Chapter Text
"Omi. I'm bored."
Cold skin lightly ghosted over his forehead, the touch oh so careful and intimate. It almost makes his own skin flush pink.
"What are you doing here, vampire? Keep doing these stunts and my family will find out and put an end to your blasphemous existence."
The other dramatically gasped, a pout quickly forming. He shifted his hand to caress his cheek, the freezing touch on his own warm ones made him shiver. "Mean Omi. After I saved yer life, I get this treatment? I ought to just end ya instead."
The raven held his wrist, making the brunet look up at him. Dark steely grey eyes met with honey-gold ones, the obvious fondness in both contradicting with their words.
"Oh? Then why aren't you doing it?" The human taunted, enjoying the other baring his fangs at him when he poked his nose.
"Simple," the vampire beamed and leaned forward, placing two consecutive kisses on the raven's moles on top of his forehead. "It's 'cause yer cute. And I like ya."
The raven half-heartedly glared at him when the other began to tuck the loose curls behind his ear, his attention back to the twin moles.
"And yer moles are pretty. Like ya."
A teasing smirk.
"And they look like vampire bites."
The vampire yelped when he was suddenly pinned down, looking up to see a smug smile on the raven. He then leaned down and lightly nipped on the pale skin on his neck, the one under him going stiff.
"Let's see who bites who first, Atsu.
Kiyoomi woke up with a start, his skin cool from the room's freezing temperature, a distant reminder of his dream.
It wasn't really a dream. More like a memory.
Why is he reminiscing something that happened when he was twelve? And a happening that he doesn't clearly remember?
He shook his head as if that'll get rid of the distraction, his wet curls sticking to his face as he ran warm water on his skin. He was under the shower for too long, his fingers now becoming pruney. Nothing new.
He was halfway finished dressing up when a rhythmic knock on his door made him pause, his buttons left undone. As if the knocks weren't enough, a loud "Kiyoomi!" followed. He opens the door, scowling at his cousin who was already too energetic for a morning class.
"Motoya. Shut up."
He lets his cousin in his room, ignoring his whistle as he went back to buttoning his white dress shirt then proceeded to tuck it in his black jeans.
"That's rare. You woke up later than usual," Motoya comments as he watches his cousin pull a Russian-green sweater over his head.
The raven side-eyed him before he wore the obligatory silver cross necklace. Kiyoomi personally hates them. They make his skin itch and they do nothing but taunt the creatures that they're hunting. And he's not even Christian. He wore his loafers and then his mask, grabs his bag, and gestured to Motoya that they're leaving.
They walk side by side, exiting the dorms as they head towards the school building. He ignores the lingering stares on him and their hushed whispers as if they couldn't make it anymore obvious. He would have been more approachable if he wasn't glaring, credits to Motoya because of his suggestion to have breakfast in the cafeteria.
"Gross I tell you," Kiyoomi grimaced. "Gross."
Motoya chuckles as they entered their first class for their second semester. The number of seats was much higher than last time because of the mixing of classes. Kiyoomi sure hopes that they stay away from him.
Few students were already inside, some sleeping, some gossiping. Kiyoomi chose to sit at the back near the window while Motoya skips over to one of his friends, an equally energetic short guy with the front of his hair bleached.
Nishinoya Yuu. He was an excellent student when it comes to practical exams but always struggles with his academic performance. His outgoing personality was a huge contrast to his boyfriend who was in a year above them.
With nothing to do, Kiyoomi wore his AirPods as he tries to take a nap. Classes wouldn't start for ten minutes anyway.
Of course, the universe just hates to leave him alone.
"If I didn't know any better, you'd be the one I'll be hunting Sakusa," Hoshiumi, his classmate, snickered from across him. "You look more dead than alive. With that pale skin and fucking annoying handsome face, I wouldn't hesitate to slice that head off."
Kiyoomi scowled behind his mask as his classmate leaned against his chair to look back at him.
"And if I didn't know any better, I would have stepped on you because of how tiny you are. Let's just hope that Hirugami didn't hear you calling someone else besides him handsome."
Hoshiumi growled at him, about to stand up from his seat when his boyfriend appeared and sat him back down.
"And good morning to you too, Sakusa," Hirugami greeted.
