Chapter Text
“You were stupid.” Yuno’s voice was booming. It was a tone Asta wasn’t used to hearing often, and it only made him feel that much worse.
“What was I supposed to do?!” He countered, standing his ground. No matter how much Yuno made him feel bad, there was no way he’d regret helping Leo. If he hadn’t, he could’ve died! And he never would’ve forgiven himself if he let that happen.
Yuno clenched his fist and attempted a deep breath to calm himself. “I don’t know, Asta. There were so many ways you could’ve helped him without risking our secret! Do you realize how easily you could’ve revealed our secret?”
“I’m sorry, Yuno. I—“
“No! You can’t just say sorry! You know Leo is from a noble family! What if his family is associated with the hunters?” Yuno’s voice was firm. Asta could feel a cold chill shoot up his spine.
“But… vampires haven’t been hunted in years, right? Maybe they forgot we even existed.” Asta muttered with obvious uncertainty in his eyes.
“There’s absolutely no way any of the hunter families of the past would let our existence be forgotten so easily.” Yuno’s expression softened, giving Asta a look of pity. “Look, just… be more careful next time, okay? And I think it would be best if you stopped interacting with Leopold.”
Asta sadly nodded, only giving his silence as a reply.
Leopold’s glances across the classroom were painfully obvious. It was odd… No matter how many times he replayed the event in his head, he couldn’t make any sense of it.
Now Leo was really wishing he hadn’t closed his eyes during the incident.
He really wanted to thank whoever saved him, but at the same time he felt a little intimidated… Whoever it was was not only strong enough to deal with those three, but they had also moved at an impossible speed. And there was no way that was an exaggeration! No human should be able to move that fast!
Unless… the incident altered his perception of time in the moment?
No, that can’t be right. He knows for a fact how it went down. He had only seen the person for a second, but he’s about ninety percent sure… It had to have been Asta.
The figure looked like him! There aren’t many people with a body like his. Leo would know, he’s stared at it many times during P.E.
Speaking of P.E… Asta never gets tired, does he? It’s not unheard of for people to just have a lot of stamina, but Asta? He’s just a high school student, surely he would’ve gotten tired at some point…
It’s a mystery that was slowly driving Leo crazy.
Asta hasn’t seem to have noticed Leo staring at him… Well, maybe he has and he’s just pretending not to notice. Actually, that’d make more sense.
Leo snapped his head back to facing ahead of him, heat rising to his cheeks. Asta totally knew, he had to! Gosh, that’s so embarrassing…
In his defense, he’s caught Asta staring at him too! Though the expression he wore was always strange…
Leo could never read him. He hadn’t a clue what was going through his mind. Over the years, Leo had gotten used to meeting new people. He learned how to read people easily. But Asta was a complete enigma.
And so was Yuno for that matter.
He had tried to befriend Yuno the first day he had heard he even existed. Which didn’t take long to reach him as Yuno had grown popular rather quickly.
However, there was one thing he could gather from Yuno.
Yuno does not like him.
That much his obvious. Leo still doesn’t know why he feels so negatively towards him, but he does. He didn’t let it bother him though. He just figured it was an ignorant teenager who had grown too full of himself because of his popularity.
But after overhearing that conversation with Asta… There’s something going on.
Does this have to do with how Asta reacted when Leo accidentally cut himself? His eyes… they had grown dark, pulsing. Leo remembered the moment vividly.
What made it even weirder was the fact that Fuegoleon seemed to know something.
There’s absolutely no way his older brother would’ve reacted like that had he not heard for anything. Leo almost feels tempted to ask him about it… but that would mean possibly revealing his lie.
He’s never seen Fuegoleon act in such a bizarre manner.
Leopold let out a sigh. He’s just giving himself a headache even thinking about it. He would just go through his brother’s office if he could, but Fuegoleon always has it locked when he’s not inside.
Then again, he has no way of knowing if he’ll even find what he’s looking for…
Could it be that Asta is sick? That would make a little sense, but not a lot…
He can’t even think of a sickness with those kinds of symptoms at all though. Maybe he should’ve paid attention in health class more. He supposed he could check the library at his mansion?
Not that Leo really likes reading all too much, he’s hardly ever in there. In fact, he’s pretty sure he’s only ever gone in there to hide from Mereoleona.
