Gem in My Blood

by Paper_Dear

Summary:

What happens when you move into a new city and your neighbor is being a little too loud?
You confront them, obviously
But what if their name is Shadow Milk?

...that's a bit different.

Chapter 1: Arrival

Pure Vanilla let out a small breath as he parked his car in the apartment complex parking lot . He had just arrived at Earthbread, settling into Crispia, a city that had accepted his application to become a nurse.

 

He sat in his car for a few seconds, the summer sun settling on his skin. His mind raced because of anxiety and excitement. It was White Lily’s idea to move in after all, plus, she had promised the rent was cheap so that’s a plus.

 

Pure Vanilla unlocked the car and opened his trunk. Inside, there was only a small suitcase and a large bag. He lifted them out of the car with ease, adjusting the strap of the bag on his shoulder and making his way into the entrance.

 

The cool air inside the apartment was a big difference from the outside. He approached the front desk, and a bored-looking teenage girl sat behind it. She barely glanced at him when he approached.

 

Pure Vanilla felt a small, awkward smile tug at his lips. He glanced at the empty lobby before glancing back at the girl. This time, she was looking at him.

 

“Ahem, I’m Pure Vanilla. I rented a room here not too long ago…?” He asked shyly, straightening out his shirt subconsciously.

 

“Pure… Vanilla…,” She muttered, tapping on the keys of the computer slowly while maintaining eye contact. Finally, she took a peek at the computer, confirming whatever she was looking at and grabbing a key from inside the desk.

 

 “Room number 1622, floor 6,” She answered, tossing the keys to him. He fumbled to catch them before smiling embarrassingly at the show.

 

She let out a sweet little smile, “The elevators aren’t working, so use the stairs,” She added. She looks at where they are before leaning back and checking her nails.

 

“Ah, I see. Thank you,” Pure Vanilla said softly, and after receiving no answer, just slowly shuffled to the bottom of the stairs. Even though he didn’t bring much, that didn’t mean it was going to be an easy climb. He picked up his suitcase and secured it in his arms before stepping forward.

 

After five minutes of gruelling climbing, he finally made it to the top. He let out a breath of victory before looking at the room numbers in front of him.

 

It was quiet, the only sounds were his breathing and steady steps. He indulged in the peace before he stopped in front of his room. He slipped the key in, pushing open the door with a soft creak. The room was nice as far as he could see. There was a couch with a TV and a kitchen in one room, a door that led into the bedroom, and another one which led to the bathroom. The floors were made out of wood and the walls were painted a soft yellow, matching the light that was entering from the windows, which took up half the wall.

 

There was a small table and chair on which he sat, resting his legs and mind for a few minutes before pulling out his phone.

 

He opened his contacts and texted White Lily, she had told him to text her the moment he had arrived. He sent her a message of his arrival and placed his phone down. He heard movement coming from the room beside him. That and the sound of children laughing and playing outside.

 

He stood up slowly, stretching and opening up his suitcase, he slowly pulled out his stuff and placed them in neat piles. Somewhere in the room beside him, he heard another thump of something falling to the floor, followed by a string of mumbling, the sound partly covered by the wall.

 

Pure Vanilla brushed it off as he emptied his suitcase. Placing it somewhere out of the way. He opened the windows, letting the sun in fully, another thump was heard as he placed down his clothes in neat piles in his drawer. He ignored it again, it wasn’t his business anyway. 

 

He picked up a glass vase next, meant to hold flowers. He was hoping to find a flower shop nearby, and perhaps decorate his place with plants. That thought was briefly interrupted by a deafening crash, Pure Vanilla almost dropped the vase from the sound, hastily placing it down to prevent any accidents. 

 

Pure Vanilla listened intently, everything being eerily quiet as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for something, anything, to happen.

 

Curiosity shifted to concern, the sudden shift in the atmosphere making him uneasy. The person in the room next door was being so active and suddenly, it was like someone had flipped a switch.

 

Pure Vanilla warily opened the door to his apartment, looking out into the hall, nothing. He sucked in a breath, he would just check in, find out everything is fine, then go back to organizing with an easy mind.

