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November 5th, 1994
I was tired, more than anything, by now. Dirt and grime covered my face, and the red tracksuit I’d been wearing for… I don’t even know how long now. Had it been days? Weeks? Time was starting to feel like it was merely a concept instead of an actual law of life. A law of death.
It was in this death that I had found my father. It was in this death that, I was sure, my mother was. And as much as I didn’t want it to be the case… it was in this death that my brother, Akira, was, too. Damn it, why? Why did this all have to happen?
A soft sniffle escaped me. A whimper, maybe it was of fear, or f despair. I wasn’t sure. Honestly, I didn’t really think it mattered anymore. Through everything, I was the last one standing. Yuuki was gone. Mother and father were gone. Akira was gone. Even Megumi…
Megumi Shimizu. Damn it. Why did it have to be her? Of all my friends, why did she have to be the first to go? I just knew that if she wasn’t, she could absolutely still be alive by now. Or, hell, maybe I didn’t know that. After all, I couldn’t keep anyone else safe. But Megumi was different. She always was. She was special, at least to me.
Pull yourself together! I told myself as my thoughts started to drift away from the present. I couldn’t afford to think about this now. Trapped in my own home, almost a prison for me, I needed to focus on keeping myself alive. I wasn’t sure how safe I could be. Chances are, some of the… the vampires, had already been inside before. Yuuki had said that they needed to be invited in, but considering what happened to mother and father, I was sure that this had already happened.
Megumi was one of them. I knew that. I’d known that for… I didn’t even know how long, by now. Again, time felt hazy. But the events didn’t. I remember Megumi coming to my house one night, and she was gleefully taunting me. It was enough to break my heart. The girl I lov- my best friend, taunting me, telling me I deserved this. What had I done wrong?
I didn’t know when it was that I started crying. Love must have noticed, though, as he started licking my face gently. He was sat upon my lap as I hid in a closet. It was probably a stupid place to hide, but it was all I could think of.
“Hey, Love, I’m okay,” I spoke softly to the dog. He whimpered sympathetically in response, as if to call me out on my lie. I gave the fur of his head a few ruffles and scratched him behind the ear to calm him down.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of a door opening. This was it, she was here. I was certain that it was Megumi, and she was here to kill me, too. Just like the rest of my family. Tearfully, I grabbed the bat sitting next to me and stood up. Was I really ready for this? I didn’t know. I picked up the flashlight laying on by my feet and flicked it on, scanning it over my dark surroundings. Nothing. There was nothing.
I hesitantly took a step out of the closet, Love staying by me as I did. Oh, what had I ever done to deserve such a loyal and brave dog? If I ever got out of this, I’d be sure to give him all the treats in the world. My breaths were shallow and shaky as I continued to walk out from the closet. My flashlight shone around the room, illuminating little sections so that I could see them better, but it wasn’t helping me to find the source of the noise.
I took a deep breath as I entered a hallway. This would lead me to the front door, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to face Megumi again. It would be the first time I’d seen her since… since her death. And she’d done nothing to torment me since then. Could I really handle that?
I supposed that I didn’t have a choice. I noticed how shaky my legs were as I began to walk slowly down the hallway. I felt like I could collapse at any moment. With a shaky hand, I moved the light around the hall, shining it over different things, until it landed on something that stopped me. It was a picture. A photo Megumi and I had taken about a year ago. We were standing in a flowery field, wearing our school uniforms. A tear fell from my eye as I saw it. Looking back, we had seemed so happy then. How did it all come to this?
“Kaori?” a voice called out to me from the end of the hall. My breath hitched as I turned to face it, shining the light ahead of me to see clearly. It was Megumi, just as I had figured it would be. But there was something else, too. Something that I wasn’t expecting. She was crying. Megumi was crying.
“Me-Megumi,” I stammered, taking a step back. Love began to bark at her, but I tapped him to silence him. I didn’t want to draw too much attention from anyone else. My grips on the flashlight, and on the bat, were shaky and loose. I felt I could drop them at any moment. It seemed I truly wasn’t ready for this encounter.
“Kaori, I- I’m sorry,” the girl in front of me spoke. The words took a moment to sink in, and they caught me by surprise. She let herself fall against the wall and then collapse to the floor as she cried. I just stood there, speechless. Why was she apologizing like this? It was so different from the last time we spoke. She seemed so confident and prideful then, but now, it was like she was a completely different person. It was as if some switch had flipped inside of her.
“You… you killed my father,” I choked out sadly. I took a step towards her, my grip on the bat still loose and shaky. I didn’t know how genuine any of this was, but… I wanted to trust her. It was surprisingly, really, just how much I wanted to believe her, to believe in her. Even after everything she had done, I… I didn’t hate her. Even though every part of me was telling me that I should have, I didn’t.
“I- I know… I’m so sorry, Kaori,” she replied, not looking up to face me. She didn’t make eye contact, but it didn’t feel like it was in an attempt to hide anything. It almost seemed like, somehow, she felt she didn’t deserve to. And in this moment, I didn’t see a monster; I didn’t see the girl who killed my father. I saw the girl that was my best friend for 15 years. I saw the girl who taught me love. I saw the girl I had thought I’d lost forever. My bat dropped to the ground, the metal ringing out as it hit the wooden floor.
