.
.
Zero stopped avoiding me the next day.
It happened on the walk home.
I had friends, loosely. I walked home with two classmates every day, mostly to keep up appearances that I care about what cartoon is better and why this teenage celebrity is the best. Mao and Kanon were a very simple, studious pair who included me in their activities because they liked my hair clips. I usually saddled along with their shenanigans, if only to stave off boredom. It was surreal to be thinking about man eating vampires while listening to which superhero is better. Except today was different.
"I don't like him that much." One of them was saying, voice far away as I watched cars pass by.
The other one said, "Yeah, he's an annoying character. I just wish . . . hey."
I stop short not to run into them. Both are looking down an alleyway curiously, Mao stepping a little closer to see. It wasn't really dark down there, but there seemed to be a dog nosing behind the dumpster. Both girls predictably fell apart.
"Do you see it? Does it have tags?"
"Maybe we should catch it!"
"Suna, do you know if there's been a missing dog recently?"
I stared at the creature. For a moment, it moved itself a bit, repositioning itself over something. Kanon already had her phone out, dialing into it.
"We really shouldn't." Mao became the voice of reason, though she still seemed worried. "We'll get in trouble if we don't get home."
"What the disciplinary committee won't know won't hurt em." Kanon fired back, "Besides, you're just gonna leave a poor dog here?"
"Well-"
"That's not a dog." I said.
The girls looked at me. My eyes were glued to the alleyway, something cold washing down my back. I got the keen sense of knowing whatever was down there knew exactly where we were. Especially with the red eyes.
"It has shoes."
Both girls flinched, backing away from the alleyway. It was hard to look away from the huddled creature, the huge baggy clothes, and the absolute certainty whatever it was protecting wasn't alive anymore. I opened my mouth. Closed it. Mao was already running.
"C'mon, c'mon!" She cried. Kanon wasn't moving either, eyes wide. I wondered if these girls had ever seen a vampire before. This town was filled with vampire hunter families, it wouldn't be a stretch to think maybe a parent of theirs is a hunter. They're still in the dark.
And-
It's coming towards us. Fast.
I'm pushing Kanon forward without much more prompting, feeling something sharp brush through my hair. Kanon is screaming. Mao is gone. The attacker is a Level E.
It's a kid.
Not as young as us, but barely old enough to surpass Zero in height. The creature was hunching behind long, long mangy black hair. It's clothes were rumpled, torn, bloodied. It was dripping something brown onto the pavement. Behind me from across the street, I could hear raised voices.
"You're an idiot." I told the creature.
It laughed.
I don't see it move. It appears, like a frame was cut out of reality and it was in front of me, running headfirst. My arm is up in front of my face, my other going for a wild punch. It hits, but so do they. My jacket takes most of the damage, but its teeth are daggers and piece threw clothe and flesh. Its clamped on my forearm like a desperate animal. I punch it again.
It scrambles away. It's not the punch that does it, despite my knuckles aching. It's coughing, hacking, and whimpering into the ground. My arm screams like fire. I don't move.
The voice that comes from the vampire is hoarse, grating, and sounds like its yelling down a tunnel. There's blood in its mouth that muffles its words, but the single biting word comes across clear.
"Disgusting." It snarls.
I blink, and the creature is gone, the only remains being a red stain leading up the side of the alley.
. . . Okay.
My arm hurts. After shrugging off my jacket, the damage isn't as bad as thought. There's a ring of teeth marks on the arm, bleeding sluggishly. But it's nothing worse than a dog bite. Though, very clearly a human bite.
"Little girl!" I look behind me to two approaching adults. Mao was hovering behind them, looking green. I didn't doubt Kanon had already run home. "What happened?! You're hurt, did someone-"
"Sorry." I smiled. "It was actually a dog."
One of them patted my head, "Oh, you were very brave then. Are your parents near?"
"I'm on my way home. I'll be fine, my dad is waiting for me."
"I see. Hurry up then, that looks painful."
