There are many creatures of folklore that have been told by humanity since the beginning of our existence; from the tiny, yet menacing goblins, to the mischievous trolls (NOT the ones on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube…or any other Social Media outlet!) that are said to live underneath bridges, causing havoc to any unfortunate passerby that wanders to their domain, to the mighty, and powerful, yet noble and majestic Werewolf; a humanoid-wolf looking creature that is said to only be killed by silver objects.
Then, there's also the most powerful and feared supernatural entity in the folklore world aside from the Devil himself; Vampires. Vampires are said to be immortal creatures that were once humans, and they lived by draining the blood of any human they come across, sometimes turning that human as well. Their powers are phenomenal, even amongst other powerful supernatural entities; their super strength is enormous, and it gets stronger with age; a pure vampire – one who was born rather than turned – has the strength of a leafcutter ant, which related to body size, can lift up to 5,000 times its own weight. Turned vampires can only lift half that much. Older vampires, especially those that are over 500 years old, can easily tear apart a cargo ship and throw them at their opponents like they were a rock. They also possess a strong bite force, capable of biting through chromium. Their super-speed is also unmatched; they run so fast, that they can travel across continents in a matter of hours. They are also very hard to kill; their skin and muscles are like steel, and their skeletons are harder than titanium. This requires someone to either shoot them in the eye, or use armor-piercing rounds.
All of them are dangerous in their own ways. But the difference between vampires and the others is simple…vampires exist. They're real, and have caused quite a stir in society.
Since the dawn of man, vampires and humans have conflicted with one another, the former acting as natural predators to the latter. Thousands of years of hunts, war and conflicts have caused friction between the two species, and as time passed, things got worse. With the advancements of technologies, vampires and humans have become even bigger threats towards one another. Humans made weapons specifically made to counter against vampires, and have even made novels, movies and TV shows about them, displaying them in a negative light in order to get more men and women to fight them.
However, despite this, there are people who are actually fighting to give vampires human rights. Some of them even made blood donations and private blood banks to help the vampires blend in better. However, those are a minority compared to the majority of the human race, who want them gone. In fact, there are people who began businesses for hunting them, and many people got good payment from this.
How were they able to tell vampires from humans? Well, it's not really easy to do, since when they're not hungry, they are indistinguishable from humans. However, one can easily lure a vampire out with one thing; human blood. Vampires, despite what novels and other media might say, cannot drink blood from other animals, or eat regular human food, so they have to either kill a human, or steal blood from hospitals. With such high powers, it comes with a high metabolism. With this in mind, they need around 22 liters of blood a night to stay alive, essentially 4 people a night. With that in mind, hunters usually bring bottles of blood to help them splash on the ground, in order to lure on in so they shoot it, either at the eye or with armor piercing rounds.
Despite having a profiting business, the vampires still remain in high numbers thanks to their versatility, powers, intelligence and adaptability; as of right now, the global population of vampires compared to humans in the 21st century (2022 to be exact) is around 1.23 billion compared to the 8.3 billion humans on Earth. In North America, the population is around 56 million vampires. And the highest concentration is in the state of California, where 8 million reside. No one knows why, but California seems to be the preferred state for the USA vampires. And this means plenty of money made for the hunting company.
But…here's the thing; about the people who fight for the vampires' rights, they believe that vampires are good people like them, and that they're doing what they're doing just to survive. And most of the vampires agree with them. So various organizations, public and private formed campaigns to help develop and mass produced synthetic blood for vampires worldwide. But the United Nations refused such proposals, claiming vampires are too dangerous to let live. Thus, various protests around the world occur for the vampire rights, and are still going on to this very day.
What about the vampires themselves? Well…let's find out from the perspective of two of them…
One night, there was a house located in a small neighborhood. The house was 2 stories tall, white paints, and four windows. The front door was left open, and inside was very dark…save for several small lights that were lit in several rooms.
We now enter inside the house, and already there was something wrong. Inside one of the lit up room, there was an unusual sound. A sound of…liquid being drained away. We move across the hallways, and into a living room, lit up by the Television screen, which was showing some commercial about the opening of a new restaurant. The liquid draining was getting louder by that point.
There were several people standing and sitting at the couch, directed at the TV; two women and two men. However, something isn't right. The two people sitting down were grasping the people standing up, and the people standing up were burying their faces against their necks.
