Blood Cloud, Part 10: Farewells and Promises

Mary went to the garden and sat on the bench, waiting for Kayo.

Kayo, upon arriving:
“Hello, Mary.”

Mary:
“Hi, Kayo.”

Kayo sat beside her and said gently:
“I heard about Yuni’s death. It must be very hard for you… she was one of your closest friends.”

Mary:
“Yes… Yuni was my dearest friend.”

Kayo:
“I guess you know that vampires caused her death.”

Mary:
“Yes.”

Kayo:
“Mary… are you angry with us now?”

Mary:
“No.”

Kayo, surprised:
“No? But…”

Mary:
“What’s the point of hate? I can’t bring back my friend by hating you. Even if I wanted revenge, I couldn’t. There are too many of you, and it’s impossible to kill you all. Even if I killed one, you would continue to feed and kill others. I have to think clearly and logically.”

Kayo:
“Maybe you’re right… but if anyone finds out you’re in contact with a vampire, they’ll kill you. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you because of me, Mary.”

Mary:
“Don’t worry, Kayo. I won’t let that happen. I’ll find a solution to all this.”

Kayo:
“A solution? What?”

Mary:
“Since your only food is human blood, and you can’t get it any other way, if I can find an alternative that has the same benefits for you…”

Kayo, surprised:
“Finding something to replace blood won’t be easy.”

Mary:
“I know… but I don’t want things to stay like this. I’m afraid of losing anyone else. So this is the only way. I’ll do a lot of research. Since my father is a chemist, he will help me a lot.”

Kayo, smiling:
“You’re truly amazing. I hope you do everything you can to find this alternative that will save humanity.”

Mary:
“Yes, I will do my best.”

Kayo:
“But Mary, your friend Yuni wasn’t just killed for her blood… she was murdered. I expected you’d be angry about that.”

Mary:
“True… Yuni was killed by that man, Hijika, right?”

Kayo, angrily:
“I know. That scoundrel tried to kill you first and ended up killing your friend. He’s merciless and cruel.”

Mary:
“It’s okay, Kayo. I’ll deal with him myself. Do you know him?”

Kayo, annoyed:
“Yes. He’s my relative… but I’m not proud of that.”

Mary:
“Your relative?!”

Kayo:
“Yes… but I’ll make him regret it. I promise.”

Mary:
“No, Kayo. Don’t do anything bad to him. I don’t want problems between us.”

Kayo:
“Okay, but he’s a filthy person.”

Mary, sadly:
“Yes… he killed my friend, and it’s my fault too.”

Kayo:
“No, Mary. It’s my fault. I refused to stop communicating with you. He warned me a lot, and I thought if he wanted revenge, he’d come after you. So I worked hard to protect you. I didn’t expect him to kill Yuni too. Also, killing a girl under eighteen is forbidden by our laws—except for necessity and blood shortage. So I’ll take care of him. I’ll make him regret it a lot.”

Mary:
“Please, Kayo… don’t hurt him. Remember, he’s your relative, and a lot of trouble could arise between you.”

Kayo:
“Don’t worry, Mary. I won’t kill him.”

Mary:
“I hope so, Kayo.”

After a moment of silence, Mary asked:
“Kayo… why do you trust me?”

Kayo:
“In what sense?”

Mary:
“You knew Yuni was killed because of you… Weren’t you afraid I’d bring the police and they’d catch you?”

Kayo, laughing:
“Because I was sure your heart wouldn’t let you do that.”

Mary:
“So you know my weak spot.”

Kayo:
“No, that’s not a weakness. If it weren’t for your kind heart, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. Your reckless acts made me trust you.”

Mary:
“Hmm… you’re kind-hearted too.”

Kayo:
“No, I’m a harsh person… but maybe I seem kind to you.”

Mary:
“You’re right… you were very harsh to me when I worked as your maid.”

Kayo:
“Yes… do you remember our talk about kindness that day?”

Mary:
“Of course.”

Kayo:
“I said that even kind people might be harsh sometimes. That was a mistake. But you said that harsh people might weaken someday. That was true. You made me weak with your kindness. You’re the only one I could connect with this way… even though Sui and I tried to avoid friendships at school so no one would know our secret. But with you, Mary, I couldn’t resist. I’ll always protect you.”

