Hetalia School for Vampire Hunters

Chapter Four

1718 western Russia…

He was dying. Looking at the pale, still face of his son, Count Braginsky felt bitter. All his power, all his wealth and all his influence would amount to nothing. His only heir was slipping away, he could no longer pretend otherwise. Ivan had always been a presence, tall, big-boned and demanding; others were often intimidated by him. Now, even by torchlight, he almost looked lost in the huge bed, the rich surroundings in this tomb only highlighting his own lack of colour.

"Nyet," he spoke the words almost under his breath but they produced an instant response.

Head bowed respectfully, Yao moved forward from his position at the side of the room,

"Master?"

"This cannot be," the Count almost growled the words, "it will not be; the latest healers, they have found nothing? There must be a cure. They will be made to regret it, if they fail me." The words had an ominous ring of finality, but it was not the first time he had reacted like this.

"Perhaps there is another way…"

Present Day…

Alfred's sandy hair flopped forward as he got comfortable and he brushed it impatiently back, eying the bars between them a little uncomfortably as though resentful at being reminded of Arthur's situation.

"So what's it actually like then?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow "What is what like?"

"Becoming a vampire. What's it actually like to be turned, is it painful?"

"Painful would be putting it mildly. All I remember is thinking I was going to die and then an overwhelming darkness that I assumed was death itself, before I lost consciousness completely."

"Bet you were glad to wake up alive." Alfred had nearly said 'un-dead' but somehow it didn't seem right.

"I didn't wake up alive," Arthur sighed, and a note of bitterness entered his voice. "Living and existing are two very different things."

"But didn't you want to be a vampire?" Alfred asked, sounding confused.

"It was an accident for me, I didn't know about vampires before I became one."

"Then how did it happen?"

"As it turns out, there are some brothels where you can catch more than just a disease." Arthur felt heat rise into his cheeks.

Alfred laughed loudly, "Dude you're not serious. You got turned into a vampire by a prostitute?"

"Don't be so quick to judge me. Do you have any idea how repressed Victorian society was? Being told that everything I felt was unnatural and evil, the days spent hiding who I was, what I really wanted..."

"What was that then?"

Arthur slowly turned his head towards Alfred and looked at him, his muscular frame and, smooth skin, his high cheekbones and easy smile. Those sparkling blue eyes that seemed constantly on the verge of inspiration…

"It doesn't matter," Arthur swallowed, all of a sudden his throat felt very dry. "As you can imagine I was far more uptight back then."

"Whereas you're practically a hippy these days." Alfred laughed and Arthur gave him a half-smile. "So anyway, keep going, I want to hear the rest of the story."

"The painful and emotionally scarring process of my being made into a vampire is not 'a story'."

"You know what I mean," He shrugged apologetically, "Come on, what happened next?"

"The vampire revealed himself, and then I was taken to Russia, for instruction." He shuddered at the last word and Alfred wondered darkly what 'instruction' really meant. From the look on Arthur's face he couldn't imagine that it was anything good.

"Hey that's a weird coincidence; we have to learn Russian for our Lore classes."

"That's hardly a coincidence. Russia is where the head family lives," He laughed half-heartedly, "you might consider it the capital-city of vampires."

"Wait, so you vampires have royalty?! Do they have big vampire weddings - like the British?" He had just been about to ask whether Arthur preferred vampire weddings or the British ones when he was sharply interrupted.

"Not at all like Her Majesty! They're not noble, or at least," Arthur corrected, "that's not why they're in charge. The Braginskys are Russian. The purest and the strongest of all vampires, they're the ones that keep everyone else in their place." Alfred watched Arthur as he spoke, his deep green eyes had narrowed and his voice sounded hostile. "And that's why I was sent there, so they could make sure that I learnt my place."

"That sounds really horrible dude." Alfred reached his hand through the bar and placed it gently on Arthur's shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Arthur just looked at him, his expression unreadable.

"The head family needs to feel like they have complete control," his voice was soft and distracted as he smoothed his hand slowly over the fabric of his shirt, tracing the spot where Alfred had touched him. "I suppose it could have been worse, they could have kidnapped me and locked me up in a massive cage." He snorted.

"Wait, so is there like a head vampire?"

"Ivan. The Braginsky family and their strongest 'offspring' nest together. They work as a group to keep everyone else in-line, but we all know who's really in charge."

"And this Ivan guy…"

"I've never met him, few have but I've met his right-hand man Yao twice, and that is more than enough," the disgust in Arthur's voice was almost palpable. "Mostly, I've tried to stay away from them; they're not at all keen on me."

"Hey, uh won't that Russian family be mad at you for spilling all their secrets?" Alfred asked sounding worried. Arthur blinked at him for a couple of seconds, before bursting into laughter.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your order has existed for several centuries, nothing I have told you would be anything new to them, I assure you." He chuckled for a minute before his face became more thoughtful and he continued seriously, "but Alfred…it was good of you to ask." He looked up, before adding sincerely, "… I mean it."

Their eyes met for brief moment before Alfred flushed and looked away, "uh, no problem." Wanting to change the subject, he remembered the book. "So anyway, did you manage okay with the flashlight? Is that book I gave you any good?"

