Chapter 4: Day of Greetings
It was the middle of the night when Shelby finally left the hospital. Doctor Sharpe needed her help with old Miss Brown's autopsy, and it had taken much longer than expected. The whole time, the doctor seemed to have something on his mind. Yet for the life of her, the young nurse couldn't figure it out. With a sigh, she started toward home in hopes of getting a good night's sleep. The moon was high in the sky and provided a decent amount of light for her as she walked. After some time, she saw a couple of figures up ahead that she couldn't recognize. As she drew closer, she could make out the features of the two strangers. One was a young man with dark brown hair. He wore simple, warm clothes that covered most of his skin. The other was a little girl who looked no older than twelve. She wore a long, frilly, dark blue dress and had thick, curly, blonde. The two walked beside each other, the younger holding onto the elder's hand. Shelby couldn't help but smile at the cute display ahead of her. Eventually she caught up to the pair and fell into line with them, flashing them a warm smile.
"I haven't seen you two around town before," she said to them in hopes of striking up conversation. "You two must be some of our new neighbors. My name's Shelby, I work at the clinic down the road." The pair smiled at her as she spoke. Upon closer inspection, Shelby had noticed how pale the two of them were and how dark their eyes were. They had an otherworldly air to them and they seemed almost... Inhuman. But the young nurse quickly dismissed her thoughts. 'I must be tired,' she thought to herself.
The young man was the first of the two newcomers to speak. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Setsuna, and this is my little sister Harriet." Hearing the young girl's name, Shelby had a confused look on her face. Setsuna quickly spoke up again. "My adopted sister. We met her while traveling through Europe and we took her in off of the streets." His features softened a bit as he spoke of the child beside him. "Ever since then, she's traveled with us. Until we came here, that is. Even if she is adopted, I still love her like we were related by blood"
Shelby felt her heart skip a beat as the man before her spoke; a kind smile spreading across her face. "You're a very caring man, Setsuna. Not everyone would do what you did for this little girl." The blonde child grinned at the mention of her. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, Harriet." The attention from the nurse made Harriet smile more, yet she remained quiet for the moment. Her silence left Shelby puzzles as she slightly tilted her head; her orange locks shifting with her movement. As the older woman opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off.
"Harriet doesn't speak very often," Setsuna spoke for his sibling again. "Especially not to people she's only just met. But give her time and she'll start talking your ear off." Setsuna laughed a bit at his own statement, as did Shelby. Harriet just huffed and stared up at her brother; a grumpy expression on her face. This only made the two adults laugh more. "I never said talking to you was a bad thing, kiddo." He patted the child's head as he chuckled, making her smile once again.
It warmed Shelby's heart to watch the two of them act so close. "I'd love to chat with you two again sometime. Why don't you and your family come and visit me at the clinic? I work most days, so you'll usually find me there rather than at home." As much as Shelby wanted to, she felt it wouldn't be right to invite them to her home if she was hardly ever there. 'It would be rude,' she reasoned.
The man before her smiled happily in reply. "We'll make sure to take you up on that offer," he reassured. Something about his reply sent a chill down Shelby's spine. It was as though she had sentenced someone to a terrible fate. But she soon dismissed the feeling as she bid the siblings farewell and continued on her way home. "I'm more tired that I thought I was."
As the sun began to rise over the trees, Seishin checked one last time to make sure everyone was safe from the sunlight. Tohru's late return that night had worried everyone. Yet his behavior when he had come home was strange compared to his usual behavior, though the change seemed to be for the better. He seemed to be in higher spirits and acted more like himself back before rising as a Shiki. Once Seishin made sure everyone was safe in their rooms, he prepared to head out to do some grocery shopping for himself and Nibiki. Despite becoming a Jinrou, the writer disliked feeding off of humans by force. He much preferred the foods he would enjoy during his days in Sotoba and would take it over blood any day.
Walking through this town gave the former monk a great sense of nostalgia. He could almost hear Toshio's sarcastic remarks as he continued down the dirt road to the market. "Toshio..." Just the thought of his old friend saddened him. 'If only he had listened to the Shiki's side of the story. All the bloodshed and heartache could have been avoided.' Seishin slowed down a bit as he thought back to his home. To the chaos that had been unleashed because of the doctor's unwillingness to look at the situation from another perspective. "I wonder where he is now," he voiced his thoughts absently. How he wished things could have been different.
But Seishin's thoughts were soon interrupted as he suddenly collided with someone else. Sapphire eyes met his own emerald ones as he looked to see who he had run into. He was met face-to-face with a young man who wore a white lab coat; almost like that of the doctor he once knew. "I'm terribly sorry about that," Seishin apologized to the man before him.
"No, I'm sorry," he replied swiftly. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." A brief moment of silence fell between them; though it seemed to last for hours. The blue haired man was the first to speak. "Are you one of the new residents?" Seishin replied with a nod. "Well, I'm Dr. Sharpe. I run the town clinic. So if you or anyone in your family need any medical assistance, just come down and ask for me." As he spoke, it became clear how uncomfortable the doctor seemed to feel.
With a smile, Seishin spoke. "Thank you, doctor. I'll be sure to tell the others that you give them your regards. My name is Seishin Muroi, by the way. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Soon after he began to speak, Seishin could tell that the younger man was beginning to relax more. "But I do apologize if we don't come by the clinic much. We hired a private doctor when we learned of the condition our two youngest suffer from. We will make it a point to visit if the opportunity presents itself."
After sharing a few more words, the two parted ways. It pained Seishin to lie to the humans of this town; yet he knew there was no other way to go about these types of situations. Telling them the truth would either paint them as monsters or maniacs, and neither one would be a good start in this new town. So for now, he would continue to weave their elaborate tales until everyone was either dead or risen. But Seishin prayed that there would be another way to go about Sunako's master plan. If only someone would help him find a solution.