Summary: Because blood was thicker than water. But even blood will eventually become watered down by the tides. Subaru and Kamui learn this and also what it means to belong together.

Author note: Not sure where this came from really… I hope you enjoy though!

Disclaimer: If I owned these characters they'd be canon, point blank.

Chapter start

From the day they were born they were together. That in and of itself was something to be marveled at, that there were two of them. It was rare enough for a vampire to breed even once in their long lives but to breed a set of twins!

It was a miracle. Especially considering they were from one of the aristocratic families of purebloods. But to Kamui and Subaru all that mattered was that they were together.

Kamui was the elder of the two and therefore he was demanded to be a different kind all together. He was the heir. He was expected to be strong and silent. He wore the mantle well despite his young age and it carried him to maturity.

Subaru was the miracle, the unexpected child, a gift. Yet he had to be the oddest and most unnatural vampire the clan had ever come across. Unlike Kamui who was more than capable of killing, of absorbing blood without mercy for his E, and being indifferent to the point of cruelty, Subaru was far too gentle and kind to be a vampire.

Fate hadn't been too kind when it cast him in that role. Where Kamui bathed in blood Subaru bathed in light. But still Kamui didn't reject him as the others had; he showed a care for his younger twin that only the twin received from the cold Kamui.

As they grew up together Subaru learned to rely on that strength. He learned to trust his twin implicitly and became nurtured in that love.

"At least we have Kamui."

His mother and father always said that. It was customary for the four of them to meet once a day after their feedings. Kamui always looked glorious when he fed. Blood would line his lips as he drank and Subaru sometimes watched the ivory fangs slide in the skin of his E, the way Kamui cradled the head and arched it back to expose the throat. He tried to emulate that.

"Really Subaru why are you like this?" His mother was often asking.

When she did Subaru would look away. There was no way for him to hold the judgmental gazes. It wasn't his fault he liked cute things, that he would rather hold the rabbit than kill it for sport or that he would rather talk and laugh gaily with humans than treat them inferior or distrustfully.

When their parents began to mock and scold him Kamui would be there to act as protector to the submissive Subaru. He would yell at their parents and pull Subaru behind him. Fangs would elongate and nails would lengthen just an inch. That inch was enough though to serve as an end to the taunts.

On occasion his mother's eyes would soften. "Subaru you can't keep this up. You two mean so much to each other but there will come a day when you won't be the most important people in each others lives."

Both twins had dismissed it as idle lies made by adults. In the darkened nights they would laugh about it silently as they curled together, breaths ghosting over the others face. Subaru was reassured by these small moments. Because Kamui always fell asleep with his hand clutched in his and pressed against his heartbeat. Slower and thicker than a humans.

It wasn't until they were fourteen in human years that it happened. Kotori Monou of another clan came into their lives. For a time she played with them both. She was fun and genuine but after a time Subaru came close to hate.

She was frail. Though it was just as rare as vampire twins there were illnesses that could inflict a vampire. If the mother hadn't ingested enough blood through her time of carrying or if the baby was somehow deprived of it at the moment of birth their strength could be reduced to that of an average human.

Even though Kotori was weaker than Subaru she was still more of a vampire. She found flowers to be beautiful and showed a healthy appreciation for the world around her. There was an unusual interest in dying clothes, one that even Kamui couldn't fully understand, and Subaru was horrible for feeling glad of that, the fact his twin couldn't share that with her. She couldn't absorb his twin through that.

Even though she was frail she still drank blood with no qualms. More than once she had killed her E's, a side effect of her illness. She didn't have enough blood circulating naturally so she compensated with ingesting more of it than the others.

Her appreciation stopped where his began, she didn't care she killed those people minus a small twinge and she didn't let herself be wrapped in the world like he did. She found things cute but she didn't want them instinctively as he did. She didn't mingle with humans for fun.

For a time Subaru convinced himself this was why he was so disgruntled over her, he who had never hated and never had an urge to be unkind.

Deep down though he knew the truth. She was stealing Kamui from him. Kamui was becoming enraptured. Kamui was drowning in locks of golden brown curls and gentle eyes. He was being given breath through shell pink lips and kept warm by thin arms of palest tone.

Subaru knew it. He could tell by the fact Kamui had finally begun to sleep in his own room. In the mornings Kamui smelled of lilac and lavender, Kotori's scent, and the faint musky aroma of sex. She had come to stay with them.

