Bound by blood

"Bound by blood"

Chapter 1

A "Moon Child" fan fanfiction

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Disclaimer: I do not own "Moon child" or any of the characters.  This is strictly a non-profit endeavor, written for entertainment purposes only.

 

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Mallepa, 2046:

 

He looked over his shoulder as he ran, splashing up water from the puddles his feet struck on the way.  Just a little further, and he'd make it onto a main street, where there might be people around.  He might be safe, if he could make it to other people.  Of course, this was Mallepa, where the Mafia still ruled and it wasn't unheard of for people to get gunned down in broad daylight.  He knew there was no guarantee that the thing pursuing him would stop, once he was amongst other people.

 

He could see the end of the narrow street up ahead, where it joined up with the boulevard.  Leaning against the side of a record shop building just at the end of the street was a man in a white trench coat, and he appeared to be lighting up a cigarette.  The fleeing man felt hope, and he called out to the stranger in Cantonese, waving his arms.

 

"Hey!  Call the police!  Someone's been killed and now they're after me!"

 

The man took a drag from his cigarette and regarded him with unreadable, glittering eyes.  His hair was long in the back, woven into multiple braids that fell past his shoulders.  The top and sides were unbound and trimmed shorter, styled to frame his fine-boned Japanese face in a shaggy cut.  The brownish-blond mane caught highlights from the street lamps in a way that was almost un-natural, and as the fleeing man came closer, he could see the unusual blue color of his eyes.

 

"Didn't you hear me?" He demanded, panting as he closed the remaining distance.

 

The smoking man regarded him calmly.  "I heard you," he answered in accented Cantonese.  "A corpse is after you.  Are you on drugs?"

 

"No, the killer is after me!  Call the fucking police!"

 

"You said 'someone's been killed and now they're after me,'" said the young man in the coat with a shrug.  "My Cantonese isn't perfect, but even I can form better sentence structures than that."

 

Deciding that he'd get no help from this person, the man tried to run past him to the boulevard up ahead.  A blur of red, black and white dropped down before him just as he reached the smoking guy and he stared into the dark eyes of the deceptively young Japanese man who had killed his partner.  He'd dropped his gun when he fled the scene earlier, so all he could do was take a swing at his attacker in the hopes that he could subdue him long enough to get away. 

 

"Help me!" he demanded as the blond dodged every punch and kick he aimed at him.  He was a good fighter, but this guy moved with inhuman speed and he seemed to see the hits coming before he could even make them.

 

The man in the trench coat just kept smoking.  "It's not my business."

 

"Sho, this is supposed to be your meal," called the blond creature, looking at the man in the trench coat with an annoyed frown on his lips.

 

~His…meal?  Did I hear him right?~

 

Suddenly, it occurred to Kwan-Yau that the guy in the white coat might be a monster, like his friend.  That would explain his utter lack of concern.  Even more desperate now, he looked around for a weapon and he found a discarded beer bottle.  He grabbed it up and smashed the end of it, backing away from both men with wild eyes.

 

"Don't come any closer!"

 

"Isn't that what your victim said to you and your friend?" asked the blond, "before you raped and murdered her?"

 

Kwan-Yau combed his fingers through his short-cropped, damp hair.  So what were these men…cannibal vigilantes?  He knew he never should have come to Mallepa.  He saw a group of people walking past on the sidewalk at the end of the little street, and he started to call out to them.  The blond thing was upon him before he could even open his mouth, catching his wrist with an iron grip in one hand and covering his mouth with the other.  Helpless as a child against a grown man, he struggled as the blond one looked at the one in the trench coat again.

 

"Sho?  Are you going to feed, or not?"

 

The creature with the braids considered his companion, then the Chinese man trapped in his hold.  He took one more drag of his cigarette before thumping it away and crushing it beneath the heel of his boot.  He shrugged out of his coat and offered it to the blond one.

 

"Hold this, would you?  I don't want it getting stained."

 

The blond released his mouth to take the coat, and he took the opportunity to yell at the top of his lungs.  "Help me!  Heeellllp!  They're going to kill me!"

 

"Shut up," snapped the one with the braids, and he grabbed him around the throat with one hand.  His silver, onyx rings dug into Kwan-Yau's skin as he shoved him against the wall, but that was the least of his concerns.  He struggled for breath as the creature wearing the body of a young Japanese man stared into his eyes.

 

"Maybe you'll live through this," the handsome monster told him, while his equally handsome friend looked on, "and if you do, I hope you remember it.  We feed on killers and rapists."

 

He covered Kwan-Yau's mouth with one hand, forced his head back and opened his mouth to reveal two perfect, sharp little fangs where a normal man's canines would have been.  Kwan-Yau's scream was muffled against the creature's hand as he drove those fangs into his neck and began to drink.

 

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"He's still alive," announced Sho in a rough voice after releasing the victim.  The man toppled to the ground and Sho did his little mending trick by smearing a drop of his own blood over the bite injury to close it.  He wiped his mouth, looking at Kei.  "Lucky him.  Coat?"

 

With a sigh, the blond handed it over to him.  "That whole situation brought back memories."

 

Sho slipped the coat back on and flipped his braids out of the collar.  "Which memories?  We haven't been hunting together for very long."

 

Kei gave him a brief, wistful little smile.  "Memories of when we were in the gang, and you used to get so irritated with me for just standing there in the middle of a firefight."

