FOOLS BLOOD

 I didn't know who I should have feared more, the hungry vampires who had just murdered someone, or me, the person who sliced clean through a person's throat. It hit me at full force once it was over, the realization of what I'd done.

 I remembered my fear which had turned into anger. And then that calming sense of control, as if I had become someone else.

 Who would have guessed that something that grotesque could happen? The way Kana held his head high with a certain elegance distracted me from the truth of how savage vampires truly were.

 What started off as an ordinary day turned into a complete nightmare. And by any means, I was no victim, but a monster that contributed to the chaos. Maybe it was because of how hard I was crying, or how comfortable I was in Kana's awkward and tense, yet comforting embrace, but somewhere during that time, I had fallen asleep.

***

 I was in a dream, or better yet, a memory from my past. The cherry blossoms of the tree in the courtyard were in full bloom, fluttering around me in a pink swirl of fresh spring.

 The faces of my parents that I could barely recognize, smiled at me as they sat on the patio. They called out to me; their words barely audible as if they were far away even though I could see them in clear view.

 As my mother's mouth moved, I tried my hardest to listen to every word, but she might as well have been speaking in a foreign language.

 "Mama!" I called out to her, eagerly running toward her, but I was basically running in place. My feet moved, but the ground didn't shift, as if I was running on a treadmill. My hand reached out, but the harder I tried to get to her, the distance between us only grew farther apart.

 It'd been so long since I last saw her. When was it again that we were together? I was so young when she died that by now, she was only a distant memory.

 Right by her side, my father stood up. He placed a hand on my mother's shoulder and again, words spilled from his lips. It was easier to hear than my mother's, but the sound of his voice was both relieving and yet a tormenting reminder that I would never hear it again.

 "Never look back. Always keep moving forward, Rui."

 My eyes felt hot with tears as I gave up my pursuit. Stuck in the body of my six-year-old self, I could no nothing but watch helplessly as the faint memory of my parents faded into the distance. Probably the last moment I would ever get to see them again, even if it was just a dream.

***

 "Mother!" I shouted, sitting up with sweat glistening against my pale face. I looked around frantically, no longer was I in the courtyard where the cherry blossoms fell, but back in my bedroom, with Kana sleeping soundly with his head rested on my bedside.

 Kana groaned, one of his scarlet-colored eyes gazing open through the sheen of exhaustion. "Finally awake are we? And I know I'm beautiful, but no way am I feminine enough to be confused for your mother."

 He stretched out, his back cracking while he yawned. He rubbed his eyes, then gazed at me with his feline-like mischief. "Did you sleep well? After all that pathetic sobbing, you passed out and I had no choice but to carry you to bed."

 "You carried me here? Why would you do that?" It was out of character for my master to be so careful with me. I was constantly reminded that he wouldn't come to my aid, nor did he think of me as anything less than a servant.

 And yet he took care of me, even falling asleep while watching over me. He even took the time to change my clothes since I was now wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.

 "What was I supposed to do? Leave a novice like you to handle the after math of that battle? If I left you, it would only have made things more complicated for me."

 That's when it all came back to me. The girl who was killed and bled out on the floor, and the beasts in human form who had feasted on her blood.

 I sprang up, jumping to my feet, ready to rush out the door. "Well, what are we waiting around for? What if people find out? We need to do something before the cops get called!"

 Before I made my hasty exit, Kana grabbed my arm. "Calm down, I have all that handled, on my own by the way since you were of no use to me in your weakened state." He released me, and the aura around him began to change.

 I had always acknowledged him as a higher being, but after last night, I saw Kana in a completely different light. He came out of nowhere, like the silence of darkness, showing off powers that I didn't even knew he had. He had defeated that woman with ease. Or more like, she gave up willingly, as if she knew that there was no point in continuing the fight.

 "This is one of those times where it's my job to teach you a thing or two. Now, come. Follow me." He tucked hid hands in his sleeves and left, expecting me to follow him.

 As we walked down the hallway, customers passed by, idly talking and laughing. Everyone was acting completely normal. After everything that happened last night, I'd had thought someone would have caught wind of the incident. But I was wrong.

 We stopped in front of room three, the place where it all went down. Kana looked back at me over his shoulder, a smirk on his lips. He grasped the door, forcefully sliding it open.

 Instantly, my face turned pale. Everything inside remained the same. The girl's body was still on the ground, and so was the man whose head was decapitated and lay next to him. "Are you out of your mind? Close the door before someone sees!" I reached for the handle, but Kana blocked me off.

