#vampire!cater

It was honestly a blessing that Cater had been sent to track down the wayward three who hadn’t shown up for the tea party.

He’d appeared on the scene with a horrified expression and a shout for Ace and Deuce to get out of my way before yelling at me to finish it. 

We’d all been startled, but I’d only hesitated briefly before I fired at the vampire that had already injured both Ace and Deuce in the fight.

The stake had pierced the vampire’s chest, and he had dissolved into ashes almost immediately. The only sign that anything had been amiss at all was the utter catastrophe that was the hallways and the steadily growing bruises on me and my friends.

Vases had been smashed, pictures knocked off the walls, and now a pile of ash in the middle of the already dirtied floor.

I couldn’t quite bring myself to look at Ace and Deuce as I stared at the ashes, and it was Cater who spoke first. His voice strained with shock, “Are all of you alright? You didn’t get bitten, did you, Y/n?”

I slowly shook my head, lifting my gaze to look at the orange-haired young man who stared at me with a tightly worried expression.

“It wasn’t their fault, Cater. That guy attacked them first and-”

“I know that, Deuce,” Cater interrupted Deuce before shaking his head slightly, and I felt genuinely bad for him. Not only had he just given the order for me to kill that vampire, but he now was having to deal with the fallout and damage control too.

Worse still was the fact it was Cater having to do this. He was a mature young man, more so than I’d initially realized as I now saw, but he had also always seemed like an innately carefree individual.

I swallowed thickly before speaking. Forcing myself not to shift uncomfortably as I put on a brave face for both myself and everyone else here, “Where’s Riddle? I’ll need to tell him what happened here.”

All three of them looked at me in surprise. Possibly because I was willing to report that I’d just killed a member of the Heatslabyul clan to the infamously strict clan head or possibly because I was willing to deliver the blow that one of his clan’s members had been insane.

Either way, Cater shook his head after a brief moment, “He’s in his office…. I think all three of you had better go, though. I’ll handle cleaning up the hallway, so…”

He trailed off, and I nodded. Forcing myself to move from where I’d been standing before finally chancing a glance over at Ace and Deuce.

Both of them looked my way nervously at the same moment I looked at them, wondering exactly how they’d react to everything that had just happened.

Ace was the first one to straighten, nodding his head at me as Deuce followed suit, “Come on, Y/n. Let’s get this over with.”

I nodded my agreement and followed them, pausing briefly next to Cater to glance at him worriedly, only for him to meet my gaze. 

And for the briefest moments he simply looked tired, but then he noticed me and, like a cloud disappearing from the sky, his face brightened and he gave a little wave as he smiled at me, “Don’t worry, Cay-cay’s got this handled! You go on and meet up with Riddle.”

I nodded distantly, frowning slightly but hurrying on after Ace and Deuce, who’d both paused to look back in confusion. I shook my head at their questioning gazes, not entirely sure what to make of what I saw anyway and finding that it had only made me worry for Cater more, though I was fairly certain he’d meant to reassure me.

The three of us walked along in silence, and I highly suspected that each of us was thinking about our entire experience with the insane vampire back then.

Ace was the first to break the silence, slipping over alongside me and nudging me with his elbow so that I glanced over at him right as he started speaking, “So how much trouble do you think we’re in?”

I had to admit that wasn’t what I’d expected him to say, and I almost sighed in relief before I shook my head slightly, “Hopefully none. After all, we did get attacked by an insane vampire. Most of what happened back there was self-defense, so….”

I trailed off, shrugging slightly before glancing over at Deuce on my other side who nodded with an oddly determined-looking gaze, “Yeah, we were defending ourselves. And I’m sure Cater will back us up too since he saw what was happening.”

I smiled slightly at his words before looking back forward. To be honest, I was less concerned about being in trouble for dispatching an insane vampire and more worried about what this meant for the evaluation.

At the very least, neither Ace nor Deuce seemed to think of me any differently, which was surprising, to say the least. But then they’d know what my job was this entire time.

But who knew how this would go over with Riddle.

It was true that the vampire was insane, that it had attacked us first, and that I’d been doing the job Crowley had given me. But it was also true that the vampire had been a member of Riddle’s clan.

I swallowed thickly as my feet carried me to the door that I knew led to where Riddle was far too quickly.

But I was going to have to face this at some point anyway, so I might as well do it now.

Ace opened the doors without any hesitation, and I walked in behind him, with Deuce beside me.

Trey turned to look at us, sighing slightly as he looked our way worriedly. But Riddle hardly even twisted in his seat, though he did raise his head as the three of us walked in and waited for him to look at us.

“You missed the tea party,” His tone was calm, but even I could tell it was carefully controlled and that there was an undercurrent there. And this was before he even knew about the insane vampire.

I stepped forward, opening my mouth to speak only for Ace to start before I could even make a sound, “There was an insane vampire. It attacked us while we were on our way here.”

I blinked in surprise at how calm he sounded, almost like he was just casually giving an excuse rather than delivering some news that was bound to be startling for both Trey and Riddle.

I watched as Riddle tensed in his seat, his small body going rigid as Trey’s eyes widened as he faltered, distress coloring his voice, “Are you three all right!?” 

I smiled at Trey’s worry as his gaze darted between the three of us, obviously scanning us for any injury.

“We’re fine. Cater showed up and found us and… I killed the vampire,” I reassured Trey and explained at the same, only faltering once as I spoke. But it was odd. I hadn’t ever had to report killing a vampire to a clan leader before.

In the past, the clan leader had always been with me or the insane vampires hadn’t been part of a clan at all.

