Mamoru's eyes turned black, and red veins popped up quickly. He could feel his own jealousy gripping him like a sudden fever burning him up and rendering him a bit frenzied. He was in between Usagi and the unknown man in a flash, glaring at him and wondering why he didn't just go ahead and kill him right away.

Sitting on her throne, Usagi, now staring at Mamoru's back, was darkly amused by the situation. In a playful tone, she said, "Dracula would be quite displeased if you killed his faithful butler."

Andrei had observed as Mamoru suddenly entered the room. His wise parents, along with Dracula and Lucy, raised him, which meant he knew how volatile this situation could be.

"His butler?" Mamoru asked in a voice that belied the strain he was under not to reach out and kill the man.

"Yes," Usagi said, getting down from her throne and wrapping her arms around her love. "You've spoken to him before, so I didn't think about the fact that you wouldn't know him by sight."

Mamoru leaned into her embrace and closed his eyes in an attempt to center himself. "You failed to mention that he is… handsome."

"I failed to notice," she replied.

"Even I noticed!"

"I held him when he was three days old," she countered. "In fact, I held his father the day he was born."

Frowning, Mamoru opened his eyes and turned to look at her. Cupping her cheek and looking into her eyes, he said, "You're mine!"

"I am yours, you silly, wonderful man. Now, can we let him stop bowing so he can talk to us about what Dracula sent him to do?"

Mamoru glanced over at Andrei and said, "You may rise."

Andrei stood and took three steps backward. He wasn't afraid that he would be killed, but he wanted to fix Mamoru's perception of him. He didn't like getting off on the wrong foot, even unintentionally. He cursed himself for not going to Mamoru first and introducing himself. Really, he knew better about a vampire's innate jealousy.

"I humbly apologize," Andrei said honestly. "I have known Usagi my whole life, and, for lack of a better way to put it, I haven't ever considered her a woman. She's always been more of a mythical being that I inexplicably have had the honor to know. What others seem to feel about Dracula, I feel about her. I regret not coming to you first and introducing myself. I did not mean any disrespect."

"Right, like no man has ever tried to sleep with his idol," Mamoru replied, generally appeased by what the man said but still testing him.

Andrei bowed slightly and said, "While I concede your general point, I still maintain that has never been my desire. I will admit to going to bars with her only because she makes an excellent wingman." He smirked and said, "I have gotten a lot of… women because of her."

Mamoru raised one eyebrow as he turned to look at Usagi. "Women? What does that odd emphasis mean?"

Usagi said, chuckling. "Well, they didn't act like ladies, that's for sure."

"No, they did not," Andrei said, his voice showing how much he had enjoyed that fact.

"I've always acted like more of a bro to him," Usagi added.

On nights they would go out, Usagi would arrive at the bar first. Properly orchestrating his arrival, they would time it so that he came through the door alone as she listened for anyone's reaction.

A muttered, "I would let him bend me over this table and fuck my brains out," from one woman to her friends would promptly be conveyed to him by Usagi. It didn't guarantee him a one hundred percent batting average, but it increased his odds substantially.

Mamoru shook his head and worked to get control over his jealousy. "You have a habit of knowing attractive men. I don't enjoy that."

"This is still about the Grim Reaper?" she asked incredulously.

"Maybe," he muttered slightly petulantly.

Andrei stayed silent, but the existence of the Grim Reaper was news to him.

Usagi smirked and rubbed her hand seductively over Mamoru's chest. "I adore you. Can we move on and get to the reason Andrei came?"

They both then turned to Andrei, and he knew it meant it was time for him to speak and enlighten them about why he was there. "I'm here to coordinate with Rick. Dracula thinks he has a good plan and believes that the knowledge I have gained from all my years of study and service will be useful."

Andrei had bright green eyes, blond hair, and the body of a man who lifted weights and ran often. Mamoru was amused that he would become Rick's problem while he was around Unazuki.

Suspicious of the smirk on Mamoru's face, Usagi bit his wrist to find out what he was thinking about through his blood. When she drank, she released him and rolled her eyes at him. "You're ridiculous. He's not that good-looking."