 

He shut his door softly, walked to the door beside him, and knocked three times quickly on the door. He heard grumbling from the other side while Pure Vanilla suddenly realized that he was probably being too nosy. Before he could decide to turn back, the door opened at surprising speed, startling him a bit. 

 

It was a man, with white hair, dyed with a bit of blue and black. Tied into a high ponytail, his hair still reached to his shoulders. He had on a white undershirt, and a black jacket overtop. He wore an annoyed expression, mixed with disappointment. But the most striking thing about his appearance was his eyes. His right is dark blue and his left is light blue with a star-shaped scar overtop it. Much like him.

 

“What do you want?” The man asked, closing the door slightly so he could only see his face.

 

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Pure Vanilla started, “but I heard a noise and thought I should make sure to see if everything is okay–” Immediately being silenced by a finger being pushed to his lips.

 

“Oh, truly the kind one, aren’t ya? I’m touched! Honestly! But I don’t need a babysitter, whoever you are, I’ll call you when I need one!” He said, changing their demeanour from annoyed to friendly.

 

Pure Vanilla kindly pushed the finger away, slightly amused, but still worried. “My name is Pure Vanilla, I just thought because I heard a noise and—” Being stopped mid-sentence, again.

 

“—and you thought wrong! Don’t worry, all is forgiven!” He said enthusiastically. “You must be new, everyone here knows my three rules, I’ll get you updated. Rule #1: don’t bother me, which you technically already broke, but it doesn’t really count…”

 

Pure Vanilla stood there, a little confused, but still politely smiled, just in case.

 

“Rule #2: If you have bothered me, then move to another city. I don’t want to see you ever again,” He continued, seemingly unbothered by everything.

 

“And last but not least! Rule #3: if you are, for some odd reason, still here. Then we will deal with you accordingly, got it ‘Pure Vanilla’? Great, goodbye!”

And with that, he shut the door in his face. Surprising Pure Vanilla again with the abrupt exit. He stood there, dumbfounded for a few seconds, before realizing, he was just threatened.

Chapter 2: Meeting

 

Pure Vanilla’s brain paused for a few moments, standing awkwardly in front of the door that had just been shut in his face. On the other side, he could hear some shuffling and movement. 

 

Was it the shock or was it everything about that man that had caught him off guard? Of course, it just seemed like a friendly warning, ‘ don’t bother me or I’ll report you for harassment’ type of message. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel it was a little deeper than that.

 

His spiralling was interrupted by a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to see White Lily, standing there with her gentle smile, she had her hair tied into a simple braid and wore a green blouse with a darker green sweater overtop of it.

 

Pure Vanilla’s shoulders immediately relaxed, turning around to face her with a smile. It had been a long time since he last saw her. 

 

“White Lily! You're here!” Pure Vanilla exclaimed, softly greeting her with a short hug, the scent of lilies engulfing his surroundings.

 

“I wanted to meet you at the front desk, I guess I was a little late for that…” She said, holding Pure Vanilla’s hands tightly. “What do you think of it so far?” She asked, waiting for him to answer.

 

“It’s amazing! I’ve already found a nearby hospital to work at and I’ve seen many parks around,” Pure Vanilla answered, squeezing White Lily’s hands in reassurance.

 

“That’s great… What are you doing out here though?” She asked, looking at the door he was standing in front of.

 

“Oh! I was just talking to my neighbour… They’re… very interesting…” Pure Vanilla chuckled awkwardly, looking at where White Lily was staring. 

 

White Lily’s demeanour shifted, and her carefree attitude turned tense as Pure Vanilla mentioned this.

 

Pure Vanilla noticed this, why wouldn’t he? His smile faltered as he looked at White Lily curiously. “Is something wrong?” He asked cautiously.

 

“It’s just… That’s Shadow Milk. He’s a bit… How do I put this? Passive aggressive…” She answered though she didn’t seem too sure of herself.

 

“Just stay away from him, he’s more trouble than he’s worth. Maybe ask for a new room? I’m one floor underneath you…” She suggested, encouraging him to move somewhere other than in front of the door with a gentle push of her hand.

