Cruentus

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I need to stop being obsessed by Bleach while reading other manga ...
This time it was "Vampire knight."

Thank Hyou-kun for Beta-reading this and pointing out some (big) mistakes (n.n);;

Ichigo's family has been killed by vampires, he was bitten and left to die - but he survived and things/life start to change.

It's an AU fic (Alternative Universe) so no shinigami, onlynormal humans and Vampires xD

Warnings: OOC (if that counts as a warning)

I do not own BLEACH; Kubo-sensei does.
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For those wondering if I stopped with writing multi-chapter fic's the answer is; No - I just want to finish the fic's first.
That way I can make sure everything fit's and you (the readers) won't have to wait when I get trapped in a WritersBlock or other problems.

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Blood... Everywhere...

"Mommy? Daddy?" Their lifeless bodies lay on the ground a few meters away from the orange haired boy, currently two years of age. His family had been brutally slaughtered before his innocent, gentle, brown eyes.

The man who caused the slaughter walked closer towards the boy; his white clothes swaying in the wind; the blood stains all too visible against the almost pure white. His eyes, those eerie yellow eyes, didn't betray a thing that went on in his mind. Coming to a halt in front of the boy, he picked up the traumatized kid and sunk his fangs into the aorta in the neck – feeding on his blood. The boy was terrified and dying painfully slow.

Done draining most of the kid's life, he threw him back on the ground, against his mothers body. "If you mange to survive, I'll come for you –"

Looking up with half dead eyes the youngest one stared at the man's bloody mouth with all his might before allowing himself to be swallowed by the darkness.

-- -- -- --

A month after that fateful, crimson night; the orange haired boy woke up in a white clean bed. He had survived – he had been found by an old man by the name of Yamamoto, owner of the Seireitei orphanage. Ichigo , as the boy had been named by his biological parents, was barely alive when he arrived at the orphanage with the old man; it had taken doctors a long time to heal his physical wounds. He had to stay in and around his bed for almost a year before he could go out and play with the others. During his rehabilitation others came to visit, but he didn't react to them.

He didn't try to play with the other kids after he was fully healed, he just watched them play and didn't talk to them. It's not that he didn't know how to talk or communicate, he just didn't want any friends – friends that could be slaughtered like his parents were. Cringing inwardly at the memories, he wandered back inside the main building, to the library. It was the place where he was found most of the time; he had been taught how to read by the older people working at the orphanage. In his free time he was either reading or training his body. He'd taken an interest towards karate and vampires, since he was sure the people who killed his family were.

At first the other orphans approached him, wanting become friends to replace their own lost family. However, after a few months they gave up; any newcomers were told about the 'Ice Berry' and that it was best to avoid him. It wasn't until after almost three years that Ichigo met with some 'resistance'.

A red haired kid around his age was brought in after he had lived on the streets most of his life. He hated to see people like Ichigo, sitting alone, not wanting anything to do with people. A week after the arrival of the red head Ichigo noticed that he made friends with almost everyone – he didn't really care either, so he went back to reading as he leaned against the tree trunk in the shadows.

The red walked towards the seemingly lonely kid who just looked at him, saying nothing. "My name is Renji, come and play with us." He held out his hand. The orange haired one didn't speak he just continued reading. "Say something – Berry brain!" It was best insult he could come up with right now.

"You're blocking my light pineapple," it wasn't often that he spoke, if he did the words never seemed to be nice or kind. What he didn't expect was the fist hitting his cheek. Glaring back he could see that it was the new kid who hit him. "Why did you hit me?"

"You unfriendly-" Renji got ready for another punch but this was blocked by Ichigo, who was now trying out a new karate moves he just read. "Huh?" Before he knew it he was on the ground, on his back and a fist connected with his nose. It started bleeding.

Ichigo's eyes widened as the iron smell of blood reached his nose. He got off of the red, grabbed his book and ran back inside. He was scared of how delicious that red liquid smelled – never before did he smell something that sent his mind reeling like that. Arriving in his single room he sat down on his bed, knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. He closed his eyes as tightly as he could. 'I'm not not a vampire... I'm not a vampire...' the boy kept repeating that sentence over and over again in his head like a mantra.

Not long after, the red walked into his room, a tissue in his nose to stop the bleeding, his eyes turned sad as he saw the boy quietly rocking back and forth on his bed, completely in his own world, away from this reality. Walking closer he placed one of his hands on Ichigo's knee who's teary and shocked chocolate brown eyes seemed to bore through his soul when his head snapped up. "Ichigo," he heard the name from the other orphans. "I'm sorry... So please stop acting like this – it's scaring me."

Ichigo didn't move – why had this kid come back, everyone just ignored him, why? He didn't understand. When the red turned around to leave, Ichigo grabbed the sleeve of his Renji's jacket. "Please," He didn't know why he was acting like this, "Please be my friend until that man comes back for me.." the walls around his emotions slowly crumbling, "Until he come back to kill me too." He was crying; scared, uncertain, confused and a mix of even more emotions.