 

Sho procured his cigarette pack from his coat pocket and he pulled out a fresh smoke with his lips.  "Hmph," he said around the filter, "now you know what it felt like."  He lit the cigarette and took a drag, glancing down at the groaning man in the street.  "Anyway, you told me you owed me dinner, remember?  I just thought I'd give you the chance to catch it for me."

 

"I meant regular food," objected Kei.  "As a treat."

 

Sho frowned at him.  "Why?  We can't get anything out of it besides the taste."

 

"Why do you still smoke?" countered the blond with a nod at the cigarette in Sho's hand.  "And speaking of that…another one?  Already?  You just finished one a minute ago."

 

"I've always smoked after meals," reminded Sho.  "You know that.  You used to be a worse chain smoker than me."

 

Kei looked down at the barely conscious victim.  "He was wrong, you know.  Mine survived too.  I didn't kill him."

 

"Good, then I won't have to listen to you complain about it all night." 

 

"I don't complain that much," objected Kei, offended.

 

Sho looked at him, the cigarette hanging from his lips.  "Yes you do.  Every time you drain one of them to death, you spend the rest of the night beating yourself up over it."

 

"Well, you don't feed enough," countered the blond.  "I've practically had to force feed you, these past few months."

 

Sho removed the cigarette from between his lips and he tapped the ashes.  "That's because I don't really want to be here, Kei.  I'm only sticking around for you and Hana."

 

The reminder stung, but Kei understood his feelings completely.  "I thought we were going to try and get past that."

 

Sho nodded.  "I am.  It's just not that easy."

 

Kei approached him, bolstering his nerve as he always had to when his companion was in a mood like this.  Sho stayed in a state of detachment most of the time, when they weren't hunting or being intimate with each other.  He was slowly coming out of his shell though, allowing the human personality within to show its face more often.  While he hated to see him cry, Kei also looked forward to it, in a way.  Seeing tears in those eyes again would mean he was truly getting Sho back.  Kei clutched the lapels of Sho's coat and he pulled him close for a quick kiss on the mouth.  When he broke the kiss, Sho rested his forehead against Kei's and the two of them sighed in unison.

 

"Let's go back to the apartment," suggested Kei, "unless there's something else you want to do tonight."

 

Sho started to put his arms around him, but the sound of someone shouting from the boulevard ahead of them distracted him.  He looked up and Kei turned around in time to see the police officers approaching the narrow street they were on, from the boulevard it connected to. 

 

"Meet you at our place," muttered Sho. 

 

"Agreed," answered Kei.

 

They were off in a flash, scrambling up the sides of the buildings before the officers could spot them.

 

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Sho intended to go straight home, but as he walked past the park he spotted a familiar, beloved mortal and he had to stop and watch her.  He checked his watch with a frown of disapproval.  Hana shouldn't be out alone at this hour.  He hid behind a tree and peered around it, careful to keep the trunk between her line of sight and his body.  She was sitting at one of the benches before the painting she had restored, and she appeared to be reading something by the light of the park lamps. 

 

"You should go and talk to her," suggested a voice in a bare whisper beside him, startling Sho badly enough to make him gasp.

 

"How do you still do that to me," muttered Sho irritably, "even now?"

 

"You're too easily distracted," answered Kei.  He stood out in the open beside the tree, watching his companion's daughter.  "I mean it, Sho.  Do you know how often she's asked me to tell her stories about you, over the years?  She remembers you vividly.  Yes, she loves her foster family, but she still loves her true father, too."

 

Sho closed his eyes and a swift spasm of pain crossed his face.  "Stop it."

 

"If I thought it would spare you any pain, I would," answered Kei sympathetically, "but I know it won't.  You're punishing yourself.  You still blame yourself for your wife's death…or maybe you blame me."

 

"Told you," Sho insisted in a harsh whisper, "I don't blame you…not after living this way and knowing what it's like."

 

"Then you're blaming yourself," argued Kei, "or at least, you're torturing yourself.  You couldn't have saved her, Sho, not with all the money in the world.  You had no control over what you became, either.  That was all my fault."

 

"Why do you keep bringing this up?" demanded Sho angrily, his voice rising to a growl.  "Do you want me to resent you?"

 

"No," answered the blond immediately, shaking his head.  "I want you to be reunited with your daughter.  Don't you remember some of the talks we had when you were still mortal, about how fast humans age?"

 

"You hammered it into my head," Sho muttered, "of course, I remember it."

 

Kei looked at the girl sitting on the bench on the other side of the park again.  "Think of how fast she grew up from the little girl you once knew to the woman she is now, Sho.  One day, she'll be an old woman and you'll wonder where the time went.  I don't want you to regret not spending time with her while you could, Sho."

 

The taller vampire compressed his lips grimly, his resolve wavering.  "Don't want her to see me like this," he repeated, an excuse he'd used too many times before.  "Don't want her to know what I am."

 

"She knows what I am," coaxed his companion, "and she's not afraid of me.  She's like her father, that way."

 

"She does?"

 

Kei sighed at him.  "I haven't aged in the entire time she's known me, Sho.  Hana is a smart girl, and I eventually had to tell her the truth.  It's time you did the same."

 

"I can't," whispered Sho painfully.  "I just…can't."

 

Kei looked like he couldn't decide whether he wanted to comfort him or yell at him.  He started to say something—probably another admonishment—when Sho noticed something that made him stiffen.

 

"Who the hell is that?"

 

Kei followed his stare back to the painting, where Hana was now greeting a young man who appeared to be Chinese.  He was a nice looking fellow with short-groomed dark hair, wearing a business suit. 