There was no reason to feel any sympathy for her. I knew that and I knew it well. After all, in the end, she was responsible for my father’s death. She’d admitted as much. But here, I saw a girl who was broken, just like me. A girl that maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to help. Sniffling, I took a soft step towards her.
“Megumi, I-” I began, but the words stopped there. What could I even say? Should I ask where this change had come from? Should I call her out on everything that had happened? All the death, the pain, the loss, the sorrow? Or… Should I try to comfort her? To tell her that everything would be alright, that I didn’t hate her even though I should have?
“It’s… it’s okay, Kaori. I know you must hate me. You have every right to,” she spoke softly, as if the weight of a thousand regrets were weighing down on her. Hell, maybe they were. I didn’t know. “You have every right to hate me… and to be the one to kill me…”
“What?” The word escaped my lips so suddenly. Was she saying that she wanted me to kill her? Where did this come from? Still, I came closer. I did so, not with anger or with hate, but with sympathy. Sympathy she didn’t deserve, but sympathy I gave to her anyway. “Megumi, I’m not going to kill you,” I said, hoping the words would assure her or comfort her.
“You should,” she replied softly. Finally, I had reached her. Slowly, I sat down next to her. I set the flashlight down next to us as I leaned against the wall next to her. I couldn’t bring myself to attack her, especially not when she was so vulnerable like this. Even if was an act- and if it were, it would have been a pretty damn good one- I still couldn’t do it. Maybe that was weak. I didn’t care.
“I won’t,” I reiterated. Softly, I wrapped her in a hug. The rational part of my brain was telling me that this was all a mistake, that I shouldn’t be doing this, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and tell her everything would be okay, even in spite of everything. I knew she didn’t deserve it, but I didn’t care.
After what felt like minutes of hugging in silence, we separated. She was still crying, but it was much softer now. Looking at her, she still seemed so broken, so torn. I hated seeing her like this.
“Why?” Megumi asked. It was soft enough that I could barely hear it. It still felt almost wrong, feeling sympathy for her. I wondered why she was so tormented, here, myself. What had caused this? Still, I had to answer her first, and so, softly, I did.
“Well… I want to believe that there is still good in you. I want to believe that you still have the capacity for humanity,” I admitted. I didn’t even realize how that was true until I was saying the words. I still wanted to believe that Megumi wasn’t too far gone. “But, similarly, I have to ask why to you, as well? Why are you so remorseful now? What happened?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. Perhaps it was simply curiosity, perhaps it was something I could use to help. Perhaps I just wanted something to talk about so that we didn’t have to focus on the actions she had committed, the events that had transpired recently.
“It… it was that monk, Mr. Muroi. He’s been spending time around Sunako, and-” she began to explain, but I interrupted her with a question.
“Sunako? Who is that?” I asked with great confusion. The name was not familiar to me at all. Granted, I had an idea of who she may be referring to- that Sunako may have been the one behind everything- but nothing certain.
“Sunako Kirishiki,” Megumi answered instantly. I thought perhaps that she was familiar with this Sunako person herself. She continued, “Sunako is the young lady of the Kirishiki family. Or, at least, the young-looking. She happens to be much older than she looks.”
“I see,” I replied, making a note of that. If I were ever to escape, I would almost certainly be using that information to give to police or investigators. Maybe even the PSIA, if they were to get involved.
“Well, Mr. Muroi has been around her, as they frequently interact. I overheard as he was telling her about… about a young, 15-year-old girl who came to him yesterday. He spoke of her with regret, saying that he felt he didn’t deserve to be giving her advice. He said that he was worried about her,” Megumi explained, sniffling. She ran her fingers across her eyes, drying up tears, and I noticed that she was wearing makeup simply because it had smeared when she had done so. “He said she came to him requesting a posthumous name. That she had given up, already dug her own grave. Her parents had died and her brother was missing. She felt that she was next, he said.”
As she spoke, I realized that it was me who she was referring to. Mr. Muroi had been talking about me to this Sunako girl, it had seemed. I didn’t know whether or not to be enraged about him sharing information about me with the family that was responsible for all of this death. The family that was responsible for Megumi’s death. Still, I listened silently.
“He spoke of this girl as if she was broken. He said that he was worried that she would end her own life. By his own words, he didn’t care about much of anyone here,” Megumi looked as though she felt a pang of guilt at those words, possibly as though she knew this feeling herself. I imagined that she did, and was feeling regret for it. “But he said that she didn’t deserve to go like that. For all he had known of her, she had been a sweet, caring, compassionate girl. And he described her. She was covered in dirt and grime, supposedly from digging her own grave. She wore a red track suit. Her hair was messy, the color brown. He was talking about you, Kaori.”
