nopain5                                         
by seat 6.9.1999

    Ryu stood in front of an old church staring at its wooden door. The
garden behind him had set the afternoon bustle of the streets at a distance.

    He remembered he was heading towards a pharmacy, while thinking about
the dreamy encounter with Sugi the other night. An stinging feeling chose
that moment to visit him, started with his right ear where he had been
bitten by the vampire, followed by an itch growing in his heart. As if
attracted by an invisible force, his body moved with its own volition and
he walked streets after streets without knowing where he was heading.
Unfamiliar surrounding passed by him but oddly he held no doubt, no fear,
only urgency.

    Now he had reached what seemed to be the destination of his soundless
call, he touched his ear lobe which still itched, and hesitated.

   The door opened and a young man with dark bob hair came out carrying a
case of empty beer bottles. A step short of bumping into Ryu who stood in
the way unmoving, the man gasped, "Hey, how can I help you?"  While not
getting an immediate response from Ryu, the man added, "Door opens after
sunset. Please can you come back later?"
    
    Ryu finally found his voice. "Ah…this church only opens at night….?"
    
    The man set the case down and stared back at Ryu with a raised eyebrow.
"Church? You mean here? No…this place used to be a church but it’d been
bought 2 years ago and converted into a bar. You don’t live around here ,
do you?"
    
    Ryu shook his head and looked up at the front door. On top of the
antique wood-carved door hung a large gothic sign - "The Cross".
    
    The man took a thorough look at Ryu from head to toe, and smiled
suddenly, "You know this place is for members only, but I guess a pretty
boy like you won’t have a problem getting picked by my boss… why don’t you
come in and let me fix you a drink?"
    
    Ryu felt a strange rush of excitement. "Your boss is here now…?"
    
    The man opened the door and held it for Ryu. "Oh no, he only comes at
night…but you can wait for him inside." He gave a playful wink and said, "I
can assure you that he is worth waiting for…Anyway, I am Toshiya. And you?"

*************************************************

    Ino jumped with a start when a long needle protruded out from the pen
that J was holding. The priest flipped the pen sideways and showed Ino the
button at the end of the pen. "Vampires are very powerful creatures. Apart
from decapitation, all other fatal damages to their bodies will be healed
spontaneously and instantly. The only things they are afraid of are
sunlight and fire. But their hiding places during the day are too
surreptitious to locate, and with their supernatural strength, it is hard
to keep them from escape even if you manage to set them on fire. The older
and thus more powerful the vampires, the longer you’ll need to burn them in
order to do them real harm beyond revival" 

    J handed Ino the pen, and went on. "But they have one weak point that
we can exploit: when they are stabbed with sharp objects in the heart,
their bodies will be paralyzed for a brief moment during which all their
strength and power will vanish, and that is the best time to destroy them.
Since vampire blood itself is flammable, all you need is to keep them still
in the fire and they’ll be doomed. For a two-centuries old vampire like
Sugi, a few minutes is enough to burn him into cinder."
    
    Ino pressed the button again and the needle thrust back into the pen
body. He spoke with an unsteady voice, "You…you want me use it against
Sugi….?"

    J held Ino in a firm gaze. "Only for self-defense. I told you I have
been trying to hunt him down for years, and now it is a good chance since
he will definitely be coming back for you. But I am also very concerned
with your safety…I will try my best to protect you but he is a very cunning
creature, we never know what kind of tricks he will use to evade me and
lure you into his arms again…" J’s face showed deep worry. "If that happens
and you sense danger coming from him, you must bring yourself to use this
device against him. Aim for his heart and press the button. When he becomes
immobile, set him on fire as fast as you can, and then run for safety
immediately. Do you understand, Ino?"

    Ino’s hands shook with fear. "But….but I can’t do it…."

    "Why? Because you are too afraid…or…"

    Ino lowered his eyes and said hesitantly, "He doesn’t mean me any
harm….how…how can I kill him….?"

    J grasped Ino’s shoulders suddenly and forced him to look into his own
eyes. "Don’t you see the harm he has already done to you? You have been
lying in bed for days, and you have been having nightmares every night!
Look how sick-white your face has become. Ino….why don’t you see? He almost
drank you to death. He killed your bride for heaven’s sake!" J stood up and
walked away.

    Ino covered his face with his hands and trembled violently. "But…but he
said he did it for love…"

    "Love?" J leaned back on the wall and folded his arms. "I don’t believe
any of the bullshit he said to you. But EVEN IF he told the truth and you
ARE his lover reincarnate, so what? He is a monster now and he kills people
in order to live. Do you really want a murderer as your lover? What will
become of you two eventually? Will you let him feed on you until you die of
serious blood lost? Or you want to become a vampire yourself just to be
with him?"

    Ino shook his head but couldn’t speak.

    J breathed out a deep sigh. "Love…is it really worth sacrificing your
life for…?"

    Ino heard the profound sadness in J’s voice, he looked up and saw J
lost in his own thought. "Father…"

    J did not answer for a long time. When he finally turned to Ino, his
face held a bitter smile. "Vampires. Those beautiful sensuous magical
creatures of the night. If you can see through their pretty cover, they are
nothing more than bringers of death. People whom they care or do not care,
all die at the end indiscriminately. Whether they kill for food, or they
kill for love, I see no difference."

    Ino summoned his courage to ask, "Was your family…."

    J closed his eyes and said softly, "My parents committed suicide when I
was small."

