Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For centuries, vampires roamed all around Goiky. At first, signs of them were obvious, but for the vast majority of them, their threat level was minimal, so nobody took action. They would ultimately pay the price, for as the generations continued, the vampires became more and more capable of blending in with the general populace, as well as more powerful. It reached the point where normal civilians got too scared to go out alone or, if they really had to, prepared themselves with the basic anti-vampire necessities. Radio broadcasts and TV commercials frequently reminded Goikians to never go outside at night, especially not alone, without sufficient preparations. Unfortunately, these reminders didn’t fully prevent the spread, and now there was an outbreak of vampires, some of whom being crazy enough to attack people during the day.

That was where Liy came in. Renowned as one of the top vampire hunters in Goiky, she’d put an end to many a vampire for the past fifteen years or so. But, admittedly, she was bored of slaying ordinary vampires, who were deemed weak to her. A certain one had been on her mind for months.

La Reine du Sang.

Said to be the most powerful vampire to exist, La Reine du Sang—or simply La Reine for short—was incredibly dangerous. Lately, most conversions occurred thanks to her personal army (most vampires acted on their own, but would still obey any orders she gave in fear of her), and the number rivaled the hunters’ collective kill count, practically putting the two sides at a stalemate. However, Liy and La Reine never met each other personally. Liy didn’t even know what La Reine looked like.

That would soon change, thanks to a girl who claimed to have connections with her.

The buzzing of the digital alarm clock pierced the once-silent atmosphere of Liy’s bedroom. Letting out a low groan, the light switch reached for her nightstand and slapped her hand on the clock beside her, putting it on snooze. Her hand limply slid off the clock, almost knocking over her phone and dangling over the side of the bed.

Just as she was about to grumble that she needed five more minutes, she was startled awake by loud knocking. She groggily sat up and saw her roommate, a reddish-pink stapler, at her door, which was now wide open.

“Liy, wake up. We’ve got bad news,” the stapler said, urgency in his tone.

“Again? Can’t it wait, Stapy?” Liy rubbed her eyes. Her roommate shook his head in response. With another groan, she peeled the covers off her, and she slowly got out of bed. She took a moment to lazily remake her bed, shut off her alarm before it could go off again, then left her room, Stapy following close behind.

The two went downstairs (each step was long, so Stapy couldn’t slide and fall) and into the living room. Stapy handed Liy the morning newspaper that was on the couch, and immediately the front headline caught her attention.

VAMPIRE OUTBREAK CONTINUES AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH: LA REINE CAN’T BE STOPPED

She skimmed through the article and found some familiar names, names of those who had fallen victim to La Reine or her henchmen over the past seven days. Stapy reread them himself.

Balloony. Coiny. Fries. Gelatin. Pen. Ruby. Taco.

A few other names were listed, but none were familiar to Liy. Still, it was an extensive list. It meant more vampires to deal with, but also, she’d have to kill her own friends and acquaintances. Sure, she’d done it before, but it didn’t make it any better for her.

“Hey, wasn’t Coiny a vampire hunter?” Stapy asked, as if he just remembered.

“Yeah. He’s not the first vampire hunter to get converted.”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “Foldy met the same fate.”

“Pencil and Bracelety, too,” Liy added, with a sad tone. Along with Stapy, who she didn’t meet until later, those two were her closest friends, both of whom she’d known since she’d started her training as a preteen. She was able to kill Bracelety before she could do any damage, but Pencil was another story, having a skill level far greater than her own. Despite that, she was supposedly not alive anymore, reported to have been killed by someone or something else. As her disappearance had happened so suddenly, sources hadn’t been able to figure out the cause of her alleged death, so rumour had spread that it could have been a suicide. No vampire or vampire hunter had ever taken their own life, though, according to history, so it was hard to say.

Stapy noticed the frown on his friend’s face and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. They’re still with us in spirit.”

“I guess.” Liy looked down at her right arm, which was decorated with a braided accessory that wrapped around her wrist up to her forearm, tri-coloured in cyan, orange, and periwinkle—proof of an unbreakable bond. Similarly, Stapy wore a string bracelet with a pattern of pink, teal, and purple beads, resembling himself and his late best friends, Foldy and Marker. “I just miss them a lot,” she continued. “The three of us trained together, so I’ve been close with them both for a long time. It sucks that it had to be them—why not me, too? What’s so special about me? I’m not saying I want to be corrupted, but it still sucks that we didn’t all go down together, you know?”

Saying nothing, Stapy entered the kitchen. He hopped over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup. He filled another mug and handed it to Liy, who took it graciously.

“Thank you,” she said.

After they put creamers into their coffee, the two went to the dining room and sat at the round table.

“Anything new on La Reine?”

“Hm?”

Stapy wasn’t a vampire hunter like Liy, so he wasn’t fully up to date on vampire-related news. So, he often asked her for updates, especially on La Reine du Sang.

Liy shook her head. “No,” she replied. “Just what that article gave us. She’s as relentless as ever.”

“Unfortunate.” He took a sip and set his mug down. “I’m surprised you’re still interested in her. Nobody knows what she even looks like.”

“And that’s just it, Stapy! A new adventure, you know? Plus, I’d like to face off against someone who’s in my league. Let the weaker hunters deal with the weaker vampires.”

“Didn’t Pencil say the exact same thing? You know, one of two people whose leagues surpass your own? She tried to find La Reine, and look what happened to her. She’s missing.”

“Dead,” Liy corrected him, deadpan.

The stapler rolled his eyes. “Point still stands. I wouldn’t waste my time looking for an enemy who I don’t even know is my enemy… if that makes sense. Like, you’re hunting for someone with no knowledge of who they are. La Reine could be anyone, and nobody has an idea. I’d say wait until there are clues before searching for her.”

Liy sighed, sipping her coffee. Stapy was right—she was just wasting her own time. But, but, the adventurous side of her was telling her to keep looking anyway! She’d find La Reine du Sang eventually! She’d been searching for months—she would not make it all for nothing!

After breakfast, Liy grabbed her bag and weapons and equipped her “armour”—which consisted of just a vest with neck protection and fingerless gloves with grips. When she decided she had everything she needed, she bade Stapy goodbye and left the apartment.

As she stepped down the staircase from the front door, she took glances around the street. It was bustling on a Saturday. She held up her wrist to look at her watch—seven forty-two. Still pretty early, so why was it so busy? The crowd made it easier for vampires to blend in, and harder for hunters to target them.

Liy took the sidewalk with no set destination. She didn’t drive, and she was uncomfortable taking public transportation outside of emergencies, so walking was her only option. It wasn’t so bad, though. After all, the regular exercise over the years made her legs pretty strong, enabling her to run fast for long periods without tiring. Obviously, she wasn’t as fast as Needle, a fellow hunter, but she was close.

As her mind wandered, she accidentally bumped into someone, and both stumbled back and fell. The other person panicked, swiftly getting up and offering a hand to Liy, who was still rather dazed.

“OMW, I am, like, so sorry!” the stranger said, a feminine voice coming out.

“It’s fine, it’s…” The light switch trailed off when she came back to her senses. She looked up at the stranger, a tall matchstick who was shielded from the sunlight thanks to a white parasol. Red splotches and streaks that resembled blood stains decorated the parasol—was it real blood, or the original design?

“Are you sure?” The matchstick sounded concerned.

“Yeah.” Liy finally took her hand and was helped up on her feet. Not letting go, she stared at the parasol, then at the girl holding it. She got lost in the taller object’s eyes for a while. A minute, in fact. Her eyes were so beautiful, it was hard for Liy to put into words. The stranger didn’t look away, but was still rather confused, blushing ever so slightly.

“You’re… staring at me. And still holding my hand.”

“Wuh—” The hunter snapped out of it and quickly backed away, releasing her soft grip. “S-Sorry about that! I just—”

“No, it’s okay! It’s just, like, I haven’t had proper social interaction in so long, and, well…” The matchstick trailed off, rubbing her neck sheepishly. “Anyway, um, so, like…” She looked down at Liy, a soft smile on her face. The light switch could feel herself warming up in the literal sense, just from that smile alone. “Sorry, I’m, like, a little awkward socially… My name’s Match.”

A little? Liy thought, chuckling a bit. She smiled back. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Liy.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” Match nodded. There was a brief pause, then something came to her mind. “So, anyway, like, what’s with the getup? Are you a vampire hunter?” she asked rather casually.

“Yeah.”

She looked on with intrigue. “Slain any lately?”

Liy shook her head. “Not really. There’s a certain one I’m focusing on right now.”

“Let me, like, guess—La Reine du Sang?”

The shorter object appeared shocked for a second, but quickly regained her composure. “Yes. Do you know where I can possibly find her?”

Smile not faltering, Match hummed a bit, lightly tapping the handle of her parasol. “I may know something, yes. I have… connections, let’s say.”

“You do?!” She took the taller object’s free hand in both of hers, prompting the parasol-carrier to blush again. “Please tell me! I’ve been looking for her for so long!”

“Hm.” The other girl hummed in contemplation again. “Okay, then… I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

“What’s th—”

Liy was cut off when Match backed her up against a wall. Match lifted her leg, placing her foot next to Liy on the wall, while she angled her parasol on the other side, preventing Liy from leaving. All while she did that, she stared down at the light switch with a casual smile on her face, her parasol casting a shadow over them both. She leaned in, chuckling, and whispered, while her free hand held up a pink sticky note with a series of numbers on it;

“La Reine is in this very city—and she’s totally, like, had her eyes on you for quite some time now…”

Chapter Text

Liy stared down at the sticky note in her hand. Before she and Match had parted ways, the latter had given her this note, and on it was a phone number—supposedly La Reine’s. Liy had immediately returned home to see if that was true. Now here she was, in the middle of the living room, eyes fixed on the note. Before she could reach for the landline, however, she heard Stapy clear his throat. She turned to him.

“Shouldn’t you be out hunting?” he asked, arms crossed over his… well, the closest he had to a chest.

“Oh, Stapy!” Liy looked at him, smirking. “You’ll never guess who I just met.”

The stapler’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean La Reine, do you?”

Her smirk faded, replaced by a look of confusion. “What? No.” She smiled. “But I did meet a girl who knows her.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I was just gonna dial the number she gave me. It’s gotta be La Reine’s!”

Stapy gave her an unamused look with a raised eyebrow. “And how do you know it’s not the girl’s?”

Liy shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” She picked up the phone and punched in the number on the note. After only one ring, someone answered.

“Hellooooo?”

The voice was singsong-y. Liy smiled wide.

“Hi, is this La Reine du Sang?”

“Huh? Oh—!” She heard hysterical laughter on the other side of the line. It lasted for… quite a while, but eventually calmed down to a stop. “You really thought—! Ahahaha, you’re, like, so funny! That’s so cute, thinking I gave you her number. You’re adorable, Liy!”

Liy was… completely speechless, staring blankly at the phone held up to her ear. Was that supposed to be a prank? Her face was flushed out of embarrassment, coming from both being pranked and being called cute. Match came out of her shell rather quickly.

“Aw, come on, too stunned to speak, are you? It’s okay, I don’t bite—unless you, like, want me t— Merde, I mean—”

“What?”

“Nothing! I, um, like… I’m, uh, glad you called!”

Okay, that was… suspicious. Liy would have to take note of that for later. For now, though, something else was on her mind…

“You think I’m… adorable?”

“Like, absolutely! I was just talking about you with my roommate when you called me. I was like, ‘Aha, there she is!’ and I picked up.”

Liy’s smile returned. “You have a roommate? Can I talk to them?”

“Oh, um— She, like, just left. I don’t feel like getting her.”

Her smile faded as soon as it formed. “Oh.” What a shame. “By the way, when can we hang out? I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Ah! Oh, well, um…” There was a pause for a concerning amount of time. Liy opened her mouth to ask if everything was okay, but it seemed Match came back to her senses. “How about…” Another pause, but thankfully much smaller. “Is tomorrow evening okay? Like, seven? We could meet at the shabby restaurant by the park.”

“Sounds good,” Liy said, grinning.

“Okay, then I’ll, like, see you then! Love you!”

“Huh?! What did—” She heard a beep, signaling that Match had hung up on her. She was left dumbfounded. What in the world did that girl say?!

“Uh, Liy? Is everything okay?”

The switch returned to earth, placing the landline down. She turned to Stapy, face flushed red.

“Yep! Just peachy,” she said, acting like everything was fine. Stapy raised both eyebrows, but opted to say nothing. This seemed a little too personal.

Liy spent the rest of the day indoors, thinking about her morning and how suspicious (and awfully pretty) this Match person was. It was now evening, and she was in her room, sitting at her desk, writing her thoughts in her diary.

Saturday, October 20

Dear Diary,

You wouldn’t believe the day I had! It may sound uneventful, but I promise it’s juicy.

Okay, so, Stapy and I started our day like usual. I went out to continue my search for La Reine, when I bumped into this socially awkward girl with a blood-stained parasol. She claimed to know of La Reine’s whereabouts, and she gave me a phone number, leading me to believe it was La Reine’s. But when I got home and dialed the number, it turns out I called the girl I bumped into! How embarrassing! But we had a nice chat, at least.

Well, up until she told me she loved me? I’m confused, did she mean that for real? We just met! I’m not sure if love at first sight is real.

Oh, but I’ve picked up on some clues that this girl could very well be La Reine du Sang! Hear me out for a second.

The parasol. Long ago, vampires carried parasols or wore wide-brimmed hats to block the sun’s rays. Current vampires are immune to sunlight, but if I remember correctly, La Reine has lived a very long time, so she still bears the weaknesses of the vampires of her time, despite being all-powerful.

She said La Reine is in the city and has had eyes on me for a while. This one might be a stretch, but I can’t ignore it, especially since she said it to me with such confidence, when just a moment ago she was a shy and stuttering mess. She seemed especially interested when she learned I was a vampire hunter.

During the phone call, she let something slip. She almost said she doesn’t bite “unless I want her to,” but cut herself off mid-sentence and got nervous when I asked about it. Vampires bite—enough said. However, when I saw her, she never opened her mouth wide enough to show teeth, so I don’t have proof of her having fangs or not. We’re meeting again tomorrow, so I’ll update if this changes.

I’m not a detective or anything, but I’m convinced this girl is the one vampire I’ve been seeking for so long! Damn it, do I really have to kill the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen? I’m heartbroken! Still, I hope I can get to know her tomorrow. Maybe she’ll have more secrets to accidentally tell me.

Yours,

Liy

Liy closed her diary with a sigh, and crawled into bed. It wasn’t late enough to sleep yet, but she was tired. She’d already gotten ready for bed prior to writing.

She yawned, then closed her eyes. She soon opened them, though, and reached for the smartphone charging on her nightstand. She looked at Match’s number sitting on her nightstand. She added it to her contacts, then opened the message app to send her a couple texts.

Liy:

hi, this is liy! just wanted to say goodnight :)

oh yeah uhhhh if you’re wondering why my number is different, i called you on my landline, and now i’m on my cell

She put her phone down, but before she could get comfortable, it pinged. Damn, Match texted fast. She opened the notification.

Match:

sleep well! <3

i’m probably gonna sleep soon myself. gotta be prepared for tomorrow, hehe~

Liy squinted at the text, but not because she couldn’t read it. Last she checked, vampires didn’t need sleep. Either Match was lying, or all of Liy’s evidence was wrong and she really wasn’t a vampire after all. But nobody said vampires couldn’t sleep…

Match:

oh, btw, can you show up without your equipment? i bet you look even cuter without all the garb!

Ooookay, now that was sketchy as hell. Liy stared at the message, unsure how to respond. She didn’t want to hurt Match’s feelings, but she wanted to protect herself. She couldn’t risk herself over some feelings she had for a girl she knew for only about thirteen hours!

…or could she?

Liy:

sure

Liy waited for a response, and she got it after less than ten seconds.

Match:

thank youuuu! <3

okay now get some sleep, hehe

Liy:

you too ^-^

Liy turned her phone so that the screen was face-down on the nightstand. She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, smiling to herself. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow. She had to learn more about her cru—

No. No, her target. She couldn’t keep Match alive.

Chapter Text

Match woke up very early in the morning, just less than two hours before her six o’clock alarm would go off. She couldn’t sleep most of the night—not that she needed to—because she couldn’t stop thinking about the meeting she personally considered a date.

She sprang out of bed, not bothering to remake it, and rummaged through her extensive wardrobe numerous times in search of inspiration. She hadn’t known Liy for even a full day, so she had no idea what the girl liked on other girls. Dresses? Suits? Capes? Nothing at all?!

Anxious, she stealthily raced out of her room and down the hall, toward another door on the other side of the hallway. She knocked on the door nonstop until about fifteen seconds went by, when somebody finally opened it.

“Match, it’s ten after four in the fucking morning. Can it wait?” The door wasn’t open wide enough for Match to see who it was, but she still knew.

“Come onnn, Lolli, it’s important,” the matchstick begged somewhat childishly. “I’m going on a, like, date tonight, and I can’t mess it up!”

The other person swung the door wide open, revealing a grape-flavoured lollipop who looked tired and more than annoyed.

“For the last time, it’s not a date. You just met her yesterday. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Oh, sure, but you’ll neeeever wake up,” Match taunted, giggling, before delivering a malicious grin that showed her sharp fangs. “Ever.”

“…Fine,” Lollipop relented, stepping out of her room. The last thing she wanted was to make Match angry, as she lacked the power to stand a chance against the redhead’s wrath.

The two took the stairs down one floor and entered another room, which was technologically advanced, like a laboratory that came right out of a sci-fi movie. On one of the chairs, in front of a massive monitor that took up nearly the entire far wall, was a small, armless ball with dimples.

“Hello, you two,” the ball spoke without turning to look at them, having sensed their presence. She had a raspy, slightly masculine voice, but was still clearly a girl.

“Golf Ball. We require your assistance,” Lollipop said bluntly.

“Of course you do. What is it?”

“Look up Liy’s file,” said Match.

“Very well.” The small sphere opened some windows and typed in an accessibility code on one of them. She and the other two were greeted by another window opening on its own. It loaded a digital documentation on all the current and former prominent vampire hunters in Goiky.

BLOCKY | Status: Alive

News outlets suggest this powerful hunter may have retired ten years ago. Low priority, but keep an eye on him just in case.

BOOK | Status: Alive

A vampire hunter who specialises in holy firearms. Timid, but smart, and should be taken seriously.

BRACELETY | Status: Deceased

While we managed to convert her, she was killed before she could do anything to benefit our reign.

COINY | Status: Converted

We have successfully vampirised him, but we should still approach with caution if at all, given his past aggression.

FOLDY | Status: Deceased

Was killed as quickly as she was converted. By someone who is not a hunter, no less. Pathetic.

GATY | Status: Alive

One of the less experienced hunters. Activity has been at a standstill lately, but she is still alive. Low priority.

LEAFY | Status: Unknown

An experienced hunter who disappeared almost five years ago and never returned. None can figure out what happened.

LIY | Status: Alive

A veteran vampire hunter with a specialty in swords and crossbows, and an alarming threat level. Top priority.

NEEDLE | Status: ???

?????ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED.

PENCIL | Status: Deceased?

AKA La Ángel de Sangre, the legendary vampire hunter. Suddenly went missing ten years ago; speculated by the media to be dead.

TEARDROP | Status: Alive

Nicknamed “The Silencer” for how quietly she kills vampires. Has lowered her profile since ten years ago.

TREE | Status: Alive

Leads a group of avid “death preventers”, yet still chooses to slay vampires. Despite this, he should not be underestimated.

Golf Ball opened Liy’s file, and more information about her was displayed.

NAME: Liy

GENDER: Female

PRONOUNS: She/Her

AGE: Mid 20s

HEIGHT: Short enough to have a mild height complex

WEIGHT: Rather light (pun not intended)

LIKES: Adventures, strong opponents, taller women, validation for her efforts

DISLIKES: Algebra, spicy foods, questions about her past

A veteran vampire hunter who trained under the legendary hunter, La Ángel de Sangre. Her specialty lies in crossbows, but she also possesses a sword and daggers containing holy energy. She is incredibly dangerous to keep around, and lesser vampires should avoid her at all costs.

Behaviourally, she is friendly and easy to approach—so long as she doesn’t know you’re a vampire. She dislikes unnecessary conflict and strives to find peaceful solutions to non-vampire-related problems. Due to her adventurous nature, she is curious and very outdoorsy.

Match smiled as she scanned each line of information. None of this told her what would be best for her to wear to her date, but any info about Liy was good info.

“Does this help you at all?” Golf Ball asked, snapping Match out of her thoughts.

“Yes,” she half-lied. “Thank you, GB. By the way, see if you can, like, recover or replace Needle’s file. I’ll need it for later.”

“Understood.” GB turned her attention back to the screen, allowing the tall objects to dismiss themselves.

Match and Lollipop left the lab room and went upstairs and down the hall. They entered Match’s room, which was pitch-black.

“It’s been ages since I last stepped into this… abode,” said Lollipop, almost judgmental. “And you forgot I can’t see, didn’t you?” Unlike Match, she wasn’t a vampire, so she lacked the ability to see in the dark.

“Oops.” Match turned a knob on the wall a little to the right, and the bulb on the ceiling lit up slightly, giving the room a light dim enough for her to survive with, but bright enough for her roommate to see with. “Sorry about that. Now let’s, like, figure things out.”

“Yeah… Right.” The candy ball huffed. “Well, we got nothing from what we read in the lab, so I’d say wear something you think Liy might like.”

“But that’s the problem. I can’t, like, picture what the Liy in my head would like!” Match went into her closet and scrambled through all her outfits, most of which she hadn’t worn in forever. She… hadn’t really worn clothes in general in forever, as an object standard. She didn’t want to stand out too much unless there was an event going on.

Lollipop sighed, boredly idling with a hand on her hip as she watched her roommate struggle. She then glanced around.

The bedroom was warm colours galore, focusing on shades of red, pink, orange, and yellow, with white accents. She remembered being surprised when she stepped into the room for the first time, due to the achromatic castles you’d see in vampire movies. Match was completely different, preferring splashes of colour all around, and that gave Lollipop a better impression of her.

On the wall closest to the entrance was another door. Hanging on it was a sign with two lines of sentences. The first sentence was two simple words and in big, bold, red letters: KEEP OUT. The text of the second sentence was smaller, and barely legible from Lollipop’s distance: (Unless you want to die.) The mortal always wondered what was beyond that door, but she valued her life more than her curiosity. She did try to ask once, but a death threat shut her up, and she never brought it up again.

She almost even felt compelled to reach over and turn the knob, but Match brought her back to Earth before the urge could get her far.

“What would you wear, Lolli?”

“Hm?” She blinked. “Oh, nothing crazy. Just a couple accessories, I’d say. I’m not one for full clothing—it’s too extra.”

