“Akari Minamoto!”

  The cssroom door had barely finished sliding open when the teacher’s voice cracked through the air like a whip.

  Akari froze mid step.

  Pairs of eyes turned toward her in perfect, synchronized judgment.

  She shut her eyes as if bracing for impact and bowed deeply. “I’m really, really sorry!”

  “You’re te!” the teacher snapped.

  “I know…” Akari muttered, wishing the floor would swallow her whole. She could practically feel the humiliation radiating off her cssmates.

  “You will have extra cleaning duty after school.”

  A collective ooh rippled across the room.

  Akari’s shoulders sagged. “Okay…” she squeaked, defeated.

  “Take your seat.”

  She shuffled to her desk, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The moment she sat down, her best friend leaned over.

  “Why are you te?” Yuu Takahashi whispered, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

  Akari shrugged. “Overslept.”

  That was technically true.

  It just wasn’t the whole truth. She definitely hadn’t fallen asleep easily st night. Not when there was a tall, silver haired, one-hundred and sixty year old vampire sleeping next to her room.

  Her brain had refused to shut up.

  What if Irisa wandered at night? What if she floated? What if she stared at her through the wall?

  Akari buried her face in her arms.

  This was all Irisa’s fault.

  ---

  Twenty minutes ter, the cssroom door slid open again.

  “Yes, you may enter,” the teacher said.

  A hush fell over the room.

  Silver hair caught the morning light as Irisa stepped inside.

  Gasps erupted like fireworks.

  “She’s so pretty—”

  “Is she real?!”

  “Oh my god!”

  Even the teacher seemed momentarily disarmed. “W-Welcome…”

  Irisa offered a polite bow, composed as ever. She stood in front of the css, posture straight, hands neatly folded behind her back.

  “From today, a new transfer student will join us,” the teacher announced.

  Cheers broke out.

  “This is a blessing to our css!”

  “She looks like a model!”

  “I’m sitting next to her!”

  Akari slowly lowered her head into her palm.

  “Please introduce yourself,” the teacher said.

  Irisa smiled—gentle, soft, completely unfair.

  “Hello. My name is Irisa Dra—” she paused ever so slightly, then corrected smoothly, “Minamoto. I just moved here yesterday, and I’m very excited to be here. Nice to meet you.”

  She bowed again.

  Thunderous appuse.

  Akari stared at the ceiling. She didn’t even try to downpy it.

  “Wait—Minamoto?” someone gasped. “Isn’t that Akari’s st name?”

  All heads snapped toward Akari.

  Akari forced a strained smile. “Irisa is my cousin,” she added calmly.

  The cssroom exploded.

  “WHAT?!”

  “Since when?!”

  “How dare you hide a cousin this pretty?!”

  Akari scratched her cheek awkwardly. “It’s… complicated.”

  “She doesn’t even look Japanese!”

  Irisa’s gaze subtly flickered toward Akari.

  Akari sighed internally. “She’s half Russian. Her mom was Russian and her dad, my uncle was Japanese.”

  Irisa blinked once. The lie settled into pce.

  “Ohhh that makes sense!”

  “That’s so cool!”

  “Can she speak Russian?!”

  The questions kept coming.

  Akari could already feel the headache forming.

  ---

  By lunchtime, Irisa was completely surrounded.

  Girls leaned over desks. Some had pulled their chairs closer. Even students from other csses peeked inside.

  “Irisa, do you have a boyfriend or maybe a girlfriend?”

  “What skincare do you use?”

  “Your hair is natural, right?”

  Irisa answered each question with practiced politeness, but her smile had grown slightly thinner. Her green eyes drifted across the noisy cssroom as if searching for an escape, until they nded on Akari.

  Akari, meanwhile, had her arms crossed while Yuu leaned in excitedly, firing off her own endless questions about Irisa, and Akari could only sigh every few seconds as if personally exhausted by her 'cousin’s' popurity.

  The bell rang sharply, cutting through the chaos.

  Css resumed in its usual dull rhythm, Akari yawning shamelessly at her desk while trying not to fall asleep, even as the rest of the girls sat unusually upright, their eyes sparkling as they stole gnces at Irisa every few seconds, even Yuu leaned over and whispered, “Wow… I never knew looking at a beautiful being could keep me awake for the entire day,” earning nothing but a long, tired sigh from Akari.

  ---

  After the css ended, chaos resumed as students swarmed toward Irisa’s desk once more. Girls clustered around Irisa again, asking if she’d join clubs, if she liked sports, if she wanted to walk home together.

