Work Text:
Shinichiro faced palmed at the scene in front of him, Emma tsked beside him. A concerningly high pile of bodies lay in front of them, those responsible were now quarrelling with each other to the side, both painted in blood.
"I got more than you!" Izana yelled, bearing his fangs to his younger brother, usually an act of intimidation to other vampires, but Manjirou was never one for tradition.
"As if! But the ones I turned will be more powerful!" Manjirou shot back, crossing his arms childishly. The banter might have been cute if they weren't covered in blood and Izana wasn't standing on one of the victims' heads.
Every once in a while, Manjirou and Izana will have a competition and try to turn as many people as possible. It was stupid really, since if the newly turned vampires didn't meet the middle Sano's expectations, they were killed immediately. The Sano's were Pure-bloods, their clan being over a thousand years old. Being a Pure-blood meant they weren't turned from human to vampire, but were rather already born as a vampire. Pure-bloods were much more powerful in terms of strength, compulsion and speed, they were also the only ones who could turn humans into vampires. Turned vampires couldn't do that. Despite not being the oldest Pure-blooded clan around as of current, they were definitely at the top, their power was no joke.
Shinichiro, the oldest sibling, currently 623 years 'young' (his words), was in charge of the clan and would often be the one who would take in the turned vampires since his younger brothers got bored easily with them. He didn't agree nor like what his brothers did, but he gave up trying to stop them centuries ago. He had formed powerful bonds with several other Pure-blooded clans, the Akashi Clan, the Arashi Clan, and Imuashi Wakasa, the only living descendant of one of the oldest clans, the Imuashi Clan.
Next in line was Izana, 518 years old and the most ruthless of the siblings. He often clashed with both of his brothers and there were several times where he'd just disappear for a few decades, he'd only keep in contact with Emma. He disliked Manjirou, Shinichiro had offered that it was because the two were so similar. He ripped Shinichiro's arms off for that. He had a selected few of vampires that he had turned which had proven their worth and were sired to him. He didn't particularly care for any of them though.
Second youngest, Manjirou, 415 years old, was an absolute menace. Sometimes he seemed like the perfect candidate to take over the Sano Clan, and other times, Shinichiro wanted nothing more than to keep him as far from ruling as possible. He was unreliable and completely untraditional, preferring to use his strength and speed to brutally kill others rather than his teeth. He too, like Izana, often got rid of most of the vampires that he turned, there were a selected few that he was rather close with and had trained them to be almost as strong as Pure-bloods.
The youngest and regretfully the only girl, Emma, only 314, basically a pre-puberty teen in vampire talk, as much as she denied it and proved that she was much more mature than her siblings. She was mated to one of the first vampires Manjirou had turned, about 200 years ago, Ryuguji Ken. He was incredibly strong, almost matching Manjirou in strength despite not being a Pure-blood. She loved him very much and was grateful that he was able to prevent most of Manjirou's escapades.
They were a proud bunch and didn't let anyone tell them no. No one. Because they were at the top and they wouldn't even lower their head to no one.
Well, there was one.
_
"I'm glad I'm finally able to bring you back. Once again, I apologise for having to bring you along, Kaku-chan," Takemichi apologised, smiling sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it. Izana went on a trip of his own, I hate staying there without him, I fear Manjirou-san might just kill me."
Hanagaki Takemichi, the only living Original. An Original is someone who was from the very first generation of Pure-blooded vampire clans. There weren't many to begin with, but most were killed because they were seen as a threat, a huge threat. Originals were the most powerful and forced even current older generation Pure-bloods into submissions with a simple glance. Takemichi was proud to have been the one who killed most of them.
Approximately 850 years ago, Takemichi was already quite bored of life. His entire clan had been slaughtered and he had already completely mutilated and killed those responsible. He came to a small village, struggling with the aftermath of a drought caused by fire. He wanted to walk past, assuming malnutrition would cause his meal to not taste as good. However, he heard the sound of a child sniffling and scuffling about. He didn't know why, and he still doesn't know today, but he was intrigued and followed the sound. He found a little boy, chucks of hair burnt off and an intensive wound was across his face, nearing the point of infection.
Perhaps it was because he was lonely and when he was in his clan, he had an aura that drew all the children to him. He hadn't taken care of a child in a long time. The boy, unlike most, didn't seem afraid of him, he supposed this meant his aura hadn't completely diminished. Although Takemichi had a more soft look compared to the stereotypical vampire, his overwhelming presence hiding behind a bright smile brought men to their knees.
