One more day
the sun reaches my bed,
one more day to spend with Kita-chan again.
It’s already been a month,
and there hasn’t been a day we didn’t see each other.
As I get up from my bed,
I reach for my phone,
and see a new message.
[Good morning]
“...Good morning”
Kita-chan is starting to know my schedule.
She has been trying to send me a message every morning.
…So cute.
Today is saturday,
I have no plans.
Well that’s a lie,
I plan to spend all day with Kita-chan.
Slowly,
I go downstairs.
The sky is clear,
the sun is shining,
today is a beautiful day.
I open the door,
walk outside,
excited to see Kita-chan,
and-
[Fire]
“...Eh?”
[Pain]
[Burn]
[Scorch]
[Incinerate]
…
…It hurts…
I look around,
but I can see nothing.
…My eyes have melted,
it’s all black.
[Pain]
[Heat]
[Char]
[Flames]
[Pain]
I can feel nothing,
my nerves have burned,
but I think I fell back.
…
The ceiling.
…I can see again.
[My hand]
…
It’s all good.
No burn marks.
…There is no way I imagined that…
I move my arm,
and the moment it’s outside,
under the sunlight,
it’s set on fire.
…
“I can’t go under the sun…”
…
Kita-chan…
“I can’t go see you…”
[Send]
…
[Eeeh?! Why????]
…
“...I don’t feel well…”
[Do you want me to come??]
…
“Yes, please…”
…
I don’t know what’s going on,
but I don’t mind hiding from the sun,
as long as I can see her.
“Hitori-chan, hi!”
On the door,
there she is,
beaming as always,
my girlfriend.
“Hello…”
She is the only person I feel confident talking to.
I still struggle to talk,
but everything is easier with her.
“Hmm… You look fine. What was wrong?”
“U-Uh… I… just don’t want to g-go out today…”
She stares at me.
Even if it’s just for a second,
I feel nervous.
But the moment she smiles,
her aura calms me down.
“Okay! We can stay in your room, then!”
Her hand drags me upstairs.
My hand feels her warmth.
Her skin is so soft and tender.
I want to touch her more,
I want to touch everything there is to be touched.
…
“H-Hitori-chan…?”
…Maybe I grabbed her hand too hard.
Maybe I rubbed it too much…
“A-Ah! I’m sorry!”
I shut my eyes all I can,
and bow down.
…
My hand,
she moves it,
and puts her palm against mine.
“I like the feeling of your hand too…”
[Eh?]
…
She’s become so good at reading me.
“A-Ah…”
I grab her hand.
Her fingers stand tall in between mine.
They look so good…
I want to…
…
[Nom]
…
They’re so easy to chew…
And taste so good…
…
[Chuckle]
…
Ah…
I hadn’t realized…
But Kita’s fingers…
Are Kita’s…
…
“That tickled, Hitori-chan.”
…
Maybe if I don’t move,
she won’t notice I’m still here.
Surely she’ll forget everything and leave…
Yes… That’s better than facing the harsh reality that I chewed her fingers.
…
“B-But, you can keep going. You looked really cute…”
She smiles,
I can feel it.
[Kitaura]
Whenever she shines like this,
she looks so beautiful.
I can’t stop staring,
admiring.
The more time passes,
the more I want to bite her…
…
[Bite?]
…
Since when do I want to bite people so badly…?
…
But,
it’s getting harder to stop myself…
…
“K-Kita-chan…”
“Hm?”
…
“...L-Let’s go out…”
“Ah, are you sure?”
No.
No, I’m not.
But I need to get out,
my mind is doing weird things…
“Y-Yes…”
On our way to the door,
I grab an umbrella.
I need protection.
“Eh? I-It’s not raining, Hitori-chan…”
…
“I-I… know… but… t-the sun is too bright…”
She is confused,
I can tell from her eyes,
but she just smiles and accepts it.
…
That’s why I love her…
…
Covered by the umbrella,
I walk with my love beside me.
