My feet moved across the floors of the mansion, covering as much distance in as little time as possible by striding.
I run, run, and run.
I turn one of the corners of the mansion and slow my steps as I reach the area from where that piercing scream was heard.
Everything is stained red.
The entire hallway is now painted in a strong red colour. A daunting colour that breaks the hearts of those watching the scene.
Lying on the floor, Akiha is crying. And next to her, Kohaku-san tries to calm her down, in a failed attempt.
The moonlight streams in through the window, further highlighting the horrific scene in front of us.
For someone like me, who can see death, this scene is clearly something that cannot be reversed.
There is no way, no way it can be reversed.
The cuts are perfect, and they remind me of the scene from that time...
In the flat, me, with a knife. I murdered a girl and cut her into seventeen different pieces.
My breath stops at this picturesque scene in front of me. And my heart begins to flutter loudly.
I, can't, keep, calm, long, enough.
Because the person who was dismembered, was my father.
This scene that was created from a terrible murder hurts everyone here just to see it.
Whether it's the servants, whether it's Akiha or whether it's me, we are all shocked by what happened in this place.
----Throb.
In the midst of the commotion, I am lost in my world.
Who could have done this?
Why against my father?
What was the need for this?
----Thr, ob.
My head goes round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round.
I feel dizzy.
Like that time, I feel the desire to vomit non-stop.
I blink.
And the scene doesn't go away.
----Th, r, ob.
The lines begin to draw in front of me.
And a dark desire begins to be born from the back of my head.
"Cut them."
"Cut them through"
"Profile them"
"Kill"
"Murder"
"Destroy"
"Trace"
Many fragments of my voice fly around inside my head, like little impulses that make me want to grab the knife in my pocket. A knife that Aoko-san gave me for my fourteenth birthday.
There is something wrong with me.
The sound of dripping blood can be heard in my ears. My eyes begin to burn, and along with the lines, the interconnecting dots begin to appear.
In a sick world. I find myself in a world so sick and fragile right now, that I want to just murder it.
----THROB.
My knife was about to come out of its storage place, when suddenly, my younger sister rushes to hug me.
And calmness, returns to my heart to eliminate all those desires to murder in one fell swoop.
─Nii-san... ugh... u, uh...! F, father was... was...! Ahhh, Nii-san, Nii-san, Nii-san, Nii-san!
Akiha's tears then brought me back to reality, and instinctively, like a big brother, I went to hug my little sister and join her in crying.
I was about to do something very horrible again....
I can't let that ever happen again, ever, not in a million years. I can't do something so brutal again... You were right to resist your impulses, Shiki...
It's hard for me to understand what just happened to me, but... right now, Akiha is the most important thing to me.
I can't leave my little sister alone at a difficult time like this, where she is as vulnerable as a little girl.
It's a hard situation to take in, but I must take Akiha away from this place.
─Aoko-san....
When I was turning around to take my younger sister away, my teacher arrived on the scene and with a surprised expression, she says to me:
─Shiki... you...
─I'm sorry, I don't have time. I have to take Akiha somewhere else. Come on, Akiha.
─Yes, yes....
My still sobbing sister nods her head and starts walking beside me.
I see Touko-san who arrived a little later than Aoko-san, we exchange glances and nod briefly. I'll leave that to her for the time being, I have to do something with Akiha.
...
We went to the kitchen, where I made Akiha a cup of tea so she could calm down even a little. The corners of her eyes are red from tears, she cried for quite a while.
I hold Akiha's hand because she asked me to. She clings very tightly to that grip.
I have no problem with doing this, she's my younger sister... I can't believe I let her see something like that so close.
─Akiha...
─Nii-san...
We both speak at the same time.
I grimace at her to let her speak first, what she was going to say wasn't that important.
─Nii-san... why, do you wear glasses? If I remember correctly, you didn't have eyesight problems?
Huh...
How do I answer that question for you?
I don't want Akiha to know about the world I live in. I definitely don't want that.
She wouldn't be able to understand.
─My eyesight deteriorated as time went by, it's a normal thing when you grow up, isn't it?
─That, that's a lie...
─...
Did she see right through me?
Maybe I was a little careless with my facial expressions, right?
It hurts, but I don't want to lie to Akiha again.
─You see, Akiha... these are special lenses that block something that "must not be seen". I went through a long training process and I still can't take these glasses off for more than ten minutes without stopping.
─...
Akiha is silent, perhaps to listen to my explanation.
