Through the Darkness

Through the Darkness


Disclaimer: Shido and Cain do not belong to me. Shido, for one, I wish DID but, alas, no. (I have this weird fascination with his hair that I can’t really explain!) They belong, body and soul (?) to Ayana Itsuki, et al. I DO get to play with them, though, which makes me very, very happy. Enjoy!

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It was unforeseen, then again, death had a way of doing that... sneaking up on you when you least expected it; though hundreds of years was a long time to wait and STILL be surprised by death when it finally arrived.

As the waning sunlight claimed the last of his immortal remains, only one thing dominated the old vampire’s thoughts. “Shido.” The name became a whisper carried along on the wind that scattered the final vestiges of what had once been a powerful vampire.

Most people feared the darkness, but not Shido. He had no fear of it. It was just a way to get from one day to the next. The only problem he had was GETTING from one day to the next. It wasn’t the darkness he feared but getting past it to the light of a new day. His memories, what few he could discern, always got in the way. He could remember Cain… and the blood, always the blood; which wouldn’t be unusual, given the fact that he was a vampire, but what few memories he carried tortured him incessantly.

The feeling that came over him suddenly was strange… almost foreign, but he had no idea what it could be. Apprehension, anxiety, things a vampire wouldn’t normally concern himself with. Straightening up in his chair he glanced around the room, searching for something that might be out of place. He found nothing. Shaking his head to clear it, he chided himself, saying that he was imagining things. Just as he settled back, the feeling came again, more powerful this time, enabling him to identify its source. “Cain.”

The shadow fell across his doorway as he leapt out of his seat.

“My beautiful Shido… it is time,” Cain purred, gliding into the office as if the door weren’t even there.

“What are you doing here?” Shido hissed, backing away from the advancing figure.

“I’ve come to get you. I cannot wait any longer for you to come to your sensibilities, my dear Shido, so I have come to claim what is mine.”

A chill ran up the younger vampire’s spine. “I was NEVER yours,” he spat, angrily.

“Ah, yes… you were… and you shall be again.”

Shido’s eyes darted frantically around his office, hunting for anything that might be of assistance to him. What did he have… books, magazines… several files from Yayoi… the coffee mug from Riho; nothing of any real use.

Mistaking Shido’s furtive glances as a search for his “friends”, Cain remarked, “These little humans of yours are merely a diversion. A distraction, if you will. They are meaningless. They cannot help you.”

Shido’s thoughts turned to Yayoi. She was his friend, wasn’t she? The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that though she’d been friendly toward him, she was really nothing more than a place for him to feed… like an all-night diner. There was no more intimacy in their relationship than that. The idea made him shudder.

Then, there was Riho. After much vacillating, he’d finally succumbed to a relationship with her, but… she was so young. He’d been used to an entirely different level of maturity before getting involved with Riho. Her child-like qualities had endeared her to him… at first. But, in time, they began to grate at him. He’d hoped for a partner, an equal, not a daughter. In the end, it was the very qualities that had attracted him, that eventually drove him away. When she left, Guni had gone with her, both females furious with him for being so callous. “It was for the best,” he tried to convince himself.

So he was alone, again. Yayoi was busy with her work and needed to keep coming up with new excuses just to stop by, which Shido felt guilty over. He needed to find somewhere else to feed. He didn’t want Yayoi getting in trouble just because she felt an obligation toward him.

The occasional Night Breed case still crossed his desk, but they were fewer and far between these days. Most of his time was spent alone with his thoughts, which were getting darker by the minute. He didn’t realize just how much he would miss the human interaction… until it was too late. Twenty-twenty hindsight was such a terrible affliction to suffer from.

And now… Cain.

“What do you want?” the younger vampire demanded.

“What have I ALWAYS wanted… you,” was the smooth reply.

“And if I gave in this time… what would I get out of this?”

“What do you have to lose?” countered Cain, stepping closer.

The sea-green eyes instantly saddened and Cain gave himself a swift mental kick. He hadn’t intended to hurt Shido. Not this time. Taking the younger vampire’s unresisting hand, he turned toward the door. “Come, my Shido,” he instructed.

