fleeting moonlight

shuutarou kurusu || mars red

soldier boi slash vampire

really hekken unintimidating for how scary he’s supposed to be

“i came here to serve my country and i’m honestly feeling so attacked right now...”

don’t expose to direct sunlight, don’t take for a swim

came from post ww1 japan and suddenly everything is so modern and fancy

he’s Seen Stuff

  ‘Why is he apologizing?’ The thought lingered vaguely before Megumi returned his attention to the phone, then back to his unexpected companion. “Fushiguro,” he offered his name plainly. “Right, that’s why I told you to use your phone.” With his free hand, he scratched absently at the back of his neck. He didn’t like the idea of aimless small talk, so he figured he’d at least make something useful out of the trip. Extending the phone out, he showed the screen to Kurusu. “It works like this.”

With a quick motion, he expanded the map so that both the dot tracking their location and the pin marking their destination showed on screen. “That icon is where we are,” he explained, pointing at the slow-moving dot, then to the other marks as he continued, “and that icon is where we’re going. This line shows us how to get to our destination. That’s it.” He sounded bored.

“You’re gonna need this even after you learn your way around. It’s not really an option…” He almost asked for Kurusu to clarify why he doesn’t know about smartphones but decided against it. He had a feeling he’d rather not know.

at least the boy offering his name confirmed shuutarou’s initial suspection of their shared nationality, although it was very clear that they did not really originate from the same japan however that was possible. at some point the reason might make itself obvious, but for now he didn’t really have any options but to go with the flow and try to understand what was going on. most likely this was a world in his future. thoughts fell briefly on suwa, and for a moment shuutarou’s pity was with the older vampire for having to live through many changes.

the least he could do, however, was to pay attention and try to understand now that this fushiguro kid had actually decided to go out of his way to help him. what was present on the small square the boy showed him did very much look like a map. and it appeared very handy that it could show with a line how they should proceed. how it actually worked he had no idea, but he thought he understood the basics of it so far.

“ Like, noo way, a vampire !? ” a creaking sound is heard & of course , there is someone in there . maybe he was a little too loud for even count dracula . scooby whimpered in fright as he saw him . it just happens that the mystery crew are just on urban exploring one night in an abandoned cemetery , that’s for certain . sure , they met other vampires in the past minus count dracula . he’s an icon but he scared him to a degree .

even for an amateur detective , shaggy could tell something was off .  he just doesn’t like him for instance because well , he’s a vampire ! pointing his flashlight at him & quivering in fear , shaggy adds distastefully . “ Even if you’re not the DRACULA , I still say every vampire is out for our blood . Don’t get me started on the whole NOT all vampires , because I’m sure most of are mean .”

“ Reah, mean.” Scooby crossed his arms at him . He wonders why a vampire would be out here in the open when there’s possibilities of vampire slayers could be lurking about & Scooby hates the smell of blood . Before he could ask , his owner asked for him .

“ Like , what’s a vampire doing here in the middle of nowhere ?? Especially a cemetery in all places ? It’s dangerous here , man . Like, no offense but we take extra precautions not to trust any supernatural beings because most of them ended up being bad .”

{ @code0a· || Shuu . } 

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red eyes momentarily blinded by a merciless ray of light, shuutarou squinted and quickly shielded his face. while a source of light like this didn’t do harm to him in any way, his eyes were adjusted to the darkness, and the sudden disturbance in it was not kind on his enhaced sight. beside that, he was being showered in accusations right after waking up. how did they even know he was a vampire? had they sought him out with this knowledge?

“wait, what are you even talking about? why would i be after your blood when you’re the ones who woke me up?” something wasn’t adding up here, but instead of explaining in proper, the shabby looking man continued throwing accusations at him. shuutarou could have sworn he even heard words coming from his dog.

it was frustrating to him to be on the receiving end of a verbal assault, without any moment to defend himself, and thus instead of immediately refuting anything, in the blink of an eye shuutarou zoomed from his position in the coffin to stand behind the man, hand upon the others to point the light away from him.

“will you just listen for a moment?” he said quite exasperated. “i’m not going to take your blood. i’m not even hungry in the first place, but even if i was, it’s not like i’ll just go ahead and attack people randomly!” after all, if he were to actually dig his fangs into a human being, at best they would die a miserable death of poisoning, and at worst they would turn into a vampire themselves. a serious expression dominated his features for a good moment before he let out a defeated sound and let go of the man’s hand. 

“Ohhh, so Japan does exist in your world.” It was a pretty good hunch, but verification never hurt.

“I’m sorry about Tokyo. It must be always getting invaded or destroyed every other week.”

“If it’s that kind of place, Spirale probably feels like Heaven! But it actually really sucks!”

No princes to save her at her castle—not even a castle to call her own—too many handsome boys and not enough affection from any of them, having to actually work for her happy endings…sigh.