The sun is reflected on her skin.
It itches a bit…
…
“S-So… Where are we going, Kita-chan?”
“A-Ah well… Maybe I forgot my bag at Starry… ehe…”
…
“Eeehh… You’ll have to go to lost and found then, Kita-chan. Here, come with me!”
Nijika-chan drags Kita-chan into a closet.
Ryo-san is in her own world.
…
Guess I’ll have to wait alone…
It’s not that hard,
I’ve done it a lot of ti-
“Hey there!”
[Freeze]
…
There is…
someone behind me…
who wants to talk…
…
“Why the umbrella?”
…
It’s no use…
She won’t leave…
I have no choice but to turn around…
Who’s that voice…?
…
It’s PA-san…
“U-U-Uh… T-The sun-”
“It burns, doesn’t it?”
Eh?
“H-How did you know…?”
“I could tell.”
Her smile is relaxed.
It’s like she is trying to be friendly,
but I don’t get that vibe at all…
“...D-Do you know why…?”
“Haven’t you figured it out?”
She rests her head on the back of her hand.
I shake my head,
despite the question clearly being a rhetorical.
…
Maybe I should stop talking.
Maybe I should stop reacting.
Maybe I should stop interacting.
Maybe I should stop shaking my he-
“You’ve become a vampire.”
…
[...Eh?]
“A-A-A wh- …Th-They don’t-”
“Want me to show you?”
She interrupts me,
though that could be because I stutter a lot…
[...]
My head is held.
I can feel PA-san’s breath on my cheek.
Her tongue…
Is she licking m-
[Pain]
Pain…?
Why does it feel…
like my face was cut…
…
I touch were she licked,
where it hurts.
…
[Blood]
…
I look at her.
She is smiling with her tongue out,
pointing at a piercing.
“It’s silver.”
…
Silver…
The metal that kills the impure…
…
She must know how to fix this…
…
“...W-Why…?”
Her smile gets curvier.
“You became allergic to the sun.”
She leans forward,
and keeps talking,
as if she knew what I was about to ask.
…Although there weren’t that many things to say.
“When you are exposed a lot of time to something, you are more likely to develop an allergy towards that something. The sun is no exception.”
[The sun]
…
“H-How do I fix it…?”
“You mean going back to normal, don’t you?”
I no-
She doesn’t leave me time to nod.
“That’s really easy. Just stay away from the sun.”
Her eyes are wide open.
And in her pupils,
I can see my reflection,
or rather the lack of it.
…
“You’ve felt bloodthirst already, right?”
I try to nod,
but once again can’t.
“If you keep being a vampire, there will be a day you won’t be able to control yourself.”
She tilts her head towards the palm of her hand.
Her smile is dyed by a hostile hue that matches her stare.
“Who knows what you might do when that happens.”
Our conversation suddenly comes to an end.
We exchange a minute of silence,
because I have nothing to say,
or rather there was nothing to say.
It was very clear what I had to do,
way too clear,
so clear that I could see myself reflected,
or rather couldn’t…
…
“Hitori-chan!”
Kita-chan finally returned,
bag on her hand,
and a smile on her face.
She is happy to see me,
so happy that I can relax,
even if it’s for a moment.
I smile and try cover the cut,
but it had healed already.
…
“Let’s go to a new cafe! I’ll pay for your part!”
She drags me outside while saying goodbye to everyone.
I barely have time to open the umbrella.
However,
among that hecticness,
I can hear a whisper.
“Don’t forget what I told you.”
[...]
Once outside,
Kita-chan slows down.
“Sorry I took so long, Hitori-chan. There were way too many lost items.”
“I-It’s fine…”
Her smile…
It makes me hungry…
[Groan]
…
Ah…
My stomach…
How shameful…
…
“A-Ah! Sorry! I made you wait too much!”
She walks me to the cafe,
slowly but surely.
She is putting a lot of care.