 

“No, it’s alright. I’m sure he’s just a bit introverted, it’s fine,” Pure Vanilla answered with an easy smile.

 

White Lily didn’t seem convinced though, shuffling awkwardly before sighing in defeat. “I believe you Pure Vanilla, just call me if anything happens…”

 

Pure Vanilla placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Of course I will,” He said.

 

White Lily smiled back, “Do you want to explore the city a bit? I can show you some places to eat and some places I like to visit sometimes.”

 

“I would love that,” Pure Vanilla said, following White Lily to the elevators. “I thought the elevators weren’t working…” He inquired as White Lily pushed one of the buttons.

 

“Not working? Who told you that?” She asked exactly as the doors opened. They stepped inside, Pure Vanilla chuckling to himself, he felt a bit silly for believing that lie now…

 

---

 

Candy Apple watched as Pure Vanilla and White Lily walked out of the doors, into the heat of the outside. She sighed, she much rather be working outside than playing the ‘lookout’ or the ‘first line of defence’ as Black Sapphire had put it. He just said that to make it sound cooler than it actually was.

 

She clicked a few keys on the computer, documenting anything she saw; a bird pooped on a car at 2:30 pm, a dude lost his keys 10 seconds later, and a woman was walking a dog that was twice her size at the same time. She knew Black Sapphire would be pissed at this, that’s why she’s doing it.

 

She documented the moment Pure Vanilla and White Lily left, adding this small piece of information into the ‘important file,’ and texting Black Sapphire about it, she let out a small sigh. Maybe she would switch the coffee with dirt, that would be great payback.

 

Or maybe she’ll tell Shadow Milk what Black Sapphire was doing on his day off, she snickered at the thought of that, that would be hilarious.

 

A few seconds after that thought, she received a text back. She read it, her eyes widening in excitement. She knew it was a good idea to spike the water fountain back at the base. She grabbed the bag that was lying beside her and hurried to get changed into her costume. Maybe she wouldn’t tell Shadow Milk about Black Sapphire.

Chapter 3: What?

 

Days had passed by quickly, Pure Vanilla had started to create a routine for himself. After a week of having to start working at the hospital, he has already felt the weight of responsibilities and exhaustion weighing him down.

 

Those rare days when he did have a moment to rest, his next-door neighbor has become excessively noisy, leaving him to toss and turn. He also didn’t want to wear earplugs in case he was called in for an emergency. 

 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy, of course he was happy. Those were just the downsides to living in a city as big as this. He had started to meet up with new people. Dark Cacao visits the hospital often, being part of a police station meant he was the victim to many injuries. He was good company to keep outside of work hours.

 

Through Dark Cacao, he had met Hollyberry and Golden Cheese, who invited him out whenever he had a free schedule and wasn’t trying to catch up on the lost hours of sleep.

 

White Lily on the other hand was becoming more… secluded. When he had asked, she had told him that she was busy with work. It didn’t seem like a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth. Pure Vanilla still respected her decisions to not tell him and would wait until she was ready.

 

The day had started quite normally, with his blinds pushed open and a cup of sweet coffee in his hands. He had started that habit ever since his job had started. It was around 5 in the morning. He sighed as if he lifted himself from the chair he was sitting on. Grabbing his bag from a hanger beside the door and stepping out into the hall.

 

It was quiet, the kind of quiet when something's wrong. Immediately, Pure Vanilla looked around for something, anything that could pinpoint why he was feeling this. He started to believe it was nothing and just his imagination when a noise caught his attention. A creak of a door.

 

He looked around, realizing that it was Shadow Milk’s door that was slowly creaking ajar. Pure Vanilla looked around hesitantly, if he wasn’t around, then who would close his door?

