It's October. Time to let my favorite Vampire Couple have some fun. This was just a "cute" little idea that wouldn't leave me alone. Happy Halloween.

Bloodberry Pops

Natsuno overhead the children giggling out front. It was summer break Kaori and Tomatsu were watching Tohru's nieces and nephews for the week. Kaori had decided to drop by for a visit before The Moon Bound Cafe opened. However, she arrived sooner than planned, before Tohru was awake.

Natsuno had already given her the go-ahead to come in if she arrived early. What he hadn't given permission to do was to rummage through the kitchens. Kaori had let herself and the children in and locked the door back behind her, only to realize she really had to use the restroom.
Rather than intrude on her brothers-in-law's domain, she told the kids to wait at what had become the 'Family Table' until she returned and quickly ducked into the public ladies' room.

However, kids being kids, the five of them got bored quickly and made their way into the kitchens. At first, they thought they might find Natsuno either prepping the dishes for when the restaurant opened or fixing himself a meal. When he was nowhere to be seen, they began snooping.

When Natsuno found them, the kids were all sitting back at the table, a small tray of homemade Popsicles sitting in the middle.

"What flavor do you think it is?" Kenori asked.

"It's red, so maybe strawberry?" Aya suggested.

"It's too dark, though," Natsumi said, "Maybe a bloodberry or something?"

"Who eats bloodberry? Maybe it's a fruit punch," Akari pointed.

Toya grabbed one of the popsicle sticks and pulled one of the frozen cubes out of the tray. "It looks funny. It's all squishy and lumpy," she noted. She squinched her nose as some thick red liquid dripped from the pop back into the now empty slot on the tray. "Smells funny, too."

"Maybe they're not fully frozen. We should put it back," Natsumi said.

Natsuno quietly leaned against the doorframe between the building's housing area and the restaurant. He found it amusing that the kids were trying to figure out what the Popsicles were made of. "Where'd you kids get those?" he asked. The kids all jumped and shrieked.

"Natsuno Oji-San, you scared us," Toya protested.

Natsuno chuckled and approached the table. "Sorry, Princess, I guess you were too preoccupied to hear me come in," he picked the girl up and hugged her. "Natsumi, where's your mother?"

"Ladies' Room," Natsumi answered.

"You kids didn't eat any of these did you?" he asked, using his free hand to pick up the tray.

"No," all five of them answered.

"Good, then Kaori doesn't have to know you kids were snooping around in the kitchen," he said, "I made these special for your Uncle Tohru."

"Oh, you used the blood supplement?" Kenori guessed.

"Oh, then it's just *coconut and blood orange... Maybe a bit of prune juice," Natsumi said, picking up the popsicle Toya had dropped, "That would explain the color and the texture."

"Well, you're half right," Natsuno chuckled, nervously. Tohru was always careful not to let anyone see him drink blood, especially the children.

The kids all fell silent and stared at the popsicle for a moment. "Eeewww...!" they all exclaimed, Natsumi dropping the popsicle again.

"Isn't that illegal?" Aya asked.

"Only if it's human," Natsuno laughed, carrying the tray back to the personal kitchen. "Hold on, kids, I've got something special for all of you in the fridge."

Notes:

* Yes, I've had TruBlood before. Its key ingredient was Blood Orange-and it was gross. I've seen the meme about Coconut Juice being used to make synthetic blood when there's not enough readily on hand for transfusions. And (if I'm not mistaken) "Diabolik Lovers" has the girl drinking Prune Juice to keep her blood count up.

Also, Bloodberries are poisonous to humans but are eaten by a variety of birds.