Not offended in the slightest, Andrei said, "I'm not into women who are in love with other men. I'm much more… more respectable than that."

Mamoru twisted up his lips a bit and let out a slight sound of disbelief. "I haven't found that my being in a relationship has stopped women from approaching me."

Andrei took a large step back and wondered if Mamoru was that dumb or if he was reckless. Sensing the temperature in the room drop, he felt real fear.

Usagi cocked her head, her eyes black, and the veins around her eyes going deep red. She then lifted her hand; her fingernails were like pointed claws, and the glass rattled on the windowsills. "I want a list of all the women you found tempting enough that you grew suspicious when an attractive man was around me!"

"I-I never! That's not what I meant!"

"Give —me —their —names! I will slaughter them!"

"No!" Mamoru objected. "I've never been tempted. But you're you, and I'm me! No one could ever come close to you. And because of that, I know that you deserve better than I do! What if you find him!?" He was in a panic because he could feel the anger and violence radiating from her. He had hurt her, and she was losing control.

Usagi ran a pointed fingernail gently but menacingly across his chest. "Names Mamoru."

"You'll kill them." He was sure that right now, in her current state, she would.

Smirking, she nodded. "Artemis and Hatori will be disappointed, but that can't be helped."

Andrei stepped in despite his primal instincts telling him to run away. He had experience with Lucy and knew how to de-escalate things. "There is no list," he announced.

"He said there was!" she snapped, turning and glaring at Andrei.

"No," he countered in a mild tone. "He said women still asked him out, knowing he was dating. You asked for a list of women who tempted him. There is no list."

She blinked and scowled, "Semantics."

"How many girlfriends did he have before you, Usa? How many women tempted him before he knew you even existed?"

"Zero," Mamoru said, catching on. "I knew of all of them before I met you and didn't date any of them. Just like you didn't date Andrei."

"No, not like that," she snapped. "He wasn't ever interested in me!"

Andrei shook his head. Mamoru had been doing well until the end there. "Usa," he said, working to draw her attention. "Lucy and Dracula. Tell me, how tempted is he by the women approaching him?"

She pressed her lips together, and they thinned into a straight line. "Lucy has killed some."

"The more aggressive ones," he replied, thinking of a few bold ones who had hidden out in Deacula's bed. "Tell me, though, which one of them had been a true threat to Lucy?"

"If I only killed when they were a threat, then I wouldn't have killed anyone! I have shown Mamoru how uneven my battles have been."

Andrei shook his head slightly when Mamoru started to talk. He didn't think the man could help himself right now. "Lucy feels the same way. Still, which one of them had been a real threat to her?"

"None," Usagi admitted in a clipped tone.

"You are superior to everyone around him, and he adores you. You have won a battle they were never able to fight. You don't need to waste your time killing ants when you are a giant."

Both men watched as the veins around her eyes grew fainter, and the temperature in the room began to return to normal. Still, with back eyes, she said, "I will attend class with you for the rest of the week."

Andrei smirked, "Compulsion should solve your problem in seconds. Lucy always enjoyed leaving the attraction intact but compelling an embarrassing reaction. The most petty one she came up with was making a woman slap herself whenever she looked at Dracula. It was highly entertaining."

"I remember. You slept with her, didn't you?" Usagi asked.

"No. Her sister…." Amused, he then added, "And her cousin."

"And…?" Usagi pressed.

"Okay, both of her cousins."

Mamoru nervously cleared his throat. "Umm…. I feel it necessary to say that I don't want you sleeping with Rick's family."

Waving his hand in denial, Andrei said, "I don't behave that way around people I want to stay in good grace with. No matter how hot the women are, they're safe from me."

"Oh. Okay," Mamoru replied. "Thanks."

Usagi smiled and added, "Maybe I need that list after all. Andrei can make use of women like that."

Andrei shook his head. "I doubt it would be prudent for him to provide you with that list. I can find my own fun —trust me."