These two were vampires, having been invited inside by the couple, and while they were watching television, that's when they attacked. The female attacked the woman, while the male attacked the man. And for a few minutes, they just held on and took their blood while the couple struggled futilely. The woman had her hands on the female vampire's back, clawing at her yellow jacket repeatedly. But the female vampire is not deterred by this, as she continued drinking the woman's blood, her long blonde hair flopped to the side, covering the site of blood dripping onto the woman's shirt in the process. The man was faring no better than his wife at trying to free himself from the male's grasp. In fact, the male vampire had his arms pinned to the sofa so he wouldn't struggle any more. Both of their legs, while growing more and more limp, were still flailing helplessly.
Soon, even though the lighting from the TV made it difficult to tell, their skin began to grow more pale, their bodies began to shrivel up, to the point of several veins being visible and pronounced against the skin. Their eyes became bloodshot, and their breaths became more shallowed. Their movements soon became limp, their bodies slumped and before long, they became still.
The two vampires soon let go of their meals, and began to pant, getting some oxygen they needed as their fangs and sharp teeth retract to normal. Now we see the two vampires in person; the male's a mix of Caucasian/Japanese descent with short black hair, a tall and athletic build, and an otherwise calming aura surrounding him. He's wearing a shirt with a Japanese slogan embedded on it. The female is a slightly taller girl thanks to her heels. She is of Latina descent, long strawberry blonde hair reaching almost halfway down her back, and wears a yellow jacket to help keep her warm. She also wears a yellow band to keep hair from getting in her eyes, and red glasses to help her see well.
"Hey…are you alright, Honey Lemon?" asked the male vampire. The female, who we now know as Honey Lemon, turned to him with an uncomfortable look. "Well not really, Tadashi. I just…" she sighed in sadness as she looked at the corpses. The male, who we also know now as Tadashi, approached her and gently cupped her cheeks. "I know, babe. I know; this doesn't get any easier." He assured, trying to make her feel better. However, she shook her head anyway. "No, Tadashi. I know it doesn't get any easier. But at least with the criminals and homeless, as horrible as it was, they won't attract too much attention. But these two," she said, pointing to the drained couples. "these are REGULAR, GOOD citizens. Someone's gonna find out, and then they'll…they'll get the hunters." She said, adding the last part with dread in her voice.
Tadashi looked at her with sympathy, and sighed to himself sorrowfully. "If you want, you can stay by the kitchen and try and get yourself together. I'll go and bury these bodies in the nearby woods." Tadashi explained as he moved towards the body, picking up the woman's body firstly. Honey Lemon looked at him, and shook her head. "Let me help you. Burying them is gonna take a while." She said. But Tadashi raised his hand and shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He said as he gently walked outside to begin the burying process. Honey Lemon just looked on in sorrowfulness, yet admiration for him. She knows Tadashi very well; she knows he's in pain like she is...yet he still tries to push them out to get certain things done, such as make her healthy and happy. This is exactly why they're both bloodmates.
She looked at the dead husband, who still carries a shocked look, but is now staring at nothing. She approached the corpse, and as gentle as she can be, she placed her hands on his eyes, and moves the lids down, closing them for good. Then, she pulled back, and clasped her hands closed to her heart, and with closed eyes, whispered something in Spanish. "Que nuestro padre y señor cuiden mucho de usted y de su ser querido en el cielo."
Mmm…
Where it a regular human being, they would've ignored them. But vampires are known to have the best senses, especially hearing, in the animal kingdom. But Honey Lemon's hearing is phenomenal, even for vampire standards; not only can she determine the direction and distance of the sound, but also, who or what caused it as well. What she heard was a low humming sound that would've been inaudible to anyone. Her eyes went to the direction of the source, which was in the second floor, in one room in the far right.
Curiosity hit her, and she walked up the stairs and into the second floor. Heading towards the final door on the far right at the end of the hallway, she stopped at the front, and listened in some more.
Mmmm...mmmmaa…
Honey Lemon's eyes widened a bit, as she soon placed her hand on the knob, and turned it. The door lets out a slight creek as Honey Lemon peered inside. After briefly looking around, her eyes landed at one spot…and her eyes widened, jaw dropping.
There, lying inside of a crib was an infant. It too was of Japanese/Caucasian descent like Tadashi, and he is wearing a tiny hat to cover his head. The poor baby was simply sleeping by himself, not caring about anything that has happened beforehand. Honey Lemon just stared in horror, mouth covered in shock. Then, slowly so as not to wake the baby, she pulled back and closed the door. Then, she laid against the wall, pressing her face against her hands, removing her glasses, before she began to breathe deeply. "Oh no…what have we done? What have we done?" she asked herself as tears once more began to run down her eyes. As she sat there, she heard Tadashi coming back inside, perhaps to bury the other body. Looking at the stairs, she quickly stood up and sped-walked down the hall, intending to tell him what she had discovered.