For the longest time Renji just sat there, allowing Ichigo to cry on his shoulder, 'The ice has broken... But is it really a good thing?' But who was 'that man' – and why would he kill this broken boy.

After the incident Ichigo would only talk to Renji about the daily things; what they would do today or the weather. When the orange haired one went to the library to read the red would play with the others who kept asking him why he tried so hard for the Ice Berry. He just responded that he wanted to do that.

Renji was someone who grew up on the street and never knew his parents – he joined the local gang to make sure he would have (some) food, a roof above his head and people he could call family. But one day the police came and cleaned out their hideout – the grown-ups were sent to jail and the little red head was brought to the Seireitei orphanage.

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The years seemed to fly by as orphans came and left the orphanage – taken home by loving families. Ichigo wasn't chosen because of his 'attitude problem', neither was Renji, who after their first meeting couldn't allow himself to leave the berry's side.

The two of them sat on the roof as much as they could, watching the sunset or the moon if they managed to sneak out. Not once did they ask each other about their past – it was a sensitive subject after all.

Even after all those years Ichigo never responded (much) to anyone beside the red. He'd told them he was afraid of blood. If he told them it made his mind go out the window they would drag him off to the isolation room and call him insane.

-- -- -- --

Bathing in cold sweat, the now sixteen year old teen sat straight up in his bed, touching the invisible puncture holes that that man made that night. 'Still that dream... he'll find me... he'll kill me...' The night his family was killed had haunted in his dreams yet again. Looking to the side he could see his red haired roommate sleeping soundly.

Getting out of bed he headed to the shower in silence, wanting to get rid of the stench sweat. Under the shower he looked at his own body, tall and lean. Ribcage visible through the skin that was paler than it should be, he touched his neck again, wondering if he really had become a vampire that feeds on the blood of others. Pushing the thought aside he realized that direct sunlight burnt his skin faster then anyone else's. The teachers had said he was just overly sensitive and should stay in the shade.

Being even more depressed he headed towards the cafeteria and got some food, it was 7:30am – time for breakfast. Getting a cup of soup and some plain rice he walked past a group of girls towards his single table in the corner of the room. He quickly covered his nose as he smelled blood. He stopped and turned towards the group of girls. "Rukia, your period started. You smell like dead blood." Ichigo continued his way towards the table and sat down, poking his food with chopsticks – he wasn't hungry, even less after the stench of that bossy little girl.

"What would a loner like you know about girls and their private problems." Rukia and her usual group surrounded his table and stared at him, their arms crossed. "Well?"

"Never mind what I said – you smell lovely as always." He replied with sarcasm. Why did girls have to stink like this and be so damn arrogant. This was more trouble then he bargained for.

The little blond girl didn't like the tone of the others voice and kicked out her slipper and hit Ichigo with it as hard as she could. "Don't meddle in our lives – murderer." Her grin grew as Ichigo's eyes widened in horror. "I know..." Hate and evil intentions clear in her voice. "You were found by the old man, next to your dead parents, everything was covered in blood."

Ichigo was terrified as his past was laid bare for the world to know – he'd asked the grown-ups to keep it a secret how he was found. "H..How.." he stuttered while looking at the grinning blond. "No..." He covered his ears with his hands as he closed his eyes, trying to ignore the talk – unfortunately for him everyone went quiet as she started talking about the 'mysterious' past of the 'Ice Berry'.

"You were the only survivor – completely unharmed, a bloody kitchen knife in your hands. You were just two years old." Hiyori heard the beginning of the story while eavesdropping on the teachers, the ending she made up. She closed her eyes in confidence that she hurt the teens feelings. What she didn't expect was the table being 'thrown' at her or the feet that connected with her stomach.

Looking at the origin she could see the orange haired teen grinning broadly as he withdrew his leg for another kick. She was hypnotized by his eerie yellow eyes that didn't let her go.

"Ichigo!" Renji had come running at the sound of the commotion only to see his friend kick a (now defenseless) girl senseless. "Stop this," but the enraged teen didn't hear him he started smashing her face with his fist and several teachers hurried to the one sided fight and stepped in, restraining the attacker. Hiyori was brought to the infirmary to get her wounds treated by Unohana. The rest of their group followed closely.

Ichigo on the other hand regained his senses, he snapped and attacked her in a fit of blind fury. He managed to get himself freed from the teachers grasp and ran away.

Renji found him on the roof, staring at the horizon – skipping class. "What happened?" He'd heard from the others already but he wanted to hear it from his friend.

"Do you believe her?" Ichigo's voice was emotionless – just like the first time they spoke to each other. He refused to turn around and look at the red, afraid to be hated because of a rumor.

"I don't believe you are capable of that."