Still, it’s a huge library, there’s gotta be something about it. Especially if Fuegoleon knows about it. And if Leo thinks back on it, maybe Mereoleona knew something too?
He remembers seeing them whisper to one another sometimes with serious expressions on their faces. The face Fuegoleon made then was similar to the one he saw the other day…
Though this really sounds like a stretch…
The lunch room felt a lot less crowded than usual. After a quick look around, it wasn’t hard to see why. Yuno wasn’t here today. And without a Yuno to gather a crowd, there was no crowd to be had, so everyone was minding there business and going to their self
designated lunch spots.
Another thing that stood out was the fact that Asta was eating alone. Magna and Luck must be eating somewhere else today…
Asta was deep in thought, so it was no surprise he didn’t see Leo take a seat next to him. Startled, Asta snapped his head in Leo’s direction.
“Leo?! What are you doing here?” He questioned.
Leopold tilted his head and offered a gentle smile. “I saw you sitting alone, so I figured I’d come sit with you.”
Asta’s cheeks turned slightly red as he turned his head back away. “Thanks, but you really don’t have to. Don’t you usually sit with Noelle and Mimosa?”
Leo responds with a nonchalant shrug. “Eh, they won’t miss me for one day.” Plus, it’s not often Leo gets an opportunity to speak with Asta without Yuno or one of those chaotic troublemakers interrupting.
Leopold’s gaze lands upon the water bottle in front of Asta. “So… what are you drinking?”
Asta blinks and goes quiet for a moment. “Just some juice.”
Leo nods, he doubts Asta’s words for some reason. A sense of unease falls over him. He covers up his nervous demeanor by widening his smile. “Really? What flavor is it? It smells a little odd.”
Asta closed the bottle and shoved it back into his back, trying to pretend Leo’s words didn’t bother him so. It was obvious they did though, which made Leo feel more suspicious. “You’re right, I bought this a while ago. It probably just went bad.”
Leo raised an eyebrow, his smile fell ever so gently. “Are you gonna eat anything?”
Asta raised his head and waved his hand a little. “No, I’m not hungry. You don’t seem to be eating either.”
Leopold looked at the empty table in front of him and chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Anyway… I wanted to apologize for the other day. If I did anything to offend you, I’m truly sorry.”
Asta was momentarily confused before his lips curved upwards and he pat Leo in the back. “Don’t worry about it, I was just having a rough day. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you! I shouldn’t have freaked out like that, I’m just… not very good with blood.”
Leo rested his elbow on the table. “I see… Sorry about that… So that means we’re good, right?”
Asta gave him a thumbs up, he then stood up, grabbing his bag.
Leo’s face fell, silently observing Asta. Where was he going? “Are you off somewhere…?”
Asta’s palms were sweaty as his hastily nodded. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just remembered I have a test to retake!”
Before Leo could get another word in, Asta was off. Leo was alone at the table.
Filling with both disappointment and relief, Leo got up to join Noelle and Mimosa. Asta is hiding something, and Leo’s curiosity only got more intense.
“Master Leopold, Lord Fuegoleon has asked me to inform you that he will not be joining you for dinner.” The maid offered Leo a polite bow.
Leopold couldn’t say he was surprised. These days, Fuegoleon spends more of his time in his office than anywhere else. He doesn’t remember the last time they’ve properly hung out as just brothers.
With their parents gone for some months, Leo usually just spends his free time alone save for when Mimosa or Noelle come to hang out. Though even that was becoming less frequent.
Not even the maid is here often enough to make Leo feel less lonely in these quiet corridors.
“Thank you for telling me, but I was already planning on skipping it anyway. Please be sure to notify the chef.” Leo starts walking away, before suddenly stopping. “Oh! And please take some food up to my brother whenever you have the chance! Something tells me he probably won’t be out until it’s time for bed.”
The maid gives him a bow and heads off to tend to her duties.
The library was much bigger than he remembered. Just seeing the hundreds of books lining the walls was making his head spin.
The different books were separated into different sections… but Leo can’t remember for the life of him which was which. He supposes he might as well just, grab a book and start looking.
Leopold had spent an hour looking through the shelves. Fictional books, historical books, cook books? Do they just have everything there? He had just barely caught himself from falling off the small ladder.
