fought against all his life. He had already decided within a week of avenging Toshiya he would walk into the sunlight, his head held high. He had considered doing it after killing those who had killed Toshiya, but he realized that Kyo deserved a bit more time with him, no matter what repulsive acts he would have to do to remain living for that week. His death would redeem his tainted soul in the end.

 

“What is bothering you?” Kyo asked, leaning over so his knee bumped against Shinya’s.

“Nothing, just thinking about visiting Toshiya’s grave when we’re done here,” Shinya lied. His greatest fault was allowing his face to show more emotion that he intended, and now that he was a vampire meant his expressions would be more defined. Vampires were said to be emotionless, but Shinya knew better than to trust the words of others, all the vampires he had met bore their emotions on their face better than any living creature could—yet again, vampires weren’t really living.

 

“We are here, Kyo-sama,” came the voice of the palanquin leader. Kyo stood up without looking at Shinya and stepped out of the vehicle before it had stopped. Shinya followed suit in time to see Kyo paying the strong man standing beside the contraption. He turned his attention to Shinya and smiled.

 

“Shall we be going inside to pay a visit to Kake-san?” he inquired. Without waiting for a response, Kyo had already begun walking towards the shop. In the stained window Shinya saw many beautifully hand crafted parasols, one for each of the seasons. There was a particular white one that caught his eye that had cherry blossom trees painted on it, petals fluttering down from its branches. The life of such beautiful flowers were too short, often blown away after a few days of blooming in full blossom by the wind—they were too weak to hold their own against other forces. It reminded him oddly of human life—so short and fleeting that often the beauty of such a thing is not appreciated until lost forever amongst thousands of other petals.

 

“Shin-kun!” Kyo snapped. He jumped, realizing he had stopped in his tracks in the middle of the street while staring at the accessory. He hurried over to Kyo, somewhat ashamed of how easily distracted he had become. Was he going to be like this forever? Was he going to end up being and acting like Kyo?

 

“Kyo-sama! What a pleasure it is to see you!” came the cheerful voice of Kake-san as they entered her shop. “And Shinya-sama! What a pleasure it is to see both of you!” She bowed and met them with a smile as she return to her normal stature. Her old face showed nothing but respect and happiness that two men she knew so well pay her a visit. “How may I help you?”

 

“Oh, we are here to see Kaoru-kun, is he still here or has he gone out?” Shinya asked politely.

 

“I believe Kaoru-kun is in the back room sorting the inventory, would you like me to bring you two some tea?” she asked politely. “Please do not stay long, though, I should be having customers coming in rather soon, it is near sunrise.”

 

“That’s quite alright, Kake-san. I very much appreciate the offer, though,” Shinya gave a slight bow before he and Kyo continued walking to the back room. “Does she know about her son?”

 

“No, so don’t mention anything about it,” Kyo whispered. They entered the back room and saw a young man in a dull blue kimono leaning over, his back to them. He seemed not aware that they had entered the room and stayed in that position. “Kaoru-kun!”

 

The young man spun around, licking the blood from his lips and glaring at the two who had entered. His lips were thin and his eyes were so black they barely reflected any of the light around them, his pale flesh accentuated by his jet-black hair that extended down past his shoulder blades. He was holding up a short maiko by her collar, her head hanging to the side and her entire neck torn open, blood staining her beautiful, expensive kimono. Shinya sighed, seeing once again the destruction that vampirism caused—there was once a beautiful talented maiko who would never become a geiko because of the vile creatures that plagued Edo.

 

Kaoru allowed the body to drop at his feet and he smiled at the two. “Oh why look, it is the traitor and the Kyuuketsuki Karyuudo, come to arrest me, have you?” he asked, his voice sounding defiant.

 

“Don’t even play these games with me, Kaoru! Today over fifty people were killed while I was gone, including my brother! You have been linked to the Chi Kamisori more than once and you have just killed a maiko, so unless you want me to drag you outside when the sun rises I would advise that you start speaking of whatever knowledge you have,” Shinya said sharply. This was perhaps his only lead and he needed to get the information from him as quickly as possible, the longer he stayed the creature he was the more disgusted he felt.

 

Kaoru did not respond quickly, he merely stood there and smirked at the two. “Well, well, the rumors are true,” he sneered, walking over to Shinya, his face barely an inch away. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the man and he laughed loudly. “To know that a man such as you would become one of us.”

