Vampire and His Pleasant Companions: Volume 3 - Part 5

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They checked into the motel a little after 4 PM. Akira and Al got a twin room, while Kyiv took a single.

The rooms were small, with quilted bed covers on the beds and TVs hanging from the ceiling. The remote controls were somewhat difficult to use, and the batteries were almost dead, requiring multiple presses to change the channel. Although clean, the motel was an old-fashioned type, equipped with only the bare essentials.

As soon as Akira entered the room, he flopped onto the bed. He placed the rental car keys on the bedside table.

“Do whatever you want. You can use the car, but don’t get caught by the police.”

With that, Akira closed his eyes. He was probably exhausted from the long drive. Now that they were back in the town where he used to live, Al was happy to be given some freedom, but he couldn’t do anything until nightfall when he would return to human form. Al wanted to take a look outside. He hopped down near Akira's messy hair, gently nudging his cheek with his nose to wake him up.

“…What is it?”

Al flew to the window, scratching at the glass and squeaking, "Squeak (Open this, please)." Akira seemed to get the message and opened the window about two inches (roughly five centimeters). Al shot out into the open air.

He flew from one end of the familiar town to the other. The dusty main street, the general store, the typical pub, and the old bookstore were all still standing just as they had been.

The main street stretched for four blocks, with angle parking in the middle of the road. In the past… more than ten years ago now, when he was in high school, Al would drive around this area. He had driven around aimlessly, hitting on girls—since in the countryside, there wasn’t much to do other than driving and chasing girls. After graduating from high school, Al went to a local college in Omaha, the largest city in Nebraska. He got involved in a modeling agency, had fun, and was so caught up in his own life that he rarely returned home.

Turning right off Main Street, Al saw a pharmacy and, beyond it, the elementary school he had attended. Past that was a large river. He remembered fishing with his father upstream on the Clip River.

By the time he had flown around the small town, it was getting dark, so Al quickly returned to the motel. Akira was completely asleep, lying motionless on the bed. Al landed on the pillow and crept closer to his face. Akira, still wearing his sunglasses, was lying on his side, with the black Ray-Bans sliding down his nose. His sleepy face looked rather cute.

As Al watched him sleep, a surge of affection overwhelmed him. Akira, who had come all the way to America to take care of him, was so kind, so gentle. Still in bat form, Al kissed Akira’s lips with little pecks. Suddenly, the image of Akira kissing Muroi flashed in his mind, making him furious. He kept kissing Akira with determination until Akira swatted him away with the back of his hand, sending him rolling across the sheets.

Al was shocked, thinking that Akira had rejected the kiss because he didn’t like it, but then Akira, still half-asleep, rubbed his face with his fingers, tossed his sunglasses aside, and went back to being motionless. It seemed he was just groggy.

As time passed, the sun fully set, and Al’s body returned to human form. He rummaged through Akira’s bag and found his own clothes neatly packed. This time, he made sure to put on his underwear first before slipping into his jeans. After getting dressed and stuffing the room and car keys into his pocket, he quietly left the room so as not to wake Akira.

Their room was on the second floor, so Al descended the stairs to the first floor. As he passed the front desk, he heard someone call his name: [“Al.”]

Kyiv stood up from an old sofa by the window and approached him.

[“We can finally talk now.”]

Kyiv’s hair and eyes were black, and he was wearing a gray shirt and black jeans. Al remembered how Kyiv had always liked monochrome clothes.

[“Where’s Akira?”]

[“He’s asleep in the room. I was just about to head out.”]

[“Where are you going?”]

[“I’m going to see my parents. That’s why I came back to Nebraska. But I’m just going to look at them from outside the house; it would cause too much commotion if I showed myself.”]

When Kyiv asked if he could come along, Al agreed, thinking it would be more fun to have company and that he wanted to talk about what had happened while they were apart.

His family’s home was about a ten-minute drive from there. As they passed through the main street again, they saw two high school girls chatting happily. Glancing at the young girls, Kyiv murmured, [“They’re not my type, but they look delicious.”]

