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Drip, drip .
The sound of water leaking through the roof echoed through the empty hallway.
Rin stood on one hand of a grand hallway, although the regality it once had was now faded to time. Still, the remnants of that royal essence could still be sensed.
The grand hallway was desolate and practically ruined; giant chandeliers adorned with pure crystals and diamonds were now on the floor, gemstones broken and shattered into countless pieces, while the golden chandelier itself was tilted on its axis, leaving only some of the gems still intact and attached to the chandelier. Velvet curtains that covered giant windows torn and ragged, some boring holes and claw marks made by a vampire or werewolf (or maybe some untamed pet). The paintings and photos on the walls had their eyes scratched or torn out, leaving their eyes redacted.
Rin inhaled a shaky breath. He knows no fear, but at this moment, he felt a chill down his spine that he did not like.
He took one, two steps into the hallway, dodging the dripping leaks that pooled on the floor. The soles to his boots clopped nicely against the carpeted floor, the sound echoing through the vast and empty hallway. Even when the atmosphere threatened to scare the vampire, Rin couldn’t help and exhale a breath of awe. He was old , more than half a century old actually, and he had seen countless structures of magnificent stature fade away, victim to the ebb and flow of time and change. To see a piece of the past that’s probably as old as him — maybe even older — brings a sense of wonder in his dead heart.
At the end of the hallway was an old door with golden handles, the handles oddly still retaining their shine — being the most well-retained compared to the rest of the hallway behind him. The door was also pristine, with only a few scratch marks here and there. Isagi ran a hand across the wood, feeling the dents by the few marks left behind.
An uneasy feeling shot down his back. Compared to the hallway around him, this door looked relatively well-maintained, which was definitely off-putting for a supposedly abandoned palace of grandeur.
Steeling himself, he grabbed the golden handles and pushed the door open, revealing a lavish ballroom behind the doors. The ballroom itself was big and circular, high ceilings adorned with intricate molding and expensive chandeliers hanging above and gently swaying by some wind of some kind. The walls are covered in luxurious tapestries, telling of tales lost to time, as well as ornate mirrors and draped with velvet cloths, as if to cover those stories hidden behind them. The floor itself was a work of art as well, wavy lines of gold that swirled across marble, under a red carpet that led towards the centerpiece of it all.
In the center of the ballroom was an altar. The feeling of uneasiness came back in the form of another chill sent down his spine. To his (extensive) knowledge, altars weren’t supposed to exist in ballrooms.
Sensing evident danger, he took a cautious step forward, then the second, slowly making his way to the centerpiece of this place. In his ears, the voices of children harmonizing filled his senses, but it wasn’t the light-hearted happy kind. No, they were only repeating ‘la, la, la’ in an ominous tune that almost reminded him of those horror houses every mortal either severely dislikes or loves.
As Rin stepped closer to the altar, he noted the color of the altar’s cloth to be red, embroidered with golden details at the end. However, that wasn’t the only thing that he noted. On the other side of the altar, was a cloud of black mist crawling closer to the altar.
Stopping just a few steps before the altar, bright teal eyes saw the mist take form, morphing its shape to take… his form?
“What in the…” Rin muttered in disbelief. The person in front of him mirrored his appearance frighteningly well — the only thing off about it was the blacked-out scleras.
“ Do not be scared, Itoshi Rin. ” The shadow’s voice was… his voice, but it had some slight distortion and an echo to it. “ I am only a part of you. ”
“Since when am I scared?” He snarled at his shadow, to which he merely laughed.
“ Oh, Rin…you’re so pitiful. ” His other self muttered, going around the altar to walk behind Rin. “ Look at you, just a measly form of your formal, glorious self. Your ego has been tainted by — ugh, love . ” It especially made sure to say the last word as if it was the most vulgar and disgusting word ever created.
“My ego hasn’t been tainted. Look at you, still alive and about.” Rin cautiously eyed his other self walking around his form. In response, he giggled.
“ The reason why I’m still alive and about is because I’m holding on for dear life, Rin. ” Its features contorted into an expression of disappointment. “ Since when have you been so weak? Able to be swayed by that hunter , turning you from the all-might and powerful future heir to the Itoshi family’s throne, to someone who’s a weak vampire for a mere expendable mortal. Disgusting . ”
“He only made me stronger. He was the reason why I should restrain you from coming out.” Rin grumbled in response.
Though the vampire wanted to deny it, what his other self said was true — he was but a weak man in front of his beloved, Isagi Yoichi. But to Rin, he was the guiding light in the middle of a raging storm, he was the fire in the middle of a harrowing blizzard. He was the one who let Rin see the good in humanity, through him and his friends, and he was the one who helped Rin retain his humanity countless times. Rin wanted to hold onto that light for a little more, as long as Isagi lived.
