Block A 「Nishimura Riki」

31

"So, we're a couple now," Eiko whispered.

Riki nodded slowly, his forehead resting against her shoulder with his arms coiled around her waist. "Yes," he said after a while and Eiko could feel his embrace get tighter. "We are...we are dating, Eiko."

Eiko could only smile while she came to terms with her reality. She was happy; they were together, no more tip-toeing around each other in that awkward stage. She and Riki were dating. Eiko returned the hug but even tighter. "I'm so happy, it's insane."

Riki chuckled softly, the small sound reverberated in his chest, and it was nothing but a serenade to Eiko. The woody scent of his faint cologne was tangled around her nose. And despite Riki being a vampire, his body felt warm on hers. Eiko wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as she could. "I don't know what to do," she said after a while, and they pulled out of the hug slowly.

"What do you mean?" He asked her, looking genuinely into her eyes, a level of fondness and affection Eiko had not seen in them before. Her heart fluttered, and there was nothing further than the extent of her blushing cheeks and roaring heart.

"I've never dated before. I don't know how things are supposed to go. Everyone makes it seem like when you start dating everything about your dynamic should change as well and I just...I don't know about anything. I'm nervous if this will go right, Riki."

He smiled, the tips of his pointed fangs cute rather than predatory. "That's for us to figure out. We're both new to this. Aren't you the one who told me to make new memories? Let's figure things out together, that's how they're supposed to be." He turned to face the moon and the view of the horizon from how high up the balcony was. He looked straight out of a dream. Such low exposure but Eiko could see his features perfectly--or she had admired his face enough to see his appearance despite the dark.

"You're right," Eiko chimed happily. She looked off into the obscure distance while her mind ran through the possibilities. "Then I'm confident in us. Even if it all won't be smooth sailing, I know we can find a way around it." A sensation of content settled inside of her, a moment where everything just felt right. Eiko's eyes trained on the sky, observing the stars she could see. "It sounds like I'm promising you the moon, but I have faith."

"Hey," Riki started, and he carefully nudged her with his elbow. "We've just started, we're too early to think about the ending. Focus on us, the present."

"Yeah," Eiko agreed. "I want to enjoy this...with you."

And for a while, they did just that; relaxing in the presence of one another, under the serene night sky, with the moon being their spotlight.

"Hey, Riki," Eiko called out softly, not wanting to speak too loud or else it'd shatter the level of tranquility between them. He hummed in response to show that he was listening then Eiko continued. "Earlier, when Sunghoon was talking about the possibility of me being a vampire, what did you think of it?"

"I can't say. Nothing about you changed that I can notice, but because Sunghoon turned, I think there's a possibility of him being right," He said, "We can check your blood to confirm it, but if you want answers..."

"We'd have to go back to Cheonan, right? That lady seemed to know a lot about me, it was strange."

Riki agreed with a faint nod of his head. "Yeah. We'd have to get answers from her. What did the book say? The one you had me pick up."

Eiko's thoughts went back to the book as soon as he mentioned it. As she mulled over it, there was a high possibility that the book may have answers as well; but Eiko was too afraid to read further--neither was she given the chance to--so she couldn't tell Riki just yet. "I haven't read it yet."