Vampire Gemini

She shook the memory from her mind as she focused back on the fight. She quickly decided loudmouth needed to be the next to die before he somehow figured out a way to slowly strip her.

She lowered her arms… feigning pain so he would come at her once again. Despite their usually sexual nature, she wondered if all vampires were perverts or if it was just the ones she met. Just as he slammed into her and took her down, she watched as fear registered in his overly bright eyes. The spirit dart had impaled him in the last place he’d ever thought it would.

Yuuhi silently watched her fight wondering how a simple human female could take that much punishment and still be fighting. A normal girl would not fight at all. They would simply fall under the vampires thrall and do as asked. He was not pleased with this development. He’d sired those three vampires within the last year… wanting to know what it would be like to have brothers.

The only other family he had was his sire… Tadamichi. As of late, the master’s attention had turned from him… to the twin brother that had returned to the city.

Wanting to get his new family away from the hyper nightlife of the city and the danger of the approaching conflict between the twins, Yuuhi had decided to take a trip outside the city, where their attention would be solely focused on him.

The city was a crude place to learn the basics of their kind, and he thought the suburbs would be best to test their abilities. The city breed of new vampires was sloppy, and reminded him of nothing more than hungry animals. During their outing within this small town, they had actually been able to bring on new recruits. But, the newbie vampires kept vanishing without a trace.

Yuuhi at first believed the new half-breeds had just moved on… abandoning him. But now he knew differently. They were being killed one at a time by nothing more than a human female. The demon child hid his emotions well as he watched his self-made brothers being killed. Deep inside, he was somewhat angry… but more curious.

Maybe this would get Tadamichi’s attention away from his twin brother. Would he care that someone was killing off his family?

Kyoko watched with satisfaction as the last vampire began to melt and she knew it would only take about an hour before the puddles were gone without a trace. She rubbed the back of her hand across her cheek, leaving a trail of smeared blood in its wake as she jerked her gaze back around to look for the creepy little boy.

Yuuhi moved into the shadows where she could no longer see him. Some sixth sense told him he did not want to tangle with the girl right now, though he did not take his eyes off her or the way she was holding that strange glowing weapon hard within her hand.

Kyoko blinked into the darkness thinking that it was disturbing on many levels that the child had vanished.

“Did I scare him off?” She asked herself refusing to move. She stared at the spot where the child had been standing. Minutes passed… hours… or maybe it was just a couple heartbeats. Finally releasing her clenched fist and letting the spirit dart disappear… she shrugged her shoulders.

Yuuhi’s lips hinted at an evil smile as Kyoko picked up her discarded books and started walking again. He noticed as she came close to the objects around her, their appearance shifted and changed until she had passed it… like a halo of magic. He glanced at the trees ahead of her. The tops of the trees were like black claws reaching for the sky… but when she came closer to them, they became a thing of beauty… until she was once again out of its reach.

His black gaze leveled on her as if she were a target. Moving through the still air, he followed her. She would make a powerful new addition to his family of darkness… a gift for his sire. She had a high survival instinct unlike the careless fools she’d just killed. Even now there was a small trail of blood on the sidewalk; as if it was stalking her but she paid no notice of this. She held magic within her and he wanted to be a part of it… to see things he had not seen since his turning.

*****

Grandpa paced back and forth in front of the window wondering where Kyoko was. It wasn’t like her to not tell him if she was going to be out late. He ran his hand through his white thinning hair in worry. They had an arrangement and she was supposed to always tell him before she went hunting for the creatures of the underworld.

He swung around when the phone rang and grabbed it up before it could wake the rest of the household.

Tasuki hadn’t been able to shake the weird feeling he had since leaving Kyoko alone in the parking lot. He drove around for only a few minutes before swinging back by and finding it empty. He cursed silently as he hit his steering wheel in frustration. Doing a doughnut right there in the parking lot, he left the library… but instead of going home, he staked out Kyoko’s place.

