The Taste of Blood
Aug. 24th, 2015 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
write_my_dreamsTitle: The Taste of Blood
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
write_my_dreams
Pairing: Asagi x Tsunehito
Genre: AU, supernatural
Warning: No warning
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed do not belong to me but the wriitng and story are mine.
Rating: PG
Chapter(s): 1/1
Summary: When Asagi picks him up from work, Tsunehito learns just where vampires get their blood supply from.
Author's Comment: This was one of the very first fics I wrote for "To Love a Vampire" back in 2013. For some reason I was never able to finish it or put it into the timeline until now. I ended up scrapping most of it and just using the last couple pages.
Tsunehito glanced back to check if any other customers needed new drinks or refills. He smiled when he saw Asagi approaching the bar. Well aware of his lover’s tastes, Tsunehito poured a glass of wine for him and indicated an open seat.
“Hey,” Tsunehito set the glass in front of him. “I didn’t know you planned to visit me tonight.”
“I hadn’t planned on it either. I just felt like seeing you,” Asagi said. He picked up the glass and took a sip. He looked rather like a stereotypical vampire tonight with his black clothes. Tsunehito saw such different sides of him sometimes: the cute vampire in cat pajamas who collected rubber ducks and rose dinnerware, fond exasperation with Ruiza, tough against Jin…
Catching himself staring Tsunehito grinned at his lover. “You picked a good night to visit. I’m off in half an hour.”
“Did I? What good timing. There’s a man to your left who wants your attention,” Asagi added.
Whoops. He needed to pay attention to all customers and not just his boyfriend. “Be right back.” He turned away to take the man’s order. He couldn’t focus on Asagi like he wanted to, but the remainder of his shift went by quickly. Soon enough he was off the clock. “There, now I can focus on just you.” Tsunehito took Asagi’s hand. “Did you want to go somewhere while we’re out or just go home?” Too bad he hadn’t brought a change of clothes along.
“We could go to my apartment and watch a movie. Should we go get you a Starbucks first? Ruiza insisted I watch some DVD of his so I was wondering if you’d like to watch it with me. Or if you prefer, you could show me one of your awful vampire movies.”
Tsunehito chuckled. “You know I’m always down for Starbucks. What movie did Ruiza recommend?”
“It’s called The Conjuring. Have you seen it before?”
“Only the trailer. Do horror movies ever scare you?” Tsunehito asked. If there was a movie that could frighten a vampire then he really wouldn’t want to see that.
Asagi laughed. “Not really. Some are unsettling, especially the older ones that prey on your imagination. Too many of today’s movies are too focused on blood and violence or cheap scares. Some of the vampire movies in your collection could easily qualify as horror and distressing to vampires,” he added dryly.
Tsunehito couldn’t disagree there. “I figured not. So ghosts and demons have never scared you?””
“Why would they? A ghost would merely annoy me,” Asagi said. “Vampires are, in a way, linked to demons. We cannot stand on holy ground or bear the touch of holy water. The only movies that truly disturb me are true stories about serial killers. Humans doing violence unto other humans solely for pleasure… such a terribly common theme. It’s nothing I enjoy watching.”
“I don’t like those movies either. Too disturbing.” He brushed his hair back. “So do you know what you want at Starbucks? I’m going to try the pumpkin spice latte.”
“Pumpkin spice? I’ve that before and liked it. I think I’ll try that one. Before we go to Starbucks though there is one stop I’ll have to make. I meant to do it before seeing you…” Asagi trailed off, leaving Tsunehito confused. What did he need?
“Sure. Where are we going?” Tsunehito squawked in surprise when Asagi suddenly lifted him up into his arms.
“I need more blood packs.”
Oh. That was far more important than a trip to Starbucks. “Okay.” Not wanting to see Tokyo flashing by at dizzying speeds, Tsunehito pressed his face into Asagi’s shirt and closed his eyes. As Asagi ran with him Tsunehito wondered where Asagi got his blood supply from. Despite his burning curiosity to know anything and everything about vampire society, this was one question he’d shied away from. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know who supplied the blood packs and where they came from.
And now he was going to find out.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, Asagi stopped. “You can open your eyes now.”
Tsunehito loosened his death grip on Asagi’s shirt as he opened his eyes. He’d brought him to some nondescript alley between a nightclub and a Laundromat. What was so important about some alley? Or did he have to walk to wherever he got his blood?
