A raindrop for bon_san! (2/4)

[stormies]

The vampire nest was near a lake, dead in the middle of the forest.

It had taken them four days just to get there. The forest was plagued with zombies. They found lots of dying newborns and corpses along the way as well. Not a lot of humans lived in the area, so it seemed most of them died of starvation instead of sun exposure.

“We have to go north,” Yokoyama, the overseer apprentice who had joined their search party, said. It was the second day of their search. “They seem to be coming from there. That must be the nest’s location.”

His deduction was correct. They found a youngling and a fully-grown vampire along the way who confirmed it. The vampire had been turned a couple of decades earlier than Sho had, but he’d never ventured out of the forest because he feared the sunlight could still affect him. He had noticed that it wasn’t lethal anymore, but he didn’t know he was no longer vulnerable to it.

The vampire said his name was Kikuchi Fuma. He looked like he was in his early twenties, which was alarming. He confirmed that he was just ten years old when he was turned, days after his tribe sold him to the vampires as a slave boy. He was one of the couple’s first victims.

“They’re still living at that house by the lake. I check on them sometimes, to see if they continue doing to others what they did to me,” he said. “They haven’t gone to look for new boys in a couple of months. They’re waiting for the lord’s visit.”

Unlocking his memories revealed exactly who the lord in question was. Sho wasn’t surprised at all to see it was Takizawa.

“I don’t understand!” Masaki grumbled with his eyebrows knitted in a frown. “Why would he turn humans and keep visiting them without teaching them our customs and rules? Why didn’t he ever register them?”

“Treason,” Fuma said with no hesitation. “I don’t know much, but sometimes I spied on their conversations. The lord said he wanted to create a world where vampires could be free again.”

Both Masaki and Kazama blanched. They were livid with rage at hearing it, but they managed to keep their composure. “Lead us there,” Masaki told Fuma. “We have to put an end to this problem right now.”

The couple was no match for the four members of the searching party. They tried to defend themselves, but they lacked any sort of martial arts training. Unlocking their memories confirmed what Fuma’s had shown them: it was Takizawa who turned them. Not only that, but the lady vampire who had turned Jun was also in touch with them. It made it very likely for her to be another of Takizawa’s hidden vampire children.

When questioned about their habit of turning humans after draining them during sexual encounters, they excused themselves by saying they had no idea vampires were mindless for ten years. Like humans, they were convinced zombies were a different species.

“Your recklessness has led to over a thousand young men being turned against their will!” Masaki snapped at them. “And that’s not even counting all the people your children have murdered for the last four hundred years.”

“Who cares about humans?” the man snorted. “They’re inferior beings. They were born to be consumed by us.”

“We did those boys a favor by turning them,” the woman said with a smirk. “It’s not our fault if they couldn’t survive on their own. That’s how nature works: the weak are eliminated and the strong perpetuate the species.”

The two of them laughed, which angered the four members of the search party. They were in shock when Fuma, very rightfully enraged, flew at them and bashed their skulls into the ground. They were dead instantly.

“Forgive me, my lord,” Fuma said to Masaki. He was kneeling on the ground, taking deep breaths. His clothes and face were splattered with blood. “If this was against the norms, I’ll happily turn myself in. But I needed to do it.”

“Don’t worry.” Masaki patted his shoulder. “They were about to get executed anyway.”



They started thinking of what to do on their way back.

Given that there was a youngling with them, they paused during the day and walked all night. It gave them a chance to do a last check around the area, to make sure there weren’t any surviving younglings or zombies. Fuma could expand his range of perception too, just that in a smaller area than Sho and Yokoyama did, which was of great help. It was the only vampire power he had learned on his own.

“There are probably more like them,” Sho told Lord Masaki. “He turned these two and Jun-san’s sire. Who knows how many other unregistered children he had!?”

“And in both cases, they hid in areas near his property,” Kazama pointed out. “It wouldn’t surprise me if there are more of his children doing the same kind of things near his other lands.”

Masaki sighed. “The worst part is that they are all over the island.”

Sho gnawed on his lower lip. “Guess I’ll just have to conduct a thorough search around each of them during my trips.”

“You will?” Masaki’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure?”

“Takizawa turned me as well, my lord. As the only vampire he bothered to train—and who knows why the heck he did it—I feel responsible for using my abilities to catch these unregistered vampires,” Sho replied. “Besides… I’d be frustrating whatever plans he had, and nothing makes me happier than that.”

“You’ll become an overseer just to spite him?” Masaki asked. He cackled when Sho nodded in response. “Alright. Can’t say I’m against it, given it’s what I wanted you to do from the start, but what about Jun-pon? He’ll be traveling with you.”

Sho smiled. “All the more reason to do this! He’s my baby, I need to keep him safe.”

Masaki and Kazama poked fun at him, but Sho didn’t mind. He had promised to look after Jun, and he couldn’t do it unless he eliminated the threats around him. If that meant he’d have to take the fancy title of overseer, then so be it.

The first thing they did when they got to the palace was to round up the younglings and tell them how things had gone. They were quite relieved to hear their sires had been terminated. Once the discussion about their future started, Fuma did something unexpected and asked to remain by Sho’s side.

“I can be of help to you,” he said. “Then it’d be three of us who can do the searching instead of just two.”

“We want to help too!” Ueda said. He was talking for all his comrades, who agreed in unison.

“You are too young,” Sho replied with a frown.

“Let us join you, please! We promise that we won’t be a burden to you,” Ueda pleaded. “We can take turns to help you patrol. Also, since you’re going to be outside so often, we can watch over Jun-sama while you’re gone. It’s not good for him to be all alone with the humans, is it?”

Masaki, Kazama, and Yokoyama smirked when Sho blushed at the mention of Jun. Even the younglings exchanged amused looks when Sho agreed right away after hearing Ueda say that. It was a bit annoying to be teased, but there was no point in denying how fond he was of Jun.

“How is he, by the way? Have you guys seen him?”

“He’s doing great!” Ueda replied. “The ladies-in-waiting said that he’s drinking blood and eating regularly. He’s come out to talk to us a few times, and he seems to be in good spirits.”

Those were excellent news. They made Sho feel quite relieved.

The ladies-in-waiting were going out for a bath when Sho went into the west wing. They confirmed what Ueda had reported to him, adding that he wasn’t keeping to himself all day anymore and socialized with them.

“He stopped worrying about drinking blood after we assured him that it does feel good for us,” one of them said with a laugh. “He’s very sweet. I had never seen a vampire so concerned about not hurting humans while feeding himself.”

They told him that Jun was alone in the room. “Should we give you some private time?” they asked with suggestive smiles.

Sho chuckled. “Yes, please.”

He hadn’t said that because he had intentions to do anything with Jun. When he came into the room, however, he found Jun naked, fingering himself as he humped some pillows. He stood in his spot watching until Jun finally noticed his presence in the room and looked at him over his shoulder.

“S-Sho-san!” Jun sputtered. He immediately stopped moving and tried to cover himself up. “I… I was just…”

While Jun freaked out, Sho made his way to the bed. He shut Jun up with a kiss and then made him get on his fours. “Want some help?”

Jun bit his lip when Sho slipped two fingers inside his hole. He said nothing, but his eyes glowed a vivid purple.

Sho needed no more answer than that.



They didn’t talk until later.

“I missed you so much. These days without you felt so long,” Sho said. He put an arm around Jun’s waist to bring him closer. “Did you miss me?”

Jun nodded in response, blushing. “I was getting worried by how long it took you to come back.”

“Sorry, baby,” Sho replied. He kissed Jun’s cheek, making Jun beam at him. “The nest was hidden in the middle of the forest. We had to walk a long time to get there.”

“Did you catch them?”

“We did. It was Takizawa who turned them, and it’s very likely those weren’t his only children,” Sho grumbled. “I have accepted to be the new overseer, so I’m going to be inspecting the areas surrounding all his properties.”

Jun gave Sho a concerned look. “Sounds dangerous.”

“It might be,” Sho nodded. He gave Jun a few little kisses. “Don’t be afraid, baby. I’ll protect you.”

Jun grinned. “I know.”

*

Five years. Time went too fast. Perhaps it was just that they were too busy.

Sho, who had been so reluctant to take the title of overseer, grew quite passionate about his job after the first exploration. Jun suspected that it had something to do with his hatred towards his sire, who was the root of the problem at hand.

“That good-for-nothing asshole could be the ruin for our kind!” Sho shouted when Kazama notified him a month after the first exploration that he was to move to the next destination on his itinerary immediately. They had received reports of zombie sightings in the area.

That afternoon, while they waited for sunset to depart, Jun had tried his best to distract him to no avail. He was furious. They left in a carriage, with other two carriages following closely behind them. The nine younglings Sho had rescued would be accompanying them, to learn from Sho and help him guard his home while he was away. It appeared one of the big motivations for Sho to accept it was that they’d keep an eye on Jun.

“The humans have taken vows of loyalty, but we can never be too trusting,” Sho said. “You’re just a baby. It’d be so easy for them to hurt you.”

“I’ll be okay,” Jun said, kissing the frown on Sho’s face. He sent him a wave of calmness through their mental link.

Sho had drunk Jun’s blood one day, not long before they had to pack up and leave the Sakurai palace. It had been after a party held by the Sakurai family. The sake had been flowing endlessly, especially at Sho’s table.

Alcohol had a strong effect on vampires. Their inhibitions, supposing they had any, were completely dropped. They also were defenseless against physical attacks, should an enemy choose to strike them at that moment. Knowing this, Ueda asked Jun to take Sho with him to his room. Not that he suspected any of the guests could try to attack Sho, but he preferred that his aniki—he had taken to call Sho that way—didn’t expose himself like that.

The moment Sho and Jun were alone, Sho had pounced on him, mad with desire. And in the high of his orgasm, he bit Jun’s neck and drank his blood. Their mental link grew stronger after that. Jun could hear Sho’s thoughts sometimes without Sho voluntarily sending them.

Sho was unashamed of his behavior the next day. “I guess I’ll need to teach you more about telepathy,” he simply said.

The training during those years couldn’t be as intensive as Sho wished. As the new overseer, he had a lot of work to do conducting inspections all over the island. There were many vampire nests, as expected, although none as large as the first one they found. In most cases, it was Takizawa’s children who started the nests.

Lord Masaki had been quite appalled at Sho’s findings. “Who would have thought one man could cause so much damage!?”

Sho told Jun that he was not surprised at all.

After five years, Sho, Yokoyama, and Fuma had exterminated most of the zombies. Rogue vampires who were running nests faced their execution, and one hundred and five vampires, of ages varying between fifty to one thousand years, were registered. Of these, most were taken to Lord Masaki’s castle, where they’d be educated and then relocated. Others were left under the care of older vampires, such as the group of younglings that lived with Sho. All of them, including Jun, had to take the vampire vow of no interference at Lord Masaki’s castle.

“This is why he never registered his children,” Sho explained. “After the Vampire War ended, the First made all surviving vampires swear to stay out of human affairs and never take power over them again.”

The vampire ruler of each territory used a special mind control technique during the vow. It kept the vampires’ natural lust for power under control. Also, in the case a vampire was discovered to be going against their vow, it gave the ruler the power to neutralize them with mind control. Not registering a vampire was dangerous because said vampire was free to act with no limitations.

“If Takizawa wasn’t dead already, Lord Masaki would have executed him,” Yokoyama said. “On the other hand, I doubt we would have found out what he was doing if he hadn’t died.”

“He’s better off dead in any case!” Sho grumbled.

They returned to the Sakurai palace after the ceremony. They had ended up going back to their starting point at the end of the journey. The Sakurai family was thrilled to have all of them there. They prepared the same building for them, leaving Sho and Jun in one room and the younglings in another one. They had a couple of calm months, during which Sho tested Jun’s powers. It’d be the first proper assessment of his progress.

Jun’s telepathy skills were rather rudimentary. He could share emotions and thoughts through his link with Sho, but only when Sho was within his range of perception. If Sho was too far, he even had trouble receiving Sho’s telepathic messages. As for seduction, Jun had advanced a lot. Sho was proud that he could use it to alter a human’s memories of their encounter with no difficulty. He could also bend the will of most humans he had tried it on. So far, only one man had resisted Jun; it was a monk that, according to Sho’s mind reading, had no interest in sexual activities of any kind. Illusion was the one skill that still eluded Jun; it didn’t come naturally to him, unlike seduction. Sometimes when he tried to use it on a human, he used seduction instead, completely by accident. It annoyed him to no end.

“You have worked hard, baby. I’m very impressed!” Sho said.

“What are you talking about? I can do nothing compared to the other guys!” Jun whined. “Ueda and Masuda already joined you and Fuma in your missions, and all the other guys can use illusions! And Nasu just started using mind control!”

Sho rolled his eyes and circled Jun’s waist. He rested his forehead against Jun’s, using telepathy to soothe him. “They’ve been vampires for much longer than you,” Sho reminded him. “You’re a baby, Jun-san. You’re advancing pretty fast for one!”

Jun made a face at him. “I wish I was stronger to help you out. I want you to rely on me someday.”

Sho chuckled and shut him up with a kiss.

They weren’t a couple. If Jun had to describe their relationship, there were three levels to it. Sho was his guardian and mentor. He was responsible for Jun’s education and wellbeing. In turn, Jun had to follow Sho’s orders, except when it came to his personal affairs. They were also friends and had grown quite close during those five years. They could understand each other well most of the time, and they had strong mutual trust. And, occasionally, when both were in the mood for it, they were sexual partners.

Jun knew that Sho had affairs with human men. They didn’t last much, and there wasn’t much emotional investment on either side from what he could see. To say he wasn’t jealous at all would have been a lie, but he was aware that he had no right to demand Sho to stop.

He liked Sho, had liked him from the moment they met. Sho had saved him, had offered him shelter and protection. Was it unreasonable for him to fall for Sho? He didn’t think so. He knew it was hopeless, though. Sho was still working on the complicated feelings he had regarding vampires in general, which meant he was not ready to form a romantic relationship with one. It left Jun in a position where he could be Sho’s closest friend and share his bed, but never call himself Sho’s lover.

Jun looked at Sho, who was sleeping right next to him. He smiled fondly when he noticed that Sho had started snoring and taken off his undergarments in his sleep, as he usually did during the summer months.

He realized that he didn’t mind living like that at all.



Lord Masaki came to visit one day, to bring some news.

“I’m going to the other islands to check up on the other overseers,” he said. “The situation is under control here, thanks to you, Sho-chan. But who knows if this isn’t happening in their territories as well.”

Sho exchanged a quick look of surprise with Jun. “How long do you plan to stay away?”

“As long as it’s needed,” Masaki replied. “Kimi-chan is coming with me, so I’m leaving you and Kazama-pon in charge.”

“M-Me!?” Sho sputtered. “Are you sure?”

Masaki shrugged. “I don’t see why not. You’ve been doing an excellent job. You earned it!” Then, he smirked. “Besides, there’s no risk of you turning anyone. There’s only one newborn that interests you.”

With that, Masaki looked straight at Jun, who blushed. The nature of Sho and Jun’s relationship was no secret to anyone in their community. The other vampires, especially the clan leaders, seemed to take pleasure in teasing Sho for having an on-and-off affair with a vampire despite being infamous due to his hatred for his species. Surprisingly, Sho wasn’t bothered by the jokes.

Sho laughed. “Fair enough, I can see your point there. I accept.”

For the new task, Sho, Jun, and the younglings would have to move into the palace where Sho’s sire used to live. It was close to Lord Masaki’s castle, where Kazama would be staying. It was the most convenient location, but Sho dreaded the thought of ever setting foot in that place again.

“The only thing I’d like to do to that palace is to tear it down,” Sho said. They were on the carriage, already on their way. In two days at most, they’d arrive. Jun was lying with his head on Sho’s lap, covered by a heavy blanket to protect his skin from the sun.

“Then do it,” Jun said. “Destroy it and build a new one.”

“Ah, but there are too many treasures inside it! It’d take forever to empty it!”

“You need closure,” Jun said. “I think it could be good for you. Plus… I’d love it if you built a huge bathhouse near to my chambers. You know, since you found that hot spring near the palace’s grounds.”

Sho burst out laughing and reached to pinch Jun’s cheek. “That’s your true purpose, then? To get a big bathhouse all for yourself?”

