Aphoticity

Aphoticity


It was an event that she never took into account merely because it was something that couldn’t happen. The laws of reason and reality never bended to such an extent and she was left confounded in nonsense on a scale so great that even a mind like hers couldn’t decipher exactly what happened. It didn’t matter how long or hard she thought about it. She always arrived at the same conclusion.

“This is… impossible.”

Sion was dumbstruck.

She stood on the dank, shady floor of the forest and looked up at where the moon cast its radiance on her like a spotlight. The mud was so soggy it felt like she was sinking in place and the air was so stale that she could actually taste it. The humidity on her skin made it feel like the forest was sweating and the hollow sound of the wind touching upon greenery sounded too much like howl of dying monster.

She knew where she was. It was a place familiar to her, a forest that she made the mistake of visiting on the most treacherous of nights. It was the same forest that was dense enough to feel like a prison. It was the same night a thought could aspire to become something tangible. It was the night when the abstract were given form.

It was Walachia, the Night of Walachia to be more exact.

There was no question. In an awesome display of failure, she didn’t only lose to the vampire that shared its name with the incident, but she also got pulled into the living phenomenon that it embodied. How was it possible?

She willed herself to move and think about it while she ran. Lavender hair flowed behind her as she weaved between trees and jumped over logs. The bands that neatly kept her hair in a braid were lost, but she didn’t care. She had to keep moving. A solitary target was already easy so a stationary one was only an invitation to her antagonist. Knowing that much, she kept running until something tugged at her wrist.

Immediately, she snapped her hand in front of her face and all the processes of her mind combined into one powerful force of rational thought. Distance was calculated in fractions of a second and vital signs were confirmed. Amherst eyes briefly spied the gold bracelet around her wrist before she pulled back. The nearly invisible etherite thread that was bound to the jewelry was drawn tight and her direction was set.

She was still connected to him.

He was still alright.

She felt a glimmer of hope as she ran towards him, the feedback from the indestructible string telling her that he encountered the thing that imprisoned them in the deadly forest. The alchemist realized she didn’t need the assistance of the link to determine where he was as the sound of trees falling met her ears. Considering his ability it wasn’t surprising that he would try fighting it, but she doubted even he could kill it now.

Sion wasted no time pulling out her handgun. Her last magazine was forced in just as fast as she slid through the brush and took aim on the vampire. Both parties were surprised by the intrusion, but one was visibly relieved by the interference.

“Sion,” He said her name as he lowered his knife, but the girl in front of him still kept her gun pointed at their enemy. “Are you alright?”

“Shiki,” She addressed him without turning around, the quick glance she took over of her shoulder was enough to see that he wasn’t hurt. She ignored his question as she advanced on the vampire. “It’s too dangerous here. We have to make it to the village before it kills us.”

Shiki sighed as the hopelessness of her words dawned on him. Beating the vampire simply wasn’t an option. It was either run or die and he already tried one. “Run?” His eyebrows furrowed, his dark eyes narrowing as he raised his knife and waited for the monster to appear again. “I already tried to get away from it when I was looking for you but I can’t get away from-”

“Cut…”

Sion’s eyes widened the moment she heard the ominous voice, but her partner did little more than brace himself. The vampire walked from behind a tree with a smile, the bullet holes in his cape playing a large role in his amusement.

“Cut!”

The monster kept its smile, blood spilling out of his mouth as he raised his arm and revealed what was waiting under his cape. It was little more than a shadow brought to life by his power, but both of them realized what it was.

Shiki cursed under his breath as the shadow started to take form. The unmistakable figure turned into something solid and the smirk on its face seemed far more dangerous than the knife it held. It was one of his worst nightmares, the killer he probably really was something that always lurked in the depths of his heart.

Even nightmares were given a twisted existence.

“Cut!!”

Walachia finished his chant, crimson flooding out of his eyes as he urged the monster to attack.

Sion snatched the etherite whip back and severed the connection between her and Shiki before they dashed towards different targets. The insane laughter that seemed to fill the forest, the poignant clash of knives, and the wallow of trees caught in the wind all reminded her of a night she would have been happy to forget, but she had no time to reflect on her past.

She watched Shiki engage the reflection of his nightmare, both of them aiming to strike each other down and simultaneously failing. A series of slashes were met with the same and the resulting clashes sent sparks flying in random direction, but the onslaught of attacks launched upon her partner were slowly but surely getting the best of him.

“Cut!”

The alchemist quickly turned away from Shiki and brought her gun up just in time to parry the attack from her own opponent. The vampire cut through the metal and her handgun fell to the grown in pieces. Mud splashed on her, but that was the least of her worries as Walachia continued his assault.

She had to think.

Walachia couldn’t be killed no matter what kind of effort they put forth, but it had to be something they could do. There had to be something that would halt its attack long enough for her to think of some way to stop him.

He slashed at her with his claws and she was quick to skip back. The vampire missed completely, but she was still cut by the current of wind that followed. The royal purple of her blouse was stained with crimson, the wound he placed between her breasts just deep enough to derail her trains of thought.

Her eyes wandered as her thoughts drifted and the split processes in her mind slowed to a stop as she stumbled backwards. She was hurt. She was seriously hurt. Her chest was searing like it was on fire and she wavered, her world blurring at the edges as she faltered just enough to free herself from the stupor she was in. It hurt. It hurt so much it felt like she was going to pass out, but the fact that she’d die if she did anything of the sort was the only thing that kept her conscious.

Sion tried to get back the breath that was knocked out of her, but just the simple act of inhaling introduced her to a whole new level of pain. She clutched the cut, a sickening splash meeting her ears as her hand came into contact with the injury she sustained due to her recklessness. It was over. She was bleeding too fast. It hurt too much. She had met him at the peak of her ability and she was completely overwhelmed. It wasn’t surprising considering that she just didn’t have the kind of power to oppose vampires, at least not those of Walachia’s caliber.

