Whatever grand moment of reunion they were meant to have was ruined by a throaty growl and subsequent hissing. Yuuki looked back and watched as the cat moved out from under the table to the other side of the room, hiding in the gap between the refrigerator and kitchen counter.

"...She doesn't like you," Yuuki said, not without a hint of accusation.

Was it cruel to say that to a child? Maybe. Did animals have a sixth sense to tell whether someone is a bad person? Definitely. She didn't forget the previous encounter of blood they had, even if she had been ignoring it. That entire night conjured up questions of reality and magic and suddenly living in another world; but is it really another world when you barely remember the original one?

"Sorry," Kaname said, indeed seeming regretful, "animals don't usually like 吸血鬼."

She nodded like she understood 100% of what he said instead of only 75%. Context, looking like she wasn't completely lost, and residual knowledge from the body she entered were her main reasons for comprehending anything anyone said.

"Maybe you should stop being 吸血鬼 then," she replied.

Kaien made a face from his position behind Kaname, like she committed a great social faux pas.

Please don't tell me 吸血鬼 means 'cancer patient' or something.

"Ah, Yuuki-chan, that's sort of impos- well, very hard to do."

Kaname walked closer to sit in front of Yuuki, "Are you afraid of me now?"

"...Should I be?"

The hand that had already reached out to touch her face paused. He really seemed to be considering it. When their eyes met, Kaname gave his answer, "Yes."

Kaien made a noise between shock and sadness.

When he wished, Kaien's presence could fill a room and turn the strained atmosphere between two not-children into something more pleasant. Yuuki alternated her gaze from her warm tea cup to Kaname's face. She had never realized how cherubic a kid's face could be. His eyes ruined the image. Too solemn.

She allowed Kaien to do her speaking for her, talking about everything she had done in the days without Kaname, like he really was a proud parent showing off his child's accomplishments. However, Kaname was not an adult (didn't look like one anyways) and she'd be damned if she would let Kaien pull out her writing work with all the condescending pride of pulling out a child's macaroni art.

"What have you been doing, since then?" Yuuki interrupted.

"I've been busy. Sorry I couldn't visit you."

Do you think that's a proper answer?

"Busy with what?"

Kaname shared a glance with Kaien, at the other side of the low table. He spoke in a deliberate off-hand manner, "I moved into Ichijo Asato's estate, so I've had to get used to things. Yuuki, how have you been getting used to living with Kurosu-san?"

"Why aren't you living with your parents?"

With those words, the mood of the conversation dropped in icy waters.

"Ah, Yuuki-chan, recently his parents were killed," Kaien added softly.

'Did he kill them?' she wanted to ask. Yuuki held her tongue, it was too insensitive to ask that, even for her. Just because he was a killer, didn't mean he engaged in parricide. The death of parents was a terrible, heart-shattering thing. She felt amputated when her own died.

…

…

Huh?

Since when did her parents die? She- the only funeral she remembered was for an uncle. Both her mother and father were alive, along with her brother, waiting for her to come back from this adventure-dream. She searched for her most recent memory of her parents. It would have been during the holidays, right? They- ?

An invisible hand grasped her heart, sending pinprick lightning throughout her body. The feeling of her brain melting inside her skull consumed her senses. Sudden fear flooded her senses, like someone suddenly pressed the edge of a knife to her spine. A monster made up of memory breathed down her neck. She was missing something devastatingly important, wasn't she? But searching for it put her into a tug-of-war of instinctual repulsion and desperation.

Her face must have shown some trouble, because Kaien was making a lot of noise. His words bled together the same way a calligrapher's brushstrokes melded to one squiggly line after the hand passed from exhaustion. Why is this body shaking? It didn't feel cold. Kaname had moved to the side, but she couldn't make out his expression.

She needed to get out of this body and away. Out. But she couldn't do that, could she? The body was treated like a child. She couldn't go. Couldn't reach the counter or speak the language or-. What could she do to get away? Die. Sleep. She needed to sleep. They allowed her to sleep. If she slept, she didn't have to think about what was happening to her.

Whoever said the dead looked like they were sleeping was a fucking liar. They only ever looked dead with their eyes open like that.

The rest of the night was a blur.

O

"Look, Yuuki-chan, I brought a playmate!"

Despite Keiko's enthusiastic introduction of her brother, the younger Ichinose didn't seem excited. Yuuki eyed him, Masao. He couldn't have been older than lower secondary school age. Young, but still half older than her current body.

