Vampire and His Pleasant Companions: Volume 1 - Part 3

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They arrived at the police station just after 9 p.m. The end of the hallway on the second floor, where Al was taken by the kind-faced detective from the man’s house, was filled with a peculiar atmosphere. Al could feel it intensely, trailing behind the detective.

“What’s the deal with him, Nukariya?”

The middle-aged detective who had interrogated him yesterday, along with a young detective, stared in shock at the escaped foreign suspect.

“He’s a burglar who broke into a man’s house. I was contacted about it, so I took him into custody. Since theft is under your jurisdiction, Torii-san, I’m handing him over to you. I’ve already heard the details from my friend.”

They handed Al over, handcuffs and all. The middle-aged detective shook with laughter, pointing at Al and bursting out, “Ahahaha!”

“Bad deeds never prosper, do they, foreign kid?”

“Bad deeds?”

The kind-faced detective muttered something.

“This guy broke into a food factory stark naked yesterday and got caught. Then he escaped from the holding cell this morning.”

The kind-faced detective looked shocked at the middle-aged detective’s words.

“Escaped?”

Panicked, the young detective whispered to the middle-aged one, “Torii-san, that’s supposed to be between the upper management and Division Three…”

The middle-aged detective waved his hand hurriedly, saying, “No, no, I just misspoke.” The kind-faced detective looked troubled but didn’t press further. He simply bowed his head and said, “Thank you,” before disappearing.

When the detective who had brought Al was out of sight, the middle-aged detective sighed in relief.

“That was close.”

“I think they’re onto us. There’s a gag order, but the escape has been quite the rumor around the station…”

“It’s fine. Nukariya, with all his quirks, is still one of the more sensible guys in Division One.”

“True, Nukariya-san is a good person, but…”

“Anyway, be glad! The escaped suspect has been caught.”

The middle-aged detective gave the young detective a pat on the shoulder and then glared sharply at Al.

“This time, you better be ready. I’ll squeeze the truth out of you until you can’t make a sound!”

Even though Al didn’t understand the words, he could clearly sense the hostility in the middle-aged detective’s tone. It seemed too late to start the interrogation, so they put him back in the holding cell. Unlike yesterday, this time it was directly in front of the guard’s post. Although the officer was different from the one yesterday, likely due to the escape incident, Al could feel the officer’s sharp gaze, as if determined not to let a single movement go unnoticed.

… The next morning, still inside the paper bag, Al was being swung around like laundry in a washing machine, making him dizzy.

“It’s true, I swear! Right before my eyes, that foreigner turned into a bat! I swear it’s true!”

Yelling, the police officer opened the mouth of the paper bag. Despite having the chance to escape, Al felt too sick from all the spinning and lay flat at the bottom of the bag. Several black eyes peeked in at him.

Outside the paper bag, silence prevailed. Al felt a growing sense of despair, thinking, “Is this really the end for me?” He had been seen turning from a human into a bat. His secret was out. What would happen now? Would he be taken to the embassy, packed in a box, and sent back to his home country for research? And his fellow bats hiding worldwide would resent him. They’d think, “After living in the shadows for hundreds of years, he got caught like a fool.”

“You’re just tired,” came a voice filled with sympathy.

“You’re tired, okay? Come on, let’s go over there and have a little chat.”

“I-I’m not crazy! I swear, I saw that foreigner turn into a bat…”

The officer’s voice grew fainter, as if echoing from afar. The bag’s mouth closed again, and as if tossed somewhere, Al bounced violently with the impact. He had been shaken, slammed, and spun around since morning.

“Still, having a suspect escape two days in a row? Maybe this place is cursed.”

“There’s no such thing as a curse. One of the officers must have helped the foreigner escape.”

“Yeah, that’s probably the most logical explanation.”

“Once Yama-san gets his hands on him, the guy will confess soon enough. But still, who is this foreigner? He claims to be an ‘actor,’ but even that’s suspicious. I hope he’s not some weird new cult leader or something.”

Al tried to push at the paper bag with his clawed front feet, growling “Squeak Squeak,” trying to get out. Sadly, as a small bat, he was too weak, and there was no sign of any gaps forming.

“That bag, it’s got a bat inside, right?”

“Yeah, a bat.”

