Kita is immediately fumbling in his pocket for the pack of matches he brought with him. In doing so, he drops the candle. He decides to just leave it, hurriedly striking another match.

When he looks back up, he finds the silhouette gone. Kita backs up a bit, unsure where the person could've gone in such a short time. Perhaps they left? That would be fantastic, but he's pretty sure it's not the case. He could've sworn the mystery person was looking right at him, and everything feels wrong.

Kita continues backing up, making the decision to turn around. His best hope of escape is most likely not going out that way. He should turn around and try to find a business that's open or something. Somewhere to hide out until morning.

Before Kita can do so, he feels himself run into something behind him. He jumps, turning around and finding the same figure from before. It's definitely a man, and he's quite tall. His face is cast in shadows, so Kita can't make out any characteristics. He's far too close, and Kita stumbles backwards.

Once he's a couple feet away from the man, he notices something. The man's eyes are glowing white, sclera completely pitch black. It's scary, and Kita already feels his entire body trembling in fear. He takes more steps back, though he's having a difficult time functioning. He can hardly think, too distracted by terror and confusion.

Humans don't have eyes like that.

For the first time in his life, Kita is confronting a monster.

Kita's match blows out, casting the entire alleyway in darkness once again. He drops it, adrenaline kicking in and preparing to sprint in the other direction. Before he can take but a few steps, however, a force is knocking him into the wall.

The bricks scrape painfully against his arm, the inhuman force only harshening the wound. Kita hits the wall and falls to the ground, wincing in pain as he lays on the concrete, face against the cold pavement. Kita lays there for a moment and tries to catch his breath.

"Nikita," he hears a deep, gravelly voice. It's unfamiliar, though something about it is immediately setting off alarm bells in his head.

"The prince's pet." The man continues. Kita begins shakily pushing himself up, stumbling up to his feet. He falls back against the wall, breathing heavier than before. He hasn't exerted much energy, but the panic is getting to him. He can't see anything, the voice sounding like it's coming from everywhere. "Glad we can finally meet."

Kita can't see anything, and it's bothering him, so he cautiously strikes another match. It doesn't light up much, but it does reveal a pair of black boots only a few feet in front of him. He glances up to the person's face, and finds a somewhat generic looking man. He's got light skin and blond hair, eyes unmoving from Kita's face.

He's also smiling. It's a calculating, predatory smile. The situation only gets worse, when Kita lays eyes on his teeth. They're all sharp, like shark teeth, but there are two that are longer than the others. Fangs.

Oh god. Oh no. This isn't just a monster, it's a fucking vampire. Not only that, but he clearly knows who Kita is. That only makes it worse, because Kita's best friend happens to be one of the most notable monster hunters alive. He's a natural, and has probably killed dozens of this man's kind.

"W-Who are you?" Kita asks him, pressing himself as far against the wall as he can. His eyes widen further when the man begins walking towards him.

"Not important," the vampire replies. Kita can hear his own heartbeat in his ears.

"Well, my— I mean, um," holy shit, Kita, think. Convince him not to kill you! Kita's never been in this situation before, so his mind is coming up blank. "My blood is gross. It's—I have, uh, blood... disease. It's disgusting. You don't want any."

The man quirks an eyebrow at him, appearing to actually find humor in the situation. Kita doesn't know how. He's practically begging for his life, here.

"Blood disease." He repeats, just staring down at Kita, who is freaking the fuck out. "Like what?"

Kita blinks. He did not expect the guy to request specification. He's not sure if he even knows of any sort of blood... illnesses that he could have. "Um. Cancer."

The guy is visibly not taking him seriously at all, and Kita jumps when he feels his arm being grabbed. He drops the match, and it's out before it hits the ground. This leaves them in complete darkness, Kita staring up into the terrifying glowing white eyes. The guy is still smiling with his razor sharp teeth that could easily rip Kita's throat out.

"Tragic," he says blandly.

