Chapter Text
The smell of faint cinnamon and fir trees filled the room as a small candle gently let off its scent. There were grand velvety red curtains framing a large window stretching from the floor to the room, moonlight poured through the window into the room, competing with the candlelight.
The entire room was reminiscent of an old gothic style castle, probably due to the fact that Tsukasa currently found himself in one of the spare bedrooms of a large, gothic, castle.
The door that he had just locked behind him was a sturdy, polished, black wooden door.
Tsukasa was here for a job, the job in question? To kill the vampire residing inside the castle. He was sent during noon, giving him enough time to arrive at the castle, get inside, and then stake the vampire before night.
That means when he arrived the vampire should be sleeping, an easy job. Although, what they did not state in the meeting, was what room the vampire would be sleeping in. After walking around the castle like a lost tourist the entire day, only guided by the sun pouring through the odd window, he found himself in a section of hallways lacking windows. He blindly stumbled his way through the darkness, knowing that the short time he was given for the job was slowly running out.
Once he found himself in front of another window, instead of the brightness of day filling the space in front of the window, he was met with the dim glow of the moon rising. Panic filled his veins, his internal clock may be shit, but anyone could tell it was much past the time you would want to be around a vampire.
Running on only adrenaline from the rising fear of lurking hungry vampires, he found himself in front of a large black gothic door. Nervously twisting the knob, hoping, praying, that due to the worst luck ever, this was not the room the vampire was going to be in. Pushing it open, gripping the small bag his stake resided in, the room revealed itself to be a spare bedroom.
That’s how he got himself here. Leaning on the door while trying to push down any fear of being chased by a vampire. Sure, he might be a vampire hunter, but every single job he had been given was with other hunters. Tonight (which was supposed to be today), he had been given his first solo job.
He was certainly good at his job, he had a good 27 kills under his belt. Which is pretty good for being sent on 33 missions. And even the other 6 vampires he hadn’t managed to kill were all managed by the other hunters with him. He was regarded as an upcoming star in the industry by his fellow hunters.
His work had even been recognized by MEIKO herself, having been working as a hunter for the past 10 years, she was one of the most experienced people in the industry. She had been known for some of her most insane hunts, being able to take on 5 to 10 vampires at a time.
His fawning over his superior didn’t last long, as he reminded himself why he was currently hiding in a vampire's spare room. He needed to either wait the night out, or try and take the vampire on while it was awake. And neither sounded like good ideas. If he let exhaustion overtake him while waiting the night out, he would most definitely be found and eaten by the vampire.
He wanted to make sure he had as much knowledge on how vampires work before this hunt, and took practically every book from Gakupo’s study and the library. After pulling about 5 all-nighters a couple days before the meeting to talk about the hunt, he was sure that he would be able to outsmart the vampire, and propose ideas at the meeting backed up by some of the best hunters' texts.
During his analyzation of every vampire-related book and study he could find, it was now common knowledge to him just how advanced a vampires hearing and smell was, he knew as long as he was in the castle, it didn’t matter how quiet he was, just his heartbeat and breathing would put him at a disadvantage. He also had to take extra care not to get hurt at all, as vampires can easily smell blood.
However, drowsiness was definitely creeping up on him after the initial rush of seeing that the sun had set. He was going to make sure to do whatever he could to stay awake until he could bring back proof that his stake was stained with the blood of a vampire.
He tore himself away from the cold door, letting himself walk a bit further into the room. The cool black marble tile was enchantingly clean, he could almost use it as a mirror.
One large rug reached from under the bed on the left of the room, to the unlit fireplace on the right wall of the room. The bed was massive, to say the least, it looked as though almost 5 people could comfortably sleep on it at once. The bed was fitted in dark red and black velvety blankets, matching closely to the rest of the castle's theme. The pillows were set to perfection, black velvet ones lined the head of the head, with another layer slanted in front, with one slanted further down in the very middle front.
The bed took up most of the space on the left of the room, stretching all the way to the middle of the room, and taking up most of the entire left wall.
On the right side of the bed, pressed against the wall that was more window then wall, was a small black vanity. On the other side of the bed was a small bookcase with only about 3 books lining the shelfs.
On the right side of the room, a fireplace perfectly opposite of the bed was lined with bricks that had been painted black, the fireplace unlit, and appearing not to have any wood to light it. In front of the fireplace there was a small black round table with two red cushioned chairs sitting opposite of eachother. A tall yet skinny candle sat in the middle of the table, slowly melting away. On either side of the fireplace were large bookshelves covering the entire wall from roof to floor.
The room itself was quite cold, only hosting one candle to provide any warmth. The bed looked ever so inviting to sink into and drift away, covered in multiple warm and soft blankets.
Tsukasa shook his head, he couldn’t let himself even think of how great a quick nap would be, not when his prey could be now roaming the castle. The moon was getting higher in the sky, meaning that the vampire would be awaking anytime soon.
