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The night will not be kind.

But will it be merciful?

Subaru was left alone in the world riding his motorbike. He indulged in the wind's embrace, feeling the invisible force in front of him trying to slow his movements. But the boy pierced through, indulging himself in speeds he had always wanted to try. What was this ecstasy running through his veins? What was this chilling sensation electrifying through him?

Suddenly Subaru remembered the monsters that nearly killed him while he tried saving some other human girl. It reminded him how he needed to be saved by a total stranger.

The boy curved to the right following the road. He passed under many lamps that trailed after his shadows. Only a few vehicles used the road as the night would slowly reach twilight. In a few more miles he'll soon reach Helter Skelter, and he'll be early compared to most of his prior shifts thanks to his brother's gift. Subaru had no idea where the money came from or if their father even actually let Reiji buy him such a monster vehicle. The thought of it made Subaru grip harder on his bike.

How long has it been since he left the mansion?

Three months?

Four months?

No, the boy felt like it's been longer than that.

A low hum caught Subaru's attention, drawing him to a red convertible that pulled up beside him. The ride was sleek and shiny under the neon lights of Tokyo. Almost as if it was decorating this expensive-looking vehicle. No envy came to Subaru, he preferred the cool bike Reiji had given him, but he did wonder why the driver matched his speed. But he stopped wondering a few moments afterward. There was no mistaking those blond curls that danced with the wind, especially not after seeing the luscious red lips that grinned seductively at him—

It was Yua.

"Fancy seeing you here, Subaru-kun!" The blonde called out to Subaru. "I never thought you had such a hot ride!"

"What are you doing here?" Subaru snapped irritably. He had to deal with Akari and now Yua was here to torment him.

"I'm not stalking you if that's what you're wondering, Subaru-kun. I'm off to a party tonight. I could bring you some time. Make friends, acquaintances." The white-haired vampire spared a glance at the woman, who waited for him to converse with her. It really irritated him how persistent she was.

"I'm not interested in making friends."

"There's nothing wrong with being alone, Subaru-kun. But there's nothing wrong with joining a circle either." Yua flashed a teasing smile at the boy. "Well, give it some thought—"

Yua doesn't finish. 

There were no warnings for either vampire to prepare themselves. Right before Subaru's eyes, he watched the bright red convertible flip like a tossed coin—flipping once, twice thrice—multiple times before crashing a short distance away from him. He didn't need to hear Yua's call for help, Subaru just felt his legs take a life of their own and rush to the female vampire's side as soon as he stopped to her vehicle.

She laid underneath the metal frame, wincing in pain as she tried to crawl out. Blood soaked her sun-kissed hair, rendering it a red hue. Its smell permeated the night breeze, and Subaru wasn't the only one who smelled it—the monsters that appeared did too. And like them, he felt the temptation for her blood. But his iron will refused it, not the monster who slowly approached them.

"What's taking so long, Subaru-kun," chuckled Yua. "Don't tell me you haven't been drinking?"

"Shut the fuck up, or I won't help you."

"It hurts. . Please don't leave me here! Don't let those things kill me, please!" 

Subaru heaved at the convertible. He hardened his fingers as his muscles contracted for strength. He could barely lift the thing, managing a mere two inches. His heart cried out helplessly, but his body barely obeyed his desire to be a hero. "Can you get out now?!" The poor boy wailed as Yua felt her eyes water in pure fear.

She steadied her arms, gathering strength to lift this thing. If her body wasn't distorted unnaturally, the blonde could've lifted the vehicle right there without a problem. Slowly, Yua used her arms to carry the weight regardless of the discomfort. Yes, yes! There was still hope, the blonde was chuckling in confidence (though inwardly disappointed to find out Subaru's tasteless muscle strength). She was going to get out of there, but—

The night indeed is not merciful.

The pale monsters from nights before, the scavenging bloodsuckers, the ones who are responsible for the mangled bodies—are mere beasts who see anything else breathing as prey. As thoughtless as they are, one landed right on top of the lopsided vehicle.

Elbows snapped out of place at the sudden addition of weight, crushing Yua within moments. Immediately Yua screamed, howling her throat til it was coarse, bawling her eyes until she was blind in her tears. Her arms were bloodier than before, now partially white with her elbows sticking out of her already pale skin.

