Hatsuka Suzushiro

Hatsuka Suzushiro (ハツカ) is a side character in Call of the Night. A vampire and crossdresser who is in the same clique as Nico Hirata and supports Nazuna Nanakusa and Kou Yamori on their journey to make Kou fall in love with Nazuna.

Appearance
Hatsuka is a man of small stature with an androgynous physique, having a rather masculine but skinny upper body and feminine hips. His head is adorned with shoulder-length black hair and a narrow face. He prefers to dress femininely, which he says is because it suits him better, and he mainly wears dresses and coats. His footwear consists of dark calf-length boots, smaller shoes, and slippers when he is at home.

On Halloween, he dressed in a maid outfit as he helped Midori advertise her maid cafe.

Personality
Hatsuka, unlike his vampire comrades, is relatively laid-back. As a result, he is the only one who doesn't try to put Kou under his spell initially. However, he was later curious about the taste of Kou's blood, wanting to drink it, and offered to make him his servant when Kou was at risk of getting killed by the other vampires. He is fond of the idea of being with Kou, saying they would get along well as fellow men.

Compared to the other vampires, Hatsuka seems friendlier and more helpful. He is usually not as straightforward as the others but somewhat more distant and sometimes bored. He doesn't hesitate to call others out if he finds them annoying. He is very invested in romance and fond of alcohol, like his friends. He is not ashamed of his appearance, nor is he opposed to the male gender, and considers himself a man despite how he presents himself. Hatsuka seeks enjoyment in life and has a very lax attitude.

Hatsuka believes that people are weak to contrast. For example, he believes that Nazuna, who usually dresses in skimpy clothes, would be more appealing to Kou if she wore a modest outfit that's hard to move around in.

He can get very excited in certain situations, like when Nazuna asks him for advice about making Kou fall for her, and Hatsuka is more fired up about it than Nazuna herself. When she tried to wear a modest outfit, Hatsuka told her that she looked so cute that he wanted to french-kiss her and that the boy inside him was trembling.

However, Hatsuka also has a dark side. He describes himself as less gentle regarding his underlings and can be very authoritative towards them, scolding them for talking without his permission. Furthermore, he treats them like children; he punishes them if they don't follow his orders and says he is gentle to those who obey him. To turn Kou into a vampire, Hatsuka told him that he was planning to brainwash him into a state where Kou couldn't live without him. He believing that love is just another form of brainwashing.

Abilities

 * Vampiric abilities: Like other vampires, Hatsuka can fly and phase through objects, possesses superhuman speed and strength, as well as the ability to regenerate wounds much faster and better than humans.

Trivia

 * Like many other Komori vampires, he is named after one of the seven herbs of spring, daikon radish, the traditional name for which is suzushiro (蘿蔔).
 * His servants address him with Sama (様, さま), an honorific used to address people who one generally sees above themselves, individuals of higher rank and divine deities.

Quotes

 * (To his servants): "Didn't you hear what I said? I said he was 'my' guest, right? And you're badmouthing him? I don't like kids who behave that way."
 * (To Kou) "I'm sure it must be easier to talk to a boy like me compared to the other vampires, right? Only I can truly understand your man's heart."
 * (To Nazuna): "Seems like I'm the most reasonable vampire among us all, huh..."
 * (To Anko): "We don't amuse ourselves with killing others. But next time you do this, you're dead."