"Playmate?" she repeated, just to fill the space.

Keiko gave a firm nod, "I'm babysitting today, so you two can play and I can relax."

Yuuki ignored Masao's scowl. "I already have a playmate: Daedala, the cat."

"Eh? What kind of name is that? Besides, Masao-kun is just a tiny bit better than a cat."

Ignoring Masao's shout of 'Just a little bit better?', Yuuki let them into the house. Kaien had left a while ago, but she had known she wouldn't be unattended for long. After that event, Kaien started treating her with, well, kid-gloves. Kaname hadn't returned since. Maybe that was for the better. Four months passed between them and that was enough time to settle into the pretense that she really was a five year old child. The way Kaien treated her was still annoying. He had hidden away all scary movies from his collection.

It wasn't safe for Yuuki to touch her memories of not being Yuuki. Being metaphorically bitten with her mind's aggressive self-defense mechanism had left her shy from trying again. Perhaps that was for the best, from a logical standpoint. Knowing about what she had been would leave the experience of what she currently was all the more rotten.

Not that she wasn't already discontent with her present self.

"She doesn't like you either."

Masao scoffed and did his best to act like he didn't care. His gaze directed at the hiding form of a red cat gave him away. "I don't like pets anyways… Hey, what do you mean 'either'?"

Yuuki quickly picked up Daedala, who was crawling to get behind the desk. "She also hisses at chichi- gakuchou-sensei."

"Whatever. They don't personally dislike me," his mouth twisted as he stared intently at Daedala. Not even the prickliest of exteriors could ignore the cuteness of a cat. "She'll like me if I give her treats. Do you have any?"

Those were located in the kitchen with the other pet supplies. Yuuki ran down to fetch them and paused at the emptiness. A peek in the office showed no sign of life. On the second floor, no one was in the study or bathroom. She even checked the closet. Hmm. Her own room revealed Masao down on the floor, trying to coax a growling cat, which had hidden itself underneath the bed.

Cooing at the cat didn't work and they finally resorted to climbing underneath to retrieve her. For a street cat, Daedala was pretty docile, only scratching at Masao once. It took a quarter of the treat bag for her to allow him the honor of a few pets.

"Why is your uniform different from the others?" Yuuki asked, idly watching the dark-clothed Masao play with the cat teaser. She much prefered the white style the other children had.

"I'm in the lower level. The others are older."

She waited a beat for clarification, then spoke again. "What does lower level mean?"

Sighing, like Yuuki should have known it earlier, Masao explained, "The lower level is for years one through four, that's ages eleven through fourteen. The higher level is years five, six, seven." He gave her a look, "This is a boarding school."

She returned the annoyance, "I know that."

"Do you? Why are you here anyways?"

Looking down, Yuuki repeated part of the story Kaien gave her, "My mother died. Now, chichi is taking care of me."

Technically true. She was told her current body's mother was dead. The biological father was also dead and then Kaien adopted Yuuki. Except the forged birth certificate he showed her had a 'Karuso Kaien' as the one and only father. 'It's safer if people believe we're blood related.' he had said.

"Oh, sorry."

Yuuki shrugged off the awkwardness. It wasn't as if she remembered Yuuki's parents. Play was muted following that and finally ended when Daedala decided to sleep on the bed. They went to find Keiko, who wasn't on the second floor.

On the stairwell, Yuuki took Masao's sleeve and pointed down at the basement door.

"Isn't that locked?"

Yes, it should have been and was all the times Yuuki checked. Yet, Keiko had a habit of disappearing whenever she was in the middle of babysitting Yuuki. Maybe she even caught on to Yuuki's suspicion and sicced Masao on her to keep her distracted.

Yuuki tried the door handle. It didn't budge.

"She's probably just in the kitchen," he left before she could reply.

Masao's distant calls for his sister could be heard in the other room. It was possible Keiko was just naturally hard to find. It wasn't like she ever became missing. If Yuuki called out enough, Keiko would suddenly appear.

She could have easily missed it, the click of the door unlocking was so quiet.

It opened just an inch, enough for an eye to peek through. Yuuki moved back and watched Keiko slide through.

"What were you doing there?" She asked.

Keiko jumped back and hit her head on the doorframe. "Shit! I- warn a girl next time, will you?"

"Warn you for being in my own house?" Yuuki said. Technically, Kaien's house. Well, she had been living in it for over half a year. Maybe it's supposed to be her home too?

