Reading
Blood Alone, which is turning out way more action-packed and badass than the summary made it sound.
This entry is just because I realized a few chapters ago that this reminds me of nothing so much as a Darker than BLACK vampire AU.
I don't feel like flipping through Shikkoku no Hana to find a page with Hei and Misaki together, so have a fanart instead.
And now, Kuroe and Misaki:
Please note that "hei" and "kuro" are both words for black.
All right, now, quick: which manga series is this from?
How about this one:
If you guessed Blood Alone for both of them, you'd be right.
Kurose Kuroe is an author by day and a private investigator for hire by night. Minato Misaki is a newly turned loli vampire trying to stay on the straight and narrow.
Kuroe comes off as kind of a mild-mannered bookworm at first, which isn't entirely incorrect, but as the manga progresses you start to realize that you actually have no idea who this guy is.
His mission in life is to find his missing sister, who he has vaguely incestuous feelings towards, who may not be only what she seems either.
Minato Misaki herself is actually more of a combination of Kirihara Misaki and Yin, a good-hearted and determined girl with a crush on a guy a fair bit older than her. She doesn't have all that much trouble expressing her emotions, but she tends to be quite insecure about them and thus holds them somewhat close to her chest.
Interspersed among the seemingly ordinary characters are people with special powers, most of which were gained by forming a contract with the Gate a vampire.
My favourite character is actually one I relate to Amber: Higure, a vampire who looks about Misaki's age but is actually much older. He carries himself with the same wise-beyond-his-years charisma that Amber had, and seems to be developing a little fondness for Kuroe. He's both very nice and very scary at the same time, and there are few things I love more than that combo.
I'm only on Chapter 15, so I haven't decided how I feel about this story yet, but I really like what I've read so far. If I continue to like it, there may be silly crossover fic at some point in the future. XD