Sharpness

“... What?”, Cubas exclaimed.

When I opened my eyes, I turned directly to the corpse.

The world was still a blur, but slowly it was taking shape, color, and sharpness.

Braz Cubas was blissful, in perfect ecstasy. However, something was different.

An arrow was sticking through his head. A familiar wooden arrow, used solely and exclusively in the practice of kyudo at my school.

At its tip was a tooth. More specifically, a fang.

A fang that could only belong to a vampire. A fang that could only belong to Akashi Asami.

“... What is this!?”, Cubas widened his eyes.

“... Fire!”, the familiar vampire said loudly, from far away.

A second arrow cut through the sky and the wind, hitting Cubas right in the hand that was holding the camera.

The camera itself, in turn, fell and hit the rough ground that surrounded us, getting stuck between the rocks.

It was a strangely similar sight to when I first found the camera.

Akashi's fangs, having pierced Braz Cubas' barrier of rejection, continued to drain the corpse's magic energy, even if detached from the vampire's body.

A soft white glow slowly faded, showing that the barrier was being erased.

And next to Akashi, another familiar face became clear in the moonlight. Yukina Itabashi, my sister, wielding her trusty bow.

“That's a hit", she said to Akashi.

“That's a hit indeed. Good work", replied the vampire, stroking young Victoria's head. “You’d make a solid Apparition hunter, young lady”, he said, whistling through the holes left by his missing fangs.

“Akashi!", Cubas yelled, feeling immense pain as the vampire's two fangs sucked his life force.

“Greetings, Dry-Corpse! Miss me yet?", Akashi smiled confidently.

“Damn you!", the corpse writhed, trying to pull out the arrow that pierced his head from side to side.

However, when Cubas brought his hand close to the arrow, the barrier covering his fingers began to be sucked into Akashi's tooth.

“Shit! Shit!", Cubas shouted, and flew upward using what was left of his rejection magic in order to defy gravity.

Rio flew after him, so did Akashi Asami. Together, they punched him in the chest, bringing him back to the ground with a thunderous impact.

Cubas looked up, his eyes wide. They darted around, searching for the camera, without success. He started running, now on foot, without his usual fancy sliding mechanics.

I, of course, started running after him. Yukina came running after me, but Akashi stopped her, having already descended from the skies.

“Leave him. The honor is his", the vampire said.

Rio also approached my sister and Akashi, and the three watched over me from a distance.

“Well, Cubas... You caught me off guard with your new tricks, so... I had to come up with my own, didn't I?", Akashi whispered, admiring the chase unfolding before him.

Cubas ran, now skiing over the barrier of rejection at his feet. He seemed to divert all of his magic to the soles of his shoes, fully set on fleeing.

I ran as a normal human, which, at that moment, was all I was. Even without my time-stopping abilities, every time I blinked, I felt closer to the corpse.

He ran toward the city, trying to blend in between the houses and buildings.

However, at one point, the barrier of rejection under his feet failed, and he stumbled. His face hit the ground at high speed, sliding across the asphalt.

For the first time, dirt had stuck to his skin.

“No!", he exclaimed. “Get away, human! I'll kill you!", he shouted.

I quickly caught up with the pathetic corpse.

It didn't scare me anymore. I knew my friends were watching. Worst-case scenario, if Cubas launched one last desperate attack, I would be turned into a vampire to avoid death. That wouldn't be all bad.

At that moment, the risk was worth it.

Images of the first time Cubas decapitated me flooded my mind.

My few memories of Toshiki flooded my mind.

Everything that could have been, but wasn't. A friend, perhaps a brother. A regretful friend, forced to kill him, on a path of no return. An imbalance in everything, including the Apparitions in the city.

The source of this imbalance was him: Cubas.

Akashi's pain was my fuel.

I grabbed him by the collar.

And punched him in the face.

“That's for decapitating me", I said.

Then I hit him again.

“That's for Toshiki Kuroda", I said.

And finally, a third.