 

"Uh," Kei said hesitantly, wincing.

 

"Kei, who the hell is that?" demanded Sho as the stranger took his daughters' hands in his and bent over to give her a kiss on the cheek—just the way Sho used to do with Yi-Che.

 

Kei scratched his head uncomfortably.  "That's…her boyfriend."

 

When Sho gave him an incredulous look, Kei shrugged.  "She's an adult now, Sho.  You didn't expect her never to find a suitor, did you?"

 

"I…I…she's still…" Sho sputtered, waving in the couple's direction.  He couldn't get the words to come out.  Yes, he knew she was no longer a little girl, and he knew she would probably get married and have kids of her own some day, but he wasn't expecting to see this so soon.

 

"Sho," Kei murmured patiently, "This is what I meant.  You're going to keep missing things like this, if you don't act. You need to re-connect with her again, and trust her to accept you for what you are."

 

He had no logical argument to that, but he still felt he deserved an explanation.  "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

 

"I only found out myself last week," defended Kei, "and I've been meaning to tell you, but hoping I could convince you to approach her and find out yourself.  I’m sorry I waited, but this is your chance."

 

Seeing the other man's fist clinch, he hastily amended: "Not your chance to kill her boyfriend.  This is your chance to talk to her."

 

Sho regarded him incredulously.  "What do you expect me to do, walk up to her after all this time, right now?  I haven't seen her since she was six." 

 

"Okay, maybe not right now," amended Kei, "but soon.  Maybe you could wait until they leave and follow her home.  If you're worried about scaring her, I can approach her first and prepare her.  She thinks you're missing, not dead."

 

Sho agonized over it.  "But…what do I say?   How do I apologize for—"

 

"Just tell her the truth," advised Kei.  He stepped closer to the tree and he laid a supportive hand over the taller man's shoulder.  "I'll help you, okay?"

 

Sho swallowed painfully, and he carefully peeked around the tree again to look at his daughter.  Now she was sitting with her boyfriend on the bench, and they held hands as they talked and looked up at her painting. 

 

"Kei…"

 

As always, the lithe, pretty-faced blond vampire seemed to read his emotions and understand.  He sighed softly and stroked Sho's arm.  "It's okay.  You need more time.  Just…don't take too long, okay?"

 

Sho closed his eyes and nodded, hating himself for his cowardice.  "I want to know everything about him," he whispered.  "Everything there is to know.  I want to know this guy better than he knows himself, before he marries my Hana."

 

"Sho, they aren't even engaged yet," Kei pointed out.

 

The hard glare he got from the other man reminded him that when his buttons were pushed, Sho could be quite impetuous and hot-tempered.  "Okay," pacified Kei in calming tones.  "We'll see whoever we need to see about looking into his background.  You know more about that kind of thing than I do.  Just don't do your normal thing and get reckless."

 

Sho's nerves began to settle, now that he wasn't getting pressure from his companion.  He nodded and relaxed a bit.  "Let's go."

 

Kei immediately started walking, and after a few paces he stopped and looked back at his companion.  Sho still stood where he was, watching his daughter and her suitor from behind the tree.

 

"Sho?" whispered Kei, pitching his voice just loud enough for the other vampire to hear him.

 

Sho lowered his gaze, grimaced and nodded.  "Coming."

 

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"Kei, the sun is going to be coming up soon," Sho said when he came out of the bathroom and found his companion still bent over the laptop computer sitting on the table.  "Why are you still on that thing?"

 

Kei looked up from the screen and he gave him a tired little smile.  "You wanted to know everything there is to know about your daughter's boyfriend, so I've been researching for you."

 

Sho blinked and took a seat next to him.  "Oh?  That could have waited until tomorrow.  I still have old contacts I was planning to use.  You know I still do business with the Mafia districts here, even though they don't know the truth of who they're dealing with."

 

"I know," answered the blond with a shrug.  He looked a little guilty, peering at him from beneath wisps of blond hair that had fallen over his right eye.  "I just felt like…I should do something."

 

Sho started to lean in to peer at the screen, but Kei hastily turned the computer away.  "I'm not finished yet," he explained lamely when the other vampire gave him a narrow-eyed look of suspicion.

 

"Kei, what have you found out?"  Sho tried to wrest the device from him, but Kei swept it up and set it on his lap, turning his back to him.

 

"Nothing," he said.  "Or maybe something, but you have to swear you won't act rashly, before I tell you."

 

"Kei, I swear if you don't tell me—"

 

"Fine," snapped Kei, twisting back around on the couch to set the laptop on the coffee table.  His expressive brown eyes gazed at Sho with pleading intensity.  "But don't do…what you usually do."

 

"You keep saying that," grumbled Sho.  He gestured at the computer.  "Just show me, please."

 

Kei had the wary look of the mediator on his face.  "Just remember, you're still in on it, too."

 

Sho frowned on confusion, until he saw the newspaper article his companion had pulled up on Hanyu Chan. 

 

"He's in the Mafia."

 

Kei nodded.  "The grand nephew of Chan…the guy that—"

 

"Had Toshi killed," finished Sho, shutting his eyes.  "And Shinji."

 

"But Hanyu Chan had nothing to do with that," Kei reasoned, putting a hand on Sho's right knee.  "He was just a child when it happened, like Hana." 

 

Sho got off the couch abruptly and dragged his fingers through his braids, pacing on bare feet over the hard floor of the apartment.  "That guy is not marrying my girl."

