Mahiru clutched Kuro to his chest as he continued to gaze at the throng of people. It just hit him that this was the first outing he had with his friends after his mother died. A sandpaper tongue licked the jut of his chin, causing him to look down in confusion.

Kuro just gazed at him with eyes filled with tired concern. Mahiru put on a wobbly smile and stroked Kuro's back.

"I'm okay Kuro. You don't need to worry." Kuro tipped his head but continued his gaze. Sighing, Mahiru scratched under Kuro's chin. He breathed a little easier when Kuro's eyes closed in bliss, purring at the sensation.

"Mahiru, come on!" The little boy looked up towards his friends and 'big brother'. Ryusei waved to him, "Come on! There's a magic show happening!" Mahiru smiled in excitement and ran up to his friends. Sakuya smiled at the boys, but when he looked at the magician himself, he frowned.

The magician looked like a normal man, smiling charmingly at the young women and high-fiving little kids, but there was something a little off about him. It wasn't the long pink hair or the top hat. He just seemed to be a strange look in his eyes, almost like hunger.

Sakuya placed an arm out in front of the kids, staring the magician down. As if feeling the stare, the magician turned back to him. The three children looked between Sakuya and the magician in confusion. For a few tense seconds, nobody made a sound.

Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on the magician and he bounded towards the group. Stopping in front of them, he let out a loud, cheery bellow, "Hello, kids! I am the amazing Berkia! Want to see some magic?!"

Ryusei and Koyuki grinned and nodded their heads enthusiastically. Mahiru moved his head in an unsure nod. Kuro was unnaturally alert and tense in his arms, and if a vampire was tense in the presence of another individual, then it's very likely that person is trouble.

Sakuya interrupted him, "Thank you for the offer, sir. But I promised these kids I'd get them some ice cream. Maybe some other time, thanks again." Ryusei pouted but Mahiru let out a sigh of relief. He tensed again as Berkia seemed to get closer to him. He smirked and bent down towards him, or rather his cat.

"Cute kitten. Where did you get him?"

Mahiru never felt so scared, "I…I…"

Kuro immediately began rubbing his side against the child's chest, gently coaxing him to calm down.

"I…I found him on the street." Sakuya cleared his throat, glaring even harder at the magician, "Like I said, we have plans right now. Thank you for the offer." He gently began herding the boys away until a dark laugh escaped the strange man.

Sakuya froze at the sound, still shielding the children with his body.

"I must be confused about something. It almost seems like you're ignoring me. Is that what you're doing?"

Ryusei and Koyuki began trembling in fear, whimpering slightly as the man seemed to walk closer to them.

Berkia scoffed then looked down at Mahiru, "Don't be a fool, child. I know that's not a regular cat you have there."

"W-what do you mean?" Sakuya seemed to grit his teeth as he heard Mahiru denial, but didn't say a word. Mahiru's friends looked at him with fear and confusion.

"I mean that's a vampire, isn't it?!" Mahiru clutched the kitten tighter, a look of determination overcoming his fear. "I won't let you hurt him." Kuro whipped his head toward the child in disbelief, letting out a loud yowl.

"Wrong answer." In a flash of movement, Berkia ran over to Ryusei and bit on the boys' arm…hard. The blond child let out a chilling scream as the sharp fangs tore into the meat of his arm. Koyuki began crying in earnest, seemingly frozen as he watched his friend wail in agony.

Sakuya unfroze and ran toward the man, punching him as hard as he could in the face. It didn't seem to make a mark on him, but it got the desired effect as the stranger pulled away from the child's arm.

Ryusei fell to the ground, whimpers of pain and panic emitting from him as blood began to pool under his body. Sakuya cradled the boy close, turning towards the other two.

"Mahiru, Koyuki, run! I'll get Ryusei help!" Kuro jumped out of Mahirus' arms and ran into the dark alley a few feet away from them.

"Kuro!" Mahiru ran after the cat, causing Koyuki to run after him. "Mahiru, wait!" Mahiru panted as tears began to fall out of his brown eyes, "Kuro is gone…"

"…I'm here." Both boys turned toward the tired voice. A familiar white-haired man with a familiar blue jacket and hoodie walked towards them, red eyes seeming to glow in the dark.

"Kuro!" Mahiru ran towards the man, who sighed, but bent down on one knee to hug the running boy. Koyuki looked at the man in confusion, "Kuro? But that's your cat."