He had beckoned the child to come closer, and the latter did so, looking up at him with a hopeful smile. Takemichi couldn't say no.
That child, Takemichi soon learned, was named Kakucho. Just Kakucho. It was such a long time ago he can't quite remember how it came to be, but little Kakucho came under the care of Takemichi. He was completely protected, Takemichi had slaughtered many that had gotten too comfortable and thought they could touch Kakucho. He trained Kakucho until he was 18, Takemichi then gave him a choice.
'Stay, and I'll turn you' or 'Leave, and you can live a normal life'. Kakucho knew what leaving would mean, he would never see Takemichi again. The beautiful man who had cared for him for 13 years. And at that time? He would have to live the same life he did before he met Takemichi, starving in a village somewhere. So, he stayed and Takemichi turned him. With his enhanced training and the fact that he was turned by an Original, he was much stronger than a regular vampire, at the same level as a lower level Pure-blood.
He stayed by Takemichi's side for centuries, that was, until they met the Sano's about 350 years ago, a little before Emma was born. Takemichi had caught the eye of the Sano brothers, both Shinichiro deemed Manjirou and Izana much too young and tried to get Takemichi all to himself. Takemichi formed a loose alliance with Shinichiro, insisting that he really couldn't offer much since he was clan-less. Shinichiro was already over the moon to have made acquaintance with someone so ethereal and an Original.
After a decade or so, Kakucho became closely aligned with Izana and they became good friends. And so, Takemichi, once again gave him a choice.
‘Stay here with the Sano's, serve Izana like you served me' or 'Wonder the Earth aimlessly until the end of time with me'. Takemichi made it clear what he wanted Kakucho to choose. Takemichi, despite his youthful appearance, was the oldest being alive. And after spending centuries with him previously, he knew how much it affected him.
The Sano's wanted Takemichi to stay too, they wanted him to stay more than anything, all of them having grown particularly attached to the beautiful man. But Takemichi couldn't, nor could he really explain it. His mind was constantly fuzzy, was this what old age felt like to humans? He had lived through so many time periods, era's, he just couldn't keep up.
Kakucho only agreed to stay if it meant that Takemichi would visit every once in a while and he accepted those terms. The Sano's were thrilled because it meant they could still see Takemichi.
-
The two walked along the long pavement slab that is the Sano Manor's driveway. It had been...how long? Takemichi turned to Kakucho with a look that the latter knew well.
"Seven years Michi-san."
Takemichi nodded and a wave of remembrance washed over him. He chuckled slightly and told Kakucho, perhaps it was the millionth time, that he didn't need to use the honorifics. But Kakucho was a respectful man, he used honorifics for everyone in the Sano family too, even though he was much older than all of them. 'Because they're Pure-bloods Michi-san, they are above me' 'And me? We've known each other for almost a thousand years' 'Because you're an Original Michi-san, you are above everyone'.
As they neared the mansion, a familiar smell filled his nose. There were a number of different blood types mixing together, he sighed.
"Iza-kun and Mikey-kun have done it again."
Kakucho didn't reply and just followed behind him as they entered. As expected, a pile of bodies lay in front of him, some were moving, he noticed, they were waking up. The first few days after being turned were difficult and not everyone made it through. He wished Izana and Manjirou didn't do this to so many people at once.
"Take-sama!" a feminine call came, and so did a small body suddenly into his arms.
"Emma-chan! You gave me a fright!" He giggled along with her, adjusting his grip so he could hold her up.
Emma scoffed, "As if you didn't sense me coming."
Takemichi smiled and made a faux thinking expression, "Hmm, perhaps?"
"Emma? Where did you, oh- good morning Takemichi-sama," Ken greeted, appearing in front of him. Emma jumped out of his arms and she joined Ken's side, clutching onto him instead.
"Ken-kun, Emma-chan, I've told you both, drop the 'sama'. We've known each other far too long for that."
The two were about to oppose, but stopped when another blonde suddenly tackled Takemichi. If it had been anyone else, Takemichi would have been thrown across the room from the impact, but because he was Takemichi, he didn't even budge. He just chuckled and petted the back of the blonde's head.
"Hello to you too Mikey-kun."
"Takemitchy! You came back for me!" Manjirou cheered, pulling back just enough to smack a wet kiss on Takemichi's cheek.
The others would have gaped at his behaviour, such actions would be deemed as extremely disrespectful in their species, Takemichi was like a god on Earth in the vampire world. But they had seen enough of the man's antics to not be surprised anymore.
"Hmm, I take it you missed me, Mikey-kun?" Takemichi asked, hoping his eyes didn't look clouded over in exhaustion.
