After Nonhumans Set Their Sights on Me

Recently, fog has been appearing frequently near my home.

Through the swirling mist, I saw him again. The black-clad, beautiful boy who had previously existed only in an urban legend from my hometown. He brought despair, and even death offered no escape. He was stunningly handsome, but had no pupils, only the whites of his eyes. And he could always find me. He could see me.

It terrified me.

I told Tomie about it, and he mocked me. "You, who keep saying you want to raise me as a potted plant, are scared?"

I looked at Tomie, who had only grown a torso so far, and touched the corner of his eye. Honestly, I said, "At least your eyes have pupils. That thing feels different. It's like a horror movie has come to life."

Actually, how was Tomie Kawakami not a walking horror movie himself? He had the power to make people love him so much they'd want to destroy and kill him. But he couldn't really die. Even a drop of his blood could split off into another Tomie. I had cut a piece from a densely packed, bloodstained carpet of Tomies and taken one home with me.

I wanted to keep him as a potted plant, but Tomie clearly wouldn't be content to live in a pot. He would surely turn back into a human. When that happened, I would probably send him away.

I was raising a plant, not a person. Besides, I didn't have much money.

I attended Cross Academy, a boarding school, but after entering the upper division, I applied to live off campus as a Day Class student.

Recently, the Day Class students had noticed the black-clad, beautiful boy in the fog near the school. They wondered if our school was going to become a nest of urban legends, too.

"I haven't confessed to Lord Kaname yet. I don't want to die."

"Aaaah! Don't say things like that. How could we possibly be living in a horror movie?"

Takuma Ichijo from the Night Class heard about it and made a point of reminding me to stay safe.

Takuma Ichijo was a wonderful person, impeccable in how he treated others. There were few people at Cross Academy who didn't like him.

I thanked him for his concern, then returned the favor by telling him that "there might really be inhuman beings with terrifying abilities in this world."

His smile froze for an instant. "Yes, so you definitely need to be careful."

It was a long time before I understood why his smile had frozen.

It turned out he was a vampire.

Me: "..."

There isn't much room left in this world for humans to survive.

And what surprised me even more was that the black-clad, beautiful boy, Tomie Kawakami, and Takuma Ichijo... all liked me.

★Blurb archived on 20260603

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