“Where are you taking me?” the younger vampire asked, warily.

Cain smiled. “Always so distrustful,” he smirked.

Angry eyes glared at him, “Because you’ve never given me a REASON to trust you.”

Shaking his head, Cain disagreed. “No, my Shido… it’s just that you don’t remember. There was a time when you trusted me implicitly.”

“And look where it got me,” Shido sneered, gesturing toward his own body.

Running long fingers through Shido’s silky hair, Cain mused, “Indeed, look where it got you. You are more beautiful now than you have ever been.”

There was an audible intake of breath that made Cain’s smile widen. Golden eyes met sea green and the moment froze in time. A shiver ran through Shido’s body, which he attributed it to the cold, though they both knew better.

“Why do you do this to yourself, Shido? Why do you deny what you are?”

“Because I’m a monster.”

The golden mane shook. “No! You are not!” Long fingers traced the outline of Shido’s lips. “You are beautiful; more beautiful than you could ever imagine.”

Though his mind screamed out in warning, Shido willed himself to remain still, welcoming the soft pressure of Cain’s lips against his own. At this point, any attention… even Cain’s, was better than the interminable nothingness that permeated his existence. His eyes slid closed as Cain’s arms encircled him, the oddly familiar feeling of weightlessness causing him to clutch at the larger man. Wind rushed by them as they moved through the night sky.

When he felt Cain’s hold on him ease, Shido broke their kiss, drawing back to survey their surroundings. They were standing in a very large room, formal and elegant, tapestries hanging from the walls and a huge four-poster bed dominating the floor.

“What do you want, Shido?” Cain asked, as the younger vampire turned to look at him in guarded surprise.

This was a switch. Never before could Shido remember Cain asking what HE wanted. Usually Cain just took. The long lavender hair swayed from side to side as Shido’s head shook. “I don’t know anymore.”

Cain’s tapered fingers touched his chin, gently lifting it. When Shido’s eyes met Cain’s, the sincerity in the golden orbs made the younger vampire’s chest ache. What was Cain playing at? Why was he doing this?

“So much pain,” the older vampire whispered, the palm of one hand caressing the curve of Shido’s cheek.

Shido’s eyes slid closed as he felt the loneliness overwhelm him. “Riho,” he murmured without realizing, eyes snapping open again when Cain’s hand tensed around his jaw.

“Turning you into a vampire was my doing and I readily accept the fault, but your perceived inadequacies are entirely your own. Why do you do this to yourself? Why do you ally yourself with these insignificant humans? Why do you chase after the Night Breed?”

Shido’s head hung as he toed the parquet floor. “Because, it’s an effective distraction,” the younger vampire sighed, after much thought. “It keeps my mind focused and what few memories I have at bay. It’s the best way I know to get from one day to another.”

“There are other ways of getting through the night, my dear Shido,” Cain purred, the palm of one immaculately manicured hand once again lightly caressing the curve of Shido’s cheek. The other hand took Shido’s, guiding him toward the bed. The closeness of Cain’s body made him take a step in reverse, the backs of his legs contacting with the edge of the bed, causing him to trip and sprawl across the satin sheets. Pulling the young vampire upright, Cain sat next to him, gently tilting Shido’s chin forward to allow their lips to meet. Shido thought to pull away, but the emotions he was feeling confounded him. Cain wasn’t threatening him… he wasn’t afraid; at least not in the “staring-death-in-the-face” type of way. He did, however, have a sense of apprehension… like he was waiting for something significant to happen, though he couldn’t understand what it might be.

Cain’s tongue pushed through Shido’s slightly parted lips, brushing over the tips of his fangs before twining with the younger vampire’s own tongue, as an involuntary moan forced its way from Shido’s throat. While their tongues dueled, Cain’s hands slid across Shido’s back, pushing the long, black coat from his shoulders. No sooner was the coat in rumpled a pile behind the young vampire, when Cain’s hands returned, gripping the sides of his shirt and pulling it slowly from his pants. Once the material was free, the hands slid underneath, gliding over the younger vampire’s skin as another moan, this one louder than the first, announced his pleasure.

