Monster and Mark

Kousuke stared at the tiny bedroom—a former storage room—with a futon and dollar-store vampire decorations. Then at the dinosaur sippy cup on the kitchen table, and the tiny bright yellow butcher coat hanging in the garage. Barely a month had passed. Yuuto had already invaded every corner of his little space.

“Good evening, sleepyhead.” Kousuke knocked on the door, as Yuuto rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms on the bed. The sun cast a long shadow over the curtain, which had been sealed shut all day long. Evening and nighttime were the only times their biology overlapped.

“Good evening, Kou-san.” Yuuto got up and waved at him, then headed to the kitchen to pour some blood into his cup.

The huge freezer in the garage was stacked with so much deer meat that Kousuke considered giving some away to the neighbors or even buying a second fridge, but it had been necessary to drain enough blood for the kid.

Kousuke chewed the last bite of his tenth variation of deer meat. “I'm going shopping for more knives. Wanna walk with me?”

“Sure.” Yuuto sat up, excited to be out.

The dim streetlights flickered on as they stepped outside, competing with the flashy neon Halloween decorations in the neighbors' yards. Kousuke walked slowly, matching the boy's pace, who was currently marveling at the huge, moving electronic skeletons.

Yuuto insisted on carrying the butcher knife box on the way home, saying that he was way stronger than he looked. He looked proud, so Kousuke let him be. He decided to take a shortcut through the woods; the streetlights could be seen from afar.

Rustling sounds came from the nearby bushes, and a group of vampires emerged from the shadows.

“Oh, isn't it our errand boy? We missed you so much already.” One of them stepped forward, sneering down at Yuuto. The boy clutched the knife box tightly to his chest and scooted closer to Kousuke's side.

“A werewolf?” another vampire mocked, yet they still remained at a distance. “Guess you still have zero survival instinct.”

The third one made a shushing sound, yet his eyes were cold. He gestured to the boy. “Come on, Yuuto. You know what to do. Come back to your family.”

“I don't wanna…” Yuuto muttered, his hand gripping the side of Kousuke's shirt. The boy was hiding behind him now. And that was all Kousuke needed to know.

He took a step forward as the moonlight illuminated his features through the thinly veiled clouds. A low growl rumbled from his throat, his sharp canine fangs bared at the vampires, golden eyes burning into their red ones without blinking. 

The vampire nearest to him took a step backwards, glanced at the others, and immediately scrambled to run away; the same with the rest.

Kousuke stayed like that for a while. Never hurt to be on guard. Behind him, Yuuto clung to his arm, trembling. Kousuke let him hold on.

The walk home was filled with silence, except this time, a small hand was holding onto his. The same hand that, minutes ago, had threatened vampires with its sharp claws was now gently holding a child's. Yuuto's hand was devoid of warmth, like a frozen night, yet it warmed the missing piece of his life. 

Together, a lone werewolf without a pack and a lone vampire without a coven walked to their own safe haven.

***

Kousuke knew very little about Yuuto's past despite living under the same roof with him. But he would be patient and wait for the boy to talk about it at his own pace. As of now, he had a much more important task to worry about: the full moon. It was almost the end of September. He made a checklist, an infographic, and even brought a random wolf plush as a demonstration—when did he even get that?

“I can't help the transformation of the full moon, which will be in two days. And here is what you have to do: hide in the closet. Don't make a noise. Splash this holy water on me in the worst-case scenario. Remember, face this way; don't spray it on yourself.”

Kousuke went over the lecture several times, but Yuuto kept looking at him with those sparkling eyes. The man sighed, wondering if what stayed in the kid's brain was just: werewolf and transformation.

Later that day, while Yuuto was sleeping, Kousuke went over the werewolf repellent supply kit one more time: silver cross, holy water, and a silver blade, which he kept as decoration. For years, it had become a routine, asking for time off on the full moon, locking his place up so as not to harm anyone. He treated it like a mundane inconvenience rather than a supernatural ritual. But now, there was a variable that he had to keep safe—from himself.

