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Joni and Minato had decided to go on one of their first hunting trips. They had both been training and studying for the past three years. Minato had only been slightly distracted the whole time, having to take care of Nemia and make sure she got into school was the hardest part.
This year she was going to enter her first year of highschool, so Minato had been prepping her for that and what to expect. He was quite proud of how strong she had become, and even contemplated telling Joni before the trip so she could come with and see what monster hunting was really about. But alas, he got too scared to tell her and told Nemia to wait at home and only come if he stopped texting every hour.
He was just about to text her for this hour when Joni stopped them in their tracks and pulled out her weapon. Minato cursed under his breath and put his phone away without texting Nemia and unsheathed his blades.
Multiple vampires had jumped out of the bushes, they seemed weak enough, but the both of them knew not to underestimate strength in numbers. The two stood back to back as the vampires circled them, Minato eyed them to see who he could attack first, to see if he could find the weak link in the team.
“I’m going after the leader whether you say so or not, I’m taking this group out tonight.” Joni had rushed forward and attacked the leader, effectively distracting Minato with how swift it was. He was paying attention to her, so he didn’t notice another vampire coming up behind him. The vampire pounced, trying to bite his neck or any body part it could reach. Minato slammed the dull part of his sword into the vampire's mouth as they wrestled around, each trying to get the upper hand.
He kicked the vampire off him, slamming the creature into a nearby tree. Joni’s grunts could be heard behind him, so he swiftly turned around and ran to go help. The two groups fought, and one by one, the vampire team started to dwindle until there were only a few left. Minato had purposely left one alone, a vampire that looked too much like Nemia to hurt. He would let Joni deal with that one so he didn’t have to feel the pain of hurting his sister, even if it wasn’t her.
Minato, now partly distracted in his thoughts of Nemia, finished with the vampire he had attacked. His eyes averted to look for Joni, unable to hear her grunts of battle anymore. An eerie chill ran down his spine, letting his gaze shoot across the current scenery, trying to pinpoint where exactly she might’ve gone.
All within a single moment, he turned his back. Met face to face with another vampire. A loud gasp escaped his throat before he was pushed down. It was all so sudden. He felt the wind get knocked out of him, his head thudding against a rock that just so happened to be where he landed. His vision went blurry as he tried to comprehend what exactly was happening.
After a moment, his thoughts caught up to him. He was still fighting, and he wouldn’t back down so easily. He began to kick and shove at the vampire, which seemed to be a lot stronger than the previous kin. A thin worry glazed over Minato’s eyes as he yelled out. Where was Joni when he needed her most?
The vampire pushed him against the ground, it almost felt as if he was being pushed into the dirt. Groans of pain escaped his mouth before the vampire forcefully grabbed his head, shoving it harshly to the side, leaving the perfect window to reach his neck. Minato squirmed around, freeing a single arm, shoving the vampire’s head away. However this plan backfired, ending with his arm being pinned into the grass.
At this point Minato was freaking out, the vampire’s mouth inching closer and closer to his neck. He held his breath as he felt the hot breath against his skin. With being prepared for sharp fangs to penetrate his skin he squeezed his eyes shut. Expecting a world of pain to begin.
And by God was he right. Pain exploded throughout his body despite the bite being on his neck. He yelled out, his muscles tensing since that was all he could do. The vampire began to take his blood, his vision blacking out as the much needed substance started to leave his system.
He could barely move, he tried yelling out again, but all that came out were whines.
CRACK
The vampire fell off of him, relief flowing through his thoughts. There was a gunshot as well, Joni must be here. “Minato! Minato please tell me you're alright?!” That voice was familiar, but he couldn't place it until his beloved sister pulled him up and helped him sit up.
Another pair of footsteps came walking up, Joni's he assumed. “Hey kid, you know him?” Nemia seemed startled at the question, not expecting Joni to be so calm. “Uh, yeah. He raised me I guess…” Nemia pulled Minato closer to her, guarding his body with hers as best as she could.
Joni kneeled down next to them, pulling out some med-kits and getting to work bandaging him up. Nemia was still holding him, and Joni understood that she probably wouldn't wanna let go, so she worked her way around Nemia. “How long have you guys known each other? Makes me wonder why he hasn't said anything about a cutie like you.”
