Hi guys, it's Lethal Lauren here. So I've been mulling over this story idea for the last few weeks and I finally decided to get it on paper. I got my first orgo test back and I got an A on it, so as part of my celebrations, I decided to finish this chapter and upload it. So yay!

This is first fic that I've written by myself (totally not counting my atrocious Seraph of the End one shot - please don't look at it) so please tell me if you like the flow of the story, the writing style, the pacing etc. Also, it's my first time creating an OC so please tell me if you like her.

Also, note that this fic is going to be a bit darker and more mature than the original anime / manga. I'm a sucker for those types of stories and it really bothers me because I feel like the series has so much potential in that department. Don't get me wrong, it's still going to be light and airy at times, but it's also going to get dark and hurt at others.

Finally, to all my Blood Bound Followers / Reviewers: Please don't kill me –hides- You see, I-I have a really good excuse. That story is a project that is co-written between Anon and I. She's super busy all the time with school and her two jobs. Oh. And her computer broke… so... she's screwed. I don't know when it's getting fixed and when she'll have time to write with me. But she's miserable and I really don't want to write the story without her. So I'm not. We'll update…. eventually. I'm sorry! –hides from a mob of angry reviewers-

Anyways, now off we go! Onto the show! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Mahiru and Izumi and Kuro

"Izumi!" her brother growled from the doorway. "Get up!"

Groaning, the girl in question turned away from the blaring sound of her brother's voice. Burrowing her face into her pillow, she sighed in contentment as she snuggled closer to the warmth. "Five more minutes." She moaned as she drifted back to sleep.

"No, I said now!" her brother exploded as he stomped towards her. Suddenly the warmth was gone as he ripped her blankets away. "If I give you five more minutes, you'll fall back asleep – again!"

Releasing a sigh of annoyance, Izumi begrudgingly opened her eyes and sat up. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she glanced in her brother's direction. He was already dressed and not a hair was out of place. He even had his stupid red tie on. Putting on his tie was always one of the last things he did in the morning. It had to be really late. Woops. She thought with a light grin.

Standing up, she stretched as she walked towards the bathroom to get ready. Before she even took two steps, something hard smacked her in the back of the head.

"Ow, damn it! What the hell was that about Mahiru?" she exclaimed as she whipped around to face him. "…my clothes?" she drawled questioningly.

"Yes!" Mahiru snapped. "You have five minutes to get ready. If you're not ready to go, I'll leave without you."

"Good. I'll just go back to sleep." Izumi mumbled as she lazily bent down to pick up her uniform.

Before she knew it, Mahiru was smacking her again.

"Ow! What was that for?" she howled as she held the tender spot.

"For being stupid. Now get ready. I'm making our lunches. You better be ready to leave when I'm done." Giving her a glare, he stopped out.

"God, he's so annoying." She huffed. "What is he my mother?"

Ever since their mother died in that car accident a few years ago, Mahiru had stepped up to the plate and took on all the responsibilities. He had literally become the mother figure of the household. Since their uncle was almost never around, someone else had to do it. And that person was him. He cooked and he cleaned and he even folded the laundry. He was very reliable and she could always count on him.

As she walked into the kitchen, a loose strand of brown hair fell loose from her pony tail. Glaring at it in annoyance, she made a face as she blew it away. After hearing her enter the room, Mahiru turned towards her with a spoon in hand. He eyed her up and down distastefully as he saw her disheveled appearance. She had thrown her blue skirt on and the first clean white shirt she saw. Eh, so what that it was a little wrinkled? Her tie was a little crooked too. The school should be proud that she got up out of bed to come to class. She didn't need to be perfect too.

"Izumi, you're a mess!" Mahiru sighed in exasperation as he stepped towards her. "Come here, I'll fix your tie." Grabbing the tie, he yanked her closer as he tied it properly. He then patted down her clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles.

"There." He exclaimed in triumph as a small satisfied smile graced his face. "All better."

Giving him a look, she muttered "My clothes wouldn't be wrinkled if you hadn't thrown them at me."

Scowling, he indignantly turned away. "Well then you should wake up on your own!" he lectured.

"Okay, okay." She groaned. "You're so annoying."

"Am I?" he asked with a small smile as he handed a lunch box to her.

