1 - Our First Encounter

"The vampire attacks have been increasing lately." Simon addressed the people around him, massaging his temples. "We need a new lead about the vampires. The organization's method of collecting information wouldn't stand for long."

He placed a folder on the table. "Here are some files Luis managed to get regarding the vampires that the organization have identified so far."

Cyrus' head perked up from laying on the sofa, "Why would you need the files of detained vampires?"

Simon gave Cyrus a leveled stare, "Information can be gathered anywhere and everywhere. It's only applicable to those who know how to look."

"What's there to know?" Leah questioned from the kitchen, "The organization has already listed everything we should be cautious about the vampires."

"Yes," he agreed," but not on things that matter." Simon leaned back on the couch, prompting everyone to pay attention to his words. "In order to understand something, you must first fathom its existence and how it exists."

Leah and Cyrus shared a look across the room, not understanding what Simon was getting at. I reached for the files, scanning through various profiles of vampires that have been apprehended throughout the years. Beneath their profiles were detailed reports about their crimes and what has become of them under the penitentiary of the Hunter Organization.

"These vampires appeared out of the blue, deciding to attack humanity. One day, these species decided to come out from the dark corners that they were hiding from and chose to oppose us. Whoever is driving them to attack must be a force to reckon with if it was able to encourage the vampires to come out from hiding." Luis spoke up as he came down from the stairs.

Simon nodded his approval, "Yes, but the question is, what were the vampires before they decided to attack? How did they manage to survive without human blood? That is an important inquiry everyone seems to disregard, preferring to focus on the matter at hand, rather than at the root of the problem."

"According to the data gathered so far," Luis motioned towards the files in my hand. "There are two types of vampires that we've managed to identify on their hierarchy. It's a given that these datas are not complete and concrete."

Simon inclined his head towards me, prompting me to explain. "The young and adult vampires. The younglings are categorized by their behavior. Some of them are irrational, unfocused, prone to being wild, and can't control their urges to devour blood. Meanwhile, the adults are more mature, they have precise control, and they don't seem to be affected by the desire for blood unlike the young ones."

"Exactly. The adult vampires have more restraints on their urges. If we look past the prejudice against them for a moment, you would've realized a crucial piece of information for our cause."

Cyrus raised his brow, "And that is?"

Luis plopped down beside him, "The adult vampires. They don't need to drink blood unlike the young vampires. Which means, they had a source for quenching their thirst before they started attacking humanity."

He frowned, "I still don't get it."

Leah put down the tray filled with snacks at the table, "If they have a source for feeding, it prompts the idea that they have a society of their own."

"Which leads us to why I'm here in the first place," Simon reached out towards his cup of tea. "A society means someone leading them. And in a society, there are always those who agree and don't agree."

Leah furrowed her brows, "What are you trying to say?"

Simon took a sip from his cup, taking a moment to respond. "A vampire has reached out to me recently."

There was a stunned silence around the room, eyes shocked and mouth agape as they stared at Simon.

I watched him casually put down his cup. As if what he said was as nonchalant as commenting about the weather. I wasn't surprised, knowing Simon my whole life, such actions were usual for him.

Simon didn't wait for anyone to collect their wits with them. "This vampire is peculiar. She's different from the rest. She's neither an adult or a youngling. She's higher than them. She approached me with the intention of forming an alliance. To gather and exchange information with each other."

Cryus sat up, eyebrows drawn together. "Why would a vampire offer you that?"

"She prompts that our interests align. I have not informed the organization about this yet. This vampire is dangerous, we need to be skeptical about her concerns."

I stopped playing with the files. Dropping them down on the table with a thud. "What do you want us to do, Simon?" I questioned silently, wanting him to get to the point directly.

He paused, eyeing me sideways. "I want Team Leah to track and observe this vampire for a while. Decide if she is genuine with her intentions or not."

Leah opened her mouth to protest, but Simon deliberately cut her off, "This opportunity she proposed rarely comes by, we can't take the risk of blowing this chance. Depending on her actions, I will consider her proposal."

