Falling For A Vampire - angelicbutterfly789 - 吸血鬼すぐ死ぬ | Kyuuketsuki Sugu Shinu (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

"Sand!" he exclaimed again as his face faded to ash again.

Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Vampire Hunter Tryouts!

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Chapter Three: Secrets Exposed!

Chapter Text

"Ah man! I'm never going to get this manuscript done in time!" Ronaldo yelled out exasperatedly. "And can you play your games in the other room?!" he yelled out at Draluc; throwing his coffee mug at the vampire sitting on one of the couches in the room.

"Sand!" Draluc yelled out as the mug connected with the side of his head. "I thought you could use some company while you write," he said while reforming; going back to his game in the process.

Ronaldo let out a long sigh before saying, "What I need is peace and quiet!" But then a thought occured to him, one of which didn't help him with his productivity for meeting his deadline, "I wonder how Yumi-chan is doing?"

"Oh, she's doing well. She's actually been training and working with Maria and Ta-chan," Draluc replied matter-of-factly, keeping his attention on his game.

"You see, I knew you were keeping in touch with her! Every evening when I get up before you I can hear you giggling from inside your coffin! Now I don't want to know WHAT you're giggling about, but I do hear you, you know," Ronaldo said as Draluc finally looked up from his game.

A sly smile creeps up on his face as he asks, "Are you jealous that a pretty lady would want to talk to ME instead of you, Ronaldo-kun?"

Just as Ronaldo was about to respond to Draluc's egging on, a loud, frantic knocking sounded at the office door. Draluc screamed out a quick "Sand!" as Ronaldo followed him with a scream of his own.

"Ronaldo-sempai! Draluc-kun! It's me Yumi! Can I please come in?!" the voice on the other side of the door cried out.

Draluc quickly reformed, making his way to the office door only to be turned back to ash as Ronaldo beat him to it; slamming the door against him.

"Yumi-chan? Are you ok? Were you attacked by a superior vampire on your way here?" Ronaldo asked, concern for his new friend in his voice.

Yumi stood in the darkened hallway outside the office, completely drenched from head to toe. She kept her head bowed as her hands balled up into fists at her sides. She looked up at Ronaldo, tears welling up in her eyes, as she stepped into the office. Ronaldo noticed that she was also dragging her suitcase inside with her backpack slung on her back.

"Where's Draluc-kun?" she asked looking around the room, sniffling back her sadness.

"I'm here Yumi-san. Are you ok?" Draluc responded as he reformed at her side.

Yumi burst out crying hysterically while dropping her backpack on the floor and launching herself onto him. "Oh Draluc-kun! I screwed up! I spent all of my money on overpriced tourist souveniers and snacks! I don't have any money left to stay at the Vrince hotel! So now I don't have anywhere else to stay!" she bawled out before burying herself in his chest. It took everything in him to keep his form as he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. John jumped onto the arm of the couch next to them; patting her hip trying to comfort her too.

"Why did you come here then? Don't you have that friend of yours that could help you out?" Ronaldo asked as Yumi turned her head to the side; still hanging onto Draluc for comfort.

"Are you kidding?! I can't face her with this! She'll make me move in with her and my career as a Vampire Hunter would be over so fast!" she said between sobs.

Draluc patted the top of her head gently before saying, "Now now. I'm sure we can do something to help you out m'lady." She looked up at him, searching his face to understand what he meant. He brought a gloved hand up to wipe away the tears from her face. "I know! Why don't you stay here with us?" he suggested, looking to Ronaldo; a look of glee plastered on his face.

"Hell no! Run to your friend!" Ronaldo yelled out, a look of pure anger on his face mostly directed to Draluc; he knew Draluc has an ulterior motives behind that suggestion.

Knowing that Ronaldo might be onto him, Draluc held up his hands defensively. Yumi turned turned to face Ronaldo without letting go of Draluc's waist. She made a pouty face as she said, "Pwease Ronaldo-sempai? I pwomise I won't stay for long. OR get in your way! I can help out with the chores around here too!"

"That's what I have Draluc for! Sorry, but I'm going to have to say no," Ronaldo said, crossing his arms to show he meant it.

Yumi went back to crying into Draluc's chest as he held her once more, turning his ire towards Ronaldo. "Come on now Ronaldo-kun, we can't turn down a maiden in distress! Plus I for one wouldn't mind to have extra help around here! Isn't that right John?!" Draluc said, turning his attention to John whom let out a hearty 'Nu!' in response.

Ronaldo let out a long and loud sigh, thinking 'Sure sure...' before nodding his head. "FINE! You can stay, BUT only for a month! In that time I expect you to find a REAL job and pay me back for the time you're here!" he said, finally giving in.

Draluc, John and Yumi all yelled out a merry "HURRAY!/NU!"; jumping for joy in unison. At that moment Yumi realized that during the time she was holding onto Draluc she had accidentally gotten his clothes all wet.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Draluc-kun! I made your clothes wet from the rain from earlier!" she exclaimed as she ran a hand across his chest. He looked down at her during that moment, smiling sweetly to try and mask his true feeling of arousal at her gentle touches. Ronaldo cleared his throat as he felt like he was the third wheel in the room. Yumi stopped what she was doing, stepping away from Draluc; her hands fumbled with trying to find her suitcase behind her.

"I...sh...should change my clothes! Do you guys have a bathroom I could use?" she stuttered out while trying to not keep eye contact with Draluc; whom in turn had begun to try and pat himself dry.

"Yes there's a bathroom off of the next room," Draluc said as he pointed to the door at the opposite side of the office. "But here, let me take your coat and try to dry if off for you in the mean-time," he said, holding out his hand to take her coat.

"Sure, thank you Draluc-kun," Yumi said as she slipped her coat off; handing it to him while still avoiding eye contact. She grabbed her bags and headed through the doorway into the shared room that served as the guys' apartment.

The room itself looked so clean and proper for two men sharing the space. Everything from the kitchen counters to the dining table, even the sitting area was sparkling clean. As she spotted the door leading to the bathroom, she also spotted Draluc's coffin laying on the floor behind the couch. The lid was off revealing the deep red cloth lining; a little plush pillow sat within at the head of it. She took a moment to look at it as she thought, 'Wow! I've never seen a vampire's coffin before! He keeps it so clean and pristine too!' At that moment, Draluc walked into the room behind Yumi.

"Are you ok Yumi-san?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder causing her to jump at the sudden contact; which in turn caused him to turn into an ash pile at her feet.

"Oh Draluc-kun! I'm so sorry! You startled me! Don't do that!" she yelled out as he reformed himself beside her.

"My apologies Yumi-san! You seemed to be so lost in thought, I just thought there was something wrong!" he said, holding his hands up defensively. "I swear, I didn't mean to scare you," he continued as she turned to face him fully.

"Don't swear! It's unbecoming for a gentleman like you," she said, complimenting him causing him to blush at her words. A blush plastered itself on her face too as she realized that she had complimented him absentmindedly. "Umm...yeah, sorry. I was just...admiring how clean it is in here," she said trying to move the conversation forward.

"Ah yes, thank you. John and I work very hard at keeping things clean and tidy in here," he said happily while they both looked away awkwardly.

A silence fell around them, really adding to the awkward tension in the room. "So...the...umm...bathroom?" she said trying to break the silence while pointing to the door at the opposite side of the room.

"Ah yes, that's it there. You can leave your bags against this wall here if you wish," he replied, directing her to the wall behind them.

"I will, thank you," she said as she did as she was directed to do. She then opened her suitcase and pulled out a new outfit, as Draluc walked over to a nearby closet to retrieve a hanger and a hair dryer for her coat. He flashed her a quick smile as she walked into the bathroom, she smiled awkwardly back to him all the while.

As she entered the bathroom, she locked the door behind her as she began to scold herself in thought. 'What is wrong with me?! I'm complimenting him now? Why?!' Then another, non-hateful thought flittered through her mind. 'Well he is my type of guy...not too strong, but also not too weak...even though he does die pretty easily. But he is really sweet and funny and so handsome...'. She slapped her face suddenly as she refocused her attention to getting changed. She put on a pair of tight blue jeans and a long sleeved crocheted look forest green dress with an off the shoulder neckline. She looked at herself in the mirror over the sink, realizing that her hair was still soaking wet. That's when she remembered seeing Draluc holding a hair dryer.

"Draluc-kun! Do you mind if I...borrow...that...hair dryer..." she started to ask as she walked out of the bathroom. She had to cut herself off slowly as her mouth hit the floor. For a brief second she couldn't believe what she is seeing as she had walked in on Draluc mid-way replacing his white dress shirt with a new dry one.

He stood transfixed to his spot in the room, mid-way buttoning his cuffs while the front of his shirt sat open. He squeaked out an embarrassed "Sand!" as Yumi ran back into the bathroom; hands covering her face as she went. She slammed the door closed behind her as she leaned her back on it; her hands still covering her face.

A gentle knock sounded on the other side of the bathroom door. "Yumi-san, here's the hair dryer if you still need it," Draluc said meekly as he carefully opened the door; handing off the hair dryer through the gap in the door. She reached down to grab it from him as she said, "I'm so sorry Draluc-kun. I should have known better. I am the reason you're getting redressed after all!" She realized that she may have said something indirectly inapropriate as she continued frantically, "THE RAIN! It was the rain water that made you wet! NOT me specifically!" Draluc chuckled lightly as Yumi finished rambling meekly, "I mean...I'm sorry." They locked eyes one more time, smiling awkwardly to each other before she closed the door again.

Five minutes passed by as Yumi emerged from the bathroom, slowly opening the door and peeking around carefully. She spotted a fully clothed Draluc sitting on the couch playing his hand-held QSQ. She walked over to the couch, handing the hair dryer back to him. "Here, I don't know where you keep this," she said as he paused his game and looked up at her.

His jaw hit the floor at her new outfit, but he fought off the feeling of dying at looking at her; quickly closing his mouth. He quickly saved up his game as he said, "You can put it in the closet over there. And you'll be happy to know that your coat is nice and dry too." He flashed her a quick wink and proud smile before continuing, "I had a thought a moment ago too. Since you're going to be staying with us, our food budget will need to go up. Which is no problem at all! So, I was going to suggest, why don't you and I go shopping tonight? You can pick out what you like to eat and I'll make it for you!"

"Really?! You'd do that for me?!" Yumi exclaimed happily, closing the closet door while turning her attention to Draluc.

"Of course! I love cooking for humans! I already cook for Ronaldo and Hinaichi, it would be an honor to cook for you too, m'lady," he said, placing his QSQ on the coffee table before standing in front of her; taking her hand in his. He placed a sweet kiss on the top of her hand as she blushed profusely.

"O...okay! That sounds like fun!" she said meekly as she tried to keep her face from him.

"Please m'lady, there's no need to hide your beautiful face from me any longer. Especially now that we are sharing this room together!" he said gesturing to the room they were occupying. He put his right hand under her chin, tipping her face up to meet with his as he smiled suggestively to her.

"Draluc-kun...s...sh...should we go...then?" she asked, their eyes locking as their faces are drawing closer together; his long nose grazing the side of hers.

"Yumi-san..." Draluc said in a whisper as his right hand joined his other hand at the small of her back. He instinctually pulled her closer, completely wrapping her up inside his cape; their lips inches away from each other.

As she brings her hands up to rest on his chest, he suddenly dies; becoming ash at her feet. She looked down at his ash pile then back up to where Draluc was orginally standing to come face to face with an annoyed looking Ronaldo. He was holding a spray bottle up to where Draluc's head was just a moment ago.

"Wrong! Idiot! You both are NOT sharing a room! Especially if you are trying to pull a stunt like that!" Ronaldo said angrily as he continued to spray Draluc each time he reformed. Which caused Draluc and Yumi to be split apart at opposite ends of the room.

"So...where would I sleep then?" Yumi asked while trying to keep focused on Ronaldo. Her face was burning so brightly that she was afraid to look at Draluc for fear of killing him for good.

Draluc on the other hand stood back opposite her lost in thought. 'Its been a long time since I've kissed a girl. Let alone, FEED on one! Why am I so drawn to her like that? I just met her, yet I can't stop myself when she's around! Am I...Am I already falling for her?'

Meanwhile Ronaldo answered Yumi's question. "I will sleep in here on the couch. While you, Yumi-chan, will sleep in the office. I can move the coffee table and push the couches together for you if you like?" he asked as he continued to hold the spray bottle at the ready incase Draluc tried any more funny business.

"Sure, if its not too much trouble," Yumi said as she finally felt her face cool off.

Ronaldo bashfully scratched the back of his head as he said, "It's no trouble at all!"

"Thank you Ronaldo-sempai!" she said happily clapping her hands in front of her face. Then a sudden thought occured to her. "Actually, Draluc-kun was telling me that with me staying here that we're gonna need more groceries done. So we're going to go get them tonight. Would you like to come with us?" she asked happily smiling sweetly.

"I don't think Ronaldo would like to come with us. He has his MANUSCRIPT DEADLINE coming up after all," Draluc said as he emphasized the right words to get a rise out of Ronaldo. He smirked as it worked, Ronaldo shuttered fearfully as he lowered the spray bottle.

"Oh...yeah...thanks...for...reminding...me..." he said as he quietly shuffled off to the office; leaving Draluc and Yumi alone again.

"Ahem! Perhaps we should get going then," Draluc said, clearing his throat to try to break the new form of awkward silence in the room.

"YEAH SURE!" Yumi exclaimed as she rushed over to the closet door to retrieve her coat.

"I'll...umm...wait for you in the office," Draluc said as he tried to fight off the urge to get close to her again.

"Okay no problem..." she said quietly at the end of her statement as he walked into the office.

'He almost kissed me! And I almost kissed him back! Ahhh!' she screamed internally, her face flushing at the memory flooding her mind. 'He was so gentle too...I wonder...would he be that gentle if he were to bite me one day? NO! That is dangerous thinking!' she continued to think as she scolded herself again.

Meanwhile Draluc slumped on one of the couches in the office. He ran his hands across his face while leaning forward; resting his head in his left hand. John scurried to his side; jumping into his lap nuzzling his face comfortingly. Ronaldo looked up from his laptop, and out of his zombie-like stupor. He looked over at Draluc, comtemplating on saying something to help his friend as Yumi walked into the office.

"I'm all set! Are you ok, Draluc-kun?" she asked as he quickly recomposed himself; standing up suddenly turning his attention to Yumi.

A gentle smile plastered itself on his face as he held out his right arm to her. "I'm fine Yumi-san. Shall we?" he said, his gentle smile turning into a sly one as his mind reeled, remembering the moment they had shared only a few minutes ago.

They linked arms and headed out of the office as Ronaldo looked up from his laptop. "Have fun on your DATE!" he called out playfully mocking the couple as the office door closed behind them. They looked at each other smiling awkwardly as Draluc took the lead; leading them outside the building and down the street towards a mini shopping district.

"Yumi-san, about what happened earlier..." Draluc began, stopping them in their tracks just outside the shopping district.

Yumi turned to look up at him, a look of concern on her face. "I take it everything isn't ok then?" she asked, sadly turning her face away.

"No! It's nothing like that! Everything IS okay! It's just...we just met a week ago and we barely know each other...we have also already established that we would be just friends...so I am...sorry for trying to make a move on you earlier," he said, apologically holding his hands up.

Yumi grabbed his hands in both of hers as she smiled sweetly. "It's ok, Draluc-kun. As much as that moment was..." she began, bringing their hands to her chest; a blush settling on both of their faces. Yumi lowered their hands down back to their sides, but leaving her right hand in his left; looking down for a moment. She looked back up at him, smiling sweetly while continuing, "I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. I'm also glad that we're friends too. I've always wanted to have a vampire for a friend. We should just focus on being friends, yes?"

"I'm so glad you understand Yumi-san! Yes we should just focus on being friends," he said happily. Suddenly Yumi held up her right index finger at his face.

"BUT! If we're going to be friends AND live together, you will have to tone down on your Vampiric Charm!" she said with importance in her voice.

He placed his hand under her chin to tilt her face up to his; while scooping up her outstretched hand. "I'll try anything for a beautiful maiden like you," he said suggestively before he realized what he was doing. He let go of her hand and put both of his hands on his head while shouting, "CRAP! I DID IT AGAIN!" he then cried out "SAND!" while John fell from the top of his head landing on his ash pile.

She giggled happily, reaching her right hand out to him. He made his head reappear looking up to see her kind face. "Come on Draluc-kun!" she said as he looked at her outstretched hand. "Let's get our shopping done! I can't wait to taste your cooking since I've already tasted your baking!" she said smiling happily as he returned the happy smile and took her hand; quickly reforming the rest of his body while she pulled him along.

Meanwhile across the street stood a tall superior vampire carrying a staff with a ball on the end of it. He's wearing a full yellow plaid gentleman's outfit complete with a matching cape. He kept his blonde hair neatly coiffed despite the slight breeze in the air.

"Tsk tsk tsk Draluc! You naughty boy! What are you doing with such a beautiful, young and sweet looking human hanging off of you?" he said slyly to himself. "Hmmm oh I wonder what delicious secret lewd thoughts she has," he continued as he followed Draluc and Yumi covertly behind them.

"Draluc-kun! Look! It's a little plushie of Ronaldo-sempai! AND he's wearing bunny ears!" Yumi exclaimed while laughing hysterically.

"Pff!" Draluc let out as he too started to laugh hysterically. He took the plushie from her hands as he said, "That reminds me of the time Ronaldo actually did dress up as a bunny."

"He did?! No way, get out!" she exclaimed, playfully slapping his arm while laughing again.

"That he did! But it was a bunny-girl costume! You know, one of those skimpy ones?" he said happily chuckling along at the memory.

"No! Like strapless complete with stockings and heels?!" she asked while trying to keep herself from laughing out loud; they were drawing attention to themselves.

"Yeah! It was for a game my Grandfather made up for our New Year's party with the rest of my family. Ronaldo and I had to try to win the game to win a pack of Ronaldo's books so my family wouldn't find out that my castle had burnt down; I didn't tell them right away. Ronaldo was worried that my family would have sued him for destroying my home. But luckily they didn't seem to mind," he said smiling the whole way as he regailed the New Year's party to Yumi.

