“Konishi? Good point... If she’s as rich as she says she is, you’d think she’d be attending a charm school or something.”
Yuri Konishi. In her introduction on the first day of school, she had gained the attention of the class by saying she was from a wealthy family and that she was above commoners like them. But Yuichi’s attention had been on the “Anthromorph” label above her head.
“Now that you mention it, I feel like I’ve met Konishi somewhere before,” Aiko said.
“What, you think you met her at some rich person’s shindig?” Yuichi asked.
“I think so. I have a memory of her in a dress at a ball, or something like that.”
A ball... They really did live in different worlds, Yuichi thought. “By the way, what’s this about your brother?”
“I haven’t seen him in a while,” Aiko admitted. “I think he ran away from home.”
“Huh?” Yuichi started, shocked by the revelation. “Ran away... you said you haven’t seen him in ‘a while,’ so you don’t know for sure how long? When did you talk to him last? Did he say anything then?”
“I think the last time I talked to him was the day I went out shopping with you,” Aiko said. “He rushed up to me as I came to the door, but all he did was ask about you. It was the first time he’d talked to me in a while, too...” Aiko added, with a note of regret.
“Huh? Really?” Their shopping trip had been a week ago. That he hadn’t talked to her since then, and had gone missing at some point, suggested a degree of estrangement.
“He’d been acting really weird lately,” Aiko went on. “There was this time we were all eating together and he got mad and stormed off, and the last time I met him, he was really belligerent, too... When he said weird things before, I assumed it was his middle school syndrome and I didn’t take it that seriously. But lately I feel like it’s become something else... I haven’t tried to talk to him much lately because he’s frightened me so much.”
“I see... Well, I think I get the drift,” Yuichi said. “So, what do you want to do now that you know he’s gone?”
“I thought we might check his room,” Aiko said. “We might learn something there.”
“It’s worth a try. Where is it?”
“Across from mine,” Aiko said.
Yuichi stood up, left the room, and headed for the one opposite it. Aiko followed him.
The door wasn’t locked, and the knob turned without resistance. Yuichi trepidatiously opened the door and stepped inside.
“...Hey, Noro, do you guys usually leave coffins lying around?”
“Huh?” Aiko’s jaw dropped.
Kyoya’s room, like Aiko’s, was about twelve by twelve feet. There was a coffin sitting right in front of the door. Yuichi lifted the lid. There was dirt inside.
“I’ve never seen this thing here,” Aiko murmured. “I wonder... if he brought it from the crypt...”
“The crypt?” Yuichi asked skeptically. It wasn’t a word you usually heard in everyday conversation.
“Yeah, it’s out on the lawn. It’s the resting place for members of our clan.”
“Resting place? You don’t mean that literally, do you?”
“Huh? Oh, no, no... I mean, it’s where we put them after they die.”
Yuichi didn’t think it was unreasonable to assume that vampires could sleep in coffins, but apparently they didn’t go that far. Why, then, was there a coffin in Aiko’s brother’s room?
“Does your brother sleep here?” he asked.
“N-No way. He doesn’t go that far... I don’t think...” Aiko trailed off, clearly lacking confidence in the assertion.
Yuichi approached the coffin and had a look inside. There was only a thin layer of dirt at the bottom, so it would be possible to lie inside and close the lid. There was some color mixed in with the dirt, too, a stain from some dark red liquid. Blood, most likely.
“What... is this?” Aiko asked fearfully. She must have noticed the blood, too.
“He was injured, maybe... Could sleeping in a coffin speed up your recovery time?” Yuichi asked.
“That would be the first I’ve heard of it... I mean, we heal almost instantly from even major injuries, so why would he even need to?”
Yuichi decided it might be best to talk to Mutsuko as soon as possible.
He looked around the room for further clues.
The coffin had caught his attention right off the bat, but the rest of the room was just as odd. It was like a tornado had come through. The bed was split in two, the bookshelf was smashed, and the books lay scattered about.
“Hey. It’s not like this all the time, right?” he asked.