I remained silent, knowing that whatever the factors, Simon would most likely still accept the vampire's offer. It didn't matter if she came out good or evil in our investigation, as long as she had purpose, Simon would use it for the organization's cause.

Leah sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to oppose him. Simon was sending them out on an official order coming from him. This is by no means, the first time that Team Leah had accepted a mission from Simon that wasn't classified under the organization's orders. It was a normal occurrence for Team Leah to go behind the organization's back, slipping under its nose as we gather intel that would normally be frowned upon by other Hunters. But it didn't matter to us, these intels were important, it helped the organization gain advantage against the vampire's, how you get said information was not something to be dwelled upon as long as it produced results.

Simon reached for something inside his coat, it was a picture.

"Her name is Rei, a vampire was recently sent here. She hasn't familiarized herself with human society yet. I gave her a phone to contact whenever I'm ready to accept her offer."

Cyrus took the offered picture from Simon's hand, looking at the vampire himself before giving it to Leah. She passed the picture around, when it reached my hands, a woman with long silver hair that fell like a waterfall behind her back was looking at the camera. Jet black impassive eyes stared right back, ensnaring you within their depths. She wore a simple blue dress that compliments her features, making her stand out than she already is.

"Luis would track the phone. Start on your mission on the first rays of dawn." With that, Simon left us to our own devices with a few reminders of what we should do after the mission.

Leah silently greeted her teeth, glaring hard at the direction where Simon previously left. She was silent for a minute, making sure that Simon was no longer in the vicinity when she spoke. "This is bullshit. Treaty with the vampires? Really?" 

Leah wasn't able to hold it in any longer and lashed out.

"Forming an alliance with a vampire is crossing the line! Even for us!" She paced around the living room, "What happens if this whole fiasco comes back and bite our butts off? We can't trust a vampire, she's gonna lead us into a trap!"

"You don't know that." I frowned, "Knowing Simon, he wouldn't let his guard down one bit. That man is always a few steps ahead when it comes to anything, and he'll make sure he'll get the best out of any situation."

Cyrus ruffled his hair, "We don't even know what this vampire wants." He reached out for the picture, "If you look at her, she could easily pass as a human. I wouldn't even think she's a vampire if Simon didn't say she is."

"She's dangerous. Don't let your guard down." Luis reprimanded him, "It's getting late. We should head to bed so we can focus on the mission properly tomorrow." He stood up, moving towards his room.

Leah let out a sigh, running her hand through her face, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle.

I moved towards the stairs, intending to sleep in early when Leah called out from behind me. "Cain, wait." I glanced at her over my shoulder, eyebrow raised in question.

"Have you tried the new prototype Samantha sent you? Is it working well?" She bit her lip, eyeing me with hopeful eyes.

I shook my head at her, used to the disappointed gleam in her eyes. "It's still not working, Leah. I don't think it ever will."

She nodded her head, "Guess you're still stuck to normal weapons, then. Don't push yourself, Cain. You tend to be reckless sometimes. It might not bother you, but it worries us." Leah ruffled my hair affectionately, moving past me towards the kitchen.

I retreated to my room, passing by the desk I caught sight of the prototype Samantha had sent earlier today for me to test.

When fighting vampires, humans like us wouldn't stand a chance against them, we could only dream of defeating them when they first started creating havoc amongst humanity. Seeing this problem, Simon took it upon himself to create a weapon that would rival the vampires.

Simon had created a weapon called cetas.

The cetas were weapons designed with the purpose of destroying vampires, and what other way could someone destroy a vampire without having any other worldly powers? By using a vampire to destroy its fellow vampire, of course.

To a vampire, it's core is what's most important for them. Their heart is where their affinities lay in slumber. Without it, they cannot draw the power from within.

In order to kill a vampire, you must take out their hearts.

Simon knew of their weakness, and he knew how to exploit their powers for our cause, and so, he designed a weapon with a vampire's core as its preliminary source of power.

