Balance

That night, we held a sort of sleepover in my room. Though it was already dawn by the time we got home, we were so tired that we all fell asleep almost immediately.

Rio and Yukina both ended up wearing my loose-fitting T-shirts to sleep in after showering.

In Rio's case, it was understandable, since she was away from home and had torn her sweatshirt with her vampire wings, not to mention that blow from Braz Cubas. Honestly, I believe that only her magic of blood and shadows was keeping her clothes intact.

As for my sister, it was just her usual presumptuousness. Still, I was already used to the mysterious disappearance of select shirts from my wardrobe.

In a way, I suppose it wasn't just fatigue that made us sleep. There was a sense of relaxation. Cubas was no longer on the loose. We were truly safe for the first time that week.

Once more, everything went black, and I slept comfortably over my mountain of pillows and blankets.

My beloved blackout curtains ensured not only the safety of my dear vampire, who slept on a futon on the floor next to my sister, but also ensured that our sleep remained uninterrupted, untouched by the sun's rays.

It was already past noon when we began waking up. This time, without an alarm clock.

On my cell phone, there was only one photo of me and Rio. I was no longer the Akito in the photo, and she was no longer the Rio in the photo. Yet, it was undeniably the two of us.

Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Run some tap. Stop the tap.

I decided to stay in my pajamas a little longer.

In my usual fashion, I decided to make some coffee, both for myself and for Yukina. As for Rio... I didn't know if vampires were even allowed to drink coffee. Even so, I set aside a mug for her.

Milk jug. Tap water. Stove. Turn on the heat. Coffee filter, in the cupboard. Coffee grounds, in the other cupboard. Paper filter. A veritable production line was set up on top of my mug, yet again. A pinch of salt to take away the bitterness, and two pinches of cinnamon for flavor. Then it was time for the bread. Bread, butter, put it in the frying pan. Let it brown. Meanwhile, the water had boiled. Pour the coffee. Serve it at the table. Go back to the frying pan, serve the contents on a plate. Then fry some eggs, scrambled, for a minimum of protein in the most important meal of the day. Thus, breakfast was ready.

An exact repetition of my morning routine, with the addition of having some extra time to prepare the scrambled eggs.

However, there was another crucial difference: the quantities.

I wasn't just making food for myself.

There was no reason to assume I would be alone.

Maybe that's why everything was a little warmer than usual. That, and also a touch of the guilty pleasure of skipping school.

Outside the windows, a gloomy day presented itself. But it wasn't one of those sad, dull days. It was a cool day, with a shy sun and a delightful sea breeze that made the weather even more refreshing.

It was probably a sign of rain to come later. In a way, it reminded me a lot of the day I found the camera. It felt cyclical, somehow.

I went back upstairs and took my change of clothes to the bathroom, so I had a way to change while the two girls were still asleep in my room.

Taking hold of my beloved black jacket, I felt the camera tucked away in the inside pocket. I thought about it.

Back downstairs, I finished setting up the table. It was perfect, I even felt like taking a picture. Just then, I realized something. I was in a good mood, even though I hadn't had my morning coffee yet.

For a moment, I thought about waking the girls up with some kind of prank, which would cause them homeopathic doses of matinal suffering in exchange for my laughter. I dismissed the idea.

I went back to my room, climbing the stairs for what seemed like the thousandth time that morning. Finally, I realized that I would miss the infinite resilience, inherent to the powers of the photographed.

I pulled back just a small portion of my blackout curtains and blinds, allowing timid rays of light to enter through the window. Naturally, I was careful to ensure that none of these rays of light hit Rio directly.

My sister was the first to react.

“Ugh...", she groaned, as lazy people do in the morning. “Is it daytime already...?", she asked aloud, still without opening her eyes.

“Breakfast is ready, Yuki", I told her.

“Just five more minutes...", she begged.

“No way. Come on, we've already missed school today. We have to make the most of the rest of the day", I replied.

“Give me a break... I was the one who shot down Cubas last night...", she argued.

“You've got good reasoning for someone who just woke up", I commented. “That means you're conscious enough to get up. Come on, Yuki".

“Okay…", she muttered, stretching out the letter “a”.

After stumbling around on the floor for a bit, she did eventually get up. Rio, on the other hand, remained asleep. I let Yukina go downstairs on her own, so that I could focus on waking up the vampiress.

