A powerful feeling of fatigue assailed Kojou as he replied with a glare, “Keep me out of this! Take this seriously, you lecherous doc!”
Naturally, Yukina was in complete shock as well. Having said that, the fact was, Mimori’s frivolous behavior had greatly eased their tension. Strangely, they all seemed to have confidence that she could save Yuuma, even though she was almost at death’s door.
Beside Yukina’s stock-still form, Kojou quietly apologized.
“…Sorry, this was the only doctor I could think of.”
Yukina replied with an understanding shake of her head. Glancing sidelong at the doctor’s face, she whispered, “I understand completely now. The apple does not fall far from the tree.”
Kojou replied with a dissatisfied twitch of his cheek, but when he looked back, Mimori had her cheek pressed to Yuuma’s breasts, blood trickling out of her nose, with a look of pure bliss.
“Don’t worry, this is a side effect of my psychometry. It is absolutely not anything untoward.”
Mimori raised her face up, plainly stating what was a very unconvincing excuse.
Just wipe your nosebleed already, thought Yukina as she handed over a facial tissue. Apparently, Yukina had somehow returned to normal operating condition.
Taking the tissue, Mimori used it to wipe her nose as she spoke, suddenly in complete seriousness.
“Hmm, this spiritual pathway damage… Yuu’s Guardian was ripped right out of her, huh?”
Yukina nodded. Even if Mimori looked like she was just playing around, her diagnosis was dead-on.
The Guardian that Yuuma had acquired through her witch’s pact had been stolen. It was as if a cyborg had its artificial heart ripped out of it: The severed spiritual pathways would continue bleeding magical energy until she died from depletion of said energy.
“Can you save her?” Kojou asked uneasily.
Mimori shrugged, smiling enigmatically.
“I’ll bring Yuu into the lab. Could you give me a hand, Yukina?”
“Ah yes…understood.”
Yukina did as she was told and put a hand on the still-sleeping Yuuma’s shoulder.
“Wait. If you’re movin’ Yuuma, then I should—”
“Oh no, you don’t. My lab is No Men Allowed.” Mimori’s tone was suddenly icy.
Like hell it is, thought Kojou with a scowl. But Mimori only added a smile as she looked at him expectantly.
“Yuu’s not the only one who needs treatment, is she? I have a first aid kit in the closet.”
As Mimori spoke, she gave Kojou a right hook to his chest like she was trying to take a chunk out of him.
“Gwuh!” groaned Kojou, falling to his knees then and there.
“S-senpai?!”
“Let’s go, Yukina. Oh, and you can just call me Mom from now on.”
“Eh…? Er, no, that’s… I’m not really in that, ah…”
Mimori and Yukina left Kojou behind in agony as they hauled Yuuma out of the room. Once Kojou saw for himself that Yukina was out of the room, he groaned and flopped onto the floor.
“Shit,” he cursed, looking down at his chest where his mother had smacked him.
Kojou’s own blood was bleeding through the wound, the fresh flow distinct against the dried blood from before.
6
Kojou Akatsuki was a vampire. Half a year before, his flesh had taken on the bizarre demonic properties of the Fourth Primogenitor, the World’s Mightiest Vampire.
Of course, Kojou was sure that his mother, Mimori, noticed the change in his body because she was a sorcerer physician…but it didn’t actually turn out that way. That was because Mimori’s ability was extremely specific.
Mimori was a Hyper-Adapter, but she was not a spiritualist. She was extremely sensitive to abnormalities in the body, but she was even less sensitive to spiritual auras than the average person. To put it in high-tech terms, Mimori was a hardware specialist; software was out of her field. If there were no symptoms of a virus, she had no way of detecting that one was even there. Besides, to her, a patient was a patient: It didn’t matter if she was dealing with a human or a vampire.
There was no doubt she was eccentric in that regard, but it made her even more effective as a medical researcher. Her big-picture personality was also part of how Kojou had skated by.
“Doesn’t mean you have to smack around the wounded, geez…”
Kojou, left alone in the living room, pulled off his shirt and checked on the state of his wound.
