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Chapter Text

Kiku felt another shoulder push up against him, and it was enough to almost send him spiraling. Kiku hated shopping in person for this very reason. There was always too many people out and about and there was no avoiding them. They were everywhere and there was no place to hide. Kiku could just feel the people around him, smell their odor, hear them chewing gum or popping their lips, and feel them brush up against him. Kiku felt like the longer he stood in line, the faster he would have a nervous breakdown, especially since the guy behind him smelled like he just smoked a whole carton of cigarettes and the cheap cologne he used to mask it was suffocating Kiku.

Kiku felt a wave of anxiety crash over him when he felt the shoulder push up against him once again, this time more insistent.

"Is he trying to cut the line?!" Kiku thought. In a second, his brain ran through all the scenarios that involved confronting the man. Of course, Kiku would never have the courage to do so.

"If you push up on the line again, I will remove you myself." Ludwig threatened, staring daggers at the man behind Kiku. The man looked startled and moved a few inches backwards. Feliciano gave the man a sympathetic look and tugged Ludwig back a little.

"Ludwig, don't scare the people." Feliciano laughed a little.

"Just because the new release is today doesn't mean that people can act like animals." Ludwig huffed.

Kiku didn't exactly blame the man for trying to cut. If Kiku was more assertive, he might attempt it at least once. Kiku looked back at the line, seeing it become larger and larger. The air was practically electric. Someone could mistake the long line of people for a concert, but Kiku wouldn't torture himself with so many people just for a concert. Kiku could hardly believe that the line was for the release of the newest addition to his favorite series, The Vampire Stalker.

The Vampire Stalker was the only reason Kiku dragged himself out of the house in the first place. He tried ordering it himself for online delivery, but found that online orders were so backed up that it wouldn't arrive on time. Then, Kiku ran the risk of hearing a spoiler at the university cafe, or Feliciano getting too excited over a chapter and blurting something out. Kiku simply couldn't afford to take that risk.

So here he was, standing in line with Feliciano and Ludwig, outside of the bookstore where fans eagerly awaited for the doors to open. Feliciano bounced in line, humming happily to himself. Ludwig stood there patiently, still eyeing for anyone trying to cut in line. Kiku took the moment to observe his friends and think about how lucky he was to find people who enjoyed reading as much as he did.

It all started when Kiku saw a flyer in the university's cafeteria for a reading club last year in the spring. It was Kiku's first semester at the university and he hadn't joined any sort of club or organization that they offered. Kiku could hear his older brother Yao's words from the beginning of the semester, hell, from the beginning when they moved to town.

"You can't spend all your time holed up in your room, either get a job or find something to occupy your time."

Kiku grimaced a little at the memory. Kiku was perfectly content staying up all night reading his manga and binge watching whatever anime caught his attention. It meant less interactions with other people, and Kiku was perfectly fine with that. Kiku ended up registering late for classes because of the move, and saw all the online classes were full. The thought of having to spend all his time in a lecture room with other people made him nauseous enough. Now Yao was after him about joining clubs!

If you asked Kiku, getting a job sounded worse. It meant working on a schedule and dealing with coworkers who were too nosy and with customers who treated you like dirt. Clubs had meetings once a week. Kiku figured if he went to a least one club meeting, then Yao would get off his back about it.

When Kiku made it to the study room in the library, he hesitated outside. There was already a build up of static in his stomach, his nerves on fire. Maybe it wasn't too late to turn around and go home. Kiku could always lie and say that the meeting was cancelled. When he started to walk away, the door bursted open and a guy with auburn hair and a curl sticking out from his hair was there.

"Welcome!"

There was only Feliciano at first. Kiku thought he'd seen this guy around campus before. Usually, he was asleep in the cafe or the library and was always trailing behind a much larger blond. When Kiku followed Feliciano into the study room, Feliciano quickly took Kiku's hand, giving it an excited shake.

"Welcome to the reading club! Hey, I know you! Don't we have Chemistry 101 together? I can never pay attention in that class, I never know what the professor is yapping about! I try my best to listen, but then I get so sleepy that I fall asleep! One time, I fell asleep in class and when I woke up, the janitor was poking at me and telling me to get out! Campus was so dark by that time that I was really scared to walk by myself, but I promised Ludwig I'd make us dinner tonight, and I hate breaking promises, so I ran all the way to my dorms, only to realize I went to the wrong building-"

Kiku could hardly keep up with this guy. It was like a sea of words and sentences that made no sense. Kiku felt his head spinning. Before Kiku could get out of there and return to the safety of his room, the door opened again and a taller guy with blond hair entered.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I got the donuts." The blond looked over and Kiku and looked somewhat pleased. "Looks like we got someone to answer your flyer."

Kiku's plans of escaping were temporarily halted with the mention of donuts. He could always eat a couple and then never return to these meetings. So Kiku sat there next to the cheerful guy who he learned was named Feliciano, and the other guy was named Ludwig. Kiku munched on his donuts and half spaced out on whatever Feliciano was talking about. Kiku was mulling it over in his mind if he should ask if they read manga, but then Feliciano produced a book.

"Here's our first book! As club president, I have the privilege of choosing what we'll be reading." Feliciano seemed proud of himself, puffing out his chest a little. Ludwig rolled his eyes a little.

"You're only president because the previous one graduated and you're the only one to join the club for this year."

Kiku took the book in his hands, carefully examining the cover. They say you should never judge a book by it's cover, but with one look at it, Kiku was intrigued. On the cover, there was a blond haired guy with glasses and wielding a blade, striking against what Kiku could only assume is a vampire with the way fangs are bared. The vampire had ash blond hair and a long scarf that whipped around the two, creating a dramatic effect. Kiku's fingers ran over the cover as he read the words, 'The Vampire Stalker'. Kiku flipped over the back of the book to read the description.

'In a fallen world where vampires reign the night, there is only one man brave enough to challenge them. After losing his parents in a horrific vampire attack, Alfred Jones is on a quest for revenge. The Insidious Ivan Braginsky has control of the largest clan of vampires, but that won't stop Alfred from finding a way to finally end Ivan's tyranny and free the night, the World from vampires.'

As Feliciano explained it more, the book was about a world that was overrun by vampires. As the story goes, vampires planned their great attack to finally seize control of the World. Their clans were large and the one who controlled the biggest one was Ivan Braginsky. Ivan was a fearsome vampire who struck fear into humans simply hearing his name. Since the vampires attacked parts of the world with such ferocity, technology advancement was halted indefinitely, so the world stopped development in the 1920's.

Kiku was surprised to see that the story took place in New York just like where he lived. Apparently, New York was hit the hardest with vampires since Ivan made it his home. That's where Alfred F. Jones comes in, the heroic vampire slayer who has a thirst for revenge against Ivan and vampires in general. Alfred was such a talented vampire slayer that he was dubbed 'The Vampire Stalker', which is what the series was named after.

Kiku was more into manga than novels, but he wasn't one to turn down a book, especially since Feliciano had forced it into his hands when the meeting was adjourned. Kiku thought of it as a pain, now he'd be forced to come back to the club meetings to return the book.

Kiku returned home later that night, finding Yao in the kitchen preparing dinner for the two of them. It made Kiku feel a little bad that he didn't do more around the house. Yao was out bustling at a local restaurant and he had to return home to cook some more. When Yao looked up to see Kiku entering the apartment, his eyes widened a little.

"You weren't in your room?" Yao looked towards the hall.

Kiku held up the book that Feliciano gave him. "I was at a club meeting."

Yao's face brightened. "That's great! See, already a month here and you're making friends! I told you moving wouldn't be so bad."

Kiku shrugged a little. Moving from Japan was a big adjustment that they were still trying to get used too, but Yao got an offer to work at an exclusive restaurant. Kiku was wondering if he should pick a university in Japan, but the thought of being oceans away from Yao left him a little queasy. The brothers only had each other, so Kiku made the choice to follow him aboard for his studies. Yao was fussing over if Kiku would adjust to the United States well enough, and seeing Kiku involved in a club seemed to soothe his nerves.

"I'm making your favorite~." Yao said in a slight singsong voice.

After dinner, Kiku disappeared back into his room and set the book down on his desk. Kiku grabbed his remote to turn on his T.V, but found himself hesitating. Kiku glanced over at the book. Feliciano was nice enough to let Kiku borrow his own copy, it would be rude to just ignore it. Kiku grabbed the book and made himself comfortable on his bed. Kiku figured getting the first five chapters in would be good, it would mean he'd have enough to talk about with Feliciano and Ludwig at the next club meeting.

Kiku opened up the first page and finished the first chapter easily. Then the next one. Then the next one. Then Kiku finished the five chapters he planned to read. Then he read five more chapters. In the end, Kiku couldn't put the book down, his eyes glued to every page and every word. Before Kiku knew it, the book was finished and he set it down gently, like it was something precious. Kiku sat on his bed, absolutely gobsmacked over what he read.

"Good morning, do you want to order in for-." Yao's voice was heard when he opened the door to Kiku's door without knocking. Yao stopped at the doorway when he saw that Kiku was already up, which wasn't too surprising, but Kiku was still in the same clothes from last night. Yao narrowed his eyes a little.

"Did…Did you go to sleep at all last night?" Yao asked.

Kiku looked embarrassed when he glanced over to his window to see the dawn starting to rise and the birds chirping softly. Yao shook his head a little, sighing as he left the room to go order them some breakfast. As Kiku was munching on a sausage biscuit, he opened up his laptop to check if there was any fan-fiction over the book before promptly falling asleep at his desk.

The next time Kiku saw Feliciano and Ludwig, Feliciano was ecstatic to hear that Kiku finished the book in one sitting.

"Isn't it good?!" Feliciano gushed. "Oh my god, the drama and the fight scenes are so incredible!"

"It was so vivid, I could see it all in my head." Kiku admitted softly, feeling a small smile form on his face.

Ludwig nodded along. "I'm not much of a fantasy reader, but Feliciano wouldn't get off my back about it. I can't help but admit that the world building is fascinating."

Feliciano giggled a little. "Isn't Matthew in the book so romantic? I mean, a kind and gentle soul that just wants to unite vampires and humans! What's not to love?"

Ludwig huffed a little. "…What's so great about Matthew?"

Kiku felt a slight heat rise up to his face. Matthew was a character in the book, Alfred's twin brother to be in fact. Matthew wasn't a slayer like Alfred was but worked hard to try to get vampires and humans to co-exist peacefully, at least with the coven of vampires that were agreeable.

From the fan fiction tags that Kiku found, it seemed that Matthew was a fan favorite for his kind hearted spirit and soft spoken character. Kiku could understand it, but, Matthew was no Alfred. It was embarrassing to admit having a crush on a fictional character, but Kiku couldn't help it.

Alfred was so cocky and sure of himself, constantly diving into battle with a grin on his face and proclaiming that he'd save everyone. His catchphrase was 'I'm the hero!' And while laughable, Kiku couldn't help but find it adorable as well. If you asked Kiku, Alfred was the superior choice.

"I hope they let us in soon." Feliciano whined a little as he tried standing on his tippy toes to see if the line was making any progress.

Ludwig, who loomed over them both, sighed a little. "The doors are still locked Feliciano."

Kiku was getting antsy himself. He didn't know how much longer he could wait to get his hands on the second book. Kiku was certain he read every fan fiction he could get his hands on about the series, he even wrote some himself. It was all to sate his appetite since there was only the first book in the planned trilogy.

"I hope our preorders are there."

Feliciano and Ludwig snapped their heads to look at Kiku.

"What do you mean? You ordered them for us right?" Feliciano looked at Kiku in slight desperation.

"I did, but I saw on the news that some of the trucks shipped them off late." Kiku mumbled softly, feeling nervous as the words left him.

"I'm getting my hands on a book today, we preordered them, we're entitled to them." Ludwig said as a matter of fact, his face steely and cool.

Kiku still felt a little intimidated by the German, but he was less scary with Feliciano by his side. It came as a surprise to Kiku to find out that the two were dating. It made a little sense after Kiku thought about it some more. Feliciano always managed to get Ludwig to turn red.

Kiku always felt a little jealous whenever he saw them being cute together. It wasn't that Kiku wanted Feliciano or Ludwig for himself, but he saw how much the two loved each other. Despite Feliciano's antics, Ludwig still looked at Feliciano as if he was his reason for breathing. Feliciano would ramble to Kiku about Ludwig as if he was a sonnet, a ballad, something so precious. Kiku envied the closeness they had. It made Kiku wonder if he'd ever find someone who'd put with his anti-social behavior.