Seeing him so impressed by a tree only cements Mary Sue’s opinions. They said people had to suffer before they started appreciating life, but she cherished her paradise just fine without the field trip to purgatory. And pretty as it was, the Eternal Tree was just a big ol’ plant in the ground! Was it really that impressive?

“They say it’s happy if it keeps all its leaves.” The dense foliage casts a shadow even on the street they walk. “So, are you happy right now?”

of course tokyo existed. why wouldn’t it? unless... unless of course some event had happened throughout his missig years wiping the city off the face of the earth. no, no! that couldn’t be the case! a thought like that was way too far fetched. a nervous laughter was all he offered in return for a while before gathering his words.

“to be completely honest with you, i do not know how things have been back home for a while. it appears i am, uhm... missing memories for a couple of years.” not exactly the best excuse, but perhaps it would suffice.

beside, he probably shouldn’t continue being that rude and indifferent towards nadeshiko when she was kind enough to show him around under the guise of him taking her out. to even show him something impressive like this.

He just doesn’t GET it…he has to get hip soon, VERY soon, or he’ll slip right through the cracks of coolness and into the void.

“You can just call me Badou. That’s my name.”

“i understand, badou...san...?” surely he would not get upset about that level of politeness... right?

Eiden actually falls silent for a bit there. To mind cames certain men back from Klein as well as some from here. He’d been a little insensitive.

“ Ah, I don’t know if it makes you feel better but   I think you’ll find that there’s  plenty of people that are in the same boat with you on that. “

Really Eiden’s had pretty good luck if he thinks about it. Not too many of the fairly dangerous people he’s met seem to have had much interest in killing him…

“ …not that often. But I mean like …what am I supposed to base avoiding people on? I mean I guess stuff like getting you pulled into illusions is kind of a red flag but we got that sorted out so it turned out fine? “

somehow he felt the air tensing a bit with awkwardess. most likely a result of him blabbering about his negative thoughts in such a way. as expected he shouldn’t trouble others with his worries.

“i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to make you feel bad...”

“likewise, i apologise for meddling in your business in such a way. i think you should take care of yourself, but you are also an adult from the looks of it who can take responsibility of his own decisions.”

bowing his head in apology shuutarou stuck forth a hand.

something was wrong -- he wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but a sickeningly sweet smell was sticking to everything when he woke up one evening. enough to intrude upon his nostrils even in their weakened state to disturb his well being.

and then there were the flowers. perhaps not a strange sight in and of itself, had it not been for the season.

“what on earth is going on...” he muttered to himself, thumb and index finger pressing tight on his nose to shield from the scent. red eyes cast upon the surroundings to lay upon a familiar figure. it wasn’t long until the vampire had closed the distance between them, waving him down.

“ Yeah! That’s kind of awesome on it’s own – there’ll be quite a few stuff for you to get used to! I’m happy to help of course! “ 

He’d seen his fair share of people struggling with modern things after all. 

“ Oh are you threatening me? “ Eiden asks all excitedly, knowing of course he isn’t. 

“ I’m not saying you can’t be strong dude. But you’ve been nothing but nice to me so why should I have to be so careful? Plus like … you’d probably catch me up easy even if I tried to run right? “

“i don’t really know how ‘awesome’ it is... i feel like i’m in my twenties, i look like i’m in my twenties, but my knowledge feels like i’m an old man who can’t keep up with time. i feel like so much has happened in 100 years.”

well, so much for making the guy see the fault in his ways. beside he could not refute. he wasn’t one to use his powers to scare people just for the sake of doing that (except for that one time he had disappeared in front of those children to make them believe there were ghosts, but that was a special case.)

  This guy was for real. Megumi’s arm fell limply to his side, the irritation written on his face tapering to an unreadably deadpan expression as he disengaged from the situation. Although he still couldn’t discern the exact cause for the inconsistency of information between them, he gathered that insisting on pushing the topic would only give him a headache. “Alright, then.”

“Forget about it. Just follow me. I’m heading to the same place you’re looking for, anyway.” Never mind being furtive about his interest in the market. It didn’t matter anymore. Raising his phone, he returned his attention to the screen and resumed following the navigational line. Although he did not glance up to check if the man decided to follow, he listened for the sounds of footfalls trailing behind him. ‘What a weird guy,’ he thought with a huff. 

whatever he had said, it was very clear to him that the other had already given up on trying to find a common ground between them. shuutarou could easily imagine it was because his guesswork had been so horribly wrong that the easier choice was simply to not prolong the misery. he did however feel slightly bad at how obviously annoyed the boy was with him, but he genuinely did not know why.

