Chapter 9: How a Man Firmly Decides

"Haa..."

After getting out of the bath and lying down alone on my bed, a sigh escaped me without thinking.

"In the end, Hikari’s still just Hikari..."

Even though I’d acknowledged that vampire girl as Hikari after our conversation in the park, the truth is, I still couldn’t shake the confusion inside me.

If she still had some trace of her old, boyish self, maybe it’d be different... but now, aside from a few familiar gestures, there was nothing left. She was like a completely different person.

And yet, the moment I saw her crouched in front of the memorial photo, sobbing uncontrollably, that unease melted away completely.

She kept apologizing to her parents. Even though none of it was her fault—she’d just been caught in something absurd and out of her control.

—Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

This whole past year, maybe Hikari never even got the chance to grieve.

I can't even imagine what living in another world must've been like. But it couldn’t possibly have been peaceful.

She was summoned to defeat that so-called "True Ancestor." And she fought through it all, just as they asked.

Something unthinkable in Japan—killing to survive.

And in the end, she went down with her enemy. A mutual kill.

That’s way too heavy a fate for someone who was just a third-year middle schooler.

"...I wanna do something for her."

I mumbled as I rolled onto my side.

That said, there’s no way I could just swoop in and solve everything.

The accident that took her parents. The sudden transfer to another world. Turning into a vampire—

All of it had already happened. Nothing could undo it.

—But even so, am I just supposed to do nothing?

"...That’s not right either."

The moment I asked myself that, the answer was obvious.

What I need to do isn’t regret the past—it’s think about the future.

Hikari came back to this world and started living at my house, but that’s just a new starting point. The road ahead is bound to be full of obstacles.

Her species. Her gender.

Both of those huge changes to her body are going to weigh on her in all kinds of ways.

But the number of people she can talk to about any of this... is extremely limited.

Even if she tried to explain, who would believe she used to be a guy? And as for the vampire part—well, even though we live together, we’ve kept that secret from Mom too.

...Then maybe, just like before, I can still be the same friend—another "guy"—she can lean on, whenever she needs to vent.

Of course, it’s not for me to decide. That’s up to Hikari herself.

But if she wants it, I’ll help her however I can.

As I mulled all this over, sleep slowly crept in.

Drifting, gently drifting—my thoughts faded into the dark...

KNOCK KNOCK

"...?"

What brought me back to consciousness was a quiet knock at the door.

A glance at the clock showed it was already past midnight.

Wondering who it could be, I opened the door.

"...Hikari?"

There she was—wearing plain pink pajamas. Looked like something she borrowed from Mom.

"You okay?"

Even now, long after the fact, her eyes were still swollen from crying. The sight made me worry, and I found myself asking before I could stop.

"Sorry you had to see me like that. Pretty pathetic, huh? But I’ve calmed down now. I’m good, really."

Hikari just scratched her cheek awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.

"Wait, were you sleeping? Sorry..."

"I was kinda dozing off. But anyway, what’s up? It’s pretty late."

"Uh, well... um... so..."

"...?"

For some reason, Hikari stood there fidgeting, glancing up at me with her eyes.

I had no clue what this was about.

If I had to guess, maybe it had something to do with what she mentioned during dinner—wanting to catch up on the manga that got released while she was away in the other world.

But if that were the case, there’d be no reason for her to act all hesitant like this.

"...Don’t tell me, you're scared to go to the bathroom alone or something?"

"Huh? What are you, five? That’s something you used to do when we were little, not me."

She scoffed through her nose, but I let it slide.

Then I noticed—her eyes were fixed on my neck.

And to top it off, I swear I heard a little gulp.

"...Wait. Don’t tell me you’re hungry for blood?"

"Y-yeah... I just got really hungry all of a sudden..."

...Even after eating that much earlier?

When I gave her a look, Hikari hurried to explain.

"No, no! This is different! That’s regular food, but it doesn't help! No matter how much I eat, it’s useless!"

Apparently, vampires need magic energy to stay active—but they can’t produce it on their own.

So they have no choice but to take it from others. And the only place that magic resides... is in the living flesh and blood of others.

It’s like a soul, she said—once someone dies, it fades away almost instantly.

That’s why vampires crave fresh, living blood.

And ideally, from intelligent species—the more magic potential, the better.

"I already used up a ton of magic just coming back to this world. And then I used healing magic to fix you, too. I guess I ran out faster than I thought."

"Then don’t worry about it. If it’s because you helped me, I’ve got some responsibility in this too."

"Geez... You say that so casually. But you know, this would be my first time sucking blood, and it’s kinda nerve-wracking!"

I couldn’t really relate, but it seemed like a big deal to her.

She pouted and turned her face away.

"Sorry, sorry. But hey, it’s a promise between guys, right? No need to get all tense—I’m not gonna break it."

Honestly, I was kind of happy.

We still joked around like usual, but as we grew older, Hikari had started relying on me less and less. It felt nice to be needed again.

I mean, I was the one who offered in the first place, but something about this... made me feel like we were back in our childhood days.

"‘A promise between guys,’ huh..."

"...? Anyway, come in already. If Mom sees you, that’s gonna be a problem."

Her response that followed was quiet and mumbled—so low I couldn’t really catch what she said.

And just like that, I let Hikari into my room.