Building ownership didn't matter. Keiko was caught. When Masao came back from his fruitless search, she had no excuse to give.

'No one was supposed to go in the basement, you know. It was locked for a reason. Wouldn't gakuchou-sensei be angry if he knew you went in there? He'll surely punish you.' Those thoughts hung in the air after some pointed words.

"Don't worry," Yuuki said with a smile too smug to be innocent, "I won't tell if you show us what's inside."

Keiko frowned, staring at her. "Aren't you a bit too devious for a toddler?"

The basement belonged to a spy. That was the only explanation Yuuki could come up with when she saw the contents. Half of the room was covered in blue mats next to a mirrored wall. A few worn punching bags stood to the side. The open cabinet of traditional weapons wasn't out of place, given context. Bo staffs, chakrams, and nunchaku, could be explained away as a harmless hobby.

The other half held a table map with pins in various locations, connected to other pins by colored string. Shooting target stands rested against a corner. Tall gym lockers stood firmly shut next to a desk containing various papers and- hey, that's where the films went to.

"It's like a mini-hunter headquarters," Masao said.

"Hunter?" Yuuki echoed. Unless Kaien was 'hunting' humans, she didn't see-

They all stilled and looked at eachother. The siblings, because they might have revealed an unintentional secret, and Yuuki, when she realized the implications of the room.

Keiko spoke up, "Nevermind about that. You saw the room, so let's go back."

"I can ask chichi about it later. You should just tell me now," said Yuuki, while beginning to take back the DVDs on the desk. Kaien was too overprotective. She had probably seen worse horror films when she was an adult.

"Do you know what a 吸血鬼 is?" Keiko said slowly.

"Of course." Not at all. Besides that time, she hadn't encountered the word in all her studies. "I've met one."

The following silence clearly indicated she had said something wrong. Picking up another film, Yuuki glanced at the cover. ドラキュラ：最初の吸血鬼. A man's pale face was opened wide to show two long fangs. Dracula: the first vampire.

Oh, that's why Kaien hid the DVDs.

"Gakuchou-sensei, Kaien, is a vampire hunter." She realized aloud. In terms of weirdness, it wasn't surprising at all. However, thinking Kaien could be a cool hunter of the night didn't seem possible. Yuuki looked up at the two children, "Are you guys vampires too?"

Their twin looks of disgust gave her all the answers she needed.

"Yuuki-chan, did you learn anything new today?"

Yuuki glanced down at her dinner of ochazuke. Kaien's cooking skills were improving rapidly. "I learned that you're a vampire hunter."

Kaien set his glass down. "Did you hear that from Ichinose-san?"

"Was I not supposed to know?"

A sigh. "I used to be a hunter, but I'm retired now. There's a lot of things in my past that I regret." He looked at her sternly, "Yuuki, it's important to know that not all vampires are bad."

"Keiko-san and Masao-kun think differently."

Kaien's mouth twisted and he rested his hand on hers, "But Kaname-san isn't a bad person, right?"

Kaname had said 'yes, you should be afraid of me' and looked repentant for something he never did. Kaname could kill her, a little mortal girl. Kaname did kill a man, another vampire. For her.

"He isn't bad to me."

"He isn't bad to a lot of people. Not to humans."

But it's not just humans out there in the world.

O

He came a week later.

Like a recreation of the last time he was there, Kaname and Yuuki sat opposite ends of the low table with Kaien to the right. The tea this time was jasmine.

"If there's any questions you'd like to ask, Kaname-san can answer them," Kaien said with a smile.

However, there wasn't much to say. Kaien already answered them when she asked. Vampires could be considered as a different species, but they were close enough to humans that they could propagate together. Their existence was a secret, yet Kaien wanted to slowly bring about a harmonious connection between them and humans. Vampire hunters 'punished' only the bad vampires who hurt humans, while internal disputes among vampires were handled by their council. On the top of their social hierarchy, sat Kuran Kaname, a pureblood.

How can a vampire be killed? How dangerous is a vampire? How to fight a vampire? Kaien had that information as well. They both knew he wouldn't give a straight answer if asked.

"It's okay to be afraid of me," Kaname started, looking like he was mourning their tentative relationship already, "it must be scary to have this sort of information."

