My brother deleted the first draft of this chapter. Ya, I get it that it was by mistake or something... but now, whenever he comes within a meter of my laptop, this happens.

Just kidding.

This time on Black&White:

All things start with squabbles in the Servamps' world. So, in keeping with the ageless tradition, the sloth pair begin to quarrel while on a mission. Well, it's mostly one-sided, with Mahiru shouting at his pet cat and Kuro mumbling about soft pillows. But hey, what else can you expect? At least they are not kicking each other across the streets like a certain violently weird pair...

*Present time*

Evening light quietly crept into the foggy, deserted part of the city. It was more close to night actually - but still, a ghostly, whitish light clung to the streets - streets themselves quite invisible amid the heavy fog blanketing the road. The fog was strange - wet and creamish - clinging and clawing at every bit of the deserted streets, pulling at each lone and hurrying passerby, as if it didn't want them to leave. Every now and then narrow alleys and by-lanes snaked away from the main road and disappeared to God knew where. 

There were no people on the streets, which wasn't exactly surprising in this part of the city. What was surprising, however, was the visible silhouette of two figures walking in the haze - or rather, one was walking; the other was being dragged along.

A grunt sliced through the thick fog.

 "Would you stand UP?" The owner of the voice asked the non-responding 'teen' he had been dragging along the road till then. 

Tired-looking red eyes looked up to his own brown ones, letting loose a drawn-out yawn. Mahiru huffed when he saw his prisoner's expression and dumped him on the road unceremoniously, but kept a tight hold on his jacket in case he tried to run.

"Why are you acting like this?" Though it was true that his Servamp wasn't the most active of the lot – what else do you expect from the Servamp of Sloth? – he certainly was acting too lazy for his Eve's liking. It was almost as if he was reluctant to come.

The other just rubbed the back of his head absentmindedly, but didn't move from the place where Mahiru had dropped him.

"Can't deal."

"With what?"

"...We have been walking for sooo long..."

"NO." Mahiru half-shouted at his stubborn companion, "I walked. You sat on my shoulder for the first part and now are being shamelessly dragged around just because you won't move on your own, you lazy cat!"

The other merely shrugged, "Meh, walking's a pain..."

"No, you are!" The other's replies were slowly getting on his last nerves.

The vampire turned his face sideways, away from a fuming Mahiru, "Gee, what a pain you are..."

"The feeling's mutual."

The Servamp proceeded to roll himself up into a very cat-like ball in his humanoid form only, "I just wanted a break, but you had to drag me into this..."

Mahiru's eyebrow twitched in irritation, "You're always on break, Kuro – it's not as if you have a ton of part-time jobs like Hyde-kun does. You are, simply put, the ideal definition of NEET! Also, we're in this together. So quit whining."

A sudden wail sounded from far away – or was it somewhere close by? – and echoed away eerily into the near-empty alleys. 

Mahiru shivered ever so slightly, "W-we should see where that sound c-came from...?" 

The Servamp of Sloth shook himself out of his Eve's now slackened grip and stood up slowly, yawning, "Dunno." He squinted at the mysterious blanket of fog around them and hesitantly put out his hand, watching the white 'puffs', if you can call them that, immediately rush towards the offered hand and then drift away, apparently disappointed. Mahiru, on the other hand, angrily swatted at them.

"What's with this strange fog? It would be much simpler if this fog would have not been here and we could see properly."

"It's jinn."

"Say what?"

"It's that white, wispy stuff you saw coming out of Lawless's -"

"I know what jinn is, duh." Mahiru interrupted, his insides churning at the mere thought of the substance Servamps as well as their subclasses turned into when they die, or worse, get broken. But in such a huge quantity? Who knows how many subclasses died to make such a thick fog of jinn... Mahiru glanced at his Servamp, who seemed to have had given up on the notion of standing upright by then and was indecently sprawled on the crumbling pavement. He had come so close to breaking himself, that lazy ball of fur – so close to turning into jinn... Mahiru quickly abandoned that particular line of thought. It would be much simpler if he didn't have a mental breakdown before finding the person they were looking for in this godforsaken part of the city. But it was spooky nonetheless...

"This place looks haunted."

"Eh?" The vampire looked up in confusion.

"This," Mahiru indicated all around him, "part of the city seems to be the residence of ghosts. Simply said, it's creepy."

"I dunno... this place looks real comfy."

Eh?!

"Comfy for what?" Mahiru asked incredulously.

Kuro shifted into his cat form and leaped onto Mahiro's head, of all places - catching him by surprise and almost throwing him off-balance, "Napping."

"Oh." Of course. The only thing Kuro ever wanted in life. Did he even think about anything else other than a cup of ramen noodles and a lifetime of happy sleep? 

Mahiru felt a slight twinge of... jealousy?

Wait, was he feeling jealous from a pillow now?! 

Mahiru shook his head in mild amusement. Maybe he needed to catch on the much needed sleep Kuro was recently grilling him about... or maybe it was something else. 

Whatever. 

Kuro yawned again and turned back into his humanoid form, eyeing his surroundings from underneath heavy eyelids, "This place looks, I dunno, sorta forgotten? If I get a cozy bed to sleep here, everyone will forget me and I will be able to sleep for all eternity." Kuro looked almost dreamy. 

Mahiru resisted the sudden impulse to cuff him on the head. 

But, Kuro was right about one thing. The place looked forgotten, to say the very least. 

"It looks like an illusion... as if it is slowly disappearing into the shadows. A place for forgotten and depressed souls who get removed from our memories as time goes by." Mahiru murmured to himself.

"Heard ya going all philosophical and stuff." 

Damn it. He didn't want Kuro to hear what he said right then. Kuro sure had the hearing of a cat, albeit a lazy one. Servamps happen to be rather sensitive about topics like memories and remembering - a side effect of being immortal, probably.

Kuro yanked half-heartedly at the hood of his blue jacket and tried to hide in the cat's ear-shaped fur sticking out. He looks sort of fidgety, Mahiru realized. Also, he had been regularly shifting forms, as if he was unsure about how to react to their surroundings. 

I guess that I am not the only one nervous... 

Kuro flicked back a piece of blue hair, "That's because all the neglected and rogue subclasses end up here."

"Eh?"

"Ya, that's why there's so much jinn in the air here."

So they were in the Vampire Capital of Depression, looking for... who again? No idea. 

Lovely. 

Kuro sat down again, "Care to remind me what are we doing here?" 

I would like to know that as well, Mahiru mused, only that we have been practically rushed here by Old Child. 

"If only we knew who we are looking for," Mahiru grumbled under his breath, "it would be much more simple."

Kuro snorted in response.

"What?"

"Nothing's ever simple around you, Mahiru..."

Mahiru whirled around and grabbed him by the collar, "What do you mean? I am the simplest person you have ever met!"

"Ya sure."

"Kuro... what do you mean?"

The sleepy Servamp stretched his arms above his head and muttered, "You are so stupid that I could die..."

Next time on Black&White:

What were the chain of events which led to a lazy Servamp and his overworking Eve to roam about the deserted parts of the city at 5 in the morning? The next chapter might give some answers!