Kiyoomi just nodded before he sat properly and pocketed his AirPods when the teacher entered the room, his black robe dragging along the floor. He cringed at the thought of how much dirt will accumulate soon on the cloth.
"Welcome to another semester, students. I'm Takeda Ittetsu, your teacher for 'Vampirology II' and I hope that an incident like last year won't happen again."
Last year's incident when some of the current third years became mated with the vampires that they were supposed to hunt. Excellent students like Kuroo Tetsurou and Bokuto Koutarou brought home theirs and they couldn't be killed because if they do, the two of them will go berserk. Kiyoomi didn't really hear about the details and they said that the information was classified.
Professor Takeda went over the basics and started to discuss what to expect from this class when a creak of a door disrupted him.
It was a student. And he looks like...
Atsu?
Kiyoomi narrows his eyes at his appearance and he can't look away because, despite the glow up, that face still looks the same. Except his hair was now in an undercut and dyed grey, his fringe swept to the left. He was much taller and gained more muscles than Kiyoomi's twelve-year-old memory of him.
But this was human. He was holding an onigiri in his hand, his expression dazed as he was scolded by the teacher.
"Nice of you to finally join us, Miya Osamu."
Osamu. Not Atsu.
Different guy. Besides, the Atsu in his dreams was a vampire so he'll stay in his kid form even when Kiyoomi was currently 18, having the body of an adult.
But the raven just cannot tear his eyes away from the similar hooded eyes that haunted his dreams the other night.
Soon enough, he was walking towards the back and sat next to the table that Kiyoomi was occupying. Kiyoomi observes him longer.
Same face. Different aura.
Brushing it off as a coincidence, he shifts his attention back to the blackboard, writing down notes.
From what he observes, this guy is lazy. He's decent in class and in gym. He sleeps a lot and functions in low energy most of the time. However, there was one time when he pranked his friend Ginjima and the crinkle in his eyes and the way he laughed reminded him of Atsu.
Not once had he made any effort to talk to the guy the entire half of the semester until Professor Takeda announced the pairs for hunting.
"Sakusa Kiyoomi and Miya Osamu. You're numbers 10 and 11 so you're in charge of the area near Hyogo."
Their streak of ignoring each other was broken the moment Kiyoomi turned to meet with pigeon-blue eyes.
Not honey-gold.
Osamu nodded at him before he continues to munch on his chips. He can see the grease shining on his lips and Kiyoomi holds back from making a face after he sees the grey-haired licking his fingers. He must have not noticed the crumbs on his table because he crumples the wrapper, shoves it in his bag, and sleeps on the same table littered with crumbs, his arms cushioning him.
Another thing he observed about Osamu is that he is such a total slob. He's a messy eater, he sometimes forgets his garbage on his desk, he'll eat almost anything, even the cafeteria food, and he doesn't tuck his shirt in his pants. Kiyoomi winced at the thought that he'll be working and travelling with this guy starting next week. But he seems so nonchalant that maybe he'll accept Kiyoomi's wishes to fucking clean up after himself.
After classes were dismissed, it was Osamu who approached him first. He lifted his hand in greeting before pocketing it.
"Yo. Sakusa, right?"
Kiyoomi didn't answer him. Instead, he rummaged his bag and disinfected the man in front of him with a spray. If there was any respect that Osamu had for him, it must have gone the drain but Kiyoomi doesn't give a fuck because germs need to be exterminated.
"Dude, what the fuck. There must be somethin wrong with yer head. Fuckin bastard," Osamu cursed as he wiped his eyes and mouth, his eyes glaring at Kiyoomi.
Not minding him, Kiyoomi stood up and acknowledged him with a flat "Miya". He starts to leave, Osamu trailing behind him. Together, they walked towards Professor Takeda's office to get their mission so that they could get this over with.
"This is yours. Vampires in Hyogo used to lay low until three years ago. So far, no major massacres happened like that disaster 18 years ago but we do have an occasional victim," Takeda slid an envelope to them, briefing them about the situation.
Sakusa slid on his gloves before opening the contents, eyes scanning on the documents.
"This here says that there were victims who were only bitten but weren't killed. I have never heard of vampires holding back before," Kiyoomi says as he points out a paragraph.
