Vampire and His Pleasant Companions: Volume 1 - Part 6

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In the two-bed hospital room, there was currently only one occupant: Akira. He lay on the white bed, his back turned to Al, who sat slumped in a folding chair next to him. When Akira had been brought into the room from the emergency ward after regaining consciousness, Al, whose face was a mess of tears, had hugged him tightly, only to be mercilessly hit on the head. The first thing out of Akira’s mouth was a furious, “You idiot!” No matter how much Al apologized after that, Akira refused to speak a single word to him.

Al gently moved his right foot. He had felt it break when it got caught in the neighbor’s door, and it had hurt terribly, but within two or three hours, it had completely healed. The speed of his recovery was astonishing. Knowing it was all thanks to Akira’s blood, he felt a deep sense of guilt.

Al had ridden in the ambulance that the neighbor had called for them. At the hospital, Akira had been diagnosed with “severe anemia” and “dehydration.” When the staff realized that Al could only speak simple Japanese and couldn’t understand much, a slender doctor, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, began speaking to him in English.

[“What is your relationship with the patient?”]

Immediately, Al replied, [“We’re friends.”]

[“Do you know how to contact his family?”]

As soon as he heard that, tears welled up in his eyes. He thought Akira’s condition was so serious that they needed to call his family... that he was in critical condition.

[“Is he... is Akira going to die?”]

[“No, it’s not that...”]

[“If Akira dies, I won’t be able to go on living. What am I supposed to do?”]

Al crouched down on the hospital floor, hugging his knees.

[“I was told many times to stop, but I just couldn’t hold back... I couldn’t stop, and it put a strain on his body...”]

[“He’ll be okay.”]

Al raised his head. Even though the doctor said it would be okay, his tense expression suggested he was still worried.

[“He was indeed in a dangerous condition, but we’ve administered an IV, so the dehydration has improved. However, the anemia is quite severe, so he will need a blood transfusion. We need either his family’s or his own consent for the transfusion, but since he’s still not fully conscious...”]

There was a clicking sound as the door opened, and a woman who appeared to be a nurse peeked into the hallway.

“Dr. Ito, the anemic patient has woken up and can speak now.”

“Oh, really? Then let’s check with him,” the doctor said, turning back to Al.

[“It seems he’s regained consciousness. That’s good news, isn’t it?”]

Al clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. [“Thank you, God,”] he whispered. The doctor spoke to Al as he prayed.

[“By the way, your friend has severe anemia, but no external injuries. There’s no sign of internal bleeding either, except for the anemia in the data. We can’t rule out the possibility of bleeding inside his body. Do you have any idea what might have caused this?”]

Al’s heart thudded at the pointed question. Why was he asking that? Did he know that Akira’s anemia was caused by losing too much blood to a vampire? No, that couldn’t be. Even if he said he was a vampire, no one would believe him. Could the doctor be one of his kind? No, it didn’t feel that way either... Unable to grasp the intent behind the question, Al remained silent.

[“I won’t press you if you don’t want to answer,”] the doctor said.

Not knowing whether the doctor knew or not, Al simply bowed his head and said, [“Please take care of Akira.”]

After about thirty minutes, the doctor emerged from the treatment room with a cheerful smile. "He’s fine. There’s no bleeding from the anus, everything looks good," he said. "But given how anemic he is, I imagine he wasn’t feeling well. In situations like this, it’s important to take it easy or change your approach. Make sure to talk it over with him,” the doctor advised.

It was then that Al realized they had been mistaken for a same-sex couple. He wanted to correct the misunderstanding, but it was too late.

A knock sounded at the door of the hospital room. It was already past ten in the evening.

“Akira, are you there?”

It was Nukariya’s voice. Al stood up and rushed to the door. Dressed in a suit, Nukariya patted the red-eyed, tear-streaked Al on the shoulder and approached Akira’s bed.

“How did you know I was here? Did that idiot tell you?” Akira asked.

By “idiot,” he must mean me, Al thought, shrinking into a corner of the room.

