Monster Squad

Back at the Koneko, Yohji was explaining to his horde of admirers that Hikaru wasn\'t his girlfriend. \"Now, now ladies, there is plenty of me to go around,\" Yohji laughed as he quickly moved on to an explanation. The pressure of hormone effected teenage girls glaring at him was beginning to wear thin on his cool composure. \"Sonja is my cousin, and is is visiting me from Germany. She\'s filling in for Aya-kun since he had somewhere else to be this morning. Please be nice to Sonja while she\'s here.\"
Hikaru was watching Yohji with a smirk on her face. Hearing Ken shuffling around behind her, she smiled and followed him into the back room to receive her orders for the day.

\"Ok, what do you want me to do, Ken-kun?\"

\"Are you any good at math?\"

\"Iie, but that\'s calculus and statistics. I can do the basics if that is what you\'re asking.\"

\"That\'s alright. I think I\'ll take Aya\'s job for the day and you can do mine. I basically just ask what people need help with and clean up. You\'ll get messy by the end of the day.\" Ken stopped arranging flowers to observe Hikaru. \"I guess that doesn\'t matter since you\'re wearing *my* clothes. Just water and move the blooming plants to the sunlight. That should do it for now.\"

\"Okay, Ken-san.\" Hikaru returned to the floor of the shop and began watering.

~~~~~~~~
Aya stepped out of the OZ office building and quickly walked out to the parking lot. He wanted to get as far away from Khushrenada as he could. The parking lot was empty save for one man, who was leaning against Ken\'s bike. Aya didn\'t stop to ponder who it was that leaned against the borrowed bike. The man\'s back was to him, and a fall of long platinum blond hair spilled down his back. He wore well fitting jeans and a worn red T-shirt. The hair swung and shone in the sunlight as the man turned to greet Aya.

\"Aya-kun, genki?\"

\"Hai, o-kage-sama de. Kimi wa?\"

\"Genki. What are you doing here?\"

\"TK had a job for me to do. You?\"

\"Looking for you. Can we go somewhere? I haven\'t seen you in a long time.\"

\"Roku-san.\" Aya smiled. \"Where do you wanna go?\" He slid his leg over the seat of the bike. The blond sat on the bike behind him and wrapped his arms around the redhead.

\"Anywhere but here.\"

Aya drove them to a nearby café, where they ordered lunch. Aya watched his friend as he drank the tea he had ordered. The blond looked up from his glass, and his sky-blue eyes locked with Aya\'s deep violet. They stared at each other for a moment, waiting to see who would smile first. Aya\'s resolve cracked a tiny bit, the corner of his mouth twitching up. Roku chuckled.

\"So, what is the job that you\'ve been given?\"

\"TK wants me to hunt down Maeda Hikaru. He says he\'s lost her, or misplaced her or something.\"

\"Hikaru ran away on her own. She\'s tired of being a food source for him,\" Roku said blandly.

\"Why do you stay?\"

\"Because I\'m a regular old human, and I can\'t do anything without him knowing. If I tried to escape, he\'d have me found within the hour.\"

\"If that is so, then he knows you are here with me.\"
\"Aya, how long have we been lovers?\"

Aya looked up at the blond. \"Almost a year,\" the assassin said quietly.

\"Then that\'s how long Treize has known.\"

\"Roku . . . \"

The blond laughed. \"You still can\'t pronounce Zechs, can you?\"

\"I\'m not German.\"

\"I\'m glad about that.\" The watch Zechs wore beeped demandingly, and the blond glanced down at it. \"I\'m going to have to go, koi. Treize needs me.\"

\"Not you, your blood . . . Don\'t go. Come with me. We haven\'t seen each other in a while, you said so yourself.\" Aya gazed at his koi longingly. He needed to be with Zechs right now, so he could keep his mind off Hikaru and \'hunting\' her. More importantly, he needed Zechs. Not for anything at all really, just e ane and to know that he was there and not with Treize.

\"Alright, where do you want to go?\"

\"Anywhere but here.\"

Zechs smiled. \"I know just the place.\"

~~~~~
Wufei watched his teammates as he paced the room. /What is this? Have they all gone mad?/ Quatre and Trowa had opted to stay neutral this time. Heero was opposing the entire idea, and Duo was going to side with the highest bidder. Wufei himself wanted to go through with it while Treize was angry. That way, if they failed, Treize wouldn\'t be much madder than he already was. Frustrated, Wufei stopped.

