It hurts...

"Hey..."

Everything hurts so bad...

"Kid...!"

His arms hurt...

"Atsushi!"

His legs hurt...

His stomach...

His head...

"Hey!"

Everything hurts...

It was like his body was being set on fire. He could feel the scorching heat melting away his bones and his inside. It hurts so much, he wanted it to stop.

"Atsushi!"

That's right...Ryuu...

Where is he?

He can make it stop.

He knows how to make the pain go away.

Where is he?

Where is Ryuunosuke?

"ATSUSHI!"

"...!"

Golden eyes snapped wide open, irises shrunk in the blinding light temporarily before rounding again. The silver-haired youth's entire body was trembling as he shakily let out a breath escaped his quivering lips.

It's hot!

It burns!

His body felt like it's on fire!

Atsushi looked down, his eyes widening when he saw the silver chains bounding his body. The skin that came into contact with the chains was rapidly being burned away, then quickly regenerate, only to be disintegrated again. There were long and thin silver rods impaled through his legs and arms. It looked like it had been hammered through his body. Atsushi didn't need to be a doctor to know his bones have been shattered from the force. There was even a larger rod going right through his stomach and spine, disconnecting his vertebrae from his pelvis.

"Aaah!" Atsushi cried out, shutting his eyes as if that could block out the pain. What happened? How did this happen? Atsushi tried to think, but the pain was so overwhelming that he couldn't.

"Hey, kid! Don't you dare go fainting again!" A familiar angry voice yelled.

Atsushi gasped as he weakly opened his eyes and looked up to where the source of the voice is coming from. When he did, his eyes dilated into slits as he stared at the horrifying form of his mentor.

The orange haired man was matted in blood from head to toe. He was bounded to a torture chair filled with long silver spikes that mercilessly pierce holes through his petite body. Smoke was constantly rising out of the redhead's body, followed by the light sizzling sound of flesh being burned away.

But that wasn't what scared Atsushi the most. What scared him was the sight of his mentor's stomach. His gut has been opened up by silver wires, exposing his organs to the open air. From such a low angle, Atashi could see every single organ within the older male, even the ones within his ribcage. He could see the way those lungs shrunk and expand when the man breathe. He could see the heart, beating steadily despite the pain the orange haired man was in. When the older male gritted his teeth to hold back a wince, Atsushi could see how all of his organs tightened up and quivered, despite there barely being any reaction from the rest of the body.

"C-Chuuya-san...!"

"What's with that pathetic look on your face?" Chuuya huffed. His expressions were carefully controlled. If not for the state he's in, Atsushi wouldn't even believe he's in any form of pain.

"This is nothing," as soon as Chuuya said that, he coughed out a mouthful of blood.

"Chuuya-san!"

"Shut up!" Chuuya hissed. "The damn silver just pierced a hole in my lung, that's all. Do you want guards to come running in?"

Guards?

Atsushi wrecked his brain as he tried to remember just what happened that led them to the current situation.

"T-that's right..." Atsushi gasped as images gradually came back to him. "We were walking down the street...we were looking for a hotel and...and..."

And then these people appeared out of nowhere. No, not people. They were supernatural beings consisting of all kinds of species. They attacked them and Chuuya fought them off all by himself. Chuuya had easily overpowered their enemies, but then...

Atsushi tore Chuuya's arm off.

He didn't know why. It felt more like a dream than a memory. He saw something sneaking up on Chuuya, so he pounced towards that attacker and morphed his hands into claws. But what happened next wasn't the enemy's body being torn apart, it was Chuuya's arms. Atsushi could still remember the way Chuuya stared at him, eyes dilated in surprise as he brought up an arm to guard, only for Atsushi's claws to cut through his flesh and bones.

What had he done?

What did he—

"Atsushi!" Chuuya's voice snapped Atsushi back into reality. "That wasn't you. You were being controlled. You didn't do that, the enemy did."

"I...I..."

"It was just an arm. It grew back." Chuuya snorted, moving his fingers to emphasize his point.

Atsushi stared at that Chuuya's new arm for a long moment. The guilt lessened, but it didn't completely fade away. Remembering how they were held captive, he looked around the room for the first time, trying to grasp the situation. The room wasn't big, the walls and tiles were all white with a bunch of equipment that could be found in a surgery room...

No, that's not right...this is a surgery room.

Atsushi couldn't smell it before because the scent of blood and burnt flesh was so heavy, but he could smell the underlying scent of drugs and chemicals. And now that he started to focus, he could even feel this room moving. It wasn't the same sensation as being on a car, and he didn't feel any change of air pressure so it couldn't be a plane either. That left only one possibility. They're on a boat—perhaps a cruise, judging from the subtle movements.

"Chuuya-san, this is...?"

"The enemy's base," Chuuya muttered, "very poor taste one at that."

"You wound me, Chuuya," a voice suddenly spoke. That startled the young weretiger as he cranked his head back, ignoring the protest of his body to see the only door in the room swinging open.

"I've prepared this place just for you, my dear." A man with long white hair strolled in, followed by three men dressed like hospital surgeons.

The first thing Atsushi noticed was the white-haired man's scarlet eyes. The second thing he was the wave of foul stench that assaulted his sense of smell. He choked as he struggled on breathing. It was like hundreds of rotting corpses were piled up in front of him. He stared at the white-haired man who is the source of the stench. Even with all this rotten smell, Atsushi could smell the distinct human scent underneath. Those people are definitely humans, so what exactly is this awful smell? And those red eyes...those weren't contact lens. They were too real and too full of life to be, but humans shouldn't be able to have those kinds of eyes.

What exactly is that man?

"Oh, looks like the kitten has finally woken." The white-haired man hummed, red eyes shimmering with interest as he crouched down beside Atsushi.

Atsushi felt all of his hair standing on their roots as he stared at this man. His first instinct was to shrink away, only for his chin to be grabbed as he was forced to face the man. Atsushi gritted his teeth as he stared at the man's enlarged face. He sealed his lips tightly shut; just so he could block out the warm breath spilling onto his face. He didn't even dare to breathe, fearing that if he does he'll puke. Everything about this human smells so bad that it made him sick.

"The pictures of you never did these eyes any justice." The man purred as he leisurely stroked his thumb back and forth under the boy's eye. Occasionally, Atsushi could feel the tip of the man's long nails grazing his skin. "I would love to have a couple of these gorgeous gems as samples for my lab...or perhaps I can fuse these eyes to all of my subordinates. Weretigers are said to have amazing sight. Night and day have no difference for them. Imagine how beautiful they'll become with your eyes, Atsushi-kun."

Atsushi trembled as he stared into the maddening look in the man's red eyes. His breath came out shallow as his heart hammered within his ribcage. He didn't even know he was on the verge of hyperventilating when Chuuya's voice boomed across the room, snapping him out.

"Get your hands off him!"

Atsushi used this chance and tore his chin away from the man's grip. The man didn't seem to mind as he stared into those golden eyes that glared back. He grinned before straightening up and turning to Chuuya.

"Have you thought over my proposal, Chuuya?"

Chuuya responded by spitting into the man's white shirt. The man didn't seem surprised by the redhead's action. He chuckled before taking the handkerchief handed to him by one of his men and wiped the bloodstained saliva off.

"I had hoped you wouldn't be so difficult, Chuuya." The man sighed as he casually tossed the handkerchief away. "I do love you after all. If you join me, I can give you more than that mate of yours ever could."

Atsushi's jaw dropped. He wasn't sure if the pain was affecting his ears, but is this man is proposing to his mentor?!

"You mean keeping me as a pet like all those other ones you have chained up in your lab?" Chuuya mocked, ocean blue eyes narrowing at the human in a taunting manner.

"You wound me, Chuuya." The man smiled sadly as he lightly caressed Chuuya's cheek. "Those lower life forms can never be compared to you. Your beauty, your grace, your power...the first time I've laid eyes on you, it was love at first sight. When I found out that you are a weretiger, I was even more entranced by you. You and this child could very well be the last two werebeasts on this entire planet. I had to do this to protect you."

