A raindrop for bon_san! (4/4)

[stormies]

After hundreds of years, Sunrise Land was under the control of one man again. The new shogun, who had the Emperor’s full approval, moved his headquarters to Edo, which happened to be one of the areas the vampires had defended. His victory might have been owed in part to not having to fear an invasion of his lands due to the vampire army’s actions.

Most of the vampire troops wouldn’t retreat to the vampire lands until the general situation stabilized more and they were certain another period of war wouldn’t ensue. For the ones who did return right away, Sho and Jun released most of them from their temporary vows of loyalty. Many asked for permission to form new branches under their parent clans. The process implied that the members of the branch would vow loyalty to the one chosen to lead it, who would in turn renew his vow of loyalty to the clan’s head. One new clan was added as well. The Sakurai clan was still the largest on the island, counting a total of over three thousand vampires among the members of its seven branches.

“All of us can’t remain at the vampire territory,” Kazama told Lord Masaki. “We can’t keep our existence veiled from humans if we stay here.”

“We’ll have to live among the humans, then,” Masaki decided.

The clans chose a region to occupy each, following the five divisions that humans had made. They had accumulated enough wealth to live comfortably. They bought lands and started businesses, positioning themselves among the noble or merchant classes. The clans’ leaders spent most of their time at their clan’s ancestral homes, the palaces located within the vampire lands.

Most of the Sakurai clan’s members were sent in pairs to live with members of the other clans, to facilitate their role as overseers. Around three hundred stayed within the eastern region, one hundred of them patrolling the vampire lands.

The clans from the other islands had a major restructuring as well. There were eight in total, two per island. One was reserved for the overseers, and the other was led by a vampire lord. Carrying weapons was restricted to select members from the overseer clans. It helped the rest of the vampires blend in with the general population after the shogun prohibited civilians from carrying weapons. They weren’t defenseless without them anyway.

The biggest change that the new system brought, however, was that the vampires couldn’t remain outside of politics. Lord Aiba was considered an important ally by the shogun. Sure, he hadn’t joined the shogun’s campaign to overthrow other warlords and force the noblemen to bow their heads to the shogun, but without his actions, the war would have lasted much longer.

“I have received an invitation to spend some time at Edo, with the shogun,” Masaki said, gnawing on his lower lip. “I don’t think it’s optional.”

Kazama gave Sho and Jun a grave look. “The Elder of the East said that this doesn’t constitute a violation of our vows, but he’s urged us to remember that we are not to intentionally do anything that could bring us total power.”

It appeared that vampires had been getting involved in world politics quite often during the past few centuries, something that was unheard of in Sunrise Land due to it being isolated from the continent. The vampires mostly dissuaded humans from initiating inter-realm wars and invasions, like the time the Elder of the West managed to prevent Northern humans from conquering the Western Realm, or the time a vampire lord from the South, in cooperation with vampire lords from the North and East, devised a plan to dismantle inter-realm slave trade. There was only one thing that the Elders absolutely forbid when engaging the humans in that manner unless the situation was dire.

“I can’t reveal myself to be a vampire,” Masaki sighed. “This will be tough.”

In Lord Masaki’s absence, the heads of the five clans from the main island would remain in charge of keeping communication with the other islands and the continent, as well as any problem that could arise. He’d keep in touch with them via telepathy.

What excited Sho the most about the present circumstances was that he’d finally get some quality time with Jun.

After their fifth vow renewal, they hadn’t lived together for more than a few months in a row at most. And even during those times, they weren’t exactly together. The last time they were lovers rather than friends was when Jun got so jealous of one of Yuuji’s incarnations that he confronted Sho about it. But after a few years, with all the work they needed to do, their relationship went back to the usual. It wasn’t that Sho disliked it, he loved being Jun’s friend, being there for him, and knowing that Jun always got his back; he just wanted more sometimes. Distance and duty made it impossible for him to demand it, but now he could try it again.

They had been betrothed for almost a thousand years. They still had a long time to go before their nuptials. Neither of them had wavered on their resolution to bind their souls forever. While they had spent hundreds of years apart, their hearts remained close to each other.

Adjusting to living together again made them both feel a bit awkward. Their palace needed to get some maintenance, so they temporarily moved into Lord Masaki’s castle. It was the first time they shared living quarters since their third vow renewal, before the first war started. After that, they had only shared a bed occasionally, during the week they spent together after renewing their vows or when they hooked up. The two of them were rigid when they got into bed the first day. Neither could sleep.

“This is ridiculous,” Sho said with a sigh. He lay on his side and looked at Jun. “Since when do we get so self-conscious?”

Jun blushed when their eyes met. “It’s been so long since I slept next to anyone.”

Sho clicked his tongue. “On your side,” he said, motioning Jun to turn with his back to Sho. Then, he slipped his arm around Jun’s waist. “There.”

Jun let out a little shriek when Sho pulled him closer. The poor thing was so tense, motionless as a statue. Sho could hear the frantic beating of his heart. “S-Sho-san… I… I don’t know if…”

“I’m nervous too,” Sho said in Jun’s ear. “I think my heart just jumped into my mouth when I touched you.”

Jun laughed and turned his head a bit to look at Sho. “Are we acting like idiots?”

It took them around a week to stop feeling so anxious around each other. The fact that they established a shared routine helped matters advance. They trained every day in the morning, they had their meals at the same time, and went out for walks every evening. They talked about all the things that they had shown each other through their bond but never had enough time to discuss.
Jun still didn’t want to hear about the two Ohmiya men. He didn’t read Sho’s notes on them either, saying he trusted Sho’s judgment on the matter. “Whatever transpired between you and them, it’s none of my business,” he said.

There wasn’t much of interest that could be said about Sho’s encounters with both men. Sure, he’d hooked up with a couple of Yuuji and Taka’s reincarnations, but the affairs didn’t last that much. It wasn’t for a lack of attraction. Both men, especially Yuuji, were extremely enticing to Sho. The attachment that he once had to both of them didn’t develop, though, and only part of it was due to the unfavorable circumstances. Jun’s hold on his heart was stronger than Sho thought; he learned that during their separation. Every time they met again, even if it was just for a few days, he became more and more aware of it.

In the time Jun was away, he had grown into a more confident man, a capable leader. He’d come out of his shell and cultivated good relationships with many high-ranked vampires. And yet, he retained some of the softness he had back when Sho met him. Once he lowered his guard, he showed more of that side in front of Sho. He was still clumsy whenever he was handling something that wasn’t a weapon, and some of the things he said made him sound like an airhead instead of a master military strategist.

The kitten is still there, Sho thought to himself with a grin while he saw Jun apologizing to a couple of servants for making a complete mess in their treasure room when he was looking for a silk robe he’d gotten as a present from the Emperor two hundred years earlier.

Sho liked to think that he had changed for the better too. Jun said that he was more level-headed than he used to be. “I’ve heard you haven’t had a temper tantrum in a couple of centuries. That’s great progress!” Jun said with a teasing smile.

They spent their time at the castle rediscovering how it was to live together. They had their tenth vow renewal and celebrated it at their renovated palace with some of their clan members. Sho confirmed by that day that, regardless of the separation, his love for Jun had only grown. There wasn’t anyone he’d rather have as his life companion.



The architects had discovered that the hot spring within the palace’s grounds was much larger than Sho and Jun thought. Given how popular hot springs were becoming around the country, they decided to build a larger bathhouse and turn a couple of the palace’s wings into rooms for tourists. It meant that, for the first time, Sho and Jun would live together at the main building.

This new business venture was a success. Sho and Jun ran the place, along with some of their clan members. Men and women flocked to their bathhouse, and they soon became known in the region as a good destination for people who wanted to relax. They offered entertainment and great food on top of the hot springs and beautiful accommodations, not to mention their beautiful gardens and proximity to a gorgeous forest, which made their customers quite happy.

They had been living that way for years without ever having more intimacy than two regular friends would. Sho wasn’t content with the situation, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

They were taking a bath together on a winter afternoon. They didn’t have many visitors at that moment, but they expected tourists would arrive once the season changed. Their gardens had a lot of cherry blossom trees, which made them a quite popular destination in the area during the early spring.

Sho stared at Jun all the time while he washed his body. He felt lust immediately coursing through his veins. Jun seemed to be oblivious, though. He stood next to Sho when he got into the water and looked out into the distance. The view at sunset was gorgeous from that exterior bath. Of course, Sho wasn’t interested at all in that view.

Jun almost jumped when Sho put an arm around his waist. “What are you doing!?” he laughed nervously, blushing as he pushed Sho away.

Sho frowned at him. He pulled Jun by his waist again, this time bringing their bodies much closer. “You don’t want me to touch you?” he asked when Jun didn’t make any move to reciprocate.

Jun’s face lit up in understanding after Sho caressed the small of his back. “It’s not that, Sho-san,” he said, resting his hands on Sho’s chest. He suddenly looked a bit shy. “I just… I didn’t expect it. It’s been so long…”

“I know,” Sho said. As Jun wasn’t very responsive to his touches, he started getting a little worried. “Jun-san, do you still… want me? I-It’s okay if you don’t! I mean, it’d be understandable if—”

Jun cut him off with a kiss. They made out in the water, getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies. Their mutual desire didn’t seem to have changed. Sho pressed Jun against a wall while they masturbated, moaning into each other’s mouth. They cleaned themselves after they came and put on their yukatas. They walked side by side back to their room, where they gave into a frenzy of passion.

“I’m so crazy about you, baby,” Sho said into Jun’s ear that night. “You mean everything to me.”

Jun choked up a little, blushing to the tip of his ears. He tried to hide his face, but Sho didn’t let him. “I feel the same way,” he admitted. “I adore you, Sho-san.”

They continued to spend every night in each other’s arms for a long time. Their domestic bliss went undisturbed until their eleventh vow renewal.



“We’re going to Edo,” Lord Masaki announced to Sho and Jun one day. “There’s a mission for the three of us there.”

They needed to spy on certain political figures and merchants. There were rumors of new disagreements growing between them, so they needed to go there directly and find out as much as they could. And to do so, they’d have to spend an indefinite time at the pleasure ward.

There was a vampire who had recently decided to open a tea house there. All the oirans and geisha performers who worked for him were vampires as well, and they were all men. The customers who attended knew that last part—it was precisely what led them to become regulars. It was an extremely convenient business for creatures like them, who were able to incite lust in humans and used it to feed on them.

“I’m thinking Jun-pon should be an oiran,” Masaki said. “Sho-chan and I could be geishas instead.”

Sho arched an eyebrow at him. “Do they really make a distinction where we’re going?”

Masaki smirked. “Not at all,” he said with a laugh. “Oh, but the clothes are different!”

Jun wasn’t happy about having to wear the bulky outfit of an oiran. Like Masaki said, making some vampires get disguised as oirans and others disguise as geishas was only meant to make this brothel look like any other in the pleasure district. The customers could request sexual services from any vampire, regardless of their costume. The ones dressed as oirans had higher rates, of course, and offered a wider variety of services. The vampires were at liberty to use seduction on the humans and drink their blood instead of engaging in sexual activities. It wouldn’t make a difference to the humans anyway, pleasure-wise.

When they started, Jun made Sho promise that he wouldn’t top humans. “Your cock is mine,” he said. “If I could have it my way, I’d rather nobody else even touched it, but I’m content if you just don’t stick it inside them.”

Sho was amused by the way Jun said it, but he could sense it was important for him, so he promised to do as Jun said. He didn’t make Jun promise him anything of the sort, though.

Their mission was a big success. Jun became one of the most sought-after oiran in a very short time. Men very close to the imperial court and the shogun had become enchanted with him. He was elevated to the rank of tayuu on his third year at the pleasure quarters.

They had been able to get a lot of valuable information from reading the minds of their customers or using mind control to make them talk. It put them at ease to know that it wasn’t a rebellion but a reform that was being discussed.

One night during the second year of their mission, a man who was only known by the nickname of Bocchan showed up. Sho immediately identified him as Ohmiya Yuuji.

Bocchan was alone when Sho came out to perform. His face had grown red while he watched Sho dance. Sho wasn’t surprised at all that he asked for Sho to join him at his table after the performance ended.

“Is this your first time here?” Sho asked, grinning as Bocchan nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. “Did you know what kind of place it was?”

“Not at all,” Bocchan said. “But I should have known the Porcupine was into guys. He gets way too excited when we go to the kabuki performances.”

“Porcupine?” Sho raised an eyebrow, chuckling. “That’s an interesting nickname.”

“There’s also the radish and the red coat,” Bocchan said with a grin. “I have to admit that last one isn’t very imaginative, but it’s not my fault he wears the same damn thing every day! It’s irritating!”

Sho laughed. “And what about you?”

“They call me Bocchan.”

Sho hummed. “Should I call you that too?”

“Yes, please,” Bocchan said. “And you? What’s your name?”

“Call me Sho.”

Bocchan just talked to Sho that night. He left when his three companions returned to the table a couple of hours later from the service area. A couple of nights later, he was back by himself. And soon, he became a regular.

For the first few months, Bocchan only dropped by to have some drinks and talk to Sho. They’d play board games sometimes or get some musical instruments. He was skilled both with the biwa and the shamisen. He never told Sho what his job was or his real name.

The first time he requested additional services from Sho, his entire face was burning. “I only ever tried this with another guy when I was a teenager,” he said. “But, fuck, every time I come to see you, I can’t help wanting you even more.”

Sho laughed. “Alright. Follow me, then.”

He told Bocchan to wait outside of the room for a moment. He shared his quarters with Jun, using a folding screen to split the area in two when they had customers. Jun was resting on his bed, still nude from his encounter with the last customer. He grinned when he saw Sho come in.

“So? He finally decided to fuck you?”

Sho rolled his eyes and walked up to Jun’s bed. He sat next to it and planted a kiss on Jun’s lips once Jun sat up. “Help me loosen this thing, will you?”

Jun pouted. “Fine, turn around,” he said. He assisted Sho in getting the obi loose enough that Bocchan would only need to tug on it to disrobe him. Then, he sneakily started kissing Sho’s neck while groping his crotch.

“J-Jun-san…” Sho moaned, grabbing Jun’s hand to stop him.

“Remember what you promised me,” Jun said in his ear. He pulled Sho for another long kiss, leaving him breathless and a bit dazed. He smirked as Sho walked away with unsteady legs and used his telekinesis to prepare Sho’s bed and put the folding screen back in place.

Sho took a deep breath before opening the door. Bocchan was shuffling on his spot, looking quite flustered. “Ready?” Sho asked.

Bocchan nodded before following Sho inside.

They started slow. Bocchan moaned softly and closed his eyes when Sho pecked his lips. Sho continued giving him short kisses, waiting between kiss and kiss to let Bocchan pull back if he wished to do so. Bocchan started kissing back, first a little hesitant but getting more confident as he continued. Sho cupped his face and tilted his head. Bocchan parted his lips at Sho’s prompting. He was a little clumsy at kissing with tongue, but he was eager. They pulled back to get some air. Bocchan beamed at Sho and pulled him by the waist.

They continued making out for a long while. Bocchan was getting bolder, touching Sho’s body and letting Sho touch him as well. He tugged on Sho’s obi to remove it. Then, he pushed Sho to lie on the futon. He gulped when Sho opened his kimono and undergarments, revealing his toned body.

“Should I cover up again?” Sho asked with a smirk.

Bocchan shook his head and started undressing. He climbed on top of Sho, sporting a massive erection. He seemed at loss again, though. Sho guided him through the process of fingering and penetrating him. Bocchan grunted with every thrust; he was a little stiff at first, but with Sho’s encouragement and instruction, he started getting the knack of it. He came a little too soon and seemed a bit ashamed until Sho assured him it was normal. They resumed making out and, after a few minutes, Bocchan was aroused again. This time, he did much better, and he lasted longer too.

They had encounters like that at least once a week. Bocchan liked to give Sho little gifts during his visits. From those, Sho guessed he had to be quite wealthy. His occupation remained a mystery until Jun decided to read his mind: he was the son of a nobleman, and his mother was the shogun’s niece. He had come to Edo to make his own fortune. He became a merchant and was doing quite well.

Bocchan officially became Sho’s danna after a while, and he remained in that role until Sho retired from service ten years later—that was when Lord Masaki decided they had been long enough at Edo. Bocchan was sad upon hearing that Sho would be going back to the province where he was born, but he accepted it.

On the ride back home, they only had two horses. Jun would ride with Sho while Masaki went on his own. Jun sat behind, holding on tight to Sho by his waist.

“You kept your promise all these years,” he mumbled, sounding quite pleased. He used telepathy to wrap Sho in a joyful, warm cocoon. “You didn’t even let Bocchan touch your cock.”

“It’s not mine,” Sho replied, biting his lip. “It’s yours, Jun-san.”

Jun chuckled. “I should reward you, then.”

They resumed their lives just the way they were before they left. They continued managing their business and started thinking of expanding it. As Sho expected, he and Jun went back to being friends and occasionally hooking up, but he didn’t care at all.

He could be with Jun undisturbed for the first time in centuries. He wasn’t going to ruin it by getting too demanding.



Nearly a decade after their twelfth vow renewal, a ninja showed up at their door. He said his name was Mumon and that he had an important message for Lord Aiba.

“There’s a plan to restore the Emperor’s powers and overthrow the shogun,” Mumon told Masaki. “My master wants to know whether you’ll be a friend or a foe to us.”

Masaki cursed between his teeth. “Another war? Aren’t you people ever tired!?”