"Get off!" Subaru hollered as he jumped at the monster.

Vampires.

They are higher beings that draw strength and power from the blood from other living beings. As immoral as it might seem, it is what is needed of them. It is not for immortality.

It is for survival.

Only one blow at the white-haired vampire was all it took to send Subaru flying. Though the boy suffered no broken bones, he watched the winged monster get off and pick up the injured Yua from underneath the convertible. It held both her arms and began to pull—and she screamed.

"Subaru Sakamaki." A voice stopped the ringing in the air. "So the rumours are true."

Subaru was on his feet holding his bleeding arm; scrapes were all over his body. His heart riled restlessly inside of him, pounding faster and faster with each second. Even with the pathetic amount of strength he had, Subaru witnessed a black blur turn into a man in garbs of the night. 

The cloak hugged tightly around the man's biceps, and each stride the man took towards the young vampire made slow swishes as if it were heavy. His white shirt stuck out from his burgundy waistcoat, which eerily had eye markings all over. The stench of cigarettes permeated around him like perfume; while the smoke coming from the end swirled around and formed a happy smile. This vampire donned a black cowboy hat that only allowed his electric blue hair to stand out like a sore thumb.

He was smiling—smiling so wide the ends of his lips could reach his ears.

"Who the fuck are you?" The white-haired vampire snapped. Subaru didn't know what to think. Was this man sent by his father? Was he an enemy of his father's? How the fuck are the monsters not attacking this man? Or are they under his command? He wanted to run and rescue Yua who hung limp by her arms. But his weakness won't save anyone.

"I go by many names. Depends on the century, kid," said the man, chuckling. His eyes glowed in the dark, and they were purple in hue. They stared right into Subaru who couldn't help but stay still in his spot. "You can call me Mephisto. Now, Subaru-kun, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm acquainting myself to you on this fine night."

Subaru swallowed down his fear.

"I'll give you some answers, but only after a game, Subaru-kun," said Mephisto. "I love games! I heard kids love games."

"I don't want your games! And I'm not a fucking kid!" Subaru yelled angrily.

"It's not like you have a choice though." The blue-haired vampire pointed at Yua and stuck out his index finger. His middle finger shot up as he began explaining the second reason. "And you look like you don't have the strength either."

"Tch. So what do you want?" His compliance brought out a guffaw from Mephisto's throat, eerie enough to send chills down Subaru's spine.

"I want to see if you're worthy." Mephisto lifted up his arm as his hand delicately gathered the cloak of smoke now gathered around him. 

"Worthy of what?"

Mephisto chuckled.

"That's a secret, for now, Subaru-kun." The smoke came at Subaru and stopped abruptly in front of him and formed into cards, purple in color to match Mephisto's eyes. Like the stranger's shirt, the glowing cards had eyes on them, but one on each set in a vertical position rather than the normal horizontal way. 

Seven cards floated still in front of the boy, what was behind them Subaru didn't know. But he had an inkling of what they were for. Subaru knew he had to choose one. But still, the cluelessness set him into an anxious spiral.

"Each card is one type of game we'll play. If you win, this blonde will live. But if you lose, she'll die. Simple enough?" The man breathed deeply into his cigarette and exhaled like a hungry dragon. He grinned patiently at Subaru who in turn only grew with impatience as he spared Yua a glance.

She was still all bloodied up, quiet and limp. The blue satin dress she wore had deep maroon stains all over, and she didn't have any shoes on (perhaps they were left underneath her destroyed convertible). And whether or not she was healing, Subaru didn't know but he hoped she was. If the strange man was here for him, the blonde got caught in the mess, thus her injuries were his fault. The thought was excruciating to bear.

"What kind of games are you proposing?" Subaru stared hard at the hovering cards. 

"Nothing complicated, Subaru-kun," snickered Mephisto. "All are child games."

No way was Subaru reassured. If there was anything he had learned about his race is that they are filled with deceitful and malicious individuals who are sadistic in nature. The power hungry gluttony inside of them rendered them in this way, and Subaru was no exception of it. Yet perhaps his cold stone heart was must've turned to flesh when his impulse is to help those in need.