“It’s noisy. Can’t we do something about it?”

“Yeah, seriously.”

“They said it was around yesterday too. What did they do with it then?”

“I heard Nukariya from Division One took it home.”

“Nukariya? Why?”

“Apparently, he likes bats. I have no idea what he sees in such creepy creatures, though.”

◇:-:◆:-:◇

Outside the bag, voices were speaking. He immediately recognized the first voice as the man who had tied him up and handed him over to the police.

"What’s going on?"

"Good thing you were home, Akira."

"Is that noisy bag filled with a screeching bat, by any chance?"

"Yeah, that’s right."

He could hear the kind-faced detective sigh.

"When I got back to the station from my rounds, this was sitting on my desk. Apparently, it got caught again in the holding cell. My boss yelled at me to 'do something about that noise,' so I brought it here for now. I could have let it go, but you seemed pretty upset yesterday about that bat being let loose by the foreigner, so I thought you might want to see another one."

"You’re a thoughtful guy."

Hearing the man’s pleased voice made him feel incredibly annoyed.

"Well, I’m heading back to the station now."

He heard the door close and sensed that he had been brought into the room. If a window was open or the front door was accidentally left ajar, there might be a chance to escape. As soon as the bag was opened, Al shot out with all his might. As he feared, it was indeed the man’s room. And sadly, the windows and front door were tightly shut.

"You’re quite lively."

The man looked up at Al, who had perched face-down on top of a bookshelf, with a gentle expression. Oh, how this made his chest tighten. When he was in human form, the man had shouted insults and tied him up with a shirt and pants, but now, as soon as he became a bat, the man opened his arms and welcomed him. It was outright discrimination.

He didn’t want anyone to know, but he wanted to show this man more than anyone. To make him realize that the one he was squeaking at so affectionately, the one he was cooing at, was that foreigner. The bat was just a temporary form; the real identity was Albert Irving, a human. Just imagining the man’s shocked face when he learned the truth filled him with dark, satisfying thoughts.

Being brought to the man’s room before sunset was a small stroke of luck amid misfortune. He could show the moment when he transformed from a bat into a human. Al eagerly watched the sunset through the gap in the curtains and the clock, waiting for the sun to fully set.

Since he never got too close, the man seemed to give up on having any kind of skinship with the bat and went to the kitchen. It looked like he was starting to prepare dinner, taking out eggs and vegetables from the refrigerator. Seeing his back filled Al with intense hatred. Even the beef that he was finally about to eat had been taken away from him, and his hunger complaints were completely ignored. He was so, so hungry, yet this man was preparing to dine in peace while Al starved!

Just as the sun was about to set, Al dove down from the bookshelf and pounced on the man’s back as he was cooking. He dug his claws in as hard as he could.

"Ah, ouch! That hurts!"

The man dropped his knife and swung his back side to side. Then he tilted his head slightly to glance at Al, who was clinging to his back. Al grinned and dug his claws in even deeper.

"Hey, that hurts! I said it hurts. Geez..."

The man sounded angry, but his voice was still gentle since he was talking to a bat. This only irritated Al more, and he kept digging his claws in until, finally, he was ripped off the man’s back.

"It really hurts when you dig your claws in like that, huh?"

The man spoke as if scolding a mischievous child. Even though Al was screaming with all his might, "You bastard!" he knew the man could only hear the bat's screeching. It was frustrating. He tried to look as menacing as possible, but the man just squinted happily at him.

"You’ve got a cute face. The one yesterday was a similar type, but are you the same bat by any chance? Hmm? If so, it must be fate that you’ve come to my house twice."

As the man petted his head with a fingertip, Al seized the chance to bite him. But his teeth weren’t sharp, and his jaw wasn’t strong.

"What’s wrong? Are you hungry?"

The man lightly shook the finger Al had bitten. Feeling like he was being toyed with, a deep sense of futility welled up inside him. Then, that familiar sensation came over him. The sun was about to set. From deep within his body, a wave surged up like a powerful tide. Al flapped wildly to escape the man's hand, then landed on the floor and lay flat on his stomach. Perfect. By clawing and biting, he had captured the man’s attention.

He closed his eyes and gave in to the wave. Inside the bat’s body, something that had been compressed started to swell up like a bubble. The wings shrank, gradually forming into fingers. As he transformed into human shape like malleable clay, all the fur on his body disappeared as if being erased.