\"What is wrong with all of you?\" he demanded, his gaze passing over the perfect
soldier, doppleganger, empath, and were-cat.

\"There is nothing wrong with us,\" Trowa said.

\"You let her go the first time Trowa! If you and Quatre are really doing this for peace and justice, then you would have kept her!\" Wufei snarled.

\"You\'re just doing this so that Treize will welcome you back to his bed,\" Heero said in his monotone. \"You forgot we are a team.\"

\"Then why aren\'t you and Quatre agreeing on this?\" Wufei snapped.

\"He has his ideas, and I have mine. However, we both believe that Hikaru should be kept away from Treize. He can\'t keep sucking the life out of her.\"

\"He does the same thing to Zechs!\"

\"Yes, but Zechs in an expendable human,\" Quatre murmured. \"As much as I hate it, we have to focus on keeping Hikaru out of Treize\'s hands, and Zechs is a handy fill-in for her.\"

\"Fill-in? What do you mean by that?\" Wufei demanded.

The angelic blond gazed up at the Chinese man with thoughtful blue eyes. His platinum bangs fell into his eyes, making the empath look all the more innocent. \"By fill-in, I mean that Treize has a stable food source while Hikaru is gone. She is a prominent Green Child and has many of the talents necessary to bring forth others of her kind. We need her to do that so our world, the human world, and that of the Gods no longer clash. It is very simple.\"

Wufei, shocked by what the Sandrock pilot said, stared at the wall. Whirling around, he began to shout. \"I can\'t believe how naive you are being.\" The Chinese man threw his arms into the air. \"Vampires can never coexist with humans. The world would be thrown into more of a frenzy than it is already in! Humans can barely get along with themselves, and introducing them to vampires, werewolves and majik users would just make it worse. I say we just give Hikaru back to Treize,\" Wufei\'s voice died down to little more than a whisper. He glanced at his fellow pilots again. After a few moments, he gathered his composure.

Heero looked at the Shen-long pilot expectantly. He knew the man had more to say.

\"Well,\" he began, more calmly than before, \"I have to say that this is a predicament. All of us have pledged ourselves to work for world peace. The Preventers are owned by the OZ Corporation, and we all work for the Preventers. As captain of the specials unit, Heero has declined to fulfil a mission. He is flagrantly disobeying orders from a superior. As second in command of the specials unit, I disagree with his actions. However, I will not oppose his authority. I am part of this team.\"

\"That\'s great Wu-man, but what about Treize?\" Duo asked.

\"He\'s angry with me as it is. I see no reason for him to get angry with me for following orders from my direct superior.\"

\"Good. Then let\'s make a plan to get Hikaru to a safehouse,\" Heero ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~
Omi bounced excitedly in his chair, waiting for the delivery boy to deliver lunch. He was so eager to get his moo goo gai pan and miso soup that he had too much energy to do anything around the shop. Hikaru plopped into the chair next to the genki blond and sighed. Omi looked at her dirt streaked face and laughed gleefully.

\"Oh, Hikaru-san! You look so kawaii like that!\" Omi cried. Ken and Yohji turned from their tasks to see what Omi was talking about. Each stifled a laugh and returned to his work.

