Hitori pulls back his arms and takes a step away. "Ah, sorry." His big eyes shift around, and he stammers. "Two men hugging... weird. Uh... happy..."

"How?" How is he here?

His eyes stop darting around to land on me. "Uh, well..." He smiles, tucking in his chin. "It's a little complicated. But... I'm very happy. Very happy."

"Oh." Simply put, I'm in shock. I never thought I'd see him again. Is this a dream? I poke his porcelain cheek, which then flushes red. Wow, he's real.

Hitori slaps my hand away. "Wha―?!" His eyes narrow in displeasure and some negative emotion that seems unlike him―hostility or anger―shows. "Weird!"

I stare at him. He's a bit different.

"You can't..." He rubs his cheek as if trying to rub the red stain away as well, and I just watch him, still confused and in a daze.

There's a loud grumble, and I look up at the sky as Hitori looks down at his stomach. Our eyes meet.

"Are you hungry?"

Hitori pulls his hood up and around his face. "Embara―...."

"Come with me," I say slowly. I begin walking towards my car and look back. Hitori takes a single step forward then follows.

After we buckle in, I pull off. "So, how did you get here?"

"Bullet train."

He hasn't changed after all. "How did you end up at the cemetery? You were waiting for me, right? How did you know?"

"Oh... um... I'm not a stalker! I promise. Um... I just..." Hitori frowns. "Uh, it's a long story."

"I have a lot of time," I tell him, making sure to make eye contact. "Tell me everything."

Hitori begins his monologue:

"It started last Winter. Father took a business trip. I was feeling s-sad, so I used some of my saved money to take a trip to Tokyo. I went to your house, but you weren't there anymore. I asked your neighbour, but all she knew is that someone died and no one lives there anymore. I went to our old school and asked your teacher, and she told me your mother had died, and you moved to England... She didn't have any information or details. I was sad and thought I'd never see you again. I gave up.

"Um... this Spring, I started living on my own. I live in an apartment. Father paid for it, and I have to finish high school, but I must pay him back. I want to have a job, but... Oh, anyway, um, I save money." He balls his fist in a gesture of strength. "I saved some of the money Father gives me for living, and I saved it. Um... Iborrowedalittlebitofmoney," he admits but continues rapidly, "but―um―I h-hired a private detective. He was very kind and gave me a discount! Um, your teacher gave me the idea. Not on purpose, though!

"Oh, anyway, I hoped you'd come visit on her death anniversary. I hoped and prayed, so I waited just in case you came on a di―" He cuts himself off. "Um, yes. I was waiting at the grave―I talked to your mom! I told her how nice you were to me in school and thanked her for giving birth to you and raising you. We talked a bit. Then... your father showed up. I knew right away you were related! He looks so young and handsome, like Hyde-san." Hitori gets a dazed look. I have no clue who Hyde-san is. "He was very nice and told me you were coming and to wait."

There are so many questions I want to ask as follow up, but I don't know where to begin or if he'll even answer. There's clearly some details he doesn't want me to know.

"But, you've changed a little," Hitori says.

"Have I?" I park the car near a street of restaurants.

He nods once, taking off his seatbelt. We get out of the car and start walking along the sidewalk. "I-I don't just mean your muscles either. And I grew, but how come you're even taller?" He pouts. "I grew a whole centimeter!"

"Oh, amazing," I tease with a smile.

He pouts again. "See? ...Different... Before, Natsu-senpai was like... a white marble statue. Now he's painted with color."

I pause before the door to a ramen restaurant. "Is it bad?"

"No." He smiles. "Well, I think the color just came from the inside."

Hitori orders his food on his own, loud enough for the man to hear despite the kitchen noises.

"Hitori has also changed."

"Where?"

"You're living on your own. You hired a detective. You're speaking very well."

"Oh. At my new school, I made friends! Oh, they definitely weren't as good as Natsu-senpai. Oh, is that bad to say? Um, anyway, I wasn't bullied. Everyone was nice. They talked to me, and we did the cultural festival together. Ah, well, I'm―" he cuts himself off, then glances at me and pastes on a smile. "Mhm!"

He's hiding something. Is it true, though? Or is all of it a lie? Hitori has never lied, just hidden things. But he's also changed, so I can't be sure.