 

Kei grimaced.  "Again, they aren't engaged.  Stop looking so far into the future."

 

"I don't want her marrying into what her mother did," Sho snapped vehemently, making a violent gesture with his arms that threatened to unfasten his silk robe.  "She deserves better than that!"

 

"Okay," soothed Kei.  It was good to see some emotion from him, but Sho had been suppressing it for years and this threatened to get out of control.  Kei shut the laptop and got up to approach his companion, trying his best to sooth him.  "Sho, be still or I'll have to tie you up."

 

Sho stopped and a bit of humor found its way into his heart.  He smirked at him.  "Like you'd dare."

 

"I'd dare a lot, when it comes to protecting you and Hana," answered Kei without hesitation.  He sighed and brushed his hands over his stonewashed jeans, shrugging naked shoulders exposed through the ripped tank top he wore.  "I know this might sound strange to you, but I think of Hana as my daughter, too.  I've watched over her for all this time, haven't I?"

 

Sho deflated and his eyes stung warningly.  "Yes.  You've been more of a father to her than I have."  He looked away, trying to settle his emotions.

 

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Kei bit his lip and he reached up to cup the taller man's face.  He brushed his thumbs under his eyes as Sho started to cry, and he shook his head and gave him the familiar, gentle smile.  He'd been waiting for those tears and now that they finally came, he felt terrible for his part in provoking them.  He got the human reaction he wanted, and now it was time to salve the wound.

 

"Don't.  I told you I don't want to make you cry anymore, Sho." 

 

No matter how tough he was—even if some of it was mostly an act—Sho always came to him for help and comfort, in the end.  Kei loved him more than he could ever express, and he stroked his hair and drew his head down to rest on his shoulder, attempting to soothe him.

 

"I looked after Hana because of you and Yi-Che," reminded Kei softly, stroking the silky braids and fluffy crown of the other man's hair.  "I love her because she's part of you both, Sho.  It wasn't a burden, and I never tried to take your place."

 

"I know," admitted the taller vampire with as shuddering sigh.  "You're still looking after me, after all this time.  I thought I'd banished these stupid mortal feelings, but…"

 

Kei smiled and pulled away, brushing his fingers over Sho's uncertain lips.  "If we lose all mortal feeling, we lose ourselves.  Luka told me that.  I'm glad you haven't lost yours."

 

Those pretty blue eyes lowered and Sho sniffed, stemming the tide of tears.  "I'll bet Luka wasn't a 'crybaby' like me, though."

 

Kei chuckled softly, and he slipped his hands into Sho's robe to embrace his torso.  "Luka was a poet.  He was more dramatic than you could ever be, in his own way.  Sho, just don't think about this tonight.  I didn't mean to be unfair to you, I just don't want you to have any regrets."

 

Sho put his arms around him in return, and he nuzzled his hair in that special way of his.  "I know.  I want to follow your advice, but I just need more time."

 

Kei tilted his head back to gaze into Sho's eyes.  "Then take some time.  Like I said, I'll help you."

 

Kei deftly started to undo the silken belt holding Sho's black robe closed, looking at him as he did so to read his expression.  "Can I take your mind off this for a while?"

 

Sho's blue eyes flashed and he nodded slowly, his hands drifting down Kei's back to cup his bottom.  Kei debated himself inwardly. Sho was clearly vulnerable, and it wasn't in Kei's nature to take advantage of that.  He wanted to have him the way he'd already given himself to Sho, but he could wait.  He decided to content himself with touching and kissing his body, instead.  He should have told him about Hana's relationship sooner, and he intended to make it up to him.

 

"Kei," sighed Sho when the blond exposed him to the air and reached down to fondle him. 

 

He pulled Kei closer and he kissed him deeply, purring low in his throat with pleasure.  He traced the winged tattoos on Kei's shoulders, partially exposed through the sleeveless shirt.  He slid his hands down and he pulled on the shirt, tugging it out of Kei's pants so that he could pull it up.  Kei paused his ministrations obligingly and he lifted his arms over his head to allow his companion to pull his shirt off.  He didn't wait for Sho to make a move after that, knowing that if he allowed the other man time to react, Sho would take over. 

 

He dropped smoothly into a squatting position before Sho and he parted his robes further, before running his hands over his toned abdomen and the narrow lines of his hips.  He looked up at Sho as he caressed his body, fingers tracing old, faded scars from previous knife fights and bullet wounds.  Most of them were barely noticeable on the tanned skin anymore, thanks to time and vampiric healing.  Still, Kei had every mark memorized, because he'd been there when all of them were made. 

 

He felt Sho's powerful, preternatural body shiver as he began to trace those old, faint marks with his tongue.  He looked up at him as he tasted his skin, his eyes letting him know in no uncertain terms that he considered Sho to be his.  The braids fell over the other man's shoulders as he looked back down at Kei, and his lips parted to emit a sigh of gratitude and pleasure.  His hands—for once bare of jewelry—stroked Kei's pale hair and the heavy-lidded, expressive eyes gazed down at him with anticipation.

 

Kei resisted a smile, knowing very well how quickly he could get his partner worked up with his lips and tongue.  He wasn't usually one to brag, but he was very good at giving oral pleasure and the number of times he'd made Sho yell his name so far since they'd gotten together was proof of that.  Of course, Sho proved to be a natural as well and he'd given back every orgasm and scream of pleasure he'd received so far, but for tonight, Kei just wanted to see to his pleasure. 