"Lower life forms?" Chuuya sneered as he looked up at the man with nothing but disgust in his eyes. "The only lower life forms in this planet are scums like you. Only a scum can fall in love with someone already mated and dares to say it out loud so proudly. You can't even measure up to the dirt on my mate's shoe."

The moment Chuuya finished, Atsushi saw the grip on his mentor's face tightened. The tip of the human's purple nails pierced through the skin of the weretiger, drawing out droplets of blood. The sight shocked Atsushi, as their skins are much sturdier even compared to other species. There no way a human could break their skin with just their nails. Atsushi could hear the way the man's top and bottom teeth ground against one another.

And then...the man calmed down?

For whatever reason, the tension in the human's body disappeared. He straightened up and smooth out the wrinkles on his clothes as if he didn't lose his composure at all.

"I really wish you would do it the easy way." The man let out a disappointed sigh—looking even pained as he stepped aside to allow the surgeons to crowd around Chuuya.

"W-what are you doing?!" Atsushi shuddered, his heart thumping fast when he saw these doctors taking out scalpels.

"AAAH!!" Chuuya's scream was defending as Atsushi watched in horror as these doctors began taking out his organs from his body and placing them into some sort of container.

"STOP!" Atushi shouted over Chuuya's pained cries, but they didn't stop. These humans just took and took and when Chuuya's organs regenerated, they began collecting more. Atsushi watched with tears streaming down his face as he begged for them to stop. He didn't know how long they had continued for. By the time the doctors pulled away, they already had cases of organs piled on a cart.

Chuuya was panting heavily, his body drenched in sweat as the white-haired man ran his hand over the boxes of organs as if they're the most precious thing in the world.

"It's beautiful, don't you agree?" Atsushi glared at the man who seemed to be lost in his own world. "Werebeast can instantly recover from any kind of injuries as long as their head and heart are intact."

He then turned to look at Atsushi, enjoying the undisguised hatred on the boy's face.

"Did you know, boy? Due to such powerful healing abilities, beautiful creatures like you are hunted and harvest for all sort of resources. Your organs, your limbs, your fur, your claws, your fangs...because of this, werebeasts were believed to have gone extinct during the Dark Age when man wages war against the other species. You may not understand now, but one day, you'll see that I'm doing this to protect you—"

"Shut the hell up!" Chuuya growled at the white-haired man. "Don't talk like you're some sort of savior, asshole! Just looking at you makes me want to throw up! You're just a human trying to become something you aren't born to be. You can have all your organs replaced with mine and it won't change the fact that you're a human—Ugh!"

"Chuuya-san!" Atsushi shouted as he stared at the scalpel logged in Chuuya's throat. The white-haired man had a wild look on his face as he stirred the scalpel around in Chuuya's flesh. The redhead was gurgling on his own blood, but even so, he stared at the human before him with defiant in those clear blue eyes.

"Chuuya, I may love you, but I suggest you don't test my patience. I may not be willing to lay my hands on you, but that boy is another matter." He seethed, ripping out the scalpel and turning to the surgeons waiting quietly for orders. "Tie him up to a chair."

"Take him out of my sight or harm a single hair on his body—" Chuuya coughed out, spitting out the last bit of blood as the injury on his throat sealed up. He tilted his head back as he glared darkly at the man. "I will unleash Corruption—that was the deal, Shibusawa." Chuuya spat, finally putting a name over the mysterious man.

"If you unleash Corruption now, your precious disciple will also die." Shibusawa pointed out, brushing aside the redhead's threat as a mere bluff.

"Dying right here and now is better than staying in your hand. I'm sure the kid knows which is more beneficial to him." Chuuya then looked to Atsushi's direction.

Atsushi blinked when he met his mentor's gaze. While he didn't know what was going on, he did understand what his mentor just said. He nodded in response, determination set firmly on his face.

"There you go," Chuuya smirked.

Shibusawa stared at Atsushi before looking back to Chuuya. After a long, long while, the small frown on his face lifted into a smile. He reached out a hand, gently taking the long strands of orange hair. He first rubbed the hair between his fingers, then curled it into his palm, mesmerized by the silkiness. Then lastly, he brought the hair up to his lips, kissing the soft hair while inhaling the weretiger's sweet scent.

"You truly are beautiful, Chuuya." He spoke in a deep, hoarse voice—like a man that had been starved for days. "I can't wait for the day you crawl onto my bed and spread these legs willingly."

Atsushi blanched as he watched Shibusawa's other hand caressing his mentor's thigh, carefully avoiding the spike as he does so.

"Give them another round of wolf's bane," Shibusawa instructed, giving one last look to Chuuya before heading towards the door.

Atsushi stiffened as he watched two doctors walked over to Chuuya while the other one knelt down next to him. Now he knew why he had lost consciousness. While wolf's bane wasn't deadly to them like they were to their canine counterpart, it still forces all of their body functions to temporarily slow down. Their heartbeat will drop considerably and they will be forced to enter hibernation. During this period, no matter what happens, they won't wake up. Not until the body is able to eject the wolf's bane from their systems.

"Ah!" Atsushi yelped as a sharp needle made of silver was mercilessly jabbed at ninety degrees into his nape. The doctor didn't even care about his struggle as he began to pump the drug into his system. Atsushi gritted his teeth, his body trembling even harder as cold sweat oozed out of his pores.

He could feel coldness starting out from where the needle is jabbed in his neck and quickly spreading throughout his body. Atsushi was immediately scared. He wanted to get away. He even had the urge to cut open his throat and let out all of his blood, just so that coldness won't continue to spread into his body. He hated this. He hated the coldness so much that it's unbearable.

"That's right!" Shibusawa turned back to them when he was halfway to the door. "Chuuya, remember your arm that the little kitten ripped off before we came here?"

Chuuya's eyes narrowed, but he could speak as his lips were pressed tightly into a thin line as large beads of sweat oozed out of his pores. His body was shaking from coldness as the veins area the spot where he got injected the drug stuck out.

"I couldn't leave such beautiful arm rotting under the sunlight, so I've taken the liberty to send it to your home." The white-haired man observed Chuuya's face carefully. What he saw didn't disappoint him. Chuuya's face morphed into anger as he growled at the man. The chain bounding him rattled just for a slight moment before going still.

"You bastard!" Chuuya snarled, but his eyelids had fallen halfway already. His body was gradually shutting down. Numbness spread through his hands and legs which he cannot control anymore.

Shibusawa smirked as he watched the two tigers turning into docile house cats.

"I will see you tomorrow, Chuuya," he whispered tenderly, as if afraid that the slightest bit of noise would wake them.

No matter what, he will make this tiger his. Shibusawa could still remember when they first met six years ago in Russia. Chuuya had looked exactly the same back then.

That year, there were reports all over Russia of a white tiger being spotted in villages and towns. The governments sent out people to capture the beast or kill it on sight if the former wasn't an option. However, be it tranquilizer or actual guns, no human weapon worked against the beast. Nothing could pierce through its thick coat. Soon, rumors of the beast began to spread of how it wasn't an animal, but one of those supernatural existences.

The other countries immediately got wind of it and countless eyes began to observe the beast from the shadow. When footages of a surveillance camera caught a silhouette of a human body morphing into a tiger, their suspicions were confirmed.

The white tiger is a werebeast.

It was the first werebeast to be spotted ever since the Dark Age. Furthermore, they had long been thought to have gone extinct. From the shape and size of the human silhouette, specialists concluded that it couldn't be a child older than twelve. The discovery of the weretiger's age was what drove all countries to send out their own elite forces to capture him. After all, children are the easiest to control and train into weapons for them to utilize.

Shibusawa had taken part in the hunt as well. That was how he met Chuuya one cloudy evening at the local bar while searching for information. The petite male was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. It was the first time he developed an interest in another human being. The redhead was ranting to the bartender about his lover and how he didn't think he was treated fairly—how he's on the run from that very same lover.

Each time he heard about this other man coming out of the redhead's lips; he felt rage burning inside him. He couldn't forgive the thought of someone else beating him first and tainted what should rightfully be his. He had tried to go up and speak to the petite male but got completely ignored. He even got him a drink after noticing how the man has a taste for wine, but the redhead just briefly looked at him before he left the bar.

