A/N: Well. I told you guys that this fic isn't my top priority, as seen by the obscenely long wait time for this chapter. I hope you'll take this one as an apology.

(Also, I'm amazed with how many of you are enjoying it! I hope to keep up to your expectations for as long as I can.)

Her phone ringing is what brings her back to reality.

Shizuru dislodges her teeth with a wet pop, running her tongue over the crimson backs. She licks the wound clean while reaching over to the bedside table. "I'm sorry," she purrs, "but I have to take this."

The girl under her murmurs soundlessly, eyes dazed and much farther away than the body in the bed dictates.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Shizuru?"

A smile spreads her rouged lips. "Natsuki!" she exclaims, watching as her saliva knits the wounds on her prey's throat. "How are you?"

"Okay. Midterms are over so at least I can lay off the coffee for a little while."

"Good. I agree with Tokiha-san, too much is bad for you."

An indistinct grumble from the other line. "After all that's happened, can't you let me have one self-destructive habit?"

"You smoke, too. Or should I tell you to quit that instead?"

"You smoke."

"I also don't need my lungs."

She slips off the side of the bed and shrugs her shirt back on. Her bra, somehow across the other side of the room, is stuffed into her bag. Her underwear is found underneath the girl's motionless form, and she lets her fingers trail across the purple-blue skin as she takes them.

She's very pretty, she supposes. The flesh between her thighs is tender and still glistening, fucked raw and fucked out by a talented mouth. The patterned crescent where Shizuru sunk her fangs is little more than a shadow now.

"Then why do you breathe?"

Shizuru tugs her jeans up her thighs, shushing the girl whose mumbles have become a little more distinct. "Habit? I did need it for the first few years of my life, after all."

"I… guess. It just seems like such a nuisance."

"Swimming is much more enjoyable without it, I agree."

She leans over and brushes a kiss to the pale apple of the girl's cheek. "Thank you for the night. Rest well, you've earned it."

The day is well past breaking over the city, and Shizuru still squints that little bit from under her sunglasses. Still, she feels… young again. The new blood pounding through her leaks what could be taken for life back into her old body.

Despite her strangeness, Miyu's suggestions are always almost a good idea.

Shizuru winds her way through several side streets and alleys, taking whatever reprieve she can from the glare. "While it is always lovely to hear your voice, is this more than simply a social call? I'm afraid I have to get home and prepare for work soon."

"Oh, you aren't home? What were you doing last night?" There's a cough immediately after, followed by a nervous laugh. "N-not that you have to answer that, of course, I was, uh, just wondering. Not in a creepy way."

Shizuru chuckles, low and rolling. "I was hungry. It was time I took care of it."

"… oh. That, uh, that's… good?"

"It was. Quite good."

But not as good as you'd taste, I'm sure.

"Speaking of food, um, I'm actually calling because Mai wants to know if you'd like to come to dinner with us." She can almost smell the blush on Natsuki's face. "Yuuichi will be there too, but you can ignore him like I do."

"Is that so?"

Stepping into another side-alley, a shadow hidden by a dumpster moves into her peripheral. She keeps walking without even a stutter.

"Yeah. I'm sure this is all one of her elaborate schemes, and I'll understand if you don't want to come—"

"Ara, trying to get rid of me already, Natsuki? I'm hurt."

"No! It's just, well… you don't eat, right?"

"Perhaps, but I can still appreciate fine flavours. I remember you telling me just how good Tokiha-san's cooking really is."

"So you… want to come?" The palpable hesitation makes Shizuru's head cock to one side, equal parts in curiosity and the other to better judge the position of footsteps now sounding behind her.

"Of course. If Natsuki is there, I would be glad to."

"Oh. Okay." The forced aloofness makes the smile on Shizuru's face grow wider. "Would tomorrow night work?"

"Yes, I have a day shift tomorrow."

"Great! I'll see you then."

"Should I bring anything?"

"Just yourself. That's more than enough."

Despite the fact it no longer works, Shizuru feels her heart skip a proverbial beat. "Such a charmer, Natsuki."

"Bye, Shizuru."

"See you."

She stares at her blank phone screen before sighing happily, slipping it into her pocket. Instead of continuing home, she glances back. "You can stop following me now, Kanzaki-san."

A figure materializes out of the darkness, a polite but amused smile on his handsome face. "It never was possible to sneak up on you, was it, Fujino-san?"

"You've gotten better over the years."

"Please, spare the placations. I've long come to terms with it."

"Apologies. I've grown used to dealing with men and their ego." She studies him as one can an old friend. "They must not want a fight yet if they're sending you."

"With any luck, they won't wish to fight at all."

"Then why are you here, Kanzaki-san?"

He sighs. "You know why."

"That mess with Takeda-kun, was it?" She shrugs. Her hair tumbles across her shoulder-blades in a swath of silk. "If you've come looking for an apology, you won't find one. We have no other siblings and our sire is dead. I owe no blood-oath. As you know."

