A/N: It has been far too long since I've updated this story. I apologize for making you all wait. And I won't lie or give excuses; I was off doing other things, writing other stories, and this one was kind of pushed to the back burner. After watching BH6 recently, I decided that it was time to come back. So, here I am! Again, sorry for such a long wait. I hope you can forgive me. Let me know what you think of the chapter in the towel section down below! R&R. Enjoy!

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Stumbling as his feet landed on solid ground, Hiro ran as fast as he could to get away from his house, his home. His heart was racing, his palms were sweaty, and his mind was racing a mile a minute with thoughts too numerous to count. He didn't even pay attention to where he was going or those around him; he just ran as fast and as far as his legs were able to take him. Not only was he running from Aunt Cass and Tadashi, but from what he had been told as well, and as foolish as it was, maybe if he ran fast enough he could escape those horrible words before they caught up to him and settled in.

Vampires existed.

They had their own community that humans seemed to know about to some degree and were content with.

His entire family, his mom and dad, Aunt Cass and Tadashi, were vampires.

Hiro was a vampire.

The only vampire to be born naturally, like a human.

And that made him the Vampire King, some figure of legend passed down for generations.

This was all too freaking insane!

Vampires did NOT exist and they never had! They're just superstitious beings created by a lack of understanding of the human decomposition process. Nothing more and nothing less than that. And just because there had been some incredibly sick people who had lived, like Vlad III and Elizabeth Bathory, didn't give credit to vampires being real.

And all of this king stuff? Hiro was no king, not by a long shot. Sure, he was a genius, but a king? A king of vampires no less? No. No, no, no, no, just no. There was no way on Earth that Hiro was the king of anything except robotics – that was the only crown he'd accept.

There must be something wrong with Tadashi. He must have some kind of mental disorder, perhaps even a personality disorder; who knows? Hiro couldn't recall him ever going to a doctor or a psychologist; maybe he should. Maybe he'd get medication to help him not be crazy because it was clear to Hiro that he was. Of course, given Hiro's desire to taste Tadashi's blood, maybe he should go with him, because that was so normal.

Yet…

Somewhere deep down inside of him, some part of him, couldn't help but be intrigued, a bit fascinated, and even willing to hear Tadashi out about this whole vampire thing. His brother's words had struck some cord in him, one that told Hiro that he was telling the truth. After all, he had never, ever known Tadashi to lie. Withhold information? Definitely, but lie? That was another ballpark entirely. Tadashi was the nicest, most honest person Hiro knew; if he was saying all of this vampire stuff wasn't bologna, then perhaps it really wasn't…

Shaking his head, Hiro slowed down and stopped, his lungs were burning from running and his legs were sore and felt like Jell-O. Looking around, Hiro realized that he had ran quite a long way from home, he wasn't in an area that he had frequented often and he didn't recognize a lot of it. Panting, a mix of confusion and irritation on his face, Hiro looked over his shoulder and groaned out loud, his shoulders slumping. He saw what appeared to be Tadashi running along the sidewalk, heading towards him, his brown eyes fixed on Hiro.

"Jeez, I can't catch a break today, can I?" Hiro glanced to his left and relief flooded him when he saw an alley way.

Ducking inside of it, Hiro began jogging down it, thankful it was long and dark, even in the day light. If he could get out the other side before Tadashi came upon him, maybe he could lose him. Hiro almost laughed; for once in his life, he wanted to get away from Tadashi, how funny was that? Hiro was half way down the alley way when someone suddenly came around the corner of the exit, blocking his way out.

Surprised, Hiro skidded to a stop and squinted at the person. They were dressed in a mostly yellow suit with some patches of black and they had wheels or…or something attached to the boots, allowing them to glide and skate effortlessly everywhere fast, which is why their sudden appearance startled him. He couldn't tell if it was a male or female and Hiro didn't have much time to think because the figure was suddenly skating towards him, helmet completely blocking out the person's face. It wasn't until one hand came up that Hiro saw similar wheels on the person's wrists, only they were smaller and looked sharp, almost blade like…

Within the blink on an eye, one was hurled towards Hiro's face. It went whizzing past him and all he felt was the wind whipping his hair and a sting on his cheek. Bringing a hand up to touch it, he found blood on his fingers when he pulled away. That thing had cut him! Whoever it was…they were attacking him!

Panic and fear began to take over and Hiro found himself being circled. Unfortunately for him, the circular blade that had been hurled at him returned to its own, kind of like a boomerang, and they were heading back towards him, hands poised to strike…

"Hiro!" Tadashi's voice rang out and Hiro found himself shoved against the wall of the alley with Tadashi's larger body shielding him.

Hiro looked up, panting in fear, at Tadashi, who was slightly crouched in front of him. Scooter closer to Tadashi's right side, Hiro looked up at his face and saw that he was glaring hard at the yellow-clad person, who had stopped in front of them, closer to the wall parallel to their own. He had never seen such an expression on Tadashi's face before; it was a mix of scrutiny and a snarl, as though his brother were trying to decipher who the stranger was while also trying to be menacing. While Hiro wasn't sure if the person was affected by his expression, he certainly was. It sent a chill down his spine and not a particularly pleasant one either.

His brother was not one to mess with when he was angry and never has it been shown so clearly as right now.

"I don't know who you are, but I will find out," Tadashi growled, his posture shifting as he prepared to launch himself at the person. Hiro couldn't see the person's face because of the helmet, but he could tell that they were weighing their options.

Apparently, they weren't in their favor because the person turned and left just as quickly as they came, nothing but a yellow-black blur around the alley corner. Tadashi watched them leave before he stood up and rolled his shoulders. Sighing softly, he turned towards Hiro and knelt down, his hands on him, checking for any other injuries aside from the cut on his face.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?" Tadashi asked, one hand coming up to cup Hiro's cut cheek, thumb caressing the skin just below the cut, while the other rubbing his upper arm.

"N-no, I'm…I'm fine," Hiro stuttered, his body shaking. Relief flooded Tadashi's face and he pulled Hiro into a hug. Bringing shaking arms up, Hiro returned the embrace and all but collapsed in his brother's arms.

When Hiro's body wasn't shaking anymore and his legs were steady enough to hold their own, Tadashi pulled away and swept the hair out of Hiro's eyes. His smile was soft and warm, the smile he always seemed to wear just for Hiro and guilt panged inside of him, guilt for running away and for thinking his brother was crazy. Well, Hiro still kind of thought that, but right now, his mind was on the strange person who had come barreling into the alley and who had left just as quickly.

"Who was that?" Hiro asked as he turned his head to the exit. Tadashi frowned and followed his gaze, his eyes hardening ever so slightly.

"I don't know, but I will be finding out," Tadashi said. He stood up and offered his hand to Hiro, which he took, all but clinging to him as they began leaving back towards the street Hiro had been on.

"Let's get home. It's not safe for you to be out on your own," Tadashi said, his face losing its hardness but maintaining its troubled expression, his voice tired and tense.

Hiro shivered at his words. He wasn't sure what all they had meant, not exactly anyway, but he didn't like the sense of foreboding they brought or what they implied. He wouldn't ask Tadashi, not right now at least. Perhaps when they got home and when Hiro's mind wasn't muddled with too many thoughts and when his heart had settled down enough to actually hear himself think. As they walked, he tried to clear his head and push all thoughts away, which worked better than he thought. All he needed to do was take it one step at a time.