"Of course!" he cheered.
"We all missed you, Take-sama. Shin and 'Zana are arguing in the office, I'm sure you can guess why," Emma spoke, lazily gesturing to the pile of bodies.
Takemichi nodded, Kakucho noticed how his eyes were glazing over, the shining blue hue was dulling. He needed Takemichi to snap out of it, "Hey, Michi-san, let's go see them. You're always good at breaking up fights."
"Oh, yes, let's do that. I'll be back, kids!" Takemichi said, waving, leaving them to grumble about how they were in fact, not kids.
-
The two oldest Sano's can feel Takemichi's presence before he even walks through the door, it is quite literally paralysing. The door opens, they still can't move, in fact, it intensifies as Takemichi's eyes land upon them.
"You know I don't like it when you fight. I'll nurse the turned vamps myself, so don't worry Shin-kun," Takemichi smiles and the paralysis stops, leaving them heaving in their spots.
"Of-of course, Takemichi. It's good to see you," Shinichiro greets, matching his smile. Izana nods before walking over to Kakucho. Takemichi hums and outstretched his arms, Shinichiro accepts greedily, and dives into Takemichi's hug.
"I'm really happy you're back. Will you stay for long?" Takemichi doesn't answer, instead he just continues to hum and run his fingers through Shinichiro's hair. Shinichiro may not have known Takemichi as long as Kakucho, but he knew that Takemichi often dissociated. Kakucho had explained it briefly once, 'He lost everyone he loved. And he was left to roam the Earth for eternity, his mind is unable to keep up with all the constantly changing time periods. His mind often drifts back to his life before his clan was massacred.'
"Michi-san," Kakucho says bluntly and Shinichiro watches Takemichi's eyes return to their normal bright blue, "Oh sorry. Did you want me to make dinner for you all? I brought something special with me."
There were certain blood types that were extremely hard to come by, and unfortunately, the rarer the blood, the more tasty and fulfilling it was for a vampire. Takemichi would often bring his collection of rarer blood samples when he visited.
"It's true, he even has enough AB negative for a week's worth of meals." Kakucho adds.
Izana perks up, it had been a while since he's had some good quality blood, "Oh I'm totally getting to that before Manjirou!"
-
After several hours of the Sano's clinging to Takemichi and filling up on the blood he brought. By that point, the turned vampires had started to wake up.
"You sure you don't want a hand, Michi-san?" Kakucho asked.
Takemichi shook his head and smiled, "I'm fine Kaku-chan, go have fun with Izana-kun. I'll look after my babies."
Kakucho tensed slightly, Takemichi's eyes had clouded over again, his smile was one you would use to calm a crying child. No, he thought, Takemichi needed this. He needs someone to nurse, to look after.
Takemichi gently brushed the hair out of the face of one of the vampires waking up, many of the others had already gone off and started feeding. But there were a few stragglers. The vampire's eyes shot open, they were like warm sunflowers reaching for the sky, and the first thing those sunflower eyes saw was the sky, the beautiful blue sky.
"Hello, welcome to your new life," The owner of those blue eyes, his voice was warm, a gentle coo. Kazutora tried to jump away from the gentle touch, he wasn't used to it. It shouldn't feel so nice, this is a stranger.
"Y-you...get away from me. You're a monster too, like that Mikey bastard that did this to me." Kazutora growled, scratching at his neck, frowning slightly when he didn't feel a wound.
"Shhh, it's okay. I won't hurt you. Come on, you need to feed." Takemichi stood up and held his hand out to Kazutora, he stared at that hand, that beautiful pale slender hand.
"You...you won't hurt me." It wasn't a question, somehow, Kazutora just knew. He hesitantly reached out and filled Takemichi's hand with his own.
Upon standing up next to Takemichi, he realised he was a few inches taller and had to look down at him, but somehow, Takemichi had all the power. Kazutora looked around, there were small pools of blood all over the floor, but other than that, there was no one else besides them. But he still felt like he was being watched. Everything was so heightened, it felt strange. The pungent smell of the blood filled his nose, he knew what he was, what he had become, so why didn't it fill him with hunger? Want? Need? He knew what Takemichi was, but he felt different, to the Sano Manjirou that turned him. Takemichi smiled up at him and led him into an extravagant kitchen. He pulled a few bags of blood from the fridge, each labelled with a different blood type.
"You'll need to feed from the vein within 12 hours, but for now, we'll try and find what your favourite is."
