A teen is stunned to discover he's half-vampire. Will being asexual-aromantic thwart bloodlust, or are there other emotions strong enough to trigger murder?
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Natsu anxiously follows his mentally-ill mother's rules, forcing himself to be an em...
Valerian and his girlfriend left immediately after Christmas, and everyone else said their goodbyes right after the New Year. Kyo is the last to leave because he has to help catch the culprit of the abductions we saw on the news. He kind of reminds me of a superhero.
Though he looks more like a subpar villain.
"Have you got everything?" Sergius asks as Kyo opens the mansion's front door.
He pats his backpack. "My new motorcycle helmet, my Santa suit... Yep. Everything important." He turns to me and switches to Japanese. "Natsu, walk me to my bike."
I unfold my arms. "Uh, okay?"
Sergius stands waiting in the open door as the two of us go out to his bike parked in the driveway. Kyo situates himself and his bag.
"We're out of time this year. But I will try to have your gift by next Christmas. So... what do you truly want?"
My eyelids close and open slowly, as if drowsy, while I look off to the side. I allow the automatically conjured mental image of Hitori to linger for a few seconds, then look Kyo in the eyes, and give him my reply: "World peace."
Kyo stares back silently, then puts on his helmet. "You grew up Buddhist, right? You know Buddhists believe the key to world peace is individual inner peace and happiness?"
I fold my arms. "Is that so."
Kyo smiles. "It's worth thinking about. See ya." He drops his visor, revs the engine, and speeds off within a couple of seconds. I watch him disappear behind the trees.
Sergius is still standing at the door. "It's just you, me, and Nina again." He pouts. "I miss everyone already."
As I walk past, I give him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. It's better left unsaid that despite all my growing, I still prefer few people to many. But, that's okay. Some things about me I don't need to change, I've discovered. They aren't flaws. They're just me.
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Saturday, January 17, 2009
I glance around the dim room then stare at the man across from me with my eyes that are identical to his.
He clears his throat. "It's work to keep your identity out of the wrong hands," he says in Japanese. "Even if we pass you off as full Nativus, just you being my hidden son will cause a buzz. I don't know how it'd affect my position."
Deadpan, I ask, "What's your point?"
"I was trying to explain why we're in this back room full of boxes in a hidden corner of the IVA building, but ended up jumping the gun."
Was he always this awkward? I ignore the stale cardboard smell and reply, "So? You're saying I can't do deeper work for IVA because it'll put your position at risk?"