Everyone was so pleased. It suddenly didn't matter how disappointing Subaru was because they had such a strong and aesthetically pleasing match to bind the two covens together now.

And damn it all they were a healthy looking match. Kamui with his strength and with her he never lost his tempter, showing a gentler side he had only revealed to Subaru before. Kotori would look at his twin as though he was the shining star she used to guide herself home.

She was taking his place. The position that had once been Subaru's was being slowly taken away. She was absorbing Kamui's attention, Kamui becoming indifferent to Subaru, and damn him, damn him for not seeing how it was affecting Subaru!

And then it happened. That small thing that broke the proverbial cats back. Kamui didn't protest when their parents announced the engagement between them.

It had startled Subaru. No matter how distant they had become he had thought his twin would mention something so changing!

When the feeding began he had slipped out the back. It said something that Kamui didn't notice, instead choosing to share an E with Kotori, drinking from the wrist while Kotori savaged the throat.

He had come to the Sakura Park. It was a park the humans had made a century ago that was decorated by sakura trees. At this point though with the chill of winter in the air the limbs were empty, creaking ominously in the wind. The ground below them was littered with the fallen petals. They had turned into a brown mush.

Subaru found a strange kinship with them. They had been admired while they clung to their limbs, considered something to be cherished. But now they had fallen they were good for nothing but to step over. Without Kamui he was just as those fallen petals. Tears flew to his eyes and slipped down his cheek.

"You shouldn't be out at night alone."

The voice startled Subaru and he turned swiftly. There was a man there in the path with him. He was taller than Subaru and that made Subaru feel younger than he was.

"What are you doing here?" The man stepped closer, his cloak billowing in the night like a set of wings.

"Who are you?" Subaru asked.

The man smiled a little and said, "My name is Seishiro Sakurazuka. Now may I have your name?"

The playful gallantry made Subaru giggle a little and smile, the tears drying up.

"I'm Subaru."

If Seishiro was aware that Subaru had left out his surname he didn't let on. Instead he turned with a graceful movement and offered Subaru his arm.

The young vampire hesitated for a moment. Then he firmed his shoulders. He slipped his hand through the loop and let Seishiro pull him along the path.

It didn't occur to him at the time that only two kinds of beings wandered at night in this world. The vampires, his race, owned the night but they were all at the mansion celebrating Kamui and Kotori's engagement. The other kind was their mortal enemies, the hunters.

"You know that there are corpses buried under every single sakura tree here?" Seishiro asked.

Subaru turned to look at him in some shock. What a thing to say! If that were true than surely he would have heard about it before now.

"That's ridiculous," Subaru said.

"Is it?" Seishiro countered.

The frown that marred Subaru's face was one many had called adorable. Of course unless it came from Kamui than it had been said with scorn and derision.

His eyes turned dim, losing the little sparkle they had regained since joining Seishiro. The mood plummeted and he was again plagued.

"Then I hope they aren't suffering," he muttered.

Seishiro had been shifting to reach behind his cloak, fingers grasping cool metal. At the words he paused, knowing he hadn't been meant to hear them but he had. His fingers released the metal stake he kept as he glanced at his vampire companion.

Subaru didn't protest when he came to a sudden stop. He regarded Seishiro with open curiosity and a cute tilt to his head.

"I think tonight I'll let you go." Seishiro said.

"What?"

"I'll see you again Subaru. You can believe that," Seishiro said.

Subaru gasped when the lips claimed his, the opening of his mouth an invitation he wasn't aware of making. But Seishiro didn't care about his ignorance and slipped his tongue in. the feeling was nice even if the sudden trembles were involuntary. For that reason Subaru didn't pull away but he didn't respond either.

He returned to his mansion well after daybreak. Seishiro had left him only an hour before that and they had shared plenty of kisses.

To his surprise and momentary delight Kamui was there in his room. His twin was already facing him. It was the blank look in his eyes that made the happiness leave Subaru. Before there had always been a little warmth in the violet eyes… now there was nothing except a wariness and emptiness.

"Where were you?" Kamui asked.

"I went out for a walk," Subaru said as he removed his cloak and hung it up.

"You didn't stay for the feeding."

It wasn't an accusation. Subaru decided to take it as one anyway.

"I was certain you wouldn't miss me."

He was instantly gratified to see the startled look flicker across Kamui's features before it was schooled away. Kamui didn't rise to the bait however. Instead he stepped closer to Subaru who didn't move away even though most vampires would have the instinct to. No matter how annoyed and hurt he was this was his twin.