I watched as Trey swallowed thickly at my words, but most of my attention rested on Riddle who still hadn’t moved. I didn’t know if he was shocked or just collecting himself and deciding how to respond.

“Clan leader…. It wasn’t their fault. The vampire attacked Y/n and Ace out of nowhere and they acted in self-defense…. Y/n didn’t do anything drastic until Cater gave them the order,” Deuce explained hesitantly, his worried eyes staring pointedly at the back of Riddle’s head as we all waited.

Even Trey turned to look towards the clan leader as the silence continued to stretch, and I swallowed. My mouth seeming to grow steadily drier the more seconds ticked by.

And then at long last he turned, and I blinked in surprise at the expression on his pale, youthful face.

He was smiling.

It wasn’t a massive grin by any means, but it was a small curve to his lips that was obviously meant to reassure us as he looked our way with that pleasant smile on his face.

“You did well then. I’m sure it wasn’t easy,” His voice was light, and I nodded slowly, if confusedly. Completely caught off guard by his surprisingly relaxed reaction.

It was practically the exact opposite of everything I’d expected, and at first I thought I’d overreacted until I glanced around and saw I wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Trey, Ace, and Deuce all looked just as startled as I did, with Trey and Deuce looking relieved while Ace looked downright shocked.

“Still, I do wonder how you were caught off-guard….” I felt myself go still at the soft, almost amused words that slipped from Riddle’s mouth right as I looked back his way.

And while there was still a smile on his face, there was now something almost condescending about it as he tilted his chin like he was trying to look down on me.

And in some cold way, his words made sense. How was I, a vampire hunter, caught off-guard by an insane vampire, the very thing I was supposed to be hunting?

“Riddle-”

Riddle held up a hand, effectively cutting Trey off with just a simple motion as he stood and now walked towards me, tilting his head slightly, “I suppose there is only so much you can do, but I really would have thought you’d be more prepared since you are the head-vampire’s personal hunter whose in charge of evaluating all of the clans.”

I felt myself straighten slightly, a frown slipping onto my face as I tried to place exactly what Riddle was trying to achieve. For one thing, his statement was poorly phrased. It made it sound like he’d known all along there was an insane vampire here and had let them be to test me. And if that were the case, then he was definitely number one on the suspect list for causing the influx of insane vampires.

But I wasn’t about to jump to conclusions quite that easily. Not when I’d been goaded into arguing with clan leaders in the past. 

Both Leona and Idia had already done that, but it hadn’t really been surprising when either of them had done so. In fact, it had been something that obviously fit their personality and had a clear purpose that ranged from gauging my personality to pushing me away in defense.

But Riddle didn’t have that clear aim. Unlike them, he hadn’t really seemed to be against me evaluating the Heartslabyul clan. Maybe slightly annoyed by the prospect, but not particularly against it either.

“Hey! It wasn’t like you knew there was a crazy guy here either. And I hadn’t ever even seen that guy before! For we know he could’ve snuck in here or something,” I blinked in surprise as Ace suddenly appeared right next to me. Pushing his way forward and glowering down at his clan’s leader as he snapped at the shorter man.

But then Deuce spoke up from my other side, nodding slightly with a frown on his face even as he spoke up with a vehemence all his own, “Yeah, he came out of nowhere, clan leader! There was no way to predict that.”

I watched, with a creeping sensation that something was about to go horribly wrong, as the smile disappeared from Riddle’s face and a deep frown appeared.

He scowled at both of the young men before his gaze met mine once more, and I found myself speaking in an oddly calming tone as I recalled what Rook had taught me about insane vampires and what I’d learned on my own, “It can be hard to predict when a vampire is going to go insane. In fact, from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty much impossible to tell up until they have begun to lose their mind….”

“And yet it is still your job to handle these situations, but you didn’t fire until Cater told you too?” His words were all but flung at me, and I blinked in surprise before feeling myself frown. 

He wasn’t entirely wrong, of course. But….

“I didn’t want to do anything until I was sure. I would rather not hurt anyone who is innocent if at all possible,” My tone wavered slightly, but I managed to keep my voice level even as annoyance crept into my words.

“Hey-”

Trey’s interjection went wholly ignored as Riddle stepped closer, practically shoving his way past Ace as he crowded me, “Even after the vampire attacked you?! Heartslabyul has rules against the attacking of mortals.”

I fought the urge to snap back at him, my hand clenching into a fist at my side, but my voice was beyond infuriated as I responded, “And do you enforce that rule with a death sentence?”

I watched as the young man’s left eye twitched at my words, and Trey let out a halfway nervous chuckle before stepping forward with his hands raised. Almost like he was trying to calm two wild animals, “Look, what happened, happened. For now we should probably-”

“Well, at least now I know why the evaluations have been taking so long,” Riddle stepped back, a smile creeping back onto his face as his gaze stayed on me, and I felt my eyes widen slightly.

Trey frowned, his tone changing as he shook his head slightly in an almost warning fashion, “Riddle….”

Apparently heedless of the other man’s words, Riddle continued, smiling at me as if he’d just won some sort of argument, “It is a shame, though. If you were just a bit faster, then perhaps Ace and Deuce here plus a myriad of other new vampires never would have been turned, and this whole matter could have been resolved much sooner… I would’ve expected better from a hunter who works for the head-vampire himself.”

I opened my mouth, a comeback ready that died on my tongue almost immediately as the exact meaning of his words registered and all my fight withered and died. Because while I’d been evaluating clans and befriending vampires, people had been getting attacked and getting turned. 