“And in that moment, everything I had done crashed down upon me. Even though I hadn’t before, I began to feel guilt and remorse. He was right, you are sweet, you are caring, and you are compassionate. And I… I took everything from you,” Megumi continued, looking like she was about to cry again. I wanted to hug her, so badly I wanted to hug her. “It occurred to me how awful I’d been. And how I simply tormented you with it. And then, he had said that you were sure it was because I was angry with you, and that broke me. As much as I’ve tried, I- I couldn’t hate you. You were always to kind to me. And I did this all to you anyway. I figured, then, that the only way I could… that I could atone for this, was to let you kill me.”
I was speechless. It was true that I thought she was angry with me, but still, I never had it in me to hate her. I’d felt the opposite way for so long, a few days wasn’t enough to erase the years we’d spent together that made me love her. Oh, and the guilt she was feeling. She seemed too remorseful, and there was so much self-hatred in her voice. I had never expected that of her, but here she was, broken. Just like me.
“There’s one thing you got wrong, Megumi,” I spoke, finally, breaking the silence between us. She looked up to me with eyes wide, and I could see the tears lining them. I offered her a soft smile as I continued, “You didn’t take everything from me. You didn’t take yourself from me.”
I could see the confusion she had felt upon hearing those words. Still, they were already out, and if I was to confess to her, now would be the time. After all, there was no guarantee that either of us would be around past tonight, and I would have rather not died without ever telling her how I felt.
“Megumi, I… I love you. I’ve loved you for a long time, now,” I admitted, seeing her confusion grow. She didn’t have to say anything; I already knew she was wondering how I could love her, even after all of this. “I never said anything because I knew you were in love with Yuuki, and I wanted you to be happy, so I wasn’t going to stand in the way of your love, but I’d been harboring feelings of my own for so long.”
Swiftly, I stood up and walked slightly down the hall. From off the wall, I took the photo that had earlier caught my attention, and then I returned to sit next to Megumi. Her eyes were filled with shock, maybe horror or remorse, when she saw the picture I was holding.
“This wasn’t when I realized it. It was before that. But every time I saw this photo, I thought of how much I loved you. It was a reminder, always, of how beautiful you are. And you looked so happy in it. These last few months, you’ve been so miserable. Maybe you were before, but it became very obvious in the last few months. You always spoke of going to the city, and I stayed quiet because I felt there was nothing I could do,” I admitted. It was a soft admission, sheepish and sad, filled with remorse. “When you first died, I felt so much regret for all the things I never told you, that I never did. Oh, if I could, I would’ve absolutely taken you anywhere you wanted. And I wished that I had. It didn’t matter to me that we’re 15; I still regretted not leaving with you to the city.”
“Kaori, I…” Megumi spoke sorrowfully, placing a hand softly upon my own. I could tell that there were a range of emotions blazing through her mind, not the least of which was even more regret. In my eyes, it only confirmed that she still had her humanity.
“I would’ve done anything for you, Megumi, all you had to do was ask,” I spoke clearly, taking her hand in my own and interlocking my finger with hers. “And then… that family killed you, and I felt awful. Part of me was in denial, and that only worsened when you came back. But even though you hurt me, I still couldn’t hate you. I still love you, even now.”
“Then… then that’s all the more reason that you should be the one to kill me,” Megumi replied with a soft whimper, a sound I was still not used to hearing from her. But again, she was wrong. I wasn’t going to kill her, but now, it wasn’t because I was not ready to. Instead, it was because I wanted more to help her.
“No. You’re still here, with me, now, and that’s what matters. And you’ve expressed your regret, your remorse. I can’t blame you for doing what you needed to in order to survive,” I denied, looking into her eyes deeply.
“I killed your father, though,” she replied, as if this was a great revelation to point out. And it was true that she did. But she also expressed her regret, and to me, that said that she wanted to get better. She wanted to, and I would help her to do so.
“Yeah, you did. But, if it wasn’t you, it would’ve been someone else,” I rationalized, setting the photo down and using my free hand to brush hair from her face. “And you’re expressing a desire to atone for that. The issue is, you’re doing so in a way that plays off of violence and revenge. Instead of asking to die, you should be asking for help to get better without death.”
The look on her face was one of disbelief, as though it was impossible for me to want to have mercy. Maybe she felt that she didn’t deserve it. I didn’t care, though. She could feel that way all she wanted. I felt that she did deserve mercy. She deserved a second chance, and I was going to see to it that she got just that.
“Megumi,” I spoke with a passion, pulling her close. “I believe in you, and I believe that you are capable of redeeming yourself. And even if you don’t, I’ll be here for you until you do. I promise.”
“You… you promise?” she asked softly. I hoped it was a sign that she was beginning to believe in herself again. I smiled softly, standing up and pulling her with me. The fact that I was able to smile, given the situation, was surprising to even myself.
“I promise,” I replied with conviction, and I pulled her into another hug. It was a pleasant surprise when she returned the affectionate gesture. It filled me with a newfound determination. I would see to it that she was given the chance to make herself a better person. Whether she loved me or not, in return, didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to let her die like this.
“Thank you, Kaori,” Megumi replied with a soft cry. It was one of relief, one of reconciliation. Maybe we were still broken, but that was not going to hold us back, I would make sure of it. As we pulled away, she then asked, “But what do we do now?”
