Fog hasn’t attended school for about a week now. While Katsu and Claude maintain regular appearances, the changing vampiress was far too bedridden to healthily attend school. Furthermore, she refused to take the blood supplements that Claude continued to insist on, which meant that her change could only become more painful than it needed to be. With another failed attempt at feeding her blood, Claude sighed and left the home with Katsu to attend school for the day.

The school had invited some rather peculiar guests that day.

The new visitors were dragging everyone’s attention in the halls. Nobody had ever seen them before, and their presences alone served to be imposing. Claude was casting wary gazes at them as he and Katsu headed to their lunch period, meeting with Sky and Gadget, as they usually tended to nowadays. Jealous glares trailed to Katsu’s lunch table, along with several other girls who were eyeing Claude and Sky, mentally pushing them together and giggling at their imaginations. The four were practically the eye-catchers of the school.

This, of course, grabbed the attention of the visitors as well.

One of the brown-furred visitors whispered to another, a white-furred blonde wearing a golden cross necklace, signifying his namesake. The two of them nodded at each other before starting towards their table with their third companion, glancing at other students as they passed. Claude muttered something quickly to Katsu before the three reached them, and the Kyuketsuki Heir smoothly offered them the four empty seats at their table. The three sat down.
A murmur passed through the lunch group, rumours and theories passing among students as they all watched the popular senior and the visitors. Sky was growing uneasy, but forced that unease down to instead listen to the conversation that was sparking between the charistmatic Katsu and the blonde guest of the school.
“So, you’re the mysterious visitors who’ve been walking among the students all of today, am I correct?” A slight nod from the blonde signified that Katsu was indeed correct in his assumption, and his blank faced comrade looked at the other three at the table - Claude, who was also surveying the newcomers as if they were threats; Sky, who looked confused as to why they had garboured so much attention; Gadget, who seemed friendly, speaking in a happy tone to the redheaded visitor sitting next to the blonde.
“It’s important. Safety precautions.” The blank-faced mouse with the brown fur said after looking over Katsu’s friends, not giving them room to prod for more information.
“Safety against… vampires?” Gadget tried carefully, pursing her lips immediately afterward for saying the word out loud. Surprisingly, Claude was the one to flinch, despite his usually-calm demanor.
“Yes.” The blonde - Elliot, Katsu had learned - responded. “Simply put, we’re vampire hunters.”

The table went dead silent.

