CHAPTER FIVE: TAKE ME HOME

"You're Ryu Kazeyama?" she asked. Her voice was light, teasing, but her eyes – those unnatural, waterless eyes – were watching me closely. Measuring. Calculating. Soaking up every detail, and I could feel her sensing that something was off about me.

 She took a step closer, leaning in just enough that it made me uncomfortable. Cold seemed to roll off her skin, like standing in a drafty room. I suppressed a shudder, and she just smirked.

 "Are you sure? With your hair? Your blue eyes? And…" she had to take another breath. I realized that she'd run out of air.

 "Of course… but, my point is, at least I look like my name could be Shion Kurozawa."

 There was an accusatory tone behind her words. The air between us hung still. No movement in the woods. No wind. That's when I noticed it again – the silence of her breath.

 It was unnatural to walk beside someone who doesn't breathe, didn't need to breathe, and yet here she was. Watching me. Expecting an answer. I had no idea what I was supposed to tell her.

 Then, she took a deliberate breath.

 "Oh, I get it," she said, her tone shifted. "You're new here."

 I sighed in relief. There was my lifeline because that was the truth.

 "I've never been here before," I said.

 She stopped walking. The slightest hesitation in my words, but she noticed. She rolled her bike to the side, kicked the stand down, and turned, facing me fully. And I could feel her eyes again, those flat, green eyes, raking over me, reading every detail. Sizing me up.

 After what felt like an eternity, she spoke.

 "We're early," she said.

 "Huh?" I blinked. "Early for what?"

 Then her head tilted slightly – that eerie, doll-like movement that was too perfect, fluid, to be human. I saw her inhale so she could speak.

 "Oh? You don't know, Ryu? First-year orientation," she said as if it were obvious. "It's required, after all. Considering the circumstances."

 Something cold coiled in my chest. Circumstances? I was already drowning in my own circumstances. I couldn't even process what the hell had happened to me yet – being in a different body, in a different world – and now there was some undefined horror lurking at the school.

 I tried forcing a casual shrug. "Oh yeah."

 Shion's lips curled slightly.

 "Oh yeah what?" she asked. Her voice was light, playful. But her eyes.

 She was waiting, like a panther, waiting for me to slip up. Like she knew I don't belong. My mouth was dry, I could hear my heartbeat. Shion didn't breathe. She didn't shift, or make any movement at all. She just froze, a thing in the shape of a girl, waiting for my answer.

 "I mean, of course," I said quickly. "I just meant… I didn't realize that we were this early."

 A pause. And then. A slow, eerie smirk.

 "Ryu…" she gestured downwards with her eyes.

 I looked down and saw. My plaid pants had grass and dirt stains all over them from where she'd wrecked her bike into me. She breathed in once more.

 "Do you have a place nearby?" she asked. Was she concerned? "You should change before orientation."

 She was letting me off the hook! Not because she believed me, but because she chose to. And somehow, I knew that was worse. Instead of walking toward Crescent Moon Academy, I told her about my residence at Shin'yume-sou. Shion's expression barely changed—but I caught it. The flicker in her gaze. Her fingers twitched by her sides, and for the first time since I'd met her, she took a step back. Barely an inch. But it was enough to make my stomach drop.

 "The local onsen?" she repeated, her voice too careful. Measured. Like she was testing the weight of each word. "Why're you staying there?"

 It wasn't curiosity. It wasn't teasing. It was an accusation. I shrugged, playing it off like I wasn't just realizing I had no damn idea why I was staying there. But something in my gut twisted.

 "I've got a room there," I said.

 For a split second, I swore her pupils shrank to slits. Then—a smile. A forced smile. She tilted her head slightly, like she was amused, but her fingers twitched at her sides. And when she spoke, her voice was still playful, but her fangs were showing now—just barely peeking past her lips.

 "Don't want to stay in the dorms on campus, huh?" she asked. "Afraid someone's going to come after your human blood, 'Ryu'?"

 Her voice was light. Her eyes weren't. Something cold slithered down my spine. Was it common knowledge that humans were in danger here? Did she already know what I was? Or was she just trying to bait me into admitting something?

 And then—it hit me.

 Like a thousand puzzle pieces suddenly snapping together, forming a picture I really, really didn't want to see. Crescent Moon Academy wasn't just a school. It was a school for monsters. Not just monsters. Yokai. And I'd read about it. I'd read manga, watched anime… and there was more.