The longer he sat there… the more unnerving it got until he couldn’t help himself… he had to call. When she answered her phone so fast he smiled. “Thank god you made it home Kyoko.”

“You’re sick… you know that?” Grandpa glanced back out the window as he held the phone to his ear. He raised an eyebrow seeing Tasuki’s car parked only a couple houses down. “Calling a young lady this time of the night!? What are you, a pervert?”

Tasuki almost dropped the phone as all the color rushed out of his face then quickly raced right back up his body making his ears burn. Only the old man could make him feel like a total idiot this often. Closing his cell phone, he continued to watch Kyoko’s house waiting for her to get home. The phone call verified that her grandpa was definitely not picking her up.

Tasuki rubbed his temples and sighed wearily. She’d lied to him… but why? Staring angrily at the only target within striking distance, he slapped the steering wheel with both hands then one more time for good measure. When was Kyoko going to face the fact that he could take care of himself? Well, maybe not as well as she could… but still well enough to help her out in a jam.

He was distracted from his silent rant when he heard a noise close to his car and was about to look around, thinking it was Kyoko. He felt something strike the side of his neck, just behind the ear, making him inhale sharply as stars burst within his eyesight.

Tasuki’s head fell forward on the steering wheel, rendering him out cold.

Yuuhi reached through the open window for the young man but jerked his hand away when an amethyst spark shot between them. The demon child calmly looked down at his fingers, then slowly back to the young man in the driver’s seat. Being told no only made him want it more and the corner of his lip curved upward in the hint of a cunning smile.

Hearing distant footsteps, he pushed away from the car and looked down the street feeling her closeness. Stepping back into the darkness again, Yuuhi waited.

Grandpa hung the phone up with a knowing grin. He tapped his chin wondering when Tasuki was going to get up enough nerve to take Kyoko’s virginity. He had read in the ancient scrolls that as long as the priestess was a virgin, she would be an even bigger target for the demons. But so far, he refused to tell his granddaughter to have sex. He just wished Tasuki would hurry up and hit puberty or something.

Seeing movement from down the block, he focused his old eyes back on Tasuki’s car… wondering if the boy was going to grow a set of balls and get out. There was something outside the driver’s side door but it was too little to be Tasuki, and it was too quick for him to tell what it was. His attention was taken by another shadow on the other side of the street as it came closer.

His eyebrows drew together as her injuries came into view. What had she gotten herself into? Something appeared behind her and his gaze latched on to it.

As Kyoko stepped in front of the house, the motion detector lights came on and she looked up at the window and waved to her grandpa. When he didn’t wave back, she noticed the look on his face and the wideness of his eyes. He was looking directly behind her.

“Well… that’s just creepy.” Swinging around, she sucked in a chilled gasp seeing the eerie boy not but a couple feet from her. He was standing as still as a statue in the middle of the street. The only life within him was his unruly silver hair blowing in the night breeze. She gritted her teeth at her own carelessness… ‘How could she have been so stupid?’

Yuuhi could smell her panic and was surprised by how quickly it was replaced by fearful anger. His gaze curiously rose to the old man gaping out the upstairs window at them. She was protecting him? He let his mind wander throughout the house and detected two more life forces… one was a child. Bringing his gaze back to the girl, Yuuhi wondered if the male child was her brother. She had taken his brothers away… it would only be fair if he took hers.

“Don’t even think about it,” Kyoko warned, seeing his interest in her home. Her eyes narrowed with determination as the spirit dart formed in her palm.

A wicked light appeared within her fist and something Yuuhi had not felt in over five hundred years swept through his lifeless body… fear. His ebony eyes locked with hers; knowing if he tried to take her or her brother… he would die this night.

Kyoko’s mind went into overdrive realizing she’d led the little demon straight to her own house. She had put her whole family in danger and that was something she had always avoided at all cost. She could feel the eeriness of the boy reaching out to her, as he remained silent and unmoving. In looks… he seemed to be the same age as her little brother Tama. Although, she could feel he was so much older than that, the oldest demon she’d ever had the misfortune to come across.