Match hummed, still digging. She pulled out a frilly headdress, a straw sunhat, and a blue visor cap, placing them neatly on her bed. Returning to the closet, she grabbed some expensive-looking bracelets. A certain necklace she pulled caught Lollipop’s attention before she could inspect the accessories on the bed.

“You still have that?”

“Still have what?” The vampire turned to her.

“That. The necklace.” She pointed to it.

“…Ah. Yeah.” Match stared down at the 14K gold necklace dangling loosely in her hand. The charm was shaped like a sewing needle. “This belonged to that one girl who, like, tried to attack me. I stole it from her.”

“Yes, I know. You’ve told me that before. I’m just surprised you kept it, that’s all.”

She smiled. “Just making sure you were, like, paying attention.” She gave Lollipop a playful wink, before gazing back at the necklace. “Going by the files, they were both hunters. Liy would not like seeing me wear this. And besides, I was, like, thinking about giving it back to that girl anyway.”

Lollipop squinted her eyes slightly. “Isn’t she dead?”

“…Her corpse is still intact,” she replied with a small delay. “I can, like, visit her grave, sink into the ground, and return it.” Match swiftly wiped beads of perspiration off her forehead, before placing the necklace gently on a wide dresser on the other side of the room.

“Uh-huh…” The mortal girl simply nodded.

Match then kept rummaging, finding more bracelets but of cheaper quality. She also pulled a violet silk ribbon, which she tied around her head, where her wood and the base of her sulphur met. She put a couple of the cheaper bracelets on each wrist, not wanting to come off as sketchy with the expensive ones hinting at her apparent wealth, then went to her vanity to stare at herself—forgetting vampires lacked reflections, and she saw the wall behind her instead.

“You look decent,” the other tall object commented approvingly. “By the way, did you want me to choose between these?” She gestured to the items on the bed.

“No need. I’ll just take the sunhat. The ribbon wouldn’t, like, go with anything else.” Hesitating for a few seconds, like the hat unlocked a bad memory, Match grabbed it and put it on. Lollipop reached over and adjusted it for her. “I would’ve asked if I should dye my hair, but, like, the hat would cover it anyway.”

“Of course. Now, is that all you need from me?”

“Yes. You can go back to sleep.”

“Thank you.” She left without hesitation.

Once Match heard the door to Lollipop’s room close, she turned the light back off. She spent several minutes cleaning up her mess, putting everything she ended up not wearing back into the closet, in their original spots—except for the stolen necklace, which she decided to just keep on the dresser.

But just in case Liy came in with a weapon or two—she’s a vampire hunter, after all—she’d want to think how to counter that… Even so, she was far too strong for an ordinary crossbow to affect her.

Match opened a drawer and drew out a large knife with heart-shaped holes and designs along the blade, grinning to herself. “Oh, Liy, Liy… My sweet, sweet Liy…” She let out a malicious chuckle. She had no intent on hurting Liy, but rather anyone who would get in the way of the relationship she hoped to build with her. Ideally, no one would have to get on her bad side.

“You will be mine, no matter—”

A knock on her door startled Match out of her thoughts. Her knife slipped out of her hand and landed in front of her, on the floor.

“Match, c’mon, we must feast while only some mortals are up!”

An exaggerated sigh left her throat. She was more than annoyed that her thoughts were disrupted by the muffled voice on the other side of the door. She turned to the digital alarm clock beside her bed, and gasped.

“Oh, merde! Coming, GB!”

Chapter Text

~ Interlude: The Temptation ~

Despite being considered the scum of the earth, being a vampire has its perks. Perks that have made people want to be bitten by one.

Ah, are you curious? Well!

For one, you don’t need sleep. You can stay up for as long as you want, to do whatever you want. It’s great having full control of your body’s functions twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with no feelings of drowsiness getting in the way.

Second, you don’t need food. While drinking blood is a necessity for vampires’ survival, eating is not. You can go without eating for a month and not feel hungry. That saves a lot of money that you likely didn’t even have. You, being a vampire, probably can’t qualify for a job, assuming they perform thorough background checks (note: most jobs in Goiky do, in fact, perform thorough background checks)—and even if you do qualify, you won’t have the time for it, for your survival in a city of hostile Goikians comes first and foremost.

Yet, sleeping and eating are still options, especially if you want to blend in with civilisation.

You still listening? Good.

Next is the one that typically sells people: nigh-invulnerability. Of course, you have your weaknesses—wooden stakes, holy weapons and accessories like crucifixes, garlic—but should they not come into play, you could live a very long time, possibly forever! Age and mortal diseases don’t play a role in your life when you’re undead. This is the perk most sought after by mortals wanting to be vampirised.

Then there are the superpowers. The amount of power a vampire has varies by their status—in other words, both experience and how long since they were converted (or born, for natural-borns).

All vampires can turn into bats and fly wherever they desire, but only those who use this skill frequently and push themselves have the stamina to go on for a long time. It’s just like how walking, jogging, or running a few miles a day would build a mortal person’s stamina.

All vampires have fangs and can bite and drink blood. Weaker vampires—such as recent conversions and most natural-borns under the age of thirteen—only need a little bit to survive, but the stronger ones and especially La Reine need a lot to drink in one sitting. How much is a lot, exactly? For La Reine, enough to completely drain and kill three people at minimum. Anyone else, no more than one or two at max.

It is uncommon, but some vampires are gifted from birth or once converted with one or two additional, special powers—the luckiest have even more. These special powers include invisibility, spawning ravens from thin air, hypnosis, the ability to become one with the shadows and melt into the ground, and ultra-rare powers such as blood manipulation (exclusive to natural-borns). The list goes on. It’s a gamble which one or ones you get, but unfortunately it’s more common to not get any at all.

So yes, over the centuries, there have been people who’d always wanted to be vampires. People like them still exist, but because it’s ever so hard to find vampires, they rarely get their wish.

So, how about it?

Would you give in to the temptation…?

~ Chapter 4: The Mystery ~

“This just in—five people were found dead a few hours ago, crumpled up like raisins. The vampires continue to show no remorse. Civilians, we urge you once again to please stop wandering around at night. Hunters, this is your reminder to kill any and all vampires you see—”

Match turned off the TV, rolling her eyes. It was the same report every morning. Why’d she bother?

Lollipop saw this and chuckled. “So, that was your big meal of the day, hm? You should work on finding better hiding spots for those bodies,” she sneered.

“Lolli, Lolli… You don’t get it, do you?” The queen grinned, leaning back on the hot pink recliner she sat cross-legged on. In her left hand was a wine glass filled with a strange red fluid—was it wine or blood?

“Get what?” She raised an eyebrow. “That you’re lazy?”

“I’m not!” Match’s sudden shout got another chuckle out of the candy ball. She continued, in normal speaking volume, “You see, Lollipop…” She set her glass down and turned the TV back on. The same report was still going. Match extended her arm to the screen, gesturing specifically to the fear on the newscaster’s face that slightly ruined their professionalism. “I want them to be afraid of me. Afraid of us. It, like, makes things so much more exciting. They must know how much of a, like, threat we are. But you’re a mortal, so you wouldn’t get it.”

“Match… Answer this real quick.” Lollipop approached her, leaning against the arm of the recliner in a sassy manner. “Say you weren’t a vampire. Would you have that same mindset?”

“Hmm…” The redhead tapped her chin several times, and giggled. “Maybe… I-I dunno, it’s, like, hard picturing myself as powerless as one of you when I was born a bloodsucker. But as I was saying, like, it’s so much fun getting to see the fear in their eyes! I like seeing them helpless, begging me to, like, spare them!”

“As a mortal, you have to worry about the police, and you don’t have your special powers to protect you. You know that, right?”

“That’s part of the thrill, girlypop.” She waved her hand dismissively, then changed her position, sitting up straight. “I guess I just, like… have a fascination with the mortal lifestyle. Things get incredibly, like, dull after having lived through it all for literal centuries.”

Lollipop shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever, I guess.”

Match lifted up her glass and took a sip of the contents. On closer inspection, the fluid wasn’t thick, so it had to be red wine. “That’s why I’ve been so, like, active in pretending to be one of them. Studying their habits and schedules, what they eat, how long they sleep… Like, I rarely use my powers nowadays.”

“Except turning into a bat. You kinda had to if you wanted to get back home from the city in a timely manner,” the other tall girl pointed out, to which Match nodded.

“True. And I’ll be sure to use it again soon.”

“Of course you are.”

“Was that serious or sarcastic?”

“…A little bit of both,” said the candy, smirking.

Liy grumbled to herself. She couldn’t stop thinking about the news report. One person drained in a day was highly alarming, never mind five in a few hours!

“I’m starting to have second thoughts about this,” she said to no one in particular. Stapy was in his room, working from home, while Liy herself was downstairs, at the dining room table, staring down at her reflection in the coffee in front of her. “She’s funny, sweet, and gorgeous as hell, but… If she really is La Reine, who’s to say I’m not next? She knows I’m a hunter. Why’d I agree to not bring my gear? Hm…”

She downed what was left of her coffee before she got up, making a beeline for the coat closet, which contained more than just coats. She pulled out a red wool scarf she always wore in the winter. It might not be much to protect her from getting bitten, but it was better than nothing. Maybe La Reine would be less likely to attack because the scarf matched her sulphur and she’d think Liy thought of her, discouraging her. Liy wrapped the long scarf several times around her neck. She kept it tight, but not so that it could choke her. She looked down at her arm. The bright red scarf really didn’t match the accessory running down her arm… but then again, the orange-cyan-periwinkle tri-colour wasn’t a visually appealing combo on its own.

There was still plenty of time left before the meeting, so Liy thought she could go hunting to pass the time. She disliked targeting the lesser vampires, finding them boring, but nowadays she was one of the few living hunters still actively doing their job. Goiky needed her. She let out a soft sigh, grabbing her bag that contained a few small weapons. Maybe she’d be fine without her vest—these vampires were far less threatening.

“Stapy, I’m heading out,” she called, her voice echoing up the staircase. She didn’t wait for a response, heading outside immediately.

As soon as Liy stepped out, she felt a chill from the autumn air. Guess the scarf was a good idea, after all. She took the same route she took yesterday, paying little mind that today was not nearly as busy than yesterday, possibly due to the news.

She took glances around her, looking for any sign of a parasol, just in case. Nothing. What she did see, however, was a lone pink parallelogram leaning against the exterior wall of an apartment building, holding a phone and staring down at the screen. Liy recognised this person and decided to make small talk.

“Hi, Eraser!”

Hearing that name startled the other object and earned Liy a glance. “Oh, hey, Liy,” he said after calming down. He squinted, instantly seeing something wrong. “You know it’s frowned upon for a hunter to take a day off.” He pointed at the scarf around her neck, substituting her vest.

“It’s not a day off,” she denied. “I just… wanted to try something different. The vampires you find around here are relatively weak.”

“Did you forget about this morning’s news?” He glared at her. “Five people, Liy. Lesser vampires aren’t capable of draining half a person.”

“Yeah, but…”

“There are strong ones around here. It’s not safe here. It never was, but now it’s worse.”

The light switch threw her hands up. “I promise this is a one-time thing! I’m seeing someone tonight, and I want to look good for her.”

“Then stay inside until tonight, or get into your vest. We can’t afford to lose more hunters.”

She sighed. “I’ll be fine, Eraser. I’m still wearing neck protection, so you don’t have to worry about me. Anyway, I’ll see you around.”

Eraser watched her walk past him. Once she was out of earshot, he opened his mouth. “What an idiot, risking her sanity for some girl. Doesn’t she know those creatures have claws that can easily cut through wool?”

A few hours passed since Liy’s encounter with Eraser. Since then, she managed to figure out a couple vampires; she easily overpowered them and drove stakes into their chests. Those two were nobody she knew, so the job was easy.

See, she knew she’d be fine!

It was almost evening now, and to pass the time, Liy wandered parts of the city she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a bit livelier now than it was before, evident by the occasional passerby and some of the businesses she passed having customers.

Soon enough, she would see yet another familiar face. Except seeing this person, unlike Eraser, filled her with anxiety, and even a hint of sadness.

“Needle,” she whispered.

The tall sewing needle was inside the bar Liy stood in front of, sat near but not quite next to the huge window pane Liy peered through, so Liy’s voice was unheard. The light switch decided to enter the bar, only thinking about talking to Needle. A bell chimed as the door opened, alerting everyone of her presence.

“Ah! Good to see you, Liy,” the bartender greeted in response, smiling faintly.

The gesture wasn’t reciprocated, Liy instead forming a puzzled expression. “Barf Bag? You work here now?”

Barf Bag’s smile turned slightly upside down. “Yeah. Donut’s been missing—” The plastic switch’s eyes widened. “—and I’ve been filling in for him ever since. Surprisingly, applying here is pretty easy.”

“He’s… missing? Since when?”

“This past Monday,” she replied dejectedly. “He left to run a shopping errand and never returned home.”

Liy gave her a sympathetic expression. Monday… That was almost a week of Barf Bag hearing nothing from her significant other. “I’m sorry.”

The bag nodded slowly. She went to one side of the counter to gather some glasses people left behind, adding them to a pile of dishes and glasses on the other side. She no longer had that friendly look on her face from when Liy walked in, like the reminder of Donut’s disappearance put a weight on her.

Liy watched her, feeling guilty about asking. Those two loved each other very much. They were inseparable outside of work, so both she and Barf Bag could only fear the worst for Donut.

“…You lost someone too, huh?”

A third voice startled them both. They turned to the source.

Needle was looking directly at them, a dull emptiness in her eyes. She wore a tattered orange ribbon, tied through the eye in the top of her head; a gold necklace with a pencil-shaped charm; and a ring on her left hand. In front of her was a half-emptied bottle of whiskey on the counter she sat at, and the morning’s newspaper in her hands.

“That’s the first time I heard you speak in literal years,” Barf Bag said, in awe.

“Wait, really?” Liy turned to the vomit-filled bag, who nodded.

“Needle’s been in a semi-unresponsive state, moving and doing things, but not talking, ever since Pencil’s passing. She’s even stopped hunting vampires, I’m guessing out of survivor’s guilt.”

Needle slammed her fist on the counter, her face turning sour. “She’s not dead!”

Barf Bag turned to her, unfazed from being so coldly interrupted. “Multiple reports said so, Needle,” she said bluntly. “Face it.”

“She’s. NOT. DEAD,” she growled.

Liy extended her arms between the two to de-escalate their argument, before sitting down next to Needle. “A moment, Barfy?”

About to object, the bartender sighed in defeat instead, gathering the rest of the dirty dishes and shot glasses previous customers had left behind before they exited. “Sure.” She walked away with some stacks of dishes from the pile, leaving Liy and Needle to talk somewhat privately.

Liy turned to the sewing needle. Now that they were closer, she noticed the dark bags under the silver girl’s eyes, indicating sleep deprivation. But something more important was on Liy’s mind.

“You were there with her, right? What actually happened?”

Needle said nothing. Her expression went back to lost and empty, her eyes soulless once again, as she folded up her newspaper and returned to her drink.

Every interaction between the two since Pencil’s alleged death ten years ago was just like this. Liy would ask Needle what really happened, and Needle would not respond at all, either walking away or waving dismissively, or both. Or simply ignoring her, like this.

However, just as Liy was about to give up and say goodbye, miraculously, Needle spoke, her usually soft, high-pitched voice instead being shaky, hoarse, and almost whispering, like she was holding in an urge to break down and cry on the spot.

“Pencil and I… were hunting together, like usual… She… She and I were facing an army of very tough vampires who were resisting our weapons... But we managed to kill them… Then… Then, this… shadow resembling a tall mushroom holding an umbrella appeared… It took Pencil while our guard was down… and it disappeared with her, like it swallowed her in its darkness or something… I never saw her again… but…” Needle stared at her bottle the whole time. She paused to take a long drink. “But I… have hope that she’ll be back…” Her body was trembling slightly the whole time she recalled the evil memory, and from the emotions she felt about her partner not being by her side. She took a sharp, heavy breath. “Y-Yes, she’s still alive…! Sh-She has to be! My precious… Pencil…” Her attention shifted down to her chest. Her left hand, whose ring finger wore a ring adorned with a ruby that sparkled in the bar’s dim lighting, clutched the pencil-shaped charm on the 14K gold necklace around her neck. “I can almost hear her voice…”

Liy listened to Needle’s monologue, silent during the entire thing. She felt awful for the taller girl. And now she had all the proof she needed to confirm La Reine du Sang’s true identity. Liy knew La Reine was cruel, but to hear it outright now stung her, especially since she was seeing her tonight. What made it even worse was that La Reine had taken away someone who was not only Needle’s fiancée, but Liy’s close friend, parental figure, and hunting instructor before she was forced to do her last two years of training on her own.

Exactly what did La Reine— What did Match want with Pencil? Liy couldn’t help wondering, zoning out until Needle’s voice snapped her out of it.

“Liy… You’ve… been seeking La Reine for a long time, right? I… I have a request, if it’s okay…”

She nodded. “I know, you don’t have to say it.” She put her hand on the retired hunter’s lap, as an act of reassurance. Needle stopped shaking. “I promise I’ll find her. And I’ll bring her back to you. I, too, have faith that she’s still alive. I mean, she’s freaking La Ángel de Sangre, the legendary vampire hunter, and we both know how she is. She’s not going down until she says she’s going down, y’know?”

In response to that, for the first time in ten years, Needle… smiled. It was faint, but it was there—and better yet, it was genuine. Not only that, for a moment, Liy swore she saw the slightest spark of life in Needle’s eyes.

“Thank you…”

Liy smiled back. An idea came to her. “Say, do you want to team up? We’d be a strong duo, I think.”

Needle’s smile faded, and she shook her head. “No… As desperate as I am to see her again, I… don’t feel emotionally ready to come out of retirement.” She reached for a napkin, dragging it toward her. “Do you… have a pen?”

Liy dug into her bag and presented a silver ballpoint pen. Needle took it and wrote down a series of numbers. She slid the napkin over to Liy, who picked it up and scanned what was on it.

“My new number,” she explained, returning the pen, which Liy dropped back into her bag. “I had to get a new phone around the same time… she… was taken from me…” She sounded as though it pained her to think about uttering Pencil’s name again. “I couldn’t keep my old number, so…”

So that was why Needle kept “ignoring” all Liy’s calls over the years! She didn’t try to contact Needle much in respect for her space, but every time she did, she got nothing back. Liy let out a soft sigh, just thankful the silence wasn’t deliberate.

She looked up at Needle. “Thanks,” she said. “Is it okay if we, um… contact each other about our regular lives? I don’t think we should talk only if we have more info on Pencil or La Reine. I’d like to chat like we did back in old times.”

The silver object contemplated the idea for a moment. With a new hope having reached her, she gave a slow nod. “I could use the interaction… especially with an old friend.” She weakly smiled again. “By the way, I’m… sorry for ignoring you all this time. That was an uncomfortable subject, and… I wasn’t confident to tell anyone… No one would have believed me, anyway—they all think she’s… you know…”

Liy nodded in understanding. “I’ll keep this between us, then.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

Hesitantly, both exchanged a brief hug and farewells.

Barf Bag watched as Liy left the bar, pretending she conveniently returned just as the conversation ended. She heard everything, but chose to stay quiet—she’d bring it up to Liy another time.

“…Day three thousand, six hundred, seventy-two… I still reside here, no surprise there… My whole body aches… Well, whatever’s not completely numb…” There was a pause. The cold silence was deafening. “Heh… Evermore, I yearn for the outside world… For fuck’s sake, I’m even starting to miss my old day job waitressing… I can’t even commit murder unto myself, if I wished to…”

The lights suddenly flashed on, blinding the source of the voice into snapping their eyes shut. They grunted, wincing, feeling a small part of their body chip and disintegrate, before the lights shut off again.

They opened their eyes to see a shadow emerge from the floor of the room they were quite literally bound to, and morph into a physical silhouette holding a lit candle. The light barely illuminated the slender figure’s wooden body, red sulphur, and violet ribbon. “Stop talking to yourself. That’s creepy.”

“Like you reserve the right to speak about being creepy, La Reine,” the captive spat. “Or Match, if I must correct myself.”

Match hummed to herself. “I see you still, like, have the guts to talk back to me, despite your condition.” She took a step closer to her prisoner, making eye contact. “You know, it’s been six weeks since our last chat. I thought your, like, attitude would have improved since then, but I digress.” She pulled out a necklace that was all too familiar to the captive, who gasped, wide-eyed. It was 14K gold, adorned with a needle-shaped charm. “I was going to give this back to you… What a shame.”

“N-No, please… I…”

“You… what?” Match’s smile didn’t falter. “Go on, Pencil. Say it. I don’t bite, unless you want me to…” Her tone was a little singsong-y towards the end.

Pencil was silent for a few seconds, still dazed and weak from the earlier flashbang. Well… weaker. Her condition was horrible—and that was putting it nicely. She couldn’t feel most of her body anymore. Much of her body was burned (or melted, in the case of her metal ferrule) and blackened. The right side of her face was especially burned to black, and it was at its worst around her eye, which she had no sight in due to the upper half of the eyeball having melted away long ago. All her limbs were covered in burn scars, flayed, and completely numb from being sprawled, bound in place to the wall for ten years straight. She was at least allowed the privilege to keep the ruby engagement ring on her left ring finger.

“I… I want it back… The necklace… Please, I implore you…” Her voice was quiet, hardly more than whispers. “I long… to see my Needle again…”

The vampire queen chuckled. “My, needy, aren’t you? Well, I don’t have her per sé, but, like… here.” She held the necklace out to the mostly-charred writing utensil, tauntingly swinging it in front of her like a pendulum. “Oh, right, I forgot… You can’t take it, can you? How sad… I guess you don’t love her after all.”

“Y-You take that back!” Pencil snapped over Match’s cackling, her words dry even with her volume raised. “She’s everything to me! What do you know about love, anyway?”

“More than you, you deceptive, perfidious psychopath,” Match replied coldly. Her mouth curled up into a smug grin. “As a matter of fact, I’m going out on a date in a little bit. And it’ll be, like, so much better than the dates we had, all those years ago…”

The hunter (ex-hunter?) narrowed her eyes, giving the other tall girl a sharp glare. “Don’t. Remind me,” she bellowed. “Those ‘dates’ were fictitious and you know it.”

Match laughed, unfazed. “Oh, and did I mention the girl I’m seeing is someone you, like, know?” That instantly caught Pencil’s attention. “That’s right,” Match went on, smirking. “And she’s a vampire hunter, just like you.”

In her head, Pencil went through the list of female vampire hunters she knew of, through the process of elimination. She immediately ruled out Needle, who’s absolutely faithful to her and not the type to cheat (at least, that’s what Pencil hoped); Gaty went lowkey not too long ago; Book was already in a relationship; Leafy disappeared years ago, with her status being unknown even to the vampires; and Bracelety and Foldy were dead—Match frequently updated her on these things. A few low-tier hunters, like Bottle, Eggy, Snare Drum, and Barf Bag, also came to mind, but she knew it couldn’t be any of them—they weren’t worth Match’s time.