As soon as they left the town center, the surroundings turned into a pitch-black plains. Though it was still early evening, there were hardly any oncoming cars. When the streetlights disappeared, the only thing visible was the twinkling stars—not an exaggeration. The ordinary road, now filled with nostalgia, made Al realize that he was heading home. He hadn’t even seen his family’s faces yet, but his eyes welled up, and he quickly sniffed to hold back tears.

[“It’s a blessing to have a place you want to return to.”]

Kyiv, sitting in the passenger seat, gently patted Al’s shoulder.

[“Maybe it’s God’s will that I met you today. Well, that is if God actually cares about me… Still, I’m surprised that you’re living with an embalmer in Japan.”]

[“Meeting Akira was a coincidence. But now I’m grateful for that coincidence.”]

Kyiv nodded lightly. [“I’m glad.”]

[“I’ve always been concerned about you. You’re not like other vampires—you can’t freely change your form, and without fangs, you can’t properly drink blood. I went on a journey to find others like you, but by the time I returned, you were gone.”]

Kyiv’s sudden disappearance had devastated Al at the time, making him feel abandoned, but now that he knew it was for his sake, the sadness and the slight resentment he had felt began to fade.

[“Still, Akira is quite unique.”]

Kyiv crossed his arms and murmured.

[“He’s gruff and has a sharp tongue, but he’s a good person. He knew I wanted to see my parents, so he brought me all the way here. Even though I came as part of a drama shoot, Akira took time off from work to come with me.”]

Kyiv looked genuinely surprised. [“A drama?!”]

[“It seems you’ve accomplished a lot while I wasn’t looking.”]

Al explained how he ended up in Japan living with Akira, how he unintentionally debuted as an actor thanks to a friend of Akira’s who was a drama producer, and talked about his colleagues at the embalming facility—kind Tsuno, Muroi, who was in love with Akira, and his reliable confidant, the detective Nukariya…

As Kyiv listened, he chuckled, thinking, [“Sounds like quite the adventure.”]

[“I’m glad to hear you're living well. But as a vampire who's lived three hundred years longer than you, let me give you a piece of advice: it's better not to get too involved with humans.”]

Al tilted his head. [“Why? Aren’t we originally human too?”]

[“Yes, but we've become monsters. We won’t die...we live forever. And they, inevitably, will die. The longer you stay with them, the more attached you become, and the harder the farewell will be.”]

Al swallowed hard.

[“I recommend resetting your life—both your residence and relationships—every ten years.”]

He wanted to stay by Akira’s side as long as possible. Even though Akira could be rough with him, there had never been someone who cared so much about him, even when he was human. Al gripped the steering wheel tightly. [“I’m an incomplete vampire without fangs, so I can't drink blood like everyone else. My life after leaving the apartment was horrible, beyond imagination. Now, thanks to Akira being an embalmer, I get blood regularly, and I’m stable. I know humans die first, and I can imagine becoming attached would be painful. But still, I think it’s best for me to stay by Akira’s side for a while.”]

Kyiv laughed. [“Al, you haven’t even been a vampire for ten years. You don’t understand the true sadness of losing someone you love. The more you love them, the longer you stay, the deeper the despair. It’s like a bottomless swamp. I know many vampires who have taken eternal sleep out of sorrow from losing their loved ones. …And as for your inconvenient body, there might be something that can be done.”]

His right foot pressed down on the accelerator involuntarily, and the engine roared loudly.

[“I mentioned I talked to some other vampire acquaintances, right? There aren’t many vampires older than me, but I finally found one. He didn’t know anyone like you, but he did say this: ‘If your blood is weak, you should strengthen it.’ It might be worth trying once.”]

[“Strengthen my blood? How do I do that?”] Al asked nervously.

Kyiv laughed. [“It’s not a big deal. You drink the blood of a complete vampire. That way, your human side will weaken, and you’ll become more vampire-like, or so he said.”]

It made sense when he heard it.

[“I could let you try right now if you want. I drank a lot of blood from my girlfriend until yesterday, so I’m full. I can offer as much as you need.”]