“I will tell him I have found you,” The child’s emotionless voice whispered hauntingly, as if they had just shared a long peaceful conversation.

Hearing the front door slam open, Kyoko quickly glanced over her shoulder and yelled, “Grandpa, get back inside!”

She raised her weapon and turned back to the demon ready to fight, only to cry out because the child was no longer there. She didn’t know which thought creeped her out the most. Seeing him… or knowing he existed and not seeing him.

Closing her eyes, Kyoko let her life force span out in search for the iciness of his aura. Feeling nothing… she let a quivering breath escape knowing everything had changed… and all within an instant. The one thing she’d promised herself she would not do… was put her family in danger.

She felt a heavy hand land on her shoulder and quickly turned… throwing herself into her grandpa’s arms. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry!” Tears sprang to her emerald eyes. “He knows where I live… he will tell.”

Grandpa wrapped his arms around her feeling the heaviness of loss within his chest. He would have to move the family back to their other home near the sacred shrine before the weekend was over. They would be safer there where the ground was blessed. This had already been the plan if anything like this ever happened. His eyes grew sad knowing Kyoko would not come with them. They would lose her.

He held onto her tightly as he asked her the one question he already knew the answer to. “I’ll take them home Kyoko, but what will you do?”

“Say goodbye,” Kyoko sobbed, and then pulled her despair back inside herself. She let the wonderful numbness take hold knowing she had a lot to do before dawn.

Grandpa slowly let her go and watched as she walked into the house before he turned and started toward Tasuki’s car. He heaved a sigh, knowing he would have to make sure the boy was okay.

Seeing that lover boy was unconscious, he mumbled, “You always were more trouble than you were worth.” He opened the door and shoved the boy into the other seat almost grinning when Tasuki’s head bumped the passenger window.

“Looks like I’m the one stuck taking you home,” Grandpa mumbled. “At least before Kyoko finds out you got yourself knocked out.” This time the older man did grin. “We can’t let Kyoko know you got yourself hurt or she won’t call you if she needs you.” Starting the car, he peeled off down the street wanting to hurry and get back to his granddaughter.

*****

The next morning, Tasuki awoke with a start, jerking up in the bed from a nightmare he didn’t want to remember. Something was wrong in more ways than one… he just knew it. Grabbing for the phone beside the bed, he hit the speed-dial clenching his jaw when her grandpa answered.

“I need to speak to Kyoko.” His voice was almost manic as his grip tightened on the receiver. He didn’t remember coming home last night… what had happened?

Mimicking Tasuki’s mood, Grandpa’s grip tightened on the phone as the cab pulled up in front of the house. Kyoko had made him promise not to tell Tasuki or anyone where she was going. It was the only way to protect them. It was a shame.

His voice was softer and wearier than it had ever sounded. “I am sorry Tasuki. Kyoko no longer lives here and there’s no forwarding address.” It really was a shame.

Tasuki listened as the line went dead… hearing his own heartbeat overpower the sound. Kyoko had told him once that if something went wrong with the demons, then she would disappear. “No.” The word rushed from him as his eyes took on the most startling shade of amethyst.

“DAMN IT!” He yelled and threw the phone across the room. Covering his eyes with his hands, he fell back against the lush pillows as he felt his heart fracture and bleed painfully.

He uncovered his eyes after a few minutes… the amethyst color within them still hadn’t faded. Tasuki decided he would bide his time. Just because the old man told him Kyoko didn’t leave a forwarding address… didn’t mean he was ignorant to where she was going.

Unseen to him, the staff Tasuki kept locked in its case by the bed began to glow ominously.

*****

Kyoko opened the taxi door but turned back toward the house when her younger brother came running down the steps and across the yard. She threw her arms around him as he tackled her… barely keeping her feet.

