Chapter Text
Darkness had fallen, covering the city in its vast blanket.
Only the light from the odd street lamp illuminated the vast blackness, offering a faint piece of solace. The general sounds from the busy day were now gone, and only the low buzz of electricity could be heard. The whole city was pretty much completely asleep, resting to get ready for a new day tomorrow.
It was the perfect cover for him.
The night was his domain and he had his prey picked out. Unsuspecting and delicious.
She was of course completely unaware of what was about to befall her as she closed up the garage for the night, blind sighted that the predator was already inside. The girl with long platinum blonde hair sighed as she checked all the machinery was off. Once satisfied, that was when she went to leave.
But she paused when she heard movement in the darkness. The shifting of something large as a metal pipe fell. She jumped up as her heart beat picked up. A hand went to her chest as she tried to calm herself.
‘Perfect, her blood is pumping.’
The creature almost licked their lips, salivating that soon he could feast.
There was a small slip with his movements though. The woman turned but the creature ducked, blending in with the shadows.
The girl, however, sweated, knowing she was no longer alone, “W-who’s there?!”
But the creature was silent, having already climbed up to the roof, ready to pounce. As his prey walked to the fallen pipe, probably to grab to defend herself, he leapt down and struck.
There was a gasp as the creature sunk his fangs into his target's neck. She tried to resist, lightly retching, but he drank quickly. She soon felt light headed before passing out in his hold.
He drank deeply, trying to savour every drop that touched his tongue, but soon removed his fangs, having gotten his fill.
He then placed the girl down on the floor as he sighed.
‘... Being a vampire sucks!’
Gaku Makuro sighed as he rummaged in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a children's plaster and a wound wipe. He quickly cleaned the area he bit before he placed the colourful bandage on the inflicted area, protecting the wound from the dust and grime of the garage.
“... Sorry about that.”
He knew she couldn't hear him but still, he felt it at least appropriate to apologise to his unfortunate victim.
After all, he couldn't exactly help what he was.
Life had dealt him a terrible hand and for all the centuries he'd been alive, Gaku cursed his rotten luck. He detested his life but just did his best to adapt and survive as best he could.
As Gaku left the garage, making sure all exits were closed so his victim wouldn't be put in any more danger, he soon picked up his grocery bags he'd stashed safely and started to make the trip back home. He checked the items over as he walked to make sure everything was still safe to consume. Once he was happy he started walking at a far brisker pace, acting like nothing had happened.
It was just a meal for Gaku. He hated the prep he had to do when it came to finding a target, but it was necessary to stay healthy. After all, he couldn't afford to get sick. He had others to take care of that relied on him.
He soon reached his home. A relatively small house in the urban area of the city. It looked a lot older compared to the other houses around as it really was in need of some more modern installations, but it was good enough to pass inspections. That's all that mattered.
Gaku smiled as he locked the door, soon holding up the grocery bags, “I have dinner!”
The house instantly burst to life, its inhabitants all appearing in the entrance hall. Lots of kids of various ages rushed towards Gaku, mummering as they either continued their conversations or exclaimed.
One of the small kids looked curious, “Nii-san is home!”
That prompted everyone to start vocalising their displeasure.
“I'm hungry!”
“How long is this gonna take!”
“You were gone so long!”
“Did you get the snacks I asked for?”
Gaku rolled his eyes slightly as he kicked his shoes off, “No welcome home, just straight to demands?”
He didn't seem too annoyed, however, as he started to make his way inside, the kids soon parting to let him pass, “Don't worry, it won't take me long to cook this.”
One kid grimaced, “Ugh, leeks? Is this gonna have veggies in it?”
“Of course! Veggies are good for you! Don't worry, the meat will hide some of the gross taste,” Gaku tried to reassure as he went to the kitchen and got to work, “You don't want to stay small forever right? So you have to eat your vegetables! No negotiations!”
“Blugh!” One of the tiny children yelled, sticking his tongue out.
Gaku groaned as he started to chop and simmer everything, ‘I work at my jobs to feed them and get this treatment? Geez.’
Gaku got to work, making sure everyone stayed back so they didn't get hurt or distract him. He was used to it at this point, even when the younger ones tried to climb his legs to watch. He still softly shooed them away to prevent any incidents.
The chopping and preparing was almost second nature as his brain drifted, trying to mentally balance the funds he had and the various bills he still needed to pay.
After all, all these children Gaku took care of were orphans, and he was the sole provider for them.
They all varied in age, but most were around the ages of eight to ten. Some younger, and a few who were older and sometimes assisted to make things easier.
It was fate that had brought them all together, but Gaku didn't mind. After all he couldn't help but take pity on them considering the thing all of them had in common.
Still, as Gaku slowly managed to do the mental maths in his head, he was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts.
His senses were flooded with that familiar heavenly smell.
The smell of blood.
Gaku sighed in annoyance, ‘And someone hurt themselves while I was gone, great.’
Still, Gaku looked at the kids and saw that they were oddly quiet. He could use this.