 

“Just give us the information, Kaoru!” Kyo snapped, his hand subconsciously trailing over his thigh where only a thin layer of silk kept him from his weapon.

 

“Why should I? You killed my master and all of my own underlings!” he barked. “You’re a traitor to your people and then you go off trying to win our affection back with your accursed offering at Chi Kamisori! You’re pathetic!”

 

“Shut up!” Kyo growled, bringing up the edge of his under kimono and snatching the dagger from its hidden scabbard and holding it out threateningly at his neck. “Just shut up!”

 

Shinya stared at his friend in shock, never realizing what a temper he had. The look in his eyes was something that he had never seen sparked inside Kyo; what did Kaoru mean when he was speaking of Kyo trying to win back Chi Kamisori’s affection? “Calm down, Kyo, we need information from him and staking him won’t help anything,” Shinya snapped. Something was not right; something once again was so very different about Kyo, the only time Shinya had seen him like this when he was still part Chi Kamisori.

 

“Have you not told Shin-sama? No, by that look you haven’t; would it be such a shame for me to tell Shin-sama of your deeds?” Kaoru laughed at Kyo’s angered face and Shinya’s puzzled look. “Well then, I do have quite a deal of information on your family, Shin-sama—“

 

“You will beg for death!” Kyo swung his dagger and Kaoru ducked low, skidding back on the heels of his feet and smirking.

 

“All those people dead! Chi Kamisori would have had to send out a score of people to killed them so quickly—“ he ducked low to avoid Kyo’s next attack and hopped over the dead maiko’s body. “—in the sunlight nonetheless. We Chi Kamisori are very reckless people, but not quite that reckless. A day walker could only have committed such a massacre!”

 

“Shut up!” Kyo shouted in rage, swinging the dagger wildly at Kaoru as he ducked each blow. Kaoru ducked low and punched Kyo square in the face, but for his attack he paid a price. The dagger ran over the inside of his forearm and blood spurted from the wound. Kaoru winced and drew back, holding together the flesh and arteries that had been severed.

 

“There are only a few day walkers, Shin-sama! And the only close enough to do such and with enough power is the one closest to your heart!” he began laughing at the shocked look on Shinya’s face. That one trait, his sadistic desire to watch Shinya’s quizzical look turn from that into a look of horror was his downfall; observing the man had lowered his defense and in that moment Kyo plunged the dagger into Kaoru’s chest, yanking the weapon down and soaking the front of his kimono with blood.

 

Kaoru stared wide-eyed at Kyo’s grinning face as he collapsed, clutching the blade that had pierced his heart. Within moments the vile vampire was dead, surrounded by a gathering pool of blood that no human could have produced with their blood alone. That left Shinya and Kyo alone in the back room, staring at each other—one in shock and the other in anticipation.

 

“He was telling the truth, wasn’t he?” Shinya said, a sickening feeling filling his stomach. His best friend, the only man he ever trusted, had murdered all those who were near and dear to him. He clutched his chest, feeling like his heart was being crushed.

 

Kyo slowly bent down and plucked the dagger from deep within Kaoru’s chest. He held it out before him, walking slowly towards Shinya, his face emotionless. Shinya backed up against the wall, realizing something was dearly wrong with his mind. In any other situation like this he would have already disarmed Kyo—but that was it, it was Kyo at the other end of the blade and for some reason it was keeping him from attacking. Kyo moved so close to him that his body was crushing Shinya’s against the wall and the very tip of the blade was against his cheek.

 

Shinya pursed his lips and managed to hold back a cough as the overwhelming smell of metallic blood clouded his senses. “Yes, he was,” Kyo whispered, pressing down on the blade so it dug into Shinya’s flesh; his bright eyes seemed to hold a sense of sadness—or perhaps madness.

 

“Why…why would you…” Shinya was shaking his head in disbelief, a desperate sound escaping from his throat of wishing the words to be false. His lower lip began quivering with horror and regret. If only he had not given a second chance Kyo, if only he had kept him away from his family! Perhaps they would all still be alive, perhaps Kaoru would be alive, perhaps everything that had taken its toll on him would not have happened. His emotions were mixing together in a dizzying cloud of confusion, every emotion he had suppressed along with the pain of his brother’s death were all blindsiding him.

