Chapter 101: Initial Approach
Tremor.
Dust fell from the ceiling in waves.
By Lake Yamanaka, north of Mount Fuji, a vacationer looked out the window and saw a faint light on the horizon.
"Is Mount Fuji about to erupt?"
At the same time, on the rooftop of a tall building—
Three vampire hunters felt the tremor from below. Their previously calm faces instantly turned to horror.
What the hell is going on!? There weren't any signs of an earthquake! Fuck!
"The tremor's still going… we have to go down, Kiss-Shot — she must be killed!!" Abyssort's formerly gentle face had turned ferocious.
Even they could only block off the station for a short time.
If the tremor intensified and something went wrong at the station, they wouldn't be able to control the consequences. Kiss-Shot might even take the chance to escape.
"Don't rush… the tremor hasn't intensified yet." The man in priest's attire narrowed his eyes and spoke.
But just seconds later, he changed his tone: "Then again… we should still head down."
Delays breed changes.
This unexpected event had cracked their once-stable plan.
If Kiss-Shot fought to the death, she might still have a chance to survive.
...
Underground, beneath the glaring lights.
Sakurai Saki expressionlessly lifted the blonde vampire off the ground.
"...Have you prepared yourself to die, monster?"
Kiss-Shot clearly felt the power clenching around her neck — and the terrifying intent to kill coming from the boy in front of her.
"I… didn't… kill… her…"
Sakurai looked down at the corpse of Fujiwara Chika. He didn't say a word.
The dead cannot come back to life. No matter what is said now, it's meaningless.
"What are you trying to say?" His voice was icy, devoid of emotion.
The girl who had been laughing and talking with him just moments ago had now stopped breathing.
Sakurai couldn't understand why he didn't feel sadness — only that he pitied himself. He clearly liked Fujiwara Chika…
Tightening his grip around Kiss-Shot's neck, Sakurai swung and hurled her into the wall.
Her limbless body slid down the blood-streaked wall, fresh blood dripping from her mouth — blood she had just drunk from Fujiwara's body.
Seeing that, Sakurai still showed no emotion.
"Almost forgot."
He muttered as he walked closer to her.
Then raised his foot.
"Smack!"
A vicious kick slammed straight into Kiss-Shot's abdomen.
The intense pain made her pupils immediately contract.
"Khuh…"
Fresh blood gushed again, streaming from the edge of her crimson lips.
"Her flesh and blood…" Sakurai raised his foot again, face unmoved, and stomped down.
"I want you to puke it all out."
One kick.
"Not enough."
Two kicks!
"Smack!"
"Ughhh—!" Kiss-Shot writhed, her body curling up in agony.
She trembled, in even worse shape than before she had eaten.
"Don't… kill me." She pleaded.
"Vampire, is this all you've got?"
Sakurai Saki curled his lip. "You were eating just fine earlier, weren't you?"
"Those 7,185 people you killed before, didn't you eat them the same way?"
Truly a real monster.
One person a month? Or one person a day?
And a vampire scared of dying? You've got to be kidding.
"…That wasn't me… I… didn't kill her." Kiss-Shot's fear of death had completely overtaken her pride.
She twisted her limbless body and crawled toward Sakurai Saki's feet.
"..." Sakurai Saki kicked her away.
Coldly said: "Get lost, monster."
Truly disgusting.
If she had given up struggling and just died, perhaps Sakurai Saki would have seen her differently.
But now, begging for her life when death was near… tsk, in the end, a monster is just a monster.
"Save… save… me."
Carrying her final hope, she looked at Sakurai Saki, her pleading voice now mixed with sobs.
Sakurai Saki stepped in front of her, looking at the stumps where her limbs had been severed, blood still flowing out.
She had already had her arms and legs cut off by someone.
That's why she attacked Chika when she arrived — intending to use her flesh and blood to regenerate her body.
"A vampire dying from blood loss..." A faint smile appeared on Sakurai Saki's face.
Behind him.
A sound came from the right——
"Looks like someone got to her first."
Sakurai Saki turned to look. A blond-haired man in a school uniform stood holding a massive crucifix.
"Hand her over to me," Episode said calmly.
"An ordinary high school student encountering something like this would normally be terrified, right? It's okay, just leave everything to me."
As he spoke, his golden eyes emitted a faint glow.
That was vampire hypnosis.
Unfortunately, it was useless on Sakurai Saki.