The cetas are weapons that are able to use the affinities of whoever heart it was that it belonged to.

Everyone in the Hunter Organization is able to use said weapons.

All except for one.

Me.

I ran my hand through my hair, feeling the raven locks brush my shoulders. For whatever reason, no matter what I do or method I use, I simply couldn't use a cetas.

Not because I was incompetent or that I was lacking in skill when handling weapons, it was merely because I couldn't touch it.

Literally.

If I was to dare and try to attempt to wield it in my hands, the cetas would simply burn my skin to an uncontrollable degree. It would continue to flame hotly, similar to how a person would willingly burn their hands with flames.

It was only thanks to my regenerative prowess that I didn't mind the burn too badly.

Because of my incompetence with using the cetas, this was considered as a problem for the organization. I was only able to stay this long due to my connection with Simon, the brains behind the cetas.

It was quite ironic that the man who invented the cetas can't even let the child he has under his custody use his creation.

Handling vampires, by no means an easy fit. Whenever you go out for a mission, you would never know if it would be your last or if you'll still ever come back. I was able to survive through any missions thrown my way because of my abilities.

It was similar to a vampire with an affinity but not at the same time.

No matter what I do, no matter what injuries I take, all of it would only last a second before the scarred flesh knits itself together and goes back to what it was once before, to its flawless unscathed state.

No one knows about my ability other than Simon and Team Leah. If they found it strange, they never said a word about it.

But that didn't remove the problem at hand. The issue is that people from the organization were starting to get suspicious on how I always come back uninjured from our missions without a cetas.

Protests of favoritism and special treatment were starting to spread within our ranks, and that is unnecessary trouble no one wants to deal with.

And so, Simon and Samantha would always send me the new prototypes for the cetas to use and test, hoping that it would fix my problem and quench the rumours.

It didn't stop the favoritism. In fact, it seemed like more protests have come up ever since knews came out that I was the one who was testing out the cetas before it would be released. Complaints of why do I get the first dibs on said weapons when I couldn't even use it in the first place.

A particular incident where hunters saw first hand how a cetas burned my hands got them to shut up.

In an instant, they were glad to know that someone had become the sacrificial lamb for testing out if a cetas was a defect or not.

Staring at the cetas on the table, I decided to try it out once again. Biting my thumb enough to draw blood, I let it drop down onto the floating grey cube—the heart of the weapon. In order to activate the cetas, the holder must first sacrifice their own blood to synchronize within the dormant affinity. Only in this way can a person use a vampire's heart and its powers.

The grey cube started glowing, moving twirling within the weapon, waiting for someone to connect with. I took a deep breath, hand reaching out for the cetas.

No more than a second of touching it, the cetas had burned my hand, the feeling equivalent to touching a lava itself. I flinched back, dazedly looking down at my palm. Blisters had already started forming, smoke rising out from the skin that touched the cetas.

Letting out a sigh, I turned my back against my desk and plopped down on my bed. Already feeling my skin heal back on its own.

It seems that no matter what I do, or any amount of waiting I do, there would still be no way for me to use a cetas.

I sank deeper into the pillows. Grumbling underneath my breath. "... It's not like I need it anyways."

Technically, I really didn't have to use it, but the lack of progress and something to work with could take its toll and make you a blubbering mess of frustrations.

I forced my body to relax, choosing to focus on sleeping the night away and focus on the mission tomorrow instead of frustrating myself over something I couldn't control.

The first time I laid my eyes upon her, I couldn't help but stop in my tracks, taking a moment to see her—truly appreciating her beauty. It was breathtaking, an otherworldly ethereal feeling of seeing something you can't simply put into words.

She was casually strolling around the park, hands clasped behind her back, today she was wearing a black dress that emphasizes her curves charmingly. Her silver hair swayed with the air as she walked with grace in her steps, long silver lashes fluttered as curious midnight eyes roamed the place, taking in everything with delighted wonder.

She was beautiful in her picture.

