(A.N: This is the last chapter for Search for Blood. Full Moon will be out very soon. Full Moon's summary with be at the bottom. Please read, review and enjoy.

Btw: The song/poem used in this chapter is actually written by me for this fic so you can ignore it, but it just sort of sums up the story. It's called Dear Darkness. Thank you!)

Epilogue – The Message

My eyes see clearly now
what should have been.
Through broken mirrors
and faded dreams

Syuusuke looked at Ryoma's empty room. The bed was bare and everything was empty. The tennis posters had been taken from the walls and ponta cans had gone. Not a tiny thing of Ryoma's was left.

Syuusuke sat on the windowsill, his heart turned stone cold. Ryoma said that when Syuusuke got back, they would play again. Ryoma promised he would be waiting.

Every step I take
Brings me closer to you
But every glance I make
Shows me all I can do.

The tiny footsteps and the voice of Nanako, who actually did live there, distracted left the empty room the way he came, through the window. His footsteps were small as he tried to convince himself Ryoma hadn't left. That Ryoma would come back to practice tomorrow and announce he now lived in a new house, still in Tokyo.

Like leaves in the wind
Or birds in the sky
Bring me in closer
Teach me to fly

The cold night wasn't comforting at all. He wished that he could find Ryoma. Winter had begun so it was cold out. Syuusuke could see his breath.

He put his hands in his pockets and held his breath. Ryoma couldn't have left without saying anything.

Could he?

Dear darkness
Hold me tight
Won't you protect me
From my life?

The truth hurt. Syuusuke couldn't keep on lying for too long. Of course, Ryoma had to be gone now. Syuusuke recalled that the house did actually once belong to a monk, seemingly an old friend of Ryoma's father.

Ryoma was gone. There was no message, nothing. All Ryoma had left Syuusuke was an empty heart.

Dear darkness
This is all I can do
Please make me
Stronger

Syuusuke knew the feeling all too well. When Yuuta left, Syuusuke was left with a big, open wound. With Ryoma, over time, it had begun to heal. The pain he hid went away. When Syuusuke smiled, it was real. It didn't hurt to get through another day. Life was worth living.

But Ryoma had left and the hole was bigger than before. Like his heart was missing a large part that could only be filled by him.

Dear darkness
Hold me close
Help me when
I lose control

Syuusuke had managed to get to St Rudolf rather quickly. He knew most of the campus off by heart anyway. He stepped quietly through the damp grass as he found the window he wanted to find. It was never locked.

The window slid open easily as Syuusuke climbed in. He was as silent as he could be.

"Hm? Is someone there?" a voice asked, rather tired and slightly concerned.

Syuusuke stepped out of the shadows of the curtains. "Hey, Yuuta."

Yuuta sat up and turned on his lamp. "Aniki?" he asked. "Why are you here?" Yuuta had heard the sadness in his older brother's voice. "What's wrong?"

Syuusuke looked at Yuuta. Had he become that readable?

Be my patience
Be my words
Help me reach the top of my world
Dear Darkness…

Yuuta slowly got up and went into his tiny kitchen area. "Aniki, what's wrong?" he asked as he poured himself a glass of water. He offered Syuusuke one but he declined.

Syuusuke sat next to Yuuta, the empty feeling still constricting him. He hoped Yuuta would help. "Ryoma left."

"Echizen?" Yuuta asked. "Back to America?"

Syuusuke knew that was most likely where the Echizen family would have gone. "Yeah."

"Now you're lonely," Yuuta said, making a fair assumption. "I can't bring him back, you know."

Syuusuke nodded. "Yeah, I know."

When you look at me
Tell me baby, What do you see?
Someone on top of the world
Or a tiny dreaming child?

Yuuta went to get up, but he felt Syuusuke grab his hand. "Don't…" Syuusuke's tiny voice echoed.

Yuuta smiled gently. "Sure," he said. He could see the pain in Syuusuke's eyes, in his words. The light was dim, but not dark. Yuuta comforted his brother gently.

I've tried all my life
To prove my worth
Blood, sweat and tears stain my clothes
But I still have a long way to go

Syuusuke listened to Yuuta speak about St. Rudolf. He nodded and answered where appropriate. The feeling was fading, but not gone. Definitely not gone, but better.

"Ne, Aniki," Yuuta said. "How is everyone?"

Syuusuke smiled. "Okaasan is her usual self, Yumiko is still with her boyfriend and Otousan promised me he was going to spend more time at home," he replied.

Yuuta smiled. "After I graduate from here at the end of next year, I decided I want to live at home again," Yuuta said, "What do you think?"

Syuusuke smiled. "We'd all love it."

