~~~ One Year Later ~~~

"Huh... So today is Christmas." There had been nothing happening around Sanguinem that would have made you think it was Christmastime. No Christmas carols sung joyfully off-key, no giant evergreen trees that smelled like pine trees, no hot-cocoa with marshmallows, no presents- nothing.

'I guess Christmas is just a good way of knowing how long I've been here.'

A year. It was exactly a year since the first day you stepped foot in Sanguinem.

It was exactly a year since you met and lost your new family.

Collapsing backwards onto the sheets of your unmade bed, you let out a long sigh. 'It's probably better that they died the first day here instead of living the lives of livestock anyways.'

The first day. They hadn't even survived past the first day. You didn't hear about a lot of issues with the vampires and the humans. For the most part, a lot of them ignored whatever the kids did, so long as the kids were obedient and went daily to the blood extraction machines the vampires had made.

You could remember the first time you had seen those machines. You walked between the two white haired vampires without a care, taking in the sites of Sanguinem with curious eyes. The kids you had all seen from earlier were placed on the chairs, wearing identical white and black uniforms. They were lounging on the couches, though you could see blood coming from a small needle, out a tube, and into some jars.

When you gathered the courage to ask what was going on, Ferid was the one that explained everything to you.

"Humans are just livestock here. We keep them around to extract their blood. Too bad that your so-called-family died trying to escape. They all looked like they had such tasty blood too."

You forced the tears back, knowing that Ferid hadn't been around to check on you yet today. You could already picture the stupid grin on his face as he realized that you were crying. Then he would scold you for trying to cry in secret when he wasn't around. Truly, Ferid Bathory, the man in charge of taking care of you while you were here, was a sadist.

'I've already been staying here for a year... what a depressing thought.' You robotically went through the motions of getting up, and taking your medicine- swallowing the small pill and rushing it down with water before setting the glass on the bedside table.

'I guess I should visit the grave.'

When you said grave, you meant the small circle of rocks in the garden you occasionally put flowers and toys in. They didn't have actual graves, and you didn't even know how to dig a grave.

"Their bodies were thrown away. There's no point in keeping their corpses after all. Livestock should know better than to run from their pen, don't you think?"

'Livestock... Just animals raised for food. I guess that's how vampires see humans. But if I'm not livestock, then what am I?'

Living with the Sakamakis, you never had to question what you were. Then again, you were all children and didn't think about things like that. Days consisted of playing with one of your favorite Sakamakis, and taking the medicine Karlheinz gave you for your condition. Really, that was it. Then, Christmas hit. Before you knew it, you woke up in a terrible world where adults were all dying, met Mika, met his family, and went on a truck ride to Sanguinem where you were separated from them all.

You didn't think that'd be the last time you would ever see them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The vampires continued to round up any stray children that they found along the way. They took you to a place where a lot of trucks were parked, trucks with a big section in the back for everyone to sit down. It looked like twenty or thirty of you kids could fit into one of the trucks, and every single truck was being loaded with kids.

You noted that all the kids were at least four or older, and no kid was over the age of thirteen. You saw one of the older girls lined up, trying to comfort her crying baby sibling. She lost her place in line as everyone obediently shuffled in, and one of the vampires guarding the perimeter made their way over to her. The baby was ripped from her hands and you barely managed to pull your eyes away in time.

You heard her yell, "STOP! Please! She's my baby sister!" Her crying mixed with the baby's crying and you heard a sickening crack.

There was no more crying after that.

"Come on (Name), we have to go." Mikaela, still holding onto your hand, tugged you along after you froze. 'I've lived my whole life with vampires, but not like this. What are they going to do with all of us?' You let out a sharp breath as you followed Mikaela and the rest of his family. In terms of age, you were pretty sure that you were one of the three oldest in the little family of orphans; the other two being Mikaela and Yuuichiro. 'But my new family's going to need me... I can't let them down.' You hardened your resolve as you marched on, keeping the calmest expression you could manage.

The strange mismatched family you had found filed into one side of the truck, while an assortment of other kids sat on the other side. The vampires locked the doors, keeping you all trapped in the dark back of the truck. The only sources of light and fresh air were small windows on the sealed doors, and you watched the ruined streets fade into the distance.

While the vampires were around, none of the kids had cried. At first, it had been because of the vampires but seeing everyone around you now made it more clear than ever. They were in shock.

