Chapter 42: Holding Her Hand Tight

Part One

In the stairwell, Cola and Liuli squeeze in front of a window that barely opens halfway.
For an adult man, the space would be cramped, but for two petite girls, it’s just enough to slip through.
Still, squeezing out carries some mental pressure.
Below lies the city, streets tiny like a model. If Liuli fell, she’d shatter like glass.

“Mm… this should work. I’ll go out first and catch you from below.”

“Eh?! I-Is that okay?”

“Should be fine, right?”

“No ‘should’!”

“I’ll fly out and test it.”
Cola closes her eyes, picturing her magic circuit. She bites her fingertip with sharp canines, drawing blood infused with magic.
The blood and magic blend, gathering at her shoulder blades, forming a pair of small, adorable crimson wings.

Cola coughs.
“Don’t let their size fool you—they’ll get us airborne.”

“So cute… cool and cute!”

“That’s not exactly a compliment…”
Cola’s lips twitch. She carefully climbs onto the sill, nervously scanning the stairwell to ensure no one’s coming, then inch by inch squeezes through the narrow gap.

“Whoa!”
Stepping out, her foot misses, and she plummets, startling Liuli pale.
But the next second, Cola swoops back up, her tiny wings flapping, a faint red magic aura wrapping her body.

“You scared me…”
Liuli’s voice rasps, shaken.
“Thought you fell…”

“Haha, no worries, just didn’t react fast enough.”
Cola extends a pale arm to Liuli, still in the stairwell.
“Come on, Liuli, out you go.”

“Huff… huff—”
Liuli takes deep breaths, nodding firmly.
“Mm!”

She grabs Cola’s hand, swiftly climbs onto the sill, and slips through the gap in two quick steps—faster than Cola.
Without hesitation, she steps into the air, her body weightless.
Cola sways, tugging her up with effort.
“Bit heavier than I thought…”

“Eh? I weighed myself this morning, I didn’t gain…”

“Meant I need more magic than expected—anyway, you came out so fast! Thought you’d hesitate forever.”

“With you here, I’m not scared of falling.”

“You trust me that much?”

“Eh? Why wouldn’t I?”

“Uh… cough, never mind.”
Cola clears her throat, her wings flapping faster, lifting them slowly higher, past the building’s roof.

“S-So high! Never thought I’d fly this high!”
Liuli’s eyes widen with excitement.
“But… won’t people below see us?”

“Relax, we’ve got a perception barrier. To normal people, we’re just an unremarkable cloud.”

“So, no one below can see what we do up here?”

“Theoretically, yeah.”

“Eh—can we do anything?”

“Pretty much.”

“Could we shower naked in the rain up here?”

“What’s in that head of yours?!”

“Just sounds fun! Does the barrier work on the ground?”

“It can, but a floating cloud on the ground would look weird, right?”

“True…”
Liuli nods, still buzzing with excitement.
“Can we fly faster?”

“Sure, but too fast, and it’ll stand out.”

“—A really fast cloud?”

“Exactly.”

“Then let’s fly slow! The city’s getting so small.”

“Wanna go higher?”

“Can we?”

“Yup, but it might get hard to breathe.”

“T-Then just a bit higher! Touching the clouds would be awesome!”

“Those are just wet, dusty clumps. You’d cough like crazy—not as fun as you think.”

“Sounds more fun!”

“Really…”

“Cola! Is that an eagle?”

“Looks like it.”

“It’s circling—i-it’s looking at us!”

“Probably wondering why this cloud keeps floating up.”
Cola chuckles.

“The sunset’s so close… like it’s fake.”

“Fake?”

“Like… a big stage light? And the buildings look more like models now.”

“Yeah, tinier and tinier. Alright, this is high enough. Try touching the clouds.”

“Mm!!”
Liuli reaches into the clouds.
“Thin, cool… such a weird texture!”

“As a kid, I thought clouds were solid, like you could sleep on them. Learning about clouds in school was kinda disappointing.”

“No heaven in the clouds, but vampires on the ground!”

“Supernatural stuff exists, just hidden from most people.”

“Cola-san! I—I wanna fly on my own…”

“By yourself? I’ll teach you, but stop before your magic runs out.”

“Mm!”

