Kuro was gone.

Mahiru didn't know how. He didn't know why. He didn't even know where the vampire had gone. Hadn't they just made up yesterday? Nothing made sense anymore.

But right now, none of that even mattered. All that mattered was that he needed to find Kuro again before the separation took its toll on his body. No, their bodies, he reminded himself. Kuro would also suffer. He wouldn't die, but he would suffer. And Mahiru didn't want Kuro to suffer. Where was the vampire now? Was he walking the streets somewhere, all alone, and come back sometime soon? Was he lost? Was he hurt? What if anything had happened to him? What if he was being held captive, what if-

Stop.

Mahiru couldn't let those thoughts creep into his mind. He couldn't afford to lose his head now. Kuro wasn't a child, he was a strong, century-old vampire. He knew how to take care of himself.

More importantly, how long had Kuro been gone? How much time did Mahiru have left? He felt fine, aside from the worry, so they couldn't have been separated for more than six hours. How far could a vampire get in that time? Where could he have gone? Where should Mahiru look for him?

He didn't know.

All he knew was that he had to go outside and look for Kuro.

He hurried to the bath, got dressed, and without even bothering to eat breakfast, he ran out of the house.

"Lily..."

The vampire turned around, smiling his ever-present smile. Or rather, smiling as always but using that infuriating "I know exactly what you're talking about but I'll pretend I don't to mess with you" smile that had made its way on his face a whole lot more than usual in the past few weeks. "Yes?" he asked.

"Lily." Misono tried to keep calm, but he couldn't keep his face from twitching. "What. Is. This?"

Lily kept smiling as he replied, "This is chocolate, Misono. You eat it a lot, so what's wrong with this one?"

"They're homemade chocolates in a fancy box!" Misono snapped. "It's not even Valentine's Day, so where do they come from and what are they doing here?"

"Oh, that's what you mean!" Lily's fake innocent smile fully turned into an amused one. "Tetsu-kun brought them earlier. He said he made them himself, they're for you... You were still getting ready and he had to hurry to school, or he would've waited for you and handed them to you personally." He sighed wistfully and wiped a tear. "Ah, young love..."

"Shut! Up!"

Lily laughed and dodged the punch thrown at him with the routine of many years. "Aren't you going to eat them?"

"For breakfast?"

"You can at least try some. It's not like you have to eat all of them at once, right?"

Misono hated to admit it, but Lily had a point there. And of course he was dying of curiosity to see what the chocolates tasted like, but... he also wanted to be alone when he tried them. Obviously he couldn't tell Lily that, or else he'd just have to suffer even more teasing.

Oh well.

"Trying one won't hurt, I guess." He lifted the box in his hands and carefully opened it.

Inside was an array of chocolates of varying shapes and colors, with some of them bearing an accidental resemblance to circles, squares or hearts. Most of them looked more like vaguely shapeless blobs of chocolate. They didn't look bad, just awkwardly done, like Tetsu had tried making chocolates for the first time.

Misono picked up one of the less shapeless chocolates and took a bite.

It wasn't like anything he had ever tasted before. His expert tongue could immediately taste all the small weaknesses, an inconsistent texture, too much sugar, not enough body.

There was so much wrong with these chocolates. But they were the most delicious thing Misono had ever tasted.

How was that possible? Why did these flawed chocolates melt in his mouth and fill his body with warmth and his heart with joy, despite all their imperfections? Why did eating them make him so inexplicably, indescribably happy?

It was almost like he could feel Tetsu's kindness through them, a little awkward, a little too sweet, but beautiful and delicious in its own way. No, he interrupted himself, this wasn't just simple kindness. This was more.

Misono had always refused to believe it, but love did have a taste.

It tasted like awkwardly done chocolates.

"Do you like them?"

Lily's question snapped Misono back to reality. He looked at his Servamp and realized that he had been smiling. In a futile attempt to hide both the smile and his glowing blush, he covered his mouth.

"They're kind of good," he admitted.

He'd have to remind himself to thank Tetsu later.

Mahiru didn't know how much he had spent running all across the neighborhood, looking behind hedges, under parked cars, into dark corners. He didn't know how often he had called Kuro's name, again and again, never getting a response. He had lost all track of time. Was it only eight in the morning? Was it noon already? It felt like he had been doing this for years.

There was no sign of Kuro.

What was he supposed to do? He had looked everywhere. Should he go and check every corner a second time? And then a third time after that? Should he go back and see if Kuro had returned home? No, that would be like giving up. But he was tired. Exhausted. Frustrated. He had no idea where else to look for Kuro. All he knew was that he needed to keep looking, even if it was futile, even if he didn't have the energy for it.

No matter what happened, he had to find him. Even though he didn't know how.