Shibusawa chased after him. His instinct was telling him not to let this man go, but when he arrived outside, the redhead was nowhere in sight. He thought that would be the end of their magical encounter.

A week later, they found the weretiger along with the other groups competing against them. The battle over the tiger cub caused chaos in the town. None of them cared if any civilians got caught in their fight. After all, none of them belonged to Russia so they got no obligation to protect their people. Shibusawa had been so close in capturing the tiger cub when that petite man—his love—reappeared before him in a manner he didn't think was possible.

The man scooped the unconscious weretiger boy into his arms. Soft red light outlined the shape of his body before he vanished and reappeared before one of the special task force from Italy. With a swift kick, he sent the leader flying while the rest floated into the air for a couple of seconds before slamming hard into the ground.

By the time Shibusawa could react to the unexpected change of situation, he found himself face to face with that beautiful face and cold blue eyes. The orange haired man spun around. Half a second before the man's slender leg would come into contact with his head, Shibusawa caught sight of something orange flashed by.

Perhaps it was his desire to see and memorize every part of that man so much that he was able to clearly see it despite it had moved so fast. It was a tail—a long orange tail with black stripes. That was the last of his memory before darkness took hold of him.

This mysterious man, his first love, is another weretiger.

There weren't just one, but two weretigers left in this world.

After losing consciousness, Shibusawa was removed from the battlefield by his subordinates. With the appearance of a full-grown werebeast capable of using his powers, the battlefield immediately changed. Rather than fighting off one another, all of them had to team up if they wanted to take down the beast.

Out of a total of two hundred and thirty of specially trained personnel, only three survived to tell the tale of what happened that night.

It was a one-sided massacre. The town where the battle had taken place was completely destroyed. The place was devoid of life with buildings crumpled as if the structure cannot support its own weight and collapsed. But what caught everyone's eyes were these perfectly spherical holes appearing all over the battlefield.

When looking into the footages from the camera installed on the sacrificed agents, Shibusawa saw it. Crimson markings slithered across the weretiger's skin as huge, dark spheres of compacted energy formed in both of the redhead's clawed hands. He wore a wicked smile on his face and his irises completely faded away, leaving only the white of his eyes.

He knew what that is.

Every researcher, combat specialist and anyone working in the government is made to be aware of three very special existences. These beings are unlike the normal species that walk among them every day. Their information is strictly classified. If anyone comes across them—run. Survive so more knowledge of them can be learned. Never engage in a fight because no one has ever won against them.

The first one is Ogai Mori. He was one of the few remaining pureblood vampires. He created an organization called the Port Mafia in Yokohama's port. The Port Mafia consisted of over sixty-five percent of supernatural beings. All of the executives are formidable in their own way, but none are as dangerous as the leader himself.

The second was Fyodor Dostoevsky. He is a Daemon—creatures that witches in the old times made contracts with to summon. After the complete extermination of witches and witchcraft, Daemons were said to have returned to their own world without a contractor binding them here. No one knows how Fyodor Dostoevsky can still walk about on his planet. No one knows what his purpose is or where he is at the moment. The only thing they can be sure of is that this creature is highly dangerous.

Then finally, there's the unique duo.

Two species born as natural enemies, yet they traveled together as a bonded pair. During the Dark Age, these two left a trail of destructions in their wake. Any enemies that went against them were completely annihilated. Without cameras in that era, only tales and legends of these two were passed down. If not for the occasional destructions they left throughout history, humans might have dismissed them as myths because even to this date, no one has seen what they looked like.

All they knew was that this odd team consisted of a pureblood vampire and a weretiger. While nothing is known about the vampire, the weretiger was said to have royal blood flowing through his veins. It is an ancient bloodline that only one in a thousand werebeast possessed, allowing them to unleash a power known as Corruption.

The world later gave these two beings a name—Double Black.

Shibusawa was in love.

He watched the footages of the weretiger for three days straight without food or sleep. These precious recordings were the first in the history of mankind to ever capture one of the infamous Double Black. He was entranced by the petite figure and those glowing red markings that seemed to be alive on his wheat coloured skin.

Shibusawa knew right then and there that this weretiger will be his. He can only belong to him and him alone. Only he can keep such beautiful creature tame but claws still sharp. He's the only one that can offer the weretiger a continuous path of bloodshed. Only in battle can this beautiful creature truly shine.

He is a flower that blooms in darkness, after all.

The footages never showed how the battle ended. The survivors couldn't give any useful information either. They did learn one thing about Corruption though.

This power of the weretiger is a double-edged sword. Once activated, even the user himself cannot control it and will fall into madness. But suppose his consciousness wasn't even there to begin with, then that means he is moving in an unconscious state. If that is true, then according to his analysis, wouldn't the only way for him to stop is until his body is unable to handle the strain from the power and die?

If his guess is true, what stopped him?

Throughout Double Black's history, the use of Corruption is clear. Shibusawa had compared the aftermath of the battle to the old reports on Double Black and confirmed that. Something must have made the weretiger regain his sense to take the boy and disappear from the world, but what? Perhaps there is a time limit to his power and once that limit goes up he will regain consciousness. Or perhaps his guess was wrong and that the weretiger has a way to break out of the madness.

Whatever it is, Shibusawa has all the time in the world to figure out. His lips cracked open in a crazed smile, unable to help as he started imagining all the things he could do with the two weretigers.

At that moment, a melody played through the air. The doctors all turned to their boss whose smile grew even more frightening as he pulled out his cellphone.

"Is the job done?" he asked, putting his phone to his ear.

"Yes, yes! We have set the house in flames, but for some reason, the vampire wasn't at home~"

Shibusawa'ss eyes widened as he immediately stopped in his track. He knew all of his subordinates' voices, but this one he has never heard of before, never mind that laid back speech pattern.

"Who is this?!"

"Who? How mean of you~" The voice whined from the other end.

At that moment, footsteps resonated from afar. Shibusawa looked up to see a hand holding a black smartphone, sticking out from around the corner at the end of the hallway. And then, a tall, black-haired man covered in bandages strolled out with a smile playing on his lips.

Shibusawa'ss attention immediately landed onto the right side of the man's face. Compared to the pale skin on his left face, the right side was blackened. The skin on his right was completely burned away, revealing charred flesh underneath. The man's right eye only consisted of a hole where the eyeball used to be. Even now, there was smoke coming from his injury and sizzling sound of flesh indicating that this man was still being burned.

The strange male was followed by a shorter boy with white tips on his raven black hair and body wrapped in a black trench coat.

"You asked me who I am even though you burned down our home and kidnapped mine and my disciple's mate." The stranger lamented as he tossed the phone aside. A sharp clatter echoed from both down the hallway and from Shibusawa's phone.

"You're...Double Black!" Shibusawa gasped.

"Indeed!" The vampire sang. His younger companion let out a sharp hiss, eyes glowing in crimson and looking as if he wanted nothing more than to rip them into shreds.

Shibusawa swiftly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the beings. "Where are the guards?!" he roared at the surgeons behind him.

"Now then~" All playfulness vanished from the vampire's face as he stared at the humans with an empty look in his only eye. It was as if he was staring at nothing but a pile of corpses.

