Eating lunch with Gakushu Asano was not something Nagisa ever expected to experience. The guy was the best hunter in the academy, had a hunting record more impressive than most veterans, and was the son of the Academy's director.
When Asano had sought out Nagisa after class, acting all friendly and charismatic, the blue haired boy's friends were just as shocked as he was;

"Nagisa Shiota, right, is it okay if I call you Nagisa?" Asano had said, walking over as they left the academy. He was wearing the red armband that marked him as an elite.

"My name's Asano Gakushu, it's nice to meet you."
As if there was anyone in this school who didn't know his name.

The taller boy stuck out his hand. His smile was polite, almost refreshing, but there was something about this boy Nagisa couldn't trust.

"R- right, nice to meet you. Nagisa is fine.." Nagisa said, taking his hand shyly, taken a back by the suddenness of it all. His friend Sugino gave him a confused look- Why would Asano be approaching someone like him? Nagisa also wished he knew.

"Actually I need to talk to you, would you care to join me for lunch?" Asano asked. What!? Nagisa's eyes widened. People were looking now, since Asano was the type of guy who drew people's attention. They were probably wondering the same thing; Why would the number 1 in the academy have any interest in a failure like Nagisa?

"Um.. Sure." Nagisa replied. He didn't really want to, but Asano wasn't the type of person you can just refuse.

"Excellent!" Asano said, never dropping his flawless facade of politeness. "Follow me then- "

So, that's how they ended up sat in a private booth eating together. Asano was making small talk, but Nagisa could feel the tension rise every second. He knew Asano wasn't doing this because he enjoyed his company, the hunter wanted something. Why was he dragging it out? To torture Nagisa even more? Asano was keeping his eyes on Nagisa the entire time, as if analysing him. The thought made the blue-haired boy uncomfortable.

"Do you not like the food- you've hardly touched it." Asano said, his violet eyes boring into Nagisa. Nagisa felt an involuntary shiver run through him.

"N-no it's just.. What did you want to talk about?" The blue haired boy chocked out, finally saying it. Asano cocked his head to the side.

"Can't I just be having a meal with my classmate? Why do I have to have some hidden agenda?" Gakushu laughed, then stopped suddenly. "Well, I'll get right to the point then; what is your relationship with the red devil?"

Nagisa was glad he wasn't eating anything, because if he was he would of chocked on it. "W- what do you mean?"

Asano leaned forward across the table. "When four of my fellow hunters found the red devil last night, he was with you. And according to them, he even verbally defended you." He said, hardly able to keep the smirk of his face. He went from charming to devious in two seconds flat . "You know, conspiring with a vampire is a very serious crime."

Nagisa felt ice cold dread run through his veins. Oh Lord. He was going to be arrested and executed, and all he did was let Karma buy him some sush!.
Wait. Calm down. Assess the situation.

They may be in a private booth, but they were still in a public place. Asano surely wouldn't take him here if he really planned on arresting him (which Nagisa thought was messed up that Asano actually had the authority to do). No, the elite hunter must be attempting to intimidate Nagisa. To him, Nagisa was class E-trash, Asano probably didn't think he was really capable of conspiring with a vampire, he thought the blue haired boy was an idiot. Nagisa could use that.
"It's true, I was speaking to the red devil before they came, but I didn't know he was a vampire. He just told me he was new to town." Nagisa said. Asano gave him a condescending grin.
"You couldn't even recognise a vampire from a few meters away?" He said, his friendly persona was completely dropped now. "How incompetent are you? You know he's probably marked you as a target, if you want to live I'd be on your guard and not go out after bed time."
He'd taken the bait. Nagisa resisted the urge to sigh in relief- Bad things happened to people suspected of conspiring against the system.

"Y-yes, thank-you, Asano." He said.