As an alchemist, she was at the top when it came to matters of problem solving and applying extreme logical and rationality, but she still had the physical attributes of a human. She possessed nothing like superhuman strength or extraordinary speed and her magic rested only in her ability to hack into the minds of others.

She was without equal when it came to gathering intelligence, but she was always bad at fighting. Since she couldn’t exert the kind of raw power others seemed to have, she had to do her best to predict the best course of action and move accordingly. All she could do was confirm the most possible future and act based on the options available to her.

However…

Her butt landed squarely in the mud, dirtying her as she looked up at the monster that took its sweet time approaching. It reminded her of the night it stalked and chased her through the brush, the night it bit her and tried to turn her into a vampire. She was frightened, horrified as he smiled at her. He was salivating, ready and willing to make her into the same monster he was and she could do nothing about it.

Walachia was unpredictable. As a phenomenon, he was already something that was supposed to be outside her realm of understanding but, as a being, it was even harder to calculate what he was going to do.

Sion was terrified, but it wasn’t dying that scared her. She accepted that she was going to die the moment she realized her situation. Engaging Walachia only proved a point she already made to herself. Their chances of winning were already zero, any further action on her part would only add to the vampire’s enjoyment. What scared her had nothing to do with herself at all.

The only thing she regretted was that she dragged Shiki down with her.

“Shiki…” Her last words were going to be his name as she donated a thought to her first and only friend. With her fate surely sealed, she made the bold move of looking away from Walachia to see if he faired better than she did.

He had.

The remnants of a fake littered the ground like trash, the pieces of the monster he left in his wake crumbling, but the man who slaughtered his nightmare was nowhere to be found. It wouldn’t have been stupid if he had ran away but, knowing him...

“Die.”

His voice dropped an octave as his stuck his knife into the vampire. Walachia whirled around, his edge of his heavy cape slicing through the wind as he turned to face the person who committed such a travesty against him.

Of course, it was Shiki.

Cold blue eyes regarded the vampire with little sympathy as he stabbed the monster again. The vampire laughed as it collapsed and faded to nothing, proof that it was just another of the fakes.

The laughter continued even though the Tatari was long gone but, eventually, it dissipated like the fog that clouded her mind. Silence returned to the forest as Sion coldly regarded her savior and he calmly looked back down at her with eyes so blue it felt like they were glowing.

She shivered, the deadly gleam in his eyes intimidating her more than it ever did before. If he had the slightest idea of how much of her humanity had slipped away then perhaps those eyes would be used on her.

“Why didn’t you remove my limiter?”

Sion was pleasantly surprised, her eyebrows slightly arching as he posed a question that had nothing to do with her callous approach to the fight. Saved from another drawn out explanation of why she should be more careful, she was glad to answer a good question.

While she had numerous abilities, hacking into one’s nervous system was the one she most appreciated because of the things it allowed her to do. One of those things was removing the limiter nearly all living things possessed from birth.

A limiter was complex. Two of the most prominent reasons for its existence in people were to restrict them to using not more than ten percent of their brain and ensuring that all of one’s strength couldn’t be exerted all at one time.

Removing it didn’t necessarily mean someone would die, though. On the contrary, it meant one would be far more adapt at dealing with life in her own opinion and, naturally, she had already removed hers a long time ago.

It was just important to know you limits.

“You know better than I do that we have to wait for the True Ancestor to arrive. If you go all out now then you won’t have anything left when we need you.”

His cold, sapphire eyes softened. “You almost died just now.”

A pang of annoyance touched her features as he brought up the same thing he always did. “That is true but,” Sion stood, blood spilling from her chest as she faced her partner. “How many times have we almost died since we started this affair? When we encountered your sister? Chaos? The woman from the Burial Agency? The vampire we need to rescue us?”

“I am aware how close you are to death since you see it on a daily basis, but do not think I am beyond giving up my life in order to erase this... monster from the world.” She continued as she started to walk passed him. “That is my top priority.”

“How you can say something like that?”

Shiki casually slipped his glasses back on, the cold, threatening eyes that studied her not even seconds ago replaced with empathy so heavy she couldn’t help but halt her advance to the village.

She didn’t forget that he was a part-time pacifist, but she wasn’t going to lie about her ultimate objective in a lame attempt to make him feel any better. “I made it clear where I stood on this matter when we first met, did I not?”

Of course he knew what kind of person the alchemist was, but he also knew what he saw with his own eyes. He saw her. She gave up and resigned herself to dying in a place like this. So, for her to stand up and say those things...

“We don’t have the time to talk.” With a strained look in her cautious eyes, Sion made sure to scan the forest for any activity as she again started walking with a slight limp in her gait. “Let’s go.”

She was right.

Another encounter with Walachia was inevitable.

Sooner or later he would appear before them and they would take part in his game as he toyed with their lives. Without a doubt, they would have their roles on his stage and Shiki wondered if Arucied would make it before the curtain was drawn or even if she would come at all…

Shiki contained his sigh and forced the optimism that defined him. He couldn’t dare entertain thoughts like that or he’d be just like the girl that walked in front of him. His eyes held onto the purple of her hair as it swished around with every movement no matter how subtle. It was free and dirty, stained by the brown that touched upon the lavender and liberated of the yellow bands that kept it restrained.

His sight fell from her hair and to the dainty, red drops she left behind.

Any idiot could tell that she was hurt.

Sion muted her breathing, the uneven gasps of breath something she sought to hide as she led the way but it was just like her to not say anything about it. She half hobbled through the brush, her desperate attempts to pace herself and conserve what little energy she had painfully obvious.

He looked back up with every intention of making her stop so they could tend to her injury but, in doing so, he realized something he never noticed before.

As she pushed back a branch, Shiki couldn’t help but wonder if the woman before him was always that small? She was always so composed, so confident in herself that it was hard to imagine showing any weakness so seeing her barely keeping her balance put even more emphasis on how dire the situation was. She was hurt and, though she’d deny it if he asked, she was scared.

