Hellish Attraction

Later that night after Hakkai returned home only one thing occupied his thoughts; that nightmare. His hand reached down to touch the Mahjong tile in his pocket. They had to be related. Those eyes brought the same chill to his body that the sight of the tile had. At just the thought those eyes popped into his minds eye again. Why was it that he could only see those eyes? If they were so familiar, they should have a face to go with them. The harder he thought about it the dizzier he seemed to become. He had to brace himself against a nearby wall in the kitchen to keep from falling. Then he felt it again. That presence.

“Mm, yes Gonou?” The voice spoke directly to his mind. “Have you finally remembered who I am?”

Everything began fading to black once more, despite his efforts, he couldn’t seem to stave it off, and he could see those eyes more vividly. “Who are you?” He asked, looking around the inky blackness for any way to shine some light on this mysterious face.

“Did you enjoy my present?” The voice asked, ignoring the question.

“So that was you?” Hakkai asked.

“But of course.”

“What do you want?” At least he had gotten one straight answer.

“I’ve already answered that question, Gonou.”

Hakkai felt himself sinking deeper into the darkness.

A slender arm slid around Hakkai’s waist and the fog in his mind began to clear from the memories. There was a body pressed against his from behind. The vampire was pretty sure he knew to whom it belonged. The gentle embrace caused his stomach to churn.

“Kisama!” Hakkai growled vehemently but couldn’t seem to find the strength to push the other vampire away.

“Oh, Gonou… that’s no way to greet your sire.” The vampire purred in delight. “It’s been far too long since I’ve been able to actually lay my hands on your sinful form. Do you remember the taste of my blood?” He asked as the second hand gently settled on Hakkai’s chest. “…because I remember the taste of yours as if it were yesterday. Yes, turning you into what you hate was the most satisfying experience of my long life.” That hand began to slide up Hakkai’s body slowly until the cold strong fingers firmly grasped Hakkai’s chin. “Slowly, piece by piece, I’ve been poisoning your mind. I just couldn’t wait for my venom to permeate your every being. Yes, you are mine now. You cannot disobey me, my pet.”

The brunette’s hands fell completely still at his sides despite the effort he put into telling them to move. Slight pressure in those fingers holding his chin ordered him to tilt his head, which he did obediently, exposing his neck. He could feel warm breath against his skin as the vampire got far too close, yet did not touch.

“Release your true form…” His sire commanded in a whisper against his skin eliciting a gasp from Hakkai. Fangs and claws grew in to full length on command. His natural eye bled to a vibrant gold as the pupil tightened into a slit. And before his own eyes, an elaborate tangle of vines burned across his skin as if feverishly racing to a target destination. These marks on his skin; he had never seen them before.

“Yes, very nice.” The vampire purred. “I planted that seed in you so long ago and yet you’ve resisted it until now. It ensures that you belong to me, and me alone.”

“I-iya desu…” Hakkai protested but the vampire holding him only chuckled.

“Come now, my pet. Let’s feed, shall we?” The voice purred, cold yet mesmerizing in Hakkai’s elegantly pointed ear.

***

When morning came, Hakkai awoke in his bed with no memory of how he’d gotten there last night. He sat up slowly, holding his head, as dizziness threatened to send him back to his pillow. Despite the dizziness, he felt surprisingly well. His entire body was full of energy, which was surprising. The vampire’s ears caught the sound of movement and he looked up as Gojyo entered the room.

“Yo.” Gojyo chirped and tossed him some clothing. “If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss work. You slept in, Mr. Sleepyhead.” Gojyo chuckled as Hakkai scrambled to get dressed, not caring that he didn’t have any privacy to do so.

“Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” Hakkai asked as he fed his belt through the belt loops of his pants.

“I tried. I probably could’a thrown you out the window and you still wouldn’t have opened your eyes. Rough night or somethin’?”

Hakkai shrugged lightly as he fastened the buttons of his shirt. “I… don’t remember, actually. But I feel wonderful now. I must have needed the rest.” He smiled softly which nearly threw Gojyo off slightly.

“Yeah, ok…” The redhead was stunned as the brunette ran past him to the bathroom to finish getting ready. Gojyo just waited for him to rush back out before they left to work. Upon reaching the main room to the offices, he noticed Hakkai wince and grab his head. The closer they got to the main doors, the more violently Hakkai’s reaction seemed to get.

