Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 6

Vlad set Arthur and Lukas's plates down in front of them before he settled down with his own breakfast. It was his turn to cook breakfast, and he'd settled on an omelette with tuna, mayonnaise and grated cheese. He'd woken up with a headache, and had no interest in making anything else.

"I hope you enjoy," Vlad said.

"This looks incredible," Arthur said, before taking a bite. "And it tastes incredible as well. I have to say, you're quite a skilled cook."

"Agreed," Lukas said. "I almost think that it would be best if you were the one that handled all the cooking."

"You're just saying that because you want one less chore," Vlad said.

"I'm serious. But, if it will persuade you, I'm more than happy to take on your cleaning duties if you would be willing to do the cooking."

"And if something happens and I can't cook a meal?"

"Then we can either swap one day or we can order takeout."

"I could…" Arthur started.

"Absolutely not," Lukas and Vlad said simultaneously.

Arthur sulked, but the other two ignored him. Vlad was considering the offer. Asides from their own bedrooms, Arthur had to keep the basement clean, which was used for magic, Lukas had the first storey and Vlad had the second storey. And the idea of Lukas taking over Vlad's cleaning was pretty tempting. They had a few other chores too, but those were the main ones.

"Alright," Vlad said. "Deal."

"Well, most days, it's only breakfast," Arthur said. "We all would probably get lunch at campus, and in the evenings we eat at the café. Unless you'd be willing to make something we can take along for lunch?"

"I think I can arrange for snacks. Something to keep you full until the main meal. I noticed yesterday that it seemed to take forever."

"That's not a bad idea," Lukas said. "And it might even end up being cheaper than whatever they serve at the campus."

"Fair enough," Arthur said. "Do you think you'd be able to do that after we return from the café?"

"Um, as long as someone can buy some ingredients during the day," Vlad said. "Arthur, you're the one with the car. Do you think you'd have time?"

"I may be able to spare an hour or two. Just give me the shopping list, and if it's not too complicated, then I might be able to manage."

"How can a shopping list be complicated?" Lukas asked.

"Fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, red meat… The more categories on the list, the more complicated it would become, and the longer it would take to go through the store."

"Okay, I think I see your point."

"I don't think I'll make something too complicated for a snack," Vlad said. "Maybe get some carrots, celery sticks, some fruits… I can make a lunchbox like that. It shouldn't be too bad, and it shouldn't be too expensive. Maybe get some cheeses. Nothing fancy, just something that I might be able to cut into pieces and spice."

"Spice on cheese?" Lukas asked.

"Da! If you have the right spices, you can give it all sorts of tasty flavours. Something like cheddar or gouda would be great. Ooh, or mozzarella! And I can make something fancier during the weekend, if you'd like."

"You know, I wonder if perhaps you should have studied the culinary arts instead of psychology," Arthur remarked.

"For that, he would have to go to France or Italy, and we wouldn't have his cooking," Lukas said.

"Are you saying that there isn't a decent place here?"

"Arthur, no offence, but your country isn't famous for its cuisine. Well, it is for the wrong reasons."

"So, would you like me to make some of your traditional dishes?" Vlad asked, trying to stop the explosion. "Just not haggis. I don't know how much you like the British cooking or if it's just English, but if you're fine with Scottish, then I'm drawing the line at haggis." Vlad shuddered for effect.

"That won't be a problem," Arthur said. "The only person in my immediate family that could stomach that is Alistair. We went visiting relatives in the Highlands and he took an immediate liking to it. Now no trip to Scotland is complete without that vile concoction."

"By the way, we haven't met the rest of your family yet," Vlad said. "Aren't they at least a bit curious about us?"

"Well, you've already met Alistair. My parents are quite busy, so I suspect they haven't had a chance to come by yet. The twins have decided that they'd much rather go to uni in Ireland, and Will is currently in Kenya. He's an anthropology student, and he needs to get some practical experience. The only one of my siblings you'd be able to meet at this point is Peter, and since he's in primary school, he wouldn't simply come around."

"How old is he, by the way? I think he might be around the same age as my younger brother."

"He's eleven."

"Oh. Alex is nine."

"My half-brother is about fifteen now," Lukas said. "I guess they wouldn't make friends with each other easily. Age gaps are more important for them, right?"

"I guess so," Vlad said. "Still, I would like you guys to meet my little brother one day. He's simply adorable!"

"I wish I could say the same about Peter," Arthur said, "but he's a bit of a brat."

"And Emil is going through his grumpy teenager phase," Lukas added. "We'll have to wait for it to pass."

Vlad grinned. While they weren't at the point where they would call each other friends yet, they were getting there. At the very least, they managed to get along, and could enjoy each other's company. He had no doubt that before the year was over, they would be able to call each other proper friends.

