#dhampyr reader | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hsj-scenarios · 6 years

Photo

In Aeturnum: Chapter Zero⎜AU, Chapter 1 of ???⎜Song Inspo: “The Elixir of Life” by Peter Gundry

Chapter Zero: Sympathy for the Devil Pt. 1 ( main storyline )

Hello readers! This part of the Chapter Zero series focuses heavily on Ryosuke and won’t mention the reader until the next chapter. It just got too long and I had to cut the part where the reader comes in. I also want to point out that even though in the aesthetic picture Ryosuke is fully grown, in most of this chapter (until the end) he appears as a teenager because he actually is the equivalent of a teenager in vampiric years for this. So, think of Scrap Teacher era Ryosuke. This chapter also has a mention of self harm, so be warned. Other than that, please enjoy this next edition of Chapter Zero! -- Mod L

He was one of the first in a series of unfortunate cases. An epidemic.

It was right around the time that he was born, the plague began. Vampires, whose bloodlines had been watered down by human blood, had begun to weaken. Their bodies would age faster and they would die just as quickly, their still beating hearts not the only bodily organ weak to the material known as silver. In his mother’s journal, the woman wrote about the days of his infancy. About how he was susceptible to the cold, weak to hot weather, and how his skin would flush red if her favorite silver necklace so much as touched his delicate cheeks. It was as if he were a mixture of both human and vampire traits, unheard of before if one wasn’t a dhampyr.

He was one of many cases among the few children born to their small village of vampires and dhampyr. The vampire bloodline was growing weak. A plague was coming.

Ryosuke had been part of a budding generation afflicted by it.

It was told to him that he’d had one more sibling, a brother, much older and in adolescence by the time that he came into the world. And, while Ryosuke was in his first few years of living, that brother ventured away from the village on his own in an act of rebellion. In the journal, his mother wrote about how her husband went into the night to find their eldest child. It was two days and three nights before the man came back with their son’s limp body in his arms. To give the boy a burial close to home, his father said. In the young vampire’s chest had been an imprint, the sign of a silver dagger to the chest. Vampire hunters. However, back then, it was the one and only way to kill a vampire.

For their second son, things wouldn’t be so black and white.

He remembered being coddled by his parents. Never allowed to leave his village. It was the same for many other children; few they were, as vampires never had an easy time conceiving. For the longest, Ryosuke had thought it was merely because his father was the head of their village. He was privileged and cloistered, having no need for the outside world when all of the comforts he would ever need were in his own home. So, he’d never thought much of his life of isolation.

His family and the village were all that he needed.

As a vampire child, life passed one by in the blink of an eye. Fifty years of ignorant bliss went by before he truly became conscious of the world around him. Still so very young, appearing the age of a ten year old human child, one of his first and clearest memories was of the day that they came. The vampire hunters. It seemed as if word of the fairly small village of vampires spread around to the humans, and the weakened generation made it a prime opportunity for them to attack. It was the start of an aggressive eradication of vampires, strong and weak alike.

They killed every vampire and dhampyr found. Men, women, child, there was no beast spared from their blade. Bodies fell that day, those of vampire and human alike. The number of hunters were too high, accumulated and trained thoroughly over the years. And, they would soon only increase. Especially with the knowledge that vampires were growing weaker as time went on.

No one in the already small village was left to spare. At least, that is what the hunters believed. In a memory of the time, Ryosuke could recall being locked in the cellar, frightened and alone as he tried his best to push the door open. It was never so hard to budge before, and the lock was already picked by him moments prior. He hadn’t known it was because his mother’s body laid lifeless and heavy on the wood, her last attempt at sparing his life was giving her own and taking that of the hunter who laid not too far away. Upon freedom from the makeshift sanctuary, he had learned the truth and so much more.

Through everything, he cried. Newly alone in the world, the boy couldn’t quite feel grateful for being alive. He cursed the hunters and even cursed his mother for protecting him so. At the discovery of his burned down village and slaughtered people, he wanted to join them in death. He wanted to follow them, but in naivety and grief the boy could only pour his emotions out in the form of tears.

Among the ashes and blistered wood of fallen homes, he hadn’t known what drew him to the body of a fallen man at first. Headless and bloodied. Upon crouching beside it, Ryosuke had known in an instant that the man was his father. Call it vampiric instinct or familial love, but he knew. After that, for whatever reason, trauma or an acceptance of reality, his cheeks soon dried in the moments that followed. It was the point where his memory began to get blurred, only knowing that he had finally wandered away from the village on his own right after. The land was desolate and without loved ones to keep him safe. There was no longer a reason to stay.

He was alone.

It was fate’s cruel kindness that led humans to find and take him in.