Outside, Tadashi was taking the dead man back into the woods where the woman was lying, when he felt Honey Lemon's hand on his shoulder. "Tadashi! Tadashi!" she said in a panic. Tadashi turned to look at her with worry. "What is it, Honey Lemon?" asked Tadashi. Honey Lemon panted a bit, a bit exhausted from blurring over to him, and pointed to the window the baby was in. "There was…there was a baby inside that room." she explained. Tadashi's eyes widened in shock, breathe hitching. "Wait…what?" he asked. Honey Lemon nodded in agreement. "There's an infant boy inside that room…we've orphaned a baby…" she said, voice growing sad once more. Tadashi just stood there, frozen in shock. He almost lost grip of the body, but thankfully he was able to regain his hold on it. Then, he turned to a teary Honey Lemon.
"Honey Lemon?" he asked, and she turned to him. "Listen, alright? Let's not panic right now. I need you to go back and tend to the baby while I bury this body. Then we'll figure out what to do, alright?" he instructed. Honey Lemon nodded, as she blurred back inside. Tadashi saw her go, and just sighed to himself as he looked at the father's body. Now, even more guilt was pouring into the vampire's heart; how could they not know that there was an infant inside their homes. They're vampires; their senses should've picked up on it! Shaking his head and sighing, he decided to continue burying the body and return to Honey Lemon shorty.
Back inside, Honey Lemon was just finishing up cleaning her mouth so she doesn't scare the infant. Then she approached the room, and gently opened the door. She turned to the infant, who was groaning a bit, and eyes opening slightly. Honey Lemon noticed, and gently approached the bed. The infant opened his eyes more, and before long, he yawned. Honey Lemon and the infant then made eye contact with one another. She smiled sheepishly, and waved. "Umm…hi." She said. "Eh?" went the baby. Honey just sweated in anxiety, and took in a deep breathe. "Hey there, baby. It's okay, I won't hurt you." She said, approaching the crib. The baby just looked at her, curiosity written all over his face. She kept a smile, and reached her hand to him to caress his cheek. The baby looked at the hand, before he reached over to touch it.
"It's okay…my blood-mate and I won't ever hurt children like you." She cooed softly. The baby just touched her hand. It was rather warm, warmer than his mother. With a smile, he leaned into it, head cuddling against it. Honey Lemon looked at him, stunned by the baby's reaction, but she smiled at his reaction, and gently moved in to pick him up. The baby giggled as Honey Lemon moved him closer to her. "Hello there, little one. You're so adorable." She cooed, giving him several kisses in the cheek, making him giggle.
"Okay, Honey Lemon, I'm here. Where is this baby…oh," Tadashi said as he walked in, noticing Honey Lemon playing with the baby. Honey Lemon looked at him, and smiled at him. "Here he is." She said, introducing the baby to him. The baby looked at him, smile fading away for a brief moment. Tadashi chuckled softly. "Hey there, little guy. You've met my beautiful flower, Honey Lemon here." He said, giving Honey Lemon a loving glance, making her chuckle. The baby looked at the both of them, having no idea what's going on. Honey Lemon giggled as she then suggested, "You can hold him if you'd like."
Tadashi looked at her, and then at the baby, who was still giving him a look of intense curiosity. With a small smile, he extended his hands and gently took the baby away from the now happy girl. The two looked at one another intensely…before the baby broke out in a series of excited yelps and happiness, tiny hands reaching to try and grab him. Tadashi was not expecting the baby to react as such, but in the end he grew a smile, and nuzzled his nose against the baby's.
Honey Lemon adored such a scene. "Oh, I wish I had my phone with me!" she said. Tadashi just chuckled as he held onto the baby. "So…what's his name?" he asked. Honey Lemon shrugged. "I dunno. I only paid attention to him. I don't see anything here that would tell us his name." she said as she looked around, her night vision negating the need for light. Tadashi did so as well, until he noticed something near the crib. There, hung by the crib, was a heart shaped card. Reading it closely, it read,
Happy 1st birthday, Hiro Takachiho.
"Oh, his name is Hiro Takachiho. There's a birthday card here stating his name." he explained to Honey Lemon. Honey looked at the direction of the card, and she pulled it away from the crib. "Birthday? So he must be a year old. Wait…" Honey explained, before she paused, eyes slowly widening in fear. Tadashi and baby Hiro looked at her, confused. Honey Lemon opened the card, and read through it. Tadashi then saw her looking up at him, eyes and face now grim. "His birthday…was today." She explained. Now Tadashi gasped silently, covering his mouth with a free hand. "You can't be serious." He said. Honey Lemon nodded in grimace. Tadashi then sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nostrils. "It's bad enough that we orphaned this baby, but on his birthday?" he asked, exasperated. Honey Lemon looked down, dropping the card, and tried to hold in a sob. Baby Hiro looked at her, then at Tadashi, not knowing what's going on, and he did not like it. So he began to whimper.
