HIKARU had missed the serenity of the province. He had missed the smell of the ripe grains ready for harvest. He had missed the clean, fresh air.

He wandered on the street. It was the time of the day that the people were busy on their own small world.

The market was full of people. Some people were ignoring him, some stared at him and some looked at him in curiosity. He was sure that some of them might have recognized him while some wondered why there was a stranger inside the walled city. The people of the small city practically know each other, if not personally then even just in the face.

“I heard that there is Kashimura san’s pig died last night.” He heard a lady said.

“That was the third this week, right?” Another lady commented. “What do you think killed them?”

“I heard that it was almost the same death. He was drained of blood.”

“Oh my!”

“But they couldn’t find any trace of blood in the pen.”

“What could have done that?”

Hikaru stared at the women. His heart beat fast.

“I heard that they are talking about scouting tonight.”

“They should! They should! We should be careful.”

Hikaru didn’t finish the conversation as he walked away fast enough. He didn’t want to think about its possibility but it seems to him that the walled city was already invaded.

“Who could it possibly be?” he asked himself. He couldn’t believe that it went pass his uncle’s nose.

“Impossible, really!” he tried to convince himself.

He walked aimlessly as he tried to console himself. “What else can it be? But then, why would it feed pig’s blood. What was it thinking? Why here?”

“Ouch!” he complained as he bumped into somebody. The person he bumped into was taken aback, as shock as he was as he saw HER sprawled on the pavement.

“Gomenasai!” he apologized and helped the girl to stand.

“Iie.” She answered and leaned on him as he helped her stand.

Hikaru was taken aback as he saw her eyes. They were as light blue as the sky and her long wavy hair was definitely real. It was the color of golden brown, same as the grains in the village’s farm.

She smiled shyly at him and bowed. “Arigatou.” She said timidly.

Hikaru couldn’t help but stare at her. “A-anou… watashi wa Hikaru desu.” He introduced himself and extend his hand to her.

“Toni desu.” She answered and shook his hand. “Yoroshikou onegaishimasu.”

“Yoroshikou.”

“Gomenasai. I have to go.” The girl said and took her hand from Hikaru’s grip before walking fast towards the crowded market area.

Hikaru couldn’t help but stare at her retreating back and even beyond the place where she merged with the other busy bodies.

Hikaru found himself in the middle of the large atrium of an old yet fashionably furnished house. He dragged his uncle there without thinking. There are things that he needed to do yet his head is wandering towards the girl that he met earlier in the market. He could still remember those placid eyes. It was as if he was staring at the calm sea.

“It was a pleasant surprise to see the young Hikaru grew up into a handsome man.” Hikaru heard a voice said behind him.

He turned to that voice to find a man in his late 50s with a scrutinizing eyes, and a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Hikaru vowed to pay respect.

As expected, the leader of the Primeras was still on his prime glory despite the unusual longer life span of his species. Though, unlike the vampires who don’t seem to grow old, the Primeras do. They live longer than the usual men because of their unique blood but still there were growth changes in their physique.

This Primera, for example is already a hundred and three years old but looked a lot younger than his age. Despite this fact, Hikaru noticed lines of stress and weariness in the man’s feature.

Hikaru know for certain that the special bacterium in the blood of this man was still very active, working on its full glory.

“What brings you to the village, young man? And don’t give me the crap that this is just a simple visit. That would be a huge lie.” The man stated.

Uncle Shou heaved a sigh and shrugged letting Hikaru talk.

Hikaru dropped on his knee and bowed his head. “We need your help.” He announced.

A large calloused hand landed on his shoulder. When he brought up his head, he saw the old Primera staring down at him.

“I know what you came here for.” The old one started. “And the answer is NO. We will not help your battle against those savage beasts. We will not intervene between humans and vampires.”

“But elder Rosendo?”

“I know what you are thinking. With us, you can succeed.” The man stated and faced the huge window overlooking the browning fields. “It has been long since we cut ties with those vampires and we will never cross their path again.”

“H-how d-did…” Hikaru stuttered.

“I know what you are doing all this time, my child. You don’t need to speak. I will only touch you and I’ll know.” The old man sighed. “I know that you have a good reason by persuading us to help you but our race had long been gone, away from humanity, away from those monsters. If we go out now, it would create more chaos.”

“Elder Rosendo…”

The man tapped Hikaru on the shoulders. He was helping the younger one stand when they heard a shattering of a glass.