“The guys and you could use it too if you want!” Jun replied. “Of course, I’d like to have a private bath if that’s possible.”

Sho pinched and tickled his sides. “You’re too spoiled, baby.”

“You love to spoil me.”

“That I do, yes… It is my fatal flaw, wanting to please you,” Sho sighed.

Jun hummed, looking up at him with a grin. “Is that a yes on the bathhouse then?”

It was.

They ended up living temporarily at Lord Masaki’s castle. They were assigned one building south of the main one. The treasures were kept on the building’s second floor, with the younglings taking turns to guard them. Sho and Jun took the biggest room on the first floor and started planning the construction of the new palace. Sho gave Jun a free hand to do what he wished, leaving most of the decisions about what would be their new home to him. He could spend as much as he wanted and hire the best builders in the entire land.

“I’ve heard of a fellow called Take Seiji, who is said to be the best architect in this province,” Fuma told Jun. “He started out working for another famous architect until they parted ways a couple of years ago. He is very in demand around the Imperial City.”

“You know where to find him?” Jun asked.

“Sure thing!” Fuma grinned. “I’ll send for him immediately!”

A few days later, Fuma returned with Take Seiji in tow. Sho wasn’t around, so Jun himself would have to see him. He wore male clothing for the meeting because it’d be easier to explain his vision to the architect and negotiate the cost for the construction without having blinds or curtains between them. His long hair was tied at the back so that it wouldn’t fall on his face.

Take was waiting in the room where they entertained guests when Jun came in. He was a short man but looked even shorter due to a habit of hunching his back. He had his hair tied in a knot and wore a dark blue kimono. His face was so youthful that he could pass for a teenager, although he was in his thirties. He had a very prominent mole on his chin and thin lips curled in a smile that seemed almost mischievous. His light brown eyes examined Jun with evident attraction.

“Good evening,” Jun said. He immediately tested seduction on him, to see if he could use it if it was necessary. Take’s eyes flashed purple right away.

Take bowed at him. “You must be Lord Sakurai,” he said.

“I’m afraid Lord Sakurai is away on business,” Jun said, flashing an apologetic smile. “I’m his brother. He has authorized me to deal with you in his stead. You may call me Jun.”

“I see. Very well, Jun-sama,” Take flashed a little smile at Jun. “Let’s discuss this project of yours.”

Sho and Jun’s palace would be the biggest project Take had undertaken so far. The palace was going to be massive, with the main building standing at three stories high and several additional ones, including Jun’s bathhouse. It’d have plenty of room for the treasure Sho had inherited from his sire, as well as to give the younglings some decent living quarters. The wood used for it had to be of the best quality, something Take assured he could get them. And it’d be necessary to hire over a hundred men for its construction.

Take was just as enthused over the project as Jun was, which was a great sign. They had a light dinner together and made a toast to the success of their joint endeavor. And as Jun was saying goodbye to him, Sho came into the room.

Sho went red at the sight of Take and let out an audible gasp. Jun found his reaction most curious.

“Ah, you must be Lord Sakurai!” Take greeted with a deep bow and a smile. “Take Seiji at your service, my liege.”

Sho gulped, averting his eyes from him. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Jun-sama and I have finished discussing the details about the construction,” Take said. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“No, it’s fine,” Sho said. “Jun-san and I talked about this beforehand. I’m sure he has conveyed my wishes to you.”

“Very well,” Take nodded. “Then, I shall take my leave for now. I’ll be back in three days with my men to start the demolition.”

Take bowed at the two of them and left. Sho was pensive and quiet for a long while afterward. Jun saw that as a confirmation that there had been indeed something strange about his behavior after seeing Take. He asked about it when they were in bed, after dawn.

“It’s nothing,” Sho said. “Just… I’ve met that man before.”

Jun raised his eyebrows. “You have? He didn’t seem to recognize you.”

“Oh, he wouldn’t!” Sho chuckled. “It was during his past life, around two hundred years ago.”

Jun’s eyes went wide. The name that immediately came to mind was that of Sho’s past lover. The time matches too. He must have been reborn already. “Sho-san... is he perchance…?”

Sho averted his eyes, nodding. “It’s the same face. I would recognize him anywhere.”

Humans retained the same appearance during all their lifetimes. And Take Seiji had been Ohmiya Yuuji in his past life.

“I didn’t think we’d ever meet again,” Sho said. “It’s rare to meet the same people in more than one lifetime.”

Jun hummed. “Well, it’s the same lifetime for you, even if it isn’t for him,” he said. He nudged Sho’s shoulder. “So? What will you do about it? Will you talk to him and try to be friends at least? As far as I could see, he’s interested in men in this lifetime as well.”

“I’m not going to pursue him just because we were lovers in his previous lifetime!” Sho said, blushing. “He’s not the same person. The appearance and soul may be the same, but what he’s lived may have made him a completely different man. There’s no guarantee that we’d even get along!”

“That might be right, but you won’t know unless you try,” Jun replied.

They didn’t discuss it again, but Jun could see that Sho was thinking about it. Three days later, Sho left early for the palace, where the demolition would start. He didn’t return until it was dark, accompanied by Take and some of his men.

Jun had never seen Sho as happy as that night. Sho sat during dinner with Take on his side, chatting animatedly and refilling each other’s cups of sake.

And he, for the first time, felt his heart aching because of Sho.

*

Sho was ready to avoid Take the moment he saw him. It wasn’t until he talked to Jun that he realized how ridiculous that was. Take Seiji and Ohmiya Yuuji weren’t the same person, even if their soul was the same. Their lived experiences probably weren’t alike in the littlest detail. If they weren’t the same, sure it wouldn’t hurt Sho to be around this stranger. There was no reason he should feel uncomfortable, was there?

With that in mind, he headed to Takizawa’s palace. He was thrilled to see it disappear. It’d take months, probably, but he couldn’t wait to see the start of it being dismantled. When he got to the palace, Take and his men had already started.

Take walked up to him with a smile. “My liege, it’s so good to see you again!”

Sho bit the inside of his cheek. Yuuji used that same word to refer to him, preferring it over ‘my lord’ because nobody else used it those days. It’s just a coincidence. “Good morning,” he replied.

“We have inspected the palace, and it seems we’ll be able to reuse much of its materials for the new construction,” Take said. “Except for the eastern wing. It seems there wasn’t much maintenance over there.”

Sho winced. That was where he’d spent most of the past three hundred years, not that he could mention it.

The new palace would be built a little north from the current one’s location, on a hilltop, where they had found a large hot spring. Sho showed the area to Take, who immediately set to measuring and talking to his workers about what had to be done. The project would take at the very least around four years to be finished if there were no delays. Sho and Jun would move in once the main building was finished.

Later that day, half of the eastern wing collapsed. The men hadn’t even had to make much of an effort to bring it down. When Take informed Sho that a little fire had erupted there, causes unknown, Sho felt a rush of excitement. He hurried to see with his own eyes that it was true. He laughed maniacally when he saw the flames engulfing the dreaded place where he’d been so miserable. Not much remained of it after the fire was put out.

“Forgive me, my liege, but did you have anything against that building?” Take asked. “You look strangely pleased.”

“Oh, I am!” Sho laughed again. “You’d be too if you were forced to live in there with no contact to the outside world for as long as I was! The only thing that could have made me happier is to have started the fire myself.”

“A strict father?” Take asked. He chuckled when Sho replied affirmatively. “Well, then all the better that we’re doing this! My father was also awful. You have my full support.”

That little moment was enough to start their friendship. They went back to Lord Masaki’s castle, along with a few of Take’s men. The others would remain at the demolition site, as they had decided to turn the southern wing into their quarters while they demolished the others.

Sho and Take exchanged stories about their fathers—Sho talked of Takizawa instead of his human father, whom he didn’t remember much. They were very comfortable around each other from the very start, and their sense of humor seemed to match.

That night Sho learned a bit about him. He had grown in the Imperial City. His mother was a maid at a highborn lady’s home. His dad was said lady’s husband. She had become a concubine afterward, living under the same roof as her former mistress. It was a nightmare for her, as Take himself could see. On top of that, Take’s father turned out to be too strict and demanding of his son. He had run away from home to become an architect’s apprentice around the age of fifteen.

“It was a difficult transition,” Take admitted. “I was a good-for-nothing back then. My master had a hard time with me for the first couple of years. But I was good at this job, so he bore with me.”

He’d been working building homes for the wealthy ever since. Just a couple of weeks earlier, he’d finished building a house for the Emperor’s favorite concubine. Then, he’d been contacted by Jun.

“I’d been wanting to leave for a while,” Take said. “I lost my wife and children five years ago. I couldn’t bear to keep living in the same house we used to share. Getting away to work for you is the perfect escape I needed.”

They toasted to the success of the construction process. They partied until just before dawn when Take and his men returned to the old palace. That night had gone much better than Sho could have predicted. Jun had a smug smile on his face when Sho came into the room after bidding farewell to his guests.

“And?” Jun wiggled his eyebrows up and down. He patted a cushion next to him so that Sho would come and sit. “How was it? It seemed to me that you two were getting along just fine.”

Sho rolled his eyes at him. “You know, I kind of hate that you were right about this,” he said, which made Jun crack up. “Take-san is a very likable man. I’d say we could be good friends.”

Jun stifled a little squeal of victory. “Will you keep in touch with him?”

“Ah, certainly!” Sho said. “I’m very interested in his work. In all my years, I’d never been close to any construction site. He offered to show me around anytime I want.”

At that moment, he thought not much would happen between them. He was wrong.



Around two days after the demolition started, Take showed up at Lord Masaki’s castle.

“Lord Sakurai!” Take greeted Sho with a bow and then beamed at him. “I just dropped by to tell you that we’re done collecting what could be salvaged from the eastern wing. We also found this, hidden under the floor.”

He produced a beautifully decorated box. Sho’s eyes went wide. That was where he put some mementos from his previous relationships, including his time with Yuuji. He set the box on the floor and used a cloth to wipe the dust on top of it.

“I had forgotten this box existed!” Sho said. He opened the box and smiled when the first thing to greet him was an old, torn coat.

It had been a gift from an admirer that Sho received shortly before leaving his sire’s palace for the first time. He’d put it in the box the next time he returned, after fifty years. It was also the last time he’d opened the box.

“What’s that?” Take asked with a curious expression. He was pointing at a hand-painted fan right on top of everything else.

“A three-hundred-year-old fan,” Sho said. He opened it up to show the design in all its glory to Take. The colors were just as vivid as the first day. “Ever heard of the Ohmiya family?”

Take shook his head. “Not at all.”

“Their lineage is extinct now. The Nakamaru family took their place,” Sho said, closing the fan again. “This was painted by Ohmiya Taka-sama, the head of the Ohmiya family back then. He was quite a great artist.”

To make his point, Sho showed Take one of the rolls inside the box. Like the fan, it was Ohmiya Taka who had painted it. “My family owns several of his artworks,” Sho continued. “These, however, were thought to be lost. Thank you very much for saving them, Take-san.”

Take blushed a little. “I’m glad I did so,” he said. “They’re magnificent.”

They continued examining the contents of the box together. There were lots of drawings, as well as poems by both Ohmiya Taka and Ohmiya Yuuji, written in pieces of expensive paper that had not deteriorated at all despite being centuries old.

Take’s fingers brushed against Sho’s as they both reached for the same piece of paper. They both got startled and went red, quickly looking away. But then their eyes met again. Sho knew at that moment that Take, much like Yuuji, was attracted to him. Take didn’t move his hand, so their fingers were still touching.

“You have a great collection,” he said. “I’d say only his Majesty the Emperor’s collection contains anything that could compare to this.”

Sho giggled, shaking his head. “I am but a provincial lord. How could it ever compare?”

Take shrugged. “I’ve seen it. That’s why I can tell,” he said. “I could bet the rest of your collection is a lot more impressive than this.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Sho laughed. “I would love to show you, but I wouldn’t like to unpack it. We’re only here temporarily after all.”

“Then show it to me once I’m done building your palace.”

Sho smiled at him. “Sounds like a plan.”

Sho put everything carefully back inside the box, then handed it to a servant to keep it in the room where all his other treasures were stored. He and Take had some tea and a light meal, after which Take asked if he’d like to come back to the demolition site with him. Sho accepted it without a second thought.

From that day on, Take came to pick him up almost every day. Whenever he couldn’t do so, he sent a servant to the castle with a note. The wording was always elaborate and exaggerated, it made Sho burst into peals of laughter every time. The message invariably translated to “I’ll be waiting for you.”

Sho followed Take around all day. He tried to join the workers, but he turned out to be too clumsy for the job. Take couldn’t stop poking fun at it. Still, he explained everything to Sho as many times as Sho requested. After a couple of months, Sho could do a little work here and there, which earned him praise from the workers, laced with some good-humored jesting.

Then, in the evening, Take liked to walk Sho home. They had dinner together most times and played some music, Sho on his koto, Take on his biwa, or a flute. At times both played the koto, but that almost always turned into a competition for some reason. Around midnight, Take would leave, promising Sho to return the next morning for him.

It didn’t take long for Jun to start teasing Sho about it. “Your head is always in the clouds after he leaves,” he said. “Just look at your face. You’re crazy about him.”

“I’m not!” Sho said, feeling how his face got warmer. “We just get along. That’s normal, right?”

Jun arched an eyebrow at him. “Whatever you say, then.”

Of course, Jun was right again.

Take was funny, attractive, witty, sort of irreverent at times. And the way he looked at Sho always got Sho weak in the knees. But Sho didn’t know if it’d be wise to get involved with a human who had no pact with the vampires. Yuuji, as well as Sho’s other short-term lovers, was fully aware that Sho wasn’t human. This would be the first time he got involved with someone who ignored that side of him. It terrified him to think what could happen if his secret was discovered. So, for the time being, he decided not to make a move on Take. He desperately wanted to, though.

To shake him off his thoughts at least for a bit, he focused on helping Jun with his training during nighttime. Vampires didn’t need to rest as much or as often as humans anyway. Those hours with Jun and their volunteer human subjects, exploring all the techniques that Jun needed to learn, were the best way to forget Take for a while.

Jun was an eager student, hungry for knowledge. He thrived in seduction-related techniques, had reached a level of mastery that Sho had taken decades to develop. His illusions, on the other hand, were rather weak. He got quite frustrated with it, so much that during one of his outbursts of anger he ended up using telekinesis for the first time and sent their human volunteer flying. The volunteer was, thankfully, unharmed. Jun spent weeks apologizing to the poor man every time they happened to be in the same room.

As for telepathy, Jun was getting better. He couldn’t read Sho’s thoughts—unsurprising, as it required a long time of using basic telepathy to unlock that ability—but he became capable of sending Sho his thoughts and feelings when Sho was outside of his perception range. It left him exhausted to do so, though. Mind control was something Jun hadn’t attempted yet, as Sho advised against it seeing how telepathy sapped his energy so easily.

Once Jun was asleep, at the crack of dawn, the thoughts about Take crept back to the forefront of Sho’s mind.

Months went on, and Sho didn’t make a move. Their friendship grew stronger. It was just so easy to talk to Take. He teased Sho non-stop and repeatedly joked that he had the hots for Sho. But it was all in good fun. Take’s workers had taken a liking to Sho as well. They made him feel like he was a part of their team. It was when the main building of the palace was finished that things changed.

It was the beginning of the spring. The workers had a few days off; Take had permitted them to visit their families, as they all came from villages nearby. Some of them hadn’t visited in over a year, so they were grateful. It’d be just Take and Sho at the new palace that morning.

Sho was in awe when he saw the building. He hadn’t been there in almost a month, as he had to leave home for an inspection. He had only one update for Kazama: a young lord from one of the families that served the vampire community had been turned by a registered vampire and was currently under said vampire’s watch.

When he left, the building wasn’t yet completed. It was the one where the workers had made the most progress, as the other buildings only had their foundations and pillars in place. Now, it was finished, and it was stunning. Jun had requested that they painted the ceilings and pillars black, with white walls. The wood chosen for the floors was also of a dark color. The inner room had already been decorated with silken curtains and some furniture.

“Do you like it?” Take asked.

“I… I have no words!” Sho laughed. He walked around the room, unable to believe it was real. “How did you manage to finish so fast?”

“I guess I wanted to have something to show you when you came back,” Take said. “Anything to see you smile at me like that.”