“If you remember the bad, you must also remember the good. Darkness and light, Shido; you should know that one cannot exist without the other.”

The lavender-haired vampire whimpered as his creator slowly, deliberately undressed him,

One…

… Button…

… At a…

…Time.

Soft lips drifted over even softer skin, Cain trailing tender kisses over Shido’s neck… his shoulders… his chest; every area of flesh uncovered as the cloth was pushed away. Once the shirt was removed, Cain’s lips latched onto one dusky peak, eliciting a heady sigh from the younger vampire as his body arched into his creator’s. Sharp teeth nipped at the pebble of flesh, as the body’s owner yelped, Cain’s hands gripping Shido’s waist, pulling the younger vampire’s body tightly against his own.

The lips glided across his chest as Shido moaned, the sensations they were causing making him light-headed. Hesitant fingers came up to stroke over waves of golden hair. “Cain.” The name slipped from his lips before he realized it. The arms around his back felt… good and he allowed himself to relax into them, unthinking.

The voice in Cain’s head crowed in triumph as he felt the changes in his young lover. Gliding upward once again, Cain’s lips sealed against Shido’s as his hands began their downward slide, pausing when they reached the top of Shido’s pants.

Shido’s entire body tensed at Cain’s touch, once he realized what the questing hands were headed for.

“Shido,” Cain murmured, drawing his hand back to rest on Shido’s stomach. The younger vampire trembled beneath his fingers. Lying back, he pulled Shido to join him, holding the young vampire gently in his arms. “Hush, Shido. It’s all right.” Cain assured him, long fingers stroking his hair, his skin, easing the apprehension from his body.

Shido’s hair, with its unique coloring, fell about them in waves, shielding the younger vampire’s body from prying eyes.

Taking one of the tresses between his fingers, Cain hooked it behind Shido’s shoulder. Slowly, methodically, he repeated the action with each tress of hair that fell over them, making Shido feel as though he were a gift that Cain was unwrapping. When all of Shido’s hair was tucked behind his back, Cain’s fingers made their now familiar trek southward, hooking into the top of Shido’s pants. This time, the younger vampire didn’t fight against it as his buttons were opened and the material was drawn away from his body.

Lifting his hips, he aided in Cain’s attempts, allowing the older vampire to slide the cloth over his hips and down his legs. “Shido,” the golden-eyed man whispered, lips touching the hollow at the base of the younger vampire’s throat. Shoes thudded noisily to the floor to be covered by a puddle of black material.

“What am I doing?” the younger vampire thought, anxiously, as Cain’s hands slid over him, gliding lightly across the smooth expanse of his skin. The instant one of those hands grazed over the nest of light-colored curls between his legs, Shido’s body bucked in response, sharp pinpricks of pleasure spreading from his brain to envelop the rest of his body.

Taking the slightly throbbing shaft in his hand, Cain gave it a small squeeze, which drew a protracted groan from Shido. A padded fingertip rubbed over the head, smearing the fluid that oozed from it, while the younger vampire’s hips undulated. Desperate fingers grasped the older vampire’s arms, to stop him or encourage him, Cain couldn’t decide which. He just knew what HE wanted to do. His own mind made up, Cain rolled off the side of the bed, standing beside it to hastily remove his own clothing.

Propped on his elbows to watch, Shido gasped once his creator’s body was revealed. After all the time that had passed between them, he’d forgotten just how stunning the master vampire was, all sinew and golden skin.

When the last vestige of material had been discarded, Cain stretched out next to his young protégé, before swinging one leg over Shido’s thighs and drawing himself across the prone form.

He had imagined that the weight of Cain’s larger body covering his would be stifling, but Shido was wrong. Moreover, he was surprised by the fact that it felt good having Cain’s form pressed to his, skin against skin, their limbs entwined. Neither man generated any body heat, but the friction they were creating gave off a different kind of warmth.