Spotting her lunch box, her eyes lit up in eager anticipation. "Oh!" she squealed as she clutched the lunch box and cradled it to her chest. "What did you make for me, oh dearest twin brother of mine?"

Grabbing his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders, he walked out the front door. "Just a sandwich." He called over her shoulder.

"A sandwich!? Why just a sandwich?" she exploded as she chased after him. "What do you get?"

"Leftovers."

"Why do you get leftovers and I just get a measly sandwich?" she whined as she locked the apartment door. "How is that fair?"

"Because you woke up late." He chastised. "The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the better lunch."

"Haha, you're hysterical." She deadpanned him.

"I know I am."

Glancing at his watch, he let out a horrified cry. "Oh no! It's later than I thought! Come on, we're going to be late!" he exclaimed as he roughly grabbed her hand and dragged her away.

School proceeded as usual and as the teacher droned on Izumi just stared out the window. She didn't care what they were saying and she even took a nap at some point. School just didn't mean anything to her. She didn't care about her grades. She thought school was pointless and all that work wouldn't amount to anything in the end. She rather put her energy towards something that matters. Like her job. She worked so Mahiru wouldn't have to. Yes, their uncle paid for some things but he didn't pay for everything. They had to pay for the rest. She paid the bills while Mahiru did the chores and focused on his school. It was an even trade in her eyes. Mahiru might not have agreed but she didn't care. He was the one who would go onto college and make something of himself. He knew what he wanted to do with his life. She had no idea.

Finally, the bell rang and Izumi gathered her things. She couldn't wait to go home and get away from all these people. This building and the school was suffocating. But first she had to meet up with her brother and his friends. Compared to other people, she honestly didn't mind them. The short blonde one, Ryusei, was actually pretty cute. He was a bit rough around the edges but he was alright. And the taller one, Koyuki, was really sweet. But her favorite one out of the bunch was Sakuya. Even with his dumb jokes she had to love him. He might have been Mahiru's best friend, but he was her best friend first.

They met weeks before Mahiru even came into the picture. And by that time? Well they were thicker than thieves. She trusted Sakuya with her life. There were no secrets between them.

She almost slipped out the school's entrance doorway before a cold hand grabbed her wrist and whispered "Not so fast" before yanking her back inside. Fear crept up her spine as she spun around to face her attacker.

…Only to see Sakuya standing there with a smile that reached ear to ear.

"Heyyyyyyy-" he began but Izumi cut him off.

"Dude!" she said as she lightly shoved him. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Heh, sorry." he grinned. "My bad. But speaking of bad… did you know that your brother took on even MORE assignments for the school festival?" he said as he scratched the back of his head.

Groaning, Izumi hung her head in exasperation. "What is he doing now?"

"Well…. he's already baking the cookies and now he's making the uniforms. Um… I think that's it." Sakuya said as he pursed his lips. "Oh yeah, he's also in charge of the costumes for the play."

Sighing, Izumi mumbled "Of course he is. I don't know how he does it."

"I do!" Sakuya perked up. "I mean, you do nothing and he does everything and there's a balance!"

"Rude!" Izumi cried out as she roughly smacked him again. Feigning agony, she asked "Why am I friends with you again?"

"Because I'm your only friend."

Narrowing her eyes on him, she replied "Touche."

After that, they continued to walk in silence. Every once in a while they'd say something, but they were so comfortable with each other that they didn't mind the quiet. Eventually the pair could see her brother's figure in the distance. When he saw the two approaching he waved as he called them over.

"Hey! I was wondering where you guys were."

Ryusei just nodded in acknowledgement which she returned. Koyuki smiled in their direction.

Starting to walk without them, Izumi said "Come on guys, I have work at three. Let's go." The group quickly followed her.

Throwing on her headphones, she walked ahead of the group and mostly zoned out of their conversation. They were talking about the festival, which honestly sounded pretty boring. No way was she dressing up as a maid and serving people cookies. You have the wrong girl here. Better luck next time.

Eventually she heard the group call her brother Lord Mahiru. Snorting, she stopped in her tracks and allowed the group to catch up to her. She didn't know why they called him that, but she had to say something.

"You know, he's more of a mother than a Lord. I think a better name for him would be Mother Mahiru cause he's the mom friend of the group."

Her comment was met with blank stares. Then suddenly everyone burst out laughing. Her brother just scowled in her direction.