Sho blushed when Take walked up to him. “Well, you did an amazing job.” He gasped as Take pushed him against a wall.

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then, before Sho could know it, they were kissing. Over a year of fighting his attraction, and all it took for Sho to let loose was a touch of Take’s soft, thin lips.

They didn’t utter a word, except to call each other’s name while they made love in Sho’s new bed. What was left to say between them that the desperation with which they sought each other’s touch didn’t make clear?



Take walked Sho to the castle’s gates after their little tryst. Sho tried to make him come in, but he insisted to return to the new palace.

“I’m not done with you yet, Sho-sama,” he said in Sho’s ear. He grabbed Sho’s ass as they kissed goodbye, smirking at how red Sho’s face got after it. “Don’t make me wait too long.”

Sho could just nod dumbly while he watched Take walk away.

He was lost already.

*

There was terrible news from the other islands.

Sho wasn’t there when the message from Lord Masaki arrived. He had gone out that morning with Take; no one had seen them since then. Jun remembered that Take had told him the main building was complete, down to the furniture in the master room. He sounded quite excited about the bed, saying he hoped Sho would like it.

Oh.

When Sho returned, it only took Jun a look to confirm his suspicions. He arched an eyebrow when Sho seemed a bit uncomfortable when he sat down. Did he bottom? That’s unexpected. He was distracted from his thoughts when Kazama handed Sho the letter from Lord Masaki.

“Lord Masaki expects to be away for at least another two years,” Kazama said as Sho read. “The situation is more serious than we thought.”

The first island Masaki visited was up north. It was larger than the one where they lived, with longer and darker winters. He had been unable to reach them for months. In his message, he told them how he had worked all year finding hidden vampire nests. And just when he thought his work was done, winter arrived, giving zombies the chance to terrorize the villages all over the island almost constantly.

“The rogues turning humans up there came from this island,” Kazama said. “Takizawa was, once again, behind it all.”

“What the heck was wrong with that guy!?” Sho yelled. “Was he trying to destroy Sunrise Land?”

“We honestly don’t know,” Kazama sighed.

Given what had happened at the north, Masaki expected to encounter similar problems at the remaining three islands. He had found ninety unregistered vampires, some of them over a thousand years old. And that was without counting the ones they had to execute either for their extensive criminal behavior or for refusing to bow their heads before Masaki.

“He won’t send them over here, will he?” Sho asked.

“He will,” Kazama nodded. “Which is why you and I need to relocate the eldest among the vampires within the castle as soon as possible.”

Lord Masaki’s castle was enormous. The entire complex, along with the fortress around it, dwarfed most of the villages on the entire island. Still, there were over a hundred vampires currently living within its walls. The living situation wouldn’t be sustainable.

At least half of the vampires living within the castle’s walls were over three hundred years old. Their education was far from complete, but they had taken their vows already. There were enough grown vampires around the island to mentor them. Kazama would need to accompany them on their way, though, to explain the situation to the future mentors and make sure everything was settled without raising human suspicion.

“You’ll be taking care of the castle while I’m gone,” Kazama told Sho. “It’s going to take me a few months. I’ll start with the younger batch so that you have the eldest to assist you until I’m back. The younglings should be arriving before the rainy season starts.”

For the next week, however, Jun noticed that Sho disappeared from the castle. The construction workers hadn’t returned to the palace yet, Kazama was talking to the vampires at the castle to decide where exactly to send them, the younglings hadn’t arrived. It became obvious to him what was going on. They’re together already.

Kazama took notice too, and he was very much against Sho getting involved with Take. “He doesn’t know about vampires. This could be very dangerous!” he said. “We should stop him.”

“Why!?” Jun frowned. “He’s had affairs before. This one doesn’t have to be any different.”

“There are no good outcomes for a relationship like this,” Kazama said. “At worst, his life could be in danger if the human decides to attack him. At best, he spends a few years with the guy and then breaks up with him to keep his identity secret.”

“That second one doesn’t sound so bad!”

Kazama sighed. “Jun-kun… I met Ohmiya Yuuji. I know that Take Seiji is his reincarnation,” he said. “It’s not healthy for Sho-kun to be with that man in the first place. I can’t imagine how devastated he’ll be when he loses him again.”

Jun gulped. He had not stopped to think about that. He felt a little guilty for encouraging Sho to talk to Take.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine this time,” he said. He didn’t believe a word of it, but he needed to. “Sho-san is not the same man either. He’s learned a lot about life since then. He can handle this.”

Kazama gave him an unsure look. He sighed again, rubbing his temple with a hand. “It’s his life. I’m not his parent, so I’ll stay out of it.”

When Sho returned to the castle, Kazama reminded him to be extra cautious this time around. He didn’t mention that he had recognized Take, though. Sho assured him that there was nothing to worry about. He was confident that he could hide his vampire side from Take without much hassle. Both agreed that they should keep Take away from the castle, but neither knew how to do it in a way that didn’t affect the progress of the relationship.

“Isn’t the main building of the palace completed now?” Jun asked. “It would be prudent for you to move with him over there, for the time being, Sho-san.”

Sho gave Jun a surprised look. “I thought that you wanted to move in first!”

“I will sacrifice for the team this time. But you owe me.”

Sho jumped to hug him in response. Kazama just looked on in tacit disapproval.

Take was elated when Sho told him about his decision. They made a feast for the workers and some guests from the castle when Sho moved in permanently. It was no secret to anyone present that he and Take were a couple.

The pair only had eyes for each other the entire night. The bittersweet pain in Jun’s heart returned. He couldn’t say he hated seeing Sho like that, especially after watching him pine over Take for an entire year. But part of him felt wounded by the way Sho smiled at Take. He’s never looked at me like that.

“I don’t like this.”

Jun turned to look at Kazama with a frown. “How come?”

“I just have the feeling that it won’t end well, and it worries me,” Kazama replied, downing a cup of sake. “I fear for the day it’s over.”

“I don’t,” Jun replied.

Deep down, however, his mind was filled with dread.



Three years later, the construction was finished at last.

The new palace was a true marvel. The servants had worked hard for an entire month decorating every room in preparation for the arrival of its inhabitants. Sho had been living there for almost three years, but the human administrators, the Nakamaru clan, had been staying at the leisure complex with the Tsumabuki family for the duration of the construction.

The current head of the clan, Yuichi, greeted Jun at the castle. He was a cordial man, very good with percussion instruments. He told Jun that back when he was little his father used to say he looked a bit like Sho.

“We don’t look alike anymore, though,” Nakamaru said with a little laugh. “I’ve been told Lord Sakurai’s face is rounder than mine. His eyes are much larger too.”

“You shall see it for yourself today,” Jun replied.

Before leaving, he told Jun that he’d be at his service for anything he needed. “I hope we become good friends during your stay at the palace.”

The week after that, Jun moved in. He appeared in front of Take dressed as a woman for the first time, wearing a veiled hat so that Take didn’t recognize his face. He was wearing his best clothes, as befitting a lady marrying into a lord’s family.

Take looked hurt when he saw Jun arrive. “Is she the Lady Sakurai?” he asked through gritted teeth, the sound of his voice barely audible. “You never told me that you were married!”

Sho flashed him a grin. “Jealous?”

Take huffed, cocking his head to the side. He was quite upset. Sho gave Jun an amused look. “Remember the plan?”

Jun had to suppress a chuckle. “Of course.”

He bowed deeply in front of Sho. “Oniisama, it is such an honor to meet you at last.”

“Likewise,” Sho bowed in return. “It is a pity that my brother couldn’t be here to show you personally to your chambers, my dear sister.”

Jun smirked. He knew Sho could see it. “Please keep me in your favor.”

After Jun and his maids walked past them, he heard Sho laughing as Take complained to him. Idiots.

There was a private feast to formally introduce Sho and Jun to the Nakamaru clan, one that Take couldn’t attend due to the nature of the conversation taking place there. In the meantime, Take and his men were celebrating the end of their project in another building. Sho went to greet them later.

The next day, Jun didn’t see Sho until sunset. He was just getting acquainted with his ladies-in-waiting when Sho burst through his room’s door, demanding everyone to leave. He dropped to his knees the moment they were alone and rested his head on Jun’s lap. He covered his face with the sleeve of his kimono, but Jun could tell he was sobbing.

“He’s leaving,” Jun sighed, running his fingers through Sho’s hair. “When?”

Sho’s voice sounded raw when he spoke. “Tomorrow.”

“You cannot stop him,” Jun replied calmly. “You knew it from the start, Sho-san. Being with a human isn’t permanent for us.”

Sho nodded. “I know. I just thought I’d have more time.”

Jun gave Sho a sympathetic look. He rubbed Sho’s back, using telepathy to send some extra comfort through his touch. An idea popped into his mind; it was something probably even worse than telling Sho to talk to Take. It was nonsense. Yet, he said it.

“Go with him.”

Sho uncovered his face and looked up at him with wide eyes. “What!?”

“Lord Masaki and Yokoyama are back. They can take care of everything.”

“I’m the overseer,” Sho said, shaking his head. “It’s my duty.”

“Then keep overseeing from a distance,” Jun said. “Send your reports to me. I’ll pass them on.”

“I can’t go without Lord Masaki’s authorization.”

“Leave it to me, Sho-san. I’ll take care of everything.”

Sho sat up, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Jun. “Why?”

The moment Jun stared into Sho’s eyes, he was more certain than ever that he loved Sho. He could see the desperation there, and he wanted nothing but to make Sho happy.

“You have taken care of me for years now. I know you’d do anything for me, Sho-san. And I want you to know that I, too, would do anything for you,” Jun replied with a smile. He cupped Sho’s cheek. “We are a team, aren’t we?”

Sho’s eyes got glassy again. “I could be away for a long time.”

Jun nodded. Then, his eyes flashed bright yellow. “I’ll be right here.”

Sho threw himself into Jun’s arms. He cried tears of joy and said thank you a thousand times. Jun wiped his tears and kissed his forehead. Then, he handed Sho a little bag with incense he had made. He noticed that his hands were trembling; he hoped Sho wouldn’t.

“I don’t know how much it’ll last. But I hope it’ll remind you of me,” Jun said. He smiled, doing his best to hide how much it pained him to say those words.

They shared a last hug, after which Sho took off running.

Jun broke down afterward, muffling his sobs with his hands so that nobody heard him cry.

It’s done.



Sending Sho off was the hardest thing Jun had done.

They left almost at dawn. Take was holding Sho’s hand as they ran out of the palace. Sho was wearing commoner clothes and carrying a little bundle. Jun sent a little tug through their mental link. Sho turned to look over his shoulder as he continued running. Jun was standing there without his veil so that Sho could see his face.

“Goodbye, Sho-san. Take care.”

Jun sent all the warmth of his affection through the bond, not knowing how long it’d be until he could do that again. He received the same in return, which made him smile.

“Goodbye, Jun-san. I’ll be back soon.”

He knew Sho was smiling at him too.

At that moment, he didn’t regret it, not one bit. He even risked catching the sunrise just to see Sho one last time, running off with the man for whose soul he had fallen now twice. He knew it was the right thing to do. He’d do it again if he needed to. Lord Masaki, however, wasn’t pleased.

“You know he’s just delaying the inevitable, don’t you?” he said, sounding exasperated. “The human doesn’t know he’s a vampire. Sooner or later, that relationship will end. Either the human will die, or Sho-chan will have to flee.”

“I wanted him to keep his joy for another while. Is that so wrong?”

“It’s not wise, that much I can tell you!” Masaki snapped. “Heartbreak now or heartbreak later, he’ll have to face it anyway and there’s nothing you can do about it! The longer this goes on, the harder it’ll be for him. Mark my words.”

“Then I’ll take care of him when he comes back,” Jun said.

“And what about his duties? He’s the overseer!” Kazama chimed in.

“He won’t abandon them,” Jun replied. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“You’re a newborn,” Masaki rolled his eyes. “How do you plan to accomplish that without leaving your dark room?”

“Leave that to me,” Jun said decidedly. “If he happens to bail on it, I’ll take full responsibility. You may punish me as you see fit.”

Masaki and Kazama exchanged surprised looks. “Well, shit…” Masaki chuckled. “You love him too much for your own good, Jun-pon.”

Jun blushed and lowered his head. “He’d do the same for me, I am sure.”

Masaki patted his shoulder. He gave Jun a concerned look. “Are you really okay with him leaving, Jun-pon? You can be honest with us.”

“Yes…”

Masaki gave him a pointed look. His eyes glowed yellow as he used telepathy to read Jun’s mind. He sighed when he saw Jun’s memories of the previous night. “Sho-chan has no idea, does he?” He pursed his lips when Jun shook his head in response. “Poor Jun-pon. It must be hard for you.”

To hear him say that in such a sympathetic tone made Jun break down once again.

They let Jun hole up in his room and give way to his sadness for a while. His only comfort came twice a day, at the crack of dawn and right at dusk, when Sho would send him a wave of warmth through their link. Jun tried to do the same, but being so far and with such limited powers, he had no idea if his feelings ever reached Sho.

*

The reason that the news about Take hit Sho so hard was that he never heard of his plans until that night at the banquet. Sho had just arrived there and sat next to Take as usual. He was offered some sake and food as he listened to their conversation, which happened to be about their future projects.

“Master, so where are we heading after this?” a man asked. “I heard you have some offers from the province at the north.”

“What about Imperial City? Didn’t a prince request your services?”

“Indeed,” Take replied with a laugh. “Both are true, my friends. But I’ve already made my choice: we’re going north!”

Sho’s smile vanished as he heard them talk about their new project. The lord that had hired them was offering to pay an insane amount to build a castle. Sho felt a cold shudder down his spine. He’d never asked Take when he’d leave. He had assumed it wouldn’t be soon.

Take noticed that he was upset right away. He asked Sho to go with him to the master room. “I’m sorry I hadn’t told you,” he started. “But you knew this day was coming, didn’t you?”

Sho lowered his head. “I had forgotten,” he said with a little chuckle. “You’ve made me so happy these years that not once I had remembered that you wouldn’t be with me forever.”

Take told Sho that he had accepted the northern province’s offer because it’d be much easier for him to come and visit Sho sometimes. Sho listened to him, but nothing of what Take said made him feel better. His heart was aching, knowing that in two days Take would be gone. He couldn’t sleep at all that night. He just watched Take’s sleeping face, thinking it’d be one of the last times he did so.

They spent the next day together, walking around the hills in silence, holding hands. It was evident that both felt this was the end for them, despite saying the contrary. In the afternoon, Take went to help his men arrange the last details of their departure. He told Sho that he’d probably be with them until late at night.

During those three years, Sho had felt like he had it all. He was with a man who adored him and whom he adored just as much. He had a prominent role in vampire affairs, training younglings in the skills they needed to survive and integrate into the world. He had a group of loyal followers that he had educated all by himself. And he also had Jun, his biggest supporter, without whom things wouldn’t have gone as smoothly. It felt like everything was falling apart until he talked to Jun.

“Go with him,” Jun said.

The idea was crazy. At the same time, it felt like Jun had delved into his soul and unearthed Sho’s most secret wish. Because rather than making Take stay and integrate into their way of living, he wanted to leave and have a taste of what living as a human commoner could be like by Take’s side. He would have never admitted that was what he wanted; Jun sometimes knew him better than he knew himself. But why would Jun support him in such an irrational idea?

“You have taken care of me for years now. I know you’d do anything for me, Sho-san. And I want you to know that I, too, would do anything for you. We are a team, aren’t we?”

Sho’s heart skipped a beat as Jun cupped his cheek and smiled at him. It was at that exact moment that he knew for the very first time that he loved Jun.

Jun gave him a bag of incense to take with him on his trip. Sho knew the scent by heart—only Jun smelled like that. He’d make sure to treasure it.

His heart was racing as he returned to his room. He wouldn’t need to take much with him. He asked his servant to bring him two sets of simple clothes, fitting for a peasant. He sent a note to Ueda, giving him instructions on what to do after he was gone. He didn’t know whether he should tell Take of his plans right away or surprise him in the morning. He took a bath to calm his nerves and came back to the room wearing only a yukata. He found Take inside, waiting in the bed for him, naked. Sho let his clothes fall to the floor. The mood wasn’t right for a conversation.

Take had never made love to him with more passion than that night. Then, as they were kissing after both had come, Take burst into tears.