"Oh, and one more thing. I think it'd be best if you don't tell anyone the details of the fight between the red devil and the hunters. It's up to you to maintain the reputation of the school." The strawberry blonde said, smiling politely again, but there was a threat behind those violet eyes. Asano stood up and left a generous amount of money on the table. "That's enough to cover the bill. Now if you excuse me, some of us have places to be- "

Before he left, Asano leaned over the table, taking Nagisa by surprise. The smaller boy almost expected to be hit, but instead, Gakushu just ghosted his hand over Nagisa's neck, right above the place Karma had bit him. Nagisa could feel his heart-rate increase in fear- Asano knew!
But he couldn't know! Karma had healed the mark!

"Be careful, Nagisa Shiota. Vampires are like cats; They love to play with their food before they eat it. They're masters of tormenting their prey." Asano said, with a knowing smirk. Then without another word, he turned and left.
Nagisa really did allow himself to sigh in relief this time. If Asano wanted to intimidate him, he did an excellent job. That boy was terrifying. The blue-haired boy subconsciously rubbed his neck again. Asano couldn't know he'd been bitten, right? In this town, being bitten by a vampire stigmatised you for life; if it happened, people would see you as weak forever.
Nagisa left without eating the overpriced soup he'd ordered, Asano's words echoed in his mind. Karma was just tormenting him before he decided to drink his blood dry for real.
Of course he was, Karma just saw him as prey. It wasn't like Nagisa was even a threat to Karma, his fight with the four elites proved that.
But why did Nagisa find himself being so bothered by that?

"Do you know how long it's been since I've seen sunlight?"
Nagisa whipped around to see Karma standing directly behind him like it was the most normal thing in the world. The blue haired boy turned to face him and gasped- It was still dusk, the sun was 's hair shone a brilliant red when it was caught in the dim light of the sunset. Someone so vibrant looked out of place in the decrepit had been on his way home.

"How are you not- "

"- A flaming pile of ashes?" Karma finished for him. He pulled a chain around his neck, around it was a dark-blue stone flecked with gold. "Lapis Lazuli. It protects vampires against sunlight. I found this just lying around in a shop and I just had to take it. Don't worry I left the money."

"So now you can spread terror during the day, good for you." Nagisa said, eyeing the Lapis Lazuli necklace- if he could just rip it of Karma's neck he could-

Quick as a flash, Karma was once again behind Nagisa. He rested his head on the hunter's shoulder and wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's arms and torso, effectively trapping him.

"I can do other things during the day too." Karma whispered into Nagisa's ear, his red hair tickled Nagisa's neck. Karma made his heart race, but not in the way Asano's intimidation did. "Like maybe I could be the one who takes you for lunch now- "
Nagisa froze- So Karma knew about that?

"That stuck-up 'elite' kid managed to treat you to dinner without getting attacked half way through, I was jealous." Karma chuckled. "But he did leave without you, which I thought was kinda rude."
"Are you stalking me!" Nagisa accused, trying to make his voice sound calm, which isn't difficult when you have a vampire hanging of your back. He felt Karma shrug behind him.
"Since everyone in this town wants to kill me, there's not much else to do, I can't hang out with anyone." Karma said. "Graffiti and pranks only take up so many hours."

"So find another town to torment!" Nagisa said, trying to reach for his knife, but his arms were still restrained.

"I'm not here just to write rude things on walls and publicly humiliate elite hunters, you know, I have a purpose." Karma laughed, still not loosening his grip on Nagisa.

"Then why are you here?" Nagisa asked, Asano's words circling his mind. He didn't want to just be prey for Karma to play with discard like a broken. "Are you here to torment me until your bored? Do you plan on passing your time using me until you decide I'm not worth it then you'll drink my blood and kill me?"
He didn't sound angry, Nagisa's words just seemed empty and hopeless.

Suddenly, The vampire pushed him away, then span him around, putting his hands on Nagisa's shoulders so their faces were inches apart.
Sky blue eyes stared into Mercury gold.

