Warnings: This story contains  rape, violent and non-consensual elements, but it gets better, I promise.  This is also YAOI. A male x male relationship. if this is not your cup of tea, then please do not continue.

Volume 1

Chapter One, Part one

The warm sunlight that flicked across his eyelids, the soft grass that brushed across his fingertips, clouds so white it hurt to look at them, and warm hands that caressed his skin- these were the things that Kyou had dreamed about more times then he could count. There were no words, or sounds, except the gentle wind through the trees and insects all around him.

Ever since he was little, Kyousuke had always had these dreams. Sometimes they were vivid and clear and others were so hazy and so confusing it made his head spin, but despite that, Kyou looked forward to those small movies that played in his head. They seemed more real to him then he would admit to anyone else. He felt safe, loved, and even happy.

Unfortunately, though, when the movies ended, he had to wake up every day to reality. It wasn't that he was complaining, it's just Kyousuke knew that he was different from others. He had grown up right next to the red light district of the city in a three-story brick orphanage he had long since learned to hate. But it wasn't just the slums he hated, it was also the people.

People seemed to gather around him, wanted to love him, care for him. At first, they all seemed so genuine, but he learned at a young age that they were all liars. At the orphanage, it wasnt unusual to see adults gather around him. They'd offer him candy, money and even places in their homes- until they learned of the nightmares and the things he said he saw around him. Most of the kids he had lived with had hated him because of his weird aura and the constant attention he seemed to get, but after the fourth time of being returned to the orphanage, he found the loneliness comforting.

Now, though, he was a grown man, living on his own in a decent part of the city, with a paying job. He ate what he wanted, which wasn't much, but he had no one to answer to except himself and if he didn't like someone staring at him, he could freely tell them to fuck off. He should have been happy...but he wasn't.

Over the years he had developed a hard shell of sarcasm, sharp words, and snarky attitude. He had completely closed his heart to others and had managed to convince himself that he was fine with that. With his bad attitude, the only reason he was tolerated at all in society was probably because he had a pretty face and was 'easy on the eyes'.

Kyou huffed to himself as he turned off to his street and toward the subway station to commute to work as per usual. It was supposed to be an ordinary day but at 3 in the afternoon the train cars were full, the passengers packed like sardines in a can.

The purple haired teen grumbled to himself at his stupidity for not taking an early train, but what was done was done. He shifted the bag on his left shoulder to his right, mentally counting down the seconds till the train came to his stop and he could escape the heavy gazes of the passengers beside him.

He felt someone brush against him and he stiffened. He hid his barely concealed irritation behind his emotionless facade as he started to count again. Then came another touch, and then another. He felt sick when he felt hot breaths on his neck.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere he could escape the molester's reach. Kyou's breath became labored as his body began to shake and sweat. Thankfully the doors suddenly hissed open, and he got off at the first opportunity, practically leaping onto the platform and hit the ground running. He rounded the corner as he avoided any sort of eye contact, and found himself unexpectedly on the ground, peering up through his dark lashes to find what the fuck he had run into.

It seemed he had run into a well-dressed businessman. He was tall, lean, and his hair was dark as blood. His tailored suit jacket was stained with whatever he had been drinking, and his briefcase was wide open with his folders spilled out onto the pavement. But it wasn't any of those things that set Kyou's heart into a scattered panic. It was the man's eyes.

They were dark as amber, and they were filled with some kind of hidden intent he couldn't put a name to. Kyou was so stunned that he didn't realize that the man had stood up and was now offering out his hand.

"I am so sorry!" he said sincerely to Kyou and flashed a disarming smile full of teeth, but the purplette was anything but put at ease.

When he was able to break away from those predatory eyes, he smacked the hand away and scrambled to his own feet. He didn't offer a word of apology as he tried to bolt.

"Hey!" the man chuckled, and reached out and snagged Kyou's wrist to stop him. "Wait, please-"

"Let go!" Kyou screamed suddenly, the man let go in surprise which gave the purplette a chance to make quick with his escape.

