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Colour Me Blood Red	By : DragonBlade Category: Prince of Tennis/Tennis no Ohjisama > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 2324 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own prince of tennis, characters or ideas, and I am making no money from this

Chapter List
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CHAPTER 4

Kirihara staggered into his dark apartment, tired and sore. The blinds were thrown open, moon light blended on the floor with the dozens of streetlights. Shadows were thrown across his floor, flickering and rolling when a car passed by. Leaning against the heavy door, the chill of the cold metal seeping into his skin, he sighed. Thoughts of Sanada lingered at the edges of his mind - cold hands against his throat, a heated mouth whispering against his jaw. Dark eyes burned into his mind, freezing his blood; eyes that could destroy sanity with a simple flicker. He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, why the hell was he so obsessed with Sanada? The man was a Vampire – a dead body filled with demonic blood that needed to consume blood from living beings to sustain itself. Even knowing that, he couldn’t shake the feeling of having his body pressed beneath the Vampire’s powerful one – even if he was trying to strangle him. Shaking his head violently he pushed away from the door, this was just getting stupid – he needed to get laid …by a human. He usually had rules against this kind of thing – only be attracted to humans, and if that doesn’t work, only have sex with humans. He didn’t think that rule would ever be contested, no matter how much his body wanted it to. It was the Hunters golden rule, don’t bang what you intend to kill.

After making the rounds through his apartment, he collapsed face down on the couch still wearing his jacket and heavy boots. He let his holster slip from his hand to the floor, the metal making a soft crack when it landed. The vampires had at least been nice enough to give his weapons back, after blindfolding and man-handling him into a car that is.

The first thing he wanted was a shower, and then possibly a nap. Unfortunately, the throbbing in his arm reminded him that he probably needed to go to the hospital. He reluctantly threw his feet off the couch, rolling onto his back and then pulling himself into a sitting position to lean heavily against the back of the couch. Shower, then hospital …then if he was lucky he would sleep – and turn off his damn phone. Kicking off his boots he staggered down the hall towards the bathroom, shedding clothing as he went.

Leaving the bathroom door open he bent to turn on the water taps. A heavy bang at his front door made him jump. Spinning on the tiled floor he stuck his knee out, catching it on the rim of the bathtub. Cursing loudly he rubbed his bruised knee, glaring down the hallway as if it were the door’s fault that he just bumped himself. Storming down the hallway he stopped in the entryway, giving the door his best ‘you have to be fucking kidding me’ look, but to no avail. The door shook on the hinges with the force of the knocks.

Kirihara turned, maybe if he ignored them they would leave? He really didn’t think he’d have the patience for a questioning neighbor or a door-to-door salesman.

“Yo, Kirihara-san, we know you’re home! Please open the door.”

Apparently ignoring it didn’t work. He was never very lucky when it came to having a quiet peaceful shower. How nice of them to say please, after practically breaking down the door.

Kirihara growled softly, “alright, alright! I’m coming, Jesus Christ!” He threw open the door, putting on the best glare he could muster. Which in his state made him look more like a frazzled kitten, and that was when he was trying to look threatening.

Kaidoh Kaoru and Momoshiro Takeshi stood in his doorway. Momoshiro’s hand was raised to bang on the door again. He quickly stuffed his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans.

“Yo,” he smiled weakly, eyebrows rising as he scanned up Kirihara’s bare torso.

Kirihara frowned, becoming self-conscious, “it’s been a long night, what the hell do you want?” He crossed his arms, feeling the pinch of new bruises.

Momoshiro shifted his big frame, rocking back on his heels, “Tezuka-san sent us to pick you up. He wants to see you.”

Noticing people peering out of their doors, Kirihara grabbed Momoshiro by the jacket and pulled him into his apartment. He turned around and grabbed the startled Kaidoh by the wrist, pulling him in behind Momoshiro. “I do have neighbors you know! You two couldn’t keep your voices down!?”

Momoshiro shrugged, padding as quietly as his large combat boots would allow into the living room. Kaidoh kept by the door, arms crossed over his chest. One hand lingered slightly inside his jacket, most likely where he kept his gun.

“How the hell did you know I was here, I just got home!” Kirihara threw his hands in the air, instantly regretting when the pain laced down his entire right side.

“Tezuka-san has had us staking out your apartment since he heard from Tachibana-san that you were missing,” Momoshiro said flippantly, finding the television remote.

Kirihara frowned, how nice of Tachibana to include him. It was probably an after thought after he reported Kamio missing. Oh, by the way Tezuka, Kirihara’s gone too, have a good day.

