Chapter 4:

Shopping 1

Sui Generis: Origin


Morning, Aoishiro Apartment.

The sun had set. The ray of light shines through the windows of every residential area in Japan. Inside a house with the number 2315, a girl woke up. She did a bit of stretching, got off the bed and walked outside the room. The room was doorless. She remembered something. The reason behind the missing door was it changed its placement as a front door. The person who placed it? A man named Shouri.

It was a week after the accident. The house was clean, but a lot of things were half-destroyed. Yukino had tried to escape for a few days from Shouri's home, but every attempt failed. The front door locked every time. Without enough strength, she couldn't bust the door like she was entering. She also attempted to attack Shouri to get the key from him. However, she kept meeting failures if it was a sneak attack. It would end up whether he dodged or blocked them.

Even so, she didn't give up yet. Waking up early was a part of her plan. Currently, Shouri was sleeping since he wasn't a morning person. She sneaked into Shouri's room. Inside, the air was a bit dusty. On her right, a PC was placed against a pale green wall. One meter beside that was a toilet with a sliding door. The wall she was facing had a bookshelf full of books. On top of the shelf was a black sword with a red hilt wrapped by a black ito; a type of rope for wrapping a katana hilt, with its blade sheathed inside a black scabbard.

Suddenly, Yukino felt uncomfortable as she saw the displayed sword. Her chest felt heavy and hard to breathe. She tried to turn a blind eye, but she couldn't. The atmosphere changed. It seems like the sword held the highest authority among the two. Yukino started sweating. Her legs were shaking. She stood idly as her presence there felt unwelcome. She couldn't blink her eyes as her body was frozen, unable to move. She was scared.

"Hey, you—" she heard a voice.

"Hey, Yukino—" someone called her name.

"Yukino!" she snapped back.

She turned left as she felt something holding her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Shouri held her left shoulder.

"Haa...huff...haa...huff," she was heavily breathing.

"You have a fever or something? You sweat a bit.?" he asked

"No, no...I'm fine..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"I just...feels hot."

"Really?"

"Yeah, nothing particularly."

"Hmm...okay then. Go back to your room. I'll bring you clothes,"

"Okay then...eh, what?"

"Go back. I'll bring you a towel to take a shower."

"I'll be waiting then."

She immediately walked back to her room. She would never enter Shouri's room ever again. Being in his room was a traumatizing experience. He asked her about her condition. She wanted to spill it up, but something kept her mouth shut. Luckily, she managed to cover herself up and get out of the conversation.

"What the hell...is that thing" she sat on the bed, asking herself.

Meanwhile, Shouri got up and took a white towel from the wardrobe beside his bed. Then, he looked toward the sword on the shelf.

"What kind of power your sword holds, Minori..." he thought to himself.

He walked through the living room and entered Yukino's room. She sat on the bed, minding her own business.

"Looks like you have a thought. I wonder what's in your head," he told Yukino as he entered.

"What?" she annoyed.

"Nothing. Here, a towel."

"Thanks."

"Have a shower. Later, we're going somewhere."

"Hmm?"

"You need clothes. Plus, there are some things that I want to buy."

"Wait, why did I need them?"

"Did you realize? You wear the same clothing for a week. It makes you smelly."

"Are you calling me smelly?!"

"Yes, so go take a bath or shower. Use extra soap too."

"You—"

"Get inside the bathroom now! No more complaints. Take your clothes inside and put them in the washer. I'll send you other clothes."

"If only I have my power..."

"Try it if you can~," he said with a smug on his face.

"Grr...once you lower your guard, you're finished!" Yukino turned around, walked into the bathroom and closed the door violently.

Shouri giggled as Yukino closed the door. Then, he crouched and opened the cabinet. He saw five plastic bottles. He took them, got out and threw them away. It was his routine for a week. Sometimes, he put a bottle of blood in every three days to ensure that Yukino didn't feel hungry or had powers. He is a good strategist.

"Good grief. Now, what should she wear?"

An hour passed. Yukino got out after showering and found a white T-shirt and a black pair of trousers on her bed. She assumed that was the clothing Shouri gave her to wear. As she finished wearing the clothes, Shouri stood against the door jamb.

"Is this real? Are my eyes deceiving me?" he said out loud.

"What?!" Yukino asked.

"It's hard to believe there's a beauty before me," Sweet words came out of his mouth.

"Wha—?! What you say?" her face turned red.

"Nothing. Let's go,"

"Ch,"

They walked to the front door. Shouri took two pairs of shoes from the shoe rack, giving one of them to Yukino.

"Here, wear this," Shouri gave her a pair of white shoes.

"Wait, I don't—" Yukino refused his offer.

"Wear it. I don't have any other for you. The socks are in the shoes. Wear them first, then the shoes,"

"Okay..."

"Yes, I forgot. Wait here,"

Shouri walked back into his room. He took his wallet, phone and a face mask. As he walked out, he took two caps hanging by the wall beside the toilet door and walked back to the front.

"Here," he put on a white cap on Yukino.

"For what?" she asked.