"Where are our mates?"

~~~

"Chuu...ya...sa...n..." Atsushi was gasping heavily for breath, finding that he can no longer take in air as easily as before. His eyes were barely open. His vision blurred as he fought to stay awake. He had lost feeling and senses to every part of his body now. He couldn't even feel the pain brought to him by silver anymore. The only thing he could actually was the coldness dominating his body.

"It's ok..." Chuuya's voice drifted from somewhere in the distance. "Go to sleep...kid...I'll wake you...when the time comes."

Atsushi knew that his mentor was just trying to comfort him. He always does. Ever since he was rescued by Chuuya, the older weretiger had looked out for him. Even now, the older weretiger is protecting him. Just from the conversation with that human, Atsushi could tell that if Chuuya hadn't threatened them to keep him by his side, he would probably be strapped down to one of those chairs and have his organs taken out repeatedly.

He felt so useless and weak. Even chained up, Chuuya has the ability to protect him yet he could do nothing but rely on him. He needed to think. What can he do? He wasn't bounded as securely as Chuuya, surely there's some way—

"I can hear you thinking...brat..." Chuuya's voice came, sounding even softer than before. Atsushi wasn't sure if it was his mentor being influenced by the drug or his own hearing starting to fail.

"At times like this...just leave it to our mates..." there was a smile in his voice when he said that.

Atsushi's breath hitched as the image of a certain vampire flashed across his mind.

That's right! That man—Shibusawa, he said they've sent Chuuya's arm to their home. It's one thing if they didn't go back since Chuuya runs away from home all the time. Every time he does, Dazai would calculate the exact amount of time it'll take for the redhead to blow off his steam before going to take him home. But this time was different.

They actually sent Chuuya's arm to Dazai. Shibusawa obviously knew nothing of the nature of the vampire that lives in the manor. Atsushi didn't know what plan Shibusawa has, but it doesn't matter. As long as Dazai is around, nothing will go according to the enemy's wish.

Atsushi smiled. It was a very tired and worn out smile, but it was the first smile he had shown after being chained here. He wasn't sure if his eyes were still open because no matter how much he blinks, his visions were pitch black.

"Such a shame..." Chuuya's voice mumbled from afar. "I wanted to kill him myself..."

He could barely hear anything but the sound of his own heart, beating slower and slower...and slower...

"I wanted to see it...the face of that bastard..." Chuuya's voice was turning soft, seeming on the verge of entering deep sleep.

Atsushi didn't know who Chuuya is referring to that last part—Shibusawa or Dazai?

He didn't know about his mentor, but he knew that right now, he wanted to see his mate more than anything. He wanted to see him so badly, even though they were just curling together on the bed this morning before a pissed off Chuuya burst into their room and dragged him outside.

"Ryuu..." he whispered out the name of his love before he heard something like a muffled crashing sound.

"ATSUSHI!"

At that moment, it was like whatever that was obstructing his hearing cleared out—allowing him to hear his mate's voice loud and clear. Smiling, Atsushi let go of that last thread of consciousness before he blissfully entered the darkness.

Atsushi didn't know how long he was out for.

It could be minutes.

It could be for hours.

It could be days.

When he regained consciousness, the first thing on his mind is that it's warm. The familiar and comforting scent filled his lungs with each breath as strong arms held him tightly against a freezing body. The coldness of the body wrapped around him perfectly balanced out the unnatural heat emitted from his own body along with the heat of the blanket—producing the perfect temperature.

It was a type of warmth he never experienced until he was taken in by Chuuya. It was a warmth that reminded him of how he wasn't alone anymore.

"Ryuu..." Atsushi sighed out that name as golden eyes fluttered open.

Taking another deep breath against the pale neck his face was buried in, he slowly pulled back until he met with a pair of silver eyes. A cold hand came up and rested onto his heated cheek. Atsushi closed his eyes and sighed contentedly as he leaned towards the gentle palm, enjoying the soothing sensation.

And then, he found himself pulled back against his lovers, those arms holding him so tight that he could barely breathe.

"I'm ok, Ryuu," he mumbled quietly as he nuzzled the other's neck.

Ryuunosuke didn't say anything. Instead, he just held him tighter. There is no lecturing, no yelling...nothing. Atsushi smiled bitterly, knowing that he must have really worried his lover this time. Not knowing what to do or say, Atsushi let his eyes drifted around and was stunned by what he saw.

This wasn't their room.

He knew something was off when he woke up in the bed. The bed didn't have the familiar softness or scent he was used to. Turned out they weren't in their bedroom at all. Their bedroom was old with peeling wallpapers and wooden floor, not this luxurious bedroom that looked like everything was carved out of marble.

"Where are we?" Atsushi asked, his voice carrying his confusion.

"Our new home in Yokohama." Finally, Ryuunosuke said something, but Atsushi was too distracted by the content of his words to realize that.

"Yokohama?!" Atsushi blurted as he jumped up. Ryuunosuke clicked his tongue, obviously not pleased but sat up as well. "Why are we in Yokohama?"

"Those humans that kidnapped you and Chuuya-san burned the house."

"Burn?!"

Ryuunosuke reached over to the nightstand, snatching his black cell phone and tossed it to his mate. Atsushi swiftly caught the phone and looked down at the screen to see a picture of the remnants of a shipwreck. There were helicopters hovering all over the sky and smaller ships surrounding the remains of what looked to be a cruise. The cruise has been shattered into so many tiny pieces that it was impossible to tell what it looked like before.

He hurriedly swiped upward, revealing the news article below the picture. Explosion on Dragon's Breath—that was the headline of the article.

Dragon's Breath?

Atsushi didn't need to ask his mate. There was only one reason why Ryuunosuke would show him this. This must the ship he and his mentor were on, and the cause for the shipwreck can only be Dazai's work.

"That's right!" Atsushi gasped as he leaned right into Ryuunosuke's personal space. "The sunlight! You and Dazai-san went into the sunlight, didn't you! Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?!"

Ryuunosuke was taken back by the weretiger's outburst. When he heard his lover's inquiries, the anger he tried to hold in instantly burst out as he grabbed the silverette by the collar and pulled him close.

"Shut up, Jinko!" Ryuunosuke roared. He only ever calls his mate by that old nickname when he's absolutely pissed off. "You dare to ask if I'm ok?! You were the one bounded in chains and stabbed! Do you have any idea what will happen if Dazai-san and I were late? If those humans hadn't left Chuuya-san's arm at our doorstep who knows how long it'll take before we realize what happened!"

Ryuunosuke had never felt as angry as he was feeling now. The frustrations and humiliations of not being there for his mate were eating him away bit by bit. The sight of his mate chained up like some animal with silver rods penetrating his body sent rage running through his veins. But when he saw the state Chuuya was in, that rage died away, turning into bitter fear.

Even Dazai was frozen on the spot as he stared at Chuuya. The redhead was sitting in the torture chair filled with spikes made of silver piercing through his body. His gut was cut open and being held that way by barbed silver wires. His eyes were closed and despite the close distance, Ryuunosuke couldn't see any sign of the other breathing.

If not for his organs that were moving ever so slowly, he could easily be mistaken as dead.

The thought of Atsushi being turned into that made him afraid. He didn't know how his mentor managed. He didn't know how Dazai could hold his lover in his arm and watch quietly as the hole in the weretiger's stomach close after removing all the traces of silver from his body.

If it was him, he would have lost it right there and then.

As Ryuunosuke thought back to the event early today, Atsushi was doing the same. He was recalling the event of how this all happened. His face paled when a realization suddenly occurred to him—one that he wondered why he never thought of in the first place.

If Shibusawa didn't leave Chuuya's arm to Dazai, the two vampires will probably take longer to realize something wasn't right. With Dazai being Dazai, he will definitely realize, but it wouldn't be immediately. His mentor has a long history of running from home after an argument after all.

So could it be that Chuuya didn't get his arm cut off by Atsushi but allowed him to cut it off?

After all, with how strong his mentor is, even if he launched a surprise attack there's no way the redhead wouldn't be able to dodge it. Perhaps the moment he fell into the enemy's hand, Chuuya knew there was no way out—at least not together with him. Even now, Atsushi still has no idea what manipulated him. If Chuuya didn't know either, then that means the older weretiger chose to get captured than to risk his safety.

Chuuya pretended to be careless and let his arm get rip off, betting that Shibusawa would send it to Dazai out of spite. Chuuya wasn't Dazai. He couldn't read into the future like the vampire. What he did was a gamble. They were only lucky that Shibusawa took the bait. From there on, all Chuuya have to do was to sit and wait for his mate to do the rest. While it sounded simple, there was so much danger in that plan. Or to be precise, there was so much risk revolving around Atsushi.

Chuuya would be all right. Shibusawa's possessiveness over his mentor was as clear as day. Atsushi, on the other hand, is a different matter. From what the white tiger saw, he wasn't anything in Shibusawa's eyes.

He was just a nobody with a rare gene.

He was disposable, unlike Chuuya.

He was the perfect lab rat material.

He was most likely the one supposed to be strapped onto that chair and have his organs taken out, not Chuuya. His mentor must have made some deal with Shibusawa and took his place in the torture...

"Atsushi," Ryuunosuke's voice broke Atsushi out of his thought.

Golden eyes that were dilated instantly rounded as he focused on the face of his mate. And then...Atsushi pounced onto the vampire, his arms wrapped tightly around the raven's neck and buried his face into his shoulder. They stumble onto the bed with Ryuunosuke on his back and Atsushi lying on top of him. The vampire let out a small grunt in surprise as he wrapped his arm around the weretiger out of reflex.

"Ryuu, I'm so useless..."

"You only just realized that now?" Ryuunosuke huffed before coughing lightly into his hand.

That alarmed Atsushi as he shot up, eyes scanning over Ryuunosuke. He immediately started running his hands all over his black coat and soon found what was wrong.

Rashomon wasn't here.

He couldn't feel that small buzz of life flowing inside the dark fabric. He couldn't feel the faint heartbeat of the creature that is an extension of his mate's very being.

"Ryuu, what happened to Rashomon?"

"Nothing," Ryuunosuke brushed Atsushi's hands off his clothes. "I used Rashomon to shield us from the sun. It took some damage, so it's resting inside me right now."

Atsushi's eyes widened upon hearing that. He knew it wasn't as light as Ryuunosuke made it be. Ryuunosuke must have gotten seriously hurt for him to be coughing like this. He hurriedly held out his right hand over his right wrist. Before he could cut open his veins, a pale hand grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Ryuu, you need blood!" Atsushi panicked as Ryuunosuke covered his mouth with his other hand and coughed.

"Later," Ryuunosuke grumbled. "For now, sleep. You're noisy."

"Ryuu—!"

Atsushi protested as he was pushed back down onto the bed with the thick blanket fluttering down over his body. Strong arms were back around him, locking him against the vampire's solid frame as his head was tucked under his mate's chin. They laid there together in silence for the longest time until Atsushi spoke.

"Ryuu..." Ryuunosuke didn't respond, but Atsushi knew he was listening. "I want to become stronger."

Ryuunosuke slowly closed his eyes. His arms around the weretiger tightened in silent comfort.

"Ah..." He agreed softly.

They're both too weak.

With the strength they're at now, they're only preys waiting to be hunted. In order to protect the people important to them, they need to become stronger than anyone else in this world—even their own mentors.