Gadget was fiddling with her hands to keep from looking at the suddenly-terrifying visitors. Vampire hunters. She thought. They’ll kill me. The black-furred vampiress adjusted her scarf, hiding her mouth and fangs. Claude glanced at Katsu from the corner of his eye. The Kyuketsuki Heir seemed far from fazed; in fact, he was smirking. They had to be careful how they went about this; everything had to play out perfectly, like the simulation in Katsu’s head.
“Vampire hunters? What an interesting choice of career.” Katsu chided, inspecting his nails as the redhead whispered in Elliot’s ear. “Must be dangerous. I mean, they’re supposedly extremely deadly, and all.” Sky could sense something off about his place in the scenario, but he couldn’t place it; Gadget seemed nervous, Claude was on-edge, and Katsu was… well, Katsu didn’t seem very different, if he was being honest, but he was being fairly aggressive in how he was coming onto the slayers.
There was an unseen, strange air about the way that Katsu and Elliot were looking at one another. A hostility above any fathomable purpose, as if it were natural. The pureblooded vampire was smirking nonchalantly as he usually tended to, meeting the slayer’s sapphire gaze in a perfect, even manner. Elliot - for any reason, he couldn’t quite place it - was wary, on-edge - Katsu unnerved him greatly. Scott - the redhead sitting beside Elliot who’d been smiling and chatting with Gadget just minutes before - was silent now, although more innocently so, looking a bit confused as to why the energetic girl he’d been speaking with was suddenly shy and silent. Sky, on the other paw, was merely dumbfounded and rather confused at the strange, out-of-his-world experience he felt was currently happening. It was unnerving, as if the lunchroom had been deafened and the world had zoomed in on just the six mice in front of him.
“They are dangerous.” Elliot spoke after roughly two minutes of uncomfortable silence, shaggy blonde hair hanging in his face and obscuring the shadows in his eyes. “Very dangerous. That’s why you’re on this side of the Border. To be protected.”
Katsu’s smirk grew, but just slightly. If only things were as simple as that; the world would be so much nicer. If only vampires fed within the borders, then Akira wouldn’t be floundering about trying to fix things with solutions that were as meaningless as they sounded. If only the slayers weren’t as naive, then perhaps they would accomplish so much more. It amused the Kyuketsuki Heir, in all honesty, that they would even try - mortals, with their weak bodies and frail minds - to kill off a race much larger and more powerful than them. Of course, he approved of neither side; he didn’t approve of his parents, who wanted to rule the world, or the mortals, who wanted to exterminate the intrusion of pests that were vampire kind.
“Oh? But I do live on the other side of the Border, you know.” The white-furred vampire spoke nonchalantly, inspecting his claws. “Does that make it dangerous for a frail little mortal like me? What if they come knocking at my door - what then?”
Elliot seemed irked. The satisfaction that Katsu felt at this was hidden, but he continued to watch his claws’ reflection of the light with seemingly-endless interest. “Mortals who live on the other side of the Border are volunteers.” The slayer said after a moment, clearing his throat. “In case you weren’t aware.”
“If I wasn’t aware, why, I don’t think I’d live there. Of course, it’s my parents’ decision, so who am I to speak?” Katsu glanced at Claude out of the corner of his eye. His servant was tense, and eating his lunch to avoid saying anything. He knew that Claude panicked much more than he did personally, but it was unfitting of a butler to tell his master what was right and wrong, so he usually said nothing. Humming in thought, the student looked back to Elliot. “Maybe it’s against my will? Ooo, spooky.~”
The brown-furred slayer accompanying Elliot and Scott eyed Katsu with suspicion, but said nothing if he had a thought on the matter, returning to inspecting the book in his hands. He didn’t look too cold, but at the same time, he had narrow eyes and an expression so neutral that it was almost intimidating. Gadget glanced at Sky, a little alarmed to see how he merely stared in silence at the group. She didn’t blame him, personally - the entire situation felt as though it were happening in another world.
“If that’s the case, then it can be arranged to have you mov-”
“No, no. That’s not needed. After all, if I’m attacked, then maybe one of you will valiantly swoop in to save me!” The vampire almost laughs at his sarcasm; obviously, Elliot hadn’t picked up on his previous statement’s tone, either. And this is supposedly the leader of the big, bad slayers who are out to get us? Mister serious-as-still-as-a-stock-photo? “Well, that and I can defend myself, of course. I don’t need some saviour, especially one who looks as weak as you.”
Elliot’s eyes narrowed. Katsu smirked in turn. Getting the slayers to perhaps investigate him was easy enough, but taking them out looked like it’d be a joke. Elliot was lanky and thin, and though Scott had more muscle, he didn’t seem too scary, either - at least, not against a vampire, especially a pureblood. The only enigma was the brown-furred male, who hadn’t given his name. However, the Kyuketsuki heir could tell that he couldn’t be too threatening, either. He’s a mortal. How scary can he be? Ha.
Katsu stands up as the bell rings, signifying the end of the lunch period. With a false, cheery grin, he gathers his things and steps away from the table. “It was nice talking with you. Bye now!”
Elliot glared after him as he leaves, Scott giving his fellow slayer an uneasy glance. The Kyuketsuki Heir didn’t look back, chatting nonchalantly with his servant.

“When we get back, run a background check, Alex.”

“Whatever you say, Sir.”

