Trowa knew the guy was a nutcase as soon as he'd walked in. The man was dressed in a dark blue dress ripped halfway to where it was now just a shirt, wearing pants way too long for him, and was wearing Asian style sandals. Wufei and Trowa exchanged a look of puzzlement as the man sat down casually as if he was right at home.

"I was just attacked by a vampire, and I want you to track him down." He looked at his fingernails and picked at the invisible speck of dirt beneath them. Then he looked up expectantly at the two vampire hunters, and found the two of them giving him a scrutinizing look.

Wufei was the first to ask a question, "You mean you were attacked just now?"

"Yes, and I want you to track him down because he was awfully cute."

Trowa sighed and then looked out the window before looking back at their 'client'. "You do know that vampires can't come out in broad daylight, right? So how are you a victim?"

Immediately the man stood up as if offended, and stormed out of the room. It took all of Trowa's effort not to laugh at the man. Honestly, sometimes it really amazed him the kinds of people who walked in here claiming to have been attacked, seen, or was being stalked by a vampire. That was why he'd been reluctant about having a public office where anybody could come in to place their request.

Before it had just been people playing it by ear and if the clients were lucky enough to track them down then they could hire the vampire hunters. Instead of sitting around in an office all day, Wufei and Trowa used to go out and track down their own vampires as well.

Instead, now the two of them were confined to the constant drone of everyday life, and it reminded Trowa of why he'd become a hunter. He'd known even as a child he wasn't destined to just marry a woman and live a boring, ordinary life. That and the fact that vampires had constantly haunted his hometown.

Walking out on the streets after sunset was so dangerous that nobody even dared to try it unless they had a death wish. Thankfully the vampires had some courtesy somewhere deep down and never tried to invade anyone's home for prey. It was one of the things Trowa had never seen any vampire ever do.

One was to break into the homes of others, they had no problems with stores, but they never disturbed people in their homes. Two was that they never chose a pregnant woman as their prey, which puzzled Trowa completely. Considering a woman who's pregnant would be much easier to chase down and attack, but he'd never seen a vampire do it before unless they were truly desperate.

That was where the Beasts came in though. The Beasts never followed any rules or codes for their attacks, and they were often the ones who always killed whoever they drained. Sometimes vampires showed mercy and left the people alive after having their fill, but the Beasts never did.

They were vampires who seemed to lose all human aspects entirely, and nothing was left but the pure desire to feed. Whenever a family was murdered in their sleep, it was always the Beasts who did this, but people commonly mistook them for vampires. Not saying that all vampires behaved, because Wufei and Trowa had seen and killed quite a few who didn't.

Yet the hunters did not usually disturb the vampires that stayed out of humans' way, unless they were hired to do so. That was why many people also disliked them as much as they liked vampire hunters, because even the hunters had their morals.

Going around needlessly killing off random vampires just trying to live in peace wasn't the kind of thing hunters tended to do. Which was a misunderstanding of people even today; nobody understood that they only killed the rogue vampires who trailed off the path of isolated life.

"Wufei, I'm going to go outside for a while. I need some fresh air before I have to deal with another nutcase walking in here." Trowa pushed his chair back and then headed for the door to the outside world.

The Chinese man didn't say anything to the brunette, but Trowa knew Wufei wasn't a people person and wasn't always able to restrain himself against people like that man. He had a distinct dislike of people who only wanted attention, and came up with illogical excuses just to get some people to look their way. Everybody disliked people like that, but Wufei couldn't stand to even be in the presence of a person like that.

But that's why Trowa didn't worry about Wufei. If someone else came in here with a bogus story, then the Chinese hunter would just frighten them away with some of the rants he went on about.

"I'm going to close up for today," Wufei also got out of his seat and followed Trowa to the door. "We haven't gotten a decent client in weeks, so I doubt today will be any different."

Sadly, it was true that they hadn't gotten any real clients willing to pay a decent amount of money in a few weeks now. That's why the two hunters might have to resort to taking on day jobs just to continue having some income in order to buy some food.

Trowa bit his lip to keep from mentioning he was going to try and find yet another job since he'd just been fired from the last one. The brunette had decided it wasn't an important matter to bring up with his partner that he'd been let go because of constantly being distracted.