“On my way back from work, I stopped by your place. Both of you were gone, the door wasn’t locked, and the room was a mess. There was even a blood-stained towel on the floor. Your phone was left behind, too. Worried something had happened, I asked the neighbor, who told me you were taken away in an ambulance. I was shocked. What the hell happened?”

“The root of all evil is that idiot over there,” Akira said, pointing directly at Al. Unable to make excuses, Al lowered his head.

“I gave that idiot some of my blood, and he drank way too much. I was on the brink of death from anemia!”

“Blood?”

“I’m sorry,” Al apologized in a trembling voice.

“Stop... couldn’t... head... understand... body... didn’t... I’m sorry.”

“He wasn’t feeling well, and I felt sorry for him, so I gave him some of my blood, but this is what I get. Don’t think you can get away with just apologizing! Because of your lack of control, I ended up being rushed to the hospital. To top it off, they thought we were a gay couple who had gone too far, so they even checked inside my ass! What the hell did you tell the doctor?!”

“I... I didn’t say... anything...”

“If you didn’t say anything, then who did?”

“I’m sorry... I’m really sorry...” Al sobbed, tears streaming down his face. Nukariya, looking confused, glanced back and forth between them before gently patting Al’s bowed head.

“Well, I think I get the gist of it. Al might have been careless, but he didn’t mean any harm, and he regrets it, so...”

“Even if he didn’t mean to, what would you do if it killed me? Don’t think you can always get away with these soft excuses! Carelessness can be a serious crime,” Akira shot back like a machine gun. He then turned to Nukariya and spat out, “Take that idiot with you! He’s an eyesore.” Even though Al protested, “I want stay here,” Akira firmly refused, saying, “The more I look at your face, the worse I feel,” and Al had no choice but to leave.

[“Thankfully, it looks like he only needs to stay in the hospital for a day, so it wasn’t too serious,”] Nukariya said, trying to comfort Al, who was still sniffling as he drove the car. Even after they reached the apartment, Al couldn’t stop crying, so Nukariya stayed with him for a while out of concern.

[“I’ve been busy lately and haven’t been able to visit. Have you been feeling unwell too, Al?”]

When asked, Al nodded.

“Couldn’t... get up.”

[“You can speak in English when you’re talking to me. Akira is just a bit too strict.”]

Nukariya was kind. Just talking with him naturally made Al feel calm.

[“I was stabbed with a knife three days ago.”]

[“What?!”]

Al was startled by Nukariya’s loud voice, which was unusual for him since he was usually quiet.

[“Did Akira stab you?!”]

Al frantically shook his head.

[“Akira would never do that. I was alone in the park when a man I’d never seen before stabbed me from behind.”]

[“A man you’d never seen before?”]

[“I was stabbed three times, and it hurt a lot. I lost a lot of blood. I can heal from any wound naturally, but I hadn’t been drinking proper blood, only liver, so it took longer to heal, and I couldn’t get up from bed. Seeing this, Akira cut his arm and gave me his blood, but I was so hungry that I lost control and drank until Akira collapsed…”]

Nukariya frowned deeply, a severe expression on his face.

[“I’ve been so busy this past week that I haven’t been in touch with Akira, so I didn’t know you had been stabbed. It’s only because you’re a vampire that you didn’t die this time. If it had been an ordinary human, it could have been much worse.”]

[“I was cut on a major artery in my neck, so if I were human, it probably would have been fatal. Blood was spurting out.”]

Nukariya gripped Al’s shoulders tightly, almost painfully.

[“Have you heard about the series of knife murders recently?”]

[“I don’t really understand the news when I watch it...”]

“I see,” Nukariya said, lowering his eyes.

[“In October, two people were killed in similar ways. Both were attacked with knives, and their backs, stomachs, and necks were slashed.”]

A chill ran down Al’s spine.

[“The person who attacked you might be the same person responsible for these random killings. If you weren’t a vampire, you could have been the third victim.”]

Al had been almost killed when he was in America too, and he had held a grudge against his attacker. Wounds that were bad enough to kill made him writhe in pain so intense he wished he were dead. But then he would heal, and the terrible ordeal would pass without leaving a trace, soon to be forgotten.

