Chapter Text
“Hey, Momma?”
“Yes, darling?”
“Why do people hate vampires?”
Yuuri was 7 at the time, with bruises scattered across his soft, pale, skin and disheveled black hair. His mother had sat him up on her lap as she tended to his wounds, silently lamenting over how her son had to take such a beating. Vampires were often times treated as such, and her son was no acceptation, unfortunately. She bit her lip while carefully doting some disinfectant on a small scrape.
“Oh darling, it’s because they are scared.” She uttered softly, smoothing her hand up his back as to comfort the soft sting of his wounds.
Yuuri winced glancing to his mother. She was obviously upset, with furrowed brows, sad eyes, and the chewing of her lip. Yuuri couldn’t really find a way to help though, so he became weary. “Sorry, Momma. I didn’t mean to be scary, I just wanted to play.” He sniffled, carefully rubbing his eyes with bandaged hands.
Hiroko set her utensils to the side and sniffled, utterly heartbroken from her son’s comment. She regained some composer however, and cleared her throat. Hugging Yuuri, she rocked him back and forth, lightly rubbing her fangs on the top of his hair, a way of affection and calming for vampires.
“Oh no, no, no, Yuuri it’s okay you’re not scary. You’re very kind and pretty, Yuuri. Some humans just don’t understand us is all. That’s why they’re scared.” She reassuringly thumps her leg and smiles, which in return grants Yuuri some safe at mind.
“But Momma why can’t they understand? I don’t get it!” Yuuri shouted a little irritated at the thought of humans being so ignorant. Can’t they understand that he just wanted to play? He was a good kid, he’d done nothing wrong!
Hiroko let out a small exasperated sigh. She didn’t quite understand it herself, most vampires were good people, albeit strange at times, but kind nonetheless. Maybe it was the way they looked, sharp fangs, cat like eyes, and the deathly pale skin. However, many humans were different from their own kind as well, some lighter skin tones or different colored eyes.
Maybe humans were to hung up on the past misunderstanding between the two groups to even attempt at understanding. Yes, vampires drink blood, and yes, vampires could be threatening at times as they were in the past, but they try. They try really hard now to be different, just like Yuuri and herself.
She liked to write off all their misunderstandings as them being scared, it was the normal, none spiteful thing to believe. Hiroko planned to stay that way as well, and she wanted to bring up Yuuri that way too.
Hiroko began running her fingers through Yuuri’s knotted hair, and gave her precious son a fond look. “I’m not quite sure, darling. Maybe you’ll be able to find out in time for me?” She asked with a light chuckle, which seemed to lighten the mood.
Yuuri still looked irritated but it began to gently subside. His sharp cinnamon eyes glanced back up to his mother. “But Pappa is different, right Momma?”
Hiroko hummed and nodded as she glanced over behind the counter of their Onsen. There stood her husband, and Yuuri’s father. He was a kind human that Hiroko learned to love, regardless of the borders that society built between there kind.
A human and vampire loving one another wasn’t unheard of, but simply a rarity. Humans were normally too scared to like vampires, and vice versa. It was also just out of content with being together with their own kind, but not for Hiroko and Toshiya.
“Yes darling, Poppa is very different. It’s that same with Mari too.” Yuuri smiled and nodded, snuggling into his mother. “Good, because I really like Big Sis and Poppa. I don’t want them to be scared of me.”
Hiroko chuckled as she brushed her fingers through her son’s raven hair. “You know Yuuri, it’s not just Momma and Poppa who are like this. Loving one another despite their differences.” She said this fondly, memories of her younger days where she started to helplessly fall in love.
Yuuri jumped, cat eyes wide and mouth gapping open. “Really!?!?! I can like, like humans like you do to Poppa!?” He asked in disbelief.
Hiroko nodded with a large grin. She brushed the boy’s short bangs from his eyes as she said, “Yes, don’t be scared to like humans that aren’t Poppa, and Mari, okay? Momma wants you to like all kinds of people, and like, like things to.” She stopped to chuckle at how childish it all sounded. “Human or vampire.”
Yuuri smiled a large toothy grin. “Okay! I’m going to like anything that is nice to me! Oh, and I am going to like humans to because I want to keep them from being scared!” Yuuri states this while happily bouncing up and down.
“That’s my boy. Yuuri you are a very kind boy. I am sure whoever you like will think the same.” Hiroko kissed the top of Yuuri’s forehead which caused him to go into a fit of laughter.
The boy was practically radiating. His pale skin glowed within the dim lighting of the room and his sparkled. Earlier Yuuri seemed far worse for wear but now his mood had uplifted, causing the atmosphere in the Onsen to shift kindly. Yuuri was now standing, although still beaten and bruised, he was standing. He thumbed his heart energetically with his fist as he childishly smiled to his mother.
“And I am going to like, like a human! Just like Momma and Poppa!”
Hiroko let out a surprised gasp as she went to cover her mouth. “Oh my” were the only words that left her mouth.
Across the living area Yuuri’s father could be heard, making his way from the counter. Toshiya let out a hearty laugh which caused his face to crinkle, this act showing years of age and laughter from the man.
“We look forward to it Yuuri.” He states this proudly which earns him a warm smile from his wife.
Yuuri’s mother nods and walks over beside her husband. “Just make sure you find the right one Yuuri. You’ll be stuck with them forever after all.”
Toshiya wrapped his arm around Hiroko’s waste and sent Yuuri a smile. “She’s right, just give it time!”
Yuuri’s early conflict with humans seemed to have had subsided and instead was replaced with the gentle laughter of his family. His mother later began making dinner as his father watched sports with Mari, whom was relentlessly teasing Yuuri for his little “proclamation.”
They all were happy however, regardless of their human/vampire genes mixing into their lives. This was the image carved into Yuuri’s mind for years. He desperately wanted something like what his family had. The love for both races.
That’s why he kept what he said true for more than a decade later. Yuuri never thought he’d be given the chance to “like, like” a human, but fate had other plans in mind after he left the kind Japanese Onsen for the Russia.