Chapter 1: Lost keys
Chapter Text
"hey hoshino, can you pleasee cover for me today?, I'm really busy this week I promise this is the last time I ask"
Ichikas co-worker requested for what seemed like the billionth time this this month, every time, she says it's the last, and ichika doesn't have the energy to argue, she doesn't have the energy to do a lot of things anymore, it's not like she can say no either, this isn't a request it's just a demand in disguise
"of course of course dont worry about it"
One eternity later, Ichika was finally done with her (and her Co-worker's) piles of endless paperworkh, she finally got the chance to leave this hell hole, or at least she thought, because when she was already standing next to her cat, her keys where no where to be found, dammit
When she walked back to the building, thinking she'd just grab her keys then finally go back home, maybe listen to a Miku song or watch a crappy TV show, well that was before another surprise found it's way to her, they were closing for nighttime!
"no no please no not now!"
No matter how many times she waved or yelled, the owner didn't seem to notice, until he left the place, with her keys locked inside, could this day get any worse?
Ichika contemplated climbing the fence, but she doesn't have the most athletic body, and that'd probably look suspicious, she tried opening her car from the outside, but the people passing by just thought she was trying to steal it, someone even stopped her and threatened to call the police, it as a very awkward 10 minutes of trying to explain
After many many stupid failed attempts to find a way home, Ichika just gave up, now trying to think of another plan 'I wonder if there's any busses at this time', she thought, or maybe said, her memory hasn't been that good lately
Though where was the bus stop?, the last time she used a bus was in her collage days, how is she supposed to remember after all those years, she thought of asking randoms on the street, but it was too late for her to not be confused for a creep, and there wasn't even anyone around to confuse her for one, she sighed and decided to just go with gut feeling, maybe she'll find a subway to her home or something
After what seemed like 3 years of walking, Ichika's desk-adjusted body was dying, she wasn't used to walking, not this much at least!
She needs to rest somewhere, at least for a few minutes, just to regain her breath, she thought about sitting on the ground, but the floor were even more dirty than she thought, the white collar worker looked around, and to her surprise, there was a Café..?
It was kinda hard to tell, the sign just said 'leo/need' with three stars scattered around the text, but it seemed like a Café enough, and she was too tired to be picky, or suspicious as to why there is a Cafésopen at this time of day
When she opened the door, she was expecting to be welcomed by some sassy teenager working night shift or something, but there was no one, she was surprised there wasn't already an intruder trying to rob this place, especially when there are zero staff here
While ichika was lost in thought about possible ways to solve this situation, she saw in the corner of her eye dim lighting was coming from an open door, oh so the owners are here, but why would they hold a light when the ceiling lights are already on?
Before she could think of an answer, a blinding presence was in the room, when her eyes adjusted to the lighting, they immediately widened like they're about to pop out of her head, standing before her, was a smiling blond girl (?) with huge horns, and red-ish pink eyes, and blindingly white skin, wait was she the light source???
Ichika couldn't belive her eyes, wait maybe this is jsut a costume, right right she shouldn't get ahead of herself.. But how would anyone get their skin to literally glow like that in a costume??? is this a dream?, this has to be a dream, maybe she accidentally slept in the offic-
"wahh! A vampire! It's been so long since I've se-aaa I mean, welcome to our Café! How can I help you?"
The.. Creature seemed a bit too cheerful for someone working when other people are supposed to be deep asleep, ichika still couldn't believe her eyes, this has to be a dream, and what's the best way to get out of a dream? Pinching yourself!
"ehhh?, are you okay, is something wrong? Do I need to call a doctor!?"
The creature quickly started panicking after ichika let out a wince, realizing pinches hurt more than she remember, and even worse, this is not a dream, but there has to be a reasonable explanation to.. This person looking like this!
"... Why do you look like that"
Ichika asked, realizing that was rude, it's impolite to ask someone why they look the way they do, even if they look.. Interesting, it's not an excuse to be rude!
"hm? Hey! That's not a very nice thing to say to someone! I look great!"
"no wait I'm sorry I didn't mean to be rude... But not why do you ha-"
"if you're not gonna order, then I'll have to kick you out miss!"