A chorus of screams filled the air as the doors finally opened. The line was finally moving. Feliciano could hardly keep still that Ludwig had to hold onto his arm. Despite the long line, the workers moved like magic, handing out the preordered books to everyone who waited patiently in line. Those who didn't preorder scrambled to the nearest shelf to grab one before they were gone. Eventually, it was Kiku, Feliciano, and Ludwig's turn to approach the register.

"Thanks for ordering with Book World, please come again!" The cashier said with a smile.

The trio left the bookstore with the books secured. Feliciano was already reading and walking, so Ludwig had to gave his shirt collar to maneuver him through the crowd and make sure he didn't walk into the street. Kiku stared down at the book, hands trembling with eagerness. The cover art was even better than the last, another showdown between the heroic Alfred and the villainous Ivan, both characters on the cover. Ivan was on a throne and Alfred was approaching him, sword drawn.

"Do you want call later tonight when we finish it?" Ludwig asked.

Kiku laughed a little. The trio were dead set on finishing the book on one sitting. "Of course."

With that, Kiku said his goodbyes and took the subway back home. He tried reading the book on the subway, but he was jostled around so roughly that it made it hard to focus on a paragraph. Kiku tucked the book underneath his arm and waited anxiously. The subway was the worst part of the move if you asked Kiku.

Subways in Japan were bad, especially on game days, but New York subways were somehow even worse. People crammed together in carts like cans of sardines. It was worse than being in class, at least then Kiku could focus on something to distract himself. On the subway, Kiku could smell everyone and their lunches, cheap perfumes, and ‘recreational’ medicine that made Kiku crinkle his nose. It was everything all at once. Kiku calmed himself down before he could panic. He reminded himself that he had a date with Alfred Jones when he got home.

When Kiku was finally released from that horrific train ride, he made it to his apartment building. It was called Sunset Row, which made it sound dazzling on paper, but when they got there, it looked like there was something smelly about the building. Speaking of smelly, Kiku froze a little when he saw a man standing outside the building. His face lit up upon seeing Kiku which meant Kiku was supposed to know this man. His face didn't ring any bells.

"Kiki, my man!" The man grinned.

"…It's Kiku."

"Yeah, whatever, listen, can you talk your brother into buzzing me up? I've been waiting here for hours."

Now it made sense. This must be one of Yao's match dot com freaks. Why Yao was convinced that true love could be found on a dating website was beyond Kiku. Kiku was always warning him that the people on these apps were either serial killers or creeps. In this case, the man, Henry, was a serial cheater. Kiku narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not going to do that." Kiku tried to move past him.

"Oh come on, can't you just explain to him that it meant nothing? That girl just kinda looked like him with the ponytail and I was really drunk."

Now Kiku was hearing more than he ever wanted or needed to know. Before Kiku could answer, something came crashing near them that made both men jump. Kiku looked up to see Yao had opened the window and was throwing plates down.

"Leave me alone Henry! Stop bothering us! Go be with your cheap whore!" Yao cried out as he threw another plate down, skillfully at Henry's feet.

It didn't take long for Henry to get out of there, giving Kiku a chance to get inside the building. When Kiku opened the door to the apartment, he found Yao on the couch, with several glasses of wine on the coffee table. Yao was sprawled on the couch, his shoulders shaking in sobs. Kiku frowned and approached his brother, kneeling down to gently stroke his hair. Yao turned more into the couch, sobbing softly into the cushions.

"Ithoughthewastheone." Yao said, muffled into the cushion.

Kiku sighed a little, continuing to comfort Yao.

Yao was rather unlucky when it came to love. It was like bad men were attracted to Yao and Yao was too smitten to see them for who they were. Kiku was used to returning home with Yao shoveling ice cream in his face after a bad date. It was the same back in Japan, and perhaps Yao thought American men would be different.

Yao continued his crying and Kiku got up to find the throw blanket. Kiku gently draped the blanket over Yao and his shoulders gradually stopped shaking. With all the alcohol in his system, Yao eventually fell asleep. Kiku silently grabbed the wine glasses and washed them before nearly putting them up. Kiku took one more look at Yao who was now sleeping more peacefully, turning comfortably on the couch as soft snores filled the room. After ensuring that Yao was fine, Kiku disappeared into his room with his book in hand.

Kiku sat down at his desk, and opened a drawer to reveal his hidden double stuffed Oreo. Yao had a severe sweet tooth and would polish off any tooth rotting treats they had in the pantry, so Kiku learned how to hide certain sweets he wanted for himself.

"Finally." Kiku said to himself with a giddy smile. "A whole book about you, Alfred!"

Kiku opened the book eagerly.

Kiku slammed the book shut.

Kiku had his head in his hands, wondering if Yao still had some wind left in the kitchen to drown himself in.

'This cannot be happening!'

Kiku was enjoying the book, taking time to gush over every scene that Alfred was amazing in and text his group chat with Feliciano and Ludwig to see what chapter they were on. If the trio landed on the same chapter, they would talk about the previous ones and try to make guesses on where the story was going. What Kiku couldn't predict was that the story would end in a cliffhanger with Alfred chasing Ivan into the night.

Kiku crashed onto his bed, his phone on his pillow. "I can't believe he ended the book like that!"

"Me neither, now we have to wait another year for the next book!" Feliciano groaned. "I'm gonna go crazy!"

Ludwig only grunted, clearly a little burnt out from finishing a 25 chapter book in one night.

Kiku just couldn't accept that the writer, Tino Väinämöinen, would just end the book like that. Kiku was already going crazy from waiting for the new release, only for the second book to end like that! Kiku wondered if there was a nice way to ask Tino to hurry with the third book already.

"I mean, what if he kills off Alfred?! What happens then?!" Kiku asked.

Feliciano laughed a little. "Well, I don't think he'd ever do that, considering he's the main character after all. If you ask me, I was surprised there wasn't a love interest introduced for Alfred."

"Why would they do that?" Kiku said, suddenly defensive. Kiku felt his face get hot. It was embarrassing to be jealous over a fictional character. Kiku didn't want to think about reading scenes with Alfred and some other character in romantic scenes, Kiku coughed a little into his hand. "I mean, he's too invested in revenge to date anyone."

"Alfred deserves some happiness, especially with everything that happened to him." Feliciano pointed out.

Feliciano had a point. Kiku was thinking over it bitterly. It was crazy to think about, but if Alfred was going to get with someone, he wished that it could be him. Feliciano knew about Kiku's love for Alfred and would lovingly tease him about it.

"I just can't wait a whole year for the next book!" Kiku groaned.

"In the mean time, let's think about all the juicy fan-fiction you'll get your hands on." Feliciano laughed. "Anyway, we gotta go, Ludwig has a class in the morning and I got brunch with my brother. Talk to you later!"

Feliciano left the discord call, leaving Kiku alone. With a groan, Kiku dragged himself back to his desk and booted up his laptop. He found the bookmark that took him to the login in page of his favorite fan fiction website.

'Welcome to Cafe Fiction! Post your fan fiction and share for fandoms to see!

Log in

Email:

Password.'

Kiku typed his login and was greeted by updates to some of the fan fictions he bookmarked. It was nice to see that people got more of a creative juice after the release of the second book. When Kiku checked the tags, he saw new entities that were posted merely minutes ago. Maybe this wouldn't be that bad, maybe Kiku could feel the void of the lack of an ending by indulging in fan-fiction.

Kiku wrote some of his own, although they were mostly one-shots and mainly about Alfred finally defeating Ivan.

Kiku clicked on the 'Alfred F. Jones/Reader' tag and smiled upon seeing new fan-fiction uploaded. This wouldn't be a bad night at all. Kiku jumped a little when he heard a noise outside. He peered out the window near to his desk to see what it was. It was just an alley cat rummaging through an open bin and successfully stealing some food before darting off into the night.

Kiku always thought how spooky the New York streets looked like, mainly at night. Kiku hated having to get back to the apartment after his night class. The only thing to bring him comfort was to imagine Alfred running through the streets with a blade in hand and an unwavering determination to save those around him.

Kiku often wondered what he'd do if he ever met Alfred. Kiku always thought that he'd offer Alfred a helping hand, not that he'd be any help against vampires. Still, to have the chance of getting to be alongside with Alfred for a night? 

Kiku would be over the moon.

Chapter Text

"I call this meeting of the reading club to order!"

Feliciano banged his gavel on the table, a squeaky noise bouncing off of it. It was a gag gift that Kiku bought for him last year for Christmas. Now whenever they had club meetings, Feliciano was sure to bring the gavel around everywhere to bang on it.

Kiku wasn't so sure why they even bothered with club meetings anymore. The entire time he's been at the university, he hasn't seen anyone interested in their club. It was still just the three of them, two if you counted the times that Feliciano was late despite being the club president. If you asked Kiku, he liked it this way, just the three of them. Kiku didn’t see the need to expand its members.

According to the student's life committee, clubs had to host a meeting at least twice a month to hold their validity as a club. These meetings could be done at campus or elsewhere. Kiku appointed himself as secretary of the club, so he made sure to write down the dates they met together so the committee would know about their meetings. If you could call them meetings.

Most of the time, it was the trio sitting in a study room in the library eating snacks and talking about whatever suited them at the time, but of course, books were still the main course of topic. Now that the second installment of 'The Vampire Stalker' dropped, Kiku was excited to start this meeting. However, there was an empty space next to Feliciano that was usually filled. Ludwig was running late which was unlike him.

Feliciano seemed a little giddy over the situation. "I can't believe I got here before Ludwig!" The auburn haired man gave Kiku a big grin.

"Should I buy us red bean mochi to celebrate?" Kiku teased.

The two laughed a little, their eyes still lingered on the door. Kiku rapped his fingers against the desk, his knee bouncing up and down like a spring. After another ten minutes, Feliciano checked his phone for any missed messages that might've gone unnoticed. The Italian set his phone down and shrugged a little.

"I suppose his lecture is still going."

Kiku took this as an invitation to start the discussions. Ludwig could always jump in once he got here.

"I'm still not happy about the cliffhanger." Kiku frowned, resting his chin on his hands. It was crazy to think that he would have to wait an entire year for the next book to come out. It was hard enough waiting for this one to come out, only for it to end with Alfred pursuing Ivan, the cat and mouse chase fanned into a flame.

"I mean, just who knows what Tino is thinking." Kiku muttered. Kiku thoroughly respected Tino as a writer, since he was the one to bring Alfred to live within the pages of his novel. It was just frustrating to have the book end in such a way, but Kiku was starting to suspect that this was done on purpose.

Tino Väinämöinen, the author of 'The Vampire Stalker' quickly became an overnight sensation with the release of the first book. Kiku had no doubt that Tino's fame would only soar with the release of the second book. He remembered seeing an interview on YouTube with Tino who discussed the book the night before the release. It surprised Kiku to see that Tino was only 20 years old. Young and talented, it was inspiring.

Kiku was studying at the university for a creative writing degree. It was Kiku's dream to write and draw his own manga inspired web series. To have people appreciate his art just like he did for Tino's. The appeal of it was that Kiku could hide behind a screen, watching people enjoy his writing from afar.

While thousand of ideas swirled in his mind like a storm, Kiku silently cursed Tino for coming up with Alfred, first. It was a shame that Kiku couldn't lay his claim.

"I heard that Tino hasn't even started on the third book." Feliciano piped up, which earned a groan from Kiku.

Writer's block was a pain for anyone to go through, especially if the writing was something you desperately wanted. Kiku was more sympathetic however, knowing exactly how it feels to stare at a blank screen for hours and not coming up with anything. Kiki tried his hand at writing a couple of fan-fictions, or doodling some ideas for a series and sometimes struggled to get something new down.

"I just wish I knew what direction he's taking the book in, you know?" Kiku sighed.

Feliciano nodded along. "Maybe Tino doesn't know what to do with the characters. I keep hearing the rumor that Tino might kill off either Alfred or Matthew."

That thought made Kiku's skin crawl. Since the release of the second book, hundreds of theories floated around about Alfred and the way his story would end. Kiku knew that there was no other ending for him besides finally defeating Ivan and ending his reign of terror. Of course, if Alfred would survive the battle was the big question. People were guessing that Alfred would die in the battle, completing his quest for revenge with his life.

"Is there any talks from your job? Maybe you could find out more about when the next book is releasing." Kiku asked.

Feliciano had a part time job as a secretary for a publishing agency, and it just so happened that it was the same company that published 'The Vampire Stalker'. It was how Feliciano found out about the date of the release before it was ever announced online. It was a pretty sweet gig that gave Feliciano the latest scoop of anything related to the book.

Just as Feliciano was about to answer, the door to the study room opened and Ludwig came inside. The blond man looked a little flustered, perhaps because he was late. He took his seat next to Feliciano, opening his bag and reaching inside. As Ludwig did this, Feliciano leaned his head against the blond's shoulder and smiled smugly, his grin ever so shit eating.

