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The light slanted through the open window, highlighting swirling particles in the air, sending a white rectangle shining off the tile floor. The room was basically silent, gleaming clean, but for the gentle sound of splashing as the water in the bathtub sloshed gently against the rim.
Then, suddenly, with a great choking sound that echoed around the room with its volume and suddenness, the surface of the water broke as a head and shoulders emerged. It was a small boy, his eyes slitted as he coughed and spluttered. His skin from the neck down was white, but his face and neck were bright red. He had a lone black hair on top of his skull.
He draped himself over the side of the bath, his arms hanging out, his fingertips barely brushing the ground, cool air washing over his bare upper body. His chest heaved as he continued to cough, a rough, hacking sound that grated out of his throat.
“Damn…it…” he managed to say. “So…close…”
There was a knock on the door and he looked up, his coughing lapsing into harsh pants.
“Chiaotzu? You alright?”
Chiaotzu’s lips twitched up in a smile when he heard his brother’s concerned voice.
Fine, he called telepathically. Just…holding my breath again.
There was an amused chuckle from outside. Chiaotzu could, however, hear the relief in it, and guilt touched his mood as he lowered his head, resting his forehead against the cool rim of the bath.
Sorry if I worried you, Tien, he added.
“It’s alright,” Tien said, and now Chiaotzu could hear the smile in his voice. “Just don’t push yourself too much. I can break this door down but it won’t take you long to drown and I’d probably be too late, got it?”
Got it…
The red in Chiaotzu’s face was slowly ebbing away, his skin returning to its usual pallid white, except for the two red circles that were always there. His breath was also returning slowly, the ache in his lungs fading until it wasn’t noticeable. He lifted his head and looked at the door, smiling guiltily.
“I… I’m alright, Tien,” he said, and though his voice was breathy and weak, he knew it would comfort Tien a little to hear it. “I’ve got my breath back now.”
Tien laughed again, softly, and moved away from the door, his ki heading towards the kitchen. Chiaotzu just knew he had waited to make sure that his young brother was okay. Chiaotzu turned and slipped back into the tub, the warm water enveloping him. He glanced towards the door, lightly chewing on his lower lip.
“Once more,” he said quietly to himself. “Just once. I was only five seconds away…” He searched out Tien’s ki, finding it once more in the living room. “I’ll come up before I get that out of breath again…”
He looked down at the clear water, then hefted in a huge breath, his chest expanding, his cheeks swelling, before he slipped beneath the surface of the water yet again.
This was something he did whenever he took a bath, something he had been doing for over twenty years. He had first done it completely by accident, when he’d fallen asleep during his bath and slipped beneath the water. His eyes had flown open to the sight of the moon from under the water, something he had fallen in love with instantly.
Before long it had become a competition with himself. How long could he hold his breath? How long could he stare up through that shimmering curtain into the world above him? He had almost drowned a couple of times, sure enough, but had always pulled himself back up at the last second. Tien was worried, of course, what brother wouldn’t be, and because of this was always on high alert whenever Chiaotzu took a bath.
Now Chiaotzu blinked lazily, staring up at the slanted sunlight that sparkled through the water before him. It wasn’t hard to fight against the buoyancy provided by a chest-full of air, and he lay on the bottom of the tub, his lips curled in a wide smile, his eyes alight with pleasure.
Then something happened that dampened the light in his eyes and made fear spiral in his chest.
The light coming from the open window above him was growing somehow darker, dimmer, as though blocked by cloud. His eyes narrowed a little, then dark purple mist began to creep into his line of sight.
His mouth opened a little and a tiny bubble of air escaped his lips. He put both hands over his mouth to hold back a scream of absolute terror, his heart freezing solid in his chest, the air he held fighting to burst from his lungs. No, he had to hold on, he had to stay under until this terrible mist was gone.
He wasn’t a smart boy, he hadn’t had a proper education, he couldn’t do maths or anything like that, but his energy was highly tuned to the Earth and those that lived there, his very being knew when the world around him was suffering, and he knew in the depths of his soul that this mist, whatever it was and wherever it had come from, was bad.
He fought back his screams and forced himself to remain submerged, his eyes wide with fright as the mist hovered over the surface of the water. To his relief, it didn’t seem able to burst through, to get him. He remained below the water, bubbles of air occasionally drifting from between his fingers to disturb the surface, sending ripples out over the image he could see, until the purple mist dissipated and the air above the bath was clear once more.