"You're the one who drove her here, aren't you?" Sakurai Saki asked.
"Yeah. Of course." Episode tried to strike up a conversation, hoping to make the boy lower his guard.
After all, the prey was nearly dead. Chatting a bit with this little worm wouldn't hurt.
"The poor girl lying there… your girlfriend? My condolences."
"Now that I've found the one behind it all, things are easier to deal with." The emotions in Sakurai Saki's heart had long since passed the breaking point.
As he spoke, thick black mist began to billow from his body.
Sakurai Saki's expression was cold, his eyes devoid of emotion: "Kill."
The next second.
"RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!"
Waves of black mist surged like a tidal wave. In an instant, the entire train station platform was enveloped. Even the bright lighting system began to flicker and short-circuit.
From within the black mist came deep, low growls.
Episode's face showed fear — he quickly tried to flee.
Inside the dense mist.
A sudden flash of light.
"BANG!"
A crimson beam, sharp like a blade, tore through the black mist and pierced straight through Sakurai Saki's head.
The light in Sakurai Saki's eyes quickly faded, and then he collapsed to the ground.
Countless streams of black mist flowed back into his body.
"…Don't toy around with bugs."
The priest, Guillotine Cutter, lowered his gun and stepped out from behind the station wall.
"Ha ha, it's the age of firearms now, you primitive bastard." Episode, who moments ago thought he was about to die.
Turns out this guy was just a paper tiger — one hit and he shattered.
"Probably a high school student awakened to some supernatural power, thought he could go toe-to-toe with us." The blond man spun the crucifix in his hands.
"A bug is still a bug. No matter how angry it gets, it can't hurt a vampire."
"Enough chatter. Handle the irrelevant ones quickly." The priest lit a cigarette, looking toward a burly man slowly approaching from behind.
"You're late."
"…Huh?"
The burly man looked at Fujiwara Chika's corpse on the ground and frowned, "Bake-neko? Why is that here?"
The girl who came in earlier wasn't even human.
The three of them had been too far away to sense anything clearly.
"Who knows." The priest exhaled smoke, glancing at the Bake-neko who had taken the form of Fujiwara Chika.
"A cat that died in resentment and was born of resentment, transformed and prepared for revenge, only to sacrifice herself for a vampire… such sincere emotion," the priest said — even he was witnessing such a thing for the first time.
Who would have thought a oddity could form a symbiotic relationship. Though more likely, the cat intended to devour the vampire but was counterattacked and killed — or perhaps it lured the target to a secluded place for an ambush...
"They're not completely dead yet." The burly man glanced at Kiss-Shot and Sakurai Saki lying near her and reminded them.
"A vampire only dies when nearly all the blood in their body is drained. She just consumed the flesh and blood of the Bake-neko." Episode replied.
"I can suck her blood. A vampire drained by one of their own also dies — but she probably still has a last-resort move left. Don't give her a chance." said the burly man, over two meters tall, with long wavy black hair.
...
On the surface.
Kiss-Shot was slowly crawling forward — only a few centimeters away from reaching Sakurai Saki's neck.
As long as she could get his blood, she could seize a chance to counterattack! The blood of an Esper…
Right at that moment, in front of her, Sakurai Saki slowly opened his eyes. His expression softened noticeably, and the corner of his mouth even curled up into an unconscious smile — this scene entered Kiss-Shot's sight.
'Looks like that girl meant a lot to him…'
'What should I do?' Sakurai Saki was quickly thinking of a countermeasure.
As an Esper, a hole in the skull didn't affect his ability to move. Sakurai Saki was virtually without weakness. If one had to name something, it would be his pollen allergy — his body itself wasn't a weak point. That hit just now — he took it on purpose. If he wanted to, he could crush all of them in an instant.
Sakurai Saki did this to clear his head a little.
'The side effects of superpower are stronger than I expected.'
Rationality diminished. Emotion intensified.
Just now, having witnessed "Chika" die with his own eyes, he had let emotions overwhelm reason — forgot to think.
If the girl who died just now wasn't Fujiwara Chika, then there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
Sakurai Saki listened to the conversation of the vampire hunters, then voluntarily moved his neck close to Kiss-Shot's mouth.
He actually had other options, but if he wanted Kiss-Shot to be utterly loyal to him, to become his helper, his person — then clearly, this method was more effective.
Kiss-Shot did not let go of this one and only hope of survival.
With a slight sting, two sharp fangs pierced into Sakurai Saki's blood vessel.