Since the day of his village’s -- his family’s -- slaughter, Ryosuke could never find himself truly happy. It wasn’t an act of defiance nor even a choice on his end, life just never seemed colorful to the growing pureblood. Perhaps that was why he allowed himself to be captured by the human couple, who thought him to be an orphan. Which he was. They had taken in what they believed to be a normal child in their care.

They would never notice the hint of his slowly but surely growing fangs, hidden behind the frowning lips of a boy that rarely spoke. He was traumatized, they assumed. And, they would be right in such an assumption. Years would pass and the boy became known around that human town as gloomy and depressing to speak with. Yet, the humans that took it upon themselves to be his new parents raised him with patience and care.

“What an odd child they have.” Those around the town would whisper their gossip.

“He’s so eerily quiet. Whenever he comes around my dog starts barking like crazy.”

“Won’t play with the other children either. Perhaps he’s touched in the head.”

To him, they were simply fleeting company in a world that would leave him alone again. They were humans, after all. Ryosuke had never fancied himself a human hater, yet these were the same race of people that took his parents away. The race that hunters came from. It was never in his plan to stay with them for long. It was only a matter of time before they would realize that he aged far too slowly, at any rate.

“Ryosuke, dearest, why won’t you go out and play with the other children?” His human ‘mother’ asked one day. Cursed to be barren, she was especially doting to the boy luck blessed her to find. “Sooner or later you’ll have to make friends in the village.”

The young boy wanted to point out the obvious. That he was stronger than the other children. There was a chance that he could accidentally hurt them. He was faster, and slowing himself down would be a boring burden on himself for the sake of a people he thought of as no more than prey previously. Not to mention, Ryosuke could not afford to stay within the village long enough for any lasting friendship to be worth striving for. It was trivial to even try.

Instead, the child’s face would scrunch every time that question was posed. He would shake his head, purse his lips, and give the usual excuse that crossed his mind. “I don’t like playing outside much...Could I go help father?” Ryosuke would mumble, the unmeant word ‘father’ a squeak in his throat.

The man who adopted him was the village physician. It was often that Ryosuke would spend his days just watching the man work in his makeshift laboratory in the backroom of the home, lending a hand here and there. As much as he would allow a young child to do. It was more entertaining to learn something than to play among children he would eventually forgot, so the boy often opted for this to pass the time.

And, like usual, his human mother would agree; worry over his social life overcome by pride in his following her husband’s footsteps. With a smile and pat on the head, she would send him off to the back without any argument. Still, his successful trickery brought the boy no joy.

It was uncomfortable being there, being around humans who would die off before he even finished coming of age. It was a burden knowing that he was such a big part of their lives, especially as their ‘only child’, but they would only be a severely small part of his own.

He left them nearly four years into his stay. And, even that was a stretch. The vampire appeared the human age of ten at the time they had taken him, and the same when he had gone from them. Questions had begun to rise and be vocalized to the couple, who in turn also became curious despite adamantly assuring everyone he was just youthful in looks.

Ryosuke began to notice more medical books strewed around the house. Bookmarked pages that outlined diseases that kept humans looking like children. Diseases that he certainly did not have, but would be tested for eventually. It was only a matter of time before vampirism was brought up. It was long time for him to go. He had escaped during the night, when both were asleep in their bed.

It was a pain to carry out, and not simply for the inconvenience of it all. Ryosuke had regretted letting himself become caught by the two who just wanted to be his parents. It was an unnecessary chapter in both of their lives. And, through it, they caused him to look upon humans in a different light.

They ‘humanized’ him, to an extent. More than he liked. During his time in the human village, he would venture off and hunt for animals to drink from instead of humans. In that span of three years, he hadn’t drank of human blood once. It was too dangerous to try and seek a target out. He had never even done so by himself before, his true mother and father always providing the hunted for him. He felt like one of them, getting nutrients off animals just as they did with their human meals of hunted venison, pheasant, and other animals that they caught themselves.

His mind, still maturing, emphasized with them and saw them as living beings that functioned just as vampires did. Humans were a rarely talked about subject in vampires clans when it didn’t come to hunting or hunters, so his knowledge and consideration of them was little beforehand.

The intelligent vampire in him felt thankful to them for broadening his mind, while the child that he still was also so very thankful to them for making him feel like a beloved kid again. They found him when his own parents were slaughtered not long ago. How could he not relish in some sort of parental comfort again? Even if it was from the rival species.

Yet, he felt sad for them. The couple. While he took away positives, they only lost a child that meant something to them. His chapter was neutral, positive at best about what he had taken out of this experience. However, they would only take sadness from this. Their ‘child’ was gone, escaped from them into the unknown night.