~~~

"Ah...mhn..." Soft, breathy moans traveled through the room, followed by the rustling sounds of blankets. The bed rocked gently, swaying with the movement of the raven-haired man kneeling at the center of the king-sized bed. Each time the bed shifts, the wooden frame would make a creaking sound and the headboard lightly clattering against the rose red wall.

"Dazai!" The redhead panted into the pillow his face was buried in. The tips of his slender fingers were gone, sunken through the holes in the bed sheet and into the cottony inside of the mattress. His knuckles had turned white from the amount of strength he put in to control himself just so he wouldn't tear the bedding into shreds.

"Enough already—Hya?!" Chuuya yelped, his face coming out of the pillow when he was abruptly pulled back by those large hands firmly gripping onto his hipbones.

"Oh? That's a sweet sound there, Chuuya~"

"You...ngh...bastard!" Chuuya snarled, turning back to glare at his mate hovering over his body. However, he didn't look as threatening as he had hoped with his overly heated face, rosy moist lips and those unshed tears gathering within those icy blue eyes.

The raven-haired male licked his lips at the alluring right below him. He reached out a bandaged arm to grab onto his mate's chin, holding his head in place before he used his larger frame to pin the smaller male into the bed.

Their lips were molded firmly together as the raven-haired male shoved his tongue possessively into that sweet mouth. Chuuya moaned into the kiss, his face flushing even more as he felt that sinful part of his mate pushed deeper into his body.

"Chuuya..." Chuuya shivered at the sound of his name whispered against his lips. "You're beautiful, Chuuya."

Chuuya gazed into those blood red eyes glowing in the darkness. He pulled a hand out of the mattress to seize the larger hand that had been tenderly rubbing his stomach.

"I'm not dead," Chuuya stated, pulling the frosty hand up his body until that hand rested on his chest—right over his heart.

"I know," Dazai sighed. His gaze softened as he felt his mate's strong heart beating within his ribcage, along with the flow of blood flowing beneath baby soft skin.

"It already healed," Chuuya met those glowing red eyes with his own blue ones.

"I know," Dazai absentmindedly used his fingers to caress his mate's heated skin.

"Then what the hell's with you?" Chuuya yelled. "You've been going for six hours nonstop!" Not to mention not once did Dazai go all out. For the past six hours, the vampire was just torturing him with unhurried movements. "Do you plan on killing me?!"

"Kill you?" A faint smile lifted the corner of Dazai's lips as if he was entertained by the thought. "Not a bad idea. How wonderful it'll be if we just die like this together, Chuuya."

"Like hell! Go die by yourself!"

The weretiger gritted his teeth to swallow the moan threatening to escape as he flipped himself around. He raised a leg, aiming to kick the vampire off the bed and more importantly, out of his body. Unfortunately, Dazai swiftly caught him by his ankle, bringing his foot up to kiss the tip of toe all while thrusting his hip forward at the same time.

"Ah!" Chuuya's entire body trembled as he fell weakly back against the bed.

"Just kidding..." Dazai chuckled against his ankle before putting the redhead's raised leg over his shoulder and adjusted himself to their new position. "There's no way I will let you die, Chuuya~"

"Ahn!" Chuuya mewed as his mate began thrusting into him hard and fast. He couldn't speak. He couldn't even think. All he could do was let out embarrassing sounds as his mind was lost to the pleasure.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the vampire emptied his seed deep inside the redhead.

Chuuya's body was already so full of his mate that the white essence ended up leaking out. He panted heavily as he stared up at his mate whose breathing was slightly shallow, but other than that there were no signs of fatigue on the other being. That certain part of his mate buried inside him was still healthy and energetic—so much that Chuuya wanted to turn the lanky vampire into a scratching post.

"I'm alive," he stated that fact again.

"I know, love. Would I be doing this," Dazai emphasized with a thrust of his hip, "if you were dead?"

Chuuya's breath shuttered as he used the leg that's hooked over the vampire's shoulder to pull him down.

"Then don't make that kind of disgusting face!" Chuuya retorted as he stared at that face his mate had carefully hidden from his view. Ever since he woke up in this new bedroom, Chuuya had never gotten a clear view of his mate's face. All he saw from beginning to end was that bandaged right side. The bastard has skillfully used various angles to hide his undamaged left side from his view.

Now he got a full view of that vagabond's shitty face—and it was as shitty as he expected to look. Dazai could have stopped him if he really wanted to, but he didn't. That miserable, lost look on his face was now in full view for the redhead to make fun of.

"I'm sorry," Dazai whispered out the apology as he leaned his cold cheek against his mate's heated thigh. "I should have been there to protect you."

"...What's with that?" Chuuya narrowed his eyes, feeling his veins pulsing under his forehead. "I'm the one that ran out and walked into that bastard's trap! Why the heck are you apologizing?"

"Yep, it's all Chuuya's fault!" Dazai agreed with a bright smile. He swiftly lifted the leg on his shoulder, tipping the weretiger off balance so that the fist aimed towards the raven's face would miss.

"YOU—hmph!" The rest of Chuuya's words were muffled by a pair of icy lips sealed against his own. A vein popped on the redhead. He tried to bite down on the tongue sliding into his mouth, only for Dazai to grab him by his jaw, preventing him from doing that.

He then tried using his tongue to push at Dazai's, trying to push him out. Dazai smiled against his lips as he pushed back. This game lasted for a while but very soon Chuuya got the upper hand in terms of strength. He managed to shove Dazai's tongue back into his own mouth. Before he could withdraw his own back, Dazai bit down.

Chuuya felt all of his hair standing up as those sharp fangs pierced right through his tongue. There was no pain from his punctured tongue. All he felt was a numbing sensation before he tasted the coppery blood flowing into his mouth from the tip of his tongue.

