DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Vampire Knight or any of its characters. All rights belong solely to Matsuri Hino.

A / N:

Ohmygod, this is such a long chapter, I hope you guys don't fall asleep reading it. To be honest, I can't believe I finished writing it in a month LOL.

I wasn't sure what you guys were hoping for in terms of an epilogue, but this has always how I imagined the epilogue to be ( not as long, but in terms of what it contains and whatnot ). I think some of you guys were hoping for an immediate look into the aftermath of Zevy reuniting again after she returns from being away at other branches, and I'm sorry, because this epilogue isn't that.

This epilogue is going to be about their kids.

And I hope you guys love reading about them just as much as I love writing them.

Of course, Zevy IS going to be in this epilogue, so don't fret! But I hope that you'll also appreciate the fact that it's not just about them anymore (;

For some of you, the epilogue might be the end for you, because maybe you don't want extras or drabbles. If that's so, for the umpteenth time, I want to express my gratitude for your time, your dedication, and your love for both this story and my writing. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of that, and how it's helped morph Heterochromia into the story that it is today. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I won't ever be able to say it enough.

For those of you who are staying, see y'all then LOL

And for everyone, I finally present to you the epilogue of Heterochromia.

Read on, my loves, read on!


Heterochromia.

EPILOGUE;

"Evermore"


YOUTH REIGNS THE CORE

[ KIRIYUU . KOUSEI ]
year: X140
age: 20
birthday: January 1
st
fun fact: after losing a total of 31 pencils, 22 pens, 8 erasers, 5 books, and 76 bucks, he now refuses to lend out anything that belongs to him because he doesn't believe anyone will ever return the item, also leading to his nature of never asking to borrow things from others, himself.


Kou runs a hand through the soft waves of silver tresses, letting out a sigh. He reaches out automatically to help hold the door open when the girl in front of him swings it open with a bit of trouble, meeting her surprised brown eyes with his own mismatched ones. It shocks her a little and unnerves her too, but she recovers quickly and gives him a little grateful smile. His reply is a curt nod, and then he's on his way to his class, because recognition had lit up in her eyes—as if his hair isn't a giveaway, his heterochromia does the trick—and he doesn't want to engage in any meaningless small talk.

Today is the day his dad is doing that special guest lecture, and though he's witnessed many of them before, a part of him can't help but be interested. He's always loved special lectures, listening to presentations, giving presentations, debates, things of the like. The fact that his father will be conducting the lecture just gives him extra incentive. That means he can't be late.

Not that he usually is.

He just doesn't see a reason to show up sometimes. That's all.

The tall, broad-shouldered vampire slides open the door to his class, and is immediately greeted by his peers with smiles and, "good morning, Kou"s. He spots Levi in the crowd, and he shares a nod with his cousin. He doesn't stop to greet his classmates properly, instead beelining it to his self-proclaimed seat for the semester.

Levi smirks at him, his electrifying baby-blue eye twinkling and his gold eye, so much like Kou's own, sparkling the same way. "You just won me a hundred bucks."

His eyebrows furrow as he leans back into the seat. "What?"

"You showed up," is the simple explanation.

Kou barely raises an eyebrow. "Cheater. Making money off bets you know you'll win."

"I guess you don't want me treating you to lamb kabobs and—"

"Don't cheap out on me, bastard."

A laugh from one of his best friends, and Levi leans forward, stretching his long arms out along their shared desk. "You prepared for your presentation today?"

Kou closes his eyes for a second, and then opens them and casts them off to the side. Folding his arms across his chest, he mutters begrudgingly, "I forgot the damn papers today."

Another laugh, one that Kou notes is almost exactly the same as Uncle Arashi's, leaves the man. "Of course you did. You don't even need them though, so what's with the face? Annoyed that you forgot?"

"Anri's been on my case about it all day yesterday."

"Just don't let her find out."

He pins his eyes on the brunet, the look on his face saying everything that he needs to.

Realization dawns on Levi, and he drags out his, "... Right."

After all, it's Anri that they're talking about. The woman has an uncanny way of finding things out, whether relevant or not. And the more one tries to hide it, the more determined she is to figure it out. Oddly enough, she manages to do it all so effortlessly, too. Kou wishes he could say it was just a twin thing, but it really isn't. Levi and the rest of their cousins can attest to that.

The two vampires stop their conversation short when their professor walks in and begins the lecture as always. The students have settled into their seats, the class more full than one would usually expect, considering how it's a guest lecturer.

Or maybe that's the reason for the higher attendance.

The university they're currently attending has a population ninety percent human, and eight percent vampire hunters. The rest of the two percent is a secret population of vampires, such as himself, Anri, and Levi, as well as those who have some way or another enrolled into the institution. The hunters always recognize them for what and who they really are, but they're also aware of the situation, so no real protestation occurred. The humans, on the other hand, recognize them for very different reasons.

It's part of why he didn't want to do this whole school thing—at least not in an open school. He'd probably be given hell in either a pure vampire or pure hunter school, but he'd much rather deal with assholes picking fights than humans idolizing him for something as superficial as his looks. But he also understands that keeping up with the human world, to learn and keep track of how far the humans are taking matters of hunters and vampires and those worlds into their own, is incredibly important. In order to learn of such things, someone has to be part of such a population, to try and blend into the crowd and to understand them. There are a few co-ed schools that welcome humans, hunters, and vampires alike, but that doesn't tell them much about what the humans are secretly up to—it's clear that there's still strong animosity among them. They're beyond wary and cynical regarding the idea of coexistence.

This is where he comes in.

His parents told him he didn't have to, but they also always say it's good to familiarize and get socialized into different societies, just to know how to properly see all sides of a story.

That's how they find themselves in this current situation—Levi tagging along just because the Tashiro apparently finds it fun to partake in these matters. Then again, he finds very few things not fun.

Kou doesn't realize he's missed his father's introduction by the professor until the doors along the front of the room open again and a man that looks like he could very much be his brother strides in. He's taller than Kou by a bit still, his frame just wider. His hands are hidden in the pockets of his black slacks, and he has a folder tucked under his arm. He wears a dark charcoal dress shirt tucked in, a black tie around his neck, and the darkness of his outfit contrasts starkly with the silver hair, with the silver links of his pocket watch.

The entire room is silent. Kou feels stares from hundreds of his classmates boring into him, and then darting to the man that has settled at the podium in front of the large lecture hall. The amount of curiosity, the amount of interest, is heavy in the air. He already knows they're all wondering what their relationship is. After all, not many have silver hair, and the lavender of his father's eyes matches his left eye perfectly.

His ears catch murmurs, and Levi has to smother his laughter by burying his face into his arms.

If his dad hears those speculations—and of course he does—his expression doesn't change at all. He sweeps his eyes through the crowd, and immediately they fall silent, as if he had asked them to quiet down. This is something that Kou finds so captivating to watch, that he loves being spectator to. It amazes him how easily his father is able to command the attention of a room full of students without even saying a word. He wants to be able to exert such a strong, charismatic presence one day, too.

He meets his father's eyes straight-on, steady, and nods nearly imperceptibly in greeting.

A brief moment in which all that hangs in the air is tension and silence.

And then Zero murmurs, his quiet voice being projected through the microphone in front of him, "Why are you all so tense? I'm your guest lecturer, not your beloved's spiteful grandfather."

That seems to break the strain in the air, and a huge, collective breath being let out whispers across the room. He notices that his dad's lips twitch upwards just faintly, like he wants to smile, but he doesn't. Instead, he begins his lecture by saying, "I'm not much of a public speaker, so bear with me. I'll take questions throughout the lecture, but there will be time left at the end for such matters, so if possible, please remember and save them until then." A pause where he glances across the room, and then he murmurs, "OK, let's begin."

Kou doesn't take any notes as his dad lectures—he doesn't even have a notebook out to pretend. Neither does Levi. After all, this is all information that hunters and vampires know by heart. This class is an introductory course to the the realm outside of the human world, so it's all basics. Zero's lecture is essentially on the role of hunters and the Association, as well as the general history of it all. It's information that's considered public now, with nothing that goes too deep into either worlds. Nonetheless, he pays attention.

Or, rather, his attention is captured.

Somehow, despite his initial warning and introductory words, Zero forces everyone to listen intently to what he says, simply because his very being commands it. He lectures in a way that presents the material in an interesting way, and his own commentary regarding the information adds not only a personal touch to the lecture, but also a humourous one. He doesn't even tell jokes, he just somehow says something that makes the students laugh, and Kou knows instantly that his classmates are charmed. In the span of an hour and fifteen minutes, Zero has managed to make all the women swoon over him, and all the men admire him.

It's a scarily amazing ability.

Many would say he's inherited that very same presence, but Kou would disagree. While he can admit that he might have a rather demanding aura, that's exactly how it comes off as—-demanding. He exudes an aura of harsh coldness, of jagged roughness, of oblivious brusqueness. He demands people's presence in a way that, more than half the time, either scares them or pisses them off. And that's just the way he is. He's heard stories from before, when his dad was a teenager, and how he'd also given off the same sort of vibes. But with time and experience—and the fact that Ivy popped into his life—he's managed to change that commanding presence into one that is more soothing. He's still ridiculously intimidating, but not in a way that makes you worried about whether or not you're going to die in the next ten seconds.

Kou isn't hopeful he'll ever have that level of decorum.

Not that he wants it, nor cares about achieving it. Although he admires it in Zero, it isn't something that Kou necessarily aspires to have himself. He personally thinks that the way he lives, the way he acts now, is perfectly fine for him. He feels at home in the skin he's grown for himself, and he knows that if he tries to become someone else, it'll all backfire in his face. He'll grow to have the same level of presence in a room in his own way.

"... And that is the end of my lecture. Thank you for listening," Zero concludes. He waits until the groans and mumblings have subsided before he says, "We still have fifteen minutes of class left. Are there any questions?"

Hands from all over the room shoot up, and the Association President gestures at someone near the front-left. The question is a legitimate one regarding the content of the lecture, and his father answers it in-depth, but without giving anything truly confidential away.

It's on the third question that someone asks, "Kiriyuu-san, do you have a girlfriend?"

Zero blinks at the young woman who asked the question, and then comments, "That is irrelevant to the lecture material."

"But we'd like to know," someone else chimes in.

"Pretty please?" another voice.

"Please tell us!" the person just two rows behind Kou exclaims. It's a rippling effect, and many others begin to yell aloud their desire to hear his answer on this particular question. It seems to both surprise and amuse his dad, because he lets out the faintest of chuckles as he shakes his head, the sound somewhat incredulous, and it shuts everyone in the class up.

Kou props his cheek up onto his fist, and he watches as his father lifts his left hand out of the pocket he'd had it in for most of the lecture. Some people had undoubtedly seen it, but for the most part, his dad kept his hands in his pockets as he'd lectured, and if anything, he used his dominant right for any gesturing. Now, his dad leans against the podium, long legs crossed at the ankles, and folds his arms loosely across his chest. The simple silver wedding band is clearly visible, a move that is made deliberately, and it winks at all the eyes that automatically glue themselves to it.

"I have," Zero starts quietly, his eyes closed, "a very lovely wife, and children that I am incredibly proud of." His lips had pulled up faintly into a soft, tender smile as he spoke, and he opens his eyes slowly.

Something tugs at Kou's heartstrings at his father's words, and he looks away because he feels his ears warm.

"A wife?!" someone in the crowd bursts out in disbelief.

"Children?!" is the next scandalized exclamation.

Laughter ripples through the majority of the class, amused by the reaction, and Zero meets his eyes for just a brief, meaningful moment before he glances away and gestures for the next student to ask their question. The entire class is still buzzing with excitement and happiness and life even after the bell has gone, with students rushing down the large hall's stairs in order to engage in conversation with his dad about one thing or another.

"Uncle Zero is so popular," Levi half-complains, half-gloats. His voice is playful. "If you aren't careful, he's going to convert all the members of your fanclub."

Kou grimaces, his expression unmoved. "Oh, the horrors."

Levi watches as he stands up and stretches before throwing his bag over his shoulder. "You aren't going to stay and say hi?"

A small scoff, and he jabs his thumb over his shoulder to where Zero is being swamped by practically half the class. "And wait for that to clear out?"

"Touche," Levi admits. The brunet runs a hand through his wavy dark brown hair, only tinted red, and he gets up too, swinging his backpack over his shoulder as well. "Let's head on out."

The silver-haired man nods, and he's just about to follow Levi out when he feels and smells and notices someone that he should've been able to pinpoint the moment they'd entered the room. He instantly tenses, and he feels Levi do the same, noticing it all just a moment later. He watches as his best friend's mismatched eyes widen delightfully, the smile stretching across his face so wide. Before Levi can exclaim his greeting, Kou's hand finds its place over his mouth.

"Kou, I came to deliver your papers. Also, it's nice to see you, Levi!"

He turns to face the woman in front of him. She's dressed in black skinny jeans tucked into black boots, with a white, loose graphic t-shirt underneath an oversized red-and-blue plaid button-down that she'd rolled the sleeves up for, revealing a simple black leather watch on her left wrist and a silver wedding band on her left ring finger. A black coat is thrown over one of her arms, a folder held carefully in her hands along with a lace-rimmed umbrella. Reddish-brown hair falls over her shoulders and down along her waist in satin waves, and she has blindingly vivid green and gold mismatched eyes. She smiles at him when he meets them, revealing one dimple on her right cheek. Anyone that looks at her would think she's just another student here, but she'd have them fooled.

"Hey, Auntie Ivy!" is Levi's enthusiastic reply after getting his mouth free.

"Mom," he says, his eyebrows furrowing together. He ignores the shocked gasps of surrounding students that heard him, and his hands automatically come out to gently guide her out of the aisle. He gestures for her to sit, but she shakes her head, and he's scowling down at her. "What are you doing?"

She raises an eyebrow at him and laughs a little. "You forgot your documents."

"Your health matters more." He's half-scolding her, and his eyes zoom in on where she'd been injured yesterday during a solo raid. The information she'd received had been just a little off, resulting in a variety of unaccountable domino effects, and she'd gotten a Level E's claws raked along her abdomen, hence her loose-fitting clothes. Not that she doesn't dress like that regularly, but he knows that she's taking particular care not to apply even the faintest of pressure along the wound.

Thankfully, there are no bloodied spots, so at the very least, Kou finds relief in it being unopened still.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she dismisses easily. Her free hand comes up to touch and smooth away the furrow of his eyebrows, and she's teasing him as she says, "If you keep doing that, you're going to get wrinkles."

He grabs her hand and holds it tight. He takes care not to scrunch his brows and scowl at her again as he murmurs seriously, "I'm taking you home."

"And abandon your presentation happening next hour? I don't think so." She squeezes his hand reassuringly. "I can get home just fine."

"Did you drive?"

A shake of the head. "I let Anri take the car today."

"It's winter and raining outside," he remarks flatly, frustrated and trying not to show it. It doesn't seem to work very well, because his eyebrow twitches, and she's smoothing it out again in that loving way of hers.

"That's what the umbrella is for, silly."

"You wasted an hour and a half to give me these papers." He gestures to the folder that he takes out of her hands, and then places onto the desk. He's grinding the words out between his molars. "I'm taking you home. It'll take ten minutes."

Ivy's smiling again, her eyes bright and glinting. "I didn't waste that time. I had a lot of fun, actually." She holds an index finger up to her lips and winks at him, lightning fast, and laughs a little under her breath.

Kou blinks at her for a moment, and then he shakes his head. Trust his parents to be as crazy in love with each other as they were when they first started their relationship. "As great as that is to hear," he begins a little dryly, "it doesn't excuse making idiotic decisions."

She opens her mouth to protest again, but he's already shaking his head. If he lets her go alone, he already knows he'll be unable to sleep tonight.

"I'll take her home," Levi cuts in before they can start arguing again, and when they turn their gazes over to him, he's smiling impishly. "I can skip your presentation, but you can't. Besides, I wanted to ask Auntie something about Dad anyway."

His mouth opens and he's about to say that's a good idea, but another presence joins their little trio, and a quiet voice that doesn't belong to any of them says, "Thank you, Levi, but I can take her home."

He notices that his mom doesn't even blink when an arm slides around her shoulders, notices the way she automatically leans into the person that appeared behind her. Her eyes impossibly brighten even more, and then soften as she tilts her head to look up at her husband. Kou notices that his dad as well seems somehow more relaxed around her, even if he hasn't been particularly tense in the first place. They've always been this way, no matter how far back he traces his memories. They've always been most at ease when with each other.

A sheepish little laugh escapes her as she meets Zero's eyes. "Oops. You weren't supposed to find out that I'd been listening to your lecture. It was amazing, though. You've worked hard."

"Thank you," is his soft reply into her hair, and then he chides, "but Kou is right. You're meant to be in bed."

"He forgot his documents," she explains, grinning at Kou, knowing that this was basically all he and Anri were talking about yesterday. He's scowling a little, and has to resist the urge to sigh.

Zero's eyes flash to meet his, and they're full of mirth. His dad's simple yet savage reply is, "Again?"

Levi bursts into laughter over his shoulder, and he shoves his elbow hard into the brunet's stomach. He looks away from his parents, folding his arms across his chest. He has to bite down on his tongue to stop from defending that this is only the fifth time in two years, and it really isn't even that big of a deal. He has enough on his mind—things like the paperwork he has to pre-screen for the Association—and something as small and unimportant as documents to a presentation he's already memorized is simply pushed to the back of his thoughts.

"It's OK, it's cute," she reassures him, her tone full of laughter.

He doesn't say anything, because he doesn't know whether he wants to tell her not to call him cute, or to tell her that his forgetfulness is something that he probably got from her. Instead, he meets Zero's eyes again. "Make sure she actually stays in bed this time. The wound is going to be agitated if she keeps moving around so much."

Zero nods once, both understanding and promising him. He reaches out and clamps a hand down on Kou's shoulder, the weight heavy and the grip firm. The slightest of smiles tilt at the older man's lips, his lavender eyes holding meaning. He doesn't wish him luck, nor does he tell him he'll do well, but he doesn't need to. Ever since he was a little kid, he's always heard from his mom that his dad's eyes say more than his mouth, and the more he grows up, the more he understands what she means. Because even if the words don't leave his mouth, Kou sees it written in his eyes, and that's enough.

"Can we stay and watch Kou's presentation?" Ivy asks unexpectedly, her tone far too excited. She's still holding his hand, and she shakes it a little, as if to emphasize how much she wants to stay.

The reply is a simultaneous chime from both Kiriyuu men. "No."

Kou's glaring a little at her for being ridiculous enough to even ask.

Cutting in before she begins her pouting protest, Levi adds, "The classroom won't have any empty seats. Believe or not, Kou's really popular, and everyone knows it's his turn to present, so…"

"Is that so?" Her expression twists in disappointment at being unable to attend, but she's clearly happy to know that he's not being ostracized by his peers, because she tightens her grasp on his hand and smiles softly at him. He holds back just as tight. "You'll do amazing, just as always."

He doesn't know what to say, so he simply lets out a noncommittal, "Mm."