I’m sorry. He would forever internally apologize to them.

This was how it had to be. This was why it was a pain to leave. If he had just never allowed himself to be found by them in the first place, it would never have to be done. Maybe by now, if he did choose to escape them, he would be used to being alone. Because the loneliness hurt the most. It was as if his family had gotten murdered all over again, tears fresh in the boy’s eyes as he wandered the night and racked his mind on where to go next. No places came to mind, of course. He just had to wing it from there on. Then, a twisted thought crossed his mind.

Maybe he should find another human family.

Nearly thirty-five years passed and Ryosuke aged to eighty-nine years. He’d spent years roaming on his own, finding human families that he spent no more than three or four years with, finding vampires yet never being welcomed in their small clans. The stench of human was too ripe on him, they’d say.

Such a life of forming short bonds, only to leave, and the sting of rejection was beginning to take a toll on his mind. Perhaps it was actually his budding adolescent emotions starting to show. Physically aged to the looks of a human teenager, he speculated it was a peak time in vampiric adolescence -- as if the mood swings weren’t sign enough.

No matter the origin, however, life was beginning to become slower and harder by the day. His loneliness was growing. His agitation with his loneliness was growing. He could no longer trust himself to behave normally around any humans, leaving the lifestyle of family hopping behind decades ago. The smallest things would cause him to grow angry, depressed, and anything in between.

It grew to the point where he would keep a silver dagger of his own handy, wrapped up in cloth that he would unravel every now and then. It made him feel grounded. He would unravel and hold the blade in his hand by the hilt, also made of silver material. His palm would burn, fingers turning just as red as his cheeks would where his mother’s necklace touched. On and off, he did this for what he thought was an odd comfort.

In times like that, he loosely contemplated death. Bartering with himself on whether life was worth living or not. Was that his adolescence speaking or the loneliness within himself? His mind came to no solid conclusions, feeling empty without any cohesive thoughts. All that he felt was dread, the dwindling hope of finding happiness again the growing vampire’s only driving factor.

Such became so habitual that a permanent scar surfaced on his palm, no longer fading back to pink skin but darkening to a shade of dark purples before finally becoming a faded brown. It left his skin marred, but Ryosuke couldn’t find himself to be saddened with the change. Quite the opposite, it stirred a long lost feeling of excitement within him. It made him feel alive. So, the behavior continued to his heart’s content.

Until, one day.

“The fuck are you doing, kid?!” Someone caught him with the dagger one moonlit evening.

On the grass, surrounded by what he thought was the security of a secluded forest, he sat under an oak tree. His bag of belongings served as a cushion between him and the hard oak, trusty dagger in palm. He hadn’t noticed the presence of another before it was too late; the young pureblood grabbed by the collar as an alarmed gasp left him. Ryosuke promptly dropped his weapon to reach for the foreign hands.

The stranger raised him to his feet before loosening the tight grip, allowing Ryosuke to take a good look at who his assailant was. He let out a noise of complaint, eyes glaring at the man who studied him with a stern expression. He was a little older, not much taller, and not to mention scrawny as all hell. It made the pureblood wonder how on earth the man could even raise him from the ground at all. A growing vampire he was, Ryosuke was still on the burlier side. At least, slightly. The only explanation was one; that this man was another vampire. He looked much older than Ryosuke too, appearing to be in his late twenties.

And, by the faint yet pleasant smell of him, he was another pureblood.

Ryosuke huffed in annoyance and tore his eyes from the other, moving away in a quick motion to pick up the dagger. The other vampire was faster, however, snatching up the weapon before he could even get close to it. A taunting smile was given to him, done more in lighthearted jest than anything malicious, but Ryosuke still didn’t have it in him to give any other reaction than passive agitation.

“Tch,” The young vampire raised an eyebrow before finally sparing the elder another glance. He made no move to get the weapon back, purposefully taking the situation less seriously than he should’ve. He was likely in the other vampire’s territory, a usual story. It was a secluded forest, yes, but that was a hideout of choice for small vampire clans. The land was just so vast that Ryosuke had thought he’d have met any vampires that lived there long ago. “Go ahead, take it, but I’m not hostile.” Was all he spared the other, already tired of talking from those few words. The depression that had been weighing on his mind was heavy, too heavy to deal with a potential scuffle -- especially with a vampire more experienced.

The lanky vampire’s smile faded, likely finding Ryosuke’s compliant behavior strange. It was then that he truly took a good look at the younger, taking in his apathetic aura, dirtied skin, and ratty clothes. Signs of a vampire without a clan to look after him, signs of a vampire not knowledgeable enough of the world to live on his own. “I’m wondering why some brat is alone in my woods hurting himself,” The vampire began, twirling the blade in his hand to point the hilt at Ryosuke accusingly. “That’s not normal. Somethin’ wrong with you in the head?”

