Chapter Text
“Mimes, in the form of God on high, Mutter and mumble low, And hither and thither fly— Mere puppets they, who come and go at bidding of vast formless things. That shift the scenery to and fro, Flapping from out their Condor wings. Invisible Wo!”
“That motley drama—oh, be sure It shall not be forgot!. With its Phantom chased for evermore. By a crowd that seized it not, through a circle that ever returneth in.To the self-same spot, And much of Madness, and more of Sin, And Horror the soul of the plot.”
“But see, amid the mimic rout, A crawling shape intrude! A blood-red thing that writhes from out The scenic solitude! It writhes!—it writhes!—with mortal pangs The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs In human gore imbued.”
“Out—out are the lights—out all! And, over each quivering form, The curtain, a funeral pall, Comes down with the rush of a storm, While the angels, all pallid and wan, Uprising, unveiling, affirm that the play is the tragedy, “Man,”
And its hero, the Conqueror Worm”.
…
“…Mom.” [] spoke to herself, her voice much more childish and her body smaller as she slowly opened her eyes. The stench of smoke riddled the air, the space around her all set ablaze and through the fire were the silhouette of houses, apartments… people. She could hear screaming as she stood in the center of the chaos, her white school uniform stained dark red and illuminated by the fake moon in the sky. [] knew what it was, and she knew what was happening but..
She only felt hunger.
Looking around, there were copious amounts of corpses surrounding her, all drained, all pale and groaning. The gift of immortality was passed onto them, with [] being rewarded with the nourishing red liquid she yearned for. Her eyes were unfocused, her mind only focusing on her own hunger. As if her sense of self completely dissipated, her memories and entire self entirely gone.
She could only smile as she looked down at her hands, and she could see it! Even feel it.
The strength of-of-of-of-fffffffffffffffff-
[]
…
The sound of a fire crackled as the smell of smoke and cooking food lingered in the air, the night being as cold as always. Not that temperature seemed to be necessarily regulated within the walls of humanity's imprisonment, the large dome that covered the sky and replaced it with a never-ending night. Once a time where people seeked shelter within their homes and used electricity to power their homes, now filled with pitch black. It was unknown how or when this transition happened, when humanity fell and when the walls were erected, but for those trapped inside all they knew was that the outside was probably no better.
“..Kaito, the fire pit is smoking too much.” Maki said, currently crouched down and tending to the stew cooking in a pot held up by a rack positioned above said fire pit. The girl was wearing a fairly bulky jacket and jeans due to the cold, her hair put up into twin tails by two black rubber bands. “I know you can’t cook but at the very least you could do something about it before we’re noticed..” She sighed, picking up a knife and starting to play with it as if it was completely natural to do so, but.. Maki herself knew that things were way past being natural, or at least, the abnormal and unnatural were the new “normal” and “natural”. Her eyes looked towards the giant wall nearby that extended upwards, becoming the Dome. Giant drainage, ventilation pipes and other metal work poked out from it, contrasting the digital panels near the top of the dome that replicated the night sky.
Kaito zipped down the zipper of his tent, giving the girl his usual smile as he got out, wearing a black long sleeve and sweatpants, as well as a plain purple coat he wore incorrectly. One that never faltered regardless of their situation. “Whatt? I could cook! Isn’t too hard to make a simple soup, Maki Roll.” He said as he crawled out of it, looking around at their little campsite. Four small tents, a fireplace, and a few bags alongside some equipment they brought with them when they originally left their now ‘home’, or what was more like a refugee camp, one of the last one’s from what they could tell. Kaito crouched down next to the girl, starting to poke at the charred pieces of logs inside, creating more ventilation and lessening the rising smoke. Something which could kill the two of them if they let rise too much, something which would notify any vampires nearby.
“..Oh yeah? Then how about that time you almost caused a forest fire?” Maki smirked, teasing the man as she grabbed a few bowls from her bag before pouring some of the stew inside of two. Nudging the plate towards Kaito who gladly accepted it.
“E-er.. That was just an accident!” Kaito exclaimed, before a quick glare from Maki quieted him down. “..Ah, sorry. Miu just kept botherin’ me haha. That’s all, if I wanted to, I could be the greatest cook in the world. Heh.. I’m already the best vampire hunter!” He yelled out once more, beginning to eat his meal.
“Shut up..” Maki nudged him with her elbow, pouring herself some of the soup. “Well, Miu’s pretty annoying though so fair enough.. I don’t think you have much competition on being the greatest though.. Except for me, I’m a better markswoman than you are Mr. I can’t aim for sh*t.”
“I-it’s just not my speciality y’know..! I’m a ‘punching’ kinda guy.” Kaito said, making up excuses. “Anyways.. Uh yeah.. Mentioning those two.. They were supposed to be here an hour or two ago, right?”
“Sure..” Maki responded, rolling her eyes. “But, you’re right. I was thinking the same thing.. It’s strange for them not to be on schedule, especially Shuichi.. I wonder if..”
“They should be fine..!” Kaito put a hand on Maki’s shoulder, “they can handle themselves, it’s not like they’re helpless.. Shuichi’s smart, and Miu uh.. She made our equipment so she isn’t too bad either.”
“I guess..” She responded, finishing the rest of her meal. “We can’t wait for them forever though, if we come back after the return date then-”
Maki cut herself off, before quickly grabbing the knife she was holding earlier. It only took a second for Kaito to notice why as a dark figure suddenly lunged at them from behind, two large fangs glistening from the fake moonlight. One of its claws quickly swiped at Maki as she swiftly kicked the vampire in the cranium, sending it downwards and letting her jab the blade into its neck, causing blood to splatter and pool onto the floor. It only thrashed around in a craze as it foamed from the mouth, its eyes completely bloodshot as it began screaming and yelling incoherent words into the forest.
“Kaito! Sword!” Maki yelled at him, continuing to stomp on the vampire's head as it began healing. Any brain matter or flesh that was ripped by Maki’s boot only being replaced within a matter of seconds, but it was effective in immobilizing it.