"You must be hungry," Kamui commented, "the E's have already been sealed for the day. You can drink from me."

He offered his wrist in such an offhand way that the initial craving fled Subaru's mind. It had never been an issue with sharing blood between them. In fact that had been the one thing Kamui hadn't been neglecting him about since meeting Kotori. And gods how relieved Subaru was for that. Kamui's blood was addictive, smoky and rich and so thick it coated his throat after the initial sinking of teeth.

Kamui had once commented that he couldn't tolerate sweet things and that was true. Vampires often indulged in human food out of an appreciation for the taste, fondness for particular flavors. Kamui despites sweet things, claming they made his teeth ache just to think of them.

But when Subaru asked Kamui told him his blood was sweet and syrupy, thick as his own but with an entirely different flavor.

He longed for the closeness that sharing blood brought him with his twin but instead he pulled away. Kamui had withdrawn so much. And when the union was completed then Kamui wouldn't be able to share blood with him anymore. It was against the very few laws vampires had. Knowing that closeness would be gone all too soon as well made Subaru ache.

And he decided that if Kamui was going to be lost to him forever then he would be the one to close the final door, to cut the final cord of brotherhood.

"I don't want it," he snapped.

Kamui was so stunned he let his twin brush past him to flop on his bed. He turned to him with narrowed eyes; eyes alight with confusion and suspicion. The air had stirred when Subaru passed him.

"Subaru were you hurt out there?" Kamui demanded in a growl.

Subaru widened his eyes at the sudden anger threaded through the voice. A part of him wanted to snap at his twin that he hadn't cared before so he shouldn't now. When the violet eyes turned to catlike slits and golden he swallowed the angry retort.

"You ran into one of them."

The way the word was spat left no way for it to be anything but a hunter. Subaru felt his blood chill.

"That's impossible."

"I smell it on you."

Kamui had stalked to him and was now kneeling on the bed. He pushed an unresisting Subaru back and opened his legs to climb over his younger twin, leaning over him. His concentration sent a shiver through Subaru. He hadn't felt the intensity of Kamui in months and it made him weaker than usual in the face of it.

"I smell it here," Kamui muttered against him, his thumb parting Subaru's lips to graze along his teeth. When he passed the fang it ached, sensing the blood beneath the thin layer of skin.

Subaru was the one who twisted his hands in Kamui's hair and tugged him forward. Kamui didn't show his shock if he felt any, instead allowing Subaru to kiss him. It was different then the other times. It might have been because it had been so long since he had kissed Subaru or allowed any affectionate contact.

Kamui quickly took the lead as always. Subaru was a submissive, a different kind than Kotori. She submitted because she felt it was expected for the woman to do so. Subaru submitted because he enjoyed things and had complete trust in his twin and elder.

Kamui quickly bit into a vein on his tongue and felt his mouth fill. Subaru parted his lips to accept it easily now that passion had drugged him beyond his anger. Their kisses were always thus, filled with blood sharing and passion. Normally clothes would have been shed.

Then Kamui was pulling away. "Never refuse to drink again. And never lie to me."

Subaru felt a return to his anger. "I wasn't lying! There's no way Seishiro is a hunter."

"You know its name?" Kamui asked in stunned anger.

"He isn't an it and he isn't a hunter," Subaru snapped finally in real fury. He had never been truly enraged at his brother but it was there now.

His vampiric senses came out, nails extending to dangerous lengths as his eyes shifted, becoming hypersensitive and deadly. Kamui dodged the deadly swipe with an ease Subaru had always admired but now it annoyed him further.

His hands were caught and bound in one and Kamui shoved him until his back hit the wall harshly.

"You can't deny that smell. Why would you defend that thing?"

Subaru felt tears threaten him again. He didn't know why he was defending a man he had met not even a day ago. It went beyond his usual kindness. All he knew was that he was feeling low and depressed and abandoned and contemplating seriously about death and how nobody would miss him. And then there was Seishiro. Giving a stranger warmth… giving Subaru needed warmth.

"What's it matter," he finally threw out, "you have your precious Kotori so what's it matter if I get killed by a hunter?"

If he had impaled Kamui with his claws there would have been less shock and… hurt?

Before Subaru could determine it or even apologize Kamui pulled away. He shifted to his feet and looked at Subaru through hooded eyes. There was nothing there again. For all the emotion Kamui showed him he might have been an E.