 He silently wagged his finger and pointed to more approaching guests.

 I shut my eyes, waiting for their shrieks of terror that was bound to follow after witnessing the unsightly mess, but instead, they walked past us as if they didn't notice a single thing. "Wait, what? How come they didn't say anything?"

 Kana chuckled, gesturing with his finger to follow him inside. "That's because I used illusionary magic. To the humans, this is but a simple room, blind to the truth. You can see through it however as I am giving you permission to."

 "Illusionary magic. I think that lady did something similar last night when she showed me her mark. She told me she was a six, but it turned into a nine." As I mentioned the woman, I jogged out to the courtyard. The ice that Kana made had melted away in the morning sun.

 But the ice wasn't the only thing that was gone, so was the woman. Unlike her male partner, she was nowhere to be seen. The thought of her getting away made my heart jump in my throat. Was she able to survive even though Kana hurt her the way he did?

 "She's not alive. There's no way a number like her could have survived an attack from a Suit." Kana stood behind me, hiding underneath the shadow casted by the canopy of the patio.

 "If she's not alive, then where did she go?"

 "It was the sun. If a vampire's corpse is exposed to sunlight, they disintegrate into dust, leaving not even a single trace of them."

 I frowned. "So, that's it then? She just disappears as if she never existed to begin with?" Somehow, my stomach twisted at the thought. It seemed like such a cruel fate, to not even be able to receive a proper burial.

 Someday, that was going to be me. If I were to die, I would turn into nothing. But somehow, I felt like that wouldn't be much different compared to my life now, since I had always been nothing.

 "Why do you even care? She tried to kill you, no? Why show sympathy toward your enemy?"

 "Because… Even though she might have been a monster, I could see the humanity in her eyes. She was a person too, a human. Before she became this… thing. She could cry and she could laugh, and deep down, I could tell she didn't want to hurt me."

 I grimaced, looking away. My hands trembled as I brought them up to my face. "But I ruined what little kindness she had left in her when I—" I choked back a sob. "When I killed—"

 Kana closed in on me, the bells in his hair chiming with every step. He pulled me back into the shadows, my back pressed against his chest. He placed his cold, slender hand over my eyes and propped his chin on my head.

 "It was inevitable. It was either them or you, and your primal instincts protected you. You need to let go of this resentment, because this will not be the last time your actions will cost someone's life."

 I sniffled, and for a moment let his cold hand cool the heat in my face. I sighed deeply, trying to let go of the regret that was eating away at me. Because he was right, this might have been the first, but it wouldn't be the last.

 "I'm sorry, I lost myself there for a second. But it's just so hard. All this killing and death. Does my life really have to be like this from now on?"

 Kana looked at me, his expression blank. "No one said being a vampire was going to be easy. This is the price we all pay if we want to survive." He left me, walking back to the man's corpse. "If you're done being a crybaby then give me a hand. Drag this guy's body out into the sun. Once he disappears, then we focus on the rest. And don't worry, leave the hard parts to me."

 I gulped, having no choice but to follow his command. I walked over to the lifeless body of the person who I had killed with the blade made from my own blood. The slice on his neck was straight and clean. It was done masterfully so, something I wouldn't have ever been able to do if I was just a mere human.

 I grabbed hold of his head, feeling sick to my stomach as I took in his final expression. It was that of surprise. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open in shock. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore and carelessly tossed it outside, and just like Kana said, it slowly started to turn into ash, blowing away in the wind.

 Next was his body, I thought he'd be harder to move, but I lifted him with little effort. I tossed him over my shoulder, placing his body gently on the ground and let the sun do its work. "Alright, I've done what you asked," I said, turning toward Kana who had pulled out an old flip phone from his sleeve. "You have a phone?"

 "Of course I do. It might not be new and hip like the smart phones you kids carry around these days, but this is good enough for emergencies. I have a few contacts that help with clean ups, if you get what I mean."

 So, Kana had connections to the vampire world after all. I mean, I shouldn't have been surprised, but he always came off as a loner. He never talked about his past, but he was clearly someone who was important. That woman right before her death talked as if she knew him. His presence alone was enough to make her shake, and she addressed him as a king.

 Kana started texting like crazy, having a conversation with someone I wished I could be a part of. I was curious to see who he was talking to, but even if I asked, he wouldn't have given me a straight answer. Kana did love leaving me in the dark about the most important things until it was too late.

 Once he stopped, he looked at me, flashing me a toothy smile. "Alright! Soon, this place will be cleaned up and we can forget it ever happened." He put the phone back up his sleeve and walked over to me one more time, handing me a little bit of cash. "Take a break for the rest of the day. Go out, buy yourself a treat! It's on me!"

