Vampire Gemini

“Damn you’re expensive,” Amni grumbled.

“I heard that,” Kyoko exclaimed and stood up on the foot bars of her stool. “I’ll have you know I’m a very cheap date,” she nodded.

“Cola and moon pies at my place after work,” Amni said with a bright smile.

“I’m not going on a date with youuuu,” Kyoko managed and caught herself before she fell over, then pointed a finger in Amni’s face, touching the tip of his nose with it. “I’m going on a date with the first man that doesn’t come onto me and treats me like a lady.”

Amni arched an eyebrow, “This coming from the woman that’s looking for someone to take her virginity? Do you even want to know what this guy looks like in the morning?”

“No,” Kyoko hissed and plopped back down on the stool but still didn’t lower her finger. “I don’t want to know anything about him because…” she paused searching for the words. “…I have my morality.”

Amni chuckled, “Kyoko, do you even know what morality means right now?”

Kyoko’s face went blank, “No,” She said in a deadpan voice. She suddenly looked down at her lap and back up at Amni. “I’m not wearing underwear.”

Amni, with all his grace, fell over behind the bar while Kyoko continued to sit there with an expression of wonderment on her face over not wearing undergarments.

“Damn it!” A disembodied voice muttered from behind the bar.

Amni stood up and looked at Kyoko’s face before he started laughing. He truly couldn’t help it. He’d never seen the woman drunk and had to admit she was quite entertaining in this state. “You never did tell me why you are so dead set on doing this.”

Kyoko bit her bottom lip then told him the truth, “IT is making me a target and IT is going to get me killed if I don’t get rid of IT.” She chanced a glance up at him then quickly looked away. “IT seems to be attracting more… dangers than I can fight.”

Suddenly Amni knew exactly what she was babbling about and swallowed. “Would you like another drink?” he managed.

He had never thought of it like that but what she said was true. If he were to decide to drink from a human again… even he would pick her. It was a rare treat to find a virgin her age… it’s like flavored blood.

“Another drink?” Kyoko asked then looked down at her glass. She held it up to eye level and turned it around as though searching for something. “It’s empty.”

“No, really?” Amni asked mockingly before taking the glass away from her. “No more drinks for you tonight.”

“Hey!” Kyoko said a bit loudly. “I need that.”

“For what?” Amni inquired.

“So I can lose my virginity,” Kyoko answered. “I can’t have sex without that glass.”

Amni placed the glass back on the bar and Kyoko glared at it.

“What’s wrong now?” He knew it wouldn’t be much longer before he helped her up the stairs and safely to her room.

Kyoko turned her glare on him. “Who drank it?”

“You did,” He informed her.

“I did not. It was full when you took it away. Who did you give a free drink to… and where’s mine?” she accused.

“That was four drinks ago,” Amni pointed out trying to confuse her.

“Noooo,” Kyoko pouted. “I didn’t even get a chance to enjoy it.” She pushed the glass back at Amni. “Give me another drink and make sure I enjoy it this time.”

“You enjoyed the last one,” Amni stated. “I’m cutting you off tonight.”

Kyoko smiled sexily at him. “What are you cutting off of me?”

“Don’t tempt me, Kyoko,” Amni answered then felt a silent threat. His blue eyes rose to meet the ebony ones across the room.

Hyakuhei sat watching the scene between the woman and the bartender, his eyes and his mood growing darker by the minute. He had silently observed as her gaze traveled around the room using the mirror to look at all the men in the bar. For reasons that eluded him, he was tempted to shut the place down just so everyone would leave. He did not want her looking at others.

This behavior… this sensation he was feeling… disturbed him.

The bartender was a vampire and the girl seemed very friendly with him. Hyakuhei looked the boy up and down while the girl conversed with him. He was young; still a baby in the vampire sense but something about the young man separated him from the other vampires Hyakuhei had encountered since coming to the city. The ancient shook it off… he would figure it out when the time came.