Al couldn’t respond to Kyiv’s kind offer. He didn’t even understand his own feelings. Did he want to become a complete vampire or not? If he had heard this back when he was alone in America, he would have jumped at the chance without a second thought.

[“Oh, one thing to note: there’s no guarantee you’ll become a full vampire just by drinking the blood. But it’s worth a try, don’t you think? It might help, and it certainly won’t hurt.”]

A complete vampire like Kyiv. One who doesn’t have to forcefully change with dawn, who can remain human-like even during the day. He might even grow fangs. It was tempting. Very tempting...

[“It sounds like a good idea, but can I think about it a little? At least until after I see my parents’ faces...”]

[“Anytime you want is fine with me. I’ve been feeling lonely after breaking up with my girlfriend, so I thought I’d stick around you guys for a while. Sounds fun.”]

Kyiv yawned next to him. [“Ah, sorry. I stayed up late last night, so I’m sleepy.”]

[“Were you watching a movie?”]

Kyiv smiled meaningfully. [“Al, I was with my girlfriend until yesterday.”]

Realizing he had asked something tactless, Al’s face turned red. [“The blood of an excited girl is sweet and delicious. Maybe that’s why, but I always end up drinking it during the act, and naturally, the frequency increases too.”]

Al had never heard that sex could change the taste of blood. He wondered if Akira was like that too. Akira’s fresh blood was so delicious and sweet it could melt in his mouth. The thought that it could taste even better during sex made him swallow hard.

If Akira could read his mind, he would definitely get smacked for such a wild fantasy. Then Al suddenly realized something. Every girl Kyiv chose was sexy in appearance. Perhaps Kyiv, who liked drinking blood during sex, was attracted to girls with strong sexual energy.

[“By the way, Al, you usually drink the blood of the bodies that come out of the embalming, right? Have you ever drunk fresh blood from a living person?”]

[“I’ve had it a few times when I was seriously injured. Akira deliberately cut his arm and let me drink because I couldn’t bite on my own.”]

Kyiv nodded. [“I remember Akira saying that your wounds wouldn’t heal without blood. It’s rare to get seriously injured in everyday life, but not being able to heal without blood sounds like a real pain.”]

Al replied with a vague sound and then fell silent. He continued driving down the quiet, empty road at night.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

There are four houses around Al's family home, but even the closest neighbor's house is about eighty yards (approximately seventy-three meters) away. Al parked his car at the edge of a road a little distance from his family home. He didn’t want anyone to think someone had arrived if they heard the sound of the car's exhaust and came out to the yard. He turned off the engine and walked slowly along the dimly lit stone sidewalk, where the streetlights were sparse. It had been a long time, and he felt nostalgic. He wondered if the road had always been this narrow.

The house, surrounded by a low white fence, was two stories tall and quite large. It was simple, like a cottage, fitting for a rural home. In the past, Al had disliked his plain house, longing instead for a grand and imposing home with Doric or Ionic columns. But now, he deeply missed this simple house.

The porch light was glowing softly in an orange hue. The porch was adorned with many pots of small flowers, and the hanging baskets under the eaves were beautiful as well. When Al checked his watch, it was 7:15 p.m. The windows facing south were bright, so his parents were likely in the living room. As he gazed at the house, Al noticed a silver car in the garage on the east side. It was a car he had never seen before, so it must have been purchased after his death.

As he placed his hand on the white fence and peeked out from behind a large tree, Kyiv spoke up, [“Don’t you want to take a closer look?”] Al shook his head with a wry smile.

[“Remember what I told you before? When I escaped from the grave, the first place I went was home, but I was mistaken for a burglar and chased away with a gun. To my parents, their son is already dead. If they see me, they’ll surely be confused. And I never want to have a gun pointed at me again.”]

Kyiv tilted his head slightly. [“But this way, you won’t even get to see their faces. You came all the way back from Japan, and you’re content just looking at the house? As a bat, you could’ve gotten even closer.”]

