Blood... so much blood.

Hate.

Anger.

Kaiba! Well, I guess the anger part was the right thing to think about, because right this second, I don't think my Kitten could be any angrier. Wonder what he's upset about?

Shit.

The door slams open and... Holy hell, did I just squeak? I think I just squeaked. I did know that I was up out of my chair and my older-- Well, I'm not sure which relation Seth is to me, but I know he's my great- something or other. Anyway, he's snickering. I don't like it. Amber eyes flash dangerously at me and I just stare back.

"Yes, kitten?" It sounds very innocent to me, but I can see that he's not buying it.

"Exactly when were you planning to tell me that someone's been trying to kill Dorobou?" Ahh, damn it, I knew I forgot to do something. I feel Seth moving behind me. Damn.

"You didn't tell him?" Is that anger I sense? Well, I just don't give a damn. "Well, Seto?" As I try to think of an acceptable answer to give them both - which, by the way, I can't - I'm feeling the effects of another headache coming on. Definitely not the best timing. It is almost endearing to see him use my own glare on me, but since he is older than me I guess it was his glare first, but I digress...

"I was hoping that the wolves could diffuse the situation before the activity escalated." Okay, not my best answer, but under pressure, I'd say it's a good one. "Besides, if Katsuya practically tears other Weres in half for looking at one of us funny, I shudder to think what he'd do if he got his hands on a would-be assassin." That is also true. Perhaps they'll buy it.

"He's an Alpha, hikari." Hikari?; When the hell did I become 'hikari'? And what the hell do I have associated with 'light'? Not a god damn thing. I'm a vampire, for god's sake. What part of light, flowers, and fluffy clouds do you see in that equation? "You can't? expect him to not act when his human pard is endangered." Okay, he has a point. I think I am just not used to my Kitten being Alpha, but he was Alpha long before I got into the picture, just an unknown Alpha.

"Damned right I'll act!" Uh oh, Seth's started something here. I am really not in the mood. That headache that was coming on? Well, it is now an official migraine. The thudding is not making my life any better, and for that fact, everything is echoing. "If I catch one of these bastards, I'll spread him or her out on the front lawn as a warning."

Yeesh. Not on my fucking lawn! Does he know how much money and time and effort goes into my lawn? There is no way, no way. Note to self: Call my secretary make sure Kitten is very, very, very far away from the house when he finds this guy. "That could be messy."

"Not to mention time-consuming." Trust Seth to put a time table to killing. I'm guessing he's done this quite often.

"Don't think I won't." There's a serious look on his face and the scent of a kill in the making surround him... Scratch former note to self: I will make sure he's away from the house. Oh god, and will he hurry it up? I'm seeing double now.

"And don't keep shit like this from me, Seto. You know I always find out." He says it almost resignedly, like he knows I would do it again and he accepts it, but I guess I could try. Kitten storms out of the room. Thank goodness. I put my hand on my desk; the room is starting to spin, definitely not a good thing.

"I don't know why you try to protect him so much," Seth says softly. I glare at him out of the corner of my eye. I never really have understood him - or that crazy kid Noa, for that matter. On the other hand, he is also my... Oh, what the fuck, I am not thinking about this right now. There is no room for thinking about something so in depth when your head feels like it's about to roll off your shoulders.

"I-I try to protect everyone around me. You know that. You do it yourself," I mutter to him. The pounding's growing worse; I sit down in my chair, thinking it will make it lessen somewhat. Wrong. My hand starts shaking as I pick up a pen to continue writing on the business proposal that is not yet completed.

"I do try to protect, but not to such a certain extent." His voice is like aged whiskey; beautifully smooth, strong, and deeply seductive. I feel my stomach tighten as he nears me. What the hell is he doing to me? "You must let him grow into his new status."

"He's always been an Alpha."

"Yes, but he didn't know up until a month ago." I clench my jaw. Damn. I take an unnecessary deep breath for the second time in half an hour. "You have to let..." I hear something groan and then break under pressure, and I look down. How the hell did my desk break into two pieces? And is that my business proposal in two halves on the floor as well?