“I don’t want to go,” he said. “Not without you, Sho-chan.”

Sho smiled. “Then take me with you,” he said in Take’s ear.

Take’s eyes went wide. “Are you for real? You’d come with me?”

Sho stood up and showed him what he had prepared for his trip. “If you’ll have me—”

Take shut him up with a kiss. “Yes, yes, yes,” he said, laughing. “Sho-chan, nothing would make me happier than that.”

The last Sho saw as they left the palace was Jun standing in front of it, smiling.

He was embarking on an uncertain adventure. The only thing he was sure about was that he’d find Jun still there once it was over.



The workers were surprised to see him arrive with Take. They couldn’t believe that a man would willingly give up a life of comforts living at a palace just because he’d fallen in love.

“You are too young, Sho-sama,” one of them told him. “We know you love our master, but is it worth it? He won’t be able to give you the kind of life you’re used to.”

Sho had to laugh at that. The men always assumed he was much younger than Take, whose age they did know. “I’m sure of my decision,” he replied. “I love Seiji-san. I know we’ll be happy together.” They didn’t question him more after that, thankfully.

Their journey would take a few days. They set up camp for the night right around sunset and resumed their trip at dawn. It was perfect because that gave Sho the chance to try sending telepathic messages to Jun.

He’d become aware of how deep his feelings towards Jun were. It was an unfortunate thing that it happened after he had chosen to leave. He had no one to talk to about it, so he poured all his heart into his messages. He sent one right before dawn and another exactly after sunset. He had no way of knowing whether they got to Jun or not, as he didn’t get any response, but it alleviated him to do so.

The lord that hired them happened to be a vampire. His name was Junichi, head of the Okada clan. He was quite surprised when he saw Sho arrive with a group of humans, being introduced as a construction worker of all things.

“Have you lost your mind?” Okada asked through telepathy, his eyes bright yellow. “You’re living among humans now?”

Sho glared at him. “Mind your own business.”

“What a shame…” Okada looked away. “We all thought you had finally come to your senses when you accepted to be the overseer and got involved with that pretty one… what was his name?”

“Stop,” Sho growled at him. “Jun-san knows I’m here. He supports me.”

“Really?” Okada arched an eyebrow at him. “Poor thing.”

Take cleared his throat. “Is there any problem?” he asked, flashing a grin at Okada.

“None,” Okada replied. He gave Sho a look full of disdain. “Excuse me.”

For a while, Sho feared that the tension between him and Okada would give Take problems. Every time Okada saw him, he gave him the same reproving look. Take noticed it and started questioning Sho about it.

“We’re old acquaintances,” Sho told him—which, technically, wasn’t a lie. “As you may suppose, he doesn’t agree with the life choices I’ve made.”

“Well, he needs to back the fuck off or I’ll have to make him!” Take snapped.

Sho laughed. “Don’t do anything stupid, Seiji-san. He’s a warlord.”

“Yes, and you’re my man,” Take replied. “I don’t care who he is, I won’t let him treat you like this!”

Around a month after their arrival, Okada received a message from Lord Masaki’s castle. He asked Sho to have a private talk. Take offered to join them, but Sho told him to stay at the building site.

“That guy hates me,” Okada commented with a chuckle. “He scowls at me every time I’m around you. Is he the new lover that Lord Masaki mentioned in this message?”

He handed Sho the letter, where Masaki thanked Okada for informing him that Sho was in his territory. Among other things, he told Okada that Sho had ‘foolishly gone after a human lover’, with Jun’s complicity. He was clear in stating that should Sho ever abandon his duties, it’d be Jun who would have to pay for it.

“That child offered himself in exchange for your freedom,” Okada said. “He’ll be made a slave to the Aiba clan if you abandon your post.”

Sho clenched his fists, color draining from his face. Jun-san…

“I hope you keep your word to him. He’s risking a lot for your sake.”

“I’d never let something bad happen to Jun-san!” Sho replied.

“Great!” Okada gave him a little smile. “If you need anything to continue your inspections, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll even cover for you if the humans ask where you went.”

Sho frowned. “I thought you were against me.”

“I think you’re dumb and young,” Okada replied, laughing. “But you’re a fellow vampire. I have no intention to antagonize you.”

In a way, Okada’s presence kept Sho grounded. He was a reminder of his reality, of what he’d left behind to chase a wild fantasy. If there hadn’t been anyone like that around, he probably would have been a lot more tempted to throw caution to the wind and forget his responsibilities.

He was of great help during the years Sho was far from home. He told Take that he had hired Sho to do some errands for him to justify his absences. He also ordered one of his clan members to take Sho’s reports directly to Jun every two months, along with the empty bag of incense.

“Bring this back to me after you deliver the message,” Sho said. “He’ll know what to do with it.”

Okada seemed amused the first time he saw it. “You think he will?”

“I’m positive.” Sho nodded.

To his rejoice, Jun did understand what he wanted. He refilled the bag to the brim with the same kind of incense. Okada laughed after smelling it and recognizing the scent. “You have a strong connection. I’m a little envious,” he said, giving Sho a friendly slap on his back.

Sho, however, was deeply distressed. Jun hadn’t even sent him a note.



Living as a peasant was hard, but Sho didn’t mind it. His living conditions were the least hard thing about the years he spent with Take. He grew used to physical labor after just a few months. He had friendly coworkers, who had welcomed him into their group with open arms. They all lived in a little camp at first, which eventually started growing into a small town when the men brought their families to live with them. The local people, Lord Okada’s subjects, integrated them into their community as well.

His relationship with Take was going strong. They were still crazy about each other and always had the best time hanging out. They liked to play music together, Sho on his koto and Take on the biwa or the flute. They still were unable to perform a proper duet with the same instruments. Their compatibility in all aspects was incredible.

In many ways, the relationship reminded Sho a lot of the one he had with Ohmiya Yuuji. There were differences, but in their main aspects, they were similar. He isn’t that different from his past life’s self.

As for his overseeing work, everything was rather calm around the island. He was surprised to hear that Jun had turned the head of the Nakamaru family, Yuichi. It had been added to the registry by Lord Masaki himself, as he was the one who authorized it.

“It should have been me who turned him,” Sho told Okada. “Why did they ask Jun-san?”

“It’s only logical. He’s the closest thing to a partner that you have,” Okada said with a shrug.

“A partner that won’t ever send me letters or respond to my telepathy,” Sho sighed. “Maybe he’s mad at me.”

Okada burst out laughing. “You’re talking nonsense, Bambi!”

Sho was feeling so dejected that night that he didn’t even react to the nickname for once—it meant child in a language from the Northern realm, Okada had learned it during the war. “It’s been three years, Okada-san. I know that he does get my messages, but he never replies!”

“You try contacting him every day, right?”

“Twice a day,” Sho confirmed. “I don’t even know why I keep it up anymore. Maybe he doesn’t want me to be in touch.”

Jun’s silence was the only thing that kept him from being completely happy those years. Everything else was ideal. He stayed up all night thinking about why Jun never communicated with him. He had been the one who encouraged Sho to leave in the first place, so why had he changed his attitude out of a sudden after Sho was gone?

“Jun-san…” Sho watched the sky getting lighter, announcing that the sun would rise sun. “Why?”

He broke into tears, pouring his despair into the mental link. The first ray of sun was visible in the distance when he felt a little poke from Jun’s side. His breath hitched. Did… did that just happen? Or was it my imagination?

The rest of the day, he was a little on edge. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Take noticed that he was spacing out too much and sent him home, thinking that Sho needed some rest.

Sho sat outside of his tiny home, facing south. He grew more and more impatient as the sun started going down. And just as it finished sinking in the horizon, he sent the usual message. He was a bit disappointed to get nothing in return, but just as he was going to stand up, it was there again. Another poke.

He laughed and cried, overcome by the bliss of receiving the first sign from Jun in years. It was enough to ignite a longing for Jun’s company that would only grow day by day.

For a little over one year, all the responses Sho ever got from Jun were pokes, as though Jun was tapping his forehead. He almost jumped the day it progressed to feeling like a pat on his head. It wasn’t the response he wanted, but the fact that it was something stronger gave him hope that the earlier pokes weren’t just meant as a dismissive gesture. Or that, if Jun had been holding a grudge, perhaps he was starting to forgive.

“He’s not angry with you, Bambi,” Okada insisted. “Everyone says he adores you.”

“Then why doesn’t he write to me!?” Sho whined. “He won’t talk to me through telepathy! If I’m lucky, I get a pat on my cheek instead of my head.”

Okada told him to have patience. It was easier said than done, though. Things didn’t change that much until the end of Sho’s fifth year away from home.

Sho sent the usual message, a wave of warmth, containing all his affection, that should register to Jun as a tight hug. He expected the usual pat on his head, but instead, it felt like Jun was hugging him back for the first time. He gasped, his entire body trembling. “Baby? Is that you?”

And then, a voice he hadn’t heard in years was right in his ear. “Sho-san!”

His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest and fly away to Jun’s side. Motivated by at last getting the sort of response he’d been expecting for five years, he let his feelings flow freely through the link. He could sense Jun smiling at him on the other side. Jun’s feelings reciprocated his own with matching intensity. They wrapped Sho in comforting warmth.

“Have you been there all this time!?”

“Yes! I’m right here! I wait for you every day!”

“I didn’t know if you did. This is the first time I get a proper response from you.”

“I’ve been trying to reach you from the start. I’m so sorry, I’m not strong enough yet,” Jun replied. The sound of his voice felt a little weaker. “S-Sho-san…”

Sho sent a last wave of warmth to him. “Rest, baby. I’ll be back at dawn.”

After Jun’s presence was gone, Sho chastised himself for misinterpreting Jun’s silence as coldness. It hadn’t occurred to him that Jun just didn’t have enough power to respond. He had been unfair, blaming Jun for things that were out of his control. Baby, I’m so sorry!

That day was probably the start of the end of his relationship with Take. The more he listened to Jun’s voice in his mind every day, the more he felt like going home.

*

Five years had passed since Sho left. Jun had been waiting religiously for his telepathic messages ever since. It was the only reason he hadn’t fallen into depression after Sho left. Sho still cared about him and made sure to remind him of it twice a day. He woke Jun up every sunset and sent him off to bed every dawn.

Jun spent a long time feeling terrible. Ueda and the Nakamaru family, especially Yuichi, did everything in their power to cheer him up and take care of his health. Ueda said that his aniki had left him a note pleading him to protect Jun while he was away.

“What aniki says is the law to me,” Ueda said with a grin. “I can’t let him down when he’s entrusted me with caring for his beloved partner.”

Jun appreciated their efforts, but he didn’t like being referred to as Sho’s partner. It only made him miserable whenever that word was thrown around him. He heard it once again when he had to turn Nakamaru Yuichi into a vampire to prevent his death.

Nakamaru started showing symptoms of a serious illness not long after Sho’s departure. He tried to mask them, but both Jun and Ueda could tell that he wasn’t well. One night, as they were playing cards, Nakamaru had a seizure and vomited blood.

“There isn’t much I can do,” the resident doctor said. “He’ll be dead in a few hours, it seems.”

Jun sent word to Lord Masaki, asking for permission to turn him. When he heard who it was, Lord Masaki authorized it right away. The family had served the vampires for a long time. None of their members had ever been turned.

Nakamaru accepted the decision most graciously. Jun thought that Lord Masaki would turn him, but he said that it had to be Jun. “The Nakamaru family has Sho-chan as their master. He’s not here, so as his partner, you have to do it.”

There was that word. It wasn’t time to argue about terms, though. They moved Nakamaru to Jun’s room and tied him up with strong chains. He’d have to live like that for the next ten years.

That was the first time Jun saw how a human became a vampire. The change was imperceptible at the beginning. Nakamaru looked like he was sleeping, his chest rising and falling slowly. Then, after a while, he opened his eyes and screamed. Fangs descended from his gums, and his irises went completely black. He was trying to free himself from his bindings.

“Command him to sleep,” Masaki said. “You turned him; you are the only one with the power to control him until he has a mind of his own again.”

Jun nodded. “Sleep,” he said, his eyes flashing blue. He was surprised when Nakamaru stopped thrashing and fell into a peaceful slumber.

“First time using mind control?” Masaki asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Jun replied. “Sho-san said I’m not ready for it yet. Not until I improve my telepathy.”

“Well, consider your child here the exception. He is your blood after all.”

Taking care of Nakamaru was exactly the distraction Jun needed to stop wallowing in his sorrow. Lord Masaki said that he needed to train harder to do it properly. He happened to be a lot stricter than Sho as a mentor. Not a day would pass by without either him or Yokoyama, whoever was free, coming to see Jun and test his skills. And when they weren’t around, Jun had to keep watch over Nakamaru.

Sho’s followers, especially Ueda, became a lot closer to him during those years. They took turns helping him so that he could get some rest. Jun was always tired after dawn and sunset since he tried hard for his words and feelings to reach Sho through their link; he didn’t know whether it worked or not. Day by day, he could feel that his telepathy was improving. The waves of warmth, Sho’s preferred way of showing affection, felt a lot stronger. Sometimes it felt like they were flooding Jun’s entire being, and Jun got so overwhelmed by them that he couldn’t stand.

Sho sent his reports every couple of months to the palace. The messenger always brought the little bag Jun had given Sho, saying he had orders to return it to the person who sent him. Jun filled it to the brim with incense every time. He felt tempted to send a note, but as he was determined to reach him via their mental link, he opted not to do so.

“Aniki must be so proud of you,” Tatsuya said. “You’re younger than all of us but look how impressive your skills are!”

“Not at all. I am still weak!” Jun laughed. “I haven’t managed to communicate with him!”

It took him five years, but at last, he did it.



When Jun opened his eyes after talking to Sho through their link, he was on his bed. Ueda was sitting next to him, sipping a cup of tea. He helped Jun sit up when he saw that Jun was awake.

“I reached him.”

Ueda’s eyes went wide. “What did he say?”

“He said that this was the first proper response he got from me,” Jun replied with a laugh. “My previous attempts hadn’t gotten to him, it seems.”

The next time he waited for Sho’s message, right before dawn, the whole group of Sho’s followers was sitting behind him, watching his every move with curious eyes as he went out to the veranda and sat facing north. Jun shook his head and closed his eyes.

He gasped when Sho started sending him wave after wave of affection. It was so strong he could have sworn that Sho was next to him, embracing him. Tears started running down his cheeks.

“You’re crying.”

“I’m happy.” Jun sent a wave of affection Sho’s way. He hoped that it’d reach Sho just as strongly as the ones he had felt.

“You have no idea how it makes me feel to hear you after all this time.”

Jun bit his lip. He sent a tight hug through their link, and it made Sho smile. “The guys asked me to tell you they said hi. They’re right behind me.”

Jun could hear the echo of Sho’s laughter. How he missed that! “Tell them I’m doing fine. I miss all of you.” Sho sent a gentler touch. It felt like he was cupping Jun’s cheek. “But I miss you the most.”

Another long wave of affection, which Jun tried to match with one of his own. Then he could feel Sho whispering in his ear “you did well today, go to sleep now. Sweet dreams, baby.”

The lingering blissful feeling lulled Jun to sleep just before the sun came out.

Lord Masaki congratulated him the next time he came to the palace. He bragged that Jun’s improvement had been a result of his training regime, which meant they should keep going at the same pace. Yokoyama and Kazama tried to convince him to give Jun a break, but he was unrelenting.

“He shouldn’t be falling asleep every time,” Masaki said. “Our next goal, Jun-pon, is for you to learn how to use your energy more efficiently.”

It took a few months for the training to kick in. Sho was quite impressed when Jun managed to stay awake after their short daily conversations. He wished to talk for longer, but he knew that it could hurt Jun to try it, so he held back. He said that talking to Jun through their link was his favorite part of the day.

Jun never asked him about his relationship with Take Seiji. They were still together, that much Sho did reveal. That was enough for Jun; it’d only hurt him to know how Sho was spending his time with that man. Sho never mentioned that he was planning to come back home. That’s why, when he did, it took Jun entirely by surprise.

It was around a week after Nakamaru regained consciousness. They had spent the last few days helping Nakamaru get used to his new circumstances. He was grateful, both to Jun and Ueda, who had taken so much care of him during those years. He was a little disturbed after his thoughts were unlocked, but he was taking it quite well. His biggest shock was to see his son, who was only ten when he was turned, now as a young man.

