Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
Making her way to defend the vampires’ kingdom was never something Kanade thought she would end up doing. Although, to be fair, Kanade never thought she would end up defending any kingdom at that…
Kanade’s family wasn’t royalty, or even wealthy at that. Her father was just a regular pianist who if he was lucky, would manage to get hired for a singular party that the nobles threw. Her mother on the other hand, was but a simple housewife who took care of Kanade and their home. Although they were mainly lower class on the wealth spectrum, Kanade couldn’t wish for a better life. She was gifted with a family that held nothing but pure and utter love for their daughter, that’s something no amount of money could ever purchase.
Alas, her mother passed when Kanade was young, and her father, heartbroken from loosing his wife, fell into a depression. Because of this, he was unable to find the desire to play the piano anymore, leading to Kanade and her father being forgotten by society.
However, when Kanade turned 14, she decided that she was going to protect her father instead, so that she wouldn’t lose the only person she had left.
Back to the present moment, as Kanade is making her way to the vampires’ kingdom, the air around starts to slightly change.. It feels almost restrictive to breathe, the air feels thicker.. And significantly colder… But there isn’t a single cloud in the sky, the sun hasn’t moved, and due to Kanade walking on the same path for a while now, she knows that her surroundings haven’t changed nearly at all.
‘I wonder.. I must be getting close to the kingdom if I’m feeling this way..’
Kanade thinks to herself, before feeling more lightheaded than ever.
‘W..What is happening to me..?’ Before she can even check her surroundings for threats, Kanade hears a light, airy, and beautifully gentle voice, acknowledging the fact that they know she is there, and then she falls unconscious.
Chapter Text
Waking up in a completely unfamiliar location was not a very uncommon occurrence for Kanade. She had a bad habit of working too hard that she would forget to take care of herself, which resulted in several occasions that she would wake up elsewhere than where she started.
Although this time was different. She had made sure to get a full nights rest the former night, and she had eaten and drank water before she left. The only possible explanation in this scenario, was that the vampire kingdom had some sort of chemical in the air that caused humans to fall unconscious once they inhaled it.
Looking out the window, Kanade noticed the sun had fallen and the moon had awoken.
“Oh? You’re finally awake now, right?”
Kanade whipped her head around as fast as humanly possible. ‘I didn’t even sense her enter the room’
Taking a look at the woman in front of her, Kanade was somewhat surprised. ‘She doesn’t even look like a vampire, she’s beautiful..’
The woman standing near the doorway was around average height, pasty skin, with a lighter shade of teal hair that was in a messy updo, her eyes were a light blue with a somewhat red hue at the bottom. She had gorgeously long eyelashes and a beauty mark near her mouth.
“Who.. Who are you? Where am I?” Kanade manages to mumble with an awkward attempt at a firm, commanding tone.
“Ah, have I not introduced myself yet? Or maybe you had already passed out by that time… Oh well!” The vampire responds, her voice trailing off at the end, it just now hitting Kanade that this voice was the same one she heard on the way here before she passed out.
As Kanade tries to muster up the courage to begin making demands for answers to the vampire, said vampire moves closer and is almost directly in front of Kanade.
“You’re too pretty to be a knight, are you just royalty disguised in order to get out of the kingdom?” She says as she squints her eyes in a falsely kind gesture, lightly running her fingertips alongside Kanade’s face.
“I.. I am Kanade Yoisaki. I became a knight to support and protect my father, I am not of any nobility…” Kanade blurts out, not knowing why she said any of that. “Wh-What was that..?”
“Don’t be worried, Ms. Yoisaki! I just had to make sure you weren’t a threat before I introduced myself and where you currently are! My name is Shizuku Hinomori, I am the princess’ childhood friend. You can just call me Shizuku!~” The vampire now known as Shizuku tells Kanade with a cheeky laugh.
Kanade doesn’t know how to react to this, ‘Me? A threat? Wasn’t this kingdom notified beforehand that a knight with my description would be here soon? Or did the kingdom just say that someone by my name would be here..’ Kanade lets out a heavy sigh. ‘I honestly wouldn’t put it past them to be that inconsiderate for a commoner like me…’
“Are you alright, Ms. Yoisaki? Ah, if the poison is still causing you exhaustion please do not hesitate to tell me. I can take you to your assigned quarters so you can get the rest of the poison out of your system, or you could just stay here if it’s more convenient and you’re too exhausted to walk all the way there. Whichever you prefer!” Shizuku proclaimed to her with a sort of worried expression on her face.