Zero's arm drops from her shoulders to shadow her waist as she steps forward and presses a kiss to the wavy-haired vampire's cheek. She's smiling sweetly at him when she pulls away, her dimple engraved in one of her cheeks, and she reaches out to brush some of his hair out of his eyes. Even though he's a young adult, even though he's already twenty, deep down inside, a part of him relishes in these moments that she acts so much like a mom.

"Later," is his simple parting.

"Please get well soon, Auntie," Levi says.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks." Her hand leaves his to grab onto Levi's for a moment, gracing him with one of her affectionate smiles, and then she whirls around to look at Zero. She tilts her head a little, and Kou already knows the exact way her eyebrows are furrowed, the concerned glint in her eyes. "Don't you have to be back at Headquarters after this? I don't want to make you miss anything. It really isn't—"

"Ivy," Zero gently cuts her off. "It's just a meeting with Satoshi. He'll understand."

She doesn't say anything for a moment, just scrutinizing him. His light lilac eyes meet her mismatched ones steadily, and Kou knows the exact moment her eyes soften, because so does Zero's. She steps closer to him, his arm automatically winding itself loosely around her uninjured side. Teasingly, she asks, "Are you standing my brother up?"

The amethyst-eyed President doesn't take his eyes off hers, and faint amusement blankets them. "It's called being late."

"You, willingly late?" she laughs a little, because everyone knows that Zero always tries to be punctual. He rarely fails at it, and it's almost always due to unfortunate or uncontrollable circumstances. She smiles up at him. "I'm thankful for your sacrifice then. I'll call him for you in the car."

A near nonexistent tug upwards of Zero's lips in appreciation. He holds her gaze for just another moment before he turns to nod his goodbyes at the two students. Then he's guiding her slowly through the aisle, careful not to touch her wound, and yet making sure that he's able to support her. She's walking slower than usual, and in somewhat awkward motions, as if every step is extraordinarily uncomfortable. He doesn't rush her at all, and they're talking amongst themselves quietly as they depart. Kou watches them go, unable to look away for some reason, and he hears tinkling laughter from her even as she's leaving.

He grabs the folder she so insistently came to deliver, and then begins heading towards a different exit than the one they'd used. Levi's flanking his side, and as he's leaving, he hears one of his classmates whisper in awe, "Did you see the way they looked at each other?"

And he closes his eyes, almost lets himself smile, because it's every bit as beautiful as anyone could ever imagine.


THE TRUTH OF FOLKLORE

[ KIRIYUU . ANRI ]
year: X140
age: 20
birthday: January 1
st
fun fact: she has a slight obsession with stationary of all kind, hoarding a collection of unique sticky notes, pens, pencils, erasers, notebooks, washi tapes, and etc, and whether this stemmed from her strong desire to stay organized, or if it was where her
origins for being scarily neat came from, is still an ongoing debate between her and her older brother.


A groan, followed by a hand throwing cards onto the table all five of them are sitting around. Levi's lips are pulled into a childish pout as he asks, "How come I'm first to lose again?"

"Because you suck," is Kou's heartless reply, not even looking up from his own hand.

"You don't have much of a pokerface," River adds, laughing a little. He flicks his eyes, shiny gold and stormy grey, upwards for a second to meet his cousin's. He has wide eyes and thick lashes, his hair the same dark red-tinted brown as Uncle Satoshi's. His features are a very balanced mix of both his mother and father's features, creating a sweet and beautiful face that matches his genial nature. He's only half as strange as Auntie Allaryce, and only half as calm as Uncle Satoshi, putting him once again at a balance that is hard to find in people. He's three years older than Kou and herself, so close to them that he's like a brother rather than a cousin.

"At least you didn't give up even at the very end?" is Anri's laughing comfort.

"I feel like Levi's the unluckiest person I've ever met," Seina remarks, giggling behind her fan of cards. Despite being sixty-five years older than the Kiriyuu twins, she looks just as young and bright as they do, as if her years of experience haven't yet worn her into cynicism. It's something that Anri's always admired so much about her—she's so different from Ki, who's almost like their grandma considering how jaded yet warm she is—and she can tell how Sei takes after Auntie Lettie in more ways than one.

"You guys are wounding me." Levi flops back onto the couch dramatically, as if having been shot by an invisible bullet. His eyes are twinkling like stars though as he peers around at them through his flopping red-brown hair, a stark contrast to his older brother's blond. "I'm betting five lamb kabobs that Anri wins this round again."

"No deal," three voices chime simultaneously almost before Levi even finishes his sentence.

Both Levi and Anri laugh at their expected answer. People who know Anri well enough know that she's unbelievably lucky in every sense—she always wins her gambles, whether it's in games or in life, because for some reason, the odds are always in her favour. She's been told by her parents and Auntie Lydia that it's a trait she shares with Uncle Satoshi, one that River unfortunately hasn't inherited. Though she supposes her luck isn't as great as her uncle's, because whenever they have any sort of wager or game, she still loses to him.

Her phone suddenly begins to vibrate on the cushion beside her, a soft and quiet melody playing out of its speakers and filling the room. It's an original work by Uncle and her mom, a piece they created together just a handful of years ago, and it's been her favourite ever since. It's a happy tune, but one that sounds unreal, magical. Almost as if it doesn't belong to their world, but one with fairies and pixie dust, of fire lanterns on lotus-embroidered rivers. As if joy is only possible due to wonder, and something about it makes her hair stand on end every time. She uses it for everything: her ringtone, her alarm, her lullaby.

This time, it's her alarm, and her family looks over at her as she turns it off and heaves herself up off the floor, stretching her legs a little. She's smiling as she catches Levi's eye. "It seems like Levi's actually unexpectedly lucky today, because I'm giving him my hand."

"Seriously?" is the surprised, excited burst from him.

"Yeah," she laughs. Her voice turns teasing as she meets his outstretched arms halfway, carefully handing him her cards so the others can't sneak a peek. "If I hear you've lost with this hand, Levi, I'm going to really question whether or not we'll ever be able to go on raids together."

"Is everything alright?" Sei asks, eyebrows pulling together over concerned gilded and forested eyes. Out of all of them, only the two sisters, Ki and Sei from Uncle Trance and Auntie Lettie's side, hold the exact same mismatched eyes as all the Tashiros in the generation before them. But considering how Auntie Lettie's eyes are green, so close to the way theirs are, it isn't much of a surprise.

Anri nods, smiling a bit in sheepish apology at them as she begins to pull her long, wavy silver tresses up into a high ponytail. "I guess I forgot to tell you guys. Sorry, I just have a mission to finish for the Association tonight."

"Want us to come?" River offers easily. He smiles a little cheekily at her when she raises an eyebrow at him, as if asking if he really wants to come on a raid with her out in the cold rather than stay indoors and drink delicious hot chocolate. "Levi's going to cry if we continue to play and he loses."

As a reply, said man throws a pillow at the back of River's head, grumbling and pouting again when the older Tashiro dodges his attack. "Kou, River's bullying me. I feel like I should sue for defamation."

Her brother ignores him and slides his eyes over to their corners to look at her. He's leaning back against his palms, long legs crossed halfway under the table. His voice, sounding like smouldering woodsmoke and so unlike her crystalline honeydrips, is casual as he accuses, "You didn't tell me."

"Surprise!" she exclaims brightly, throwing her arms up in the air and laughing at his half-scowl. People often call Kou glacier cold and sandpaper rough, which is funny to her, because although he's not sunshine and rainbows, he's one of the most innocent and pure. She knows this best about him, and she sees it in everything he says and everything he does, even when nobody else does. Sometimes she wonders if it's due to their twin bond, but then she knows that's silly, because if there's any reason why she knows him so well, it's because they're best friends and siblings both. More soul than blood.

Now, she sees the underlying concern in the colours of his eyes and the downward tilt of his lips. Before he asserts that he's coming, she reaches out to poke him in between his eyebrows. Her voice is playful. "Didn't Mom tell you you're going to get wrinkles if you keep doing that?"

He swats her hand away and scowls even deeper as a reply. "Dad's been scowling all his life and look at him. Wrinkle-free."

Everyone in the room, save Kou, bursts into barely-stifled laughter because he's got a very good point. The scowl and hard-to-read expression that Kou's perfected is definitely a mirror of their dad's. Ivy's told them that he's been smiling and laughing more and more as the years go on by, and that when she first met him, all he ever did was scowl at her. She said that he scowled so much that for a while, she wondered if his face muscles were even capable of smiling.

They all know, very clearly, the reason why he began to smile and laugh again.

For them, it's not exactly difficult for them to imagine a Zero that never smiles or laughs. While he does those now, they still aren't necessarily his default countenance, which is an expression that looks more like a deadpan than simple neutrality. What they do find hard to imagine, for Anri especially, is the idea of his expression being… hard. Hanabusa told them once before that Zero's expression, although still a signature scowl, had been so full of hatred and bitterness that it almost looked like a different visage altogether. Whenever they saw him scowl now, even though it's not warm, there's a softness to it that apparently wasn't always there.

She can't imagine it, and she doesn't want to.

"His idolization is coming out," Levi sang lightheartedly, laughter fraying the ends of his voice. He's too busy trying not to drop his cards to dodge Kou's foot aimed near his crotch, too close for comfort. He lets out a gasp, this time of shock, and rolls away from the oldest Kiriyuu.

"Kou," Sei chides, though it's unconvincing because she's grinning slightly. She tucks a stray strand of fire-red hair behind her ear, the intricate details of her braided chignon, her signature hairstyle, just slightly mussed. Anri's asked Sei to teach her a million times, but she's never been able to do it in a way that looks even a millionth of how elegant and adorable Sei's looks.

River spares Levi a smile and a pat on the head before looking back over at her, an eyebrow raised. "Well? My question is still left unanswered."

Her smile is sunny and reassuring. "I'll be fine on my own, but thanks so much for offering."

"Alright," is his acceptance, and he directs his quirked eyebrow over to the Tashiro by his side. "I guess we're going to be crushing you tonight, even if you've got Anri's lucky hand."

"Oh, bring it," is the unfounded arrogance from Levi. He shifts back into position, and grins crookedly at Anri when their eyes clash. "I'll make sure I win for your sake, Anri."

"I appreciate it," she laughs, not a hint of sarcasm or dryness in her tone.

"Mom and Dad know, right?" Kou asks as she swivels on her heels and begins heading towards the foyer.

She pauses at the doorway, looking back at him. Her amusement leaks into her voice as she reminds him, "Kou, Dad's President."

"No, Dad's Dad," her twin retorts, throwing a card down onto the table as they resume their play. He looks at her from his peripherals, gaze sharp with meaning.

This makes her stop to think about it properly, her mind retracing the memories back to when she got the mission in the first place. It's true that Zero himself hadn't given it to her. Yagari Blake, a senior of theirs at the Association, had been the one to hand it to her, saying it was a mission that she seems to be most fit for. Although Zero's President and Ivy's Vice, there's so much to do that there are many other trusted friends and personnel helping and assisting, so it's possible that their parents didn't actually see and approve of the request personally. But that shouldn't really matter, because more than any others, their parents should know their abilities best. Anri can handle something as small as taking down a few criminals on her own.

Kou takes her silence as an answer, and he sighs. "I'll tell him."

She's surprised and can't hide it. "You're still letting me go?" Knowing her brother, he'd usually refuse to allow her to go alone, insisting to come along even if he isn't going to be doing anything but watching. Especially because their mom had just recently gotten ambushed on her solo raid a few days ago; she's all healed now, but the attack is still fresh on their minds. After all, Ivy's anything but weak, and to have her receive such an injury is a little jarring.

"What, you want me to come?"

"No!" she disagrees hastily. She blinks at him for a moment, a little bit confused and yet not unhappy by his lenience tonight. She waves radiantly at her cousins, who wave back chorusing a series of "take care"s and "don't die"s. She hurries to the foyer, hoping that she'll finish quickly enough that she'll be home before Zero. She slips on her boots and throws on her thick winter coat. She debates about whether or not she should wear a scarf too, but then decides against it—she won't be gone that long, and scarves can get in the way.

She's just stepped out the door, locking it behind her, when she realizes why Kou had let her go without putting up a fight.

"Good evening," is the low and husky greeting, bleeding into the dark night. The words come out in puffs of white, visible due to the hanging solar lanterns that line their lawn. With the most blue and enchanting ocean eyes, the most inky black hair styled in an infuriatingly effortless casual-but-professional look, and the most devilishly handsome features is Hattori Dei, leaning casually against the sleek black car he owns.

"Kou!" It comes out of her almost as a hiss. She can imagine his slow, smug little smirk, and she wants to march back in there and give him a good slap upside his head.

"Wrong," is Dei's amused, chuckling reply. "I haven't been away that long, have I?"

"No, sorry, I just—it's just—" and she's at a loss for words, fumbling for them and yet unable to grasp the right ones. She feels herself flare with embarrassment, both because of how she's a mess, and because Kou probably threatened him into being her—her babysitter. It's demeaning and mortifying, and she wants to curse her twin in every language she knows. Instead, she comments awkwardly, "I… didn't know you were back."

A little crooked smile, famous for making women weak at the knees. "I've only been back for three days. Forgive me; I didn't have a chance to pay an earlier visit."

"Three days?" she repeats incredulously, horrified further. "And Kou's making you come with me on this mission? That's just—and you agreed to it? You really didn't have to. I mean, you still don't. I'll make sure that whatever threat he used goes unfollowed, so—"

Dei shakes his head, just once, and lets out a small little laugh. "Kou isn't making me do anything, Anri. C'mon, let's get going. We'll miss the hunt if we stall any longer." He pushes himself off the car gently, opening the door for her like the gentleman that he is. He's still dressed in a charcoal suit, though his tie has been loosened just slightly.

She wants to deny this, to tell him that he should go home and rest, that she's fine on her own. But she knows that contrary to his easygoing and amiable nature, Dei is quite stubborn, and has a protective streak that rivals Kou's. It's also hard to resist the chance to speak with him, because he's been abroad for two years already, and she wants to hear all about the places he's been, the people he's met. Dei, like River, has always been a presence in her life since childhood. Akin to another older brother. He's the one that carried her on his shoulders when they were younger, the one that held both the twins' hands when they were just toddlers. He's twenty-nine this year's November—not looking it even remotely, though—and the older he gets, the busier he gets, too.

Chances like this with Dei are rare, and so, despite feeling guilty, she heads over to him and climbs into his car. He closes the door gently and carefully after her, then makes his way around and slides easily into the driver's seat. After making sure she's buckled in, he begins to pull out of the driveway of the Kiriyuu household, heading towards town.

"I'm sorry," she murmurs, peeking at him from underneath her lashes. He glances at her from the corner of his eyes, raising an eyebrow. "You were at a social, weren't you?"

"That's a nice way to put it," he replies a little wryly, eyes returning to the road. "I'd much rather be here than there, so please don't apologize."

She wants to ask him why, but something stops her. She can tell, just by the way his lips had twitched downwards just slightly, that he won't tell her the answer anyway. So instead, she asks with genuine care and curiosity, "How are you? I want to hear all about your time abroad."

"That's a lot of stories to hear about."

"We have time."

"Fifteen minutes isn't nearly enough."

She laughs at him, because she didn't mean the ride from her house to town. "Dei, we have almost forever."

He's quiet for a while as he thinks about her words. There's the ghost of a smile on his face, but for some reason, it seems a little bit pained and sad. Before she can ask him what that's about, his lips part, and his memories vocalize into stories, filling the car along with his comforting scent, and all she can do is listen with rapture the entire ride.

When he pulls up in front of the abandoned, dilapidated and vine-infested church that's the base of operations for the Level Cs she's been assigned to exterminate, she's tempted to tell him to finish his story before they head in there. He's always been an amazing storyteller; something about his voice, about the way he phrases his words, has been similar to the way magic incantations are spoken.

The aristocrat reads the look on her face, because he lets out a chuckle, his eyes gleaming. "I'll finish on the ride back," he promises her, and then unbuckles, throwing open his door and coming over to her side to open hers. It's only because he's so damned fast that he's able to do that for her, otherwise she'd have just opened it herself.

"Thanks." She tries to push his half-completed story into the back of her mind, instead focusing her attention on the mission ahead of her. The white paint that had previously made this sacred place glow is now greyed and peeling off the rotting wood. Half of the building was subjected to Mother Nature's wrath and has crumpled into a messy stack of broken splinters. The rest of it is covered in thick, bare vines, the ivy leaves unable to survive this winter's weather. Luckily, the door has been spared of the plant's clutches, and so that's where she heads.

Anri senses them inside, just as they surely sense herself and Dei. There are three of them, all of them smelling like fresh laundry detergent and springwater. That's what makes them all the more deadly: that invisibility, that simple pretense of being like everyone else. It's clever, it's cunning, and yet not clever nor cunning enough to get past the Association.

She feels no fear, no nervousness, when she throws open the mahogany door and steps inside. She knows Dei had to fight against his very nature when he didn't open the door for her, and she appreciates how he respects that this mission is hers, and he's just a spectator. If he tries anything funny like trying to test the waters for her, he knows she'll be upset with him afterwards.

Tension is thick in the air as, for five heartbeats, nobody and nothing moved in this church. They're all observing and scrutinizing the scenario, trying to find the quickest and easiest way to victory.

The Level Cs break first, and the one that lunges out of the shadows straight towards her is met with a clean, merciful bullet through the head. The sound of dust falling to the floor reverberates like a harmony made by the gunshot.

Anri doesn't move from her spot just two steps into the church. There's no room for Dei, and she hears the vampire sigh in amused resignation before stepping back to wait. Her senses are heightened, prickling with the concept of battle. Through the darkness of the spacious area, where moonlight doesn't really illuminate due to the grime-thickened stained glass, she spots the outline of one creeping towards the window, as if hoping to escape. The other Level C seems to be anxious, their weight shifting back and forth, back and forth, as if unsure whether to try and flee or to stay and serve as a distraction.

They're scared, and they have every reason to be.

But if they think they'll ever get away from her, they better think again. It's a little bit funny, in the most twisted way, how they know exactly why they should be afraid of her, and yet think they can escape, as if that's not the reason they should be afraid. Among all skilled escapists, all perfect-planned runners, all tricks-in-the-bag evaders, Kiriyuu Anri is renowned for one thing.

People don't escape from her.

Ever.

Her dagger, Lalalore, is held loosely and casually in her left hand. She won't be necessary tonight, Anri decides, and lifts her black pistol, Vie, up to take aim. As far as she knows, she's the only hunter to wield her primary and secondary weapons simultaneously, shifting back and forth as if it's second nature. She always carries and uses both of them, and as such, there's never a delay in her actions or movements, the transition from one action to the other as seamless as waves flowing over rocks.

Two shots.

And then she's popping her head out of the church, her eyes sparkling as they hand on Dei. "OK, finish your story, please!"

He stares at her for a moment, running a hand along his jaw slowly. His lips curl into a small smile in the same way when he sees the urging look she can't help but give him, and then he's leading her back to his car, picking up where he left off.