He couldn't help that his thoughts often drifted back to the blonde vampire he had seen when being hired by the Winner family. Something about that vampire had captivated him upon first sight. Even now Trowa would just be sitting there and images of the blonde would appear before him, and that sweet smile would give him a sense of longing.

Something about that vampire... even now he couldn't keep his thoughts away from the blonde.

"I'll be back before dinner, but don't wait up to eat if I'm late."

"I wouldn't have waited even if you hadn't told me you might be late." Wufei tried to be convincing when he said this.

But Trowa knew that wasn't reality at all. Wufei always waited to eat with Trowa no matter how late the brunette stayed out, and it had been that way ever since they'd first formed their partnership. It made his stomach go into knots as he knew this was torture to Wufei.

Being out of his home country, and not to mention the person Wufei liked was never able to return those feelings. The guilt had consumed Trowa for the first few months after he'd discovered the other hunter's feelings for him, but the brunette had made it very clear the first time that they'd discussed relationships.

"I'll see you later," Trowa shut the door firmly as he left.

He just didn't feel that kind of attraction to Wufei.

----

Smiling. They were smiling as if it was an everyday thing as they walked down the dark streets of the town, and while leading the young child by the hand. The boy could've sworn he saw a tear roll down his mother's cheek, but there was no way of telling since she refused to look directly at him.

His father had a smile on his face, but it was obvious it wasn't a real smile.

Both parents stopped abruptly and the father let go of the boy's hand. Never before had the child gone on a walk with his parents so late at night, but it was his birthday and it was a special day.

'Stay here Thomas. If you don't move from this spot we promise to bring you a really great present.' His father knelt down to where he was eye level with the boy, yet he was looking straight through his son. 'Do you promise?'

His mother didn't say a word, but she continued smiling and staring off into the distance.

'I promise! I'll wait right here for when you get back!" He gave them a smile as well, not realizing their intentions. After all, a five year old didn't have great intuition.

But even though he waited there just like he'd promised; neither of them ever came back.

----

Thomas opened his eyes slowly, and already felt the tears. He hated whenever he dreamt of that day, but it had been almost a year since he had relived that memory. Last night had probably caused him to feel the same as that day since Duo was acting so strange.

Carefully the boy got out of the large bed and went toward the door before realizing Duo wasn't there. As he recalled he wasn't supposed to go anywhere alone, so what could he do now? The only thing in the room he could do was 'explore' what was in the desk and wardrobe.

He decided the wardrobe wouldn't be interesting, so Thomas immediately went for the desk. Surely there would be something of interest there, and would allow Thomas to entertain himself. As he sat in the plain wooden chair he found the desk to be just like the chair. Plain and boring.

Though he found a single drawer that must have something inside, and Thomas tried to open it. He struggled with it for a moment hoping that it was just jammed and not really locked, but even he knew that it wasn't going to open without a key of some sort.

So what secret could be locked up in the desk? Was it something Duo wanted to hide? Or perhaps it was that other guy Heero.

Either way Thomas wanted to know what someone would want so desperately to keep away from others. Yet he didn't get the chance to try harder to get into the drawer as Duo came into the room and startled the snooping orphan.

"Good morning Thomas," Duo smiled apparently out of that trancelike state he was in last night.

The boy tried not to look too suspicious even though he was just caught in the act, but the half-vampire didn't seem to really notice. "Good morning Daddy!"

His fake enthusiasm was undetected as Duo went over to the wardrobe and looked through all of the clothes for something to wear.

----

Quatre had chosen an inn to sleep in during the day, and even with his nocturnal schedule nobody seemed curious about him. That's why the blonde decided to stay in the town for a few nights knowing that he wasn't going to be questioned. Not to mention this place was an abundance of information on vampire hunters and bounty hunters.

Sighing he fell onto the bed and stared at the cracks in the ceiling. The way they mapped the entire space of the ceiling it reminded Quatre of looking at a map showing different lives. When the lines ended it made the blonde vampire think of those people's lives ending.

He wondered when the life of a vampire ended... if it actually ended. The legends were that vampires lived for all eternity, but surely even a vampire had its limits. Surely it wasn't true that the beings of the night could actually attain immortality...

Putting those thoughts aside, Quatre sat up and became determined to sort through some info he'd heard last night. There was no time to waste if he hoped to find Trowa soon.