As time passed some of the kids started to fall asleep during the long drive, a good number of kids falling asleep onto the person next to them, tears still streaking their cheeks. One of the sleepers included a young boy that fell asleep onto the angry green-eyed boy from earlier and you smiled slightly to yourself as you noticed him readjust the boy so that he was in a more comfortable position.

Yuu's eyes met yours and he instantly frowned. "What the hell are you smiling for?"

"Because you're cute, Yuu." You teased him lightly with the name you had remembered Mikaela saying earlier.

"D-don't talk to me so familiarly. My name's Yuuichiro."

"I think Yuu's a cute nickname." You weren't put off by his attitude. "My name's (Name)."

He clicked his tongue as he turned his head away. "I didn't ask."

A small chuckle left your throat. "Though, I guess I'm really smiling because we're alive." Your words caught the attention of everyone else in the truck, and some stared at you as if you were going crazy.

Yuu could be classified as one of the people in the latter. "I thought so before, but now I'm sure. You really are an idiot."

"Hey Yuu, you should be nice to (Name)," Mikaela joined in the conversation. "She's going to be part of our family until she can find hers."

"I'm not part of your stupid family!" Yuu argued. The boy leaning on his arm shifted slightly at the loud sound of his voice and Yuu's eyes softened. He started again in a lower voice, "So stop saying stuff like that."

You stared at his face for a while, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. 'That's who he reminds me of.'

He flushed slightly when you looked at him. "What?" He asked in an angry hiss.

"You're a tsundere. Just like my friend Subaru." You lightly laughed when you came to the realization, the lighthearted sound completely out of place in the deathly silent caravan.

"Sissy, what's a tsundere?" One of the girls that were still awake from the other side of Yuu asked.

"A tsundere is someone who isn't honest with their feelings. Like Yuu is really cranky and angry all the time, but he's actually really nice on the inside."

Yuu's face instantly flushed a dark red. "What do you know?!"

'Even though he's annoyed, he's still trying to keep his voice down for the little boy. He really is a tsundere.'

"I think he's mad because you're right," Mikaela joined in on your teasing.

"Yuu's a tsundere!" One of the little girls chanted.

"Mean on the outside, but nice on the inside!" The other little kids in the caravan joined in teasing Yuu, and he got redder and redder.

"I hate you," Yuu said as he turned to face you.

A girl that looked near your age spoke, "Does that mean that you actually looooooove her?~" She had sat on the other side of Mikaela, her red hair pulled into a braid on the side of her head.

"Ooooohhh!"

"Yuu loves (Name)!"

"But (Name) and Mika have been holding hands this whole time."

"Does that mean it's a love triangle?"

"It's just like a manga the director read me!"

"I think the kids have gotten carried away, don't you think, Mika?" You smiled slightly as you watched the excitable back and forth between the rest of the kids. The back of the truck had been too quiet and even though their excitement was a little overwhelming, it still brought a smile to your face.

"I'm just happy to see that they can still joke around at a time like this... That's thanks to you and Yuu." Mika chuckled slightly.

You shook your head; you just gave the kids a little nudge. "It's nothing. The kids are doing everything and Yuu's just fun to tease."

"Hey, who said you two could talk about me like we're best friends?" Yuu glared at the two of you.

"We're more than best friends, we're family," you taunted.

"That's right, family!" The little kids chorused once again, finding their voices in the little moment of happiness you all shared.

Yet even little moments of happiness come to an end. The truck jerked to a stop, and everyone fell silent again as you could hear the front doors of the truck opening.

The doors in the back of the truck opened abruptly and dim light filled the back of the truck as the two vampires blocked the exit.

"Get out, livestock."

You let go of Mika's hand finally when two of the younger kids from the orphanage stood on either side of you. They'd been part of the group teasing Yuu earlier, but they were silent and trembling now that the vampires were back.

All of you were loaded off the trucks and told to get into one of the single file lines where the vampires were giving everyone new clothes.

When you were at the front of the line, you heard a familiar voice.

"Ah, now, now. You can't put my precious (Name) with all of the livestock." An outstretched hand held back the vampire that had been handing out uniforms.

You stopped and blinked, you didn't expect to see someone here at this- well wherever this was. "Karlheinz?"

"(Name)-dear. It was much cuter when you called me 'daddy'." There was something strange about seeing an ancient 'older-than-dirt' vampire pouting in such a serious situation, but you were used to Karlheinz's whimsicalness.

"This guy's your dad?" Yuu blurted out from behind you. His expression was a mix of confusion and disgust as he stared at the silver haired man with the bright golden eyes.