The bartender suddenly looked him straight in the eyes. He smirked and the man froze in place before visibly shivering and looking away. Now he knew what was so different about this one. He didn't possess the uncontrollable bloodlust of most new vampires. Perhaps he wasn’t as young as Hyakuhei thought.

He latched on to the connection in the bloodline and peered into Amni’s past… feeling his brother there. He closed his eyes as Amni’s memories floated through him… so Amni had been Tadamichi's first… the one that had cured his loneliness. His eyes slowly opened now knowing why the vampire had been visually stalking him… he thought he was his sire.

For the underling not to feel the difference told of his relationship with Tadamichi… or was it evidence that he and his brother were truly the same? His amusement hit an all-time high when the young vampire placed another drink in front of the girl and she took a sip of it. The following scene made him want to laugh outright.

Amni took Kyoko’s glass away from her and wanted to grin at the frown she gave him. He moved about grabbing the different bottles of rum to pour her another drink. Luckily, she looked away and he grabbed the non-alcoholic bottled mixture of Kyoko’s drink of choice… Virgin Long Island Iced Tea.

Pouring the liquid over the fresh ice he’d just scooped into her glass, Amni decided to be cute and added a cherry and tiny umbrella to the drink before placing it back in front of her.

Kyoko turned back to Amni then looked down at the bar. Her face lit up when she saw her drink had been refilled. Instead of taking the first taste, she picked up the cherry by the long stem and placed it in her mouth. Amni swallowed as Kyoko’s mouth moved around a bit before the cherry stem peeked out from between her lips. She removed the stem and placed it on the bar.

“What do you think?” Kyoko asked after studying the cherry stem with intense scrutiny.

“I think you would be a lousy kisser,” Amni said in a deadpan voice after seeing the cherry stem had not been knotted with her tongue.

“What do you know?” Kyoko grumbled and took out the umbrella before swallowing her first taste. She froze with her head still tilted back before very slowly lowering her face until she was looking Amni directly in the eye. She swallowed the concoction and picked up the tiny umbrella. Without warning, she slammed the pointed end of the umbrella down less than an inch from Amni’s hand.

Amni, for once, was thankful for his quick reflexes as he jerked his hand away. “I told you that you were cut off for the night.”

“That tastes like crap,” Kyoko fumed. “If you’re gonna fix me something without booze in it then give me a ginger ale next time. And if you plan on cutting me off then you’re going to be paying my bar tab because I will be a very unhappy customer.”

“My god Kyoko!” Amni exclaimed dramatically, hoping the spark in her eyes would stay for a while. “You’re going to leave me broke. I won’t have a way to pay the rent.”

Kyoko smirked evilly. “Talk to Yohji… maybe you can cut a deal.”

“You have a wicked streak, you know that?” He put his palms down on the bar as he cocked an eyebrow wondering if she would admit it.

Kyoko’s wicked expression faded in an instant, replaced by one of complete innocence before tilting her head to the side. “I do?” She looked deep into his blue eyes feeling like she was falling into them.

Amni glanced down the long bar when he heard someone shouting for him. He leaned over the bar toward Kyoko, close enough that she could smell the cologne he was wearing. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back,” he ordered and quickly went to get their drinks, leaving Kyoko alone.

Hyakuhei settled back in his chair, feeling a little calmer now that the bartender had moved away to wait on other customers. He watched as the girl leaned back a bit from the bar and pulled her hair up into a messy bun before continuing her scrutiny of the club’s male populace in the mirror. By the gods… she was tempting fate and didn’t even realize it.

He realized that his fangs had elongated to the point they were almost poking into his lower lip and his body was responding to her innocent action. His dark eyes were glued to her long slender neck and it wasn’t her blood he wanted to taste… it was her skin. He gripped the edge of the table just to anchor himself in place. The creaking of wood and metal reminded him of where he was and what he was doing.

Letting go of the table, he resumed watching her and saw that she appeared to be looking through the mirror right at him and smiling. He frowned and looked around before glancing toward the table closest to him.