“Hey... Dee... It's morning", I whispered, sitting down next to the futon in which she slept.

“Hmm?", she groaned.

Then, seeing this, I realized that the two had terribly similar behavior. Honestly, I don't know if I could handle two people with my sister's personality in my life. I prayed that the vampiress’ morning mood would be different.

“Aki...", she called me, and I lowered my head in order to hear her better. “Don't you know that vampires need to sleep during the day...?”

“Surely you jest, milady. You're not sleeping in Dracula's coffin anytime soon. We need to go meet Akashi at the temple...", I told her.

“Just five more minutes...", she asked.

“Okay...", this time, I gave in. “Five minutes and then you go downstairs, okay?", I tried to strike a deal.

“Okay...", she agreed, still half asleep.

So I got up and walked calmly toward the bedroom door.

“Aki...?", she called my name, and I turned around.

“What is it?", I asked.

“Come here...", she asked.

“Okay, okay", I agreed.

So I approached her and bent down again, but this time without sitting on the floor.

Rio opened her eyes, clear and shiny, as if they were made of glass, and turned them to me.

“Good morning...", she whispered, and wrapped her arms around my back, pulling me down.

I fell onto the futon, and the vampire continued to hug me, laughing softly.

“We won...", she said.

“Yeah. I can hardly believe it...", I admitted, returning her hug.

“I was so worried...", she confessed.

“Why? You had my back, after all. I had nothing to worry about", I replied.

“I guess...", she whispered, a smile garnishing her face.

“Come on, let's go... If I stay here another minute, I'll fall asleep again...", I pretended to get up.

“Ah...", she sighed. “And would that be so bad...?”

“Stop seducing me, bloodsucker. It’s working a bit too well…", I admitted.

“He-he", she just laughed.

Finally, she gently let go of my body with her arms, and we broke apart our embrace, though neither of us wanted to.

I got up, and she followed behind me, holding my hand until we reached the first floor. Taking care not to walk in front of any open windows, we went to the kitchen, where my sister was already seated, and drinking her coffee.

“Good morning, Rio!", she got up and ran as soon as she saw the vampire accompanying me. Then, she practically jumped on her and embraced Rio in a tight hug.

“Good morning, Yukina...", Rio, still sleepy, returned the hug affectionately.

“Dee... Can you drink coffee?", I asked Rio.

“Of course! Human food has no nutritional value for me, and it's not very tasty... But a cup of coffee wouldn’t hurt", she replied.

“... Are you sure about that?", I asked.

“No, but I'm willing to try!", she replied excitedly, as if all of this was a cute little experiment.

“... Makes sense, knowing you", I concluded, pouring her a small cup of coffee as we all sat down at the table.

She lifted the cup gracefully and elegantly. It looked small in her hard, but it complemented the vampire's beautiful figure strangely well.

“... Bleh! It’s bitter!", she exclaimed, struggling not to spit out the coffee. With one hand over her mouth, she forced herself to swallow.

“Oops... That was my fault. Here, take some sugar cubes. I drink it black, and I taught Yukina to do the same... And I forgot to ask how you drink yours...”, I admitted.

“Life is bitter enough as it is!", exclaimed the vampire, adding sugar cubes to her drink.

We all laughed together and enjoyed breakfast. To my surprise, there seemed to be no side effects for the vampire, which made me very interested in the sordid details of the biochemical and energetic functioning of Apparitions.

“By the way, Yukina...", Rio said.

“Yes?", my sister asked.

“... Can I borrow some clothes?", she asked, probably embarrassed that she was still wearing one of my shirts as her pajamas.

“Sure! He-he", she celebrated, happy to have a real friend at home. “Come with me!”.

Immediately, the two left the table and went upstairs to get ready.

This was a fascinating aspect of Rio's relationship with Yukina that I hadn't considered until then. In reality, the vast majority of Yukina's classmates saw her as a kind of celebrity, due to her title as the city's kyudo champion. However, in a world of Apparitions, Agreements, and Artifacts, this was truly irrelevant.

And so, Yukina got her first friend who treated her as a normal person.

I was still drinking my coffee and couldn't help but overhear the two of them talking loudly in my sister's room. Seriously, the acoustics in the house were terrible for privacy.

“So, what do you like to wear?", Yukina asked.

“Let's see...", Rio stared at the closet.

“Oh, are you the type who prefers seeing the options before expressing opinions?", my sister continued asking questions.

