Second Encounter ~Kindling Emotions~

Mitsuko unlocked her front door. The sun had long since set. She knew her parents would want to know where she had been. But before either one could lay eyes on her, Mitsuko slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Examining her neck in the mirror, the bite marks were incredibly obvious. Two small red holes, right near her jugular. Mitsuko opened the cabinet in search of a bandage. She needed to hide the proof of her vampiric encounter. If her parents were "Freebloods" like Charles had said, they would undoubtedly connect the dots if they saw.

"When you're done in there, Mitsuko-chan, come in the dining room! There's something your mother and I want to talk to you about!" her father explained in his typical affectionate tone.

-----          -----          -----

Mitsuko sat up straight, fidgeting with her thumbs beneath the table. Her parents were always very distant people. It wasn't like them to sit her down for a "talk" like this.

Mitsuko rubbed her neck.

“What happened there, Mitsuko?” asked her mother, Aoyama Yoko, from across the table. Her long blonde hair dropped over her shoulder as she leaned in to get a better look.

“I snagged it on a tree branch.” Mitsuko tried to smile through her lie.

“No need to fib.” Mitsuko’s father, Aoyama Keisuke, took his seat next to Yoko. He adjusted his glasses. “We know you were with Charles Martinshaw, Mitsuko-chan.”

Mitsuko was taken by surprise. “That’s right… How did you know?”

“Oh, just a hunch.” Yoko grinned as she eyed up her daughter’s bandaged neck.

Mitsuko went red.

“Charles actually caught our interest quite awhile ago,” explained Keisuke. “We want you to kill him.”

-----          -----          -----

Mitsuko sat in bed paging through the latest tankōbon volume of a new vampire manga. This sort of thing was her typical comfort material. She needed it now more than ever, but it was beginning to feel more like study material.

On the nightstand, just next to her bed, was a wooden stake entrusted to her by her parents. They had left her alone for the night.

Their conversation had been quick and to the point. Mitsuko recalled the tail-end of it:

We know you like him, Mitsuko, but our duty as hunters must be upheld no matter our personal feelings. That's something we want you to learn, her mother had explained.

A vampire is a vampire. Eventually, they always kill. Her father’s words were grim and blunt.

Mitsuko’s heart was in turmoil.

She opened her phone. This wasn't exactly the kind of thing she could text Kaori about.

Mitsuko stared at the ceiling. Her eyelids grew heavy.

Then a tap at the window roused her from her rest.

A shadowy silhouette stood behind the glass.

"Charles-san?" Mitsuko’s heart began to race.

The vampire at her window beckoned for her to come closer. "This late and you're still in your school uniform? How do you expect to get any rest like that?"

Mitsuko hesitantly slid the window open. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You forgot a few things. I figured I'd return them." Charles held up the cross from Mitsuko's choker. "I'd love to give it you, but... You know I can't come in unless I'm invited."

"Is that an actual rule, or just another your kind made up?"

"I think you know the answer to that, considering you were brave enough to open the window.” Charles grinned. “Besides sunlight, everything you know applies. Aside from garlic. We can eat it; it just doesn't sit well in our stomachs."

Mitsuko eyed Charles with suspicion. Her father’s words echoed in her head. She didn't know whether she could trust the boy standing before her. Mitsuko discreetly took hold of the stake on her nightstand and hid it behind her back. "Alright. You can come in."

Charles maneuvered through the open window. Once inside, he removed his jacket and set it on Mitsuko's bed. "Thanks, Aoyama-kun," he said.

Charles was wearing a loose fitting t-shirt. Mitsuko could make out his stocky form much better now than she ever could through their uniforms.

Charles closed the distance between the two. His eyes were still their normal hazel color. As far as Mitsuko could tell, he wasn't placing her in any sort of trance. But she still couldn't keep herself from flushing red. She realized just how much taller he was than her. Her grip on the stake tightened. Not out of determination, but out of nervousness.

"Here," Charles said, lifting Mitsuko's cross to eye level. Only a few inches separated the teenagers’ from each other. "Your look isn't quite complete without it."

Mitsuko revealed the stake in her hands. She pressed the tip weakly against Charles' chest. He wasn't surprised at all.

"Charles-san..." Mitsuko could do nothing but say his name. Her hands trembled. She knew there was no way she could really go through with this.

"Aoyama-kun," Charles took her wrists. Just like that, the stake fell to the floor. "I told you you don't need to be afraid of me." Charles attached the cross back to her choker. "There. Much cuter," he proclaimed with a pleasant grin.

Mitsuko dropped her gaze to the floor. "I want to believe you... I really do... But I know vampires. Killing's in your blood, isn't it? Sooner or later, something bad will happen, won't it?"

"I can't deny that." Charles let Mitsuko out of his grip. He paced her room. "You saw what I almost did to you. But I typically have a means to avoid that."

"What do you mean?"

"Blood donors, essentially. People that know my secret and are willing to offer me relief. I store my reserves in a cooler in that place you followed me to."

"Is that how it's always been for you?"

"I wish I could say so." Charles picked up a small mirror from Mitsuko’s dresser. He gazed into it with a certain longing in his eyes. Mitsuko knew that nothing looked back at him.

"The Drift Clan is what people like me are called,” Charles explained. “We never asked for what we became. We never wanted it. Many of us take our own lives because of it. Those without that courage do our best to survive without harming others. That can be a difficult thing. I had a bright path ahead of me 200 years ago. Me and a girl named Norah."

"What happened?"

"I was turned by a member of the Inversion Clan. They relish the vampiric experience. Killing is a pleasure for them. Unholy creatures that wish to invert the world into their own image. Her name was Vexella. A master of disguises, a vicious killer, and a twisted sadist. If she could tear your throat out and drink your blood, she'd be content, but if she could turn you—get you to take the lives of those you loved—that was always her ultimate pleasure."

Charles fixated on one of the crosses on Mitsuko's dresser. "I used to be loved. Before I was damned to walk the Earth forever as an undead."

Charles stood up and stretched. "But that's enough about me," he said with a dramatic shift in tone. "How about you, Aoyama-kun? What's your story? You've been pretty quiet."

What is this, a first date or something?! she thought to herself.

"Of course I've been quiet. You just unloaded quite a bit."

Charles shrugged. "I'm sure you have a bit to unload too, huh?"

He motioned to the candles, crosses, and creepy knickknacks lining her shelves.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mitsuko asked, somewhat insulted.

"It just means you seem kind of lonely."

"I'm not lonely. I just... don't get along well with most people." Mitsuko's pride kept her from answering honestly.

"Sounds lonely to me."

"I'm not! It's not my fault nobody shares my interests! I mean, just look at my outfit."

"Well, it it means anything, I always thought your outfit was pretty alluring."

Somehow, Charles was standing in front of Mitsuko again. He caressed the bite mark on her neck with his fingertips. "I see Norah in you. Her eyes. Her bashfulness. Everything I fell in love with.”

"Charles-san..."

He leaned in for a kiss. But Mitsuko shoved him away. "I'm sorry!" Her hand covered her neck. She was still terrified of his vampiric side.

Charles smiled. "It's okay. I understand." He headed to the window and pulled Mitsuko's book bag inside. "You left this behind, too." He tossed the bottle of Sauveuse to her. "It's a lovely scent. It would really suit you well."

A sudden gust of wind fluttered the curtains. Charles disappeared.