“Well, I suppose we need to find our way safely out of Sotoba. With my parents dead and Akira gone, I really don’t have anything left here,” I admitted softly, picking up the flashlight and the picture.
“Last I knew, your brother was still alive,” Megumi spoke suddenly, catching me off guard. The news hit me hard, but it wasn’t in a bad way. “Tatsumi said that he caught him trying to stake someone and tied him up in the house. I don’t know if he’s still there, but it’s worth a shot,” she explained.
“Alright,” I replied, nodding in agreement. “Give me a minute to pack some clothes, and we’ll go.” She offered a genuine smile, practically melting my heart. It wasn’t spiteful or malicious in any way. It seemed she was genuinely happy, or at least, happier.
It didn’t take me long. I dumped the contents from my backpack and threw a few sets of clothes inside of it, then gently laid the photograph on the top. There was no way I wasn’t going to keep it. Once I’d filled my bag, I slung it over my shoulders and returned to the hallway, where I picked up the bat I had dropped earlier.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I spoke as I approached Megumi once more. Love followed behind me, still not fond of her apparently. She noticed this too, and let out a small but hearty chuckle as she pointed it out.
“I think your dog would rather not come with me,” she said. The smile she had was contagious, as I found myself smiling alongside her.
“He’ll warm up to it, I’m sure,” I replied confidently as I stepped outside. The night air was humid, but it wasn’t overly hot. The streetlights still worked, so I pocketed my flashlight and instead grabbed a leash for Love. I didn’t want him running off and leaving me alone. Looking around, the streets were mostly empty. I supposed that I shouldn’t have been surprised, it was still night time, after all, but wasn’t there a festival tonight? I felt as though there should have been people still around.
“When was it that you last knew of Akira?” I asked Megumi as we stepped onto the sidewalk. I wasn’t sure of where to go, so I was hoping that she might have had some idea of where he was. I hoped dearly that he hadn’t died.
“October 24th. According to Tatsumi- an associate of the Kirishiki’s- he said that he found Akira at the Tamae house and tied him up. Then again, it’s November 4th or 5th now, depending on what the exact time is, so there’s no telling if he’s still…”
Megumi trailed off. I could tell she didn’t want to say that he might not be alive, at least no around me. I didn’t blame her; if I found someone in my condition, I probably wouldn’t want to say anything like that to them either. Still, it was a lead, and that was better than nothing.
The two of us moved quickly, so it didn’t take long to reach the house. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I tied Love outside, knowing he’d bark if anyone came near, which would give us a chance to hide or defend ourselves if needed. I then took out my flashlight and flicked it on.
Megumi opened the door and stepped inside first. I followed after. The house had seemed empty at first glance. It creeped me out, but I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t about to leave, not without Akira, assuming he was there. Megumi seemed to notice this and whispered an offer to me.
“If you’d prefer, I can look around while you wait outside?” It was a sweet gesture, to be fair. Something that proved to me that she already wanted to do better. Still, I was determined to do this.
“I’ll be alright, but, thank you,” I politely declined. Akira was my brother, and if he was here, I still wanted to be there to find him. Not to mention, if he got trigger happy, so to speak, with Megumi, it would ruin everything we had talked about earlier, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.
Eventually, Megumi and I found our way into the master bedroom of the house. I wasn’t entirely sure if there were any others, but that didn’t matter. Shining my flashlight around, I quickly spotted a few stakes on the ground, as well as a torn rope. He wasn’t here.
“Damn it,” I muttered softly. We were too late, just as I’d feared. He was gone. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, given what Megumi had said about the dates. If it had been 10 days, it would be ridiculous to think he’d still be here, but that didn’t stop wishful thinking.
“Wait,” Megumi spoke suddenly, looking around for a moment. I turned to look at her as she spoke again. “There’s no blood anywhere. Not even a faint scent of it. That can only mean he got away somehow,” she pointed out, an observation that lifted some weight off of my heavy heart. There was still no guarantee he was alive, but at the very least, there wasn’t a guarantee that he was dead, either.
“If he escaped, maybe someone else saw him?” I suggested. It was a stretch, but I supposed that it was possible that he might have went to someone for help and simply wasn’t able to make contact since then. Perhaps he was in hiding. I hoped that was the case.
“It’s possible,” Megumi agreed, pang of sorrow hitting her voice again. I approached her softly to ask if she was okay, but before I could say anything, she addressed my concern. “Sorry, I’m… I’m fine; I just felt another wave of guilt about what’s happened. I really have been awful and I just don’t know how I can ever make up for that.”
“Well, this is a start,” I replied softly. While it was true that she had made some very bad mistakes, I wouldn’t let that be the end of her story. I would make sure she got better. “Come on, we should go.”
“Yeah… you’re right. Thank you,” Megumi agreed. It was nice to see this vulnerable side of her, even more than she had shown me before. I made a promise to myself there and then, that I would always be someone she could rely on. I needed to be.
Together, we left the house. I grabbed love again and we began to make our way towards the town’s center, where the festival would almost certainly be held. We agreed upon the way that she should find a place to hide when we were nearby, so that no one would see her. That would almost certainly end in disaster.
