Bloodlust 〳『A Vampire Yuuichi AU』

ꕥ-5-ꕥ

It was close to midnight when Yuuichi decided to get up from his futon and go out for a bit. Maybe the cold, chilly breeze could help him calm down.

He had always been a creature of the frost. Snow, ice, and extremely cold temperatures were for him. He could tolerate freezing temperatures like no one and felt comfortable in cold.

With nothing but a V-neck shirt and loose, baggy pants, he stepped up outside to the cold wind of November and instantly felt at ease. Taking in the chilly air, it felt as if it rejuvenated every tired cell of his.

He wanted to think from the start.

Hands in his pockets, he went out for a stroll, stopping near a children's park. The child in him forced him to go sit on the swing. With a little sway from side to side, he closed his eyes, lost deep in thought.

Eventually sensing some noises near him, he opened his eyes to two seven-year-olds playing with a drone. Their cheerful, excited voices resounded through the huge, quiet playground.

Seeing the genuine smiles from the two, Yuuichi felt a mixture of feelings from happiness and contempt, to envy, self-pity, and anger.

How could he muster up so much in a single moment? I dunno. A normal human being would be incapable of that.

He stood up from his swing and went up to them.

"Oi," he brought their attention to him. "Go home and sleep bozos, tomorrow isn't a weekend."

The two boys looked up to him for a brief second but smiled. "Nii-chan! Would you play with this drone with us?"

Yuuichi, caught off-guard, subconsciously uttered a "Yeah...?" only for him to get absorbed by the two ruffians. Each of them grabbed each of his two sleeves and dragged him away to the top of the slides.

"I was trying to be scary..."

"Nii-chan, aren't you cold? My teeth are chattering..." With that sentence, the other kid purposefully went far enough to make his milk teeth make the iconic chattering noise.

Yuuichi laughed at his silly act. It was refreshing being around kids. "No, I'm fine, I like cold weather!" he answered with a smile.

"You're so cool!" Both of them exclaimed together with a sparkle in their eyes. "You're so tough that you don't feel anything by this teeth-chattering, bone-freezing cold!"

"I don't think so-"

"Hey Nii-chan, what do you think about this?" one of the boys raised the drone for Yuuichi to see. "My dad got it for me on my birthday!"

The ravenette bent to see the gadget in the lad's hands. "It's very well-made, kiddo."

The other came up with the remote. "Want to fly this with us, Nii-chan?" he pointed towards the drone.

"Sure!" he petted the boy's head jerkily.

With Yuuichi in the middle and the two boys on his sides, the three sat on the steps of the slide huddled together, watching the gadget fly.

"I can't see it..." Yuuichi squinted his eyes. "It may be because of the dark."

Without a word but with a smile, the boy with the remote pressed a lever down and the gadget in the air lit up with LED lights of different vibrant colors, as a little "Wow" exited Yuuichi's lips.

"Cool, isn't it?"

"It sure is." Yuuichi smiled. "But I reckon it has any difference with the regular remote-controlled plane. Isn't it a waste of money then?"

The boy who owned it, pouted, his round cheeks puffing up. "No, it's not!" he exclaimed and turned to his friend. "Show him, Yosuke."

"Roger, captain pilot Iwaki!"

"Ah, kids and their kidhood." Yuuichi leaned back on his arms. "They are so pure. No worries, no sadness." he smiled to himself. "They're just here to enjoy themselves and others. No harm done to anyone."

With his comrade's words, the previous kid went full-on beast mode. He controlled the aircraft skillfully through the monkey bars, the swings, the slides, and other non-important builds of the playground.

Even though he was only hardly seven, his skill called for expertise.

Yuuichi, awestruck by this performance, followed his eyes after the drone. He complimented the kid sitting beside him. "You are really good at it, you little rascal." he ground his fist in the child's head playfully.

"It also does something else great!" the other nipper chimed in. 

"And what that might be?" Yuuichi turned toward the other one. 

"It also takes pictures and videos!" he exclaimed, as Yuuichi's eyes widened with realization.

"Isn't that cool?!"

"Y-yeah. Very cool." he stuttered, but added, "Hey kiddos, I'm gonna go home now."

The two kids whined at his statement and made sad, pouting faces.

"We'll meet sometime again." he stood up. "You two go home too. Don't stay up late." 

With this, he walked away as the two kids waved him goodbye. "G'bye, cool Nii-chan!"

The next day wasn't off for Yuuichi too. He had to go to school and keep a close watch on everyone. Unless everything got pretty bad or spiraled out of control, he had to continue going. There was no other choice. 

He walked back home, the darkness of his heart enveloping him once more. Yuuichi had narrowed down his two suspects to one, and he was pretty sure and confident about his deduction.

But he had to gather specific information, otherwise, it would be nothing but a hunch. He had to collect information against the perpetrator so that he could throw that in their face and make their life a living hell.

Nonetheless, he went back to his apartment and sat down at his table to make his artificial flowers. Doing something repetitive and not-so mentally straining would surely help him be focused and probably a bit calmer.

Or so he thought.

A plethora of his memories flooded up in his brain, his past, his days with his teacher, his mother, and his mischief. It could've all been karma, you know?

But Yuuichi refused to accept that. He wasn't anywhere near believing in fate, and so he had no intention of believing something so superficial as that.

Losing focus after making at least twenty of them, Yuuichi left his roses on his table and irritated, rolled himself in the blankets of his futon. Fine lines appeared on his forehead and with a good lot of tossing and turning, he made himself sleep somehow. He had to go to school the following morning and be vigilant for whatever was going to happen.

And that might not be welcoming for him at all.