I take a peek into my room before I step out for school. Oumi lay sprawled out like a tired cat on my bed with a single drop of drool escaping her lips.
I walk up to her and cover her with a blanket stuck between the wall and my bed.
I guess Oumi is tired enough to sleep without a blanket and pants, knowing I'm here and able to see her.
I start to think about her words from the night before as I tuck her softly into bed.
It wasn't the first time that Oumi had said something about our relationship or even confessed that she wanted to hangout with me. She asked me if I really hated her when the same thing was on the tip of my tongue as well.
Yes, Oumi and I have been together for many years, but to this day I'm still unsure of how she feels most of the time. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was still a stranger to me.
For the longest time, I've been banking our relationship on our flaws and lately I've started to believe that I should try to get to know Oumi more.
Even as she lays in my bed, snoring soundly like a baby, I still feel so distant from her.
Do I really know nothing about her?
I leave the room quietly and shut the door behind me.
Waiting for me by the front door is a wide awake Tae smiling at me almost creepily. She was asleep not even a minute ago.
She stands proudly, leaning against the wall next to the front door. In her hands is a glass bowl full of cereal and I watch as she eats like she hasn't eaten in weeks.
Must be a side effect of Kjilmir.
"You're in a good mood," I said, "Something good happen to you?"
"Not exactly," she says, scarfing down the bowl of cereal.
It's a little hard to watch, if I'm honest.
"For some reason, I've been really hungry lately," Tae said, with a mouthful of cereal, "This is my second bowl this morning."
"Try not to eat the pantry while I'm gone," I chuckle, "I want to eat when I get home, too."
She swallows hard and gives me a bright smile.
"For the first time in years," Tae said, "I woke up and didn't feel like absolute shit."
"Congrats," I said.
Personally, I got almost zero sleep last night. Hearing that Tae was well rested was like hearing a married couple say they are getting along perfectly.
For a second, I started to doubt it, but I watched Tae as she slept and I for one know that she slept like a rock.
"It's good to hear that you slept well," I said, "I know how rare it is for you to get even a wink of rest."
It was the first time I had seen Tae look so energetic. For as long as I could remember, she was always living her life like a lazy house cat, so it was weird seeing a new side of her.
Too bad it took her getting possessed by a demon for it to happen, though.
"Well," Tae said, handing me a small metal box, "Have a good day at school, Kei."
I take the box from her hand and look it over before I open it.
Inside was a huge load of rice topped with some curry.
"You made me lunch?" I asked, utterly shocked.
"Of course!" Tae beamed, "It's the least I could do for the boy that's been taking care of me all this time."
A tear almost fell from my eye.
"Thank you, Tae," I said.
Tae gives me that bright smile again before shutting the door behind me.
It was the first time that Tae recognized everything I've done for her. I never thought the day would come but now that it has I almost don't know how to react.
Through all the mixed emotions, I'm able to decipher one of them: I was truly happy.
When I reach my school, I realize how lonely it is to walk without Oumi. As much as I hated to say it, I missed her.
A familiar face looks up from a cell phone and waves to me from the gate.
"Morning, Keisuke!" Kagami said, practically jumping up and down.
"Morning," I said, "What are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you," she said, "I heard Oumi was sick and I knew you were going to be lonely without her. So I thought that I might as well accompany you in her place."
"Ah," I grunt, "You don't have to."
Kagami pushes her hair out of her face.
"Are you not satisfied?"
"It's not that," I mumble, "I'm just not used to people being nice to me."
I don't notice it but my head droops to face the ground.
"Well, now you have me!" Kagami says, giving me a smile, "I know you don't have a lot of friends, so I'll do the honors of being one to you!"
A part of me wants to believe she's just being nice but another part says she just pities me. I didn't mean to but I think I might've made Kagami pity me enough to offer her friendship.
"Thanks…" I said, "It means a lot."
"Of course!"
Kagami and I walk to class together the same way Oumi used to. During class, she passes me notes asking me random questions that range from "what's your favorite color?" to "do you consider yourself a good person?". For some reason, her company is sort of comforting.
