Chapter Text
Kazuichi probably should’ve hid the acceptance letter. His pack had cheered and shouted (and howled) when it had arrived, but if he’d known about his future back then, he would’ve ripped the paper to shreds immediately.
Too late for that, now.
The tiled floors of the long hallway led him past classroom after classroom, sneakers clacking against white tile. He spotted the door he was meant to enter, next to a metal plaque that read “Class 77-B” and he stumbled through the doors.
He was blinded by the bright sunlight filtering in through the windows for a moment, but he regained his bearings, facing a crowd of interesting looking classmates. Immediately, a disgusting stench wafted through his nose, that of ice, steel, and pomegranate. And there, sitting at the side of the room, brooding, was the to-be bane of Kazuichi’s time at Hope’s Peak.
Gundham Tanaka, a fucking vampire.
~*~*~
He was not expecting his first day at the academy to go all that smoothly, considering its reputation of generally odd characters, and his tendency to witness pandaemonium . Gundham himself was perhaps even one of the odder ones, in his dark coat and heavy boots, an interloper sitting quietly in a corner of the classroom. While his new classmates mingled and exchanged pleasantries, he was more than happy to let the period fly by with minimal stress. He was not there to make friends.
However, the already long day took a turn for the truly unexpected when a certain new classmate arrived. The door was thrown open, and the boy entered. Tousled pink locks under a tattered black beanie, obnoxiously bright jumpsuit, and ridiculous grin showing off rows of pointed teeth, this mortal did not appear to be as odd as his peers. He was on his own level of strange, indeed.
The mortal took two paces into the classroom, before his cheery expression turned hostile, eyes instantly landing on Gundham, nose twitching.
Perhaps not a mortal, then. The sharp teeth made much more sense, when Gundham put it together. A werewolf, the absolute worst kind of creature, would be Gundham’s classmate for the three years they remained at this institution.
This boy… was sure to be a nuisance.
~*~*~
“You got to play the last two rounds, Fuyu. Give him a chance, it’s not like he’s gonna beat me anyway.” Hajime laughed, selecting his own character. Fuyuhiko let out an unimpressed noise, but relented, and allowed player number three to grab the controller.
Kazuichi was coming to enjoy his life at Hope’s Peak. He’d managed to befriend a few classmates pretty easily, a feat he’d never accomplished before. There was Ibuki, the Ultimate Musician, who shared his interests in alternative style (and his lack of brain cells, according to Hiyoko). There was also Fuyuhiko, the Ultimate Yakuza. Honestly, Kazuichi hadn’t even realized Fuyuhiko considered him a close friend until the heir said it himself, while blushing profusely at the embarrassment of displaying any emotions. But he was glad to have such a level headed and surprisingly considerate friend around him. And of course, there was Kazuichi’s soul brother, the absolute light of his life, Hajime Hinata. Hajime had been the first to interact with him when school started, and their friendship had developed so naturally that Kazuichi felt like he’d known the guy for years.
There were some moments that Kazuichi wanted to strangle the guy, though. As he sat next to Fuyuhiko on the floor of Hajime’s dorm room, doing his very best to win their makeshift video game tournament, his soul brother betrayed him by bringing up the one name he didn’t want to hear. “Do you guys think Tanaka would be good at a game like this?” Hajime mused, while rapidly pressing the buttons on his own controller.
As soon as the Ultimate Breeder was mentioned, the urge to roll his eyes settled in. Ever since their first interaction on the first day of school, where they’d gotten into a spat over some trivial bullshit he couldn’t remember anymore, Gundham Tanaka seemed to have decided to make Kazuichi’s life a living hell.
“Tch, I thought it was enough that Kaz was obsessed with their rivalry… don’t tell me you’re trying to get involved in that, too?” Fuyuhiko groaned.
For one, there was the staring . It felt like no matter what he was doing, the vampire was silently judging him from across the classroom. He wasn’t sure if it was something all bats did, or if Tanaka was especially freaky, but it unsettled the werewolf either way. He was honestly starting to wonder if the creep was planning to execute him, or something. It wouldn’t have surprised him, what with how much he yelled about his spooky magic powers.
“Don’t be absurd, I’m just curious. But if Souda’s fighting him in person, maybe I should challenge him to a digital duel ?” Hajime chuckled, impersonating the deep-voiced goth’s weird way of speaking.
