Hiyoshi snarled into his drink. They were here again. That redheaded brat was even on a leash this time. It made him sick to think someone would stoop so low as to be a pet and actually enjoy it. They hadn't even been together that long. From what Hiyoshi had heard, Shishido Ryou was the loner type; the kind that would have a bite and leave the leftovers in a back alley. He never took- Hiyoshi shuddered- pets.
Hiyoshi Wakashi was no vampire hunter. No, those guys were as bad as the stupid vamps themselves; most thought they were better than the world, only the hunters seemed to think they had divine backup. Divinity his ass, if there was some holy power helping them, then why were there more hunters found dead than the vampires themselves?
The redhead was on the dance floor, lights making his hair a myriad of colors as he swung his hips. If Hiyoshi watched closely he could see the kid give a wink back at the Vampire whenever he rubbed a little too close to one of the other dancers, and with a flick of his eye he saw Shishido glare. Oh, so the vampire was possessive? It wasn't much longer before he stood, striding over to his collared pet and dragged him back over to the bar where he had been sitting.
Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow at the redhead's cheeky grin. Did the kid think he could actually get away with teasing a vampire? He'd seen someone try it before. Not on this vampire, but once in a while the club was invaded by others, and... well, to put it nicely the girl who'd tried it didn't live much longer.
But somehow, he had gotten away with it. Hiyoshi watched the long-haired vampire pull the redhead into a deep and hungry kiss, and then smacked his ass. The yelp the kid made could be heard from where he was sitting, and upon closer inspection he noticed the outfit he was wearing. Cat ears, and a tail to go with it. And this tail was obviously held in place in a way he didn't want to think more about, judging by the way he squirmed as the vampire pushed him onto a bar stool.
Hiyoshi tipped back the rest of his drink in a long chug and ordered another. Definitely didn't want to think about.
Later, he must have slammed his door harder than he meant to, as his roommate poked his head out of his room. "Bad day?" The man asked sympathetically, a small smile on his face under a head of untimely silver hair.
Hiyoshi sighed, leaning against the door and putting a hand to his face for a moment, and then lifted it to give his roommate a wry smile. "Guess so." He pushed away from the door, listening to the wood strain and walked to their tiny kitchen.
"We're out of green tea," came the voice behind him as he searched through the cupboards, "I meant to get some today but work called me in. I can get you some lemon tea with honey?"
Hiyoshi looked up as his roommate opened a cupboard beside him and pulled out a box of teabags. "You don't have to, I can get it myself." he stated, and to show his stubbornness he filled up the teapot with water and set it on the stove. Then he looked up again, "Work? But I thought they caught the one you've been chasing?"
His roommate frowned and gave up, sitting in one of the chairs at their little table. "I thought so, too. But it turns out he was smarter than they thought." He shifted uncomfortably, hand clutching at his cross necklace, "It's nothing but dead ends again. Literally."
Hiyoshi wouldn't admit it, but his roommate was one of the big reasons he hated vampires. Ohtori Choutarou was a vampire hunter. He'd lost at least two partners in his time to vampires; apparently they hunted in pairs. The kid was so nice and thoughtful, sometimes Hiyoshi wondered how he did his job at all. As he made up the tea, he shrugged. "You'll get him."
Ohtori looked up when Hiyoshi set a hot cup in front of him and nodded. "Hopefully. This one..." he trailed off, looking at the steam.
Hiyoshi wasn't one to pry. He didn't mind long moments of silence either, so he sat across the table and sipped at his hot tea, frowning slightly. Too much honey. Oh well, that was the way Ohtori liked it, and it was his own fault. He idly watched his roommate through his fringe of hair, a color just darker than the honey he'd put in their tea.
Ohtori looked up, meeting his stare for a moment before directing his gaze back down and slumped his shoulders. "Atobe's got it in for this one personally. I usually trust him, but I sometimes worry if he's... making mistakes because he's trying too hard." he confided.
Atobe. Hiyoshi'd heard the name a time or two in their conversations. Atobe Keigo was Ohtori's boss, the guy who directed everything, and the name people looked to when there was a vampire being a nuisance. Hiyoshi didn't approve at all of how he was running the vampire hunting business, and now, even less so.
A tune of music- Vivaldi or something, Ohtori had said- broke through their silence, and Ohtori pulled out his phone. Hiyoshi put down his tea to listen.
After a tense few moments in which Ohtori's face grew pale as he listened to someone on the other side of the line, he said, "I'll be there soon. No, I want to come." Ohtori's mouth curled into a frown, "Just tell me where he is, I want to be there, dammit!" his voice cracked and he listened only for a while and then nodded, switching off the phone.
Hiyoshi was staring at him with raised eyebrows. Ohtori never swore unless it was something big. But still, he wasn't going to ask, since he'd probably be told anyway.
He was right. "He's..." Ohtori gulped, standing from his chair and looking down at Hiyoshi, his eyes gone watery. "My partner's dead."
Hiyoshi didn't say anything, just stood, leaving their tea to sit and went to the closet. He grabbed his coat and tossed Ohtori's at him. With a jangle he pulled his keys from his pocket and stared stubbornly at his roommate, though from the mess his roommate seemed to be in it didn't seem like he'd protest Hiyoshi's company even if wanted to. "Where are we going?"
Story and chapter titles are songs by Yuki Kajiura