I arrived to a gruesome sight. The festival grounds were empty of anyone alive, or undead, for that matter. However, what was there, in a spectacularly bloody scene, was a woman staked. Her blonde hair was stained with crimson, and considering how open this was, I could only assume that she had been killed publicly. Still, with no one around, there was no one that I could ask of the whereabouts of my brother.
I returned to Megumi shortly, who greeted me with a sad smile. She kept guilt, clearly, and it only made me more determined to help her to be happy again. But that was for another time. I spoke as we returned to my house.
“There was a woman staked publicly. She was a blonde woman that I didn’t recognize, so I can’t say who it is,” I explained as we walked the empty streets.
“I wonder if it was Chizuru,” she mused. She didn’t seem particularly torn up about it, which told me enough about how Megumi felt. “She’s the mother in the Kirishiki family, although there’s no direct relation between her and Sunako,” she explained, before adding, “She’s the one that killed me.”
Knowing that made it easier to not care about the woman. If she really was the one who hurt Megumi, who killed her, and made her into this, then my only regret was that I wasn’t around to see it.
Eventually we returned to my house and, exhausted, I fell asleep.
November 6th, 1994
I woke up peacefully and unharmed. A small but genuine smile crossed my face. It was all the proof I needed to trust Megumi. She had every opportunity to bite me in my sleep, but she didn’t. I looked around and shortly found her in my closet. I assumed it was to keep the sunlight out, so I closed it quickly.
I took a quick shower to clean the dirt and grime off of myself and then changed into a new set of clothes. The dirty ones I was wearing would likely draw just a bit too much attention. I checked once more that Megumi was safe before having a single slice of toast for breakfast. I knew I couldn’t be long; I needed to find Dr Ozaki as soon as I could.
I exited my house and let the morning sun kiss my skin. There was a gentle breeze that lulled me into a sense of security. I looked around, trying to get a bearing on my surroundings. There were a few people out by now, hurriedly moving around. At second glance, it almost seemed some were frantic. I didn’t let it deter me.
My first stop was to go to Ozaki’s clinic. When I arrived there, it had seemed that there some fuss at what I assumed to be his house nearby. I approached calmly, but was on edge as I did so. I didn’t have my bat with me at this point, so I was virtually defenseless if things went wrong. However, as I entered to meet the doctor, I soon learned that I was not the one in danger.
I first recognized Dr. Ozaki, but my attention was quickly drawn elsewhere. A large man, who I recognized as the owner of a local store I’d never been in to, was staking a younger but seemingly related man. The place was covered with blood, some of it written out into a message I didn’t bother to read. I ran up to Ozaki quickly and asked, “What happened here?”
He seemed surprised, at first, to see me. Maybe it was how brazenly I had approached him. Nevertheless, he responded, “There was an attack last night. There’s nothing to be done about it now.” He didn’t seem particularly distressed, though I supposed that wasn’t out of line with him. He always seemed to have control over any given situation, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case here, too.
“Alright, well, can I ask you of something, Dr. Ozaki?” I inquired, looking around. I hadn’t seen him since awhile before all of this started, but he was still someone I trusted. Plus, given the circumstances, it would be safe to assume that he would be the kind of person Akira would go to if he were still alive. Someone that had authority, and one who wasn’t afraid to use it if need, but one who still looked out for people and tried to keep them safe.
He seemed to ponder for a moment, but shortly responded, “I’ll be with you in only a few minutes. I should be here to help take care of this.” His answer didn’t particularly surprise me. I waited patiently for him at the clinic. True to his word, he was there within minutes himself. “What is it that you needed?”
“My brother, Akira, he’s been missing since October 24th. Even before that, my parents both… well, they fell victim to this… whatever is happening,” I explained as he listened with sympathy. I didn’t want to mention the vampire part. It didn’t matter whether he knew or not, I didn’t want to say anything that could have revealed to him how Megumi was still around. “He’s the last member of my family left, but he hasn’t returned. I don’t know where he is, but I was hoping you might.”
“I… I don’t, I’m sorry. I haven’t seen him, and he hasn’t been to the clinic either, or records would show that. I’m sorry, kid,” he spoke in a soft tone that seemed to clash with his fairly gruff voice.
I hadn’t any luck with anyone else, either. In fact, the entire day had seemed to be dead end after dead end. When I had returned home, it was with empty hands. Megumi was still safely asleep, which was a blessing for sure. I knew I’d want to get some sleep myself, so I left a note for Megumi explaining that I’d gone around town to look for him, but no one had seen him. It was shortly thereafter that I fell asleep.
I was woken up, however, by a loud knock on the door. Still in my pajamas, I grabbed my bat and went to answer it. Standing at the door was that large man from earlier, the one who owned that shop. He stepped inside as soon as I opened the door, without even waiting to be invited inside.
“Hey, what are you doing?!” I cried out in surprise and anger. He didn’t seem to pay me any mind, though, as he stepped further inside. I could see behind him that there was a group of people. Were they going house to house for something? Or did someone find out? Either way, it spelled out disaster if he found Megumi, so I grabbed his surprisingly large forearm as I asked again, “What are you doing?”