Even if it was a dwindling one.
“I’m fine as myself. I don’t want to turn into a monster who’ll kill all of humanity.”
“ That’s the problem, Rin. That love for humanity is restraining your strength to take over. Don’t you want to use your strength to protect all of the vampires? Don’t you want to use your strength to protect your family? To protect Sae? ”
Rin slightly flinched at the mention of his brother, rage boiling in his system. “Don’t you ever use my family or my brother in your gaslighting techniques, you puppeteering bastard .”
“ My…you’re just as foul-mouthed as your hunter mate. Well, it was worth a try. ” His other self scowled. However, that scowl quickly disappeared, morphing into a twisted smile that sent chills down Rin’s spine. “ Oh…but Rin, you don’t have to worry about protecting your vampire kindred anymore. ”
“You’re kidding.” Rin deadpanned.
“ Since when have I? ” His shadowy self disappeared into a cloud of black smoke and fits of maniacal laughter. The black mist then overtook the room, surrounding Rin in the fog of inky black.
“ I left you a little present, Rin. You can finally unleash your berserk self. ”
The black clouds cleared up, revealing the scenery around him changing once again. Instead of the luxurious-looking ballroom, the ballroom was now like the hallway outside; worn with age and left to rot through the years. Along with that, he was standing in front of the cloth-covered table, with a person lying on top of it.
The body on the table was bloody, that’s for sure. Sanguine liquid caked the person’s pale, lifeless face and body, the person’s left arm hanging off of the table while the right covered the still-bleeding wound on their chest. Blood also trickled down from the corner of the person's mouth, a blank and dead expression on the person’s face. His clothes, pristine and white, were now stained by the red liquid as well, soaking into the white fabric of the collared shirt.
Under the moonlight, the person looked ethereal in all the wrong ways possible.
Rin’s eyes traveled to the person’s face to take a better look at it. The more he inspected the body, the more he came to the realization that it was a man that was lying on top of the altar. His hair was colored in the same shade as a raven’s feathers, and his eyes were now a dull blue. A lone tear track painted his pale skin, and his lips were slightly cracked.
Realization then hit him like a truck. Rin unconsciously drew a sharp breath of air, eyes widening into saucers. He felt his body going stock still.
The red cloth of the altar had now turned into blood. Blood from the body, flowing down the altar’s sides and onto the ground beneath, reaching Rin's shoes.
Blood from the body of Isagi Yoichi.
“No…no, this can’t be.” Rin stumbled forward, gently taking Isagi’s head into his embrace. His eyes frantically searched for any sign of life in those beautiful, ocean-blue irises of his, but he was only met with the cruel reality of dull, dead eyes.
“ Do you see this, Itoshi Rin? ” The voice of his other self resonated throughout the ballroom. “ You don’t need to worry about protecting your vampire kindred anymore…because every human is dead! ”
Rin whipped his head around, noticing that, true to his shadow’s words, corpses of humans were sprinkled across the ballroom floor, the pungent smell of their blood wafting in the air. He could see Isagi’s friends near where both Rin and Isagi were positioned, and many more people following the same manner as they were lying down — sometimes, with limbs bent in very uncomfortable positions.
“ Your powers, your instincts , now they know no bounds. Unleash that primal side of yours, Rin. ”
“Why would you do this?!” Rin cried out, sadness and sorrow turning into white hot rage. Though his anger was known through his words and the way he spoke, his body gently caressed Isagi’s dead body, hands carding through the dead man’s hair as if he were still alive.
“ Why are you pinning the blame on me, Rin? ” His other self asked in a mocking tone. “ You were the one who did it. ”
A little feeling at the back of his head dreaded about that fact being true. He spoke the truth when saying that he never lied. So why would he doubt his words now?
He would, forever and always. He’s nothing but a nuisance to his head.
“ Now accusing me of lying, are we now? ” He could hear his other self’s pout, before laughing again. “ Take a look at your hands for me. ”
Confused, Rin set Isagi on the altar and glanced at his hands. To his horror, blood caked the entire surface of his fingers and palms. When he took a few whiffs of the blood on his hands, another chill went down his spine. Though blood usually smelled and tasted copper-like to humans, blood tasted like specific flavors to the mouth of a vampire, and so does its smell too.
The blood caked on Rin’s hands smelled of honey, strawberry cheesecake, and a hint of freshly-picked flowers.
Specifically, the blood on his hands smelled of Isagi .
“No…no…nonono…” He whispered to himself as he let his knees buckle, shocked at the revelation he was experiencing. “This…this can’t be. I — I didn’t kill him…did I?”
