Hello everyone! It's me Riku Kingdom Hearts (the co writer of this story with Hika) and I am here to bring you the first chapter of the 2nd arc of our Shadows series!

Hope you all have a fun time seeing what happens now :D

"You're the vampires who drank my blood."

Those had been the fatal words spoken by Tatara that sent Riku and Saru's world crashing down around them. It only took a few seconds before all eyes were on them, both Yata and Sora displaying their own levels of shock and horror.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked, his voice soft and uncertain.

"Yes, it has been months, but I wouldn't forget their faces," Tatara replied.

"Then what the hell!?" Yata yelled suddenly as he turned to face the two brothers. "You seriously thought it was fine to keep that shit from us!?

Tatara reached his hand out to Yata, placing it on his shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to-"

"Yes I fucking do! These are the two that attacked you! Why shouldn't I?" Yata hissed.

Riku breathed in deeply, shaking his head. "Yata, please… We can go to a private place to talk. Let's not just yell about vampires attacking people in a public place… okay?"

"Yeah, Yata," Sora added. "Let's just discuss this privately.

Yata opened his mouth, seeming like he would say something more. Instead, he let out a huff of air, silently agreeing to the idea of moving elsewhere to talk.

"Come on, let's leave the carnival grounds," Tatara said as he waved for the other four to follow.

Yata and Sora followed Tatars first, leaving Riku and Saru to trail slowly behind. For a moment, Riku sent another concerned gaze to his brother, hoping for some semblance of reassurance. But, he was only met with Saru's usual, disinterested, hard to read expression.

"Saru…" he whispered.

Suddenly, Saru tried to turn the other direction, walking away from the group. It was clear that he didn't want to have to face this, but Riku wasn't going to allow it. He didn't want to face the truth right now either, but he wasn't going to do it alone.

He reached over, grabbing Saru by the wrist, and yanked him along.

Saru sneered. "Don't have to be so aggressive."

"Then don't try and sneak off."

"Rather us be killed on the spot?"

Riku sighed. "They're not going to kill us… they want to hear us out."

"Hey!" Yata yelled from in front. "We can still hear you, y'know!"

"Yeah… we know," Riku sighed.

Soon, they exited the carnival area and headed off into the nearby park area. Tatara made sure to lead them off closer to the forest, so they would be out of range of any people who happened to go to the park.

"Alright, I think this should be good," he said calmly. "Now, let's try and talk things out, okay?"

"Yeah! You can start by explaining yourselves!" Yata said, pointing a finger towards them.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Riku asked, casting his eyes downward.

"Maybe start with why you attacked Tatara?" Sora asked. "Ah, well, guess we know why… vampires need blood, but Tatara said you tied him up."

"It's what method we agreed on… there's many ways vampires will find to feed off a human. Whether it's the olden way of charming a human into a trance, the more modern method of knocking them out, or… tying them up. It also depends on the time of day and surroundings as well."

"And somehow tying Tatara up was the best method?" Yata scoffed. "One guy and you tied him up in the middle of the forest!"

"Would you rather I knocked him out cold?" Saru muttered flatly.

"We compromised on that… between our choices in preferred methods, it was the easiest way."

"Hey, if you two had just asked, I would have been willing to help out," Tatara interjected.

"Most humans don't take kindly to vampires," Saru said, his voice lowering to a whisper.

Sora tilted his head. "It's not that bad… right? I mean, there aren't fights against vampires anymore. People are more chill nowadays."

Riku shrugged. "Even in the modern day, when a lot of people are more aware of vampires, humans are only 'chill' with vampires as long as the vampires aren't looking to feed."

Pausing for a moment, Riku could see that all eyes were on him. Everyone seemed to be waiting for more to be said, wanting more than just a passive answer.

Letting out a sigh, Riku lowered his head. "I'm sorry we kept this from you… But it's not an easy thing to talk about. When we discovered that you two were friends with Tatara, we didn't want to risk anything."

"That still doesn't make up for… Wait!" Yata exclaimed. "How the hell do you know about him! I don't recall ever mentioning him!"

"Yeah… me neither," Sora added.

"Think, Misaki… Or did you forget how we first met," Saru replied.

"What… My wallet! You looked at my wallet, you piece of shit!"

"Oh, now you're pissed at me for something that happened months ago? You should really get your priorities straight, Misaki."

Yata gritted his teeth. "Then back on topic! Why go for just Tatara if both of you needed blood? You could've killed him!"

"Human blood is more substantial than animal blood… But we didn't kill him, I made sure he got to the hospital.," Riku answered.

Tatara smiled warmly. "And I am thankful for that."

Sora finally took a step forward, looking at Riku with saddened eyes. "I'm a little sad that you didn't tell me before… but, like, I get it. And I still have a lot of questions too, but I'm going to trust you."

It wasn't what Riku had expected, but seeing the sincerity in Sora's eyes eased his heart. "Thank you."

"Well I'm not going to just trust either of you yet! I'm still pissed that you nearly killed Tatara!"

"But Yata," Tatara tried to interject, but Yata just hissed in annoyance.

"I know! I know you are okay! Even when they decided to bring you to the hospital, that still doesn't make me forgive them for almost draining you!"

Saru clicked his tongue. "Tch. It's part of our survival… a starving vampire isn't something you want to see."

"Whatever! I'm out of here!" Yata huffed

"Yata wait!"

Sora tried to reach out to him, but Yata kept moving, walking back in the direction of the carnival. The tension between the remaining four was still high, neither of them saying anything until Yata was completely out of sight.

Saru let out a short huff. "I'm going home."

Riku turned to his brother. "Saru, come on… Don't go."

"Misaki left… He was the only reason I was here. So I'm going," Saru replied.

His tone was a little softer and less bitter than usual. Riku could see the disappointment and hurt in his brother's eyes, but he wasn't sure if he was even capable of comforting him in his moment. With his own heart still heavy from the confrontation, he watched as his own brother walked away.

"I'm sorry," Riku said when he turned his attention back to Sora and Tatara.

"Hey, I said I trust you… and I forgive you," Sora said comfortingly.

Riku's shoulders slumped. "Thanks… I'll tell you sometime, okay? About everything? Just not right now…"

Sora reached forward, giving a tight squeeze to Riku. "It's okay. Just text or call me when you feel ready. I'll go find Yata to try and calm him down, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good… and thanks."

After Sora ran off, it was just Tatara and Riku. Honestly, Riku was just ready to go home at this rate, but he couldn't get himself to move yet. Part of him still wasn't sure if Tatara truly forgave him, despite the man's kindness and friendliness towards him.

"You don't have to worry," Tatara said, as if he could read Riku's mind. "I know that you and your brother did what you had to. But please, if you ever need assistance again, all you need to do is ask."

With those kind words echoing in his head, Riku managed a smile. "Thank you. And, uh, let Sora know that I'm going home."

Tatara nodded. "Of course."

Letting out a long, deep breath before he managed to get his feet moving, heading in the direction of home.

The day had taken a turn for the worst, in a way Riku had never wished to happen. There was no reversing it however… the truth was out, and it still stung. Even with Sora forgiving him, and still wanting to talk, it didn't alleviate the initial shock he saw in his eyes.

It was going to be a long while before Riku ever felt comfortable about the subject, knowing the road ahead was going to be hard.