She always puts a lot of care when it comes to me.
…
Luckily, we are not that far away…
…
Kita-chan is brought her order,
a simple cup of coffee,
and with it comes my order,
a glass of water.
There were lots of possible drinks in the menu,
all with weird names I’d never heard,
and the ones I did know,
I hadn’t tried them ever.
…
“D-Do you like coffee, Kita-chan…?”
“No, I’ve never tried it.”
Her smile is so pure,
it shows her genuine excitement to drink coffee for the first time.
She takes a sip.
Her face…
It doesn’t look like she really enjoyed it.
While I drink my water, I stare into her eyes.
As I eat some of the bread we were giving, I keep staring into her eyes.
I can’t look away.
[Chuckle]
“…Eh?”
A beautiful sound pulls me out of my trance.
“Do I have something on my face, Hitori-chan?”
“U-Uh! N-No… I just…”
…
“I… love you… way too much…”
A smile,
precious,
perfect,
that makes me hungry for more.
“Don’t say it like that, it makes it sound bad.”
“E-Eh?”
“The way too much. It’s like your love is so big it holds you down.”
…
“B-But… I love you so much I need you…”
Another sip of coffee.
A grimace of utter disgust appears on her face.
…She should stop drinking if she doesn't like it…
“Haven’t you ever felt that…? The feeling that your life is linked to something, and if that something were to disappear, so would you…”
Her grin turns into a worried one.
“Hitori-chan…”
A hand gently touches my shoulder.
“Even if you feel you need something to live… That’s just an illusion… Nothing is really necessary… You should be able to have a happy life no matter what…”
[...]
“H-Hm…”
…
I shouldn’t have said that…
There was no good way out of it…
But…
…
Soon, night arrives.
The rest of our date goes pretty much like normal.
We both ignored that event,
it was for the best.
Sadly,
midnight isn’t a safe time to be out,
so Kita-chan goes home,
because it is time for vampires to appear.
…
I stand atop the tallest building,
the closest to the moon I’ll ever be.
“The moon is beautiful tonight…”
…
There is no way I can live just with the moon…
Not because I hate it,
but because I love the sun too much to let it go.
I would rather die bathing in sunlight,
than live yearning for it.
But…
If my presence hurts what I love,
if the moment we meet again,
I can’t control myself,
then it is better to go without causing pain.
Vampires are instinctive and sensitive creatures,
every feeling is increased.
When one wants something,
they know it,
and they know they can’t stop themselves,
that’s why right now,
I want to go to the moon.
[...]
I place my feet on it’s surface,
and let my head touch the floor above.
[Crack]
[...]
[Pain]
[Suffering]
…
Everything is going black…
There is no way I can regenerate with all the blood I’m losing…
I close my eyes…
and see what I love most one last time…
“Kita-chan…”
I love the sun so much,
I would rather die than make it suffer.
[...]
…
It’s so dark I can barely see,
but I can make out an image.
[A ceiling]
“...Eh?”
If this is the afterlife, then it’s pretty disappointing.
…
A light beam gets inside the room,
the source, an opening door.
…Okay I lied, this afterlife is the best.
An angel walked inside the room.
“Kita…-chan…”
“Eh?! Hitori-chan!”
She rushes to hug me so fast I can’t react.
“I missed you so much!”
…Miss me?
…
It seems I didn’t die…
“What happened?”
“I went back to apologize, and then I found you… on the floor… So I brought you here and took care of you… I’m so glad you are fine…!”
…
In her faint smile,
I can see a pair of pointy fangs.
…
I hadn’t realized until now,
but my thirst has quenched.
“Kita-chan!”
My reaction was so fast I hadn’t realized what I was doing.
I grab her shoulders, and try to ask her.
“D-Did you- Did you-”
The question is so absurd I can’t bring myself to ask it.
I may embarrass myself with this, but I have to do it.
“Did you- nom- your neck- with me?”
Kita-chan looks at me confused, trying to puzzle what I just said.
