Warning: This story contains violence and non-consensual elements. Please read with caution.

Chapter Nine

A ringtone that brought Kyousuke back to consciousness at first, then it was pain.

Kyou's chest was in so much pain. It hurt to breath and it was difficult to not hack up the blood flowing down the back of his throat.

He let out a sharp grunt at the sharp crack that came when he moved his arm to find the phone ringing on the ground beside him.

Kyou could just make it out through the black creeping around the cracked screen display. The caller ID read "Lyall".

He was able to bring the phone close enough toward himself. It took all his concentration to swipe the correct button to open the line.

"Darling, you know, I forgot to tell you something else-"

"H...hel...lp," Kyou managed to say, the word coming out in a slightly gurgled whisper. He tried to say something else but his voice was stuck in his throat.  "Al…o...s…"

There was a click of the line with no response from Lyall. Kyousuke's aching body sank into the pavement in the realization that he was going to be on his own.

He let out a small gasp of air before another cough wracked his body. Great. This was just fabulous.

Kyou tried to put his arms or legs under him. Sharp pains then an aching numbness began to settle in his muscles.

It scared him and helped him at the same time. He was able to stand, barely, and leaned against a nearby brick wall.

One of his arms was completely useless and both his legs were threatening to give out any minute.

He assessed his vision and hearing as well to find one eye swollen up and one ear torn in multiple places where the fuckers had ripped out his earrings one by one.

Kyousuke spit out blood and then tried to hobble to the entrance of the alleyway where he hoped he could find some sort of help.

Distressed and pained noises escaped his lips with every step Kyousuke took and he felt every pound of his heart beat as he inched closer.

The brick felt foreign against his skin as he used it to help him inch his way toward the street. He had no idea what time it was, or if there would be anyone to help him, but he didn't want to die like this. He wouldn't die like this

Following that thought another fit of coughing brought him collapsing back onto his knees. He cried out, the sob only making it halfway out before he began coughing again.

Blood was everywhere.  He couldn't see it, but he felt it. His skin and clothes where slick with it as he held his hurt arm to his side.

When Kyousuke had a respite from his coughing he tried his own cell phone. The face of his phone read 4:07 in the morning.

It was an old phone and his minutes were used up. He had been meaning to get more but he hadn't had the time or the drive to go out on his days off.

Kyousuke cursed at himself as he tried to stand again, but his legs refused to move at all now. The throbbing in his ears was gone and cold began to set in, as well as his fear.

Despite the resolve he had had moments before, he began to cry. Well, more like whimper. He was going to die here. He really was.

After what seemed to feel like hours, the last bit of pain seeped away, leaving only cold, numb nothingness.

Then he heard a clatter. What little hope he had died in his heart a moment later when he heard,

"Must'a dropped my phone somewhere around here when we were beating up that vamp fucker! Its gotta be here somewhere. We've looked everywhere else…"

A moment later he saw boots stop in front of him.

"Well lookie here~ Fags still got some life left in 'im," he knelt down, "What did you think you were doing? Gonna get help?" he laughed and grabbed Kyousuke's hair and yanked his head up.

Its didn't even feel like it was Kyou that was experiencing it. Suddenly it was like he was looking down on himself and his assailant.

He was a bloody mess, covered with cuts, and Kyou didn't even recognize his own face.

Then, just as suddenly, the guy's head wasn't connected to his body anymore. Kyou watched the man's decapitated corpse fall and his own body slump unconsciously to the ground in silence.

A figure stepped out of the dark of the alleyway, his figure silhouetted from the lights of the town behind him. All Kyou could see it was fangs glittering with red blood and his hands a gorey mess.

Before he could do anything else, Kyousuke was enveloped in darkness once again.

****

It was warm and comfortable, Kyou thought as he went in and out of consciousness. His memories flashed in images and feelings as he was brought back from sleep, time and time again.

Cool wetness touched his face, his neck, his torso, and light breaths tickled the skin of his chest.

He groaned as he tried to move away but a firm grip held him in place. Kyou soon gave up and fell back under a wave of sleep.

When he woke up again, he came to slowly. The warmth of thick blankets made him want to go back to sleep but everything came back suddenly and it made him sit up involuntarily.

Kyou cringed,  expecting pain, but nothing came. He checked his arm, it was fine, he touched his eye, it was fine. He checked everywhere else, he was fine.

He patted himself through the covers in disbelief.  "What the…"

Kyousuke pulled the blankets off of himself and examined his bare torso and stomach. His carmel skin was flawless, free of bruises and any signs of what happened.

He looked around and saw he was in his bedroom, and the from the orange sky it was probably near dusk. He let out a sharp exhale through his nose and shook his head.

Kyou decided to put his confusion aside and stood up. He was wearing sweats already, so all he had to do was put on a shirt before going down stairs.

The house was quiet as he padded down the steps and onto the cold tile floor of the kitchen. He looked in all the rooms and found himself alone in the living room.

"This is creepy…" he whispered to himself and started to back out of the room.

"What's creepy?" a voice responded and Kyousuke's back hit something solid behind him.

A frightened scream escaped Kyousuke and he spun around to find Aloys looking at him.

"Mother fucking- Aloys! You just scared the shit out of me!"

He half expected the vampire to laugh at him but Aloys' face was serious and colder than Kyousuke had seen a while.

"Are you...okay?" Kyou asked the fiend haltingly.

Aloys' hand was suddenly under Kyousuke's chin, his thumb and forefinger tilting the human's head up for an intense inspection.

"How are you feeling?" Aloys asked instead, seemingly ignoring Kyou's question.

Kyou hesitated to answer. "I don't  know...What happened exactly?" he asked, and brought his hand up to wrap his fingers around Aloys' wrist.