Ichikas energy was back, not from sitting down which she didn't even do, but from simply seeing someone that looks like.. This, she could just get out and assume it's a weird thing, but a part of her wanted to know why does the girl in front of her look like that, a small part of her believed it wasn't a costume or a dream, she can't help but be curious!, though it's probably not the best idea to nag her again, she didn't seem very amused with her earlier questions
".. One black coffee, please"
The.. Waiter seemed satisfied that ichika has finally placed an order, quickly going to make it, now ichika was once again alone, that gave her time to look around and notice some.. Interesting design choices to say the least, like the weird amount of stars and meteorites and just space themed decorations all over the place, or the terrifyingly cute painting of.. Honestly she has no idea what was that supposed to be, or the shelf dedicated to plushies, two seeming to resemble human animal hybrid girls and the other three some animal she didn't care enough to try and guess, Ichika would've loved to scan this place further but before she knew it her coffee was already in front of her, she wanted to take a sip, but a part of her still told her to not drink it, a childish part that refused to let go of the past.
Now ichika was even more desperate for answers, she needs to find a way to ask politley without offending this girl, which was staring into her soul for some reason, really uncomfortable, so ichika tried to not make eye contact, her eyes landed on the girls chest, where laid a name tag, 'saki tenma' huh, tenma, where did she hear that name before?
"so um.. Tenma, Is this a cosplay café?, I uh really love your costume!"
Ichika asked before taking the first dip of her coffee, hoping the girl didn't put her 'magical posion' in it
"eh?.... Ah! I can see why you may be amazed by my costume, it's custom made by the way!"
Saki then didn't even bother to walk around the table so she just sat on it to get closer to ichika, which caught her off guard, especially her eyes, it was hard enough getting used to sakis lighting from a distance.. Wait what did she call h-
"here, you can admire it up close, I can give you their business card if you'd like! Hehe"
That wasn't exactly what she's been wondering about, but Ichika was glad she at least got permission to inspect whatever the girl in front of her has going on, when she looked closer, her glowing skin and horns looked even more real than before, there were no signs of a wig or strings or anything to indicate that it's fake, ichika was seriously questioning if she's dreaming
".. Ah! You're-uh you're very pretty"
"hehe thank you, You look so cool too!"
Saki seemed very satisfied with ichikas compliment, grinning and everything, even if the only reason she said it was because saki was staring at her too long, though she was very pretty, ethereal, literally and metaphorically
She tried to push away that thought by gulping down the coffee, she can't be distracted away from trying to figure out why does the girl look like that
"saki, how is wiping the tables going?"
Said a girl with a warm smile, coming out of the same room saki came out of, only this time, she didn't have horns, she had.. DOG EARS??
Ichika almost chocked on her coffee when she saw them, 'don't say anything don't say anything don't say anything' ichika had to tell herself multiple times, she hoped they didn't notice
"hona! We have a customer!, a vampire customer! When was the last time a vampire came to visit?"
Saki said as she pointed at ichika, wait what did she jsut call her... VAMPIRE?? What is even happening here, is she making a joke? No she looks pretty serious, then what the hell is happening why is she being called a vampire all of a sudden!?
"saki! It's rude to point out people species like that!, oh and welcome to leo/need café, did saki already get your order, miss..?"
Dammit now they're both staring at her, she wanted to say her actual name, but if this was a cosplay café, she'd be ruining the mood, and if it wasn't, then.. Then they'd probably eat her or whatever they do to humans, it's horror movie 101 to not let the monsters know you're a human.. Probably ichika doesn't watch a lot of horror movies
"my name is.. Ichika.. Dracula"
Stare
Stare
Stare
"is that a real family name? I thought it was only in human movies"
Said the.. Dog girl.. What was her name? Oh right, hona
"woah I've never met someone who's related to Dracula himself!, I didn't even think he was real, soo do you know him? Is he like your grandpa?"
"uh.. Ye-yeah you can say that"
"saki why are you laying on the table, and did you forget to clean them?, you should've just told me if you don't want to wipe them yourself"
"Oh ehhhh, well I was planning to but a customer came in and I had to serve her! I'll clean them right now!"
Ichika just watched the two speak as if she wasn't there, well at least that gave her time to think, for a few seconds before suddenly a towel was... I-is that thing flying??? What how when why where WHAT
Ichika just stared with her jaw dropping to the floor as the towel floated in the air and started wiping the table, followed by another one, and another!!!!