‘Are all vampires this energetic and animated?’ Kanade pondered to herself before responding. “Now that you mention it, I am still kind of tired.. Would it be possible to go to my assigned quarters?” Inquired Kanade with a partial head tilt to the side, trying not to inconvenience the vampire on her first day at the kingdom.
“Of course I can!” Shizuku exclaimed with a clap of her hands, causing Kanade to slightly flinch, not expecting such a loud noise all of the sudden. “Do you have anything to bring? I can carry it if you do!~” Shizuku continued with a happy smile.
“No.. No I don’t..” Responded Kanade, still somewhat confused that the vampire is being so friendly and welcoming towards her, considering everything she heard about vampires from her kingdom was that they were just bloodthirsty monsters, demons that would kill anything the breathes, even their own kind. Although Kanade never believed any of that, her mother having had believed and taught her that all living things had some care in their hearts, regardless of what people said, coming face to face with one of the ‘monsters’ people told horror stories of was still kind of nerve wracking.
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After Shizuku helped Kanade get situated in her quarters, there was only one thing on her mind. Sleep. As soon as Shizuku left the room, all Kanade could think to do was fall asleep on the bed. While the bed was significantly more comfortable than her bed at home, it just didn’t feel right…
‘It seems like I miss you already, Dad.. Even though whenever I’m home and you’re there too, the home still feels empty…’
She thinks this to herself, her eyes becoming more and more drowsy by the second, until she finally succumbs to the pressure of her eyelids.
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“Your Highness,” Shizuku announced with a bow, “The knight sent by the human kingdom has arrived. They are.. quite different from what Her Majesty, The Queen was expecting, however…” She continues uncomfortably.
“Oh? What about this knight is.. different.. from what mother was expecting?” The other woman Shizuku was speaking to responds, not turning around.
“The knight is-“
“Princess Asahina!” Someone interrupts all of the sudden. “The citizens are beginning to panic! Your parents, the King and Queen have yet to return from their trip, and you have yet to exit the castle, they are growing more worried by the day! You have to do something!” A vampire who appears to be a knight comes rushing in yelling and flailing his arms around, trying to emphasize the intensity of the situation.
The air around the throne room becomes incredibly tense. Princess Asahina turns around slowly with a smile on her face that could only be forced, the unease at being caught off guard screaming loud enough in her eyes that she didn’t even need to say a word.
“Ah.. Is that so?”
The knight gives a quick but aggressive nod in confirmation. “Well than, I guess it is time I go into the town and save my citizens from the agony they’re putting upon themselves!” The princess replies to this with her usual forced, fake smile as she descends from her throne to make her way into the town.
Shizuku wanted to chase after her, but knew that the princess wasn’t the same girl she once knew when they were kids. She had become an emotionless, cold, and fake individual, nothing like the kind, genuine, happy little girl she was when they were children.
‘People change.. it’s not like I’ve stayed the same over all these years, it would be hypocritical of me to berate her.. Still…’
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The blood seeped out from the bite on Kanade’s neck, oozing down to the collar of her uniform as the vampire continued to drain her. Kanade could physically feel her life force slipping away as the vampire didn’t stop, not caring if it tore the layers of skin from her neck, all it wanted was more, the hunger was insatiable no matter what…
Kanade woke up in cold sweats. Grasping her neck before pulling her knees in closer to continue trying to level her breathing and to stop her heart from pumping out adrenaline.
‘It was just a dream.. These vampires seem to be much more civilized than what the stories proclaim them to be…’ Kanade tries to convince herself, blinking back the tears that were welling up in the corners of her eyes. The moonlight streamed through the window, painting everything it touched with a light glow.
After she managed to partially calm herself down, it was almost as if drawn by a magnet, that Kanade walked over towards the window, her pale skin being drenched in the moon’s light. The window may have been just a glass shield, but it seemed as if the natural night-light of purity couldn’t care less for that, wrapping everything Kanade could see with its innocence.
At that moment, Kanade began to give up holding in her tears. Allowing herself to cry, the moonlight continued to glow onto her, illuminating her face as the tears fell.