Dazai groaned into his lips. He slid a hand behind Chuuya's head, pressing them closer as he ran his tongue against his mate's, drawing the delicious blood down his own throat. He kept his fangs buried deep in his mate's tongue so that the weretiger's healing ability won't be able to close the wound.

Chuuya moaned as well, but it wasn't due to the taste of his own blood.

When vampires feed, their fangs would eject special venom that not only numbs the flesh but also injects a chemical similar to an aphrodisiac. In other words, when a vampire feeds, the area of where they bit will become an erogenous zone.

The weretiger squeezed his eyes shut, unable to help but let out moans after moans that were greedily swallowed by his mate along with his blood. Dazai sank his fangs deeper into that soft, tender flesh, releasing more blood and causing his mate to mewl.

They tumbled into the bed. Dazai had one arm wrapped tightly around the petite male's upper torso, hand gripping the back of his lover's head and the other around his slender waist, hand gripping his firm butt cheek. Holding Chuuya tightly against him, Dazai began to move. His hip ground back and forth as if trying to deepen the connection between their bodies. Tears poured out of those beautiful blue eyes as the weretiger was overwhelmed by the simulation.

"Hah~" Dazai let out a blissful sigh as he grudgingly released the pink appendage. He watched as that beautiful soft tongue slipped back into its owner's mouth, the two pierce wounds instantly sealing up and leaving behind only a trail of blood and saliva.

The red in the vampire's eyes began to dull—as if mud were thrown into a pool of blood. He hovered over the redhead as he tenderly ran his knuckles over the other's delicate cheek.

"Chuuya?" Dazai called, but his mate's eyes were tightly shut. There wasn't even the slightest bit of reaction whether it was to the vampire's touch or voice. The weretiger has finally passed out from the hours and hours of nonstop pleasure.

Dazai smiled as he leaned down, capturing those soft lips in a tender kiss. From there, he sluggishly slid his mouth to the corner of the rosy lips, then down the weretiger's jaw, over his delicate Adam's apple to land on the side of his neck.

He gently nipped on the two dotted scars on the side of that pale neck. It was the scars Dazai had given Chuuya on the night they bonded their souls together. The skin there had a lighter shade than the rest of Chuuya's body as Chuuya always hid those markings with his black leather choker.

He kissed the bite mark on the right side, and then gave the identical scar on the other side of his mate's gorgeous neck the same attention. Dazai pulled back, auburn eyes watched as the hickies he just left on the mating mark vanished and let out a small sigh of disappointment.

He stared at Chuuya's mating markings before bringing his hand up to touch his own. The bandages around his neck were long torn off, revealing his own mating scars. Unlike Chuuya's scar that is clean and crisp, his were ragged and rough as if the flesh there has been brutally bitten off by animals. Dazai loved these scars more than anything. It's a shame they had to hide their marks in public to prevent being recognized by other supernatural beings.

Taking a minute or two to enjoy the delightful heat of his mate's body, Dazai carefully pulled himself out. Chuuya groaned, the sensitive nerves causing his limb to twitch as his mate severed their bodies' connection.

Dazai reached up to his face and began to remove his bandages. As the bandages fell from his eye, his smooth, undamaged skin underneath was revealed. He smiled as he slid his fingers over his right eye that was previously burned into ashes. Just a bit of his mate's blood was all it took for him to fully recover.

The vampire slipped an arm around Chuuya's shoulders and the other slipping below his knees. The vampire lifted his petite mate up with ease as he strolled to the bathroom. Each step he took, thick white droplets would fall from between Chuuya's legs and onto the white marble floor. The sight alone was enough to cause the vampire's brown eyes to flash red again, but Dazai quickly suppressed his desires and kicked the bathroom door shut.

The sky was clear as the pale light of dawn spilled over Yokohama. Once more, the humans dwelling within the city began to wake, welcoming another day as they began their life's routine.

In the darkness far below ground where sunlight will never reach, a man was confined in a tiny room. The old cement walls were filled with cracks as cockroaches crept by.

A white-haired man sat in a chair. His clothes were torn and matted with blood, but the skin revealed underneath the ruined clothing showed no signs of injuries. His hands cuffed to the armrest and legs bounded by thick chains nailed deep into the cement floor. A brown rag was shoved into his mouth, preventing him from speaking. The only sound audible was his muffled breathing through the cloth.

The temperature of the air began to fall as the shadows in the room came alive. They stretched out as if pulled by an invisible force that made them peel off the walls and gathered into the center of the room. Slowly, a raven-haired male walked out of the darkness. His hands were tucked in his pockets as he strolled up to the bounded human. The light hanging over their head flickered and the shadows were back in the positions they should be as if whatever that happened was just an illusion.

The bounded man looked up, glaring at the vampire with hatred in his eyes.

Dazai just stared down at the man with those blackened eyes that didn't reflect an ounce of light. A small smile lifted his lips. And then...the man screamed as blood splattered onto the gray floor. Chains rattled as the man trash around in his seat, cries of pain continuing to leave his mouth as the right half of his face was flooded with fresh blood.

"How revolting." Dazai gazed down at the eyeball rolling around between his fingers. "To think you used these filthy eyes to look at my Chuuya. Ah, but these aren't your original eyes, are they?"

Dazai held the eyeball over the flickering light as if inspecting some sort of rare gem.

"Only a vampire's eyes can hold such colour. However, this red is quite dull...a subclass vampire I see."

He then loosened his grip on the eyeball. Pulled by gravity, the eyeball dropped onto the filthy cement floor, bouncing back up once before it was squashed down by a black leather shoe. The eyeball popped with a splat as blood and white fluid was smeared into the concrete.

"White hair from ghoul, talons from harpy, fangs of naga, eyes of vampire, pale skin of merfolks," Dazai listed as he unhurriedly cleaned his hand of the crimson fluid. "How very strange. You have so many things on you, yet your blood is purely that of a human's."

The man's cries abruptly stopped as he glared angrily at the vampire with that only eye. His face portrayed nothing but hatred.

"Oh, did I offend you?" Dazai asked innocently as he tossed the ball of blood-soaked napkin away. "But this is nothing compared to what you put my mate through."

The vampire leaned down close to the white-haired man as the smile vanished from his face. His blackened eyes were like black holes, sucking in and tearing apart the human's soul. Dazai raised his hand, flexing his fingers as the joints between his bones cracked.

