(no subject)

[rabenhorst]

Title: The thin line between fate, coincidence and stupidity; Chapter 6
Author: seinen_no and fonulyn
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Comments:
seinen_no: Why am I always the one who has to write her comment first? Anyhow, I try not to bore you. February turned out to be a really fucked up month for me and I hope the next month will be better.
What to say about this chapter? I personally like the small things about it, though I think there are some logical mistakes there. At least when I re-read it now, it might appear that there are some. But maybe it's just me and my tired brains XD Anyhow, I hope you enjoy reading it just like the others. Have fun^^

fonulyn: First of all, I’m sorry for taking so long with this chapter. But we both had difficulties, and somehow there was just too much other things to do. But we try to be better from now on. Still, I don’t promise anything x)
And yes, there might be some logical mistakes in the chapter, but just ignore them okay :D I personally like the chap a lot, so I’m willing to just get it on with the mistakes and all XD Just enjoy!
Oh, and seinen_no always has to write her comments first because I want it to be that way :D

Previously happened: The thin line between fate, coincidence and stupidity , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5



The thin line between fate, coincidence and stupidity
Chapter 6


They walked along the street until they reached a small village where they found a shabby tavern to rest for the day. The vampire felt a bit uneasy about the fact that they would be around humans again, but it proved to be completely unnecessary. Most of the people who were sitting in the small bar parlor were travellers as well, some looking weirder than the odd couple themselves. He used some of his money to buy a decent meal for the redhead who was a bit weak due to the loss of blood which he had given to him.

They had rented a room, and after Die had eaten enough they retreated to it so that the vampire could get some sleep and rest until they had to go on with the journey.

Die didn't know if it was only in his imagination, but it seemed like the other wasn't back to his natural self yet, the happenings of the day taking their toll. In the room, they both lay down on the bunk bed, the redhead instantly turning closer to the other, even bringing one arm around him.

The simple gesture caused pleasant feelings to rise in Kaoru and he returned the sentiment, keeping the other close to himself. There was no sense in denying that he had feelings for the human, and that he enjoyed his company more than he had ever enjoyed anyone's before. Even in his still, undead sleep, he held Die tightly and it made it easier for him to come to rest.

Die didn't sleep for a second, although normally it was easy for him to use any possible moment to rest. He was just staring into distance, trying to force away the melancholy that brought a lump to his throat. It wasn't easy to know you'd die soon, the knowledge of losing someone important then made it even harder.

At one point, the vampire turned his head to look at him, knowing the other wasn't asleep. "I do everything to protect you. I promise," he whispered and although it had been clear before already, he nodded to emphasize his statement.

"I know. Just don't get yourself into too much trouble." The words made the young man smile a bit, because he knew as well as the vampire that there wasn't much he could do to protect him.

The answer elicited a few chuckles from Kaoru and he shook his head. "You are supposed to wait till I'm asleep and try to kill me or sneak out on me and not to defend me with your life, you know." At a moment's notice, he became serious again. "No matter what happens, I want to thank you. Nobody ever did something like that for me."

"You're welcome." Die answered honestly. "There was nothing else I could've done." That was the truth, he hadn't even been thinking about his actions, knowing it was the only possible way.

"You could've used your brains and run," retorted the vampire grinning. He wasn't sure where this would lead, but suddenly he had a real companion, somebody who stuck to him, whom he could trust.

"I know," The grin was mirrored on the young man's face, and he instinctively pressed himself a bit closer to the other. "But maybe I'm just too addicted to you to let go."

"It's not healthy for a human to be addicted to a vampire and usually ends with being drained." Despite the seriousness in his words, Kaoru was still smiling, even chuckling a bit. "I should've known I'm too irresistible for you."

"So it's all in your irresistible charm?" Almost contently the redhead snuggled closer to the other, closed his eyes and enjoyed the short moment of togetherness.

Silently, Kaoru enjoyed it as well, loving the warmth that radiated from the other. It made him melancholy too since he knew this body would soon be cold, most definitely dead, his beautiful smile gone forever.

"What if we flee together?" he suggested quietly after some time had passed. He knew it was only his desperate attempt to escape the inevitable.

"Didn't you say your master will be able to track you down wherever you are?" Die's voice was silent, because he didn't really want to remind Kaoru of reality. "He'd hunt us both down."