Shiki fixed his glasses on his face. The comfortable weight of the knife in his pocket was his unspoken promise to make sure she wasn’t hurt anymore, to make sure that she wouldn’t have to be afraid of anything as long as he was around. He’d protect her no matter what.

“The village…” Sion caught him by surprise as she huffed out the words, stretching out an arm to point as it came into view. “We have to hurry before Walachia ambushes us again…”

0

The door cracked, ultimately caving in as it relented to her third and final kick. Immediately, she rushed into the modest adobe and looked for anything that even remotely looked alive. The alchemist took no chance, tired eyes scanning the house as she rushed from one room to the next with her whip at the ready.

The village was indeed as desolate as it looked and the house they invaded was no exception. As she ventured though the kitchen, she made a fair assumption that no one had lived in the place in years, but she could vividly remember what was waiting when she arrived in the village so many years ago.

“I told you it was unlocked…” Shiki sighed as he arrived in the kitchen, careful steps taken as he moved in the darkness. “How can just run in when you can barely see-”

“And I told you to be on guard!” Sion snapped, her eyes resting on him since she was sure the house was empty. “This village is far… more dangerous…” Her vision titled as her head bobbed, but she steadied herself so fast she believed he missed the moment. “This place is more dangerous than the forest…”

She voluntary overclocked her thought processes as she desperately looked for somewhere to sit or possibly lay down before she really blacked out, but the glare he was giving her meant that she didn’t have to hold up her front anymore.

“Let’s look at that cut now…”

Concern from someone she knew she could depend on was certainly something to treasure, but it was far from a luxury she would take comfort in. Long seconds passed as he waited for her answer and he motioned to assist her until she spoke.

“No.” It was a solid response, one that had to be absolute for the sake of her pride. Her eyes finally caught the familiar form of a bed and it felt like her legs started moving before she even thought to walk. “I’m alright. There is no—Wha!?”

Her surprised yelp was amusing enough to bring about a small but delighted smile on his face. “For a girl…” She was easily lifted into the air, oddly feeling like child as he cradled her. “You are really not cute.”

Her face flashed a dark red and retained the blush as he walked through the kitchen and into the bedroom. With some degree of difficultly, he successfully navigated his way through the dark and made it to the bed she saw.

He was careful to let her down, gingerly sliding his arm from under her legs as he lowered her onto the rough mattress. The supporting hand that held her upright eased her down until she was looking at the ceiling, but details were too hard to make out in the stifling darkness.

Satisfied with having a bed to lay on for the first time in a good while, Sion was ready to get a few minutes of sleep until she heard a creek. She bolted up and was almost off the bed until the soft glow of moonlight landed on her rising form.

Shiki stood before the lone window with an unreadable expression. His glasses were off, the dark blue eyes that secretly scared her more than anything looked outside as he rested his elbow on the windowsill.

He was guarding her.

The few minutes of rest she asked for on their way to the village were granted as he resigned himself to his post, but maintained it with the vigilance of a hawk. Thanks to the light, her eyes also caught the gleam of his blade as he brandished it.

“You’re a vampire, right…?”

Her breath caught in her throat.

He must have seen it when he put her on the bed.

She knew the answer but she wrestled with it, hesitating as she felt the imposing gaze being directed at her from the other side of the room. Still, she could not afford to have another moment of weakness. “Yes, but-”

“Do you drink blood?” He interrupted, his grip on his knife becoming just that much tighter as he awaited her response.

“N-No!” She stuttered, her composure lost as she stared at her partner in shock. “Never…” She voiced as she sought to string up the front he all but shattered with the question. “I rather die before doing that.”

Even though she knew he cared, his eyes rained indifference on her before he turned his sight back to the view outside. His change in demeanor undoubtedly had much to do with the scar he couldn’t help but see when he placed her on the bed.

The gaping wound, one she incurred not even an hour ago, had already healed moments before they arrived in the village. At the cost of her energy, the deep cut mended itself. All that was left was a scar that would eventually disappear.

“Satsuki…” He suddenly let the name slip out of his mouth, something he never said before voiced in a low whisper as he stood at his vantage point. “When I let her go, I never would have thought she would become like that…”

He trailed off and, because of the comparison he was starting to make, she could see why.

“I will not fight with you, Shiki.” Sion laid back down as she spoke the truth, “If there comes a time when you are forced to use that knife against me then I will not try to stop you.”

Again, she was startled when something fell on top of her. It was a jacket. The navy blue of his uniform jacket was had more than several spots of brown that he must have got from carrying her to the bed. “Why…?” She asked more out of confusion than anything else as she looked at owner.

“You should… cover yourself.”

She raised the jacket and looked.

The front of her blouse was neatly divided, the fringes of the halves a different color than the rest thanks to the blood that spilled from her wound. Along with the scar, her breasts were exposed more than before thanks to the winkles in her slacking shirt.

She pulled the top of his uniform to the side and allowed the moonlight to touch upon her as she looked. Her hat was something she had long since lost, her skirt was just as soiled as her blouse but not nearly as ruined, her stockings were torn in some places, her hair was undoubtedly nasty looking, and dried mud clung to her like the stench of blood.

Sion was never one to even entertain the thought of vanity. Appearances did not matter especially when you were under attack so, under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have even cared, but it was different with him.

When she was around him, she didn’t want to look like that.

“I…” A pained cry took the place of her words. “No….”

He saw her.

Without a doubt, he saw her and she knew it.

Even when she slept in that alley, she never gave herself the time to think that it made her dirty to sleep next to and on top of trash. She never wanted to think that she belonged there with the rest of the miserable garbage that pilled up around her.

“Sion?”

The alchemist felt disgusting, even sick as her partner saw it an opportune time to move in her direction. She curled up, hugging her knees to her chest in what looked like an attempt to make herself seem as small as possible.

“Please don’t look at me.”