Subaru reached out to apologize, feeling awful. His hand reached out to touch Kamui, to pull him back, to fight for what had always been his but Kamui shifted away and was gone, leaving Subaru to sob into his pillows.

Kamui didn't talk to him for weeks after. Nor did he defend his younger twin when the other vampires made cracks about him. He would merely glare at growl and if that wasn't enough to silence his peers he would leave the room, dragging Kotori with him.

It didn't help that Subaru was sneaking away at night. Before he returned he would bath so the scent of Seishiro was off of him. He had asked if the man was a hunter.

"I am. Does that bother you?" Seishiro asked, eyes smoldering.

"Are you going to kill me?" Subaru was serious.

"There's a chance."

"No, I'm not scared."

And he wasn't exactly telling a lie. He let Seishiro take him to bed nightly. He let the man kiss him until he blushed and felt the glorious rush he once believed was only possible with his twin. He was already a failed vampire so this wouldn't come as too much of a shock.

They were together in bed again, Subaru with his eyes tightly shut as Seishiro took him, his nails raked down the older mans back and drew delicious blood he never sampled. He did this even though he was aware that this wasn't Kamui even though a small part of him cried that this was wrong because it wasn't him.

Kamui wasn't staying with him and Subaru couldn't let himself be broken forever. Seishiro was wrong in every possible way. So he seemed to be right in the ways that Subaru counted important. Most importantly was though…

"Subaru I love you."

Those words threaded around Subaru. He didn't know if they were truthful or not but they came every time they slept together, after Seishiro had rolled from him. He didn't mind being in the man's arms. And it was nice. It was nice to be held again and even nicer to hear those words that had once belonged to him alone when they were spoken from his twin's lips.

"I want you to drink from me," Seishiro said suddenly.

It caused the vampire in his arms to jerk. Subaru turned his cute green eyes to him, turning in his arms so he could look at him fully.

It would be wrong. It was one thing to drink from his brother or an E. it was expressly forbidden to drink from a human with a soul unless the circumstances demanded it. And then you had to kill the human. Feeding from a hunter would be the height of betrayal, the betrayal that would forever separate him from Kamui and their kind.

Not to mention it would be wrong to bind this person to him any further. Not when though he had affection and maybe even a small kernel of love for him he couldn't totally immerse in it.

Still it was easy. Easy for Subaru to put small hands on Seishiro's face and climb on top of him. His fangs elongated slightly. He cursed himself for wishing it to be a different dark headed person under him. Someone with not as many obvious muscles and a slender, almost feminine build.

"Go ahead," Seishiro said calmly, too calm, "this way you won't have to worry about hurting an E or your brother."

Subaru struck quickly and with precision. His fangs slid into the vein, blood gushing thick and warm into his mouth, across his tongue to ignite his taste buds and down his throat to coat him in pleasure.

This was the first human with a soul he had ever tasted and the first hunter. He wasn't surprised it tasted funny. All blood tasted different based on the individual and the species they belonged to.

Seishiro's blood tasted like fire. It warmed every inch of Subaru as he drank.

Kamui didn't say anything when Subaru appeared in the family library around five in the morning. The cool gaze made Subaru miserable. While he was with Seishiro he could forget but when he wasn't all he wanted was to be allowed to sink into his brother's love.

What had happened to that promise their mutual birth had given them? Where was that common bond that tied and bound them tighter than anything else in existence?

Kamui had casually thrown it aside. Subaru didn't want to toss his end aside though.

He couldn't do anything currently now. He had taken a shower but the taste and smell of Seishiro wound through his body. If he even breathed too much Kamui would be able to smell it.

Kamui was the perfect vampire. He was strong and he emulated the covens' beliefs. There was talk of him becoming the next coven master. How that would happen with a weak mate like Kotori, Subaru didn't know. He supposed that everyone believed Kamui could protect the female and the coven together.

"Subaru how long will we go on like this?" Kamui suddenly asked, his voice loud in the room though he spoke quietly.

Subaru could only shake his head. Kamui cocked his head and raised a sardonic brow at him. It was a familiar expression Kamui adopted when he was amused slightly by his younger twin.

"I know already you drank that hunter pet of yours. You breathed out when you opened the window."

Subaru released his breath then. "I don't know."

Kamui nodded absently.

"I did this," he said.

"You did this," Subaru nodded.

"How do I fix this?"

"I wish I knew."

Subaru and Kamui stood separately, the ties of brotherhood fraying and some of the strands dangling between them. Contrary to the usual routine it was Kamui who moved first. Subaru remained still as his twin crossed the floor and used the back of his hand to caress his cheek.