"Care to explain why you're late?" Feliciano teased softly. "I got here before you did!"

Ludwig huffed a little, rolling his eyes. "It's miracle." There was a slight humor in his tone, despite it. Ludwig slid into his seat, sliding something onto the table. "Sorry I got held up, I was stopped by Felix."

Felix was the head of the student life committee, the one in charge of approving clubs and events. Felix was a rather flamboyant person, but well meaning. He'd often come around to their meetings to see how things are going, or send emails to notify them whenever events were happening around the room.

Kiku honestly felt a little uneasy about Ludwig running into Felix. As secretary of the club, Kiku was the one who spoke to Felix the most. Something that he learned from Felix was that apparently clubs needed at least four members to be considered an active club. The reading club only had Feliciano, Ludwig, and of course, himself. Kiku was left to wonder if Felix realized that their club was technically invalid.

As Ludwig slid the paper over for all of them to see, Kiku tilted his head a little to get a better look. 

STUDENT LIFE COMMITTEE INVITES YOU TO THE FALL WELCOME BASH!

Come and hang out with the clubs that the University has to offer! Make friends and join a club! Snacks will be provided!

Friday, September 28th @ 7 pm til 9 pm in the Student Lounge

"Felix would like us to have a table set up for the welcome bash." Ludwig explained.

Kiku was starting to think that Felix complaining about their lack of members would've been better. His stomach churned at the idea of having to do anything extra with their time, especially for something that sounded like a gathering of sorts. Kiku slid down in his seat a little, as Feliciano gushed.

"Wow, a welcome bash! It would be our first one to have a table in." Feliciano beamed, grabbing a hold of the flier. Then, Feliciano paused and looked at Ludwig quizzically. "Why wasn't I asked about it?"

Ludwig had a ghost of a smirk. "Felix thought I was the club president."

"What?!" Feliciano exclaimed. "But I'm the club president!"

"Only because you were the only one left when the rest of the club members graduated." Ludwig shrugged. "So, are we going to this?"

Kiku saw his chance to mention his concern. "Do we need to? I mean, I think we're fine as a club-"

"Of course we'll do it!" Feliciano butted in, smiling widely and practically bouncing in his seat. "I mean, think of it, this could be our chance to get more members! Plus, parties are always really fun!"

"It's more of an organized event, than a party." Ludwig said. "You have a point though, it wouldn't hurt to try finding an extra member to have on board, before Felix realizes that we've been operating with only three members in total."

Kiku groaned internally, feeling his stomach start to drop. He hated to admit that Ludwig was right. If they wanted the club to keep operating, they couldn't keep relying on Felix being oblivious about their situation. Ludwig looked over, seemingly understanding Kiku's hesitation.

"It'll only be an hour and a half." Ludwig reassured him. "Maybe even less if students don't show up."

"Yeah, Kiku, it'll be great!" Feliciano grinned.

It only worked to make Kiku feel a tiny bit better, if only a little. A queasy smile formed on Kiku's face as he nodded. There was little chance of Kiku getting out of this one. If it was any other meeting with the clubs, then Feliciano or even Ludwig could go by themselves to represent them. However, since this would be an event to showcase the clubs, it would look better if they were all in attendance. Kiku could stomach an hour and a half of standing around and smiling.

"Then it's settled, I'll let Felix know that we'll be in attendance. Oh! We should make poster boards for the event, let's show the students how much fun it'll be to join!" Feliciano stated, his attention bouncing off from one topic to another like a bullet. The Italian turned his gaze back to Kiku.

"With the release of the new Vampire Stalker book, I'm sure that'll draw students attention! What if we made a poster board talking about the book and the discussions we had with it? I bet you could draw us a really nice Alfred to be the main focus of the board." Feliciano continued.

At this, Kiku perked up. They would need to draw people's attention in some way, and focusing on a popular book could be just what they need. Kiku honestly got a little giddy at the mention of drawing something for the poster. Along with fan-fiction, Kiku has done plenty of fan-art that he's posted onto Tumblr for others to enjoy. Kiku knew he should be pouring his passion and time into his own projects, but it was hard when Alfred was his current muse.

"I could whip us something up by Friday." Kiku nodded. At this, Feliciano clapped a little, an excited laughed bubbling out of him.

"This is going to be so much fun, I can't wait!" Feliciano chirped.

That uneasy feeling never truly left Kiku, still feeling the anxiety already start to form at the thought of the welcome bash. It would be bearable with Feliciano and Ludwig by his side, so he’d focus on the artistic part of it all.

Even now, as Feliciano rambled on and on to Ludwig about ideas, Kiku was already sketching out Alfred on a loose piece of paper. Kiku's favorite part of drawing Alfred was getting to his eyes. He felt like he could get lost in them forever.

"You're getting tired, aren't you, маленькая мышка?" The voice rang out, soft and delicate, even when the owner was anything but. Violet pools looked back to gaze into cerulean ones, sending a cold shiver down Alfred's spine.

Alfred thought he's gotten used to it. The look of hunger in a man's eyes, no, not a man, a beast. It was a look you never could forget, even when you've tried everything to scrub it out. The way these leeches salivated at the scent of a freshly scraped knee, someone's heartbeat, the blood pumping through someone's body. In Alfred's line of work, there was no shortage of starving vampires with the same look, the same desperation to feed. He's seen it all.

Despite the slight shake that rolled out in his body, Alfred flashed a grin and ignored the ache in his legs. He'd been running for a while now, longer than anyone should be running. If Alfred was any other person, he'd probably collapsed by now.

"You're running out of steam yourself." Alfred taunted back. It was half lie and half truth. Alfred knew that vampires were more durable than humans and could extend what a normal human limits were, there was no way that Ivan didn't have any fight left in him. Alfred looked towards the horizon, feeling his heart start to race slightly. Soon it would be sunrise, the clock down was starting, and Alfred managed to chase Ivan into a corner.

This could be the end once and for all.

It puzzled Alfred however, that Ivan seemingly was allowing this to happen. No, Ivan wouldn't make this so easy for him. Ivan wouldn't end this game so soon, especially with such an unfortunate climax. What a waste of an ending it would be, the great Ivan finally feeling the sun's kiss one last time. No, no, Ivan wouldn't go like that. Alfred wouldn't let him.

If Ivan was going to die, and he was going to die, it would be by Alfred's blade. He would be the one to stake Ivan or lob off his head. He would be the one to finally end this nightmare he's been living since he was 11 years old. Alfred pushed himself to run faster, even when his body was starting to fail him. With a precise leap, Alfred swung his blade, hoping to get one clean strike, but as expected, Ivan vanished in the blink of an eye. Alfred grinned and turned around, just as Ivan reappeared behind him, raising his blade to deflect Ivan.

Ivan hissed when his claws made contact with the silver blade, jumping back. Alfred chuckled a little.

"You're starting to get boring." Alfred faked a yawn, twirling his blade in his hand.

"You're staring to get on my nerves." Ivan snarled, his gaze looking up at the sky. The night wouldn't last another hour. He was oh so hungry, the never ending thirst burning in his throat. Despite Alfred's show, Ivan knew that the human was reaching his limit, from the way his heart was beating and the way his lungs were trying to cling onto air. Alfred would make a delectable meal one of these days. Maybe not today. Ivan would hate for their game to end so soon.

As much as Ivan wanted to stay around, there were matters to attend too, more important than this foolish boy who chased ideas of vengeance. Unfortunately for Ivan, he was learning that Alfred was like a wad of gum underneath a shoe, no matter how much Ivan ran, Alfred wouldn't let go. They've been playing this cat and mouse game for a while now, longer than the average hunter could withstand.

Ivan raised his hand, feeling a surge of energy shoot out throughout his body. Wisps and crackles of dark magic whirled around his hand, making Alfred's eyes go wide and grip his blade. Ivan didn't think of it as cowardly to run away, especially when he could easily snap Alfred's neck in half, but where would be the fun in that? Ivan simply didn't want to play anymore, but he knows that soon they'll be at it again, and the next night might finally be the night where Ivan ends Alfred's line.

"Dasvidaniya." Ivan's smile never once left him as the energy started to envelope him. Alfred gritted his teeth and in a sudden display of anger and strength, he performed another strike, his legs managing to let him cover enough distance to draw his blade back, ready to swing it at Ivan's head.

"You're not getting away!" Alfred demanded.

How was it that this human seemed to be invincible? Despite his exhaustion, he still tried to strike at the vampire. Ivan, now distracted, moved backwards, attempting to dodge Alfred's attack. Then, the strangest thing happened. Before any of them could process it, a bright light came from Ivan's hand, blinding them both. Alfred cried out and Ivan hissed, as the light devoured them both.

When the light was gone, both stumbled onto the floor, the sound of Alfred's blade clattering on the ground. Ivan was first to recover from it, immediately creating distance from Alfred. When Ivan looked around, he stopped dead in his tracks. The sounds of a boat and seagulls filled his ears. Weren't they at a street just now? How did they end up at the docks? Ivan huffed in annoyance. Thanks to Alfred's interference, Ivan realized his spell must've miscalculated where he was trying to go.

If they ended up at Ivan's original destination, Alfred would have found himself in the middle of Ivan's mansion, his coven ready to descend on him. Ivan looked around to see that Alfred was passed out, as Ivan knew it would eventually happen. His tongue raked against his fangs, that hunger burning in his throat. Ivan backed away.

Not today, but one day, he'd have a goblet filled with Alfred's blood. If he did this now, it would be too easy. Ivan quickly departed from Alfred, disappearing from the docks and onto a familiar street that would lead him towards his estate. However, when Ivan stepped out from the streets, he froze. Humans. Everywhere. There were humans walking around without a care in the world. Even when the sun was almost up, humans wouldn't dare leave their homes until it was safe to walk around.

There was a brightness that made Ivan wince, fearing that the sun had snuck up behind him. There was no flames engulfing him or the burning sensation that came with the sun shining down on him. Ivan realized that the area he was in had many lights. It was different from the street lamps that illuminated the path for the weary humans. These lights made the area so bright, Ivan almost confused it for daytime.

Ivan looked up towards the sky, realizing how different it looked. Before, the dawn was teasing its approach, but now the sky was still a dark velvet, granting him cover. This only confused him more, if the moon was still high in the sky, why were there humans walking around laughing? To protect their own, the authorities assigned curfews to make sure humans weren't walking around when vampires were stalking the night.

Some brave (foolish.) humans would break curfew to either enjoy themselves, or if they were like Alfred, they would try to hunt down vampires. Ivan couldn't tell what these humans were doing. The air was chilled and blowing, leading a newspaper over to Ivan. When he grabbed it and examined it, he was surprised to see the date was September 28th.

'That can't be right. It was only the 23rd yesterday.'

Before Ivan could ponder this more, he felt how dry his throat was. He couldn't understand why these humans were desperate to break their curfew, but for now, it was no matter to him. He was sure everything would be clearer once he fed. Ivan easily disappeared into the crowd, blending in with the humans, and the humans unaware of the beast among them.

Ivan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply when he picked up a unique scent, stopping in place for just a moment when he looked around for the trace of the scent. His eyes eventually found his prey, a young man with black hair. He smiled.

'There you are.'

"I'm going to be home a little late today." Kiku informed Yao as he started to gather his things. The poster board was done just in time, after Kiku agonized over several sketches and eventually settling on one.

Others might think it was a pain to get so worked up over art for a poster board for a club they were apart of, but Kiku was determined to do Alfred justice by capturing him perfectly in his art. The amount of references of Alfred were limited to some degree, since Tino hand drew all of the art for the novels, including the cover.

Tino stated in an interview that he didn't hire an artist for the novels because he felt like no one could capture the characters correctly. He used this same excuse when a movie deal was offered for the book trilogy and Tino turned it down. Most fans were in an uproar, but Kiku silently agreed. He couldn't picture any actor portraying Alfred or the other characters correctly.

Kiku grabbed his bag and held the poster board under his arm as he headed for the door.

Yao looked up from his book when Kiku announced his departure. "Wait, wait, don't go, let me see your poster board!" The older man scrambled up to his feet as he walked over. Kiku dreaded each time Yao asked to see his art. It was cute when Kiku was 6 years old and drew Pokémon, but now it was just embarrassing to show Yao his art of his fictional crush.

Yao carefully took the poster board from Kiku's hands and a smile formed on his face. "Wow, look at this!" Yao praised. "You've gotten so much better, Kiku!"

Kiku felt his face get flush. Not only did it do psychic damage to show art of your fictional crush to your older brother, it was embarrassing to have said older brother gush over you like you were still a kid. It irritated Kiku to no end.

He wasn’t 6 anymore!

Kiku took the poster board and nodded. "Thank you." Is all that Kiku said. "I should be going now."