He smiled in understanding before reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair. She jumped at the touch, but later relaxed as he played with her stained locks. “How come you always act so rough when you’re so… sensitive?”

Wasn’t it obvious?

Couldn’t he tell how much she enjoyed being close to him? Even when she couldn’t have felt any worse, the fingers that gently massaged her scalp made her feel so much better than before. She didn’t even have to turn and look to see that cheerful smile she knew he had plastered on his face.

His touch was only a plus in addition to his presence. Just having him around, having him close made her feel like she could do things that she normally couldn’t do. If he asked her something like that when he was so close all she could say was the truth.

“Because I like you…”

Other people did not matter. It was no secret that she thought of others as expendable in her quest of exterminating the vampire that bit her, but Shiki was nothing of the sort. Even though she approached him with the intention of practically enslaving him, he beat her in a fair fight and voluntarily decided to help her. That was something no one ever did before and, logically, she found that it touched her like nothing else ever did before.

“I like you, too.”

A blush came to her face as her heart decided to pound heart enough to break a rib. She immediately turned around and caught sight of his smile, the optimism that he always seemed to have no matter the predicament they found themselves in.

“I’ll be right back.” His smile widened as they made eye contact. “I’ll go look around in the bathroom and find something to clean you up, alright?”

Shiki straightened his back, his reassuring touch lifted from her head as he stood and promptly left in search of what he needed to get some of the grime off her. She wanted to stop him, but the return of her simple affections left her speechless.

How could he say something like that? Let alone with ease?

It was only when he disappeared into the darkness that conquered the rest of the house that her heart stopped threatening to burst out of her chest. Wasn’t she one of the vile creatures that he hated? Wasn’t she just the pushy woman that used him like one of her weapons? He could care for a girl that really didn’t care about being dirty in front of anyone else?

Her mind worked to solve questions that she alone couldn’t answer.

Before she realized how much time had passed, she could hear the sound of old wood protesting as Shiki returned with a bucket overflowing with water and a rag he must have found in the kitchen.

“Um…” Shiki sat the bucket down, some of its contents sloshing over the brim as it made contact with floor. “I’ll be outside.” He grabbed the towel he had slung over his shoulder and tossed it on the bed. “Call me if-”

“You… You don’t have to leave.” Sion slowly brought her legs to the side of the bed and managed to stand up. With minimum effort, she reached up and pulled apart what was left of her blouse and threw it on floor. It wasn’t until she was stepping out of her skirt that he forcefully pulled his eyes away from the undressing woman.

“O-Okay,” Shiki wasted no time resuming his post at the window, but she still caught the red that was present on his handsome features. “I’ll be right here.”

She sat back down and kicked off her shoes before pulling off her stockings and throwing them into the mounting heap of clothes. With that, she only had one article of clothing left to remove. She snuck a glance at the man who still had his back turned to her. Sure that his integrity was intact, she placed her thumbs inside the band of her panties and pulled them down.

Her underwear traveled past her thighs, over her knees, and down her calves before it met with the rest of her clothes on the floor. She was naked, completely exposed to the soft light that made known the dirt and grime that stuck to her skin.

Feeling awfully self-conscious, she reached a hand into the bucket to grab the rag he placed inside.

“Ah!”

Shiki spun on his heel, his glasses already off and his stance lowered as his eyes shot towards the doorway and then to the girl who dropped the rag back into the ice cold water.

“The water…” She pointed out, her eyes dropping as she realized she scared him. “I d-didn’t know it was so cold.”

That smile…

“Oops, I really forgot about that.” His understanding smile made her feel warm all over again as he put his knife back into his pocket and, even though he was painfully aware of her nudity, made his way across the room. “I’m sorry. I’ll see if that stove still-“

“Wait,” She found the voice to stop him and the hand he was reached down to pick up the bucket was stilled. “C-can you help me with my hair?”

“Sure, but you’ll have to tell me what to do.” Shiki rolled up his sleeves before he dipped a hand into the water and pulled out the rag she dropped along with the small bar of soap, “I never washed a girl’s hair before.”

“Just do what you did before except with the rag.”

He rubbed the soap and rag together until he built up a good lather before dipping it back into the water. He repeated the process until the rag was saturated with the clean scent of spring the soap promised to carry and placed the wet rag on top of her head.

She shivered because of the sudden cold, but the way the rag worked around in her hair was nothing less than amazing. He was meticulous, carefully handling her hair as he took his time to painstakingly pick out the things that did belong in her locks, as he gently scrubbed.

In spite of the cold that made her breath visible, nothing could have been better than what she was feeling now. She was secretly pleased, even elated the he accepted her offer and the way he scrubbed and massaged her scalp made it feel like she was being rewarded for summoning the courage to ask.

She could no longer hold the breath she held and let it out in rapture. “Don’t worry…” Shiki started, his eyes narrowing as he examined the long purple locks he held in his hand. “I’m sure Arcueid is trying her best.”

She was amused that he mistook the reasons behind her sigh, but the words he spoke reflected a sentiment that wasn’t funny at all. He was patiently waiting even though there was a chance that the True Ancestor didn’t even know where they were. The knife he kept close was ready in case he had to stall for anything less than a timely arrival, but she was actively enjoying herself in this placed that robbed her of so many things.

“Hey…” He couldn’t help but notice she sounded terribly disheartened. “Hey Shiki…”

“Yes?”

She idly played with her bracelet before taking it off. “How much do you like me?”

“I like you a lot. You do boss me around sometimes but-”

“No… I mean…” She was having difficultly in posing the question she really wanted to ask. “Do you like me the same way you like the True Ancestor?”

Arcueid, the exterminator of Dead Apostles, was also someone who reigned over all others in his heart and she in turn made no effort to hide the fact that she fell in love with a human. There was no way for her to compare to someone like that. It was silly to even put herself on equal footing with someone who had no equal, but that was what she willingly asked him to do.

More than anything, she wanted him to break her heart so she could discard the feelings that plagued her. She needed to hear him say the truth she already knew so she could bury her feelings before she acted on them.