Our food comes, and Hitori wolfs down half the bowl quickly. He slows down during the second half but finishes it all except the leftover broth. "Thank you for the meal," he says, clapping his hands together and bowing.

One thing that hasn't changed is how thin he is. "What have you been eating?"

He tilts his head curiously. "I don't fix dinner for Father anymore. Instant ramen is very inexpensive. And rice balls. Ah, but I don't mind that we ate here. Or I ate." He glances in front of me where there's a small, empty bowl that had contained pickled radishes. "This ramen was much better than instant."

I make a mental note to later ask him to eat better from now on. "Where are you staying?"

"Manga café."

"When are you going back?"

"When is Natsu-senpai going back?"

"Wednesday."

"Ah."

I wait for him to say when he's going back, but he doesn't. "Stay at my hotel."

"Eh?" He waves his hand, palm out. "Impossible! Too expensive."

"You don't have to pay. Stay in my room."

Hitori stares blankly.

"It'll save money." He did all of this just to see me, why should I let him waste more money? "Please."

"Ah." He nods once and reacts to my slight smile by turning away and lowering his head with no smile at all.

After getting the bag he stored in a locker, we go to the hotel. My heart pounds as we walk by Kyo's door. I place my finger to my lips in gesture for Hitori to stay silent, and he nods. Once in the room, I let out breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"We have to keep our voices down," I say. My father knows about Hitori, so it can't be too big of a deal, but I just feel that it's a dangerous situation. Keeping Hitori here is something I know I probably would be advised against.

Hitori nods again, standing awkwardly with his duffle bag.

"You can put it anywhere." I pick up the room service menu. "Whenever you get hungry, just order anything. Don't worry about the cost." I'll need to tell the front desk to charge all food to a separate bill. "Make sure it's room service if someone comes. Look, don't just take their word for it."

Hitori sets his bag by the bed then sits down, still silently nodding.

"Most important of all, don't leave the room unless you're with me. I don't have an extra key, so if you leave, you can't get back in."

He doesn't nod this time.

"Do―do you understand?"

He's silent for some moments. "Yes."

"You can't leave," I find myself repeating.

Hitori blinks slowly. "Yes. I understand."

I'm unsettled. Hitori's eyes contain something that unsettles me. I sit down beside him on the bed, deciding to change the subject. "How did you end up living alone?"

He shifts his eyes. "A little..." As he trails off, I can tell he's debating how much to reveal.

"Did he hurt you again?"

"Uh... a little," he admits. "I decided to ask Father... if he needed me... " As he goes quiet, his eyes go hazy.

"Are you safe now?" I ask, trying to sound more cheerful.

"Yes. Living alone is okay. Um... I am doing my best." He nods with a decisive, determined look. He's so strong. "Does Natsu-senpai live alone?"

"Yeah. Since April."

"Oh!" Hitori grins. "We are both becoming adults!"

I chuckle. "Are we?"

"I am."

I nod. "Yeah, Hitori is becoming an adult."

"Yes. I just have to get taller."

"Taller?"

"Yes. Without my shoes, I see I am even shorter than you." He frowns, looking down at his feet. "Natsu-senpai grew too much."

"...I'm free the rest of the day. I'll be busy with work for the rest of this week. But since I'm free, shall we go out?"

"Really?!"

I nod.

"A-arcade! Purikura! Really?"

"Yeah. Like old times." Though we only did it once, hah.

Hitori beams, though there's a hint of maturity that wasn't there a year ago. "Yeah!"

"What kinds of things do you do with the friends at your new school?" I ask as I maneuver the crane to grab at a stuffed toy.

"Um, with the girls, we went shopping for the cultural festival. We ate lunch together. With the boys, we ate lunch too. Sometimes I was with the girls, sometimes with the boys."

"And they treated you well?" The crane snaps shut on air, so I try again.

He nods. "My homeroom teacher was very nice too. No bullies in my class. I liked it."

Past tense. "You're a second-year now. Still like it?"

"N-no bullies."

"Hm... are you still drawing?"

"Of course! My art is like Natsu-senpai's books. I can't live without it. I joined the art club!"

"Amazing. Hitori's become even more amazing."

His cheeks turn a little pink. "I-I-I'm not amazing. Y-you can't!"

I look at him curiously then hand him the morbid-looking stuffed toy. "Here."

He takes it and grins. "Cute!"

"That's cute to you?"

"Yes. I especially like the way its eye is missing."