He hasn’t even started looking upstairs yet!
Leopold moved onto the next section, removing a book off the shelf. ‘Wait, this book is about medicine…’
Finally…
Though after a quick look through the books, he’s come to the conclusion that none of these books fit the description he’s looking for.
Just as Leo is about to give up and leave, his attention is caught by the small box sitting on the bottom shelf in a corner.
‘That’s weird, why would this be here?’
Leopold sat on his knees and pulled out the box. He picked up the book resting on top of the stack. ‘Creatures of the Night: Vampires… That’s weird, what’s this doing over here?’ The contents inside seemed to be handwritten too.
A fictional book like this is so out of place in the medical section. Leo was about to put the book back when a photograph slipped out of the book.
Curious, Leo picked up the photograph to take a look. There was writing on the blank side. ‘Hage Church, 1919’… No wonder the texture was so worn out-feeling.
However, when Leo turned it over to look at the picture, he felt his blood go cold. “What? This can’t be right…”
His eyes have to be playing tricks on him! There’s no way this was real. This picture is nearly a hundred years old!
But even after rubbing his eyes several times, the picture remained the same.
“What’s Asta doing in this picture…? And Yuno too…” If that’s really him, he should be dead by now! Or at least a wrinkled twig on his death bed—! Is he even human?!
Leopold’s shaky hands picked the book back up and reread the cover.
“Is this real?” Was it really possible that… Asta was a vampire? Both him and Yuno?
The answer sounded outlandish. Something straight out of a fictional story. And yet it made so much sense. More sense than any other answer he’s been able to come up with.
This means that… Asta is really a vampire?
Leopold’s eyes landed back onto the photograph, onto Asta. His eyes lit up with adoration. “Wow, he’s so cool…”
Leo slid the box back into the shelf, keeping the book close to his chest.
Asta reread the note once again, trying to spot any hidden message that could be written down. But he remained puzzled. It didn’t help that Leo wasn’t even here either.
It just didn’t make any sense. Why would Leo leave this note on his locker if he isn’t here? Or if he is here, why isn’t he in class?
‘Asta, meet up with me during lunch -Leo’
There isn’t even a specified location on here, how is he supposed to know where to go?
Plus, there’s got to be a reason why Leo would want to meet up with him like this. Maybe they weren’t as good as Asta thought they were.
Once the bell rang, kids immediately began to shove various school supplies into their bag and racing out of the room as soon as possible, eagerly awaiting the small amount of socialization lunch provided.
Asta, however, was in no rush. After all, it’s not like he knows where to go anyway.
That’s when it happens.
The pungent, yet blissful melody of scent invades his nostrils like a sweet, coppery smelling flower.
Blood. And not just any blood, Leo’s blood.
Leo is bleeding somewhere. Was Leo injured? What if it was those guys trying to mess with him again?!
Alarmed, Asta followed the scent in a rush.
The trail led him upstairs, then up even more stairs. What was Leo doing up here? Reaching the top of the stairs, he was momentarily stopped by the tape blocking the entryway with a note attached to it.
That’s right, the classrooms up here aren’t being used, so students aren’t allowed up here… So why is Leo?
Asta stepped over it without a thought, not like the tape was really doing much.
Asta felt dread wash over him with every step he grew closer to the empty classroom the smell was emitting from.
Hesitantly, Asta grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. He opened his eyes which he hadn’t realized closed. The scene before was more unexpected than anything he could’ve anticipated.
Leopold was sitting on a desk, his hand bleeding while the other held a blade. Meanwhile Leo was staring at Asta with a smirk.
Asta’s eyes were wide as he tried to speak. “L-Leo…? What are you doing?!”
Leopold hopped off the desk and walked over to Asta. “I was wondering when you would show up.”
“Leo, I don’t— I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”
Leo raised his bleeding hand. “Asta.” He paused for a moment. “I have a question.”
It took everything within Asta to not jump onto Leo. The smell was so much stronger… He can barely take it…! What on earth is Leo doing?! Is he trying to torture Asta? He’s gonna get himself hurt and it’ll be all Asta’s fault!
Leopold pulled a photograph out of his pocket. “Do you recognize this?”