It was something I’d known already, but now that it had been thrown back in my face by someone other than myself, I could feel a cold sensation sweeping over me.

Because the longer it took me to come to a conclusion with the evaluations, the more people would get killed or turned.

Just like Rook and Epel.

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Previous

“Are you seriously second-guessing yourself right now?” Ace was beyond exasperated as he walked along with me. Guiding me through the house to the backyard where everyone else was apparently waiting for the duel that was fixing to take place.

I smiled awkwardly, lifting my shoulders in a nervous shrug before nodding, “Well, yeah… The more I think about it, the more I wonder if it really even makes sense to suspect Riddle.”

Ace blinked at me blankly before letting out a groan as he pressed a hand to his face, “Why doesn’t it?? He got defensive, like you said, and that’s the best you have to go on. Besides, he deserves a beating after last night!”

Ace finished pulling his hand down his face before looking over my way, frowning deeply at me suspiciously, “You are at least still going to ask him what he knows about the insane vampires if you win, right?”

I nodded hurriedly, “Yes! Of course I am…. I just wonder if I’m being too heavy-handed about all of this.” I paused, shaking my head slightly and frowning, “I mean... I didn’t really ask him about all of it one-on-one, and the more I think about it, the more I think that there’s more I could have done.”

“Yeah, but you’re here now, and what's done is done. If you keep beating around the bush like this, you’re never gonna win this duel, and then who knows what the teapot tyrant will ask of you.” 

Ace’s words were blunt, but I had to agree with him nonetheless.

There was no going back now. It wasn’t like I could back out and expect Riddle to ever respect me enough to trust me to do my job. Not when he already had obvious misgivings that he’d brought up in perhaps the most brutal way possible last night.

But even with that knowledge, I regretted reacting the way I had the other day. It had been emotional of me, and I could make all the excuses in the world about being overworked, stressed, or other things like that, but it didn’t fix it.

Though a small, perhaps horrible, part of me did still whisper that I should’ve done far more than I had.

I inhaled as I realized we were approaching the doors that would lead to the backyard where I was going to be having my duel.

Ace paused, though, pulling me to a stop and looking at me closely, “Are you ready?”

I blinked, halfway surprised by how solemn he sounded, before I nodded. Understanding setting in as I gazed back at him. Because no matter what the rest of the situation may be, I was still a human going up against a vampire in a duel. 

Admittedly, I was a vampire hunter, but that only helped the situation so much. I was more used to fighting without holding back, but that wouldn’t be the case here since in no way was I trying to hurt Riddle. Even if he had pushed way too far last night.

Ace nodded in return before walking over and opening the door before sauntering out as if nothing were amiss. The people outside waiting had no way of knowing what he and I had been talking about, and he certainly gave nothing away as we stepped outside to see what was probably the entirety of the Heartslabyul clan.

Riddle clicked a pocket watch shut, a smile on his face as he looked up at where I stood, “Perfectly on time. I’m impressed, Hunter. But are you prepared?”

There was something beyond smug about the way he looked at me, and it sent a flicker of annoyance through me. But I wasn’t actually annoyed by the way he insistently implied that I wasn’t nearly as good a vampire hunter as lots of people suspected. After all, I personally agreed with him on that front.

Instead, I was annoyed by the way he seemed to look down on me in every single way possible. Not just about me being a vampire hunter.

It was like he thought I couldn’t do anything right. Not even get here on time.

I just pasted on a smile, though, as I walked out into the clearing. Feeling my smile spread a little and shift to something more genuine as I noticed Deuce waving at me from where Ace was joining him on the sidelines.

“I’m ready, yes,” As I spoke, I pulled one of the false stakes out of my bag as if to emphasize my words.

Riddle hummed, his eyebrows lifting slightly as he tugged his oversized cape from his shoulders, “The rules are simple then. We’ll fight until someone surrenders, has been obviously beaten, or is knocked out of the ring.”

As he spoke, he gestured to the ring of rose bushes and vampires around us. And honestly put, I was almost amused by the fact he had such clearly laid out rules, even though it made perfect sense for there to be rules to our duel.

I nodded, though, carefully slipping my cross necklace off and tucking it into my bag, “Sounds fair.”

Riddle snorted lightly as he watched me, “No need to worry. You can keep your lover’s little charm on if you want.”

So he knew about the necklace being from Vil did… He really had done his research to an almost weird degree that I was slightly tempted to call him out on.

I merely shook my head at his gloating words, though, reigning my own petty urges in. “No, that wouldn’t be fair.” I paused as I turned and tossed my now-zipped bag over to Deuce, who caught it before nodding at me.

I turned back to face Riddle as I shifted my grip on my faux-stake that I’d made precisely for tonight, “Ready when you are, Clan leader.”

Riddle’s lips twitched, his smile still smug, but also genuine, as he watched me for a moment before he looked over at Trey and nodded.

The green-haired vampire nodded with a sigh but straightened, calling out over the pristine yard, “Alright, you all heard the rules. The duel will start in 3….”

I shifted, widening my stance slightly as I kept my eyes on Riddle, who only watched me from his relaxed position with a smile on his face.

“2….”

To be honest, I had no idea if I would win this duel, but I would give it my best. At the very least, I wanted Riddle to know that he could rely on me to do my job. That was the only way I had even a prayer of this evaluation working out.

“1!”

Riddle dashed forward, all but blurring as he approached me, and I felt my eyes widen before I threw myself to the side.