"My darling kitten will wake up in six hours. That's plenty enough time for me to play with you."

~~~

When Chuuya woke from his slumber, the first thing he saw was the close up of his mate's sleeping face. It was a rare sight, as it's always Dazai that wakes up first. The redhead stared at the serene expression on the vampire's face.

"What's with that dumb look?" Chuuya mumbled to himself, but despite saying that, there's a fond smile on his face. He flipped onto his back, mentally cursing his mate as he felt his body shuddered. The memories of the onslaught pleasure were still fresh in his mind despite his body having already recovered from the exhaustion.

It had been a while since Dazai worked him until he faints. Usually, it takes too much effort on the vampire's part (or so Dazai claims) so the other never do it unless something particular happens. Chuuya ran a hand through his hair and paused when he saw long tendrils of hair falling over his shoulder. He clicked his teeth, his stomach feeling nauseous as memories of that human's greedy hand touching his hair and even kissing it flashed back. His brows furrowed in disgust. He preferred torture anytime as long as that repulsive freak doesn't touch him.

Chuuya climbed off the bed with the grace of a cat. His feet didn't even make the slightest bit of noise as he sauntered into the bathroom. His body felt clean and refreshed. The scent of shampoo and soap is heavy on his body, meaning Dazai must have given him a thorough washing. He slowly pushed the bathroom door behind him. He didn't close it fully, as the turning sound of doorknob will no doubt alert his mate. Dazai has always been a light sleeper despite how he laid back he acts.

Chuuya stared at his own reflection, ocean blue eyes locked on his long wavy hair.

He pulled out a pair of scissors from the drawer and grabbed a handful of those pumpkin-orange locks. He stared at his own reflection and held the scissors up when...

"What are you doing?"

A voice whispered right beside his ear as chilling breath spilled against the side of his face.

Chuuya's froze.

He stared at the mirror where his own reflection stared back, showing the shock written all over his face. Everything was exactly the same, except for his hand that's holding the scissors. The skins around his wrists were pressed down as if something invisible is gripping onto him. His hand began to shake as he fought against the force that was pulling the scissors away from his hair, little by little.

"I thought you were sleeping," Chuuya muttered after he recovered from the initial shock. He turned his head just enough to see the raven-haired vampire's face right next to his. Dazai stood behind him, one hand resting lightly on his hip and his other gripping the weretiger's hand that held the offending weapon.

"What are you doing, dear?" Dazai purred as those blackened eyes stared at him coldly.

"I was thinking of changing my image." Chuuya shrugged and gave up struggling. He opened his palm, allowing Dazai to take the scissors away and put it back to where it belonged. "My hair is getting too long. It gets in the way."

"That never stopped you from growing it out." Dazai pointed out, his lips brushing by the shell of his lover's ear, causing goose bumps to rise out of the weretiger.

Chuuya could feel the bathroom's temperature steadily falling. The shadows in the room cast by the light also seemed darker than normal. He knew his mate is furious right now. Chuuya kept his face stoic, but inside he panicking as he tried to come up with a believable excuse.

Unfortunately, Dazai didn't give him that chance.

"Short hair would be nice." The vampire hummed as a hand came up to stroke the long locks of his hair. "Reminds me of when we first met."

Chuuya watched as his hair waved back and forth in the mirror before an invisible force lifted his hair into the air.

"I don't mind you cutting your hair, Chuuya," Dazai said softly. Chuuya looked out from the corner of his eyes to see the vampire lifted his hair up to his lips. Blue eyes dilated, morphing into slits as the weretiger's hand shot up, seizing his mate's pale wrist and stopping him from closing that last centimeter's distance.

"However," Dazai breathed, his breath causing the delicate hair to sway. "If you're cutting your hair for a reason, not of your own, then I can't let you harm yourself."

"It's just hair—"

"Chuuya." Dazai's eyes narrowed as he rubbed the hair between his fingers, marveling the smoothness. "Is there something I should know?"

Chuuya's words died in his throat as he looked away, only for a hand to gently hold him by his chin and turn his head around so he could meet with that pair of darkening gaze.

"Did he touch your hair?" Dazai growled, "did he caress them? Did he roll them around in his fingers and played with them like I am right now?"

And then, Dazai leaned forward until the tip of their nose is just lightly grazing.

"Did he kiss them?" Dazai's face was frigid as he spat out these words. Before Chuuya could respond, Dazai brought his hair up and kissed his orange locks.

Chuuya didn't say anything. He just stood there, body completely stiff as he watched his lover kissed every surface possible on his hair.

"Do you think my lips are filthy now, Chuuya?"

"Tch, how long are you gonna hold onto me for?" Chuuya snapped, about to turn his head away when the grip on his chin pulled him back.

A pair of lips smashed against his.

Chuuya let out a low groan as the irritation he was feeling melted away. He half expected his lover to use this chance and shove his tongue in like he always does, but Dazai didn't do that. Instead, the kiss only lasted three seconds before the vampire pulled away.

"I supposed that is my fault. I spent hours showing you how beautiful your body is; I neglected to show you how lovely your hair is as well."

Dazai leaned down to plant another quick kiss on his lips before releasing the tiger's chin.

"Stop fooling around—"

"Do I look like I'm fooling around?" Dazai cut Chuuya off as he gazed into those icy blue eyes. "You should know that I'm furious right now, Chuuya."

Chuuya stared at Dazai for a long while before letting out a sigh. "I get it, I get it! I won't cut my hair. Happy?"

He combed his fingers through his wavy hair, suddenly feeling very stupid. He leaned back, falling against his mate's solid body as bandaged arms loosely wrapped around his body.

"Dazai."

"Yes, love?"

"There's no chance you'll take me to see that shit bag, would you?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, love," Dazai smiled slyly at him. The bastard.

With his mate's twisted personality, Chuuya knew there was no way he would so easily kill that damn kidnapper/molester. There's an even lesser chance that Dazai will allow him to see the bastard even if he just wanted revenge.

Chuuya felt his cheeks heating up at the thought of how much Dazai is looking out for him,

"Cut that jackass's fingers off," he bit out harshly, tilting his head back so he could stare into his mate's blackened eyes. "I want his fake nails peeled off and his finger joints come off one by one. Then make him bite on a curb and kick him in the back of his head to shatter his teeth and jaw."

"Well now~" Dazai sang as a glimmer of light flickered across his eyes before they reverted back to that soft auburn hue. The coldness on his face vanished; replaced by the love and warmth Chuuya was always pampered with. "I'm afraid I still don't understand, but any of Chuuya's wishes is my command." As he said that, Dazai held up Chuuya's hand, bringing the knuckles to his lips and placed a chaste kiss there.

Chuuya snorted. He turned his head around and bit into the side of his mate's neck. Of course, he didn't really bite down. He just held the tender flesh between his teeth, nibbling and teasing it lightly with his tongue. The arms around his body immediately tightened as the vampire let out a low groan.

"I'm hungry, go make some food—"

Ding Dong—The ringing sound of the doorbell came at that moment.

"It's a new home so the fridge is empty," Dazai explained when Chuuya arched an eyebrow at him. "I ordered some food from a family restaurant across the street."

Chuuya hummed, giving Dazai's neck one last bite as a reward as he strolled out of the bathroom to grab some clothes, only to remember that he knows nothing about this new place that Dazai had bought and conveniently forgotten to tell him about.

"Hey Dazai, where are my clothes? You better have brought my clothes here!"

"Oh! About that~" Dazai sang as he strolled out. "You see, the house was burning up and Ryuu-chan and I only have so many hands! You know how we are against fire and on top of that we have the sunlight to worry about..."

"You..." Chuuya's jaw fell as he got this really bad feeling. "Don't tell me you didn't grab a single one of my clothes!"

"Of course not!" Dazai acted as if his lover had said something that greatly offended him. "What kind of mate do you take me for, Chuuya? At that last moment, I grabbed all of your embarrassing hats!"

"YOU BASTARD!"

Fifteen minutes later, the master room's door slammed open. Chuuya stormed out, dressed in an overly large white dress shirt and baggy jeans. He kicked the door shut behind him, muttering some inaudible curses before he took in the new place they will now call home.

"Heh...not bad," Chuuya mumbled to himself in amazement.

He glanced around the large condo—especially the huge glass panels that made up one side of the wall. Chuuya's first thought when he saw those windows is to look for curtains or blinds, but there weren't any of those.

Since it was night time right now it's all right, but it'll be trouble when the sun rises. Chuuya leaned over the beautifully sculpted wooden handrail. From here he could see the entire condo. The luxurious cream coloured sofas, the glass tables, marble counter, and bar stools...

"Not bad at all." Chuuya's lips lifted into a smile. The more he looked, the more he's starting to like this new home. It certainly has a modern feel compared to their old manor.

"Chuuya-san!"

"Oh, Atsushi." Chuuya greeted when he saw his white-haired student waving at him from a black marble table laid out with takeout food. Akutagawa was there as well. The younger vampire set down the plates in his hand to bow respectfully towards the redhead.