“I guess I do.” He responded as he dipped the rag back in the bucket. “You and her have a lot in common.”

“What?”

“Arcuied used to be lonely and didn’t understand that she was at first.” Shiki couldn’t help but smile as she picked the last bit of wood out of her hair. “It took her a while to get what it meant to have friends, but she’s really happy now.”

“You are saying that I am lonely…?”

“Yeah, after we get back I’ll make sure we can have fun with everyone else.”

She wanted to be a part of the days he looked forward to but, at the same time, she didn’t want to share them with anyone else. With that, the hope she tried to crush with cold logic couldn’t be suppressed any longer.

“I don’t want to have anymore friends…” She closed her eyes already knowing that she couldn’t stop herself. “I only want to be with you.”

“Sion…”

The rejection she patiently waited for never came and a chance presented itself. In a fight, it was the kind of opportunity she would have taken without an inkling of doubt, but she hesitated long enough for him to gather himself.

“Alright, when we get out of-”

Her lips were pressed against his in a display of overflowing affection. It was nothing more than what it was meant to be as she pulled away and looked into his eyes. “I… I’m not like her. I know how the world works so you don’t have to be gentle with me. I appreciate your kindness and I understand you don’t feel-”

He stopped her rambling with a kiss. Attraction won out as he abandoned the rag he held in favor of the back of her neck and gently pulled her towards him. Their lips met again under the same circumstances, but the tongue he parted her lips with was the same one that explored her mouth.

Her mind felt like it took a vacation and the space it left behind was filled with warmth that she thought only alcohol could leave. She got drunk off the sensation and the way he tasted but, unknown to her, she had the same effect on him.

It was more than the vague feelings she put on his lips. It was solid emotion entangled with lust, her fantasy alive as she fell backwards onto the bed with him on top of her.

He broke the kiss, but their faces remained so close that they could feel each other breathe. “Sion…” Was all he said, the fact that she was coming on to him was one he tried to ignore when she was so vulnerable, but that kiss sparked a fire he couldn’t put out. “I… Do you…”

“I won’t bite…” She whispered, the fangs he knew she possessed making her promise more serious than she intended for it to be.

That look on her face stunned him, the hope that she always hid under layers upon layers of logic was something he never saw before and was definite proof that she wanted it just as much as he did.

They kissed with more passion than before, their tongues dueling against each other in an effort to get as much out of the kiss as they could. With a lust driven fever, they continued with every concern thrown out the window that invited the cold air in.

He could feel her shock, her whole body tensing as his hand moved up her side. Her senses returned to her in a remarkable moment of clarity as she managed to pull away from his kiss.

They couldn’t…

At least not now and she was going to voice that until the feeling of his kisses going down her neck practically made her melt. In spite of the cold, she couldn’t feel any hotter as his tongue made a slick path all the way down to her chest.

“S-Shiki…” Her voice was shaky thanks to the warm breath coming down on her breast. “We… we s-shouldn’t…” She protested, her half-hearted attempt to stop him lost the moment he took her into his mouth.

With one in his mouth and the other in his hand he sucked and massaged at the same time. She held her breath as he pinched her stiffen nipples, the small, pink nub between his lips getting just a little bit more attention than the one he held between his finger and thumb.

Shiki wet her nipple with his tongue and all she could do was fight to control her breathing as he squeezed her just hard enough for her to respond. She delivered, her face coloring as a cry of pleasure escaped her throat and he took that as his cue to show her greater things. She was dismayed when he moved but his destination was clear. He scooted back until he was almost off the bed, but the hand he rested on her knee assured her that it was just the beginning.

With no small degree of apprehension, she slowly parted her legs and her blush deepened as he looked directly at what was between them. It was a place she was always shy to touch but for him…

Sion reached down and used her fingers to spread the lips of her labia so she could let him see how aroused she was. She had never felt more embarrassed in her entire life as she allowed him to see the glistening pink and the light purple hair that framed her opening.

The hands that slid down the insides of her thigh urged her legs even further apart as he lowered his head. He licked her and it felt like she got hit by lightning. She shook with when he did it again, his tongue caressing the most private of parts with a broad lick that tasted the essence of her.

She sat up if only to grab fistfuls of his hair as she wrapped her legs around his head. The frame of his glasses pressed into her thighs as his tongue lapped up her juices. He licked everything from the soft, puffy lips of her sex to the fingers she used to part them but it wasn’t until the tip of his tongue met the rigid bud that she literally screamed.

Sion fell back onto the bed and tried to suppress the need to scream as his tongue dipped inside of her. She shuddered as he forced his tongue deeper and deeper until his lips met her sex.

“Ah… Shiki… Good…” She panted, gripping his locks as she pushed herself against him in hopes that his tongue could reach even further, but it was the feeling of him pulling it out that sent another shiver up her spine.

“I…” He raised his head to smile at her before he licked the tangy moisture off his lips. “I like the way you taste Sion…”

She came.

Her back arched as her mouth opened to let out a silent cry that didn’t escape her throat. The sensation was something unlike anything she ever experienced and she did nothing more than succumb to the pleasure that assaulted her from every angle.

Her breathing was labored, her mind slowing to the point where all she could focus on was the fact that he didn’t stop. Probing fingers replaced his tongue and her orgasm lingered as he pushed them into her entrance.

The wet, sloppy sound his fingers going in and out of her dripping slit was making both of them crazy for different reasons. He loved the way she twisted around, the sounds she made even sexier than the ones coming from between her legs and she could already feel something stirring inside of her as he pulled his fingers out to lick her.

She screamed as loud as she could, caution thrown to the wind as another orgasm visited her shaking frame. Her eyes became glazed as he, finally, backed up just to have enough room to pull down his pants and exposed his erection.

Sion, high off the effects of her orgasm, didn’t even pause to think of his member until she felt the tip of it. Sultry eyes stared at him from beneath the purple of her hair and notion of teasing her passed faster than it came.