[“That’s true, but...”]

Al knew it too. If he were a bat, he could have boldly hung from the window frame and peeked inside. But even if his parents didn’t notice, he just didn’t like the idea of being in bat form.

After a moment of thought, Kyiv snapped his fingers. [“I’ve got it! Why don’t you write them a letter?”]

[“A letter?”]

[“Here’s the plan: I’ll pretend to be a friend from your college days. I look about thirty, so it wouldn’t be strange. I found a letter you wrote during your student years that accidentally got mixed up with my belongings. After finding it again after several years, I decided to deliver it to your parents. If we’re lucky, someone might come out to the front door.”]

Al's eyes widened. [“That’s a wonderful idea. It’s like something out of a drama. But... how would I even write a letter...?”]

[“You can write it now, can’t you?”] Kyiv replied casually.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

Then Al hurried back to the town’s general store. Although he was supposedly dead, he was still recognized in the area, so he had Kyiv buy a ballpoint pen, stationery, and envelopes for him.

In the car, Al began writing a letter. At Kyiv's suggestion to [“make it look like it was written nine years ago,”] he struggled to come up with an idea and finally decided to write it as if it were a letter he had meant to send on his parents’ wedding anniversary. As he wrote, his gratitude toward his parents overwhelmed him, and he almost began to cry.

To make it look old, Kyiv lightly smeared the stationery with a bit of dirt. They put the letter in an equally dirtied envelope, walked boldly into the garden, and rang the doorbell.

Al hid behind the fence and watched the front door intently. There was no response to the first ring, but after the second, the door creaked open, though only by a few inches, with the chain still attached. It was too far away to be sure, but it seemed like it was his father who had come to the door.

Kyiv spoke for a while. Then, the chain was removed, and the door swung open wider. It was his father, without a doubt. Al had noticed his father’s hair starting to turn white when he was still alive, but now it was even more so, like snow had piled on it, making him look almost like an old man. As Al was taken aback by how much his father had aged, another figure stepped out onto the porch. A floral blouse and a brown long skirt... It was his mother. Her hair might have turned white as well, but since she had been blonde, it wasn’t as noticeable as his father’s once-brown hair. What startled him more were the deep wrinkles etched into her face.

He thought he had accepted that they would age, but he hadn’t really understood it. He always saw the same face in the mirror, but his parents had changed. They had grown old. Witnessing this change in people before his eyes, Al finally grasped the full meaning of Kyiv’s words.

"We don’t change... but humans do." Just like flowers. They sprout from seeds, grow, bud, bloom, and eventually wither, leaving seeds behind. They come to an end, leaving behind those of us who cannot age.

The letter was being read at the entrance. His father held it open with both hands while his mother peered at it. He could see that they were crying. Al, too, wept as he peered at them through the gap in the fence.

After a while, Kyiv was invited inside. They were probably offering tea to the friend who had delivered a letter from their deceased son, hoping to hear more.

Unable to bear it any longer, Al crouched and snuck into the garden, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The soft, well-tended grass muffled his footsteps.

He headed toward the window facing the living room, where they would undoubtedly receive guests. He crouched under the bright window, pressing his ear to the curtain.

[“Al... was... but...”]

Kyiv’s voice was too faint to make out clearly. He pressed his right ear against the outer wall... From inside the room, he could faintly hear the sound of sobbing.

A shadow swayed on the lawn. Reflexively, Al looked up and nearly cried out in surprise, quickly covering his mouth. Two blue eyes were peeking out from under the short curtain, staring down at him.

Al couldn’t tear his gaze away. The blonde child didn’t look away either. They silently stared at each other, holding their breath. Al flashed a grin at the child, who in turn squinted and grinned back, then quickly ducked out of sight. At that moment, Al dashed out of the garden like a rabbit escaping a trap. Sure enough, as he crouched by the fence under a large tree, he saw someone opening the living room window.

About ten minutes later, Kyiv emerged from the house. He hugged Al’s parents and, as they saw him off, slowly crossed the garden.