Immediately, Honey Lemon and Tadashi noticed, and the latter began to bounce him gently, while the former approached them and caressed his cheek with her thumb. Baby Hiro looked at them, and though it was forced, they gave him an assuring smile, praying that he won't cry.
Thankfully, that did the trick, and before long, Hiro was now asleep in Tadashi's arms. After briefly sighing in relief, the pair looked at one another. "What do we do now? We can't leave him here." asked Honey Lemon. Tadashi looked at him, then at her. He really wasn't sure if what he was planning would work. Hiro was just a human, and these two are vampires; pureborn vampires at that. There's a chance that the public perception towards this; human and vampire would be negative. The humans would try their hardest to try and 'rescue' the infant from their hands, while the vampires would either be indifferent, or even think of him as lunch. But…he felt like he had to. He owed the couple they killed something after basically orphaning their one year old infant on his birthday. So, he looked at her.
"We're keeping him with us." He declared. Honey Lemon looked at him, expression shocked at first, before she nodded. "Great idea." She said. Now Tadashi was shocked. She wasn't expecting her to agree so quickly. Honey Lemon must've read his thoughts, because she said, "I know the risks of having a human baby being raised by a pair of pureborn vampires. But…it's the least we can do after what we did." She then grasped his arm gently. "We made an awful mistake that no vampire should ever make. And…I want to redeem the both of us."
Tadashi looked at her, seeing the determination in her eyes, then at the sleeping baby Hiro. Seeing such an innocent expression in the bundle's face made his heart warm. So, he nodded in agreement. "You're right. We're taking care of him, not only for this boy's benefits, but also to help us redeem ourselves." He said. Honey Lemon smiled, and the two of them kissed one another briefly.
"So, do you want me to carry him on the way back?" asked Honey Lemon. Tadashi shook his head. "I can take care of him." He said, and Honey Lemon nodded in response. After moving his arm free so Honey can wrap her arms around him, the two suddenly disappeared within a blur.
At last, they've arrived at their apartment room. Tadashi turned on the lights, and they walked inside the room as he closed the door. "Well, we're home." Honey Lemon said with a smile. Tadashi chuckled back as they heard Hiro giggle at her. Honey Lemon looked down, and gently tickled his cheek. "Tu lindo pastel de Calabaza." She said in Spanish, kissing him gently, making Hiro chuckle some more. The two of them then sat down on the couch, wanting to introduce themselves to the baby.
"Alright, we should tell him about us. Ladies first," Tadashi said with a smile. Honey Lemon smiled as she turned to him. "Hello, Hiro. My name is Honey Lemon." She greeted. Hiro looked at her, and smiled. "I'm gonna be taking care of you, baby. We're gonna have fun, and most importantly…we're gonna make sure you have a successful life. You're gonna be better than us." She said as she tickled his cheek with her nose, before kissing him in the forehead, making Hiro laugh. She then turned to Tadashi, giving him Hiro. "Your turn, darling." She said.
Tadashi smiled at her, before he looked down at Hiro. Taking a deep breath, he began. "Hello, Hiro. My name's Tadashi Hamada. I'm…a smart guy, obviously, even for a vampire." He began, shrugging his shoulder as he boasted slightly. Honey Lemon shook her head in annoyance, yet she had a smile on her face. Tadashi chuckled before looking back at Hiro. "Well, little guy. I know you'll be a successful person like Honey Lemon said. But…you and I will prove to the world that we can get along with humans. You and the both of us will be a living proof of that. We're gonna raise you into whatever you want to be…as long as it's not a life of crime…or living like an animal…essentially, raise you within reason." He said, trying to think of what else to say. Honey Lemon giggled when he mentioned living like an animal.
Hiro just laughed, before he nuzzled himself closer to Tadashi's warm body. Tadashi smiled as Honey Lemon did the same. "I'm not the only warm here, Honey Lemon, hehe." He laughed silently. Honey Lemon shook her head. "I don't care. You are MY love and MY life, Tadashi…and so are you, little one." She said, adding the last part as she gently caressed Hiro's small hair. Hiro hummed softly. The two vampires smiled at their new child in Tadashi's arms, before he pulled him up, and hugged him gently.
"Welcome to the family, Hiro Hamada…our little human boy." He said with a smile, both he and Honey Lemon excited to start a new life with this child…and own the couple they killed their debt…