It was a stormy Friday night. Mikimaro was awaken by a strange noise at the window. He looked up and saw a small, shadowy figure with larger wings outside. Then the figure spread its wings and disappeared into the night. Mikimaro jumped out of his bed to wake his roommate who was asleep in the next bed.

“Katou-kun! Katou-kun, wake up!” Mikimaro said to him. But Yuusuke wouldn’t move. Mikimaro looked at him angrily and pulled Yuusuke’s pillow out from under him. When that didn’t work, Mikimaro held the pillow over Yuusuke’s face for several minutes. When he finally woke up, he pushed Mikimaro on the floor.

“Are you trying to kill me?!” he yelled.

“Nakamoto was right,” Mikimaro said. “It does take longer for oxygen to reach your brain.”

“What do you want? Why’d you wake me?”

“I saw something strange at the window,” he said. “What if it was a vampire?”

“A vampire? Oh, I knew you shouldn’t’ve watched that movie yesterday. I told you that you’d get scared,” Yuusuke said, lying back down. “It was probably a dream.”

Mikimaro climbed back into bed, but he didn’t go to sleep.

The next day, the boys and Yuusuke’s sisters all met up at Shou’s house. Shou didn’t stay there during the week, but his family did. And his sister was already waiting there for them.

“Hi everyone,” she said cheerfully as they all walked in.

“Are you the only one here?” Shou asked her.

“For now,” she said. “Boy, Miki, you don’t look so good. Didn’t you get any sleep last night?”

Mikimaro sank down onto the couch. “No,” he said. “I stayed up all night, looking out for the vampire.”

“What vampire?” Satsuki asked, sitting down next to him.

“You see?” Takagi said. “We told you not to watch that movie the other day!”

“The one at my window last night,” Mikimaro said, ignoring Takagi.

“Cool!” Satsuki said.

“It’s not cool,” Mikimaro said. “What if he sneaks in my room at night and drinks all my blood?!”

“Miki, if there was a vampire after you, it wouldn’t be a he it would be a she. Boy vampires only come after girls; and vice versa,” Kei said.

“And if there was a vampire after you, don’t you think she would’ve followed you here?” Mariko added.

“Duh, Mariko,” Yuusuke said. “Vampires only come out at night and it’s the afternoon. Use your head a bit, would ya?” Mariko glared at him.

“Anyway,” Shou said, “even if you did see a vampire, she couldn’t come after you, Shimura. You don’t measure up to her standards.”

“What standards?” Mikimaro asked.

“Well, you have to be at least eighteen years old.”

“Oh.”

“And there’s something else...,” Shou blushed.

“What is it?” Mikimaro asked.

“Well...you have to be..a virgin,” Shou said, blushing.

“What, you couldn’t say virgin?” Tougo said.

“Well , it is related to one of the more inappropriate subjects we could discuss,” Shou said. Tougo rolled his eyes.

“Either case rules you out, Miki,” Satsuki said. Mikimaro glared at her.

“How do you know this was a vampire you saw and that she’s not after Katou-kun?” Takagi said.

“Huh, what?” Yuusuke said.

“It had wings and it was black. And she was gone when Katou-kun woke up,” Mikimaro replied.

“Then it might’ve been a bat,” Mariko said.

“Yeah, a vampire bat!” Satsuki said.

“Ooh, I know!” Kei said, running to her room. She came back, holding a blue and white rosary. “Vampires hate crosses. Although I don’t think it was a vampire you saw, it’ll make you feel safer. She handed it to Mikimaro.

“Thank you, Kei, but don’t you think you’ll need it?” he asked. Shou laughed.

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?!” Kei said, angrily.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that!” Mikimaro said, nervously.

“Then what did you mean?!” Kei yelled.

“Umm..well---,” Mikimaro started.

“C’mon, let’s do something,” Satsuki said, “It’s boring here.”

On Sunday, Mikimaro had forgotten all about the vampire. He didn’t see her at his window and he felt safe with Kei’s rosary with him at night. But when Monday night came, and the boys were back in school, Mikimaro saw the dark figure at his window again. Mikimaro got up quietly with Kei’s rosary and shook Yuusuke.

“Katou-kun, look!” Mikimaro said. Yuusuke woke suddenly and saw the figure at the window.

“That’s it; I’m gonna catch her!” Yuusuke said, grabbing a pillowcase.

“No don’t!” Mikimaro put Kei’s rosary around Yuusuke’s neck. “There, now do it.” Yuusuke walked slowly to the window. He opened it carefully and just as the figure realized what hit her, Yuusuke snatched her up in the pillowcase.

“I got her!” he yelled.

A few seconds later, Tougo and Shou’s door burst open and woke the two boys from their sleep. Shou picked up his glasses from under his covers and saw Yuusuke holding a moving pillowcase standing next to Mikimaro. Tougo looked at them angrily.

“What do you want?” he said, very aggravated.

“We caught her! We caught her!” Mikimaro shouted.

“Caught who?” Shou asked.

“The vampire!” Yuusuke and Mikimaro yelled, annoyed.

“Oh, God,” Tougo plopped back down on his bed. Shou got out of his bed and took the pillowcase from Yuusuke. He opened it and reached in.

“Careful, Nakamoto,” Mikimaro said, “don’t let it bite you.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’m not qualified, remember?”

“In either case,” Tougo added. Shou glared at him.

“Ah, I got her,” he said. He pulled the frightened creature out of the pillowcase and examined her. “Um, Shimura? This isn’t a vampire,” he said.

“It’s not?” Mikimaro said.

“No. It isn’t even a vampire bat. It’s a fruit bat.”

“A fruit bat? Well what was she doing at the window?”

“Hmm, follow me.” Shou and the other boys walked across the hall back to Mikimaro and Yuusuke’s room. Shou looked out the open window and saw a hole in the side of the building right above the window. Shou looked in the hole and smiled. “Shimura, look,” he said. Mikimaro walked over to the window, stuck his head out and looked in the hole. He gasped happily.

“Babies!” he said. There were four baby fruit bats in the hole above the window. Shou carefully put the mother fruit bat in the hole with her children. Tougo went to the window and saw them.

“Oh,” he said, “that’s why she’s here. And look! There’s a cherry tree right outside your window, Mikimaro.”

“Lemme see!” Yuusuke said, pushing Tougo out of the way. “Aww, how cute.”

“Now, you see, Shimura? It was just a mother fruit bat,” Shou said.

“I’m sorry,” Mikimaro said.

“No more vampire movies for you,” Tougo said.

Mikimaro laughed. “Alright.” Then, he took the rosary from Yuusuke’s neck and handed it to Shou. “Here, Nakamoto. Give this to your sister and tell her I said thank you. I really think she needs it more than I do.”

Shou laughed. “So do I,” he said.

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