AN: 17.5 is weird. I don't really play anything that relates to its genre so that's why I find it like that, still I enjoyed it and it reminds me of Luna nights which is a game I haven't tried out yet but I will soon after I finish 17.5.

In a dim room, the crimson essence drips upon the surface of the floor.

Two people were cradling each other, a sucking noise could be heard then a loud thud.

There were two people in the dim room.

One was dead and one was alive.

Two bats came from inside through the broken window, they made themselves comfortable sitting idly at a chair while the other at the bed.

The very presence of this creatures made the room heavy, the feeling of being preyed upon by a predator was very evident.

A whimper could be heard.

"My m-master, please give me another chance." Stuttered a man with a clothes resembling those of a teacher.

The bat simply looked at the man with utter disappointment.

Another chance for what the master thought, seeing as his master was not convinced he groveled.

"Please, I beg of you."

He heard a silent whisper and chills ran down his spine.

"You disappointed me."

Blood splashed all over the room, the one who groveled had his stomach burst open into a bloody mess.

He cries in pain and agony, then dying immediately out of sheer pain then disintegrates into red mist, the other body disappeared in a similar fashion.

There were two people in the dim room.

One was an adult and one was a child.

The two were neither dead nor alive.

"Come here my dear child."

The man sitting on the chair gestures to the child to sit on his lap

The child obliges and does what she was told.

She sat at his lap comfortably, the man strokes the child's blonde hair.

Caressing it gently and softly.

"My dear child, you know that you shouldn't stain your precious hands from the blood of a mere dog."

"But father, he is of no use for us anymore." The man was the father's child, he briefly pause and looked at his daughter.

"I guess so," The man resumes stroking her hair affectionately.

The ebony sky was illuminated by the crimson moon.

"Flandre, my dearest child."

"Yes, father."

"Isn't your sister's birthday near?"

She replied with a nod at him.

"Why don't we pay a visit to her."

That night, the air was more chilly than usual.

Causality, the principle that states that all events necessarily have a cause.

It is a principle that indicates a logical relationship with two events, the cause and the effect, and an order between them: the cause always precedes the effect.

Complex or not, if it comes to the realm of possibility, all things have a cause.

Whether it is in a manner regarding my daily life or to the mentally and physically taxing duty of having a job, I try to look at things from a logical stand point. Of course there were exception such as how the universe really came to be but does anyone really have a firm grip on what to believe? To me, such a question is of no concern for me.

The case that I'm facing with, there exist a cause of it, however I am still not sure of what I think just yet since the likely possible cause for all of it needs to be connected and I doubt it would be simple. But just like all the cases that I've dealt with previously, there's got to be a certain lead that will let me know what I need to completely identify it, the root of it all.

And with all things considered, my investigation leads me to another discovery, one that might be an ill omen, but an ill omen that I've yet verified still I keep a keen eye on that possibility.

A week has passed since I've left and dropped out of school. Things were still the same as always, however since I have no more obligation to seek education as of right now, I've been focusing all my time in work. I was working nonstop and I still am at the moment.

Although unfortunate for my end still I continue work without rest, and I meant that literally. I don't know how long has it been since I've closed my eyes for more than an hour, thankfully I was able to meditate again thanks to the medication my guardians gave me however even they don't have a slight clue on what caused my dreams or delusions as they called it.

They told me that I have some sort of insomnia, and I think so too. I've tried sleeping pills but to no avail, it had no effect. Still I am in relief that I could meditate once again, at least in that regard I may get some sort of peace though sadly it was too short for me.

The action is not considered as a form of rest, according to what I experience when I do it that is. Meditation may be considered as a break for something but what it primarily does is rearranging my mana flow and concentrating my mind since in a way, mana is connected to ones mind.

Now staring at a strangely designed door, I knock on the door three times, the first knock started a bit timid then the next sounding a bit louder than the previous one until the last resonating knock took its place as the loudest. The door frame starts to illuminate the engraved symbols, it activates and I was greeted with a husky voice.

"What's the password."

"A swords edge should never be dull." I whispered in front of the door, and upon telling the door keeper that the door creaks open.

