We explore the temple grounds a little more before he takes me on a short walking tour of the historical quarter. Afterward, we head over to Nino and Haruka’s house for dinner, which is surprisingly only a short walk away.
Their house is gorgeous—traditional Japanese architecture but with sleek modern accents. We’re having dinner outside, in the courtyard off the kitchen. There are massive cherry blossom trees here, but it’s October, so obviously there are no flowers. The leaves are turning golden with red tips. The canopy reminds me of a fiery sunset, and there are tiny white lanterns strung along the bottom branches. There’s a pit of actual fire burning brightly near the oak table we’re seated at. It’s all utterly gorgeous and posher than anything I’m used to.
Their chef—his name is Sydney, I’m told—is an attractive but wispy young male with very large green eyes. He’s definitely ranked (I can tell from his owly eyes) but I have no clue how old he is. I say young because his demeanor is quite different from Haruka, Nino and Junichi’s.
Older vampires feel settled, like they’ve seen some shitty things and are surprised by nothing. Younger vamps seem a little too happy, as if the longevity of life hasn’t worn on them quite yet. Nino is the exception to this, because he feels like a little bit of both. I know from his medical records that he’s slightly older than Haruka, which is surprising. Haruka feels older. I don’t know how old Junichi is. I keep avoiding the question because I think it will freak me out. Like, brilliant—here’s one more thing that makes me question why the hell you want me.
We have wine and a first course of buttery, light farfalle with spinach, mushrooms and pancetta. I feel like an ass for being surprised by this. For thinking we’d be eating fried pork cutlets or some kind of rice, fish and miso soup combination.
The conversation is surprisingly comfortable despite my general gut-and-spine-related anxiety. We’ve talked a little about the next steps for the proposal, and Haruka and Nino have asked me questions about my personal background and how I like living in Japan.
Everything has been fairly innocuous, so I’m a little surprised when Haruka blinks his burgundy eyes at me and pointedly asks, “Have you ever had your blood tested?”
“Um… for what?” I ask. Diabetes?
“To see whether you have any remnants of vampire genetics within your bloodline,” he says simply, waiting.
This is a basic test anyone can take—particularly humans and low-levelers, since ranked vampires know they’re vampires from the outset. It’s almost a novelty thing, something you do when you’re a teenager and have a laugh about with your mates. But we do use it medically, on occasion (I did yesterday, in fact, for the older gentlemen—who tested positive for vampiric blood). It only means that somewhere in history, maybe you had a vampire in your family.
It only gives a positive or negative result. No details. Scientifically, we don’t have enough information yet on how vampiric DNA works to discern concrete information. There’s no Ancestry or genealogy bank to figure out your vampiric bloodline, because again, proper vampires are born and taught about their heritage.
“I… I have,” I admit, not wanting to lie.
“What was the result?” he asks, point blank. Now they’re all staring at me with their glassy eyes, and for the first time, I feel grotesquely out of place.
How did I even get here? Sitting in Haruka Hirano and Nino Bianchi’s home, having dinner with elusive high-bred vampires and casually spending the afternoon with one that’s an internationally recognized designer—one that knew Jimi Hendrix! What the actual fuck?
Answering Haruka’s question feels absurd. Like I’m sitting beside Mozart at a piano and saying, “Yeah, mate, I like to play ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.’” Of course I shouldn’t be sitting here, because I’m not a vampire in any regard. The stress of it is suddenly winding me up, and my face is growing hot.
What the hell am I doing here?
Fifteen
Junichi
The Historian is digging for something. Haruka has been digging for a few weeks now because something about Jae is setting him off. I understand. I definitely think there’s something funny about him too. But Jae is turning red and rubbing his palm against his face, distressed.
I reach over and gently take hold of his opposite wrist against his thigh. He jumps a little and looks up at me. “Are you alright?” I ask.
“It is not my intention to make you uncomfortable.” Haruka gracefully picks up his wine glass. “I was simply curious. Particularly based on the information you shared with me about your mother. Please do not feel pressured to answer.”
