Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being awesome!

I have a detailed idea of how this story will go; it will be part supernatural, part crime drama.

Also, I love history and have learned/researched what is coming in this chapter and future chapters.

Edited 6/8/2024

Usagi walked into the Crown Arcade and noticed Motoki making her chocolate milkshake as soon as he saw her. With her exceptional eyesight, she also noticed that his hands were trembling slightly. She then scented the air, and it was laced with the smell of his fear.

There were humans out there especially adapted to recognizing vampires, and Motoki's reaction interested her. Abraham Van Helsing was one of those who could sense them. He was by far the most famous of all the vampire hunters, and he was, of course, born on a Saturday, like all those who were the most sensitive to vampires and other supernatural beings. She knew Motoki wasn't a vampire hunter, but….

"Motoki," she said sweetly. "You were born on a Saturday, weren't you?"

He froze, collected himself, set the half-finished milkshake down, and turned to her. "Yes. H-how did you know that?"

She playfully rolled her eyes at him. "It's why your body is telling you to be afraid of me."

"Whaaat? I'm n-not afraid of you," he stammered and lied.

She drew his attention and locked eyes with him. She then compelled him to obey, "You will not repeat this conversation to anyone." His eyes were unfocused, and she knew he would do exactly as she said.

"I'm a vampire and won't hurt you or anyone you know." She didn't compel him to believe her. That was his choice. Usagi also knew, over the centuries, that people tended to trust her when she was honest. In reality, they trusted her when she was lying, too. But that wasn't the case now.

"They don't exist," he said, lacking any sense of conviction.

She smiled kindly at him and sighed. "Yet you believe me. As I said, you were born on Saturday. It's that day that makes you more susceptible to sensing things like me."

"Why?"

"It all started in Central and Western Europe. You're called a Sabbatarian. It gets complicated, but it all boils down to the fact that you know what I am."

He nodded his head and leaned on the counter she was standing near. "Aren't I supposed to be afraid of you? You drink human blood, don't you?"

She scoffed and laughed hysterically, saying, "Even the evil villains don't kill the people cooking for them." She then pointed at her milkshake.

"True, but do you even need food?"

"No, but it tastes good. You make the best milkshakes," she praised.

He frowned down at the counter. "This is a lot to take in right now."

"Sorry. I just don't want you to be afraid of me. I could see you trembling."

"I am," he admitted. "How do I know I can trust you?"

She shrugged, "You can. As for knowing it, I'm sure that will take time."

"What do I do in the meantime?"

"Finish making me that milkshake," she said sweetly. "Then start asking questions. I will answer them all."

"You're not afraid of me telling anyone?"

"No. You can't. I compelled you not to."

"What?"

She raised one eyebrow at him, and he returned to making her drink. The message was clear—chocolate then answers.

Once she took the first sip of her shake, she said, "I compelled you. It means you have to do what I tell you to. It's a power I have as a vampire, but not all vampires can do what I can. Essentially, it means I'm not worried about you telling anyone."

It was a power she'd acquired after she killed a particularly nasty vampire in Belarus. The she-vampire had loved to torture women and stick pins into their bodies. She would then drink from them slowly, drawing out their deaths —all of her victims had been compelled not to run. Usagi had ended her reign of torture and gained her ability.

"You took away my power to tell anyone?!" He asked, appalled.

She tried to give him a reassuring smile. "All I did was to protect myself."

He scoffed, "I hardly think you're in danger from me!"

She knew that wasn't true. He could do more harm to her than anyone else she knew. He was best friends with the man she was destined to be with. He could make things very hard on her. She'd heard all about it from Dracula when he told her about finding Lucy.

Instead, she took a sip of her shake to buy time to think. The next part was tricky. She needed him to trust her, not just believe her. If he was uncomfortable around her, Mamoru might pick up on that, and she really didn't want to have to compel him any more than she already had.

She was trying to establish the groundwork for trust between her and the man her blood called to. After reading Artemis's background check, she knew messing with his friend's memory or mind would be a sore spot for Mamoru.

To her horror, he looked her dead in the eyes and said, "This is about Mamoru. You're attracted to him. I don't know how, but I can sense it."

She closed her eyes and tried to stay calm. "Y-yes." Her calm was failing her. "Please, understand that he's never in danger from me," she begged.

"I would assume your whole existence is dangerous. Isn't there a chance you could get hungry and drain him dry?!"

"No!" she yelled out emphatically, startling everyone in the arcade. She lowered her voice, "I could never hurt him. For one thing, I'm over four hundred and seventy years old, and I've only killed those I meant to for centuries now. I'm in complete control of myself…"

"And the other is?" He challenged her.

"He's my soulmate, my one match. He will be my everything. His blood calls me, and it will always only be him that I can love completely —ever. We were born for each other."

The utter shock registered on Motoki's face. "What?"

"Your friend is not only safe with me. I'd rip the world apart to keep him happy, and I could deliver on that more than anyone you know. I can destroy anything that tries to hurt him."

Motoki frowned and knitted his brows, "What if you hurt him?"

"Never!" She adamantly denied it.

"How can you be sure? Tempers–"

"No! I'm not some child or temperamental teenager. I'm over four and a half centuries old. I have patience and self-control. I'm not about to hurt the one man my being insists is everything to me."

"He's been through so much," Motoki said sadly. She didn't state that she already knew that. She had a feeling it would be too far for him, the idea that she knew a detective who informed her about him would probably disturb him.

Instead, she said, "And I can love him completely and selflessly. A horrible past doesn't mean a horrible future. I will love him enough to ease any hurt he went through. I can be enough to make him smile."

Motoki stared down at the counter. He desperately wanted that for his friend. If anyone deserved a happy future, he believed it was Mamoru.