“Got it!” Kaito exclaimed, lunging himself towards Maki’s bag and throwing a weirdly shaped scabbard her way. The girl spent no time in unsheathing what was apparently a “sword”, which was really more of a bunch of scrap metal put together for the handle and wood acting as the blade, essentially a longer stake. The wooden blade had carvings on it, the word “Iruma” being fairly visible.
As the vampire was close to fully healing it’s head, flesh, bone and brain matter all trying to connect itself, Maki jabbed the wooden blade right into the back, digging it as deep as she could trying to hit it’s vital organ as blood continued to seep and spill out from it’s insides. Until finally, she felt something burst, and the vampire’s movement stopped, as well as the healing of its own flesh, only leaving a dead corpse.
“..Ew.” Maki responded, digging the sword out and tossing it aside. She stopped for a moment, before looking at the bottom of her boots. “...f*cking hell. Kaito, let's switch shoes.”
“What?! Hell no!” Kaito said, getting up from the ground and wiping off the dirt on his clothes. “I don’t wanna wear boots with bloodsucker brains on them! Besides, it won’t fit!”
“Shut up..” Maki responded, dragging her shoes across the dirt in an unsuccessful attempt to get the gore off of it. “I was joking.. Anyway.. ” She looked at the body, “This one.. It’s not one of the city ones, is it? It’s in bad shape.”
“Fine fine..” Kaito crossed his arms as he walked towards her. “You’re right though, it’s probably an Outlier. Turned into a vampire outside of Addendo, never got picked up, starved, went batsh*t crazy. Made it easy as hell to kill it though, it’s weak. Well, though it got you.” He said, pointing at her cheek. A bleeding, but shallow wound from when it scratched her face. “
“Oh f*ck you.. I was just caught off guard.” She responded, rubbing her bleeding cheek.
“Hey don’t rub it!” Kaito exclaimed, “Here, I’ll go get the medkit.”
Maki looked at where it came from, before noticing something. “..Wait.. Why was it yelling towards..” She looked back at the body, its eyes focused on where it originally jumped out from. “..Kaito, we can’t wait here. It was just a scavenger. There’s more.”
“Scavenger? What’re you..” Kaito asked, looking over to Maki and where she was looking. It wasn’t long before he came to the same realization he did, his eyes widening in response. “..Maki, grab everything you can and let’s get the hell out of here, Shuichi and Miu are just gonna have to figure it out when they come back.”
“That doesn’t sound too good..” Kaito nervously grinned, putting a pair of brass knuckles, modified with wooden tips on the end. Wood, for some reason, being one of the only components and methods (besides directly burning) to be able to stop any vampire's healing factor and kill them if stabbed directly in the heart.
“Your fault for being too loud, idiot.. Let’s go..!” Maki exclaimed, grabbing his wrist and running towards the “end wall”. The sounds of movements only got louder regardless of how fast they ran through the trees, until the two finally arrived at a more open area, one filled with grassless dirt and zero amount of vegetation as they grew close to one of the giant drainage pipes protruding from the metal wall. A “river” made of a dark unknown sludge flowing into said drainage pipe through the broken grates and bars that left enough of an opening to allow for someone to enter.
“Ugh..” Kaito covered his nose, “f*ck do we really have to go through..?” He trailed off, turning around for a second.. Until he saw a horde of dark figures rushing towards them, “Okay go go go!!” His mind changed in a single second as he ran forward down into the sludge, pulling Maki in as the two began to go through the opening of the broken grating. The noise of several vampires jumping in and attempting to wad their way towards the two, their arms uselessly flailing through the sludge as if they have forgotten how to even walk correctly. More “zombie” than vampire, both physically and mentally. Strangely, they began screaming more as if they were in pain. All from just stepping into the sludge..
“f*ck..!” Kaito cursed as one lunged towards them and proceeded to latch onto his back, he retaliated by punching it square in the face as the wooden knuckles penetrated its cheek and upper lip. “Get off..!” He exclaimed, pushing it away before continuing on with Maki. The two went deeper and deeper into the drainage pipe, which eventually began to look like a sewage system with concrete platforms on the sides and crossways that went left, right and forwards. They continued onwards, going through what was essentially a maze. The groaning and screams of pain of the horde dying out as the two were able to navigate through, knowing the order in their heads.
“They’re always so persistent..” Maki said, climbing onto the concrete ledge before helping Kaito up. The two sat against the wall as they caught their breath. Most of their pants were soaked, but at the very least their equipment in their bags and coats were dry.
“Haha.. Yeah.. f*ck that hurt though..” Kaito groaned, reaching one hand behind his back and pulling it back to look at it, only to see blood staining it.
“..Hah.. I thought you said they were weak..?” Maki smirked, putting her bag down and starting to grab the bandages.
“Yeah.. Well, maybe not in a group haha..” Kaito responded, laughing even with the pain coming from his upper back as Maki turned him around, and began taking off his coat and shirt in order to bandage him. The two take the moment to rest from the sudden attack. They were used to these situations, even laughed at their own and each other's injuries at times as if they were demented. Almost making it some kind of challenge.. But, that was just their way to cope. Their way to avoid the reality of the current world they’re in.
Maki only finished about a minute later, tying the bandage off once she wrapped it around his right upper shoulder and down under his left arm. She didn’t have any disinfectant at the moment, but it would do until they arrived back at the site where Kaito could receive more proper treatment for his wound.
“Thanks Maki..”
“..Yeah.”
…
“...No!” Kirumi suddenly screamed and thrashed around in her own bed, trying to rip the sheets off that were on her. The sheets felt like a cage constricting her movement, she couldn’t deal with it. Her head still focused on the dream, or rather, a nightmare. A new one at that, one where she actively enjoyed, relished in the act of consuming. She could still recall her own stained clothes, her stained hands, the fire, the screams. “I didn’t do that..! I didn’t..! I don’t want to be like that..! I just want to live normally..! Please..! Why am I still alive..!?” She yelled at the top of her voice, grasping at her hair and tugging.