She hung on every word he spoke, her mind reeling at the thought of if she would ever have to come face to face with anyone in his family. How should she act if that were to ever happen? Would they hate her? Would they think its ok for Draluc to be friends only with Ronaldo but not her? And how would her own family feel about her being friends with Draluc? She made a sour look with her face at the thought of never being able to be friends with Draluc.

"Yumi-san? Are you ok?" he asked her putting a hand on her shoulder; worry laced in his voice.

"Hmm...yeah...sorry...I'm fine! I was just lost in thought thinking about my own family," she said reassuringly.

"Oh! You have a family too? Well I should have known! Of course you do you came from somewhere after all," he said as he patted the back of his head bashfully.

"Yeah I have a family too. But lets not forget why we're here!" she said trying to deflect his question.

Draluc chuckled and nodded simply as Yumi refocused her attention back to the Ronaldo plushie in Draluc's hand. "D'you think he'd be mad if we bought it and surprised him with it when we get back?" she asked playfully before she noticed there was a little Draluc plushie too. She gasped excitedly, picking up the Draluc plushie which also has bunny ears on its head. "AWW! Now this is a HANDSOME devil right here!" she said as he squeaked out "Sand!" at her compliment.

He quickly reformed back to her side as he said, "There's no need for that since you have the real thing right here." He then made a confident gesture of himself as she pouted while putting the mini Draluc back in the display.

"What about this little guy then?" she asked grabbing the Ronaldo plushie from him and held it up to her face playfully.

Draluc raised an eyebrow confidently as he replied, "But of course we'll get this fool. You know, for our BIGGER fool at home." He winked playfully at her as she giggled happily; a blush plastering itself on both of their faces.

"Excuse me! We'd like to buy this please!" Yumi said, tearing herself away from Draluc as she handed the plushie to the cashier.

"Now aren't you two a cute couple!" the elderly cashier said happily while Draluc and Yumi both continued to flush at her statement.

"We're just friends!" they said in unison angrily yelling at the woman; their faces even brighter than before.

"OHHHH! Well then, that won't do! You both look so sweet together!" the elderly cashier protested.

As this interaction took place, the golden-clad vampire smirked. 'That's it! Let the elderly human screw with you so I can finish you off!' he thought mischieviously as the ball on the end of his staff began to glow.

"Hold it right there!" a feminine voice called out suddenly from behind the golden vampire.

"Tsk...why isn't it my favourite, tiny virgin Vice-Captain?!" the golden Vampire exclaimed, turning his attention to a clearly angry Hinaichi.

She had both of her short-sworded katanas out and poised at the ready.

"Hmm? Hina-chan?" Yumi asked as both she and Draluc turned their attentions to the commotion nearby. Draluc let out a low groan as he recognized the golden clad vampire. Yumi heard his groan as she asked, "Do you know who that vampire is?"

"That's Mr Lewd-Talk. He's usually pretty amusing when he's going after Ronaldo and the other hunters," he replied as she looked to him confusedly. "He uses a form of hypnotism to make his victims embarrassed by making them talk in Lewd ways. Forcing them to expose their true, Lewd kinks to the world," he continued as he pointed to the staff in Mr. Lewd-Talk's hand. "See that staff? He uses it like an artificial medium for his powers," Draluc continued, glaring at Mr Lewd-Talk. 'He better not come after us!' he thought as he grabbed Yumi's hand; gripping it tightly. Yumi took notice of his hand, looked up at him for a moment before refocusing her attention to Hinaichi.

But at that sudden moment, a bright pink light shinned over Hinaichi as she screamed out angrily. "Hina-chan!" Yumi yelled out as she quickly turned her attention to the elderly cashier. "Can you hold this for us, please?!" she yelled out passing her the Ronaldo plushie.

"Of course I can! But you two better take care of yourselves, if you are thinking of going up against that vampire!" the cashier said as she took the plushie from Yumi. Yumi then looked to Draluc, the burning urge to help Hinaichi resonating within her while he had other thoughts on the matter. Believing they were on the same page, both nodded to each other confidently.

"Let's go!" Draluc yelled out as he pulled Yumi away in the opposite direction of the fight.

"No! Draluc-kun! Why are we running away?! Hina-chan needs our help!" Yumi exclaimed, making Draluc stop in his tracks. "I thought you were ok with me helping Hina-chan?!" she asked as he pulled her to hide behind a shop sign; pulling her closer to his body. Her breath hitched in her throat at the sudden contact, her hands grabbing onto his coat for balance.

"Trust me! Hinaichi-kun can handle herself just fine. Plus look! She's got Ronaldo-kun's brother there to help her!" he said, pointing at the fighting as a white haired man joined the fray.

Yumi pulled away from Draluc as she stared to say, "But she's-". Just then the same bright pink light that engulfed Hinaichi took hold around Yumi.

"Yumi-san!" Draluc called out as he tried to pull her back to him frantically.

There was a silence around everyone as Mr. Lewd-Talk eagerly awaited to see if his beam would work on Yumi. 'Come on! Let your lewd thoughts and feelings flow out!' he thought, bringing his fists up to his face expectantly.

"Wee-wee?" Hinaichi asked to Yumi before clamping her hands on her mouth angrily.

"Yumi-san?" Draluc asked, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Capes...." Yumi whispered to him while slowly raising her head to look at him meekly.

"Huh? What was that Yumi-san?" he asked while she turned her face away from his. He brought his hand under her chin, turning her to look at him again.

"I LOVE CAPES! I THINK THEY ARE SO SEXY! I'D GIVE ANYTHING TO BE WRAPPED UP INSIDE DRALUC'S CAPE AGAIN! I JUST LOVED THAT FEELING OF BEING SO CLOSE TO HIM! IT WAS SO AROUSING!" Yumi exclaimed before roughly clamping her hands over her mouth; her face burning up as if she had a sudden fever.

"SAND!" Draluc exclaimed as he died from a combination of shock and embarrassment. Hinaichi and Ronaldo's brother stared at Yumi with their mouths hanging open.

Tears welled up in Yumi's eyes for a quick second. She shifted her gaze to Mr. Lewd-Talk, whom had started to do a dance on the spot happily.

"Yes! That's wonderful! Granted your lewd-talk needs more experience, its still a wonderful feeling!" Mr. Lewd-Talk said as he wrapped his arms around her. He flicked his own cape over her shoulders mockingly smirking at her all the while. "How does MY cape feel all wrapped around you darling?" he asked suggestively pulling her closer to him.

An anger burned within her at his words and actions. Very suddenly she balled her hands into fists. In one quick action, she brought her right fist up to connect with his chin; causing him to recoil from her. "Ouch that hurt! Well no matter, now we know what, as the humans say, 'floats your boat'," Mr. Lewd-Talk said, rubbing his chin where Yumi's fist had connected.

Hinaichi walked over to sand beside Yumi, her small katana's raised at the ready. Ronaldo's brother stood next to Draluc behind the girls; both men waiting for the girls to make their next move. Yumi pulled out her kunai from her coat pockets.

Hinaichi looked to Yumi and said, "Wee-wee?". Yumi glanced over at HInaichi, nodding confidently to her new friend while responding, "Capes." The two girls then looked meanacingly at Mr. Lewd-Talk as they made their way towards him.

"Now, now ladies. What's wrong with a little lewd-talk now and then?" Mr. Lewd-Talk said holding his hands up defensively as he backed away slowly.

Hinaichi and Yumi launched themselves at Mr. Lewd-Talk quickly but weren't fast enough as he took off like a shot outside the shopping district; cackling all the way. Hinaichi put a hand up to stop Yumi from chasing after him. "Wee-wee. Wee-wee wee, wee-wee," Hinaichi said over her shoulder to Yumi; which translates to: "Don't bother. We'll let him go, this time."

"Capes are soooooo sexy?!" Yumi asked which translates to: "Are you sure we should?!" Yumi felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder as she quickly covered her mouth again. Hinaichi held onto Yumi's shoulder and simply nodded as Ronaldo's brother walked over to Hinaichi's right side.

He looked at Yumi and said, "Hey! You're that new hunter girl! The ninja-school girl right?" Yumi simply nodded her head as she looked to Draluc for help with introducing herself.

As if their thoughts finally syncronized, Draluc stepped beside her placing a hand on her free shoulder. "Right you are Hiyoshi-kun! This is Yumi Takahashi-san! Of course you know why she can't talk right now," he said as they each scowled at the direction of Mr. Lewd-Talk's hasty exit. He then looked down at Yumi, smiling sweetly to her as he continued, "And this, Yumi-san, is Ronaldo's older brother Hiyoshi!" He held out his free hand to introduce the pair. Yumi bowed her head silently as Hiyoshi simply chuckled and nodded back.

"Good to meet you too, Yumi-chan! I've heard a lot about you from Hinaichi-chan!" Hiyoshi said extending his hand to her too. She raised her head, shook his hand and smiled happily to him. Hiyoshi broke the handshake first, turning his attention to Draluc before smiling back to her. "Where's my brother tonight?" he asked non-chalantly.

"He's got another deadline to meet, so Yumi-san and I are doing some groceries! Yumi-san is, temporarily, moving in with us!" he exclaimed happily, pulling her closer to his side.

Hinaichi's eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed, "Wee-wee?!", which mean't "For real?!" Yumi nodded quickly as a huge smile plastered itself on Hinaichi's face.

"Poor Yumi-san had spent her traveling money on snacks! She had no-where else to go, so she came to Ronaldo and I for help!" Draluc said theatrically before receiving a deadly look from Yumi. "Sand..." he squeaked out at her look as she turned her attention back to the pair in front of them. She scratched the back of her head bashfully, as both Hinaichi and Hiyoshi gawked at her; Draluc took that moment to reform next to Yumi.

"Since Hinaichi-chan and Yumi-chan made quick work of Mr. Lewd-Talk, we just need some quick information from you Yumi-chan," Hiyoshi said as he pulled out a mini notepad and a pen. Yumi looked to Draluc, pulling on his cape as Hiyoshi chuckled softly. "It's ok, you don't need Draluc to speak for you. I just need to take your name and ask a couple questions. All you need to do is nod or shake your head for confirmation, ok?"

Yumi nodded her head enthusiastically as Draluc placed a hand on her shoulder; getting her attention for a moment. "I'm going to go buy that plushie of Ronaldo," he said as she looked at him, pouting at him to stay. He chuckled lightly at her while gently patting her head affectionately. "Don't worry m'lady. You're in good company," he said as he placed a light kiss on the top of her head. He pulled away to look at her sweetly as her face flushed up at the sudden forms fo affection he was giving her; especially in front of Hiyoshi and Hinaichi-chan. "Meet me at the fountain over there," he said pointing to a nearby fountain surrounded by all sorts of couples young and old. Yumi nodded meekly in response to his instructions, as he lent down to her right ear. "That's perfect, m'lady," he whispered as he smiled sweetly to her before walking off to the stand where they had found the plushies.

"Ahem! May we start with the questions?" Hiyoshi asked as he cleared his throat to get Yumi's attention. Yumi jumped slightly as she turned her attention back to Hiyoshi and Hinaichi-chan. She looked to Hinaichi-chan bashfully for a moment as Hinaichi-chan just flashed her a quick friendly smile. "So your name is Yumi Takahashi, correct?" Hiyoshi asked as he jotted down her name; Yumi nodded heartily all the while. "And you're affliated with the Shin-Yokohama hunter's guild?" he continued his line of quesioning.

"Y...y...yes...th...that is...correct," Yumi sputtered out; finally feeling the effects of Mr. Lewd-Talk's beam wearing off. 'Huh? I thought Draluc-kun said it might take a few hours to wear off?' she thought as both Hiyoshi and Hinaichi-chan looked at Yumi in surprise.

"Ok! If you want to then, since you seem to be through the effects of that attack, you can join us at our station to leave a full statement?" Hiyoshi asked as he flicked his notepad closed. Hinaichi put a hand on his shoulder as he turned to her inquisitively. She shook her head as she also nodded towards the fountain Draluc had pointed out earlier Yumi looked over to it and spotted Draluc holding the plushie of Ronaldo and a small white plastic bag on his right arm.

"Draluc-kun...." Yumi whispered listlessly; a faint blush setting itself on her face.

"Miss Takahashi-san?" Hiyoshi asked trying to get her attention. She turned to face him as he continued, "On second thought I can always get a full statement from Hinaichi."

"Oh! Okay! No problem then!" Yumi said, turning to Hinaichi. "Thank you for teaming up with me! Even though we didn't get to actually fight, it was still fun! I'm grateful to know that you'll have my back when I need you!" she said happily as she began to walk away from them. "And I will always have your back too!" she finished turning around one more time; waving a hearty goodbye.

"Wee-wee!" Hinaichi-chan called out happily, knowing full well she's still under the effects of the Lewd beam.

Yumi turned around again to face the direction where Draluc stood waiting for her. "Draaaluc-kun!" Yumi said in a sing-song voice as he turned to see her happily skipping towards him.

"OHHH! You've got your beautiful, and proper, speaking voice back!" he said happily as John "Nu'd" happily too.

"That I do! Thank goodness too!" she said as she bowed her head shamefully. "I'm sorry I said what I said," she continued as her face lit up; she turned her gaze away from him.

"It's ok m'lady. I'm just glad you're back to normal and are safe," he said as he held the Draluc plushie to her face playfully.

Her eyes lit up as she asked, "Awww you bought the plushie of you...for me?"

"Of course, m'lady! I don't mind sharing a place in your heart with a plushie," he said smiling slyly as she brought it up to her face hugging it lovingly. "Sanndd..." he called out dying for a second. He reformed beside her again, holding out the plastic bag containing the Ronaldo plushie. She hugged the Draluc plushie one more time before placing it back in the bag. "Shall we do our shopping m'lady?" he asked holding out his right arm for her; smiling happily.

"Only if you lead the way, Draluc-kun," she said taking his arm in hers; flashing the same happy smile back to him.

A few hours later, Yumi and Draluc returned back to the office/apartment; each one carrying a couple heafty bags. Draluc went on ahead to drop off his bags for fear of dying due to the weight to them. Yumi put her bags down for a moment as she pulled out the Ronaldo plushie; placing it on the keyboard to his laptop. Draluc returned a second later to help with the rest of the bags as Yumi patted Ronaldo's head playfully.

"This is for you..." she said as Draluc stood next to Yumi; leaning close to Ronaldo's face while smirking slyly.

"...Paul the Bunny!" he said finishing Yumi's sentence. "Sand!" he cried out as Ronaldo landed an upper cut to his face; narrowly missing Yumi's face. Yumi broke out into hysterics as she walked over to retrieve the last grocery bags.

"You guys are too much!" she said as she opened the door to the apartment. She stopped in the doorway, looking around the office smiling happily. "Yeah....I think I'm going to like it here!"

Chapter 4: Chapter Four: Prepping for Valentine's Day!

Chapter Text

"Aha! Take that Dral-kun!" Yumi exclaimed excitedly as she rocked in her seat; mashing buttons on a game controller frantically.

"Oh no! Now I'm dead last! Sand!" Draluc called out angrily turning to a pile of ash in the process.

"Hell yeah! Go Yumi-chan!" Ronaldo cheered out, excitedly dancing on the spot from the couch.

"That's right! Eat...MY...dust! Yeah!" Yumi yelled out happily. She jumped up from her seat on the floor next to Draluc, performing a mini victory dance on the spot.

"Beginner's luck! I want a rematch!" Draluc yelled out as he reformed in his seat on the floor.

"You say that EVERYTIME she beats you at this stupid game!" Ronaldo exclaimed angrily as Yumi sat back down on the floor; smirking smugly at Draluc.

"He's just a sore loser!" she said as she leaned over to pinch Draluc's arm playfully.

It's been two weeks since Yumi moved in with Ronaldo and Draluc. In that time she lived up to her promise, helping Draluc and John with the house chores. Each evening she would wake up before the boys would. She'd start off with having a quick shower and get dressed in the bathroom so as to not wake them up. She'd then, as quietly as she could, go back to the office to dismantle her makeshift bed.

At that point in the evening Draluc would wake up just before Ronaldo would. Yumi and Draluc would often prank Ronaldo while he slept. One time they slipped a piece of celery between Ronaldo's arms. Other times they'd whisper sublimital messages into Ronaldo's ear. "Manuscript.....deaddddline...." Draluc would say. "The celery monster...is gonna...get youuuuu...if you...don't finish...your deadline...on timeeee..." Yumi would say while Draluc would follow up with, "Oh no! It's Fukuma-san! He's here...to collect your...manuscript...or you can face the wrath...of the celery monster!"

Ronaldo would wake up so mad at them, violently killing Draluc all the while, but would be easily swayed when Yumi and Draluc would make him a hearty 'breakfast'. After Ronaldo and Yumi would have their 'breakfast', Ronaldo would take his turn in the bathroom. Yumi would get started on doing the dishes while Draluc started vaccuming and dusting. Each night they would alternate who would do what chore, while John was voted to be a neutral party to do the laundry. Yumi often found it funny watching John fold her panties with his tiny paws. Until one time when he accidentally folded a pair right in front of Draluc, she embarrassedly scolded John while Draluc turned to a pile of ash. From that point forward Yumi and John decided that they would fold the laundry together.

Once the chores were done Yumi would either go out job hunting, vampire hunting with Ronaldo and Draluc. OR some times she would do some combat training with Maria and Ta-chan up in the nearby mountains.

Training with the only other girls of the guild proved to be a monumental task, epecially when Maria was in charge. She really put Yumi through her paces, especially when it came to her endurance training. She'd make Yumi sit under a VERY cold waterfall while she'd periodically dump a bucket full of bugs down the falls.

Draluc always felt bad for Yumi for going through that kind of torture. He always went out of his way to have a warm bath drawn for her for when she'd get back home. Which she was always grateful to him as by the time she'd be done her bath, he'd already be in his coffin. She'd tap the lid of the coffin gently as a sign of her gratefulness while he would be awake enough to tap back.

They'd have little moments like these every so often. Ronaldo would always catch them dancing in tandem when they'd be cooking in the kitchen. Other times they'd work together to make Ronaldo's nights a nightmare; especially when he'd have a new deadline to meet. He'd try to poke fun at them, often insinuating they were acting like a married couple. Both of their faces would flush a very bright shade of red before Draluc would die of embarrassment.

