Chase her down!!!!!
Chase her down!!!!!
“-------”
I can’t leave her alone.
Before I lose sight of her, I run off in the direction that Satsuki ran in.
*huff*
*huff*
*huff*
It’s useless. I’m going as fast as my body can allow, which is quite fast, but Satsuki is just that much quicker.
It isn’t long at all before I completely lose sight of her, right as we’re reentering the shopping district.
----Well, I don’t know what she’s planning, but I guess I might as well just start searching around this district, on the off chance that I’ll find her.
It’s not like I really have anything better to do.
I search.
And search.
And search.
Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit after doing the same sort of thing for the third night in a row, but I search for over an hour without success.
“-----Maybe she already went back.”
At this point, it seems that further searching will be pointless, so I should probably just go back to the garage.
Even if she isn’t there, I can just wait until she gets back, and ask what she was doing------
“-------!?”
From behind a building, I hear a noise, like the sound of something striking the ground.
I think, it came from the back alley.
“--------”
This seems really similar to what happened two nights ago------
So, I should probably just go check what it was.
The situation is remarkably similar to the one two nights ago.
Looking around, I slowly realize that I’m even in the same spot.
Everything is just as it was----- The time is after midnight, and the sound came only once.
The location is the same, and the night air is just as still as it was back then.
Still, there is one major difference.
That difference is me.
I am the me that I am now, not the me that I was back then.
My thoughts are different, and there is no fear.
Even my body is different than it was back then.
I still have my knife on me, and I still have my “eyes----” But, I doubt that I’ll need either of those.
I head into the back alley.
Again, it seems the noise came from the open area at the end of the alley.
Without any hesitation, I step out into that open space.
“-----------”
Again, the alley is coated in red.
That color that I hate so much, covers everything.
Red drapes down the walls, and runs across the ground.
Tatters of human flesh lay across the ground, and not a single one of the bodies laying down are in any less then three pieces.
And in the middle of it all, Yumizuka Satsuki stands, bright blood dripping from her claws.
“Shiki---- kun----”
She calls my name, but I barely hear it.
Until this moment, I was eerily calm, but that feeling has completely faded away.
My palms are wet with sweat, and my mind is racing with more thoughts than I can comprehend.
My spine lashes violently out at my back, thrashing around in anticipation.
My sweaty palms feel steel, and I reach slowly for my glasses-----
But then, I see her.
Someone who looks strangely familiar, with flowing black robes and high-laced boots.
Recognizing the danger, but not thinking at all, I react on pure impulse.
The only rational thought that enters my mind is to save Satsuki, as well.
I jump forward, falling into a roll with Satsuki underneath me.
Multiple nail-like swords pierce the ground where Satsuki and I just were, as we roll to our feet.
Not wasting any time, I scoop Satsuki into my arms and jump into the shadows of a nearby side alley.
Relying solely on instincts I didn’t know I had, I dodge into several more side alleys, all the while narrowly avoiding the blades being thrown at me, one after the other.
All the while, Satsuki is intelligent enough not to say a word, and to leave everything up to me.
Eventually, I manage to gain on my opponent long enough that she loses track of where we are.
Hiding in the shadows next to a building, I watch her as she lands out in the street, and looks around, apparently trying to pick up my trail again.
------She really does look like Ciel-senpai.
Still holding Satsuki, I stare out at my opponent.
What’s with this awesome pressure?
I can feel that sharp, cold intent to kill emanating from her body as she looks around for us.
I know that if she finds us, she won’t show any mercy.
But, even though my instincts scream at me to run away while I still can, my mind tells me that if possible, I should wait and observe this woman for a while longer.
I------
[ ] I should run while I have the chance.
[ ] I should stay and observe a little longer.
2. I should stay and observe a little longer.
“But, I don’t think she’s a bad person. She helped all those people we drained of blood, out in the park----”
“Not a bad person, Shiki-kun? Don’t be naïve.
If she attacked a vampire, then she’s probably just what society desires. Good and bad don’t factor in as long as the majority thinks it’s right.”
----I can see that Satsuki has done a lot of thinking these past few days.
Her views are mature and thought-through, and she doesn’t hesitate to express them.
Basically, I think she’s become very strong.
“Yeah, you’re right, I guess. I just don’t want to be enemies with anyone I don’t have to be enemies with----”
“But, she attacked you first, right? So, she is already our enemy.”
That’s true. Not my enemy, but our enemy. She is alone, but I have Satsuki with me, so I don’t need to worry too much.
“She was really quick and agile, though, and she carried all our victims like it was nothing.”
“I also carried a fridge like it was nothing, Shiki-kun.”
“That’s true, but----”
“Listen. We’ll just have to be even more careful from now on. If possible, we should avoid any confrontation. But if it becomes necessary, we may need to kill or be killed.
Could you handle that situation, Shiki-kun?”
“------”
I’m not sure if I could.
But, I guess if it came down to killing or dying, my body probably wouldn’t hesitate.
“Yeah, I think I could handle it if things became desperate.”
“--------Alright.”
Saying so, Satsuki’s expression softens.
The glare leaves her face and her usual smile returns, making me feel at ease.
“---If you’re feeling alright now, Shiki-kun, do you wanna talk? It doesn’t have to be about anything important…”
“-----Yeah, that sounds good.”
I think it’ll be fun to just talk about random, unimportant things for a while.
“Ah-----”
I know this feeling.
Suddenly, my head feels light, and my vision starts to swim.
Funny. It’s pretty ironic to be getting anemia after drinking so much blood------
“Are you okay, Shiki-kun?”
“Ah, ha…. Yeah, I think I’ll be okay----
Ugh----”
Satsuki looks at me with a visage of concern spread on her face.
“If you need to rest, just rest, Shiki-kun-----”
I don’t really want to, but it looks like I have no choice.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
It’s disappointing that I won’t be able to speak with Satsuki for a while longer, but I shouldn’t push myself.
If I just lay myself to sleep now, I should feel better when I wake up-----
With that thought, I allow the comforting blackness to claim my consciousness.
I find myself out on the streets, under the bright moonlight.
My body feels remarkably light, tonight---- So, I should hurry and find some suitable people as soon as I can.
I run through the moonlit streets.
It’s unfortunate, but to keep things efficient, I have to dirty my hands again, tonight.
As I run towards the mouth of an alley, I see a young girl walking past it.
Without any hesitation, I tackle the girl into the alley and slice open her throat.
Putting my lips to that bright, red, bloody neck, I drink in the sweet nectar of her spilled life.
I can’t stay out too long.
Sunrise is coming, and I know it isn’t safe to be wandering these streets carelessly.
So, I pick up the girl and begin running through the moonlit streets once more.
It is then that I notice something interesting.
Changing my direction, I return to my “lair.”
Within the recesses of the parking garage, I drink some more of the young girl’s blood, before ruthlessly breaking her body against the concrete.
Sweet red flies all over, covering the ground and nearby wall.
One by one, I take the girl’s organs and crush them with sickening sounds in my iron grip.
I save the heart for last, causing deep crimson to splash across my body.
With my claws, I mutilate every last inch of the girl’s body, leaving her in such a disfigured mess that nobody will ever be able to identify her just by looking.
Not quite satisfied yet, I spread her entrails across the ground like butter.
And, most of all, I enjoy every second of it------
5/Duality of Wills II
5th Day/October 25th (Mon.)
I see an unfamiliar, yet nostalgic, face.
It is the face of someone I don’t know, yet can’t forget.
The face of someone whose fate is inexorably intertwined with mine, yet it is the face of someone with absolutely no relation to me whatsoever.
The face is hard to discern, yet I recognize it immediately.
Those crimson eyes.
Those pointed nails.
That lithe, powerful body.
And that unsurpassed beauty.
Right now, I am certainly dreaming of *******.
I awake from a strange dream.
I can’t quite remember what the dream was about.
But, aren’t most dreams like that?
I feel like the dream was important in some way, but I guess not, since I can’t remember it at all.
-----It was a dream about----- somebody-----
“Guh-----!!”
Suddenly, I clutch my hand to my chest.
-----That’s right. I don’t know if it was the only dream I had last night, but after going to sleep, I vaguely remember------ something-------
Did I bring someone else back here last night?
------My chest hurts.
“So much red------”
That must be what is causing this awesome pain.
That disgusting color I hate, I’ve seen far too much of these past few days.
It seems like red is seeping into my vision, threatening to become the only thing I can see.
But, it’s not the only thing I see.
Because, I can also see the “lines----”
“Glasses-----”
I reach over and quickly put on my glasses.
With that simple action, the headache that was slowly building in my head dissipates.
-----Though the pain in my chest remains, but I don’t move for a while, and that eventually disappears as well.
I look around the room, and see Satsuki sleeping peacefully next to me----
On another futon.
When did she bring another one in? And from where?
Well, at least she’s comfortable.
I can just ask where it came from later.
I can feel that the sun is still high in the sky, so it’s going to be quite a while before I can go out.
Not only that, but I have no idea when Satsuki is going to wake up, either.
Since I have nothing better to do, I decide to wander around the parking garage.
“I wonder if there’s anything interesting around here.”
I slowly stand up and walk off.
“-------”
The first thing I notice is that this parking garage is unnecessarily big.
Sometime, I should check out what building it’s attached to, so maybe I can find out why it’s so huge.
But, that’s pretty low on my list of priorities right now.
There’s just too many other things I have to think about right now.
For example, why do I keep having such messed up dreams?
And, why do I know they’re so messed up when I can usually barely remember them?
The second thing I notice is all the lamps sprinkled throughout the garage.
----Well, obviously I noticed them before, but I’m re-noticing them now.
They lead into the parking garage, and lead to Satsuki’s room, but in a very roundabout and indirect fashion.
Plus, as vampires, both Satsuki and I can see in the dark.
So, I can’t really fathom why the lamps are set up the way they are.
“I guess I should ask Satsuki-chan about that later, too.”
Speaking of Satsuki-chan, that raises another important question.
She’s said before that she likes me, but what is she to me?
That question, I’m not sure of.
I think of her fondly, and I want to help her in any way I can-----
But I don’t know if that means I harbor any special feelings for her.
After all, I would probably do the same for other people if they were in trouble.
-------Or would I?
This isn’t a simple matter of helping someone in need.
I, myself, have had my body changed to that of an inhuman beast.
I can’t, really say, that I would do the same for just anybody.
So, does that mean she is special to me, after all-----?
Well, I guess the more time I spend with her, the better I’ll understand my own feelings.
For now, I should-----
------For now, I stop dead in my tracks.
I can smell it.
The scent of a human corpse, emanating from a little further along into the dark recesses of the garage-----
“I think it’s coming from over here.”
I’m not sure if I should go look, but if it’s just a corpse, it’s not like it can hurt me.
Besides, I’m a vampire now. It’s not like I can’t take care of myself.
And, I still have my knife, along with my eyes.
Trying to withstand the sickening stench, I decide to investigate.
Thump.
As I near the source of the stench, my sense of smell reels in aberration.
My mind screams at me to leave this place as soon as possible, but I ignore it.
Thump.
I start to feel a bit unsteady from the overpowering stench.
I put my sleeve over my nose, but it does little to block the scent from my senses.
Thump.
I’m nearing the source of the smell.
Part of me yells that whatever I am coming across is something I simply shouldn’t see, but I continue on anyway.
Thump.
This is it.
Around this final corner, is the source of this awful stench------
“--------Eh?”
Thu-- mp.
What I find---- is the mangled body of a person.
Dried blood is spattered all across the floor and nearby wall.
Crushed organs lie across the room, discarded like trash.
Entrails are spread across the concrete, leaving trails of tattered tissue in their wake.
The body has been disfigured horribly, to the point that I can’t even tell if the corpse is male or female because it’s features are completely unrecognizable.
“Ugh-----”
The stench here is truly unbearable.
Weakly, I fall to my knees.
Somehow, I barely manage to hold back the bile and vomit building in my throat.
“I----- recognize this place-----”
I feel that I saw this horrific scene once before.
Was it last night?
I have vague, spotty memories, but what I am thinking of feels more like a dream than reality.
“What was it!?”
Frustrated, I bang my fists into the floor, causing small cracks to appear in the concrete.
“Ah-----”
This is no good.
Being in the presence of this dismembered girl makes me feel like I am going insane.
So, I get up and begin blindly running.
Really, any direction is fine, as long as it is away from here.
But----- How did I know-------?
*puff*------*puff*------*puff*
I run blindly around the parking garage.
I find the darkness comforting, but it does nothing to assuage my distressed and frantic mind.
That girl wasn’t just killed---- she was brutalized.
And I feel like I know more about it than I should-------
I feel the wet stickiness of my sweaty palms.
Even in the pitch darkness, bright red still permeates my vision.
I feel like I want to throw up, but am unable to do so.
Instead, my throat just retches painfully, ejecting nothing.
I continue running.
The spotty red in my vision is sickening to look at, and makes my head ache, so I tightly shut my eyes, seeing nothing but black.
Thud.
Still running deliriously, I hit a wall.
“Guh----!”
With a thud, I fall down on the hard, concrete floor.
With that, I finally feel my urge to run blindly around starting to quiet.
“Uh-----”
With a small grunt of pain, I open my eyes and look over.
It would seem as if I’ve run all the way to the surface, and in the distance, at the exit of the parking garage, I can see the faint light of the sun.
“----------”
Even looking at that pale, orange glow hurts my eyes.
------Though, the pain of that light searing into my vision does help me regain my sense of reason.
*pant* *pant*
Turning away from that distant light, I calm myself and try to even my breathing.
After doing so, I attempt to calmly assess my situation.
First point: A person was brutally murdered here in the parking garage, and from the looks of it, it happened recently. I feel like I know something about it, though I can’t put my finger on it.