That left only one other person.

“L-… Liy…?”

“Oh, yes, say that name again!” the queen said rather dramatically, her face flushed a deep red and her free hand holding the side of her face, as if lovesick from just hearing the name of her obsession. “Liy, my love… I can’t wait to see her! My whole body aches just, like, thinking about her! Ahhh, my Liy…!”

The prisoner couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Previously, Match had said pretty much the same thing about her. She was more than worried for her former student.

“Don’t… Don’t you dare lay a finger on her.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Pence-Pence,—”

“DON’T REFER TO ME BY THAT MONIKER.”

“—I have no intent on, like, harming her. She’s far kinder and cuter than you ever were. You’re even uglier than you were back then…” Match squinted, then stepped back, repulsed. “Great Absa! Like, you’re even uglier than you were yesterday! Ugh! Goodness, like, did I seriously have such low standards all that time ago?”

Gee, I wonder if it’s because you attack me with the lights every time I rub you the wrong way, Pencil thought, rolling her eye. It’s not my fault I’m like this. Piss off.

The queen straightened up. “Moving on. I’m not, like, going to convert her, drain her, or anything like that. I have… other plans for her.” She saw the hint of fear in Pencil’s left eye, and she waved her hand around. “Oh, fret not, it’s not what you’ve, like, had to endure. She deserves better than that. I, like, almost pity you. Almost.”

“Then what could you possibly…”

“That’s for me to know. Anyway, I’m, like, bored of you for now, and I’m running late, so, like, just take it.”

Match set the candle down on a nearby chair to put the necklace around Pencil’s neck, which was burned badly, to the point where one could see hints of her innards. Match took the candle, and the utensil watched the small light leave the cold, dark, empty room. A minute of footsteps going up creaky stairs, and then the echo from a door closing from above were the closest she got to a goodbye. Why didn’t Match just sink into the floor like usual? That was how she entered—shouldn’t that have been how she left?

Pencil was too debilitated to look down at her chest, but she could rest easy knowing that the accessory was finally around her neck. For the first time in ten years, she mustered a smile. “Mi aguja… Mi amor, mi media naranja… I am now in repossession of a fraction of you… but not yet the whole,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

Her breathing was soft, but fairly uneven, as she pictured herself holding Needle like a princess in her arms, with the silver girl in a gown and veil, and herself in a tuxedo suit and tie. An imagining of the wedding that was meant to occur a decade ago—the wedding that Match prevented.

The instant Pencil was free, she was out for blood.

“I’ll wait for you, mi aguja… No matter how long it takes… I’ll wait, and wait, and wait… like I always have.”

Too enervated to fight it, she succumbed to slumber…

For without you, my life has no meaning.

…

I’ll wait for you.

… … …

Chapter Text

It was almost seven. Liy was standing in front of the restaurant she promised to meet at, waiting for Match to arrive.

Ever since her conversation with Needle, the hunter had been anxious. Now she knew of the big mystery that left the city with little hope, and she had mixed feelings. She knew she had to confront Match about it, but she didn’t want to rub her the wrong way while underprepared. So, for now, she’d stick by their original plan for a meetup, and take it from there.

Liy glanced down at her phone, rereading the recent texts. The latest was from seven minutes ago, of Liy saying she was already at the place they agreed on, and it was left on read.

Then, she looked up from her screen, and there she was.

Match stood in front of Liy, smiling as usual, with a plain periwinkle parasol protecting her from the sun. She wore a violet silk ribbon around her head, where her wood and sulphur met, and a couple silver bracelets on each wrist. (Vampires were weak to silver as a material, but silver paint was apparently okay.)

“Hi, Liy!” she said happily, resisting the urge to pounce and hug her in public.

“Good evening! I see you thought of me,” Liy said, her eyes pointing to the parasol whose shade of periwinkle was nearly identical to hers. She was much calmer in comparison, with the information she gained from Needle, but she returned the smile. As evil as she was, damn, was Match pretty. The media weren’t lying when they said the most beautiful women were the most dangerous—wasn’t that also how Needle scored her own partner?

“Yes! I’m so happy you, like, noticed so quickly.” Match twirled, giving the other girl a better view of the parasol for a second. It had a few layers of frills and ruffles of the same exact colour, adding something cute to an otherwise boring design. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” she replied instantly. She tugged at her scarf slightly to draw Match’s attention to it. “I wore my scarf because it matches your hair.”

“I was just about to say. Red looks so good on you!” The queen wanted to squeal in delight, but tried to be as calm as possible. She had the impression that the majority of mortals weren’t so excitable, and she didn’t want to stand out.

“Well, let’s head on in, shall we?” Liy offered her hand. Although confused by the gesture at first, having not been in a relationship in literal centuries, Match took it, and her heart started racing. Liy’s hand was pleasantly warm, despite the frigid air.

Liy felt the same way, except Match’s hand felt more than just warm. It was like touching something just not quite hot enough to hurt, and it relaxed her muscles simply holding it. To her knowledge, vampires typically had cold hands. Liy shrugged it off and led Match inside the restaurant, bringing the latter back down to Earth.

It wasn’t really as shabby as it looked outside. It was packed, and the food looked good. The mint green wallpaper was dainty enough, and the wooden floorboards were clean and polished. The floor plan appeared to be easy to get used to, thanks to everything looking so orderly.

The two were taken to a small table, away from the windows. (Match was relieved she didn’t have to request that.) They sat at opposite sides, facing each other. Match kept her parasol open, likely because the lights were too bright. So much for not wanting to stand out… Maybe she should have kept the sunhat.

“Liy… You’re, like, a light switch, right? Can you turn the lights off? I have sensitive eyes.”

Liy already knew Match and La Reine du Sang were the same person, and this just added to her evidence. Even so, she played along. “I… I can, but I don’t want to cause a scene.” She was afraid Match would do something bad, and was surprised to see her only nod in understanding.

“Okay. I’ll try to, like, bear it…” She couldn’t admit her body was feeling a little weak, and if not for the shade of her parasol, she could’ve been on fire already. She shifted her parasol’s position, but no matter the angle she held it in, light still hit her. At least sunlight didn’t target every angle on your body, and even if it did, it wasn’t like this. That was just one light in an open sky, compared to dozens of lights in an enclosed space.

When asked about drinks, Liy ordered a glass of pink lemonade. Unsure what to order, Match picked the same thing. The waiter nodded and left.

“So, um, Liy…” Match trailed off, nervous. “How long have you been hunting vampires?”

“Fifteen years, give or take. It’s not a fun job, but we’re dropping like flies, so someone’s gotta put in the work.”

The vampire nodded. She knew exactly why hunters were dying or disappearing, but she had to hide it. Be cool, be casual. “If you weren’t a hunter, what would you want to be?” she asked.

Liy stopped to think, resting a hand on her chin. “Huh. I… never thought about it. I’ve been a hunter since I was a kid, so I haven’t thought of other jobs. A police officer, maybe?”

“Hunting criminals instead of vampires? Really?” Match chuckled, raising a brow. “I mean, whatever, like, floats your boat, I suppose.”

“Or a nurse,” Liy said, adding to her previous answer. She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Not sure if it matters, though. I’m probably going to be a vampire hunter until the day I die, with how things have been going.”

“You’d look so cute in nurse garb,” the queen said, fantasising. “Covered in blood, patients scared of you… Ah, how magnificent!” Liy forced out some sheepish laughter. She should have known Match would be messed up in the head. Match easily detected her nervousness and waved her own hand. “Oh, relax, I’m, like, just JK kidding.”

Did… she not realise how redundant that was?

“Uh-huh… Sure you are,” Liy replied smugly. It couldn’t hurt to be playful, lighten the mood.

The waiter returned with two glasses, both filled to the brim with pink lemonade. They set the glasses down in front of the two, before pulling a pen and notepad out of their apron pocket. “What can I get for you ladies?”

“Oh, shit,” Match muttered, quickly picking up the menu in front of her and skimming down the lines. She got so distracted talking with Liy that she forgot she was in a restaurant.

Liy, however, already knew what she wanted.

“I’ll take the weekly special this time around. It looks good,” she said, smiling. “With the extra cheese, please.”

“And you, miss?” The waiter eyed the matchstick after jotting down Liy’s order.

“Um…” Match was more than embarrassed to confess she’d never heard of most of the items listed. What the hell was flan? Stir-fried bok choy? Eggplant parmigiana? What in the world was this selection? Then she found one she recognised—and something she’d eaten before, too! “The ratatouille sounds nice. But, uh, no garlic, please—I’m allergic.”

They wrote that down as well, visibly suspicious about the request of garlic exclusion. “I’ll be back momentarily.” They left the two to each other.

Finally able to focus on it, Match studied her lemonade like it was a foreign object. Liy giggled.

“What, haven’t seen pink lemonade before?” she joked, but to her surprise, Match nodded.

“I, like… don’t get to go out much. Sheltered life.” She didn’t think her on-the-fly half-lie would be accepted, but Liy smiled and nodded as though she did believe it. (She didn’t.)

Match decided to lift the glass and bring it to her lips, taking a sip. Suddenly, she broke into a fit of coughs, alarming Liy, as well as a few people who stopped to look at her.

“Match! A-Are you okay? Breathe!” The hunter got up and rushed to the other side of the table, but Match set the glass down and held her hand up.

“I—’m fi—ne—” she said in between coughs. She recovered after a few moments. “S-Sorry… Just went down the wrong, like, pipe…”

Liy gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “As long as you’re okay. You had me worried.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

Liy sat back down across from her. The two were quiet, a little awkward to talk. Both knew that the other was a threat, and a beautiful one at that. Match especially couldn’t think of things to talk about. Mortals were very interesting, and she had no idea where to start regarding questions. She had had a mortal for a roommate for about four years now, but Lollipop was not the most open for conversation, preferring brief chats, and only in the rare moments when she was in the mood to talk in the first place.

“So, uh… No garlic, huh?” Liy made eye contact with the tall girl, until the latter averted her gaze, afraid she had said too much.

“Y-Yeah. Allergies, and I just… can’t stand the aftertaste. And, like, garlic breath stinks!”

Liy laughed. “You’re so right.” She smirked, but then decided to lower the intensity to a soft smile at the last second. “And so cute. Have I mentioned that?”

Match’s face flushed. Her first instinct was to tilt her parasol to hide her face, but she heard a small clunk. The table was in the way. Shit. Liy saw the embarrassment on her target’s face, and she couldn’t help giggling again.

“I guess I haven’t.” She saw Match recover and decided to change the topic. “By the way, do you have any nicknames you’d like me to call you?”

“Nicknames? Hmm…” Match thought back on the nicknames her exes had given her. For someone who’d lived for as long as she had, she hadn’t had too many relationships—enough to count on one hand. Matchling from Loser, before she learned she wasn’t attracted to men. Flower liked to call her La Flamme. Pencil initially refused to give her a nickname, finding the idea “utterly preposterous”, but enough begging (and threats to kill everyone else she knew) led her to coin La Sombra and L’Ombre, depending on whether she was in a Spanish or French mood. Something they all had in common was that all of them also called her… “Matchy. I think… it suits me best,” she said, smiling nervously. “But you can, like, call me whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want, eh?” Liy leaned in across the table, a smug grin forming as her eyes pierced into the taller object’s like arrows into the heart. “How about… ‘the prettiest girl in the world’?”

Match swiftly turned away, face redder than her sulphur as she tried and failed to hide herself in her parasol again. “Th-That’s too long!”

Liy was having too much fun. She found it hard to believe that the evilest person in existence was not only gorgeous, but so easily flustered. Was Match putting up an act, or was this the real her?

“Okay, s-so…” The blush on the matchstick’s face lessened, but still showed. “N-Now I gotta, like, think up a nickname for you, Liy… Since we’re, like, dating and all…”

Hold on, she thought this was a date? Liy just wanted to get to know her better. But… Yeah, this did feel like a date, didn’t it? Especially with all the flirting that was all Liy’s doing. She decided to go along with it—couldn’t hurt.

“How do you like having a girlfriend?” she asked, after sipping her lemonade.

“Huh?” Match blinked, taken aback. “O-Oh, um… It’s… nice. I, uh, like knowing that someone, like, likes me in that sort of way… and, um, well—” She cut herself off, out of hate for how bad she was with words. She didn’t continue, which worried Liy a bit, but she didn’t want to say something to upset her.

“I’m happy, too.” Liy blushed a little, pulling up her scarf in an attempt to cover the lower half of her face. “I’ll have you know, this is my first relationship.”

Match gave her a mildly unamused expression, a huge contrast to her behaviour just a few seconds ago. “Really? I don’t believe it. You’re too good at, like, flirting.”

But unlike Match, who kept telling believable lies to save face, Liy spoke the truth. This was, in fact, her first romantic advance, and with the vampire queen, no less. Liy hated the idea of admitting it, but she was nervous about fumbling this. She didn’t want Match to be sad, but she didn’t want to be bitten and converted either. Then there was the whole story she needed to eventually confront her about.

Yes, Match was the queen of all vampires, a powerful woman who, for a very long time, had controlled an army of vampires that only kept growing, while the number of active hunters decreased to about fifty. Yes, she was the reason for Liy’s instructor’s mysterious disappearance that was falsely reported to Goiky as a possible suicide—Liy even promised she’d do something about that. Yes, she possibly had plans for the shorter girl, and they were unlikely to be pretty.

Yet, despite everything, Liy… loved her.

In yesterday’s diary entry, she wrote that she was unsure if love at first sight was real.

Now, she was sure.

How was she supposed to hold true to her promise while staying on Match’s good side? Maybe she needed more time to study how the girl behaved.

Or, maybe…

“Hey, um… Matchy?” Liy was sweating a bit, genuinely nervous to go on. Match saw this differently, though, and she gasped.

“OMMF, Liy, are you getting hot? It could, like, be the scarf—”

The hunter threw her hands up. “No, no! I’m okay!” She shrank in her seat, while Match motioned to take a sip from her glass. “I just… I was wondering if I… could stay at your place for a bit.”

Match comically spat out her lemonade, eyes wide. “Huh?!” She blinked a couple times, realising she accidentally spat her drink all over Liy’s face. “Shit, sorry! Umm, uhh… Aha!” She put her glass down to grab a cloth napkin from the table, and she reached over to wipe the light switch’s face. When she pulled the napkin away, she saw Liy blushing, and she couldn’t help reciprocating when she noticed how their faces were mere inches away. “I, um… I see we’re, like… in close proximity now. Heh…”

Liy nodded, speechless. She didn’t really mind what just happened. She was making direct eye contact with Match, lost in her stunning gaze. Now that they were so close, and thanks to the reflection of the surrounding lights, Liy noticed the slightest hint of a very dark red in Match’s eyes. Was that her natural colour? Damn it, Liy! Speak!

“Anyway,” Match went on, smiling, hesitating a bit, “I’d love it if you visited. So, you may… on one condition.”

Liy broke out of her trance, rapidly shaking her head. “What is it?” she asked, a little fearful. She hoped it wasn’t anything bad. No biting, please no biting…

“I’ll tell you later. It’s, like, too public here.” And yet, she gave the hunter a quick peck on the cheek before giggling, pulling away, and sitting back down.

Wait, what?! Liy stared at the matchstick in utter disbelief, gently placing her hand over her cheek. Match kissed her. She really kissed her! Liy had no idea what to say. That was the first time anyone ever made such a gesture on her. It wasn’t on the lips, but it still felt nice. She only felt it for a second, but she had no idea vampires could have such soft lips. Liy couldn’t ignore the warm feeling inside her chest, in addition to her heavy heartbeat. Oh, how she could just explode!

About a minute went by, and both of them drank more from their glasses. Now able to actually taste the contents after the third attempt, Match’s eyes lit up.

“This… This is, like, amazing! And this is served here regularly?”

Having regained her senses, the plastic switch chuckled. “Yep! Heavenly, isn’t it? It’s one of my favourite drinks.”

“Absolutely!” Match was ecstatic. “I have to buy some tomorrow. It’s not expensive, is it?”

“Not really. About two bucks a jug.”

The parasol-carrier made a dramatic gasp. Seriously? Something as delicious as pink lemonade was that cheap? That had to be a crime!

“Guess I’ll buy out the entire stock, then,” Match laughed, half joking. Her fridge—or rather, Lollipop’s fridge—couldn’t fit all that. Liy laughed with her.

“Now, now, save some for me!”

“Fiiine.”

They went back to their drinks, until both were almost empty. Then Liy spoke up.

“Do you live nearby?”

“Not quite. It’s, like, a bit of a ways away, and inaccessible without, like, a method of flight or teleportation. It’s on a floating island, unable to be seen from Goiky,” Match explained.

Liy raised a brow. “How long is ‘a bit of a ways away,’ exactly?”

She hummed a bit. “Well, teleportation is instantaneous, obviously, but flying? It depends on how fast you, like, travel. For me, it takes about an hour if I’m in a hurry.”

“An hour?!” Goodness, Liy couldn’t imagine flying for that long. And in a hurry! Most vampire hunters and even some normal mortals (barring obvious people like Puffball and Lightning) could fly to some extent, but it was seldom used for transportation, being designed for combat manoeuvres instead. Oh, if only she could teleport—it was a very difficult skill to learn, and only a select few hunters have unlocked it.

Match chuckled. She waved her hand reassuringly. “It’s okay, I can, like, carry you. You don’t look heavy.”

“Ha… I’d appreciate that.” Liy smiled at the thought of being carried like a princess the whole way.

Finally the waiter came back balancing a large, flat tray under their hand. They lowered the tray, revealing two dishes that were then placed on the table—Match’s ratatouille, and Liy’s weekly special, which appeared to be a homemade soup with various cheeses melted into it. After the waiter left, Match studied the soup, almost gagging at the sight.

“That’s… a lot of cheese,” she pointed out, worry in her tone. “You might, like, get sick from that…”

“It’s fine,” Liy reassured her. “I’ve had more than this in one sitting.”

“And you haven’t had stomachaches?”

Liy raised her eyebrow. “Match, are you lactose intolerant?”

“No. I just know that, like, too much cheese is not necessarily a good thing, health-wise. Delicious, but not worth it in the long run.”

She paused to let the queen’s words process. She had no idea.

“Trust me, I’m not overreacting,” Match concluded, leaning back in her seat. The chairs were not exactly the most comfortable.

“All right, I got you,” said Liy. “I don’t want to waste this, though.”

“Yeah, just… be careful.”

While Match began picking at her ratatouille at a snail’s pace, Liy felt the train of her thoughts leaving the station and zooming around in her head.

She knew Match was factually the most evil person currently alive. And yet, she cared that much about Liy’s well-being? There was no way this was an act. Match actually cared about her!

That only made her more curious about what the condition Match mentioned earlier could be, and why it had to be saved for a private discussion. Actually, it made her more worried about what the condition could be. What if Match wanted to bite her to make her immortal, so that the two could be together forever? Liy wouldn’t have minded the immortality part of it, if not for the fact she could lose every ounce of mental stability if her will wasn’t strong enough. Sure, vampires could still make conscious decisions and thus blend in well with their surroundings, but under certain circumstances, and when they’re just getting used to being a vampire, they could very easily lose themselves and attack indiscriminately. It happened to Bracelety, and Liy feared it could happen to her, too. Then there were the other common weaknesses she wanted to avoid…

“Liy… Liy? Liy, are you there?”

The voice caused the light switch to jump. She sighed in relief on learning it was only Match. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts.”

“You seem to do that a lot. Not saying it’s a, like, bad thing.” Yet, it didn’t surprise the monster at all. Liy was adventurous, and clearly it wasn’t limited to touching grass. Well, now she had a new topic to bring up. “What are your favourite places to go? I know you, like, enjoy travelling.” She nearly slapped her hand over her mouth as that slipped.

“When I can, yes,” Liy added, before chuckling, thankfully unaware that Match knew that about her without her telling. “I don’t have any favourite places in particular. I like exploring unknown territories, but as a hunter, I don’t really get to do that. Eraser’s hellbent on making sure that we do our job and take no days off.”

“Eraser?” Match raised an eyebrow, clueless about the name and who it belonged to.

“One of the high-rank officers here. He takes his job seriously, especially after what happened to Pen the other day.”

Match looked down at her food, taking a bite into it. She had nothing to do with Pen—that had to be the work of vampires who acted on their own. As a matter of fact, she knew Pen personally. The two met in line at an ice cream parlor about a year ago. He had complimented her blood-stained parasol, calling it “wicked”. Match, then clueless about slang terms, had thought he’d insulted her, and he’d explained the definition to her, indirectly calling her old in the process. That was the first and last time they’d met. Then, as soon as she’d arrived home, she’d searched up the word to confirm whether what Pen had told her was true, and it was. She’d spent the next day researching all the popular slang words so that she would understand them, should one come up again.

“Eraser is… a pretty cold man,” Liy continued, bringing Match back to Earth, “but really he means well. Kinda like my teacher, but between you and me, he’s a lot more compassionate… as much as he doesn’t like to show it.” She chortled. “I’ve been friends with him since the day he just got the job.”

“Your teacher?” Match leaned in slightly, intrigued. Liy didn’t think much of it, other than this being an opportunity. Maybe Match would admit to her where her instructor was.

“Yeah. She seems to be heartless at first, but if you manage to thaw the ice encasing her even slightly, she’s really nice.” She looked down at the tri-colour braided accessory wrapped around her arm. “She’s… one of my closest friends, and a mother figure of sorts. One of these colours on this armband represents her.”

The matchstick knew exactly who Liy was referring to. She almost said something, but went back to eating instead. Liy, who realised her soup was already cold, started eating as well. More than a minute went by before Match finally spoke up, continuing the previous topic.

“I knew Pencil’s, like, very powerful and all, but I never would have thought she’d still have the heart to, like, teach people her craft.”

“From what she told me, she wanted the vampires wiped out, and she accepted anyone she could as an act of desperation to achieve her goal as soon as possible. She was my teacher for three years.” Liy smiled faintly. “We both agreed to a five-year contract, but…” The smile faded. “She went missing, and I had to complete the last two years on my own. I kept training even after that, to stay in top form. And… wait.” The light switch looked up at the taller girl, her words finally registering. “Have you met her?”

“A long time ago, yes. She’s my ex-girlfriend,” Match replied bitterly, her eyes angrily staring at her dish. “She never loved me, though. She said it herself.”

“What happened?” Liy gave her a look of worry, but inside she was more confused than anything. La Reine and La Ángel, two of the world’s most powerful figures on opposing sides, dated?

“She, like… had everything all planned out. She agreed to a date. I got obsessed with her. She took advantage of it, and before I knew it,—” She slammed her fist on the table, startling Liy. “—she, like, tried to lure me into a literal death trap! Locked me in a room that she filled up with a, like, oxide of some kind! She never loved me! She was only, like, toying with my emotions, just because I’m—” Match bit her tongue hard, letting her secret almost slip. Although natural-born vampires couldn’t bleed, it still hurt to feel her fangs piercing her tongue, and she winced. To anyone else, it seemed like she had no secret, and it was what she was about to say instead that hurt her. “Just because I’m… inferior to her.”

