Chapter 2- Dinner and a Movie?

A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Here's another chapter of Tomato Juice! I would love some feedback on the general flow of the story as well as characterization. I tried to keep them IC, but, they're vampires now so… anyway, thanks for taking the time to check out chapter 2 and drop a review if you get a chance! Have a great day!

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."

-Henry Wadsworth

"I wasn't going to be mean. But, I've changed my mind. Why did you become a hunter?" Each word was drawn out, punctuated by the flash of fangs.

…

The girl struggled against his grip, eyes alight with fury. "Why does it matter? I hunt monsters like you so the world doesn't have to. All you do is kill and devour everything that crosses your path. Just because you have a long lifespan doesn't mean you have the right to murder innocent people! I do what I do because, one day, my actions could save the world!"

The vampire gives her a cold, hard stare, eyes tinted in crimson. "That's your reason? You sound like the old guys before the hunter association was created. Wanting to protect the world from creatures of the night? You can't even protect human from each other. Surely losing a few sheep is better than the annihilation of your race. In fact, we are better than humans. The strong are born vampires, or turned, while the weak mull about, dying and amounting to nothing but ash."

Akane freed one hand from his grasp, slapping the cocky vampire. "Don't think that every life isn't precious. Those are people you're killing, they have families, children, people who love them!"

The man's eyes widened, his hand ungrasping her wrist. An inhuman growl breaks from his throat.

"Stop it, Kagari." Masaoka's eyes flash a bright red, causing the other vampire to fall to the ground. He clutches at his chest, gasping for air.

"I'm sorry, Akane. He's brash, cocky, and too smart for his own good. You'll have to forgive him for his attitude. His parents were killed by vampire hunters; they hadn't broken any rules, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Be quiet, old man! That's—that's personal information!" He struggles to stand, leaning on the wall for support.

"Kagari, I think it would be best if you leave. Go; come back once your head has cleared."

The orange-haired man sneers, walking out of the room.

"Akane-chan, don't think this conversation is over."

The girl does not reply, returning her attention to the wounded hunter.

…

Dinner is surprisingly uneventful. The food Kagari cooked is actually delicious, and the woman's surprised to see all the vampires digging in.

"You can eat solid food?"

Masaoka chuckles. "Yes, but it does not substitute blood. It's a different type of hunger. I don't want to frighten you too badly but we usually have a glass of blood with our meals. Don't worry, its donated blood, from hospitals. We keep it here in case of emergencies. I'm too old to hunt on my own and wouldn't want to burden my children."

"Are all of you actually blood related?" The girl stares at the group of vampires, from the dark-haired woman known as Yayoi, the brown-haired Masaoka, the mischievous Makishima, and Kagari, who was sulking in the corner, sipping what appeared to be blood.

"Oh heavens no. For whatever reason, vampires are generally solitary creatures. But, somehow, we've all drifted together into this one mansion. I adopted Kagari when he was five years old. I was good friends with his parents, Shougo's too. A few years ago, Shougo's parents died, leaving him with this lonely mansion. He allowed us to stay here, and eventually the dynamics you see here were created."

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't let them stay here out of the goodness of my heart. The more vampires the safer a place is. I don't want to be staked in my coffin; we watch out for each other, nothing more."

"Don't say that Shougo-kun. We're one big, happy family! Speaking of which, Kagari, stop skulking about like some 18th century vampire and sit at the table."

"No. I'm fine where I am, thank-you."

The old man sighs in his chair. "Sorry, missy, Kougami-san, he's such a spoiled child. He acts all high and mighty but he's relatively harmless. He's the one who drinks the least amount of blood out of all of us. From what I can smell, he's only drinking tomato juice over there."

"S-shut up, you old geezer. At least I can hunt for my food. Besides, there's nothing wrong with tomato juice, you're just jealous." He turns his back on the vampire, taking another sip of his drink.

"Things just keep getting weirder and weirder…"

…

"Akane-chan, there you are! I wanted to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you, vampire."

"Ouch. A bit harsh, don't you think? I actually wanted to apologize."

This catches the brunette's attention, prompting her to close the book. She had been persuaded by Kougami to stay the night (and forget about this nightmare later) and was given a spacious guest room. Luckily, they had spare beds and she didn't have to sleep on the floor, or worse, a coffin.

"Alright, let's hear it."

"I-I apologize for the comment amount humans being worthless… it was wrong of me."

"Masaoka told you to apologize, didn't he?"

The man gave her a goofy grin. "You caught me. I don't think what I said was wrong but I know it wasn't something I should have said regardless. And for that, you have my sincerest apologies."

"Fine, apology accepted. It was also wrong of me to assume you kill people left and right. So… I'm sorry too."

The man smiled, moving towards the hunter.

"So… you wanna watch a movie? We recently got Netflix and there's this one horror movie I wanted to watch!"

The vampire looks positively giddy, face twisted in anticipation. She just couldn't say no; it was like denying a child a piece of candy. "Sure… why not?"

"Yay! Scoot over, I'll start the movie and get some popcorn!"

Surprisingly, it's not that bad of a time. They laugh at all the failed attempts at horror, telling jokes throughout the movie to make it more bearable. The man knows nothing of personal space, bumping shoulders, hands when they both reach for the popcorn bowl, and, before they knew it, it was morning.

An internal alarm went off in the vampire, eyes drooping heavily.

…

When Kougami Shinya heard that the orange-haired vampire had went to visit Akane in her room and didn't return, he assumed the man was nothing but a pile of ash. He had not expected to see them curled up on the bed, credits to some movie scrolling down the T.V. They leaned against the headboard, the vampire's head against her shoulder. Soft puffs of air tickled the girl's neck, but she adjusted her position slightly, unconsciously leaning towards the man's touch. It was heart-warming, even to the seasoned hunter.

"If only all human-vampire relationships didn't end in tragedy…" he sighed, closing the door on the pair. Maybe he could rouse Shougo from his sleep to talk about The Divine Comedy. Shinya smiled, walking towards the silver-haired vampire's wing of the mansion.