“You’re a hundred and sixty year old vampire!”

  “One hundred and sixty-ish,” Irisa corrected calmly.

  Akari clutched her head as if the crification somehow made it worse. “And you’re going to attend first year csses? Wear the uniform? Do cleaning duty?!”

  “If required.”

  “And P.E.?!” Akari demanded, leaning across the table as if this were a national crisis. “Can vampires even run ps?!”

  Irisa tilted her head thoughtfully. “I can even flying.”

  “What?!” Akari screeched.

  Aina choked on her tea.

  Irisa allowed the faintest smirk to curve her lips. “I was joking.”

  Akari stared at her in disbelief. “You can’t just joke like that! You said it with such a straight face!”

  Irisa folded her hands neatly on the table. “I thought it would be amusing.”

  “It was NOT amusing!” Akari protested, pointing accusingly. “Do you know how loud my css is? Do you know how chaotic girls can be? Do you know about school festivals? Group projects? Cultural day performances?!”

  “I will adapt.” Her answer wasn’t arrogant.

  It wasn’t dismissive. It was simply confident and somehow, that calm confidence made Akari even more restless.

  Akari stood abruptly, chair scraping loudly against the floor, and pointed at her like a dramatic heroine in a courtroom drama.

  “If you embarrass me, I will pretend I don’t know you.”

  Irisa rose smoothly from her seat. Though they looked the same age, she somehow carried herself with a composed maturity that made her seem slightly taller, slightly steadier.

  “I will attempt to avoid embarrassing you.”

  “Attempt?!” Akari squeaked.

  Aina cpped her hands once—sharp and final. “Enough. Both of you, it’s getting te. Go to sleep and get ready for tomorrow.”

  The two girls froze.

  Then—

  “By the way, Akari,” Aina added casually, as if she were reminding her to take out the trash, “you must not tell anyone that Irisa is a vampire.”

  Akari blinked. “What?”

  Aina sighed. “Remember what I told you before? Only trusted people know about them. It’s for their safety. You’ll tell everyone she’s your cousin.”

  Akari slowly turned her head toward Irisa. Cousin? The tall, silver-haired, suspiciously attractive vampire was going to be introduced as her cousin?

  “She will be Irisa Minamoto from tomorrow,” Aina said, sounding far too excited about this undercover operation.

  Irisa bowed lightly. “Thank you for your generosity.”

  Akari’s eye twitched. “Even our st name?!”

  Aina nodded firmly. “Don’t mess it up, okay?”

  Akari dragged a hand down her face. “Fiiine…”

  She stomped dramatically toward the stairs. Halfway up, she stopped.

  Slowly, she turned back. “You’re really coming to my school…”

  “Yes.”

  Akari narrowed her eyes. “You better not be popur.”

  Irisa blinked. “Popur?”

  “You’re tall, you’re pretty, you have silver hair and you look like a model. That’s dangerous.”

  Irisa gnced down at herself as if checking for weapons. “I was not aware that was dangerous.”

  “It is in high school!” Akari decred gravely.

  Irisa nodded solemnly, as though she’d just been warned about stepping into a battlefield. “I will… take precautions.”

  Akari stared at her a moment longer, searching for any sign of sarcasm. There was none. Only composed sincerity. With a frustrated huff, Akari disappeared upstairs.

  The house finally fell quiet.

  ---

  Upstairs, Akari flopped dramatically onto her bed, arms spread out like a fallen warrior.

  “She’s going to my school…”

  She rolled onto her side.

  “She’s going to wear the uniform.”

  Her mind unwillingly conjured an image. Silver hair against navy bzer. Long legs in the pleated skirt. Calm eyes in a cssroom full of noisy girls.

  Akari’s pillow absorbed a muffled groan.

  “She better not look too cool.”

  ---

  Across the hallway, Irisa stood before her neatly packed belongings.

  Aina had prepared everything for her. Uniform folded perfectly. Shoes aligned. Even a school bag.

  Irisa reached out and lifted the bzer gently, fingers brushing the fabric with curiosity. A human school uniform. She had never worn one.

  For a century and a half, she had existed in shadows, moved quietly between cities, adapted to modern times but never fully stepping into something so… ordinary.

  This was different.

  This wasn’t hiding.

  This was living.

  She pced the bzer against herself in front of the mirror. The reflection that stared back looked nothing like a creature of the night.

  Just a girl. A calm, silver-haired girl with thoughtful eyes.

  Her lips curved slightly. “How interesting.”

  A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.

  The door creaked open before she could answer.

  Akari stood there in oversized pajamas, arms crossed defensively.

  Irisa lowered the uniform. “Is something wrong?”

  Akari stepped inside, trying very hard to look casual. “I just came to make sure you know school rules.”

  “I see.”

  “You can’t randomly hypnotize people.”

  “I cannot.”

  “Good. Also you can’t bite anyone.”

  “I will not.”

  “And you absolutely cannot float down the hallway.”

  Irisa paused. “I cannot.”

  Akari narrowed her eyes suspiciously. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again—quieter this time. “You’ve really never gone to school like this before?”

  “No.”

  “Not even once?”

  Irisa shook her head gently. “Education was… different for me.”

  Akari imagined candlelit rooms. Ancient books. Dramatic capes. “That’s kind of sad,” she muttered before she could stop herself.

  Irisa’s gaze softened slightly. “I do not consider it sad.”

  “But you never had friends your age. Never did stupid group projects. Never compined about homework. Never had a sports festival.”

  Irisa tilted her head. “Are those… positive experiences?”

  “They’re chaotic,” Akari corrected. “But they’re important and fun.”

  There was a beat of silence between them.

  Then Irisa said quietly, “Then I look forward to experiencing them.”

  Akari’s chest tightened unexpectedly. Why was she saying things like that so sincerely?

  “Just don’t act cooler than me, okay?” Akari muttered.

  “I do not intend to compete.”

  “That’s not reassuring!”

  Irisa’s lips curved faintly. “Then perhaps you should simply try to be cooler.”

  Akari gasped. “Are you challenging me?!”

  “I was offering encouragement.”

  “That sounded like a challenge!”

  Irisa chuckled softly—low and warm and unfairly charming.

  Akari immediately spun around, flustered.

  “G-Go to sleep! We wake up at six! Don’t oversleep, vampire!”

  “Don’t worry,” Irisa replied calmly. “I do not require much sleep.”

  “Cheater!” Akari snapped, mortified, before stomping out once again.

  Irisa watched the door close, amusement lingering in her expression. For the first time in a hundred and sixty years, her existence felt like it was about to move forward instead of simply continuing her life.

  ---

  Later that night, Akari y awake, staring at the ceiling.

  Her mind kept repying the image of Irisa holding the uniform. The quiet excitement in her voice. The soft way she’d said she was looking forward to it.

  “Why am I thinking about her?” Akari muttered into her bnket.