He knows very well – Shizuru's skin scored in blood and ash as Nagi's crumbling hands had raked across her face is not something he will ever forget. Her eyes burn as brightly as they did back then.

"They want an explanation," he says, licks his dry lips as Shizuru's eyes connect with his. "Barring that, a trial."

Her eyebrows rise up like it startles her. And maybe it does; it's been a long time since they've ever dared to make contact with her directly, longer still since she's she'd made a problem worth investigating. She's grown comfortable never interacting with her kind that roam the city streets.

A lonely life, Kanzaki once thought, but better than the alternative. He can't deny the wave of jealousy that comes over him at times. He may have accepted his lot in life, but he does sometimes wonder what it would be like to be free. Unlife puts a set of shackles around your wrists different than you'd expect.

"A trial? They say if they do not get what they want, they will hold a trial?" A disbelieving smile curls the corners of Shizuru's lips. "How presumptuous of them."

"You know how they are. Whenever one of our own is dusted there's a fair bit of scrutiny, provided they weren't inviting it to themselves."

"Ara? What classifies as inviting the Final Release?"

He glances away, his deep scarlet eyes looking elsewhere before sliding back, shrewd. "I knew Takeda-kun. And despite the years that have passed, I know you. Something must have transpired."

Shizuru softens, the lift on the corners of her mouth tired if just for a moment. "And if it did, Kanzaki-san?"

"I would bring it before the Council and hope they see reason. If not reason, at least caution."

The sun beams brightly behind the crisp blue sky and some of it seeps into their dark little space to lick at her heels. Her skin is ivory in the strong light, each minute shift of stance fluid and confident, like there's a predator that writhes just under the façade of a woman.

And isn't that just fitting?

"Takeda-kun was reckless," Shizuru furrows her brow in distaste, "and sadistic. I know many of our kin fall to the bloodlust from time to time, and I do not fault them for it. It is a hard beast to ignore. Some may even take pleasure in it, but there is a difference from enjoying it and being devoured. I had watched him rampage without the Council's intervention for long enough."

"Why did that bother you, Fujino-san? You never insert yourself in our matters these days."

He's fishing, that much is clear, but she allows it. Moving never used to bother her, but these days she might have found something to settle into for a bit longer than a pack of vengeance-seekers would allow.

"He threatened someone precious to me. I would not let him escape to hunt her another day."

"A human?" he asks, amazed more than anything, but her gaze goes flat and hard in the seconds it takes him to breathe out his surprise. He remembers this, too, moments before her fist crushed Ishigami's spine from its position around his throat.

"Is there a problem, Kanzaki-san?"

Ice slithers around his spine and freezes him in place. The lilt in her voice can't betray the meaning underneath.

If he could, he'd be sweating.

"Not at all," he responds immediately, "forgive my remark. I was simply caught off-guard."

"Why is that? Surely, our kind have had stranger companions."

"True. Humans are just so… fragile, compared to us." He shrugs, brushing his hair back from his eyes to hide his discomfited blink. "But it does not matter. You are no longer subject to our laws, is that right?"

She shoots him a wry glance, and he feels his bones thawing. "In theory. Your visit says otherwise."

"They are nervous, Fujino-san. There have been a rash of huntings in the city. The last thing they want is another one of our own adding to the pile of ashes."

She had heard whispers, of course, trembles through the underground. But the murmurs of ghosts do not compare to a full-bodied confession from the well this knowledge oozes from. "Do we know who it is?"

"Not yet."

Worrying. Still. Shizuru hasn't had a run-in with a hunter in over sixty years and fully intends to stay that way. Living alone makes it easier to slip into the darkness, and humans have such poor eyesight.

Still, the old wound between her breasts throbs like a shard of silver is still lodged in her spine.

"Thank you for the warning, Kanzaki-san. I will be cautious."

"Good." He relaxes fully, leaving him as calm and smiling as he was when he arrived. "Then I believe our visit is done. It was good to see you, Fujino-san, despite the circumstances."

"Likewise."

He makes to leave, but Shizuru calls out to him before he can turn completely. Kanzaki looks over his shoulder and her parting smile hasn't wavered, nor have the hands clasped by her front. But her eyes are dark and hot and speak of a promise he dares not even dream.

"You have given me good advice today, so I will do the same for you." Her lips pull up a little more, the slightest slash of teeth against the pink of her mouth. "I know the Council has tried for many years to return me to them. They may even think that now that I have a friend, it is a weakness. But I promise you, Kanzaki-san, that if they so much as brush against her on the street I will return them all to the void myself. You have my word."

Shizuru is not one to give promises lightly. Kanzaki nods with a little bow, and if it's the slightest bit lower than custom would dictate, well. They aren't going to mention it.

"Are you sure I don't look stupid?"

Mai scoffs from the kitchen, the scent of broth wafting around the entire apartment. Despite the way it's managed to tie itself into knots, her stomach still manages a weak grumble.

"It's not like you're going out to a five-star restaurant, Natsuki. You look fine."