“What the f-f*ck..!? S-Shuichi she f*cking went off her r-rocker..! She’s gonna k-kill me..! HELP! I’M TOO PRETTY TO DIEEEE” A scream came from the corner, making Kirumi realize that she isn’t in her room alone.
Kirumi stopped for a second, her face still contorted in distress. “W-whos..?” She turned her head, looking at a terrified Miu in the corner of the room, standing up on a chair and pressing herself against the corner in fear while holding her bag in front of her as if it was a shield. Small lights were set up around Kirumi’s own room as well, lighting up the surprisingly clean room compared to the dark world outside. They.. surprisingly didn’t harm her though, they didn’t act like sunlight. They were small flames on top of a melting substance. It was a strange feeling having light directly touch her, but not harm her.
“SHUICHIII!! BACKUP!” Miu continued to scream in the air, her legs shaking like chickens as she wore some simple shorts and a loose t-shirt.
“...” Kirumi didn’t know how to react, but Miu’s embarrassing display made her almost forget about her dream. “..Are you.. Oka-?”
Before Kirumi could finish, a sudden stinging sensation came from her cheek as something hard was slammed against it. Her body was forced off the bed and onto the carpet from the swing alone, she could feel something in her face tearing, but she didn’t know exactly what. A few drops of blood dripped onto the carpet below as she touched around her face
“H-hey what happened..!?” Shuichi rushed into the room, the door slamming against the wall as he threw it open. He made eye contact with Kirumi the second he entered. She couldn’t help but look over at him, black long sleeves and some sweatpants, but she noticed eye bags under his eyes as well. How long has he been awake? Has he even eaten?
“S-she’s trying to kill me!” Miu yelled, pointing at Kirumi who was currently on the ground while still holding her bag full of scrap metal in front of her, some of the bottom covered in a bit of blood. “S-so I hit her with my bag..!”
Shuichi continued to stare at Kirumi, her left cheek being ripped open by the sharp metal that protruded out from the bag. He saw as she laid there, sweating as her face slowly tried to heal. The flesh attempting to mend together back into place, continuing to fail.
“..Where is it..? Heal..! I feel like.. Vomiting.. I can’t..” Kirumi hurled, trying to keep herself up.. At least until she felt something lift her up, helping her sit up and rest against the bed as her body made slow progress in repairing itself. She finally came face to face with Shuichi, who looked at her for a few seconds before pulling something out from his pocket. A weapon perhaps? Maybe he decided to finally finish her off. Maybe they only wanted to kill her while she was conscious, that wouldn’t be surprising, wouldn’t it? All of his words were only to make her overwhelmed, make her suffer. She didn’t hold any resentment, she couldn’t with all her own sorrows.
“Miu, don’t attack her! She’s not even in the state to attack..” Shuichi said, holding some dressing against her cheek in order to stop any more blood from leaking out. “..Miu, apologize.”
“..What is he doing?” Kirumi thought. His hand felt warm even through the medical dressing. She thought he was going to end it, now perplexed by the sudden change in events. It didn’t add up, it shouldn’t. Those who are living and those who aren’t can’t help each other, that’s just not how it goes.
“Y-yeah but she started freaking out..!” Miu yelled back at Shuichi, “Stop acting like she can’t just kill us here and now!? What if she’s faking it, huh!? If you die cause you like some bloodsucker then at least don't drag me into it! I ain’t gonna say sorry!”
“Hey, I asked if you were okay with the idea and you said yeah.” Shuichi pointed out, only making Miu pout. “Say sorry, at the very least.”
“...” Miu crossed her arms and looked to the side. “..I’m sorry. There, bitch.”
Shuichi sighed as he looked back at Kirumi with mixed feelings on his face, “..Sorry.. Uhm.. Do you need sewing or anything..? I saw your face uh.. Healing itself.. I’m not sure if I should.. Do anything or if stitches would get in the way of your..?”
“..Ah.. Yes.. I-I’ll.. Be fine, no stitches..” Kirumi said, her voice weak but still clear. “It’ll just take me a little to repair.. Why do you care..? Aren’t you.. afraid?”
“..This is more awkward than I thought it’d be.” Shuichi thought. He didn’t even know where to start. For starters he and Miu broke into her home, Kirumi woke up and was knocked off her own bed by Miu, and now Kirumi also knows he’s a human too after the two just agreed to meet up yesterday. Too many things to just dump onto someone who was attacked. “Because.. Because I care about you, Kirumi..”
“Ugh..” Miu stuck her tongue out, “Shuichi, I’m heating up the rest of our rations. I don’t wanna stay in here while you’re getting all chummy with our enemy..” She said, walking out of the room.
“..Make sure not to ruin it!” Shuichi yelled out the door, before receiving an “okay!” back from the girl.
“..She makes a good point.” Kirumi said, taking in a deep breath as her body finally stabilized itself.
“Er.. I suppose.” Shuichi sighed, “I don’t want to kill you, Kirumi. Maybe I’m being hypocritical as I’ve..well.. Killed others.. Maybe it’s because I’ve always gone to your library and maybe because I.. like talking to you about books. Regardless, I think you’re.. If you were able to hold back, I think it’s possible to revert you, perhaps others back into humanity.”
“...” Kirumi’s head swiftly turned to him, “Revert? As in.. Not having to eat..?”
“Yeah.. No more drinking blood or eating flesh.” Shuichi stated, a silent seriousness in his voice. “It’s the best solution, no bloodshed or extermination of an entire group. Everyone becomes human again and we can rebuild society as it was before the calamity. No one has to kill each other anymore. Everyone else has given up on curing.. But I think.. It has a chance, a slim one, but still a chance.”
“That’s.. Exactly what I’ve wanted.” Kirumi thought. She wouldn’t have to deal with the overpowering hunger anymore, the one that is currently killing her own body. She wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt of eating human flesh, nor would she have to deal with the night terrors and nightmares anymore. She would be.. normal.
“..I’ll help you, I’ll become your research subject then.” Kirumi declared, standing up from the ground.
“E-eh?! You’re agreeing to it that easily? I haven't even asked you yet haha..” Shuichi flashed a nervous smile from the unexpected proposition.