“You guys act quick then,” he rubbed his forehead. All he wanted was a shower! Was that too much to ask?

“Not really,” Momo frowned, “Tachibana mentioned it some time last night, so Tezuka-san put us on surveillance around your house. Ishida and Sakurai are at Kamio’s place. We’ve been sitting downstairs all day and all night waiting for you!”

“What!?” Startled, Kirihara turned to his kitchen clock; 3:00am. The vampires must have kept them in that cell the entire day until they awoke later that night. He groaned; no wonder his joints felt stiff.

Kaidoh suddenly jumped and flailed before fishing around in his pockets. Finding his phone in one of the side pouches of his cargo pants he flipped it open, eyes scanning the text message quickly. “They have Kamio, they’re taking him to Tachibana-san now.”

Kirihara let out a sigh of relief. Right now he didn’t really care that Kamio was on his way to Tachibana, he was just glad that Kamio made it home. He was reluctant to leave him alone with the two Vampires, but they didn’t really give him much of an option. When the car had stopped the Vampire called Niou had half escorted, half dragged him to the front doors of the apartment building.

When Momoshiro’s eyes strayed to him again, Kirihara realized he was only wearing his jeans from the previous night and they were loose around his waist.

“You look like hell, you know,” Momoshiro’s voice was quiet with worry and a hint of sympathy.

Kirihara rolled his eyes, thank you Captain Obvious, “if you had the kind of night I did …you wouldn’t look any better. So, I’m sorry if you guys are on a schedule, but I’m taking a shower before I go anywhere.”

Locking himself in the bathroom he sunk to the floor, back against the bathtub. Leaning his head back, neck against the cool porcelain, he started to laugh. It was just a soft, almost chuckling laugh, but he couldn’t stop. First, he had been thrown across a room by a pair of twin fledglings, then he had his car flipped, then he was abducted by the Master of the City because some big shit was going down in the world of vampires. All in the same week! Ever feel like you’re the butt-end of some big cosmic joke?

And to top it all off, he was developing a crush on the Master of the City. Fantastic. Fan-fucking-tastic.

Pulling himself up by the edge of the counter he leaned on the sink, looking over his bruises in the mirror. His neck was completely black from over-lapping bruises, shoulders were scratched and bruised, and his chest was scratched and bruised. He shuddered as he suddenly remembered how he got the majority of those bruises. Sanada’s body was cold but strong, his human scent was still there, but it had mingled with the scent of a vampire – making it both intoxicating and repulsive.

He cleaned the flesh wounds as best he could before climbing into the shower. The water around his feet swirled muddy and pink. The cuts burned from the water, and the grime left his skin.

When he finally left the bathroom he felt better, both mentally and physically. It’s surprising what a good shower can do for a person. His flared temper had calmed, making him able to deal with the two Hunters in his house in a more civilized manner.

Momoshiro had his socked feet crossed on the coffee table, boots now knocked over at the door. Kaidoh had abandoned his quiet guard of the door and sat next to Momoshiro on the couch, watching the other channel surf.

Kirihara made sure to step heavier when he walked up behind the two – it was never wise to sneak up behind a Hunter, most were trigger happy and when startled tended to fire first. He doubted these two were any different.

Momoshiro turned on the couch, throwing his arm across the back, “good to go? We’ve alerted Tezuka-san that we found you and we’ll be there soon.”

Did he have a choice? Guess the hospital and sleep would have to wait.

Momoshiro’s dark car was parked at the far side of the underground parking garage, inconspicuous and hard to see. That was how he missed the two on his way in. The car was small, two-doors. It was easily looked over, which was probably why Momoshiro bought it. Most likely second hand as well.

Kaidoh folded the front passenger seat to let Kirihara crawl in behind it, awkward and embarrassing, fun. Even with his short legs he found his knees pressed uncomfortably into the back of the seat, even after Kaidoh slid it forward. Figuring he was in enough pain as is he turned sideways in the seat, stretching his legs out on the other side. It was still cramped, but by far more comfortable than having his knees imprinted on Kaidoh’s back – the other probably agreed.

Momoshiro glanced in the rear-view mirror, raising an eyebrow, “just make your self at home.”

Kirihara chuckled, way ahead of you. He hooked his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. The office was at least a 45 minutes drive from his place, even before the morning rush. Might as well get some rest.

Kirihara cracked open an eye when the bickering started not to long after they reached the highway. Flickering between the two Hunters he grinned; the two were so alike, but refused to admit it. “Why are you two a team if you can’t get along?” Kirihara stifled a yawn behind his hand,” I thought you were rogue?”

