His muscles hurting, his breath ragged and his throat dry, Kaoru run and... run.
He felt his injured leg almost fracture.
A few long seconds later, he entered a small park trying to catch his breath.
'I... I'll be fine here. There is no way someone would attack me here. In broad daylight.'
His heart still racing, he took deep breaths, calming himself down.
Forehead slick with sweat, legs beyond numb and lungs on fire, it did not look too good for him. Additionally, his nose was overwhelmed by a nauseating sweet smell.
He had maximum ten minutes to return home, or he'll get in trouble.
Currently, he was a kilometer or so away from his house. He could easily walk or run there, but...
'What should I do? I'm exhausted and that man could still be out there. I doubt he will hurt me again though. Still...'
Pondering on what to do, he came to a single conclusion. An obvious one.
I guess I have to run, huh.
Before that however, he had to catch his breath first. Unfortunately for him...
'Again, why is the smell becoming more and more intense?'
It quickly got out of hand.
A sweet scent abruptly overtook Kaoru's nose and sense of smell, causing him to stumble, his face pale.
His nose bled, unable to handle the smell. Yes, it was sweet and pleasant, but it was too much. And it was coming from behind him.
Kaoru mustered all the strength he could, turning his head.
At the next moment, he jumped back hastily, falling down.
"Who are you?! Answer me!" Demanded Kaoru.
Apparently, a person had appeared behind him, crouched over the floor. The person was holding someone in his arms, kissing him on the neck.
Hearing Kaoru, he didn't even glance back when he answered.
"Kid, I'm in the middle of feeding, can you shut up?! I ain't sharing."
It was a middle aged man with normal looks and a slightly muscular build. As for the person he was holding, Kaoru couldn't discern his gender.
Feeding? Surely he heard it wrong right...? Right?
The person getting held showed his... her, foot? That was definitely a woman's foot. Nevermind that, his...her leg had a tiny bit of red on it.
Based on the bizarre events that he experienced earlier, he decided that was not a simple red stain.
But, Kaoru felt a sudden pull towards the two people. His mouth was watering slightly, and his pupils dilated.
'Am I hungry?'
The middle aged man got up, threw the person he was carrying on the ground, and wiped his lips with the back of his palm, turning it crimson.
He opened his mouth to speak, revealing his blood-stained teeth.
"Kid. I've finished eating, so you won't find much. Well I'm out of here." Said the man.
Before anything else could happen and without time to register it, unexpectedly, he was looking at the world upside down.
Huh?
His head flew some meters away.
His neck spurted with blood, and his body convulsed before collapsing.
What just happened?
A young man in a white robe suddenly stood opposite of Kaoru, holding a sword.
The sword was painted red.
He glanced at Kaoru and opened his mouth.
"Hello. I'm sure you are surprised, but just now, that was a vampire. I didn't make it in time for the other person, but I at least saved you."
His bloodied nose sniffing here and there, his pupils dilated and his mouth watering , Kaoru ignored what the man said and spoke up by instinct.
"Mister, why do you smell so appetizing?"
At this point, Kaoru had no idea why he said that . He just did. He said what came to mind first.
The young man smelled amazingly pleasant.
He understood nothing of what was happening. He just did what he wanted to do. Saying what he wanted to.
The young man's eyes widened a bit, startled. But he soon regained his composure.
"Oh, I see. You are one of them aren't you? Well let me end your misery."
He took a step forward, aiming his sword at Kaoru.
The blade of the sword slowly turned blue and white, burning?
He then raised his sword and slashed downwards, trying to split Kaoru's head in half.
Yet again, another person appeared, glowing. He was dazzling, in the literal sense of the word.
He summoned a sword, out of thin air, and blocked the young man's attack, protecting Kaoru.
The white-robed young man jumped back.
"Another one, what happened? Did I interrupt a sort of vampire meeting?"
The new person calmly replied back, his face hidden by light.
"Oh, no, certainly not. I just happened to pass by. Anyway, I have no time for idle chat. I better get going. Then, farewell.
Just when he said that, he hit Kaoru in the neck with a chop, effectively knocking him out, and placed him on his shoulder.
"Like I'll let you do that. You wretched vampires!" Yelled back the white robed man.
He proceeded to take a stance, his white robe dancing in the wind.
He took a step forward and turned into a blur, already upon Kaoru and the other person.
'He is fast.' Thought the mysterious person.
But he responded by sidestepping and dodging the sword, just barely.
