Nocturnal Romance

Back so quickly with part two. Now, I know I said in the previous chapter that this would conclude here, but there have been more developments that I had actually planned for in order to give this more of a plot line and so the next part, "Final Scene" will hopefully conclude with all the good stuff. I am really pleased with all of the interest this seemed to generate and I thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement. I am really flattered and hope you like this next installment.

Just a note about this chapter, the traits that Byakuya is going to mention are a mix of different vampires in fiction, so don't be surprised if things look slightly familar as it is rather hard to make a vampire uniquely these days and I have been overdosing since Twilight will be released soon. Sorry if either of them seems OOC, this was the only way to do it and move the plot along. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope to hear from you soon!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters. Do not own the title of the fic, the vampire traits that look familar or if they don't probably, and anything else I can't remember right now. No money is ever made from this.


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Nocturnal Romance

Part Two: Performance

It was the same voice that made my pulse accelerate in my chest, belonging to the man I had been dreaming about these past few weeks. I could feel his unyielding and glacial body hard-pressed touching mine as his hands rested on my shoulders.

“Ishida Uryu, I will ask again, what are you doing in my territory?” His hands that had been flaccid were now rigid, squeezing my blades with an uncomfortable but not excruciating amount of force.

“Looking for you,” I smirked. The pressure released instantaneously and I found the fortifications of the alleyway revolving as Byakuya twisted me to confront him. There was that chiseled jaw I had memorized, the pallid skin, and the piercing gunmetal grey eyes. I had to mêlée the compulsion to reach out and stroke him, though the application was overwhelming me.

“Looking for me?” he repeated his eyes expansive instead of indecipherable as I remembered. His hands now rested on my forearms. He appeared to be perplexed, as if he had not understood what I had told him, like the notion of searching for him had never been mentioned. He shook himself back into our reality, looking down at me.

“Yes,” I nodded, hoping to convey my viewpoint with such an unpretentious movement. Then again, since he didn’t seem to understand that someone could perhaps want to spend time with him, it was probably unnecessary emphasis. He seemed to be a very bitter individual, regardless of the actuality that he might be a vampire.

“But you should not get involved with me,” he told me evenly, coldly. “I am too dangerous.”

“I don’t care,” I pushed. I didn’t know anything about him, if he was even a vampire and not just a practiced huntsman, but I felt as if I had known him for centuries. It wouldn’t matter to me if he was a vampire or not. There was something within him that fascinated me further than my subconscious understanding.

Those gunmetal grey eyes scanned me once again and I felt like a lab specimen under the fastidious gaze of a scientist. Byakuya didn’t appear to be appalled with me but he was hesitant as his lips twitched. His hands rested upon me as if I were a piece of atypical cut glass.

“You will continue to get in trouble in this area,” he spoke quietly. “They know who you are.” I didn’t know who they were, but my plan was to continue to look for Byakuya if tonight didn’t work out. There was no way that I could leave him alone. “They follow you around campus, the familiars.”

I had been so wrapped up in my budding mania to find him that I had been unconscious of the spying eyes and the sinister feeling of being observed. I knew what the familiars were, humans that were friends of the vampires, or at least in league with them, keeping them fully informed on human movements and possible victims.

“I can’t stay safe on my own,” I prodded, even though I had no idea until he had just informed me. I was looking for any loophole in which to jump feet first through.

“No, you cannot. Fate must have changed her course when you wandered through my alley the first time,” he sighed. “I was hoping I could keep you away from this world and not taint you with mine. Come, you must return with me then.” He sniffed the air just slightly, his faultless nostrils flaring with the movement. I realized for the first time that he wasn’t breathing. “They are lurking just beyond here.”

He kept a determined grip on my arm as he turned in the direction of the teeming streets near the school. I had the feeling though, that I wouldn’t see my dorm tonight. This would have frightened most people, it should have terrified me that I was being led away by a dodgy and mostly fabricated type of being, but instead I was actually rather tranquil. I felt protected with Byakuya and I didn’t even know him.

