"C'mon Yuu-kun, try this yummy daifuku!"

"No, have some of my taiyaki!"

"Both of you, shut up! I'm not hungry!"

Christmas Eve. It was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. But for Yuichiro, this day had been the complete opposite of the term "wonderful".

Because what was wonderful about almost being murdered?

Yuu's parents had always mistreated him ever since he was a toddler. For the most part, they would ignore him. But if Yuu had made the smallest mistake, such as accidently breaking a plate or getting low marks on a quiz, his mother would beat the living shit out of him. Sometimes, she would lock him up in a cage and starve him if her mood were worse than usual. Yuu's father on the other hand would ignore the abuse his wife would inflict on his son as if it weren't his problem. But if he were drunk...

Well, let's just say it wasn't pretty.

By the age of five, Yuu had gotten used to the abuse. He wouldn't get upset at his parents when they hurt him. In fact, he starting believing that he deserved to be punished. Maybe he was simply a dumb child. Maybe those tiny mistakes really were a huge deal. Maybe Yuu really was accountable for his own punishments.

But there was no explanation for what had happened this morning.

Yuu had been minding his own business, reading one of the books he had been assigned to complete over the winter break when his parents suddenly barged into his room.

"Yuu? There's something we need to-"

"Don't talk to the little shit! Kill him already! He deserves no mercy!"

"Sweetie, calm down. It's not exactly his fault. He doesn't know that he is a-"

"Shut up and stab him or I'll do it myself!"

The moment he saw the knife his father held and his mother's rage, Yuu bolted past his parents and ran out of the house. He didn't know how long he had been running, trying to escape from that hellish place, but by sheer luck, he had bumped into a cop who had noticed the young boy's facial expression and asked what had frightened him. Several hours later, his parents were arrested for child abuse and attempted murder, while Yuu himself was sent to the Hyakuya orphanage until things had been sorted out.

"Do not worry Yuichiro. We promise to take good care of you." the kind owner of the orphanage promised.

Honestly, he'd rather be with his parents than a group of children who don't seem to give a damn about his situation. Then again, it wasn't exactly their fault. They didn't have a clue what Yuu had been through, did they?

The bright lights, the jolly music, the festive parade- it was all too much for him to handle. Kicking the snow with the battered old boots the orphanage had lent him, Yuu snuck away from his new "family" and sat down on a wooden bench away from the festivities.

Much better. Being alone was exactly what he needed right now. Looking up from the ground, Yuu watched the snowflakes cascade around him. They were so delicate, so pure, so...

A snowflake fell on the palm of his glove. Yuu expected it to melt immediately, only for it to crystallize into a complex, two-dimensional shape. A warm, fuzzy feeling rippled through him, making feel calmer than he was before.

It was the most beautiful thing he saw.

A smile flickered across his face. Yuu wished he could take a photo, or had some way to preserve the snowflake in his palm. But he didn't have a camera, and even if he did have one, by the time he took a photo, the snowflake would have melted away.

Oh well. Some things were just meant to be admired in the wild-

"What'cha looking at, Yuu-chan?"

Yuu's head snapped up to see a pair of blue orbs staring into his soul. Yelping, he fell off the bench, face-planting in the snow-covered ground.

Spitting out the mouthful of snow he engulfed, Yuu pulled himself up to his feet and sent an accusatory glare at whatever scared- er, distracted him.

Oh, it was one of the kids who dragged him out of the orphanage. What was his name again, Micheal?

And what the hell did he just call him? Yuu-chan? He wasn't a girl!

Cocking his head to the side, the boy took in Yuu's snow-coated appearance. "You okay?" he finally asked.

"What do you think?" Yuu shot back.

The boy held up his hands in an innocent fashion. "I didn't mean to frighten you, I just noticed you were staring at your hand and smiling."

Oh. He was asking about that. "Well, I was fine until you came along."

The boy frowned and tucked a blond curl behind his ear. "Well, why were you looking at your palm?" he asked.

Oh for the love of- "Why do you care?"

"I don't know, I just do."

In that moment, Yuu wanted to yeet off of a cliff. Was this freaking kid stupid or something? Why couldn't he see that he wanted to be left alone? Besides, telling someone he was admiring a snowflake was embarrassing.

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me if you want to," the kid answered with a smile.

Yuu would've just left then and returned to the orphanage, but for some reason he wanted the boy to stay with him. Taking a deep breath, Yuu stepped forward and look the kid in the eye. "Promise you won't laugh?" he asked cautiously.

"I promise."

"Alright..." Yuu cleared his throat. "Iwaslookingatasnowflake." he blurted out.

The other boy blinked. "What did you say?"

"I- um- snowflake-" Yuu stuttered, attempting to form a proper sentence.

"Why were you looking at a snowflake?"