I guess it's normal that this interests her so much.
─I got them from Aoko-san when we first met. She gave me these glasses and a great life lesson that I've carried with me since that tragic accident.
─... and what do they block...? ─. Akiha asks.
Although I'm a little doubtful that she will believe my explanation, I have no choice but to be honest with her.
─Block me from seeing the death of everything around me. This is projected as lines and dots that at first I thought were there just because, and that things were easier to cut on those lines... but then, my teacher came along and scolded me when she saw how I cut those lines so thoughtlessly.
─Your teacher.... Was that why you decided to live with her?
─No, no. I just thought for a moment, the words she was saying to me along with the expression she was making were like those of "someone who lost an important person". I felt the immediate impulse to ask to live with her at that moment.
─Nii-san... what is the world like, that you see?
─Are you seriously asking me that, Akiha?
─Yes! I want to know... about the things I missed out on from you in the time we weren't together, Nii-san. Even now, this is the first time we're talking just you and me.
─Ah...
Now that I think about it, she's right.
I haven't talked privately with her yet, there was always Kohaku-san or Hisui-san present. But now that they're gone, it's officially the first alone conversation I've had with Akiha after so long.
●●●●●●●●●●●●
My shoulders relaxed then, and I was able to smile a little at this scene going on right now.
I guess I should catch up with Akiha.
─Well, the world I see is totally different from the one you see, Akiha. My eyes are rare, and they allow me to see the death of objects. Those who have lent me their power so far always tell me that they seemed to be attracted to these eyes I have.
─Are they special to you?
─Not so much so, Akiha. For me they're a nightmare I couldn't face if I didn't have these glasses. But God doesn't give powers without a reason. I've lived these past eight years under that belief. If my pain brings happiness to those I care about, then I don't care about being this way.
─Nii-san. Then, what were all those things that strange vampire said... Arcueid?
─What did Arcueid say?
Akiha's expression gets complicated when I asked that question. Maybe she does dislike Arcueid after all, but I don't think she has the will to say it after how I scolded her this morning for badmouthing Arcueid.
But squeezing my left hand even tighter, Akiha says:
─She said that you fought to the limit of your ability just to protect her? Not because she was important to you, but because you killed her, what does this mean?
Well...
─That's a long story... but I'll sum it up for you. When I looked at Arcueid for the first time, I had an indescribable urge to murder her... yes, just as it sounds, for the first time since I've had this ability... no, since I've had life, that was the first time I had such an urge to kill someone.
─But, if you did.... Aren't the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception] supposed to have killed her?
─I thought so too, but Arcueid is another type of vampire than the one you know in popular culture. She doesn't burn in the sun, she has no desire to consume blood, and she doesn't have those kinds of typical weaknesses either. She is a [True Ancestor], which is the ideal base of a [Vampire], these are completely [Natural Beings] and especially her, she couldn't just die from an ability like the [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception].
─But what did you do to make her think you fought for her?
Ehh...
─Because that's what I did.... Nrvnqsr and Vlov would have served their purpose if I hadn't been with Arcueid. She was weakened on my account, so she couldn't do much against Vlov. The vampire noticed that all my moves were to defend Arcueid because everything unfolded that way, he believed that he couldn't let a single shard of ice fly towards Arcueid who was so badly wounded.
─Even if it meant losing your life?
─Yes. Because I had the opportunity to use my full potential for the purpose of protecting someone. I had no such noble desire as protecting the city, that was just an extension of my actions. My main purpose was to protect her above anything else, at that time, my top priority was Arcueid all the time. Even if I had died, I would have done it protecting her.
─That... is so selfish.... ─. Akiha mutters.
I guess you're absolutely right, it's very selfish of me to have done all that without taking into account how the others looked at it.
But it's a reality.
I fought not because Arcueid was important to me, but because of all the guilt that flooded me. I couldn't allow Vlov to murder Arcueid in any way.
I think Akiha understood that beautifully.
─Did it necessarily have to be Arcueid? ─. She asks.
But.
No.
─It could have been anyone, Aoko-san, Touko-san, Ciel-senpai, Hisui, Kohaku, Arihiko, Yumizuka-san even you, Akiha. If you guys were in a situation where only I can protect you, then I will fight with everything I have so that you guys will be free from danger.
─Even if it had been our father...?
...
─Even if it had been our father. I would have done every last thing to prevent his death.
─You're too kind a person, Nii-san... heh, heh... you're still the Nii-san from back then, I'm happy about that.