[“Were you spying on us?”] Kyiv asked as he approached Al, who was crouching by the fence.

[“Just a little.”]

[“Let’s get back to the car for now.”]

They walked back to where the car was parked, and as soon as Al settled into the driver’s seat, Kyiv handed him something.

[“Here, take this.”]

It was a framed photograph.

[“I took one. I manipulated their memories, so your family doesn’t realize it’s missing.”]

In the photo were his elderly parents, a young man and woman in their early twenties, and a child. The child was the one with the blue eyes who had been peering at him. It took Al a moment to realize that the woman was his sister, Sarah. She had been fourteen when he died, but now she had grown into a fully mature woman.

[“Your sister got pregnant and married right after starting college. The man next to her is her husband, George. The child on George' lap is their son. It seems this photo was taken on Al’s birthday.”]

[“… Al?”]

[“That’s the child’s name. They named him Albert after you. They said he looks just like you when you were little.”]

Al stared intently at the photograph. Just as nine years had passed for him, the same amount of time had passed for his family. He felt a twinge of sadness. But he was also deeply, deeply touched that they had named the child after him, ensuring he wouldn't be forgotten.

[“When they were reading your letter, little Al said, 'There’s someone outside.' Since they were talking about you, they started wondering if it was your ghost.”]

After soaking in the reunion with his family through the photo, Al started the car engine. He decided to come back here again in the morning. Though he wasn’t thrilled about the idea of taking on the form of a bat, he wanted to see everyone properly with his own eyes.

Despite his excitement from seeing his family, Al suddenly became curious about Kyiv. Now that he thought about it, he realized he didn’t know when or how Kyiv had become a vampire.

[“Kyiv, you had a family too, right?”]

[“Of course. I wasn’t born a vampire, you know.”]

Al didn’t ask anything beyond that. Kyiv had been alive for nearly three hundred years. His family must have passed away long ago.

[“When I was still human, I had a lover who was eight years younger than me. When she found out I had become a vampire, she vowed to live with me, even if it meant defying God. I planned to turn her into a vampire by drinking her blood when she turned twenty, but it didn’t work out.”]

[“Why not?”]

Kyiv shrugged.

[“The day before her twentieth birthday, she was run over by a wagon and died. Even I couldn’t turn a dead person into a vampire.”]

Al gasped. Yes, people die. They can vanish from this world easily, whether from illness or unexpected accidents. Unlike us, who can heal from near-fatal injuries… they can’t keep on living.

[“I’m sorry.”]

[“Why are you apologizing?”] Kyiv laughed. [“I can’t even remember her face clearly anymore, except that she had brunette hair and green eyes.”]

For the fifteen minutes it took to reach the motel where they were staying, they barely spoke. Kyiv leaned back deeply in his seat and kept his eyes closed the entire time. Whether he was actually asleep or just pretending, Al couldn’t tell.

◇:-:◆:-:◇

When he returned to the motel room, Akira had just come out of the shower. He was barely dressed, wearing only his underwear, and was roughly toweling his hair dry.

It wasn’t unusual for Akira to walk around in just his underwear. Al did the same thing, and he’d never thought much about it before, but being in a motel made him oddly self-conscious, so he awkwardly averted his gaze.

"What’s up, back already?" Akira said as he plopped down on the bed. "Did you see your parents?"

"Yes… they look old."

Akira brushed his wet hair back from his forehead with an irritated expression.

"Nine years have passed, of course they’re older. It’d be strange if they hadn’t changed."

...That was true, but Akira’s words were blunt.

"What’s that?" Akira pointed to the framed photo in Al’s hand.

"Family… photo… Kyiv gave me."

"Let me see."

Al sat down next to Akira and handed him the frame. Akira leaned in close to get a better look. The clean scent of soap or shampoo made Al feel a little lightheaded.

"These two are your parents, right? Who’s the young couple next to them?"

"My sister… her husband… and child."

Akira stared at the face of Al’s nephew, Albert, for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Al.

"This kid looks a lot like you, doesn’t he?"

"Yes… very much."

