Chapter 8 - Moka

'... Create, change and evolve abilities...' That's what the video game-style window said about Basara's ability, called Naughty System.

To him, that was frightening on an absurd level. While an ability like this made him excited about the opportunities it could create, it also caused a certain fear. At least it made sense that the faceless man had given him this ability after telling him that, in order to get everything back to normal, he would have to defeat him.

While Basara was fascinated by the discovery, he suddenly heard Moka calling him.

"Basara-kun..."

"What is it, Moka-san?" he asked, turning to look at her.

She had a slight flush on her cheeks. "It's getting very hot in here... I... I need to take my shirt off. I can't stand this heat any longer."

Surprised, Basara opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, she quickly added:

"Could you turn to the wall? I... I'd rather you didn't see it."

His heart raced for a moment. "Of course, Moka-san."

Basara turned his back to her, staring at the walls of the warehouse. He could hear Moka's slight movements as she took off her sweat-soaked T-shirt. The sound of the fabric moving against her skin made his cheeks heat. He had definitely never expected to experience such an uncomfortable moment just two hours after crossing the gym gates for the first time.

"You should take yours off too, Basara-kun. That way, you'll feel fresher."

She was right. The heat was becoming unbearable, and the PE shirt Basara was wearing was already sticking to his body. With an almost imperceptible nod, he pulled the shirt up and took it off in one go. Immediately, he felt a little more relieved.

Moka remained silent for a few moments, and Basara couldn't understand why, as his eyes remained fixed on the gray wall.

"Basara-kun... can I... can I ask you something?"

He turned his head slightly, without looking at her directly. "Of course. What is it?"

"Those... scars on your back. What happened to you?"

"Oh... that? It's nothing serious. Just childhood accidents. You know, a restless kid, climbing trees, falling off branches, cutting himself on bushes..." He let out a short laugh. "I was a bit clumsy."

Basara felt Moka was still watching him.

"Why do you ask?" he asked, turning his head a little more to understand.

"It's nothing. I was just a bit curious. Sorry if I bothered you."

At that moment, Basara briefly noticed the object hanging around her neck — the small rosary. He looked forward and said:

"By the way, Moka-san..."

"Huh? What?"

"That rosary you're carrying... Are you religious?"

Her fingers dabbed the rosary as she looked at it. "This rosary... is important to me. It serves as a reminder... of who I am and where I came from. I can't part with it because it keeps certain things under control."

"Things? What do you mean?"

"Let's just say... there are parts of me that you don't know yet, Basara-kun. And this rosary keeps those parts... asleep."

He remained silent, not knowing what to say. Those words were too enigmatic, and they said practically nothing. Although Basara was still intrigued, he refrained from prying into a potentially sensitive matter.

The heat inside the shed appeared to have lessened a little, or perhaps he was simply too distracted to notice.

"About your scars, Basara-kun, can I touch them? I've never had one, so I don't know what it feels like to touch one."

"You can, if you want it too much."

Not only did he feel her approaching, he heard her footsteps. Soon after, he also felt her touch.

Moka's index finger, light as a feather, touched Basara's scar near the nape of his neck, just where his hair was ending. A shiver ran up Basara's spine. Her hand was stiff, almost icy, which was pleasurable because of the abrasive heat.

"You're sweating." he commented without thinking because he was feeling her wet finger.

"Yes... It's very hot in here," she replied with an awkward laugh.

As Moka continued to run her index finger over Basara's scars, as if exploring an unknown map, he noticed that her breathing was gradually becoming more labored.

'Is the heat rising again?' he wondered.

"Basara-kun, do you trust me?" Moka suddenly asked.

The question caught him a little off-guard. What exactly did she mean by that? Of course, they were colleagues and had already exchanged a few words, but nothing much more.

Still, Basara wasn't so rude or ungentlemanly as to say that he didn't trust her.

"I do."

"You asked about my rosary before, didn't you? I said it's important to me, but I didn't explain why."

Basara turned a little. Although he was avoiding looking at her pink bra, it was impossible not to notice the glint of the silver rosary she was talking about.

"What do you mean, Moka-san?"

"As I've made clear, this rosary isn't just an accessory. It holds a part of me captive. I don't know how you'll react to hearing about this, and I know it's against school rules, but I want to become your friend, Basara-kun. In order to officially have you as my first friend, I feel you need to know that I am a vampire."

Basara's body went still. A vampire? That had to be some kind of joke. But when he looked at her face, he saw no hint of humor, sarcasm, or a joke. On the contrary, there was seriousness and sadness in her downward-looking eyes.

He swallowed dryly. "A... vampire?"

Moka-san looked directly at him now. She didn't need to say anymore; it was clear in her eyes that this was real. Unexpectedly, real.

"I understand if you... want to stay away. After all, you're a human, right? I can smell your human scent. And I'm a vampire, so..." She stepped back, touching the rosary with both hands.

At that moment, it became clear to Basara that Moka, throughout her life, had made similar confessions to other people who had moved away. However, he couldn't understand it. Wasn't this a peaceful world in which the races lived together?

Thinking about it, Basara felt that he shouldn't have been so surprised by her confession. He already knew that supernatural beings existed and lived together in this academy. Whether Moka was a werewolf, a demon or a vampire, Moka wasn't even the first creature of another race that he had met. In fact, she was far from it. For this reason, seeing she automatically steps back, as if rejecting her was the most rational reaction, made Basara realize that he needed to shelter her.

She was a vampire, yes, but, at that moment, she seemed more human than anyone else in the school. 

The slight tremor of her breathing and the way she squeezed the rosary so hard that her knuckles were white made Basara feel something he couldn't ignore. She expected him to pull away, to react with fear or disgust, but... he could never do something like that.

Basara took two steps, reaching Moka, and held her hands. "Moka-san, it's okay. We can be friends. What does it matter that you're a vampire? I couldn't care less about that fact."

At that moment, Moka looked up, meeting Basara's eyes. Her green eyes shone with a spark of surprise, mixed with uncertainty. She hadn't expected this.

Holding her hands, he saw that her skin wasn't cold because it was wet. It was naturally cold.

'Yes, I've heard legends about that... Vampires have cold skin as if they were dead.'

Her eyes widened as he held on tighter to keep her warm.

"Basara-kun..." her cheeks took on a rosy hue.

Without thinking, Basara stepped forward, moving even closer to her.

"It's all right, Moka. I'm here."

The heat in the shed seemed to have subsided, or perhaps the world around them had become irrelevant.

Moka closed her eyes and then took a small step forward. To Basara, this seemed like a clear green light, and he wouldn't waste an opportunity like this. He closed his eyes too, leaning in to kiss her.

The distance between them decreased, but suddenly Basara felt a strange sensation. The kiss hadn't happened. Something was wrong. He felt a bitter touch on his neck. Basara slowly opened his eyes, and that's how he saw that Moka Akashiya was biting him, or rather sucking his blood.