"Okay then, have fun." Yao said. "I'll have dinner waiting for you, I'm making short ribs."

"Sounds good."

Yao waved Kiku off as he headed out, the sun slowly starting to set. Now with autumn finally here, the sun was setting much faster which made Kiku just a little uneasy. He was going to have to travel back during the night anyway, but he made a point to try to reach the university before the sun set. Once again, Kiku crammed himself into a subway train, managing to snag a seat for himself and luckily, his poster.

When they made it to their stop, Kiku hopped off and made his way towards the university. A small group of students were on the subway train with him and headed in the same direction as Kiku. Clubs were instructed to arrive early to set up their booths and anything they were going to need. Kiku assumed the students he was walking with had to be part of some other club.

"Are you heading to the welcome bash too?"

Kiku nodded, trying his best to give a polite smile to them. 'Please don't ask me what club. Please don't ask me what club. Please don't ask me what club-.'

"Really? What club are you apart of?"

FUCK.

"I'm a part of the reading club." Kiku said, his voice rather soft, eyes focused on anything but them. The bash hadn't even started yet and Kiku was slready over it. Before Kiku could stew in his feelings, he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he looked over, Kiku saw Feliciano.

"Ludwig texted me saying he has the table set up." The auburn haired man smiled. "Come on let's go!"

Feliciano linked arms with Kiku and began to drag him away. Kiku still shuddered a little whenever Feliciano was physically affectionate with him. It was a culture shock to understand that it was simply Feliciano showing his appreciation for Kiku and their friendship. Kiku might've not put up with it if it wasn't Feliciano doing it.

Eventually, the two made it to the student center that was already buzzing the excitement. Clubs were setting up their booths with their snacks and entertainment to attract people to them. In the far corner, the e-sports team had set up two t.vs and some video games for people to play. The cosplay club had people dressed up for the occasion. The yoga club had some mats set down for a mini class they would be hosting for people. When Kiku and Feliciano made it to their booth, it was rather lackluster compared to every other one.

"Do you think we should have done more?" Kiku asked.

"I think our poster board will be neat!" Feliciano reassured him. Then he nodded his head over to Ludwig who was setting down a Tupperware of cookies on the table. It still surprised Kiku whenever Ludwig baked anything, finding it surprising that those rough looking hands could handle gentle work.

"I made the cookies in the shape of bats and little swords." Ludwig looked away awkwardly as he displayed them for Kiku to see. It looked like Kiku wasn't the only one who was rather shy when it came to showing off their interests.

"Not only do they look good, but they taste great!" Feliciano gushes as he takes a bat cookie and bites down on the head.

"Hey, we need to save them for the people we're trying to recruit!" Ludwig scolded.

It didn't long at all for Kiku to set up his poster board. He saw that Feliciano brought his copy of the book, so he set it with the poster board so that it looked nicer. Kiku took a step back to admire their booth. It was rather plain compared to the other ones, but they were a reading club so they were already limited on what they can do in terms of offering people stuff. They would have to hope that the cookies and the poster board would be enough to entice possible members.

Then before they knew it, the welcome bash was starting. Students started to file in, some of them rushing to the t.vs or the to gush at the cosplays. Kiku stood awkwardly next to the booth, watching as people would pass by, some of them stopping to look at the booth and accepting a cookie from Ludwig. No one stopped by long enough to ask any questions. Kiku was sure people were just making their rounds and would come back to really look at their booth. Or not, he was kinda hoping they'd be left alone.

One girl gasped upon seeing the poster board and made a beeline over. "Oh my god, is that Alfred F. Jones?!" The girl gushed.

Feliciano smiled brightly and took a step forward. "Yes, he's our character focus because the book we're reading is the second book of 'The Vampire Stalker' trilogy."

The girl continued to fawn over the poster board, staring dreamingly at the art. Feliciano saw this chance and gently nudged his head over to Kiku.

"The art done for the booth today was made by our member, Kiku."

Kiku blinked in surprise as Feliciano shifted the focus on him. This wasn't the plan! The girl turned her attention onto Kiku and squealed a little.

"Oh my god, really?! Your art is super good!"

"Oh..uh, thank you." Kiku nodded, feeling a slight heat rise up to his face.

The girl waved her hand over to another group of people that were preoccupied with the cycling club. When they made their way over, the girl was quick to fill them in on the club's choice of books and the poster board. She made sure to mention that Kiku was the one to make the art.

A chorus of praise was sung for Kiku, and it didn't stop with the group. Every time someone stopped by the booth to admire the poster board, they'd always say nice things to Kiku. Kiku was certain that his face was red by now, not expecting anyone to give him any sort of praise over his art, much less fan-art of a book character.

Kiku couldn't help but notice that throughout the night, the sign up sheet that Ludwig put out had about three signatures. Also his Tupperware of cookies were practically gone. Kiku took this time to look over at Feliciano.

"Why are you telling everyone that I made the art?"

Feliciano cocked his head to the side. "Why not? You did great!"

"I mean…" Kiku hesitated.

"Kiku, honestly, you should be more open with your art. You deserve people telling you nice things!" Feliciano insisted.

Kiku felt another heat rush up his face. Receiving praise from Yao was one thing, getting it from other people made his stomach flutter. He felt a small cross his face. The rest of the evening went without a hitch, only until the cooking club caused a black out from hooking in too much plugs for their stand. The bash was going to end in about 20 minutes anyway, so it was a sign to start packing things up.

As everyone started to clean up, Kiku grabbed his poster board and carefully tucked it underneath his arm. Ludwig approached him with cookies that he saved for him.

"Would you like to join me and Feliciano? We're going to Beverly's diner." Ludwig offered.

Kiku shook his head. "Thank you for the offer, but my brother is making dinner tonight. Perhaps another time?"

"Of course. Be careful on the way home, text us when you get home safely."

"I will."

Kiku said his goodbyes to his friends and made his way out, leaving with some students who were also heading to the subway station. Since it was Friday night, there were more people out than usual. People were dressed for clubbing or dining. Kiki carefully weaved through the crowds of people so he could get to the subway. Despite the larger crowd, Kiku found a seat once again. The ride was uneventful and Kiku found himself dozing off slightly. Socializing took a lot out of him.

Once out of the subway, Kiku started his walk towards his apartment, the sounds of night life slowly leaving him. The streets were empty now. Everyone was either out and about, or they were getting cozy for a night in. Walking alone at night was creepy enough, but tonight felt weird. Kiku quickened his steps, unable to shake the feeling of someone watching him. Maybe it was just his mind…

Suddenly, Kiku felt a heavy force collide with him. Something hit him, and hard. It knocked the wind out of Kiku. What? What? What's happening? Kiku could hardly register the strong arm around his waist or the fact that whoever had him now was carrying him like he was nothing and into an alleyway. He felt something sharp drag against his neck, cold lips tasting his skin and an inhuman growled filled his ears. No, no, no, wait! A desperate scream left Kiku.

Just as panic could settle in Kiku, someone emerged from the shadows and grabbed his assailant, who was forced to drop Kiku. It was a blonde man who put himself directly between Kiku and attacker. Once freed, Kiku scrambled to his feet and ran out of the alleyway. He heard growls and hissing and the sounds of something metal clashing behind him, and it was enough to convince himself to go faster. Kiku skidded out of the alleyway and made a sharp turn to run down the street.

"Are you hurt?"

Kiku stopped when he heard that. Someone was right behind him and it made Kiku jump out of his skin. He didn't even hear this guy come up behind him! Kiku's breath came out fast and ragged, his hands starting to shake. When he looked up to see that it was the blonde man who had rescued him. Despite the fear running in his heart, he noticed that the man was somewhat familiar.

"I..I'm fine." Kiku spat out, finding it difficult to catch his words. "You saved me…th…thank you, oh my god, I can't imagine what would've happened if you weren't there."

"You're lucky I was there." The man said, slight annoyance edging his words. "Does everyone just walk around night without a care in the world?"

Kiku blinked a little. 'Is..he blaming me for getting attacked?!'

The man sighed a little and shook his head. "That's not important, what is important is that you're safe. Please, let me walk to your door."

Kiku continued to stare at the man. Now that they were safe, the realization struck Kiku like a lightening strike. This man was dressed a lot like Alfred, he even had blonde hair like him. Kiku began to wonder if this was a university student who was from the cosplay club. It would explain his look. Or it could Kiku's mind trying to comfort him after such a scary encounter, to imagine that Alfred was the one who rescued him. Kiku took in a shaky breath and pointed down the street.

"My building is the last one."

"Lead the way."

Kiku started to walk down the street, his eyes still scanning the darkness for any sign of his assailant. The man behind him, seemed to be doing the same, still gripping onto a blade. Kiku's eyes widened at the sight of it. Was this man a vigilante?

"What are you doing with that?" Kiku pointed at the blade.

The man, stared down at it as if he just noticed it was there in the first place. He chuckled and puffed out his chest a little with the pride of a rooster strutting around like he owned the place. "Hunting the beast down, clearly. Don't worry sir, I'll find that leech and bring him to justice."

Kiku took this time to stare at the man as if he's grown a second head, and to wonder if he hit his own head harder in the alleyway than he thought. Why was this man talking in such a way? Why was he saying such things?

"Hunt him?" Kiku repeated. "That's dangerous, we should leave this to the police. I'll call them when I get to my apartment."

At that, the man laughed loudly. "As if they'd be any help! I'm the man they call whenever he's is on the hunt."

Now that they were getting closer to his apartment building, and the lights from the building illuminated them better, Kiku was realizing that this man really did look a lot like Alfred from the books. It occurred to Kiku that maybe this man was just trying to lighten the mood after such an encounter. There was no way that this man was actually hunting down the one who attacked him.

When they stopped at the apartment's doors, Kiku took this time to fumble for his phone. He'd have to call the police and Yao to let him inside the building. Yao. Kiku was already imagining the hysterics that his older brother would go through upon hearing what happened. He'd probably make Kiku go to the hospital or to the police station in person so they could get a report out. Kiku sighed heavily.

"This is a mess." Kiku said as he pulled his phone out as he started to type in 9-1-1.

The man's eyes went bug eyed. "Excuse me sir, what is that?"

Kiku slowly turned to look at the man, giving him a confused expression. "Um…an iPhone?"

"Are you talking about a telephone? How did you get it to be so tiny and rectangular?"

Kiku didn't say anything at first, the confusion swirling around his brain. Maybe a check to the hospital wouldn't be out of order. Forgetting the police, Kiku slid his phone back into his pocket. There was something about this man that was really starting to freak him out, more than he already was.

"…What did you say your name was again?”

The man, with a flourish of his cloak, bowed.

"Alfred F. Jones, I'm at your service my good sir."

Chapter Text

The sound of Kiku's laughter filled the air. He honestly couldn't help it. The mixture of the shock from the attack and seeing this man in an Alfred F Jones costume was confusing his emotions that in the moment, it was all so humorous. His laughter rang out as his shoulders shook. Honestly, it was just his luck that he would be saved by another nerd like him.

The man, 'Alfred', just stared at Kiku as if he'd grown another head. "Did…I say something funny?"

"Well, you sure do look like him, your cosplay is great." Kiku said breathlessly, still trying to contain his laughter.

"Look like who?"

"You know, Alfred from 'The Vampire Stalker' books."

"I…don't know what you mean by that, do you mean the articles that the Daily Star writes about me and my missions?" The man suddenly seemed boastful, a small chuckle leaving him. "Despite what you think, I assure you, I'm the real thing."

Now that his laughter died down, Kiku started to feel unnerved. Why was this man so committed to this bit? Was this one of the guys from the cosplay club he saw? His brain racked trying to find an instance of this man, but nothing came up. Either way, it was strange to see the man act in this way, even after such a scary encounter that Kiku felt that they were lucky to survive. "Listen, I think your cosplay is really good, impressive actually, but I don't LARP."

"Cosplay?" The man's head cocked a little to the side, his eyes narrowing. "LARP? I don't know what you mean. Well, whatever, do you know how to get to the Fast Cat from here? All the streets are twisted and different."

The Fast Cat was a fictional bar that also worked as a hub for vampire hunters to gather in the books, one where Alfred frequented on most nights. Kiku frowned at this feeling, that uneasy feeling in his stomach start to build. He eyed the door to his building, just inches away, maybe if he was quick enough he could make his escape back to his apartment and try to figure out how to deal with his attacker. It seemed that this man wouldn't be much help for a police report.

"I'm going to head inside now." Kiku sighed wearily, feeling the exhaustion creep into his bones. It was draining enough to deal with a social event, and now he was nearly mugged and the person who helped him can't seem to drop the 'hero' act for just a second. "I need to call the police."