They were all followed by a transparent bearly visible yellow glow, there's no way in hell this is anywhere near a human made thing, magic is real and she's literally witnessing it happen right before her
"hm? Is something wrong ms. Dracula?"
Ichikas reaction reflex took a few seconds since she's literally never been called 'Dracula' her entire life, especially not by a dog woman!!
"Oh uh nope, nothing wrong, uh I.. I was just practicing.. Ehhh how to eat my next victim!.. Suck their blood I mean! Mmm taste human blood! Can't miss that!!"
The hona girl seemed surprised.. Or maybe confused... Or maybe suspicious!! Did she say something wrong?? Vampires suck human blood, that's what she's known since she was like 5!! She glanced at saki to check what her reaction was, but she seemed too focused on making all the towels magically moves somehow to hear her
"You can see humans?"
Chapter 2: Terrible surprise
Chapter Text
"... W-what?"
"You said human blood, does that mean you can see humans?"
"humans?, she can see humans!!? "
All the towel fell to the ground as saki turned to look at the 'vampire' who can supposedly 'see humans', Ichika wondered how this place is not thriving in dirt with someone like this for a cleaner
"uh.. n-no I um i-... Yes!, I can see err humans!"
"WOAH, what are they like?, do they really eat each other's hair!?, oh wait can they actually fly or do they dig and live in tunnels wait actually don't answer anything!, I'll go get shiho, she should see this too!."
And with that, the girl with a terrible attention span was out, causing Ichika if maybe she shouldn't have lied this much, it just seems to drag her deeper and deeper, she so done for.
"I've never met anyone who can actually not only see humans, but also interact with them, can you please tell us more about them, that if you're free of course."
"uh..yeah, if you're interested."
Before she knew it, Ichika was sitting in the middle of a random café, with a woman with dog ears and tail, about to tell her how it's like interacting with other people, nothing could ever surprise her anymore.
"so what are they like?, how different are they from us?"
"uh well, you see the difference is.. Uh tha-that's well... Yknow it's like, the normal stuff"
"..'the normal stuff'?"
"like, the um the differences that you'd expect.. From a human"
"wait don't say anything without me! I wanna hear all about it!"
Ichika wasn't a religious person, but this is an occasion to pray for, she was just as surprised by her words as the dog girl was, Honami, was it?, but now she has to find a way to slip through the cracks of her and sakis questions.. and this third.. werewolf.. Girl saki was pulling..?!
"nice to meet you, I'm Shiho Hinomori, are you the girl who can see humans?"
"uh.. Yes!, why would I say so if-if I couldn't"
Shiho raised an eyebrow as she sat in front of Ichika, God she's so doomed, she thought she can pull this off for a bit longer but the warewolf girl is already starting to get suspicious, she can't keep doij g this for much longer, especially with the three of them staring at her, the dog girls head still tilted from her last terrible very obvious lie, sakis the only one smiling as she pulled into her arm, trying to get her to say some other bullshity lie, shiho seeming more suspicious the longer she stared, what if she finds out??, will they just eat her??, warewolves eat people don't they??
"right, what are they like, is their diet different than ours?, how does their society work?"
"w-well, for starters.. They don't uh.. Eat humans.. and um, they usually only eat animals.. l-like chicken and cows."
"eh?, what are you talking about?, I've never seen anyone eat humans here."
"could it be that vampires prey on them?, does your family do that?"
"I-i you see well.. obviously!, I didn't even know other.. monsters don't prey on humans, I mean, it's just the natural thing to do, like our.. ancestors!"
Ichika carefully scanned the girls faces, desperate for any sign of belief, the dog and ethereal girl seemed to be buying it, or at least she hoped they were, but Shiho, she just seemed even more suspicious of her than before, were her crooked smile and stuttering words not enough to convince the seemingly sharp warewolf?, but thanks God they don't eat humans, so she's safe, for now.
"... Ah, I suppose that makes sense, but I was wondering about something else,"
The warewolf smirked before pointing a finger at ichika, specifically her left ear
"why are your ears not pointy, or a better question, why do you not exhibit any vampire traits at all, you're a vampire aren't you?."