Cain’s hips ground against Shido’s in a maddening dance, his straining length sawing alongside the young vampire’s, as both men moaned in appreciation. “Cain,” the young vampire whimpered, his hips punching upward as the pleasure rolled through him, gathering momentum. It had been far too long and his peak was breached as Cain continued to rock into him, white threads bursting from the younger vampire to spray between both bodies.

Rolling off the delectable form, Cain lay on his side, stroking his fingers idly over the porcelain white of Shido’s skin as the young man shuddered through his climax. Grabbing the corner of a sheet, he wiped himself and the younger vampire clean, before dropping the soiled material to the floor.

“Cain… you…” Shido stuttered, concerned, to which the older vampire shook his head, smiling.

“I have waited this long, my beautiful, Shido. I can wait a moment longer. Take your time… savor this. It has been more than a lifetime and, for you, I would wait many lifetimes more.” Reaching beneath the pillows under Shido’s head, Cain produced a small bottle. Uncapping it, he poured a small amount of liquid into his palm, spreading it over his fingers as he waited for the shockwaves to release their hold on Shido’s body. When the sea green eyes focused on him once more, he moved in close. Leaning down, he placed a light kiss on Shido’s stomach, just above the faintly stirring shaft. With a pained moan, Shido’s legs fell open, inviting.

“I know it has been quite a while, my Shido. I will do this slowly and try to cause you as little pain as possible.” Cain’s hand delved between Shido’s legs, his coated finger running along the crease beneath the young vampire’s shaft. Shido’s body clenched as Cain found his puckered rose, massaging the muscled ring, seeking entry. The digit circled the tightly clenched opening before slickly breaking through. The lavender head fell back in a soundless cry as Cain smiled. “Open for me, my beautiful Shido,” he murmured into the side of Shido’s throat as the long white limbs stretched further apart.

The finger pushed as far in as it could go, sliding in and out several times before being joined by a second digit. When the two were completely sheathed within Shido’s body, Cain opened them, scissoring the fingers apart to ready Shido for what was to come. The young vampire’s hips pressed toward Cain’s hand, seeking to take the fingers deeper. A third finger was added, moving in and out of Shido’s body as the lavender-haired vampire could only writhe and moan. Crooking the fingers slightly, Cain touched over the tiny bundle that set Shido’s nerve endings aflame.

“Aah,” the younger vampire cried, arching up from the bed.

“So beautiful,” Cain observed. His fingers tormented the small cluster of nerves, worrying at them until Shido was once again reduced to a whimpering, quivering mass, thin threads of milky fluid jetting from him to splatter against his chest.

Glistening tears trailed from the corners of Shido’s eyes.

“Shido,” Cain whispered, leaning over the shuddering body to touch each teardrop with the tip of his tongue. Dipping his head, he closed his lips over those of the younger vampire, relishing the salty-sweet taste of his protégé. The tormenting fingers slipped from Shido’s body, leaving him to experience a baffling void, though his limbs continued to shake uncontrollably. Cain’s arms circled his body, lifting him against the master vampire’s chest. Shido’s hands clutched at Cain’s waist as the young vampire fought to regain his stability. Finally, his body contoured itself to his creator’s with a heavy sigh and Cain smiled.

Reaching beneath the young vampire, Cain’s fingers returned to circle his quivering entry, as the small pucker winked out, seemingly begging to be filled once again. Shido’s body jolted at the touch. Laying the young vampire back onto the bed, Cain knelt between his uplifted legs, nudging them apart to create a hollow for himself. Opening the bottle once again, he poured more liquid into his palm, spreading it over his pulsing length as Shido’s breath caught in his chest. Grasping his swollen shaft, Cain guided it to the twitching pucker, sliding the tip along the crease between the young vampire’s legs. As the mushroomed head of Cain’s shaft prodded at Shido’s opening, the younger vampire tensed. “Calm, Shido. It will be alright,” Cain intoned, soothingly.