"Ah yes. This actually has been happening for three years but the association is still not sure about that. They think that it's to throw us off track or something."
"Then why couldn't ya just interrogate the vampires that ya caught? I mean, ya've caught some, right?" Osamu asked.
"The thing is the vampires that the association catches always commit suicide. We've prevented one before but his only words were 'Long live the kings' before he managed to kill himself," Takeda sighs, and both students shared eye contact in understanding.
"So what yer saying is that ya want us ta find those kings in Hyogo?" Osamu raised an eyebrow and Kiyoomi wonders if he should give his partner more credit than the slob he labeled him to be.
Takeda nods his head. "From what we've gathered, Hyogo has lesser incidents compared to Tokyo so assuming that it's because of their fewer numbers, then there must be three kings at most."
"Why haven't you explained this to the class instead? Why now when we're setting off next week?" Kiyoomi prodded, taking in his professor's sheepish reaction.
"Because the school's board is unfair."
"Unfair how?"
"They chose the hard missions to be given to students who they deem capable. Especially you," he points to Kiyoomi and Osamu.
"You're from the Houses of Miya and Sakusa, prominent families who have gained influence and are known to produce top hunters."
Of course. What else did Kiyoomi expect? In the end, it's still the family's honor. To follow his siblings' footsteps and make the Sakusa name proud.
As if I'll do that.
"Mmn, I don't really care about my family but aside from us, who else are sent to similar missions?" Osamu nonchalantly asked.
Oh?
Kiyoomi is starting to like him more.
Takeda sighs before he taps his fingers on the empty envelope.
"Tanaka and Nishinoya will be sent to Miyagi. Except, the third years Asahi and Daichi and first years Hinata and Kageyama will be going with them. The third years have sighted at least three kings last year so they'll be guiding them. The first years however somehow fended off one of the kings so their experience will be needed.
"Komori and Hakuba will be sent to Nagano while Hoshiumi and Hirugami will be sent to Nagoya. As for the rest... They'll be handling ferals so they're safer compared to what you're about to do."
Osamu blinked and turned to Kiyoomi with an expression that says "Do you hear this shit?" and Kiyoomi can only return a look that says "I'm disowning my family".
More details about their upcoming missions were explained and Kiyoomi was so close to calling bullshit.
He really can't blame the professor and he gets the fact that he was just following orders but the unequal treatment was striking. The complexity of the mission was too much for second-years to handle but because of their background, they're suddenly being thrown into battle? Maybe this is why some families pay much more than the average when the second semester of the school's second year rolls because they're trying to bribe the higher-ups to not send their child into warzone while prideful families like Kiyoomi's see this as an opportunity to show off.
What a pain.
Osamu says nothing as they exited the office, his back slumping more than usual. Kiyoomi wonders how his partner deals with pressure.
They were about to pass by the third years' classroom when two figures ran past them, skidding to a stop in front of the classroom. They lightly sniffed the air and looked back to Kiyoomi and Osamu.
They were dazzling, clad only in white nightshirts that ended above their pale thighs. Their skin was unblemished and their eyes were piercing red. One had mussed black hair, his eyes in an elegant slant. One was significantly shorter, his long hair bleached with his black roots showing, his eyes similar to a cat's.
And they had a sweet scent of lavender and apples, though faint. On their necks were permanent bitemarks that were without a doubt made by humans.
Something clicked and oh, these are the vampires that were mated by the third-years. Takeda also referred to them as kings. He didn't explain why. This was the first time that Kiyoomi saw them. Seemed like it was the same for Osamu too.
The black-haired narrows his eyes at Kiyoomi, then to Osamu.
"Unbelievable. Alphas? Miya-san?" He mutters and that got Kiyoomi's attention.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to ask what that meant when a boisterous "AKAASHI" and "KYAANMA" echoed throughout the hallway.
Soon, Kuroo and Bokuto were in the doorway. The bleached vampire immediately snuggled to Kuroo, his upperclassman then carrying him with ease.
"Kuroo," he purred as he began to rub his face on the crook of Kuroo's neck.
"Kenma, what are you doing here?" Kuroo asked as he held the small vampire to his chest. 'Kenma' didn't answer him, looking like he fell asleep.