 

Pure Vanilla went closer, don’t look inside, just shut it quickly then get to work. Pure Vanilla stepped closer, placing his hand on the handle. The room was dark, so even if he wanted to look inside, there would be no way he'd be able to see anything. But a flicker of blue light caught his attention, for the few seconds that he was able to look, a computer screen shined brightly, an empty screen with writing…

 

No, nope. It was rude to come into somebody's room uninvited. Especially Shadow Milk’s room. Throughout the days he was here. He had seen him wandering around the hotel. He gave him no mind, but he heard he was quite infamous, hearing the complaints from the other residents in the building when he went out for a walk or to work.

 

Quickly he shut the door with a soft click. Sighing and turning around, his heart jumping to his throat while he jumped so violently he thought he would collapse. Shadow Milk had somehow creeped up behind him. Staring at him with such intensity he felt a hole burning through him. His expression was unreadable.

 

Pure Vanilla’s heart thrummed, his breath in controlled breaths to stop himself from a panic attack. To say the surprise shook him was saying it lightly. Had it been anyone else, he normally would have laughed it off, being scared like this, but since it was Shadow Milk… it was different.

 

No words were shared for a beat, the tense atmosphere adding to the nervous energy Pure Vanilla was radiating.

 

Pure Vanilla shook off the shock to try to begin explaining himself.

 

“I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, well I did, b-but because I was scared someone would enter your room without you knowing. Not that I would, Never! But—”

“Are you the friend of White Lily?” Shadow Milk had asked simply, but it felt more like a statement than a question.

 

Pure Vanilla was taken aback, not expecting him to say that. He stood there awkwardly, before deciding to answer.

 

“Yes, I am.” Pure Vanilla answered hesitantly, his nerves calming down slightly.

 

Shadow Milk looked thoughtfully at him for a moment before letting out a huge smile.

 

“You're that Pure Vanilla guy right? Residents here talk a-lot of you” He said, making Pure Vanilla’s past worries disappear, it seems he wasn’t mad.

 

“They talk about me?” Pure Vanilla said.

 

“Pshh, of course! Everyone who moves here gets some rumours. Don’t worry though! Nothing but flattery on your side!” Shadow Milk said enthusiastically.

 

“Oh… so you're not mad about the room?” Pure Vanilla said, deciding to bring it up.

 

Shadow Milk looked unimpressed at him before continuing, “Meh, maybe don’t put your nose in business that isn't yours…”

 

“Yes, of course! But, you also mentioned White Lily…?” 

 

“She's such a silly girl, what has she told you about me?” Shadow Milk asked suddenly.

 

“Well she has… told me to stay away from you…” Pure Vanilla answered, that question catching him slightly off-guard.

 

“Really! She’s so dramatic! Don’t listen to her too much, she just hates my guts… Anything else?”

 

“That’s it, pretty much… Though I would like to get to know eachother better, so I can learn if those rumours about you are true…” Pure Vanilla said.

 

“Hmm, fine! Here’s my number, ONLY call me if it’s important.” Shadow Milk said, handing him a piece of paper from his pocket. Pure Vanilla stared at it before placing it in his bag.

 

“Thank you—” Pure Vanilla was about to say when he phone rang, he gave an apologetic gaze to Shadow Milk before taking the call, it was one of his co-workers.

 

“Pure Vanilla, we need you here immediately.” They told him in urgency.

 

“W-what? What happened?” Pure Vanilla asked, wondering what might have happened this early in the morning.

 

“There must have been a fight, there are many injured and we need everyone to come in. I’ve never seen anything like this…”

 

“Yes, I’m coming,” Pure Vanilla said before hanging up.

 

“Well” came Shadow Milk’s voice, “You better get going…” he said before opening his room’s door and closing it shut.

 

Pure Vanilla had no time to worry about that strange interaction as he hurried down to his car.

Chapter 4: Hope

To say the hospital was in chaos was putting it lightly. He was dragged from room to room to check on someone's vitals. The hospital says it was a gang fight, seeing that all the patients they have were from the same group.

 

Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, concussions and more were very popular amongst the sea of injuries. But what surprised him more was seeing White Lily come to visit him.

 

This was the first time she’d come since he’d started. The first chance he got, he hurried over to greet her, worry sketched all over her face.

 

“White Lily, what are you doing here, and at such a time as well?” He asked, giving her a worried glance.