That was another thing Kazuichi hated about him, all the delusion . The vampire genuinely thought he was a dark overlord, and his chuunibyou antics always led to weird things happening. It was definitely not like Kazuichi was scared of things like that, of course not…
“Ugh, I really don’t get why they hate each other so much, anyway. Sonia’s nice and all, but it's not worth the trouble, Kaz…” Fuyuhiko mumbled, eyes glued to the screen.
And there was the mention of Princess Sonia. Kazuichi fell for her as soon as he saw her, her elegant presence in the otherwise classroom, all soft smiles and perfect blonde hair. He was made to love her, he just knew it . And Tanaka just had to ruin it, wooing Sonia with his dumb lines and cute animals.
The worst part was that Sonia was falling for all of it, giving in to the delusional bullshit and staying by the vampire’s side whenever he was around. She was putting herself in danger by being around him, and she didn’t even know it.
“Souda, are you even listening?” Hajime asked, landing a heavy blow on the mechanic’s character. His soul friend’s voice brought him back to reality, where he was losing the match. “I mean like, what do you really think of the guy?” Hajime asked him, eyes leaving the screen to glance at the frowning boy.
What did he think of Gundham?
He knew that he thought of him all time, thoughts more often consumed with mismatched red and gray eyes than not, assorted memories and festering curiosities taking hold of his stupid brain. He thought of the ridiculous long purple scarf and how it might feel around his own neck. The teeth that looked normal upon first glance, but concealed fangs sharper and pointier than Kazuichi's own canines. The way his stupid hair fell out of its perfectly gelled style due to the heat, strands framing his face. The ability to come up with those dumb lines and comebacks with ease, during any of their fights.
Kazuichi thought about all these details often, despite his attempts to ignore the guy.
Maybe he hated Gundham more than he realized.
The screen of the small television played a short sequence indicating Hajime’s win. Kazuichi settled for a simpler reply to his friend’s question. “I hate his guts, and I thought that was pretty obvious.” He yawned out, stretching his arms above his head, thinking of a way to change the subject.
Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes, snatching the controller back. “You say that, but you’re going to be back to complaining about him anytime now, hypocrite.”
The yakuza’s complaint was ridiculous. Tanaka was the one who started all the problems, after all. “Whatever, Fuyu, I don’t want to think about it right now.”
Hajime nodded at him dismissively, like he’d seen the reply coming from a mile away. Fuyuhiko only offered a grunt, before picking his usual character again. The trio spent the rest of the day ignoring their homework in favor of figuring out who the best contender at defeating Chiaki was. Kazuichi made a conscious effort not to mention the princess and the breeder the whole time, and he was damn proud of himself for it. But the accomplishment was soured after the events of the following day.
~*~*~
A month and a half into the school year, Gundham snapped. It was unbecoming of an overlord to unleash his fury upon a mortal, but the object of his hatred was not a mortal, and so he felt his actions were valid.
Their hatred had started purely out of principle. Werewolves were the least trustworthy of all creatures, known for being unreasonable and brutish. That, he’d known since he was young, a teaching as old as the rivalry between both species. Yet it seemed that despite their original unspoken agreement to shun one another, the ultimate mechanic sought out every opportunity to inconvenience him, often yelling out childish insults out of nowhere, or even trying to instigate physical fights.
Gundham was not one to pay attention to fools, so he had managed to ignore Souda’s attempts. That was, until he could control his dark powers no longer.
After classes had ended for the day, the breeder found himself walking alongside the mechanic in an otherwise empty hallway, while on his way to check on his hellbeasts. The path to the school workshops was the same path that led to the conservatory areas on the school grounds, so this wasn’t the first time the situation had occurred. They walked together in uncomfortable silence, but Souda, it seemed, could not resist the opportunity.
“Seriously, you don’t have to walk the same way as me just to taunt me about Sonia.” The lycanthrope muttered, arms crossed. Of course, the fool had mentioned the dark queen.
The… issues the two had been having over Sonia were nothing new. Kazuichi had consistently pestered the princess since he’d first admitted to being enamored by her, during only the first few weeks of school. How he’d fallen in love so quickly, Gundham did not know, but it did not matter. Because despite his earlier insistence on solitude, the breeder had formed his own relationship with the she-cat, a strong companionship born out of their mutual interests in the dark arts. She was an invaluable ally in his conquest over this realm.
That, of course, put Gundham on the fool’s radar. Now, not only did they despise each other out of principle, but also because of the mechanic’s persistent efforts to claim Gundham was stealing Sonia away from him.
