It had been an uncomfortable trip altogether. Arikado asked himself for the tenth time in the last hour how exactly he had let Julius drag him into returning to Osaka by a ferry. They were to arrive in the morning, and while most of the other people onboard were dozing off, he sat awake and stared at the dark sky outside.

He had been sitting there for hours, pondering if he should have just crawled next to Julius and tried to sleep, but when the first raindrops had fallen from the sky, he had found himself unable to move. It wasn't that he disliked rain; the ferry was making its way through the inland sea, and that was more than enough to make him miserable.

Hell, the fact that he was on a ferry was enough. The vampire blood in his veins made him feel wary of any natural water, and while he knew ways to not let it interfere with his life too much, he would have rather died than taken a boat willingly. He couldn't swim and although they weren't far from the coast, he had to admit he was just plain scared.

The rain was the last thing he had wanted to see; not here when he was out in the sea and could not stop feeling nervous every time the ferry swayed a little. He asked himself once more; why he was out here again?

The answer was simple of course - Julius had convinced him that taking the ferry would be a convenient way to get back to Osaka. Arikado could only blame himself for dragging Julius over to Japan in the first place, just to see if visiting the Hakuba Shrine during an eclipse of the moon would have any effect in man's amnesia. Nothing had changed, but he figured it had been worth a try - not that the whole thing hadn't been an excuse for him to spent some time with Julius.

Visiting Japan did mean that Julius had wanted to go sightseeing, and while they had taken the train before, he had thought taking the ferry would be fun. Arikado hadn't managed to come up with a good excuse why not. The fares were lower than land travel, and the ferry they were taking fit their schedule perfectly. He could have of course just excused himself and said he had to return to his business already, but Julius was going to leave in two days, and he certainly wished to spent the remaining time with him.

The rain was getting stronger, and the ferry swayed - dangerously, in Arikado's opinion, while the movement wasn't really anything out of ordinary. He could only sit there, frozen in place, and to stare out of the window at the dark, menacing clouds.

He blinked when someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Can't you sleep?" Julius asked with tired but concerned voice. "You've been like that ever since we left the harbor."

"I apologize, J," Arikado answered, then sighed. "I should have told you that I..." He trailed off, but then decided to continue, figuring there was nothing to lose by admitting what was wrong, at least partially. Julius certainly had no idea what he really was. "I have a phobia of water. The sea is bad enough, but the rain makes me simply... scared."

Julius sat next to him and looked outside. "In that case I'm the one who should be sorry. I dragged you out here, after all."

"No..." The pale man replied and shook his head. "I should have told you about this before. But do not worry about me. The ferry will arrive to Osaka by the morning and then it will be alright."

"You should still try to get some sleep," Julius said. He smiled slightly in the darkness of the cabin then wrapped his arms around the other man and drew him closer. "It's only rain and means nothing. It doesn't look like a storm would be rising, either, so I really wouldn't worry about it."

Arikado nodded slightly; some part of him then just gave in, and he crawled onto Julius' lap and clung to the man. He cursed the weakness in his blood; he felt stupid and helpless but, for some reason, safe in Julius' arms. He smiled sadly. It was ironic, the sheer idea of a vampire hunter ending up protecting a vampire. Still, Julius felt warm and strong, and that was all he needed right now.

Julius laughed softly but held his companion, raising one hand to stroke Arikado's hair gently. "I really am sorry. If I had known..."

The other man didn't answer but just rested his head against Julius' shoulder, feeling peaceful for the first time since they had been on the sea.

They sat there in silence for a long time until the rain outside finally calmed a little. The clouds hung on the night sky, but between them, a ray from the full moon escaped and shone into the cabin. Julius, who was half-asleep by then, opened his eyes when he felt Arikado change position suddenly.

"Everything okay?" Julius asked, suppressing a yawn.

Arikado turned to glance outside. He smirked and pressed his face against Julius' neck, then nuzzled a little. "Perfectly fine," he lied quietly. He felt like laughing. Thanks to the rain, he had completely forgotten the other reason that was making him highly uncomfortable tonight. The full moon always strengthened his senses in a way he would have preferred not to experience.

He parted his lips slightly and carefully pressed his teeth, which normally weren't as sharp as they were right now, on Julius' skin. Julius obviously felt something, as he shifted a little and frowned. "Arikado...? What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Arikado replied. It would have been so easy, to taste Julius' blood. The blood of the Belmont family was strong, and it would surely have satisfied his vampire side. He then shook his head and pulled away. The temptation was strong, but he knew better. Fortunately he knew he couldn't have gone through with it; Julius carried a small cross necklace Arikado had once given to him and demanded he would always wear it - to prevent cases like this, not that Julius really knew why.

"The rain is fading," Julius said. "You should be able to sleep now."

The dhampir nodded. "It does not matter. It's only rain," he whispered. "Tears of the darkness that it weeps for the sins of the children of the night. I cannot say I have not committed any myself, but tonight..."

Julius raised an eyebrow. "...What?"

"Never mind," Arikado said, smiling. He wrapped his arms around the other man's neck and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. "The rain is irrelevant. However, I would appreciate it if you could distract me from the distress which the sea around us gives me."

He slipped away from Julius' lap, stepped away and dropped the yukata he had been wearing to the floor. "Let the night weep for my sins too, then," he said quietly, raising his hand and reaching to the other man. "Come to bed, J."

Julius stared at his naked companion for a moment, then shook his head, laughing. He stood and took Arikado's hand, then pulled him into bed.

Outside, the rain continued to fall from the dark sky, but the heavy raindrops hitting the window of the cabin were ignored.

Author's notes:

Challenge things like the ones on the Castlevania Fanfiction LJ Community are sure inspiring, hmm? Wrote this after finding out what my sister (who won the previous thing) had chosen as the title. It was "Rain", in case you didn't figure it out yet.

Julius pwns. And makes a good pairing with Arikado, so, yeah.

- Lady Harken (July, 2005)