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Using a letter opener lying on the desk, I cut the "line" of the drawer lock.
Inside, there appears to be some old documents bundled together and what seems to be a journal.

First, I'll look at the old documents.
"…… This is… my family tree?"
Definitely.
Right after Tohno MAKIHISA is written Tohno SHIKI and Tohno AKIHA.

"Huh…… my old man, he adopted a son ten years ago? …… Ah, but he passed away shortly thereafter."
Ten years ago; that would be when I was just in elementary school.
That long ago, it's only natural I wouldn't remember.

"But, the heads of the household have had pretty short lifespans. My old man died before he was fifty, and before that, before thirty in an accident…… Wow, before that, eighteen years of age, suicide…!?"

----No, wait a second.
No matter how you look at it, this is strange.

Music: play track 4

Looking through the family tree, all members of the Tohno household have died strangely.
Madness. Accidents. Murder. Disappearances. Stillbirth.
…… Not one of them lived a long life or even died peacefully.

Hmm, it's almost like a curse, or perhaps... a tainted bloodline!

"…… Next is…… my old man's journal."
I pick up the journal, which has a relatively new binding.

----Thump.

My heart starts to pound.
My heart seems to understand that I shouldn't be opening this.
But I can't turn back now.
Swallowing hard, I open my old man's journal.

Pfft. That news is SO last path. Get with the times, geezer.

The opening statement is in those lines.

And that isn't just a simple metaphor.
The ancestors of the Tohno were a mixed breed of "something nonhuman" and human. We, being their descendants, also have this element of "something nonhuman" in our blood.

In regards to our blood…
There are those with strong and those with weak nonhuman blood.
Those with weak nonhuman blood can live their lives as ordinary people, but those with strong nonhuman blood can never live a normal life.

Those with strong Tohno blood are born with special powers.
It could be a body that is resistant to death,
it could be an ability to move things without touching them,
or it could be fangs used to take bodily fluids from other people.

This blood.

This blood.

When this blood becomes too strong, the members of the Tohno House start to gradually lose their sanity.
And the majority of the members of the Tohno House that lose their sanity become demons that feed on human flesh.
So, the head of the Tohno household carries the responsibility of punishing those who have turned into such monsters.

…… I am no longer able to suppress my raging blood.
I was able to obtain an orphan from a family of Synchronizers, so this should help me strengthen my mind. However, it really is only a matter of time before I go insane.

…… It is terrifying.
When I come to, I find that I can't even remember half of the day.
During that time, I'm forcing my inversion impulse on that child.



If this keeps up,
it is only a matter of time before I completely lose my sanity and turn into a beast.
I don't even know how much time I have left to remain as myself.

No. If that child is here, then I can probably last for a few more years.
But that child will not be able to bear that. After that child breaks, I will have to take my own life.

But until then---I must protect my children.
Akiha's blood is weak. Unless she wishes it herself, she does not have to suffer the same fate.

"---------"
I finish reading in a state of horror and amazement.
The contents of my old man's journal are so far away from reality that it's outright bizarre.

My old man didn't just have manic-depression.
Rather, he just became violent without his knowing.
Just like Tohno Shiki right now.

"…… No."
That's wrong.
That old man isn't like me.
I'm like him.

Fearing that, he sent me from the mansion.
But now I've returned, and my sleeping blood has awoken.
"Heh…… nonsense, all of this."
I try to laugh but find myself unable to laugh it off.
The Tohno blood is mixed with the blood of something nonhuman.
Those of the Tohno blood have special powers.
…… I can't laugh it off.
Supernatural power. I've been carrying that for eight years.
Being able to perceive the death of things, my unnatural eyes.

Music: stop

"Shiki-sama, you have returned already?"

…… I can hear a voice that sounds like Hisui.

"Shiki-sama, please excuse me."

Music: play track 1

…… Hisui enters my room.

"…………………"
Hisui looks at me with worried eyes.
…… Damn it, what am I doing?
Hisui is worrying about me; there's no reason to take it out on her……!

"…… Sorry, I just feel a bit bad. I want to sleep until dinner; is there some medicine I can take? Headache medicine would be the best."

"Yes, I will go get some."

There's a fade out and back in here.

"Thank you for waiting. Please drink this."
"Thank you, as always, and sorry."
I take the water and the powdered medicine that Hisui brought me.
For some reason, there are two kinds of medicine.
"Huh? Two? What are they?"
"Yes, I told my sister that you were not feeling well, and she gave me some medicine she had prescribed from your doctor.
This one is to help you sleep. This contains benzodiazepine, which is known for being able to produce a relaxed sleep."

It's hard to see through the text:

THE EYES!

"…… I'm going to sleep. Please wake me when it's dinner time."

"I understand. Well then, excuse me."

Hisui leaves.
My consciousness starts to fade.

…… I'll sleep just a little bit.
It's still bright outside.
Because it's during the day, I shouldn't see any of those horrible dreams---

Music: stop

Fade part 2, the bedroom is now darkened.

"Please excuse me. Good night, Shiki-sama."

With a bow, Hisui exits the room.

I yawn heavily.
…… I'm still just a little sleepy.
Kohaku-san's medicine was pretty strong, so I spent most of dinner in a daze.

It's only about nine o'clock.
I took a nap already, so it's a little early to be sleeping.

At ten o'clock, the lights in the mansion are turned off.
"…… Well then, what should I do?"
I say this calmly, but I really have no idea what I should do.

…… Just what are the dreams that I keep seeing?
Am I just like my father, who does things unconsciously, and did I really kill anyone?

…… No, there's something not right about this interpretation.
If I left the mansion and walked the streets, Kohaku-san and Hisui would definitely notice something.
I can't explain the fact that I wake up in my bed clean when there's so much blood splattered on me.

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