Title: Forever Bound
Author: Phoenix
Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin. I am poor. This fic is for entertainment only.
Fandom: Rurouni Kenshin
Pairing: Many hinted at and I hit you over the head for one
Rating: R for violence, blood, and slight NC
Warnings: Blood, yaoi aka m/m slash, violence, AU, some NC stuff, evil people, and I wrote it. Can't deal? Don't read.
Archive: CkoS, WWOMB, and SXSAS. All others please ask.
Summary: Happy Halloween.
Forever Bound
by Phoenix
"Don't," Sano whimpered softly. "Please, Kenshin, don't."
The redheaded samurai merely smiled. "But we so want you with us, Sano. It'll be wonderful to be a family again."
"Family?" The young man scoffed as he took in those around him. Their red eyes glowed with hunger. "Sorry to disappoint you, Kenshin, but I'm not interested in being a snack."
Barely getting the last word out, Sano flung himself through the paper door behind him and ran across the dojo yard. Quiet snarls told him the others were following. At least they weren't after anyone except him. That made things easier. If only there was someone left he could go to; someone to help him. However, no one was left.
It all began when that strange foreigner came to town with Enishi and Soujiro in tow. The fugitives were pale and had no energy; not even putting up a fight when Saitou threw them in jail. Renard, the stranger, took his reward money, checking into the inn for a few days. He began asking people about fighters in the area. Sano saw him asking at one of the bars; the patrons were very willing to talk for some drinks. Most of the tales revolved around the Battousai as usual.
A few days afterward, Kenshin began to get pale, eventually taking to his bed and barely able to move. Megumi couldn't find anything wrong though there were two strange bug bites on his throat. She mentioned that Saitou was having the same problem with his prisoners. Neither fighter moved and slept all day. No amount of food helped. However, she hadn't found any bites on them. Perhaps it was just a flu? So saying, Megumi left. Kenshin died the next day.
Yahiko was the one to find the body. The redhead was laying on the stairs in front of the dojo. A jagged cut like one caused by a claw ran down the length of one arm but there was no blood anywhere. Especially not in his body. Megumi sliced through his skin in a dozen places and not a single drop was shed. No one had seen anything like it. Well, a few old timers had muttered about vampires. Yet Kenshin's throat hadn't been torn out and a vampire would have killed everyone, not just him.
Sano now wished he had listened to those old men. It may have appeared foolish but it might have saved the others.
Kenshin's body vanished the night after his death. The next morning, Soujiro and Enishi were found dead in their cells. Also bloodless. Megumi struggled to find an answer while Saitou stood personal guard over his dead prisoners. Cho found him unconscious and deathly pale in the police station at dawn. Strong, invincible Saitou never woke up. He and Cho died that night....of blood loss. Only no one could find any blood in the station. Nor were the officers with them ever found. Punks, gamblers, and criminals started disappearing. A single body was found floating in the river. Bloodless.
Panic began to spread through the town. What was going on? Did they have a killer capable of murdering people like Kenshin and Saitou? Enishi and Soujiro had been oddly weak so their deaths weren't very shocking. Rumors flew like crazy and the police were handicapped without the damn stick cop. Soon, minds turned to the strange visitor. Hadn't all this started when he arrived?
Aoshi showed up at the dojo with Misao and his group to help. They went to the foreigner's room and found it deserted. Mostly. The room was covered in blood and dust. Only two sets of clothing could be located. They were very different kinds of clothes, which led people to think Renard had an accomplice. Other than that, however, no sign of the man existed. With the stranger gone, the townspeople thought things would settle down. Sano felt something was still wrong. It turned out he was right.
He chose to go the dojo the same night the room was searched. Approaching the house, he heard noises coming from an alley and went to look. Sounds of battle brought him running to find an incredible sight. Enishi, Soujiro, Saitou, and Cho were all fighting Aoshi while Kenshin stood in the background watching. The dead men were glowing faintly in the moonlight, fangs and claws dripping red. Aoshi's clothes hung off him in tatters, shredded.
