Page 5 of The Vanishing
Nino scratches the back of his head. “Please… don’t include me in this conversation.” Haruka and Asao have a unique relationship. Asao is much older and third-generation, his purebred vampire origins twice removed. When Haruka was twelve, his parents died and Asao was named his guardian.
The two vampires feel more like goading father and mortified son than manservant and master. In joining their household, Nino has learned to keep his mouth shut during their disagreements.
“Happy anniversary.” Junichi smiles. “Wow. Bonded on the first try? Thatneverhappens. You two were meant to be. Like fate.”
“I think so…” Nino shifts his eyes, meeting Haruka’s vintage wine–colored gaze. “But I’m always told that I’m a ‘romantic.’”
Haruka reaches over and grasps Nino’s hand, bringing it up toward his mouth. “I am grateful that the stunning and romantic amber vampire is always so patient with his pragmatic mate.” He locks eyes with Nino as he presses his lips to his fingers. Nino’s stomach flips.
“We need to leave in the next five minutes to get to the Fujihara Clan’s estate on time,” Asao says, just before taking a long sip of his coffee. Haruka does the same, then stands from the table.
Nino looks up at him. “I’ll be back home around seven to start dinner.”
Nodding, Haruka pushes the chair in and meets Nino at his side. He bends down and places two swift kisses on his mouth. “Good luck in Osaka today.”
“Thank you.” Nino grins. “Good luck with the translation.”
Haruka stands and lifts his chin toward Junichi. “Kimemashita. Suitsu ja nakute, kimono wo kimasu. Jaa, mata atode.”
Junichi offers a firm nod, then winks at Nino. “Yappari kimono desu yo ne. Dewa boku ga tsukurasete itadakimasu. Are we still on for lunch this Saturday?”
“We are,” Haruka confirms. He walks toward the door and Nino turns to watch him, long and elegant in his dark slacks. He wears a crisp, subtly patterned white shirt layered underneath a handsome gray sweater. The heavy weight of his lustrous hair is pulled back, neat and tidy. The quintessential Historian off to do research.
“Have you met the Fujiharas?” Junichi asks when they’re alone in the kitchen. “They’re the family with twins.”
“Yeah…” Nino says. He knows who they are because they’d unknowingly shown him something important. Something he’s been privately grappling with since the day he first met them and witnessed the way in which his mate interacted with their twins. Nino is still taken aback with how calm and doting Haruka had been. He knows his mate to be affectionate. But seeing him with children exposed Nino to a new, hidden layer of Haruka’s character.
“I met them a couple months ago,” Nino says, keeping his revelation about his mate to himself. “They seem nice. They’re both first-gen, right?”
“Yes, they’re great—and the kids are obsessed with Haruka. Such an interesting family. Sora’s purebred father was a victim of the Great Vanishing. She said he was pushing her on a swing at the park one afternoon and then poof, she looked back and he was gone. Maybe she was five at the time? She walked home alone, and when she got there, her mom was doubled over in pain from the sudden separation of her mate. She ended up dying about a week later.”
Nino shudders at the mere mention of the Great Vanishing: the unexplained cultural event that happened nearly two centuries ago. Several purebreds across multiple communities and continents had slowly disappeared—like mist into thin air. No explanation. Not even now, so many years later. The entire purebred vampire population declined as a result.
“I didn’t know about Sora’s parents. That sounds horrible.” Nino sighs.
“Right?” Junichi agrees. “So Kosuke, Sora’s husband, can’t withstand direct sunlight very well. His first-gen father used to casually feed from humans in his youth—like for fun? Fucking nuts. His mother is purebred, but she wasn’t vanished. They’re living in Shimane, I think?”
“Haru told me feeding from humans too much will destroy a vampire’s bloodline for a whole generation—maybe even longer. My family’s bloodline wasn’t clean until the mid-1800s. But I think Haru’s has been clean since… something crazy like 200 CE.”
“Ancient blood.” Junichi shakes his head, the phrase weighted as it hangs between them. “Yayoi, Queen Himiko blood… I bet his ancestors were terrifying. They probably sucked other vampires dry when they fed. Anyway, Kosuke himself has never fed from humans, so the twins are fine. Sora works full-time as a nurse at my mother’s hospital in Himeji, since she can day walk. Kosuke stays home to take care of the kids. They might be better off finding a nocturnal society, but they’re pretty loyal to Haruka as a realm leader—and now you too, of course.”
“We have a lot of interesting families in our realm,” Nino says thoughtfully. “Some are humble and normal. Others are ridiculous. Have you met that new clan that just moved here from Tokyo?”
Junichi’s face falls flat. “Yeah.”
“We went to their house to welcome them and it was crazy—marble statues, huge paintings and a dramatic staircase. It was like something out of a cheesy drama. The son is some kind of underground rock star?”
“He’s a littleshit,” Junichi says with a sneer. “He comes by my shop at least once a week to pester me—making me order Versace and Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, then asking me to custom fit everything for him before he picks it up. Was I that arrogant and frivolous when I was his age? I couldn’t have been that bad…”
Nino leans on the table with his elbows, smiling. “You know, Jun, you can swear like this and be yourself in front of Haru. I know he’s old blood and a little pretentious, but you don’t need to put on airs for him. He thinks of you as his friend.”
Junichi raises his eyebrow in a smirk. “Me? Swear and gossip in front of my gracious, poised and diplomatic purebred realm leader? My father would turn over in his grave and climb out just to smack me.”
Nino understands. He’s purebred himself, but he’d felt the same way when he was first getting to know Haruka. Over time though, his stoic façade cracked, revealing someone compassionate and patient.
“You should give him a chance—he’ll surprise you.” Realizing something, Nino narrows his eyes. “Why do you swear and gossip in front of me?”
“Because you swear and gossip in front ofme. You broke the seal, my young friend.”