On a far corner of the room, there stood Toni with a tray in her hand, broken glasses on the floor, and a pool of liquid under her feet.

“Ah, child.” The elderly sighed. “How many glasses are you planning to smash while you are here?”

“I-I a-am s-sorry.” She stuttered.

“Go ahead and clean that up. While you are at it, just ask somebody else to bring the tea in.”

She bowed to them and quickly go away.

The old man stared at her retreating back before turning back to them. “Do you already know who is killing the pigs at night, Shou?”

“We will track it down, tonight, Rosendo.”

The old man looked at Hikaru’s uncle. “Let me tell you a secret, Shou. One that will definitely shock you and one that I hope you will not tell anybody, whatever may happen.”

Hearing this, Hikaru prepared to leave.

“Take your seat, young man. I wish you to listen to this as well.”

Hikaru, though confuse took the nearest chair while the two elderly stayed standing up.

“Have you ever heard of a persona-non-grata in case of vampires?” Elder Rosendo asked.

“Of course not, Rosendo. The vampires may be divided into two clans but they collect all the vampires into theirs.”

“You are correct, Rosendo. But there is one vampire family that was an outcast for a generation. This family had been leaving away from any of the clans. They had been an outcast even before the final war.

“The vampire lord has heard of this family refusing the way of the vampires. They refused to drink blood, started going around at noon time, helped humans escaped from the clutch of the vampires, and conspired against them.

“Nobody heard what happened to this family after they were thrown out by the first vampire lord. Nobody spoke about them. They are pure blooded through and through.”

Hikaru and uncle Shou stared at the elder.

“Why are you telling us this, Rosendo?”

With a knowing eyes and weary smile, the elder spoke. “Because I have a feeling that Toni is from that family.”

Hikaru gasped. That was then, Toni stepped in and cleaned the mess that she made. Nobody spoke while she was at it. Hikaru stared at the girl. He couldn’t find in himself, however he looked at it, the idea that she really was a vampire. It seemed absurd. And she was leaving with the primeras.

Another girl came. She had a tray of tea in her hand which she put on one table. She bowed to them before going out. Hikaru noticed that she didn’t even pay attention on Toni who was now wiping the floor.

“May I temp you with some tea?” Elder Rosendo asked. “I know for sure that Hikaru here is not used to drinking European tea but I assure you, my child. This apple tea is delicious.” He said and poured three glasses and gave each one to them.

When Toni was finally done, Uncle Shou asked. “If she is a vampire, why do you let her stay here?”

“I found her once on the woods outside this wall. She was being chased by hunters, she said. And she was very hungry. She couldn’t recall anything before that. All she knows was that she woke up in the middle of that woods and was chased after wards. What was interesting was the way she survived by feeding only with the blood of wild animals.

“She didn’t dare attack the hunters that chased her despite her ability to do so, which is weird.”

“So you concluded that she came from this family?” Uncle Shou asked.

The elder laughed. “I know what you are thinking Shou that I am naïve by letting her inside the wall.”

Uncle Shou sighed heavily. “I really couldn’t understand what you are thinking most of the time, Rosendo.”

“What made you think that she really is from that family, elder Rosendo?”

“This is just a theory, Hikaru. I can never be sure. But I have a way to find out.” He looked at Hikaru with knowing eyes. “Bring her with you into this clan that you are helping.”

Hikaru stared at him in confusion.

“I will tell you when you get there. If my theory is correct, then you found the greatest help that you need.”

Hikaru stared at the girl on the horse. She looked very delicate seated on that horse. She looked at him in confusion. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“In the city.” Hikaru answered.

She looked scared upon hearing this.

“No need to worry. You will be fine.”

She nodded. He recalled the time that she heard about it. She was definitely shocked and confused but she didn’t ask and quietly obeyed elder Rosendo.

Hikaru, on the other hand had a fleeting feeling at that moment. There were a lot going on in his mind. What if the girl is a trap? If she truly is a vampire, what if she attacks him? What if the girl is a spy from the other clan? And her purpose is to find the primeras. There were so much possibility and he couldn’t just sit and wait.

But whenever she looked at those peaceful eyes, his worries fade away, as if being swept by the sea.

Still, he shouldn’t be careless. Any wrong move and he could end up like Ryutaro and Kei. He never wanted to become a zombie for those vampires. He should be careful.