Rogue – the term for a hunter that didn’t belong to the Organization. It wasn’t a bad thing, it just meant they had less rules to follow, and didn’t get a neat and tidy pay-cheque every two weeks. Most rogues worked alone, although teams were not unheard of.

Momoshiro and Kaidoh quickly glanced at one another, their expressions somber.

Momoshiro turned down the volume on his stereo, “you haven’t heard?”

Kirihara slowly opened both eyes, “heard what?” Apparently being kidnapped by vampires for a day put him out of the loop.

It was Kaidoh’s turn to glance back at him, “in the next district there have been reports of Rogues getting attacked. We don’t know by what, at least, they’re not telling us by what. Saeki-san and his team were attacked. They’re at the medical centre in the main building.”

“Jesus!” Kirihara straightened up, banging his knee on the back of the chair - Kaidoh winced. “Are they alright?”

Momoshiro nodded, eyes to the rear-view, “yeah, they’re tough. Saeki-san himself seemed to get it the worst, but they say he’ll be all right.”

“Are they the only ones that were attacked?”

“So far the only other incidents are a few lone rogues, no ones been killed, yet.” Kaidoh rested his elbow against the window, “Inui-sensei has mapped out the attacks, he’s trying to find out if they’re isolated incidents …like, if they just stumbled upon a bad nest or something.”

“Could it be a warning?” Kirihara’s voice dropped, barely above a whisper.

Momoshiro and Kaidoh turned to look at him, “warning?”

Story time, “when Kamio and I were on our way to exterminate a nest, we were attacked by a group of humans and then my car was flipped. Literally, some -” he hesitated, someone? Something? “Someone, I guess, jumped in front of my car and tossed it like it was a god damned toy. Then I wake up in the Masters lair, and they’re scared of something, they just don’t know what.”

“Jesus,” Momoshiro swore softly.

“Could they be connected?” Kirihara mused, pressing his thumb to his lips.

Momoshiro snorted, “too much of a frigging coincidence if you ask me. And if the Master’s scared, we’re in deep shit.”

Before they realized it, Momoshiro was pulling into the above ground parking building. Lots of openings in the walls meant lots of daylight. Paranoid, perhaps, they just liked to think of it as being able to get to your car without something nasty jumping out at you.

The Organization, a name chosen to be subtle, appeared for all purposes to be a large office building. People could come and go as they pleased without anyone getting suspicious. The front lobby looked like any lobby to an office - large and spacious, with big fake potted plants beside the sliding doors. The front secretary was a bubbly blond woman who greeted everyone with a large smile. The people who entered the front doors knew what kind of business this was a front for, but the odd stranger would wander through the front. When this happened, the secretary was there – perfectly trained to deflect certain questions and help the person on their way. Most often it was for the bathroom, and one was strategically located down a hallway to her left. There was no sitting area in the front, all the business conducted away from watchful eyes and ears. Two large elevators were to the right of the front desk, lights overhead numbered from the basement to the top floor. The basement was inaccessible from the main elevators; one could only get there by a set of stairs that were guarded by a keycard and pass code, or the service elevator which was also pass coded. The first five floors were offices and large board rooms for Hunter meetings. To any outsider it looked like a normal office building, people in suits bustling around carrying files – to bad these files contained the latest murders, and the latest Hunter activities. Most of the offices were store rooms for files, ranging from present to when the Organization was founded. Other offices contained extremely old records – some provided by the Master himself. All board rooms contained a long table in the centre, with a projector and a white-board – for when a leader needed to show a plan to his team. The fifth floor was mostly open, a few closed offices, but the majority of the space was reserved for desks. All Hunters had a desk where they could work – writing files and conducting research if need be. Not all of a Hunters work was out in the field; some had to be conducted through paper first. Some Hunters spent their days reading up on different types of mythology so there would be no surprises when they were out in the field.

Even though Hunters were considered independent, the office building was more like a safe-house. A place where they could go where they knew they would be safe. If they needed to conduct research for anything, they knew the information would be somewhere within those walls. Many of the uppermost floors had been converted to apartments, for Hunters who needed a safe get-a-way. Before he found his recent apartment, Kirihara had stayed in one such room – after a gang of vampires had torn apart his small home.

The topmost levels were restricted, only Elite hunters had the passes to get to them. Research, laboratories, something very hush-hush was on the uppermost floors that you needed a key and a pass code to get to. No one asked - if Tezuka gave it the okay, it couldn’t be illegal.