Nemia didn't answer for a second, her whole focus on Minato. When she did answer it was quick. “Oh uhm, like 5 years now? Why are you so calm about this? I feel like my brain is going to explode.” Nemia’s voice was shaky and uncertain as she spoke, still wary of the other girl. Joni contemplated her question for a moment. She knew Minato was either going to turn or die. And if he turned she didn't know if she was ready to kill him. What she was ready for was loss. She's lost enough to be used to having her closest friends ripped away from her.
As she finished bandaging him up, she looked at Nemia again. “What's your name? I'm Joni by the way.” Nemia shook her head, not having enough willpower to answer. She clutched Minato tighter, her tears finally escaping now that she knew Joni was safe to be around.
“You're not supposed to leave me Minato! You promised me we'd be a team forever!” Her nails clenched his shirt, her tears dripping off of her face and onto his jacket. Minato used the last of his strength to pull Nemia closer, ready to whisper in her ear. “Stay with Joni please. She'll protect you” His eyes fluttered shut, his body going limp.
Joni couldn't bear to see the sight, her own tears wanting to trickle out as well. Minato had been a constant in her life for years, he was the closest she had to family.
She stayed silent as Nemia weeped, her crying much less dramatic than the girl in front of her. She huddled close to Minato, hugging both of the figures. She didn't want to lose Minato, but this was fate. This was the dark side of monster hunting.
The two girls felt his breathing slow, then completely stop. Nemia couldn't help but place her ear on his chest, listening to his dying heartbeat. Her cries went silent as the beating stopped. She almost couldn't believe he was dead.
Joni was glad she covered up the bite, it was an ugly one that would probably make Nemia freak out more. They both sat there together for what felt like hours, Minato's skin getting colder and colder. Joni had to finally pull Nemia off of him to hold a ceremony of some sort. She knew holding a “funeral” would ease some of their thoughts.
She laid him flat, placing his swords next to him and was about to cover him with leaves and bushes when Nemia spoke up. “Do you think I can take his jacket and swords? I just… He didn't leave much of himself at home. He always let me decorate and now I'm regretting doing so.” Joni nodded and helped her take his jacket. From what she knew, he was dead. Vampires still breathed, so him stopping was a clear sign that he was actually gone.
Nemia held his jacket like a lifeline, his holster and swords hanging heavily on her leg. They were much too big for her and she would have to grow into them. She stood and watched as Joni finished the ceremony. It wasn't much, considering they were in the middle of butt fuck no where, but it was decent enough that he would be honored.
Joni walked up to her, she was still staring at where his body was under the brush. “Hey kid, how would you say coming with me? I know it's sudden and you're probably not ready but you're all I have left of him and I'm willing to do anything to make sure what he loves is safe.” Nemia weakly nodded, slowly turning to Joni and hugging her.
Joni wasn't that good with hugs, so she was awkward at first, but quickly reciprocated, subconsciously needing the hug as well.
It had been roughly six hours after Minato died and they were both still there. Joni didn't have the heart to leave Minato and she didn't think Nemia did either. “Kid, we have to leave, we need to get cleaned up.” Joni tugged on her arm, trying to pull her away. “But- please just a few more minutes!”
Nemia had yanked herself free and went to stand where she had been for the past few hours. “Fine. Five more minutes and then we leave.” Nemia nodded, seeming like she wasn't paying attention to Joni's words at all. But when the five minutes was up, Nemia wordlessly turned around and started to walk away.
Joni looked at her with a worried look as she walked away, silently following behind the demon girl.
As they walked, Nemia slowed her steps down so that she was next to Joni and grabbed her hand. Joni tensed a bit before relaxing, interlinking their hands and continuing on their way back.
If Joni saw Nemia crying again she didn't say anything, and if Nemia heard Joni muttering curses and regrets, she didn't say anything either. They had come to a mutual understanding about his loss, now willing to help the other as much as possible.
“So, how would you like to meet the rest of our group?”
—----------------
Minato shot upwards, throwing off a bunch of branches and grass off his body. He sat there for a few minutes, letting his head clear up. He had no idea what was going on or what happened. He looked around, seeing the forest around him.