It was rare for Kamui to act submissive or show any weakness. Subaru hadn't seen it in months. He leaned into it unconsciously.

"What can I do Subaru?" Kamui asked more directly this time.

"Could you leave Kotori?" Subaru blurted it, feeling dirty, wishing to retract it.

Kamui stilled as awareness came over him. "This is because of Kotori."

Subaru tried to retreat swiftly. "Forget it."

Kamui blocked his path, grabbing him to him. He didn't kiss Subaru and they both knew why. Subaru would taste like Seishiro and that was something Kamui couldn't abide even if they weren't in such a strained place.

"Let me go please," Subaru asked and pulled away from the lax grip.

"We can't fix this Kamui," he said and convinced himself it was the truth. "Kotori needs you. And I can't abandon Seishiro now."

The vampire and hunter had risked too much to see each other and Kamui had put too much effort into courting Kotori. Kamui didn't say anything as the rejection Subaru was giving him fell over his shoulders.

"Be careful," were the last words Kamui gave his twin before he walked out of the room.

Subaru tried to ignore the sting to his soul as another strand severed. Telling himself Seishiro loved him was a soothing balm but it still lacked the ability to seal the wounds up.

A couple moths passed. By the third week after that fateful conversation plans for the union between Kamui and Kotori were high and nearly complete. If not for Seishiro Subaru feared he would have snapped.

It took every ounce of willpower not to reach out and break the slender neck of that female, to not drain her of her blood, not drinking it but spilling it to the ground where it belonged. This wasn't him. If this was anyone but Kamui he knew he would have been happy for the frail vampire, glad she would be well protected.

Kamui was surely aware of this now that Subaru had inadvertently told him of his jealousy. Subaru was noticing as well that Kamui looked unhappy. Well, he never particularly looked happy or any other emotion but stoic but there were small signs. Subaru knew them all.

Sometimes Subaru used the bond he had with his twin to ask what was wrong, little shoves to let him know he was worried. Kamui never approached him. He would glance up when he felt the pull but he never blinked or sent anything back. That silence hurt even if Subaru had been the one to force it to the open.

And it was this that convinced him to say after a night of being dominated by Seishiro, "I love you too."

There was a gleam of triumph in those eyes. Then Subaru found himself caught literally. Seishiro had pulled wires out and was tying Subaru up, causing the vampire to squeak and twist.

"Don't bother fighting. Every time I've kissed you, every time we've embraced I've ingested a toxin designed to neutralize you. You're strength isn't enough to get out of a paper bag at this point."

"Why?" Subaru demanded breathlessly when it was done and he was tied to the bed.

He was panting from his struggles. Seishiro was watching him with amusement and derision.

"Did you really think you could trust a hunter? My goal is to destroy your kind to the last spec."

"Then why not kill me when we met?"

"I planned to. But you intrigued me," Seishiro said as he lit a smoke. "I would have kept this up longer but the other hunters want that brother of yours gone."

Ice drenched down his back and he twisted again with new vigor. "Leave Kamui alone!"

"I can't do that. His union is bad enough but now there's talk of him being the new coven leader. Taking him out would be a crippling blow. To you as well, Subaru-kun."

The caress made tears spring to Subaru's eyes.

"Kamui doesn't care about me anymore. You might as well just kill me," Subaru muttered through the tears.

"If that's what you think you're a child still. Imagine the time and effort he'll waste searching for you. He'll be exhausted and I'll be able to kill him at my leisure."

Subaru screamed, he cried, he begged for death. Seishiro watched and absorbed it all with twisted pleasure. Days passed and he enjoyed taunting Subaru with updates on Kamui. How his twin was neglecting his fiancé, how vampires were beginning to talk. What was perhaps worst of all was Seishiro continued to take his body even after he had been restrained.

It was another month before Kamui found him. He burst through the door and stumbled in, blood dripping from him. Subaru knew instinctively it wasn't Kamui's, that his twin had torn through hunters and killed them without a bat of his lashes.

"Subaru," Kamui choked on his name, "what has that bastard done to you?"

"Why are you here Kamui?" Subaru asked, worry that his twin was falling into Seishiro's trap.

"To save you."

Kamui was beyond pissed to see the state his younger twin was in, pissed but not shocked. All month since Subaru had gone missing he had been getting twinges through the bond they shared, shots of pain and humiliation. Kotori and the others hadn't understood. All they saw was their next leader going on a suicide mission against the hunters.

