Muraskibara Atsushi strolled down the corridor in a slow pace. With one hand holding the bag of chips, the other hand reach in and feast upon the snack. One word to describe his current predicament is bored. He wasn't good at handling with any political affairs, basically leaving everything to Akashi and Midorima - the "brains" of the group. And so since they don't have any opponents to fight, Murasakibara was left with absolutely nothing to do.

But he does have a role in this group; he handles the security portion of their base and to him, defeating any enemies are as simple as defeating flies. Due to his abnormal height and with his vampire powers as a bonus, he was undefeatable in terms of strength, excluding, of course, their leader Akashi.

Contrary to common belief, Murasakibara wasn't a cold and heartless person who doesn't care about anyone other than himself. True, he appeared to be emotionless and acts like everything hardly matters to him; he just act upon Akashi's wishes like an obedient robot that functions as their master orders them to. However, beneath that cold surface, the baby titan does warm up to a few selected people - namely his close vampire friends, especially Akashi. Their leader was the first one to find him after that incident, accept him, and quickly, he worm himself into Murasakibara's heart despite the titan's wishes. But in the end, he was glad that Akashi decided to give attention to him.

Murasakibara, at the age of 79 summers, walked down joyfully to his house, whom he shares with his best friend, Himuro Tatsuya. He had known that he was a vampire since a long time ago, and he instintively knew that this was a secret he must kept. How? He himself can't answer that. It was like how you'll automatically help someone open a door without thinking about it. And so he kept quiet about his true identity, not daring to tell a single soul, including his most trusted companion.

He had heard of many news regarding barbaric vampires feasting upon defenseless humans, but Murasakibara didn't think too much about this. Vampires needed food to survive, just like humans; they'll only need some blood and that's it. Humans would only feel dizzy afterwards, but there'll be no harm done if the amount of blood being sucked away wasn't at a large amount. Eating - or rather drinking - is a must for survival, just like humans. Vampires are very similar to humans in that fashion, and Murasakibara thought that their species was perfectly normal until one night.

A loud scream reverberated throughout the town, which caused many residents to wake up, including Murasakibara. They all ran toward the source - or rather Murasakibara had to be dragged out by Himura - and found themselves in a dark and narrow ally with a bloodied body laying lifeless on the ground. Two punctures were present on the neck and the victim's eyes were open, staring into space. The woman's dress were also the color of red, but that wasn't what really bothered everyone at the moment; the woman had obvious scratch marks across her body and her limbs were all twisted in an unsightful fashion - it was exactly like how one would wring a wet rag.

The stench of blood invaded the air, and to some, it was too much to take. Few people had thrown up, sick to the stomach, while the others were all screaming. This obviously had meant something; this incident haven't occured in a long time, and once again, humans were reminded just how ferocious vampires can be - who else can it be? There's no way someone without supernatural powers can do something this horrible: it definitely has to be the work of a vampire. There was no way that they can coexist with one another.

"Monsters! Monsters! All vampires should all die!" They were all yelling along those lines. This was pure chaos and the vivid images slowly started to seep into their minds until they couldn't of anything else but the horrendous murder in front of them.

'But... not all vampires are savages. Isn't it too cruel to say that all vampires must be eradicated?' That was what Murasakibara wanted to say, but he didn't. Everyone was either frantically crying or going insane, and the police soon arrived, blocking and isolating the area.

Murasakibara was also pushed back, stepping a few steps backwards. As he watched the police scrutinizing the victim with various emotions, he called out, "Muro-chin..." He was about to extend a hand toward his best friend but stopped in its track.

Himuro's whole body was trembling fervently and uncontrollably, while having tears streaming down his face; he was obviously terrified that one day this might be his fate. He definitely would have no chances against a vampire, so if he ever saw a vampire attacking him, that'll be the end of him. "Why do vampires exist?..." he muttered and then shouted strongly, "those blood-hungry beasts should all die!"

Murasakibara retracted his hand, and stared at his feet in silent.

'Muro-chin... gomen...'

After a moment later, he lifted his head and the victim's eyes were still open, but it was as if she's staring a hole through Murasakibara, as if to accuse him that he's a murderer.

Murasakibara could only run away.

/

Himuro knocked on the door desperately; his friend had locked himself in for weeks now, and this was killing him inside. Murasakibara had started acting weird after the incident and no matter how much Himuro plead him, Murasakibara wouldn't even talk to him.