 

“I—... I heard what happened, I came here as soon as I could…” She answered, looking around at the chaos and stress.

 

“You told me you were busy, why come for this?” Pure Vanilla asked, careful not to sound accusatory, he was only worried after all.

 

“I—” White Lily started before being interrupted by one of the doctors.

 

“Pure Vanilla! We need you here now!” They called, rushing into a room, Pure Vanilla looked quickly at White Lily.

 

“Promise me to talk afterwards?” Pure Vanilla asked, slowly backing away, and looking at White Lily.

 

“I promise.” She whispered, disappearing from view as Pure Vanilla entered the room after the doctor

 

***

 

It had been hours, the morning passing by and turned into night. Pure Vanilla sighed as hunger gnawed at the edges of his stomach. He’s only had a granola bar from the vending machine and a few drinks of water before rushing across the hospital. They have been understaffed as of late and the stress was eating him away.

 

He sat down in the staff lounge room, resting his legs and mind. A door slowly opening snapped him out of his thoughts, Hollyberry stood there, her presence always bringing him comfort.

 

“Hollyberry? How did you get here?” Pure Vanilla asked curiously, walking over to meet her.

 

“I have my ways,” She said with a wink, “I’ve also brought you some food, just in case you were hungry.” She added, letting herself in and taking a seat at a round table. She placed a bag on top of it of what seemed to be takeout from the nearest restaurant.

 

“Thank you Hollyberry,” Pure Vanilla said, taking the seat beside her, “I’m sorry that we had to cancel our get-together with everyone,” Pure Vanilla said, taking a peek inside the bag.

 

“Nonsense! What you’re doing is way more important than that, but, I did invite some company to join us…” She added mischievously.

 

“Hollyberry!? What did you do?” Pure Vanilla asked, amused at her antics.

 

The door opened again, letting in a very vibrant Golden Cheese. Behind her, Dark Cacao walked in, shutting the door behind him. 

 

“Ah! Golden Cheese and Dark Cacao, what a lovely surprise.” Pure Vanilla exclaimed, telling them to take a seat.

 

“Hollyberry said that you were working later, we came to bring you company.” Dark Cacao said while Hollyberry smiled proudly.

 

“Hollyberry! You forgot the sauce!” Golden Cheese said she had already rustled through the food she had brought.

 

“Agh! I knew I had forgotten something,” She exclaimed, letting out a chuckle. 

 

“Don’t eat it all, save some for Pure Vanilla.” Dark Cacao added. Pushing the bag slightly to Pure Vanilla.

 

“You all are very kind, but I must ask, how did you get in here?” Pure Vanilla chuckled, grabbing a small handful of fries and passing the rest to Golden Cheese.

 

“Like I said, I have my ways,” Hollyberry said again.

 

“This has been a stressful evening for us all,” Dark Cacao started, his stoic face showing a bit of stress.

 

“Friend, must you destroy this happy moment with your seriousness?” Golden Cheese said, passing along the tray of food reluctantly.

 

“It has to be said, me and my team are trying their best to find out what happened,” Dark Cacao retorted back.

 

“What have you found out?” Hollyberry asked curiously.

 

“Not much, it isn’t clear how it happened. But there seemed to be some rivalry with other groups…”

“It must have been an awful sight in the hospital…” Hollyberry added.

 

“It took a while, but we were able to stabilize most of them…” Pure Vanilla said, slowly eating the food.

 

“Honestly, it’s horrible—” Golden Cheese was about to say before the door opened. They all looked to see White Lily standing there. It looked like she wasn’t more than one person.

 

“White Lily? You’re still here?” Pure Vanilla asked curiously.

 

“Yes, I—”

“White Lily?” Hollyberry added abruptly, “You must be Pure Vanilla’s friend he talks about so much.” 

 

“Ah, you haven’t met White Lily yet have you? Perhaps we should all plan to meet together,”

 

“Certainly, I do hope you live up to the things Pure Vanilla tells us,” Golden Cheese added.