"I am not the mom friend!"

Snorting, she replied "Oh, yes you are."

"I hate to say it, but you are Mahiru." Koyuki softly added.

"Yeah everyone knows it." Ryusei confirmed.

Sakuya couldn't even respond because he was laughing so hard.

"I am not the mom friend!" he hooted indignantly. "I just like to keep things simple! If I hadn't volunteered to do it, then who would have?"

"Well that's not really your problem, now is it?" Izumi asked as she rolled her eyes at her brother's reasoning.

"Yes it is! If I hadn't done it, the whole class would have suffered. It was the simple solution really."

"Okay, okay, fine. Whatever." She threw her hands up in surrender.

As the topic shifted to late night shopping and walking home from work, Sakuya lowered his voice and let out a cryptic warning.

"Guys….be careful. I heard that there's been rumors of…." He let his voice trail off for dramatic effect. "-vampire sightings."

The group just replied with blank stares.

A muffled "Hm?" was the only response.

"No I'm serious guys!" he cried out. "There's been random attacks and the victims have bite marks in their necks and all their blood was drained."

Koyuki looked terrified while Ryusei just looked annoyed. Izumi wasn't fazed by his antics and neither was Mahiru.

"I swear; you guys really do need to be careful-"

Smack.

"Ow. Ow. OW! What was that for?!" Sakuya howled as he rubbed the spot where he was smacked. "Mahiru, you're so violent!"

"Just ignore him." Mahiru said dismissively. "Sakuya's "rumors" are usually just a bunch of lies."

"That's so cold!" Sakuya hooted.

Shaking her head in amusement, Izumi added "Well, it's the truth."

Sakuya continued to whine but Koyuki quickly changed topics back to late night shopping and karaoke.

"Way to ignore me!"

The group continued to ignore him.

"Hey guys, we have to go straight home. I have to take out the laundry and Izumi has work. I'll see you later." Mahiru said.

A chorus of "See you later" was the response.

Waving towards the group, Mahiru and Izumi parted ways. Behind them they could hear Sakuya call out to them "Hey! I hope you guys are careful! Please listen to what I said! You'll never know when you could be attacked!"

"Yeah, yeah." Mahiru waved off his comments as they walked away.

Laughing Izumi said "He's full of crap."

Eyes full of mirth, Mahiru said "I know."

As they drew closer to their house, Mahiru stopped short. "Oh, I completely forgot. I forgot to tell you. I got a cat."

"Ohhhh!" she squealed. "You got a cat? And you didn't tell me?"

"I just picked him up earlier during my lunch break. He was all dirty and sleeping in the streets. I felt so bad for him. It was the right thing to do."

"AWWWWW how cute!" she giggled as she danced in place. "We have a cat! What's his name?"

"Kuro."

Giving him a flat look, she replied "Oh come on, how boring can you be? Kuro? Let me guess. Is he black?"

"It's simple." He replied defiantly as he crossed his arms in defense.

Realization dawned on her and she glared at her brother.

"And you sat on this all day? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she demanded.

"Because I didn't know how'd you take it. You're so stingy with money. I didn't know if you'd want to pay for it."

"Well money is tight." She defended. "BUT I DON'T CARE, WE GOT A CUTE LITTLE KITTY CAT!" She screamed. "Oh man! I've always wanted to have a cat."

"I didn't know that." Mahiru said quietly.

Hearing the serious tone in his voice, Izumi turned towards her brother and was greeted with his solemn face. He wasn't even looking at her. He was looking at the ground. This was bad. Uh oh. Immediately her chipper mode deflated. Crap.

"Yeah so? There's a lot of things you don't know about me. It doesn't matter." She said as she tried to defuse the whole situation.

"Well, that's the problem! Of course it matters!" her brother erupted. "I don't know you! Not anymore!" he amended. "Ever since mom died, you never let me in! You don't let anyone in! You don't get close to anyone!"

Izumi paused in her steps and closed her eyes. Inhaling a deep breath, she told herself to be calm. He didn't know what he was talking about.

Mahiru took this chance to catch up with her. "I know we grew up in separate houses after mom died, but you never reached out. I was still your brother and I was hurting just as much as you were. You never tried to talk to me. How hard would it have been to pick up the phone and call your own brother? I know our Aunt had a phone. So why didn't you?"