\"Nani? What is so funny?\" Hikaru asked. Yohji went to the backroom and returned with a mirror. He held it in front of Hikaru so she could see what was so humorous.
Hikaru looked at the mirror curiously. Her reflection stared back at her, mud streaked across her face in almost every direction. Smiling, she shook her head. /I guess I got a little too into replanting those flowers./ Rising, she took the mirror from Yohji and left the shop. In the apartment, she washed her face and set the mirror on the counter beside the sink. Running her hands through her hair, she wondered just where Aya had gone. /Hmmm, TK, huh? Could that be Treize Khushrenada? No, these guys don\'t work for him./ Hikaru shifted her gaze to the face that reflected in the mirror. /I would have been returned by now if they did. I wonder what Illia is up to. I hope he\'s alright. Treize gets angry when one of us isn\'t around./ Sighing, Hikaru returned to the shop.

~~~~~~~~~
\"Wow, what is this place?\" Aya asked softly, his eyes taking in all of his luscious surroundings. Zechs had given him instructions to follow, and this was where they had taken him. To this enormous arboretum. There were trees and flowers that he had never seen. He was in awe of the size of the place as well as the plants it housed. If he had known that it existed, then he would have come here just to see what it was like. Aya liked the arboretum very much. He like the fresh, clean air, the smell of the plants and thick mists that hung in every corner of the place.

Zechs smiled at his partner. He had known that being a florist was just a cover for everything Aya did, but what he had learned over time was that the assassin really did love plants of any kind. This was the reason for bringing him here today. Zechs himself had fallen in love with the jungle and felt that he needed to share it with his koi at least once. It wasn\'t often that he brought people here. This place was his safe haven and not even Treize knew he owned it. The only people who knew that Zechs came here were the gardeners, and they thought he was only an overseer employed by Ms. Lara Dayton. Ms. Dayton, of course, was the profile he set up for his cover. The legalities had been trivial, and the deed was in his name. The public, however, only knew that Ms. Dayton had bought it and still had ownership of the land. Being part of the OZ Corporation, Zechs had access to the public records and made certain that no one looking for the true owner of the arboretum would ever know that it was him.

\"This is my safehouse. No one knows about it but you.\" Zechs slid his hand into Aya\'s and squeezed. Aya tore his eyes away from the plants and gazed at Zechs.

\"You keep this place like this all by yourself?\"

\"No, there is a team of gardeners that works here everyday of the week, except Saturday and Wednesday. The arboretum is owned by an easterner named Lara Dayton. The gardeners all simply assume that I am an overseer who comes in to see the work they\'ve done and make sure that it is being done right. They\'ve never met Ms. Dayton, and they never will.\"

\"She doesn\'t exist,\" Aya murmured.

\"That\'s correct. Now, let me show you upstairs,\" Zechs said, an impish tone entering his voice. The blond led the assassin through a door and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a small room. The only furniture was a desk, a computer, and a chair. Another door stood directly before them, and Zechs unlocked it for Aya. Inside was a petite version of the garden downstairs. There was one tree in the room, and it had a bowl where all of the branches met the trunk. It was ideal for a tree house or for simply just sitting. Thick vines hung from the tree and snaked their way into the limbs. A lush carpet of grass surrounded the base of the tree, and the borders of the room were lined with tulips and violet irises. Behind the tulips and irises were tall, broad-leafed plants that virtually hid the mud brown walls. A spigot protruded a wall in a corner, but it was hardly noticeable. The only visible human device in the room was control panel for the misters and the sunshade. Smiling, Zechs turned the deadbolt and locked the rest of the world out. The lightest touch of his finger to the control panel activated the misters.
Aya watched his lover with the utmost interest. He knew that Zechs had a thing for making love in the jungle like Tarzan and Jane, but he never knew how much his lover wanted it to happen between them. The idea wasn\'t so bad to Aya. In fact, it kinda turned him on. The thought of being taken in this setting was an interesting one. The redhead\'s lips twitched into a smirk as Zechs took his watch off and dropped it to the ground. As Zechs continued toward Aya, he only smiled and did nothing.