His hand reached out first to the one furthest to his left, and slowly his hand moved to the right, and then back again. Of course, he would debate. What kind of danger would lie ahead of him amongst any of these cards? But Subaru finally chose the one second from the middle: technically the fifth card.

Mephisto snapped his fingers and the card flipped for Subaru to see what's on the other side. It was an empty black side, but it suddenly ignited to which immediately got Subaru's arms up. There was no harm brought upon the boy, but the game he had chosen might.

In the form of smoke, the word "TAG" floated up into the cold air while the other cards dispersed into nothing.

An evil bubble of snickers crawled out of Mephisto's lips, and his eyes flared up as he snapped his fingers again, dispersing the card in front of Subaru. And he snapped again and the monsters quickly made way for the boy and his motorcycle, even lifting the convertible out of the way. He had no regard for the horrified passersby; his fixation only on the white-haired vampire in front of him.

"This is gonna be fun!"

"What the fuck is so funny?" Subaru barked.

Mephisto held his distorted face with one eye closed underneath his fingers. His other eye was wide with ecstasy, and he couldn't stop smiling at all. "Tag it is, Subaru-kun, you couldn't have picked a better game! The exception would've been hide and seek, but I see destiny is in my favor!"

"Just let us get this done and over with!"

"Now, now, calm yourself, boy. This isn't just a normal game of tag. I won't be the one chasing you. My minions will. I'll even make it better! Three of them will chase after you as you are the wonderful son of Karlheinz, yes!" Mephisto snickered mercilessly. As though the heavens were a part of him, lightning flashed in the sky and briefly brightened the already neon-lit city.

"What?!" Subaru couldn't believe his ears. Last time those things chased him, he almost died! Not to mention that he is weak for not drinking enough blood! Worse, this man knew who his father was. What could get worse?

"The game will last until twilight, these things can't stand the sun after all." Mephisto completely disregarded the defiant reaction Subaru made. He simply drummed his fingers in glee.

It was obvious the man was having fun and he arched forward, making a slight bow while his arm gestured towards the direction Subaru had to take. The boy in turn, with no choice at all, went over to his new and fancy motorcycle. Though hesitant, he hopped on, revved the gears, then waited for Mephisto's signal.

"You have four hours to not get caught. Once you're caught, then you'll have to chase all three of my minions. Now I'm being unfair. If you're caught, then you'll have to chase my minion taking care of the woman," Mephisto explained, gesturing to the unconscious Yua in one of the monster's arms. "I think it would be better if you don't get caught, but all will be interesting nonetheless, yes?"

"You're a psycho. Once I beat this game, I'll kill you!"

The blue-haired vampire sneered. "You're a stray, Subaru Sakamaki. Lone vampires become easy targets, especially when they can't fend for themselves. You definitely cannot lay a single scratch on me in your current state."

And he was right. Subaru had no way to back up his words.

Not until he became strong. . no, stronger than he was before. The man before him indeed seemed to emit a lot of power. If Subaru assumed correctly, it'll take all his half brothers combined to take him on. But even that seemed like a slim chance. However, since the man knew his connection with that cursed man, perhaps he—

"Since I'm doing your game. . let me ask one question," said Subaru.

This made Mephisto smile. "Hmm, alright, Subaru-kun. As long as it isn't about you being worthy."

"No, I won't ask that stupid question. I wanna know if there's anyone who might help me find a certain vampire."

"A tracker?" Mephisto chuckled at the question. "Such a vampire actually is quite close to you."

Subaru had no idea what Mephisto meant, and he had no time to ask. The vampire realized moments later that the blue-haired vampire was gone and three of the monsters roared and salivated for him. He quickly released the breaks, zooming on his way to save Yua.

* * * * * * * *

Anger slammed against the bar in the form of a shot glass, followed by an irritated grunt and wheeze. Even with the several pints of alcohol that had flowed down his throat, the detective was barely drunk. To take away an officer's chance of glory is a fire that scorched on Detective Jin Izumi's scars. But to be mocked by a woman is salt to open wounds.

The man ruffled the back of his head irritably, and his nails dug into his scalp like that would make him feel better. So did it? No, it didn't.