He didn't know what it was like. He didn't know what it was like. She chanted to herself. Opening her eyes, she exhaled and pressed forward.

When she didn't respond, he scowled. "Did you just not care?"

Freezing in her tracks, she whirled towards him.

"Of course I cared, you dolt!" she snapped.

"Then why didn't you ever call me? Why didn't you ever come see me? Why was it YEARS since I last saw my sister?"

"I-"

"I felt like you were the one who died, Izumi. Mom was just gone, but you freakin' disappeared. Did you not care?"

His last sentence hit her like a ton of bricks. Feeling her heart fall to her stomach, she wavered. "It wasn't like that." She protested weakly.

"Then what was it like?"

"I can't tell you."

"Of course you can't." he said as he rolled his eyes. "We've been through this story before."

She didn't respond.

"Look Izumi," he said as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder. "I love you. You're my sister. I just want you to know you can lean on me."

She just gazed in his direction before roughly pulling away.

"Damn it Izumi!" Mahiru snapped. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"Because I don't want to." She snapped back. "I've told you before I don't want to talk about this. Leave me alone."

Glaring darkly in his direction, she stomped off.

"Izumi!" he roared but to no avail.

"Hey!" he angrily cried as he ran after her. "Don't ignore me!"

She ignored him.

"I'm not done with this conversation!" he growled.

"Psh, well I am." She snapped as she unlocked the front door.

Stepping through the threshold she went to throw her book bag down, but she could hear the TV running. It was faint, but it was definitely on. In an instant, she forgot all about her previous irritation as her paranoia dawned on her. She was sure the TV was off this morning when they left. And she knew for a fact that Uncle wouldn't return for a few weeks. So why was the TV on?

"Hey what-" Mahiru loudly asked with irritation lacing his tone as he walked inside.

"Shh!" Izumi hushed him.

"What?"

"Did you leave the TV on?" she questioned sharply.

"What?" he repeated in confusion.

"Did you leave the TV on?" she repeated slower.

"No…" he drawled. Then he blinked at her and his mouth dropped open and formed a small o. He must have finally realized it.

"Why is the TV on?" he hissed.

"I don't know!"

"You check it out." He insisted.

"No you! You're the brave one."

"Fine!"

Walking through the house, he peered into every room and his sister was hot on his heels. Taking one final sweep of the front rooms, he confidently said "See there's nothing here, Izumi-"

Stopping short in his tracks, she bumped into her brother. "What? She questioned.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" he exploded as Izumi peered around her brother's figure. The stranger just looked like some random bored teenager you'd see on the streets. He sat in the middle of the floor, nonchalantly eating their food like he didn't do anything wrong and break into their house. The blinds were shut and the room was covered in darkness. To top it all off, he made a freaking mess! There were papers and books left lying around. There was also chips and crumbs and garbage scattered everywhere! Mahiru was going to have a field day.

Glancing towards the pair of them, the blue haired stranger first made eye contact with her brother and then his gaze lazily drifted over to meet hers. She jumped in surprise as she looked into his eyes. They were blood red.

Apparently, the twins weren't interesting enough to hold his interest because the teen was soon turning away from them. Raising the bowl of ramen to his lips, he continued to slurp his soup as his eyes lazily flickered back towards the TV.

"HEY!" her brother angrily cried out when he realized he was being ignored. He then seized the nearest weapon – a broom. "I SAID, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" he snarled as he gripped his make shift weapon tighter.

Closing his eyes, the blue-cladded stranger put down the bowl down and sighed.

"Man…" he moaned. "I'd rather die than deal with this…"

Lunging forward, Mahiru let out a battle cry as he swung his broom.

"I SAID, WHO THEY HELL ARE YOU? AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?"

Faster than Izumi could blink, the man was gone. He dodged Mahiru's attack with ease and agilely did a backflip over their heads. He landed with almost no sound and was leaning forward in a crouching position.

He glanced towards Mahiru with distaste before saying "Wooowwww. You're a pretty violent kid. You've got me spooked."

Izumi just gasped at the man. He jumped at least 10 feet in the air and he did a back flip. That's not possible. And he did it with such ease too.