Knowing he would heal, he hadn’t thought deeply about what it meant to be “stabbed.” But yes, the person who stabbed him might continue doing the same thing unless they were caught.

[“Al, would you be willing to help the police with their investigation? If we can catch him, it might prevent the next victim.”]

His heart fluttered nervously. Even though he tried to live quietly in a corner of the world, he was often treated like a nuisance, shouted at, or chased away. But now, maybe he could help people. Maybe he could help catch a vicious criminal.

[“I’ll help!”]

Nukariya immediately took out a notepad and a pen.

[“Do you remember what he looked like—his age, his face, what he was wearing?”]

Al closed his eyes to concentrate. He clearly recalled the face of the man who had been laughing.

[“He was probably in his late twenties, very thin, with short hair, and wearing glasses. Also, he was dressed in black from head to toe.”]

Nukariya asked for more details about the man’s facial features and the design of his glasses. He was apologetic, saying, “I’m worried that remembering the situation might traumatize you,” but Al reassured him that he would be fine, having previously survived a level of violence that would have been fatal to a human.

Suddenly, the image of the man’s strangely twisted mouth came to mind, and Al felt his own mouth twist involuntarily.

[“What’s wrong, Al?”]

[“After he stabbed me, he laughed. He said something like ‘Hurry up and die’...”]

Al looked at Nukariya’s face.

[“I don’t think stabbing someone is normal in itself, but the attacker seemed to be enjoying it. He’s definitely messed up.”]

Nukariya stopped writing notes. He seemed to be deep in thought.

[“I’d like to create a composite sketch of the attacker. Could you help with that if I come by early tomorrow evening?”]

[“Sure, I’ll help however I can.”]

After Nukariya left, Al lay down on the sofa. The occupant of the bed across from him wasn’t there, but now that he was better, even if it was unoccupied, he felt he shouldn’t sleep there. He had drained so much of Akira’s blood that he had to be hospitalized, and the man who attacked him might be a serial killer. So much had happened in just one day. Maybe that was why his nerves were so on edge.

Even though he knew he didn’t need to worry since Akira was in the hospital, he couldn’t help but be concerned. He felt energy coursing through his entire body, knowing it was all thanks to Akira. Drinking until Akira collapsed had been the worst, but he was grateful for Akira’s act of giving him his blood.

When Akira comes home to the apartment tomorrow, I’ll take really good care of him, Al thought. I’ll clean the house, do the laundry, cook meals... Thinking about these things, he drifted off to sleep.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

The next day, when Al woke up, the sun had already risen, and the room was bright. Naturally, he had turned into a bat. He had planned to go outside while he was still human, as he couldn’t turn the doorknob in his bat form, but he had overslept. Now, he couldn’t go to the hospital. Frustrated by the dilemma of wanting to go but being unable to, he flew uselessly around the room. Then he realized that even if he had woken up early, he wouldn’t have been able to go since they had taken the ambulance there and returned in Nukariya’s car. He didn’t even know the hospital’s name or location. With this sad realization, he concluded that even waking up early wouldn’t have helped, so he dejectedly flopped down on the table.

He wanted to at least tidy up the room, but he couldn’t do it as he could when he was human. The most he could do was grab a towel that had fallen on the floor with his mouth and push it into a corner of the room.

As he spent his time feeling gloomy and unable to do anything, the afternoon came. Around two o’clock, he heard the sound of the key turning in the lock. Al quickly flew to the entrance, and as the door opened, he let out a loud series of screeches to greet Akira.

“Shut up! It’s giving me a headache,” Akira shouted, and Al immediately closed his mouth. With a frown creasing his brow, Akira took off his shoes and headed straight for the bathroom. Al grabbed his discarded shirt with his mouth, intending to at least push it to the side, when he felt a slight resistance. When he gave it a hard pull, there was an unpleasant ripping sound.

Did... did I just tear it? A cold sweat broke out on Al's forehead. He began to panic, but as he was pacing around, the bathroom door banged open, and Akira emerged, soaking wet.

“What are you doing?”

Al dropped the shirt he was holding in his mouth.