Liy listened, holding her soup mug in both hands. This sounded like a true story, and it would make sense if that was the reason why Match took Pencil away. She could have wanted revenge. Pencil was only doing her job as a hunter, but with the way Match explained how it all went down, Liy wasn’t sure whose side to take.

Vampires had feelings, too. Sure, yes, they were a threat to society, but Liy truly sympathised with the queen. Maybe, just maybe, if nobody had tried to kill her, she wouldn’t have developed to be so cruel. It could be that she just… wanted to be loved. Liy kept that in mind for later.

Suddenly, Match stood up, placing a fifty on the table to pay for the two. “I need a moment.” She stormed out of the restaurant, her meal having been barely touched. This alarmed Liy, who followed her out without hesitation.

Match turned to the side of the restaurant and rushed into an alleyway. By the time Liy arrived to check up on her, what she saw frightened her. Match was bent over, retching and coughing next to the side of a dumpster; she’d missed it, and there was a concerningly large puddle of bile in between her and the dumpster.

“Match!” Liy ran up to her, ignoring the bile for a moment. “Are you okay? Was the food not good?”

“N-No, it was! Just… It—” She threw up a little more. “They put garlic in it… I, like, told them not to!”

The light switch sighed. “Garlic is included in a lot of things nowadays. People are worried about the vampires blending in, and garlic is one of the few nonviolent ways to kill them. So requesting anything without garlic is considered a red flag.”

A weak smile appeared on the redhead’s face. She was panting a little, catching her breath. “Ugh… So that’s how I’m given away, isn’t it…?”

“No. I already knew.”

Still hunched over, and with one hand gripping the edge of the dumpster for support, Match turned her head and looked up at the hunter. “Of course… I’m not exactly great at, like, keeping secrets,” she confessed, chuckling a bit. “So, you already knew I’m a vampire… For how long?”

“Since yesterday. The parasol and the ‘I don’t bite’ comment started my suspicions,” Liy replied, not one lie leaving her throat.

Match slowly straightened herself. She stared down at the ground between the two girls. “I guess that means… you’re gonna, like, kill me, right? Just like that?”

Liy shook her head. “Yeah, I’m a hunter, but…” She trailed off for a second. “Okay, look, I won’t kill you. But you have to promise me something.”

She blinked. “What’s that?”

The moment Match stopped speaking, a serious expression appeared on Liy’s face. “Let Pencil see Needle again. I know who you are, La Reine.”

“Sigh.” Match clutched her parasol. “How do you even know she’s, like, with me? I want nothing to do with that witch.”

“Needle told me what happened. You stripped her from her fiancée. You had to have done something, and with a motive. Revenge, maybe?”

“Okay, fine!” The vampire threw her free hand up in defeat. “Yes, I wanted to get back at her, but, like, I’ve kept her hidden away in fear that she would do something to me, should I let her free. I mean, she’s, like, the only person who’s fully capable of stopping my reign.”

“Your… reign?” Liy raised both eyebrows.

“Do you know what la reine du sang really means, Liy?” Liy shook her head, prompting Match to continue. “The blood queen, Liy. That’s what I am.” She stepped closer to the hunter, who instinctively took a step back. “My goal for the past few hundred years has been to, like, expand my vampire army and rule all of Goiky. However, as my title suggests, I can get pretty thirsty… This morning’s news? That was all me. On an average night, I kill more people than I convert. I’d, like, be better at killing off the entire Goikian population than increasing my numbers.”

“But Match, listen. Say you converted every last person in existence—even those outside of Goiky. And you get thirsty. Only your army remains. What will you do, then?”

“Then I’ll just, like, drain the recent converts.” Match smiled softly. “Call it a waste, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.”

Liy had no idea what to say. Match would go out of her way to kill her own people to survive? Then again, in a scenario like that, she’d kind of have to.

The matchstick’s smile faded as she lowered her head slightly, sullen. “I’m… sorry for not telling you outright, Liy. About my identity.”

“It’s okay. You already knew I was a hunter by my vest. You were just scared I’d target you.”

Match nodded. “Do you… still want to stay at my place?” she asked, hopeful. “I’ll, um, let you bring your equipment… Just don’t kill anyone living there. They’re, like, the closest I have to a family.”

Liy nodded, accepting the invitation. “I’d love to.” She immediately remembered what Match said in the restaurant. “But first, um… what was your condition?”

“Ah, right! I almost forgot.” Match tightened her grip on her parasol, angling it slightly to make the shadow casting over her look more intimidating. She gave Liy a serious, quite literally red-eyed expression that gave the shorter girl the chills, while her free hand pulled out a large knife with heart-shaped holes and designs running along the sides of the blade.

“Prove your love to me. Kiss me. Right now.”

Chapter Text

“Ugh, fucking underworld, it is wrong. This is all wrong!”

“What?”

“Do not give me ‘what’. And why are you in my chamber at this hour?”

“The door was open. I so happened to hear you yelling and cursing as I walked b—”

“You should be in your sleeping quarters, Conch Shell.”

“I know, but—”

A firm slam of a hand on a desk startled Conch Shell. “GO TO BED. Class commences at nine o’clock ante meridiem, and so help me if you show up tardy again—”

“Okay, okay, sorry, I will! Uh, g’night, Sensei!”

Conch Shell closed the door as he left the office, leaving Pencil alone. She groaned, planting her face on her desk. Running a business alone was a lot of work, and the paperwork wasn’t going to do itself. What’s worse, she hated people. Hated them! Social interaction? Eugh! But she knew that if she wanted to wipe out the vampires once and for all, she needed all the help she could get. She was very powerful, but not enough to end all this by herself.

“Ugh, dear devil sent from below, please. Just. Fucking. Kill me. And La Reine, too, while you are at it.”

The door suddenly opened, startling Pencil into sitting up. She sighed seeing Conch Shell again. He was blurry, as were the rest of her surroundings, but she could still make out his shape and colour, and both were unmistakable.

“Oh, by the way, you forgot to close off the forest for the night,” he said.

“Mierda. Thank you for informing me.” She grabbed her black rectangle-framed glasses from her desk and put them on. She stood up and walked past the shorter object. He left the room after her, but instead of following, he retreated to the crew rooms.

The hallway was long, agonisingly so. It was almost a thirty-second walk between the other end of the hall and the back door. What made it so boring was how empty the hallway was—no pictures, no doors, just the same cream-coloured paint job and tatami flooring every other room had (except the office, where the only difference was grey walls).

Pencil opened the door and stepped outside, where a dark, evil-looking forest was located in the near distance. As it was faster than walking, she flew toward the forest’s entrance. In front, on the ground, was a large gate with iron bars, and surrounding the borders of the forest was a fence covered all around by thorny vines. Pencil landed and quickly entered through the gate; the forest was guarded by a force that kept fliers grounded, so Pencil had no choice but to search around on foot for anyone who could have gotten in. She spent the next twenty minutes wandering around for such trespassers. Seeing no one during that time, she exited the forest, closed the gate, and locked it. She flew back to the dojo, landing in front of the door and entering.

She made no hesitation returning to her little office, which was essentially her home. It included a desk with a mountain of paperwork and envelopes on the side, a contained fire for cooking (when not in use, it was covered up with a special transparent lid to prevent Pencil from accidentally burning herself—with her being wood and all), and a rather crappy-looking bed consisting of hay and leaves.

She sat back at her desk and immediately brought some papers in front of her to fill out. Most of them were documents that needed to be signed, many of which were overdue. Pencil’s students had constantly insisted that she hire an assistant, only for her to stubbornly state that she could handle it all herself.

Yeah, right.

“Having fun, Pence-Pence?”

From the corner of her eye, Pencil saw a shadow emerge from the ground, a physical figure forming from it.

“You must be aware it is discourteous to barge in unannounced, La Sombra,” the hunter said harshly, her eyes still on the papers in front of her. “What do you want?”

“You could afford to be a little, you know, nicer?” Match scoffed, idly waving her parasol a bit.

Pencil sighed, rubbing her temples. “Apologies. I am still not well-versed in this whole… erm, ‘dating’ concept.” She shivered ever so slightly, as if the word dating left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Aw, come on, it’s not, like, that hard.” The vampire queen sat on the edge of the desk, next to a stack of papers.

“It is when you have never involved yourself in a relationship before. May I remind you, you had affections for two people before me.”

“I have, and my experience is what will allow me to, like, help you!” Match smiled, swinging her legs a little. “They say vampires can’t love, but, like, my heart beats for you all the time. More so than for my exes, haha!”

Pencil forced a small laugh without cracking a smile. She pushed up her glasses. “I appreciate it. Er, the guidance, I mean.”

Match chuckled. “Hey, after you finish those, do you want to, like, hang out at the tavern?”

“Match, class begins in six hours. I cannot afford to take a day off when those vermin are on the loose.”

Match opened her mouth as if to argue, but then slowly looked away. “Okay. Well… After class, then? It only lasts five hours or so. We can, like, hang out then, right?”

“Paperwork. It will not do itself, you know.”

The queen hummed. A devilish grin formed on her face. “Okay! Then, like, how about I paint your students’ blood all over your walls and, like, throw those papers into that little fire you have there?” She giggled, making theatrical gestures with her arms and hands as she spoke.

Pencil swiftly rose, slamming her hands on the desk. “Why don’t you just—” she began, raising her voice, before stopping herself. Match chuckled, knowing full well that often when Pencil got too angry or flustered, she broke her typical formality (swears aside) and let contractions slip. She sat herself back down, removed her glasses, and slammed her face onto the desk. “Ugh, I cannot fucking do this…”

Match looked down at her. “Do what?”

“This relationship. I am so lost, and I am so absorbed in my work…”

“And you’re finally self-aware.” She rolled her eyes and crossed one leg over the other. “Took you, like, I dunno, six years?”

“Six years?!” The writing utensil lifted her head up, revealing a dumbfounded expression directed at Match. Her eyes were squinting, and it was hard to tell why, between her poor vision and her confusion. “Has it been that long? Good Go—” She got cut off when she suddenly started breathing fire, alarming Match. The fire disappeared as suddenly as it spouted, removing the need to grab water. “G-Goodness,” Pencil corrected herself between small coughs, “did the passage of time accelerate? Ugh, my whole mouth burns…”

She’d forgotten for a moment that she was half vampire, and a vampire saying God… didn’t yield good results. She could say goodness just fine, though. It was like a child substituting a profane word around an adult—say the censored version of the vulgar word, don’t suffer consequences.

After she learned her girlfriend was okay, Match gave her a look of mild annoyance, carrying on like nothing happened. “Six years, and you haven’t proposed to me! For shame!”

The instructor smacked her fist on the desk. “And what the fuck does that mean?!”

Match gasped. “Are you, like, telling me you don’t know how marriage works?”

“I do not! So what? You will just teach me that, too, right?” Pencil put her glasses back on and pushed them up with one hand, the other placed on her hip. She wore a mildly annoyed expression. “Apologies for my outburst, I—” she began to say, her tone much calmer than before, as well as… oddly polite.

“I must, at once!” Undeterred, Match took Pencil’s hands, both of them standing up, and dragged her to the middle of the office. “Okay, so here’s how it works. You get a ring, and a small box to, like, put it in. It can’t be a cheap ring! It’s got to, like, sparkle with real, top-quality minerals. Anyway, after you, like, get the ring—make sure you have it with you, in the box—you approach your partner, kneel down in front of them, and open the box in front of you, revealing the ring to them. Then you, like, ask, ‘Will you marry me?’” Match demonstrated each act she described, knowing Pencil was a visual learner. She had to pretend with the ring and the box, but Pencil seemed to understand somewhat, nodding in contemplation.

“And… is that all?”

“Well… Should your partner say yes, you have to, like, plan out a whole wedding and everything. That’s when you actually get married. Then you can, like, start a family together!”

Pencil recoiled slightly at the thought of that. “I ween, I am not within the recommended level of readiness for that,” she said, mildly perturbed. “I hate little ones anyway. Annoying little brats, not to mention prime punting material.” She lightly kicked the air between the two.

Match scowled. “Children are not for kicking! What the spark is wrong with you?!”

The other wooden girl narrowed her eyes, unfazed. “A lot of things,” she deadpanned. “Next question.”

The redhead let out a dramatic sigh. This woman was absolutely hopeless, but Match still loved her and wanted to do everything she could to help improve their relationship—and Pencil’s overall behaviour.

After class, Match decided to help Pencil out with the paperwork. It took a lot of convincing (and yet another death threat) for the grumpy hunter to relent and accept the assistance. Two people worked better than one, and they finished everything within an hour. Match cheered, while Pencil only mustered a weak smile and some praise.

“Haha, we did it! Finally!” The vampire queen took Pencil’s hands into hers and spun them both around. She then pulled the utensil into a hug and kissed her deeply, catching her a little off guard. She kissed Match back, albeit hesitantly. Match was blushing, while Pencil felt absolutely nothing genuine out of this. She was determined to kill Match, but in order to do that, she had to keep this act going for a while longer.

Six years was way too long. It had to end.

“About time, too,” Pencil replied, following her words with a soft sigh. “I am quite astonished how you are so seasoned in financial mathematics.”

“Ha! I’ve always loved math,” the queen said, grinning. “I just pretend I don’t, so I don’t get to, like, show it off.” She let go of Pencil’s hands and grabbed her parasol, which was closed. Thank goodness Pencil was also a vampire, for that meant the lights were rarely on.

The two heard a knock on the door. Match descended into the shadows in order to hide. Pencil grabbed a sunhat from a hat rack and put it on, before turning on the lights and opening the door.

“I thought I told you you were dismissed,” she said to the object at the door. To explain the lights being out before, she forced a yawn, pretending she just woke up from a nap.

“Sorry, Sensei.” The object, a construction saw with a brown handle, dipped into a polite bow. “I just… wanted to ask if I could take tomorrow off. To, um… focus on my relationship.”

Normally, to questions like this, Pencil would shut them down and give a reminder that class was in the morning. But this time, she was in deep thought, not sure what to say.

“Compassion is a major hindrance to your training.”

“There is no room for affection when the world is at stake.”

“YOU LET HIM GET AWAY?! Why, I should disown you!”

“I cannot believe I have a failure for a daughter. I  best not sense your presence until dawn.”

“What a disgrace.”

…

“…sei… Sensei… Hello? Sensei!”

Pencil gasped, the voice snapping her out of her thoughts. She sighed and held her head, relieved it was just her pupil.

“Um, Sensei? Are you… okay?” Saw sounded scared, all things considered.

“Yes, yes… I am… fine.”

“That’s a relief. You spaced out for some reason.”

“Worry not for me.”

Saw nodded, avoiding eye contact. Pencil’s eyes were unintentionally scary. “So, um… Is it okay?”

Her composure having returned, she glanced behind her, seeking guidance from the shadow hiding behind a houseplant. She felt it nodding at her, so she turned to her student. “I shall grant you permission just this once. You better return by Saturday morning, or serious consequences shall be had.”

“Y-Yes! Thank you so much!” The zigzagged girl took her instructor’s hand in both of hers and shook it, before turning and leaving. After closing the door, Pencil glanced down at her hand with a blank face. “What was that?” she muttered.

Match heard that and emerged from her hiding place. “You don’t know what a handshake is? Dear Absa, you’re so, like, uneducated. Ironic for a teacher.”

“Silence. You know I was not raised with knowledge of socially acceptable etiquette and affectionate gestures. I have vocalised this many a time, by now.”

There is no room for affection when the world is at stake.

“You’re pathetiiiic,” the matchstick sang, then chortled. “And that’s where I, like, come in. Heehee!” She waved her parasol in her hand.

Pencil held her head in her hand. She hated Match and her mannerisms so much. It was torture! Just how much longer did she have to put up with her?

“Maybe you should teach me how to hunt vampires? That way we can be together for, like, much longer!”

The hunter jumped. “That— That will not be necessary, thank you. Besides, it would be utterly asinine—ludicrous, I daresay—for the vampire queen herself to eradicate her own army.”

“Ever heard of a joke, Pence-Pence?”

“No,” she replied instantaneously. She turned the lights off, but kept her sunhat on. “Now, come. We have a tavern to visit.”

Match’s eyes widened slightly and sparkled, like something you would see out of a cartoon. “Of course!” Because the office lacked windows, she had to sink into the ground below, while Pencil grabbed a handwritten sign from one of the shelves and opened the door. Both left the office, Match going on ahead while Pencil stayed back a moment to close the door and hang up the sign, which read:

ACTUALMENTE NO DISPONIBLE. VOLVERÁ PRONTO. — CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. WILL BE BACK SOON.

She went into a jog to catch up with Match, the tatami flooring muffling her three-inch heels, and both exited the dojo at the same time.

Alerted by the familiar sound of thick heels on the floorboards, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the pair who entered the tavern, suddenly looking scared for their lives. It was incredibly busy, with almost all the tables occupied, so the girls, ignoring everyone who stared at them, opted to sit at the front counter instead. Pencil gave the person behind the counter a sharp glare, and they immediately went to the back to get her a drink, sweating profusely. She took the vodka bottle in her hand, popped the cork open with a sharp nail, and drank straight from the bottle, ignoring the shot glass that was placed in front of her.

Match watched her down a quarter of the bottle in under six seconds, used to this by now. Being a teetotaler, she ordered a glass of water instead.

“I drink to distract myself from the harshnesses of life, but I have developed a tolerance so high that it is basically just any ordinary beverage to me,” Pencil said somberly. “Why do I persist?”

Hold on, harshnesses? English wasn’t Match’s first language, but even she knew that wasn’t a word. She said nothing, though.

“Well, at least we get to drink all we want free of charge,” the utensil said, smirking, “even if they refuse. You because you rule over everyone here, and me because I am a serious threat to their livelihoods. It is both cute and gratifying, would you not agree?”

The tavern was frequented almost entirely by vampires. Pencil visited sometimes for a drink or two. Everyone would freeze whenever she’d enter, knowing full well of her status as La Ángel de Sangre, the most dangerous vampire hunter. She would get away with drinking without paying a single coin, thanks to everyone being so afraid of incurring her wrath.

She hated to admit it in public spaces, as she preferred to keep her “positive” feelings to herself, but she deeply enjoyed being feared—by anyone, really, but vampires especially. It was their fear that spread rumours that Pencil was ruthless and sadistic—whether those rumours were true was up for debate, as nobody had proof.

“…Yeah,” Match mumbled, before looking up and noticing the smirk on her partner’s face. She leaned against Pencil, giggling. “Oh my woodsicles, you’re so, like, cute when you’re grinning like that! You should smile more!” She grabbed the hunter and turned her, forcing eye contact. Her own eyes glowed a dim red. “But only smile for me, okay? No one deserves it more than me.”

“…Right.” She lightly pushed Match away for personal space. “You are so clingy. I have not a clue what to do with you.”

The matchstick laughed, taking no offence at all.

The person on the other side of the counter stared at them, brow raised. “Are you two dating?”

Aggressively, Pencil jumped up on the counter, pulling out a dagger. Its blade was white and decorated with gold accents, and the handle was gold. She held it mere inches away from the other object’s neck, her glare piercing like knives into their eyes. “So what if we are? Got a fucking problem with that, asshole? I suggest you focus on keeping your minimum wage job and not pry on our business.”

“Um, y-yes, of course!” They scurried off to tend to other customers.

“Absa, they’re that scared of you?” Match chuckled. “I wish I could be taken more seriously.”

“Matchy, Matchy, my dear,” Pencil said, the last word forced, as she twirled her dagger in her fingers like a marching band baton. “It is called asserting oneself. You are too submissive and needy.” She shoved her dagger back in a holster on her hip. “You are literally a queen, and few take you seriously, huh? Forsooth, that is quite depressing. And yet you declared me the pathetic one? Have you ever tried a—” She paused, the realisation hitting her at the last second. “Oh, wait.”

Match giggled. “You know I can’t see my, like, reflection. For that matter, neither can—” She was cut off by Pencil slapping a hand over her mouth.

“Not one individual here has a reason to be cognizant of that,” the hunter barked through clenched teeth. She pulled her hand away. Her voice reduced to a whisper for her next sentence. “I know I am the sole hunter around here, but…”

“Relax, no one’s killing you on my watch.” Match leaned in, brandishing a knife that she pulled out from her inventory. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Pencil averted her gaze, mildly uncomfortable, but nodded. “Th… Thanks. I guess. You know, admittedly, I am quite concerned about your… obsession. Could you, perhaps, and I daresay, subdue your urges?”

“Why? We’ll live forever, won’t we? So we have to be together forever. I must, like, make sure of it!”

Yeah, there was no winning this argument. Pencil went back to her bottle, downing the contents straight. Then came a thought.

“What else is there to love besides the touchy-feely drivel?” The utensil set her almost-empty bottle down on the counter.

“Ah! Well…” Match smiled. “You already know about nicknames—that’s one thing common in relationships like this. Then there’s, like, various places you can go out for dates. You can also make or buy them gifts—you know, like, to show your appreciation! That’s pretty much it.”

Pencil raised both eyebrows. “Is that so? And here I surmised it to be far more complex. I mean, it is still complex to me after six years, but you understand.”

Match chuckled. “That I do. And you know, it took me some time to get used to it, too. My exes taught me, like, a lot.”

“I will bet.” The other tall girl took a sip from her bottle.

The matchstick blinked. “Was that meant to be serious or sarcastic?”

“A little bit of both,” she replied bluntly. She finished the rest of her drink and hopped off the stool she was previously sitting on. “Well, I am finished here. I have something I would like to present to you on the way to our home ground.”

“Huh?” Match watched Pencil leave, but quickly caught up to her. “Wait up!”

By now, it was almost midnight. The full moon barely illuminated the couple and the path they walked on.

Or, more accurately, the path Pencil walked on. Match didn’t feel like walking or flying, so she threatened Pencil to carry her piggyback. The latter was still not thrilled about it, but it wasn’t like Match was heavy at all—in fact, Pencil could carry her with just a finger if she wanted.

They were both silent, out of things to talk about. Match had talked Pencil’s ear off for the past two hours, and nothing else had come up. The only thing to be heard was the howling breeze in their faces. Even without the wind, the late summer air was chilly at night, and Pencil was shivering slightly. Match wrapped her arms around her partner in an attempt to warm her up a little, but it didn’t do much to help because Pencil’s body was naturally not as warm as the average person.

After a few more minutes, Pencil dropped Match onto the ground like a potato sack, staring down at her with her eyes slightly narrowed. “Get up. I am sick of feeling your breathing down my neck.”

She did so, brushing the dirt off her body. She twirled her parasol. “Fine,” she said, not wanting to argue for once. She was too excited about whatever it was Pencil had to show her.