\"Aren\'t you going to finish?\" Aya asked. \"If you start stripping, you\'d better finish.\" The assassin leaned against the tree, the smirk still on his face.

Zechs only smiled wider. He slid his hands over his chest in circles, then behind his neck and through his hair. He tilted his head back and allowed his hands to glide down his torso, into his pants. Locking eyes with Aya, he stroked himself through his black bikini underwear a few times. Moaning, his hands retreated from his pants and snuck beneath his shirt. Nimble fingers met pert nipples and squeezed. Gasping at his actions, Zechs took the shirt off and threw it behind him. He struck a Fabio pose as the mist clung to his golden skin. His hands crept up his torso and to his face at an agonizingly slow pace. The left hand fell to his neck and rubbed, while the other traversed the silky skin on its way back to the edge of the jeans. Fingers teasingly toyed with the button and fly, only to leave them and dip inside the pants again. A groan escaped the blond, but his hand returned to the button to free him of his constricting jeans. The zipper was tugged down, and Zechs\' erection revealed. The jeans fell to the ground of their own accord as Zechs caught Aya\'s violet gaze. He chuckled softly when he saw only desire in his lover\'s eyes. Leaning forward, he tickled his inner thighs and fondled his straining erection. Strands of long platinum cascaded over his shoulders, obstructing his koi\'s view. He heard the grunt of disapproval and slowly arched backward, rotating his hips. Stretching his arms into the air above him, he danced over to Aya. Bringing his arms down, Zechs hooked his fingers into Aya\'s black silk shirt and tugged lightly. Suddenly bored with Aya, Zechs moved to Aya\'s side and took a hold of a vine. The vine was twisted and tied around the blond\'s cock, then pulled off roughly.

Aya watched as Zechs continued to pleasure himself with the vine. It was a vision right out of one of those kinky romance novels. A muscular blond wearing only a loin cloth, waiting in his jungle abode for a companion to arrive to pleasure him, stroking himself while he waited. Aya\'s mouth watered as he watched, unaware that his hands were already striping him of his clothes. Before he realized what he was doing, Aya was pushing Zechs against the tree and kissing him roughly. He reveled at the feel of his lover\'s slick skin on his; it was a feeling he always seemed to need. Running his nails over the smooth flesh, he ground his arousal over Zechs\'. His lover wasn\'t afraid to return his rough actions, and he groaned as Zechs bit his tongue. Aya was lost to his emotions and, somewhere along the road, Zechs switched their positions.

Zechs pulled away from Aya, looking him in the eyes. \"It simply will not do for you to continue with clothes on,\" the blond whispered. Aya started to lean, with the intention of pleasing his koi, but Zechs stopped him.

\"No, no. Let me.\" Kneeling, the younger man unbuckled the redhead\'s boots and guided them off his feet. Once that was accomplished, the boots were thrown across the room. Bringing his fingers to Aya\'s fly, he nuzzled his cheek against the other man\'s arousal. The redhead moaned his appreciation for the attention. Zechs undid the fly and pulled the tight black jeans over his lover\'s well-formed legs. It was no surprise to him that Aya wasn\'t wearing underwear. The redhead had never worn underwear to his knowledge. The jeans were tossed to the same corner as the boots, and Aya was bared, at full salute, to his lover. Smiling, Zechs wrapped his hand around swollen shaft and tugged ever so slightly. Aya\'s hips reflexively thrust into the hand. The blond led the assassin away from the trunk of the tree and pushed him to his knees beneath a branch with particularly thick vines dangling from it.

\"Oh, my beautiful vampire, will you let me bind you?\"

Aya looked up at the man with hooded violet eyes. Reaching forward, he snapped the thin strings of the bikini underwear with his pinkie fingers. The black fabric fell to the grass carpet below as the vampire grinned wickedly at his koi. \"Now you may bind me,\" he murmured thickly. He raised his hands as Zechs began to tie a vine around his wrists.

The blond worked efficiently, and soon Aya couldn\'t move his arms more than a centimeter in any direction. Zechs watched the surprise on the redhead\'s face as he tested the vines. Smiling slightly, he spread Aya\'s legs and began to bind them as well. The new bindings weren\'t as strong or as tight at the previous, but they would serve their purpose.