Inwardly Ichigo sighed. "It wasn't all lies what she said," he turned around and stopped when he passed the red who wondered why he kept his eyes closed. "My parents were killed, the room was covered in blood – but it wasn't me who did it."

Renji swallowed, not liking where this conversation was going – not turning around.

"It were vampires." and the orange teen left the roof without another word, back to his room he licked the partly dried blood from his bony hands.

Renji just stood there, uncertain if he should believe his friends story. Vampires were fictional monsters, no way they could be real... but why would he lie? 'He probably saw his parents get killed – that's worse then not knowing who they are... He got loved and that was brutally taken from him. I can't understand that feeling some call 'family', not if I never knew them.' He wandered back to the garden – to sort out what Ichigo had said.

Ichigo was in his room the rest of the day, not coming out for class or dinner – he wasn't hungry, he was scared. Scared of himself, of what he was becoming. Each time he looked in the mirror he saw that his own eyes were bright yellow instead of brown. But what scared him more was the fact that he couldn't see some parts of himself – like they were erased, but when touching the 'missing' parts he found that they were still attached. His stomach gave a silent growl and he decided to go downstairs – for some food.

Arriving in the cafeteria it went silent, quiet whispers about his attack had spread like wildfire. A usually quiet person goes berserk – now they knew the reason, or so they thought. Keeping his eyes half closed he got a plate, filled it with a cup of plain rice before going back to his room.

"Kurosaki," Ichigo turned around to see Yamamoto himself standing there, calling him back. "You know the rules about eating outside the cafeteria." the teen looked away and started mumbling something about not feeling well and preferred his quiet room.

To Ichigo's surprise Renji came over to the talking duo. "He's been feeling sick for a while now, can't he eat it in our room just once? It's just plain rice."

"Is there some connection to the incident earlier..." Ichigo didn't hear the old man speak, or Renji pleading to have him eat in his room, the world lost it's color before becoming black. He fainted and landed on the stone floor – unconscious.

Renji turned around shocked and lifted Ichigo – which was easier then expected, he weighed little to nothing. 'You really should eat more,' Now that he thought about it – when did Ichigo eat? All he ever saw him do was poke his food, he never ate it.

Putting his friend down on one of the spare beds in the infirmary he waited for the head nurse, Unohana, who came quickly enough and looked at his pupil reflexes with a small - bright - light. She dropped the light with a loud clatter to the floor when she noticed the color of his iris. "Abarai-san.." she asked with a slightly shaking voice. "What is Kurosaki-kun's eye color?"

Renji thought a bit – he never payed attention to that sort of thing, thought it was for girls. "Brown, why?"

"Do you know if he wears colored lenses?"

"His eyes are fine so..." something was off, "Whats wrong!?" he sounded slightly panicked. As he came over to the two others, looking scared. He nearly screamed in surprise when she opened one of his eyes, they were eerie yellow – not the gentle chocolate brown from before. "Wha... That color... It's impossible... Right?"

"It should be – yet here it is."

Groaning Ichigo sat up and oped his eyes, looking to see where he was. "Why am I in the infirmary?"

"You fainted in the cafeteria and I brought you here," Renji came walking closer, wanting answers. "That aside, when is the last time you had a proper meal to eat?" he sounded angry and accusing – he didn't want to, he was worried.

Ichigo froze on his seat as that question was asked, he hadn't 'eaten' in over 5 years – since the symptoms first appeared. Loss of taste and the sensation of eating or drinking sand. Every few days he found himself outside in a dark ally with a dead and bloody stray pet in his hands, his mouth bloody and his hunger somewhat satisfied. He'd been far too scared to tell anyone – even Renji. "What do you mean Ren?" he laughed nervously in the hope they would drop the subject. They didn't.

Renji was the first to move by pressing the skinny teen against the nearest wall. "Don't lie!" He yelled and Unohana rushed in to stop the pissed-off red head, but without any luck. "You haven't been eating at all for as long as I can remember, then what have you been eating?"

"I'm just not hungry," He simply said in a voice robbed of any emotion. 'If I tell him the truth he won't believe me, and leave me alone. I don't want to be alone anymore...' He started to panic when a strong fist connected with his right cheek, splitting open his lip. Licking the blood away he felt the effects on his body, 'Oh no...' Punching the red back turned out to be grave mistake – he broke Renji's nose with strength he didn't know he had. The red liquid flowed freely from the nose and the scent reached his own.

Renji let go to cover his nose in a reflex. He looked up and saw Ichigo's eyes get hazy and lose focus before said orange haired teen ran out of the infirmary, taking a sharp knife with him. Unohana had been reorganizing them when the two guys came inside. Not knowing what Ichigo was going to do he decided to follow, he dully noted that it was already dark outside already.

Already on the roof Ichigo sliced his own wrist and drunk the blood that flowed from the wound. He was desperate, knowing what he was and wanting to stay – for Renji. But after what had happened he wasn't sure if that was a good idea to stay here any longer.