Asagi set him down on his feet. “Have Ruiza or MiA ever told you where vampires get blood packs from?” he asked.
Tsunehito swallowed. Here it was. The big reveal. “Um, no. I was… kind of afraid to ask.”
Asagi’s hand flew to his heart in fake surprise. “You, afraid to ask a question? Well what has the world come to. Next Ruiza will be telling me that he doesn’t feel like eating human food anymore.”
Tsunehito pouted at him. Was that really necessary? “Where do vampires get their blood from then?” Hospitals? Shit what if instead of hookah lounges vampires had blood lounges. What a horrible thought.
“There are numerous options. A common way is to get blood packs out of vending machines.”
Tsunehito blinked. “You can get blood out of a vending machine?” He’d never expected that there would be vending machines designed for vampires! Of course it would happen in Japan where there were vending machines for everything. He always saw tourists taking pictures of the more unusual ones though had yet to see a machine that dispensed used underwater, despite the tourists always gossiping about their desire to see that particular one.
“Yes. There are other sources to get blood of course, but vending machines like this one are common when we’re near or in the vampire districts.”
“Like what one?” Tsunehito couldn’t see a vending machine. He looked around then blinked as he suddenly saw one against the back wall. It was tall and painted black, red buttons and designs on it. A camera was set into the top and a digital display was playing. Bottles marched across the screen that was cleverly dimmed to hide the contents of the vending machine. “This is it?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the camera for?” he asked.
Asagi smiled slightly. “I’ll show you.” He ran his fingers through the redhead’s hair once more then moved away. He took his wallet out as his fangs slid down. Tsunehito watched as Asagi approached the machine. The bottles on the display shifted and turned into what looked like marching packs of juice, but it wasn’t juice. Next Asagi inserted a card into the machine. Nothing happened for a moment and then the display cleared to show shelves of blood packs. Tsunehito wanted to get closer but wasn’t sure if the machine would still work or not, so stayed where he was. “It’s all right, Tsune. You can come here now.” Asagi beckoned him over.
Tsunehito nodded and approached the machine. He felt slightly queasy as he saw that the shelves were organized based on blood type. Asagi studied the machine, a thoughtful look on his face before pressing the button for an AB blood pack. Then he did the same for a pack of A blood. A robotic arm selected the first pack and gently deposited it into the machine’s opening, which Asagi leaned down to take, then repeated the process with the second one. Tsunehito couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him as he saw the blood packs had straws attached to them. Asagi gave him an amused look but said nothing. He tore the first pack open with his fangs, inserted the straw, and slowly began to drink. His eyes closed in bliss as the nourishing liquid filled his mouth. Tsunehito blinked as a tray pushed itself out of the bottom of the vending machine. Once he’d drained the pack, Asagi dropped it onto the tray, which returned to the machine. The second pack was quickly drained and disposed of.
“It collects your trash too?”
“Yes,” Asagi replied, sliding his arms around Tsunehito and pulling him close. “These machines are designed to keep vampires anonymous. The display doesn’t show blood packs until a vampire shows their fangs and uses their ID card to access the machine.”
“Wait, you have an ID card? You really need one to be a vampire?” Tsunehito asked. Why hadn’t he heard of vampire IDs before? It seemed like something his lover or friends would mention.
Asagi smiled as he took his wallet out again. “I do have an ID card. It makes life a little easier if I have one of these cards. They’re a recent invention… about thirty years ago, I believe. Would you like to see it?”
“Yes.” Tsunehito watched as Asagi opened his wallet and took out an official looking card. It looked similar to other IDs only this one was black with a red seal in the corner. Asagi’s picture, name, the year he’d been born, Sakurai Atsushi listed under ‘maker’, and the year he’d ben turned were on the card. Interesting. Tsunehito studied the card, wondering if he’d have one of these someday. It was too soon in their relationship to even discuss the possibility of turning him. Someday though… “So does every vampire have a card like this?”
“They’re supposed to.”
Tsunehito made a mental note to look at Ruiza and MiA’s IDs to see what theirs looked like. He was curious to see if every card was identical. “So, is this like a driver’s license and you have to renew it every so often?”
Asagi laughed. “No, that’s not necessary. New cards are only printed in the event that the old one is destroyed or lost.”
Tsunehito indicated Atsushi’s name. “What about Atsushi’s ID? He doesn't know his maker.”