Yuuki stood up and walked to Kaname's side of the table. "I'm not afraid of you," She slid down and reached forward to brush his hair out of his eyes, slow enough for even a human to move away if they wanted. "I know you won't hurt me. Thank-you for taking care of me so much."

Oh, he looked like he was going to tear up. Yuuki wasn't good with crying children. In fact, she said those things in an effort to not make him so sad. If she knew he was beyond the point of comfort, she would have said what was really on her mind:

Silly boy, how can I fear someone who looks like they would break if I bled?

O

Kaien was someone else when he practiced forms. Not tou-san, not gakuchou-sensei, someone who held the title of 'vampire hunter'. The spell only broke when he caught her gaze in the mirrors and flashed a goofy smile.

The basement was no longer forbidden to Yuuki, allowing her to watch Kaien whenever he worked out. He did change the lock to the door to prevent other babysitters from snooping inside. 'It's my fault anyways, for using the same lock as the academy doors.' Keiko had misused her powers as upper-level student council treasurer to use her own keys to enter the basement. Although, besides a warning comment of 'make sure to stay out of the basement, okay?' delivered with a chilly smile when she showed up for babysitting duties, Kaien didn't seem to take any disciplinary measures.

'Keiko-san is curious to a fault, but not for malicious purposes. She's used to being in the know, even though she won't ever be out on the field.'

The Ichinose family were 'in the know' and a part of the community, but they weren't actually fighters. Keiko and Masao wouldn't become vampire hunters and neither would Yuuki. Kaien had made a face when she asked.

'Wouldn't it be better if you lived a lifetime of bringing vampires and humans closer together?'

Yuuki didn't care to risk her life being a hunter in the first place. Staying weak was a different matter. Even though it made sense and resolved some of her uncertainty in the reality she was now in, knowing vampires existed felt a little too 'paranormal-romance young adult novel' for her. For some reason, the situation she was in felt very stereotypical.

Kaien wiped his sweaty face with a towel and started on cooldown exercises. From a superficial glance, he was way too young to be a headmaster. Ah, the rejuvenating effects of regular exercise. "Aren't you bored watching me, Yuuki-chan?"

"No, it's like watching television." It also gave her a chance to think. What were the logistics of being a vampire in a world that made sense? Why was Kaien once a vampire hunter and why did he stop? Would she have to start going through puberty in a few years?

He hesitated then asked, "Would you like to try some aikido? You won't ever have to use it in practice, but it can be beneficial."

"...okay." She couldn't stop the shy smile from forming.

O

It wasn't that Yuuki didn't like her birthdays. This, however, was her sixth birthday. The last birthday she celebrated, she went out drinking with friends. Now, she didn't even know the words for 'black-out drunk'.

"Say 'cheers', Yuuki-chan," Kaien said, snapping a photo of her with the flowers Eriko placed in her hair.

Flowers bloomed rarely in winter. Fortunately, the academy garden area had a winter section, full of narcissi and peonies. Winter there, to Yuuki, was relatively mild, despite the dusting of snow on the ground. The water of the 'moat', which bordered one third of the gardens, remained unfrozen. The second third of the garden's edge bled into the Forest of a Green Saint, whose giant trees still held onto their green leaves. Lastly stood the main dining hall in the distance, outdoor seating vacant of lunch-goers.

"Yuuki-chan looks really cute in her new winter outfit," Eriko said.

Mori muttered an agreement, while staring at Eriko herself, who had put a narcissus in her own hair. 'Young love,' thought Yuuki, then mentally gagged. The days they babysat her were treated like movie date nights and Kaien had terrible taste in romance films.

Naoki turned around the sketch book he gifted Yuuki, "Look, I drew all of us."

'Drew' was a generous statement. There were eight stick figures of varying height and a creature with pointy ears. Presumably Daedala, despite her being not allowed outside. They all circled bold letters reading 'Happy 6th Birthday, Kurosu Yuuki :)'.

"Harimoto-san, did you just use the present you gave Yuuki for yourself?" Kaien asked. He had a smile on, but he had been smiling every time Yuuki looked at him this morning. It might have gotten stuck that way.

"It's still a gift! It's a birthday card!"

Yuuki had received more than a few presents, considering her limited social circle. For children of the elite, perhaps it wasn't so strange to give things to the daughter of the academy headmaster. From Naoki she had a large sketch book and Shizuko's gift of drawing pencils complemented it. The Ichinose siblings gave her cat materials; a large teddy bear was presented to her by the 'love pair'. Kaien topped the list with new clothing. Lots of pink, frilly, girlish clothing.