Carrying Kaoru with one hand, he opened the other and hit himself in the chest, turning incandescent alongside Kaoru.
Energy focused on his legs, blinding light escaping from them.
The next second, he disappeared from sight with Kaoru. No warning, no feelings, nothing.
He was just gone.
"Damn it! They got away!" Shouted the young swordsman. "But still, a vampire using light, that's unexpected. I shall report this to the chairman."
Burning the bodies left behind, that of the headless man and his victim, he stood up.
And so, he vanished into thin air, too.
***
In a dimly lit room, an unconscious student was sleeping on a chair, tied.
His wrists were purple, injured by the rope tying him down.
A young looking person was sitting on a chair opposite him.
A long period of silence passed, with absolutely nothing happening.
But then...
'Wh-where am i.'
Kaoru opened his eyes slowly.
"So you finally woke up, Kaoru Fujimoto." Muttered the young looking person.
Slowly raising his eyelids, Kaoru glanced at the man sitting in a chair opposite of him.
He noticed a relatively young person, with a defined face and striking hazel eyes alongside raven black hair. He was charming...But never mind that.
"Who are you." Questioned Kaoru.
He was tied up, he did not recall anything. Yet, Kaoru's mind was clear.
"I can't say. I can neither disclose information about this location."
Kaoru scoffed.
"Um...then what can you 'disclose'? What do you even want from me?"
The mysterious young man sighed.
"Well, how do I explain this to you?"
"Normally?" Sarcastically replied Kaoru.
"Okay then, you are a vampire. Simple as that. You almost got killed yesterday by a human."
Something flashed inside Kaoru's mind. He remembered that a man in a white robe struck him with a sword.
After a bright flash, he got knocked out. Wait...
Wait what?! What did he just say.
"Wait, did you just say I'm a vampire? What kind of bullshit are you tal...king... about." Kaoru stuttered.
Vampire? That sounded very unreal. And yet, it made sense. He had seen a person...vampire, drink blood before. But why was he one?
Oh, right. The vampire I met yesterday, he said he was not sharing.
Pulling him out of his thoughts, his left leg erupted with pain, making Kaoru groan.
'Argh! I forgot about this. My leg fucking hurts. My wrists are hurt too.'
'Wait, my leg? Don't tell me that old man was a vampire too? Makes sense.'
The man sitting infront of him went on.
"So you finally get it, huh? I'm sure you still have doubts, but it'd be better to listen to everything I have to say. "
He cleared his throat and started talking again.
"Now that they know your face, the humans will hunt you down relentlessly until they eliminate you. You can choose to come with me, leaving everything behind or risk going back to your normal life, Kaoru Fujimoto."
Like the man had said, Kaoru was full of doubts. He couldn't grasp what was happening around him and it was getting worse and worse. But, he was willing to listen. Before that...
"Before we continue, I have some questions myself."
"Go on."
"You keep mentioning 'humans', does that mean you are a vampire? And how do you even know my name?" Calmly inquired Kaoru.
The man opposite of him chuckled a little and answered nonchalantly.
"Yes, I am a vampire. And your name? I just used the phone in your school bag."
'Ah.'
Kaoru opened his mouth to speak, but the man interrupted him.
"If you want to come with me, you will not contact your parents, you will not go back to your house and you will not communicate with any previous friends, relatives etc.
If you want me to tell you where I'll take you, you have to choose to come with me."
Kaoru hesitated. Won't contact his parents? Will not go back to his house?
He was sceptical, so he asked again.
"Can you prove to me that you are infact a vampire? You could be a human interrogating me."
A laugh came from the young person sitting in his chair.
''That's good. Its good to be suspicious.''
He stood up and flicked his fingers.
With a way that was familiar to Kaoru, the man vanished.
Like the bastard that hit me in the leg.
A hand patted Kaoru on the shoulder out of nowhere.
Kaoru turned, flabbergasted.
When did he get behind me?
He was not done, though. The man reappeared in his chair.
"Was that convincing? If yes, make your decision."
***
Kaoru opened the door of a black car, sat on the backseat and waited. Some minutes later, a charming man accompanied by someone Kaoru did not recognize approached the car. The stranger opened the door for the charming man.
''Sir, please.''
The charming man nodded, sat in the backseat of the car alongside Kaoru and waited.
The stranger closed the door and got on the drivers seat. Not long after, he started to drive. Just then, the charming person looked at Kaoru and smiled slightly.
''Listen well, Fujimoto Kaoru. This car is heading towards a certain academy. It's an academy that nurtures young vampires."