The transformation took less than a minute. Now back in his human form, Al dramatically ran his hands through his short auburn hair and glared fiercely at the man, who stood there with a stunned expression.

[“You had the nerve to send me back to the police station yesterday!”]

The man rubbed his eyes repeatedly, slapped his cheeks, and tilted his head in confusion.

[“Now you believe me, don’t you? I’m a vampire.”]

The man, refusing to accept reality, dashed into the bathroom. The sound of running water could be heard. When he came back, dripping water from his black bangs, he stared intently at Al and declared, "Release me from this hypnosis!"

The man spoke in Japanese.

[“I don’t understand you when you speak in such stiff words.”]

[“Release me from this strange hypnosis!”]

After pondering for a while, the man seemed to have concluded that all the events in front of him were illusions caused by "hypnosis." Al exaggeratedly shrugged his shoulders.

[“I get that you don’t want to accept it, but this is reality. By day, I’m a bat, and by night, I turn into a human.”]

The man frowned and looked puzzled. Then, suddenly, he walked over to the closet and threw the door open. Al thought he might be offering him clothes, but what the man pulled out was a roll of duct tape. A bad feeling washed over him. Clutching the end of the duct tape, the man slowly approached with the face of a hunter eyeing its prey. Realizing the danger, Al turned on his heel to run, but the man pounced on him from behind. In a matter of moments, Al was restrained tightly with duct tape.

Now bound, hands and feet restrained, and lying naked on the floor, Al was coldly looked down upon by the man.

[“Release me from this strange hypnosis, or I’ll throw you out on the street like this.”]

The man still believed that the current situation was merely "hypnosis."

[“Go ahead and try! I dare you!”]

The man looked off into the distance, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

[“So, if I throw a pervert out naked, I’m just giving him exactly what he wants, huh?”]

Al’s ears turned bright red.

[“I am not a pervert!”]

[“You’ve shown up naked in front of me several times. If you’re not a pervert, then all the perverts in the world must be babies.”]

The analogy was confusing, and when he thought about it, what the man said didn’t make much sense. It was humiliating to be labeled a pervert just for being naked. It wasn’t like he wanted to be naked. Right after the transformation, it was inevitable that he’d be nude…

The man turned his back on Al, who was wrapped in duct tape, and picked up his smartphone. He was talking to someone, but it was in Japanese, so Al couldn’t understand. After the call, the man put the phone down on the table and resumed cooking. Al couldn’t believe his eyes. To the man, Al’s transformation from bat to human was just a hypnotic trick. And he wasn’t preparing food for Al as a human like he did when he was a bat. To the man, Al was less than a bat—something insignificant. A bubbling rage rose from the pit of his stomach.

[“You piece of trash! Motherfucker!”]

The man turned around at the sound of Al's yelling.

[“You crazy bastard! Just drop dead, you son of a bitch!”]

As Al continued to shout every crude and vulgar insult he could think of, the man slowly approached him and, without a word, covered Al’s mouth with duct tape.

[“Mmm! Mmm!”]

Al thrashed around like a beached fish, trying to resist. In response, the man tied Al’s hands to the leg of the bed. Ignoring Al's desperate struggle, the man cooked and ate his meal. The smell of the food made Al sad. It wasn’t that it stimulated his appetite; it was just depressing. His hunger had reached such an extreme that he was losing strength. At this point, he felt like he could suck even the tiniest drop of blood from the frog or worm he had kicked away yesterday.

He just wanted to die. Nothing good had come from becoming a vampire. It was all just misery and suffering. To top it all off, here he was, in some remote corner of Asia where no one understood him, hungry and bound with duct tape. Could someone just drive a silver stake through his heart already? Someone, anyone… just anybody…

Ah, but even though he thought anyone would do, he didn’t want it to be this man. He didn’t want to be killed by him. If he had to die, he’d first bite into this guy’s throat, tear it open with his teeth since he didn’t have fangs, and suck every drop of blood from his body. Let him die shriveled and dry, this bastard!