"So that's what you think I am?" Karma asked, his voice was low and more venomous than Nagisa had ever heard it before. He pulled the Hunter closer, speaking right into his ear. "If that's all this is, I might as well just dispose of you now, right?"
Nagisa felt his breath catch. He didn't dare even breath. It seemed impossible to consider, but was Karma upset by his accusations? Why?
When he didn't reply, Karma sank his teeth into Nagisa's familiar ache spread through his body. For one fleeting moment Nagisa felt completely connected to Karma.

"What do you expect me to think?" He gasped. Speaking while being drank from wasn't easy. "I'm a hunter and your a vampire. And we're leagues apart. I saw how you took down those elites- we don't even compare. What else could I be to you but a toy?"

At that, Karma pulled away. Nagisa's blood trailed from his mouth down his chin. He wiped it away on the back of his sleeve.

"Sorry." Karma said. His apology shocking Nagisa more than anything. "You think I'd be used to people seeing me as just a monster by now."

Nagisa didn't have a response to that. He held his hand to his neck, trying to staunch the bleeding, but Karma moved his hand away, and lent forward, running his tongue over the length of Nagisa's neck, healing the mark.
He had never considered that Karma might have feelings outside bored, amused and angry. For the first time since they met, Nagisa saw the other boy as a person over a beast.
Suddenly, Karma grinned.
"Wait-by four elites do you mean those losers I beat up yesterday?" The Vampire asked, he laughed. "Those weren't elites, those were just weaklings."

"They're stronger than me.." Nagisa pouted. Karma grabbed his cheeks.

"Your cute when you pout- " The vampire teased.

"Eh?" Nagisa cried. How could the vampire go from moping to teasing so quick.

"You're better than them, anyway." Karma said. "They didn't even manage to get a scratch on me. You lodged a knife in my leg!"

Nagisa was silenced for a moment by his logic. "But at the academy they're higher performers."

"Doesn't matter." Karma said, letting go of his face. "It's the results that count."

Nagisa rubbed his cheeks, not able to stop himself from blushing.

"-For the record." Karma said, suddenly serious again. "I've never actually killed anybody, human or vampire."
The blue haired boy didn't know why, but he trusted him. Maybe the red devil wasn't the monster everyone made him out to be. After all, he'd treated Nagisa with more respect than most humans he knew.
But still..
"Then what are you doing here then? Why would you come to the biggest vampire-hunter village in the country?" Nagisa asked, he narrowed his eyes. "You said you had a purpose."
Karma paused and looked around- they were standing in a back-alley, it wasn't like anybody would be listening anyway.

"Because, this town. It's rotten." The vampire said, frowning. "People go missing here, they target vampires that haven't done anything wrong. There's something evil in the bowels of the academy. I can sense it."
Nagisa looked at him questioningly- that was strangely cryptic for Karma, who was usually pretty straight forward.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know what happens when human's drink vampire blood?" Karma asked, Nagisa frowned.

"They.. Turn into a vampire, right?" He said, Karma nodded.

"Not just any vampire though, turned Vampires will eventually succumb to their blood-lust and become mindless beasts." Karma explained. "Sometimes it takes just hours, sometimes it takes months."
That explained why Karma was so different from the Vampires Nagisa had learned about. Karma might be a vampire but he was more than feral beast.

"So what's your point?" Nagisa questioned,

"I think they're turning humans into vampires for the sake of experimentation in there." Karma said, his voice hushed.
Nagisa's eyes widened. The pieces started falling together; Members of the E class that suddenly disappear, how large parts of the academy are cordoned of with steel doors.

"But why would they even want to do that?" Nagisa said in disbelief. He didn't want something so awful to be true. Karma shrugged.

"Who knows. It wouldn't be the first time you humans did something horrific in the name of science or just plain morbid curiosity." The Vampire said, with a casual smile. "But I do know that if these experiments ever escaped it'd cause a big problem for us vampires as well. So I'm here to expose it."