Is this the murderous impulse that Satsuki was talking about?
Perhaps I killed that girl without even knowing it------
But, when one goes into a murderous rage, would one forget everything that happened afterwards?
I’m not too sure.
I guess I’ll just have to ask Satsuki about it, later.
Second point: If I did kill the girl, I would have had to go out of the parking garage to find her, which means that I would have had to do so after we returned last night.
But, the last thing I remember was going to sleep, and I was with Satsuki the entire time.
Since Satsuki went to sleep after me, she would be the only one who could possibly know if I left.
Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask her about that, too.
Third point: I know next to nothing about being a vampire.
Really, the first thing I should be doing is learning as much about vampires as I can.
After all, the more I know about being a vampire, the more I can learn about achieving my humanity again.
And, the more I’ll learn about controlling this vampirism, and whether or not I’m murdering people without consciously knowing about it.
But, the only real way I have right now to learn about vampires is to ask a more experienced vampire about it.
And, that means speaking with Satsuki.
She hasn’t been a vampire much longer than me, but, it’s better than nothing.
So, in conclusion, my obvious next step is to go and have a long talk with Satsuki-san.
If I’m lucky, she’ll be able to help clear up some of this confusion swirling around inside my head.
Feeling much calmer than I did before, I begin walking off through the parking garage again.
When I get back to the room, Satsuki is still sleeping.
“---------”
Should I just wake her up now, or wait until she wakes up on her own?
[ ] Wake her now.
[ ] I can wait.
Wake her up.
This is important.
I can’t really just let Satsuki wake up whenever she feels like it.
So, I nudge at her shoulder.
“Wake up, Satsuki-chan.”
She stirs a bit, but doesn’t wake up.
So, I nudge a bit harder.
After a little coaxing, Satsuki finally opens her eyes.
“Oh, good morning, Shiki-kun. What’s wrong?”
Her voice is full of sleepiness, but I don’t care.
“I have a few things I need to ask you, Satsuki-chan.”
Surprised at my serious tone, Satsuki sits up immediately so she can listen to me more attentively.
“What is it, Shiki-kun?”
“Um---- Well, first of all, is it possible that I left here after we got back last night?”
“Hmmmm---- Around what time?”
“Before the sun came up. I want to know if it’s possible that I went outside.”
“Well, that rules it out completely. I watched over you the entire night, so there’s no chance you went outside.”
Well, that’s a relief. Although I still don’t want to deem it impossible just yet, the chances that I went outside to grab and murder the girl are very slim.
“But, why are you asking me this, Shiki-kun? If you went outside, wouldn’t you know about it?”
“Well----”
Actually, that brings me to my next question.
“Remember those vampiric impulses you were telling me about yesterday?”
Satsuki looks a little uncomfortable, but answers anyway.
“You mean, the uncontrollable urge to kill?”
“Yeah, those. If that started happening to me, is it possible that I wouldn’t remember going out and killing people afterwards?”
Satsuki stares at me quite seriously as I ask this question.
“I won’t say it’s impossible. But, I will say that it’s unlikely. Whenever I go into one of those homicidal rages, I can’t really control myself during those times, and before I know it, I’m surrounded by dead bodies.
However, as soon as the vampiric impulse calms down, I remember everything that I did while it was in control.”
“So, I would definitely remember if I went berserk and started killing people?”
“Like I said, I won’t say it’s impossible that you did it without knowing about it. But, at the very least, I would think you would remember what you did in something akin to a dream.”
“A dream-----!? What do you mean?”
Satsuki looks surprised by my intense tone, but continues.
“Yes, a dream. Think of it like this: It’s possible that you went out and killed someone, or several people, but only remember it as a dream. I had that happen to me once before. But, the difference between a normal dream and something like this is that the dream would be extremely vivid, despite still feeling like it was nothing more than a dream.
You know how you can’t remember most of your dreams? Or that, even if you do, you can’t remember every detail---- A lot of dreams that we do remember seem spotty, at best. That’s why when people relate their dreams to others later, they often make up the more precise details, based on the bits and pieces that they do remember.”
“Well, my point is this.
I really doubt that would happen if you were experiencing the vampiric impulse in a dream-like state. After it was over, you would remember every detail of whatever you did. That’s how you would know if it was real, or if it really was just a dream.
However, you also have to keep in mind that I can only speak from my own experience. Just like humans, I’m sure there’s at least some deviation in what different vampires experience.
Now, I have a question for you.
Exactly why are you asking me all this, anyway?”
“Ah---- um, well-----”
I guess after asking all those questions, I can’t really hide it.
Besides, if I want to get to the heart of this matter, I’d better tell Satsuki everything.
At this point, she probably won’t leave me alone about it, anyway.
So, I’ll just have to trust her and hope that she can help me with this in some way.
“Well, the truth is, I think I had a vague, spotty dream---- about killing someone. I can barely remember anything about it at all, really------”
“You think you had? Then it didn’t happen, Shiki-kun. Didn’t I just go over the difference between real dreams and what only seems like a dream? If you did, you must have seen it because of the trauma on your brain from the last few days-----”
“But, I found the body, right here in the parking garage, while you were sleeping!!
I couldn’t even remember anything about the dream last night until I saw the corpse, but I really feel like I did it, even though I feel like I didn’t!!”
“Please calm down, Shiki-kun. I don’t really understand what you’re saying. You found the body? Where?”
“It’s in the garage, closer to the surface. But, I didn’t remember anything about it at all until I came across it by chance.”
“-------Maybe we’d better go take a look at the corpse. Can you show me where it is?”
“-------Yeah, I guess so.”
The truth is, I don’t want to go see it again, but at least this time I’ll be mentally prepared.
Also, I already decided to trust Satsuki with everything, so if she wants to go take a look, it’s not my place to say she can’t.
So, it is with somewhat heavy footsteps that I lead Satsuki through the parking garage.
Trying to take my mind off of what we’re going to go see, I ask Satsuki an unrelated question.
“Hey, what’s with all the lamps spread throughout this place?”
“Oh, those? Actually, um---- They’re bait.”
“Bait? How so?”
“Well, if people walking by happen to look inside and see that first light, they might get curious, right? So, they might decide to go check it out. If they do, they’ll be led right back to our room, and then, we don’t even have to go looking for people to drink blood from----”
“Oh-----”
I guess that makes sense.
If she was lucky, she could even catch people during the day with such a trap.
And, although I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, she caught me pretty easily with such a simple trick.
“Then, why are they spread throughout the garage in such a haphazard pattern? They don’t lead to the room in anything like a straight line-----”
“Well, if I do it like this, first of all, it would take someone quite a while to find their way through the entire network of lights. They’re spaced just far enough apart so you can barely see the next lamp, without being able to see any others.”
“So, if I do it like this, then there’s a higher chance anyone caught in this trap will still be around when I return, if I’m out hunting at the time.
Also, the person caught in this trap will lose all sense of direction, becoming so turned around that they won’t have a clue as to where they’re going if they lose their only beacons: the lamps themselves.”
She has an excellent point. After all, I’ve seen that very trick employed once already-----
“Just like you did to me-----”
“Exactly, Shiki-kun. I’m sorry I did that, but I think it turned out for the best in the end.”
Well, I’d like to think so, too.
After all, I’ve managed to get Satsuki to agree to stop consciously killing people. Though I can’t say much about whether or not she can yet control her homicidal impulses-----
And, I’m still unsure of whether or not I’ve killed someone myself------
“You know, Shiki-kun, even if you did kill someone, it isn’t really your fault if you didn’t mean to do it.”
As if reading my thoughts, Satsuki tells me that.
“------It isn’t much further.”
Grateful for her sentiment, but unable to respond to it, I lead Satsuki to the final corner separating us from the corpse.
“She’s just around the corner.”
“------Yeah, I can smell it.”
With a distasteful look, Satsuki covers her nose with her sleeve.
With that, we both round the corner, and are confronted with that grisly sight.
------Now that I’m ready for it, I’m able to look at the corpse much more calmly than before.
The dried blood clings to the floor and walls.
The tattered remnants of flesh and organs are abuzz with flies and other bugs.
Like little grains of rice, maggots infest the pieces of flesh strewn throughout the area, as well as the caved-in mounds of various organs lying across the floor.
“Ugh------”
I immediately turn away from the sight, but Satsuki looks on, although a look of disgust is spread across her face.
“It does indeed look like the corpse is fairly recent---- Normally, it wouldn’t smell so much yet, but that’s what happens when it’s ripped apart so thoroughly-----”
In a relatively calm voice, Satsuki continues her observations.
“I must say, I’m pretty impressed, Shiki-kun.”
I don’t know what she means, but she spends several more moments inspecting the corpse before speaking up again.
“-------Well, for now, let’s go back to the room. I think it’d be better if we talk more there.”
Feeling sick, I nod once, and we wordlessly walk off.
On our way back to the room, we say nothing.
Upon returning, however, Satsuki immediately speaks up.
“Please sit down, Shiki-kun.
I’d like to speak with you.”
Her voice is frighteningly serious, and I immediately comply.
“Now, Shiki-kun. Let’s see----- First, I’d like to ask you something. After becoming a vampire, have you noticed anything strange about your eyes? I‘m not talking about your vision becoming clearer, or being able to see in the dark.”
My eyes------?
Upon hearing this question, I immediately think of the “lines.”
Certainly, my eyes are strange. But, they have been this way since the accident eight years ago, and there’s been no change since I became a vampire------
-----Or has there?
I haven’t taken my glasses off in a while----
But, I have had them off in the morning, and there was no change.
So------
“No, since becoming a vampire, nothing.”
Satsuki arches a brow at me, but continues on anyway.
“Well, maybe that only strengthens my theory, anyway. Listen, Shiki-kun. Since becoming a vampire, I’ve found my eyes have definitely changed. Basically, I’m able to hypnotize people with these eyes.”
“Hypnotize-----?”
“Yes, hypnotize. -----Maybe it’s more like suggestion, but isn’t that what hypnotism is all about?”
“But how, do you do that?”
“Well, keep in mind as I answer that I can only tell you how it works as I understand it.
First, I think humans are all born with certain “circuits” in their bodies---- For example, in their eyes. Now, when I became a vampire, a circuit in my eyes opened. Well, to put it more accurately, it closed, or bridged---- Allowing energy to flow along the bridge. Then, I feed energy through the circuit, activating it’s power.
This energy then affects people looking into my eyes, and I am able to hypnotize them.”
“So, it’s like magic?”
Satsuki shrugs once.
“I don’t know if it’s accurate to call it magic, but I think it gets close enough to describe it well enough.
I also think that these “magic” circuits are responsible for our increased strength, speed, and so on. The main difference between these circuits, and the ones in our eyes, would be that once bridged, the circuits increasing our physical attributes experience a constant flow of energy over them, where, in contrast, I have to consciously feed energy through the circuit in my eyes.”
“So, you think everyone possesses these circuits?”
“Yes, I do. You see, I think that most people are at least born with some magic circuits in their bodies, but most of the time, they never get activated.
I think it takes some sort of catalyst; for example, becoming a vampire, to bridge the circuits.”
A catalyst? For example, having a near-death experience to activate a circuit in your eyes-----
“Something wrong, Shiki-kun?”
Satsuki seems to have noticed my momentary silence, and looks at me with a worried expression.
What kind of expression was I wearing as I thought that, I wonder-----?
“No, I’m fine. Anyway, Satsuki-chan, what’s your point in telling me about all this?”
“Ah, yes. Getting back on topic, normally I would say that it would be impossible for you to have gone out to kill that person, because I watched you until the sun came up, meaning you couldn’t have gone outside. There is a small chance that this person wandered into the garage on their own, later, but the chance of this is slim----- Based on the corpse, I think it’s been there since at least last night.”
“So, it couldn’t have been me?”
I desperately hope that she’ll still tell me I couldn’t have done it.
“Well, normally I would say it couldn’t have been you. But, there’s one thing that bothers me.”
“Which is----?”
I ask hesitantly, fearing the answer.
“When you were showing me the corpse, you told me ‘She’s just around the corner,’ not, ‘It’s just around the corner.’
Quite frankly, there was no way I could discern to tell if the corpse was male or female. You, Shiki-kun, know too much.”
“But, I couldn’t have gone out with you watching me, Satsuki-chan-----”
“Normally, yes. But, what if you subconsciously used the power of your eyes that you don’t yet know you have, and hypnotized me into believing I watched you all night? I’d like to say that it isn’t likely, but I think the chances are actually pretty good, Shiki-kun.”
“But---- That, is-----”
I can’t get my thoughts in order, and I end up stupidly staring at the ground.
“Listen, Shiki-kun.”
Satsuki’s voice betrays her worry for me.
“Even if you did it, Shiki-kun, you didn’t choose to do it. Rather, just think of it as the vampire inside you being responsible. All it means is that you have to fight to control it---- Trust me, it’s not easy, but if we fight together, we can do it----”
“Satsuki-chan-----”
The truth is, I feel extremely grateful for Satsuki’s words. And, something still doesn’t add up---- There’s still a chance that I didn’t kill that girl.
“Satsuki-chan, I----”
“Shhh---!”
Surprised at Satsuki’s urgent tone, I clamp my mouth shut.
Satsuki comes closer to me and whispers into my ear.
“Hear that? Someone’s coming.”
I strain my ears, and soon hear the dull murmur of voices in the distance.
Indeed, not just someone is coming, but a whole group seems to have made their way into the garage, and are heading in this direction.
Despite myself, my thirst roils in anticipation.
I look back to see Satsuki busily blowing out all the lamps in our room.
After she’s finished, she turns back to me.
“Follow me, Shiki-kun.”
I have no reason not to comply, so we dash into the darkness together.
