“Mom.”

  Akari lingered at the kitchen entrance like a criminal returning to the scene. The house smelled like miso soup and grilled fish—safe, normal, painfully human things. Aina stood by the stove, sleeves rolled neatly, stirring with calm efficiency.

  “Hm?” her mother replied without turning.

  Akari stepped closer, hands csped behind her back. She opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again. “Just… who is Irisa really? And why did you let her go to my school?”

  The dle paused mid-air for only a second before continuing its quiet circle. “Did something happen at school?”

  Akari’s lips pressed thin. Nothing happened.

  “I told you already,” Aina continued gently. “She’s the daughter of my best friend.”

  “Not that part.” Akari exhaled sharply. “I mean... is she really a vampire? She looks like a normal girl like me.”

  Aina slowly turned her head and gave her a look that clearly said, What do you mean, ‘a normal girl like me’?

  Akari coughed. “Well… she’s prettier... and mature.”

  Aina sighed, amused. “If you’re really curious about her, why not ask Irisa yourself? Or better yet, be friends with her. Get to know her properly.”

  Akari folded her arms. “That’s not easy...”

  “It was my best friend's wish,” Aina added more softly, “her mother’s st wish was for Irisa to live happily among humans. To experience many things... Not to end like her.”

  Akari blinked. “End like her? What happened to her mother?”

  Aina’s gaze softened, then shifted past Akari’s shoulder. “Better hear it from her.”

  Akari frowned, then froze.

  A presence. Cold, quiet, and far too close. She turned and saw Irisa stood directly behind her.

  “Woah!” Akari jumped back so fast she almost collided with the counter. “Why are you just standing there silently?!”

  Irisa tilted her head slightly. “I wanted to see your response earlier.”

  Akari felt her stomach drop. Guilty. Exposed. Dramatic.

  “I—I’m sorry,” she blurted.

  Irisa nodded once. “Apologies accepted.” That was it. No anger, no wounded pride, just acceptance, smooth and effortless.

  Why was she so composed all the time? Akari wondered.

  Irisa moved to sit at the dining table, posture straight, movements elegant without trying. Akari followed, pretending she wasn’t hyper aware of every soft shift of her skirt, every brush of silver hair over pale shoulders.

  Dinner passed in a quiet, almost domestic rhythm, the three of them seated together, sharing simple dishes and light conversation. Aina filled most of the silence with gentle stories, her ughter warm against the otherwise calm atmosphere. Irisa listened with composed grace. Akari mostly focused on her food… and failed, more than once, not to gnce up.

  When the meal was finished, Aina stretched and smiled. “I’ll head to my room first. Don’t stay up too te.”

  After helping wash the dishes together, Akari and Irisa were left alone in the quiet dining area.

  Irisa returned to her seat and folded her hands neatly on the table. “About your question earlier,” Irisa began calmly. “I chose to attend school because I want to experience human life properly. I have lived longer than most humans ever will. Without goals, time becomes… repetitive.”

  Akari studied her face. No bitterness. Just fact. “That sounds kind of human,” Akari muttered.

  Irisa gave a small nod. “Perhaps that is the point.”

  A silence settled between them. Not heavy. Just charged.

  “Oh right,” Akari suddenly said, remembering something important. “You should filter your words around others. Don’t casually mention everything about yourself. You’ll get caught.”

  Irisa blinked slowly. “Don’t worry. I understand discretion.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Akari added quickly, then hesitated. Her fingers tightened against the table. “Why do you say we’re living together so easily?”

  Irisa looked genuinely confused. “Because it is how it is.”

  “That’s not the issue!”

  Irisa’s eyes softened slightly. “Is it a big deal?”

  “It is!” Akari insisted, her face heating up. Why did it sound like something scandalous when Irisa said it? We live together, like it meant more than just sharing a roof.

  Irisa considered her for a long moment. Then, quietly, “I see. I’m sorry.”

  Akari faltered. “Huh?”

  “I made you uncomfortable.” Her voice was even, sincere. No sarcasm, no teasing, just responsibility.