They're almost home when, abruptly, Dei cuts himself off mid-sentence and smiles brilliantly out his window, giving a little bow of his head. Curiously, Anri leans over to look out his window as well, her hair falling over her shoulder now that she's let it down again. She blinks in surprise when she sees Zero in the car next to them, coming home from the Association. He looks tired, but that's to be expected. Usually her parents, despite being very busy and such a vital part of the Association, take care to only work regular hours so that Kou and her know what it's like to have a regular lifestyle. If anything, they try to do most of their work at home, so that they're at least there with them. However, for the past few days, it seems that some mistake was made by a newly transferred hunter, and therefore as the President, he has to go and clear the problem himself. It must be pretty serious, if it's taking so much time for him to sort out; he's always been very efficient and quick with his work.

Through the tiredness, he gives them a slight smile, relief in his eyes at seeing her unharmed and smiling at him brightly. The road ahead is too narrow for both cars to fit through, so the silver-haired hunter gestures for the two of them to go on ahead. After some battle of gestures based on courtesy, Dei sighs and relents reluctantly. He pulls ahead, and the two vampires notice that although Dei hadn't picked up much speed, Zero's car seems to be getting smaller and smaller.

He's trying to give them some semblance of privacy, as if they needed it.

She laughs when Dei mutters, "Zero-san, really?" under his breath, sounding half hurt and half flattered. The two talk more about his trip and about what she's been doing as they ride back to the house. He walks her to the front door but doesn't intend to come in because it's late, and says that he'll exchange pleasantries with her parents tomorrow morning when it's "more decent." It's so like Dei, and she can't help but laugh at him when he says it.

His vivid cerulean eyes sparkle like he knows it's kind of ridiculous, but he follows his chivalric code nonetheless, and waits until she's shut the door behind her before he turns and heads back to his car.

Inside the warm household, Anri takes off her shoes and coat, hanging it back up properly and making sure her shoes are aligned. Her ears pick up the rhythm of heartbeats in the house, and she's surprised to find both her brother and her mom already asleep. Levi, River, and Sei had already gone, and the house is somehow too quiet. Although not an early sleeper compared to most people, she's usually the first to retire for the night, her mom usually the last. It's why she's so unused to this silence; she's far more attuned to the constant background noises of her loved ones doing something.

Her mother's heartbeat is faster than usual, but there doesn't seem to be any distressed movements. Kou's heartbeat, on the other hand, beats the usual slow, steady rhythm that suggests he's not dreaming.

The younger twin has just finished nursing a glass of organic apple juice, about to rinse it off, when a scream shatters the quiet she's been trying to accommodate to. It's a piercing, bloodcurdling sound, agonized and horrified and desperate all at once. The sound of tears mix in with it, and Anri's never heard anything like that before in her life. It startles her so deeply that she drops the cup, her heart in her throat, her eyes as wide as saucers as she whips her head towards the upper floor. She's frozen in place for two seconds before she's running out the kitchen and up the stairs, ignoring the mug that lays fractured in the sink. Her heart is beating so loudly in her ears that she almost misses the sound of Kou jolting awake and throwing his bedroom door open.

A million things rush through Anri's head, but there's only one thing she can focus on: please let Mom be OK, please let Mom be OK, please let Mom be—her chant is cut off by another scream, although this one cuts itself off halfway through and descends into ragged choking. Anri's breaths come in and out quickly, in bursts, as she skids right into Kou's back at the doorway to her parents' room.

"K-Kou?" is her stuttered, fear-filled question. He's still as a statue, as if the sight in front of him has shocked him into immobility. Anri tiptoes and tilts her head up as far as she can to try and see what's wrong, to see if their mom's OK, to see what they can do, and what she sees makes her blood run cold until she's frozen, too. It's not as if someone has snuck into their house and put a knife to her throat, nor is it like they've caught her accidentally stubbing her toe against the bed upon waking.

She's never seen her mom look like that.

So scared, so tortured, so haunted. Tears glisten across her face, and the usually neat bed is a mess due to her thrashing. She's curled up into a fetal position, hands clutching at the sheets until her knuckles are snow white. It's like she's trying to make herself smaller and smaller until she disappears, until she's nothing but a memory. In that moment, she realizes that her mom, despite being the happiest and warmest person all her life, has suffered in ways that Anri herself will always be protected from. Because her mom had already endured them.

Fear strikes her harder, fiercer.

She can fight off any human, any hunter, any vampire that dares to harm her family. She can fight them and she can win and she can keep them safe, but she doesn't know how to fight enemies and demons inside one's heart, in one's mind.

How is she supposed to help? To save her from these nightmares that are plaguing her?

Kou makes the first move. He enters into the room slowly, approaching her shaking form. His low voice is almost too raw of a whisper. "Mom."

"No, no, no, nonononononono," is the one word that leaves her lips, sounding like a curse and a prayer all at once. She begins to sob harder, folding herself inwards even more.

"Mom," Kou tries again, louder this time. But she can't hear him, and he's just about to reach out to her when they hear the front door being slammed open. In a heartbeat, Anri feels her dad's presence behind her at the threshold to the room. As if sensing her worry and fear, he gives her a reassuring ruffle of her hair as he gently moves her aside to pass. He does the same to Kou, his eyes saying something like, Thank you for trying your best, you did well even though both twins felt as if they've done nothing.

Her brother falls into the space beside her in silence as they watch, unnerved and anxious.

Zero's still wearing his coat and shoes, having rushed up the house as soon as he made it in. He doesn't look at all scared or surprised by what he sees.

Instead, what appears on their dad's face is something akin to remorse, sadness, and gentleness. It's a strange mix, and Anri begins to wonder if this is how Zero used to always look.

"Ivy," he murmurs, approaching the bed. His voice is soft, gentle, yet strong at the same time. There's no hesitation in his actions as he sits on the edge of the bed and reaches out to brush some hair out of her face, as he tries to uncurl her fingers from their death-grip on their blanket. Anri flinches just slightly when her mom's fingers release the blanket abruptly and then grab at his forearm, her grip so tight and her nails digging into the cloths so violently that she's sure they tore.

Zero hadn't even batted an eye.

She's mumbling incoherently, but each sound is quaking and thick, full of choked-on tears and swallowed-down horrors. She brings his arm closer to her, as if it's her only safety.

His gaze softens at that, and he loops his other arm around her, pulling her closer. She doesn't resist, doesn't thrash, just lets him tuck her into his side. He tries again, and when he breathes out, "Kaori," Anri's expression twists into confusion for a second before her mind catches up to the scene and she remembers that it's Ivy's real name, the one that's almost been lost since nobody ever calls her that, not even herself.

Maybe that's why he says that name of hers like it's a hidden treasure.

"Kaori," he repeats quietly. "I'm here."

She shakes her head, like she hears him and doesn't believe it. For some reason, his words seem to make her shake more, and she burrows herself into his side as far as she can. Something like a broken whimper escapes her, and she shakes her head even more furiously. She chokes on and out apologies, pleads, broken explanations, and she shudders. The smell of Zero's blood fills the room as her nails penetrate the armour of his skin and rake down his forearm, her grip too strong and too shaky, but he doesn't pull away.

Instead, he runs his spare hand through her hair, and he holds her to him tight. He brings her up until he's cradling her, and he turns her face into the crook of his neck as he presses his lips into her hair once, twice, and says softly, "Kaori, I need you to wake up for me." The featherlight brush of his knuckles against her cheek, as if trying to wipe away the slickness of her tears, and something about it startles her.

She gasps violently, her bloodshot eyes snapping open. Her hands immediately fly up to clutch at the fabric at his chest, but instead of thrashing or pushing him off her like Anri expects, those shaking hands pull him closer, as if she just knows it's him. As a response, he obliges, and it seems like being awake and here brings about her fresh bout of tears.

Her voice, low and raw from her screaming and sobs, whisper his name. "Z-Zero…"

"I'm here," is his ghost of an answer.

"I-I…" she stammers, and then stops. The delicate syllables that her trembling voice makes cracks and breaks with her hitched breaths. "Stay w-with me please."

"I will," he promises solemnly. One of his hands comes up to cover hers on his chest, and he waits until she lets go on her own accord before he intertwines their fingers together, letting her hold onto his hand tightly. He brings the back of hers to his lips, where he places a tender kiss.

She lets out a shuddering breath. Her voice is nearly inaudible, but she says these words without tripping over them, without her voice betraying her halfway through. "... I love you." Her voice sounds so raw, so close to tears again, as she whispers, "So much."

Lavender eyes smoulder in the darkness of the room, only lit by the faint moonlight streaming in through the undrawn curtains. This time, it's him that squeezes her hand, and he tells her in the most gentle of tones, "Yeah. I know."

In those words, Anri hears him tell her that he loves her back just the same.

Kou clamps a hand on her shoulder, and she has to tear her eyes away from her parents to look at him. His expression is as unreadable as always, and yet there's something in his eyes that she knows is reflected in her own; the whirlwind of emotions and thoughts and revelations. But the knowledge that their mom's safe, that she's going to be OK, that their dad's here, is enough for tonight—especially because this is something so clearly intimate between the two.

She turns away from them and heads towards the kitchen, where she has her own mess to clean up, her heart aching in ways that she hadn't known it could.
She's never forgotten that tragically beautiful night.


BEFORE

[ KIRIYUU . FLYNN ]
year: X219
age: 17
birthday: February 14
th
fun fact: although every Kiriyuu is
very protective of Ivy, Flynn holds her especially dear, and thus is the most protective of her, and most inspired by herhence the reason why, despite having mastered nearly every weapon, his preferred primary weapon is his scythe named Callix.


"Flynn." It's a voice hissing in the back of his mind, and he chooses to ignore it, nestling deeper into the pillow his arms have created. It's proven futile, because the next second later, something kicks at his chair so violently that his chest is shoved against his desk, nearly knocking it forward and into the seat of the person in front of him. He lets out a little cough at the sudden pressure on his chest, and then rubs at his eyes tiredly as he tries to stifle a yawn. He's about to turn around and complain about being woken up from his nap, but he sees the question waiting expectantly at the front of the classroom.

His eyes sweep over the contents on the board, and in just a second, his half-asleep drawl is, "Cosin-theta equals negative five over three." When their math teacher, Aoyama-sensei, gets over her initial mild surprise, she simply nods and turns back to continue her lesson. Flynn's immediate desire is to fold his arms back into a makeshift pillow and fall back asleep, but a glance at the clock tells him that he's already slept through three-quarters of class, and so he doesn't. Instead, he leans back into his chair, tipping it onto its hind legs as he blinks his eyes blearily.

"Not going back to sleep?" is the quiet rumble behind him, full of concealed, curious mirth.

A small shake of the head. He reaches into his desk, his hand finding the exact location of the bag opening, and pulls out two little pieces of milk candy. He doesn't look as he throws one over his shoulder for Haru, unwrapping and popping the other into his mouth. He doesn't say anything, just tries not to let the haze of sleep once again overcome him. The sweetness of the little snack helps, but he's still a bit drowsy. The notebook that's sitting in front of him is completely blank, much like all his school notebooks.

Or, well, that isn't entirely true. Sometimes you'll find doodles along the pages, but those are never class-related.

He isn't sure why Aoyama-sensei still tries to catch him off-guard like this, as if she thinks his brain will one day suddenly not work the way it's always had. Or that his unnaturally high level of intelligence would've just dimmed overnight. He believes the real reason she does this is to keep him engaged and feeling like a part of the class.

Flynn truly appreciates her kindness, but he wishes she wouldn't call on him when he's napping. More than once, she's woken him up in the middle of a very important dream, and he can quite confidently say that he'd much prefer to stay in his dreams as opposed to in reality, answering math questions that take him a second to solve.

When the bell rings, signalling the end of the day, they all get up and bow in accordance to Haru's instructions. Immediately after, the classroom is full of bustling and hustling students, some of them running off to their part-time jobs while others began heading off to their club activities. Many of his classmates were chattering about a new movie that had just been released, featuring an actress by the name of Urase Meisa. She just turned nineteen thirty-eight days ago—he hasn't seen her since the surprise birthday party that her best friend had planned for her. She's been very busy though; he overhears his aunt telling his mom over the phone about it, although it's obvious even without words. She's been showing up on ads and commercials everywhere—she's become one of the it actresses and models as of late.

The last time he'd watched something of hers was when she'd just started her career as a rookie, eight years ago. She'd dragged him into her room and forced him to sit through the first airing of her debut as a side character in some tragic movie, making sure he didn't fall asleep, and then asked him for feedback after. He'd never been particularly interested in things of that sort even when he was nine-years-old, preferring other things like playing the koto.

He told her he didn't know anything about acting, but that she seemed decent enough.

From the buzz of the room and the amount of praise she's been getting, she's definitely more than "decent enough" now. He makes a mental note to watch her latest movie the next time he gets the chance… and isn't too tired. Or hungry.

Or both.

… Then again, he knows exactly which theatres have those especially comfy seats, and it's never hard to sneak in a snack or two.

"Do you really have time to be thinking about food right now?" comes the half-amused half-chiding inquiry that breaks him out of his reverie and brings him down from his little daydream. Haru is standing by his desk, dark auburn hair falling into bright gold and dark grey eyes that peer at him, the intensity of them not at all obscured by the dark frames he wore. He has his bag swung over his shoulder, fingers loosely holding the straps, as if his bag weighs nothing even though it has a minimum of three notebooks and two textbooks in there. He's holding the empty candy wrapper between his long, slender fingers.

"It's new. Like it?" is Flynn's question, followed by a stifled yawn and a rub of his eyes after gesturing to it. He doesn't ask how Haru had basically read his thoughts—despite always being told he's too invulnerable, too expressionless, too hard to read, the Tashiro has always been able to see right through him as if he was glass. It's an uncanny perceptiveness, an unsettling ability. But Flynn doesn't mind it; maybe because he sees through his best friend the exact same way.

Haru contemplates for a brief moment, lips twisting slightly. "I prefer last week's. I'll grab a pack on my way home."

The wavy-haired genius closes his unused notebook, slipping it back into his desk. As he stands, throwing an arm through the straps of his schoolbag, his spare hand comes out to pick up all the candy wrappers on his desk. "I want the grape gummies, too."

"You have two packs of those left," is the rejection.

"Please?" is the puppy-dog plead. Or, well, as close as Kiriyuu Flynn ever gets to puppy-dog looks. He's been told that his eyes don't sparkle enough to master such a countenance, but that never stops him from trying his best—food is on the line—-especially when the next reaction is:

"Fine." Haru scowls even as he says it, his hands clenching at his sides, as if it pains him to get the word out. Despite the serious and studious demeanour he has, he's surprisingly weak to Flynn. And of course, like the best friend he is, there's no way the red-brown brunet doesn't take advantage of that.

He reaches into his desk and pulls out a handful of another type of candy—the hard soda kinds—and unzips Haru's bag, throwing them all in there. His expression doesn't change even when he meets the blank stare of the student president. "Thanks."

Unfazed and not even annoyed by these strange behaviourisms, Haru simply glances at the clock. He opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off when the door to their classroom slides open with brutal force and a panting, out of breath voice calls Flynn's name.

He doesn't even need to turn around to know who it is.

Spencer Sachiko.

Pushing his glasses up, Haru's lips twitch upwards at the corners just slightly. "Right on time. Work hard with your club activities." And that's his parting as he walks away, bowing goodbye to everyone, and saying he's got errands to run to those who ask him to stay or play.

For a moment, Flynn remains motionless, staring straight ahead where his best friend has just been. A window displaying the clear baby blue sky was the replacement view, rimmed on one side with flowing leaves and branches, and the other with the rest of the academy building. He knows that Haru knows that this isn't his club. Though the Tashiro doesn't have eidetic memory like he does, he knows that Haru doesn't have that poor of a memory. And yet he doesn't stop referring to it as such—as if he hopes that by repetition of the phrase, it'll carve itself into Flynn's mind and make it seem more natural and less like a burdening inconvenience.

Every time she comes up here, halfway demanding and halfway requesting him, he's seized with this uncomfortable obligation to actually help her, and that's where the problem is.

He doesn't know how to.

Just the thought of the next few hours tires him out, and he lets out the smallest of sighs as he turns to face her. It isn't that he's annoyed by her, nor her near-daily adventures all the way to his class. Towards her, Flynn feels as he does for practically everyone and everything—simple, pure, and straightforward nonchalance. However, the situation he's managed to get himself in…

Well, actually, it's Koto's fault. She thinks she can rat him out and not have him know it was her, but he could've sworn he felt a shiver crawling down his back the moment she'd said something about him.

"Spencer-san," he greets in his usual shade of monotone. She's straightened out of her winded position, now standing with one hand still loosely holding the door handle. She has her school bag hanging off her shoulder. Her light brown hair is braided along the side as usual, her bright green eyes full of something akin to passions and spirits. She always has some kind of sparkle in her eyes that he rarely ever does.

"Kiriyuu-kun." He expects her to request he go to the club again, and he feels faint surprise thread through him when she smiles at him and asks instead, "Do you mind going shopping with me? There's some supplies I need to buy in preparation for the tournament, but everyone is so busy practicing, so..."

In just a second, a million different scenarios flash through his mind. He conjures up multiple simulations of what he could say, what she could say in return, and the resulting consequence of that interaction gone that particular way. However, even if his mind doesn't naturally and automatically calculate all these possibilities, it's pretty obvious which answer brings about the least hassle.

"Sure," he agrees flatly.

"But I really need some help and you're—wait." She stops short of her rehearsed follow-up, having experienced a ninety-six point six-seven rejection rate from him. She blinks her widened eyes at him, the disbelief clear on her face. "Did you just say yes?"

He tilts his head at her. "Shall I take it back?"

"No!" she exclaims hastily, her voice a burst of sudden volume with that word, as if someone had abruptly cranked up the dial on the radio in one swift motion. She lets out a nervous, shy little laugh when other loitering classmates look over at her with confused and somewhat wary expressions. Her face is a little pink as she begins to mumble. "I mean, no, please don't. I would really appreciate your help."

He doesn't say anything else. Instead, he crosses over to where she is, letting his fist loose over the garbage can by the door. The empty, audaciously foiled candy wrappers fall like too-large confetti into the trash, and he feels her eyes burning into him. He knows why people stare so much—at him, at his siblings, at Haru, at Koto, at any and all of those that carry Tashiro blood—and yet despite his title as a mastermind and an unprecedented genius, he still can't quite understand the fascination, the rapture. Even if he asks, he knows that their answers won't necessarily be accurate. Most people, he's noticed, can't exactly express their thoughts well, let alone their thoughts about something as abstract and vague as feelings.

Flynn looks over at her, and it seems that he's surprised her, because she immediately tenses and stares at him like a deer caught in headlights. His expression is as indifferent and as immovable as it always is. "Where to? You lead."

"E-Eh? Ah, right! Sorry!" She practically jumps out the door, her shoulders, arms, and legs all stiff as she hurries down the hallway. He wonders, for just a fleeting moment, why she specifically came to ask him to help her with this if he makes her so jittery. Surely she has other friends that she can rely on, or at the very least, another member of the club that she trusts enough to pull away from practice for one day.

But he dismisses his thoughts as soon as they come, because they don't really matter anyway. Who and where she puts her trust isn't any of this business, nor is he interested in it. What she wants from him, as well, is not something he dwells on. Whatever it is, he'll either be able to give it, or he won't, because she sure as hell won't be able to take anything from him that he doesn't have.

