When night fell upon them, they already had themselves prepared with a campfire in front of them, saving them from the cold. They'd survived on some rations they had brought with them but there wasn't much, and they needed to be extra careful not to finish it before tomorrow even comes.
"Alright, first shift's mine, then its Yuichiro's, then..." Shinoa flawlessly gave out orders as like the squad leader she was. It was for who to stay awake to keep watch through a certain period of the night, so that the whole group won't be mauled by unseen incoming vampires.
If the one already there wouldn't see her off first.
"-oh, and Mika-san!" Shinoa called him like she would call Yuichiro - shortened first name, plus -san. There was affection in her voice, or so it seemed to match her usual personality.
"I'm guessing Mika-san would rather stay awake during the hours when your precious Yuu-chan is awake, am I right?" her smile was unforgiving.
Hearing that, Yuuichiro turned a bit red. "Shinoa, what are you-" he tried to complain, but was cut off by his friend.
"Actually, I like the night. Vampire and all. And you're mistaken, I'm afraid. I'd rather stay when you are awake," he paused for a moment, "Shinoa-chan."
Shinoa furrowed her eyebrows, but smiling in the process. "He likes me already, yay!" she danced. Everyone else just stared at them with eyes of disbelief. Oh, they're getting along alright.
"Right then, Mika-san and I will take over here for the next hour," Shinoa began, "You guys can go hit the sack."
"I don't get it, if we're supposed to rest, why are we hitting sacks?" Yuuichiro tilted his head, confused. Hearing that, Mikaela marched up to him and slapped his palms on his cheeks, and brought his face closer.
"Its a figure of speech, damn it, Yuu-chan." he whispered right at him, leaving him stunned.
"O- of course I knew that, haha." he pulled away and laughed awkwardly. Shinoa nudged Mikaela, 'Way to go.' she sent, and laughed along with the others.
"Really guys, you're just making my shift shorter." Shinoa giggled as she pulled Mikaela by the sleeve. "That being said, I'm going to borrow this vampire here from you, Yuu-san." she said while pulling Mikaela away with her. Mikaela growled at her, but nobody else noticed.
As Shinoa looked back at her comrades, they were lying on their backs near the campfire, trying to get a share of rest. She wondered if that was even possible, because at any time right now, vampires might find them, and it'll be all over.
What could a little squad like hers handle?
'No, no, they're strong.' she thought. 'Get it together, Shinoa Hiragi.' she slapped her own cheeks.
"Help." she whispered out with her voice, soft enough that none of her teammates would hear.
But she has forgotten of the vampire that was near.
"What?" he asked, almost uncaring, but he still did. That'd made Shinoa jump up in surprise. How lost was she to forget that there was someone next to her?
But she was glad she didn't say any more than she already did.
"Nothing, nothing, its just," she paused to think for a second, "Cold! Yes, cold, that's all!" Shinoa blushed a little as she noticed her blunders. 'He's going to lash out at me for real, this time.' she thought.
"Hmm?" Mikaela seated himself right in front of her, arms circled around his knees. "Not convincing." were the only two words he threw out. Not a fit of rage, not angry 'Damn you human!' phrases, but just two words partnered with an unusual, soft tone, with slight hints of care added.
Shinoa took that as a signal of it being alright to be seated next to him, and so took up the chance.
"So Mika-san is Yuu-san's family?" Shinoa tried to break the ice, of course, by asking the obvious.
"By name, yes. Hyakuyas and all. By blood, far from it. We're both orphans." he answered without hesitation, surprisingly.
"Hyakuya... huh." Shinoa muttered under her breath. Upon hearing that, Mikaela's eyes widened.
And before she knew it, he had pushed her down.
"What do you know about the Hyakuyas?" he questioned furiously, his hand around Shinoa's neck as she struggled.
"I," she coughed, "Heard from Guren." Mikaela, upon hearing the name, calmed and let her go.
"Aha. And about this Guren guy?"
"He's our superior. I heard he was the one who picked Yuu-san up those years ago-" Shinoa frantically answer, but soon was cut off.
"Yes, I heard that from Yuu-chan. That's not important. I just want to know how deep are you with this experiment of his." Mikaela said bluntly, but precisely. Shinoa shook her head.
"I only knew there was an experiment, I don't know anything else. He won't tell me, that Guren." Shinoa sat up, inching herself away from the vampire.
"Hmm?" Mikaela crouched in front of her, pulling her arm. "Not convincing." he said the exact words from just now, but its no longer with that caring tone. It sounded more of a threat.
"Hah." she laughed, but with a serious face. "If I was helping him, would I give you Yuu and ask you to run away with our precious experiment?" she sighed.
"I don't know. Diversion or something. Gain my trust, maybe?" Mikaela looked away, scratching his head.
"Eh, you really don't want to trust anyone, hmm?" Shinoa loosened up and slightly smiled.
"Living with a bunch of filthy vampires for the past four years of my life while having to deal with becoming one definitely didn't help." Mikaela proceeded to lie down, his palms supporting his head while acting as a barrier between it and the soil grounds.
"I suppose." she said. And so they were followed by silence for minutes long, before Mikaela finally choke out:
"That's all you're going to say? Unlikely."
"You based my character on that few hours you've known me, I guess first impressions are really important then." she chuckled. Mikaela sighed. He wants an answer, not a comeback. And here he thought he had found someone other than his Yuu-chan that he could talk about his things to.
"I... can't relate to you, because I've never been a vampire," she started, "But... I understand. There's not a lot out there that you can trust."
"Hmm." Mikaela's eyes fixed themselves on her. Maybe he can trust her after all?
"What do you think about Yuu-chan, Shinoa?" his eyes returned to gaze at the stars above him, twinkling away.
"Eh, dropping the -chan already, Mika-san? I'm not ready for that you know~" Shinoa sang. Mikaela had gotten over the fact that she does this already, really, and so he chuckled a little.
Which, of course, shocked Shinoa out of her skin.
She looked at him, stared, if you will, as his cheeks turned into a rosy hue while he laughed away.
'Are you okay?' she wanted to ask, but she'd decided she rather not. What has gotten into him suddenly?
"You're awfully good at comebacks, aren't you?" he smirked. His face was brightly lit. Shinoa felt as if that was a face she'd only ever see once in her lifetime, everyday if she was Yuu.
"You're not too bad yourself, Mika-san." she answered, unsure if that was a compliment.
"Eh, but if you say so." he grinned at her playfully.
Shinoa moved closer to him. He wasn't as scary as he had looked, she thought. He's actually kind of cute, which would separate him from the actual vicious vampires she knows of.
Unless... They're all like this up close?
Ah, who knows.
"So," after a while, Mikaela spoke, "Are you going to answer the question?"
"Hmm?" she asked back.
"Yuu-chan. Do you like him or something?"
"He's an idiot," Shinoa prepared if she were to get hit, "But everyone seems like to like him, so I guess I do, too."
"Mika-san does too, doesn't he?" she poked his face. Mikaela, on impulse, sat up.
"Shinoa-," he stopped then looked at her, rolling his eyes. "Shinoa-chan," he coughed.
Shinoa looked at him, waiting.
"Do you love Yuu-chan?"
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Author's Note: I think this has been the fastest ever since I choked out a second chapter after the first xD
Let me explain: this chapter came out more to MikaNoa than any of the two pairings listed. But really. Bare with me, because I've lengthened my own idea into this. That being said, there will be more chapters into this.
Thank you for reading! Next chapter up as soon as possible, possibly tomorrow.