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Now, Hayasaka knows Chika is a little unusual. All the running around Shuchiin with the table-top games club pretending to be in an RPG, the whole Love Detective bit which includes a hat and a fake smoking pipe and the mysterious ways her bow works speak for themselves.
However, even for Chika, Hayasaka thinks that what is currently happening in front of her is a little bit more than unusual.
“Did you kill this man?!”
Chika drops the body of a male Shuchiin student that she was holding and shrieks, mouth covered in blood.
“Ahhh!” Chika jumps away, as if putting distance between her and an unconscious bloody body would somehow incriminate her less.
Hayasaka screams back at her, finally noticing the fangs from which blood was still dripping from Chika’s opened mouth.
They stare at each other for a few beats, neither one knowing what to do.
“Look, I can explain! This is not what it looks like.”
Hayasaka looks at Chika incredulously, staring pointedly at her fangs.
“Okay, this is exactly what it looks like. But I didn’t kill him, I swear! I just made him unconscious, he’s gonna be fine. And he won’t even remember I drank his blood! I could leave him with the possible traumatic memory of being lured into an alleyway, getting his neck bitten and blood drank out of him, but I’m very considerate! Instead, he’s just gonna wake up in a bit a little disoriented thinking he confessed to me and got rejected so he spent some time sulking in this random alley.”
“And that’s a believable alternative?” Hayasaka asks, wide eyed, not knowing how to process the rest of the information she’s being presented with, lest of all Chika’s smirk as she answers.
“Well, I know he’s attracted to me, at least. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to drink from him.”
“What?”
“Vampire rules are weird like that.”
Chika’s nonchalant shrug does nothing to distract Hayasaka from the impact of hearing the word coming out of her lips. Such plain statement is what makes the reality of the situation finally hit her.
“God, you’re a real vampire.” Hayasaka knees buckle and she has to rest her hands on them to keep herself steady. “I don’t understand. How?”
“How am I vampire?” Chika smiles and takes a deep breath before launching into a lecture “You see, mythical creatures have existed since ancient times and-“
“No, I don’t care about that.” Hayasaka waves one of her hands dismissively. “How did I miss this in my background check of you! You were Kaguya’s first friend, we searched through your background so thoroughly, how did I miss that?”
Hayasaka stands straight, regaining enough strength for a nervous pace.
“I thought I was good at my job! I’ve profiled every person who got close to Kaguya, singling out the ones who did so in with ulterior intentions and finding their weaknesses for Kaguya to exploit! I’ve basically got a file on every Shuchiin student at this point. Hell, I’ve unveiled corruption schemes so Kaguya could use them as blackmail against fellow students running for the Student Council, how did I let a freaking vampire slip me by?”
Chika’s brows furrow, head tilting to the side as she tries to understand the basis to Hayasaka’s speech.
“Your job? What are you talking about? You work for Kaguya?”
Hayasaka is so caught up in the knowledge that vampires are real, that Chika is one of them and, worse, that she didn’t catch it in her evaluation that the need to keep her job a secret and act as her school gal persona is forgotten.
She stops pacing.
“Shit.”
Chika’s confusion gives way to a satisfied grin as she realizes the implication of Hayasaka’s desire to keep the fact that she works for Kaguya private.
“Well, now we’re even! I know your secret and you know mine. You can’t tell anyone or I’ll expose you too!”
Hayasaka doesn’t think their situations are even close to comparable, but whatever. She had no intention of outing Chika anyway, no matter how delighted Mirin and Subaru would be at the news that vampires are real.
“Sure. But, back to the important matters, how did I miss this?”
“Do you really not want to hear about my awesome origin story?”
“Not really.”
Chika pouts, offended.
“Well, I’m gonna tell you anyway.”
Hayasaka rolls her eyes, accepting her fate.
“So, one day, I was going home from piano lessons. This was middle school, I already hated studying piano by then. But I was convinced it was my path, and so was everyone else. I was miserable, but I wanted to please them, so I spent all day playing, no free time, no games, no friends.”
Even though Hayasaka was already aware of Chika back then since they had both attended Shuchiin since elementary, she only got to know her better after Kaguya befriended her, so her image of Chika is this bubbly, extroverted girl. She forgets that was not always the case.
“I was so frustrated I went in an alley just so I could scream and kick something to calm myself down litte. But instead, I passed out.”
“I woke up hours later in my bed, not being able to remember how I got there, feeling like a fundamentally different person. At first, I didn’t think twice of it, I mean, it just felt like any other afternoon nap. Of course, when I went to brush my teeth and felt my fangs, I couldn’t deny that something wasn’t right.”