It takes him no effort at all to catch up to her, his strides longer and smoother and, despite his carefully suppressed vampiric and hunter abilities, simply faster than hers. He slows down to perfectly match her pace when he falls one step behind her, and though she notices him, she doesn't say anything, her head still ducking down a little.

Because she remains silent, and because Flynn doesn't mind silences in the least, not a single word passes between the two even as they're changing their shoes. He'd gotten stopped by classmates that asked him to go see the Urase Meisa film with them, and also by girls that wanted to give him little treats for whatever reason. Spencer never stopped once to accommodate these mini-ambushes, but the conversations end fast, and he finishes slipping on his outdoor shoes just a handful of seconds after her.

It's sunny and warm outside, the skies clear and bright. Cool breezes dance by and play with their clothes and their hair, and being outside in such fair weather appears to relax her, as the tension in her body slowly ebbs with every step they take down the path leading to the school gates. It smells of a rich spring, of warm sunlight tones, of elegant blossoming flowers, of fresh and quivering rebirth. Though Flynn doesn't have a season he loves, if he has to choose one, it would be winter, followed by spring—something about the idea of revival, of thawing from frozen and barren lands into prosperous life, into a wealth of energy and spirit, is pleasant.

However, he can't help but enjoy winter more. Despite the cold and the monochromatic scenescapes that would fall over the world during the cold season, the winter wonderlands were Mother Nature's magical gift, and they were beautiful. However, more than that, winter always feels the warmest to him. The season where, more than ever, his most treasured memories were brought into existence.

Though he feels, smells, and hears her rather than sees her, he makes no move of objection when her hand randomly comes up to pat his hair down, as if trying to smooth away the mess of disheveled red-brown waves. It proves to be futile, something that she already knows after many years of experience, but it appears to be habit for her.

"You sure have some guts to be strolling outta here when you should be at your club," are the first words out of Tashiro Kotori's mouth, middle child of the ones from Uncle Satoshi and Aunt Allaryce's family. Due to an incident that happened when she was fifteen, she was out of school for a year, pushing her back a grade. The threatening tone of her voice is incongruent to the way she'd stroked his hair earlier, and when he spares her a glance from the corner of his eyes, he's met with an arched, expectant eyebrow and wide, glinting eyes the same colour as Haru's. Her hair, a light auburn and yet more orangey-red than brown, rustles with the breeze, the straight strands reaching just three inches past her collarbones. The elegance that is her form and presence is traitor to her demeanour the moment she opens her mouth.

"I am," he says, and then makes some vague gesture towards Spencer, who's clearly listening in on their conversation because she's tensed up all over again. He knows that his parents have had a good relationship with the Spencers since a long time ago, but they'd moved abroad for a while, and he met her for the first time at school this year, when she transferred. "Club Pres needs help getting supplies."

"Ehhh, is that so?" is the contemplative, but not quite convinced answer. This time betraying her spitfire personality, she's actually quite good at reading and understanding others. She turns her gaze onto the younger woman that had scurried a few steps ahead when Koto had joined him.

He lifts an arm leisurely, throwing a hand up in front of her face to block her view. Immediately, the mismatched eyes, gold and grey, flick over to him. His flat tone attempts, and fails miserably, at being lighthearted. "Stop. How scary. She's your cute kouhai, you know?"

Of the trio of cousins from Uncle Satoshi's side, Koto has the sharpest gaze, whereas River, the eldest of them, has the heaviest. Haru's is the most unnerving, however. He either looks at you like you're the only thing he sees, or he looks at you like you're a theory he's picking apart and analyzing with every intention to render obsolete.

"How rude." She scowls, folding her arms across her chest. "This is just my face."

"Yeah, yeah," he dismisses. Her eyes are only ever like that when she wants them to be. The talks about her are always a background buzz, as are the whispers and swoonings over Haru. He hears his name thrown into the mix as well, and although he treats what others say with a grain of salt, he still listens. It's part of the observation process, and he can't stop that part of him. Based on everything people say, and the way they look at her, even if she's constantly making people's hairs stand on end with that piercing stare of hers, they would still adore her.

Her phone vibrates in her hand, and she glances at it. Her eyes widen and she stops in her tracks, typing a reply furiously. Those doe-like orbs are bright with something akin to excitement, and the corners of her lips are tilting upwards.

Flynn doesn't stop to wait for her, but he puts a hand on her head as he passes, following after Spencer Sachiko. "See you."

"I'm coming over with Haru tonight!" she calls after him, as if he hasn't already predicted it. It's a Tuesday, and she always comes with him to visit on Tuesdays. Like most people, she adores his family. It isn't hard to see why. Kou and Anri, despite being ninety-nine-years-old, have spent the last seventeen years here with them. They obviously had other duties to do, other plans they intended to complete, and yet they came back as soon as they heard of his existence in Ivy's womb.

He grew up with an older brother, an older sister, and parents who all loved him very, very much. Despite the difference in their ages, and although it was painfully obvious just how much more wisdom and experience they had, he's never once felt as though the gap in their years have created distance between them. They act like any older siblings would—as if they were less than six years apart rather than eighty-two. They support him, take care of him, guide him, and yet are also fun and understanding. He's never, not even once, felt as if he's been deprived of that sibling connection with them.

It's something very precious to him, and he'll never be able to express just how grateful he is for their actions.

The youngest Kiriyuu also knows that, if by any chance his parents decide to have more children, they will all gather together again to provide the same connections for that child.

Flynn doesn't glance back, his gaze always forward, and just lifts a hand to say he's heard her. It appears that the shopping Club Pres needs to do isn't within the local area surrounding the school, because she begins heading towards the train station. He remains behind her, somewhat lost in his own thoughts. He's curious about what's going to be for dinner tonight, about whether or not Ivy has baked something today, and about what he wants her to bake next. There are so many options, and he wants a bit of everything, though it's impossible to ask. Maybe he should request a surprise, one that he's never had before. At least that way—

"... Does she not like me?"

He's been so absorbed in his thoughts that her voice breaking his reverie feels like a slap to his face. It takes him a brief moment to return back to reality, where he is unfortunately not seated in front of a buffet full of food and desserts, and instead getting on the train that's only somewhat packed. It's far from rush hour, and many students tend to stay for extracurriculars. She's standing beside him, one hand gripping the loops to keep herself steady, her eyes staring straight out the window ahead with a resolute look on her face.

"Koto?" he asks for clarification when she makes no move to give it to him.

"Yes."

"No," he answers simply. His eyes close when the train begins to move, the soft rocking motions and the spring air making him drowsy. He's not upset that they weren't able to get seats; believe it or not, he's almost mastered the art of sleeping upright.

Except he can't, because she starts talking again.

Skepticisim lines her tone. "How do you know that she doesn't?"

Flynn keeps his eyes shuttered, feeling the tips of his hair tickling his face and yet too lazy to move. "Because she's Koto."

Frustration this time. "What does that even mean?"

"Did you ever give her a reason to?" he asks, slowly opening his eyes to peer out at their reflections in the glass of the window. Their eyes clash through that half-mirror, enchanting mauve and bewitching green colliding against solid jade, and he feels her tense immediately under his gaze. Not an unusual reaction, and it doesn't faze him. Even those that are used to seeing heterochromia as a result of relations with Kou or Anri are a little startled when meeting his eyes for the first time. Uncle Satoshi told him once that it was nearly unheard of for someone with Tashiro blood within them to not inherit the blazing gold iris they all shared. They'd considered Aunt Lydia an anomaly for being born without the signature heterochromia, but nonetheless, her eyes had been the usual Tashiro gild. Flynn is the complete opposite.

Acquiring the mismatched eyes, and yet not the second half of the Tashiro signature of sunlight and cheer.

Sometimes the possibility theories on why would plague and consume his mind. He'd stay up at night wondering and wondering, his brain buzzing with so many ideas as he tried to connect all the dots. Yet no matter how much he's pondered over it, he's still yet to reach an answer. It isn't that his difference bothers him—he's simply curious regarding the reason why, and the fact that he can't figure out the logistics behind it only further spurs his interest.

He'll figure it out someday.

For now, he wonders if he'll get the chance to take a two-minute power nap on this train ride before they get off at wherever they're going.

Spencer's lips have twisted in thought, and she shakes her head slowly, hesitantly. "... No, I don't think so?"

"Then she doesn't hate you." It's a very elementary concept, if you ask him. Hate or dislike must, at the very root, stem from something. If Spencer has done nothing, and of course she hasn't, as they've only glimpsed each other for a grand total of three times, then that leaves the possibility of ill feelings such as envy, jealousy, and whatnot. Koto isn't a saint, and though capable of feeling such emotions, it's unlikely they would be directed at someone like Spencer. There is nothing that Spencer possesses—either physically, internally, materialistically—that Koto has any reason to be envious about.

It's just fact.

And as such, it isn't logically possible for Koto to hate Spencer.

"But—"

"That's just how Koto is," he interrupts, the flatness of his tone doing nothing to soften the cut-off. But he knows what she wants to protest, and it's invalid. Already sensing another objection bubbling up the girl's throat, he adds bluntly, "She isn't the type to play nice."

Maybe that isn't the best thing to say, because he sees the brunette's expression freeze and wan a little. Her laugh is a little shaky and fake, which matches her voice as she says, "I-Is that so…"

He shifts his eyes from the reflection of her to the physical form beside him, and she turns to face him as well. The stray, thin hair that frames her face are like wisps of smoke, and the freckles that splash over the bridge of her nose are like stepping stones for anyone that dares follow their path. She's looking at him intently with something in her eyes that he's sure he understands deep down, and yet doesn't want to decipher in the conscious levels of his mind, because he knows it's more like tragedy than happiness, and who doesn't want to be happy?

They say ignorance is bliss, and while Flynn strongly disagrees with such a statement, he also doesn't trust himself enough in the realm of emotion to say his hypothesis is accurate, and thus requires action. So he doesn't.

Instead, he comments casually as people brush by them, "Isn't this our stop?"

For a second, his words don't register for her, and she just blinks at him. And then she's whipping her head from side to side, craning her neck as she tries to read the signs, muttering under her breath. He purposely tries to block out her mumblings, but he catches every word, and has to wonder why it's his fault that she wasn't keeping track of their stops when she's the one who wanted to go on this shopping trip in the first place.

"Hurry, we don't want the doors to close!" she exclaims as she grabs him by the wrist and practically drags him out. He has to refrain from telling her that they still had five seconds before the doors would've closed.

They're in a familiar area—it's the main shopping district of the town, where shops from essentially every and all niches congregated in one spot. The area was designed in such a way that the stores lined up in two rows in all four directions, like a cross with the center of it being the breeding place of food services. However, many cute cafes and dessert shops were scattered in along the rows of stores, and those are often popular with people who enjoy taking their time despite the bustling nature of the area. Even now, on a weekday in the late afternoon, the crowd is huge. There are so many people milling about, chatting over food or laughing as they go from shop to shop. It's busy with groups of university students or young couples, with some businessmen hurrying for last-minute gifts and mothers trying to keep their children from running off.

"I wonder what we should get first," she muses aloud quietly, glancing around at the abundance of choices.

"Food," is the immediate answer that leaves him. He tries not to go over and drool over the colourful display of organic and all-natural customizable popsicles. Customizable popsicles.

Customizable.

She lets out a little laugh, not surprised by his answer. She seems to follow his gaze, because she says, "That is pretty neat, huh? Do you want—"

But he's already nodding and ambling towards the salesperson, so very curious about how he could customize his popsicle and what the limitations are and how it would all taste in his mouth and—

To be short, that new popsicle place is now his favourite popsicle place. And he intends to go back. All the time. As in, almost every time. He has to try all his potential combinations, and that's going to take dedication, especially since they have seasonal flavours. He's done the math in his head, and if he's going to try everything he wants to, including the seasonal flavours, it'll take him another two hundred and ninety-four visits, assuming that everything is as should be every single time. That means another two hundred and ninety-four very delicious popsicles.

He's almost back to drooling when he thinks about it.

The Kiriyuu is so delighted to have found such a great popsicle place that he doesn't even give Spencer any disapproving deadpanned looks when she shops for snacks and throws in something he doesn't like. He isn't sure why she asked him to come if all she's going to buy are snacks, a few rolls of bow string, grip powders, and new gloves. They're all small and rather light items that she should have no trouble with on her own—it isn't as if she's asking him for his opinion on anything, either. He's simply carrying the bags and walking around with her, trying his best to not swivel back and visit that popsicle shop again. But it isn't as if he minds. There are very few things that Kiriyuu Flynn minds, but he runs a mental list of possible reasons as he follows her.

"Kiriyuu-kun," she starts, pausing. She waits until he looks at her and tilts his head in silent question before she continues timidly, her eyes trained on the display of archery gloves in front of her, "Why… Why aren't you in the archery club?"

What a strange question. "Because I don't want to be."

"... Yes, but why?" she persists. She whirls to face him abruptly, and her eyes are blazing. "You love archery, don't you? And you're one of the best at it. You won nationals for two years already! Don't you want to practice it every chance you get, and to share those moments with people who love archery just as much?"

He stares at her for a moment, nothing in his expression or his eyes giving him away. There are many reasons why he doesn't want to join the archery club, too many to list. It's like asking him why he isn't part of any of the clubs that reflect his enjoyed hobbies, like calligraphy, or traditional dance, or flower arrangement. There are clubs for those at his school; he's just never had an urge to join them. His reasons are always the same, and are always out of reach.

It's hard to put into coherent sentences exactly why he doesn't want to join any clubs—they're just fragmented thoughts and feelings that he knows, but haven't put into the correct order. Thoughts and feelings like how, for him, it is because he finds these hobbies so delightful that he can't bear to commit himself to a club, where there is a limit to everything, every time. Things like how, for him, the moments of practice are sanctuaries that he lets himself get immersed in, and how he prefers those to be moments of solidarity. Things like how, for him, he knows they'll ask him to teach them his ways of technique, and he cannot teach them skills he's innately possessed, and thus will lead to awkwardness and unneeded burdens.

He just tells her, "I've no interest in clubs."

Emerald orbs narrow at him, and she looks like she wants to push him for a more satisfactory answer. But he must've looked at her a little differently, or maybe she just realized she's being too nosy, because instead of pressing him for details, she just mutters, more to herself than anyone else, "What are you interested in?"

"Food. Sleep." He pauses for a second. "Those popsicles from earlier."

Spencer lets out an exasperated, hopeless sigh, but her lips are curling into a smile. She pulls off the glove that she's been testing out, and says, "This is good. Wait for me outside?" before hurrying towards the cashiers, dodging between others that are shopping around.

He picks up the bags he'd left on the floor and heads outside, checking the time on his phone as he does so. Absentmindedly, he notices that he's gotten a text from Anri, but it's not what's on his mind. He's getting kind of hungry, and when he gets hungry, he gets tired. Moreso than usual. Pondering about dinner again, and hoping that they'll have a home-cooked meal rather than eating out, he opens up the text message. His eyes scan the typed words quickly. It's just Anri being Anri, as in she's texting him excitedly about a new flavour of candy she saw and is super eager for him to try, along with an attached picture of her and Tama, their beloved Shiba Inu, on their walk home. The youngest Kiriyuu types back a short, simple message of gratitude, telling her he'll try it as soon as he gets home.

He's slipping the phone back into his pocket when the door swings open and Spencer comes out, gloves in hand. She puts them into one of the less-cramped bags he's holding, and then smiles at him. "Thanks for waiting."

"Mm…" is his noncommittal reply.

"Are you tired?" The tones of an apology are leaking into her voice. "Sorry, I really shouldn't have—"

Something familiar assaults his senses and catches his attention, his head automatically snapping over across the street, where the door to a store is just being pushed open. The chimes hanging above the door faintly sway with the momentum of the movement, creating a delicate, musical sound. It's nothing compared to the warmth-inducing, beautiful laughter that immediately rewrites it, though. He's unintentionally cut Spencer off, but he can't help it; his body simply reacts instinctually, and the way his entire demeanour softens slightly upon seeing them is also natural to him.

"And now we've finished getting June's gift!" is the happy exclamation, the glints of laughter still in her tone. It comes from a young woman with long reddish-brown waves, porcelain skin, and luminous mismatched eyes dressed in a simple short-sleeved white collared blouse and pale blue skirt with a bow at the front. Straps of a small beige purse is thrown over her shoulder, and she's holding a book in one hand, the other intertwined with another's as she pulls him along with her. She's looking up at her partner with a grin so bright it rivals the summer sun. "I'm so excited for the party next week!"

"I know." The tall man, silver-haired and amethyst-eyed, is peering down at the woman with the most gentle look in those lavender orbs, the rest of his strikingly handsome features pulled into a hard-to-read default. He's clad in a loose maroon v-neck t-shirt, revealing strong collarbones and the grey-lilac of his tattoo starkly visible against his pale skin. The shirt's tucked into black jeans that trail long legs before hiding in black boots, a dark brown belt pulling the look together. His spare hand, the one not holding hers, carries the bags they've accumulated on their adventure.

"I hope she likes it," is the hesitant worry that Flynn's mom has. "June's so hard to shop for. I feel like we need to hold an intervention about how much Arashi spoils her."

The faintest of chuckles rumble through his dad. "I don't think we'll have much luck."

"Maybe it'll work if I tell him it's causing me to get grey hairs," she contemplates, her eyes sparkling with mirth as they meet Zero's. The hidden joke is in there, no longer as dark and bittersweet as it was back when they really were seventeen like he is now, but rather just purely amused.

"You'll make him cry," is the savage reply. Lavender eyes flick over to the side for a second, and then he tugs on their hands, pulling her to him and tucking her into his side. Their hands fall apart as his arm falls over her shoulder instead, and she's clearly surprised at the action before noticing the biker that's pedalling through the crowd as if his life depends on it. He's wearing a school uniform, and the look on his face shows some kind of desperate determination as he flies by, the crowd parting for him rather than having him dodge them. Zero murmurs into her hair, "Careful."

Despite their years together—it's been a hundred and thirteen years since they've gotten married, and a hundred eighty-nine since they first got together, to be exact—her cheeks still heat faintly. "Thanks." She shifts the book from one hand to the other so that she's able to reach up and slip her fingers through the hand that's hanging over her shoulder, the gesture so natural and so tender. She glances over in the direction where that frantic biker had gone. "It looked urgent. I hope everything goes well for him."

"... Mm," is his quiet agreement. His eyes flick over in that direction as well, but then fall back onto her. "Let's go home."

Her eyes linger on that point of horizon for a moment longer before she turns to meet his eyes, her lips automatically curling upwards. "Yeah."

They begin to turn away, his arm still around her shoulders, her against his side, hands still interlocked. Her silk-like strands of red-brown aren't the only things that glint as they head into the sunlight—identical rings on their fingers wink proudly at those who are watching. Flynn almost thinks that he's hidden his presence well enough to go unnoticed, but it's a naive thought, because as they turn away, their pairs of eyes slide over to meet his. Their gaze hadn't been seeking, nor random—despite his attempt, they knew he was there before he noticed them, and their eyes are bright as they clash with his. There are slight, soft smiles dancing along their lips and he knows it's for him. He doesn't smile back, but he can't help but watch them as if he's been put under a spell.