He didn’t surface straight away. He stayed a moment longer, frozen in fright, before the awareness that his lungs were screaming for air occurred to him and he burst up into the air. He stayed there for a moment, coughing and hacking and trying desperately to keep as silent as possible. He coughed up a mouthful of water and realised that in his fear he must have accidently inhaled some.
He remained still for a couple of moments, then cautiously stood and flew out of the bath. He towelled himself dry quickly before getting dressed, the soft cloth of his clothes picking up the moisture still left on his skin. He heard a loud crash and jumped, staring at the door with wide eyes.
It came again, a sharp splintering sound that punched through the air of the otherwise silent cabin, hurting Chiaotzu’s ears with its sudden volume. Terrible fear filled him, and he realised that no matter how quiet his coughing had been, how controlled, it would have carried beyond the small room he was in, and alerted his ever-vigilant older brother.
“Tien,” he breathed in a soft, horrified voice. “Oh Kami no… Tien!”
He rushed towards the door, pulling his shirt over his head as he did, and yanked the door open. What met his eyes gave him such a horrible jolt that he let out an involuntary scream, both hands rising to clutch at his ears as he shook his head in a fierce denial.
Tien was standing in the shattered remains of their living room, his back to Chiaotzu, his shoulders heaving and his head bowed. At his feet lay the shredded remains of one of Chiaotzu’s surcoats, which he had left to dry in front of the fire. The fire itself was out, smothered by the strange mist that had assailed it. Chiaotzu calmed down a little, lowering his hands and blinking in shock at his big brother.
“Tien, what’s…?”
Chiaotzu’s voice cut out as Tien whirled to stare at him. That was the face he knew so well, but on it was an expression he had never ever seen before. Tien was grinning, a horrible mad-man’s grin, his teeth bared in what was almost a snarl. His chest was heaving with each breath he took, and from that terrible grin came snarling, slobbering growls.
“Tien…”
Chiaotzu backed away, his back hitting the doorframe to the bathroom, his eyes wide. He wasn’t afraid, a little shocked maybe but not afraid, and why would he be? This was Tien, after all; his big brother. Tien would never hurt Chiaotzu, never ever, not in a million years.
But then he saw the red twinkle in Tien’s pupils, all three glowing a demonic red as he growled and snarled at Chiaotzu. And he knew that redness, he had seen it before, many years ago.
Chiaotzu was afraid now. He let out a scared little whimper as Tien turned to face him front-on, that horrible grin widening. Yes, Chiaotzu had seen those red eyes before, back when he had died at Piccolo Daimao’s hand and been tortured by those of the Demon Clan.
It had been darkness where he had been, completely and utterly pitch black, but those eyes had stood out in the dark, had seared into his soul and torn his body apart. He had never been able to see his tormentors, but he still had nightmares about those eyes.
“Tien, don’t,” he whimpered as Tien started forward, striding with the purposeful air of a man who knows what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it. His teeth, bared in that snarling grin, were sharpened to fangs, gleaming in the light.
Tien didn’t talk. It seemed that he couldn’t. His words were lost in a sea of snarls and growls. His three red pupils lighted on Chiaotzu, burning into him, and Chiaotzu found that he couldn’t look away. All he could do was plead, beg, and pray to Kami that this wasn’t happening.
“Please, Tien, don’t do this. What’s happened to you?”
His words fell on deaf ears. Tien towered over him, then bent and wrapped both hands around his upper-arms. Chiaotzu didn’t fight; there was no point. Tien was stronger than him, he had always been stronger, and though Chiaotzu knew on some deep level that if he really wanted to he could freeze Tien and run for help, another bigger part of him wouldn’t allow it. Tien would never in his right mind hurt Chiaotzu, and Chiaotzu was damned if he was going to be any different. Tien was his brother, and they had sworn never to hurt each other.
And so he allowed himself to be hoisted roughly into the air, Tien’s hands bruising his white skin so tight was his grip, but he didn’t look up. He heard Tien’s growls, felt the overwhelming strength in the hands gripping his arms, but felt a little spark of comfort. This was Tien, after all; his big brother. Right?
He looked up, meeting Tien’s eyes. Seeing those sparkling pinpoints of red was like a nightmare come true; too often in his worst dreams he saw Tien as one of those who had tormented him, one of those mindless slaves who had bent to Piccolo Daimao’s will and made Chiaotzu’s death torture.
