The firing of gunshots filled the air. Yayoi was hot on the trail of another nightbreed. Shido had fed moments ago and now summoned his blood sword without hesitation. He had taken another route from Yayoi to cut off the creature, for it could not only fly, but also move through solid walls.

When he was moments away from trapping the creature, Shido felt his limbs go numb. He cursed inwardly for his visions and those moments of weakness he felt whenever thoughts of Cain would enter his mind. As he felt the fog lifting from his mind, he realized he still could not move. This was different.

"Release me," he cried out, trying to swing his blood sword. But his hand was no longer obeying the commands his mind emitted.

"Not a chance, vampire!" a voice called out. It was the voice of a child—perhaps no older than a teenage boy's—but it had an edge to it that was unmistakable. It would the sound of one who was ready to kill him for what he was, no questions asked.

"There's a nightbreed on the loose that needs attending to," Shido tried to explain calmly. He wanted to turn around to face his captor, but it was no good. Even his neck muscles were unresponsive.

"My partner will have taken care of it by now. Besides that's no concern of yours," he responded back.

No concern of mine? Shido felt a blaze of anger at those words. Who did this kid think he was, anyway?

Suddenly, he felt the kid's breathing become more ragged, and could sense his trembling.

"Hisoka!" another voice cried out, "I thought I said to stay close to me!"

"I wasn't going to let this vampire get away," he protested weakly. Shido was beginning to feel like it would be a long night.

"Our mission tonight was the…" the other voice began.

"You make it sound like you go to debriefings all the time," the boy named Hisoka countered.

"Well, I actually made it to this one…they had cake!" the second voice responded with a hint of laughter.

The cocking of a gun brought silence to their little party.

"Let him go, or I'll shoot," Yayoi warned.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" the second voice said quickly.

Yayoi narrowed her eyes at the duo that had her partner hostage. A tall, brown-haired man with vivid purple eyes and a shorter, younger boy with blond hair and shocking green eyes were standing on the roof next to an immobile Shido as if it was the most common thing in the world.

"I'm sure this was just a misunderstanding! I'm Tsuzuki and this is my partner Hisoka from the Summons Section of the Judgement Bureau of the Ministry of Hades. I believe we were both chasing after the same creature tonight," the purple-eyed one explained.

Yayoi did not drop her gun but nodded.

"If you would be so kind as to release my partner, we will bother you no further," Yayoi said, her voice dripping with irony. She didn't know what to make of the taller one. He had the duality of ease and alertness she often observed in Shido.

Shido remained relaxed yet alert even now, but chose to hold his silence for the moment.

"Why would a human decide to partner with a vampire?" Hisoka demanded. It was his spell that kept Shido immobile. Even for a new trainee, he was learning magic quickly, but had much more to learn when it came to handling sticky situations. Such as the one he had landed them in now.

"I believe that is no concern of yours," Yayoi answered, mirroring Hisoka's words from earlier.

"And let's call that a night, shall we, Hisoka?" Tsuzuki said, smiling as he removed the sealing spell from Shido.

But Yayoi did not miss the stern gaze the one named Tsuzuki gave in her direction. A warning.

…

"What were you doing letting your guard down like that?" Yayoi asked Shido as they were driving back to the office.

"I thought it was Cain…" Shido finally managed after a moment's silence. Yayoi had no good answer to that.

"The nightbreed got away in tonight's mess, however," Shido said, his eyes narrowing.

"Those two…they said they were from the Summons Section of the Judgement Bureau?" Shido mused aloud.

"Yeah. From the Ministry of Hades," Yayoi responded.

"I thought as much. Those two looked human, but were clearly not of the living," Shido muttered.

…

"Ow!" Hisoka cried, clutching the back of his head. He had just received a clout on the head from his partner. He could sense his partner's irritation, but it was slight, and tinged with amusement.

"What was that for?" Hisoka demanded, rubbing the back of his head again.

"That was for letting the creature get away," Tsuzuki said, "And for meddling in another person's business."

"But he was a vampire!" Hisoka countered.

"And one that hasn't caused any widespread crimes in our district, not as long as I've been in office," Tsuzuki said softly.

"Does that mean we're just letting creatures like him wander free?" Hisoka asked, incredulous.

"Our job is to guide souls that should be dead to their proper destination, right?" Hisoka asked after his inquiry had received nothing but silence.

"Yes and no. If we carried our duties to the full extent, then we'd have to turn ourselves in, right?" Tsuzuki replied jokingly.

"Tsuzuki!"

"We're not so different than that vampire…existing in the world of the living beyond our lifespan…" Tsuzuki murmured under his breath. Hisoka looked up at him but he acted like he had said nothing and gave Hisoka one of his silly big smiles.

"Well, I'm gonna get some dessert to eat and then get some shut eye. You should get some sleep too," Tsuzuki said, ruffling Hisoka's hair as he passed by him.

…

"So they've finally met, have they?" he mused in the darkness, his two different eyes sparkling in delight.

"What kind of new expressions will you make this time, Tsuzuki?"