• The skies were dark and rain splashed on the black pavement of the rode and on the windows of the car. Inside a teenage boy stared blankly out the window in the back seat. His blond hair was cut shaggily and fell into his eyes.

    “I don’t understand why dad’s making me go to a public school,” he mumbled, “We tried that in Tokyo and it didn’t work very well.”

    “You’re father wants what is best for you Tomi-sama1,” the driver said, “He doesn’t want you to grow up alone.”

    “Yes, and he’s the perfect example,” the blond teen said, “He’d have been better off being alone than with my mom.”

    “Tomi-sama, that’s an awful thing to say!” the driver said, his face holding a look of shock for a moment, “If your father hadn’t taken a wife, you’d have never been born!”

    “So what? I hate my life, and I’m forsaken by God, it’d been better that way,” Tomi said.

    “You don’t mean that,” the older male said, “I’m sure you’ll make friends at this new school and we won’t have any… unfortunate incidents this time.”

    “Yeah… sure, whatever you say,” Tomi replied.

    Perhaps it seems only natural for a teenage boy to behave in such a manner. Not many children enjoy having their lives uprooted and being moved around the globe, particularly when they are moved alone. However, Tomi had other reasons for his slight depression. For Tomi Kurookami was not a normal human. Cursed blood flowed through his veins; the blood of a werewolf.

    The driver stopped the car in front of the school and Tomi climbed out. He sighed looking at the large building in front of him. Students loitered outside around the steps, chatting happily with one another.

    “I’ll be back to pick you up at 3:00 Tomi-sama,” his driver told him and the werewolf nodded, starting to walk towards the entrance. No one really seemed to notice him, though some of the girls giggled as he passed. However, Tomi just ignored them and continued to walk, until he became undeniably lost. He wasn’t really worried about it, however as if on cue someone showed up to help him.

    “Hey, are you lost?” an undeniably French voice questioned him. The werewolf wasn’t sure why, but the voice intimidated him. He looked up at a tall blond student.

    “I... Um... yes... I just started here and... I’m lost,” the boy managed to get out, for a normally confident boy he was surprisingly nervous. He bowed to the taller boy, “I’m Tomi Kurookami, and I’m supposed to be in class 1-A.”

    “You’re in the same class as me,” the taller male said, “This way.”

    Tomi’s nose twitched uncomfortably. He could smell blood; the air was thick with its strong scent. It was making him slightly nervous and jumpy. As he walked into his home room, he was greeted by a bright young woman who handed him his school papers. She had a thick British accent that Tomi was fairly used to from hearing his mother yell at him all the time. However, her voice was soft and kind.

    “I’m Miss Chrysan, and if you have any problems you can come see me alright?” she said cheerfully.

    “Uh… yeah… sure thing Miss Chrysan,” Tomi said. His accent was slight, if he had one at all. He traveled quite a bit, so in order to avoid being bullied, he was very careful in his pronunciation. To anyone else he sounded like a normal teenage boy from England.

    The bell rang and Tomi walked to his first class: History.

    Sitting one seat in front of the werewolf sat the boy who had shown him to class. The taller boy smirked faintly. This mortal might prove to be interesting. However, something was slightly off about him, though he couldn’t place it.

    “I don’t believe I introduced myself,” the older boy said, “I am Louis Delacroix.”

    “A pleasure,” Tomi replied, shaking the French boy’s hand. His nose wrinkled slightly as the strong scent of blood came to his nose again.

    All day it bothered him, the strange smell that came from Louis Delacroix. He couldn’t quite place it. Furthermore, no matter what class he went to, the strange boy was there. Tomi couldn’t seem to escape him. He was relieved when the day came to an end. He climbed into the backseat of his car and stretched out on the upholstery.

    “Tomi-sama, you really should wear a seatbelt,” the driver told him.

    “I know…” Tomi mumbled, “Just wake me up when we get there.”

    “Of course.”

    However, the driver did not wake him up immediately. He let Tomi sleep for well over an hour before he gently roused the boy.

    “What is it?” the werewolf mumbled.

