#vampire!deuce

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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I trotted through the door of the Heartslabyul clan to Ace’s cheers and Deuce’s polite applause.

“Aaand, they’re safe! You’re getting better and better at making it here at 7:00 sharp each evening!” Ace laughed at me as I stepped back from the celebratory high-five he’d given me.

I laughed lightly, nodding, “Well, I don’t want to get here early and have to stand outside waiting to get let in ever again.”

Deuce patted me on the shoulder, smiling sympathetically at me, “At least Trey gave you some cookies after that, though. It wasn’t all bad.”

I nodded because I couldn’t disagree. Trey’s pity cookies had been pretty delicious.

“Still, what’s more frustrating is that I haven’t been able to find anything,” I frowned as I shifted the strap of my bag. Carefully wiping my feet on the welcome mat three times before stepping off. 

I’d broken that rule my second day here and might have faced execution if it hadn’t been for Cater’s timely intervention in reminding Riddle that apparently it was also a rule that the welcome mat had to be changed out as soon as the first guest had stepped on it every Tuesday.

“Maybe not, but you’re doing a great job learning the rules. You’re definitely Trey’s favorite by now,” Ace scowled slightly in the direction of the kitchen as he spoke, and I snorted.

Apparently being Trey’s favorite was something to be envied, though I still didn’t see how I was the young man’s favorite. He was just nice to me. That was all.

I walked along between the two young men who’d warmed up to me quickly and that I now already viewed as friends.

As ridiculous as they were, Ace and Deuce looked out for me in their own ways and were good guys, even if they could also be pests at times.

“What exactly are you looking for, Y/n?” Deuce was the one who questioned me softly, and I hesitated as soon as he spoke.

After my discussion with Epel, Rook, and Vil, I’d decided that I was going to try and find the person who might be connected to the individual that was the root cause of the insane vampires, but that was easier said than done, and I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to share with Ace and Deuce.

I trusted the two of them and had no doubts that they were innocent in regard to being related to such a person but they also were still members of this clan. They might not take kindly to me suspecting any member of their group.

I pasted on a smile and lifted one shoulder awkwardly, “Well… to be honest, I’m having to be a bit more careful with this evaluation.”

Both of the young men stopped, and I watched as they each frowned slightly. Deuce, in a more concerned fashion, while Ace looked more wary. And I wasn’t surprised at all when the redhead spoke, “How come?”

I sighed and felt my fingers start toying with the strap of my bag. I’d pretty much decided that I was going to be as honest with these two as possible. After all, they deserved it, considering how they’d been helping me learn all the rules of their clan and looking out for me in terms of other vampires here behaving weirdly around me.

“Crowley and his men are suspicious because none of the other clans showed any signs of having anything to do with the insane vampires,” I explained in a soft, almost apologetic voice. Watching as Ace crossed his arms while Deuce listened to me carefully.

“I told Sam that I didn’t see why that meant this clan had to be involved since I don’t see why this entire thing couldn’t have something to do with vampires that aren’t in a clan, but I think that I’m going to have a bit more difficulty convincing them that everyone here is innocent than I have in the past with other clans.”

Silence reigned for a brief moment after I finished, and I found myself looking away from the two young men. Feeling oddly guilty even though I wasn’t personally suspicious of the Heartslabyul clan as a whole.

None of them really struck me as being involved in this entire insane vampire issue. Not only did they have rules against harming mortals, which meant Riddle would come down hard on anyone who did cause such problems, but none of them seemed like the sort that would cause this level of a problem.

Sure, they might not strike me as necessarily the best people in the whole wide world, but they also weren’t nearly that bad. Deuce might have an impressive temper, and Ace might be mischievous. Cater was phone-obsessed, Riddle rule-obsessed, and Trey a little petty as well as distressingly mean when angered, but none of them seemed like someone who would try to form an army of crazy vampires.

“So you don’t suspect us,” Deuce’s cautious-sounding voice broke the silence, and I looked back over at him. Lifting my head so that my gaze met his before I nodded slowly.

“No. At the very least I don’t think the entire clan is to blame, and I definitely don’t suspect anyone that I’ve talked to here,” I watched in surprise as Deuce brightened almost immediately at my words, and he nodded.

“So, at worst, you think it could be a single person in the clan, and even then it might not involve us at all?” Ace tilted his head as he clarified, and I nodded. Silently confirming his words and feeling myself relax as he grinned.

“I’d wondered what you thought about all of this, but that makes sense.” 

I almost screamed at the sudden voice and found myself darting towards my two friends while simultaneously turning to look at the person who’d just spoken before I registered that both Deuce and Ace were laughing behind me.