“First, bite your finger… it’ll hurt.”

“No problem!”

“Whoa, so decisive!”

“It’s basic vampire stuff, right?”

“Then, like before, picture your magic circuit, draw out magic, shape wings—yes, like that. You’ll feel an invisible ‘force’ holding you up—”

“I-I feel something under me! Different from before!”

“That’s it. I’m gonna let go slowly. Keep channeling magic into the wings, got it?”

“Mm!”

“Okay, bit by bit, that’s it… I’m letting go!”

“Ugh!!”
Liuli closes her eyes, but realizing she’s not falling, she opens them wide in delight.
“I-I’m flying!”

“That’s it, you’re flying! I’ve cast the perception barrier for you to save some magic. Try flying around.”

“Can I fly any way I want?”

“Theoretically, yeah.”

“So cool—!”
Liuli tucks her fingers, arms tight against her thighs, and shoots forward like a bullet.
“So fast! Super fast!!”

“Having fun, huh… Don’t overdo it!”

“I’m flying, really flying—”
Liuli loops back in a swift arc.
“I used to think you could only fly to the sky after dying…”

“Souls probably wouldn’t get far before fading.”

“Are there really souls in this world?”

“Yeah… but they’re just energy blobs, not like how you looked alive.”

“I see…”
Liuli nods thoughtfully, then excitedly flaps her orange wings.
“Can I fly home at top speed before my magic runs out?”

“Probably? Give it a shot.”

“Mm!”

Liuli darts off like an arrow, Cola close behind.
Maybe it’s Liuli’s excitement, but Cola feels free, like a breeze sweeping through the city.
Good thing they’re in Japan. Back in %%, security cameras would’ve caught them jumping out the window.
In her old city, with skyscrapers everywhere, flying wouldn’t be as fun—one slip, and you’d crash into someone’s window…

“Yah—!!”

A scream snaps Cola back to reality.
Not far off, Liuli’s wings dissolve into glowing particles, her body plummeting fast.

“Hey—!”
Cola’s faster, grabbing Liuli’s hand before she hits a mall, using her magic to lift them back up.

“Wah!”

“It’s fine, I got you.”

“I-I knew you’d catch me! B-But… still a bit scary…”

“Haha, tired of playing? Wanna head down? Oh, we’re near BOOKOFF.”

“Close to home, huh.”

“Yeah, let’s see—how about landing in my building’s hallway? No one’ll see.”

“Mm…”

“What, not done yet?”

“Eh? Um… a little…”

“Didn’t peg you for a thrill-seeker.”
Cola smacks her lips.
“Fine, one more loop. You owe me a cola later—none of that sugar-free stuff!”

“Mm-hmm!!”

Cola takes Liuli soaring again through the orange-tinted sunset sky.

“Pfft…”

“Hm? What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, just… super happy!”

“Yeah?”

“Mm, these past few days, so many wishes came true. It’s like a dream…”
Liuli grips Cola’s hand tighter, tilting her head to see her pale profile.
“I’m scared I’ll wake up one day, and it’s all a dream—I’m still wearing glasses, my eyesight’s getting worse, I can’t fly, I’m not a vampire, and there’s no girl named Cola in Tongmeng Apartments…”

Cola squeezes her hand.
“Relax, this isn’t a dream. This is real, what you’ve got right now.”

“So lucky… almost too lucky, like I don’t deserve it.”

“You deserve it. I say so, so you do.”

“T-Then I… deserve…”

“What?”
Cola turns, puzzled.

Meeting Cola’s gem-like red eyes, Liuli shakes her head hard, forcing a reassuring smile.
“Nothing~”

“Don’t leave sentences half-finished. What were you gonna say?”

“J-Just… um… what was it… Oh, right—I was gonna say… c-can I deserve to eat dinner with you?”

“Duh, what’s with the ‘deserve’? That question’s what’s annoying.”

“S-Sorry!”

“Friends don’t apologize so easily.”

“T-Then…”
Liuli suddenly hugs Cola’s arm, pressing her soft frame against it.
“P-Punish me, Cola-san!”

“Fine, your punishment’s being extra cheerful at work later.”

“Eh, that’s the punishment?!”

“What else? Spank you?”

“I-I’d be okay with that…”

“…Huh?!”