The Nakamaru family didn’t cease to thank Jun for helping him out. They asked to have Yuichi living with them, in a room they had adapted for his special conditions. The permission was granted, and Jun was living all by himself once again.

He had come out to the veranda. Dawn was close, he could feel the heat increasing. He closed his eyes, waiting for Sho’s usual greeting to reach him. But this time, it didn’t come. Instead, he felt something falling into his lap. “What—?”

He covered his mouth with a hand, unable to speak. Sho was there, lying next to him, with his head on Jun’s lap. Before Sho could say anything, Jun pulled him up for a hug. He burst into tears, with his face buried in Sho’s chest. He couldn’t believe it yet, not even with Sho between his arms.

“I’m back,” Sho said. He cupped Jun’s face and wiped his tears.

Jun tried to smile at him, but he was crying too much for it to look like an actual smile. “Welcome home,” he said.

Sho dragged him back into the room. He let go of Jun for a moment to close the blinds. Then, he let the drapes fall around Jun’s bed and got in there with him.

“You look thinner,” Jun commented. He patted Sho’s cheek, which felt a little coarse due to his stubble. “You need to shave.”

Sho laughed. “It’s been a couple of rough weeks. I haven’t had the time.”

Jun shook his head, now turning his attention to Sho’s wild mane of hair. It reached his shoulders, which was shorter than before, but it looked much messier. The clothes were like the ones he was wearing when he left. He only had a small sachet with him.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming home,” Jun said. “I would have liked to arrange a proper welcome for you.”

Sho averted his eyes from him. “I only decided it a few days ago.”

Jun frowned. “What happened?”

Sho’s lower lip was trembling. “Nothing,” he said and pulled Jun tight against him. “I’ll tell you everything later. But for now, can you just hold me, please?”

Jun couldn’t help growing concerned. Still, he did as Sho said, and just embraced him until sunset. Then, Sho finally spoke.

“The older workers were starting to suspect, so I had to leave. I didn’t want him to suffer, though. I erased all the memories that he and the others had of me. He saw me the next day; he looked me in the eye and didn’t recognize me.” Sho laughed, but he was crying already. “I stuck around for a couple of days. Couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see him, at least from afar.”

Jun wrapped his arms around Sho and let him vent. His heart ached to see him so devastated. Sho had done the right thing, and the cost was causing his own heartbreak. Jun could only imagine how hard it had to be for him to erase himself from the life of one he had loved—still loved—so much.

“It’ll be alright,” Jun said in his ear. “You’re strong, Sho-san. You’ll get through this.”

Sho looked up at him with swollen eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about him, Jun-san,” he mumbled. “But I have to. I need to forget.”

“You don’t need to rush it. Give yourself time,” Jun said. “Let me get you something to eat, okay?”

Sho didn’t say anything and buried his head in the pillow. Seeing Sho in such low spirits made Jun feel like crap as well. He wondered what he looked like when he walked into the room next to his, for Ueda rushed to his side after seeing him and held him by his shoulders.

“What happened, Jun-sama!? Are you okay?”

“Sho-san is back. He’s in my room,” Jun mumbled.

There was a collective gasp of surprise in the room. Ueda told the others to calm down and let the Nakamaru family know. He also had Fuma go find something to eat for Sho. He held on to Jun when Jun tried to turn back.

“Let me take you back there, Jun-sama. You look like you’ll pass out from the shock.”

Jun didn’t want Ueda to come in and find Sho in that sorry state, but he insisted. Plus, he wanted to see his aniki after so many years. He was shocked to find Sho crying in Jun’s bed.

“Go. Now,” Jun hissed.

Ueda excused himself and turned back on his heel. He stopped the others at the door, brought the food near to the bed, and then left. Jun sighed when he heard them walk away.

“Get up, Sho-san,” Jun said.

Sho sniffed and sat up. He didn’t look at Jun while he had his meal in silence. He said nothing when Jun left for a moment to take out the dirty plates. He was sitting on the same spot when Jun returned, hugging his knees. Sho didn’t even look at him; he just sat there, staring into the distance. He went back to the bed after a while. Jun had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy to deal with Sho for the time being.

The news of Sho’s arrival reached the castle the next day. Lord Masaki, along with some of the clan leaders who happened to be there for a summit, sent word to Jun around noon that they wanted to welcome Sho back at a banquet that evening. They asked Jun to bring Sho to the castle for it. They also invited Ueda, Nakamaru, and the rest of Sho’s followers.

“Aniki doesn’t seem to be in a good condition to attend,” Ueda told Jun. “Should we reject the invitation?”

“No,” Jun replied. “We’ll be there. I’ll make sure of it.”

Sho hadn’t moved from Jun’s bed in the entire day. He hadn’t said a word or met Jun’s gaze either. When Jun told him of the invitation, he stood up and followed Jun to the door, where Tatsuya was waiting to help Sho get ready for the evening. They returned a few hours later. Sho looked again like the elegant nobleman Jun had known all those years. The sad expression returned to his face when Ueda left them alone.

They arrived at the castle when the stars were just coming out in the dark sky. There was already loud music and voices when they came into the hall where the banquet was being held. Lord Masaki was sitting on the dais. He greeted Sho with a hug, smiling at him. He let Sho and Jun sit next to him. They were the guests of honor that evening.

Sho tried to appear normal. He smiled at the comments made around him and pretended to be in a good mood, but Jun knew better. And so did Masaki.

“What’s with him?”

Sho was looking at his cup, sighing. He forced a smile to greet someone who had come up to him, a youngling who hadn’t seen him in years. He gave short responses to the conversation, contrary to his habit.

“He’s heartbroken like you said he’d be,” Jun said. “I didn’t think it’d be so hard for him.”

“That’s why I don’t get involved with humans!” Masaki replied, shaking his head. “To put yourself voluntarily through something that will end badly. I can’t conceive why anyone would want that.”

It was just a couple of hours past midnight when Sho told Jun that he was tired. Masaki said that he had a room ready for them. The festivities would continue the next day, as the four other overseers happened to be on their way to the summit.

Jun went to the room with Sho, not trusting him to stay by himself. Sho pulled him into a hug and dragged him to bed. They cuddled for a long time; Sho refused to let go of Jun even for a minute. He looked so helpless that Jun didn’t have the heart to push him away.

That evening, he didn’t mope around as much as the previous one. He wasn’t cheerful, but his mood had visibly improved. Perhaps he was trying harder because of the guests. The other overseers, who had just arrived that day, had been vampires for much longer than Sho had. It was his first time meeting them, and he wanted to make a good impression. Still, he asked Jun to go back to the room with him barely after midnight, and he trapped Jun between his arms once they were on their bed. They stayed there for a whole week. Sho followed the same routine every single day.

Jun was feeling quite disheartened. Nothing he did seemed to cheer Sho up for longer than a few minutes at most. That night, it’d be the last one of the festivities. He wanted Sho to enjoy himself at least this time, but he couldn’t think of a way to make that happen.

“What’s wrong?” Sho asked him. It was around noon. They were cuddling in the bed, as usual. Sho ran his fingers through Jun’s hair, pushing it out of his face. “You look worried.”

“And why do you think that is?” Jun broke into tears as Sho continued looking at him with sad eyes. “I hate seeing you like this.”

Sho sighed and wiped Jun’s tears. “Don’t cry for me, please.”

“I want to make you happy again, Sho-san,” Jun said between sobs. “Please, please, I’ll do anything!”

Sho shushed him and held him tighter. “Thank you,” he said. He kissed the top of Jun’s head. “To hear that is enough to make me happy, Jun-san.”

Jun looked up at him. Sho was trying to smile for him, to console him despite being rather down himself. It made Jun feel even worse.

In an act of desperation, he pulled Sho down for a kiss. He expected more resistance than he got. Sho hadn’t responded to the kiss, but he hadn’t pushed Jun away either. He just stared at him with his round eyes widened in shock.

“Let me comfort you,” Jun said, kissing Sho again. “Please?”

Sho didn’t reply, but he closed his eyes when Jun’s lips met his again. He parted his mouth for Jun’s tongue to enter it and slowly started following his lead. He was breathless when Jun broke the kiss, looking at Jun with a surprised expression and blushing.

“Jun-san…” Sho bit his lip, cupping Jun’s cheek with his hand. He pulled Jun for a long kiss, taking a dominant role this time.

It was so wrong, what happened that afternoon. Sho had just gotten his heart broken, he had only left his lover a couple of weeks earlier. Having sex with Jun probably wouldn’t do him any good. It was a distraction, not a solution. It could make things worse.

Neither of them was thinking clearly. Otherwise, they would have stopped. Instead, they spent hours giving in to the lust that clouded their judgment. If they stopped, it was because of the servant that knocked on their door to bring in the kimonos they’d wear for the evening.

They got dressed in silence, stealing glances at each other. When they were ready to go, Sho grabbed Jun’s hand and led the way.

They had a surprisingly good time that night. Sho’s mood was much improved. He wasn’t yet his usual self, but he could hold small conversations in a normal manner. He gave genuine smiles to people, unlike the previous nights. He even had more appetite. Jun didn’t know what to think of it, but he was relieved.

They returned to their room later than the other nights, around dawn. Sho had a lot of alcohol. He was giggling on the way to the room, one arm wrapped around Jun’s shoulders. Then, inside the room, he pushed Jun against a wall and started kissing him.

“I need you,” Sho whispered in Jun’s ear, sending shivers down his entire body. “Can I…?”

Jun nodded as Sho tugged on his obi. “Y-Yes…”

He let Sho have his way with him that morning again. And the following morning. And the morning after.



They spent all day together for almost a month. Sho had a clingy side to him, it surprised Jun to see it. He didn’t want Jun to be out of his sight, so even when Jun was busy training or helping Nakamaru, Sho would stay in a spot near him. He didn’t get in Jun’s way, but he refused to leave. Lord Masaki had to ask Jun to be present in their meetings because it was the only way Sho agreed to have an audience with him.

Between dawn and dusk, while the sun was out and Jun needed to hide in his bed, Sho sought his touch persistently. Jun gave in to his advances every time; he found it impossible to reject him. Sho was intense, full of energy and passion. He took Jun to paradise every time they were together.

They didn’t stop to talk about what was going on. Jun didn’t feel they needed to. He wasn’t delusional to think that Sho would fall for him. He was also very aware that Sho continued to be heartbroken, even if his being with Jun had a positive effect on his mood. Sho needed time to heal. And if Jun could help, well, he wouldn’t deny Sho.

The first time Sho told Jun he’d go out by himself, Jun felt like everything was finally going back to normal. It’d be his first inspection since his return, and he’d be away for a month. He requested to have Yokoyama with him to keep him on track.

“Can I have this coat?” Sho asked with a sheepish smile. “You wear it almost daily. It smells so much like you.”

Jun laughed and took off the coat. “Alright. But you’d better give it back! It’s one of my favorites.”

Sho flashed a grin at him as he put it on. Then he kissed Jun’s lips. “Will you talk to me at sunset?”

“Of course,” Jun replied.

“I’ll be waiting. Don’t be late.”

Jun watched him go until he couldn’t see him in the distance. Sho sent him tiny nudges through their link, like little pecks. Jun giggled, blushing to the tip of his ears.

The tone of the daily messages through their link was quite playful. The first time, at sunset of that day, Sho responded to Jun’s greeting with a wave of tickles that had him laughing for a few minutes. Sometimes the affection he sent felt more like the caresses he gave Jun behind closed doors, which made Jun get terribly flustered. One time it felt like he bit Jun’s earlobe. That made him jump and send back the equivalent of an elbow to the stomach. He could hear Sho’s loud laughter ringing in his ears afterward. When Sho came back, Jun had to say it hadn’t felt like they had separated at all.

Their routine didn’t change much after that. Sho would still sneak into Jun’s bed at dawn and stay with him until sunset. He did leave most evenings, as he had a lot to do at the castle. Sometimes he stayed to help Jun train or to teach him more about art and history. They spent less time around each other, but Jun liked it better this way. Sho was going back to his old self. He was socializing more by the fourth month, attending and organizing parties. He still had days when he’d suddenly look sad and withdraw from people.

“Do you still miss him?” Jun dared to ask one day. They were in Jun’s bed, their bodies still intertwined. He’d asked because Sho had suddenly gotten silent, staring at the ceiling. “You haven’t slept in the room you used to share since you came back.”

“You noticed?”

“It’d be hard not to, given you always come to mine,” Jun replied.

“Just so you know, that’s not the only reason I come here. Ten years without you. Five without hearing a word from you…” Sho kissed Jun’s neck, sighing. “The first time I felt signs of you, I thought I had imagined it. But they got stronger every day until I dared to speak to you, and you replied! And I realized how much I longed to feel you close.”

Jun blushed hard as Sho climbed on top of him, stealing the air from his lungs with a searing kiss.

“I had been thinking of leaving Seiji-san since that day,” Sho confessed. “We were doing well. Our relationship couldn’t be better, but I knew that it wouldn’t last forever. Hearing your voice was the reminder that I had a home waiting for me, and that I’d need to return to it, sooner or later.”

“Why did you wait so long, then?”

Sho pursed his lips. “I loved him. And I knew how much he loved me as well,” he said. “He always bragged about being so irresistible that I threw my whole life aside just to be with him. But I knew he was afraid of me leaving someday. He didn’t think I’d stick around for long.”

“Was that why you wiped his memories?”

Sho nodded. “It would have been easier to break up, but I didn’t want to hurt him.”

“You preferred to be the only one to suffer?” Jun arched an eyebrow at him.

“I had a home to come back to. I had you. He had no one. Of course… I did not expect it to go this way,” Sho chuckled, running his hands down Jun’s sides. “I have no complaints, though.”

He tried to distract Jun with more kisses, but Jun stopped him. He hadn’t answered the question. “But do you miss him?” Jun asked. “Do you want to see him again?”

“Yes and no,” Sho replied with a sigh. He ran his fingers through Jun’s hair, looking pensive. “There are days I wish I could see him one more time, but this is for the best. We shared precious moments that I’ll never forget. But this,” he kissed the top of Jun’s head, “this is where I belong. This is the home I’ll always come back to.”

From those words, Jun knew that nothing would change between him and Sho. He felt happy to hear Sho call him his home, but the moment another human caught his fancy, Jun would have to step back and watch him go through this all over again. He didn’t mind. It was enough for him to have Sho on those terms, as pathetic as that sounded.

“You won’t see him again, then?”

Sho shook his head. “Not in this lifetime.”

Those words never left Jun’s mind.

*

The following decades were a time of peace, both for humans and vampires. The island remained free of zombies, as the few newborns that had been turned were taken care of by their sires. Jun had two under his watch: Nakamaru Yuichi and Kamenashi Kazuya. The latter used to be a monk, from a religious group that was closely linked to vampires. He had been chosen to be turned by the leaders of his group. Jun had been tasked with turning him because the Nakamaru family would be responsible for the monk once he regained his consciousness.

Jun could only stay until he regained consciousness. He and Sho needed to relocate to a different area of the island, near to the Imperial City. Ueda would stay behind to look after the two newborns. Twenty years later, Sho and Jun would have to spend some time at the court. A vampire was always sent there, posing as a member of a certain powerful family that was, unbeknownst to humans, serving the vampires all along.

Sho didn’t engage in any affairs with humans during those relocations. He did see a few men at times, mostly with feeding purposes. As for Jun, he had his share of admirers. He didn’t engage in sex with humans, he didn’t trust himself enough yet to do that without harming them. He said that he didn’t feel inclined to fall for them anyway, regardless of how attractive they were. That gave them a lot of time to focus on each other. Jun was studying and training day and night, aiming to match Sho’s level of skill.

“We are friends and rivals,” Jun told him. “You’re my goal, Sho-san. And I plan to surpass you.”

“Friends and rivals, huh?” Sho’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “I like the sound of it.”

The friendly competition benefited them both. By the time Jun’s one-hundredth anniversary approached, their skills had increased. Jun’s seduction was far more advanced than Sho’s, but Sho continued to be leagues ahead when it came to illusions. Both had figured out how to use telekinesis and were at a similar level, much to Lord Masaki’s annoyance, as he had taken longer to learn it. Jun’s telepathy had improved. He could read minds and memories, as well as communicate with Sho at long distances without feeling drained of energy afterward. As for mind control, his skill was basic. It’d be a long way before he could learn to wipe memories, which required an advanced level of illusion, telepathy, and mind control techniques.