Mary looked at Kayo, blushing and smiling:
“Kayo… you and Sui are kind people. I never imagined you were vampires because of your kind acts towards me.”

Kayo:
“You’re right, but we do bad things to others.”

Then Kayo said:
“Mary, I want to tell you something.”

Mary:
“What is it?”

Kayo:
“We… we will leave the city in two days.”

Mary stood up, surprised:
“What?”

Kayo:
“Yes, Mary. We’re going back to our homeland. The situation here is too dangerous for us. Staying means more deaths among us.”

Mary:
“But if you have a homeland, why did you come to this city?”

Kayo:
“Because our homeland is far from people. It lacks food and is hard to live in. But if we stay here, our situation will worsen.”

Mary’s eyes filled with tears:
“So you won’t… I won’t see you again.”

Kayo moved closer and said:
“You have to find an alternative to human blood so we can return to the homeland and live with you.”

Mary placed her hand on her heart:
“I promise, Kayo, I’ll find an alternative as soon as possible. I promise.”

Kayo (placing his hand on her head):
“I’m sure you will, Mary.”

Mary began to cry:
“Yes… I hope so.”

Kayo:
“Don’t worry, Mary. I’ll visit you whenever I can. Take care of yourself.”

Mary, sadly:
“Yes, Kayo… and you take care too.”

Kayo:
“Now, I have to go… Goodbye. Don’t be late getting home.”

Mary, sadly:
“Okay, don’t worry… goodbye… K…a…y…o.”

Mary kept watching Kayo’s footsteps fading away…

Then Kayo stopped, smiled, and said:
“Do you know, Mary? I hate leaving.”

Mary looked at him, crying, and ran to him, hugging him:
“Me too… Kayo.”

---

Meanwhile, watching them from afar were Hijika and Sui.

Sui: “You made a mistake killing your friend Yuni.”

Hijika: “It doesn’t matter now. She’s dead. That’s it.”

Sui: “I know. But killing her was pointless and put you in big trouble. It seems Mary and Kayo won’t stop communicating no matter what you do.”

Hijika: “I know… damn that fool Kayo.”

Sui: “We have to hide this from others, especially Kayo’s father and yours, Hijika. You both broke the rules.”

Hijika: “Because of Kayo’s stupidity, we’re in danger.”

They both fell silent, thinking.

Hijika, mockingly:
“A relationship… between a human and a vampire… what a joke.”

Hijika and Sui left, and Kayo also left, leaving Mary wiping her tears.

She felt she might lose another dear person but promised Kayo she’d do her best to save everyone and find an alternative to human blood for vampires to feed on.

---

Days passed. All vampires left the city, returning to their homeland.

Kayo hoped Mary would find the solution to replace human blood.

Hijika’s attempts to make Mary hate vampires failed—her kind heart made her think positively and fairly.

After a month, the police confirmed no vampires remained in the city, no more deaths or anemia cases occurred, and life returned to normal.

Mary returned to school but was sad her friend Yuni was no longer there to share the joy of a city free from vampire terror.

She kept Kayo’s secret from everyone.

---

One day, Sarina approached Mary:

Sarina: “Hi, Mary.”

Mary: “Hi, Sarina.”

Sarina: “I heard about your close friend Yuni’s death and I was very sad.”

Mary: “Yes… she was my best friend.”

Sarina, bitter and angry:
“Damn vampires… they’re the cause of all our troubles.”

Mary stayed silent, still feeling kindness toward vampires.

Sarina extended her hand:
“I hope you’ll accept my friendship, Mary, and we start a new school life.”

Mary smiled:
“Gladly… I hope so too.”

---

At school, many girls were sad, some crying.

Mary asked, surprised:
“What’s wrong with the girls? Why are they so sad?”

Sarina: “It seems the young man named Kayo left the city. They’re upset about that.”

Mary sighed:
“That’s really sad.”

Sarina: “Yes… and many others left because of those vampires.”

Mary nodded:
“Yes.”

Mary thought to herself:

I think Kayo leaving school is truly sad… but his absence means more safety for the city, the girls, and everyone.

---

The End