Underneath The Pale Moonlight (a WLW AkeShu Fic)

Crushed Velvet: Akechi

Often times, I wonder why I let that mortal girl stay in my manor with me. I tell myself it's because of...what she does. What she eats. But, deep down, I feel as if there's another reason. She showed up to my door one day, shivering in the rain. She was only supposed to stay for one night, but she begged me to stay. And I agreed. For what? Maybe she was an outcast. After all, cannibalism is frowned upon by humans.

I shook my head. I couldn't let Akira plague my thoughts. Not now. But still, she ran through my mind. Normally, on nights like these, I'd hunt. But, for some reason, tonight was different. I found myself making my way towards the tiny neighborhood just past the woods. Just to visit the shops. I wanted to treat Akira to real food for once. I knew she'd like it, even if she was a cannibal. She was most likely tired of eating nothing but the remains of my prey for so long.

It's odd living in a modernized world after being alive for so many years. Everything is digital. Instead of market squares, there's shops on main street. Regardless, I stepped into a small bakery. The girl behind the counter looked up from her phone, examining me for a moment.

"Good evening, miss." She said, quickly placing her phone down and straightening her posture.

"Has business been slow tonight?" I asked her. I didn't really care. I just wanted to be polite.

She nodded. "I guess so. You're the woman who lives up on that hill, aren't you?" She asked me. Her name tag read "Ann Takamaki."

"Yes, I am. I didn't think anybody knew I lived there." I took note of how she fidgeted with her hands nervously. Was she intimidated?

She laughed awkwardly. "You're kind of like a town legend, or something. A lot of people are convinced you're a vampire."

I jumped when I heard this. People knew? I've isolated myself for years, and people still found out?

I brushed it off and flashed her a polite smile. "That's quite funny."

She nodded. "Anyways, what can I get for you, miss?"

·:*¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨*:·

I ended up leaving that bakery with a bag of various treats. Some of them seemed entirely too sweet to be fit for human consumption, but that wasn't important. There was one more place I needed to go.

As I approached the dress shop, I had only one thing on my mind. How pretty Akira would look in a deep red, crushed velvet dress.