"I told you, the police are useless. Why do you think they leave it up to hunters like me?"

Kiku stopped at his door, fingers lingered on the handle. He turned his head to face the man more clearly. Now at the door of the apartment building, the light filtering in from the inside, Kiku could see that this man truly did look like Alfred, in a way that made his stomach leap. Either this was some seriously good cosplay or this guy was just blessed with genes. Kiku just shook his head. I don't have time for this…

As Kiku entered the apartment building, he made his way towards the elevator and heard the approaching footsteps and instinctively flinched, whipping his head around to see the man scrambling inside. The uneasiness in Kiku's stomach quickly shifted to fear. His eyes quickly darted to the security camera that rested at the corner. They didn't have sort of doorman like other apartments, but the sight of the camera put Kiku somewhat at ease. Just in case that this guy turned out to be more than just a cosplay nut.

"I'm really confused." The man insisted. "I have no idea where I am, everything looks the same but it doesn't at certain streets and everything is so bright despite it being nighttime." He rambled on, increasingly getting frustrated. "What are these books you keep mentioning? Why don't you believe me?"

Kiku kept eyeing the elevator door. At least Yao was home tonight, a rare instance since he was always working nights. There seemed no point in fighting this guy, Kiku figured if he went along with his little game, he'd go away. "Alfred F. Jones is the main character in 'The Vampire Stalker' books, he goes around fighting vampires and his arch nemesis, Ivan. You know, the characters from the book you're cosplaying from?"

The man stared at him in disbelief. "I know that the newspapers report my hunts, but I don't remember approving my likeness for books, I promise you, I'm the real Alfred F. Jones."

"You're Alfred F. Jones?" Kiku raised an eyebrow ever so slightly.

"Of course I am."

"Uh huh." Kiku folded his arms across his chest.

"…You don't believe me." The man mirrored Kiku's gesture, also crossing his arms. "How can I prove it?"

Kiku thought about it for a moment. He couldn't possibly quiz this guy on any knowledge on the books. If his cosplay was this good, he probably knew the books better than he did. Suddenly, Kiku was struck with an idea. The cosplay might be good, even perfect, but there was one detail he was certain this guy wouldn't be crazy enough to do.

"Let me see your right hand."

"Excuse me?"

"Alfred has a glove that doubles as a prosthetic after losing a finger during a vampire hunt. If you're really Alfred, then you'll have no problem showing me your missing finger, right?" Kiku suggested with the smallest hint of a smirk.

"That's it?" Snorted the man. "No problem!" With a flash, the man raised his right hand and quickly removed the glove from it, revealing a small stump where his ring finger should be.

Kiku gasped in horror, a hand flew up to his mouth. He stared at the hand in disbelief, utterly speechless at the sight of it. The man wasn't supposed to be able to prove it, this was meant to end this silly game. Kiku dealt with the knowledge that this man might be crazy enough that he mutilated himself for the sake of cosplay.

The man, 'Alfred', seemed pleased with Kiku's reaction, as he slipped off his coat and began to roll up his sleeves. "I have more scars where that came from if you still don't believe me."

Kiku felt his face heat up at the the sight of the other man's muscles, watching as Alfred started to unbutton his shirt in an attempt to show his chest. "I have a scar here from when I got attacked by some vampires on my very first mission, here let me show you-"

"NO, NO, NO!" Kiku raised his hands up, shielding his eyes. "Please don't undress in the lobby, I believe you!"

Kiku could feel his heart racing, his stomach tightening and his hands go clammy. The world felt as if it turned upside down. This wasn't happening, this guy wasn't supposed to be able to prove anything! Kiku felt as if he was caught in a storm. Was he really supposed to believe this man? It would be impossible to deny it with evidence staring at him in the face. This man couldn't be Alfred, could he?

"This..this is-!" Kiku took a breath. "This is crazy! How can you be Alfred F. Jones from the books?" Kiku stammered, taking several steps back until he fell into one of the couches that decorated the lobby. Alfred sat down next to him, looking just as bewildered and stressed.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Memories flashed in Kiku's mind as one startling realization sunk in. The memories of fangs grazing against his throat and an inhuman noise filling his ears struck him like lightening. Kiku started to breath heavily, a hand going up to his chest. If Alfred was here, then the possibility of him being here weighed heavy over Kiku's head.

"That man…the one who attacked me, that wasn't Ivan was it?" Kiku sounded desperate.

"It was."

Kiku felt like throwing up. At this point, Kiku was hoping that this would prove to be all a strange dream. Maybe he hit his head hard during the attack and he'd wake up in the back of an ambulance. There was a chance the attack didn't happen at all, maybe this was a stress induced dream about the welcome bash. The two young men looked at each other, both bewildered and in disbelief. Kiku glanced over at the elevator, his brain formulating some kind of idea of what to do next.

"I…I can show you the books, it's up in my apartment." Kiku's voice wavered as he got up with wobbly legs. "Would…would you like to come in?"

Alfred blinked at the offer, scrambling a little to stand up from the couch. "Oh, uh, yes, seeing these books might sort all of this out…I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name?"

"My name is Kiku."

"Kiku." Alfred repeated, his voice sending a slight shiver down Kiku's spine. Hearing his name on Alfred's tongue pushed away some of those horrible thoughts, making him feel warm all over. That feeling was quickly squashed when he felt an ache in his side, a reminder of how he was grabbed during the attack. The reminder made Kiku's stomach drop.

Alfred might be in this world, but it meant Ivan was here too.

Yao stared at the figures standing in the doorway in disbelief. Upon hearing footsteps shuffling outside his door, Yao hopped up from the couch and made a beeline for the door. He barely took a look in the peephole, just enough to see Kiku standing outside of the apartment, fumbling for his keys. Yao opened the door fully, a warm smile on his face to greet his younger brother.

"Kiku, welcome home, I made dinner-." Yao stopped mid sentence. Next to Kiku was a young man—possibly Kiku's age—who gave Yao a small and friendly wave. It didn't long for Yao's face to turn a bright shade of red. It wasn't his intention for anyone other than Kiku to catch him in his cat themed pajamas and a green face mask on.

"Yao, um, this is my…friend, Alfred." Kiku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Alfred, this is my older brother, Yao."

"Nice to meet you!" Alfred flashed a big grin.

Yao looked at Alfred and then his eyes cut over to Kiku. It didn't take a mind reader to know what he was thinking. 'Who is this guy and why the hell did you invite him over without giving me a heads up?'

"O..Oh, hello!" Yao chuckled nervously, still glaring daggers at Kiku, who only looked apologetic. He stepped out of the way to allow Kiku and Alfred to pass through. "Always a pleasure to meet one of Kiku's friends."

"The pleasure is all mine." Alfred bowed before Kiku could stop him. Kiku pinched the bridge of his nose, as Yao watched in slight astonishment.

"…I'm going to prepare us some food." Kiku sighed as he guided Alfred over to the couch, where Yao was in the middle of watching one of his programs. Alfred's eyes grew big over the sight of the t.v and opened his mouth to say something, but Kiku shook his head. The last thing he needed was for Alfred to make a comment in front of Yao about the t.v. Alfred walked closer to the t.v in amazement, crouching down to it's level. Kiku fled into the kitchen before Yao could ask anything, but his brother was hot on his tail.

"You could have called me to say that you were bringing someone over!" Yao hissed under his breath as the two entered the kitchen. Kiku made a beeline for plates and cups to serve what Yao cooked for dinner.

"I'm sorry, it came up suddenly, I forgot to tell you." Kiku started, mentally running through the story he had rehearsed inside his mind while on the elevator. "Alfred is Ludwig's cousin, he enrolled to the university and he needs somewhere to stay, I thought I'd offer our place."

"Again, without asking me." Yao mumbled, yet still got the dinner he made out of the fridge for Kiku to reheat. "This is the first time, I'm hearing about him."

"There wasn't much to say." Kiku shrugged.

A small silence fell upon the brothers before Yao broke it. "What about his parents? Did they have a falling out?"

Kiku winced at the question, but at least he could tell Yao the truth about them. "They died when Alfred was young and he stayed in foster care his whole life. He's been out since and is struggling. I thought it would be nice to offer him a bed."

Yao's eyes softened slightly at that, his annoyance fading away. Kiku felt awful for thinking it, but mentioning Alfred's dead parents would be the push to get Yao to let Alfred stay here. With their own parents gone, Kiku knew this would touch Yao's heart. Yao briefly poked his head out of the kitchen to look at Alfred who was still focused on the t.v, his rambunctious laughter occasionally filling the air. Yao looked back at Kiku, clearly confused. "Why is he dressed like that?"

"Alfred is a part of the cosplay club, so he decided to dress up like…Alfred from the books."

Yao chuckled a little under his breath. "His name is Alfred and he decided to dress up as a character also named Alfred. It's nice to see you making friends at least." Another small silence filled the room, until Yao looked over at Kiku. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let your friend stay for a couple of nights. If this becomes a roommate situation, we'll cross that bridge when we cross that bridge."

Kiku sighed in relief, and smiled at his brother. "Thank you."

It killed Kiku to lie to Yao about Alfred, but he wasn't even sure himself what was going on. The idea of mentioning the attack was thrown out the window. Now that Kiku knew it was Ivan who attacked him, there was no way he could tell Yao about it. If he started to explain that Alfred was the Alfred from the books and a vampire attacked him, Kiku feared that Yao would think they were crazy. Kiku figured another time would be better to explain everything to him.

After eating their dinner—which Alfred consumed and promptly asked for seconds—the two young men made their way to Kiku's room. Just as the two entered the room, Yao was right behind them, peeking his head into the room. "I'll be setting up the guest room for Alfred." With that, Yao disappeared into the hallway, softly humming to himself.

"Guest room?" Alfred raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I thought of offering my place to you, at least until we figure out what's going."

At that, Alfred seemed pleased at the hospitality. Now in the privacy of Kiku's room, Alfred was free explore the room and get excited over the gadgets laying around in the room. There were was the t.v that Kiku had over his dresser, his gaming consoles, and the laptop that was open on his desk. The thing that caught his eye was the t.v that was placed over the dresser. Alfred practically went all starry eyed at the sight of it.

"I've heard of these before! It's like the talking pictures, but you have them in your home!" Alfred seemed utterly fascinated by it. "Why is it so skinny? All the ones I've seen are fat in the back!"

Seeing a grown man fawn over a television was a little humorous, so Kiku stifled a laugh. His humor was changed to panic when Alfred crossed over to his laptop, his fingers gently hovering over the keys in excitement. Kiku watched what felt like in slow motion as Alfred pressed down on the start button.

"Wait don't-!" Kiku tried to stop, but it was too late. His laptop lit up to life showing fan-art of Alfred as the screensaver. Kiku felt the sudden urge to crawl into a deep, deep hole. Alfred examined the art of himself in awe.

"Is that…art of me? Did you draw that?" Alfred asked, pointing at the laptop.

"Well, uh, yes I did draw that." Kiku averted his gaze from Alfred, his cheeks lightly red. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Alfred was looking above Kiku's laptop and at the cork board where some printed versions of Kiku's art hung. It was at this moment that Kiku's heart dropped when he remembered one certain piece of art work that was pinned up on it.

"Hey, it's another art of me!" Alfred gushed. "…Is that me kissing someone? It almost looks like-."

Kiku was quick to move over to the cork board and remove that art piece, hiding it behind his back. "It's nothing! A friend asked me to draw it! It was nothing!" Kiku insisted, his face even more red than before. Before Alfred could question the art—or the position that he was in—his attention was diverted when saw the copies of the books laying on the desk. This gave Kiku the chance to stuff the art into a drawer.

Alfred slowly grabbed the book and turned it over to look at the cover. Once in his hands, Alfred went all bug eyed, his fingers ran over the cover art, examining it in astonishment.

"That's me!" Alfred exclaimed in disbelief. "And-And that's Matt!" Upon mentioning his twin, Alfred closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. "How am I going to explain this to him? How do I even explain any of this?"

"I don't know."

Kiku ran a hand down his face. Now that it was just the two of them and they were in the privacy of his room, he felt like he could openly process the strange situation they were in. It was still hard to believe and accept, some part of Kiku wanted to reject that any of this was even happening. Book characters don't come to live, certainly not the one he had the biggest crush on. That's the part that tore Kiku up inside, he should be happy, over the moon that Alfred was in his room right now. However, Ivan attacking him killed any sort of excitement.

Despite the small voice in his head saying otherwise, Kiku felt that believing Alfred right now was the correct choice, at least until he found evidence otherwise.

"I can't believe it…it's actually you, I mean, you're the Alfred F. Jones from the books! How is this even possible?" Kiku mumbled mostly to himself.