\"So beautiful,\" Zechs whispered. He wedged his cock between Aya\'s buttocks and reached around the vampire\'s slender abdomen to fondle his erection. Slowly, the blond began to rock forward, sliding his shaft roughly through the cleft of his koi\'s ass. His free hand moved to pinch Aya\'s nipples, ghosting over the pale skin that led to the pert buds. Kissing his lover\'s back, he ran his index finger over the head of Aya\'s weeping cock. The assassin mewled and panted. Enjoying the encouragement that his koi supplied him, Zechs pulled away from the red-haired man.

Aya grunted as the air brushed chills across his bare back. He knew Zechs wasn\'t going very far, if he was leaving at all. No sounds of movement came to the vampire\'s ears. This troubled him a bit, for he had no idea what was going on. Not even the soft heave-ho of breathing came to him, and this bothered him more than anything else. Still, he trusted that Zechs was fine and simply playing a game with him. It wouldn\'t do for him to open his eyes and ruin the game. Waiting a moment, his patience tried, he started to open his eyes as slowly at possible. Without warning, Zechs\' hot mouth enveloped him. A sharp gasp erupted from Aya, his eyes flying open. Beneath him, Zechs suckled savagely at him. He glanced down at his beauty, only to be washed away by a wave of pleasure. Moaning deep in his throat, he thrust toward the velvety cavern.

Just as suddenly as Zechs\' mouth had appeared, it disappeared. As soundlessly as before, the blond moved to his beloved\'s face. \"I can\'t have you coming before me, now can I?\" he whispered against Aya\'s cheek. He dipped to kiss his red-haired lover. /I thank the Gods for allowing me to have you, Aya. What did I do to be granted this?/ He didn\'t realize that his thoughts were shown to his lover.

Aya used the little space he was allowed to pull away from Zechs\' kiss. \"You let me go,
that first time we met. I was going to have you for dinner, but you turned the tables and let me go when my life was in danger.\" Aya searched the blond\'s azure eyes. \"I love you. This isn\'t some way to repay kindness shown to me. I would have saved your life in return for saving mine. But this, this is love.\" Leaning forward, Aya kissed Zechs.
Zechs responded with rough passion, biting at Aya\'s tongue as it invaded his mouth. He ground his hips against the redhead\'s, throwing them both into another tidal of pure bliss. Aya hissed at the touch, then retracted his mouth from the blond\'s.

\"Just take me already!\" he pleaded, ragged ecstasy lacing his deep voice.

Grinding his hips harder, Zechs whispered, \"Beg me for it.\" He lowered his lips to a nipple and kissed it viciously. His teeth grazed the hard bud of flesh, and his tongue darted out to sooth the abused flesh.

Beneath the blond, Aya writhed. \"Oh, gods! Roku! PLEASE!\" He arched into Zechs\' ministrations, need coursing through his body and setting fire to the blood in his veins. \"I need you! I want you! ...Gaki! Roku, hamete chodai!\" His lover was not satisfied with the amount of begging performed and only teased the assassin more. \"Please! I NEED you inside of me. I can\'t bear it anymore,\" Aya cried with a hitching choke. \"Gods...I ... Zekusu! Please! Fill me!\"

Zechs stopped abruptly, shocked that Aya had spoken his German name without a second thought. The Japanese man had always passed it off ot bot being able to pronounce it correctly, but the blond knew that he held a certain hatred for Germans. He didn\'t know where it came from, but it had something to do with his past. /Did I really push him so far as to need to say my name? I hope I haven\'t hurt him by playing with him./ As if trying to atone for his unusual actions, and the name that had slipped from his lovers mouth, Zechs kissed the redhead passionately. /Forgive me./

Aya rubbed his body against his lover\'s, unaware that he had spoken his name. He knew nothing but his need for the body in front of him, and that was enough to occupy even his mind. Silently, Zechs moved behind him. Cursing lightly, he rose and left the room. As swiftly as he could, Zechs searched the drawer for the tube of lubricant that he knew one of his gardeners kept there. Of course, he knew that what he and Aya were doing had probably been played out before in the tiny room. Still, he kept it locked in hopes of having it all to himself. Finding the lube, Zechs quickly returned to his lover.
Aya waited for the blond to reenter the room. He smiled to himself as he realized just how spontaneous their actions had been. No matter, Zechs was here and not with that bloodsucking monster called Khushrenada. Sighing, Aya tested the vines around his wrists. He tugged at them, but they did not budge. /He really did a good job of this./ The soft click of the door averted his attention to the bishounen that padded over to him on the grass. A golden hand caressed his face as the mobile suit pilot knelt in front of him.
