“I’m home.”

  Irisa’s voice was soft as always when she stepped into the Minamoto residence, gently closing the door behind her. The house greeted her with silence.

  She slipped off her shoes neatly.

  4:36 PM. Aina was likely still at work. Akari… wasn’t here either?

  Irisa tilted her head slightly.

  She had walked at a normal human pace. Perhaps Akari had stayed behind to talk with friends.

  She took two steps forward, then...

  “Woahhh!” Irisa jerked back.

  Akari was suddenly standing directly in front of her. She was silent and suspicious.

  “I thought vampires had better senses than humans?” Akari said. Her tone was teasing, but not lively.

  Irisa blinked once, regaining composure. “I cannot sense ghosts. Perhaps you are one of—”

  Akari immediately spped her hand away. “Hey!”

  Irisa almost ughed, but then she noticed something. Akari was close. Very close. Close enough that Irisa could see the faint shine in her eyes. Was she… teary? Or was it just the lighting?

  Irisa went quiet.

  Akari noticed the stare and instantly looked away. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she muttered, slightly embarrassed.

  “Because,” Irisa answered calmly, “I have never been that close to a human before.”

  Akari’s heartbeat stuttered. Why does she say things like that so normally?!

  “It’s just proximity!” Akari said quickly. “The hallway’s small!”

  Irisa gave a thoughtful nod, as if taking notes, then she bowed slightly. “I will rest in my room.” She stepped past Akari, but her wrist was suddenly caught.

  Irisa stopped and looked down. Akari was holding her.

  Irisa raised an eyebrow slightly. “Do you require something?”

  Akari blinked, then looked at her own hand and immediately released it. “Oh! Sorry! I— I just…” She hesitated.

  Her voice got smaller. “What club are you joining?”

  Irisa studied her face.

  Akari was trying very hard to look casual, but she was failing.

  “I have not decided yet,” Irisa replied. “However, Asa invited me to her club.”

  Akari’s eyes widened. “Right! Asa!” Before she realized it, she had grabbed both of Irisa’s arms.

  “Why are you suddenly spirited up?” Irisa asked calmly.

  Akari froze. “Eh?! I’m not!”

  “You are gripping my arms.”

  Akari looked down. She was... and quickly let go. “Sorry! I just meant— you two were… very… together.”

  Irisa blinked. “Pardon?”

  Akari scratched her head aggressively. “I mean! What club did she invite you to? And how do you even know her?”

  Irisa considered the question. “After school, she approached me and stated she wished to be friends. She also invited me to form a club with her.”

  Akari ughed nervously. “Wow. Asa did that? Cool.” Her smile twitched slightly.

  Irisa tilted her head. “Is Asa a noble?”

  “What...?”

  “A royal family member? Or perhaps the president’s daughter?”

  Akari stared at her in disbelief. “No! She’s just the most popur girl in school.”

  Irisa nodded slowly. “I see.”

  Akari folded her arms. “Well… at least she was.”

  Irisa looked at her.

  Akari looked away immediately.

  “Anyway!” Akari cpped her hands once. “What club?”

  Irisa’s lips curved faintly. “She proposed forming a new club. A social one.”

  “Social club?”

  “Yes. A club where we assist other students and solve their problems.”

  Akari blinked. “Is she serious?”

  Irisa nodded. “It appears so.”

  “That sounds exhausting,” Akari said immediately. “Isn’t that just doing errands for free?”

  Irisa smiled lightly. “Perhaps. But I see the charm in it.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes gleamed with calm curiosity. “Humans are complicated. Observing and assisting them may be… educational and interesting.”

  Akari stared at her. “You’re treating this like a research project.”

  Irisa didn’t deny it.

  Akari huffed. “You’d be running around all day.”

  “I possess adequate stamina.”

  “That’s cheating!”

  Irisa almost smiled.

  Akari paced slightly in front of her.

  “A social club… with Asa… solving people’s problems…” She imagined it. Irisa standing beside Asa. Both of them look cool, composed and admired.

