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It wasn’t uncommon for graveyards to be built adjacent to churches. The consecrated land would validate the purity of those poor dead souls for heaven. The proximity to the church also surely would ward off evil beings.
Amado had never been superstitious. Only recently had he discovered that some things superseded what he had thought possible, rational.
Rather than changing his world view, he found that it had been easy to adapt around it, merely adding new rules onto the rules of nature he thought he knew so well.
Vampires, the undead, whatever exactly he had gotten himself into, they didn’t operate illogically. There was a set of rules, some adhering to superstition, others defying. If people knew how close their ghost stories were to reality certainly there would be well founded mass hysteria.
And it was very close to reality.
Maybe that's why Amado felt more and more uncomfortable as the sun set further.
He could tell by the shadows it was nearing 5 PM, and there was probably only a good twenty minutes of daylight left.
He shivered despite himself at the October harshness.
Just where the hell was Code anyway? He had had a bad feeling about being forced to retrieve a relatively inconsequential former belonging of Jigen’s by himself anyway.
Even for someone as pragmatic by nature as Amado, an empty cemetery nearing twilight was not his favorite place to be. Especially with the kind of trouble he had gotten himself into recently.
He hated to admit it, but during the hours of the night his life somewhat relied on the protection of Jigen and his underlings, with the target on his back that came from that same protection. It was really an unfair situation.
It didn’t help that he had been digging up and desecrating one of the graves in this same cemetery just hours earlier. Sure, it was one of Jigen’s false graves from a past “life”, but it was morbid business nonetheless.
Another seven minutes passed.
He began to consider the possibility Code had seen this as an opportunity to silently get rid of him. He could fairly easily pass it off as an accident, and while Jigen would be furious, Code might take the gamble that he wouldn’t outright be killed by Jigen. Amado highly doubted he would be, if it came to that.
He adjusted his grip on the parcel. The coldness at his fingers and at his face was starting to creep through the rest of his body the longer he was out here. The far east sky was already deep blue as the shadows seemed to grow ever longer by the minute.
He felt a chill go down his spine before he heard the noise.
Branches cracking under inhuman feet.
He turned slowly and saw a figure stalk out of the dark grove. Their pace was metered and unhurried and Amado found himself backing up.
The figure paced forward to calmly lean against one of the twisted yew trees lining the cemetery, a few meters beyond the wrought iron fence that was certainly not tall or sturdy enough to keep anything out.
There was enough light to make out the disturbingly placid face of Kabuto, eyes contrastingly predatory as he stood in the shadows.
“And what do you have there?” Kabuto’s speaking voice carried easily across the distance.
They looked at each other and Amado understood Kabuto’s flat smile. Once the sunlight had dwindled sufficiently, Amado wouldn’t be standing here so casually.
“Nothing of interest to you, I’m sure.” Amado said dryly.
Kabuto clicked his tongue. “Anything of interest to Jigen is of interest to us.” Great. “Including yourself, Mr. Sanzo.” Even more great. “Lord Orochimaru sends his regards.”
“I’m flattered, really I am.” Amado took a few steps backwards.
Kabuto took a few steps forward and Amado uncomfortably realized how far the shadows stretched. This wasn’t going to last him very long.
Sweat trickled down the back of his neck. Where the hell was Code?!
Meanwhile Kabuto looked positively unbothered. He had all the time in the world for the sun to set, unconcerned with how far Amado could possibly go to escape.
Amado looked around, surrounded by gravestones and dead leaves. Behind him was the ornate iron gate connecting the cemetery to the church. Superstition chimed in his head. It seemed like a very natural thing for people to revert to. He started walking in the direction of the church.
Kabuto's expression switched minutely into irritation and he stepped up his pace, seemingly uncaring of the low light laying just a few feet in front of him.
Emboldened, Amado pushed open the rusty, unlocked doors with a screech that sounded more like a wail. How long had it last been since those were opened?
By now it was almost twilight and he could hear Kabuto’s angry steps behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw him advancing, skin slightly singing as he left the treeline, but not enough to do any real damage. Amado broke out in a run until he climbed the stairs up to the church door.
He stopped and turned around to see Kabuto standing ominously at the open gate, glaring at him.