Chuuya snorted, giving a small wave as an acknowledgment. Really, Dazai's pupil wasn't cute at all. If only he could be more like Atsushi. He watched as Atsushi runs up the spiral staircase and skipped to a stop right beside him.

"Chuuya-san!" he called again. Now that they were face to face, the kid lost the energy he had before and wore a remorseful expression on his face. "I'm so sorry!" he shouted with a ninety-degree bow.

Chuuya smiled as he reached out and messed up those uneven silver locks. "Enough already. I told you, none of it was your fault."

"B-but I—"

"It's ok," Chuuya sighed as he pushed himself off the handrail. "Come on, let's eat!"

"What about Da—"

"Hah?" Chuuya's eyes narrowed dangerously as Atsushi instantly backed away. Droplets of sweat rolled down his face as he furiously shook his head, indicating that he did not say anything.

"We're going shopping after we eat," Chuuya fumed as he headed down the stair with Atsushi following behind him like a little tail.

When Chuuya came down, he saw something he couldn't have seen from his previous angle. Right next to the huge television, below the handrail he was leaning over—was a painting of sunflowers encased in a golden glass frame.

"That's—!" Chuuya instantly appeared before the painting.

For a moment, he wondered if Dazai had bought a fake one to cheer him up. After all, when Chuuya heard their home went up in flames, he expected all of his treasures and collection to be swallowed by the fire. Yet one of them was right here. This wasn't a fake painting. It was the very same painting he had hung up in his and his mate's old bedroom. It was one of the sunflower paintings he had acquired in Paris, painted by none other than Vincent van Gogh.

Chuuya's attention was soon turned to the door beside the painting. The door was a normal door. There wasn't any paint or decorations on it, showing the beautiful texture of the wood it was made out of. The weretiger didn't know why, but he just had a feeling that his mate hung this painting here just so this door would catch his attention, and it did.

He took hold of the doorknob. When he pushed the door opened, he was welcomed by a breeze of cool air rushing by his skin. The room behind the door was obviously at a much lower temperature than the rest of the condo. Without even the need for light, Chuuya could see the inside of the room as clear as day. This was a wine cellar. All of his wines, all of his collections...everything were here. Even his paintings were stacked neatly at the back of the room, protected by glass cases.

"Haha..." Chuuya snickered at himself as he remembered back to his mate's bandaged face. Dazai had told him he got burned by the sunlight, but the weretiger had found the explanation weird. Caught off by surprise or not, there was no way Dazai would be so careless to expose himself to something that could potentially kill him.

Now he figured out the truth. The idiot must have gotten injured while gathering all of his treasures within the fire. Chuuya closed the door to the cellar. As he headed towards the dining table, he couldn't help but stare at the large window panels.

"Akutagawa," Chuuya called out to Akutagawa who was still setting up the food on the table. "Did Dazai say anything about these windows?"

"The glasses are specially made to change transparency and opacity to block out the sunlight." The younger vampire replied. "So Dazai-san and I will be fine during the daytime."

"Oh?" Chuuya turned to the windows with great interest. "How does that work?"

"I think the human call it smart glass or something," Atsushi explained as he walked over to a switch next to the windows. With a click, Chuuya watched as the night scenery darkened until all the glass panels turned pitch black. "Dazai-san has already set it up so that the glass will automatically turn into this before sunrise and turn back after sunset."

"The heck? It's like it's made for vampires!" Chuuya laughed, unable to help but find it ironic. Human always researched on unnecessary things, but those unnecessary things in one way or another always benefit their kinds.

"Does it run on electricity?"

"It does," Akutagawa answered.

Chuuya hummed as he watched the glass became transparent again. His fingers lightly tapped on the table as he thinks. So that means that if for whatever reason the building's power supply gets cut off, the two vampires in the house will be completely exposed to danger.

"The building has back up powers," a suddenly spoke from behind him.

Akutagawa immediately went up to greet his own mentor.

"Good morning, Dazai-san."

"Morning, Dazai—san?!" Atsushi gapped when he saw the giant swell taking up the left half of the older vampire's face.

Dazai just pretended not to hear Atsushi and continue on with his explanation. "These windows are custom made. The black version you saw is actually their original form. It's only when powered by electricity that they gain the properties of glass, so there's nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried." Chuuya countered. He pretended to still be angry, but his act wasn't fooling their two students let alone his own mate.

Dazai was smiling brightly, knowing that Chuuya had already seen his surprise. "Oh? I never said Chuuya's worried. I was simply referring to Ryuu and I~"

Chuuya huffed, but couldn't hold back a faint smile playing on his lips. He grabbed a wineglass from within the glass cupboard. The nails on his right hand extended out into claws. He used the tip of his claw to draw a line over his wrist in a swift movement. A second later, the skin over his wrist was cut apart, along with the veins underneath. Using his claws to keep the wound open, he let his blood pour down his skin and into the waiting glass below.

After the cup was filled up, he removed his claws and the wound on his wrist immediately sealed up.

"Don't waste my blood," Chuuya held out his bloody wrist to his mate who has been standing at the side watching him.

"Of course, my dear." Dazai gently took him by his elbow and began to lick the blood off the soft, supple skin.

Chuuya's blushed at the gentleness from the vampire. He turned his eyes away, only to see Atsushi also releasing his own blood for Akutagawa. There was a smile on the kid's face as golden eyes watched his own blood flow out and poured neatly into the glass.

Chuuya could still remember when he first had Atsushi learn to let out his blood rather than always letting Akutagawa drink from him. After all, Vampire's teeth inject aphoristic. It wasn't something they can turn on and off, so letting a vampire feed in public can get really awkward. When Atsushi first attempted to cut himself, blood had sprayed everywhere and it apparently hurt so much the boy had tears running down his eyes.

Time sure flies by fast.

Chuuya never really noticed as time never leaves any trace on them. The life he's having now felt like it has always been with him, but when he really thought about it, Akutagawa has been with them for only fifteen years. Atsushi was even shorter as Chuuya had only found him six years ago.

And then there's Dazai...

He and Dazai have been together for two and a half centuries...

He could still remember when they first met. It was during the Dark Age when humans were hunting down supernatural beings and enslaving them. Their world was still in chaos without any laws governing them. Never mind teaming up to fight against humans, different species were still trying to dominate one another despite the war on their doorsteps. The werebeasts and vampires were the prime examples of that. Chuuya lightly touched his neck, remembering the coldness that used to wrap around there, accompanied by the jingling sound of chains every time he moves.

Then, all of his thoughts were chased away when something familiar and more comfortable than the one in his memory wrapped around his neck. Chuuya carefully rubbed the leathery surface of his choker.

This was the very first present Dazai has given him.

Icy fingers soon joined his, tracing the outline of the black choker around his neck. Their fingers occasionally brushed by each other's, causing a tingling sensation to travel down Chuuya's spine.

"Hey, Dazai," Chuuya lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear.

"Hm?"

"Thanks..." Chuuya grew a bit flustered as he stared intensely at the floor. "And sorry about before...you know, for yelling at you and running off..."

The fingers caressing his neck paused momentarily before they slid upward and gently guided the weretiger's head. Chuuya allowed himself to be turned before a pair of lips fell upon his in a sweet and loving kiss.

Before their kiss could get heated, the clattering sound of metal interrupted the moment.

The two broke apart and turned to see a blushing Atsushi with a fork lying by his feet. Akutagawa was already sitting by the table with his glass of fresh blood from the younger weretiger. While the silverette frantically pick up the fork, Akutagawa just pretended not to hear or see anything.

Chuuya snorted while Dazai chuckled in amusement.

"Come on, let's eat!" Chuuya declared, handing the warm glass of blood to his mate. He was surprised when the vampire presented a wine glass to him as well. The familiar aroma of wine flowed out from the glass as Chuuya stared at the dark liquid in surprise.

"Cheval Blanc, 1947," Dazai smirked at the way his mate's irises were blown wide.

"Where did you get this?!" Chuuya demanded. After all, he never had this wine in his collection.

"It was supposed to be for our 250th anniversary next month." Dazai let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Along with this house," he added as an afterthought. "But seeing as Chuuya and Atsushi-kun returned home safely...this calls for a celebration, no?"

"You bastard," Chuuya smiled as he snatched over the glass of wine. He swirled the beautiful fluid inside his glass as the wine's sweet aroma filled his nose. "You had something like this and you hid it from me. What are you gonna do about our anniversary now?"

"I guess I'll just have to get something even better for my dear Chuuya!" Dazai wrapped an arm around his mate as they headed to the table where their disciples were waiting.

~~~

Author's note:

I hope you have enjoyed this story! This was originally a one-shot, but I really enjoyed writing this story so I decided to work on a prequel! Stay tune for the next chapter which will focus on Dazai and Chuuya during the Dark Age when they first met!