He took a bite of his omelette and winced. The headache had decided to remind him that it was still there. He'd almost forgotten about it through the pleasant conversation.

"Um, hey Arthur?" Vlad prompted. "You wouldn't have any painkillers or something, would you?"

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked, switching to concern.

"Da. I just have a headache. Could be a remnant of last night."

"Passing out?" Lukas asked. "Right. I supposed we should have checked if you bumped your head."

Vlad glanced towards Arthur. Based on Lukas's reaction, he didn't know about Vlad's vision. Vlad was glad about it. He didn't know what he would have felt if he'd found out that Arthur had told Lukas without Vlad's permission. He was still deciding whether or not to tell Lukas. He figured that the only reason why he'd told Arthur was because he was feeling vulnerable and needed to confide in someone.

"I'll go fetch something for the headache," Arthur said. "You have our numbers. If you feel sick during the day, let one of us know."

Vlad nodded and smiled.

"Sure," he said. "And thanks."

…

Vlad sighed as he reached the far end of the top of the library. He had hoped that such an old building with so many old books and a long history of students going through would have triggered a vision, but no luck. He didn't even see a hint of a secret student society.

He'd never really put much thought into his ability, but perhaps now that he was in a foreign country it would be a good idea to learn how to keep the ability from going out of control and causing problems. He didn't want to have a vision at the metro while he was getting on a train and end up falling onto the tracks.

He shook his head, before he turned around. He had every intention of going to a lower floor to search for the book he had to take out. He was halfway there when he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His vision darkened, but it returned soon enough, though he was no longer in the library.

It looked like he was in a jungle. He could hear banging sounds, and it took him a while to realise that they were explosions. He was in the middle of a battlefield.

He turned his head when he heard a whimper. A dark-skinned child was hiding in the foliage. What made this child stand out was the fact that he had a snake tail. The child looked towards the direction of the bangs in fear.

The child almost screamed when a figure with many arms came into view. Vlad wanted to help, knowing that this child was being hunted, but this was a scene of the past. He could do nothing to help.

…

When Vlad opened his eyes, brown eyes stared down at him. The owner leaned back and sighed when he saw Vlad was awake.

"You worried me," he said. "I almost called the ambulance."

The young man spoke with an Indian accent, and there was something else about him that seemed familiar. At the thought, Vlad started to see the young man's aura, and realised something.

"You're… not human," Vlad muttered.

The young man looked startled, and he raised his hands defensively.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked. "Of course I'm human."

"Your aura," Vlad muttered. "It's not human. You're… thousands of years old. I… I don't recognise…"

He was still sensitive from the previous night, and along with the vision he'd just had and the magic that allowed him to see the other's aura, his head was killing him. He whimpered, closing his eyes and pressing the heels of his hands against his temples. He felt a soothing touch on his forehead and opened his eyes, seeing the young man frowning at him.

"You're no ordinary human, are you?" the young man asked. He looked around. "Do you have another class soon?"

"Not until this afternoon," Vlad said.

He'd decided to check out the library when he knew that he had a long break in his schedule. The young man nodded, before he helped Vlad up.

"People rarely come up here," the young man explained. "You should have ample time to recover."

"Thanks," Vlad said. He accepted the other's help to the nearest table, before he looked back at him curiously. "So, what exactly are you? I don't think I've ever encountered someone like you before."

"You should really be careful about asking questions like that. There are many unfriendly creatures."

"But I know that you're harmless."

"And what brought you to that conclusion?"

"I have an amulet that wards off supernatural creatures with malicious intentions. It also works on those with generally nasty personalities."

The young man looked startled, before he relaxed. He sat down across from Vlad.

"First, tell me why it's so important for you to know," the young man said.

"Because I'm curious," Vlad said. "And I'm hoping to make friends, or at least allies, among the supernatural population. They're more accepting to me than humans."

The other nodded in understanding.

"While the humans can be a bit… judgemental," the other said, "the other races are not without their prejudice. You really need to be more careful."

"I normally am," Vlad said, "but I just had an attack, and since I know you were willing to help me and didn't set the amulet off, I know I can trust you."

The other shook his head and sighed.

"You are a strange one," he said.

"By the way," Vlad said, "what's your name? I'm Vlad."

The other stared at him for a moment before he sighed.

"My name's Rajesh," he said, "though you may call me Raj. And to answer your earlier question, I'm a naga."

"What's that?" Vlad asked.

"It… It means I'm half snake. I have the power to appear completely human, but I can still return to my true form in a moment's notice."

"Oh, that's cool."

"So… You're not afraid of me? Even if you're a mage, most humans react in fear when they learn I'm part snake."