He scowled when he saw a young man, barely in his twenties staring back at the auburn haired beauty and smiling in return. Hyakuhei released an uncontrolled growl low in his chest. He watched with immense satisfaction when the man’s drink shattered in his hand, causing small bits of glass to cut into his skin.

The man cursed and quickly got up, heading toward the bathroom while cradling his injured hand. Hyakuhei smirked… the man wasn’t looking at her anymore.

Kyoko frowned and sighed in frustration when the guy who’d caught her eye in the mirror suddenly jumped up and ran for the restroom. She let a pout appear on her face making the unseen stalker in the mirror smirk in amusement. Taking another drink of the non-alcoholic beverage Amni had given her, Kyoko decided not to look in the mirror anymore.

Her gaze, instead, drifted over to the dance floor where the lights were flashing in wild pandemonium. The sudden urge to join that writhing mass of bodies overcame her and she slid off her stool. Kyoko held onto the bar until she got her balance then started across the room intent on finding someone… anyone.

She wondered if this was what a cat felt like when it was in heat then blamed the thought on the alcohol and too much loneliness.

The atmosphere in the club suddenly changed, becoming thicker with dark power. Kyoko didn’t feel it because the alcohol she’d consumed had dampened her senses to the point of uselessness. Had she been paying attention… she would have seen four very attractive men step into the club.

Hyakuhei’s attention was yanked from the girl when the four men walked in. He gave them a quick once over and sneered. On the outside to the unsuspecting humans, they just looked like four friends out for a night on the town. To Hyakuhei, they were vampires looking for their evening meal and perhaps a bit of foreplay.

He stood when the four vampires immediately split up going in different directions. However, one was headed for the dance floor with his eyes set on the auburn haired female that had captivated him. Hyakuhei’s dark eyes scanned the room seeing the other three were now watching the dance floor with interest. As his gaze crossed the bar he noticed the bar tender felt the shift too even though he hadn’t figured out where it was coming from yet. He had paled though… and that was a neat trick for a vampire.

Kyoko swayed to the music, feeling a bit lightheaded but honestly, she didn’t care. Even though her eyes were closed, she could feel someone’s hungry gaze devouring her and it made her skin tingle nicely… she could feel the gazes roam across her as if they were hands.

She slid her own hand across her body as she danced. Concentrating on the music, she became lost in the motion as a pair of large hands placed themselves on her hips. They weren’t hindering her movements, but instead were moving with her… sensually.

Very slowly a warm body pressed up against her back and she leaned against it, letting her head fall back onto a broad shoulder. She couldn’t help it and whimpered when the hands moved from her hips to her belly. She felt fingers brush her bare skin underneath the hem of her top while the other slowly moved up the front of her body, brushing over her breasts before gently cupping the side of her face.

“Dance for me,” a dark, sultry voice whispered in her ear.

Kyoko felt her heartbeat slow down and she found it difficult to breathe. That voice was sex given resonance and she had to see the face that went with it. As she turned in his arms, the stranger pushed her outward then brought her back, closer than they were a second ago.

Her gaze met with a pair of deep blue, almost hypnotic eyes and her breath stopped in awe. He had long black wavy hair that swayed from side to side with their movements. Kyoko became contentedly confused… when had she started dancing with him? His face was soft… almost feminine in its perfection. He had a fading tan complexion that made her want to touch him with full lips that were a shade redder than normal.

Kyoko felt her body start to heat up from the inside… or maybe it was all the alcohol she’d drank.

She could hear erotic music pulsing from somewhere and groaned when the man’s knee pushed itself between her thighs until his leg was pressed against her center. Kyoko couldn’t look away while her body started to move against his wantonly. It felt like every nerve in her body was alive with sensations… she could even feel the air circling them in heat.

When she leaned back a bit to look up at him, his arm pulled her closer with a quick jerk and she gasped when she felt his lips against the skin of her neck. She could feel every inch of his body pressed against her as they continued the seductive dance. The rest of the room was spinning but he was very steady… aligned with her and larger than life.

In her drunken state, she didn’t even realize that the music was starting to fade to a dull throbbing… all she knew in that moment was the man holding her.