“thank you, and... i’m sorry.” although an apology probably wasn’t warranted, he couldn’t help but feel like giving one. for a moment he did wonder why the guy couldn’t just have led the way from the get-go, but perhaps it was an excuse to make it seem like he wasn’t going out of his way to help. hastening his pace to close the slight gap between them, shuutarou tagged along, awkwardly wondering if he should say anything or keep quiet. conversation couldn’t hurt... right?

“I think the word you’re looking for is ‘kidnapped,’ Kurusu-san!”

“I sure didn’t plan to visit on my own! And it’s a lot nicer back home where I can get whatever I want. But I guess that depends on where you came from, huh.”

Truthfully speaking, she wasn’t exactly sure where the Eternal Tree was either, but it’d be hard to miss if it was the only gigantic one growing in Cotes. Worse came to worse, they’d ask for directions. Anyways, it was more interesting to study his partner and his straight, disciplined gait. That definitely wasn’t a school uniform he was wearing.

“Um…I’m curious, but was your world, perhaps, at war?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she thinks she spies a peek of foliage towering over some roofs and starts leading them down a side street.

with a single word she managed to have him question his entire understanding of this place and the circumstances upon which they found themselves here. but surely that couldn’t be the case, right? after all, if people kept being abducted, sooner or later someone was going to react and kick up a fuss.

“... you really have such a strange way of speaking...” he offered in response, still uncertain of whether it was an attempt at a joke or not. if it was, she really was driving it all the way to the end by asking about his origins through the word world.

“you may say that... i mean we weren’t actively at war, but everyone knew it wasn’t peaceful either. and then came the earthquake, so between tokyo being left in ruins and the general unease, i wouldn’t exactly call circumstances good.” of course there was the whole situation with the government secretly in the middle of being overthrown and the whole issues with mindless vampires roaming around, but if he knew the people in charge well enough they would have done everything in their power to not pass such a thing down in the history books.

“in comparison, i could not possibly imagine this place being described as a bad place to be...”

Sir….Badou feels like there’s like, someone dancing on his grave, or spitting on it or something.

“Dude, don’t call me sir, c’mon. Don’t be weird,” he snarks, a grimace on his face. “Just, yeah, the right eyepatch. He could be around, could show up some day. There’s hope.”

yet again he seemingly managed to offend without meaning to. how was calling someone with respect being weird? if the guy had been a child still, then maybe, but they obviously weren’t far apart in physical age...

“ Nope.. Sorry but ah… “

“ I am originally from there though! “ 

Though it seems like this guy’s from older time… He was kind of earnest though, sweetly so. Warning him about the dangers of evil sexy men… Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong to do so of course. After all if this evil guy was suave enough he’d probably fall into whatever trap was laid there pretty easily. 

“ Ah I know I know… It’s a bit of a weakness mine to be entirely honest”, he laughs, “ don’t worry though, I’ve got pretty sharp senses! There’s no harm being careful but staying alert 24/7 doesn’t work either! And no offense but you seem totally harmless anyhow. “

while it wasn’t the information he was hoping for, the other stating his origin to be alike his own gave shuutarou a different sense of comfort.

“oh really?” he sought confirmation with a newfound amount of excitement. “i wouldn’t have guessed from your manner of dress! then again it does seem like i missed quite a bit of time...” a slightly sheepish laughter escaped him as he for the first time even suggested that he originated from a time well in the past.

Shuutarou’s validation sparks something in him. Pride, fear, happiness, punishment. A weird mixture of feeling, but Sun smiles. His smile bright. It DID feel good to be told that he was doing a great job. So much better than having names thrown his way and trash littered on him like he was just that. Trash. To have his head pat, to be praised, and given treats for doing a JOB well done was TEN times better. 

“That’s right! I bet you patch a lot of people up. People like me who gets in fights or aren’t very careful. You’re really good at patching.” Like a doctor.

People who worried about him? He did have those people. He, honestly, was surprised to know how many people here worried about him. Sun’s tail thumps against the ground. 

“….” Death wasn’t permanent, here. 

“Do you think if my friends knew I fought, they would be worried?” Hm, he hadn’t really thought into it like that. “Do you have people who worry about you when you get into fights? Have you…lost someone?” Is that why he carried such expression? 

receiving such underserved praise, shuutarou’s expression fell sullen. the guy’s tone of voice carried no mockery, but yet his words cut way deeper than intended as they did not ring true. “no, i...” he began wearily, glance falling downwards. “i’m not actually someone so admirable.” he’d caused more pain and destruction than he had done good after all.

“the thing is... the more people you meet, the more people you have that might worry about you. i can’t imagine your friends not being worried. after all, when someone you like and care for get hurt, it hurts you too.” whether the explanation was too complicated he wasn’t sure, but if he could make the other reconsider just a part of the fights he seemed to be indulging in, that was enough. “some fights are necessary, but i think it’s more praiseworthy when you know when to fight, and when not to.”