What was this, twenty questions? "Because it looked cool?" he answered awkwardly.

The blond-haired boy's eyes light up. "Really?" he asked, reaching out and catching a snowflake. He glanced at his palm, only for his face to fall. "It melted..."

"Maybe you have the wrong kind of gloves," Yuu said with a shrug. "See, when I-"

The moment the snowflake made contact with his glove, it immediately melted. "What the heck?" he gasped.

"Maybe you imagined it?" the boy suggested.

"No, I swear-"

"Mika-kun!"

Yuu turned around to see one of the other kids who lived at the orphanage- Akane was her name- running towards them.

"T-the fireworks are starting in two minutes!" she exclaimed.

"Epic!" Mika cheered. "Come on, Yuu-chan, we have to hurry if you don't want to miss them!"

"Would you please stop calling me that-" Before he could finish his sentence, Mika grabbed his hand and started to pull him

By the time they arrived at the city square, everyone else gathered there was already counting down.

"Thirty-three! Thirty-two! Thirty-one!"

Rolling his eyes, Yuu joined in so he wouldn't look uninterested. Deep down, he regretted the loss of the peace he had with Mika. Guess they would have to finish their conversation later.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!"

Unknown to the civilians, a group of cloaked figures had entered the plaza. They looked up at they sky, but instead of looking for fireworks, they seemed to be awaiting something else...

"Three! Two! One! Merry Christmas!"

Colourful lights shot up and erupted in the sky. People cheered and hugged their loved ones.

"Isn't this awesome?" Mika yelled over the fireworks.

"Yeah, it is!" Yuu had to admit. Huh, guess coming out with everyone wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Look at those ones!" a girl with black hair and glasses pointed up.

Yuu looked where she was pointing to see bright purple lights slowly drifting past them. Weird, why were they going downwards? And why hadn't they burst yet?

"Is it just me, or are they coming closer?" Akane asked with concern.

"Maybe they're shooting stars!" one of the other kids exclaimed. "Everyone, make a wish!"

"Kouta." Mika said firmly.

"Yeah, what? Hurry up, I need to make my wish-"

"Those aren't stars."

The moment those words left his lips, the "star" crashed into the middle of the plaza. Everyone screamed and ran out of the way as debris fell around them.

"What is that?!" Yuu yelled.

The creature looked like a huge, white and pink moth made of machinery. Next to it spawned another, larger creature with a similar structure, but this one almost resembled a bear.

And then it pounced on the man closest to it, crashing him.

"Is this supposed to be part of the event?" Akane whimpered.

"I don't think so!" Mika gulped.

The monsters ripping people apart wasn't the worst part. If people weren't killed by them, they started to transform into something else. A teenager's eyes turned orange, his skin became a matted gray and his hair turned white. He ran forward and impaled a woman's chest before feeding on her flesh.

"Whoa, zombies!" the boy named Kouta grinned, his eyes sparkling.

"This isn't funny, Kouta!" Akane snapped. "We have to get out of here!

"Let's go back home. Okaasan will know what to do!" Mika ordered.

So they ran past the destroyed buildings and corpses, dodging the zombies that tore each other apart. They were almost at the orphanage when a giant floating monster covered in armour appeared in front of them.

"Run!" Akane screamed.

But there was nowhere to go. From the left came more monsters and from behind them stalked more zombies.

"Maybe if I punch it in the face it'll be stunned long enough for us to get out of here..." Yuu muttered.

"I don't want to sound rude Yuu-chan, but that's a really stupid idea!" Mika exclaimed, stepping back.

The monster reared back, ready to strike when-

It was cut clean in half. When the creature fell, a cloaked person sheathed the blade it had used to kill it. They stepped forward and pushed their hood back to reveal a person with pointed ears and... red eyes?

"Let's go, brats. We're running out of time." he ordered. As he spoke, Yuu caught a glimpse of razor-sharp canines in his mouth.

"Go where?" Mika demanded.

"If you don't want to die, you will come to the underground city with us. In exchange for your blood-"

He never got to finish because Yuu kicked him between the legs. The person screamed in pain before grabbing at his length.

"Hurry!" Yuu hissed, tugging one of the kids along with him.

"Wow, I'm surprised that that actually worked," Akane laughed nervously as she ran alongside them.

"Attention, human beings," a voice echoed from unseen speakers. "The third Honkai eruption has begun as a result of your sinful acts. You have angered the Gods, so they are bestowing their wrath in the form of this punishment upon you."

"What in the world is she talking about?!" Yuu gasped.

"The Honkai will attack any human in a two meter radius and turn them into zombies from the Honkai energy emitted from them. Humanity is therefore doomed."

"However, we, the vampires, are unaffected by the curse and so are human children under the age of thirteen. However, they can still kill you, even if you are a child. If you wish to live, you will stay with us in Sanguineum in exchange for your blood."