The vampire immediately dropped his hand and stepped away from Kyousuke's touch.

A sharp sting filled Kyous chest. It surprised him, but in a few seconds he was focused on Aloys' deep voice filled with anger.

"You didn't listen," Aloys said. "You nearly lost your life, Kyousuke."

Kyou bristled. "Yes, I know, and I'm sorry-" he began to say but he was interrupted by the vampire.

"No, you don't  know," he snarled. "You were on the verge of death, you bloody ignorant human! Do you know what had to be done to heal you? You couldn't even be taken to a hospital because it would have been too late, do you understand? Because of your damn stubbornness I-" he cut himself off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned partially away from Kyousuke.

Kyou clenched his hands at his sides. He knew what he had done was wrong. He should have just fucking listened and waited.

"I'm sorry-" he began again.

"Oh, you're fucking sorry! Bloody brilliant!" Aloys exclaimed sarcastically, then turned and punched the wall beside him in frustration. It crumbled away easily under the vampires strength.

Kyousuke flinched and involuntarily began to shake. He felt tears prick his eyes, but he refused to acknowledge them, even when they pooled and started to drip down his cheeks.

"I really am. I know what I did was stupid and it must have caused a lot of trouble. I want to thank Lyall for helping me…"

Aloys was quiet a moment before laughing in disbelief. "You want to thank Lyall?" he asked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Kyou blushed. "Yes. He must have heard me on your phone when I answered it. I hadn't thought he did."

Aloys just scoffed at Kyousuke, then turned while he shook his head.

Kyou felt hurt for some reason unknown to him and couldn't help but reach out to stop Aloys from leaving. He paused halfway before retracting his hand and brought it back down to his side.

Kyousuke just watched in silence as the vampire left.  He knew Aloys had every right to be angry. Kyousuke was angry at himself more than being scolded, and he hung his head, standing by himself in the darkening living room.

He stood there for a long time before getting a hold of himself enough to go back to his room. As he got dressed he called Mew, asking him if could come pick him for work.

Kyousuke figured Aloys didn't want anything to do with him right now and that was understandable. He felt like he needed to be doing something to keep himself busy. He said as much to Mew.

The red skinned demon agreed readily and said he would be over in about 15 minutes to pick Kyousuke up.

Kyou nodded to himself as he said ok to Mew and thanked him before hanging up. He grabbed his bag and and went down to the front door for his shoes.

Aloys was there waiting for him, leaning against the wall by the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To work…" Kyou replied, noticing Aloys wouldn't look directly at him. "I feel perfectly fine, and I don't need to feel like I'm just leeching off of you."

Aloys didn't say anything. He just straightened and opened the door.

Kyou hesitated for a moment then shook his head and walked out the door. He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and stood out on the steps.

The door shut with a loud bang behind him.

Kyou waited and couldn't get in Mews car fast enough when the car pulled up to the curb. He buckled up and held his bag on his lap, tapping his foot subconsciously as they drove off.

Mew looked at him sideways. "Are you alright, Kyou? I heard about the other day from Lyall."

Kyou looked up at the now dark sky and watched the light of the city go by in a blur. "Yeah. I guess…"

"Well, if you want to talk-"

"I said I'm  fine," Kyousuke repeated without looking away from the window. "Thanks though. 'Preciate it."

Mew opened his mouth again, but then just grunted in confirmation.

The rest of the ride was silent and Kyousuke was happy to get out and get to work.

He started right away in the stock room by unloading and stocking the goods on the shelves.

He knew Lyall was in his office upstairs. He knew he'd be down later, so Kyou practiced what he was going to to say to Lyall as thanks for saving him.

He was so wrapped in his thoughts, when his watched chirped to get on the floor, he almost dropped the jar in his hands.

He wrapped the apron around his narrow waist and pushed the door from the back open and went over to the bar.

Lyall was sitting at the bar. Without looking up from reading the newspaper in his hand he greeted Kyousuke.

"Hello, darling. I'm surprised you're here. Due to Aloys' depressing manner no doubt."

"Y-yes," Kyou stuttered in surprise although he shouldn't be. Lyall seemed to always know what was going on. "And t-thank you…" he managed to get out.

Lyall turned a page of the paper and raised a slender eyebrow. "Oh? What for?"

"Well, for helping me," Kyou said as he lightly scratched the back of his neck.

Another page was turned.  "Oh, but I didn't help you, dear."

Kyousuke was confused and was about to open his mouth to ask what Lyall meant, when the vampire continued.

"That was all Aloys. Once he realized you had left, he went out to look for you. Poor thing almost lost it again." Lyall slowly folded the paper closed and set it gently down on the lacquered counter. "I am not the one you should be thanking, sweetie."

Kyou blushed. "He never said anything to me."

"Of course not. And he won't. Aloys Keiran has his faults, but fame seeking is not one of them. He takes credit where credit is due, but he won't beg for it. He'd rather wither away and die first."

Lyall stood and fixed his hair over his shoulder. "He's going to be unbearable for awhile so I suggest you apologize sooner rather than later, my dear. But regardless," he lightly clapped his hands together, "I am glad you are alright now."

"What exactly did he do to me?" Kyou couldn't help but ask.

Lyall gave him a narrowed side eye. "I think that's best for you to ask him. I don't want to get involved," The vampire retorted as he made his way to the front to greet the first patrons of the night.

'You're already involved…" Kyou felt like saying but just kept his thought to himself.

He sighed and rubbed his face. Jeez, no wonder Aloys looked like he had swallowed a bunch of nails when Kyou had been talking.

There was nothing to be done right now,  he decided, and re-tightened the apron before he went behind the bar and began to prep the glasses and bottles.

He would thank Aloys and apologize when he got home- even if he wasn't sure what the result would be.