He had no choice but to reveal the nature of Subaru's lover, who everyone knew he had but never knew who he was or how dangerous. When he did the other vampires had been quick in their condemnation. Even Kotori had proven herself to not be able to understand.

For a month Kamui had fought hunters alone, slaughtering them mercilessly and not feeding properly. The blood of E's didn't interest him and neither did Kotori's. All he could focus on was finding and rescuing Subaru, of doing something to bind his younger twin to him forever, and to tear the hunter who had done this apart.

Now to see this… it was insufferable. He went and used his nails to rip the bindings from Subaru, unhooking his cloak and tossing it with a gentle gesture to cover his twin's nakedness. His vampiric senses were flaring thanks to the dried blood decorating his twin like a lacey dress.

"Kamui you need to go," Subaru said desperately.

Kamui ignored him as he bit into his wrist. The blood permeated the air and Subaru felt his fangs ache inside his gums. He hadn't been fed since Seishiro caught him. Though when Kamui pressed the bleeding skin to his lips Subaru turned away.

Kamui sighed and grabbed his chin as gently as he could manage and forced the lips apart, pressing the wound into the mouth so the blood flooded into it.

Subaru choked and spluttered, unable to turn away. To avoid being suffocated he swallowed, the familiar taste seeming bitter now. He had no right to this blood. Kamui had no right to sacrifice it to him anymore.

"Remember what I told you before Subaru. Stoop refusing to drink or else…" Kamui trailed off, no need to finish he threat.

Subaru let the tears fall as he used his fangs to break the skin, giving in to the desire. When a vampire drank a rainbow of emotions circulated. Possessiveness for one which was the reason most vampires gave their blood only to a mate. Subaru was feeling that and he knew it was wrong because his twin belonged to Kotori now.

But he was also feeling regret for the way their bond had been tarnished and love. That same love that he couldn't banish from his soul, the very core of his being.

Twins were said to be the reborn souls of former lovers. He and Kamui had been born together and had always shared a special closeness that he had thought nobody could come between. When one was hurt the other knew it, when one was happy the other shared it.

They had been each others first kiss. They drank from each other regularly. Kamui had always been possessive and protective of him. It was never a stretch to find Kamui clawing into someone who had insulted his younger twin. And it had never been wrong to expect that Subaru would be the one to pull him away before he killed someone, always with kindness and adoration in his eyes.

Neither of them could pinpoint the exact moment it had gone wrong.

But Subaru could taste it now, that thing that had been eluding him. His brother's warmth was wrapping around him again, making him once again content.

Then he noticed the exhaustion flickering across Kamui's face and he retracted his fangs. "Kamui you need to go, please."

"Did you take enough?"

"Stop worrying about that. Seishiro will kill you if you don't go!"

Subaru was more than willing to stay so long as Kamui remained safe and intact. Though it made his instincts scream in anger to let Kamui go with Kotori he would do it, he would stay with the hunter as his plaything. It would be best for Kamui if he didn't have such a twin to worry over.

Looking him over was enough to convince anyone this was true. The bitter taste to Kamui's blood had come from guilt and regret on Subaru's part but it had also been the fact it was weaker. Kamui hadn't been taking care of himself. He was skinnier and his skin, pale normally, was pasty. His eyes were glassy and hungry.

Before Subaru could try again to force his brother to action Kamui moved. In the blink of an eye he was standing again, claws extended and eyes golden, a low growl coming from deep inside his chest. A throwing dagger had imbedded itself near where he had been. Subaru gaped at it before he looked up again to see Seishiro in the door, more weapons in his hand and wrapped along his chest.

"Now why did you go and let my Subaru loose?"

"You're Subaru?" Kamui spat.

"Yes," Seishiro smirked, "he belongs to me. I've been caring for him while you played around."

Kamui blocked his view to his younger twin unconsciously. "I'm going to kill you for what you did to him."

"What I've done? You're the one who neglected him for so long," Seishiro taunted, "you drove him right into my arms."

"Seishiro stop it," Subaru said weakly.

Kamui lunged suddenly and charged. He ignored his twins cried for him to stop and tried to slash into the hunter's side. The hunter was better than he had thought.

Subaru knew he should have done something. All he was capable of was watching in a kind of horrified fascination as the two people he held in his heart fought. And Seishiro was in his heart. The hunter might have turned out to be dark and evil but he had treated Subaru lovingly at the beginning.