    Ino said with sincere sympathy, "I am sorry…I thought…a vampire was
responsible…"

    "Yes, a vampire was involved, and as you might have guessed, that
vampire is Sugi. But he didn’t kill my parents, he merely caused their
death. Though again I see no difference."

     J waved his hand as if to fend off Ino’s pity shown in his moist eyes.
"It does not matter whether Sugi loves you or not, if you hold any feelings
for him, the outcome will only be your life lay forfeited, you being alive,
or dead. And I am not going to let you do that to yourself."

*************************************************

    Ryu woke with a pounding headache. He found himself having been
sleeping with his head buried inside his arms on the bar counter. Noises
came from behind and he turned on the high stool he was sitting. The
church-converted bar was filled with customers now, settled around many
round tables and sofas, majority of them were young handsome men all
dressed up in fashionable outfits and in beautiful makeup. Waiters who were
no less attractive bustled about to serve drinks in gaiety. Ryu was stunned
by the sight of so many gorgeous and exotic beings under the high roof of a
sacredly decorated church.

    "Hey, you want another Bloody Mary?"

    Ryu swirled back and saw a red-haired bartender putting a glass of
drink in front of him.

    The bartender smiled. "You really have no head for alcohol, huh? I
heard from Toshiya that you only drank two glasses of Bloody Mary in the
afternoon and you passed out until now." He chuckled teasingly. "I am
Kaoru. How are you feeling, Ryu?"

    "Ah…I am sorry…" Ryu pressed his fingers on his temples and moaned in
pain.

    "Have another glass, alcohol cures hangover." Kaoru pushed the
blood-red drink to Ryu and walked away to tend on other customers.

    Ryu stared into the glass, not willing to think. Of the purpose that
brought him here and kept him waiting all day, he couldn’t quite bring
himself to speak, even in his own mind. 

    "Are you alone?" Someone came up and sat next to Ryu by the counter.

    Ryu looked up absent-mindedly and saw a man with shoulder-length brown
hair and pale blue eyes.

    The man leaned closer and smiled. "I haven’t seen you around before,
are you new here?"

    Ryu stared at the skin of flawless marble and nodded slightly.

    "I’m Camui, my date stood me up…..so I am also alone tonight…..maybe we
can have a ‘drink’ together?" He reached out, gently got hold of Ryu’s
wrist, and brought near to his nose. With a soft sniff over the vaguely
visible veins, his eyes lit up in awe. "Ah….you smell heaven….."

    Before Ryu knew what was happening, his wrist already felt sharp pain
and he realized the man was sucking blood from his veins. He panicked,
grabbed the glass next to him and threw the content into Camui’s face.
Camui was shocked still as Ryu shook free of his hand and drew away. 

    "Hey what did you do that for?!" Camui fumed as he wiped at his face.

    "You….you are a vampire….." Ryu jumped off from the stool and stepped
away.

    Camui laughed in disbelief. "Half of the people in this bar are
vampires! Didn’t you know? Why the heaven did you come here for?"

    Ryu looked around and saw many curious eyes staring at him in
amusement. And some of the faces indeed appeared too supernatural to be human.

    Camui attempted a soothing smile. "You don’t have to worry,
‘self-indulgence’ is strictly forbidden here, only ‘harmless little drinks’
are allowed. Look at your human fellows behind you, they are all having a
great time."  Camui walked towards Ryu, put an arm around his shoulder and
whispered to his ear. "Relax. I can teach you all about immortal kisses…and
many many wonderful things we can do together… you will love them…"

    Ryu pushed Camui away and said in a blush. "No…I am waiting for
someone…" Startled by his own words that finally revealed what had been
trying to hide, he turned sharply and started towards the door.

    But his steps froze when he caught a glimpse of the familiar crimson
hair. There sitting at the farthest corner of the room, arms spread out
casually on the sofa, legs crossed and dangling, Sugi tapped a finger on
his sunglasses and lowered it slightly, revealing the golden eyes in its
intense brilliance, his upper lip curled up in an imitation of a smile. 

    Ryu locked with the amber eyes and felt sheer blinding pain, as if he
was gazing into the glowing sun amidst the pre-dawn gloom. But he didn’t
relent, he held the glare and walked towards his one and only one purpose
of the moment. The image of the surrounding dimmed, and the sound of the
world faded into oblivion. He did not realize he had stopped breathing
until his lung burnt. His heart drummed like thunders that deafened his
ears. But his mind was clear, he knew what he had wanted and how much he
had wanted it. He reached the lone vampire, raised his hand to brush aside
the loose curtain of red and black, and bent down to kiss the lips. Feeling
the tender but firm hand that slipped around his nape, he was led to fall
into the vampire’s arms. Still engaged in the deep kiss that drew out his
every single breath, he fumbled to open up his collar and exposed his neck,
giving away his willingness.

    Sugi broke the kiss and moved onto the fair skin just below the ear,
and there he sank his teeth slowly. Ryu gasps of pain turned into moans of
pleasure as the vampire drank. Aroused by the ecstatic sensation that he
could not name, Ryu wished the moment would last forever. Life and death
seemed so unreal so meaningless when his soul was caressed by the immortal
kiss. After a moment that felt like a fleet second and an eternity, Sugi
drew back, leaving Ryu in a hollow despair.

    "Drink more…" Ryu whined in a burning desire.

    "Ah…I would love to…" Sugi tickled Ryu’s nose and gave a wry smile.
"But my little priest will surely burn my bar to the ground if I touch his
naughty apprentice…" He turned his head to a side and closed his eyes. "In
fact, I think he is looking for you right now."

* * * * * *

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