At lunch, Kagami moves a desk next to mine and talks to me about drama as I eat the lunch Tae made for me.
"Aren't you glad I came up to you?" She asked, feeding Shiori a mouth full of rice.
"I guess," I said, "I never thought I'd be aimless when Oumi's not here."
Shiori swallows the rice and frowns at me.
"So what is your relationship with Oumi?" She asked.
I pause for a moment.
"We've been friends for as long as I remember," I said, "I've never thought of her in a romantic way before."
A subtle smile appeared on Kagami's face.
"Does that answer your question?" I asked.
Shiori gulps down another mouthful of rice.
"I guess."
Kagami shuffles in her seat.
"It doesn't match what I'm hearing from everyone in class, though," she says, "Rumors say you and Oumi live next to each other, visit each other's house, and even go on dates after school."
Looks like someone found out. I had hope that maybe the class would believe we were just friends, but after the whole fiasco yesterday I knew it was sort of impossible.
A worried thought appears in the back of my mind.
If someone saw us leave school together, go out for ice cream, and kept following us until we went home, then that person saw the fight between Tae and I.
Kagami takes her chopsticks and grabs a mini sausage cut and shaped like an octopus.
"Want one?" She asked, holding it up to my face.
"I'm fine," I said.
Kagami leans in closer, shoving the sausage in mouth as if she was feeding a baby.
I chewed for a couple of seconds until I noticed that Kagami was waiting for a reaction.
I swallow the sausage and give her a thumbs up.
"It was good, Kagami," I said, "Thank you."
Kagami giggles and picks up another sausage, eyeing Shiori as she lifts it from the box.
At first, I was convinced I was going to be force fed another sausage but I watched in surprise as she fed it to Shiori.
"Kagami…" Shiori mutters, attempting to reject the sausage.
Kagami lets out a loud laugh.
"Shiori?" She asked, "Did you just indirectly kiss Keisuke?"
Shiori stares at me the way a serial killer looks at their prey.
"What…?"
Kagami giggles again as Shiori's face turns a bright red.
In a fit of rage, Shiori spits out the sausage and runs to the bathroom to wash her mouth out with soap.
"She's so sensitive," Kagami chuckles.
Kagami places the top back onto her lunchbox with the chopsticks inside.
"You guys seem close," I said, closing my box as well, "Are we done with lunch?"
Kagami nods.
"Shouldn't we wait until Shiori comes back?" I ask.
"No," Kagami sighs, "Knowing her, she'll be in that bathroom until school ends."
"Oh," I mumble, "Sorry about that."
"You're fine."
For a moment, Kagami and I sat in silence.
"This is good timing, though," she finally says, "I have something I've been meaning to tell you."
"What's up?" I ask.
Kagami looks around the room.
"In private."
Kagami grabs my hand and practically drags me out of the classroom. We head all the way up the stairs to the roof, where Kagami closes the door and locks it.
My heart sinks.
"Kagami…?"
Kagami turns away from the door and walks toward me swiftly. As she walks she starts unbuttoning her jacket.
"I've been waiting to tell you, Keisuke," she said, "But, I just can't hold it back anymore."
I stumble backwards and crawl away from her as she gets closer.
"Kagami…" I said, "Wait a second…!"
Kagami continues unbuttoning her jacket until it hangs like a vest on her shoulders. She proceeds to unbutton her blouse next as she gets closer and closer.
My back hits a wall, causing my head to snap back and bash against it. For a second, I start to feel dizzy.
Kagami stops half through unbuttoning her blouse and kneels down before me, falling over into a cat position.
"I know who you are, Keisuke…" Kagami said, leaning over me, "It's about time you get to know me."
"No Kagami!" I say, "Not at school! Kagami!"
Suddenly, Kagami pulls her collar away from her neck, and I have to squint to see what she was trying to show me.
My eyes adjust in time to see two red dots situated on the base of Kagami's neck.
A gasp escapes my mouth.
"That's right, Keisuke," Kagami said, licking her lips, "I'm a vampire."
My eyes widened.
"Just… like… you."