 

“They were in the way, Shin-kun! All of them, they were preventing us from being together! Toshiya-kun always despised our friendship, always! You would grow old and I would be forced to watch you die unless you became a vampire with me, so we could live forever! It was the only way,” Kyo explained, his voice taking on a softer note to it but still sounding emotionless and cold. “It was for the best.”

 

“You…you’re selfish,” Shinya whispered in horror. “You killed my family, my friends, my Toshiya! Just so you and I could live forever? I can’t believe this…I…I don’t know what to do! You betrayed me, Kyo!” Those words, that confession, it snapped his emotions back into their corner of his mind and a sudden rage swept over him. At that moment he knew he had to kill Kyo, he had sworn to make whoever killed Toshiya pay and he planned to carry out that mission. “You led me on to believe Chi Kamisori had killed them, you convinced me Kaoru had something to do with this, you killed an innocent!”

 

“Kaoru-kun is not an innocent! He never has been, he was draining a maiko when we walked in, and he deserved to die!” Kyo shouted. “Please, understand why I did what I did Shin-kun! If you were in my position, knowing that your best friend was one day going to die, how would you feel? You wouldn’t know what to do, so I did what I had to do to keep you alive.”

 

“So you kill everyone I love and turn me into a vampire? You trick me and lie to me? I would never do such a thing!” he snapped. “You will pay for what you have done to me!” Every moment he had spent with Kyo, every time they had stayed up late talking and laughing, every fond memory Shinya held about Kyo disappeared in the instant he drew his sword. His rage took over and all thought was lost—the only thing that was clear to him through his blinding rage and intense emotions was that Kyo should be dead.

 

Shinya swung down at Kyo and missed him by a hair, cutting a large slit in his silk kimono at the shoulder. Kyo hopped back, not missing a beat and striking out with a backhand swing of the dagger. He looked hesitant to strike out, to kill what he had fought so hard to preserve, but he was selfish and if that meant killing his best friend—who now seemed his enemy—then he would do it to preserve his own life. Shinya growled and charged him, his katana striking against the small edge of the dagger and locking at the hilt.

 

Kyo brought his leg up and slammed the back of his ankle against Shinya’s wrist, catching him off guard and forcing him to drop his sword. In seconds he had Shinya backed up against the wall and he was forcing the blade roughly against his throat. “It doesn’t have to be this way! Forgive me for my hasty mistake and I will make it up to you, their deaths will not be in vain!” Kyo said loudly, baring his fangs as though signaling a threat behind his request.

 

“You killed my only family! You killed my friends!” Shinya snarled and shoved his open palms out against Kyo’s chest, sending him stumbling back in shock. He rushed to where he had dropped his sword but Kyo deterred him and punched him hard in the face. Shinya stumbled back through the door into Kake-san’s main shop and took no notice the woman staring at them in shock. Kyo rushed out and jammed the blade against his neck.

 

“Don’t make me do this!” he seemed on the verge of tears, his voice sounding as though he were begging for forgiveness. That was forgiveness he would not receive. Shinya curled his fist and punched Kyo as hard as he could, sending the vampire stumbling to the side again. He charged at his former friend, not caring if he had to tear out his heart to kill him. Kyo brought up the dagger, shutting his eyes as he waited for Shinya’s blow to come, but none came. He opened his eyes and let out a cry of shock, realizing that he had impaled himself on his dagger. “I—I’m so sorry…” He prayed that he had not struck his heart but he knew by the fading look in Shinya’s eyes he had.

 

Shinya stumbled back, staring at the dagger protruding from his chest. He took a small step back near the door and stumbled out into the broadening daylight. Kyo rushed forward to try and pull him away from the sunlight that would burn the flesh from his bone, but Shinya grabbed his arm and dragged him down with him into the sunlight, locking his arms tightly around his body and holding him in place. He felt his flesh burning and smoldering, peeling back as sunlight hit him and Shinya directly. “Please, forgive me,” he whispered, realizing he had reached his end.

 

“Never,” Shinya whispered as his body burst silently into flame, staring through the thick black smoke at Kyo as he began to burn. After a few minutes their bodies had been reduced to ash and charred bone. The blowing wind whipped up their ashes and remains, blowing them away like dust and burnt cloth fluttering away, just like the thousands of cherry blossom petals that had fallen that year, living so briefly and fading so quickly, each petal insignificant to the next.

Author's Note

Seeing as it was written five years ago, it's a bit corny, immature, full of grammar errors and typos, but I still keep it the way it is because it's what made me realize I could be a good writer. =]