Chapter 2: Coming to Terms
Cat McHall's Bedroom, December 25th : Evening
Tick. Tock. Tick. A familiar quietness was heard in the bedroom of the late Cat McHall, who's corpse laid on the bed with a thick blanket covering it. Suddenly, movement.
"Ugh, what happened?" a hoarse and quiet Cat said as she moved the blanket off her being. She placed a hand to her throat.
"Why is my voice so bizarre?" Cat spoke.
"You don't breathe any more, hence why the odd sounding voice" Sunako stated, "You will have to adjust to that fact." A few minutes of silence occurred before Cat spoke up once more.
"If that's the case, then I rose as a normal Shiki" Cat said in a voice that started to sound like her own.
"Correct, I got us dinner" Sunako said as she had handed Cat a blood packet.
"I just bite into it?" Cat inquired.
"I do because I like the biting sensation. Of course, biting into plastic is nothing like biting into warm flesh" Sunako admitted before biting into her packet. Cat did so as well, letting her hunger be satisfied first before talking about her new undeath. Cat drank her fill quickly while Sunako drank at a steady rate.
"At some point, you will learn to slow down and take pleasure in drinking" Sunako commented before going back to her meal.
"I'm assuming control takes some time to build in most cases" Cat replied.
"Sort of...we did push the new shiki to savor the meal back in Sotoba" Sunako recalled.
"I, uh, not going to be able to interact normally with humans for awhile I'm assume" Cat asked. Sunako looked at her new fledgling with sad eyes.
"No, your reintroduction to society will be a slow one. I'm not making the same mistakes I did back in Sotoba. I'm not losing any more family members" Sunako sighed.
"Family?" Cat questioned at first, "Oh right, in a sense I'm now part of your family. Not by blood, but by circumstance."
"I was going to ask you this, but do you mind me calling you "Big Sis"? You look more like my Big Sis than a motherly figure" Sunako asked.
"Haha, I guess do like look like an older sister" Cat laughed. Looking into her reflection, her hair was the same purple as Sunako, albeit it was dyed when she was alive. Her hair style was much shorter, giving her a more mature look. Facial structure wise, she looked older than Sunako; mainly because Sunako was 13 when she died and Cat died at the age of 26. Everything else matched, which surprised Cat because she thought she would be in an emotional upheaval and thus have red irises. Instead, Cat was really calm about everything so far and shared the hallow look Sunako held.
"I just realized I died with my hair dyed purple, does that mean it will be always be purple?" Cat questioned.
"I'm not entirely sure about that one. I guess we will find out if the dye will fade away or if undeath decided to make purple your new hair color" Sunako replied.
"I really hope for the latter. Purple has always been my favorite colour" Cat happily stated, "Um, can you give me a moment to get dressed?"
"Alright" Sunako answered before leaving the room. Cat tore down her pajamas and took note of her new body. It was definitely in pristine shape, which was a sign that all the old scars were healed after rising. The pale white skin would take some time to get use to, as she loved the light tan she had when she was alive. Also, she almost never wore make up, but now she considered painting her nails black and wearing a lighter purple lipstick. The hollow eyes were the most defining feature, as it basically confirmed that she was indeed a shiki.
"Hmm, maybe I will try this on tonight" Cat mused. It was a brand new Gothic Lolita style top, which went well with her favorite pair of black jeans. Within a few minutes, she was dressed.
"Alright Sunako, you can come back in" Cat called out.
"Hmm, that's a good look on you" Sunako said with a soft smile.
"I see you're awake" Seishin called out.
"Ah, good evening Seishin...Um..." Cat said as she bit her lip.
"...Have a question for me?" Seishin asked.
"I'm surprised how plain looking you're in person" Cat admitted.
…
"Oh?" Seishin said with a hint of amusement.
"I mean, I am bit surprised you don't have horns or a tail. You're writings come across as someone who has forsaken God" Cat blurted out, "Eeep! I'm sorry, I just said the first thing that came to my mind." If the dead could blush, Cat would've been as red as a tomato.
"How amusing, you basically quoted me when I first met Seishin" Sunako giggled, "Don't worry, it's natural for shiki not to hold back their true thoughts."
"Well...I suppose. Although I expected to say something more original than that..." Cat sheepishly replied, "Now that I think about it, I feel more alive now then I did in the past. Kind of ironic, really."
"Well, anemia does cause fatigue, so becoming a shiki did remove that ailment" Sunako pointed out.
"That's true. Anyway, let's meet in the kitchen and we can talk about the future. But first..." Cat said as she moved to pull open one of her drawers.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Cat screamed before falling down to the ground. Sunako raised a brow before seeing the object and jumped behind Seishin.
"A cross with a yin yang symbol?" Seishin questioned as he pulled it from the open drawer.
"Yes! Get it away from me!" Cat cried out. Seishin put the object in his pants pocket. Once the item was out of sight, Cat stood up and brushed off her trousers before speaking up.