There was something extraordinarily consoling about the sensation of his nonchalant hand wrapped around my jacketed arm as he moved fluidly through the streets, opposite of my campus. I was envious of his graceful movements and stature, feeling inescapably human by comparison. Every now and again he would glance down at me when he thought I wasn’t looking.

I could feel that concentrated gaze from those distant eyes. He wasn’t looking down on me for being human, just curious, I suppose, that I had put myself intentionally in danger’s way tonight. I would have wondered the same thing, but I had moved past that phase of self doubt.

In fact, I had moved past that stage the night I decided to set foot in the foreboding alley that distorted my life. Acting in reckless manners was not something I engaged in on a habitual basis, but now there was something invigorating about it, the feel of adrenaline pumping through my veins as I did something I knew I should not.

I realized that the scenery had changed from the congested downtown to clean cut apartments and office buildings. I was unfamiliar with this district of the city but not uncomfortable. This was what my schooling was heading for anyway, as that was my father’s wish before I left. I had been so anxious with getting Byakuya to take me with him, that I hadn’t even bothered to observe what he had been wearing tonight.

Against the backlight of the well-lit offices and apartments, Byakuya appeared to belong to this world. He was wearing a charcoal black suit that impeccably fit his slender frame right down to the length of the cuffs. It was offset with a shirt shade slightly darker than blood, the top buttons slightly undone, enough for a teasing peek as the charcoal tie was loosened for a casual appearance.

He appeared, most likely to anyone else, as a successful business man just out for a drink. His hair was taken down from the clips it had been restrained in before to trail across and around his face in silky ebony streams. Every now and again a cool breeze would catch some of the strands and play with them, black against a twilight back ground. The cold didn’t appear to affect him as he moved along.

We were headed for one of the apartment buildings that looked more like a hotel than a place of living. He nodded at the doorman who was probably old enough to be my grandfather, dressed in a burgundy suit with matching hat as we passed into a shimmering lobby.

Warm-colored stone greeted my eager eyes, on the floor and desk. It was in such pristine condition that I could see an almost precise reflection as he led me across to the elevators. Everything was teamed with gold and burgundy for a luxuriant appearance. Even the elevator was well cared for with the lightly padded walls and dividers.

We were the only occupants as one of Byakuya’s slender fingers reached out to tap the number three button. He was silent as he let go of my arm for just a moment while the machine hummed to life under us and began the ascent. I tried not to look at our reflections in the brass hardware, knowing his did not do him justice and mine was disappointing.

I wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t come out jumbled or marred in some way and disappoint him with my human limitations. The back of my mind wondered if he had intended to save me all along, as he had told me to be safe and had made the decision quickly.

“I apologize,” he spoke suddenly as he turned his gaze me to me. I had to look up from the floor where I had been staring at my now besmirched shoes. I hadn’t felt like polishing them. My mind whirled into place as I tried to absorb what he had told me.

“What for?” I asked. What could he have possibly done that he would need to apologize to me for? He had saved my life after all.

“For getting you involved in my affairs.” He seemed really trounced by all of this and the cursory turn of events. The elevator stopped at his floor and the doors opened slowly, gliding out of the way. He grasped my hand this time as we stepped over the threshold and turned to the right.

“I don’t mind,” I spoke quietly. He turned to glance at me, but his features were inscrutable as he led me. We passed walls of a thick cream color with soft burgundy carpet and thick cream colored doors with gold lettering. If he was a vampire, then this was evidence of centuries of money to be able to afford an apartment in a place like this. It was something I had only dreamed of.

He stopped at door three nineteen, pulling a single key out of his left pocket and turning the lock. The only light came from a small lamp on a pedestal by the door, casting a diminutive glow only a foot or two past it. He ushered me past him as he locked the door back. I stood carefully in place, afraid to move on and demonstrate my clumsiness as far as moving in the dark.