Sano blinked, rubbed his eyes, and even shook his head; the sight remained the same. Then the combatants noticed him. One second Kenshin was more than twenty feet away, the next he was standing right behind his young friend.
"I didn't think we would get a chance at you for another day or two, Sano." The killer purred. "But I won't turn away a gift." Kenshin should have been shorter than him. Should have had trouble speaking directly into his ear, yet this creature did not. This...thing...was not his friend.
All the brawler's instincts had screamed at him to run, to hide, however, nothing was following orders. Cold hands tilted his chin and forced his head sideways. Why couldn't he move?
"You smell nice," Kenshin was whispering. "And you feel so warm."
A soft "thunk" broke the moment as the creature masquerading as Hiruma Kenshin let out a gurgling scream. Sano turned to find one of Aoshi's blades buried in Kenshin's neck.
"Run, Sano!" The older warrior was yelling even as the dead men took advantage, seizing his limbs. "Warn the others!" Enishi had his arms, Cho was forcing his head to the side, and Soujiro sank fangs into the man's exposed neck from behind. A cry of pain echoed in the night. Saitou turned red eyes in his direction, feral hunger on his face.
That was enough. Knowing he could not hope to take on both Saitou and Kenshin, Sano ran for it. What followed was a night of dodging and hiding. Finally dawn came and the things just seemed to vanish. Like a dream they were gone leaving Sano to wonder if he were mad. Exhausted, the young fighter made his way back to the dojo. Aoshi was missing and his companions were frantic. Seeing the state Sano was in made Misao suspicious. Unfortunately, though Sano told them the truth, none believe.
Megumi claimed he probably got drunk and mugged. After a second or two the group nodded and agreed he'd had a nightmare and still wasn't sober enough to tell the difference between it and reality. Despair ate at him as the reality hit: there was nothing he could do to convince them. Where was the proof? Evidence? Aoshi had died for nothing. Feeling useless, Sano went back to his shack.
As the day grew older, Sano began to doubt what he had witnessed. Who would believe in such a thing? And what kind of monsters could his friends have been? Nothing like them existed in the old myths. But as the sun began to set, a feeling of dread filled him. Being hunted for years developed a sense in Sano so he knew when someone was after him; now the feeling grew with each passing second. Someone or something was coming for him.
By the time the last rays of the sun faded from the sky, Sano had taken refuge in the dojo. Everyone was with Megumi who feared they might have contracted whatever killed Kenshin. Sano noticed he wasn't one of those she wanted watched; he couldn't decide to be hurt or relieved. At least there was one less person who would mourn at his death. And he was certain death was coming for him. There was a kind of fitness at dying where he'd been most happy.
Fog crept across the yard as he watched it from the back porch. How he knew they would approach from this direction, he didn't know. Six shadowy figures materialized out of the writhing mass of translucent white. Red eyes raked over his body sending shivers down his spine. Sano's nerve broke and he dashed inside, slamming the door behind him. He barely reached the kitchen before hearing the wood splinter.
A hand grasped his shoulder and pushed him. Hard. Overbalanced, he fell to the floor. However, after being trained by both Kenshin and Saitou, Sano didn't stay there long enough for the monsters to do anything. Instantly he was back on his feet placing his back against the wood and paper sliding front door.
"Why are you running?" Soujiro smiled at him. The little killer was slouched against the far right wall as if he was on a social visit.
"You can't outrun us." Enishi stated, his arms wrapped around Aoshi's waist who looked torn between leaning into the embrace and fighting it.
"I did last night." Several growls met his statement and Sano cursed his inability to say the right thing at the right time.
"We were having fun with you last night, Sano." Kenshin was standing in the center of the room like an axis for the others. Saitou was missing though. "The hunt is important to us. As it will be to you."
"I won't become one of you."
"Yes you will. Look at Aoshi." Cho sneered. "Not even Saitou could stand against what we've become."
Chocolate eyes darted over the man who died saving him. Aoshi was no longer resisting Enishi; instead, he was moaning softly as the tall man and Soujiro's hands moved freely over his body. A stirring began in Sano's gut. Kenshin chuckled.