“I don’t want you to go!” he cried, fisting his hand in her shirt.

Kyoko smiled… knowing she was doing the right thing. She loved him so much that it made the decision to leave hurt less. “I will come back to see you soon, and once school is out, I promise you can come to the city to visit me. We will spend so much time together that it will be as if I never left.” She looked up to see her mothers’ gaze lock with hers.

Miss Hogo pulled Tama away from her daughter with an understanding smile. “We will have your room ready and waiting on you. Won’t we Tama?” She brushed the tears from his cheek as he nodded, then looked back up at Kyoko. “See, everything will be fine.”

Glancing up at the house one last time, Kyoko could see her grandpa in the upstairs window. She waved and gave him a smile that almost made her cheeks hurt… then climbed into the cab. If she was leaving home because of the demons, then she was going to go invade their home and wipe them out one at a time.

“The city please,” Kyoko told the driver and refused to look back.

*****

In the heart of the city, Hyakuhei lay in a state of semi-sleep when he heard his twin brother’s voice calling to him. He knew not to open his eyes because there was no use. His brother wouldn’t be there… so he just inhaled sharply and listened to the darkness.

“So, my younger brother still refuses to join me?” The voice held a hint of longing mixed with anger.

Hyakuhei opened his eyes and ran a hand through his long, ebony hair. Without saying a word out loud, he answered the intruding voice. “Younger brother? We are twins Tadamichi, you are no better than I.”

Tadamichi’s voice hardened, “Twins are alike… are we alike? Plus, I am the first born… so that makes you the youngest.”

Sitting up, Hyakuhei let the silk sheets fall from his naked body as he slid from the bed. It was just like Tadamichi to twist events to his liking. “No, we are nothing alike… so enough with the riddles.” He flinched, and then rolled his eyes when the lamp on the nightstand beside him shattered. He would have to learn to keep his temper under control or everything around him would be destroyed. He assumed it was his punishment for losing his temper so long ago with his brother.

“I don’t hate you,” Hyakuhei growled as if trying to convince himself.

“How generous of you,” Tadamichi’s voice took on a melancholy sound as if he didn’t believe the confession. “The last time we were within the same realm… we killed each other. Such senseless acts for immortals… don’t you think?” There was a pause before he continued. “Once the banishment was over, like a faithful brother… I waited on your return.”

“We are destined to be alone,” Hyakuhei cut in with the lie. He knew his brother was no longer alone… Tadamichi had made sure of that.

He could hear his brother’s silent laughter. It made him wonder if it hadn’t been a mistake to think he could come back and face the wicked family his brother had created in his absence. The only way he and his brother were alike was that they didn’t like to be alone… though they had two completely different ways of correcting that problem.

“I knew you would return… here where the night is never dark… here where you will never be alone among so many humans and the children I have created for us.” Tadamichi’s voice had become wishful.

Hyakuhei walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower then whirling to face the mirror. No reflection looked back at him so he just pictured his brother’s face… his own face as he answered. “I want nothing to do with the abominations you have sired.” He backed into the shower as he tore the link apart so he wouldn’t have to hear his brother’s haunting voice any longer.

No… he had not come back to his homeland to join them like some twisted family reunion. His brother was the most destructive of all the demons and the children he sired were disturbing to say the least. Those children where now spawning others and their numbers were growing like the black plague.

Hyakuhei placed his hands on the ceramic walls of the shower… letting the hot water warm his frozen skin. What did it matter to him? The last time he’d tried to stop his brother from infesting the human world with half-breed demons, it had ended in both their deaths… a false death that took centuries to rise from.

Their punishment for that crime was banishment from each other and this world of humans. They had become Shades who walked the realm between realms… casting only shadows of loneliness. That had ended over a century ago. Yet, he’d stayed away from his twin. Even from the darkness on the other side of the world, he had heard this city calling to him until he couldn’t fight the summons any longer.