 

Sho leaned back against the wall and his breath caught as Kei gripped the base of his erection and swirled his tongue around the sensitive slit in the tip of it.  He swallowed and stroked the blond's hair again, holding still as best he could while Kei played. 

 

"You've learned," murmured Kei in approval, between licks.  The straining flesh in his grip tensed and lifted a bit in reaction to the sensation, and Sho grunted.

 

"You were strict about teaching me," answered the taller man breathlessly.

 

Kei smiled against the flushed, shiny cap of Sho's glans, and he put his lips around it and gave it a good, hard suck that made Sho's breath catch again.  The hands stroking his hair trembled, and Kei let his lips slide further down, taking the entire head of the organ into his mouth.  He allowed his fangs to elongate and he gently pressed one against the tiny hole in the tip of the glans, provoking a jerk from the organ and a sharp moan from the man it belonged to.  He slipped his free hand around Sho's hip and behind, to squeeze and stroke his tight, smooth ass. 

 

"Unh…K-Kei," Sho moaned shakenly as the blond carefully fang-fucked the tender opening of his urethra.  Kei maintained a firm hold on the shaft with one hand whilst stroking the underside of his cock with his tongue.  The combination of sensations quickly had Sho reaching desperately for something to grab on to besides Kei's hair. 

 

It was delicate business, using one's fangs in this manner without piercing or scratching the flesh.  Kei had it down to an art; despite how messy he was when feeding and how rarely he could control the frenzy.  This was different from feeding.  This was strictly pleasure, and he knew exactly how much pressure to use to give the most pleasurable, intense sensation without pushing the boarders into pain.

 

Sho panted his name again, and his hips started to flex impulsively.  Kei gave him a light smack on the butt and a warning squeeze, silently reminding him not to tempt fate by attempting to thrust into his mouth.  Sho went still again, his whole body trembling with the pleasure and the effort to be still. 

 

"Fuck…ahh…Kei," growled Sho, tilting his head back against the wall.  His hands splayed over the surface, the fingers reflexively curling into fists.

 

Kei kept at it for several minutes, squeezing the base of Sho's erection to prevent him from ejaculating until he was ready to allow it.  He kept pausing the fang stimulation to murmur sharp, warning reminders each time Sho forgot to be still.  It was an exercise in discipline and though Kei was generally the more submissive of the pair, he demonstrated how easily he could dominate Sho in his own unique way.  When the harsh, ragged cries of pleasure grew desperate enough to sound tortured, Kei rewarded his companion by easing his grip and letting him reach the final peak of bliss.

 

Feeling Sho's sex starting to buck, Kei retracted his fangs and deep-throated him.  He didn't quite manage to get the entire length down his throat before his companion came, but he swallowed quickly enough to avoid gagging. 

 

"Shit," panted Sho hoarsely as he spent himself down Kei's throat.  He dared to pry one hand off the wall and stroke Kei's hair again as the blond finished sucking him dry.  "So good, Kei."

 

Kei released his sated length from his mouth and he ran his hands over Sho's naked hips and thighs, smiling up at him.  "Feel better?"

 

Eyes still closed, the other man nodded.  He kept his head tilted back against the wall and he continued stroking Kei's hair as he caught his breath.  "One day," promised Sho, "I'll feel confident enough to return the favor and use my fangs that way on you."

 

"I'm patient," assured Kei.  "Besides, you've got your own creative way of adding spice to things.  The exchange of blood while having sex was something I never experienced, before you."

 

Sho smiled, opening his eyes to look at the painting on the opposite wall.  "Glad I could show you something new, then.  Sometimes I feel like such a virgin, compared to you."

 

Kei chuckled.  "I'm older and have more experience.  You've got the imagination, Sho." 

 

He closed the taller man's robe reluctantly, hating to cover that toned body but afraid that he might get selfish with it if he kept it too accessible.  He tied the robe shut and straightened back up, combing his fingers through Shoe's hair before leaning in for a kiss on the mouth.  Sho kissed him back and embraced him.

 

"I want to take care of you, now."

 

Kei smiled quietly into the other man's hair, unsurprised.  He often teasingly accused Sho of being selfish, but that wasn't truly the case.  Sho's problem was that he lacked the ability to demonstrate his generosity without torturing himself in the process.  He often martyred himself needlessly.  He also had issues with just letting Kei give him pleasure for the sake of doing it, sometimes, and yet he often did so for Kei without any expectation of reciprocation.

 

"It's okay," murmured Kei with another kiss.  "Like you said; the sun's about to come up.  Let's just get undressed and go to bed."

 

"You sure?"  Sho squeezed him gently. 

 

"Of course," answered Kei easily.  "I know you'll take care of me another time.  You always do."

 

Sho nodded in agreement and nuzzled his hair.

 

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The next evening, Sho made some phone calls and he put people onto getting as many details as possible about Hanyu Chan.  It would take time to get all of the information he wanted, so he contented himself with checking in on business, bullying Kei into letting him buy some wardrobe additions for him and watching over Hana as closely as he could, without alerting her to his presence. 

 

"She knows she's being watched," Kei warned him after the third night.  "She can sense it, Sho.  She told me so the night of her painting ceremony in the park, you know."

 

Sho stuck his hands into his coat pockets and looked at him.  "Some day soon, I'll work up the courage to meet her again, face to face."

 

Kei nodded, confident and supportive as always.  "I know you will."

