Misunderstood Vampire Bakasane-chan

“Muu…”

Under the sunlit, sparkling blue sky in the wide park grounds, I was chasing after a large back, running hard.

I’ve won first prizes more times than I can count, but it’s rare for someone to get ahead of me. The T-shirt barely conceals the bulging muscles beneath, a pleasant sight but also frustrating.

And then, realizing Hikaru had stopped and I had reached the finish line, I gritted my teeth. I thought the distance had been longer than a hundred meters.

“Mmm…”

“Haha. I don’t know how much power you hold back, but you are fast, Kasane-chan. I even had to get serious.”

“Me, losing a race to Hikaru…”

Hikaru chuckles at my frustration, and I’m even more annoyed.

It would be a scam if this sharp and muscular guy ran poorly. But it aggravates him to lose at something I’m good at, especially considering Hikaru’s physical ineptitude as a kid. He probably never lifted anything heavier than a few hidden adult magazines.

I remember him trying a sip of my cocoa-flavored protein shake, then diluting it with cola because he didn’t like the taste. Back then, he only drank with pizza.

But now, Hikaru’s slightly chubby past is nowhere to be seen. Where did the promise that we made as kids go to divide our strengths between muscles and brains because I found thinking too troublesome, and he hated exercise?

Well, just as I’m considered a genius, maybe Hikaru also had hidden athletic talent. It’s not surprising for friends to have similarities.

As I accept this, Hikaru explains, mistaking my silence for sulking.

“Well, I am Ikus’s… the princess’s contractor. Not only that but there was a time when I trained like crazy. Can you tell?”

“Yeah. You will be fast with those gluten-packed French bread-like muscles on your legs.”

“…Am I really that bulky?”

“Yeah. You’re in great shape! Well built!”

“No, that sounds more like a chant from a bodybuilding competition…”

Bodybuilding is a magnificent culture created by humanity. The enormous and finely honed muscles shone just beneath the skin’s surface.

Hikaru looks a bit awkward, but considering his past interest in claiming that even small breasts hold infinite potential, he should understand.

But then I think, if he still has the same taste, I’m in trouble since I’m flat-chested now. He might target me.

Not that I’m scared of Hikaru lusting after me. If he attacks, I’ll just kick him in his hanging weak spot to bring him to his senses.

While pondering such silly thoughts, I observe Hikaru, who looks troubled. He’s really good-looking when you don’t know his disappointing inner self.

Regaining his composure, Hikaru starts talking again.

“But Kasane-chan, you’re not just any Daywalker, right? Do you, by any chance, like the sun?”

“Huh? Of course, I love it.”

“Even high-ranking Ikus like the princess don’t part with their parasols due to a racial aversion to the sun. What year is this child from…?”

“Huh?”

I tilt my head, my hair tied in a single bundle swaying. Hikaru is talking about Day Something, princess class, years old – I don’t get it. Is he still misunderstanding something, or is this specialized terminology known only to a university graduate like him? Or maybe it’s just delusions created by his game-addled brain.

Well, as long as it doesn’t bother me, it’s fine. As I’m erasing the goal line drawn with chalk from my shoe soles, Hikaru says something even weirder.

“So, you must like blood a lot, right?”

Eh? I think. Do I look like a creature with such high ferocity that I would enjoy seeing blood? That would be shocking.

Instead, I look down and mutter.

“I don’t like that stuff…”

“Eh? Why not?”

Why not, indeed? Because the sensation of warmth fading away is something I can’t come to like. That’s why.

“I don’t want to see it anymore.”

I died once. And then I was reborn. But the last thing I saw, the blood-soaked scene, is something I just can’t forget.

Yeah, in this life, I fainted at the sight of my blood until I got used to it. It’s a trauma. Naturally, I hate blood. To be honest, I don’t even like the color red much.

Misaki often wears red underwear, but I don’t get it. Speaking of which, why does he often report on the color of his underwear lately?

“That’s… you’re kind, Kasane-chan.”

“Huh?”