Shiki lifted her leg and allowed it to rest on his shoulder. He eased himself into her with an audible grunt and her glazed eyes quickly came back into focus as his intrusion was met with resistance.

With a buck of his hips and a flash of pain, she was a maiden no more and the man who took her virginity wasted no time taking the rest of her purity along with it.

Even with the fingering, she was too tight. With every thrust it felt like she was trying to squeeze him out, but it felt so good that he couldn’t contain himself. He grabbed hold of the first thing he could grab, the bedsheets, and balled them up in his hands as he leaned forward and forced all of his length into her.

He had to make a continuous effort not to shoot his seed into her right then and there. Straining to hold back his climax, he pulled back and it elicited a moan from the woman beneath him as he made another sharp thrust into her.

Her breasts bounced and her cries of pleasure punctuated every thrust after that as he forced his shaft into the warm knot that that was her pussy. He lost himself in her painfully, cute whimpers and the way she looked up at him from under strands of violet only served to push him closer to the edge.

Shiki was ravishing her and her lidded eyes only focused on him as he all but slammed into her. The hands that once desperately gripped the sheets found their place at her waist in an effort to force all of his length into the girl. It was a feat accomplished many times over as he got his leverage, her knees pressing into her chest as he had his way with her.

“Yes… Yes!!” She rasped, her voice coming out in slow, staggered gasps. “O-Oh God… Shiki… I…”

Her narrow passage became impossibly tight and she reached a euphoria that made her forget who she was. Her mind was blank, the only thing that infringed on the thoughts of nothing being the warmth that dominated her entire body.

Even as her partner shot thick, sticky lines of white into her womb, she dreamingly looked into the eyes of the man above her with nothing less than loving gratitude.

“Thank you…”

Sion muttered the phrase as she shed tears, the overwhelming warmth giving birth to such happiness. There was no nervous fidgeting or embarrassed denials as she reached up and touched his face. “Thank you.” She repeated, her reason for saying those simple words rooted in the feelings she had when it came to the man on top of her.

Easing off and out of her, Shiki met her open affection with a hand he placed on top of her head. He played with her hair again as sat up and smiled at her with a blush making its presence known.

She didn’t have any idea how cute she was.

With the rays of moonlight, she looked just as pretty as she did when he could barely see. Just like he thought earlier, she seemed so small…

The hand she pulled away from his face was returned to her chest as she clasped them together. She shivered as the warmth in the pit of her stomach slowly started to dissipate and the rag he picked up only promised to make her colder than she already was.

Shiki pulled her up and towards him, drawing her closer as he raised the rag and finished what he started earlier. Sion held no qualms when the cold rag touched her shoulder and went all the way down to her hand.

The powerful scent of spring rain put a winkle in her nose. The smell of sex hovered above them like smoke and, instead of overpowering it, the fragrant aroma mixed with it.

He groped her through the cloth and she gasped. He rubbed the rag over every inch of her chest and she could feel something stirring in her loins as he cleaned her. She was getting aroused again, but it wasn’t until the wet rag made contact with her swollen sex did she see a sight that made her feel so hot that she got dizzy.

His semen was dribbling out of her…

It felt like she was getting a fever as she reached down and parted the folds of her womanhood again. More of the sticky white oozed out and she couldn’t hold back a sexy moan as the rag reached the place she couldn’t wait for it to go.

Shiki dropped the rag in favor of his hand as he touched the girl who sat in his lap. Thanks to the way she pressed herself against him, all he had to do was lean back a bit and fumble around with his pants and…

Sion placed a hand on the bed to steady herself, a warm breath spent on trying to say she loved him failed to come as she positioned herself above him. She descended, his shaft easily sliding into her as he reached for both of her breasts and cupped them in his hands.

“Shiki…” The alchemist inclined her neck to kiss him as much as she could. “I love you. I swear…” She swallowed hard, the pleasure she felt making her pause as he kept touching her. “I swear I love you.”

“You’re too cute when you say things like that.” He was more than content. She was always cute, but she never looked better to him.

Strands of silky purple stuck to her face, matted down thanks to the sheet of sweat covering her. She turned towards him, the deep orchid of her eyes and the unbridled infatuation he saw in them was only for him. He was touched as she caught sight of his smile and matched it with one of her own.

She was defenseless.

With her gun destroyed, the only weapon she had left was the thin line of etherite she pulled from her bracelets and even those were on the floor with the rest of her clothes.

Even at the height of her weakness, she gave herself to him.

“I love you too, Sion.”

She blinked and then she blinked again before her smile became impossibly wide. With her mind starting to function normally, she was already thinking of things that made her sad, but those words fractured her logic just long enough for them to peacefully slip into her conscience.

He wouldn’t reject her.

She blinked away happy tears as she kissed him, the feeling of him instantly returning her love only seemed to deepen their bond as their tongues met. Even though she had done nothing to deserve it, he willingly gave her his heart.

“Do…” Even though he was still inside her, she couldn’t ask such a question without feeling herself break into a severe blush. “Do you want me to put it in my mouth…?”

He couldn’t help but tease her as he kissed her neck again. “Put what in your mouth?”

“You know!” She cried, a touch of pink on her face highlighting her embarrassment in spite of the position she was already in. “It…”

“It?” Shiki grinned as she started to get frustrated. “You have to tell me what you are talking about, Sion.”

As she pouted, he decided that the wash up could wait.

===

As the moon cast its rays on the sleeping form of Sion, Shiki stood at the window and looked far into the night. His glasses sat folded up on the windowsill as his sharp blue eyes looked through the forest they escape from hours ago.

Walachia was out there somewhere.

His hand unconsciously edged closer to his pocket as he thought about the vampire. There was no way he could even think about peacefully taking a nap like the girl who rested on the bed but a blush spread across his face as he remembered he played a role in making her that tired.