 

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A few nights later, Uptown Mallepa:

 

Hana finished her latest painting and she eyed it critically, tapping a paint-stained finger against her chin.  She still wasn't completely satisfied with the color blending in the hair, but she had only her memories from childhood and a few old photographs as a reference.  She smiled softly at the man in the painting, a wistful little sigh escaping her lips.

 

"Hana, it's almost time to close the studio tonight," warned Sandra from the hallway.  Her footsteps approached from behind as she walked into the room, and she came up behind the young artist and whistled softly at the painting.

 

"Ooh, he's cute.  Who is that?"

 

It took a moment for Hana to mentally translate what her agent said into Japanese.  Sandra was from America, with Scandinavian bloodlines that resulted in the flaxen blonde hair and blue eyes that were considered so exotic in Mallepa. An attractive, fair-skinned woman in her early thirties, Sandra was still learning to speak the local languages.

 

"He is my father," Hana said carefully in English, giving the taller woman a smile.

 

Sandra's eyebrows went up and her turquoise gaze slid over the attractive man in the painting again, taking in his braided ponytail, sculpted features and casually dangerous stance.  There was a lot of detail in the painting, and the subject had a pair of oval shades propped on his head, a knowing look in his eyes—which appeared to be an unusual shade for a Japanese man—and lips to keep a girl up at night.  He appeared to be standing in a doorway.

 

"No offense honey, but I've met your father," Sandra said with a smirk and a gesture at the painting, "and he's a nice looking man, but he doesn't look like that.  He dresses a lot more conservatively, too."

 

Hana again took a moment to translate, and she laughed softly and shook her head.  "No, no…that is my guardian.  Um…my…foster father.  This is my…how you say…blood father?"

 

"Oh, I see."  Sandra looked from her to the painting.  "I can see a resemblance in the bone structure, now that you mention it.  So, where is he now, if you don't mind my asking?"

 

Hana lowered her gaze and shrugged.  "I don't know.  He left after mother died."

 

Sandra's expression softened.  "He abandoned you?  Hana, I'm so sorry."

 

"No, not abandoned," insisted the Asian girl gently, "he gave me to my foster family.  He made sure I would be cared for.  He just had to go."

 

"Well, when was the last time you heard from him?"

 

Hana bit her lip and looked at the painting, nodding at it.  "This was my last memory of him.  It has been twelve years, now."

 

She remembered looking up at her father through her tears as he stood in the doorway, his handsome face full of grief and resolve.  She remembered him saying to her that he loved her, and he would always watch over her one way or another…and then he left.  A year later, Kei showed up again and he visited with her regularly, giving her advice when she needed it and telling her stories about her father—his best friend. 

 

Uncle Kei always told her that her father did what he thought was best for her, because he didn't believe he could give her the life she deserved, the way he had to live now.  He'd never explained exactly what that meant, and he always claimed he didn't know where Sho was or what he was doing.  Hana always suspected otherwise, but she was raised to be too polite to make demands of him, and she had her own theories after discovering the truth of Kei's nature.

 

"Hana?"

 

She shook herself out of her reverie and she smiled apologetically at the taller woman.  "I was just…remembering him.  I painted this to honor him.  Maybe someday, I can show him."

 

Sandra put an arm around her and she gave her an affectionate, sisterly squeeze.  "Are you sure he's still alive?" she asked gently. 

 

No, she wasn't absolutely sure, but Hana believed she would feel it, if her father were dead, the way she felt it when her mother passed away.  "I hope so," she answered.

 

Sandra patted her arm and stepped away.  "Well for your sake, I hope so too.  I know a lot of people in this city grew up never knowing their biological parents, but not all of them are lucky enough to have a loving, stable foster family hand-picked for them."

 

Hana nodded, and her eyes stung a little.  "He loved me.  I know he did."

 

Sandra nodded.  "It's a gorgeous painting, Hana.  One of your best yet, in fact.  Now, come on so we can shut this place down for the night.  Do you feel like having a bite to eat?"

 

"Oh, I appreciate it," Hana assured, "but I am meeting Chan for dinner, tonight."

 

Sandra smiled.  "Then, you're all taken care of.  Let's get out of here."

 

~***********************~

---

 

He saw the two women step out of the studio together, and he stuck to the shadows and followed as they crossed the street to the parking garage.  He knew he was testing his luck and risking discovery, but ever since learning the identity of the man his daughter was dating, he couldn't resist spending his evenings watching over her.  Mafia disputes could easily get ugly enough to endanger the families of those involved, and until he knew there was no danger of Hana getting caught up in such a dispute and hurt or killed over it, Sho refused to let down his guard.  Yi-Che suffered sexual assault at the hands of a rival gang, before Sho met her.  It traumatized her for life, and it took a lot of care, patience and understanding for Sho to finally achieve sexual intimacy with her, after they married.  He'd die before he allowed the same thing to happen to their daughter.

 

In addition to the dangers of dating Mafia or gang members—of which there were plenty to be found in Mallepa—there were plenty of other threats to consider.  Even in the uptown areas of the metropolis, crime was high and unarmed women made attractive targets.  Sho felt a little better knowing that there were security cameras in the parking garage they were heading to, but he wasn't willing to take chances with his daughter's safety. 

 

As the two women made it into the entrance of the garage and the blonde paused to dig for her keys in her purse, Hana turned around to scan the street behind them with a puzzled little frown on her face.  Sho hastily ducked behind a car before her eyes could settle on him.  He waited for her to turn back around and keep walking, before resuming his surveillance.  He noticed a couple of guys heading for the parking garage from the opposite street and he narrowed his eyes when he saw them pull something out of their pockets that looked like sweater caps, from the distance.  Having performed several heists in his mortal years, their actions drew Sho's attention and when he saw them pull the caps down over their faces as masks, he knew his instincts weren't off.

