I Fell In Love With A Girl Who Died Before I Was Even Born

The onsen gates creaked shut behind us, muffling the outside world.

Only the hiss of steam and the slow drip of condensation from the rafters remained.

The stones beneath my feet were slick, glistening in the lantern-light, and I kept my hold on Shion tight, careful not to slip.

Her nails still dug into my shoulders, sharp little reminders of what she was and what she feared herself to be.

But she didn't let go.

She clung tighter, as if letting go would mean sinking into the mist and never returning.

"See?" I said, showing her that the water here wasn't moving.

"It's still water," I whispered. "Look? No ripples. Nothing running."

Her eyes, flat, green and endless, flicked over the surface of the onsen.

The steam rose in thin curls, blurring the lanterns into halos.

She licked her lips, as if readying herself for pain.

"Lower me in, Blondie," she said, though her voice trembled like it was about to break.

I crouched and let the tips of her toes touch the water.

She hissed, body tensing in my arms like a bowstring.

For one terrifying heartbeat, I thought she was about to ignite, to burn, to prove all her fears right.

But the water held her.

No burning.

No sizzle.

Only steam.

I felt her fingers lightly touch the edge of my chin.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this."

I shook my head a bit.

"Why the hell would I tell anyone?" I asked.

She leaned closer, putting her face in front of mine.

"That doesn't matter at all. The point is that I'm threatening. I'm dangerous, and violent, and you're very scared of me right now."

I held her above the water.

And I suddenly remembered something.

"Why don't I get you a bathing suit? That way, you're not getting the school uniform soaked in the onsen for no reason."

She narrowed her eyes and didn't look away.

"Yes, I'd like that very much."

I carried her towards the women's changing room.

"Okay. There's some extra bathing suits on the other side. They're pretty easy to find."

I set her down and she smiled at me.

"Oh, and one more thing," I said. "I'm terrified of you."

She pressed her dry, cold lips against my cheek.

"Good. You should be. Now, give me a minute to change, and if I catch you peeking—"

I laughed.

"I know, I know. You'll drain every last drop from my body," I said.

She shook her head slowly, eyes gleaming in the lantern light.

"No, Blondie. If I catch you peeking…"

She leaned close, her lips grazing my ear. "…I'll make sure you never forget what you saw."

My throat went dry. I couldn't tell if it was a promise, a threat, or both.

Her smile widened, cold, sharp, and beautiful.

"Do you think I'm joking?" she asked, and slipped into the changing room.

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I leaned back against the damp wooden wall outside the women's changing room and buried my face in my hands.

"What the hell am I doing?" I muttered into my palms.

My voice bounced back at me in the quiet, swallowed by steam.

She kissed me.

That happened.

That actually happened.

Shion kissed me, and I kissed her.

I called her my girlfriend, and she didn't argue.

Which means she likes me, right?

She has to.

Unless it was just another threat in disguise.

Or both. With her it's always both.

I scrubbed my face, pacing in a tight circle.

"I like her. I know I do. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't. But Yuki—"

My chest tightened.

Yuki's face, the way she smiled before she floated away.

The kind of smile that hurt.

She told Shion to take care of me.

She gave me to her.

"Damn it, Yuki. Are you going to be okay? Shion, are you going to be okay? Did I just mess everything up?"

My words came out fast, ragged.

I was whispering to the steam, to the early morning light, to no one.

"I don't think so. I mean… no. I think this is okay. Right? This is okay. It has to be."

The door slid open a crack, wood creaking.

A pale hand curled around the edge of the frame. Shion's.

I froze, my pulse hammering in my ears.

Shion stepped out slowly, barefoot, her borrowed bathing suit clinging awkwardly, like it had been meant for someone smaller.

Lantern and early morning sunlight painted her pale skin in gold and shadow, and the steam softened every edge until she looked like something dreamt instead of real.

Her green eyes locked on mine.

"Blondie," she said flatly, "if you so much as blink too loud, I'll kill you."

My brain short-circuited. I tried to answer, but my throat was dry, my heart pounding so hard it felt like the stones under my feet could hear it.

She tilted her head, a flicker of mischief tugging at her lips.

"Well? Do I look… what? Say something, dumbass."