"You'll feel differently soon. Just like I did. Like we all did." Cold promised filled his former friend's eyes. Tonight would not hold escape for him. His life was at an end. Which was when Sano broke through the door and ran for it.
So much to happen in so little time. His mind snapped out of remembrance as he realized there were no sounds of pursuit. Quickly he looked back to find Kenshin sitting on the porch with a squirming Enishi laying on the stairs beside him and Aoshi pinned under Cho and Soujiro; they were ignoring him. But why?
The question was answered almost instantly as Sano ran into a wall. A wall with strong arms that seized him, spun him around, and held him gently to a strong chest holding one arm at his side and using the other arm to force his head to the side, exposing a tender neck..
"Saitou!" The youth yelped, trying to free one hand while pulling at the Saitou's hair with the other.
"We agreed you are mine, Ahou."
Cold lips brushed over Sano's skin. He tensed. A bite had to be in the near future and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Not yet, Ahou. I want you to understand first."
"Understand? You're going to turn me into a monster. What more do I need to know, you damn stick cop!"
"Not a monster." A hypnotic quality slipping into Saitou's voice. "The only monster was the man who forced this on Kenshin. He was trying to build an army of creatures like him to take over the world and have an endless supply of food and power."
"Kenshin would never help him!" Sano fought not to fall into the calm Saitou's voice weaved over him.
"You're right. The Battousai killed him and his assistant. However, he liked the idea. A world without wars. No more needless death. No more political killings."
"No more men dying like....like..." The name couldn't pass his lips.
"None. Never again."
Would it be so bad to bring such a thing about?
"Kenshin will lead us to that world. We'll gather fighters and one day change the face of every nation. All will obey our rules. No innocent shall suffer again. Don't you want that? To be with us forever? In peace?"
"Together?" Not be alone anymore? "Why me?"
"Because you're beautiful and strong. Most of all, because I want you."
"Want me?" It was so hard to think. Saitou's body felt good against his. That deep voice wasn't insulting him anymore. Somehow, there was an almost seductive tone to it now.
"Kenshin has chosen Enishi. Soujiro and Cho will play with Aoshi. Even the brat will have someone after he and that samurai child come of age. I get you."
"Yahiko?" They were going to take Yahiko as well. That was wrong. Wasn't it?
"I get you." The words echoed in Sano's mind. Saitou began nibbling on his neck and he responded by moaning, leaning into the touch. Shouldn't he be fighting? There was a reason to fight, wasn't there?
"Mine, Ahou. Say it." A small push of power hinted at what he could offer the younger man.
"Saitou," he whimpered. Something was wrong. But what? It was wonderful to have Saitou hold him. Touch him. So perfect. Could it last? That would be heaven. Having Saitou's hands on him. Doing anything the stick cop wanted.
"Say it, Ahou. Say you're mine and we will build a new world. Together with all your friends. Those who love you."
"Please." Kami how he wanted to be with everyone forever; to make a world where no more children cried.
"Then say it."
Two sharp points of pain dug into Sano's neck. He gasped softly. The discomfort, however, sent delicious shivers through his body. This was a beginning; one he wanted.
"Yours," he conceded.
Pain blossomed at his throat for a second then was replaced by incredible pleasure.
"Kami," Sano panted as he arched back digging whatever was in his neck deeper. "Oh Kami, Saitou. More."
A small part of him was aware of the growing weakness throughout his body; he didn't care. Trust in Kenshin and Saitou overrode instinct. They wouldn't betray him. Everything was going to be fine. Saitou was his now. A burst of surprising pleasure chased him into darkness.
Across the yard, Kenshin watched with satisfaction. Another would join them tonight and in a few years they would claim Yahiko and his mate. Over the next few weeks, Aoshi's people would join them. By the end of the century, no part of the world would be able to challenge him. They were indeed going to make a new world. One he dreamed of and now, with these men gathered around him, nothing could stand in his way.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!