Tsukasa finally took a few uneasy steps into the room, and decided to sit down in one of the soft red chairs circling the table. He took his bag off his shoulder and placed it on the table. He began sorting through his bag and making sure he had everything to fight a vampire while it's awake and he's alone.
He was specifically warned this vampire would be much more intelligent than the ones he's experienced with, so he brought an extra stake, just in case it managed to outsmart him enough to take his first one. He had made sure that his belt had a special spot to secure his stake to ensure he would be able to reach it before the vampire could. As he dug through his bag he looked at the items set out on the table, a small vial of holy water, in case things got extra desperate, his extra stake, and a few silver restraints varying in size. He tried to say that he would really only need his one stake, but KAITO had made sure he was entirely prepared for this job.
He dug a bit deeper, feeling something was missing, and wrapped his fingers around a small circular object in the depths of his bag. A small knife, used for sharpening the stakes, but too small and powerless to use against a vampire. He took the knife and unsheathed it from the plastic cap, then grabbed his stake and got up from his seat. He took a few small steps toward the fireplace, his shoes clicking against the marble floor. He sat himself down on the cool marble, and began sharpening his stake, letting the wood slivers fall into the empty fireplace.
Once he was proud of the tip of the stake, sharp enough to easily pierce skin, he picked up his extra one and began the same process. He accidentally chopped off too big of a piece, hearing the large wood piece hit the cobble flooring the fireplace making a small rattle. Tsukasa sighed, his fingers were already starting to get red from being pushed against the un-polished wood to the point he worried he might bleed. He dropped the stake into the fireplace, shivering as a wave of cold overcame him after the small rattle of the stake hitting the cobble.
His stake was dry and wooden, so couldn’t he use it to start a fire? He grabbed two pieces, making sure to hold on tight to the point his finger tips went pale, as to ensure it didn’t slip, resulting in a sliver. He began aggressively rubbing the two pieces together till a spark flew from the two, giving him the incentive to grind them together a bit harder. To his luck, the two pieces ignited, and he quickly dropped them into the pile of other wood chips. He watched as the fire slowly came to life, it wouldn’t last long so he tried his best to savor the small warmth it emitted.
After only maybe two minutes of the fire burning, the flame began to dwindle, and it quickly burnt out, letting off a small bit of smoke. Tsukasa sighed, and got up from his crouching position to set back into the large red chair. He sat, staring at the moon through the window across from him. The moon was rising high into the sky as time passed, clouds moving out of the way to reveal the entire moon as it traveled upwards. Tonight was the full moon, another day he was happy werewolves didn’t exist.
He relaxed further into the soft chair, letting himself melt into the soft velvety texture, the back of his neck and his exposed arms taking in the texture. He wasn’t in full uniform since he was only expecting to see the vampire sleeping, not have to fight it face on. Tsukasa was wearing an average t-shirt, some baggier jeans adorning some rips from past fights, and a belt with a built in stake holster. He really didn’t look like someone you would expect to have a job of full-time vampire hunting. He was also quite young to be partaking in hunts, at only 19, but he had always wanted to do something that could put a smile on someone's face. He had failed his audition to be an actor at 16, and at 17 had decided to apply to follow in his parents footsteps.
He also wanted to have a job where he could either protect Saki or put a smile on her face, and for now, he did both. When he visited her in the hospital he always had amazing stories to tell, as well as knowing that he was able to protect her from the monsters that vampires were.
While his schedule was chaotic, he made sure to visit Saki at least once a week.
His thoughts of his amazing sister were cut short when he heard footsteps echoing down the hallway. The click of what could have only come from heeled shoes, stepped confidently down the hall, coming straight for him. He felt panic arise in him, Tsukasa felt his stomach twist itself into knots. He tried his very best to hold his breath and calm his heartbeat, maybe he could pass as someone that was outdoors.
He couldn’t keep calm anymore. The footsteps got closer. His heartbeat quickened and he stuffed everything back into his bag as quickly and quietly as he could, gripping his stake with all his strength, his knuckles turning white and he slung the bag over his shoulder. He sat in the chair, he was tensed up and had broken into a bit of a sweat. He had taken on vampires before, but knowing that he had just used his extra stake for 2 minutes of warmth really helped his nerves.
He could feel his skin crawling as the footsteps sounded almost directly behind him, slowing down to a strolling pace. He gripped his stake tighter, and tried his hardest not to breathe, and to calm his absolutely racing heart. He heard the footsteps approaching much faster than Tsukasa would have liked, and he silently stood up, but he wouldn’t walk until the door was opened, just on the slim chance the vampire had not yet noticed where he was.
He heard the knob gently rustle under the weight of a hand being placed on it, and he made sure that he could jump from the chair, attacking the vampire by jumping on it as soon as it entered. As it turned, he propped his foot onto the chair. The door opened, creaking a small bit, and he spotted the hand of the vampire. That was enough confirmation that he could surprise the vampire, as he leaped up from the chair as the door opened further to reveal the vampire fully to him, as he landed directly on the creature's torso, and quickly plummeted his stake straight towards its heart.