"Sorry, that was a gift from my father and mother. My father was catholic and my mother was a Taoist. It used to give me good luck whenever I wore it, now I'm afraid of it" Cat grumbled. She continued to search through the drawer before pulling out a bottle.
"Ah, here it is! My unopened bottle of cognac that I saved after I graduated. So glad I can still drink alcohol. Alright, let's have a few drinks and a chat" Cat gleefully said as she moved to the kitchen.
"She definitely is in higher spirits now" both Seishin and Sunako thought. Hopefully keeping her from being too carefree wouldn't be that hard of a task. Cat pulled down a few glasses, pouring herself and the other two a shot of cognac.
"Sunako, have you ever had cognac before?" Cat said as she placed the shot in front of the smaller girl.
"No, never drunk much except for wine" Sunako answered before drinking a sip.
"Hmm, you really know your booze. This has a bold wood accent" Seishin noted.
"I used to try different types of alcohol ever since I turned 21. I'm curious if blood has different flavor profiles as well" Cat stated.
"It does, but I don't really have a preference" Sunako spoke up.
"Speaking of which, do I need to change my refrigerator's temperature? I have it at a lower setting to chill the beer and cider quickly, but I don't know what temperature blood needs to be kept at" Cat inquired
"No, it's just fine. I already took care of placing the remaining blood packets in the fridge" Seishin commented.
"Oh ok. Anyway, I just recalled something that I didn't think about a few nights ago" Cat said.
"Which is?" Seishin asked.
"You stated that you make money from being an author, but the last known piece you wrote was Shiki. What happened in the last twenty years?"
"Since I've been a Nomadic Traveler for the past twenty years, most of my writings have been under various pen names or ghostwriting. All transactions have been under the table" Seishin clarified.
"Oh, alright" Cat said, "Hmm, would it be possible to have brainstorming sessions? I mean, we're both writers."
"That's an interesting idea. Maybe have Sunako pre-read our scripts and give us feed back, what do you think Sunako?" Seishin asked.
"I would love to pre-read your ideas" Sunako said with a soft smile.
"Neat" Cat blurted out, "Oh, before I forget I have a favor to ask you, Seishin."
"Hm?" Seishin mumbled.
"In the tiny closet next to the heater is a collection of spiritual items, can you dispose them for me?" Cat admitted.
"Why do you have a collection of spiritual items?" Sunako inquired.
"For one, it was a hobby of mine, but more importantly I was a religious studies minor" Cat stated, "I was planning selling them myself, but now I wouldn't go near with them with a ten-foot pole. Probably the silliest weakness if you ask me."
"Well, we're forsaken by God..." Sunako reminded the new shiki.
"God has always been a sadistic asshole who pretends to be compassionate for all I'm concerned" Cat dismissed.
"..."
"I actually need to clean a few other things out, like my packs of cigarettes. I no longer have use for those" Cat mumbled. For the next few minutes, Cat went through a list of stuff she wouldn't need anymore.
"Well, I believe I listed everything that needs cleaned out in my house" Cat finished listing on her hand.
"Good, because we have some more paperwork to complete" Seishin spoke. Cat gave the jinrou a confused look.
"I thought that was taken care of when I was lying on my death bed" Cat spoke up.
"No, this is different paperwork. We need to register you as a new shiki with a secret bureau" Seishin stated.
"Secret bureau?" Cat questioned.
"The Shiki Identity and Housing Agency, or SIHA, keeps tabs on all shiki that take permanent residence in large metropolitan areas. It's their job to cover up shiki killings and risings worldwide" Seishin informed.
"I take it you two already registered yourselves then?" Cat questioned.
"Correct, since we plan to take an extended residence here" Seishin stated.
"That's why we will take it slow with your reintroduction... a newly minted shiki tends to kill their first victims on sight without any regards to their surroundings" Sunako spoke up. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Cat. Her new instincts took great pleasure in the thought of killing for substance and having warm blood in her mouth. And surprisingly, she held no moral dilemma in doing so.
"Like security cameras?" Cat said while chewing her lips. Sunako picked up on the girl's telltale sign.
"It seems like she has no moral qualms about killing people" Sunako thought.
"Yes, like security cameras. Which is why we will bring you your first victims, all of whom will be willing sacrifices" Sunako assured. Cat stopped biting her lips and looked Sunako with shock on her face.
"You read my mind?" Cat inquired.
"I could tell you weren't hesitant about the thought of killing someone" Sunako simply stated.
"Well, I don't blame people for acting in their natural instinct, including myself" Cat reminded Sunako.
"Very well, but I would like to keep the death count to a minimum" Sunako sighed.
"I can oblige to that" Cat said. She assumed letting her urges be satisfied in a controlled environment would be the best solution.
A/N: And that's chapter 2 for ya. TTYL!