Heck, Himuro wouldn't know if his best friend was alive if not for Murasakibara writing a small note, sliding it underneath the small gap between the ground and the door. But that was the only form of communication and after that single note, the purple-haired titan made no attempt to communicate again.

Himuro doesn't understand what was going on and despite him trying to seek an alternative and possibly persuade his best friend to come out, nothing works at all. And so this had became a pattern of sorts: Himuro would visit Murasakibara's house every morning, evening and night, and after his final visit for the day, he would leave food on the doorsteps.

But even that was pointless.

What was the point if his best friend wouldn't even touch the food?

But one day however, the content of the bag was all gone, and Himuro gets his hopes all; could Murasakibara finally come to his senses and wouldn't try to starve himself? But all hopes were shattered when he saw small bits and pieces of the remnants in the bag; he then knew that his friend didn't ate it.

"Atsushi, please open the door! Don't do this to yourself! I don't know what went wrong, but let's talk it out, alright? Please, Atsushi!" Himuro's voice cracked, and he himself starts to panick as negative thoughts blinded him.

The images of last night's nightmare resurfaced, portraying Murasakibara. Himuro thought that his friend had come back to him, and so he ran forward, wanting to grab Murasakibara's hand, but the purple-haired male turned away and walked forward, not giving Himuro a second glance.

Once Himuro wakes up from his dream, he have a bad feeling; what if that dream is a prediction of what might occured soon? If that was the case, then he must act fast or else he'll lose the only person he cared about.

He already lost his only brother Taiga, and if he lose another one of his close ones, then he'll really break down this time.

"Atsushi, please! Talk to me! I don't care if you'll communicate using a note; as long it tells me that you're okay, anything's fine." He banged on the door once more, and after few minutes of no response, his legs went weak and he fell down. "Atsushi... talk to me... no matter what happens, I'll always be on your side..."

/

Murasakibara raised his head when he heard bangs coming from the door again.

'Ah, it's Muro-chin again.' Even when his best friend kept calling out to him, Murasakibara did nothing to open the door or at least say something to ensure Himuro that he's indeed there.

After the incident, he realized one important thing: humans and vampires aren't meant to live together peacefully. There was just no way that it would work. His best friend is probably afraid of vampires, afraid of him, if Himuro were to realize that Murasakibara had been hiding this important fact from him. It would be impossible that Himuro will still want to be his friend after knowing this fact; he, like others, would come to hate him.

And so he decided to shut himself inside. Part of that was also to keep himself away from humans; who knows when he'll go on a rumpage and kill someone? He wants to believe that he's normal, but who can confirm that?

While his extreme need for blood take over his senses never happened, it doesn't mean that it wouldn't happen in the future.

Murasakibara's afraid. Afraid of himself. What if one day he can't control himself and ended up harming the one whom he wants to protect the most?

He wants to live peacefully with Himuro and the rest of the villagers, but would they also feel the same way once they realized just who exactly is Murasakibara Atsushi? Most likely not.

"Atsushi, please open the door! Don't do this to yourself! I don't know what went wrong, but let's talk it out, alright? Please, Atsushi!"

'Ah, was Muro-chin crying?'

It pains him to know that he was the one who caused these negative emotions to stir within Himuro, but... he has to do this. For Himuro's sake. For his sake.

The purpled-haired vampire grabbed his pillow to cover his ears in hopes that the material will muffle the sounds. The more he hear Himuro's voice, the more he will want to hug his best friend tight and apologize for making him worry.

But he can't.

'Muro-chin, gomen ne...'

He grits his teeth to trap the choking sounds as wet, hot tears decorated his face.

'It hurts...'

"Atsushi... talk to me... no matter what happens, I'll always be on your side..."

He shake his head. No, his best friend would definitely hate him if he knows. And so he swore that he will keep this secret to his grave. The one thing he fears the most was Himuro hating him; that was the only thing he couldn't bear no matter what. Himuro is his first and only best friend, the first one who extends his hand to the vampire.

Without knowing where Murasakibara came from, Himuro brought a total stranger to his place and attended to him, making sure he was well fed and was comfortable with everything.

Just how can someone be naturally kind to another person? And so Murasakibara decided to stay with him and made a promise to protect him.

And so even if he gets harmed in the process, he would use his life to protect Himuro.

He grabbed his blanket and flung it over his head.

'Muro-chin...'

/

Once Murasakibara wakes up, he decided to do the one thing that he haven't atempted to do; to go outside. He figured that since it was now late in the night, no one would probably be out now, so now was the best time to breathe in fresh air and to clear his mind.