“That's for killing Rio in front of me", he said. “You've been rejected three times, haven't you? By God, the Devil, and the Earth. Well, here are three more, you filthy corpse!”

Cubas looked down, searching for the camera. He ran, pathetic and panting, toward the cove to get it.

I ran after him, lunging at the corpse and bringing us both to the ground.

We rolled together down the rocky slope, our clothes now covered in mud.

It was clear. I was no longer immortal, and every little tumble hurt immensely.

However, it was also clear that Cubas' barrier was now incapable of keeping even his clothes clean.

We were both powerless.

“No, no!", he shouted, still panting.

Rio flew over to us and stepped on Cubas' head, immobilizing him.

I got up as Akashi and Yukina approached.

Akashi decided to put his foot on the dry corpse's back, just in case.

Yukina pulled another arrow from her quiver, but Akashi held out his arm, signaling that it wouldn't be necessary.

Cubas kicked and screamed under Rio and Akashi's feet.

“How weak...", I commented.

“I told you, Akito. Without the barrier, he's vulnerable. No less than an ordinary human", Akashi replied.

“Shut up!", Cubas yelled.

As he repeated incessant cries of frustration and agony, Akashi turned his eyes in my direction.

Then he brought one of his hands to his neck and made the universal sign of cutting one's own throat.

“This time... The honor is yours, Akito", he said.

“Are you sure? You're the one he afflicted the most. Not to mention Toshiki...", I doubted.

“Don't worry. Seeing him regret it will be enough for me", Akashi replied.

So I grabbed Braz Cubas' hair while he screamed and kicked, frustrated and defeated.

“Akito! No! Don't do it!", the corpse yelled, trying to hold my arm. “I... I'll give you the camera! I'll give you back your immortality! I promise! I swear!", he continued shouting empty promises. "I'll make a deal with you! I'll give you abilities like mine! Please, Akito, please! The belief in Apparitions in this city is so powerful! Think of what we can do together!", he despaired.

And then I pulled. I pulled with all the strength I could muster in my arms and back. The vampires were still stepping on his back, completely restricting any possibility of movement.

The skin around Cubas' neck began to tear. It was at this moment that I realized that he was just that: skin, held in the shape of his body with magic.

Braz Cubas was literally empty inside.

And by tearing him apart completely, I had finally gotten my revenge, in exactly the same way, for the first time he had decapitated me.

Rio sighed with relief.

Akashi laughed, ecstatic.

Yukina smiled, happy with her vital role in our success.

I finally raised my fist high, feeling duly avenged.

“... That hurt, you know?", Cubas' voice continued speaking, much to my surprise.

“Huh!?", Startled, I threw the corpse's head away.

“Hey!", he shouted, falling down the rocks on the hillside. “Hey, catch me! Wait a minute!”

“... He's still alive...?", I asked the wind.

“Well... That's how his body works", Akashi replied. “Every little piece is capable of regenerating the whole thing. He really is like a kind of zombie...”

“Well, even so... It's over, right? I don't think his head will be able to do much damage", I commented.

“That's right, heh heh", Rio laughed.

Suddenly, she lost her balance.

I blinked for a moment. Of course, it made no difference, because I still didn't have the powers of the photographed.

However, even so, I was able to catch her in time.

“... Gotcha", I whispered.

“We won...", she whispered to me.

“Yeah. We won, yes", I replied, helping her stand up on her own.

“And what a victory!", Akashi celebrated, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Oh, cut it out. It was all thanks to you in the end", I said to the vampire.

“Not at all! It was all thanks to your brilliant little sister, Akito. It was all her idea", Akashi explained.

“Impressive... Are our genes really blessed with infinite genius?", I joked cheerfully.

“Well... Considering that you jumped on Cubas, without immortality, and without knowing if his barrier would still have any effect...", Rio cut me off.

“Damn, that's true...", I admitted.

“What matters is that we're all alive and well", Akashi sighed with relief.

“Speak for yourself!", Cubas' head shouted from afar.

“He became so pathetic after the defeat...", Rio commented.