Working to get back to the discussion about Andrei helping out the Order of Usagi, Mamoru said, "I can take you to Rick now. We have class together in thirty minutes."

Instantly, Mamoru's heart dropped, and he looked at Usagi. "Ummm… none of the girls in that class have asked me out."

"I will stay away from your university for a while," she said, not sounding like she meant it.

Andrei smirked and said, "No one believes you."

"I want to mean it," she replied honestly.

Ten minutes later, Mamoru had taken Andrei to meet Rick in person. Motoki was there, too, and Mamoru asked them both to help keep an eye out for Usagi.

"Why?" Rick asked before Motoki voiced the same question.

"Mamoru is an idiot," Andrei said like a man who had grown accustomed to being around powerful vampires his whole life. "He told Usagi about all the girls who still ask him out. She genuinely got close to coming and killing them all."

Rick's eyes grew wide, and he paled. "Truly?"

"You don't mess with a Vampire's bonded love. History has proved it's deadly. On top of that, it's Usagi. She dated as if it was a social experiment, not something attached to her heart. In her whole history, despite her having dated, for lack of a better term, I never heard of one man who meant anything to her. The only males she ever cared for were her friends. She's beyond bonded with Mamoru; he's the only one who ever touched her heart's core over the centuries."

Motoki had been thoughtful throughout the whole thing, saying, "Mamoru is the same. He hasn't lived nearly as long, but it doesn't change the facts."

Andrei assessed Motoki, and he liked what he could perceive. His body language showed that he was protective of his friend, and so did his words. Changing the subject, he said, "Rick, I look forward to meeting your family."

"All seventeen of us can make it. If you want to head over while I'm in class, my parents are there already. Unazuki will be there soon, too."

Mamoru reflected on how Rick didn't seem to be jealous. Once Motoki and Andrei headed off, Mamoru commented on his self-control on the way to class.

Rick scoffed. "We've been video conferencing. I already knew what he looked like. I got blood from Sapphire yesterday. By five thirty this morning, Unazuki had passed out from pleasure and exhaustion. She will remember exactly who she's supposed to be with."

Mamoru shook his head a bit and said, "I can't get past the idea that we're probably both idiots."

"Probably. But the sex was amazing."


Andrei registered the fact that Unazuki was beautiful and then shifted his focus and attention. He had long understood the taboo of going after someone who was already attached. They had joked about Lucy earlier, and it had been true, but Dracula had a book about how he pursued one woman and would do anything to keep her.

He also briefly had a flicker of regret over what he had said to Mamoru about Rick's family. Rick had one very sexy single cousin, in particular. Again, though, he moved on and focused on the task at hand.

"Hi, I am Kana, Rick's mother," a pretty woman in her late forties told Andrei.

"It is an honor to meet you," Andrei replied. "Dracula extends his gratitude to you and your family for your assistance. I understand that this is the Order of Usagi and that you want to help her, but surely you can understand that he has very personal reasons for wanting the Order of Van Helsing destroyed."

"Of course!" the woman replied wholeheartedly. "We have the same goal, and we appreciate Dracula lending your help, too. We have personal reasons for helping her beyond the Order. Charles and I feel we owe her for Unazuki. She is even more than we had thought to hope for. She…" Kana blushed. "She calls me 'mom' and plans family dinners with us and her parents. I've seen Rick more now than before he started dating."

"Dracula has found the humans here very interesting. Before this, he hasn't ever observed such a concentration of individuals with some vampire tendencies. Unazuki displays some of the strongest tendencies. But, she is also a strong witch, at least according to how we would classify a strong witch before knowing about Rei so that other forces might come into play there."

Kana flushed with pride. She loved Unazuki like a daughter, and the woman deeply loved her son. It all mattered greatly to her and pointed to a very happy marriage for Rick.

"We were surprised to find out she could do magic."

Andrei considered it momentarily and said, "Her brother has empath abilities; those are incredibly rare. It makes me wonder about their family heritage—beyond what they would know in the usual way. Some things were kept secret even within families in the past."