Ryosuke quickly reached for the dagger, only to have it pulled away once again. Clenching his fists, he still did nothing more against the elder vampire; save for giving a half-hearted glare. Even if he wanted to, he didn’t think he could take on the other. Not when a silver dagger did nothing to the man’s skin. Not a tinge of pink or red showed beneath the silver of the knife.

Despite his previous ministrations, it made him feel jealous.

Such a sign signaled a much stronger vampire, similar to his parents. A vampire that he was destined to be weaker than. A fate determined by birth. This vampire had to be older by several centuries.

Could he perhaps be...a true vampire?

No. He couldn’t be, they were likely long gone. His own parents were one of the few left.

Face marred with a frown, Ryosuke’s look was almost one of envy as he turned away from the other to leave. “Keep it.” His hand waved lazily, giving up all together before the vampire’s voice halted his retreating steps.

“Hold on a second.”

He turned back, seeing the vampire wave him over with his own lazy hand. The young pureblood paused before adhering to the elder, figuring that he had nothing better to do and no where good to go in the first place. He had a makeshift home that he’d built and would venture back to, but sometimes going back there proved more taxing on his mind than traveling. It was a constant reminder that he was alone. Vampires always lived amongst each other, they were never meant to live alone.

“Yeah?” The boy asked, sparing a few moments more for the seemingly docile vampire. Others would sooner chase him out of their territory than talk to him civilly.

“You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?”

Not turning back to fully face the man, Ryosuke merely eyed him suspiciously.

The man had no problem waiting for him to speak before finally growing impatient. “I asked you a question, kid.” He rolled his eyes. “Do you have a clan or not? You’re looking pretty beat up. Not exactly the time to be proud or anything.”

Ryosuke’s eyes shot to the ground, knowing the other’s words to be true, before coming up once again. “No,” His voice was weaker than before. “I don’t have anything.” The admittance should’ve been easy, this having been his reality for over twenty years, but it was still his life. He was alone and had been for a long time. It wasn’t an easy or good life. Vampires shunned him, never being kind to those not born in their clan and especially careful of vampires in unpredictable adolescence. Humans would fear him and he lived constantly on edge of running into, or being hunted by, vampire hunters. No, life was not good on his own and it took a toll on him.

The vampire gave him one more once over, seeming to think on something before he tilted his head in a ‘come here’ motion. “Let’s go then. You can come with me to my clan.” It was easy as that.

It took Ryosuke’s mind a good minute to process the elder’s words, his brooding glare soon turning into a stunned blink. He couldn’t have heard right. “...Huh?” The boy questioned, now fully turning his body to face the other. “Did--...What?”

“It’s alright,” The elder vampire couldn’t help but laugh at the change in his demeanor. “In my clan, we don’t mind taking in younger ones like you. While everyone else is scared, we want to help you. Someone’s got to take you troublemakers in. Now, come on.” He didn’t wait for another answer from Ryosuke, turning on his heel with the dagger in hand.

Hesitation halted the young vampire’s steps for a second. But, it was merely that; a second.

The elder vampire, Nino was what they called him, had taken Ryosuke to a castle located further into the shrouded forest. So dense, maze-like, and tall was the forest that he would never have found the six story tall residence on his own. Though he couldn’t say that the gloomy castle felt more welcoming than his natal village, it was a home that was being extended to him. It caused the young vampire to feel in a way that even the humans never rose from him. Not when he knew that he’d have to leave them someday. Here, he wouldn’t have to leave nor fear them dying before him. This place gave him a glimpse of hope.

This was a place truly meant for his kind. He wouldn’t be alone.

The young vampire tried not to cry all through the tour of the castle, passing by several other clansmen. Some ignored him, but a select few smiled and welcomed him. He tried to remember their faces. There weren’t so many kind smiles that greeted him since he was a child.

The tears finally let loose once Nino showed him to his room and impatiently told him to go clean up. Ryosuke’s lips pressed together and his head lowered in a prideful attempt to keep the other from seeing, but Nino saw. With a brief pat to the shoulder, the elder vampire turned to leave the younger to his own devices. The dagger was still held tightly in Nino’s hand. Ryosuke would never see it again.

“It’ll get better from here.” Was all the man said before he left the room.

His ease into the clan was slow and cautious. Being around others of his kind for such an extended period of time took a while for him to adjust to, used to the fleeting moments of people coming in and out of his life. Vampires and humans alike.