Her mother always loved the moonlight, quite often would they go outside during the night so her father could play songs and she and her mother could dance, sing along, or just listen in silence, enjoying the beauty rushing through their ears and the beauty covering them from the sky.
‘I miss those times’ Kanade would think to herself constantly, knowing that she will never get them back.
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Having spent so much time in the palace without communicating with anyone and only spending her time working on what her mother wanted her to learn in order to become queen in the future, Mafuyu never really met or interacted with a human, she barely even communicated with her fellow vampires. Hearing from her mother that a knight from the human kingdom was going to be residing at their palace caused Mafuyu to feel one of the largest shocks she had felt in a while.
After learning from her mother that she and her father would be leaving for the next month or so, something about “allowing Mafuyu to know what it’s like ruling the kingdom.”
‘Ah…’ Mafuyu thought to herself, looking out past the stained glass window.
‘The moon is quite lovely tonight… So bright.. So free…’ And it was. The moon shone so very brightly, illuminating everything it touched. Saving it from the ever consuming darkness and fear.
When she was a child, Mafuyu feared that one day, its light would go out forever, never again brightening the night, although the thought didn’t worry her as much now. Sometimes, she even hoped it would go dark forever, maybe than she would feel something again..
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Waking up to a feeling of warmth on her face, Kanade blinked slowly, trying to adjust her eyes to the brightness of the sun.
‘Ah, I must have fallen asleep looking at the moon…’ It’s officially been over 24 hours since she left her father, although he probably didn’t remember her. The thought made her upset, but nothing could be done about it now.
Deciding that the best thing to do in a situation such as this would be to explore the kingdom so that she wouldn’t get lost when she was formally introduced to the royal family. Kanade slowly got up and walked over to the bathroom connected to her room so that she could shower and get ready for the day.
After showering, brushing her teeth, and redressing, she decided that it was time to begin the exploration.
Notes:
*sobs aggressively*
Chapter Text
After leaving her room to go explore, Kanade decided the best place to start would be where the upper class citizens live.
Making her way out of the palace, Kanade noticed that people were looking at her weirdly, as though she didn’t belong there.
‘Weird.. They’re acting as if they just saw an extinct creature..’ She pondered to herself.
Walking through the town, Kanade managed to see a reflection of her appearance in one of the windows as she passed.
‘Ah.. That’s probably why now that I think about it..’ Compared to the other citizens, they were all wearing very similar attire and all the women had hair that went past at very least their collarbone, while Kanade on the other hand had short hair that barely even touched her chin.
Realizing how much she likely stood out in the town, she quickened her pace to try and find a place to change her clothes so that she could blend in more.
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Eventually, Kanade found a clothing store, although the outfits in the window were a tad bit too frilly for her taste, it was the first place she found that sold clothing even after walking for over 20 minutes.
“Welcome into the shop!” An energetic voice announced. Kanade, choosing not to respond, made her way over towards the hangers.
Suddenly, quick footsteps rushed towards where she was, before that same voice exclaimed again, except this time it seemed as if the person was right behind her. “What are you looking for?”
“…Clothing…” Kanade quietly replied without turning around, not wanting this vampire to find out that she was a human. She heard a giggle from where the vampire was standing behind her.
“Well obviously silly~ Otherwise why would you be in here?” The vampire giggled again “I mean that I want to know what exactly you’re looking for! I work here y’know? So I can help you find whatever it is you’re looking for!~”
At this point, Kanade realized that this vampire won’t let her go until she provided some information at very least.
“…Clothes that many people wear around this time of year…” Kanade murmured as she turned around, only to have the vampire almost directly in front of her.
The vampire standing before her was significantly taller than Kanade was, with light pink hair tied up into a side ponytail, their bangs covering their forehead and two equally sized strands of hair framing their face. Their eyes were similar to Shizuku’s in a way, with a light reddish hue at the bottom, but besides that their eyes were a warm pink shade, with light eyelashes and a singular bright pink lash on each eye. Their clothes were frilly and cute, very different from the types of clothes Kanade saw while walking here.
“Ah! I’m so sorry!” The vampire standing before her exclaimed. “I was standing way too close to you, my sincerest apologies for that.” They said with a bow, reminding Kanade of a sad puppy.
“Don’t.. Don’t worry about it, I’m alright” Kanade felt the need to respond and console this confusing vampire.