"Seto? Seto, are you all right?" Who was that? I know it was someone familiar, but... I turn and look up. Darkness is closing in at the ends of my vision, but I do see four of them... and he's terribly taller than I am, and...

"Weakness is not acceptable! What the fuck do you think you are doing showing your weakness to other people? You are pathetic; you have no right to be ever thinking of sitting on the throne of a city!"

No... I thought he was dead...

"Get the fuck away from me, Gouzaburou!" Damn, the fear he instilled in me roars through my veins. My head seems to split in two, and then there is nothing.

Nothing, only darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What just happened?

I hold Seto carefully in my arms. He is still shaking uncontrollably. However, my touch seems to calm him. It is one thing to see a relative practically fall out of chair onto the floor in a comatose state; it is another thing see your love doing that. In the words of Noa, I was scared shitless. I look at the desk that is in shambles before me and heave a sigh. It's already starting. I had hoped that he would get perhaps a few more weeks before the onslaught of power began to run its course. However, by the looks of things, I would say that is had started a long time go, possibly when he had just gotten back from Tokyo. Damn you, Seto. Love, why must you be so stubborn?

He moans deliriously in my arms, and I sooth him by running my fingers through his soft hair. So very much alike and so completely different. His stature is that same as mine; however, I am slightly taller than he. His hair is a cross between the deepest black and darkest brown, an interesting mix, but it goes with his cobalt blue eyes. And then there's me. I haven't seen myself in almost four centuries, although I do remember vaguely that my hair is a very rich auburn, the color of cinnamon really, and my eyes are very dark blue, not quite midnight and not quite Prussian, but some color in between. My skin was kissed all over my the sun; I was very active back then. I look down at myself; it seems I still retain that sun bronzed complexion, though I haven't even seen the sun in a long time.

The air is shifting now, vibrating with unleashed power that is slowly seeping into Seto. He will be one of the most powerful Masters I had ever seen. I feel myself frown as my arms tighten around his body.

What the hell did that man do to him?

The kind of paralyzing fear that I saw in his glazed eyes is something that could not be faked. He's terrified of the bastard still, even after the man has been dead for... not long enough.

"We were gone too long," I murmur to no one but myself. Something must've happened, and I have the funny feeling that it has to be because of Mokuba. When Noa and I left before, Mokuba was still human, but when we came back for that short visit...

"Please, let's not talk about it." His eyes were so hollow, so dead, and his voice so devoid of anything... I wish to hell I had been the one to kill the bastard, but whoever did kill him, I should send them a gift.

I have the funny feeling that the person who killed the bastard is in my arms at this very moment. A groan shakes me away from my thoughts, and I study the vampire in my arms. Cobalt blue eyes flash with power before they finally shed the glazed look that they had and stare back at me.

Full lips pull into a puzzled frown. "Seth, why the hell am I on the ground?" His voice is tenor, silky soft, with a touch of innocence to it that sometimes makes me want to smile softly at him. For all Seto's acting like he is an adult, he's still a child sometimes.

"You..." I could say fainted, but then he'd think he was weak so... "You collapsed. Perhaps you haven't fed?" I make it a question, because sometimes he will just refuse to feed. Seto seems to think about it before he shakes his head minutely. 

"No, I haven't fed yet today," he replies softly. "Perhaps that is why." I say nothing; if he didn't remember what he said to me, then perhaps it's best that he doesn't remember at all. Although we will have to discuss that power that he has come into sometime - and from the fluctuation that I'm seeing in his aura, there will be more of his fainting spells to come in the future. Seto stands up and eyes his desk distastefully. It's broken into two clean halves - and his proposal will have to be rewritten. Seto pulls the desk up effortlessly, and it stands on its own. However, I can tell that he's not sure it will stay that way, but... There is a knock on the door, and Jounouchi walks into the room once again.

He pauses and looked at us both; concern flashes through his eyes when he looks at Seto. I look down at Seto; he's sprawled regally in his chair, his face blank, as if nothing even happened only a few moments before. "He's just recovering from an attack, nothing more," I say nonchalantly, but by the skepticism in his eyes, I can tell that he must smell how worried I am about him. And speaking of smelling, his scent's a bit off.