The slender girls walked the rest of the way. Before long, they saw a distant building that looked unfamiliar to Match. It was the only structure in the surrounding area, which led the vampire queen to question.

“Is that where we’re going?” She pointed to the building.

“Yes,” the other girl replied with a nod. “In there, a special surprise awaits us both.”

A special surprise? Pencil didn’t sound or look very happy about it… but did she ever sound or look very happy about anything? Match couldn’t recall. She always knew the hunter to be cold and apathetic, hardly capable of emotion.

Soon enough, they stopped in front of a large, steel door. The building itself, which bore resemblance to a warehouse, also seemed to be made of a metal of some kind, possibly iron.

Pencil took off her straw sunhat and let it slide onto her back, a string that was sewn on both sides preventing it from touching the ground. She then untied the violet silk ribbon around it. She presented the ribbon to Match. “Tie this around your eyes,” she demanded.

Match blinked, before smiling and giggling. “You know you can just tell me to cover my eyes, right?”

“I cannot trust you with how exhilarated you are. Now put it on.” Her tone sharpened, a sign of waning patience.

“Okay, okay… Again, you could be a little nicer,” the redhead quipped. She took the ribbon and tied it. She was so thin that it had to be tied around multiple times to make it work. Pencil reached over and adjusted the ribbon slightly, ensuring that Match couldn’t see, before taking her wrist and—

“Can’t you, like… hold my hand?”

“Oh, right.” Pencil’s hand slipped down Match’s wrist, their fingers interlocking. Her free hand turned the handle and pushed the door open. Meanwhile, Match felt chills from how freezing cold the hunter’s hand was, reflecting her personality.

Match was guided inside. Even with her vision obscured, she could tell the room was dark, not a single light on. Having no need for them now, Pencil took off her glasses and placed them atop her head, where magnets on the accessory stuck them to her ferrule, before continuing to guide Match in the room. She gently sat the blindfolded girl down on a cold, steel chair. As she tied her wrists and ankles to the chair’s arms and legs respectively, she heard the queen’s voice.

“Um… Pence-Pence? Is this part of the surprise?”

Pencil nodded, even though Match couldn’t see it. “Oh, yes, just hang in there.” She tightened the ropes, to the point where they would have cut off circulation if there was any blood in the natural-born vampire’s body. It was still pretty damn uncomfortable. “And… there,” the utensil mumbled aloud. She untied the ribbon, allowing Match to see again.

The room was pitch-black, but as the two were vampires, they could see like it was nothing, like x-ray vision. Match’s surroundings were empty—just her, the chair she sat on, her girlfriend standing in front of her, and a lever by the door from which they entered. There were no windows, but there was a closed-off vent in the leftmost wall, toward the back and near the ceiling.

“There’s, like, nothing here. What’s going on?” she asked, slightly worried.

“No one can bother us here. Together forever… That was your wish, correct?”

Match nodded, her face flushed. “Y-Yes, truly! But did you have to tie me down for this?” She averted her gaze for a second.

Pencil said nothing, as she stared with her trademark look of disinterest.

“Pence… Please, like, say something…” The queen was growing more concerned. She looked into the other woman’s eyes. “Are… Are we really staying together? Forever?”

She was met with more silence. Pencil fidgeted with the delicate ribbon in her hands. It was almost cute, if not for her cold expression.

With every ticking second, Match was getting desperate. “Pencil, this isn’t funny! Say something! Anything!”

“Too bad.”

The redhead’s face softened. She looked confused. “Huh?”

“We have been together for six years. I have endured your whining and obsessive nature for six whole years.”

“What—” She motioned to spring forward, forgetting she was bound in place. The chair didn’t budge, being secured to the wall. “What are you, like, saying?”

“I will let you in on a little secret.” Pencil lifted her head up and stared down, her gaze piercing Match’s eyes like daggers. “This was all a trick. I deceived you.”

“H-Huh?!” Match’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. She felt tears welling up. “I… I don’t understand…”

“This was all simply me seeking the opportunity to rid you of this world. For the sake of Goiky, someone must put you down, and unfortunately for me, I am the only one capable of such a feat. And I am going to commit to it in the only way I know how.”

Match fell silent, head hung low. She couldn’t believe what she heard. And the worst part—that wasn’t the end of it.

“I may not seem like I do, but I truly care for my students. Your threats to hurt them only succeeded in me hating you more. Your threats, your bitching and moaning, the stench of the hair dye you sometimes wear for special occasions, your obsessiveness for me, your fucking overuse of a certain word—I hated all of it. Even the sheer sight of you. You make me sick.”

The tears came loose, pricking the corners of the matchstick’s eyes. “We… We did so much together! I sacrificed nearly everything for you! I was, like, hoping we could rule all of Goiky together… Am I… not good enough?”

“You were never good to begin with.” Pencil sighed. “Match, I was raised at an early age to resent my kind, to slay my kind with no remorse. Ugh, just acknowledging that I am one of you gives me nausea.” She kept twirling the ribbon around, and it was starting to get on Match’s nerves how distracting it was. “I was raised to kill every last one of them off. That is all I am meant to do—nothing more. I have no room to allow feelings such as love to surface. They are merely a hindrance, designed to distract me from my ultimate goal of wiping out the entire vampire population, as I was destined to do from birth.”

There is no room for affection when the world is at stake.

“B-But you’re—”

“Yes, no need to remind me that I am a vampire, too. And once I have dealt with all the others, I will open up my secret to the world so they can execute me, or do with me as they desire.”

Match gasped. “What? Do you not, like, care about your own life?!”

“What life? My ‘life’—if you can refer to it as such—is to hunt vampires, and nothing else. It is my only purpose. Without that, I am nothing, a husk with no reason to exist.”

“I… I can, like, give you a purpose! Really! I—”

“Give it up.” Pencil took out a short stick, whose ends she grabbed in her hands, and extended it, revealing a spear. She pointed the white blade mere inches away from Match’s neck. “Do I have to state it directly for it to penetrate your thick skull?” Her face softened slightly, as did her tone of voice. “Will it take only four words to break you…?”

Match felt her heart race, but it wasn’t out of love. No, this was fear. She’d never felt genuine fear before. All her life, she’d lived happy and free, and she’d always gotten whatever she’d wanted. She’d stabbed and drained mortals and vampires alike without a care in the world. She’d never felt scared of anything.

Never… until now.

“Four… words…?” she mustered out, voice shaking.

Pencil leaned in, her spear getting neither closer nor farther away from her victim’s neck. From how close she was, Match could vividly see the bitter coldness in the hunter’s eyes, harsher than a winter’s snowstorm in the middle of the night.

“I. Never. Loved you.”

She stepped away. She withdrew her spear, pushed it back to its original short length, and stashed it away.

For a full minute or more, a dead silence filled the atmosphere. Pencil watched the queen gradually break down, from sniffling, to crying, to sobbing, completely unfazed by the display. If she were any other person, she’d feel the secondhand embarrassment that would come out of witnessing this.

Match was absolutely crushed. She had truly sacrificed all that she could for this relationship to work. She’d been told many times that vampires and hunters could never mix. She’d been told many times that Pencil was the worst person for a vampire to fall in love with, even if she, too, was a vampire. And not once had she listened.

She’d fallen into a trap, and the only one she could blame was herself.

But did she?

“You… YOU… BETRAYED ME!! I’ll, like, KILL Y—” Match trembled, face tensed and full of anger, before her eyes widened. “Wh-What—?!”

“Your powers are void here,” Pencil said bluntly, as if she knew what the trembling was about, “as are my own. So long as the door is closed. So no, you cannot ‘like, kill’ me,” she added with the intent of mocking her captive, but without the mocking tone one normally would use.

“SHUT UP! Just, like, stab me already! You have your spear out, so just finish the job!” Truthfully, Match didn’t want to die. She was so angry and heartbroken that her mind and words were basically on autopilot, and what she said didn’t register until Pencil replied to her.

“I considered that in the moment… but I think you deserve a death more slow and painful. It would be fitting for a royal figure. By the way…” She stepped closer to Match, presenting the ribbon once more, this time in a taunting manner. “Actually, I think you are the one who needs to shut up. But before I go ahead with that, I will permit you to decide your final utterance. Make it count,” she demanded, absentmindedly toying with the ribbon, as if to cope with the stress of the situation.

Match scrunched up her face, her tears having dried up quickly, as she thought about what she wanted to say. There was a lot to process, and a lot more she wanted to say to everything, but she felt only one thing needed to be said at all.

“Good luck meeting anyone who, like, actually cares about you the way I did. Good luck finding someone who can melt that, like, frozen heart of yours. Good luck falling in love, or finding any sort of, like, happiness. Good. Fucking. Luck.”

The air filled with silence for about ten seconds. Then, Pencil chuckled. Before she knew it, she was breaking into maniacal laughter that almost brought her to tears. It lasted for only a few seconds, before she leaned in again, a smirk on her face as she brandished the ribbon.

“Fortunately for you, I do not plan on it.”

“ALLEZ POURRIR EN ENFER—” Before Match could form another word, the ribbon was wrapped several times around her mouth, reducing the rest of her sentence to incomprehensible muffles. Eyes bloodshot from crying earlier, she watched as Pencil walked away, the irritating sound of her heels echoing in the room, until she stopped by the lever near the door.

Figuring Match would be too lightheaded to use her powers after having cried so much, Pencil opened the door ever so slightly, then clicked the lock from the inside. With one hand on the lever, she looked over her shoulder, at the captive behind her.

“May my memories of you burn alongside your body,” she said, a bittersweet smile forming on her face, which would be possibly the last time Match would see be so soft and… angelic.

La… Ángel… I get it now…

Pencil pulled the lever, and the room quickly filled with a yellowish haze. She slipped through the door and closed it behind her. She put her glasses back on her face, not minding that some of the gas had already caused part of her eraser and a small part of her face to decay, near her right eye. She put her sunhat back on to cover up the former injury.

She did it. She finally did it. La Reine was set to die within minutes. Finally! Pencil restrained herself from grinning, as she started to leave, back to her dojo—which was on the same piece of land that she legally owned.

“Sensei?”

The voice startled her. She adjusted her glasses, not looking back. “What are you doing up this late, Conch Shell?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I was going out on a stroll,” the student admitted, averting his gaze, “when I heard screaming. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, just stubbed my hallux. Nothing serious.” Luckily for Pencil, Conch Shell seemed to believe her on-the-fly lie.

“All right. Well, be careful.”

She rolled her eyes and adjusted her sunhat, not caring that it still looked a little uneven. “Don’t worry, I will be fine,” she reassured him, waving her hand. “Go to bed, because remember—you have class at nine.”

“I will, but you should, too.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Pencil took only a few steps ahead when Conch Shell stopped her. “Wait. You’re acting strange,” he said, arms crossed and a brow raised. “Are you sure everything’s all right?”

“Strange?” She turned to him. “I am afraid I do not comprehend your implication,” she admitted truthfully.

“You’re not cursing at all, and you’re speaking with a kinder tone. That’s not the Sensei I know. Also…” He pointed to her face. “What happened there? I can see your flesh a bit.”

“I…” The instructor had no way to argue against any of that. Her behaviour was odd—and it wasn’t even intentional! Maybe she was being a little nicer… because Match’s fate playing in her head filled her with a happiness she couldn’t describe? And there was no excuse she could make for her… physical imperfection. “Just go to bed,” she suddenly snapped, turning and walking away.

The seashell sighed. “Okay…”

Pencil went on ahead, expecting Conch Shell to follow her home. However, after a moment, she sensed that he didn’t, and she turned behind her.

He wasn’t there.

There was no way he could have completely left her line of sight so fast. That could only mean one thing…

She sprinted back to the warehouse.

Inside, Conch Shell’s shadow emerged from the floor, taking form. He held his breath and pulled the lever, ending Match’s torture just before his own could begin. However, by that point, she appeared to be in pretty bad shape, with most of her sulphur and parts of her wooden body having rotted away, exposing some flesh and bones.

Conch Shell ran over to her and untied the ribbon. “Damn, this thing’s long…!” He unwrapped it several times, finally undoing the hunter’s work. Then he pulled out his spear, attempting to cut the ropes binding her.

“C… Conchy… You, like… came back for me…”

“Of course I did. I’m not letting you die here. And— ugh, you stink like garlic…!”

“She… She…” Her voice trembled, like she was resisting an urge to cry again. Conch Shell caressed her cheek in an attempt to comfort her.

“I know. I kept warning you, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Once she was free, she took the ribbon in her hands, staring down at it. “I-I just thought… I could, like, help her… I never meant… to hurt her…”

Suddenly, the two were startled by the sound of aggressive knocking.

“Conch Shell, you traitor! Open the door at once!”

“Shit,” the shell muttered. Match was shaking, panicking. Once he freed her, he pulled her close, patting her back. “Matchy, it’s okay, relax. She’s not that hard to read—I know what she’s gonna do, and I have a plan.”

“B-But what if she kills you?”

“If I do, then that’s that. What matters is your safety.”

“But—”

“Match, when I joined your army, I swore an oath that you made me make, and I’m standing by it ‘til the very end. My purpose is to fight for you, until I eventually die for you.”

The shorter object heard her choking up sobs. This wasn’t like her at all! Goodness, what did her relationship do to her?!

The knocking persisted. “I said open up! Did you suddenly forget your English? ABRE ESTA PUERTA, ¡AHORA MISMO!”

Conch Shell grimaced. He hated when Pencil started speaking Spanish, because that meant she was serious. What made it worse is that he could understand her when she was serious. He was almost compelled to open the door, but he held himself back, refusing to give her the satisfaction.

After tying the violet ribbon around her head, Match wrapped her arms around him. “I’m scared… What’s your plan?”

“Just wait,” he told her. She nodded.

Just then, the knocking stopped. But the instant Match was about to let out a sigh of relief, she shrieked and jumped like a cat in a slapstick cartoon. Something pierced right through the steel door. The white blade of a spear. Conch Shell, however, smiled, like he knew this would happen.

The weapon was retracted, then stabbed through the door again.

“Conchy, wh-what’s…”

“All right, so here’s what you need to do.” He handed her his spear. He reduced his tone to a whisper. “Pretend to stab yourself, scream, and play dead. She’s making a hole in the door so she can get in. When she does, I’ll tell her I cancelled the trap so I could have the satisfaction of killing you, lowering her guard. While she’s distracted with me, that’s your chance to slip past and escape through the hole. The door may not be open, but your powers will work again after the hole is made, as it connects to the outside.”

Match nodded. She stared down at the spear in her hands, its blade white as snow. It contained holy energy, so if she wasn’t careful, she could easily end up actually killing herself without the intention. Or was that his plan…?

“Match. Trust me,” he said, pulling out a vial of ashes. “I know you can’t bleed, so I’ll put this on you. That’ll convince her.”

She stared at the ashes. Pencil’s spear continued to break into the door, gradually slicing it open. The repetitive sound of the blade against the steel was both irritating and scary, not to mention loud. Match was running out of time.

She nodded, directing the spear to her chest…

…and she screamed.

By that point, Pencil was finally able to break inside. What she saw was mildly surprising. Conch Shell was standing in front of what appeared to be the unmoving body of the vampire queen. He was holding his spear, the blade soaked in ashes. Likewise, there were ashes on the girl’s chest.

The seashell turned to her, grinning. “Ah, Sensei!”

“You… liar,” the utensil bellowed, her right eye twitching slightly.

“What? All I wanted was to kill her.”

“But you didn’t.” She put away her spear for a moment and grabbed Match by the base of her sulphur, and her other hand brushed off the ashes that were carelessly sprinkled onto her chest. Match was still playing dead. “You should know what signals a natural-born vampire’s death—it disintegrates. Have you been ignoring your lessons, Conch Shell? And to think you were my star pupil…”

Well, shit. He should have thought that one through.

Suddenly, he yelled and thrust his spear at her, grazing her side as she managed to barely evade it, dropping Match in the process.

“Your work is sloppy,” she declared nonchalantly. “You need to work on your timing.”

“Shut up!” He lunged at her again, only for her to impale him with her own spear, thrusting the weapon into the wall to pin him there. The force snapped Conch Shell’s weapon in two, breaking the blade as well. “M-Match, now…!” he croaked.

Match looked on in horror, but took this opportunity to flee, turning into a bat and flying outside. Pencil quickly noticed this and hissed. She, too, became a bat and raced after her.

The chase was painfully long. They dodged trees and boulders, manoeuvred around a cliffside, flew over the Goiky Canal… and finally, Match was backed into a dead end. Both bats turned back into objects, hovering about fifty feet above the ground. They were in the middle of nowhere now.

“Time’s up, La Reine,” Pencil declared, eyes glowing red and her mouth curled up in a slasher smile that exposed her fangs, as she drew out a second stick, extending it into a spear. As she uttered those words, her surroundings began to freeze in place, as if time literally stopped. Within seconds, only the two vampires had any sign of movement. “Hm. So you possess immunity to my spell…”

Match looked over her shoulder, facing the cold, stone wall her back was up against. She looked back on ahead to see the other wooden girl slowly closing the distance between them, the snow-white blade of her spear glistening in the moonlight, her maniacal grin not fading in the slightest.

But then, Match smiled softly and hummed. “It’s a shame you’ll never, like, have all the powers of a natural-born vampire,” she said, chuckling. Her voice was weak and dry, reflecting her physical state. “You’re just a half-breed.”

“So what if I am? I can still put an end to you.”

“Yes, you can…” Her body began to meld into the wall, akin to sinking into the floor’s shadows. Pencil’s eyes widened in disbelief, her grin finally wearing off. “But you won’t. At least, not now…”

Pencil snapped, her expression forming one of rage. She attempted to stab the other vampire as swiftly as possible. “You’re not getting away!”

But she was a split second too late, and her blade was lodged into the wall. She couldn’t pull it out.

Match had gotten away.

Pencil slammed her fist into the wall, cracking it, but also injuring her hand. “Argh! Fuck! This would not have happened if he didn’t go out for that blasted stroll!” She took a deep breath to calm herself down. She unballed her fist and studied the minor scrapes on her hand. Although it didn’t look like much, it actually hurt quite a bit. Slowly, she glanced over her shoulder, at the horizon behind her. “Speaking of which…”

Back in the warehouse, Conch Shell was barely breathing. The spear connecting him to the wall had torn right through his chest, just mere millimetres away from his heart. He struggled to keep his eyes open, fighting to stay awake. He didn’t dare try to remove the weapon, knowing he lacked the strength to do so.

Just as his eyes were about to close on him, he was jolted awake by the familiar sound of high heels against the concrete floor. He looked up to see his former teacher staring down at him with a cold expression, eyes no longer red, and her hands behind her back.

“You survived,” she said, an eerie calmness in her tone.

He chuckled weakly. “Barely, but yeah… Did you mean to barely miss your mark?”

“I was hoping I did, but frankly, I would not have cared if I failed, as I would have returned to kill you anyway.”

“Heh… With what weapon? You can’t pull this thing out of me… and my own spear is broken.”

She pulled out another weapon, but it wasn’t a blade. From behind her back, her hands came out of hiding, and one of them had long, sharp claws from her fingertips. Her other hand, which was normal, pushed up her glasses. “If you seriously believe I would carry only one or two weapons on my person, think again. I always come prepared.” She wiggled her fingers in front of the seashell, the pointy tips of her nails mere inches away from scratching his face, despite the considerable distance between the two. “And the best part? These are all natural.”

Conch Shell gulped. Given her confidence, those claws had to be strong enough to affect the toughest of objects. There was nothing he could do to stop her, either.

“Did… she get away?” he croaked.

Pencil narrowed her eyes. “Miraculously so. That witch is so lucky.”

He smiled in response. “That’s good… That means… my death won’t be… for nothing.”

“I have to admit, I admire your cunning. You managed to deceive me into training you and this whole time, I never suspected you. You are a master infiltrator. I must respect that.”

“Thank you. I wish I could say the same for you… but I can’t forgive you for making her cry.”

“I do not want, need, or deserve your forgiveness, especially when I did nothing wrong. It is her fault for having so much faith in a lost cause.” She rolled her eyes. Conch Shell couldn’t believe her—did she just refer to herself as a lost cause? “Anyway, having said all that, I cannot keep you alive any longer.” She took a few steps closer, her claws lightly tapping against the side of his neck.

The seashell was sweating profusely. He didn’t want to die, but he knew his fate was sealed the instant the spear attached him to the wall. “You’re… You’re a monster…”

“Of course I am. You are, too. Pray tell, your point?”

“Sensei… No, Pencil. You’re the cruelest person I know. Vampires have feelings, too, you know—we just… want to live!”

“So do mortal Goikians, who are mostly powerless against your kind. And yet, you… mosquitoes—” Conch Shell gasped like she said a slur. “—attack them for your personal gain, or to benefit La Reine’s rule. I am doing Goiky a favour by eradicating you scum, so they can live without fear. There is a difference.”

The shorter object took a moment to process that. No matter what, one side would always perceive the other as evil. “I mean, we only target them for their blood… Sure, we have some bad eggs who… deliberately convert people, but most of us? We… just want to live, and we can’t do that… without sucking blood. It’s like Goikian civilisation having… criminals who can’t live without stealing.”

“I have listened to you enough.” The side of her index nail cut an inch into the side of his neck like a knife. “You know… In spite of this whole shitshow, I have to say I am grateful for one thing. You taught me a valuable lesson that I will take to heart in the future.”

He looked up at her, wincing in pain. “What’s… that…?”

Her nail sank another inch deeper. The shell grunted, but tried to keep eye contact with her.

“I should be careful about who I trust.”

She drew her hand back… before swinging her arm in a swift motion, slicing Conch Shell’s head clean off his body, which stayed impaled by the spear lodged in the wall.

Her claws retracted, her hand appearing normal again, save for the ashes and blood that dirtied it. After licking the mess off her fingers, she stared down at the decapitated body for a good minute, then knelt down to pick up Conch Shell’s head. She studied the frozen look of fear on his face, a grin on her own.

I am merely doing my job… So why do I feel so warm inside? she thought. Then it dawned on her. The rumours about me… They were true? Do I just embrace it? The possibility that I… am a psychopath…?

With the head cradled in her arm, she stepped through the hole she made and walked the whole way back to her dojo, not looking back once.

Saw was the first to greet her when she opened the door. “Welcome back, Sensei! Sorry, I couldn’t sleep, and— Sensei? Are you okay?” She watched her instructor walk past her while she was talking, but her words weren’t ignored.

“I do not wish to speak of it. Go to sleep.”

The construction tool didn’t realise what Pencil was carrying until the latter was out of sight, the sound of a door closing echoing in the distance. She looked scared and nauseated.

“Was that… Conch Shell…?!”

As for Match, she was in the infirmary for emergency treatment. She was unconscious as injection after injection of blood was shot into her body, attempting to heal her wounds.

The door opened, and in came a chartreuse ball with white stripes. “Hey. What’s her condition?”