“That space on his card is blank. Listing the name of your maker is for the sake of keeping track of the bloodlines. Atsushi, Ruiza, Yuuki, and I all share the same bloodline because Atsushi is our maker. In Hakuei’s case, he and MiA are from Kana’s bloodline because she is the one who turned him and he later turned MiA.”
“I see.”
Asagi tucked his wallet back into his pocket. “Listing our maker’s name also shows if one vampire is creating too many descendants.”
“And if they are?”
“It depends on the situation.”
Tsunehito wasn’t sure if he wanted to know more details or not so he dropped the subject. “Does every blood machine collect your trash?”
“Yes. There is a storage compartment at the base of the machine. Trash is collected every morning and the blood packets are refilled so the machine will never run empty.”
“Who collects the trash?” It seemed beneath a vampire to collect garbage. Or would they? He couldn’t picture any of the vampires he knew doing it.
“Vampire servants.”
“Oh,” Tsunehito said quietly. Of course a real vampire wouldn’t stoop to collecting the garbage. Asagi had mentioned the servants occasionally but seemed to prefer not to discuss them. Vampire servants lived in virtual slavery—doing chores for the vampires, giving their blood… Asagi said that some were well-paid but others were sold into service to pay off debts. It was disturbing to think that such a system would continue to this modern era, but there was always something similar when it came to being in debt too deep to pay off.
“Now that I’ve fed, shall I bring you to Starbucks so you can get your drink?” Asagi offered.
“Sure.” Tsunehito made a face as Asagi picked him up again. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to running at vampire speed.
Notes
I'm debating writing another one-shot that's Tsunehito centric or just moving into Ruiza's POV, showing him meeting Yo-ka and with Rui narrating there's a chance to show more of the vampire side of Tokyo. Any opinions on this? I'm planning to just have a few chapters with Ruiza and then segway into the end.
Author:
write_my_dreamsPairing: Asagi x Tsunehito
Genre: AU, supernatural
Warning: No warning
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed do not belong to me but the wriitng and story are mine.
Rating: PG
Chapter(s): 1/1
Summary: When Asagi picks him up from work, Tsunehito learns just where vampires get their blood supply from.
Author's Comment: This was one of the very first fics I wrote for "To Love a Vampire" back in 2013. For some reason I was never able to finish it or put it into the timeline until now. I ended up scrapping most of it and just using the last couple pages.
Tsunehito glanced back to check if any other customers needed new drinks or refills. He smiled when he saw Asagi approaching the bar. Well aware of his lover’s tastes, Tsunehito poured a glass of wine for him and indicated an open seat.
“Hey,” Tsunehito set the glass in front of him. “I didn’t know you planned to visit me tonight.”
“I hadn’t planned on it either. I just felt like seeing you,” Asagi said. He picked up the glass and took a sip. He looked rather like a stereotypical vampire tonight with his black clothes. Tsunehito saw such different sides of him sometimes: the cute vampire in cat pajamas who collected rubber ducks and rose dinnerware, fond exasperation with Ruiza, tough against Jin…
Catching himself staring Tsunehito grinned at his lover. “You picked a good night to visit. I’m off in half an hour.”
“Did I? What good timing. There’s a man to your left who wants your attention,” Asagi added.
Whoops. He needed to pay attention to all customers and not just his boyfriend. “Be right back.” He turned away to take the man’s order. He couldn’t focus on Asagi like he wanted to, but the remainder of his shift went by quickly. Soon enough he was off the clock. “There, now I can focus on just you.” Tsunehito took Asagi’s hand. “Did you want to go somewhere while we’re out or just go home?” Too bad he hadn’t brought a change of clothes along.
“We could go to my apartment and watch a movie. Should we go get you a Starbucks first? Ruiza insisted I watch some DVD of his so I was wondering if you’d like to watch it with me. Or if you prefer, you could show me one of your awful vampire movies.”
Tsunehito chuckled. “You know I’m always down for Starbucks. What movie did Ruiza recommend?”
“It’s called The Conjuring. Have you seen it before?”
“Only the trailer. Do horror movies ever scare you?” Tsunehito asked. If there was a movie that could frighten a vampire then he really wouldn’t want to see that.
Asagi laughed. “Not really. Some are unsettling, especially the older ones that prey on your imagination. Too many of today’s movies are too focused on blood and violence or cheap scares. Some of the vampire movies in your collection could easily qualify as horror and distressing to vampires,” he added dryly.
Tsunehito couldn’t disagree there. “I figured not. So ghosts and demons have never scared you?””