Zero looks away first, blinking slowly as his eyes redirect themselves towards home. His gaze, when Flynn had met it, was gently warm and fatherly. They told him that they'll be waiting for him back at home, and that he hopes Flynn will have fun until then. Or at least that's what he thinks his dad's eyes said; despite how often Ivy tells them that their dad's eyes always say things so obviously as if they're tattooed there, the trio of siblings can't quite agree. For Kou and Anri, even to this day, deciphering their dad's eyes is like trying to prove myths.

This leaves his mismatched eyes to fall onto ones equally disharmonized. His mom's eyes are alight, twinkling with joy and mirth. They always produce so much warmth. For as long as he can remember, for all his seventeen years, he's never seen her eyes look anything less than radiant. They whisper reassurances that match her sweet smile and the feel of her motherly embrace, all of it creating a sanctum that Flynn has always, always taken refuge in. He feels himself soothed and comforted by her presence, the tension gathering in his muscles ebbing away. She winks at him so fast that if he was a human, he would've missed it. Her smile stretches into a teasing one, and when she turns back to face the front, she murmurs something to Zero so quietly that regardless of how honed his senses are, he can't pick it up.

He wants to tug at her hair and tell her she's the one that taught him it's rude to whisper about people.

The Kiriyuu almost forgets that he's not alone, and he glances down at his stunned companion. She's staring after his parents' backs as they walk away, a look of awe and admiration weaved into her features. It's a look that his parents almost always garner—that stunned, spell-bound look like they've just witnessed something out of a fairytale. He understands it, because he's often subject to it as well, though one wouldn't be able to tell if they looked at him. It's hard not to be captivated, and try as he might, he doesn't not want to be captured by them.

There are very few things that Flynn truly loves and feels strongly regarding, and his parents are one of those very few, very precious things. More than anything else, their happiness is what he wishes for.

"Spencer-san?" He breaks her out of her daze.

"D-Did you see them?" is her stutter, her voice as stunned as her expression. She blinks a few times, as if wondering whether it's a dream, and looks up at him with wide eyes. "They were so beautiful. And they seemed so happy together. I feel like I just saw something right out a movie or a romance novel or something."

He makes a noncommittal reply, and begins heading back towards the train station, as he's rather certain they've finished shopping now. She falls into step with him a few heartbeats later, still seemingly in her daze.

Something snaps her out of it, and she whips her head up to look at him. He doesn't look away from the path in front of him, easily dodging the children running around playing pretend or tag. Her voice is hesitant, curious, and somehow hopeful too. He conjures up eighteen reasons why she could possibly sound hopeful, and none of them are good. He has to resist the urge to frown slightly at the thoughts going through his head. "Kiriyuu-kun, do you believe in true love? Or soulmates, that kind of thing?"

That's like asking him if he believes in destiny, in fate. Like asking him if he believes in myths and legends, if he believes in a kind of religion. If he believes in a universe that watches every move and listens in on every whispered secret in the night.

He doesn't.

These things, unproven and unprovable, are things he has never spared much thought to. Why would he mull over things that will never be in front of his very eyes? He'll cross those bridges when he gets to them, but until then, he's seen no reason to delve deeply into that realm of thought and musing.

And so, naturally, the word no is about to slip across his tongue and slide past his lips when, suddenly, his mind rewires itself as it flashes back to the scene he's just witnessed. Zero and Ivy together, so happy, so in love despite the years that have passed. Together, despite all that's been thrown at them in the past. He's heard stories from his aunts and uncles and from Kaien about them, about what they went through.

They've constantly said it seemed as though Fate has always tried to keep them apart, and yet Love rebelled and helped them find each other again against all odds.

Looking at them now, the way they are with each other, he can't help but realize he's always been looking at something akin to magic dancing in front of his very eyes.

True love.

Soulmates.

His head tips back, the sunlight kissing his skin. He squints a little against the brightest, the blueness of the sky almost hurting. He closes his eyes and opens his mouth to answer, his voice as quiet as the winds that carry it away.

"Yes."


YOU, I ADORE

[ KIRIYUU . YUUZAN ]
year: X289
age: 16
birthday: June 10th
fun fact: out of all the Kiriyuu siblings, he's the pickiest eater; in particular, he hates lumpy textures such as oatmeal, smoothies, rice pudding, etc, and he'll be caught dead before eating something as disgustingly mushy as
bananas.


"No way."

That had been his answer, and he'd said it firmly, too. With the hint of something like a menacing threat woven into his smile, into the way his eyes had glinted. There's no way he'd ever agree to something like that when there are more than ample other options—regardless of their arguments and protests—and maybe they would've taken his word, if it wasn't for that damned Riggs Carson.

It's because of him that they're in the situation they are right now: just about to enter into his home, all six of them, even when he's very specifically denied their presence in this place.

Yuu doesn't like people coming over. Nobody that he's known for less than half of his life, at least, and his classmates he's only known for two, at most. That's a very big discrepancy in minimum threshold time, and it grates on his nerves. It feels like his home is being invaded, like his privacy is being breached, and it's a sensation of violation that he absolutely abhors with every fibre of his being.

Their scents will linger for awhile, and there's nothing he can do to get rid of them.

Needless to say, Carson is an even bigger dumbass than first perceived, because everyone can bet their life on the fact that Yuu will make him regret what he's done for the next three decades of his life.

"Wow, your house is so big," Nakaoka Kaede, with wide brown eyes, marvels. "And it's so nice, too. I never knew..."

"It's not my house," he reminds her as he takes off his shoes and places them in their rightful cubby. "It's my parents'. Take your pick of slippers by the side there."

"Pardon the intrusion," Verma Devi says politely, bowing slightly as she crosses into the large, pristine foyer. Her dark brown eyes are steady, and yet it's clear she's a little nervous, too. "Is anyone home?"

The silver-haired hunter shakes his head. His dad's at work, whereas his older brothers are off doing a mission for the Association. Anri's off to attend a formal party with Dei. He thought his mom would be home—she's usually back before he is—-but she must be picking up Elsa, because she's not currently in. He isn't sure whether to be relieved or not. "Not for another while."

Carson, as cursedly charming as his dad, laughs a bit. His tone is bright and teasing. "Devi-chan, you're blushing."

"Shut your mouth or I will make you," is the human girl's gritted threat. She turns away, though not before they catch the faint pink that dust her milk chocolate cheeks. She's standing so straight that one would think a rod is taped to her back.

"Are you actually rich?" is Donovan Gino's surprised, awed, and somewhat incredulous question which holds absolutely no tact whatsoever. The blond human's eyes are as wide as saucers as they try to take everything in, from the large entryway with marbled floors to the neat shoe racks lining the side of the wall and the potted plants.

"Filthy rich," is what Carson says before Yuu can reply.

"Riggs." He turns around to look at the vampire who's supposedly one of his best friends, but is actually just a pain in his ass, and smiles at him with death lining his lips. "If you say something else unnecessarily, it'll get you into lots of trouble, you know?"

Baek Jaeyoon smirks from where he's taking off his shoes, one hand propped up against the wall. He's dressed as cleanly and as neatly as the house, not a single wrinkle or crease in the dress-shirt of his school uniform. The hunter's unusually light brown eyes, making them almost amber, are twinkling with mischief. "Trouble seems to be Carse's middle name, though."

"That is not something to be proud of," is what Devi says dryly.

Said man raises his hands up in the air, palms forward as if surrendering. "My bad, my bad. Lips are sealed. I won't reveal anymore of Yuu's dark, dark secrets."

Ellis Taylor comes up to Yuu, and offers a soft, kind smile. "I'll help you with refreshments. I think we should get settled in and start studying if we want to pass the midterm tomorrow."

A chorus of mutterings—mainly from Gino, Kaede, and Carson—and then they're seating themselves around the large glass coffee table in the main living room. Yuu can hear them fawning over the house and the furniture and interior design the entire time, and he's resisting the urge to sigh as he grabs everyone's drinks. Already he feels like this entire thing is too troublesome. It isn't that he has a problem with groups and crowds, though he doesn't necessarily enjoy them, either. It's just that he doesn't like them being here, in this place.

It puts him in an irritable mood.

He thanks Taylor as she helps him with the drinks and the random snacks he's gathered from Flynn's cabinet—knowing, undoubtedly, that his older brother would notice and be displeased—and enters back into the living room. Even though everyone's materials are opened up on the table, none of them seem to be actually studying them. Everyone aside from Carson and Jae are exploring this vast space like it's an unknown island that they've discovered. And while Jae has more etiquette and manners than to openly gawk, Yuu knows that his eyes are drinking everything in, too. He knows that many of his peers—human, vampire, and hunter alike—have never set foot in the place he's considered his home.

He never lets them.

Until now.

Once again courtesy of the damned Riggs Carson.

For the millionth time, he wonders why Hikaru has to go to a different high school and leave him with their too-carefree, too-careless childhood friend. All his siblings had gotten to go to school with their cousins—Kou and Anri with Levi, Flynn with Haru and Koto—and even Elsa gets to have Vernon and Leilani. It isn't necessarily that he needs Hikaru to attend the same school as him, so much as he feels like he's been betrayed by the principal of the thing.

He frowns as he flops down onto one of the couches, half-lying on it in laziness. He picks up his handheld game console from where he left it last night, switching it on. The shiny black device's screen lights up immediately, and he chooses to reload his previous data.

His cellphone vibrates where he'd left it on the table, and he glances at it for a second, debating whether or not to take a look, before he gives in. He reaches over with a grunt, and his eyes take in the message.

Speak of the devil.

I hear you're having a study party with Carse and some friends. At your place, is what Hikaru says, followed by a smirking emoji.

I'm going to burn him, is what Yuu types back.

He can almost hear Hikaru's laugh, softer and more like Aunt June's than Uncle Arashi's, in the message that follows. Have fun with all that!

The vampire sighs and drops his phone onto the cushion beside his head. He turns back to his game, aware that Taylor's trying to round everyone back together to focus on the real reason why they're invading his home. It seems to work, because they begin to congregate back around the table, but not before something catches Kaede's eyes.

She wanders over to the tall, vertical glass display case pushed into one of the wall openings, fitting so seamlessly it almost looks like it's been purposely designed as part of the house structure. It's where his parents put on display a lot of sentimental material, like a framed strip of gold-brown parchment inked with one of their favourite quotes from one of Kou's many famous debates. There's also a mason jar with paper stars of all sizes, colours, and hopes in there, all handmade from Anri as one of their anniversary gifts. The bow that used to be Flynn's favourite, too small for him now, is also in that display case, followed by one of his trophies for placing first in a national koto competition. A small, dainty basket with dried flowers, their petals tinged with the strangest colours and combined in unnatural ways, is also there, courtesy of Elsa's first wondrous science experiment. As for him, well, they framed one of his rough sketches of the family—he'd done it on a scrap piece of paper one night when he'd been bored, but apparently his mom thought it was far too precious to recycle, so she kept it.

None of these things are what catch the girl's eyes, though.

"Are these your parents?" is what she asks, sounding amazed.

Yuu glances up, though he already knows what she's asking about, because there's only one thing that would make her think that those are his parents. Sure enough, he spots the picture frame she's pointing at, and the contents in it. It's a candid picture of his parents' wedding day, right after their vows and before he kissed her. Their wedding took place outside, and so greenery is what surrounds them: lush, looping ivy leaves and vines, entangled in other trees. Delicate lavenders and baby breaths are in hanging glass jars, along with ribbons. He's in the standard black tuxedo, his silver hair combed back only slightly so it isn't in his eyes. Her wedding dress has a somewhat high collar and small sleeves, with soft gilded leaves designed along the bodice before flaring into pure, solid white tulle all the way down. Her long hair has those same leaves in the braids that decorate them, her veil behind her. Their hands that are closest to the camera are intertwined, a wedding band glinting on his slender finger. His mom's other hand is covering her mouth as she laughs, her eyes crinkling in the corners even as they meet his so steadily. That's where her ring gleams. His expression is one that's graced with a soft, tender smile and the most gentle look in his eyes.

Even just from that picture, one can tell how much they love each other. Warmth and affection and happiness radiates out of it in waves so strong they're almost palpable in the air. When Elsa had asked, a few years ago, why she's laughing in the photo, she replied that she just couldn't help but feel ridiculously giddy and happy and it just burst out of her.

Very like her.

Cross Kaien had been the one to take the photo. He took many, many photos of them throughout the years. Yuu remembers two specific albums he'd gone through several years ago, one that had been full of just his dad, another just of his mom. Vaguely, he recalls his mom mentioning how the albums had been compiled during Zero and her time apart. Kaien had taken as many photos of the two as he could, so that they could look back and actually see snapshots of their time away from one another.

"... Kiriyuu-kun?"

"Yeah," he answers simply, when he realizes they're still waiting for an answer.

"They look so happy," she breathes in wonder, still staring at the photo. She almost looks like she wants to reach out and touch it, to pick it up and examine every little detail of it.

"They are. Almost disgustingly so." It's true, and there's nothing else to say about it. To be frank, he's surprised that they're still together, not because he thinks that they don't match each other well, but because statistically, people fall out of love more often than they stay in it. His parents are living, breathing proof that deny those stats of divorce, because they've been together for over two centuries and they're still as in love with each other as they were when they first got together.

It's hard for his cynical mind to wrap around.

To be together with someone for over two hundred years seems impossible to him. Keeping that flame, that passion, that happiness alight rather than succumbing to things like exhaustion, dullness, and irritation seems… difficult. Unlikely. If his parents—and his aunts and uncles, actually—weren't proving him wrong every second of every day, he'd laugh at the idea of true love and all that jazz.

Except he can't.

But he reminds himself that they're more like anomalies than exceptions, and he, himself, is more than likely to be neither.

Gino's meandered over there as well, ignoring the annoyed sigh of Devi. The shameless sixteen-year-old exclaims, "Holy shit, that's your mom?!"

"Donovan," is Devi's cold reprimand. She sounds embarrassed and horrified for him. "Do you have any manners?"

"What?!" he exclaims, his eyes wide. "It's a compliment! I mean, she's—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Jae interrupts, casting a cautionary glance at Yuu, knowing that the relaxed posture he's currently in is probably the most deadly.

Carson looks alarmed for a second, before he remembers that nobody's home, and he mutters under his breath, "Gino is so lucky that Flynn-nii is out."

"You've got your mom's eyes," is what Kaede observes, looking at him over her shoulder. Her head tilts in curious contemplation, as if trying to figure out which features of him come from his dad and which come from his mom. It's pretty clear right off the bat, though: aside from his eyes, which are the exact colours, shape, and even placement of colours—left eye means gold, right eye means emerald—as his mom's, he's like the spitting image of his dad. He's like Flynn in the sense that his eyes are unusual; they should have amethyst in them somewhere, and it's strange that they don't.

He'll never, ever admit it aloud, but his eyes are his favourite physical feature he possesses.

He knows that Flynn would approve.

"If you're not going to study," he begins casually, his lips pulling up into a sickeningly sweet smile that betrays the poisonous words that leave his mouth, "then please get out."

The two humans looking over at him pale a little, as if they're seeing everything underneath that smile of his, and they mumble their apologies. Gino scrambles to his spot in between Devi and Jae, whose side is where Kaede is positioned. Taylor is beside her, Carson following, Devi on his other side. Yuu isn't part of the circle, because he doesn't intend to study. He's no genius like Flynn, but he's in the top five of their grade. Besides, he doesn't know how people group study, anyway. It's far too distracting, and he'd rather not put up such an obviously fake and dumb pretense.

"Someone help me with math," Carson complains.

"What don't you get?" Devi slides her eyes over to him, tucking a strand of her raven-black hair behind her ear.

"... Everything?" His smile is small and sheepish.

"You're hopeless," she retorts, but still reaches over with her pencil to jot something down for him as part of her explanation on practice problem number one.

For a second, Yuu wonders if he can just leave them here and go to the sunroom, but the thought evaporates the instant it forms. There's no way he's leaving these people unattended in his home; for all he knows, they'll create havoc and he'll be responsible for cleaning up after them. He wants everyone exactly where he can see them, because hell will freeze over before he lets his guard down that much.

But he wants to finish that painting he's been working on since last week; it's all he's thinking about, despite the movements of his hands along the game's controls. He wants to complete it today, but from the looks of it, it's not possible—they'll be here for who knows how long, and it's not like he'd ever bring his painting here to finish it.

Aside from Carson, none of them know about his hobby. And even then, Carson only found out because he's the nosiest goddamn person in the world.

"Kiriyuu-kun?" is the hesitant voice that says his name. He looks over at Kaede, who's smiling a little awkwardly at him. "Sorry, can you help me with this?"

The hunter glances around, noticing that Jae's trying to get Gino to understand something about chemistry, while Devi looks like she's trying not to rip her hair out as she continues explaining math to Carson. Taylor's taken it upon herself to make sure the black-haired girl doesn't kill him, trying to mediate the two as they get into a scuffle over something stupid.

"What do you need help with?" he asks, his smooth baritone revealing nothing of his emotions as he turns his console back off, not bothering to save. He has a feeling that he won't be getting much time alone, with the way this group dynamic is working out. Mismatched eyes sweep over the books she's got opened up, figuring out that the subject is English.

"This," she says, pointing with her mechanical pencil.

Yuu can see perfectly fine from where he's positioned, but he knows that it'd be impossible for a regular human. The girl writes in practically size five font. So he heaves himself upright, swinging his legs back down onto the floor solidly. He props his forearms on his knees as he leans over to give the illusion of taking a better look, and then reaches over to take hold of one of her spare pencils, circling something with the lightest of strokes along her text. "This is a comparison word; so this is what you're looking for in question three. The words that come before and after it are just different shades of colours. Indigo is a dark mix of blue and purple, and viridian is greenish-blue."

"Oh." Her eyebrows furrow as she writes down a note about it, and then points to another question on her sheet. "How about this? How come this sentence is incorrect?"

He takes a look, and then begins to explain the fact that while it is grammatically correct, it isn't semantically, trying to think of examples in Japanese that would be relatable. He's halfway through his explanation when he senses the approaching presences; he notices when Carson does, too. Then Jae and Taylor.

The vibe of vampires.

But he isn't worried, because he knows those scents and those auras better than he knows the back of his own hand. He just continues on explaining, unfazed, and that's what he's doing when the front door opens and their footsteps come padding towards them, soft but audible in order to be considerate towards their guests.

He stops when his mom pokes her head in, smiling. She has her long hair flowing over one shoulder, and she's wearing an oversized navy sweater with white collars and black jeans, two bags of groceries in one hand. The other is holding onto Elsa's smaller one, who's too shy to enter the room full of strangers and is hiding behind the safety of Ivy and the wall.

"We're home," she tells him brightly.

Yuu puts the pencil down, standing up and heading over to her. "Welcome home," he tells them, taking the bags from her wordlessly—giving her a look when she tries to protest—and stepping aside so he can see his younger sister. She's wearing a big, pale pink cardigan over her white floral dress, and she looks at him when he appears around their mom. He raises his eyebrows at her, "Elsa."