For the first time all night, Akiha laughed.
That made me happier than anything right now.
A lot of things have changed, but...
─Oh... ─. Akiha murmurs, as I bring a hand to her hair and start to mess it up a bit.
Stroking her head was something I did quite a bit when we were kids, and it was a kind of reward I gave Akiha when she put a lot of effort into something, though I also did it when she was sad.
Eight years since then, but I can't help it.
My younger sister has grown up a lot too, I'm very happy to see how she has matured to what she is now. But there's still something I have to say, that I haven't so far.
─I'm sorry for leaving you alone, Akiha.... ─. I say in a calm tone of voice, but full of guilt.
Akiha responds to me in the same way:
─Nii-san... I was so lonely... I felt so sad, every night it had been hard for me to sleep since you left, You have no idea how relieved I felt when I could sleep peacefully for the first time in eight years! All the time, without fail... every day I thought about you...
─Akiha.... ─. I call her name as I realized she was crying.
─You abandoned me... you left me aside, you didn't even think about how I was feeling... Nii-san is so selfish... but even so, I can't hate you. Now that dad is dead... you're all the family I have left, Nii-san, don't leave me alone again.
─...
Silently, I hug Akiha.
I hugged her tightly. Because I didn't want her to keep crying.
I know... I know it was my fault...
I was selfish to ask Aoko-san to live with me, but I was even more selfish to abandon Akiha like that.
I hadn't realized it...
But my thinking was wrong.
After all, I will always be Shiki Tohno.
As long as I carry this family name until the day I die, no matter who my guardian is, Shiki Tohno is always going to be Akiha Tohno's older brother.
I can't lie... I seriously didn't know how Akiha felt when she was given the news that I would no longer be living with her or anyone related to the family.
That's why, now that I have the chance...
─Akiha, I'm never going to abandon you. Ever. I'm not going to make the same mistakes of the past again. You're very important to me, and the last of my family too.
─Nii-san...
─I'm not going to leave you, not now, not ever. Even if I had to fight anyone who gets in my way, I'm going to do my best to be there for you through everything, Akiha. I promise.
Then, Akiha hugged me much tighter than I did.
Clinging to me, my younger sister cried again.
And so it went on for hours and hours. Until she fell asleep.
...
After ensuring that Akiha finally fell asleep in her bed inside the [Tohno Mansion], I, who was beside her on a chair, found myself holding her hand still.
She asked me to stay with her for the whole night. She didn't think she could be asleep without anyone to keep her company, and there was no one better for the position than me.
Moonlight streams in through the windows, and dimly illuminates Akiha's sleeping face.
I look up at the waning moon in the sky, with an expression that is complex to describe.
Tomorrow is going to be a very long day. All the servants at the mansion are in an uproar over Makihisa's sudden death, while Kohaku-san is taking care of our father's funeral arrangements, Hisui-san is probably trying to calm the mob of servants around the mansion.
The one who is now supposed to be the head of the [Tohno Family] sleeps with a calm face. I remain silent watching Akiha for a moment, before returning my gaze back to the moon.
Akiha...
If I were to abandon her right now, she wouldn't be able to stay calm. I don't want that to happen to Akiha and I won't allow it either. I have to keep the promise I made to her.
Touko-san was writen to me what they found in the crime scene:
─Clearly there is use of a bladed weapon in this. But, Shiki-kun, the cuts are very similar to what you already know.
That's right, very good reasoning.
Refreshing the memory of the last time something like this happened, which was when I "murdered" Arcueid, I realized that these cuts that killed Makihisa Tohno are very similar to the cuts I perform with my [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception], but that there was a third individual with those eyes was unlikely.
It was unlikely, but not impossible. However, when Touko-san questioned each and every servant with her [Mystic Eyes], none claimed to have had a near-death experience, so we ruled them out.
It was also possible that Makihisa had been killed with weapons capable of inflicting these wounds, such as a chainsaw or a katana in the craziest case, however, Makihisa was not particularly weak, so he could not have been killed just like that without putting up a fight.
This is all very out of place really, but for today, that's enough.
I'm too tired from all the events that happened today alone.
So I'm going to get some sleep and keep my wits about me, in case the killer comes after Akiha. I have to do my best to stay active, even if yesterday's wounds reopen, I'll do whatever it takes to protect Akiha.
Yes.
This is something only Shiki Tohno can do, so, I'll take off my glasses in case I have to take immediate action if something wakes me up in the middle of the night.