First, Satsuki leads us up to the next level of the garage, where the group apparently is.
I can see now that she set a lamp up so she could barely hear people one level above us, from the room.
We make our way around the group, extinguishing the lamp two lamps behind them, first.
We then extinguish the lamp two lamps ahead of them.
Well, since they are just walking, and we are moving beyond normal human speed, we have plenty of time to do so.
Having extinguished the group’s beacons, Satsuki motions me to come closer to her, and she speaks in a quieted voice.
“We’ll approach from both sides. For starters, just try to knock them unconscious. It’d be better to just hypnotize them, but now isn’t the best time for you to try something you’ve never done.
So, just knock them out, and be careful not to hit them too hard, alright? If we do this right, we both may be able to get enough blood for tonight just out of this group, without having to kill anyone.”
I nod, and we run off into the darkness again.
Satsuki circles around, while I approach the group from this side.
It doesn’t take long to close in on them, and I can start to understand their conversation.
“I don’t know, this is a pretty creepy place.”
“We’ve come this far, so we might as well check it out.”
“But what about that killer we’ve been hearing about?”
And so on and so forth.
Well, too bad for them, seeing as they’ve been caught by a couple of vampires.
But, on the other hand, they aren’t going to die, so maybe their luck isn’t as bad as it could be.
In any case, Satsuki and I burst out of the shadows all at once.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Our victims go down quickly and easily, one after the other.
Some of them scream out in the second or so they have before being knocked out, but it doesn’t matter in the dark recesses of this garage.
Here, no one is going to hear them.
I barely notice it, but I can see Satsuki isn’t knocking most of her victims out with blunt trauma like myself, but instead merely looks into their eyes, causing them to pass out.
After the entire group is unconscious, we begin carefully draining each individual of blood.
The group consists of over ten people, so it’s plenty for both me and Satsuki to get our fill.
As we feed, there is no conversation between Satsuki and I.
I find myself mainly concentrating on suppressing my tendency to completely drain each person of blood.
Somehow, though, I manage to control myself, and I only drink just enough from each person that they should be able to survive long enough to get proper treatment.
“I’ll be right back.”
Satsuki finishes before me, and runs back in the direction of our room.
In the meantime, I continue drinking my share of the blood.
Before long, Satsuki returns, carrying blankets from our room.
She quickly covers up the victims to protect them from the gradually increasing cold.
Soon after, I also finish my meal.
“All done, Shiki-kun? Have you got enough to last you until tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I should be fine.”
“Well---- Do you wanna just talk, Shiki-kun? I don‘t wanna talk about any vampire stuff anymore------”
“Yeah, sure.”
So, for the next hour or so, Satsuki and I just talk.
For a short while, we grope around for a topic, but just end up talking about school.
We don’t really talk about anything important, but it’s a pleasant way to pass the time.
All the while, we keep an eye on our victims, making sure none of them either wake up or slip into life-threatening condition.
Eventually, we hit a lull in our conversation, and neither of us says anything for several moments.
However, Satsuki soon breaks the silence.
“Hey, Shiki-kun. It’s just getting dark enough for us outside------”
“Yeah? But, we already have enough blood for today.”
“Yeah. So, um----- Do you wanna go on a date with me, Shiki-kun?”
“-----------”
Well------
I guess I can’t really find any reason to refuse.
After all, how else am I going to discover what Satsuki really means to me unless I spend time with her?
“Okay, why not? We have all this spare time, so we might as well have fun.”
Satsuki stares at me for a few moments, but then smiles widely.
“Alright! Thanks, Shiki-kun.”
“But, first I think we should do something about these people.”
“Yeah, we should. Let’s just drop them off at the hospital quick.”
It seems Satsuki doesn’t want to waste any time.
Well, that’s fine with me.
Nodding, I pick up a few of the people.
They seem remarkably light, and between the two of us, Satsuki and I manage to gather up each and every person.
We take the group to the hospital.
For some reason, I feel like I’m forgetting something important, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
“Hospital…..”
But, we quickly drop them all off, and call for someone to come get them before dashing quickly off.
We heard someone coming, so we know they’ll be taken care of, but nobody saw us, so we can’t be linked to anything.
“Where do you wanna go first, Shiki-kun?”
I guess I’ve never really gone on a date before, so I don’t know what to say.
“I don’t know. Where do you wanna go?”
“Well----- Let’s go to a movie, before the theatres close.”
“Alright----”
I don’t think the movies are going to close very soon, but I guess it’s just something she wants to get out of the way.
It’s still only around seven at night, but there should be some decent movies screening now.
We head to the movie theatre.
We arrive, and I start looking around at all the different movies.
------What should we watch?
“Hey, let’s see that one.”
I look over at Satsuki’s suggestion.
It’s just a normal action movie, but it’s probably actually pretty good.
“Sure, I don’t really mind either way.”
“Oh----- Well, let’s go in.”
I then realize something important.
“----I don’t have any money, Satsuki-chan-----”
“Don’t worry. I have enough for both of us.”
Saying so, Satsuki pulls a wallet out of her skirt pocket and opens it up.
----Indeed, it looks like she has quite a bit of money.
A lot more than a normal student would have, anyway.
“Where did you get all that?”
“Um-------”
Satsuki pauses for a moment, looking uncomfortable.
“I got it---- from people who didn’t need it anymore.”
“Oh------”
An awkward silence ensues as we approach the ticket booth.
Not really looking each other in the eye, we go in and sit in the theatre.
In the end, even though it wasn’t anything special by any means, it was a pretty decent movie.
-----There was a love scene near the end, and Satsuki held my hand.
When I looked over, she just looked at me and smiled before looking back up at the screen.
------Despite myself, I felt my heart beating a little faster when she did that.
As we walk out of the theatre, Satsuki looks over to me.
“I’m kinda hungry now, Shiki-kun. Let’s go get something to eat.”
------Well, I’m hungry too, but just for normal food.
I assume she’s referring to that rather than blood, so I agree, and we end up at a fast food restaurant.
Satsuki and I order our food and sit down.
I pop a few fries into my mouth before something occurs to me.
“Hey, Yumizuka-san, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, but only if you don’t call me by that name again.”
She takes a bite of her burger.
“Then, Satsuki-chan---- Why do you like me so much?”
“Ah-------”
Satsuki holds the burger for a moment, staring into space.
Then, she takes another bite as if nothing had happened.
“Why do you ask, Shiki-kun?”
“Well, I just figured I have a right to know. Plus, it might help me sort out some of my own feelings-----”
And, the truth is, those feelings could really use some sorting out.
I still have no idea how I really feel about this girl------
“------The truth is, I’ve always been watching you, Shiki-kun. Even before you rescued me in that warehouse that cold winter day, I’ve been watching you.”
“------Really? Why?”
“Well, let’s see. When I was in school, I was really a fool. I was always afraid of what others thought of me, so I tried to do everything right. I smiled when I thought I should smile, got angry when I thought I should get angry, and so on. Pretty soon, everyone was treating me like a class idol.”
For some reason, her face looks very sad as she says this.
“But, when people treat you like that, nobody ever gets close to you. They maintain their distance, and even though it seemed like at first that I had a lot of friends, none of them were really close to me at all.
I guess that’s why I envied someone like you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You didn’t care what others thought of you, and even though you yourself maintained your distance from most of your classmates, you were always really close to Inui-kun.”
The face of my bad friend flashes through my mind.
I don’t know if I would call us close---- But our relationship was certainly an interesting one.
And, it’s true that I would like to see him again.
“Yeah, I could never get as close to anyone as you were to Inui-kun, so I was really envious of you two. But, by the time you helped me realize it was my own fault everyone was so distant, despite being so friendly, it was already too late. I could never be like you and Inui-kun at that point.”
“I----- made you realize?”
“It’s something you probably don’t even remember saying to me. Once, you told me that I didn’t need to act like everyone wanted me to, and to just be myself.
Now, it seems like obvious advice, but at the time, it made me really happy.”
It’s true that I don’t remember that at all.
-------Well, at least it’s a bit cooler than telling her to go eat some Ozouni.
“It was at that point that I tried your advice, and started acting less like a class idol, and more like myself. But by that time, not only was it hard to separate the “idol” from the real me, but the distance between me and everyone else was already so large it couldn’t be bridged.
But, at that time, I had another revelation. You didn’t treat me like an idol at all. In fact, you treated everyone the same, except for Inui-kun. So, I wanted to become close to you, and at least let you call me Yumizuka-san.
Looking back on it now, it really was too small of a wish. But then again, it was impossible for me at the time to even accomplish that.”
“But why would something so simple be so hard?”
“Because, Shiki-kun-------”
Satsuki pauses momentarily to add emphasis to her next words.
“It’s completely impossible for normal people to get close to you.”
“What? Why?”
Satsuki shrugs once before answering.
“I‘m really not sure. It’s like you have an aura surrounding you that keeps others away. Just being around you is like walking barefoot on broken glass----- Nobody is going to willfully put themselves through that. Even though I felt like I wanted to, my instincts warned me away when I tried. That’s why we’ve barely even spoken, even though I’ve been fixated on you for so long.
------Well, Inui-kun is different somehow, and has been able to remain close to you all this time. I wonder why?”
“--------”
Well, I don’t know.
I was never even aware it was so difficult just being around me.
“So, Satsuki-chan, what prompted you to start speaking with me recently then?”
Satsuki’s eyes become very serious when I ask this question.
“I heard a rumor that you were wandering the streets at night, in the business district.”
“Oh, yeah. You came and asked me about it at lunch.”
“Yeah. I wanted to make sure you weren’t doing anything dangerous. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you, Shiki-kun….”
“Oh…….”
I can’t think of anything to say.
Then, Satsuki’s expression lightens considerably.
“Plus, I was really happy when I learned we lived in the same direction. I decided to try and become close to you, despite what my body was telling me---- So I wanted to walk with you to and from school.”
“But, you didn’t show up after the first day.”
“That’s because I went investigating that rumor that night. While I was doing so, I felt something heavy hit the back of my head, and the next thing I knew I awoke, a vampire.”
“Oh. So, you don’t know what caused it-----”
“It had to have been another vampire, right? Even before I became one, murders were occurring. So, the “modern day vampire” must still be on the loose, right?”
“Ah------”
That’s right.
Something else must have caused Satsuki to become a vampire from the beginning, right?
It’s comforting to know that Satsuki wasn’t the one killing people from the start.
“Then, as residents of this town, and as people with power surpassing that of normal humans, shouldn’t we find the killer ourselves?”
“That would be something, Shiki-kun. Vampires hunting other vampires. Just look at what happened last night. I think we should be more worried about that strange woman than worrying about other vampires.”
“Well, what if she is the vampire?”
“It’s possible, I suppose. But, I just get the feeling that isn’t the case---- I can’t really explain it, though.”
“I see-----”
I don’t have a clue what she’s basing that assumption on, but then, she just admitted to not knowing herself.
So, it wouldn’t do any good to ask her.
“But, I guess in the end it would be better for us to concentrate on becoming human again---- although the fact that there is a killer on the loose still bothers me-----”
“Even if we wanted to put ourselves through that danger, Shiki-kun, we wouldn’t even know where to begin. And, you just said it yourself----- We’ll be having enough trouble trying to find a way to become human again, without bothering with other things. So, for now, let’s just forget about it, alright?”
“-----Alright. But, if something happens right in front of me, I won’t be able to ignore it. Okay?”
I honestly don’t know where this self-righteous feeling is coming from, but it’s not a bad thing to want to help out the city I live in.
“Fair enough, Shiki-kun.”
After polishing off the rest of her food, Satsuki looks up at me.
“So far, you’ve just gone along with what I wanted to do tonight. So, now we should go somewhere you want to go, Shiki-kun. Where do you wanna go next? I’ll let you decide on anything you want-----”
“---------”
Well, we’ve already gone to the tried and true movie theatre, so I can forget about that option.
In that case-----
1. I’m not sure, so let’s just go to the park for now. (SS5i)
2. -----Maybe the video arcade? (SS5j)
3. Obviously, a love hotel would be good! (SS5k)
2. -----Maybe the video arcade?
Maybe the video arcade?
(ALthough, I wonder if number 3 would be an H scene lol? xD)
-----I’m not sure, but the video arcade should be fun.
I don’t know if it’s somewhere you would normally go on a date, but as long as we have fun, isn’t that all that matters?
Plus, I haven’t gotten to do anything of the sort since returning to the mansion, so it’ll be a nice change of pace from all the hectic stuff that’s been happening lately.
“Oh, I haven’t been here in a while.”
As we approach the arcade, Satsuki says that with a smile on her face.
So, I feel like I made the right choice.
“Let’s play this one, Shiki-kun.”
As soon as we enter the arcade, Satsuki runs over to one of the machines.
-----It looks like she wants to play a fighting game.
Well, I’m not going to complain.
I’ve played these games at least a little at Arihiko’s house, so it’s not like I’m a complete amateur.
I have no idea how skilled Satsuki is, but this should be fun, either way.
“----------”
Time passes.
And, it becomes evident that Satsuki is pretty good at this.
So good, that I’ve been unable to beat her thus far.
And we’ve played at least ten different times.
At first, I thought I’d found her weak point, but then she just shifted strategies, and that was that.
“Hey, Satsuki-chan, your aerial combos are just ridiculous. Let’s play something else, already.”
“But we were having so much fun, Shiki-kun.”
Satsuki pouts a little bit.
-------Yeah, you were having fun.
“Come on, let’s play a racing game or something.”
Arihiko and I mostly play racing games together, so I’m pretty good at those.
Obviously, Satsuki has some skill at gaming, but I’m kind of a veteran at racing.
So, I should be able to beat her.
“Alright. I’m game if you are.”
“Okay. Just let me see------ Ah, here we go.”