"We're home," she says, her tone so quiet and soft that he's sure the humans missed it. Her wide eyes are pleading with him to not make her introduce herself or anything of the like.

His classmates get over their initial amazement and shock, because he hears them getting up to their feet and bowing, saying something about how they're sorry to intrude and how nice their house is and how it's great to meet her and all those other pleasantries. He just watches them, his expression not amused.

Ivy laughs. "No, please, you're welcome. I'm glad that Yuu's brought home some friends. It's really nice to meet everyone! Please make yourselves at home. I think we've got some leftover mousse cake in the fridge; would any of you like some?"

Everyone raises their hands and choruses, "Yes, please, Kiriyuu-san!"

She blinks at them, eyes sparkling, and tries to stifle her mirth without success. "Please just call me Ivy." She looks over at Yuu then, raising an eyebrow. Her tone turns teasing. "Are those Flynn's snacks I see opened up on the table?"

He smiles too brightly at her, faking obliviousness. "Are they? I thought they were Anri's." And then he heads into the kitchen with her bags.

"Elsa, will you say hi to everyone, sweetheart?" is the gentle prompt from their mom.

There's silence for a second, and Yuu thinks that the youngest of their siblings isn't going to listen, but then he hears her say, just barely loud enough for them to hear her, "I-I'm Kiriyuu El-Elsa. Nice to m-meet you."

Yuu doesn't need to see them to know that Ivy's beaming down at her like the sun, all light and smiles.

"OK, let's go put everything in the fridge!" is his mom's exclamation. The fast rhythm of footsteps as his sister darts past everyone and into the safety of the kitchen, where she can hide from their stares, and Ivy's more steady ones. She's just at the doorway between the two rooms when she pauses, and then turns back. Her tone is saccharine. "Carson?"

Yuu can hear the boy freeze. He swallows, just a tad nervous. "Yes?"

"Your parents are worried sick, so you won't be spending the night here instead of at home, understood?"

Yuu's hand closes around a bag of pistachios so hard that the bag pops, and he crushes some of those nuts inside his hand, the rest spilling in a rush of soft, light clinks. Elsa jumps at the unexpected sound, looking at him worriedly, and if looks could kill, Riggs Carson would surely be dead fifty times over just by that one glare cutting through the wall.

The reason that damned guy made everyone come over—the reason his sanctuary has been invaded against his will—is because the idiot is avoiding home?

Ivy blinks, surprised at the reaction, and then shakes her head slightly. She points at the mess he made. "Please don't destroy Kou's favourite snack. Also, Elsa, you don't have to help him clean it up."

"I know," she says quietly, but she's doing it anyway, crouched down as she carefully picks up the little nuts.

"Sorry," he tells his mom, the apology sincere. He knows that she has more to do than worry about cleaning up after his messes. He crouches down next to Elsa, placing a hand on her head, and says, "Thank you. But help Mom put the rest of the groceries away, OK?"

She looks at him for a moment, still worried, and he smiles a little at her—a real, genuine small smile—and then she nods her head. The tips of her hair, a darker red-brown than Ivy's and Flynn's and straight like his and Zero's, brushes against her arm as she reaches it out and hands him the bowl she'd been using to keep them in. She straightens up and reaches into the bags, pulling items out, joined by their mom just a second later.

As he picks up the pistachios mechanically off the floor with extreme speed and efficiency, he reflects back on how he has to take back what he said to Hikaru: forget burning Carson, he's got to do something much worse than that.

"Will any of your friends stay for dinner?" Ivy asks him when he pops up, all of the uncrushed and salvageable nuts in the bowl, which he places on the countertop. She's rearranging something in the fridge, and after putting some apples in, she takes out a container with the mousse cake she was talking about earlier.

"No," he insists in almost a hiss. Then he pauses, and looks at her. "Wait, are you cooking?"

She's amused. "Nope, Kou said he'll make dinner tonight."

Damnit. His oldest brother's cooking is just as delicious as his dad's. He raises his eyebrows at her. "Can you do it instead?"

This time, she outright laughs, her eyes like stars. "Nope."

He's disappointed, and he grumbles, "Yeah, no, they're not staying then."

"My cooking isn't so bad that it warrants as a means of punishment," she protests, putting some more things in the fridge. When Elsa hands her the last of it, she kisses the young girl's forehead in gratitude. The eleven-year-old's response is to flush delicately.

"I never said anything like that," is his super sweet, super spurious reply.

She's not convinced as she takes plates down and utensils out. She knows about his specific conditions for having company over, so she doesn't question why he's being more unforgiving than usual towards his childhood friend. She turns to Elsa. "Want some?"

"Yes please," is the feather-soft reply.

"OK, but don't tell Zero that I'm giving you dessert before dinner."

"I promise."

Ivy's grinning as she begins cutting the half-eaten cake, ending after eight perfectly proportioned slices—well, except for one, which is only slightly bigger than the rest. She gives Elsa one of the regular ones, and then grabs onto as many as she can carry. Yuu follows her lead, taking the others, leaving the one with the big slice on the island for her. He's just about to turn away when she tells him to stop. When he looks over at her, she has her eyebrows raised again. "You missed one."

"Isn't that yours?" he asks.

"Of course not, silly, it's yours," she says. And he blinks at her, because even though she just called him silly and is almost treating him like he's seven-years-old, he can't even find a hint of distaste in any fibres that make his being. Instead, he feels the uncomfortably warm, bubbly feeling in the pits of his stomach that he always tries to suppress.

It's mango mousse, his favourite.

He's never told her that, but she must've guessed.

His heart, in a specific spot that she's specially reserved, thaws like she's set fire to it, and he walks back over to where she's standing beside the island, but it isn't really the cake he's thinking about. He bends to brush his lips over her forehead for a second just because he doesn't know how else to tell her he loves her. She's smiling so tenderly, so happily at him when he pulls away to pick the plate off the table, and a part of him hates how he can't put these feelings into words.

The look she gives him tells him he doesn't need to, though.

He turns to carry the food back to the living room, where Carson's eyes meet his immediately. The vampire's smile breaks when he sees Yuu's, which is the epitome of death promises and no mercies. "Carson, let's have a heart-to-heart before you leave tonight."

A nervous laugh and regret in his eyes. Fear somewhere. "Sorry Yuu, I think I've got to go—"

"No, but you wanted to stay, right?" He's emitting an aura that makes even the others a bit on edge. There's no way he's letting Carson get off easy after this stupid stunt he's pulled. Best friend or not, certain boundaries are not meant to be crossed. "Spend some time with me."

"I really—"

"Sorry, but I wasn't asking," is his bright, cheery reply. He sets a plate in front of Carson with more force than necessary, though making sure he doesn't shatter the glass. Vaguely, he senses some more people approaching the house, but the comfort of their presences leaves it in the back of his mind.

"Aunt Ivy said—"

She's leaning over the table slightly, long strands of hair falling along her shoulders and waist as she puts the rest of the plates down. Yuu doesn't miss how Gino's eyes are wide as he stares at her with some kind of newfound adoration. "Oh no, don't drag me into this," she laughs.

"Donovan," Yuu starts casually, raising his eyebrows when the blond looks over at him with a dazed expression. "You know that my mom's married, right?"

"H-Huh?" is his surprised, embarrassed stammer.

The front door opens, and there's some low murmurings in the the foyer for a moment before simultaneously, they call out, "We're home," and gradually coming closer, their footsteps once again louder than usual against the hardwood floors in order to alert the humans of their presence out of politeness that, if you ask Yuu, is utterly unnecessary.

Both of Yuu's older brothers enter into the room with their dad in between them, just a step behind. They must've coincidentally met each other on the way home, because his brothers had been doing some recon today, while Zero's been holed up in his office.

Kou's hair, silver and wavy and undoubtedly inspired by Uncle Satoshi, is slicked back along one side, his bangs on the other side falling into his eye and then sweeping to the side. The black beanie he has on his head only serves to starkly contrast and highlight his hair. He's wearing a simple navy t-shirt underneath his unzipped black hoodie, and he's wearing black jeans to match. The sleeves of the hoodie are pushed up to his elbows to expose a left forearm full of black ink, the Kiriyuu and Tashiro clans' symbols the center of an intricate masterpiece. As per usual, white earphones hang around his neck and his hands are in his pockets. Flynn, on the other hand, wears a white sweater overtop a sage and beige plaid shirt, and charcoal pants to match. His wavy red-brown strands of hair are as messy as usual, and his mismatched eyes hold a drowsy look to them. The small mole in the outer corner of Flynn's right eye is what, in some questionable minds, makes his half-lidded gaze "sexy" rather than "sleepy." Their dad is the opposite. His lavender eyes are alert as he walks into the room, briefcase tucked under one of his arms, hands in the pockets of his black slacks. He's wearing a tucked-in, plain white dress-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He has bright red suspenders trailing along his form, courtesy of Anri, and no tie.

"Welcome home," the three Kiriyuus chime, Elsa's quiet voice barely audible in the hum of the other two.

Kou glances at the people sitting around the table for just a second, but it was enough to make their hairs stand on end. He flicks his eyes over to Yuu, then to their mom, who's beaming at him.

"We're matching," she observes, thrusting her arm out so that the colour of her sweater is against his shirt. "I also bought pistachios for you today!"

The oldest Kiriyuu sibling raises an eyebrow at her in faint amusement, and says, "Don't play favourites now."

Flynn's eyes zone in on the opened snacks scattered throughout the table, and then swing over to Yuu, who smiles without a trace of guilt. If your smile even wavers minisculely, he'll know, and there's no way in hell he's going to face his older brother's wrath today, not when he has to unleash his on Carson later. "Yuu."

"It's not—"

"Sorry," Ivy interrupts, smiling a little sheepishly when the middle Kiriyuu child turns to face her. "I told Yuu he could open some because I got home a little late and couldn't make snacks."

And Flynn, because he's Flynn and this is Ivy, just nods. When she beams at him and wraps her arms around him, he returns her embrace tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head, where his eyes meet Yuu's. Those mismatched eyes, green and purple, say that he doesn't believe that lie at all. They also say, you owe me, and Yuu looks away as if he doesn't see it. Even after they separate, Flynn keeps her to him, her back against his chest and his arms looped loosely around her shoulders, her neck. His chin remains resting atop her head.

Their dad looks at him, and then turns to his friends. "Studying for upcoming exams?"

"Yes, Pre—Sir," Taylor stumbles a little nervously over his title, catching herself. It'd be hell trying to whip up a fake explanation for why she calls him President.

"I see," he murmurs. His lips tilt fractionally upwards. "Good luck."

"T-T-Thank you, Sir!" is Kaede's stammer.

"Carson looks like he's going to need it," is Kou's amused jab. He slides his beanie off, ruffling his hair haphazardly, though one side still remains tamed and pushed back, bangs still in his eye.

A groan by the vampire, and he throws his notebook over his head in dejection. "A little faith would be nice, y'know."

"But you're an idiot," is what Yuu points out, not even intending to hurt him. Kou lets out a sound that resembles a barely choked-down chuckle.

"Yuu!" Their mom admonishes. "That's not very nice."

He tilts his head at her and blinks innocently. "It's not a lie, though."

Carson begins muttering under his breath, mostly unpleasantries that shouldn't be repeated, all directed towards the youngest Kiriyuu male. It's all in his own mother tongue, which is the only reason why none of them are reprimanding him about swearing in front of Elsa, who was very discreetly peeking in from the doorway.

Ivy's shaking her head, but her lips are quirked upwards. She tilts her head back and smiles at Flynn, who lets her go, before padding over to her husband. Her hand cups his cheek, just as his hand leaves his pocket to rest along the small of her back, holding her close. Before she can say or do anything, he drops his head down so that his forehead rests against hers.

"Hey," she says, laughing a bit though she's raising her eyebrow at him, like she's wondering what he's doing. "How was work?"

"Fine," he answers quietly. "Senri dropped by. Did he call you after?"

"Yeah." She's beaming at the mention of the maroon-haired model-actor. Yuu isn't exactly sure what kind of history Shiki Senri has with his parents—with his mom, specifically—but he knows that they've been close since they'd met, centuries ago. She's always so happy to hear from him. Since he travels a lot for his work, and because he's just too damn popular and is always so packed, he rarely has down time. Yuu has only ever met Senri twice in his sixteen years, and both times, he's felt as if the aristocrat is ten times more calculating than he is.

And Yuu knows himself—he's a cynical, cunning, calculative asshat to the core.

"Good." His dad doesn't seem concerned about how happy she is at the mention of the noble, and instead offers the faintest of smiles. He leans forward and brushes his lips lightly along her cheek, then reluctantly lets go and begins heading for the kitchen to where Elsa is hiding.

Kou leisurely approaches Yuu's adoring and frozen friends, plucking a chip out of an opened bag. He throws it up into the air, catching in expertly with his teeth, and then wordlessly follows after Zero so that he can start the preparations for dinner.

Flynn stares morosely at his snacks for a little bit longer before letting out a small sigh of resignation. His eyes shift away from the table as he trails after the two other Kiriyuu men, but he stops for a second, turning to look over his shoulder. His eyes pierces straight into Gino's, paralyzing the poor human. His lips part, as if he wants to say something, but the middle child seems to think better of it. He just scrutinizes Gino carefully for a moment, mouth clamped shut, and then continues on his way.

"Ooh, he spared you," is Carson's half-scandalized whisper.

"W-What?" is the stammering reply.

Yuu ignores the way the brunet leans in conspiratorially to fill the blond in about their family dynamics, instead practically throwing himself back onto the couch. He watches his mom disappear back into the kitchen where the rest of his family—minus Anri, who's probably on her way back at that very moment—has congregated, their gentle murmurings about their days and whatnot filling his head as welcomed background noise the way his classmates' bickering never will.

He grabs his plate of cake, sinks his fork in, and takes a voracious bite.


WINGS ARE MEANT TO SOAR

[ KIRIYUU . ELSA ]
year: X294
age: 15
birthday: November 20
th
fun fact: she has a slight ( huge ) obsession with koalas, which stemmed from both television and seeing them in-person when their family had gone to Australia when she was 7-years-old, and this means that whatever it is, if it has a koala on it, she is almost guaranteed to buy it… even
if she has no need for it.


She's currently wedged in between two vending machines.

I was so close, she agonizes, face buried in her arms. She isn't crying or even close to it, but she needs to take just a small moment for herself after that devastation. If she'd had just another two seconds or so, the words would've been up and out her throat and she would've actually said something back, but—she guesses it isn't fair to make someone wait that long for a reply. Most people would've said something like "it's OK!" right after the initial apology, not stare silently for five whole seconds.

A heavy sigh leaves her.

Footsteps are heading this way, the laughing voices of male peers following, and she panics for a second because there's no way she can be caught hiding in a hole like this at school. If she is, things will just get worse and that'll just make everything even more impossible!

So she jumps up, smoothes and dusts off her uniform, loops her arm through the straps of her school bag, and steps out between the snack contraptions shamelessly. If her brothers have taught her anything, it's how to school her expression. If she was Yuu, she'd flash a brilliant smile at her fellow schoolmates, throw an easy compliment or a joke, and then leisurely stroll away.

She's nothing like him.

Instead, she opts for Kou and Flynn's demeanour—nonchalant. Because if she can't even say something like "it's alright" to some poor girl who'd accidentally almost hit her with a volleyball, there's absolutely no way she can joke with someone without being some kind of nervous, sweating, stuttering mess. She feels her palms clam up just thinking about the awkwardness and embarrassment that would ensue.

But nonchalance is good. It works. Or, well, it's supposed to. It sorta does. Kind of.

The light and carefree laughter evaporates, feet halting, when they catch sight of her. She feels their eyes on her, and she's a bajillion percent sure they think she's so weird, but she doesn't shrink away even though all she wants to do is back-pedal into that hole and vanish because oh god this is so embarrassing. She just keeps her head straight—another lesson courtesy of her siblings. She spares them the briefest of glances as she pivots easily on her heels, red-brown hair and skirt swaying, because she can't help but wonder who she'll never be friends with. She catches all their wide eyes and knows that they're lost causes. They're dressed in dirt-smeared baseball uniforms, some with their gloves tucked under their arms.

At this rate, she's going to be labeled as so weird that nobody will ever want to be friends with her.

It takes every ounce of self-control and self-preservation inside of her to not drop onto her knees and bang her head against the floor, hoping it opens up and swallows her.

She's a good fifty meters away when she hears their conversation pick up in whispers, thinking she can't hear.

"... Was that the silent Winter Queen?" one of them asks. She can't place that tinge of emotion in his voice, and to be honest, she's a bit too scared to try.

One of them must've nodded. "Suits her, doesn't it?"

"I-I guess? I don't really know…" the first voice trails off, and she has to resist turning around to tell them she's really not as mean and cold as the rumours say. But she bites down on her lower lip to stop herself, because she knows she'll turn around, see them staring at her, and she'll lose any and all her nerves in two nanoseconds.

At least with a title like that, people think she doesn't talk to them because she has some kind of composure and dignity. It's better than being called the Blubbering Idiot, isn't it?

"Oiiii!" A familiar voice drifts down from above, and she stops where she is, her head automatically turning in that particular direction. She squints just slightly, because even though it's autumn now and there are clouds covering the sun, her senses are extra sensitive even for a vampire. Firm arms are held straight to support his weight as he leans as far out of the window as he can, even though he knows she can see him if he stayed in. He meets her eyes with a raised eyebrow. "Where do you think you're going?"

She's confused, but she's so aware of the people who are watching and listening that she doesn't let it show. Another lesson she learned from her brothers: never show weakness. She doesn't raise her voice as she says, "Home?"

Tashiro Vernon, two years older than her and one of her best friends, shakes his head. The brown-blond bangs he tied back shake a bit loose and fall into his mismatched eyes, brilliant blue and tantalizing topaz. "Not before returning my external battery you're not."

"So that's what I forgot…" she muses to herself, resisting the urge to reach into her bag and throw the object to him. She has a feeling that if it makes it into the target's hand so easily, there will be even more gossip about her that will scare people away. She can already imagine them saying how she's the Winter Queen with some crazy arm strength and will break people's necks if they come too close.

"C'mon up," he half-commands, half-invites. She hears someone in his classroom complain about how he isn't helping with their classroom duties, and the Tashiro throws over his shoulder, "Hey, if I hadn't lent someone my chem notes, they'd be doing the entire class' lab clean-up, so shut it."

He must've won that round, because his features are smug when he turns around. Seeing her still standing there, he raises an eyebrow, almost challengingly.

Elsa resists the urge to plead with him under her breath. She doesn't want to go up to his classroom. That means she's going to have to cross into the seniors' territory, and that's terrifying. They're all so intimidating, with a completely different kind of aura than the underclassmen. And let's not forget that the senior girls are extra scary because they'll never really understand why Vernon hangs out and takes care of her, even if they are cousins and she's his younger sister's best friend. Some of them glare at her and mutter about her under their breaths about how they think she acts all holier-than-thou, and Elsa isn't going to lie—it hurts.

It hurts to be misunderstood, but it makes her angry with herself for not being able to stand firm and just deny it.

"OK," she murmurs, because she's so keenly aware of people still watching them and it's the only word she can get out. She drops her head and pivots on her heel again, changing direction to head for the third year building instead of the main school gates.