\"I hope I didn\'t keep you waiting for too long.\" The blond smiled. He opened the tube he carried with him and spread a small dollop of its contents into his hand. A heavenly jasmine scent filled the air, mingling with the fresh arboretum air. Zechs watched Aya through his lashes as he warmed the oil and smeared it across his aching erection. Moaning at the contact his hand made, he thrust into the small confines of his palm and fingers.

\"Roku, don\'t make me wait any longer....\"

\"Alright, koi,\" the blond warrior whispered. He kissed Aya once more, tracing the blood gorged lips with the tip of his tongue. The redhead allowed him entrance, and their warred with each other fervently. The pilot rocked his body against the assassin\'s, loosening the vine ropes he had worked to make so tight. He felt Aya pull away again, then heard the soft plea pressed into his neck. Silently, he made his way to the redhead\'s back. Spying the tight ring of flesh between the spread buttocks, he smiled and slipped an oil covered finger into it. Aya mewled and forced himself onto the intruding digit. His body was not happy with the sudden invasion and was trying with all its might to drive Zechs out. Its work was to no avail, since the stubborn blond slipped another finger past the rosy pucker. Feeling the sphincter relax as Aya thrust back on his hand, Zechs inserted a third and final finger. He allowed Aya to impale himself on his fingers for a moment, then quickly retracted them.

Aya uttered a moan of disappointment when his koi\'s fingers ceased to stroke him. A kiss was dropped on his back as he felt the head of Zechs\' long cock nudge at his anus. He pushed himself back, burying his lover to the hilt. Both wallowed in the moment of first entrance, but promptly began to move after the first thirty seconds. Pleasure coursed over Aya in waves as Zechs retracted his long shaft and slammed back in flawlessly. He continued this way until Aya was tearing the vines that bound him with his inhuman strength.

Knowing that his lover was already lost to the throes of their passion, Zechs reached around his koi and fondled the sensitive sacs at the base of the raging erection. Biting the vampire roughly, he sucked at the blood that pooled. The vines snapped suddenly, and Aya fell forward. The redhead was yelling in a language that Zechs had never heard. For some strange reason, the words made sense to him. He dragged his oil-slicked hand over the assassin\'s penis and pumped as hard as he could manage. With a short thrust upward, he hit Aya\'s prostate for the final time. The vampire howled his euphoria, along with Zechs\' name, as his thick seed spurted over his stomach. He clenched down on Zechs\' shaft, creating an instant orgasm for his young lover. Spent, they toppled to the ground. Slowly, the blond slipped out of his lover and allowed him to rid himself of the vine manacles. The redhead pulled Zechs close, and they lay in silence as they cuddled.

Zechs lay in the assassin\'s arms, thoughts muddled. /This is heaven. I love this man so much. I want to spend eternity with him. How can I do that though? His arms are so perfect around me. How can I hope to spend next month with him when tomorrow brings a threat of death? Will I even live long enough to truly show him how much he means to me? I don\'t want him to know that I might not make it through each day. I don\'t want him to know that I\'m sick. Could his blood cure me? Vampires are never sick. They are immune to every human virus. If I were a vampire I could spend eternity with HIM, and I wouldn\'t be sick. I suppose I could try.../

Having made his decision, the blond spoke timidly. \"Aya-kun, I want to be with you forever.\"

\"I feel the same.\"

/Okay, so far so good./ \"I want to be like you.\"

That one got Aya\'s attention. The redhead sat up abruptly and looked down at his lover, eyes clouded by an emotion Zechs had never seen from him before. \"What?\" Aya demanded.

\"I want to be a vampire.\" Zechs could see the pain in Aya\'s eyes as he realized that the blond was serious.

\"You don\'t know what you are asking for,\" the vampire replied coldly. His violet gaze pleaded with the pilot to change his mind.

\"Yes I do.\"

\"I won\'t take your humanity away from you. You DON\'T know what you are asking for.\"

\"Then tell me what I am asking for.\" Zechs watched his lover carefully. Aya\'s face hardened and his body tensed.