The heavy smell of gunpowder seems to be the only thing that I was familiar with this place as it reveals the interior, there were some other odd materials that immediately caught my eye and nose, but the smell of the black powder greatly accommodates the place. The lights were on despite it being in the middle of the day but it's not that really strange considering that they don't have any windows installed at all. Besides that, there were tables containing blueprints that was sprawled out and shelves full of gun stocks, barrels and other parts were all neatly kept in boxes and drawers.

As I turn my head to the left, I was greeted by a miniature statue that greatly resembles my kami holding a bow, with it sitting on top of a counter with a marble finish that felt too out of place but considering that the ones working here know my guardian and that I've also actually visited this place, I wouldn't be too surprised.

"Hmm, what brings you here Hikigaya?" Alas I was able to meet the maker of my sniper rifle, his balding head was a sight to behold, kind of reminds me of a typical-

"Quit staring at my head and get on with it, will you!" He caught me red handed but I didn't really care.

Still I voiced my apologies, "Ah, sorry. I'm here to get my order." I say with a hoarse voice and coughed immediately. They did say that losing sleep may cause some issues with the vocal chords but I don't really know.

"What order is it? We've been quite busy with the incoming orders." He asks as he looked down at the monitor.

"Its order number 84099SNPR."

"Oh, that one...I think it's at the back- Hiromishi! Can you bring the MSR sniper over here." He shouted at what seems to be his colleague.

"Which one!?" A loud voice from the back answered him.

"What do you mean 'Which one', there's only one! We commissioned that just four days ago!"

"Oh that one."

The balding man sighs most likely at his colleague.

"Sorry about that, Hiromishi is still getting the hang of it." He said to me redirecting his gaze towards the monitor whilst scratching the side of his head.

"Your taking apprenticeship now?" That's news to me, I thought he didn't like having other people touch his stuff.

"Of course, I'm getting old and I want to retire soon, my son would've been the one in charge of this place by now but he decided to pursue College."

"I see."

"How about you? Still working at Chiba HQ?"

"Yes, I'm still working there." The conversation trailed off as I see a big rectangle briefcase being carried by the supposed apprentice of this balding gunsmith.

"Here it is, the MSR-21." The gunsmith said.

The apprentice clicks open the briefcase and what was revealed in their was the sniper that I've ordered, it's jet black finish made it feel like a premium product although quite bland to look at, for me personally I don't give a fuck since after all, they're just weapons, a tool made to kill others.

Harrowing as it sounds, a weapon like a gun should not be mainly treated as if they were a means to protect others. Its sole purpose is to effectively kill anyone. My guardian once said that I should not take pride in these things, things that hold power. The reason being that ones egoistic nature may be used against himself. Believing that he can protect all that he cares about, foolishly believing that he can handle it all just because he has the ability to do so but due to such narrow mindset, he'll stumble and fall then he'll realize how harsh reality is.

Being powerful in a sense that you are strong will only carry you so far that is what Yahata told me, and I agree with statement.

Those who experienced the harshness of this cold reality and have grown from it, those who think before doing every action in a battle, those who see how an event is gonna pan out, those who know the limit of themselves, those who have confidence rather than arrogance, those are the ones that will survive and thrive in this cold reality.

That's why I don't act recklessly whenever I'm in a battle, well save for some couple of mistakes but that would be few and I've learned from it. I'm not saying that I'm perfect, it is far from it, and saying that you are perfect, it is stupid. There's always room for improvement, removing the risk of failing is a condition that I've learned from my training after all.

"I know you'd like to ask some things about this sniper rifle but to save you some time, I have a firing range at the back where you cant test it out. Though I have to tell you, it's practically the same as your AWM just with a sling, it's still a bolt action rifle but you'll find a slight difference once you fire a shot from it."

Taking hold of the so called MSR-21, I slide my fingers on the surface of the barrel, then to the magazine which I pulled out to check if it was loaded or not. Now that I was sure it wasn't loaded, I crank the bolt backwards to see how it feels. The pullback was smooth and kind of the same as my old rifle back when it wasn't damaged. I pull the trigger to test and evaluate how much force it will take to pull it all the way back.

Click

It was light, too light for my own taste.

"The trigger needs to be adjusted, it's too light." I said to the gunsmith.