His memory finally clicked, realizing that he should most definitely be dead right now. He hugged himself, feeling his bare arms and frantically looked around. His jacket and swords were missing. “NEMIA?!”
He stood up, but almost fell down again with how dizzy he was. He was unimaginably thirsty..? Hungry? Both?? He used his tongue to wet his lips, the soft muscle scratching on unnaturally sharp teeth.
He used his finger to check the sharpness, the point stabbing the pad of his thumb and making him bleed. “Aw fuck me.” He really was a vampire. The one thing he's sworn to defeat. He took a step forward, aiming to start searching for anyone, when he slammed face first into a tree.
He groaned as he backed up, rubbing his nose. He didn't see any trees near him when he woke up, so what just happened? He looked around, seeing that he was around 20-30 feet away from where he started. Ok… that was odd.
His senses were overloaded, it was night out, he knew that since he wasn't burning, but it was as bright as day. He could hear frogs miles away and smell the earth as if he was shoving his face in the ground. It was literally giving him a headache.
He started walking back home, realizing that he literally couldn't go back home. He was a monster now, one the club's most hated ones at that. He took another step and lurched into another tree. What was up with this stupid dashing?
His stomach growled, he knew he would have to kill someone to eat, but he didn't know if he had the strength to. He walked slower, trying not to do the stupid dash as he walked.
After a few minutes of walking, he came across the trailhead that he and Joni parked at when they first got here. Joni's car was obviously gone, but at least he could walk the way back and not get lost. He started walking down the path when he heard screams coming further down. He sprinted, trying to save the person before anything could happen.
He found the source of the screams, it was a girl who was being pinned down by a guy. Guess he found his food source.
He walked over and punched the guy, knocking him off of the girl. He gestured to her to run, which she gladly took the chance to. Once she was gone he walked over to the guy, who was on his back, trying to crawl away while still keeping an eye on Minato.
Minato walked over and kneeled on top of him, sitting on the guy's stomach and grabbing his neck. “I hope you rot in hell.”
He bit down harshly and sucked. Blood had never tasted better. He felt like a wild animal finally eating after weeks, like he'd been starved. And with however long he was out, he might as well have been.
The guy screamed under him, if that girl heard anything, she sure as hell didn't come check on them.
As the blood was pulled out of the guy's body, his squirming got less and his movements got weaker. He was killing someone and enjoying it. He didn't know how to feel about that but he needed to eat, so eat he did.
By the time he got off the guy, he looked like a sunken corpse, his cheeks hollow and eyes dim. He wiped his mouth, getting rid of the extra blood on his lips. The guy's neck was a mangled mess, Minato having bit and chewed on him just to satisfy his hunger. It was selfish, almost. But he needed to eat. He needed to survive.
He slowly backed away from the guy and left him to rot, his thoughts running wild as he thought about all of the innocent vampires who he killed just because they needed to survive. He will admit, he knows that all of them aren't good either. He knows some hunt for fun while others hunt out of necessity.
If he hunted and killed innocent vampires, that doesn't make him any better than the evil ones. He sprinted away, using his dash to move quicker. He was getting the hang of this, and was quite proud of it, he just got these stupid powers and was already getting used to them. The dirt trailhead he was running on finally met up with the actual road. He knew it was an hour drive, but now he had to walk home.
He began to run. The fastest he’s ever gone. He felt so free, these newfound powers giving him so much energy he didn’t know what to do with it. He made it home before dawn, quickly scrambling into the apartment he bought for him and Nemia. He assumed she wouldn’t be here, and be with Joni but he was wrong. He got into his room through the window and face planted on his bed once he was in.
He was about to take a nap when he heard voices in the living room. Two voices he knew very well. Nemia and Joni were quietly talking, their hushed voices hiding whatever they were whispering about. While he was glad that they were getting along, he needed to leave before they came in here. If he just stole his own stuff and left without making a mess, they would surely connect the dots that he was “alive.”
He grabbed his backpack and shoved it full of clothes and anything that was sentimental to him. Nemia had made him a Kappa Kappa stuffed animal, so he took that. He took his extra pair of swords, his grimoire, and multiple guns that were hidden in his closet.