I deliberately pick out a game I’m familiar with, to increase my chances of victory.
I’ve played this one a lot, and I know a few tricks------
But, it doesn’t work.
“Yeah, I won again!”
Satsuki’s skill is just too much for me.
It seems she really enjoys games, for some reason.
“Let’s play something else, Satsuki-chan-----”
I want to play something that I can at least match her in.
“Well, what do you wanna play now, Shiki-kun?”
“Let’s see…. Ah, air hockey should be good.”
In the end, I perform better in air hockey than I did in the other games, but Satsuki still barely pulls off a victory.
Also, I’m surprised at how many people gather to watch us, considering how late it is.
Still, despite the time, our extremely quick reflexes manage to draw several spectators to the table.
I guess that’s just one of the advantages to being vampires.
Soon, however, the game ends, and Satsuki and I play a few more other games before we look around and realize the arcade is nearly deserted.
Walking out, we stop at the crane game just outside.
“Hey, do you want me to catch you something?”
I offer to Satsuki, who smiles widely at me.
“If you think you can, try to catch that bunny.”
I look at the machine.
I guess she thinks she’s funny or something.
The bunny she wants is a little laden down with other plushies, so although it looks possible to get it, it won’t be easy.
Still, I can’t really tell her to just choose something else.
So, rolling up my sleeves, and watching as Satsuki throws some change into the machine, I set to work.
During my third attempt, I decide to ask Satsuki something that’s been bothering me.
“Hey, Satsuki-chan, I wasn’t able to beat you in a single one of those games. Why are you so good at all of them?”
“Oh------ Well, since I didn’t really have any friends, I spent a lot of my time playing games, instead. So, I naturally got pretty good at them over time.”
“---------”
“But, it isn’t all bad. I spent a lot of time playing games, and reading, and various other solo activities, but it also allowed me to form a better bond with my parents than I think most kids have.
Oh, I’m sorry----- With both your parents gone, you probably don’t wanna talk about this, huh?”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind talking about it. I don’t really remember my mother, and I had no emotional attachment to my father, so it doesn’t bother me.
-------Although, I guess I am a little jealous of you.”
“Jealous----- of me?”
“That’s right. I think that, although kids don’t act like it usually, it’s just human instinct to want to have a good relationship with your parents. But, I don’t think people get to have that very often. So, if you do, then I’m happy for you, because I think it makes you really fortunate.
After all, they helped you get through the lonely times when you didn’t have friends there for you, right?”
“Yeah----- I didn’t think of it that way before, but you’re right.
Thanks, Shiki-kun.”
“Yeah, I didn’t have that with my parents. My mother died a long time ago, so I barely remember her. And, to be honest, I didn’t really like my father very much.”
“If you don’t mind telling me, why didn’t you?”
“Well---- maybe thinking back on it now, I can see that it wasn’t really his fault. It’s just that the very nature of a prestigious family like the Tohno meant that a child of the family had to be raised according to strict rules, especially an eldest son such as myself. So, to try raising someone like me in that fashion, who hates such formalities, must have been more than a little frustrating.”
“Yeah, you don’t seem like the type to put up with that kind of thing easily.”
Satsuki giggles a little.
“What’s that supposed to mean?
Anyway, when my accident happened, he must have seen it as a good excuse to rid himself of his rebellious son, and it was probably better for both of us that way. Although, it’s pretty annoying being saddled with this endless anemia because of that one accident.”
“Speaking of that, Shiki-kun, when did you have that accident?”
“Hmmm? When I was eight; why?”
“Because; don’t you think it’s strange for a child that young to survive such an accident in the first place?”
“Well, yeah. The doctors said it was pretty much a miracle that I recovered. But I don’t think it’s that unusual; stuff like that happens fairly often, actually.”
“Exactly. That’s exactly where the hole in the story is, Shiki-kun. Young kids have amazing adaptive abilities, far greater than that of adults. Because they are still developing, kids rarely develop chronic illness in situations where adults normally would.
For example, chronic anemia. You must have lost a lot of blood for that to happen, right?”
I nod.
“But, that doesn’t add up. A body as young as an eight-year old’s would normally be easily able to recover the blood needed in the body to avert a condition like anemia, as long as it didn‘t die from the loss of blood in the first place. So, why did you still contract it? Did you have any condition before the accident?”
I shake my head.
“Then, it’s fishy. Normally, a kid going through such an accident would either die, or recover completely; barring the loss of any limbs or organs. But, you didn’t lose anything like that, but you still suffer from your body being insufficient to produce enough blood for itself.”
“And that brings me to my next point. When you became a vampire, I had a theory: I though that you would have an abnormally high appetite for blood, and that you would consume extra to compensate for the lack in your own body. Soon, all anemia-like symptoms would disappear, because you would have plenty of blood in your body to make up for everything you didn’t produce on your own.
But, this wasn’t the case. Your appetite was actually less than my own-----”
“Wait. Didn’t we drink about the same amount of blood?”
Satsuki looks aside for a short moment.
“---------I didn’t want to admit it, but I actually had more victims on the side. But don’t worry, I didn’t kill anyone.”
Well, at least she didn’t take it too far.
I guess if she needed more blood, there isn’t really anything I can say.
Satsuki looks back over to me, with all signs of her momentary uneasiness gone.
“Now, as I said, your appetite was less than my own. This surprised me, but not as much as what happened next: you immediately suffered another anemia attack. I didn’t understand; after all, you had just finished drinking your fill of blood, so anemia should have been the last thing afflicting you.
So, I have a new theory.”
“Which is?”
Honestly, I feel a little afraid to ask.
But, I can’t stop myself.
“My theory is this: your illness isn’t anemia at all, but is something else entirely; something else that we can’t easily understand.”
I stare straight ahead, right into Satsuki’s crimson eyes.
I don’t want to admit it, but a lot of what Satsuki is saying makes sense.
But, if it’s not anemia, then what is it?
“Ugh-----”
Suddenly, I feel lightheaded, and I crouch to help ease the pain growing in my body.
“Shiki-kun!?”
Satsuki rushes over to support me.
“Is it your anemia again? I’m sorry, I must have aggravated it with all that stuff I was saying.”
“No, it’s all right----- but, it’s true that I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Feeling the pain gradually leave my body, I stand up again.
Satsuki looks at me with a concerned face, so I decide to reassure her a bit.
“Don’t worry about me, Satsuki-chan. It was just a minor attack, but I’m fine now.”
“Oh, that’s good-----”
She doesn’t seem completely convinced, but she doesn’t bring it up again anyway.
“Well, in that case, is there anywhere else you wanna go, tonight?”
“Hmmmm----- Naw, not really. But if there’s anywhere else you wanna go, I’m still game.”
“Well, then----- I’ll think about it, but for now, let’s just walk around the city, alright?”
“Anywhere in particular?”
“No, let’s just take a walk----- it doesn’t matter.”
“Alright.”
Just like Satsuki said, we wander around the city.
We don’t go anywhere in particular, but just enjoy the feeling of the cool night air brushing across our skin.
“Hey, Shiki-kun.”
“Yeah?”
“Are we really going to be able to become human again?”
“Wha---- of course we are. I don’t know how long it’ll be---- but we’ll find a way. I promised I would help you in a pinch, right?”
“Yeah, you did. Thanks, Shiki-kun.”
We stay silent for several moments.
“But, how are we gonna do it?”
“Well----- We don’t really have any leads. But in all honesty, that strange woman from last night may be our best bet.”
“Why?”
“Well----- She obviously has special powers, and she seems to be more knowledgeable than us. That is, she seems to be completely in control of the strange powers she has------- So, she may know something that could help us----- However, there’s a few obvious problems with that.”
“Like, how we would find her?”
“Well, yes---- although, I think if we made enough ruckus, she would find us. Uh-----”
“Something wrong, Shiki-kun?”
“Sorry----- My throat is just kind of scratchy. Anyway, I think the hardest part would be getting her to not try and kill us. Plus, even if we managed that, she might not know anything useful. But, I honestly don’t know where else to start.”
“But, we don’t want to have to fight her.”
“That’s right. I wouldn’t want to see her again if I don’t have to, but I may change my mind later if we can’t find any other leads.”
“We don’t know how dangerous that would be, so I don’t think we should get into any fighting. But, I don’t have any leads either. However, I have found that each day I seem to understand more and more about being a vampire. Maybe if we just wait a while, we’ll eventually understand enough to help us, at least-----”
“And maybe we can find some leads then.”
“Hopefully.”
So, it’s pretty much a waiting game, hoping that we can learn something useful------
How frustrating.
“Ugh----- My throat kind of burns.”
“Are you okay, Shiki-kun?”
“Yeah, but I need a moment alone to clear my head------ Just wait for me here, alright?”
Saying so, I walk into a nearby alley.
Satsuki respects my wishes, and doesn’t follow.
I don’t really know what made me say that to Satsuki, but I can smell it.
It’s as if I smelled a reason for me to try and be by myself.
I know that Satsuki would only be in my way.
This smell.
It permeates my senses, making my throat scratchy and hot.
This smell.
I can feel it drenching my vision in red, and thus it causes my eyes to burn, as well.
This smell.
Though the smell is causing my whole body to burn, it smells like the most wonderful aroma in the world.
This smell.
As I approach a corner in the alley, the approaching smell rounds that corner.
And I am presented with the smell.
This smell, which won’t leave me alone.
This smell, which distracts me from everything else.
This smell, which is the only thing I can think about right now------
This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell. This smell!
“Shiki-kun!”
Hearing Satsuki-chan’s voice, I am jarred back to reality.
And a harsh reality it is.
“I----- I’m sorry-----”
I am holding the cool form of an unconscious person, who is only weakly breathing.
I, however, am breathing heavily.
Blood runs down my chin, and it is unmistakably the blood of the young man in front of me.
When did I begin drinking his blood?
I wasn’t even aware I was doing it-------
I wasn’t even aware there was another person in the alley.
So, this was the reason I wanted to be alone------
I now think there is no chance I did not kill that girl inside the garage.
“Shiki-kun, get out of the way, now! You’ve taken too much of his blood, so he’s going to die if I don’t take him to a hospital as soon as possible.”
Oh, of course.
He needs to go to a hospital.
In order to receive a blood transfusion, so he can live.
“---------!”
“Quick, give him to me!”
Satsuki’s urgent voice leaves no room for disagreement.
So, I quickly hand over the body.
“I’ll take care of this. Just go home and rest, Shiki-kun!”
Without another moment’s hesitation, Satsuki leaps into the night.
------Well, I feel responsible for what happened, but Satsuki is right.
I should just go home now and rest, or else I don’t know what else I might do.
Besides, I trust Satsuki to take care of my victim, and see that he has proper treatment.
I manage to get back to my and Satsuki’s room without incident.
------Well then, should I just go to sleep now, or wait until Satsuki returns-----
But, it seems my body won’t allow me to wait.
For some reason, I feel incredibly tired, so I just want to go to sleep as soon as possible.
Also, I’d rather not think right now, so, I lay down on the futon, and drift steadily towards sleep------
I rock slowly back and forth in my deep, dark room.
I don’t feel like going outside today, so I’m spending the night here.
The comforting darkness surrounds me, and the lack of any sort of action only increases my excitement all the more.
Yes, I feel extremely excited.
In fact, it feels as if I am about to ejaculate.
That is, because, she is coming.
The entire reason for my existence is coming to see me.
She’ll be here very soon, within a few days at the most.
Of course, there are reasons why I shouldn’t see her----- but I’m sure I won’t live long enough to know or care what they are.
After all, just seeing her will make me so happy-------
I rock slowly back and forth in my deep, dark room, as if rocking myself to sleep.
6/Slipping in Blood
6th Day/October 26 (Tue.)
I awaken, but I don’t feel too happy about it.
“Ugh------”
Every day, waking up from these strange dreams is taking its toll on my mind.
I don’t feel well when I wake up like that, but at the least, it feels like the dream from last night isn’t something I need to worry about.
I don my glasses and sit up.
“---------”
I look around the room, and see Satsuki once again sleeping peacefully next to me.
------I can’t help but think that she looks very beautiful.
Her face looks calm and soft, and her skin is a perfect shade of creamy white.
Her soft, brown hair falls around her attractive face, framing it perfectly.
Her body is proportioned very attractively, and her long legs appear slender, yet powerful.
And her chest-----
------begs to have a knife run through it.
“------Uh…”
Looking away from Satsuki’s sleeping form, I hold my head in my hands.
------Why do I keep having such thoughts about her?
At the same time I want to help Satsuki in any way I can, there is always an underlying feeling of wanting to end her as soon as possible.
And, although that is clearly not my wish, I can’t deny that this feeling is coming from somewhere deep within me------
“Huh------”
I shake my head a few times to clear it.
This is part of the reason my feelings for Satsuki are so confused.
Half the time, I can’t even tell what I’m thinking, much less what I’m feeling-----
“Nnngghh-----”
I hear Satsuki beginning to stir, and all at once, something in my head snaps.
I have no time to waste.
I’ve got to act now.
There’s only one thing I have to do, and only one thing I want to do.
I straddle Satsuki’s body, pulling out my knife.
Putting it against her unguarded, slender white neck, I reach my free hand up to my glasses.
As soon as I pull them down, I’ll finally be able to play the final part to this ridiculous play------
Satsuki’s eyes suddenly snap open, and her crimson gaze meets mine.
With that simple thing, the mind and thoughts of Tohno Shiki which I had discarded only moments before slowly begin to return.
“--------If you think you have to do it, then just do it, Shiki-kun.”
Why does she say something like that?
Like this, I could end her life in less than a second.
With that knowledge, the me within me clatters violently around, wishing to put an end to this at once.
“------Why do you say that?”