Ryosuke had come to find out that there were plenty of members in the large clan, and it took him a good week to meet all of them. They seemed to pop out of the woodworks. Whenever he thought he’d met everyone, someone else seemed to come right around the corner.

It was lively there. And, he loved it.

“Waaaahhhhhh!”

The growing vampire had been sitting idle on the parlor couch, book in hand, when the ear wrenching noise was heard. Ryosuke didn’t have to look far to see who it was, as said person had lain themselves right on the wooden floor in front of him. Dramatically, might he add. The other members in the common room, save for a few, went on about their business as if nothing was wrong. And, truly, nothing was wrong. It was just another result of adolescence, causing outbursts such as this. And, no one could cause an outburst like Mayu, the vampire that had fallen. She had a reputation of being the worst able to control her adolescence. He only remembered her because she was one of the kind faces that greeted him in the beginning.

And, obviously, because she was known for having fits like this.

Blinking in disbelief, Ryosuke had to remind himself to get used to times like this. “Mayu,” He dared to call her name. “Are you alright?” It seemed as good a time as any to ask, right?

“Too cute...” Head held down in the crook of her arm, Mayu made no move to get up as she mumbled the words. Her voice indicated distress, but her words told otherwise.

He was afraid to go on. “Eh?”

She only whined before slowly picking herself up from the floor. “Rino is too cute today.” The vampire he knew as Mayu finished, looking absolutely heartbroken. “She made a flower crown and was wearing it in the garden. She offered to make me one....but, I ran away!” Cue the loud sobbing as Mayu promptly sat herself on the couch next to him, hands rubbing at her falling tears.

“Oh,” Ryosuke, trying to be friendly, couldn’t pry more words from himself at the trivial confession. Having love interests and the like were already something he didn’t much relate to. There was a girl back in his natal village that he had a crush on, but that was so long ago and just a childish thing. Even then, he had guts enough to talk to her; making him relate to Mayu even less. “Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?” He went on and spoke his thoughts.

She stopped crying for long enough to send him a curt look, somehow offended. “I can’t just do that!” Mayu said, giving a hard sigh. “She likes someone else, someone not like me at all. I have no chance...You wouldn’t understand.”

Ryosuke’s eyebrows raised, wondering what Mayu meant by not like her. Honestly, he didn’t know her well enough to give it any real thought and decided to simply agreed with her instead. “Ah, sure...” He nodded his head hesitantly. A figure heading over to them took the rest of his attention, eyes moving to see one of the older vampires in the clan. Well, slightly older. It was Kota, another vampire who made it a point to be friendly with Ryosuke since his first day.

“Are you two alright?” Kota asked, giving one of his usual eye smiles. It was a bit needless to ask Mayu was she alright, because she almost never was, but Kota was just the type of person to always hear someone out. He was a sort of brother figure to the younger ones in the clan, even though he could be silly himself at times.

Ryosuke answered for the both of them. “We’re fine, Mayu was just venting to me.” He shot a glance to the other, only to realize that she had been glaring at some guy seated next to his friends by the fire. Ryosuke couldn’t remember his name, however. Sengo? Senga? Either way, Mayu wasn’t planning to answer Kota herself at the moment. “Uh, did you need something?” He turned his attention back to the other, a sheepish smile apparent.

The older boy nodded, motioning with a hand for Ryosuke to stand up. “Yep, it’s time for your medicine. Sho and the others are waiting.” He referenced to Sho, one of the eldest and founding members of the clan. Taking a moment to look at Mayu, Kota tried to get through to her. “Are you sure you’re alright, Mayu?”

“Mm.” Mayu only grunted her response like the teenage vampire she was, feet kicking ever so slightly while she sat.

The two boys exchanged a look. Whether that was a ‘girls will be girls’ or an ‘adolescent vampires will be adolescent vampires’ look, one could only guess. Ryosuke followed close behind Kota, leaving the lively parlor and into the candlelit hallways.

“How are you liking it here?” The older sparked some conversation.

It had been a month since Nino had taken Ryosuke into the clan, so it was well long enough for him to form an opinion of the place. “Well, I never expected to live in a castle...” The words slipped from his mouth before he realized, too busy taking in the tall corridors of the hall. He wasn’t too concerned about it, however, being truthful.

Kota laughed. “That’s one perk, I guess. I’ve been here pretty long, so I kind of forget how big this place is. For anyone new, I’m sure it’s really surprising, huh? It was the same for me in the past.” A couple of younger vampires ran past them, playing tag and giggling among themselves. “I know we have our fair share of...interesting vamps.” He eluded back to Mayu. “But, it’s only a part of growing up. They don’t stay this way forever. Soon enough, they’ll become more tame versions of what you see now. Their real selves, you can say.”