He ran to the bathroom that was connected to his room and cleaned himself up as much as possible, grabbing all of his toiletries and shoving them into his bag. He only paused when he saw himself in the mirror. His eyes were no longer the stereotypical vampire red, instead they were a vibrant purple. Purples..? There were multiple shades of purple swirling around his irises. And his pupils were no longer the normal circles, they were pointed, like cats.
He admired his eyes, while he would miss his unique red color, this new purple seemed twice as cool. He opened his mouth and looked at his teeth, the sharp points glinting in the light. Remembering what he did earlier, he gagged and started brushing his teeth. He almost forgot he drank a shit ton of blood.
Once done, he walked back into his room and threw a hoodie on, pulling the hood up to block as much sun as possible. He rummaged through his dresser to find sunglasses, tucking them into his collar so he could put them on when he left.
He strapped his swords to his leg, unsheathing one to break the glass in the window when he left. He had planned to make it look like a robbery, so they wouldn’t try to track them down. He was too ashamed of what he became to ever face them again.
Jumping out the window, he prepared himself to break the glass and hide. He wanted to see them one more time just before he left. He didn’t plan on running far, just far enough his presence wouldn’t get reported to Joni.
He smashed the window in and ran, hiding behind a dumpster as he waited. Barely a minute later, Joni peeked her head out of the broken window, Nemia just slightly behind her. She looked pissed. I mean who wouldn’t if someone broke into your dead best friend’s room and stole precious shit. Joni stomped away, most likely to call the police. Nemia took her spot in the window, poking out and looking around.
She looked right over him before doubling back and making eye contact with him. He panicked and booked it, sprinting as far away as he could without getting burned. He could only run one direction, if he turned, his face would get hit with the sun. He ran for twenty minutes, finally finding a thicker forest to hide in.
He would build here. He didn’t need actual food, so refrigeration wasn’t needed, and he could lowkey just use a nearby river as a shower. Robbing stores isn’t hard either so that simplifies some things. He was only partly glad his favorite cologne came from a place that was easy to get into.
Four Years Later
“What do you mean there’s been a vampire sighting this close?? I thought all vampires knew not to come to this area because of us.” Helsie looked at Joni, who was looking through a recently submitted file. “Well, this one didn’t get the memo I guess. The file says he’s seen close, but his residence should be an hour away.” Joni threw the file to Lucien, who scanned through the pictures that accompanied it.
“Looks like our target has black hair and that’s… it..? Do we really not have any information on this fucker?” Lucien tossed the file to Nemia, who was sitting on a beanbag sharpening her swords. Since she wasn’t paying attention, the file hit her in the face and plopped onto her lap. “Hey! You know better than to throw things at me when I’m fixing his- my swords!”
Nemia had taken good care of Minato’s old swords, in fact, they looked better than when he had them. She does consistent sharpenings and buffings, making sure that even a single chip gets fixed. The only one who knew where they came from was Joni, who had kept Minato a secret. They didn’t wanna hide him, but the pain and grief held them back.
Joni solemnly looked at Nemia, the fact she still took care of everything he had saddened her, it was like she almost expected him to come back. A few days after he died, they were in the living room discussing where Nemia was going to live, when someone broke into Minato’s room and stole things. Nemia had refused to budge from this place after that, moving her stuff into Minato’s room so Joni could take hers. They both never ended up sleeping in their own rooms, opting to cuddle on the couch and fall asleep in comforting arms.
Nemia took the time to carefully look through the pile, saving the pictures for last. When she got to the images, she froze. “Joni, I need to talk to you. Now.” She shot up and ran to her room, Joni confusedly watching her. Lucien and Helsie shrugged at her, signifying they didn’t know what happened either.
Joni followed Nemia into her room, who was frantically looking around under the bed. “Nemia? What’s going on kid?” Nemia pulled herself out, holding a very dusty picture book. It was decorated like Minato’s grimoire, if you squinted. The craftsmanship was clearly done by a much younger Nemia.