\"You\'re asking for an eternity of pain and suffering. That\'s all being a vampire is about. Pain and suffering. Your mind tells you that you are a monster, feeding off the weaker humans. None of them really deserve to be drained of their blood, and they\'re all so helpless against such a superior being. They have no way to fight vampires. We\'re too strong.\" Aya paused, \"It gets to you, being a monster. Then you begin to worry that the next human you off off won\'t be strong enough to survive your attack. Taking their blood makes them a part of you. Their worries and problems weigh down on you. Just another thing that you don\'t need from life. It goes on for centuries before you figure out just what the hell is wrong with you. Then it doesn\'t matter because you didn\'t know what you were getting into in the beginning and now you\'re immortal. Nothing you can do about that, cuz you can\'t die. Not at all, no matter what the slayers say. They still haven\'t found a way to kill us.\" Aya\'s voice was cold, and it cut like the blade of his katana.

\"Aya, what happened to you? Why do you hate your existence so?\"

A blood tinged tear trickled down the assassin\'s face. /I might as well tell him how this all began for me./ \"I wasn\'t always a vampire. I had a family, and I was happy. My father was in the trade business. He traveled to Germany often. I went with him when I turned twenty. I was young and stupid. In those days we d't h't have hair dye, or even Americans for that matter. My hair is naturally red, and then it was rare to find an eastern Asian with hair any color other than black or white. The Germans knew I was different. I was much sought after, not just by foreigners. Both sexes seemed to be enthralled with me too, and that was okay.

\"One day my father was called back to Japan for urgent matters.\" A bitter expression crossed Aya\'s face. \"I chose to stay in Germany. My first night alone in a country I didn\'t know, and I wanted to see what it was like on my own. So I wandered the streets. Before long I was lost and confused. A young man said he would help me find my way home. I trusted him, but I shouldn\'t have. I should have gone back to Japan. The young man took me to a small bungalow, where I was introduced to his friends. From there they stripped and raped me. I was nearly dead when they were done with me, two weeks later. They took me out in an alley and left me to die. I remember closing my eyes and wanting death to take me quickly.

\"Death didn\'t seem to want me that day. I opened my eyes again. The dark alley where I was dumped didn\'t greet me like I expected. Instead I found myself in a warm, comforting room and in a soft clean bed. At first I thought I had gone to Emma-O\'s sanctuary. Then I realized that some one was in the room with me. I craned my head to see who it was. A young man sat in a chair next to my bed, watching me silently. That was Jushin, the first Turkish man I had ever met. He was tall and pale, but his hair and eyes were the color of deep space on a cloudless night. In short he was beautiful. He nursed me back to health, knowing what had happened without me saying a word. I stayed with him until I felt comfortable leaving his home. By that time I knew he was different from any being I had ever met. That didn\'t bother me though, he took care of me.\" Aya\'s voice filled with adoration as he spoke, but the bitter expression remained.

\"Time passed, and Jushin and I became lovers. Only after I asked him did he tell me that he was a vampire. Nosferatu, I believe he called himself. My father returned, and Jushin and I went to see him. We had an argument, and I was cast out of the house of Fujimiya. Now that I think about it, being disowned didn\'t hurt as much as knowing that my father hated me because my lover was a man. It didn\'t hurt as much as knowing he didn\'t care that I was raped. I guess it was for my own good that I was cast out.

\"Jushin and I went on, no problems. One night he was out hunting, because he refused to drink from me. I wasn\'t about to question his actions. That night, the house was vandalized by the same men who raped me. There was a new man with them, one that reeked of blood and death. He was a vampire, there was no mistakin. Th. The four that had raped me were vampires too. The first thing I tried to do was run. I knew they could smell me, hear me, practically taste me if they were close enough to where I was hiding. Of course, they recognized me. Who wouldn\'t recognize a redheaded Japanese kid? Once they caught me, which wasn\'t very hard for them, I was raped. Again they left me to die.