Trey blinked in surprise at me before grinning apologetically and letting out a half-chuckle, “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

I exhaled, letting my hand fall away from where it had been pressed to my chest in surprise as Ace propped himself on me. Still laughing as he shook his head and wiped at the tears in his eyes, “Little jumpy, aren’t you, Y/n?”

I frowned slightly, glancing over at the redhead, “He startled me.”

I looked back over at the man in question, who stood in front of me, still smiling amusedly as he balanced a tray of small tartlets on it, “How long have you been there?”

Trey shrugged, smiling in a way that told me he didn’t feel guilty in the slightest, “Long enough to hear your discussion about your evaluation.”

Ace reached over, snagging a tartlet and popping it in his mouth. Grinning at the other man as he immediately saw an opportunity to mess with him, “So pretty much the entire time. You could get in trouble for eavesdropping, you know.” 

Trey outright frowned, shaking his head slightly, “I wasn’t eavesdropping. And you shouldn’t be stealing tartlets. These are for the tea party.”

Ace shrugged, still remaining propped on me, “Eh, no one’ll ever know it’s missing if you don’t tell anyone. Besides, you wouldn’t scold if Y/n had been the one who took it.”

I shook my head slightly, smiling at the redhead’s antics as Trey and Deuce both frowned at him. But this was just the way it always seemed to be at Heartslabyul.

I tilted my head slightly, though, frowning as I glanced over at Trey, “Are the tartlets required for the tea party, or…?”

I trailed off, not even bothering to question the fact that they could apparently consume things outside of blood. 

I’d asked Vil about that recently. Apparently vampires could eat things outside of blood, but they had to suffer stomach pains if they ate too much normal food, and it didn’t do anything for them in terms of nutrition. 

Trey nodded without me even having to finish as I trailed off, “We have them at every tea party, yes.”

He paused, frowning over at Ace once more, “If Riddle notices any are missing, then I’m not helping you.”

Ace paused, scowling openly at the other man, “You’d help if it were Y/n, though? Wouldn’t you?”

Deuce shook his head solemnly, “Y/n wouldn’t steal any tartlets in the first place, and they’re a guest. You aren’t.”

Ace snorted, rolling his eyes dramatically, “Favoritism.”

Trey shook his head with a long-suffering sigh before he looked my way with a slight smile, “I’m glad to hear that you don’t suspect us, but you don’t have to be so careful around everyone. We all want this insane vampire issue put to rest. If you need any help, you can just ask.”

I nodded, smiling at his offer even if I still wasn’t sure about how asking for assistance would go over, “Thanks, Trey. I’ll keep that in mind.”

He nodded, seemingly pleased as he glanced between the three of us, “I’ll be on my way then. I’ve got to get these delivered to the table, after all. Make sure none of you three are late to the tea party.”

He waved as he walked away, giving us a reminder of the tea party that was not to be missed, even if I didn’t understand exactly why the tea party was so gravely important. But then, I doubted I ever would at this point.

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I trotted through the hallways alongside Ace, who was tugging me along by my hand as we chased after Deuce, who’d already rounded the corner up ahead.

It was almost laughable that even after Trey had warned us to not be late, we’d gotten so caught up in our research at the library that we’d almost stayed too long.

In truth, we probably didn’t have to run to make it to the tea party on time, but we certainly didn’t need to dawdle either.

“You're so slow,” Ace laughed as he tugged me along, effortlessly faster than I was simply due to being a vampire, though even he couldn’t keep up with Deuce. I’d already learned that Deuce was stupidly strong, even by vampire standards, a couple of days ago when he’d been casually moving two couches at the same time, but apparently he was also quite fast.

I let out an annoyed huff at Ace’s mocking but didn’t say anything, instead focusing on keeping up with the amused redhead who never missed a chance to tease others.

We both came skidding to a halt as another member of the clan stepped out into the hall in front of us. Firmly blocking away as he casually stopped in an oddly slumped position in the middle of the topsy-turvy hallway. Almost as if he were exhausted, and I distantly wondered if he’d broken a rule or something and was facing punishment.

The unfamiliar young man didn’t react at all, though, as we almost slammed into each other. And Ace recovered first, scowling in annoyance as he gestured irritatedly, “Hey, watch it, buddy! We could have run you over! You need to look where you’re going.”

I watched, a small frown slipping into my face as the young man didn’t react. Instead, he slowly straightened and twisted to look at us, a low exhale slipping from his mouth, and I felt myself tense as his eyes immediately rested on me.