  Irisa looked… cornered.

  Akari stood up abruptly.

  “I’ve got cleaning duty,” she muttered.

  “Right!” Yuu said. Then her eyes narrowed. “By the way… does Irisa really live with you?”

  Akari froze. “H-How do you know about that?!”

  Yuu blinked innocently. “She mentioned it,” she said, pointing casually toward Irisa’s desk as if that expined everything.

  Akari facepalmed. Filter. Irisa needs a filter.

  “I’ll expin ter!” Akari waved and escaped before more questions could ambush her.

  ---

  The entrance hall was quiet. Shoeboxes lined the wall in neat rows. Akari grabbed a rag and bucket.

  “Let’s do this!” she decred dramatically.

  Twenty minutes ter, she was regretting every life decision that led here. Why were there so many shoe lockers? Why did girls shed dirt like migrating birds?

  Then, footsteps echoed behind her.

  She gnced up. Irisa stood near the entrance, school bag slung over one shoulder. No crowd. No chaos. Just her.

  Their eyes met.

  Irisa gave a small wave. “See you at home.”

  Then turned to leave.

  “Wait!” Akari dropped her rag with a dramatic spsh and rushed over, grabbing Irisa’s hand without thinking.

  Irisa stopped and looked down at her calmly. “Yes…?”

  “You’re going home already?”

  “Yes.”

  “But you don’t know the way!” Akari said with a small, triumphant smirk, certain she had finally cornered her.

  “I have a good memory,” Irisa replied smoothly. “I remember the route already.”

  Akari stiffened. A strange annoyance bubbled in her chest. Why was she annoyed? She had no idea.

  Akari blurted out frustratedly, “Help me with cleaning duty.”

  Irisa looked down at her, her expression unreadable.

  “Please…” Akari added quickly, her voice losing its edge.

  Silence lingered between them, heavy and deliberate.

  “Also…” Akari crossed her arms. “You were te too! Why didn’t you get punished?”

  Irisa’s lips curved ever so slightly. “Oh… I told them I got lost. It was my first day, so I wasn’t familiar with the route.”

  Akari stared at her in disbelief. “You’re pretty smart, aren’t you?”

  Irisa’s faint smirk deepened. “Perhaps.”

  Akari scoffed, turning away with a huff. “Unbelievable.”

  She released Irisa’s hand, only to realize her fingers had lingered a second too long.

  Irisa’s gaze flickered down briefly.

  Akari immediately looked away.

  “So?” Irisa adjusted her bag strap. “How do you clean this?”

  Akari’s head snapped up. “You’ll help?”

  Irisa stepped closer, calm and unbothered. “You asked.”

  A ridiculous grin spread across Akari’s face. “Thanks.”

  ---

  They worked side by side.

  Akari compined loudly about unfair punishments and dramatic bus chases. Irisa listened quietly, occasionally offering dry comments that somehow made everything funnier.

  “You looked like you were dying this morning,” Irisa said lightly.

  “I was dying!”

  “You requested flight assistance.”

  “You said you could fly!”

  “I never said that.”

  Akari huffed. “Just… what kind of vampire are you…” she sighed, muttering to herself.

  “You said something?” Irisa asked.

  Akari gazed up at Irisa, then suddenly leaned closer. From her pocket, she pulled out a small cross and held it right in front of Irisa’s face.

  Silence...

  Irisa blinked once—then smiled, looking more confused than threatened.

  Akari’s expression remained ft, utterly unimpressed.

  “Are you trying to bless me?” Irisa asked gently.

  Akari’s eye twitched. “You’re supposed to burn or at least flinch.”

  “I’m not allergic to geometry,” Irisa replied calmly.

  Akari slowly lowered the cross, staring at her with growing disbelief. “This is false advertising.”

  Irisa’s lips curved faintly. “You assumed too much.”

  From the hallway, someone watched. A girl lingered near the corner, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of Akari ughing freely beside the new transfer student.

  ---

  They moved down the row of lockers, shoulders brushing occasionally in the narrow space. Each brief contact made Akari stiffen, while Irisa remained infuriatingly composed.

  Akari wrung out the rag and sighed. “Okay… that’s the st one.”

  Irisa looked around. “You work very hard.”

  Akari blinked. “That sounded like you’re complimenting me.”

  “I am.”

  For some reason, that simple statement made Akari’s face heat up. She quickly turned away. “Let’s just go home.”

  Irisa picked up her bag.

  As they stepped outside together, the sky glowed warm with te afternoon light and the quiet pair of eyes still watching them from a distance.