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Being a vampire hunter is hard .
Isagi knew all the risks of being a vampire hunter in this day and age. He knew the fact that he would have to endure constant wounds from the sharp nails of the undead. He knew the fact that he had to suffer with the consequences of frequently mingling with the dead. It was merely because of a vampire resurgence did he sign up and train his way up the ladder, resulting in him becoming an Elite hunter under Blue Lock.
He knew what he was getting into. However, in his entire vampire-hunting career, never would he expect a vampire this powerful.
He was currently wrestling with a pretty powerful vampire, who was probably double Isagi’s height, and triple Isagi’s strength. Despite his lanky appearance, the vampire’s strength was no joke — the moment he wasn’t paying attention, the vampire immediately got hold of him and slammed him to the ground, only being held back by the gun Isagi was holding on, shoving most of it in between the vampire’s open mouth, avoiding an instant bite that would almost certainly kill him.
“Goddamnit — why are you so strong ?!” Isagi groaned, ramming his knee to the vampire’s pelvis, resulting in the vampire writhing in pain and momentarily letting down his guard. He then pulled back his gun from the opening of the vampire’s mouth and shot two silver bullets, both of which landed on the vampire’s leg, temporarily paralyzing him.
“Gross.” Isagi muttered to himself as he took a look at his gun, which was now partially lathered in vampire saliva. He quickly shook off the saliva from his gun before shooting another silver bullet, just shy of hitting the heart. Obviously wounded, the vampire staggered, placing his hand over the new bullet wound.
However, while Isagi expected the vampire to run away, he didn’t. Actually, his eyes became blood red, and he could see his stance become more battle-ready and more confident.
When vampires were feral, their attack patterns became much more predictable and simpler — their minds were reverted back to their primal forms, the lust for blood fogging up a vampire’s mind. At that moment, the only thing a vampire can smell is blood .
So, while Isagi was able to dodge the first lunge, he could never expect that the vampire made the smart move of rebounding himself from a tree trunk, effectively knocking the tree over as he used the trunk to propel himself towards Isagi, claws grabbing a hold on his throat. And, the grip was a tight one — Isagi momentarily lost his eyesight because of the whiplash the sudden pressure applied on his throat gave. Weakened by the reduced airflow, he collapsed onto the ground, wheezing for air as the vampire continued to block his airway with lanky fingers and claws that threatened to break skin and pierce his inside, to draw blood.
Not willing to give up, Isagi tried to ram his knee into the vampire’s pelvis again, but to no avail. Removing one hand from Isagi’s throat, he stabbed the hunter’s knee with the vampire’s sharp claws, gaining a cry of shock and pain from Isagi. It wasn’t looking too good — his gun was just out of reach, and there wasn’t enough room for him to move and to grab his silver dagger that he always kept in his back pocket.
“Let me go, you…asshole!” Isagi threatened, voice slightly airy from his throat being squeezed to death. He tried to wriggle around in the vampire’s clutch, hands trying to reach for the knife located on his back pocket, but the vampire was insistent on holding Isagi down, as the vampire suddenly doubled down on the strength given to choke him, the hunter’s face turning a slight blue from the lack of air.
Isagi started feeling very lightheaded, short breaths indicating that he was likely about to faint from a lack of oxygen. He was about to faint, when he felt the hold on his neck suddenly disappear.
Relishing in the bliss of being able to breathe again, he heaved in heavy breaths, clutching his hurting throat everytime he inhaled. He sputtered and coughed as well, trying to massage his throat from the vampire’s initial grasp. Blurry eyes looked towards where he could hear groaning, the vampire’s body being stuck against the trunk of a particularly large tree, blood splatters around him.
Out of the corner of Isagi’s eye, he could see a pair of familiar-looking dress shoes, as well as that reassuring aura he always carried with him.
“How lukewarm.” A snarky voice remarked. “Can’t even beat a vampire like him.”
“Not now, Rin.” Isagi strained out, azure eyes looking up to gaze at Rin’s own eyes. Still, where others would see his gaze as cold and unwelcoming, Isagi could see an underlying worry within those pools of brilliant teal.
“Sit back and relax, hunter.” Rin adjusted his leather gloves. “I’ll show you how it’s done.”
The vampire quickly recovered from the blow, ready to throw hands with Rin. Isagi didn’t know if the vampire was either dumb or oblivious to the fact that before him was Itoshi Rin, member of the esteemed and pure-blooded Itoshi family who held power over vampires for the past millennia or so. Every hunter and vampire knew that fact, so few would go out of their way to mess with a member from the Itoshi family.
As the vampire lunged forward, clearly aiming for Isagi, Rin stepped between the two, lifting his right leg and sending a flying kick to the vampire’s abdomen. Because of Rin’s immense strength, the vampire was immediately sent flying back to where he was initially sent towards, but the vampire didn’t waste any time in recovering and was on his feet again, charging at Isagi at full speed.
The vampire proceeded to throw punches, but none of them landed on Rin, thanks to Rin’s fast reflexes. In retaliation, the pure-blood threw a few jabs of his own, landing them in crucial spots and making sure he was fast enough so that the vampire couldn’t block or counter them. However, crazy as it sounds, the vampire managed to land a hit at Rin, turning Rin’s head to the right as an effect of the strike’s whiplash, subsequently drawing blood at the left side of his face.
