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"No, that's not what I'm asking about. You were living in the dormitory up until the old man died, right? Why are you only starting to commute there now?"
"Eh----"

She holds back her words and looks away.

"...... Yes, you may be right. But it is what Father wanted, so I spend half the week here."
"Hmm... but the old man isn't here anymore, so you don't have to force yourself, right? Dormitory life looks kind of fun, after all."

I think Shiki's just trying to get rid of her. If I had a sister like that, I would do the same thing.

"Well, I wouldn't be troubled if it were that easy. But if I were to leave you by yourself, there's no telling what might happen to you, is there? With things like what happened yesterday, I will still be attending school from the mansion for now.
---One more thing, Nii-san..."

She straightens her posture and looks right at me.
"...... Uh... yeah?"
"The lodgings at Asagami Ladies' Academy are not dormitories. They are boarding houses. Please get it right next time."

See? That's the kind of shit I'm talking about. What the fuck, Akiha?

...... Akiha's words are wrapped in thorns.
Actually, I was pricked plenty of times by them my first day back, but this morning there is something sulky about them.

Music: stop

------------------------------

Nothing suspicious here! I certainly didn't brutally murder a beautiful young woman at the entrance to her apartment! Shit, did I say that out loud?

"I am not placing any blame on you, Shiki-sama, but you look like you are pushing yourself this morning. Please take care along the way."
Hisui makes a deep bow and sees me out.

From what I can tell by playing this game, it seems like students have a short day of school on Saturday and they're off on Sunday. I'm sure somebody reading this knows better than I do and can explain it more thoroughly.

It's only a little way to the main gate once I pass this intersection.
It's still only seven-thirty.
Looks like I'll be able to get to school with time to spare today.

The light turns red, and I stop in front of the cross walk.
The school fence is just on the other side.
Since it's a school path, the footpath is protected by a guardrail. Even now, the students in front of me are heading towards the school gate.

There's no one but students from our school on the other side at this time of day.
...... There should be no one but the students.
But between the cars rushing by, I feel like I catch a glimpse of someone in white.

"------"
But that's impossible.
I killed her myself yesterday, cutting her into pieces.
"Wha----"
No. Even that's a lie.
It's all just a dream. Hisui told me so----
"-----"
No, she didn't say anything of the sort.
It's just that I wanted to believe it was a dream.
Then it really wasn't a dream.

But then...
Why? Why does she exist, as real as anything---?

She sits on the guardrail, her legs swinging idly,
as if she is waiting for someone.
I can't tell how long she's been waiting, but her expression isn't a grim one.

---Who is she waiting for?

She fidgets restlessly, as if she were waiting for her lover.

---I have a bad feeling about this.
"Ah-----"
The girl in white looks over in my direction.
It's probably nothing more than a coincidence.

She's just a stranger who looks like her. She must be waiting for someone else.
If not, then this moment must surely be a bad dream, too.
After all, I completely and utterly killed her with my own hands----
But she's looking this way and smiling.
Looking very satisfied at having found the person who killed her, her smile seems to say, "you've finally come----"

"...... I'm telling you not to come----!!!"
The reality before my eyes does not change even when I scream out.
Screaming in a voice even I don't understand, I run from the girl in white.

I look behind me.
The girl in white is walking towards me.
She's definitely following me.
The girl I've killed is chasing me.
That's more than enough reason for me to run.

Naturally, like she's taking a stroll, she follows right behind me.
*huff* *huff* "...... Haha, hahaha!"

It's not funny, but I begin to laugh.

"Haha, hahaha, ahahahahahaha!"

I can't stop laughing.
But even so, I run. My body complains that I'll die if I run any more, but I keep running.
The reason is simple.
If she catches me, she'll kill me for sure.
I ask myself what I base that on, trying to shake it off as mere imagination. But even as I try to console myself, I am the one who knows best it's true.

There's no reason, no basis, no evidence.
I already know it as a fact that if she catches up to me, I will be killed-----

"----"
I try to pull myself up against the wall, but it's no good.
My knees lose their strength as I try to rise, and I collapse back down.
My body won't move anymore.

*pant* *pant* *pant*

I look up as I breathe.
----It hurts.
I don't have enough oxygen.
I can't think properly because of it.
I can't even tell what I'm doing anymore.
I don't know why I'm doing this.
Why? Why? I don't even know why the girl I've killed is alive.
Unmistakably, I've utterly and completely killed her in the most final way imaginable.
So why?
How can she be waiting for me in front of my school, smiling--?

"Hello. You really gave me some trouble yesterday."

We are now roughly at the end of the first episode of the anime!

Music: play track 9

With a warm smile, she comes into the alley.
----I've got to run away.

Thinking that, I retreat, only to hit my head against a concrete wall.

"The chase is already over, right? This is a dead end, after all. There's no need to worry about anyone coming along or interfering."
She smiles, looking very happy.

Panicking, I look around at my surroundings.
A desolate alley. I'm disgusted at my stupidity.
Running away here is like asking her to kill me.

"Don't be ridiculous! Dead people can't be alive!"
"That's true, but there's no need for you to be so surprised. I just revived, that's all."
With that curt response, she makes another footstep, the sound reaching my ears.

The distance between us is gradually decreasing.
"...... Re... vived?"
Stunned, I repeat her phrase back to her.
Revived... you mean some doctor saved her with some surgery...?

"...... You're not human...?"

"Geez, isn't that obvious? Do you think there's a human being out there who can revive after being cut into pieces?"

"-------"
There's no way a human like that could exist.
Something like that is just a monster who looks human.

Something that revives even when killed.
Something that death is irrelevant to.
Something that quickly returns to normal and starts moving even after being cut to pieces isn't something you can call human.
"No... way."
That seems to be the girl right before my eyes.
I try to laugh, but my throat is so dry, I can't.

"...... You said you're not human. So what are you?"
"Me? I'm called a vampire. To put it in your terms, I'm a monster who lives off human blood."

It still mystifies me why she would explain it that way. Anybody familiar with the game already knows, but for those that aren't, she doesn't actually need blood to survive.

...... Ah, good.
"Vampire" is at least something I can easily understand.

I just have the worst luck. First I kill a woman just because I felt like it, and now she's back and complaining to me about why I killed her! The NERVE!


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