He replied with a hum and said, "I would but it's better if you were the one to adjust it," True, I could just do that myself.

-and before I forget I need to remind you that there's additional payment."

"What do you mean by 'additional'? Didn't I already paid all of it." I said with a raised brow.

"I know you paid already, but this is for the labor and stuff since you ordered for a commission." I know that I ordered for a commission but this is just robbery. If I were to take into account the value added tax from the association and the parts that I have paid then this so called 'additional' may cause a hole in my wallet, the association are one greedy organization if I say so myself.

But what the hell do I care about that.

"Fine, I'll deposit it later and give me the receipt too." It's not like its my money to begin with, so I'm really not that peeved by it.

I return my gaze at the rifle that I held, I could tell that the quality was superb just by looking at it. So I know that this was worth the fortune I had spent.

So without further a due, I entered inside the firing range.

Ding

Ding

Ding

Ding

Hachiman hit four consecutive shots in a row in less than ten seconds, and all of the shots were near the center except the last one which was a bullseye. It was impressive considering that he had set all of the targets to move in maximum speed with a set distance of half a kilometer. If it was his older gun then he'd probably hit only two targets.

Now if we were to calculate how much time it took for him to hit a single shot, then the answer would roughly be two and a half seconds including the time he had to pull his bolt without considering other factors of course. He was sure he could hit more but held against it since after all, his lazy demeanor didn't prompt him to do so.

Truly, he is indeed lazy in nature.

"That was some good sniping, are you sure you're not a robot." The remarks made Hachiman stare at the balding gunsmith.

"Implying that I am a robot would mean that using a handheld gun would be impractical, I'd rather have it implanted." Hachiman replied with a heavy hint of sarcasm.

"Heh. If cyborgs were to exist right now then my business would be blooming like a white lotus."

"Anyways, I'd like to ask some things Takebeyashi." Sensing that the mood would turn serious, the bald gunsmith named Takebeyashi turned his full attention to Hachiman and said. "Go on."

"I know that you've went international to sell your arms." Hearing this, Takebeyashi smiled at Hachiman.

It was the kind of smile that expresses annoyance.

"Cheeky bastard. How do you even know that."

"Information is very easy to find here in Japan. However, I cannot say the same to the other countries." Hachiman said while tucking away the rifle.

It was true that information was very easy to find and get for Hachiman considering that he is after all working at a secret organization that deals with the supernatural.

"Tell me do you know what the ILsoP case is?"

Takebeyashi folded his arms together and eyed at Hachiman with doubt.

"Is this some sort of interrogation or something."

"No, not really just think of it as helping me out from my investigation of sorts." If Hachiman were to make it like an interrogation, the person he has been talking with may avoid or shut his mouth up entirely about the topic, denying Hachiman any more intel. So to make it work, he has to set it up as if they were just buddies talking about some juicy rumors. Granted that the two of them were close acquaintance, Hachiman wouldn't really have a hard time exchanging information with Takebeyashi, not to mention that said gunsmith is also a fellow follower of Yahata.

He is sure that he has the authority to do some interrogation but he doesn't necessarily need to and besides, it may become quite a hassle to actually do.

Still Takebeyashi was skeptical.

"What can I even get from doing this?"

"You could be in good terms with the disciple of Yahata." Takebeyashi looked at Hachiman for a while processing what he just said.

"...when the hell did you become his disciple, weren't you some kind of priest?" The gunsmith may look dumb but he is one sharp-minded individual.

"Well it's not really a secret but just so you know, I was his disciple ever since that drunk took me in."

"And no one told me about it."

"Only those who remain at the shrine has knowledge of it."

The electronic inside Hachiman's pocket vibrated, notifying him that he had to pay for his monthly rent, and just as he was reminded of it, he quickly set it aside to focus on the conversation he was taking.

As Hachiman tuck it away, Takebeyashi cleared his throat.

Hachiman set his attention on him, waiting for what he is about to say.

"Regarding about that case, I could surely tell you that this has a connection to what is happening over there."

"By there you mean the place of origin, of where the shipments came from. Is it one of the Balkan states?" Hachiman asks.

