First blood

I'm sure we probably live in different worlds, but still.

That much was true, Sapphira seemed to have her fair share of troubles but still.

Hāto did not know much about the workings of a person's heart. For as long as he could remember he had been a dysfunction person, much like a broken doll. Deep in his heart what he felt even for his mother was not love but respect and admiration mixed with a bit of gratitude. He had only truly felt his heartstrings tugged by an inhuman apparition not too long ago. That being said he couldn't help but desire her love. It was vain and stupid to want someone to love you because you felt that way about them but then again it wasn't.

 Hāto wanted the girl to look at him not past him and truly smile from the bottom of her heart.

 That night a prince could be seen in the arms of his princess as they flew in the night sky. Although technically speaking they didn't fly, Sapphira leaped from building to building but with enough force that the moment of the ascent into the air felt as such. Hāto had suggested this to avoid any unnecessary attention her bloodied clothes would attract. Not everyone could remain calm after seeing certain things.

 Upon reaching the apartment building where he lived, Hāto entered through the front door and proceeded inward to his room to open a window from which Sapphira flew through gently carried by a gale of wind.

 Hāto's face darkened with a strange smirk.

"If you could do that then did you need to jump from building to building. Human hearts aren't as durable as vampires, mine almost gave out."

 Sapphira remained indifferent as if the question wasn't directed at her, moving her eyes around the sprucely furnished room.

 Noticing her gaze Hāto slumped his shoulders.

"Sorry if it's not to your taste."

 However the vampire did not mind.

"Half. Only half of me is a vampire."

"What about the other half?"

"Elf."

 The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew stale from tension so palpable it could be cut by a knife.

"How...? Nevermind."

 Hāto had an inkling her eyes and ears hinted at something deep but he found himself reeling from an overload of information. And suddenly the room seemed to reek of blood.

"You should probably take a bath."

***

 She struggled to comprehend the recent series of events. She remembered being pursued by not much different from her self despite her elf bloodline. The rocky mountain terrain she had transversed and the rift in space she fell through and now as she stared at the ground beneath her feet an exhausted sigh escaped her lips.

 Warm water flowed out of the shower unto her body making their way across her skin turning pink before reaching the ground. Shrouded by steam a vague glimpse of her naked figure could be seen, on her back was a large intricate tattoo of strange runes scattered within a circle with several arcs within it, at the heart of the demented piece of art was a caduceus; a staff with wings at it's top and two snakes twined around it.

"I'm so tired."

 Sapphira finished her bath and walked out from the bathroom. The strands of her hair slightly wet clung to each other. She found her way to the kitchen where Hāto stood with a chopping board in front of him. His hands efficiently slicing potatoes into recurring cubes, after those came carrot and then meat. 

 She watched him from a corner of the kitchen where should could see his eyes strangely focused on the task at hand and nothing more. 

 She opened her mouth to say something but then stopped to simply observe Hāto. His hands moved with unparalleled swiftness slicing and dicing away.

what a strange kid. Even his blood tastes strange, like an exotic cocktail.

Hāto methodically prepared his ingredients before transferring them into a boiling pot along with carefully measured amounts of seasoning and spices. Only after he had finished did he divert his attention to notice sapphira.

"Hey there. I didn't realize you'd finished taking your bath."

The half vampire simply observed the boiling pot unbothered.

"Are you by chance a perfectionist?"

 Hāto flinched awkwardly and then regained his posture, smiling sheepishly.

"Aw no. I just can't bring myself to enjoy doing anything if it isn't remotely challenging ."

"I see."

 Sapphira didn't ask any further but Hāto found himself reeling from the shock of hearing his words.

Does that make me some kind of degenerate? 

He pondered over the thought for a long time but soon gave up after finding no answer in sight.

Well, I guess there's no point thinking about it.

It didn't take long before Hāto finished cooking. Steaming hot curry and white rice were dished out in two plates on the dining table with him and Sapphira sitting opposite each other.

Hāto slapped his hands agaoeavh other, his eyes closed as he said a prayer.

"Thank you for the food."

Sapphira wasn't inclined to pray and so she didn't. She merely watched until Hāto finished.

"I didn't know you were religious. What god do you pray to?"

"I don't know."

Hāto himself wasn't particularly religious, praying was just something his mother did that rubbed off on him.

"Anyway, let's eat."

Sapphira watched Hāto use his spoon to vandalize the visual appeal of the food as he mixed everything into a mess. She proceeded to do the same until Hāto told her otherwise.

"By the way, Sapphira, how old are you?"

Rattled by Hāto's strange question Sapphira had almost chocked on her food. After coughing for a while and then laughed. Her laughter wasn't shallow and directed past Hāto but rather at him.

"You really are tactless. Don't you know you should never ask a lady her age?"

"Mmhmm. Are timeless beauties like you also included?"

"Fine. I wouldn't want to be ungrateful after all you've done for me."

Sapphira cleared her throat and straightened her back.

"I'm just shy of a hundred."

"Huh? Just shy of a hundred. That's older than my grandma."

"I'll have you know that in relatively young by vampire standards!"

For some reason Hāto felt strangely happy watching Sapphira's flustered face.

Some time passed and then their dinner was mostly quiet without unnecessary small talk but for some reason none of them minded. The silence felt peaceful rather than suffocating. After dinner they both found themselves with nothing to do until Hāto made a suggestion.

"Do you want to go out for a walk?"

***

Hāto walked down the streets of Tokyo at night. Despite it being nighttime the capital city was just as lively as it was during the day if not slightly more. He looked mature enough to no be questioned for being out so late at night.

After walking a fair distance away from home he came across a playing ground and helped himself to one of the swings. While swaying lightly his heart raced as he thought about how perfectly unnatural his day had gone. How he practically had a girl in his house sleeping over and wearing his clothes. It was too much excitement for a single day.

Hāto felt a haptic vibration in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had just gotten a text from his mom. It's content were as eccentric as the woman herself.

"Yo. Just got out of work. My boss is a real monster, anyway you wanna eat out? Meet me in front of that gas station."

He could already feel a headache coming. Hāto was very sure his mom wasn't going to mind him bringing a girl over, if anything she would be happy about it. He just had to keep certain details to himself but Hāto could already imagine her reaction.

That vulgar woman.

Rising up from the swing, he walked out of the playground down the playground into the main roads. The sound of his footsteps were drowned by the blaring horns of cars.

It took a while but then he finally reached it. Standing in front of the gas station, Hāto waited. Something felt odd though. Despite the fact that the station was a self-service one it seemed too desolate.

A drop of red streaked down Hāto's face landing on his shoes. Turning his head up another fell directly on his cheek. His eyes widened in terror as a chill ran down his spine.