His brother was right about one thing… he was exhausted from being alone. But now that he was home, he could smell the taint of his brother’s sins plaguing the land. True blood demons he could abide by, but the rape of the city by the half-breed vampires that spawning had created… was provoking.

His twin brother stayed underground most of the time within the lavish catacombs they had once shared during the medieval era… only to resurface once in a while, long enough to bring another victim into the deadly fold.

Hyakuhei looked up into the waterfall of the shower… trying to keep his rage from seeping out, but knew his failure when he heard the bathroom mirror crack.

Tadamichi had accused him of hiding himself away from the world but that wasn’t true.

‘It is Tadamichi who has chosen that path,’ He thought darkly. ‘He cannot see the destruction he is causing. The night is no longer dark nor is it silent.’ Hyakuhei turned off the shower and stepped out, not bothering to wrap a towel around his lithe form. Instead, he grabbed the soft black cloth and began drying his long ebony hair. Within moments he was dressed and ready for the night.

Walking back to his window in the living room, he sat down on the sill and looked out at his view.

Hyakuhei smirked at his own dark humor and looked down at the side of the opposite building.

“The darkness is alive with demons Brother. This city with its high walls has made it so,” he mused aloud.

*****

Yuuhi reappeared within the downtown area of the city minutes before daybreak. He could already feel the sun’s heat on his skin and quickened his pace toward the Grand Hotel in the center of the metropolis. Beneath the massive five star establishments hidden away from the world was his sire’s underground dwelling. It was just as beautiful below ground as what housed the humans above… his sire had arranged it to be so.

Yuuhi stepped through the front doors of the Grand and strode across the lobby. Ignoring the friendly greeting of the human woman behind the desk, Yuuhi stepped through the door that read ‘maintenance’. Making his way down to the basement, he boarded the maintenance elevator that would take him down to the sub-basement level. From there, it was the opening of the hidden passage that would take him to his sire.

Feeling the darkness close in around him like a protective blanket, the platinum-haired child raced through the winding tunnels as though trying to outrun the darkness… or keep up with it.

Yuuhi was one of the privileged few allowed in Tadamichi’s private lair… only the ones Tadamichi had personally sired were permitted. The small boy had been one of Tadamichi’s first and the bond that held him faithful was what led him to warn the master about the girl… and the power she possessed. The bond also allowed him to feel his master’s emotional states, which could prove troublesome at times.

He could sense that Master Tadamichi was angry and knew the cause behind that rage… Hyakuhei. Only the master’s twin brother could provoke this kind of reaction. Jealousy and rejection could be a dangerous thing with one so powerful.

Yuuhi quietly slipped into Tadamichi’s chambers but stayed in the shadows to observe his master. The young boy was patient and knew to wait out the storm of his master’s rage.

Tadamichi glared at his reflection in the Mirror of Souls then looked away with an angry hiss. His brother had broken the link between their minds… banishing him once again. Every opportunity Tadamichi took to speak with his brother was terminated rather abruptly, angering him. He was starting to believe their bond would never return to what it had once been.

Had the centuries away from each other not been long enough of a punishment? Would Hyakuhei forever keep his distance?

Seeing movement within the shadows, Tadamichi angrily waved his hand in its direction… every half-breed within his chamber and within a thousand yards of his solitude spontaneously combusted… leaving behind the scent of sulfur in the air. There would be no witnesses to his brother’s rejection. However, he turned his head in the other direction and laid his eyes on the only one of his children that he would trust with his secret.

Ignoring Yuuhi for a moment, Tadamichi slowly walked across the room and stood in front of a portrait with his hands clasped behind his back. As the screams and flames died down, Tadamichi continued to stare at the painting as if nothing was amiss.

The painting was created long before the medieval wars had taken place… before their civil war. One would assume it was a self-portrait showing two personalities. In truth, it was he and his brother… so hard to tell them apart. How could they be so alike in looks… and be so different? Had his brother never learned the meaning of love… the pain of rejection?