At first, they were just strangely flat-looking eyes, but then his pupils dilated as he inhaled deeply, a little too deeply to be normal, and a sprawling grin appeared on his face. A laugh slipping out of him as he turned to face us with body language that strayed a little too close to unnatural for comfort.

“H- Hey….” Ace faltered, stepping backwards slightly, putting space between him and the other vampire as I tugged at him. Attempting to pull him further away from the man.

“Ace…. He’s-”

“There you are,” I was cut off as the man all but sighed out the words, leaning forward in a strangely floppy manner that had me and Ace stepping backwards together.

I glanced over at the redhead worriedly, only to find him staring at the man in alarmed confusion. But he couldn’t recognize the signs since he’d never seen them before.

This vampire was insane, though. I had absolutely no doubts. The only thing that could make it more obvious would be if he were frothing at the mouth or unable to speak.

“Ace! Y/n! Come on, we gotta go! We’re gonna be late!”

Deuce was calling out to us from behind the man that continued to walk towards us. One halting step at a time.

I chanced a glance around the man, towards Deuce, trying to wave him on back as I pulled my hand out of Ace’s. Hurriedly unzipping my bag as the man continued to walk us backward at a slow pace. But that slow pace wouldn’t last. Not with the hungry look that was in his eyes.

I swallowed thickly as I kept my eyes on the vampire in front of us, who now rolled his shoulders like a predator getting ready to launch. And when I spoke, my voice came out surprisingly measured, “Ace, run and get help.”

He looked my way as if I were crazy, already shaking his head incredulously, “What?! But-”

As if on instinct, I shoved Ace hard before diving to the side just as the vampire launched himself at us. 

Ace slammed into the wall with a surprised yelp as I threw myself to the side and crashed into a pot that shattered almost immediately. Sending dirt and flowers everywhere on the previously pristine floors while the vampire skidded to a halt from where he’d dove at us.

I’d barely dodge him in time. Something he apparently knew, judging from the way he chuckled as he slowly straightened.

“ACE! Y/N!” Deuce all but bellowed our names as he came running over, coming to an abrupt halt between where Ace and I were scrambling back to our feet as the other vampire finished straightening and turned to look at us. His expression somehow grew even more insane now that he’d made his intentions perfectly clear.

Deuce was already rolling his shoulders, though. Apparently preparing for a fight despite the fact there was something obviously wrong with the man.

“Watch it, pal. Y/n’s our guest. You aren’t supposed to attack them, and I’m not going to let you.” I blinked in slight surprise at Deuce’s tone as the young man glared at the other vampire. But his expression was far darker than anything I’d ever seen on his face before.

He’d told me that before he’d been turned, which had apparently been very recent, he’d often spent some time in the rougher parts of town before deciding to change his ways. He’d apparently gone back to that part of town one last time to finish cutting his ties with the people there, and that was when he’d gotten bitten.

At the time, I’d suspected something more along the drugs, but looking at him now, I wondered if it was more of a delinquent sort of situation. 

It certainly would match the temper he had and his current body language.

I found my grip tightening on the stake in my hand as I shook my head, speaking up before anything could go any further, “Ace, Deuce. Go find help. I’ll keep this guy busy and-”

“No!” Both of them shouted at once. Effectively cutting me off and surprising me as Ace stepped over to stand next to Deuce before glancing back at me with a deep frown that bordered on being a glare.

“You’re the one he attacked, and we all know why! Leaving you here would be giving the creep what he wants.” He turned back forwards, as if his words were final, and I found myself shaking my head slightly. Lost for words since it was perfectly obvious that he, at the very least, was terrified. His hands were even shaking.

But he was also right, of course. We did all know why the vampire had attacked me. My habit of attracting vampires and the fact he was insane, because there was no denying it now. A single look at the man gave all the evidence one could ever want for the fact he’d lost his sanity.

But that wasn’t why I’d told them to leave. This was my job as the vampire hunter, and I didn’t want them to see what was about to happen here. 

I found myself stepping up between the two young men, though, keeping my eyes on the vampire that leered at the three of us from where he swayed unstably from side to side. 

“You’ll end up being late for the tea party and get in trouble,” I cautioned them as light-heartedly as I could, already reaching into my bag and grasping a stake. 

In truth, I really did want them to leave, even if it meant I’d be left here alone with the insane vampire. 

I didn’t want them to see me fighting this vampire. Not when it was so likely to end with me having to use a stake to kill him. And I also didn’t want to scare them. I knew from our conversations up until now that neither of them had been vampires for that long.