Fog would be the first vampire to admit that they hated being a vampire. She found herself, in the past week, violently tossing and turning in Katsu’s provided bed and aggressively grumbling about her changing, all the while ignoring Claude’s fervent fretfulness and Katsu’s offers of food. She could smell the blood in it; a sharp difference in scent as opposed to the faint sweetness of white bread and the sharper scent of cheese, among other vividly-scented ingredients.
She hadn’t eaten in what she was sure was a week and a half, and the gnawing agony of doing so was nearly more than it was worth. She was coldhearted - that much she would honestly admit - but accepting Katsu’s offer for blood only meant acceptance to the fate that she hadn’t chosen, and that would simply not do. After all, acceptance meant defeat.
As Fog dreaded another day of writhing about with hunger and changing pains in bed, she pondered her options of escape. She was starving, sure, but a week without food was nothing unordinary to her. Though her captors (she refused to call them anything otherwise, much to Claude’s distaste,) were purebloods and well-fed - and powerful, at that - escape was still pliable if she slipped out underneath their noses. Power meant nothing if there was no fight.
As Fog pondered this, the sound of the ornate silver-lined front doors closing alerted Fog to her captors’ arrival, and she chose to focus on their voices instead of her thoughts. Though muffled due to the distance, the vampiress could catch enough to determine that, annoyingly, they were both coming to her room to check on her. She let herself rest, listening to the acute taps of their light footsteps against the polished marble floors. She’d learned to tell the different between their gaits; Katsu walked with a longer stride - a cocky gait practiced through arrogance and nobility - whereas Claude walked with a shorter stride, almost nervous but still somehow calm; a servant’s shyness.
However, today, Katsu’s stride was just slightly shorter, and his claws made louder taps on the floor. He was angry - this much Fog could tell.
She was given little time to ponder more, as her chamber doors opened with a short-tempered shove from Katsu. Claude was a single pace behind, a silver tray in hand that held a porcelain teaset that would look more at home in a dollhouse than Katsu’s dark and nearly-oppressive manor - polished white with ornate silver roses embellished on their shiny surfaces and carefully-painted lines of gold lacing the rims of the cups and teapot.
Upon their entrance, Fog pointedly shifted, turning her back to them and instead staring out of the window next to her bed, which gave her a narrow view of the Kyuketsuki family’s elaborate gardens. She chose to focus on the winding design of the cobblestone path that served as a way to traverse the twisting flowerbeds and trees. From her room’s window, she could see the locked front gate, its gothic blacksteel spires reaching in vain towards the bright azure sky. Just inside the locked premises were the signature feature of the gardens, at least in Fog’s opinion - roses, cerise and shining bright crimson in the sun. Their petals seemed to catch the sunlight perfectly, drinking in its vibrant rays only to bloom brighter.
Fog was, unfortunately, given little time to drink in the rest of the sight, distracted by the light clinking of porcelain against silver and glass. Her ear twitched only faintly to signify that she was aware of her captors’ presences, although she continued to ignore them in favour of absently staring at the gardens outside, no longer paying attention to what she was seeing. Her undergrown wings - still developing - were folded tightly to her back as to avoid letting them catch Katsu and Claude’s attention.
“Really, you should pay more attention to me, Fog. It hurts my heart.” Katsu’s somewhat chilling tone cut into the peaceful silence of Claude pouring tea. She could hear his underlying anger, which she guessed he was supressing in favour of trying to woo her over with that false charm also laying in his tone. Unfortunately for him, Fog Tsukuda was not a moron.
“You mean the heart that’s most likely a black hole in your chest, sucking away your ability to actually give a shit?” Fog’s retort was sharp and crude, although it wasn’t unlike her usual personality. Fog was always known for her fiery temper and pointed words, after all. Claude stayed silent; this argument was not his to enter, nor was he sure that his master would appreciate it in the least.
Katsu frowned sharply at her response. In the back of his mind, he mused that he should’ve killed her when he had the chance, but he unfortunately noted that murder was more trouble than it was worth. It’s always thrilling at first, but the aftermath is bothersome and harrowing.
“Your words are sharper than the fangs growing in your mouth.” The pale-furred vampire sat down on the edge of the bed, much to Fog’s distaste. It was easy to tell from the slight shift away from the pureblood that Fog obviously disliked him. Katsu wasn’t surprised in the least, but it still almost stung.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have used yours to bite me.” Fog’s response this time was quieter, a bit more secluded, but still laced with ice. However, this slight weakness failed to slip past Katsu, as did everything when it came to conversation. He was a sponge; he soaked up everything, and nothing got past him.