“Don’t play with my clothes.”

Akira picked up the shirt and tilted his head with a questioning look. The shoulder of the shirt was noticeably torn. A new vein popped out on Akira’s already irritated forehead.

“You damn bat! What are you doing?”

Akira grabbed Al, who was lying on the floor, and yelled right into his ear.

“Because of you, I’ve had a terrible time. Don’t do anything else to piss me off!”

Akira threw Al with all his might, but Al spread his wings in mid-air and avoided crashing into the wall. Naked, Akira crossed the room and pulled out a sweatshirt from the closet and put it on.

He didn’t bother drying his hair and went straight to bed. Al worried that Akira might still be feeling unwell since he rarely napped during the day. He wasn’t the type to doze off lazily in the afternoon.

Al flew to the curtain and hung from a low position, so he could see Akira’s face clearly. Half-buried in the sheets, Akira’s face looked slightly pale. Maybe he needed to eat more nourishing foods to replenish his blood and regain his strength. But in his bat form, Al couldn’t go shopping or even cook. Come to think of it, since arriving in Japan, he hadn’t gone shopping once. He’d had opportunities, but for some reason, he hadn’t been able to bring himself to buy anything.

Back in the university dormitory, he had cooked for himself. His cooking skills weren’t bad. He used to make omelets for his girlfriends at the time, and they were always well-received. That’s it! I’ll make him an amazingly delicious omelet for dinner. There should be at least some eggs in the fridge. Thinking this, Al fluttered down to the edge of the sheets.

The mattress seemed to move, and Akira opened his eyes. Even though he looked annoyed, he didn’t tell Al to go away, and he closed his eyes again. Al crept closer to the grumpy man by crawling on his stomach. For some reason, he felt an urge to stroke Akira’s head, so he reached out and ran his hand through Akira's hair, accidentally scratching him with his clawed thumb.

“Ouch!” Akira exclaimed.

“What the hell are you doing, you idiot!”

Al was yanked off the sheets and tossed aside like a piece of paper. But he didn’t give up; he returned to the curtain and jumped back onto the sheets. Akira glared at him as if to say, "Not again." Resisting the urge to turn around and leave, Al gradually inched closer. He hesitantly rubbed his nose against Akira's cheek, feeling Akira shiver slightly. Even though they were touching, Akira didn’t grab him or throw him away. After nuzzling Akira's cheek a few more times, Al licked his cheek.

“Hmph,” Akira grunted, letting out a rough breath and closing his eyes again. Al curled up into a small ball right next to Akira's face. Being close to a human’s warmth, Al eventually fell asleep beside him.

Just before sunset, Al woke up, sensing his body was about to change, and quickly got off the bed. Almost immediately, his body began to transform. It was a good thing he noticed in time; if he hadn’t woken up, he would have transformed right above Akira’s head and gotten scolded again. Once he had fully transformed back into human form, he opened the closet and put on some random clothes. As for Akira, he was still sleeping soundly like Sleeping Beauty.

Al stood in front of the small kitchen and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Determined to cook a nutritious dinner for Akira, he opened the refrigerator door with enthusiasm. At that very moment, the doorbell rang. Standing in front of the door was Nukariya.

[“Oh, Al, has Akira come back?”]

[“Yes.”] Al nodded emphatically.

[“He’s been sleeping since he got back.”]

[“Well, it’s just the day after everything happened. He might not be back to his usual self yet.”]

As they talked at the entrance, they heard a rustling sound from inside the room. It seemed the room’s occupant had woken up. Nukariya said, “I’ll come in,” took off his shoes, and approached Akira, who was sitting on the bed scratching his head.

“Are you alright? Are you still not feeling well?”

“...I didn’t sleep at all last night. After you guys left, an old man who was brought in as an emergency case thought I was his childhood friend, Shōzō, because of his dementia. I spent the whole night listening to him talk about tomatoes.”

“Tomatoes?”

“Apparently, they both worked on a tomato farm.”

“Well, tomatoes are tasty.”

“Listening to someone talk about them doesn’t mean you get to eat them,” Akira grumbled, which made Nukariya chuckle softly.