Even if they hadn’t let on, they were probably still adjusting to living their lives as a vampire, not unlike how Epel and Rook had been forced to because of me. And even if I hadn’t been with the Heartslabyul clan for that long, that didn’t mean that I couldn’t want their vampiric life to be as easy for them as possible.

Because after having spent every night for a little over a week with these two, I could easily say that I viewed them as friends.

Deuce was already shifting into a fighting stance, though. Shaking his head in a way that told that there was no way he was leaving, “They’ll understand. We have rules against attacking mortals.” 

Ace snorted, full of hot air and confidence even though I somehow doubted he’d ever been involved in many fights that weren’t solely verbal, “And we can deal with the teapot tyrant after dealing with this guy.”

I shook my head again, resigning myself to the fact they weren’t leaving, as touching as it was in a strange sort of way. 

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“Clan leader, you asked for us?” I turned to see two young men entering the room. The one that had spoken had dark hair and brilliant blue-green eyes that were only made brighter by the spade painted in black over his right eye. The other one, who looked far more laid-back, was a redhead with matching red eyes and a red heart painted over his left eye.

Both men looked my way almost immediately, their eyes visibly widening before they reined whatever vampiric impulses they had at my mere presence.

“Yes, I want you two to show the Hunter around. They are going to be evaluating the clan over a period of time and will need to know their way around,” Riddle ignored their reactions as he walked up beside me and gestured to me lightly, causing both young men to look my way once more.

“Ah, that explains why we’re exempt from the tea party,” The redhead tilted his head as he rubbed at the back of his neck before stepping forward with a sigh. “Well, come on, Deucey. Looks like we’re on tour guide duty.”

The darker-haired one frowned at him before looking back at Riddle and nodding like a soldier at attention.

I paused, glancing over at Riddle to see him gazing at me, “These two will show you around now. Ask them any questions you have.”

With only those words, he strode out of the room, leaving me with the two young men that I could assume were the ‘Ace and Deuce’ he’d sent Cater to fetch.

I turned to look at the two of them, finding them both staring at me as silence stretched out between us until I held up a single hand and offered a slightly awkward wave, “Hi. I’m Y/n.”

The redhead reacted first, bobbing his head, “I’m Ace; this is Deuce.” He gestured to the darker-haired young man next to him, who nodded in a far stiffer fashion.

At odds with him, the redhead, whom I now knew was named Ace, walked over and strolled a little circle around me. Causing me to have to suppress the urge to spin and keep my eyes on him as he started speaking, “So, you’re the vampire hunter?”

He came to a stop in front of me, hands shoved into his pockets as he tilted his head and watched as I nodded, “Yes…”

He let out a tiny ‘huh’ before giving a light shrug and turning to walk out of the room, only confusing me further with his behavior before he looked back at me over his shoulder with a grin, “Well, come on. We’ll show you around.”

I blinked before finding myself glancing over at the other one, Deuce, only to find him frowning slightly after his companion. He blinked and turned to look at me, though, straightening slightly before smiling at me, “Right this way.”

He gestured with only a slight bit of awkwardness, but I felt myself smiling slightly as I nodded and took off after the two young men.

“So how long are ya’ going to be here?” Ace glanced back at me once more as soon as Deuce and I caught up to him. His tone was light and unconcerned in a way that reminded me of how relaxed Trey and Cater had been before we’d encountered Riddle. 

What was different here was that Ace hadn’t seemed terribly concerned even while Riddle was in the room.

I offered a slight shrug, lifting only one shoulder as I answered him, keeping my thoughts to myself, “Hard to say. I’ll be here until I’ve finished the evaluation, though. However long that may take.”

Deuce frowned slightly, glancing at Ace before looking my way, “What are you evaluating us for? Does the head-vampire suspect us of something?”

The honest answer would be to say yes, but I hesitated to say that. Sam had been careful to disguise that the Heartslabyul clan was under suspicion in regard to the influx in the numbers of insane vampires, and I didn’t know if that was just a part of dealing with Riddle’s seemingly uncompromising nature or a bid to make the evaluation easier.

After all, the members of this clan might panic if they knew they were under suspicion, and if they were at fault, they’d most definitely hide any traces of any condemning activities.

And, in many ways, it would also be honest to tell these two that the Heartslabyul clan wasn’t super suspicious, because I really didn’t think of them that way. 

Like I’d told Sam, I personally felt it was entirely possible that this entire insane vampire issue might have been orchestrated by a vampire that wasn’t attached to a clan.