Kirihara shuffled into the elevator when the doors opened, Kaidoh and Momoshiro flanking him. A single male stood in the elevator, tight against the back corner. He smiled weakly, eyes flickering to the weapons each Hunter carried openly. Kirihara frowned, he didn’t recognize him. The male was a little taller than he was, but much thinner. His soft brown hair was layered around his face, reaching almost to his shoulders, his eyelids moved slowly as he blinked – almost sensual. His skin was eerily pale, the slightest hint of pink on his cheeks and lips. He opened his eyes wider, sensing Kirihara watching him. His lips quirked, tongue darting out to the corner of his mouth, the edge of a fang slipped over his bottom lip before being hidden again behind perfect lips.

“What the-“

Momoshiro dropped his hand on Kirihara’s shoulder, stopping him. “Going to see Tezuka-san, Fuji-san?” He asked, smiling kindly at the vampire.

The male nodded, blue eyes scanning over Kirihara again. He felt the sudden need to shield himself, wondering if this Fuji-san had the ability to see through clothing – because his eyes were definitely roaming around like they could.

“A little late for you to be coming out? The sun rises soon.”

Fuji smiled wider, “when Tezuka beckons, I don’t really have a choice. His office is dark, I should be fine in there.”

Kirihara shuddered; Fuji’s voice seemed to caress his skin, dancing over him like silk. He glared at the vampire – damn them and their tricks. Fuji was not an Ancient, but he was old enough to have picked up on their mind games. His eyes met Kirihara’s, who flushed. It was like Fuji was gently whispering dark promises in his ear while running his hands lightly over his arms and neck. Shaking his head violently Kirihara turned away; Fuji chuckled softly. If it wasn’t for the fact that this vampire was clearly invited here, he would have shot him – point blank, between the eyes.

The door binged and opened, Kirihara was the first one out. He didn’t even care if it was the right floor – he would take the stairs the rest of the way up if he had to! Momoshiro and Kaidoh came out after him. So it was the right floor, lucky day.

Kaidoh shuddered, cheeks pink, “I don’t like speaking ill of Tezuka-san, but I really wish he had chosen another informant.”

Kirihara couldn’t help but grin, so he wasn’t the only one Fuji had been playing with. “Informant?”

Momoshiro nodded, “Tezuka-san has a finger in all aspects of supernatural life around here, helps him get information. Helps us get jobs too, the more people you know, the more your name gets out.”

Kirihara glanced back at the closed elevator doors; Tezuka probably had more than a finger in that one.

The three Hunters walked through the throngs of people gathering, breaking away down a hall. The furthest door had a small gold plaque with ‘Tezuka Kunimitsu’ embossed on the front. Momoshiro knocked softly on the door, waiting. Kirihara snorted, why couldn’t he knock like that on every door?

“Tezuka-san, we brought Kirihara.”

Why did he feel like he was being lined up for a mob hit? Kirihara swallowed, unconsciously smoothing down the front of his shirt. He really hated having to come and meet with Tezuka.

“You may come in,” Tezuka’s voice was clear, even thought it was coming from the other side of a heavy wooden door. His voice was deep and confident, carrying with it the knowledge that he stood at the top. He had the voice of someone who had seen far too much, and carried it all on his shoulders. He was one that didn’t have the option of stepping down, or being weak. His voice could carry across the room in only a whisper, silencing anyone around him.

Momoshiro reached around Kirihara and opened the door, motioning with a jerk of his head for him to go in, “we’ll be waiting out here, after Tezuka’s talked to you he’s going to address all the Hunters about something.”

Kirihara nodded, a small tilt of his lips as he mouthed ‘thanks’.

Tezuka sat at his desk, flipping through a thin file. The windows behind him were covered, blocking out all sun light. The light in the room came from small overhead fluorescent lights, tasteful and dim. Tezuka looked up when Kirihara entered, motioning him to a chair in front of the deep cherry desk. Kirihara slid into the chair slowly, careful not to put his weight on his injured arm. Tezuka’s eyes flickered to his arm before returning to his face.

“Have you seen anyone about that arm yet?” Tezuka closed the file in front of him, pushing his glasses up above his forehead.

“I haven’t had a chance,” because you had your goons jump me as soon as I got home, he almost added, but figured it better not to piss off the higher-ups.

Tezuka leaned back in his chair, folding his hands across his stomach, ‘I apologize for that, as soon as Tachibana told me what happened, I assumed the worst. So I told the teams that as soon as you two were found you were to be brought to me.”

Kirihara nodded, remembering what Momoshiro had told him about the rogue teams.

“Besides wanting to know of your well-being, I wanted you brought here for a specific reason. We don’t know for certain what is going on, but I have spoken to Sanada and he feels something may be wrong. So, for now, until I know more, I want all Hunters to be in teams of at least two. Tachibana has requested that Kamio stay with his team.”