It was easy to underestimate vampire opponents when you couldn’t base anything on their size. All vampires were inhumanely strong and fast, but that didn’t mean they were impossible to beat in hand-to-hand combat.

All I really had to do was either get him out of the ring or get him in a position where it was obvious that I’d won.

All in all, not a terribly difficult task even though I knew it would be far harder than it sounded. Not impossible, though.

I heard snickers and quiet “Oohs” from the assembled group, and I almost shook my head as I rolled back onto my feet while simultaneously spinning to look at where Riddle had come to an easy stop.

He turned to look back at me, a smile on his face as he looked over his shoulder in an almost coy fashion, “Well, you certainly can dodge, Hunter.”

I almost rolled my arms at the cheap shot but spread my hands, managing to smile back at my opponent, “Hey, that’s the name of the game when you're fighting to win, but have to keep yourself from getting caught.”

He turned to look fully at me, snorting in amusement at my words. But even if he’d meant his statement as a taunt, my answer was true.

Rook had told me when he’d been training me that dodging was one of the most important skills a vampire hunter could have, because every fight could easily end in being turned or death if you were just a little bit too slow.

I inhaled, though, knowing perfectly well that I couldn’t just spend this entire fight dodging. Not with how smooth Riddle’s stop had obviously been.

I could already tell that there was no way that Riddle was going to dive out of the ring on his own by misaiming or being overeager unless something snapped through his calm facade.

I was going to have to get close enough to faux-stake him or upset him to the point he got sloppy.

And luckily enough, I had a pretty strong impression from just the other day that Riddle had quite the spitfire temper on him.

“I suppose you do have a lot of experience running from vampires, don’t you? The only one that’s ever caught you is Vil, after all.” I felt myself stiffen slightly at Riddle’s words. Pointed and accurate in his initial statement, but with a little too much mocking in the secondary.

I felt my grip on my stake tighten, “Vil didn’t catch me. We’re friends.”

My voice somehow stayed level even though I knew exactly what Riddle was implying without him having to spell it out.

But spell it out he did as he walked towards me, confident in his ability to evade even if I should launch an attack.

“Friends… Yes, I think we all know what your relationship with Vil is. I suppose you’ve been using that relationship, along with your position as the head-vampire’s personal hunter, to get through your ‘evaluations’ up until now.”

Apparently this was going to be an insult-slinging, verbal duel more so than just a fight to prove that I could do my job.

I straightened, forcing myself to relax as Riddle strolled around without attacking, my motions causing him to snort at me slightly before I spoke.

“I’m surprised. I wouldn’t have thought the clan leader of Heartslabyul wouldn’t throw around baseless accusations that not only degrade the head-vampire of this district but also the other clans.”

I paused as he came to a slow stop, turning to face me with a slight frown as I smiled at him, shrugging slightly in an unbothered fashion. Because if I’d learned anything from Vil, it was how to act and present myself a certain way.

“The other clans would never be swayed by a simple title or the fact I’ve known Vil for a long time. They’re far too clever to base their opinions solely on some little rumors, after all. Of course I’m sure the same can be said for you too…”

I trailed off, my meaning obvious, and I could quite literally see Cater cringe from where he stood behind Riddle and opposite me in the ring of onlookers.

I watched as Riddle trembled slightly, his irritation obvious. But two could play at his game of insults and implications.

His face reddened, but I knew it wasn’t embarrassment, and I barely even had time to brace before he’d dove at me with something more akin to a shriek than a battle cry.

I whirled out of the way, stumbling slightly as I caught myself with one hand on the ground before turning only to see him already spinning. His heels digging into the grassy ground and kicking up dirt as he dove at me once more. This time catching me slightly off balance and slamming into me.

His small hands gripped my arms too tightly, and I grimaced as I forced my arms between us. Already realizing that I was definitely going to have even more bruises than the ones I’d gotten from my fight with the insane vampire last night after this duel was done.

Riddle’s fangs were bared as I struggled against him. Shifting my legs to brace myself on the ground just like Rook had taught me all that long time ago.

“Yield.” His voice was hissed, and I could hear a chant starting up as the Heartslabyul clan started counting down. Once they reached one, I would lose and be deemed unable to win on the grounds that I couldn’t wrestle Riddle off of me.

I met Riddle’s grey eyes, and somehow, in that instant, as I started to press down with my left foot to flip him, I realized something. Riddle relied on control. He had to have some sort of control, or he would snap.

That was what happened both times I’d seen him lose his cool. In some way, small or otherwise, he’d lost control over the conversation, and it had been too much for him.

The world seemed to blur as I threw all my weight into flipping him, and I was lucky that I caught him by surprise, because otherwise it never would have worked. But in the span of mere seconds I’d flipped Riddle onto his back so that I was sitting on him with my faux-stake pressed to his chest exactly where his heart would be if he were still alive.

He stared up at me, wide-eyed in surprise as everyone fell silent. The quiet around us mirroring his shock as I looked down at him, catching my breath before I spoke in a soft enough voice that none of the others could hear me, even accounting for their superior hearing.

“I don’t blame you for believing the rumors. Sometimes that’s all we have to go on, and that’s where I’ve been with this evaluation. And, by now, I should know far better than that.” I explained softly, and he blinked, almost as if coming to.

And before I could even come close to finishing, he spoke. His voice coming out soft before he stopped himself with a slight frown, “You….”

I froze as he swallowed, almost like he was bracing himself before he tried again. His voice ringing loudly and clearly across the entire space this time, “You win.”