    “You’re home Tomi-sama,” the older man said.

    “Oh…”

    “If you need me, I’ll be in my house on the grounds,” the driver said.

    “Thanks… I have to get some homework done…” Tomi muttered, heading up to his library. He sat down at his desk, pouring over his textbooks. Tomi had a thirst for knowledge. He knew he would live longer than any human. He was practically immortal, so long as he took care of himself and took care not to touch anything made of silver. He wanted to know everything there was to know in his amount of time on earth.

    “Studious little puppy aren’t you?” came a voice from the window. The hairs on the back of Tomi’s neck raised and he turned his head to look at the boy from school. He was paler than he recalled and he suddenly figured out what he had been sensing all day.

    “Vampire…” he breathed out, looking at him, not fearfully, but rather in awe. Louis was wearing a dark red silk shirt and black pants, making him look lean and elegant. He appeared to be sipping something from a wine glass, but Tomi knew it probably wasn’t wine.

    “What do you want here?” the young werewolf asked.

    “I was wondering the same of you,” the vampire said, draining the glass before walked closer. Tomi backed away slowly.

    “What do you mean?” he asked, looking confused.

    “I mean, what is a Japanese werewolf doing in England?”

    “What’s a French Vampire doing in England?”

    “Touché,” the vampire said as he strode smoothly across the room, his lean figure silhouetted by the light of the moon. They began a sort of dance then, circling one another, as if looking for an opening in which to strike.

    “I don’t want to fight you…” Tomi said, in a defensive pose as they continued their dance, “But don’t think I’m incapable of doing so.”

    “Do you really think you’d stand a chance?” Louis asked, smirking wickedly, a pair of fangs gleaming maliciously.

    “You think me ignorant of your kind?” Tomi asked, “You said yourself that I am studious.”

    For a moment, Louis hesitated. Was this boy bluffing, or did he really have the kind of knowledge that might destroy him?

    “You’re only seventeen, what could you possibly know?” the vampire said in a scoffing manner.

    “More than you might think,” the Japanese boy replied, “For as long as I can remember I’ve been learning about werewolves, vampires and all manner of folk-tale creatures.”

    “You need to find yourself a girlfriend,” Louis said, looking at the boy with some distaste.

    “That’s the last thing I need,” Tomi replied, “If you would kindly leave my home Monsieur. If you’re worried about conflict, you’ll get none from me.”

    Louis frowned. This wasn’t exactly what he’d been hoping for. But what had he been hoping for? A fight? A friend? A snack perhaps?

    “Monsieur Delacroix?” Tomi looked at him, for the older male had gone off in a bit of a daze.

    “Pardon?” the French man said, his eyes fixing back onto the blond werewolf.

    “I asked you to leave Monsieur,” he said, trying not to be rude, “I’ll show you out if you wish.”

    Louis Delacroix moved like lightning, so that Tomi barely saw him move at all and had his arms around the smaller blond, whispering in his ear, “Perhaps you would be less trouble as a snack… neh puppy?”

    Tomi scowled angrily, shoving the vampire off of him and pointing out the door.

    “Out!” he yelled, “Out of my house!”

    Louis left with a smug smile on his lips. Such an interesting person he had found. He went to his manor, where a young woman was tied up for him to feed off of her. He had to feed more often to be able to exist in the daylight, or his blood would boil away and he’d be left like dust on the ground. Louis sat beside the woman who was looking at him fearfully.

    “I just met the most interesting person,” he told her, even though he knew he would get no answer, “A young, blond, Japanese werewolf. Have you ever heard of such a thing? No… I suppose not.”

    Gently he tilted her head to the side and bit into her neck, hearing her gasp, feeling her heart begin to pound, pumping the blood through her veins and into his mouth. He drained her completely and disposed of the body.

    This werewolf boy intrigued him. He wondered how much the boy actually knew about his kind. Surely nothing that he himself didn’t already know. Even so, it made him slightly uncomfortable. With a slight uneasiness he went to sleep. He drank blood excessively so he could exist in the daylight. He felt slight remorse at that, but put it to the back of his mind and laid down to sleep.