It seems that the me which is me still has some control, and waits expectantly for her answer.
“Because------ I trust you, Shiki-kun.”
We stare into each other’s eyes for several more moments, before I finally manage to force myself to remove the blade from her neck.
I then stand and turn away from her, giving her some space to herself.
------*pant* *pant* *pant*
I hadn’t even realized it, but my body was just in a state of remarkably high tension.
Like a rubber band about to snap, my body had been in a state with a great deal of power just building within it, ready to explode at any moment.
Like that, I would actually have been able to kill Satsuki several times over in the short span of a second.
So, just coming down from that state of tension makes my body feel exhausted.
But then, my body feels extremely relaxed as I feel Satsuki putting her warm embrace around me from behind.
“Are you alright, Shiki-kun?”
Despite what I just did, Satsuki asks me that in an extremely kind, and calm voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Satsuki-chan.”
“You know, Shiki-kun----”
Satsuki speaks softly into my ear.
“-----At first, I thought that becoming a vampire, and killing others, I’d finally begun to understand that scary side of you I’d longed to understand for so long.
-----But, it seems I was wrong. I want to become close to you, but that invisible barrier is still just as strong as it was before. It feels like no matter how hard I try, I’ll never be able to break through that barrier that Inui-kun broke through so easily-----”
“Satsuki-chan-----”
“Yeah, I really don’t understand. You’re such a violent, vicious killer, yet you’re so kind and gentle at the same time. And, it seems like the only one you want to kill is me-----”
“--------”
Satsuki seems to be softly crying.
In a slightly broken voice, she continues.
“-----When I first became a vampire, I was so scared and alone. Eventually though, I realized I finally might be able to get close to you, and being a vampire didn’t seem so bad anymore.”
Satsuki sniffs a few times as her tears continue to flow.
“But then, it didn’t work! I‘m hugging you right now, but you still feel so distant. It’s like, there was no point in me becoming a vampire at all-----”
“Satsuki-chan-----”
I really don’t know what I can say to comfort her.
I don’t even understand this “barrier” myself, so anything I say will just be cheap talk.
But, I guess I still have to try.
“But, you enjoyed our date yesterday, didn’t you?”
“-----Yes. You know, when I saw that you had attacked that person in the alley, I was actually kind of happy.”
“What? Why?”
“Because it proved that you could lose yourself to your vampiric impulses, too---- And that you might have a hidden urge to kill someone besides just me.”
“Listen, Satsuki-chan---- I would never want to kill you, I-----”
“I know that!”
Satsuki suddenly yells right next to my ear, causing my voice to fade away.
“I know that you would never try to kill me, but at the same time, some part of you thinks of nothing but.
And it scares me. I woke up just in time today, but what if tomorrow, I never wake up? Being around you is like holding onto a time bomb. Only, with a time bomb, I might actually be lucky enough to have a clue as to when it would explode. With you, I haven’t a clue.”
“----------”
Is that really what Satsuki is experiencing right now?
“So, what should I do?”
Satsuki finally releases me, and takes a step back.
I turn to face her. It seems she’s finally beginning to calm down.
“There really isn’t anything you can do, is there? After all, you don’t even understand why you want to kill me so bad, do you?
-----Ugh, I’m really thirsty. Can’t it be nighttime a little sooner, tonight-----?”
It looks like Satsuki really wants to drink some blood.
I should keep an eye on her tonight, to make sure she doesn’t hurt anyone-----
“Oh, that reminds me of something important, Satsuki-chan.”
“-----Hmmm? What is it, Shiki-kun?”
Satsuki looks at me with a serious expression.
It looks like she’s pretty curious about what I’m about to say.
-------As she waits for my next words, she wipes away the last vestiges of her tears.
“Well---- First of all, how’s that man I attacked last night doing now?”
“Hmmm---- I was told that he would need a blood transfusion, but that he would live. Then, I used my eyes to convince the doctor that I was never there.”
“A blood transfusion----- Doesn’t something about that strike you as being important, Satsuki-chan?”
Satsuki’s eyes narrow as she gazes at me.
It appears as if every trace of her earlier vulnerability has just vanished completely.
“-----Did you really think I hadn’t thought of the possibility of stealing blood from a hospital, Shiki-kun?”
“Well, I-----”
Satsuki shakes her head, as if pitying me.
“Well, actually I hadn’t really thought about it. I didn’t need to. Do you know why, even though vampires obviously exist, normal humans don’t know about them?”
I guess I hadn’t thought about it before.
“-----I don’t know.”
“Then I’ll tell you. It’s because we absolutely cannot let our natural enemies know of our existence.”
“Natural enemies----?”
“In other words, normal human beings.”
Humans, our natural enemies?
“Well, certainly there are things like police, but-----”
“Police, Shiki-kun? I hadn’t even factored in something so insignificant. Let me tell you something, Shiki-kun---- The police have already come to this parking garage once before, but I turned them away with my eyes. The police aren’t even something we need to consider.”
“No, I’m talking more about people like that woman from the other night. Hunters like her will come for us, but the more we hide our presence, the safer we’ll be. Of course, us, along with the original vampire in this town, have already attracted someone like that. But neither us nor the other vampire have been caught, right? Because we’ve been smart enough to hide our presence so far.
But, stealing from a hospital? There’s no way we could hide something like that. If we did that, the entire town would notice. Immediately, the woman from before would start investigating it, and if we left any trail at all, we would be stuck in a life or death battle just like that.”
“But if we didn’t leave a trail, it would be all right, wouldn’t it?”
“As you yourself said before, that woman obviously knows more about supernatural powers than both of us combined. We might leave a trail without even realizing it. We don’t know how strong she is, but I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
“----------”
Everything Satsuki says is true.
If I want to go through with this plan, I will be risking the safety of both her and myself.
But, if we stole the blood, we wouldn’t have to have any victims anymore.
So, I can’t really give up on this idea too easily.
In that case-----
1. No, I can’t risk both of us. (SS6a)
2. Even so, I still have to try. (SS6b)
Thank you for keep continueing this (and at a fast rate!).
I pick #2.
Hopefully more people will eventually join us.
“But, I still want to try.”
“Didn’t you just hear what I said, Shiki-kun?”
Satsuki shakes her head at me, looking disappointed.
“Yeah, I did. And everything you said makes perfect sense. But, I don’t want to hurt anyone we don’t have to. And besides, I think with the both of us we could defeat at least one woman.”
I try to fill my voice with confidence I don’t feel.
“-------Fine. If you’re going to be that stubborn, then I guess I should help you.”
Satsuki turns away from me.
“I just hope that the decision we’ve made here is the right one.”
Saying so, Satsuki walks off into the darkness.
-----Well, I guess she just wants some time alone.
It’s still over an hour until night falls, so I should find something to do, too.
But, I don’t really have anything to do.
“Ah, that’s right.”
I was curious about what this parking garage was used for, exactly.
Since I have nothing better to do right now, it’s not a bad time to investigate.
“I should find a stairwell or something.”
It’s true that I didn’t get a good look around, but outside, all the buildings look pretty much the same.
So, if I wanna know what building this garage is meant to service, it’s probably better to look from the inside.
“--------”
I run around the floor Satsuki and I live on, but I don’t find any stairs.
There’s an elevator next to the restroom by our room, but it doesn’t appear functional anymore.
“There should be stairs nearby----”
But there isn’t.
I guess I’m going to have to wander closer to the surface.
I check the next few levels as well, but I don’t find anything.
Quite a bit of time has passed, and there is still no sign of any stairs.
“----------”
I guess I should just head up to the surface.
It’ll be dark soon, so I should just look outside if I wanna know what this garage was used for.
As I approach the surface, I realize that I’m near where that girl was killed.
------I still don’t know if I killed her, but I should stop and pay my respects, anyway.
I round the corner to the chamber where the girl was, and I am surprised to find it completely clean.
And, Satsuki is sitting there, all alone in the dark.
“Satsuki-chan? What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Shiki-kun-----”
Satsuki looks over at me in surprise.
“Well, I just wanted some time to myself---- And I figured you wouldn’t come here, where that person was killed.”
“Yeah---- Normally, I wouldn’t. But while we’re on the subject, where’d the body go, anyway?”
“Oh, that----- I cleaned it all up, myself. After all, you’d want your home to be as clean as possible, right? So I figured it was only the right thing to do.”
Satsuki is certainly right.
I’m glad that she cleaned up that gruesome scene.
Cleaning that mess of human flesh up is something I never could have stomached.
Now that I think about it, Satsuki sure seems to know about a lot of things.
So, I should just ask her what the garage is for-----
“Hey, Shiki-kun. Do you know what this parking garage was actually used for, before it was abandoned?”
As if reading my mind, Satsuki asks me that.
“No, I don’t----- Though, I was curious.”
Satsuki stands and faces me.
“The truth is, the building connected to this one was actually used to hold martial arts tournaments. People would come from far across Japan to participate, and so they needed a lot of room to park all the participants and spectators. That’s why this garage is so large.
But, eventually, the event became too large for the current building to handle, and it had to be moved to a larger city. So, this garage, and the building attached to it, were abandoned. Although, for some reason, they haven’t used them for anything else, nor torn them down, yet. I don’t know why.”
Satsuki looks up at the strong supports in the ceiling.
“But the reason I’m telling you this is actually because of something else. Because the event was so large, and martial arts competitions can be potentially dangerous, there were always medical teams nearby. But, it was deemed that just that wasn’t enough. So, they constructed a hospital nearby to admit anyone who was seriously hurt in the competition.
Even though the events are no longer held here, the hospital is still used today.”
Satsuki looks down at me again, looking me straight in the eyes with a serious gaze.
“And, not only was the hospital built nearby, but it’s actually connected to the tournament building, as is this parking garage.
The truth is, even during the day, we can enter that hospital, though it’ll be safer at night. But the biggest boon is, we don’t need to go out on the streets. With my eyes, we can walk through the hospital pretty easily, and if we don’t take too much blood at a time, I don’t think we’ll be caught.”
I stare at Satsuki, mouth agape.
This is wonderful news. But-----
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Satsuki looks aside when I ask her this, with a sad look on her face.
“Actually, I was just wondering that myself. But, I don’t really want to talk about it, now.”
She doesn’t want to talk about it? Well, I probably shouldn’t force her, but-----
1. No, I really want to know. (SS6d)
2. I shouldn’t force her to tell me. (SS6e)
Last edited by SatsukiYumizuka; February 1st, 2015 at 12:23 AM.
I choose: 2. I shouldn’t force her to tell me. (SS6e)
2. I shouldn’t force her to tell me.
“-----Alright. That’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about it.”
“------Thanks, Shiki-kun.”
Satsuki doesn’t say any more.
So, I guess it’s up to me to break this silence.
“Hey, Satsuki-chan. Where exactly does this garage connect to the tournament building, anyway? I haven’t been able to find any stairs or anything, only elevators that don’t work-----”
“Yeah, for some reason, none of the elevators have power anymore, even though that outlet in the restroom still works. And apparently, they didn’t really put in any stairs.”
“Hmmmm-----”
No stairs? It sounds like they depended a little too much on those elevators----- What if there was a blackout?
“But, it’s okay. The buildings connect one level below the surface. Actually, the corridor connecting the two buildings isn’t far from here.”
That’s right. If it’s one level below the surface, then we’re already here-----
Then, Satsuki starts walking away.
“Well, come on, Shiki-kun. It’s still kind of early, but we may as well get going. I’m getting kind of thirsty, so we probably shouldn’t waste any more time than we need to.”
Satsuki is facing away from me, but I nod anyway, and follow after her.
“-----Here it is.”
Off in a secluded corner of the garage, there is indeed a dark corridor, which appears to be leading out of the garage.
There are various advertisements posted on the walls in the corridor, and although I don’t pay much attention to such things, even I can tell that they are all quite old.
“It’s been quite a while since this place has been used, huh?”
Satsuki looks back at me.
“Didn’t I say that before? Yeah, it’s been a while, alright. I’m surprised they haven’t done anything with this building yet.”
“Hmmmm-----”
Well, I don’t know anything about it, so I can’t really say anything.
All I know is, it’s pretty convenient for us that things turned out this way.
Satsuki leads us out of the corridor, and through a few more corridors.
Soon, we reach a large chamber, with a wide open area in the middle, and seating all around the outside.
“This is where the martial arts competitions were held. Right here, in this room.”
Satsuki gestures widely with her arms as she says so.
“All sorts of people gathered here to fight one another. Hey, Shiki-kun, why do you think it’s considered okay to kill people in these sorts of competitions, while it’s an unforgivable crime otherwise?”
Well, I don’t know if I would put it that way-----
“I don’t think people consider it ‘okay’ to kill people, in any circumstances. But, sometimes it happens in these competitions by accident. Of course, there are rules in place to try and prevent that from happening, but nothing is foolproof, right? I still don’t think it’s okay, but stuff like that happens, even though it’s unfortunate-----”
“But then, why do these kinds of competitions exist in the first place? Things like guns are outlawed, because they’re dangerous. So, if these events are dangerous, shouldn’t they be outlawed, too?”
-----I hadn’t thought of it that way before.
But, still-----
“Don’t you think that sometimes it’s important to hold events like these? That way, people can work out some of their violent tendencies in a socially accepted fashion, and, if anyone does get hurt, there’s always help nearby.”
“-----Well, you’re right, Shiki-kun. It’s not only vampires---- Even regular humans have violent tendencies, and it’s not completely abnormal for someone to have the desire to kill others, even if they have no need for something like blood.
And, it’s also true that there was always help nearby. At every competition, I’m sure more than one person was carried out of here on a stretcher, to the hospital connected to this very building.”