"A-ah, is that so?" He's still got a weird love of morbid things.

"Thank you." He smiles innocently. "Purikura now?"

Rule #27 of being a vampire: Do not take photos.

"No good?"

"It's fine."

The rule applies mainly to Transformatis vampires. I won't even live as long as a regular Nativus. It's not a big deal.

We take the photos, and I tell Hitori to decorate it however he wants, no restrictions this time. He gives me that unsettling look again before picking up the pen. I don't see the finished product. He slips the print-out straight into his backpack―the same he carried a year ago. We play more arcade games as Hitori tells me about the cultural festival from his first year. He and "the most handsome classmates" did an idol group performance. Teasingly, I ask him to show me some dance moves.

To my surprise, albeit with flushed cheeks, he does. Hitori mumbles some words in a tune while stepping his left foot then his right. He extends his arm up and taps his palm to his hip as he sings, "Love so," then sends a thumbs up to the shooting game at his right as finishes, "sweet."

To hide my shock, I clap. "You performed that in front of the school?"

He ducks his head. "Everyone nominated me. I couldn't say no."

Yep. Hitori is amazing. "Dinner?" I ask.

He makes a face like he's sickened. "Um, I-I'm not hungry."

I knew he forced himself to eat that entire bowl of ramen. I nod. "If you want to grow taller, you have to eat three meals a day. Real food. Not instant ramen. Meat, fish, or tofu, and vegetables, and rice."

"To grow taller?"

No need to mention his height probably won't change because of his genes. It's him growing wider that I want. "Yeah."

"Ah. Hm..." He scratches his head in thought.

"Let's go back."

"T-taller, eh?" Hitori mumbles to himself as he follows me out.

When we get back to the hotel, he freezes in front of the bed. "Ahh!" he yells, then clamps his hand over his mouth. He bows deeply and apologizes. "A-am I in trouble? I was loud. I'm very sorry."

"It's okay," I say to calm him down. I bend down in front of him and pull his hand off his mouth by the wrist. I never expected Hitori to go unnoticed. Vampires have keen senses, and I'm sure they'll be able to smell him on me. I did hope I'd be able to last a day, though.

The doorbell rings, prompting Hitori's eyes to widen. He starts shaking. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I tell him again, hands on his shoulders. "I exaggerated a little. It's the person I'm working with. You're not in trouble. I'm sorry for scaring you. Hold on, okay? Just stay here."

I go to the door, cracking it only enough for me to be seen. His smell is here, though; it's pointless.

Kyo smiles. "I just wanted to remind you about the training. Nine sharp."

"I'll be there. On-time."

"Yeah, I'm not worried. I just have to remind you. Oh, also, you know this too, but remember confidentiality."

"Yeah," I say, heart busting out a large thump. "I'm bound by law."

"By the way―Amelia, don't worry about her. I've talked to her. If she ever says anything, just ignore her. It's not you, by the way. She's like that with almost all new people."

"Right."

"Anyway, goodnight." He gently slaps me on the arm again before going back to his room. I close the door and lock it.

Hitori is sitting on the bed, fists balled on his knees.

"Sorry," I apologize again, standing in front of him. "I didn't mean to scare you. To be honest..." I don't know how to phrase it. I was worried. It seems Kyo is willing to ignore it. My father didn't seem to care, I knew, but I was just worried. Worried.

"Yes, I understand."

"Do you know the expression 'turning a blind eye?'"

"...Yes."

"That's what it is. All of us are turning a blind eye, okay? You, me, my father, and the people I work with." Don't disappear. "You're not causing problems; the work is confidential, so we just have to be careful." Don't you dare disappear again.

"I understand. Turning a blind eye."

"What did you 'Ah' about, by the way?" I sit beside him, and he stands up.

He stammers incoherently for several seconds before finally saying, "I j-just realized there's o-one bed. S-stupid," he scolds himself.

Though it's a double bed. "Ah. I stay up late. And the time zone change... You won't even notice me. Go to sleep first. Go ahead and take a bath first, too."

"Yes."

Is he afraid of me? I don't get it.

"Yes, then... I will go take a bath now."

"'Kay."

Hitori awkwardly shuffles sideways to the bathroom, and there's a stretch of silence before the bath runs.

I decide to just read in the corner chair for the rest of the night until Hitori falls asleep.