It wasn't until Seishiro had pinned Kamui into the wall and pierced him through his shoulder that Subaru reacted instinctively. He launched off the bed and grabbed Seishiro to stop him.

"Please don't! I'll stay with you, just don't hurt Kamui," he begged.

Seishiro shook him off and thrust him back. "I can't let him go Subaru. It's my job to kill him."

Kamui couldn't even growl as he tried to struggle away, ignoring the way the sword ground against the muscles of his shoulder and the tendons. He really should have fed before coming to save his twin. Vision had already been spotty when he charged in but now it was barely functioning.

Seishiro was pulling back for the final strike. Subaru acted without thought. His body moved and his claws extended, anger clouding his vision and every instinct he had. He felt the small resistance of flesh as they pierced, felt the skin rip and heard it as he dug in with his nails and tugged.

Seishiro stumbled back and cursed as he felt his blood gushing from his arm. Subaru knocked him back with a sweep of the deadly claws and stood before Kamui.

For the first time in his life he looked like a vampire on par with his twin. His vampire instincts had been activated and he was glaring. The blood from his claws dripped onto the floor in a puddle before him. His tongue flicked out to taste almost curiously. Even Kamui felt as though he was seeing a different vampire than his usually kind and submissive brother.

"I'm sorry Seishiro-san. But nobody is allowed to hurt Kamui."

Seishiro made a move. Subaru reacted once again and this time he felt the pulp of an eye. He widened his own when he realized he had pierced into Seishiro's skull; he withdrew the eye from its socket.

"Oh no," he breathed.

The older man collapsed and was groaning. Subaru was torn. He wanted to get his weaker twin out but he also wanted to make sure Seishiro was safe.

Kamui had pushed himself up and dug the blade from his shoulder. He watched when Subaru hovered indecisively. He even managed to hide his annoyance when Subaru looked at him beseechingly.

"I can't let him die," his twin cried out.

Kamui was annoyed because he knew what that meant. It meant Subaru would feed that hunter his blood, turning him into one of them. It was one of the laws against them. They were not allowed to turn a human for any reason. This law was punishable by death.

Kamui didn't care about all of that but if he thought it would help he would have mentioned them to his twin. He didn't want Subaru to feed his blood to anyone but him. Kamui admitted privately to himself he had made a series of mistakes, had allowed himself to become wrapped up in Kotori and what the other vampires wanted.

It still didn't change the fact though he was more possessive than any other vampire was to their sibling. Subaru belonged to him and him to Subaru. It had taken him being gone, kidnapped for him to realize it.

Subaru knelt beside Seishiro and bit into his wrist. The hunter thrashed away from him, snapping that he didn't want the blood. Subaru ignored him and forced him to drink from his wrist. In the end Seishiro was suckling like a baby.

It was a dark gift. No human could resist the taste of a vampires blood, especially when the blood was pure as Subaru's was. When the blood had stopped flowing from Seishiro's eye socket Subaru yanked away and went to stand beside Kamui.

Seishiro started to thrash in earnest as the change began to inflict his body.

"Kamui, you need to drink too," Subaru tried to convince his twin but Kamui shook his head, eyes focused on the hunter.

"Kamui-"

"We need to go."

"But Seishiro-"

"Will hopefully be killed by the other vampires when they realize what happened."

Subaru fell into an unhappy silence. He didn't protest when Kamui dragged him from the home he had been locked away in for over a month. Kamui wasted no time taking them back into vampire territory.

If the vampires they came across were shocked by Kamui's state they didn't comment, skillfully glossing it over by showing acknowledgement to Subaru. That was for the best. If they had been rude to Subaru now Kamui might have fed from them until they were a husk.

Kamui followed Subaru to his room when they finally made it to their mansion. Their parents weren't there. Subaru didn't mind changing in front of his twin. The cloak he tried to pass back to his brother was ignored, Kamui shaking his head slightly. It fluttered to the bed beside him.

"We need to leave soon Subaru," Kamui spoke up.

"Why?" Subaru asked.

"You know why. That hunter will have an intense craving for your blood from now on. Others can sustain him but you will be his main target."

Subaru glanced away. "Maybe it'll be better if I stay with hi-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Kamui grabbed him and yanked him close.

"But it's true. You need to focus on Kotori," Subaru was proud he sounded calm when he said it.

"Forget her, forget the hunter. I'll keep you safe this time."

"But that isn't fair Kamui. I can't expect you to give up your life, your happiness, for me."