Mao didn't say goodbye. She stared me down as we passed each other, eyes blown wide and mouth open to say something. She didn't speak. I had a vague idea her memories would be wiped. It was a good possibility.
Getting home was another weird matter altogether. I was aware of breaking rule number one, so I'd thrown my jacket into a dumpster on the way home and used my scarf as an improvised bandage. The stinging was making my arm numb. The biting wind only made my face itchy.
"Very brave?" I echoed, staring at my front door warily. "I guess."
I barely had the door open before a presence at the top of the foyer made itself known. I hadn't a doubt he'd been standing there since I'd started down the street. Zero had a crazy sense when it comes to scents, especially when it came to blood. I paused.
His eyes were normal. I closed the door.
"I'm home." I greeted softly.
He didn't move, eyes trained on me with an intensity that'd never been there before. He was in his school uniform, the black jacket unbuttoned and revealing the loose white shirt underneath. He looked a little weird with just his socks on. I wondered if he just got home. That meant Yuki was here too.
"I got hurt by a weird animal on the way here." I decided explaining the scent was better than pretending it wasn't there. I held up my arm a bit for evidence. "It ran away after I punched it."
The bruises on my knuckles supported that. Honestly, it was weird he was hovering. Zero liked to take lies despite knowing they were lies. He didn't like doing anything about it.
He still hadn't moved.
"Suna." I can't tell any emotion in his voice, "What happened?"
Ah.
I smiled helplessly, "Nothing gets passed you, huh?"
He narrowed his eyes. Staling probably wasn't a good idea when he was starting to get pissed. I watched him and carefully unwound my scarf. It felt sticky and gross. It took a bit of tugging to get it off the wound and I winced at the sight. It might have been better without the scarf, but whatever. It was oozing puss and turning yellow. I dearly hoped that creature wasn't carrying a disease.
"I got bit by a vampire." I said. "The punching wasn't a lie. It was a kid, so-"
He'd made three large strides over to me before I could finish. His preteen height towered over mine, he had to bend down slightly to reach me. His hands moved with careful slowness, taking my arm and studying the bite. I didn't say a word. The expression on his face spoke volumes of what he thought of the wound.
"Aren't you afraid?" His voice was low, an octave of something dark in his voice telling me exactly what he was feeling.
"A little." I admitted. "I was worried it'd hurt someone."
"Worry about yourself." He said, taking my hand in his and tugging me up the stairs. The whole situation had me tilting my head. Of anyone I expected to get injured by a vampire, it was Yuki. It was kind of funny. Zero took me into the bathroom, abandoning me by the sink to dig in the cabinet. He pulled out the two medical kits dad had bought. Well, he'd bought one. The pink and glittery one was for Yuki because she liked how it looked.
"Put your arm under the faucet." Zero instructed, voice but a whisper. I heard faint singing from the kitchen. Yuki was making dinner. Dad wasn't home. I put my arm under the faucet.
"Ouch." I said, though it came out as a choked yelp. Zero was already dabbing at it with a washcloth, his sleeves rolled up. He dried it off and applied disinfectant with practiced ease. I wondered if hunter training got Ichiru hurt often. His hands were experienced.
"Thank you." I said around the building tears.
He finished wrapping the gauze around my arm, eyes not leaving the pale white of the bandage. "Why did you lie?"
"Why do you hate vampires?" I fired back.
He glared at me. I glared back. He flicked me in the face, his expression changing to annoyed. It was something wonderful to see instead of blank emotion. That and the action was surprisingly playful.
"I'm not mad at you." I told him, rubbing my forehead. "For Cutter."
He made his way to the door, not saying a word. I watched him go, a difficult puzzle but a fun one. He stopped as he gripped the doorknob. We heard Yuki's voice call for dinner.
"Suna." He turned, his bangs hiding most of his expression from me. He looked haunted, like a million words were in his head and he couldn't find the right ones. He sighed, body sagging just a little with the weight of his own thoughts.
"Don't be stupid." He said and closed the door.