She stayed quiet as the topic turned to classes. The argument of 'Mori-kun, how could you fail history?!' and 'It's not failing, I'm just barely passing,' changed to 'Shizuko-chan, doesn't that guy in class Y like you?' and 'Why do you want to know?'. There was a lull after a comment of 'Fukura-sensei is so annoying. He's like-' with Kain's reply of 'What is he like, Ichinose-kun?' met with '...Nothing.'.

The far-off silhouettes of students crossing the Sky Gate and entering the school area of the academy signalled lunch would soon come to an end. The school portion, which held class buildings, the gardens, and the groundskeeper house, was sectioned off from the residency portion, which held the dormitories, staff quarters, and minor chapels, by a combination of a river, the forest, and an island. The coldly intimidating main chapel stood as its lone structure.

"Gakuchou-sensei," Shizuko started, "are you ever going to remove the Miracle Chapel from the island? The school is secular now, so it shouldn't even be there."

Kaien gazed at the building in question, "A part of the academy's grandeur is from its age and historic buildings. I'm restricted to making only additions and interior renovations." A teasing light entered his eyes, "Why? You don't like the entrance ceremonies there? I'm hurt."

"No, no! It was only a question."

"Is that why the Sunburst Chapel is still near the dormitory? Even though no one can enter," asked Keiko.

Kaien made a noise of confirmation.

"But isn't it dangerous?" added Mori. "Surely they'd let you take it down for that reason."

Kaien glanced at Yuuki, "It's not dangerous. No one had been in there for a century, so the infrastructure is simply too old for people to walk around in."

"Why does Mori-kun think it's dangerous?" Yuuki could tell that was the exact question Kaien didn't want her to ask.

"I'm not scared, if that's what you're thinking. There's just some rumours of a ghost."

"Long ago, " Masao eagerly added, "a student disappeared there. And then-"

"You guys should be packing up," Kaien interrupted, a touch of firmness in his voice, "the lunch period is ending."

Masao shut his mouth with an audible click.

There was one person left to visit within her small set of cohorts. He came some time after dinner.

'Happy birthday, Yuuki,' was probably what Kaname intended to say, however he only got as far as 'Happ-' before being cut off with Yuuki's hug. After she learned of vampires, Yuuki made sure to change their relationship to not be so full of fear on Kaname's end. Step 2: Physical Affection, came after Step 1: Words of Appreciation. Whatever he was doing, he probably wasn't getting enough hugs. The sparse words he spoke about the Ichijo estate indicated touch wasn't a casual affair. Child-like behavior and needs such as that occasionally came from Kaname, which she indulged (it definitely didn't come from Yuuki).

The disadvantage to initiating Step 2 came from Kaien loving to hug her. It wasn't that she hated his touch, rather hugging an obvious adult revealed the blatant fact she still lived in a child's body.

The clicks of Kaien's camera brought the moment to an end.

Kaname's gift was a calligraphy set. It seemed too refined to give to an average six year old. Then again, was she really a six year old? On this day, everybody was telling her so.

The dining room was silent as she thought about it. Kaien holed himself up in his office, doing all the work he put off during Yuuki's day celebration, and Kaname didn't mind the quiet. His maturity clashed with his age, but his naivety didn't suit an adult. They weren't the same. Kaname wasn't a shapeshifter, a possessor, a pretender like the being inside Yuuki was. He was the closest person she had for an equal, though.

Gone were her friends, her brother, her parents. She was a stranger to this reality and to this new child-self she was becoming. Kaname, sharp-eyed as he was, noticed the misty quality of her eyes. Or maybe he smelled the sadness blooming within her.

"What are you thinking about?"

"My family," she might have only mouthed it, unable to hear it with her own ears. Yet Kaname shifted as if he heard. "Can we go outside? It feels…" (oppressive, confining, overwhelming, nope, don't know those words either) "...bad in here."

The cool wind dried her beginning tears. They walked far enough to reach the stone fountain and Yuuki sat at the edge. Goddess of Mercy: Kannon read the plaque under the central statue. Nighttime was different when it was with Kaname. All the buildings in the distance dissolved into mist and they were standing on that snow field again, watching the remains of a vampire mix with the snowflakes.

"Do you remember your parents?" she asked.

Kaname shifted, "A little. Chichi-ue was very generous and haha-ue was devoted."