"But we'd still have a chance and it's less stupid than to just go there and deliver you like planned." The vampire raised his chin stubbornly, shaking his head.

"If we go there, at least one of us is safe. If we run, we'll probably die both."

"I won't live if you die."

"You will."

"We won't discuss this right now." Kaoru didn't like the way in which Die had taken over control, in which he began to dictate his life and took decisions for him.

"I'm sorry," Die apologized instantly. But he was determined that at least the vampire would live through this all.

Kaoru wasn't so sure about this, for he knew he wouldn't just stand there and watch the head vampire torture and kill the man he had fallen in love with. And if he dared to step into his way, he would be doomed as well, that was for sure.

Absent-mindedly the young man was toying with a strand of the other's hair, lost in his thoughts again. In lack of anything to say he made the other tilt his head by placing his palm on his cheek, leaning in to give him a kiss.

There was something desperate in the way the vampire answered to it, turning around on his side and rolling closer to his human lover. Indeed, they were stuck and no matter which way they would head from now on, they would have to fight and probably face death. Kaoru wasn't afraid to die, wasn't even afraid of the pain or of the hellfire in which so many people believed. No, he only feared for the young man's salvation, for his life which shouldn't end before time. So he thought about playing for time and took the decision to try his luck and fool his master. Maybe he hadn't infiltrated his mind enough to find out he was tricked and if he did, then it wouldn't change anything at all but that the two of them would be doomed.

Although there were worries in the redhead's mind, he pushed them back and tried to ignore them as best as he could, just living for the moment. It would be of no use to worry about the future right now. They could try to find out about the prophecy and about how they might be able to get out of the whole situation the next night, when they'd be able to leave the room actually.

As for this day, neither of them slept a second anymore. Determined to forget the worries and the threat which were trying to suffocate them, they were getting lost in each other, sharing hot kisses and passion until the sun was slowly sinking behind the horizon and it was time to get up and get going again.

This time, Kaoru chose to ride on horsebacks because they would make headway quicker and it helped to buy them some time to find the origin of the prophecy. He only knew about a small, practically abandoned, monastery where an old monk lived who was supposed to know about it. So they were heading that way, speeding through the night.

Die trusted the vampire fully with this, following him silently. He had no idea about anything, as he had practically learned everything he knew from Kaoru, so he trusted his judgement and was hoping they'd find a solution for this somehow.

He hadn't been sleeping well for a long time now and it was slowly beginning to take its toll on him, leaving him more tired than normally. Kaoru noticed it, but knew there was nothing he could do for him at that moment. When it began to snow, the ride became more than unpleasant for his human and brought him close to his physical limits. So when they passed by a bigger town, Kaoru decided to take a small detour to buy Die something warm to drink and to organize some warmer clothes for him.

The vampire used the opportunity to telegraph his master and told him that the prisoner had managed to escape, and although he had caught him again, they had lost a lot of time. The answer he received didn't give away if the head vampire believed him or not and only said he should hurry.

And hurry he did, bringing the horses close to collapsing when they continued the trip. Luckily, the place where they were heading this time wasn't that far away, and by driving both, the horses and the redhead, close to their physical limits they reached the place before dawn.

Kaoru had to help Die off the horse, and even support him as they went inside, the human's muscles aching. It was a hit to Die's pride, but he swallowed it down, knowing they had more important things to think about. There was not much time left till dawn and Kaoru thought they might as well give it a shot and go and ask the monk if he knew anything.

Of course he couldn't step into the church, but the monastery itself wasn't based on holy ground. It made him nervous still though when he knocked on the door, steadying his exhausted companion with one arm around his waist.

A tiny man opened and peeked outside, instantly crossing himself when he spotted the vampire. "Unholy creature, how do you dare to knock at my door? I won't invite you."

"Please," Die had rested his head on the vampire's shoulder, even grateful for his help now. "We need your help. Just please let us in and we can explain." He tried to look as pleading as possible, hoping this would be enough explanation for the monk. He already begun to sort out his thoughts in case he would need to do some more explaining though.

"You can come inside, but not the creature." The man looked at Kaoru who nodded smiling. He felt that the sun would rise soon and either this man let him in now or he would have to go and seek another hideout somewhere else.