Isagi could feel the aura tensing around the three, primarily how Rin’s usually reassuring aura became much scarier, almost as if a beast was being awakened. True to Isagi’s assumption, the sclera of Rin’s right eye started turning an inky black, and both of his teal irises started glowing dangerously. What’s more, he resorted to taking off his gloves (one of them in which he used his teeth to do so, which was objectively fucking hot ), where Rin would usually take them off if he were to do some dirty work.
The vampire must’ve also sensed a change in Rin’s behavior, however he had no time to act. Rin immediately struck the vampire with several jabs and punches, each of them dealing a massive blow to the vampire’s body as it was sent back from the strength Rin possessed. The onslaught never stopped however — Rin kept on going, even sinking his own claws deep into the vampire’s body, similarly to how he did with Isagi and his leg.
Even as the vampire’s eyes rolled back, and even as the vampire’s body fell limp and lifeless, Rin kept on going, stabbing his claws into his body, splattering blood everywhere.
Isagi stood up from where he sat, slightly wincing at the pain from his leg. He limped towards a feral Itoshi Rin, giving him a back hug and trying with all his might to restrain Rin from dealing more carnage. As satisfying as it was to see a powerful enemy being absolutely wiped by his beloved, he wanted Rin to become his normal self, and not in a feral state of mind.
“Hey, hey, Rin, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Isagi’s voice came out a little bit raspy, thanks to the choking earlier. “It’s done, he’s dead. You can calm down now.”
He felt the tension leave Rin’s body, the shift in his aura also noticeable. Turning back, Isagi was relieved to see his eyes return back to normal.
“Are you okay though, mon chéri ?” Rin asked, voice becoming softer as his hand traveled to cup Isagi’s cheek.
To the world, Rin was just another member of the powerful and esteemed Itoshi family, known for their ruthlessness and merciless facades, as well as their strict and unrelenting grip on vampires as a whole. However, behind closed doors, Rin was a weak man for Isagi, and both of them knew that. The vampire would usually dote on the hunter as if he was his most prized possession, and the hunter would also treat the vampire like he was his entire world.
“I…guess you could say that?” Isagi hummed. “I mean, my throat fucking hurts and my leg does too…”
“Shit, right, your leg.” Rin mumbled. “Do you want me to carry you home?”
“I’ll probably need some assistance, but other than that, I can walk on my own.” Isagi shot a weary smile at Rin, who seemed less than satisfied at Isagi’s request. Still, he relented.
“Fine. Just, hold on tight, okay?” Rin mumbled, walking over to where Isagi’s gun was left alone and picking it up from the ground, strapping it behind Isagi. He then looped the hunter’s arm around his shoulder and snaked Rin’s own arm around Isagi’s waist.
As they trudged back to their home, Isagi couldn’t help but think about what Rin said before he proceeded to wipe the floor with the vampire, how he couldn’t even beat that vampire. It was true — despite his Elite hunter status, Isagi was rather weak, easily overpowered by vampires who would be otherwise beaten if he were smarter or more careful with his approach. While that vampire was much stronger than Isagi, the hunter figured he could easily overpower him if he were to be more careful and not more impulsive and instinct-driven with his choices.
He felt Rin stop the both of them, teal eyes looking at Isagi’s own with more worry. “Hey, shit, are you okay?”
“What do you mean…?”
“Yoichi, you’re crying.”
“I am…?” Isagi murmured, lifting a hand to touch his cheeks. The wet sensation on the tips of his fingers did indicate that a few stray tears did escape his eyes. Now that he thought about it, his vision was rather glassy and fractured.
“Is something else going on, mon chéri …?” Oh, Rin was using his French knowledge of adoration terms now.
Unfair.
“No…no, it’s just…” Isagi trailed off. “I was just thinking about what you said back there, about me not being able to beat him. I really am weak aren’t I, Rin? Do I even deserve this role of an Elite vampire hunter?” He bitterly chuckled, feeling more hot tears stream down his face.
“Oh, Yoichi…” Rin’s eyes were now filled with guilt. He gathered Isagi in his arms, strong arms wrapping around Isagi’s smaller build with so much reassurement and adoration that it almost made him break down for a second time. “Of course you deserve to be called an Elite hunter.”
“But…back then—”
“Forget what I said back there, I was stupid, okay?” Rin interrupted the hunter. “I wanted to keep up our shared promise of not showing affection with others around, but…I went too far. Like I said, forget about that.”
The vampire then pressed a gentle kiss on Isagi’s forehead, cradling his head and carefully running his fingers in the hunter’s midnight blue locks. “You know more about the Blue Lock system than I do. You know how rigorous the selections are and how cruel the promotion system is. There’s a reason why you’re one of the prestigious Elite hunters of Blue Lock, Yoichi. You have what it takes to be one. You have the strength, the intelligence, everything that they want in an Elite hunter.”
“And those qualities, paired together with your kindness, your constant smiles and upbeat personality, everything about you, is what makes me fall for you in the first place.”
Isagi’s breath hitched, feeling the tears form in his eyes once again. Instead of breaking down like he did previously, he resorted to burying his head in Rin’s clothes, inhaling the scent of expensive cologne from one of the many bottles he had in his possession.
“Thank you, Rin. I…I’m sorry for breaking down like this, and worrying you.”
“Don’t blame yourself for it.” Rin said. “Come on, let’s go home. I’ll need to inspect your wound.”
“Okay.” Isagi nodded, a smile on his face as he did so. “ Ich liebe dich , Rin.”
Rin was momentarily stunned, before he smiled too. Unlike most of the time where his smiles would either be sarcastic or almost invisible, this one was genuine and warm.
“ Je t’aime , Yoichi.”