"I remember a little of my family," pulling her legs up to her chest, Yuuki continued, "but not everything. I know something bad happened, but my head doesn't want to remember." Oh no, the tears were coming back now. She pressed her hands to her eyes, "I can't even honor their deaths with a memory."

Kaname called her name and said nothing else. What could he say? What could anyone say? The warmth of his arms around her didn't stave off the cold.

O

"This just might be the best time in our lives," declared Shizuko.

Keiko scoffed, "Maybe you've peaked, but I still have a life ahead of me."

"What could be better," Shizuko theatrically went on, "than lounging in the sun, surrounded by historical buildings, and having your likeness immortalized in art?"

"Immortalized," Mori drew out the word, "by a twerp."

The twerp in question focused on her sketch of the five figures by the fountain. While a beautiful background, capturing flowing water on paper made her regret her choice of setting. The image that was coming to fruition before her was far from Yuuki's usual skill in her other body, but then again, she had only drawn subjects captured through an HD lens.

Acting as if she never heard any dissent, Shizuko said, "We need to do something before this spring season of our youth runs dry."

"And I bet that something will be big and flashy," Eriko replied flatly. "You really do belong in the drama club."

Turning his head up to see Shizuko, who was laying on the fountain edge he was seated against, Naoki added, "Didn't Amano-san say not to pull anything after Tsukuda's prank?"

Shizuko sat up at that remark. Thankfully Yuuki had already drawn the pair and was just finishing up Eriko, sitting primly to the side.

"Amano-san is the upper-level president. Not only does she work for work for The Man, she is The Man."

When Mori mockingly repeated her words, Shizuko stood up on the ledge. The back and forth between them was interrupted by a 'fuck!' and splashes. 'Well,' thought Yuuki, 'at least most of the picture was done.'

They moved to the art plaza, located, naturally, near the art buildings, to sit on the warm stone path and wait for Mori and Shizuka's shoes and socks to dry. The sculptures surrounding them held a disjointed mix of student experimental and traditional western and eastern styles. Goddess of Music: Benzaiten read the nearest statue depicting a woman holding a lute.

"This is the last year where we will still be free," said Shizuko, poking her damp sock. "Are we really going to go out with a whimper? When I start working for my family, I won't have much time."

In contrast, Yuuki's time would be much more free than it had already been. A constant cycle of sleeping and studying awaited her once graduation came. She only cared so much for books because knowledge was power. Even to her, reading could get boring, however Kaien became really concerned when she stayed in bed for more than twelve hours. If it wasn't for the new habit of drawing, staring at the wall would have been the only way for her to destress.

"I know what you mean," Eriko muttered, "after I graduate, I'll be engaged to a man I never met."

Yuuki looked at Mori, whose head was down. She supposed that was why the pair stopped babysitting her together.

"Arranged marriages are standard for the elite. That doesn't mean you can't have lovers," Naoki said.

Yuuki, Keiko, and Eriko looked at him.

"...eh? Was it not correct?"

Keiko sighed, "It's true, but if your future wife hears that from you…"

Glancing at Shizuko, Naoki changed topics, "At least we'll be going to the same university?"

Uncertain silence met his words.

O

The newly bought dictionary was a much needed raft to traverse an ocean of unknowable words. So what if Yuuki could barely handle the weight of it? Kaien had merely chuckled when she tried to carry the book out of the store. She ended up holding his hand while he held the dictionary. In the end, she had only needed to drag it up to her room so she could find a book from Kaien's study alone.

Gone were the days of simple sentences and weak storylines! Yuuki now had… child psychology books, test studies on educational development, and dramatic romance novels? She couldn't help the disappointed 'tsk' from coming out when she looked at the third option. Oddly enough, the feeling brought about a sense of remembrance. Her childhood friend had the same taste in genre, except it was with comics and cartoons.

The personal library of an adult wasn't nearly as exciting as she remembered.

On the other hand, Yuuki now had the familiarity and audacity to climb on the shelves (or first the desk chair, then the shelves) in order to get a closer look at the map. Seeing the five great land masses instead of seven didn't surprise her as it would have if she properly viewed it the first day she entered the house. The dimension she travelled to assumed the familiarity of her original home, but didn't contain the foundational details. As if someone decided the end results, but left the path to get there up to chaos. Or, time and war ravaged both natural and cultural landscapes to such an extent, the progression, death, and stagnation of inventions were different from her own time.

