“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.”

--Oscar Wilde, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

【Obsidian Butterfly】

III.V – Portrait of a Fallen Angel: The Mirror

Zero looked around, eyeing the atmosphere around the confided room.

It was the first time he had ever stepped foot in such a place before, crowded and noisy, couples making out and dancing dirty under the influence of drugs and hard alcohol. The heavy scent of cigarette smoke choked his every breath, the vivid lights became blinding after a while.

Amongst the clubbers, he felt like a mere child, lost in a world whilst he had never noticed growing up. And although he was underage, he managed to sneak in unnoticed behind a large group of punk teenagers, their earlobes pierced with countless gothic earrings and holes and chains adorning their loose clothing.

Zero felt incredibly out of place. Everyone around him, even those who are more ‘underdressed’ looked a lot more fashionable than himself. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all to come to a rave club in a simple denim jacket with jeans.

He pushed along the dance floor, making his way across the room and separating numerous dancing couples along the way. He ignored their stares, their insults about his tasteless appearance and the hands that glided sneakily across his body as he walked passed, stroking, groping his arse and the back of his legs. Finding a small stool near the edge of the mini bar, Zero was greeted by a young bartender, who couldn’t have been more than two years older in age.

“You new around here? I’ve never since you grace the steps of our club before.” Zero heard the boy ask through the pounding beat of the trance track playing in the background. He chose to ignore the question by simply closing his eyes, hoping his headache from the loud music would subside and the tender would leave him alone.

“You know, normally we don’t care for minors here.” The boy continued, placing a few mixer glasses back into their places and wiping the table. “However, I will give you credit since you’re one of the first person who have successfully snuck passed our notorious bouncers.” He paused and leaned forward, looking at the silver-haired boy, his eyes dark and confused.

“Got a lot on your mind?” He asked, leaning over the counter and running his hand through Zero’s hair, admiring the softness with his fingertips. “Well since you’re here, go enjoy yourself, I’m sure you’ll find something or someone to put a smile back on your face.”

Zero pushed the wondering hand away from his hair and replied gruffly, “Thanks, but leave me alone. If I need a drink then I’ll call you over.”

The bartender shrugged and moved away to another customer, allowing Zero to have the peace that he desired.

Sighing, Zero slumped his head against the hard surface, smelling the intoxicating aroma present on the counter. He tapped his fingers in time with the rhythm of the song, his nails making a small clicking sound on the marble top of the bar table.

Yes, this was exactly what he needed. He needed his freedom.

He needed to get as far away from the academy as possible, that was the only way he could escape from his reach.

So he did something unthinkable—he broke the rules by running away, by leaving the campus in the middle of the night, hoping nobody—especially Yuuki—would’ve suspected his absence. But nevertheless, he had seized to care about the punishment that he was going to receive for breaking the code. Whether it was detention or even suspension, it was all the same. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time he was disciplined for leaving the school grounds unauthorised.

Feeling a thin arm sliding around his waist, Zero lifted his head and glared daggers at the random girl it belonged to.

“Hey sexy, you seem a bit lonely. Want to have some fun?” She asked, giggling annoyingly, while lifting her eyebrow suggestively, clinging tighter onto his hips.

“I’m not interested.” He replied harshly, feeling irritated stares from across the room seeping into his back. “If you’re that desperate for a fuck, go look for some other loser, there’s plenty of them here anyways.”

“Maybe you should watch what you say here, Zero. It can get you into a lot a trouble.”

Zero froze at the sentence. He could recognise that voice anywhere, anytime. He turned his head, fearing the worse as his eye came in contact with the brunette standing beside him.

“You.” Zero growled as he immediately stood up from his seat.

“Fancy seeing you here. I’d never expect a member of the student council such as yourself would ever think about breaking the rules.” The voice continued, approaching closer than before.

The girl widened her eyes and she immediately released her grip from Zero’s arm before bowing down to the person before her.

“Is a member of the Kuran family here?!” Random voices spoke around the club. The music stops and everybody paused.

“K... Kaname-sama!” The girl gasped. “Please forgive me for my rudeness, I didn’t know he was taken by you already, I swear.”

All the other vampires followed her example, kneeling on the ground on one knee and bowing their heads to avoid eye contact with the master vampire.

“It’s alright, you didn’t know. Besides...” Kaname looked over to Zero, a dangerous smile curving on his lips. “Nobody would ever expect a ex-vampire hunter to be my newest plaything, isn’t that right Zero?”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Zero demanded to know, his eyes continued to glare icily at the brunette.

“Leave us.” Kaname commanded the girl and watching the other vampires retreating back to their original positions.

The music starts to play again and the couples began to dance.

“You look surprised.” Kaname chuckled softly, enjoying the look of shock and torment on Zero’s face. “You didn’t actually think that I would be ignorant enough to not notice your absence, did you?”

