Almost two centuries had passed since vampires emerged from the shadows. After declaring themselves as the dominant species and for all humans to be captured, mortals were made into blood slaves, traitorous employees with protections, or lowly anima...
[This alternate universe takes place in Japan. Assume all conversations are in Japanese unless stated otherwise. This episode was a met goal from the Tapas Inksgiving 2022 event]
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[20xx, Fukuoka, Japan]
Teru scolded himself for losing his grey mittens. He was positive he had dropped them when that drunkard bumped into him at the bus station. After he tripped on the icy sidewalk, his hand was scratched and bleeding where he had caught himself.
Though Teru later got off the bus to backtrack to Hakata Station to find them, they were gone. It was unusual! If something was lost, samaritans would always put the item aside for the owner to find it later. Literally, there was a left-behind umbrella hung behind the bench, where it had been for the past eight months! Why hadn't the thief done the same when he was only gone for fifteen minutes?!
The mittens were Teru's favorite pair and had worn them whenever he was cold. Mom spent a good while hand-sewing a crane on the backsides; a little gaudy for his generation who preferred anime and English word designs, but it was a labor of love. That made them worth more than any brand-name designer mittens.
Sorry, Mom.
This especially upset him because it was the last gift from her ever since his parent's unfortunate car accident three years ago. There were many rumors and speculations about the circumstances behind it; possible foul play involving bad people. It was much too complicated for Teru to think about now.
He threw the stressful thoughts of the mafia into a box in his mind and closed it. He wished it would stay locked away forever, along with the other boxes of messed up secrets that no one should discover about himself.
Teru would try not to let this ruin his evening. 'Try' was the keyword.
Groaning at how frostbitten his fingers felt, he yawned and shoved his hands in his coat pocket. He was freezing despite being on the heated bus, heading home to his apartment. He shared it with Yuta, who was two years older and his high school sweetheart.
At 4:30 P.M., the sun was already setting, pretty normal for December.
For the past year, Teru had been working at a convenience store when he turned 19 in the fall. Minimum wage, but the nightshift hours made the paycheck slightly higher than the day hours.
Teru was supposed to get off work earlier that day at 10 A.M. since he was part of the night crew, but his boss frantically begged and bowed for him to cover for his flaky co-worker. Supposedly, she caught a cold. That was bullshit. The truth was, no one wanted to work on New Year's Eve.
Feeling bad for his elderly boss, Teru reluctantly worked two shifts. He was given a baggie of almost-expired cakes from their location that would've been thrown away as a thank you.
![This episode was a met goal from the Tapas Inksgiving 2022 event]](https://img.wattpad.com/b649d7a3120f4d202ac13b1f18806dc213ce24f2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f374e67384e6f34684564777072513d3d2d313330313036313737352e313733363065373130633261383131613739333137303330313938352e6a7067?s=fit&w=720&h=720)