About two hours passed as Al lay discarded like an object in the corner of the room. Then, the doorbell rang. Someone had arrived. The moment he saw who it was, despair colored his world. It was that detective. He was going to be taken back to the police station again. Taken in circles between the police station and this man’s house by the very detective who had brought him here. It was so ridiculous that all he could do was laugh.

The detective looked down at Al, who was wrapped up in duct tape, and sighed heavily.

“I mean, what the hell is this foreigner thinking?”

“I’d like to know that myself. He’s broken into my house several times and shows no remorse whatsoever. And this time, he used some weird hypnosis on me, making me see him as a bat. I’m sure he’s done the same thing many times. He’s probably a habitual thief.”

The detective laughed out loud.

“There’s no way a novice could pull off hypnosis like that.”

“I’m not joking. He’s been making me think he’s a bat this whole time.”

“That’s ridiculous…” the detective started to say, but then he stopped. He placed his right hand on his chin, looking thoughtful.

“Come to think of it, it’s all a bit hush-hush, so the details aren’t clear, but when this foreigner escaped from the holding cell for the second time, the officer on night duty mentioned something about a person turning into a bat. Could that have been…?”

“There’s a possibility he used some strange technique.”

Muttering something about hypnosis, the detective glanced at Al but quickly looked away.

“That aside, couldn’t you at least put some pants on him? It’s quite pitiful seeing him exposed like this.”

“When I said I’d throw him out naked, he seemed thrilled. Maybe he enjoys being seen because he’s a pervert?”

The detective frowned.

“Even if he likes it, I don’t want to see it. You might be used to seeing people naked, but at least cover him up a bit.”

The two continued talking in their stern voices. Then, the man walked over and casually dropped a paper towel over Al’s crotch.

“There, that should do it.”

“…Actually, that’s even more obscene. And isn’t it a bit cold in here? He’s bound hand and foot, so you can’t dress him, but at least put a blanket over him.”

The man opened the closet and took out a light brown blanket. He came closer. Al’s body started trembling. Maybe he would be wrapped up in the blanket and buried in the mountains, just like before. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened.

But instead of being wrapped up or carried off, Al found himself gently covered with the blanket. It was cold in the room. Realizing this small kindness warmed his heart, even though he knew it was from that man. Finally, he was being treated like a human.

“Hey, poor thing, he’s crying.”

The detective peered into Al’s tear-streaked face and said something to the man.

“He’s crying, but that doesn’t change the fact that he broke into my room and used weird hypnosis on me.”

“Even so, at least take the tape off his mouth.”

The detective peeled the duct tape off Al’s mouth and gently dabbed his tear-filled eyes with a tissue. Since Al couldn’t wipe his own tears, the detective did it for him. The tenderness in his touch, because it was so gentle, made it all the more painful, and Al’s tears kept flowing, unstoppable.

[“Help me, help me”]

With his mouth finally free, Al cried out to the detective. The eyes that looked down on him were more sympathetic than those of the man.

[“I can’t take the duct tape off your hands and feet. It’s a fact that you broke into someone else’s house and caused trouble, so I’ll have to take you to the police station. Oh, do you understand what I’m saying? I’m not as good at English as Akira is.”]

[“Akira?”]

[“The resident of this room that you broke into.”]

Akira… Al repeated the name three times in his mind. A single blanket wouldn’t make him forgive. He swore to himself that he would never forget this treatment as long as he lived.

[“You illegally entered this room yesterday too. Whatever your intentions, the police station will be the place to explain in detail.”]

[“You’re the one who brought me here!”]

The detective blinked in surprise a few times.

[“You put me in the paper bag and handed me over to him!”]

[“It’s impossible for me to put you in a paper bag or carry you around.”]

[“During the day, I’m a bat. I didn’t use any hypnosis. I… I’m a vampire, so I turn into a bat or a human.”]

The detective looked down at Al with a confused expression.

[“Humans don’t turn into bats, and they can’t. Vampires are a figment of the imagination.”]

[“I’m telling you, I really am a vampire!”]

The detective closed his mouth and then turned to the man.

“I’ll take him to the station now. It might be better for him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.”

[“Speak in English! I don’t understand Japanese!”]

The detective turned back and looked at Al with compassionate eyes.

[“You might not realize it, but you seem to be quite delusional. You should see a doctor.”]

The fact that they didn’t believe him even a tiny bit was painfully clear to Al.