He felt nauseous, the place where the man touched throbbed with a deep kind of pain he couldn't describe. Kyou clutched his bag as he ran up the stone steps, but by the time he reached the top he was out of stamina and out of breath.

He leaned with his hands on his knees as he took shuddered breaths, and prayed to whatever god was out there that the man wouldn't follow him. But a moment later he knew he had no such luck.

"Hey! Purple haired kid! Wait!"

Kyou let out a breathless curse and took off again. He tore down the sidewalk like hell was on his heels and his lack of athleticism be damned. Like he'd let himself be caught by that guy!

Kyou had felt a strange tug inside him when they had locked eyes, and he hadn't like the way that they had widened when the bastard had looked at him like he had seen something worth playing with.

Kyou hurried as quickly as he could, his hands and legs shaking with effort and adrenaline when he rounded another corner and came onto Main Street. He was right next to the nearest sidewalk, and he stepped up to the crosswalk button and frantically pushed the signal button with the pad of his thumb. With every second his anxiety rose, and he felt the man getting closer. It wasn't that he felt threatened exactly, but he was not to keen on confronting the man.

He reminded the purplette of a wild animal, and he certainly didn't want to see the outcome of associating with him. When he heard the sharp chirp of the walk signal he made a break for it.

It seemed to take forever to cross the street, but finally, he made it over to the other side of the street, and just as the traffic started up again, he saw the red-haired man. He was looking right at Kyou, his expression a mix of slightly annoyed and exasperated.

Kyou didn't waste any time in hurrying on and heading toward his job without a second glance.

Throughout the day Kyou couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, but every time he turned to look around, there was no one there. He tried to rationalize that the man from the station was the cause of his paranoia, but there was a part of his brain that didn't quite believe that.

He broke more plates and cups that day then he had in the entire two years he had worked at the cafe, and he got scolded shamelessly in front of the customers by his boss.

Embarrassment and anger made him blush, and Kyou being Kyou, did the only thing he could do when he was embarrassed or angry: he ran his mouth.

Kyou threw his apron into the owner's face with a few colorful phrases that involved describing what the owner could do to his dick that had everyone in the cafe blushing, and mothers covering their children's ears.

He wasn't going to let some guy tell him that he was a lazy, good for nothing guttersnipe and that he had no work ethic or respect for authority.

"And I hope this fucking place goes to hell!" he screamed as he grabbed his bag and left the door wide open with his exit.

He was so angry that he stormed out into the night with no clue where he was going. When he finally calmed down to think rationally, he had no idea where he was. Kyou cursed out loud in frustration and tried to backtrack but nothing he saw looked familiar. He groaned this time in self-pity.

"Of all the times," he grumbled to himself as he crossed a street, and went around a building.

He stopped in his tracks. There were some odd shadows silhouetted against the brick wall in front of him, and on the pavement was a woman. Her body was in a position that looked painful, and after another moment Kyou blinked in horror and disbelief. Standing over her was a creature of some sort draped in black, bubbling liquid, and its eyes glowed a sickly red. It looked like the thing was… eating her.

But when he blinked again, his gaze shifted and then it was gone. Kyou shuddered, and he turned away and slowly retreated a safe distance before he began to run like hell was on his heels.

He went around another building and this time he saw a pack of those things. They, unfortunately, had no prey to keep them occupied, so their gazes fell on him. He had no idea if this was another one of his copious delusions, or whatever, but when the largest dog-like thing took a threatening step toward him he didn't wait and stick around to find out.

Kyou was not fast on feet by any means but when he found his life or chastity on the line he seemed to have the energy, and then some, to help him get away from whatever he had deemed dangerous. And right now, these hellish dog things were the source of his terror.

He heard the things give chase, and he opted to stay away from the allies and other narrow places he could get easily trapped in. Hills too, but didn't that kind of thing only apply to bears?

He suddenly dropped the thought as he was rammed in the side, and sent sprawled out on the pavement. He landed in a trash bag and heard a sickening and muffled crunch. Pain blossomed in his leg, but he was more concerned with the beast that seemed to have him pinned to the wall.