“By the way, would it be okay if I borrow Al for a bit now?”

“Take him forever. No need to bring him back.”

Nukariya gave a wry smile. [“Al, could you come with me?”]

[“Where to?”]

[“To a nearby café. Remember how I asked you to help with the composite sketch yesterday? It’s for that.”]

Having slept for the night, Al had completely forgotten. He wanted to make dinner for Akira, but this was about helping catch a criminal and potentially saving lives, so he couldn’t be selfish.

“What’s this about a composite sketch?” Akira asked curiously.

"Oh, that reminds me. Al was attacked by a thug and was seriously injured—he almost died! Why didn’t you tell me?" 

At Nukariya’s reproachful tone, Akira looked up at the ceiling and said, “Now that you mention it, since his wounds healed overnight, I completely forgot that there was someone who attacked him.” 

"Al survived because he’s a vampire, but if he were human, he might have died. It’s dangerous to leave someone who indiscriminately inflicts fatal injuries free to roam around. I wish you had at least told me when Al got hurt." 

“…I didn’t think that far. I’m sorry.” 

Akira, who was usually domineering towards Al, grew quiet when Nukariya was around. In a way, Nukariya held the highest position in their group’s hierarchy. Following his lead, Al went into a nearby café. This was Al’s first time in a Japanese café, and he found it small, cramped, and unusually dark. It was a relaxing place, but it also felt somewhat claustrophobic. 

Inside the café, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties with sharp eyes and a strong-willed demeanor was introduced as a police officer who specialized in drawing composite sketches. Following Nukariya’s prompting, Al tried to recall the nondescript man’s features and described them to the woman in his broken Japanese. The woman, with practiced ease, quickly sketched the outline and facial features of the man as if she were looking inside Al’s mind. 

In about an hour, the sketch was completed, capturing the nondescript man perfectly. The woman finished off an enormous parfait in one gulp and smiled as she left, saying, “Nukariya, you really drive people hard, don’t you?” 

[“Al, you’re the victim, but you have no identification, and there’s the matter of breaking into a food factory and escaping from jail, so I couldn’t bring you to the station. That’s why I had her come out here in secret.”] 

As they walked back, Nukariya explained. 

[“Now that we have a composite sketch, I think we’ve gained a significant lead. Al, thank you so much for today.”] 

All Al did was describe the person’s appearance, but he was deeply grateful. Feeling both embarrassed and happy, Al squirmed with a mixture of emotions. He wished Akira would thank him like that at least once; he felt like he would be incredibly happy if that happened. 

When they returned to the apartment, it was past 9 p.m. There was a lingering smell of ramen in the room, suggesting Akira had already eaten dinner. 

“I’m back,” Al greeted in Japanese. The owner of the room, who was sitting in front of his computer, muttered, “You’re late.” Al quietly approached from behind. As he peered over Akira’s head at the monitor screen, Akira suddenly turned around. 

“What, do you want to use the internet too?” 

“No.” 

“Then, do you need something from me?” 

“I... study Japanese... work hard... help Akira.” 

Akira snorted a small laugh through his nose. 

“Don’t think you can be of any use to me. You’re a million years too early for that. If you’re not going back to America, find a job here in Japan, secure some food, and gain enough language skills and smarts to live decently for yourself.” 

After bluntly stating this, Akira focused back on the monitor. Al felt a surge of emotion in his chest as he listened to the end, even though he felt irritated when Akira said he was a million years too early. He wanted to hug Akira and kiss him, but he restrained himself, fearing he would be pushed away with a “Don’t bother me.” 

As he lay on his usual spot on the sofa, gazing at Akira’s back, Al’s thoughts drifted back to when he had become a vampire. 

…Eight years ago, after a crazy female vampire drank his blood and he died, Al had clawed his way out of the grave on the fourteenth day. The first place he woke up was inside a coffin, where it was dark, cramped, and incredibly hungry. At first, he was filled with intense anger, wondering why he had been buried in a coffin while he was still alive. He didn’t realize that he had died and become a vampire. 

