“Meaning?”
“Like you said, I’m not one of those mindless monsters. Sometimes I think it’s a disease and I need a cure. Sometimes I think it’s just evolution. Human food is tasteless to me, and the sun saps my energy, but I’ve retained most of what you’d call my humanity—my thoughts, feelings... I’m aging every day, but it’s slow, so I look the same.” Yuki made a face. “Maybe I’ll be stuck looking nineteen for a long time. I heal faster, and I’m stronger, my senses better attuned to my surroundings. Take away the aging thing and the inability to taste food, it’s kind of like being an Exorcist, don’t you think?”
Yiran recoiled. “We’re different—”
“Are we?” Yuki said bluntly.
“Yes, we—”
“What you mean is you’rebetterthan me because you think you picked the right side.”
“That’s because Idid.”
“We’re only trying to survive, like all other living organisms,” Yuki argued. “What makes it wrong? Aren’t you doing the same? Aren’t you training to survive? It’s the law of nature—eat or be eaten.”
“It’s not the same,” Yiran said.
Defiance flashed in Yuki’s eyes. “How is it different? Tell me.”
“First of all, we’re not trying toeatpeople—your kind kills them. We save them—”
“Why do you care about the normies?”
“I—what?” Yiran was confused by the question. It was a simple one, but he was struggling to find a good answer.
“I was a normie once,” Yuki said. “I know how they can be. Ungratefulcreatures. They fear what they don’t understand. They’re weak. They require protection from the strong, from Exorcists. But somehow, they think they’re superior, they think they’re better because there are more of them and that’s what makes themnormal. Why are they worthy of saving? Shouldn’t they bow to superior beings like us?”
Freaks.The normie man from the karaoke club had called Yiran and Zizi and Rui that. He’d even suggestedfeedingthose with high spiritual energy to the Revenants, as if they were lesser beings undeserving of life and dignity. Yiran recalled the shock and rage that had pulsed through him when he heard the man’s words. Was that Yuki’s point? The man was dead now. Good riddance—no.
No.
Yiran was appalled by his own thoughts. He couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t save people unequally. He couldn’t decide who was worthy and who was not. He had no right. He couldn’t be like that man. He shook his head. This was ridiculous—the entire conversation, him sitting here next to Yuki—Yiran pushed himself off the couch.
“I should get some sleep.”
Yuki got up too. “Got an early day tomorrow? The Guild planning something?”
“I’m not telling you anything. You’re my enemy.”
Yuki blinked. “I know.”
And then he moved closer.
Yiran felt the chill of Yuki’s lips before his brain could register what was happening. His body reacted, leaning into the kiss, his hand instinctively reaching for the small of Yuki’s back.
He had kissed before, and been kissed, but this was different. It should’ve felt wrong. Should have been foul and monstrous. Should have made him sick.
But he wanted it, and it scared him.
Yiran pulled away, breathing heavily as he raked a shaky hand through his hair. He could feel the flush of his own cheeks while Yuki’s remainedpale and cold. There was a frenzied look in the Hybrid’s eyes. Yiran wondered if it meant he washungry. If he was using Yiran to test his resolve.
“I should have asked,” Yuki said. “But I was afraid you’d say no and it would make me sad. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”
The wind picked up, ruffling his hair and billowy shirt. Something stirred in Yiran. He wasn’t looking at some monster, he was looking at a boy drowning in a white ocean, waiting for someone to save him.
Yuki stepped backward to the edge of the roof, his gaze never leaving Yiran’s face as if he was committing it to memory.
“Why did you come here?” Yiran asked, unsure if he wanted to know the real answer.