Bokuto then looked to the other, tilting his head in an owlish manner. "You too Akaashi?"
"Bokuto-san, forgive us for intruding but it's uhh- time," 'Akaashi' said and the two upperclassmen nodded in understanding before leaving their class.
Kiyoomi watched their backs as they left, still wondering what the vampire said. He turned to Osamu who also looked confused.
"They know me?" Osamu wondered and Kiyoomi shrugged. Seems like their questions wouldn't be answered for now.
The rest of the week was spent preparing for their hunt, stocking up on weapons, and formulating ideas. Osamu, fortunately, was easy to deal with. He complains but he complies and Kiyoomi couldn't ask for more.
After bidding goodbye to his cousin, Kiyoomi found himself riding a train to Hyogo with Osamu. The private train car that they were occupying was comfortable enough that three hours went without a hitch.
Getting to Hyogo posed no problem. Venturing within Hyogo was. Kiyoomi and Osamu stood awkwardly in the station, not knowing what to do next.
"Didn't the Miyas use to live here? You should lead the way," Kiyoomi said to Osamu as he tried to avoid contact with the others.
Osamu rolled his eyes. "I have never taken a step in Hyogo all my life."
"Huh? But you have their accent."
"Fuckin rude. Of course I have an accent because my family speaks like this. Let's just book a grab car or somethin. That way we won't hafta get lost on our way to the branch association."
Kiyoomi just nodded and let Osamu do his thing. They should have thought about this first than their strategy.
When the two of them arrived at the association, they were in a mess. Staff was running back and forth and numerous phone calls were made. Someone almost bumped into Kiyoomi when they were heading towards the receptionist.
"Excuse me. We're students from HQ Academy. Is Norimune Kurosu in?" Kiyoomi inquired.
The receptionist looked up from her keyboard and held a hand up. She called someone before nodding. "Ya may see him in his office. Ya just hafta climb the stairs and if ya see a black door with a huge silver cross, just enter that room."
They both thanked her and followed her instructions. Osamu knocked on the door and they went in after they heard a "come in".
Norimune Kurosu. He used to lead a team that was dedicated to hunting Inarizaki, the vampire organization living in Hyogo. He aged and was now in charge of managing the hunters in the prefecture. They occasionally keep check of the other creatures that dare harm Hyogo.
He looked so stressed out that relief flooded in his features when he saw the two students.
"Welcome Sakusa-san, Miya-san. Sorry that you have to see us in this state," Norimune greeted.
"It's fine. Did something happen?" Kiyoomi asked.
The elder heavenly sighed before he gestured for them to sit. Kiyoomi remained standing.
"Last week, people went missing and we sent out a search party to find them. They never came back. But just this morning, while my boys patrolled, they found them dead in an old church. Along with some of the missing people. We thought that it was ghouls after seeing the missing organs but on their necks were vampire bites. They're currently doing an autopsy," Norimune explained as he reached an envelope to the two. Osamu opened it.
"Our staffs were few because of the lack of activity within the past years but now," Norimune took off his glasses and massaged his head.
"So yer in need of staff?"
Norimune nodded. Osamu passed the documents to Kiyoomi.
The papers were the information all about the victims, along with photos of when they were last seen alive. Kiyoomi clicked his tongue when he saw the pictures of the corpses. They were almost torn to shreds.
Feral vampires? That doesn't sound like it.
"We'll have to investigate this," Kiyoomi started and Norimune's grateful look was then seen. "But. We're doing this our way. And we want access to the crime scenes. Okay?"
Norimune was about to protest but Osamu stopped him by standing up, his chair loudly scraping on the floor.
"Now that we understand each other, we'll start. I'm hungry, I wanna eat."
Kiyoomi gave his partner a look. What a glutton he must be that he still has the appetite even after seeing the photos. However, now that he mentions it, he is quite hungry.
"Then, we'll be taking our leave. Nice to meet you Norimune-san. Goodbye."
And they left the building with Osamu searching for restaurants that reaches Kiyoomi's standards.
Norimune sighs in resignation.
Kids. He wonders if they'll still have the appetite when he sends them the autopsy report later.