Mumon gave him a confused look. There hadn’t been any wars in two hundred years.

“The Aiba clan has historically remained neutral on matters like this,” Jun said. “We stayed out of the war that brought the shogun to power. We have remained on the sidelines since then.”

“Then you won’t oppose?” Mumon asked with a serious expression. “You won’t stop us?”

“As long as you stay out of our territory, we have no issue with whatever your master is planning,” Jun replied.

“Good!” Mumon grinned. “He’ll be arriving in three days to talk to you.”

Indeed, three days later, a group of men presided by no other than the Emperor himself came into the castle.

They got quite a shock when they saw the men’s attire. Those had to be foreign clothes. The trousers were less wide, their coats had a different structure from the traditional ones, and under them, they wore something that looked more form-fitting and short than kimonos. Their hair was cropped, barely reaching the ears. They carried a sort of firearm that the vampires had never seen before, much shorter than the ones they used.

The Emperor and his companions exposed their plan. Lord Masaki reiterated that the Aiba clan wouldn’t participate; they wouldn’t aid the shogun’s forces either. He just requested that their territory wasn’t affected by the war.

“That won’t do,” the Emperor said. “I’m afraid that you’ll have to choose a side, Lord Aiba. And I recommend that you do it fast.”

Masaki stood up. “Are you threatening me?”

The men surrounded him, aiming at him with their weapons. Sho and Jun immediately jumped into action. The Emperor gave an order to his men to open fire. Jun got two of the bullets they fired incrusted on his forearm, while Sho had one on his shoulder and another grazed his cheek. They managed to catch all the others on time.

The humans were quite shocked when Sho and Jun simply removed the projectiles from their bodies and tossed them to the floor. They dropped their weapons when, a second later, their wounds closed as though nothing had happened.

Masaki clicked his tongue. “Ah, this is no good! Now they’ve seen it!”

Before the Emperor could give the order to run, Lord Masaki activated his mind control and forced all humans to freeze in their spots. They looked at the three vampires in horror.

“What are you?” the Emperor asked.

Masaki chuckled. He opened his mouth, letting the fangs descend from his gums. “I am the Vampire Ruler of Sunrise Land, Aiba Masaki,” he said. “I’ve lived in this island since before there was even an Emperor.”

He walked up to the Emperor and grabbed his face. “You think I fear you, human? Please…” he snorted. “To me, you’re nothing more than an appetizer.”

To prove his point, he proceeded to bite the Emperor’s neck. The men watched in shock as the Emperor succumbed to Masaki’s powers, moaning and going limp in his arms. The Emperor was blushing when the effect passed, giving Masaki a look that was equal parts terrified and horny.

“I believe you’ll find there’s not much you can force me to do, your Majesty. But I…” Masaki smirked. “I could have you bend to my will anytime I want with so much as a look.”

That said, he forced the Emperor to get on his knees. Then, he patted the Emperor’s head.

“So… how about you reconsider your position, hmm?” Masaki giggled. “I would very much like you to leave this castle alive.”

“Why don’t you join us?” the Emperor asked. “We could rule together.”

Masaki rolled his eyes. “If I wanted to rule, don’t you think I’d be doing it by now?” he shook his head. “Vampires have made a vow of no interference with human issues. It’d be much easier to keep your dumb asses under control if we hadn’t done that, but this way is better for everyone. Trust me.”

“Then what would you have me do?”

“Whatever the fuck you want,” Masaki said with a shrug. “I don’t care in the slightest. Just don’t mess with me, and I promise to continue not interfering. Are we clear?”

The Emperor and his men made a vow of no aggression with the vampires. They offered to integrate vampires into the government as political advisors. Such an offer needed to be reviewed by all the vampire lords and consulted with the Elder of the East, though, so they decided to remain at the castle for a while.

Sho could swear that he saw the Emperor going into Masaki’s chambers that night. It could have been just his imagination, though. The one who did come into Sho’s chambers was Mumon. He was so intrigued by what happened to the Emperor that he wanted to experience it by himself. The idea of getting his blood sucked by a supernatural creature was quite fun to him.

“Come on, just a sip!” he told Sho, pouting when Sho continued to deny his request. “It looked like his Majesty was enjoying it!”

The man was an absolute pest. Sho agreed to do it only to get him to leave.

Around a week later, a letter arrived from the continent. The Elder of the East informed Masaki that vampires were acting as diplomats all over the globe. They were doing their best to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and to prevent cultures from disappearing. To promote forms of trade and negotiation that were beneficial to both sides. They had to reveal themselves to high-ranking government officials to do that. They used their powers to swear them to secrecy and took the role of advisors. It was interfering, in a way, but the Elders had agreed that it was necessary. They had to endure pointless human wars all over the globe for too long. If what the humans needed to get back on the right track was a push, they’d happily do it.

This encouraged Masaki to suggest to the Emperor and his men that they should make a peaceful transfer of power instead.

It wasn’t easy, but the dialogues were a success. The Shogun resigned and retired to his ancestral home, to peacefully enjoy the wealth inherited from his family. The Emperor became the maximum ruler once again, unifying all the territory under him and changing the country’s name to Japan. The warlords kept their lands and were granted titles as noblemen. They also obtained seats in the newly created parliament. The samurai were forced to choose between retirement and joining the Imperial Army, and Lord Masaki was appointed minister.

The following decades implied major changes. Trade with countries overseas became a lot more common. Technology that wasn’t available before became commonplace. Modernization had finally come to the Sunrise Land.

The last thing Sho expected was that it would affect his relationship with Jun.

*

Modernization was exactly what Jun craved.

For the first time in history, Sunrise Land was open to everything coming from the Northern, Southern, and Western Realms. Even some things from within the Eastern Realm that hadn’t ever arrived at their archipelago were available to everyone.

They stayed for a few years in Edo, to accompany Lord Masaki in his new role as a minister. They saw how the city started changing once foreigners were granted entrance to Sunrise Land. Some vampires, mostly diplomats and aristocrats from other Realms, also came along, after being granted special permissions from their Elders.

“The shogun was a fool!” Jun told Sho one of the many times they sat down together to discuss the new developments in the city. “He kept the archaic tradition of closing off borders, and for what!? To deprive us of progress!”

Sho laughed it off, but Jun was serious. He couldn’t believe that he’d been missing out on so much.

Jun had adopted Northern style clothing as soon as he could. He cropped his hair short and wore it combed back, as was the fashion in the North. He wore nothing but Northern suits, which he thought made his figure look much better than kimono.

Sho cut his hair too, but he didn’t like to comb it back. He wore it parted to the side, with bangs over his forehead. Jun thought Sho’s wide forehead was one of his most attractive features, so he wasn’t very pleased.

“Do you like my forehead that much?” Sho asked one time.

“It’s one of your charm points!”

Sho laughed, but he did start combing his hair back more often.

As for clothes, while Sho did occasionally wear Northern style clothing, he mostly stuck to wearing kimonos, and Jun had to say he preferred it that way. They didn’t hide Sho’s angled shoulders like the suits did with their shoulder pads.

Once electricity was available a couple of decades later, Jun convinced Sho to have their ryokan—for they had stopped calling it a palace—modified to benefit from it. That became quite the novelty at the time.

Around that year, their clan members approached them with an idea to build a vampire-only town in the clan’s lands. There was a particular spot in the mountains, not very far from the ryokan, where the conditions were ideal.

“We can produce our own food and goods,” they said. “We’ll need to come down and get blood every once in a while, but the rest of the time we can be there.”

It didn’t sound bad to Sho and Jun, so they permitted them to do so. Some clan members moved there permanently and only left the new town to feed on blood once or twice a month. Others had jobs in nearby settlements because they liked to interact with humans. They had guards at the town’s entrance, who cast illusions to prevent humans from walking into town.

“We should build our own house outside of the ryokan too,” Jun commented to Sho. “You know, somewhere we can be without the customers bothering us.”

“I don’t know…” Sho pursed his lips. “Wouldn’t it be annoying having to get up earlier to come here every day?”

“Well, we don’t need to be here so early, do we?”

Sho requested some time to think about it, but in the end, he agreed. He asked Jun where exactly he wished to have their home built, purchased the property from its human landowner, and then handed him the credentials to their newly created bank account.

“Go and have fun, baby,” he told Jun, kissing him on the lips. “I can’t wait to see our new home.”

With free rein to do whatever he wanted and an amount of money that could give him everything he wished, Jun chose to hire a famous vampire architect who had just arrived from the Northern Realm. He wanted their new manor to look like the famous Northern ones that he’d seen in artworks brought from overseas. He spared no expenses on its construction. The extravagant project took nearly two decades to be finished, and it had over a hundred rooms.

“This place is too big for us!” Sho said when he saw the completed manor. “What will we do with so many rooms?”

“You won’t be saying the same when all our children come here demanding to stay,” Jun replied.

Of course, he was right. The entire clan visited within the following weeks. And whenever a few left, more clan members dropped by. There was barely enough space to accommodate all of them comfortably. Sho praised Jun for his foresight, and given his success, he put Jun in charge of deciding what to do with the rest of their lands and money.

“Are you seriously putting all your fortune in my hands?” Jun asked him with a perplexed look. “This is a huge responsibility!”

“Don’t you mean our fortune?” Sho corrected him. “And I’m not worried. There isn’t anyone I trust more than you in this world.”

It was a truly touching gesture. Jun was determined to not let Sho down.

First, he decided to get into the trading business. Bringing luxury items from overseas seemed to be quite lucrative, so he decided to invest in it. There were talks of building railroads all across the country, which sounded to him as another great business opportunity. His final investment went into funding the country’s first Northern-style school. Its founder said that he wanted to dedicate it to western studies—given Sunrise Land’s geographical position, most of the inhabited world was located west of them.

His business moves were, thankfully, the right ones. Sho was very proud to hear about his successes. He bragged constantly at the summits, saying that Jun would make his clan the wealthiest in no time.

“Some clan members have business ideas,” Sho said. “I know we have enough money to finance them, and it wouldn’t be an issue if some of them failed, but I want you to revise their plans and give me your opinion before going ahead.”

To have yet another big responsibility in his hands filled Jun with joy. He set himself to the task of advising the clan members, sometimes rejecting the proposals, some others tweaking them to maximize their success. In a matter of a few decades, the Sakurai family, as they were known to the public, was participating in various industries, with enviable success rates. Following Jun’s example, the other clans started investing in the businesses that interested them, positioning themselves among Sunrise Land’s most successful businessmen.

For their thirteenth vow renewal, Jun celebrated by purchasing their first car. They drove to the castle, which was now a popular hotel. It was a good thing their vow renewal fell during the winter season, or they wouldn’t have been able to do the ritual without witnesses. The wine they drank had been imported from the Western Realm. After the ritual blood-drinking, they finished the whole bottle and made out under the stars.

He felt a pang of pain on their way home. They’d had such happy decades, yes, but it was about to end. Ohmiya Yuuji would come soon. And this time, there wouldn’t be a war to make Sho hold back his affections.



The Emperor almost started an invasion. If it hadn’t been for vampire intervention, who knows what kind of war would have ensued. Thankfully, with some strong persuasion tactics, he was convinced to invest more in technology and education instead of trying to enslave half of the Eastern Realm.

Sunrise Land was becoming a popular destination for tourists, especially from the Northern and Western Realms. A faster kind of ship developed decades earlier made traveling much faster than it used to be. And while vampires couldn’t travel freely beyond the borders of the place where they were turned—it would require registering legally as citizens of their home nations, which would out them as non-human once someone realized they didn’t age—Jun loved to hear stories from human travelers.

They had opened another three ryokans in recent years, but the first one remained the most popular. They opted to take breaks from managing them in person so that their returning customers didn’t notice the truth behind their identities. One of them, the newest one, was near a beautiful beach. Sho and Jun had decided to spend a couple of years there. And, as fate would have it, Yuuji’s reincarnation decided to stay there for a whole summer.

His name was Onda Takuma. He was a musician, who had left Sunrise Land—Japan, for the humans—as a teenager and traveled the world for over a decade before deciding to return home. He had wound up at their ryokan because a friend of a friend told him about the place.

Jun had been preparing for his arrival. He’d started distancing from Sho after their vow renewal, knowing it’d be easier for him to handle it if they weren’t involved at the moment Yuuji’s newest form irrupted into their lives. It hadn’t worked, no matter how much he told himself the opposite.

As always, Sho and Takuma liked each other from the start. The first night, Sho listened attentively to Takuma’s stories of his trips. He was impressed by Takuma’s collection of pictures he’d taken around the world. To be fair, Jun was quite impressed too. He didn’t know there were so many different things to see out there, on the other side of the ocean. That was the first time the idea of leaving Sunrise Land first crossed Jun’s mind. It wouldn’t be the last.

Takuma played an instrument called a guitar for them. It had strings, like a shamisen and a biwa, but its shape and sound were different. Sho was fascinated by it.

Unlike most of the previous times, Takuma seemed reluctant to admit his attraction for Sho. It was no surprise, given how much time he’d spent in the other realms. The idea of two men falling for each other was frowned upon in many cultures—not that Sunrise Land was any different in the old days, as only the upper classes showed some acceptance for it.

Takuma had a constant inner struggle regarding what he felt. He flirted with women now and then in front of Sho, possibly to try and convince himself that he was strictly into them, as a proper man should. But then he’d see a man hitting on Sho, and it drove him mad with jealousy. Sho remained blissfully oblivious to everything.

Finally, one night Takuma decided to confront what he felt. Jun saw him giving himself a talk, to convince himself it wouldn’t hurt to try it and get some answers. Curious to see how it’d all turn out, and very much against his better judgment, Jun followed him to observe.

Takuma asked Sho to come into his room and have a drink with him. They talked normally at first. Takuma downed three cups of sake before making his move. He kissed Sho out of a sudden, cutting him off when he was still talking. He went for a deep, open-mouthed kiss. Sho reciprocated it, cupping Takuma’s face with both hands. When they broke the kiss, Takuma was frowning a little.

“Something wrong?” Sho asked.

Takuma nodded. “How—wait, it can’t be…”
He pulled Sho for a second kiss, longer than the first one. He left Sho quite breathless, with his face flushed. Takuma’s eyes were so wide that it seemed they’d pop out of their sockets. “It feels good,” he said. “I… I thought it’d be weird. People say it’s weird! But this…”

Sho shut him up with a kiss before he could finish that line. Jun took that as his cue to leave. He cried into his pillow that night.

Sho and Takuma remained quite close for the remainder of Takuma’s stay. Jun tried to make himself scarce, saying he needed to go check on their businesses. Those were lies, but Sho didn’t seem to notice. The day Takuma left, however, Jun was right there.

“You should come with me, Sho-chan,” Takuma said. “I’m sure you’d love it out there.”

Sho shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I can’t. I have a life here that I can’t just leave behind.”

At those words, Takuma looked straight at Jun. If Jun had to describe that look, he’d say that Takuma seemed irritated by him. The fuck is wrong with that asshole?

“You can drop by anytime you want, though,” Sho continued with a smile. “Or at least send a postcard, please.”

Takuma chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”

He did neither, that jerk. Jun was certain that Sho kept waiting to hear from him for a long time.

To distract him from that disappointment, Jun suggested that they should go on a trip around Sunrise Land. He knew that Sho had never left the main island; as for himself, he’d been to the northern island hundreds of years earlier, but that was the only time.

“It’d be good if we stayed away from our ryokans for a while too,” he argued. “We wouldn’t want our patrons to notice there’s something strange about us.”

They traveled under false identities, given how prominent the Sakurai name had become in recent years. There was always a vampire acting as the country’s chancellor; through him, vampires could get human IDs whenever they wished to do so. The Imperial family and some high government officials knew of it, but they’d been sworn to secrecy.

“They gave me the name Domyouji Tsukasa,” Jun snorted. “Won’t a fancy name like that call too much attention to me?”

“I think it fits!” Sho laughed. “Mine is Mimura Takuya. I guess it isn’t as fancy as yours.”

They took their time to explore everything each island had to offer. They got in touch with local vampires, who welcomed them warmly into their communities after hearing who they were. They returned every five or six years to Gunma, to check on their clan members. Sho’s work as an overseer didn’t require as much of an effort now that he had so many people to assist him. He remained quite strict, though; he had vowed that he wouldn’t let another vampire like his sire rise.

Sho and Jun discovered that they enjoyed traveling. Despite seeing the same islands more than once during the following decades, there was always something new to discover. They took pleasure in seeing how things evolved. One of the advantages of their long lifespan was to see history unfold before their eyes.

This particular characteristic of vampires was something that the Crown Prince commented on during a summit he was allowed to attend at Lord Masaki’s castle in his father’s stead. He had just been subjected to the secrecy vows, given that his father, the Emperor, was getting older and it was likely he’d ascend to the throne in a few years.

“This castle contains so many treasures!” the impressed Prince said as he observed in awe the ancient artworks displayed in one of Lord Masaki’s rooms. He was similarly stunned when the clan leaders walked in wearing their traditional regalia. “Now I feel a little out of place wearing this,” he said, laughing as he looked at his suit.

He had a bold proposal to make. “I want you to be involved in our cultural preservation efforts,” he said. “Our country has managed to preserve some very important landmarks and artifacts from the ancient eras, but I’m sure that your private collections must be more impressive than anything we have at the moment! This castle, for example, is completely traditional! There is no electricity here, nothing foreign or altered!”

“It’s also a very important place for us,” Masaki said. “We haven’t allowed humans to enter these gates for centuries already.”