"Mai's cooking is five-star!" Mikoto chimes in from the couch, looking away from her nature documentary long enough to grin in Mai's general direction. "That's enough reason to look good."

Natsuki looks dubiously over at her, sprawled out on the couch still in her school uniform. "You didn't even bother to change your socks."

Mikoto points one foot at Natsuki, dragging her knee-sock clad limb in a lazy circle. "That's because none of your clothes fit me, and I dropped my spares in the mud this afternoon."

"How did you even manage that?"

"I saw a cat."

"Then that's your own problem."

Mikoto goes back to her documentary, sinking her teeth into a fresh bun. "Why are you still growing? I'm the only one still allowed. Are you gonna become a giant or something?"

"You're just jealous you're going to be shorter than me forever."

"At least I'm taller than Mai."

"Hey!"

Mai pops her head out from around the kitchen, scowl in place and spatula hovering. "Do you both want to go to bed without dinner?"

Simultaneous and instant; rehearsed. "No, we're sorry."

"Good. Now, just—"

The doorbell rings and Natsuki's heart jumps before she can attempt to control it. She shoots up from her perched position on the edge of the couch, smoothing back her hair and attempting to tug her shirt on straighter. Mikoto snickers as she stiffly makes it to the door and takes a deep breath to prepare herself before swinging it wide.

Her mouth is halfway open to nearly shout a greeting before registering who it is. Instantly, her nerves dissipate into a streak of irritation a mile wide. "Oh. It's you."

She leaves without inviting him inside and plops down next to Mikoto, now wearing a matching scowl and chewing furiously at her bun. Natsuki holds out her hand, and one is silently deposited into her palm.

Mikoto might be a pain as she matures, but they'll always have their mutual dislike for Mai's boyfriend. Friendships have been built on shakier grounds. (And really, with the way the girl looks at Mai, it's only a matter of time until she realizes what she's been missing all this time.)

"Thanks for the warm welcome," Tate deadpans, leaning into the kitchen to greet Mai. "I'm sorry, my paycheck was a bit thinner than I expected, so I couldn't bring the sake like you asked."

Mai sighs and goes to whisk her sauce, adding spices with no concern for the amount. "That's fine. I'm sure we can manage." She turns, eyebrows shooting up as she takes in his face. "You too? All the people in my life are getting into fights!"

"Fights?" he asks, steered into the living room to avoid roaming hands that pick away at ingredients, only to grind to a halt at the first full view of Natsuki's face. "Christ, Kuga, what happened?"

Natsuki scowls; the motion doesn't hurt quite as much as it did a few days ago. "None of your damn business."

"Bar fight," Mikoto informs him, "protecting her lady-friend's honor." Her grin stretches out until Natsuki can see all of her teeth and it damn near pulls with the force of it. "She's coming tonight, right?"

"Why do you want to know, you creep?"

"Mai's met her, but I haven't! It's my turn now! I wanna see if she's as charming as she says, or if you just get really dumb around her."

Natsuki's eyebrow twitches. "I liked it when you were just loud and energetic. Now you're a smartass too."

"I can go back to ruining your entire lingerie collection if you want."

Natsuki places a finger on Mikoto's lips and leans forward until they're nearly nose to nose. "I thought I told you we don't talk about that incident anymore. I still haven't replaced it all yet and it's been three years."

"You shouldn't have left them out in the open."

"This isn't your apartment!"

"So," Tate interjects, "what's this about a barfight?"

Natsuki crosses her arms but Mai chooses that time to waltz into the living room, falling down with a dramatic sigh into the armchair across from Natsuki and Mikoto's couch. Her legs cross and Natsuki recognizes that pose very, very well; she's about to launch into a story that no one has any chance of stopping.

"The other day," Mai starts and Mikoto claps, pulling herself into a cross-legged position to pay full attention. It's probably the third time she's heard the story by now but Mai keeps inventing things to make it more and more interesting, so each telling is different. A headache throbs between Natsuki's temples like a drum. "Natsuki went out for drinks with Fujino-san."

Tate's fingers, lax on his beer, stiffen. "Fujino-san? The woman I met at the café?"

"The very same. Isn't she so cool and composed? And that accent!"

"Y-yeah."

"Anyway, so—"

The screech of a pushed chair cuts Mai off; Tate blinks from his standing position like he just now noticed what he did. He attempts a weak smile and rakes one of his hands through his hair, pushing the already-messy mass into further disarray.

"Sorry," he says, rubbing his thumb along his temple. "I suddenly don't feel very good."

"Oh," Mai exclaims, rushing to his side and forgetting her story; Natsuki heaves out a sigh of relief, "are you okay? Do you want anything?"

"Just a glass of water, I think. I'm going to go to the bathroom."

Natsuki and Mikoto watch him leave, the latter pulling a face behind his retreating back.

"What's gotten into him?" Natsuki wonders, fishing a half-open book from its place on the coffee table. "Not like I care."