However, the blush was lost to him as darker thoughts entered his mind.

Arcuied was late.

There had to be a way to get out without her help but Sion was rarely, if ever, wrong. He was trying to be patient but the threat of the vampire attacking at any moment was something that instilled a different kind of fear in him.

It was a psychological fact that the fear of something could be far more terrifying than what one found frightening in the first place. The thought of being ambushed was one he accepted long ago but the idea that Walachia was allowing himself to miss chances in hopes of catching him completely off guard was new and infinitely scarier.

That meant that the vampire could be right outside the house…

“Flowers are so beautiful…”

Or inside…

Shiki froze, his blood turning into ice as he willed himself to turn around and look in the direction of the familiar voice. A bright yellow and violet caught his eye, the blond hair and cape coming into focus as he realized what they were.

“Even when they are crushed and trampled…” A dark claw parted her hair. “So beautiful…”

With unseen grace, Shiki successfully manipulated the space with agility like that of a spider as he found himself half way up the wall before he hopped off and planted the soles of his feet on the ceiling. Bending his knees, he propelled himself down at the vampire under him.

Knife met cape, the brutal collision producing sparks but the impact launched the attacker back into the air. Even though all of his weight was behind the blow, he was thrown into the corner of the room but he managed to catch himself before he crashed into the wall. The old floor cracked under the stress of his landing, but the only thing he could pay attention to was the vampire that rose to meet him head on.

“I will make you into a flower…”

He didn’t care about insane banter and he definitely wasn’t going to play a role in any of his crazy delusions. His only thought concerned ending the existence of the being in front of him and, while Sion said it was impossible, he had to do something.

The stage was set for their fight and the setting suffered the consequences. Sion slept, blissfully unaware of the battle that raged in front of her but she stirred upon hearing something break in the distance.

She rubbed her eyes, yawning as she pulled back the sheets and looked around. “Shiki…?”

The alchemist pulled his jacket tighter around her and stood just in time to see her lover fly past her. They made and held eye contact until his body broke though the wall. Instantly, her mind exploded with activity as she stressed herself to think about every possible detail and react accordingly.

Before Shiki even landed in the debris created by his expulsion, Sion already had her shoes on and was running in his direction. She took to the air as she jumped out of the opening in the wall and her hurried, heavy footsteps caused the mud to splash on her bare legs as she quickly made her way to his side.

“Strong…” He coughed, the breath that was knocked out of him returning as he sat up. “That one is stronger than the others…”

“You won’t let me plant you!?” Walachia seethed as he stepped out of the darkness of the house. “A stray seed!?”

Neither one of them bothered to listen to him, but Sion was the first to react as she pulled the slack out of her whip. With a tug, the thin line went rigid before going limp once more but nothing change other than the fact Shiki was standing. He didn’t know when he got up or even how he managed to get in front of her, but the feeling of her hand touching his brought him back to his senses before his mind wandered.

Sion gave his hand a light squeeze before removing it and pointing at the monster in front of them. “Go Shiki!!”

It wasn’t until he moved that he realized she released his limiter.

Both the alchemist and the moon were witness to the fight as Shiki ran so low to the ground that the grass tickled his chin. Walachia smiled, blood spilling from his mouth as he raised his cape and allowed the shadows to take form.

Swirls of hazy black combined but it didn’t take a definite shape. Instead, the shadows started to spin until it was a tornado of hate. The wind it created ripped grass from the ground and slung mud but it failed to take apart the human that merely sidestepped it.

Walachia could barely contain his enjoyment as Shiki neared closer so he allowed more shadows to escape from under his cape. More nightmares and rumors were given form only to quickly be dismembered.

Content with a fight like this, the vampire rushed forward to personally slice the boy into pieces until a knife buried itself between his eyes. His head snapped back because of the sudden attack and recovery became a wishful thought as hands violently grabbed the side of his head.

Shiki didn’t give the vampire a chance to counterattack as he twisted his head with enough force to break it off and he did just that in an incredible display of strength. A gusher of blood erupted from the neck and drenched him in blood. As the headless body fell to the ground, he couldn’t help but feel grim satisfaction at his handiwork as he pulled his knife out of the head before tossing it away.

With a quick swipe, he rid the blade of the blood that covered him but…

“I should have known…” Another fake stepped into the backyard and looked at Shiki with pity. “A weed can’t be a flower…”

Walachia couldn’t be killed.

He was an existence that technically didn’t exist so, no matter what he did, fighting him was useless. Still, he had to hold out just long enough for Arcuied to come and that was why he raised his knife to meet the fake that smiled at him.

Shiki motioned to move towards the vampire but a tinge of pain stopped him. He immediately knew what it was. He had already reached his limit. Any further action on his part could probably disable him or worse.

With sweat starting to build on his brow, he turned towards Sion.

She was fighting, the chilling look she shot him between dodging slashes telling him it was on his behalf. Her whip lashed the vampire across the face before delivering a devastating kick that blasted the monster into the tree line.

“Run…” Sion pulled the thread-like whip back towards her as she waited for the vampire to emerge out of edge of the forest. When she heard nothing, she looked over her shoulder. “Please…”

This was exactly what she predicted was going to happen. The True Ancestor wasn’t coming and, if she was, then it was too late. Shiki was already at his limit and she wouldn’t be able to hold off Walachia much longer.

She wasn’t afraid of dying, especially if it was to save his life, but the sinking thought of being alone when it happened was what dwelled on her. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. She didn’t want to die now that he loved her, but she didn’t want him to die either.

That was why she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as she stepped forward.

“You know I can’t leave without you…” Again she looked over her shoulder at him, the fact that he was straining himself one that she couldn’t miss thanks to how he doubled over. He straightened before looking at her. “We’re partners, remember?”

Walachia rushed passed her, knocking her down as it sped towards Shiki with his claws extended. Incredulous, the alchemist reached out to grab for the cape in a desperate attempt to stop him but the fabric teased her fingertips before ultimately escaping her grasp.