After breaking out of the coffin and clawing his way through the dirt, he finally emerged outside, where it was pitch dark. Even though it was a moonless night and he couldn’t see, he could instinctively sense where everything was around him. He made his way back home from the graveyard without tripping or bumping into anything. He couldn’t tell what time it was. From the quietness of the streets, he guessed it was the middle of the night, but he didn’t hesitate to ring the doorbell of his family home. That was how angry he was about what had happened to him. 

[“Who is it at this hour?”] 

From inside the door, he heard his mother’s voice, tinged with nervousness. 

[“It’s me! Albert... it’s Al.”] 

After a brief silence, a hysterical shriek, like the death cry of a chicken, echoed through the house. 

[“My son is dead. I don’t know who you are, but stop with this cruel joke!”] 

[“It’s not a joke. Mom, it’s me, the real Al. I came back to life in the coffin.”] 

[“That can’t be true!”] 

[“It might be hard to believe, but I did come back to life. It’s not a lie. Open the door and see for yourself.”] 

He pounded on the front door repeatedly. But his mother didn’t respond, nor did she open the door. Suddenly, the area brightened. The light in the upstairs room had been turned on. 

[“You must be a burglar.”] 

His mother’s voice was cold. 

[“You’re trying to use a boy with my son’s voice to make me open the door. I won’t fall for that!”] 

His mother refused to see reality. She wouldn’t accept that her son had come back to life. Pressing his forehead against the stubbornly closed front door, Al bit his lip hard. 

[“On Christmas three years ago, the gift you gave me was a sweater.”] 

He closed his eyes and recalled. 

[“When I was hospitalized after getting injured in a soccer match, you flew back from Grandma’s in Oklahoma to be with me.”] 

[“When I brought my girlfriends from college home, you liked Jane, but you didn’t like Amarine.”] 

[“Stop it, stop it! Don’t say anything more!”] 

[“Mom, you always hid the jewelry you secretly bought from Dad at the far right end of the cupboard.”] 

He heard the sound of hurried footsteps running away from the door. 

[“Mom! Mom!”] 

He shouted loudly, but there was no response. There was a loud bang above his head. When he looked up, he saw that a window had been flung open, and his father was leaning out. 

[“…Dad.”] 

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His father held a pistol in his right hand, and the barrel was aimed straight at his beloved son. 

[“You possessed demon! Get out of here right now, or I’ll shoot!”] 

[“Dad, it’s me. It’s Al. Why are you trying to shoot me? I finally made it back home.”] 

[“Our son is dead. He couldn’t possibly have come back to life!”] 

His father’s voice was cold and hard. 

[“I didn’t die. Look at me properly! You’re the one who’s being horrible, Dad. Why did you bury me in a grave? It was dark, cramped, and suffocating!”] 

[“Oh… God, God!!”] 

From beside his father, Al heard his grandmother’s raspy voice. 

[“God, please guide this lost child to heaven.”] 

[“I’m not a ghost! I’m alive! I’m really here…”] 

A gunshot rang out in the dark night. Al trembled where he stood. The bullet had struck far off in the grass. It was probably just a warning shot, but… If he made a mistake, he would be killed—he would be killed. Sensing the danger to his life, Al began to slowly back away. His father’s gun was still aimed straight at him.

As soon as he stepped outside the property, beyond the fence, Al bolted away as fast as he could. Even then, he believed that the one who was strange wasn’t him but his father. After all, he wasn’t dead.

He ran down the dark night road with a certainty that went beyond just being familiar with the path. Later, he would learn that it was the bat’s ultrasonic sense allowing him to gauge distances to his surroundings, but at the time, he didn’t know.

Confused and unsure where to go, he eventually headed to the house of his childhood friend, Greg. Al was certain that Greg, being such a close friend, would understand his situation.

He jumped over the white fence into the yard of Greg’s house and knocked on the window on the east side instead of the front door. He knew that was Greg’s room. After a few repeated knocks, the room's light turned on, and the curtains were drawn back. Greg, half-asleep, looked out and, upon seeing Al standing outside the window, jumped in shock and quickly pulled the curtains closed again.