"Mahiru?"

He jumped with surprise when a familiar voice called his name. Turning around, he saw Ryuusei and Koyuki approaching him, both carrying their school bags, walking fast.

"Hi, guys," he said with a forced, exhausted smile. "What's the time?"

"It's quarter to eight," Koyuki answered, worry written all over his face for everyone to see. "What's wrong? Why aren't you wearing your uniform? Why are you sitting here on the side of the street? Where's your bag? You're going to be late!"

So it was only that early. Mahiru felt like he had been running around for much longer.

"I... guess I won't come to school today," he said. "Kuro ran away. I'm looking for him right now."

Without even hesitating for a second, Ryuusei clenched his fists. "I'll join ya!"

"Me too!" Koyuki added quickly. "By the way, you look pretty pale. You haven't even eaten today, have you?" He took out his lunchbox and shoved it into Mahiru's hands. "You can eat this and then we'll go looking for your cat!"

Mahiru looked at his friends in amazement. His eyes stung with tears as a gentle, comforting warmth spread throughout him and his face lit up with a grateful smile. "Guys..."

"Hey, don't go getting all sentimental." Ryuusei grinned and looped an arm around his shoulders. "That's what friends are for, right? We're gonna go out there and find your kitty cat in no time, you'll see. Six eyes are better than two!"

"That's right!" Koyuki agreed. "Now hurry up and eat, and then we'll go find Kuro."

Mahiru couldn't help it. He looked from one to the other and burst into laughter. "Thanks, guys."

Kuro's disappearance still didn't make sense. He was still worried sick about his Servamp, and he still had no idea where else to look for him. But he wasn't alone anymore. Ryuusei and Koyuki had his back, and together they'd definitely find him again. He didn't doubt that for a second.

Everyone was way too busy with lunch break to notice Misono sneaking away from the classroom and onto the school's rooftop, his phone in his hand. His heart was pounding in his chest. It's just a call, he told himself. It's only a simple, short thank-you call. Don't panic.

There was no use. He was practically shaking when he reached the rooftop, thankful to find he was alone, and this time he wasn't just catching his breath because of the stairs.

Let's get this over with.

He had made his decision already. It was best to do it as soon as possible, or else he'd hesitate for too long and chicken out. And that was definitely not something he wanted - he'd been pulled along at Tetsu's pace for too long. It was time to take the reins again.

He swallowed hard and dialed Tetsu's number.

The phone rang once. Twice. Thrice. There was no answer yet. The entire world seemed to have gone silent, except for Misono's heartbeat resonating through his whole body. He wasn't even sure if he wanted Tetsu to pick up or not.

There was a fourth ring, and Misono was just about to hang up when he heard Tetsu's voice at the other end of the line. "Hello?"

Misono cleared his throat even though it wasn't even hoarse. "Hello, Tetsu. It's me."

"H-Hi!" Tetsu sounded just as flustered and nervous as Misono felt, which was somehow reassuring. "Sorry, um, it took me awhile to find my phone, it was somewhere in my bag and I didn't remember where..."

"No problem." Big problem! The minute I spent waiting for you to pick up has been the longest of my life! Like hell Misono would say that. He was trying to appear cool and collected, for crying out loud.

There was a moment of silence.

"So..." Tetsu finally said. "Is there anything you wanna talk about? Anything special... or something?"

Misono got straight to the point. "The chocolates. I think I owe you..." He struggled with the word for a moment before forcing it out through gritted teeth. "...thanks... for that. They... weren't half bad, I guess."

"Did you like them? I'm glad!" Even through the phone Misono could tell that Tetsu was smiling and wished he could see his face now. "I think it's because I thought of you when I was making them."

"...Huh?"

Well, so much for appearing cool and mature. Misono was left completely and utterly speechless.

Tetsu continued talking, blissfully unaware of Misono's sorry state. "Well, people keep saying that food tastes better if you make it while thinking of someone you love-"

"Shut up!" Misono interrupted him. "Don't say corny embarrassing things like that all of a sudden, you big idiot! What will people think?"

This was too much. It was too much for him to handle. He didn't care about appearing cool or mature or collected anymore. Tetsu's words had shot him right through his heart and filled him with a thousand emotions he couldn't name. Even breathing became hard. He had no idea how to react, other than turning on the self-defense mechanism that was throwing around insults.

"I don't care what people think." Tetsu didn't sound surprised or dejected or disappointed. He just sounded perfectly calm. "What's wrong with people knowing I like you, anyway?"

"Shut up already!" Misono had to end the call, and he had to do it soon. Tetsu's honesty made him overflow with embarrassment and happiness and if he heard any more of it, he was probably going to die. "Listen. I really have to go back to the classroom now or I'll be late talktoyoulaterbye."