"You mean Twilight? Oh it's utter bollocks, I can't believe anyone reads such trash."

"Well hey dude, if you don't like it I can take it back, I'm sure I can find something else for you."

"No, no, I want to know what hap…," he coughed, "I mean, uh, I'm glad you gave me something to do." Realising that excuse had sounded pretty lame, Arthur looked embarrassed.

"You like it!" Alfred looked amused.

"Oh it's romantic nonsense, but really, it's been a blessing to have anything to laugh about. Sparkly 'vegetarians?' Good grief, as though I would care what happens to such idiots." He gave an unconvincing laugh.

For all Arthur's mocking, Alfred noticed him shoot a furtive glance towards the mattress where he assumed it was hidden, 'yeah, you totally like it,' he thought, smirking. "Well at least it's something to do, eh?" was all he said aloud though, "It's getting pretty late, I should probably get to bed, but I'll see what else I can come up with." With a parting smile, he turned to leave, "Night Arthur."

"Goodnight to you too Alfred."

The next morning, all the first year recruits were asked by Ludwig to gather in the lecture hall for an announcement. They were going to be given the full details of the Halloween and All Saints celebrations which would be happening over the next few days.

As they waited for him to arrive, the students chatted eagerly among themselves and Feliciano (who was seated between Mathew and Lili) sighed happily. It had gradually become obvious to all of them how Feliciano felt about Ludwig, but though they all respected Ludwig, he was just so scary. Mathew couldn't see how Feliciano – not normally brave at all, was able let little things like deep blue eyes and huge muscles stop him from being intimidated like the rest of them.

But then no-one else seemed to see the Ludwig Feliciano knew, the sweet, shy Ludwig who loved to read and take long walks in the summer with his dogs. The Ludwig who blushed and was never sure what to say when Feliciano complimented him, but tried so hard to be kind in return.

Feliciano would never forget how it had felt when he was a teenager, before he and Lovino had been old enough to begin training. Living at the school, there had been no-one else their age and Lovino was usually with Antonio. Everyone was kind, but he had been just Roma's grandson to all the others, only Ludwig had made time for him, had seemed to actually want him around.

Only Ludwig, who looked at him now, like no one else did.

Soft secretive glances that made him ache and long for more, that made his heart leap when he saw them. Feliciano did not know why, but every time he tried to get closer…Ludwig would push him away. And as the glances grew more frequent, more unbearable, Ludwig seemed to be trying even harder to keep his distance.

He watched as Ludwig arrived, admired the long smooth strides he took and the sure blue eyes, fixed in a look of determined concentration. Ludwig had a certain calm dignity in the way he went about everything. He had a sort of inner-certainty that gave Feliciano hope. He could not believe that Ludwig would play games with him, that he would look at him the way he did if he did not feel something.

With this in mind he fixed his attention firmly to the front. The rest of the students also quieted, as they waited to hear what he had to say.

"Good morning," Ludwig began, "as you are no doubt aware by now, the next few days will be a little different from usual. Many of the active hunters are returning from the field for Halloween, and the All Saints celebrations which mark its passing. Halloween is a special time for all hunters and it is traditional for qualified second year trainees to undergo the joining ceremony, to become fully recognised hunters."

Alfred leaned around Mathew to hiss at Feliciano, "Hey dude, your brother's doing that this year isn't he?"

"Yes Alfred," said Feliciano absently, his attention still utterly on the speaker.

Alfred lounged back in his chair and continued to listen as Ludwig explained the programme of events to come. Some of the incoming hunters were arriving tomorrow and would be giving special lectures, to show what life would be like as one of them. They would be sharing the details of hunts they had been involved in and these 'stories' were bound to be amazing. Alfred knew he should feel excited, and he did…mostly, but he was uncomfortably aware that the thought of daring kills no longer seemed right somehow. He just couldn't get past the thoughts of Arthur.

Ludwig's talk was about three main things. First he gave the recruits a bit of information about some of the individual hunters who would be coming in. Many of these were famous among the vampire hunting community for their legendary exploits, and the students were looking forward to hearing from them. Next, he gave a few basic details about procedures for the joining ceremony. First years were not allowed to attend – it was for full hunters only and the ritual itself remained a mystery until that time…but it was obvious from Ludwig's tone that it was a really big deal. It all sounded pretty solemn (and a bit creepy) and since they wouldn't be doing it for a whole year yet, the first years had only a passing interest in the procedure.

When finally, he came to the part the first years were waiting for - the celebrations, they all suddenly got a lot more interested. Pretty much the only word anyone really wanted to hear was "party" and after that was confirmed, a buzz of excitement rose around the room. Ludwig gave them the details; there would be a big feast and a themed party which this year would be 'national costumes'. He then dismissed his listeners, leaving the room which was soon filled with voices as the recruits discussed all the news.

Feliciano rose quickly from his seat, "Howdy partners, I'm so going as a cowboy," was the last thing he heard, as he slipped quickly from the room to follow Ludwig.

"Ludwig, hey Ludwig," Feliciano called as he hurried down the hallway, finally catching up with him as he went into his classroom.

Ludwig looked at him in surprise, "Feliciano, is something wrong?"