“I understand,” the Prince nodded, “but I’m also certain this isn’t the only place of its kind under your control, is it?”

The vampires exchanged looks. Indeed, there were a few castles, palaces, and manors around the country that they owned in very similar states of preservation. Sho’s palace didn’t qualify due to having electricity, but some of his manors scattered around Gunma did.

“And what do you suggest we do?” Masaki asked.

“You could open museums and galleries,” the Prince replied. “Let the scholars study your artifacts and the common people see them on display.”

“They’re not artifacts to us!” Sho commented. “These are our personal belongings. They have meaning to us.”

Masaki grinned at the intervention. “I agree with Lord Sakurai,” he said. “You can’t expect us to part with things that have so much sentimental value to us.”

The Prince nodded. “Of course, I would never force you to do anything of that sort,” he said. “But… surely you must have some things lying around that you could use for this purpose?”

The vampires agreed to think about it. Among them, only Sho seemed completely opposed to the idea. He got furious when he saw Jun looking through his kimono collection to choose some for a special exhibit at a museum.

“I had those made especially for you!” Sho said with a frown. He snatched the one Jun was holding at the moment. “Wasn’t this one the first kimono I gave you after we met?”

Jun put the kimono back into its box. “I won’t send that one to the museum,” he said. “But I have too many multi-layered kimonos for women that I will never wear again. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to send them some. They’re very rare to find, especially in such a good state.”

Sho pouted. “You don’t wear kimonos anymore. I miss it,” he said. “I miss when your hair was longer too.”

“Do you want me to grow it out?”

“Would you?” Sho asked with hopeful eyes.

“Yes,” Jun nodded. He received a kiss for his response. “But… you have to let me send some of our kimono to the exhibit. I’ll let you choose which ones, of course.”

It took some convincing, but in the end, they chose many artworks, pieces of clothing, musical instruments, and even furniture to be shown at a museum that would bear their clan’s name. The curator they chose to manage it was shocked at seeing so many well-preserved items from different centuries gathered at the museum’s warehouse.

“This is invaluable!” the man said. He started laughing as his eyes scanned everything. “This is what the Sakurai family has been hiding in that palace you have in Gunma?”

Jun shrugged. “What can I say, my ancestors were avid collectors,” he said. “I’m just showing it to the world, I guess.”

This, once again, had the vampire clan names all over the press. They were hailed as respected philanthropists and protectors of the nation’s art and culture. The things they showed to the public were a mere fraction of their treasures.

Humans were starting to become more and more fascinated with their past. Earth was living a period of peace, given that the vampires made lots of efforts to prevent wars. Humans still had a thirst for violence they channeled into sports, but there were talks of staging military competitions that simulated the wars of old days.

Meanwhile, vampires were trying more and more to embrace new things and leave behind the old ways. At the latest clan meeting, Sho was dismayed that he was the only one wearing a kimono. The clan members wore the black suits Jun commissioned from a fashion designer friend of his, with their clan’s crest engraved in the buttons. Some wore the crimson surcoat that identified them over the suit, but only Sho had a kimono on.

“I feel like a yakuza boss,” Sho grumbled as he sat on the high seat reserved for him.

To humor him, Jun got changed into a dark kimono that matched Sho’s. The clan members applauded his decision. Sho was so pleased that he agreed to Jun’s plan of going for a short vacation in Okinawa, at a resort they had recently purchased.

They had just had their fourteenth vow renewal. Jun was doing his best to put distance between him and Sho, in preparation for the arrival of Taka, but Sho was having none of it. When Jun asked him to wear modern clothes during their trip instead of his usual kimono, his condition to accept it was that Jun quit pushing him away.

“I don’t know what’s with you lately, baby, but I don’t like it,” he said. “Maybe you’re getting tired of spending so much time with me, or I did something…”

“I could never get tired of you, Sho-san.”

“Then stop acting like this!” Sho circled Jun’s waist and pulled him closer. He sighed when Jun turned his face away to avoid a kiss. “See? This is what I mean.”

“The guys are around,” Jun mumbled. He could see from the corner of his eye that two clan members were sitting at the other side of the room.

“So? All of them know you’re mine,” Sho replied. “Or, what, do you think they believe we’re just friends?”

Jun blushed, looking away. “Then what are we if not friends?”

“I believe the word they use for it now is fiancé.”

The word ‘fiancé’ did indeed describe well what he was to Sho. The humans used it to describe their partners before their wedding took place. Unlike the ancient people of Sunrise Land, the rest of the world performed elaborate ceremonies during weddings, which made a comparison with vampire nuptials very apt.

However, given how linked to romance the word fiancé was, Jun couldn’t help getting flustered when Sho called him that. He felt as though his face was on fire. He hid it from Sho’s view by tucking his head under the crook of Sho’s neck.

“And someday, I’ll call you husband,” Sho added, whispering in Jun’s ear.

Unfair, Jun thought to himself. He shouldn’t play with my heart like this.

*

If Jun thought he was being good at hiding what he felt, he was wrong.

Sho had noticed it since the war after Jun warned him to never show him memories of his time with the Ohmiya men. Sometimes it was less obvious than others, but Sho knew the reason why he behaved strangely once they renewed their vows.

Jun was jealous. His way of dealing with it had to be the most unusual Sho had ever seen, though. Instead of becoming possessive, he put distance between Sho and him. Sometimes it was gradual, so Sho didn’t realize until it was too late that they weren’t lovers anymore. And once he succeeded in pushing Sho away, he could act so indifferent that at times Sho seriously wondered whether Jun had feelings for him at all.

He liked to believe that the love he felt for Jun was reciprocated; every century he got at least a few decades of living together in perfect harmony that seemed to prove it. Yet once the vow renewal approached, Jun’s attitude towards him changed so drastically that it confused him. Their friendship was true, at least that much he could tell. Not one time had Jun done something that affected Sho’s life negatively. He was loyal and supportive, and he was always thinking of ways to make things better for their clan. But was he in love with Sho?

“Sho-chan, I can’t believe you’re this dense,” Masaki said, rolling his eyes. “Fourteen hundred years together—no, wait, fifteen hundred years if you count the century before your betrothal, and you still have doubts?”

“But he gets so distant sometimes!” Sho protested.

“And the moment he withdraws even a little bit, you start chasing humans again instead of trying to get him back,” Masaki pointed out. “Isn’t that hypocritical of you?”

“Fair enough…” Sho sighed, burying his face in his hands. “I don’t want it to happen again. I hate when he gets like this.”

“Then use this trip to rekindle the romance!”

The advice sounded quite solid, so Sho chose to follow it. He booked the best suite in the entire resort, using his real name for once since his status as the owner would benefit him and Jun this time. Then, he borrowed Masaki’s private jet for their trip. Last, he made sure that his suitcase was filled with nothing but modern clothing.

Jun was pleased when he saw Sho wearing tight dark denim pants, a long-sleeved black t-shirt, and boots. Sho also got a new hairstyle that his stylist called an ‘undercut’. And just because a clan member dared him, he got one of his ears and his belly button pierced.

“You look so hot in modern clothes,” Jun said, sighing as he gave Sho an appreciative look.

Sho felt quite proud that he was able to elicit such a positive reaction. Jun looked like he wanted to eat Sho up—Sho would very much indulge him if he felt so inclined. He bit his lip when Jun circled his waist and grabbed his ass.

“Say… does the jet have a suite? I can’t remember,” Jun asked in Sho’s ear.

“It does,” Sho replied, moaning when Jun pressed close enough for Sho to feel his erection.

“Perfect,” Jun said. He pulled away and offered his hand to Sho, who took it and followed Jun into the jet in silence.

The wait until the plane took off felt eternal. It only made it worse that Jun’s eyes had gone completely purple as he watched Sho intently, the seduction making Sho hornier than he already was. The moment the flight attendant informed them that they could stand from their seats, Jun dragged Sho to the suite.

They got rid of their clothes immediately between desperate kisses. Jun paused for a moment when he saw Sho’s piercing, was engrossed looking at it for a few seconds. He fucked Sho hard on the bed, with Sho’s legs on his shoulders. He was so aroused that when the flight attendant knocked on their door two hours later to inform them that they had to return to their seats, he still had a raging hard-on despite having come three times already.

“One moment!” Jun yelled. He sped up his movements, making Sho scream in pleasure. He let out a deep growl when he filled Sho up with his come. When they came out of the room, Jun looked as composed as ever. Sho was walking on wobbly legs, with disheveled hair and a sore ass and hips. He couldn’t be happier.

The receptionist at the hotel went speechless when Sho showed her his ID. She immediately rang the concierge, who took only a couple of minutes to arrive. “Welcome, Sakurai-sama,” the concierge bowed. His face lit up when he looked at Jun. “Ah! This must be your husband, Jun-sama! Congratulations on your wedding!”

Jun’s face turned quite red at that. “You told the staff we got married!?”

“Well, they asked why it was so urgent for us to get their best suite. I told them it was our honeymoon!” Sho smirked as he pulled Jun by the waist. “Thank you.”

“We’re very honored you chose us as your honeymoon destination,” the concierge continued. He motioned for two attendants to pick up Sho and Jun’s luggage. “Follow me this way.”

The suite had the best view of the beach. Sho had no time to enjoy it before Jun, bursting with lust again, picked him up and deposited him in bed.

“I hope you didn’t think we were done,” he said in Sho’s ear as he unbuttoned Sho’s pants.

They didn’t come out of the room until the next day’s evening, after sleeping the whole afternoon. Jun was still sleepy when Sho woke up, so he told Sho to go first and wait for him at the club.

The place was quite crowded. Sho sat at the bar, drinking a colorful cocktail and snacking on some chips. He had a nice view of the beach from his seat, so he focused on that while he waited for Jun’s arrival. Suddenly, a man bumped into him, making him spill his drink. Sho turned to glare at him but had to pause a second when he saw the man’s face.

Ohmiya Taka. What were the odds?

“I’m so sorry!” Taka apologized. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“That’s fine,” Sho replied.

“Mind if I sit next to you?”

“No, go ahead,” Sho replied. He didn’t say anything when the man ordered another drink for him.
The man looked at Sho with a frown. “You know, I could swear I’ve seen you before,” he said. “What’s your name?”

That line confirmed that he was right about the man’s identity. “I’m Sakurai Sho.”

The man almost choked on his drink. “Wait, you mean the Sakurai Sho from the Sakurai family? The one who owns this resort!?”

Sho smiled, placing a finger over his lips. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather keep a low profile.”

“Sure, sure,” the man nodded. His eyes were fixated on Sho’s betrothal ring. He gasped. “You got married!”

“Indeed,” Sho said. “We’re here on our honeymoon.”

“Well, congratulations!” the man said, lifting his glass to clink it with Sho’s. “I wish the two of you all the best.”

“What about you?” Sho pointed at the man’s ring. “Here with your spouse?”

“Ah, no…” the man shook his head. He took off the ring and stared at it wistfully. “I just got divorced, actually.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry—”

The man snorted. “Don’t be,” he said. “It was the best decision of my life.”

His name was Kida Haruhiko. He asked Sho to call him Haru. He had gone to Okinawa to celebrate his divorce. “I got hitched way too young,” he started his story. “She was much older than me, and I never wanted to be in a relationship with her, but I was too inexperienced.”

His wife had been his first sexual partner. She had pressured him to get married after she got pregnant with their daughter. With his parents kicking him out of the house once they learned of the relationship, he had no choice but to stay with her. He endured years of loveless marriage because he had a very low income.

However, things had gotten better for him financially. He got a much better position at a different place, so he got divorced and took their daughter with him. The girl was spending her summer vacation at her grandparents’ home, as Haru had reconciled with them in recent years and the girl was dying to have some quality time with them. Haru had decided to give himself a treat.

“Now I’m finally free to be myself!” Haru said with a laugh. He was quite drunk by that moment. He draped an arm around Sho’s shoulders. “You know, I don’t even think I like women that much.”

“You don’t?” Sho arched an eyebrow. That was a change from the usual pattern.

Haru looked at both sides before resuming his talk in a lower voice. “While I was married, I started frequenting the pleasure district,” he said with a giggle. “There’s this place where the guys get dressed as oirans. It’s pretty famous in Tokyo.”

The place in question happened to be the same tea house where Sho and Jun had worked centuries earlier. It still existed, without any modifications, except that the dancers stripped during their performances to suit modern tastes.

“The first time I was there, it was a true eye-opener,” Haru said. “I never slept with any of the guys, just watched them perform, but damn! I just knew after seeing them that I was missing out.”

While they were talking, Sho saw Jun come in. The moment Jun’s eyes fell on Haru’s figure, he looked hurt. He turned around and dashed to the bathroom. Sho excused himself and ran after Jun. He found Jun gripping the sink with his head hanging low. He was taking deep breaths to calm himself down. It was a truly heartbreaking sight.

“Jun-san…” Sho reached to touch him, but Jun pushed his hand away. He tried again, and Jun glared at him. “What’s wrong?”

“That man… t-that man was…” Jun covered his mouth with a hand. He broke down as Sho hugged him from behind. He continued crying when Sho made him turn around and started kissing him. His tears didn’t stop flowing while they made out, even if he was receptive to Sho’s caresses.

“He doesn’t matter,” Sho said on Jun’s lips. “Jun-san, he’s nobody.”

Jun shook his head, sniffing while Sho kissed down his neck. “B-But you… y-you like him…”

“No,” Sho said in a firm tone. “I only like you, Jun-san.”

Sho made love to him right there, not caring if they were caught in the act. Jun needed to be reassured, and at the moment it was the only way Sho could think of. It did console him a little, as intimacy always did. He was still pouty and upset afterward, though, but more willing to talk.

“I hate when you talk to that man,” Jun said. “He stole you away from me once. I’ll never forgive him.”

Sho sighed. “Baby, that’s not—”

“Don’t you dare say that he didn’t, that you were just friends!” Jun snapped. His voice cracked when he spoke again. “I saw you making out on the beach, days after you told me about the first time you guys kissed. A-And after, you just ignored me. Do you have any idea of how much that hurt me? Do you know how I feel every time I see you with him?”

Jun’s lips were trembling as he tried to blink back tears. “I understand that we agreed to stay out of each other’s love life, but I… I just can’t stand it. T-The memories… they just… they come back every time, and I c-can’t…”

Sho pulled him into a hug, repeating he was sorry over and over again. He had never considered the consequences his actions back then had on Jun. He and Naruse—the incarnation of Taka that Jun referred to—hadn’t been lovers, but he’d let Jun believe that they were. And in his anger at Jun’s supposed indifference, he’d become distant.

Jun lowered his head. “W-When you said that you kissed another man, I just… it broke me. I felt worthless.”

Sho wanted nothing but to grovel at Jun’s feet and beg for forgiveness. He wiped Jun’s tears and kissed his cheek. “I thought you didn’t care,” he said. “When you didn’t get mad at me, I figured it was because you had no feelings for me.”

Jun shook his head. “I was in love with you, but I was afraid you’d reject me if I let it show,” he said softly, blushing to the tip of his ears. “I still am in love with you, after all these years.”

Sho felt a knot in his throat; his heart was racing. He covered Jun in kisses, feeling like he was about to burst. “Jun-san, I love you too. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me!”

Jun gave him a sad look. “I wish I could believe you.”

“You don’t have to believe me now, but I’ll show you,” Sho said. “Before I finally can make you all mine for eternity, I swear, Jun-san, you’ll see it.”

They came out of the bathroom much later, after another round of lovemaking, accompanied by tender words and many promises on Sho’s side. Jun wasn’t that upset anymore when they emerged from the bathroom. He gripped Sho’s hand tightly when, just a moment after they sat at the bar, Haru rushed up to them.

“You’re back!” Haru giggled. The man was shitfaced already, slurring his words and with his face all red. He had a more serious expression when he noticed Jun’s presence. “Is that…?”

“My husband,” Sho replied, pulling up Jun’s left hand to show off the matching gold ring.

“Oh…! Of course!” Haru’s face lit up. “Jun-san, right? Last time I saw him, you guys had started dating.”

Sho chuckled. “You have a good memory, Haru-kun.”

Shortly after, a loud song started playing. Haru shot up from his seat and went to the dance floor. Despite being that drunk, his dance moves were quite impressive. He certainly got the attention of various men in the crowd.

Jun snorted. “He doesn’t seem as refined as his past selves,” he commented. He smiled when Sho laughed in response. “So… now that he’s got company, how about we get out of here?”

Sho shivered as Jun slipped his hand into Sho’s pants and cupped his balls. They shared a kiss while Jun started pumping Sho’s cock, making it grow hard under his ministrations.

“F-Fuck… let’s go…” Sho managed to mutter.

The look of triumph on Jun’s face as they walked out of the club hand in hand was worth the strange looks Sho got because of the obvious bulge in his pants.



When they returned from their vacation a couple of weeks later, Lord Masaki was waiting for them at their home. He was in Jun’s office, sitting on the plush swivel chair behind Jun’s desk.

“Sit down,” he said, motioning at the two chairs placed in front of him. He had his assistants lock the door once they were sitting. With a stern look, Masaki set various copies of tabloid magazines on the desk. Sho blushed when he realized that the articles were about them.

“Heir of the Sakurai family goes on a romantic getaway with his husband,” Masaki read. He arched an eyebrow at them as he showed various pictures of them having sex: in the club’s bathroom, on a daybed by the poolside, on a yacht…

“I… I can explain…” Sho started, feeling a little nervous.