He unlocked his door and walked outside sneakily, making sure there are no one around him. This was his pattern all the way until he reached his destination: the clear and shallow lake.

The moonlight bring out the beauty of the crystal lake and instantly, Murasakibara felt his heart warmed up by the sight. This was always his most favorite spot out of all places; not only was here peaceful and serence, but the pure beauty of it can calm his nerves and tranquilize his pain.

He traveled down the slight slope and sat onto a round rock as he stared at the lake. Moments later, he dipped his hand slightly into the water and can feel the coldness against his warm hand. This sight makes him remember a painful memory and that small smile etched on his face instantly turns into a frown.

He and Himuro used to play in the water in the good, old days, and they would splashed each other with water, without a care of the rest of the world. In that moment, it was like time had froze and that there are only the two of them in their small world.

How nice was that?

And just like how he used to do so in the past, Murasakibara take off his shoes before his feet sank into the water.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. And it was at that moment he made a final decision: he should leave this town and move into a remote place. That way he wouldn't have the fear of harming a human.

After he make up his mind, he opened his eyes and stood up to leave the place when suddenly, two arms wrapped his waist tightly.

Murasakibara let out a gasp as he widened his eyes in astonishment. Immediately, he knew who it was; after all, there is only one person who would do this.

"Muro-chin, let go," were his first comment after a long time of keeping his voice shut.

"No," Himuro replied firmly. "If I let go, I feel that you'll disappear from my life; I definitely won't let that happen." His fingers cluthed onto Murasakibara's shirt with a vice grip.

"...Why?" The unspoken question lingered in the air.

'Why won't you let me go? Why won't you let me disappear? Why?'

"Why?" His eyes became watery. "Why you ask? Is there a need to even ask that? You're my best friend; of course, I don't want you to leave me."

He turned Murasakibara around so that they were facing face to face, "I wouldn't understand what was tormenting you if you don't speak. I'm not a mind-reader," he chuckled weakly and caressed the purple-haired male's cheek tenderly. "Atsushi, don't do this to me and to yourself. Tell me all your worries; don't keep things bottled up inside and let me hear them all."

"But-"

Himuro placed a finger on his lips, "No 'buts'. I will always be by your side; I promise." He whispered and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I... don't..." Murasakibara's bangs covered his eyes as he looked down.

'I don't deserve your kindness. A monster like me doesn't deserve it.'

Himuro closed the distance between them and rest his head on Murasakibara's shoulder. "Tell me when you're ready, alright? Don't ever locked yourself away from me."

Murasakibara returned the hug. "Muro-chin..."

/

The sun was too bright in his opinion, but he endured it for Himuro. This was probably his first taste of sunshine after what seems like eternity. He thought that it would still be the same, but the town had clearly undergone a drastic change; no more children running freely around the streets and no more crowded streets with the markets bustling with business. The town looked like it had been abandoned by people, but Murasakibara can tell that there are people living here, just... not out in the open.

Seeing Murasakibara's confused gaze, Himuro filled him in, "After the incident, people are terrified that they might be attacked, so they're all hiding in their repesective homes." The wind picked up pace, and blew the crumbled paper bag away, which landed on Himuro's shoe, but eventually got blown away again.

"But hey, at least we have the whole street to ourselves and don't need to worry about getting lost," Himuro commented with dry humor; it was his atempt to somewhat lift the tense atmosphere.

Murasakibara weakly returned the smile. "But... aren't you afraid that you'll..."

"Of course I am in the face of a stronger race. But that doesn't stop me from living my life to the fullest. What good would it do for me hiding in my home and live in fear?" He shrugged. "I feel that everything will be fine with you by my side, Atsushi."

Murasakibara nodded with determinaion, "I will protect you, Muro-chin!"

"I know you will, but hey, I can protect you too."

Murasakibara was stunned and a smile blossomed across his face.

Himuro pushed his friend teasingly, "You're not making fun of me, are you?"

"Nope!"

"Ne, Atsu-" Himuro wasn't able to complete his sentence when he felt a stinging pain coming from his neck. He felt something sinking into his flesh, and soon, that spot became wet, most likely due to blood.

A mop of black hair was within his view, and Himuro felt that his blood had run cold in an instant.

The vampire latching onto his neck looked at him, showing his red eyes and Himuro could only think of only one word: vampire.

Vaguely, he can hear Murasakibara's distressed voice coming from a distance, but everything happened too fast that his brain wasn't able to process everything.