"Ain't that a sad excuse for a Nosferatu (1)," Ichigo's head snapped up at the foreign voice and came face to face with a teal haired man in white clothes, his eyes widened as he saw that the unknown appeared to be floating in mid-air. "You're not a complete one yet," the man's grin grew as he walked down towards the scared boy on the roof. "You've been bitten by a pureblood a long time ago," he pulled Ichigo standing with unseen hands, like magic. "So now you're searching for blood – too bad that..."

Renji arrived on the roof and saw the foreign man on the roof, holding his friend, what looked like, in a strangling grip his left wrist bleeding. Running closer to save his friend Ichigo smelled that scent again – this time his mind went blank. The man in white stopped the red and paralyzed his movements. With his eerie yellow eyes that man seemed to look right through Renji to the only other person on the roof. Baring his fangs the man moved closer to his neck and got ready to sink his teeth in the flesh, until he was thrown away by the orange haired teen, allowing Renji to move again. Grabbing Ichigo's shoulders he looked at his friend. "Thanks Ichi that guy wanted to-" then he noted the blank yellow eyes. "Ichi...?"

"...drinking your own blood increases the hunger and need to feed." Seeing he wouldn't get a drop of blood the teal haired man in white left. He'd have an interesting tale to tell his master upon his (somewhat) early return.

Baring his own sharp 'fangs' Ichigo leaned forward and sunk his teeth in the red's neck instead – feeding himself on the blood he wanted to taste for so long, "Ichi.. go.." Renji was losing a lot of blood to his seemingly hungry friend – currently attached to his neck, drinking his life away. His knees gave out as blood left his body – he couldn't even move a muscle. He thought he was about to die and heard the sea. It took him a while to realize he was listing to the sound of his own blood coursing through his body. Somewhere in his mind the sounds were relaxing his soul.

Ichigo was beside himself with pleasure. This is what he wanted from the first time he smelled Renji's blood, he could hear the blood surging though the veins of his own body and that of the red. The sweet sensation of the crimson liquid running over his tongue, down his throat before it filled his body with the life it had lost over the years.

Withdrawing his teeth he licked the wound clean and stared at the red, how he collapsed on the stone tiles. Ichigo just stood there, staring into nothingness, licking his lips subconsciously, avoiding his new, longer canines. His mouth, inside and around it, was covered in blood, he was high – in his own little world. Nothing that happened could get him away from that place, not even the teachers that yelled at him, restrained him in a straight-jacket as they took him to the solitary, soundproof room.

Renji was being taken to a bigger hospital where he got a blood-transfusion to replace his lost blood. What amazed even the doctors that there wasn't any place where the blood could have left the body – or where it could be; the roof had no traces of blood and if there were drops they were Ichigo's from when he sliced his own wrist. The puncture holes in his neck were gone, and no other visible wounds. A mystery indeed.

The next morning all kinds of rumors were spread across the orphanage, they emerged during the night when the police and ambulance arrived and took someone with them. The solitary room was used, it was room that was never used as long as they could remember. During break they tried to see who it was, but guessing was easier. Both Ichigo and Renji were missing, and Ichigo had a reputation to snap lately.

-- -- -- --

After a week Renji was released from the hospital where he had been questioned about the incident, he told them he went to the roof and was knocked out soon after; all he saw was a flash of teal and white. Back at the orphanage he received the same kind of questions and if Ichigo was the who who hurt him – he just gave them the same answer and went to his room hoping to find his friend. Not in their room, then the library, not there either. After all his searching it was starting to get dark outside.

Getting worried he decided to ask the first person he saw, "Hey! Shuuhei!" The other stopped, his hair short, black and spiky. "Have you seen Ichigo?"

"That freak has been in solitary since he attacked you – why do you care?"

Not intending to give the black haired one his answer he turned around and ran in the direction of the solitary room next to Yamamoto's office. He stopped when he saw the headmaster and a teacher standing beside the door and hid around the corner – observing them.

"Get out here you freak!" the short female teacher, SoiFon, yelled and Ichigo came walking out of the cell, blindfolded with a dirty white rag covering his eyes, and a leather contraption around his nose and mouth with a small hole for breathing(2).

'What the hell are they doing to him?!' Renji yelled inside his head, not wanting to be discovered.

The straight jacket was taken off and SoiFon readied the whip she had been holding, "Tell us what you are – and don't give us that vampire story again. Those monsters don't exist!"

"I was bitten by a vampire..." his breathing was heavier then normal, he needed to feed. "The night my parents were killed..." The leather whip came down hard on his back, the sound of the leather object and a pain filled cry echoed through the hall. It made Renji want to run at them and tell them to stop. His body refused his mind, still remembering what happened with that strange man in white. He touched his neck and knew he was scared of his friend – without wanting to be.

"Stop lying!" the whip lashed out over the teens back again – biting back another scream.