So that was one more thing that was true. Amado was too wary to feel properly triumphant. Vampires can’t enter hallowed ground.
So much for the consecrated land of the church graveyard, Kabuto was slowly pacing across the trodden down dirt with no injury.
Amado pushed into the old church and immediately was overwhelmed with the musty smell of years of dust. It was pitch black save for the old stained glass
windows on the far wall letting the twilight stream in, light catching on the billions of floating dust particles.
The entire place felt distinctly old and lonely, like Amado was the only soul, live or otherwise, to occupy it in hundreds of years.
He felt around in the dark, trying to find a torch or candelabra he could use.
“Come now, Amado.” He heard Kabuto calling him. It sounded like his voice was coming from right next to his ear, which was unnerving. “I just want to talk.”
Amado gritted his teeth as something sharp nicked his finger. “We can talk just fine from here.” He called out. There was probably no need to yell, he knew Kabuto could hear every noise he was making.
“We know you have Replication, think of how much more you don’t know. Lord Orochimaru would be more than willing to share our knowledge with you.” Kabuto
continued.
Amado found a single candlestick and set the parcel down to shake his matches out of his cloak pockets.
“You could make so many more breakthroughs helping us than being trapped at Jigen’s side.”
Amado ignored him, struck a match. The single flame of light he had was better than nothing. A gust of wind blew in some dead leaves from the open door and almost blew it out again.
Kabuto continued smoothly talking. “You and I both know you can’t stay in there forever Amado.”
“I’m sure you have much better things to do than wait around for me. Don’t let me keep you from them.” He could hear Kabuto’s scowl.
“On the contrary, I have nothing but time.”
Amado felt the truth of that as he stood helplessly in the cathedral. Sure, he was safe in here, but Kabuto probably could wait him out, or try any number of methods to chase him out. He imagined even after sunrise the area wouldn’t be completely safe, when any of Orochimaru’s daywalking experiments could catch him unaware. Even if Kabuto couldn’t step foot in the building smoking him out, blackmailing him out, nothing was out of the question. Right now he was like a rabbit hiding in the bushes, completely helpless.
All he could do was really hope that Code was just running late or Jigen eventually wondered where he was after a couple weeks. Preferably before he died of starvation.
“You might think you’re safe in there, but I assure you, before the sun comes up you will not be.”
Comforting.
All of a sudden Kabuto’s incessant chatter was cut off. Instead Amado heard a loud crashing, splintering sound, and the sounds of an ensuing scuffle. His heart raced even more.
Quickly as it started the ruckus died down and it was completely silent again. Amado grew suspicious as he heard complete nothingness from outside the church. Only the wind whistling through the dead branches.
If it were Code he surely would have said something by now, likely scolding him or cussing him out.
He crept to the door and looked out.
Immediately he locked eyes with Jigen.
He was standing like a statue behind the gate, gravestones rolling behind him and the dying twilight just barely making his sharp features visible. Even his clothes barely moved in the wind as he stood, glittering eyes staring at Amado through the bars.
Amado noticed his collar and the corner of his mouth was stained with blood, uncommon, since Jigen was a notoriously clean eater. His hands were folded behind his back and he still didn’t move a muscle.
Amado wasn’t used to the sense of wrongness he felt, the sheer presence of Jigen sometimes. It was different from the other vampires like Code and Kabuto. The most similar aura was Orochimaru, who made your skin crawl without even having to be in the same room.
But the sensation of Jigen’s presence wasn’t creepy in the same way. Just ominous, almost oppressively so. It was worse in moments like these.
Amado felt a deep refusal to move from where he was standing as he looked at Jigen. From this distance the expression on his face looked unfamiliar.
Amado realized after a couple seconds that Jigen also couldn’t enter the church. He couldn’t even step past the gates. He knew one of his weaknesses now.
Jigen removed one arm from his back and unblinkingly beckoned Amado forward. Amado didn’t move.
“What happens to you if you cross past that gate?” He asked, voice calm.
Jigen narrowed his eyes at him, not in the least bit playfully. “You should ask what happens to you when I cross past this gate.”