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Previous

The door opened as soon as we stepped onto the dark colored porch, and I felt myself automatically bracing myself for whatever might greet me. It seemed like each of the clans had their oddities, and, just based on what Sam had said, I was halfway expecting someone akin to a butler.

But instead I was greeted by the sight of a young man with carroty-orange hair and green eyes. More notable, though, was the red diamond painted on his cheek under his right eye.

“Sam! Hey! Long time no see,” He immediately perked up at the sight of the man next to me, who chuckled slightly. Holding up his hand in jaunty wave before he gestured to me.

“Cater, this is Y/n,” His tone was relaxed as he introduced me in lieu of any greeting, and I found myself smiling awkwardly at the young man in front of us.

Somehow, whenever Sam introduced me to a new clan, it felt like I was a child being introduced to a coworker of one of my parents. Which was ridiculous, since Sam was hardly a parental figure to me.

Cater looked my way, his eyes widening slightly before he smiled, “You’re the vampire hunter! I remember you from the ball. Mind if I take a pic with you?”

I blinked slightly at his words before noting the smart phone he held in his hand and nodding uncertainly. And, as quickly as that, he was at my side and holding up his phone with a cheerful, “Say cheese!”

I barely managed a smile before the phone flashed and he was back in front of me, pocketing his phone as he continued in a cheerful tone, “Pleased to meet you! I’m Cater, but you can just call me Cay-cay. And since you got here in time, I get to let you both in!”

I nodded slowly, startled by how friendly the young man was, before I glanced over at Sam, who only smiled at me amusedly before following the orange-haired man into the manor.

“You both must be here to talk to Riddle, hmm?” I nodded as I entered the building, immediately blinking at the topsy-turvy decor.

The floor was like a chessboard, and the walls were a blessedly muted red, but everything else was perfectly strange. Almost like I’d stepped directly into the book of Alice in Wonderland.

“Yes, the head-vampire sent me to evaluate the clan,” I answered distantly, not entirely sure where to look next before I at last settled on looking back over at the young man who now led us through the hallway that seemed to be veritably packed with vampires who bustled about, muttering to themselves and laughing loudly with one another.

Well, they were until they trailed off to stare at me with open curiosity, slightly glazed eyes, or that tell-tale look of hunger.

“Riddle’s been expecting you for quite some time now. He’ll be thrilled to hear you’ve finally come,” Cater smiled back at me, seemingly unaware of the stares we garnered, though I noted the way his gaze stayed on me a little bit too long, just like so many vampires’ did.

Sam slid into the conversation smoothly, giving me time to gain my bearings in the midst of all the weirdly chaotic decor that tried to drag my attention in multiple different directions.

“We’re sorry to have kept him waiting, but Y/n here has been going in the order of clans selected by the head-vampire.”

Cater nodded good-naturedly, his gaze at last being dragged away from me and over to Sam, “Of course, they do work for him after all. I’m sure Riddle will understand.”

He paused, turning and smiling widely before he started waving with one arm, “Hey Trey! Guess who the guests are!”

I fought the urge to lean around him to better look at who he was talking to as I heard a slight chuckle, “Well, I can see Sam, but is there someone else?”

I blinked as another, slightly taller young man came into view. This one had dark green hair and what looked like a black clover painted on his cheek under his left eye. He was also carrying a tray of cupcakes, of all things.

I frowned slightly at the desserts, pondering why on earth a vampire clan would have cupcakes when vampires themselves didn’t get any nutritional value from eating cupcakes or any other normal food before I reminded myself that this wouldn’t be the first time I’d run into a mortal in a vampire clan.

I smiled slightly at the young man, watching as his honey-colored eyes widened and he inhaled a little too sharply. And just like that, my theory that he might be human came crashing down as he swallowed slightly and stared at me with that obvious fascination paired with the dilating pupils of a vampire who was reacting to me for the first time.

But then he blinked, and his expression was schooled back into a pleasant smile as Cater explained in an easy tone, “This is Y/n, the vampire hunter. They’ve finally come to evaluate the clan.”

Trey cleared his throat slightly, a hint of awkwardness seeping into his voice as he fixed his glasses, his fangs flashing ever-so-slightly as he spoke, “Ah, yes. I remember you from the ball.”

I smiled slightly, almost sad that I’d been wrong and that this man was indeed a vampire. It would’ve been kind of nice to have another mortal here with me.

There was no disappointment in my tone, though, as I smiled at him. Trying my very hardest to not stare at the cupcakes in growing confusion as I nodded, “It’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded, visibly relaxing before he blinked and glanced between me and the cupcakes. 

He chuckled slightly, a warm sound, before he held out the plate, “Want one? They’re for the tea party later, but I won’t tell anyone if you sneak one now.”

I faltered, blinking in surprise before shaking my head, half-embarrassed that I’d been caught staring in what was probably obvious curiosity, “Oh! No, thank you, but I’m good.”

“Trey, you can’t go trying to charm the poor thing when they only just got here. That isn’t fair,” Cater leaned against the other young man, his tone drenched in light-hearted teasing that had the green-haired one chuckling and shaking his head.

“I’m not; they just looked curious, so I thought I’d offer. Besides, I’d hate for them to feel unwelcome,” Trey smiled slightly as he glanced back over at me, and I found myself smiling in return, relaxing slightly as I watched the two young men interact.

For all the strange decor, the Heartslabyul clan seemed to have fairly normal people here so far. 

If I were lucky, this would be a painless evaluation with minimal trouble.

But I hadn’t actually met the leader yet, and that was always a deciding factor for how the evaluation would go.

