• The night was coming, as it always did. Tomi Kurookami locked the door behind him and sat on the cold, stone floor of an unfurnished room. He sat there with no clothes, and just an old blanket to cover him. On the other side of the door there was a light knock.

    “Hey… puppy, you haven’t eaten anything… are you sure you don’t want something to eat before the moon is up?” Louis asked, his soft French voice clearly heard by the boy.

    “I guess…” Tomi said and unlocked the door, for a moment, in which Louis handed him a plate of rare steaks, given to him by one of the maids. The vampire tried to force his way in but the door was shut quickly and firmly locked before he could wedge his foot in.

    “Are you really that worried about hurting someone?” Louis asked, sounding slightly incredulous.

    “I don’t want someone’s blood on my hands,” Tomi said as he devoured the meal he’d been given, “When I change I’m no longer me. I don’t think straight and I’ll attack anything that breathes. That includes you.”

    “Do you really think you could hurt me?” the vampire asked, smirking slightly.

    “Do you really want to test that theory?” Tomi asked, sitting on the cold floor, wrapped up in his blanket again.

    “I suppose not. But this seems a bit extreme, locking yourself away in a dungeon.

    “Coming from someone who sleeps in a coffin in a dungeon every night,” Tomi spat back, “We all have unpleasant things that we have to do. You may have become a bit calloused to it, but drinking blood is unpleasant.”

    “Whatever you say pup….” Louis said, “I… I’ll be here, if you need anything.”

    “You won’t be able to understand me,” Tomi said, “But the gesture is nice so thank you.”

    Night fell and the moon rose high into the air. Tomi could hear it calling to him.A low feral growl came from deep within him and his eyes became as red as blood. He began to pound incessantly on the door. The surprise of it caused the vampire to jump back. He could hear the mournful cried of the wolf, longing to be out. Deep in that voice, he could hear the young Japanese boy crying and his hand was starting to reach for the door.

    No! I… if I open that door I’ll be done for, I know that… I can’t be swayed. Louis thought, But I did promise to stay…

    The night wore on, and all night Louis heard the cries of the wolf. He saw a small trickle of blood seep out from under the door. He had never met a werewolf before, he had never known that their transformation could be so gruesome.

    As the light of the sun peaked over the horizon Louis kicked the door open. Something he could have done before, but had chosen not to. He came in just in time to see the boy’s fur melt off of him. Bruised and bleeding the young werewolf lay on the floor, exhausted from the night’s trials. Louis made his way towards the boy. He knelt beside him.

    “Hey… pup?” the vampire whispered, but he got no reply and Louis began to worry. He relaxed a little when Tomi curled up against him, his hand lightly grasping onto Louis’ silk shirt.

    “I’m thirsty…” he whispered.

    “I’ll get you some water,” Louis whispered.

    “There should be tea boiling in the kitchen…” Tomi said as he tried to stand, pulling his blanket around him. However, he did not have the strength and fell to his knees. Louis picked him up.

    “Take it easy pup,” he said, “Let’s get you to your bedroom.”

    So Louis Delacroix carried the bleeding boy up to his room and cleaned him up. A strange feeling came over him. He touched one of the bleeding wounds and put his finger to his mouth, tasting the blood of the boy. It was a vampire thing, he couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t feed on the boy of course. He found the taste to his liking though, with something strange about it. Tomi looked up at him in confusion.

    “Are you… tasting me??” he asked in slight alarm.

    “Shh… shh… don’t get so excited pup,” he told him, laying him back on the bed, “You’ve had a rough night.”

    Tomi relaxed. His servants brought in some tea and some breakfast. His breakfast was mostly comprised of protein, as were most of his meals.

    “Tomi-sama,” A maid named Kira said softly, “Who is this young man who stayed… ahem…all night…”

    “Pardon me Mademoiselle,” Louis said, bowing gracefully, “My name is Louis Delacroix. I am Tomi’s school friend.”

    The dark-haired girl giggled slightly. Tomi rolled his eyes.

    “You shouldn’t flirt so openly,” the werewolf said once his servants were gone.

    “That wasn’t flirting,” Louis said, “That’s considered polite.”

    He reached over, gently cupping Tomi’s chin and tilting his head up so that their eyes locked. He leaned closer.

    “This is flirting… Mon cherí,” the Frenchman whispered, his breath gently tickling Tomi’s ear. He watched as a dusting of color fell over the younger boy’s face, and he smirked.

    “I’m just kidding,” he said, but wasn’t so sure if he was. The werewolf boy was attractive. Not in the way that Louis was attractive, but he had his own kind of charm. He was innocent and sweet.

    Louis was still very close to the boy’s face and it was making Tomi a bit uncomfortable. He let out a small whimper as if to let Louis know he was still there. Slowly the vampire released the boy, smiling down at him in a charming manner.

    “That wasn’t funny,” Tomi said, his face still tinted pink.

    “I thought it was,” the vampire said, grinning broadly and showing off his fangs.

    Tomi reached for his tea and sipped it slowly.

    “You drink that stuff a lot don’t you?” Louis asked and Tomi nodded his head.

    “I like tea,” he whispered, “And it’s good for me.”

    “I don’t drink tea, but it smells nice and it’s warm,” the vampire said, trying to make polite conversation. To his surprise, Tomi smiled. The vampire stared at the sweet innocent smile on the werewolf’s lips and his own lips curved up in a smile as well.

    “Take care of yourself pup,” he told the boy and reached over, cupping Tomi’s chin again. He leaned down and kissed the boy’s forehead softly. Tomi’s face turned scarlet and two dog-like ears popped up out of his messy blond hair. The vampire laughed and reached up to pet them before he left.