“Come,” he told me as he brushed past me and started turning on more lights. It was a single roomed apartment, the bed pushed against the furthest wall, a small kitchen area, and one bathroom. It had all the feel of a hotel room.

The bed was efficiently made with a black comforter, the curtains drawn and dark enough that no light could escape through them. The walls still the original color with very few pieces of modern art that I wasn’t sure had a point or distinctive and proverbial shape within them. His kitchen looked like it had probably never been used, more evidence toward my point of him being a vampire.

His desk had a laptop and a chair, both precisely in place along with the stacks of papers and files beside them. I was a little puzzled by those additions but I was afraid to ask, just in case he didn’t offer me an explanation.

“This is where you live then,” I spoke casually. He nodded as he moved to sit on the bed. He looked hesitant of what he was supposed to be doing with me there. I was still standing closer to the doorway but took a few insecure steps anyway.

“Yes,” he nodded. “If you call it that anymore.” The question of if he was a vampire or not burned feverishly on my lips. I had to know for sure. I had waited.

“Then you are a vampire?” I found myself asking. Byakuya didn’t look at me, instead studying his hands. He appeared to be bizarrely cracked about it. His proud shoulders slumped as he leaned forward and propped up on his knees.

“Yes, I am a monster,” he confirmed softly. A monster? No, vampires had to be the most fascinating thing I had ever heard about; Creatures that were able to bend the rules of fate. I mean, murderers were monsters.

“I don’t think you’re a monster,” I told him, taking a few more steps. He didn’t look up and so I stepped forward a little more. “In fact, I find you captivating.”

“There is nothing fascinating about me,” he told me, his voice growing quieter. “I wish there had been another way to save you without getting you involved. I should have killed those two when I had the chance.”

“No, you showed mercy. That doesn’t make you a monster to me. You saved my life, doesn’t that count for something?” I asked as I sat beside him, the bed hardly moving under my frame.

He didn’t answer for me a long time. I wasn’t sure if I should say more or stop there. He had saved me twice now; that counted in leaps and bounds for me. “It counts me. I don’t care if you’re a vampire,” I pressed.

“You are not like the others of your kind are you?” he asked me, finally looking up. I was thinking that his eyes would be angry, but instead they were filled with sorrowfulness and repentance.

“No.”

“You honestly do not care what I am?” I shook my head. “It does not bother you that I was created to drink your blood.” Another shake. “That I am a sin?”

“No. I don’t believe in sins.” Byakuya seemed perplexed by me. His head cocked to the side as he seemed to be trying to read my thoughts. It didn’t frighten me that I was sitting next to something that could possibly kill me before I even knew what hit me. I guess that did make me a shade different from everyone I associated with.

“Then I guess it is okay for you. You have no choice anyway.” He hinted at something of a smile. “I am sure you have many questions.”

“Yes, since you brought me here and all. Not against my will.” I smiled.

“I have all the time in the world,” he spoke calmly. I resisted the urge to laugh. I knew it wasn’t meant to be a joke. The sorrow in his eyes told me enough. And so I began to ask. I, once again, wasn’t disappointed.

Byakuya could live forever, if blood allowed it and another vampire didn’t knock him off first. That was the only way he could die, was at another vampire’s hands. He had stopped drinking the blood of humans directly, relying on a regular and clean medical supply, or blood from a recently dead corpse.

“That is on occasion,” he said quietly. “Blood from people that are already dead is disgusting the longer they are left to rot.” His perfect nose crinkled at the memories I guessed he possessed. “And it is hard to drink since it ceases movement.” I know that should have bothered me, but it was intriguing.

He didn’t have to breathe or blink or eat. He could do all of those things should the need arise, but if he didn’t have to, then he didn’t. “You don’t have to for my sake,” I mentioned as he seemed uncomfortable with me there.