  Akari’s heartbeat stumbled. She didn’t expect that, didn’t expect maturity, didn’t expect understanding, didn’t expect Irisa to take her feelings seriously so easily.

  “It’s… not that,” Akari mumbled, suddenly unable to meet her eyes.

  Irisa watched her carefully. “Then what is it?”

  Akari’s brain short circuited.

  Was it embarrassing? Yes. Was it annoying? Definitely. Was it because hearing Irisa talk like that made her feel… chosen?

  “You’re just too calm about everything,” Akari finally muttered. “You reveal you’re a vampire, then you live in my house, then you transfer my schools and you say we’re living together like it’s nothing.”

  Irisa’s lips curved faintly. “Panic would not improve the situation.”

  “That’s not the point!”

  Irisa leaned back slightly in her chair, studying her. “Then what would improve it?”

  Akari opened her mouth—then shut it again.

  She didn’t know. That was the frustrating part. Irisa’s presence unsettled her in ways she couldn’t bel. It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t hatred. It was something pricklier. Something that made her hyperaware of the air between them.

  “Humans,” Irisa said gently, “become flustered when circumstances change suddenly. I am learning that.”

  Akari gred. “Don’t analyze me like I’m a specimen.”

  “I am not,” Irisa replied smoothly. “You are far too expressive to be a specimen.”

  Akari’s face flushed. “What does that mean?!”

  “It means,” Irisa said, leaning forward just slightly, her green eyes catching the kitchen light, “I can always tell what you’re thinking.”

  Akari’s heart skipped. “You’re lying,” she accused weakly.

  Irisa’s smile deepened. “Right now, you are wondering why your heart is beating faster.”

  Akari shot to her feet. “It’s not!”

  Irisa followed her movement with unhurried grace. “It is.”

  “It’s just... you’re weird!”

  “I have been called worse.”

  Akari grabbed the back of her chair, defensive. “You’re too composed! It’s unfair!”

  Irisa stood slowly. The movement was fluid, almost predatory, but her expression remained soft.

  “Would you prefer I lose control?” she asked lightly.

  Akari’s breath caught. That sentence did not need to sound like that. “I—I didn’t mean it like that!”

  Irisa stepped closer. Not invading, just enough to shift the atmosphere.

  “I will try to be more careful with my words,” she said quietly. “Especially when it concerns you.”

  That especially nded far too heavily. Akari swallowed.

  “Why?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  Irisa paused, then answered honestly. “Because your reactions interest me.”

  The kitchen clock ticked loudly in the silence.

  Akari looked away first. “You’re unbelievable.”

  “Yet you continue to speak with me.”

  “Because you live in my house!”

  Irisa smiled. “So proximity is the problem.”

  Akari felt cornered and didn’t even know how.

  “I’m going to my room,” she decred abruptly.

  Irisa’s voice followed her, calm as ever. “Akari.”

  She stopped at the doorway. “Yes?”

  “Thank you for worrying about me being exposed.”

  Akari stiffened. “I wasn’t worrying!”

  “You were,” Irisa corrected gently. “And I appreciate it.”

  “Don’t misunderstand,” Akari muttered without turning around. “I just don’t want my school life turning into a vampire investigation drama.”

  “Of course.”

  “And don’t say ‘we’re living together’ so casually again.”

  “I will phrase it more carefully.”

  Akari groaned and stomped off, heart racing.

  Behind her, Irisa remained in the kitchen a moment longer. A faint smile touched her lips.

  Upstairs, Akari shut her bedroom door and leaned against it. “What was that…”

  She wasn’t flustered in a romantic way. She was confused. Irisa didn’t tease her, didn’t flirt, didn’t even seem aware that anything she said could be taken that way. She just answered honestly and somehow that made everything worse.

  Akari walked to her bed and dropped face first into her pillow.

  “She just says things so normally…”

  Living together. Experience human life. No goals. Apologies accepted. Who talks like that so calmly?!

  Akari rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

  It wasn’t that she disliked Irisa. It wasn’t even that she felt embarrassed. It was just... Irisa operated on a completely different emotional setting. Like a tutorial character that skipped half the human awkwardness manual.

  “Stupid vampire,” Akari muttered.