~Rui Kamishiro~

Rui was just a regular guy. A little quiet, always tinkering with gadgets, obsessed with robotics more than anything else. Socializing wasn’t his strong suit, so most people at school just saw him as “the weird tech kid.”

Except Tsukasa. Somehow, he stuck around. The two of them spent nearly all their time together—walking home, hanging out after class, sharing dumb jokes. To everyone else, they looked like best friends. Maybe even more than that. Rui would never admit it out loud, but Tsukasa made life feel less lonely.

What Rui didn’t know was that Tsukasa wasn’t just “different.” He was hiding a secret—he was a vampire. He blended in well enough: ate lunch with everyone, joked around when he had to, acted normal. But he wore a black mask to hide his fangs, avoided mirrors, skipped out on certain activities, and never, ever walked home while the sun was out.

On the morning of a school excursion, Rui was adjusting his backpack straps when he noticed Tsukasa standing off to the side. While everyone else crowded around, Tsukasa was holding a black parasol.

“…Uh. You okay with that?" Rui asked quietly, tilting his head.