“Well, come on. We don’t want to keep Riddle waiting any longer than we have to, after all,” Cater stepped away from Trey, beckoning for me and Sam to follow after him as he started off down the hallway again.

Sam fell in step with the orange-haired young man as idle conversation flowed, but I found myself glancing over to the side as Trey leaned over to better look at me, “Mind if I tag along? I was headed that way anyway, so….”

I was shaking my head before he ever finished, idly wondering if his behavior had anything to do with my effect on vampires even as I responded, “No, I don’t mind. We’re just going to be letting your clan leader know why I’m here and what I’ll be doing during the evaluation.”

My words put a more genuine smile on his face, and he nodded. Walking alongside me easily, as if there was nothing at all odd about me evaluating his clan. 

But the people here at Heartslabyul already seemed fairly friendly. Almost like the Scarabia clan had been, but a little less overwhelming.

If I were lucky, the clan leader would be just as easygoing as Kalim, and the whole matter with the rules would turn out to just be a misunderstanding.

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I was silent in dull shock at Riddle’s words as varying reactions warred within me. One was guilt, that he was right. The other was to slap the absolute crap out of him and no doubt ruin any remaining chances I had at evaluating this clan in one go.

My hands trembled slightly at my side as I curled my fingers into my palm, my teeth biting down on my lip as if that could ground me past my swirling thoughts and the shock at Riddle’s accusations.

“OI! That isn’t their fault, and it isn’t like you’re doing anything to help the situation! In fact, maybe if you got off YOUR high horse and quit obsessing over your precious rules, then they could actually get somewhere with this evaluation!” I blinked, almost jolting as Ace just suddenly appeared in front of me. Startling both me and Riddle as he started yelling down at the shorter man.

Riddle stumbled backward, an objection on his lips that he barely even managed to stammer out as Ace started forward. Seemingly bent on vengeance. And my body reacted before I’d hardly even thought.

But Ace would definitely get in serious trouble if he did what I thought he was going to try and do.

I found myself darting forward, even in spite of everything else going on, as Ace’s arm came up swinging up. His hand already closed into a fist.

“Ace! STOP IT!” I dug in my heels as I grasped him tightly, not even entirely understanding why I was doing it, as Ace’s motions barely even slowed until Deuce grabbed his arm. Succeeding in stopping Ace where I’d already been failing. 

But rather than colliding with Riddle, Ace came to a halt. Glaring down at Riddle as the shorter man’s mask of surprise shifted rapidly into a potent expression of rage, “ You fool! The rules are what keep mortals safe! Without them, vampires would run rampant and kill mortals simply for their blood!”

Riddle snapped back as I released Ace and stumbled backward. Watching in alarm as the bickering continued, barely avoiding reaching the point of physical altercation as Ace and Riddle exchanged insults.

And it was strange. Ace had always struck me as so carefree, but here he was losing his temper as Riddle grew increasingly more angry to the point his once pale face was turning almost as red as his fiery hair.

Trey was stepping between the two of them now, attempting to calm both redheads with very little effect as Cater came in. His eyes going wide as soon as he stepped through the door.

“What happened?!” He ran over, coming to a stop next to me as he spoke in a hushed voice. His eyes staying locked onto the two young men who continued to yell at each other from around Trey and Deuce.

I shook my head, “I don’t know…. Almost as soon as we mentioned the insane vampire, Riddle got weirdly aggressive and defensive.”

Cater made an almost pained sound before joining the other members of his clan in trying to soothe the fight, but I hung back. My own words rotating through my mind as I realized what I’d just said. 

As soon as we mentioned the insane vampire…..

Azul had said that he’d heard that someone in this clan was connected to the person at the root of the entire insane vampire issue, and I’d wondered if it might just be a single person in the clan.

I stared in wide-eyed recognition at the short, red-haired man who was at long last stepping back and away from the fight as Ace let Deuce pull him away.

Riddle was still trembling with rage, and I almost shook my head at my own thoughts. Could it really be him? The guy who micro-managed his clan to the point of having 810 rules?

I swallowed thickly and stepped forward, walking around Ace and Deuce, who both looked at me in surprise and confusion before I glanced at Trey, silently asking for permission.

The green-haired man let out a sigh, having only just succeeded in defusing the fight with both Cater and Deuce’s help, but still nodding with a uniquely guilty expression. And something told me that guilt was the only reason I was getting this chance.

I managed a slight, grateful smile before I looked over at the young man who was staring at me warily, no doubt expecting some sort of attack on his person as I stepped around Trey to confront him.

And it was a fight not to sink to his level and start throwing accusations into his face. Because it was tempting, and I had every right to.

I inhaled shakily, though, meeting his gaze coldly, “Since you’ve expressed concerns about my capabilities, how about you test me?” 

I watched as he blinked at me in honest surprise at my words, and almost immediately Ace let out an almost offended sound from behind me.

“What? Y/n, you don’t have to prove anything to him-!”

“It’s fine, Ace.” I looked back at the redhead, cutting him off even though I felt touched by exactly how riled up he was on my behalf. Though I did suspect that part of his outburst came from his own frustrations.

After all, he’d voiced being annoyed with a good number of the more ridiculous rules of the Heartslabyul clan before.

I looked back at Riddle, who straightened, swallowing slightly as he covered up his initial surprise with a careful calm, “Well… It’s not a bad idea. But how would you suggest I do that?”

I smiled slightly, calmly asking him a question even though I already had a suspicion that I knew the answer, “Who's the strongest vampire in your clan?”

Riddle’s eyebrows lifted at my words before he crossed his arms, “Me. I’m one of the older vampires here, and I am the leader of this clan for a reason.”

