“Your grandmother?” Keiko blinked as she ate with Haru on the school rooftop.
“You’re going to meet her tomorrow,” he said, “We need to make sure you’re prepared.”
“What do I need to do?” she asked.
Haru answered, “I’m not sure you understand, Keiko-chan. My grandmother is incredibly dangerous. I tried to hide our relationship from her, but I could only do that for a time. As long as you’re in a relationship with me, you’ll be in danger.”
“I knew about your grandmother, Haru-kun,” Keiko stated, “I knew the risks.”
“I’ll be sure to protect you, Keiko-chan,” Haru replied, “There are three things you need to remember when dealing with my grandmother.”
Keiko spoke, “What are they?”
“First, be as polite as possible. Pretend you’re the wife of a samurai if you have to.”
“Alright, be polite.”
“Second, if she asks you to pick a gift, choose the smaller gift,” Haru stated.
“Choose the smaller gift,” she nodded.
Haru said, “Third, and the most important one, be kind to any animal you meet on the way there.”
“Be kind to animals,” Keiko spoke, “Baba Yaga must like animals.”
He replied, “No, she hates them.”
“Then why is being kind to animals a rule?” Keiko was confused.
“Because grandmother might ask you to do something,” Haru explained, “If she does, you’ll need their help.”
Haru grabbed her shoulders, “Keiko-chan. No matter what, don’t forget these rules.”
Keiko said, “Don’t worry, Haru-kun, I’ll remember the rules.”
“We can’t back out of this now.”
The door to the rooftop swung open and Erik ran out of it.
“I finally found you, Baba Haru,” he said.
“Who are you?” Haru asked.
“His name is Date Kenji,” Keiko explained, “He’s a student in our class.”
The vampire stated, “That’s a fake name. My real name is Erik Egilson.”
Haru prodded him with his magical senses. To Haru, Erik emanated a freezing chill.
“You’re vampire, and a powerful one too. I presume that the vampire who attacked us works for you?” Haru extended his arm, preparing his wind spell.
Erik held up his hands, “I come in peace, grandson of Baba Yaga. I punished my idiot subordinate for his actions. I don’t want to fight.”
Keiko said, “Hang on, your subordinate? I know that vampires don’t age, but how old are you?”
“I’m over 1100 years old,” he replied.
“That old?” her eyes widened in shock, “To think that someone like that is in our high school.”
“Actually, why are you in high school? You’re over 1100 years old! Don’t you have better things to do?” Haru asked.
Erik’s eye twitched, “You want to know why I’m in high school?”
“That is a pretty good question,” Keiko admitted.
“Because I was turned into a vampire when I was fifteen. Back then, I was a legal adult.” Anger steadily rose through Erik’s voice, “Then you pathetic weaklings got the idea that people needed more time than that to mature. And with the way I look, no amount of documentation will make people think I’m older than that.”
Haru said, “Is that a sore spot?”
The vampire shouted, “You’re damn right that’s a sore spot! I had a wife and 3 kids before I was 20, I’ll have you know! I commanded a group of vikings! I fought many glorious battles, and now I can’t even get a drink without some simpering girly man trying to arrest me!”
“That sounds pretty awful,” Keiko stated before realizing something, “Hang on, why aren’t you affected by Haru’s curse?”
“Because I’m not a moron. Any vampire with a modicum of sense does his research before making a judgment,” he replied.
“If you don’t like living in modern society, why don’t you live in a castle in the middle of nowhere like other vampires do?” Haru asked.
Erik said, “No way in Hel am I giving up my internet connection!”
The witch shrugged, “Fair enough, but why are you here? It can’t just be to apologize.”
“It’s because I need your help,” Erik admitted, “Some people followed me around with cameras. I think they know I’m a vampire.”
“Cameras? Like that?” Haru pointed at a camera that was just rising above the side of the building.
“Like that!” Erik jumped back.
Haru cast a quick incantation and wind blew a piece of paper over the camera. It bobbed down.
The vampire smiled, “Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do! Use some sort of magic to get them to stop following me.”
“I can do that,” Haru thought it through, “But I’ll need a favor in return. You must have met a lot of witches in your life.”
Erik asked, “I have. What do you need help with?”
“Haru-kun’s grandmother,” Keiko answered, “I’m going to visit her this weekend.”
“I’ve dealt with a lot of witches in the past, but Baba Yaga’s on another level. Besides, I avoid conflict with witches whenever I can because of how powerful they are,” the vampire said.
“I don’t want you to fight her. I want you to come to my house with Keiko-chan and help give grandmother a good impression of her,” Haru replied.
“That’s something I can do,” Erik stated, “And when will you deal with the people following me?”
The witch spoke, “Monday. We’ll go to grandmother’s house this weekend. Grandmother and I are the only ones who can get through that forest, so they won’t be able to get there without my help.”
Ved'ma Story 