“Huh? No, no. It's just that...", the vampire seemed lost in thought. “Your style is very...", she searched for a word to describe it. “Unique", she decided.

As a professional know-it-all when it comes to my own sister, it was easy to imagine the vision that was striking Rio's retinas at that moment.

A dozen T-shirts stolen from my closet... Three or four kyudo uniforms... A handful of school uniforms... And several clothes that I had given her as gifts.

This was a secret I kept deep inside me. My parents might have given us allowances, but they were very forgetful when it came to gifts and basic necessities. If it were up to them, I would still be wearing the same clothes I wore when I was eleven.

That's why many of the clothes in Yukina's closet were gifts I had given her.

She, in turn, never wore them, preferring to steal items from my closet instead.

It didn't bother me, honestly. What mattered was that she was dressed.

“Hmmm, how about this one?", Rio suggested, and I was left to my imagination.

“This one? Well... If you like it...", My sister seemed to disagree with the choice.

“I like it! Did you buy it yourself?", she asked.

“Akito gifted it to me...", Yukina replied.

“Oh!", Rio sighed, slightly embarrassed.

I ended up tuning out and not paying attention to the rest of the conversation until the two of them walked downstairs, appropriately dressed.

My sister wore the standard white button-up shirt from our school uniform and a dark skirt. Rio, on the other hand... She wore a black and white sweatshirt from that comic book series I liked, and a skirt just like my sister's.

It's worth mentioning that, on Yukina, the sweatshirt was meant to be oversized. On Rio’s body, it fit perfectly.

By the way, I did need to read the latest issue, which I had bought right before all this mess. However, it could still wait a bit longer.

“... So, what do you think?", Rio asked, waiting for a reaction from me.

“It fits perfectly. It suits you!", I said, turning the vampire's pallor into a slight blush.

“I don't know why you gave me these clothes, Akito... Honestly, Rio, you can have it if you want", Victoria said, disdaining my gift.

“I agree. Maybe then someone will appreciate the things I buy...", I said, intending to poke my lazy sister a little.

“Hey, are you trying to say something? Say it to my face, jerk!", her anger was directed at me, but we ended up laughing it off in the end.

So, without further ado, we made the executive decision to head to the temple where Akashi was waiting for us before wasting the whole day with chitchat.

Rio wielded her black parasol, as well as her sunglasses. Honestly, I found it fascinating that she was powerful enough to survive indirect sunlight from the very beginning of her life as an Apparition.

Unlike usual, we walked and talked, and the endless repetition of streets and sidewalks did not bother me at all.

Then, the cherry trees surrounding the temple began to greet us upon our arrival.

Akashi was waiting, sitting in front of the temple door, which was now repaired from the damage caused in the fights against Toshiki and Cubas. On his head was one of those conical hats made of woven straw, so he kind of looked like a real samurai now.

“Hey there!", he greeted us with a wave. “Come on in...", he then opened the door and motioned for us to follow him.

We went inside and sat on the floor, making good use of the traditional cushions that awaited us.

“So, Akito...", Akashi sat down facing me.

In response, I placed the magic camera on the table between us.

“What's your decision?", he asked, and everyone present looked at me with great expectations.

“First, I’ve got a question", I replied.

“Go ahead", Akashi replied.

"Okay... So.

“How is the whole status quo thing going, in the current situation?", I asked.

“Well... That's a little complicated. Look over there", the vampire pointed to the back of the room.

There, a string was attached to one of the ceiling’s wooden boards. A round object was tied in a knot, right at the very end of the string.

The head of Braz Cubas.

And there he was, eyes wide open, with a piece of paper stuck over his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

Even so, he moved, protesting and trying to make sounds with his mouth sealed shut. It was almost funny. Fortunately, it wasn't too bizarre to see Cubas' head hanging there, since it remained magically identical to when it was attached to the rest of his body.

“And here", Akashi opened his mouth, pointing to his fangs. In this case, to his only fang. “One of my teeth is tied to the end of that string, sucking Cubas' energy at a very specific frequency, which prevents him from recovering and summoning the rejection barrier", the vampire explained.

“How convenient...", Yukina commented.

“Modern problems require modern solutions, don't they?", he countered.

“As long as it works...", I muttered.

“Anyway, Akito. Cubas can stay alive if we want him to. I have my reasons for wanting to keep him that way for now. And, honestly, my debt to you is big enough to keep you as the camera's rightful heir, if you so desire", he explained.