Asta’s gaze fell upon the picture and he felt every fiber in his being freeze. It’s a picture of him… at the church with everyone else. From nearly a century ago…
“Where did you get that?!” Asta snatched the photo out of Leo’s hand to which Leo did not try taking it back.
“I found it in my family’s library. Along with some other interesting books. Asta, tell me… what exactly are you?”
Asta stumbled back, completely at a loss on what to reply with. “What are you saying…?”
Leopold took another step towards Asta. “I read all about it. Your speed, hearing, smell, strength… That thing with your eyes. Though I’m not sure how you’re able to walk in the sun…”
Asta had to pick his words carefully… “And what are you going to do with this information?”
“The information about you being a vampire?”
Those words caused Asta’s breath to hitch.
“I’m not going to do anything. Sorry, I didn’t mean to come off the wrong way. I just find you really interesting, and I want to get to know you.” Leopold explained with that same smirk.
“I don’t get it… You aren’t scared?” Asta questioned.
Leo shook his head. “No. Honestly, even from when we first met there was always something about you that made me want to be closer with you… I could never put my finger on it though. Perhaps it was intuition?”
Asta’s gaze lands back onto the blood dripping from Leo’s hand. “If you know what I am, why would you do that to yourself? Do you know how dangerous that is? I could hurt you.”
“I trust you.” Leo took another step towards Asta, their feet were almost touching. “You seem to be having a hard time there.”
Asta averts his gaze, clenching his fist. “It’s a little difficult, yeah…”
Leo raised his hand and pulled back his shirt to one side. “Go for it, then.”
Asta’s eyes went wide. “What?! You want me to… Leo, I could kill you!”
“I said I trust you, but you didn’t seem to believe me. So this is how I’ll prove it. Plus, it seems like you really want it.”
Asta clamped a hand over his mouth. “That’s too risky, Leo… I can’t do that. I’m not even sure if I’m worth trusting…”
Leo came closer, putting his arms around Asta and resting his head lightly in his shoulder. “Of course you’re worth trusting. So go ahead. I’m sure you’ll be able to have just enough that won’t kill me.”
This can’t be happening. This could ruin everything Asta’s worked for to hold himself back… but, he smells so good… And he’s just going to let Asta do it.
He can’t… He shouldn’t. If he does, will he even be able to stop? Yuno will get so mad at him…
“Are you sure…?”
“Do it.” Leo whispered the reply in his ear.
Without another word, Asta sunk his teeth into Leo’s flesh which earned a harsh and slightly pained gasp from Leo. The taste of his blood filled his mouth.
He couldn’t help but what more and more. As much as Leo had to offer. It tasted heavenly… He wanted to completely drain Leo’s body of it just to taste his blood for as long as possible.
Leo’s fingers gripped at Asta’s shoulders as he was slowly backed against the wall.
Leopold could feel himself draining, growing weaker by the moment. The warm liquid dripped down his neck and onto his shirt.
“Asta…”
And with just that single word coming from Leo, Asta gasped and tore himself off, stumbling back. “Oh my god, Leo… I’m so sorry! Are you okay?! You’re bleeding… Oh god, I did that…”
Leo placed his hands back into Asta’s shoulders firmly. “Hey, it’s okay.” Tears rolled down Asta’s cheeks. Leo wiped them away. “I’m fine, see? I knew you could do it, didn’t I?”
“I’m sorry, Leo…” Asta brought his own hand to his bloodied mouth and bit it, then he held his hand towards Leo. “Here, take this.”
Leo just tilted his head in confusion. “What’s that supposed to do?”
Asta brought his hand closer to Leo’s lips. “It can heal your wounds, just take some please.”
Leo supposes that’s the least he could do to lower Asta’s stress. Heat rushed to Leo’s cheeks as he put his lips to Asta’s hand for a few moments.
Then, he could feel the pain in his neck beginning to fade. Leo raised his own hand to feel the wound which was gone. Only the blood remained on his neck… Which, now that he thinks about it, is probably not a good way to walk around.
“I can’t believe I just did that…” Asta turned his head back to Leo when the realization hit him too. “Oh… I have a sweatshirt in my locker, do you want to borrow it?”
Leo’s head perked up. “Yeah, that’d be great.”
Before Asta left, he heard Leo speak up once more. Words that both pained and warmed his heart.
“Asta, do you want to hang out with me some time?”