On this night in particular was a rare occurrence where Ronaldo, Draluc and Yumi all had the night off. To celebrate that fact, they had made a list of snacks the night before so that Yumi could run down to the nearby convience store before the guys woke up on this current night. They also heavily debated on what form of entertainment they wanted to do as a group. It was a toss up between a horror movie or playing video games. As much as Ronaldo fought to watch a horror movie, his vote got overruled. Draluc and Yumi decided they wanted to see who was better at Vario Kart instead. And so far, after six rounds of versus and three rounds of races, Yumi was winning seven to two.

"Ow! Stop pinching me!" Draluc shouted angrily as he pinched her back on her arm.

"Hey! I'll stop if YOU stop first!" she protested while Ronaldo rolled his eyes as he got up to get a drink from the kitchen. Yumi swayed dramatically to her left side trying to bump into Draluc playfully. Unfortunately he wasn't ready to receive her as she fell over onto his lap instead. She jumped up quickly as she sat stock still in her spot; her eyes focused on the game screen. He chuckled happily as he playfully swayed to her side; successfully bumping into her to get her back.

At that moment her cellphone rang out scarring Draluc to death. "Oh Dral-kun..." Yumi said sighing exasperatedly as she answered her phone. "Hi Hina-chan! What can I do for you?" Yumi beamed happily, holding her phone to her ear.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO MEET UP TONIGHT!" Hinaichi shouted out angrily as Yumi held her phone away from her ear. It took a moment for Yumi to think of why Hinaichi would be yelling at her over the phone. That's when a thought dawned on her as she jumped up from her seat; scarring Draluc to death again.

"OH CRAP! I AM SO SORRY HINA-CHAN!" Yumi said as she looked frantically around the room at the boys.

"Don't tell me, you're playing video games with Draluc, aren't you?" Hinaichi asked exasperatedly.

"Ughh....y...yeah...I am..." Yumi replied in a defeated tone. "But I am so sorry Hina-chan! I will get dressed as fast as I can and meet you at the guild," she continued apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. I'm out front of the office anyway. I'll just wait in the entrance for you," she said nonchalantly.

"Why not come up then?" Yumi asked inquisitively.

"I don't want to get distracted by Draluc's baking while the others are ALREADY waiting for us," Hinaichi said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah...you're right...ok I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes," Yumi said as she hung up.

"Dral-kun! Ronaldo-sempai! I am so sorry, but I forgot that I was supposed to meet with Hina-chan tonight," Yumi said as she slapped her hands together in front of her face; bowing her head shamefully.

Draluc smiled sweetly as he said, "That's no problem m'lady. May I ask though? What sort of plans do you have tonight with Hinaichi-kun?"

"Well Valentine's Day is coming up. Actually it's tomorrow...I had forgotten that Hina-chan texted me the other night asking if I can show her how to make chocolates. That got the rest of us girls at the guild talking in a group chat. We convinced the guild master to let us use the kitchen at the bar. Hina-chan and I agreed that our kitchen here wouldn't be a viable choice. Not big enough for everyone to work in after all," she replied matter-of-factly as she searched her bags for a fresh outfit.

"Ah Valentine's Day! I wonder if any beautiful maidens will give me chocolates," Draluc said dramatically placing a hand on his chest. Ronaldo elbowed him in his side and nodded to Yumi, whom had quickly finished collecting her outfit. "But! Getting chocolates from the most beautiful maiden in the room would be even better!" Draluc said gesturing to Yumi's back.

Yumi tensed up as she had a feeling he meant her but decided to deflect the compliment all together. "You heard him Ronaldo-sempai!" she said as she stood up from her bags with a fresh outfit hanging on her arms. She looked over at the clearly disgusted looking Ronaldo and the most disturbed looking vampire she had met. With a mischievious smile on her face, she continued, "Wanna come with us Ronaldo-sempai?"

Ronaldo quickly reached to the couch behind him and threw his pillow at her. "LIKE HELL I WANT TO! NOW GO! You REALLY don't want to keep Hinaichi waiting!" he said as she caught the pillow in mid-air. She threw it back at him but he ducked at the last second causing the pillow to connect with Draluc's face. "SAND!" he cried out as Yumi chuckled lightly while saying, "Sorry Dral-kun!" She then took her new outfit into the office and got changed in a flash.

After a few minutes, Yumi poked her head into the living area and said, "Alright! I'm heading off! Ronaldo-sempai! Make sure you OWN that foolish sand pile for me!"

Ronaldo chuckled as he called out, "You can count on me Yumi-chan!"

"Psh! You WISH you can beat me at this game!" Draluc said as they were just about to finish their race. "Yeah! Like I said Ron-al-do! You...WISH!" Draluc shouted out energetically, mocking Ronaldo all the while as his character passed Ronaldo's; winning the match. He looked over at Yumi for a second as he noticed her watching him. He smiled sweetly to her as her phone rang out, snapping her back to reality.

"I told you! You shouldn't keep Hinaichi waiting any longer!" Ronaldo called out as Yumi answered her phone frantically.

"I am SO sorry Hina-chan! I am on my way out now I swear!" Yumi said over the phone as she raced out the door.

Draluc took a moment to pause the game as he turned his attention to Ronaldo. "Now, I know this might be a long shot for even you Ronaldo-kun. But can I ask you for some advice?" he asked as earnestly as he could.

"That kind of hurt but I'll bite. What's going on?" Ronaldo asked as he put his controller down and took a sip of his drink.

"It...it's about Yumi-san. I think...I'm falling for her," Draluc said as Ronaldo spat out his drink suddenly.

"I KNEW you had feelings for her!" Ronaldo shouted out between coughing up the rest of his drink.

"What do you mean you knew?!" Draluc yelled out incredulously. "Have I been THAT obvious?!" Ronaldo nodded thoughtfully as he folded his arms across his chest. "Sand...." Draluc called out defeatedly.

"Look, are you absolutely sure you are falling for her? Or do you see her as just a friend? OR a meal?" Ronaldo asked as Draluc reformed beside him.

"Well no I don't see her as a meal. And usually I do see her as a dear friend. But, the more time I spend with her, the more I want her to be mine. I want to hold her and kiss her and never let her go!" he said as he sighed dramatically while folding his arms around himself. 'He sounds like his dad,' Ronaldo thought for a moment. "Now with Valentine's Day coming up, I...I just don't know what to expect to happen! Will she make me chocolates? Will she buy some? And should I confess to her how I feel?" he asked as he started to pace around the room.

"There is a possibility that she could ask you out too," Ronaldo said keeping his arms crossed while nodding thoughtfully.

Draluc stopped dead in his tracks at Ronaldo's comment; a look of horrified realization on his face. "OH MY GOD! I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT! But why would it be a possibility of HER asking me out? Maybe I should ask her out first?! Gah! What should I do?!" he yelled out while he placed both hands on his head.

"Calm down now Dral! If she does ANYTHING for you, she's most likely just going to make chocolates for you. Especially since she's making chocolates with the girls, there might very well be some coming your way too! As for whether or not you should confess or ask her out, that's your choice to make. There's no harm in trying to do something, but there is if you don't do anything," Ronaldo said matter-of-factly as Draluc looked to him inquisitively.

"But what if I do confess or ask her out and she refuses my affections? Just like earlier when she deflected my compliment," Draluc said as he continued to pace around the room again.

"Oh Dral! GET A GRIP! There is no way she'll refuse you!" Ronaldo yelled out jumping up from his seat angrily.

"And what makes you say that?!" Draluc yelled out as he took his hands off his head.

"Well, as obvious as it is that you like her, its also pretty obvious that she likes you!" Ronaldo said yelling right in Draluc's face. "You've noticed the way she looks at you. And trust me! She's noticed the way you look at her too!"

"Sand...." Draluc said at Ronaldo's words, knowing full well what he meant. He quickly reformed beside Ronaldo, a thoughtful look placed itself on his face. "Alright then, I will take your advice and 'get a grip'. Valentine's day is tomorrow. I just need to ask her out when she gets back later!" he said as he pounded his right fist in his open left hand while Ronaldo sighed exasperatedly.

A few hours passed on by as the girls were hard at work at making their chocolates at the guild. Most of the girls stuck to making traditional heart-shaped chocolates. Yumi on the other hand was in the midst of making her melted chocolate for her shortbread cookies and her special gift for Draluc.

"Wow Yumi-chan! You're a pro at making chocolate!" Koyuki exclaimed as each of the girls stopped to look over at Yumi and Koyuki.

"Thank you Koyuki-chan. My friend Mei and I used to make chocolates together on our travels. No matter where we were in the world, we still made chocolates for all of the friends we met along the way," Yumi said just as she poured the melted chocolate over her freshly baked, and cooled, cookies.

"What countries did you and Mei go to?" Maria asked happily as she finished pouring her chocolate into molds.

"Thats a good question. Hmm...well we've been to the west coast of Canada and the United States. We also did a tour of Europe. Starting in the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain. OH! And we went to Egypt too! The Great Pyramids were so cool!" Yumi said while the girls hung onto her every word.

"How come you guys traveled to so many places?" Hinaichi asked as she placed her chocolate molds inside the fridge.

Yumi finished pouring her chocolate onto the cookies and froze on the spot at Hinaichi's question. 'I can't tell them why I was traveling a lot. I honestly don't want to! what should I say?' she thought as she put the bowl of remaining chocolate down on the counter.

"It was always a dream Mei and I had to see the world," she said shrugging her shoulders non-chalantly as she started to make a new mixure.
"Oooooh! What are you making now?" Ta-chan asked as she peered over Yumi's shoulder.

"I am making up a batch of marshmallows shaped like bats. Which I will dip into the remaining chocolate in this bowl. Then after they've set overnight, I'm going to fill them with bloodwine," Yumi said as she whipped the marshmallow mixure together. "My older brother taught me how to make these as he would make them for his vampire wife as his gift for White Day," she said happily as she stuffed the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag.

"Wait! You have an older brother?! AND he's married to a vampire?!" Hinaichi exclaimed as the rest of the girls stopped what they were doing. They looked excitedly to Yumi, waiting with baited breath to hear her response.

After Yumi filled the piping bag she set to work on shaping the bats. "Yeah I actually have three brothers. My oldest brother is indeed married to a vampire and they have three kids of their own all dhampirs," she said as she worked away happily. "My other brothers are twins and are...well they are kind of playboys. They haven't settled down yet, but if you value your hearts, don't let them sweet talk you into ANYTHING! Don't get me wrong though! I love my brothers but they are a pain to deal with for a long period of time," she continued as she finished piping the bats. "Yay! They're done!" she shouted happily.

"Oh wow! They're so cute!" Ta-chan exclaimed as the rest of the girls walked over to see them too.
"These have GOT to be for Draluc," Maria said as the rest of the girls snickered and looked to Yumi. Yumi's face burned a deep shade of red at Maria's words as she silently nodded her head in reponse as she took them to the fridge.

"Well obviously they're for him since she said she's going to inject Bloodwine after they cool!" Hinaichi said exasperatedly.

"Yumi-san, do you like Draluc?" Koyuki asked emphasizing the word 'like' in her question.

"Y...y...yeah I do. At least I think I do....no! I do like him! He's...so...nice and sweet...and thoughtful," she stammered out while bowing her head; she's worried her new friends would make fun of her choice in men. "Even though he is weak and dies really easily, I still can't help but want to spend my time with him," she continued as she meekly looked up at them from her work station.

"Aww that's really sweet Yumi-san!" Koyuki said happily. "Are you going to confess to him on Valentine's Day?" she asked giddily as she clapped her hands in front of her face.

"I...I'm not sure I should. I mean, yes I have feelings for him. But he has made it clear that he just wants us to be friends," Yumi replied with a heavy heart.

"He's such a fool!" Hinaichi shouted out angrily; slapping the counter all the while.

"What makes you say that Hina-chan?" Yumi asked, while Hinaichi shook her head annoyedly.

"I mean, come on! You're so pretty and smart! AND strong too! You can protect him from harm for the rest of your lifetime!" Hinaichi yelled out while stomping her foot on the ground angrily. "I find it hard to believe that he just wants to be friends with you! Didn't he even TRY to make a move on you, like at all? He ususally does upon first meeing a pretty girl," she continued exasperatedly.

"Didn't he make a pass at you, Hinaichi?" Koyuki asked as Hinaichi's face flushed up.

Hinaichi looked nervously over to Yumi before responding. "Yeah, he did. And to be honest I nearly fell for it at first. BUT I quickly learned that he's just a weak fool and he was most likely using his vampiric charm on me to use me for feeding on!" she said bashfully admitting to that first time she and Draluc met.

"Yeah but now you only stick around for the snacks he makes right? You don't like him the same way I do, do you Hina-chan?" Yumi asked, uncertainty and jealousy laced together with each word leaving her mouth.

The other girls in the room tensed up, each of them waiting with baited breath for Hinaichi to respond. After what felt like an eternity, but was really just a few seconds, Hinaichi finally responded. "No, I do not have feelings for Draluc at all. Yes, I do like the snacks he makes, but no I do not like him the same way you do," she said as she walked over to Yumi. She gently put a hand on Yumi's shoulder, looking her square in the eye. "Trust me Yumi-sempai. I don't even want him. You need to confess to him," she said in a serious tone.

Yumi kept her gaze with Hinaichi, her eyes tearing up a bit with uncertainty. "But what if he turns me down? I live with him right now and I don't know anywhere else to go if he turns me down," Yumi said on the verge of breaking down.

Just then Hinaichi grabbed both of Yumi's shoulders and said, "TRUST ME! As long as you have a plan, and are honest, he won't DARE to turn you down!"

"And if he does, we'll hunt him down until there won't be a single grain of sand left of him!" Maria said punching her right fist into her open palm aggressively.

"Everyone....th...thank you..but Maria I don't think we need to go THAT far," Yumi said as the tears in her eyes spilled out; she rubbed them away quickly. "Can I tell you guys something?" she asked the group of girls before her. Each of them nodded as Yumi continued, "He...actually did try to make a move on me. Besides him using his vampiric charm that is. And...it was...well it was NEARLY a magical moment if Ronaldo-sempai wasn't there to stop it from happening!"

Everyone's jaw hit the floor as Yumi scratched the back of her head bashfully. "How long ago did that happen?!" Hinaichi exclaimed as Koyuki squeaked out an "OHHHH!"

"Two weeks ago, you know the night you and I fought off Mr. Lewd-Talk," Yumi replied simply.

"Before or after?" Hinaichi asked incredulously.

"Before. We were at the apartment. He...he held me really close to his body and...well...we..nearly kissed...," Yumi said meekly as the whole kitchen errupted in a girlish squeal; Yumi thought she heard a glass break nearby.

"You said that Ronaldo stopped you from...kissing?" Ta-chan asked timidly.

"Yeah, Ronaldo-sempai sprayed him with some anti-vampire solution. It was like watching him subdue a pet," Yumi replied as the rest of the girls started to laugh. Yumi gave hem a look which caused them to resolve to chuckling lightly instead.
"I have an idea!" Koyuki exclaimed suddenly, spooking everyone in the room. "Before you confess to him, why not ask him to go see a movie with you on Valentine's Day? That way, if he does try to put any other moves on you, or not, then you'd know where you stand with him!" she finished happily.

Yumi's eyes widened at the idea as she replies, "That's a great idea! I didn't really have a real plan anyway so this might work out! Thank you Koyuki-san!"

"What was going to be your plan originally?" Hinaichi asked raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"I was just going to ask him to hang out with me. You know like play video games or whatnot," Yumi responded, a bit of uncertainty in her voice. As everyone began to shake their heads, Yumi continued, "BUT! I do like this idea! Thank you again Koyuki-san!"

"Alright then! since we're pretty much done here, why don't you call him and ask him to pick you up?" Maria suggested.

"Why should I do that?" Yumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If he comes here to pick you up, and you ask him out, we can be here to support you!" Koyuki said happily as each of the girlssmiled just as happily.

"Everyone...ok! Thank you! I will give him a call now!" she said as she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

After a few rings, he answered, "Hello? Yumi-san? Is everything ok?"

Yumi froze up at the sound of his voice, her face flushed up as she tried to find the right words. "Yumi-san? M'lady?" he said, trying to get her attention.

"Y...yes! Sorry Dral-kun! I'm fine! Well I'm ok...no! I am fine!" she said stumbling over her words.

"Are you sure you're ok? Would you like me to pick you up?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Yes! Actually that's why I am calling. Can you please come and pick me up? I'm getting really tired from all the work I put into my baking for Valentine's Day and I was hoping you could help me get home safely?" she replied meekly as the girls all gave her thumbs up.

"Sure! I'll be there in ten minutes! Just sit tight, ok?" he said reassuringly.

"Ok! See you soon, Dral-kun!" Yumi said as she rest of the girls in the room silently applauded happily.

After ten minutes passed by, the chime at the bar's entrance sounded out. As Draluc walked into the bar, he's greeted by Gosetsu, Vamone and Satetsu. "Good evening Draluc. Are you here for your usual?" Gosetsu asked happily, while he cleaned a mug behind the bar.

"No thank you Gosetsu. I am actually here to pick up Yumi-san. Do you know if the girls are finished yet?" Draluc replied simply.

"Dral-kun! I'm ready to go home!" Yumi said as she walked out of the kitchen smiling happily.

"Ah Yumi-san! There you are! Are you still tired? Because if you are, you can hold my arm and lean on me on our way back home," Draluc suggested as he held out his right arm to her as he always does.

"Umm...yeah..but before we go...can I ask you something?" she said as she bashfully looked around the room at the girls whom had all left the kitchen to join everyone else in the bar. Each of the girls gave her thumbs up for encouragement, even Vamone joined in.

"Of course you can ask me anything Yumi-san! I'll answer whatever you ask of me," Draluc said happily as his right hand hovered in the air with his open palm, waiting for her to take it.