Chika shows off her fangs when she says that, as if Hayasaka hasn’t been extremely aware of them throughout this whole conversation, trying and failing to look away.
“And then I started feeling thirsty. But in a different way. It was unlike wanting water or food. It felt much more animalistic, like an irrational urge I couldn’t control. At this point it was pretty obvious I was a vampire, so before I lost sight of myself, I did what I had to do.”
“It was easier to find prey back then, fortunately the attraction rule didn’t apply when I was a middle schooler, but for some reason when I got into high school it became more and more difficult to lure people. It took me a while to figure out who I could and couldn’t lure and why.”
“I wish that I had some sort of guide or even a mentor to help me understand how vampires worked. But the meanie who turned me into one didn’t even leave me a note to explain, so I still don’t know how a lot of it works.”
They stay in silence for a while, Chika reminiscing and Hayasaka trying to wrap her mind around what Chika just told her.
“So, yeah, you probably couldn’t find anything on me because I became friends with Kaguya very shortly after I turned.”
Hayasaka slowly nods, trying to soothe her bruised ego but still believing that somehow she should have found out sooner.
“Wait, if you turned when you were in middle school, how come you don’t look that young?”
“Oh, turns out that whole ‘staying the age you were turned’ thing isn’t true. Instead, I can manipulate the way I look based what age I want to be! See?”
Chika turns into an older version of herself, probably in her fifties. From this moment on Hayasaka has to live with the knowledge that Chika will one day be a MILF. Chika thankfully turns right back into a teenager.
“But I don’t really like doing it, I may be immortal but I’m still 17! There’s no way I’m not taking full advantage of my youthly charms at my age!”
Chika poses with a peace sign sideways over her eye. Hayasaka is sure it would be much cuter if there wasn’t any blood on her still.
“Anyway, like I said, I still don’t quite know all the rules, and the ones that I do know don’t make a lot of sense? Like, other people can see my reflection on mirrors, but I can’t. But I do come out in pictures? Also, I don’t really like being in the sun, but instead of hurting me it just makes me feel weird, like my whole body is tingling. Oh, and I sparkle! I do like that part hehe. My favorite part though is that I have heightened senses. Like super good vision and hearing. And I’m strong!”
Chika smiles mischievously, flexing her deceptively strong arms.
“Which means, I’m amazing at games and before you say anything, it’s totally not cheating! It’s not my fault I just happen to be better than everyone else!”
For the first time since she stumbled upon this bloody scene, Hayasaka allows herself to relax. Chika may be a vampire, but it’s clear she’s still the same girl with a penchant for breaking the rules Hayasaka knows.
***
Now that she knows what to look for, it’s kind of obvious Chika is a vampire. She avoids sunlight like the plague, but when she can’t, there’s this glow that emanates from her skin.
(Before finding out about the whole supernatural deal, Hayasaka thought Chika was just that beautiful, a fact she pretends to forget.)
And whenever Chika smiles, she doesn’t even try to hide her fangs. Honestly, it’s driving Hayasaka a little insane, the fact that everyone sees it and doesn’t think anything is out of the ordinary.
Also, she is strong. Chika carries heavy supplies to the Student Council Room without breaking a sweat, only pretending to huff and puff when someone’s nearby. Hayasaka even sees her effortlessly raise both Gigako and Makki-senhai in the air simultaneously when they win a game, keeping them there until they jokingly plead to be laid off. Which definitely doesn’t spark any thoughts in Hayasaka about being carried herself, at all.
However, as time goes on, Hayasaka finds herself paying more attention not to Chika’s vampiric traits, but her human ones. It’s true that she had looked into Chika’s background back in middle school, and she sure has had dealt with her a lot because of Kaguya’s antics, but Hayasaka never had put in the effort to really see her.
Until now that is.
The first thing she notices should be obvious to any Shuchiin student. Even though a pianist career wasn’t something Chika aspired to, it’s clear Chika’s passion for music is real. At the morning assembly, Chika’s fingers slide through the piano keys with expertise while her body moves along, completely immersed in the music even though they play the same song, the school anthem, every week.
The second is that every time she glances at Miyuki singing along she smiles brightly.
She finds that that last observation sums up a lot about Chika. Don’t get her wrong, Chika is not all sunshine. She cheats and she gloats, she’s snarky and can be surprisingly selfish at times. However, at her core, she has so much love to give. And give it she does. Every day, she greets her friends good morning with hugs. Every day, she talks and laughs with any schoolmate that might look for her. Every day, she walks Pesu, with treats and loving belly rubs to spare. Every day, her eyes shine brightly when the time comes for Student Council and she gets to see Kaguya.