The younger vampire fought the temptation to run, to bolt out into the night and never return. What was he doing? Why was he allowing Cain to do these things to his body? The head of Cain’s shaft breached his opening just then, setting off the string of fireworks in his brain. “Aah,” he cried, his hips rocking into Cain’s, the solid length of his creator pushing its way into his body one torturous centimeter at a time. Reaching beneath the younger vampire, Cain lifted his legs, folding them back onto themselves to open Shido wider to him.

As Shido gasped for breath, Cain sunk all the way in, sheathing himself in the tight, velvet chute of his young protégé. “Shido,” he murmured, his lips ghosting over the younger vampire’s collar bone as the young man whimpered. Long finders stroked trembling thighs as Cain held perfectly still, waiting for Shido to adjust to this intrusion. Suddenly, the pain subsided, leaving the lavender-haired vampire a bit confused. There was a different feeling, one he’d sensed in the back of his mind, but had never paid any attention to until now. It had a sense of familiarity to it, which couldn’t be… could it?

Sensing the change in the younger vampire’s manner, Cain began to move, drawing himself almost out of the clutching channel then sliding back in. Hooked over Cain’s shoulders, Shido’s ankles locked behind the older vampire’s back, trapping Cain between the pale legs as he thrust into the younger vampire. Slowly, tentatively, the younger vampire’s hips began to lift, rising to meet the oncoming rush of Cain’s strokes as a whine of pleasure escaped from his throat.

“You have to remember… it wasn’t ALL bad, Shido,” Cain pleaded. “I loved you… I still do. Remember, Shido.”

As they rocked together, the sensation of being filled by Cain brought a vision to Shido’s mind… a picture of the two of them, in a similar embrace, but in an unfamiliar location. Tightening his arms around Cain’s neck, Shido closed his eyes and the image became more vivid. They were lying in a bed, even larger than the one they currently occupied and more opulently decorated. Cain’s body wrapped languidly around Shido’s and the satisfied smile on the younger vampire’s face betrayed his true emotions. They were making love and Shido was enjoying it.

Cain took that moment to sit back on his haunches, dropping Shido’s legs and lifting the young man’s hips to rest across the tops of the older vampire’s thighs. This new position changed the angle of Cain’s thrusts, the head of his shaft brushing over the cluster of nerves within Shido’s body and making the younger vampire cry out his name. “You must remember THAT,” he teased, bumping against the same nerves over and over again as the younger vampire shuddered insensate beneath him.

Sea-green eyes drifted open, attempting to fix their unfocused gaze on him. “Cain.” The name tumbled from the younger vampire’s lips as long, white arms reached out, seeking. Smiling, the master vampire fell into them, knowing that his creation, his protégé, his love had finally remembered what they had shared.

Cain’s lips latched onto Shido’s but it was the younger vampire who did the plundering, his tongue seeking out the deepest recesses of Cain mouth. Fingers tangled through the tresses of golden hair, pulling the other vampire’s head back to expose the long golden throat. Hesitantly, the younger vampire’s fangs tested the resiliency of the flesh, touching the skin without breaking through it. “Shido,” Cain growled, in warning.

Ignoring the thinly veiled threat, Shido struck; fangs piercing through the skin to taste the sweet nectar within. Cain reared back, too late. Using whatever strength he could gather, Shido forced them over, rolling so that he now perched atop his creator, his fangs never leaving their place on Cain’s throat.

He drank, then, drawing deep the raw power that was Cain as the master vampire made a half-hearted attempt to disengage him. In truth, Cain wanted Shido to drink from him; had waited all of these years for his young protégé to accept the gift Cain was offering. ALL of his strength, ALL of his power, ALL of his immortal life. What Cain felt for Shido transcended all else in their lives. If vampires actually possessed hearts, then Cain’s certainly, unequivocally, belonged to Shido.

Suddenly, the younger vampire was thrown back, the force of the power flowing through him seizing control of his body. Cain stopped the flow of blood from his throat as he sat up to gather the violently heaving body in his arms. “What’s…” a frightened voice asked.

Soothing fingers brushed over lavender bangs, as cool lips touched the younger vampire’s forehead. “Hush, my beautiful Shido. It will be all right. Just let the power slide through you. It will cease fighting when it finds its rightful place.”