As it was late in the night, during this cursed hour, only the detective and the owner was left inside the bar. (Mind you, a bar at this hour shouldn't be empty. Perhaps it was because of how ordinary looking it was.) While the detective drank, the owner wiped cups clean despite them clean from lipstick and other possible markings.

For the past hours, Detective Izumi rambled about the black woman with hair as white as snow. This was not the first, and Makoto knew this wasn't going to be the last either. "She was looking at me with a big smirk on her face. She knew I wanted something so bad, but she's more than happy to take that away. The sadist!" Detective Izumi slurred in heat. 

Of course, his friend the bartender could only do so much as to comfort him.

"Jin, maybe you're just too excited. Your girlfriend is worried about you," said Makoto with a loud, exasperated, this-shit-again sigh. "Why do you want to take those cases so badly? Isn't it a good thing they're taking them off your hands? Unless you're assuming they have something to do with it?"

"Tell me again why you switched from detective to bartender?"

The bartender deadpanned at him, obviously exasperated. "You already know why."

"Look, obviously something fishy is going on and I wanna know why. And ISCF? I even forgot what the acronym meant. The cases concerning people's unnaturally mangled bodies for some reason is taken over like it's their jurisdiction, and not even the department head can tell me why."

"It'll get you killed."

"I'll die trying to uncover the truth. And wipe that smug grin off Quinn's face!"

The drinks did not distort the black woman's face off his mind. Not with the way she curled her lips at him, looking down on the man like she could step on his very soul. If the detective could force her off her high horse, he definitely would in a heartbeat.

It would be a lie if he didn't try to investigate the woman. He did, but found nothing to put dirt on her. According to the system, Quinn Bischoffs was an immigrant more than ten years before and began working in a private company as a business consultant. That was before she decided to work with ISCF a few years back, and that's all for her backstory. The woman had no named family or such.

Her record and clean and normal, yet Detective Jin Izumi couldn't help but feel that something is off about her.

"There's a reason why certain things are secret. Government secret? Who knows? But you know what I think?" Makoto paused to see if Jin was interested.

But the man only had disgust on his face.

"You're gonna tell me it's not worth my life," Jin continued for Makoto who only rolled his eyes.

The detective took in a shot, grunting as soon as he felt the liquid warm up his esophagus all the way to his stomach. Without needing to say anything, Makoto refilled his empty cup.

"I just. . I keep having these flashbacks." 

"Your parents' death isn't your fault, Jin," Makoto interrupted. "You keep saying some monsters did it. You do realize they're only myth and you could lose your job talking about fairytale creatures."

Jin didn't know how to answer, knowing very well that arguing with his best friend won't get him anywhere. No one believed his dream, of course, the detective was cynical about it. He didn't want to believe it either. But how can he deny seeing a human with protruding fangs sucking the blood of his parents he called?

The bright, catlike eyes that pierced through him—knowing very well Jin Izumi was watching the entire scene. As much as Jin wanted to run to them in his dreams, he could only stay still and watch—

Blood streamed from their necks like leaking pipes, soaking into their bed clothes that should've stayed clean. The bodies were limp, pale, void of the color of life. The worst part was the look on their deathly faces: eyebrows  were scrunched upwards, knitting their foreheads, while their eyes held only one emotion: horror. Even his parents' mouths hung open trying to gag but words were trapped inside their throats for the rest of eternity.

What else could Jin possibly call this being other than the name—

Vampire?

The detective didn't know it yet, but such are meant to be left in the dark. Yet still, the darkness beckoned for any innocent to come from the line of light. It will beckon the detective as his thoughts enraptured him enough not to notice his call to duty: "Suspicious beings sighted near Ginza. Repeat: suspicious beings sighted near—Wait, wait, what is that! Calling for back up. We request backup, ahhh—!"

He will find truth.

But there will be a price to pay.

~~~

Number of words: 3528

This chapter is dedicated to OffBeatBalladry!! Thank you sm for all the support you've given me, it really means so much I'm not kidding.

Please tell me what you guys think! I love Mephisto, he's gonna be busy! What do you guys think about Yua?

Due to writing urges, I've posted a new Bungou Stray Dogs fic I've been putting off for years uwu Maybe you guys might wanna check it out?

- Rai