But nothing compared to her exquisite beauty in person.

As she walked, people turned their heads to stare at the ethereal beauty that she possessed. The vampire continued on, unfazed by the attention she was getting simply just by walking. I eyed the people around her, these civilians didn't know that she was a vampire, no one would've suspected she was. If I had seen her by accident today, the chances of her being a vampire wouldn't have crossed my mind in the slightest.

I snapped out of my trance when I noticed the distance that had separated us. Remembering my mission, I continued on trailing after her, casually acting as if I was strolling in the park myself.

My eyes slowly moved back towards her, stealing more glances than I should, but I couldn't help it. The way her silver hair caught the light from the sun, shining brightly it kept drawing my attention.

It reminded me of when the sunlight reflected upon a layer of frozen water.

I took a moment to pause when she sat down on the bench, casually eyeing the people around her, a pleasant smile on her face. Her posture relaxed yet she still managed to extract that aura of grace and elegance around her.

I snapped my eyes away when I felt something tugging at my pants. Looking down, a little girl with wide amethyst eyes was staring up towards me.

"Mister, can you help me?" There was a quiver in her voice, small lips trembling causing me to crouch down at her level immediately.

"What's wrong?" I furrowed my brows, looking her over, checking if she was in any discomfort.

Her small hands tightened around my pants, "I got separated from my brother."

She was lost. Shit. Scanning the area quickly, I tried to gauge if there was anyone in the crowd looking for a missing little girl. So far, no one acted concerned for her whereabouts, people continued on their merry ways. I stole a glance towards the woman, panicking internally when I didn't see her at the bench. She must've walked away while I was distracted. I looked down at the girl, I couldn't possibly leave her on her own devices in such a public place where danger could lurk anywhere. But on the other hand, I had a mission to see through, a mission I couldn't jeoporize or risk just for a little girl who got lost.

"...Mister?" She questioned in a small voice, she sounded so unsure and scared that I couldn't possibly leave her alone.

I let out a sigh, accepting my fate. I'd deal with losing the vampire later. For now, I have to help this little girl.

"Where did you last see your brother?" I asked gently.

She sniffed, willing the tears away from breaking out. "Near the fountain."

I glanced over her shoulder towards the fountain, people had been littering near it, but so far no one seemed to be looking for someone. 

"What's your name?"

"Almira."

I stood up, offering her my hand. "Take my hand, Almira." I gently smiled at her, "So you won't get lost again and let's go find your brother together."

Amira nodded her head and reached out towards me when someone suddenly stopped her from taking my hand.

"Little girl, don't you know that you shouldn't accept a stranger's hand so easily?"

Annoyed, I look towards the owner of the hand who has so brazenly accused me of intending something else when my only intention was to help.

I was met with the most dazzling midnight eyes that entranced you into its black depths.

My breath hitched inside my throat, realizing who the person was before me. Long silver hair fell over her shoulder, leaning down towards the little girl. I tensed, knowing that the girl could be in potential danger within the vampire's presence.

"This sister is worried about your safety, so I will come along with you." Soft pink lips stretched out into a reassuring smile. She pointed towards me," To make sure this big brother doesn't do anything bad."

I crossed my arms across my chest, the audacity to accuse me when she was the danger here itself. "I'm not that kind of person. I was only trying to help. Besides," I eyed her hand pointedly that was still holding the little girl's wrist. "Speak for yourself."

She ignored my words, deciding to focus her attention on the little girl once more. "Where did you say your brother was?"

"A-At the fountain…"

The vampire nodded her head, silver hair fluttering with the wind as she stood straighter. Her hand grasped the little girl gently as she led her towards the fountain.

I followed after them without hesitating. I couldn't leave a defenseless little girl alone with a vampire, now could I? Besides, the situation was in my favor. I could keep my eye on her while helping the little girl as an excuse.

She glanced over her shoulder, "Why are you following us, Mister?"

I scowled at her, "She asked for my help first. Like you said, children shouldn't follow strangers that easily."