While pondering my previous friend’s mysteries, my current one says something strange. No, it’s not about being kind; it’s just normal.

Blood and splatter, that’s horror. I can’t handle that stuff.

It’s normal to hate horror. Hikaru’s been poisoned too much by zombie games. I remember him loudly announcing his success in a game’s challenge mode in the middle of the classroom, naked or something, and I had to cover my head in exasperation.

“I don’t get it, but do you like blood, Hikaru?”

“That is… I don’t know anymore.”

“Don’t know?”

“Well, in my case, it’s more like I got tired of it.”

Can one get tired of blood? I wonder if Hikaru, whom I haven’t heard much about, is involved in nursing or something related to life and death.

As I twist a lock of hair in question, Hikaru scratches at the bandage wrapped around his neck and mutters that he didn’t want it to turn out this way.

After that, Hikaru and I played in the park like friends. He said he felt like returning to his childhood, but I could tell he enjoyed it.

He tried to imitate me doing a cartwheel, failed, and ended up sticking into a bush like an avant-garde muscle sculpture, but he still laughed about it.

However, I made it when we were eating onigiri, and some policemen came asking about our relationship. Hikaru got flustered. He turned pale when I jokingly said we were in an unusual relationship.

I couldn’t let Hikaru eat a bad meal after enjoying my delicious onigiri, so I lied to the police and sent them away.

But I do wonder why they believed us to be siblings. Muscular and squishy don’t exactly look alike, do they?

“…Above all, my best friend is Misaki! She’s beautiful, smart, and has a great personality. She’s amazing at sports, almost as good as me!”

Well, that last story is insignificant. Sitting on a teddy bear picnic sheet and rekindling old friendships, I got carried away talking about my social circle.

And when it comes to bragging about a precious best friend, I’m even more talkative. I described Misaki, focusing on her most noticeable feature, her large breasts, but I omitted that part to avoid Hikaru’s lustful attention.

“Wow, Kasane-chan praises her so much; she must be an amazing girl. I’d like to meet her sometime.”

“Hmm… maybe it’s better if you don’t. Misaki doesn’t seem to like muscular guys. When I mentioned you to her once, she told me not to associate with you, and it was quite a struggle to escape her today.”

“Am I disliked for my physique…? Maybe Kasane-chan described me poorly…”

Hikaru mumbled something, but it was quite a hassle to come today.

Even though I hadn’t mentioned any plans, Misaki showed up before I left, insisting on coming along. However, dealing with both friends at once would have been too much.

So, I dodged her in every way possible, and finally, when it was almost time to meet, I told her she’d hate me if I kept this up, and she stopped. I took that chance to escape.

Then, I suddenly realized I had been talking about myself all this time.

I felt it wasn’t right for a conversation, so I asked Hikaru about his friends.

“By the way, Hikaru, do you have any friends? When I messaged you asking if you were free tomorrow, you immediately said it was okay. I thought maybe you didn’t have many friends.”

“Kasane-chan is quite direct… Well, yes, I don’t have many, but…”

“Right. But you must have one or two people you like, right?”

“Well, yes… there was someone.”

‘There was,’ I wondered what he meant by that. Hikaru then continued haltingly.

“That guy was good at sports. In soccer, no one could take the ball from him or catch up when he ran. Even in middle school, he was like a joke, that good.”

Past tense. And someone Hikaru spoke of so passionately must be me from my previous life.

That makes sense. Hikaru and I were best friends, after all. He didn’t know I was the same person from my past life, so he spoke earnestly.

It was embarrassing and flattering.

“He was also bright and honest, like the sun, liked by everyone, and then…”

I was feeling embarrassed but proud to be praised so much. I was curious about the rest and listened intently.

“Above all, he was an idiot.”

Hikaru said with a pleased smile.

Huh? So he wasn’t talking about me. I’ve always been a genius, never an idiot.

Hikaru, who often played games beside me, should know that. So, it must have been someone else, a counterpart from my past life.

But, past tense. I was curious and asked.

“Did that person go somewhere?”

“Yes. We can’t meet anymore.”