The vampire released him, making sure to glide his fangs across the neck in a fierce way, leaving two long gashes in its wake. Himuro screamed, holding his wound. Blood poured out too fast, and at this rate, Himuro would die due to blood loss.

"Atsu... run!" Even at his weakened state, Himuro could only think about his best friend and could hardly care less that he would possibly enter death's door any minute. When Murasakibara didn't run, Himuro raised his voice, "Run! Run, Atsushi!"

His heart was pounding too fast that it felt like the organ will jump out of his body. His body was enveloped by fear, but despite all of that, he doesn't want his best friend to suffer the same way.

When Murasakibara still didn't move, Himuro opened his mouth to speak, but ended up choking on his blood. And it was then that he noticed the predicament that he was in; his whole shirt was wet with crimson and sticky blood, and that liquid had painted across the ground around him.

The blood was spreading at an alarming rate; just few seconds ago, the blood had only reached around the top half of his shirt, and now, the blood had flowed across various areas of his clothing and surroundings.

His vision had started to blur and he can no longer see clearly. Everything became a jumbled mess, and very soon, all he can see was darkness.

Meanwhile, for Murasakibara who had witnessed everything, he couldn't believe in what he saw. Just few minutes ago, he and Himuro were joking and teasing, and in a flash, Himuro was attacked, and now he was unconscious... and possible dead even.

Ba-thump.

Ba-thump.

Ba-thump.

Murasakibara can only see red, and he glared at the perpetuator with immense hatred and fury. His body charged forward, using his supernatural powers as a boost, and could only think of one goal: to kill that vampire.

His nails sharpened and with the fast pace he was moving, the other vampire wasn't able to see his movements clearly. Murasakibara, without hesitation, slashed the vampire deeply, aiming to dealt deep but not deadly wounds.

This may seem as if he was showing mercy to his opponent, but that wasn't the case; he wants the vampire to suffer more and death would only end the pain. Murasakibara chopped off the vampire's arm, and while the vampire was screaming in excruciating pain, Murasakibara's hand entered through his abdomen, puncturing a large hole.

And while the vampire's blood had splattered across his face, he didn't stop.

He then slammed the vampire against the nearby house, and while the vampire was coughing up blood, Murasakibara proceeded to grab his heart and squeezed it with no mercy. Despite the fact that vampires are immortal, they can die with one of the most common method: to destroy their heart. And without their heart, they wouldn't be able to regenerate lost limbs or heal wounds. To them, their hearts are their top weakness.

Murasakibara's nails dug into the organ, and to the vampire, this was the most painful thing that he had experienced. Horrifying and broken screams for help went out of his mouth, but Murasakibara didn't stop.

This wasn't enough.

He slashed off another limb; a leg. Murasakibara's heart still ache with fury and grief; this was clearly not enough, and so he decided to crush the vampire's bones. He then came to a decision; he would savor the heart for last and would chop the vampire's body into bits and pieces.

"How do you feel?" Murasakibara questioned with sheer hate. He chopped off a finger, two, three, and when all fingers are gone, he moved on to the wrist, the elbow, and lastly, the shoulder. This was the same pattern for the vampire's other leg and by the time Murasakibara was done, the vampire only have his upper body intact, excluding his arms.

The rest of this body were all in pieces, gathering a wet pile on the ground.

And despite that he was in a bad condition, the vampire refused to surrender and laughed manically, head throwing backwards.

Murasakibara paused, "What's so funny?" He stared at his opponent with cold eyes.

The vampire spits the blood in his mouth, "You're funny, that's what. Why are you so emotional because a mere human died? Are you really a vampire?"

Murasakibara considered his words: while he is a vampire, he certainly doesn't act like one. He wasn't a human too... he just doesn't belong with humans nor vampires.

The vampire smirked, and he used the opportunity to attack Murasakibara with his fangs. He managed to wound the purple-haired vampire on the shoulder before Murasakibara crushed his heart completely, exploding it into smithereens.

And that was the end of that vampire. After the whole ordeal, Murasakibara collapsed onto the ground and scanned his hands; they were covered with someone else's blood. The fresh blood covered up the dry ones, and Murasakibara thought, 'Ah. I'm just like the others. I'm a-"

"Murderer! Get out of here, you vicious monster!"

Murasakibara turned his head and stared at the citizens - whom he called his friends - labeled him as a murderer and monster. But he made no move to defend himself. He is a monster. That, he acknolwedges.