“You seem sad about it.” Katsu layed back, his head mere inches from Fog’s. The vampiress consequently shifted again, putting more distance between them.
“I guess I am. I don’t know.” Fog’s tone was flat as she replied, masking her emotion, most likely a precaution taken after her slip-up. Katsu had the urge to whistle out of impressedness, but decided against it. She’d most likely take it as an insult, after all.
“You don’t know?” Katsu rolled over, facing Fog’s back. She shivered as his breath gently carressed her neck and sat up to get away from it, her blanket still draped over her shoulders to obscure her wings from view.
“Yes, creep, I don’t know!” Her mask had vanished in place of offence; a mistake on Katsu’s part. The vampire sighed, continuing to stare in the direction he was laying, watching the trees in the distance of the window’s view sway listlessly in the breeze.
As Katsu rolled over again to sit up, he watched Fog take a tentative sniff of the teacup Claude had offered her before sipping it. He was almost offended; Fog never accepted anything from him, be it blood-tainted or otherwise, but she seemed softer when it came to the lesser vampire that served him.
He sat up with an irritated sigh, but said nothing as Claude offered him tea, instead choosing to sip from the gold-rimmed cup and glance at Fog from the corner of his eye. There was nothing noble about her movements; she forewent the handle of the teacup in favour of holding it in the palm of her paw, although she somehow managed to seem faintly ladylike in how she sipped her tea. Claude, as per usual, said nothing to correct her, and Katsu was sure that if he made an attempt that he’d be slapped.
Tea failed to last long, and was cut even shorter by a sharp cringe from Fog that forcibly loosened her grip on her teacup. The half-full cup had slipped from her hand and was sent hurtling towards the floor, but quick enough reflexes from Claude assured that the precious porcelain would live to see another day, stained with tea as it was. Rather than apologizing after the event, Fog merely layed down again, curling into her blankets and staring out of the window. Katsu had said nothing as Claude cleaned the mess and instead chose to watch her.
It was difficult to tell through the blankets, but judging from the faint creases in Fog’s expression, Katsu could tell she was in pain. He wasn’t surprised, although he hadn’t noticed just how much her health had declined since being bit. She refused to drink the blood or eat the food Katsu brought her, so what was he to do? He knew there were only two solutions, and he didn’t really like the thought of either.
After the vampiress had drifted into another fitful sleep, Katsu left the room. Claude had beaten him downstairs a while before, humming to himself as he scrubbed preciously expensive dishes down with a soap-soaked washcloth. The kitchen, as per usual, was in immaculate condition. Katsu wasn’t surprised; his servant was aggressively attentive at most times when it came to house chores.
Leaving him to himself, Katsu instead decided to retreat to his library. The large room - with ornate bookshelves and winding staircases with dark velvet carpets leading to several more floors - was dark, lit only by carefully-placed candles with soft blue flames. Faintly, the Kyuketsuki heir remembered his mother speaking of them when he was younger, that the flames were blue as a product of magic and that they’d been burning for as long as the mansion had stood, long into Katsu’s heritage. The flames themselves even seemed faintly aged, paler now than they used to be when he was small - a softer shade of blue as opposed to bright azure.
Silently, Katsu ascended the first staircase, running his paw over the polished dark oak banister that lined the stairs. Even if vampires could fly - and, more often than not, they did - the stairs had been put in place in case of mortals visiting, usually for business matters. It rarely happened, but Katsu found that he liked the atmosphere of ascending the elaborate stairs in the soft glow of the flames more than he’d dare admit. It gave him an odd sense of serenity, as if the library itself were a sanctuary where no wrong could be done; a place of wisdom that only held knowledge and nothing else, meant to be used singularily for that purpose.
After Katsu reached the floor he sought, he retreated to the far corner - a small area with no door and a singular table next to a windowed wall and surrounded otherwise by bookshelves. It was the perfect calm space for studying, and only after using it a few times did Katsu realize it’s where his parents had decided to keep every book they owned on foribdden magic. He was sure there were others, but he and Claude had skimmed through nearly every book in the library searching for each one, and thus far the only tomes containing anything forbidden rested on the shelves in this particular corner. An unfortunate waste of time, but necessary nonetheless.
The aristocrat hummed to himself - an absent, off-key tune - as he ran the tip of his claw gingerly over several book spines, reading past the varying titles of books that his parents and ancestors had gathered over the course of several generations. There were varying titles on the spines, some without titles, and others faded away. Eventually he stopped, pulling out a blank-titled book with yellowed pages, and silently flipped it open.