  Akari didn’t like the mental image and she didn’t know why.

  Irisa watched her quietly. “You seem unsettled.”

  “I’m not!”

  “You are pacing.”

  Akari stopped pacing immediately. “I just think it’s suspicious.”

  “Suspicious?”

  “Yes! Who just walks up and says ‘let’s form a club and help people’? That sounds like a hero manga plot.”

  Irisa hummed thoughtfully. “It does.”

  Akari crossed her arms again. “And why you?”

  “I am a transfer student.”

  “That’s not a qualification!”

  Irisa paused. “Perhaps she finds me reliable.”

  Akari made a face. “Reliable?! You just met her today!”

  Irisa blinked. “Yes. And I met you two days ago.”

  Akari threw her hands up. “Exactly! That’s why it’s suspicious!”

  She looked at Irisa as if she were the unreasonable one. “Even I was still suspicious of you, vampire.”

  Irisa gasped. “Excuse me?”

  Akari bared her teeth dramatically and curled her fingers into cws, imitating the exaggerated vampires from old movies. “I vant to suck your blood,” she decred in a terrible accent.

  Irisa blinked at Akari and observed her for a long moment. Then, very calmly, “Are you jealous?”

  The air froze.

  Akari stopped breathing. “What?! No!” Her voice cracked despite her effort to sound firm.

  Irisa’s expression didn’t change. “Your pulse has accelerated.”

  “Stop analyzing me like a blood pressure monitor!”

  “I can hear it,” Irisa replied simply.

  Akari’s face flushed instantly. “That’s an invasion of privacy!”

  A small curve tugged at Irisa’s lips. “I lied. I was only pretending to know.”

  “You’re smiling,” Akari accused.

  Irisa almost ughed—almost—but the sound never fully escaped.

  Akari groaned dramatically and covered her burning face. “I’m not jealous,” she insisted from behind her hands. “I’m just… cautious.”

  “Cautious?”

  “Yes! You’re new! You don’t know school dynamics!”

  Irisa considered that seriously. “That is fair.”

  Akari peeked through her fingers. “You agree?”

  “Yes. I ck experience in human teenage social hierarchy.”

  Akari slowly lowered her hands. “Right..."

  Irisa stepped a little closer, not threatening—just attentive. “If you possess insight,” she said calmly, “I would appreciate your guidance.”

  Akari blinked. Guidance? From her? Her heart thumped again. “You want my opinion?”

  “Yes.”

  Akari tried very hard not to smile. “Well… if you’re going to join, at least make sure it’s fun,” she said. “Don’t just treat it like a study subject.”

  “I understand.”

  “And don’t let Asa push you around.”

  “I do not appear easily pushed.”

  “That’s not what I meant!”

  Irisa’s lips curved faintly.

  Akari looked away quickly. “And don’t forget you live here.”

  Irisa tilted her head. “That statement is factual.”

  “I mean... don’t forget you have someone here to ask too!”

  Irisa blinked once, then nodded gently.

  “Understood.”

  Silence lingered for a second.

  “If you are that concerned,” Irisa added, “you may join as well.”

  Akari choked. “Me?!”

  “Yes. Minimum of three members are required.”

  Akari’s brain short-circuited. Join a club with Irisa... and Asa?! That sounded crazy. “Why would I?” she muttered weakly.

  Irisa answered calmly, “You appear invested.”

  “I am not invested!” Akari stared at her for a moment longer, then she sighed. “If you really think it’s fun, then fine.”

  Irisa’s expression softened just slightly.

  “I do.”

  Akari looked away again. “Just… don’t let Asa steal you.” The words slipped out.

  Akari froze.

  Irisa blinked. “Steal me?”

  Akari panicked. “I mean... your time! Your time! Don’t let her monopolize your time!”

  Irisa processed that. “I see.”

  Akari quickly turned toward the stairs. “I’m going to my room!”

  Irisa gnced toward the stairs. “Steal me?” She repeated softly, then she shook her head once.