"You've got me shaking in my boots" he drawled sarcastically as Mahiru lost his center of balance and stumbled backwards into the blinds, latching onto them for support. He clutched them as he tumbled to the floor. Suddenly light was pouring into the room and with a small and almost inaudible poof, the man was gone. In his place, was Kuro the Cat.

"Whaaa?" she simply blinked at the cat.

"Oww…" Mahiru complained as he rubbed the back of his head. Once he realized that the man was gone and their cat was in his place, he mirrored her confused expression.

"Kuro?" Mahiru asked stupidly. "Where'd that guy go?"

Mahiru glanced around before picking up the cat and examining him closely.

"You didn't turn into a cat did you?" he asked hesitantly.

Holding the cat higher he asked again in a squeaker voice "You're not that guy, right?

No. Freaking. Way.

That's not possible. Mouth dropping, Izumi stared at the cat who squirmed in her brother's arms, desperate to get away. Dashing over towards the blinds, Izumi yanked them shut and not a second later the mysterious man was back. Her brother quickly dropped him like his hands were burning.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU?" He cried out.

"H-he…he turned into a cat. And back." Izumi mumbled in disbelief as she watched her brother freak out over the cat man.

Mahiru ripped open the blinds and the man turned into a cat again. Without hesitating, he slammed them shut.

Annoyed by their antics, the blue haired man turned towards the twins. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he complained. "I'm not supposed to be in the sunlight, so keep them shut okay?"

Mahiru tightened his grip on the blinds as tried to speak. He wanted to know what the man was, but his voice wavered. Sensing her brother's fear, Izumi steadied her voice and ignored her own feelings and asked the question for him.

"What the hell are you?" she demanded in a steely tone.

"Nothing special." The man replied as he looked down, tracing small nervous circles across the floor. "Just a kind hearted shut in…." he paused.

"That's it?" Izumi raised her eyebrows. "How the hell were you able to do that?" she gestured with her hands at his impressive acrobatics. "And how the hell did you turn into a cat?"

Glancing towards her, the man sighed. "I'm just a kind hearted shut in…. who happens to be a vampire."

Silence.

Mahiru just blinked at the stranger.

"What?" Izumi giggled a bit. He couldn't be serious.

But then again…. Izumi frowned as she really thought about it. It could be plausible. He couldn't face the sunlight. He turned into a cat. The myths always said vampires couldn't go in the sunlight. What if the legends were mixed up a bit? What if instead of dying, they just turned into a cat…as stupid as it sounds. And if he was a vampire it would explain his agility AND his weird eye color.

Mahiru broke the silence by erupting into a chorus of exasperated sounds. Lunging towards the vampire, he grabbed his feet and pulled him towards the window.

"That's it, you're going outside!" Mahiru huffed as he dragged the so called vampire across the floor. The vampire in question was currently clawing at the ground, futilely attempting to resist her brother's efforts.

"I can't go in the sunlight, what's wrong with you?!" the cat man complained. "I'll die, I'll die! Okay, I'm immortal but still, I'll die!"

Snorting, Izumi laughed at his melodramatics. Even if he broke into their house and was apparently a vampire, she had to admit he was funny. He had this whole "I don't care" attitude and honestly that was okay in her book. And it was a huge plus seeing how much he pissed off her brother. It was amusing.

When Mahiru took a quick break to catch his breath, Kuro the Catman turned and glared at him.

"You humans are such cruel creatures."

Irritated and exhausted, Mahiru snapped right back. "Shut up vampire!"

Realization dawned on him and his expression darkened. Seeing the fear on her brother's face suddenly made Izumi very apprehensive.

"Vampire!" Mahiru gasped as he took a step back. "Are you the one killing people?"

"Oh my god, I didn't even think of that." Izumi whispered as she too backed up.

"Did you break in here to drink my blood!?" Mahiru panicked as his voice raised two octaves.

"Ughhh, that sounds like a lot of work." The vampire groaned. "Why would I bite you? You're an obnoxiously loud kid. That's not smart."

"Hey!" her brother hooted in response while she coughed into her hand to smother her laugher. Mahiru glared in her direction.

"And besides, what makes you think that you're the kind of person I'd bite?" The vampire's eyes briefly flicked to meet Izumi's before returning back to Mahiru's. "You think highly of yourself, don't you?"

"Aren't you a vampire?! Aren't you supposed to drink our blood?!" Mahiru yelled in response.

"Maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions while judging people." The vampire berated him. "Actually, I'm pretty thirsty-"

"See he is going to try to kill me!" Mahiru interrupted.

Giving him a blank stare, the vampire continued "Do you have any tea?"

Izumi couldn't hold back her laugher anymore and she doubled over as she giggled away. Her brother just glared in her direction while the vampire simply raised an eyebrow in response.

"You-you" she wheezed as she laughed. "You're hysterical." He pissed her brother off like no tomorrow and that was a beautiful thing. As long as his aggression wasn't directed at her, she loved having a front row seat to the show.

Tilting his head sideways, the vampire just gazed at her in response.

"Happy I could help…?"

"IZUMI!" Mahiru roared as he lunged towards his sister. "You're not supposed to be fraternizing with the enemy!"

"I'm not-"

"Liar!" he yelled before smacking her.

"Ow, ow, ow! What was what for?!" Izumi as she cradled her wounded arm. "That hurt!"

"Fraternizing with the enemy!"

"I'm not fraternizing with the enemy, you moron!"

Eyes widening at the scene in front of him the vampire slowly shuffled away from the two of them. "Humans are scary creatures. This one in particular" he said as he eyed Mahiru distastefully. "is quite violent."

Whirling towards the vampire, Mahiru smacked him as well.

"I AM NOT VIOLENT." He protested.

"Yeah sure, brother. That's how you prove it." Izumi said as sarcasm dripped off her voice.

Glaring daggers towards his sister, Mahiru muttered a simple "Shut up."

"But anyways…" the vampire began as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head. "If you want me gone so badly, I'll leave by nightfall."

"No, please stay. You're funny and he hits you too." Izumi jokingly begged.

Glancing in her direction, his lips twitched upwards as he said "At least somebody appreciates me."

"FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY! WITH A VAMPIRE!" Mahiru cried out as he smacked the pair of them.

Glaring darkly towards her brother the vampire muttered "I can't take this." Straightening slightly, he continued "I'll leave when the sun goes down. Just don't say my name when I'm in human form."

"Why not?" Izumi questioned.

"I don't even know your name." Mahiru pointed out. "I thought you were a cat so I just called you Kuro."

An exasperated sigh escaped the vampire's lips as a blue light suddenly laced around Mahiru's wrist. Practically leaping off Mahiru's arm, the light formed a chain around Kuro's neck as well. Izumi could see faint chains linking the two. The vampire's eyebrows twitched in irritation as he scowled at her brother.

Then, suddenly as it appeared, the light was gone.

Silence filled the room.

Izumi just stared at the two. That was some science fiction movie shit and she was still trying to process it.

"Ugh." the vampire looked so dejected as he leaned forward. "You're so stupid I could die."

As expected, that went over well.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Mahiru exploded as he roughly shook the vampire. "WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!"

Kuro just closed his eyes as he bounced back and forth. "I hate this." He complained.

"YOU STUPID CAT! STOP IGNORING ME! EXPLAIN!"

"Explaining is such a pain." The vampire moaned.

"START TALKING RIGHT NOW! I WANT SIMPLE ANSWERS."

"Mahiru." Izumi began. "Chill out. Let him explain."

Whirling towards her, he snapped "Oh yeah, like he was ever going to explain it!"

"There you go judging people again." The vampire muttered as he attempted to pry himself free of Mahiru's grasp. "You're a rude kid, aren't you?"

Twitching, her brother erupted "WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Nothing."

Annoyed that they were so sidetracked, Izumi began to lose her patience. She just wanted to know what the hell was going on. Their bickering wasn't funny anymore nor was it entertaining. "Kuro – just tell us what that was!" Izumi demanded. "What the hell was that light that linked you and my brother?"

It could be something serious. They needed to know.

"Okay." Kuro said as he looked downwards, his face falling into shadow. "I'll tell you everything you need to know. But first I want to point out the obvious." Looking up at Mahiru, he boldly said "You and I would die before we ever got along."

"Yeah?" her brother's voice raised an octave as forcibly smiled at the vampire. "I was thinking the exact same thing."

He was twitching. Her brother was actually twitching. Oh boy, was he mad. But that's what the vampire's goal was. It had to be. He wanted to piss Mahiru off, and with his temper, they wouldn't get anywhere. They still had no idea what that mysterious light was and who this guy was. They were just running in circles. The vampire was playing freaking games with them. Not for much longer, if she had anything to say about it.