“There’s nothing to explain, Sho-chan,” Masaki cut him off. “I think it’s very clear what happened here, you hornball! Couldn’t you keep it in your pants until you got to the hotel room? I know Jun-pon doesn’t like public displays of affection, so this had to be your idea!”

“That’s not true!” Sho protested. “He wanted me to do those things!”

Jun had been the instigator most of those times. Contrary to his usual attitude, he wanted to be affectionate in public. Sho tried to stop him the first couple of times, but it seemed to hurt Jun when he did it, so he chose to go with it. He realized that Jun did it because he was feeling insecure. It didn’t even cross Sho’s mind that there could be reporters around, much less to watch them.

“He’s right,” Jun said. “He didn’t pressure me into anything.”

Masaki narrowed his eyes at them. He sighed, shaking his head. “In any case, you have no idea the storm this has created in national media!” he said. “Sho-chan, you’re the first man among the Japanese elite to be openly gay and married to another man. And you’re from an aristocratic family, no less!”

Sho exchanged a look with Jun. They hadn’t thought of the social implications that it’d have if word got out about them being ‘married’—they had been registered as such when they got their IDs before the trip.

“Some people are calling you a hero,” Masaki said with a chuckle. “They think it’s brave that you’re not ashamed to do what so many straight couples do all the time. Others are calling you both perverts, though.”

Despite the vampires preferring to stay out of the spotlight, Masaki said that they needed to make a statement in this case. They brainstormed various ideas, finally deciding to make a public donation to an organization that worked with gay youth. It was enough to clarify their stance on the matter without having to reveal much about themselves.

During the following years, they couldn’t avoid running into curious reporters every time they ventured outside of Gunma. They got fed up with the press and chose to move for a few years to the Sakurai town, which was guarded and populated by their clan’s members. Since no humans could access it, there was no other place as safe as that.

To Sho, moving there was a blessing. He liked the slow-paced lifestyle of the town. The houses were built in the traditional style. They had modern appliances, but the way of doing things wasn’t modern at all. He thought that he finally had it all while they were there.

From the moment he and Jun had confessed their mutual feelings, the love Sho had for him only kept growing. Perhaps admitting it had helped him express it better. Living among vampires, even though they were from their clan, made Sho’s possessiveness get exacerbated. And when they had to visit human towns from time to time, to get blood, he noticed that Jun got a little possessive from time to time.

They didn’t try to hide from each other when they were jealous. It was easy to tell with Jun, because he’d get quiet and look sad when he felt that Sho was ignoring him in favor of someone else. Sho hated to see him like that. On the other hand, Jun looked radiant when Sho was the one getting jealous. He never made Sho get jealous on purpose, but he did enjoy it if Sho reminded the other vampires that Jun was his.

The only reason things weren’t perfect was that Jun started getting restless after the first couple of years.

“I’m tired of being here!” Jun grumbled. “When will we go back home? When can we travel again?”

Sho sighed, rubbing his temples. “I told you, we have to wait a few decades. Once enough time has passed for the humans to assume we’re dead, we can take other identities and get out there.”

Jun kept himself busy by making improvements to the town. He brought engineers to ensure that the whole town had access to the internet, and then focused on switching everyone to solar energy instead of electricity. He researched the latest advances in agriculture to improve the quality of their crops. He visited each vampire who had a business in town to analyze the ways to make it more profitable. Then, he received a proposal from a clan member who was interested in becoming a software developer, and he was hooked right away. His team created the first social media platform exclusively for vampires in Japan. His efforts were so successful that other vampires all over the world started to get involved in the web developing scene.

Because of his initiative, Jun was dubbed the first vampire influencer. His small team of developers became one of the most profitable companies in the web developing industry in the country. Their next big hit was a dating app for vampires. At least a hundred vampire couples got betrothed as a result of it, a record number in Sunrise Land.

But all that success only made Jun feel more and more caged.

One night, Jun lost whatever little patience he had left. He was frantic, his eyes bloodshot and his fangs drawn menacingly as he walked up to Sho. “You have to let me get out of here!” he growled. “I think I’ll go crazy if I have to spend another year here.”

It had been fifty years since they left. Sho would have liked to remain there for another couple of decades, but he supposed not many people alive would remember them.

“Fine,” he said. “We’ll pack up and go back home.”

“No!” Jun snapped. “I don’t want to be in Gunma! I want to go out!”

Sho blinked. “But, baby, where else would we go?”

“Can’t we get a house by the beach somewhere?” Jun asked with a pleading look. “I haven’t seen the sea in so long…”

He circled Sho’s waist, fondling his ass with both hands. “Remember our last time at the beach?” he said in a husky voice. “We had so much fun, Sho-san.”

Sho grunted as Jun used telepathy to show him the memories of their vacation in Okinawa, of them making love in the sand under a perfect moonlit sky. It was like Sho could feel it all again, Jun’s warm, pliant body under his, Jun’s nails digging into his skin, his eyes glowing purple as they did every time the desire was too strong and took over his mind.

“Don’t you want to do it again?” Jun whispered in Sho’s ear, his eyes still bright yellow as he sent the most delectable sensations all over Sho’s body. “We could do that every day if we had a beach house…”

Sho moaned as Jun started kissing his neck. And, suddenly, he saw Jun’s eyes turning blue at the edges until the color changed completely.

Ah… he couldn’t help a grin forming on his lips. There it goes again.

He could feel that Jun was still using telepathy, not mind control. Something inside him was urging him to take Jun’s wishes as orders. It was the first time he was conscious of it, although certainly not the first that it happened. He knew that he could push it away; he could disobey the suggestion given that Jun wasn’t using mind control. The thing was… he didn’t want to.

Sho chuckled as Jun continued kissing him and begging him to consider it. “Baby, I’ll do everything you want,” he said. “You just tell me what beach house you want, and I’ll buy it for you.”

Jun perked up at that, his eyes going back to normal. “F-For real!?”

“Of course,” Sho replied, laughing when Jun gave him more kisses. “What do you have in mind?”

Jun giggled and ran to another room. He came back holding a very detailed model, as well as a tablet. He set the model on a table and handed Sho the tablet.

“Remember Inoo-kun from Lord Masaki’s clan?”

“The guy who joined his clan like thirty years ago?”

“The same one, yes!” Jun nodded. “Well, he’s an architect, and he’s very into the style I wanted for our beach house. So, I’ve been having meetings with him, and now we have a model and the blueprints. We even made a budget and found some locations where it could be built…”

Sho was quite impressed by how thorough Jun had been with the whole thing. He’s very serious about this. “I see!” he nodded. “Well? What location did you like the most?”

Jun bit his lip. “See… there’s this island for sale near Okinawa…”

“An island!?” Sho’s eyes went wide. “Isn’t that a bit excessive, baby?”

“The price isn’t that different from buying land on the coast!” Jun defended himself. “Plus, we get a lot more privacy if we’re on our own island…”

Sho shivered when Jun almost purred that last part in his ear. He had to admit it was very enticing. “But what about transportation?” Sho commented, suppressing a moan as Jun slipped his hands under his clothes. “J-Jun-san…”

“We could get a jet,” Jun replied. “We’re the only clan leaders who don’t have one yet. And I am making more than enough money to afford one.”

Sho nodded. “Okay,” he said, his breath hitching as Jun started fondling him. “Let’s do it.”

He could say nothing else and surrendered to Jun’s touch.



The construction would take a few years. In the meantime, Sho and Jun moved to Tokyo. Masaki let them stay at his penthouse in Ginza for as long as they needed, given he’d be going to the continent for a while. Being in a big city permanently made Jun happier than anything. They started frequenting many fashionable places and found themselves mingling with the rich and famous in no time.

Despite having dyed his hair a shade of light brown, Sho was recognized by people working for the press. They believed he was the previous Sakurai Sho’s grandnephew, who happened to be named after him. Thankfully, the pictures from fifty years earlier didn’t feature much of Jun’s face or had it blurred. It seemed the press didn’t have Jun’s name back then either, for nobody found it strange that the current Sakurai Sho had a partner with the same name as his granduncle’s.

Most of the attention was on Jun himself. He had many friends in the entertainment and art industries, some of whom were vampires too. Lord Ikuta and Lord Oguri, for instance, had become famous actors.

It wasn’t a surprise when Jun was offered to appear in fashion magazines, modeling for prestigious fashion houses. He took Sho with him to various red-carpet events. Sho couldn’t be prouder of him. He really shone when he was in the spotlight.

“It’s a shame I’ll have to put an end to my career after our house is finished,” Jun commented with a pout. “We’ll have to keep a low profile for another few decades, right?”

“Oh, but we’ll travel!” Sho said with a grin. “We have the jet now, and enough friends who can let us stay at their places. There are always illusions if that doesn’t work.”

The project took nearly ten years to finish. Their large beach house had two floors with an open plan. The back of the first floor was built as a traditional building because Jun wanted it to be a mix of the traditional and the modern age. He also had an idea to build an overwater bungalow resort on the other side of the island, but it’d only be open for vampires.

Jun’s thirst for new projects continued those years. He invested to develop synthetic blood, a replacement for human blood which contained the same nutrients. It was well-received among younger vampires, who didn’t like preying on humans. The project made Sho start worrying that Jun might be getting too engrossed in human culture.

While Sho continued training constantly and practicing his vampire abilities, Jun only ever used his to communicate with Sho. After the synthetic blood was available, he stopped drinking human blood, so he only ever used illusions to run away from the press and seduction to let Sho know he was horny. It wasn’t unique to him, the fascination with the modern lifestyle that made vampires forsake a part of themselves. Upon his return from the continent, Lord Masaki visited them and discussed the topic at length with Sho.

“The Elders are worried that modern life is turning young vampires a little reckless,” he said. “The new generations don’t recognize how fragile we are.”

It was rare for any vampire to die before they came of age those days. The clans had been very strict about keeping their younglings under proper watch ever since that fiasco with Takizawa—god, Sho still hated his guts—happened. Perhaps it made younger vampires forget that they too had weaknesses. Bright lights disoriented them, too much alcohol made their bodies vulnerable to getting wounded, blood loss could kill them as easily as it killed humans. Losing an arm wasn’t a problem because it’d grow back, yes, but if the wound didn’t close, it was game over. A single hard blow to the point where the cervical spine meets the skull was fatal. The number of vampires getting in drunk driving accidents and dying was worrisome.

“They have to understand that we aren’t just humans who happen to drink blood and have abnormally long lifespans,” Masaki said. “We are a different species. We have powers that humans don’t and, unfortunately, many younglings aren’t learning them, and some older vampires are forgetting them because they’re getting too cozy.”

Sho sighed. “I know,” he said. “What did the Elders propose?”

“They want to hold games similar to the human staged wars,” Masaki replied.

The humans held them every four years at a location selected in advance. The armies would engage in real battles. Death was very much a possibility, and the use of torture to extort information was commonplace. The armies fought representing the four realms. It was a way that the Elders had devised to keep war at a manageable scale. War existed from time to time between countries of the same continent or between opposing factions inside a country, but the vampires always prevented it from going outside of their respective realm’s borders.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Sho commented. “But making them combats to the death wouldn’t be good for us. You know, since we don’t reincarnate.”

“Oh, totally!” Masaki laughed. “The Elders agree with that as well!”

As they were talking, Jun walked past them. Masaki gave Sho a surprised look at Jun’s appearance. He was wearing a tight cropped black leather shirt with long sleeves made of sheer material, wide-leg pants, loafers with tiny flowers on top, and a hat. He had gotten highlights recently.

“What color is that?” Masaki asked.

“He said it’s called ash violet,” Sho replied. They both chuckled at it.

Neither of them could have predicted how much Jun’s love for modern life would change Sho and Jun’s future.

*

Two men crossed paths with Sho in all their lifetimes.

Jun had asked many vampires along the centuries if they’d ever crossed paths with more than one incarnation of the same soul, but they said that they couldn’t think of an instance of it happening. Granted, most of them weren’t as much into humans as Sho was, so they paid little attention to them. Lord Masaki, for example, couldn’t remember seeing more than one incarnation of the two Ohmiya guys, as Sho and Jun had dubbed them. Kazama only remembered seeing Ohmiya Yuuji twice.

How was it possible? They had yet to determine it. Souls seemed to be reborn in the same area, or at the very least in the same Realm. Humans would never find out if they met someone more than once across their multiple lifetimes, but vampires had a shot at keeping a record. Still, the odds had to be quite low, especially with every new iteration.

Sho was studying the matter, at least that was what he told Jun; perhaps he simply used that as an excuse to keep meeting them.

Ohmiya Taka was the one Jun couldn’t stand the most, which was absurd given he was a minor threat compared to Ohmiya Yuuji. Every single time Jun saw that tanned guy, with his flexible, thin body, he had a strong, visceral need to punch his signature sleepy smile off his face. Because, to Yuuji’s credit, he’d never actually gotten in between Sho and Jun. And still, he was the one who managed to charm Sho more out of the two of them.

When Sho and Jun renewed their vows for the fifteenth time, Jun knew Yuuji would be coming next. It had been a hundred years since they met Haru at Okinawa.

Ever since Jun had noticed that they always returned, he strived to stay away from Sho when the time for it was near. Sometimes he put up more of a fight, especially if it was Taka. He preferred not to stop Sho from being with Yuuji; he was scared of putting Sho in a situation where he’d have to choose because, unlike with Taka, he wasn’t sure Sho would pick him over Yuuji.

When Yuuji didn’t show up, part of him was relieved. He got a little concerned, though, not that he should have been. The true abnormality was for Sho to have met so many incarnations of the same man. Knowing how much Sho loved Yuuji, he was worried that Sho would get depressed over not being able to meet him. There hadn’t been any change in Sho’s behavior, but he still decided to distract him.

“How about we go on a little trip?” Jun asked. “Tokyo is quite lovely this time of the year.”

Sho narrowed his eyes at him. “Jun-san, you know we can’t return there yet,” he said. “You were a model just a couple of decades ago. I’m sure you still have living fans who haven’t forgotten you. That drama where you played a quirky lawyer who liked puns and candy? It’s a classic that gets re-runs every few years!”

“Ah, yes…” Jun laughed. “I remember you stole my scripts for it and stashed them somewhere.”

“They were very good reads!” Sho said with a grin. “They’re my treasures now! They were signed by you after all!”

Jun rolled his eyes, not mentioning that his wasn’t the only autograph on the scripts, but he guessed that it was the only one Sho cared about—heartwarming stuff, he was turning into goo on the inside.

“Anyway, let’s go somewhere!” Jun insisted. “How about Kyoto, then? I heard there’s some really interesting stuff happening over there. They’ve got the first air freeway in Japan!”

Sho wrinkled his nose. “You know how I feel about those monstrous flying cars!” he said. “What’s so bad about being on the ground, huh?”

“For me?” Jun pleaded, giving Sho a puppy-eyed look that never failed with him.

Sho put down the book he was reading and gave Jun a stern glare. A couple of seconds later, he just groaned, covering his face with his hands, and nodded. “Fine, let’s do it,” he said. “But I’m not getting into a flying car, you hear me!?”

He did get into a flying convertible car after Jun threatened to leave him alone for an hour while he went for a drive. He screamed his head off during most of it.

They hadn’t been to Kyoto since the days it was still known as the Imperial City. To say it had changed would be a huge understatement. While Tokyo had a lot of Northern and Western influence, with its massive buildings made of concrete and its citizens who adored modern attire, Kyoto had slowly become the most technologically advanced city in the entire country. Most things ran on automatized systems, with hotels that practically had no human staff, sidewalks that didn’t require people to walk, and holograms having replaced every single device that required screens. And yet, it kept more ancient buildings than any other large city in Japan. It was a wonderful contrast; Jun felt very much at home there.

Sho, on the other hand, found it harder to adapt. He had finally embraced some modern clothing and technology, but he made it clear to Jun that there was no way they’d automatize their properties like that.

“Keyless rooms for our modern resorts and holographic hubs instead of screens are one thing, but I’m not leaving robots in charge of interacting with our customers!” he said. “That’s way too much, and I won’t hear another word about it! And I’m not turning our rooftops into parking lots for flying cars! That’d just look awful!”

“Fine, whatever… but you’ll still let me buy that convertible, won’t you?”

Sho let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temples. “As long as you don’t make me get on it ever again, yes, you can have it.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! Who else will I take on drives if not you!?”

Sho got pale. “Baby, please, I’m begging you, don’t make me do that again!”

“Then I’m not getting it!” Jun said. “What’s the point, if you won’t go on drives with me?”

“Look, if you want it that much—”

“I don’t want it if you won’t get on it,” Jun cut him off, pulling him by the waist. “I have no interest at all in driving a flying car if I can’t share that with you. And I’m not going to terrorize you.”

Sho gave him a relieved smile. That alone was worth giving up the flying car.

They stopped at the pleasure district to visit a clan member. It was the same one who owned the tea house at Tokyo’s pleasure district. He had purchased an ancient building that used to be an Emperor’s secret playground, where the monarch kept a harem of girls he couldn’t formally take as concubines due to their social standing—not that any human would know the history behind the building. It was one of the very few brothels in the area that still functioned within a traditional building. The owner said with a grin that it was part of the reason why his customers liked it. The workers wore modern clothing inspired by ancient fashion.

Jun had stopped by to pick up some toys. The clan member had given him a mischievous look as he handed him a black suitcase and told him to “have fun.”