Confused, the younger vampire just lay there, limp in his creator’s arms as his body continued to jump and jolt of its own accord. Then, as Cain had predicted, the spasms ceased. He could still feel the power prickling through him, but it wasn’t struggling against him anymore. As Cain shifted their positions once again, Shido felt something else stir within him.

Incredibly, through all of it, they had remained connected. Shido now sat in Cain’s lap, long white legs stretched out on either side of the older vampire’s thighs. The younger vampire’s backside clenched as Cain attempted to withdraw himself from Shido’s body. A firm hand around his shaft distracted the younger vampire enough for the older one to pull away. A disappointed whine was Shido’s response to which Cain smiled. “Patience, my beautiful Shido, patience.”

Turning Shido away from him, he bent the young vampire forward on his knees. Holding the young man open, Cain thrust back into him from behind, his penetration deeper than it had previously been. The younger vampire cried out at the sensations this new arrangement was causing, his head falling heavily to the bed. One hand on Shido’s hip, Cain’s strokes shortened as the two men smacked into one another. The sounds of flesh-hitting-against-flesh filled the room, occasionally punctuated by Cain’s deep moans and Shido’s whimpers.

Shido’s hands clenched in the sheets; twisting the material as he tried to maintain some semblance of rational thought. But the shaft filling him, grinding in and out of his backside made that impossible. With a hitch of his hips, Cain struck that cluster of nerves again, sending Shido lurching forward. Strong hands around his waist drew the young vampire back before he managed to disengage their two bodies.

As Cain continued thrusting into him at a blistering pace Shido’s body began its final descent. Elegant fingers wrapped around his shaft, stroking in time with the motion of Cain’s hips, causing the younger vampire to dip and rock with the older one. Shido’s moans increased in volume with each prod of Cain’s shaft against his nerve bundle as his body shook fiercely. Only Cain’s hands, circling his waist and grasping his shaft, kept him from collapsing into the sheets, his limbs no longer strong enough to support him. The pad of Cain’s thumb rubbing over the glistening head of Shido’s length was the final straw.

“Cain!” Shuddering violently, Shido let loose a torrent of milk white fluid, gushing through Cain’s fingers and across the sheets. As the younger vampire’s climax overtook him, the clenching of his muscles sent Cain over the same precipice just moments later, the older vampire coating Shido’s velvety channel with his essence. Pleasure-weakened limbs gave way as Shido sank to the bed, borne by the weight of Cain against his back. It felt good to lay there with Cain’s body draped across him protectively, Shido thought. For some strange reason, he felt… safe.

Fingers played idly with strands of lavender hair as labored breathing settled back into a more normal routine of inhale-exhale. A whine of disappointment came from the younger vampire as Cain rolled aside, pulling his withered length from Shido’s body. Turning in the older vampire’s direction, Shido felt the strong arms enfold him and he curled into them, making himself comfortable against his creator’s chest. “Cain,” he began.

“Hush, Shido, my love. Sleep now,” the older vampire purred, as the smaller body in his arms began to relax and grow heavy. Lips pressed into his hair as his head sank further against Cain’s chest, the melodic sound of the master vampire’s voice lulling him to sleep.

When he woke, the last thing he would recall was the sanctuary of Cain’s embrace and the reassuring echo of Cain’s voice, saying, “I love you, my Shido. I have ALWAYS loved you. Never forget that.”

Warmth surrounding him was what bade him rise. Turning as the sleep lifted itself from his consciousness; it took a few moments for Shido to realize that he wasn’t in his casket. Nor was he with anyone. Shaking his head to clear it, he tried to remember just what had happened. Where was he? Where was Cain?

Sitting up, he glanced around, taking in his surroundings as sunlight brightened the room, drifting in through gauzy curtains. There was no sign of Cain. Had it all been a dream, he thought. If it had been, it certainly FELT real enough as his body stung in places he couldn’t even recall using before.