"Let's see... I've heard that there are two vampire hunters that used to come here often in the last year. A Chinese man and a French man..." Thinking back to Trowa, he'd never actually wondered where the brunette had come from. "But they haven't been seen lately since the vampire attacks ceased a few months ago."

The vampire that probably caused all of the disturbances in this town was Heero since all of the attacks had completely stopped a few months ago. They must've stopped around the time he'd found Duo, and since this town wasn't that far from the castle it's an obvious target. Far enough that nobody would really make the connection that he was the vampire, but still close enough that it wasn't a hassle to travel all the way out here.

"This probably used to be a big source of information for whenever they wanted to hear about vampires that people wanted to be hunted down. Yet they stopped coming here... so that might mean they've settled in a town?" The blonde thought about it carefully, but couldn't be sure that was the right conclusion. Right now though it was the only thing he could think about clearly.

After a few more minutes of debating the idea, Quatre finally gave up.

The only thing his mind wanted to do was sleep, and he wasn't going to resist the temptation any longer... After all, night will come soon and then he can go out again.

----

The dusty little bookshop didn't look like anybody had come inside for at least five years, but still he was desperate for a job. Without the extra income Trowa was sure that he and Wufei would have to start going on a very strict diet. Hoping that wouldn't be the case, the brunette gently tapped the bell on the front desk as he waited for the owner to appear.

Sounds of the bell ringing seemed to echo throughout the empty story, and it discouraged the vampire hunter for a moment. He was probably right in assuming the place was shutting down, and once again he'd lost another job opportunity. Just as Trowa turned away he heard footsteps coming towards him.

"May I help you, sir?" An elderly man emerged from a pile of books stacked higher than Trowa thought possible. "If you're here to collect the rent then just get your arse out of here. I don't have to pay any of you people until next week."

His accent was foreign to this area, but Trowa wasn't able to put his finger on where he'd heard it. The man was short and showed signs of his age, but his personality betrayed his appearance.

"No, I'm actually here because of the sign." He used his head to gesture towards the sign in the window asking for a helper. "I really need a job, even if the pay is low."

The man's eyes narrowed, "So this is your last resort, eh?"

He'd managed to catch the vampire hunter off guard, and made Trowa regret how that last statement had come out. Now that he thought about it, this is probably why the brunette had always avoided jobs like this. When it came to job interviews, Trowa could honestly admit that he was absolutely horrid.

"I didn't mean it like that... My friend and I just aren't doing so well right now, and if I don't find a job soon I'm sure we're going to starve." Trowa hated to confess about when he was having problems, but he couldn't let his pride get in the way of feeding himself and Wufei. "If you hire me, I can swear to work whatever hours you request and I'll work hard to keep this job."

Sighing the man set down some of the books in his hand on the dusty counter. There was a look of irritation as he looked over at Trowa and then averted his eyes back towards the front desk. "It's been a long time since anybody's even rang that bell... To think it's just some punk looking for some money... In any case, you're hired, but you'd better keep up your end of the deal. I expect to see you here bright and early tomorrow."

Trowa smiled as the elderly man reminded him a lot of Wufei. Even the way the man looked at him made the vampire hunter feel nostalgic about the first time he'd met his Chinese partner.

"I'll be here early," Trowa promised as he left the shop. He was thankful that he'd finally managed to get a job, and at least tonight he wouldn't let down Wufei once again. "Maybe God really is helping me out this time."

----

Duo had decided to fulfill his promise to Thomas and took him outside in the garden where the orphan went exploring. He watched as the young boy observed every single plant at different angles and in different lights which made the half-vampire wonder what exactly Thomas was looking for.

Perhaps he was one of those truly artistic people who could see many different things from just one object. Duo made a mental note to look for a sketchbook of some sort when he went to town tonight. This once again brought back the memories of last night, and reminded him he hadn't even said a word to Heero all morning.

He honestly didn't want to talk to the vampire after what happened at dinner... walking away like that and being so selfish... Then again Duo realized he was the one who was only thinking of himself at that dinner.

The plans he'd made for Thomas and Heero to get along perfectly were obviously just a delusion he'd created. So why hadn't Duo realized it before? Why did he have to go and put both Heero and Thomas through that situation without even considering the possible outcome?

