Title: Love Bites (AKA: Of Whom We Choose To Drink)
Disclaimer: Though I come up with several strange ideas, all characters' names, personalities, and places, belong to the almighty master Tite Kubo. --bows worshipingly--
Rated: T+ for yaoi, cursing, and…blood! (not sure if the rating should be upped or not)
Pairings: IchiHichi (possible side parings later)
Summary: AU/Vampire Fic! Ichigo returns to an empty home from a long day at school, and his day is about to get longer when he finds a mysterious creature that attacks him! Will anyone come to his rescue? …And if so…at what cost? Ichi/Hichi-- Vamp!Shiro. Some Crack and Self-insertion!
A/N PLEASE READ: I'm not a big fan of the regular "rules" of being a vampire so just forget most of the stuff you know about them…if you can… Anywhos-Just giving ya a fair warning that I'll be making up most of the rules and they will get sorta complicated… Sorry if that bothers anyone! ; …--laughs nervously-- Heh…what I really should be warning you about are my awful writing skills…--sulks--
Chapter Edit: FYI, this chapter has been recently edited (again) for spelling and other errors. None of the content has been changed.
Ch 1 Hunted
--cackles maniacally-- "BWAHAHA!! FIRST FANFIC EVER!!"
"What are you doing?" Ishida entered the girl's room with a suspicious glare, knowing that if the authoress was laughing then whatever it is couldn't be good.
Said Authoress turned and smiled. A very creepy smile. Creepy and sadistic to be exact.
"I started the fanfic."
Ishida's eyes opened in horror, glasses almost falling off his face. He quickly regained his composure and would later deny that his mouth was gaping open about two feet from the floor. "So, it's finally happened." He adjusted his glasses again and crossed his arms. "After months of reading as many of those…" Ishida gave a seething glare. The authoress just smiled innocently. "…fan fictions…as possible and mulling over several ideas you actually picked up a keyboard. I thought you were afraid of commitment…and flamers."
"Ha!" The Authoress gave a bemused glare and pointed accusingly at the Quincy. "Afraid of commitment...me?! You know it's only because when I write something I instantly hate it!" Ishida smiled and the authoress realized she needed to get even. "…and speaking of commitment….How's Orihime? It's been three weeks ya know…"
This obviously caught the Quincy off guard as he began to sputter off random excuses for not calling her.
"Psh. Whatever helps you sleep at night. And don't worry about those flamers, I gots me a gardening hose."
"But it's not hooked up to any source of water."
"WELLL DUH!" She flailed her arms about while holding said gardening hose. "I could barely afford the damn hose and you expect me to be able to pay for utilities?!"
"…Then how does that take care of flamers?"
Another malicious grin. "I'll show ya."--Authoress turns to readers-- "Sorry this is taking so long, just go ahead and read, I'll be back wit' ya in a bit!" --proceeds to try to loop hose around Quincy's neck--
--
"SHE'S NOT WORTH IT!!"
-my friend while watching Byakuya get stabbed by Gin while saving Rukia…
--
"Ugh….I hate Mondays." A familiar scowl set upon a certain familiar teen's face as he lazily trudged home. It was getting close to the end of the school year, which apparently flicks a little switch inside all teachers' heads that makes them assign homework like crazy. (A/N: Seriously! WTH?!) The depressed redhead allowed another sigh to escape him as he crossed over a second street.
Seriously…Four projects due by the end of the semester?! Don't those teachers talk to each other?!
Ichigo stopped and shifted his backpack. God, this thing is heavy. One of said projects required a partner, and, said teenager had been the oh-so-fortunate one to be paired with Ishida. Come to think of it, he sure was acting oddly today… Ishida was the one who had stuck him with carrying all the supplies home, but the weirdest thing was that he had come to class late with the excuse of: "A Psychotic Authoress tried to strangle me with a garden hose!" Ichigo new the sewing-master teen was pathetic at excuses, but come on!
Ichigo paused in his thoughts when he suddenly felt icy all over and a prickly feeling ran up his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. What?!... He couldn't explain the sudden feeling that came over him. It was like…like…
I'm being watched.