"Romania to be more specific with you." After the blacksmith said that. He, Takebeyashi rummages through the pocket of his vest and pulls out his phone to show Hachiman his own information.

On the screen, there displayed two distinguishable robed groups fighting each and arguing in a different language, even though they had different emblems, one similar shape were implanted in each of the robes, a cross which indicates that they were fellow followers of the Christian religion.

Hachiman dawned a look of realization, he would've felt goosebumps about what he had heard and seen but with all the events that he had to suffer through up to this point, he couldn't feel anything but he knew it would make him anxious.

He slings over the rifle behind his back and grabs some ammunition from the shelves.

"Hey where are you going?"

"I'm going to work." He said bluntly to Takebeyashi.

Hachiman prepares a teleportation scroll, doing the usual process of usage by connecting his mana to it. He started to feel the trippy effect.

The process of which made the room consumed in mana, Hachiman's body started to be translucent.

His destination is the Chiba HQ.

Not soon after he arrived.

Vampires.

I don't really know much about their history, I had some knowledge but they were unsound as they came from the novels I've read, and they are unreliable as they are only for entertainment. Though I have thought about getting information there from someone in Romania, I simply couldn't as the situation their is getting worse and worse. And not only that, no one is willing to go there as the risk of getting in caught from the sidelines is too dire at the moment. It also dosen't help that telecommunications and satelites have been disrupted.

But thanks to what Takebeyashi said, it just confirmed my main hypothesis.

So what is happening there in Romania? Civil war is happening there in simpler terms but it's much more complicated than that.

The existence of vampires are heavily tied within Christian Churches.

Vampires are sworn enemies by the Christian Churches, and as sworn enemies it was their natural obligation to erase their existence or to commit genocide to put it more bluntly.

Still I don't care whether they all go extinct, for all I care they could all just burn down to a crisp. So I'm fine really with committing mass genocide.

Truly I feel like a psychopath.

Anyways, what's important is that I'm confident that I've confirmed my answer to this case.

"Hikigaya, could you repeat that one more time." Yoshikage face contorted to awe and surprise in just seconds.

"Due the civil war between the Christian Churches currently happening in Romania, it gave the perpetrators of this case a leeway from their constant strife and took the opportunity to quietly escape from the churches grasp."

"Even so, why flee here in Chiba."

"Not 'why here in Chiba', rather why here in Japan. I know for a fact that they didn't come here for some trivial matters considering what they brought with them, human body parts and unauthorized mana crystals as such to serve as an alibi. They came here for something or someone unfortunately I don't know who or what they are searching for. And the reason why they came here in Chiba is purely because of the fact that our customs were corrupt at that time and they took advantage of that."

"I see. So then what do you propose we do, you said it yourself that you'll take the lead." Yoshikage asks, He wanted to know what we would do next. Honestly I'm not quite sure just yet but I know what to do in the mean time.

"Before we take action, are their any agent of 'churches' that we can contact?" Yoshikage put his hand on his chin.

"I don't know, most agents here in Japan have cut ties with involving themselves to the supernatural." I was sitting down on a chair but I decided to stand up for some reason. I wanted to know if there are churches agents that still exist, and by that I mean the church lapdogs.

Exorcism, an adjuration addressed to evil spirits to force them to abandon an object, place, or person. It was quite similar to Purification just like in Buddhism.

And those who practice it are called Exorcist, although they are considered as a priest, their main job focuses on expelling out any demonic forces sending them back to hell, not only that they are also quite versed in hunting down supernatural creatures that they consider as their enemies, vampires are one of them. They are a very skilled and talented people handpicked and screened by the higher ups of a church but this would only produce a few, that is their major flaw.

But still, they are highly sought after by others who want to protect themselves from devils or to exterminate them. Hell, I could even say that their skills are even greater than mine. That is why I wanted to get in contact with them, I want to hire just a single guy to bring with us and why is that? Vampire hunting is not my forte it is theirs, plus we could really use their tracking ability.

"How about in other neighboring countries?" I said to him as he taps his fingers on his desk.

"Maybe in Korea. You see I know a guy who knows a guy that could be in contact with them." That's fine too I guess.

"So contact them."