"I don't buy that whole 'evil animals' thing. I can't fault a creature for acting out its survival instinct. So, you're part snake? That's incidental. You were willing to help a total stranger who passed out. That means that you're better than most people you'd meet on the street."

Raj looked startled again, before he smiled softly.

"You're very open-minded," he said. "That's good. We need more mages like you. There are too many that take the whole idea of good and evil too seriously."

"Da…" Vlad sighed. "I don't like to think that anyone is evil just because of what they're born as. What you are doesn't make you evil. What you do is the problem. There are too many people that forget it."

Raj's smile widened.

"Perhaps we can be friends," Raj said. "Tell me, have you introduced yourself to the Kirklands yet?"

"What do you mean?" Vlad asked.

"They are the mages that rule over Meldale. The magical population would need to make themselves known to them if they want to avoid making them think they're causing trouble. And being on their good side is essential if you want to survive in this city."

"Kirkland, huh? Bushy eyebrows, green eyes?"

"Yes, that is what they're famous for. So, you've met them?"

"You could say that. I live with Arthur Kirkland."

Raj's eyes widened, before he burst into laughter. It was obvious that this part of the library wasn't used very often.

"You truly are an interesting person," Raj said. "So then, what do you study?"

"I'm studying Psychology," Vlad replied. "And what about you? What are you doing at a university in England? You're far from home, aren't you?"

"Indeed. Unfortunately, you will forgive me if I don't tell you the nature of my stay here. While you seem like someone trustworthy, we simply don't know each other well enough yet. But I can say this: for all intents and purposes, I am a teaching assistant for the Anthropology and Sociology department."

Vlad nodded in understanding. He supposed he was prying, and if the scene he saw in his vision had anything to do with Raj's past, then he could understand why he wouldn't be so willing to trust someone he'd just met.

"So, Psychology?" Raj asked. "That sounds like an interesting pursuit. And I think you have great potential in that field. You have an interesting way of looking at the world. You don't strike me as someone that likes to put others in boxes."

"Boxes are limiting," Vlad agreed. "So… Anything else I need to know about the magical community here?"

"Just one thing," Raj said, turning serious. "There's a vampire coven in the city. The sire is an Italian vampire known as Romulus. They are careful around the Kirklands, but aren't afraid to push their weight around when dealing with anyone else. And whatever you do, do not catch their attention. Human or otherwise, they can make things very difficult. They also have influence throughout the city. I even heard that they have some position at the university. They also have a mage that they turned among their ranks. So be careful if you run into any vampires. But even someone as open as you would be careful about them, right?"

Vlad didn't reply immediately. His mind halted at the word 'vampire'. Something was gnawing at him, but he didn't know what it was. He just felt that there was something there.

"Vlad?" Raj prompted, looking concerned.

"Sorry," Vlad said, shaking his head. "Da, I know to be careful. After all, vampires are predators, and humans are their prey. I've met a few strigoi in my country. As long as they weren't hungry, they were pretty decent."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case with these vampires. Just be careful around them, alright?"

Vlad nodded, only half listening. His mind was racing, desperate to connect dots that he hadn't even realised were there. And his mind drifted towards the vision he'd seen the previous evening. He knew he recognised the man with the armour, but now a name popped into his mind.

Vlad Tepes.

The fact that they shared a first name had caused Vlad to do a lot of research on this man, including unofficial things that humans were not meant to know. And among those things, he'd learned that Vlad Tepes was, indeed, a vampire.

And his mind drifted back to Feliciano, who remarked that he should be careful not to make his hunger known. Feliciano, who asked him if anyone told him that he looked like a vampire. Feliciano, whom he knew was not human, but who didn't want to tell him what he really was. Out of fear? Out of shame? Romulus, an Italian vampire. Feliciano was Italian.

Feliciano was part of this vampire coven.

But Feliciano could touch him without upsetting the amulet. That meant, at the very least, that Feliciano was alright. The others, on the other hand…

He remembered Gilbert's reaction when they touched. Gilbert was definitely hurt by the protection spell. Which meant that Gilbert wasn't harmless. Feliciano and his brother were friends with Gilbert. That meant that Gilbert was part of the coven too, or at least that was a possibility. And Francis could touch him, though it didn't look as though it was comfortable for him. But Francis's aura was different from the others, and Vlad had seen him during daytime. Francis was connected, but he wasn't entirely a part of them.

"Are you alright?" Raj asked.

"Da," Vlad said. "I just… I've been thinking. I think I might have met some of those vampires. And… I think I did manage to catch their attention."

He remembered the look they'd given him at the party, and how unnerved he was.

"If that's the case," Raj said, "then all I can say to you is 'good luck'."