 

~************************************~

---

 

"Hana, is something wrong?"  Sandra stopped to regard her companion, who had again stopped walking to look around curiously.

 

Hana shook her head uncertainly.  She was getting used to the feeling of being watched.  Most of the time, it meant Uncle Kei was somewhere nearby.  Lately, however, there was a different feel to it—though it wasn't a malevolent one.  "I just keep feeling like I'm forgetting something," excused the younger woman in Japanese.

 

Now it was Sandra's turn to pause and translate.  "Well, it can't be that important.  You have your keys, don't you?"

 

Hana nodded and jingled said keys. 

 

"Then let's get to our cars, and if you've left anything at the studio, you can get it tomorrow."  Sandra cast a nervous look around and smoothed a hand over her gray and white dress suit.  "I don't like sticking around inside these places, no matter how well lit—"

 

"Sandra!" shouted Hana in alarm when she saw the two dark-dressed male forms closing in on the blonde woman from behind. 

 

Sandra turned, and she immediately produced a can of mace from her purse and sprayed it directly in the masked face of the nearest man, just as he grabbed her handbag.  He yelled and shoved her hard, knocking her backwards into a nearby van.  She struck her head and went down in a heap, unmoving.

 

"No!  Let go!" Hana cried when the second one grabbed her purse in passing.  She vaguely remembered her father—her true father—telling her long ago not to try and fight someone intent on snatching her purse, because money and ID could be replaced, but her life could not.  She let go of the handbag and stumbled as the two men ran off…one of them coughing, sputtering and staggering.  At least she still had the keys to her car, and Sandra's were just a few inches away from her hand on the concrete.

 

"Sandra," called Hana when she saw her agent lying there.  Forgetting about their stolen purses for the moment, she went to the other woman's side and knelt before her.  She shook her gently to rouse her when she found no blood.  "Sandra?  Do you need a doctor?"

 

The older woman groaned as she sat up with Hana's help, rubbing the back of her skull.  "No, I think I'm okay.  Are you?"

 

"I'm fine," assured Hana with a wary glance down the ramp, where the purse-snatchers had gone.  She intended to suggest that they should go and report the robbery to the police, even though it wasn't likely to make a difference, but then the sound of gunfire bounced off the walls of the parking garage, followed by the sound of shattering glass, a male scream and a vile curse.

 

"Oh my god, get down!" Sandra shouted, practically dragging the smaller woman with her between two cars. 

 

More shots went off, and it sounded like one or two skipped off the pavement.  Car alarms started to go off and people outside in the street shouted exclamations of alarm.  Unlike the south side of Mallepa, people tended to react with more alarm to gunshots, in this part of town.  Hana and Sandra huddled between vehicles together, covering their heads for protection.  There was no further gunfire, and some of the car alarms eventually stopped beeping.  For a little while, both women were too afraid to move, but then Sandra whispered a suggestion that they should get into her car since it was closest and get the hell out of there.

 

Hana agreed, and just as they started to get cautiously to their feet, they heard the approach of booted footsteps from the direction where the sounds of the conflict had come from.  Both women stopped and huddled down again.  Sandra adjusted her keys in her shaking hand, so that the points of them were sticking out from between her fingers, to be used as a makeshift weapon if necessary.  The blond woman put a trembling finger to her lips, silently warning her younger companion to be quiet as the footsteps came nearer and nearer.  Hana nodded convulsively and she mimicked Sandra's actions, adjusting her keys in her hand.  She didn't know if she could get violent, but she was her father's daughter and she was prepared to push herself, if she had to.

 

Her eyes went wide when she looked under the car she and her friend were hiding behind and she saw the booted feet approaching.  She recalled the purse-snatchers wearing sneakers, so she guessed this was someone else, coming their way.  She saw white material swishing behind the calves and she presumed it was the hem of a long coat.  The booted feet stopped, directly on the other side of the car that she and Sandra were hiding behind.  A drop of blood fell to the concrete by the left toe, splashing crimson as it struck.  A pair of handbags dropped abruptly in front of the black boots, and then the feet turned away.

 

Hana caught the faint scent of familiar cologne she hadn't smelled in years, and her lips parted to whisper one single, hopeful inquiry.  "Tousan?"

 

She scrambled to her feet, despite her companion's urgent warnings.  The hopeful smile on Hana's lips died when she found no sign of anyone standing there.  She swallowed and sniffed, taking in the last, lingering trace of the scent she missed so much.

 

"Where did he go?" demanded Sandra nervously, peeking up over the top of the car. 

 

"Whoever it was, he's gone," answered Hana, too nervous and disappointed to bother speaking English.  She retrieved their purses and handed Sandra's over to her.  "Here's your bag."

 

Sandra took it, and they both checked the contents impulsively.  "Everything's still in it," sighed the blonde.  "I don't understand…did one of them change his mind and bring them back, or did some random stranger just decide to go after those men and get our purses back for us?  And how did he get out of sight so fast?"

 

"I don't know," answered Hana truthfully.  Her head was spinning with possibilities, but she couldn't share them with her agent, if she didn't want her to think she was out of her mind.  "It doesn't matter…we have our bags back.  We should go to the police now and report what happened."

 

"Amen to that," sighed the blonde.