Sion panicked as she scrambled to her feet.

Her brain felt like it was on fire as she ran in a mad dash to stop him from taking another precious thing away from her but the sinking feeling in her stomach made her sick as she realized she wasn’t going to make it in time.

The vampire chuckled at the wire whip that wrapped around his wrist and the lost of his hand only served to add to his amusement. With one hand gone, he’d just used the other to pull the weed in his garden.

Walachia opened his eyes wide, blood oozing out and running down his face as he reeled his hand back and Shiki knew that it was over.

“No!!” She screamed, the look on her face effectively killing him before the vampire did. “Please don’t kill him!!”

With heartfelt begging for a beautiful backdrop, Walachia murdered the only person she ever loved. The vampire stabbed him and lifted him up into the air just to allow the body to slide down his claws before he tossed him aside.

This was death.

As he bleakly noted that he hit the ground, he realized he knew this feeling.

There wasn’t anything sentimental about it. There wasn’t any overpowering darkness or tunnel of light and he didn’t have the chance to see his life flash before his eyes. Instead, he felt life long promises being broken and he could sense important memories becoming fleeting thoughts.

Conviction was lifted from the body and accompanied the soul as it was liberated from the body. It was when his senses dulled and his final thought became a dull purple that Shiki finally accepted that he was going to die.

“I’m sorry…”

For what?

Oh? This…? It isn’t your fault.

“Even a weed!?” He could hear Walachia’s insanity even in death. “You have no taste!!”

Shiki felt something wet on his neck and it wasn’t hard for him to deduce that it was her tears. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and looked up at Sion with every intention of telling her that it was alright but something was extremely wrong.

She wasn’t crying and he was alive. The fact that he could feel everything from the moisture on his neck to the grass he laid on top of meant that death failed to claim him once again but it was the world of black and red that worried him the most.

There were no colors other than flat black and a dismal red but, in the back of his mind, he knew what that red was and they started to multiply upon being acknowledged. Thin lines, thick lines, crocked lines, broken lines, intersecting lines, lines on top of lines and lines on top of them… He was going to go crazy but he couldn’t turn away.

He wanted to cut every single line and stab every one of the dots that spread like an infection. Everywhere he looked there were so red little dots. They felt like eyes, tiny specks of crimson begging him to end their existence and if they kept looking at him like that then he had no choice but to comply.

“I’m so sorry Shiki…”

Sion.

He stood up, gripping the knife he never dropped as he made it back to his feet and took a deep breath to steady himself. He in the direction the voice came from and caught sight of her outline under a mass of lines and dots. “You…”

She turned him into a vampire.

“Are you blooming?”

Walachia.

Without sparing another second, Shiki plunged the knife as deep as he could into the largest dot he could see. He buried the blade into the crimson up to the hilt and everything started to warp around them. The fake world around them split and died as it folded onto itself and the vampire who spawned it looked on in terror as his immortality was lost.

The real world returned along with his sight as he finished killing the rumor the vampire resided in. As Shiki stood back up with knife in hand, he watched Walachia fall to his knees in disbelief. He was about to capitalize on his weakness until arms enveloped him from behind.

“I couldn’t let you die Shiki…” Sion whispered. “I wouldn’t let you die.” She stressed the words as she squeezed him and took a solitary comfort in the fact that this was better than the alternative.

The void spit out the things that didn’t belong as it finally folded onto itself for the last time and winked out of existence. Out of the various dirty clothes that landed in front of them, he easily spotted his glasses but he had a feeling that they wouldn’t be able to stop him from seeing the lines anymore.

“It’s alright…” He reassured her before raising an idle hand to his neck. “Really…”

It was anything but alright.

“I love you.”

Sion buried her face in his back as she reminded him and he lowered his hand.

He felt foolish, stupid even as he remembered that she too sacrificed something by saving his life. Her sacred oath to never drink blood, the pride she invested in holding the name that all other alchemist envied, the logic that governed everything from the way she talked to the how she fought…

In saving his life, she gave up the last things that made her human.

The sound of something being wasted touched their ears and the first thing they saw was a woman standing on one of the I-beams that littered the unfinished skyscraper. The same blood that covered Shiki stained the sleeve of her sweater and dripped off her hand as she stood above the vampire she splattered across the concrete.

“I didn’t know he was capable of a reality marble but…” She stomped on the bloody remains of the monster that tried to take her Shiki. “I’m really glad you are okay.”

The blonde was relieved but she couldn’t help the wistful smile that came to her face. In hindsight, it was a silly mistake to leave him behind so she could look for the vampire. If she had known something like this would have happened then she would have went with him instead of leaving him in the care of that alchemist.

“So how did you get…”

Her words promptly died on her lips and the question she wanted to ask was lost to her as her mind went completely blank. She saw blood, the deep red that covered Shiki made it look like someone dumped a bucket of paint on him but she didn’t care about that.

“You bit him…” She muttered as her wide, red eyes became a shining shade of gold. “I’m going to kill you…” Arucied said slowly, articulating every word as she took step after step. She leveled her gaze at the alchemist that soiled the most important person in her life and Sion calmly observed the vampire that claimed Shiki as hers.

“Shiki,” With calculated ease, Sion stepped from behind him with their battle plan already in mind. “Is this the fun the fun you spoke of?”

For a moment, he thought she was being sarcastic but he could tell by the glint in her eyes that she was completely serious. Even though she believed herself to be average when it came to actual combat, she still thought of herself as an expert tactician and nothing could be greater than testing herself against the strongest.

Ever the optimist, Shiki offered a subtle shake of his head as he made a mental note to one day show his favorite alchemist the joys of something other than dealing with the most deadly woman imaginable.

The End

Author's Note: Couldn't forget to add this. Forgot to mention that my TM stories are from the Type-Moon Lemon Contests. I kind of messed around and ended up losing both of them. ~_~ It's all good, though. Thanks for reading everyone.

CF