CHAPTER 1

Contrary to popular belief, vampires didn’t really have any issues with direct sunlight. Well, yeah, they’re somewhat weaker compared to what they could do during the night, but this applies to all nightwalkers to begin with, so Kou never really thought of it as an exception.

Unlike with their immortality, there’s virtually no caveat to being under the sun. Kou had heard that other kinds of foreign vampire types could be weaker under the sun, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t one of those because he could go to school just fine. Truly, apart from his occasional need to drink blood to replenish his spiritual half of things, he was just the average 16 year-old boy you’d find anywhere.

“No,” his senior said, “you’re anything but average, Kokonoe-kun.”

Despite his superior strength and everything that came with the territory of being a vampire, Kou wasn’t a big fan of moving his body. He clinched P.E. only because he had to, so he did occasionally get called to help cover for the basketball team and all when they needed extra players, but Kou had always preferred the quiet, comfortable sunlight in the library. It was why he joined the Library Committee—though there was also the extra perk of having an excuse to not go to the gymnasium.

It’s just a few extra hours after school, but Kou got to just sit down in the school’s quietest room, reading a book, and occasionally doing proper library work like checking references or helping other students find some books or other materials they wanted. There’s order in everything. There was calmness. Everyone who came was there out of nothing but goodwill. More importantly, Kou got to tell people to shut up when they got too loud. What’s not to love?

“Oh, please,” Kou said. “If I’m not average, then neither are you, Mamori-senpai.”

The short-haired girl let out a small giggle, quiet enough for the library, loud enough for just the two of them. “I mean, my communication ability definitely is nowhere near average.”

“It definitely is way above average, Senpai.”

“Don’t be teasing your seniors, now.”

“But Mamori-senpai is fun to tease….”

She sighed. “Kids nowadays….”

“But we’re only a year apart….”

Sakura giggled again. Kou wanted to whistle to fill the silence, but remembered again that they were in the library.

“Senpai, you mentioned that you’ve got communication issues. But aren’t you talking with me just fine?”

Sakura tilted her head a little. “That’s because we’re in the library, I think? I also tend to be a lot less nervous when doing library duty.”

“So do you think we can’t talk like this outside of the library?”

“Would be great if we could, but … oh, but I’m starting my part-time job proper very soon!”

It was Kou’s turn to tilt his head. “‘Proper’?”

“I’ve only been an apprentice this whole time, but I think they’re finally letting me take the reins. If I’m lucky, I should be fully-fledged in a year or less.”

“That … sounds like a dojo. Are you interning somewhere for martial arts or something?”

Sakura gave a knowing smile and placed a finger on her mouth. “That’s a secret.”

“Stingy.”

“As long as you stay around here, we’re likely going to meet where I work, anyway.”

“Are you being vague so I don’t visit you at work?”

“Oh, you found me out?”

Kou held back his groan, then finally closed the book he realized he wasn’t going to be reading. “Come on. Guessing game, then. I won’t have any reason to go to martial arts gyms or any dojo, so no matter how long I live here, I won’t see you there, so it can’t be a dojo.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You’ve been an apprentice this whole time, so you’ve been doing this for a while.”

“Yup.”

“The place has an apprenticeship format, so it can’t be a convenience store….”

Kou started furrowing his eyebrows, but then the library doors opened. Faintly, the sound of school chime could be heard outside, probably the student council calling for somebody again. Both Kou and Sakura dropped their relaxed conversation and quickly turned, ready to greet their visitor.

… who seems to be the very person the student council was looking for.

The young brunette beamed as soon as she locked eyes with Kou, her golden eyes shining with the sparkle of a thousand suns, and Kou could’ve sworn he saw her long hair spread open like wings. “Kokonoe-kun!”

“Yamato-san, welcome,” Kou said as he stood up. “Running from stuco duty again?”

The girl’s expression turned quickly into a pout. “It’s not running if they don’t need me.”

“Weren’t they calling you over on speaker just now?”

“Rather than that, have you read the book I lent you?”

“Oh, I did!” Kou was so ready to talk to the girl, but then realized where he was standing. “Ah….”

Sakura chuckled. “No worries, Kokonoe-kun. You can go talk with Yamato-san, I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Thank you, Mamori-senpai. I’ll be right back!”

“No you won’t. In fact, please don’t, I feel Yamato-san would be a bit upset if you do.”

The brunette blushed at the comment, but Kou was too busy grabbing his stuff to notice.

The two second-years decided to sit on the third table by the window, close to the secluded corner of the fourth table but still bright enough to be illuminated by the sunlight. There was something about Yamato Himiko that Kou realized made her particularly mesmerizing under the light, as if she was sparkling, although he could never tell if it was just his own filter. That said, though, he was pretty sure that no one would argue with him if he called her pretty, because she just simply was. That one was no filter.

