Chapter 15: Confrontation II

"Well, this should be fine, right?"

Holding the water purchased from the vending machine, I head toward where Arcueid is sleeping.

The park is as quiet as ever, with only the sound of footsteps and the chirping of insects audible.

After being blown away along with Arcueid-san by Ciel-senpai,

I got up, muttering curses, but Arcueid-san's gaze suddenly darted around nervously. She then abruptly turned her back and ran away.

It was so sudden that I watched dumbfounded, but Arcueid-san suddenly tripped, fell, and stopped moving.

And so, I frantically carried her to a bench and came to the present moment to get her something to drink.

"Even so..."

Even so, I knew it, but hearing it directly from Arcueid-san's mouth was painful for me too.

"Is this spot okay?"

After Ciel-senpai blew both of us away,

we stood up, both covered in park dust and muttering curses.

Suddenly, wondering how the other person was, I turned my gaze to Arcueid-san.

The moment our eyes met, she not only looked away but also showed a reluctance to say something she seemed to want to express.

Ignoring my concern, her gaze wandered nervously, and she suddenly stood up and ran off as if escaping.

I was stunned by how sudden it was,

but she suddenly seemed to trip and fall, remaining motionless.

Now I'm carrying her, looking for a place where she can rest.

Carrying Arcueid-san on my shoulder like that,

I was searching for a place to rest when a bench appeared right in front of me.

After gently setting her down on the bench, I leaned in to check on her condition.

"Nngh..."

It's okay; judging by her reaction, she hasn't completely lost consciousness.

"............."

However, observing her closely like this,

I can fully appreciate once again how perfectly formed Arcueid Brunestud is as a human being.

For example, her hair.

Often, in light novels or anything else, there are blonde characters, but in reality, even native Caucasians can have surprisingly dull hair colors.

But hers is truly beautiful blonde hair, like golden threads or an autumn sheaf of wheat.

"Oh..."

And when I touched her hair, it was, as expected, silky smooth.

Now, seeing it from the perspective of another woman, I understand: I've never seen such silky hair before.

It was only after I underwent the gender-switch that I finally understood: women's hair care is frankly a pain.

And this answered a long-standing question: why real-world women don't keep their hair as long as their two-dimensional counterparts.

Long hair gets messy quickly if neglected,

and when it's long, it gets in the way while sweating or exercising.

In winter, it becomes dry and gets caught in strange places if you're not careful—it's utterly inconvenient.

It makes sense why women in the world don't have hair reaching their waist.

While conceding this point, I keep my hair fairly long, not quite waist-length, but as befits "Yumizuka Satsuki."

"............ Hey, Sacchin, what are you doing?"

"Huh?"

As I was thinking unnecessary things,

Arcueid-san slightly opened her eyes and was looking at me.

".............."

".............."

An awkward silence hangs in the air.

Wait, Arcueid-san's face is getting increasingly sulky!

"Um... please wait a moment, I'll go get some water or something..."

"Hey, Sacchin, will you listen to me?"

I turned to leave, but my arm was grabbed, and I was called back.

I expected she would be angry, but Arcueid-san was looking down, immersed in sadness.

Furthermore, if I looked closely, the hand gripping my arm was trembling.

"Hey, Sacchin. Do you remember the first time you and I met?"

"Yes, um..."

I only met Arcueid-san a few days ago, but

because I've been involved in vampirism and had such intense days, it feels like weeks ago, but I remember it.

I believe we bumped into each other, I tended to her when she fainted, and we talked briefly—that was the start of our encounter.

"A little while ago, you know, Shiki killed me once. Without mercy, my body was split into 17 pieces."

She traced the spot where she was likely carved by the knife with her finger, self-mockingly.

"You see, I knew I was at my limit in suppressing the bloodlust myself,

so I resolved that this was my last chance to kill Roa and came all this way."

She raised her head and smiled, but it was a weak smile devoid of hope for the future.

"But then, it was suddenly ruined by a stranger, Shiki. So, when I revived, the first thing that came to my flickering mind was a feeling of hatred,"

She took a breath,

"When I bumped into Sacchin, for a moment, I considered tearing you apart out of spite."

................................ Oh, wow. At that time, I was worried about running into a character from the original story by chance and about whether Professor Nero was nearby, and I was worried about being killed by Roa, but I never expected to nearly be killed by the main heroine right away.... As expected of the Kinoko Nasu world where the main heroine is the final boss.

