Chapter Text
“Fifty thousand yen.” Noiz’s voice was perfectly even, and he seemed almost bored with the transaction despite the hunger scorching his insides.
“Seriously!?” The woman exclaimed loudly. “For what?” He wasn’t even sure where he had picked her up from—was she the one that had been watching the Rhyme match before? She’d been yelling awfully loudly, cheering him on.
“Your blood.” When she didn’t say anything, Noiz’s eyes slid over to meet hers. Was she considering it?
“H-how much of it?” Noiz waved his hand in a dismissive way.
“Five hundred milliliters, more or less.”
“What do you want it for?” She seemed determined at this point—she was probably desperate for cash. Noiz knew how hard it could be to make a living in Midorijima, hence why his offer was fairly substantial. He’d given others more, but he never gave less than twenty five thousand. Whatever he thought would easily win over their pride and also give a nice tip was what he would offer. Very few had tried to bargain for more from him thus far.
“I want to drink it, obviously.” Wasn’t too bright was she? He wasn’t even trying to hide his fangs, either. Still, her blood smelled tasty; reckless people had the best flavor for Noiz, and this woman reeked of it.
“W-what?” Noiz sighed, standing up.
“Let me drink some of your blood, I’ll pay you your fifty thousand yen, and you can go home with no one the wiser. However, do know that if you tell anyone about this transaction, you’ll be forfeiting every last bit of blood I can take from you. And obviously, you won’t be getting compensation for it. Are we clear?” Noiz held out his hand to her, gazing down with sharp but still bored eyes.
She looked up at him then back at his hand several times, obviously unsure, before she cautiously took his hand. Noiz turned that hand over, leaning down to bite sharply into her wrist without a moment’s hesitation. She flinched, but otherwise remained fearfully still.
Several long moments passed, the heavy silence only broken by the sound of quiet gulps. The woman watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as her blood was swallowed, the sight somehow intriguing her despite the concerning circumstances. Finally, Noiz withdrew, licking the last bit of red from his lips. The wounds on the woman’s wrist sealed quickly, leaving a lightly discernible bite mark but not much else.
“Here,” Noiz said, dropping a small bundle of cash onto her lap. “You can go now.” She picked up the money, staring at it before tucking it into her shirt and standing up. She made her way to the door, then turned around one last time, gently holding her wrist.
“T-thank you,” she said. When Noiz didn’t respond, she took her leave. The man sighed heavily in her absence.
“What the hell are you thanking me for?” He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts by one of his Usagimodoki chirping, a holographic screen popping up in front of him.
“New information has been found about Sly Blue, pi!” Noiz examined the screen.
“Sly Blue…” There still weren’t any clear pictures of the former player, all of them slightly blurred as though he was moving too fast to be properly photographed. All Noiz could ever discern was a mass of long blue hair and well-worn clothes. A new photo popped up. “A junk shop?”
“It seems he works there now, pi!” Noiz raised an eyebrow.
“That’s a step down from Rhyme...” Noiz considered the new information. “Put it on the map for me.”
“Roger!” Noiz turned away from the screen and headed out the door. He could practically taste Sly Blue’s reckless, powerful blood on his tongue. “‘Hasn’t been seen in a fight for two years…’ We’ll see about that.”
Finding the elusive Sly Blue had been a lot easier than his reputation would suggest; in fact, it was almost suspiciously easy. Noiz was under no delusions about how good he was at his chosen field, but he couldn’t help but find this situation a bit odd. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop him from pulling the man into a drive-by.
“It is truly an honour,” Noiz said slowly, listening to his distorted voice echo through the field. The blue-haired man in front of him didn’t seem very intimidating, especially in his current outfit, but Noiz was still on his guard. He was confident in his own fighting skills, but he was still keenly aware that if he was ever going to lose in Rhyme, the man before him would likely be the one to beat him.
And Noiz wanted to win this fight. He really did. He could smell the other’s blood, and even though the digital environment tainted it somewhat, he could tell that it would be a delicacy worth fighting for. Winning the fight would give him much better leverage with which to acquire some. So he prepared to fight with all of his strength.