Sure enough she did just that as she turned back to face him. Her hand squeezed his for a moment before she finally spoke. "I know this is SUPER short notice, with Valentine's Day coming up tomorrow. But I...umm...I was wondering...no, hoping...that you...uggh! Why is this so hard to say?!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot on the ground angrily. She took a deep breath as she tried to refocus herself. She grabbed both of his hands firmly at first then eased up just enough to hold him gently. "Draluc-kun...will you go out to the movies with me tomorrow night?" she asked meekly as a blush crept up on her face; her large brown eyes searching his.

Draluc took a long hard moment, staring off into space; completely lost in thought. 'She just asked me out! Me! Me? But why? Maybe what Ronaldo said is true? Maybe she does like me as much as I like her? But she beat me to the punch! I was going to ask her out when she'd be back! OK, now I need to take Ronaldo's advice and get a grip on the situation. She needs a response!' he thought as Yumi began to look away sadly. He slipped his right hand away from her grip, cupping her face gently as she looked back up to him. "I would be honored to go to the movies with you Yumi-san! How about you pick the movie, and I'll buy our snacks?" he said as a large smile slapped itself on both of their faces, while the grils each silently danced on the spot.
"O...Okay! That sounds great! But wait....I thought you don't eat human food?" she said with a hint of confusion in her voice.

"You're right, normally I don't eat human food but I'm sure the movie theater has special food for vampires too," he said thoughtfully.

"OH! Like blood-flavored popcorn?" she suggested, excitedly snapping her fingers.

"I hope so! What kind of snacks do you like to get at the movies Yumi-san?" he asked earnestly.

"I LOVE extra buttery popcorn! Its so good!" she exclaimed happily as she balled her fists to her face giddily. She then let out a deep yawn; causing Satetsu to yawn by accident. "Sorry Setetsu-san!" she appologised as Satetsu yawned one more time; giving her a reaassuring thumbs up all the while.

"Come now m'lady! Let's go home so you can get your beauty sleep," Draluc said slyly to Yumi as he held out his right arm to her one more time. She took his arm, happily smiling to him before looking back to the girls; whom all smiled proudly back to her. She mouthed a quick 'Thank you!' as each of the girls nodded thoughtully while also smiling happily too. Draluc looked at Yumi, smiling sweetly at her as she returned it with her own smile while he led them home. Just then a thought occured to Yumi.

"I have to be back here to finish my treats tomorrow....you know before our...date...is that ok with you?" she asked as they left the bar and stopped at a nearby crosswalk waiting for the light the change.

"That's not a problem, m'lady! I'll pick you up from the guild then!" he said, happily patting her head. Once the walk signal gave them the right of way, they linked their arms closer together as they continued on their way home.

Chapter 5: Chapter Five: Valentine's Hijinks!

Chapter Text

The next evening, Yumi woke up before the boys as she always did. Very quietly she tip-toed into the living space to retrieve an outfit worthy of her date with Draluc. 'I still can't believe I asked him out! And he said yes too!' she thought giddily as she made her way to the kitchen to retrieve one of Draluc's half drunk bottles of bloodwine. "Perfect!" she said in a whisper, before quietly closing the fridge door. She then carefully packed the bloodwine into her travel bag; first making sure that the lid was screwed on tightly. She quietly tip-toed over to the bathroom to have a quick shower before she got dressed into some casual clothes. She then quietly left the living area as she left through the office to head back to the guild.

As she walked up to the front door of the guild, Gousetsu and Koyuki were just arriving to open the bar. "Yumi-sempai! You're here early!" Koyuki exclaimed in surprise.

"Yumi-chan is just excited for her date with Draluc-kun. Oh how I just adore this holiday!" Gousetsu said happily as he clapped his hands in front of his face giddily.

"I hate to admit it, but Master is right. I am a bit excited for tonight," Yumi said as Gousetsu gave her a knowing look. "Alright! I am REALLY excited about tonight! I've never been on a date with a vampire! My brothers have told me in the past that it's no different than a normal date with a human. Plus its been a while since I've had a date at all!" she continued, sighing defeatedly, as Gousetsu opened the door; holding it open for Koyuki and Yumi.

"I am certain that your date tonight with Draluc will go smoothly," Gousetsu said reassuringly, as he cloed the door and flicked on the open sign in the window nearby.

"I really hope so, especially since I am definitely considering on confessing to him tonight," Yumi said as she folded up her coat and placed it in her bag carefully.

"You are?! That's great Yumi-san!" Koyuki said as she clapped her hands in front of her face just as her father had done a moment ago.

"Yeah, I thought about what you and the others said last night. And well, after I had success with asking him out, I figured I might stand a chance going for a confession too!" Yumi said a she made her way over to the kitchen.

"Do you need help with anything tonight?" Koyuki asked before Yumi fully stepped through the curtain to the kitchen.

"No I think I have it in hand. After I am done though, do either of you mind if I can use the bathroom to change into my outfit?" Yumi asked as both Gousetsu and Koyuki put their hands up.

"Not at all! You can take as much time and workspace as you need!" Gousetsu said happily as Koyuki smiled sweetly.

As Yumi set herself up to work in the kitchen, each of the other vampire hunters filed in. Maria and Ta-chan headed off to the kitchen so they could put their treats into their gift bags. Koyuki followed Maria and Ta-chan into the kitchen just as Hinaichi walked in. She dashed after the other girls just as Yumi emerged from the kitchen. She's carrying a tray containing little gift baggies filled with her chocolate covered shortbread cookies. She placed the tray in the middle of the bar. She clapped her hands to try and get everyone's attention.

"Attention everyone here! I have, in front of me, are bags of chocolate covered shortbread cookies! There is one bag here per person. So please come line up and claim your bag! But remember! One per person!" she said as everyone did as instructed and formed an orderly line. Before she began to pas sthem out, she grabbed five bags from the bunch so she can just give them to the girls in the kichen; keeping one for Ronaldo too.

After she finished passing out her treats, she went back into the kitchen, grabbed her travel bag and took off for the bathroom to get dressed.

The door to the bar opened a few minutes later signaling Ronaldo and Draluc's entrance. Ronaldo sported his usual red coat and hat combination with a new, temporary accessory, John. While Draluc wore a new look for the night. He still sported his usual black dress pants and dress shoes as well as his usual cape over his shoulders. But instead of his normal suit outfit, this time he's wearing a black dress shirt underneath a new white vest. He replaced his cravat with a red tie and wore a long black suit jacket.

"Wow Draluc! You look so different! New suit I take it?" Gousetsu said as everyone else did a double take at his words. Yumi on the other hand heard Gousetsu's statement and quickly put the finishing touches on her outfit.

"Ah yes it is! I know everyone is used to seeing me wear my usual attire. But tonight is a very special night. And I wanted to look my absolute best," Draluc said happily, as he posed and winked confidently.

Yumi's heart pounded heavily at the sound of Draluc's voice. 'He's here! Oh my god! Ok ok...get a hold of yourself girl! It's just a date! It's not like you're getting married to him! Although...NO! It's just a DATE! There's no need to get so worked up damn it!' she thought frantically as she quickly and carefully brushed her hair. 'I know its been a while since I've been on a true blue date! But this is a date with Draluc-kun! I'm sure we'll have so much fun! We always have fun together, why should a date make it any different?' she continued to think to herself as she tried to keep her cool. "Ok! I'm ready for my date!" she said as she looked herself over in the mirror one last time.

"Is Yumi-san ready?" Draluc asked just as Yumi walked out of the bathroom. "Sannddd..." he said, dying at the sight of her beauty.

She wore a knee length, navy blue dress with long puffy lanturn sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. Under her skirt she wore thigh-high stockings and her usual knee-high boots.

Draluc quickly reformed himself; a blush plastered on his face. "Wow...Yumi-san...you look...amazing," he managed to say as he used whatever strength he has to keep himself from dying again.

A blush landed on her cheeks at his words while she took in his own dashing appearance. "You look...really handsome...I like this look on you," she said as her right hand reached up to touch his chest gently. A soft listless blush took hold of her face as her large brown eyes softened while staring into his eyes.

"Ahem!" Ronaldo said while clearing his throat in an effort to try and bring his friends back to reality. Which worked on Yumi as she pulled her hand back; a realization dawning on her suddenly.

"I'll be right back!" she exclaimed as she tore off to the kitchen. She quickly returned back to the bar carrying baggies of her treats for the girls and Ronaldo. Draluc watched sadly as Yumi gave them out; he believed that she didn't make anything for him.

"Dral-kunnnn!" Yumi said in a sing-song voice standing in front of him again. She looked at him inquisitively, noticing his sad demeanor as he looked at everyone else happily enjoying their snacks from her. She held out her hands with one last bag of treats up to his face. "I didn't forget about you, Dral-kun! I wouldn't ever forget to give you a gift!" she said as he looked to her, his face changing from sadness to pure happiness in a matter or seconds.

"These...are for...me? Oh Yumi-san! Thank you!" he said, taking the bag from her happily, opening it and peering inside at it's contents. "Awww! They're little bats! These are too cute to eat!" he said as he happily pulled one out to show off; everyone in the bar all gave a hearty "Ohhhh!" or "Awww!".

"I hope you like them! They're chocolate covered marshmallow bats with bloodwine filling!" she said mirroring his happy energy while he popped it into his mouth.

"Mmmmmm...these are so GOOD!" he said as he turned to ash at the delicious taste; Yumi caught the baggy before it landed in his ash pile. He quickly reformed again as he took back his treat bag from her hands.

"I'm glad you like them THAT much!" she said happily. "I also hope you don't mind that I used some of your leftover bloodwine you had in the fridge at home," She said meekly looking at him; silently praying he's ok with it.

"I don't just like them. I LOVE them!" he said happily as he popped another marshmallow bat into his mouth. He then grabbed her right hand to bring it up to his lips. He placed a deeper then normal kiss upon the top of it; holding his kiss for a solid minute. "I don't mind in the least! What's mine is yours, m'lady," he said pulling away from her hand while smiling sweetly to her.

"Maybe we should...head out...now?" she asked as she felt the eyes of everyone upon them; her face flushing up to a deep crimson.

"What time does the movie start at?" he asked while everyone tried to refocus their attention to themselves.

Yumi pulled her phone out of a pocket in her skirt. She quickly searched for the movie she settled on called 'Love on the Winds'. Once the movie listing came up with each of the show times, she checked the time on her phone. "Damn it! The next showing isn't until nine o'clock! And its now seven-twelve!" she exclaimed angrily as Draluc died in surprise.

"Since you guys have time to kill, no pun intended Draluc-kun," Koyuki began as she bowed apologetically to the reforming vampire at Yumi's side.

"No offence taken!" he said as he absentmindedly put a hand on Yumi's shoulder. "What are you saying though Koyuki-chan?" he asked as Yumi noticed his hand and just let it stay where it was, while gently leaning into his touch.

"Well I heard that the shopping district is having a Valentine's Day themed festival. Why not check that out until its time for your movie to start?" Koyuki asked thoughtfully.

Draluc's grip tightened on Yumi's shoulder as he beamed a bright, happy smile down to her. "That sounds like fun! Should we check it out Yumi-san?" he asked happily, pulling her closer into a half-hug.

"That does sound like fun! We should definitely check that out!" she said happily as she wrapped her right arm around his waist; completing the hug. He looked down to her while his last free hand reached to hold hers on his hip. He smiled softly as their eyes met again, this time a feeling of mutual happiness and affection beamed off of them. He then pulled himself away from their hug as he turned his attention to John whom was sitting happily on Ronaldo's shoulder.

"Be a good boy for Ronaldo-kun tonight," he said as John gave him a hearty 'Nu!' in response. Draluc then turned back to Yumi as he held out his right arm to her as he always does. "Shall we, m'lady?" he asked as she grabbed hold excitedly; smiling happily to him.

"Lead the way, Dral-kun!" she said as she snuggled his arm to her face. A blush plastered to his face at the sudden affection she placed on him. With a bit of willpower to not die from her affections, he led the way out of the bar and off to the shopping district.

They stood in awe at the main entrance to the shopping district. Every inch of each of the shops were decorated for Valentine's Day. There were hearts and little cupids hanging on windows, hanging from entrances and even plastered on large standees too. All around them were couples, young and old, enjoying the deals and festivities. There were kiosks selling chocolate dipped strawberries as well as various baked goods. Yumi's stomach growled as they passed by a bakery kiosk.

"Would you like something to eat?" Draluc asked, motioning to the nearby kiosk filled with various mini cakes, and sweets.

Yumi sheepishly looked up at Draluc, nodding embarrassedly as she replied, "Yes please Dral-kun. If that's ok with you."

"Of course Yumi-san! You can get whatever you want," he said, happily motioning to the display case in front of them.

"Ok then, can I get three strawberry flavored macaroons and a creampuff, please?" she asked, looking to Draluc uncertainly.

"Of course you can, m'lady!" he said happily as he turned to the salesperson. "I'll...I mean, WE'LL take three strawberry macaroons and a creampuff please!" he said happily making the order for Yumi. He pulled out his wallet from his suit pocket ready to pay for his order.

"Sure thing sir! As a special for today, we offer a complimentary blood flavored macaroon for vampire couples! Would you like one sir?" the attendant asked as another attendant had set to work on their order.

"Oh no thank you. I already have treats from my special date," he said as he placed a hand on Yumi's shoulder; rubbing affectionately as she looked up to him smiling sweetly.

"Awww how sweet! Ok then, that'll be one thousand and fifty yen please and thank you!" the attendant said happily, ringing in their order. The second attendant picked out all of the items for their order and placed them inside a small white box. She tied the box with a small red ribbon then she stamped it with a red heart. She passed the box to Yumi whom smiled happily to her as she took the box from her hands.

"Thank you," Yumi said happily, as she looked over to Draluc who had left his hand on her shoulder still rubbing it affectionately. "And thank you Dral-kun! It's so sweet of you to buy these for me! This memory...this moment...I know I'll remember this for a long time," she said affectionately as she reached over to his hand on her shoulder. She patted it gently while they stayed locked in eye contact for a few moments.

"Yumi..." he managed to say as he tried as hard as he could to not dissolve away because of this romantic moment.

"Oh Dral-kun...its ok if you need to die but you better come back quickly! I still want to spend time with you on our...date," she said, sighing lightly as she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Saaaaannnnddd..." he said slowly, dissolving at her words before following through with her statement by reforming as fast as he could. He stood at her side again as the kiosk attendents both wore deep red blushes at watching the romantic scene before them. "H...have a great night!" they said as Yumi and Draluc tore their gaze away from each other for a moment. They looked to the attendents, smiling awkwardly as they bowed to them.

As they walked away from the kiosk, they found a bench to share. Yumi opened the treat box, taking in the fresh baked smells. "Mmm they smell so good!" she said humming happily.

"Mmm that they do! But you have a most lovely scent too," Draluc said as he peered into the box. He flashed her a sly smile as her face flushed up both at his compliment and at the closeness of his face to hers.

'He's so close! And we're alone! Should I tell him how I feel about him now? Or should I wait? Is it too soon in the night to confess?' she thought as she quickly flashed him an awkard smile. "Oh Dral-kun! Come on! Let's eat our treats!" she said trying to deflect his advances for the time being.

"Well alright then, thank you for the meal!" he said as he pulled out his treat bag; opening it happily. "You know Yumi-san, I had a thought earlier. I don't really know much about you," he said after he popped a treat into his mouth.

"Well you know I can own you at Vario Kart," she said, shrugging her shoulders as she popped one of her macaroons in her mouth.

"Yes, unfortunately for me I know that little piece of information," he said dejectedly. "But what I mean to say is that I don't know smaller more personal details about you. LIke, what was it like growing up in Hokkaido? Were you a precocius kid like Ronaldo was?" he asked as Yumi's body tensed up at his line of questioning.

'Crap! I knew these questions were going to come one day!' she thought as he looked to her inquisitively.

"Growing up in Hokkaido...was certainly different than growing up around here. My family lived in the Northern Mountains, like really deep in the forest. We had to grow our own food and if we wanted meat, we had to hunt for it too," she said as she nodded thoughtfully.

"That does explain your fighting prowress against that bloodypede," he said thoughtfully nodding with her.

She folded her hand together over her knee as she crossed her legs. "Yeah, my brothers and I had to overcome a LOT of mental blocks at first when we wanted to eat meat. After I met Mei she would bring us some cooked chicken to our club house though," she said simply shrugging her shoulders.

"Wait a minute! You have brothers?!" he asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah! I never told you about them yet!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I'm sorry I haven't told you that yet. I guess its a good thing you asked about my more personal details," she said, chuckling softly as Draluc died then quickly reformed back to her side on the bench. "But yes I have three brothers. All are older than me too. My oldest brother is named Daiki while my twin brothers are named Isamu and Takumi," she said matter-of-factly while Draluc still held his mouth open at the revelation. "Do you have any siblings Dral-kun?" she asked, while she ate her last two macaroons.

"No I don't have any siblings. I am an only child," he said as he finally closed his mouth. He crossed his legs while folding his hands together over his knees; copying her pose.

She shuffles a bit to get closer to him as she held out the box still containing the rather large cream puff. "I think my eyes were bigger than my stomach on this one. Would you like to share this with me?" she asked, holding the box up bashfully trying to hide her face.

"I would love to share this with you, m'lady," he said happily as he reached inside the box for it. As he took a bite out of it, Yumi couldn't help but watch him; well watch his fangs really. He noticed this as he asked, "Curious about something Yumi-san?" He swallowed his share of the cream puff, smiling slyly to her all the while.

"It's just..well I've never seen you EAT anything before," she replied as he pulled a piece of cream puff off; while chuckling happily.

"Whereas I have seen you eat before," he said as he held the piece of cream puff up to her lips. "Now say 'ah'," he said playfully with a sly smile on his face as Yumi did as she was told to do. He popped it into her mouth, leaving his gloved index finger on her lips for a moment. She looked at him innocently as both of their faces lit up. He quickly pulled away from her lips and handed her the rest of the cream puff. She turned her head away while quickly stuffing it into her mouth. As calmly and cleanly as she could, she turned back to face him as a thought dawned on her.

"OH!" she exclaimed suddenly causing Draluc to die. "Sorry Dral-kun! I just remembered on our way in I had seen a photo booth for...couples," she said as Draluc reformed himself beside her.