“Of course not! I glanced in once before when the door was open, and it wasn’t like this at all...” She must have been talking about the time she saw her brother practice swishing his cape in the mirror.
From the patterns in the dust, Yuichi decided, this must have happened very recently. Yuichi began scanning through the scattered books and magazines for clues.
“Hey, does your brother like girls with big breasts?”
“Huh?! Where did that come from?” Aiko exclaimed.
“Well, I don’t see any roleplay or costume fetish stuff... Just titty magazines.” Yuichi showed the materials in question to Aiko, whose face turned bright scarlet.
“Wh-Why are you looking at those?! This is sexual harassment!”
“Well, I just thought it might give us a clue to where he went. Like, maybe he’s gone somewhere with lots of busty girls around...”
“Idiot!” Aiko fumed. “That’s aimed both at him and you!”
Chapter 6: Monster Hunters Really Do Exist!
After a search through Kyoya’s room, they returned to Aiko’s and had a seat on her sofa.
“We didn’t learn a whole lot,” Yuichi said. “Have you asked anyone in your household?”
“Yeah,” Aiko said. “No one’s heard from him, and they don’t know where he’s gone. He’s not going to school either, apparently...”
“Isn’t your father worried?” Yuichi asked. “He seemed like a real doting dad. Hasn’t anyone called the police?”
Although they were vampires, they were trying to live normal lives, so calling the police seemed like a natural course of action.
“It seems he put out a request to look for him, but he’s not acting too worried, I guess. He never really gave my brother a lot of attention.”
Yeah, that’s how it goes for sons, Yuichi thought. “So what we do know is that he came back injured one time, and that he likes busty girls.”
“Forget about the busty girls!” Aiko cried.
“We need to figure out where he went... right? You think he has a connection to the group from the abandoned hospital?”
“I don’t think they’re part of our clan. I don’t know everyone in it, but I doubt any of them are street people.”
“You don’t think your brother is drinking blood and making more vampires, do you? If he wants to take over the world like you said, he’d need servants.”
“No way. I don’t think he’d ever go that far, and I’ve never heard of drinking blood making more vampires. I don’t even think we can do that.”
“But right now, we have to assume that they’re connected somehow. Maybe I should have talked to them more...” Yuichi hadn’t given much thought to the vampires in the abandoned hospital incident, but now he was pondering it. “Well, I’m gonna start searching around. Noro, you should wait here at home.”
Yuichi stood up. He had a bad feeling about this.
“Huh? You’re leaving? I can go with you...” Aiko began.
“No,” Yuichi said, voice straining a little. “I feel like the scale of this is a lot bigger than we thought. If we end up in another fight, I don’t know if I can protect you.” He’d let her come with her to the hospital, but that was before he knew that things would had escalated. He didn’t want to knowingly put her in danger.
“Sakaki, this is
my problem. I can’t just put it all on you,” Aiko responded, determinedly.
“Okay,” Yuichi consented. “But I don’t think there’s much more we can do by ourselves. Can I bring Mutsuko into this?”
After a moment’s thought, Aiko nodded. “Oh, and before we go, I want to introduce you to my mother.”
“That’s right, I haven’t met her, have I?” Yuichi asked.
Aiko led Yuichi to her mother’s room. Aiko’s mother sat in the glow of the LCD TV, the room’s only source of light. She was hugging her knees and watching the TV intently.
On the screen was a home shopping program, with two women talking cheerfully about combinations of health foods and diet equipment.
“Um, what’s with her?” Yuichi asked hesitantly.
Aiko turned on the light. “Mom, at least turn on the lights.”
“Oh, Ai. What’s wrong? I’m conserving energy! The little things really add up, you know.”
“The best way to conserve energy is to turn off the TV, Mom. Didn’t you know?”
“Oh, but I couldn’t! Who’s that with you, now?”
Aiko’s mother, Mariko, had a face even paler than Aiko’s, with dark circles under her eyes. She seemed like a woman who might have been beautiful if not for the sickly air hanging over her. She was wearing a loose-fitting white dress that resembled a nightgown, which added to her air of slovenliness.
