A few days passed, and soon came the day when Yata and Sora would come to visit. They had set the day on the weekend, starting off in the afternoon so the brothers wouldn't have to get up so early for once.

Now all that had to be done was wait for the two boys to arrive.

Saruhiko was sitting on the floor of the living room. The coffee table now moved aside to make room for the new addition of an odd looking, fur-covered cushion that was partially on his lap.

"You think Zack's going to come up early from his sparring session with Cloud to bother us?" Riku asked, flopping onto the couch.

The oversized, reddish-brown 'cushion' that was on the floor, sprang to life, startled by Riku's presence, and bolted down the hall towards the bedrooms.

With a sigh, Saru turned to address his brother. "Wouldn't be surprised if he sprinted up the stairs straight out of the shower."

Riku chuckled. "You're probably right. Hopefully he doesn't scare them off… Knowing how Zack is and stuff."

He sighed for a moment before looking towards the hallway where the small creature from before had run. "Also… was that a fawn?"

"Yeah." Saru got up from the floor to go sit on the couch like a normal person.

"You ever think it's weird how so many animals seem to attract to you?"

"Not really."

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Never? Not even once?"

"I… grew up surrounded by animals." Saru answered with a distant look in his eyes. "Mom was always followed around by them too."

"Huh, guess she must have had a good connection with nature or something," Riku said.

He soon noticed the gaze in Saru's eyes, taking the moment to scoot closer to his brother. Carefully, he reached an arm out and placed it around him.

"I'm sure it must have been pretty impressive for a human to have such a connection to nature, yeah?" Riku added.

Saruhiko just hummed in response, shifting awkwardly in his brother's half-hug.

"If you wanna visit the Spirit Sanctuary again, you know you can just ask," Riku whispered.

"Mom said that while it's ok for me to miss her, I shouldn't cling to the past."

Riku shook his head slightly. "You don't have to cling to the past… but you shouldn't forget about it either. You're mother seemed like a wonderful person, you should cherish the memory of her, not try to let it go. Or something like that. Zexion would be better at being philosophical and stuff about that kind of stuff."

"Seventy points. I'll give you eighty for effort."

Riku managed a small chuckle. "Thanks."

The two boys relaxed after that, taking in the silence as they stayed in the semi-hug. It wasn't too long after however, that the doorbell rang, causing them to finally separate from one another.

Riku stood up first, heading towards the door. "That must be them."

Saruhiko stood to follow his brother, pausing to move the coffee table back where it usually was. Riku opened the door, revealing Yata and Sora to be standing behind it.

Right away, Riku locked eyes with Sora and smiled. "Hey, welcome."

"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said your house was in the forest!" Sora exclaimed. "But it looks really nice!"

"So was it just a choice to live in the middle of the forest or something?" Yata asked.

"They were already living here when I moved in," Saru answered.

Sora let out a curious 'Oh' as he entered the house. "So how long has the house been here then?"

Yata followed after him. "Hey Sora, maybe we shouldn't start by asking stuff like that? Like… I dunno, maybe that's not something you ask off the bat?"

"Why not? I'm curious to know about everything now!"

Yata glanced over at Saru before he shrugged. "It might be… awkward to ask?"

"I don't mind answering questions, but I don't know when Zack bought the house either. You could ask Zack but he's training right now in the basement."

"Oh that's right! You said you guys had a training room down there. Maybe we could get to see it later?" Sora asked excitedly.

"Possibly, but that's up to Zack."

Yata gave a shrug, his eyes now darting around the room. "Guess we gotta wait to find out."

Sora nodded. "Until then we can just have fun chatting!" He then moved forward to Riku and threw his arms around him. "And I missed you!"

Riku gasped, caught off guard a little, but he was quick to hug Sora back. "And I missed you too."

"Get a room." Saru commented.

Riku rolled his eyes. "Nothing wrong with a hug."

"Not until either hands start to wander or Zack embarrasses the hell out of you."

As if it were magic, Zack suddenly barged into the room, nearly tumbling to the floor in dramatic fashion. Immediately, Riku and Sora pulled away as they watched Zack fall to the floor, only to jump back to his feet, dusting off his pants.