She flipped through the pages, revealing that the book was a photo album. Nemia found the page, showing her and Minato frozen in time. The two were joyfully hugging, Minato holding the camera up to take a selfie. He was wearing a black hoodie with his and Joni’s classic gold on it. This was before him and Joni came up with a logo, so all they did was have gold stripes on the arms and hood.
Then, Nemia held up the picture of the vampire. There they were, the iconic gold stripes on the jacket. The vampire picture was low quality and frankly, looked like it had been taken by a 3DS, but it was enough proof. This vampire was the one who broke into his room all those years ago. Both of them wanted to find the guy and kill him, get revenge for taking a dead guy's stuff.
In general, they hated vampires much more than before the attack, they had killed a major person in both of their lives, so of course they were angry.
Joni stormed off and grabbed her guns from her room, especially her special shotgun. It could kill Daraku, so it would definitely kill this guy. Nemia made her way back to the living room and told the other two they were leaving now, whether they liked it or not. Lucien and Helsie groaned, walking to the car together to start it. Those two siblings always liked to bicker, so she quickly grabbed her swords and ran after them. They had more than enough guns in the car that she could use if needed. She always wanted to use his swords, she wanted to grow up just like him.
She leaned on the trunk as she waited for Joni, a tear silently sliding down her face as she realized she would be turning older than him tomorrow. She had shut the thought out, tried not to think about it. She didn’t want to turn 19 when her brother was stuck forever as 18. A hand was placed on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Let’s go kid, we’ll beat this guy and get Minato’s stuff back.”
Joni walked off and sat in the passenger seat, Lucien in the driver’s. She rubbed her face, getting rid of any tears and sat in the back next to Helsie. “It’s an hour north of here, we’re gonna be sitting for a minute.”
Helsie gleefully clapped and pulled out the games she had in the car for rides like this. “Nemia! Let’s play Uno!” The cards barely got pulled out of the box when Joni snatched it away, “The last time you guys played Uno in the car, we almost flipped over. How about we don’t?” Helsie groaned as Joni put the cards in the glovebox, even though she knew the both of them would flip out on each other over plus fours.
—------------------
By the time they got there, it was dark out. The vampire would be out and about now, so they planned on finding his home, breaking in, and killing him when he wasn’t expecting. What they didn’t know was that his house wasn’t exactly a house. It was more of a shack made out of logs. They walked up to it with baffled expressions. “I was expecting much more from this guy.” Helsie cocked her head at the build. “It looks like he did it himself, which is odd, there are many abandoned cabins around here.”
Nemia walked forward and tugged on the door, easily swinging it open since there was no lock. They all walked in behind her. The inside was much better than the outside. It looked inviting and lived in. Nemia almost wanted to live here. There were string lights hung up and posters haphazardly pinned to the logs, beanbags placed around, and shelves holding knickknacks. The place looked like something Minato would have…
Nemia walked further in, looking at all the things on the shelves. Books, tiny wood carved statues, a stuffed animal she made for Minato, more books… THE STUFFED ANIMAL SHE MADE FOR MINATO?? She snatched it off the shelf, hugging it close as she looked over to Joni. Joni was watching her the whole time, startled at her reaction before understanding that she confirmed this was the robber.
Joni stalked around, seeing if she could recognize any of Minato's stuff as well. She spotted his grimoire on a shelf, gently pulling it down and seeing that instead of his old vampire repellent notes, it had turned into a diary on the more recent pages. The fact this robber turned a precious tool into a personal notebook enraged her.
She looked around for the stake that came with it, but it wasn't anywhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Nemia was finding more and more stuff that belonged to Minato. And even some stuff that belonged to Joni, Lucien, and Helsie. Which meant this guy was breaking into their houses and taking stuff recently.
There wasn't much of Lucien's and Helsie's, just some of their books and a few of their personally decorated guns.
The whole group was quietly whispering to each other when they heard footsteps outside. They all went silent and scrambled to hide behind the bean bags as best as possible.
The door opened to reveal the vampire they were after. He was carrying a pink cake with teal decorations, the candles having the number 19 on them. They guy placed the cake on a table near the door and took his hood off. He was still facing the door making Nemia curse, she just wanted to see the culprit's face.
He yawned as he turned around, finally revealing who he was.