She was trembling, vulnerable, exposed, and somehow more dangerous than ever.

"You look good, Shion," I managed, my voice cracking.

Her eyes softened for half a heartbeat.

Then she rolled them.

"Idiot," she muttered, stepping closer.

I reached out, arms wrapping around her cold frame.

She leaned in, her lips brushing the edge of my jaw.

For one split second I thought she was going to kiss me again, but, instead, her fangs slid into my neck.

The sharp pain stole my breath, followed by the pull, the dizzying rush as she drank.

"If that's all you've got to say," she whispered against my skin, "then I'm having a snack before it gets too late."

My eyes darted upward to the porches and windows overlooking the onsen.

If anyone was up this early, they'd see a hungry vampire having her breakfast in public.

They'd probably call the police.

And knowing my luck, the police would actually show up.

She let go after a couple of agonizing minutes, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and sat back in the water.

I heard the soft splash as she drifted against the wall.

Quiet. Like she had to collect her thoughts.

The mist filled around us, shimmering as the sun started to push its way up.

She scooted closer.

Her fingers wrapped around my arm, and she leaned on me.

"I still like watching the sunrise," she said. "I won't get to once I leave this island. Normally I hate when the sun's up because… it's when I'm truly dead. I hate being that way, being dead."

Her eyes shut.

"You've got a dead girlfriend, Blondie. You… dumbass."

I sighed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know you don't care that I'm… you know."

I felt her shift uncomfortably.

"I'm glad I'm with you," I told her.

Her green eyes flashed sharply, like lightening.

I could still feel the cold spot on my neck where she'd been feeding.

Then her expression softened. She leaned against me, putting my arm around her and letting me hold her.

"I'm glad I'm with you too," she said.

She leaned her head back against the stones, watching the steam coil upward.

After a few minutes, she took a breath and started talking.

"Did you know that my parents used to hunt vampires," she said.

Her voice was flat and cold, like she simply stating a fact of the weather.

"And yeah… I hunted with them. Don't look at me like that, Blondie. I wasn't some wide-eyed kid tagging along. I knew what I was doing. I mean… we were mostly digging up corpses and burning them. Not fighting."

Her eyes narrowed, but her voice softened when she went on.

"We lived up in Kurama. Halfway up the slope, beneath a temple. Big, drafty house. Smelled like old tatami and steel."

She gave a short laugh, sharp as a knife.

"I remember riding my bike down those hills when I was alive. Wind in my face, brakes squealing, and me having the time of my life. Almost crashed a dozen times."

Then she glanced sideways at me, smirking.

"Guess that's why I stole the bike from the post office when I first showed up here. Don't make that face. It's not sentimental. It's practical… mostly. But if you tell anyone I said that, I'll bite your other side to even it out."

I squeezed her affectionately.

"I thought you got that bike completely legally."

She poked me in the ribs.

"You'd better behave. We've been seen together in Shin'yume. I'll just tell people I'm borrowing it from you."

That mischievous look cut through me.

The sunlight hit her eyes, catching in the mist. In the water vapor, they looked moist, glassy… alive.

She was warm from the onsen, at least enough.

Even cold, sharp, and dry, a vampire, dead, delinquent, I didn't want Shion to change at all.

She was perfect the way she was.

Her expression changed.

I watched as her shoulders tensed and realized I might've been staring at her for a couple of minutes.

"Don't look at me like that for too long, Blondie."

I looked away, focusing my attention on the way the steam rose from the onsen's waters.

"What happened?" I asked.

She smiled.

"We used to hunt vampires. Even if we weren't fighting them, it's not the safest thing in the world. What do you think happened?"

Her eyes went to the water.

I followed.

And there was no reflection.

Just an empty spot where she should have been.

She took another breath.

"I'll tell you what happened," she said.

She adjusted the way she was sitting, so she couldn't see where her reflection should have been.

"I was a first year student at Fushimi Academy, and I was getting ready to begin my second year there. But there was this boy…"

I saw her roll her eyes quickly.

"It's always a boy, right?" she teased.

"Anyways, I had a crush on him before he suddenly went missing. Only to show up at my house the next night."

She looked away, watching the sky turn from black to soft blue.