Gaku huffed as he turned the heat down, “Okay, who did something silly while I was at work and hurt themselves. Your big brother Gaku can see you're all being quiet. Fess up.”
The kids seemed to whisper in hushed tones before one girl came forwards, a hastily tied wash cloth on her arm.
Gaku sighed as he knelt down, ‘I hate this part.’
He ushered her forwards, “Let me see.”
The girl still looked guilty but Gaku carefully took her arm as he removed the cloth to assess the damage. It thankfully wasn't too bad. Just a small cut on her arm, probably from rough play. Gaku brought her arm close and inspected it for any dirt before reaching into his pockets.
He carefully opened a wound wipe and cleaned the area. The girl winced but Gaku was calm, “Bare with it. I'll be done shortly.”
Once the area was clean and dry, he pulled out another decorative kids plaster and placed it on the cut, “There we go! Good as new!”
The girl sighed, “Sorry Nii-san. I was running and hit the metal door thing.”
“Door latch? Yeah that would nick ya. These things happen, but remember, no running. That's how we avoid accidents like this.”
Gaku looked serious then, “Remember, we have to be careful. We all know creatures of the night will come to find us if they catch the smell of our blood.”
The girl instantly flinched before she nodded, “I know! I'm sorry! I don't want to put anyone in danger.”
Gaku ruffled her head before he spoke calmly, “It's okay. Remember, you're with people who understand. We've all been attacked by Vampires here. Others may not believe us, but we get it. I won't let anymore of those vile monsters hurt us.”
She nodded, “Thank you… Nii-san.”
She gave Gaku a small hug, who returned it before he chucked, “Now go on, go play with the others for a bit. Dinner will be done soon.”
She quickly ran off, Gaku sighing, “Do you guys ever follow the no running rule?”
There was laughter before Gaku turned to one of the older kids, “Hey, help a brother out and set the table?”
The older kid nodded as he and a few others started to get the cutlery and set the table for everyone.
Gaku started to dish up a bit later, satisfied with his beef negimaki and miso soup combo. It was healthy but still tasty for the fussier kids.
As soon as he brought the bowls out, the kids started to cheer as they scrambled to their seats. Gaku also served a small plate for himself, mostly to keep up appearances.
After all, his siblings didn't know his secret. He wanted to keep it that way.
He smiled as he sat down, “Alright, dig in. Chew properly though!”
The kids didn't need to be told twice.
“And straight to bed after! I want you to get some sleep before school.”
There was groaning but Gaku still smiled softly. After all, his siblings gave him purpose. His whole life may have been just an endless cycle of rotting luck, but at least he had something to protect. Gaku smiled as he reluctantly chewed on his food, trying not to gag on the taste.
‘My food may be tasty to them, but god does it taste awful to me. Ugh! Curse this rotten luck!’
Little did the vampire know, but his night time meal did not go unnoticed.
In fact, ever since he'd left his night time job, he'd been followed by someone.
Stalking in the shadows, a vampire hunter had been keeping tabs on a certain vampire. A vampire who's MO when it came to attacks was that they left children plasters on their victims. Oh, and they only attacked women.
They hadn't killed anyone yet, but still, the hunter had been instructed to find the vampire and slay them.
After all, the Omokage clan wanted to eradicate all vampires from the world. Well, most of the clan did.
Yugamu was the youngest of said clan, tasked to kill this particular vampire as they were a low priority. The rest of the family were more focused on tracking down the more prolific vampires after all. Someday Yugamu would be allowed to join them, but only once he had killed enough weaker vampires to prove he was ready.
Yugamu watched the black haired vampire from a nearby roof, seeing the vampire preparing dinner for the rest of the inhabitants in the small worn house. Watching through his binoculars, Yugamu couldn't help but gaze in curiosity.
‘Curious… a vampire cooking for human kids?’
Yugamu still kept his guard up as he watched, soon narrowing his eyes when he saw a little girl show the vampire a cut she'd sustained. When the beast leaned forward towards the afflicted area, Yugamu immediately reached for his stake, ready to strike if this vampire so much as took a single drop of blood.
‘Fatting up and feeding on kids…’
Yugamu felt his blood boil for a second before he calmed himself. He needed to remain level headed and not dwell on the past.
However he was perplexed when the vampire did no such thing. Instead they saw them treat the injury before using one of those children's plasters. The plaster which was his lead on finding the creature in the first place.
Yugamu pulled his hand back from his weapon as he watched confused, ‘A vampire… protecting children and not taking their blood? Strange… I've never seen a vampire do that.’
Yugamu watched for a bit longer until he saw the vampire dish up dinner before disappearing into another room with the food. Yugamu however took that as his queue to depart. He soon swung his way back to the street below, landing with grace before starting to walk away.
The hunter however couldn't stop his smile, ‘This needs more… thorough investigating. I wonder…’
But Yugamu put his thoughts to one side as he returned to the clan home. Still, as he walked into the large grounds, those red eyes stayed in his mind. He remembered that flustered look as he tried to make sure his victim was safe, Yugamu couldn't stop himself.
‘... Such a cute expression.’