It was a lot to take in. Nagisa thought of the academy's director; He was a tall man whose eyes ice-cold mauve eyes always seemed full of both pity and contempt. Talking to him was terrifying, people compared it to being trapped in a dark room full of insects. He always seemed perfectly composed, but there was an undercurrent of madness just beneath the surface. He was easily the most powerful man in town. As much as Nagisa hated to admit it, Gakuho Asano did seem like the kind of man who would perform inhumane experiments for his own benefit.

"Do you even have any proof?" Nagisa asked, desperately not wanting this to be true. A dark look crossed Karma's face.

"On the outskirts of this town I found- " He looked away. "I found a pile of corpses. They were just dumped in some pit. I could tell just by looking at them they were of turned vampires. And most of them were young- our age."

Nagisa felt like his world was crashing down around him. He was literally living on top of a laboratory that used humans. Not only that, but there was a chance that he could end up a victim of it. All his life he'd been taught vampires were the ultimate evil, but now Nagisa could see humans were just as cruel. Before he even had a chance to process what Karma was saying, the sound of a gunshot rang through his ears.

Bang!

There was a smoking bullet hole in the wall were Karma's head was second's earlier. The Vampire had just about managed to dodge out the way, but the edge of his jacket was singed.

"I knew following you would lead me to the red devil eventually, but I didn't think it'd be so soon, Nagisa." It was Gakushu Asano, stood on the top of the building overlooking them. He had a triumphant grin on his face, and the gun in his hand was smoking. He hopped down from the building with grace that seemed almost impossible for a human.

"Eh, are you one of the so called Elites?" Karma said, cocking his head to the side. Despite the fact he had been two inches from having his head blown of moments earlier, the red-head was as cocky as ever. "If you didn't already know, I put your buddies in the hospital. Run away now if you don't want to join them, hunter brat."

Gakushu narrowed his eyes and pulled out his sword. "I'm not just a elite, I'm THE elite. I have the highest grades in both physical and academic subjects."

"What- are you going to kill me with your grades?" Karma scoffed, a challenging look in his eyes.

"No, Vampire, I'll kill you by slicing your throat with my sword!" Gakushu growled, charging at Karma.

Nagisa remained rooted to the spot. He pressed himself against the wall- he didn't want to take part in this fight: After what he just learned he didn't know who the enemy was anymore. Besides, he knew how powerful Karma was, this would be over in minutes.

"Heh, didn't anyone tell you that you shouldn't run with knives?" Karma laughed. Asano was a lot faster than the other four elites, but the vampire still dodged his strikes with ease. Once again, Nagisa was in awe of Karma's ability. It made him feel insignificant.
Their battle was insanely fast, but Nagisa could tell Asano was getting more and more frustrated each time he missed.
Bam!
Almost faster than the eye could see, Karma managed to land a punch on the hunter. It sent Asano flying back, crashing into the wall behind him with a sickening thud.
Nagisa winced when he saw him crumple to the floor. Asano was good, maybe the best hunter. But in a fight with Karma this end was inevitable.

"Man, that was annoying. I can't go anywhere without you people trying to attack me." Karma said, licking his fist. "And what was that about stalking Nagisa? That's just creepy, you know- "
Bang!
The next thing Nagisa knew, Karma was crouched down in front of him, blood pooling from his leg, and Asano had pulled himself up of the floor- how was he even conscious after that blow to the head?

"You- you aimed for Nagisa?" Karma growled in disbelief. So that's what had happened- Karma had taken a bullet for him? The blue-haired boy was shocked, why would Karma do that? It filled him with a strange feeling.

"It'd be better if he was shot by a bullet over being killed by a vampire." Asano said, he licked the blood of his split lip, and glared straight ahead. "You know I've never had the chance to kill a natural born vampire, so you'll be my first."

Karma was enraged, "You aimed for Nagisa." He repeated, his gold eyes almost seemed to flash with anger.

