Seeing Natsumi-san standing before me who just killed four vampires with a big scythe without breaking a sweat, I realized everything. She purposely let them capture her. The real objective behind her actions was unknown to me but I was annoyed to say at the least. I was really annoyed.
Clenching my fist and biting my lower lip, I held myself back from doing anything rash. Not using my brain in situations like this would be a fool’s trade and I don’t want to be one. Even though I have made myself one before.
"Now aren’t you being too rude?" Natsumi-san said spinning her scythe as it just became really small and turned into a pen. "But seriously you are an idiot, aren’t you Kazuki. Coming here just because of some letter sent by the ones who want to kill you."
"Then maybe I am an idiot. The biggest idiot in all of existence," I said with a frown on my face. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? About what happened back home before I came here?"
"Let me guess? Ai acted smartly and prohibited you from coming here but you did not listen. Sometimes you have to be more rational than sentimental," Natsumi-san said and started walking over to me but soon stopped.
She jumped back dodging Ai’s punch. While I was able to somehow hold myself, right now, the same couldn’t be said about Ai. Her eyes were glowing with their respective colors and her nails were razor sharp.
"What do you plan on accomplishing by this Ai?" Natsumi-san said frowning.
"Are you an idiot?!" Ai growled at her. "Kazu-kun was so worried about you. He ran all the way here even when I stopped him. Saving you was the only thing that was on his mind and you act like this?!"
"Okay, I get that me doing this was not really appropriate, so sorry."
"Do you think a sorry will be enough for this?" This time it was me who said.
I stepped forward and started walking over to Natsumi-san who was standing there casually. My fists were clenched tightly that it was hurting me. Soon, I was standing before Natsumi-san just staring at her in the eyes.
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"So what are you going to do? Hit me? Shout at me?" Natsumi-san snickered. "Kid, you know those things won’t really do anything to me. I just did all this to confirm something."
"And what would that be oh dear sister of mine?" I said in a dark voice.
"That the blood of the first has not completely taken over you. There was a possibility that it had and you may slowly start losing yourself or more like your personality. The blood of the first is something like a weapon with consciousness. We were concerned that it has not taken over you so there was only one way to find out."
"To do this act?"
"If you were still intact, you would have come to help me without a second thought. If you weren’t I won’t see you here and would definitely be asked to execute you but I am glad," she said and I saw her face tremble a little. She took a step forward and buried my face in her chest. "I am so glad that you have it under control. Even I didn’t want to do this but it was the quickest way. I am sorry."
I have known Natsumi-san for long enough to know that her words were the truth and heartfelt. Even though she is a strong woman, she still has people she cares about and worries about. There is no human who has no weakness.
If there is one then they are someone who has nothing to lose. Nothing at all. They have nothing so they will lose nothing. There will be nothing holding them back and so the only way for humans to truly be strong…
Is to throw away their humanity.
"So are we going to just forget everything that happened right now?" Ai asked the both of us and I smirked.
"No, she will be punished. In the worst way possible."
I had an ominous aura around me while I said that I looked at Natsumi-san who had a sweat drop on her head.
"This is torture. No, this is tyranny. The abuse of power!" Natsumi-san said propping her head on the table.
"It was your fault in the first place now wasn’t it? Who told you to pull off such a stunt and not to that mention your reasoning did not make any sense to me. So, you have to watch this as a punishment, and then maybe I can give you something to eat," I said and took a bit of unagi with some rice. "Mhmm~ this is cooked so perfectly. I can feel the flavors burst in my mouth the moment I take a bite."
"This is too much!!" Natsumi-san said leaning back.
"You have your beer so make do with that. Or do you want me to take it away too?"
"Don’t do that!!"
"Natsumi-san really acts like a child sometimes," Ai commented and I nodded.
The punishment I got for Natsumi-san was that she had to watch us eat their favorite dinner without eating it. She always had a big appetite and gets really hungry soon to the point she might faint if she does not eat anything. Even after all that, she had a slim body and now I know the reason why that is so.
She is a vampire hunter.
A person who hunts vampires, yeah, I know everything.
Back to the main topic, she is yet to share everything with us primarily due to the fact that she was really hungry but I will let her starve a little longer. The food today was amazing and it was just like the food at the restaurant I went to eat with Natsumi-san. The place also specialized in unagi and since Natsumi-san had gotten a big bonus, she ordered two bowls each of unagi and rice for us and I saw her eat three bowls of that thing. While my stomach was full with only one bowl. It made me question if I eat too little for a human but I convinced myself by saying that I was a kid.