"Someone say my name?"

"And there he is," Riku chuckled softly. "Guys, this is our brother, Zack. Zack, this is Sora and Yata."

Zack grinned widely. "Nice to meet you two! Riku and Saru have told me so much about you guys!"

"I don't recall talking much about Yata?" Saru asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to look at Riiki who shrugged.

Zack was still beaming brightly. "I could see it in your eyes. You had plenty to say."

Now Yata was staring at Saru. "So what were you saying about me, huh?"

"What part about I haven't told him much did you not understand, Misaki?"

"Yeah, but usually the older brother tends to know best," Yata chuckled smugly. "I should know."

"You never mentioned having siblings."

"And you never mentioned you were a vampire, so let's call it even," Yata replied in a huff.

"Aaaand, now everyone knows! So everyone can be happy now!" Sora cut in frantically.

"Yeah," Riku agreed quickly. "Let's just get to doing what we wanted to do."

"So, to the couch? We can talk and stuff?" Sora asked.

"Sounds good to me," Sora agreed.

"And I can cook up a meal for everyone! A real Zack specialty!" Zack declared proudly before heading into the kitchen.

As the boys started moving into the family room towards the couch, Saru paused, appearing to notice something in the hallway. He then turned to walk over to whatever he saw.

"And where are you going?" Yata asked.

"Tortoise got in the house." Saru commented, reaching the mid-sized reptile and picking them up.

"A tortoise?" Yata asked as he sat down.

Riku sighed, shaking his head. "Is it really something worth questioning? Remember the otter?"

"Oh I remember!" Sora chimed in. "How is the otter by the way?"

"Doing well," Saru answered before walking down the hall towards the back door, the tortoise flailing a bit in his hands.

"And he really just does this on the daily?" Yata questioned.

"I wouldn't say on the daily, but it has its occasional occurrences," Riku answered.

Zack laughed from the kitchen. "Nothings ever gonna top the chocobo instance though!"

"Chocobo instance?" Sora asked.

Both human boys looked to Riku for the answers as he started to laugh. "Well, I don't know how Saru would feel if we told the story behind his back."

"I'll tell it if you won't!" Zack replied.

A second later Cloud stepped into the room. "How about you focus on cooking instead? Otherwise we'll have another kitchen disaster."

Yata raised an eyebrow. "Another?"

Cloud snickered. "Maybe tell that story instead."

"Aw, come in Cloud! Why are you against me!" Zack pouted.

Cloud stepped into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Zack's waist. "I'm just warning them that you can be a careless cook sometimes."

The three looked for a moment before turning away from what was becoming an inmate moment. Riku sat down on the couch while Sora and Yata took to sitting in the chairs opposite of it.

Yata cleared his throat a second later. "So, uh, I guess since it's on my mind… Now that we know you guys are vampires and stuff… what about…" He pointed towards the kitchen, nodding his head in the same direction.

"Werewolf," Cloud answered as he looked at the boys.

"A-Ah sorry! I didn't think you'd hear me!" Yata replied quickly.

Cloud only laughed. "It's no big deal. Hearing more than the average person comes naturally."

"That's cool though!" Sora added. "I'm always jealous of Vani's hearing."

Around this time, Saru silently returned to the family room and joined Riku on the couch.

"Okay, now that we're all here… what do you guys want to ask us first?" Riku said.

It had taken this long for the truth to come out, and now here they were. Even if the truth was revealed in ways that Riku and Saru hadn't preferred, there was no way to take it back. They were here now, and had to be ready to answer whatever came to mind.

"Hmm, oh wait! Remember when I said my brother smelled a weird scent from you guys? And you said it was cologne? Was it really? Or was it like.. you know, vampire stuff?" Sora asked.

"I think I can help answer that one," Cloud cleared his throat as he came over to the four boys. "Vampires have an 'off scent' or 'empty scent' compared to other supernaturals. Others have a distinct smell, but vampires don't smell like anything while also smelling faintly like something."

Yata and Sora nodded along to Cloud's explanation, but it was over much quicker than they realized. Cloud finished what he said and then immediately returned to the kitchen, giving the four some privacy again.

