Shinatsu's Pov
I tried my best to move on and forget everything, but it's impossible. The past won't let me forget. On my walk to no place in particular, I recalled the last 10 years of my life. As far back as I can remember, to when I was 7 years old.
My dad was never in the picture, not that I cared. He didn't want to raise children that shouldn't have been born. He's supposed to be a big figure of the Boreas family yet he went and got a woman pregnant not willing to bear the responsibilities of being a parent. I've only seen him once, and I'll never forget his face. I lived with my mom and twin sister, who was born 4 minutes after me. Technically that made her my younger sister so I loved playing the role of big sis. She always liked having her hair in twin tails, I copied her because of how much they added to her cuteness. We stayed in a small home, far away from the Boreas estate. We were allowed this freedom because they hadn't yet been aware of our existence. Mom told me all about the world, about the corrupt bigwigs and vampires, yet I wasn't scared at all. In fact, I was enthusiastic. Claiming I wanted to be a superhero and stop all the bad vampires. My sister looked up to me and my mom always said how proud I made her. Thinking back on it though, she must've had her reservations about me wanting to become a Hunter even with all the stuff she told me. Not that I'd ever know for sure now.
Our peaceful life stopped when I was 8 years old. The Boreas family finally caught wind of us and took me and my sister away from our mom. I never saw her again after that. Mom tried to win an unwinnable custody battle. She was against one of the 3 big families in the world of Hunters. They have connections. That was when my life became a living hell. The family treated us differently since we were the children of some unknown woman who are father accused of tricking him into bed. Of course everyone believed the man with power. My sister and I had to deal with immense pressure because of that from a young age. Children of the big 3 families are usually homeschooled, but we were allowed to attend public school thanks to a family member pushing the suggestion. Even still, we had no time for ourselves or to play. It was school, study, train, sleep. The same cycle over and over again like clockwork. When I was 10, my sister went missing. The family didn't care since she had no talent with the blade and was terrible at her studies. Apparently, I was the competent one out of us two. This family made me sick to my stomach. I rebelled and received harsh beatings as punishment. Children from the Boreas family are all expected to become at least a 1st Rank Hunter. My saving grace was my talent. I went to school each day putting up a cold front. Naturally, I made no friends doing this. I isolated myself and continued to make enemies out of my classmates for years. I never wanted to be a Hunter. But I didn't want to be alone. I wanted a place where I could belong. A couple of my family members were kind and didn't want me to be alone, but I pushed them away unwillingly due to the master of the Boreas Family's harsh teachings. I played video games to blow off steam, it worked well since I was so good at them. Along the line, I met Iris. Though I never actually talked to her, my self-proclaimed rivalry with her is the only thing that kept me sane, and it's also the reason I continued to get smarter and stronger. No matter how silly it was, I dedicated myself to something that would push me to continue living. Iris saved me.
I got another reality check once I turned 13. The whole family was gossiping about something. I learned that my mother had killed herself. I hadn't seen her for 5 years, but I was still broken. The Boreas family drove my sister to go missing and my mom to suicide. This world should honestly just burn.
Despite everything, I still enrolled in the Hunter Academy. Things weren't bad there. Fate happened, and I ended up reuniting with Iris. I ended up tutoring her along with Chifuyu which wasn't bad. One thing led to another, and I ended up getting expelled under the pretext of graduating early. My aunt Amelia came to me, saying she'd give me a purpose to my life. My mission was to join Odd Jobs and expose the Vampire Lord and half-vampire hiding among the Hunter ranks. If I succeeded, I might be welcomed back into the Boreas family. I just went along with it. Over a month passed, and I truly enjoyed my time there. Life loves knocking me down over and over though. Sophia who has a grudge against me came and interrupted our peace. On top of that, Amelia already paid a visit giving me a nice reminder. I actually believed I found the place for me. It was false hope, my life has been full of that.
When I came to, I found myself sitting on a bench in some park. The sun is setting, so I've been out for the whole day.
…..
"Why am I still alive…"
Every fiber of my being is telling me there is no point in continuing to live, yet something else is telling me otherwise. Why am I still hanging on? The faint hope lingering with me disappears at last as a familiar face speaks to me.
"Ah, don't be like that. There are plenty of reasons to keep living."
I turned my head to the source of the voice. It came from a girl with an identical face. I could feel my heart physically drop in shock. Her hair was a different color, but it was undoubtedly her. My twin sister.
"Shiori…"
"For one: we have to get our vengeance on this sick world."
My sister who had gone missing for 7 years appeared in front of me. The happy times of my childhood flashed through my mind, overwhelming me. I started having a panic attack. I want to ask where and how she's been, but I'm unable to. Though I recognize her, it's like she's an entirely different person. Her expression is one that she's never worn. My sister Shiori, looked upon me with a sinister countenance.
"I know this is a shock and I'd love to catch up, but unfortunately I'm here to present you with two choices. One: Come with me and join the vampires. Two: Refuse and die by my hands. So, what'll it be?"
Joins the vampires? This has to be some sick joke. Ah, I see. This definitely isn't the sister I knew. She's been twisted by this world and wants vengeance on it. Typical, I'm not even surprised anymore. So I'm just going to be killed by my sister now. Truly, what a sick world this is. My life is full of regrets, but there's nothing I can do.
"So sister, what's your choice?"
I look up at the night sky for no particular reason before answering.
"Kill me."
"What a shame."
Shiori unsheathed the blade at her hip and walked toward me. I remained sitting on the bench. Taking one last look at my sister, I closed my eyes resigning myself.
At that moment, I was ready to die.
I didn't want to live anymore.
A few seconds passed, my sister should've cut me down by now.
I opened my eyes.
Odd Jobs was there.