\"Jushin returned, horrified and feeling guilty for what had happened. That time, I was going to die. So Jushin tore long gashn myn my right forearm and his left. I didn\'t have much blood left, and what was left slowly oozed from my wound. Jushin held my hand tightly and clamped his forearm to mine. That night, I died and was reborn as the monster you see before you. Jushin taught me everything he knew. He told me that if I had not been dying, he would not have taken my humanity from me. It\'s something you can never get back once you loose it. Kinda like virginity, but much, much more valuable. I don\'t want you to make a stupid decision, Zekusu.\" Aya looked over at his lover, only to find him weeping. Silently, he gathered the blond into his arms.

\"Oh Aya, I\'m so sorry that you were forced to become a vampire. I didn\'t know.\" Zechs trembled in the assassin\'s grasp, and a new wave of sobs wracked his body.

\"It\'s okay, love. I know you meant well, but I can\'t do it.\" Aya hated denying his lover of anything, but he would not lose another one to his stupidity.

\"I didn\'t know. Forgive me?\"

\"Always. I don\'t want you to cry anymore. What happened to me took place centuries ago, and I am fine with most of it now. My tear was for Jushin, who was killed by the accident of a slayer in the wrong place at the wrong time. It\'s alright, love.\"
Zechs looked up at Aya, his thoughts clearing from his sadness. \"Daijobu desu ka?\" he whispered. Feeling Aya\'s nod, he continued. \"Did you lose someone, trying to make them a vampire?\"

Aya\'s gaze met the blond\'s, and he smiled. \"You have the most uncanny ability to tell what I am thinking. Are you sure you\'re only a twenty-two-year-old human?\"

\"I know you, Aya. I understand so much when I am with you that it drives me nuts. Especially when you speak that weird language, and I understand it...\"

\"You understand it? That\'s not possible, not even the slayers have decoded it. How could you...\"

Aya remembered that Zechs lived with another vampire, and he was exposed to Laric more than any other human.

\"When I am with you, I don\'t need to translate it. It just makes sense.\"

\"Does that happen with Treize?\"

\"No...just you.\" Zechs watched him curiously.

\"You are the only human that\'s ever happened with. It\'s strange.\"

\"We\'re meant to be, Aya. There\'s no two ways about it. You\'re the only one for me. That\'s why I to to ask. I know that you don\'t want to hurt me and that you don\'t want to lose me, but I don\'t think I can live without you. I need you like I need air, Aya. It\'s not fair, that I need you like that. I don\'t even know if you need me like that.\"

\"I\'ve always needed you. I know how you feel. The idea of spending eternity with you is unbelievably appealing, but the slightest indication of losing makes me fear even trying it. I don\'t want to lose you. I need you more than I need blood. Zekusu, I love you.\"

\"Call me Roku, I like it more.\" Zechs stretched up for a kiss, but his watch beeped. This beep was different than before, indicating that Treize was waiting for a video confirmation. Groaning, Zechs stood and retrieved his watch. Leaning against the door, he opened the com link in his watch. Treize\'s worried face appeared on the small screen.

\"Thank the gods you are safe. You worried me when you didn\'t call.\"

\"Sorry, Treize. You must\'ve called while I was in the pool. This thing doesn\'t do well in water, you know that.\"

\"Will you be returning any time soon?\"

\"No, unfortunately. I\'ve found a fantastic place to workout. I won\'t bother you with the details since you aren\'t fond of sweaty jocks. I will, however, see you for dinner,\" Zechs replied.

Treize smiled. \"That will be fine. I\'m glad you\'re enjoying yourself. See you later.\" The small screen faded to black as the connection was severed.

Zechs dropped the watch back to its place in the grass and stepped toward Aya. The room spun and tilted suddenly. Unable to keep his balance, Zechs fell. Aya was at his side in seconds. He could feel the warmth of his lover\'s body, and leaned into it. The dizziness disappeared. \"Gomen nasai, Aya.\"

\"Roku, are you alright?\" Aya lifted the blond into his lap. He felt his lover nod against his chest. \"You\'re sick. I\'ve known since I met yI\'vI\'ve just been waiting for you to tell me what you have, but you never did. I didn\'t want to force you. Please, Roku, what is it?\"

\"Oh, Aya. I have a disease that kills humans slowly. I didn\'t want to worry you. I didn\'t know what was going to happen between us, or even if we\'d last this long. I thought human and vampire relationships were only about blood, and I was wron tho thought that you\'d have fed off me by now and you\'d know, but you haven\'t. I\'m sorry Aya...\" A long pause ensued. \"I have AIDS.\"

\"Roku... I had no idea. That\'s why you asked, isn\'t it? There\'s a way we can fix this without risking your life. And I want you to do it.\" Aya\'s had rose to his neck, and, with a graceful motion, he tore a deep gash in his skin. Leaning down, he pressed Zechs\' lips to the wound.