"i.. um well.. Of course I am a vampire, wh-why would I say I am if I wasn't!, the um th-"
"then you surely have a good explanation as for the lack of traits resembling your own species, don't you?."
"Of-of course I do!.. Just uh.. I have to go to the restrooms first.. then I'll explain to you!"
"Oh.. okay, just go to the third door on the left"
"right th-thanks!"
Ichika didn't walk as fast and as slow in the same time before in her life, she could catch a hint of disappointment in the werewolf's face, was she trying to catch her? did she already find out??
after anxiously opening many doors trying to find the restrooms, completely forgetting the instructions she received, but who's blame her?, she was about to piss her pants she didn't have time to focus!, when Ichika finally found the door to the bathroom, she wasn't sure about how willing she really was to use it anymore, two of the people here are almost animals, God knows what they do here, plus she just didn't want to use most of the things in this dreamlike place, she just stared at herself in the mirror, trying to think of a new excuse so she could just get out of this weird café before it's too late
Though what will they do if they actually find out, the werewolf girl seems to be very close to the truth, but maybe if ichika just made some makeshift excuse she can leave before any of them even considers it, according to doggirl, humans weren't anything usual, so that's not something they'd expect.. Hopefully.
When the human was about to walk out of the seemingly normal restroom, something in her reflection caught her attention, she could've sworn it winked at her, was this something norm-it winked again!?, before she could try and think of an explanation, Ichika ran out like her life depends on it.
When she came back to where the café's staff was sitting, they all were looking at her, smiling smugly, well only werewolf was doing that, doggirl just seemed surprised, and saki excited.. wait there's no way they foun-
"you're a human, aren't you?"
Chapter 3: Inter-world friendship
Chapter Text
"wh-what!?, n-no nope nuh uh, why wou- why would you even think that!, I'm obviously a vampire!"
"You can cut the act now, it's really obvious"
"how did you even break through the barrier, miss. Dracula?" doggirl seemed more curious than ready to eat Ichika
"um I.. wait what barrier?"
Wait no she should've defended herself more dammit!, she knew she was a terrible liar, but this was just insane, though even after finding out, none of the girls seemed to want to harm her, the warewolf just seemed.. Hard to read really, but she seemed satisfied.. From what ichika coukd tell, and the doggirl didn't lose her polite streak, did she always know??, and the last one..
"woahh, I've never even thought seeing a human in real life was possible!, how do you live?, do guys just not have any abilities, like, at all??, what do you eat, wait do you guys actually not have magic?"
Saki was already up from her chair, looking at ichika from every angle, it was pretty uncomfortable, but to be honest this whole experience was uncomfortable as a whole, so this wasn't really news to ichika
"saki, don't do that you'll scare her!"
"Oh right, sorry ichi hehe"
"ichi?"
Oh right she told them her real name.. Followed by 'Dracula' no wonder she was discovered in no time, she should really start working on her lying skills
"there's a barrier between every world, including ours and yours, no one here saw a human before, we just heard about them, that's why we're so surprised" the warewolf girl explained, which was still hard to grasp, a woman with a tail is explaining groundbreaking news to her
".. I.. Wait what!??"
Ichika immediately went to the door to check, another world?? She was in work a few hours ago!, when she opened the door, the sky had many many more stars than usual, and the whole street looked different, the building looked different, everything wasn't what it was when she saw it the first time, even the moon looked different, she couldn't really pinpoint anything, but it all looked very different than what she had normally, there's no way she actually
"I really.."
"if I may ask, how did you get here, what did you do that made you end up in our café, Ms. Dracula?"
Ichika contemplated telling the actual story, because saying she forgot her keys then got lost and tired is what made her end up here was really embarrassing, she couldnt even fully process what was happening yet, getting embarrassed isn't going to make it any better
"..I was walking home from work, and then.. I um.. Then I just found this café and thought it'd be nice to get a drink, that's it, nothing more"
"how did our café even appear in your world in the first place?"
"was it our café, or maybeee, ichi got telported by some secret super power she didn't know she had!"
"this sounds like the protagonist in an isekai Manga Saki, this is real life, there's probably a reasonable explanation for the barrier being broken"
"..now how do I go back home??"