"No Ludwig, I just wanted to talk to you."

"But aren't your friends making plans for the party?" Ludwig asked, looking at him seriously.

"Oh yes," Feliciano shrugged, "but I can do that later, I would rather be with you right now," he smiled. "Have you read your birthday present yet?"

"Yes, of course, the Fechtbuch was…interesting, Talhoffer was a good choice Feliciano, it was most thoughtful of you."

Feliciano beamed, "I am so glad Ludwig, I knew it had the best pictures," he added, "and I wanted it to be special for you."

"The artwork is indeed amazing Feliciano, it is a beautiful book." Ludwig was obviously sincere and Feliciano almost glowed with pleasure.

"What about the message Ludwig? What did you think of the message I wrote for you?" Feliciano asked anxiously, "Did you like it?"

"There was no message Feliciano, I would have noticed." Ludwig was guiltily aware that this was the first thing he had looked for, and that he had been disappointed.

"Well, did you forget to check the back?" Feliciano asked (as if that was the obvious thing to do). "There's a reason I wrote it there you know."

Ludwig shook his head in bemusement, "No," he admitted, "I didn't check the back."

"Then you should get it right now, so I can show you. Do you keep it in your desk?" He glanced around the room, his expression hopeful.

"No Feliciano, it's not in my desk," Ludwig replied, starting to look a bit awkward.

"Oh," Feliciano was a bit disappointed by this, until he thought of something even better. "It's in your bedroom then," this perked him back up immediately. "We should go and get it!"

Ludwig swallowed hard and loosened his collar, before looking away, "Feliciano, I don't have time for this, I…"

"Don't worry Ludwig, your room is not far from here, I can get it for you, if you like. Your things are always so ordered, I'm sure I will be able to find it quickly."

"Wait Feliciano. It is not in my bedroom either, it's…" Ludwig hesitated, before slowly reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulling out a small book, "…right here."

Feliciano gasped, his eyes growing very wide, "You…"

"I couldn't help it." Ludwig flushed at the open joy in Feliciano's face, this was exactly the sort of thing he was supposed to avoid and he blamed himself for not being stronger.

"Well quickly, go to the back and don't forget to read it out to me," Feliciano urged, reaching out to touch his arm.

Ludwig sighed, although he did not pull away. "But you wrote it, why do you need me to do that?"

"Why not Ludwig? They are only words. Please, read them to me!" Ludwig lowered his eyes to meet Feliciano's. They were bright and expectant.

"Very well," He closed his eyes briefly in surrender, "e vissero felici e contenti," His accent was poor, but Feliciano's face brightened up immediately, as if he had just heard the most beautiful sound in the world. "What does that mean?"

"Sorry Ludwig, but that's cheating! I wrote it in Italian so you would have to figure it out for yourself." The ghost of a smile traced Ludwig's lips, so this was a guessing game?

"You've clearly thought this through Feliciano. If only you would put this much effort into training." Feliciano laughed and Ludwig couldn't resist, "So tell me, do I get any clues?"

"Clues, hmm…the nights have been so warm and lovely these past few days and the stars are so pretty, perhaps we could go for a walk? If you come with me, I'll give you twenty questions!"

Feliciano looked so hopeful as he said this, that Ludwig felt his heart twist as he forced him to stop. He was silent for a moment before he very gently removed the hand from his arm. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"You've walked with me before Ludwig; it wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It was…wonderful Feliciano. And that is exactly why it cannot keep happening."

Feliciano looked at him dully, "But Ludwig…," he whispered.

For a moment Ludwig closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, this was so hard. He had thought it would get easier, that once he made it clear they had no future, Feliciano would give up, would give his affection somewhere else. That would have hurt, but it would have been right, this…this was a constant torture.

"Feliciano," he said at last, "we have been over and over this…"

"But I care about you Ludwig." Feliciano interrupted.

"You think I don't care about you? You know I do Feliciano, but it is just not possible." The words were spoken quietly and he clearly meant them. Still, his face betrayed his pain. "We cannot be together."

"But Ludwig why? You have never told me why you say it is so impossible."

"You could get hurt, and I will not risk that…ever." He looked at Feliciano, "I mean it Feli," he added gently. "I cannot explain any further than that."

"Then I won't give in." Feliciano clenched his fists and met his eyes. "Unless you tell me why Ludwig, I will never give you up."

A couple of hours later the guest lecturers were due to arrive and a crowd of recruits had gathered in the courtyard near the steps to the front doors, hoping to catch a glimpse of them. Alfred, Mathew, Bruce and Lili, had instead been led by Bella to a position halfway up the main staircase, where they had an excellent view, overlooking most of the large entrance hall.

"See didn't I tell you this was a good spot?" Bella said triumphantly.

"I dunno, it's a little high." Alfred objected.

"Trust me you'll get a much better view from up here and there's not such a crowd."

"How come you're with us anyway? Shouldn't you be preparing for your joining ceremony or something?"

"And miss this, are you kidding! I have all day to prepare," Bella was clearly excited and the others exchanged amused looks. Ignoring them, she leaned over the bannisters to listen. "Shh I think they're arriving."