Kita purses his lips, shuddering when the man brings his wrist up beside his mouth. Kita can't help the way he starts to tear up, as the realization hits him. He's living out his final moments. There is no way out of this. He's no match for a fucking vampire. The man pulls the sleeve of Alexis' jacket back, Kita's wrist now bared and defenseless.

"P-Please don't kill me."

Kita's life is flashing before his eyes.

Kita's recalling every memorable event that has ever happened to him. The first time he met Alexis, the first day the pub opened. His first pet, a frog that died years ago. Dancing with his mom in the kitchen as they baked muffins, and years later, the first time he saw her cry. It was heartbreaking, and he still doesn't know the reason for it.

Kita feels his mother hugging him, hears his father scolding him, sees Alexis smiling at him, as the man finally bites into his flesh.

He lets out a cry of pain, legs giving out on him and falling against the guy. The bite is deep, and it hurts like hell. Kita can't remember a single time he has ever been in this amount of pain. He swears the man's teeth touch bone, before he finally pulls away.

Wait a second. Pulls away?

Sure enough, the vampire's mouth leaves his skin. They actually lose all contact, in fact, because the guy lets go of him. Kita feels his back hit the wall with force, watching the man just stare down at him. Blood drips from his mouth when he speaks again.

"I'm not killing you." He says simply. Kita's heart is racing, tears streaming down his face, blood pouring from his wound, as he just stares at the guy in terror. "I'm ending the war."

Kita's practically hyperventilating, just staring up at the vampire. He feels so unbelievably confused, and the wall can only do so much. He's lost practically all his strength, and he crumbles to the ground. He feels his sleeve fall back over his wrist, covering the wound. Blood immediately begins soaking it, but the coat itself is black—and it's dark outside—so it's hardly noticeable.

Kita sits on the ground, leaned kind of sideways, back against the wall. He's trying to catch his breath, trying to calm himself down, but he's just freaking out way too much. His mind is cloudy, adrenaline pumping through his body. His head hurts, possibly from blood loss, and he can hardly focus his vision.

Why is he still alive?

Kita finally looks up, making eye contact with the vampire once again. He has taken a couple steps back, giving Kita his room, and now is just staring down at him. He appears beyond proud of himself, looking down at Kita like he just won.

This only lasts for another minute or so, before Kita catches a glimpse of a quick flash to the right. He barely has time to recognize it as light hitting silver, before the vampire in front of him is collapsing to the ground.

Kita watches him drop, watches his head go one way and his body the other. Kita's eyes widen at the gore, backing up further against the wall. He catches another glimpse of light from the corner of his eye, and looks up to find a hunter. He's clad in his typical dark armor, sheathing a bloody sword.

It's not just any hunter, though. It's Kita's hunter.

Kita doesn't think he's ever been more happy to see Alexis in his entire life.

Alexis is immediately kneeling down in front of him, eyes wide with worry. It takes Kita a second to realize the guy is talking to him. "Kita? What happened? Are you okay?"

Kita just stares up at Alexis like he's the most perfect thing he's ever seen. Honestly, at least in this moment, he is.

Kita probably looks like a wreck. He's still in his pajamas, Alexis' coat the only thing keeping him warm. His hair is messy from sleep, and he has tears streaming down his face. His entire body is shaking in fear, several parts of it splattered with blood, and he's still having a hard time breathing.

He almost died.

Kita isn't even mad anymore. So what if Alexis left him? He just wanted to get the vampire, and it looks like he just did, so things should go back to normal after this. Kita doesn't waste any time before practically throwing himself into the arms of his best friend, sniffling. Alexis wraps his arms around him easily, beginning to stand up with Kita in his arms.

"Hey, it's alright," he says quietly, voice soft and comforting. He never sounds like that. It immediately has a calming effect, Kita's breathing beginning to go back to normal. Slowly, he's able to cease his trembling as well. "You're safe now."

After a few minutes of Alexis consoling a terrified Kita, he's finally calmed down enough to back away. When he does so, he's immediately being questioned. "Why aren't you at the palace?"

Kita averts his eyes, eyebrows pinching together at the memory of Alexis breaking his promise. "I was mad."

