Notes:
Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s a late present from me, hope you enjoy~
It was a beautiful, clear evening, with a full moon. There was a light breeze, but luckily the kimono Draluc was wearing was heavy enough to make up for the lack of cloak. Mihai and Draluc had leisurely strolled around the gardens for approximately an hour, stopping every so often to take pictures. Although he couldn’t see it, Draluc could feel the presence of someone , lurking in the shadows.
Draluc really hoped that it was paparazzi and not Nudenium. As much as he was showing Mihai the sights of Yokohama, that was one sight he would rather avoid, thank you very much.
[You know, I was thinking about what you said earlier. About how I might have a chance with that stupid hunter.] Draluc spoke, clutching the side of his sleeve. [I tried inviting him today on our trip]
Mihai clapped his hands. [That’s wonderful! What did he say?]
[He said no, because of hunter work.] Draluc sighed.
Mihai smiled. [Oh really? That’s still a good sign though, right? That means he still wanted to come.]
[You’re definitely thinking too positively.] Draluc retorted. He crossed his arms. [He has been acting differently though, ever since we’ve been hanging out.]
Mihai grinned. [Oh, has he? I’m sure he’ll surprise you yet.]
+++
Ronaldo wasn’t lying about having work at the guild. The guild master had asked him to compile some incident reports for the VRC (as a favor from Yomotsuzaka), and had given Ronaldo the task. Although it was a pain in the ass, Ronaldo really was the quickest and most efficient writer among the bunch.
After giving John a warning not to open the door for any strangers, Ronaldo found himself in front of the Hunter’s Guild. It looked like it was packed tonight.
He entered the bar, and was met with a rousing greeting from most of the hunters.
Ronaldo waved, and handed off his reports, before sitting at one of the tables with Satetsu and Sheena.
Koyuki dropped off a pint of beer for the man, same as what the others had ordered.
“I didn’t order this?”
“Father says it’s on the house!” she replied cheerfully. Ronaldo raised his glass to the Master as thanks, before taking a sip.
“Draluc-san isn’t with you today?” Satetsu asked earnestly.
Ronaldo took a bigger gulp than he originally intended, before setting the tankard down. “He’s out sightseeing with a friend.” He sighed.
“Oh my god, don’t tell me he’s with that good looking man in all the photos that are being spread around on twitter right now!” Sheena exclaimed. “Honey, what are you doing here?!”
Satetsu looked between Sheena and Ronaldo in confusion. “Who?”
Sheena took out her phone quickly, and pulled up the original photo of Draluc at the hotel. “I assumed it was some kind of mistake, like CGI or something…”
“Whoa, this guy looks like an actor!”
Ronaldo took an even bigger sip of his beer. There was only half left now.
“He’s apparently his childhood friend! They’ve been getting along suuu-per well these past couple’a days” Ronaldo hiccuped. “That guy is apparently a blood donor for Draluc.”
“Oh my….” said Sheena.
The group lapsed into silence.
“…But…isn’t Draluc-san your…uh…partner?” Satetsu asked carefully. He had a kind look in his eyes that pierced straight through Ronaldo’s stupid idiot past self.
Ronaldo finished the rest of the glass and then slammed his head on the table. The other two could hear a faint, muffled “Yes, but no!” and “I’m lower than a hornworm!”
Puzzled, Satetsu patted Ronaldo’s back comfortingly. Sheena, however, had quite the serious look on her face.
Hearing the commotion, the other hunters also approached the same table.
“I thought Ronaldo was making Dra-chan his wife, yes?” Ta-chan asked. Some of the other hunters also nodded.
Tearfully, Ronaldo lifted his head to actually look at the other hunters. “He’s a man though?”
Vamone facepalmed. He didn’t teach his disciple to be so dense.
“Dear, are you sure that Mr. Childhood Friend is Draluc-chan’s blood donor?” Sheena asked seriously.
Ronaldo nodded.
“Well then, this is only from what I’ve learned doing my own research into vampire culture, but it’s pretty common that designated blood donors are a vampire’s best friend or lover.”
“Yeah, so wouldn’t that make Ronaldo a donor?” Satetsu answered.
“Yup. You haven’t been fighting with Dra-chan for some stupid reason have you? When was the last time you fed him?” Sheena said.
Ronaldo stared at the hunters around him with a blank look.
“What are you guys talking about? He doesn’t usually drink blood from other people, though he’s been sick recently…”
“Wha-!” Sheena looked aghast. “Don’t tell me you haven’t fed him since the day he moved in with you?!!!!” she screamed.
The other hunters looked just as horrified to learn the implications of what they had just heard.
“You sadist! You’ve been starving him this entire time! Poor Draluc-chan!”
“He’s never asked me though!!” Ronaldo yelled back.
Shot shook his head. “Did you forget that you’re a hunter? There’s no way he could have asked outright without knowing if you were okay with it.”
A horrific flood of emotions started welling up in Ronaldo’s chest, threatening to burst out. “But now he doesn’t need me anymore!”
“Are you okay with that other man taking him away from you?” Sheena argues back. “Draluc-chan won’t be making you dinner in the future if you let that homewrecker steal your man! Grow some balls and get your boyfriend back right now!”
The other hunters started to echo Sheena, drunk off their ass.
“You can do it, Ronaldo-san!” Medoki cheered.
Ronaldo scanned the room, and even Vamone was giving him the thumbs up. The hunter’s eyes lit up, full of hope.
“Thank you, everyone!” He said quickly, as he then dashed out the main doors.
The other hunters went back to their original seats, discussing how dense Ronaldo was.
“Sheena-san, how did you know so much about vampires and blood drinking culture?” Satetsu asked.
Sheena pulled up a website on her phone, and showed it to Satetsu. It was the official “Human-Vampire Care and Feeding Association” website. On it, were several tabs of information targeted towards newly turned vampire humans and animals as well as their caretakers. Sheena then navigated to the “About Us” page, and pointed out one of the founders.
“This is the same man that was pictured in the paparazzi photos. Since I have a lot of vampire lovelies, I reached out to the founder through email months ago, asking for advice about taking care of them. We’ve been corresponding back and forth, so he even asked to meet up at a bar a couple weeks ago. I got a lot of great advice about making and storing blood vials!”
Satetsu looked at his friend, stunned. “Does that mean you knew what was happening the whole time?”
“Oh darling, call it a maiden’s intuition~!”