“I have no clue as to what you speak of. The dark queen pays you no mind, and neither do I.” Gundham declared, lips curled downwards in a frown. He considered hastening his pace to exit the conversation, but he first wanted to know how the werewolf would respond.
Kazuichi grumbled, stopping in the middle of the hallway and pointing an accusatory finger at the breeder. “Don’t act all slick, freak. I know what your real goal is with her, and I’m not gonna let you do it.” He said, seemingly proud of himself for discovering a plot against the princess that did not actually exist.
While he knew it was pointless to continue this conversation, Gundham could not help but ask. “Pray tell, mutt, what sinister event am I planning against the dark queen?”
Rolling his eyes as if the answer was obvious, the mechanic’s tantrum continued. “You're trying to use her as a blood bag!” He yelled, magenta eyes frenzied and narrowed.
The response surprised the breeder, but only for a moment, his shock quickly turning into rage. “And what would you do about it, fiend? Do you plan to hunt me ? Are you incapable of understanding that you are no fearsome predator in comparison to me?” He seethed, stepping closer to the werewolf in order to literally look down upon him. In the back of his mind, Gundham was aware that he was close to causing a scene. But so be it, the fool had chosen this path for both of them.
Kazuichi’s hands tightened into fists. “I don’t want to hear shit from a delusional leech.” He snarled pathetically, snapping at the air in front of him and trying to use his teeth as weapons of intimidation. “There’s no way she’d be hanging out with a freak like you if you weren’t manipulating her with your dark bullshit.” He grabbed at the dark one’s scarf, and yanked him down to his level. An attempt to appear menacing, made unsuccessful by the clear display of the vampire’s vertical superiority.
A bandage wrapped hand gripped the heathen’s wrist, with painful force. “Yield and remove yourself, before I rip you to shreds, imbecile.” Gundham narrowed his eyes.
“Yield? I’ll put you and your hamsters five feet under, freak! You probably already sleep in a coffin anyway!” He yelled, tone seething with hate. The insult set Gundham ablaze.
“Kh-! You dare to insult the dark devas? I have no choice but to end you!” He roared, yanking at a fistful of pink hair and tugging roughly.
“Like I’d ever let myself back down from a chance to fight a fucking vamp—” The werewolf was interrupted by a shout from a fellow student, who had appeared down the hallway. Their voices and footsteps sounded closer and closer, accompanied by another, louder pair, until Kazuichi found himself restrained in Akane Owari’s arms, facing Gundham, who was being restrained by Nekomaru Nidai.
At first, Gundham tried to shift away from the grip of the teacher of kinetic arts, but he deigned not to use his full strength in the situation, lest it raise questions. The man’s reputation was that of the strongest in the class, and challenging that notion would only lead to problems.
“Are you sure about this, coach? I want to see these nerds grappling it out!” Akane laughed, holding the werewolf’s flailing arms in place without much effort. Gundham imagined it was for show. Had he really wanted to, the werewolf likely could’ve been freed from the gymnast’s arms in seconds, perhaps even faster than Gundham could escape Nekomaru.
“You know that would be wrong, Akane.” Their herculean classmate responded. “If they want to spar, it’s okay with me, but not in the hallway alone. One of them could get injured!”
Akane rolled her eyes. “But it was just getting interesting! The lil’ guy was talking about vampires or something! Souda, start yelling again so we can get the context!” She laughed.
Gundham’s heart dropped. Had they arrived a moment too late, or a moment too early, the coach and the gymnast would have heard encrypting words, passed back and forth in the throes of anger. Their suspicions seemed to already be roused as it was, Akane’s eyes sparkling while Nekomaru’s eyebrows furrowed.
The situation was much too close to revealing Gundham’s secret. How had he let himself become entwined in such foolishness?
Ah. It was because of Kazuichi Souda, of course.
Said mechanic had given up his acting, slumping uncomfortably over the gymnast’s arms. The look of regret on his face told Gundham everything he needed to know; Kazuichi had also realized how their quarrels endangered their secrets.
“Enough, Akane.” Nekomaru sighed, ending her murmured speculations. “Let’s get them over to Ms. Yukizome so they can handle this spat correctly.” Right as the coach was about to usher him away, Gundham made eye contact with the werewolf, who mouthed ‘asshole’ towards him, before turning away as best as he could.
And even as Gundham took care of his beasts later that night, the beast that preoccupied most of his thoughts was the fool with pink hair. If their rivalry and hatred were to continue to build, Gundham needed to ensure a way to protect his secret, above all else.