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“…Is blood the only thing that you can drink?”
In the quaint little town of Olden, there was a catholic orphanage run by Father Kaito of the Catholic Church. To all the town’s citizens, Kaito was the holiest man to walk the Earth. He was kind to everyone he met, even those who hurt him. He loved the children of the orphanage, and always told them that they were gifts from the lord above. He gave bread to the homeless, always spoke the word of god, so on and so forth.
Which makes the fact that he was this close to Gakupo Kamui, a vampire.
To be fair, it wasn’t as if he was seeking him out. On that faithful night, Kaito only went outside to pick crops. When trying to get blackberries for tomorrow’s breakfast, he pricked his finger on the bush. Gakupo, who was already roaming the area, was attracted by the savory scent of blood and followed the smell. That, was when the two men met. It was your typical vampire story, Gakupo seemed normal at first, until his fangs were revealed, and he bit Kaito’s neck.
However, most people would be left horrified after the event, but Kaito…enjoyed it at first? He and Gakupo continued to meet at night, but soon Kaito realized he couldn’t keep doing this! He was a man of the cloth! What if someone saw him letting a creature of the night drink his blood?! Also, more importantly, the lack of blood in his body was starting to interfere with his work.
“Erm…yes?” Gakupo tilted his head, moving away from Kaito’s neck. “I guess I can eat the food that you humans do, but it wouldn't satisfy my hunger in the same way that blood would.”
“Have you ever tried drinking the blood of other mammals?”
“WHERE IS THIS EVEN COMING FROM?!”
Gakupo whined, “Are you trying to get rid of me…I can’t believe it! I thought we had something special going on!”
“Th-That’s not what I’m doing at all! I’m simply giving you alternatives!” Kaito refuted. “I…enjoy your presence, but I’m starting to wonder if this is sustainable for me. I have been feeling rather dizzy lately…and my skin has grown pale as well. Here, feel my hands”.
Kaito took off his gloves and put them in his pockets. He then reached over to Gakupo, gently holding his hands. Gakupo immediately jumped back at how cold they were.
Kaito laughed, “See? That’s why I’m trying to find an alternative. For now, I’ll ask Sister Luka to make some extra bread.”
The next 2 weeks, Kaito would visit Gakupo during the day to give him some extra food that was lying around. The vampire lived in a decrepit (and rather messy) abandoned house, with drapes over every single one of the windows. It was extremely dark, and Kaito found himself bumping against furniture every 5 seconds or so.
“Would it be so hard to simply wait for me in the parlor?” Kaito would ask.
“No, but I forgot you’re coming because…you know…I’m asleep! We have very different sleep schedules, you know. ” Gakupo would say back.
One of the kids at the orphanage, Oliver, was especially talented when it came to alchemy. The young boy was always quietly making potions, and although it often got him accused of being a witch, this ability would prove to be quite useful for Kaito! After mass, Kaito approached the boy and asked if he wanted to partake in a little science experiment. He kept the details very vague, but Oliver was on board! And about 2 weeks after he asked, his work was finished, a substitute for blood!
“Father, what do you need this for?” Oliver asked.
“Oh, nothing.” Kaito smiled, lying through his teeth. “It’s for a personal project of mine. Here, let me take this off your hands. Thank you for all your hard work, Oliver!”
That night, when all the kids were put to bed, and everyone was fast asleep, Kaito knew what to do. He grabbed the substitute off the shelf in his office and raced to the garden’s outside. There, he saw Gakupo, admiring one of the berry bushes. Before he could warn him that there were thorns, Gakupo pricked his finger.
“Damn it!” He cursed, before realizing that Kaito was with him. “…Uhm, sorry.”
Kaito sighed and shook his head, “Bygones will be bygones. Good evening, Gakupo.”
“Good evening to you too!” Gakupo smiled, walking over to kiss Kaito’s hand, before noticing the glass vial that Kaito was holding. “What’s that?”
“A blood substitute,” Kaito explained, handing the vial to Gakupo. “One of the boys so generously made this for me! His name is Oliver, isn’t he amazing? But on another note, it’s supposed to taste just like blood.”
“…Is this safe to drink?”
“Do you think that I would poison you?”
“No, no! You’re smart enough to know that it wouldn’t work anyway.”
“Well, bottoms up!” Gakupo held the vial up as if he were making a toast, and took a sip. He let the taste sit in his mouth for a bit, before taking another sip. Then another, then another, then another, you get the point. Once he drank every single drop, he paused for a minute, collecting his thoughts.
“How is it?” Kaito asked.
“Tastes like some sort of medicinal remedy, but sweeter. It’s nowhere near as delicious as your blood, but it’s close.”
Kaito sighed, “Back to the drawing board.”