By then, Yuu, Mika, Akane and the others had arrived at the Hyakuya Orphanage. Gasping for air, they held their knees, taking in their surroundings. The streets where they currently stood were vacant- there was no sign of damage or monsters- Honkai was what the woman who cast the audio message had called them- or cloaked figures.

"Looks like we're finally safe," Akane announced.

"Yeah," Mika smiled. "Come on everyone, we better get inside."

Of all things that could have possibly gone down this night, this had to be the worst. Like come on, vampires and monsters that look like they came straight from a Mecha anime? If someone had told Yuu prior the events of today, Yuu would take being stabbed by his parents over this shit any day. And yet, if he hadn't been brought to the orphanage, he wouldn't have met Mika, Akane and the other Hyakuya orphans. As much as he hated to admit it, he had grown attached to them.

They're the family I never had...

"No way in hell are we going to become human blood bags," Yuu growled.

But the moment his hand touched the doorknob, the woman who comforted him earlier today stepped out, her orange eyes devoid of emotion.

"No, she's been turned too!" Akane cried.

"Everyone, behind me!" Mika stepped forward in a protective stance. Yuu hurried alongside him, holding his arms out in front of the youngest members of the group.

"If anything happens to us, just run." Yuu whispered, quoting that one protagonist of that superhero movie.

"O-okasaan, it's me, Akane. Don't you recognize us?" Akane asked, her voice trembling.

The zombie bared her teeth before bringing her hand up, ready to strike, stab, or however she was going to hurt the small, brave girl in front of her. Akane took a step back, put her arm in front of her face and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blow.

But it never came. Because just then, a vampire swooped down from the roof and drove her blade into the zombie's chest, pulling it out clean like it was nothing. She stepped forward, took in the sight of the terrified children and smirked.

"Looks like I've hit the jackpot. Children under the age of ten have the sweetest blood." she mused as she returned her sword to its sheath.

"Look, we're not going with you. Take another step and I'll kick your ass!" Yuu threatened.

The girl behind him gasped. "You cussed!"

The vampire's smile faded. "Language," she hissed. "And do you seriously think you can beat me up? How old are you, seven?"

"I'm eight!"

Mika cleared his throat to prevent Yuu from saying anything that might get them in trouble. "Sorry about my friend. He... doesn't exactly have the best manners."

"Hey!"

The vampire rolled her eyes before bending down to her knees so she was at eye level with Yuu. "Let me put this in a way you kids can understand. I'm under strict orders from the Queen to capture any human children and take them to Sanguineum. The more children I bring in, the more I get paid." she explained.

"I don't care if you don't get- mmpf!" Yuu grunted as Akane jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

"It's also for your benefit too. I mean, think about it; how long would you kids be able to survive alone in a city roaming with Honkai and the undead?" the vampire continued, tucking a lock of auburn hair behind her pointed ear. "Not to mention, your guardian kind of... died."

Yuu opened his mouth to protest when Mika silenced him with a stern look. "We don't have much of a choice," he pointed out. "If we stay out here, we're dead meat."

"That's true," Akane nodded. "It's better than nothing."

Yuu could come up with a ton of reasons on why this was a terrible idea, but they were right; it was probably a much better alternative to be under the care of vampires than having to deal with Honkai. Swallowing his pride, he turned back to the soldier, who looked as if she had better things to do rather than negotiate with children.

"Fine. We'll come with you." he said.

The vampire grinned in satisfaction. "Excellent. Now hurry up, we don't have all day. The sun will come up soon and I don't want to turn to ash."

"But only on one condition."

The vampire groaned and looked down at the ground in frustration. "What now?"

Yuu glanced at the rest of the orphans. Sure, they were terrified by the situation they had wound up in, but he could see courage in their eyes. He felt an I-ain't-going-down-without-a-fight aura emitting off of them. They were in this together and we're ready to take any challenge that comes their way.

"Whatever you, don't separate us. We're all part of the same family and would prefer to be in each other's company." he said.

"Our last names are Hyakuya!" the youngest child- Ako?- shouted out.

Yuu's surname was not actually Hyakuya, but he liked the sound of it. Besides, his parents weren't part of his life anymore. By now, they had probably turned into zombies or were mauled by the Honkai.

The vampire looked as if she didn't believe them, but shrugged and beckoned them to follow her. "I'll see what I can do. Now stop wasting time. Don't try anything funny because I'll know in an instant."

"Yes!" Akane whispered.

Yuu hurried to catch up with others, hoping they had made the right choice. But that didn't really matter now. Catching a snowflake in his glove, he watched as it started to crystallize into its fascinating structure, while relishing the odd, but welcoming connection between him and it.

For the first time ever, he had a family who loved him.