The battle was over practically faster than he could blink, his winning fight quickly turned over and crushed by the suddenly maniacal Sly Blue. He had lost. A foreign feeling assaulted Noiz’s mind as he stared down at his bandaged hands. He couldn’t even place the emotion, but it didn’t feel good. He’d never lost before. He didn’t know how to deal with it now that he had.
But he wasn’t about to give up. He’d win against Sly Blue, and he’d get a taste of that enticing blood, or he’d die trying.
“Seragaki Aoba…”
“Yeah…?” The blue-haired man seemed a little bit on edge, but since he was working, he put on a smile anyway. “What can I help you with?” Noiz walked up to the counter, slowly surveying the shop as he went.
“It really is a junk shop, huh…?” Finally he leveled eyes with Aoba.
“Of course. It says so on the sign, doesn’t it?” A hint of irritation had worked its way into his voice. Noiz just stared at him. “Are you looking for something?”
“Just you.”
“Me?”
“You.” They stared at each other for a moment before Noiz leaned in, pressing his lips to Aoba’s firmly. It took half a second, but the blue-haired man recoiled sharply, wiping his mouth.
“What—what the hell!? What are you doing!?”
“Kissing you, obviously.”
“Obviously! But why!?” Noiz shrugged nonchalantly.
“Fight me in Rhyme.” Aoba just stared at him. “Or, if you don’t want to, you should give me some of your blood. Both would be preferable, actually.”
“What.” It wasn’t even a question.
“Play Rhyme with me, or donate some of your blood. Or both.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“What part is confusing? Rhyme and blood. That’s all I want from you.” A heavy silence filled the air as they stared each other down.
“Why do you want my blood?”
“To drink.” Aoba looked even more alarmed than he had just a few moments ago.
“W-what? No! Absolutely not! What kind of weirdo are you!?”
“The kind that needs to drink blood. And the kind that doesn’t take kindly to losing at Rhyme.”
“Losing…?” A memory finally struck Aoba’s consciousness. “Y-you! You’re the one that pulled me into that drive-by yesterday!”
“Yeah.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Aoba shook his head in annoyance. “You can’t just drag people into Rhyme battles against their will!”
“I can, and did.” Aoba heaved a sigh.
“Just go, will you? I don’t do Rhyme anymore. And I’m definitely not giving you any blood.” Noiz frowned slightly, but turned and made his way out of the shop. He’d obviously have to take this up another time.
“What kind of a crazy kid is he…!?”
“Let me guess, Rhyme and blood, right?” Noiz hadn’t even come into view before Aoba asked the question. He could recognize the man by his shadow at this point, that was how often he came in to hound him. Surely enough, the blond rounded the corner and made his way to the counter.
“Just one rematch and half a liter, that’s all I’m asking for.”
“That’s a lot to ask from someone you don’t know!”
“We’ve talked plenty enough; you could hardly call us strangers.”
“You haven’t even told me your name!” The man was quiet for a moment.
“…Noiz.”
“Noiz?”
“That’s my name. Now can I have some blood?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“You obviously want it for something weird.”
“I told you, I want to drink it.”
“People don’t drink blood!” Noiz frowned at the comment.
“Well, I do. In fact, I need it to survive. And your blood smells delicious.” A faint pink tinged Aoba’s face.
“I don’t believe you.” Noiz raised an eyebrow.
“Is that the problem? If I proved it, would you let me have some?”
“No.”
“What would it take, then? Money? Information? Favors? Sex?”
“W-what?” Aoba stuttered. He was definitely blushing now.
“Is that a yes? You want to fuck me?”
“N-no!”
“Then you want me to fuck you?”
“No!”
“Your face doesn’t match your answers. You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure! I don’t want that!”
“Then what do you want? I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement. Everybody has a price.”
“Not me. I don’t want anything from you.”
“Hmm.” He made a humming noise in the back of his throat, then turned and headed towards the door. “I’ll find something. Everybody has a price.”
Admittedly, this isn’t how he liked to deal with getting himself fed, but once again he had forgotten to have any blood for over a week. He seemed to do that a little bit more than he probably should, but he already had a bad habit of going too long without blood (or normal food, for that matter) just because of absentmindedness, plus the painful burn in his body that resulted was too alluring to ignore most days.
