Epilogue: About a Year and a Half Later...

"Are you sure you don't mind Silviu and Anju staying in your house for the summer, mom?" Kenta asked. It had taken his mother a little while to get used to the fact that vampires existed, so he found it surprising that she was already offering to let a pair that she didn't know very well to stay in his late grandmother's home.

Fumio Usui smiled and shook her head. "Not at all. It seems pretty crowded at Karin's already, and they need their own space. Plus, mom's house is kind of empty with only me tending to it now. I'll be out most of the day anyway, which will let them sleep in peace," she winked knowingly, which made Kenta blush.

"Mom, don't even-"

"Oi, Usui, your spawn got into my room again," a tall, bony girl with a British accent and green highlights in her chin-length hair trotted down the stairs with a squirming baby in her arms.

Kenta frowned a little and the girl abruptly stopped halfway down the staircase. "Did Karou bother you, Iris?"

"I didn't give him a chance to." Iris shrugged and handed the little boy to Fumio. "The little bugger's good at opening doors though."

Karou giggled, then squealed happily when Kanon, his big sister, nearly tumbled downstairs.

"Iris, your webcam's beeping! It's gotta be Anju and Silviu calling!"

"It is?! Great! Bring everyone down and I'll get the lappie!" Iris's fangs flashed in the gloom as she leapt around Kanon and dashed upstairs.

_-Embarrassment!-*

"Anju, I got the webcam working again!" Silviu grinned and pointed to the bulky laptop they'd filched from a group of vampire hunters. "Iris should be picking up anytime now - come over and see your family."

"Breckenridge~!"

"Don't call me that, Iris!" Sivliu suddenly groaned, then smiled good-naturedly. "But you must be doing well if you want to mess with me so badly. How's everyone else doing?"

"Good, although the babies are a good encouragement for me to move out. I wanna..."

"I'm sorry..."

Anju wasn't jealous of the bond the two former dhampirs shared. Not at all. She just happened to push Silviu away from the laptop right then so she could see the screen better. "Your new clan awaits you, Iris. Rebuild your family once you return to England."

Light glinted off of Iris's nose piercing as she scowled in response. "Does a view of you that doesn't include the inside of your nose await me too, your highness?"

"Hey, hey, we're on the same side now!" Silviu started, then noticed someone in the background. "Oh hello, Henry!"

"HELLO. THERE. SILVIU. AND. ANJU. CAN. YOU. HEAR. ME. ALL. RIGHT?"

"Please do not yell, father..."

"SORR- Sorry, I guess this computer's microphone is better than I thought. But I miss talking to you face to face! When are you two coming home to visit?"

Anju and Silviu looked at each other. They had agreed to spend the summer in Japan, but they still hadn't decided when they wanted to leave England. Reestablishing a European vampire council was much easier said than done, and the pair still had a ton of work to do in Eastern Europe. Even Iris's clan could only help them do so much.

"Can we discuss that after family catch-up time?" Calera could be heard asking in the background - Iris refused to let her near the computer after Calera had accidentally downloaded a virus. "Anju still hasn't seen her new little niece..."

Silviu politely excused himself and left the room after giving Anju a few troubleshooting tips in case the webcam started acting up again. He already knew everything that the Maaka-Usui family was about to tell Anju - Iris sent him a very long email once every couple of days - and he knew that Anju missed her family and first language a lot even though she would never admit it.

Speaking of first languages, he needed to talk Anju into swinging by Slavic Europe so he could renew some old ties before returning to Japan...

"Silviu, your troubleshooting tips are not working." Anju paused, as if carefully considering something. "Is your hand all right?"

The vampire in question found himself gently rubbing the nub where his left pinky used to be. "Yeah..."

"I am sorry."

"It's okay...hey, are you done talking to your family?"

Anju shook her head. "There is a connection issue that I cannot fix."

"Want to ask Jo- never mind."

"Silviu." Anju frowned and gently turned the other vampire's face so she could look him in the eyes. "Johanna made her choice, and now she is dead. Let her go."

"No one deserves to die like that."

"You are a vampire, and yet you still think like a human. I guess that is why I still find you so...endearing."

Silviu couldn't help but blush a little; Anju rarely admitted that she was attracted to him. "Is that a compliment or are you making fun of me?"

"..."

Well, their relationship was still a little rocky, but he planned on waiting as long as she wanted to wait.

"Oh, right, the webcam!"

Thanks for reading!