He sighed tiredly and added.
''You will be given a dorm room, alongside basic necessities. You will have classes like normal and so on. Your homeroom teacher will explain things further. Understood?"
Kaoru simply nodded. He was in no mood to talk. He was anxious and in need of time to sort out his thoughts.
'Vampires...they exist... I'm one of them...'
His mind couldn't comprehend that fact. Because, after all, he was just a teenager. How did things go this way? That, he did not know.
The 'charming man' besides him was called Tsukishiro Takuya. Apparently, he was a teacher. That's what he told Kaoru, at least.
The man in question rubbed his face with one hand and sighed. After that, he interrupted Kaoru's time to think.
''I forgot to mention this, but you will also undergo a test regarding some vampire related stuff. Like your tolerance to human food for example.''
Kaoru blinked.
''Tolerance to human food? What do vampires eat?"
Tsukishiro looked at him with a strange expression.
Giving it some thought, Kaoru turned to him with disgust on his face.
''Wait...don't tell me their...Our source of food...is blood?"
Tsukishiro nodded, making Kaoru grimace.
'There is no way I am drinking blood. I rather die than drink blood.'
Smiling, Tsukishiro spoke up once more.
''You can still eat human food. Although it isn't as nutritionally rich, so you'll have to eat a lot, putting strain on your stomach. Not mentioning the taste.''
''I'm fine with that. I'm not drinking blood, no matter what.'' Replied Kaoru.
''Suit yourself.''
They almost reached their destination...
...Kaoru and Tsukishiro walked in a dimly lit hallway with a red carpet. They stopped outside a big, brown metal door. After lingering for a second, Tsukishiro knocked on it.
The door infront of them was the Vampire academy principal's office.
Accompanying Tsukishiro, Kaoru gulped. It was time to meet the principal of the academy, the man supposed to evaluate Kaoru, based on god knows what.
"Principal, it's me." Said Tsukishiro.
"Come in."
Tsukishiro opened the door, gestured for Kaoru to go inside first, and joined him a moment later.
"This is the new student? Come here."
Following the sound of the voice, Kaoru looked up. It was an old man with grey hair, a neatly trimmed beard and glasses. He wore a grey suit with a blue tie and possessed calm, blue eyes. More like fierce blue eyes...
He was sitting on his desk, with his arms crossed. He glared at Kaoru or it seemed as such.
"Sit down."
"Yes sir." Calmly responded Kaoru.
"I'm a busy man, so I'll get straight to the point. Or rather, I'll ask my questions."
Kaoru shook his head with a nod. He was waiting for the principal's questions.
"Alright. Can you handle human food? Have you drank any blood? How old are you and when did you turn."
Kaoru thought for a few seconds, considering the questions the principal asked.
Finally ready, he exhaled.
"I have never drank blood and my choice of food is human food. I'm sixteen years old. I can't answer the last question since I have no idea."
The principal continued to glare at him with an intense expression. After some short moments of glaring, he added.
"I see. What are the names of your parents? How do you feel about vampires? How do you feel about humans?"
Kaoru answered immediately and without hesitation, not thinking it over by even a second, unlike a few moments earlier.
"My father is named Fujimoto Takumi and my mother's name is Fujimoto Kaede. I... Have no opinions on vampires. I barely even know a thing about them. About humans however... I still consider myself one, somewhere in my mind."
The principal gave a nod while still glaring and cleared his throat.
"Okay, last questions. Will you train in this academy? Do you want power and strength? Or do you prefer to study? Also, can you handle eating human food?"
Kaoru smiled weakly while scratching his cheek in slight embarrassment.
"Well, I'm not planning to train, no. I'm not interested in power or strength. I just want to focus on my studies. I'm curious to see what I will be able to do, though."
The principal picked up a pen, scribbled something on a piece of paper for a while, and frowned.
Kaoru meanwhile, thought that he responded accordingly. He wanted a peaceful life, vampire or not.
Studying had been his goal as long as he could remember. He was not going to give up now.
The principal wrote some more things, sighed, and spoke in a deep and stern voice.
"I'm afraid that is going to cost you a lot. My word of advice is to train, or you'll end up dead outside this academy. The world of vampires is harsh. Take advantage of the peaceful years you have here to train. And besides, you will train, whether you like it or not. That is all, you are dismissed. Tsukishiro, show him the way to class."
Tsukishiro sighed.
"Roger that. I'll be taking my leave now."
With that, Kaoru and Tsukishiro left the principal's office.
***