Behind her, she hears a girl ask in horror, "Did she just ignore Tashiro Vernon?"

She almost winces at the accusation—she would never ignore anyone, let alone Vernon. But she can't say anything, because that means she'll have to go back there and face everyone's critical eyes again, and it's too overwhelming for her even in her thoughts. She can't imagine herself marching up to a random stranger to say anything, let alone to tell them off. It's—it's—it's just inconceivable.

Merely thinking about it makes her palms sweat and her heart race a little bit too fast.

She makes her way up to Vernon's classroom, trying not to show on her face that she's so uncomfortable and feels like fleeing back to the safety of her room. Or Lani's. Or Yuu's. Or her parents'. She just wants to be anywhere but here, but of course, she can't let herself show it. No weaknesses. Otherwise is just gets harder from there.

Thankfully, the halls aren't too crowded anymore. Many students have already left for home or club activities, but there are still lingering people in the halls, chatting in groups or hanging around the bulletins. She lets her mismatched eyes sweep across all the faces quickly, because she doesn't want to actually see anything but a blur of unknown faces or else she's actually going to turn tail and run. It's easy dodging the random scurrying body—most people, seniors or not, tend to part their way for her like she really is some kind of queen. They press up against the walls and watch her as she goes by, and whether they're terrified or awed, she can't ever tell.

She makes it to her cousin's classroom, and she knows he heard her coming a mile away, but he doesn't come to open the door "coincidentally." He's going to make her knock.

Hands curling into tight fists to stop them from shaking, she gathers enough courage to knock on the door quickly with her knuckles. She doesn't realize she's holding her breath until it comes out in a near-silent whoosh when the door opens and Vernon stands there, leaning against his broom and not his classmate. He's tall and slim, but leanly muscled, very opposite of his oldest brother, Takeru, and more like the second and third oldest of Uncle Arashi and Auntie June's side, Levi and Hikaru. Silently, she hands him the battery that she fishes out of her bag.

He takes it from her and shoves it into his pocket. "Thanks."

"Vernon," she stresses quietly, looking at him accusingly. He knows she hates all of this, that it scares the living daylights out of her. He—and Lani, too, actually—are always trying to "bring her out of her shell" or something along those lines, and it never seems to work well. Unless their secret goal is to make her anxious and nearly sweat out all the water in her undying body, because then they'd be succeeding.

A casual one-shoulder shrug from him, no apologies. "I need the battery."

"You could've just texted me," she says, tensing when she feels a group of girls walking by, their stares burning into the back of her head, her shoulders.

"Yeah," he agrees, sounding halfway thoughtful. Then he says, "But I didn't."

She wants to throw her hands up in the air in exasperation. If they were alone, or if they were in the safety of one of their houses, she would've. Instead, she just shakes her head a little and tucks a strand of red-brown hair behind her ear. "I'm going home now."

He raises his eyebrows at her. "If you wait for me, I'll walk you home."

"No." She shakes her head a little again and mumbles, her fingers knotting together in front of her, "I'm mad at you."

This time, a laugh barks out of him. It's short, but it makes her want to smile nonetheless. His eyes are glittering like the sun and sea when he looks at her. "OK, well then, take care on your way home. Wouldn't want to blow the fuse."

She nods to reciprocate his parting words, and then she's on her way. She knows he's watching her as she goes, making sure she doesn't do something dumb like freeze if someone gets too close to her, and soon she's breathing the fresh, crisp air of autumn. It lets her breathe earlier, and she takes comfort in it. There isn't even the scent of rain or storms, which only makes the smell of fall even more freeing.

Normally, she and the Tashiros take a shortcut off the main roads after a certain point away from school. One of the perks of living a bit far from town is how much forest separates you and everyone else. They always need to be very cautious about it—even though the coexistence of vampires, hunters, and humans exist, it's not totally safe—but it's much more comfortable for them. Attempting to move at the same speed as humans, although they've perfected it, is still an act that they need to maintain. That means, no matter how effortless it may come to them, it still becomes tiring at some point.

Today, instead of taking the shortcut through the woods, she continues at a normal pace through the bustling streets and down the long, winding road that leads to the place she calls home. Uncle Arashi and his family don't actually live near hers; they live in town, surrounded by the madness of it all, but Lani and Vernon come over so much that they live at the Kiriyuu household half the time. It's kind of like Hikaru and Carse with Yuu; they're over just as much as their other cousins. Zero and Ivy have said that it's always been like that—-Kou, Anri, Levi, and River were, and still are, an inseparable bundle. The same goes for Flynn, Haruto, and Kotori. She knows that Kiele and Seina from Uncle Trance and Auntie Lettie's side are close with Ryouta, since they all grew up sort of in the same age bracket.

It's kind of a wonder, really, how they're all so close. Of course, they have their own aforementioned cliques, but in general, all the Urases and Tashiros and Kiriyuus get along extremely well for being cousins. In reality, it's more like they're all brothers and sisters. Or, at least, that's how Elsa sees it. They're all one huge, mega-gigantic family, and she'll never have it any other way.

The moment she's within range, her nose picks up the smell of caramel belonging to creme brulee, as well as just-finished oatmeal and raisin cookies. The sweetness of it makes her nearly drool, and she just barely remembers to quickly double-check that nobody's around her—nobody is—before she hastens up her pace and hurries down their long driveway and up the pristine marble steps. She makes sure to put her shoes back on the rack properly, right where they always go, before poking her head into the kitchen.

Two backs are facing her, but they both turn around before she even says anything. The two smile at her, one brightly, one a bit crookedly. "Welcome home," they chorus together.

"I'm home," she greets. She perches herself on the barstool next to Takamiya Tetsuya, whose presence in their house isn't at all rare. It's weirder when he's not around on Thursdays. He's apparently a descendant of one of her parents' dear, dear friends, and ever since that friend passed away, they've always taken in the children of his blood like their own. It must be a little odd for him to realize Zero and Ivy—and her siblings—have probably known his great-grandparents, or even his great-great-great-grandparents. She isn't sure how far along the line Tetsu is, but it really doesn't matter. Flynn and Yuu are the ones who are sticklers for the details; the former mainly because he is literally incapable of not remembering details, and the latter simply because he's somewhat an insufferable know-it-all arse.

Elsa loves all her siblings to the very depths of her soul, but nobody that's ever encountered Yuu can deny that his character is definitely more than a handful. He's knavishly kind, brutally blunt, contradictingly charming, viciously vigilant, and surprisingly soft-hearted. She's seen Anri struggling to swallow her laughter when watching people take an initial liking to Yuu, knowing that they'll be biting off more than they can take in just a few short moments.

"You're home early," Tetsu comments, taking a bite out of the still-warm cookies her mom's made. Oatmeal and raisin cookies are his favourite; Ivy tries to make them every time she knows he's coming over. Such treatment is typical from her, though. He's dressed head to toe in black, with his fedora hanging along the edge of the island counter's corner. His light, waved tawney locks that usually resemble bed-head have been combed and smoothed back slightly.

"I didn't want to wait for Lani or Vernon," Elsa answers. She runs a hand through her angled bob, then tucks some of the longer strands behind her ear. She delicately picks up one of the cookies, taking a moment to inhale the scent appreciatively—her mom is an amazing baker, only rivalled by Uncle Satoshi—before digging in.

"How was your day?" As usual, Ivy asks the question sounding so sincerely interested. Her mismatched eyes, gold and green, peer at Elsa in a way that makes her feel so warm and fuzzy inside. With her keen, keen senses, she's unintentionally caught whispers of some of her classmates talking about their home life, and for the umpteenth time, the youngest Kiriyuu is beyond grateful for the life she's been given.

"It was…" she struggles to find the right word. "Normal."

Ivy raises her eyebrows. She wipes her hands on the green and brown apron that Flynn had skillfully made for her birthday a few years ago, after the last one he'd made had passed its lifespan. It's adorable, with a couple of cute deers along the hem, and ivy leaves crawling along the sides. The middle child is skilled in everything, and exceptional sartorial workmanship is no exception. Her long, rippling ribbons hair—a trait that Elsa absolutely adores and is upset she hasn't fully inherited—has been thrown into a high ponytail, some loose strands framing her face. She has some flour sprinkled along one of her cheekbones, and a smear of caramel along her forehead, and for the billionth time, Elsa wonders how the ethereal creature in front of her is her mom.

They're nothing alike.

Her mom's so blindingly bright and warm and sociable. She gets along ridiculously well with almost everyone she meets, and she has no problem speaking with strangers. She makes befriending people and charming others look so easy. But then again, to her, it isn't as if she's going out of her way. People simply gravitate towards her naturally, like she's a sun and they can't help but be drawn in by her magnetism. She's accomplished so much, and she'll only ever do even more. Kiriyuu Ivy is beyond imagination in all fields: capability, potential, kindness, skill, knowledge, and beauty.

On the other hand, Elsa is cripplingly shy and awkward and reclusive. She only gets along with family—or people like Carse and Tetsu, who might as well be a part of their family—and she can never say anything to people she doesn't know. Talking to people, let alone befriending them, is something beyond her abilities. It's so, so hard for her. People look at her and maybe they're initially drawn in, but they don't stay that way. They're soon repelled away, and make no more attempts, avoiding her like she's a black hole. In all the aforementioned fields her mom is brilliant in, Elsa feels she falls very, very short.

A hand holding hers and another at her cheek make her blink away her thoughts. Her eyes refocus on Ivy, whose concerned expression is floating close to hers now. "Are you alright?"

Silently, the fifteen-year-old nods. Her lips turn upwards a little as she flips her hand over and grips her mom's.

Ivy's expression is unconvinced, but she returns the expression softly. Her head tilts faintly to one side as she asks, "Did you get into a fight with Vernon?"

Immediately, Elsa's expression twists a little sourly even though she's internally relieved that her mom didn't press the subject. While both her parents have always been there for them, and have always worked hard to keep their relationship as parents and children very close and open, it's still something difficult to talk about. "We didn't fight."

Tetsu's voice is light. "You're just mad at him."

"Maybe," is her not-very-secretive reply, followed by a small pout that she isn't even aware she's doing. She vaguely hears a car coming up towards their house, the sound familiar and comforting.

A small laugh from Ivy, and her eyes are shining with mirth. She's very familiar with the new generation of Tashiro siblings and their quirks, hence knowing that Elsa isn't really that mad, and that Vernon really doesn't mean to hurt her. "Maybe some creme brulee will sweeten your mood."

Elsa eagerly takes the small dish and spoon handed to her. She loves creme brulee. "Thank you, Mom."

"Anything for you," is the beaming, yet genuine reply.

"Will I also have the honour of tasting your creme brulee or am I forever to snack on your cookies?" Tetsu asks, eyeing the tray on the counter behind her. His green-blue eyes are eager, despite the smooth expression on his face.

"If you don't want my cookies, you just have to say so," Ivy tells him, mock-hurt. She places a hand on her chest in a wounded motion, the ring on her fourth finger gleaming. Elsa isn't sure she's ever seen her mom or dad take their rings off. She's pretty sure they wear them regardless of what the situation is, and she finds it so sweet and amazing.

She wonders if she'll ever find someone like the way her parents found each other, if she'll ever love the way they've always loved. Can someone as awkward as her even find love?

"I—"

Ivy cuts him off, turning to Elsa and leaning in conspiratorially. "Can you believe it? He comes in here to complain about his workload at the Association and hopes that I can help and then disses my cookies."

"That is not—"

To play along, the youngest Kiriyuu whips her head over to pin him under her icy look, mastered with the guidance of Kou. "You're terrible."

"I know," Ivy agrees solemnly, shaking her head. "I feel like I should double his workload instead."

"I think that would be appropriate," Elsa says, face blank. A car door slams shut, and in no time, the front door is opening. A familiar scent and presence enters into the house, and Ivy's lips break out into a blinding smile before she blurs out of their view to appear at the entrance.

"Welcome home!" they hear her greet.

"I'm home," is the reply. They hear shoes being taken off, followed by the soft sound of a chaste kiss.

"Guess what?" she asks.

"What?"

She's laughing as she talks, pulling him along with her towards the kitchen. "I think we need to give Tetsu more work."

They could practically hear his eyebrow quirking faintly. "Why?"

Her parents are holding hands when they come back into view, Zero and Tetsu exchanging nods, whereas he gives Elsa a small smile. The President of the Association is dressed in a casual navy polo and white slacks, a black leather watch strapped to one wrist. Just from the way he's dressed, she knows his day was spent mostly in his office doing paperwork. Her parents are both near-workaholics, but they take turns for who gets to leave the Association early and come home first for her and Yuu.

"Welcome home," Elsa says.

"I'm home," he answers.

Ivy pulls him next to where she'd previously been, pointing at the plate of cookies resting in front of the sixteen-year-old hunter. "He insulted my cookies."

The silver-haired man stares at the sweets for a moment, then reaches out with his spare hand and takes a bite. After chewing it down, he shifts his gaze to the young man, and then shakes his head. "Unforgivable."

"No," Tetsu groans, shaking his head. "I really didn't mean it that way. I just—"

"Wants us to lessen his workload at the Association even though he's the one who asked us to take him more seriously," Ivy finishes for him, her voice light and a bit sing-song. She's grinning openly now, obviously having fun teasing him. "Then he ungratefully—"

"I am very grateful," he interrupts, the faintest note of desperation in his voice. He looks at the three of them pleadingly. "I just wanted some creme brulee, damnit."

As if to spite him, Elsa uses this moment to eat a big spoonful of the dessert. She gives him a small sheepish smile when his eyes narrow almost imperceptibly at her.

"Doesn't sound very grateful to me," is what Ivy replies with. His face crumbles into something horrified and he opened his mouth. Before he can reply though, she's laughing and handing him a plate of it, still warm from where it had just been sitting in the oven. Deciding to put him out of his misery, she simply says, "Tetsu, you're so easy to tease. Good luck with your future girlfriend."

Elsa has to choke back her giggle, and she knows she's not successful when he scowls at her.

"I'll be fine," he insists, though his voice isn't as confident as it usually is. He quickly takes a spoonful of the custard into his mouth, and practically melts.

Ivy beams at the reaction. She turns to look at Zero and asks, "Want to try one?"

He nods, but doesn't let her get one for him. Instead, he places a hand on her waist, and unlocks their fingers to lightly swipe away at the flour on her face and caramel on her forehead. His voice is curiously amused. "You're a bit messy."

She stares at the smear of sweetness on his thumb, and then reaches up with her own fingers to rub at her forehead more. Zero licks the caramel off his finger unabashedly, and she narrows her eyes a little as a reply. Her face begins to pink as she turns to look at Elsa and Tetsu, her voice both embarrassed and incredulous. "Neither of you told me!"

The two of them smile at her innocently.

"I thought you knew," Tetsu tries to explain.

"Me too," Elsa agrees.

Zero, watching the three of them fondly, chuckles.


It's a few days later when she wonders how her mom hadn't noticed the food on her face, but noticed something so much less conspicuous.

Ivy and Flynn have been away for a while already, having taken a small trip abroad to Switzerland with the purpose of visiting the gravestone of someone Flynn held very, very dear. Yuu and Elsa weren't born yet when she was alive, but Azalea Silvers had been Flynn's first, and only, love. Although he's never admitted it to her, she knows that a large part of his heart is still in love and grieving over the loss of her, hence his solitary status.

Something her family seems to be blessed—or cursed—with is the ability to love deeply and irrevocably.

Although the twins, Dei, and Zero all knew Azalea just as well as Ivy did, they typically visit and pay their respects on another day, letting Flynn time alone with her. However, sometimes her second oldest brother will ask Ivy to come along with him, and she always does. That was what happened this year, and they'll be gone for at least another week.

That's probably why she's here in this situation right now, sitting across from her dad in her room. It's a while after dinner now, and he'd changed from his work attire of dress-shirt, tie, and slacks to something more comfortable like a thin, loose sweater and a pair of dark sweatpants. He's sitting in her swivel chair, while she's sitting on the floor, leaning her back against her bed-frame. A wealth of novels, textbooks, magazines, and highlighted notebooks are lying on the floor where she'd been doing a mix of studying and research.

This is, to say the very least, extremely awkward.

Elsa is fine with speaking to her family freely, that's true, but that doesn't mean she's good at talking about her feelings. Sentimental things, no matter how close she is with her parents or siblings or cousins or near-cousins, evokes a deep, drowning sense of awkwardness within her. There's no other word to describe it. Awkward encompasses everything she's feeling, including uncomfortable, tense, and a tad bit anxious.

It doesn't help when Zero's never been known to be an emotional man, either.

Even the talk that came two years ago, after her mom had caught her blushing all the time when talking about school, and she'd finally confessed that she thinks she really likes a girl in her class, wasn't as bad as this. That talk hadn't made her feel uncomfortable or anxious or any less inclined to her preferences—on the other hand, that talk made her feel indignant, horrified, and frustrated with those that couldn't or wouldn't understand. However, Elsa had—and still does—feel grateful because while society still isn't a place without walls and prejudices, she knows that it's far, far better than before.

She rubs her sweaty palms along her checkered pajama pants, trying not to knot her fingers nervously. She can't pull her cold or nonchalant facades with her family; they see right through her act. And, honestly, her dad's gaze is so intense and piercing, it unnerves her so much she can't possibly imagine putting on an act in front of him. Her voice wavers in her unease as she asks, "What is it?"

Zero doesn't say anything for a moment, just watches her. Instead of making her skin crawl, the way it does when Yuu executes the same gesture, or having her blood freeze in her veins, an effect courtesy of Kou, she feels… unstrung, even as her nerves and muscles are tangling and knotting in restlessness.

Eventually, he says unexpectedly, "I'm not like Ivy."

"... OK?" It's more of a question than a statement. Somehow this just makes her even more uneasy.

"She has an uncanny ability to read other people, even in comparison to her siblings," he continues quietly, his voice a faint gravel baritone. "It doesn't mean she's always right."

Although not a genius like Flynn, she can still piece together things well enough. "She... asked you to talk to me?"

A slow nod. He links his hanging hands together between his knees, and then says, "She's worried about you." A pause, and his gaze turns soft. "She isn't the only one."

She isn't sure whether she should be horrified or embarrassed or touched or—or what. Her mind is whirling. This must've been because of what happened that Thursday when Tetsu was over and she'd spaced out for a while. She thought Ivy had let it go, that she'd forgotten about it, but now she knows that's wrong. Of course someone like her mom would've noticed and remembered. It's just that since she hadn't come to talk to Elsa about it despite the days that past, she'd gotten a sense of security, like the situation was just brushed under the rug.

Sending Zero in for this sort of talk has never crossed the young girl's mind.

Now she knows better.

She's so overwhelmed that she becomes tongue-tied, and she remains silent.

"... I don't particularly excel in conversations of this nature," he admits after a heavy moment. Even if that's true, unlike her, he doesn't seem to be a bundle of twitching, spasming, and sweating nerves. He doesn't even look a bit tense; he looks completely fine.

She, on the other hand, is a wreck. She wonders if she's going to have a small breakdown. Her tongue feels too big for her mouth, and the words slip out before she can stop them. "M-Me neither."