Kana shrugged and said, "It is curious, but in the end, it's what it is."

With unblinking eyes, he regarded Kana and wondered why she suddenly seemed uncomfortable. Sorting through what he knew of her from talking with Rick, it finally clicked. She didn't like the implication that Rick was at a disadvantage compared to Unazuki. She adored her son, and she wanted him on equal footing.

"I find Rick interesting also," he said honestly, but also to appease her. "He is brilliant and a natural leader. Not many would make it to be the family head so young. Especially in such a talented family."

She flushed a bit, ducking her head, and said, "Well, that's embarrassing. Was I really that obvious?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I lied."

"I'm not normally someone who requires outside validation. It's just… this is a lot. You work for Dracula."

"And you all know Usagi. How humans see Dracula, those in the know see Usagi. She's a legend. One that some vampires even doubt exists."

Kana blinked. "Oh… but." She frowned. "It's hard to put this all in perspective."

"It will all finally sink in one day. Don't worry. In the meantime, we have the Order to take down."

"Oh. Only that?" she said wryly. "And what are we supposed to do on Tuesday?" she joked.

Enjoying her humor, he laughed. "I never said it would be easy."

"Good. Easy is boring."

He shook his head and noticed that Charles, Kana's husband, had entered the room. To the man, he said, "Knowing women like your wife exists tempts me to settle down someday. You're a lucky man."

Charles made his way over the rest of the way, dropped his arm over Kana's shoulder, and said, "I gave up my home country and moved over eight thousand miles to marry her. Best decision I ever made. I didn't like all that rain anyway," he added teasing. Charles then asked, "With your family history, doesn't Dracula need you to settle down so he can have the next generation of butlers from your family line?"

Andrei shrugged, "I can't…" He held out his hands in a gesture of surrender and said, "I can't have children. So, he's out of luck with me."

"Dang, I'm so sorry I pried," Charles said, contrite.

"No reason to apologize. I could have ignored the question, and you wouldn't have pressed."

Kana blushed and asked, "Vampire blood can't fix that? I'm sorry to pry and horribly rude, but I don't understand."

"Vampire blood heals," Andrei said, answering her not having taken offense. "There isn't anything to heal. I can't have children. Had there been an injury or a… a sickness that caused it, vampire blood would have worked."

Charles chuckled and said, "So it wouldn't reverse a surgery and leave someone now able to say…. have children?"

Andrei smirked, "You're both worried over nothing. I understand the reason for the question now."

Kana blushed a deep red and turned her head a bit in embarrassment. "There are rumors," she whispered.

He refrained from telling the couple to get vampire blood from the same vampire their son got it from, even he wouldn't go that far to point out what Rick had been doing. He said, "The rumors are true. Both people have to drink the blood, though." He knew he would quietly make sure they got a hold of some blood later.

It was then that Unazuki walked into the room, looked over at them expectantly, and then the light in her eyes dimmed. She said, "Rick isn't here yet?"

Ah. The power of love, Andrei thought.

Kana shook her head. "He decided not to skip class. Mamoru didn't appreciate that idea."

Andrei said, "He's right. This is all very important, but we're fighting for a better future. One that you don't want to jeopardize by neglecting school."

Unazuki shrugged. "He's brilliant and would have been fine, but I understand your point. I argued your point exactly, but I wanted to see him. I figured out how to do that electric spark spell."

"Wow!" Kana said, happy for Unazuki. "Already?!"

Holding up her fingers, Unazuki let electricity spark around her fingertips. "I'm like a human taser."

Charles chuckled, amused by how she put her new skill. "You're like Storm from X-Men. You can control water and lightning."

"Wow," Unazuki said with her eyes wide. "You're grossly overestimating what I can do. I'm more like a spring mist than a full-on storm. Rei and Mars believe my skills are useful for breaking in places. I can short out an electric panel."

Andrei jumped in and said, "And since a lot of the things we will need to access potentially will be located in secured rooms or safes, it will be hugely useful."

An hour later, Rick showed up, and the official meeting began.