"I'm not!" he yelled again but was quickly silenced when the whip came down hard on his back a third time, a horizontal red line appearing on his white shirt where the impact had been. Hissing at the stinging pain he let himself fall to the ground – feigning unconsciousness. It wasn't like they could see it in his eyes anyway.

"Take him back to his room." Yamamoto said almost whispering, "If he's missing any longer from class they might start to suspect something – it's better to avoid it," nodding she dragged the boy up on his unruly orange hair and forcefully pulled of his blindfold. The old man stepped closer and untied the mouthpiece.

Ichigo still played unconscious, but it became harder by the second, it felt like his hair was being torn out of his head. Agonizingly slow. With her free hand she slapped him until he 'woke up'. "Stand up," her voice was like venom when she spoke to him. "I'll follow you to your room – stay there for the rest of the day," they started walking in silence. The teen kept his mouth and eyes closed as he walked.

When Yamamoto spoke about sending Ichigo back to his room Renji took it as a sign to leave as fast as he could – away from them. He decided to hide in the boys bathroom on the way back to his room. When the two pairs of footsteps passed he held his breath as if they would hear him otherwise. As one pair of light footsteps passed the boy's bathroom in the opposite direction he dared to come back outside.

As fast and quietly as Renji possibly could he hurried back to his room wanting to know what had happened. Upon entering the room quietly he saw Ichigo changing his clothes. His back was covered in red lines, one of them still bled a bit. Looking better he could see most of the bones through the pale skin and some old and various new linear scars across his forearms. 'What the hell has he been doing while I wasn't looking? How long as he been suffering..?' "Ichi.."

Turning around to face the owner of the voice, he saw the red standing against the door, looking guilty for some reason – he didn't notice or care as he almost ran at his friend pulling him close. He started crying, "They told me you were dead – that I killed you."

"As you can see I'm alright – so stop crying." Subconsciously he pushed the orange one away from his neck and back to his bed. "What have you done to yourself?" His voice was filled with worry. "Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Ichigo looked away, uncomfortable. "When I first came here I didn't want to make friends, afraid they might be killed like my parents were." then he noticed Renji staring at his ribs and the scars on his arms. He pulled on a wide fitting long sleeved shirt. It was slim fitting at first, but after he lost weight due to eating nothing, it became like this.

"After you came to this place, you approached me and even hit me," he chuckled at the thought. "You gave me a reason to stay alive..." His expression turned sad. "Even after..." he trailed off.

"After what?" He decided to ask a dared question, "Vampires... do they really exist?" Ichigo looked at him – his yellow eyes widened in shock. "I heard you before you came here..." he trailed off, not wanting to add that part.

"I know they do – they were the ones that killed my parents," he was still angry at them. "That guy killed them, and nearly killed me," his hand traveled to the right side of his neck, "He said that if I survive he'll come for me..." Ichigo curled into a fetal position before lying back onto his bed, sniffling softly. "He bit me – and now I've become just like them... A fucking bloodsucker!"

Renji cut his finger on purpose and walked closer to his friend, he was scared but the other needed help. "You need this right?" holding his bleeding finger close to Ichigo – who's eyes seemed to lose focus fast.

"Don't do this... Ren... ji..." Ichigo fought to keep his sanity intact, "I'm.. not worth it..."

"Bullshit! Look at how you've suffered – let me help you, as a friend."

"I might kill you!"

"I'll hit you before you can!" he said full of confidence in his own abilities. The orange teen stared at him through hungry and teary yellow eyes. Renji reached into his school backpack and pulled out his scissors before slicing his own arm along the length. "I'll be here for you – I'll be your food for as long I need to. Promise."

Ichigo wasn't sure what to think about the whole situation. "I'm sorry for making you do this..." he leaned forward and licked the blood from Renji's arm. He lost himself just like before when the liquid made it's way through his mouth and throat before it filled his body with new life – his hunger diminishing.

Lost in a trance his tongue made its way over the arm, removing the blood. Opening his mouth he bared his sharp fangs, ready to take a bite in that delicious arm filled with the substance that made his mind reel and forget everything around him. He needed more and he wanted it now.

Renji saw the fangs and knew what was about to happen and hit Ichigo square in the jaw. Hissing Ichigo bared his teeth and narrowed his eyes like a threatened dog at the red who simply hit him again, harder this time.

"That hurt!" Ichigo said as he held his hands over the place the red just hit him. "I... I'm so sorry about all of this.." Sinking to his knees he started crying again. "I should just leave this place.. or-"

"Don't!" Renji interrupted, "As long as you can drink my blood it's okay, right?"

"I can't.. It's not right.." He collapsed on the floor, asleep and a content look on his features. All this was just too much. Sleeping in that room scared him – those almost pure padded white walls reminded him too much of that man, the man who bit him and his white clothes soaked with the blood of his parents.