Kaname moved forward, cornering the silver-haired boy, backing him against the wall and pinning him time in place with his body. Zero writhed underneath his weight, trying to move his face away from his hot breathe.

“We’re bounded by blood, I can easily sense your location at any given time.”

“F-fuck, what the hell are you planning?” Zero managed to hiss out, trying his best to ignore the fangs they were gently playing against his sensitive neck. “Stop it. We’re. In. Public.”

“So? You don’t have to feel embarrassed, vampires are very open-minded about same sex relations, unlike mortals.” Kaname spoke quietly, dipping his tongue into the area under Zero’s collarbone. “Perhaps next time, you should think about your actions more wisely—talking smart at a vampire club when you used to be a hunter. You almost got yourself killed tonight.”

“Well I wouldn’t have come here if I knew this place was reeking with vampires.”

Kaname was amused by his ignorance. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about this world, Zero. It seems your knowledge is still rather innocent—the Chairman must’ve left out a lot of details in his explanations to stir you away from danger.”

“There are many vampires that reside in our town, ruling the night and striking horror into the hearts of mortals alike. These vampires care not for the peace treaty, but only for their everlasting thirst for fresh blood and human suffering. They only care about fulfilling their own selfish desires—such creatures should seize to exist.” The brunette growled, glaring at certain vampires in disgust. “Every night, they would awaken at the same time, before going hunting, preying on the lives of innocent individuals.”

Kaname pushed himself away from the boy, taking a long look around the bar. “This is a fine example of a gathering between our younger generations. They have taken over this club, which had once belonged to the humans and now, they are using it for their own purposes.”

“But aren’t the humans oblivious to their existence.” Zero stated, following Kaname to the bar from a distance. “If they already knew about the vampires, then why did the Chairman decided to separate the academy into two parts?”

“It’s to ensure that the vampires would keep their hands away from the day students. There’s no telling what any of them might do, because bloodlust strikes any vampire at random and the results can be chaotic. The last thing we need now is to bring more attention to our race, but it’s getting increasingly hard, especially with underground clubs like this everywhere around town. It’s shedding unnecessary light to vampires.”

“Kaname-sama, you’re the same as usual, being harsh to us lower class vampires.” The bartender joked before bowing politely. “So what can I get for you and your mate to drink?”

Zero frowned at the mention of the word ‘mate’.

“Don’t mind him Christopher, he’s still only a child.” Kaname humoured him, watching in pure enjoyment as Zero’s expression turned even more irate than before. “But I’ll have the usual, thanks.”

“No problems.” Chris replied cheerfully, turning around to grab a large jar of red substance in the small compartment, hidden under the shelves. Grabbing a wine glass, he tipped the drink very professionally, slipping a sugar-covered cherry into the concoction for a finishing decoration. “I’ve hidden this ever since this club was opened, just in case your were going to drop by for a visit again. I can guarantee that it’ll be the best wine you’ve ever tasted in your life.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Kaname replied, passing the boy a bill before curling his long fingers around the glass, bringing it to his lips.

Zero could smell the strange liquor from a mile away. “Are you drinking blood?! After everything you’ve said before about how much you hated the other vampires doing it? You’re path—”

“It’s not just blood, Zero. This is blood wine, a extreme delicacy to our race.” Kaname cut his sentence short, closing his eyes and savouring the bittersweet taste in his mouth. “It takes many hundreds of years to perfect just one bottle, so I’m simply drinking something that the elders had passed on. It’s not like I killed a random person and used their blood.”

“Isn’t it the same thing? Even if it was made many years ago, someone’s life was taken just so you can taste this drink. You’re just like the rest of them.”

There was no preparation, Kaname grabbing his chin and yanking him into a deep kiss. He thrust his tongue into his mouth, twisting it against the boy’s before withdrawing. Zero failed to respond to the kiss as he stared blankly at the brunette, shock slamming into his body from the unexpected embrace.

Chris watched the heated kiss, hiding a small smirk behind his brown bangs before going back to minding his own business. It had been a while since he witnessed such an exchange of passion at the club.

Kissing him for a moment longer, Kaname moved back, severing their link.

“You’re very noisy tonight, most than usual.” Kaname spoke sternly, tracing his lips around the corner of his mouth. “You do know the consequences of disrespecting a pure blood vampire, right...?”

“Argh...” It took a moment for Zero to catch up with his actions.

Holding back an animalistic urge to lick his lips in order to savour the sweet taste of wine that Kaname had left from the kiss, Zero shoved the brunette out of his way, stood up and began to run. He pushed passed the staring vampires, ignoring the sharp hands that tried to grab him along the way.

Finally, after what seemed forever, Zero reached the exit, slamming open the heavy gates and disappeared into the night.