Yoshikage did what I told him to do, someone picks up and then he speaks in another language. I knew they spoke in English but I couldn't really understand most of what they were saying but I know that by how wordy and lengthy the conversation they were exchanging, I knew that it would take them a long time.

So I just left him to deal with it and told him to notify me when he is done, but before I had to leave I had to set aside my rifle because carrying out a gun in public is not something I should do and I don't want to cause trouble. And I did just that, placing it beside his drawer.

I leave his office and went outside, passing some people along the way.

They greeted me and bowed at me as if I'm their senior. I'm not even a full-time member yet they are treating me like this, I would've preferred not being recognized as a higher person here but honestly I don't mind it at all.

I returned the gesture to them and continue on my way.

Along the way, I heard some gossips mostly directed at me but I paid no mind to it.

There wasn't any open air in HQ, so I couldn't smoke, my only option was outside of this facility.

With my hands inside my pocket and maintaining a slouched posture, I trudge along the path that leads me to the receptionist.

Opening the double door, I was greeted by the lady behind the desk, I too did same out of courtesy.

I told her that I just want to take a breather outside for a while and that I wasn't signing out for the day.

After knowing what my intentions were, she left me to my own devices.

I got out of the facility via the secret elevator.

The bustling sound of the streets filled my ears with noise, still it wasn't enough to distract me from what I was thinking. All I could think of right now is how to deal with it and what to do next. With a cigarette in hand, I walked around outside the Chiba HQ and after finally finding a place to sit, I placed myself on a vacant bench near a trash bin with an ash tray on top of it.

I wistfully smoked all of it away as I closed my eyes.

Suddenly I noticed someone was watching me, I didn't move after removing the cigarette out of my mouth, still with my eyes closed I wondered what this person intention is.

The person seems to be coming closer.

I was about to get up until I heard the person call out my name.

"It's been a while, Hikigaya-kun."

The voice was familiar and the only one who calls me that is- "Yukinoshita, what are you doing here." I said as I turned around to meet her, she was still the same as ever. The long raven hair paired with that cold look indicates that she was still an Ice queen, yet for some reason it seems that her look has soften over time.

Oddly enough she wore a suit instead of a uniform

"I've had to run some errands for my sister."

"But today's Monday, shouldn't you be at school?" I say with a blank look directed at her.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

I shook my head at her and said, "Go ahead."

She sat right beside me but we weren't close. The bench was spacious as there was about a one meter gap between the both of us.

I could draw some guesses but I don't think I'm sure about them.

As she fix herself up, she starts and said, "I have transferred to a different school and I'm currently taking a leave of absence." I see that one of my guesses were close to her reasoning. Still I'm surprised at hearing that, I wondered which school she had transferred to.

I turned my head to the front staring at the distance and said, "Oh, I see."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her crossing her arms, "You know, the legal age of using tobacco is 20 right? And since we used to be in the same school year, I'd roughly say you are about 17 or 18 right now." What a weird way of telling me to stop smoking.

Coincidentally, I have no more fumes to blow out.

It seems that I have used it all up, I threw away the one that I just used on the ash tray.

"Am I seeing things? Has the great Hikigaya Hachiman decided to listen to my words? If so then this is great news for society."

I grabbed another stick of cigarette and put it in my mouth then lighting it with a small cinder that came from the tip of my index finger, of course I did it while covering it with my other hand.

I had a fixed looked at the ground but turned my head to the side as I heard her scoff at me.

She was facing forward and looked utterly disappointed, but I don't really care.

I stared blankly then for some reason, I spaced out.

It's as if staring at her made me distracted of my preoccupied thoughts.

At my point of view, I could clearly see how mature she looks despite her age. Her appearance paired with that cold yet serene look on her face makes her look like an adult with that suit she's wearing.

I snapped out of my daze and returned to smoking.

We both fell into silence, a familiar yet comfortable silence that we used to have back when I was still there.

I admit that at some point of our club sessions, I actually hoped that things would stay the same, I had that thought for a while when I was still there. That maybe that way, I could have gained a friend, but that's not how things went because life as I know it is cruel, anyways what happened has happened. There's no point to fret and besides there are other things I have to focus and tend to.