“Why would they? A ghost would merely annoy me,” Asagi said. “Vampires are, in a way, linked to demons. We cannot stand on holy ground or bear the touch of holy water. The only movies that truly disturb me are true stories about serial killers. Humans doing violence unto other humans solely for pleasure… such a terribly common theme. It’s nothing I enjoy watching.”
“I don’t like those movies either. Too disturbing.” He brushed his hair back. “So do you know what you want at Starbucks? I’m going to try the pumpkin spice latte.”
“Pumpkin spice? I’ve that before and liked it. I think I’ll try that one. Before we go to Starbucks though there is one stop I’ll have to make. I meant to do it before seeing you…” Asagi trailed off, leaving Tsunehito confused. What did he need?
“Sure. Where are we going?” Tsunehito squawked in surprise when Asagi suddenly lifted him up into his arms.
“I need more blood packs.”
Oh. That was far more important than a trip to Starbucks. “Okay.” Not wanting to see Tokyo flashing by at dizzying speeds, Tsunehito pressed his face into Asagi’s shirt and closed his eyes. As Asagi ran with him Tsunehito wondered where Asagi got his blood supply from. Despite his burning curiosity to know anything and everything about vampire society, this was one question he’d shied away from. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know who supplied the blood packs and where they came from.
And now he was going to find out.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, Asagi stopped. “You can open your eyes now.”
Tsunehito loosened his death grip on Asagi’s shirt as he opened his eyes. He’d brought him to some nondescript alley between a nightclub and a Laundromat. What was so important about some alley? Or did he have to walk to wherever he got his blood?
Asagi set him down on his feet. “Have Ruiza or MiA ever told you where vampires get blood packs from?” he asked.
Tsunehito swallowed. Here it was. The big reveal. “Um, no. I was… kind of afraid to ask.”
Asagi’s hand flew to his heart in fake surprise. “You, afraid to ask a question? Well what has the world come to. Next Ruiza will be telling me that he doesn’t feel like eating human food anymore.”
Tsunehito pouted at him. Was that really necessary? “Where do vampires get their blood from then?” Hospitals? Shit what if instead of hookah lounges vampires had blood lounges. What a horrible thought.
“There are numerous options. A common way is to get blood packs out of vending machines.”
Tsunehito blinked. “You can get blood out of a vending machine?” He’d never expected that there would be vending machines designed for vampires! Of course it would happen in Japan where there were vending machines for everything. He always saw tourists taking pictures of the more unusual ones though had yet to see a machine that dispensed used underwater, despite the tourists always gossiping about their desire to see that particular one.
“Yes. There are other sources to get blood of course, but vending machines like this one are common when we’re near or in the vampire districts.”
“Like what one?” Tsunehito couldn’t see a vending machine. He looked around then blinked as he suddenly saw one against the back wall. It was tall and painted black, red buttons and designs on it. A camera was set into the top and a digital display was playing. Bottles marched across the screen that was cleverly dimmed to hide the contents of the vending machine. “This is it?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the camera for?” he asked.
Asagi smiled slightly. “I’ll show you.” He ran his fingers through the redhead’s hair once more then moved away. He took his wallet out as his fangs slid down. Tsunehito watched as Asagi approached the machine. The bottles on the display shifted and turned into what looked like marching packs of juice, but it wasn’t juice. Next Asagi inserted a card into the machine. Nothing happened for a moment and then the display cleared to show shelves of blood packs. Tsunehito wanted to get closer but wasn’t sure if the machine would still work or not, so stayed where he was. “It’s all right, Tsune. You can come here now.” Asagi beckoned him over.
Tsunehito nodded and approached the machine. He felt slightly queasy as he saw that the shelves were organized based on blood type. Asagi studied the machine, a thoughtful look on his face before pressing the button for an AB blood pack. Then he did the same for a pack of A blood. A robotic arm selected the first pack and gently deposited it into the machine’s opening, which Asagi leaned down to take, then repeated the process with the second one. Tsunehito couldn’t stop the snort that escaped him as he saw the blood packs had straws attached to them. Asagi gave him an amused look but said nothing. He tore the first pack open with his fangs, inserted the straw, and slowly began to drink. His eyes closed in bliss as the nourishing liquid filled his mouth. Tsunehito blinked as a tray pushed itself out of the bottom of the vending machine. Once he’d drained the pack, Asagi dropped it onto the tray, which returned to the machine. The second pack was quickly drained and disposed of.