"Hey vampire, can you stop antagonizing my brother and just tell us what's going on?" she snapped. "Thanks."

"Oh you got me. I was trying to make the angry pipsqueak even madder." He sarcastically said as he glanced at Mahiru.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK! YOU'RE NOT EVEN THAT TALL!"

He dodged the question. Again.

Losing her temper, her expression darkened as she focused on the pair. "FOCUS GUYS, DAMN IT!" she snapped, practically growling as she did so. Then she whipped any traces of anger from her face and forced herself to smile. "Continue." She said with a strained voice while still smiling ear from ear.

Shrinking back, Kuro muttered "Scary. Forget what I said about the boy. You're the real scary one."

"Thank you." She giggled in that same voice. Her smile never faltered. "Continue."

Izumi's outburst had finally gotten Mahiru to shut up. Now if only it could get the Cat-man to speak.

"I'm what they call a servant vampire." He reluctantly said. "The master I make a contract with gives me blood and I, even though it's a major pain in the ass, do whatever he says. It's so bothersome."

"I never realized that's how the vampire thing worked." Mahiru mused. "Well, I didn't think they existed."

"I've always thought vampires existed. I mean, because why not? But I never thought that servant vampires existed." Izumi said. "How'd you become a servant-vampire-thing anyways?"

Silence. The vampire didn't even look in her direction. He pointedly avoided her gaze.

"And you do whatever your master tells you to do?" Izumi continued. "That must be rough. I bet you've had some nasty orders in the past."

His body tensed and finally the vampire lazily looked in her direction.

"I have." He coolly replied.

"Like what?"

Eyes flashing, his dark red eyes bored into hers. She gazed back into those eyes refusing to give in. He just continued to stare at her and she could almost feel the anger behind his eyes. His dark aura was overwhelming and she tried to endure it as long as possible, but she eventually had to turn away.

Right after she did this, the tension broke. "You're so troublesome I could die. You're a noisy one aren't you?" he commented.

Feeling her anger return, she twitched internally but let it slide. He was a vampire and she clearly pissed him off. He could kill them. Play nice.

"I don't like personal questions." He said as he looked towards the ground, his face falling into shadow. "I'll answer only the essential ones, but other than that, my past is off limits."

Glancing at him she mumbled "Fine."

"But anyway…" Mahiru began as he tried to defuse the tension in the room. "So, you're basically a pet vampire? How the hell am I supposed to take care of a pet vampire?"

"I'm not a pet vampire. I told you, I'm a servant vampire. You give me blood and I do what you tell me to."

"Sounds more like a pet to me…or maybe more like someone's bitch" Izumi mumbled under her breath.

Mahiru snorted at her comment before whirling towards her.

"Izumi! Your language!"

"Oh my god, what are you my mother?" she groaned. "Oh wait, you are…. Mother Mahiru."

Ignoring his outraged protests, she lazily stood. "I'm going to make some tea. Want some?" she asked as she looked between the pair."

"Yes. Lemon-ginger." The vampire said.

"What do we say?"

The vampire didn't even blink at her.

"Please…we say please." Exasperated, she groaned. "Ugh, I don't even know why I bother anymore."

"Izumi! Don't just make him feel at home! He's not our guest!"

Once again she ignored her brother and walked away. Being alone in the kitchen meant she was now alone with her thoughts. She could still make out parts of their conversation, but from what she could hear, the vampire wasn't explaining anything new.

The vampire. Closing her eyes, she leaned her back against the counter and let out the breath she was holding. How crazy was this? She had a vampire in her house. He was also apparently their servant; well, more like Mahiru's. He was the one who Kuro had formed a contract with.

She had always wanted a servant because then he could take care of her chores so she wouldn't have to work as hard. If she had a servant years ago when she lived with her Aunt, then he would have been a major life savior. But Kuro wasn't that type of servant. She didn't think that he'd be up to cleaning and cooking. He was a vampire. He probably had other expertise. Like killing people for instance.

My past is off limits he had said. And from the sudden iciness of his tone and from that steely glare he gave her, she knew he had to have a bad one. Something happened that he didn't want to bring up. She could see it from his darkened expression that warned her to steer clear of the topic. He had walls up and it was as clear as day. She doubted Mahiru could see it – he couldn't even see hers and she was his twin. So how could he see the vampires? Well, as they always say, it takes one to know one.