She’s not at all like Noro, Yuichi thought. Now that he thought about it, Aiko wasn’t much like her father, either.
“Yuichi Sakaki,” Aiko said, introducing him. “He’s in my class. I brought him here to help me out with something.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Yuichi said politely. “I’m Yuichi Sakaki. I owe your daughter a whole lot.”
“My! What’s this now, Ai? You brought home a boy? And a handsome one, at that! Look at me, dressed the way I am...” Despite the appearance of ill health, Aiko’s mother seemed rather high-strung.
“Mom... you’ve ordered even more weird stuff...” Aiko said.
The room was in disorder, in a way that was reminiscent of Mutsuko’s room. This time, though, the clutter was mostly health equipment, clothing, and accessories. There were no windows in this room, either. It was around sunset now, but even if it were noon, it would probably be pitch black without the lights on.
“It is not weird stuff! This EMS uses electricity to strengthen your muscles. It’s perfect for someone nonathletic like me!”
That doesn’t actually work, Yuichi thought, but he bit his tongue. It wasn’t any of his business.
“I just came to introduce him to you. So take it easy, okay, Mom?” Aiko begged. “Sakaki’s going home pretty soon.”
“Oh, really? That reminds me, Ai, have you sucked Sakaki’s blood?”
“Mom! What are you talking about?” Aiko cried, flustered.
“You should mark him while you have the chance,” Aiko’s mother assured her. “And sucking blood can provide benefits—”
“Sakaki, go on without me!” Aiko insisted, sending Yuichi out of the room.
After a while, Aiko joined him outside, her face red for some reason.
“What happened?” Yuichi asked.
“M-Mom said that weird thing! Um, look, forget it!”
Yuichi decided not to pursue the matter any further.
They got back to Yuichi’s house only to find Yoriko standing just inside the front door, scowling.
He assumed it was because he’d brought Aiko with him, but that wasn’t what she ended up berating him for.
“Big Brother, you’re late!” Yoriko shouted.
“Why are you mad at me?” Yuichi asked. He couldn’t see how his being out a little late could have inconvenienced her in any way.
“When you get to our room, you’ll see! And why are you with Noro, anyway?”
“Oh, she had something to ask Mutsuko about, so I brought her along,” Yuichi said. “We stopped by her house, which is why I’m late. Sorry.” He still didn’t know why she was mad at him, but he apologized anyway.
“What?” Yoriko’s expression hardened.
Aiko shrank a bit, uncomfortably.
“Noro, I hope we can talk later,” Yoriko said, her voice monotone despite the gracious words. Then she walked back into the living room.
Confused, Yuichi and Aiko mounted the stairs, then headed for Yuichi’s room.
“Yo!” The first thing Yuichi saw upon entering was Kyoshiro Ibaraki, waving a hand and smiling breezily.
Yuichi stalked up to him, grabbed his arm, and twisted it behind his back.
With the joint locked, he pulled him off his feet and threw him backwards, sending the back of his head into the windowsill with a bang. It was a type of Ura Nage, a reverse throw in judo.
“What are you doing here?!” Yuichi demanded as Ibaraki cowered, rubbing the back of his head.
Ibaraki was blond and blue-eyed, with deeply set features, and the label “Ibaraki-doji” over his head. He looked like a foreigner, but unlike Natsuki, he was a real monster, not just a figurative one. He was a genuine oni, too. A horn appeared on his forehead when he was using his power.
They had traded blows during the whole Natsuki incident, but afterward he’d tried to act like friends, much to Yuichi’s irritation.
“Hey! What kind of way is that to greet a person? You could have killed me!” Ibaraki protested.
“Oh?” Yuichi asked. “I thought you were tough.”
“Unless I’m in oni form, I’m no tougher than a human!”
“Oh, really? That’s too bad. That should have been fatal, then.”
“You’re such a jerk. How can you say stuff like that with a straight face?” Ibaraki demanded.