"Oh! That sounds like fun! Okay! Lead the way, m'lady!" he said, happily jumping to his feet while holding out his right hand to her. She took his hand, while standing up too, and raced off to where she had seen the photo booth; throwing out their garbage along the way.

As they found the photo booth, the pair spent a few moments just trying to look over the outside of it for instructions. "Hmmm...lets see...does it have a function for vampires?" Yumi asked as Draluc looked over the machine's settings. They settled themselves inside the booth which was a bit of a tight squeeze even with Draluc's slender frame.

"A-ha! There we go! A setting for 'mixed couples'. That MUST mean humans and vampires, right?" he said as their eyes locked for a moment.

"Only one way to find out!" she said, shrugging her shoulders while smiling sweetly to him.

"Yumi-san, may I...put my arm around you?" he asked sheepishly with his right arm raised above her head.

She shifted her body to snugle closer to him as she replied, "Of course you can Dral-kun."

He placed his arm around her petite frame, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Can I place my hand on your knee?" she asked just as sheepishly as he had a second ago.

He looked down to her hand that sat between them, then back up to her large brown eyes; he gulped at the thought of her hand being placed on his knee. "Of course you can Yumi-san, as long as you don't mind if I can hold it too?" he replied as his hand on her shoulder rubbed it affectionately.

She shook her head bashfully as he crossed his legs. She placed her hand on his neatly crossed knees as his left hand folded over it. Yumi leaned forward for a moment to start the timer on the machine, she sat back in her spot; her back as stiff as a board. Draluc's right hand gripped her shoulder as he pulled her closer while smiling happily to the camera.

After the machine finished taking all five photos, Yumi and Draluc emerged from the inside of the booth; each with a bright red blush taking hold of their faces. Draluc stepped out first, holding the curtain back for Yumi to step through. The machine printed off the pictures, as Yumi happily grabbed them up.

The first picture was of them snuggling close, whie their second picture was them snuggling close again but with Draluc kissing the side of her head. In the third photo she looked at him incredulously as the fourth photo had her kissing his cheek to get him back; as he was midway dying. The final photo had them with their faces squished together as they made a heart-shape with their fingers; his idea naturally.

"Why did you kiss me?!" she asked while slapping his arm playfully.

"I thought it was the right thing to do!" he exclaimed as he leaned in close to look at the pictures. "Why did you kiss me back?!" he asked as he realized she had slapped his arm playfully; he elbowed her to get back at her.

"I TOO thought it was the right thing to do...because we're on our...date..." she replied while trailing off; her blush deepening. Yumi pulled out her phone to check the time and was surprised that it was nearly time for their movie.

"We should probably go get our movie tickets and snacks," she said trying to change the subject. "Also....umm...Dral-kun..." she started to say bashfully.

"Hmm? What is it Yumi-san?" he asked, looking to her earnestly

"When we're at the movies you...umm...you don't...have to...ask me...for permission to...be close to me. I...I will..I mean...I pre-emptively give you permission to...sit as close to me...as you want to," she said as she swayed bashfully on the spot.

Draluc stared at her for a minute, utterly and completely unsure as to what to say next. The left side of his body started to turn to ash as he tried to figure out what his next move should be.

"Or...not?" she said as she started to get the sense that she might have said something inappropriate.

"No...its ok Yumi-san! Its just...I've never been told that before..." he said still partially stunned in place.

"I'm so sorry Dral-kun! I just don't want you to miss out on anything that might happen in the movie by asking for permission. I can recind it if you want!" she said frantically apologising to him.

He suddenly pulled her close to him, enveloping her inside his cape. He held her there for a minute completely wrapping his arms around her. "Oh Yumi-san...you're so sweet to me! There is no need for you to recind it at all! You are the kindest and most thoughtful human I have met in a LONG time!" he said as his right hand patted her head affectionately.

They stayed like that for a few minutes holding onto each other as other couples passed around them. Yumi happily buried her face against his chest as Draluc buried his in her hair. His right hand moved from her head down to her shoulders, tightening his grip on her ever so slightly. She gently held her arms around his slender frame as she was too scared to hold him too tightly.

"We should probably go to the theater now," he said as he pulled away first. His hand dipped to her lower back as he held her at arms length; making her hands do the same. Their eyes locked for a second as they felt as though time had stopped.

'Is he...going to kiss me? If he does, should I...kiss him back?' she thought as his left hand cupped her face gently.

"Dral-kun..." she said whistfully as he tilted her face up to his; her eyes fluttering closed. "Yumi..." he said but was cut short as Yumi's phone rang out loudly, causing them both to scream out in terror.

"SAND!" Draluc yelled out as he died from shock. Yumi on the other hand quickly answered the call.

"HELLO! Sorry! I mean...hello?" she said as she pulled the phone away from her face to see who she was talking to. "OH! Ronaldo-sempai! What's going on?" she asked as she calmed herself down while Draluc reformed at her side once again.

"Hey Yumi-san! So, you left your bag at the bar and I hope I"m not interrupting your date," he said on the other line mockingly.

"Oh! Umm...no...not at all! All's well here! We're having a great time actually!" Yumi said embarrssedly; she can tell by his mocking tone that he knew exactly what was happening between them.

"Oh, well where are you guys right now? Never mind! I can see that foolish vampire from here!" he said before he hung up the phone.

"What did Ronaldo-kun want?" Draluc asked inquisitively.

"He's got my bag I left behind at the bar. He was looking for us, I guess he wants to return it to me?" she said in the form of a question.

"Oh...I...s...SAND!" Draluc squeaked out, dying of embarrassment as Ronaldo walked up to the pair with another couple following behind him. "Dral-kun? Are you ok?" Yumi asked as he took a few seconds more to reform. Just then his ashes moved on their own towards Ronaldo. He reformed behind him and tried to pull Ronaldo away from the vampire couple walking next to him.

"Why did you bring my PARENTS here?! This is my first date with Yumi-san! I'm not ready to introduce her to them yet!" Draluc whispered angrily at Ronaldo while the rest of the group waited awkwardly.

"I didn't MEAN to bring them with me! I met up with them on my way here! They said that your mom took the night off so that she and your dad can go out on a date tonight! And that they were just on their way here!" Ronaldo replied whispering angrily back at him; chopping his hand on Draluc's head causing him to die instantly. "They asked me why I was on my way here too," Ronaldo said simply as Draluc reformed again.

"And what did you tell them?!" Draluc asked, still whispering angrily.

"Draluc? Why are you here?" the woman asked curiously.

"Dral-kun? OH! Ronaldo-sempai! Hey!" Yumi said as she ran over to where everyone had stopped.

As Yumi stood in front of the group, while fixing her skirt along the way, both of the vampires before her stared incredulously at her.

Draluc shot off one last dirty look as Ronaldo shrugged exasperatedly to him. Draluc looked to his parents then over to Yumi, whom had suddenly felt as if she was being judged.

"Draluc, who is this lovely young woman you have with you?" the taller male vampire asked as he took Yumi's hand and placed a quick kiss on top of it.

"Ahem! Mother, Father, this is my...date...Yumi Takahashi. Yumi-san, these are my parents, Draus and Mira," Draluc said introducing everyone to each other.

"Our...son is...on a date?!" Mira gasped as Draus felt faint all of a sudden.

"How long have you been dating my boy?! What are your intentions with him?!" Draus asked dramatically as he tightened his grip on her hand.

"This is our first date! Father, please let her go!" Draluc said pleadingly.

Draus threw a look at Draluc for a split second, before Mira placed a hand on his arm comfortingly.

"Listen to Draluc, dear. Let's hear the young lady out," she said as Draus gently let Yumi's hand go.

"As Dral...I mean...Draluc said, my name is Yumi Takahashi and this IS our first date. And I...I would never hurt Draluc in anyway. I care about him too much to even want to TRY to hurt him. He...means so much to me...", Yumi said as she grabbed Draluc's right hand. She embarrassedly looked up to him, her face burning up as she smiled sweetly to him.

'Did she...just indirectly...confess her feelings for me? What should I do? Do I return her feelings?' he thought as his hand squeezed hers back affectionately.

Before either one of them could speak another word, a person off in the distance screamed out, "VAMPIRES!" Ronaldo dropped Yumi's bag at her feet as he instantly equiped himself with his trademark pistols. Just then a group of couples ran at top speed towards them as they were being chased by a group of large sized continental cliones.

"Sand!" Draluc called out suddenly but quickly reformed at Yumi's side; his hand grabbing hold of hers again.

"Quickly Mira! Let's find shelter!" Draus called out as he grabbed onto Mira's arm. He pulled her close, causing her to blush for a moment as she looked to Draluc and Yumi.

"Dral-kun! Stay with your parents!" Yumi said as she immediately went into her bag to get her scarf, face mask and her kunai; while letting go of his hand in the process. "Ronaldo-sempai and I will take care of this!" she continued as she tied her scarf around her neck after she placed her face mask over her mouth. As she stood up again, a clione made a dive for her.

"Yumi-san! Look out!" Draluc yelled out as he pulled her out of the clione's path; while falling victim to it instead and dying in the process. Ronaldo made quick work of the clione while Draluc reformed at Yumi's side; turning the clione to a pile of ash at his feet.

"Are you ok Yumi-san?" Ronaldo asked over his shoulder.

Yumi looked over to Draluc, her heart beating heavily in her chest; her face lighting up like a christmas tree. "Y...Yeah Ronaldo-sempai! I'm fine!" she said as she and Draluc locked eyes affectionately. 'He saved me! He died to save me from that clione! Does he...have feelings for me?' she thought as their bodies instinctually moved closer together. His hand cupped her face as she stood up on tip-toe; the gap between them closing slowly.

"Are you two done flirting?! I could use some help over here!" Ronaldo said, as he was nearly on the verge of being swarmed.

As if a bubble had popped snapping them back to the present, Yumi and Draluc pulled away from each other suddenly. "Stay safe with your parents, ok Draluc? I promise, once Ronaldo-sempai and I are done with these lesser vampires, you and I will continue our date, ok?" she said as she scooped up the hand he had on her face a moment ago with both of her hands. She held it close to her chest as her eyes searched his for understanding.

He smiled sweetly to her as his hand squeezed hers back while he said, "I understand Yumi. I will stay safe, I promise. I can't wait to continue our date." He quickly placed a sweet kiss on the top of her head as he said, "Go get them Yumi-san!" He smiled to her happily as she returned it with her own happy smile. He reached down to pick up her bag as John popped up with a hearty 'Nu!' from inside it.

"John! Come on! Lets get to some cover with mother and father!" he said to his faithful familiar as they took off to join them at a nearby book shop.

'He almost kissed me again! Even though his parents are nearby! I've got to keep it together though! I really want to finish our date so I can confess my feelings to him! Now, where is Ronaldo-sempai?' she thought as she slapped her face before looking around to try and find Ronaldo. Luckily he wasn't too far away but was also in a lot of danger as a horde of cliones swarmed around him.

"Don't worry Ronaldo-sempai! I'm coming!" she exclaimed as she flicked her kunai in her hands as she tore off towards Ronaldo.

"Get off of me you stupid, gross, lesser loser vampires!" Ronaldo yelled out, firing his pistols wildly as the cliones smothered him completely.

"You heard him! Get off my roommate!" Yumi shouted angrily as she slashed her way through the mass of lesser vampires. She made quick work of them all, causing Ronaldo to be buried underneath their ashes for a brief moment. When the ashes disapated, Yumi doubled over laughing hysterically.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Ronaldo-sempai! What is going on with your pants?!" she exclaimed between bouts of laughter, as Ronaldo stood up; showcasing the aftermath of the cliones damage to his pants.

"Ronaldo! There you are! Pffft! What happened?!" Hinaichi said as she too doubled over in laughter while standing next to Yumi.

"Hina-chan! Great timing! Now I have someone to help me laugh at Ronaldo-sempai!" Yumi said between her own fits of laughter.

"WOULD YOU TWO STOP LAUGHING AT ME! AND HELP ME BY BUYING ME SOME NEW PANTS AT THAT SHOP OVER THERE?!" Ronaldo yelled out as he pointed to a nearby clothing store.

"Ok ok! You're right! What is your size?" Yumi asked as she and Hinaichi made their way over to the shop.

While Yumi and Hinaichi helped Ronaldo out, Draluc and his parents stayed in their hiding spot for a moment longer. Draluc felt a hand clap on his right shoulder which in turned caused him to die in shock.

"I'm sorry son!" Draus said, appologetically raising his hands in the air.

"What is it that you want father?" Draluc asked as he reformed at Draus' side.

"Your date, Miss Yumi-san. She seems to be a very nice young woman. She also seems to be very fond of you," Draus said smiling proudly.

"How did you two meet, dear?" Mira asked genuinely intrigued by the thought of her son possibly finding happiness just as she and Draus has.

"We met two weeks ago. She was new to Shin-Yokohama and completely lost too. Ronaldo-kun and I helped her find her way to the Vrince Hotel. After that she joined the hunter's guild...and she is also staying with Ronaldo-kun and I for the time being," he said as both of his parents' jaws hit the ground. "Don't worry though! Ronaldo-kun has laid down the ground rules for her while she is staying with us! She has a month to stay with us and find a part-time day job to help pay for her part of the rent," he said holding his hands up defensively.

"That's all well and good, but where does she sleep?" Mira asked as Draus waited eagerly to hear Draluc's response.

"Mother! If you must know, she's sleeping in Ronaldo-kun's office while Ronaldo-kun sleeps on the couch in the living area where I sleep in my coffin," Draluc replied feeling mildly offended. "Yumi-san and I are adults! We can keep our hands to ourselves!" he continued still mildly offended. He started to feel a bit confused at that moment as a thought filttered through his mind; his face glowing as he thought about it.

"Yes, but we're your parents! We can't help but think otherwise!" Mira said as Draus nodded confidently.

"What's wrong Draluc?" Draus asked as Mira looked to her son worriedly as she took notice of the inner turmoil her son was experiencing.

"I...I think I'm falling in love with her! Even though we've only known each other for such a short amount of time, I still can't stop thinking about her! The way she smiles...the way she carries herself...even the way she makes a pouty face when I beat her at the video games we play together... I've never felt this way for any human before!" he said as he held his head in frustration.

"Oh Draluc...have you told her how you feel about her?" Mira said as Draus placed a hand on Draluc's shoulder reassuringly.

"Draluc, my son, my sweet darling son, these feelings are normal! You need to tell her how you feel for her! AND SOON!" Draus said with a mixure of confidence and pride laced with every word he spoke.

"Draus! Don't pressure the boy into something that he needs to work out for himself!" Mira said, slapping his arm for a moment. She then turned her attention back to Draluc, "But you're father is partially right. You should tell her how you feel, only IF you are one hundred percent certain that she is the one for you," she said as she laced her arms around both Draluc and Draus. "Your father and I are here for you no matter what! If she turns you down, OR not, we'll support you!" she said as she held her right hand on his shoulder. "When you do tell her how you feel, remember to be honest and open about your feelings. Just like when you were honest and open with me when I tried to kidnap you before!"

"Mother!" Draluc yelled out for a moment as Mira scooped him and Draus up into a loving hug. Both men looked at each other for a moment before they both resolved to hug her back. When they broke the hug apart Draluc said, "Thank you for the 'pep talk' Mother, and you too Father. I will tell her how I feel when I feel the time is right."

At that moment, Yumi called out to give the all clear. "Dral-kun! Draus-sempai! Mira-sempai! Everyone else! It's ok to come out now!" she said happily while the other shoppers in the area all slowly emerged from their hiding spots too.

"It's only safe here though," Hinaichi said as she sheathed her katanas at her sides.

"What do you mean by that?!" Ronaldo exclaimed fearfully as he tried to make himself look as confident as he could with a new pair of track pants on; he knew it clashed with the rest of his outfit.

Draluc burst out laughing at Ronaldo while everyone else took notice of the rediculousness of his outfit. Yumi stood next to Draluc as she stifled a chuckle; even Hinaichi couldn't help but chuckle too.

"Ahem! Anyway, as I was saying before all of...that came to light," Hinaichi said as she fought off laughing at Ronaldo any more while also gesturing to Ronaldo.

"It's clear here, but not down at the river," she continued while trying to get everyone back on track.

"Sorry Hina-chan!" Yumi said apologetically as she calmed herself down. "What's happening at the river?" she asked earnestly as she inched a bit closer to Draluc. He took notice of her movement as he too inched closer to her; closing the gap between them. His hand instinctually found hers as he looked down to meet her large brown eyes. They both quickly looked away from each other while their hands stayed locked together for a few seconds more.

"We got a report of a gigantic land clione that has been ordering those smaller ones to attack any couples they come across. Unfortunately for us, VCD and hunters alike, they're only going for the women," Hinaichi said relaying her information to the group.

Just then another group of cliones made a mad dash into the entrance to the shopping district. All the women screamed as the cliones glowed pink at the sight of them.

"AHHH! Not again!" Ronaldo yelled out as he was swarmed once more. "WHY ME?! I'M NOT A GIRL YOU STUPID LESSER VAMPIRES!" he cried out in anguish as Yumi slashed through them again. She managed to dig him out from under the cliones that piled on top of him. As she lent down to pull him out, Draluc and Hinaichi did the same to help.

"Th...thank you..." Ronaldo said between sobs as both Yumi and Draluc sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh Dumbnaldo!" they said in unison, snickering to each other as Ronaldo regained his composure.

"Well that took care of that wave! But there might be more on the way! We need to get to the river, and fast!" Hinaichi said as she surveyed the area.

"Hina-chan, you said that the cliones are after couples right?" Yumi asked as she stopped laughing at Ronaldo.

"Yeah why?" Hinaichi asked uncertainly as Yumi placed a hand under her chin thoughtfully. She smiled for a moment as an idea dawned on her.

"I have a plan on how to deal with the cliones. But you and Ronaldo-sempai aren't going to like it," she said as everyone in their group stood around Yumi; waiting with baited breath for her to tell them of her plan.

Chapter 6: Chapter Six: Valentine's Date Continued!

Chapter Text

"Ok. So what's the plan?" Ronaldo asked tentatively as he looked to Hinaichi nervously. Hinaichi gave him a look as she looked over at Yumi worriedly too.