 I chuckled nervously and placed the money in my pocket. But suddenly, that murderous aura flooded back into Kana as he grabbed onto my shoulder, his nails digging into my skin.

 His voice was low, almost threatening. "And make sure not to come back until tomorrow. I have important people coming over and I don't need them finding out about you. Do I make myself clear? Nod if you understand."

 I was frozen for a moment, his aura washing over me like a cold blanket of snow. But I nodded. "Yessir."

 And just like the flip of a coin, Kana was back to being his old aloof self. He smiled and patted me on the back then pushed me toward the door. "Good! Now, go out there and have fun! Bye bye now!" He slammed the door in my face, leaving me both confused and afraid. Just what was he planning this time?

***

 By now, it was midday. The sun was at the highest point in the sky. I had stopped by the convenience store and gotten myself a snack which was a popsicle and box of banana milk. I sat on a park bench, observing the towns people around me. Before when I was just Kaito's lapdog, I never had the time to fully take in my small community in all its glory.

 We didn't have much, but the people seemed happy. Just across the street, a little girl stood in the middle of both her parents, laughing as they grabbed each of her hands and swung her. Watching them reminded me of my dream. It'd been years since I thought about my parents. In fact, thinking back on it, I don't even remember how they died.

 I sighed and opened my popsicle, putting it in my mouth. It was a nice relief that battled the beating sun on my skin. "After all these years, why am I thinking about you guys now?" I leaned back, staring up at the sky, placing an arm over my head to shield my eyes from the sun's harmful rays.

 "Mind if I sit next to ya?"

 With the popsicle still in my mouth, I glanced to my side. There was no mistaking it, the odd color of his sky-blue hair and his piercings that glinted in the light. Sora stood next to me, wearing a black long-sleeved V-neck shirt with a silver dagger necklace in the shape of a cross. On his wrists were two leather straps, and he had on a pair of ripped blue jeans and black scuffed combat boots.

 "Sora? What are you doing here?" I sat up, nearly choking on my popsicle. What were the odds that I'd run into him for the third time in just two days. It's like I couldn't shake this guy off.

 "Hmm, same as you I guess? It's the weekend so I thought I'd go out for a walk." He plopped down next to me, making himself comfortable as usual, despite the awkward atmosphere around us whenever we were together. "Looked like you were deep in thought a minute ago. Something on your mind?"

 "Not really. Between school and helping at my family's inn, I'm taking some down time for myself." It's not like I told him a lie, but of course I wasn't going to tell him that my vampire master sent me away so he could clean up a dead body.

 "Cool! If you're not busy, then hang out with me for the rest of the day!"

 His optimism was refreshing, almost infectious, but his insistence on getting to know me raised a few red flags. After last night, I learned a valuable lesson. I needed to be careful with who I trust.

 "That's a little out of the blue, no? I mean, we hardly know each other. Why do you want to hang out with me anyway?"

 "Because out of all these boring country folk, you're the only guy who stands out to me."

 "You talk like you're not from here."

 "That's because I'm not!" Sora stood up and walked in front of me, placing his hands on his hips proudly.

 "I'm from Tokyo! I moved here not too long ago so I don't have any friends, thought maybe you could be my first one."

 My ears felt hot. I turned away, hiding my blush. Somehow knowing that a larger-than-life guy from a larger-than-life city acknowledged me made me feel good in a way. I'd never been told that I stood out before. It was almost embarrassing to hear.

 "Even if I wanted to hang out, I don't really have time for that." I cleared my throat and finished off my popsicle, putting my trash into my plastic bag. "I was told not to come home tonight. It's a long story that I can't really get in to, but that's my biggest concern right now."

 "So, you got kicked out?" Sora said while trying to hold back his laughter. "I took you for some goody two shoes, but I guess even you got a little bit of a rebel side to you!"

 "Hey, there's no need to laugh at me! And I'm not a rebel, it's just…" I trailed off, trying to think of an excuse. "There's some construction at the inn right now so my grandmother asked me to relocate, just for now. I'm a good kid!"

 Sora only laughed harder, wiping away a tear as he held his gut. "Sorry, sorry! I'm just teasing you, no need to get your panties in a bunch. But hey, I have an idea that I think would work for the both of us," he said.

 I raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

 He looked at me playfully, smirking. "Come spend the night at my house. That way you have somewhere to sleep, and I can get to know you better. Sound like a deal?"