"Because you're just an idiot... an idealistic idiot." Duo mumbled to himself as he continued watching Thomas.

Apparently Duo had said it louder than he'd intended because Thomas turned around and gave a look of confusion. The half-vampire just plastered a smile on his face hoping to draw the orphan's attention from himself. Instead he saw the boy give an unconvinced frown before turning back to observing the flower.

What was so interesting about that flower?

If Duo remembered correctly, the flower is called a chrysanthemum, and he always remembered them being around the towns whenever someone died. Everyone always associated those flowers with death, but why would they do it when the flower is so beautiful?

Unlike a rose it has no thorns to prick your finger, and there are no other mechanisms it uses to defend itself from humans that hurt when you touch it. So why would they choose such an innocent flower to be the symbol that the Grim Reaper has taken your soul away?

After what seemed like forever Thomas finally walked away from the chrysanthemum and took interest in inspecting some other flower a few feet away. Without realizing it, Duo had gotten up and ripped the chrysanthemum out of the ground. He threw it to the ground and felt the urge to step on it; which he had no problem in obliging that urge.

Death was not going to be anywhere near Thomas. At least not if Duo had anything to say about it.

It wasn't like he'd really intended for the orphan to see him do something so awful and random act against the flower. Not that it was any big deal to kill a flower, but the way he'd so vehemently destroyed the chrysanthemum was unusual. Most likely Thomas wouldn't understand why Duo had done it, but the half-vampire just felt relieved after doing so.

"Thomas are you almost ready to go inside? It's almost noon which means Hilde will be serving lunch right about now." Duo looked over to where he'd last seen Thomas to find the boy gone. "Thomas? Thomas? Where are you?"

He felt a lump in is throat as he knew the garden was pretty dangerous considering they had some pretty rough terrain surrounding the castle. There were several places where it was almost as sheer as a cliff and if you fell you wouldn't be able to move for a while.

"Thomas?!" Now Duo's stomach was forming knots as he tried not to imagine the worst case scenario that Thomas had accidentally fallen and hurt himself... or worse. "Answer me if you can hear me!"

The panic in his voice was evident as he ran through the paths in the garden searching for any evidence Thomas had been there. Just as he was about to completely let the anxiety overwhelm him, Duo heard some footsteps. The half-vampire whirled around to find the orphan right behind him with a puzzled look.

"Dad, are you alright? You're all sweaty and tired." Thomas smiled at Duo not realizing he'd just freaked out the half-vampire really badly.

Duo couldn't stop himself as he fiercely grabbed onto the boy's shoulders and shook him, "Why didn't you answer me when I was calling you?! I thought you fell somewhere and might've died! You can't disappear like that!"

Somehow Thomas managed to plead with Duo to stop shaking him, but not before there were clear marks on the boy's arms. "I'm sorry... I just thought I saw someone coming up the path towards the castle and I wanted to say hi."

Nobody ever came up to the castle, because not many people were even capable of seeing it from town. He looked over to where Thomas had indicated and couldn't believe his eyes. Just as the orphan had told Duo there was indeed someone coming up the path, but they didn't seem to really understand where they were.

They stumbled along and tripped a couple of times before making it to the entrance of the garden. Duo put a finger to his lips to tell Thomas to be quiet, and the orphan nodded an affirmative. The half-vampire then mouthed words telling Thomas to stay put and not say a word.

Duo silently began to approach the person stealthily, trying to make sure he wasn't noticed. As he came closer he could see it was most likely a man who was covered head to toe in clothing and not even a bit of skin was exposed to the sunlight. Which meant he was a vampire.

Contrary to most peoples' beliefs, vampires were capable of roaming around in broad daylight but they had to take a lot of special precautions when doing so. Now for no apparent reason, they had a vampire at their door, and Duo had no idea what he was supposed to do about it.

----

Hey readers! I want to say I will have one more update on... HALLOWEEN! Bum bum bum!

Anyway, after chapter seven is updated I'm going to have to go on hiatus for this story for the month of November due to NaNoWriMo. If any of you authors want to check out NaNoWriMo, it has it's own website and I encourage anyone who wants the challenge and loves to write to try it out.

Check out their website! (Just type in nanowrimo on Google and you'll find it.)

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!

Shari Maxwell