I look serious on the outside, but I’m dying on the inside.
If that didn’t happen, this might become the most embarrassing memory of my life.
“A-Ah… You noticed…”
She smiles shyly at me.
…
…Vampires are hated creatures.
Since they feed off of humans, they are hunted.
We may have to run away the rest of our lives,
yet she turned into one to save me.
…
“I-I’m sorry, Hitori-chan… I just saw your fangs… and I realized what you were because of your behavior that day… and then, I thought you could be saved if you had enough blood…”
…
I instinctively hug her.
Even if I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her,
she did it herself to save me.
…
“...What about your bloodthirst?”
Kita-chan looks away,
not hugging me back.
“About that… I’ve been able to hold back… It’s only been three days after all…”
Three days…
That’s way more than what I could resist…
…
“We have to do something about it…”
“Yes…”
She quickly nods.
Really quickly…
…
We go out out in the night,
into a forest.
We stand there,
but the thing is,
we have no idea what to do.
…
It’s hard to get blood without hurting someone…
Maybe animal blood works too…
But we would still be hurting it…
“...Any ideas?”
Kita-chan shakes her head.
Of course…
She is the kind of person that would say her idea the moment she gets it…
“Maybe we should try to catch something… Even if we don’t eat it in the end…”
“Okay…”
[Squirrel]
…
There is a squirrel near some bushes.
I move behind,
and Kita-chan sneaks in front of it.
…
I hadn’t realized until now,
but for a vampire to live,
it has to leech off someone else.
…
We jump on the squirrel,
and it gets away easily.
Of course it does,
it’s a squirrel.
…
We fall on the floor,
and as I lay down,
I stare at the starry sky,
until something gets in the middle.
“Having fun you two?”
[PA-san]
…
PA-san?
“Hitori-chan!”
[Push]
…
Kita-chan pushes me away,
and when I look back,
I see it.
The place I was lying on a second ago,
was now cut in half.
[Katana]
…
PA-san pulled the katana out of the floor.
“You didn’t listen to what I told you. Now I have no choice but to get rid of the vampirism myself.”
[Kita-chan]
She was within arm reach,
yet PA-san ignored her,
and walked straight towards me.
“I can’t let you roam free like this. If something bad were to happen to, let’s say, Nijika-chan, I would be the one to blame.”
The tip of her sword is gently placed on my forehead,
yet it hurts.
[Silver]
…
Kita-chan kicks the sword away and grabs me.
We run into the vegetation in an attempt to hide.
“You’ve got yourself a minion already. Guess I shouldn’t have let you go to begin with.”
[Minion?]
With a quick slash,
she cuts the bushes and exposes us.
“You can't hide from a vampire freak.”
Her katana is held high right above my head.
…
“…Help me…”
A faint whisper escapes my mouth.
Kita-chan instantly leaps towards PA-san,
but she instantly grabs her head with one hand.
“Don’t think you can escape ordering her around.”
[Order]
…
“Hm? Why the confused face? Don’t tell me you don’t know it. When a vampire bites someone, they become their minion, and they must obey everything the master says.”
…
Kita-chan obeys me…
[...]
Did she even want to come here…?
[...]
At least I know she wanted to turn into a vampire to save me…
[Kita-chan]
I roll away from her,
stand up,
and start to flee.
…
PA-san drops Kita-chan on the floor.
It’s clear that the one she wants is me.
[...]
I run,
and run,
and run away.
No matter where I go,
she always walks straight to me.
There is no point in hiding,
so I’ll do the only thing I can do,
run away from Kita-chan,
to keep her safe.
…
In the end,
I reach a small, treeless hill.
The night sky can be clearly seen above,
and on the middle,
surrounded by the dangling leaves of trees,
the moon stands.
[Movement]
Among the nearby bushes,
someone comes out.
“Hitori-chan!”
Kita-chan rushes towards me and hugs me.
“Quick! We have to get away!”