 

~**********************************~

---

 

Kei looked up from the book he was reading when his partner came in, and his mouth fell open at the sight of the bloodstains on his coat.  He put the book aside and hurried over to him as Sho staggered and coughed up a little stream of red.  He'd obviously been shot—not just once, but twice. 

 

"What happened?" demanded Kei.  "Are you hurt bad?  Is Hana okay?"

 

"I'm not as good at dodging bullets as you are," coughed Sho.  He looked down at the hole on the left, upper side of his coat and he poked a finger through it, his bloody lips frowning.  "But I guess I just don't even try, these days.  Assholes put a hole in my coat."

 

Presuming Sho wouldn't be bitching about his coat if his daughter weren't okay, Kei put aside his questions and helped the other man over to the futon.  At least they could wipe away any blood that got on the leather, before it set and stained.  He helped him get his coat and shirt off and he winced at the sight of the fresh bullet wounds.  He was sporting one in the left side where the new hole in his coat was, and another in the stomach, just to the right of his navel.  The blood poured sluggishly from both wounds and though they couldn't kill him, the bullets needed to come out.  Unfortunately, they couldn't risk taking him to a hospital to have a doctor do it.  One blood test, and the gig would be up.

 

"Try to be still," advised Kei.  "I'll get some water and towels, so we can take care of this.  You'll get weak if we leave you to bleed like this." 

 

Seeing Sho glance mournfully at his stained, damaged coat, Kei smirked.  "We'll have another one tailored for you, just like it.  It's only a coat."

 

"Says the guy who still has the same red jacket he wore when I met him," countered Sho.

 

Kei shrugged, giving up the argument.  He went into the kitchen and he called out to him as he gathered what he needed to see to his injuries.  "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

 

"I was watching over Hana like I have been every night," answered Sho, "and these punks followed her and her friend into the parking garage after they left the studio.  They took their purses, so I took them back.  I shot one and broke the other's neck, but as you can see, they got a couple of shots in before I finished them off."

 

Kei paused and grimaced.  "Did either of them get hurt?  The girls, I mean."

 

"The blonde one bumped her head," answered Sho, "but Hana was okay."

 

Kei nodded, relieved.  "Good.  I’m glad you were there to help them…but I almost wish you hadn't gotten into a firefight over a couple of handbags.  In that part of town, murders get taken more seriously, Sho.  If the girls weren't in physical danger, maybe it would have been better to let authorities handle it."

 

"They wouldn't have.  You know that.  They might investigate more thoroughly on that side if there's an assault, car theft or murder, but purse snatching is like shoplifting.  They would have gotten away with it and nobody takes from my little girl."

 

Kei couldn't fully contain a grin of amusement as he returned to the living room with towels draped over his arm and a bowl of hot water in one hand.  He looked down at his companion and shook his head.  "Doting vampire father.  She's probably safer than any other daughter in Mallepa."

 

"And she has a protective vampire uncle, too," reminded Sho.  He took one of the towels offered to him and he sat up to place it under his body, to protect the futon from blood.  "If you had been there, you would have done the same.  Admit it."

 

"Maybe," allowed Kei as he squatted before him and began to dab at the wounds with the dampened washcloth, "but I would have tried to dodge these.  You probably left some DNA evidence behind for them to find.  We may not leave fingerprints anymore, but the blood won't vanish unless sunlight happens to hit it and burn it up before they find it.  Lift your left arm, so I can get a better look."

 

"Trying to scare me?"  Sho grunted as he raised his arm compliantly. 

 

"I'm just trying to remind you that they might not brush this off as a gang rivalry," answered Kei in a distracted tone.  He narrowed his eyes and located the bullet, barely visible within the open, bloody wound.  He cleaned the injury some more and he advised his companion to hold the washcloth over it and apply pressure, while he went to retrieve some tweezers and antiseptic from the bathroom. 

 

"If they decide to investigate deeply," he called out as he checked the cabinets and under the sink for what he needed, "it could lead back to us, and we'll have to leave Mallepa to avoid arrest.  It's going to be hard to watch over Hana, if that happens."

 

"Yeah, I know," sighed the injured vampire.

 

Kei returned to the living room again and he knelt before his companion as he sterilized the tweezers for the task ahead of him.  "Then you need to be more careful.  Don't just take every slug and cut coming your way just because they can't kill you, Sho.  Maybe you like pain, but every drop of blood you leave behind puts you at risk."

 

"Are you finished lecturing me?"

 

Kei gave him a brief little smile.  "For now.  Hold still."

 

Sho complied as best he could; grunting in pain as the blond carefully began to work the first bullet out of the wound.  "Kei…I think she might have seen me."

 

Kei stopped and looked up at him.  "Hana?"

 

Sho nodded.  "I’m not sure, though.  I wasn't in her direct line of sight, but when I brought the handbags back to where the girls were hiding, I heard her call out: 'Dad?'.  I panicked and got out of there right away, after that."

 

Kei considered the information and nodded, resuming his efforts.  "Maybe she doesn't need to see you, to recognize your presence.  She's your daughter.  You two have a blood bond."

 

Sho didn't seem very pleased with the conclusion.  "So then she may know I'm back in town."

 

"If she doesn't yet, she probably will eventually," answered Kei.  "As long as you keep tailing her like this, she'll keep picking up on it.  It's up to you how you want her to find out, Sho.  You already know my feelings on it."

 

Sho grimaced and shut his eyes, saying no more as his companion finished removing the slugs from his body and treated the wounds. 

 

~*******************************~

---

 

-To be continued