Misunderstood Vampire Bakasane-chan

Loving seems simple, yet it’s complicated. Being honest and open-hearted often leads to embarrassment.

The barest sincerity, without even a thin veil, is vulnerably fragile.

“Hikaru! I really like you, man!”

“That’s kinda sudden… And you know, saying ‘I like you’ isn’t something guys usually say to each other, right?”

“Why not? Gender doesn’t matter, right? When I was little, I often heard my mom and dad saying it to each other while kissing in bed.”

“Wait, why were your parents spouting pillow talk with a kid around… That’s left a bad influence on you, hasn’t it?”

“Pillow talk? I don’t really get it, but if I don’t say what’s on my mind right away, I’ll forget. That’s why I said it.”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that, but I wish you had chosen a better time…”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you see everyone around us whispering? They’re talking about Kureo and Sara starting to date. They might get the wrong idea about us now…”

“Eh? But those two have been dating for a while, haven’t they? I even saw Sara letting Kureo touch her breasts during break time… Oh, was I not supposed to say that?”

“Let’s hear more about that…”

But my best friend seemed oblivious to the cunning of fear and pain.

He spoke his mind and heart, so straightforward it was hard to stand beside him. He was honest to a fault.

Serious not only about himself but also about others, he was a young man with an odd fIkusation on muscles. I had always been fond of his purity, even before he confessed his feelings to me.

“Protein is key for muscles. That’s the truth!”

“Hah, hah… Maybe. But making me, an indoor person, like the taste of protein through excessive exercise… Hmm.”

“Phew… Excessive? It’s just basic stuff like push-ups, sit-ups, squats, pull-ups, and a bit of running.”

“For you, maybe it’s not a big deal. But for someone who’s not even in a club, it feels like hard labor.”

“Hmm… That doesn’t sound like someone who’d run non-stop to the next town just to borrow an adult game.”

“Fatigue is the spice of life. Pushing the limits, that’s what erotica is all about… That’s the truth of this world.”

“Ahaha! Hikaru, you always say the weirdest things… Hey, don’t sprinkle honey on strawberry-flavored protein! You’re gonna make it insanely caloric!”

“Phew. ‘Calories’ is such an erotic word, isn’t it?”

“You’re too obsessed with puberty, it’s incomprehensible! Hikaru, your brain must be fried from too much sugar!”

“That’s rude…”

Back and forth, the banter goes, leading us to

smiles. The freedom to be without a mask is truly wonderful.

I thought one should hide their carnal desires, especially from others. But in front of his foolishness, even my own perversions seemed to fade away.

I cherished him for accepting my true thoughts, even the bad ones, with no hidden agendas, just as I am.

“Uh… Hey.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“I also think that you’re…”

“What? Come on, say it.”

“You’re… you’re… perverted.”

“Whoa, I’m being called perverted by a pervert! Have I caught something from you, Hikaru?”

“Am I a perverted pathogen to you?”

But, cherishing what’s important is surprisingly difficult. It’s hard to convey even your true feelings.

Because I love him, I feel secure. But the frustration of not being able to express it, even in a platonic love, was something I never knew.

Yet, I believed there was always a tomorrow. Our bond was undeniably strong, and I could convey my feelings anytime.

Yes, I trusted him.

“See you then!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Under the evening sky, reddening the horizon, our shadows stretched long.

Against the engulfing darkness, we waved, promising to meet again tomorrow.

To fool around once more. How strong was this simple promise, I wondered.

“It was just a passerby. Just someone who was hungry and grabbed a bite nearby.

But what if that meal had been someone close to me?

“Ah… How gruesome.”

The lively red now lay scattered and dead on the walls, turned black.

In the center lay two opened bodies. Familiar and dear, now white and blue, empty inside.

“Mom? Dad?”

“Hmm? Oh, you must be the child of this house…”

In the darkness, death stared back, painted in crimson.

“So?”

“Hikaru…”

“You mean everything to me.”

“Give them back!”

And that night, I lost everything.

The white smoke drifted into the blue sky, disappearing as if everything was meaningless.

I wonder if souls really ascend with this smoke. I hope their spirits find peace in heaven, that much I wish for.

As I watched the funeral pyre from a distance, that’s what I thought. But it was just a thought.