Once she sees Chika as more than a nuisance she has to take care of while helping Kaguya, Hayasaka is surprised to find out just how much they get along.
Like the event that launched this whole ordeal, it starts by accident. One day, Hayasaka walks into the bathroom to find Chika staring at the mirror, a vacant expression on her face. When she notices she isn’t alone, she quickly pretends to be checking herself out, until Hayasaka puts a hand on her shoulder to remind Chika that doesn’t have to hide, Hayasaka already knows.
Chika smiles shyly before launching into a dramatic retelling of how her phone was taken in class, complaining about how inconvenient it is to not be able to see herself in a mirror. Hayasaka fixes her bangs for her, her own phone burning in the back of her pocket. In a quieter tone, Chika admits to missing seeing her own reflection. Hayasaka hesitates before saying that, while it is not the same, she can’t remember the last time she looked into a mirror and saw her own self instead of a someone else either.
Chika takes her hand and gives it a squeeze.
That’s when Hayasaka realizes that the shared knowledge of one another’s secret doesn’t only mean that they’re keeping those secrets safe, it means they have someone to trust, someone to confide in.
After that, they start spending much more time together, complaining about their respective situations while finding interest in the other’s. Chika asks about Hayasaka’s personas, laughing at the elaborate backstory she gave to Haysaca-kun before being reminded that she was completely fooled by it. Meanwhile, Hayasaka excitedly theorizes to Chika about the possible logistics behind cameras being able to capture her image. Chika somehow spins questions about phones and cameras into a request for selfies and she starts sending her pictures of herself every day as research material. Hayasaka saves them, in the name of science, of course.
It’s not long before they figure out how to have fun with Chika’s powers. Chika winks at her during PE before shooting a basketball from midcourt, scoring and pretending to be shocked when it gets in. Hayasaka can only smile and affectionally roll her eyes, knowing that the only way Chika could score was by her “totally not cheating” use of super strength. A few days later, Hayasaka murmurs quick jabs under her breath during class, smirking when Chika gets scolded by the teacher for laughing out of nowhere.
Sometimes Hayasaka just stares at Chika, thinking about all the chances she had to really befriend her earlier, lamenting that she didn’t take them. But then Chika smiles at her, and the flutters she feels at the sight of those fangs soothe her. Even if it took a while, they’re close now, and that’s what matters.
***
Soon, a month passes, and with it comes a reality Hayasaka had tried to forget: Chika has to feed again. Hayasaka knows she’s done it many times before and, as far as she’s aware, there has never been a problem. But that was before Hayasaka knew her secret. She can’t help but to feel weird knowing that Chika is out there seducing some random student and biting them in the neck so she doesn’t starve.
Hayasaka tries to distract herself, remembering that Chika is not doing it for fun, but as a necessity, and no matter how weird Hayasaka feels about it, it’s going to happen either way, for Chika’s own survival.
But her mind keeps coming back to it, replaying a made-up image of Chika batting her eyes at some stupid boy who thinks he’s going to kiss her, followed by the real memory of Chika hunched over a body, teeth sunk in. Before she can control herself, her feet take her to the spot she first found Chika in.
Chika is there, like she imagined. Her methods of seduction, however, are completely different to what Hayasaka conjured up.
She’s beat boxing with one hand over her mouth, waving the other back and forth in a come hitter motion. The boy, Teppei Tanaka, Hayasaka absentmindedly recognizes, is clearly in some sort of trance, because instead of being weirded out like any sane person would, he’s slowly following Chika into the alleyway. Satisfied, Chika starts rapping.
“Yo, buddy, come to this spot! Can’t help but think ‘Chika’s so hot’, I know you wanna kiss me and not get caught, instead I’m gonna drink your blood like a shot!”
All in all, it’s not the worst rapping Hayasaka has heard, she doesn’t think it’s possible to take that title away from Shirogane, but it’s still bad enough that Hayasaka considers just turning the other way and leaving. However, before she can book it, Chika stops her beat boxing abruptly.
“What are you doing here?”
Hayasaka may as well tell her. She gathers courage but still has to look away when she says.
“Why don’t you drink from me instead?”
“But, don’t you remember that you need to-“ Chika begins saying but stops as it dawns on her that Hayasaka’s red cheeks could only mean she’s perfectly aware of the conditions a person would need to exhibit for Chika to be able to drink from them.
“There will be no issue with that.”
Chika’s lips curl into a smirk, voice smug. “Oh? No issue? You’re attracted to me?”
“Stop.”