The teenager turned on his heels to glare down a relatively empty street. Except for the occasional car or passerby, no one was there. And it was midday. It wasn't like he was some teenage girl in the middle of a dark alleyway at night. (A/N: Ha! that's what you think!-Okay, I'll shut up now…) There was nothing to worry about. Then why do I feel so…vulnerable? That last thought creeped up into his mind, picking at it. But, just as soon as the feeling came, it went. Ichigo shook his head to regain his composure as he continued to walk home.
It was probably nothing…
The mysterious pale figure stood, as if he were on solid ground, above the city at about a good hundred yards. He was looking down curiously at a certain redhead who had stopped in his movements and was looking around like someone was behind him. The figure hitched for a moment, thinking he might have been found out, but he soon remembered how high up he was. It was awfully hard for simple humans to spot a white speck such as him when he was this far up. Still…The teenager had then shook his head and continued walking.
"Good thing 'e didn' look up." He couldn't help but let out a small laugh that sounded oddly like little insane giggles. An impossibly wide grin spread across the figure's face, almost splitting it in half. His mouth opened farther, revealing impressively large, elegantly shaped fangs that seemed to glimmer in the sun. An azure tongue slowly snaked across their surface.
"Foun' ya."
--
Malicious black and red eyes scanned the ransacked room hungrily. The 'thing' that belonged to those eyes was wearing an odd, skeletal-like mask that would only be seen around Halloween. He was taller and bigger than a normal man, but that wasn't exactly what would have led someone to believe that he wasn't human. The vicious fangs and large gaping hole in his chest covered that job quite well.
The eyes rocked back and forth in their sockets again, mask unmoving. The room had been strangely simple for the type of person that lived there. There was a bed with a nightstand in one corner, a desk beside it, and a closet on one side of the room, which was now disheveled into an unrecognizable mess. What was once the bed now laid across several parts of the room looking like it had been ripped apart by something similar to claws, the desk was busted in two, paper strewn all over the floor, and the closet door had been ripped off, most of its contents getting the same treatment as the bed.
The intoxicating scent he had followed halfway across this 'Karakura Town' was at its most potent here. It was so strong that his mouth was watering in anticipation, knowing the human the scent belonged to was coming closer and closer to this location. Normally he would have spent several days mulling over and analyzing the smell of the human's blood, stalking him and learning of his whereabouts. It made the hunt that much more…enjoyable.
Alas, this prey needed to be taken quickly. One reason being that the creature hadn't feasted in days, and this was some of the best blood he had smelled in an excruciatingly long time. But the main intent for his haste is that the room was also tainted with a relatively new scent. It was another creature, much like himself, but with some odd attributes that confused the hunter thoroughly. He could tell by the lingering smell that said creature was much stronger than him, and was probably planning to feast upon the very same human he was waiting for. He hated to eat and run, but this human was much too delicious to pass up, and he knew he didn't have much time.
The mysterious creature moved out of the room and quickly traveled down the stairs to the first floor. His prey was only about a couple of houses away, and he needed to find a—
He turned to see a giant poster of a beautiful woman, which read 'Masaki Forever'. His eyes narrowed. Why does she look so familiar?!... A sadistic fanged grin appeared on his face. Of course…when was that? 5 years ago maybe?…He licked his lips, savoring as he remembered the taste of the woman that died trying to protect her eldest child. His grin grew even wider and he knew exactly how to lure his next meal in…
--
"Dad! Karin! Yuzu! I'm home!" Ichigo trudged through the now unlocked door, his school bag hitting the ground with an uncharacteristic 'thud'. The teen gave a quizzical look when he got no answer--not even his father's foot flying at his face--after his rather loudly-proclaimed entrance. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a note on the table. Oh yeah, I forgot…He thought to himself as he picked up the note he had originally gotten yesterday and re-read it:
'Dear Ichii-ni, gone on week-long 'father-daughter bonding' camping trip, don't burn the house down and try not to starve. Hope you have fun this week, and be glad you aren't going.
-Karin'
Ichigo couldn't help but let out a laugh at his younger sister's last remark. Course, he would have been just about as excited as Karin was if he had to spend a week with Dad in the wilderness trying to 'bond'. He inwardly shuddered and laid the note back down on the table. He wasn't used to being home alone and he would probably need to read the note a couple of more times just to reinforce it.