Kiku watched as Alfred flipped through the pages of the book, thumbing through each one, his face growing in astonishment. It felt unreal to see Alfred in his room, a scenario he thought of in his mind to help him sleep, but now that he was actually here it was a little spooky. Kiku had half the mind to reach out and touch Alfred, just to prove that he was actually here, flesh and bones, but the idea of it made Kiku's cheeks burn.

Alfred held the book up after reading the first chapter, his face contorted in annoyance. "Who is writing these books about me? Why does this…Tino know so much about me in the first place?" He demanded.

Kiku hadn't considered how weird it would be to find not one, but two novels about your life down to the last detail. He couldn't imagine the invasion of privacy that Alfred must be facing right now. However, Alfred did pose a fair question. Why is Tino writing about characters that are actually real life people? Kiku shook his head, rubbing his temple a little.'One hill at a time Kiku…'

Alfred placed the book down on the nearby counter, his face slightly hardened. "So let me see if I'm understanding this…there are books about me and my brother detailing the fights we have with vampires, including trying to take down Ivan." The blonde started to pace around the room slightly. "You think I'm a character in a book, but I know for a fact I'm no work of fiction."

Kiku threw his hands up a little. "That's basically it."

Alfred looked around the room once again, this time, his gaze was hardened. Alfred picked up Kiku's switch, carefully examining it. His excitement had died down and was now replaced with a look of unease. "I've never seen such strange devices before…like the strange televisions you have…I'm not home, am I?"

"…I don't think you are." Kiku replied softly.

"Then…where am I?"

Kiku pondered the question for a moment. There was no logical explanation, at least right now, as to why Alfred was here. Was it science or magic? "You're just…here. Vampires don't exist here and you're a fictional character in a book. Why don't you tell me what you were doing before…before you noticed a change in the world?"

"I suppose…It was a normal hunt. I thought I finally had Ivan cornered, I managed to get him out of the city and away from anywhere he could hide from the sun." Alfred's eyes narrowed as he started to explain. "I should have known he was just toying with me, this is all just a game to him. He started to use magic to teleport himself away and I knew I couldn't let this chance slip past me, so I tried striking him and then…"

Kiku stared at Alfred, practically hanging onto every word. "And then what happened?"

"Something went wrong…there was this bright light and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I realized I was at the docks. That's when I noticed that the moon was still high in the sky, but before I passed out, it was almost daybreak." Alfred furrowed his brow as he explained. "I went looking around and that's when I noticed so many people outside of curfew and there was all these bright lights. Still…I followed his trail, no doubt he had to feed after our encounter."

The word 'feed' made Kiku feel sick. If Alfred hadn't been there, he pictured a far more grim ending in the alleyway.

"Then I ran into you." Alfred finished his retelling with a small smile, that made Kiku weak in the knees.

Kiku considered Alfred's words carefully, even if they felt impossible to believe in. What stood out was the mention of Ivan using magic. It wasn't uncommon for vampires in the book to be able to use certain powers, usually vampires that were powerful had a range of abilities. The usual being inhuman strength, hypnosis, and on the occasion, some were known to shift into animals like bats or wolves. Magic was an ability seen in more powerful vampires, usually ones that lived long enough to hone that arcane ability. Ivan was one of them.

"When you saw the bright light, it was when Ivan was doing magic, right?" Kiku pointed out. Alfred nodded, giving Kiku the 'ok' to continue. "It's possible that it was Ivan's magic that brought the two of you to this world, a world where vampires don't exist and where you only exist in a book. Maybe the magic is still lingering back at the docks, if we go back there, maybe you can find a way back home."

Alfred walked over to the closest window, staring intensely out of it. "…I'm not going home." He swore. "…Not when Ivan is loose on these streets attacking innocent people."

Those words sent a shiver down Kiku's spine. With Alfred's intense gaze, Kiku knew exactly what he was thinking. Alfred looked back at Kiku, a determined look on his face.

"I'm not going anywhere until I get Ivan back to our world."

The sounds of footsteps thundered down the streets the splashes of stray puddles spraying Alfred's pant legs. His breath came to him in quick and short breaths, his chest rising and falling. He felt his heart drumming in his chest, his heart threatening to explode right out of it. Alfred glanced over his shoulder to see that through the dense fog that had suddenly descended upon the streets, that figure was still right on his tail. It struck a fear like no other into his heart and pressed Alfred to keep running.

The pain in his side started to become more noticeable, a stabbing sensation against his ribcage. The burning pain was enough to have Alfred double over, a pained cry leaving him as he held his side. He felt his heart drop to the pits of his stomach when he felt something wet against his fingers. With trembling fingers, he lifted his hand to see the crimson blood smeared against his hand.

"Why are you making this so painfully boring?" A voice hissed against his ear.

Alfred screamed and fumbled forwards, crashing into a couple of trashcans that were left out on the streets. He turned over on his back, scooting away from the man like a frightened animal. The man had violet eyes that stared deeply into his soul, a look that made his skin crawl, a look of a predator towards its prey. Alfred scrambled up to his feet, nearly slipping sliding on the various amounts of trash that had slipped out. He glanced behind him to see the man still standing there, making no move to follow Alfred.

Alfred forced himself to keep running, despite the pain in his side. With fumbling fingers, he reached inside of his pocket and fished out his phone. His blood smeared against the screen as his attempted to unlock it. After a few failed attempts, his phone finally unlocked and he dialed 911. Alfred raised it to his ear, his breath running ragged. The other line rung for some time until a voice answered.

"NYPD, do you need fire, ambulance-."

"Please help me! A-A man is chasing me!" Alfred choked out.

"What is your location sir?" The sounds of fingers clacking against a keyboard could be heard.

Alfred looked around for any street signs that could help him. He ran away in such a panicked state that he didn't take note of the street he was running along. It seemed like bad luck that the streets were empty for the most part. Everyone was either out and about, or staying inside. The people that were outside didn't give Alfred a second glance, as they leaned against streetlights, lighting their cigarettes and exhaling clouds of smoke.

"Can one of you just fucking help me?!" Alfred screamed at someone who was standing against the hood of the car, engrossed in a phone call. The person threw their middle finger at Alfred and returned to their phone call. They didn't take note of Alfred's disheveled state, his bleeding side, or the man that was walking behind him at such a slow, almost taunting pace.

"Sir, please calm down, tell me where are you?" The voice on the other end of his phone spoke.

"I-I don't know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Alfred panted. "I just took a direction and started running. I think I was running down 68th street?!"

The other line went quiet as the sound of keyboard clicks could be heard.

"What happened, why is the man chasing you?"

"Fuck, I thought he needed help! I-I was getting ready to do my jog and I saw him standing there, I didn't think much of it at first but he just kept looking at me!" Alfred stammered as he recounted the events that led him here. He remembered exiting his apartment building and seeing the man across the street, staring him down intensely. When Alfred reached the next block, the man was there again, and then again at the next block. His curiosity getting the better of him, Alfred approached the man and asked him if he was alright. He figured it was one of the many tourists that wandered into a residential neighborhood and strayed off the path of the main attractions New York had to offer.

When Alfred finally approached the man, that's when he noticed the sharp claws that extended out from the man's hands. In a blink, he slashed Alfred against his side, spilling the pavement with his blood. Alfred staggered backwards in shock, a pained cry leaving him as he did. The man cocked his head to the side curiously, a haunting smile upturning his lips.

"You could have dodged that…"

"I-I think he thinks I'm someone else, someone who made him mad, because he keeps talking to me like I know him!" Alfred rasped. "Please help me, he's still chasing after me!"

"Okay sir, I'm going to start tracking your location, if you find a store or somewhere you can enter, please do so and tell the owner to lock up the doors." The operator instructed.

Alfred listened intensely, as best as he could as he ran down the street in pure desperation. Suddenly, he felt a hand grasped his neck tightly and he was thrown into an alleyway with a scream. The phone slipped from Alfred's hands and fell to the pavement with a clatter. Alfred was thrown into the alleyway, landing in a puddle and on his back. A gasping noise left Alfred as the wind was knocked out of him. He could feel his vision spinning after landing in such a way. When Alfred lifted his head, he could see the man slowly stalking towards him.

A whimper left Alfred as he struggled to drag himself further down the alleyway, finding it hard to stand on his feet. The man, Ivan, tilted his head as he watched Alfred pathetically cry and drag himself away from the vampire.

"It is strange." Ivan's accent was thick. "You look like Alfred…but Alfred does not make the stupid mistakes you're making." Ivan walked over to Alfred, making his movements painfully slow. Watching Alfred drag himself further down the alleyway while crying angered him in a way that made him see red.

"Perhaps you are not Alfred, perhaps you are that sniveling little mouse of a brother that Alfred is always lugging around." Ivan's tongue raked across his fangs. "What was his name? Matthew?"

Alfred trembled in fear, yet despite that, his face contorted in anger upon hearing his brother's name. "I'm not who you think I am! Don't you dare get near my brother you fucker!"

Ivan's laugh echoed throughout the alleyway and in a flash, he had knelt down and captured Alfred's face in his cold fingers. Alfred hissed in pain as he felt those sharp nails pressing into his skin. "No, no, I do not think you are Alfred, but you certainly share his attitude." Ivan sneered, leaning in close to get a whiff of the frightened man.

"You even smell like him." Ivan's voice purred. "I have yet to taste him for myself, but just hearing that tantalizing heartbeat of yours, I bet it is to die for."

Alfred's breath hitched in fear. "I'm not Alfred! I'm not Alfred! I'm not YOUR Alfred, whatever he did you make you angry, it wasn't me!" He blubbered.

Ivan's hands gently rested on Alfred's neck, feeling the thundering of his pulse underneath his fingers. This Alfred's sobbing only made it more delicious. In one swift motion, Ivan snaps Alfred's neck, the sickening crack echoing in the air. There was no last cry, no more pleads or cursing, just a man who was once there no longer existing. Alfred's body went limp in Ivan's grasp.

"You are right…you are not my Alfred." Ivan whispered. The vampire slowly stood up to his full height, watching as the final light of life left Alfred's eyes. "My Alfred would not die like this…I would not give him the mercy of something so quick. I would make him suffer."

Ivan felt the tightness in his throat and growled in annoyance. After failing to make a meal of the human he stalked—thanks to Alfred—the vampire was forced to find substance elsewhere. He was sure their little encounter would have made Alfred retreat for the night, but no, of course not, Alfred never stops if he knows there's a chance to stop Ivan. Ivan took this chance to find a meal elsewhere while he was preoccupied with the blubbering human he just saved. That's when he saw Alfred walking down the street…or at least it was someone he believed to be Alfred.

Ivan looked up to the moon, the celestial deity in the sky that he had grown acquainted with over several hundred years of living. The stars twinkled brightly in the sky, almost appearing to dance in that velvet sky. Mindlessly, Ivan thumbed for the necklace that was hidden, tucked underneath his scarf. The necklace was made of a jade pendant, still retaining it's beautiful color even after all of these years. Ivan absentmindedly brought the pendant up to his lips, pressing it against them, as he stared up at the moon.

'How long has it been since I last seen the moon with you…how long since I’ve seen the sun?'

Ivan's attention was suddenly diverted when he heard the noise of a human behind him. They had dropped their phone. Someone from the street must have heard all the commotion and came over to investigate. Upon seeing Ivan standing over the dead Alfred, the human let out a horrified gasp. As if a switch had flipped, Ivan carefully tucked the jade pendant back into the safety on his scarf and stared down at the human. The thirst in his throat was unbearable, the sound of the human's heartbeat echoed in his ears. The human stood at the end of the alleyway like a deer in headlights, frozen in fear. In the blink of an eye, Ivan appeared before them, fangs bared and claws reaching out for them.

A scream tore through the night, as blood ran down the alleyway, leaking onto the streets. For Ivan, the night was just beginning.

Chapter Text

Kiku ran down the alleyway, knocking over trashcans in his wake. They spilled their garbage onto the street, but Kiku didn't care, he couldn't stop to care, not when he was running for his life. His feet hit the ground, splashing into puddles and nearly slipping on them. Kiku fights to keep himself up right. The second he falls, he knows that his fate is sealed. The animalistic growling behind him, so close to his ear, it's motivation enough to push Kiku to run more. When Kiku turns on a street corner, he hears the wind behind him, as if someone swiped at him and narrowly missed. He continues to run down the street that seems to stretch on for miles, never ending, the streetlights flickering ominously as his feet hit the asphalt.

The never ending road seems to finally reach a dead end, a massive wall appearing out of nowhere. Kiku fumbles with the wall, pushing against it as if he could topple it over. Tears blind his vision as any attempt to scale the massive wall is futile. Kiku turns around when hears the footsteps approaching him. Only a few feet ahead of him, there was a tall figure, the wisps of his long scarf flowing in the mind. The street lights behind him have blown out, their glass scattering all over the ground as Kiku is plunged into darkness. Before the last light goes out, Kiku sees the man's violet eyes, a hauntingly beautiful color that seize up as if he's prey. Then in a flash, the figure lunges at Kiku, fangs bared and eyes wild.