[“Greg, it’s me. Albert. Open the window.”]

From inside the room, Al heard a high-pitched scream.

[“Just listen to me! Dad and Mom don’t believe me when I tell them I’ve come back to life!”]

[“No one comes back to life!”] Greg declared, and Al pressed his hands against the glass, his eyes widening in shock.

[“When I went to see you before you died, they said it might be the last time. You were unconscious, skinny as a rail, and looked like an old man. But at the funeral, your face was full and beautiful again, and your mother was crying, saying she was glad they could find such a skilled embalmer. A body that’s been embalmed can’t just come back to life!”]

Al looked at his hands. He could open and close them. His legs moved, and he could talk. How could this body be "dead"? It wasn’t him who was crazy; it was everyone else.

[“I was good to you, wasn’t I? I was your best friend! So why are you trying to haunt me? You’re dead. Dead! Please, go to God where you belong!”]

After that, no matter how many times Al called out, Greg didn’t respond, and the window remained closed. Rejected by both his family and his best friend, Al wandered the streets in despair. Everyone was crazy. No one acknowledged his existence. They refused to see him.

At some point, his thirst became unbearable, and he drank from a garden hose in the yard of a stranger’s house. No matter how much he drank, his thirst wasn’t quenched. It was then that he first noticed something was wrong with his body, but he had no idea why.

Eventually, dawn broke. Without understanding what was happening, his body grew hot, his hands changed shape, and fur sprouted all over him. His vision became a monochrome image, like an old movie, and when he moved his hands, he found he could fly. Confused and panicking, he flew around until he saw his reflection in the mirror of a gas station and was horrified. He knew his body had grown fur, his wings had formed, and his fingers had become strange. He knew, but he didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to believe he had turned into a bat. It was like something out of a children’s book... the story of a prince cursed by a witch. It wasn’t supposed to be real.

A bat by day, a human by night... Clearly, his body was no longer normal. No matter how much he ate or drank, his hunger never abated. Only when he drank blood did he feel a surge of joy and power coursing through his body. It was like he had become a vampire.

It was a man he met by chance, a fellow vampire, who answered Al’s questions. Al had been sitting outside a bar in a nearby town, unable to enter because he had no money, when a slender man in his thirties with black hair and eyes gave him a friendly smile.

[“Good evening. Are there any tasty girls around here?”]

At first, Al didn’t understand what he was being asked. Although the repeated changes in his body and his craving for blood had made him think he might be a vampire, he hadn’t fully grasped what was happening to him.

The black-haired man, who introduced himself as a vampire and claimed that Al was one too, started explaining things to him. The man’s name was Kyiv, and he had become a vampire about three hundred years ago. Since his appearance didn’t change, he said he moved and changed his name every ten years, wandering across America.

The reality that he had become a vampire, evidenced by his transformation into a bat during the day and his insatiable thirst for blood, was something Al quickly accepted. Instead of feeling disgusted, he was more relieved to finally have an explanation for his strange situation.

When Al told him about being bitten by a girl and drinking his blood, Kyiv shook his head sympathetically.

[“That’s really unfortunate. You must have run into a pretty crazy girl. Normally, even if we take blood, we stop short of killing, and we don’t recklessly create new vampires. She was probably either a newly turned vampire who couldn’t control herself or someone who was really frustrated.”]

[“Doesn’t everyone who gets bitten by a vampire turn into one?”] Al asked, surprised.

Kyiv laughed. [“No way. If that happened, the number of vampires would increase every time we ate, and the town would be overrun with them. To turn a human into a vampire, you have to keep drinking their blood until they die.”]

Al remembered how he had felt faint after the girl bit him during their car sex.

[“But I’ve been wondering, why are you so hungry? Isn’t it easy to drink blood?”]

[“What?”]

[“Just invite a girl—well, a guy would work too—bite their neck lightly while having sex. When you bite, pheromones that make it feel good are released from your fangs, so it won’t hurt them, and when you pull your fangs out, the wound heals, leaving no trace. It used to be popular to leave bite marks on the neck, but you hardly ever see that now. Maybe it’s just something classic vampires do for fun.”]