“It collects your trash too?”
“Yes,” Asagi replied, sliding his arms around Tsunehito and pulling him close. “These machines are designed to keep vampires anonymous. The display doesn’t show blood packs until a vampire shows their fangs and uses their ID card to access the machine.”
“Wait, you have an ID card? You really need one to be a vampire?” Tsunehito asked. Why hadn’t he heard of vampire IDs before? It seemed like something his lover or friends would mention.
Asagi smiled as he took his wallet out again. “I do have an ID card. It makes life a little easier if I have one of these cards. They’re a recent invention… about thirty years ago, I believe. Would you like to see it?”
“Yes.” Tsunehito watched as Asagi opened his wallet and took out an official looking card. It looked similar to other IDs only this one was black with a red seal in the corner. Asagi’s picture, name, the year he’d been born, Sakurai Atsushi listed under ‘maker’, and the year he’d ben turned were on the card. Interesting. Tsunehito studied the card, wondering if he’d have one of these someday. It was too soon in their relationship to even discuss the possibility of turning him. Someday though… “So does every vampire have a card like this?”
“They’re supposed to.”
Tsunehito made a mental note to look at Ruiza and MiA’s IDs to see what theirs looked like. He was curious to see if every card was identical. “So, is this like a driver’s license and you have to renew it every so often?”
Asagi laughed. “No, that’s not necessary. New cards are only printed in the event that the old one is destroyed or lost.”
Tsunehito indicated Atsushi’s name. “What about Atsushi’s ID? He doesn't know his maker.”
“That space on his card is blank. Listing the name of your maker is for the sake of keeping track of the bloodlines. Atsushi, Ruiza, Yuuki, and I all share the same bloodline because Atsushi is our maker. In Hakuei’s case, he and MiA are from Kana’s bloodline because she is the one who turned him and he later turned MiA.”
“I see.”
Asagi tucked his wallet back into his pocket. “Listing our maker’s name also shows if one vampire is creating too many descendants.”
“And if they are?”
“It depends on the situation.”
Tsunehito wasn’t sure if he wanted to know more details or not so he dropped the subject. “Does every blood machine collect your trash?”
“Yes. There is a storage compartment at the base of the machine. Trash is collected every morning and the blood packets are refilled so the machine will never run empty.”
“Who collects the trash?” It seemed beneath a vampire to collect garbage. Or would they? He couldn’t picture any of the vampires he knew doing it.
“Vampire servants.”
“Oh,” Tsunehito said quietly. Of course a real vampire wouldn’t stoop to collecting the garbage. Asagi had mentioned the servants occasionally but seemed to prefer not to discuss them. Vampire servants lived in virtual slavery—doing chores for the vampires, giving their blood… Asagi said that some were well-paid but others were sold into service to pay off debts. It was disturbing to think that such a system would continue to this modern era, but there was always something similar when it came to being in debt too deep to pay off.
“Now that I’ve fed, shall I bring you to Starbucks so you can get your drink?” Asagi offered.
“Sure.” Tsunehito made a face as Asagi picked him up again. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to running at vampire speed.
Notes
I'm debating writing another one-shot that's Tsunehito centric or just moving into Ruiza's POV, showing him meeting Yo-ka and with Rui narrating there's a chance to show more of the vampire side of Tokyo. Any opinions on this? I'm planning to just have a few chapters with Ruiza and then segway into the end.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-08-24 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-26 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-08-26 02:18 am (UTC)The blood vending machine was awesome! What a super cool idea. I like the precautions built in and how Tsunehito wasn't sure if he should look away or step closer. They make a perfect couple and are so good together. And yes I definitely want to see the vampire side of Tokyo through the eyes of your vampires :) I'm so glad you got these two entries in the vampire saga up and posted. My fang gang is back!
no subject
Date: 2015-08-26 02:30 am (UTC)My Japanese friend was giggling and said it was very convenient while one of my American friends looked completely disturbed, haha. Most of the vampire population is happy to keep their existence a secret from humans so they're quite careful. They are a good couple and very happy together. I'd hoped to get some writing done today but a certain furry someone made that impossible. Not sure how much if any writing time I'll get this week, but I was able to get some ideas for Ruiza plotted out. His story will be set mostly in the vampire side of the city. The club where Yo-ka sings and picks his lucky partner for the night lol, some other spots. I'm glad I got them posted too. Yes they are!