"Outside will be hot. The cap protects your face from sunlight,"

"But I don't need—"

"Wear this face mask. People won't know you are a vampire,"

"How will they know?"

"Your teeth are proof,"

"How can my teeth—"

"Shh. No more questions. We're going,"

Both of them got out of the house. Shouri locked the door. Yukino had a plan on her mind. she thought this was a chance to escape. As soon as the idea came up, Shouri held her hand.

"Wh—what are you doing?!" Her face turned red as Shouri held her hand.

"I'm afraid you'll run away from me," Shouri told her as he put the key in his pocket.

"Let's go," said Shouri as he grabbed Yukino's hand and walked forward. She followed. They walked down the stairs at the corner of the apartment. They came down the ground floor and walked away to the street. The sun shined brightly in the sky. The air of the morning was refreshing. The birds were flying and hunting the worms. The traffic was clear of congestion. People walked around having their time on things.

"Why don't you go out by yourself?" Yukino asked as she pulled the brim down, hiding her face.

"I don't know your size. Easier to bring you along with than guessing your size," he replied.

"..." she remained silent and looked down.

"Why? Doesn't like walking?"

"No, I didn't feel like it,"

"Are you afraid of others?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"I see... Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't know you are a vampire."

They walked until they saw a bus stop. Shouri brought Yukino there to wait for a bus. They sat down and waited. Yukino's hands were shaking.

"Why? Are you scared?" Shouri asked since he held her hand all the time.

"No, I...have mixed feelings," she said as the bus arrived.

"Let's go," Shouri stood up and boarded the bus with her.

They were inside. Shouri brought her to the back and asked her to sit beside the window. She agreed. She sat beside the window and Shouri sat beside her left. Shouri still held her hands to prevent any fleeing possibilities.

"Stop holding my hand." she started to feel annoyed.

"I can't do that. To let off a hand from a beauty..." he replied with flattery.

"You— stop talking like that!" her face turned red again. She turned away towards the window.

"Ha ha ha, I'm joking. The atmosphere is bland, I can't help myself."

"Why must be that way? Geez..."

She didn't care about her hand anymore. She looked out the window and saw the sighting of the city. She felt they moved so fast since the buildings looked blurred. Crowds of people walked around having their time. Group of friends, a mother and her baby, a family, a happy couple, and lots of different people living their life to the fullest. A life that humans could attain. A life that only they could attain.

She observed the city and realize how wonderful it was, but she knew she would never belong there. Vampires like her were hated and feared by humans since they fed on them. Once they knew what was her, everyone would go for her head. For humans, vampires are no different from man-eating monsters. To kill all of them was necessary. For them, vampires are just a menace to society.

Those things lingered in Yukino's mind along the ride. While she was on it, the bus stopped beside a but stop.

"We've arrived. Time to go, Yukino," Shouri told her.

"A—, yes..." she snapped back.

They dropped off the bus holding hands. They continued to walk again, but this time was different. They walked into the crowd, making Yukino feel uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" Shouri asked.

"I don't know..." She held her brim down.

"If you can't handle this, tell me,"

"Hmm,"

"We will do this quick. Then we come home, okay?"

"Hmm," she nodded.

They kept walking amongst the crowd. Yukino looked down as the people around her made her feel sick. Shouri held her hand, guiding her to their destination. As they walked, the temperature suddenly changed. The sunlight was lesser as they entered a building with a ceiling full of lights. Yukino lifted her head as she was curious about the changes around her. Around her were varieties of shops selling various products like foods and cosmetics. A lot of people were looking for their desired products around her.

She looked to her front. A beautiful structure was ahead of them. A fountain in the middle of the two corridors intersection, spurting clear blue water and lights on its base. The lotus grew on the surface, making it look out of the forest. The sight was beautiful, making Yukino stop walking. She was standing there obliviously looking at the magnificent man-made structure.

"Woah..." Yukino's sparkling eyes reflected the water spurting out from the fountain.

Shouri also stopped walking. He joined her and enjoyed the view. It was beautiful indeed. He looked at her and saw the eyes that denied humans looking obliviously towards a man-made structure. He saw her anxiety toward humans disappear for time being. He let her have her time before moving to their destination.

"Yukino," Shouri gently said her name.

"..." she didn't reply.

"Yukino?" he raised his voice a bit.

"Ah—yes!" she answered.

"We're close. Can we go now?"

"Yeah, we can. Sorry—"

"Don't worry, your first time seeing a fountain, right?"

"Yes, it is,"

"Let's go, shall we?"

On their left, a fashion shop was located. They went there. As they entered the shop, a staff of the shop greeted them.

"Greetings. Oh, a lovely couple we got today!" she greeted them with a smile.

"Thanks. It's a pleasure to shop here. Can you assist her in finding some clothes?" he replies.

"Huh?!" Yukino was surprised by his answer.

"I see, come in! Let me show you our recommendation!" she guided them with a smile.

The staff was attractive. She could handle things with a smile on her face. However, Shouri noticed something long before entering the shop. She was wearing braces. Under those braces, the teeth aligned in a very odd but familiar way.