“But, don’t you still think it’s strange? A martial artist’s body is considered a weapon itself, yet it isn’t outlawed. Sure, they’re not supposed to use their skills outside the ring, but isn’t that basically the same as giving someone a gun, and telling them they can’t use it?
My point is this: Killing is something that is accepted in society. Hurting others is even more openly accepted. Yet people like us, who sometimes can’t help but kill to survive, are cast out like trash.”
“--------”
Well, there’s nothing I can really say against her logic.
Though I don’t want to admit it, what she says is basically true.
“But, Shiki-kun, the truth is that I understand perfectly. This twisted society doesn’t shun us just because we’re killers. No, it’s because we’re different. We’re not quite human, and anything different than an ordinary human is hunted and destroyed by society.
I mean, look at us. Here we are, attempting to solve our own issues in ways that won’t hurt anyone else. But still, we have to hide our efforts, and move only in the shadows, just to avoid getting killed. We aren’t allowed to kill anyone, because we’re different. Yet society would exterminate us without batting an eyelash.”
“Satsuki-----”
By this time, Satsuki is looking at the ground with a torn expression on her face.
“I just don’t think it’s fair, Shiki-kun. We didn’t choose to be this way, yet we’re bound by shackles that we had no part in putting on. I just hope we can become human again soon, and I honestly hope we don’t have to hurt anyone else.
It’s kind of funny. If you think about it, you and I are more concerned with preventing harm than most of society is. And, we’re vampires. That’s pretty ironic, don’t you think?”
Satsuki looks up at me with a sad looking smile on her face.
I want to make that smile, into one which is truly happy-----
“-----Don’t worry, Satsuki-chan. I promised, so I’m going to turn us back, somehow. But for now, we just need to get that blood. Then, we won’t have anymore distractions, so we can concentrate on finding a way---- somehow.”
“-----Yeah.”
Satsuki blushes a little in the pitch darkness.
“Anyway, it’s this way. Follow me.”
Once again, Satsuki takes the lead and shows me out of the large chamber.
There is only a short corridor running from the chamber into what is obviously a hospital.
And, right next to where the corridor comes out, there is an emergency room.
-----It looks like they were well prepared.
Satsuki walks over next to me and whispers softly into my ear.
“We should be quiet from here on out. The storage room is probably downstairs, so let’s concentrate on finding the stairs, first.”
So, Satsuki and I begin our search.
There’s signs posted around the hospital, so it’s pretty straightforward.
------We run into a couple of people along the way, but they take one look into Satsuki’s eyes and walk past us as if we aren’t even there.
We make our way down the stairs, into the storage area.
There are several individual storage rooms, and each one is clearly labeled, so it’s not hard to find the blood kept for blood transfusions.
Satsuki reaches out to turn the door handle, but-----
“It’s locked. Ugh, I’m really thirsty, now. I’m just going to break off the hinges---- If I’m careful, it won’t make much noise.”
“-----Wait, Satsuki-chan.”
This is something I can take care of on my own, and if I do it right, I can make it look like the lock just broke on it’s own---- Plus, I can guarantee I won’t make any sound.
“What is it, Shiki-kun? I can take care of this on my own-----”
“Just wait. I’ve got this one. I won’t make any noise at all, and it’ll be a lot less conspicuous my way.”
I take out my knife.
“That won’t do anything-----”
“Shhh.”
I lower my glasses.
There appears to be a line conveniently placed, so it’ll really look like the lock just broke on it’s own.
-------Well, since these are the lines where things break easily, I guess it’s actually not surprising at all.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I cut the line.
The lock breaks, and I open the door.
“------So that’s how you opened that storehouse on that cold, cold day. Well, I don’t really know what you did, but we’ll talk about this later, Shiki-kun.”
“Uh------ Yeah.”
I nod and put my glasses back on.
Inside the room is a bunch of equipment, and other miscellaneous items used for blood transfusions.
------This is probably just extra stuff in case any of their main equipment breaks.
In the back, is the refrigerator where the blood is kept.
Luckily, the refrigerator itself is unlocked.
So, we just pull the handle and enter.
Inside, is stacks and stacks of blood.
“Hey, Satsuki-chan, how long does this stuff last?”
“Hmmm---- I’m pretty sure the shelf-life of blood is about one month---- So, it should be alright if we take about enough to last us a half a month. I mean, we can always come back and get more if we need to.”
“A half a month, huh-----”
“Yeah. We’ll just have to estimate---- It doesn’t really matter if we’re off. For now, let’s just take a few boxes and fill them up. That should be good for tonight.”
So, we take some boxes from the other room and fill them full of blood.
------Most of the blood is in packets, so we just stack those in the boxes.
It doesn’t take long for us to fill the boxes, and we then carry them out of the blood fridge, and up the stairs.
“Hey, is this all gonna fit in our refrigerator?”
“It should. If not, we can clear out some of the bread too, since the blood will obviously take priority. Besides, we’re still going to drink some of it tonight, so we won’t even have to refrigerate that.
-----In any case, we’ll see. Now, be quiet.”
As we reach the top of the stairs, Satsuki and I stop speaking.
We then make our way back out of the hospital from where we came, Satsuki only having to hypnotize a couple of people along the way.
“Phew----- Well, that was actually pretty easy.”
Satsuki breathes a sigh of relief as we enter the large tournament hall again.
“I can’t wait anymore. I’m so thirsty-----”
Satsuki reaches for one of the packets of blood------
Clang.
I hear a metallic ringing sound, and Satsuki’s arm stops in mid-motion.
I drop my box, and immediately look to where the sound came from, and see a sword stuck in the ground at Satsuki’s feet.
“Dammit----!”
I immediately look around for the attacker, but I don’t see anything.
------Although this room is mostly full of empty space, up in the rafters, and in the seating ringing the center of the chamber, there’s plenty of places to hide.
-----I take a step back from Satsuki, and try to stay as alert as possible.
It seems that Satsuki isn’t able to move, but even if she can speak, it looks like she has the sense to keep her mouth shut.
The cause of Satsuki’s inability to move is probably the sword at her feet----- But I would be foolish to try and pull it out now.
After all, I don’t know if I could pull it out; and besides, attempting it would leave me wide open.
I’m going to have to fight on my own, and if it becomes necessary, defend Satsuki as well.
I pull out my knife, and reach for my glasses-----
But, should I take them off?
In this situation, I’m sure that it’s kill or be killed----- There can be no hesitation in a fight to the death.
But, I still don’t think I should resort to killing too easily.
So, in this situation, should I take off my glasses?
1. No, I should stay calm and alert for now. (SS6g)
2. I have to kill my opponent as soon as possible. (SS6h)
1. No, I should stay calm and alert for now.
“---------”
I think it’s too early to resort to killing.
After all, this woman may be my only lead to how Satsuki and I can become human again------ Though I have no idea how we could possibly hope to glean such information from her.
------And that’s only if the attacker is the same woman from two nights ago.
It may be someone completely different-----
“Ah-----”
I hop back several steps, dodging the swords which were thrown in my direction, from somewhere up in the rafters.
-----I only dodged each blade by a narrow margin.
It seems that I’m going to have to be much more careful from here on.
I quickly look around, scanning every inch of the rafters.
-----Although I can see just fine in the dark, I don’t see any trace of my assailant.
There are too many things to hide behind up there, and for all I know, the assailant has already changed position.
I’m just going to have to sit still and stay alert, for now.
Whoosh.
I hear the sound of splitting air right behind me, and I spin around.
“Senpai-----”
It really does look like her.
But, that one word is all I have the time to utter before I take her boot in my gut, causing me to fly across the room.
“Guh-----!!”
Naturally, she doesn’t end her assault there.
Before I even know it, she’s on top of me again, and clips me on the top of the head with her heel, causing me to change direction in midair.
Thud.
I slam into the ground, causing the wind to be knocked out of me.
Grunting with the pain, I stand up as quickly as I can.
Clang.
I hear that dry, metallic ring again, right at my feet this time.
It seems a sword has stuck itself into----- my shadow?
In any case, I now understand what Satsuki is also going through right now.
I can’t---- move----- at all-----
It seems that this battle was decided before it even began.
The woman who looks just like Ciel appears in front of me.
“What are you doing, Tohno-kun?”
No, it is Ciel-senpai.
But, she isn’t the Ciel-senpai I know.
I can tell it is definitely her, yet at the same time, it feels like it isn’t her at all.
Her features are just as I remember them.
Her dark, short hair, and bright, blue eyes.
Her clothes are different, but they still clothe that slender, strong figure.
Her bright, blue eyes shine even in this darkness, but her eyes are what is so different.
She stares at me with orbs of ice, and her normally happy, carefree expression is set in stone as she stares at me resolutely.
“You’re a vampire now, Tohno-kun. You need blood to live, and you must have the undeniable impulse to slaughter people for it. So, what are you doing, with all that blood?”
She points over to where Satsuki is still stuck, with the boxes of blood packets lying near her.
-----Well, even though I can’t move my body, I can still speak.
So, I guess I should probably answer her.
“Even though we’re vampires, we didn’t want to hurt anyone we didn’t have to. So, we stole that blood.”
I answer simply and truthfully.
Senpai, continues to stare at me with that icy glare.
“-----I see.”
After many more moments, Senpai says that.
Her expression softens somewhat, though it’s still a far cry from her usual smile.
Without another word, she walks over and pulls the sword from my shadow.
It seems that with that simple action, I am able to move freely again.
-----I don’t know why she freed me, but like this, I could attack her suddenly while her guard is down.
But, I can’t.
Maybe this means she’s giving me and Satsuki a chance----- I can’t run the risk of ruining it if that is the case.
So, I just stand there, waiting for Senpai to speak again.
-----Although, I do carefully put away my knife, to emphasize my non-threatening stance.
“Hah----”
Ciel-senpai sighs to herself.
“You know, Tohno-kun, you won’t be able to control the urge to kill forever. Some day, one way or another, it’s going to consume you, and that’ll be the end. What do you plan to do about that?”
Well, that may be true, but-----
“Then, I’m going to find a way to change me and Satsuki-chan back to normal humans again, before that happens. Then, we won’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Senpai stares at me for several more moments.
After a while, she shakes her head.
“I don’t think there is any way, Tohno-kun. What will you do if you find the only way to not be vampires anymore is to die?”
What would I do?
It’s something I haven’t even considered.
And it’s something I’m not going to consider, because----
“There is a way. I just know, somehow, there is a way.”
I stare straight into Senpai’s eyes as I say so.
Soon, she looks away.
“Then, I’ll give you a chance, Tohno-kun. But, if you hurt anyone, I’ll kill you. Remember that I’ll be watching you.”
Suddenly, she flashes over by Satsuki and pulls the sword out.
She then starts moving past me, at great speed, but stops again right in front of me.
“Oh, one last thing. I really don’t know a way for you to become human again, but if you investigate your own family, you might find some clues.”
Then, without another word, Senpai leaps off into the darkness, before I can even respond.
Investigate the Tohno family?
But, why would that help in this situation------
“Shiki-kun!!”
Satsuki immediately runs over to me.
“Are you alright, Shiki-kun?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Honestly, my body still aches a bit from that short battle, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
“Come on, we should refrigerate that blood, so it doesn’t go bad.”
“Yeah---- You’re right.”
Satsuki nods in agreement, and we go back to retrieve the boxes of blood.
As we walk back towards the parking garage, both Satsuki and I rip open some packets of blood and drink.
My throat was beginning to burn with thirst after that battle, so the cool blood running down my parched throat feels very pleasant.
Before long, we reach our room again, and after putting the blood away in the refrigerator (it all fit, but barely), we sit down on the futons.
As soon as we are seated, Satsuki looks over at me with a serious expression.
“So, Shiki-kun, could you tell me exactly what happens when you take off your glasses?”
It seems she’s realized there’s something special about these glasses.
-----Well, it’s not like it’s surprising when, after taking them off, I was able to cut the lock on that door with very little force.
“I can see----- these lines, and when I cut the lines, the thing they are on becomes cut.”
“Lines, Shiki-kun?”
It looks like she doesn’t quite understand what I’m getting at.
“That’s right. When I take off my glasses, I can see these “lines” sprawling across absolutely everything. Then, if I cut one of the lines, the object it’s on will become cut there, clean through. I don’t have to put any force into it; I just need to cut it with a sharp object, like a knife. But, seeing the lines gives me a headache----”
“Could you always do this, Shiki-kun?”
“No, I couldn’t. It happened after my accident eight years ago, when I almost died-----”
Satsuki nods seriously at my words.
“I see. You must’ve had an appropriate magic circuit in your eyes, and the near-death experience must have been the catalyst to activate it----- So, you can’t control this ability at will?”
“No, I can’t. The only thing I can do, is put on these glasses to hide them----”
“----Yeah, I guess being presented with something like that would be pretty unsettling. But, where did you get the glasses?”
-----I guess there’s no point in not telling her.
After all, I already decided to trust Satsuki-----
“Right after my accident, I met someone who called herself a ‘mage.’ She gave me the glasses when I told her about the lines.
Ah, that’s right. I think she called these eyes the ‘Mystic Eyes of Death Perception,’ once.”
“Mystic Eyes----- But, I have the feeling perceiving ‘death’ would be a dangerous thing to do----- But, I guess that’s why she gave you the glasses in the first place.”
“Dangerous----?”
Certainly, I find it unpleasant having these eyes---- Even if they are useful sometimes. But, I wouldn’t call them dangerous-----
“Yes, dangerous. You said it yourself, didn’t you? When you take the glasses off, you get a headache. Do you know why we feel pain in the first place, Shiki-kun?”
“So we know when something is wrong with our bodies-----”
“Exactly. Your brain is telling you something is wrong with it, when you are seeing those lines. If you look at them too much, something irreparable may happen to your brain----”
I never thought of that before.