There's a silence. During this silence, the state of Kita's body starts to catch up with him. The pain in his wrist is only getting worse, and it almost feels like it's spreading. That wouldn't make sense, though.

"I'm sorry for leaving," Alexis apologizes. Kita flicks his gaze up to meet his best friend's silver eyes, which appear to almost glow in the light of the full moon. He's looking down at Kita meaningfully, and Kita knows he's being genuine. "Do you still want to go home?"

Kita does, so he nods. This has nothing to do with being upset with Alexis, though. He's actually the complete opposite. This is because he has a wound to take care of, and he doesn't want to tell Alexis, because it will only worry him. He still has some hope of Alexis getting some rest tonight, and making him aware of his situation would not aid in that.

Also... something just feels wrong. Kita wants to figure it out before bringing it to anyone else's attention.

After Kita's nod in affirmation, Alexis is helping him onto his horse. Well, not really helping, since he pretty much does all the work. Kita is really weak right now, so he's not of much aid.

The ride back to Kita's house is pretty uneventful. He does his best not to get blood anywhere, restricting contact with both Alexis and his horse. Kita's mind is going a million miles an hour the entire time, as he tries to figure out what to do. Should he go to a hospital? He's lost a lot of blood. Then again, he couldn't do that without people knowing. Also, he kind of just wants to pass out right now.

When they arrive, Alexis gets off his horse, before helping Kita down. Kita just wants to run inside, but Alexis has more things to say.

"Are you gonna be alright? It didn't hurt you, did it?"

Kita shakes his head in the negative, not really trusting his voice right now. He honestly feels like he's going to cry again, the pain is getting that bad.

"Okay," Alexis says, eyes lingering on Kita for a moment. He gives him a once over, and Kita's having a hard time keeping his balance. It's difficult for him to focus on anything but the pain, which—he was right—is definitely spreading. "Will you be able to get inside?"

"Yes," Kita says, because he needs Alexis to get out of here. It is becoming more and more apparent to him that there is seriously something fucking wrong. "Be careful. I-I'll see you tomorrow."

Alexis still doesn't appear to believe him. So, Kita decides a demonstration is necessary. He musters up as much strength as he can and begins climbing the stairs. It's not easy, though he does his best. He still fails, and before he knows it, he's falling backwards.

Luckily Alexis is there to catch him. Kita is about to continue insisting that he's fine, but before he can do so, he's being carried bridal style the rest of the way.

As mentioned before, Alexis is a large person. His gear and armor only add to it, and Kita's place of residence isn't exactly as big and extravagant as the castle. No, it's cramped, so Alexis has a rough time navigating the narrow stairs. Then, he has to go through a kitchen and living room, before another staircase. It's not quiet business in the least.

Eventually they reach Kita's bedroom, and before he knows it he's being placed on his bed. Alexis kneels before him, staring into Kita's tired, watery eyes in worry.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" He asks, and Kita nods his head in the affirmative. Alexis purses his lips, probably sensing that Kita's lying. He honestly looks like he wants to check Kita over himself. However, there's not a way for him to do that without being intrusive.

So, he settles on some parting words. "I'll see you tomorrow. Please get some sleep."

Wow. Coming from him? "You, too."

Alexis acknowledges that with an absentminded nod, giving Kita one last once over. His eyes linger on Kita's arm, which is tucked in his sleeve, before sighing. He looks like he wants to do something. He looks like he really wants to do something. Kita can't fathom what, though. "Goodnight."

Kita sniffles, curling up a bit into himself. He's already feeling drowsy. This whole ordeal has really taken it out of him.

"Goodnight," Kita says. Alexis begins making his way towards the door. Kita is feeling sentimental, possibly because of the near death experience he just had. So, he continues, "I love you."

Alexis freezes by the door, and it's hard to tell with his armor, but he looks kind of tense. His voice is so quiet Kita almost doesn't hear him when he replies, several moments later.

"I love you, too."

It's not even a full minute after Alexis leaves Kita's bedroom, that he is promptly passing out.