"Maybe the thought of you trying to flirt made him feel sick."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual."

She tries to pay attention to her book, but Mikoto's eyes on her make reading difficult. After a few moments, Natsuki lowers her book to scowl across the top of the pages.

"What?"

"What's Fujino-san like?"

"I told you, she—"

"No, what's she actually like? Why do you like her?"

"I don't like her, like her, idiot."

Not only does the denial fall flat, the combo of Mikoto's unimpressed eyebrow and the rapidly growing heat on her face does little to back her up. Natsuki wishes that Mikoto picked up the better of Mai's habits, like cooking or karaoke… but instead, she's stuck with a teenager whose penchant for sniffing out bullshit is nearly unrivaled.

(But only Natsuki's bullshit, apparently. Mikoto will swallow anything Nao feeds her and beg for more.)

"Okay, well, maybe I like her a little bit."

"You've never invited anyone over for dinner before."

Natsuki scowls. "And?"

Mikoto flicks the bun wrapper at her. "And that means she's special. So I want to hear you being honest for once."

"Brat," Natsuki sighs, but sinks into the couch anyway. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

"I don't know, just tell me."

For a second, the couch under Natsuki's fingertips ripples into concrete and she can smell bile and blood and piss, the pitiful sounds of Takeda's last gurgling breath as he died. Shizuru tossing him away like one would rotten trash, the moonlight catching her eyes like they do to cats in the dark.

"She's… like no one else I've ever met before."

She takes a deep breath and she's back again, Mikoto's inquisitive eyes on her temple and book loose in her hand. "Shizuru just has this… aura, around her, you know? It draws people in. But she's also kind, and smart, and considerate. But if I had to use one word to describe her, it would have to be—"

"Powerful."

Natsuki looks up and spies Mai in the kitchen doorway, glass of water in hand. "Isn't that right?"

"I…" she pauses, rolling the word around on her tongue, "yeah. That's perfect."

"Don't worry, Mikoto," Mai says, ruffling her hair and making the other girl yelp, "you'll like her. I did."

"She should be here soon, right?"

A glance at the clock – five minutes. Natsuki's heart starts to thump in earnest now.

"Yeah."

Knock knock knock.

Mere seconds after she knocks, there's a lot of banging coming from the other side of the door. Shouting is thrown in, some choice curses in a voice that's definitely Natsuki, and a thump of a body hitting the floor before the door is thrown open.

Shizuru is met not with Natsuki, nor Tokiha-san, but a schoolgirl who skids into the open doorframe like she's used to tearing around the world at triple speed. Her uniform is dusty and ragged and her socked feet have holes in them, but her grin is warm and her eyes are bright – yellow?

Shizuru's eyebrows lift. That's interesting.

"You must be Fujino-san!" The girl exclaims, and from inside the apartment Shizuru can see the lump of a body rising from the carpet with a groan. "It's so great to finally meet you, Natsuki won't shut up about how you helped her ace her paper!"

Shizuru laughs, adjusting her grip on the bottle of sake. "Ara, you must be the mysterious third person who shares this apartment. I'm afraid I never caught your name."

"I'm Minagi Mikoto! Mhm!" She grins, braids shaking. "But you can just call me Mikoto. You've already passed the first test."

"Is that so?"

"Mikoto! Let the woman inside, for God's sake!"

Mai bumps her out the way, apron splotched and smile beaming. "Fujino-san! I'm so glad you could make it!"

She leans in for a hug and Shizuru accepts, folding her free arm around her shoulders and subtly breathing in. The fresh blood running through her old veins stops the hunger pangs, but her stomach still groans uncertainly at the scent of fresh cooking that wafts up from Mai's clothing. It's been a long time since food made her, well… hungry. It's strange, but not unwelcome. "It's good to see you again, Tokiha-san. I hope this will suffice."

Mai accepts the bottle of sake with a beaming grin, turning it over in her eager hands. "This is perfect! Tate-kun didn't end up buying any, so I thought I'd have to substitute with something else in the broth. I'm afraid there won't be that much left for drinking, though."

Shizuru pulls open her jacket, revealing the hint of a stoppered cork. "I made sure to buy two."

"You're a blessing," Mai groans as she ushers her inside, already making her way back to the kitchen. "I need to tell Natsuki to bring you over more often. She's probably hiding in the living room."

"I am not hiding!"

Still, for all her posturing, Natsuki waits for Shizuru to come to her with a blush strong enough she could smell it from across the apartment. She holds a book loosely in her hand, evidently unread, and does her best to appear unaffected. Shizuru smiles.

"We must stop meeting like this, Natsuki-san."

"Didn't I tell you to just call me Natsuki?"

"Ara, my apologies. It's the Kyoto upbringing in me."

"You don't have any trouble remembering on the phone."

"Well, then I can't see Natsuki-san's face. It is easier to not get distracted."

In a few long strides, she crosses the floor until they're only a few feet away. With only a minute hesitation, Shizuru cups her face in one hand and runs a gentle thumb along the heavy-banded bruising still stretched across her brow. "Still healing, I see. Does it hurt?"