I slide my palm down, and Jae automatically opens his hand to me. I entwine our fingers together and smile. “No big deal. We’re not bullies.”
Jae takes a deep breath. “No—I don’t think that. Sorry. Sometimes I get in my own head about things. Human failing.”
“We all do that,” Nino chimes in brightly. “When I first met Haru, I thought he was so mature. He felt wise and experienced, like he knew everything about the world and I didn’t know shit… Actually, I still feel like that sometimes.”
Haruka turns and looks at his mate beside him, concern in his eyes. “You know much more about popular culture than me.”
“Is that a good thing?” Nino frowns, pouting. “Tesoro, I don’t think that helps my case.”
“Business too.” Haruka is openly pleading now, leaning toward him. “And finances. Cooking.” Nino shakes his head and picks up his glass of wine.
Jae laughs at this, and I smile. Haruka and Nino have this effortless charm, like the love they have for each other unintentionally melts outward and touches anyone in close range of them. After a moment, Jae smiles timidly.
“I tested positive… for vampire genetics. But it doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a yes-no test.”
“May I ask why you took the test?” Haruka asks. “What prompted you?”
“A lot of humans do it for fun, right?” I ask, not wanting him to feel pressured again. Jae runs his fingers into the back of his dark golden wavy hair and takes a deep breath.
“We do, but… the reason why I did it wasn’t necessarily for laughs. But… you’ll think I’m mad as a bag of ferrets if I tell you.”
I frown, blinking. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Crazy,” Haruka answers.
Nino draws back. “How do you know that, but I had to explain ‘banging’ as a euphemism to you the other day?”
Haruka shrugs. “I lived in England for several years, and my realm leader there possessed a very colorful vocabulary.”
I flick my eyes over to Nino, smirking. “Why were you explaining ‘banging’ as a euphemism, Nino?”
“Don’t worry about it, Junichi.” He raises his coppery eyebrow and sits back in his chair, smug.
“Jae?” Haruka says, re-centering the conversation. “Rest assured, we will not think poorly of you. Please explain if you’re comfortable.”
“Well… alright, I…” Jae takes another deep breath. “Growing up, I thought… I thought my mum was a vampire—but she clearly wasn’t, considering she’s gone now. She died at forty. At first it was in that way where you’re a daft kid, and you think there’s a monster under your bed or that the old chap next door is a serial killer.”
Haruka turns to Nino, blinking in confusion. “Is this a normal assumption in human culture?” Nino shrugs and takes another sip of his wine.
Jae laughs. “Probably not. But when I was thirteen or fourteen, I started researching vampires. I saw pictures of what they looked like when they were very ill—gray, skin drying out and emaciated. That’s how my mum looked in the end. Like she’d just dried up. She was sickly off and on her whole life, but things got worse and worse as she grew older.
“After she died, I told my dad that I thought Mum was a vampire. I’ll never forget his response. He said, ‘Why do you think that?’ Not, ‘Shut it, you idiot,’ or ‘Are you stark raving mad?’ His face was totally straight, and he wasn’t shocked by my question at all. When I told him my rationale, he just nodded. He didn’t say anything else, and we never talked about it again. I had the test done when I was sixteen.”
I swallow hard. We’re all completely silent, listening to him. I don’t know how to take this information, but I definitely don’t think he’s crazy.
“Have you ever wanted blood?” Haruka asks, his gaze focused. “Or been hungry for something you couldn’t discern?”
Jae draws back. “Me? No. Of course not. Never. I’m totally, absolutely human.”
“How does being around us make you feel?” Haruka asks. He’s going in hard now, and he’s the only one talking. Nino and I are watching it all unfold.
“Well, if I’m honest… I’m alright.” Jae shrugs. “But I’m definitely nervous. Like my insides feel all twisty and weird. Anxiety.”
“Does that always happen when you’re nervous? Or is this a recent development?”
“Ah… maybe recent? Since I moved to Japan it seems to have gotten worse. It’s a new country and new environment for me. I’m still adjusting to everything.”