“I-If I can return to being human.. Then yes, I’ll do whatever is necessary to help you achieve it. I..” For a moment, she wanted to say that she wanted to spend more time with him, but that was a selfish ideal. She couldn’t bring herself to say it even if she tried to. “..If it’ll fix everything, then.. If it comes down to it, even if it hurts me, I’ll make your goal come true.”
“..Kirumi-”
Before the two could continue, Miu suddenly slammed the door right open again. “Shuichi! Dinner’s f*ckin ready! Quit f*cking the bloodsucker in here!”
“I-I’m not doing any of that!”
…
“So.. In short, Miu and I came from the opposite side of the city and came here after we were attacked. We’re from Site-13, a human refuge encampment near the outskirts of District 10.” Shuichi said, telling Kirumi their story as the trio sat around the dining table. Kirumi’s apartment didn’t exactly have a dining room, more like a nicely decorated kitchen with a table in it. Although the place looked neat, signs of wear and tear were evident.
“Basically the slums of your guy’s little city, best place to have a shelter. Weaker bloodsuckers and less surveillance from A-Corp” Miu butted in, nudging some rice in Shuichi’s direction. “By the way, uh.. I might’ve f*cked up the rice.”
“..H-how did you f*ck up rice?”
“f*ck if I know, it’s just too goddamn soggy.” Miu replied, still eating regardless. Even though she was eating, Kirumi felt Miu’s eyes on her the entire time. It didn’t help that the two were on opposite ends, completely away from one another. One thing that Kirumi noticed though was the mention of A-CORP, the company keeping everyone like her alive. The only actual active company in Adenndo, it wasn’t a surprise that humans also knew about them.
“I.. do not want to find out how you messed up rice of all things.. Anyways, why are you two out here in the first place then? Shouldn’t you stay inside?” Kirumi asked, continuing the conversation.
“Ah.. That’s because we’re a part of logistics. The site requires that everyone works, so we come out, search for resources, and investigate anything of importance. Our original mission was to investigate something here in District 2-5 but.. We got a little side tracked..” Shuichi replied, “..Ah and our purpose only really extends to any possible uh.. Any possible threats..”
“I see..” Kirumi said, thinking to herself. “..No wonder why they came. It would’ve been impossible to get by without any weapons.. The radio broadcast surely didn’t help.. That must’ve been why Shuichi said so many were after them.”
“How are you two going to return then?” Kirumi pinched her chin, pondering.
“..I-I don’t.. really know.” Shuichi admitted, “We have a few comrades of ours that we were supposed to meet, but the deadline should have already ended. We’ve also run out of weapons and supplies, Miu normally makes them but we didn’t collect anything for that so..”
“You’re seriously telling f*cking her that?” Miu said, chewing.
“Does it really matter if I do or don’t?” Shuichi said, “Anyways, we need to replenish them, but for that we need supplies..”
“..I could help with that,” Kirumi said, “If it’s a matter of being seen.. I could drive the two of you around in my car.” She emphasized by grabbing the keys out of her uniform pocket and twirling it around in her hand.
“A car?” Shuichi questioned, thinking about it for a few moments. “Oh, right, those man-made vehicles.. That would be helpful..”
“Hehe, those are pretty helpful for scraps.. You don’t mind if I take some parts right? I’ll apologize for attacking you.” Miu asked, looking at the vampire with a mischievous smile.
“..You are not taking apart my car.” Kirumi replied, “Wait but cars were made by.. Er.. Nevermind. It’s settled then, I’ll be driving you to collect whatever you need before departure. Does that sound good?”
“Er.. you.. don’t have to do this you know..” Shuichi scratched his head, hesitant about the plan.
Miu huffed, “Of course she does! This is her proving that she won’t kill us in my opinion! And if she betrays us, then we’ll.. You know, do what’s necessary.”
Both Shuichi and Kirumi looked at each other. Shuichi’s face worried for the girl, regardless of who she was, he did really care about her. It was vice versa for Kirumi. Neither of them wanted it to come down to killing one another.. The time they spent, however short it was every single time Kirumi wasn’t busy or Shuichi was able to come by the library, it was nice.
“..Are.. Are you okay with this, Kirumi?”
“Yes, I am.” Kirumi said, still determined even with what Miu mentioned. “I did already agree to our deal, that includes helping you stay alive. Research can’t be done if you’re dead, can it?”
“Haha.. You’re right..” Shuichi nervously laughed, a cold sweat on his brow. “Then we’ll depart in a few hours, I’ll make a checklist and start getting things ready for the expedition.. Or I guess for you it’s just a drive around town.”
“That just means I can drive you around without getting lost,” Kirumi smiled, walking back towards her room. “I’ll take a shower and change as.. well.. I unfortunately couldn’t take a shower yesterday. I’ll be out in a few minutes. If you two need to take a shower as well, then feel free.” She said, opening the door to her bedroom and shutting it closed behind her.
“...What f*cking deal did you make?” Miu asked, her face cold faced as she looked at Shuichi.
“Er.. It’s uh.. Research on her bo-”
“Shuichi I swear to f*cking god stop f*cking the f*cking bloodsucker-!”
“I-is f*ck the only thing you can say..?”
…
As Kirumi shut the door behind her, she let her body slum against it. Her body was still in pain, in hunger. The wound Miu gave her took a few minutes to heal at most, that wasn’t good. She didn’t remember the last time something like it happened, or if she ever went through any kind of food deprivation. Her mind was still foggy from the meat she ate last night, all her body wanted to do was eat more of it but.. Her mind was opposed to it.
“..has my mind always been this foggy when I ate that meat?” She asked herself, before walking to the bathroom. Like the rest of the apartment, it was small and somewhat cramped, but it was good enough for one person. Inside were the usual appliances you’d find in a bathroom, sink, shower, toilet, etc. Though, there was also a broken mirror. Kirumi wasn’t sure if she broke that herself, or if the apartment came with it. She couldn’t remember, but that was a common trouble. The lack of concrete memory of the past was always a problem, not that she could do anything about it. Most like her suffered from the same phenomena, they couldn’t even remember most of their time alive.
