Red Moon Over Poe's Masquerade

Aloha, Hawaii!

     Getting to Hawaii wasn't much of a hassle. The problem was who Ren's roommate ended up being. Granted, he and Yuuki were good friends, but Mishima was an ordinary human. He knew how to hide his true self from humans, but there were still risks involved with letting a vampire and a human share a room. Finding suitable prey at night was easy though. There were cheating honey-mooners staying in the same hotel as them, as well as crooked business-people and corrupt politicians. Even better, with this being a hotel there was little danger of overfeeding. The only real risk was in getting caught.

     A pleasant surprise came the next day when Yusuke and Goro showed up at the hotel. Ren, Ryuji, Ann, and Makoto were talking about what to do, given that Shujin hadn't really planned anything, and were shocked to find them there. "Aren't you two supposed to be in Los Angeles right now?" the older girl asked, to which the blue-haired boy answered that a storm caused a sudden change in destination. The younger vampire added, "A literal storm isn't the only one brewing there either. There is a lot of political unrest as well." "Kine or kindred?" the older vampire asked,

     "Yes."

     "Typical LA, getting caught up in squabbling amongst themselves. I'm surprised America's civil war didn't happen there." Ryuji piped up, "For real? You been there? Shouldn't be surprised, in fact, you've prolly been here too, haven't ya?"

     "Yes to both, actually. As to when, can't really discuss it out in the open."

     They eventually decided on going on a shopping spree. Much to their disappointment, what they were seeing of Hawaii so far wasn't all that different from Japan. Each other's company certainly compensated though. While waiting for the two girls to be done, the boys met a Shujin third-year student with fluffy hair. Ren noticed a troubled look in her eyes and scanned her. In her aura were batches of orange, pink, and vermilion. An unusual combination of colors, which told him that she was under unusual circumstances. Before he could ask her about anything though, their free time ended and it was time to return to the hotel.

     The two blondes were trapped outside of their rooms due to their roommates' actions, so they decided to stay with Ren and Mashima for the night. The problem was there were only two beds and a couch, which meant that someone would end up sleeping on the floor. Well, unless someone was willing to share anyway, which Ren was. So that took care of that problem.

     Back in Japan; however, the conspiracy was moving in full swing, getting rid of anyone who might betray them at any given point in time. This led to Kobayakawa's untimely demise. In Hawaii, the couple reconvened and noticed how little Mishima was enjoying the trip. It didn't take them long to find something to change that; however. Yusuke learned that Hifumi was in Hawaii as well, and so the group decided to set the two humans up on a blind date, while they enjoyed a date on the beach. The group came across a garlic shrimp stand and wanted to try some, but Ren and Goro couldn't, because of what they were. Even without the garlic, their encounter with Kaneshiro and his men resulted in Ren losing some of his humanity for the first time, and as a result, only being able to handle wine now, which he couldn't drink because his mask was underage. It was a good thing he was having such an easy time grabbing snacks. Goro, on the other hand, had even more difficulty than normal due to just how few kindred there were in Hawaii, but thankfully his oldest beau was more than willing to satisfy, in more ways than one.