Amni felt the wave of power rush through the club from the vicinity of the dance floor. It wasn’t unusual to feel it this time of night and he usually ignored it. Out of reflex, he looked toward the other end of the bar and noticed Kyoko was gone. His eyes widened and he did a quick sweep of the club.

The drink he was mixing fell from his hand and landed on the floor with a loud crash. He had chanced a look up at the mirrors behind the bar and saw Kyoko dancing… with herself! Her face was flushed with her lips slightly parted and eyes closed. He could have sworn she was in the middle of a climax.

Whipping around in panic, Amni rushed toward the opening in the bar so he could go out and drive off the demon holding her. He hadn’t felt the craving to kill in so long it shocked him at how quickly the urge could return… the urge to kill even his own kind.

“Damn it, Kyoko.” He growled from between clenched teeth. If she were this desperate… desperate enough to take on a vampire, then he’d sleep with her and that would be the end of it.

Amni halted in his steps when he saw Tadamichi standing in his way. The vampire lord didn’t even look at him but Amni knew he was standing there just to keep him from helping Kyoko. Amni moved close enough to be within touching distance of his master hoping he would take the subtle hint. When that didn’t happen, Amni bowed his head slightly in strained submission. His blue eyes became overly bright and icy at the barricade but he would do her no good if he were killed for his insolence.

“Sire please… She doesn’t realize…” Amni whispered knowing the ancient could hear him loud and clear. “Let me by before she falls to the same fate I have.” He silently cringed at the implied insult that had left his lips but never had he taken pride in the fact that he was a vampire. He had not asked for the curse. “She is my friend.”

The reply Amni received was a low growl that made the wine glasses behind him shake in their hanging devices.

“I am not your sire, boy.” Hyakuhei set him straight once and for all.

Amni felt the shock settle within him as he nervously took a step back. His eyes widening knowing he had just met Tadamichi's legendary twin brother. This close, he could feel the difference between them and that difference made it hard to breathe.

He turned and grasped the edge of the bar while looking at Kyoko fearfully. That’s when he knew for sure what the vampire on the dance floor was planning. Kyoko was so drunk, she didn’t have a clue what she was dancing with… or that she was a willing victim.

Hyakuhei crossed his arms over his chest while he watched the conceited vampire glance up at his comrades as if telling them he would get the first bite and they could have the leftovers. He felt complete calm settle over him but it was a lie… it was the calm before the storm.

He felt the anxious presence of the bartender behind him. “You treat her as though she were yours.” His voice held a dangerous tone as the mirror behind Amni cracked.

“No,” Amni whispered finding courage and fear to be a fine line. “She is not mine. A woman like that belongs to no one.” He stayed rooted to the spot not knowing what to do. He’d only heard Tadamichi talk of his brother once… the night he had been turned. This was the man that had killed his sire, only to die himself as punishment for the crime.

Amni’s thoughts flashed back to his master. Tadamichi had placed him under a thrall… taking his will to fight. The master had whispered to him of his loneliness… of his wicked desire for his twin brother. Amni had been privy to the knowledge of Tadamichi’s weakness and had therefore been turned… the first of Tadamichi’s children.

His gaze swept back to the brother whom he’d been a replacement for so long ago. Tadamichi had only wanted someone to witness his passing of time… the loneliness was too much for someone who craved attention.

Hyakuhei had to be a very powerful demon lord to have killed his brother… Amni’s sire. It made the blonde swallow hard at the sheer magnitude of killing intent the brothers possessed. For a moment… Amni wondered what it would have been like to have Hyakuhei as his sire rather than Tadamichi… to be his possession.

He could already see the difference between the twins… where one was a killer… the other was deadly.

Kyoko was in a state of euphoria and her lips softened… opening slightly with pleasure while the man’s hands roamed her body, lightly touching under the back of her shirt. She couldn’t suppress the shiver that raced down her spine when his hand brushed the small of her back. It was like soothing liquid fire roaring through her body, making her want more from him.