"Draus-sempai, are you really strong?" Yumi said as she turned her attention to Draus, whom looked at her curiously.

Just then a random Clione made its way behind Yumi. "Yumi-sempai! Look out!" Hinaichi called out as the Clione launched itself at Yumi.

Luckily for Yumi she was still holding her kunai as she quickly turned to stab at the Clione. Both of her kunai pierced its skin causing it to shriek out in pain. The kunai pierced so deeply that she was able to suplex the Clione onto the ground as it exploded into a cloud of ash.

Yumi looked up at Hinaichi, ready to thank her for the heads up as she noticed another Clione making its way to Hinaichi. Yumi launched herself at it while shouting, "HINA-CHAN! Duck out of the way!" She flew over Hinaichi's left side, as she launched a powerful round-house kick at the beast; launching it into the side of a nearby building. As she landed on her feet next to Hinaichi, everyone looked at Yumi in shock and awe.

"Are you ok Hina-chan?" Yumi asked as she checked on her friend.

"Yeah...thanks for protecting me!" Hinaichi said appreciatively.

"No problem Hina-chan! Thank YOU for warning me too!" Yumi said happily as she smiled warmly, causing Hinaichi to smile warmly back; her ahoge bouncing along all the while.

"We need to stop these things, and fast!" Ronaldo said as he cocked his pistol at the ready.

"You're right Ronaldo-sempai. Thats why we need to do my plan, and soon too!" Yumi said as she turned back to Draus. "Sorry Draus-sempai for that interruption! So, umm are you really strong?" she asked again to him as he looked at her with a mildly serious face.

"Why yes I am! Why do you ask Yumi-chan?" he replied as Mira stood close to him; slowly wrapping her arms around him.

"What's the plan, Yumi-chan?" Mira asked while everyone else stood waiting for Yumi's response.

"It's going to be a simple bait and switch attack plan. Draus-sempai, if you can snap a sizeable tree branch, perhaps the size of HIna-chan, would be perfect for the first part of my plan. For the second part, and this is the part you two are going to hate," Yumi said while pointing to Hinaichi and Ronaldo.

"Oh no...you don't mean?!" Hinaichi said as her face lit up embarrssedly, while she pointed between herself and Ronaldo. Ronaldo looked down at the way she was gesturing between them as Draluc began to chuckle to himself. Ronaldo's face lit up just the same as Hinaichi's before it changed to pure anger.

"OH HELL NO! I...WE ARE NOT DOING THAT! WHY CAN'T IT BE YOU AND THAT IDIOT SAND?!" he shouted out angrily while stomping his feet on the ground childishly.

"Well we can't be the bait for a NUMBER of reasons! The main one being that Draluc is already a vampire and not on their menu! Unlike you Ronaldo-sempai, for some reason," Yumi responded as Draluc, Mira and Draus all burst out lauging.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE COUPLED UP WITH THIS IDIOT! THERE HAS GOT TO BE ANOTHER WAY!" HInaichi exclaimed angrily following Ronaldo's way of stomping her feet on the ground childishly.

"I'm sorry Hina-chan! It's the only way," Yumi said as she shook her head dejectedly. "I will need you two to be the bait. Really act like a REAL couple to draw the giant one out of the river. Once it steps out, I'll take the branch from Draus-sempai and make the switch with Hina-chan. That'll be when I finish it off and we can all go back to enjoying our evenings!" Yumi said happily as she looked over to Draluc with a loving smile taking over her face.

"What about us, Yumi-chan?" Mira asked as she moved to stand with her boys.

"I want you to keep safe and take cover in the nearby bushes. I don't think I could live with myself if I let you guys get hurt. Or worse," Yumi replied as a blush took hold of each of their faces in turn.Yumi walked over to Draluc, stopping in front of him while she gently placed a hand on his chest. She looked over to his parents as she continued, "You're his precious parents. And...he really does mean a lot to me...so, you do too," she said bashfully as she looked up to his eyes just before he died at her words. He reformed in front of her while taking her hands in his. He brought them up to his lips, placing a sweet and gentle kiss upon them. She smiled bashfully to him as she felt his parents gaze wash over them. She slowly looked over at them, as they both held each other lovingly; a blush enveloping their faces while smiling sweetly.

"Yumi...I..." Draluc began to say as he pulled her hands away from his lips. But unfortunately he was stopped short as a new grouping of Cliones ran down the street towards them at top speed.

"OH CRAP! EVERYONE, RUN!" Ronaldo yelled out as they all took off in the direction of the river as fast as they could. Ronaldo did his best to try and shoot at the Cliones to try and deminish their numbers as they ran away.

Yumi pulled Draluc behind her as he died from the shock of being chased by the Cliones. While Draus held Mira tightly against himself as they ran off to a grouping of trees nearby. "I'm going to find cover for Mira and a tree branch to help you with your plan, Yumi-chan!" he shouted out as he went.

"Good idea! Draluc! You need to follow them! Stay close to your parents and please stay safe!" Yumi said as she looked back to Draluc as he reformed properly while running with her.

"Of course I will! I promise you I WILL stay safe for you, m'lady," he said as he let go of her hands and took off where his parents headed off to.

Yumi put her mask back over her face as she armed herself with her kunai once more. She stopped running as she faced the gang of Cliones head on.

"YUMI-SAN! LOOK OUT!" Ronaldo yelled out as he stopped running to help shoot at the Cliones with better accuracy than when he was running.

As quick as a flash, Yumi ran at the Cliones while she slashed at each of them. Each one fell at her feet as ash piles before dissapearing on the winds. Once the last one fell she headed off towards Ronaldo and Hinaichi.

"Come on! Lets get to the river quickly! Once we get there I need you guys to be as convincing as you could be for this to work," Yumi said as they met up together. Ronaldo and Hinaichi looked at each other for a quick second before they nodded to Yumi.

"Alright! Let's get this done and out of the way," Ronaldo said as he put his pistols away.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with Ronaldo. Let's go and get this over with," Hinaichi said as she resheathed her katanas.

"Yumi-chan! I have a tree branch for you!" Draus said as he held up a branch to show her.

"Alright everyone! Lets go! TO THE RIVER!" Yumi said as everyone followed after her.

The group stopped running as they finally reached the river. Yumi nodded to Draus as he handed her the tree branch. Ronaldo and Hinaichi slowly, and inconspicuously took that moment to step out of the bushes.

"Remember, be as convincing as you can!" Yumi whispered to the couple as she held the tree branch under her right arm.

"Yeah yeah! We know!" they whispered angrily together at her as they both looked at each other with blushes plastered on their faces.

"Yumi..." Draluc whispered as he took her left hand in his hands. She looked over to him as he pulled her closer to him. He lowered his face to her ear as he whispered, "Tonight has been the best night of my long life and I am grateful to have spent it with you. Please, promise me that you too will stay safe. And...I hope this isn't being too bold, but I...would like to do this again some time. Well not the fighting Cliones part, but the actual date part...but of course only if you want to too!"

She pulled herself even closer to him as she looked in his eyes. "I do, a million times yes I absolutely want to do this again! I too had a lot of fun tonight with you," she said as she placed her left hand on his chest again.

He cupped her face with his left hand before placing a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Go get them, Yumi-san, my sweet," he said as he smiled at her lovingly.

Meanwhile outside the bush...

"I've had such a great night with you...hunny!" Hinaichi said as she grabbed Ronaldo's arm. She snuggled her face close to him as his face exploded in a bright red blush. 'It's all an act! It's all an act! Although....NO! This is ALL AN ACT!' Ronaldo thought to himself as he tried to keep it together. Everyone else hiding in the bushes turned their attentions to the couple as Yumi waited for her opening.

"I'm glad to hear that...sweetheart," he said as he laced his fingers with hers. She looked down at their hands and tried really hard to keep herself from melting down too.

The giant Clione took the bait, hook line and sinker, as it let out a loud booming roar at them. Yumi readied herself as she fought off being embarrassed by Draluc's affectionate display; especially in front of his parents. She held the tree branch under her arm as she waited for the Clione to make land. When it did, she made her move.

As quick as a flash she dashed over to where Hinaichi stood, and replaced her friend with the tree branch just as the Clione lunged its large mouth down. Yumi and Hinaichi bounced around the area just outside the Clione's range as they met up with Draluc and his parents hiding in their cover. The Clione roared in pain as it's mouth was wedged open with the tree branch. Ronaldo took that moment to take a couple shots off at the beast in the hopes to slow it's movements.

"Hina-chan may I borrow your katanas so I can finish this beast off? My kunai are too small for this one!" Yumi asked as Hinaichi nodded confidently.

"Be...careful Yumi-san," Draus said as Mira looked to her lost in thought. 'Hmmmm there's something...slightly...off...about this human. Draluc seems to be smitten by her, but I still can't quite figure out why she gives me doubts,' she thought as Draus turned to his wife for a moment. "Mira? Is everything ok?" he asked as Mira shifted her gaze from Yumi up to him.

"Oh! I'm fine! Sorry Draus, I was....just lost in thought," she said appologetically as he held her close.

Yumi took Hinaichi's katanas as she steadied herself for the final fight ahead of her. "Please, everyone, stay here and stay safe," Yumi said as she looked over her friends one last time. They each smiled at her fondly, while Mira only half smiled. Yumi noticed this as she thought, 'Oh crap! Draluc's mom doesn't like me?! I guess the cliche still happens even in an interspeices romance too!' Everyone nodded happily to her as she looked away from them. She flipped the katana's in her hands to hold them backward before she took off towards the large Clione. She sprung off of Ronaldo's shoulders as she flipped the katana's pointing to the Clione. She pierced its flesh causing it to cry out in pain. The Clione fell backward into the river, while exploding to ashes under her feet. Yumi fell through the ashes, and straight into the river below.

"YUMI-SAN!" Draluc yelled out as he and Hinaichi ran out of the bushes towards the river. They both slid down the river bank, as they frantically waited for Yumi to resurface.

"BWAH!" Yumi exclaimed as she finally resurfaced. She turned her body around in the water to the side of the river where everyone else was waiting. She waved happily to them before she swam over to them.

As she lifted herself onto the shore, Draluc took off his cape and scooped her up inside it. He held her close to his body, as he planted small kisses to her forehead frantically.

"Dral-kun! I'm fine!" she said as he pulled away from her to look her right in the eye.

"I know, and I know that you can take care of yourself. I...I just don't like to see you get hurt," he said as he cupped her face in both of his hands.

"Oh Dral-kun..." she said as she leaned into his touch. "I didn't even get a single scratch! Not that I can say the same for the Clione!" she said as Draluc helped her back onto her feet. "But its really cold out here!" she exclaimed as Draluc made quick work of snapping the clasps of his cape together. He held her close to his body, even though he knew full-well that he too is slightly cooler to the touch. "ACHOO!" she exclaimed sneezing loudly as she tried to keep her face hidden from Draluc; she didn't want to gross him out.

"Here Yumi-san, take this handkerchief," he said as he handed her a hanky from his coat pocket.

She quickly took it from him, blowing her nose while still keeping her face hidden from him. "Thank you Dral-kun. I'll make sure to wash it to...to...tomorrow-ACHOO!" she sneezed out loud; causing him to die suddenly.

"We should get you home Yumi-chan," Ronaldo said as he pulled out his phone and called for a cab. Hinaichi was on her phone calling the VCD HQ to report the attack.

"That's actually a good idea," Hinaichi said as she hung up her phone after making a quick report to Hiyoshi.

"If you youngsters are alright here, Mira, my love, shall we continue our date?" Draus asked to everyone at first then finished his statement while looking fondly to his wife.

"One moment dear, I want to talk to Draluc quickly," she said as she looked over to Draluc; Draluc in turn looked over to his mother with a quizzical look on his face.

"What is it mother?" he asked as she walked over to him. He continued to hold onto Yumi, rubbing her shoulders to try and keep her warm.

"May I speak with you alone?" she asked simply.

"Of course! Yumi, do you mind just waiting here with Ronaldo-kun?" he asked her as she looked up at him. 'OH NO! She's going to tell him I'm no good for him I just know it!' Yumi thought as she forced herself to smile to hide her true thoughts. "Sure thing...Dra...Dra..ACHOO! Sorry Draluc! But yes thats fine with me!" she said, sneezing mid-sentence as Ronaldo walked over to her side.

"The cab is going to be here soon so try and make this quick, ok?" Ronaldo said as he placed his phone in his coat pocket. Draluc held his right arm out gesturing to Mira where to a secluded spot for them to talk.

"What is it you want mother?" Draluc asked when they were farthest away from the group.

"I know I said earlier that your father and I will support you with your relationship with Yumi. But I just think you need to be careful with her," she said earnestly.

"What do you mean? Why do I need to be careful with her?" he asked mildly angry with her.

"Well, I'm not sure just yet, but I have this feeling that she's...hiding something from you. Something that might hurt you and being your mother, I don't want to see you get hurt," Mira said matter-of-factly.

"I promise you mother, Yumi will not hurt me!" he said defiantly as he placed a hand on his chest. "She means so much to me, and I'm sure she feels the same way with me. Or at least I hope she does," he said as doubt nearly took hold of his mind for a moment. "No! I know she likes me! She practically said so when she introduced herself to you and Father earlier! And even if she has secrets that she hasn't told me yet, I'm sure she will do so in her own way at her own pace! I appreciate you caring about me and my well-being, but like I told you before, I am my own person! And I can take care of myself!" he said as she sighed defeatedly.

"Alright, alright! You're right Draluc, dear. But if you need any help, AT ALL, just call your father or I. And we will be right there to help you," Mira said as she placed a hand on his arm comfortingly.

"Thank you Mother, I appreciate that greatly," Draluc said as he flashed her a quick reassuring smile. She smiled back as their interaction was cut short due to Ronaldo trying to wave Draluc down.

"OI! The taxi is here! Come on you dumb sand pile!" Ronaldo yelled out as he motioned to the taxi parked nearby. There was a large truck parked next to the taxi with the lettering for the VCD plastered on the side of it. Hinaichi handed Yumi's bag to Ronaldo as she said, "Sorry Yumi-sempai! I need to go make my reports to my superiors on this attack."

"Th...thats ok Hina-chan! Thank you for fighting those Cliones with me!" Yumi said happily as she managed to successfully hold back a sneeze.

"You're welcome! That really was a lot of fun! I hope we can fight more inferior vampries together again one day!" Hinaichi said before she raced off to meet up with her bosses.

During their ride home, Yumi's nose kept on getting more and more irritated from her sniffiling and sneezing that she thought that it would take centuries to clean the hanky Draluc gave to her. She felt so bad but at the same time she felt like a fever had begun to take hold of her. While she sat in the back seat of the taxi next to Draluc, she felt her head get heavy and her vision became blurry.

"Yumi? Are you ok?" Draluc asked worriedly as she suddenly slumped forward. He grabbed hold of her shoulders, trying to make her keep eye contact with him. "Yumi?! Look at me, m'lady!" he said frantically as Ronaldo looked over the head rest from the front seat.

"Don't freak out! She's probably getting a fever from falling into the icy cold river," Ronaldo said simply.

"But that shouldn't make a difference! Her training with Maria and Ta-chan had her sit under an icy waterfall for hours at a time!" Draluc yelled out to Ronaldo panickedly.

"I...Draluc...tonight...I had so much fun! I'm really sorry that we couldn't see our...movie...but I still had lots of...fun with you! I...I...", she said but was starting to feel the effects of her fever finish taking hold of her.

"Yumi! Its ok, its ok. I had a lot of fun with you too tonight. Just, for now, come here," Draluc said as he put his right arm around her shoulders pulling her closer to him. "Rest your head for now, m'lady. We'll be back home soon," he continued as he managed to pull her up slightly into his lap.

John popped his head out of Yumi's bag that sat on the floor of the back seat next to them. "Nu?" he said as he climbed his way up to scrunch himself between them; concern etched on his little face as he stared at Yumi.

"John! I know, I'm concerned too," Draluc said as Yumi's breathing started to become slower; more like she was starting to fall asleep.

"Draluc...this...you being so kind to me...this is why...I've fallen...for you..." she said hazily as she slumped forward; passing out completely against his chest. It took everything in him to not die as he held her tighter; a look of shock on his face. Ronaldo side eyed them as he turned back his attention to the road ahead; the cab driver kept to himself. As Yumi began to snore lightly into his chest, Draluc looked down to her sleeping form.

'She's so...beautiful...even as she sleeps...I love her so much! And by the sounds of it, she loves me back! I feel so lucky! I could just die! But I shouldn't! I don't want her to fall and hurt herself as she sleeps!' he thought as he brushed her hair away from her face on her right side lovingly. "Sleep tight my love. I promise, I will make sure you get better," he said in a whisper as she stirred in her sleep for a moment.

"Mmmm....Draluc...", she mumbled in her sleep, a goofy grin taking hold of her face. She held him tightly to her face, snuggling herself against him before falling asleep again; Draluc patted her head all the while.

'Sniff...sniff....mmmm....' Yumi mumbled in her sleep as she slowly regained conciousness.

It's been two nights since their Valentines day date. In that time, Yumi slept on the couch in the living area while Ronaldo stayed in his office. She had on and off fevers while she slept. Draluc lived up to his promise as he kept a close eye on her. Placing a cloth on her forehead, to help keep her fever at bay as best as he could, while also changing it out whenever it would dry out.

'Thump!' went her hand as she rolled over in her sleep. She opened her eyes to see what she had touched as she noticed that it was the top of Draluc's coffin. It began to rattle open as she quickly retreated her hand back to her body as she sat up on the couch. She hazily looked around at her surroundings as she tried to find her phone. She noticed it was charging on the floor next to Draluc's phone and his gaming console.

"Yumi-san! Are you ok?!" he asked while sitting upright inside his coffin; placing the coffin lid on the floor. He reached forward to cup her face as their eyes locked; her face squished between his hands.

"I'm fine Dwaluc! Can you pwease let go of my face?" she replied as he realized that he was holding her too tightly.

"I'm sorry Yumi-san! So sorry," he said as he let go of her face. He left his right hand on her face, cupping it gently as she leant into his touch.