"He's more like my doctor, but I guess he kinda raised me," you explained before turning back to the 'pouting' Karlheinz. "Does that mean everyone else is here too? Are they ok?"

He shook his head slightly, lips turned up in a slight smirk. "They're fine, more or less. They're being punished, after all."

"What did they do?" You blinked in confusion. Karlheinz was never the nicest when it came to all of his sons and could be really strict when he thought they deserved it, but you couldn't imagine why he would do something to them around Christmas-time.

"That is something that you shouldn't worry about, (Name)-dear. What we should worry about is your condition."

"My condition?" You frowned slightly, wondering if your condition is the reason you had woken up in the middle of the city.

"You don't remember, do you?" Karlheinz pulled you slightly out of the line, while wrapping an arms around your shoulders. "Don't make that face. Let's go take a look at you." Karlheinz had been the person that took care of you ever since you were born for a condition that you knew nothing about. Since you never met your parents, Karlheinz really was the closest thing to a dad that you ever had.

Yuu broke his place in line and grabbed onto Karlheinz's arm. The vampire behind him had grabbed onto his hood, but Yuu wouldn't let go. "Wait. Where are you taking her?"

"Friend of yours, (Name)?" Karlheinz asked.

You just nodded your head, wondering what Karlheinz was going to do.

Karlheinz held his free hand up, and the vampire that had grabbed Yuu's hood let it go. Yuu still hadn't let go of Karlheinz's arm and didn't hesitate to glare at him. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" Karlheinz said with a little smirk.

Mika had made his way behind Yuu and put his hand on Yuu's shoulder, giving a little smile of encouragement to the startled green-eyed boy. The rest of the kids were gathered around the girl with braided hair, watching you guys with wide eyes.

"Are you (Name)'s family?" Mika asked.

"I am," Karlheinz said simply with a small smile of amusement.

"Are you going to take care of her?"

His smile grew. "Of course."

"Ok... Come on Yuu."

"Mika," you said with a small rueful smile.

Mika looked back at you. "Just because you found your family again doesn't mean you can't be part of our family still. So you should come play when you have time."

"Ok I will!" You nodded with a wide grin. "It's a promise!"

"You're just a big idiot, that's what you are," Yuu muttered under his breath as he was physically dragged away by Mika.

"You've made some interesting friends," Karlheinz said with a small laugh. "Shall I introduce you to a friend of mine?"

Instead of verbally answering, you reached out to take Karlheinz's hand, which took him by surprise. Even though you knew he wasn't as nice to the rest of your family, he was still the only family you had right now.

The two of you made your way over to where another vampire was. He had long silvery hair. Even though he had the same ears, fangs, and red eyes that vampires had, he didn't wear a hood at all. His outfit reminded you of the same old-style clothes that Karlheinz wore a lot.

Karlheinz pulled his hand out of your smaller one. "(Name), meet my friend Ferid Bathory."

"You have friends?" You joked lightly. "Are you sure you two aren't just long-lost brothers?" Your head kept oscillating between the two vampires, noting how similar they were to each other. From their long hair to their clothes and the strange look in their eyes, you would definitely believe if they told you they were brothers.

"Cheeky one, isn't she?" Ferid commented in a smooth voice.

"She's intelligent and abuses it at every chance," Karlheinz agreed. There were moments where he truly was affectionate like a good parent should be. You just had a hard time believing that this was the same person that your family hated so much.

You shrugged your shoulders. "What can I say; I learned from the best."

Karlheinz ruffled your hair with a small chuckle. "The mansion is going to be far too quiet without you."

'He's leaving me here. Just like that, he's leaving me here. Ayato... Laito... Shuu... Subaru... Will you be ok?'

You wanted to cry, but you knew that you couldn't cry in front of these two vampires. "A-Am I going to see them again?"

Karlheinz knelt down to your height and smiled at you. "Of course, my dear. It would be a waste raising you in the house if you would never see them again."

"Promise?" You asked dubiously.

"Promise, but only if you behave while you're with Ferid here in Sanguinem," Karlheinz said. You were a hell-raiser in your own right, despite being so young, you blamed that on Ayato's influence.

"Ok." You took a deep breath to steady yourself before turning to face the red-eyed vampire. "Mister Ferid, I'm going to make the terrible choice of trusting you." You followed up your comment by bowing politely. "Please take care of me."

"Oh please, I wouldn't want a cute little girl such as yourself calling me Mister, just call me Ferid," the vampire assured with a wide grin.

