The following day, Azumi sat on the edge of her bed, chewing nervously on her thumbnail. Machio had been acting… strange ever since he got home from the convenience store yesterday. He'd been quiet, distracted, and every time she tried to talk to him, he would just mutter something about "being a future son" and then complain about the "insane vampire girls" that seemed to be circling around him.
It wasn't just her concern for Machio. There was something else gnawing at her — the lingering feeling that the world was changing, and not for the better. Every time he talked about Rosaria and Tachibana, there was a dangerous edge in his voice. It wasn't just a high school rivalry anymore. It was something darker, something that felt like it was reaching for him.
Azumi couldn't ignore the mounting sense of dread.
That's when she heard it: a sharp knock on the door.
"Machio? Is everything alright?" she called, not taking her eyes off the window.
The door creaked open, and Kira strolled in without waiting for permission, his usual smirk plastered across his face. The man had an aura of confidence that almost seemed… out of place. But today, his usual charm was tinged with something more.
"Azumi," he greeted her casually, tossing a packet of something onto her desk. "You might want to brace yourself for the incoming storm."
Azumi shot him a glare. "What storm?"
Kira took a seat in the chair by the window, his fingers tapping against the edge of the desk as he looked out toward the street. "Machio's been pulled into something he can't get out of. The Crimson Lotus Pact. You heard of it?"
Azumi frowned. "I know what it is. But Machio has nothing to do with that… does he?"
Kira raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a wry smile. "That's what he thought too. Turns out, he's at the center of it."
---
Meanwhile, Machio was in the kitchen, slamming a bottle of cola onto the counter as his mind raced. He couldn't believe it. Kira—of all people—was calling him his future son. What kind of messed-up future was that? A future with vampire girls fighting over him, ancient treaties, and power struggles that he didn't even understand?
The more he thought about it, the crazier it sounded. How had things gotten so out of hand? Was he really just some pawn in some grand scheme?
"Machio," Azumi's voice broke through his thoughts. "What's going on? You look like you're about to explode."
"Don't even ask." Machio dropped his head into his hands. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
Azumi watched him for a long moment before stepping closer. "Look, I get that you're freaked out, but you need to talk about this. You can't just bottle it up."
"I don't know what to say." Machio threw his hands up. "Kira just told me that I'm some kind of 'chosen idiot' for the vampire clans. Apparently, one of them is gonna bite me and make me their 'future husband'—or something like that. Rosaria, that foreign vampire girl, she wants me for power, and Tachibana... well, she's falling for me."
Azumi stared at him, her mouth dry. "That... that sounds like a nightmare."
"It is a nightmare!" he snapped. "And now, Kira thinks that... that we're tied by some stupid pact."
Azumi crossed her arms, her mind whirring. "This doesn't make any sense. What do we do about it?"
Machio didn't answer right away. He glanced at Kira, who stood by the window, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"You're the one who said this is my future."
"Yeah, well, it's also your mess," Kira shot back. "But I'm here to help. If you're going to survive, you need to know who's after you—and who's hunting you down."
---
Elsewhere, in the darkened city streets…
The moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the alleyways. A man in a long black coat moved through the shadows with unnatural grace. His eyes, sharp and calculating, never once glanced at the streetlights. He was used to the dark. It was his ally.
His name was Kawashira Rei, a vampire hunter.
To most, he appeared to be a regular detective. On the surface, he wore a plain black suit and glasses, his demeanor that of a professional. But in the dead of night, when the city slept, he was something far more dangerous. A trained killer, he was the one who had been tracking the vampire clans for years. The Crimson Lotus Pact, and the madness it had stirred, had brought him back into the city.
He paused outside a rundown bar, his gaze trained on the building. His sharp ears picked up the faintest sound—the unmistakable click of heels on the pavement.
Rei's lip curled into a sneer.
"Another one," he muttered. "They just keep crawling out of the crypts."
Without hesitation, he turned and disappeared into the night.
---
Back at Machio's house, Kira's expression turned serious.
"There's one more thing you need to know," he said. "The vampire clans, they don't play fair. They'll use any method to gain power. And if that means taking you down, Machio, they won't hesitate."
Azumi looked worried, her eyes narrowing. "And what does that mean for us?"
Kira's voice lowered. "It means that sooner or later, we'll be facing someone far worse than Rosaria or Tachibana. Someone who won't care about your feelings. Someone who's been hunting them for a long time."
Machio swallowed hard. "And let me guess… he wears glasses and hunts in the dark?"
Kira just smiled. "You're catching on."
---
That night, as Machio lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the distant sound of something breaking echoed through his thoughts.
It wasn't the wind.
It wasn't an illusion.
Something was coming.
And it wasn't just the vampire girls.
---
To Be Continued…
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