"Its ok, Dral-kun. I'm fine...actually I feel pretty good! How long was I sleeping for? And why is your coffin here?" she said as she pulled her face away from his touch.

"Oh umm you've been sleeping for two nights now. And well...I had Ronaldo help me move my coffin closer to you because I...wanted to make sure...you got better. I was really worried about you, Yumi," he said bashfully as a blush took hold of his face at his admission; his other hand resting on the couch in front of her.

He quickly retreated his hands from her as her stomach growled angrily. "Ohhhh....I am so HUNGRY! Uggh!" Yumi said as she grabbed her stomach.

"Come with me m'lady!" Draluc said as he stood up from his seat in his coffin. He held his hand out to her to help her back onto her feet. She looked up to him as he smiled sweetly to her. She smiled sweetly back to him as she took his hand and pulled herself up from the couch.

"OH CRAP!" she called out as she felt her feet fall out from under her as she slipped toward Draluc. He quickly grabbed hold of her before she could fall to the floor; holding her close to his body. His arms wrapped around her as she shakily stood in front of him. "I'm so sorry Draluc! My feet just gave out on me!" she said as she tried to stand straight up.

"Its alright m'lady! I'm just glad I'm here to catch you," he said as he held her up. His hands held her just under her arms to brace her from falling again. "There we go! Are you ok now?" he said as she found her footing.

"Yeah I am! Thank you for catching me Draluc," she said as she flashed him a sweet smile. Just then her stomach growled again as she looked down at it embarrassedly. They both chuckled as he grabbed hold of her right hand. "Come with me m'lady! I'll make you some nice rice porridge to help you get your strength up," he said as he helped her to sit down at the dining table.

"Thank you Draluc! You're so nice to me, I don't know what I'd do without you," she said as she sat down.

"Sand...." he said as he died at her kind words. At that moment she realized she had just complimented him again causing her face to flush up.

"Hey! Yumi-chan! You're awake!" Ronaldo said as he walked into the apartment carrying two bags from the nearby convenience store Vamina. "Where's Dral?" Ronaldo asked as he looked around the room for him. Draluc quickly reformed to Yumi's side as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm here! I was just helping Yumi to her seat I swear!" he said defensively as he raised his hands up in front of him.

Ronaldo and Yumi looked to Draluc uncertainly as Ronaldo said, "Ok....I just wanted to know where you were."

"Yes yes! I helped Yumi now I'm going to make some rice porridge for her. Is there anything you want to eat Ronaldo?" Draluc said as he quickly walked over to the kitchen.

"I'm good for now..." Ronaldo said as he placed his bags of snacks onto the table; taking a seat next to Yumi. He leaned foward to whisper to Yumi, "What's going on with him?"

"I don't know...we both just woke up too. He helped me onto my feet but I nearly fell over. Luckily he caught me and now he's making me dinner," she replied as she omitted the part where she complimented him again.

Ronaldo looked between the pair as he quietly leaned in closer to her. "Can I talk to you for a minute in the office?" he asked as he motioned to the door leading to the office. He offered her a hand as she stood from her seat too.

"Sure thing, but I'm ok I can handle standing on my own. Thank you for the offer Ronaldo-sempai," she said as they both looked to Draluc; whom was staring at them suspiciously.

"What?! Can't we talk alone too?!" Ronaldo asked indignantly.

Draluc took a moment to look over at Yumi before he replied; smiling sweetly to her all the while. "No, no its alright! I'm going to be a while in here anyway. Take all the time you need," he said as John 'Nu'd' happily at his side while standing on the counter.

"So what's going on Ronaldo-sempai?" Yumi asked as they settled themselves in the office. She sat on one on of the couches while he sat at his desk.

"There's something I need to tell you. Something really important you need to know," he said as his face looked suddenly serious.

"What...is...it?" Yumi said apprehensively.

"I know you guys are getting along really well as friends. And there's nothing wrong with that at all! I just need to know, how seriously...infatuated...you are with Draluc?" he asked as he tented his fingers together in front of his face.

"Oh ummmm....well that is to say I am....wait! What do you mean?!" she asked with confusion laced in her words.

"Just before you passed out from a fever, you kind of...sort of....indirectly...confessed how you felt about him right to his face. And being his friend, I need to know if things between you guys are going to stay as friends or are you going to start dating for real?" he asked as Yumi thought she could feel her face burn up just as hot as if she was having another fever.

"I did WHAT?! Oh crap! Well, I was originally going to confess to him that night, but as you know we got side-tracked. I guess that's why I blurted it out when my sickness took hold," she said as she leaned forward in her seat; placing her face in her hands.

"Look, as you know he's...he's a really sensitive guy. I'm just looking out for my friend here. And you know I count you as a friend too," Ronaldo said while he lowered his hands to rest on the desk. "And with you two being my friends, I am rooting for both of you and your happiness no matter what happens. I just hope that neither of you guys get hurt in the process."

"Awww Ronaldo-sempai...I don't know what to say," Yumi said as she looked to him, a feeling of uncertainty coursing thoughout her as she tried to figure out what to say next.

"Take as much time as you need to figure out how you should handle yourself from here on out. But I can't speak for that idiot in there of course," Ronaldo said as he stood from his desk and made his way to the door leading to the living area. Just then the door opened to reveal Draluc standing in the doorway holding a pot of rice porridge.

"Yumi! Are you and Ronaldo-kun just about finished talking yet? I have your food ready, when you are," he said as Ronaldo nodded to his friend; while taking the pot from him all the while.

"Dral, as much as I am amazed to see you carrying such a heavy container, I'll put this on the dining table so neither of you will get hurt," Ronaldo said as he walked past Draluc carrying the pot; setting it on the table in Yumi's spot.

"Hey! I CAN handle carrying it! I just wanted to bring it to Yumi to see if her sense of smell had returned!" he yelled out as Yumi stood from the couch. She walked over to stand in front of him for a moment, grabbing hold of his right hand causing him to look down at her with wide eyes at her sudden touch.

"Thank you Draluc! You're in luck as my sense of smell is back! And boy, mmmmmm that does smell really good!" she exclaimed happily as she placed his hand up to her face; squeezing it all the while. Draluc took that moment to retake his hand from her to cup her face before her stomach growled angrily; bringing them back to reality. Yumi let go of his hand to scratch the back of her head bashfully as he stepped forward to hold the door open for her. He bowed his head to her as he gestured for her to enter the living area, to which she followed his gesturing while bowing back to him happily.

"Thank you sir," she said as she curtseyed to him happily.

"Anytime m'lady," he said smiling slyly to her before he turned to close the door behind them.

Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: Confessions, Confessions!

Chapter Text

Two weeks has passed by after Yumi had gotten better from her cold. During that time, she spent it reflecting on what Ronaldo had told her.

'"Just before you passed out from a fever, you kind of...sort of....indirectly...confessed how you felt about him right to his face."'

'I STILL can't believe I did that! I know I wanted to confess to him that night but not like THAT!' she thought frantically each morning as she would attempt to fall asleep. 'I need to fix this! I need to get him alone on another date and tell him OFFICIALLY how I truly feel about him! But maybe a date may not be a good idea....every time we're alone outside the apartment, we keep on getting attacked by some random Vampire; lesser or not. Gah! What should I do?! Should I just bite the bullet and ask him out again?! Or should I just try to get him alone here at the apartment?'

After some time she managed to get a job at a maid cafe, which the theme centered around cat girls. Her uniform is a standard Eastern European maid uniform with the add-on of a purple cat tail and matching purple cat ears. The skirt ended right at the knee while the enclosed conservative top did nothing to hide her ample bossom. It accentuated her bosom so much, she was sure one day the buttons would pop off by accident. Which wouldn't bother her clientelle which consisted of a bunch of perverted men both human and Vampire alike.

Luckily Maria and Ta-chan were always there to pick her up after her shifts. On occasion the guild master and Satetsu would walk with them if there were really perverted Vampires out and about.

"How come you don't have Ronaldo or Draluc pick you up from work?" Ta-chan asked innocently.

"Honestly I haven't told them where I work yet," Yumi said shrugging her shoulders as they walked the streets of Shin-Yoko to the guild. Yumi had already changed into her ninja costume at the end of her shift; she left her uniform in her locker at work.

"You haven't told them yet?! But you guys still live together right?!" Maria exclaimed; stopping dead in her tracks.

"Yeah we still live together. I'm normally up before them nowadays anyway. I guess they think I am training with you guys since they haven't said anything yet," Yumi said answering honestly.

"You're still avoiding Draluc aren't you?" Maria asked while giving her a sly nod; Yumi had told her hunter girl-friends all about her predicament with Draluc.

"Yeah....I just don't know what to do. OR even how to act when I am around him," she said, keeping her gaze fixed bashfully to the ground.

"Well has he acted differently towards you since then?" Ta-chan asked as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder consolingly.

"Not that I have seen really. Whenever I have a night off from work or patroling, he is still his goofy self. Always challenging me to Vario Kart. But only...when Ronaldo-sempai is home too...," she said as a thought dawned on her. "You guys don't think...he's been using Ronaldo-sempai as a buffer for when I am home?!" she asked the girls.

"I mean, why not? You're using your work as a means to hide from him anyway," Maria replied, shrugging her shoulders as Ta-chan shook her head dejectedly.

"You guys need to go on a date or something! You know, clear the air and maybe even start dating each other too," Ta-chan said matter-of-factly.

"Don't you think I know that?! I just don't know how to do it! Or when! Plus what if he has been using Ronaldo as a buffer because he doesn't have the same feelings for me as I do for him?! What if he flat out rejects me?!" Yumi exclaimed frantically; tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of rejection.

Both Maria and Ta-chan placed a hand on each of her shoulders while making her look at them square in the eye.

"Trust us, he would be an even BIGGER fool if he turned you down. I mean come on! You asked him out on a date for Valentines day and he accepted it! Didn't you guys have a great night together?" Maria said as Ta-chan nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah we did have a great time...well before the land Cliones showed up, we did," Yumi said as she tried to find a way to feel better with her friend's encouragement.

"Yeah don't loose heart Yumi-san!" Ta-chan said smiling happily to her friend.

"Aww! You guys are the best! Thank you!" Yumi exclaimed happily as she scooped up her friends into a big hug.

"Now this is different! Seeing Maria acting like a girl for a change!" Ronaldo said suddenly behind the girls causing Yumi to jump while she held onto her friends.

"Now, now Dumbnaldo! I'm sure Maria can act like a girl whenever she needs to! It's not that surprising to me," Draluc said, scolding Ronaldo as Yumi's body froze up.

Ta-chan and Maria slowly pulled away from Yumi while whispering words of encouragement to her.

"Good evening ladies! And a very pleasant good evening to you too Yumi!" Draluc said happily as Yumi turned around to face him. Her face flushed up at the sound of his voice saying her name.

"G...good evening...Draluc! Quite the surprise running into you guys! But I guess it's not THAT surprising considering we're all heading to the guild to start our patrols after all!" she blurted out frantically.

Draluc scooped up her hand in his, placing a gentle kiss on top of it. 'At least he's still willing to hold my hand. Maybe the girls are right! Maybe I might have a second chance after all!' Yumi thought as a blush plastered itself on her face.

"It's the best surprise of the night! I didn't even die yet! That's how great it is to have found you this evening, m'lady," he said, winking at her slyly from his extended kiss on her hand. Her blush deepened at his words as she silently wished they were alone at that moment. "Well are you ladies finished training then?" he asked, as he stood up to his full height in front of Yumi; still holding her hand tightly.

"Actually ye-" Yumi began to say but was cut short by Ta-chan nudging her in the ribs suddenly; causing Draluc to die in the confusion of the situation.

"Sand!" he cried out before reforming next to Yumi.

"Sorry, umm no they're...actually...picking me up from my new....job. It's at a maid cafe themed around...cat girls...", she said coming clean with the boys about her secret.

"Sand...", Draluc said, dying at the image of Yumi dressed up in a sexy maid uniform.

"You got a job? That's awesome! I thought it seemed strangely quiet when we'd wake up and you'd already had left!" Ronaldo said assuredly. "And here we thought you were putting in more time training!" Ronaldo continued while Draluc reformed himself.

Just then Yumi's phone rang out suddenly causing Draluc to die again. Yumi pulled it out of her skirt pocket and noticed it was Mei calling her.

"I'm sorry you guys, but I have to take this call," she said apologetically.

"Ok, yeah that's fine with us! We'll catch up with you at the guild then!" Maria said happily as she and Ta-chan nodded to the boys. "Can we trust you boys to make sure you keep an eye on our precious friend?" Ta-chan said as she grabbed Yumi's shoulders; pulling her into a tight side hug.

"Don't worry! We can take great care of our friend," Ronaldo said as Draluc reformed again.

"Ronaldo-kun is right! We'll protect her with our lives!" Draluc said dramatically flipping his cape behind himself.

Yumi's face flushed up at his words as she thought, 'He's just saying that to be polite to the girls! Right? Right?! I mean come on, between him and Ronaldo, I'd probably be safer with Ronaldo. But just look at that face! Oh Draluc! He's just such a sweetheart!' Draluc flashed her a sweet smile as her blush deepened again.

"We'll wait for you to take your phone call, m'lady," Draluc said happily.

Yumi mouthed a quick "Thank you" to him as she bowed to both Maria and Ta-chan before she answered her phone.

"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU ANSWERED!" Mei shouted out through the phone. Yumi held the phone away from her ear, a painful look took hold of her face.

"YOU DON'T NEED TO YELL DAMN IT!" Yumi yelled back as Draluc died again.
"Sorry, sorry! I just have some awesome news and I was getting annoyed that you took so long to answer!" Mei said excitedly.

"Ok I'll bite, what is it?" Yumi asked inquisitively.

"Well I am currently on my way...to Shin-Yoko!" Mei said excitedly as Yumi froze on the spot again; her eyes widened in shock.

"W...what do you mean you're on your way...here?!" Yumi asked, as both boys looked to her inquisitively.

"My Aunt and Uncle are going to take a page from our book and travel the world! And they didn't want to sell their house so they're going to give it to me! Fully paid off and all! You remember the one they had right?" Mei said happily.
"I remember the pictures of it, yeah sure. But they do know WHY we were traveling around the world right?" Yumi said thoughtfully.

"Yeah of course they do! But I guess they get to take their traveling at a slower pace than we did!" Mei said still ecstatic sounding on her end of the line.

"So let me get this straight, you're on your way here to MOVE here?!" Yumi asked as both boys stared at her incredulously.

"Yep! That's the plan! And there will be plenty of space if you want to move in too! I'm sure you're tired of staying at that hotel! Which I have to admit, I am glad that you haven't blown all of your money yet to the mini-bar or tourist souveniers!" Mei said happily as Yumi's heart sunk inside her chest.

'Crap! I forgot to tell her that I'm not staying at the Vrince Hotel anymore! She is going to tear me a new one!' Yumi thought frantically as she stared off into space for a brief moment. Draluc noticed the look of dread playing on her face as he reached forward to place his right hand on her shoulder. He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly as she looked over at him for a brief moment before Mei spoke out from Yumi's phone.

"Yumi? Are you there?" she asked as Yumi quickly returned to her conversation with her friend. She looked to Draluc for a second as she leaned a bit into his touch.

"Yeah, I'm still here! Sorry Mei! Umm...actually, I...there's something I need to tell you," Yumi said as she took a step away from Draluc; she looked around for a bench to sit upon. When she couldn't find one she resolved to stand and tell her friend the truth.

"What's wrong Yumi?" Mei asked as a sudden realization hit her. "Don't...please don't tell me that you already HAVE blown all of your money on useless junk food!"

"Y...yeah...I did," Yumi said sadly as she can just feel the rage on the other end of the phone line. "BUT! You don't have to worry, Mei! I met some new friends and have been staying with them too!" Yumi continued, hoping that would help deter her friends rage.

"You were always good at making new friends when we traveled. I hope you haven't been a BOTHER to these new friends of yours?" Mei asked cooling off a bit.

"I swear I haven't! Ronaldo-sempai and Draluc-kun have been super nice to me since we met! They let me sleep in Ronaldo's office on one of his couches. Draluc makes such great meals, even though he's a vampire and doesn't eat normal human food. The food he does make is SO good! You should try his cookies and tea sometime! And now I have a job at a maid cafe to help pay for my share of the apartment!" Yumi replied happily.

"WOAH! WAIT A MINUTE! RONALDO-SEMPAI?! You mean to tell me that you are friends with THE Ronaldo-sempai AND his vampire side-kick?! AND YOU'RE LIVING WITH THEM TOO!" Mei screamed out in shock while also squealing like a school girl. Yumi had to hold her phone away from her ear for a solid minute to wait for Mei's excitement and shock to blow over.

"Mei? Are you ok?" Yumi asked, tentatively placing her phone back to her ear.

"Yeah sorry Yumi! You HAVE to tell me all about it when I get there! OR better yet, after you move in with me! Oh PLEASE say you'll move in with me!" Mei said as she tried to pressure Yumi again.

"Let me think about it first, ok? Plus I'll have to tell the guys about it too! You know, get their perspective and advice first," Yumi said matter-of-factly.

"Alright. But please let me know soon! Sorry Yumi but I've got to get going! I'm sure I'm nearly there now," Mei said frantically as she nearly dropped her phone.

"How far away are you? I'm with the guys right now. We can meet you at the station, if you like?" Yumi suggested as Mei went silent. "Mei? Hello?"

"Oh! Sorry Yumi, but did you just say that you're with Ronaldo-sempai RIGHT NOW?!" Mei exclaimed as she suddenly felt mildly star-struck at the prospect of meeting Ronaldo.

"And Draluc too, yes," Yumi replied as she silently repromanded Mei in her head; rolling her eyes all the while.

"Yes, yes and the vampire sidekick too! But yeah! You guys meeting me at the station would be a great idea! I'm almost there now!" Mei said just as the announcer on the train called out her stop.

"No problem! We'll be there as soon as we can!" Yumi said as she hung up the phone first. She turned her attention to the boys as she said, "So, my friend Mei is on her way here via train. Do you guys mind it if we meet up with her before we go to the guild?"

"I don't see why not!" Draluc said happily while smiling sweetly to her. "I think it would be wonderful to meet your friend! She traveled the world with you after all!"

