Disclaimer: "SERVAMP" belongs to Tanaka Strike, Frontier Works, Kadokawa, and affiliates. This is a non-profit fan fiction.

A/N: Surprise! After 5 years, I actually continued the story. :'D

P.S. The interval for the next update is directly proportional to Kuro's willingness to clean his room.

Chapter 2: "W-What's going on?!"

"W-What's going on?!" Mahiru asked uncertainly as the blinding light died down almost as soon as it appeared. He checked his limbs and body for signs of abnormalities but found nothing unusual.

"… You're so stupid I could die…" the boy heard a heavy voice lamented beside him. He whipped around to face the grimacing vampire. There was nothing out of the norm with the blue-haired man as well; but he could tell by the dark creases of his eyebrows that the other was very, very significantly more annoyed than before.

"What do you mean by that, you- you- highly suspicious guy! What's with the light tricks and all that?" Mahiru demanded for the lack of a better curse word as he strode to the stranger.

"Ugh… now I even have to explain…? How troublesome… Totally can't deal…" the vampire frowned and averted his glance. It looked as if he wanted to ignore Mahiru so he could be left alone. The teen was about to question the so-called guardian again before the deafening noise came back from right above their heads and the ground shuddered once more.

"… I don't have time to explain… Just stick with me… Don't get separated from me, got it…?" the newly-named vampire stated as he took the boy by the arm.

"Eh? But wh-"

Suddenly, Mahiru found himself in a blur and felt himself transported to the open field behind the house. His mind raced. Could it be that the stranger was really what he told he was…? A bloodsucking vampire…? Of course, the train of thought was abruptly cut as he was unceremoniously pushed to the ground by the very creature he was thinking about.

"Ouch! Hey!" the boy protested but immediately shut up when he saw a menacing figure approaching them from afar.

"Weeeeeell~ what do we have heeeeeere~?" a delightedly cruel voice exclaimed. The voice originated from a tall, pink-haired guy wearing a white tall hat and tuxedo akin to the magicians Mahiru often watched on TV when he was young. This one, however, didn't seem to be as friendly. He also didn't look like he would guarantee the safety of his audiences...

"It's so nice of you to come to me instead, Sleepy Ash~! And oh! Seems like you got yourself a new master too… How fun! I could kill both of you at the same time! AHAHAHAHA!"

Mahiru's entire body froze as he noticed the red light shining from the eyes of the newcomer and the pair of fangs poking from his upper lips as he laughed mirthfully. The boy couldn't believe his bad luck. Is it going to be the end for him…?

"Tsk. Are you one of those Subclass Cards from that book?" Kuro asked in a low voice. His eyes were trained at the enemy, and an unearthly aura seemed to gradually emanate from him. This, understandably, made Mahiru even more nervous than he already was. He tried to distance himself from the two non-humans, but found himself unable to move.

"Indeeeeeed! The name's Berukia, and I am the one dubbed as The Magician!" he answered gleefully, a maniacal look on his blood-shot eyes as he materialized a pair of lethal-looking swords out of thin air. Grinning madly, he casually approached the duo in front of him.

Kuro didn't reply to that. Instead, he opened his mouth and whispered, "… Hey. What's your name?"

"E-Eh? M-My name is Mahiru…" the brunette who was caught off-guard stammered out.

"Mahiru…" Kuro repeated mysteriously. Before Mahiru managed to blink, the guardian turned around, grabbed hold of the boy, and jumped upward.

"Ahh! You're running away?! That's not faaair!" the self-proclaimed magician complained as he soared to the sky to give chase.

It was a minute later when Kuro finally landed in an alley far away from their initial position. He quickly scanned the area to see if he was being tailed. Satisfied that there were only him and the boy, he unceremoniously collapsed to the ground.

"Kuro!" the teen, who was still dizzy from the uneventful journey, exclaimed as he knelt beside the vampire and tried to prop him up. "Are you okay?"

"Mahiru…" he gasped, a pained expression on his face.

"Kuro! Hey! What's going on? Did he launch an attack I couldn't see just now?" the boy asked frantically. He didn't know if vampires could really die from wounds, but he'd better not take chances.

"I… My…"

"Yes?"

"I… sprained my back."

"…"

"…"

"… It's so painful – "

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Mahiru yelled as he grabbed the vampire by the collar.

"Nyaa… So violent… why are you… so… scary…?" Kuro stated lazily as he was yanked left and right.

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" the human replied in disbelief as he finally let go of the blue-haired guy who quickly flopped onto the ground without moving a single muscle.

"Could you just give me a break…? I haven't drunk blood for the past few centuries, you know… It's a miracle I could avoid that lunatic just now…"

The boy frowned as he heard that. Weren't vampires supposed to drink blood? How could he survive without drinking it, then? Was he some kind of a special breed?

… and was he supposed to feed him? The thought made Mahiru shudder. He wasn't an expert in horror myths and lore, but he sure as hell knew that being bitten by huge fangs and getting your blood drained weren't fun activities – not to mention unhygienic.

"Oi," Mahiru's train of thought was shattered by a languid voice, "are you okay...?"

"O-Of course I'm not okay! But are you okay? I-If you need blood or anything – simply put, I'm the only human around s-so if you have to, I guess there is no other wa-"

"Geez... I don't drink blood, you know... I prefer real food... like cup noodle or something." Kuro said with furrowed eyebrows, his hand scratching his head as he stared at Mahiru as if he was crazy.

"Cup noodle is NOT REAL FOOD! Ugh, you know what, never mind my offer! What are we supposed to do now?!" Mahiru demanded as he looked around to see if Berukia was close.

"Well... I might as well explain what happened between us now..." Kuro said, though his body language betrayed himself. "About the contract and all."

Mahiru stared at the other blankly. "Contract...? What do you mean by that?"

Kuro scratched his head and averted his glance again. He then sighed as if he had the weight of all the world's problems. "Well... you see... when you call me with a name, the book acknowledged that as an initial contract."

Mahiru continued staring blankly at his unlikely companion, "I-I still don't get it."

Kuro made a great effort to let out an audible sigh before staring eye-to-eye to the boy in front of him.

"You opened the magic book. You gave me a name. A preliminary contract was made." Kuro stated with a deadpan voice. "Then... another step is required... before it becomes permanent..."

The vampire slowly stood up and towered over Mahiru, face looking serious all of the sudden. "I don't want to make it permanent, so we need to part ways now..."

Mahiru was taken aback at the change in demeanor but nodded in silence. After all, they were complete strangers; and the man in blue coat wasn't human anyway... simply-put, it was safer for Mahiru not to be associated with him. It was also getting dark really soon – what with the last rays of sunlight diminishing rapidly in front of his eyes.

"I guess this is goodbye then... thank you for uh, saving me from the other vampire just now," Mahiru politely said with a curt smile.

"Nyaa..." Kuro meowed in exchange as he turned around and readied himself to fly once more. Before that happened though, he abruptly disappeared – leaving his lump of clothes in his wake.

"Kuro...?" Mahiru questioned warily after a few seconds of a pregnant pause.

The lump of clothes seemed to respond to the call and rustled casually. At this point, nothing surprised Mahiru anymore. His day started with an innocent enough bravery challenge only to end with magic books and vampires and now... sentient article of clothing...?

"N-Nyaa..." a muffled, desperate meow was heard from said clothing. A meow that sounded very suspiciously familiar to someone who was there just moments ago. Could it be...

Mahiru quickly dug into the pile of clothing to discover a ball of black, furry kitten. With shaky hands, he scooped the little creature up and brought it to his eye level. A pair of familiar, lazy eyes peered back.

"... Kuro?!"