 

“I didn’t realize you had company over,” White Lily said, “I’ll come by later…” 

 

“White Lily, why don’t you stay with us? It woul be great to have you meet my other friends,” Pure Vanilla asked, walking towards her. She looked at him with uncertainty.

 

“I rather not, I’m busy. I’ll text you later…” She said and left as quickly as she came.

 

Pure Vanilla called out her name but to no avail, she waved goodbye before disappearing behind a wall.

 

Pure Vanilla let out a sigh, she had promised to talk to him when they had the chance. He felt a hand on his shoulders and looked up to sees Hollyberry’s beaming face, now dulled with empathy.

 

“Don’t think about it too much, I’m sure she’s just going through a lot at the moment…” Hollyberry said reassuringly.

 

Pure Vanilla smiled, before looking at where she disappeared off to. Perhaps she was right, White Lily had said she was busy as of late.

 

But still,

 

He hoped it was true.

Notes:

Just had an itch to write about the ancients.

Chapter 5: Look Over There!

Notes:

Sorry for not posting, my exams were giving me a rough time :( Wish me luck.

His shift had ended late that day, not willing to leave at all in fact. Though his supervisor has taken the responsibility to make sure Pure Vanilla doesn’t chew more than he could sallow. A part of him was grateful for it.

 

His friends had left a while ago, wishing him well before leaving to deal with their own problems. A part of him was sad to see them go, but alas, he already had made them stay longer than they usually would.

 

The sky had darkened even more, the walk to the employees parking lot close by, keeping him from wasting any more energy. 

 

He entered his car, closing the door with a light click. He sighed, leaning back slowly and letting the exhaustion wash through him. Just a short drive and he’ll be home free. He debated whether to make himself a warm cup of tea, it would be nice, something to ease his bones. 

 

His phone lit up on his lap. The light startled him a bit in his tired state as he quickly reminded himself to not fall asleep in his car. He lifted his phone up to his face, White Lily had texted him, like she said she would. 

 

Pure Vanilla quickly shook away the fatigue clinging on to him before opening it up to see what it said.

 

<White Lily> Are you able to talk right now? I know it’s late

 

It’s fine, tell me <Pure Vanilla>

 

<White Lily> I’d prefer if I said it to you in person, can you meet me in my apartment?

 

Of course! <Pure Vanilla>

 I just finished so I should be there in a few minutes <Pure Vanilla>

 

<White Lily> Thanks Pure Vanilla

 

Pure Vanilla sighed, after a long day, he would be able to finally talk to White Lily, no distractions, no running away.

 

He started up the car, slowly moving onto the road. It was a quiet night, the night that made you hyper aware of your surroundings. He felt the silence creep down his spine, the roads were empty and most of the lights around him had turned off for the night.

 

He drove by a small park, usually filled with children, now laid abandoned in the darkness. If only he could find comfort in the quiet perhaps he’d be feeling differently about all this.

 

As he slowly drove by, something caught his attention, movement near one of the swings. It could be just his imagination if it weren’t for the muffled sound coming from that direction.

 

Pure Vanilla was aware of telling White Lily about being there in a few short minutes. But his curiosity won over the decision. He parked on the side of the road and carefully closed it. He was sure he heard something over by the swings.

 

He walked slowly towards it, muffled conversations. It sounded like kids, what made his heart race was why children would be over here at this time of night? His pace quickened until he was peeking behind a tree.

 

His eyes widened when he looked over. Three kids, one cowering behind the other two, while another bravely stood up and the last one looked ready to flee or attack. They were each looking at the person talking to them, an adult hiding behind a cloak, not allowing anyone to see underneath it.

 

“You. are. so . stubborn! Give it back!” They growled in frustration.

 

“No! You’re going to do something bad with it!” The braver one said, hiding what seemed to be a suitcase behind their back.

 

“Something bad is going to happen to you if you don’t hand it over!” 

 

Pure Vanilla was surprised at this, his body acting before his brain caught up to what he was doing. Surely White Lily would understand why he was a few minutes late?

Chapter 6: Suitcase

Notes:

I apologize for the short chapters, I just can't seem to make them longer for some reason.