I felt my smile spread at his words that had only confirmed my suspicions. Now I just had to get him to accept my deal.

I guessed my time with the Octavinelle clan was rubbing off on me, but this seemed like the best way to handle this now. And, at the very least, it might help me to vent some of my frustrations. After all, I still didn’t know if I was simply upset that he was right about how long this evaluation was taking or if I was just outright mad at him.

“You can test my abilities in a duel,” I explained calmly, watching as he nodded slightly. A smug smile appeared on his face as he no doubt considered the prospect, suspecting he would beat me.

And he quite possibly would, but this was a bet I was simply going to have to make. Especially since I did at least have some experience in fighting.

“If you want, the winner can make one request of the other one,” I offered casually, and Riddle barked out a laugh.

“Have something you want, do you?” His eyes were bright, though, as he looked at me before he lifted a shoulder in an almost nonchalant gesture. “Very well. I’ll duel you and test your skills. To make it more interesting, whoever wins can make a request of the other. It isn’t like you’ll win anyway.”

I tilted my head, biting my tongue and keeping myself from saying anything even as Riddle crossed his arms and smiled gloatingly at me, “I suppose I’ll have to consider what I want to ask of you, Hunter.”

I shifted slightly, feeling victorious in that I’d succeeded in convincing him and nervous at the prospect of dueling him when I knew next to nothing about his capabilities, “Tomorrow then?”

Riddle nodded, “Naturally. The sooner, the better. I suggest you prepare yourself. We won’t want to bore our audience, after all.”

I nodded, forcing a polite smile as I stepped away from him and ignored the startled gazes of the various other men in the room, “I’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

Riddle snorted slightly, “Until tomorrow, Hunter.”

I inclined my head as I half-turned to leave, “Until tomorrow, Clan leader.”

Ace and Deuce followed me out of the room, both of them staring at me in utter shock but keeping the silence until we were out in the hallway and walking away from the room.

“Y/n… A duel?” Deuce spoke first, his surprise obvious as he walked alongside me. Staring at me with wide, brilliant eyes that held a hint of worry as I smiled reassuringly over at him.

“Don’t worry, Deuce. I’ve got a plan,” My voice was surprisingly calm as I reached out and rested a hand against his arm even as he continued to frown at me.

“What? Are you going to prove him wrong and make him eat his words?” Ace leaned over, bumping me with his shoulder and causing me to look his way.

At odds with Deuce, his eyes were bright with mischievous amusement. Almost like he was confident in me or looking forward to the fight tomorrow, one.

He frowned as I shook my head, though, “No… Well, I mean maybe a little. I do intend to win, but it’s not really to prove him wrong.”

“You want the prize then?” Ace picked up on my meaning quickly, and I nodded, smiling tiredly and looking back forward.

“Yep. There’s something I need to confirm, and if I’m right, this evaluation may be finished up pretty quickly.”

I grinned as I looked between the two young men, and Deuce blinked at me in surprise, “You think the clan leader knows something about the insane vampires?”

I nodded slightly, fidgeting with the strap of my bag as I explained, “I think so. He got really defensive after we mentioned the insane vampire and started talking about how I was taking a long time to finish up the evaluation, so….”

I trailed off as Ace nodded while Deuce stared at me in obvious confusion. 

I didn’t have to explain, though, as Ace spoke up, “You think he got all defensive because he knows something.”

I nodded at Ace’s words as Deuce let out a quiet ‘Oh’ at my confirmation before he looked over my way, “So now you’ve got to go home and get ready for tomorrow.”

“Right,” My answer was short, as the exhaustion kicked in from everything that had happened tonight. 

And I should really probably go bring this up and vent to Vil. He would want to know about the duel at the very least. But all I really wanted at this point was to get a good night's sleep before tomorrow and get all of my thoughts in order. I could only hope I would sleep well in spite of Riddle’s accusations. Because I wanted to be at my best for this duel, and I needed to be ready to question Riddle carefully.

I just had to hope that he would answer my questions honestly and not get too upset about what I was going to be asking him.

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In all honesty, I probably should’ve been a little more wary about how well everything had been going at the Heartslabyul clan. After all, with pretty much all of the clans, nothing had ended up as simple as it might have initially seemed.

I could practically feel the change in the atmosphere as we reached the room that the clan leader was in. The subtle straightening in Trey and Cater’s persons was also indicative of a change in pace. And then the doors opened.

I blinked slightly at the sight of the short, slender young man with brilliantly red hair that perfectly matched the color of the roses outside. He sat at a desk with a teacup off to one side even though I knew perfectly well that vampires didn’t drink tea. Or at least they normally didn’t. But with the cupcakes, who knew? Perhaps this clan liked to partake in normal food alongside the blood they needed to survive.

But, either way, this was obviously the clan leader of Heartslabyul.

“Riddle, guess what? The vampire hunter is here to start our evaluation,” Cater’s tone maintained its easygoing nature, but there was definitely a change in how he’d been carrying himself as the shorter man turned.

Large grey eyes landed on me almost immediately, and I heard him hum, “So we’re the last ones to get evaluated?”

Somehow I knew it wasn’t a question despite its phrasing. Sam stepped forward, though, with a smile on his face, almost like he’d already been prepared for the oddly tense atmosphere. And maybe he had been. Sam seemed to deal with each of the clans quite a bit after all.

“We apologize for the wait, but the head-vampire is not particularly suspicious of the Heartslabyul clan due to the way you and your members keep all the rules in your books.”

