Chapter Text
Isagi knows the Itoshi brothers are vampires. Well, it’s more of a suspicion rather than a belief with definite proof.
Isagi flinched when the Itoshis zoomed past him on the track for the fourth time in ten minutes. He could smell the sweet scent that the Itoshi twins had aggressively applied linger throughout the air, long after they left his vicinity. It was no secret that the brothers smelled heavenly. They lived on the saddest side of the country, which rained consistently, leaving the atmosphere disgustingly moist year-round. Aside from the year-round depression the weather brought, it gave everybody a damp smell. A smell nobody could escape but the Itoshi brothers.
“Talk about overachievers.” Chigiri sneered, giving Isagi room to move away from the occupied lanes.
Their gym teacher wasn’t feeling well that day, so instead of giving his fifth period their usual warm-up followed by a few competitive games, he opted to provide them with a light period—his idea of a “light period” being an endurance test.
"Just run until you drop,” his exact words, if Isagi could recall correctly. Most of the class (Isagi included) ran one collective lap before damning it all to hell and switching to light jogs. Occasionally, they picked up the pace when the gym teacher had his attention on them, just to slow back down to talk to their friends once his attention was diverted. Being the gym fanatic that he was, Isagi was tempted to put his all into this test, but quickly decided against it when he realized that the test held no real weight. The gym teacher couldn’t afford to take a sick day and half assed his plans for that day.
“It’s inhuman,” Isagi’s eyes narrowed, closely following the two. Being mid-sprint, trying to study a moving target wasn't easy. All he could gather from their moving bodies was their swaying hair every time their feet touched the ground in sync, and how disturbingly pale they were. They almost appeared to glow.
Isagi shivered involuntarily, ripping his eyes off the boys to stare back at his friend. “They’re vampires,” he concluded for the 45th time since they transferred schools 2 months ago, and out loud for the first time.
Chigiri gave Isagi a strange look, desperately searching for a hint of sarcasm in his voice, only to be met with complete seriousness.
“Vampires? I hate them as much as the next person,” Isagi could already sense the disconnect. Nobody hated them. Not even Chigiri, contrary to his words. He was salty for a while after being dethroned as the fastest in the grade by Rin and his quick feet, but the disdain was short-lived. The brothers were the broody, reclusive type and kept to themselves enough to make neither a friend nor a foe. “But that’s ridiculous.”
“Can’t you see it? They’re paler than pale!”
“So is everybody else?” Chigiri wasn't wrong. Everybody's barely noticeable summer tan had long faded, leaving them with a frail complexion. Even the girls who would use spray-on tan to stretch out their summer tan for an extra week or two had given up on replicating it.
“That’s different.” Isagi defended.
“How so?” Chigiri leaned in closer so he wouldn't miss a single second of Isagi’s definitely well-thought-out response.
Isagi stammered for a few seconds, trying to find a rebuttal. “ Their cheeks don't even turn red when it’s cold,” he pointed out. Isagi was a vampire mythology freak in his pastime. Buying more vampire novels than he could count on both hands and feet, and scouring the internet for hours at a time for proof of their existence. For goodness' sake, he even thrifted multiple rosaries that he keeps in his makeshift vampire hunting kit hidden under his bed. If anybody's eyes are fit to spot the undead, it’s his.
Chigiri's tense eyes eased up after this. “Those vampire romance books are getting to your head.” his hearty laugh made Isagi clench his jaw.
“They aren't romance novels,” he said through his teeth, trying to keep his voice down so nobody else could hear their embarrassing conversation. They bickered back and forth after that. The redhead insisted that the mountain of vampire novels was just an outlet for Isagi’s guilty pleasure, and Isagi emphasized that it was just a coincidence.
“Don't try to deny it. I’ve seen your bookshelf,” Chigiri threw his arm around Isagi in a comforting manner, but judging by his tone, this was anything but soothing.
“Keep snooping through my things and you’ll lose visiting privileges.” Isagi pushed Chigiri off of him, simultaneously and regrettably stepping into one of the only lanes being used for its intended purpose. A hurried “Isagi” from Chigiri barely registered before a body collided with his own at full speed, sending him crashing to the ground with no time to catch himself. He landed chest-first into the gravel, knocking the wind out of him like a whoopee cushion. The extra weight of another person didn't help. It felt like a dumbbell had been dropped on him. Whoever this person was, they were extremely cold and cumbersome.
The gravel beneath him began to pierce every inch of his body. His body betrayed a wince, praying whoever had sandwiched him between thousands of miniature rocks and their freezing, ungodly heavy body would register the situation faster and get off of him!
He managed to open the eye furthest from the ground to see who had crashed right into him. There, lying all 100 and something pounds on Isagi’s poor back and shoulders was….Rin Itoshi?
Isagi began to scramble under him, partly from the lack of oxygen and partly from the shock. This proved to be a good strategy because it prompted Rin to finally sit upright. Isagi followed suit and took his first breath of fresh air in 10 seconds. He had never been so grateful for air before.