"N-not that much."

Shizuru scrutinizes the meld of colours before lighting tapping between Natsuki's brows. She flinches and curls away, skin prickling a little at the sound of Shizuru's tsk. "Lying to me now, are you?"

"It's not that bad. I promise."

"Still. If I was faster, then—"

"Maybe," Natsuki cuts her off, catching the hand still on her face and squeezing gently, "but it'll heal, and I'll be okay. I'm not as delicate as you think."

Her fingers burn where Natsuki touches them, and Shizuru looks away to hide exactly how much attention she puts to it. "You're right. It's been so long since I had to inhabit a human body that I've forgotten how adept they can be. Besides…" she smiles, finally dropping her hands and missing it immediately, "I like this colour on you, though I think I like red a bit more."

There's a shuffle behind her, and Shizuru tilts her head towards the doorway. "Is there something you want, Mikoto-san?"

Natsuki springs away from her as if struck, and the rush of blood to her face at such a close distance has Shizuru's mouth watering. So close, so abundant, so rich. If only she could—just a taste, surely, it wouldn't be so bad? Just… just one?

"Mai says dinner's ready."

Shizuru catches herself and lets her hand fall to her side. Though her veins are full, they still ache.

"I'll be there in a moment. I just need to freshen up."

She hands Natsuki her coat, following the hallway to the nearest bathroom.

"I think Tate is still in there," Mikoto calls after her, "if he made it gross you can use the one in Natsuki's room."

Yuuichi, huh?

Shizuru glides her tongue over one of her fangs. "Is he not feeling well?"

She shrugs. "Dunno. He was acting weird."

On the other side of the door, she can hear him shuffling and muttering to himself, the run of the taps doing enough to eclipse her hearing that it becomes indistinct. Unease rolls off him like the tide though his measured breathing tries to hide it – Shizuru tamps down her smirk and knocks.

"Sorry, out in a second!"

"Take your time, Yuuichi-kun."

His shuffling stops abruptly for a moment before returning with force, and it's only a matter of seconds until the door opens. He smiles at her, albeit weakly, and nods his head. "I'm sorry for making you wait."

"I heard you weren't feeling well."

"Ah, yes… I'm better now, though."

The unnatural paleness to his cheeks attests otherwise, but she simply smiles back.

"That's good. We wouldn't want anything ruining tonight, would we?"

"No, uh, we wouldn't."

She takes a step into the bathroom, but lingers on his face. "Walked into another door, Yuuichi-kun?"

He twists his ring around in a vicious circle – it catches a flash of pale light from the overhead bulb, and Shizuru sees the faintest etchings of a serpent, mouth open wide and angry.

"No, uh, not this time."

Shizuru shakes her head. "All the people in Tokiha-san's life are hurting themselves. Don't be picking fights like Natsuki-san, now."

When she closes the door, he remains pinned to the spot for several moments before retreating to the main room. Shizuru grins at her reflection, and her lips pull back far enough to show the roots of polished, heavy-set fangs.

"Now, now," she scolds herself, watching in the mirror as they shrink back a little bit into her gums, "behave. You can't eat like that."

Her smile goes from predatory to pointed, and it's good enough.

Mikoto's already taken her miso soup and one of her rolls, but her stomach is too in knots to care.

Natsuki swirls her udon noodles around in the broth, picking little pieces of beef and onion out of the soup to busy her hands. Tate stares down at his miso soup without seeing it. Mai is chatting pleasantly with the object of Natsuki's anxiety, who delicately spears another takoyaki and plops it into her fanged mouth.

"These are very good, Tokiha-san," Shizuru says from behind her palm, reaching for her wine glass. "It's been a long time since I've had a meal so full of flavour."

"Mai's cooking is always this good!" Mikoto enthuses, taking a massive bite out of her onigiri. "It's why Natsuki keeps growing even though she should have stopped like four years ago."

Natsuki glowers and takes a mouthful of noodles. Her stomach, finally loosening a bit at the complete lack of concern on Shizuru's face, sourly grumbles its impatience. "You're just mad that I'm still taller than you."

"Maybe if you didn't eat so much."

"Look who's talking!"

Shizuru sips on her sake, letting it soak over her tongue. "Do they always fight like that?"

"Ever since we were kids," Mai sighs. "We'll be eighty and they'll still be arguing."

"You've known each other a while, then?"

"Natsuki and I were in the same primary school. We went to middle school and high school together, too."

"And you just ended up at the same university?"

Mai shrugs. "We'd been living together since last year of high school. It only seemed right."

Natsuki deals with Shizuru's gaze on her by stuffing a fresh takoyaki in her mouth and burning her tongue on the inside. "She can't live without me," she manages to get out anyway.

"Please," Mai scoffs, gladly accepting Shizuru's offer of more sake, "you were such a crybaby when we were younger. I was always the one taking care of you."