A transparent bluff. “Are you threatening me, Jigen?” Amado scoffed.
Jigen didn’t respond, his gaze remaining dark.
“Then what about holy water, crucifixes? Is that part true as well?” He pushed his luck.
“Amado.”
His tone was commanding, clearly no tolerance for questions. Amado still remained where he was. He knew one of Jigen’s weaknesses now.
Of course, he was sent to a graveyard near a church, surely Jigen should have considered the possibilities of vampire intervention causing him to put two and two together.
However the vampire seemed undeniably irritated. Perhaps this was not in the realm of his calculations.
Eventually Amado picked back up the parcel and walked out of the decrepit church. The wind blew the doors shut behind him as he descended the stairs, and he couldn’t help but feel like it would be another lonely couple decades before they opened again.
He paused when he got to the gate, standing on the threshold across from Jigen.
It was a little ironic, Jigen was standing on the land filled with dead bodies and one step away Amado was on hallowed ground. If Amado was a religious man, or put much stock in symbolism it would have struck him as meaningful. But he was neither holy nor sentimental like that so he walked across to join Jigen.
Instantly Jigen zeroed in on the parcel he was holding.
“It’s in here.” Amado lifted it up. He had wrapped it for more convenient transport. Why Jigen had made him go through all this trouble for just a chalice would likely become apparent to him soon enough, so he didn’t bother complaining.
In fact it had been tempting to pocket some of the other treasure that had been in the casket, presumably all of Jigen’s former worldly possessions he had taken with him to the underworld in this old identity. But Jigen had only told him to get the chalice, so he covered everything back up as obscurely as he could, hopefully nothing to strike the interest of future grave robbers.
Jigen chose to unwrap it to inspect it clearly. When he was satisfied he carelessly pushed it back towards Amado, who rewrapped it.
“You put me through a lot of trouble for this.” Amado shook his head. “Where was Code a half hour ago?”
Jigen looked at him. “I assigned him to take care of other business.” He tilted his head. “Am I not more pleasant company?”
Amado rolled his eyes. That ominous sense surrounding Jigen was mostly gone, although it was unnerving to look at him and see blood on his face and clothes. It was a nasty reminder of the kind of monster he actually was, despite always seemingly being put together.
“In that case, where were you a half hour ago?”
“Hunting.” Jigen didn’t so much as smile but Amado still felt a predatory amusement in his face. “I assumed you could take care of yourself for a little while. Clearly I was wrong.”
Amado frowned uncomfortably. He wanted to start walking, but had no idea where Jigen had his carriage. If he had even traveled by carriage and not just walked here. He didn’t have Code’s teleportation abilities, after all.
He fished out a handkerchief and handed it to Jigen.
Jigen looked at it blankly. Amado motioned with his chin. “You have some blood on your face.”
Jigen took the handkerchief, carelessly wiped the corners of his mouth and then crumpled it up and pressed it back into Amado’s hand, pressing his cold hands over
Amado’s to curl it into a fist. It was almost a caress.
“So attentive.” He hummed.
Amado immediately wished he hadn’t even bothered and hastily wrenched his hand free to shove back in his pocket, mildly disgusted by the fresh blood he might have touched.
“You always notice the small details, don’t you Amado?” Jigen’s wry look took on a more pointed air. “Don’t forget the bigger picture, hm?”
The corner’s of Amado’s mouth tightened grimly. He wasn’t sure what kind of response he was looking for so he just nodded.
“One more thing.”
Jigen’s eyes flashed as he spoke and before Amado could react he reached out and seized his wrist, pulling his hand back out of his coat.
Amado instinctively moved to pull away but obviously achieved nothing.
Jigen turned his wrist to examine the small cut on his finger he had gotten from fumbling in the dark in the church. He eyed Amado, watching unbearably for his reaction.
“Be more careful next time.” He pulled Amado’s hand, half curled into a weak fist, closer to his mouth, that had been bloodstained mere moments ago. “You’re lucky I’ve already eaten.”
Amado felt discomfort roiling in him, and his heart pumped loudly in his ears. Underneath that, he found a sense of anger bubbling up.
He hated how Jigen could get him off-kilter like this, and he hated that he did it on purpose. More than fear, by now, he was starting to be annoyed.