He emerged from his hiding spot, sprinting in front of the kids. He wasn’t strong, he knows that for sure, but maybe just enough to distract the mysterious person in front of him if a fight were to happen.

 

His sudden appearance had shocked all of them, even himself. The silence of everyone was thick, even as his brain had slowly started realizing what he just did.

 

His hands shook with adrenaline as he tried to keep a firm gaze, the person in front of him seemed to snap out of the shock. Letting out a sigh of frustration.

 

“Who the hell are you!?” They asked exasperated. 

 

“I could say the same to you,” Pure Vanilla answered, forcing his voice not to shake.

 

“Move out of the way will you? You don’t want to be part of this, I'm warning you.” They asked, he could hear the feigned patience in their voice.

 

“What do you want with these kids?” Pure Vanilla asked

 

“These little brats stole that from me!” They said, pointing at what one of the kids had behind their backs, the suitcase.

 

A million ideas of what could possibly be inside the suitcase went through his brain. No of which were good if he were being clear. Even through the darkness of the night, he could tell that it was too small to be an average work suitcase, or luggage. Which struck a suspicious cord inside Pure Vanilla.

 

“What’s inside of it?” Pure Vanilla asked, trying to keep the evident suspicion out of his voice.

 

“None of your business, now move,” They answered, clearly annoyed.

 

Pure Vanilla gave a curious glance to the kids, they didn’t look like the type to steal anything. One of them caught his gaze,

 

“It’s something bad! We overheard him talking about—” One of them started, before being cut off.

 

“SHUT UP! You weren’t supposed to be listening to you stupid kids!”

 

“I think this has gotten out of hand” Pure Vanilla said, “Maybe we could—” Were the last things he said before being pushed roughly, the impact of it catching Pure Vanilla off guard and causing him to trip. He landed roughly on the ground, slightly dazed.

 

There was movement around him while his vision started coming back to him. There was a pair of hands helping him to get up while loud voices and struggling were heard.

 

He sat up quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. The darkness of the night made it easy for him to open his eyes.

 

The cloaked figure is struggling to pry the suitcase from the two children. He could take a better look at them now that they aren't behind him.

 

One has brown hair, with freckles covering his face, the other boy has fluffy white hair, wearing a white scarf. They both were trying to pry the suitcase from the offending figure. If this were any other situation, Pure Vanilla would have found it amusing that a grown person was struggling to take something from a couple of kids.

 

Then there was the third child, she was the one helping him get up, she had on a bright pink hoodie, covering half her face. Out of all of the rest, she seemed to be the most cautious.

 

Pure Vanilla tried his best to get to his feet, he could feel the blood pulsing into his head. At the same moment, the suitcase clicked open with a snap, whatever was in it flew out of it and hit Pure Vanilla squarely in his head, causing him to fall again.

 

He recovered quickly this time, the girl beside him holding whatever had flown out of the suitcase in her hands. She looked shocked to have caught it and there was this awkward moment where everything was still. The figure and the children holding a now open suitcase, Pure Vanilla recovering from being caught off-guard two times now and the girl looking down at her open palms.

 

The figure reacted first, letting out a frustrated scream before charging at the girl. She gave out a terrified squeak before running in the opposite direction.

 

“Strawberry!” The boy with the brown hair yelled after her, running behind the figure. Pure Vanilla quickly grabbed the boy with the white scarf before he could go after both of them, not wanting all three kids to be in danger, this situation was destined to go bad.

 

“We have to go after them!” He yelled hopelessly, not being able to get out of his grasp.

 

“I’ll go, don’t worry. Stay here and call the police.” Pure Vanilla told him determinedly, adrenaline pulsing in his blood.

 

“I—I don’t have a phone–” He started before Pure Vanilla pushed his own phone in the boy’s hand.

 

“Use mine,” He said simply before running after them. They have gone a long ways away already, using their voices to find out which direction they went. 

 

Notes:

Hello! Thanks for reading. I appreciate all of you who have made it this far! :3

Comments and Kudos are always appreciated, I eat up those yummy words you all send me. :3