I barely kept myself from frowning at his words. 

Sam hadn’t mentioned that at all to me. In fact, he’d almost seemed wary on the way over here. Perhaps not as openly suspicious as he’d been of the Octavinelle clan, but with the way he’d questioned me about my personal suspicions, I knew it wasn't looking good for the Heartslabyul clan.

But then I had evaluated all the other clans and found them innocent of being involved with the increase in the number of insane vampires.

If this entire mess did have something to do with one of the clans, then it had to be the Heartslabyul clan, or I’d missed something during my past evaluations.

I stayed silent, though. I wasn’t entirely sure why Sam was behaving the way he was, but I wasn’t about to make it difficult for him.

He probably had his reasons, after all. Especially since Sam most certainly knew more about the vampire world than I did.

“So it’s just a routine check-up then? To keep it fair?” Riddle stood from his chair and walked towards us, his high-heeled boots clicking on the tiled floor.

“Yes, there would be questions if the Heartslabyul clan wasn’t evaluated along with the rest of the clans,” Sam nodded, unperturbed with the careful phrasing the young man had used even as I shifted awkwardly next to him.

Riddle nodded, his eyes flicking back over to me before he tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over me in an oddly analytical fashion, “So you’re the vampire hunter. I recall Schoenheit bringing you to the ball where you were introduced.”

I swallowed, nodding and inclining my head slightly. He was most certainly gauging something as he stared at me. I just didn’t know what it was.

“Yes, I’m Y/n, the vampire hunter working under the head-vampire of this district. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I was careful as I answered him, and he nodded slightly. Almost like he was approving my words.

“I see. I am Riddle Rosehearts. The leader of this clan. How long are you going to be evaluating us?” His tone left no room for any nonsense, and I recalled how Sam had described him on our way over here. Uncompromising. 

I’d barely met this young man, but I could already say that I could see how that description might fit. Already, there was something oddly uncompromising about Riddle Rosehearts.

I could feel the eyes of the other three men in the room resting on me weightily as I gazed back at the clan leader. Eyeing him closely and waiting to see if there was any reaction.

And though it was faint, he was affected. His breathing was slightly off, almost like he was trying to keep himself from inhaling too deeply or sharply and giving himself away.

And, for once, I was actually glad. It made him a little bit more normal and less imposing.

“I’ll remain as long as it takes to confirm the innocence of this clan and will likely be coming by every night to better evaluate this clan,” I was calmer as I answered. Numbly telling him the facts, and he nodded. Seemingly pleased that I hadn’t beaten around the bush with my answer.

“Very well, see to it that you follow our rules while you are here, Hunter,” I fought the urge to frown at his use of my title but only nodded.

“Sam, did you only come to escort the Hunter?” Riddle continued, looking away from me as he crossed his arms and faced Sam.

Sam only nodded, his smile ever-present on his face, “Yes, they are very important to Crowley, after all.”

Again, I almost frowned at his less-than-honest words, but I controlled my expression. Not about to give away Sam’s slight mistruths.

Despite my earlier thoughts, I was beginning to think that maybe Heartslabyul was going to be an odd place. 

But why did everyone seem so wary of Riddle? Sure, he seemed a little stiff and uncompromising, but other than that I could hardly see a reason for the change of atmosphere that had occurred as soon as we’d entered the room.

I would go along with it, though. After all, when in Rome.

Sam stepped backwards, pausing as he turned to go and looking my way, “Best of luck, Little Imp. I look forward to hearing your report.” His smile was still relaxed, but his eyes held mine for a beat longer than normal before he was carrying on and walking out the door.

“Hunter.” The tone was firm, but not barked, but I still found myself hurriedly turning to look back at the clan leader, who was once more eyeing me.

“I’ll have two of our newer members show you around. They will inform you of all of our rules. Due to the hour you have arrived and the fact that you weren’t informed prior, you are exempt from coming to our tea party, but after today I expect you to be there every evening so long as you are here. Understood?”

Riddle’s tone brooked no argument, and I blinked slightly before slowly nodding, “Yes, I’ll do my best.”

He hummed, his tone ever-so-slightly displeased sounding before he turned to look at the young men just behind me, “Cater, go find Ace and Deuce. Tell them they are also exempt from today’s tea party so that they can show the Hunter around. Trey, do you have something to report?”

Cater turned and walked out of the room quickly, almost like a soldier that had just been given his orders and was now going to carry them out. Trey, on the other hand, stepped forward, standing like he was at attention as soon as he was addressed.

“Tea will be ready shortly,” He answered calmly, and Riddle nodded before turning and walking back to his chair. Apparently dismissing us.

I glanced over at Trey in slight confusion and he looked my way, smiling in a slightly apologetic fashion that only left me feeling more confused.

I’d seen several clans now, but this was the first time the clan leader had quite this much control over the clan members. Perhaps I would learn more from the two people who’d be giving me my tour. 

One thing was for sure, though. I was definitely going to have to learn when the tea party was held.

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Previous

Right On Time

Minimal Trouble

Uncompromising

How Much of a Pain

Odd in Their Own Ways

Stealing Tartlets

Friends

Goaded Into Arguing

Make It More Interesting

A Verbal Duel

The Prize

The Root Issue

Exactly How Dangerous

Careful Choices

If You're Willing

Not Ever

Be Here

Promise

End This Nightmare

A Picture of Perfection

Just Tired

Impossibly Close

Good Job

No-One Else

Next

A Sense of Disquiet

Back To A Wall

The Perfect Vampire Hunter

Arm-in-Arm