Sure enough, voices could now be heard entering the hallway below…

"Why must the decorating always be so tacky." A haughty voiced echoed, drifting up to the listeners above.

"They couldn't change it Roderich, it's traditional." This second voice, which sounded female, was much more cheerful, "Oh look, I think Feli did the pumpkins again this year..."

As the voices became louder, the first years gathered closer to catch their first glimpse of the famous couple.

"Rocherich Edelstein and Elizabeta Hedervary," whispered Bella, "two of the best hunters ever to graduate from this academy."

"She's so pretty," said Lili in surprise.

"So is he," snorted Alfred.

"Hn," grunted Bruce, "she looks tough though...he doesn't look like a fighter at all."

With varying degrees of approval, they all studied the famous couple who paused, still talking and unaware they were the focus of such interest. At first glance, Roderich looked a bit delicate and seemed more of a classical pianist than a vampire slayer.

He had intense violet eyes which were hidden behind spectacles and his soft brown hair was confined in a low tail at the nape of his neck. His frame was slight, although he was immaculately dressed in an expensive looking purple suit and a cravat. Hovering protectively next to him stood Elizabeta; a fierce little woman with long brown hair and big, green eyes.

"Actually, I think I've heard a story about Elizabeta, Ludwig mentioned her once during physical combat," Mathew paused, surprised that people were actually listening to him for once, "she punched a vampire to death with her bare hands."

Bella smiled, "Amongst other things. You know it was actually her that proposed to him. Popped the question half-way through a kill apparently."

"What a woman!" Bruce winked knowingly at Mathew who just smiled, clearly not sure how to respond.

"Yea, I get why she's famous. But what about that guy?" Alfred gestured with his head towards Roderich who was still looking disapprovingly at the various Halloween decorations which had been placed around the castle. He looked with particular distaste at a frowning pumpkin that Feliciano had meant to be Ludwig.

"Are you kidding me?" Bella asked disbelievingly, "Roderich may look prissy, but don't let his appearance deceive you. If anything, he's even more powerful than she is."

"But she punched a vampire to death," Bruce sounded disbelieving.

"She's so amazing," Lili sighed.

"Think someone's got a bit of a crush," Bruce teased; nudging her in the ribs and Lili mumbled something incoherent, blushing at his comment.

"Roderich might not look much on the muscle front, but his ritual casting is incredible, he's one of the strongest there is," Bella explained. "He's the first hunter ever to investigate the use of music in high level rituals. It has huge potential, but so far he's the only expert in that field."

Alfred whistled, "How come you know so much about them?"

"I heard them speak last year remember, and Vlad gets really excited about the ritual stuff." Bella shrugged, "plus, let's face it they are legends around here."

The sound of another voice brought everyone's attention back to the new arrivals. Distracted by their conversation, the recruits had missed the entrance of a third incoming hunter, but it was his voice they now heard, as he called across to Roderich.

"Did you forget to phone ahead, Princeling? Someone forgot to put out the red carpet," the newcomer mocked.

Roderich raised his chin firmly and regarded him as though he was something unpleasant the cat had dragged in. "I expect they thought it would be a wasted gesture, since a thug like you was arriving too."

As luck would have it, the couple had arrived at the castle, at almost exactly the same time as Gilbert Beilschmidt. Here was the star attraction - many pupils had been looking out for him, because the stories ofhis adventures were the best.

Gilbert was a tall, muscular man with dark bronze eyes that looked almost red if you caught them in the right light. His hair was a peculiarly pale blond which made an unusual contrast with his eyes, but his colouring wasn't the only thing that caused him to stand out. Gilbert made a point of being noticed. Rumour had it that he had once been part of a notorious hunting trio, although these days he battled alone.

"Better put out the fire Rodders, I just got burned," Gilbert goaded again, holding up his hands dramatically.

"What did you call me?! It is about time you realised that no-one finds you amusing Gilbert."

Roderich's face flushed, he could never bear much teasing from Gilbert before becoming angry and Elizabeta intervened, although she actually sounded rather entertained.

"For heaven's sake Gilbert, leave him alone, do you have to be yourself all the time?" She asked, taking her husband's arm as they all turned to head further into the castle.

"When myself is so great, who else would I wanna be?" He answered laughing maddeningly.

"Someone with taste perhaps," Roderich snapped.

"Nah, you like me just fine as I am." He strolled casually over to Roderich and Elizabeta, "both of you," he added, and punctuated this statement by giving Roderich a hearty slap on the ass.

Roderich's ivory cheeks flushed, although Mathew noted that he didn't seem entirely unhappy. Neither did his wife for that matter, she hadn't intervened this time. In fact a wide grin had formed on her face and something not-quite savoury twinkled in her eye.

"Ooh Rodders, have you lost weight?" Gilbert cackled before striding ahead into the lecture hall.

Roderich ground his teeth.

The music swirled about the listeners who sat in utter silence, transfixed by its beauty. Even Alfred, who normally yawned his way through this kind of 'old dude tune', was spellbound. As the chords of the last section crashed over them, 'espressivo', the dark and penetrating sounds left the audience enthralled, trapped in a dreamlike state. Each felt a strange absence of the body; Roderich's talent wielding a supernatural, almost other-worldly control as they became ever more immersed in his musical spell.