No emotions followed, and as everyone in black hesitated to touch me, I found myself alone, uttering…

“…I wish I were dead.”

Those words were meant for myself. Why am I still alive when there’s no reason for me to be? Everything important is gone. The rest are just strangers who don’t understand. How am I supposed to live among them?

“But…”

Who really deserves to die? The creature that killed my parents and best friend vanished without a trace.

Unjudged, excused as a monster. How can that be allowed?

“There’s no way I can forgive that.”

It’s true, it’s hopeless. The disparity is clear. Dominated by red.

But even if it seems hopeless, I refuse to give up. My feelings aren’t that easily dismissed.

Yes, even if I’m alone, I’ll keep denying it.

“Ah.”

So, I made a choice.

For the last time, just once more, I wanted to affirm something.

“I truly… loved them.”

I confessed my true feelings to the sky, where their smoke had dissolved.

Driven solely by vengeance, I lived the days without him, my promise.

I learned about vampires, hunted them down relentlessly, and began to kill them. I killed and kept killing.

That’s how I eventually met her.

“Oh my, I came to see the famed undertaker, but look how adorable you are.”

“You are…?”

“I am Ikus Crux, lost child.”

Then, I fought with this vacationing vampire princess from the Far East.

Cutting, being cut, drenched in blood, yet unable to destroy even a fragment of her.

But as I swung my sword without giving up…

“Ah!”

She seemed struck by my persistence, pinned down as she was.

“How lovely… I love it! I will give you my love!”

Amidst the deadly silence, Ikus declared with a smile.

“I’ll take your revenge… and in return, I’ll give you my love.”

Why did her words seem so appealing? Perhaps because I was too tired of being alone. Without him, without them, I despised the pain of my current existence.

Exhausted by my quest for vengeance, I simply responded…

“…Thank you, Hikaru.”

And I found myself embraced by her, probably lonelier than I was.

“I will assist you in your revenge. Until this body decays, I will remain an immortal, dedicated to death.”

“Ah, and I will continue to respond to your love, Ikus, until my life ends.”

Thus, we pledged our lives to each other.

We continued to kill, but gradually, we began to find moments of living in between.

When alone becomes two, even if it’s an imitation, emotions start to flow, changing the world.

“That’s why I will serve you both.”

Then, Saori started staying at our house, and I couldn’t just focus on revenge anymore.

I got a regular job, too busy with work to think only about vampires.

Eventually, Ikus, satisfied with enough money, built a mountain of manga, and Saori started serving in a maid outfit.

Vampire princesses and high-class ladies doing such things. It was absurd.

“Haha.”

It was funny. That’s why I could laugh. I could finally laugh.

And then…

“Shirakawa Hikaru-san, right? Oh… I mean, do you remember me?”

I met a girl who looked just like him.

A lovely girl with big twin tails, but something felt off about Kasane-chan.

As I listened to her, I realized her apparent age didn’t match her real age.

Ah, this is… She must be a vampire too, I thought.

“No, you must be a hundred-year-old vampire, right?”

I said that, but I secretly hoped I was wrong.

She resembled him so much, I wanted to believe she was not a hated vampire, but rather

him returning to keep his promise, bringing back the love that had continued.

But Kasane-chan just vaguely nodded in agreement.

“Yes, um, yes.”

Ah, then I must kill this vampire who resembles him.

She seemed innocent enough. But as a vampire, how should I kill her? While maintaining my facade, I felt sadness for the first time in a while.

“Kasane, what should we do?”

“Ah… Kasane-chan is amazing. Resistant to sunlight and almost human in spirit. Plus, her fangs seem to be sealed or broken, making her indistinguishable from a human.”

“Still, that relaxed demeanor, like Musashi Miyamoto, shows she’s no ordinary being.”

“At first, she seemed carefree, but she might really be a vampire…”

After Kasane-chan left, we whispered in secret.

Sipping the tea placed before us, I wondered when I had started to appreciate the bitterness without sugar.

But that was just an escape from reality. The emotionless maid dressed in her cold uniform muttered softly.

“Then we must kill her.”

“Yes, we must…”

Yes, we should. By our contract and the smoldering revenge within us.

But in her presence, I felt no such desire. Because…

“Hey, Hikaru. You like that girl, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”