Kazutora nodded silently, never taking his eyes off him. He took the first bag Takemichi held out to him, Type O, a good place to start he guessed. Universal. Takemichi watched him intently, a gentle smile never leaving his face, he brought the bag to his lips and let a mouthful in. Seconds later, that very same blood was splattered all over Takemichi's pretty face and neck.
"I-fuck! I'm so sorry!" Kazutora stuttered, his eyes blown wide.
"It's okay darling. I'm guessing you don't like it?" Kazutora thought his heart (did he even still have one? he wondered) would explode when Takemichi smiled and chuckled at him.
He couldn't even formulate any words, he just watched as Takemichi pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and he held it out in his direction, "Aren't you going to clean up your mess baby?"
His trembling hands hesitantly reached out and grabbed the handkerchief from Takemichi, the latter smiling warmly and leaning closer so that they're noses were almost touching.
"Well? Type O has a funny smell to it, the faster you clean it up the better mood I will be in."
Kazutora nodded obediently and first wiped the blood on Takemichi's cheeks, Takemichi's eyes never left his, there was something about them. It drew him in and terrified him all at once. He knew that this man was all the more powerful than Sano Manjirou despite him not knowing much about vampire hierarchy. His best friend, Baji, was a vampire, a lower level pureblood. So he knew bits and pieces. But Takemichi was different.
"You know," Takemichi started, his adam's apple moving, Kazutora yanked his hand away from where he was wiping Takemichi's neck, "you reacted so violently to Type O. That's not a good sign. It might take time for you to build a tolerance, time you don't have since you need to feed from the vein. You can feed off me instead."
Kazutora sputtered and nearly choked on his spit, he looked at Takemichi with wide eyes, "W-what?"
Takemichi leaned closer once again, taking Kazutora's shaking hands in his own, he took the blood handkerchief and tucked it into his pocket, "I can sense it. It's rare, but some turned vampires are sensitive to the taste of human blood. To survive, you'd have to slowly build a tolerance to it. But you have less than 12 hours, so that's basically impossible. So you can feed off me instead, since I'm an Original, it should be as fulfilling as human blood." Takemichi explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"O-original? What does that mean?"
"I'm one of the first pure-blooded vampires, I'm actually the only one left out of the first clan."
"Wait! Th-that would make you like royalty! Oh my god I should have been more respectful-fuck I spat blood on you! You're gonna kill me aren't you?"
Takemichi giggled and cupped his face, "No dear, unlike those middle children Sano's, I don't kill unnecessarily. And I can see it in your eyes, you deserve this second chance at life. Just let me take care of you, please?" Kazutora was surprised, the last sentence Takemichi said sounded like a plea. But he was entranced, and he found himself wanting to do whatever he could to serve this wondrous beauty.
He nodded, "Okay, I'll...I'll feed off you. Um, I'm sorry, we never actually told each other our names."
Takemichi smiled, "My name is Hanagaki Takemichi, but you can just call me Takemichi dear, I don't like honorifics."
Kazutora's eyes widened for the nth time since he had awoken, he recognised that name, "Oh my god! I've heard about you from Keisuke, you're like, fuck, you're more than royalty and-"
"Ah, you know Keisuke-kun? He's such a cute little thing."
Cute is not a word he would use for Baji Keisuke but, "Y-yeah, we're childhood friends. He was going to be the one to turn me but that Mikey bastard did it instead."
"Hmm, turning can be a very special thing, Mikey-kun and Iza-kun don't really understand that. I'll talk to Mikey-kun about it. But, darling, what was your name?'
"Um oh, Hanemiya Kazutora, y-you can call me Kazutora."
Takemichi took his hand once more and pulled him along a little, "Come on, let's go somewhere more private. I have my own chambers here."
Kazutora nodded obediently and followed along like a lost (but in love) puppy.
-
"I'm going to kill that bastard!" Manjirou grumbled after overhearing the entirety of Takemichi and Kazutora's conversation. A house full of vampires means no secrets.
"You already tried that and failed. You know, Keisuke is probably going to beat your ass for turning his best friend," Shinichiro warned.
"He can try but we all know I win every time."
"That's because he's a lower level and you're a higher level, it's stupid to even compare so in reality, you're not that great," Izana shot back.
"Stop fighting the two of you."
"Excuse my intrusion, but Michi-san, his mind is like an elderly human's. Kinda like dementia, he can't keep up with the current times so his mind sends him back to when he was younger and happier and free. I know it's difficult to understand, but he really needs someone to care for again. I hate myself sometimes for leaving him, nothing to do with you Izana-san, I just spend a lot of time with him and looking after Hanemiya-san will make him feel better," Kakucho explained.