After the initial shock of the situation and overwhelming gratitude for oxygen wore off, a stinging pain bloomed near his knee. He looked down to see that one of the rocks he landed onto had managed to wedge itself deep enough into his skin to break it and draw blood.
Shit..Isagi hissed out, attempting to wipe away the excess gravel that still clung to his skin, accidentally smearing the blood in the process.
Isagi’s gaze rose up to meet Rin's, who were tense and widened. Isagi could get a better view of his eyes from this distance. His long lashes cascaded slightly over his dull sea foam eyes, looking devoid of all life. His breathing quickened, and finger nails dug into his thighs as if attempting to ground himself. Or suppress.
“Watch where you’re walking.” Rin coughed out, eyes averting and fingers digging deeper into his thighs, making his knuckles appear whiter than they already were.
“You’re the one who ran into me,” Isagi's pride forced him to swallow whatever bullshit apology he had prepared for Itoshi. If he wanted to have an attitude right off the bat, Isagi would mirror it.
Chigiri, sensing a problem brewing from the thickening tension, decided to step in like some mediator. “What he means is that he’s sorry,” he offered Rin a hand that he does not dignify by accepting, instead remaining on the ground shivering with lowered eyes.
“Keep your tepid apology.” He pushed through his quivering body, earning him a concerned look from both onlookers. They’re too enamoured with Rin’s state to feel his brother’s presence creeping up on them.
“Forgive him.” Sae deadpanned before squatting in between Isagi and Rin, naturally relaxed eyes with crazy long lashes that resembled Rin’s, examining their state like a judge before delivering his verdict. His dead sea foam colored eyes eventually landed on Isagi’s injured knee.
His gaze traveled up towards an alerted Chigiri. “You should help him to the infirmary.”
“Right,” his voice trailing off as he hurried to help Isagi lift himself from the ground, wrapping the other’s arm around his shoulder and leading him towards the outdated school building. But, Isagi didn’t want to tear his eyes away from Rin. Better yet, he couldn't. He stopped Chigiri, who looked back curiously.
“What about him?” He called out to Sae, pointing directly at Rin. He was met with that same look of indifference; nobody could be spared. He turned to look at his brother’s state for a few short moments, his facial expression never wavering. “He’ll be fine,” he concluded without a second thought.
Chigiri took that as a sign to keep moving, and Isagi complied without any objections or backtracking. Though his body had moved on from the situation, his mind hadn’t. He couldn't rid himself of the image of Rin’s state. His visceral reaction to whatever had triggered him, and how vulnerable it left him.
Isagi’s hand lifted to scratch an itch on his side, but came face to face with dried, smeared blood that colored his fingertips. He felt something click in his mind. It was the blood. Vampires had a natural weakness to human blood.
“On second thought, you may have been right about the vampire thing.” Chigiri chimed in when they were finally out of earshot of the Itoshis. “Those guys are terrifying up close.”
“Great to know you’re finally convinced.” Isagi’s face betrayed a smile, glad to know somebody was on his side.
“I’m not completely sold on the idea yet, so don’t celebrate early.”
“How? Did you not see how he reacted back there to my blood?” Isagi asked, seeing that his point had almost definite proof.
“Maybe he’s hemophobic.” Chigiri shrugged. “Plus. Aren't vampires supposed to be allergic to the day or something?
“Not all, there are a variety of vampires that are immune and can walk out into the sun with little to no discomfort.” Isagi schooled his friend on surface-level vampire knowledge.
“How convenient.” Chigiri’s side eye was notable.
“I'm serious!”
Chigiri decided to have fun with their predicament. “Fine, I’ll be fully convinced IF you can provide photo proof of the Itoshis with their fangs out.” Isagi’s eyes lit up as Chigiri dangled the possibility in front of his face like candy
“Does it have to be both brothers?”
“One will suffice.” They were a package deal; if one magically turned out to be a paranormal entity, the other one most definitely was as well. “I’ll even be your personal servant for a week.” Now, Isagi was really fired up to start this vampire hunt.
“Make it a month.”
“Deal”
—-------
Isagi waited until he knew for sure his parents were asleep by the synced snoring echoing from the main bedroom. Perfect.
As priggish as it made him sound, Isagi had never snuck out before. He never saw a reason to do so. His parents allowed him to do virtually anything he wanted as long as it was safe and he alerted them beforehand.
So effectively, he had no clue how to go about this. Should he sneak out the windows like they do in the movies? The idea genuinely crossed his mind before being marred by the realization that his room was located on the second floor. He would be in for a rude awakening of his body’s fragility if he jumped from this height.
Maybe if he shimmies down the porch roof before jumping, it’ll lessen the fall damage? Sounded solid enough for Isagi. He secured his phone, which he planned to use to capture evidence, deep into his back pocket so that it wouldn't slip out, and began to climb out of the window. One foot at a time, just in case he had second thoughts and wanted to use the front door like a normal person. He prevailed. Stumbling down the roof, praying it wouldn’t crush under his weight, ignoring the throbbing pain that persisted in his knee.