“I told you, didn't I? He was denied entry into hell because he's so weak", Akashi recalled.

“And weak is putting it mildly...", I commented.

“Well, I'll take Cubas' head back to the temple. There, we can decide what to do with him", Akashi informed us.

“But... what about us?", Rio asked.

“The sun is about to rise. Rio... I think you'd better go back to Akito's house", he replied. “And, my protégé... Take the camera with you. It belongs to you, after all.”

“What? No, no. I'm not even the one being photographed anymore, Akashi. Cubas destroyed the photograph", I refused.

“Even so, take it with you. I want you to decide if you will become immortal again on your own, without my influence", Akashi explained. “Only then can the new status quo be stabilized.",

“That's true... That's your goal, isn't it? The status quo", I commented.

“Exactly. At the moment, the number of magical beings is still the same, but that will change if we decide to seal or kill Braz Cubas", the vampire said. "All this time, we were working with you being surplus... And someone needs to take Cubas' place in order to maintain the balance. However, that someone doesn't have to be you."

“Akashi, I...", I started to speak, but couldn't find the words.

“Not now. Later, Akito", he assured me. “We're not in such a hurry.”

“If you don't want to, I do!", Yukina joked, and we all burst out laughing.

“Hey, hey... No greed, Miss Yukina Itabashi", Akashi scolded her.

“He keeps her name...", Rio and I commented at the same time.

“Well, I'm going to the temple before the hunters start questioning the outcome of our battle. When you've made your decision, my pupils, go there", the vampire concluded, turning his back on us.

“Thank you, Akashi...", I thanked him, and he responded with a simple nod, without turning around.

In the end, Akashi took Cubas' head to the temple after throwing the rest of his body into the sea. One might think that this would pollute nature, but that's not quite the case. The vital energy that kept Cubas' body stable dissipated into the sea, and his remains evaporated.

Meanwhile, I stayed on the hillside at the foot of the lighthouse with Rio and Yukina. We knew it would still be a while before the sun rose, and it was clear that a conversation was necessary.

“Akito, I—", Rio was about to say, but I interrupted her.

“Don't worry. Our last conversation went in a direction that neither of us wanted", I told her.

“Yes...", she agreed.

“Akashi left us alone to talk about you, too", I reminded her. “He said it's possible to get the three of us back to normal...”

“But it would cost him his life", Rio reminded me.

“Exactly. However, we wouldn't remember that fact", I pointed out. “A perfect crime.”

“Where not even the culprits would be witnesses...", Rio emphasized.

“Yeah. Complicated, isn't it?", I commented.

“Honestly... For me, not really. If it were up to me, I want to continue being a vampire", she said.

“I figured. I always thought your destiny would be something greater than the ordinary or the predictable extraordinary. Of course, I imagined it would come in the form of a Nobel Prize, or an important scientific discovery that would bear the Rainer name...", I said.

“However, this is much more interesting", she replied, accurately. “Both from a scientific perspective and from a life perspective.”

“The problem is that you will have responsibilities, as a powerful and practically eternal entity... Akashi protects the status quo, and you will have to do so too. Hunting minor apparitions, fighting powerful creatures like Braz Cubas... In fact, it's a very dangerous job", I commented.

“That part is true. But... On almost every other day... I can fly through the city skies, hang upside down from lampposts... And admire the moonlight, with the absolute certainty that I am free to do whatever I want", she replied.

“Still... You're going to eat humans", I commented.

“Sucking blood isn't the same as eating. What do you think I am, a cannibal?", she said indignantly, but jokingly.

“Judging by the things you do to my neck...", I teased.

“Hey, hey! Stop it, you two! How shameless!", Yukina, who had been listening until then, interrupted us.

“Ha-ha!", we laughed together.

“But, Rio... What about boredom?", I asked her.

“There is no boredom when there are so many books to read and so many humans whose lives I can follow", she replied.

“What about loneliness?", I asked again.

“I'll deal with it when it comes, if it comes. Look, I'm not alone now, and I won't be alone tomorrow, regardless of your choice to become immortal or not", she replied.