Above him, bright blue streams of energy danced through the air, before cascading in a shower of light over the audience. As the tempo changed to become elusively haunting, the droplets sparkled in the air, before fading away as the music finally ebbed into silence.

Roderich had explained before his display, that music could be used ritualistically. Classical music was known to contain mathematical patterns and sequences, and Roderich had researched the implications these could have on the performance of rituals. The casting of rituals was after all, a science and now they had all seen it, mathematical precision in complete harmony with music had created magic.

Roderich's demonstration of his ritual techniques had been enchanting. Slowly, he removed his hands from the keys, and still caught in the thrall of his passion for music, he rose almost absentmindedly, dabbing traces of blood from his fingertips with a white silk handkerchief. The sudden burst of applause caused him to start slightly as he came back to himself, then he smiled thinly before bowing slightly at the waist in appreciation.

"Crikey," muttered Bruce to Bella, "I get why you wanted to see this again, that guy can play."

"I told you so," She replied smugly, "anyone else ready to eat their words?"

Alfred nodded, "When I saw Elizabeta pummel drive Ludwig earlier, I thought you had to be shittin' me about this guy. But man, was I wrong, maybe he really is more powerful than her."

"Do you reckon' you could do that with a didgeridoo?" Bruce asked seriously.

Bella gave a snort of laughter before continuing, "You know rumour has it that Roderich's the one who'll replace Vargas once he retires. Becoming the headmaster of this school is kind of like winning a Nobel Prize. They're all chosen for their contribution to hunting in their area of expertise. Vargas was the one who had the idea for the vampire data-base and he discovered most of the initial information in it himself."

Mathew was interested, "I guess that was a pretty important idea," he said, "I mean, without him, they wouldn't have caught that vampire in the cells." He noticed Alfred turn his head away as he spoke.

Bella nodded in agreement before continuing, "The guy before him went to Eastern Europe and rediscovered loads of rituals. Apparently before that, ritual-casting was almost a lost art amongst hunters."

Feliciano spoke up, "He was Ludwig and Gilbert's grandpa, Wolfram Beilschmidt,"

"Really? I didn't know that…" Bella began, but she was quickly interrupted.

"Wow, there really is a first time for everything," laughed Bruce and Bella gave him a playful shove.

"No one knows why he left. He was still fairly young when Roma came in. I think there was a problem." Feliciano explained looking sad, "Ludwig won't ever talk about it."

"Well I think Roderich and Elizabeta would make a hell of a team running the school," Mathew said looking at Feliciano's downcast face and deciding to return the conversation to its original subject. "He's amazing, and her hand-to-hand demonstration with Ludwig was really impressive."

Feliciano made an appreciative sound and the others laughed.

"He got his ass handed to him Feli," grinned Alfred, "and you still enjoyed watching it?"

"Mmm Ludwig's ass."

"What was that Feli?"

"Nothing."

"Never thought I'd see that happen to him," Bruce mused, "the guy's a tank."

"Which makes it even more obvious how amazing she is," Bella pointed out, her comment receiving a vigorous nod of agreement from Lili (who had walked over from her original seat next to Vash).

Elizabeta was of particular interest to the girls at the academy, being the first woman ever to train and qualify as a vampire hunter. Until recently the school had refused to train females.

It was Bella who had explained to Mathew and Alfred in a hushed voice before the lectures, why this had changed.

"Elizabeta was the first woman at the academy. She was disguised as a man in the Hungarian army until she was discovered and thrown out. Her story was pretty big on the news and actually ended up being pretty instrumental to Hungary letting woman into their military." She gave a slight smile," No one wanted to let her go, her captain even made a public statement about how she was one of the best fighters they had."

"And that was it? She changed everything" Mathew asked.

"Not exactly," Bella looked around reluctantly, her expression becoming sad. "Roma's daughter was attacked by a vampire. They think it was sent by the main family to try and take out some hunters, but it got to her first. She died protecting Feliciano and Lovino, they were only toddlers and she threw herself at it so they'd have time to run away. I know what Roma thinks, if she'd been trained then she might have survived."

"God, that's awful Bella." Mathew shook his head, he looked horrified, and Alfred winced, thinking of his own mother.

"Feli and Lovi still visit her grave to change the flowers." Bella finished quietly.

After a short interval to allow refreshments and trips to the toilet, everyone settled back into their seats to listen to Gilbert Beilschmidt, who was giving the final 'lecture' of the day. Many tales about Gilbert had made the rounds amongst the students, whether it was his hunting prowess or his exploits while at the academy – everyone had heard something about him. They were eager to know more and settled back to listen as he strolled nonchalantly out onto the stage, and struck an arrogant pose with his hands on his hips.

"Alright recruits, listen carefully. I am about to tell you a story so awesome that it will change your very life!"

Seated in the front row, Antonio groaned, "Dios mio," he muttered, "Here we go again."

"The astounding tale of my adventures in vampire hunting is so breath-taking, it is almost unbelievable," Gilbert announced dramatically.

"Ha," Elizabeta heckled from the front row, "did you say almost?"