Ryosuke couldn’t say much on the topic, or even speak out and say anything against Mayu. He was going through the same, yet better at keeping it to himself. At least, now he was. After all, the time where Nino found him in the forest wasn’t lost to him; having happened such a short time ago. His emotions were unstable then too, making him toy with his body to just feel something. Anything. The medication that they gave at this clan helped treat that, and he was grateful to them for that. He was grateful to Nino for that.

It seemed as if Kota read his mind, for the topic of said vampire came up. “Nino speaks highly of you. He said you’re pretty agile and strong. Well, from what he saw when you sparred with the others during exercises.” A thought seemed to pass his mind. “He said it passing, but it’s pretty rare to get a compliment out of him. I’d be happy with that.”

Ryosuke’s eyes perked up, eyebrows raised. Though grateful he was, he hadn’t quite gotten the opportunity to see Nino very much. It was both a mixture of his own shyness, waiting for the elder to approach him, and for the pure fact that Nino himself was elusive. Many in the clan said if he wasn’t among his fellow elder vampires, then he was likely holed up in his room. It was hard to keep up with a person like that. “Oh?” He said dumbly before a little smile crinkled his lips. “I can’t tell myself. Being around vampires and training with you guys is pretty new to me. Compared to another vampire, I don’t know if I’m above or below average.”

A confused look was sent his way. “Really? No one else sparred with you before you came here?” Kota had to ask, confusion marking his sharp features.

Ryosuke shrugged, trying to word his sentences well. “I...” He hesitated. “I pretty much grew up by myself, hopping to and from whatever human family would be fooled enough to take me in. Humans don’t usually spar, at least not without weapons. And, if there weren’t weapons, then it would be unfair to whoever I fought.” The pureblood stared down at the palms of his hands as he walked, reminded of how different he was. From vampires and humans both.

The older vampire said nothing, maybe searching in his own head for where he could take the conversation next. Ryosuke didn’t sense pity from him, but instead Kota’s own cautious nature. The other seemed to sense how sensitive this topic was getting, and wanted to steer away from it for the younger’s sake.

They silently passed the entryway to the girls’ dorm, not a few steps past before a startled gasp caused Ryosuke’s head to turn and search for the source. Standing there was a girl who seemed around his age, a short, black, bob and childish eyes donning her features. She wasted no time in hurrying over to him -- only for her fingers to meet his cheeks in a pinch.

“Uwa! Kota, look at his cheeks!” She gushed, laughing at the incredulous expression that just crossed Ryosuke’s face. “He’s so adorable! I’ve never seen him around before though. He’s new, right?”

“Masaki, no!” The darkening face of said new vampire not going under his sight, Kota gave a nervous chuckle before reaching to pull away this so called ‘Masaki’ girl away from Ryosuke.

She gave no fight, an oblivious smile that matched the airy glint in her eyes. “I’m just saying...” Masaki gave a slight bow of apology that she might or might not have meant, Ryosuke couldn’t be sure.

What a brat...

The offended vampire rubbed his cheek, somewhat annoyed. Back when he lived with humans, at least one person in the family would mention his pudgy cheeks. He was slowly growing out of them, features becoming more gaunt with age, but he couldn’t be surprised. The perpetrator had never been another vampire, however.

Honestly, Ryosuke wanted to say something. Maybe give a sharp quip to the rude girl or maybe even look past what she did and properly greet her. Be the bigger person. However, his annoyance just seemed to grow by the second before becoming the burning spark of anger. It was more than the situation called for and it he knew it. Why couldn’t he have found something like this funny instead? Or even just embarrassing? He was angry at himself, just hearing of what a good vampire he was.

Nino wouldn’t be proud of this. He thought with a growing frown.

Annoying. The word rang in his head like a horn. Kota said something to Masaki that he couldn’t catch, too deep into his own thoughts. He was in such a good mood, even Mayu didn’t get on his nerves that day, then this kid comes along. Annoying. Before he knew it, the area went quiet and it was only then that the boy realized he was giving Masaki a hard glare; catching the attention of even Kota. Ryosuke cast his eyes down to the floor, knowing that it was his adolescence causing the irrational spark in his emotions.

Masaki allowed a confused look to pass her features before the smile came back. “Uh oh, it’s time for someone’s medicine!” She teased.

Gods take him now. Ryosuke wasted no more time in sharply brushing pass her onward, so quickly that he could feel the self-induced breeze at his skin. Shoulders just barely touching, Masaki moved back abruptly in paranoia of being collided with, the short heels of her white boots resounding on the stone floor. It made him almost want to apologize for the brusque gesture. Almost. In the short distance, he heard Kota give a dubious farewell to the girl before the older vampire finally caught up with his stride.