He never had a body temperature, his skin always cold and pallid. He wasn’t allergic to garlic and wooden stakes of any kind never bothered him. He was, however, not immune to sunlight. His body would have ten times the sun burn of a normal human, even the palest one on earth. He could, however, wear a special type of sunscreen to prevent it; he just didn’t go through all the trouble to spend a few hours in the daylight. Something I had to laugh at though, was he was allergic to some blood types.

“I break out if I drink B positive,” he explained. But he could go for several months without feeding, even when around humans and therefore wasn’t bothered by me. Not that I would have cared if he had to urge to drink my blood all the time anyway. He had enhanced senses and reflexes. He didn’t have the need to sleep, but kept the bed as he liked to lay on it every now and again.

“So how old are you then?” I asked. I had taken my coat off and draped it across the bed behind me. It was killing me to know.

“I never give out my real age,” he explained.

“Just an estimate then,” I pressed, relentless. Neither of us had realized the time, that the sun had come up and I should have been either asleep or in class. In fact, days of the week didn’t matter much to me then.

“Fine, then around two hundred sound fair?” I nodded. It was almost incomprehensible and I didn’t dwell on it too much as I continued with the barrage of questions.

“How do you become a vampire then?” I requested. At this he became deathly quiet. Had I pushed things too far with him then?

“Through pain and suffering,” he finally answered his eyes far away. I was afraid to press that direction anymore, but my mouth disobeyed me.

“Then how did you become one?” I figured that he wouldn’t answer me at all. His mouth drew into a fine line, his lips hard-pressed together. The silence was deafening as the minutes ticked by that he said nothing.

But then he began to speak in that velvet voice of his, “I was twenty-five when I had a fatal accident,” he explained. There was such a pause that I figured he was lost in his memories, but he continued. “I was the next head of my family’s legacy, royalty in a sense, and someone was disgruntled from a personal grudge. They tried to kill my father but I was in the way.” He looked so defeated now and I wished I was able to do something to comfort him. I was tempted to put my arms around his waist, but he continued.

“I was left for dead, there being nothing anyone could do for me. But a vampire, passing through, happened to find me in time and save me. Everyone thought I was dead anyway, and so my family ended up adopting a girl named Rukia.” The name struck a chord within me. I knew a Rukia that had similar appearances.

“Rukia, you say?” He nodded, searching my eyes. I think he must have been able to read my expression and see what I had figured out. “She is your adopted sister? Kuchiki Rukia?”

“Yes? You know her?” He didn’t give the impression of being surprised though.

“Yeah, I think so. I think she is friends with some of mine from school. Is she a vampire?”

He nodded. “I turned her, to hold the family together after my father finally died. She is the only existing member left besides me of the Kuchiki name.”

“I see. Then I suppose that fate brings us together?”

“It appears so,” he agreed. I had met his sister before him. She was a new student this semester at the University. Maybe that was why Byakuya didn’t seem so unfamiliar and the vampires weren’t as bloodcurdling as they should have been. I would have recognized that pallid skin that defined what they were now anywhere.

“Then what is with all the desk work?”

“I advise companies on financial information,” he gestured to the papers. “It is an acquired trait and I can show up anytime I please while I guard my territory.” I wanted to know why exactly I was being targeted then, from Renji and Yumi.

“So there are other vampires in the city then. Why me out of everyone else?”

“Because Renji just happens to be a determined subordinate. He would come after you until he finally got you, even through me, no matter how much respect he shows to my face. He works with another territory. The whole city is divided into these, with leaders like me and then subordinates taking some of the share too, to lessen the workload.

We keep the peace in our race and try to limit the number of humans killed by both sides. Some drink the live blood and others prefer it after it is drawn or even from alternative sources such as animals when they are available. You were just in the right place at the wrong time. There is a little battle occurring unseen to humans right now between the territories over human rights.