Both Joni and Nemia gasped so loud the poor guy practically jumped out of his pants. “Who's there?!” The guy placed his hand on a very recognizable sheath. The same exact swords she was wearing.
Lucien went to stand up and point his gun at the vampire, but Nemia slammed her elbow into his gut, causing him to curl over. Instead, Nemia stood up with her hands raised, her eyes about to spill over with tears.
Despite having a new eye color and pointier teeth, she would recognize her brother from anywhere.
Minato stared at her dumbly as Joni stood up from hiding as well. His eyes quickly whipped over to her, his face distorting in fear. But why fear? He should be happy to see them, hadn't he missed them?
Minato was freaking out. They shouldn't be here. He was dangerous, the thing they all hated the most. He really couldn't see why they would come looking for him, he hid all of his tracks, he made sure to keep his face as hidden as possible when he was in the city to get more supplies. He must've not noticed someone watching him. His breath hitched, then stopped. After many years, and many times of being choked out by food that fought back, he learned he didn't need to breathe, a very useful power when it came to not hyperventilating.
He backed against the door, trying to get as much distance away from them as possible. Energy was flowing through him, threatening to spill and make him sprint away. His eyes snapped to Helsie and Lucien as they hesitantly stood up as well. Joni and Nemia weren't attacking, so they didn't wanna do anything to anger the calmer(?) two.
“Minato…? Is that really you?” Nemia slowly stepped forward, Minato's hand making its way to the door knob to pull it open and run away. He would have to move, run farther away this time. How come he was safe for only four years, why couldn't it be longer. He wanted to celebrate Nemia's birthday, but not with her. He was unsafe and dangerous, and frankly, very unpredictable.
“Minato Hakaru, are you SERIOUS?!” Joni's booming voice made everyone jump, including Minato, who only shrank into himself more from hearing his full name for the first time in years. “FOUR FUCKING YEARS, AND YOU DIDN'T COME SEE US ONCE?!” She stomped closer to him, he looked terrified as she got near, which was weird, he was the bravest of them all. “CAN YOU SPEAK?? SHOW SOME EMOTIONS?? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Joni was yelling so loud, Nemia had to step forward and place a hand on her shoulder.
“I-... You guys aren't supposed to be here. You were never supposed to see me again.” Minato's voice shook, he looked and sounded exactly like when they first lost him. “Minato..? What? Why wouldn't you never want to see us again?” Nemia was more concerned about why he was panicking so much, why would he not care anymore.?
“LOOK AT ME. TAKE ONE LOOK AT ME AND TELL ME YOU WOULDN'T KILL ME IF YOU COULD.” His sudden loudness made everyone jump, Nemia hadn't heard him yell unless he was playing video games, he never yelled at her.
And he was right, if he hadn't shown his face before hearing them, they would've killed him the second he showed any sign of aggression. Nemia tried to step forward, to hug him, to finally feel his touch again but he wouldn't let her. “Stay back. You can't be here, you can't see me like this.” He bumped into the table holding the cake, knocking it over, but his swift reflexes caught it, the angle he caught it at revealing what it said. “Happy birthday, Nemia!”
She teared up as he hid the cake again, turning his back on them and facing the door. She was scared of him running, scared of him leaving her again. She couldn't have that, she needed her big brother. With his back turned, she ran to him and hugged him, but with how fast he turned around again, she managed to hug him straight on, and not his back. She sobbed into his chest, clutching him so tightly he couldn't leave again. He softly hugged her back, being so gentle to not crush her. He didn't know his own strength, he didn't want to hurt her again.
When he finally finished the hug, she sobbed harder. He looked up at Joni with scared eyes, he didn't know what to do anymore. Despite her anger, Joni ran to hug him as well, hugging both him and Nemia. Both the girls could tell how hard he was shaking, and the very important fact that he wasn't breathing. Joni pulled back and looked at him, connecting the dots that he wasn't actually dying when they left him, he was turning. And this stupid quirk was something that unlocked immediately.
“You bastard, why would you not come see us?” He looked at Joni with guilty eyes, he technically did go and see them, he just never showed himself. “I mean-... I did? How do you think I have all of your guy's stuff..?” Nemia was still holding him as Joni looked around, finally seeing the huge amounts of stuff he had that was theirs. “I understand our stuff, but why Lucien's and Helsie's? You didn't know them as well as us.”