Gilbert smiled down at her lazily, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Don't listen to Eliza; she is simply jealous that she and her girly-boy husband will never be quite as amazing as I am. Cute piece by the way princeling, didn't you think so my dear?"

Roderich's lips tightened, but he managed to appear unruffled as he responded, "one has to possess a cultured ear to appreciate the finer things Gilbert, perhaps one day you will develop the finesse."

"Oh I appreciate your finer things alright Roderich," he insinuated, smirking evilly, "and I think we both know that, don't we?"

"Gilbert! You can't just...wait you're doing both of them?" Antonio interposed as Roderich flushed and exchanged a glance with his wife.

Elizabeta's eyes danced wickedly but she pretended to purse her lips disapprovingly, "I thought you were here to share tales of your hunting exploits Gilbert, no?"

Gilbert laughed and gave a flourishing bow to the slightly bemused students, "You are right as always dear lady," he said, and pausing for effect, he raised his hands dramatically and began again. "From the day I was born I always knew there was something special about me and of course, I was right…"

"Yeah, he's 'special' alright," Elizabeta murmured to Antonio.

Gilbert proceeded to tell the class a tale of daring and fearless courage. Of the many times he had fought vampires against overwhelming odds, how on one such occasion he had taken on a vampire on with nothing but his bare hands and a trap he built himself out of sticks and leaves. "I was fearless! We wrestled for a bit, but the creature knew it was hopeless. I can't blame him, from the first moment he looked into my eyes, he knew his time was up."

He posed melodramatically, swinging his cape over his shoulders and throwing his arms out into a fighting stance. By this point both Antonio and Elizabeta were nearly hysterical from laughter. Roderich though, seemed less amused, his arms were folded in front of him and his lips were pursed in distaste. "Of course they tried to give me a medal and shit, but I told them that this was pretty much the kind of stuff I do every day, so it was no biggie."

Elizabeta let out a couple of loud coughs that sounded suspiciously like the world 'bullshit,' but Gilbert was unfazed and launched into a recount of several other encounters, the audience listening in enthralled excitement.

As he finally wound up his speech with a grandiose bow, Elizabeta called out again, "Hey Antonio, tell them about the time he got stuck in the butterfly house…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gilbert protested.

"Oh don't you? Well then I'll remind you. And I'm sure everyone will be very interested to hear." She turned towards them, a mischievous glint in her eye, "You see class, Gilbert here is afraid of butterflies…"

"I am definitely not!" Gilbert denied, waving this aside.

Elizabeta laughed and continued, "I seem to recall it was a sunny day…"

"Lies! Don't listen class, everything they're about to tell you is a lie! She just doesn't like me and Antonio has always been jealous of my good looks! And they weren't butterflies, they were rabid demons! I tried to fight them off, but they just kept on coming!"

"They were harmless Gilbert." Antonio laughed, "One of them almost landed on you. And you nearly pissed yourself."

"That's what butterflies want you to think! But I can smell a vampire plot when I see one." Despite his crazy words, the German man was clearly enjoying himself and as he strode about the stage it was obvious he was exaggerating his story to be entertaining. "There was clearly ritualistic involvement." By this point Elizabeta was nearly rolling on the floor with tears pouring down her cheeks.

Next to her Roderich looked up suddenly, a dark glint in his eye, "would you like me to conjure one? The ritual is quite simple…"

"If you do, I'll make something for you," Gilbert retorted. "I can do it too, remember…" It was at this point that Antonio hurried out onto the stage, grabbing Gilbert by the arm and dragging him out before he had time to make good on his promise.

"Butterflies? These vampire hunters are friggen' crazy man..." Alfred rubbed the back of his head laughing.

Mathew just smiled, "I think they're brilliant."

"So, was I as awesome as I thought?" Gilbert asked as he sat down to lunch after the lecture.

"Alas mi amigo, I don't think anyone's quite that awesome," Antonio laughed warmly; it was so good to hear his friend boasting again.

"Only me."

Antonio looked sly, "You know I especially liked the end of your lecture, when Roderich threatened to produce a butterfly and you ran out of the room."

"I didn't 'run out of the room'- I engineered a retreat." He turned away muttering darkly, "Colourful sons-of-bitches."

They both laughed, and Antonio shook his head, "I've missed you Gil."

"Well I am close to perfect," Gilbert smiled wickedly, "so anyway…how's Lovino?" He asked, trying to sound innocent?

Antonio's face dropped at that, "He's going through the joining ceremony this year," he swallowed hard.

"I take it you're not planning on going?" Gilbert raised his eyes to give Antonio a knowing look but Antonio looked away.

"Gil, you know I can't do that," he replied quietly.

"Can't or won't?"

"He's also been hoping I would be the one to take him out for the first time," Antonio added sounding regretful, but Gilbert knew he felt guilty. He shook his head 'for fuck's sake Antonio,' he thought.

"You mean you really won't?" He asked eventually.

"I was going to ask you. You're the only one I'd trust to take care of someone so important to me." For the first time Antonio's eyes met Gilberts and he sighed.

"I've gotta be honest Antonio. I really thought he would be the thing that changed all this. I mean you've obsessed over Lovino for fucking years," he added frankly.