A knowing smile graced her lips, making me uneasy. She shrugged, facing forward. "Suit yourself, then."

We arrived at the fountain. She sat herself on the edge, helping the girl, Almira, to sit beside her. The girl's head kept moving around, looking over at the people, anxiously searching for her brother.

"This place is quite beautiful, isn't it?" She tried conversing, casually leaning back, watching the people walking around the place.

"It is." I clipped back shortly. I couldn't help but tense with this whole ordeal. Hoping internally for the little girl's brother to arrive at the fountain to meet his lost sister immediately. The more time she spends with the vampire's presence, the more dangerous it would be.

We waited for quite some time, still no sign of her brother anywhere. Eventually, Almira grew tired, she leaned her head on the vampire's arm, making me tense as she fell asleep. This innocent soul didn't know she was leaning against a vampire who had been playing humanity. The vampire let her rest on her, she didn't even bat an eye at the action, as if finding it as an ordinary occurrence in everyday life. A human girl leaning to rest on a vampire. How ironic. I stood there stiffly, eyeing them from the corner of my eyes. Ready to spring into action if the vampire moves against the little girl.

Silence filled the air, the woman hummed to herself, not bothered by anything one bit. She opened her mouth after a while. "What business do you have with me? You've been following me since earlier."

My head snapped towards her, shocked that she knew that I was trailing after her this whole time. I quickly masked my features impassively. I raised a brow, "Excuse me?"

She looked at me, the corner of her lips lifting up. As if she found my pretense amusing. "You heard me. I know you've been after me."

"What makes you think I am?"

She chuckled, "You can't fool me. You have the Professor's scent around you."

My brows shot up, I can only guess that the professor she was hinting about is Simon who she had in contact with previously. I faced the people once again. "You know why I'm here, then."

"Am I under evaluation? There's really no need to do that. I'm not gonna attempt anything." She smiled, trying to coax me into trusting her.

I scoffed, muttering underneath my breath. "For now."

She chuckled, hearing my words. "Yes, I will have to, eventually."

I eyed her skeptically, "Why are you even here? What's a vampire like you planning?"

She tilted her head to the side, "Nothing bad, really." The woman met my eyes, "I'm only here for a single cause, an objective that aligns with your organization."

"And what is this said objective?"

Her stare remained in place, never wavering against mine. "To stop the vampires."

I furrowed my brows, she wanted to stop the vampires? Her own kin that has been attacking humanity? Why would she want that? There wasn't any benefit for her. Human blood causes the vampires to get stronger, and it was their source for nourishment, so why would she stop her fellow vampires?

I replied a second later, "...Why?"

She smiled, "Because it's the right thing to do. No one wants conflict, not even you, right?"

Almira stirred beside her, getting my attention. She opened her sleepy eyes, hand reaching out to stroke her stomach who then decided it was the appropriate time to growl loudly.

The woman let out a laugh, "Oh, my. It seems like you're hungry. It's due lunch, let's have this kind Mister here buy us food shall we?"

At the mention of food, the girl's eyes brightened, looking up at me hopefully. I sighed, knowing full well I couldn't let a young child starve to death.

I motioned towards the shop at the other side of the fountain, silently telling her to follow. Almira jumped out of her seat, falling into step beside me, hand instinctively reaching for mine. The woman followed after us, accepting my silent invitation.

The waiter greeted us, prompting us towards the table for three, openly greeting us as family, mistaking me and the vampire as a married couple with a young child. I could feel the back of my neck and the top of my ears heat up. I coughed, telling him that there was no family in sight, causing him to apologize.

The vampire only smiled through it all, highly amused by the state of events.

We took our table, lunch was a peaceful affair. Almira filled in the silence, telling us stories about her and her brother. I found out that they were orphans, being taken care of by the orphanage nearby. Normally, they wouldn't have been able to get out without supervision, but her brother had other business to attend to assigned to him by the orphanage. Almira had pleaded with her brother to bring her along the park nearby. They had stopped at the fountain momentarily for rest when the flowers caught her attention, before she knew it, she was lost in the crowd.