After leaning up again he froze for the second time that day as the stifling feeling that he wasn't alone lurched up his skin, the eerie feeling of hands-no, claws- gripping around his throat. He let out a gasp as he felt his body shudder.
Suddenly a loud crash shot out from where the kitchen was, jolting Ichigo from his suffocating trance. He was uncharacteristically frightened, his usual instinct to fight threats head on violently shoved into the back of his mind, while the pressing thoughts of wanting to run and escape the unknown and unwelcome presence pushed to the forefront of his mind.
He swallowed hard, forcing the thoughts down along with his saliva. He regained his grip on his bravery and called out to the intruder he had not seen but knew was present in the house with him.
"Who's there!?"
--
"Hmm…Na' this seems to be quite tha predicament." The white figure said to no one in particular as he put a hand to his bleached chin. He was still suspended high in the air, but the scenery below him had changed. He now stood high above the Kurosaki household, mulling over the rather grotesque aura that emanated from it. He had been tracking Kurosaki for quite some time now, returning every few days until he knew the boy was alone in the clinic.
In that time he had learned quite a bit about the teen and his family, especially the fact that all of their blood seemed to be of the quite…extraordinary kind. Yes, their blood all smelled delicious…The figure slowly licked his pale lips, remembering the first time that scent came upon him….especially Ichii-kun's…
The creature was snapped from his self-induced fixation as the newer, foreign scent came upon him again. His face contorted in disgust that quickly turned and twisted into a burning scowl. He had learned early on because of the family's unusual blood that another creature like himself would come and intrude on his fun. That was why he specifically stayed around the family and had performed…other tasks so that his scent would mix with theirs, warding away any others. An utter snarl escaped him now that his territory had been intruded upon. All the trouble I went through! I even marked him dammit!
His anger was suddenly cloaked by a questionably sane smile as he walked forward on the invisible ground below him. "Actually," he glowered down at the residence and stopped in mid-step. "This may work out much better than I coulda hoped."
Suddenly there was a panicked shout and a loud crash toward the back of the building.
"Tch." He gave a mused glare and disappeared in a flash as he spoke. "…but it won' work at all if tha kid goes an' dies on me."
--
He couldn't help but let out a surprised shriek at the figure before him. He had wondered into the kitchen, his arm gripping onto the counter for support while unknowingly knocking a few appliances and a potted plant onto the floor. Loud crashes emanated from the kitchen as the items smashed against the tile.
He leaned against the counter and used his other arm for support. He was shaking uncontrollably and his mind was racing trying to figure out the sheer impossibility before him.
"M…m-mom?!" He gasped out the singular word while the figure gave a kind smile and stepped closer to him. no no no no no NO! The ghostly woman raised her arm, cupping his cheek with her hand. Ichigo now had his back fully pressed against the counter, his hands gripping until his knuckles where white. her…her hand…it feels so much like…sh-she can't be! She Can't!! Th-this isn't possible!
"My, my Ichigo, how much you've grown. I've missed you very much. Have you missed me?" The figure's voice was exactly like Ichigo's memory of her. She gave another kind smile.
"M-mom…" Ichigo stuttered. It seemed to be the only word that his lips could form. His gaze turned and rose to menacing glowing red eyes that appeared behind the woman. A clawed hand raised itself, ready to strike.
"NO!" Ichigo released his death grip on the counter and pushed the woman out of the way just as the monster's hand came down.
Sharp, razor-like nails ripped through clothing and connected with soft, warm flesh. The teenage boy staggered back, the front of his school uniform hopelessly ripped to shreds. He gasped as hot, dark blood oozed from the deep claw markings on his chest, splattering on the floor.
His eyes opened wide in a mixture of surprise and horror as frail arms looped under his own from behind and twisted around to the back of his neck, holding him in place.
"W-What?!" he turned his neck to see the replica of his mother grinning evilly at him with molten red eyes. He struggled in her grip. I-I can't move! There's no way she's…she's not! Not that thing. Dammit! This thing can't be that strong, I should be able to knock her off! An inhuman hiss came from the woman, and as if on queue a deep, bone-chilling laughter came from the creature in front of him.
"Perfect, isn't she?" the creature mused. "Looks exactly like the real thing, or at least, good enough to fool you." Another burst of laugher came as Ichigo turned his head to glare at the monster.