"Which is why I'm asking you," Antonio dropped his eyes from that steady gaze. "Nothing can happen to him Gil, I couldn't take it."

"Well if you're really going to pussy out, I guess not everyone can be as amazing as me."

Antonio sighed, as always Gilbert understood, but he had never agreed with his decision, had never accepted it and being Gilbert, would never stop trying to change his mind. "You sound just like Lovino," he complained.

Gilbert arched an eyebrow, "then he must be talking sense, although you have to admit, I'm much more dashing."

"Dashing?"

"Bridget Jones was on last night."

Antonio raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you liked romantic comedies."

"Two words Antonio; Hugh-fucking -Grant."

"That's three words, and he's not that great."

"Not that great!?" Gilbert spluttered, "Oh come on Antonio, you can't hold a grudge against all English people because of that one vampire. They didn't all bite Francis."

"Maybe I just don't like Hugh Grant."

"Impossible!" He laughed as something seemed to occur to him. "God Francis would have loved this conversation."

"I still miss him so much Gil."

"We all do Antonio. Let's face it he's a hard act to follow, even for me." He sighed, then added seriously, "you know it's just not the same now, going out without you guys."

"Francis was a menace, but at least life was never boring." Antonio didn't smile, but his eyes brightened at the memory of his friend.

"Remember that time with the sailor and the show girl? Where did Francis say she kept those feathers?" Gilbert made an obscene gesture and they both started laughing helplessly.

"Memories." Antonio finally managed.

"He may never have found love, but he sure did enjoy searching," Gilbert's eyes were distant as he remembered.

"He didn't have any trouble finding 'suitable candidates' either." Antonio recalled fondly, "I don't know if he filed more restraining orders or received them." Gilbert smiled at him but both men felt the gap where Francis should have jumped in to respond.

"Fucking vampire," Gilbert muttered and there was a short, painful silence before he finally spoke again, "So, I haven't seen Ludwig yet, how is my little brother doing?"

"Well he scares the shit out of the students."

"That's my boy."

"Except Feliciano of course," Antonio added knowingly watching Gilbert's eyes light up in amusement.

"Really, he still hasn't given up then?"

"No but neither has Ludwig; he still thinks it's too dangerous." Antonio shook his head and sighed, Gilbert rolled his eyes in agreement.

"He always was a stubborn bastard," but the corners of his lips twitched upwards in amusement as he added. "Who knew serious little Ludi would become such a heart breaker, wait till I tell the family about this."

"Don't tease him, or I'll tell Eliza you want her to fight you. You're right though, he is being stubborn. If he just told him the truth… Feliciano might be naïve, but he isn't stupid. I think he's old enough to make his own decisions.

"But Lovino isn't?"

Antonio coughed and looked away, pretending not to have heard. "Speaking of Ludwig," he emphasised, "Heracles is away, so I'm going to need your help on Halloween."

"Oh, is it his time of the month again?"

"Party drinks are on me, if you say that to his face."

"You're on."

"How much do you know about the process? Of being 'turned' I mean."

"Well," Alfred thought about the question carefully, "not a lot to be honest, though Vlad's started telling us stuff. He probably hasn't finished that part yet, though he mentioned something about a database of famous vamps – in fact dude, he said your name's on it."

The last comment was made in a tone that Arthur realised was congratulatory though he really didn't feel that way about the information. In fact, it made him feel faintly ill, 'so that was why he'd been caught,' he thought bleakly. No…he definitely wished that they'd never known his name, being notorious had drawbacks.

Alfred noticed the change of expression in the green eyes and said hastily, "we can talk about something else if you want? I still don't get the offside rule…"

"No, that's quite alright." Arthur turned back to Alfred and pushed his regrets aside, "It takes blood to become turned," he began.

"You mean you make more vamps every time you guys eat? Would Feli have been turned?"

"Not yours," Arthur corrected impatiently, "ours, and I've already told you that I wouldn't have harmed the boy."

"Yea right, sorry." Alfred apologised guiltily.

"Hmm," Arthur gave him a slightly frosty look, but decided to overlook his clumsiness, "of course feeding doesn't create vampires, we'd be overrun. A human has to drink vampire blood to become one of us, from one of the older purebloods really. In fact the older, the better, otherwise there's a risk of becoming a half-breed," he shuddered.

"Yea, I've heard a bit about that." Alfred said, thinking for a moment, "Vlad told us the half-breeds are really savage and attack pretty randomly."

"Who's this Vlad you keep mentioning?" Arthur asked curiously, "That name's quite amusing if he's one of your instructors?"

"Yeah, and he talks like I thought you would too," Alfred teased. Arthur raised his eyebrows but his lips twitched with amusement and Alfred grinned at him. "The guy's Romanian, but anyway, he teaches us about rituals and lore," he paused, "you know…I like hearing about this stuff from you, much more."

Despite himself, Arthur was pleased by this and he flushed faintly but Alfred was still thinking about the half-breeds and didn't notice, "Aren't they all insane or something?" He asked, following his train of thought.