So the vampire spoke slowly. "I don't mean any harm. I promise. We're only here to learn about the prophecy. He is the chosen one."

The monk's eyes went wide and he leaned forward a bit. "He is?" And then nodded hastily. "Oh yes, yes, he is indeed. Red hair by nature coming from a far away country." He spoke quickly, excitedly. "Come inside, come, come in."

The redhead gave the man a thankful smile, and they quickly got into the building. The monk guided them into a library, and for a moment Die could only stare at the books, because he would've never believed there were that many of those in the world even. Kaoru helped him sit down in one of the chairs, and he tried to collect himself to be of any use.

"You fed on him?" The monk asked, piercing Kaoru with his gaze. The vampire shook his head. "No, but we rode all night and he is exhausted." Nodding, the small man rushed away without telling either of them where he went.

Kaoru knelt down in front of the redhead, softly brushing a strand away that was stuck on his face. "Will you last?"

"Just gimme a moment to recover." Die smiled softly at him, really appreciating the concern. "Something to eat would be nice too."

As if on command, the monk returned with a small tray, a bowl of strong soup on it, bread and wine. He put it on the table next to the redhead and gave him a blanket. "Are you the other?" he asked Kaoru, arching an eyebrow.

The vampire startled frowning. "What other?"

"The other in the prophecy." Without further explanation, the small man climbed a ladder, reaching out for a huge book in one of the top shelves.

"So there's someone else in the prophecy as well?" The redhead looked after the monk, for a moment forgetting to eat although he was practically starving.

The monk just turned his head a bit, to cast a glance at the two. "There are many people included in the prophecy. And you must find out about all of it before you leave here."

He obviously knew more, but didn't intend to help them. He only piled up books on a table in the middle of the room and when he was done, nodded at them. "There you shall find everything."

Kaoru shook his head, thinking that it would be impossible to go through all of them without taking at least a month of time. "So you won't help us?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Read them and then I tell you what I know."

"Read them?" Die looked mostly desperate, casting a glance at the books. "But I don't even know how to read the language."

"You don't know Latin?" the monk asked, casting a glance at the vampire for confirmation.

Kaoru smiled. "I didn't have the time yet to teach him everything. And he only knows a bit English so it might be hard to ..."

He was cut off by a hectic handgesture of the small man. "But then he can't be the chosen one. He is supposed to be an educated man."

"But he is," the vampire contradicted. "Well, at least he is learning rather quickly."

The monk nodded, skimming through his library. "There's this one book in your mother language, but I don't think it tells anything."

Kaoru shook his head. "It's okay. I will read and translate."

With having said that, he opened the first book. Shrugging, the monk left them alone again without saying neither where he'd go nor when he came back.

"Okay, let me just go to the point where they speak about the chosen one and then see if we find something interesting."

"Okays," Die nodded, attending his soup again. "Just tell me if there's something I can do." He felt somewhat useless as he didn't even know how to read those damn books. The food was making him feel better though, as well as the warm blanket and the fact that he was sitting on a steady chair instead of a horseback.

The vampire fell silent, skimming through the content of the books which were written in many different languages. Some told a lot about the prophecy and some only gave a tiny bit of information. Nevertheless, he wrote everything down, be it only a short sentence or a whole paragraph only to gain information. Knowing how important this was, he managed to focus completely on reading without wasting a single thought about the redhead, without even noticing that he was there for the time being.

As soon as he had eaten, Die only sat there silently, waiting for the other to go through the books. There wasn't anything he could do to help right now, and he thought he could as well just keep out of the way.

Finally, the monk came back, father Horatio, as he had introduced himself and he went straight to Die, signalling him to follow. He knew that the other didn't speak his language very well, but the father on his side knew Die's a bit. In fact, he had spent a few years overseas, had been living with Buddhist monks who had taught him to speak it.

For some reason, he hadn't trusted the two strangers enough before to give it away, but he seemed to have changed his mind. "Follow me. I show you something." He spoke with heavy accent and replaced some words he didn't know with his own language and huge gestures.

It was enough for Die to understand though, and after taking a glance at the vampire, he got on his slightly shaky legs and nodded at the monk in agreement. In passing by, he squeezed Kaoru's shoulder encouragingly, smiling at him as he looked up from the book. The vampire mirrored the smile and nodded at him, but returned to his task again instantly.