The luxury hotel where they’d be staying wasn’t far from there. Jun had chosen a room on a very high floor. The nocturnal view was breathtaking but going out to the balcony scared Sho.

“There,” Jun said, pulling Sho tight against him. “Do you still feel afraid?”

Sho blushed. “N-No…”

They opened a bottle of champagne. Jun poured it in tall, thin drinking glasses. He clinked his glass against Sho’s before raising it to his lips. They sat on a couch inside the room, looking out the massive window. They enjoyed their drinks along with a charcuterie board, which was an assortment of finger foods brought from overseas.

“What do you think of Kyoto so far?”

Sho shook his head. “It’s too much. Or maybe I’m just too old-fashioned.”

Jun laughed. “Yes, you are! It wouldn’t hurt you to try new things every once in a while. Just look at what you’re wearing!”

Sho pouted at him. He was wearing traditional clothing, as he did every time they were on a date. “This is my best kimono, how dare you! And it bears our clan’s crest!”

“The suits I had designed for clan members do so too,” Jun replied. He flashed a smug grin at Sho as he pointed at the engraved buttons on the black suit he was wearing. “You’ve never worn yours. I wish I could see you with it at least once.”

They argued a little bit about it, but then Sho finally gave in. He’d try out the things Jun suggested, on the condition that if he didn’t like them, Jun wouldn’t force him to try the same thing twice. Jun cheered and rushed to bring a suit out of his suitcase. “Put it on,” he said with a smile.

The result was, like Jun expected, amazing. The pants were a little tight on Sho, giving a great view of his shapely legs and magnificent behind. The jacket wasn’t padded, so it didn’t hide his sloping shoulders, which Jun found most delightful. The shirt was perhaps a size too small, not that Jun disliked being reminded of how ripped Sho was under those clothes.

Jun made him turn around, nodding in approval as he gave Sho a close look. “Your ass looks great,” he said as he gave Sho’s butt a good squeeze. “You’re so sexy.”

Sho laughed. “Thanks, I guess. The buttons are a little annoying, though.”

Jun was really turned on. He pushed Sho back to the couch and climbed on his lap as they made out. He took off his jacket and let Sho rip his shirt open, laughing when some buttons fell to the floor. He stopped Sho as he was about to take off his jacket, though.

“Keep the suit on. All of it,” Jun said. “I want you to do me while wearing it.”

Then, he stood up and brought the suitcase he had picked up earlier at the brothel. He opened and showed Sho its contents.

“Are those sex toys?” Sho arched an eyebrow at him.

Jun bit his lip. “I thought it’d be fun to give them a try.”

To humor him, Sho picked a leather ring. Jun put some lube on the ring and secured it around the base of Sho’s half-hard cock. They continued making out. Jun pumped Sho’s cock which, thanks to the ring, got a lot harder than usual. Then, they went to the bed.

Jun lay on the mattress, stark naked. Sho got on top of him, with his pants and boxers pulled down only enough for his erection to pop out of them. Jun wrapped his legs around Sho’s waist, digging his heels into Sho’s back while Sho thrust into him. He urged Sho to go on after he came, for Sho was still hard. It took Sho longer than usual to reach orgasm, but it was so intense he collapsed when he came inside of Jun. Jun, on the other hand, was sobbing, both in pain and pleasure after a third consecutive climax.

Sho pulled out and removed the ring. “I think I liked this thing,” he said with a smirk.

Jun laughed, looking up at him with a sated expression. He knew that he looked like a mess, but Sho was looking at him with adoring eyes. He blushed when Sho kissed him on the cheek.

After cleaning Jun up and giving him a little massage, Sho took off his suit and climbed back on the bed to cuddle. Jun was in a playful mood, giving him teasing touches and kisses now and then. Sho seemed a bit surprised by it, given how different it was from Jun’s usual attitude.

“Seems my kitten is back,” Sho said as Jun continued kissing him. He flipped them so that Jun was lying on his back again, with Sho on top of him. The look Sho gave him made Jun blush to the tip of his ears.

He made love to Jun slowly, rocking into him in a way that was so gentle, almost lazy, but made him completely lose his mind as the pleasure built up over the hours. It was a slow, delicious torture that he begged Sho to repeat on him many times during the following months and years.

And not to gloat, but Sho was so crazy about him after that trip that he didn’t think about Yuuji even once those years.



If all that was needed to keep them together was Sho’s devotion to Jun, they wouldn’t have had another problem in the next century. But it wasn’t enough. Jun wanted more out of life.

He was too ambitious. Wasn’t it enough to be one of the richest men in Sunrise Land? He had invested in so many business ideas that he had a hard time keeping track of them. He had a team of assistants composed of a group of clan members, whose sole job was to report to Jun daily about the many businesses he handled.

Museums and galleries, a company that developed software, resorts and ryokans scattered all over Japan, another company devoted to the production of synthetic blood, another one that developed holographic devices, another one that manufactured flying vehicles—because, yes, he liked them that much—and other that was working along with the Japanese government to build the first Japanese resort in space. He had his eyes on buying stock for a company that had a project to develop earthling colonies in Mars and Venus, now that the first spacecraft fleet capable of making the trip there was made and returned with information that indicated very good prospects for it.

“What about the technology to help humans reproduce without the need for the fetus to develop in utero?” Jun asked. “Anyone working to bring that to this country?”

“Certainly,” Jun’s main assistant, Kamenashi, nodded. He pressed a button on the smart bracelet that was on his wrist—one of the ideas that Jun’s company launched a decade earlier—and a tridimensional hologram showing all the relevant data filled the air above the long table they used for the daily meetings. “Given our projections about Earth’s population, both for vampires and humans, this should help solve the overpopulation problem without diminishing the blood supply available for us.”

Jun hummed. “And what about that project to obtain blood from recently deceased humans and keep it in bottles? Is that going anywhere?”

Another assistant spoke up. “The trials are starting in Tokyo’s Central Hospital’s morgue. The Ministry of Health greenlit the initiative after Sho-sama eliminated that zombie nest in Harajuku.”

“Good,” Jun nodded. A beep on his bracelet alerted him to an incoming call from Sho, which he ignored. He grumbled when he felt a telepathic message coming from Sho too. “Not now,” he answered before shielding.

Jun had become what humans called a workaholic. With the war out of the picture possibly forever, his bloodlust was replaced by greed. He wanted everything he could get his hands on and, as luck would have it, he had the resources to do so. He felt he had no reason to hold back, especially given that what he desired the most was still unattainable: to leave Sunrise Land and see the world.

His fascination with the idea of traveling had started thanks to Takuma. He’d been reading up on places around the world since their meeting. Sho shared his taste for learning about other places but, unlike Jun, he showed no inclination to leave. He was content with staying in Sunrise Land forever. He seemed to have found a pace of life that satisfied him and didn’t want anything else. Jun couldn’t agree with him.

Technology continued advancing. Because of space travel, holographic technology became even more commonplace. Vehicles with wheels were completely phased out, except for maybe bicycles. Surprisingly, culture-wise there was a big fixation with the aesthetic of the past, combined with the current technology. That clan member at the pleasure district was rolling in money after he launched an app that showed holograms of his geishas and oirans to customers to let them select the one they wanted and added automatic doors to the rooms. That was all he did, and he became more popular than ever for his ingenious mix of the past and the future.

The majority of Sho and Jun’s ryokans weren’t ever modernized beyond adding electricity, plumbing, central heating, and an internet connection to the facilities, mostly due to Sho’s stubbornness. It made them wildly popular now that there was a resurgence for love of the past. The clients adored the yukatas, which they continued making the traditional way at the Sakurai town. They sold for good money. The usual entertainment, consisting of traditional music, dancing, and gastronomy, became valuable selling points.

A hundred more years passed by. Another vow renewal that took them closer and closer to finally having their nuptials. That time Jun didn’t even have time to distance himself from Sho. The night they renewed their vows, they were alone as usual. They had been arguing on the way to their spot because Jun had ignored Sho’s calls the entire week.

“You don’t understand, Sho-san! This is the busiest week of the year for J & Associates!” Jun protested.

J & Associates was the entertainment agency that Jun started, along with Lord Masaki and other vampire investors. It was dedicated to managing various types of talents, mostly what was commonly known as idols. Their end-of-year event would be broadcast all over the world, and it’d be available in virtual reality technology as well. It was the first event of its kind to have such a large audience.

“I know, I know! You keep reminding me how important each of your projects is!” Sho grumbled. “But I feel like we don’t talk that much anymore, Jun-san! We never have a meal together despite living in the same place! You never come to our bed to sleep!”

“Sleep is for the weak,” Jun said with a snort. “I’m a vampire, I don’t need it.”

“Even vampires require rest,” Sho told him in a reproachful tone. “Lately you look emaciated. I’ve been told that you’re trying to subsist on synthetic blood and protein shakes. That’s not healthy!”

“Well, it has worked quite well for the past century or so!” Jun spat back. “And excuse me for wanting to lose some bulk! I just thought I’d like my figure more if I was leaner. It’s none of your business anyway, it’s my body!”

“Aren’t you taking it a little too far, though? It worries me.”

Jun just rolled his eyes at him and took out the goblet from his bag. “Let’s just do this and go home, okay? I’d like to be on time to catch the last part of the show.”

They proceeded as usual and were taken to the Soul Realm. Jun thought something was strange when he didn’t see Sho move inside it at all.

But then everything went completely black. And he couldn’t open his eyes.



Fifty years. That was how long he was unconscious.

He woke up with a start, gasping for air. The moment he did, a man jumped to hold him by his arms. He couldn’t distinguish the man’s voice until a couple of agonic minutes later when his eyes focused enough for him to see the face right in front of his.

“S-Sho-san!? Sho-san, what did just happen!?”

“T-Thank goodness!” Sho gripped him tight, his eyes getting glassy. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t ever come out of it. T-That I… that I’d…”

He pressed his lips into a line, unable to say anything else. He leaned his head on Jun’s lap. When a doctor came into the room, Sho was still in the same position.

They were on their beach house’s second floor, but it looked slightly different. There was medical equipment next to the bed, attached to Jun’s body. The blinds were drawn, leaving the room in complete darkness. What’s going on?

“Jun-sama,” the doctor, a clan member, bowed at him. “It’s so good you’ve finally awakened.”

Jun’s eyes went wide. “Oh… so that’s what happened? I fell unconscious?”

The doctor nodded. “The night of your vow renewal, fifty years ago, you collapsed after visiting the Soul Realm with Sho-sama. You’ve been mindless ever since.”

“H-Hold on… fifty years!?” Jun stared at the man in disbelief. “You’re telling me that I’ve been unconscious for half a century!?”

“Not unconscious, mindless,” the doctor reiterated. “Your state was similar to that of a newly turned vampire. You even became sensitive to light. Sho-sama has had to keep you under his mind control every time you opened your eyes.”

Jun looked down at Sho, who was staring back at him with red-rimmed eyes. He ran his fingers through Sho’s hair. “What caused it?”

The doctor gave Jun a stern look. “Synthetic blood.”

After Jun collapsed, a panicked Sho had immediately asked for help from his clan members. The doctor was one of the first to reply to his telepathic distress signal. They had taken Jun to a hospital, where the doctor worked. The tests they ran on his body returned a most shocking result.

“You were suffering from a condition that was very similar to a type of blood cancer,” the doctor said. “Many of your internal organs were also starting to decay as a result of it. We figured out that the reason for it was the synthetic blood you consumed because after you reacted and went into mindless mode, you started feeding on actual blood. That was what restored your body.”

“So… you’ve been bringing humans in to feed me?”

The doctor shook his head. “Unfortunately, undigested human blood was too strong for your body. It rejected it immediately,” he said. “You needed to get it from a vampire.”

Jun frowned. He looked at Sho and noticed the mark of two puncture wounds on his neck. Given how tired Sho looked, it was no surprise that they didn’t heal all the way. His heart clenched. He cupped Sho’s cheek and caressed it, wiping the tears gathered at the corner of his eye.

“You may need to feed on Sho-sama’s blood for another while,” the doctor added. “The rest of your body functions should be back to normal now that you’ve awakened. We’ll need to perform a full-body scan and some tests.”

The doctor tried to pull Sho up to start with the scan, but Sho glared at him and bared his fangs. The doctor smiled at him. “I’ll give you some private time first,” he said before leaving the room.

As soon as the doctor was gone, Sho fully launched himself into Jun’s embrace. Jun gasped when Sho pinned him to the mattress. He felt Sho shaking between his arms and knew that it meant Sho couldn’t hold back anymore and was crying.

“I thought I lost you forever,” Sho said without looking up. “I’d never been so scared in my entire life.”

“Not even when I made you ride that flying convertible car?”

Sho gave him a scathing look. It wiped the smile off Jun’s face. His joke wasn’t well-received. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like to sit by your bed the past fifty years? Can you even begin to imagine it?”

Jun gulped. “Sho-san, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t—”

“You were irresponsive for over a year,” Sho said. “The damage had extended to your brain. Your heart stopped pumping blood, your limbs started decaying, your wounds wouldn’t heal themselves. The doctor tried to make an incision, but it bled so much that you almost died. The full transfusion they made on you failed and the blood spilled all over the bed through every orifice in your body.”

Sho paused, burying his face in his hands. Jun wanted to reach for him, but he didn’t know if he’d be accepted.

“We didn’t know what to do. Everyone was panicking,” Sho continued. “And then, you suddenly reacted! You jumped off the bed and tackled me to the floor. You almost drained me. And would you believe it? That was what worked!”

Jun pulled him into his arms and kissed him, pouring into it all the gratitude he was feeling.

“I’ve been waiting right here for fifty years,” Sho said, giving Jun a loving look. “They told me you wouldn’t come back. B-But… but you did it! Somehow! I would have waited forever if it was necessary. I told them that the day they declared you dead, they’d have to bury me too.”

“Sho-san, don’t talk like that.” Jun shook his head.

“It’s the truth,” Sho said with a broken voice. “I’d die without you.”

They shared more kisses. Sho climbed atop of Jun, his hands seeking more contact with Jun’s body. Jun wrapped his arms around Sho’s neck, basking in the attention he was receiving. Suddenly, he felt the urgency to drink blood. He pushed Sho away.

“What’s the matter?” Sho asked, looking a little hurt.

Jun blushed. “I… I want your blood…”

Sho threw his head back, tilting it to the left. “Go ahead.”

Jun bit right into the same spot that had the puncture marks. He held Sho by the back of his neck while the warm, delicious blood flowed into his mouth. In all his years of consuming synthetic blood, he had forgotten how amazing the real thing was compared to it. Sho’s blood, in particular, had a sharp, almost spicy taste. It was the first blood he ever had after his zombie period was over and, to that day, it was still his favorite.

“Stop,” Sho said. He laughed when Jun growled at the command. “Jun-san…”

Jun licked the wound and pouted at Sho. “I wanted more.”

“You don’t need more than that for today,” Sho replied. He stood up and walked up to what looked like a fridge. He took out a bottle from it and poured a dark red liquid into a glass before returning the bottle to its place.

“What’s that? Synthetic blood?”

Sho shook his head. “We discontinued synthetic blood production after cases similar to yours popped up. None reached the same level of seriousness, thank goodness, but we figured it was best to scrap the whole formula,” he said. “This is bottled human blood, obtained from corpses.”

“I remember that project,” Jun replied.

“The government agreed with us that, given the corpses need to be drained of blood before burial anyway, it wasn’t a bad idea,” Sho said. “We must pay taxes to compensate for it, but it’s worth it, I think. It took us nearly thirty years to figure out the formula to preserve blood fresh for long periods. After that, we just needed these special warming units that keep it at a temperature identical to that of the human body. It’s been a massive hit all over the continent.”

Jun blinked. “The continent?”

“Yes, we opened more branches of the company overseas!” Sho replied with a grin. “Kamenashi-kun is currently there, managing operations.”

Jun’s breath hitched. “W-Wait… how… how come he left Sunrise Land!? Is that even possible? I thought only Lord Masaki could come and go!”

Sho’s smile wavered a little. “Ah, well, that…” he looked away. “Those are special passports, issued by Lord Masaki.”

Jun grabbed his arm. “Tell me all about them.”

With the new colonies in other planets already established, a group of vampires from all over the world started asking if they could follow the humans to outer space. After deliberating, the Elders decided to form three clans that would make up a new Realm. They contemplated that in coming centuries each clan might be considered a Realm in its own right, depending on how much the colonies expanded.

Members from all over the world were allowed to apply for a spot in those three clans. Eventually, ten members were chosen for each clan. Their primary function would be to test the extent of vampire abilities such as mind control and telepathy, and whether they could be maintained at a long distance. Also, to know what differences were between vampire and human bodies when it came to exposure to space.

“It appears we can survive being exposed to the void for around three days before it starts having negative effects on us,” Sho said. “We can compensate for the difference of gravity and adjust without the need of artificial gravity in other planets. Our bones and muscles don’t seem to suffer as much as humans’ do upon our return to Earth.”

Jun listened to it all with excitement growing in his chest. “You mean, we’re better suited for space travel than humans are?”

“So far, it seems to be so,” Sho said. “Anyway, with vampires now going to outer space, the Elders decided to relax the ban on traveling outside of the territory in which vampires were born.”

The special passports had to be issued by the territory’s ruler. He’d receive and study applications during the first nine years of every decade, then choose on its last year one hundred vampires at most to be granted permission to leave. The passports lasted two hundred years, after which the vampires had to return to their original territory.