“What is it with you and your obsession with stubborn boys?” Chris observed, leaning over the counter to move closer to the other vampire. He chuckled lightly with a wide devious smile curled on his lips. “Think you can ever tame him?”

“You know me Chris, I’ve never passed the opportunity to face a challenge, no matter the cost.” Kaname replied, turning around slightly to face the young bartender.

He paused and smirked.

“And you mustn’t forget, who was the one that tamed you when you were younger and wilder...?” Kaname moved his hand forward, slipping his long fingers into Chris’ hair, causing the younger boy to mumble lowly in response. “Do you remember when I first met you at my cousin’s house? You were in complete denial of your sexual attraction towards me. Somehow, of course, I still managed to find a way to lure you into my bedroom. You didn’t leave for days.”

“Mmm... Yes, but that was a very long time ago, Kaname-sama. I’m very different now, a completely different person.” Chris said in a rather distracted tone. He closed his eyes and his head leaned closer towards the hand that was playing softly in his hair.

Yes...

After so many years, Chris could still remember those hands. He could still remember what those sly, talented hands could do to him, to his body to be more precise.

Chris shivered at the thought, biting down hard against his bottom lip as he briefly relived some old memories.

“I... I recalled that I wasn’t such a quick conquest for you either.” The younger boy stuttered, sighing. “You made me sound so easy, but in reality, I didn’t give into your advances until the very last moment.”

“Yes, but you did give in at the end, didn’t you? And I knew you never regretted your decision, since I had to literally bind you to the bed to stop you from jumping on me every night.”

 Chris flushed a deep dark red.

 “I-I told you, I’m not like that anymore! I was young and naïve back then and you were the first person to ever lay a hand upon my body!” He faced away slightly, trying to avoid looking as the brunette’s smirk. “Besides, I don’t know why you even bothered to spend so much time trying to sleep with me when you could’ve had any other vampire of your choice.”

“We’re immortal Chris, all we have in our hands is time. Living for eternity is longest still, so might as well make the most out of our years, while we still possessive qualities like youth and beauty. We take our slow aging process for granted too often. Once we grow older, we cannot enjoy simple pleasures like this, whether it’s partying everyday or having... large, numerous amounts of mates.”

“Mmm...” Chris whimpered softly in protest as the hand stroked his cheek briefly before pulling away from him completely.

“Sorry to interrupt our nostalgic moment, but I best be heading off. I still have some unfinished business with my stubborn nothing.” Kaname stood up from his seat. “And you’re right Chris, many things has change, so it’s best if you don’t waste too much time dwelling about the past. Don’t forget, Rei is your mate now.”

Chris blushed slightly at the mention of his lover’s name, before nodding and bowing his head apologetically.

“Sorry, but I guess the humans are right. You always tend to be more attached to the person who stole your first.”

Kaname chuckled softly at his last comment, wondering whether Zero felt the same way as Chris. Digging his hand into the back pocket of his pants and offering Chris his payment for the wine. The younger boy shook his head, refusing to accept his money.

“Don’t worry about it, you know I can never accept money from a master vampire like yourself. Let’s just say it’s a small thanks for bringing back some old memories.” He stopped for a moment before continuing, speaking in a softer voice. “It’s always nice to see you again, Kaname-sama. I know you hate crowded places but please come back again if you ever have feel like it.”

The brunette nodded in response, offering the other boy a rare glimpse of his smile. Turning around, Kaname sighed as all the vampires kneeled down once again, as he made his way across the nightclub.

‘I doubt I’ll be coming back here anytime soon.’

Kaname was growing rather tired of the other vampire’s hollow admiration. He used to enjoy the attention, but having Zero showed him he could have more in his life; he needn’t to be worshipped by everyone.

He only needed, desired one person’s attention.

His.

***

Zero gasped in pain, grabbing the centre of his chest, his sharp nails slicing into his shirt unintentionally and breaking his fragile skin. Small crimson droplets fell from the wound, dripping down his navel as he staggered carelessly against the wall.

He cursed loudly into the empty hallway, his voice echoing repeatedly into the darkness. It was all happened again, he was having the same chest pain, the same urge for...

“F...fuck...”

Zero swore again in the midst of his convulsion, sliding weakly onto the carpeted floor. His head was spinning, his eyes seeing nothing but blurred coloured images. And the pulsing pain in his head would not seize to stop.

Sitting down for a brief moment, he closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, trying to control his senses, trying to control his body. He ran his tongue across his dried lips, before reopening his eyes, sighing in relieve as his vision slowly went back to normal.

‘What is wrong with me? I haven’t felt this shit for ages...’ He contemplated, still panting heavily. ‘Does this have to happen every time I don’t drink his blood for just a couple of days?!’

On reopening his eyes, he noticed something. As expected, his legs had betrayed him once again, leading him back to none other but Kaname’s room during his fit. But it took Zero a moment to notice it was the brunette’s room as there was something very... different about it.