He huffed and turned to face me, an angry glare in his eyes. “Looking for something,” he replied in a voice even gruffer than the doctor’s. Before he could turn to continue looking, I spoke up again.
“In my house? Surely you’re not planning to steal anything with such a large group outside,” I spoke with an admittedly accusatory tone, hoping it might bait him into staying away from Megumi. If I could distract him long enough, I might be able to save her, so I thought.
“Your brother. Your parents. Anyone else that you might be hiding,” he replied in turn, his own tone accusatory. I didn’t know why, but this response angered me.
“My parents are dead, and at this point, my brother probably is too, and even if he isn’t, he’s been missing for over a week now. You need to leave,” I spoke in anger, pointing out to the group waiting outside. My eyes narrowed at him as I took a hold of my bat again just in case.
“Not before I make sure that you aren’t-”
“Tomio! That’s enough!” I heard Dr. Ozaki’s voice call from outside. I wasn’t sure if he’d always been with the group or if he’d just arrived, but it didn’t matter. It was a saving grace, and that’s all I could’ve asked for. “She’s telling the truth, and there aren’t any bites on her. I saw this myself, earlier. Let’s move on.”
Begrudgingly, Tomio followed, but I knew that we wouldn’t have much time left. I closed and locked the door behind him before going to check on Megumi. She was just starting to wake up as I did, and I hugged her softly.
“We’ll need to leave soon,” I sighed before letting go. There was a look of confusion on her face. I offered her a sad smile before explaining, “It’s not going to be safe here soon. There’s people going around and hunting now.”
“What about your brother?” she asked softly, placing a comforting hand on mine. I let out a sniffle. It was an earnest question, to be sure, but how was I supposed to answer it? It was true that he was most likely dead by now, and I’d made a promise to Megumi that I intended on keeping.
“I don’t know. I need sleep anyway, so we’ll wait one more day, but we’ll have to leave tomorrow. It’s just not safe anymore,” I answered sadly. It hurt to say. Sotoba had been my home for my whole life, and in one night, I’d have to pack up and leave entirely.
“I’m so sorry, Kaori,” Megumi whispered softly, and this time, she pulled me into a hug. Before I could say anything, though, she placed a soft kiss on my lips. It was my first kiss ever, and it was with the girl I loved. I wasn’t even sure that she liked me back, but here it was. It was surprising, but I melted into it quickly. It put a smile on my face, that she would be the one to initiate such a gesture.
I kissed her back, pouring love and passion into it. When we pulled away, there were a few beats of silence. I didn’t know what to say, and I don’t think she did either. Still, she was the one to break the silence.
“I… I don’t know how strong it is yet, but… After you told me you love me, I started feeling the same. I don’t know if it’s happiness that you still accept me, or if it’s actually love, but I do feel something, and I’m willing to try, if you’ll let me,” she said quietly.
“Of course I will, Megumi,” I replied, embracing her affectionately. I smiled to her, and she smiled back. I didn’t know if everything would be okay in the future, but I knew in that moment, at least, that everything would be fine.
November 7th, 1994
I woke up late into the day. It was around noon when I did. Megumi was once again in the closet. I wasn’t sure what she had done during the previous night, but I didn’t particularly care. I was more concerned with our escape. I knew I couldn’t legally drive, but a car was still my best bet. The issue was finding one that I could use.
Another issue crossed my mind, too. Megumi was still a vampire. She’d still need blood. I didn’t know of many places where I could obtain that. The place that had seemed to be the best bet, to me, was Ozaki’s clinic, but that would mean breaking in and stealing it. There was the other one, but that would be much harder to do. It was too new, obviously run by the vampires, and I didn’t particularly care for the majority of them. If I went to them, I’d either be turned or forced to align myself with them as a human. I was certain that they wouldn’t take kindly to me trying to take the blood so I could help one of them escape, though.
Still, the first issue was finding a car I could use. Searching around town didn’t prove to be an easy task. There were a few cars around, but most of them were inaccessible. Luckily, I did eventually find one, which I drove back to my house with surprising ease. Once I was back, I put the bag with my clothes inside. I then collected all the money from the house that I could, knowing I’d need it. That was two issues down, and the last was to get the blood.
With a sigh, I entered Akira’s room. It had been untouched since his disappearance two weeks before. I sat down on his bed for a moment, my thoughts drifting to him. I hoped that, wherever he may have been, he wasn’t suffering. After a few minutes, I stood up again. I grabbed his backpack and emptied it before putting it on.
My trip to the Ozaki clinic was made on foot. The sun was setting, so I needed to be quick, but I didn’t want to draw too much attention. The walk took about 20 minutes, and when I arrived, the door was locked. The smell of something burning in the distance filled my nostrils, but it only served as motivation to move quicker.
I looked around for anything I could use to break open a window. I would be gone, hopefully out of town, by the time anyone noticed, so I didn’t hesitate to force my way in. The inside was dark, but still lit enough to see. I began to frantically search the clinic’s ground floor, but didn’t find anything. It mostly seemed to be offices. With no luck here, I made my way up to the second floor.
