Chapter Text
Running errands for his dad wasn't Takumi's favourite way to spend a Saturday afternoon, especially such a gloomy one, but someone had to do it. Of course Takumi had the feeling that this someone always had to be him, but that could just as well be his imagination.
Ha. Of course not. Last-minute errands were always his job. Even if it was supposedly his dad's responsibility to keep an eye on their food storage.
Thankfully, it had at least stopped raining outside. It looked like it could start again every moment though, and Takumi hadn't brought an umbrella with him. It wouldn't make much sense for him to go back and fetch one now, so he decided that he'd just have to hurry and hope that he wouldn't get caught in a sudden rain shower.
That considered, he would have liked to go to the corner store closest to home, but no, his stingy old man had insisted he went to the grocery store on the other side of the shopping district because a) they were cheaper and b) they sold his favourite brand of sake. Which Takumi had been ordered to bring a bottle of, if he was going anyway. Figures.
At least he knew the shopping district like the inside of his pocket, so he was able to take several shortcuts all while now and then shooting a nervous look up at the sky to see if it was about to start raining.
That was exactly why he didn't notice the man standing in his way until he almost bumped into him. Takumi mumbled an apology. The street was narrow, and the man was standing right in his path. Which, on second thought, was a bit weird because the street wasn't so narrow that two people couldn't pass each other without getting in each other's way.
Takumi frowned.
"Could you please let me pass?", he asked politely, but the man didn't move. Takumi couldn't really see his expression because he had the visor of his baseball cap pulled low over his face and wore a surgical mask. Even after another two seconds of silence, he still didn't make a move to get out of Takumi's way.
Takumi had enough. He huffed and tried to push past the man because he really didn't have time for this, but that proved to be a bad idea.
His bag with the wallet landed on the ground as he let go of the handle, his fingers reflectively unclenching when his back suddenly collided with the brick wall. His breath was knocked out of him from the impact and he let out a surprised, strangled gasp. The man who had shoved him covered Takumi's mouth with one hand and muffled his following shouts that were equal parts enraged and panicked.
What the hell is happening?
Takumi thought that he was being robbed, but the man didn't bend down to pick up his wallet and run. Instead, he used his weight to pin Takumi against the wall and tore off the surgical mask that covered his nose and mouth. Takumi caught a glimpse of a grimace, which looked less angry and more desperate than expected. The guy's teeth were…
Takumi realised what was happening a fraction of a second before fangs sank into his neck. And shit, that really hurt and Takumi didn't make it better by trying to pull away, which only tore his skin more. He could feel that he was bleeding, and that the man – the vampire – was now greedily sucking on the wounds he had inflicted, which was a truly nauseating sensation. The fact that he emitted a pretty unpleasant smell didn't make it better.
Takumi could feel himself getting dizzy, likely from blood loss. The vampire didn't let up; he was probably half-starved if he resorted to attacking people on the street.
Half-starved. That absurdly reminded Takumi that he was supposed to buy some eggs from the store because they had run out, and he renewed his struggles. He couldn't go buy eggs if he was going to pass out!
It was funny how in life-threatening moments like these, your priorities got all messed up. The vampire could actually kill him if he didn't stop drinking soon, but all Takumi could think about was that damn errand his old man had sent him on.
Another strong wave of dizziness washed over him. He started breaking out in cold sweat.
"O-oi. Stop it," he stammered against the vampire's palm, which still didn't budge. Dark spots started dancing in front of his eyes and he had to find out that his limbs felt numb and didn’t really have the strength to struggle anymore. How much blood had the guy drunken already? Wasn't it enough now?
His legs gave out under him and he sagged against the brick wall. This led to the vampire's mouth dislodging from the bite wound for a moment, but that short moment seemed to be enough. The man froze. He pulled back and looked to each side of the alleyway hastily as if he was checking if there were any witnesses; then he finally let go of Takumi and pulled the mask back over his mouth.
Takumi sank to the floor. His vision gave out, but he could hear quick footsteps getting quieter. The vampire fled the scene, and even though he could barely move Takumi tried feeling around for the bag with his wallet. He felt the fabric under his fingertips and wanted to grasp it, but that was the very last thing he remembered before fully blacking out.
~~~
The next thing he could remember was hearing a male voice calling out to him.
"Oi! You there! You okay?"
Takumi groaned and blearily opened his eyes. He had a headache and still felt dizzy, and he wasn't even able to move his head to search for the owner of the voice. He faintly wondered how long he had been out. A few minutes? Less? Or more?
"Shit," he heard someone curse, same voice as before. Takumi's answer, or lack thereof, seemed to have been sufficient for the stranger. A tall figure moved into his line of sight and bent down a bit to take a better look.
"Hey. You. Keep your eyes open," the stranger said.
Takumi blinked and tried to get a decent look at the man. The only thing he could make out at first was the stranger's blond hair before he managed to get his face into focus. The man didn't look much older than Takumi, and his expression showed worry. "What happened?", he asked.
Takumi gave his best to respond clearly, but his tongue wouldn't really obey him. The word "vampire" came out well enough though.
The stranger's eyes wandered down to his neck and widened. Takumi wondered how much of a bloody mess there was. Would he ever get it out of his shirt again?
"Ah," the stranger only said.
"Can you stand?", a second voice suddenly asked from the left where Takumi couldn't see the speaker.
"No," he croaked and turned his head very slowly to avoid getting nauseous again. The owner of the second voice turned out to be a tall, dark-haired man in a black coat, who looked like he was about the other's age as well.