Kiku sits up in bed with a strangled gasp, grasping onto his blanket like his life depended on it. His chest is heavy with breathes, moving up and down in a desperate attempt to calm himself. Kiku looks around the room to reassure himself that he was at home, in his comfortable bed and not at a scary unending road. It was a dream. That's all it was. Just a dream. There was no Ivan terrorizing him. There was no Alfred that leaped from the pages from the book and into his world. There was no way that he was actually attacked last night. Kiku felt his body was sore, and part of him wanted to ignore that, to filter out the pain that ached in his body. Kiku knew better than to look down at his arms. He wanted to ignore the bruises from where he was grabbed last night. It would all be too real.

Kiku slowly laid back down in his bed, pulling the covers way over his head. Exhaustion gripped him like a vice, but the idea of enduring another nightmare like that was enough to keep him awake. There was no need for him to get out of bed anyway, not with it being a Saturday and all. Kiku could just stay in his room all day and ignore the reality of his situation. If he left his room, he could run into Alfred and that would be a damning piece of evidence that the events of last night were real. It didn't happen. Perhaps if he kept repeating it to himself, he could convince himself that nothing happened. It didn't happen. It didn't happen. It didn't happen…

Kiku's phone buzzed against his dresser. He ignored it. Then it buzzed again. If anything, it was either Feliciano or Yao who had somewhat similar texting styles. Feliciano texted rapidly and in chunks, while Yao texted like a snail and often repeated his messages. With a groan, Kiku reached out from under his covers and grabbed his phone. He pulled it back under with him and winced slightly as the bright screen hurt his eyes slightly.

[Text from YAO]: Kiku.

[Text from YAO]: Kiku I will be home late, there is leftovers from last night. Make sure to feed your friend too.

Kiku frowned at the mention of his friend. Just another reminder that the events of last night were all too real. Yao must've have already left, judging by his texts, Kiku decided. Part of him was somewhat grateful that he was already gone. It meant he wouldn't be home to catch Alfred doing something strange like asking him about the T.V again. Kiku slowly sat up from his bed again, the covers slowly sliding down back into his lap. It seemed there was no point in denying it. Begrudgingly, Kiku pulled himself out of bed and began to fish for some fresh clothes from his closet. Kiku pulled out a shirt and jacket and threw them on. He slid into his slippers and slowly poked his head out of his room. Would Alfred still be asleep?

Kiku slowly made his way down the hallway and stood in front of the guest room that was offered to Alfred. With small hesitation, he knocked and waited to hear. His last hope that last night was just a weird stress dream. Maybe Feliciano or Ludwig actually came home with him last night and they needed to crash.

"Enter." Alfred's voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

Kiku slowly poked his head into the room and sucked in a small breath. It seemed that Alfred had been up for sometime now. He was in his pants and undershirt, a towel carefully hung over the dresser. His hair seemed damp now, as if he had just hopped out of the shower. Alfred was sitting down on the bed, one of Kiku's books in his hands and seemed to be intensely focused. Kiku couldn't help but stare at the man before him, his face feeling hot the more he did. He quickly averted his eyes away from Alfred's muscles and gazed up at the ceiling.

"Is that The Vampire Stalker?" Kiku asked.

Alfred gently set the book aside, and looked over at Kiku to give him his attention. "Yeah, I started reading it last night and I finished it when I got back. Now I'm on the second book."

"Got back?" Kiku looked confused.

"After you went to bed, I tried to see if I could pick up Ivan's trail again." Alfred sighed. "I wasn't lucky."

Kiku figured that Alfred would out again as soon as possible, especially with being a vampire hunter and all. When you were constantly slaying creatures of the night, it made you a nocturnal machine yourself. From the books, Kiku knew that Alfred slept during the daytime whenever he could, and would venture out all night to hunt down the vampires that stalked the streets. It didn't surprise Kiku one bit that Alfred wouldn't let the chance to finally defeat Ivan pass him up.

Kiku fully entered the room now, leaning up against the door, his arms crossed. When he blinked, Alfred was still in the room. They were only some feet apart. This would take some getting used too, Kiku thought to himself.

"Have you eaten yet?" Kiku finally asked.

Alfred blinked at the question and before he could answer, his stomach gave him away. Kiku had to stifle his laughter. Another thing he knew from the books, that despite the fear that Alfred struck into the hearts of vampires, he still had traits about him that made him more real. For example, Alfred was rather gluttonous whenever it came time to eat. It made Kiku laugh whenever a scene like that popped up in the books. He was silently grateful that he grew up with Yao as a sibling, since he knew that he cook for Alfred.

Alfred laughed a little, flashing a grin to Kiku. "Yeah, I could go to eat something."

Kiku thought about making breakfast at home and then suddenly frowned. It was Saturday, and their grocery shopping day always happened on Sunday. Kiku doubted that there would be enough in the fridge to make a suitable breakfast for the two, at least something good. As he thought about what he could make the two of them for dinner, an idea popped into his head.

"Get dressed, I have somewhere that we can go."

After waiting for Alfred to get dressed up again, Kiku was starting to have some doubts. With Alfred's usual clothes, he still looked like someone in cosplay. It made much more sense to see someone dressed like this at night, people would think it was somebody coming in late from a convention. Kiku figured that since this was New York City, maybe people wouldn't pay him any mind. If New York taught Kiku anything, it was that people didn't care that much. He'd seen too many people dressed up as rats on the subway to confirm that people wouldn't give Alfred a second glance.

Although, as the two made their way down the street, Kiku noticed the double take that people did. The looks on their face weren't from judgment, Kiku quickly discovered. They were looking at Alfred curiously. They had passed several girls who smiled at Alfred as they passed by, giggling among themselves. Alfred didn't seem to notice the looks, as he was too interested in all the tall buildings that the city had to offer to realize that some people were ogling him. It made Kiku burn a little red, a sense of jealously overwhelming him. They couldn't have arrived at Beverly's diner sooner.

For a Saturday morning, it was predictably packed. Families were lined up, waiting for their tables to be ready. Since it was only Alfred and Kiku, they had better luck at finding a booth in the far corner of the diner. It was better that way, they wouldn't be overheard by people who would most definitely think they were crazy for talking about book characters coming to life. When the two were sat, a waitress immediately came over and poured them both coffee without asking if they'd like any, and placed menus down for them. Alfred's eyes seemed to sparkle at the sight of the warm beverage.

"Oh, I've been craving coffee for a while now." Alfred closed his eyes and inhaled deeply at the rich aroma with a satisfied smile. Kiku couldn't help but smile too. In Alfred's world, things like coffee were scarce as trading hubs were constantly trying to meet the demands of people and of course, vampires didn't make anything easy. Alfred sprinkled some sugar into his cup of coffee before taking a generous gulp of it. Kiku blew on his cup softly as he thumbed through the menu. He'd been here plenty of times with Feliciano and Ludwig and stuck to an order of short stacks and eggs.

Coffee forgotten, Alfred thumbed through the menu, seemingly growing excited at each turn of the page. There was a variety of options ranging from breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was all available and for someone like Alfred, it was hard to choose just one item. When the waitress came back to take their order, Kiku ordered his short stack of pancakes with a side of fried eggs. When the waitress turned to Alfred, he glanced over at Kiku with a curious look.

"Order anything you'd like, anything, it's my treat."

With the go ahead, Alfred flashed a brilliant grin at the waitress.

"I would like your ultimate breakfast, but can I have both pancakes and waffles, and both sausage and bacon and extra hash browns, and can I order three donuts from the pastry case and I would like to try this…root beer float." Alfred smiled innocently up at the waitress who chuckled a little. Before she could leave, Alfred stopped her. "And I'd like your cowboy burger!"

After the waitress left, Kiku looked over at Alfred, stifling his laughter. "Burgers and breakfast don't typically come together."

Alfred shrugged. "It all sounded good and after a long night of hunting, I'm ravenous!"

Kiku took a sip from his coffee while Alfred finished his, and politely asked the waitress for another refill. Firstly, the donuts came and Alfred wolfed them down with no issue. Kiku watched as Alfred munched down excitedly. Then came the root beer float that made Alfred forget all about his coffee. With the first sip of the float, there were practically stars in his eyes. "Oh man, you can't get these just anywhere, you're lucky if you find someone with ice cream in stock nowadays!" Alfred grinned before offering up the float to Kiku. "Here, you gotta try it!"

Kiku stared down at the straw that was offered, and felt an odd heat in his face. Quickly, he put up his hand to push away the float, politely declining it at first. "N..No, it's all yours, don't worry."

"Come on, Kiku, it's super yummy!" Alfred insisted.

Kiku stared down at the straw again, the tips of his ears felt hot. He wasn't a child anymore, there was no such thing as an indirect kiss. Still, the idea of putting his lips on something that Alfred had his lips on made his stomach do somersaults. Seeing that Alfred was pretty insistent about it, Kiku carefully took the float in his hands and began to drink from the straw, closing his eyes to avoid looking at Alfred while he did it. Alfred, was none the wiser and only seemed content that Kiku was sharing the tasty treat with him.

Kiku could feel his heart beating in his chest as he tried to drown out any imagery of actually kissing Alfred. It was one thing to do it when he was still in belief of him being a fictional character, it was another to do it right in from of him. After taking a small sip, Kiku gave Alfred back his float, who seemed happy now. Thankfully, the rest of their meal came which gave Kiku the chance to forget about it all.

Kiku watched in amazement as Alfred chowed down on everything he ordered. He mowed through the stack of pancakes and the waffle with no problem. Then he stuffed his face with the extra hash browns, bacon and sausage. When that was done, Alfred moved onto his burger that was smothered in BBQ sauce and came with a side of fries. Kiku was still working on his own stack of pancakes as he watched.

During their meal, Kiku looked up from his stack of pancakes to address Alfred. "So you finished the first book. How did you feel about it?" Kiku said as the waitress refilled his coffee.

Alfred was layering his plate of fries with ketchup when Kiku asked the question. He popped one in his mouth as he thought about it. "This Tino person has an odd obsession with me, let's say that." Alfred said with a laugh, and yet, in his eyes, there was nothing humorous about it. In fact, Alfred seemed to be annoyed, despite the smile on the surface. Alfred played around with a french fry, swirling it in the ketchup that was slathered on the plate."It's really weird to read a book that details a lot about your life…especially the things that you would want to keep private."

Kiku closed his eyes at the answer. He had to wonder if Alfred was talking about the scene with their adoptive father Davie. After Alfred and Matthew were orphaned by the deaths of their parents, they were sent to an orphanage where a man named Davie adopted them. Davie had also lost his family to vampires and felt bad for the young boys. Davie trained Alfred as best as he could when he showed determination to hunt down vampires. So it hurt all the more when Ivan killed him in the first book.

In his final moments, Davie begged Alfred with his dying breath to give up his path of revenge against Ivan, and to pursue a long and peaceful life with his brother. That request fell upon deaf ears. Alfred was unable to honor that last request, and swore to Davie that along with his parents, he would be avenged as well. Davie died in Alfred's arms in that chapter. Kiku remembered crying after reading it.

Alfred stared down at his burger, suddenly slowing down in his feast. "What right does the author have to make my personal moments so public?" Alfred sighed heavily.

Kiku had to wonder how Tino was even able to write these books at all. If Alfred was real, then how was Tino able to write about him? Before Kiku could ponder more on the question, his attention was caught when one of the wait staff turned up the nearby T.V. A glossy looking reporter cleared her throat as she began to read off from her notes.

"We want to interrupt with some breaking news, three bodies found down on the corner of 68th street, found with, and get this, puncture wounds on their throats. Upon further inspection, the puncture wounds seemed to be bite marks. So far, police are still investigating but we're staying on top of this story and will bring you live updates as they happen. The victims have yet to be identified."

Kiku felt as if time had stopped. His stomach lurched and his meal felt like coming straight back up. He put his head in his hands to gather his breathing. 'Ivan. He's attacking innocent people.'

It was at this moment that Kiku felt like kicking himself. The thought to call the police about the attack was forgotten last night after the exhaustion hit him. If he had called the police, would something have been done? Would it have urged people to not go out? Kiku laughed bitterly. They could have come out and outright said that it was a vampire and it wouldn't stop the city of New York from roaring with life. Still, the guilt crept up Kiku's back.

Alfred watched the screen with intense focus. "This is all live?"

Kiku nodded weakly. "Ivan must have went hunting after he couldn't-." Kiku swallowed. "After he couldn't get…me."