"Oh?" It might sound like mild interest, but Natsuki knows better. Shizuru looks at her over the lip of her ochoko with a soft, satisfied amusement that makes Natsuki's blood burn in a way she's only ever felt with the other woman. "But Natsuki is so strong and stoic now."

"That happened during middle school, Fujino-san," Mai smiles conspiratorially. Her cheeks flush with the next sip of sake. "In essence, the cool façade is just used to pick up girls."

"Mai!" Natsuki squeaks, delivering a very firm kick underneath the table. Mai giggles into her napkin before pushing herself upright, back into her own seat and reaching yet again for her ochoko. Tate puts a hand around her wrist and guides it back to her chopsticks.

"Come on," he says, guiding her hand to pick up a takoyaki, "you've barely eaten any of the food you made."

"Fujino-san and I were having a conversation!"

"And you can have more conversation while you're eating."

"This is why I didn't want to invite her over," Natsuki mutters to Mikoto, who chomps down her third onigiri with what could pass as a sympathetic expression. "Mai's first passion in life is to embarrass me."

"No, her first passion is karaoke. This is her second."

"So, Minagi-san," Shizuru interrupts smoothly. Mikoto's head jerks up like a puppet. "Did you know Natsuki in primary school?"

"Nope," Mikoto says, starting on her second helping of udon. "I met them when they were in middle school. I was still in primary."

"Mikoto is three years below us," Natsuki fills in.

"So Natsuki was already cold and grumpy by the time we met."

Mikoto dodges Natsuki's kick through years of practice.

"You're still in high school?"

"Yep! Last year!"

"Do you know what you're going to do?"

Mikoto shrugs, pushing the leftover rice in her bowl. "Not really. Help my grandfather, probably."

Shizuru smiles. "Don't worry. I wasn't sure what I was going to do either."

"Really?"

"I'd just experienced a rather… life changing event. I didn't have any direction."

Natsuki nervously gulps down her sake and watches Shizuru put more rice in her mouth like she was talking about the weather. There's a sly slant to her eyes, however, that tells Natsuki this type of misdirection isn't anything new.

"So what did you do?"

"I travelled."

Mai groans. "No wonder you seem so mature; you've been all over! For how long?"

This time, a smile sneaks onto Shizuru's face. It's small and secret, only special for the both of them. "A while."

"Ah, Fujino-san?"

Shizuru glances over the various dishes and glasses at Tate. They're almost at other ends of the table, but their eyes connect and that same energy that appeared when they first met passes between them. It's gone so quick Natsuki could have imagined it if it wasn't for the nervous way he grips his knife.

"Yes?"

"What university did you attend?"

"Kyoto University."

"For what?"

"Double major, history and anthropology."

"Oh? When did you graduate?"

Shizuru gives a small, pleasant smile before her next sip of sake. "Two years ago. Would Yuuichi-kun like a copy of my diploma as well?"

"N-no, I was just—"

Mai sinks her nails into his wrist. "Tate-kun has a younger sister that's going to Kyoto University," she fills in over the sound of his yelp, "so he's just eager to know more about the school. He apologizes for being so intrusive. Isn't that right?"

"Shiho-chan got into Kyoto?" Mikoto grins. "Good for her! Are you ever gonna go back to school, Tate?"

"No way," Natsuki scoffs, "you remember when he dropped out last year? These institutions are perversions of learning! I refuse to sit down and be taught by academia who have sold their souls to demons!"

"That isn't—"

"That is exactly what you said. I was there."

"I had an epiphany," Tate shoots back, his cheeks rapidly blooming a rusty red. "I decided that school wasn't for me."

"Honestly," Mai sighs, spooning a bit of broth. "Ever since you came back from your visit with your grandfather, you've been saying the strangest things."

"Ara, aren't all of you being a little hard on Yuuichi-kun? Surely youth leaves some time for mistakes."

Don't take his side, Natsuki almost snaps, but the amused glimmer in Shizuru's gaze stops her short. She watches Tate sweat in his seat with a surprising nonchalance, but the soft overhead lighting catches the faintest flash of a fang before it's concealed back under her smiling lips. Natsuki gulps; it's a lot bigger than the ones she saw on Shizuru the night she was rescued.

She'd sweat too, being watched like a hawk does a mouse.

"You say that like you're that much older than us," Mai grumbles, and Shizuru holds in a chuckle.

"I'm nearly thirty, actually."

Natsuki chokes on her sake and has to rely on Mikoto pounding her back to get it out. "Is that so funny, Natsuki?" She hears the lilt of mirth in Shizuru's question and glares at her through her tearing eyes, cheek nearly pressed to the table.

"N-no," she mutters hoarsely, "you just… look young."

Her forehead is forced onto the table by Mai's open palm. "Look young?" Her best friend hisses into her ear, her nails sharp and angry on Natsuki's scalp. "Do you want to offend her? I swear, now you're saying stupid things too."

"T-that's not what I meant!"