"I'll call an ambulance," he said. "The police as well." The man's voice was deep and pleasant.
Takumi nodded gratefully but regretted it in the very next moment as dizziness hit him again. He screwed his eyes shut and waited for it to go away. The blond extended a hand and shook Takumi's shoulder while the second stranger talked into his phone. "Oi. Don't faint on me now, alright?"
"'m trying," Takumi mumbled. The other said it as if it was easy and he had any control over it, but the dizziness was making it really hard to move without seeing dark spots in front of his eyes.
The man paused for a moment, as if he didn't know what to do next.
"I'm Keisuke, and that one over there's my brother Ryousuke," he said then. "What's your name?"
"Takumi." Talking was fortunately getting easier for him by the minute, but his head still felt like a cotton ball. A very painful cotton ball.
The man Takumi now knew was named Keisuke seemed to have caught his little wince of pain. "Are you from around here?", he asked. Takumi nodded, but made sure not to do it too hastily this time. It still hurt, so he decided to move as little as possible.
The things he would give to be at home now, in his bed.
Instead, he was sitting in some back alley on the wet, dirty ground and had to have someone call an ambulance for him.
He was struck by the sudden thought whether he could die from this. The wound on his neck didn't seem deep and didn't feel like it was bleeding much, but the vampire had drunken quite a lot of his blood. Maybe he would need a transfusion.
He must have looked like he was about to doze off, because Keisuke was shaking his shoulder again. "Don't close your eyes. Look at me."
Takumi would have really liked to take some rest, but he knew that this wasn't the right time and place. It was hard to keep his eyes open though, so he decided to do just what Keisuke had asked him to and tried to focus on him. It took effort, but it did help. Unfortunately, this intense staring at the man's face made Takumi fully realize how attractive he was. Which was objectively the wrong thing to focus on at a time like this, but it helped to keep him awake. And Keisuke did have really striking blue eyes…
'You've got to be joking, Takumi,' he thought at himself. Sternly. As sternly as he could in this case, anyway, because his willpower was at a pretty low point at the moment, and thus he continued to stare.
"Great," said Keisuke, who probably – hopefully – had no idea of Takumi's last thoughts. He glanced over at his brother, who was still on the phone, and then looked back at Takumi.
"We live farther away," he said lightly. "We wanted to go to a bar I like. Or rather, I wanted to. I just dragged Ryousuke along." He grinned, and Takumi focused on the way his eyes crinkled with amusement at the memory. If Keisuke was trying to distract him with this talk, it was at least working.
Keisuke seemed to come to the same conclusion, because he continued talking. "That bore holes himself up in his room all day. He's a workaholic, I tell you. No fun at all. Sometimes he just needs to be dragged out into society."
Takumi couldn't help but smile as he imagined Keisuke dragging his elegant and uptight-looking brother through the streets by the sleeve. They seemed very close. Takumi found himself wondering if he would be like this, too, if he had a sibling.
Keisuke grinned at him again, and this time Takumi's view caught on the other's mouth, or rather, his teeth. Even more precisely, his elongated, sharp canines.
Oh.
Takumi blinked in surprise and slight shock. Following an instinct, he quickly glanced at Ryousuke and thought to see the very same thing there while he was talking.
Vampires. Both of them.
Takumi was startled. His brain seemed to have not yet decided whether it wanted to be a bit scared as well.
But seriously, even if they were vampires, too, that didn't have to mean they would be tempted by the blood currently smeared across his neck. They didn't look like they had a reason to, either. From the way they were dressed, Takumi could only suspect that they could afford to get their regular doses from the blood bank. The vampire who attacked him probably hadn't been as lucky. And anyway, the two of them were helping him right now. It would be very rude and unfair to assume the worst, so Takumi forced himself not to.
Keisuke had caught his nervous glance, though. His amused grin turned into an awkward smile. "Should I keep a bit of a distance? That'd be okay, you know."
Takumi frowned. "'s fine. Just a bit funny. I met more vampires today in… an hour? Well, more in an hour than I usually see in 'n entire month."
His speech still sounded a bit slurred, but he thought that the fact that he was able to concentrate on forming a logical sentence had to be a good sign. Right?
"Then I'm sorry that the experience had to be so unpleasant." Ryousuke had finished his phone call and joined in on the conversation. Takumi could see now that he had guessed right: Keisuke's brother had fangs, too. If you were looking for them, they were visible when he talked.
"The ambulance should be here shortly." He put the phone away and gave Takumi a once-over. "You look very pale. Maybe you should lie down until it arrives."
The vampire slipped off his coat and lay it on the wet pavement next to Takumi. Keisuke helped him lie down, and Takumi breathed a sigh of relief once his head was resting on the soft fabric. This position was definitely better for his dizziness, but now he felt bad for dirtying Ryousuke's coat. It looked and felt quite expensive, though Takumi didn’t really know much about those things. It was a kind gesture either way, and it made him feel a little embarrassed for being such a bother.
"There, that's better," Keisuke reassured him. "Now stay awake until the ambulance is here, alright?"
"I'll try."
Takumi stared ahead into the cloudy grey sky between the roofs above him. The rain had yet to start again, but it looked like he might be spared of it, anyway. He thought he could hear sirens in the distance and wondered if they were for him and if his case was that urgent.
What a day. To think that all he had wanted was to buy some stupid eggs…