Father Horatio led the way through a long cloister to a tiny chapel. All along the way he was babbling, but sadly, the language he thought was Die's happened to be a blurry mixture as he had forgotten most of it throughout the decades. However, in the chapel he guided the redhead into a small aisle and pointed at the floor. "The prophecy."

There were pictures, pictures of a redheaded boy who stood up against a black army of darkness. The pictures were old and obviously not originating in Christianity, but nevertheless gave away a bit. "You are the one who will bring either balance between the living and the undead or eternal damnation for one of the parties."

As Die looked at him in lack of understanding, he pointed at the pictures again. Silently the redhead locked his gaze on the drawings, taking a few steps to the middle of the floor so he could see the pictures clearly. There were a lot, some clearly coming from imagination as there were huge armies fighting a war against each other.

Suddenly he stopped, frowning as he looked at one picture. "What's this?" There was the red haired boy, but he was together with someone, apparently hand in hand.

The monk shrugged uncertainly. "Love?" He suggested and then went on. "Or guidance. It needn't be a real person."

He stepped closer as well, looking at the picture in question. Then, he slowly turned his head, looking at the young man silently for a long time. Could it be? Was the vampire the other in the prophecy? But why should an unholy creature help a human to fight his own kind? That was impossible.

Die looked at the picture for a long time without saying anything. The other figure in the drawing looked like a woman though, a bit shorter than the redhead, standing right beside him. But he knew that these were only drawn by humans, meaning that the prophecy didn't necessarily mention anything about the other being a woman.

The same thoughts were running through his mind as the monk's, and he didn't know what he should make of this. Did it mean he was destined to fight for balance with someone, and if yes, could this someone be the vampire he was with? Or then it meant that he had to take a decision. Either for Kaoru or against him; or that he had to fight the vampire once, because he turned against him?

There were too many questions and although the pictures had at least given him an idea about the possibilities, they wouldn't solve the riddle.

"Did you ever confess your sins?" Horatio asked in broken Japanese. Probably he would understand the redhead and if he was the chosen one, he should be free of sins, should have a clean soul although he certainly wasn't a catholic, not even Christian.

"No," Die shook his head, smiling a bit apologetically. "I'm not even sure if I know what you consider sins." He had a vague idea about the religions, because those had been amongst the things Kaoru had been talking to him about during their trip. But he didn't remember everything he'd been told, and mixed some religions together.

Father Horatio shook his head disbelievingly. "So you don't even know the holy book?" Without waiting for an answer, he took him by the hand and dragged him to the confessional. "You should try nevertheless."

Kaoru meanwhile became nervous because the monk and Die were gone for so long already. He decided to take a small break, but then found out that he couldn't leave the house because it was broad daylight outside. So he just wandered around in the house, trying to get his head clear and to make something of the things he had read. If this was true, there would be a fifty-fifty chance they could stand up against the head vampire, or Die could. He hadn't found anything about a 'second' one though, only that the chosen was guided by love and passion which would lead him the right way and make him take the right decision finally.

Obediently the redhead followed the monk, meanwhile going through whatever he knew of this faith in his head. He remembered hearing about confessing sins, but he couldn't remember what exactly a sin was for them. At least murder and stealing probably, since even the law punished those.

The monk was still talking something to him, but half of it passed by unnoticed simply because he didn't understand the words. He was gently pushed into the confessional and father Horatio went into the other cabin, sitting down there. To him, it equalled blasphemy that the chosen one wasn't Christian, but who knew what God had planned for them? He began with the ritual, asking if Die had any sins to confess.

Still confused, Die bit his lip, trying to still remember the sins. "Well," He begun unsurely, "I at least haven't killed anyone, nor stolen anything." He couldn't help but to chuckle a bit ashamed since those were the only ones he could come up with right now.

"Did you lie?" The monk tried to help a bit, but had to chuckle. This would be harder than he had thought.


Kaoru meanwhile had gone back to the books but couldn't concentrate as well as before. What if the man convinced Die that he was evil? That he had to kill all vampires including himself? Now that he had finally brought himself to trust the human, had even fallen in love with him, would he betray him? And if not, what if the monk just tried to separate them to get rid of the unholy creature himself?