"I assume that you and all the other vampires are clear on my conditions for leaving her here?" Karlheinz asked Ferid with a light smile as he straightened out.

Ferid waved a hand dismissively. "Everyone is aware. She is to take her medicine daily and is not to have her blood drunken. Though I can see what you mean- her blood smells tasteless as water."

"She is a special exception, and will prove highly entertaining during her time here, I'm sure."

You watched the two of them talk about you, unsurprised to see how well the two vampires were getting along. 'They're talking about me as if I'm not here... It's a bit annoying, but they'd be happy to know they were annoying me.' Instead of looking more at the two vampires, you turned back around to where all the rest of the children were. Yuu and Mika were walking farther and farther away.

"So, shall we head home?" Ferid asked you as he extended his hand out to you.

'Home... That's hardly the word I would use to describe this place.'

Regardless, you placed your hand in his and followed the red eyed vampire in the opposite direction of your bright-eyed friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'If only I knew.' You knelt down before the crudely constructed "grave."

"Sorry I didn't bring anything... I didn't know what to really bring, even though it's Christmas... How are you guys? I hope you're happier wherever you are, if you are well- anywhere. I miss you. I didn't know you guys really long, but I wish that I did. I guess I don't really know what to say either."

You wished you could tease Yuu for being a tsundere while the kids joined in. You wished you could hold Mika's hand and help him protect his family. You wished you could have given them something more than a promise you never got to keep.

But they were dead. And there was nothing you could do.

"(Nickname)~ Here you are, visiting your little grave again?"

You stiffened at the mocking voice, doing your best to try and hold back the rush of emotions you felt. "Ferid, I didn't realize you were back."

"Oh what a chilly reception (Nickname), I'm a little hurt. Where was the cute little girl from a year ago?"

After going with Ferid to his estate, you realized that you were right about him being a lot like Karlheinz. Though there were still a lot of differences from the way they both treated you. Karlheinz treated you a lot like his daughter, and Ferid treated you a lot like a pet.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm adorable as ever," you said with a little huff.

Ferid chuckled. "Ahh (Nickname), such a shame your blood is so completely unappealing despite being so fierce."

"It's all I have going for me." You flashed him a cheeky grin. He didn't lay a hand on you because of the deal he had with Karlheinz, so you knew that Ferid (untrustworthy as he was with that sneaky smile of his) was the least of your concerns. Maybe that was why you didn't mind staying with him. 'That and the promise I made with Karlheinz... I want to see them all again.'

"I have a Christmas gift for you."

"If it's something that'll remind me of my dead friends, I don't want it," your voice was flat as you narrowed your eyes at the vampire. If there was one thing you knew about Ferid, it was that everything he did was for some reason, usually it was for his own entertainment. Since he enjoyed people's pain, he wasn't above reminding you of the friends that died in their "futile" escape, if only to get a reaction out of you.

"You wound me, (Nickname)." Ferid placed his hand over where his undead heart lay, making you blink as you waited for him to finish his dramatics. "I brought you a new friend actually. Crowley, come say hi!"

From behind some rosebushes, you saw a tall and muscular man emerge, his red eyes trained on you as he furrowed his brows.

'Haven't seen him before...'

He had dual colored hair, red in the front, and dark brown in the back. You could see a long braid swishing from side to side as he marched to where the two of you were standing. He was even taller than Ferid, and he was probably twice as muscular as Ferid.

The man's eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at you and then back at the mischievous vampire besides you. "What gives Ferid? You called me all the way here to meet one of your livestock?"

Ferid smirked slightly before he stood behind you and put his hands on your shoulders, turning you so that you completely faced the taller vampire. "Ah, you haven't been to my estate in a year, so you wouldn't have met her. This is (Name) Sakamaki, the little girl that appeared out of nowhere on the night of the Apocalypse, so no, Crowley, she is not livestock."

Crowley stopped a few feet in front of you, dubiously staring at you. "You mean the one raised by that strange person, Karlheinz, who managed to make a deal with the Progenitor Council?"

"The very same."

"What I wouldn't give to see the day the Progenitor Council bowed their head to someone." Crowley let out a low whistle. "Though, what is the point of you calling me all the way here? I have a feeling you're going to tell me it was out of boredom." Crowley crossed his arms over his broad chest, tapping his fingers against his arm.

"Partially," Ferid agreed, flippant as ever. "Yet for once it's not my own boredom, but (Name)'s."

"Huh/What?" You and the other vampire chorused at the same time.