A second's worth of a chuckle, but it fades in the blink of an eye. She's left under his gaze again. "Will you talk to me, Elsa?"

"I… I don't—I don't know what to say," is her stuttered reply. When he doesn't say anything, just waits, she tries to plough on. "I never really do." A pause. "There isn't anything wrong, and I'm not not OK, I just…"

Her mouth clamps shut.

"Just…?" is the prompt.

Something is tight in her chest, and she shakes her head because she isn't sure she can speak. Her head tips down, her hair falling to create a shield between them as she watches her fingers tangle and untangle in her lap.

After a moment, he starts, "When I said I'm not like Ivy, I meant it in various ways." He makes a soft, contemplative noise for a moment. "The first time I met her again as an adult, I pulled Bloody Rose on her. I had her pressed into the back of Ivy's head and I was prepared to pull the trigger."

This made Elsa's head snap up in surprise. She's asked about how her parents met and how their love blossomed—she laps up any and all details, practically treasures the words of their memories more than she treasures her favourite koala plushie—but she's never been told that specific detail. She can't help herself as she blurts out, "What?"

His eyes are somewhat faraway, as if he's transporting himself back in time. A few centuries back, to a different time and age. To when and where it all started for him. "Yeah," he murmurs. "Do you know what she did?"

She shakes her head slowly. She doesn't, but she has an inkling.

"She tried to reassure the lost child she was carrying, and then smiled when she saw me." A small, rough shake of the head. "At the time, I wondered what game she was playing at. Watching her, I concluded it was essentially impossible for someone like her to be completely genuine, and I hated the act."

"... But it wasn't an act," she predicts, her voice nearly silent.

The faintest of smiles ghost along his lips. "No, it wasn't. The more time I spent with her, the more I realized she was an exception to the odds. It infuriated me how genuinely selfless she was, how she cared so much, how she always stuck her nose in other people's business. And yet I came to appreciate it all, to fall in love with it all. We've always been very different, and there have been times I've wanted her level of ease, her effortlessness in understanding others… More things than I can list."

"Really?" Her eyes widen just slightly. She hasn't ever heard him admitting something like this before. After all, despite not being a social butterfly like Ivy, it's impossible to have no social skills whatsoever if you hold the title of Association President.

"Yeah."

"... I get that," she empathizes quietly. She takes in a deep, almost inaudible breath, and her fingers knot as she tries to work up the courage to just continue. "I'm not like Mom, either. She and I are almost opposites."

"It bothers you," he observes.

Her first reaction is to open her mouth and object, but the words die in her throat before they leave it. She bites down on her lower lip, and she takes a moment to gather her thoughts. Her stomach is turning over and over in her stomach; a part of her feels like she's going to be sick. "Maybe? I'm not—'bother' isn't really… I just feel… inadequate."

The last word is barely a breath.

"Why?" he prompts.

At first, she shrugs a little, not sure how express her feelings or her thoughts. The upside is that she no longer wants to crawl into her bed and hide away—the short story of her parents have eased her nerves a little for some reason. She doesn't feel the need to flee from the conversation, but that leaves her with a lot of fumbling and playing hide-and-seek tag with her thoughts. She pulls her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She rests her chin on her knees. "It's—It's a little bit of everything. She's just so amazing. And I'm… not."

Zero blinks at her for a moment, his face as incredibly difficult to read as it usually is. He straightens his back slowly, leaning back against her chair in a leisure movement. His hands remain intertwined between his open knees. "She still can't quite cook."

The randomness of his comment throws her off for a moment, but she quickly catches on. "Mom?"

A nod. His lips tilt fractionally upwards. "A secret between you and me?"

She can't help but feel a little bit giddy at the thought of having some kind of secret between them, and she mirrors his expression, nodding. She'd never be able to tell her mom about her cooking, anyway. Not that it's terrible, it just… isn't necessarily that great. Thankfully, all of the siblings have been spared of her inability to cook.

"It's been centuries, yet it still tastes somewhat off," he confesses. "She's still scared of snakes, her familiarity can come off as audacious rudeness, she's rather forgetful and meddlesome, surprisingly mischievous, somewhat tactless, and has the tendency to jump to incorrect conclusions." He looks her in the eye unwaveringly as he explains, "People often forget, or merely don't know, these things about her. It's easy to see her advantages when desired, and easy to see her faults when you look for them, too.

"Nobody is perfect, Elsa," he reminds her gently. "That doesn't take away from their brilliance."

His words fall into the well of her consciousness, acting as a dawning catalyst inside of her. Of course, she's always been taught that nobody's perfect and that it's absolutely alright not to be. But—and she doesn't realize it until this very moment—a part of her believed perfection exists. Growing up with a mom like Ivy and a dad like Zero, with brothers like Kou and Flynn and Yuu, with a sister like Anri… They've always had something so special to them; their flaws were so hardly ever seen as flaws by anyone. Could they even be seen as faults then?

But maybe that's always been her. Maybe she feels like that because that's how she's always felt about them. She can't help but idolize them to certain extents, can't help but admire each and every single member in her family. They've all taken care of her, have nurtured her. They've taught her so much and helped her through all the hard times she's had so far.

Sometimes she forgets that, with the exception of Yuu, they're all so much older.

And she also forgets that, hidden away in the secrets of the dark, every single person she admires works so hard that their results include their blood, sweat, and tears.

Is that what's differentiating her and the rest of her family right now?

"... I want to be like her," Elsa confides, the words somehow making her throat close. People always mention how much Anri reminds them of Ivy, and every time she hears it, it's like a knife in her heart. She envies the way her older sister is able to smile and exchange laughter with strangers she's just met, envies the way she's able to speak so comfortably with others. Anri's always been able to mesmerizingly charm everyone with her glowing ebullience, her quick wit and sweet smiles, her teeming knowledge and her daunting capabilities.

Not only that, but Kou and Anri, known as the Devastating Deuce, were the biggest talks of all three worlds for a very, very long time. Their names, like her parents, are passed down with the generations, and when Flynn was born, he immediately shot up to the same ranks. Yuu, as well, has been a buzzing conversation piece lately among her various peers.

She always seems to be left behind.

Is she upset because she isn't like her mom or because she feels like she can't ever catch up to her family? She can't tell. Maybe it's both. It's probably both and more; there's always more and she never knows what to do.

She's not like them.

Involuntarily, she holds herself closer, makes herself smaller.

"I don't quite understand." Zero's voice brings her out of her reverie, and she looks up to see that his head is tilted just slightly as he regards her. "You are like her."

Red-brown hair falls into her eyes as she shakes her head insistently. "We're opposites."

Zero raises an eyebrow fractionally, as if challenging her. "Oh?"

A nod. "Mom is so—so bright, like the sun. She's not shy at all and she speaks her mind without worrying about what anyone says or thinks."

"What else?"

"She also takes really good care of everyone around her, and people love her so much. She's so strong and fearless and she doesn't—she doesn't mess up when it counts. People rely on Mom."

A low, long, noncommittal hum. He blinks once, long lashes that she inherited brushing over his cheekbones. "You both take care of others very well. You don't care for others any less than she does. You have plenty of people who love you too, Elsa. You just don't realize it. Vernon and Lani don't stay by your side due to some twisted sense of obligation as your cousins."

He takes a breath, lets out a soft exhale that sounds like a small laugh. "I know Ivy. She worries. A lot. About everything. In a way similar to the way you do. And she doesn't mess up as much anymore, but she used to, all the time. She's rather clumsy for a vampire and hunter mix. And just like how you try to fix what has gone wrong, she's done the same. Like you, she never gives up, not until she's managed to achieve her goal. You aren't the same, and you shouldn't want to be. Your strength is quieter, Elsa. But it's there. And it burns as bright as the sun to everyone who dares to look."

She can't look away from him, because he's looking at her so sincerely. He's looking at her as he speaks, like he's pouring some kind of his soul out to her, and maybe he is. Elsa isn't sure she's ever, ever heard her dad talk so much, and so openly. She's sure that he does when he's alone with her mom, but that's different. She feels like he's trying, more than ever, to have her understand him and how he feels and how he sees her, and it makes her want to cry for some reason. It warms her from the inside out, sends prickles up to her eyes.

After a long, silent moment, Zero gets up from the chair. He crouches in front of her, and leans forward to press an affectionate kiss on the top of her head. Long, pale fingers help brush a stray tear off her cheek, brush her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear gently. Then he straightens out and begins to leave her room, but as he reaches the doorway, he pauses. He looks over his shoulder, one hand along the white wooden frame, the faintest upward tilt on his lips. "Elsa, you're our daughter. And we are beyond proud of you. Don't forget that."

And then he leaves her, closing the door behind him, shutting her in with her thoughts.

She stares at the space where he'd just been for a few stunned moments, then turns back to the notebooks in front of her and exhales shakily. Those last few sentences keep ringing through her mind, keep echoing and ricocheting and coming back to her.

The words fill her with warmth, with understanding, with… so much more than she'll ever be able to explain.

But more than anything, she feels… proud, too. Strong. She feels like she can believe his words, that she can find the blazing light inside of herself again. It had been dimmed, had come and gone, like a candle's flame flickering against the winds, but now she has it in her sights again and she's not going to let it go.

He said she's their daughter. His and Ivy's. And though she may not be anything like Ivy, she sees some parts of her mom in herself if she looks for it. And she sees parts of her dad in herself, too. She sees her parents in all of her siblings, sees her siblings in each other. She begins to understand, the longer she lets herself think about it without shying away, that they're all a part of one another in little pieces and beautiful, treasured fragments. They're all unique and yet all have something they share together as a family.

She begins to understand that no, she isn't exactly like anyone else in her family.

And that just means she's going to be another legend for generations to pass down.

The next day, a classmate who's carrying a huge stack of their homework-ridden notebooks up to their teacher steps on a stray eraser and is thrown off balance. Notebooks slide off the top, and clatter to the floor, some falling onto the nearby desk, which just so happens to be hers. He's frozen stiff, and his eyes are wide as he stares mournfully at the notebooks that have fallen, as if wondering how they could betray him like this.

She's aware of the stares piercing into her, of the hush that has taken hold of the room. She's still so nervous, her heart beating in her ears like a hummingbird's wings. Her mind is whirling with all the things she could say as she calmly and efficiently reorganizes the dropped notebooks that are on her desk, as well as the ones she picked up from the floor around it. She hopes nobody notices that they're trembling a bit.

"I'm so sorry," he finally manages to say when she's done gathering them.

She gathers her courage.

And, for the first time known to her classmates, she speaks. Her voice comes out softly, quiet enough that ears need to strain to hear, and yet having an effect like thunder and lightning. She says, "It's not your fault."

They all gape at her like they're seeing a ghost.

She smiles internally, taking note of this first step she's finally taken. She's always been so afraid, always so worried, always so shy. And while she doesn't think she'll ever be as vocal and upbeat as the other females in her family, she knows that she can be better than she's been for the past fifteen years.

Kiriyuu Elsa is only just beginning, and the universe needs to watch out.


Together with their beloved families
Kiriyuu Anri and Hattori Dei
request the honour of your presence to join in the
celebration of their marriage on
Saturday, April 18th, X297
At 4 P.M.
In The Seasons Garden,
xxxx xxxx xxxx

Reception is to follow


A / N: AHHHHHHHHH ASDFGGJKLWEHNNNNNNNNNG?!

I honestly don't even know what to say at this point, because having the epilogue up means that I can mark Heterochromia as "complete" now. Can you believe it? It seems like such a huge, huge move, and half of me is swamped with sadness at the fact.

BUT please don't forget about all the extras that are going to come! Although Heterochromia will be marked as complete, I still plan to write those extras so stay tuneddd

The epilogue is the longest chapter I have ever, ever written. I can't believe how long it's gotten because when I first started it, I really didn't intend for it to be so damn long. But I couldn't stop writing about their kids because it's just so fun to write about them and how Zevy plays a role in their lives, and like AHHH. I hope everyone caught the descendants of other OCs from the main storyline, minus the Tashiro ones. There were at least four OCs in this epilogue that are descendants of a character in the other storyline that isn't a Tashiro or Urase. And in the extras to come, you can be sure to see more (;

THE FUN FACTS FOR EACH CHARACTER WAS ALSO SO HARD TO DECIDE I HAD LIKE 23481 FACTS I WANTED TO SHARE ABOUT ALL OF THEM LMAO

LOTS OF LOVE AND THANKS TO;

LMarie99, FlowerGirl21, Guest456, Innocent Anime Girl, Tokine8696, AndrianaWarrior7, Scar. Of. Sun, spiralcats, castielris, LovelyPeaxhBlush, slacker4life, Charlene171990, kalmaegi, Elextra, Blemm-chan, and Guest

Also, to everyone who favourited and alerted and stayed, thank you. I appreciate you (:

OK, SOME RESPONSES, LEGOO!

To Tokine8696;

I. KNOW. Holy smokes, when I was writing the chapter and everyone was so grown up, I felt so proud for a while, and yet it sunk in that so much time has passed. The thought of, "Ahh, we're finally here now" crossed my mind and it's just a bit overwhelming, to be honest.

Ohmygod, you have no idea how hard that conversation with Ichiru was for me. It's one thing to flesh a character out when you can grasp their character, BUT LIKE ICHIRU IS SUCH A MYSTERY TO ME? I don't know if I just missed it when I watched the anime or read the manga, but it's hard for me to write him, and ughh. I'm glad you liked that scene though HNNG.

Junko and Seiichi was heartbreaking for me. Like... not only was I not expecting it myself, but then I realized I could literally do nothing to salvage their relationship. How bad is it that she fell in love with a guy that was meant to die since the beginning? He's her first love too, can you even imagine? He's rolling over in his grave.

LOOOL, thank you, thank you! To be honest, sometimes I look back on my earlier titles and I'm like, "what was I thinking?" but I can't bring myself to go back and change them. I've already planned out one of the extras I'm going to write and ohmygod, the perfect title came to my head for it, and it's going to be added to my favourites. I'll mention it when I write and post that one up and I hope you'll like it too HAHAHA. As for the Zevy moments, the fort one gets me really bad too. It was actually one of the key moments I had planned from the beginning of the story, so I'm glad it hit you the way I intended for it to.

Ahhhhhh asdfghjkl you're making me feel so flattered and touched and also so melancholy LOL. Thank you for all your praises, and while I'm not entirely sure about the "massive following" part, it warms my heart to know that there are people like you who have stuck with me faithfully for so long. So for that, thank you, thank you, thank youuuu, and I hope you enjoyed this hella long epilogue (;

To Scar. Of. Sun;

Ohmygod, you've been around for so incredibly long. It's been six years since I published this, and I can't tell you how touched and thankful I am that you've stayed for so long. I'm honestly so happy to know that reading Heterochromia helped you a bit ( congrats on mastering English because it's such a hellish language to learn! ) and that you didn't give up! I hope that it gave you more joy than frustration LOL And I hope that you'll stay for the extras as well, and maybe even the drabbles!

Time sure flies, huh? Thank you for keeping your faith in me and this story, and I'm glad that you love the characters so much! Having people like you who stick with me despite the long stretches between updates is enough to make me so proud. Thank you, thank you, thank youuuuuuu, and I hope you enjoyed this epilogue, love! (:

To spiralcats;

Man, if only I was talented enough artistically to draw. I would love to draw out my favourite scenes manga-style, but unfortunately, I'm so inept at drawing LOL. But I'm glad to know you would hypothetically read it HAHAHA

Thank you for sticking with me through it all and being such a lovely person. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it when people share with me their thoughts, so I'm grateful that you asked questions for me to answer! Never hesitate to ask or say whatever's on your mind because I would love to hear it all (:

I'm glad you enjoyed all the pairings! I was a bit worried about some of them to be honest, but I think a lot of them were subtly hinted at throughout the story, so I couldn't see a reason to back out of them. And this epilogue confirms the AlxCheryl couple, which I know so many people were waiting for, so I hope you enjoy that too!

As always, thank you so much for sticking with me, you lovely human, and I hope you enjoyed this epilogue! (x

To slacker4life;

1. Thank you for sticking with me for such a long rideeeee!
2. I'm so happy you loved it despite the painfully long times between updates
3. YOU CAN'T TELL ME YOU HAVE FAVOURITE CHAPTERS AND NOT SHAREEE! Don't do that to me! Share share share share share! LOL /chants like a child
4. I hope you enjoyed the epilogueeeeeee!
5. because I don't like ending things in 4s LMAO

To kalmaegi;

Oh, trust me, I know what it's like to want so much more. If I put in as much detail as I wanted to about the Tashiros and the hunters and the world and everything, this story would probably never end LOL. But I think that anything more obscure could be possible if I do a drabble series, since it would make more sense to put in, say, Trance's POV than to stick it in the regular Heterochromia storyline. Right? LOL Or is that just me?

Honestly, I'm not sure if anyone's ready to say goodbye yet, but I think that's the perks of extras and whatnot. It's not exactly the same, but... it's some comfort. I hope. HNNG. You've been around for so long, and I want to say thank you for sticking with me through it all. I always look to hearing for you (:

I love how you love the details. It makes me so happy and warm and fuzzy to know that you appreciate the moment of Satoshi's room during camp. I really love that moment myself, and I don't know, it just seemed kind of telling of how much the Tashiro siblings really love each other, you know?

I hope this epilogue didn't disappoint you ( I feel like you're going to dissect everything in this chapter LMAO )

To Elextra;

OHOHOHOHOH, can you guess after reading this chapter? (; Aoyama Kenta's future was hinted at in Flynn's mini-story sooooooooo~

Thanks for reading and for the question and I hope you enjoyed the epilogue!

To Guest;

I never explicitly stated why Ichijou was kind to Ivy from the start, but I didn't think I needed to LOL It actually never crossed my mind. I've always just thought of Ichijou as super friendly and kind regardless of to whom, so he was just being himself when they first met. He didn't have any ulterior motives or anything like that; Ichijou just tries to empathize and treat everyone well, and that's why.

Thank you for reading and for asking the question! I didn't think to address it so that was my mind HAHAHA. I hope you enjoyed the epilogue! (:

END OF RESPONSES

And even though it's the epilogue, since there are extras, of course I still have a question ( or two ) to ask (:

QUESTION: Do you have a favourite Kiriyuu child? Why?

ANNNNND, because it sorta maybe correlates:

QUESTION #2: Which Kiriyuu child would you like me to write an extra about?

Please tell me your thoughts, because it's possible that I may or may not just count up the votes and decide that way HAHAHA. I've always thought of an extra being written solely for one of their kids, but I'm indecisive and have a hard time deciding which one. Perhaps you guys can give me a push? (; I mean, because they're siblings, it's possible they'll get referenced or appear or whatever, but the extra will focus more on that child, soooo, let me know! I'd appreciate it HNNNNG.

Oh, and maybe even QUESTION #3: Any special new-generation Tashiros that you especially like? (;

I really don't know what else to say, except for the fact that I hope you guys enjoyed the epilogue. I hope it brought you guys joy, just like how Heterochromia as a whole has.

I hope to see you next month in the extras (;

ALSO, to everyone who's starting school soon: good luck, by loves, and please take care of yourselves!

XOXO,
-EverlastingxSong-