He might have been able to fool Yukina, but apparently Mimori had noticed after all.
A heavy-bladed object had gouged open a wound in the left side of his chest a few short centimeters from his heart.
It was the wound Yukina’s Snowdrift Wolf had left behind when it had impaled him.
There was no question it was a serious wound, but it wasn’t enough to kill a person. It was a simple stab wound; a regenerative ability on the level of a vampire’s could well have completely closed it up by now.
But this wound hadn’t even begun to regenerate. There wasn’t much bleeding, but his shirt was still wet from the dampness of fresh blood. It was a situation he’d never been in before.
It didn’t stand out that much at present because he’d been carrying around the blood-soaked Yuuma, but in one sense, Kojou ought to have been quite grateful that Mimori had left him behind like that.
It was already past seven PM.
The Hollow Eve Festival’s famous Night Parade ought to have been kicking off right about now. Huge throngs of tourists were no doubt having the time of their lives at the extravagant festival in the center of Itogami City.
But on the other hand, the magical criminals that had escaped from the prison barrier were scattered all over the city about to cause new incidents.
Man, today has sucked. Kojou sighed as he looked up at the ceiling.
It was then that the door to the living room quietly opened.
A tall girl with a ponytail dragged her feet on the way back from the bedroom. It was Sayaka, whom Nagisa had absconded with earlier.
Sayaka looked completely worn out as she shot a resentful glare at Kojou.
“Ugh…you really did a number on me, Kojou Akatsuki. I’m more tired than when I was dealing with the princess…”
Apparently, she was still holding a grudge over his having foisted Nagisa onto her.
Kojou looked up at her while concealing his wound.
“Wait, what happened to Nagisa?”
“I used a hypnotic curse on her. I don’t think she’ll wake up until morning.”
Kojou’s reply was a dumbfounded look.
“Incantation…? Geez, you really cut corners…”
He thought it was a bit much for an Attack Mage from the Lion King Agency to actually use a curse on an ordinary middle schooler.
However, Sayaka’s lips tapered like those of a pouting child.
“It couldn’t be helped! How was I supposed to keep secret from her who you and Yukina really are? Or that Yuuma got hurt or that you two had switched bodies?!”
Kojou lowered his head in genuine reflection.
“R-right. You’re right. Sorry…you’ve been a huge help.”
He couldn’t argue with a single thing she’d said.
“N-not that it pleases me to have Kojou Akatsuki thanking me…! I did this for Yukina and Nagisa, you see.”
“Yeah. Thanks anyway, though. Even without that, you helped us more than once today.”
Sayaka’s cheeks reddened as if she was blushing.
“R-right…you’re very welcome.”
For a girl who seemed to be angry full-time, it was rare to see her react well.
“Well, that’s not the only reason I put Nagisa to sleep, either…”
A suspicious look came over Kojou as he glanced up at Sayaka, who was getting very close for some reason.
“Huh?”
“Where’d Yukina and the others go?” Sayaka brought her face directly in front of
Kojou’s eyes as she asked this.
“They took Yuuma over to the lab. There’s all sorts of medical gear and drugs over there, y’see.”
“I see…so they won’t be back for a little while, then. Perfect.”
Sayaka seemed to be mumbling to herself as she grabbed Kojou lightly. For some reason, her touch felt oddly uncomfortable. The brooding look Sayaka had on made Kojou concerned.
Sayaka pointed at Kojou’s bloodstained shirt and commanded, “Kojou Akatsuki. Would you strip off your clothes?”
“Ah?
“The heck?!” exclaimed Kojou, instantly putting a hand over his own chest.
“…What are you sayin’?! You some kind of molester?!”
Sayaka’s face went red to the tips of her ears as she shook her head.
“I—I’m not! What are you imagining, you creep?! I’m telling you to show me the open wound you’re hiding! Yukina stabbed you with Snowdrift Wolf, didn’t she?!”
“You…noticed that, huh?”