"Thank you for the meal," I and Ai said in unison joining our hands.
"Now can I get something to eat?" Natsumi-san whined and I went over to grabbing some dishes and placing them before Natsumi-san who stood up straight. "It smells so good from this close."
"Eat up now and answer our questions after that," I said and she picked up her chopsticks and started gobbling down the food. "And as always, you don’t know what normal eating speed is."
"Ish sho delicious!" she said in joy.
I looked at Ai and she was curiously eyeing the beer can.
No, don’t even think about it.
I picked it up and went to place the can in the fridge. The last thing I need right now is Ai’s underage drinking. I mean, she would probably act really adorable at that moment but I still cannot let her do that. Alcohol is not good for your health. Keep that in mind kids.
Turning around, I saw her pout but I averted my gaze. I was really worked up right now and wanted some alone time to recollect my thoughts. The best way was to go to the balcony and since it was still the night, I don’t think that it was a good idea but there was no other place I can rest my mind.
"I am going out on the balcony for some time. Call me if you need something," I said and started walking out but I heard the chair being moved. "I would like to be alone right now Ai."
I walked out in the balcony and it had a wire mesh of some sort that was shining in the night glow.
"So this was made of silver," I muttered. This place was an anti-vampire fortress. Ai’s father knew what he was doing when he was making this.
I clenched my fist and leaned my back against the wall. Closing my eyes, I finally decided to visit the part of me I have always been afraid to go. I have always been scared, scared of being sad, of being left alone while people around me just go away. Mom, dad, and Yuna, all died leaving me all behind.
But I feel like it is all because of me.
I still remember that incident as if it had happened just yesterday. I was only two years old and Yuna finally got to learn how to stand up and walk and she also recently turned one year old. It was on a trip that we went on together. Yuna and I were playing out in the open together while mom and dad were inside doing whatever they were.
They weren’t very responsible parents honestly. Sorry, mom and dad but it is the truth.
Yuna learned how to speak a lot earlier than most kids and mom and dad were really proud of that fact. It was also good for me so I had someone to just talk to who also responds to me. We were more like best friends than just brother and sister.
I remember we were playing together in the field and I was running across its length and Yuna was chasing me. We were laughing happily and then Yuna tripped down. She grazed her knee and was crying due to the pain it had caused. Tears falling down her little face.
"Yuna, what happened?" I asked her rushing towards her.
"Nii-chan!" she screamed and I held her leg straight seeing her wound. "It hurts!"
"There, there. I will make the pain go away," I said and placed my hand on the grazed knee. "Pain, pain go away. Get in a rocket and go away. Shoooooooooooo!"
With that little chant of mine, I took off my hands over Yuna’s knee and blew lightly on her wound and she stopped crying. Her eyes were still wet from the crying but she was no longer crying in pain. I started patting her head calming her down and she looked at her wound but even though it did not look any different, she smiled.
"The pain flew away!" she said and smiled at me.
"Good, Yuna is such a strong girl, isn’t she?" I said still patting her head.
"Yes! I am strong and will be stronger than nii-chan," she said.
After that, my memory is a blank slate. Everything went black and the next thing I knew, I saw Yuna’s motionless body with blood flowing out of her head. Next to it was a stone and I looked at my trembling hands. I still don’t remember what actually I did that day but looking at it, I hit her with the stone on her head.
Panicking, I picked her body up and she was heavier than usual. I ran back to mom and dad and seeing me, their eyes widened and I showed her Yuna. Mom screamed in despair while dad picked her up and took her to the doctor. Mom also went with them leaving me all alone in there.
I stared at the cold wooden floor with my eyes tearing up. I knew that I felt so guilty that I cried the entire day but I never came out with the truth. I lied that she slipped and her head hit on a stone which was lying there and they believed me.
The first time I lied was to hide my crime.
Even remembering that horrible memory, my heart pained and I clenched my chest and I felt my eyes getting wet. Even now, I have never told anyone about this incident and I remember that I had been in depression for about a year. Though I got out of it that incident had put a big scar in my memory.
After mom and dad’s death, I felt angry at myself, at everyone, at everything. Because I did not want to let myself lose control, I locked myself up in the room for about five days. I remember not drinking or eating anything. On the fifth day, Natsumi-san broke the door to enter the room, and seeing me, she was horrified.
That was my past, my story before this.
That was the burden of the past I still carry.
My legs lost all strength and I fell down there looking at the sky with tears in my eyes. Tears of sadness, tears of remorse of regret, tears of guilt. The guilt of that time was welling up in me and I felt what I had felt a long time ago.
I felt like killing myself.
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