"It's quite all right, Tokiha-san," Shizuru says, "I always get mistaken for younger than I am, but sometimes I feel as old as the relics I watch over."

As Shizuru puts the final piece of takoyaki into her mouth, her expression changes from pleasant into careful neutrality. Only Natsuki notices the way her lips twitch down for a second, but the sound of her chair scraping cuts through the bickering of the room.

"Excuse me," Shizuru says, her voice coming out just the slightest bit flat. "I have to use the bathroom."

"Down the—" Mai starts, but she turns and vanishes before she can even complete the sentence. "Well, I guess she's already been before."

The four of them remaining lean back on their chairs, tenderly nursing swollen stomachs each.

"Fujino-san's appetite is something else," Mai exhales as she scans all the empty dishes, "she even ate more than Mikoto."

"She said she was excited to try your cooking, Mai."

Still very much filled with sake, Mai instantly goes crimson. "Oh, you're so lucky, Natsuki! She really knows how to make a girl feel special!"

Natsuki eyes Shizuru's empty bowl, one spoon of broth the only thing left remaining.

I wonder if she hit her limit?

Shizuru spits the last of the mouthwash into the sink with a sigh. The running tap had obscured the sounds of her retching, but it was just as unpleasant as it was when she had a stomach that worked.

You knew better than to push yourself, she frowns at her reflection in the mirror, what were you thinking?

But it had been so good and it was so long ago that she had entertained the company of so many people at once. All of them friendly, all of them welcoming. Eating, no less! What was she, human?

She chuckles under her breath and washes her hands. She can still hear them in the dining room, the clink of the sake bottle meeting the ochoko. When she opens the door, the soft light from the kitchen spills into the hallway and brings with it the still-fragrant smell of broth. If her stomach could rumble, it would.

Halfway back to her company, she passes an open door. The familiar smell of leather and cigarettes wafts over her and she steps towards it like drawn to a flame. Through the darkness she spies a single bed, gauzy curtains, and dark blue walls. Natsuki's room.

Now, Shizuru knows it's a complete invasion of privacy. She knows she should turn back, close the door, and rejoin her companions. But that strange, irrational part of her that's woken up since she met Natsuki puts one foot in front of the other until she's standing in her room without the lights on, eyes traveling slow and steady over every nook given to her. There's a small bookshelf that's leaning haphazardly against the far wall, a full-length mirror that's seen better days, and a dresser crammed with hair product. There's a copy of Interview with a Vampire on Natsuki's bedside table, obviously new.

Shizuru grins.

"Doing some research, Natsuki-san?" she murmurs under her breath, picking it up to inspect. As she does, a bookmark flutters to the floor – as she catches it, she realizes it's instead a set of photobooth pictures. A glowering Natsuki refuses to look at the camera in the first picture, but a grinning Mai and Mikoto don't seem to mind. By the last, they've wrestled her directly into the frame, and she can't hide the smile stretched over her face.

She flips it over. In messy cursive is last day of high school with a different coloured heart next to it. Undoubtedly Mai's doing. Upon closer inspection, the three of them are wearing uniforms, though only Mai and Natsuki match.

Shizuru clears her throat and gingerly puts the book back where it belongs, steadfastly ignoring the strange flare of arousal through her belly. It's not her fault the uniform makes her look so… young. And pretty.

"You're acting like an old pervert," she sighs to herself, moving on. There's books everywhere, stacked up and boxed away and scattered all over the bookshelf. There's even a few on her dresser. She goes to push them out of the way and unearths another picture, this one framed and obviously well-cared for. Shizuru squints in the darkness. In it are two people, a woman and a girl, and it takes her only one glance to determine it must be Natsuki's mother.

No wonder she's gorgeous, she looks exactly like her.

It was taken quite some time ago. This Natsuki has a gap-toothed grin and a carelessness that would look out of place on her now. The realization that this was taken probably no more than fifteen years ago makes Shizuru feel very old indeed.

"There you are, Fujino-san."

Shizuru whips around, startled, sure to put the picture back where she found it. Mikoto stands in the doorway, her slight frame illuminated by the hazy hallway light, but she can still see the inquisitive glimmer of her topaz eyes.

"Ah, my apologies," Shizuru smiles pleasantly, "I didn't hear you coming. I was just looking for the alternate bathroom."

Mikoto steps forward into the space, and the door closes behind her with a soft click. There's a look on her face that Shizuru can't place – despite herself, a quick bolt of anxiety flares through her before dissipating. "I'm very good at being quiet."

"So it would seem."

"And you're very good at blending in."

Shizuru's eyebrow quirks. "I beg your pardon?"

Mikoto smiles, but there's no malice in it. "It's okay, Fujino-san. I was hoping to talk to you alone, so there's no need to pretend."

It's dark inside the room, so dark that even Shizuru can't see the details surrounding them, but Mikoto's eyes stay firmly trained on her. "Pretend what, exactly?"

"To be human."

