It was already late again by the time the day's classes ended.
In the morning, Rias, Sona, Akeno, and Tsubaki had said their goodbyes with a promise to meet again.
He and Yue had also gone to school that day. Nothing special happened, aside from spending the day with Yue, walking around the school.
In the afternoon, Yuu returned home with Yue.
"…"
Once there, Yue was lying face down on the couch, holding with both hands a device she'd been watching with growing interest.
During her date with Yuu around town, she'd noticed a lot of people holding that strange, glowing rectangle.
"Yuu… is this a magic artifact?"
"That's a phone. A smartphone."
"Smartphone?"
She turned it around in her hands, brought it close to her eyes, sniffed it, and then tried to take a bite.
"Hey, that's not food."
Yuu snatched it away just in time.
"It's for communication. It can do other stuff too. Look…"
He bought and downloaded a game from the app store. It was a game with flashy little characters.
Terraria.
"Tap here… then here… no, not that, not that…"
Before long, Yue was completely absorbed. Her crimson eyes sparkled as her fingers flew across the screen.
In less than an hour, she was playing better than him.
"…I think I just created a monster."
×××
The next morning.
Breakfast was already served. Yuu was calmly sipping a cup of coffee while staring at the calendar with a blank expression. Technically, he should go to class.
"…"
"Mm… I don't wanna go to school."
Yue was lying on the couch in the exact same position as the night before, still holding the phone.
She hadn't let go of it.
"…You're getting addicted."
Yuu let out a deep sigh.
Maybe giving a smartphone to a tiny vampire like Yue had been a bad idea.
"So, Yue. I'm heading to school."
As soon as he said that, Yue put the phone down.
She got up from the couch with calm movements and stood right in front of him. Then, without asking or saying a word, she hugged him, climbed up his body, and buried her face in his neck.
"…Ah."
Yuu already knew what was coming. He felt her inhale deeply, like she was trying to memorize his scent. Then, opening her small mouth, she bit him.
The soft prick of her fangs was followed by the now-familiar sensation of his blood being drawn.
"Nnhg~… with Yuu's battery recharged, I can last till you get back." Yue smiled seductively and licked her lips.
"That sounds way worse if someone hears it out of context."
"Fufu~ See ya, Yuu."
Yue gave him a little wave, then flopped back down onto the couch, phone in hand, and went right back to gaming.
"…Totally addicted."
Yuu sighed and left the house.
Before heading out, he glanced at his garden.
Since buying the house, he'd taken care of it diligently. The flowers were colorful, and the soft scent that floated through the air often made passersby stop with an unconscious smile.
"Umu… Not bad."
He also remembered the first day, when the place was crawling with spirits and supernatural energy.
Now, there wasn't a single one left, he'd wiped them out back then.
Still, he felt the house's protection was weak. So, raising one hand, he formed a simple white rune in the air.
It dropped to the ground, and in the same instant, a powerful energy burst out, forming a dome over the entire property.
In the blink of an eye, the rune and the dome vanished. Well, they just turned invisible.
That was enough. Even if Earth itself were destroyed, this house wouldn't suffer a single scratch.
It was his way of making sure no one bothered his little vampire while he was away.
And with that done, he headed off to Kuoh Academy.
×××
He figured today would be a peaceful day too.
Halfway through the day, during lunch, Yuu went to the library to read. There weren't many people there, as expected. So there wasn't much noise either, just the soft sound of turning pages and quiet footsteps.
He liked reading, but since it was generally considered a boring hobby, he hadn't gone there with Yue, thinking she'd find it dull too.
So, as he walked between the shelves with his hand on his chin, looking for something to read...
He spotted a girl with black hair, yellow eyes, and a gloomy, tired expression, trying to reach a book on a high shelf.
She was on her tiptoes, stretching her arms, but the book was still out of reach.
There were disgusting things around her.
And while she seemed unaware of them due to her blank face, Yuu could read her micro-expression. That's when he realized she was just acting and pretending. Deep down, she was scared.
Yuu walked over silently and reached up to grab the book.
"Ah… thanks…" she said, a bit dazed that someone had decided to help her.
But before she could take the book…
From the gap where the book was, something appeared that shouldn't be there.
A gray head with hollow sockets and a twisted smile. Dark energy oozed from its skin like vapor.
"Can you see me...? Can you see me?!"
The girl stepped back. It was clear she saw it but didn't know what else to do besides keep a flat expression and pretend she didn't.
The boy, meanwhile, raised his other hand.
She thought he was going to grab another book.
"Ah, wait, that's…"
But it wasn't what she expected.
His fingers closed directly around the spirit's head.
And before anyone could even blink…
—Pop!
The head exploded like a popped balloon.
Darkness spread for a second, then vanished just as quickly.
And a little black liquid splashed on the girl's cheeks.
The girl froze. She blinked slowly and her gaze drifted from the space where the grotesque head had been to the boy's face.
'Have I seen him before…?'
Snow-white hair, a beautiful face, and a calm smile.
She set aside the familiar look and thought of something else...
'…Did he kill it?'
She gulped. Until now, she thought only she could see spirits, and assumed no one else could. Let alone destroy them like that, as if they were annoying bugs.
'Maybe he can help me!'
That thought popped into her head, bringing with it a spark of hope.
She was about to speak, really about to talk to him.
But then, the boy leaned in.
He brought his face close to hers, so close their noses nearly touched. She didn't even have time to blush at having such a handsome face so near, nor to step back for her violated personal space, because...
With a crooked smile, the boy murmured in a low, raspy voice.
"Can you see me...? Can you see me?!"
The exact same way the spirit had said it.
The girl froze again, but this time, for a completely different reason.
"…?!!!"
Her eyes went wide and her breath caught as a chill ran down her spine.
'He's one of them too?!'
Her lower lip trembled and a small —hup— escaped her throat.
Tears started to gather at the corners of her eyes.
'He tricked me! I thought he was human…!'
She'd always believed that if she didn't react, if she pretended not to see them, the spirits wouldn't bother her. So she always kept a stoic, unshakable expression in the face of supernatural horrors.
But if one of them already knew…
'It's over. My school life is over.'
Her legs trembled a bit.
But just as her instincts screamed for her to run, the boy clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.
"Pff…! Your face! Sorry, sorry! I just couldn't help it."
"Shhh! Be quiet!"
A voice hissed from the back of the school library.
"Sorry, ma'am!" Yuu called out again.
Then he turned back to the girl in front of him, who was still frozen, tears threatening to fall.
Yuu softened his expression.
"Your reaction was pretty cute, y'know?" Yuu chuckled, wiping a phantom tear from her cheek with a thumb. "Like a startled kitten".
The girl blinked, confused.
'…Huh?'
He smiled at her naturally.
So he was really a human just pretending to be a spirit to mess with her?
A lunatic human?
The other students nearby could hear him too, since they looked annoyed, so he definitely wasn't a spirit.
She slowly relaxed her shoulders. The trembling faded bit by bit.
She still wasn't sure what kind of person this guy was… but if he could laugh like that, and kill spirits with one hand…
"Here. This is the book you wanted, right?"
×××
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