The second floor proved to be a lot bigger than I had imagined. There were many empty rooms that I could only imagine housed patients before. Eventually, I did find a storage room, which was exactly what I was looking for. I flipped the light on for this room alone and began to search frantically. It didn’t take long for me to find what I was looking for.
I unzipped Akira’s backpack and started throwing in as many blood bags as I could. They were bigger than I imagined they’d be, but hopefully that would give Megumi enough to stay alive, at least for awhile. A noise from downstairs, though, stopped me in my tracks. I left the backpack for a moment, even with a blood bag still in hand, as I exited the storage room and looked around. I didn’t see anyone around, but I didn’t dare call out to see if anyone was there.
I gulped heavily, resolving myself to get finished with this and leave as soon as I could. Before I could reenter the storage room, though, a dark haired woman in an orange kimono lunged at me. She tackled me to the ground, causing me to drop the blood bag, which I landed on. The combined weight and force caused it to pop open, splattering blood all over me. The lukewarm, crimson liquid soaked into my clothes as it spread out around me on the floor. I considered, for a moment, playing dead, but immediately dismissed the idea. There was no way I’d fool her.
“Hmph, this’ll be a good one. After all, no one would attempt to hurt a young girl,” the woman spoke, and I could practically hear her smirk. I didn’t know what was happening, but I wasn’t in the mood to wait and find out. I started frantically trying to push her off of me, but she proved to be surprisingly strong. I looked around frantically for anything to use, and a nearby cart of supplies caught my attention. I grabbed a hold of it and yanked it closer violently, causing it to fall and hit my attacker, spilling its contents onto the floor too.
A syringe landed beside me and I grabbed it quickly before it could roll away. As the woman began trying to attack again, I stabbed it into her neck then pulled it out. She cried out in pain and yelled at me.
“Oh, you little-!” she tried to call out to me, but I interrupted her with another panicked stab, this one going straight into her eye. She howled in pain again as she reached to pull it out, giving me a chance to kick her off. As she rolled back, I stood up and quickly scanned around the room. Upon scanning over a fire extinguisher, I thanked my lucky stars that this was a public building and needed something like that.
I ran over to the extinguisher and grabbed it quickly. By this point, the woman had gotten up, but I was ready. I took my newfound makeshift weapon and bashed her in the face with it. She stumbled back and I did it again. Before she could recover, I hit her with it one more time, and she fell over the stair railings to hit the ground below.
I dropped my weapon and returned to the storage room. Not knowing how long I’d have, I carelessly dumped everything I could into the backpack and zipped it up. I threw it over my shoulder and quickly exited the room again. The woman was still at the bottom of the stairs, so I picked up the fire extinguisher and dropped it on her head one more time, just to be sure. I ran halfway down the stairs before jumping over the railing to avoid her.
As I threw myself out the door, I was greeted with a horribly violent night. The source of the burning I had smelled earlier was now clear- a giant fire that was swiftly spreading across town. I didn’t have time to think as I took off into a sprint. My legs pumped furiously as I tried to avoid the heat, and the fire catching up with me in general. Luckily, since I was outside, I didn’t have to worry as much about the smoke, but I still needed to get away as soon as possible.
Before I could arrive home, however, something stopped me in my tracks. “Akira?” I asked in disbelief. It was relieving, to be sure, but also extremely surprising. I ran up to him and wrapped him up in a hug. “Akira, where have you been?!”
“I was at a hospital in Mizobe. Natsuno took me there!” he explained quickly, returning the hug. “But when I saw the fire, I had come make sure you were okay, so I snuck out. You weren’t home, so I was worried!”
“Oh, you have no idea what worry is!” I chuckled humorlessly as I let go, not even stopping to think about the fact that Natsuno had previously died, which would mean he had to come back himself. I quickly took Akira’s hand and began to run, pulling him along with me. “Come on, we have to get back to Megumi and-“
“Megumi?” he asked, interrupting me. I could hear the confusion in his voice but I didn’t have time right now. Neither of us did. With the fire spreading, our focus had to be escape.
“Yes, Megumi! There’s no time to explain, we need to go, no-!” I was cut off by a blow to the head knocking me to the side. It hurt worse that I thought a regular blow could, and looking up, there was another man. Damnit, couldn’t I catch a break? I quickly pushed myself up to face the man, who was clearly set against us.
“Ah, so you must be Kaori, then?” he inquired. The words made my blood boil. I didn’t know him, but he was clearly a threat, so the fact that he knew me was a big problem. “Megumi said she was going to go for you, but she never came back. Now, I had figured that you’d simply killed her, but now you’re saying that she’s alive? How curious.” I hated him already. I hated his smug energy, his condescending smirk, and that stupid pointy hair that made him look like he had wolf ears.
“Kaori, run!” I heard Akira call out to me, before I heard him grunt. He had started to run, but this new guy had stopped him too. I felt even more rage now. How dare he hurt Akira?
“And you… I thought I’d taken care of you already. But here you are, fine and functioning. I am simply dying to know how you got away from Iwao,” He said with that annoying smugness.