"I'm not sure." Die pondered about lying, and finally shrugged a bit. "I guess I've lied sometimes." His answers were like one of a child, but this was all so new to him and he at least tried his best.

"Did you ever commit the sin of lust or excess?" Horatio shook his head. This person had never heard of the seven deadly sins and maybe he should just let him pray in his language a bit and give him his blessings. After all, if God had chosen a heathen for his holy war, there must be a deeper meaning to it.

"Lust?" The word caused the redhead to smile a bit crookedly, and a slight blush to appear on his cheeks. "I know that one."

"Good," the monk purred and then shook his head. "No, not good, bad! Very bad! A sin." He had thought that the redhead wasn't without sin and thus was only glad to finally have found one. "Will you promise to never do it again and prey for the lord to stand you by?" he asked. There was no sense in sticking to the ceremony, so he went for simple words as it was hard to communicate still.

"Will I promise to never do it again?" Die turned towards where he knew the other was, his eyes slightly widened in surprise. "No."

"Good." Horatio sounded pleased until the answer had reached his brain and he turned to look through the small gap in the wall, pushing his face against it. "No, no, no, no. You have to abjure it if you want to go to heaven. You at least have to try.”

He had blushed as well due to agitation. "You need a clean soul if you want to fight evil." How on earth should he explain a foreigner in a foreign language about Christianity?

"But I know I will do it again, at least if it's up to me, so why should I lie and tell I won't?" The redhead didn't understand wholly, and arched an eyebrow, looking at the man questioningly.

The monk rubbed his temples, shaking his head. "Just say that you won't ever do it again and confess that you committed a sin and then I will punish you for it and everything's alright." He finally said, releasing a deep sigh, but couldn't deny himself the comment. "A man should only be with a woman for reproduction and preservation of mankind."

As a monk, he was used to living chaste and he had always had the most problems in understanding other people's sexual desires.

"Well, I can promise I won't do it again when it comes to women." Die offered, still looking towards the monk from huge innocent eyes. "If it helps."

Gasping, Horatio shook his head frantically. "Just say that you don't do it again. You don't even have to mean it. Just confess and everything's okay."

He closed his eyes. Why on earth did God choose such an unsound soul for his crusade? He had often heard men confess to share their bed with boys or other men, but they had always seriously regretted it and promised not to do it again. Of course they had come back for confession every week. But this redheaded stranger just didn't seem to understand that he acted against nature and was supposed to at least pretend to regret it.

"Okay," The young man shrugged, repeating obediently. "I won't do it again." He tilted his head a bit, his natural curiosity rising in him again. "What's so bad in wanting another person?" He really wanted to know how the monk would explain it, since he didn't see anything wrong in it. "I mean, I get it if you think about jumping from one to another. But what if there's only one you want?"

There was indeed something special in the redhead as he mixed perfect, almost accent-less English into his own language when he spoke. At least he was a fast learner. Horatio flinched a bit at his question, thinking about it for a moment. "You are supposed to marry to get the blessing of God for your relationship to one person. And you're not supposed to-," he hesitated, again shaking his head, "to share the bed with somebody unless you're not married."

"But I can't marry someone who's not alive really," Die frowned, thinking of the situation he was currently in. In his mind there was no doubt that he'd share his bed with Kaoru whenever the occasion called, in every sense of the word. He was beginning to think that the monk was probably a bit old and mixed things up.

"Gods!" Only when the word had left Horatio's mouth he noticed that he had been swearing. Instantly, he began to mumble something but stopped, thinking that the redhead's salvation was more important than the neglect-able sin of a small curse.

So the vampire and this boy... A vampire? He had never heard of a vampire committing himself to one human being, never heard of an equal relationship in this constallation. Usually, humans were only slaves for vampires, providing blood and pleasure whenever the creature felt like it. At least that's what he had read in his countless books. "You can't marry a man. Furthermore, the undead can't step on holy ground, so he can't go into a church." Again, he pushed his face against the gap. "You cannot be with him. It's ... it's ... Against every natural law."

"But I love him." Die replied simply, the statement coming straight from his heart. He hadn't ever said it to the vampire even, but now that he said it out loud, he knew it was true. It made him smile a bit, as it was a good feeling to finally have sorted out his feelings and admitted them to himself.