The man shuttered hard as he harshly sucked the blood out through his arm, a bit too hungry to keep a polite level of control over himself. He was confident his prey was strong enough to withstand it though, so he didn’t worry about hurting him.
When he had taken as much as he could without crossing into dangerous territory, he tucked his payment into the man’s pocket and pushed him away. The man only made it a few steps before collapsing. Noiz paid no mind and swiftly exited the alley.
The person standing wide-eyed at the end made him stop sharply. The blond felt liquid trickling down his lip, so he quickly lapped it up with his tongue.
“Y-you…” The blue-haired man started, pointing at Noiz.
“I?”
“Did you just--!?”
“He’s not dead,” Noiz said, sensing Aoba’s worries. “I was a bit too hungry, so he passed out. He’ll be fine in an hour or so.”
“But you—you actually—”
“Drink blood? Yeah. Did you really think I was lying? I mean, you did say you didn’t believe me but—” He stopped sharply when he noticed Aoba wasn’t listening to him. His eyes were riveted to the unmoving body down the alley. Noiz stepped up and waved a hand in front of the other’s face. “You alive?” Aoba jolted and looked up at him. His face still held traces of fear.
“Y-yeah.”
“Well, if you’re alive enough, will you give me some blood now?”
“You just had some!”
“I said I was hungry. I can’t take enough from one person without killing them to fill my stomach right now. I’ll need more…”
“I’m not giving you any.” Smirking, Noiz swiftly planted a kiss on Aoba’s lips. The strong taste of blood nearly made him retch, but Noiz pulled away faster than he had time to recoil.
“Then I’m off to find more. See you tomorrow.” Noiz waved casually as he made his way past Aoba and the junk shop the other man had evidently just closed up.
“How about a date then?” Aoba blinked.
“A date?”
“Yeah.”
“With me?”
“Obviously.”
“Why?” Noiz sighed loudly.
“I’m not one to give up, but it’s clear to me that you’re not going to say yes under the current circumstances. So I might as well enjoy some other things with you.”
“But we hardly know each other!”
“You keep saying that but we’ve talked every day for the last month, and several times before that. We could’ve gone steady by now.”
“Mhm.” Aoba stared at him for a few moments. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Fine. I’ll go on a date with you. If you promise not to jump me or pull me into a drive-by again.”
“I can’t make any promises on jumping you, but there’ll be no drive-bys.” He turned to leave. “Tomorrow evening. I’ll pick you up from here.” He swept out of the shop without allowing Aoba even the tiniest opportunity to object.
The dinner had been delicious, and Noiz had even behaved himself for the most part. Aoba had tried to be subtle about watching him eat, but he couldn’t control his curiosity and the younger man quickly noticed. Teasing had inevitably followed.
How they ended up in the back alley together, Aoba was entirely unsure, but it was hard to be concerned when Noiz was kissing him like this. He barely had room for breath, but he didn’t particularly care until Noiz moved away from his mouth to kiss down his neck. That was when he panicked and pushed him away suddenly, alarm bells blaring in his head. It was clear his shove hadn’t done anything, but Noiz still voluntarily backed away slightly.
“I wasn’t going to do anything,” the blond said slowly. Several emotions swirled across Aoba’s face at once, betraying all of his thoughts. “That is,” Noiz stepped closer once more. “Unless you wanted me to?”
“N-no!” The blue-haired man mentally cursed when he heard how high his voice sounded. Noiz’s eyes seemed to stare right through him, until the man lowered his head closer to his exposed neck.
“You sure?” His breath danced across Aoba’s flesh. “Don’t you wonder what it would feel like? My teeth sinking slowly into your skin…” Something sharp grazed across his throat. “Sharing your life force with me…?”
“Stop!” Noiz withdrew, smirking.
“Too scared, hmm?”
“What do you mean scared!?” Aoba demanded.
“Why else are you resisting so hard? Aren’t you interested? You get an experience, I get the blood I want and need at no cost to your health. Why do you keep refusing?”
“Because it’s weird!”
“Weird?”
“Yeah!” Noiz hummed in thought.
“Who cares?”
“I do!”
