Isn't that an odd philosophy for a vampire?
CHAPTER NINE: WHY IS THE NIGHT SKY DARK? (Olbers' paradox)
With no sense of time, since our cell phone had ran out of battery, dusk came faster than I expected. In the middle of the room where I woke up, we lighted the coal that we gathered from the cryonics lab and sat around the fire like how people did during the period when electricity and chairs were more expensive than milk and bread. None of us actually knew how to initiate combustion with friction. I was glad to hear that Frau gave his cigarette lighter to Hakuren at the last minute before he departed. I hoped they would come pick us up in victory. And I could only hope and pray for them, while watching the fire dancing with its smoke.
At first, I thought the low intensity of the fire we tried to keep was the reason why I could not smell any smoke. But when Mikage yawned and raised his head, "Wow! Look at the stars!", I knew that the missing roof was really the reason I should have thanked for.
It has been so long that the sky in the city was covered with smog. I could not remember when was the last time when I could count more than five stars and less than six planes. Neither I could remember for how long I thought that the universe contains less stars than the above patch of sky currently revealed. It troubled me when I rethought about the astronomy textbook that we studied in high school; the night is dark because there is not enough stars at each point of the sky that could fill that background with light. Who was the discoverer of this principle? Olbaren? Olberine? Someone in Verloren's party for sure.
"Alright, enough stargazing."Hakuren said, his right hand waving a wooden stick in front of our eye. If the contrast made by the angle of the fire on his face was more distinct, then he might look more fearful. "Mikage, go fetch Teito some food while I inform him about our mission."
Mission, I repeated the word in my head. Of course, I had the responsibility to revenge for your father and his country. Perhaps Frau had found and told them a way to find the Eye of Mikhail or to make me remember the key spinning combo. I felt a sudden rush of excitement and anxiety.
"Why do I have to go get food?" Mikage grabbed onto the stick and pulled, but Hakuren refused to let go.
"Because if I go, you'll have a chance to hurt him."
Mikage bit his lips and peeked at me. For the first time, despite the faint light, I noticed the bloody crimson color of his iris, bloodier than Hakuren's. He released the stick, stood up and padded off the dirt clinging his bottom. "I won't hurt him," he grumbled with disapproval but still obeyed and disappeared behind the fire, leaving me a sensation that he might... actually hurt me.
"Where is he going to get food?" I tried to disconnect the monster image from Mikage. Perhaps it was the flame that gave the wrong color to his eyes.
"Don't worry. Just in the neighboring forest. Since he is such a professional 'vegetarian', he'll catch some food in no time."
"Oh." I bent my knees, lock them with my arms and drop my head onto them. The night seemed to have gotten darker and colder.
"Teito." Hakuren imitated my position but could not fold himself as much as I could. "How can you be so flexible."
"Hm, practice?" I kept my eyes at the flame. I felt calm and secure in this position.
Hakuren put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm aware that you're concerned about his current state. It must have been a shock for you to see your good friend becoming like this. But I must warn you to be cautious. If something happens, I might not even be able to help you."
"You mean his bad smell?" I said, denying the other possibility.
"Not exactly. But that can be another reason to keep distance with him. What I meant is that he is different than me."
"Rather you are different than everyone else." I was starting to get sick of his voice and of his self-overrated pride. "Mikage is my best friend. We fought vampires together. If one of us is in danger the other one can risk his life to save the other. How can he possibly hurt me?"
He sighed. "People attacked by the vampire virus are not themselves anymore. I remember looking at the glass of artificial blood for the first time. The scent was so delightful that what I saw was a giant lollipop sitting on a beach of pink marshmallows and gummy bears."
"Giant lollipop?"
"Yeah. Doesn't that image make you want to jump over it, bite it and suck it?"
"... Er..."
"But after a while, the image of that glass of blood became less desireful. The taste and the smell became more and more disgusting. Soon, I knew that it was because the antidote was taking effect. So now, blood, however necessary for my existence, is really like a meal made of weed and bark to me. That's why I don't desire to bite you, no matter how much you hyperventilate and sweat. But for Mikage, it's different since he did not get the antidote. Although he tries to be 'vegetarian' (which is a dumb way to call himself since it implies animals are vegetables), he cannot deny his desire for drinking human blood. To him, animal blood is like cabbages and peas, but human blood is cabbages, peas and giant lollipop."
"So what's the right word for animal blood drinkers?"
"... I don't know. But that's not the point. The point is-"
"I understand what you mean," I said, slightly embarrassed to have suspected him for the wrong idea. "But I wish you two can get along. Both of you are my friends and I don't want to see you two disputing all the time for small things."
"Well, I can't do much about it. Mikage thinks that he is 'professional' at controlling himself, and I don't. From the start we are already having conflicting views. Either he stays away from you or kill me. If I don't protect you from him, you might not even know how you, the last hope of your father and his country, will be thrown into a pit."
I smiled. Whether he was concern about revenge or me, I felt lucky that I met him, and Mikage, the two who were willing to protect me with their life. However, this made my vulnerability and weakness clearer, and gave me the impression that there could still be time before strength and independence become a necessity. Nonetheless, there was a warm sensation of happiness and security growing inside me. I was still not convinced that Mikage would bite me, though. And I was sure that he will prove that to us eventually. "Oh," I finally turned my gaze to Hakuren, "you wanted to talk to me about a mission?"
Before Hakuren could answer, a hideous smell blasted behind us. "I'm back!" Mikage yelled with his torso naked and his right shoulder carrying something like a sac. "I think the forest was once an abandoned farm that supplied food for Verloren's laboratory. Luckily it still grows apples and pears. But they didn't get fertilizer and bug spay so they are small and covered with holes. But they are better for Teito than the raw meat of birds or squirrels." He walked to the other side of the fire and lay down what he was carrying; it was his shirt, enveloping several tens of egg-sized fruits. "Though I know we have fire and maybe at least one of you know how to cook, but... Well, actually I admit that I couldn't catch much. Wild animal are a lot smarter and faster than those in the city." As he sat down, he noticed that Hakuren and I both had our nose covered with our hand, he pulled his shirt out from the pile of fruits and uneasily put one of his arms into it. "Sorry about... that. I was too hot trying to pick the fruits. Ok, I guess you're going to say vampire's sweat is made of excrement, too."
"To begin with, sweat contains uric acid, which is found in urine." With his nose blocked, Hakuren sounded a lot more comical. "And that doesn't only apply to vampire. Since your skin production takes most of you excrement, I guess your sweat still has the same chemical component as before. If that's true then bad smell happens when your sweat is mixed with bacteria as usual. Otherwise, I suppose the odor can be slightly stronger than before."
"Mikage," I interrupted, "it must have been a long time that you didn't take a complete bath. We'll help you clean up."
"Really?" A bright smile traced on Miakage's face as he pushed his head out of his shirt.
"What? Help him? Clean up?" Hakuren stared at me in astonishment.
"If you don't want to I'll help him by myself."
"No, no. I'll help, too." He quickly changed his mind. As I thought, he wouldn't stand watching Mikage and me alone in same the bath tub.
A/N: Ha! I won't abandon this fiction, so don't you worry. :)