At first, she sucked his blood with great care. But a few seconds later, upon realizing an immense energy hidden within it — vast like the sea — she immediately sped up her intake.
In just a few seconds—
Sakurai Saki's face had turned deathly pale. His blood had been almost completely drained, and his breathing ceased.
Kiss-Shot realized she had gone too far. If she kept going, he might really die. She couldn't accept such a suicidal offering from someone else. With a conflicted expression, Kiss-Shot returned her own blood into his body.
She intended to turn him into a servant.
Unfortunately, during the transformation, Sakurai Saki's body began rejecting her blood — actively sending it back out, as if utterly disgusted by it — leaving Kiss-Shot stunned.
But she didn't give up. In the end, after intense effort by the supreme vampire — the Oddity of all Oddities — Sakurai Saki's body had gained 1% vampire composition.
Transformation complete, Kiss-Shot collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, losing consciousness.
The entire process took no more than a few dozen seconds.
The actions between the two were small and subtle, but they didn't escape the eyes of the three vampire hunters.
They were simply playing along with the situation.
If this action drained the last of the target's energy, even better! Once she had no ability to resist, Kiss-Shot would become a fish on the chopping block — completely at their mercy!
So what if she created a subordinate? It would just be a dying vampire producing a frail ghoul. A ghoul — the minion of a vampire — resembled a zombie in movies.
After the servant transformation ritual was complete, the wound on Sakurai Saki's forehead rapidly healed.
As the three had predicted, Sakurai Saki stood up from the ground.
"BANG!"
The priest raised his gun, pulled the trigger — once again shooting directly at Sakurai Saki's head.
The moment the bullet touched his scalp, sparks flew — as if it had struck reinforced alloy — and ricocheted to the side.
"Oi oi oi, are you kidding me?" The blond man made a dramatic expression, then threw the crucifix in his hand. It was made of silver — effective in suppressing vampires, and capable of inhibiting regeneration.
The crucifix flew past Sakurai Saki's body — causing a patch of his flesh to melt.
"Huh? That's it?"
As the words left his mouth—
The patch of melted flesh instantly regenerated. The blond man instinctively stepped back.
The corner of Sakurai Saki's lips curved into a dangerous smirk. He mocked: "That's it?"
The three vampire hunters immediately dropped into combat stances.
The situation was now completely out of control!
"Ring~"
A phone rang.
"Sorry, let me take this call," Sakurai said casually, as if the three in front of him didn't even exist.
Which, in truth — they didn't, to him.
Sakurai Saki glanced at the caller ID and answered gently.
"Moshi moshi! Saki-kun~ can you hear my voice?"
ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ • *✰
Fujiwara Chika's voice rang in his ear.
The three vampire hunters, of course, had no intention of waiting. They closed in immediately.
"I hear you." Sakurai Saki turned to evade the crucifix flying at him, spun gracefully, then delivered a spinning kick that floored the burly man who had been charging in — and followed up with a powerful kick as he advanced.
"Boom!" A deafening impact echoed like a temple bell — even amidst the rumbling station, it rang out loud and clear!
A second later!
"Crash!" The sound of something shattering!
The burly man was kicked flying, hurled off the station platform, smashed through the railing, and crashed straight onto the train tracks.
"What's going on? What are you doing over there?" Chika asked, having heard the strange noises.
"Why didn't you answer earlier?" Sakurai Saki dodged a close-range punch from the priest with ease.
Then he cast a glance at the blond guy preparing to throw the crucifix again — the look was enough to startle him into freezing on the spot.
"Were you worried about me? Eh! That's a surprise~!"
(∩˃ω˂∩)
Fujiwara Chika's voice grew slightly excited.
Black mist once again began to pour out of Sakurai Saki, enveloping the area in darkness.
A Warrior holding a spear stepped out from the black mist.
Sakurai Saki moved his phone away and said flatly: "Kill him."
His eyes looked at them like one would look at insects.
The warrior swept the spear in a strong arc — the priest narrowly dodged, and the two quickly entered combat.
At the same time——
"GRAAAHH!!!" The burly man on the tracks roared and leapt up, landing back on the platform with a crash, splitting the ground beneath him into two deep craters.
His arms transformed into greatswords, and his entire body turned to mist.
In an instant, he vanished — and a moment later, reappeared right behind Sakurai Saki.
Raising the greatsword overhead, muscles bulging, he swung it down with mountain-splitting force!