[“No, no!”]

Al shouted. Even if he was taken back to the police station, the same thing would just happen again.

[“Don’t shout like that...”]

The detective hesitated, unsure whether to raise his voice or hands to calm Al down, and took a step back.

[“I’m really a vampire. Believe me. I’m a bat during the day and can only be human at night. In my third year of college, I was hooking up with a girl in a car at a club, and she bit my neck and turned me into a vampire. I died once, but on the fourteenth day, I came back to life, and when I returned home, they called me ‘possessed by a demon’ and drove me away…”]

The detective lowered his head, holding his forehead with his hand.

[“I’m telling you, I’m really a vampire!”]

The man who had been standing apart came closer.

[“Hey, self-proclaimed vampire. If you’re the real deal, try sucking my blood.”]

“Don’t do it! Your hands are your livelihood, aren’t they?”

Ignoring the panicked detective, the man thrust his right arm forward. Al bit his lip hard.

[“I can’t suck blood.”]

Suddenly, the man’s eyes narrowed triumphantly. Al quickly added to his words.

[“I-I want to suck it. I want to, but I can’t. I’m only a half-fledged vampire; my fangs never grew. It’s been nine years since I became a vampire, and I’ve only met one other vampire. He could change freely between human and bat, day or night. But I’m a half-fledged vampire, so I can’t control it like that...”]

[“Your excuses are getting more and more pathetic.”]

It wasn’t an excuse, and he wasn’t lying. Even though he was speaking so earnestly, they weren’t taking him seriously. As he reflected on the past eight years, he realized it had always been like this. No one ever believed him. These people in front of him not taking him seriously wasn’t anything special.

When he first came back to life, his parents and friends—who he rushed to see—drove him away like a stray dog, calling him possessed by a demon. Expecting anyone to understand his situation was a reckless idea. Even he never thought vampires existed until he became one. It made him angry to understand this. People wouldn’t believe what they saw with their own eyes, dismissing reality as hypnosis and making him out to be the villain—especially this man.

[“...Fine.”]

Al groaned in a low voice.

[“I’ll go to the police quietly. Do whatever you want with me afterward! But I’m only going to the station tomorrow morning.”]

The man jerked his chin.

[“Make your excuses at the police station. Nukariya, take this guy away now. I can’t stand having such a nuisance around for even one night.”]

[“N-no, no, no!”]

Bound with duct tape, Al flopped around like a fish out of water, making a loud noise.

[“Stop struggling! You’re disturbing the neighbors.”]

The man pinned Al down. Al kept thrashing his feet and shaking his head as much as he could. Tears streamed down his face.

[“Please, please, I’m begging you. Take me to the police station tomorrow. Please, please...”]

He pleaded with the detective, not the man who wouldn’t listen, feeling the detective might still be willing to grant his request.

[“If you wait until morning, I’ll behave. I’m not lying. Really, really...”]

After a moment of silence, the detective finally spoke.

“Akira… can’t we wait until morning to take him to the station?”

Al didn’t understand the Japanese the detective was speaking, but he noticed the man’s movements had stopped.

“He seems really distressed, and if we force him to go now, he might get so agitated that we won’t be able to handle him. He’s also mentally unstable, so I think we should wait until morning and then take him in.”

The man frowned openly and pointed at Al.

“You want me to keep this crazy guy here for the night?”

“I’ll stay here too, and we’ll take him to the station in the morning. Is that acceptable?”

The man ground his teeth and muttered, “Do what you want. But if anything happens, I’m not responsible.” The detective knelt down in front of Al.

[“I spoke with Akira, and we’ve decided to wait until morning to see how you are. But we can’t take off the restraints on your hands and feet. That’s the one thing I can’t concede. Is that okay with you?”]

Al nodded. If he could stay here until morning, he could show them his transformation. No, he’d make sure they saw it! Then he’d make them apologize. They’d apologize for mocking a real vampire.

[“Now that I think about it, quite some time has passed since Akira restrained you. Are you okay, do you need to use the restroom? If you do, just let me know...”]

[“I’m a vampire; I don’t need to use the restroom. But more importantly, make sure you’re both awake before dawn. I transform into a bat just before the sun rises, and it only lasts about a minute. It’s a short time, so you have to be careful not to miss it.”]