Jun couldn’t be more thrilled about the changes that had taken place while he was unconscious. Finally, a way to make his biggest dream come true had appeared! “That’s amazing! And, say, what would I need to do to get one of those passports, Sho-san?”

The death glare he got from Sho was an absolute, most terrible, surprise to him.

“You are not going anywhere, Jun-san,” Sho spat. “Have you forgotten that you’ve been ill for fifty years!? Do you think that, what, just because you’re conscious you can just pack up and go on your way!?”

“I wasn’t planning on doing it now!” Jun replied. “But maybe, I don’t know, in a couple of years…”

“The answer is no,” Sho insisted, glaring at Jun. “And that’s the end of the discussion.”

The dismissal was quite hurtful, but after trying to stand up and failing, Jun understood that it wasn’t realistic for him to think about traveling for the time being. His internal organs weren’t fully healed, and he still couldn’t digest human blood that hadn’t been processed by Sho’s body first. Seeing how concerned Sho was the entire time, how it was taking a toll on him to be the caretaker of someone who could do very little by himself, Jun opted to not mention the topic again.

His full recovery took so long that by their next vow renewal, Sho carried him to the beach in his arms. And so much of his energy was used just to perform the ritual that he was unconscious for a couple of days. Poor Sho was so terrified when he collapsed that he didn’t sleep at all until Jun opened his eyes.

When another few decades passed, Jun thought he was ready to restart his life.

His physical state wasn’t what it used to be, but he wasn’t doing bad. He trained with Sho every day so that his body continued gaining more and more strength back. His powers had diminished considerably. His command on it wasn’t stable either; sometimes they went out of control, some others they didn’t work. He continued drinking Sho’s blood because he loved the taste even after he recovered enough to drink human blood directly. Sho didn’t mind it at all and proudly displayed the two little marks on his neck, which he didn’t allow to disappear.

Jun was mostly working from home. Sho forced him to delegate most of his work to his group of assistants, who were only allowed to meet Jun for a couple of hours every day. Jun was annoyed by Sho’s tactics, but he knew that Sho only did it out of concern for him. Sho had also delegated much of his work to devote entirely to taking care of Jun.

Still, Jun felt strong enough to bring up his dream again. He hoped that Sho would understand.

“Look, Jun-san, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Sho said. “If you want to travel, fine, go ahead and travel all over Sunrise Land again. It’s big enough to keep you entertained.”

“I know this place like the back of my hand. It’s not exciting anymore!” Jun said. “It’s time we get out there and see more of the world! Haven’t you always been fascinated by stories of traveling humans?”

“Not all humans travel,” Sho said. “Most of them never leave the nation where they were born.”

“It’s because they can’t!” Jun argued. “They don’t have the time or the resources, but we do.”

Sho said he’d think about it, but Jun knew that was a lie. The constant frustration turned Jun a bit bitter. He eventually decided to leave home permanently to travel around the country, just to avoid seeing Sho so often. He knew that Sho was displeased when Jun distanced himself but was there any other way out of that situation? Neither of them was willing to compromise.

A few years before their eighteenth vow renewal, Jun went behind Sho’s back and applied for a passport.

Masaki seemed surprised when Jun came into his office. “I thought Sho-chan said he didn’t want to apply for a passport.”

“He doesn’t, but I do,” Jun replied.

Masaki arched an eyebrow at him; he didn’t make any comment and pushed a button on his tablet. Something beeped on Jun’s bracelet.

“I just approved your application,” Masaki said. “Your passport won’t be valid until the first day of the first year of the next decade. It’s the day after your vow renewal.”

“Okay,” Jun nodded. “Thank you.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell Sho-chan about this?”

Jun pursed his lips. “I’ll find a good moment to tell him.”

It was a lie, but Masaki didn’t need to know that.

*

Jun’s quest for modernity took him further and further away from Sho.

When it was just the love for technology and changes in clothing styles, Sho was alright with it. He could learn to get used to Jun’s new gadgets, even if some, like that flying car, were monstrosities that shouldn’t exist. He couldn’t remember when he saw Jun wearing kimono the last time, and he only ever saw Jun wearing a yukata after coming out of the hot springs. Jun switched his hairstyle so many times that Sho couldn’t remember all of them except when looking at the pictures Jun took of himself every day. He had it very short, very long, curly, wavy, in an undercut, with bangs, without bangs, combed back, spiked, with highlights of different colors, and at least four different shades of brown during different points of his life. He was devastatingly handsome with all his different looks, but he never stuck to one for too long. He changed his entire wardrobe every couple of years, giving away the pricy designer items he bought to younger vampires who looked up to him as a style guru of some sort.

All that was fine. Looking back on it, they were pretty harmless things.

Then, Jun stopped drinking real blood, and he stopped using telepathy to communicate with Sho. He hadn’t joined the clan for their inspections in a long, long time. Sometimes he didn’t even use his full field of perception. His near-death illness induced by his bad habits didn’t change anything in his attitude. The breach separating them felt bigger and bigger every day. Sho started to fear that, perhaps, their relationship would never go back to what it used to be in its good times. The fatal blow for it came mere months before their eighteenth vow renewal.

Lord Masaki asked Sho and Jun to visit him at his penthouse in Tokyo. He said there was someone he wanted them to meet. He was unusually mysterious about it.

“I have kept this from you all these years, but I have a baby,” Masaki finally revealed upon their arrival. “He’s almost of age now. He doesn’t have many friends outside of the internet because he spends most of his life holed up in his room…”

Masaki got slapped on the back of his head. The vampire who did so had come out of nowhere, running at full speed.

“Stop making me sound like a hermit!”

The voice. Sho recognized it right away. When the man turned around, he understood why he’d never seen Ohmiya Yuuji again: Masaki had turned him into a vampire.

The man recognized Sho too. He went completely red when their eyes met, and his limbs were visibly shaking. He gave Sho a little awkward smile before turning around and delivering another hit to Masaki.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Sho-chan was coming!? I look like a mess! You’re an idiot!”

He stormed off, grumbling and stomping his feet. Masaki burst out laughing, sprawled on the couch. The man returned before Masaki had even recovered, wearing a mustard-colored t-shirt and dark pants instead of pajamas. He glared at Masaki before walking up to Sho.

That face, Sho thought he’d never see it again. Everything was the same: the light brown eyes with a spark of mischief, the mouth curved in his signature little smirk, the mole on his chin that was more noticeable because of his pale complexion.

“Hi, Sho-chan,” the man greeted with a smile. “I’ve been waiting for so long to finally meet you.”

Sho nodded, not knowing what to say, which made the man laugh. Then, the man looked at Jun. His expression changed. “J. As expected, the two of you are together.”

The tension while the two of them stared each other down was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Sho wished he wasn’t trapped right between the two of them.

“So…” Masaki cleared his throat. “This is Ninomiya Kazunari. I’m sure both of you remember him well, especially you, Sho-chan.”

Jun rolled his eyes when Ninomiya flashed a smug smile at him.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that this was happening to you?” Masaki asked. “To meet and have a relationship with the same man across so many of his lifetimes is something unprecedented!”

“It’s like we’re soulmates,” Ninomiya said, earning another glare from Jun. He plopped down next to Sho, looking shy out of a sudden. “I’ve been in love with you since my first lifetime, you know? When Aiba-shi here unlocked my memories, my first thought was that I needed to find you. We hadn’t met yet when I was turned. I almost ran out into the sun to look for you.”

“I had to chain him,” Masaki confirmed. “This idiot didn’t understand the danger.”

“He told me that you were a vampire,” Ninomiya continued. “He showed me all the times we met, and the ways you used your powers to hide your true identity from me. And, of course, I noticed that someone was always next to you.”

Jun cocked his head to the side when Ninomiya stared at him.

“He’s not really your brother, is he?” Ninomiya asked. “That was how you usually referred to him, but there’s something different going on between you guys, isn’t there?”

Sho frowned, looking at Masaki. “You didn’t tell him?”

Masaki sighed, shaking his head. “I thought it’d be better for you to explain.”

“I’m his child.” Jun’s response left Sho and Masaki in shock. Neither of them expected him to lie. “He wasn’t the one who turned me, but he found me the day I regained consciousness,” Jun continued. “He saved my life and protected me, so I’ve been by his side ever since.”

Ninomiya hummed. “That makes sense,” he said. His gaze was fixated on their matching rings.

“He gave this to me the day I swore my loyalty to him,” Jun explained before Ninomiya even asked. “I’m one of the founding members of the Sakurai clan.”

What is he doing!?

They had dinner together. Ninomiya told them that he’d been dedicating his time since he was turned to developing his skills and playing online games. He was a professional gamer, earned himself a high income doing what he loved. Jun was quiet the entire time, avoiding Sho’s gaze and shielding to prevent Sho from using telepathy to read his mind or talk to him.

As they were saying their goodbyes, Ninomiya pulled Sho into a hug. “Can I see you again?”

Sho didn’t reply. Instead, it was Jun who spoke for him. “He’d be delighted,” he said. “You know what? You guys should go out tomorrow. To make up for lost time and all that.”

Sho glared at Jun, who promptly averted his eyes and walked out of the door.

“Then…” Ninomiya cupped Sho’s face. “Will I see you tomorrow, Sho-chan?”

“I’ll call you,” Sho said, faking a smile for him.

The moment the door was closed, Sho ran after Jun. He slammed Jun against the wall, making him hiss. “What the heck was that!?” he yelled, digging his nails into Jun’s arms. “Why didn’t you tell him the truth? Why did you say I’d go out with him!?”

Jun was quiet, staring at him with red-rimmed, glassy eyes. “I was just making things easier for you!” he spat. “Look, I know you’ve only stuck with me all these years because he hadn’t come back. But he’s here now! You don’t have to put up with me, you’re free!”

“What do you mean!?”

Jun took a deep breath before speaking up again. “I’ve always been a stand-in for him, from the very start,” he said. “You only seek me when there isn’t a better option. Well, now there is! Your dream man has become a vampire and you’re no longer a vampire-hater. There’s no need for you to keep me around anymore.”

Sho widened his eyes and let go of him. “Is that what you think of our relationship, that I was just using you as a replacement all this time?”

“Yes, and I’m tired of it,” Jun replied, looking down. He was fiddling with his ring. “He’s your ideal partner, not me. If you were with him, the two of you might have exactly the life that you want. You’d have to wait three hundred years for our bond to break, and then the time between betrothal and nuptials, but—”

“Stop!” Sho cut him off. “Don’t you dare say another word!”

“I’m miserable here, Sho-san. I need to leave!” Jun raised his tone. “We want different things for our life, we’ve been arguing a lot about that. And I want you to be happy too, with a partner that wants the same things you do.”

As Jun was trying to slip his ring off, Sho took hold of his hands and knelt before him. “Jun-san, please, don’t do this! I can’t live without you!”

“I think you can,” Jun said with a bitter smile. He gently removed his hands from Sho’s hold and walked a few steps. He continued talking without turning around. “My passport has been approved. I was looking for the right timing to tell you, but I guess this will have to be it.”

Sho stayed frozen on his spot, unable to react in any way. He felt like a hole was opening in his chest, a sharp pain that increased every second.

“I’m leaving on the first day of next year. That’s the morning after our upcoming vow renewal,” Jun continued. Sho felt right away that he was using mind control. “We’ll meet on the last day of the year, at the usual place. Stay away from me until then. And don’t try to follow me now.”

Sho couldn’t stand up after that. He stared into the distance, still processing what had just happened. Eventually, Masaki came out and dragged him back into his place. Ninomiya looked like he wanted to ask about it, but Sho refused to talk while he was in the room. Once he was gone, Sho told Masaki everything, including that there was another man who crossed paths with him every two hundred years.

“Sho-chan, I saw Nino’s memories,” Masaki said. “I know the two of you weren’t lovers in all of his lifetimes, but from Jun-pon’s perspective, it must have looked like you continuously chose a human man over him for hundreds of years! And that’s without counting the other guy!”

“I know…”

“I get why he thinks that if you had to choose someone to live eternity with you, it’d be Nino and not him,” Masaki continued. He patted Sho’s back after taking a look at his face. “What will you do now? Won’t you look for him?”

Sho’s eyes flashed blue just as he thought of doing so. He sighed. “Even if I find him, he commanded me to stay away.”

The next day, Sho felt like shit. It was the first morning in hundreds of years that he woke up and couldn’t feel Jun’s presence at all. He spent almost an hour trying to get past Jun’s strong shielding, but he couldn’t. He resigned himself to send one last message, to remind Jun that he should drink blood and sleep well that night. It was what he did every day when Jun shielded to avoid him during his trips in the past few decades.

He came out of the room when he felt hungry. Masaki was gone, but Ninomiya was there. He greeted Sho with a big grin.

“I made soba,” he said. He frowned when he saw Sho’s expression. “Anything wrong, Sho-chan?”

“I’m fine,” Sho lied. He sat down and had his meal in silence.

He spent the first week desperately trying to locate Jun, to no avail. It was as though Jun had vanished. None of the clan members could find him in their assigned posts. Sho went to the Soul Realm, but Jun wouldn’t reveal himself. Jun was there, he could hear and feel Sho, but his physical form remained veiled in darkness. Sho tried telepathy, but he obtained no reply.

The despair became so strong that Sho stopped taking care of himself, despite reminding Jun every day that he needed to drink blood and stay healthy. If it hadn’t been for Ninomiya, Sho may not have made it to the end of that year.



Ninomiya barged into Sho’s home at the Sakurai town after a month of not hearing anything from him. It wasn’t personal, Sho hadn’t kept in touch with anyone ever since he moved there. He didn’t comment on Sho’s state and just handed him a bottle of blood.

They didn’t have a real conversation during the first few weeks of Ninomiya’s stay at the house. Ninomiya made sure that Sho consumed some blood every week, handed him a plate of food once a day and didn’t leave until it was empty, cleaned things around him, and forced him to take a bath every couple of days. Ninomiya never forced Sho to talk to him, never asked how he was feeling or whether he wanted company at all. Perhaps that was why Sho eventually dared to talk to him.

“Why are you here?”

Ninomiya paused his video game when he heard Sho’s voice. He looked up at Sho with a grin. “I’m friends with three of your children. You know, those three that were always around when you and I met in my past lives?”

“Ah…” Sho nodded. Indeed, he remembered that Ninomiya had befriended Fuma, Nakamaru, and Yamada several times. “When did you get in touch with them?”

“Shortly after you went off the rails because of your fight with J,” Ninomiya replied. “One of them came to ask Aiba-shi about what happened that night. I was there, so we ended up talking. He told the other two, and that’s how we reconnected.”

Sho hummed. “Did they tell you I was here?”

“Yes,” Ninomiya confirmed with a nod. “I had no intention of coming over until they got a call from a concerned clan member, saying that you had been sitting on the same spot without moving for two weeks and they needed help.”

“You’re not from my clan, though,” Sho said. “Why did you come instead of them?”

“I volunteered when they were deciding who should come,” Ninomiya replied with a smile. “They also opposed at first because I’m an ‘outsider’, but I managed to convince them.”

“How?”

“Well…” Ninomiya gave Sho a sheepish smile. “I told them that I’ve been thinking of switching clans.”

Sho was surprised to hear that from him. “What!? But why!?”

“I’ve been linked to the Sakurai clan during several lifetimes. I think of that as a sign that I should join you guys,” Ninomiya said. “Plus… the first vampire ability I awakened was that of extending my field of perception. Aiba-shi agreed that makes me well-suited to become a part of the overseer clan.”

“Huh…” Sho furrowed his eyebrows.

“Of course, whether I join or not depends on what J decides. He’s the other head of your clan after all.”

The words took Sho by surprise. Ninomiya laughed at Sho’s shocked expression.

“Did you think I ignored the truth, Sho-chan?” Ninomiya gave Sho a reproaching yet somewhat amused look. “There was a lifetime in which I served a warlord who allied with the vampire clans. Aiba-shi seems to have forgotten it, but he revealed that vampires go through a ceremony similar to human marriages. Out of the vampire lords that he introduced to us that day, you were one of the few who had a consort. And your consort was J.”

Ninomiya’s eyes turned yellow as he shared the memory of that moment with Sho. “That was so long ago,” Sho chuckled, “I didn’t remember it.”

“Why did J say he was just your child?”

Sho let out a sigh before talking. “He wants to break our vows.”

“What!?” Ninomiya gasped. “Why!?”

Seeing how concerned Ninomiya appeared after hearing that, Sho didn’t have the heart to tell him that it had to do with him being there. “He wants to leave Sunrise Land—I mean, Japan,” Sho said instead. “We’ve been arguing over it for decades because I oppose the idea.”

“How come?”

“Well… it’s complicated,” Sho said. “See, if I had been given the chance to do it back when I was three hundred years old, I would have jumped at it. I didn’t want to have anything to do with the vampire community. Heck, I hated vampires! The only reason I grew to care about them was because of Jun-san!”

As he was speaking, Sho realized just how much of an impact Jun had had on his life. Accepting his duties, going through several vampire milestones like taking a consort and forming a clan, acknowledging Masaki as his ruler, following orders, sacrificing his inclinations for the sake of others. He had only done all that because of Jun, to protect him, to become someone he could admire.

“Would it be that bad for you to leave for a while?” Ninomiya asked. “I doubt Sunrise Land will descend into chaos just because you take a short, two-hundred-year break.”

Sho couldn’t hold back a little smile. “I know,” he said. “I guess part of me is just not that good at adapting to change. I’ve barely gotten used to modernization. It frightens me to think about what’s out there.”