Manjirou sighed, he had been in love with Takemichi for a long time but he knew it was pointless. Vampires can only ever have one bonded lover, and that is the person they are supposed to be with for eternity. For example, Emma and Ken are bonded or mated as it was also called, this meant either one of them could never find another love. Manjirou didn't know too much about Takemichi's life in his clan, only bits and pieces that Kakucho had told him to explain the former's actions. But he did know that Takemichi already had a mated lover, a beautiful human woman named Tachibana Hinata. She was supposed to be a blood servant to his clan but well, it was forbidden love and they ran with it. She had been severely injured during the attack on his clan; he hadn't found her in time to turn her.
It was difficult to understand sometimes, how Takemichi could still smile and do things for others after everything he had been through. But at the same time, he was selfish, he wanted Takemichi to love him.
"Why aren't you doing anything? Don't you like him too, Shin?" Manjirou asked.
Shinichiro sighed, "I like him a lot Manjirou, but you know I can never love him that way." Shinichiro also had a mated lover, Imuashi Wakasa. Wakasa had also been an Original, the only one left of the Imuashi clan but Shinichiro formed an alliance with him anyway. Pretty soon they fell in love. The death of Wakasa was only recent, a fresh wound in Shinichiro's heart, around 370 years ago. Vampires were immortal but they weren't invincible, Wakasa's heart had been ripped out by South Terrano, the strongest vampire hunter known to man.
Takemichi was like a breath of fresh air, he helped distract Shinichiro from the surging pain in his own heart. But he knew that he could never have anything more than admiration for Hanagaki Takemichi.
-
Takemichi sat down on the bed and gestured for Kazutora to sit in front of him, he did so quickly.
"Okay, vampires don't usually feed off each other. It's traditionally seen as an intimate act between lovers, but I don't give a shit about tradition." It's true, there had been many times throughout the centuries where he and Kakucho hadn't been near any humans and they had been close to starvation so they would feed off each other. It wasn't as fulfilling as human blood but it was enough to keep them alive.
Kazutora nodded eagerly and found himself subconsciously leaning closer to Takemichi's body.
"Since you're so pretty and obedient, you can feed from my neck rather than my wrist, okay?”
“Y-yeah!” He replied, perhaps too enthusiastically.
Takemichi’s lips twitched, Kazutora really was so adorable. He gave the new vampire one last reassuring smile before moving so close that Kazutora’s lips just barely grazed the pale sweetness of his own neck.
“Go ahead, darling,” Takemichi whispered and that’s all Kazutora needed before he sunk his teeth in.
He’s certainly blood hungry, Takemichi notes, but not for human blood. Kakucho had told him a couple times that his blood was actually a lot sweeter than human blood even though it wasn’t as fulfilling. So that might prompt the reasoning for why Kazutora is drinking so much. Takemichi always feels tired these decades, so he can barely differentiate if the exhaustion he feels is from Kazutora draining him or his regular self. It’s not like he can die from being drained, it just becomes incredibly difficult to move until he’s replenished his hunger.
He taps Kazutora’s shoulder after five minutes or so, he whines against his neck but pulls away hesitantly nonetheless. Kazutora heaves, eyes clouded over in hunger and maybe even desire, new vampires are usually quite horny, blood smeared all over his mouth and chin. Even like this, he’s so cute. Takemichi slowly swipes his thumb across Kazutora’s mouth, dousing it in his own blood before sucking it off. Kakucho was right, his own taste was quite sweet.
“Very good Kazutora-kun, you listened when I told you to stop. Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, I-I really did…you taste so good Takemichi,” he admits bashfully.
Takemichi chuckles, “Why, thank you darling. I’d like to offer a proposition.”
“Of course!”
“I’ll give you a choice, one; come with me, see the world and accompany me, or two; stay, and choose your own path.”
Kazutora cocks his head to the side, “Why me? Surely you’d have so many people wanting to be around you.”
“Mhm, but I’d like a companion who can accompany me everywhere. I don’t like to stay in one place too long. But I always come back and visit these bozo’s,” Takemichi snickered to himself as he heard the Sano’s sulk in their chambers.
“You really want me?”
He reached and tucked a blonde strand of Kazutora’s hair behind his ear, “Is that really so difficult to believe baby?”
Kazutora blushes embarrassingly red at the pet name before nodding, he had never truly felt wanted before. He liked this feeling far too much.
“I want to hear your answer darling, care to be by my side for the next few centuries?”
Kazutora certainly didn’t need any further prompting, “Yes!”