“Critical,” one of the doctors answered. “She’s not waking up or moving at all.”

“Argh, I hate this! Dora, I need more blood bags, stat!”

A tall, brown-haired woman, clad in a white coat, nurse cap, gloves, and surgical mask, pushed several blood bags over to an armless, blue desk fan, who wore the exact same garb (minus the gloves) but in her own size. She took one of the bags and filled a syringe with the contents.

“Fanny, I don’t know if this is working—”

“It will, Donut. It has to. Golf Ball said so.”

The unglazed pastry sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

Fanny nodded and sank the needle into Match’s arm. She studied the queen’s peaceful state, a warm, yet worried look on her face. She couldn’t remember the last time her facial muscles were so relaxed. It didn’t change the fact that she was as concerned as everyone else in the infirmary. “Me too,” she admitted, her tone soft. Her overall demeanour in this very moment surprised everyone. “She saved us… The least we can do is save her.”

Chapter Text

“Prove your love to me. Kiss me. Right now.”

“H-Huh?” Liy’s face flushed a deep hue.

The request sounded more like a demand. It didn’t help that as Match stepped closer to Liy, her shadow emerged from the ground and grabbed the plastic switch’s arm before the latter could move, acting like a second being.

“Matchy, you don’t have to hold me down,” she said calmly. She was intimidated by the other girl’s slightly glowing red eyes and serious tone, but she didn’t fight it, nor did she express her mild fear. “I’m just… confused. Here? In this dank alley?”

“Yes. Unless…” Match held up the knife in her hand. Through what little light crept into the alleyway at this hour, Liy could see her own faint reflection on the shiny, pastel pink blade, particularly her own expression that almost failed to hide the anxiety from her face. “…you don’t love me…?”

The shorter girl swiftly shook her head. “N-No, I do! But… before I do, I need you to do something for me.”

Match’s muscles relaxed, and she lowered the knife. “What?”

Liy took a small container from her bag and pulled a thin white strip out of it. She handed the strip to Match. “Take this.”

Match put her knife away and took the strip, studying it in her hand. “Like, what is it?” she asked, clueless.

“A dissolvable mint. You just threw up, remember?”

“Ohhh… Right.” The matchstick popped the mint in her mouth and let it sit on her tongue. The sharp minty flavour invaded her taste buds nearly to the point of numbing her tongue, but she didn’t seem to mind. Her shadow released Liy from its hold.

And while she was distracted by the strong taste in her mouth, Liy swooped in and grabbed her, lowering her just enough so that Liy’s lips could make direct contact with hers.

This act left Match wide-eyed for two seconds, then she melted right into the kiss, closing her eyes and wrapping an arm around Liy. Her other hand still carried her parasol, or she would bring that arm around Liy too.

Damn, Liy’s lips were soft. The sheer feeling of them against her own almost put Match on overdrive, but she restrained herself for the sake of her obsession’s mortality. She loved Liy, but she could tell the switch didn’t want to be vampirised, and she chose to respect that.

Soon, the two slowly broke away, and Liy spent the next moment catching her breath. Both were blushing deeply after that.

Liy looked down at the ground between them and took her time processing the kiss, as well as the events that led up to it. That was her very first real kiss, and it was amazing. She pinched her cheek and yelped, rubbing it. This was no dream—it was real!

And that was when she heard crying.

She looked up. Match was hiding her face behind her parasol, choking up sobs. Liy went around her and, with a second delay, hugged her from behind.

“Matchy, what’s… What’s wrong? Did you… not like it?”

“What? No! No, don’t, like, say that! I loved it! But it’s just, well…” Match took a deep breath to calm herself down enough to speak coherently. “That was… the first time someone’s kissed me in, like, a very long time… I’m just, like, very emotional. I thought I’d never experience that again.” She wiped her tears with her arm.

Liy swallowed and released her embrace. She knew she had to kill Match eventually, but with each fun (and not-so-fun) fact she learned about her, she became less and less willing to commit to it.

“I’m sorry, Liy.”

Liy’s eyes widened slightly. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’m a vampire, and you’re a hunter. We shouldn’t, like, be together. I already told you about my last relationship with one. She, like, almost killed me.”

“I’m not her, Match. Yes, I was her student, but I’m me.”

“Still, you should hate me. You should, like, want me dead. Why don’t you?”

Liy stopped to process the question. Then, she looked up, facing the matchstick whose back was still turned to her.

“It’s true, I’ve been seeking to kill you for a long time,” she confessed. “But… Now that I got to know you, even a little bit, I no longer feel that way. You’re not as evil as you’re rumoured to be. From my understanding, you just want to be loved, to have a place in the world. And… I get that.” Liy flashed a soft smile. “And you know what? I want you to be loved.”

Match processed the words in her head before sighing. “I want to rule the world, Liy. Like the vampire king before me. I was, like, destined for greatness, and I achieved it against my will.” Her grip on her parasol tightened, her muscles tensing up. “All this, like, power I possess was transferred to me as my, like, consequence for murdering the king. That means if you were to, like, kill me, my power would be yours, and you’d never, like, be the same again.” She sighed again, releasing pent-up anger in a peaceful manner. “I never wanted all this power, but, like, I have it. I killed a man, I paid a heavy price—funny how that works.”

Liy put a hand on her chin. “So what you’re saying is, whether I kill you or not, Goiky is screwed.”

“Essentially. There’s no true end to the vampires, so long as the monarch stays alive. And there’s, like, no true end to the monarch’s power unless they commit suicide or suffer a, like, nonviolent death.”

A nonviolent death… It all made sense to Liy now. Why Pencil had locked Match in a room instead of spearing her point-blank. The gas that had filled the room would have ended her for real, with the power being transferred to no one.

Between La Reine and La Ángel…

…who’s the real villain here…?

“Hold on,” said Liy, “if you didn’t want any of this, then… Then why do you want to rule the world?”

“I…” The vampire tapped on the J-shaped handle of her parasol, staring longingly at the end of the alleyway that led into the main street. “I don’t know. It could be that, like, once I got my status as queen, I started feeling a desire to, like, rule. It could be a natural part of the status, wanting to rule, because, like, I never had those feelings as the king’s secretary.”

Liy nodded slowly, and the surrounding area went silent for about ten seconds. Then, Liy gently took Match’s free hand in hers. “Well… Whenever you’re ready, I’d like to see your place.”

Match mustered a smile. “Okay.”

Liy let go to take out her phone and unlock it. “But first…”

Stapy was fixing himself a rather late dinner. He looked uneasy, worried that something could have happened to his roommate. Last night she told him she was going to see the girl she bumped into earlier that morning, and now he was having questions about whether said girl could be trusted. The two just met, and Liy should have been home a while ago.

As the stapler was about done putting his food on his plate, he heard his phone buzz in the distance. He brought his plate to the table, where his phone was face-down, and read the text he received.

Liy:

hey stapy, sorry for the lack of communication. i’m staying at match’s place for the night.

coming over to grab my equipment btw

Stapy let a sigh of relief out. Good, she’s not hurt.

He texted her a reply. He wasn’t fast with his fingers, so he spent quite a bit typing just two short sentences.

Stapy:

Ok, just please be careful. good night.

He set his phone down to eat. So many questions raced in his head, but one stood out the most.

What’s so good about Match, anyway?

“Care to tell me why you brought me here, Lollipop?” Golf Ball asked, tapping her foot on the floor.

The two girls were standing right in front of the Keep Out door in Match’s bedroom.

“For as long as I’ve been here, I’ve been morbidly curious about this door. And just in case, I’d like a vampire to protect me.” Lollipop smirked. “Match isn’t here, so as long as we’re in and out, she’ll never know.”

“Couldn’t you have asked Donut or Fanny? I have research to do.”

Lollipop shook her head. “You’re the only one who tolerates me at best.”

“Fine,” the ball relented, still not very thrilled. At the same time, though, she was curious about the door, too. Why was Match so adamant about keeping whatever was in there private?

Lollipop reached for the doorknob and turned it, slowly openi— Holy shit, was it squeaky! She winced from the loud, high-pitched sound, until it stopped. What she saw was a dark hall and a staircase leading down, akin to a basement, except the staircase was so long, you couldn’t see the bottom even with a light on. What’s worse, there was no railing.

“Okay, I can’t see anything down there,” the candy said.

Golf Ball huffed in annoyance. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She left the room. Lollipop waited about a minute for her to return with a dimly-lit candle. Lollipop took it and held it up to the staircase. Although the light wasn’t bright, it was good enough to see her way through, and she took the lead down the stairs, GB following close behind.

Most of the steps were fine, but the occasional one creaked as it was stepped on. About a minute of descension later, the two turned to a threshold with no door. They crossed it and found themselves in a pitch-black room. It was very cold, and—

“Ow!”

“Are you okay?” GB asked, stopping to check on the taller girl.

“Yeah, I just stepped on something.” Lollipop knelt down to see what it was that she stepped on.

A broken pair of glasses, surrounded by shards of the lenses.

She set the candle atop Golf Ball’s head and scooped up the frames, whose lenses were cracked and chipped like old window panes.

“Black, rectangle frames,” GB whispered. “Could be anyone’s.”

“Match never wore glasses, did she?”

“Not for as long as I’ve known her.”

Lollipop shrugged. She swapped the glasses and the candle, so that she was holding the latter instead. As the two wandered around the spacious room, Golf Ball remained steady as to not let the frames topple over.

“You can see in the dark, GB. What are you seeing?”

“Hm.” She pointed to her right. “A small spruce table and two stools to our right. On the table is a ceramic teapot and two matching teacups on small coasters, all broken, with some chipped-off pieces scattered around them.

“And to our left, near the wall, is a corpse, but from my distance, I can’t make out whose.”

Lollipop raised her eyebrow with intrigue. “A corpse, you say?” She went left, and GB followed. Soon, the candlelight revealed a body that was all too familiar to Golf Ball, whose eyes widened in disbelief.

“So that’s where she’s been,” she muttered.

“Who?” The taller girl took a step back to see the body better, as she was too close before, and then it was clear. “Oh.”

In front of them, with her limbs splayed and tied to the wall, was Pencil, unmoving.

Lollipop gagged at just how awful her physical condition was. A majority of the injuries on Pencil’s body weren’t ones you’d find on a mortal’s body—at least, not one still alive. Parts of her were literally melted away—best shown with her half-melted ferrule, thanks to it being metal—and other parts were burned black or decayed in other ways. Even her tip was dissolved, despite the very high “melting” point of graphite. The bones and flesh of her limbs were visible; so much of her skin was flayed as if subject to constant strikes from a lash or similar weapon, or from frequent burning.

“She… was a vampire…?” Golf Ball asked to herself, still shocked. She pushed up her large, round glasses.

“She could use a complete makeover,” Lollipop quipped in disgust.

GB sighed. “You can’t just give her one. She’d need to drink or be injected with a lot of blood to fully heal.”

“And… how much is a lot, exactly?”

“Given just how bad her state is, about twenty people’s worth.”

Lollipop glanced at the scientist in disbelief. “Hold on, twenty people?”

“Give or take.”

The two heard a groan. Their attention went back to the seemingly lifeless body that then showed signs of life, as Pencil slowly opened her eyes, her vision a complete blur. “Who’s… there…?”

“SHE’S ALIVE?!” Lollipop shouted, before GB kicked her. “Ow!”

“Be quiet!”

It took another moment for Pencil’s vision to return to her. Her eyes opened fully, though she could only see from one of them, for her other was melted halfway (which disgusted Lollipop further once she noticed). She blinked. “Oh… Neither of you are La Reine,” she said, her voice extremely dry, like a mortal who hadn’t had water in days.

“You could use some hydration,” said the candy ball, after regaining her composure.

Pencil rolled her eye. “I am permitted one small serving of blood per week… the bare minimum required for my continued survival.”

Lollipop recoiled slightly. “Eugh, you sound so… old-fashioned. How old are you?”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Did La Reine do this?” asked Golf Ball, changing the subject. “If so, why?”

The injured hunter cracked a slight smile, to which the ball responded with mild surprise. “Ha… Long time, no see, La Mente.” The smile faded. “Anyway, yes, she did. She craved… revenge.”

“Re… Revenge?” Lollipop cocked her head a little to the side.

Pencil responded with a weak nod. “I refuse to elaborate, but yes.” Her gaze shifted to the broken glasses sitting on Golf Ball’s head. “Oh, so that’s where my glasses were… They were in here… the whole time, weren’t they?”

“I would believe so,” GB replied. “How would you forget?”

“Ten years is… a lengthy amount of time. I can’t even recall the last thing I ate before La Reine sent me here…”

Lollipop’s arm was beginning to tire, evident by it lowering slightly, trying to carry the candle. “Okay, I’m tired of holding this,” she complained. “Is there a light switch or dial around here?”

“Right… on the far partition, right beside the threshold… But, prithee, don’t make it too bright…”

Lollipop went back to the doorless threshold. She quickly spotted a dial on the wall, and she turned it slightly to the right, just enough for her to see. As she went back to the two, with a clearer light, Pencil’s condition looked even worse than it did before.

“You need a lot of blood,” GB stated flatly. “ Emphasis on a lot. It’s a miracle you’re even alive still.”

“Hanging by a thread… That’s how she fancies me. Also… you.” Pencil looked down at Lollipop. Her gaze was soulless, perhaps from all the torture she’d endured the past decade. “You’re… not a vampire, are you?”

“No,” the other tall object replied. “I’m Match’s mortal roommate.”

“She still does the mortal roommate thing, huh?”

Lollipop blinked. “What do you mean, still?”

“…It’s nothing, I assure you… More importantly, you two might want to exit this vicinity at once. I can sense her nearby, and who knows what she’ll do if she catches you…”

“Oh, shit,” both girls said in unison. They stealthily raced for the door. As GB went up, Pencil stopped Lollipop in her tracks in the nick of time—literally, with what little energy she had left. Her power quickly broke, and Lollipop turned to her in shock.

“What was that?”

“I paused the time around me for a second… to grab your attention. One of my powers,” Pencil explained. “Incidentally… if I were you, I would flee from this establishment the instant the opportunity presents itself. She’s using you. The vampires… desire to rule the world, and they aim to ensure… no mortals remain alive by the end of it.”

Lollipop contemplated, before nodding. “I know. I sold my soul to her. I’m basically like her familiar.”

Pencil’s eye widened, but before she could say anything, Lollipop turned the light off and followed Golf Ball upstairs, leaving the writing utensil alone. She sighed, closing her eyes halfway. She was worried for a stranger, and for several reasons.

“That young lady is fucked. Royally.”

She glanced down and to her right, where fluff and pieces of white fabric were scattered on the floor, stained in red thanks to what was now a dried-up puddle of blood.

“Just like her…”

Chapter Text

Still awake, Pencil shuddered slightly, perhaps from the coldness of the room. She glanced at the doorway, dreadfully awaiting Match’s return to the building. Typically, now would be about the time Match would enter the room, holding a fresh meal for her. But that vampire queen was too busy. Probably making out with Liy. Pencil shivered at the thought. Her ex, in a healthy relationship with Liy? With anyone? Why, she could just puke!

Pencil then thought about Needle, and soon her mind felt at ease. Oh, Needle… No day passed where Pencil didn’t think about that woman. So beautiful and sweet, yet so strong and courageous… Thanks to her constant replays of certain memories, even after a decade, Pencil could remember everything about Needle—her slender appearance, her soothing voice, the assortment of ribbons and bows she loved to wear…

Her necklace…

Pencil looked down at her chest, or attempted to. She couldn’t feel her neck, but she knew she still had her own necklace, after she watched Match put it on for her earlier. She wondered if Needle still had hers, and if she still wore it. Needle didn’t seem to be the type to throw away gifts.

The utensil sighed. She hadn’t consumed any blood in almost a week; she’d die within days. The blood stains on the floor below her looked delicious. But the stains were completely dried, not to mention years old. And some of that blood was her own, as a half-mortal.

Her thoughts went back on Needle, another attempt to distract herself. If she was going to die, she wanted something happy as her last conscious memory.

After death,

I’ll love you even after death.

I can’t erase the things I hear, the things I see,

But you mean all the world to me.

Bitter heart, encased in ice.

But damn it all, it’s worth the price

And sacrifice

To have you in my life.

After my very last breath,

Yes, I’ll love you even after death.

Pencil sang part of a song she remembered Needle singing to her once. A song that Needle herself wrote for her. With her extremely dry voice, she couldn’t hit any notes, but all that mattered to her was she knew the words.

Maybe she didn’t have an ice-cold heart anymore. Maybe all she needed to thaw the ice was someone to love. She got that, and look at her now.

“Will I ever… see her again…? After death, maybe…?”

After a quick trip to Liy’s apartment and brief introductions with Stapy, Match took Liy to her own place. To the hunter’s amazement, it was… an apartment building. A massive one, maybe around five stories tall, but otherwise nothing to write home about.

“I thought you’d have a castle or mansion,” said Liy.

“Ah? Oh, like, I prefer comfort over luxury.” After dropping Liy in front of the staircase, Match reverted from her bat form, standing beside the switch.

“I… see.” Admittedly, Liy was the slightest bit disappointed. One of her goals was to explore a castle, and now that hope was run down the drain.

“The last king had one, though. It was, like, huge! Dunno if it’s still standing.”

…Never mind.

Eyes sparkling, Liy took both of Match’s hands in hers, causing the matchstick to blush. “I’d love it if you took me there sometime! Please!”

Match chuckled sheepishly. “I guess I, like, could. In a few days?”

The hunter nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

After closing up her parasol, Match stepped up the staircase and rang the doorbell. “Act natural,” she said. “Don’t intimidate them, they won’t intimidate you.”

Liy nodded, just as the door opened, revealing a grape-flavoured lollipop.

“Welcome back,” she said, before her eyes moved down to the light switch. “This must be Liy.”

Liy jumped slightly. “Y-Yes, how’d you know?”

“Match told me a lot about you. I’m her roommate.”

Lollipop stepped aside, allowing the two to enter the lobby, which was dimly lit. She closed the door and followed them, her hands behind her back to appear polite. Liy noticed this, and it reminded her of how Pencil would often do the same thing.

The place looked bigger inside than out. Liy would be more surprised to see blasts of colour in the décor rather than something more gloomy and gothic, if not for the fact that Match was wearing a violet ribbon and carrying a periwinkle parasol.

“How come she doesn’t seem afraid of me?” Liy asked, whispering to the queen standing beside her.

“She’s not a vampire,” she whispered back. Liy only nodded. So vampires and mortals could live in harmony? That was food for thought.

“Could I get you some refreshments?” Lollipop asked. She was already in the galley, awaiting Liy’s response.

“No thanks,” she replied. “I was just in a restaurant.”

“Fair enough.” The other mortal left the galley and strutted back to the two. “Is she staying the night, Match?”

“Why, yes, she is!” Match said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around the vampire hunter and lifting her up a bit off the floor.

“Ah, of course. Silly of me to ask.” She beckoned the two to the living room. Match sat down on the recliner, holding Liy on her lap. Both were facing the dated LCD television as Lollipop picked up a remote and turned it on. “May as well get you two comfortable. Any preference in movies, Liy?”

Liy shifted her position a little to make herself comfy, and smiled. “I like action movies. One of my personal favourites also has fantasy and minor horror elements. It’s called Red Rose River.”

“Ah, yes. I remember watching the original one as a kid. It scared me.” She chuckled. “It was my introduction to horror.”

“Yeah, same.” Liy leaned back against Match. “Full-on horror is too much for me, though. Whenever the dojo I trained in had movie nights, whenever it was my instructor’s turn to pick the movie, she’d choose something old-timey with a lot of gore and violence. It was in black and white, but it would still freak me out, and she would call me a wimp and tell me to grin and bear it.”

Match laughed. “Aha! She’d say that to me, too!”

“Wait, huh?” Liy looked behind her. Match was grinning.

“Oh, don’t get me started,” Lollipop chimed in, smirking. “Match is an absolute crybaby with horror movies.”

Match’s grin faded, her face now flushed in embarrassment. “Sh-Shut up, Lolli! I can handle them now!”

The candy ball chuckled again. She pulled a DVD case from a shelf next to the TV, and presented it to the girls on the recliner. The cover clearly screamed horror, in ways neither Match nor Liy could describe. “Shall we test that?”

“I’ll pass,” Liy said, quickly shutting the offer down. Match held back a relieved sigh.

“Didn’t think you’d be so boring,” the taller mortal sighed. She placed the DVD in its original location on the shelf. “I thought you’d be, erm… a good match for her, from all the things she’s said about you.”

“Shut it,” Match interjected, holding Liy to her chest. “I’ll have you know she’s, like, perfect for me.”

“Uh-huh.”

The light switch squirmed out of Match’s grasp. “Know what, I’ll pick something myself,” she said, changing the subject before she could let everything register. She browsed the shelves—so many titles to choose from… Then, she gasped and took out one of the cases. The title was in another language. “No way, the original trilogy? This went out of production before I was even born! I’ve always wanted to see the originals when I watched the remake three years ago!” Liy sounded so excited, like a little girl who finally received the thing she’d always wanted for ages.

Match just… blinked. She had no idea. “Really? Fanny picked it up in a, like, yard sale last week. Fanny’s one of us, by the way—saved my life once, but, like, that’s a topic for—”

“That’s amazing!” Liy exclaimed, conveniently interrupting her “girlfriend”, and it wasn’t even about the part where Match said her life was saved. “Please, can we watch this together?”

“I don’t, like, see why not.” The matchstick smiled softly, staying calm despite her heart racing in her chest. God, Liy was so cute when she was excited. Match had to sink her weight into the chair as a way of restraint, or else she could just jump right out, pin Liy to the floor, and make out with her. She wouldn’t have minded that, if not for the fact that it would’ve been right in front of Lollipop. That was the only thing stopping her, really—she had a reputation to maintain, and she didn’t want to embarrass Liy in front of bystanders. Lollipop was a horrible secret keeper, after all.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Lollipop said, grinning. She left for the staircase, leaving the couple alone.

About four hours passed, and the second movie in the trilogy was at the end credits. Liy noticed Match asleep next to her. She shook the taller object.

“Hey, wake up,” she whispered.

Nothing. Not one sound or movement.

“Hmm.” She stopped the movie, deciding to watch the third one another time, and took the opportunity to explore the apartment. If she was going to stay for more than a night, she’d best get used to the place.

She took care scooping up Match into her arms, then went upstairs. The second floor had doors with different signs. An infirmary and a restroom were the only places of interest. Liy went up the next floor, which had a few bedrooms, but not Match’s. She took the final floor up, and on either side was a bedroom—Lollipop’s room to her left, and Match’s to her right.

Liy repositioned Match in her arms so she could open the door to the latter’s room. She couldn’t see anything from how dark it was—not surprising at all. She pressed her back to the wall and hit the switch on her face, lighting up the room. She went toward the bed by the corner and pulled the covers. She gently set Match down on the bed and tucked her in.