"Sorry, sorry. You don't have to be that scared... Anyway, getting back to the topic. But, after fainting and waking up, I suddenly wondered what kind of person the one who killed me was."

While the lines she's saying sound quite dangerous to the listener,

Arcueid-san spoke about it as if it were her first love, with her eyes dreamy like a maiden in love.

"I wanted to meet the person who literally killed me once. My heart wouldn't stop racing when I thought about what kind of person they were and what method they used to kill me. I imagined what kind of person they might be, and I constantly wished for tomorrow to come quickly so I could meet that person."

She continued, "In retrospect,"

"In retrospect, I think I was obsessed with Shiki from that time, and I fell in love. But at the same time, I might have been viewing Shiki as a target for blood-sucking."

Saying that, she clenched my arm tightly, as if enduring something.

And then, a slight sense of discomfort. I glanced at my arm and saw water droplets pooling.

"I... I want to be with Shiki... just being by Shiki's side is enough... If possible, I want to talk to Shiki more and more, I want to go to places I've never seen with Shiki. But, as that Executor said, I don't have much time left. I want to be with Shiki much, much longer."

"... Ar-Arcueid-san."

She was crying, punctuated by sobs.

She buried her head against my chest, mourning her future that has no horizon.

I couldn't think of any words to say and could only gently place a hand on her back and hold her as if to comfort her.

I couldn't think of any words that would captivate people like a protagonist in a story,

and since I didn't have a convenient ability like a 'Pat-and-Smile' skill, I just gently held Arcueid-san.

Besides, Arcueid-san's problem isn't someone else's.

Having become a vampire, I, too, might one day turn into a monster that indiscriminately sucks human blood.

Whether that will be next year or a hundred years from now, my life in this world will surely end up that way.

I don't know how much time passed.

Finally, after soaking my clothes with tears, Arcueid-san raised her head.

"I'm sorry, Sacchin. I made your clothes wet. But also, I feel kind of tired now. I think I need something to drink."

However, her expression was weak.

If I were truly the protagonist of a story, I might have been able to rally her spirits.

But no matter how hard I thought, no words came to mind for Arcueid-san.

To prevent her from seeing my distress, I simply put on a mask of a smile and responded normally.

"Yes, that's fine. Would you like water, tea, or juice?"

"Water, I think. Also, I don't want to see anything sweet, flavored, or anything that's red right now."

"Understood."

With that, I gently left her side and headed for the vending machine.

After walking a little, I glanced back at Arcueid-san, and she seemed truly exhausted; her eyes were closed, and she was quietly sleeping.

No, rather than just being tired, the truth is that her True Ancestor abilities are likely depleted and reaching their limit.

"Limit, huh?"

The True End (TrueND) of the Arcueid route in Tsukihime ended with her bidding farewell to Shiki in the classroom. I can't recall what happened in the Good End right now. In fact, under these circumstances, it might no longer be a good reference.

I have no idea what kind of ending we will face with the presence of an outlier named Yumizuka Satsuki—

no, the outlier me.

All I can do is overcome the obstacles in front of me and seize a better future with my own hands.

No matter how much I regret the past, I cannot go back, but I can move forward.

Only by following the path I believe in and plunging headlong forward can I open up a future full of good fortune for both her and myself.

Even if this world is a fictional one to me, it is undeniably the real world.

Only by overcoming the harsh road of reality will a happy future arrive.

The flow of the wind changed.

No, to be more precise, someone was standing right in front of me in the dark park.

Could it be Roa?

That question instantly pulled me out of my recollection,

and I took a defensive posture, extending my claws.

A tense and unpleasant silence continued for a while.

And the one who moved first was the person whose figure was still not clearly visible.

They walked slowly and leisurely toward me, kicking the park's sand with their shoes with soft, crisp sounds.

The vampire's eyes began to catch the outline and features of the approaching person.

Though I had never met her directly, she was someone I 'knew', and I couldn't hide my surprise at the unexpected person.

"Good evening, Yumizuka Satsuki-san."

Long, black hair reaching her waist.

Furthermore, her blue eyes and dignified presence brought to mind an intricately crafted Japanese doll, yet she was a living human being.

She wore a long skirt, rare nowadays, and a crisp, expensive-looking, wrinkle-free shirt with the collar neatly fastened by a ribbon.

Coupled with the aura she exuded, she gave off the atmosphere of a genuine high-born lady, something rarely seen today.

And her name was...

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Tohno Akiha. My brother is always indebted to you."

On this night, Shiki's sister, Tohno Akiha, had intruded.