“…I-it’s not that I was looking at you. I’ll have you know that the observation abilities of a Lion King Agency Shamanic War Dancer are world-class. That’s all it is. Got it?”
“I—I see.”
Not that I really understand but guess that’s how it is, Kojou rationalized to himself as he stripped off his shirt.
Sayaka let out a shriek at the sudden sight of Kojou’s bare upper body. “Wh-why did you do that out of the blue?!”
“You’re the one who told me to strip, geez!” Kojou protested.
Sayaka apparently wasn’t immune to the effect of a male body; her extreme reaction struck Kojou as a bit funny.
“W-well, that might be so, but…ugh, you truly are an inconsiderate man, Kojou Akatsuki!”
“What’s consideration got to do with it? Hey, your face is all red. You okay over there?”
“Sh-shut up. Just die already, sheesh!”
Sayaka loudly cleared her throat a few times before apparently recovering her composure. There was still a bit of rose to her cheeks as she touched Kojou’s side with intense interest.
The young woman’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she looked at Kojou’s obviously untreated wound.
“Why…isn’t this wound healing?”
Kojou gave her a careless shake of his head.
“I don’t know, either, but maybe it’s because it’s Himeragi’s spear that did it?”
Yukina’s Snowdrift Wolf was the Lion King Agency’s secret weapon. It was a purifying spear that nullified magical energy and was considered capable of destroying even a vampire primogenitor. Kojou had impaled his own body with that dangerous spear to nullify Yuuma’s spatial control spell. If something was stopping his vampiric body’s regenerative ability, he imagined it had to be some curse from Snowdrift Wolf.
“But Schneewaltzers aren’t supposed to come equipped with regeneration-hindering effects. Besides, I feel like this is…less than a wound than the flesh itself being unstable. It’s like it’s out of phase, like the molecules holding the solid matter together are fragile…”
“Eh?”
Kojou looked back at Sayaka, surprised by her unexpected declaration. At that exact moment, Sayaka raised her own face, unexpectedly resulting in them gazing into each other’s eyes from very close.
Both of them became oddly embarrassed and averted their eyes from each other. Now that Kojou thought about it, it’d been a fair while since he’d spoken to Sayaka all alone like this. It was probably the first time since he’d drank Sayaka’s blood during the Nalakuvera incident.
“S-so I don’t really want to, Kojou Akatsuki, but I will grant you my cooperation.”
Kojou had a bad feeling about the sound of that as he looked for clarification.
“…Cooperation?”
Sayaka sat on the sofa opposite Kojou and began pulling off one of the socks that she was wearing. In short order, she thrust the nails of her bare foot right before the bewildered Kojou’s eyes.
Kojou was even more bewildered as he beheld the top of Sayaka’s shapely foot. What…is this?
“Y…you may proceed.”
“Huh?”
Sayaka’s voice was tight, and she blushed until she was beet red.
“I’m saying I’m granting special permission to drink my blood. If you do your vampire thing, your regenerative ability will be strengthened, right?!”
“So you’re sayin’ I’ve gotta lick your foot like you’re some kind of princess here…?!”
“B-but arousal is the trigger for vampiric urges, isn’t it? I thought boys went for this kind of thing…! I-if you want, I’ll stomp on you as a reward!”
Sayaka spoke in her best impression of a domineering voice, as if reciting the line from a script. Apparently, someone else had given her the idea. Kojou was assaulted by a fierce headache as he exhaled in annoyance.
“It’s only a tiny subset of guys that like that sort of thing! That’s way too fetishy for me!”
Sayaka’s voice flipped right over as she shouted.
“Eh? Ehh?!”
She clutched her head with both hands in anguish, probably from remembering the embarrassment of her own actions just now.
“Th-then what do you go for, Kojou Akatsuki? More like…petting stuff…and stuff?”
“Yeah…well, more into that than gettin’ stomped on, anyway…”
As a high school boy in good health, Kojou could only give the answer that came naturally to him.
“Mm…mmm…w-well, all right! You really are a picky one, Kojou Akatsuki…!”