"Please don't leave me Ichi..." getting curious about something he poked his sleeping friend with a finger. He got no response so he inched closer and stared at the canines that were longer then normal, swallowing he got even closer and moved the others lips to get a better view – still wondering if they were real. It all still seemed so surreal. 'They certainly look real.. And felt real as well..' Remembering the strange man on the roof and those teeth sinking into his own neck.

For some reason Renji couldn't fall asleep, and kept staring at his roommate, wondering what he should do next time Ichigo got hungry or violent. Looking at the clock he saw that it was past midnight already and the only light came from the full moon. 'Guess I should be happy he's not a werewolf,' Renji joked inside his head.

-- -- -- --

Morning arrived and Renji didn't sleep at all, the bags under his eyes were proof of that. When Ichigo woke up his friend was nowhere to be seen. Grabbing a change of clothes he went to the showers to clean up and brush his teeth. Back in his room he saw that Renji's bag was already gone, taking his own bag he headed for the library on the orphanage grounds. "Renji?" he said surprised when he saw the other sitting on a table filled with books.

"I want to help you, so I'm gonna see if there is anything we can use in these books." He was optimistic about their chances of finding something useful.

"Thanks Ren, but I've already been through all these books," his voice was downcast just as his way of standing, walking deeper into the library Ichigo picked a few new books and took them with him to the table farthest from the daylight. It wasn't lethal, but it stung like a bitch and burnt his skin after a while.

Sighing Renji started to put back the books on the shelves or he would get scolded by the short white haired teacher who kept this place tidy. Not that he had been here before.

Some other people entered the library but froze when they saw the orange haired one. Some whispers and scared glances were aimed at the teen before they left the library again.

"Ignore them," Ichigo said before Renji could follow. "It's always like this, just worse since Hiyori blabbed during lunch and I.." He trailed off. "Come here and help me search these new books." The red nodded and sat down next to the other and grabbed a random book.

After about four hours of searching Ichigo said he'd be back in a while – but he never came back. Wondering what the other did to himself this time he put back the books before leaving; he didn't want any trouble. Questioning other students confirmed what he thought – they were afraid if Ichigo, his unpredictable behavior and power when he snapped. Some even noticed the change in eye color, it seemed Ichigo kept his 'new' teeth hidden well enough. Roaming through the building he was called to the cafeteria for dinner, he kept a look out for an orange head of hair, no luck.

Continuing his search he saw the door to solitary confinement was slightly ajar, peeking inside he saw something that made his heart stop for a second. Evil bright yellow eyes that shone with the intent to kill anyone who dared to come closer. Gathering up all his courage he walked inside the dark room towards those piercing eyes. "Ichi.."

"Stay away Renji." Ichigo only spoke the red's whole name when he was pissed about something, "As long as I stay here everyone is safe."

"We can find a way!"

"For what reason?" A single tear rolled down his left cheek, "Everyone in this world hates or fears me." he spoke emotionless – just like so many times before.

"That's not true!"

"I'm a monster that needs to kill others. I almost killed you – the only person I care about in this rotten world!"

"Ichi..."

"Just leave!" he screamed at the other, baring his teeth and glaring at the other, who was obviously scared and ran away. 'I'm sorry – but I'm afraid I'll hurt you... Or worse..' Turning off the light he lay down on the ground, wanting time to pass as fast as it possibly could.

-- -- -- --

After a few hours Renji finally calmed down and went back to the solitary room where Ichigo stayed – and refused to leave. "Ichi..?" the red asked carefully as he entered the room – only to be pushed aside by the one he was searching for. 'What the? First he doesn't want to leave now he's like a...!' Feeling something was wrong Renji decided to follow the other – just in case he decided to snack on one of the other orphans. Not that many would walk around at this time of night.

Following his friend from a 'safe' distance he was led to the roof – Ichigo's favorite place of this building. He always said that the moon looked beautiful from a high place. Arriving on the roof itself Renji could see two people dressed in white. One was the same as last time; the one with the teal hair. The other was one he never saw before, he also wore a white uniform and his hair was wavy brown, his facial features completely unreadable. What scared him a bit was the fact that both men in white had the same eerie yellow eyes and longer canines as his friend.

Then it hit him – could this be the people that had killed Ichigo's family, and were now after him? Which meant they were vampires.

Ichigo walked towards the two man and stopped in front of them, standing there like a zombie. "I didn't expect the boy to survive." The brown haired man spoke, taking no notice of the red haired teen standing just a few meters away. "Time to finish what I started back then," he cut his forearm and held it in front of the orange haired teen. "Now feed and become a true Nosferatu." Ichigo did what he was told and started to clean the man's wound which already healed completely.

Renji wasn't sure what he could do to stop this or what the man had meant. He was certain he saw the name 'Nosferatu' somewhere before, he just couldn't remember where. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Ichigo started screaming in pain, clutching his chest with both hands as he sank to his knees. He wanted to run closer but the scream didn't sound human at this point – he was certain now that his only real friend was no longer human.