"Did your phone run out of battery earlier?" Sakurai Saki was still on the call, voice gentle.
But his movements were anything but gentle.
He turned and blocked the greatsword with a single finger, stopping it just ten centimeters from his neck.
Then — another light kick. "BAM!"
The burly man was sent flying once again.
From within the black mist, more and more warriors emerged — the numbers growing by the second.
"Umu, I went to Kaguya-san's place yesterday and had so much fun I forgot to charge my phone." Chika explained quickly: "It's not that I didn't want to pick up — I couldn't."
She was afraid Sakurai Saki would misunderstand.
"You're home now, right?" Sakurai Saki asked, sitting down on a bench meant for train passengers.
He looked at the swelling ranks of warriors in front of him — and the three vampire hunters, now surrounded.
Black Mist Corps — Sakurai Saki's newly unsealed offensive ability. It was the act of activating this power that had snapped him out of his emotional spiral.
"Saki-kun~ I'm in the bath~" Chika said, then patted the water — splash splash — audible over the phone.
"So, what did you call me for?"
Sakurai Saki was silent for a few seconds.
Then, gently, he said: "I just suddenly wanted to hear your voice."
Hearing that, Fujiwara Chika seemed caught off guard. It was a few seconds before she replied:"I see~"
...
Fujiwara Residence.
Chika leaned against the edge of the bathtub, her small hand gripping the phone trembling slightly.
She never expected Sakurai Saki to say something like that to her.
In the past six months, he had never once spoken those words.
If it weren't for the fact that the two of them hadn't officially confirmed their relationship, she might've already believed that she and Sakurai Saki were dating.
'Isn't that basically a confession?'At that thought, Chika's fair face flushed a soft pink.
(//Ò///Ó//)
What exactly is he doing over there?
It sounds so noisy on his end.
...
"Saki-kun, are you home yet?"
"Not yet. Still handling a few things." Sakurai Saki glanced at the three figures still putting up a desperate fight, repeatedly fending off the black mist warriors, a look of displeasure appearing on his face.
"Oh? What kind of thing?"
Chika stretched her slender legs out of the water.
With bath oil added, the warm, faint pink water dripped down between her toes...
Drip, drip~
The sound of the water reached Sakurai Saki's ears. Still sitting on the bench in the station, he looked up at the ceiling and replied:
"Retrieving something. Someone owed me a debt — I came to collect."
"Then make sure to come home early. It's getting late." Chika said with concern.
"You too — sleep early. Good night~" Sakurai Saki responded gently.
"Good night~"
As the busy tone sounded in the phone, Sakurai Saki stood up.
He stepped past the black mist warriors and lowered his gaze toward the three kneeling figures on the ground, spears pressed to their necks.
The three vampire hunters looked up at him, their eyes filled with hatred and regret.
"Let us go. We'll return Kiss-Shot's limbs to you."
A contemplative look appeared on Sakurai Saki's face. Then, he gave a strange smile:
"You three were barking pretty hard just now, weren't you? What, can't bark anymore?"
"You—!" The blond man struggled to stand.
The next second, a spear pierced straight through his body.
With a blank expression, Sakurai Saki said——
"…To be honest, I liked your arrogant attitudes earlier more. Bring that back, will you?"
————
Two hours later.
Sakurai Saki returned home.
Behind him, a blonde loli vampire — now looking exactly like an elementary schooler — silently followed without saying a word. She had just had her limbs recovered from the vampire hunters.
"Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade... that's such a long name." Sakurai Saki opened the door to the rented apartment.
He flashed her a bright smile:"From now on, you're my partner — let's get along, alright?"
"Heart-Under-Blade, huh… how about I call you Shinobu? Not a bad name, right?" Sakurai Saki closed the door behind them.
Shinobu said nothing. She just quietly followed him.
Seeing this, Sakurai Saki didn't press further.
The truth was, there was a bit of misunderstanding between the two of them.
"You survived, and the person important to me didn't die… sounds like a happy ending!" Sakurai Saki said cheerfully, but all he got in return was a cold, indifferent look from Shinobu.
Finally, she spoke:
"That Bake-neko held a grudge against you."
Hearing that, Sakurai Saki dropped his smile.
"You mean, you killed that cat to help me, and then I kicked you a few times — so that makes it my fault?"
"You know it yourself." Shinobu replied.
The atmosphere between them instantly became tense.
"I'm sorry. That really was my fault."