Kamui sighed and burrowed his face into the curlier locks of his younger twin's hair. "You are my happiness. I don't need anyone else but you."

Subaru wrapped his arms around Kamui, barely breathing. "If I'm all you need then what was Kotori?"

"An infatuation. A distraction. Whatever you want me to say I will."

"I hated it Kamui," Subaru suddenly said, "I hated being friendly and acting like nothing was wrong. I hated not being able to grab you and fight for you."

"Then say something," Kamui demanded, his eyes hot as they looked at Subaru.

Subaru hesitated for a split second and then he leaned in so he was closer to his twin. "I hate when others touch you. Promise me Kamui that nobody else will ever touch you again no matter what."

Subaru was being possessive. Kamui had never seen it before except in the briefest of flashes in the green orbs. He was more familiar with his brother cooing over some cute stuffed animal or shrinking away from the others ridicule. This was the action of a vampire though, this possessive glint in him now, and it made Kamui curiously proud and hot all at once.

He could only nod in agreement before he mumbled his promise to Subaru to never accept anyone else's touches. There was no need to extract that from Subaru because they both knew Kamui would kill the fool who tried to take his brother again.

The ties of brotherhood had been cut but now they flourished again and became more than the bond of twins.

"Where do we go?" Subaru asked. "There are covens further inland and on other continents."

"No," Kamui said with a shake of his head, "we're going further than that. So long as we're here on this world then that hunter can find us. And the other vampires will be against us as well when they realize what you've done."

"But then we're trapped," Subaru said in alarm.

Kamui shook his head. He grasped the amulet he had worn on his neck since their tenth birthday. "Do you trust me?"

Subaru nodded and grasped his twins hand when Kamui gestured. As soon as he had a grip on him Kamui said words in an old archaic language. Subaru felt as though he was being absorbed. He gasped when the world around him seemed to crack; he climbed into Kamui's arms.

His twin wasn't distracted though. He held onto Subaru but continued to speak clearly. Finally the tunnel pulled them through and they felt the sensation of suffocating. Subaru tried to say something but the pressure was so great that he could only cling onto Kamui.

When it opened again he had fully climbed into Kamui's arms. It dumped them out and Kamui landed carrying Subaru bridle style. He cradled his twin for a moment before letting his legs drop to the ground.

Subaru glanced around him and his eyes encountered a tall woman all in black. He refused to relinquish Kamui's hand when his twin tried to step forward. The worry was adorable on Subaru's face.

Kamui stopped trying to go ahead and contented himself where he was, eyes sweeping for danger before he settled on the woman.

"Welcome," she said calmly.

"You're her aren't you?" Kamui asked. "The dimensional wish Yuuko."

"I've been called that before, it's true."

"Then I have a wish," Kamui said.

"Kamui…" Subaru stepped up to stand beside his brother when he realized what was going on. "We have a wish."

Kamui glanced at him fleetingly before he refocused on the witch.

"And they are?" Yuuko asked.

"To avoid the hunter." Kamui said,

"To travel together forever," Subaru said as well.

"I can grant the second. But I can't grant the wish to avoid the hunter forever. That will go with your own personal luck."

"Fine then how much for the means to travel worlds then?" Kamui said in a huff.

"Come inside," Yuuko invited with a smile, "we'll discuss the price."

In the end it cost them both but Kamui was happy about it. They couldn't settle in any world until Seishiro was killed. Because it was Seishiro who had caused the unbalance in their world and was the reason they were fleeing it was for him to be the thing that would restore the balance.

Subaru was horrified but he accepted the terms. Though he felt glad he had his twin back he was also worried. A part of him thought it should be him who was the sacrifice. Because of him Kamui was leaving everything behind, was abandoning Kotori. He was happy about that but he was also sorry.

This was his entire fault. Seishiro being a vampire and Kotori being left alone was all his fault.

But when he felt Kamui tug him forward gently he couldn't deny this was what he would be content with. Even if they had to travel forever, and he rather hoped they did because he didn't want Seishiro to die, the fact it was with Kamui made it okay.

There would be times when they weren't happy with their choices. But they would always find their way back to each other. They would always revel in the warmth they shared together. Both would know they were always loved and cherished by the other.

Best of all though was Subaru could now give in to his urges to eat the next person to touch his brother in any way he deemed wrong.

End chapter

Author note: I think I wrote them OC. But since this was a few years before acid Tokyo and all that I'm okay with it. Who knows how they were when they first started their journey.