“That’s a fruit bat, I think.” Her voice was wavering as well. “They look kind of like foxes. It’s actually a little cuter than I thought. Maybe.”
Phew. For a second I was worried she’d suddenly lash out and hit the poor bat.
“Would you like an apple too, Matsuri?”
“Yes,” she croaked. “Yes, I think I would.”
Even after admitting the bat was cute, she must have still been afraid, since she sat down on the farthest chair.
“Can it fly? Is it going to bite me?”
“It’s a bat, so it can fly, but it wouldn’t bite anyone. It’s too smart for that.”
After serving Matsuri an apple and some juice, I stroked the bat’s head, prompting Matsuri to gasp.
“It’s awfully friendly around humans!”
“I told you.”
“Are you going to keep it as a pet?”
“I’d kind of like to, but I guess it’s not practical when I don’t live on my own. I wouldn’t be able to let it fly freely around the room, for example.”
“Yes, I can see what you mean. Still, if its roost is nearby, maybe it’ll come back again. Have you thought about giving it a name?”
“Good idea. It’d be easier to call it over that way.”
Which is more important than you realize, I added in my mind.
“Hmm, what would be a good name,” I mused.
A name for a bat. Well, I could go for the obvious.
“Something like ‘Batty’?”
“Or ‘Squeaky’ because of the sounds bats make?” Matsuri suggested.
Neither of these were the most inventive of names, but if we were focusing on how cute the little critter was, this was what we ended up with. I could go for a more chic and stylish name like “Black Rose,” but I’d only end up using a nickname like “Rosey” anyway. It doesn’t help that I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.
“It’s a fruit bat, right? What about something like ‘Fruitington’?”
As soon as I said that, the bat turned to me and squeaked.
“That’s it! That’s your name!”
“It sounds like it’s fond of the name,” Matsuri agreed.
I couldn’t know how the bat was really feeling, but it seemed to be happy with “Fruitington.”
“Maybe we could make it even more fancy. Something like ‘Fruitington III.’”
“A classy name for a very polite little bat.”
“In that case, from now on I’ll call you Fruitington III!”
When I called Fruitington III by its new name, it raised its wings as if to give assent. Then, with a flutter, Fruitington III went over to the window, apparently having had enough of the apple.
“I guess it’s time for Fruitington III to go home.” I moved closer to the window, ostensibly to say goodbye, then whispered into its ear, “Tell Lady Angelica what I said, okay?”
I got a soft squeak in return before Fruitington III flew out of the open window.
Watching Fruitington III’s departure, Matsuri said, “Pets are nice. Maybe if I had one, it would distract me from my loneliness.”
This was a very sad remark.
✦ ✦ ✦
✤
I went to the open-air café slightly early the next morning, but Lady Angelica had arrived even earlier and was already sitting at a table.
“Good morning,” I said.
“Misaki, good morning. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”
She didn’t have her usual easygoing air. Instead, she seemed kind of antsy. As soon as she saw me, she stood up and ran over.
“Yes, I managed to get away safely thanks to Fruitington III’s help.”
“Oh, that’s right, you gave her a name. She was really happy about it!”
“She was?”
“Absolutely! If anything else comes up in the future, you can give her a message anytime.”
“Thanks. Will do.”
We moved over to the table and Lady Angelica continued the conversation while cautiously watching our surroundings. “It sounds like Lutia remembered your face after all.”
“She also seems to think I’m a vampire for some reason.”
“Is that so? That’s definitely not ideal. I’ve finally received information from Ireland, and apparently they’re having similar problems there. Vampire hunting is a growing trend lately, especially among young people. They’re not strong enough to take us down, but it does cause problems for us if we’re trying to live a quiet life. What’s more, they might also cause harm to ordinary humans like you. At this point, I can’t leave it alone. I’d hoped to avoid escalating the situation, but it looks like I’ll have to deal with it properly.”
“Do you mean by fighting her, like you did the other day?”
“More or less, although I don’t think it’ll even qualify as a fight in the end. There’s no way she could beat me in a face-off. What we’re afraid of is that society at large will become aware of our existence again and persecute us. We have to nip this in the bud while it’s seen as nothing more than some youths acting foolishly.”
“Right.”
“Lutia won’t attack after sundown. Apparently, people like her believe that vampires are more ferocious at night. It’ll also be safe during the day if there are other people around, so my advice is to avoid being alone as much as possible. That said, if you are under threat, your new bat friend—Fruitington—should come and help you.”
“Got it. Just one thing, though.”
“Is there some other problem?”
“No, not really. Just that her name isn’t Fruitington, it’s Fruitington III. The last part is important.”
When I said this in an entirely serious tone, Lady Angelica had to stifle some hearty laughter.
“Ha ha, that’s so funny. If everyone was like you, my kind would be able to live in peace and happiness.”
Still smiling, she stood and cradled my head in her arms, patting it gently.
After that, she said, “I plan to take some kind of action in the next few days, so be extra careful until then, okay?”
Then she left.
✦ ✦ ✦
✤
Beyond what she’d said, I had no idea of the details. What kind of action did she plan on taking in the next few days? It didn’t sound like she planned to do a citizen’s arrest and hand her over to the police.
In the meantime, I waited. When Matsuri and I were alone at night, the conversation often turned to Lady Saeko.
“Was she at the salon today, Misaki? Did she have any problems?”
Matsuri often brought up her (former) mistress. By now, she was able to talk about Lady Saeko normally, but I kind of had the feeling that this was because not thinking about her made Matsuri anxious.
“Yeah, she was there in the morning. As far as I could tell, she just sat there reading, same as always. I spoke to her a little, but I don’t know of any problems. Wait, now that I think about it, her uniform did look slightly more creased than usual.”
I had to really dig deep for this. It was an effort to find some kind of issue to mention.
“Ah, I’m not surprised. I wonder what she’s doing about laundry? Is she sending her clothes out to be laundered herself, perhaps? That means she’s not getting them ironed every day.”
Laundry was handled collectively, with the Domestic Arts students having a rotation for who was taking care of it. Everything was ironed before returning it, of course, but no one would give their clothes to the laundry service every day just to have them ironed. The only ones who would iron so frequently were Seraphs, but Lady Saeko no longer had Matsuri there to do it for her. She could have her there, though. I wish she’d change her mind already.
“I’ve been thinking as well, by the way,” Matsuri said. “About whether I can convince Lady Saeko to make me her Seraph again.”
“Did you come up with an idea?”
“Not really.” She shook her head sadly. “I think the easiest way would be to get myself into debt and ask Lady Saeko to bail me out. That’s all.”
This was the same brute-force method that Lady Sakura had mentioned initially.
“Won’t the same thing eventually happen again, though?”
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right.”
I still don’t think they’d have a “normal” relationship. That’s why everyone’s been struggling so hard to come up with a better idea.
Lady Angelica’s plan sounded the best, but it relied on an opportunity arising by happenstance. Unless that happened, the situation would stay exactly the same as at the start of vacation. Eventually, the only option left would be one like Kirara had taken. She could explain all the details in front of the whole school and then beg Lady Saeko to take her on as a Seraph again. It might not help, but at that point, it couldn’t hurt either.
Lady Saeko had told us she’d still say no in that situation, but maybe she’d feel differently in the moment. We’d have to stake it all on that.
Every approach we have is full of uncertainty. I just hope we can manage this soon! This must be what it’s like to be trapped in a maze with no way out.
However, it turned out that someone unexpected was going to break down the walls and give the maze an unplanned exit.