When he finally reunited with the ground, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. If tonight went well, he'd never have to do that again.
Isagi had a pretty good idea of where the Itoshis lived. They resided on the outskirts of the town, the area concealed by miles of trees on either side, as a result making the area less popular among potential home buyers. They were alone over there, and Isagi was kind enough to pay them an unexpected visit.
Isgai decided to take a shortcut he knew. It was a trail through the wooded part of the town, using his flashlight to illuminate the wooden path that had been created from the thousands of other legs that walked this way before him.
After 15 minutes (give or take) of a steady limp pace and looking behind every 2 minutes, Isagi had finally reached the residence. The house was modest, to say the least. Besieged painted with no outdoor accessories to adorn their perfectly cut grass and bushes, no car in the designated parking space. Nothing to insinuate that anybody lived there, aside from the lights being on and two figures moving throughout the house.
Isagi turned off his phone light before proceeding. The closer he got, the more it seemed like they were arguing. Their voices faintly seeped out through the open window from their living room. ‘Something something control your urges before you cause us trouble again’ and a panicked ‘I don’t know how to’ response from the voice he recognized as Rin’s.
His hunger to fully grapple with their conversation consumed Isagi, making him out of order. He attempted to climb over the fence, overestimating how much movement his injured knee could take in one day. Just when he was about to prop himself up fully, a debilitating shock rang throughout his body, causing him to lose his balance, flip over, and free-fall the rest of the way down. He landed in a bush that luckily cushioned his fall, but unluckily was overflowing with thorns that shredded up all of his exposed body parts and drew blood.
‘Fuck!’ He wanted to scream out, but bit it back, not wanting to alert the Itoshis that he was prowling outside of their house. But it was apparently too late for that because he had already been caught when he saw Rin’s head sticking out through the window to see what all the commotion was about.
This view of him couldn't be any more incriminating. He tried to get up and run before they could question or worse, call the police on him for loitering on their private property after dark, but that proved to be a task when every movement caused the thorns to prick deeper into his skin. He was too caught up in trying to free himself from the prickly bush to notice that a quivering Rin had jumped from the living room window and was slowly, consciously approaching him.
Isagi, finally seeing him creeping towards him like a predator cornering its prey, startled him enough to jump out of the bush, ignoring the pricks and gnawing pain in his knee, and start running in the opposite direction. He saw the feral look in his eye, prompted by the new blood seeping out of Isagi's fresh wounds, and didn’t want to stick around to see how it’d end.
He barely made it out of the yard before being tackled and pinned down by Rin. Isagi’s head was reeling. He’s imagined his death many times before, drowning, being poisoned, even getting hit by a car. But never did it cross his mind that he’d die like this and so young. He wasn’t ready. The adrenaline kicked in, blocking out all the bodily pain previously restricting Isagi’s movement.
He used what strength he had to roll over and face Rin. Rin looked like he had utterly lost his mind, eyes more fierce, mouth agape, and salivating like a fountain. He was no different from a rabies-stricken dog. Face inching closer to Isagi’s. He used his free leg to kick him off to no avail. Vampires were more durable than the average human.
Isagi’s fast mind changed objectives in seconds. If he couldn’t kick him off, he’d just try to keep his fangs (that weren't there before) away from piercing his body. Isagi’s free hand scrambled around him, feeling for the phone that had been knocked out of his hand when he was tackled. When he finally found it, he shoved it sideways into Rin’s mouth to gag him. Anything to keep the mouth occupied while he waited for an opening.
Thankfully, the opening finally came in the form of Sae.
“Rin.” Sae stood leisurely by the front door, watching the whole ordeal go down and not stepping in.
Rin, hearing his name, beckoning him to calm down, averts his attention for just a second. But that second is all Isagi needed to rewind his free leg and kick Rin off of him, successfully this time. He heard an “oomph” when Rin fell back. But there’s no time for celebrating. He quickly grabbed his phone and scurried away. Never stopping and never looking back. Isagi knew that Itoshi wouldn't follow him, but his body wouldn’t stop moving until he got home, and he wouldn't dare to look back in fear.
His race back home was aghast. He stumbled on everything, branches, air, his own feet, but that didn’t stop him for a second. Not until he was safely back in his yard could he finally slow down, reaping the consequences of overusing his body. He rested both hands on his thighs, trying to catch his breath.
When the post-adrenaline shock wore off, Isagi was left feeling almost euphoric. Sickening so. A low laugh escaped his lips. Nothing else mattered to him right then. His hands started to glide around from the saliva that collected on his palm when fending off Rin. Even as repulsive as it was, he couldn't even find it in himself to care one bit.
A real-life vampire attacked him and could live to tell the tale. His low laugh gradually morphed into a more maniacal laugh. Feeling fully validated in his unorthodox beliefs for the first time ever