“Well still! I’m very sorry, I haven’t even introduced myself yet and I’m already getting all up in your face. Do forgive me for that!~ Anyways, nice to meet you! My name is Mizuki Akiyama!” The vampire now introduced as Mizuki cheerfully announced to her.
“I’m Kanade.” Kanade said, already being somewhat overwhelmed by this hyper vampire even though she hadn’t spent but 5 minutes in the shop.
Mizuki smiled, knowing that the girl trusted them enough to share her name. “Nice to meet you, Kanade!” Mizuki happily exclaimed again while grabbing Kanade’s hands, not seeming to care even if they noticed she was a human.
“I know this may seem like a silly question, but are you-“
“Mizuki!!” A different voice yelled, interrupting whatever Mizuki was about to say. “Are you harassing your customers again!?” The owner of the voice walked over yelling.
The voice belonged to a woman shorter than Mizuki, but taller than Kanade. Her hair was in a short bob and a very soft shade of brown, which matched her eyes that were in possession of a similar brown hue. Behind her ear she had her hair in a tiny braid with a bow tying it together. She was wearing an outfit similar to Mizuki’s, except with significantly less ruffles and pastel colors.
“I’m not bothering my customers, Ena!” Mizuki pouted at the woman now identified as Ena.
Ena appeared as though she was about to start arguing with Mizuki, but restrained herself in front of Kanade.
“I do apologize for their behavior, they don’t seem to have a filter in front of anybody.” Ena said with an embarrassed smile.
There was something different about Ena compared to the other people Kanade has met while in the vampire kingdom. She seemed so much more.. humane..
Her skin was much less pale looking than Shizuku’s and Mizuki’s, there was more color to her face than the two of them had.
“Are you human too?” Ena blurted out, beating Kanade to the question.
“I- Yes, I am” Kanade responded a few moments after being asked, not expecting Ena to be so blunt and straightforward with what she was saying.
“Wha!? You are!?” Mizuki interjected into the conversation. A shocked expression washed over their face, although there wasn’t any anger or malice behind their eyes, more so.. happiness..?
“Aha! That’s amazing! Enanan will be able to have a human friend now!”
‘Enanan? I thought her name was Ena though?’ Kanade wondered to herself, thinking that these two were quite a strange duo. A vampire with infinite energy and a human who snapped at everything the vampire did.
“I’m just here to get some clothes..” A quiet mumble of these words from Kanade shut the duo up instantly. An awkward silence washed over the room, the three of them just standing there looking at each other.
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After a while, Kanade found something to wear that she liked.
The outfit had a black turtleneck on the underneath, there was a dark blue vest on top, and the pants were a comfortable black fabric with a belt that had a spot for her sword. Although the outfit was basic, it would help her blend in with the vampires around her.
“Oh Kanade! You look so cute!~” Mizuki’s voice cried from behind Kanade.
“Leave the poor thing alone, you’re bothering her.” Ena responded to Mizuki, even though they weren’t talking to her.
As Kanade reached for her wallet to pay them, two gasps could be heard from the two of them.
“Absolutely not!”
“Don’t you dare try to pay them!”
Both Mizuki and Ena were rejecting Kanade’s payment. ‘These two really are weird.. But they’re sweet..’
Before Kanade could do anything or say anything else, Mizuki grasped her hand and dragged her outside.
“Since we’re friends now and you haven’t been here before, I’m going to give you a tour!” Mizuki said with a sinister looking smirk.
‘…I think this was a really bad idea...’
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After a few hours of being dragged around town by Mizuki, Kanade finally managed to escape. Promising Mizuki and Ena that she would see them again sometime soon, she went off to find somewhere quiet to rest and regain her energy.
While wandering through the outskirts of the town, Kanade came across a path that looked as though it wasn’t meant to be there. It was far behind the castle grounds and even further from the town.
‘Should I?’
Kanade started to turn around, deciding that it would likely be too much of a hassle if she were to find another vampire with energy levels similar to Mizuki, or any vampire at all to be honest. Just as she started heading back to her quarters, a glimmer caught the corner of her eye.
Like any normal person, Kanade was curious and chose to look, if only for a few moments, just to figure out what it was.
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Mafuyu sat in silence, feeling the wind blow against her, petals from the surrounding roses flowing alongside her, as though they were trying to escape. The air around her was cold, whether that was due to the breeze or just Mafuyu herself, she didn’t know or care enough to figure out.