Shizuru stiffens from her spine to her toes. A million different diversions run through her head, one after another, but none seem sufficient under the scrutiny of the younger girl's gaze. She even considers vaulting clear through the window, but ultimately decides against it once she realizes how far of a drop it is.

It wouldn't kill her, but it would hurt.

"What are you implying?" she says instead, her face carefully neutral. Mikoto chuckles and takes another step forward until it's just the bed separating them.

"My grandfather is a priest," Mikoto says instead, flopping down onto the bed. She peers up at Shizuru from the comforter, legs crossed at the ankles. "So was his grandfather before him, and so on. We've been worshippers of Nekogami-sama for as long as our family remembers. Some say we're even her descendants."

Shizuru gingerly takes a seat on the edge of the bed. Mikoto rolls to face her, stretching languidly in the dark. "But for being loyal to her, she gifted our family with her eyes. They let us see things that other people can't. That they shouldn't." She taps her temple with a smirk. "Like you."

"So I was right," Shizuru murmurs, looking at her with a new appreciation. Her spine begins to unlock section by section, settling back into neutral alignment with a groan. "You are different."

"So are you."

"So I am." A car passes by the lonely street in front of their apartment, and the traveling headlight passes orange over Shizuru's face – her grin allows her fangs to gleam white in the dark. The uptick of Mikoto's heartbeat sounds like an underwater drum in the stillness. "What did you wish to talk about, Mina- ah, Mikoto-san?"

"You're a vampire, aren't you?"

"I thought you said you could see it?"

"I can see that you aren't human," Mikoto corrects, "but you aren't the only type of monster out there." She cocks her head then, running her gaze thoughtfully across Shizuru's body. "Though maybe monster isn't the right word for you."

Shizuru can't help the way her brows lift. "Is that so? The rest of the world would disagree."

"The rest of the world thinks you're just fantasy material," she gestures to the book open at Natsuki's bedside, "so why should I care what it thinks?"

A laugh escapes Shizuru's lips, low and rasping. "I suppose you have a point." She settles further back on her hands, watching the younger girl from the corner of her eye. "So if I'm not a monster, what am I?"

The gaze pinned to her own reminds Shizuru of another set of eyes, a lighter red but piercing all the same. It's absurd, but she wonders if Mikoto and Miyu knew each other in another life. "I don't know," Mikoto says, thoughtful and solemn at once, "but you wouldn't have saved Natsuki that night if you were."

"Ara, you saw through that, did you?"

"Only when you came over. Natsuki loves bragging about beating people up, but she's been real quiet about it this time. I knew something was weird."

Shizuru hums, watching the silhouette of a tree wave through Natsuki's curtain. "What do you see when you look at me?"

Mikoto shrugs. "It's hard to describe. An aura, I guess? Normal people don't have one. I feel it, too." She frowns, then, looking away. "I've seen your kind before. They have this awful cloud hanging over them… it stinks."

"I know what you mean," Shizuru agrees. "Many of them were bad people before they Returned, and they only got worse from there. I was exiled a long time ago, but I like it better that way."

"What did you do?"

She grins. "A lady must be allowed to keep some secrets, no?"

A knock on the door. "Fujino-san? Mikoto? Are you in there?"

"Yeah!" Mikoto calls out. "The bathroom was still gross thanks to Tate, so I'm waiting for this one."

Mai heaves a sigh from the other side of the door. "Well, dessert is ready whenever you want it."

"Is it manju?"

"That's what the lady of the house requested," Mai says fondly as Mikoto cheers. "Hurry before it gets cold."

"I will!"

Mikoto turns to Shizuru as Mai's steps fade out into the distance. Her eyes are serious again, carrying an age that seems far too large for her body. Shizuru wonders just how different they really are.

"She'd kill me for telling you this, but Natsuki really likes you," she says suddenly, oblivious to the way Shizuru's stomach does a nervous flip in her throat, "so I'm not gonna threaten you or anything. You'd probably be able to snap me like a twig anyway."

"Probably."

"But just... tell me one thing."

"Of course."

"You're doing this because you like her back, right? This isn't just some sort of… I don't know, a game to you?"

Shizuru inches forward until she holds Mikoto's hand in her own – warm and small, but still strong. A good grip. "I promise you, Mikoto-san. This is most definitely not a game."

She studies her for a second, sweeping those eyes up and down and back up again before settling at their joined hands. A smile creeps onto her face until it grows into a grin, and suddenly she's young again, her eyes squinting with mirth. The shroud cast over her shoulders vanishes into smoke and makes Shizuru wonder if she imagined it all.

"Then that's all I need to know! Mhm!" She moves fast for a human – Mikoto sweeps her up in a hug before she has time to react, pressing close and tight before bounding away. "I hope you're ready for so many cradle-robber jokes you'll wish you were dead! Well, more dead."

The door flings open and she stampedes down the hall, a rallying cry of manju as Shizuru hears her feet skid into the kitchen. She sits there for a moment, blinking in the new light, wondering exactly what she's gotten herself into.

Strangely, she doesn't mind at all.