Sho promised to teach him how to expand his field of perception after his one-hundredth anniversary. Jun protested that he hadn’t been keeping track of the time that had passed since he regained consciousness.

“You have not, but I have,” Sho said with a smirk. “I’ll tell you when it comes.”

Jun was impatient, Sho could tell. He was comfortable with his way of living, but it was evident he missed being outdoors. He had been a farmer after all. It wasn’t the same to him to visit orchards and gardens that were kept by others.

“You’ll get to go out for a couple of hours every day, wearing a hat,” Sho told him to motivate him a little. “And, given that our next assignment will be far from civilization, you’ll get to trim your hair too!”

The castle was impressive, albeit smaller than Lord Masaki’s. It was on top of a hill, with a magnificent view of the sea. The beach was just a short walk away, as were the docks. That spot had been chosen strategically by Lord Masaki to send and receive messages to the other islands and the continent. Traveling vampires would lodge with them from time to time, and other than a few servants, there were no humans around. There were also extensive grounds that Jun was free to use to his heart’s content.

“After your anniversary,” Sho reminded him with a grin. “I’m giving you a rake, a hoe, and clothes for farming as your gift.”

Jun was sad when spring passed, but Sho still didn’t let him go outside during the day. He took to walking around their room with a massive pout every morning. He looked adorable, but Sho opted to not comment on it.

One night, at the end of summer, Sho told him they’d go for a walk at the fields. They sat down on the grass, having some sake and small treats. Sho was showing him the stars, teaching him to read the constellations. Jun was so engrossed in their conversation that he didn’t notice how many hours had passed.

It’s time. Sho sat up under Jun’s curious look. He grinned and pointed at the mountains on the east. “Look over there,” he said.

The sun was rising. Jun gasped when he saw the first rays of light dissipating the darkness. His eyes filled with tears as he saw it climb up higher and higher in the sky. Sho put a wide hat on top of his head.

“It’s been one hundred years since we met,” he said. “Do you remember that day?”

Jun nodded without looking up. His shoulders shook as he continued sobbing.

One hundred years! Had it really been that long? So much had happened since then, yet it felt like it was just yesterday that Sho saw him for the first time in the woods. Sho grabbed him by his chin and stared at him. “You look more adult now,” he said. “You don’t seem a teenager anymore.”

Jun huffed. “I never did! I was an adult from the start, Sho-san.”

“With that squishy face? Please…” Sho snorted. Jun grumbled but still let him steal a kiss. “Now you’re more handsome than cute. Your shoulders are getting broader, your facial features look stronger. I’m particularly fond of your eyebrows. Nobody else in the world has eyebrows as thick and well-shaped as yours.”

Jun gave him an offended look. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“It is!” Sho replied, running his thumb over Jun’s brow. “You keep growing more beautiful. I’m afraid someone will try to steal you away someday.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jun said. “You’d be a mess without me, Sho-san.”

Sho laughed, pinching Jun’s cheek. “That is true.”

The first year there, they were mostly undisturbed. Messengers came and went, as well as the occasional guests. Jun chopped most of his hair off, to his maids’ absolute horror. It reached his shoulder blades now. Sho warned him that he’d have to let it grow again in a couple of years, as their next relocation might take them back among nobles. He kept a long lock of Jun’s hair inside a little bag, which he put in a box along with his most precious mementos from the men he had loved in the past.

He made good on his promise to gift Jun tools and working clothes. Jun was so excited to be at the fields again that he ended up staying for too long outside and fainted under the sun. He was out of it for a whole week. And Sho was terrified.

The sunburns didn’t look too serious. They probably wouldn’t leave behind scars after recovery. Jun was hallucinating and feverish the whole time. His body temperature needed to be lowered, so he had to be stripped down and placed on the highest floor of the castle, where it was cooler. But the thought that it could have been worse, that if he arrived a couple of minutes later Jun could have been harmed permanently.

“It’s my fault!” Sho said to Fuma, who was helping him out. “I gave him those tools. I should have known better!”

“It was an accident,” Fuma replied, patting Sho’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, aniki. I’m sure Jun-sama will be just fine.”

Sho didn’t leave Jun’s side until Jun came back to his senses a week later. The moment Jun opened his eyes, he rushed out of the room to get some water. He returned as fast as he could carrying a bucket. Then, he made Fuma leave the room.

“S-Sho-san…”

Sho put his hand on Jun’s forehead, clicking his tongue at how hot it still felt. “Get out of bed. Your body temperature is still too high. I’ll help you cool down.”

Jun did as Sho said and lay on the mat next to his bed. Sho submerged a rag into the bucket, then wrung it to get rid of the excess water. Sho used the rag to scrub Jun’s body. Aside from the few times that he instructed Jun to change his position, he was silent. After he was finished, he put a hand over Jun’s forehead again.

“Still too warm,” Sho said. “Perhaps we should head to the beach.”

The afternoons and evenings were getting colder. Jun shivered a little as they walked down to the beach hand in hand. He was wearing a yukata, as anything thicker than that wouldn’t do him good. It wasn’t healthy for a vampire to be too warm.

They took off their sandals and walked barefoot on the white sand. The sea was calm that afternoon. The sun had just set, so the sky still looked mostly red, orange, and pink, with a dark blue creeping in from above.

Sho untied Jun’s obi. He made Jun turn around and slid the yukata off his shoulders. “Alright. Go for a splash.”

“Come with me?” Jun asked as Sho folded the clothes and put them inside a basket. He grinned when he saw Sho was getting undressed as well.

The water was cold. Jun yelped a little when he walked into it. He kept watching the horizon, as the sky got darker, and the stars started appearing. Sho couldn’t resist it anymore and embraced him from behind.

“I thought I’d lose you,” Sho whispered in Jun’s ear. “I knew you’d be fine, but I couldn’t stop worrying…”

Jun turned around and wrapped his arms around Sho’s neck. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he repeated between kisses.

The stars were shining in Jun’s eyes when Sho admitted out loud for the first time how he felt about Jun.

“I can’t live without you.”

Jun stopped kissing him and looked at him with a shocked expression. “What did you just say?”

Sho averted his eyes from him. “You heard me.”

“Say it again,” Jun replied. He cupped Sho’s face and made him look up.

Sho blushed. He felt a little embarrassed now that he was going to repeat the words. “I can’t live without you, Jun-san.”

“I knew it,” Jun replied, laughing when Sho grumbled and tried to push him away.

“What about you?” Sho asked. “How do you feel about me?”

“Don’t you know it already?” Jun raised an eyebrow, giving him a teasing smile.

“It wouldn’t hurt to hear it,” Sho replied, shrugging. He tried to look nonchalant, but he was nervous. He didn’t know if Jun would say it back.

Jun beamed at him. “I can’t live without you either, Sho-san.”

“Good.” Sho tucked a strand of hair behind Jun’s ear and kissed him. “So… now that we’ve established that we can’t live without each other, will you promise to be more careful?”

Jun rolled his eyes at him. “Yes.”

They stayed at the beach until dawn. Jun’s body temperature had gone back to normal by then. Sho used the basket to cover Jun’s head, cursing himself for not thinking of bringing a hat for Jun in case they stayed out for long.

Neither of them mentioned what they said that night again. Sho hadn’t used the word ‘love’, but he hoped that Jun would know what he meant. He was so certain about his feelings that he made a radical decision he never thought he’d make.

The New Year celebrations took place at their castle that year. A high dignitary from the Elder of the East’s court, Sakamoto Masayuki, would be visiting the country for a while. The harbor near their castle served as the entry point to Japan for vampires overseas, so it was only natural to accommodate him there upon his arrival. The celebrations were splendid, befitting the rank of their honorable guest.

The large party at the castle stayed for almost two months. It was the middle of winter, making the roads quite hard to travel. They left before spring after another large banquet, which Lord Masaki attended with some clan leaders. Sho used the opportunity to have an audience with him.

“What was the important thing you wanted to tell me, Sho-chan?” Masaki laughed looking at Sho’s nervous face. “Must be something serious!”

Sho blushed. “It is serious, my lord.”

Masaki’s eyebrows shot up. “You have my attention.”

Sho cleared his throat, feeling a little uncomfortable that they couldn’t talk alone. Sakamoto was sitting next to Masaki with an amused look on his face. Lord Okada had also requested to stay in the room. Sho took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“I want to request your permission to form a clan of my own,” Sho started. “The younglings that you left under my care have been helping me out with my functions as an overseer. I think it’d be convenient for us to become a clan.”

Masaki grinned. “That’s a great idea, Sho-chan! Of course, I approve of it!”

“When I return to the continent, I will bring your request to his Majesty,” Sakamoto said. “Your clan’s crest shall be assigned by him.”

“Great, thank you,” Sho nodded, smiling nervously at him. “And… t-there’s something else that… uh… I wanted to consult with you.”

“Go on,” Masaki replied.

“I want to make Jun my consort.”

The three of them gave Sho surprised looks. Masaki stood up and walked to him. “Are you joking, Sho-chan? Because I swear if you are…”

“I’m not,” Sho replied. He felt his face getting hot. “I… I know that nuptials aren’t usually for this, but I just… I want him to be my partner. Forever.”

Masaki looked back at the other two vampires, who exchanged looks and started laughing. He laughed too before pulling Sho into a hug. “I’m so, so proud of you!”

“Bambi is finally acting like an adult!” Okada commented with a smirk.

Sakamoto nodded in approval. “There haven’t been a lot of betrothals without clan merging in mind in the last few centuries. His Majesty will be pleased.”

Masaki let go of Sho to pinch his cheeks. “The two of you are so young, though. We can officiate the betrothal as soon as the preparations are done, but you’ll have to wait a long time for the nuptial ceremony.”

Sho frowned. “Isn’t it just a thousand years?”

“If one of you was over a thousand years old right now, yes,” Masaki said. “The older partner must be at least two thousand years old by the time of the nuptials. For vampires under one thousand years of age, the time between the two ceremonies is two thousand years.”

Sho’s eyes went wide. “That long!?”

Masaki wrinkled his nose. “It’s a rule instituted by the First after seeing the mental strain that the confirmation of the blood pact caused to couples where both partners were under that age.”

“I see…” Sho nodded. He gnawed his lip, considering the situation for a moment. “You know what? It’s fine. I can wait two thousand years.”

“Great!” Masaki grinned. “You’ll need a set of rings to make your proposal. It could take until the end of next year to get them.”

“That gives me more time to plan how to ask him,” Sho said. “I hope he’ll accept me.”

“I do not doubt that he will!” Masaki patted Sho’s back.

With that, the preparations for his clan’s formation ceremony and his betrothal started. Sakamoto told him to leave everything to him. He’d send someone at the end of the next year with the rings, and then he’d inform Masaki when the other preparations were ready.

Sho had never felt so hopeful about the future until that moment.



A couple of months later, their quiet lifestyle was interrupted.

There had been a typhoon those days. It was the first day that the sun came out in a week. Sho and Jun had gone to the beach for a walk. They saw a strange dark lump on the sand, which turned out to be a man.

Sho rushed to check on him. “He’s alive!”

Observing the man’s face made Sho feel a little disturbed. I think I’ve seen him before. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and picked the man up, to take him back to the castle. He left the man under the care of the resident medic.

Jun was giving Sho a strange look. “Why did you keep checking his face for so long?”

“He reminds me of someone,” Sho said. “I cannot remember who.”

Jun didn’t comment on anything else, but it seemed Sho’s words had upset him. He was rather distant the following days.

The man remained unconscious for almost a week. When he finally opened his eyes, the medic informed Sho and Jun. They followed him to the room where they had left the man. The man had his hair cropped very short, reaching just below his ears. His skin was quite tanned, so he probably worked outdoors. He had soft, gentle features, with eyes that looked almost sleepy.

The man stared right at Sho when they came in, beaming. “It’s you, the man at the beach!” he said. “We’ve met before, haven’t we? I’m sure I’ve seen your face somewhere else.”

“I wouldn’t think so, no,” Sho replied with a little shake of his head. It spooked him that the man had the same impression he had. “What is your name?”

“Naruse Ryo,” the man said. “And you’re Lord Sakurai, correct?”

Sho nodded. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Naruse-san.”

Naruse pursed his lips. “See, the thing is… I don’t know any lords. I’m a fisherman. But everything about you is so familiar. Like…”

Sho gasped when Naruse cupped his face. “W-What—!”

“That expression! I’ve seen it on your face before!” Naruse laughed. “Except that, it’s impossible because this is the first time we meet, isn’t it?”

Sho cleared his throat when Naruse let go of him. He was blushing a little. “Y-Yes…”

“Perhaps it was in another lifetime,” Naruse said with a little smirk. Then he laughed again and turned to look at Jun. “Oh! And who is this lovely young man?”

“My name is Jun,” Jun replied. He blushed when Naruse sat right before him, way too close for comfort.

“You, I hadn’t seen before,” Naruse said. “I wouldn’t forget such a beautiful face.”

The medic returned to give Naruse some broth. He informed Sho and Jun that their guest was mostly unharmed. His right leg would take some months to fully heal; he had suffered a serious concussion and some internal injuries. The prognostic was very favorable, though, given how quickly he’d been recovering. They left Naruse alone to rest after a few minutes. Naruse waved goodbye at them, thanking them for their hospitality.

“Was he right?” Jun asked Sho when they returned to their room. “Have you met him in another lifetime?”

Sho furrowed his eyebrows. “I think so, yes. But I’m not certain…”

“Perhaps a past lover…” Jun mumbled. He sounded a bit jealous—it was a first for him, and Sho got quite delighted to see it.

Later that evening, Sho finally realized who the man was. He rushed to fetch his box of mementos and took out a drawing. It had been painted in a most unusual style, bearing little resemblance to the one most artists favored. The man depicted there was Naruse’s spitting image, though.

“This is a self-portrait made by Ohmiya Taka,” Sho told Jun.

Jun hummed, looking at the portrait with a furious expression. “Your first crush, right? That’s what you said the other time.”

Sho sighed, pulling Jun close. He tried to kiss Jun on the cheek, but Jun pushed him away. “Come on, baby, don’t be like that! We were just friends!”

“Then why do you have so much of his art in your personal collection!?”

“He came to visit me almost every day,” Sho said. “He showed me his work to raise my spirits. Not going to lie, it did comfort me to watch him paint. He wanted to teach me how to do it, but I wasn’t very good at it, so I desisted.”

Sho showed Jun a few of the scrolls that Taka had gifted him. They were quite impressive, even under current art standards.

“He had a long life. I think he was around eighty when he passed away,” Sho said. “The funeral was massive. He is considered the last great lord of the Ohmiya clan. It did become extinct a mere three generations later after all.”

“Right. After Ohmiya Yuuji.”

Sho had to suppress a smile. He saw Jun’s attitude as a sign that his interest wasn’t one-sided after all. “I don’t know why he remembers me,” he continued. “This isn’t supposed to happen. And I doubt he’s had his memories unlocked.”

“Maybe he’s just a very spiritual person?” Jun commented. “I’ve heard that some people can see their own past lives, especially among monks or very devoted people.”

Sho hummed. “It could be. I need to look into it.”

Thus, Sho decided to investigate the matter more closely. If Sho’s counts didn’t fail him, two life cycles had passed since he met Taka. How likely was to remember a person from two lifetimes ago? He talked to the man for several hours while he was incapacitated.

“Religion? Nah, I’m not into it! I follow my own moral code in life.” Naruse said with a laugh. He held up two fingers. “Don’t be a jerk and fuck up anyone who’s being a jerk to you.”

Sho burst out laughing. Why doesn’t it surprise me? That left out the spiritual source for his memories, though.

As for supernatural creatures, Naruse had heard of vampires and zombies, but he couldn’t recall ever coming across one, which meant his memories couldn’t have been unlocked. He did express a big interest in seeing a vampire someday, just to check if they were as terrifying as the legends said. And other than Sho’s face, he had no conscious memory of anyone from his previous lives.

While spending time together, Sho and Naruse ended up becoming friends. When Naruse was fit to go out again months later, he requested Sho to provide him with a small embarkation to fish. He convinced Sho to join him quite frequently. It was a fun activity, Sho had to admit. They also drank together almost every night, talking loudly and cheerfully about the most ridiculous things. And Naruse, like Ohmiya Taka, happened to have a natural talent for art.