“Hey, you ok?” Gojyo asked finally, putting a hand on the vampire’s shoulder.

“I-I don’t… I don’t know…” Hakkai said and hissed, finally stopping in his tracks. “S-something’s wrong…”

A younger man with short black hair ran past Gojyo before backpedaling and stopping to look at them. “Didja hear the news this morning?”

“No.” Gojyo replied, not really caring what the man had to say. He was more interested in the wellbeing of his friend.

“They say someone or something went around slaughtering people last night. They already found three bodies! And get this! They were completely drained of blood! Rumors are that there’s a vampire running around sucking people dry! Everyone’s gotten paranoid! Many stores and business owners have hired priests and mages to put hexes on their doorways to keep the vampire out!” The man then glanced at Hakkai for the first time. “Hey dude, is he ok?”

Gojyo was holding Hakkai by his shoulders, ready to walk them away from the doorway after hearing all of this. “Yeah, he’s fine.” He said and steered Hakkai away from the door until he seemed to quite writhing in his arms. He brought him to lean against a wall and regain his breath.

“This is bad news.” Gojyo growled and looked around to make sure no one was in the hallway they’d taken refuge in. “I guess my half human blood makes me immune.”

“Nngh… This… this is very bad.” Hakkai corrected. “It’s probably him.” Hakkai groaned and straightened out.

Gojyo raised an eyebrow at the statement and helped Hakkai steady himself. “Who?”

“I had to take the brat home too.” Sanzo’s voice drifted to their ears as he stepped out of the shadows. “He threw quite a fit when he tried to enter the doors. This needs to be resolved soon.”

“Shit, man. Don’t do that!” Gojyo jumped and glared at Sanzo. “Damn, hard to believe you’re human, sneaking around like that.”

“Let’s go outside. I need a cigarette.” Sanzo growled and started walking. The two followed in silence until they were walking through the park.

“You know who did this?” Sanzo asked Hakkai pointedly and slipped a cigarette between his lips, lighting it.

“Last night… that tile… I’ve been thinking on who could have attacked. Recently, I’ve been having… visions.” The vampire looked down at his hands. “A chilling voice and blood red eyes. He knows my old life. He knows about Kanan. I know this man… this vampire.” Hakkai explained and then looked up from his hands. “He’s the only explanation I have for all of this.”

“Well, if he’s a friend of yours, you’d best tell him to lay low and stop terrorizing people.” Sanzo replied simply and took a deep drag of the smoke. “Or I’ll have to put a bullet in his head.”

“He’s no friend of mine.” Hakkai snapped back quickly, drawing strange looks from both Sanzo and Gojyo. “I can’t remember him, but I know him. And I know I hate him.” Hakkai explained.

Sanzo flicked the ashes off the end of his Marlboro and let out a long breath of smoke. “Then, we kill him.” Just after Sanzo spoke he stopped abruptly and jerked his head to the left, as if he’d heard someone call his name. “Do you feel that…?” He asked in a harsh whisper.

Hakkai and Gojyo both exchanged questioning looks before shaking their heads to Sanzo’s question. “Feel what?” The redhead asked.

“It’s like I’m being followed… I’ve been feeling this presence on and off for a while now.” Sanzo growled and looked around like a paranoid animal. “So dark and sinister… freezing… deadly.”

“Could this be the guy then, Hakkai?” Gojyo asked and Hakkai looked around.

“I don’t know…” The vampire replied before he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

“Oh-ho! Gomen ne. I didn’t mean to startle you.” A smooth voice chuckled. “I saw the three of you leave the building. Surely news of a terrible vampire didn’t scare you all away? The building is well protected, I assure you.” Something about this man’s whole being felt wrong to Hakkai.

“Ukoku…” Sanzo growled. “We’ll be missing work today. We have something to take care of…”

“Is that so?” Ukoku chirped and thought for a moment. “It’s a shame your boy collapsed this morning. I do hope he’s well.”

This gained a dark stare from the blonde. He spoke carefully after he took a drag off the cigarette. “He’ll be fine.” The air between the two of them was so thick, Gojyo was sure they’d choke on it if things got any tenser.

“I do hope so. Because I heard there’s some wild animal rampaging around the streets shockingly close to your house.” Ukoku’s lips curled into a smirk. “Well, I’ll leave you folks be then. Some of us need to work.” He said chipperly and broke away from the group.

