October 23, Saturday.
The raindrops were running down my body.
The cold floods every fiber of my skin.
It was past midnight by the time I was able to return to the place where all the horrible began...
I turned the hand once more. The door was unlocked.
I had mentally prepared myself for everything. It's true what they say, the perpetrator always returns to the scene of the crime he commits.
He had his eyes closed until then.
The scene in front of me. It is exactly the opposite of what I was imagining even before opening the door.
The apartment is completely clean.
There is no trace of blood there.
As if they had simply passed an eraser over the image. There is no blood, much less are there pieces of human flesh lying around.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
This is bad.
Very bad.
Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad.
THIS IS VERY VERY VERY BAD!
HORRIBLE!
TERRIBLY BAD!
Someone came here! Of course they did!
They saw me running, with bloody hands and carrying a knife! Someone came here, called the police and had the scene cleaned up!
But they didn't see my face.
Yes, Shiki! You can be calm!
No one saw your face when you ran like crazy!
Absolutely nobody...!
I would like to say that. But it's stupid.
They saw my uniform. That is sure. They know that I am a student, to be more specific, they will look at my school without a doubt. It won't be long before they find me after gathering enough clues.
It's a stupid thought I had.
That they won't find me?
That's very, very stupid.
I put the rope around my neck from the moment I decided to kill that girl.
As I was sinking into my thoughts, all of a sudden ----
─ Oh? You are very brave to come back here. I recognize it. Seventeen pieces. Huh. This is no joke. Anyone other than me could have died after that.
An elegant voice sounds behind me.
It is then that all my alarms go up.
My hair stands on end, goose bumps, sweat runs all over my face and my heart began to pound much more strongly than when I threatened Ciel.
Fearfully.
I turn my head back and there ----
I wanted to deny it.
I wanted them to tell me it's a lie.
I wanted everything to be false.
But I can't escape this.
Absolutely not.
In the midst of all my mental mess, a golden glow reaches my eyes. A woman in white is standing there.
─... n-no...
I started backing up, entering the apartment.
I wanted to keep my distance.
I wanted to escape.
I wanted this to be a lie.
─What's up? Does it surprise you? Oh ok. I guess I'm what you can call [Vampire], to put it simply. But you won't live long enough to remember it.
[Vampire]?
But, that's impossible...
What, huh...?
Ah----
I had forgotten.
The story that Aoko-san... told me...
Michael Roa Valdamjong, fell in love with a white woman. Her skin was smooth as porcelain, and her golden hair made her the most beautiful woman her eyes have ever seen.
That same woman.
So fine and so graceful, she held even the straightest of her postures as she walked.
My breathing begins to rag.
─It's... i-impossible... You... ugh!
My words are cut off when that woman, with a speed that I couldn't even detect, kicks me in the belly that sends me flying towards a wall.
Unable to resist the force of the impact, I slammed into the wall without further ado, like a run-over animal. I feel like some of my bones seem to have been broken with the force of a tremendous blow.
─Cough... gah, agh...! ─. I start to cough, blood.
She was about to take the knife out of my pocket, to make the stupid attempt to defend myself, but...
─"You should be dead", was what you were going to say, right? Well, what does it feel like? Being "killed" without the opportunity to do something. I do not understand, where was your skill and ability from a few hours ago? You did something that most humans would be incapable of doing, so for that alone I'm going to give you a less painful death.
The girl dressed in white snatches the knife from my pocket.
In her glowing crimson eyes, I can feel palpable hatred.
But... it's not too deep a hatred.
Rather, resentment.
I know the differences between the two. And I know that she's just trying to do what I did to her.
Right... the girl that I had "murdered" was now in one piece and trying to kill me.
She raises the knife above her head.
Normally he would be willing to die without saying another word. It's what I deserve, after all. Nothing is free in this life after all, I was going to end up paying for this sin at another time.
But at least.
I have the certainty that I can be calm...
I can give up my will to live...
─I'm glad... to know that you're not dead.
The glare from the lights is reflected through my glasses. In the blink of an eye, I am able to actually see her face. A very beautiful woman appears there, with a somewhat annoyed expression, but even so, it makes her look beautiful.
We make eye contact for the first time.
She and I stared at each other, at the exact moment where she was about to stab me.
"Cling".
The sound of the knife falling to the ground puzzles me.
And abandoning all will to murder me, she asks.
─Those glasses.
─Huh?
I couldn't help but let out a stupid voice when she said those two words.
The whole situation got out of place when she mentioned it.
Uh, uhm...
─Who gave you those glasses?
When she suddenly asks me.
I am unable to remain silent.
─Aoko-san...
The girl's guard rises again when I mention the name of my guardian.
I can tell just from her expression that she is uncomfortable at the mention of Aoko-san within all of this.
─What is your name?
? ? ?
Weren't we on an assassination attempt?
Can't we go back to the scene?
I look away a bit and answer...
─Shiki... Shiki Tohno.
─Then, let's leave the formalities. Shiki, the person who gave you these glasses, is she currently in town?
I owe him a lot.
It's just my way of paying my debt to her (in part), I want to answer every one of her questions.
─I guess... she said she was going on a trip, but that she would come back in the evening.
─Damn it... it's going to be a problem for me to kill you. Well, stand up, Shiki. Let's talk.
What...?
─I am Arcueid Brunestud, and I am what you know in your world as a [Vampire].
─! Arcueid... Brunestud...?!
─Hm? Well, I guess [Blue] must have told you about me at some point. That's right, I am the [Princess of True Ancestors], Arcueid Brunestud herself. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shiki.
I didn't know at the time.
She didn't have the slightest or remotest idea.
But to be honest.
I never thought that... this girl standing here, with a smile on her face as she extends a hand to me, the same girl I killed this afternoon and the reason why I was about to commit suicide just like that.
Who would have thought...
That she would become an important person in my life. To the point of putting her even above Aoko-san who I've known for years.
But they will see that in the future.