"wait you're thinking about going back already?" saki said with a pout
"it's unfair to keep her here, if I was telported into a strange world one day, I'd want to get back home"
"honami's right, we should find a way to take her back to her world as fast as possible"
"buttt, it wouldn't hurt to stay just for a while!, plus we wouldn't find a way if we don't know anything about how exactly she got here, so she need to tell us more details, right ichi?"
"uh"
Saki was already tugging at ichika arm, dragging her to the table, Ichika wanted to decline and fine a way to go back to her mundane life as soon as possible, but.. When she's not terrified of them, those girls aren't really that bad, it wouldn't hurt to chat just for a whiles, plus she won't be able to think if her mind is occupied!
"yeah, sure"
Before she knew it, she was sitting in a table with 3 girls she met about thirty minutes ago, asking her all kind of questions, her doing the same, accidentally getting to know each other in the process
"do you have any powers, Ms. Dracula?"
"Well that depends on how you define 'powers'"
"can you use, hmm, magic?"
"no, but I wish I could've"
----------------------------------
"how many different creatures are there?"
"that are sooo many, like saint beast sorcerers like myself, or werewolves like shiho, or-"
"136, if you're not being too specific" said the we- said shiho
---------------------------------
"all our costumes are handmade!, a friend made them for us!"
"hehe saki, you already told me that"
"she's so found of them, especially that she got to pick the materials"
---------------------------------
"so Ms. Dracula-"
"ah can you not call me that?, it's not even my real name I just made it up so you won't find out I'm not an actual vampire"
"I knew Dracula wasn't a real name!"
"Oh then, what is your real name?"
"Ichika Hoshino, but I'd prefer it if you'd just call me ichika, honami"
---------------------------------
ichika expected it to be very awkward, but with all the questions about the 'fascinating human life' she kept receiving, it was hard to even get uncomfortable, even if she didn't like to think about it, Ichika hadn't had this kind of conversations with anyone, for a long time, the type of conversations where they're just having fun without any hidden requests or demands, she missed this warm feeling
Before she knew it, the sun was already rising, though the light didnt affect ichika as she thought it would, mostly because her eyes already got used to sakis blinding presence
"ah! It's already morning! I didn't think id stay this long I'm so sor-"
"hey don't apologize!, it's was super fun having you with us!!"
"sakis right, it was really fun talking to a human, and even more fun talking to you, Ichika, we should be the ones apologizing you must be so tired by now"
"n-no it's fine! I've never had this much fun in years"
"Do you have a place to sleep?, we have a spare room you can sleep in."
"yeah! we can have a little sleepover!"
The polite thing was to decline, the rational thing was to decline, Ichika knew that, she really did, but a part of her, a very stupid part of her, wanted to let it happen, wanted to sleep with them, and wake up the next day, and then do whatever she's supposed to do, she knew she shouldn't and the mature thing to do was deal with this like an adult but..
"I'd.. I'd love to!"
Chapter 4: Lotus eater
Chapter Text
Ichika sat down on a strangers couch, which surprisingly, wasn't as weird or as foreign as she thought it would be, but that's probably because she's really happy now, even though it's stupid and most likely only short term.. Is she doing the right thing?.. Well obviously not, but at least it's fixable, not like she's doing some irreversible damage to her life, if she didn't stumble across this place, she'd be sleeping in the middle of the street anyway, which is like 10 times worse, so this is fine, right?
"how do you like your bed?, I made sure the pillows were extra puffy!"
".. Oh!, uh, yeah they're really comfortable, thanks saki."
Said ichika to her temporary roommate who pulled her out of her dance, for better or worse, she wasn't really expecting to end up sleeping in sakis room, honami seemed like the motherly type anyway, saki seemed more on the childish side, but, 'looks can be deceiving, I suppose'
"by the way, do you uh, want me to call you Saki or ms. Tenma?, since we-"
"Saki obviously!, we're friends now!!, I wouldn't let a stranger sleep on my couch, plus we've spent like 3 hours chatting together, I'd be pretty upset if you didn't consider me your friend"
friends.. huh, it's been a while, Ichika put her head on the pillows, now wondering how will she sleep with sakis glow?, how does saki sleep with sakis glow?, does she simply never need lights in her life? But they still bothered to install lighting in her room, maybe it's just for the aesthetics, or at least she thought until her roommate turned the lights off and suddenly the whole room went dark, the only thing she could see was sakis body, which wasn't nearly as shining as before but still had a little weak glow coming out of it, it took ichika a few seconds to process, so a holy being with controlable lighting, wow, that's just insane
".. hm? oh!, are you amazed by my amazing abilities?, yknow I read somewhere that humans can't produce lighting so I'm not surprised by your surprise, saki tenma is always prepared"
She said before laying down on her bed, Ichika followed and laid down on her own pillows, trying to ignore the divine being staring into her soul, wondering if she can also see human souls on top of all her magical princess disorder abilities, which was.. Unlikely now that she thinks about it, if saki could do that everyone would be hearing about it
".. I know we talked about this a little in the Café, but, what is being a human like?, not abilies wise, but like, how does the human society work?"