 I knew exactly why I was suddenly fifteen years old. Why I was dressed like I belonged here. Why I was talking to a vampire who was looking at me like she was deciding whether I was a threat or a meal.

 Lana. Her name slithered through my mind, ice-cold. No. Not Lana.

 Me.

 Andy Davis did this to himself. Because I wished for it. A sick feeling twisted in my stomach. My own words, my own damn desire, came rushing back to me like a punch to the gut. "I always wonder what it'd actually be like to live in those worlds. Not just the fun, goofy parts, but the real consequences." Real. Consequences.

 I had said that.

 And now? I was stuck inside the world I had dreamed about. A world I thought I understood, and I felt like throwing up. Just then— Shion touched my shoulder. Her fingers felt cold, even though my uniform's fabric, but I knew she was trying to reassure me.

 "Are you okay?" she asked softly. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

 The air around us felt too still. Too heavy. I swallowed hard. My throat was dry. Because I knew what was waiting for me at the onsen.

 How? Oh, that was easy. Just like everything else that was happening, I had read about a ghost girl. And now, she was waiting for me. I turned toward Shion and nodded. She let go of my shoulder and grabbed her bike as we continued walking. We were almost there.

 "Yeah. I mean… Shion, is Crescent Moon Academy dangerous?"

 She took a long, slow breath. Measured. Intentional. Her nostrils flared—just a little. Like a wolf catching a scent. For a moment, she didn't answer. Then—she smiled. Not the teasing kind. Not even the fake, amused one. Something sharper. A warning?

 "What do you mean?" she asked, voice light. "Of course it's dangerous. It's a high school."

 I frowned. "But… it's more than that, isn't it?"

 Her smile widened, just enough to show her fangs. Not accusing. Not taunting. Playful. Like a cat batting around a trapped mouse, just for the fun of it.

 "Look at you," she murmured, voice dripping with amusement. "Getting smarter, Ryu."

 "You're right," she said softly. "It's not 'just' a high school… the same way I'm not 'just' a normal girl with needs."

 We reached the gates of the Shin'yume-sou.

 She leaned in, just enough for me to catch the faintest scent of something sweet—not perfume. Something richer. Thicker. My blood. My throat went dry. Her eyes flicked downward—just for a second—then back up. Her tongue flicked against one of her fangs. She was playing with me. Testing me.

 And then—Shion took a step closer. The way she moved—it was wrong. Like she was gliding instead of walking. And the smile was gone now.

 "So…you're staying at this onsen?" she asked, voice smooth. Too smooth. The silence stretched, heavy as stone. I could hear the wind. The faint rustling of the trees.

 I nodded slowly. "…yeah. Why's that a problem? You keep bringing it up."

 Her lips parted slightly. Not in shock. In realization. And then she took a deep breath and she laughed. Not the flirty, teasing kind from before. No, this one was low. Amused. Disbelieving. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand.

 "God, that's so… funny."

 She wasn't laughing at me, though. She laughed at something unspoken, and I saw her shoulders tense, ready to spring. When she looked up, her fangs were showing fully now.

 Shion's eyes narrowed.

 "You're either an idiot," she said lightly, "or a liar."

 My stomach twisted and my mind raced. Why? Why was she reacting like this? She was being mostly friendly, or the closest thing to a friend that I had. Then I noticed — the stiffness in her posture. The way her fingers curled just slightly, like claws. She wasn't just suspicious of me. She was afraid… because I was at an onsen?. And then, the realization slammed into me so hard I almost staggered.

 Running water.

 She's a vampire.

 And I just told her I was staying in the one place that could kill her.

 "Oh my god, Shion, it's the onsen! The running water! I didn't even realize! I'm so sorry about that! You're right… I was an idiot, and… this place is dangerous. I can't afford to be an idiot. Sorry."

 I wasn't just suspicious to her anymore. I wasn't just some weird "transfer student" with a bad cover story. I was staying at a place she couldn't enter. A place she would never go near. And that meant one thing. She didn't trust me before. Now? She might just kill me. Shion inhaled sharply, her gaze locked on me like she was looking through me.

 And I saw her fangs retract. She tilted her head.

 "You really forgot, didn't you?" she asked.

 This was more than a question to her, but I wasn't sure why.

 "You forgot I was… a vampire?"

 Her voice had just the faintest hint of… vulnerability?

 "Yeah. I guess I did," I said.

 She looked up at me from beneath her sleek, black locks. Our eyes met, and she looked away quickly.

 "…thank you."