“You think my fangs are sexy? You see me glistening under the sun and fan yourself?”
“Stop.”
“You like my vampire charms? How I could scoop you up with no effort? Or perhaps was it seeing me aged up that did it for you? Don’t think I didn’t notice your accelerated heartbeat when you saw me like that, nothing gets past my vampire senses!”
That’s it, if Hayasaka is going to die of embarrassment in the next few minutes, it better be after she does what she came here to do.
“Won’t you please just drink my blood already and be done with it?”
Chika stops her teasing, blushing a little now that she’s taking Hayasaka’s request seriously.
“Okay.”
Instead of being put in a trance like Tanaka, maybe because she already knew about the vampirism and was doing it willingly, Chika leaves her as if, which means Hayasaka stays completely aware of herself throughout the entire event. Chika walks closer to Hayasaka until she can easily put one hand on Hayasaka’s neck, the other on her waist, as the other girl cranes her neck to give better access. Hayasaka gets chills when Chika’s lips touch her neck, feeling the little puffs of air as she breathes.
“I’m gonna bite you now, okay?”
Hayasaka can feel the words being murmured against her skin and feels too weak to say anything back, all she can do is give the slightest of nods. It must be enough for Chika to get the message, because as soon as she stops nodding she feels fangs carefully penetrating flesh.
And then Chika starts to suck.
The feeling is unlike anything she has ever felt before. Hayasaka thought it would feel similar to having her blood taken for a test, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Instead of the pain and uncomfortableness that being pierced by a needle brings, Hayasaka feels completely at ease, as if she’s in some sort of high. It’s weirdly intimate, but in a pleasant way. Unconsciously, Hayasaka wraps her arms around Chika so they could be even closer. The feeding only takes a minute or two, so it’s not long before Chika is done, soothing the now bruised skin with a gentle kiss. Hayasaka is almost sad it’s over.
It takes a few seconds for Hayasaka to come down from her high. She doesn’t know how to process what just happened, and the fact that Chika is still much too close certainly doesn’t help.
Chika is looking at her like she just found an oasis after weeks in the desert, cheeks flushed from the newly acquired blood, eyes wide and pupils blown. Which doesn’t make sense because she already fed, she already satiated her thirst. Hayasaka’s eyes follow as Chika licks her lips, and she realizes that what’s causing such expression is not the need for blood, but a different kind of want, one Hayasaka feels too.
She wastes no time and kisses her.
Chika’s lips are soft. It takes her a second to reciprocate but when she does it feels like everything Hayasaka has dreamt of for her first kiss a mutual want and budding feelings all expressed with firm gentleness. At the same time, it feels nothing like what she imagined, because Hayasaka never thought she’d ever pull away so quickly from such a perfect kiss.
“Ew, you taste like blood!”
“Yes? What did you expect? I literally just drank your blood.”
As Chika teases her, Hayasaka feels her cheeks redden. Even though that’s exactly what they did, what she volunteered for, it still feels embarrassing to say out loud for some reason.
“I didn’t know what to expect, okay? I never read Twilight and it’s not like I know any other real vampires. Anyway, we’re not kissing again until you wash your mouth and thoroughly brush your teeth.”
“We’re kissing again?” Chika’s amazed tone brings out a smile to Hayasaka.
“If you want to.”
Distracted, Chika and Hayasaka fail to notice the stirring of a body a few feet away from them.
A freshly woken up Tanaka is staring at them, mouth agape, eyebrows high.
“Did you just say you drank her blood?”
“Oh, sorry, I forgot about him.” Chika makes some weird hand gestures that Hayasaka is ninety percent sure are just for show. Tanaka drops to the ground again. “Done, he won’t remember any of it.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing you use your powers so nonchalantly.”
“You totally think it’s hot”
Hayasaka is past the point of denial.
“Yes. C’mon, let’s get you a toothbrush.”
“Wait, really? You think it’s hot?”
Hayasaka refuses to confirm it again, just walks away from the alley, Chika trailing after her.
***
A few minutes later, Tanaka wakes up once more, slightly disoriented, having no idea what brought him to this alley. There’s this voice in the back of his mind that tells him that something strange happened, that something abnormal led him there and made sure he forgot the evidence of their oddness. This voice gets a bit louder the next day, when he sees Chika and Hayasaka holding hands down the hallway, but he quickly disregards it. The student council secretary and the gal girl made an unusual pair, how could they have anything to do with it?
As he looks away, Chika smiles, baring her fangs for the school to see.
(As soon as they’re alone, Hayasaka scolds her. Really, she doesn’t know how no one else sees it.)