“You’ll make out with me in a seedy back alley on our first date but donating some blood to a starving vampire is too weird for you? You’ve got some twisted ideas in there.” Aoba blushed, making an angry face. He looked like he was about to say something in retort, but instead he just looked away.
“F-fine!” Noiz raised his eyebrow in questioning. “Fine! I’ll let you.” Noiz’s eyebrows shot up.
“Seriously?”
“Y-yeah. But only if you make sure no one finds out about it.” A smirk formed on Noiz’s face, and he leaned in towards Aoba’s neck again.
“No problem.” He opened his mouth to bite before Aoba pushed on him. “What is it now?” He was getting impatient, knowing he was finally going to get a taste of Sly Blue’s surely delicious blood. It wasn’t often he got a meal that he actually liked the taste of.
“Not here.”
“Too embarrassed?”
“I just don’t want to pass out in a creepy alley, okay!?”
“You’re not going to pass out. Besides, it’s not like I’d just leave you there.”
“Still!” Noiz sighed.
“Fine. We’ll go back to my place.” Aoba honestly wasn’t sure if passing out in Noiz’s house was really a better option, but he wasn’t about to take him back to his own house, so he followed after the man’s retreating back anyway.
Noiz held the door open for Aoba to enter after him, and the older man stepped in slowly. He was interested to see Noiz’s place; his curiosity wasn’t disappointed. The apartment was fancy, but somehow it still reflected Noiz’s personality; a pile of blankets and pillows in one corner must have been something like a bed (maybe more properly called a nest), and the coffee table was covered in computer monitors and keyboards. There was a couch that looked like it hadn’t been sat on in ages fittingly pushed against the far wall under a large window.
“This place suits you,” Aoba said absentmindedly. Noiz looked around as though he didn’t live there.
“I guess.” They stepped further into the apartment, Aoba toying with the idea of sitting down on the couch. Somehow it seemed inappropriate to sit on such an unused couch even though he was sure Noiz wouldn’t care. “You can sit if you want. I just prefer the floor,” Noiz said, as though reading his mind. Aoba reluctantly did so, the disused springs creaking slightly. He was surprised when dust didn’t come flying out of it. Noiz took a seat beside him despite his earlier statement.
“So…”
“So?”
“You live here…?”
“Obviously.” Noiz fixed him with a hard stare. “You’re stalling.” Aoba swallowed, about to say something. “If you don’t want to do this, then just say so.”
“No, I agreed, so you can go ahead.”
“You’re sure?” Aoba nodded slowly. Noiz smirked. “Still stubborn,” he muttered, moving closer. He gently slipped one hand under Aoba’s hair to hold his neck, using his other to pull the man’s shirt away. As he leaned in, Aoba’s reflexively stretched his head away from him. “Stop flinching.”
“I can’t help it!”
“Just take a deep breath then.” He started to do so, then Noiz abruptly moved forward and bit down, Aoba feeling his small fangs break skin. He inhaled sharply from the pain, instinctively grabbing onto Noiz’s sleeve tightly.
Aoba could hear soft gulps coming from the younger man, emphasizing the strangeness of the situation, and though it wasn’t altogether unpleasant, it felt weird and he hoped it would be over soon. The awkwardness passed fairly quickly, and Noiz pulled his mouth away, but not before licking over the tiny holes.
“W-what the hell!? Why’d you do that?” He touched his hand lightly to his throbbing neck.
“You said you didn’t want anybody to know; they heal almost immediately anyway, but my saliva will make the scar nearly invisible.” He moved back, giving Aoba some space, before thoughtfully touching his fingers to his lips. A look of concentration crossed his features. “Your blood is perfect…” Aoba’s face turned bright red.
“Huh?”
“Perfect.” Noiz repeated. “Like it was made for me…” He trailed off, thinking about something.
“Don’t say something so embarrassing!” Aoba crossed his arms, looking away. After a moment, Noiz seemed to snap out of his thoughts.
“Do you feel okay?”
“Yeah…”
“I didn’t take very much, so you should be fine. I have some things I need to attend to, but do whatever you want. Head home, sleep here, help yourself to the fridge… I don’t care.”
“O-okay.”
“See you later then.” Noiz quickly departed. Aoba took a deep breath in his absence, resting his forehead on his palm.
“What have I gotten myself into...”