The silence was interrupted by light footsteps making their way towards where she was sitting, although Mafuyu couldn’t care enough to turn around and see what it was.
All of a sudden, the footsteps stopped. While she may not feel much of anything, she did know if anything were to happen to herself, it would hurt her mother. The thought of making her mother cry was one of the few, if not the only thing that made her feel something.
Turning around to see where the footsteps had been coming from, Mafuyu saw a person. The person was significantly shorter than she was, they had hair that was such a light shade of blue it was almost white, their eyes had a hue of blue that was probably the most gorgeous color she had ever seen in her life.
‘This person… They’re a human…’
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The woman sitting in the field of roses was beautiful, except the cold radiating off of her was strong enough to cause a shiver to run down Kanade’s spine. The woman’s dark purple hair was in a high ponytail, her eyes cold and lifeless appearing.
“Who are you..?” The mystery woman said, “And how did you find this place..? Human.” When she addressed Kanade as a human, it seemed disdainful…
“..My name is..” Kanade began, although then it passed through her mind that this woman was indeed a vampire, and if she wasn’t careful she would likely be killed.
“..K.. Just..Just call me K..”
“K.. Good to meet you then..” The vampire responded, her eyes closing softly, as though she was exhausted.
Realizing that she probably shouldn’t just allow this vampire to know some of who she is, Kanade decided to ask the vampire what her name was.
“And what is y-“ “Yuuki.. My name is Yuuki…” The vampire interrupted, already knowing what Kanade was going to ask.
‘Yuuki… What a lovely name that is…’
The two women just stayed where they were in silence. Neither of them moving, just watching the petals blow in the wind, feeling the cool breeze brush against their skin.
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Mafuyu didn’t know what to do. K was just standing there, unsure of what she should do either.
‘How awkward’
“Would you like to sit?” Mafuyu felt inclined to ask her, not caring enough to put up her usual forced facade. K just stayed where she was, not making eye contact or anything, just watching as the breeze pushed the petals through the air.
After a while, K answered to both of Mafuyu’s questions.
“I found this place while exploring the town, and it had a small trail leading here.” K said, closing her eyes as she sat down a little further from where Mafuyu was sitting.
The two women just sat there in silence together, watching the sun slowly lower into the horizon, feeling the cool breeze against their skin, the air around them calming.
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As the sun finally disappeared, the temperature dropped, causing a chill to run down Kanade’s spine.
‘It’s cold out here..’
From the corner of her eye, Kanade could see that Yuuki glanced in her direction, whether looking at her or the distance, Kanade was unsure.
“I’m going to be leaving now” Kanade began, standing up slowly and brushing her pants. “Thank you for allowing me to sit alongside you.”
She didn’t know why exactly she was thanking Yuuki, but it already happened so no use pondering.
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As K walked away, a sense of loneliness overtook Mafuyu.
‘Strange…’
Watching K’s short hair flow in the breeze next to her caused a feeling to overtake her, something different than anything Mafuyu had felt before.
Although she didn’t understand what the feeling was, Mafuyu wanted to stay with K. For some odd reason, K made her chest feel slightly less tight and cold than it normally does.
Maybe it was her light hair, so bright that it almost appeared reflective, or maybe it was her eyes, bright blue and pure looking. Maybe it was her voice, soothing and warm sounding, even though it also seemed to have gone through so much pain. Maybe it was the way she didn’t seemed nervous or uncomfortable by Mafuyu’s expression or actions.
‘I think… I think I want to see her again…’
Taking one last look at where to sun had vanished, Mafuyu got up from where she was sitting and began on her way back to the palace.
Notes:
I made the decision that since this is both my first fic ever, and I’m still learning how to write, what my style is, etc. That I’ll likely be updating this either every Tuesday afternoon, or whenever I get the chance really.
Thank you to anyone/everyone who is reading this as well. I hope you enjoy as I (hopefully) learn how to write better.
Thank you again.
Xagzi on Chapter 3 Wed 23 Apr 2025 06:07AM UTC
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kyr_00 on Chapter 3 Wed 23 Apr 2025 09:02PM UTC
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Kimmy_XD on Chapter 3 Wed 16 Jul 2025 02:21AM UTC
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