“Regardless, I need to take the mirror down at some point..” She said, before beginning to get ready for her shower. Her skin entirely pale, her body thin and almost fragile with the appearance of starvation beginning to show. She didn’t like it. She knew that she looked horrible. She was glad she didn’t have to look at herself, not that she could anyways. She wouldn’t appear in any reflective surface, and Kirumi thought it may be better that way as she stepped into the warm shower.
Kirumi looked down at her skinny, pale hands with a frown. “..I.. hate this body.”
…
“..Alright, before we leave, let’s go over what we need! soooo.. We need beer, wine-” Miu began listing off miscellaneous things with a clipboard in her hands while standing up in front of the other two who were currently standing in front of her. All stood near the door, ready to leave with their backpacks at the ready.
“Miu, those aren’t..” Shuichi trialed off, scratching his head.
“Why do you need alcoholic drinks? Wouldn’t they just make your situation worse?” Kirumi asked, puzzled.
“Well they are for me! Need some downtime okay? Now onto the real list!” Miu exclaimed, flipping the paper to the next one on her clipboard, one crudely titled ‘The real list of bullsh*t we need to stay alive’ with a little doodle of Shuichi and herself on it. “Okay, so.. Our original objective to survey District 2 through 5 is now compromised! We can’t get back home in our current state and we missed the meeting time. Soo.. now our new objective is to get back home with any means necessary. Specifically, acquiring some food, specifically canned food. A screwdriver, hammer, tape. Then anything to establish any kind of direct communication with Site-13! ..while using the bloodsuckers' place as a homebase and making sure she will keep her mouth shut.”
“Well I suppose I don’t have a choice regardless, even if I was opposed to it.” Kirumi exhaled, “Let’s get to it then, after all I know humans are more prone to getting sleep deprived easily, right?” She said, looking at Shuichi.
“Yeah.. We can’t stay up for too long compared to you guys.. It’s just not in our nature.”
“Interesting.. Ah, right. Before we leave..” Kirumi said, taking out her purse and taking out a slip of strange paper. “This is my ID, you can get your supplies this way.” She explained and put it in Shuichi’s hands.
Shuichi nodded, moving ahead and placing his hand on the still broken door handle. “Thank you, Kirumi. I’ll make sure to get it back to you once we’re done.”
But before he could pull on it, a few knocks resounded on the door.. Slightly opening it from the slight impacts due to the broken handle, and allowing Kirumi to peek through the opening to hear..
“Oh, the doors broken! Why’s that..?” A familiar voice rang out, as a few blonde locks were visible.
“..K-Kaede..!?” The alarms in Kirumis head began blaring the second she recognized her. She glanced between Shuichi and Miu. Shuichi was equally alarmed as he began backing away from the door, making Kirumi decide in a split second to swiftly move forward and shove the two away from the doorway and from sight before opening the door (admittedly with a little bit too much force then she intended to).
“K-kaede! W-what brings you here?” Kirumi asked, nervously glancing at the other two, seeing Shuichi grabbing onto Miu tightly with his hand clasped over her mouth in a desperate attempt to keep her quiet.
“Uhm.. You didn’t show up to work?” Kaede said, suspicion arising in her voice. “Haha I was wondering why you never showed up! You always come, like.. It’s kinda scary how you’re always at the library.. But u-uh.. Anyways! Are you okay? Was there a break in or something..? Did some of the outskirters attack you?”
“S-sorry for worrying you.. No, there wasn’t a break in..” Kirumi said as she saw Shuichi and Miu sneaking away in the corner of her eye.
“Oh.. Then.. What..?” Kaede asked, genuine worry in her voice. “Do you need me to contact a help center? What’s wrong?”
“N-no! No.. I don’t need them right now, thank you though, Kaede. I.. broke it myself, I was just..” Kirumi sadly admitted, trailing off, “..Just.. memories..”
“Ah.. Of being alive?” Kaede finally realized, before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around the taller girl. “I’m sorry.. Do you wanna talk about it? We could go out and get something to…eat…?” She said, slowly getting distracted by the two individuals inside of Kirumi’s house currently sneaking into her bedroom. “....”
“...” Kirumi knew exactly what Kaede was staring at as she forgot that the two were still trying to hide, “..K-Kaede, w-we’re friends..Right..? W-well they’re also my friends so.. Please unders--”
“...Kirumi.”
“...”
“You have friends other than me?!”
“W-what..?” Kirumi questioned, pulling away from the smaller girl. “O-oh.. Well, yes I do. I.. Invited them over since you were busy with work, I didn’t want you to get deducted Service Hours..”
“You seriously think I care about that?” Kaede smirked, “Come on! If you invited me over I would’ve skipped work and would’ve been here in a heartbeat! Oh hey actually.. Dunno if you guys have any plans already, but we should totally go shopping at the Mall!” She exclaimed, before turning towards Shuichi and Miu. “You guys good with that?”
“...She’s.. Not attacking. She saw us right? I mean.. If she doesn’t assume we’re humans.. Then I guess it’s okay. We’re going shopping anyway, so best to play along..” Shuichi thought, “Uh.. Sure..?”
“...” Miu stood still for a second, blankly staring at Kaede. “She’s hot..”
“Cool!” Kaede smiled, turning back to Kirumi. “So I was thinking that we could pass through the BloodBank! Y’know, the place with the shakes I was talking to you about? Then maybe we could go get some clothes or something!”
“...Kaede, you’re a very sweet friend, but I wish I could just tell you about the situation..” Kirumi thought, briefly looking over towards Shuichi, who just shrugged in response. “..That sounds nice, I have a few things I need to ‘pick up’ anyways, so it works out well.”
…
“..Ah, now I know why you look so familiar! You’re the guy that keeps coming to the Library and sweet talking Kirumi right? Haha” Kaede asked as she turned her body around to look at Shuichi in the seats behind her. The music from the radio was already blasting, making it hard to hear.