Purple eyes trailed to Himuro's fallen form and he looked at him one last time before standing up weakly. The citizens all took a step back, assuming that Murasakibara came to attack them for saying such insulting words.

But what happened was the complete opposite of what they assumed; instead, the purple-haired vampire left without saying anything, no words to defend himself nor words to apologize for what happened.

/

It was now winter and once again, snow had fallen upon Earth, covering the whole landscape with pure white. Murasakibara was in a fetal position in an unknown area, hugging himself close.

Snow had piled over his head and shoulders, but the vampire made no attempt to dust them off. Life became meaningless after he lost Himuro, and many times he tried to kill himself, but always stopped. No doubt that he wants to join Himuro in the afterlife, but for some reason, whenever he tried to kill himself, it was like an invisble force will always stop him. But maybe that was all in his limagination and that he really is just a coward who was afraid of death.

But whatever the cause was, Murasakibara is at a loss for what to do, and so he decided to just sit there.

Maybe he can ask someone to end his life? Maybe he can...

Murasakibara fell sideways as his head hit the snow: he had fallen asleep. His chest rise up and down. Up and down...

/

When he wakes up, he assumed that he was already dead, but of course, that wasn't the case. What greeted him was a light red ceiling and as he sat up to scrutinize his surroundings, he then noticed that he was in a really warm room, and... there was someone sitting beside him.

It was a red-haired male with red eyes as well; he was sitting with crossed legs with his hands folded on top of his lap. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"Why did you..." Murasakibara croaked.

"Why did I save you? I wonder why too. But vampires have an eternal life, so why are you not taking advantage of it? Instead, you're trying to end your life, per se."

"...How?"

"It's quite obvious: the smell of blood still lingered on your body." And as if reading Murasakibara's mind, he then added, "How can I smell it when it wasn't very obvious? Well, why do you think that was the case?"

"...You're a vampire too," Murasakibara answered him.

He smiled, "Of course, it's up to you how you want to spend your life, but don't you think that there are so many things you can accomplish in life, whether it's now or in the future?" He stood up and paced himself towards the door, "You might think that life is meaningless, but is that truly the case? Well, I think that life is very interesting; you may experience things that drowns you or you may experience things that helps you rise high in the air. But all of these experiences builds up, which helps created the you today."

With one hand on the doorknob, he turned his head slightly toward his guest, "And I want to explore this long life of mine and it would be a waste if I'm consumed by grief and end my life. Again, it's up to you: do you want to enjoy life or never enjoy them again?"

With that last comment, he slipped past the door and after few feet out in the hallway, as expected, another pair of footsteps joined him. He smiled, "Good answer."

Thinking back, his leader was strange, but Murasakibara was still attracted to him like bees are to honey. After that day, he never once regreted his choice in following after Akashi. Sure, even to this day, it still hurts to think about Himuro, but because of Akashi's influence, he was able to think positively again.

He reached in to grab another chip when he suddenly halted and snapped his head to the left. That smell...

He sprinted and reached Kuroko's room, which he immediately knocked it down. After following the smell of blood, he reached the bathroom and saw Kuroko with blood all over him and the tub.

"Atsu... run!" Himuro looked at Murasakibara and pleaded him. Meanwhile, the rate the blood came pouring out of his wounds increased, and Murasakibara can see nothing but blood. Himuro then raised his voice, "Run! Run, Atsushi!"

This scene reminded him strongly of how Himuro looked like when he was about to die.

Even though he knew that Kuroko needed his help, Murasakibara did nothing to help him. He couldn't.

"Muro-chin..." Soon, his comrades came to the scene and as they rushed toward Kuroko, Akashi walked up to him.

He pats Murasakibara's back and said, "You can go out if it makes you feel better." The purple-haired vampire followed his advice.

After 30 minutes or so, the rest of the Generation of Miracles left Kuroko's room and Akashi walked towards Murasakibara's side.

"Is he... okay?" Murasakibara gulped.

"Yeah, don't worry, we stopped the blood." Murasakibara looked at Akashi's white shirt which was now the color of his hair. "Yeah," Akashi nodded. "I need to change later."

"Aka-chin, gomen..." He apologized for being so useless.

"No, Murasakibara," Akashi pats his head softly as he leaned down to hug the vampire tight. "It's not your fault."


It's been a long time, but I hope you'll forgive me with this long chapter I present you! I promise that now my writer's block's over, I will try to update regularly. Hopefully, once in every 1 or 2 months.

As always, reviews would make me super happy :)