“Sakaki, that’s going a bit too far...” Aiko said, flabbergasted.
“So what do you want, and why at this hour?” Yuichi asked. It was around 7 PM by now.
“I came to return your gym uniform,” Ibaraki said, pointing to the desk. The gym uniform was lying on it, folded neatly. “Your mom said you’d be back by dinner and I should wait for you upstairs.”
“I told you you didn’t have to return it, didn’t I?” Yuichi asked.
“What was I gonna do with it?” Ibaraki shot back.
“Thrown it out, maybe?” Yuichi asked. “You know, since I said that to avoid ever having to see you again?”
“That hurts. You’re mean. After I came all this way...”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks a million. Now you’ve done your thing, so leave.”
“We oughta go somewhere and hang out!”
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to leave!” Yuichi was just about to employ force when he heard footsteps running down the hall.
“Hey, what was that sound? Has the love triangle resulted in a yandere outbreak?!” Mutsuko burst through the door into the room.
“Yo!” Ibaraki said, raising a hand in greeting.
“Huh? Hey, Ibaraki! And Noro, too!” Mutsuko said as she looked around Yuichi’s room.
“He just got here and he’s already yelling at me to leave,” Ibaraki complained. “Talk to him, won’t you?”
“Yu, it’s important to be nice to your friends,” Mutsuko said sternly.
“We’re not friends.”
“Now, time for you to do some explaining! You’re always leaving me to go off with Yori and Noro! And now Ibaraki, too? I can tell you’re sneaking around hiding something from me! What is it?”
“No, actually, we just came here to ask you about that...” As Mutsuko began huffing, Yuichi quickly tried to bring her to grips.
“Oh, really? That’s okay, then!” Mutsuko said, her mood recovering on a dime. “Tell me all about it!”
She sat down in front of the low table. Yuichi and Aiko followed suit.
“Oh, don’t mind about me. I won’t tell anyone.” Ibaraki unwound himself from the windowsill to join them.
“We don’t want you here. Leave,” Yuichi said.
“Now, now, now... I
could be useful, y’know? With whatever you’re asking your sister about. It’s gotta be something you can’t handle by yourself, right?”
Yuichi had to concede that, as an oni, Ibaraki might know something about vampires.
“What do you want to do?” he asked Aiko.
“Well, he’s not a normal person, so it should be okay...” she said.
It was true that Ibaraki was hiding his true identity from the world at large, too. It seemed unlikely that he would spread the information around.
“Fine,” Yuichi said. Then he began to explain the situation so far.
Yuichi explained that Aiko was a vampire, that her big brother had middle school syndrome and wanted to conquer the world, that he had seen vampires in the abandoned hospital, and that Noro’s brother was now missing.
“First, let me point out one thing!” Mutsuko proclaimed.
“What is it?” Yuichi asked.
“The Pink Clinic is not abandoned!”
“Huh? But...” He was about to counter, but then he remembered. The lights had been on. You wouldn’t see that in a true abandoned building.
“It’s not a functioning hospital anymore, but someone’s still maintaining it! I never miss a trick when it comes to that stuff!” Mutsuko said proudly.
“Ah, that’s right,” Yuichi said. “You like abandoned buildings, too.”
“That’s right! I don’t go exploring in buildings someone clearly owns! You can’t just barge in just because it looks abandoned!”
“Sakaki... what if those people were the owners of the building?” Aiko asked timidly. “What if we did something bad?”
“I dunno. Even if it was breaking and entering, we had to save the girl, right?” Yuichi didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. “You know anything about vampires?” he asked Ibaraki.
“Vampires... they’re kind of a different niche from us,” Ibaraki said. “I can’t remember them ever obviously intruding on our territory, at least.”
“Yeah,” Yuichi said. “I figured you wouldn’t be useful.”
“Hey, hang on! Oh, I know. Those guys’ve been more activate lately. There might be some connection there.”
The Half-Baked Vampire vs. The Strongest Little Sister?! Page 10