To begin with, there’s her gently curved eyes that opened really wide like a baby doe’s eyes, highlighting her full golden irises, making her big smile look as friendly as her personality. It was the smile that captured the hearts of practically everyone at school, the smile behind her wide social circle, and the very smile behind her election as the student council president. She also usually styled her hair just for fun—she had exactly one pale ribbon and somehow found a thousand different ways to wear it with her long brown hair.

The tone she spoke with had an almost melodic quality to it, and her enunciation was clear as crystal. Kou wasn’t all versed in Christianity, but he heard that she helped with a local church a lot, what with the choir and everything, although he never really knew what she did there—as far as he knew, she wasn’t a Christian herself, which probably made the silver cross on her black choker a bit of an odd aesthetic choice.

“My Dad was Christian,” she explained one day. “I just like Christian symbols. They’re simple and they work well with a lot of designs. They’re cute!”

In fact, that she could wear a choker at school was thanks to her own efforts as the student council president. She was the one who drafted an entire proposal and drew up a whole presentation to the teachers’ committee explaining the long history of chokers in fashion and explaining that it was no longer a sexual item, nor was it an excessive form of self-expression—the school was already pretty lax about accessories, but they’ve been on the fence about chokers in general because of how it used to be associated more with delinquent fashion, and it was Himiko’s persuasion that finally relaxed their restriction.

Really, Kou could spend a few more paragraphs just to gush about Himiko.

However, all the words just suddenly lost their meaning the moment they sat down in comfortable silence. Kou took out the book Himiko lent him, a hard-boiled detective novel, and he felt the immense pressure of expectation from the eyes of the truant student council president to drop a wordy review as he usually did. Which was hard, since his head felt very empty, but it’s not like he could let her know that.

Oh goodness, I’m not all red, am I?

The girl in question just rested her elbows on the table and lazily laid her head on both hands, lightly framing her blushing cheeks, playfully smiling at Kou. “So how was the twist, Kokonoe-kun?”

“A bit hard to swallow, honestly,” Kou said as he slid the book back to its owner. “Let’s be honest, the setup felt forced. He couldn’t have pulled off that solution if he didn’t realize what the lady of the house was trying to do before halfway through the book.”

Himiko laughed. “See, I know you’d say that! Fumika-chan said it wasn’t contrived at all, but I wasn’t convinced.”

“How is that not contrived? There’s literally no way anyone but the reader was supposed to know that she hid the knife above the fireplace. There was no lead-up to that at all!”

“Right?”

It was always like this nearly on the daily. They first became acquainted because they were in the same class throughout first year, and Kou had the misfortune of being selected the class rep since his name was close to the middle of the class’ students list (and the homeroom teacher really just selected a name at random), but Himiko volunteered to be the class secretary right afterwards. And not for any reason in particular: she just thought Kou’s surprised face was funny.

Well, if that was what she asked for, that was what she got. It’s not that they talked much more than necessary when doing class duty, but she didn’t hide her excitement when she found out that Kou was joining the Library Committee.

“I’m thinking of going for stuco.”

“That’s very motivated of you.”

“What can I say? My boundless motivation is my one saving grace.”

She had a lot of saving graces, but Kou knew that she knew that as well, so they just laughed. “I suppose that means you’re gonna get too busy to help with class rep duties, huh.”

“Nah, I won’t let you work alone.”

“Oh? Doth this poor soul seem that untrustworthy to thee?”

“Shan’t I dare say that, Kokonoe-dono! But the truth I must bear, and it is with grave sorrow I must admit that I am wrought with anxiety!”

“Thy worry is but needless, wasted on me!”

“And thou shan’t slander thyself as such, Kokonoe-dono!”

“… you said ‘shan’t’ twice.”

“Oh, come on, we’re onto something here.”

Kou chuckled. “Seriously, though, won’t you be pretty busy as student council?”

“I won’t let myself get too busy,” she said—there’s a strange conviction in her words. “I’d still love to work with you. If anything, if you’re joining the Library Committee, wouldn’t that mean I get to just slack off with you in the library?”

“I think the student council would rather you not slack off at all….”

In the end, that wish fell upon deaf ears because not only did Himiko get herself elected as president just a year after that, she made good of that word of hers. Even Sakura got so used to Himiko skipping out on stuco duty to chat with Kou in the library. What kind of student council president does that? The Japanese youth definitely needs a better sense of democracy if this is what their election turned up.

“Anyway, Kokonoe-kun!”

Himiko’s voice snapped Kou back into the present. Ah, right, the detective book she recommended. Turned out she didn’t recommend it at all, she just wanted vindication for her opinion from her debate with a friend. Welp.

She looked somewhat nervous for some reason. “Can you spare some time before you go home?”

Kou raised his eyebrows. “Sure? I don’t think I’ve got anything else today.”

Himiko’s expression softened. Kou wasn’t sure why. “Awesome. I’ll see you at the school gates. Now, about this other book Fumika-chan told me about….”

*