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A.N. Warning: sexual assault. Mika is also mean to Yuu at the beginning, but don't worry, Lacus knocks some sense into him. Mika is not a vampire in this one. Don't worry, there will be plenty of Vamp!Mika fics to come. 
                          
~
                          
"BREAKING NEWS! Couple dies in a fatal car accident. Off of 6th street, a truck driven by 40-year-old John Smith struck the car in the center, killing both the driver and the passenger of the vehicle. The victims have been identified as Hotoro and Nayama Amane. Smith was rushed to the hospital where he faces minor injuries. More information on the incident to come."
                          
~
                          
Yuichiro woke up with a gasp, a thin sheen of sweat coating his body. He was lying in bed, shivering and sweating at the same time, the same nightmare coming back to him with full force. It was always the same: the news flashing on in his little hotel in New York City, the reporter covering the story of his parents' death while Yuichiro watched with a heartbroken expression on his face, blood-soaked tissues stacked over his left knee and tears streaming down his cheeks. Yuichiro remembers being rushed back to Tokyo where he was shoved into an orphanage until he was 18.
                          
Luckily for him, he wasn't entirely on his own. He may have been young to be living by myself, but Yuichiro was mature and did his best to handle everything. At school he had met his best friend, Mitsuba, so he wasn't exactly lonely. But once Mitsuba's grandma fell ill, the only contact Yuichiro had with her was through the phone. He wouldn't want to disturb her last moments with her grandmother, anyway. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one.
                          
Yuichiro's parents had died when he was only 12 years old, which left him in the orphanage for six whole years. Yuichiro didn't miss that hell one bit, although he did have to admit that it was much better having people take care of him than having to take care of himself. Since he didn't have anyone to help support him or even a college fund, Yuichiro was unable to go to college, which left him in a shitty job at a gas station.
                          
The hours were absolutely insane. Yuichiro would leave at six in the morning and come home at two in the morning. Sometimes it was even worse than that, like leaving for work at 7 in the morning and returning home at 4 in the morning. On average, Yuichiro got between 3-4 hours of sleep.
                          
Due to his exhaustion, his performance at work wasn't fantastic. But Yuichiro did his best anyway. He just had to focus on not falling asleep, especially when his boss was around. Despite all that, he still only made minimum wage and unfortunately for him, the cheapest apartment he could find was well over $1,000 a month. The cost of living in Tokyo was too expensive, but Yuichiro had no choice. He couldn't move anywhere, he just couldn't afford it.
                          
Yuichiro didn't have any means of transportation besides the train and subway. In terms of food, Yuichiro got as much as he could afford at a small convenience store around the corner from work. Yuichiro would often go there at two in the morning when he got out of work, thankful that the little place was open 24/7. But the boy was still starving, only able to afford some milk and a few ramen containers. Everything was just too expensive.
                          
It didn't help that Yuichiro had one devil of a landlord. If he could've moved, he sure as hell would have. But there were no other cheap options for him, so he was stuck with what he had. Rent for that month was due soon, and Yuichiro had gotten an hour decrease after his boss hired someone way more lively than him. He didn't think much of it at the time, figuring he could sacrifice his internet and a couple of bottles of milk if it meant that he could pay rent that month.
                          
But Yuichiro's hours kept decreasing.
                          
"Um, sir?" Yuichiro approached his boss one Monday morning, having just finished a small two-hour shift. He was thankful to be able to catch up on some sleep, but how was he able to when he was stressed about being able to afford rent?