Pushing his palm hard against the brick wall, Zero picked his body off the ground and walked carefully towards the object in the centre of the room.

On closer inspection, Zero noticed it was actually a large canvas, containing a painting that looked half finished. Although he had never cared much for arts and craft, Zero became fascinated by this piece of artwork because of the amazing amount of work that has been put into it.

A beautiful macabre artwork—gothic at its best.

There was endless fine detailing on the hair, the skin and the wings, while the edges were decorated by what seemed like blots of blood. The painting was of a young silver-haired boy, kneeling hopelessly in front of a mirror, which showed no reflections, his wings broken, torn into fragmented pieces. Black feathers flying everywhere, the tips coloured by blood adorned most of the atmosphere.

As the boy in the picture was looking down, Zero was unable to make out his face.

The painting was chaotic, violent and repulsive to a certain extent, but yet, it also represented something very fragile and beautiful, in an artistic sense.

Zero didn’t understand the painting’s meaning, its intentions. He felt confused by the emotions that welled inside him while he studied the boy in the painting. Nevertheless, he couldn’t tear his eyes away, running a single finger against the rough surface of the canvas, tracing against the edges.

So realistic. Zero felt he could strongly relate to the boy, his eyes lost in the picture. It felt like someone had captured his existence, expressing it perfectly in an art form.

“I see you’ve found interest in my latest artwork.”

Zero pulled his hand away from the canvas immediately, ignoring the little bits of paint left on his fingertips. He remained stationary, refusing to turn around to face the brunette.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Although it’s merely a work in progress, I’m sure you have already figured out that it’s a portrait based on you. I think I captured your characteristics quite perfectly.” Kaname continued, moving over and snaking an arm around the other boy’s waist, yanking him back towards his chest.

Zero struggled against his hold, tearing his arms away from his body and breaking free. “You painted this? Since when did someone like you have the talent to create something so beautiful?”

“Your comment is rude but I shall ignore it and accept it as a compliment. But you shouldn’t have expected any less from me Zero, I did come from a aristocratic background, so arts and literature is my forte.” The brunette watched in pleasure as Zero continued to gaze upon his masterpiece in absolute awe and admiration. “Besides, there are still many things that you do not know about me, so I might do something to surprise you again in the future.”

“Hmph, whatever. It’s not like I could learn a lot about you when the only activity we ever do together is fucking.” The silver-haired boy replied gruffly. Reverting his attention to the art, Zero pointed towards an item within the picture, directing Kaname’s attention towards the non-reflecting mirror in the centre. “What is the purpose of the mirror?”

“In mythological terms, a mirror is supposed to reflect the condition of one’s soul. Legends say that pure blood vampires and damned creatures do not see a reflection when they look upon a mirror, as they do not possessive a heart nor a soul. I decided to use this unique theory in my portrait.”

“And so you chose to classify me as a ‘damned creature’? How humorous.”

Kaname smirks. “Indeed, very.”

Disregarding his last remark, Zero stepped back from the painting before turning around and facing the brunette. Clenching his fist tightly together, he hissed out the words, “I need to drink your blood.”

Kaname could see his lust for blood, glowing deep within his sharp violet eyes.

“Yes I know. I can read your mind after all.”

“Then why the fuck aren’t you doing something about it?”

“Probably because you’re acting as stubborn as always, addressing me with such a bad attitude.” Kaname entangled his long digits into Zero’s hair, marvelling at the smoothness of the silver locks. “There is something about you Zero, something that fascinates me. You’re definitely different from all the other mates I’ve dealt with in the past.”

Frustrated, Zero reached up and attempts to strike the hand messing with his hair, but failed as the brunette grabs his arm midway.

“I think I have tolerated enough abuse from you for one night. So as your punishment, I think I’m going to ask for your payment before you are able to drink my blood.” He yanks the boy closer by his hair, capturing his bottom lip between his teeth, biting hard into the pouty flesh. “In fact, I think I have something else in mind, something to add to your punishment.”

“J-just what the hell are you planning now?”

“Patience. You’ll see soon enough.” Kaname whispered lowly, voice husky and dripping with dark desires, lust.

Grabbing hold of both his wrists, Kaname flung the other boy onto his bed, causing him to land flat against the soft mattress.

For the first time, Zero felt afraid, afraid of the consequences of his actions.

Afraid of him.

’Why am I anxious, it’s not the first time I’ve let him used my body like this.’

Feeling the softness of the nylon ropes tightening around the skin of his wrists, Zero choked back a small gasp. He clenched his eyes tightly together, trying to advert his attention towards something else other than the brunette dominating him. 

And to Kaname’s mercy, he surrenders his body again—almost willingly—in exchange for a taste of his blood.

Fin.