“O-oh.. Yeah, I-I mean I’m not sure about the sweet talking part..” Shuichi said as he glanced around. The car they were in was in a bad state, at least from what he knew. Most automobiles were destroyed during the conversion, so it made sense that they weren’t so common, and that the only ones left were at the end of their life lines or just in complete disrepair to the point no mechanic could make it functional. Most were the latter it seemed. “...Still, to see one work is.. Something.”
“Er.. Kaede.. It isn’t exactly polite to assume such things of people.” Kirumi said, scolding the girl as she made a bumpy right turn, not that the roads allowed any kind of smooth driving.
“I know I knoww.. But I just wanna learn more about your new friends! Actually now that I think about it.. What are your guys' names? Whatcha interested in?” Kaede asked, making a curious expression.
“Huh..? Oh uh.. My name is Shuichi Saihara. I’m.. interested in books and stuff.. I ” Shuichi replied, his voice turning more silent. “I’m not too good with the whole introduction thing honestly..”
“Ughh.. Honestly, the only time you’re ever confident is when we’re working!” Miu exclaimed, slapping the backside of his head, before puffing her chest out and looking at Kaede. “Anyway! I’m Miu Iruma! I like making mechanical sh*t that kills-!”
“Shut up!” Shuichi yelled, it being his turn to slap her on the back of her head.
“Ow..! The f*ck was that for, cum stain!?” Miu looked at him with her teeth clenched, ready to pounce on the male.
“Ohhh! Like traps that kill humans? That’s so cool!” Kaede smiled, somewhat innocently. “But come on.. You don’t have to slap each other haha..”
“...” Both Shuichi and Miu went silent at her remark, confusing Kaede.
“..K-kaede..” Kirumi whispered, “Let’s not talk about humans right now, yes? It’s not a-”
“Hell yeah it's to kill humans! Specifically the ones who.. Piss me off..” Miu said, glaring at Shuichi.
“No one falls for your traps, Miu.. They never actually work where we live, regardless of who it is.” Shuichi said, glaring back at her. Though, it was kind of a lie considering how many times they’ve helped incapacitate rather than kill an individual. It wasn’t atypical for humans to attack one another of course due to different groups and beliefs, not that Shuichi ever had the experience of killing a living, breathing human.
..Not that he ever wanted to. Something in his mind somehow makes killing vampires okay, but not humans.
“..does that make me a hypocrite..?” Shuichi thought to himself, as Miu and Kaede continued to talk. He looked over at Kirumi, who smiled as the two got along.
“..Well, I guess it doesn’t matter right now.”
As the car continued to drive forward, they finally arrived at the main city area where most of the bleak, gray outside began turning into larger buildings with dozens of shops, people, and most importantly: human meat. The digital clouds in the sky slowly consumed the “moonlight”, the place a lot darker than the rest of the District. It wasn’t uncommon to find the undead chasing whatever people were out there trying to get away. Promptly eating them right on the spot. It wasn’t as rare to also find the undead fighting each other and brawling it out in the streets, before being taken down by individuals with an insignia with the letter “A” on it. That was just how it was though, especially in District 2, one of the more metropolitan-like Districts in Addendo.
“..H-hey.. That guy.. He has the same uniform as..” Miu whispered, her voice becoming bleak as she pointed through the car window, her finger aimed at a uniformed man currently dragging a body into a van. The same “A” patched into his uniform.
“...It’ll be fine. If we encounter another one like that again.. We’ll.. Be fine.” Shuichi responded, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.
There were a few large.. bumps in the road as they drove into the parking lot of a run-down mall, the building giant to the point of even being a two story, the lights of course being out and the place downright rotting. Some undead were happily walking out of the mall, bags of goods and food in their hands.. Those groceries either being normal items like clothes and daily necessities, or just slabs of meat in plastic, almost see-through bags. Heads, arms, legs, the silhouette still visible.
“..Hey, is that a goddamn kid?” Miu whispered to Shuichi, nudging him as Kirumi began to park.
“Hm..?” Shuichi glanced over at what looked to be a couple, between them a small child that was gleefully skipping as the two parents walked. “..Yeah? What about it?”
“They can’t have kids..”
“..Yeah, at least, not naturally.” Shuichi replied, the car stopping at the same time he finished.
“We’re here.” Kirumi said, turning the car off as everyone began to open their doors. The ‘night breeze' came in as everyone got out of the automobile.
“Er.. yeah.. nevermind then. Let’s just get this f*cking thing over with.” Miu murmured as she closed her door, still looking at the kid walking with his ‘parents’.
“By the way, you guys look like you live outside of this uh.. District.” Kaede replied, looking the two up and down as the automatic doors to the mall opened, the place inside being completely dark, but the two in front of Shuichi and Miu were, unsurprisingly, able to see very well without any sort of light. The two in front just carried on like it was normal, and from the darkness. The two could see faint figures walking besides them and the outline of what seemed to be shops and corridors. People could be heard talking from all around them, even though some old pop music was blaring from all around.
“Oh yeah, where are you guys from anyway?” Kaede continued.
“They’re from the 10th.” Kirumi chimed in and grabbed Shuichi’s hand as Miu grabbed his, Kirumi guiding the two of them through the darkness.
“Oh damn, the boonies? No wonder! I’ve heard that place is scary..” Kaede replied, “Well, since you guys are new around here then I’ll just tell you about this place, or I guess more like.. Just tell you that sh*t happens here a lot haha. I don’t wanna give a history lesson or something, I hate those.”
“f*cking appreciated. This egghead on the other hand picks up some history book and starts reading it to me..” Miu nonchalantly said, tugging on Shuichi’s hand, who just tugged back.
“..So there really isn’t any light anywhere, huh? I suppose they really don’t need it anyways, their eyes do the job for them..” Shuichi nervously thought, the fact he couldn’t see was putting him on a complete edge. “How is Miu not nervous..?”
As they were walking, moon light slowly started filling up the building through the roof, revealing that the roof was nothing more than glass. A moonroof to be exact, that stretched throughout the entire mall, finally letting the two see their surroundings as they became clear. A large, disheveled place like all the others, but the most busy and lively compared to the rest. The “people” were laughing and talking amongst each other, going through store and store which each sold a variety of goods from ripped clothes to old furniture and of course.. Food.