Naruse had never painted before. He was returning from the beach while Jun and Sho were practicing outside. He got curious and grabbed the implements as well. He decided to paint the castle and, while his rendition wasn’t perfect, nobody would tell he was a beginner by looking at it.

“This goes against what we thought we knew about human souls!” Sho said excitedly to Jun that night. “If the souls became blank slates after death, how can you explain that some traits and memories remain unchanged?”

“A coincidence?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time I see this, though,” Sho replied. “Ohmiya Yuuji and Take Seiji were good at music despite being two different incarnations of the same soul, and both preferred to play the biwa. They also were attracted exclusively to men, although Take Seiji had a wife to keep appearances during a period of his life.”

Jun hummed. “Then… you think this means that it isn’t just the body that stays the same?”

“Exactly,” Sho replied. “There are two things that Ohmiya Taka excelled at: painting and dancing. We have confirmed the first. Now we just need a chance to see the second in action.”

The opportunity arose during a banquet the next summer. Naruse had been living with them for almost a year by then. It was around midnight, and the guests were quite drunk. Naruse stood up in the middle of the room as the musicians played a song and started dancing.

Sho’s jaw dropped as his eyes followed Naruse’s every move. It’s like seeing Taka-sama again.

He wouldn’t share his theory with other vampires just yet. A misunderstanding that ensued a couple of nights later took his attention away from it.



The guests at the castle made a bonfire at the beach to have a party. Vampires from the continent had a much more festive attitude than the ones in Sunrise Land. One of them had just given Sho the rings he needed to make his proposal. He was contemplating what would be the best timing to pop the question.

Naruse joined them when he saw that Sho was around. The two of them sat on some rocks to watch the others dance. Somehow, they had ended up talking about their love lives. Sho had to obscure some details, but he admitted to Naruse that he’d always been into men.

“How did you find out?” Naruse asked. He looked genuinely curious, with no trace of judgment.

“I always knew,” Sho said with a shrug. “When I was entering my teens and started being interested in relationships, I realized that I could only daydream of kissing or getting intimate with other guys.”

Naruse hummed. “You know, I’ve been into women my entire life, but I’ve wondered how it’d feel to kiss a man too.”

“Have you ever done it?”

“No,” Naruse replied. “I’ve only met a couple of men in my life that I truly wanted to kiss, but I held back. I was afraid they’d get mad at me for it.”

Sho laughed. “Ah, yes. I understand the feeling.”

“Can I confess something to you?” Naruse stared intently at him for a moment. “Out of all the men I’ve met, the one I’ve wanted to kiss the most is you.”

There was something incredibly alluring about the way Naruse said that. He was direct, he didn’t avert his gaze after saying it out loud, didn’t seem the slightest bit nervous. Sho’s face felt hot as Naruse scooted closer to him. He gasped when Naruse cupped his face, but it was like he was frozen in place, dominated by Naruse’s intent stare. And Naruse was a great kisser.

Any other time, Sho would have been pleased, but not that time. The inro where he had put the pouch that contained the two gold rings was tied to his obi. He had just spent the whole night thinking about how to propose to Jun. Despite him not initiating anything, he felt like he was being unfaithful to Jun. He pushed Naruse away and left in a hurry. He was feeling sick to his stomach. He needed to talk to Jun, immediately.

Jun was in his room, studying. Ever since they went to the Imperial City, he had acquired a taste for reading. He looked at Sho with a frown and told him to sit down. “Anything happened? You’re looking pale, Sho-san.”

Sho bit his lip. “Naruse-san kissed me.”

There was a moment of silence. Sho couldn’t tell what Jun’s reaction was at first, as he kept a perfectly blank face.

“That’s… good, I guess,” Jun said with a shrug after a while. “You haven’t had a lover in a long time. He seems like a good man.”

“Jun-san, that’s not…”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Sho-san. It’s not like we’re a couple or anything like that,” Jun cut him off. “I’m happy for you.”

Sho couldn’t believe his ears. “Huh…” he chuckled bitterly. “So, you’re telling me that after all these years together…”

Jun arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t remember us ever saying we’d be anything other than friends,” he said. “I’ve always been aware of your preferences. I’m a vampire, you’re into human men. And it’s fine, really. I would never try to trap you into something you don’t want.”

“Then you don’t mind that another man kissed me? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Why would I? You’re free to do whatever you want, Sho-san.”

Sho clenched his fists and jaw. Jun’s indifference was making him angry. “I see…” he nodded. “Well, if that’s how you feel, then I guess I was worrying about nothing.”

He walked briskly out of the castle. He needed to get some air. There was a thrumming in his head, like something inside it was buzzing. He fell to his knees, not knowing whether to cry, to scream, or just lie down quietly.

From the day Sho returned home after leaving Take Seiji, Jun had been the only man in his life. He never felt the need to have a new lover. Why would he, when he had the most amazing man right at home? Jun accepted Sho for everything he was. There were no secrets between them, no need to keep appearances. And Jun was gorgeous too. Their bodies and souls couldn’t be more attuned to each other. He was a vampire, sure, but nobody had ever made Sho as happy as he was those years. There wasn’t the fear in the back of Sho’s mind about their future because they were the same. He had a taste of what his ideal life could be for decades.

Calling it a mere disappointment wouldn’t be enough. He felt betrayed. He had been acting on the assumption that they were on the same page, that they wanted the same things. But given how little concern Jun showed when Sho told him what happened, he’d need to reevaluate their relationship.

To think I was considering making him my consort. Sho looked at the pair of betrothal rings he had purchased in preparation for his proposal. His first instinct was to throw them into the sea, but he didn’t have the heart to do it. He had a slight hope that when the time came, he’d still be able to make Jun his consort instead of just a clan member.

He avoided both Jun and Naruse for a few days. The former because Sho was mad at him, the latter for causing the incident that started it all. Why the heck had Naruse kissed him anyway!? Was he really into Sho? From their talk, Sho gathered that he was perhaps one of those men who wanted to have one or two trysts with other men to experiment, to satisfy their curiosity. In any case, he was not in the mood for that. Although every time he thought of Jun’s response, he considered hooking up with Naruse out of spite.

The first of the two of them to approach him was Naruse. Sho was walking on the beach when he came up to him and asked to talk.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” Naruse said. “It was rude of me.”

Sho shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“Is it? You took off running afterward. I assumed I had offended you.”

“You did not,” Sho replied. “I was just… surprised. I didn’t see it coming at all.”

Naruse laughed. “Well, if it makes it any better, I didn’t see it coming either!”

Sho snorted. He couldn’t help laughing too. “And? What did you think of your first kiss with a man?”

Naruse pursed his lips. “I don’t know,” he said. “It was cut too short for me to tell. I’d need to do it again.”

Sho arched an eyebrow at him. “You want to repeat it?”

“Only if you’re willing,” Naruse replied.

Sho had to smile at that. He bit his lip, looking straight into Naruse’s eyes. He ran his tongue along his lower lip and had to suppress a smirk when Naruse followed the movement and gulped. Ah, what the hell…

Sho leaned in. Naruse was quick to follow his lead.

They started slow, with short pecks and their lips closed. Then, Sho lingered a bit longer. He smiled when Naruse cupped his face, tilting his head to the side. Sho parted his lips as he felt the tip of Naruse’s tongue prodding between them. He moaned as Naruse’s tongue slipped alongside his own. Their tongues played as the kiss deepened.

They pulled apart to catch their breath. They exchanged sheepish smiles, their foreheads still touching. Then, Naruse locked his lips with Sho’s again.

“I suppose this means you did like it,” Sho whispered on Naruse’s lips. He laughed when Naruse replied by giving him another kiss.

“I knew I would,” Naruse said. “I wanted to kiss you again anyway.”

When Naruse tried to pull him into his lap, Sho had to stop him. He covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it,” he said. “You’re fantastic, but I really, really shouldn’t be doing this with you.”

Naruse grabbed his hands to look at his face. “How come?”

Sho sighed. “Because I have someone already.”

“Oh?” Naruse raised his eyebrows. “I thought you were single. I haven’t seen you with anyone this past year.”

“Yeah, I know…” Sho lowered his head. “It’s… complicated, I guess? We’re technically not a couple—he was quite emphatic about that the last time we talked. But I…”

Naruse smiled knowingly. “You love him, don’t you?”

Sho blushed. “Would it be pathetic if I said I do?”

“Not at all,” Naruse replied, patting Sho’s cheek. “It’s a bit of a disappointment for me, but he’s a lucky man.”

They stayed friends; there were no hard feelings between them at all. They hung out just as often as before, to learn more about each other’s hobbies. Jun seemed to be convinced that there was more than that going on between them. He called them a couple, in a tone dripping with resentment. He even accused Sho of neglect sometimes.

“You promised to teach me how to fight, but you haven’t been doing it as often as I need it!” Jun complained to him with a frown etched on his face. “In case you forgot, Sho-san, you’re my mentor. It’s part of your duty to train me.”

“Jun-san, you need to relax a bit,” Sho said. “You’re working on the fields every day. I’ve seen that you’re alternating two hours of work with one of indoor training, which is good enough to protect your skin, but it doesn’t give you much time to rest. I thought you could use a break!”

“I don’t need a break! I need you to keep your word!” Jun snapped. “Is it always going to be like this when there’s a new guy in your life? Are you going to forget that I exist!?”

The piteous look in his eyes made Sho melt. “It’s nothing like that, Jun-san,” Sho replied. “If you think you can handle it, then fine, we’ll train every day. But don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

Naruse was amused when Sho told him that they’d have to cut down on the time they spent fishing because of Jun’s request. “Good for you, Sho-chan,” he said. “If he’s jealous enough to make excuses to spend more time with you, it means he feels the same way.”

The following months were quite busy for Sho. There were his duties as an overseer, not to mention that he had to entertain the guests coming from the continent and other islands, as well as manage the correspondence that arrived at the castle. He had his group of younglings, future clan members, who needed to strengthen their abilities before they were inevitably sent away from Sho after they came of age. And he also made time to hang out with Naruse.

However, the one keeping him the busiest was Jun. He demanded Sho’s attention, without ever admitting that all that training was just a way to keep Sho by his side. Or, well, perhaps he just really wanted to become a warrior, and it was all Sho’s wishful thinking.

The next summer Naruse told Sho that he wanted to leave. “I’ve had a wonderful time with you, Sho-chan, but I should probably head back. My poor sister must think I’m dead!”

To be honest, Sho didn’t feel that sad when Naruse announced it. He held a small celebration in Naruse’s honor the afternoon before he set sail. Naruse had decided to leave after dusk, reasoning that it was easier to navigate when the stars were out. The mood was quite lively. Everyone at the castle was fond of Naruse. They gave him tons of gifts to take home.

Naruse kissed Sho on the cheek right before boarding. “This isn’t our last goodbye, Sho-chan,” he said. “We’ll meet again, either in this life or the next one.”

Sho stayed on the beach until Naruse’s little ship disappeared in the distance. He was surprised to find Jun standing behind him when he turned to leave.

“How are you, Sho-san?” Jun asked. He sounded quite concerned.

“I’m fine,” Sho replied.

Jun pulled him for a tight hug. “You know you don’t need to pretend with me, right?”

Sho started crying, and it was entirely Jun’s fault. He gave Sho such a loving look after saying those words that it made his heart twinge. How long had it been since Jun looked at him that way? How long since his voice had sounded that soft when they talked? Sho had missed it, and he didn’t even know it until that moment.

Jun probably misinterpreted it. “It’s alright, Sho-san. Let it out,” he said, rubbing Sho’s back softly. “I’m here. I’m right here.”

Sho clung to him, still so affected that he couldn’t stop sobbing. Jun held him close, whispering comforting words in Sho’s ear. Sho didn’t have to ask him to stay with him that night. They went to bed together and woke up in each other’s arms. Seeing Jun’s beautiful face right after opening his eyes made Sho get emotional again.

Jun thought it was his yearning for Naruse that made him languish that way. He said that to everyone. “Breakups always hit him hard. This time he’s taking it better, though.”

Sho was yearning indeed, just not for the person Jun presumed it was. He found it amusing that the one comforting him was the one who made him feel like that in the first place.

Like the time Sho broke up with Take, Jun allowed Sho to act clingy with him. He didn’t mind it when Sho followed him around. If anything, he seemed relieved to keep him close. When Sho started testing the waters to see if he could get away with some more intimate physical contact, he found Jun receptive to his advances. Jun would let Sho caress him while they cuddled. He didn’t protest when Sho gave him kisses, although Sho had yet to try kissing him on the mouth.

He wants it, Sho thought to himself one night as they were spooning. He had an arm around Jun’s body and was kissing his nape. Jun let out a little moan when Sho pressed closer to him. He looked at Sho over his shoulder with blushing cheeks.

Sho pulled on Jun’s nagajuban to bare one of his shoulders. He left kisses all along it while he moved his hand to Jun’s crotch and started fondling him through his clothes. Jun closed his eyes, gasping. He ground his hips, rubbing his ass against Sho’s cock. Sho followed suit, making sure Jun could feel how hard he was.

Jun undid his obi. He took Sho’s hand and slipped it under his undergarments, guiding it to the base of his cock. “S-Sho-san…” he moaned, throwing his head back when Sho started pumping him. He bit the pillow when he came, trying to muffle his screams.

Jun lay on his back, looking up at Sho. He finished removing his undergarments as Sho brushed some stray strands of hair out of his face. He closed his eyes when he felt Sho leaning in for a kiss. He undressed Sho while they locked lips, parting his legs to make space for Sho between them.

Making love to Jun again was something he couldn’t describe. Nothing compared to the feeling he had when Jun looked up at him, eyes glowing purple with lust, to watch him get consumed by passion while Sho brought him to the edge. And as he basked in the aftermath of their climax, his expression would get so soft, so tender, that Sho would be overcome with protectiveness. If he could see Jun smile at him like that every day, with those rosy cheeks and shining, joyful eyes, he’d say his life was worth something.

Things got back to normal after that night. They didn’t discuss it, as was usual between them. Sho didn’t know how things stood with Jun. Or, rather, he did, but he wished there was a way to change them.

*

Jun didn’t like Take Seiji much, but he hated Naruse Ryo.

He ruined everything! All that Jun had accomplished after decades of being by Sho’s side was gone in an instant after that man showed up. He knew it was partially his fault for withdrawing the moment that he learned whose reincarnation Naruse was. Just to hear the family name Ohmiya was enough for him to know that he couldn’t win against that man, so he decided to not even try to compete. He watched sadly as Sho got closer and closer to Naruse until the inevitable happened and they kissed.

Sho had come to his room to tell him right away, the insensitive bastard. Had he any idea of how much it hurt Jun to hear it directly from him? It was bad enough that Sho had gone from worrying constantly and hovering over Jun, after that incident where he was unconscious for a week, to barely dedicating a couple of hours a day to him. With them becoming a couple, things would only get worse. It was unacceptable!

To distract himself, Jun worked outdoors every day. He took care of the garden and went out to the fields with some men. It allowed him to bond with the human servants, which helped a lot towards making him feel more normal again.

He found that so many years of doing nothing hadn’t been good for his body. “My arms and legs used to be much stronger before I was turned,” he told Sho. “I have no muscles now. I look like a noodle, it’s frustrating!”

Sho only laughed. “Give it some time,” he said. “You’re doing physical work every day, I’m sure your muscles will go back to their former glory.”

Not that you’ll notice or care when they do, Jun thought to himself with annoyance.

Eventually, he managed to guilt Sho into training with him. He knew it was underhanded to remind Sho of his duties as a mentor to get more attention, but what else was he to do? It wasn’t a lie that he needed to train. Vampires lived like noblemen, but they needed to know how to fight to survive. Jun found the training most invigorating. It was hard and his body ached in places he didn’t know it could ache after it, but it was fun. After years of idleness, going to bed feeling tired due to all the activity during his day was a welcome change.

He was surprised by how strong and fast Sho turned out to be. “You’ll get to this level too,” Sho said. Like the other vampire abilities, these also had a learning curve.

Sho could lift him with one hand. He could overpower Jun and have him trapped in just a couple of moves. Jun found that arousing. He also hoped to be able to do the same to him someday. It frustrated him that Sho didn’t seem nearly as affected by it all. He could be half-nude in front of Sho, wiping his sweat after their exercise, and Sho would not react. His self-esteem took a big hit because of it.