Kousuke tested the blade. Could Yuuto cut himself with it? He double-checked the closet door and peeked through the crack. Was the hinge sturdy enough? Would he be able to sniff Yuuto's scent through the wood? He turned the lock off on the holy water spray. Would this be enough to wake him up in werewolf form? He did a final inspection of the house. The bolt that kept the front door locked, which kept the world safe from him, now ironically trapped Yuuto inside with him.

As the sun was about to set, Kousuke carried the sleeping vampire and placed the boy inside the closet. He had put the temporary blind there, hoping it could at least shield Yuuto from his eyes.

***

Kousuke felt it first in the joints, the electric jolts numbing his fingers, then moving to every muscles. Then came the sensory overload. Every small sound hammered into his eardrums, even his own racing heartbeat. Still, Kousuke did another round of checking the house, with only the moonlight as the guide, as LED light hurt his sensitive eyes. He could ease through the pain; he was used to this.

The smell was the worst. No matter how far he tried to stay from the closet, the fragrance reached him like a sweet velvet mask pulled over his head. Yuuto's scent.

He had already locked away all the white noise. All that remained was his own growling, the dripped saliva on the floorboards, and the creak of his steps. Stay away from the closet, a small voice said in the back of his mind. It was quickly drowned out by the instinct of seeking out the irresistible scent.

Before he knew it, he stood in front of the closet. Sharp claws ripped the flimsy curtain apart. The prey was right inside. Only a thin door and lock stood between them. 

He hesitated. Why?

A voice cut through the silence. “Kou-san?” High-pitched. Innocent. Stupid. A prey announcing itself.

Kousuke ripped the door apart with one motion.

The prey stared back at him with glowing red eyes, filled with wonder despite its shaking limbs. It scrambled through a toolbox. He was faster. He knocked the box away. The tools scattered across the floor.

It threw random stuff at him. The cross only caused mild burns. The blade slid off his skin. Gathering its courage, it grabbed the spray bottle but turned the wrong end and sprayed itself instead. Pathetic. It started to cry. 

He could easily finish it off easily. Yet he stopped.

Kousuke clutched his head. The full moon shone through the window, casting shadows behind them. He crouched down. Why? He could easily swat this tiny creature away. Why did its sobbing noise make his chest ache?

The moment his hand touched its shoulder, the creature snatched a discarded water gun from the scattered tools and shot straight into his face. 

Kousuke scrambled backward, howling as the holy water burned his skin.

“Gotcha.” The creature’s own skin was burning too, but that smug face somehow irritated him.

“Yuuto…” The name sounded foreign on his tongue yet so familiar. The trance broke. 

“Welcome back,” the vampire said. 

They both passed out on the floorboards.

***

Kousuke blinked awake. It was still dark outside. He felt a weight on his chest. Yuuto had curled up on his side, clinging to his half-transformed body.

“Mmmm… teddy bear…” the boy murmured, still half asleep.

The werewolf touched his face. The skin had already healed from the burn. He tried to sit up, and that stirred Yuuto awake.

“Why did you say my name in the closet? Didn't I tell you to stay silent?” He patted the boy's head absentmindedly.

Yuuto sat up. Red eyes met his for a moment, then dropped to the floor. “Because you sounded like you were in pain.” 

Kousuke froze, then exhaled slowly. This idiot kid knew exactly where to hit.

As the moonlight fell across them, he noticed a sigil mark on Yuuto's cheek where the holy water had sprayed. He reached out and touched it. The skin was still cold. No sign of burn residue.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his hand still on the kid's cheek.

“No. Not at all. All healed.” Yuuto nodded, fangs showing ih his smile.

He smiled back and ruffled the kid's hair, but the nagging worry in his chest stayed.

He truly didn't know anything about Yuuto at all.