All of that, and the matchstick never woke up.

As Liy was about to leave and explore the rest of the apartment, she spotted a door. Despite, or perhaps because of the KEEP OUT written in bold, red letters, she felt compelled to go in.

So she did.

She swung the door open and felt slight chills from the squeaks. She swiftly turned around. Miraculously, Match didn’t wake up.

Liy turned forward and slowly took each step down, trying not to make any sounds. Some of the planks creaked anyway, putting Liy on high alert. She opted to fly the rest of the way down, floating just a few inches above the stairs. She landed on the bottom and reached for a door that wasn’t there. Oh. Liy passed the doorless threshold.

Even with herself as a light, the room was so spacious, she couldn’t see much. Luckily for her, there was a knob switch next to her. She turned it to the right.

Ssssss!

She heard a hiss. She quickly turned the knob back to the left, but left minimal light, just enough for her to see. She pressed on her face to turn her own light off.

Out of curiosity, Liy went in the direction the hiss came from. What she saw made her gasp, wide-eyed.

“Sensei! You… You’re down here?”

“For the past decade,” the writing utensil huffed. “Surprise.”

Not thinking twice, Liy opened her phone and quickly shot someone a text. Afterward, she took a few moments to process Pencil’s appearance. Wow, those wounds were a lot.

“How are you still alive?”

“Must I tell?” She sighed, averting her gaze. “I’m half vampire.”

The shorter hunter jumped back, pure shock on her face. “Wh-WHAT?!”

“Close your oral aperture!” Pencil barked. “She might hear you…”

Liy nodded, just as her phone pinged. She read the text she received, then took a moment to look up something. She copied and pasted some lines of text to the text box, sent it, then shoved her phone in her bag.

“The hell are you doing?”

“Oh, just… texting someone.” Liy glanced around. Good, they were still alone. “What do I do? You sound dehydrated,” she said, taking notice of the dryness in her former teacher’s voice.

“Free me. There is an infirmary around here.”

Liy studied the chains, and the thick, heavy cuffs around Pencil’s wrists and ankles. They looked very tight, enough to cut circulation. She spotted a keyhole on each cuff.

“Shoot, I don’t have the key,” the shorter hunter muttered.

“You can still break the chains. You are in possession of your weapons, yes?”

Liy dug into her bag. “Just a couple daggers and stakes. Let me try.” She pulled out a dagger with a white blade, and thrust it into the chains binding one leg several times. It worked! Though, it did make a lot of noise.

“Good, good…” Pencil sighed in relief. While Liy worked on the other leg, the chained girl watched. “Liy… I heard that you and Match are dating. What’s… that about?”

“Oh, that?” Liy broke through more of the chains. Both legs were free now. She moved up to an arm, as she thought. Should she lie or tell the truth? Either way, Match would probably get hurt, and Liy didn’t want that.

“Liy…”

She snapped out of it. “Oh. Yeah?” The arm was free. She stepped back, and noticed how limp Pencil’s body appeared, with one arm still bound to the wall and the rest of her body suspended like a hanged corpse.

“Are you two dating?”

“Yes.” Liy returned to her work. It was only a matter of seconds before Pencil dropped to the floor, before Liy could make a move to catch her.

“You… Why? She’s pure evil, Liy! She’s using you!”

“Who’s using whom?”

Both Liy and Pencil gasped. They turned to the source of the familiar voice.

“Match, I swear it’s not what it looks li—”

“So…! This is how it goes, huh?” Match’s eye was twitching, and she was smiling despite the anger in her tone. The two hunters could see the irritation she was failing to contain.

Liy raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t trust that I’d, like, keep my word, did you? I was going to let her go at, like, some point. You… didn’t trust me? What kind of girlfriend doesn’t trust her own damn partner?”

“Oh, shut your peephole,” Pencil spat.

“A-B conversation, traitor,” Match growled. “Anyway. Liy.”

“Matchy, I do trust you! But I can explain—”

Match pulled out her knife, startling both hunters. “Explain what?”

“You are not to inflict harm unto her,” the wounded girl managed to utter. Fully numb and unable to move a muscle, her body was flat on the floor, positioned like a dead body. The weight of the shackles around her ankles and wrists didn’t help matters.

“Oh, Pencil, I never wanted to, believe me! But it’s clear she was, like, taking advantage of my love for her! Just like you.”

Liy was on the brink of tears. “Match, stop! I don’t want to hurt you—serious!”

“Liy, are you—”

“Yes, Sensei, I’m not going to kill her. Because I love her.”

Pencil squinted in disbelief.

Match’s eye twitched again, and her anger became much more clear. “Liar! You liar! If I can’t, like, have you, then…” Match raised her knife and rushed to Liy. Her eyes were glowing red. “Then who can? WHO?!”

“Match, NO!”

Just as Match was about to stab Liy, everyone stopped when they heard the sound of metal against metal.

“That’s enough!”

Pencil looked up the instant she heard the fourth voice, a sense of familiarity. She felt tears welling up in the back of the one eye she could see from.

“Nee…dle…?”

Indeed, it was the sewing needle Pencil had longed to see again, standing between Liy and Match, furiously facing the latter. She had a double-bladed spear in her hands, which had intercepted Match’s knife.

“Ah, Needle. Well, I guess since you’re here…” Match’s free hand grew in size, and her fingertips morphed into sharp claws. “I guess I’ll, like, execute all three of you!”

“You’re not executing anyone,” Needle bellowed furiously. Her eyes looked empty, but Match still felt the rage inside them.

Needle sheathed her spear. She knelt down and carefully held Pencil in her arms, close to her chest. “Oh, sweetheart… I’m so sorry, I’m such a failure…” She spoke in a soft, frantic mutter, a stark contrast to her tone just a moment ago.

Pencil was breathing heavily. She couldn’t believe this was real—that Needle was actually right here with her, and that the fast, heavy heartbeat against her was, in fact, Needle’s. “It’s fine, I’m fine, just stop talking… You’re not a…”

The silver hunter stood up, her rage reappearing on her face. “We’ll be back for you,” she harshly threatened. With the utensil in her embrace, she teleported them both away, leaving Match and Liy alone.

Liy looked up at Match. She still had her dagger in her hand, while Match still held her knife. Match’s other hand shrunk back to regular size.

“Matchy, please, believe me,” Liy began. “I couldn’t wait, I wanted to see her again.”

Match sighed. She raised her hand holding the knife. “You couldn’t wait. You… couldn’t wait. Are you, like, for real?”

“I’m sorry. I—”

“Sorry? Sorry? Is that all you have to, like, say? Liy, I thought you loved me!”

“I do!” Liy dropped her dagger and threw her hands up, indicating she meant no harm. “But pretend I was Pencil and you were in my situation. Would you have not wanted to see me after ten years of everyone thinking I was dead?”

Match contemplated her words for a minute. Then, she lowered her arm. “I… guess you’re right.” She glanced behind Liy, at the chains, blood, and flesh on the wall, where Pencil used to be. “Liy, I—”

“MATCH, GET UP HERE! NOW!”

Match put her knife away. “To be continued,” she said. She flew up the hallway. Liy grabbed her dagger from the floor and followed, and both stopped to see Golf Ball sweating profusely. “What’s the matter, GB?” Match asked.

“The demon has breached containment!” GB shouted, panicked.

“Demon?” asked Liy.

“You’re a hunter. Go kill him!”

“Yeah, sure!” Liy clutched her dagger tight. “What does he look like?”

Just at that moment, someone lunged and attacked Golf Ball, sending her round frames flying off her face. She managed to kick the figure off of her, but she was left incapacitated without her glasses. Match retrieved the accessory, and to GB’s relief, they weren’t damaged. She put the glasses back on.

“That,” she said, answering Liy’s question.

But Liy didn’t respond to her. She was awestruck, and not in a positive way. The figure standing in front of her, red-eyed and claws brandished, was a figure she knew all too well. A round, copper coin.

“Coiny…? What… happened to you…?”

“I can explain,” Match muttered.

“You have to kill him!” Golf Ball exclaimed. “You’re the only one who can!”

“Can’t somebody else?” Liy was hesitant. “M-Match, you can’t drain him?”

“I tried that. Somehow, he’s, like, reached a state normally impossible for vampires to meet. You, like, see him, right? Feral, unresponsive, indiscriminate. That’s not normal, like, at all. He’s like an animated corpse!”

“Ugh…” The switch stepped back, holding up her dagger in case she needed to defend herself. “Do I have to? This is my classmate!”

“There is no other option,” Golf Ball barked.

“No, I can’t! I can’t kill him!”

Match rubbed her temples. “There’s no saving him, I’m afraid. Like, at least he’d be out of his misery.”

“I just…”

“Do it!” GB shouted.

Liy studied the coin approaching her. But before she could think any further, he sprang up to strike. Liy raised her arm in front of her, and the blade sank right into Coiny’s abdomen. She yanked the dagger away and backed herself into a wall, hyperventilating as Coiny’s body fell limply in front of her. She hated having this in her conscience. First Bracelety, now…

“I… What kind of monster… am I…”

“You did what had to be done,” Golf Ball replied, stoic. She pushed up her glasses. “A hunter doesn’t get a criminal record for murdering a vampire. You’re fine.”

“But I still killed someone!”

Unfortunately, no one would have time to process what happened.

“Guys! There you are!”

Everyone glanced at the desktop fan rushing toward the group. She had a plain white nurse hat on her head.

“What is it now, Fanny?” Match asked, holding her head.

“The infirmary was robbed, and three people were killed! We have no blood bags left!” Fanny exclaimed, panicking.

Match’s eyes widened. “C-Come again?”

“You must see!”

Match raced downstairs for the infirmary. Liy and GB followed close behind. Match opened the door, and Liy gasped. The whole place was trashed. Like Fanny said, all the blood bags were gone. Worst of all, a doctor and two patients had stakes in their chests.

“This is terrible!” Liy exclaimed.

Match glared at her. “You think? This is all, like, your fault!”

The switch covered her face in her hands in shame. “I know, I’m sorry—”

“Ugh, like, save the apologies for later. We have to find them!”

“Who?”

“Those hunters, duh!”

“Where would they be?” Golf Ball asked, as if she knew what Match was talking about.

Liy stopped to think. Would it be right? If there was a time she had to pick a side and stick with it until her final breath, it would be now.

She had so many questions about Coiny, but she also wanted to question Needle and Pencil’s moral codes—the latter attempted to kill Match in an inhumane manner, for crying out loud! And Needle was madly in love with that maniac! There had to be a way for vampires and hunters to live in harmony, right? If Pencil and Needle could do it, then it could work for Liy and Match, and for anyone else, right?

Pick a side, Liy. Pick a side. It’s only one or the other.

Finally, she took a deep breath in and out.

“I know where Needle lives.”

Chapter Text

“She’s not home right now,” a tall, silver object shaped like a dressmaking pencil said.

“Come on, DP! We need to speak to her,” Liy begged. “Please!”

“I’m not lying, really! Send her a text, maybe?”

“Tried that. She left me on read.”

DP folded his arms. “I’m sorry, but Mom’s not here.”

“Can you call her on your phone? Maybe she’ll respond to her own son.”

The taller object relented once he realised Liy wouldn’t back down. “Worth a try,” he sighed. “Come in.”

From a corner, Match watched Liy step inside the house. She waited outside, watching through the side window. The kid didn’t need to know of her existence, plus she didn’t want to have to be invited inside.

Inside, Liy and Dressmaking Pencil stood in the living room. The lights were dim and minimal. DP grabbed his phone from a charging port near the flatscreen TV.

“I’m still not happy you woke me up at nearly two in the morning, by the way. I’m only nine, I got school,” he said. He scrolled through his recent contacts and called his mother.

…

…

…

Three rings.

“Honey, why are you still up?”

“Your friend woke me up asking where you are.” DP hit the speaker button on his phone.

“Ugh. I figured. Tell her I’m not—”

“Needle, tell me where you are,” said Liy.

“D-Did you put me on speaker?” Needle sounded frustrated.

“Yes,” her son deadpanned.

“Ughh. Listen, Liy, I don’t want to be near you. You’re up to something with someone who wants Pencil and me dead, and I’m not having it!”

“I’m not!” Liy exclaimed.

“You are. Your words held no ounce of falseness.” Pencil’s voice.

“I told you to rest.”

“Who was that?” asked DP.

“Your other mom. Sorry, I’ll explain later,” said Needle. “What’s important is, she’s recovering with me right now.”

“Recovering? Is she hurt?!”

“Dress Pence, she’s fine. She just… got in a rough fight.”

Liar, thought Liy. She opted not to say anything and have the kid worry more.

“Shoot, I have to go. There’s really—”

The rest of Needle’s sentence broke into incoherent static.

“Mom? Mom?! What’s going o—”

The call abruptly ended, leaving both Liy and DP not knowing what to do.

“Oh…” DP held his phone out in front of him. “Bad reception on her end, maybe. I hope she’s okay…”

“Oh well. Thanks anyway, kiddo,” Liy said. She gave the taller object a pat on the back before taking her leave, closing the front door behind her.

Match appeared from the side of the house. “How’d it go?” she asked.

“Negative. Needle wouldn’t even tell him her location. She probably would’ve if he didn’t put her on speaker.” Liy sat down on the front staircase, thinking. “What now? Do we just give up?”

“I… don’t know. Like, I’d prefer to deal with Pencil while she’s in no condition to hurt me, but there’s, like, Needle to worry about…”

“I said I’m sorry. I’ll fight on your side. Turning against old friends hurts, but…”

Match sat next to her. “Hey, it’s all right. Take your time. It’s, like, late anyway, and I know you mortals need your, like, sleep.”

“Aren’t you the one who wants this dealt with as soon as possible?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“But nothing.” Liy stared down at her braided armband, specifically at the orange portion that represented her former teacher. “They don’t understand you like I do. So maybe… I don’t need them.” She caught Match off guard with a kiss on her cheek. “By the way, do you still want me dead?”

“No.” Match tried to ignore the sudden kiss, given the serious topic. “I’m sorry for, like, threatening you. Your conversation with the child gave me time to think, and, like, I misunderstood the situation.”

“It’s fine.”

The two girls huddled together on the front steps. They gazed up at the stars. They were beautiful, the way they decorated the night sky.

Liy glanced back at Match. “I know one other place, if you’re up for it,” she offered. “One place that I know has poor reception.”

Match flashed a devilish, toothy grin. “Tell me more.”

Needle took out a syringe and filled it up with blood. She injected it into Pencil’s arm, or what remained of it.

“No matter what,” Needle mumbled. She was sweating, worried sick for her fiancée’s life. “I’ll heal you. No matter what it takes, I will get you back to normal. He deserves to see you alive and well, too…”

The two hunters were in Pencil’s dojo, and Pencil was on one of the student beds, which were far comfier than the bed of leaves and hay in Pencil’s office. Next to Needle on either side was a large pile of blood bags—empty ones on her left, and full ones on her right.

Needle wore a determined expression. The only thing that mattered to her was Pencil’s full recovery. Nothing else was on her mind.

“Needle…”

Needle didn’t stop her cycle of filling the syringe and injecting. “Yes?”

“I’m… deeply sorry. I failed you as both a teacher and lover…”

“No…” The silver girl wiped tears off her face. “No, you didn’t. Don’t say such things!”

“You thought I was deceased, didn’t you?” Pencil winced, holding back tears herself. “Just like everyone else…”

“I didn’t.”

“But you saw me get taken away… You saw me… with my guard down. I failed to protect myself… I failed… to protect you.”

“Sweetie, please, just rest. For me?”

Pencil inhaled and exhaled a deep, very shaky breath. “Fine.”

Both of them mustered weak smiles.

“I haven’t forgotten about our plans for a wedding, by the way... I’ll make sure it happens… no matter the cost.”

Needle chuckled. “I’d love that a lot.”

About ten seconds passed before Pencil spoke up. “When you’re finished, I need to go into my office. I have my sunhat… and a backup pair of glasses in there.”

“I’ll get them. You just rest.” Before Pencil could object, the sewing needle teleported away, then reappeared as fast as she left, hat in one hand and glasses in the other. She set them down beside her partner, then immediately went back to work, injecting more blood. The same cycle went on for about a minute. “Ugh, I wish I had a larger syringe. This is taking too long…”

“I know a faster way.” By now, a lot of Pencil’s injuries were healed, but there was still much to be done. It was enough for her to move, at the very least, as she pushed her weight to sit herself up. She couldn’t move fast, and she groaned in pain at her current pace, but it was a start.

She slowly took the bag Needle was using, and drank it straight. Needle watched in awe. Why did she, a vampire hunter, find a vampire drinking blood straight from a bag so mesmerising? Maybe it was less about Pencil being a vampire, and more about her being the love of Needle’s life. She wasn’t sure what the answer was, and thinking about it was enough to make her warm inside. She swore she could feel her heart pounding, but she was too distracted to take full notice.

“Um, Needle?”

“Huh?” Needle blinked, Pencil’s voice sending her back to Earth. “What is it?”

Pencil reached for another bag and punctured it with a sharp nail. “You were staring at me,” she said matter-of-factly. “Am I that hideous?”

“No!” The thinner girl felt her face heat up. “It’s quite the opposite, actually.”

“Even despite my wounds?”

“True beauty comes from within. I keep telling you that, love.”

“Ten years of isolation in a dark, cold chamber causes you to forget such trivial things, I’m afraid.” Pencil stared at the bag in her hands. B+ was handwritten on the label, as if blood types meant anything for vampire consumption. “All that time, secluded from society… It makes you question… so much, about everything. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m not chained there anymore… It’s… confusing, yet refreshing. Like continuing an old life and starting anew at the same time…”

Needle nodded in understanding, and watched as Pencil continued chugging blood. She’d never seen anyone drink so much of anything, even when the two played drinking games in the local bar all that time ago. Needle always lost, but it was all in good fun.

She couldn’t deny it if she tried—Pencil was so beautiful. Needle still had a hard time believing this was real, that the two were in the same room together, after far too long. She had to restrain herself from hugging the wooden girl, or she could risk hurting her in her current state.

Soon, that bag was emptied as well. Needle handed her another one, and the cycle repeated. Pencil was right—this was faster.

It wouldn’t be long until she fully recovered, evident by her grabbing her hat and glasses, putting them on, and standing up without issue. At long last, the life in Needle’s eyes returned, signalling her own “injuries” healing as well. After Needle fixed the lopsided hat on Pencil’s head, the couple took each other’s hands in theirs, smiling.

“Freezing cold as always,” Needle quipped with a chuckle.

“I never thought I would ever see you again. I was so defeated,” Pencil admitted. “I am so relieved my belief was proven false.”

“I always thought I’d see you again. I was so hopeful,” said Needle. “I’m so glad I was right.”

The two closed their eyes, moved in, and shared a passionate kiss. Needle cupped Pencil’s face in hers, and Pencil wrapped her arms around Needle’s waist. It felt too soon when they broke away, when in reality it’d been almost a minute. They opened their eyes and let go of each other.

“Let’s get our weapons. We have a matchstick on the menu,” said Pencil. She adjusted her glasses, wearing the serious, narrow-eyed expression her fiancée was most accustomed to.

Needle nodded, a burning determination in her eyes. “Right. I’ll take the rest of these bags home real quick.”

“You do that.”

The sewing utensil grabbed the remainder of the full bags in her arms, and teleported away. Pencil left after she did, making a beeline for the storage room, where she had more weapons and bags. She grabbed a bag for herself and filled it to the brim with daggers, extendable spears, and wooden stakes. She then went to her office, where she took a white and gold whip from a hook on the wall, and a belt to equip it on. She buckled the belt around her waist while she made her way back to the room she recovered in, and Needle was already back.

“Looking sharp and drop-dead gorgeous,” Needle said, winking and giving a thumbs-up.

“Thank you.” Pencil reached her arm out to her. “Now, shall we get going?”

“We shall.”

The two held hands and teleported away.

Match, in her bat form, was carrying Liy by the strap of her bag. The two were flying, set for the dojo.

“Match… Can you tell me what happened to Coiny?” asked Liy.

Match sighed, hesitant. “I can, but… you’ll hate me.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“I mean, I killed his girlfriend in front of him as a distraction to vampirise him, so, like, yeah.”

Liy’s eyes widened in shock. “Wh-Why?”

Match rolled her eyes. “Before you became our main concern, Coiny was our biggest threat, due to his, like, history of aggression,” she explained. “Pencil’s gruesome methods of killing… left an impression on him. He was, like, absolutely insane. I wanted him dealt with, and in order to achieve that, I needed, like, a scapegoat. His partner, named Pin, was just a normal girl, living a normal life. A florist, I think? Something boring like that. Anyway, even after I sent a vampire to, like, break into her home and bite her, she seemed fine. But, like, Coiny found out the truth when he saw her run away and drain someone of their blood.”

She paused, giving Liy time to process what she said so far.

“I’m still listening,” said Liy.

Match nodded and continued. “A few weeks passed, and, like, I got fed up with waiting. I had them both abducted from their home and, like, taken to me directly. The whole reason we converted Pin in the first place was for her to, like, pass it onto Coiny, because she’s the only person he’d lower his, like, guard to. But she never did. Even when I, like, had to tell Pin to bite Coiny, she still refused… and then I threatened Coiny’s life. She was about to do it finally, but, like, I got impatient and acted impulsively, and I killed her. I, like, regret it a bit, but there’s nothing I can do about that.” She half-shrugged her wings, which she struggled to do while flying. “Anyway, it worked in putting his guard down, giving us the chance to convert him. But something, like, went wrong during the process, and he was never the same behaviourally.”

“Goodness…” Liy took a moment to let this new information register. “What went wrong?”

“I don’t know. We had him confined in, like, Golf Ball’s lab so she could conduct research on him.”

Liy looked down. She was being carried metres off the ground, flying over trees, and she showed no fear. Not for that, anyway.

Coiny…

“Do you think it’s just because he was recently converted?” she asked.

“Typically the time of adapting lasts, like, no more than a few days after conversion, and it’s never that bad. A week had, like, passed by now.”

Liy had no idea what to say. She couldn’t be upset that Match wanted to eliminate a threat, but…

Oh, what’s she thinking? Was she really siding with the people she was trained to kill? Pencil would have some choice words for her. But it was far too late to reconsider. She’d made her decision.

“I’m sorry you had to kill him.” Match’s voice snapped Liy out of her thoughts.

“It’s okay. It was just… hard. It wasn’t the first time I had to kill someone I knew personally, but it was so difficult that it felt like it was.”

Match nodded. She thought back to when she murdered her predecessor so long ago, how she initially struggled to go through with it.

“Look, I see it! Eleven o’clock!”

Liy pointed slightly to the left. The dojo was in sight.

“Great! I’m, like, so exhausted.” Match aimed down, then when she was only about two metres above the ground, she dropped Liy, before turning back to normal and landing herself.

“Y’know, you’re kinda cute as a bat.” Liy lightly elbowed Match’s forearm.