Most vampires are trying to wean off from live victims, but it takes time and the bloodlust rages out of control. Renji is younger than others and his isn’t well controlled right now. It is best if you stay with me, since he seems to have familiars on your trail too, keeping up with you. He might lose interest in you eventually. But if it comes down to it, then you might have to be a vampire. Not only because of the threat of Renji, but from others that he has contact with. That is only a possibility that I hope I will never have to put you through.”

“But why not just spare me now?” I asked. I wouldn’t have minded being a vampire with him. I knew it was reckless and possibly hopeless.

“I could not put you through it unless you were dying and had no other option,” he spoke calmly. “It is not something that should be taken lightly, it is immorality after all. You should sleep,” he told me as he looked at the windows, noticing the slight change in their color, indicating the light outside. It was also to end the subject matter abruptly.

But I didn’t feel tired in the least. In fact, I could have probably stayed up for days and days asking him things about his life and the different time periods he had lived through or the other vampires.

“But I am really not that tired,” I argued. After the words were out of my mouth, my eyelids began to droop and burn. Maybe I was just a little sleepy after all. A trivial nap would never hurt me I didn’t think. I hadn’t been sleeping well after all.

“I can see it. Please rest. I will still be here when you wake,” he told me gently as he pushed me into the comforter with just a finger. Before my head even made contact with the bed, I was out cold.

X

There were eyes on me, I knew it. My sleep addled mind tried to process through who they could possibly belong to before I actually opened my own to try and place them. My skin rested against a pillow that smelled faintly of hearty sakura blossoms. I knew my own pillow always smelled faintly of cologne that I had accidently spilled on it when I was moving, so that told me I wasn’t in my own room.

How long had it been since I slept a full night without trying to find more information about vampires or Byakuya? That was right; I was in Byakuya’s place.

My eyes flew open as fast as the muscles would permit as I started to scan the semi-darkened room to locate him. He had promised he would be here when I woke back up at whatever time it was now. I glanced at the red digital numbers on the clock to find it was around two am. My aching body automatically rolled out of the fetal position I always slept in as I turned to face the other wall, where his desk was.

He was sitting in his office chair, watching me closely, his mouth neutral and his eyes calm. He wasn’t upset and I wasn’t dead at least, not that I ever thought he would kill me while I slept. He rose from the chair, noiselessly, and crossed the petite spanned distance to sit on the bed beside me.

“Are you rested?” he asked. I nodded, my throat feeling dry. I had slept nearly a full day after all. Byakuya must have figured I would be, for beside the lamp on the nightstand was a crystal translucent glass of cool water. He must have moved me further on the bed for me to be resting on his pillow.

Now that I was close up to him and more level headed, I realized that he smelled like the blossoms. I inhaled him deeply without meaning to, being entranced by the scent of springtime sitting so close to me. He handed me the water as I sat up. It was just what I needed and I couldn’t prevent myself from drinking all of it in nearly a gulp. I figured I would regret that later.

“Thank you,” I nodded. He nodded as well and the room was quiet. It was rather like being with Sado. He was always quiet.

“There is food in the freezer for you, if you are hungry. I have to leave to patrol for a while. You will be fine here alone.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. I nodded. “Good. I have taken care of your excuse for school, saying that you have a family emergency and will not return for some time. Your work will be brought in.”

“Thank you Byakuya-sama,” I bowed my head. I knew that he wouldn’t let me go back to get it, but I couldn’t help but feel like a small child. My pride hurt just a little, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t adjust to.

“Please, just Byakuya,” he corrected. I was astonished, but hid it.

“Byakuya,” I corrected, avoiding eye contact. I knew if I looked at him right then, I would blush to the roots of my hair like a naïve schoolgirl.

“I will return later,” he told me as he rose gracefully from the bed and made ready to leave the apartment. Then he was out the door with all of the fluidity of a cat. I felt cold and alone, despite the fact that he was coming back. I hated to be away from him and had spent the better part of a month wishing I wasn’t.

The only thing I could do was wait then, for him to return.

X

To Be Continued...