The detective didn’t respond but looked at Al with eyes full of sympathy he couldn’t hide.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

Dawn was breaking. Even through the curtains, Al could see the sky beginning to lighten. He was anxious because both the man and the detective had fallen soundly asleep. The two of them had chatted in Japanese past midnight, but the man started nodding off first, which caused the detective to blink more frequently. Finally, the detective left Al with the words, [“Wake me if you need to use the bathroom”], and collapsed onto the table.

Weren’t you supposed to stay awake? Al thought angrily, but he endured it, thinking it would be enough if the two of them opened their eyes when he transformed at dawn. Now, however, just as dawn was approaching, there was no sign that they would wake up.

Al was bound with duct tape around his hands and feet, and his waist was tied to the edge of the bed. He wanted to kick them awake, but they were too far away for his feet to reach.

[“Hey, wake up, both of you.”]

Even calling out to them, the two lumps didn’t budge.

[“Wake up, come on!”]

Even trying to be polite and pleading didn’t get a response. Anger flared up alongside his irritation. These guys clearly didn’t believe a word he said. That’s why they could sleep so soundly during such an important moment.

[“I said wake up! I’m going to transform any minute now! Don’t you want to see it?!”]

He yelled loudly, kicking the floor repeatedly with his feet while still tied to the bed. Although the man didn’t react, the detective let out a small groan and slowly raised his head, rubbing his eyes in the dim light.

[“It’s almost dawn. Wake that idiot up, too! Do you know why I stayed here? It’ll all be for nothing!”]

“...English shouting first thing in the morning is a bit much.”

[“Quit grumbling and hurry up and wake that dumbass up!”]

The detective let out a long, thin sigh and shook the man, who was lying motionless on the floor, wrapped in a blanket.

“Akira, wake up. Otherwise, this foreigner will keep squawking.”

After much resistance, with a lot of groaning, the man finally opened his eyes. His sleepy face looked so villainous that one might wonder how many crimes he had committed.

“It’s almost dawn. The foreigner says he’s going to turn into a bat.”

As soon as he heard this, the man lay back down on the floor. His back was turned, clearly showing his determination not to look, which made Al’s anger boil over.

[“You piece of shit! Keep your promise!”]

The man turned just his face toward Al and glared at him.

[“Shut up, you lying pervert.”]

The detective stepped in between the two of them, who were on the verge of a fight, and said, [“Hey, stop it.”]

“Akira, don’t provoke him for no reason. Look, it’s almost dawn. Once it’s over, you can go back to sleep.”

The man clicked his tongue and sluggishly sat up.

“Because of this fucking idiot, I’m wide awake now.”

“Yeah, me too. But hey, we just have to watch. That should be enough to satisfy him.”

The sky outside the curtains grew brighter. As soon as he thought, here comes the dawn, a warm sensation washed over his entire body. The familiar morning feeling came over him... the transformation was beginning.

[“Both of you, watch closely. Don’t regret it after I turn into a bat!”]

His fingertips began to heat up, shrinking gradually.

[“I’m telling you now, even after I turn into a bat, don’t speak to me in Japanese. I don’t know Japanese! I understand English, and I can respond. Ah, though when I say respond, as a bat, all I can do is screech “Squeak, squeak.”]

The detective turned to the man.

“...The more I listen to him, the more annoyed I get.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The man narrowed his eyes sharply and yelled at Al.

[“Stop wasting time and hurry up and turn into a bat if you’re going to, you perverted freak!”]

As if I need you to tell me, he thought, but Al couldn’t speak anymore. His vocal cords had already started changing. His heated body began to shrink, the bones in his fingers elongating and thinning. Membranes stretched between the fingers, forming wings like an umbrella. Fur sprouted all over his body, and his vision turned monochrome. He opened his mouth and tried to cry out. All that came out was “Squeak.” The transformation was complete.

Looking at the two of them, their faces were blank with astonishment, mouths agape.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak.”

Though he had transformed into a bat, duct tape was tangled around his wings and tail. He tried to yell, “Hurry up and take this off, you guys!” but sadly, as a bat, they couldn’t understand him.

“Look... he really did turn into a bat.”

The detective muttered something.

“Well, yeah, he’s definitely a bat.”