“ Since when have I ever lied, Rin? ” His other self materialized and walked towards where Rin was kneeling. “ I would never lie. You know that. ”
“I…” Rin knew no fear. But now, the shadowy figure, who seemed to have powers to manipulate reality, is scaring him.
“ Scared? Don’t worry, Rin. I will guide you back to become your true self. The ‘you’ who’s powers cannot be matched by anyone else. Not even your dearest brother. ”
“I would never do this to Isagi. You’re absolutely lying to me.” Rin threatened, clenching his blood-stained fists and looking up to face his shadowy self. “You bastard .”
The shadow remained silent, then smiled, followed by a maniacal laughter. Unsure of how to react as his other self laughed on and on, he could make out the faint sound of…someone calling his name?
…in! …Rin!
“ Rin! ”
He jolted up, sitting upright in an instant. He felt his breathing was erratic and frantic, even though he didn’t need to breathe. He felt his hands clutching the nearest object tightly — that being a weighted blanket that was laid on top of his body. He also felt the warmth of tears cascading down his cheeks.
“Rin! Are you okay?” Beside him, he could hear Isagi’s voice, filled with fear and terror. Warm hands clutched his shoulders, the sound of the hunter’s heartbeat loud and clear in his ears.
“...Holy shit. That was just a dream, thank goodness.” The vampire breathed in and out, despite the lack of the need to breathe. Breathing made him feel more…human, in a sense.
“What, what’s just a dream?” Isagi was still pestering him, and he couldn’t really blame him. He, too, would pester Isagi if he walked into his bedroom and saw his beloved seizing and gasping for air.
“ Liebling , you were seizing up, you were crying, you were sweating, and like, you were hyperventilating. What happened in that dream?” Isagi muttered, eyebrows downturned in worry.
“I…” Rin fell silent, while Isagi ran his hand through Rin’s dark green hair to console him. The repetitive motion helped calm Rin down.
“…You were dead in that dream, mon chéri .”
His hand stopped running through Rin’s hair. “W — What did you say? I died …?” Rin only gave him a wordless nod, before closing his eyes and consoling himself again.
“By my own fucking hands.” Rin gazed at his hands, the ghostly image of blood-stained palms still vivid in his head. With a shaky exhale, he continued. “There was this ballroom, and a shadowy figure of me, my ego…he was saying this stuff at me, about not needing to protect my vampire kindred anymore, that you’re the reason why I’m weak…”
“Hey, hey. You’re not weak, meine liebe. ” Isagi shushed Rin, shifting his position to face the vampire. “Never say that you’re weak ever again.”
“But…”
“That’s only a nightmare. You don’t think a nightmare would scare someone like Itoshi Rin, would you? Because I don’t. To me, Rin is the strongest vampire out there, even if I’m holding you down, and the person who I dedicate my entire life to protecting from danger. Why? Because you would do the same for me.”
“Yoichi…”
“I’m not lying when I say that I love you, Rin. You’re better in everything that I am — you’re stronger than me, smarter than me, hell, even prettier than me. Yet, you decide to protect someone like me from any danger in the world. Like, you could’ve clearly just discarded me when I got bitten by that bastard back then. You taking care of me shows that you not only care for me, but humanity as a whole.”
Isagi placed a hand over where his heart was. “We, as vampire hunters under Blue Lock, were sworn to be the representative of humanity when we execute a vampire. We were sworn in the institution to represent the wrath of those who had lost loved ones to your kind.”
The hunter’s calloused hand then traveled to Rin’s cold cheek. The vampire felt warmth radiating off of Isagi’s gentle touch. “But…I think that’s wrong. As the representatives of humanity, we not only hold the wrath and sorrow that comes with the deaths of our loved ones, but we also represent the good of it. All the laughs and all the memories, all the joys and all the love that has been a core value of humanity for thousands of years.”
“So, here I am, Isagi Yoichi, a representative for humanity, and you, Itoshi Rin, taking care of me when you could’ve clearly thrown me away.” A soft smile spread across Isagi’s delicate features. “You’ve kept me close, because you know that we’re stronger together. Call me corny or some other shit, but I wholeheartedly believe in that.”
Silence. Rin quietly laughed, a tired but genuine smile appearing on his face. “Jeez…Yoichi. You always know how to make me whole again, do you?”
“It’s what lovers do, right?” Isagi asked while he tilted his head in a cute manner.
“Yeah.” Rin nodded. “You’re right, mon amour .”
“Do you want to watch a movie together? Maybe something light-hearted to distract your mind from those worries.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Rin nodded, planting a soft kiss on Isagi’s forehead. “I love you to the moon and back, mon chéri .”
“I love you to the universe and back, meine liebe. ”