Sakurai Saki wasn't the type to deny his own mistakes.
"Hmph."
（￣へ￣）
Shinobu let out a cold snort, walked straight into the living room, and stood beside the sofa.
"Did you use up all your strength saving me earlier?" Sakurai Saki asked.
Unfortunately, the girl didn't look like she wanted to answer.
If not, then with her regenerative ability, she should've been able to shrink her body and escape.
Shinobu looked up at him.
"Without going all out, I couldn't have turned you…"
Hearing this, Sakurai Saki said sincerely:
"Thank you for helping me."
"At that time, I was blinded by rage and forgot to ask the reason behind it all. I also gave up on hearing your explanation. For that, I'm sorry."
"But now I've become... um, a servant? That's what they usually call it in dramas, right?" Sakurai Saki sat down, pulled Shinobu into his arms, and softly said:
"My master — can you forgive me?"
It really had been his fault.
When he heard about the Bake-neko, he nearly realized he had misjudged things — which was also why he allowed Shinobu to drink his blood. Otherwise, no matter how useful she was, Sakurai Saki wouldn't have saved her.
As for the Future Diary entries — two of them had been wrong, and he had figured that out.
That Tuesday, he was supposed to walk Fujiwara Chika home — the Bake-neko had been lying in wait. He originally thought that part of the diary was false, but it turned out to be correct.
[Beware of monsters!! If you don't want the world to plunge into even more chaos, don't do unnecessary and pointless things!]
That warning was what had been wrong.
If the future involved special circumstances, then bringing this vampire along as a partner was the correct choice — the so-called "unnecessary thing" likely referred to saving her earlier.
"Hmph." Shinobu didn't look the least bit grateful.
She squirmed out of Sakurai Saki's warm arms and curled up on the edge of the sofa.
Sakurai Saki sighed and walked into the kitchen.
He grabbed some preserved food.
Then came back and held out a donut to Shinobu.
"Let's say this donut is my apology gift."
Shinobu was still curled up in the corner. She glanced at the donut.
After a few seconds of thought—
She leaned over and took it.
Sakurai Saki also grabbed a slice of bread and took a bite:
"I died once because of you, but if you hadn't saved me, I wouldn't be here now."
"And on your own, you wouldn't have survived either." Sakurai Saki continued gently:
"After everything we've been through, I think our relationship should be a little closer now, don't you think?"
— This is a lie!
Even if Sakurai Saki hadn't been turned into a vampire, he wouldn't have died. He was just using Talk-no-jutsu to win her trust, Dattebayo!
But Shinobu didn't suspect a thing.
She had sucked his blood so forcefully that his breathing had truly stopped for a moment — to her, that was as good as death.
Sakurai Saki took her silence as agreement.
"So, am I a vampire now?"
Shinobu took a bite and replied: "Umu."
1% vampire — but he now possessed vampire traits.
"Is there a way to turn back into a human?"
"Death." Shinobu replied bluntly.
"Kill you?"
"Umu." Shinobu nodded.
"Forget it then. Suddenly being a vampire doesn't sound so bad. Besides, I couldn't kill you anyway."
Sakurai Saki said something easily misunderstood. After all, he'd gone to great lengths to save her — killing her now would be a waste.
"A vampire's body has many weaknesses." Shinobu warned:
"You'll fear sunlight, silver will slice your body apart, garlic will strip away your powers…"
Realizing she might be talking too much, she cut herself off. Sakurai Saki didn't care much about those weaknesses anyway. Worst case, he'd just die once — and death didn't scare him. He had a contingency plan for that.
Sakurai Saki changed the topic: "Do you have a way to restore your original form?"
He was referring to that voluptuous Onee-san look, clearly.
Shinobu finished her donut, licked her fingers, and replied: "The heart is a vampire's life force. Find my lost heart — then I'll return to normal."
A face immediately came to Sakurai Saki's mind.
He didn't know where the heart was, but someone else definitely did. Hopefully, she'd be willing to cooperate when the time came.
"I want more…" Shinobu murmured, glancing at the bag of donuts.
Sakurai Saki smiled and handed her another one.
"Does this mean you forgive me?"
"Hmph~" Shinobu gave a soft huff. "As if~ You've got a long way to go if you want forgiveness from me!"
<（￣^￣）>
…What does that even mean?
Maybe that was forgiveness.
After all, she was a tsundere vampire.
...
Note: The chapter is too long, 4k words.