"It's Christmas and what little girl should have to spend Christmas alone?" He asked in a dramatic voice. "I have some business to take care of and I thought you would be the best vampire for the job."

"... I'm no babysitter, Ferid."

"And I'm no baby." You crossed your arms indignantly before spinning back around to face Ferid. "Why do I need to be watched anyways?"

Ferid shook his head playfully. "What if you try and run away?"

"Why would I do that?" You rolled your eyes at him and faced forwards again. 'I'll just get a headache trying to understand him.'

"Ahh that's right. Still waiting on your precious family... Are you sure they'll ever come? Time is meaningless to immortals, after all," Ferid turned all his attention over to you, leaning over your short stature so he could look you in the eyes while upside down.

"I don't care. I'll wait for them because I trust them."

Ferid's expression dropped at your serious and unhesitant response as he pulled back.

"A little girl is rebelling against you, Ferid." The other vampire wore a light smile on his face. It wasn't completely genuine, but it still put you more at ease than Ferid's ever-present smirk.

"My name is (Name)," you grumbled indignantly, despite the fact that the man in front of you could probably life you and throw you with all the strength in his pinky.

The vampire in front of you chuckled, kneeling down so he was your height. "I'm sorry. I usually don't deal with livestock, so I haven't really seen a human child in a while." You weren't sure how genuine he was being with his apology, but he did seem completely truthful with his second statement. "It's nice to meet you, (Name)."

"... It's nice to meet you too," you said as you held your hand out for him to shake. While there were other vampires in the Sanguinem, they tended to stay away from Ferid's estate unless they had a reason for being there. The kids who came to visit Ferid were more concerned with donating their blood and then grabbing a reward from the mansion and leaving, so you never spoke to them. Even when you left the house, you weren't allowed near the "livestock" in case a vampire would confuse you for one of them and break the terms Karlheinz had set.

Crowley stared at your hand in confusion before he placed his gloved hands in yours and gave your hand a shake so gentle, he had to be consciously holding himself back.

Ferid let go of your shoulders and clapped his hands loudly as he sashayed away. "Since you two are getting along so well, I'll leave you to it! And remember Crowley, no taking a taste, not that you would want to."

"Can you go already?" You said with a deadpan as you glared at the vampire.

"I know you'll miss me (Nickname)~ Don't cause too much trouble for Crowley!"

You let out a relieved sigh once Ferid was finally gone.

"Umm... So... What do you want to do?" Crowley asked hesitantly after Ferid was gone.

'It's kinda funny to think that a vampire like him is supposed to be entertaining me...'

As you pulled your hand back from the vampire, you caught a glint of the sword he carried on his left side.

"Teach me how to fight with a sword."

"EH?"

"That sword's not just for show, right?" You asked innocently as you pointed at the sword at his hip. "I'm not asking you to spar with me, I don't want to die. I'd just like to learn the basics."

Crowley's red eyes bored into you for a few moments. You could almost see the gears turning inside of his head as he tried to figure out why that would be your first request. "You're serious?" He asked after a few moments.

"Definitely. It might come in handy someday," you pointed out. "I promise I'll listen to whatever you say, so please~" You clapped your hands together and put on a playful pout, even though the puppy dog pout had 0 effect on most vampires.

"All right. I guess that's better than having to do something like play with you."

"Thank you!" You tackled the vampire in a hug without thinking, taking him by surprise yet again.

"Ferid's right... You are really weird." Crowley chuckled as he patted the top of your head, awkwardly. "Come on, let's go teach you some of the basics.

~~**~~**~~* MEANWHILE *~~**~~**~~

They ate food that looked like scraps. They drank strange juice from pouches that were supposed to supplement their blood coming back. Then, they had to sit on blood extraction machines and feel the blood leave their necks drop by drop. By the time the process finished, they were lethargic and barely had the energy to move around, but they stayed awake as long as they could anyways. Passing a bunch of other kids wearing the same white and black uniforms and going through the same monotonous routine of staying alive and trying to be happy with the rare moments of free-time they had.

Day after day, this was the life they had known for some time now in Sanguinem.

The life of livestock, kept alive for blood and blood alone.

The two oldest boys were among the last to get back to the small part of the "livestock housing" that was considered the "home" of the Hyakuya orphans. It was a common sight to see small groups of kids banding together, they just didn't have the energy to really go out of their groups and get to know everyone else.

"Hey everyone, how's it going?" Mika asked, putting a smile on his face as the younger children still had the energy to run towards him and Yuu. Their captors made their intentions clear, but they weren't merciless or abusive towards them [1].