He mentally sifted through his instincts. They had told him she was dangerous and had been right. The approximately five-foot woman, despite her looks, was a deadly predator. But that wasn't all his instincts were telling him. He didn't know if his own instincts were betraying him once she began telling him the truth, but he believed her. Maybe it was because her promise echoed his deepest desire for his friend —he wanted Mamoru to find epic love. Whatever it was, whatever fate it would lead him to, he trusted her.

He took a long breath, "Things are going to get weird for me, aren't they?"

She slid her number over to him. "Call me if you need anything. Yes, they will get weird, though." She could see in his eyes that he had decided to trust her.

"I've always wondered, what is the average age of a vampire?"

"Way younger than you think. Fifty years as a vampire is pretty average. They usually end up doing something to mess with the wrong human or, more likely, piss off another vampire that wants their power."

"I feel like if I asked you to explain, it would give me a headache," he said in mild amusement.

Usagi, desperate for him to accept her, said, "For example, I can walk during the daylight hours. That's super rare. I got that power by killing and drinking the blood of a vampire who was able to do just that."

She quickly added, "Before you say anything, he was a rapist who searched out children. I stopped him. It's part of why I've lived so long. I don't anger vampires generally. We sort of self-police, and I'm like a vigilante. As a whole, they don't object to my interference and actions."

"A moral vampire?"

"Yes!" she said defensively.

"I wasn't criticizing. I was commenting."

"Sorry, it's just that…" she huffed a breath she didn't need to take. "I killed rapists recently," she whispered. "That doesn't fit everyone's current sense of justice." The truth was that there was more to it than she had been telling anyone. She hadn't been going after random assholes. Those men, in particular, were essential to stop more permanently than sending them to justice, as Artemis insisted. Those men had been meant for a darker purpose than anyone else had learned. And as good of a detective as Artemis was, she didn't want him to know what was happening. She feared he wouldn't survive the confrontation if he got too involved.

He clenched his teeth and said, "You won't get an argument from me on that one. I… it's where my moral code gets fuzzy. Well, according to the law."

"You have a sister."

"Yes. And she's never…. But if she were, I'd be tempted to kill the man," he said with steel in his voice.

"You wouldn't have to. I'd kill him for you." He smiled when he saw she wasn't kidding. "That said, I've followed her. She's smart and doesn't take crap or drinks from anyone. No one 'deserves' to be attacked, ever, but you can make it less likely to happen."

Usagi then frowned down at her now rapidly depleting shake, "Trust me, I know. The vampire that turned me…" She didn't go further, and he didn't ask her to. He could put the pieces together enough.

He reached across the counter, took her hand, and squeezed it. "Friends?"

"Friends," she said with conviction.

He gave her a small smile, "I don't know why, but I trust you. I'm going to rely on that instinct."

"I won't let you down. And I will love him completely. Don't fear for him."

"I'll try. I just know trust is so hard for him."

She laughed, "No, it's nearly impossible for him. But I'll be okay."

"How do you know?" Motoki asked, bewildered.

"He trusts you. It might be nearly impossible, but it's not impossible."

He frowned down at her now empty glass. "He's against being happy."

She gently shook her head, "No, he's afraid of being happy."

"And that's better?"

Usagi pushed her empty glass to the side. "No, it's just the truth. I'm not afraid of the situation. I'm in one hundred percent no matter what the circumstances."

"Please, if you mean what you say, stick with him."

"I do, and I will."

He nodded at her solemnly, "Today, the milkshake is on the house."

She passed him some money and shook her head. "No, I got it this time. Wait until I've proven myself before you do that."

Motoki looked across the room at his sweet, innocent sister waiting tables. "She's really that careful?"

"Yes, but text me when and what club she goes to, and I'll keep an eye on her."

"The milkshake is on me. It's the least I could do for the promise to protect two people that I care so much about."

"Thank you. Don't ever hesitate to call me if you need something."

"For them, I won't hesitate." He then clenched his jaw, sighed heavily, and then came to a decision, "Usagi, are you any good at poker?"

She threw her head back and laughed, "I learned to play it in 1829 in New Orleans." When he looked at her, confused, she continued, "That was where and when it originated. Well, there was As Nas that I played that dates back to the sixteenth century in Persia, but Poque in seventh-century France was the closest predecessor."

"Let me guess. You played that, too?"

"Kicked King Louis the fourteenth's royal derriere at the game so badly he nearly had me executed," she bragged.

He laughed, "Didn't he end up executed instead?"

"No, wrong one. King Louis VIX was The Sun King and granddad to King Louis. He was the first king of France, at least France as it is now. His father was Henry of Navarre. It was between Spain and France. The marriage brought that small country to France. Well, that and the Protestants…I digress. Let's just say his wedding to the Catholic Princess of France sparked a massacre that spread throughout France that day."

"Wait, their wedding day resulted in a massacre?" Suddenly, his interest was piqued.

"Over seventy thousand people, Catholics and Protestants, killed each other as the riot spread across France. It was hard to count since most of the bodies were thrown in the Seine river."

He let out a low whistle, "That's awful."

"People do horrible things to each other. That hasn't changed over the centuries."

He glanced down at the counter. "Back to poker. Are you any good?"

"I'm incredible. Why?"

"I wondered if you'd like to take my place at the weekend poker game. I'll bring you. Mamoru will be there."

"Annnd?" she asked, knowing there was more to this request.

"And our poker buddies make me almost as nervous as you do. Now, you're telling me it's instincts, not paranoia. I was hoping you could tell me if they're vampires. Something's off."

Usagi was happy to agree. "I'll be there. I won't take chances with him, just like you don't want to."

"Meet me here on Friday at six. I'll drive you," Motoki offered.

"I'll be here at 5:30 to have a milkshake first. Any annoying clients I could sip from?" she teased.