“What do you mean?", I asked.

“You can use it on yourself or on someone else. I believe in you and in the importance you had in things ending up as well as they did", Akashi replied.

“Ah, Akashi... That's an honor, really", I admitted.

“As for the balance, things are calm for now. Cubas' incapacitation solves practically all the problems hunters would have with this city, except...", he said.

“Except?", I interrupted, pressing him to continue.

“Two vampires in the same place, even if they are master and servant", he said, much to Rio's surprise.

“What?", I asked.

“In short, a vampire who creates offspring is a danger to humans and other Apparitions. They may see Rio as a threat, even though she's practically a fledgling Apparition when compared to me", the vampire elaborated.

“Damn it...", I understood what that meant.

“Of course, your existence balances that out if you go back to being the photographed one", he added. “However, I’m positive you had thought about this already", he then commented.

It was true.

I can't deny that the possibility had crossed my mind.

Why wasn't Akashi hunted? Because he protected the city from Cubas.

Why wouldn't Rio be hunted?

And now that Cubas was under control, would Akashi continue to be spared by the forces of humanity?

It was clear that there would be a condition.

A condition that assumed it was the safest or most advantageous thing for humanity.

And vampires who don't kill humans for food are certainly an advantage for humans.

Meanwhile, normal vampires are a problem.

So I was the thing separating Akashi and Rio from the hunters’ sights.

From the moment I stopped being the photographed one, that imaginary barrier ceased to exist.

“But, Akito...", Akashi interrupted my thoughts. “Your decision doesn't take that into account, does it?", he asked.

"No. Not at all. You are vampires, and that is your own problem", I replied.

“Akito!", my sister shouted reproachfully. “You ungrateful jerk! Give me that camera! I’ll be the photographed one!", She stood up and tried to grab the camera.

Akashi, however, raised an arm, stopping Yukina.

“Yukina, we know how you feel. And we are truly grateful for your willingness to sacrifice your humanity for our sake. Your bravery and sense of self-sacrifice are noble indeed. However, this burden cannot rest on the shoulders of a child", Akashi explained.

“Tsk", my sister clicked her tongue and crossed her arms, staring at me.

“That said, Akito...", Akashi waited for my response.

I stood up and picked up the camera from the table. Then Akashi stood up as well.

I held out my hand with the camera to him, and he took it.

“So that's that...", he whispered.

Rio stared at me with profound sadness, and Yukina continued to glare at me, rage boiling inside her.

“Akashi...", I said.

“Yes?", he replied.

“I can’t be the one to take my own picture", I said.

Then, the mood seemed to lighten, and everyone sighed with relief.

“Ha-ha", he laughed. “Well, let’s go with what worked out the first time!", Akashi exclaimed.

“I’m so glad…", Rio whispered, getting up as well.

“Tsk. Akito, you idiot. Making everyone worry for nothing...", Yukina made a point of commenting.

In my heart, there were still doubts. However, there was even more certainty.

This quartet of clowns, myself included, was, without a doubt, my family, whether I wanted it or not. And, of course... I wanted it.

“By the way, Akito...", Akashi commented.

“Yes?", I let him speak.

“I was thinking of formalizing our partnership in hunting hostile Apparitions", he explained.

“Oh, really?", I was surprised.

“Here. What do you think?", He handed me a small card, like the business cards companies use.

“Itabasami Apparition Hunters", I read aloud. “Not bad", I commented.

“It’s a pun on our names, you know…”, he made sure I noticed.

The combination of Itabashi and Asami… What a coincidence it even meant something.

“It’s good. I like it”, I replied, acknowledging it.

“Then it's a deal", he made it official.

“... Yeah. It's a deal", I agreed.

“Hey, Akashi, excuse me! I need to take his picture!", Rio exclaimed, camera in hand.

I then positioned myself at the first-floor window, with the cherry trees in the background. The cloudy day provided soft, slightly grayish lighting that didn't hurt either of the two vampires in the room.

“Say cheese!", Rio commanded, and I smiled.

A flash of light guided me into darkness. Again.

This time, however, it wasn’t a meaningless void of nothing.

Akito Itabashi, the model in the photograph, was a very different Akito when compared to the first time.

The current one was happier. More experienced. Older, although the difference in age was slight. And, despite being an Appairition... More human, too.