Are those headaches really my brain sending me warning signals, to always hide those “lines” from my vision?
If I think of it like that, these eyes are that much more scary-----
“Ungh----”
Speaking of headaches, I just got one, for seemingly no reason.
But, little sparks of light erupt in my vision, and I collapse onto the futon, holding my head in my hands to try and lessen the sudden outburst of pain erupting from my head.
“Shiki-kun!! Not again-----”
Satsuki immediately moves to my side, but it doesn’t seem like she knows what to do.
As for me, the pain originating in my head soon begins to spread out throughout my entire body.
“Dammit---- What should I do, Shiki-kun----?”
It seems Satsuki is at a loss as to how to help.
So, I should just try to reassure her for now.
“It’s---- okay. I just need----- to rest.”
I manage to wheeze out those words.
Satsuki nods solemnly to me.
“Well---- It’s still kind of early, but just go to sleep, Shiki-kun. I’ll watch you while you sleep, so I’ll be here if you need anything, alright?”
Grateful for Satsuki’s words, I nod weakly, before allowing myself to drift into sleep.
“Dammit----”
I can sense it.
She’s already found me.
That means, that tonight, I am going to die-----
Well, obviously I know that’s the case, and I was prepared for it, but it seems the owner of this body has finally waken up.
And, he doesn’t want to die just yet-----
So, just like every other time before, I’m going to have to fight.
Even though, I know it’ll be useless in the end-----
First, I have to get out of this room.
I shouldn’t allow myself to stay in a place where I could be easily cornered.
-----Well, if I was cornered, I could always try just going through a wall, but that’s dangerous in its own way.
I just shouldn’t allow myself to be cornered in the first place.
After all, prevention before treatment, right?
I leave my lair, and go out into the hallway.
And, there she is.
Of course, she is so fast, that of course she’s already come here, and found where I am.
“I’ve finally found you. So, let’s end this, once and for all.”
I find myself wondering at her strange choice of words.
In the end, nothing is going to end at all----- I mean, we’re just going to continue this deadly dance for all of eternity, right?
So, I wonder why she thinks it’ll end, once and for all-----
She makes a perfect, graceful attack, lopping off one of my arms as we pass each other.
I then make a mad dash for the flight of stairs she had come down to see me.
I can feel that menacing presence behind me.
At the last possible second, I leap onto the stairs.
But, I wasn’t fast enough.
I don’t even make it onto the stairwell.
Instead, I feel a hand wrap around my ankle, and I am pulled back.
Then, my leg is cut off at the knee, and I am flipped onto my back.
“Hmph. No fight, as usual.”
I feel like I want to laugh.
Everything, is so funny.
She might not have noticed, but this battle lasted an even shorter time than all the ones before.
That is, because I am so distracted----
“Someone is watching me----!!!”
In the wake of the pain from my other limbs being torn off, my voice automatically screams those words.
“-----You’re insane.”
With that, she crushes in my head, ending this body’s life.
It’s pathetic.
Why do I continue this endless cycle?
But, I already know why.
Every time, I look forward to seeing her so much I can hardly stand it----
But, this means it’ll be such a long while before I can see her again.
I have to wait such a long time, only to see her for such a short time.
It is unfortunate, in so many ways-----
Unless-----
----I can feel it.
This, is a most interesting development.
This way, I will be able to see her again so much sooner than any time before-----
I awaken with a start.
I look to my side, and see that Satsuki is asleep.
-----I guess watching over me wasn’t that important, after all.
But, I don’t mind.
Because, if she was awake right now, it would be terribly inconvenient.
Right now, I have to be careful.
Because, “she” is probably watching me.
But, there is no way she can follow my movement.
So, I sneak out into the dark night.
I have to act fast.
There’s only an hour or so of daylight left.
But, I intend to make every use of it that I can-----
Unfortunately, I’ll probably have to limit myself to one person, just to be safe.
Amazingly, after some time, I actually find someone wandering the streets at this time.
----So, I quickly snatch her and drag her into a nearby alley.
-------Strange.
I’d intended to kill her, but it seems I only knocked her out, instead.
“Why-----?”
But, it doesn’t matter anyway.
In either case, I get to drink deeply of her blood, so I’m happy-----
I plunge my fangs into her neck, and feel the sweet nectar of her life running down my parched throat.
It feels---- so good-----
But, I have to be careful.
I don’t have much time left.
And, I have to hurry even more, because I can’t just leave the girl here-----
I quickly snatch up the girl’s weakly breathing body, and carry her to the hospital.
----Again, I’m lucky.
There’s actually a doctor, sitting outside with a cigarette in his hand.
He looks over at me in clearly defined shock.
“Who the hell---- What happened to that girl-----!?”
But, it’ll be troublesome to explain everything to him.
So, I just lower my glasses a little, and make him realize that I was never here in the first place, and all he needs to do is treat this girl.
-----Of course, I see something most interesting when I lower my glasses, but it’s not like it surprises me at all.
But, why would I bring her in to be treated, if all I wanted to do was kill her?
I don’t have time to think about the petty details.
Now that everything is taken care of, I run back to the parking garage.
-----I still have a bit of blood on me, so I should probably just sleep on the floor.
But, I’ve been experiencing a lot of anemia these past few days, so I don’t want to get a cold on top of that.
So, I just wipe off my shirt with one of the spare sheets nearby, and cover myself with a blanket as I lay down on the futon.
Tonight, I feel strangely fulfilled.
I managed to attack someone, and they likely aren’t going to die.
Also, I feel some kind of energy running through my body, which simply wasn’t there before-----
But, most of all, I am going to get to see “her” again, very, very soon------
(SS7)
7/Fragments of Soul
7th Day/October 27 (Wed.)
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
I---- want to kill the girl lying next to me.
Thump.
I---- want to kill, because it’s just part of my nature.
Thump.
I---- want to kill anyone.
Thump.
But, most of all, I want to avoid killing as much as I can------
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I awaken suddenly, and my irregular heartbeat makes me feel unsteady.
I can feel it---- This uncomfortable presence within me, something that I’ve never felt before in my life-----
And it wants to eat me away from the inside until there is nothing left.
“Hah----!!”
I sit up, and look around.
The scene before me isn’t really unusual----- Actually, I’ve gotten used to it over the past few days.
Satsuki is sleeping next to me, just like usual.
The room is just as I remember it---- There is a desk, a restroom nearby, and several lamps.
There’s also a table, and two futons, which are currently both occupied.
What is different, is how I feel------
Or rather, how something else that I can feel, feels------
“Nngh----”
Feeling a slight headache, I quickly don my glasses.
The “lines” disappear, which is a shame, but it makes the headache go away.
-----Well, something is obviously wrong with that, but I can’t quite put my finger on it right now.
“Mmmm-----”
Next to me, Satsuki begins to awaken.
Right now, I’d estimate that it’s just an hour or so before nightfall, so it’s a pretty good time for vampires like ourselves to be waking up.
As Satsuki stretches and rubs her eyes, I go into the restroom, and bring out two packets of blood.
“Shiki-kun-----?”
Satsuki sleepily looks up at me as I walk towards her.
“Yeah. Here you go, Satsuki-chan.”
“Thank you----”
Satsuki reaches out as I hand one of the packets to her.
Then, we both drink what is essentially our breakfast.
-----Though, I think it’s kind of morbid thinking of it that way.
“You know, Shiki-kun----”
“Hmmm? What?”
“You seem a little different today. Did you notice anything like that?”
Well, I did, but----
“No, nothing-----”
“Oh. Well, I just thought it was nice, because you feel a bit less scary to me than you usually do----”
Which is ironic, because to myself, I feel a lot more scary than usual.
It’s like, there are wills besides my own, which, by their very natures, have to conflict with me-----
“In any case, I have no idea what you’re talking about. But, what do you wanna do for now, before the sun goes down?”
“Hmmm---- Well, I’m sorry, but I kinda want some time alone to think about a few things. So, I’m going to spend some time bringing all the lamps back here.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Well---- At this point, they’re more of a hindrance than a help, right? I mean, it’s fine that they attract people’s attention sometimes, but we don’t need that anymore. Plus, it’s possible that we’ll attract the attention of someone we don’t want to attract. So, it’ll be safer to just put them away, now that we have a supply of blood on hand.”
I guess what she says makes a lot of sense, as usual. So----
“In that case, I’ll help you.”
“No, that’s okay, Shiki-kun---- I appreciate the offer, but like I said, I want some time alone to think some things over. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay on my own.”
“Oh. Then, I guess I’ll just leave you alone….”
“Yeah. Sorry, Shiki-kun. Let’s spend some time together later tonight, okay?”
“Yeah…..”
Well, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep that promise.
In the meantime, though, I have a few things to think over on my own-----
But, Satsuki is going to be running all around the garage, and it would be kinda awkward if we bumped into each other while entertaining our own private thoughts.
So, I decide to go back to the martial arts hall, where I can be completely alone, as well.
“It’s really big in here.”
When I reach the hall, I make that pointless observation.
So, what is inside of me right now, which wasn’t until today-----?
I can’t really explain it, but there is some sort of “thing” within me, which is desperately squirming to get out.
And, even though it is undeniably a part of me now, I can feel that it is also something completely different----
“What---- is this thing inside of me-----?”
Suddenly, my eyes snap forward and focus in on something creeping stealthily through the shadows.
What is she doing----?
I mean, she did say she would be watching me, but still-----
In any case, Ciel immediately notices that I am looking straight at her, so she comes out of the shadows.
“…..It’s unfortunate that you saw me, Tohno-kun. I was planning to kill you before you could even possibly suspect what was happening to you----”
What is she talking about-----?
“Kill me? But, I thought you were giving me a chance.”
Senpai shakes her head, as if pitying me.
“I’m sorry, Tohno-kun. But, I can’t let Roa get away.”
“Roa----? What’s Roa?”
I don’t at all understand what she is talking about.
Senpai pauses for a moment before slowly nodding to my question.
“-----I guess you deserve at least some explanation before I kill you, Tohno-kun. Roa is a vampire, but unlike most vampires, he doesn’t cease to exist when he is killed. Instead, he propagates to another body; I guess you could say that his soul moves through the air, and infects his next host by entering them in that manner. It isn’t quite right, but it’s close enough.”
“And, that’s inside me----?”
So, that must be the difference I felt from this morning. Last night, Roa must have died, and infected me----
Or, he infected me before, but was dormant up until now----
But, why me?
And, despite how I felt earlier, why do I feel so unafraid now-----?
“That’s right. I’m quite surprised that I didn’t notice Roa inside of you before now, Tohno-kun. I’m sorry; no matter how hard you try, Roa will eat you out from the inside, and turn you into a bloodthirsty killer. In fact, it would seem that he already has, since you must be the one responsible for all the killing in this city until this point----”
“No! You’re wrong. I, haven’t killed anyone---”
But, is it true?
I don’t think I’ve killed anyone, but there is still the question of that woman from before---- Even though I feel like I didn’t kill her, the doubt still remains in my mind.
But, in any case, the murderous intent doesn’t disappear from Senpai’s eyes.
“I really am sorry, but I can’t let Roa get away. So, don’t worry; I will execute you now, Michael Roa Valdamjong----”
At the sound of that name, the “thing” within me starts clashing around violently.
Slice her apart---- Slice her apart----
Over and over, this voice in my head, telling me to kill this woman in front of me.
“----I see. I don’t completely understand, but there’s something called “Roa” inside of me, right? Well, I can feel it. Not only can I feel that, but I can also feel that it isn’t something to be feared. Just like this vampirism, I know there is a way to get rid of this thing inside of me----- So, you needn’t concern yourself with it, Senpai. I’ll take care of it, somehow.”
Well, I don’t know where this confidence is coming from, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing----
Senpai, however, still looks unconvinced.
“No. I’m going to kill you, right here, right now, without----”
----Well, the next word is probably “mercy”, but she doesn’t even bother saying it.
Instead, she throws several of her nail-like swords at me, as if from nowhere, and immediately dashes towards me.
I hop back, dodging each sword, especially the one aiming for my shadow.
But, Senpai is too fast for me to completely avoid.
Her dash is incredible---- She comes in low, below my knees--- But suddenly explodes upward, performing a flip which catches my chin with her high-laced boot.
“Ugh---!!”
I fly upward and back, but manage to flip around in midair to land safely on my feet.
Then, sensing danger, I dive forward again, and roll to my feet; immediately spinning around when I do so.
There, I see Senpai standing, with a disappointed look on her face.
“It seems that it’s impossible to catch you by surprise, Tohno-kun. Or, should I say, Roa----?”
“I’m not Roa. I’m still just me, Tohno Shiki. How do I make you understand that----?”
Senpai shakes her head.
“It’s impossible to control. I know, because I tried----!!”
With that incomprehensible statement, Senpai dashes forward again.
She attempts to hit me with her fist, but I’m slowly becoming used to her ridiculously fast movement, so I am able to dodge.
Of course, she doesn’t waste any time before attacking again.
She begins making quick strikes from close range at me, and although I take a few minor hits at the beginning, soon I’m dodging or blocking each attack with relative ease.
After a while of this pointless assault of narrow misses, Senpai leaps back a few steps.
She stands there for several moments, as I just watch her body for any movements whatsoever.
Slice her apart-----
I already decided that I wouldn’t, so quit pestering me----
Seeing her chance, Ciel strikes immediately.
She dashes forward again, just like before.
Only, she is much faster this time, and I can’t trace her at all.
That must mean, she was going slower earlier just to make me drop my guard----
“Ungh!!!”
I take a fist squarely in the stomach, and feel all the wind get blown out of me.
Then, I feel something hit me on the top of the head, and I fall to the ground.
I try looking up, so I can somehow see what is about to happen, and somehow defend myself-----
But, right now I am too dazed to see anything at all.