The screaming stopped as quickly and suddenly as it started. Ichigo stood back up, he didn't seem to have changed on the outside of his body – inside everything changed.

"Let's see if your blood became better over the years, Grimmjow," the brown haired man spoke causally. He appeared to be leader of the two. The teal haired one walked over to the zombie like teen and smirked when he cocked his head to the side to make it easier for the man in white to feed on his blood. Grimmjow bit down on Ichigo's neck. He would be able to taste the difference between now and thirteen years ago – he was there, helped with the slaughter, fed on the families blood.

Renji was stunned by this turn of events. Why would he do this? Those men hurt him, forced him to become like them. Not wanting to lose his friend he charged the teal haired one who simply stepped back. "Don't hurt him! He suffered enough already!" Standing in between the two groups Renji was shaking as he realized these two men killed before – and probably could do it again.

Cold sweat was tickling down the side of his face and entire back, his knees trembling. He tensed up when an unnaturally cold hand grabbed hold of his shoulder – he didn't dare move. But looking at the two grown men he knew it wasn't either of them. Fear quickly returned as the teal haired one started grinning broadly – teeth still a slight shade of pink.

Gathering all the courage he had left Renji slowly turned his head, wanting to see the owner of the cold, pale hand – deep inside knowing the answer. Hazy yellow eyes seemed to bore through his soul – and even his heart. Standing face to face with his roommate, 'What have they done to you...?' Before he could do or say something a pair of sharp teeth bore through the skin protecting his aorta.

The same feeling as last time; he felt his knees grew weak, his body numb – unable to move a muscle. The sound of his own blood rushing through his own veins, it reminded him of the sea but much louder and faster. Ichigo's cold hands seemed to freeze the skin where he was held standing.

Ichigo was only a little aware of what he was doing – back in the solitary room he heard a voice calling him towards the roof. He's been in some sort of trance since he had been called. Vague memories of walking through the halls and climbing stairs. He'd drunk some blood of the man who made him like this, he was used to feed someone else. Then Renji appeared and stopped the man from drinking his blood.

'Renji!' He became aware of the limp but conscious body of his friend in his hands, and his teeth in the others bloodstream – sucking his life away. Ichigo knew he should stop before the red would die – he should.. But he couldn't – the taste was making him him lose his mind. He finally had what he wanted all these years.

Feeling Renji's pulse getting dangerously low he withdrew his fangs and licked the puncture holes clean – not a drop of blood on his clothes or on the ground.

"Not bad for a newborn," Grimmjow remarked. "Didn't let anything go to waste."

The orange haired vampire released his iron grip of the red's shoulders, who in turn fell to the ground. He was weak from the blood loss and pure shock of what just happened. Staring down at Renji, Ichigo licked his own lips before fully realizing what he just did. "Renji!" he said in a panic as he sat on his knees next to his only friend. "I'm so sorry..." his hands balled into fists on the stone roof. He was angry for not being able to stop himself. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He kept repeating the same phrase over and over again. He never wanted to do this to his friend.

"If he was a pureblood like Aizen-sama, you'd be turning into one of us ya know." the teal haired said smugly. "It's long and painful unless you'd be allowed to drink some of Aizen-sama's blood. Then you wouldn't have to go through the pain ya like ya friend did."

"Stop the taunting Grimmjow, we don't need stray dogs," Aizen said disapprovingly,

Grimmjow snorted, "He'd make a better pet werewolf, he'd be a shame for all Nosferatu."

"So," Aizen spoke directly to the orange haired boy, "Has your hunger been silenced?"

Ichigo was snapped out of his trance and stared at the man who had murdered his family and forced him to become this monster. "You..." his voice was slightly shaking as he spoke.

Reaching out his hand the brown haired man spoke again, "Come with me – and you'll never be hungry again(3)."

Uncertain the teen stood up and looked back at his barely conscious friend. "It's for the best Ren – Goodbye." Reaching out his hand he took the offer and left with the two man in white.

Trying to move his body was hard – reaching out a shaking hand towards the place where his friend was he mumbled a name. "Ichi..." His frustration reaching new heights he screamed out his lungs. "Ichigo!!" Maybe it was a mistake – his world turned black and he passed out.

-- -- -- --

The next morning Renji woke up with a start in his own bedroom. Breathing heavily he looked around the room and saw that Ichigo's bed was gone – as were all his possessions. Taking a better look he saw a small note on his nightstand.

: Thanks :

He felt tears welling up in his eyes before he started crying – his only real friend had left, forced to leave. It wasn't fair. Ichigo had been in pain and suffered his whole life. He'd willingly pushed everyone away – not wanting them to be tangled up in his web of problems and secrets. 'Why didn't he just say something..' How could he – who'd believe him? Even Renji still had trouble believing the truth about vampires – and he was bitten!