The monk reached one of his small chubby hands through the gap towards the redhead and touched his shoulder. "Just let me tell you the punishment for your sins and then I can bless you."

He saw that there was no way to explain a foreigner why this was wrong, let alone convince him of abandoning his strange love towards the vampire. But it made him think. Maybe, the woman in the drawing was a man in reality? Maybe it showed the undead creature? But just because the boy was in love with the vampire didn't mean that the other returned the feeling with as much conviction.

Die nodded at the words, and they swiftly were done with the confession after that. If one had asked Die, he had said there was no doubt that the vampire cared for him as much as he for him. All these things had made him think though, so that he didn't even notice the aching of his body anymore when he followed the monk back to the room where Kaoru was attending the books.

As they stepped into the room Die instantly greeted the vampire with a soft smile. "Found anything?"

There was a relieved expression on Kaoru's face when he looked up and saw the redhead's smile. "Well, a lot and nothing at the same time. The books contradict themselves. Breaking it down, the chosen will bring balance or doom. His blood is precious but the power from it can only be gained by a secret ritual which is written down in some chronicles I couldn't find here and I never heard of. At least they say it has to be done during new moon and day in order to unleash his powers." He smiled wearily. "Three books said something about guidance for the chosen and two spoke of love and determination." Shrugging, he leaned back in his chair. "And that was only the short summary."

"I saw a picture there," Die nodded back into the general direction from where he had just come. "It's full of battles and happenings, everything circling around this red-haired figure and his companion." He made his way to the chair he'd occupied before, carefully sitting down. "And I confessed my sins." He grinned, taking a glance at the monk who stood near the door.

The man nodded, although he didn't understand everything they were talking, because it was too quick for him to follow. Kaoru arched an eyebrow. "His companion? So there really is a second one? According to the books, it's only his spirit." But then the meaning of Die's last sentence struck him and he snickered. "Confessed your sins? What sins?" He knew the bible well, and had always thought this confessing tradition was stupid.

"Lust." Die chuckled, his eyes sparkling. He tried to suppress his grin though to go on with the more serious topic. "And there is someone else. Looked a bit like a woman to me, but could be a small man too."

"Lust, huh?" The vampire shook his head, and Horatio excused himself, this time telling them he would have to feed the chicken and the pigs in the stables.

Swiftly, Kaoru stood up, stretching his limbs and mumbling. "So it can't be me. I'm not small." Although he had meant it to be a joke, he somehow couldn't believe that the prophecy was talking about him too. Why should a simple, low ranked vampire such as him play for a part in the eternal battle of good against evil?

"You're not small," The redhead had to laugh a bit, shaking his head. "But you're shorter than me, so in the picture it could be you." He looked straight at the other. "And I didn't even know lust was a sin."

"A sin for those stupid Christians. Nobody with a bit sense would call something that feels this good a sin." Smiling softly, Kaoru approached the other's chair, and knelt down in front of him again. "It can't be me. I'm too unimportant. Besides, why does the story only talk about 'the chosen one' and not 'the chosen ones' then? It's your war, not mine. I'm only there to make sure you get out of it alive."

"You're not unimportant." Die shook his head instantly. "What am I then? An uneducated, simple person who has never even set foot outside his hometown before this happened. I'm not that important either." He couldn't resist and reached out to touch the other's cheek a bit.

The vampire's black eyes kept on gazing right in the man's brown ones. "You're the chosen one. You don't need to be educated and you will make it in the end." He nodded and tilted his head a bit to lean into the warm hand which felt so good against his skin.

"We will make it in the end." The redhead corrected, caressing the other's cheek with his thumb. "Since you're chosen too. If not otherwise, then I'll choose you."

Kaoru chuckled a bit due to the conviction that resonated in the other's words. "Do I have a choice?" Slowly, he stood up and planted a small, affectionate, kiss on Die's forehead. "I better keep on working. We don't have much time."

"Just tell me what to do to help." Die smiled a bit, before chuckling. "And no, you don't have a choice."

"You can go through my writings." With having said that, Kaoru went to the table and tossed a pile of paper on the redhead's lap, the handwriting resembling hieroglyphics because the vampire had hurried so much.

Nodding the young man did as he was told, and soon they both were concentrating on reading, working side by side as they tried to learn as much as possible of this in the short amount of time they had.

