Chapter 102: What Does It Feel Like to Become a Vampire?
What does it feel like to become a vampire?
Thanks for the invite, I'm currently in Japan and have just become a vampire. Well, the experience actually isn't bad. It's just that in the morning when I wake up, it gets a little hot under the blanket. Since it's spring right now, it's still bearable, but when summer comes, if I don't turn on the air conditioner, I might not be able to sleep.
They say that if a room is left uncleaned for too long, it'll grow cats. But if a vampire's room is left uncleaned for a long time, it'll grow a blonde-haired loli.
Early in the morning, Sakurai Saki got up, glanced at the sleeping blonde vampire loli nestled in his arms, and rubbed his temples.
What's with this "FBI! OPEN THE DOOR!" kind of feeling...
Did I do anything weird yesterday?
Probably not?
What kind of normal person would even lay a hand on this kind of target?
Shinobu was awakened by his movement. She rubbed her eyes, the thin white T-shirt on her body covering most of her skin.
"My servant, up so early~"
(っ˕ -｡)ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁
Vampires are nocturnal creatures, and usually have no energy during the day.
For Shinobu, this should've been sleeping time.
"Did anything happen between us last night?"
"Everything happened~ Ka ka~ Your gasping sounds were really delightful~" Shinobu said in a sultry voice.
Shinobu: (≖⩊≖)
"That was just bloodsucking, wasn't it?"
Sakurai Saki rubbed his neck—there were very clear fang marks there. He had looked in the mirror—it looked exactly like a hickey.
"For vampires, the two most important things are feeding and creating a family." Shinobu giggled. Her youthful, adorable face carried a peculiar trace of sensuality.
(˵ ¬ ¬˵)
"And those two things, I've already done with you."
Vampires carry traits of succubi, so they don't really feel much shame about human sexual behavior...
To vampires, creating a servant is the act that's actually tied to sexuality, and is something that embarrasses them—in the end, its purpose is to create family. Vampires don't get pregnant through ordinary sexual intercourse with humans.
So when she saw Sakurai Saki dying yesterday, the act of turning him into a servant was actually an immensely significant decision on Shinobu's part—she had once been hurt by that very thing.
"What do you want for breakfast?" Sakurai Saki had no resistance to a 500+ year old vampire loli who could speak filth so casually; he wasn't good at dealing with things that were too direct.
"Donut!"
(∩❛ڡ❛∩)
Shinobu gave a completely expected answer.
She didn't need food to replenish energy; eating was simply for enjoyment.
...
After eating, Sakurai Saki got ready to go out.
At the door, he stood in the shade, looking up at the sun overhead.
Vampires are afraid of sunlight. There's a rumor that if exposed to sunlight, vampires will turn to ash.
"..." Sakurai Saki held out his hand.
The very first second sunlight touched him, red blotches appeared on the back of his hand. In less than a dozen seconds, his palm had turned to black ash and drifted away.
"...You." Shinobu emerged from within Sakurai Saki's shadow.
There was worry on her face.
But Sakurai Saki's expression didn't change—at worst, he'd just die once. After dying once, his body would revert from vampire back to normal. His bloodline wouldn't allow vampire blood to remain in his body.
He withdrew his hand. A few seconds later, the hand quickly regenerated.
The side effects of becoming a vampire were stronger than he'd expected, but it wasn't anything major.
"This'll make life pretty troublesome." Sakurai Saki smiled and let out a light joke.
Stepping out the door meant turning to ash—vampires really were an unlucky race.
"You… want to become human again?" Shinobu asked anxiously.
"If I become human again, then you'll have to die, right?" Sakurai Saki asked in return.
Killing someone just to make yourself feel better? And it would be the very comrade you went through the trouble of saving?
If she had really killed Fujiwara Chika, Sakurai Saki definitely could have taken her down to the hell.
But she didn't. On the contrary, she was misunderstood by him. That made Sakurai Saki feel a little guilty.
In this situation, even if she had killed thousands over the past 500 years, Sakurai Saki wouldn't care.
He didn't care about justice. He was the kind of person who sided with people close to him, not strangers.
To Sakurai Saki, if he had to live in frustration even after becoming an Esper, then he wouldn't be an Esper at all.
"Do you not care about your identity as a human?"
"I do care." Sakurai Saki picked up an umbrella from the entrance.
"I've always wanted to live as a normal person."
"You're lying."
"It's not good for kids to be so sharp." Sakurai Saki opened the umbrella.
"On one hand I say I want to be normal, but on the other hand I subconsciously act superior when dealing with others. I'm always lying to myself." Sakurai Saki turned his head to look at Shinobu and extended his hand toward her.
Shinobu also reached out her small hand, and the two held hands—it looked just like a pair of siblings.
"I'm just cosplaying as a normal person. It's the same as those rich folks cosplaying as doglickers. Doing pointless things, chasing after things that aren't worth chasing—when they were things I could've had easily from the start."
The two walked together down the street.
Nearby was an old private school building, and right next to it was Gaen Izuko's Yorozuya office.
Suddenly, a motorcycle sped by on the side of the road.
Shinobu walked close to Sakurai Saki.
Just a second later, as the bike zipped past the two of them, Sakurai Saki pulled Shinobu—who seemed distracted and was about to step into the sunlight—into his arms.