"You've going to what?" Seto's coldly surprised voice cuts through my mental musings. I must have missed something. Jounouchi just looks at him again and repeats what he said the first time.

"Gut Hirutani." I thought we had discussed this before. And why the hell does he smell funny?

"Why now?" Seto is demanding. "If I recall, you said you wouldn't act unless he threatened your pard." That was true and... Yes, now I know why that scent is familiar: the Ishtar kid. What? his name: Malik - or was it Marik?

"He will," Jounouchi says. Seto and I probably have the same befuddled expression on our faces because he continues, "Ishtar was here earlier. He- ah liberated a kit about Mokuba's age from the west side, brought him here. Hirutani can have him back over my dead body."

Uh oh, he said Mokuba. Smart leopard. If there is one person who could manipulate Seto so easily, it's Jounouchi. Say 'Mokuba' and Seto is all over it. I hear a small snap; yep, Seto just snapped his pen in two and his eyes are narrowed and flashing with power.

"And you are going alone?" I ask. I think he's caught onto the fact that I am giving him bewildered looks. If his nervousness is anything to go by, I would say that it is that Ishtar kid's scent all over him. I think I'll just stay quiet for now.

Jounouchi shakes his head. "Not alone per se. I have a few cats owing me a favour or three. I'll call in as many as I can to watch my back." Okay, perhaps it isn't the brightest idea to tell Seto this, but I look down at Seto. Yes, time to intervene.

"You sure you can trust them?"

"One of them I'm almost positive I can trust at my back." Shit, another wrong thing to say. "The rest, well, it's a risk I have to take." No, wrong. Fuck wrong. I think he realizes his mistake right about now. "I'll only call them in if my first choice says no."

Seto's eyes are as cold as the Arctic; Jounouchi is very lucky that he's immune. Trust me. Everyone else would be quaking in their boots right about now, and he's... Well, did he just blink? "If your first choice says no, you will take some of the wolves with you." Okay, that's acceptable.

Jounouchi pauses. He will agree if he knows what's good for him. "Agreed. So long as Dorobou and Yami are kept out of it. I don't want them at any more risk than they already are." Hmm, smart leopard.

"You can't keep them alive forever," I say quietly as he reaches the door. I've seen far too much death in my time to even remotely think that humans will last more than a few years, perhaps decades in their minds, but to me, it might as well be five minutes. He gives me a tight smile.

"I know that. But I'll keep my humans alive as long as I possibly can." Without another word, he just leaves.

And not a moment too soon... The desk caves after the door is closed. Seto says something under his breath and then bypasses the broken desk and reaches for the phone. "Have a desk that is the same as the one I have been using delivered by morning," he says curtly and then sets the phone in its cradle. He turns and looks at me. "What are you still doing here?"

I arch an eyebrow. "Is there any reason for me to leave?" I ask him. He doesn't blink, just stares at me and thought it's like staring into a mirror; the look he gives me unnerves me very greatly. Damn, now I know how everyone else feels when they get that stare centered on them.

"I didn't think there was any reason for you to stay," he replies softly as he turned and picks up his ruined business proposal. He chucks it and a few other things in the garbage and begins clearing out his desk. In short order, all his things are meticulously alphabetized, categorized, and organized into three concise piles. He opens his laptop computer and begins retyping his proposal.

Dedicated little bugger. As he continues to type, I meander around his office. Everything is very stark; though there are tapestries and elegant hangings all over the walls, there is a coldness to the room, a starkness. Like the trappings of wealth were put there for a reason, not just because they look beautiful. I turn and look back at Seto; the moon shines brightly tonight though it's not yet full and throws Seto's face into the shadow, but he still has intensity, an ethereal beauty that draws me to him time and time again.

"When are you going to feed?" I ask him quietly. His typing stops, and he looks right at me.

"I'll feed when I'm finished."

"You are never finished, Seto. If Jounouchi didn't force feed you, you'd go without feeding until you collapse," I snap. He appraises me coolly and then continues typing. I feel myself getting angry, my power rising in my veins. Oh, so he think he can ignore me, does he?