Kirihara frowned, so instead of being partnered with Kamio, Tachibana was forcing him to be partnered with someone he didn’t know – fantastic.

Tezuka continued, “You are one of the best, no one will contest that. And because of that, I am putting you with a new rookie-“

“Wait a minute!” Kirihara stood up abruptly, “I’m not babysitting some little punk!”

“Sit down Kirihara,” Tezuka’s voice never rose, but to Kirihara it felt like Tezuka had reached out and taken his voice-box.

He sat back down slowly, “my arm is damaged, I’m going to be pretty much useless. I don’t think I’m the right one to be looking after someone new.”

Tezuka’s lips twitched, “that is why I am putting him with you. He will be able to help you quite well.”

Kirihara snorted, he doubted that, “you’re keeping me in the field for now?”

Tezuka nodded, “I apologize, but I don’t have enough Hunters for you to take a sick leave, we still need as many clean-up crew as we can get, I can’t afford to lose you. I know you have met with the two Fledglings that are responsible for this mess, but there have been reports of a third Fledgling with them. My Hunters are all working overtime as is, we really didn’t need this.”

“I understand,” Kirihara’s expression softened, he actually felt sorry for Tezuka. It was easy to only focus on the work the Hunters were doing, but the one behind the strings was working just as hard. Tezuka’s eyes had dark circles under them; sleep deprivation was always one of those things that you couldn’t hide.

“The rookie’s name is Echizen Ryoma.”

Kirihara jumped, “Echizen? As in, Echizen Nanjiroh?”

Tezuka nodded again, “his son, actually.”

Echizen Nanjiroh was, once upon a time, one of the greatest Hunters the organization had ever had. The founder, Ryuzaki Sumire, had trained Nanjiroh, teaching him everything she knew – and succeeding in making him the best damn Hunter the world over. He refused to be tied down, wouldn’t take a place of authority within the company. He eventually married, and when his first child was born he was attacked and nearly killed by a pack of vampires. He retired shortly after that.

Apparently, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

“Damn,” Kirihara whistled lowly, “he any good?”

Tezuka shrugged, “I’ll leave that up to you to determine.”

He didn’t like the idea of being stuck with a rookie, especially when he was working with a bum arm. But if it was Echizen Nanjiroh-san’s, there might be hope. Unfortunately, until he knew for sure, he was going to have to watch his back, and the kid’s. Shifting in his seat Kirihara met Tezuka’s curious glance.

“Was there anything else you needed me for sir?” He hated sitting for long periods of time, after about five minutes he always felt his mind wandering. Legs would jitter, fingers moving of their own free-will to pick at anything they could reach. If Tezuka was quite finished with him, it was time to get moving again, before he embarrassed himself.

Tezuka shook his head, “no, we’re finished here. I would like you to go and see Inui about that arm, though. I can have Momoshiro escort you there.”

Kirihara winced, how had he known that was coming? Inui Sadaharu was the head researcher, he as also the head doctor. He spent most of the time in the restricted laboratories upstairs, but he was known to do clinic duty. Just mentioning his name made even the bravest Hunter shudder, so being sent to the clinic when one knew he was on duty was every Hunters nightmare.

Tezuka escorted Kirihara to the door, waving to Momoshiro, “I’d like you to escort him to Inui.”

Momoshiro blanched, “what did you do?”

Kirihara jumped, “what? Nothing! He wants Inui-sensei to look at my arm!”

“Oh,” Momoshiro’s colour didn’t return, “whatever you do, don’t let him talk you into trying his new medication. Whatever he says, it’s NOT actually good for you!”

The Clinic was the floor above the residence, sterile and metallic. It resembled a hospital hallway more than an office building. Nurses rushed in and out of rooms along the corridor. Some carried clipboards, others bottles of medication, all looked like they needed to be somewhere immediately. Inui walked out of a room further down the hall, adjusting his glasses as he flipped through papers on a clipboard. His short black hair looked as if he had put gel in it, and then ruffled it around. He looked up when the elevator doors chimed closed, smiling.

Kirihara heard Momoshiro shudder next to him, “I’ll see you back downstairs.” He slipped back into the elevator before Kirihara could yell at him.

“Tezuka just called me to let me know you were on your way, arm?” Inui approached him, light reflecting off his square glasses to obscure his eyes.

Kirihara nodded weakly, he didn’t know Inui-sensei that well, but the man creeped him out.

Inui grinned and held the clipboard to his chest, the other hand encircling Kirihara’s shoulders, “this way please.”
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Colour Me Blood Red