She pulls to try and make me move.
[...]
I stretch my arms,
and hold her cheeks.
Her green eyes glitter with the moonlight.
“Kita-chan… Do what you want to do.”
…
She smiles,
a smile so happy,
so pure.
…
Slowly,
her mouth opens,
and my neck is put inside it.
My blood is drank gently,
it hurts,
but it feels good.
She is so warm,
so soft,
so tender.
We become each other’s master,
and each other’s minion.
She only bit me for some seconds,
but it felt like forever,
and I wished it had lasted longer.
“Oh my… This makes things harder.”
PA-san comes out of the bushes.
“Normally I would just have to kill the master and all the minions would go back to being humans. But now…”
She leans dangerously close to my face.
“I don’t know who to kill…”
With her sword,
she points at me,
and then at Kita-chan,
and then at me again.
…She is doing eeny meeny miny moe…
“You.”
A thrust so fast there is no way to avoid it comes my way.
…
[...Eh?]
…
I’m not hurt at all.
The katana completely missed me.
It hit the floor.
“Just kidding.”
PA-san sticks her tongue out,
the sliver piercing shining in the middle.
…
“W-What…?”
“You know, your bloodthirst is not really a problem anymore. Now that you’ve done that, you can drink each other.”
She walks between us to grab her sword again.
Kita-chan takes a step ahead.
“W-What about us now? What will it be of us?”
[Smile]
“You’ll be mutually necessary until you decide to stop being, then you’ll part ways as if nothing happened.”
…
"In other words, you'll have a relationship just like any other."
With the weapon resting on her shoulder, she walks away.
“And when that happens, she will stop being a vampire, and so will you.”
…
[Silence]
We watch as PA-san slowly walks away.
Once she vanished between the plants,
once I couldn’t see her anymore,
I drop to the floor.
What a day…
[Thump]
Kita-chan falls on the ground too,
at least that’s what I think.
I didn’t see her fall,
nor did I see her lying.
[The moon]
It was too beautiful to look away.
So bright,
so full,
so round…
…
“Kita-chan.”
“Hm?”
“If you disappeared one day… I would live on with the love you gave me…”
[Silence]
…
[Laughter]
Kita-chan bursts out laughing.
She giggles,
chuckles,
laughs so much,
so loudly,
that I can’t help but laugh as well,
even if it’s not as loud.
[Laughter]
“...That’s why I love you, Hitori-chan… You never know what to say…”
Our laughing slowly dies out,
really slowly.
“...Still… You always make me feel good…”
…
We stare at the moon,
for a long,
really long time…
So long that it was almost dawn when we decided to leave.
We just couldn’t help it…
The moon was so beautiful that night…
[...]
One more day,
the sun reaches my bed,
one more day to spend happily again.
[Good morning]
“...Good morning.”
…Not much has changed after that.
In fact I would say nothing changed.
I’m still together with Kita-chan,
we still play in Kessoku band,
and we still go to school.
Not even our interactions with PA-san changed,
every time we walk into Starry,
she looks away from her phone and greets us with a smile,
just like she always did.
…
…But I guess I learned something…
People live not for the things they love,
but for that love itself.
And even after the loved thing disappears,
that love is still there,
and it helps us move forward,
even if it hurts.
We may find something to redirect that love to,
or we may not,
but that’s fine.
What matters is that the love is there,
and that we loved,
and that we were loved.
That’s why nothing is really necessary,
because if we manage to find something worthy of replacing that loved thing,
of receiving that love,
we will be able to get over the loss.
Still,
since the love can’t exist without the loved thing,
we will treat that thing as love itself.
That’s why if the whole world turned against us because we are vampires,
we would fight against the whole world to protect each other.
Because even if we don’t need what we love,
we need the love,
and love needs the loved thing.
[...]
Kita-chan,
as any other weekday,
comes to my house to walk with me to school.
On a sunny day,
we walk under the same umbrella.