"…Trying to kill yourself?" Sakurai Saki patted her head.
Shinobu was silent for a few seconds, then replied: "…I wanted to turn you back into a human."
"And then I'd have to carry your life on my back? Feel guilty until the day I die? You'd be at peace, but what about me?" Sakurai Saki scowled. "Don't do something stupid."
"You're the stupid one!!"
(｡•̀ ⤙ •́ ｡ꐦ) !!!
Shinobu looked up at him twice, then, as if sulking, sank deep into his shadow.
After circling a few blocks—
Sakurai Saki finally saw a shop with a sign that read "Yorozuya", two stories tall.
The shop looked old. One glance and you could tell it wasn't some high-end place.
He pushed open the door—
And immediately saw Gaen-senpai sitting at the reception desk.
Wearing a baseball cap, dressed in baggy clothes—both shirt and pants covered in pockets—and each pocket had several cell phones inside.
"Ara~ Welcome~" Gaen Izuko glanced at him.
"Didn't expect you'd actually become a vampire..."
She could only predict part of the situation—she didn't know everything.
The chances of Sakurai Saki becoming a vampire were actually very low—he cared a lot about his identity as a human! This was outside of her expectations. At first, she only wanted to suggest that Sakurai Saki subdue Kiss-Shot, hoping he'd gain a good impression of her from that.
"So? Sakurai-kun, you don't want to be human anymore?"
Sakurai Saki folded his umbrella and replied: "For now, I still do."
He wasn't DIO—saying he wouldn't be human anymore and actually meaning it.
"You know how to turn back?"
"Of course."
Gaen Izuko pretended not to know: "You came here looking for something?"
"Yeah."
Sakurai Saki hadn't even had time to explain clearly—
Gaen Izuko spoke up: "You came to ask me about the whereabouts of Kiss-Shot's heart, didn't you?"
"How did you know?"
Gaen-senpai kept a mysterious look, smiling faintly: "I know everything."
Sakurai: （ ￣￣ー￣￣ ）
Seeing Sakurai Saki's dead-fish expression, Gaen sighed—
"Alright, alright, I won't keep talking in riddles."
This kid didn't respond to soft approaches or tough ones, and talking in circles with someone like that would never end well.
"Kiss-Shot's heart is currently in my hands, but I had to go through a lot of trouble to get it." Gaen Izuko continued, and when she noticed Sakurai Saki showing a hint of suspicion, she added: "You'll need to agree to one condition. This is also a request made by the one known as [The Thief]…"
"What condition?"
"Bind Kiss-Shot to your side. She's far too dangerous!"
If left unchecked, in the worst-case scenario, she could destroy the world in just three days. But that wasn't the main reason—Gaen Izuko posed this condition to make it easier for Sakurai Saki to control Shinobu.
"I'll keep a close eye on her." Sakurai Saki replied.
"No, you won't be able to." Gaen Izuko said flatly. "You've already become her servant. Naturally, Kiss-Shot has an innate influence over you."
As soon as she said that, Shinobu silently emerged from Sakurai Saki's shadow.
What Gaen Izuko said was true—she really could do it.
Even if Sakurai Saki only had 1% vampire blood in his body, Shinobu still had enough power to control him!
"If you don't plan to kill her, then your only option is coexistence." Gaen-senpai glanced at Shinobu and continued.
"But this method will make you inseparable. She'll be sealed in your shadow, living off your blood."
From being the "Oddity of all Oddities" to becoming a near pet-like existence—Shinobu did not reject this.
She simply nodded silently.
Last night, she had come here seeking death, but at the very last moment, she felt fear.
Now that she had been saved by Sakurai Saki, Kiss-Shot was afraid of death, yet had no more meaning to live. She was like a walking corpse—with no goal, no reason to exist.
Her only remaining tie to this world was now the person called [Sakurai Saki]—the one who had become her servant.
Sakurai Saki was different from her first servant—he didn't curse her for selfishly turning him into a vampire, nor did he try to throw himself into the sunlight to die in front of her.
For someone like Shinobu, who had been deeply wounded by her first servant, it wasn't hard to imagine how she would treat Sakurai Saki—the one who had been willing to offer his life for her—even if the two had misunderstood each other the day before.
'If you don't want me to die, then I won't die.'
Sakurai Saki didn't want her to die, so she wouldn't—that was the request of one of the few "loved ones" she had left. But if one day Sakurai Saki wished to return to being human, Kiss-Shot would not cling to him. She would offer herself without regret—that was the kind of love she held for her servant.
"Living and dying together… sounds kind of romantic, doesn't it…"
Sakurai Saki looked at Shinobu: "As long as I'm alive for one more day, you won't die."
"And as long as you're alive, I won't let you leave—because your life is one I saved."
"You're so greedy. What do you take me for?" Shinobu said flatly.
"A pet?" Sakurai Saki joked.
The blonde vampire girl shot him a glare:
"You really are an insufferable man!"
(˶˃⤙˂˶)
————
"…So, the whole vampire mess came to an end."
Sakurai Saki could more or less return to his normal life again—a truly happy and worthy occasion.
Watching his back as he walked away, Gaen Izuko clapped her hands lightly.