Looking around, I spotted a fairly big rock on the ground. It was better than nothing, so I picked it up and threw it at the man, hoping to get him away from Akira. “Get away from him, you bastard!” I screamed in anger. The blow didn’t seem to faze him at all, as the man calmly stepped away from Akira and towards me.
“Now, is that any way to treat a man just trying to do his job?” he rhetorically inquired. It only drove my anger up even more. He grabbed my shirt and lifted me up, leaving me powerless to fight back. “Then again, considering you made it this far, you’ve probably done this to others too, haven’t you?” he chuckled as he spoke. “If you hurt Yoshie in any way, I’ll have no problem making your death extremely painful.”
His chipper tone infuriated me, but I took the opportunity to hopefully distract him from Akira for good. “If that’s the lady in the orange kimono, don’t worry. I only stabbed her in the eye and then bashed her a bunch with a fire extinguisher,” I spat coldly, hoping he’d take the bait.
His demeanor suddenly changed as he threw me to the ground. His eyes narrowed in anger, and he gave a swift kick to my face, causing my nose to start bleeding. He crouched down to me and looked me over. “You know, everyone always described you as such a nice girl. I wonder when you decided to grow a backbone,” he said mockingly.
“Probably around the time you- oof!” I began to speak, but was interrupted when he kicked me again, this time in the stomach. I let out a groan of pain as he grabbed me and pulled me up again. Before he could do anything else, though, another voice called out to him.
“Let her go, Tatsumi” the voice of Natsuno Yuuki rang like a bell through the night. The man- apparently Tatsumi- dropped me as he turned to face Yuuki. Akira rushed to my side to help me up as I made eye contact with Yuuki. “I thought I told you to leave when you had the chance.”
“I had a change of plans,” I uttered simply as I regained the strength to stand on my own. It gained a small chuckle out of him, which I considered a small blessing.
“You should go,” he said, resting his eyes back on the other man. I didn’t hesitate. I took Akira by the hand as I began to run again.
“What about Natsuno?” he asked worriedly, though he didn’t resist at all.
“He’s stronger now, clearly. If anyone can handle that other guy, it’s him, not us. We need to go,” I replied. I felt a pang of guilt, but it was true. Yuuki probably didn’t even want whatever help we could offer anyway.
Eventually, we reached the house. The car was still out front. I looked around, and the street was empty. Whatever the case before or after, it was clear that now was the time to leave. I unlocked the car and told Akira to get in, which he did, before re-entering the house. There, I found a worried Megumi.
“Kaori, what-” she began to ask noticing the now-dried blood on my back, but I stopped her with a small kiss. Love rushed to my side as I did.
“There’s no time,” I said when we pulled apart. I leashed my dog, grabbed my bat and turned back to her. “The village is burning. We need to leave now or we’ll burn with it.”
First, I grabbed a blanket which I would use to cover her during the day if I needed to. I then led her outside quickly, her hand in mine, but one last voice stopped us before we could get in the car.
“Shimizu,” my father’s voice was loud and aggressive. The two of us turned to face him. In the burning light of the fire spreading across the town, he looked almost feral. Megumi’s breath hitched, and it was the first time I’d ever felt fear from her. I gently pushed her behind me as I grabbed my bat defensively, but he spoke again before anything else could happen. “First, you do this to me, and now you’re trying to take my kids away?”
“Father,” I spoke slowly. A pang of pain was clear in my voice, but I didn’t care. It was weak to feel pain. The glowing embers of fire grew closer, but I stood still, hoping to end this peacefully. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t… this isn’t her doing. It’s mine. And I-”
He cut me off with a loud roar of, “I won’t let you take them away from me!” He lunged at her, and so I swiftly swung the bat at him. It connected with his head, knocking him to the side. I could tell that the blow didn’t kill him, though.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,” Megumi cried as she fell against the car. I knew that she meant it, but I didn’t have time to comfort her yet.
“I… I won’t let you take her! You can’t have her!” my father cried out as he stood up. But this time, he lunged at me. “I won’t let you!” It didn’t matter to me what he was saying. He was going to attack me, and I only had one choice. I swung again, harder this time, and caught him in the head again.
“Put Love in the car with Akira,” I told Megumi. She looked up from her tears to face me, and I offered her a reassuring smile. “We’ll get out of this, okay?”
She nodded and took the dog as I reentered the house. I once again walked into Akira’s room, where I grabbed one of the stakes I’d emptied from his bag earlier. I returned to my father, who was starting to heal from the blow.
“I’m sorry,” I told him tearfully as I stabbed the stake down into his heart. I reared back, and then I swung the bat down on top of it, pushing it through. All it took was one swing, and he stopped moving. I dropped my crouched down next to him and pulled his eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” I said again, softly. Still, I had no time to lose.
I entered the car myself, setting the bat down in the backseat, where Akira and Love sat. I could tell he had a lot of questions. In time, they’d all be answered. For now, though, all there was to do was start the car and drive away from the burning village. I locked my hand with Megumi’s, giving it a comforting squeeze, as I left my home of Sotoba for the very last time, and hoped that there would only be a better future to look forward to.