Chapter Text
"mika...please." yuu whispered tiredly, his broken resolve clear on his face.
he knew how it went by now. the first child to die. the pitch of their screams. the order in which they fell. the very shape of each crimson pool outlined around their splayed limbs.
it was a cheap tactic, but it worked every time.
he didn't know how long he'd been in this realm, watching his family die over and over and over, but his eyelids were starting to feel heavy. he didn't realise it was even possible to grow tired in his own subconscious.
"have you had enough?" mika asked, tilting his head. "it doesn't seem like it. your heart is still guarded from me. rather weakly, but not so weak that i can break through."
the mika in front of him appeared how he had when he was 12, except now he was clad in a horned black cloak with a hood and a pointed tail. he definitely looked like mika. yuu watched him as he skipped weightlessly over the bodies, humming to himself.
"do you really not remember me?"
"i am a demon, yūichirō. i have no memories of my own. i do have access to your memories, however. you are quite the tragic tale. it's fun."
"but that's you. see?" yuu pointed at the scene of his 12 year old self dragging mika's bleeding body across the marble.
demon mika walked over and crouched in front of his copy, who payed the demon no mind and continued to recite his lines as if he was an actor performing on a stage.
"he does look like me. he may have even been me once. but this mika is dead, is he not?"
"...yes, but-"
"but what? are you implying that he's not dead? that he somehow lives on in me?" the demon smirked, an amused glint in his eyes. "how touching."
"it's true! you just don't remember yet, but i'll help you. it's only temporary, i'll find a way to turn you back."
"okay, you've started that again." the short blonde rolled his eyes, pacing a lap around yuu.
"maybe it's this form." he muttered. he stepped in front of yuu.
his image grew in height until he was an inch taller than yuu, his features becoming sharper and defined, his hair growing slightly longer.
yuu's eyes grew wider, his breath audibly catching in his throat.
mika grinned, flashing his needle sharp canines. the sight was a strange one.
yuu had never seen mika grin. well, at least not in that form.
he smiled a lot when they were younger. in fact, he'd never gone even a day without seeing mika beaming back at him, at the rest of their family. even when it seemed like there was no reason to be smiling.
ever since their reunion however, he found that mika wore the same blank expression. it varied, depending on whether he was angry, or annoyed, or frustrated, or hurt, or thirsty, but he certainly didn't have the same range of emotions he once had.
he did smile, however. yuu took great pride in being able to make him smile. there was a sadness behind it, something preventing his eyes from smiling along, but it was a smile nonetheless.
this smile however, unsettled him. there was nothing genuine in it, it was as if he was just mimicking the muscle movements.
"would you prefer me like this?" mika asked smugly, stepping closer.
yuu's mouth drew into a thin line, unable to look him in the eye. their surroundings melted away from the stark white of the gateway, to the dim and dusty atmosphere of an abandoned store.
"yuu-chan, help me, save me, i need you!" mika whined, throwing himself onto yuu, who staggered backwards slightly from the force.
he glowered, but didn't attempt to push mika off.
"your blood, it's the only thing that can save me." he declared with mock desperation, one arm over yuu's shoulder and with his other hand, unbuttoning the collar of yuu's uniform.
"mika stop." he muttered, turning his face away to hide the tint of his cheeks.
"stop? but i need you, yuu-chan." he pouted. he moved behind him, slinging his arms over his shoulders. "poor little broken vampire mikaela needs saving." he buried his head in his neck.
"that's what's you want, isn't it? to save me?" he whispered, his lips brushing against yuu's ear. yuu swallowed hard.
the dark haired boy nodded weakly. "...yeah." he breathed, swaying slightly, feeling as though he'd lost his centre of gravity.
"unless you lied?" mika's voice was low, laced with accusation.
"no! no, i-i do, i didn't lie!" yuu protested, shaking his head.
"you're lying. that's not what you want." mika sighed. he released yuu and started towards the end of the aisle.
yuu's body immediately grew cold at the loss of contact. he turned around and grabbed mika's arm, pulling him back.
"i'm not lying. i do want to save you. it's all i want." yuu said, desperately, his eyes brimming with tears. "please trust me, mika. i know you don't remember, but i'll fix this, i promise. and if i don't, you can have my soul. it's yours. just let me try."
the demon cocked his head to the side. this human was telling the truth, at least part of it. he really did want to save him. well, him being whoever he was before he died. he'd seen yuu's memories, and he had to admit, his past was written like a tragic novel, this mika character featuring heavily.
this desire, however, to save him, was not his innermost. it was certainly strong, and overbearing, but it was acting as a trojan horse for whatever his real desire was.
he almost pitied him. yūichirō had clearly been very attached to him when he was alive.
deep down, part of him wished he could be the mika that yuu wanted. but he wasn't. not anymore.
maybe he would play around with yuu a little more. the walls around the human's heart were crumbling, but for some reason, mika didn't want it to be over yet.
mika moved forward, so they were almost nose to nose. "if you want me to trust you, let me in. this is not your innermost desire."
he slipped his hand into yuu's black locks, tugging his head backwards, so his neck was exposed.
"let me in, all the way in, and i'll decide if i trust you." mika muttered by his ear, the low melodic tone of his voice sending a shiver down the length of yuu's body.
yuu found himself unable to protest, despite his brain screaming at him not to let those fangs pierce his skin.
just as the point of mika's fangs teased the skin of yuu's neck, he felt a sharp pain spreading through his abdomen. he cast his eyes down.
the hilt of a sword was buried in his stomach, the hand of the culprit belonging to yuu. he scoffed. this was going to be interesting. the demon punctured yuu's neck with his fangs, before the mirage around them faded to black.