"Yeah she did! AND she's a huge fan of Ronaldo's too!" Yumi replied as she smiled slyly to Ronaldo; whom had just blushed bashfully.

"Alright then! Let's go meet your friend!" Ronaldo called out as he took the lead; leaving Draluc and Yumi to walk alone together for the first time in two weeks.

"Shall we then?" Draluc asked as he slowly offered her his right arm.

'Why does Dral want to meet Mei so badly? Is he...will he try to be with her instead of me? Maybe Ronaldo's insinuations to Draluc liking me are wrong? But Dral doesn't seem like he would be so boorish! Why am I so paranoid?! It's not like Dral and I are an Item...right now....' she thought as Draluc looked to her sadly.

"I...guess not then?" he said as he pulled his arm away; tucking it back under his cape.

"WAIT! I'm sorry Dral! I would love to hold your arm!" she exclaimed, reaching inside his cape. She pulled his arm close to her chest, causing him to die at the sudden contact. "I am so sorry Dral!" she said appologectically as he quickly reformed at her side.

"It's alright Yumi! It's been a while since...well since I've touched...you," he said as a blush took hold of his face.

"Oh...Draluc...," Yumi said as she slapped herself mentally. 'He's so cute when he's blushing! Maybe I'm just overthinking this! Yeah! That's gotta be it!' she thought as she reached up to cup his face lovingly.

"FLIRT LATER! PICK UP FRIEND NOW!" Ronaldo called out as he had already made headway towards the train station.

Both Yumi and Draluc smiled awkwardly at each other for a moment; Yumi slowly retreated her hand. "Ahem! Shall we, try again, m'lady?" Draluc asked, again holding out his arm for her. He smiled sweetly to her as she bashfully accepted his arm. Her fingers instinctually entwined with his as she pulled their arms together to her chest.

"Is...this ok?" she asked as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Y...yes m'lady! This is...perfect, but we should follow Ronaldo-kun. We don't want to miss out on him making a fool of himself with your friend," he said as he motioned to the nearly dissapearing back of their friend.

"Oh crap! Yeah we don't want to miss that!" she exclaimed as she pulled Draluc along behind her. He initially died at the sudden motion of running; keeping his arm outstretched as she pulled. He reformed mid-run as they broke out in laughter together. As they ran together they suddenly had to stop in their tracks as they bumped into Ronaldo's back. Draluc quickly died then reformed in time to hold Yumi against his chest; wrapping his arms around her absentmindedly.

"It's about time you caught up to me!" Ronaldo said as Mei turned to face the group. She was wearing a lilac purple, ringed collar tshirt with tight fitting blue jeans. She had a large heavy backpack hanging on her back with another large bag resting at her feet.

"HEY! You made it!" Mei called out happily as she picked up her bag and ran over to them. "WOW! It's THE Ronaldo-sempai from The Ronaldo War Chronicles! Sorry I mean, hello! My name is Mei Sasaki! I am twenty one years old and am one hundred and seventy centimeters tall. My birthday is October eight-teenth which makes my star sign a Libra! Oh and my bloodtype is A Positive!" she said as she curtseyed to them; blushing from ear to ear. Ronaldo tried to use the brim of his hat to hide his bashful face.

Draluc suddenly let go of Yumi as he dashed over to stand in front of Mei. He scooped up her hand in his as he placed a swift kiss on top of it. Yumi felt a pang of jealousy ripple through her heart. "Its a pleasure to finally meet you Mei-san!" he said as Ronaldo noticed Yumi gripping her chest while Draluc laid on the charm on her friend.

"Oh well, its very nice to meet you too, Draluc-sempai," Mei said as she too noticed the look of jealousy she was getting from Yumi. She pulled away from Draluc as she pulled off her heavy backpack, placing it on the ground in front of her. She flipped her long blonde hair behind her as her icy blue eyes locked with Ronaldo's.

"I am currently single, but I am looking to settle down here in Shin-Yoko!" she said as she inched herself closer to Ronaldo. Her multitude of bracelets on her wrist dangled and twinkled as she placed a suggestive hand on Ronaldo's chest; her free hand twisted her hair between her fingers.

Ronaldo's eyes darted between her hands and her largely ample bosom, before he used his hat to cover his face again. Draluc noticed this and as he looked down to try and share a giggle with Yumi, he noticed that she had stepped away from him. She kept her face hidden from him but he did see her hands folded over her chest.

"Yumi? Are you ok?" he asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder to turn her to face him.

"Oh sorry Draluc! Yeah, I'm fine! Just...lost in thought," she said as she looked up at him. She flashed him a quick, gentle smile before turning away to face Mei.

"So Mei, are you heading right away to your Aunt and Uncle's house?" Yumi asked earnestly. "Because I can help you get there!"

"Sure! That would be awesome!" Mei said happily as she lent down to pick up her backpack. "But aren't you guys busy tonight? You know, with being Hunters and all?" Mei asked as Yumi quickly scooped up Mei's backpack; slinging it onto her back.

"Nope! Well we are but I can call the guild master and let him know what's going on! I'm sure he'll understand," Yumi said, nodding knowingly to the boys.

"Make sure you do! The sooner, the better too!" Ronaldo said as he gave her a knowing nod back.

"Yumi...do you mind if we talked when you get back home later?" Draluc asked as he reached out to grab her hand. He held it tightly in his for a brief moment before she pulled away.

She looked up at him, gazing into his eyes as she replied, "Oh...ummm sure...I'd love to talk with you...later on then..".

It was nearly sunrise when Yumi finally returned to the apartment. She expected Draluc to have turned in for the day but jumped when she came face to face with him. He promptly died at her startled response.

"Damn it! Draluc! You scared me! I thought you were already asleep!" she yelled out as she quickly closed and locked the office door behind her.

"I'm so sorry Yumi! I guess you didn't get my text message?" Draluc said as he reformed in his seat on the spare couch in the office.

As Yumi looked over at the other couch, she noticed that he had already helped her set it up for her to sleep on. She reached into her skirt pocket to fish out her phone as she also noticed a plate of cookies, a small pitcher of tomato juice, and a pair of empty wine glasses sitting on Ronaldo's desk; a bottle of bloodwine sat in an ice bucket nearby. A small grouping of candles illuminated the office as she noticed that he had the lights off; he was clearly trying to set a mood.

She checked her phone quickly to read the message he sent her. 'Yumi...when you get back don't be alarmed that the lights are off and I am waiting for you. OH and I set up your bed for you too!' She sighed sadly as she closed her text app and put her phone back inside her pocket.

"Oh Draluc...I am so sorry for not getting your text!" she said apologetically while bowing feverantly. "This is really nice...I hope you weren't waiting long for me to get home," she said as her heart rumbled inside her chest.

'This setup...its so romantic! Is he...is this...his way to...confess his feelings to me? Should I just come out with my confession first? He's waiting for me to say something! What do I do?!' she thought as she suddenly felt lightheaded.

"Yumi? Are you ok?" Draluc asked with concern laced in his words.

"I'm sorry Draluc...its just...this is so nice! I feel so bad for getting back so late!" she said as she sat down next to him.

He placed an arm on the back of the couch, using his elbow to prop himself up as he looked to her lovingly.

"What is it Draluc?" she asked as she folded her legs underneath herself. She brushed her hair back as a burning blush plastered itself onto her face.

"OH! Um nothing! I mean! W...would you like something to eat? I made some cookies for you! And I have some tomato juice for you too! I remember the other night when we were playing games together that you had a bottle of tomato juice that you drank so happily!" he said frantically as she giggled pleasantly at his words. "What is it Yumi? Was it something I said?" he asked as she stopped giggling and lightly touched his arm.

"Oh Draluc! You're so nice to me! Ever since the night we met, you've been so sweet to me. You even took care of me when I was sick! And I never really thanked you for that...," she said as she looked at him bashfully.

"It's ok Yumi! You don't have to-" he said as she stood up suddenly.

"No! I need to thank you properly! So...thank you Draluc for taking care of me while I was sick! If you ever need me to help you with anything, and I mean anything, just let me know!" she said as she bowed deeply before he took her hands in his.

"Yumi...actually there is something...well something I want to tell you...something really important...to me... Will you have a seat?" he said as she reclaimed her spot on the couch next to him.

"Draluc...I also have something...important to tell you too! But I'll let you go first," Yumi said.

"No no! Ladies first! I insist!" he said smiling warmly to her.

"Oh umm...right! Ok! What I want to tell you is..." she began as she remembered a conversation she had with Mei earlier in the night.

'"So let me guess, you've got a 'thing' for the vampire side-kick, huh?" Mei said as she smiled slyly to her friend.

"Draluc! His name is Draluc. And, well yes I do have a 'thing' for him. BUT! Please don't do or say anything weird in front of him about it! And how in the heck did you figure it out that I have a 'thing' for him?!" Yumi replied annoyedly.

"Well if I had to guess, it had to be that 'death' glare you gave me when he layed on his vampiric charm at the station," Mei said slyly as Yumi's jaw hit the ground.

"Oh you notice that, did you? GREAT!" Yumi said, slapping her leg as she went.

"So, what IS going on with you two then?" Mei asked quizically.

"Well we've only been on one date. And I was going to confess to him on that date but I got sick instead! AND while sick I just blurted out my confession! Now I don't know what to do! Should I still confess how I feel about him OFFICIALLY? Or should I just give up and be friends with him?" she said sadly slumping her shoulders.

"Oh no you don't! Don't give up on your feelings! You just need to tell him how you feel about him! Get him alone, somehow, look him in the eye and confess your heart out!" Mei said, dramatically waving her arms above her head.

"That's easier said than actually done, Mei," Yumi said sadly.

"DO NOT GIVE UP YUMI! You'll get him!" Mei said hugging her friend tightly.

"Thank you Mei! I promise I won't give up! I'm so happy you're here! I missed you girl!" Yumi said hugging her just as tightly."

"Yumi? Are you ok?" Draluc asked as Yumi's face turned away from him.

"I....I've...fallen in love with you Draluc," she muttered out before she turned her head back to him; her face burning up at finally telling him. "I've fallen in love wih you Draluc! You're so sweet, and kind and, and...Oh Draluc!" she said as she reached forward to grab his cravat in her hand. "Please don't die right now!" she said breathing heavily.

"Why would I-!" he started to ask but he was cut short as she suddenly tugged his cravat to pull him forward. Her lips connected with his as he sat stock still in his seat. He placed his hands on her shoulders as he pulled them apart for a second. "Yumi! I...I've fallen for you too!" he said as his left hand cupped her face. He placed his forehead against hers as their eyes locked. "I've spent a very long time of my life living either with my family or completely alone. Well, alone with John! But after I've met all my new friends, I resolved myself to only having friends! I never thought I'd fall in love with well ANYONE! But then I met you, and well when we met I felt that there was something more to our meeting than I've had with anyone else," he said as he pulled her closer to him; wrapping her up inside his cape. "Yumi...may I kiss you...again?" he asked as his face lit up.

"Yes...please Draluc...kiss me..." she said huskily while she felt herself becoming aroused by this moment.

"Oh Yumi...." he said before his lips found hers again. Their lips connected in a sweet and passionate kiss. "Mmmm..." he moaned into her mouth as his tongue parted her lips to entangle with hers.

"Mmmmm..." she moaned back as she felt his long tongue connect with hers. She pushed her tongue further into his mouth as she felt his fangs against it. Her left hand slipped up from his cravat to tangle up inside his hair pulling them even closer together.

His left hand followed suit, tangling up in her hair, as his right hand ached to touch the rest of her body. He decided to rest his right hand against her face as she pulled away, gasping for air.

"Wow! Hah! That was...that was amazing!" she said as she looked up at him through half-lidded eyes; trying really hard to catch her breath. The moment their eyes locked once more, Draluc dipped his face back down to hers. Their lips connected once again, but quickly and sweetly as he pulled away; leaving a trail of smaller kisses from her lips along her jawline. She giggled from the gentle kisses he placed near her ear.

"Draluc! Stop that! That tickles!" she said between giggles as he joined her in giggling.

"I'm sorry Yumi! I just couldn't help myself! Has anyone ever told you that you have such a beautiful laugh?" he said as he pulled away gently.

Their eyes locked as they smiled sweetly to each other. "No, you're the first one to say so," she said as she leaned her head onto his shoulder. She looked up at him with such love in her eyes that made him want so desperately to die from the moment they were having. "You want to die don't you?" she asked, her fingers lazily playing with the tips of his hair on the back of his neck while he simply nodded; small flecks of sand blowing away in the breeze from the top of his head. "Ok but come right back to me. I want to kiss you again and again and AGAIN!" she said chuckling lightly as he died at her words.

"Sannnnnnnndddddddd.......," he called out softly before he reformed at her side. He leaned down to kiss her again, this time he decided that he was going to touch every part of her as he could. His face showed his intentions clear as day, as she reached for his right hand; wanting ever so badly for him to take her right there.

Just then their phones rang out signaling that sunrise was on the brink of happening. He pulled out his phone from his suit jacket as she pulled hers out of her skirt pocket again.

"You...you have an alarm for sunrise too?" he asked her in surprise.

"Yeah, but its more of a reminder to make sure I'm not too loud coming home. I know you usually go to bed around now, and I don't want to disturb your sleep," she said earnestly.

"S...sand," he said as he died for another quick moment.

"Oh Yumi!" he said as he scooped her up into his arms suddenly. "Please, will you go on another date with me? I understand that you're working now and you've got your friend living here in town now. So it's no rush! We live together after all! We see each other every night regardless!" he said exasperatedly as she placed a finger on his lips.

"Draluc, I would love to go on another date with you! I already said I would! I'll just need to try and get some time off! You just tell me when ok?" she said as she lowered her finger from his lips, chuckling all the while.

"That's wonderful Yumi! Ok, I'll let you know soon I promise!" he said as he hugged her tightly. He let out a yawn causing her to yawn too. "But it seems like its time for bed, and you need your beauty sleep m'lady," he said between yawns.

"But what about the snacks you prepared?" she asked as he waved a dismissive hand at it. "May I help you put them away?"

"Yumi...sure you can help! You're so sweet to me!" he said before happily scooping her up into his lap.

"Draluc! Woah!" she called out playfully as he suddenly fell on top of her. He quickly grabbed onto her as they also suddenly rolled onto the floor; he died when he connected with the floor. She sat upright on his ash pile while she braced herself with her hands against the floor; she could feel the ash below her sifting around. He reformed underneath her as her limbs settled around his frame; pinning him completely to the floor. For a quick second she thought she felt his arousal push desperately against the inside of his pants. She slowly lowered herself against him again, praying she wasn't hurting him with her body weight; she may be skinny but she isn't as skinny as he is. He felt her body react to his as he reached up to cup her face. Just then they heard a jingle of keys at the door.

"Oh CRAP! Ronaldo's back!" they both yelled out in unison as Yumi jumped up from her spot on top of him. She reached a hand down to help him up onto his feet as soon as Ronaldo walked in the office.

"I'm back!" Ronaldo called out as flicked on the lights and took in the scene before him. "And WHAT did I just walk into?!" Ronaldo asked as he immediately pulled out a spray bottle from the nearby cabinet. He began to spray Draluc away from Yumi; pushing him all the way to his coffin in the opposite room. Ronaldo then poked his head back into the office as he said, "Like I said before I'm happy for you two, but please, PLEASE, text me or post a note on the door OR SOMETHING so that I don't walk into...well THAT!" He gestured to the office door as Yumi nodded thoughtfully.

"Ok! You're right! Sorry Ronaldo-sempai! We definitely will next time! I promise!" she said as she quickly set to work on cleaning up his desk; blowing out the candles as she went. John scurried back into the office as he 'Nu'd' angrily to Ronaldo for killing his master. "John! Can you help me clean this up?" she asked the angry armadillo as he looked over to her. He let out a happy, "Nu!", as he scurried over to climb up her side. He jumped from her shoulder onto the desk as he grabbed the cookie plate. "Nu nu!" he said, holding up the plate as she reached to pick him up.

"Aww thank you John! Here let me help you down," she said happily as she set him down on the floor. He then took off to the kitchen in the opposite room. She followed him to the kitchen as Ronaldo followed her into the apartment, taking his hat and boots off in the process.

"Now I am going to have a shower before turning in. So if you two want more alone time, you'll only have a few minutes to do so," he said as he walked over to the closet to put his jacket away.

Yumi looked down at Draluc as he sat in his coffin with the lid half on; blocking any sunlight that might slip through the cracks of the light blocking curtains over the only window in the room. He looked over at Yumi for a moment before he responded to Ronaldo. "Thank you for the warning!" he said as he smiled to his friend before looking back to Yumi; Ronaldo took that moment to step into the bathroom.

She finished wrapping up the cookie plate, placing it inside the fridge with the tomato juice. She turned to John as she said, "John dear, can you give Dral and I some alone time? I just want to...give him a quick kiss good night."

John looked to her, a bit of confusion played on his face before he replied, "Nu nu! Nu nu, nu nu nu nu!" He nodded thoughtfully before heading back into the office.

Yumi walked over to Draluc's coffin kneeling down beside him. She held the coffin lid open as he cupped her face lovingly. "Yumi, I love you," he said as he leaned forward to kiss her lips one more time. He pulled away quickly, placing a kiss on her cheek lovingly.

"Oh Dral...I love you too," she said, leaning into his kiss on her cheek while her right hand cupped his face. She leaned in to place a kiss of her own on his face before he smiled sweetly to her. They both shared another yawn before he said, "Get some good sleep my love." "You too Dral. Sleep well my handsome Vampire Lord," she said bashfully as he died at her words.

"Saaannnddd," he said dissolving at her words while her face burned up too. He reformed inside his coffin, sitting upright as he leaned over to kiss her one more time. Their lips connected gently one last time as he said, "Sweet dreams, my sweet princess." He grabbed his coffin lid from her as he slowly closed it while smiling sweetly to her. She smiled sweetly to him before the lid closed completely.

Yumi headed back to the office as she heard the shower turn off. She quickly closed the office door before she scooped up John. "Come John! Lets get some sleep," she said as she snuggled him close to her. He 'Nu'd' happily as he snuggled up to her face.