Why else would flip phones still be popular?

The upper shelves showcased a few ornaments and photos along with notebooks. It seemed like Kaien was that type of person, who kept all their notes from university. She aimlessly flipped through a sapphire-colored book.

...oh?

Kaien was pretty good at anatomy drawings. One page revealed a sharp-lined drawing of the heart's chambers. The next- fangs. Yuuki squinted. She had a feeling those notes weren't from any ordinary tertiary education. After also taking the next notebook on the pile, another blue one, Yuuki hopped down, placed the chair back, and went to the dictionary.

Vampires, humans, and hunters had very similar anatomical structures, right up until the head, heart, and 'unknown' system. That 'unknown' word couldn't be found in the dictionary. What it described through diagram and description looked to be a mix of the nervous and lymphatic system.

The destruction of the head or heart with an anti-vampire weapon. That was how one killed a vampire, save for sunlight.

If the condition is not met, even a Level E will still live. The limbs might be detached, chest cavity pulled open, and mind gone to insanity, however the beat of the heart and pulse of the brain will continue (see Tityus Case Study).

Yuuki shut the notebook. That sentence wasn't dramatic prose on a younger Kaien's part; it was done to a person and results were recorded, submitted for review, and published. 'No, not to humans," she thought, 'to vampires. Hunters likely don't see vampires as full people.'

Except for Kaien, who dearly wished for peace.

Would the hunters allow that?

She opened the other notebook, then took a double take at the date on the first page. Yuuki looked at the date of the first book. Next, she checked the date of the calendar on her desk. Unless Kaien was over a hundred years old, the notebooks weren't originally his. Why would he keep the notes of a generation before, unless information with the hunter community was that tightly controlled?

Yuuki felt her nails dig into her palms. She had so desperately strived to learn the language and gain some semblance of control, of power. Why was it the more she knew, the more she realized how little she was? The world was dangerous, she had known that since she was young. However, she had lived the privilege of never really experiencing it. Would she have the fortunate luck of being that sheltered this time around? When the first memory of this body was…

O

Kaname's best virtue was patience. The students moved too much even when they tried to stay still. Kaien would make silly poses when he caught her with her sketchbook out. Yuuki could swear Daedala knew when she was being drawn and would move on purpose. Kaname was docile and could stare into space for an hour without moving a muscle. One time, she simply stared at him, pencil hand still, and he didn't comment until five minutes later.

Yuuki gained the niche ability to draw one specific individual rather well.

Sunlight crawled too quickly towards its end. She knew it would take multiple sessions to draw Kaname outside with natural lighting that didn't hurt his skin, but recreating the setting would be a pain. The placement of autumnal leaves in his hair was very specific. In spring, Yuuki decided he would wear a flower crown. Maybe she could even cajole him into a dress. He looked androgenous enough for that.

When she finished the outline, the growing shadows were too dark to continue.

"I'm done for now, Kaname. It's really nice how we can be quiet like this."

"Usually, I'm told the opposite," he replied, shaking the leaves off his head.

Yuuki packed up the art materials, "Being the quiet friend of the group isn't bad."

Jealousy was petty and childish, yet more often than not she had to push it down when she remembered Kaname had friends of his own age group. Friends he took lessons with and who wouldn't graduate from the academy and his life within half a year. She still had Masao when the year ended. His rough exterior prevented him from getting along with his own classmates, so he wasn't adverse to being with his sister's circle of friends along with their babysitting duties. If only she had a sibling, it wouldn't be so bad. Although there was the feeling she would end up being more of a mother figure than sister.

"It's just because they're too loud. Can I see it?" Kaname gestured towards the pad.

Despite the hesitation, she showed him. Her lack of formal training showed clearly through the smudges and rough lines. When she got better, Yuuki would draw what she recollected of her family.

"Do you have any hobbies, Kaname?"

"I study a lot," he said, as they walked back to the groundskeeper's house, hand in hand.

"Eh? That's not a hobby."

Kaname looked to the side, "That's what they said as well. But don't you have an entire shelf of workbooks?" Using Yuuki's answering silence as a moment to ponder, he relented, "I like tea. It's nice to drink at Aido's rose garden."

"You're very refined. Keep in mind it's okay to do messy things once in a while."

"I could say the same for you."

Naturally, the next time they met, it would be after Yuuki had involved herself in that mess.

Vampires usually mean romance and drama. Why does this feel more like a horror novel?