"...Bastard…" He growled through gritted teeth. Ichigo examined the figure before him with glaring eyes. He stood about a good seven-feet high, had giant razor-like claws, a strange mask, and a large gaping hole in his chest. Who?...No, what is this guy?! Ichigo thought to himself. His chest ached from the claw marks, and there was a stinging sensation on his neck for some odd reason, but he ignored these in favor of getting his answers.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?!" The creature in front of him only grinned, making the teen's anger rise to the forefront of his mind. "Damn you! Answer me-agh!!" The monster had raised a hand to lightly trail claws down the side of Ichigo's face, making the burning on the side of his neck intensify to the point where it felt like someone was holding a match to it. He looked down to see as much of his neck as he could. There was a previously invisible uneven line running from his collarbone up to his jaw line, and it was glowing an angry, blood red. At first he didn't recognize the odd shape of the line, but the implications soon hit him. It looks like…I was…licked?! A shudder ran through him at the thought of how in the world it could have gotten there while the other began to speak again.
"I don't think you're in the position to be asking questions, kid; and I don't have time to answer them. All you need to know is that you're food to me. And as for whoever left that mark on your neck, they were probably planning on the same thing." The monster let out a mused chuckle. "But I'm going to be the one to get to you first. Either way, you're dinner."
Dinner?!
Ichigo didn't have much time to wander what the monster's implications meant, because at that instant the figure behind him disappeared, her body replaced by a clawed hand that had been conveniently rammed through his midsection. Unable to scream at first, his voice came back full force as the hand was unceremoniously ripped out the way it came. Suddenly the teen's eyes went blank as he slumped against the counter, and slammed into the ground full force, convulsing, bleeding, and coughing up blood all over the tiled kitchen floor.
The monster laughed in victory as he raised his newly-bloodied claw to his awaiting mouth, tongue reaching out to taste that delicious blood for the first time…
WHAP!
He halted in his movements, surprise lit in his eyes for not sensing the other's presence behind him sooner. Said presence had his left hand firmly gripped on the monster's arm; black-clawed nails digging in angrily, though his unnerving smile never faltered.
"I don' recommend takin' what's not yours, Grand Fisher." The words hissed angrily from the pale figure, his smile widening when he nodded in the struggling teen's direction, pointing without a finger to the mark on Ichigo's neck. It was glowing a dangerously bright red, as if demanding Grand Fisher to leave.
"You do know tha' he's mine," The other's pale grip on him tightened. "Right?" It wasn't a question, Grand Fisher knew that. He also knew that the one standing behind him couldn't possibly be who he thought it was. No, he died like what…800, no; 900 years ago? This just isn't possible!!...But something is different about him...that would explain why I didn't recognize the scent…but still… He figured he'd take a wild guess.
"Hichigo, long time no see." The other scowled.
"No' long enough." His distorted voice reeked of disgust. Yep, that was Hichigo all right. Now to get back at the matter at hand…
"Heh, you know I was just fixin' him up for ya," He lied. "It's all just in good fun, right?" He let out a small, nervous chuckle.
"Jus' 'cause ya know ma name don' mean we're buddies, ya hollow freak." The questionable smile stretched across his face again, but his voice still wavered on rage.
"Hey! What the hell do you mean 'hollow freak'?! You're a—" His voice cut out in mid-sentence as a white-clawed hand burst out from the part of his chest not containing a hole. Grand Fisher gasped as his mask snapped in half. Laughing, Hichigo wrenched his hand out, watching the hollow disappear into dust as he replied, his smile never faltering.
"I'm not associated with you fucking filth anymore…"
He lapped at the blood on his hand, his face contorting in disgust at the taste as he spat onto the ground. "Eck, common blood…" The red staining his hand and sleeve dried up and cracked, evaporating as if it had burned off. He turned his attention to the gasping teen on the floor in front of him, whose eyes looked like they had widened considerably while watching the events unfold before him.
He let out a small giggle as he leaned down to the injured boy, taking his chin in his hand and lifting brown eyes to meet gold and black. The teen gasped and tried to shy away, but he was unable to move due to the hole in his stomach. Instead he let out a depressed grunt. The other chuckled.
"Don' worry, I ain' gonna hurt ya. I wanna help." That insane grin was telling Ichigo otherwise. He gave the best glare he could in his situation. He didn't care how bad he was hurt; he was going to get some answers.