When the sun was sinking again, Horatio had joined them some time ago, trying to help, they knew everything there was to know except for the ritual itself. All three had come to the conclusion that the vampire had to play a part in this too, though they weren't sure how big his part was.

Sighing, Kaoru closed the thick book he had just ended to read and rubbed his face. He was tired and furthermore needed blood. What he had taken from the redhead had only been enough to heal his wounds, but not to give him back all his strength which he would need. It was impossible to tell the monk though and so he just remained silent while Die and Horatio were eating a meal the monk had prepared.

Die noticed it though, and he gave his companion a worried glance. He didn't dare to say anything while the monk was present, and waited until he left to take the plates to the kitchen before addressing the vampire. "You need to feed too." He stated seriously. "I could wait here if you wanna go out to hunt." The thought of the other killing people by draining them from their blood had disturbed him at first, but now he just took it as a natural thing, Kaoru needed to eat as much as he did.

Actually, Kaoru wouldn't have to kill his victim necessarily, but it just felt so good. Once he sank his teeth into the neck, there usually was no holding back when the warm substance flooded his mouth and became his own, permeating into his veins and making his heart beat.

To him, it was a miracle that Die wasn't disgusted, that he even reminded him about this fact. Nodding slowly, he stood up. "I will be back swiftly." Once outside, he headed towards a small village, drawn by the presence of humans like a wolf.

Die tried to occupy his thoughts by going through some of the notes again, hoping the other wouldn't take long and come back soon so they could go on with the journey. He wasn't exactly keen on getting to their destination, but knew they had no choice.

Father Horatio didn't ask where the vampire had gone when he returned and found the redhead alone sitting on the chair. With a soft smile, he handed him a small pot. "For your rear when you go on riding. I noticed that you're not used to it."

"Thanks," Die took the item, smiling honestly. "What is it?"

"A housemade salve." The monk leaned forward a bit, whispering conspiratorial. "For all kinds of soreness." He had noticed the redhead was aching all over, but had also seen with his able eyes that his lower back seemed to hurt the most. First, he had thought it was only because of the ride on horseback, but after what the boy had confessed, he had figured that there was something adding up to that.

The redhead's eyes lit up as his smile widened considerably. "Thank you. For everything." He was really thankful for the monk for all the help he had offered, from the salve to finding out of the prophecy.

It didn't take long and Kaoru returned, the color on his cheeks telling everybody that the hunt had been successful. "Shall we get going?"

Father Horatio nodded. "Yes, but wait." Hastily, he left the room and came back with a silver chain, a crucifix attached to it. "You will need it." He said to the redhead, handing it to him. "Wear it. It's blessed and no vampire can touch it."

Kaoru looked at the thing suspiciously, but nodded. "He's right. It might be useful."

"Does it mean no vampire can touch it, or no vampire can't come two feet closer to it?" Die looked a bit suspicious as well, not really liking the thought that the thing would chase away all vampires.

Smiling, his purple-haired lover stepped towards him after the monk had attached the chain around his neck. When he was one foot away from Die, he pulled a pained face, unable to tear his eyes off the cross and when he stepped closer, he changed automatically. He even touched it shortly, showing that it burned his skin.

"It's only a small one," Horatio said apologizing.

"I'll take it," The redhead nodded, but sighed a bit as he didn't really like this. But he knew that Kaoru was probably the only vampire to his liking, and he should try to keep a fair distance from the others. He thought he would just take it with him and wear it only when they had reached destination.

"Just one moment. I packed you some food." Again, Horatio hurried away. Now that he was sure those two were the ones mentioned in the prophecy, he wanted to help them with everything he could offer. Besides, he liked the simple stranger who was so unconditional about everything.

Smirking, Kaoru approached the other again after Die had stored the disturbing crucifix in his pocket. "Now I can't even sin with you if you don't want to."

"So beware not to piss me off." Die grinned happily, leaning closer to kiss the other. "Or you won't get any."

Sighing theatrically, the vampire lifted his hands. "With what did I deserve that? A filthy human who has me in the palm of his hand."

Just then, Horatio returned with a small bag of food for Die. "There's a bit of holy water in it too. Just in case." He turned to face Kaoru. "Good luck to you two. May God bless and guide you."