black and white and red all over

Chapter 4

Her father isn't home when she gets home from school either, but Byleth is sure that his job is keeping him busy like always. She isn't sure what she would say about school if he were even there to ask; normally, she's reduced to one-word answers like, "good," but sometimes, she's generous enough to say, "same as always." That doesn't seem to suit the rather eventful first day she's had, but how would she go about describing her new friends?

After making dinner for herself, she looks over some of the materials her teachers gave her, killing the time until she can go to bed.

~X~

"So, how was your first day?" asks Caspar when she sits next to him in study hall.

"Good," she says, just like she's talking to her father.

"Anything weird happen? Are you fitting in okay? Did you make any friends besides me?" he asks, demanding more information than her father would have. She doesn't mind the small conversations that they have, but she also doesn't mind the interest Caspar is taking in her life.

"I had a few classes with the junior president you told me about," she says. "We had lunch together."

"Edelgard? Did Hubert actually let you sit at their table?" he jokes.

She nods. "Her vice president sat with us some too. Hubert was less thrilled about that."

Wrinkling his nose, Caspar says, "Ferdinand? Yeah, I can imagine. Still, kinda weird that they just let you in like that. A lot of girls look up to her and all that, and she's really good at school and campaigning, but she mostly keeps to herself. Or maybe it's just because she's always with Hubert and he scares everyone off."

"I can see that," Byleth admits.

"He didn't scare you off, though!" He laughs, before quieting down and leaning in close. "Maybe I should be quiet, I don't want him to hear or anything. He does kinda scare me, just a little bit. I mean, he's got that whole creepy look..."

This reminds Byleth of what Claude said to her the day before. "That reminds me. Someone in one of my classes was talking to me, and he said I should watch out for vampires. Is that some school joke, or was he just being weird?"

She expects Caspar to either laugh it off or not know what she's talking back. Instead, he looks at her with a more grim expression. "Oh...that. Yeah, I guess since you're new to town you might not have heard about it yet? It started a little ways into summer vacation..."

"The...vampire joke?"

"It's not exactly a joke. More like a mystery," he replies. "To put it simply, there's a murderer. At least, the news thinks it's one guy, like it might be a serial killer or something. At first, the killings were grouped together really frequently, but they've been more spread out, and it's been a couple weeks since the last victim was found."

Byleth realizes now that this wasn't Claude pranking her, nor is this any laughing matter. It's the first she's heard of it, but she doesn't pay much attention to the news, and her father sprung the move on her a month ago, so she's only been in town a short while. She hasn't had a chance to even try to catch up on things around here.

"So...what do vampires have to do with it?" she finally asks, not knowing what else to say about the serious subject.

"Well...it's how they link the victims together. They've always got two little holes in their neck, like they got bitten or something, and they're almost completely drained of blood," he says, shuddering. "It's super creepy, and a lot of people started saying it was a vampire doing it."

"Do you think it is a vampire?"

"What?!" Caspar laughs, but he looks nervous even as he does. "No way! It's just some weirdo who gets off on acting like a vampire, or something. My dad's on the force, and he says that serial killers do weird things like that all the time. I'm sure they'll catch the guy in no time! If I ever run into him, well...he better watch out!"

Though he says all of this, Byleth wonders if he's just putting on a brave front, and if he might doubt his own words. She's sure that it's exactly as he says, but the idea of a vampire on the loose would be enough to make anyone nervous, as unrealistic as that idea might be. Even if he doubts it, he's likely still worried about that slight possibility that it might be true.

Caspar is quick to change the subject, rambling about a class he has with one of the exchange students and how nice she is, and Byleth looks up then, feeling someone's eyes on her. Towards the front of the room, Hubert has turned around in his desk, and is looking directly at them. Caspar doesn't notice, but when her eyes meet Hubert's, he smirks at her before turning back around. She wonders if he was able to hear their conversation after all, and wonders if she heard what Caspar said about him before they started discussing vampires and serial killers.

For whatever reason, she feels embarrassed to be caught talking about him with someone else.

~X~

Like the day before, he doesn't interact with her during history, but as she's leaving the classroom, he falls into step beside her, and though they don't talk, they do walk to the art room together. Edelgard is already in her seat when they get their, and they join her at the table.

Byleth wonders what the two of them think about the vampire killer, but she feels strange bringing it up when she remembers that Hubert may have been eavesdropping when she and Caspar discussed it. Not to mention, it feels a little childish to talk about the possibility of vampires running amok in the town, even as a silly rumor, and both Edelgard and Hubert seem above that. She's not used to having a group of friends, but she thinks she could get used to it, and doesn't want to mess it up so quickly.

At lunch, just as they are getting settled in, Ferdinand comes over to their table to start up his spiel from the day before. Byleth is mostly able to block it out, but she listens when she hears him say, "-not to mention your hair. I don't know what possessed you to dye it like that, but didn't you think about how that might reflect on your image?"

Edelgard's hair is so light that Byleth has wondered if it's natural and she's just that blonde, or if she'd bleached it white, but Ferdinand confirms that. When he says this, Hubert shoots him a glare and says, "Would you please go back to your own table? The student council is waiting on you, aren't they?"
"This doesn't concern-" Ferdinand deflates, before huffing. "We have a lot to discuss at the upcoming meeting, Edelgard. Don't forget about it."

"I've never missed a meeting before, Ferdinand," she says in a tired voice, not looking up from her lunch. When he's out of earshot, she sighs and says, "Honestly, you'd think my hair is the end of the world. He always finds some way to blow everything completely out of proportion."

"Did you dye it over the summer?" asks Byleth.

"Yes. I thought it would be a nice change," replies Edelgard.

"Clearly our dear vice president doesn't agree with that," Hubert adds with a dry laugh.

~X~

The rest of her day passes without much event. She and Edelgard don't have much time to talk during anatomy, as Mr. Essar gets into a rather in-depth lecture that leads into many tangents, she tries to keep up in her math class, and Hubert keeps to himself in religion.

Claude doesn't bring up vampires this time, and simply checks in on how she's doing on her second day, but she's glad. She doesn't want Hubert to listen in again and hear her ask Claude his opinion, because she's still concerned about looking childish for even entertaining the idea of vampires being real. Obviously she doesn't believe it, but it's a curious rumor, and she's interested in hearing what other people have to say about it.

But she's sure that she'll hear more either way, because, whether it's a serial killer or a mythical creature, then it's likely that they'll eventually strike again.