“Uh, sorry about that. She’s just--” Kota tried to explain.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ryosuke dismissed the topic all together, just wanting to get his medicine and get it fast. It was likely the same thing that was wrong with Mayu, and himself, and everyone else in this clan. Growing up.

It definitely was lively there.

Finding out the truth behind the medicine was a mistake.

That was hindsight for Ryosuke, wishing now that he had never known about what he clung to so dearly. Back then, he considered it what saved his life. Now, he considered it what ruined his life. The day Nino trusted him with the secret of the clan was the day his life changed forever, in more than one way.

He had been living in the clan for what seemed like around one hundred years. He’d been trying to count, but the years seemed to blur together. There were so many things he knew now that he didn’t know then. He didn’t think that far.

The prefect system had recently been integrated into the clan. It wasn’t enough to just have an eldest vampire, Nino had said. At the time, Nino was only one of the eldest. The ‘power’ was shared between himself and four other elder vampires; Sho, Jun, Aiba, and Satoshi. Satoshi was the eldest. As the eldest, they served as overseers of the clan, but kept things fairly democratic and relaxed. There was no true leader or master, just those with more experience that were respected. As more vampires were inducted into the clan, however, the five felt as if they needed help in managing the growing castle population.

Being an already unofficial supervisor, it was no surprise to anyone that Kota gained the title of prefect. An older girl, Rino, also gained the title. It was decided that there would be two boys and two girls, each in charge of their respective gender’s dorm. Mayu, who had calmed down in recent years gained the second prefect title next to Rino.

Ryosuke was a shoe in for the second prefect title of the boy’s dorm, both having gained the trust of Nino and getting a good word put in by Kota. Throughout the years, he was loyal and proved to have a level head on his shoulders.

He’d come a long way from the boy who Nino found in the woods.

“Me and my friends,” Nino was referring to his fellow elder vampires. He had called Ryosuke into the kitchen one day, which was strange to the younger vampire. Little did he know of the secret corridor that led to the basement, where Nino took him to that day. “We’ve spent years working on this medicine...and, I should probably tell you how it works. Listen,” His eyes were serious, more serious than Ryosuke had ever known Nino to be. He sat at a desk, among several tubes and tomes in what looked to be a makeshift laboratory.

The medicine laid dormant in various containers, ranging from clear flasks to the tiny brown, glass, vials that they were familiar with. He had never known how red the medicine was until now. A rich red, so familiar.

“I don’t know how many times I went through this talk, but you’re the last person I plan to have it with.” Nino continued, a smirk crossing his somber face when he saw Ryosuke’s own expression go panicked. “Calm down, I’m not dying or anything. This cycle has just gone on long enough. I’ve told Kota,” He paused, looking up lazily. “Well, actually, Aiba told Kota by mistake. Anyway! I explained it to Kota, then I told that girl, Rino, then Mayu pretty much found out by mistake. Basically, all of my prefects know this information. And, now, you’ll know it too. Whether or not you want to accept it is up to you, however.” A sigh was given before Nino gave Ryosuke’s figure a studying glance. “But, I think you’ll accept it just fine. At least, I’m hoping so.”

Ryosuke’s hand subconsciously raised, fingers touching his throat at the mention of the medicine. Should he have been afraid of what he was going to hear? Perhaps. It was only outweighed by his trust of Nino. “What did you want to tell me?” He asked, hand relaxing down to his side. At that moment, he had already made the decision on whether to follow Nino or not. Right or wrong. What he wanted next was only an explanation.

For years, the young man’s gratefulness turned into loyalty. Loyalty turned into admiration. Nino, lanky in build and cloistered in personality as he was, had become a figure that Ryosuke grew to look up to. With that came a blind trust. Maybe he was just curious about the medicine. Maybe he was just assured that, whatever it was, it couldn’t be very bad as he still felt fine after taking the medicine for so many years.

Maybe he just wanted to keep Nino’s approval, having it for so many years.

Nino’s smirk died down, a moment of quiet passing before he finally opened his mouth. “The medicine that we give you doesn’t only calm down the symptoms of adolescence. Another affect is that it will make you stop aging, among other things.”

Stop aging...? Ryosuke’s mouth couldn’t form the words, shock racking his system.

Nino shook his head, looking almost ashamed as his gaze went towards the wall. It wasn’t long before he fixed it into an impassive one. “Believe me when I say that I don’t like to lie, okay? It’s just something we’ve had to do since we started this clan...See, you’ve actually been in this clan for three hundred and twenty-three years...I counted.” He tossed a look back. “We just reset your memories every one hundred years to make you believe that you’ve only been here for almost a century -- close to the end of your adolescence. How we do that...How I do that is through a power that true vampires have. It’s called Initiative. With Initiative, if you’re powerful enough, you can control weaker minded vampires and humans to do whatever you wish. You can even alter their memories.”