Before he’d formed the Pomefiore clan, Vil had seemed far freer and didn’t seem to have had to report to Crowley in any way.

It could be that those unconnected to clans weren’t as well watched, which would make stirring up trouble far easier for them.

I shook my head after only a brief moment of silence, “Not particularly. I’m investigating to try and find the source of the insane vampires that have been swarming the area lately, but the Heartlabyul clan isn’t any more suspicious than any other group. It’s just that I have to evaluate all of the clans to be fair.”

I watched as Deuce perked up, nodding and visibly relaxing at my words. At odds with him, Ace’s pace slowed so that he was walking alongside me with an oddly cunning smile that almost had me frowning before he ever even started speaking, “So the head-vampire’s sending out the Hunter simply to be safe? Is that right?”

The frown that had been fighting to appear from the moment I’d seen the smile on his face fought its way to the surface at his words. But I didn’t have to say anything. Instead, Deuce surprised me by speaking up, “Ace, you shouldn’t antagonize them. They’re our guest, and rule number-”

“You aren’t going to get any points by not asking questions, Deucey,” Ace’s tone was filled with mocking, and Deuce’s frown deepened.

I automatically felt like I’d stumbled upon some sort of long-held point of contention, but what exactly it was, I had no clue.

That said, I certainly didn’t want to watch my two guides go to bickering.

“Um, I’ve heard about them several times now, but what are the rules?” I hurriedly interjected into the brewing argument, and both young men looked my way at the exact same moment. Almost like they were trying their very best to mirror one another’s motions.

Ace responded first, a slight scoff slipping from his lips before he shook his head, “What aren’t the rules?” He paused, shaking his head slightly before he turned to face me more fully, “We have rules for everything here at Heartslabyul.”

“It’s what sets us apart from the other clans,” Deuce picked up where the redhead left off, explaining in a far more calm tone.

“You probably only have to worry about the rules of when to get here, when to leave, and when the tea party is. You are a guest after all,” A smile flickered across Deuce’s face, almost like he was trying to reassure me.

Ace nodded, agreeing with the other young man as he raised one hand and started ticking times off on his fingers, “We let guests in from 7:00 to 8:00, so you’ll need to be here by that time window. You have to be out before the sun rises, otherwise you're stuck or get kicked out. Tea happens at 4:00 exactly, and you do not want to miss that.”

He paused, looking at me from over his hand with an oddly serious expression, “Tea time is probably the time period Riddle is most particular about. You will be in serious trouble if you miss the tea party.”

I blinked slightly, finding myself nodding slowly as I noticed Deuce’s sharp head bob that confirmed the redhead’s words.

“Is there anything else I need to worry about?” I glanced between the two of them carefully as I filed away those time-related rules as something to remember throughout this evaluation.

If Riddle was as uncompromising as Sam’s words and behavior had suggested, then I really didn’t want to get on his bad side by messing up any of his rules.

The two of them exchanged a look, Deuce shrugging slightly before looking my way, “No picking flowers on Wednesdays?”

Ace nodded, also looking my way, “And no requesting coffee. We don’t have that here, and if you ask for some, Riddle will absolutely flip.”

I blinked in quiet surprise before nodding again, “Okay, no picking flowers on Wednesdays and no coffee, period… That isn’t so bad.”

Deuce brightened slightly at my words, nodding his head, “The rules are so bad once you get used to them. And if you need any help learning them, I’ll help.”

I felt myself smile at his words as Ace stretched next to him, folding his arms behind his head like he was fixing to lean back and relax against one of the red walls, “Yeah, the rules aren’t too bad. Just killjoys.”

He paused, a grin slipping across his face and his eyes sparkling with a certain degree of meanness as he glanced over at Deuce, “I better help if you two are going to be studying rules, though. Deucey here definitely doesn’t know all 810 of them.”

I blinked, my mouth opening slightly in shock as I looked between the two young men, “8- 810??”

Ace’s grin only grew, causing the tiny fangs in his mouth to flash into view as he leaned forward, almost like he was peering more closely into my face, “Yep. 810. Bit of a bummer, isn’t it?”

I fought the urge to nod at his amused words as Deuce faltered slightly before finally surrendering and nodding his agreement, “It’s a lot. But we can learn all of them so long as we both try!”

I distantly nodded as Ace turned and started leading the way down the curving hallway yet again, calling back over his shoulder, “Well, best move along, bang this tour out, and be done with it!”

I trailed along after the two young men, idly listening to their running commentary as the number 810 continued to bounce around in the back of my mind. Making me wonder exactly how much of a pain this evaluation was going to end up being.

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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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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