“So, your idea is that I can be replaced by another human when I die?", I questioned her logic.

“Of course not, Akito. Never. Other humans in the future may alleviate my boredom and loneliness, but none will ever do it like you", she replied. “And you will never do it like someone else would. That's how individuality works.",

“Well, thank you for the compliment", I joked.

“Our creator would never have created such wonderful days and people whose company is so dear, and would not have given us such deep hearts to enjoy them, if it were not our destiny to achieve immortality", she added.

“And, a hundred years from now, will you still be able to say that it's you?", I asked. “Won't today's Rio have died in favor of the Rio of a hundred years from now?”

“Now, that's an outrageous question, Akito", she replied.

“I'm sorry if I offended you, Your Highness", I joked.

"He-he... The truth, Akito, is that the Rio of today is very small compared to the hundred-year-old Rio of the future. However, she is inevitably linked to her, and will be part of the Rio of then. Even if I become completely different, the path through which I got there is not changeable. Even if no one remembers, even if I myself forget. The truth is immutable, and it has consequences", she explained.

“Aren't you afraid? Of getting lost...", I asked.

"Not at all. I am me. The me of the future will be the me of the future. And, as tends to be the case with immortality, I will be perpetuating many, many of the mistakes I make. And that's okay. That's human nature, the nature of the human Rio. You said it yourself, didn't you? That the human Rio is still part of it. Just as the human Akito, who is in front of me now, has never ceased to be part of the photographed Akito", Rio explained.

“It's true, isn't it?", I asked rhetorically. “It's clear to me now. Thank you, Rio, for the conversation...", I thanked her.

“You're welcome, Akito. I am, after all, your senior in the school...", she said.

“Hey, but when it comes to Apparitions, I became one first!", I replied, jokingly indignant.

“And which one of us is still an Apparition now? He-he", she replied, laughing.

“I lost the argument...", I admitted defeat.

The sea breeze hit my face, as if caressing my newly recovered changeable state.

I happily climbed down the rocks on the hillside, looking for the exact spot where the camera had fallen.

“Don't hurt yourself!", Rio shouted at me.

“You'll save me, I know!", I shouted back, laughing.

Then, as lonely as the first time, I found the camera resting on the sand, still as rusty and suspicious as it had always been.

This time, however, it was my feet that were on the beach sand. And it was me who picked up the camera, with my own hands. I thought that, perhaps, with a little optimism, this represented some progress on my part.

The sky was getting lighter, and the first rays of sun were trying to emerge from the horizon.

“It's morning already. Let's go home, you two", I said to the two who were keeping me company.

“Yeah. We'll stay there", Rio replied.

“Uh-huh", Yukina also agreed.

So we walked back to the house. The two accompanied me, and for the first time in a while, I walked along the shore with plenty of company. It was a strange feeling, I admit. I usually walked through this landscape with my sister on the way back from school. Exceptionally, I had walked this path with Rio on the day we met. I never imagined, however, that I would be walking with both of them.

I may have tried to argue with Rio about the loneliness that immortality presupposes, but I confess that my mortal life until then had been considerably lonely. Thanks to the camera, fantastic things had happened, and the status quo had been permanently transformed.

Yukina trusted me more, even though I had indirectly left her with a scar on her face.

Rio and I had become something more than just a slacker and a facilitator who exchanged cheat sheets on high school exams.

Finally, Akashi had become a kind of brother. It was curious, but the feeling of revenge I felt towards Braz Cubas had been expanded indefinitely when I saw what he had done to Akashi.

And, in fact, I forced myself to confess: I was happy as the infinite blood bag of my vampire friends. In this case, I was happy precisely because neither of them saw me that way. We had a goal, we had a means to achieve it. I felt at home not when I returned alone, but when Akashi, Rio, and Yukina were playing deadly games in the backyard while I made coffee.

I decided I would talk to Akashi about it, and I tenderly held the camera that rested in the inside pocket of my jacket.