“...guess production of new goods isn’t exactly the most important thing to them.” Shuichi thought, biting the inside of his cheek. He could see all the flesh displayed out for everyone to see, human flesh, as if it was normal to do so. He almost vomited the second it showed up, but he couldn’t seem out of pla-
“Blehh..!” Miu hunched over, bile and half digested food came out of her mount and onto the floor. It was impossible for her to fight back the urge as she continued to purge all over the ground.
“M-miu!” Shuichi let go of her hand, instead putting a hand on her back and comforting her. “Hey, hey you're fine.. Stay with me, okay?”
“...” Kirumi looked back at them, almost in horror. She knew why the girl was vomiting of course, she knew exactly why. Kirumi looked over to Kaede, whose face was puzzled and confused. She wouldn’t understand, she was her friend but.. She was unable to understand, nor did she know about the two actual living beings right in front of her. It was hard to say something. She choked.
“Hey, are you alright?” Kaede asked, “did an organ rupture inside of you? Or.. did something not go down correctly..?” She went over and placed her hand on Miu’s back as well.
Miu immediately recoiled at the undead's touch, backing away and getting closer to Shuichi. “N-no! I’m okay..! Just.. f*cking.. don’t.. Er.. H-haha I just.. Need to take a little break.. That’s all.. Shuichi can you..?”
“Yeah.. I'm going to find a place to sit down so Miu can relax, she’s probably just nauseous from uh.. The car ride here.” He lied, “You guys can go on ahead, okay?”
“Ah.. yeah that’s cool! I hope she’s okay..” Kaede replied, a little frightened from the sudden movement, as well as worried for Miu.
“..I understand, take care of her, Shuichi.” Kirumi said, the entire thing scaring her to the core. Conflicting emotions and ideas stirring in her brain..
As the two walked past, Miu suddenly pulled Kirumi out of her thoughts by grabbing onto her shoulder, pulling her head down towards her own. “..h-hey..” Miu silently said, “..I wanna get out of here as soon as possible so.. Just.. distract her, why don’tcha..?”
“...I understand. Don’t worry..” Kirumi whispered back, with Miu promptly nodding and letting go of her. With Shuichi and Miu continuing to walk off through the mall, leaving Kirumi alone with Kaede.
“..huh, I thought we couldn’t get sick.” Kaede pointed out, puzzled by Shuichi’s explanation.
“E-er..” A bead of sweat formed on Kirumi’s face, “..Maybe it’s a District thing…? We’re all different depending on our environment after all.. ”
“Hmm.. Haha maybe District 10 folks are weaker because of all the garbage they normally have laying around” Kaede rationalized, “definitely don’t wanna go there.. I can’t imagine knowing what feeling sick feels like.. I only learned it from an old human book they gave us during the Academy.”
“Human book..” Kirumi repeated, thinking to herself for a moment, before cracking a faint smile. “Ah, right. The weird one with that little human character that was chopped in half in each lesson?”
“Yeahhh that one!” Kaede exclaimed, starting to laugh. “God what was its name.. Huhu? Something like that.. It really never caught a break getting dissected.. Kind of miss the Academy though.. I mean that’s where we met before working together after all..” She said, twirling some of her hair around her finger.
Kirumi began walking through the mall with the blonde, idling looking at all the stores and displays as the two continued talking. “Mhm, I honestly can’t remember it all too well if I’m being honest.. We met in..”
“Kirumiii.. You gotta remember these things..” Kaede pouted, flicking Kirumi in the shoulder. “Haha we met during testing, remember?”
“Testing?”
“Yeah, abilities or what not.” Kaede said, “They were testing our bite strength and we were basically equals in that, so we were in the same group and talked from there.”
“Ahhh.. Now I remember.. You kept asking me what my other results were..” Kirumi smiled, “Then I told you that the only thing I really excelled at was speed, but not enough for it to be classified as Category 5”
“Eh, no one really gets that unless they have something special, and if we did we wouldn’t exactly be here aha.” Kaede laughed as the two walked into a shop, with Kaede walking up to the front counter as Kirumi stood back and watched as she talked to the butcher.
“..Unless they have something special..hm..” Kirumi thought to herself.
“Hey, can I get a Bloody Meat Smoothie?” Kaede asked happily with a smile. “What do you want, Kirumi?”
“Er.. I’m.. okay. I ate before coming a-actually. Thank you, Kaede.” Kirumi replied.
Kaede looked at her for a second, before shrugging. “Hmm.. Just make sure not to starve yourself!” She exclaimed and continued her order. No currency was exchanged though as she went back to her seat, and instead Kaede gave the butcher an ID’ that concluded the transaction once he scanned it. With the butcher going behind back in order to begin preparing her food, Kirumi and her sat down at one of the tables. The two waited within the store that reeked of blood and meat, as did most of all the others. The sound of meat and blood being blended was heard even from where they were sitting.
“I really can’t wait to try it.. I’ll let you try some, Kirumi!” Kaede grinned, resting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hands.
Kirumi smiled, nervously. “Ah.. Yes, Kaede.”
Normally Kirumi would go on a tangent inside her head about what she should do, and how disturbing it would be to drink such a thing while she’s protecting Shuichi and Miu.. But another thing arose in her mind.
“...Special abilities.. I wonder if I’ll see any vampires with those anytime soon?”
…
“Miu.. You okay?” Shuichi asked as he patted her on the back, trying to comfort the girl as the two went to a ‘bathroom’ or..what seemed to be the remains of a bathroom. Shuichi had to bust his way inside just to get Miu to a place of privacy, and even then, the place seemed deserted. A few dead bodies against the corner, the leftovers of.. Well.. excretion, almost as if no one bothered to enter it after all this time.
“..Ugh..Y-yeah.. I’m good.” Miu replied, “..f*ck. I can’t do this.”
“..I know what you mean.” Shuichi sighed, helping the girl get up back onto her feet.
“..I can handle corpses, both human and vampire.. But seeing us being turned into f*cking food on display..” Miu leaned onto Shuichi, letting him help her walk out of the stall. “..it honestly scares me. I could give less of a sh*t that it’s someone else but..”