The man scratched the back of his head, looking perplexed. The detective tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“Could this be some kind of hypnosis?”

“That’s the only way to explain it. No way can a human turn into a bat, even if the world turned upside down.”

Even though I told them not to speak in Japanese, they still weren’t listening. Even if he tried to yell “Enough already,” all that came out was “Squeak, squeak.”

“Should we at least take off the duct tape? He’s thrashing around like he’s angry.”

The detective carefully removed the duct tape tangled in Al’s fur. Freed at last, Al flew up with a flutter, perching upside down on the curtain rod. He puffed out his chest proudly. Since they couldn’t understand his words, he wanted to at least show them through his demeanor, “See? I was telling the truth!”

“Doesn’t it look like he’s puffing out his chest?”

“What a cocky little... hey.”

Al let out a high-pitched screech, “Squeak, squeak.” Despite making it clear he didn’t understand Japanese, they kept speaking to him, which was frustrating.

“He seems angry. I wonder why?”

“Didn’t he say something about wanting us to speak English if he turned into a bat?”

“Now that you mention it...”

Finally remembering, the man addressed Al in English.

[“Are you that crazy foreigner?”]

Al sulked silently. If he nodded now, it would mean admitting he was “crazy,” which he didn’t want to do, but if he didn’t nod, they’d think a bat couldn’t understand. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, he nodded.

“He’s actually nodding, Akira.”

The detective’s voice sounded excited.

“That could be a coincidence. Let’s try something more specific.”

[“Fly over to my shoulder”], the man commanded in English, and Al flew from the curtain to the man’s shoulder. As he landed, he deliberately dug his thumb claw into the man’s shoulder.

“Ouch!”

Al curled up into a ball, chuckling quietly to himself.

“This guy dug his claws in on purpose. What a nasty piece of work.”

“Well, maybe he needed to do that to hold on... Think he’ll listen to me?”

[“Come over to my palm,”] the detective said. Al hopped onto the detective’s palm. He wasn’t as mad at the detective, so he didn’t dig in his claws. The detective brought the bat perched on his palm closer to his face.

[“Are you really the same foreigner from earlier?”]

Al nodded vigorously.

[“So even when you’re a bat, you can understand words if they're in English?”]

He nodded again. The detective whispered something in the man’s ear. They spoke to each other in hushed Japanese tones, then, as if having reached some conclusion, suggested to Al, [“Let’s take a walk outside with us.”] Why take a walk so early in the morning? Al couldn’t understand what they were thinking. He hadn’t eaten properly in days and was honestly too hungry to fly. Then they said, [“You can just perch on my shoulder,”] so Al agreed.

With Al perched on the man’s shoulder, they left the house and walked a bit before entering a park. On the sidewalk, where dried leaves rustled and danced, they spoke to every person they passed, asking them all sorts of questions. In less than twenty minutes, they returned to the room.

The two sat facing each other, and Al curled up on the table between them. As a bat, his legs were weak, so he couldn’t stand on two feet. The basic posture for a bat is either hanging upside down or lying down curled up.

“We asked five people, and everyone said this was a bat,” the man said, to which the detective nodded in agreement.

“If we believe the part about turning into a bat, then it matches up with the idea that the suspect disappeared from the holding cell, leaving behind a bat.”

Both fell silent. The man, with a serious expression and his arms crossed, suddenly spoke up.

[“Are you a human weapon created by a secret organization?”]

Al shook his head furiously and looked at the detective. As expected, he looked exasperated.

“Are you serious? He can't be a human weapon. If he turned into such a small bat, someone could just swat him down and that would be the end of it.”

“Well, what if a group of them attacked...”

“Even so, it’s terribly inefficient. If you need twenty or thirty bats to take down one person, it would be more effective to just send in a human attacker.”

The man frowned, his lips pressed into a tight line.

[“As you said earlier, are you a vampire?”]

At the detective’s question, Al nodded repeatedly.

“So he really is a vampire.”

The man, still frowning deeply, muttered, “I don’t want to accept this.”

“It's not about accepting it,” the detective chuckled, “but if you told anyone about this, they'd definitely recommend a hospital.”

“Since he said he’s a bat during the day and a human at night, we can't have a proper conversation until he turns back into a human after sunset. We'll have to wait until evening to get more details.”

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