The door swung open and he saw Shuuhei standing in the opening, "It's past 10am ya lazy stray – I'm her to wake y-" then he saw the red with teary eyes. As far as the black haired one knew he never cried. "What happened?"

"Where is Ichigo?"

"Who?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo – the one who shares this room with me, he has bright orange hair, you all called him 'Ice Berry'!" Renji said, everyone knew Ichigo, they just didn't care about him.

Shuuhei brought his hand up to Renji's forehead and the other hand on his own. "Looks like your fever has gone down."

"Fever?"

"Yeah.. Pretty bad one too. I think you should rest up some more – there is no one with that name or description at this orphanage."

"W...what.." Renji stuttered. He was certain that he wasn't dreaming all those years. Feeling his neck he noticed that the puncture holes were gone. "Impossible..."

"Just rest up and we'll see in the morning – when you were hit by that speeding car you lost a lot of blood. So take it easy." With that said Shuuhei closed the door leaving the red to wonder what the hell happened.

Staggering out of bed Renji asked everyone he saw if they remembered Ichigo – no one did. It was like he just vanished from the face of the earth. Or could it have been some vampire magic that erased memories... Then why was he able to remember everything? Sighing, he promised his soul that he wouldn't forget Ichigo, and play along with the story now laid out before him.

-- -- -- --

Ten years later, Renji had already left the orphanage and started a career as writer, a fictional writer, and a successful one at that. He wrote stories about vampires. The books were selling great and payed even better. Sitting on the roof of his own home he stared at the full moon. Ever since Ichigo had left with those strange men he watched the moon every night – hoping that sometime they would look at it at the same time. Today the moon was half hiding behind a thin blankets of clouds – giving it a sad gray feeling.

"The moon really looks beautiful from a roof this high – too bad about the clouds."

The red spun around at another voice. "Ichigo!" He couldn't believe his eyes, his friend was still alive and – he still looked exactly the same as ten years ago. Same unruly bright orange hair, eyes, body, teeth. This time he wore the same type of white clothes those other men wore back then.

"Hi," He smiled gently – something he never did before. Those teeth made it a creepy sight to see. "I see you've been doing good and writing about me." His voice didn't change since back then, not even in the slightest.

"I wanted to know more about what happened to you, and-" an icy cold hand covered his eyes – making him stop talking in mid-sentence. "Ichi...?"

"Hush.." Ichigo whispered from behind the red. "I don't want you to see me like this," he let the red know what he was about to do by licking the side of his neck. "Remember what you said back in the orphanage?"

"I'll be here for you – I'll be your food for as long I need to. Promise." It was something Renji never regretted saying. He saw it as punishment that he didn't realize how much his friend was suffering. "I still mean it." His voice was confident as he slightly relaxed in the embrace the orange haired one had around him. "As long as I can walk back inside when you're done," He cocked his head to the side, letting Ichigo know it was okay.

"As you wish," Ichigo almost purred as he sunk his teeth in the other man's neck.

The feeling was the same as before – he refused to forget something like that. His readers complimented him on the 'feel' he gave to those scenes in his books. During interviews he was often asked if he believed in vampires – he told them 'yes', but was never bitten.

This time his knees didn't feel so weak as they usually did when he was being drained. The hand covering his eyes seemed to warm up a bit as he lost more blood. Renji could still feel and move his body, even though they had some numbness feeling over it. He had bought CD's with the sound of rushing water and the sea – but couldn't compare to the numerous symphonies his own blood played inside his veins, he wished he could record this sound. He just wanted fall asleep to this sound and the pleased noises from the one causing them – allowing him to hear it.

As the teeth were withdrawn from his neck it was neatly cleaned with his tongue and the puncture holes healed almost instantly. "Thank you, Ren."

The hand covering his eyes was gone, turning around he could see his friend was too. Touching the place where he was bitten he stared back at the moon – which slowly turned red and the thin clouds faded. "Ichi..."

--: The End :--

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

(1) Nosferatu – other word for vampire
(2) That mask-thing that Hanibal Lecter has in 'Silence of the lambs'.
(3) I'm reminded of the first LionKing movie – during Scar's song 'Be prepared'

My Ramblings/Sort of Diary;
(1) The 'Vampire Knight' anime came out, which is why I re-read the first two volumes. While reading this fic popped into my mind and refused to leave me alone.
(2) I need a bigger gun to shoot all the plot-bunnies in my head – or more time to write...
(3) I remember why I was reminded of the lion king; go to youtube – 'Be prepared for Aizen'
(4) Turned out longer then expected...
(5) Title means 'Bloodthirsty' in Latin.
(6) Title was difficult to decide the other option was "Minuo" it means 'to draw blood' in Latin
(7) I used an online translator for English-Latin – so I can be wrong (n.n);;
(8) I wanted to underline the title, but for some reason FFN doesn't allow that...
(9) Hyou-kun wrote a spoof at the ending part, go read it for a laugh! It's called 'Report' and the story number is 4228909

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