Four Ears

"Aren't you curious?" the wolf girl called after me. "About how I knew you were admitted as a vampire? Or how I can tell you're human?"

"No," I replied without turning around. The cilantro was starting to wilt in my hand, but I kept it ready just in case.

"Really? Nothing at all makes you curious?" She appeared in front of me, materializing from my shadow. I didn't flinch this time. "Not even a tiny bit?"

I stopped walking. "Actually, there is one thing."

Her tail started wagging. "Go on."

"Why do you have four ears?"

Her tail went rigid. "What?"

"Four ears," I said, pointing lazily. "Two human ones, two wolf ones."

"They're not- I mean- Are you making fun of me?" Her face flushed red as her hands flew up to cover both sets of ears.

"I would never," I said, though the slight upturn of my lips probably gave me away.

The wolf girl's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Well, let me show you what these ears can do."

Before I could react, she pressed her ears to my chest, and the sudden movement made me drop the cilantro.

"W-what are you doing?" I tried to step back, but she moved with me.

"Be quiet. I'm listening." Her wolf ears twitched, and a triumphant grin spread across her face. "Just as I thought! You have a heartbeat! Seventy-two beats per minute to be exact."

"Congratulations. You've discovered I'm alive."

"But you're not supposed to be!" She jabbed a finger at my chest. "You were admitted as a vampire, right? Vampires don't have heartbeats."

She draped an arm around my shoulders, her tail swishing back and forth.

"Don't worry though. I'll keep your secret!"

I stared at her. "That's it? You're just going to... keep my secret?"

"Well... When you put it that way..."

I didn't wait to hear the rest. I turned on my heel and started walking away.

"Hey!" she called after me. "Don't just walk away!"

I absolutely could, and I was doing exactly that.

I quickened my pace slightly, but apparently that provoked her. I heard a growl, followed by the sound of running feet. Before I could react, something solid slammed into my back. Her arms wrapped around my waist as she tried to stop me, but her momentum was too much.

We stumbled forward together. Time seemed to slow as I realized we were headed straight for the garden's pond.

Cold water engulfed me. When I surfaced, my uniform was completely soaked, my hair plastered to my face, and something that felt suspiciously like a lily pad had taken residence on my head.

"Ha! That'll teach you to..." the wolf girl emerged from the water, triumphant expression quickly fading as she saw me floating lifelessly. "Hey, are you okay?"

"This is fine," I said, staring upward. "Everything is fine. I love being in ponds. It's my favorite hobby, right after being tackled by werewolves."

"You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

"No, really?" The water lily pad slid off my head with a sad plop.

Her ears drooped. "You're definitely being sarcastic."

"Well, thanks to you, I'm going to smell like pond water all day." I finally stood up, water streaming from my clothes.

"Hey, at least now you don't reek of the devil's plant anymore." She grinned, showing off her fangs.

I was about to climb out of the pond when the wolf girl crouched down slightly and -

FWOOOSH

Like a dog after a bath, she shook herself from head to toe, spraying water in every direction. Most of that direction being directly at me.

I closed my eyes and counted to three. "I'm going to homeroom."

"I'll come with you!" she declared, her now-fluffy tail wagging.

"No." I stepped out of the pond, my shoes making an unfortunate squishing sound with each step.

"But you're still wet. I know, I could dry you with my shadows!" She perked up, shadows already swirling around her hands.

"Absolutely not."

The wolf girl opened her mouth to protest again, but I was already trudging back toward the school building, leaving wet footprints in my wake.

I hoped to change before class started, but that hope died the moment I stepped inside.

The hallway went silent. Dozens of eyes turned to stare at me - some literally glowing in the dim light. I tried to ignore them, but it's hard to maintain dignity when your shoes are making squish-squish sounds with every step.

"Is that the new vampire?"

"She's soaking wet..."

"She looks kind of hot, not gonna lie."

Stupid Ryou. I'd forgotten that vampires were supposed to have some kind of weakness to water. Or was that just holy water? I really should have done more research before agreeing to this whole vampire charade.

Speaking of, my shadow was moving again. And occasionally sprouting ears.

Just keep walking. Pretend you don't notice.

Opening the classroom door, I was greeted by silence. Twenty pairs of eyes fixed on me. A girl with moth wings. A boy whose head was literally on fire. And they were all staring.

"Ah," I said eloquently, water dripping from my sleeve.

"Um," a tentacled student near the front raised one of their appendages. "Aren't vampires supposed to... dissolve in water?"

"That's witches," someone else whispered.

"No, witches melt."

A girl with iridescent dragonfly wings fluttered up to me. "So, like, if you're really a vampire, why aren't you, you know..." She gestured at my dripping form.

"I... took a special potion. For water resistance."

A muffled snort came from my shadow, and I could see wolf ears twitching with poorly contained laughter.

"Oh! That's so cool!" The dragonfly girl's eyes sparkled. "Where did you get-"

Another snort from my shadow, louder this time. My eye twitched.

"Is something funny?" the dragonfly girl asked.

"No," I said while stomping on my shadow. This only made the snickering worse.

That's it.

I reached down, grabbed what felt like an ear, and yanked. There was a yelp as the wolf girl tumbled out of my shadow, sprawling across the classroom floor.

"Hey! My ears are sensitive, you know?" she whined, rubbing her wolf ear.

The classroom erupted in gasps. Several students backed away from their desks.

"Did she just... pull a black wolf out of her shadow?"

"Wait… Look at her face!"

"She actually struck an Akatomi..."

"That vampire's done for..."

The wolf girl's ears perked up as she noticed all the attention. A sly grin spread across her face. 

Oh no.

"Oh, this?" She touched her cheek, tail wagging. "This isn't just any bruise. It's a claiming mark from my mate!"

The what now?

"Your... mate?" the dragonfly girl asked.

"Yep!" The wolf girl bounded to me, practically glowing with pride. "when a powerful mate chooses you, they leave their mark!" And Ryou here" - she draped herself across my shoulders - "chose me!"

"If this is such an important tradition," I said through gritted teeth, "why didn't you mention it before?"

"Well..." She twirled a strand of her hair, looking far too pleased with herself. "You didn't ask?"

More whispers erupted around us. I could feel the stares intensifying.

"A vampire and a werewolf...?"

"Only a vampire would dare..."

"But that vampire would be wasted on the likes of that werewolf."

I lifted my head just enough to stare at the ceiling. "I don't suppose anyone here has a stake they could drive through my heart? Or silver bullets? I'm not picky at this point."

"Don't be silly," the wolf girl chirped, hugging me tighter. "Vampires can't die from stakes. Even werepups know that."

Make that a very, very, very long four years.