When the time came for the harvest, Jun felt quite proud that he could cook Sho—and everyone, but he only did it for Sho—a delicious meal, made with the ingredients grown in their lands. Sho praised the food even more than he had praised Naruse’s ability to cook fish and shellfish, which Jun counted as a small victory for him.

The day Naruse left, Jun could finally breathe again. Except for the last thing Naruse told Sho before getting on his ship.

“This isn’t our last goodbye, Sho-chan. We’ll meet again, either in this life or the next one.”

The words were on his mind constantly for days. It could happen again, that one of Sho’s past lovers returned. Not now, surely, but perhaps in a hundred years. Take Seiji appeared around a hundred years ago. He could come back again by then!

Even when Sho returned to his arms, he could think of nothing but the day he’d have to step aside again and watch Sho fall for someone who would break his heart one way or another.

And then, a message from Lord Masaki arrived. It changed everything.



“His Majesty, the Elder of the East has approved the creation of your clan. I’ll be arriving in two months with the three younglings that remain at your palace for the ceremony,” Fuma read.

They were having dinner in a large room. The news caused much rejoicing among everyone present. While Sho wasn’t their sire, his followers had grown so fond of him that they refused to part ways. They had supported Sho’s idea from the very start. Jun was happy too; he had taken a liking to the other vampires. He felt a bit embarrassed that they all called him Jun-sama and treated him with even more deference than what they showed to Sho, especially when they explained that it was out of respect to Sho, given that he held Jun in high esteem.

“Someone from his Majesty’s court will be attending to bestow on you the symbols to represent your clan,” Fuma continued. “He offered to serve as the second witness for your betrothal ceremony. His Majesty is sending gifts for the two of you from the continent, hoping they will bless your union. I suppose I do not need to tell you what an honor this is.”

Sho cursed between his teeth as the others looked at him in shock. Jun noticed that they shifted from looking at Sho to looking at him after a moment.

“Is this for real, aniki!?” Masuda asked. His tone was full of excitement. “Did Jun-sama accept!?”

“I… I’m sorry,” Sho sighed, looking at Jun. His face had turned a bit red. “I’ve been meaning to talk about that with you, Jun-san. Would you… would you come with me for a moment?”

Jun nodded in response and followed Sho out of the room towards his private chamber under everyone’s curious gaze. He sat on a cushion, waiting patiently while Sho looked for something. It turned out to be an inro, which contained a small pouch. And in the pouch were two gold rings. Jun felt his face getting warmer when Sho showed them to him. He tried to calm himself down, to avoid getting his hopes up before Sho spoke. He hadn’t mentioned it. Maybe he changed his mind.

“So, you know some vampires take a consort at some point of their lives…” Sho started. “There are two ceremonies for it. Of course, there must be a proposal first, where the eldest of the two vampires offers a ring to his intended…”

Jun clenched his hand, resisting the temptation to just hold it out to Sho. “I’ve heard of it, yes.”

Sho cleared his throat. He looked nervous. “The rings are forged as a sole piece, and then cut in half, leaving two bands with patterns that align when stacked over each other,” he said. “It’s because the two partners are two halves of a whole, who become one after their nuptials.”

“I thought vampire nuptials weren’t about romance!”

“They used to be, back when the First was young and long before vampires took over the Earth,” Sho replied with a grin. “Our rituals haven’t changed a lot, even if our community has. That’s why the ring is still worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. The First hailed from a place where it was thought that a vein ran straight from it to the heart.”

Jun hummed. “And you want to have a consort now?”

Sho frowned. “Not a consort, Jun-san. I want you to be my consort!”

Both blushed after Sho’s words. Jun’s heart was racing. It’s really happening!

“W-Why?” Jun asked, looking away. “I thought you preferred humans in the first place.”

Sho sighed. He cupped Jun’s face and made him meet his gaze. “Because I can’t imagine being without you. No, let me rephrase that: I refuse to be without you,” he said. “Once you come of age, we could end up separated in a relocation. If you’re my betrothed, I get to keep you close. Always. And that’s… that’s what I want my life to be like, Jun-san.”

Jun’s eyes filled with tears. He covered his face with the sleeve of his kimono. He managed not to cry, but he was sure that he was still smiling like an idiot when he uncovered his face.

“Okay,” he said. He held out his hand, shaking a little. “I accept.”

Sho took his hand and brought it to his lips. “I haven’t told you everything about it. You might want to wait for an explanation.”

“I know I’ll say yes,” Jun replied with a laugh.

“Still, I need to tell you everything,” Sho said with a serious expression. “It’s a life-changing decision, Jun-san. I want you to meditate on it before giving me a definitive answer.”

The betrothal ceremony required the two vampires to make a blood pact. They’d swear their undying loyalty to each other before two witnesses, who had to be over three thousand years old. They both would pour some of their blood into a silver goblet, along with a drop of blood of each witness, which would then be filled with red wine to the brim. The eldest vampire would drink from the mixture first, and then bring the goblet to the other’s lips to consume the rest of it. From that moment, they’d be recognized as betrothed partners.

“The nuptials typically take place a thousand years later. However, because neither of us is over a thousand years old, Lord Masaki said we’d need to wait two thousand years.”

Jun’s eyes went wide. “That’s too long!”

“It’s only a fraction of our lifespan when you think of it,” Sho replied with a grin. “Betrothed couples get to live together, just like the ones who have already gone through their nuptials. The difference is that they can still renounce their vows.”

The vows had to be renewed every hundred years, on the same date, and preferably at the same location. If they failed to do so three times in a row, the blood pact was nullified, and they were free to take a different consort. The renewal had to be done in complete secrecy so that the two souls could start becoming one. All powers that each vampire possessed were gradually passed on to their consort after the betrothal. It formed a bond between them that was much stronger than any mental link, connected to something denominated the Soul Realm.

“That’s why they’re used for alliances,” Sho explained. “Two clans can be merged after their leaders’ nuptial ceremony.”

To give an example, the head of the Ikuta clan up north had just had his nuptials with the head of the Oguri clan, from the same island. Now their territory of influence extended to at least half of the entire island. And while they were rather peaceful people, it meant that the overseer and Lord Masaki would need to keep a closer eye on them, for their increased power gave them more of a sway in vampire affairs.

“In our case, we’d share the position as heads of our clan,” Sho said. “The ceremony to create the clan requires all members, including you, to swear loyalty to me. Then, after our betrothal, the pact between us would extend that vow of loyalty to you as well.”

Jun took a deep breath. “Okay. I understand it all now.”

Sho beamed when Jun held out his left hand again. He slid the ring on the fourth finger and then brought Jun’s hand to his lips, kissing right over his ring. “Through this ring, your heart shall be joined to mine,” he said.

Jun slid Sho’s ring on his finger afterward. He also kissed the ring on Sho’s hand, blushing when he stared into Sho’s eyes. And while he was ecstatic at that moment, he couldn’t stop himself from getting doubts later.



Lord Masaki arrived around a month later. He congratulated them on the decision they had made.

“Joining your souls for eternity, though. Are you sure, Jun-pon?” Masaki asked. “I mean, he’s the one getting lucky here, you’re perfect. But he’s kind of a pain in the ass, isn’t he? Are you sure you want to live with that for the rest of your life? You know you have two thousand years to change your mind, right?”

Jun burst out laughing as Sho protested that Lord Masaki was trying to talk his intended partner out of their vows before their betrothal even happened.

“Rest assured, my lord,” Jun said. “I know I can back out anytime. But I don’t think I will.”

After the courtier, Inohara Yoshihiko, arrived, the preparations for both ceremonies started. The ceremony to join Sho with the others as a clan would come first. There were eleven vampires in total, swearing eternal and unconditional loyalty to him. Inohara gifted Sho with a dagger, which had a golden hilt and red gems encrusted into it. Sho had to slash his wrist and let each new member of his clan drink his blood. Jun was the last, and he licked Sho’s wound to heal it.

To ensure the ceremony had worked, Sho had to give a mental command to his new clan members. It could be anything at all, the strangest the better. He had them do a spin and then fall to their knees. Lord Masaki smiled at him. He put on a black silk coat over Sho’s shoulders, bearing their new clan’s crest: a cherry blossom in the middle of a circle. Sho, in turn, gifted each clan member a crimson sleeveless surcoat, bearing the same crest.

They had a long celebration until before dawn, for two of the clan members were still vulnerable to sunlight. Then, Lord Masaki and Inohara whisked Jun away to the room reserved for them.

“It’s a tradition that you don’t see each other for a week before the ceremony,” Masaki explained to Sho, giggling. “Don’t worry, he’ll be in good hands!”

Jun could hear Sho still grumbling outside after Masaki and Inohara shut the door on his face. The two of them laughed at it.

“You guys are terrible. We couldn’t even say goodbye!” Jun said, shaking his head. He had to admit that he, too, was quite amused.

“You’ll have enough alone time after the ceremony,” Masaki wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Three days of ritual mating, all by yourselves. Should be fun.”

Inohara laughed and brought out a little box. It contained a light green powder. “Want to try it?” he asked Jun with a smirk.

Feeling curious, Jun dabbed his fingertip on the powder. Then, he put it in his mouth. He gasped when he felt his body heating up right away, and placed a cushion over his crotch, where he felt that an erection was forming. He blushed as both Masaki and Inohara laughed.

“This is a very powerful aphrodisiac for vampires, used to make the treats a couple must consume before the ritual mating,” Inohara said. “It gives you a constant arousal, as well as enough stamina to keep having intercourse for a long time without pausing to rest or eat.”

“I’ve tried it before. It’s pretty strong!” Masaki said between giggles.

Jun gave him a surprised look. “You have?”

“Oh, it was a long time ago! There wasn’t even a war back then,” Masaki said. “The use of this aphrodisiac is restricted to ritual mating now, but back then anyone who could pay for it could get some. Ken-kun was the one who first gave me some. It was a wild week.”

“He means his Majesty,” Inohara said, shaking his head. “He was known as Prince Ken from the House of Miyake before the war.”

“Ken-kun is my sire. I’ve only seen him in person a few times since the war ended two thousand years ago,” Masaki said. “It’s because of work, you know. I was sent to Sunrise Land to become its ruler, so it’s inevitable.”

Inohara frowned. “I thought you were the one who chose to come over here. His Majesty said that he wanted to keep you in his court.”

Masaki’s eyes widened a little, his cheeks turning a bit pink. “What? No, no, he must have forgotten!” he said with a laugh. “He’s the one who told me to come over here.”

It sounded to Jun like he was hiding something, so he made a mental note to ask him later if they were ever alone.

The only two other people allowed to come into the room were Nakamaru and Kamenashi since Jun was their sire. They dropped by in the evening to check on Jun and bring him some refreshments. They were laughing when they walked into the room.

“We just walked past Sho-sama and Ueda-kun,” Kamenashi said with a grin. “Ueda-kun had to tackle him so that we could pass.”

“I think he’s been hanging around this room’s door all day,” Nakamaru added.

Jun couldn’t hide how much it pleased him to hear that. He was even happier when Nakamaru gave him Sho’s coat, saying that Sho had asked for Jun’s in exchange. They stayed until a bit after midnight when they decided to turn in because dawn was approaching. Jun was left alone with Masaki, so he decided to bring up the topic about King Miyake.

“Is it true that his Majesty asked you to stay at his court?”

Masaki blushed a little. He nodded. “After the War ended, he was designated by the First as one of the Four Elders. He proposed to me.”

Jun gasped. “And?”

“I said no,” Masaki replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Ken-kun, but I wasn’t ready for such a big commitment. We had spent thousands of years together, but I wanted to experience more on my own before I made a decision.”

“How did he take it?”

“Oh, he understood. He took it quite well,” Masaki said, averting his eyes from Jun. Something told him that it was a bit of a lie. “We weren’t in the same place, emotionally speaking. I wanted to see other people, and he didn’t. Nobody is to blame when that happens.”

Jun’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t help feeling bad after Masaki said that. “Wow, that’s… uh…” he bit his lip. “So… you think that if both partners aren’t ready to commit, I mean, if one of them still wants to, uh… pursue other men, then… m-maybe they shouldn’t…?”

“It depends,” Masaki said. “When it’s an alliance, it doesn’t matter. However, if you’re joining out of feelings, then it’s something you have to consider.”

“Right, right…” Jun nodded. He felt his eyes filling with tears. “Suppose that after decades of being together, one of the partners had a year-long relationship with someone else. And… then he proposed. What would you make of it?”

Masaki patted Jun’s back. He gave Jun a sympathetic look that made him start crying. “Have you talked to him about the way that made you feel?”

“I can’t!” Jun shook his head. He curled up into a ball. “It hurt so much, but we never… we didn’t say we were exclusive or anything, we just…”

Masaki shushed him and rubbed his back soothingly. He held Jun between his arms.

“I don’t know why he did that to me! What did I do wrong!?” Jun sniffed. “A-And then he goes ahead and asks me to do this!? I’m so confused! I don’t know how he feels about me, or if he’ll change his mind later and go after other men or—”

They both jumped when they heard a commotion outside. It sounded like someone was trying to break into the room. Masaki asked Jun to stay where he was and went outside to check. He came back a couple of minutes later.

“It’s Sho-chan,” Masaki said. “He sensed that you were distressed. If it wasn’t for the barrier that Inocchi created around this room, he would have broken the door.”

Jun’s heart started racing. He scrambled to his feet, but he was stopped by Masaki’s mind control when he took a few steps.

“You guys can’t see each other until the ceremony,” Masaki tutted at him. He grabbed Jun by his hand and made him sit in front of the wall next to the closed door. “He’s on the other side, Inocchi just stopped him. We’ll allow you to use telepathy, but you cannot use words. Is that clear?”

Jun felt excitement bubbling up in his chest as he placed his hands on the wall. He sent a tug through the mental link, to signal he was ready. He was immediately flooded by a torrent of Sho’s feelings, which was so strong he was left sobbing on the floor. He was drowning in a sea of warmth, so comforted he didn’t even reply at first and just basked in it. But then he realized how upset Sho was and sent him a response to ease his worries.

They sat there, looking at the wall, sharing their emotions through their link for hours until Jun’s energy gave out. When he opened his eyes again, Kamenashi was back and informed him he had slept for a whole day.

“You overexerted yourself, Jun-sama. That isn’t good,” he said in a tone that tried to be reproachful but came off too playful for Jun to take it seriously. “Sho-sama has been sitting in front of the door since you passed out. He feels guilty.”

Jun’s instinct was to try using telepathy, but he was so weak that it wasn’t possible. He sighed and picked up the cup of blood in front of him. “Tell him that I’m okay and he can leave now,” he said. “He needs to rest too.”

Kamenashi did as he was told and returned a couple of minutes later, laughing. “He refused to leave, but Ueda-kun just picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. They’re gone now.”

Masaki came back a couple of hours later. He ordered more blood and food to be brought into the room for Jun after checking him up. “You need to recover as much energy as you can before the ceremony. If you’re still up for it, that is.”

Jun looked down. He was fiddling with the hem of one of the coats he was wearing. “Do you think I should do it?”

“Only you can tell,” Masaki replied. “From what I saw, both of you have strong enough feelings for each other. But if you think he isn’t ready to commit…”

“He is,” Jun said, blushing. “He just needs time to figure it out, I guess. Part of him probably still wants to be with humans, but I think his soul has already decided.”

Masaki hummed, furrowing his eyebrows in thought. “You know… the Elders recommend that betrothed couples, even those who join out of love, don’t remain exclusive partners before the nuptial ceremony. Instead, they encourage couples to be friends and pursue other people,” he said. “They believe that if couples have other romantic partners yet choose to return to their consort, that’s a greater proof that they’re right for each other than if they just stay together for a thousand years.”

Jun raised his eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” he said. “I think I could tolerate it.”

Besides, sooner or later those two will return, he thought to himself. It’s better for me to get used to it from the start.

“I also think it’s the right way,” Masaki said. “Sho-chan and you are so young. Having some variety could benefit you both.”

Later that day, Jun felt Sho poking at their link. He laughed and sent him back a few short caresses, to assure him that everything was alright.

He had made up his mind about the future of their relationship. He hoped Sho would understand.



Part Three