Just as Ukoku was out of sight, the three of them broke off at a run towards Sanzo’s house. Entering the neighborhood, signs of the damage were already apparent. People had already cleared out of the area to get away from the danger. Two houses were demolished and a loud animalistic shriek could be heard echoing through the trees. Sanzo’s eyes widened.

“Goku!” He growled and started running towards his back yard.

Sure enough, as they approached, the sight was one to behold. There was a form hunched over in a crater in the earth. Claws scratched into the soil, wild brown hair whirled around the figure as a bright yellow aura engulfed him. His head was thrown back in a howl, golden eyes with vampire-like slits darted from the sky to the approaching group. The figure stood slowly, head bowed, clothes torn and covered in blood. Lips curled into a malicious grin, exposing sharp fangs.

“Is that…?” Gojyo began but Sanzo nodded before he could finish.

“That’s Goku’s true form…” The blonde growled and pulled out his revolver. “He’s very dangerous.” Sanzo stated and stepped tentatively closer.

That first step was the challenge and Goku gladly accepted it. He moved so fast he appeared to vanish, appearing behind Gojyo, sending him to the ground in a single strike. Ruby eyes tried to stay open as he hit the nearby rubble of someone’s house, but the power of the blow won and he slipped into unconsciousness with a broken curse. “D-damn brat…”

Goku turned quickly, lashing out with a roundhouse kick to Hakkai’s stomach. The green eyed vampire blocked the kick and held onto Goku’s leg, but the wild demon wasn’t ready to let that little display deter him. The powerful attack pressed on and pushed Hakkai back against a tree. The little demon snarled when Hakkai’s body didn’t give way to his force and the grip wouldn’t release his leg. He used the leverage to jump up and slam his knee into Hakkai’s temple with a twist of his torso. That loosened Hakkai’s grip on his leg and the demon managed to muscle his way free as Hakkai went down.

The sound of a gunshot rang out and the bullet splintered the wood of the tree in front of Goku. The demon turned to face Sanzo and snarled before launching himself after the blonde. The human dropped his gun and slammed his palm into Goku’s forehead as he collided with him. His fingers tangled in his chestnut bangs as his purple eyes glared daggers at Goku. The demon punched Sanzo in the stomach, drawing a curse from the human.

“D-damn you… Bakazaru!” Sanzo yelled and shoved the boy’s head back before he could bite Sanzo’s neck. “Don’t make me seal your ass back in that mountain!” Sanzo snarled and a golden light emanated from his palm, engulfing Goku’s forehead. The light solidified into a golden band and tightened around Goku’s head into a solid limiter. The vampiric features receded and the little brunette collapsed, unconscious in Sanzo’s arms.

Hakkai pulled himself from the ground and braced his body against the tree, looking at the scene in confusion. “How did you…?”

“I don’t know. It happened the first time too, when I first brought him home.” Sanzo said with some effort.

“How did you know it would work again?” Hakkai asked.

“I didn’t.” Sanzo replied and slumped to the ground with the boy in his arms. “Not once have I ever seen anyone take a direct kick from this brat’s vampire form without breaking something. You’ve never displayed this much power, especially not on Gojyo’s blood. You’ve fed recently.” Sanzo stated accusingly.

Hakkai couldn’t believe his ears but he knew Sanzo was right. He didn’t remember feeding but then again, he didn’t remember last night either… The vampire began to grow sick to his stomach and the horror of his next thought sent him to his knees.

“Could that… have been me?” A flash of a human female’s face, screaming in terror before his fangs sank into her neck slipped into his mind like a fading memory and Hakkai paled. Echoing screams of those three human victims filled his mind and he wrapped his arms around his stomach, doubling over. “I-I killed them!”

Quickly, Sanzo settled Goku in the dirt next to him and scrambled to his feet. He moved to Hakkai and grabbed his shoulder, forcing his back against the tree so he could look into those terrified green eyes. “Hakkai?”

“Last night! I killed those people! I hunted them and fed on them! It was me!” The vampire was hysterical as he spoke, shaking his head roughly, trying to rid his mind of the images that seemed to flood him now that he’d tapped into the memories.

Somewhere, off in the distance, pale lips curled into a malicious smirk.

TBC