He met Jigen’s unnerving red gaze and didn’t move, even as Jigen pulled his palm ever closer until his lips brushed against his fingertip, just above where the small cut was. It was barely bleeding anymore but Amado still instinctively felt a flash of nervousness at the vampire so close to it.
A slow smile crept along Jigen’s face, so Amado supposed he must have flinched or something. At any rate, he could feel how red his face was. Still, it wounded his pride a little as he snatched his hand back from Jigen, feeling like he had somehow lost at another stupid mind game.
Damn he hated how Jigen could get in his head like this.
“Noted.” He mumbled, rubbing at his wrist where Jigen had been holding.
Jigen was still watching him, with an annoying suggestion of a smile. His eyes were challenging him to look away first.
Amado thought for a moment, battling discomfort. The challenge in Jigen’s look was nagging at him to meet it. He raised his cut finger to his own mouth and before he thought better of it licked the blood off.
The eye contact felt tangible between the two and Jigen’s eyes narrowed predatorily.
Amado’s heartbeat jumped again in an unbidden response. He crossed his arms back under his cloak and turned away. He couldn’t take it anymore for the night.
At least he tried to turn away.
Without a moment of pause Jigen grabbed him, pinning his arms against his body and yanked Amado into proximity, tilting his head down to hover between the junction of Amado’s neck and shoulder. Amado gasped as he felt cold lips on his hot flesh.
His collar covered most of his neck except the corner where it met his jaw, which was where Jigen attacked with a gentle, open mouthed kiss. Amado’s nervous system panicked, expecting the punch of fangs that never came.
He mouthed at Amado’s jawbone and all Amado could do was swallow heavily, frozen in shock.
It was an unforgettable sensation.
He heard Jigen sigh or maybe snicker before his hands slowly loosened and trailed to smooth the front of his cloak..He drew his head back to look at Amado with those same narrowed, dangerous eyes.
“Don’t give me that aggrieved expression, Amado, you should know better than to tease me.”
Amado let oxygen enter his brain again so he could think rationally. After a moment he replied, glaring.
“So it’s ok for you to tease me, but not the other way around?”
“When do I tease you? You make me sound so lecherous.”
Amado had to roll his eyes. “I wouldn’t dare to insinuate that. But since you were the one to say it…”
Jigen actually smirked which translated to Jigen actually laughing. “It sounds like you’re asking me for more, but I’m afraid tonight’s not the right time. You’ll have to be patient.”
Amado’s eye twitched in irritation. “Lucky me.”
As soon as Jigen turned around and began heading toward the forest Amado unconsciously touched his neck. Even though Jigen hadn’t bitten him he felt a phantom throbbing sensation as if he had. Every part of his body was reacting.
Damn this. Damn how he could rile Amado up like this.
As Jigen reached the treeline he turned around.
“Holy water is a myth.” He said levelly. “However crucifixes do affect us, not enough to be fatal, but we are physically burnt by the sign of the cross, to varying extremities. Similar to how we burn once we set foot on holy ground.”
Amado blinked at him. He smiled cryptically and turned back around, continuing onwards.
Who knew if he had been lying or not, but Amado filed the information away.
Luckily it started sprinkling as they walked so Amado, who didn’t dare say anything else for fear of starting Jigen up again, soon had a new physical discomfort to focus on. Not to mention the fatigue slowly starting to set in after a long day of desecrating graves and hiding for his life.
“Is the carriage nearby?” He bothered asking.
For a moment he thought Jigen was going to ignore him as he continued at his placid pace, several meters ahead of Amado. Then his response carried back to him eventually.
“I didn’t bother with it.”
Amado wanted to shake his fist in frustration. “So we have to walk all the way back to the castle?” It sounded almost petulant as it came out but it would be over an hour and a half of walking, at least.
Jigen didn’t pause. “Naturally.” His voice came with a trace of his ill-timed genuine amusement. “I certainly don’t intend to carry you back.”
Amado didn’t appreciate that, as intended.
He bit his tongue and accepted his impending bout of pneumonia.
They continued their lonesome walk in the darkness and left the church and the graveyard behind.