"Mika, Yuu, look what I drew!" The cheerful girl pointed to a little drawing that was dressed in covered in blood. Both boys had to remind themselves that they were looking at the color of Christmas and not the color of blood.

"Is that Santa?" Mika was the first to smile, as always, while Yuu continued to inspect the image. On the sleigh, was a messily drawn stick figure with (hair color) hair, smiling widely with a red triangle on her head as a hat.

"I was going to draw Santa, but I ended up drawing (Name) instead."

They both froze at the mention of the name, so easily spilled from the younger girl's lips.

"I wonder if she'll come back soon," the little girl mumbled. The younger kids didn't have much of a grasp of time, so they didn't realize that a year had already passed by.

"I'm sure she's doing everything she can to come see us," Mika reassured as he patted the girl's head.

Yuu was completely silent, his tightened fists trembling as he made his way back towards the small area that served as a kitchen and common area for all the little groups of kids. Only a few kids knew how to cook, like Akane, so they usually ended up just eating the scraps and drinking the pouches the vampires gave them.

Mika watched his friend storm away, sighing as he stood up. "I'm going to make sure Yuu doesn't do something stupid."

"Like always?" The kids chorused with a loud peal of laugher.

Mika followed after the dark haired boy and found him sitting at one of the crudely constructed chairs of the kitchen counter. His head was down and his fingers were locked over his neck, like something he didn't want to remember.

"Yuu, do you miss her?"

"Who would miss that idiot that walked away with some weirdo towards a noble vampire?! I don't," Yuu denied.

"I do," Mika said as he sat besides Yuu. "I didn't really know her that long, but she made everything a little brighter, you know?" He could still remember the way you made the kids smile while you were all in the truck. Even when things were that bad, he had just put a smile on his face all the time, but you- it was as if you genuinely smiled. "I see her a lot though, she pops up in my dreams a lot," Mika mumbled as he thought back to all the nights he remembered your face. Somehow the memory of you had been seared into his mind, though he had no idea why, exactly.

"Doesn't matter." Yuu unlocked his fingers and slammed a fist onto the table with each word. "It. Doesn't. Matter. Because. She's. Gone."

"She said she'll see us soon."

"It's been a year, Mika. Livestock don't live a year here." Yuu lifted his eyes, green eyes blazing with emotion. "She's dead, and it's because none of us were strong enough to keep her from leaving with that creep."

"He was like her dad, Yuu." Mika shook his head. "She's not like us. She had a family already." He didn't want to say that word. He said it all the time, but it just didn't feel right here.

"You're always spouting stuff about family! Just you watch, you'll still be talking about family in a few years, and I'll be the one that actually saves everyone from the vampires!" Yuu swore as he got more fired up than ever. "They'll be sorry they ever took all of us!"

Mika smiled as he saw Yuu excited, as usual despite the fact that they were fighting against all the odds in this place. "Oh yea? And how're you going to do that?"

"I-I... I'll do ten thousand push-ups every day! NO! Twenty thousand!"

"Idiot, you know you can't beat a vampire with brute strength. You have to be smart and charming... Like me."

"What did you say to me?!"

And just like that, the two boys carried on bantering, talking so loudly that all the children in the other room could hear and laugh at their silliness. Yet, they all carried a faint hope in their heart that one day, their friend would come back to join in on the fun.

Footnotes:

[1] Their captors ... weren't merciless: I heard that in the anime, the vampires were very rough with the humans, even picking Yuu up by the neck and dangling him over a cliff. To reiterate though, I'm following the manga. They weren't terrible towards their "livestock," mainly because they were dependent on these kids as a blood source. If they started getting aggressive, their dangerously low food source (on account of the Apocalypse and Virus that killed off a lot of people) would diminish even further. They wouldn't just kill off any kid that acted up since that would be bad for them.

ღ✎Authoress's Noteღ✎: All right! The feels on the bus are going round and round! There will be some gory moments in the story of course, I mean this is a vampire fic and it's not exactly fluffy. OwarinoSufferinglikeam-I-rite? Spot the contradiction in the chapter, it's pretty obvious though and extremely important to the plot! That being said, I hope that (Name) doesn't just feel like a raging Mary-Sue, and more will be explained later if you're willing to be patient with me! I really hope you guys enjoyed, please lemme know if you see any typos or anything that I should correct, my editor's not part of these fandoms and I didn't have her do extra work for me, so it's all just self-edited!