He recognized the bedroom as the one in his dream, if that was what it really had been, and a pang of sadness enveloped him. It felt so real… the way Cain’s hands touched him, the way their lips sought each other hungrily, the way they fit together like matching pieces of a puzzle.

Turning to look at the empty spot next to him on the bed, Shido brushed a hand over the covers, trying to sense Cain’s presence. Then, he caught the glimmer of something out of the corner of his eye. Reaching beneath the pillows, he pulled out a pin, one that he remembered Cain wearing through the collar of his coat. Clutching the small gold article in his hand, he glanced over the side of the bed, spotting another item on the floor. Picking it up, he recognized it as one of his own shirt buttons. His clothes were folded neatly at the foot of the bed, so he had only to pull the shirt from the stack, shaking it open to discover where the missing button had come from.

So, it HADN’T been a dream.

But, where was Cain?

Pulling his clothes on, gingerly, he stepped from the bed, making his way out of the room to explore the rest of the house, determined to find Cain and make him explain his sudden appearance and subsequent disappearance.

“Cain!” he shouted, the sound of his voice echoing back to him through the deserted hallways. “Where are you?” Poking his head into room after room, he found nothing. His concern and confusion mounted.

Wandering down another long hallway, he turned to enter a large room and stopped, dead in his tracks. There, over the mantle of the fireplace was a life-sized portrait of Cain… standing behind Shido. The older vampire’s arms were wrapped loosely around the younger one’s waist, Shido’s own arms crossed and resting lightly over Cain’s. Shido felt his chest tightening as he stared, slack-jawed, at the painting, noting the way his figure seemed to be slightly reclined against Cain’s chest. And… the two of them were smiling, apparently happy with their situation at that particular time.

Just then one of the heavy velvet curtains fell open, bathing him in sunlight. In shock, he screamed, too terrified to move, lifting his hand in a futile effort to hide his face. He waited for the end, for the terrible burning, for the pain. But… it never came.

Nothing happened.

His head snapping back to look at the painting, he was suddenly struck with a realization even more horrendous. The answers to all of his questions flooded his consciousness, why Cain had come for him last night, why Cain had brought him back here, why Cain wasn’t here now. And why he was crouching on the floor of a room with sunlight streaming over him and he yet hadn’t instantaneously turned into a pile of ash.

He heard Yayoi’s voice in the back of his mind, reminding him that, “The only way to ‘cure’ a vampire is to destroy the ‘Master’… the one who created him.” As he stared at the beam of light illuminating his hand, he finally understood.

The true death. Somehow, Cain was no more. A sharp pain twisted at his insides like a knife. How? How could Cain, of all people, have been destroyed? Struggling to his feet, Shido stumbled to the fireplace, grasping at the mantle to keep from falling through the massive grate. He looked up at the painting, his mind a whir.

Cain was gone. Not just left the building gone, but GONE, forever; never to return again.

But… What of last night?

It came to him then, the recognition of just what the past evening’s proceedings had been. It was a farewell of sorts; Cain’s way of setting Shido free. The master vampire had done so many things to Shido that he hadn’t been particularly happy with, but found them necessary… at the time. First and foremost, he had turned a naïve, trusting young man into a creature of the night. Then, he had taken away all of the young vampire’s memories, leaving him to wander through the darkness, furious at Shido’s abandonment. Perhaps, last night had been his way of atoning for those sins; his final penance.

Cain! He had appeared one last time to give Shido a final gift and to remind Shido of the happiness they had once shared, only to vanish, eternally this time. Like a carrot dangled in front of a starving horse. It wasn’t fair! When he’d finally been given a glimpse of his past… a happy memory, no less.

He’d loved Cain, then; as much as the older vampire treasured his young protégé. And they really had been happy.

With a heart-rending howl, Shido stumbled back, falling to his knees in the bright sunlight. He’d had love. He’d been loved and had given love in return. Now, with his humanity returned to him… he felt bereft.

Beneath the painting of the two of them together, Shido’s head dropped to his hands and he sobbed, as the remains of his human heart shattered.

He was human once again… and he was truly, and utterly, alone.


~ Owari ~