“Does it frighten you so much that you’d rather give up J?”

“I’m not giving up Jun!” Sho growled. He bared his fangs at Ninomiya, who backed away looking terrified. Once his rational side kicked in, Sho felt ashamed of himself. “I… I’m so sorry…”

He took off running barefoot while Ninomiya called his name.



When Sho stopped running, he was by the beach. His feet had unconsciously taken him right where he was supposed to meet Jun at the end of the year. He curled up into a ball and lay on the sand for hours, trying to reach Jun through telepathy in vain. The sun was setting when someone found him there.

“Sir, are you okay?”

Sho opened his eyes. He got a little startled when he found a very familiar face looking back at him. Taka?

The man sat next to Sho and helped him sit up. “I’m Ohno Satoshi,” he said. “I work for this hotel, driving one of their rental yachts.”

“Nice to meet you, Ohno-san,” Sho mumbled. “My name is Sakurai Sho.”

Ohno hummed, furrowing his eyebrows a little. “Have we met before, Sakurai-san?”

“We have,” Sho said. “But it was hundreds of years ago. You probably don’t even remember it.”

“I do, sort of,” Ohno replied. “Last time you had just gotten married, hadn’t you?”

The pain in Sho’s chest stung a little harder for a moment at recalling that night, when he told Jun that he loved him after Jun admitted his feelings for him. “It was our honeymoon,” Sho said, pursing his lips as he fought to keep the tears away. “It wasn’t for real, though, but I guess it’s the closest I’ll ever get to having one.”

Ohno frowned. “Now that you mention it… how come you’re all alone? Where is Jun-san?”

“I don’t know where he is. I can’t find him!” Sho said. “He doesn’t want to see me.”

Because he needed to vent, Sho chose to ignore vampire custom and told Ohno his entire life story without concealing any details. He revealed his true nature to Ohno, as well as the fact that their ‘past meetings’ had taken place during Ohno’s previous lifetimes. He talked about his relationship with Jun, as well as his various affairs with Ninomiya and Ohno’s past counterparts. Finally, he explained how it all resulted in his current situation: Jun was gone and hadn’t contacted Sho in almost two months, and they’d meet at the end of the year before Jun left.

Ohno listened in silence, not talking until Sho was done. “You messed up,” he said with a chuckle after hearing the whole story. “Why did it take you so long to make up your mind and stop pursuing other men? Your soul submitted to his during your betrothal ceremony, didn’t it?”

“For the longest time, I thought he wasn’t in love with me,” Sho replied. “By the time he confessed his feelings to me, it was too late. I’d been hurting him for over a thousand years.”

Ohno shook his head, patting Sho’s back. “Well, you have a last shot at the end of the year. You’d better not blow it!”

“I’ll do my best not to,” Sho replied. He flashed a smile at Ohno, who just smiled back. “You know, you don’t seem disturbed at all to hear about vampires. Aren’t you a little scared?”

“Rather than scared, I’m very curious!” Ohno laughed. “Can you really unlock my past lives’ memories?”

“I can, but I shouldn’t. You could lose your mind.”

Ohno shrugged. “I’ll take the risk.”

Sho put his hands over Ohno’s head, after asking once again whether Ohno was sure. Ohno’s enthusiastic reply pushed him to go ahead. After a moment, with his eyes flashing blue, Ohno’s memories revealed themselves one by one. It was a long stream, it contained so much that Sho was reeling by the end of it. He let go of Ohno, looking at him in terror.

“You… you were the First!”

Ohno chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know, I think that makes sense,” he said. His eyes flashed green as he formed a sandcastle, using telekinesis as though he was a vampire. “Now I see why I could do so much strange shit at times.”

“B-But… how!?” Sho’s eyes were wide in shock as he looked at Ohno. “You passed away! Vampires can’t be reborn!”

“Indeed, the ones who die before their lifespan is depleted don’t reincarnate. I always wondered why that was,” Ohno said. “I’m the only one who has passed away by natural causes. The eldest of the remaining vampires back when I died was still far from reaching the end of his days.”

“Ah, is it perhaps the Eldest of the South? I heard he has around three thousand years left of his lifespan.”

“I see,” Ohno nodded. He continued making little sculptures out of the sand around the castle. “And how is that child, Masaki-kun? Does he still live?”

“He’s the ruler of Sunrise Land,” Sho replied. “I didn’t know he met you.”

Ohno grinned and touched Sho’s forehead, his eyes flashing blue. “Let me show you something.”

The moment Ohno touched him, Sho was transported back into a memory from his first lifetime. He was just a child, and he befriended an old man who lived in the mountains near Sho’s tribe’s settlement. The old man had tanned skin, white hair, and a beard so long it reached his belly.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Sho grinned. “I remember I went to see you every day. My parents said that you were an immortal sage, that you’d been defending our mountain from vampires for thousands of years.”

“I kept it hidden with an illusion,” Ohno explained. “The only two vampires to ever get past it were Ken-kun and Masaki-kun. They convinced me to start a war against the vampire rulers that had gone out of control.”

“They call it the Great Vampire War now,” Sho said. “Lord Masaki never told me he had a hand in starting it.”

The day the three of them departed, Sho had seen them go. Ohno had waved goodbye at him before disappearing in the mist, never to be seen again.

“I’ve met you in all my lifetimes ever since I was reborn,” Ohno said. “You probably aren’t aware of it, but I’ve always known.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know!” Ohno laughed. “There’s so much we ignore about the curse that created me. The men who cast it paid with their lives to create me. They took all their knowledge to the grave.”

He showed Sho how he was turned. He was born in Sunrise Land, that was why he was reborn there instead of the faraway land where he was raised. Five men in robes stole him from his mother as soon as the umbilical cord was severed. They performed a ritual under the full moon, after which Ohno became a vampire and the five of them passed away, drained of their blood. A sixth man took Ohno with him on a journey back to their homeland.

“Every vampire that exists has my blood flowing through their veins,” Ohno said. “I guess in a way that makes me the key to figuring out how it all works.”

Ohno removed his hands from Sho’s head, his eyes going back to their natural brown color. He exhaled as he looked into the sea. “The curse hasn’t been lifted even though I’m human now,” he said. “I can use my powers just like I did thousands of years ago.”

“Do you think that has something to do with us meeting in all your lifetimes?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Ohno shrugged. He flashed a grin at Sho. “Aren’t you the one studying it?”

“I’m far from getting it,” Sho said, shaking his head. “Perhaps with your help…”

“Eh…” Ohno wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know about that. I’m pretty content with being a human.”

They talked for another while, and then Ohno asked Sho to lock his memories again—he taught Sho the process. He wanted to end that lifetime as a regular human being. He promised Sho to consider becoming a vampire again when he was reborn. In exchange for Sho’s silence about the matter, he helped Sho arrange a surprise for the day he renewed his vows with Jun.

“We’ll continue this conversation in two hundred years,” Ohno said. He shook Sho’s hand and kept holding it while Sho locked his memories. “Good luck, Sho-chan.”



The next morning, Sho returned home. Ninomiya was waiting in his room, looking quite worried.

“Please forgive me,” Sho said, bowing at Ninomiya. “What I did was uncalled for.”

Ninomiya shook his head. “It’s fine, Sho-chan. I just said it to get a reaction out of you,” he admitted. He motioned Sho to sit next to him. “You love J, don’t you?”

“More than anyone or anything in the world,” Sho replied.

“Aiba-shi said that J commanded you to stay away and has been shielding from you since he left, and that’s why you’ve been upset,” Ninomiya said. “Yesterday, after you left, I was recalling the times you couldn’t get in touch with him.”

Sho could feel a wave of warmth enveloping him as Ninomiya walked him through some of his memories. He could see himself, sitting outside the house he shared with Take Seiji, trying to reach Jun through telepathy but being unable to, utterly unaware that Take was watching.

“I had no idea you were a vampire, but every time I saw you sitting there, I knew you were thinking of him,” Ninomiya said. “You put a little of the incense he sent you in your clothes every morning, so you always smelled like him.”

“You noticed!?”

“That’s how I knew you lied about him being your brother,” Ninomiya replied. “It was also the first time I discovered that you loved him more than you loved me.”

The memories continued passing before Sho’s eyes, showing every time Ninomiya realized that Sho loved Jun. The morning Sho sent Jun off to war with Kurono watching nearby, the nights he talked to Yamada Taro about the ‘friend’ who had gone off to battle, the afternoon he revealed to Wakui Takuro that Jun wasn’t related to him and admitted that he’d been using Takuro’s interest in him to make Jun jealous, the evening Koro-sensei comforted him after Jun left home without telling Sho, and so on.

“You corresponded my feelings only three times,” Ninomiya said. “The others, I was a fling or a distraction at most. That or we were just friends. Three times you rejected me to be with him.”

Sho nodded, chuckling at the memory. Aoki Daiki had confessed to him, but he’d been a pain in Sho’s ass for months, not to mention Sho was feeling lovesick out of being far from Jun for so long. Bocchan had asked Sho to remain in Edo with him; when Sho said no, Bocchan knew that it was because of Jun, he’d been aware of their relationship all along although he never mentioned it. And Onda Takuma had tried to convince Sho to travel the world with him; to him, Sho did tell directly that he wanted to stay by Jun’s side.

“Ever since you met him, there hasn’t been a lifetime in which I haven’t been jealous of him,” Ninomiya said. “Whenever you were in a hard situation, it was him that you went to. If you were separated, you were miserable. You missed him so much that you could barely think of anyone else. The way you talked about him, the way you smiled when he was next to you… I never stood a chance! It’s always been him, hasn’t it, Sho-chan?”

Sho blushed. “Yes.”

Ninomiya gave Sho a sad look. Despite not wanting to seem like it, he was hurt at the moment. “So? Will you give up and let him go just like that?”

Sho shook his head. “I can’t. I won’t.”

At that, Ninomiya smiled. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”

*

Jun had the worst months of his life. He sought refuge at Lord Ikuta’s home. His friend was surprised to find him at his door looking so dejected. He didn’t ask what happened and let Jun hole up in a bedroom.

Sho was looking for him. Ueda was the clan member assigned to that area, and he found Jun a few days after the breakup—that was how Jun saw it anyway. Jun used mind control on him to prevent him from telling Sho anything.

“But why are you hiding from aniki!?” Ueda asked with a deep frown. “Did anything happen?”

They were sitting in Toma’s living room along with Shun, who was visiting too. Jun hadn’t touched the tea that Toma poured for him.

“Sho-san and I might now renew our blood pact this time,” Jun replied. “We, uh… we’ll probably go our separate ways after this year ends.”

Ueda’s eyes went so wide that they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. Toma and Shun rolled their eyes at Jun.

“That’s not going to happen,” Toma said. “You just need some space.”

“If you hadn’t commanded him to stay away, he’d probably be here already,” Shun added.

Jun shook his head, burying his face in his hands. “Not while that man is around.”

Ueda wasn’t surprised when Jun told him that the man in question was Yuuji, Sho’s lover that hadn’t reappeared in a few centuries already. However, he disagreed with Jun about the way things would go.

“I don’t think it will be the same this time,” he said. “There’s too much at stake. Aniki would never let you go.”

Just as they were talking, Jun’s eyes flashed a bright blue. He stood up and rushed to the kitchen, to look for a bottle of heated blood.

“Don’t forget to have some blood today and sleep well, Jun-san.”

Always the same, Jun thought to himself with a little annoyance. Other than the first day, when he felt Sho’s desperation through their bond, all he got those days was the usual command Sho gave him daily every time he traveled because Sho didn’t trust him to take care of himself.

“What type is it today?” Toma asked with a smirk.

Jun glared at him while pouring himself a small glass of blood. He returned the half-full bottle to its place. “You know I always have A+ blood,” he said. “It’s the closest any human blood gets to the taste of Sho-san’s blood.”

Toma and Shun exchanged a disgusted look. “Isn’t it too bitter?” Shun asked. “I find A- blood much better. It’s sweet and mild.”

“Sho-san doesn’t taste sweet. Of course, his blood isn’t this bitter. I’d describe it more as spicy,” Jun replied, gulping down the blood in one go. His eyes returned to their usual color. “And A- tastes too much like my blood, I don’t like it.”

He noticed that Ueda was giving him a strange look. “Your eyes flashed yellow before turning blue,” Ueda commented. “Are you aware of that?”

Toma arched an eyebrow at Jun. “Oh? Your soul has submitted to his?”

“What? Why would you think that?” Jun replied with a frown.

“Telepathy becomes mind control if you have submitted to your partner,” Toma replied. He flashed an amused smile at Shun. “I’d know about it.”

Shun groaned, rolling his eyes at him. “For fuck’s sake, could you stop rubbing that in my face every time you can?”

Jun blushed as he thought of the implications of what Toma said. He found it was very unfortunate timing for his soul to start submitting to Sho.

“Wait, then aniki is trying to talk to you, not ordering you around!” Ueda pointed out.

“Why doesn’t he say anything else, then?” Jun grumbled. “You know what he does when I go to the Soul Realm to see him? He just stands there and doesn’t ever reply to what I say!”

Ueda raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You can see him? He said that he can’t see you at all in the Soul Realm, that you’re always shielding when you go in there.”

“I cannot shield anymore,” Jun replied. “I haven’t been able to do so since I fell ill.”

Ueda frowned. His eyes flashed yellow for a moment. He gave Jun a shocked look after a few seconds passed. “You didn’t hear me?”

Jun blinked. “Did you say anything to me?”

Toma frowned. His eyes glowed yellow too and, like Ueda, he was unable to communicate with Jun. “Hadn’t you noticed it before, that you can’t use telepathy anymore?”

Jun sighed. “I can barely use any of my powers,” he admitted. “They only seem to work on Sho-san sometimes.”

“One of our clan members who used to drink the synthetic blood had the same problem for a while. It’s not easy to go back to normal,” Shun commented. “I know how to help you out, Jun-kun, but you’ll need to train a lot.”

The three of them offered to help him out. Jun asked them to keep his presence there as a secret from Sho and the Sakurai clan members, though. The training required Ueda’s participation, given he and Jun had a mental link thanks to Jun’s bond with Sho. It left both of them quite exhausted by the end of every session. With time, however, Jun was able to start using his telepathy again. That was how he found out that Sho was living with Ninomiya.

Sho couldn’t perceive him yet in the Soul Realm, but Jun was able to look into his thoughts. The moment he saw that Ninomiya was in Sho’s recent memories, he was sent deeper into despair. He didn’t leave his room for three days, except to obey Sho’s daily command of drinking blood.

Ueda told him that Ninomiya was taking care of Sho. “The clan members let him stay because he was the only one that could get aniki to talk,” he said. “They said that his company has been a positive influence, although Ninomiya-kun had a hard time getting aniki to open up to him.”

Jun could feel the jealousy burning inside him. Of all people, why did it have to be that man!? He became more and more upset as Ueda continued talking. The distress was strong enough for Sho to finally feel his presence again.

“Found you.”

Jun gasped when he heard Sho’s voice on his mind. His heart started beating faster as a familiar feeling of warmth flooded his entire being. He clutched his chest with a hand as he struggled to keep himself under control.

“I know you don’t want me around, but wasn’t it too cruel to keep shielding all this time?” Sho sounded hurt when he spoke. “Never thought you could be so cold, Jun-san.”

Jun shook his head. “It wasn’t on purpose,” he said. “I swear, Sho-san, I wasn’t trying to block you from talking to me.” He sat there motionless, waiting for Sho to say anything else. He grew antsy when he couldn’t feel anything coming from Sho’s side anymore. Ueda’s bracelet rung a minute later.

“It’s him,” Ueda said. “I’ll put him on speaker, Jun-sama.”

“You’re there with him, aren’t you!?” Sho’s angry voice said without greeting. “How could you not tell me!?”

“He commanded me to hide it from you!”

Sho groaned. Both Ueda and Jun winced when they heard something crashing in the background on his side. “I cannot go to see him. He won’t let me,” Sho said. “But Lord Masaki has no such limitation. He’ll show up there soon.”

“Alright…”

“What the heck happened to Jun-san today!?” Sho asked. “I hadn’t felt such a strong distress signal from him since before our betrothal.”

Ueda looked at Jun, who shook his head with a pleading expression. He rolled his eyes when Jun refused to speak. “He saw Ninomiya-kun in your memories during his last visit to the Soul Realm. I just confirmed to him that you are living together in the Sakurai town.”

“He was in the Soul Realm!? Why didn’t he reveal himself to me!?”

“He can’t,” Ueda replied. He used mind control to prevent Jun from moving—in his weakened state, even clan members could exert power over Jun. “He doesn’t have much control over his powers right now. It wasn’t just his body that was affected when he fell ill.”

“But he’s been shielding just fine all these years!”

“It’s not shielding, aniki,” Ueda said. “He hadn’t been able to use telepathy at will since he fell ill. Hadn’t he told you?”

“No,” Sho mumbled. “All this time I thought he was just mad at me.”

“Well, he finally could read your mind some days ago, and he didn’t like what he saw,” Ueda said. “He’s been sulking in his room ever since.”

Jun blushed to the tip of his ears, feeling a bit indignant even if it was the truth. He didn’t want Sho to know he was jealous, that’d only make him seem a lot more pathetic. To his surprise, Sho’s response to his jealousy was to reach out to him via their telepathic bond. It felt like Sho was embracing him, which made him tear up.