"I had a feeling you'd be stupid enough to try and defend him. You vampires are so possessive of your prey." Asano said, looking smug. You could cut the tension with a knife. One moment the two of them were stood opposite sides of the street facing each other, the next, they were at each other's throats.
Even with a bullet in his leg, Karma was as ferocious as always. But Asano seemed even quicker than before his moves all seemed perfectly disciplined, they contrasted with Karma's wild fighting style.

"You know why I hate vampires?" Asano hissed, he swung his sword at Karma.. "Because they're so arrogant. Because of your natural power you treat us humans like we're your toys!"
Karma didn't reply, he was truly angry, so Asano continued.

"I bet you haven't trained a day in your life. You just rely on your enhanced abilities. Arrogant, Lazy, vampire!" Asano hissed, kicking Karma hard in the stomach, the Vampire hit the floor, and Asano stomped the red head's stomach. Nagisa stared, horrified. He didn't think it was possible that Karma could loose to anybody. The vampire tried to get to his feet but Asano delivered another kick. The blood loss from his gunshot wound was really starting to affect Karma now. Gakushu rised his sword over his head.
"I've worked every day of my life so I'd be able to slay parasites like you!"
No!
Karma couldn't be killed just like that! A Strange feeling filled Nagisa; Bloodlust.

Nagisa didn't even notice his body moving, but the next thing he knew, he'd tackled Asano. The strawberry blonde hunter was far stronger than him, but in the surprise of the attack, his sword clattered out of his hand.

"What the hell are you doing, Shiota! You'll be hanged for this!" Asano yelled.

What was he doing? Nagisa knew attacking the elite was insane, but the hunter had shot at him and the vampire had had saved his life.

Asano pushed Nagisa of himself harshly and turned back to were seconds earlier Karma had been lying. Those few seconds of distraction were all the Red devil needed.
Suddenly, Karma was stood behind Asano. Before the hunter could get to his feet the red head had Asano in a choke hold.
"If you ever try to hurt Nagisa again I'll kill you." He hissed, before whacking the hunter over the back of the head with his fist. There was a brief flicker of genuine fear in those violet eyes before he slumped onto the floor, actually knocked out this time.

Nagisa was shaking. "I- Just committed treason." He murmured to himself in disbelief. He was an outlaw, a criminal just like Karma. But after the things he'd recently learned about this town he wasn't sure that was such a bad thing.
"Can you stand?" Karma asked, pulling his hand out to help Nagisa up. The blue haired boy took it wordlessly. "Sorry, I think I just pulled you into a crazy shit storm."
"No." Nagisa said, shaking his head. "I did that to myself. You saved my life. and worry yourself- you're the one who just got shot."

"This is nothing to me."

The two stood wordlessly for a moment, when suddenly Karma picked Nagisa up.
"What are you doing!?"
"We need to get out of here- hunters are approaching." Karma said, despite the situation, he smiled slightly. He liked the feeling of holding Nagisa so close to himself. He felt small and warm in his arms. The two disappeared into the darkness, and Nagisa knew his life would never be the same again.

(A/N: Sorry, this is meant to be romance but it's turning into more of an action story ;_;. I just pushed all my plot ideas into this chapter, so think of this chapter as the set up for the plot of the story. The next chapter will have more Nagisa/Karma, I promise!

Up until now, Nagisa was always on the side-lines in fights in this story, because he didn't fit in with the hunters, but he still saw Karma as an enemy. But now he's made his decision to side with Karma (yay). But that'll come with a lot of consequences, because exposing the academy's secrets wont by easy, neither will living as an outlaw.

This fight is kind of like the final exams for Karma in the anime; It's the wake-up call to actually start working on his skills instead of relying on his natural ability, because if it wasn't for Nagisa he'd be dead!

Anyway, sorry this chapters so all over the place, but please review to tell me what you thought :)