He hugged Nemia tighter, he wasn't expecting her to ask such a question. “They stuck with you and protected Nemia, so I got attached and wanted some of their stuff here to remind me of them when I couldn't watch you guys…” The siblings, who were still standing behind them confused, looked at Minato with such a flabbergasted look he couldn't help but let out a laugh. “I apologize for stealing but I couldn't help it.”
“Can we get some, I don't know… CONTEXT??” Lucien walked closer, Joni awkwardly scratching her head. “Uhm, meet Minato Hakaru, one of the originals of the High Stakes Club.” Both West siblings gawked at the other three, “and why didn't you tell us about him??” Helsie stepped forward as well, standing next to her brother. “Why does Nemia know about him but not us?”
Nemia finally let go of Minato, still holding his hand as she turned to face the Wests. Her voice still sniffly, she spoke, “he found me and raised me, he's the reason I'm alive right now.” Both Helsie and Lucien turned to face Minato, an awkward smile on his face as he finally met these two officially.
Nemia fidgeted with his fingers, looking at his sharper nails that were painted teal. Now that she looked around, many things in here represented Nemia or Joni, things painted Joni's signature red and Nemia's teal. “Nemia? Are you wearing my old jacket?” He peered down to look at the old version of his current leather jacket. He glanced down at the rest of her body and saw his old swords. “I’m guessing you’re the one who took my stuff when I died?”
She meekly nodded, still kinda in shock that he really was here. She turned back to face him and grabbed his face, pulling his jaw open. He looked around at the rest of the group heavily confused. Joni chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand as she watched the situation in front of her.
Nemia was exploring Minato's new features, her hands softly brushing up near his eyes. “I don't like your eyes.” “Oh.” She let go of his face and stepped back, still holding his hand. “I mean I kinda like the new color… I know it's not exactly me anymore but it also is technically the new me and I do have to embrace it.” He touched the point of his teeth again, a somber look on his face.
“Ok, so. Just to reiterate, Minato's coming home with us right?” Lucien put his hands on his hips with a small smile on his face, looking at Joni for approval. “Hey, wait! Who said I was going back..? I can't, I'm a monster now.” He tugged his hand out of Nemia's, inching away from the door and into the room, giving himself space.
He hugged himself, rubbing his hands on his biceps to calm himself. While he was glad that he could see his family again, he wasn't safe. What if he wasn't able to find food and accidentally attacked them? It's not like they're human hunters, they only hunt monsters and it's not like he can bite other vampires.
The mention of him being a monster now snapped a few of them out of the glory of seeing him, they realized he ate humans now. “Well who have you been eating now…?” Nemia clutched her hands together, rubbing her palms to get rid of her nervousness. “I've mainly been eating people I've seen assaulting others, but sometimes they're few and far between and I have to stop visiting you guys for a few weeks until someone innocent comes by the shack.”
How would they view him after this? He was just trying to survive, just like any other animal. “Why would you have to stop seeing us?” And while Joni already knew the answer to her question, she needed him to admit it, if he was able to admit he had bloodlust, that he could go feral, it meant he could control himself, that he was safe to be around.
“I-... I wouldn't want to attack you guys, it's too dangerous.” Joni smiled at him, proud of his answer. “I’m unpredictable and I have no idea when I could snap. I don’t know what I’d do if I hurt any of you.”
“Minato, we are vampire hunters, we know how to deal with feral vampires, whether it be taming them or killing them.” Joni walked up to him and grabbed his hands, hard enough that he couldn’t run, but soft enough he felt comfortable. “Besides, Helsie and I have an extra room Joni could live in, those two sorta took over your place.” Minato blushed at Lucien’s offer to help, they were all being so caring and accepting. He didn’t know how to react so he simply pulled Joni into a hug. He looked over to Nemia to join them, and then over to the West siblings, who happily jumped into the cuddle pile.
“Would you guys like your stuff back or can I keep it all? I’ve grown attached..” The other four laughed at Minato, all of them making a mental note to protect him at all times.