Hyakuhei watched the half-breed look away from the woman and nod over his shoulder at the other vampires that had come in with him. One by one, they started to move toward the club’s exit before stepping outside to wait on their evening meal. Hyakuhei saw the hungry looks in their eyes and knew it was more than just blood they would take from the girl.

His lips thinned as he tried to remain calm… to wait it out. The sound of cracking glasses behind him told a different story. The hands that were touching her would soon feel nothing but pain.

Amni swallowed while his gaze went from the vampire lord, to Kyoko, to the glasses that were shattering one by one. He didn’t need the attention of having a full out vampire brawl taking place in the club, but if that was what it took to save Kyoko… he would not stop it. The humans would only blame it on city drugs and violence. None would be the wiser.

Kyoko felt like she was dizzy, almost trancelike when the guy released her. She reached for him again thinking he was leaving only to have him bow slightly and hold his hand out for her to take.

“Come with me,” tall, dark, and handsome whispered as if they were alone.

His soft voice seemed to echo within the room, drowning out the little bit of sound that was actually reaching Kyoko’s muddled brain. She slid her fingers across his palm, feeling the fire and wanting it to burn… wanting nothing more than to go with him. His hand tightened on hers as he led her toward the door. ‘Come with me.’ The voice still echoed within her mind like a chanted request she couldn’t refuse.

Hyakuhei observed as the half-breed led the hypnotized girl through the club, out the exit and into the treacherous night. He immediately moved away from his place at the bar, following the girl and cursing Tadamichi and his brood for getting in his way… again.

His eyes widened when he heard the sound of his brother’s haunting voice come uninvited within his mind. “Brother… you would slaughter my children for her? Save her then… you will only rip her to shreds later. You are a demon, a cold blooded killer… do you really think she will have you?”

Hyakuhei’s vision swept across the room knowing his brother was close… watching him. ‘I did not ask you to stalk me Tadamichi. Have you become so bored with killing that you have decided to watch me do it instead?’ With a deep growl he severed the link with his twin seeing the girl was already gone. He felt an uncontrollable jealousy flare within him at all who were trying to come between him and his target.

He felt more than heard an unseen whisper of movement coming from behind and abruptly turned, holding his hand out in front of him. His power blazed, hitting the bartender dead center in the chest.

Amni was thrown across the room, crashing into a mirror behind the bar and sending a shower of wine glasses spiraling in all directions. Almost all movement stopped in the club and Hyakuhei cursed at his own brazenness.

Amni stood up and met Hyakuhei’s gaze a bit unsteadily. They silently came to an agreement and turned their gaze to the other patrons of the club. Humans were not to witness such things.

Suddenly, everyone went back to what they were doing and Hyakuhei turned his back on the bartender, not waiting to see if doing a mind wipe on so many at once weakened the half breed or not. Let the underling clean up the mess… Hyakuhei had better things to do.

Stepping out into the night, he let a dark smirk spread across his face when he saw the three half-breeds start to fall in behind their friend and the girl.

“You want so badly to feel me brother? Feel this.” The words left his lips as his power surrounded him in a red haze that radiated outward. Feeling the shift in the aura, the three demons turned back to look at him, their eyes pitch black and glowing darkly. They hissed in fear and confusion, mistaking him for Tadamichi before slinking into the shadows in an effort to escape the rage within the air.

Becoming a blur of movement that the normal eye couldn’t see, Hyakuhei slipped up behind the closest one and thrust his hand through the retreating half-breed’s chest. He let a muffled gurgle escape from his kill before covering the demon’s mouth with a clawed hand and twisting its head with a sickening crack.

The vampire stiffened as its face contorted, revealing its true identity before falling to the ground in a pile of dust and goop. The other two half-breeds saw this and stared openly in horror at the vampire lord in their midst… death had found them.

Hyakuhei’s eyes shown with fathomless ebony in the light from the street lamp before he slowly turned his attention on them. The remaining two demons hissed viciously at him before vanishing deeper into the shadows. Hyakuhei shook the remains of his kill off his hand in contempt and gave chase.