"W-Who…What are y-you?" He managed to stutter the sentence out between gasps for air. The other's smile only widened into a smirk as his face moved uncomfortably close to his. Hichigo's breath fanned over Ichigo's features unnecessarily hard as the teen breathed in, his brown eyes becoming hazy with his exhale.
"I don' think you're in tha position to be askin' questions, at least at tha moment…" He whispered, trailing off as he noticed the teen's eyes beginning to close. Ichigo, on the other hand, was doing his best to try to stay awake.
He had noticed that ever since the other man had gotten closer that wave after wave of fatigue seemed to be crashing down on him, trying to pull him into the black abyss of sleep. Wh-why am I so…so tired? He tried to blink his fatigue away, but to no avail. My...my wounds…they don't hurt anymore. I…I can't feel them at all…
His eyes struggled open to look into the other's golden hues before falling permanently shut. It's all…everything's so…warm… His last thoughts trailed off as he slipped into unconsciousness.
Hichigo hummed to himself as he watched the teen fall limp in his grip, smiling when he felt the even breaths of sleep coming out of the teen's mouth wash over his face.
"Ichigo." His voice held a possessive twinge as he spoke, letting out a small giggle of excitement. "Shall we begin?"
--
"Nngh…" Ichigo groaned as he roused himself from his induced slumber, even though he still was impossibly tired. He looked over for his alarm clock that was normally on his nightstand but couldn't find it. Though, he soon realized that it wasn't the alarm clock that was missing, but rather he was in his living room lying on the couch, not in his bed like he thought. He groaned again as he looked at the clock above the TV…it was only 11:00 PM. It was still Monday. He groaned for a third time and rested his head back on the couch, trying to fall back asleep as he tried to work things out in his head.
The pain's all gone…was it all a dream? Maybe…but something's off…I feel…different?
He couldn't quite place it, but something was definitely wrong. He looked down and noticed his school shirt was still torn into shreds, but the wounds on his chest and torso were completely gone. My cuts…they're gone…or were they healed? He paused in his thoughts, noticing an odd feeling in his mouth, like something was there that shouldn't be. He shifted his jaw uncomfortably. What is this? It's like they're stuck… His tongue traveled over their surface, looking for the abnormality. His eyes widened considerably at what he felt.
F-fangs?!
"Glad ta see you're awake!" Ichigo jumped at the voice, head flipping up to see the white figure from before crouched on the armrest right next to his head.
"Wha-Wha…" At the moment the surprised teen couldn't seem to form the words he was looking for as the figure leaned in closer to his face for a second time with a stupid grin on, which looked even more idiotic from Ichigo's upside-down point of-view.
"So!" he asked, examining the other with childish delight. "How do ya like bein' a vampire so far?!"
Only one thought entered Ichigo's mind as he gaped at the other…god I hate Mondays…
--
"Woot! I'm done!" The Authoress laughed as she collapsed from her keyboard in celebration of her victory against the not-so-ancient-but-still-very-frustrating machine.
"Wow," Ishida adjusted he glasses as he gazed at the screen. "That took you a really long time, and you don't even have school right now."
The Authoress bolted up from her comfortable position on the floor and shoved the Quincy into the wall shouting 'Don't read it! It's horrible!!' while completely ignoring the remark on how long it took to type the thing. Uryu removed his face from the wall, not noticing the implant it left on the surface.
"Why wouldn't you want someone to read it if you originally planned to post it on in the first place?!"
"Shh! We're trying to lure out the flamers!"
"We? We who?" The Authoress held up the gardening hose with a malicious smile. Ishida, on the other hand, jumped back in horror. "Get that thing away from me!!"
--smiles to the readers-- Well, anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this and will read further chapters, unfortunately Ishida is correct in saying that it takes me a really long time to type up chapters…they are kinda long…--looks at word count-- 4,000+ words! :D
Hehe…but anyhow…Reviews and Constructive criticism are welcomed and invited with open arms! (We have cookies, and I promise to reply to your reviews!) But I will hit those who flame with 'teh hose of death', cuz no one likes flamers.
--bows-- Thanks for reading and I promise I'll post again as soon as possible!!
--End Chapter 1--