Black and Red

(Part 4)

by Tsuki

Nothing could have possibly described how he felt at that moment. Were there words to express it? Extreme delight, perhaps.

*No,* Sakuragi thought, *not strong enough.* He tried to ponder this for a moment, then decided it didn’t matter and went back to talking with the four other people around him.

Of course, to him it didn’t really matter if three of them disappeared. The Earth could have opened up and swallowed them whole and he wouldn’t have cared. Right now he was busy discreetly watching and picking up on the personality of the dark-haired boy named Rukawa.

His body language spoke volumes more than his mouth ever did. If only humans could read one another as well as he could! Maybe it was arrogant of him to think so highly of himself...Or maybe it was discriminatory of him to think so lowly of humans...He shrugged lightly, an action that the others didn’t seem to notice. Whichever, it didn’t really matter. He had found him.

Of all the luck! By the Creator! He had run into the boy which had, mere hours ago, consumed his thoughts to the point where trying *not* to think about him caused a headache. And now, here he was, flesh and blood, standing before him silently, listening to the conversation that went on in the small group.

His body language told him what was going on inside him, or partly. Surely his mind would have told Sakuragi more, but for once he felt an inhibition about mind-probing a human. If he was going to mind-probe this boy, he would ask first.

Of course, that would mean speaking to him alone. And if he said something like that, he’d have to explain who he was. Sakuragi immediately clammed up at the thought and fell into a silence, which resulted in the conversation coming to almost a stand-still.

To be truthful, he had never even thought about letting another person, vampire, human, or whatever, know about him. He’d never let anyone in, had kept all people around him at a length from him. He didn’t trust anyone, thought that if he ever exposed his weaknesses, his heart, to any other, they’d turn around and bury a knife in it. But, just thinking about sitting with this boy, pouring his heart out to him...the thought sent a warmth through him, the first in a long time.

Rukawa was looking at him now, an odd look in his eyes. And his thoughts bombarded Sakuragi, washed over him, demanded to be heard.

God, this boy *projected*. It was rare that any human, or even a vampire had this ability, to send their thoughts out towards a psychic. But he did, and powerfully. Sakuragi couldn’t fight it, heard the thoughts coming from him as clear as day.

*I know you I know you I know you I know you...* Sakuragi felt his eyes widened as they met with the icy depths that belonged to Rukawa. *You saved me you saved me you saved me you saved me...*

*How does he know?* Sakuragi felt his breath catch in his throat. It wasn’t possible for anyone, human or vampire, to get past a memory block. And Sakuragi was among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, when it came to mind blocks. Yet this boy knew. He *knew*. It wasn’t possible! But yet, his voice, his mental, projected voice, kept bombarded Sakuragi, demanding him to hear.

*I know you you saved me I know you you saved me...*

Sakuragi smiled easily, his own mind clicking into gear as he discreetly began sending a message to Mitsui, Kogure, and the girl to leave. At the same time, he began dropping hints that he was getting ready to leave himself.

It worked. Mitsui and Kogure excused themselves, and the girl went off to find a dance partner. Sakuragi turned to Rukawa.

“Well, I guess I’m going to go as well.” He said casually.

“Hmm...”

“You wanna get a ride home?”

This is the part that Sakuragi had no control over. He didn’t *want* to influence Rukawa. He wanted him to be willing to go with him, to...

...trust him.

Rukawa shrugged and checked his watch. “Maybe we could go somewhere else. I have some company that is moving out of my place, and I want to avoid running into them. I still have four hours to kill.”

“Company? That you *don’t* want to run into?” Sakuragi laughed as he motioned Rukawa to follow him. “What’d they do, overstay their welcome?”

“You could say that.” He stopped, his voice taking on an almost sarcastic edge. Sakuragi raised an eyebrow.

“Care to talk about it? They say that helps.”

Rukawa shrugged. “I’m not much for talking.”

“I had gathered that much.” Sakuragi said lightly as they reached the parking lot, walking through the cool, brisk air. “Well, if you want to...” He paused and waited a moment, looking for the subtle change in Rukawa’s face that would indicate he was getting ready to speak.