According to her, she saw me standing by myself under the shade of the tree, prompting her to come ask for my help. Strangely enough, she had said that there was a strange light around me, making me tilt my head to the side. It was odd, but I brushed it aside, surely it was nothing more than childlike wonder. After all, children have the tendency to have imaginative minds.

The vampire was silent throughout it all, listening with prompt attention, nodding and humoring Almira along the way.

At the end of lunch, I decided to accompany Almira back to the orphanage if we still didn't catch her brother.

We didn't see him.

With sunken shoulders, we went with the little girl back to her temporary room, the caregiver was surprised to see Almira out of the house accompanied by strangers. Surprisingly, it was the vampire who explained the situation to her. I eyed her from the corner of my eyes suspiciously, wondering what she was up to.

I caught her staring intently at the house.

Noticing my stare, she turned her head to meet my eyes. "What?"

I gave her a meaningful look, knowing full well that she knows why I was suspicious.

She rolled her eyes, raising her hands in surrender.

The caregiver cleared her throat, asking us to wait while she takes Almira back into the house, checking if her brother has come back from his errands as well. Almira waved us goodbye as she entered the house.

Silence filled the air. I stubbornly faced forward while I could feel the vampire beside me burn holes through my side.

She broke the silence. "What's your name?"

I crossed my arms. "And why should I tell you?"

She moved her hand behind her back, "Because, I can tell we'll be working closely together from now on."

She was probably right. No matter what Team Leah reports back to Simon, he would most likely still accept her offer. So far, we haven't found anything suspicious about her yet, no dirt to use against her, while she had one against our heads.

I raised a brow at her, "It's customary to introduce yourself first when asking for someone's name."

The corner of her lips tugged upwards, if she noticed my silent confirmation about her speculation, she didn't show it. "Yes, how rude of me. It seems life here in the human world has caused me to forget my manners." She sighed, motioning the place around us with her hands. "It is so free here, and beautiful. Humans aren't restrained by social hierarchy. Not the same one's back at home of course. My name's Rei la Dominique." She offered her hand, smiling bright.

I eyed her hand, hesitant to reach out. "...Cain Havenach."

A gasp tore from her lips when our skin met, our hands touching as she looked down on my hand in a trance. Our eyes met, I was taken aback by the intensity of her midnight eyes.

"Cain…" A shiver ran up my spine, the way she said my name had me mesmerized. "You're special, aren't you?"

Surprised, I took a step back, retching my hand free away from hers. I moved away from her with a scoff, "What are you talking about?"

"You can't fool me. I can tell these things you know." She said with an amused tint to her voice.

I turned to glare at her, "I don't know what you're on about."

She tilted her head to the side. As if humoring me, she shrugged her shoulders, causing silver hair to flutter. "Okay."

The caregiver returned. Telling us that Almira's brother has not come home yet, but do not worry as they had it taken care of. She also thanked us for bringing Almira back home.

After saying my goodbyes, I turned to face the vampire. I cursed underneath my breath, seeing the empty space. The vampire had slipped away while I was busy talking, and I didn't even notice.

The only sign of her presence was the sweet fragrance that lingered in the air on where she once stood.

(A/N: This is the heavily edited chapter of Calamity. After a year of working on this story, I realized that some chapters need some heavy editing. I had originally planned to combine chapter one and two together, but seeing as how long the chapter already is, I decided to stick to one for now. However, there's no guarantee that I won't be combining two chapters together so that readers could read easily without cutting it off at random moments. If you compared previous chapter one to this edited version of chapter one, you would notice that the two are completely different. I modified the events and everything in this first chapter to suit how the characters would later be in the upcoming events. I strongly advise to read the Edited version of Calamity rather than the unedited work because I had come to work hard and improve my grammar and errors on my unedited work. I will be posting the Edited version of Calamity at both Mangatoon and ******* under the pen name Seiryuu.)

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