"Uh... Bye!"

Misono hung up and collapsed against the nearest wall.

Wow, he thought, that was smooth, real smooth. Way to go, me.

He had completely and utterly messed up this call, screwed up everything that he could, ruined his cool, mature image, and behaved like a complete and utter idiot. It took another idiot like Tetsu to not judge him after this minor disaster.

Other than that, though, he was happy. Happier than he had felt in a long time, and when he finally calmed down enough to go back to class, he was still smiling from ear to ear.

It didn't make sense.

Nothing made sense anymore. Mahiru was freezing, he was starving, he was soaked, he could barely walk anymore. His feet hurt. His head hurt. Every single part of his body hurt, and his hands and face were about to freeze off.

But even in this utterly spent, exhausted state Mahiru had noticed that something was off. It was way past noon. He'd been looking for Kuro for at least six hours. By now, he should have felt the first symptoms of separation already.

But there were none.

Kuro couldn't have gone that far. He had to be nearby, somewhere, anywhere, but apparently Mahiru was just too stupid to find him. Where was he hiding? Where hadn't Mahiru looked for him ten times over? If he was near, why couldn't he find him? Could vampires turn invisible? Or had he...

No. No, impossible.

What if Kuro had somehow dissolved their contract?

He can't, Mahiru tried to reassure himself. If he even knew how to do that, he probably would've done it back when we didn't get along yet. In any case, I'm sure he can't just break the contract by himself.

But what if...?

He shook his head. Thinking about that was pointless, it would only make him panic. Right now he needed to calm down and think rationally, consider all the places where he would hide if he was Kuro, ask all the neighbors again, and look everywhere he could.

Damn it. Hadn't he already looked everywhere? What was he doing wrong? Where else was he supposed to look? For what felt like the millionth time today, he felt like crying.

He missed Kuro. He missed the vampire's annoying remarks, the warm presence of a cat sitting on his shoulder, his eyes, his voice, his random transformations, everything. He didn't want to sit here, on some bench next to some street somewhere in this cold, rainy, windy, lonely, forsaken place, watching strangers walk by who didn't care about him sitting there like a lost child. All he wanted was to pull Kuro into a tight hug, bury his face in his chest, feel his warmth and never let go.

"Mahiru!" His thoughts were cut short by his friends' voices calling his name. "Mahiru, did you find him?"

He shook his head. "There's not a trace of him. Did you guys find anything?"

Koyuki sighed dejectedly. "Nothing."

"Not even the tip of a tail," Ryuusei groaned, sitting down next to Mahiru. "Nobody's even seen the stupid cat. It's like we're chasing a ghost or something."

"Thought so." Mahiru tried not to be disappointed and failed. "What..." His voice wavered, and he took a deep breath to steady it. "What are we going to do now?"

Koyuki folded his arms. "You're not going to do anything, Mahiru."

"Huh?"

"You go back home, eat and rest."

"But..."

"No buts!" Koyuki's voice was firm as he pulled Mahiru up from the bench and started pushing him in the direction of his apartment. "You've been running around in the cold and the rain since who knows when, you've barely eaten, and you're soaking wet. Go and get some rest, or else you'll catch a nasty cold. That's an order!"

"That's right," Ryuusei added with a grin, "listen to Mommy, Mahiru. Go home."

"D-Don't call me Mommy!"

"But... But..." Mahiru gave up struggling and let his friends push him along. "What about you guys?"

"Ryuusei and I can handle the rest." Koyuki finally let go of Mahiru's shoulders to walk beside him. "We'll call you if we find him, okay? And that's not an invitation to check your phone every five seconds! Take a hot bath, eat something, then try to sleep. We'll take care of everything else."

Mahiru just nodded. He didn't feel comfortable abandoning the search for Kuro now, but he had to admit that Koyuki was right. If he kept going, he'd just ruin his health.

That thought didn't keep him from feeling like a traitor as he went home, though.

What Mahiru didn't notice was the pair of red eyes watching him from the shadows.

Kuro had never been so glad to have his black cat form. He was small, he could sneak around without making a noise or attracting attention, and his dark fur merged with the shadows, rendering him near invisible. This form had enabled him to follow Mahiru around all day without even being noticed.

It felt weird, following Mahiru from the shadows like a stalker. It hurt to watch the boy look for him with such determination, not even caring for the cold or the rain, when he was right there, always close behind. But it was the right thing to do. Kuro knew he had to put some distance between them until they both got over their feelings, and this was the only way he could do it. He couldn't leave entirely, or Mahiru would die. He didn't know how to break the contract. This was the only solution.

There was also another reason why he didn't want to leave, though.