“Liar.”

“Truth. You’re cute either way.”

Match quickly averted her gaze. She had no parasol to hide the redness on her face. “S-Stop it! Let’s just, like, get going already.”

Liy took the lead. Match’s heart and thoughts were racing.

She thinks I’m cute! Why am I so surprised? Like, she’s said it before! The date, remember? Argh! She’s so cute, so pretty, so, like, drop-dead gorgeous!

Match grabbed Liy from behind and pulled her into a hug, lifting her a bit off the ground. “Eek! I love you so much!” she squealed.

Liy smiled. “I love you, too. We have a mission, though—”

“Oh, right!” She let go. Both girls raced for the dojo’s entrance.

While Liy and Match were gone, Needle and Pencil decided to have what they considered fun: trash Match’s apartment even further and kill as many vampires living there as they could. If it wasn’t evident by the shattered windows and holes through the walls, it was by the blood that covered Needle and especially Pencil.

“This… isn’t enough,” Pencil hissed through shaky breaths. “I must kill more… I have to…”

Needle looked around frantically. “W-Well… let’s just wait for La Reine to come back, and I’ll let you do the honours of killing her.”

“You misunderstand me, Needle. I am incapable of waiting that long. I MUST KILL MORE.” Pencil bared her fangs, and her claws extended. “NOW.”

Needle studied her lover’s crazed  expression, and admittedly, it scared her a little. She had never seen Pencil lust for murder so much, but she understood—ten years in solitary confinement would make anyone lose their mind.

“All right. Then we can— Ah, wait!”

Before Needle could finish, Pencil teleported away. Needle followed suit, despite having no idea where her partner went.

“They’re not here!” Liy rummaged through the empty blood bags. “It’s obvious they were, but now… Ughhh!” She kicked the pile of bags in frustration. “Screw their teleportation! Why couldn’t I have learned that?!”

Expressing the same thing, Match punched the wall, leaving a hole from the impact. “This. SUCKS. We checked, like, every room, right?”

“Yeah, I even looked in the office.”

Match paced around the room, hands behind her back. She was lost in thought. That whole encounter never left her mind. How Needle appeared just in time to save Liy. How she retrieved Pencil, and…

She stopped pacing. “Wait.”

“Huh?” Liy looked up at Match. “Wait for what?”

“What Needle said… ‘We’ll be back for you’…” The queen gasped. “No… That must mean… That means she, like, actually returned to my place! Come on, we have to go!”

Match and Liy raced out of the dojo, and the former carried the latter on a flight back home.

Minutes passed, and what they saw…

Oh.

Oh no.

“There’s… blood and guts everywhere…” Liy was in total shock.

Below the two was the city, and the streets were plastered with crimson. Most normal people wouldn’t dare go out at night, so it had to be vampire blood. In addition, the streets were decorated with viscera and other internals. Match gagged at the sight.

Without another thought, Match landed, dropping Liy and reverting from her bat form. Liy quickly ran to one of the bodies to examine it.

“Liy! There you are!”

Liy turned around and saw a familiar face running toward her.

“Eraser, you nearly scared me!” she exclaimed.

“Sorry.” Eraser took a deep breath. Even he seemed disturbed by his surroundings.

Liy examined the motionless body in front of her. It had a large hole torn right through its chest, where its heart was noticeably missing. It already had its mouth open, from a frozen look of fear. “Yeah, this one’s a vampire,” she said. “Match, check that one over there.”

Match went over to the next nearest body, which was torn horizontally in half, and opened its mouth. “Yep, vampire,” she confirmed. “Whomever’s attacking is only targeting vampires. It could be Needle or—”

Liy shot a quick glance at Match.

“…or I could be going crazy,” she concluded, after almost publicly revealing the truth about Pencil’s disappearance. No one needed to know that from Match, or they’d get suspicious.

Eraser shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know who it is, but I don’t know Needle to be this… I dunno how to word it, violent to the point of overkill?” he said.

That’s because she isn’t, Liy thought.

“So, uh, Liy. Is this the girl you mentioned to me earlier?” the parallelogram asked, his curiosity piqued.

Liy nodded, taking Match’s hand. “Yep! This is Match. Match, Eraser.” She extended her arm while introducing the two to each other.

Match shyly waved. “Hi,” she said, giving an awkward, close-mouthed smile.

Eraser held his hand out to her. “Nice to meet you.”

The vampire was confused by the gesture at first. Liy nudged her and nodded, encouraging Match to take his hand and shake it. “You, too.”

Eraser released his grip. He looked at the light switch. “Anyway, Liy, what are you doing up this late?”

“I got carried away spending time with Match when we saw the mess here,” she confessed. “What about you? Aren’t you off the clock?”

“Overtime sucks,” he replied flatly. “Snowball and Winner never showed up, so I’m covering their shifts. I still have two hours and I’m tired as hell.”

Liy patted his shoulder. “You got this.”

“Thanks.” The walkie-talkie on Eraser’s belt clicked. “Well, I’ll be seeing you around. I’m needed.” He picked up the device and spoke into it, his voice fading as he walked away. Once he was out of earshot, Liy spoke again.

“Let’s check the other bodies,” she suggested. “If all of them are vampires, it’s surprising how she’s able to tell them apart from mortals.”

“No need,” said Match. “All vampires have the ability to, like, tell apart their kind just by looking at them. It’s like a built-in detector of sorts that they can’t, like, turn off.”

“So this isn’t just one of Pencil’s powers that she learned through training?”

“Nope. She was born with it. That’s why she’s considered legendary—she never fails to tell the difference, and, like, the world has no idea that it’s because she’s a vampire herself.”

“I see— Ah!”

The pair’s conversation was cut off when Liy saw Needle appear in front of her, double-bladed spear in hand. She turned around, and Pencil stood on the other side, claws and fangs bared, and wearing a slasher smile. Both opposing hunters, as well as their weapons, were covered head-to-toe in blood, and neither seemed to mind.

“About time I found you two,” Pencil said, breathing heavily. From what it looked like, she could see just fine through the blood coating the lenses of her glasses. Even her sunhat had red splotches on it.

“Don’t mind the mess,” Needle added blankly. “She got bored waiting for you, so she decided to entertain herself.” A faint smile grew on her face. “She even massacred your apartment.”

Match froze. Pencil couldn’t help laughing at the sight.

“Oh, relax! At the very least, some of them put up a good fight.” She flashed her bloodied claws in front of her. “And by that I mean, they lasted longer than a twelfth of a minute. Regardless, I appreciate the meal.”

“M-Meal?! Does that mean you…” Liy was perturbed.

“Not literally, Liy. More importantly, what are you doing standing at her side?” Needle asked, while giving Match an accusatory glance.

Liy extended her arm in front of Match. “I’m not letting you hurt her,” she declared.

“So you reject all my teachings. Is that how it goes?” Pencil was still grinning, but the anger in her eyes was clear as day. “It’s Conch Shell all over again. I should have known I would be betrayed a second time.”

“I’ve heard enough from you.” Liy pressed hard on her face, and rotated her switch. The now faceless light switch grabbed a dagger from her bag. Match was confused, but Pencil was horrified, the widened eyes and fade of her smile saying it all.

“Liy, no—”

Before she could finish, Liy lunged at her with incredible speed. However, all she managed to do was leave a cut running across the side of Pencil’s waist, as the latter managed to spring away before serious damage could be done.

Liy leaped forward again, but Needle intercepted her with her spear. “I’ll deal with her,” she told her fiancée. “Go after La Reine!”

Pencil took a moment to breathe. That was another close call. She calmed herself quite easily, though, as she stood up. She retracted her claws, then grabbed her whip from her belt. “Very well.” She narrowed her eyes at Match. “I have waited generations upon generations for this moment to present itself. Now, at long last, you shall perish by my hand.”

Match’s hands enlarged, and her fingertips sharpened into dangerous claws. She glared at the other wooden girl. “I’d like to see you try, witch.”

“You label me the witch? A shame I cannot use the mirror comeback on you.”

“Shut up!” Growing furious by the second, Match lashed out and motioned to strike. “This is what you get for hurting my friends!”

Pencil attempted to lash at her arm, but the whip phased through. She stared in disbelief. “What…?”

“You can’t penetrate shadows, idiot!” She swung her arm, which now had almost the same properties as shadows. “Griffe Ombre!”

Pencil chasséd out of the way. She jumped back to evade a second strike, and landed on the wall of the building behind her. Her back facing the old structure, she climbed the wall up like a gecko, then let go, performing flips in the air until she landed back on the street, on her own two feet. She cracked her whip. “Fine, have it your way. We can dance. But… somewhere else. Needle, you know the location!” She suddenly grabbed Match and teleported the two away.

Needle took Liy’s arm as the latter swung at her. “Ah ah ah. Not yet.” She and Liy disappeared from the scene.

From an alleyway, Eraser watched the whole scene. He was astonished with everything he saw, everything he learned.

Pencil was alive and still actively hunting. Needle wasn’t behaving half dead anymore. And La Reine’s true identity… This was too much to register at once, and the officer was conflicted. Should he report any of this?

Chapter Text

Warping off the city streets, the four girls appeared on a battlefield they all recognised as part of the dojo, on Pencil’s property.

Liy still had her faceless wooden switch facing up as she charged at Needle, who skillfully deflected every swing coming her way. Needle kicked Liy hard enough in the face to damage the wood, but the light switch didn’t back down, still attacking blindly and with improved speed. The two were at a stalemate, with Liy on the offensive and Needle dodging or blocking each strike with her spear, doing everything she could to defend herself.

Pencil and Match weren’t much better, landing no hits on each other for the past several minutes. Having had enough, Match descended into the ground, and Pencil hovered in the air in waiting. As shadowy pillars spiked out from the ground, Pencil evaded each one with grace, jumping and twirling in the air to accomplish the feat, before landing, unharmed and with a straight face. Match emerged from her hiding place, frustrated.

“Just die already! You’re, like, wasting everyone’s time!” she shouted.

“I refuse to draw my final breath until I know for certain every last vampire is eradicated,” Pencil retorted calmly. Her eyes glowed red, and demonic wings sprouted from her back. With a powerful flap, she took herself back up in the air. “Fall, La Reine! Fall!” Pencil flapped her wings again, and a strong gust of ice-cold wind knocked Match back several feet. She wasted no time swinging her whip at Match and jerking her arm toward herself, binding the vampire queen. The hunter chuckled. “Look at you. Can’t move now, can you?”

Match tested that, but Pencil was right—she really couldn’t move. It didn’t bother her too much, though. “Aha, but did you forget? If you kill me with your weapons, it, like, won’t be the end of the vampires. If you kill me, all my power… My greed… All of that will be yours. Do you really, like, want that?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“I am aware. I intend to do the unthinkable after that happens. You and I both know very well what that entails.”

The matchstick looked mortified. “After all this, like, time, you still don’t value your life? You don’t value Needle’s feelings?” She paused for a moment. Her brows lowered, and the corner of her mouth lifted, giving off an expression of smugness. “My, you really are selfish.”

“You, of all people, hold no right to call me selfish.”

During their exchange, Match and Pencil heard a high-pitched scream, and both turned that way.

“Needle!” Pencil yanked her whip back, untying Match, and rushed over to her partner, who was now covered in cuts and bruises. She picked up the sewing needle into her arms. “Needle, speak to me!”

“I’m fine, dear, relax. So dramatic,” Needle said, chuckling softly.

“I can’t help it! I—”

“I know.”

Liy and Match stood at either side of the two hunters. Liy flipped back to her plastic switch, and Needle saw the determination on the shorter hunter’s face.

“I admit, you’ve grown a lot,” Needle commended her. “I remember our last spar… You couldn’t land a single hit on me.”

“I remember that,” Liy replied. “Also, I didn’t plan on hurting either of you, but if it means I can keep Match safe, I’ll do what I can.”

“Likewise, I had no desire to harm you. I’m frankly disappointed you would turn against me for the mosquito,” Pencil quipped. “She’s using you. She wants to dominate the world, and you are a blood sacrifice.”

“I would never! I love her!” Match exclaimed.

“You claimed to love me, too, didn’t you? And yet, you said you wanted me to rule alongside you.”

“Things are different now! I, like, never wanted this curse!”

“So you burden others with it. Is that how it goes?”

“Pencil, it’s not like that,” said Liy. “She just wants to be loved. The whole ‘wanting to rule the world’ thing is just what comes with being the vampire monarch. She’s not in control of that.”

“Bullshit. Utter nonsense.” Pencil stood up, as did Needle. “Liy, I didn’t wish for it to come to this, but you leave me with no other choice.”

“Fine, kill me.” She took out two daggers, one in each hand. “If you can.”

Pencil’s eyes glowed again, and she took out a spear from her bag, extending it to its full length. “I would be more than happy to oblige,” she said. “An additional crime on my record will not affect me.”

The matchups changed the moment the spear and daggers collided.

Match, in a panic, whistled a very specific pattern, just as Needle rushed toward her and thrust her spear at Match’s side. It only grazed her, and now she had a cut very similar to the one on Pencil’s waist.

The queen groaned from the minor injury, but she easily got back up. “Nothing… happened…?” she whispered.

“What?” asked Needle. She tightened her grip on her weapon and took an offensive stance.

“Did…” Match’s face morphed into one of fury. “Did you kill all of them?!”

“All of what? The vampires?” Needle inquired, then nodded. “Who would’ve guessed that all it takes to wipe out almost every last one of them is ten years of seclusion from the outside world? You really broke her, you know. Take a look.” She turned around and gestured to the one-on-one between Pencil and Liy. The former was frantically evading the latter’s strikes and missing her own. “She doesn’t even fight the same as she used to. She’s not used to fighting anymore. You made her like this.”

Match sighed, out of relief and mild regret. Maybe ten years was too long…

…

No.

No, Pencil deserved it! She wronged Match, tried to kill her in one of the most unlawful ways possible! She deserved it!

Just as Match was about to go help Liy, Pencil flapped her wings again, blowing the switch back. “ENOUGH!” She hissed. “TIME. IS. UP.”

“No you don’t!” the queen shouted.

But it was too late. Time stopped around them. Both Needle and Liy suddenly stopped, frozen in time, while Match and Pencil still had full mobility.

“Yes I do,” the utensil replied cockily. “And now…” She aimed her spear for Liy’s chest. “I can be rid of my main obstacle. Yet another traitor’s head to hang on my wall. And then… you, La Reine du Sang, are next in line.”

“No!”

“You hear that, Liy? Finally the world will know your name… just not in the way you will like.” Pencil cackled, amused by the fear on Match’s face. “Well, best say goodbye to your so-called ‘girlfriend’ while you still can. Not that she can hear a word you say!”

“Stop this at once!” Match aimed her enlarged, shadowy hand at the frozen Needle. “Or, like—”

“Or what? Needle gets it?” Pencil raised an eyebrow. “Should you not be more concerned about your own partner’s life than the partner of your worst enemy? Aha! To think! You said you knew more about love than me!”

“SHUT UP! Stop putting words in my mouth!”

“But am I wrong?”

Match paused. She lowered her arm. “No… I…” She dropped to her knees and pressed her hands against the sides of her head. The words started to sink in. “I… know nothing about love, do I…?”

Pencil’s expression softened; it could have comforted Match, if not for their situation. “If it makes you feel any better, all the things you taught me made my bond with Needle so grand, I had it in me to show humility for a change and propose to her. And guess what—she accepted it!” She glanced down at the matchstick, eyes still narrowed. “But I guess you just suck at making the moves yourself. You…”

“I only just started dating her yesterday! It’s, like, way too soon for a proposal,” Match exclaimed. But also, Pencil did bring up a point. Match, the socially awkward queen of vampires…

“…can’t. Love. Anyone.”

N-No, I can! I can! I…

“Well, it’s too late for you now.” Pencil reeled back, grinning devilishly.

“NO!!”

Just as she was about to spear Liy in the abdomen, Match intervened in the nick of time, leaping forward and clawing at Pencil’s face with her Griffe Ombre.

Then, everything went black.

Pencil yelped and fell back, dropping her spear and covering her face. In the process, time started moving again, her power having been severed. “Needle… Needle, where are you?! Needle!!”

Needle gasped. “What happened?!” She ran over to her lover and held her in her arms. “Pencil, what… happened…?”

“I can’t… see anything… I…” Hyperventilating, Pencil slowly uncovered her face.

A big chunk of the upper half of her face was gone. More specifically, both her eyes were missing. She was bleeding out, and flesh was visible. Yet, she was still alive, somehow, and that fact alone surprised both Match and Liy.

Pencil raised her arm and kept patting up Needle’s body, aiming for her cheek. Needle helped her, and cupped her own hand over hers.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” The sewing needle planted a gentle kiss on Pencil’s forehead. The sweet serenity on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by fury as she glared daggers at Match. “YOU. You will pay for this!”

Match opened her large, clawed hand, which was covered in a disgusting combination of flesh, blood, and ashes. In her palm were two eyeballs, which she decided to drop on the ground, prompting Needle to gasp. She grabbed Liy with her other hand, smiling. “There’s your payment. Take care of them—they are your dear fiancée’s, after all.” She laughed.

Liy was speechless, and for the best. She had no idea what happened while time paused, but she didn’t question it, instead taking Match’s arm.

“I want to get out of here,” she managed to utter. She was afraid. She didn’t want to stay anymore.

Match nodded. Pencil was no longer a threat to her, so she felt safe enough to end their fight to the death prematurely.

“You two are not getting away!” Needle rushed at them, but missed her mark, as Match lifted Liy up and took to the sky. She didn’t even bother with her bat form.

“Sorry! But, like, we are,” Match taunted the silver object. She and Liy took off, full speed.

Against her better judgment, Needle went back to Pencil’s side, but still watched the two leave until they were out of sight. She removed her tattered orange ribbon and wrapped it around Pencil’s face, but it did nothing to stop the blood flow, only painting the accessory a deep red.

“Needle… are you… still there…?”

“Yes.” Needle held Pencil in her arms. She’d never seen her so vulnerable, choking up sobs and everything. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t avenge you.”

“You still can… She’s… still alive, you know.”

“You’re more important to me. I’m not leaving your side.”

“Then don’t. Carry me… on your back.”

Needle nodded. She shifted until she was carrying her partner piggyback, and that was when she noticed the eyeballs on the ground. She slowly went over to them, knelt down, and picked them up, dropping them in Pencil’s bag. She did the same with the now broken rectangle glasses that were knocked off Pencil’s face during the battle.

“Maybe I… can fix you,” Needle muttered, hopeful. “Your eyes… I have them. Maybe I can bring your vision back…”

“Don’t bother—it won’t work.”

“I’ll give it a try anyway. I hid a few blood bags in your office.”

Needle teleported the two away.

“Matchy, I never knew you could fly without turning into a bat.”

Liy looked up at Match, whose large wings she’d never seen before. Well, on Match, anyway—she’d seen Pencil’s. Both sets of wings were identical.

“Because, like, I didn’t want to seem suspicious to the public. But it’s still dark out, and, like, it’s faster like this, and easier to hold you.”

“You don’t think Needle is following us, do you?”

“Doubtful,” said Match. “She’s probably, like, more worried that I ripped her fiancée’s, like, eyes out of their sockets. I did that deliberately, actually.”

“As a distraction?”

“Pretty much. Also, I did Pencil a favour. Now she won’t, like, have to see my face again, just like she’d always wanted.”

Liy let out a soft sigh. She never wanted to turn against her own teacher, but it felt necessary.

“Liy…”

“Hm?”

“Do you… hate me?”

The switch blinked. “What…? No, of course not!”

“I did awful things. I, like, did irreversible damage to your instructor—like, right in front of you! Would I be better off dead? Should I take you down with me?”

Liy shook her head. “No one needs to die, Match. I love you. I really do.”

Match became so tearful that she had to stop flying for a moment, or she would risk crashing. “I… don’t deserve you, Liy…”

Liy lifted her hand up to Match’s face and wiped her tears away. “Sure you do,” she said, smiling softly.

The matchstick smiled back. “Thank you…”

Needle took the eyeballs out of the bag, having washed them earlier, and put them where Pencil’s sockets were. Next to them were six blood bags and a few clean syringes.

“You are seriously doing this? I already told you, it won’t…”

“It’s worth a shot,” Needle responded confidently. “You can’t drink lying down, so I’ll have to inject you.”

“Okay…”

Needle picked up a syringe and filled it with blood. She sank the needle into Pencil’s arm.

“Needle… Please… keep talking. I crave the comfort of your voice…”

“Sorry. It must be really hard being unable to see me…”

“It is. I miss your face already.”

Despite the soft smile on Needle’s face, she looked hurt. Not for herself, but for Pencil.

“It should have been me,” she said somberly.

“No! Don’t you dare say that,” the writing utensil said with a certain harshness in her tone. “I’ll take all the pain if it means you go without a scratch.”

“But you…”

“Yes, this is painful enough, but I…” Her facial muscles relaxed. “I’d rather it be me than you.”

“Pencil…”

Throughout their conversation, Needle kept the cycle of filling the syringe and injecting, not letting their chat distract her.

“It’s not working. You can stop—”

“No, I won’t! Not until you can see again!” the sewing needle shouted, tears in her eyes. She choked up a sob or two. “I feel for you… I… I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you…” She pushed the instrument back into Pencil’s arm, releasing the blood contained.

As Needle repeated the cycle, Pencil took the time to think, to level herself. Ever since Liy had freed her from those chains, she hadn’t been the same. Her fighting abilities had gotten worse, as had her mental state.

Maybe she deserved this.

“I’m such a fool,” she whispered. “This all never would have happened if I—”

“No one expected her to kidnap you. Stop blaming yourself.”

“I’m sorry…” Another thought crossed Pencil’s mind. It could be worth changing the topic. “By the way… what happened to the other hunters? There used to be so many.”

“Some died, others gave up. I was technically among those who gave up, until I got that text from Liy,” Needle explained. “I came to you as soon as I found my weapons.”

“Gaty, Book, Blocky, PDA… Leafy… Anything about them?”

“Gaty and Blocky quit for paying jobs. Book retired to focus on a relationship, and even after she lost her partner to vampires, she never came back. PDA quit shortly after Match took you. Leafy disappeared with no explanation whatsoever.”

“I see…”

All this time, Needle had been studying her fiancée’s behaviour, how those ten years of separation had changed her. First, prior, she’d almost never taken responsibility for her own actions. Now she was blaming herself for everything. Second, her general tone was softened a lot, when before she was firm and stoic. Third, now that the wooden girl was blind, she was a lot more dependent on Needle’s presence than ever before.

Needle tightened her grip on the syringe, forgetting it was in her hand for a second, at the same time her other hand balled into a fist. She felt a certain rage she couldn’t put into more than four words.

“I’m gonna kill her.”

Pencil said nothing. She didn’t want Needle to risk herself for her, but she also wanted Match dead. She had to question her priorities.

Would this night ever end?