"oh, well um, we also have jobs and stuff, it's like our main thing n-no wait not really we have more going on well, my-my daily routine is, I wake up, brush my teeth and all that, shower, get dressed then drive to work, then I work, and work, and.. Work.. Until it's nighttime, I'm supposed to be home by 5, but I always do extra work for my um, co-workers, so it takes a while, then I drive back home and... thats.. My day"
"woah!, human life is so different than ours, or at least my life, I only work for a few hours a day, but you seem to base your life around it, you must reallly love working if you do it this much!, do you have best friends there?, or... Hehe, a secret forbidden lover maybe?"
"hehe, not that far, but I don't reall-... I mean, I totally love my job!, I have so many friends that work there, even more than I can count, plus, it's super easy, I love my normal life in general!"
"woah really!?, I wish I had more friends that worked with me, it's usually just me hona and shiho, if there were more, it'd never be a dull moment here"
"it's kinda already like that, in my workplace, there's always something happening, someone pranks another or something explodes.."
"what are you waiting for then?!, tell me all about it!, a sleepovers not a real sleepover without a late night story!!"
And with that, Ichika started telling her late night (or in this case, early morning) tales, she didn't know why she lied out of nowhere, she had no reason to!, saki obviously wasn't going to make fun of her for not having the most exciting life there is, but still, it did feel nice to have a dream life, even if it was all a fantasy, maybe she was doing it out of shame, or as an escapism, but that didn't matter right now, she'll worry about all her adult responsibilities later, now she can live in a carefully drawn life, just for today
This time she gets to be a hardworking person, who works in a very fun office, she's friends with all her coworkers and never has a dull second, her work always sends her somewhere so she is always meeting new even more fun people, and in weekends, she's usually in her family's house, laughing with her unnamed siblings, she can live in this reality for as long as saki believes she does, so maybe she can stay in it for a few more hours, days
Before she knew it, Ichika had already fallen asleep, along with saki, for the first time in a while, she didn't wake up from a nightmare, nor a normal dream actually this time she just didn't dream about anything, which was always better than some weird nightmare, when she looked at sakis bed, noting it was empty, ichika got up after tidying the couch she slept on, doesn't matter where she is, good manners are a must!
She didn't really memorize it well, but she still remembers the way to the Café which was empty, but that wasn't really surprising, people don't eat in the same place they work.. Probably?
"oh!, Ms. Dracula, you must've gotten lost,"
"ah uh no no, don't worry about it shouldn't have wandered aimlessly in the first place"
"sorry for not waking you up before, I didn't want to disturb your sleep, come i prepared breakfast"
Ichika followed honami to what seemed like the kitchen, well it does have a sink.. With a pair of eyes and a bunch of (weird) kitchenware so it must be a kitchen, both saki and shiho were there eating some weird.. Wait is that an egg?
"goooood morning ichi!"
"morin', ichika"
"... You can eat this, right?, I tried to make something close to human food, but it was hard since I only have a few tales about what humans eat to go by"
"oh no no, don't worry it looks amazing, thank you for making it, honami!"
The egg, or egg like thing did taste that bad, or that good either, it just tasted.. Not like an egg, but it was okay, for a thing from another world it was okay
"You know, Ichika, I have a friend that might know how you ended up here, I can contact her if you want to"
Yinyang69 on Chapter 3 Sat 06 Sep 2025 04:05AM UTC
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Taio151 on Chapter 3 Mon 08 Sep 2025 08:37AM UTC
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