Mahiru was stuck neck-deep in a vampire war. He was too kind for his own good, too bold by half, and a giant idiot. Somebody would have to watch out for him, or he'd get himself killed by Tsubaki and his subclass in no time at all.

Kuro would do just that. He'd protect Mahiru from the shadows, at least until this war was over for good. Then he could always find out how to dissolve the contract and go his own ways, but he wouldn't do that until he knew that Mahiru was safe.

And you should get over me, he thought. I'm the wrong choice. You should go and find a human girlfriend and get married and have kids and live a normal, happy life. Don't waste your time with an immortal creature who will still look eighteen when you're ninety-five.

Maybe he'd just wait until he knew for sure that Mahiru had moved on, and then he'd come back. Become part of his family, take care of everyone, watch his children grow up. Maybe he'd make a contract with one of Mahiru's children, and then with their children and grandchildren, and serve many generations of the family like Lily did. A normal, peaceful life with a happy family. Wasn't that what he had always wanted?

Maybe he'd do that someday.

If he could ever handle the pain of seeing Mahiru with someone else, that is.

At this point, the pattern of the ceiling had probably been burned into Mahiru's memory forever.

He couldn't remember how long he had just been lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling where there was nothing to see, with his phone on the bedside table beside him, trying to sleep but unable to even close his eyes. He had taken a long hot bath, but all he could think of was that Kuro loved hot baths. He had cooked and eaten dinner, but all he could think of was that Kuro would have loved it, and he wondered if he should make another portion, in case the vampire came back. He had tried to distract himself, but all he could think of was Kuro.

The apartment felt cold and empty. Mahiru missed the sound of shuffling feet, the quiet music coming from the vampire's video games, the simple, warm feeling of not being alone.

Where was Kuro now? Was he uncomfortably curled up somewhere, trying to escape from the cold and the rain? Was he hungry? Was he tired? Had anything happened to him? Mahiru was sure that the vampire was lonely. Even if he had run away, he was sure that somewhere, deep inside, Kuro was hoping to be found. He wanted Mahiru to find him and take him back home, even if he wanted everyone to think that the opposite was true. Mahiru could feel it. There was a lot he still didn't know about Kuro, a lot he still didn't understand, but he knew his Servamp well enough to know that he didn't really want to be alone.

And here he was, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling while Kuro needed him.

He jolted upright. What was he doing? What was he thinking? Wasn't he the one who had told Kuro that he could always call his name when he needed him? There was no way Kuro was happy now, all alone somewhere in a dark corner of an empty street.

For a split second Koyuki's warnings resonated in his mind. If he didn't rest enough, he'd get sick for sure...

Shaking his head, he brushed them aside. If he didn't find Kuro, he'd get worried sick.

He jumped up from the bed, threw on some clothes and rushed out of the house.

This time he'd find Kuro. He was sure of it.

Misono didn't know what to expect when the doorbell rang. All he knew at this point was that he should probably expect the unexpected. Who could possibly turn up at the door so shortly after he had returned from school? All of his friends should be busy, so who was this visitor for and what did they want?

He braced himself for anything and opened the door.

Expecting the unexpected hadn't prepared him for this.

Standing on the other side of the door, looking a bit messy and nervous, bag slung over his shoulder, still wearing his school uniform, was Tetsu.

Misono had half a mind to close the door again. He didn't.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi."

They stared at each other, blushed, smiled awkwardly and looked away.

"What, uh," Misono had no idea what else to say, so he might as well be blunt, "are you doing here?"

That sounded a bit rude, didn't it? Yes, of course it did. Tetsu lived a long way off and he had obviously just walked here, and Misono couldn't even thank him for that.

"Nothing special." Tetsu looked down at his shoes, then gathered his courage and looked back up, meeting Misono's eyes. "I just... after your call today, I just wanted to talk to you again. In person."

Misono could feel the heat returning to his cheeks for what felt like the millionth time today. "Huh?"

"I wanted to see you."

Dark at last.

Kuro was glad he was finally able to shift back into his true form. The sun was gone, Mahiru was resting at home, and the streets had become so empty that nobody had noticed a black cat transforming into a human. Now he could finally move faster. Now he could fight. Now he could protect Mahiru from anything that might hurt him.

He was cold and hungry, but it wasn't that bad. The cold and the hunger could never kill him. He missed home already, but he'd endure. If it meant protecting Mahiru, he'd endure everything.

The sound of soft steps broke the silence. Kuro jolted in surprise and turned away from the road, staring at a random building. It was most likely just another random passer-by on the way home. In a minute they'd be past, without ever seeing his face. For them, he was probably a random stranger, another unknown silhouette.

The steps came to a halt right behind him. The voice that addressed him sounded familiar.

"Hey... You're Mahiru's Servamp, right?"