“Tell him I’m sorry for everything,” he said. “And that I’ll see him on the day of our vow renewal. There’s something we need to talk about.”

Of course, the words did nothing to comfort Jun. Instead, fearing the worst, he spiraled into a depressive state after that day. Ueda did his best to cheer him up, saying that he was certain that whatever Sho wanted to tell him couldn’t be a bad thing. Masaki assured him the same when he came to visit a couple of weeks later.

“It will be fine, I promise you,” Masaki said.

Jun was about to protest when he felt the daily command from Sho. “Excuse me,” he said and went to pour himself some blood.

“When did your soul submit to Sho-chan’s?”

“I don’t know. Could be decades ago for all I know,” Jun said with a shrug. He set the glass down with a deep sigh. “It’s too late for it anyway.”

Masaki wrapped an arm around him. Jun leaned his head on Masaki’s shoulder, feeling like he was about to cry. “I shouldn’t even go to our spot. He’ll probably just come to tell me that he’s chosen to stay with Ninomiya-kun,” he mumbled. “Nothing is separating them now that Ninomiya is a vampire too. That was my only advantage over him.”

“That’s not true,” Masaki replied in a firm tone. “You’ll see it when you meet Sho-chan again.”

Around a month before their vow renewal, after confirming that Sho was already waiting at the hotel that was formerly a castle, Jun went to their beach house and packed a suitcase for his trip. He had a hard time leaving that place behind, even though his excitement about leaving Sunrise Land hadn’t diminished.

He didn’t head to the hotel until the morning of the renewal day came. He extended a rug there and sat on it with his suitcase by his side. He didn’t bother to check in, much less when a little probing confirmed to him that Sho was there with Ninomiya. Masaki was also around, but that didn’t mean anything. He knew that Sho could feel his presence. Sho had been sending him nudges through their telepathic bond the entire day. Sho only came to the beach when it was time for the renewal ritual to take place, though.

“Sorry I made you wait so long,” Sho said when he arrived. He wrapped a blanket around Jun’s shoulders and sat next to him on the rug.

Jun didn’t want to look at him. He was scared.

Sho didn’t say a word for a while. Then, Jun heard the unmistakable sound of him slashing his wrist and pouring blood into the goblet. He looked at Sho with wide eyes when Sho offered his wrist for Jun to lick his wound.

“What, are you going to let me bleed out?” Sho asked with a frown. He smiled a little when Jun licked his wound. He held out to Jun the pocket knife he’d used to slash his wrist. “Your turn,” he said. When Jun didn’t move, he grabbed Jun’s hand instead and slashed the wrist himself. He poured the blood into the goblet and then licked Jun’s wound.

Jun’s eyes were filling with tears as Sho poured wine into the goblet and mixed it. He recited the vow in unison with Sho, his voice cracking a little. Sho drank half of the goblet’s contents and held it up to Jun’s lips as always. And when Jun finished drinking, Sho crashed his lips against Jun’s right before they entered the Soul Realm.

“Why!?” Jun said falling to his knees. He couldn’t stop the tears that streamed down his cheeks. Sho pulled him against his chest, kissing the top of his head, which only made it worse. “Why did you renew our vow!?”

“Because I love you,” Sho said. “You’re the only one I want to share eternity with.”

Hearing Sho say that made Jun feel like his heart was going to burst. “What about Ninomiya-kun?”

“He’s a good guy, has been a very good friend to me the past months,” Sho said. “I’m sure he’ll find someone better for him soon.”

“But you’re his ideal partner!”

Sho shook his head. “That may be so, but he needs someone who isn’t spoken for. My heart has belonged to someone else for almost two thousand years now.”

Jun had to bite back a grin. He still needed to appear serious. “Are you sure about this, Sho-san?” he asked. “It’s not going to be like before. I’ve changed my mind about being friends and letting you see other people. I want to be the only one.”

Sho kissed his cheek. “Jun, you have been the only one for a long time now. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren’t.”

They kissed each other senselessly and continued doing so after their consciousness returned to the real world. Jun couldn’t stop smiling. He knew that Sho had meant every word, he could see it in the way Sho kept looking at him.

“Jun-san, I… there’s something I haven’t told you yet,” Sho said. He fumbled with his pockets, looking for something. Then, he pulled out his bracelet, which he never used, and pressed a button on it. A holographic passport appeared.

Jun gasped. “Is… is that…?”

“Lord Masaki told me that he had authorized mine the same day he approved your request,” Sho said. “He was convinced I wouldn’t let you go by yourself. And… he was right.”

Jun gripped Sho’s hand tight. “T-Then… you’re… you’re coming w-with…?”

“It could be fun, who knows?” Sho said with a smile. “Besides, I can’t let you out of my sight now that I know you’ve been having problems with telepathy. Guess we’ll need a lot of one-on-one training to get you in shape for our nuptials.”

It was too much happiness, Jun’s heart was overflowing. Sho made love to him right there, under the stars, whispering the sweetest words in his ear. That was the happiest night of Jun’s life.

They left the next morning, carrying one suitcase each. Masaki and Ninomiya saw them off before they boarded the yacht that would take them to Hokkaido, where a private jet would be waiting to take them to the continent. Its owner, a certain Ohno Satoshi whose face Jun immediately recognized, caught them kissing on the deck.

“Off to your honeymoon, I suppose?” Ohno asked with a smirk.

“Pre-honeymoon,” Sho corrected. “We won’t be back until just before the wedding.”

“Well, congratulations!” Ohno said with a grin. He brought out a bottle of champagne and two flutes. “And where are you going?”

“Everywhere,” Jun replied with a grin. “I think we’ll even go to space.”

“Good! I’ve heard the view from the resort at the International Space Station is magnificent. You’re going to love it!”

Ohno poured the champagne for them. He handed a flute to each and set the bottle on a table. He excused himself, telling them to enjoy with a rather lecherous expression.

“Space?” Sho asked with an eyebrow raised. “Baby, you know how I feel about high places.”

Jun pouted. “But it’s safe! Please? For me?”

Sho laughed and kissed Jun’s puckered lips. “That’s not fair. I can never say no to that face!”

“Is that a yes, then?”

Sho stared right into Jun’s eyes. They flashed golden as waves of love rolled out of him, wrapping Jun from head to toe. Jun’s breath hitched, his face growing hot as Sho continued staring right at him.

“If it’s you, the answer will always be yes.”



Two hundred years was just about right for a pre-honeymoon, especially knowing that a honeymoon trip after the nuptial ceremony was out of the question. Lord Masaki was quite emphatic about it during their last holo-call.

“We need the overseer clans to unify,” he said. “The other overseers will be leaving Sunrise Land to join the Elder of the East’s court. Their clan members need someone to lead them, and they’ve chosen you guys to do so.”

Lord Masaki would be leaving Sunrise Land to join the court too. The Elder of the East was quite excited about it. Rumors said they’d probably have their betrothal within the next decade, now that the Elder had admitted he could never forget the days when they were lovers. Kazama and Kimitaka were next in line to take Lord Masaki’s place as the vampire ruler of Sunrise Land. Lord Masaki had tried to convince them to become a couple to share the throne, but they decided they’d have a battle with Sho as their arbiter to decide who was worthy of the title.

From what Sho and Jun had heard, Lord Masaki planned to take Ninomiya with him for a while. Jun was relieved when he heard it. He tried to not let it show, but Sho’s past with Ninomiya was still a sensitive topic for him. Once Ninomiya returned from the continent, he’d become a member of the Sakurai clan. Nakamaru had been begging for them to approve of it for a hundred years or so. Jun suspected Ninomiya was going to join Nakamaru’s branch of the clan.

Traveling with Sho as a couple had been a great experience. They never had to hide that they were together, given that humanity’s views on same-sex relationships had changed after artificial reproduction became commonplace. Jun was always happy when Sho informed others that they were engaged and would get married after their trip.

They only returned to Sunrise Land once during those two hundred years, to renew their vows. They hired a yacht again, which took them to the spot in the morning and resumed their trip south after midnight.

The memories they made were precious to them. Jun could only hope they’d continue being as happy for the rest of their lives.

They returned with loads of gifts for their clan members and trinkets that served as reminders of their trips. Sho had started a snow globe collection that had to be counted by the hundreds now. They had taken millions of photographs and recorded so many hours of videos that it’d be impossible to watch all of them. They had shared much of their trips with their clan members through social media.

The nuptial ceremony would take place at the same spot as their vow renewal. They had to book the whole hotel because none of their clan members wanted to be left out of the celebration. Only the heads of every branch would attend the ceremony at the beach, though.

Lord Masaki was there to welcome them after they stepped out of the yacht. “Well, well, well! Look at the two of you!” he laughed, pulling each of them for a hug. “You look fantastic! That vacation did wonders for you!”

Another man approached, dressed in golden attire. Sho and Jun knelt immediately. It was the Elder of the East. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to officiate the nuptials myself,” he said. “Masaki-kun has told me a lot about you.”

Sho and Jun couldn’t help noticing that both the Elder and Masaki were wearing matching golden rings. The proposal had already taken place, then.

The Elder instructed Sho and Jun to say goodbye. Following tradition, they wouldn’t see each other for a week this time either. They put a veil over Jun’s face as they took him back to the hotel, where he’d remain secluded in a room. They strictly forbid them to use any means of communication, including the Soul Realm and telepathy.

Lord Masaki and Ninomiya would keep Jun company. They had been the ones in charge of organizing the wedding, much to the clan members’ annoyance.

“The three ones who work with Nino have been pestering him to let them help. They said it’s not fair because you are not his parents,” Masaki said.

“Ugh, they’re the worst. We need to have a serious talk about your children, J,” Ninomiya shook his head. “We’ll do that after you and Sho-chan are done with your ritual boinking. You guys need to discipline them now that you’re back, and as their uncle, I have a lot to say.”

Ninomiya confirmed that he was going to the Elder of the East’s court along with Masaki for a while. “What can I say, Aiba-shi can’t do anything without me these days,” he said. “He’s having me plan his betrothal. There will be vampires from all the realms in attendance. It’s going to be the event of the century.”

Masaki got a little shy when he talked about the topic. The Elder of the East was the first of the Elders to take a consort. The other Elders approved of it immediately when they heard Masaki was his partner. They remembered him well from the Vampire War.

“I want you and Sho-chan to be at the ceremony,” Masaki said. “Aside from Nino and the guys from my clan, the two of you are the closest thing I have to a family.”

“We’ll be honored,” Jun replied with a smile.

The days felt slow. But at last, the day of the nuptials arrived.

Jun’s body was washed and scrubbed with an aromatic bath. Masaki and Nino helped him get dressed. His outer kimono was identical to the one he wore for the betrothal ceremony. Masaki informed him that normally, it would have been the same kimono. Since the one he wore back then couldn’t be mended, he’d be wearing a replica made for the occasion using the same materials and bearing the same design.

“Sho-chan had it made that same year. He’s been keeping both kimonos at home, waiting for this day,” Masaki said. “We expected having to make more repairs, but he’s been quite careful storing them. The tailor was very surprised!”

Jun felt warm all over when Masaki said so. It meant a lot to him that Sho had taken all that trouble to make the preparations.

The crowd at the beach was slightly bigger this time around. Jun arrived wearing his kimono and the black coat bearing the clan’s crest over it. Sho beamed at Jun when he saw him arrive. He looked quite excited as they exchanged vows, this time swearing their love for ten thousand years and beyond.

The Elder of the East and Masaki were the witnesses for the nuptial ceremony. They poured a drop of blood on the same silver goblet that Sho and Jun had been using since the betrothal ceremony. After that night, the tradition said that they could pass it on to another couple if they wished to do so. There was no need for more vow renewals after the nuptials.

They drank the mix of blood and wine and, like the first time, their eyes glowed blue as everything around them faded into black.

“We’ve done it,” Jun said, grinning. He laughed as Sho picked him up and spun around with him.

“You’re mine forever now,” Sho said in Jun’s ear. He started kissing him tentatively until Jun just melted under his touch and stopped resisting.

It was the first time they made love in the Soul Realm. They were surprised to find out that bright blue waves of light surrounded them while they touched, and sparks flew in the darkness as they reached their climax.

“We should have tried this before,” Jun said, laughing as Sho kissed his collarbones.

“Well, I wanted to try! It was you who said we shouldn’t!” Sho replied, pinching his side.

They felt that they were coming back to their senses, so they shared a last kiss.

They were lying on the rug when they opened their eyes. Sho immediately grabbed Jun’s hand. It’s not a dream! He’s all mine now!

Jun frowned. “Did you say anything, Sho-san?”

Sho blushed, but then he flashed a smirk at Jun. I guess that means you can hear everything, right?

Jun recalled then that Lord Ikuta and Lord Oguri had once told him that he would hear Sho’s thoughts for an entire year after the nuptial ceremony. We’ll have no privacy, then. He laughed when Sho’s thoughts irrupted in the middle of his remembrance. “I guess not,” he whispered.

They were taken to their respective palanquins. Sho wasn’t opposing on the outside, but his thoughts were full of curses for the clan members dragging him away from Jun. He used telepathy to send Jun touches, feeling very impatient on the way to the reception. He only calmed down when they got off the palanquins and he could have Jun in his arms again.

But then, after noticing the crowd, it was Jun who almost went feral at seeing all those people looking at Sho. He took off his coat and wrapped it around Sho’s head to hide his face from view. Sho only laughed and reminded him to take out his fan.

They walked hand in hand to the dais. Jun was impatient to sit down with Sho behind the blinds. He was annoyed that everyone kept staring at Sho. They’re looking at both of us, Sho tried to reason with him, but that didn’t ease Jun’s thoughts.

At last, they were left alone for a while.

Sho ignored the food and pulled Jun for a deep kiss. Jun gasped as he saw clearly in Sho’s mind what Sho wanted to do with him. Not here! Jun pushed him away, shaking his head in reproval. Later, he added to appease Sho a little, reminding him of the upcoming ritual mating.

They handfed each other again. It was Sho who teased Jun this time, sending lewd thoughts to Jun’s mind every time Jun gave him food. He sucked on Jun’s fingers while sending thoughts of him sucking Jun’s dick. Jun followed the game, responding by showing Sho images of him getting fucked hard by Sho. Both of them ended so worked up that when the Elder of the East showed up with the two guards who would guide them to their room, he found them fondling each other already.

“It seems we made you wait too long,” the Elder commented. “Let’s take you to your chambers.”

The two guards stayed on the stairs below, like the previous time. Sho and Jun started making out the moment they were alone, standing right by the room’s door. Sho undressed Jun immediately, not giving him time to say a thing.

“S-Sho-san…” Jun moaned as Sho sucked on his nipples. He was naked now, all layers of his kimono pooling at his feet. “The… t-the aphrodisiac—”

Sho showed him his memories of the last time. He had ripped Jun’s clothes the moment the aphrodisiac’s effect kicked in. “I don’t want to ruin your clothes,” he said. “I know you want to keep them this time.”

Sho took off his clothes and folded them. He also folded Jun’s and put them on the chest of drawers by the room’s door. Then he pulled Jun against him again to continue kissing him. He sunk to his knees, licking his lips. It seemed he wanted to make the things he showed Jun on his mind come true before they took the aphrodisiac. He sucked Jun off and then took him on the bed, the same way Jun had shown Sho that he wanted to do it earlier. After they both came down from the high of their orgasm, they picked up the tray from the night table.

The sweets looked just like the ones they had the other time, but they knew it was just the first dose. They’d get another one once the effect of the first ran out, after recovering for a day.

“Ready?” Sho asked.

Jun bit his lip, nodding, and then parted his mouth.

They let their bodies take over from there.



Seven days later, when the fog of lust had finally dissipated, the Elder of the East and Masaki showed up to see them. They exchanged grins when they saw that both Sho and Jun were equally sore and covered in bruises and marks.

“You look like you were in a combat,” the Elder said.

“Yeah, but you can’t even tell who won!” Masaki added with a laugh.

Sho and Jun blushed. It was a tie, indeed.

They left the hotel the next day after both had recovered. Their clan members begged them to hold a clan meeting at the clan’s home, given they hadn’t been able to meet in person for so long.

There was a lot that they needed to discuss. Human society was changing again. Many parts of Sunrise Land were rejecting high technology and trying to go back to more traditional ways of doing things. Gunma was one of the prefectures where the trend had gotten popular. There were clan members who had fallen for vampires coming either from other realms or from the continent. There was also the matter about whether they should turn more younglings or not, for there hadn’t been new additions to the clan since the Shogun’s fall and even counting with the overseer clans that were going to merge with them, they didn’t have enough vampires to keep an eye on the other clans, which had grown considerably since then. And that was without mentioning that Sho wanted to locate Ohmiya Taka—who turned out to be the First, Jun was shocked when he found out—to continue his research on human souls and vampire nature.

Sho and Jun asked for a few days to put their home in order. They spent their free time unpacking. Sho chose one of the rooms to display all his treasures, both the old ones and the many new additions from their two-hundred-year pre-honeymoon trip. The kimonos they wore at their nuptials and the silver goblet had a prominent space just for them.

“Are you sure this arrangement is alright?” Jun asked. “You only used one of the walls and left most of the room empty.”

Sho smiled at him. “Well, we have over ten thousand years to go,” he said. “That’s enough time to fill it, don’t you think?”

Jun blushed as Sho flooded his mind with thoughts of all the things they could do together in the future. “I guess you’re right.”

They intertwined their fingers and turned off the lights before closing the door.

Eternity was waiting for them.