Ren Enomoto might just be the world's most vampire-like human.

Thanks to his albinism, he has always been incredibly pale. He has also been averse to performing in sunlight since the day he entered the public eye, and he carries around a parasol. Amusingly, he even happens to have sharper-than-average canines, and people often speculate about a Blood Talent— the biggest rumor is that his music charms people and keeps him safe through raw charisma.

However, theorists are left bewildered. He has no bite scar on his neck, and his parents and sister look like incredibly normal human beings. So... he can't have been turned, and he can't have been born a vampire. Does he cover a scar with makeup?

Most vampires who have come into contact with him know that he's a human, just as he's always claimed to be. He smells human, and there's no denying that. Even so, there's some confusion. Could his Blood Talent actually be to mask his scent, so as to protect him from territorial vampires? It would be unconventional, but possible. Vampires who are positive he's human sometimes even play around and troll the less certain, keeping every rumor alive and even adding more. Ren Enomoto is a cultural phenomenon.

And he adores it. He doesn't even have to do anything! He's been telling the truth from the start, but people just won't believe it! His music is what he really cares about, but he's smart enough to admit to himself that he's an attention whore. He lives for this shit.

The young woman takes a deep breath. This part will take nerve. But she digs his music and she was already planning to go to this coffee shop without knowing he would be here. She closes her eyes, imagines fog gathering in a marsh, and then... vanishes. She looks at her own hands— gone, just like she expected— and walks across the street, ducking past the line and sneaking her way through the bouncers. Usually, this would be a lot harder to pull off. It may be impossible to see her, but it's very possible to hear, smell, and touch her. The vast amounts of activity keep her secret.

The lights are dim and the air smells like an odd combination of coffee grounds and strawberry hookah. It's not entirely unpleasant. She does very briefly worry whether it'll make it hard for him to sing, but the people smoking are pretty far from where he's set up, so she decides he'll probably be fine. She takes a seat pretty far from the action, near a corner; nobody wants that seat, nobody will bother her here.

Glow sticks get passed along, which is to be expected. They're distributed at basically every Ren concert no matter how small and insignificant. She doesn't take one. There's no point; it would just disappear along with her. He takes his acoustic guitar out of its case. That's the only one he has, which makes her smile to herself. She's all for rock music, but his softer stuff has always been her favorite.

"Hey, everyone. I know I'm the Glowing Guitarist, but you guys shine like the stars. I'd happily gaze at you all night." She smirks; he'd have a hard time doing that with her. His flirtations are far from surprising. But they're just as cheesy as always. "Now, let's get into it. I'm gonna start with one called 'Lyra.'"

"Lyra" is an interesting piece. There's no lyrics, and the recording doesn't even include a backing track. It's all guitar, and it's complicated. Lyra the Harp is a constellation, so the melody mimics the swift speed of a harpist, gentle and dexterous. It's the type of melody that could lull you to sleep. Nari rests her chin on her fist, winding down. Today was hectic.

"Neon Dream" is next. It's a song about waking up in a paradise world. His voice aches with a longing so thick that it's almost tangible. He's a good actor, Nari thinks to herself, but then pauses to wonder. Maybe there really is something he craves so badly that it's killing him. Celebrities are people, too.

While she ponders this, a late arrival starts heading toward one of the only open seats. Except, it's not truly open. Nari only notices when it's too late to get by without bumping into them, and she startles so quickly that she falls out of the chair and onto the floor with a very conspicuous THUMP. She internally screams obscenities as she rushes on her hands and knees into the very corner of the building. People look around in confusion but don't investigate further, to her great relief.

But then, as if to make things worse, she catches a glance at someone she knows. It's Rika, her younger sibling. I need to run, I need to get out of here. But the doors are shut, and for her to escape, she would need to open it. It's not windy enough for that to make sense without it being obvious someone is there. She decides to stick it out. After all, it's not as though Rika knows her blood talent.

The rest of the concert is lovely, but she frets all throughout it. Eventually, when he packs up to go, people filter out. Nari waits until nearly everyone is gone. But then she feels a hand on her back, and she gasps before she can stop it.

"Hi there! I've been wondering whether something like this was happening for a while now. Don't worry, I'm not gonna report you to security or make you pay for any of the shows you've snuck into." She turns to face him, which seems to startle him a little. It's the guitarist himself, who seems to be trying to find her eyes.

With a sigh, she unmasks. "How could you tell?"

He stares at her for a few moments before shaking his head to snap himself out of it. She's gorgeous. "You're good. You try to avoid moving unless someone else is already making footsteps. But you're not always in-sync with whoever you're following, so I hear them."

"Good ear. What do you want?" Her fierce tone, mingling with admiration, makes him nearly shiver with excitement, but he manages to stay steady.

He winks. "Maybe to take you out for a bite? Or a drink?"

She rolls her eyes but doesn't leave. "That one's super corny. But hey. If you pay..."

He laughs. "Sure. I asked you after all."

She purses her lips. "Oh shit. I can't deal with paparazzi dogpiling me about being Ren Enomoto's date."

"I'm prepared!" He grabs a backpack and rifles through it, pulling out a red wig, sunglasses, and a different, less neon-y outfit.

"Ha. Nice."

"What's your name? Sorry, I got really ahead of myself. But hey, if I'm getting a rare sight, I want to make sure I cherish it."

"I'm Nari. Nari Igarashi."

"Very cute! Your necklace is incredibly eye-catching, by the way." She hastily takes it off. "Wha— Hey! What's that about?"

"I hate attention. Hence why my Blood talent— Out of Sight— makes me invisible."

He tucks the incredibly unusual red wig onto his head and grins. "I'll take enough for the both of us then." He offers his fist, and she humors him by bumping it.