“It could be our turn, someday.” Shuichi finished her sentence, “But we can’t think like that, this affects everyone of us. That’s why I need Kirumi, I want..” Shuichi pursed his lip, about to say ‘I want to know the truth’. “No, I want to help people.”
“..Tch, you’re crazy.” Miu said, walking out of the abandoned bathroom alongside him. “People have tried making an antidote before dumbass.. Has Kaito been getting to you?
“..Then I’ll be another one of those dumbasses who try, like Kaito.” Shuichi replied, before a look of sadness flashed through his face for a moment, until it was replaced by a stern expression. “but.. Look, once we get back to the site.. We’ll part ways with her.. Okay? Is that fair?”
“..Yeah, whatever.” Miu nodded, looking away from him. “J-just stop making that serious face or else I’ll punch you.”
“Pftt..” Shuichi smirked, it was nice to see Miu start acting like she normally does, calms him down on the inside. After all, if someone like Miu is genuinely panicking or having a breakdown, it definitely doesn’t mean anything good. “..Oh right, you still have that clipboard, right Miu?”
“Oh uh, the list? Yeah I got it.” Miu replied, reaching into her bag and grabbing the wooden, old clipboard before handing it to him. “I was glancing around a bit.. Some of the stores here should supply us with most of what we need, except for the uh.. Food.”
“Figures.. We’ll have to worry about that later, our rations and water should keep us alive for at least another day or so.. As long as you don’t ruin the rest of the rice..” Shuichi said, looking over at Miu with a blank face.
“..I didn’t ruin it! f*ck you, f*cking ungrateful BITC-!”
Once the two prepared themselves, Shuichi and Miu finally ventured into each store in the mall, grabbing the necessary supplies that they needed and stuffing them into the old, plastic baskets provided at the front of each department store. Electronics were almost nowhere to be found though, unlike the Site the two of them came from. The only ones seemed to be older forms of modern technology, or strange devices that used old era tech.
“..Weird, the dome containing everything was said to use high definition screens by investigators. So why do they seem to only have access to older technology..?” Shuichi asked himself, trying to come up with an explanation to another mystery. He took out his notebook, finally having the time to write down his usual entry.
“..Hey look, a CRT!” Miu exclaimed, touching the glass screen of a small, boxed TV.
“A TV..? I haven’t seen one since I was a kid.” Shuichi said, “Looks pretty weird though.. Maybe you can take it for parts?”
“Oh f*ck no!” Miu yelled at him, picking up the TV and hugging it. “I wanna get this thing to work! This sh*t is like a dinosaur! I’d make a bunch of people f*cking jealous just by having it hehehe..”
“I wouldn’t be jealous.. I’d rather read books..” Shuichi said, “More interesting and you don’t have to use power just to use it. There aren’t any working broadcasting towers anymore anyway, Miu.”
“I’ll make one then! And I’ll play.. Er..” Miu trailed off, before looking at the selection of tapes on the neighboring shelves. “I’ll play this!” She exclaimed, grabbing a tape and showing it to Shuichi. The front showcasing..
“...” Shuichi’s face flushed as he saw it showcasing a naked woman and man on the front cover. “M-miu that’s..!”
“p*rn! What else do you think I’m gonna show off to the rest of this stupid f*cking hellhole!? p*rn! Solves all problems!” Miu said, her face turning into a mischievous smile. “Actually.. Can those bloodsucker assholes have sex..?”
“...Uh.”
“Write that down in your little journal! Come on! I’m giving you the real questions hehehe! Maybe you can answer that yourself with a certain someone~!” Miu said, continuing to tease the already embarrassed male.
“M-miu, I’m not writing that down..! Shut up..!” Shuichi said, grabbing the tape out of her hands and beginning to scold the girl. “You can’t just say stuff like this outloud..! Not even out here with the vampires..”
Miu just shrugged as he continued, but.. She suddenly noticed someone coming up to Shuichi from behind. “..W-wait.. Shuichi.. Look out-!”
“Huh-?”
But before he could realize it, he was suddenly grabbed from the neck from behind. The hand holding him up was cold to the touch. He felt his esophagus blocked, being squeezed and strangled as he began to run out of air, his eyes blurry and out of focus. Through that, he could slightly see Miu still in front, her face pale and eyes absolutely terrified.
The next second, he could feel himself being thrown out of the store and back into the main mall. His body smashing through glass as the shards came down with him, shards becoming embedded in his body as he saw blood starting to leak out and splatter from his wounds. The undead around him were still confused by the commotion, not attacking them, yet.
“..M-..Miu..!” He tried to get up as he saw who attacked him starting to get closer to her, but his body was too wounded. “Miu, run away! G-get out of there..!”
“...Y-you..” Miu was absolutely shaken to the core, regardless, she leapt forward and smashed the CRT on the top of their assailant's head. The metal and plastic cracking and denting while blood splattered all over the bottom of the CRT, as well as their own head. Regardless, the injury healed in just a few seconds, with the blood still being left on the outside.
“..Oh, please. If stabbing didn’t work the first time, why would blunt force?” She said, simply grabbing the CRT and flinging it away as blood began to drip down onto her forehead. “I am Officer Alla of Aima Corporation, and you two are under detainment due to suspicion of being human beings!” Alla said, her smile turning into a sharp grin. One that struck terror in the two humans, a fear that left them completely powerless. It wasn’t like the first time they encountered her. There was nowhere to run, and once the undead nearby would catch onto what's happening..
They would die.
“Damnit..!” Shuichi pounded his fist onto the floor. He grabbed a shard of glass, forcing himself to get back up as fast as he could, getting into an offensive position. “It hurts.. I don’t think anything is broken though..”
Alla laughed, seeing Shuichi get back up off the ground. “Please, do not resist.”
“..Your bones won’t last.” She continued.
“..Kirumi, I hope you come. Please.” Shuichi hoped.
The glass shard began digging into his hand, causing another wound as blood dripped down the bottom of the shard.