"Hikigaya-kun, I know this might sound personal but may I ask you something." I looked at her with the same expression. She had a look of anticipation, she must have mustered up some sort of topic to fill the silence.

"Go ahead." I said as I threw the now empty cigarette on the ash bin.

"What...motivates you to fill in your role as a member of the association." She hesitated at first but it came out eloquently, that's the number one of Sobu I guess. She's a talented genius, that much I can say. Although she lacks quite a bit in regards of her mana pool and endurance, all she has to do is focus on stamina training to fix that then she'll be a freak of nature.

Should I answer to her honestly or not? I could give her a half-assed answer but seeing her face once again. I couldn't help but want to tell her an honest answer.

"I don't know to be honest with you, if money counts then that would be it though it's not like I care about it whenever I work." I said with my hands clasped together supporting my chin. I would've stopped right there but I continued, "But whenever I work, I always feel the urge to finish it regardless of how hard it is. Whenever I work I always feel nothing, and maybe I realized that my place in this world is nothing too, that I am just a mere tool in the grand scheme of things."

That's right, if I were to explain what my role is to Yahata and my guardians, and to the association, my role is nothing more than a tool. I know it's depressing but what do I care, I've already accepted this kind of fate.

"...I see." She said with a soft voice, gone was her cold look, it was replaced with a cryptic one.

I don't know how to really describe it, she was looking down at her feet so I couldn't really see her face that well. But if I were to guess, then she may have felt sorry to hear what I said but I don't need her pity.

We were silent once again, neither of us spoke for. I would've relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quite yet for some reason I felt like shit. It wasn't the kind of silence that we were having before, it was an awkward one.

A loud yell from the distance broke the awkward silence that we were having, it came from Yukinoshita's side. I turned my head around to see a woman with a little girl with blonde that seems too familiar.

"Yukino-chan, why did you leave your sweet sister behind? Y'know that breaks my precious heart right?" The woman turns out to be Yukinoshita's sister.

She stops her trek as she sees me, she had a judging gaze upon me but soon returned to that radiant look accompanied with a smile that felt similar to that blonde dude. I knew it was a forced smile.

"Oh! What is this? My dear little sister is meeting with a man!? Is it perhaps your lover?" She said to Yukinoshita as she got close to her, I continued to observe her under my own blank gaze.

"Nee-san, please stop your nonsense." Yukinoshita spoke up, shooting a glare to her sister. The blonde little girl was behind that woman then suddenly points her finger at me.

"Mister! Do you remember me?" That voice sounds eerily similar to me then it clicked to me.

"You are Satsuki Rin." She was that brat on the port tower that I had dragged around to safety, she was an obnoxious child.

"Hehe. I feel a bit fuzzy when you remembered me mister." She smiles cheekily and scratched her at the same time while saying that.

I just gave her a low hum.

"You know this man Rin-chan?" She turns her cheeky smile at that woman and nodded at her.

The woman looks at me and smiles, for a brief moment her eyes turned cold and calculated, I would've missed it if I weren't paying attention.

I conclude that this woman is dangerous and crazy.

This type of woman, are the type who can easily manipulate others. And for her to be Yukinoshita's sister is something that I have not expected.

"It's a pleasure to meet you I am Yukinoshita Haruno." She introduced herself to me as she continues her smile.

I too did the same, just not in a similar fashion.

"Hikigaya Hachiman." I only said my name and nothing more than that, I didn't want to talk with this woman.

This is why I abhor social interactions at times. As much as I want to sit here and do nothing at all, I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, meeting Yukinoshita was just a coincidence and nothing more than that. I also don't really care about the little girl since she's not my problem.

There was a vibration on my pocket, it seems that Yoshikage has finished talking with whoever he is talking to his phone.

"I'm leaving." I announced as I get up from the bench.

"Can't you stay around for a bit?" The woman named Yukinoshita Haruno said to me as she pouts.

I put my hands inside my pocket, grabbing my phone but before I could answer it, I call my self off to them.

"Duty calls."

I noticed Yukinoshita was staring at me, she looked at me sympathetically. I turn my head away from her and looked down at my feet. "Yukinoshita, I don't need pity so don't give me that look." after saying that, I walked away.

Then I finally answered the call.