"I know a place. Follow." Her long strides, elegant and purposeful, make him feel like a bit of a fool, in a fun way. It's like he's chasing after her, which, in a way, he has been for a couple months. The soft breeze rustles the shrubbery and also her long hair. It's a shame that she doesn't like attention; it must be hard to avoid it considering she's tall, and thin, and stylish. Ren slaps himself on the cheek a couple of times. Attraction is making him stupid, he needs to slow the fuck down.

She leads him to a little hole in the wall type of place that you'd walk right past if you weren't looking for it. For the briefest moment, he feels like he's in danger, but that only builds his curiosity even more. He might be a glutton for punishment. "You're not taking me to get drained, are you?"

A strangely seductive tone comes into her voice that hadn't been there before. "Not unless you want that." Instead, it's a cozy little speakeasy-type bar. It's warm inside, and smells a little bit like incense. "What do you want to drink?"

"Do they have milk here?"

"You came to a bar for milk?"

"Warm strawberry milk sake."

"Ohhhhhh, okay. Yeah, I think so." She wanders to the bartender and orders for the both of them, getting herself an umeshu on the rocks. He pays. The bartender notes the name on the card, but only smiles wryly instead of making a fuss. People stare at him, but largely ignore her, which she nearly snorts at. He certainly is a bit of a good luck charm.

They sit down in a small booth after receiving their drinks. He sips on it contentedly. He looks a bit sleepy. They share the basics about themselves: her job as a weather forecaster (no, not on TV, she would die of stagefright), their hobbies (drawing, painting, and aromatherapy for him, all things outdoorsy and some music mixing for her), where they're from. Eventually, the conversation swings around to family, which is a semi-sensitive subject for the both of them. In the process, Nari takes charge and gets them each another drink.

"I can't believe your parents tried to peer pressure literally all nine of you into being actors! That's honestly kind of ridiculous. They're trying to live vicariously through you."

"Yep, that's how it goes with them. You ever worry that your parents are the same way?"

"Not at all. My mom helps manage a lot of the business side of things, but I had to do a lot of talking to convince her to let me turn this into a career and not just a thing I did on the internet. Like I said earlier, my dad is a painter, so he travels a lot."

"Wish my parents were like that. Traveling is great!"

"I don't... do it often. But I enjoy it, when I can. Anyway. Your siblings are okay, though?"

"Mostly. My older siblings bought into what my parents were selling them, but they're a lot more sympathetic to my plight. The littles are great. I, uh, haven't seen them in a while though."

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh, um, yeah! Totally fine!" She has that look in her eye like she wants to say something, so he waits for her with a curious, nonjudgmental expression. "It's just, uh, they don't know I got turned yet, and I don't feel ready to face that."

His eyes widen. "Oh wow. I kind of just assumed you were born a vampire."

"The story is really stupid."

"You don't need to downplay it if it's a big deal."

"No, like, seriously, it's so dumb. I was dating a guy, and he got turned midway through our relationship. So like... he was a BRAND new vampire. But like, not like that was a turn-off or anything worth dumping him for. We were kissing, and I bit his neck, and he bit me back before either of us could remember how bad of an idea it was. We were both kinda drunk. It was visceral and weird. Practically enough to sober me up."

He laughs softly. It's a nice sound, she thinks. "Promise you won't do that with me?" he asks, only the tiniest bit seriously.

"Ha. Neck nibbling certainly isn't the only thing I can do, so we'll take that off the table. And you're honestly not even a good candidate for draining. You're lacking in Vitamin D, which vampires need a lot of anyway. You're not nutritious. Though, if that's the shit you're into, I could treat your blood like junk food."

"To be determined. But I don't think that's first date material."

"Fair." She likes the sparkle he gets in his eyes when he discusses his passions, and he's overall been very considerate of her. He's paid for her drinks, even though she's technically been scamming him for a while. He's less of a teenage-dream caricature, more of an actual adult who's been through a lot.

"Thanks for being so open to telling me about yourself. I was a little worried that I'd just come off as an overeager lunatic, but I'm having a lot of fun."

She laughs. "Imagine that, the celebrity being the one who thinks he's being desperate. I guess we're both mere mortals."

"Damn, I wanted to live forever." He snaps his fingers in feigned disappointment, which makes both of them crack up. "It's getting a bit late. Would you like me to take you home?"

"You tired? There's one more place I could show you, if you're up for it." He accepts her offer by means of extending his hand, which she takes. They leave together, and she guides him once again to what looks to be a bakery. "Tada! This place makes goods primarily for vampires! But don't worry, there's stuff for you, too. I know that desserts aren't good for when you've been drinking, but some pancakes should be fine! Besides, we each only had two.

"This place is really cute! It's like I stepped into a world of sweets!"

"About that..."

"Hello, Nari! And hello, darling, I don't think I've seen you in here before! I'm Munchy, a baker from the dimension Sugar Rush! I hail from Junkfood Junction."

"Holy shit, a roleplay bakery?! This is awesome!"

"We have the best treats for vampires! Blood and blood substitutes, so that you can get your fill without having to sit all awkwardly while draining people."

Nari clears her throat, trying desperately not to cackle. "Munchy, he's a human, just like you."

She goes bright red. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry for assuming! It's just, most of my clientele are vampires, and you're with someone I've previously served, so—"

"Don't even worry about it! I'm used to it, trust me! But, uh, how do you make food for vampires without being one yourself?"

"Lots of taste testers, dear. Many friends have helped me refine my recipes. When I first stepped through the portal to your realm—"

"Translation: when she moved to this country..."

"I grew close to many vampires, who helped me create this bakery due to the market being niche. Now, what can I get you all?"

They order and talk for another hour, to their astonishment, and then he drives her home. The evening ends with a surprisingly chaste kiss and an eager exchange of numbers. Ren couldn't believe his luck!