"So guess that answers that," Yata said as he nodded. "A weird answer, but it's something."

"Yeah, but now you ask one, Yata," Sora replied.

"Me? Why me?"

"Cause were going back and forth! You ask one and I ask one, and back and forth! That way it's fair!"

Yata sighed. "Fine. Let's see… Uh… Guess I could ask… What blood tastes like to a vampire?"

"It tastes the same to humans, but to vampires, it's kinda… addictive for lack of a better term." Saru answered.

Riku nodded in agreement. "It's the easiest way to describe it. It just tastes how it does. And it's essential for our survival."

"That's so interesting! I always figured it would taste like wine or something to a vampire. You always see it being drunk in wine glasses in movies and stuff," Sora stared.

Riku sighed. "That's all fabricated. Blood being poured into a glass wouldn't work very well anyways."

Sora frowned, trying to figure out what Riku meant. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Blood naturally coagulates, so after a bit you wouldn't be able to drink it out of a glass," Saru decided to answer.

"Oh. I think I get it now! But if a lot of that media stuff is fake, what about garlic? You guys can eat food, so like, what if it has garlic in it?"

"The reaction to garlic varies between vampires." Saru replied.

"I've never had garlic bother me, but I know Saru and Zexion can have more than Zack can, but too much of it all at once… it's like a very bad allergic reaction," Riku added.

Before Saru or Riku could say anything more, Zack's voice came again from the kitchen. "It's a bit of genetics, but also mainly it's whether you are half or pure!"

"Half or pure?" Sora asked.

Yata blinked. "You mean you guys are… like… half brothers?"

"That's not quite what Zack was referring to, but yes," Saru said.

"Is that common for vampires?" Yata asked next.

Riku let out a soft sigh. "Not really super common, but it's not unheard of. There's plenty of history of vampires remarrying over the years for whatever reason could lead to it."

"Wow, never knew there'd be so much to know for vampires," Sora replied.

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask right now?" Riku asked.

Sora and Yata shared a glance with one another, both thinking deeply in that moment. Whatever it was, they seemed to be having the same thought, for they nodded after a few more seconds and Sora leaned forward in his chair.

"How much do vampires need to feed? We know you guys both fed off Tatara… So we've been wondering since then how often you need to."

"That depends on if a vampire is a half-blood or a pure-blood; how old they are; and how much control they have over their urge to feed when 'hungry,'" Saru answered, using air quotes around the last part.

Riku hummed in agreement. "So a pure-blood does need more blood than a half-blood, but the older one is, the better their endurance gets for lasting longer between feedings."

"And which one are you?" Sora asked him, his voice still gentle and curious.

Part of Riku hesitated, wanting to find a way to back out of answering. Sure, Sora accepting the fact that he was a vampire, but learning that he was also a pure-blood? That was a whole other ordeal. He wasn't extremely old, only 58, which still left him as young as Sora was in terms of a vampire. But that was what he worried about… how Sora would react knowing how much longer Riku had already lived… and would keep on living.

Finally, he knew he couldn't wait any longer, and he released his answer. "Pure-blood."

"And I'm guessing that means you're a half-blood?" Yata asked Saru.

Saru answered with a nod. He knew there wasn't a reason to keep it a secret, not that it really mattered to him. A vampire's age was different from a humans in terms of growth and aging, but it probably wouldn't change Yata's opinion of him anyhow, knowing how the current circumstances were. Yata was the first person who he actually felt things towards, and he didn't want to risk losing any of that.

"Alright boys! The stir fry is almost done! Hope you guys are hungry!" Zack shouted cheerfully.

"Guess that ends the convo for now," Sora said as he stood up. "But we got something done, right?"

Riku stood up as he nodded. "Yeah, as long as everyone else is fine too."

"Fine by me," Yata said with a shrug.

Saru followed quietly behind as all of them headed into the kitchen to see the results of Zack's cooking. From the smells alone, all of them knew that it was going to be a good meal share amongst each other.

Riku: If you enjoyed let us know with a comment! We'd like to see what you all think of the new arc!