Nothing. He remained stony. Sakuragi inhaled deeply and exhaled. Man, this guy *was* quiet. He hadn’t anticipated this. Oh well.

“So, where do you want to go?”

“Where were you going to go after you dropped me off?”

“Home.”

“Then there.”

Sakuragi felt a moment of unease; Rukawa would see his home. That was a part of his life that he had long ago vowed no one would see. But a moment later he shrugged it away, something inside him telling him that *this* boy was different, that he wouldn’t betray him.

Maybe it was his attitude. He seemed so aloof, so stony, as if nothing could break him down. The way he carried himself, the way he held his face, the way he spoke (when he did), spoke of complete and utter calm and control. Like nothing could faze him. As if you could tell him the end of the world were coming tomorrow, and he would merely shrug.

Almost without conscious thought, his mind reached out and grabbed for that part of Rukawa’s mind that held what he loved.

And, before he could catch himself and withdraw, an image, a vivid memory, filled his mind’s eye.

Rukawa, much younger, but definitely Rukawa, playing basketball in his backyard, moving to various positions on the court and shooting, missing almost every time. In frustration, the young Rukawa slammed the ball into the ground, pouting. The ball bounced back with a *slap* and hit him in the forehead. Rukawa fell backwards and scraped his elbows, his head hitting the pavement.

The pain was almost so vivid that Sakuragi flinched.

The young Rukawa sat up, an amazed look in his eyes, touching the back of his head, feeling to see if it was tender. He hand came back with no sign of blood. He checked his elbows, and there he found blood. Rukawa looked around, then down at himself, then at the sky. An odd thing happened then. He picked up the ball, raised it to the sky, and said, in as loud a voice as Sakuragi had ever heard Rukawa use:

“I vow one day to be the best basketball player in all of Japan.”

The memory faded and Sakuragi looked at Rukawa with a different set of eyes. That memory showed, if nothing else, a sense of determination and self-reliance in the boy unlike any Sakuragi had ever seen.

*Well,* He thought, parking his compact car in the driveway of his luxurious home, *this boy is just full of surprises.*

“Nice house.” Rukawa said as they walked in, looking around with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “How do you pay the rent?”

“This was my parent’s house before they died. Left it to me. All I pay on it is taxes.” Sakuragi explained as he lit some of the candles that were found all over the house. Rukawa watched curiously. “I try not to use a whole lot of electricity. ‘Cept when it comes to my stereo.” He nodded towards the huge entertainment center, which held only his large stereo and a tiny TV in one corner. “Sit. Make yourself comfortable.” He finished his trivial task of lighting the dozens of candles in the sitting room and flopped onto a bean bag chair while Rukawa sat down on the couch.

A moment of silence filled the room, and Sakuragi, calmed by the mixing smells of some of his scented candles, began to relax and closed his eyes.

The sound of movement made him jerk up, and found Rukawa standing over him, his face unreadable.

“Look, let’s cut whatever crap there is here and get down to it. I know...what happened last night, and I think you know that I do. And judging from how hard it was to remember, I don’t think I was supposed to know. Now, I want some answers. I think I deserve them.”

Sakuragi was stunned into silence, partly form his straightforwardness, but mainly from the fact that that’s the most he’s heard him say all night.

Sakuragi smiled easily, feeling, for an odd reason, relaxed. There was no use in denying it; Sakuragi could tell from the set of his jaw that he was determined.

There was something else though...Sakuragi started as he realized he *wanted* Rukawa to know. He wanted him to know everything about him. And if he *wanted* to know about Sakuragi...well, then, let him know. And to Hell with the consequences. If Rukawa learned about him and stabbed him in the back later, well, then, Sakuragi had no one to blame but himself.

Sakuragi motioned towards the couch. “You’d better sit. It’s a long story.”

“Story?”

“Well, in order to understand last night, you need to know the story.”

“Story of what?”

“My life.”

Part 3

Part 5

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