Mahiru nodded, "Yes." Koyuki looked at him like he was crazy. "Come on you little pains." Kuro grabbed Mahiru's hand and held another out to Koyuki.

The child put his hand in Kuro's and the vampire led the two boys through the alley.

…

Sakuya gently shook the boy in his arms, trying not the show his inner panic as Ryusei seemed to be losing the battle of consciousness. He called the paramedics five minutes ago, and every labored breath the poor child made felt like it might be his last.

The moment he saw the kitten, he immediately knew it was the vampire, Kuro. His savior described him enough times that it seemed like they already met. However, something prevented him from taking the vamp out.

Mahiru looked at the cat like it was a family member, not a monster. So, he decided to let it go. Whether he'll continue to live will all depend on how the vampire continued to behave.

(Or his master, but he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it.)

…..

"Come on little boy! I just want to play with your vampire friend! After all, he needs to hone his skills after all the years of being a cat!"

Mahiru and Koyuki gripped onto Kuro, who looked at them both with a finger to his lips.

"If you keep hiding him, I'll kill the other boy and your green-haired friend!" Kuro subtly moved away from the boys, stealthily moving against the wall. Koyuki covered his own mouth to hold in the frightened noise at the threat while Mahiru just continued to look calmly at Kuro.

As if time stopped, Kuro disappeared from the wall, only showing up again to kick the strange vampire. The moment he went down, Kuro ran back to the kids, picking them up and running away.

Sakuya…

Ryusei…

Pulling Kuros' shirt, Mahiru fixed him with a glare, "Why are we running, Kuro? Big brother Sakuya and Ryusei are still out there-we have to help them!" The man glared, "We have to save ourselves right now, kid. From what I saw, they could take care of themselves."

"Please."

That small plea paused Kuro.

…..

"Where are you boy?! I'm not going to give you another warning-!" Berkia yelled as another strong kick jabbed against his side. Kuro glared at the pink-haired man as said man cackled in maniacal glee. "Yes! Amazing, Kuro! Now for the real fun!" Both men became a blur as the fight of vampires began.

Koyuki let out a frightened yell and huddled against the wall. Mahiru clutched onto the front of his shirt, sweating, but looking at the white-haired vampire with steadfast eyes.

"Please Mom…Keep him safe."

…..

Sakuya watched as the paramedics loaded Ryusei into the ambulance. Luckily, the kid was going to be alright. He'll have to change the boy's memories later-he had to find the other two boys.

…

Mahiru gasped in fear as Kuro was once again pushed to the ground. The white-haired vampire looked to be on his last legs-blood came out of his mouth, his body was covered with scratches and bruises, and some parts of his jacket was ripped.

Kuro grunted and shakily got up on his feet, but before he could make a stance, Berkia punched him. Mahiru couldn't take it anymore and ran to the vampire.

"Kuro!" Mahiru knelt down beside the fallen man as Kuro glared at him in a mixture of pain, annoyance, and worry.

"Get out of here, kid! I can barely handle him enough as it is. You can't do anything!"

Mahiru cried, "I can't lose you like I lost my mom!"

"DDDIIIEEE!" Mahiru barely looked up to see Berkia had leaped towards them. In the blink of an eye, Kuro sped in front of him, taking the attack.

"KURO!" The man grunted, "I'm fine…but I won't be for much longer. You can still go."

You're too young to be an Eve…

But I need to help you!

Suddenly, Mahiru jammed his arm against Kuro's teeth, blood flying into Kuro's mouth, who's face filled with a mixture of horror and hunger.

Mahiru silently cried as the pain shot up his arm, but looked calmly at Kuro. "Please…defeat him."

Kuro's eyes were shadowed as Mahiru removed his arm, but he smirked and licked the blood off his face.

"You're such a pain..!" Instead of just light, a dark outline of the chain from earlier linked the two individuals together.

Kuro's eyes glowed darker and filled with bloodlust, "You are my Eve now. I submit to you!" A giant claw made out of dark energy covered his left hand and he flew to Berkia…

It was done in less than a second.

Berkia was laying on the ground, covered in blood, a stunned expression on his face. Mahiru looked in shock. He only snapped out of it when he saw Kuro glaring menacingly, lifting his claw. "Kuro, stop! You did what I asked; he doesn't need to die!"

For a second, it looked like Kuro was going to ignore him. But he just let out a suffering sigh and let the claw vanish. For a few moments, everything was silent.

Mahiru smiled.

Said thank you.

And promptly passed out.