Reentering the room with two steamy cups of tea, she passed one to the vampire who mumbled something that sounded like thanks. Oh he's learning!

Mahiru was currently vacuuming while Kuro just laid on the floor, lazily eating his chips. It seemed that every time Mahiru cleaned something up, Kuro made another mess. At this rate, Mahiru would never be done cleaning.

"So…. how long does this contract last?" she asked.

"It's temporary." The vampire stated as he rolled to face the mirror. "As long as I don't drink his blood in the next 24 hours the contract should be null and void."

"That's good!" her brother stated as he turned off the vacuum and turned to face the vampire. "Because I can't stand you."

Mahiru then picked up the vacuum and walked towards the dining room. A few seconds later, the vacuum sounded as Mahiru resumed cleaning.

"I can't stand you either…." Kuro mumbled as he looked at Mahiru's retreating form. With his shoulders sagging, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror. She followed his line of sight and was startled to see that he looked like a cat in the mirror. It must show his true form. She mused.

Drawing her eyes away from the mirror image and back onto the real person, she could see that he was hunched forward and his eyes were downcast. His hair covered his face so she couldn't see much of it, but he didn't look happy.

It almost seemed like he was sad about leaving. But he couldn't stand the twins so it couldn't be that. Honestly curious, she asked in a quiet voice "Do you even want a contract Kuro?"

He shifted away from her slightly and tilted his head down even more so.

"No."

"When was the last time you had one?"

"A while ago. It doesn't matter."

A pregnant pause followed his response.

"But-" she began before it dawned on her. "I'm sorry." She said in a quiet voice. "You said no more personal questions."

Rolling back onto his stomach, he didn't even glance in her direction. He just placed his chin on his folded arms and sighed as he stared forward.

Turning off the vacuum, Mahiru walked towards Kuro before stopping directly in front of him.

"So, I was thinking. All we have to do is get through the next day without you drinking my blood and then you can leave?"

"Mhhm." The vampire hummed as he closed his eyes.

Taking that as a yes, Mahiru roughly grabbed the man and dragged him towards the front door. "Well, if that's the case, then the answer is simple." He said as he opened the front door. Sunlight streamed into the room and almost instantly Kuro changed forms. "Why don't you leave now? Problem solved."

Placing the cat outside, he closed the door before smugly walking back into the room and clapping his hands. "Well, that was easy." He said before he was abruptly yanked backwards by a blue chain. Stumbling backwards, Mahiru landed on the floor with a loud thump.

"Brother!" Izumi called as she stepped forward. "Are you okay?"

Waving her off, he mumbled an incoherent "I'm fine." Standing up, he walked towards the front door and opened it.

"Uh uh uh." Kuro the cat taunted condescendingly. "Did you really think it was that easy?"

Scowling, Mahiru grabbed the cat and threw him back inside. "Hey!" he protested as he landed with a thump. Mahiru ignored his outburst and sighed as he closed the door, casting the room in darkness. Not a second later, Kuro reappeared in his human form lying on the floor.

Puffing the hair out of his face, he shot Mahiru a dirty look. "Thanks for that." He muttered as he sat up, leaning forward.

"So basically, I'm stuck with you." Mahiru groaned as he resigned himself to this fact.

"Yup." Cat man said he made himself more comfortable.

"Great."

Ahhh, sorry for the pipsqueak comment. Mahiru was totally channeling his inner Edward Elric there. I couldn't resist. I'm watching FMAB right now and I LOVE it!

But anyways, so what do you guys think? Do you like it? Do you want me to continue it? Follow and Review! :)

One last thing to note. About the update schedule. I have learned from experience –cough- my Naruto story –cough- that uploading on a regular schedule at college is HARD. It doesn't happen. And for those of you who somehow DO make it happen, god bless you. I don't know how you do it. Fucking precious souls. But what I'm trying to say is I don't know when I'll post the next chapter. Hopefully soon. But no promises. If you like the story and want to read the next installment, the best thing to do is FOLLOW mehhhhhh! So then you'll be alerted when chapter 2 does come out! :)

Alright, I'll see you guys later. Till next time, read and rock on!