Well, he has another thing coming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hear the door slam shut and look up sharply. Seth's nowhere in sight. Oh well, I look back at the screen and sigh. I broke my favorite desk, my favorite pen, and I still have to a ways to go on the proposal. I'm never going to finish this by the time I... have to sleep.

At least it's due a month from now.

I sniff the air slightly; the life that's inside the house makes my blood boil and I clench my jaw as my canines elongate as the smell of power blood spreads through the air. Nothing smells as good as live blood. Nothing tastes as good as it as well... Mmmm...

Business proposal. Right, got to get to work. I think I work for another hour straight. I'm not really certain about the time; I never really keep track anymore. I work from the time I rise to the time my body begins to feel like dead weight. I either make it to my bed or I sleep on the couch in the next room over. What's the point in looking at a clock? I don't have to set myself to human time anymore; my time is mine alone, and unfortunately, I have a company to run, so until it can run itself, which is not going to happen for a very long time. I'm stuck doing everything.

Incompetence is not an option.

I vaguely hear the door to my office opening again, and the slight scent of the earth and sun runs over my senses; just how Seth can smell of sunlight after not being in it for nearly four hundred years, I have no idea. The only thing that I am certain of is that he always smells heavenly... Wait, that didn't come out right.

"Still working?" I would've jumped, but hands of steel have settled on my shoulders as Seth practically purrs in my ear. My entire body shudders. What the hell is he doing to me?

"What are you doing?" I hiss at him. His fingers are as warm as any humans. He's fed, and from the massage he's giving me, he's fed very well.

"Mmm, touching you. Is it alright to touch you?" he asks me. He's positively giddy - or as giddy as any Kaiba will get really. I hold back a moan as his fingers work their magic on my tense body, leaving me melted to the bone.

"As long as you keep doing that." Whoa, where did that come from? Perhaps it's time for me to feed because I think my brain is not functioning at its proper setting anymore. Seth leans into my chair, and one hand leaves my neck as the other tightens its hold, to hold me in place. That's when I smell it: human blood.

"You killed a human?" I growl.

"I went to the prison. This one is a rapist, a murderer. A mortal who was going to be killed anyway. Why not have his life feed you than rot in the ground?" I look down at the limp body. Seth must've fed on him some because he's pretty out of it. And now that I'm looking, he is wearing the prison uniform that I recognize from the Domino City Prison. "He's delicious. Do you want a taste?"

Fuck, yes. I'm so hungry. He smells so good. His blood smells so good.

Feed. My canines have extended and buried in the man's neck before I realize what's happening. It's rich and alive... and I want more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I watch him, watch him practically tear into the man's neck. His hunger must've been very bad indeed. I knew it would be. Seto-love stretches himself to the limit time and time again. One of these days, he won't be able to do it anymore. I can feel the human's pulse decreasing at a rapid rate before it comes to a screeching halt. Seto's head comes up and he licks his lips, his eyes closed as if reveling in the feed.

I truly think he's oblivious to how much he turns me on.

"Are you well?" I ask him. He looks at me, his eyes dazed, his face flush from feeding, and then he slowly nods.

"I am fine," he says, his voice lighter, breathless, and sated. Good, never let it be said that I do not take care of what is mine.

Mine? Damn, I must be further gone on him than I thought. He drops the body at his feet as he stands and faces me. I think it's sinking in what he's just done, and I touch him gently. "You are a vampire, not a monster. You need to feed to survive, and the more live blood you feed off of, the stronger you'll become. You are the Master of the City; you must be strong."

My words make him pause. He stares at the body again, this time blankly. "His soul or ghost or whatever will haunt Dorobou," he says dully.

"With no soul," I say, "he has no ghost. This one was lost long before now." I pick up the corpse and toss it over my shoulder. "I will dispose of the body." He nods. "Don't work too late." He tosses a surprised look my way, and he looks so cute in his confusion I nearly kiss him then.

I turn to the door instead and begin the walk down to the dumpster. Is he really mine?

Damn straight, he is. I smile to myself, and I see some of the guards, human and/or otherwise, ease away from me. I must be smirking, but that's okay too. Because I am thinking of ways to get my Seto to come around.

Let the seduction begin.