Akira laughed and said, "Blood doesn’t lie," as he stood up. He put on a T-shirt and shorts, then nudged Al, who was sitting at the edge of the bed, to the side and slid under the sheets.

"Going to sleep already?"

"Check the time."

It was past eleven at night. Akira yawned widely, his mouth stretching open. Al had things he wanted to talk about, but he felt lonely now that Akira was getting ready to sleep.

"I saw… my mom and dad… but they’re far away."

Akira glanced at Al with just his eyes.

"You knew it wasn’t possible to show yourself in human form. That’s why I suggested you go as a bat in the first place."

When Al fell silent, Akira added, "That’s what happens when you don’t listen, idiot."

"There’s still time before we leave tomorrow. Go back as a bat and take another look."

Akira folded his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. Al, with his head down, noticed an empty ice cream cup in the trash bin next to the side table. It looked like Akira had eaten it while he was out. Even in America, Akira continued his ice cream habit.

"It’s been ten years since you became a vampire, right?" Akira asked, still with his eyes closed.

"Yeah."

"Maybe in another ten years, you’ll be able to return to your parents in that form. You could claim to be the secret child of their deceased son or something. It’s not an impossible story."

Al’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Your parents would probably be happy. If you’re lucky, you could stay by their side openly for five or ten years. Any longer would be impossible since you don’t age, but it’s not a bad plan."

It was an idea that had never crossed Al’s mind. Akira was thinking about him, and Al felt a surge of happiness. He jumped onto the bed and hugged Akira tightly.

"Whoa, what the—"

Akira bounced up on the bed.

"Stop clinging to me. It’s annoying."

Even after Akira swatted him on the head three times, Al didn’t let go. In the end, Akira gave up and settled down, letting Al cling to him.

Taking advantage of this, Al savored Akira’s scent and warmth with his whole body. He was glad to know his parents and sister were doing well and seemed happy. Even if he couldn’t be part of that happiness, as long as they were happy, that was enough.

It was lonely, but it wasn’t. Al had Akira. Akira, who was quick to anger, quick to hit, and had a sharp tongue, but was kind. He had someone who would help him when it really mattered.

He had to cherish Akira. Al squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Like Kyiv, he could lose someone he was meant to walk alongside in an instant. Today, they’d encountered a robbery at the general store. It ended safely because Kyiv was there, but what if Akira had been shot? What if, by some mistake, he’d died… The thought sent a shiver down Al’s spine.

"Are you feeling homesick?"

Akira, who had been ignoring Al’s clinging, spoke up suddenly.

"Homesick?"

"Now that you’ve seen your parents’ faces, do you want to go back to them?"

"No."

Al pressed his forehead against Akira’s neck and shook his head.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I want… to stay… with Akira."

"If you go back, you can see your parents whenever you want."

Al did care about his family and wanted to see them. That was definitely his family there, and while his life had "stopped," their lives had continued. There was a life for him where he could watch over his family, but there was no life for them to watch over him now.

"I want… to stay with Akira."

He couldn’t go back to that circle anymore. He had to find a new life for himself.

"You should talk to your parents again. If a complete stranger like me could believe you’re a vampire, then if you explain things in order and show them how you turn from a bat into a human, maybe your parents will understand."

Yeah, that’s right. Deep down, he wanted to be understood. Even if he’d become a monster, even if he couldn’t live with them, even if he didn’t age or die, he wanted his family to know that he still existed. But… the memory of his father pointing a gun at him and firing came flooding back. He was scared. He was terrified of not being understood. He absolutely couldn’t stand that kind of rejection.

"I’m scared… to talk."

Al hugged Akira tightly from behind. Akira squirmed for a while as if he was uncomfortable, but when he finally told Al to "Go to the other bed," Al pretended to be asleep.

Akira sighed once and turned off the room light. Within a few minutes, his slow, steady breathing filled the room.

Al nuzzled his nose into the nape of Akira’s neck. His tension gradually melted away, and as it did, sleep began to creep in, making his eyelids heavy.

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