Page 6 of The Vanishing
“That’s fair.”
“I know Haruka is a good male,” Junichi says. “He’s easy to work with and not as pompous as he could be, considering his ancient bloodline. Not a nightmare like my selfish, dramatic shrew of a source. Plus, Haruka is bonded with you. Even if I knew nothing else about him, that would give me all the validation I needed.”
Three
The morning weather is warm and clear, the air fresh with the scent of damp earth and new life. Haruka looks up, examining the puffy white clouds drifting overhead as he waits on the front porch. When the door swings open, he diverts his attention forward and smiles.
“Good morning, your grace,” Sora says, returning Haruka’s grin as she pulls the door open wider. She bows at her waist, making the giant, messy bun on top of her head shift forward. When she’s upright, she adjusts her red-framed glasses. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“Please, just Haruka is fine, and it is my pleasure. My apologies for the delay. The past few weeks have been exceptionally busy.” Haruka steps into the cool foyer. The house smells of bitter green tea, clean tatami and something sweet.
“I can imagine,” Sora says. “Since you’ve come back, everyone’s been so excited and we all need something from you. Not to mention the social events and—”
The sound of small, eager feet racing toward them grows louder, making both Sora and Haruka turn their attention toward the long hallway. Haruka takes a step back to plant his feet, bracing himself for the impact of tiny vampires.
“Shion, Amon,stop—”
Haruka opens his arms just in time as the small girl pulls ahead of her brother, jumping at full speed into his embrace. He sweeps her up, while the boy crashes into his long legs, arms wrapped around Haruka’s knees.
“Youcheated, Shion.” The boy looks up from Haruka’s knees, a stern crease set in his adorable brow. “It’s not fair!”
“Good morning, Haru-sama.” Shion smiles, ignoring her brother and settling herself in Haruka’s arms. “Me and Dad pressed mochi for you. We have tea, too. Will you have some?”
“I helped too,” her twin brother asserts, indignant.
Shion glances down at him in a pointed moment of silence, then focuses her rich brown gaze back on Haruka. Her face is indifferent. “Amon helped too.”
“I’m so sorry about my wild kids,” Sora says, bending down to peel Amon’s determined six-year-old frame from Haruka’s legs.
“There is no need to apologize. I would love to have mochi and tea. Thank you for the wonderful treat.” Indulgence. While Haruka doesn’t need to consume table food as a purebred, he enjoys it nonetheless. As a family of first-generation vampires, the human blood entwined within the Fujihara Clan’s lineage requires it. They need both food and blood to thrive as creatures born of vampiric biology.
Shion squeaks and wraps her small arms tight around Haruka’s neck. He steps out of his shoes and onto the hardwood floor to follow Sora down the hallway. She drags her son by the hand as they walk toward the kitchen. The scene reminds Haruka of an owner pulling its obstinate, untrained puppy.
“They’ve been going berserk for the past month over your visiting us.” Sora’s smile is strained as she wrestles with her little boy. “It’s all they talk about—they’ve been driving Kosuke and mecrazy. ‘When’s Haru-sama coming? Is it today? Is it today? Why isn’t it today?’ Oh my God—we’ll never tell them anything in advance again. Everything’s a surprise from now on.”
Haruka laughs as they turn the corner into the kitchen. The bright sunlight spills in through the open windows and the musky scent of green tea is strong. Kosuke, Sora’s mate, smiles in greeting from the counter, an apron wrapped around his narrow waist.
“Good morning, your grace. Thank you so much for helping us with this project.”
“Please, just Haruka. It’s my pleasure. I apologize for the delay in getting started.”
“Don’t worry about it. We know how busy you’ve been…” Kosuke frowns at his daughter. “Shion, seriously?” He holds his palms flat, urging her to transfer into his arms, but she turns away. A distinct “No thank you.” Her shiny black ponytail bounces as she snakes her arms tighter around Haruka’s neck.
“It’s okay,” Haruka says quietly. “I don’t mind.”
Kosuke shakes his head in exasperation as he turns back toward the counter. Haruka watches him for a moment, considering. “Kosuke, does the bright light in here not bother you?”
“Oh no, I’m okay as long as I don’t go outside or sit in direct sunlight. Thankfully my sensitivity isn’t as bad as some other vampires with my similar genetic background—not enough to make our household nocturnal. It’s too hard in this day and age, living that kind of lifestyle.”
“Agreed, it would be difficult to maintain such an outdated existence.” Haruka moves to sit at the small kitchen table with Shion in his lap, taking the seat washed in direct sunlight. Sora joins him, still pulling an excitable Amon at her side.
“Haru-sama?” Shion whispers, lifting her face and blinking brown eyes. “You smellreallynice—”
“Shion, good grief.” Sora frowns behind her trendy glasses. “Like, who’s raising this child? Someone call her parents—”
“I think so too!” Amon chirps from across the table. “He smells good ’cause he’s a purebred.”
“Can I sit with you while you read today?” Shion asks, batting her eyes. Amon bounces up in his mother’s lap.