"Mostly," Arthur hesitated, "it's as though their blood hasn't changed enough to stay stable as a vampire, but they're not human any more either. They feel the need to feed much more often than us, because human blood can't provide what they lack and so they get increasingly regular fits of madness. The bloodlust overcomes them and they're out of control, that's why they kill."

Alfred was fascinated (and pretty disgusted to be honest), "but that's just the half-breeds right? Not purebloods like you?"

"Not unless we get starved for too long."

"You're not feeling…like…hungry right now or anything are you?" Arthur glared at him and Alfred held up his hands laughing, "just kidding, honest."

"Oh for goodness sake, of course I'm hungry, but I'm not starving, pay attention." Arthur said. "It's all very well for you to laugh, but the cold bags of blood I get here, only keep me alive and sane, they aren't very tasty," he added.

"You mean you're craving fresh blood?" Alfred said the last in a slightly revolted tone and Arthur looked at him, considering.

"Do you eat steak?" He asked casually.

"Well yeah, I love steak, nothing like a big rare T-bone, but I'm not a vampire," he said, as though pointing out the obvious.

"Rare eh. I really wouldn't get too snotty about blood if I were you," Arthur said with a smirk and Alfred was taken aback.

"But that's not human blood," he pointed out.

"Well I agree it's a different mammal but you don't seem to worry about killing for your food. I've told you, I don't kill for mine." Arthur said smugly. "By the way, I can eat other things as well, but the human blood is a necessity."

He didn't sound irritable, but Alfred changed the subject to less prickly territory (he'd need to think about all that later), "but it's different for the half-breeds? Human blood's not enough for them?"

"The only way for them to remain sane is to have pure vampire blood, very regularly. If they don't renew their own vampire traits every few days, they go insane. It's a terribly draining thing to do often and they'd need someone to remain constantly at their side, so I only know of one case where that has happened."

"Why would a pureblood do that?" Alfred didn't see vampire's as the caring, sharing types.

"Because you'll do anything for someone you love," Arthur replied shortly.

There was a brief silence. Alfred wanted to ask how vampires could be in love, but he got the feeling that wouldn't go down well at all. He tried to think of something else to talk about.

"Have you ever turned anyone?"

"Well actually, that was the reason for my second trip to Russia; it's one of the rules, any newly-made purebloods must be reported to the Russian vampires."

"Oh," Alfred thought about that, "d'you mean they don't care about half-breeds?"

"No, they hate them. They're seen as an infestation; it's why lower level pure-bloods are discouraged from trying to turn others. It risks creating more of them, although they create more of themselves anyway - when they're running loose."

Alfred looked sick, "shit dude, are there that many out there?"

"Loads, and when they attack, it's usually in such a frenzy that it's easy for a blood exchange to happen - if the victim hasn't died outright." Alfred nearly gagged. "At least the life-span of any half-breeds you hunters find, is similar to that of a house-fly. I have even heard of some of your number referred to as 'fumigators." He laughed softly to himself, "a vampire in-joke," he explained in response to Alfred's enquiring look.

"Jeez, you guys need to turn Chris Rock or someone, get some new material."

Arthur ignored him, "In any event, there is only one half-breed, that I know of anyway, who is not on the Russian hit-list."

Alfred considered this and was going to ask more about this half-breed when Arthur interrupted his thoughts.

"I wanted to ask you something actually Alfred," he said suddenly and Alfred looked at him enquiringly. "Why do they keep asking me about wolves?"

Alfred looked at him, the green eyes were curious and there was not a hint of deceit in the query, Arthur clearly didn't know anything so he couldn't see any harm in telling him. He explained the situation with the dead wolves and Arthur looked thoughtful.

"They seem pretty sure we're involved then, I wonder what Yao is up to?" He pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Well I don't have a bloody clue what they're doing. Animal blood contains no sustenance. That angry Swiss git seemed to think it's something ritual-based," Arthur scoffed, "not bloody-likely."

"And just what makes you so sure it's not. Just because you have an English accent doesn't mean you know everything."

Arthur's response was matter of fact. "Most of us are so powerful, that performing a ritual just isn't necessary, there are easier alternatives. Besides, for sheer power, the best life-source is human blood."

"Listen dude," Alfred said, suddenly getting excited, "you seem to know a whole lot about rituals, for someone who claims to never use them."

"I may have…dabbled from time-to-time," Arthur admitted, "I find magic rather fascinating."

"Man that is so awesome! Can you teach me?"

Arthur arched an eyebrow, "Oh of course. Just ask the other hunters very nicely to remove me from this cage and I'll be happy to help you."

"Nah, I don't think they'd go for it."

AN: Nyet – 'no' in Russian, mios dio – Spanish for 'oh my god'. No clues though for the Italian ;)

Really hope you're enjoying reading this story as much as we're enjoying writing it :) Any feedback would be lovely and thanks again to everyone who read, favourited and/or followed!

Special mentions this week to: Lovemondotrasho, Janders, kyuuusuk, gaaleex, MIKAthecatlady, YoHomieUpdatePlz, notakitty7, Bluebird Rain, LiquidConfidence, mayim, qnon and TheAlphaChives.

Thanks so much for your awesomeness!

Hope to see you again for next Friday's update.

EvilMidget6 and LieutenantProbable :)