Al hesitated and said, [“B-but...”]

[“But what?”] Kyiv asked.

[“I don’t have fangs.”]

Kyiv peered into Al’s mouth and exclaimed, [“You’re right! I’ve never seen a vampire without fangs in nearly three hundred years. That’s rare.”]

[“Do all vampires have fangs?”]

[“Yes. Without them, you can’t drink blood. Also, vampire hair and eyes usually turn black, but your hair is a dull brown, and your eyes aren’t black—they’re gray. You’re not dyeing your hair or wearing colored contacts, are you?”]

[“No, I’m not. My original hair was bright blonde, and my eyes were green.”]

When Al explained that he transformed into a bat during the day and back into a human at night, unable to control it himself, Kyiv was even more astonished.

[“You really are a fascinating being. You don’t have fangs for sucking blood, and you can’t control your transformations. That makes it hard for you to live among normal humans. Finding a place to stay would be tough, you could only work at night, and since you can’t meet anyone during the day, socializing would be a real challenge.”]

It was only then that Al realized the burden of his misfortune.

[“Why am I different from other vampires?”]

Kyiv tilted his head. [“I can’t say for sure, but it’s possible that the blood-sucking process was incomplete. After all, you didn’t die immediately after being bitten, right?”]

[“...I think I was in the hospital for about a week. I don’t remember much from the end.”]

[“These days, they perform embalming after someone dies. That might have affected you. During the critical period when your cells were transforming into a vampire’s, your blood was drained, and strange chemicals were introduced into your body. Still, the times are changing, and we might see more vampires like you in the future.”]

At first, when Al realized he was a vampire, he tried to live as humanly as possible despite his condition. Even though he wasn’t human, he could stave off his hunger with animal blood, and with Kyiv’s help, he was able to move into a low-income apartment. But in reality, being dead made it nearly impossible for him to hold a job, let alone get hired for part-time work without any identification. Even when he did find work, it was hard labor for little pay, leaving him physically exhausted. He endured it, but then he was suddenly fired without explanation. It took him half a month to find his next job. The delivery job he finally got lasted only a month before he was let go again. He heard through the grapevine that a Hispanic worker who didn’t speak the language replaced him because they could be paid less.

As life became increasingly unsustainable, Al decided to visit Kyiv for advice, only to find that he had moved. Vampires didn’t stick together, and since they didn’t age, they had to relocate periodically. Even so, Kyiv had been his only vampire companion, and Al felt a pang of loneliness at the thought that Kyiv hadn’t left him a word.

As he bounced from job to job, Al eventually couldn’t afford his apartment rent and was evicted. His hunger grew, but his money dwindled. He prioritized food over everything else, so his clothes became dirty and torn, yet he wore them without care. His shabby appearance only made it harder to find work, creating a vicious cycle. Even the few acquaintances he had distanced themselves from him.

He stopped caring about trying to live like a human or about his appearance. In the end, he reached the ultimate conclusion: as long as his hunger was satisfied, nothing else mattered. He settled near Gaddis’s house, spending his days drinking blood and his nights sleeping. He had no contact with people... that’s right, it had all faded away.

Of all the people Al had met since becoming a vampire, Akira was by far the roughest and most foul-mouthed, yet he was kind. Not just a fleeting kindness, but a continuous one that ebbed and flowed, always there.

"I like Akira," Al said happily, but the man turned to him with a puzzled expression.

"Flattery won’t get you anything."

"Flattery?" Al repeated, confused.

Akira thought for a moment before replying in English, [“It means using insincere praise to get someone to do something.”]

"No flattery, true like."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now go to bed."

Al changed into his sweats and settled down to sleep. He used to get angry when Akira forced him to learn Japanese. He was scared when he’d get yelled at for making mistakes. But now, he wasn’t afraid. Even if Akira yelled at him, he wasn’t scared. If something bad happened to him, Akira would help him, even if he complained about it.

Most importantly, this was a place where he belonged. There was food, cleanliness, and someone to talk to. Al resolved to study Japanese even harder, determined that one day he would be able to help Akira in some way. With that thought, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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