Like leaves in the wind
Or birds in the sky
Bring me in closer
Teach me to fly

The way home had been long and rather quiet. Syuusuke understood that Yuuta need sleep. The late train ride was comforting, though. The gentle rocking movement of the train made Syuusuke calm down and relax into his seat.

A gentle waft of smoke came in Syuusuke's direction. He wasn't stupid. Someone was smoking on the train. First one eye, then the other opened.

"Long day?" a voice asked.

Syuusuke nodded. "Yeah," he replied.

The middle-aged man came and sat closer, cigarette dangling from his lip. "I like trains. I sit on 'em all day long an' I never wanna get off 'em," he mused, "what year are you?"

Syuusuke sat up. He could know smell it even more. He e didn't know why, or how, but he felt drawn in to the careless act. "Junior high, Seishun Gakuen. Third year."

"You smoke?" the middle aged man asked, noticing Syuusuke's interest. He scratched his greying, messy beard.

Dear darkness
Hold me tight
Won't you protect me
From my life?

It was in that moment, Syuusuke felt like he knew his addiction. Every time he was near smoke, like fire, he wanted to get closer, to taste it. He blamed his sense that blood would naturally be nearby something on fire, but he finally understood.

He gradually accepted the cigarette, despite his common sense shouting at him. Being calm and composed all the time was boring. Besides, it was only one. If it turned out that it wasn't his addiction, he'd stop. He'd put it out and never, ever do it again.

Dear darkness
This is all I can do
Please make me
Stronger

The next day continued like Ryoma never existed. No one asked why Ryoma was gone. Instead, the attention was on Syuusuke who had turned up to practice late.

Tezuka set Syuusuke with twenty laps and to assist the first years with drills again. Syuusuke just smiled his fake smile like he used to and agreed. Eiji watched with a dull smile on his face.

Syuusuke finished his laps and assisted the first years. A few struggled with form and Syuusuke corrected it like a good teacher. He moved the wrist and arm of one, showing him proper movement. As he let go, the first year swang back and hit him just beside his lip.

Dear darkness
Hold me close
Help me when
I lose control

Syuusuke held his cheek just a little. The regulars had all stoped at the smell of blood, some naturally more than others. Kaidoh and Tezuka seemed the most composed, followed by Inui and Taka. Oishi naturally worried and Eiji's smile disappeared. Momo just turned away and held his lips, blocking his nose as well as he could without being noticed.

"Be careful," Syuusuke corrected. The blood didn't seem to bother him.

The others didn't know if they should have been relieved or worried. Surely, if not now, Syuusuke would lust for blood soon.

Be my patience
Be my words
Help me reach the top of my world
Dear Darkness

The whole day continued like that until Syuusuke found him speaking to the man on the train again. Like before, the man was smoking.

"You're a vampire, right?" the man suddenly asked. "I won't be afraid if you say yes."

"I am," Syuusuke replied quietly. "How did you-?"

The man looked reminiscent. "There's a certain aura 'round you vampires most people don't notice. But I do," he said. "When I was young, I dated a beautiful vampire. I didn't know she was a vampire at the time. We were engaged after three years together and I had told her how I wanted two sons and a young, beautiful daughter, just like her. She smiled and wanted that too. She told me she would give up everything to live with me forever.

"The few weeks before our wedding, she told me she was a vampire. She wanted to be human more than anything in the world, she wanted a family but she was scared something would happen to our children.

"I left because she had lied to me and didn't speak to her for over ten years. When I called her to apologise, I was told that she had died when I left. That she had barely lasted a week until her mother's genetic disease had passed on to her and she had died."

Look at me now
I'm so tired I can barely breathe
You'd never guess that this was
only part of my dreams

Syuusuke looked at his hands. "I'm sorry."

The man smiled. "I take this train every day because twenty two years ago, I saw her on this train. She was as beautiful as when I met her, hadn't aged a day. Her smile had gone but she was still beautiful."

Syuusuke smiled. "Oh," he said. "Did you speak to her?"

"What could I say? I left her and I thought she had died. My angel had returned to me, but she didn't deserve someone as bad as me," he finished, "it's better now she's free." He looked at Syuusuke. "What happened to you?"

Syuusuke sighed, but had a slight smile on his face at the thoughts. "The person I love left the country without saying goodbye."

I'm going now
To chase down my world
But I still need you, I still love you
So wait for me, Baby.

The man smiled. "What luck, huh? You're still young. You'll find your true love one day," he insisted. "So, what happened?"

"They came from America for a year," Syuusuke began. "At first, they seemed like an arrogant, cocky brat, but somehow, I grew accustomed to being around them. I made them a vampire. There were struggles, but I still loved them.