At this point, he allowed himself to look guilty. Nino’s eyes were full of nothing but apology. “I only use this power when absolutely necessary. Believe me on that. We just wanted to make sure our medicine worked, and how else to do what but make sure you all stay long enough for us to see results.” He paused. “And, you, Ryosuke...You actually haven’t aged a day since you turned two hundred. The medicine is working.”

The vampire still couldn’t bring himself to do more than keep silent, words on the tip of his tongue yet mouth glued shut with awe. Here he was, thinking that he was nearly reaching his two hundredth year. Come to find out, he had not only long passed it, but even his physical body was aged just beyond it. His mind was telling him that he should feel afraid, that he should feel angry, but he didn’t.

This was how it should’ve been all along.

It dawned on him. Not aging equaled immortality, what he should’ve had all along. What his parents had before vampire hunters took their lives prematurely with a silver blade to the heart. What his long dead older brother had before his own life was taken. What fate had decided to take from Ryosuke himself the moment he was born.

Immortality was Ryosuke’s birthright as a pureblood vampire -- and Nino was giving it to him.

Something in the young man’s expression shifted ever so slightly, and Nino seemed to catch it. The elder went on with a more confident tone. “We’ve been working on this formula for years, my friends and I. It’s supposed to restore the powers of vampires, make us how we used to be.” He lifted a smaller vial, taking in the red liquid. “Make you all how we used to be -- true vampires.”

True vampires. That was a topic Ryosuke hadn’t heard of in a long time, but he knew it well. “You want to restore the vampiric bloodline?” It was a rhetorical question, but perhaps he just wanted to hear it again. It made him almost giddy to say, feeling as if the blood in his veins was so much more powerful than moments before.

Wait a minute.

“Nino...” Ryosuke paused, taking a curious step forward in the candlelit basement. Well, laboratory. “What do you mean ‘how we used to be’? It can’t be what I think you mean...”

In his same old passive way, the elder vampire merely grinned and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah, if you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking then it’s correct. I am a true vampire.” Another sigh left his lips, the ceiling the new attraction of choice to him currently. “And, you know...You really don’t want to know how long I’ve been on this planet. You really don’t. But, I’m the only one. Sho and the others...they’re not true vampires. And, I can’t tell you where the others I used to know are these days. If they’re anywhere at all. I just have myself, my friends, and this clan. That’s fine by me...It wasn’t even my idea to create this medicine. It was Sho’s, but we’ve all put our minds together to make it what it is today.”

Despite what Nino said, the loneliness radiating from him was palpable. It was a feeling that Ryosuke knew so well, from first knowing it at such a young age until the point where he felt accepted into the clan. In that moment, Nino reminded Ryosuke of how he used to be -- and he wanted nothing more than to help the other however he could.

Mind already set, Ryosuke spoke up. “I understand. I’ll help in whatever way I can.” He swore his loyalty to the elder vampire. It wasn’t just a matter of loyalty to simply Nino at that moment. The cause was one that the pureblood could wholly support. Vampires needed to be restored to what they once were, he firmly believed that.

Or, rather, he firmly wanted that.

However, this is wrong. A voice in the back of his mind chimed that in. A voice that he ignored. No one but the elders and the prefects would know of the true reason behind the medicine. Surely, not everyone would even want eternal life. Vampires everywhere now knew that immortality was gone from them. It stopped with their parents, perhaps even grandparents. They were used to a limited time on earth and more vulnerability to the world. They were more human now. Even he was humanized to an extent, but Ryosuke had always resented that. He didn’t want his time with the clan to sometime end and be sent on his own back into the world. He didn’t want to eventually die off, especially of ‘old age’.

This clan was similar to his natal village, vampires living together. This was how it should be.

Forever, he wanted this to be their own little utopia.

“Can I ask, though,” Ryosuke went on. “What’s in the medicine that restores our powers?”

Nino only gave a wry grin.

“My blood.”

Ending Song: “The Sky is High and the Wind Sings” by Luna Haruna – Lyrics

Non-HSJ Cast List:

Ninomiya Kazunari – Member of Arashi

Matsuoka Mayu – Actress

Sashihara Rino – Member of AKB48

Sato Masaki – Member of Morning Musume

#yamada ryosuke #yabu kota #in aeturnum #i didn't plan for this to be out before keito's in aeturnum fic but ah well #hey say jump #hey! say! jump #drabble #multi chapter fic #mod l