I guess, I am really going to die like this-----
“Ugh---!!”
Suddenly, I hear Senpai grunting in pain, but the sound soon fades away as her voice seems to become distant.
I don’t know what just happened, but it sounded like something hit her, causing her to be thrown away----
“Are you alright, Shiki-kun?”
I shake my head of my remaining dizzyness and look up to see Satsuki standing there, hand outstretched.
“Satsuki-chan…. What are you doing here?”
I take her hand and she helps me to my feet.
“I noticed you didn’t seem to be anywhere in the garage---- But, right now we should be focusing, not talking.”
I take a look at what Satsuki is looking at.
Of course, it isn’t like I forgot about her or anything.
Ciel-senpai is standing off in the direction Satsuki is looking, watching us carefully.
I guess that right now, we’re going to have to focus on the opponent in front of us.
For a bit, the three of us just watch each other, nobody making a move.
But then, Ciel-senpai suddenly seems to disappear.
And, I immediately hear a resounding crash from right beside me.
I look over to see Satsuki and Ciel grappling with each other, and neither appears willing to give any ground.
Was Satsuki actually able to follow Senpai’s movement?
To me, it just seemed as if she vanished.
In any case, I really should do something to help Satsuki---
But, before I can, the two separate, and both leap backwards several meters.
Then, both seem to disappear.
----No, that isn’t quite right.
Only Ciel really vanished from my vision.
Satsuki is fast, but I can still track her movement.
Satsuki is running right towards me.
Then, while she is still a meter or so away, my body reacts on its own, diving to the side.
Crash.
I look over to see Satsuki and Ciel grappling again.
I guess, that Ciel must have tried taking me out from behind again, and Satsuki saw her---
In any case, the two push on each other’s hands, and this time, it looks as if Satsuki is actually pushing Ciel back.
It seems that, with Satsuki’s power, we might really be able to defeat her----
But then, Senpai hooks her foot around Satsuki’s ankle, causing her to fall backward.
Then, Senpai immediately leaps onto Satsuki’s body, holding her down.
This is my chance.
I have to react quickly in order to protect Satsuki.
Luckily, my knife is still in my pocket.
So, I pull it out and run towards the two on the ground.
As I near the two, I see Ciel pulling her fist back, and it looks like she is about to strike Satsuki.
But, I arrive just in time, and lunge at her with my knife.
Seemingly from nowhere, a knife appears in Ciel’s hand, and she easily deflects my attack.
But, the distraction was enough that Satsuki manages to kick Ciel off of her, though she easily turns around in the air and lands safely on the ground.
Satsuki, too, wastes no time in standing up.
Again, Satsuki and I face off with Senpai.
I have to watch carefully this time----
I can’t afford to miss her movement again, because without even being able to see her, I’m being more or less completely useless.
But again, I am completely unable to trace her movement as she seemingly disappears once again.
Though, Satsuki again runs forward, and the two clash again.
“----Dammit.”
I really am completely useless like this.
This time, Satsuki and Ciel just trade a few quick blows, though neither one seems affected at all.
But then, Ciel disappears again, leaving Satsuki with a surprised look on her face.
But then, the look of shock disappears as well, and Satsuki begins slowly backing up towards me.
“---Be careful, Shiki-kun. It seems that she can move a lot faster than she was letting on.”
What is Satsuki saying?
Does that mean--- that not even Satsuki can keep up with Senpai’s ridiculous speed?
In that case, do we even stand a chance----?
Suddenly, out of the darkness of the rafters, several nail like swords fly in both my and Satsuki’s directions.
I somehow manage to narrowly dodge each one, but Satsuki takes a blade right in the leg, and falls to her knees.
Then, something slams into her body, causing her to fly off in the direction opposite of me.
She flies into the far shadows, and into the seating on the other side of the chamber.
I have no way to know how she fares, or if she’s even conscious----
At this point, I just really want to run over to see if Satsuki is okay.
But, for some reason, I feel like I shouldn’t do that.
After all, if I did, wouldn’t I be opening myself up to a surprise attack?
But, on the other hand, Satsuki could be in trouble right now, and if she is, I have to do everything in my power to help her, just like I promised----
But still, I won’t be able to help her at all if I’m dead.
-----What should I do?
1. Go help her. (SS7r)
2. I should stand my ground for now. (SS7s)
2. I should stand my ground for now. (SS7s)
-----I have to be careful.
Somehow, I’ve been able to avoid most every attack Senpai’s made on me thus far, but if I was even the least bit distracted, I don’t know if I’d be able to do that.
So, for now, I should just keep an eye on my surroundings, and try to locate Ciel if I can.
I start looking around, and carefully backing up.
If I retreat backwards, I can see more of the tournament hall, so it’ll hopefully be easier to locate Ciel, who is probably hiding in the shadows of the rafters, or somewhere out in the tournament hall seating.
---But, it isn’t long before I hit a wall.
It seems I’ve retreated all the way back, right next to the door leading back into the parking garage; so, there’s no seating to either side of me for several meters.
---Like this, I have less room to maneuver, but on the other hand, it also means Ciel can’t come at me from behind, so I can’t really tell if it’s a good or a bad thing that I’ve worked myself over to this point.
I carefully watch my surroundings.
Everything is completely still, and quiet.
Nothing moves, and no sounds are made.
I feel myself starting to sweat.
I have no idea when, or from where, the next attack will come, so I can’t settle down.
I grip my knife in my hand so hard that my knuckles turn white.
I feel that before Senpai even gets a chance to do it herself, this tension will kill me----
Sweat runs rivulets down my face, and I strongly feel like I’d wish to just be able to wipe it away somehow.
But, I don’t even want to let my guard down that much, so I’ll just have to deal with it.
The sweat gathers on my forehead, and starts to itch--- If she doesn’t attack me soon, just this in itself is going to become too much of a distraction for me.
I can’t concentrate.
I can’t concentrate, but----
There---!!
Spinning around, I attack immediately with my knife.
----I don’t know how I did it, but I sensed her coming, and was able to counterattack first.
Senpai, being caught completely off guard by my sudden retaliation, takes a deep cut in her leg.
She loses her footing on the wall she was running down, and falls onto the ground.
---But, it really is amazing.
I didn’t think she would be able to come at me from behind, but she actually ran down the wall from the rafters, and did it without making a sound.
I am amazed to think that I was able to react to that sudden attack, and do it so effectively----
But, I shouldn’t waste my chance.
I lunge forward, attacking again with my knife.
But, Senpai is able to react instantly this time.
She, actually forces her arm upward, and into the knife----
Causing it to catch and get stuck in her skin.
Then, she shakes her arm roughly, causing me to lose my grip on the knife.
She then strikes me across the face with her fist, causing me to hit the ground with a thud.
“Ugh…”
Expecting another strike, I fuzzily look up, hoping to be able to avoid it in some way.
As I do so, I hear the scrape of metal, and those thin blades Ciel wields come into my vision.
But, her focus isn’t on me.
Instead, she appears to be looking across the chamber.
She then begins throwing what appears to be an endless supply of blades in the direction she is looking.
Forcing my aching head over, I see Satsuki running in our direction.
Amazingly enough, she is actually deflecting several of the swords with her arms---- Though it does look like she is going through some pain doing so.
Still, she continues running in this direction, ignoring the pain.
As she closes in on us, Satsuki reaches out a claw to strike at Ciel.
I have to help her, or we may never win this battle----
So, I reach out and strike my fist at Ciel’s legs, hoping to interrupt her perfect footwork.
Of course, Ciel was still watching me for movement, so she notices when I attack, and lightly jumps to the side.
She then begins twisting her body, hoping to avoid Satsuki’s claw at the last possible moment----
But, Satsuki surprises the both of us by putting on a sudden burst of speed at the end, causing her claw to plunge right into Senpai’s chest----
Right where her heart should be.
“Ah----”
My and Satsuki’s voices overlap as fresh blood spills from Senpai’s wound.
Satsuki’s arm becomes stained in it, and the look on her face says that she’s surprised at the sudden waterfall of red spilling down across her hand.
Still with that look on her face, Satsuki pulls her claw from Senpai’s now lifeless body, and lets it slump to the ground in a heap.
She then shakes the blood as best she can from her arm and holds out her other hand to help me up.
“You--- really killed her.”
As I take Satsuki’s hand, I utter these words.
She was trying to kill us, so I guess it’s only right to kill her in return---- But still, it isn’t something I can just brush off.
I, really didn’t want Ciel-senpai to die----
Satsuki pulls my knife from Senpai’s arm and hands it back to me, so I just wipe the blood off and put it back in my pocket.
“---Yeah. Sorry, Shiki-kun. But, in the end, this was the only sure way to get her to stop coming after us.”
That’s true, but----
“In any case, let’s just go back for now. I, don’t feel too good either---- Plus, my body still aches from all that.”
“Oh. ----How’s your leg?”
I can sort out my feelings about Senpai later.
It’s not that my feelings for Senpai are something that I can just write off until a later time, but---
She’s dead, and there’s nothing I can do about it at this point.
So, I at least want to make sure the person right in front of me is okay for the time being----
“---Yeah. Thanks, Shiki-kun. It should heal over pretty quickly.”
“Oh…. Okay.”
We walk in silence, back into the parking garage.
Each of us has our own feelings to sort out right now---
So, we don’t speak at all, and instead try to deal with our own personal misgivings.
As we near the first ramp leading down, Satsuki speaks up again.
“Hey, Shiki-kun----”
“….Hmmm? What is it?”
“Well----”
Suddenly, Satsuki’s voice stops, as I hear the sickening sound of blade piercing flesh.
Carried on the weight of several long, pointed blades, Satsuki flies across the parking garage.
“Wha----”
I’m too surprised to really say anything.
Then, a dead woman appears in front of me.
And, all traces of that fatal wound have completely vanished----
While I’m still in a surprised state, Ciel’s left hand seems to launch forward and wraps around my throat.
She then lifts me off the ground as I slowly begin to struggle, clutching at her hands around my throat, futilely.
Her grip, is just so strong----
No matter how much I struggle, I don’t think I’m going to be able to break free.
Ciel pulls one of her long blades from underneath her cloak.
As she does so, she walks me over to the nearby wall, and holds me up against it.
She then pulls her blade back---
And firmly staples me to the wall with it.
Or, at least, I think she intended to.
But just as suddenly as she disappeared, Satsuki reappears behind our opponent and hooks her arms through Ciel’s.
She then digs her claws deeply into Ciel’s shoulders, until Ciel releases her grips on both the blade and my throat.
I fall to the ground, gasping for air.
From here, I see that Satsuki has also put her legs around Ciel’s, effectively crucifying her.
And, I see the blood dripping down from where Satsuki’s claws dig deeply into Senpai’s skin----
“Move aside, Shiki-kun.”
For some reason, Satsuki’s voice sounds rough, but forceful.
I quickly scramble to the side and, somewhat unsteadily, stand up.
Slam.
Satsuki slams Ciel’s body into the wall, causing her to gasp out in pain.
Then, Satsuki uses her whole body to hold Ciel up against the wall.
“You--- should be dead.”
It’s Ciel who gasps this out.
“You---- should be--- too----”
At the sound of Satsuki’s labored speech, I finally realize something important.
Most of the blood dripping down onto the floor, isn’t Senpai’s, but Satsuki’s.
Satsuki is bleeding heavily from several wounds all over her body, and although her countenance is firm, and her hold on Ciel’s body strong, something makes it appear as if she could collapse at any moment.
I guess, sheer determination is the one thing keeping her going now----
“Shiki-kun--- Listen to me closely.”
I look immediately straight at Satsuki’s face, giving her my rapt attention.
“Go back, and get--- one box of blood. Then, come straight back here----”
Satsuki pants heavily a few more times.
Why, does she want me to go back and get just one box---?
“But, I can’t leave you alone with her----”
“Go!!”
Surprised at her sudden yell, I spin around and sprint back towards our room.
I’m worried about leaving Satsuki with such an opponent, but in the end, I wasn’t actually that much help anyway, and Satsuki also seemed to have Ciel bound pretty well----
But, what if Ciel took the opportunity left by my absence to make some sort of counterattack?
But still, Satsuki’s tone of voice brooked no opposition.
I’m just going to have to do as she said, and hurry back as soon as possible----
It doesn’t take long before I reach the room.
Now then, I need to grab just one box of blood---
Though I still have no idea why.
But, Satsuki told me to hurry, and even if she didn’t, I should go as quickly as possible.
I don’t want to take even one second longer than necessary----
I run into the restroom and throw open the fridge, grabbing one of the as-yet untouched boxes of blood.
I then turn immediately around and dash out of the restroom again.
My body and mind urge me on to hurry, so much that I barely even notice.
“Ah----”
----It seems that someone has found their way into my and Satsuki’s room by accident.
How did he find his way here--- After all, Satsuki had been gathering up the lamps throughout the garage, and there is a group of them near the room to prove it.
But, I guess none of that matters right now.
It doesn’t matter how he got here, but I should deal with this man and get back as fast as possible.
I could just ignore him--- If I do so, I can just run off immediately and get back to see how Satsuki is doing.
On the other hand, it’d be a good idea to somehow erase his memory, but in order to do that I would have to hypnotize him---- which is something I have no confidence in doing, and it would also take longer.
What should I do----?
1. Run for it. (SS7c)
2. Try hypnotizing him---- (SS7d)
1. Run for it. (SS7c)
If Shiki messes up things, there will be a chance for Arcuied or Akiha to show up.
1. Run for it. (SS7c)
Even though bad ends usually come from being on the safe side, Walrus has a point.
Last edited by Elyn; February 10th, 2015 at 07:03 PM.
Icon art from G senjou no Maou
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