Kyou shook in fear and reflexively swung his bag at the animal with a scream of terror as it tried to lunge at him. He felt the bag make contact, but he took off again, running as fast of legs could go as soon as he was free. He gasped in a mix of pain and breathlessness as he ran down the dark alley and his heart raced. Why was this happening- better yet WHAT was happening?

Kyousuke used to have delusions often when he was a child, constantly plagued by nightmares, and skittish of every shadow, but it had NEVER gotten this bad. Most of the time when he ignored them, the delusions would eventually go away, but this time was different. He thought that the medicine he had been taking had helped cure him, but apparently not.

Kyousuke's green eyes caught movement in the dark shadows, and his hands instantly went to pepper spray in his pocket. A fat lot of good it would do if it was more of those things though. Strands of his shaggy, long purple hair were hanging in front his face, but he hastily pushed it aside to clear his vision as he ran. What he saw in the darkness was a glowing red eye.

Shit, those things were going to catch up to him soon, but now he was trapped by something else.

He tensed, his arms raised. His legs shaking badly from exhaustion but he didn't stop running. He he didn't dare.

"Strange, you actually noticed me. Seems that I'm getting rusty with my skills," a baritone accent that had Kyou's heart throbbing in his chest stated as he stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light of a nearby street lamp. His eyes started to glow dimly, one red and one a luminescent green. "I wonder whether it's me or if it's you that has good instincts."

Kyou was almost frozen again in fear. He was reminded of the man from the train station.

The younger man tried to stop as fast he could, but at a full sprint, it was almost too late even then. His full stop brought him almost chest to chest with the white-haired stranger. The purplette collected himself and stumbled back, and brought the hand that clutched the pepper spray out of his hoodie pocket.

"What's it to you? Anyone could see you out here loitering around. Now if you don't mind, I need to get going," he said in a hurried tone as he tried to keep the desperation out of his voice, and tried to step around the man.

"No, not just anyone. I am practically part of the shadows when I want to be. So, what are you running from?" The man asked as he slowly paced around the boy. There was interest clearly written on his face, and Kyou didn't like it one bit.

"That's none of your business!" Kyou snapped, his face flushed from the expression on the other man's face and the fact that he had been running from a pack of possibly mutant creatures. "Now let me pass."

Kyou could tell that the animals were gaining on him, and his left leg was trembling as he shifted his weight on to it. He stifled a hiss of pain and ignored the wet feeling of blood dripping from his thigh as it soaked his jeans.

The man's eyes started to glow brighter, and his gaze sharpened. "So, something injured you and now you're running from it? And no, I'm afraid I'm not going to let you pass. I was hungry and, love, I am afraid you just made it worse. I'm going to get rid of the nuisances and then come back to get you, understand?"

He grinned at Kyou devilishly, and it was quite obvious he wanted a fight as he bent down and reached into his boots to pull out a set of twin daggers. Kyou was unsettled. Who the fuck was this nutjob!

"What the heck are you talking about? I don't think that you can even touch those things, let alone kill them, but if you do, I certainly don't want you coming back for me!! You are batshit crazy if you think that I will wait here so you can come back and kill me too!"

The older man chuckled briefly as if amused. " I don't kill those that interest me," he said before twirling the daggers in his hands a few times. He was wearing a black t-shirt that emphasized his unhealthy looking pale skin, and the muscles that seemed to ripple under his sleeve tattoos on both of his arms. Just wonderful. The guy was looking more and more dangerous by the millisecond.

Kyou shifted again to get off his injured leg, but it buckled beneath him and made him lean heavily against the wall. He was getting dizzy and lightheaded.

'God only knows what is gonna happen if I stay. There are worse things than death,' he thought to himself. He grunted in pain.

"...S'none of your damn business..." he repeated again, but his vision was darkening now.

'Damn,' he cursed to himself faintly, 'I've lost too much blood…'

"I should probably have waited until you were completely unconscious to do this but oh well," The man said suddenly, then almost instantly sheathed his daggers and tossed the boy over his shoulder easily. He started to walk out of the alley to a building across the street. "What's your name? I might as well know it if I'm going to help you."