He was filled suddenly with a terrible, ripping conflict. Should he be scared or comforted? Scared of the hands gripping him so tightly he bruised or comforted in the familiarity of those hands, the memory of a gentle caress to soothe nightmare fuelled fears? Scared of that insane ruthless grin or comforted by the fact that those lips had been twisted into a much more gentle smile, one that was seen too rarely in this world, that was usually reserved only for him? Scared of those glowing red pupils, or comforted because he had seen those eyes filled with every emotion known to man, from anger to joy to sorrow? Should he be frightened of the demon clansman standing before him, or comforted because it was his brother through thick and thin, life and death?
These were stupid questions, any sane man would answer that he should be scared to every one of them, but Chiaotzu loved Tien with everything he had, and love twisted his thoughts and made rational answers false. And so he was comforted even as Tien snarled and growled, even as his grip tightened and his grin widened, because Tien was his brother, and that kind of love wouldn’t be swayed by demonic possession.
Tien’s eyes flitted away from his, and Chiaotzu blinked in confusion. Then he felt where Tien was looking, his gaze like a branding iron that seared his skin, and his stomach dropped away.
“Tien, please…”
Tien just growled, the tip of his tongue flicking out to run over his new fangs. Chiaotzu fought back tears, then nodded.
“If it’s what you want, onii-chan…then do it…”
He tilted his head to the left, exposing the soft, smooth, still slightly wet skin of the right side of his neck. He clenched his eyes shut as Tien leaned closer, his breath horribly hot against Chiaotzu’s skin, before the tips of those fangs grazed over his neck. The tears in his eyes spilled onto his cheeks as he bowed his head, bracing himself internally for the pain he knew must surely follow.
“After all, we share everything else…why not our blood as well?”
Tien let out a soft rumbling growl, and then his fangs plunged into the unprotected skin of Chiaotzu’s neck.
Chiaotzu jolted, pain spreading like fire through his entire body as he let out a scream of pain. Tien didn’t let go, didn’t pull away, but his grip on Chiaotzu’s arms became somehow gentler, looser, not as rough or harsh as before. Blood, hot, sticky and vividly red, began to pour from the spot, splashing over Chiaotzu’s shoulder and soaking into his clothes.
They remained that way for a moment, Tien’s fangs buried deep in Chiaotzu’s neck as the boy whimpered in pain and blood pattered to the floor. Then Tien let out an appreciative growl, pulling away and licking his lips. Chiaotzu started to tremble, his body shuddering violently, his eyes widening as pain continued to race through him, as though someone had tipped acid into his blood.
“Tien, it hurts,” he whimpered, holding out both his hands towards Tien, his brother, the one who had bit him, the one whose lips were stained with his blood, the only one who he knew truly cared about him, the only one he really trusted, the only one he really loved. “Make it stop, Tien, make it stop.”
Tien growled again, a little gentler this time, and leaned forward again. Chiaotzu started to cry at how intense the pain was, but tilted his head to the other side anyway, revealing the unbloodied, unbitten side of his neck. This time when Tien bit down it wasn’t quite so painful, his fangs didn’t sink as deep, and it seemed more careful than the frenzied attack of before. Chiaotzu still let out a quiet scream, but it quickly died in his throat.
Blood started to run down his neck on both sides now, pooling in the shallow dip between his arm and Tien’s hand. Tien pulled away again, licking his lips and growling as his glowing red eyes fixed on Chiaotzu’s face.
“T-Tien,” Chiaotzu said.
His words were slow, his voice thick. It took effort to speak now, and though the pain racing through his blood was sharp and brutally intense, he was getting sleepy. His eyelids drooped, his body grew lax but for the occasional involuntary shudder that twisted through him. He forced himself to keep his head up, though his body dangled like a rag-doll’s in Tien’s grip. Tien was still looking at him. The grin that had been so horrifying before was now far worse because blood reddened his fangs and ran in rivulets down his chin.
Chiaotzu managed to twitch his lips up in a smile, though exhaustion was taking over. It was hard to believe that the man holding him so tight had been so worried only a few short minutes before, that the last words he’d said had been in an amused, slightly concerned voice, a gentle warning about the dangers of Chiaotzu’s quirks.
“I love you, onii-chan,” he managed to say finally, though his voice was slurred and the words were barely distinguishable. He only just heard Tien’s confused growl before the world went dark and he fell completely limp in his possessed big brother’s grip.
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