Alfred seemed to become more serious. "I have to learn more about this city. Everything is so different here, and I can use this to my advantage when I go hunting tonight."

"I could print out some maps for you to study." Kiku. 'But first, let's get you some clothes, I think it's better that we don't draw attention to you and with that outfit, you might stick out a little."

"Then there's no time to lose, let's go."

Kiku fumbled for his wallet and put down a large bill to cover both their meal and the tip for the waitress. The two moved past the crowds of people still waiting for table and into the busy streets of New York City.

Along with the diner, Kiku should have suspected the mall would be packed today. There were so many people bustling about, weaving in and out of shops and not to mention the salespeople that stood at their booths, trying to sell their expensive goods. For someone like Kiku, this was a massive headache. Malls were always overcrowded in his opinion, and the lights and music were always unpleasant. However, when Kiku looked over at Alfred, he gazed upon the mall with wild eyes.

"Wow, I've never seen so many people all at once!" Alfred said in astonishment, his eyes as big as dinner plates. The blonde walked away from Kiku to peek into one of the store windows. He ooed and awed at the sight of all the clothes that were displayed.

Kiku watched as Alfred pressed his face into the glass, clearly excited about their shopping adventure. His eyes darted around the mall, praying that he wouldn't run into anyone he knew while he was here. Of course, the only people he knew were Feliciano and Ludwig, and he was desperate to remember if any of them were working at all today. It would be hard to explain why he was hanging out with someone who was the splitting image of Alfred from the books. Not to mention that Alfred might bow or say something weird, and it would lead to more questions. Kiku sighed a little, trying to calm down his nerves. As long as they were fast and didn't run into anyone that knew him then everything would be-.

"Oh hey, Kiku!"

FUCK.

Kiku whipped his head around to see a somewhat familiar looking face approaching him. A man who was unusually pale, had white hair and red eyes was hard to forget, and yet Kiku did. His brain tried to rack with a name to match his face, and it suddenly struck him like lightening.

"Oh…you're Gilbert, correct?" Kiku asked. "You're Ludwig's older brother, you held that concert with your band."

Gilbert, clearly smug, puffed out his chest and gave a pointed smile. "That's me! I'm glad my band and I were awesome enough to have a lasting impression. I noticed you standing here and thought I'd come over to say hello."

Kiku nodded along, the anxiety sparking in his stomach. He was desperately hoping that Gilbert would say his 'hellos' and then leave. Kiku had no such luck when Gilbert turned to look over at Alfred. "Who's your friend?" Gilbert asked, clearly trying not to ask why Alfred was eagerly pressing his face into the store window like a kid at a bakery. Kiku grimaced a little.

"Oh…yes, he's…a friend of mine and we wanted to go to the mall."

"Well…he seems excited." Gilbert said with the smallest of snickers. As Kiku tried to think of a way to get out of this conversation, he realized that from the store that Gilbert left, a much more familiar face was standing at the entrance. When Kiku realized that it was Lovino, Feliciano's older brother, panic leaped in his throat. If Lovino was here, there was a big chance that Feliciano was trailing behind Lovino and Gilbert like a kid. Lovino didn't seem to notice Kiku just yet, as his nose was buried deep in his phone.

"Yes, he is, in fact, please excuse me." Kiku said before speed walking over to Alfred, lowering his head so that Lovino doesn't see him. Gilbert waved Kiku off as he left. When Kiku got to Alfred, the blonde turned to give him such an excited look.

"I've never seen so many tailors in my life, at my place, we have about two of them!" Alfred exclaimed, his excitement practically bursting out of him. Suddenly, he took a firm hold of his hand and dragged Kiku into one of the stores with him. Kiku blushed at the normal gesture, feeling somewhat like a freak that it was making him feel a certain way.

Alfred chose wisely as the store he led them into was in fact a clothing store. Kiku watched as Alfred went up and down the rows of racks, thumbing through the many selections of pants and shirts. Kiku thought back to some chapters of the books that explored the world that Alfred lived in, how the town market had only a handful of stalls and some stores, but nothing like this. It must be a culture shock for Alfred to see so many items at the ready.

When Alfred found some jeans and shirts he liked, he started to walk to a dressing room to try them on, he stopped short at a rack that had a blue jacket with a plaid design on the inside of it and a white hood. Alfred examined it for another moment before taking it from the rack and stepping into the dressing room. When Alfred stepped outside, Kiku sucked in a breath. Alfred already looked handsome in his slayer outfit, but dressed like this in casual street wear, he could be a model. Alfred didn't look as convinced.

"I don't know about this, Kiku, this doesn't seem good for hunting." Alfred turned in front of the mirror as he examined himself. "I think my regular clothes will work just fine."

"You don't have to wear this when you go out hunting, this is what you can wear when you go out in the day time like right now." Kiku explained. "It might be more comfortable than your uniform and your boots, speaking of which, after this store, let's find you some shoes."

Alfred did another turn in front of the mirror. "I guess you have a point, these clothes feel nice. But, don't trouble yourself with the shoes, we can't wait for my size to be made."

At that, Kiku had to stop himself from laughing. It was one of those moments where Kiku realized he was taking things for granted. "No, there's more stores that we can go to that sell shoes with all kind of sizes. They are bound to have your size."

After reassuring Alfred, the two made their way to the counter to pay for the clothes. Alfred opted to stay in the clothes he was in, and carefully packed his uniform in the shopping bag that the store offered him. Along with the clothes had had on, he also bought two more shirts and another pair of jeans. Kiku grimaced a little when swiping his credit card. Yao had given it to him for emergencies, and something told him that Yao wouldn't find clothing Alfred as an emergency. That could be a conversation for another time. In the back of Kiku's mind, this only reminded him that he should really get started on a job hunt.

Kiku walked with Alfred further down the mall, looking for a store that sold shoes. When they found one, Alfred picked up a bunch of shoes and marveled at their design. Finding out his exact size was a little tricky, but after agreeing to have his feet measured, the store clerk brought out pairs that Alfred had interest in. When Alfred tried them on, he walked around the store with the shoes on, his face in awe of how soft they were.

"These feel incredible, it's not stuffy like my boots!"

Kiku smiled a little. "See? You can wear them around and it's bound to hurt your feet less."

Alfred needed no more persuasion as the store clerk rung up their purchases. Kiku wasn't too happy about the $100 price tag on the shoes, but he swallowed that irritation down. Anything to help Alfred adjust better to his new surroundings would pay off in the end. Alfred looked more apologetic as Kiku swiped his credit card.

"I promise I'll find a way to pay you back, I promise." Alfred apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Kiku reassured him. "I think we have what we came here for, we could head out now if you want."

As the two left the store, Alfred seemed to settle down. He watched as people walked around without a care in the world. It was nothing like the world that he came from, where the people seemed devoted of hope from the constant threat of vampires and their blood lust. Even during the day, the hopelessness clung to the citizens like a second skin. Alfred looked up at the ceiling, his face turning serious as he stared at the ceiling lights.

"There's barely any natural light in this place…are all buildings like this?" Alfred questioned, his voice low and tight.

Kiku thought about it for a moment. The mall had few windows, mainly on the first floor, and everything else was closed off. Not only that, plenty of stores were on the basement level of the mall. There were plenty of buildings that followed a similar layout. Kiku nodded as he answered. "Yes, nowadays places are built like this."

"…Then Ivan can move around in the daytime if he wants." Alfred scowled. That realization hit Kiku like a train.

Alfred was right. Vampires couldn't travel in the sun since they would burn to a crisp, but in a city like New York with buildings that had basement levels, the subways, and even sewers, Ivan had various ways to protect himself from the sun. Kiku felt a shiver go down his spine at the idea of Ivan being able to move so freely throughout the day. He looked over his shoulder out of instinct, the paranoia starting to kick in.

"I'll need to study these maps of the city fast and-WHOA!" Alfred grabbed Kiku's arm, stopping him in place. When Kiku looked over at what caught Alfred's attention, he saw that it was the food court. Maps forgotten, Alfred started to drag Kiku behind him as he looked around at the various food that the mall had to offer. At the sight of an ice cream stall, Alfred made a beeline for it, Kiku struggling to keep up.

Once the ice cream was obtained, Alfred seemed content. He licked at his frozen treat, sighing in relief at his choice of cookie and creams for a flavor. "Oh my god, this is so good." Alfred beamed, as he gave the treat a few more licks. When Alfred pulled away from the ice cream, some of it had clung onto his nose, earning a small laugh from Kiku. When he noticed that Kiku didn't bother to order a cone himself, he frowned.

"You didn't want one?" Alfred asked.

Kiku shrugged. "I try not to eat so much junk food if I can help it."

Alfred, not pleased with the response, offered his cone to Kiku, flashing him a brilliant smile. "Come on, have a test."

Kiku blushed, and avoided his gaze from Alfred. The blonde didn't budge, holding the ice cream out for Kiku to enjoy. It was worse that Alfred had licked it before hand, but it wasn't the germs that bothered Kiku. Still, Kiku found himself leaning in and taking a small lick of the offered treat. Alfred, now pleased, didn't seem to catch Kiku's flustered expression. Kiku quickly pulled back, coughing a little into his hand.

"W…Well I suppose we should."

"HEY WHAT STORE IS THAT?" Alfred exclaimed, pointing at a store that was across the food court. When Kiku looked over, his face exploded in a shade of crimson. Alfred didn't wait for Kiku to answer, he was already making a rush to get inside. Kiku watched in horror as Alfred darted into a Spencers.

"Alfred, come back!" Kiku chased after him, hoping to get him before he found the back of the store.

That was an explationation he wasn't looking forward to.

Ivan watched with intent interest. It was a miracle that Alfred didn't notice him at all. Then again, how could he? Ivan wasn't in his usual get up. The clothing from these stores were unsual to him, but they would make for blending into a crowd effortless. From Alfred's failure to detect him, then Ivan considered this a success. Even if it was boring. How fun would it be to start attacking right here and now? Ivan would certaintly have an advantage, Alfred had no idea of this world, but in that same regard, Ivan was just as clueless.

It delighted him to know that this world had more than enough places for him to walk around without fear of the sun. It made spying like this so much more easier. Ivan made sure to stay far behind from the two, clinging to the crowds of people that mingled about the building. Ivan watched as Alfred ventured out into the world that was just like theirs, with of course, major changes.

It irked Ivan to see Alfred hanging around with that one human. Yes, how forutane for the little brat that Alfred was there to save him, a gallant knight in shining armor. Usually, Ivan didn't care about the annoying humans that made themselves friendly with the vampire slayer. If anything, Ivan thought about them in ways to hurt Alfred, to remind him that anyone he came into contact with would soon fall victim to him. It would only fuel Alfred's resolve to defeat him, but for Ivan, that made it all the more exciting.

However, this small human was different than the others. The more that Ivan stared at the one called Kiku, the more puzzled he became. That face. He had seen that face before. Was it possible that he had seen the human back in their world? What made this human so signifant? When Kiku looked over his shoulder, Ivan got a better glimpse of his face and felt his stomach drop. A sudden flash of his memories gripped him tightly.

A little boy crying his eyes out, chubby cheeks red as tomatoes. A man soothed him, his long robes and flowing hair framing him like an angel. It twisted Ivan's heart when the man looked over at him, that porcelian yet stern face that seemed to soften for him, felt so bright to him. The closest feeling of warmth that he could achieve, the man could be the sun itself. Ivan stopped in his tracks, his hands balling into fists. He felt a sudden cold sweat overtake him as the memory invaded his mind.

Yet as quickly as the memory came, it faded, slipping from Ivan's grasp. Ivan balled his hands into fists, trying to even his breathing. The undead man quickly turned away from the two and began walking in the other direction. He needed to be rid of this feeling. This pain, this human pain, he wanted it gone, before it uncovered the other memories that Ivan did his best to bury. That man clouds Ivan's mind, his china doll face like the sun parting the clouds of his cold heart. No, Ivan can't handle that, not now. Without thinking, he grabs the first human he sees, one unsually pale and hair white as snow, and leans in close to his ear.

"Follow me." Ivan's voice growls in his eyes, his hypnosis ensanring the other like a snake.

There is no struggle. The man follows Ivan, the undead man grabbing the man by the shoulders and leading him away from the rest of the crowd. He finds a door that leads to the backways of the mall that connect to every store, and disappears with him. Without a trace, the two disappear.

Lovino, stands there, phone still up to his ear, listening to his brother babble about something silly. When the brunette looks over his shoulder to ask Gilbert if he wants to stop at the food court, he doesn't find his boyfriend there. Lovino looks around to see if Gilbert had ventured into a store, but doesn't see him right away.

"…Gilbert?"