There was a twinge of desperation in Sayaka’s voice as she roughly stripped off her knitted vest and tossed it aside. Next, she undid the buttons of her shirt from the top down. The earlier declaration that she’d stomp on him had apparently driven her halfway to despair.
“Why’d it turn into that?! You know, I didn’t actually ask you to let me drink your blood!”
“Th-that may be so…but Yukina will notice if your wound isn’t healing. I don’t want to make her worry about that. If I don’t do this, Yukina’s going to have to tell you to drink her own blood. I don’t want to have you drinking Yukina’s blood, so drink mine first…!”
Sayaka drew close to Kojou’s body as she finally voiced her true feelings. Kojou couldn’t help but make a strained smile now that he understood the reason underlying her odd behavior.
“…You really like Himeragi, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Something wrong with that…?”
“Nah, I think it’s a good thing. I don’t wanna make Himeragi worry more than she has to, either.”
“Oh…r-right.”
Sayaka made a forthright nod. Seeing Kojou making light of himself seemed to clear the air.
She suddenly lost her newfound composure when she remembered she was nestled right up against Kojou, a boy.
In contrast to her tall, slender figure, Sayaka was secretly proud of her large, shapely bust.
She awkwardly pressed her bulging breasts against both of Kojou’s hands.
Her eyes, lined with long lashes, were a little hot and damp at the edges. Seeing the ever-determined Sayaka make such a valiant effort was more than devastating enough to provoke Kojou’s vampiric urges.
Sayaka drew her face close to Kojou’s ear and whispered…
“I think you already know this, but keep this secret from Yukina, okay?”
Seeing her pale neck right before his eyes, Kojou drew his face near as if being reeled in when suddenly he stopped moving, as if he’d turned to ice.
“Well…I thought that was a good idea, too…but…”
Sayaka gazed at Kojou with a look of suspicion.
“…Why are you using past tense?”
That was when she felt a casual voice tossed into her from behind like an icy dagger.
“…Keep what secret?”
A girl was standing at the entrance to the living room, her face almost pretty beyond belief.
She was lo
oking at the position Kojou and Sayaka were in. The expressionless gaze, resembling a slight pout, was emblematic of when she was really pissed.
Knowing exactly what that look meant, Sayaka’s voice quivered in fright.
“Y-Yukina?! Wh-why are you…?!”
“I came back thinking I would inform senpai of Yuuma’s condition, but…” Yukina’s black-eyed gaze at Kojou and Sayaka was frosty. “…So, what is it you intend to do that you wish to keep secret from me?”
Sayaka timidly shook her head, unable to find any credible excuse.
“Th-that’s not…that’s not it, Yukina. This is, I mean it’s…”
She couldn’t simply explain the circumstances to Yukina; after all, the whole point of Sayaka offering her own blood was in the hope that Yukina wouldn’t notice the state of Kojou’s wound.
Unable to simply allow Sayaka to flounder, Kojou rose up.
“…Geez.”
But the moment Kojou opened his mouth to make a better excuse to Yukina, he suddenly found himself getting very dizzy.
His vision was turning darker; everything around him seemed to be tilting. He felt weak, like all his strength was draining out of his body. Unable to remain on his feet, he fell to his knees.
Yukina noticed something was wrong with Kojou and rushed right over.
“Senpai?!”
Yukina supported Kojou, who was on the verge of falling over, when Sayaka wailed in distress, “K-Kojou Akatsuki…! Don’t you dare play possum at a time like this…K-Kojou Akatsuki?!”
“Senpai…! Senpai, hang in there!”
Yukina seemed like she was about to cry as she looked down at Kojou.
“Hey, don’t make faces like that,” replied Kojou, sending both girls a pleasant smile as the darkness swallowed his consciousness whole.
7
Island South was a culture-heavy district rich in residential housing and educational facilities. In short, it was a quiet place untouched by the extravagant festival. Saikai Academy, a hybrid middle and high school, had been built on a gentle hill in that southern district. The artificial greenery of the hemmed-in schoolyard was immersed in the peaceful silence of the night.
Fiesta for the Observers Page 6