"I had to go away for a week, last week. When I came back, they were already gone, not a single goodbye."

The man nodded. "Fate works in strange ways. But have hope. You may meet up again."

Syuusuke nodded. "Thank you."

Dear darkness
Hold me tight
Won't you protect me
From my life?

Tiny footsteps echoed in the hall as Syuusuke walked into his own home. He could hear the laughter of his parents, Yumiko and Kiyoshi.

He went upstairs and unpacked his bag. He hid his tiny salvation and placed is picture of Ryoma on the wall. He stuck pictures around it of the old Seigaku team, his primary school team with Saeki, his family, including Yuuta on his own and his rival teams. The pictures covered the wall in the shape of the Japanese kanji, 'ki' meaning 'hope'.
Dear Darkness
This is all I can do
Please make me
Stronger

With trembling fingers, he photographed his creation. The tiny screen only saw the character but once Syuusuke put it on his computer, it was as clear as glass. Syuusuke, not caring for his walls, took out a black marker and a Stanley knife. He fixed the edges and lined the outside with black marker.
Dear darkness
Hold me close
Help me when
I lose control

Yumiko stepped in her brother's room and smiled. Syuusuke laid asleep on his bed, the large kanji artwork above him. Yumiko smiled. "'kaasan, 'tousan! Come quick," she whispered.

Yoshiko smiled as she looked at Syuusuke's wall. Tadashi wrapped his arms around his wife. "Hope, huh? That's quite appropriate," Tadashi smiled, "Setsuko will love it. I know it."

Yoshiko nodded. "Just like his father, don't you say? I remember you covering your walls at work with pictures."

Tadashi nodded. "But not like this. This is art. This is irreplaceable."

Yumiko smiled triumphantly. "I told you he's going to be an artist!"
Be my patience
Be my words
Help me reach
the top of my world

The night grew dim and soon it was twilight, between dawn and day. The birds sang quietly as Syuusuke got up. He looked at his bedside table to see one last picture. There was a not on his bedside table and a picture of three boys when they were little, Seiichi, Atobe and himself.

He read the note aloud. "Syuusuke, even if where you come from tells you otherwise, break the chain. Because they were once and still are your friends. 'tousan."

Syuusuke found the perfect place and stuck it on his wall. It only covered Mizuki. Syuusuke still held a grudge. Mizuki would have to live with it.

Dear darkness
Hold me tight
Won't you protect me
From my life?

Ryoma sat in his grandmother's kitchen. She was cooking, as per usual, and making her latest herbal medication for some unknown reason. Probably because Ryoma was holding his head and looked half dead. She was humming a little tune that sounded older than her grandparents.

"Did you like it in Japan?" she asked. She continued to crush her herbs with her mortar and pestle.

"It was… fun," Ryoma said and his grandmother smiled.
Dear Darkness
This is all I can do
Please make me
Stronger

"A lot changed over the year," his grandmother smiled. "You're taller, stronger and a vampire."

Ryoma was surprised to say the least. "You… can tell?"

"It's easy. I'm making this recipe in particular for a reason, Ryoma. It doesn't taste like blood, but it satisfies. I can already see it's helping you and you haven't even started."

Ryoma nodded. "Oh, okay then."

His grandmother placed the brown mixture in front of Ryoma. It looked a little like chocolate. "Eat up. It's good for you," she smiled, "you want to get big and strong, right?"
Dear darkness
Hold me close
Help me when
I lose control

His grandmother opened the door. "Oh, it's you. You're not getting my recipies. Forget it," she growled. "Go away."

"I'm sorry, we can't do that. We have orders," a male voice replied.

She sighed. "If you'd please excuse me, my grandson is here. If you would please leave."

A female voice replied, "well, your damn, fucking lucky. We really wish you'd just fucking hand us that shitty recipe Lachlan is raving about so we don't have to fucking kill you."

Ryoma's grandmother shook her head. "I can't do that. Sorry, good bye."
Be my patience
Be my words
Help me reach
the top of my world

Ryoma sat in his bedroom, curled up in the darkest corner. He secretly wanted Syuusuke to turn up at his window again. But he knew Syuusuke wouldn't. It was impossible.

He held the music to his ears, the words like his own life written on paper. The darkness comforted him and hand always helped him achieve his dreams. It showed him everything he had.

He gently hummed the final words, avoiding the lonely tears in his eyes.

Dear darkness

(Sequel – Full Moon.

Five years had been a long time. Can the regulars save Ryoma from darkness? Very Twisted. Lots of language.

Thank you so much for reading Search for blood. Please review and read Full Moon when it comes out in the next few days.

Asami-chan

Finished: 10:47pm, March 2nd 2009.