Veni, Vidi, Vici

Our path led us to the port of Shanghai. We needed to find a good ship to hide on and travel as stowaways, as I had no money or documents. I proposed to Kaori the idea of creating fake passports and documents by hacking the government networks, but that would require time she wasn't willing to spare, as she was in a hurry to get to Japan.

We spent the day near a house, waiting for nightfall to search for a ship. During that time, she asked me:

"Can I call you Gon? Or Katana Boy? I know! Katanaboy!"

"No, no, no... Gon is fine. No weapon-based names."

"Okay!" she replied and began making hand gestures before poking my head with a finger.

"In the name of my Shinigami, we shall christen you Gon."

"Shini... what?" I asked.

"The Shinigami is a sort of spirit that guides souls to the afterlife. I'm sure I have one by my side; it's the one telling me who to hunt, like in Death Note," she explained fervently.

"Death Note? Is that a book?" I asked, curious.

She looked at me like I'd insulted her and slapped me on the face:

"Ouch! What's gotten into you?"

"Death Note is the greatest manga of all time! And you don't know about it!?"

She suddenly approached the window and made some peculiar movements. Standing with legs apart and one hand on her waist, she pointed a finger at the window and declared:

"That's why Kuroka and I will eradicate evil and fight in the name of our land!"

I covered my face and thought to myself, "Oh my God, I'm stuck with an otaku. This girl is completely out of touch with reality."

"Did you just quote Sailor Moon?" I said, noting the similarities in the movements and poses.

"I see you're a person of culture. A classic! Ohhh, I know who you remind me of now!"

I didn't want to ask, but I did anyway. We're in this together, so I should try to get along.

"Why are you looking me like that?"

"You look just like L. Although you have wavy hair, maybe you physically resemble Seiya but smaller. Mmm, Edward Elric? But you have black hair. Your personality reminds me a lot of L. Can I call you G?"

I had to mentally strain to remember all these characters. I knew about Saint Seiya and Sailor Moon, but the rest not so much.

With a sigh, I responded, "Sure... you can call me G."

"And what do you know about anime?" she asked while lying face down, supporting her cheeks on her hands and moving her legs up and down.

"Is there a pose that isn't a reference to some anime?" I was starting to get nervous.

She stood up, crossed her arms, and said, "Do you want my help or not? If not, I'll leave and you can do it alone. Everyone has their way of being and expressing themselves, be more tolerant, G."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You can make whatever poses you want."

I paused and tried to remember. "Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?"

"In fact, I was a fan of Saint Seiya, and we had those dolls with the armors. I used to play a lot with my cousins; my uncle gave me the Phoenix one. I never had a manga; we just watched anime when it was on public TV. I guess my family didn't have much money," I replied with a slight smile.

"I love those! I had a complete collection of the Gold Saints in a shed of an abandoned house I lived in for a while. I always loved Athena; she was always so beautiful. Then I had Sailor Moon figures, but then the place burned down in a storm, and I switched to reading the mangas I had."

One of the ships arrived, a cargo ship. We climbed aboard quickly and hid in the lowest deck, near the engines and machinery.

"No one's here, I think we'll be fine," I told her.

"Alright, G. Sit over there."

There was an awkward silence. I started tracking the networks in Japan and doing some research while Kaori got lost in her thoughts. I decided to break the ice and asked:

"When were you turned into a vampire? If I can ask."

"It was when the bomb fell on Nagasaki. Yui found me and turned me; she always said she wanted a sister. Yui lived for many years, claimed to have met real samurais, and gifted me a katana."

"Ugh..." I thought, one of the worst moments in Japan's history, if not the worst.

"And your family?"

"Just Yui..."

"Why did she banish you from Japan?" I asked, intrigued.

"She wanted to form a clan, a coven, and my ability started detecting a lot of wicked people. I wanted to be a heroine, like Major Kusanagi," she exclaimed while mimicking a soldier.

Then she added, "When I started my mission, I conflicted with Yui's plans. She was already tied up with the yakuza and planned to turn others. I felt the evil in her growing, but I couldn't face her alone. She took away and broke the katana she gave me and banished me. So, I had to continue my mission away from home. It's not what I want, it's not my mission; my mission has always been and will always be Japan."

I understood her situation. As a human, I did everything I could to save Himmelsburg and my family in the police department, but I was powerless against vampires.

"And you, G? How did you become one? Who turned you?" She looked at me expectantly.

I told her the whole story: my work in the police, the cases, my family, Od, and most of all, Anastasia.

"What a wicked woman! She's dishonorable and also left her comrade in battle, a coward! What will you do when you see her? Katana Swipe?"

Her phrasing was so odd at the end that I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing about? She ruined your life! It's not something to laugh about, G!"

"No, hahaha, it's not that, hahahah. It's what you said at the end..."

"Katana Swipe?"

Her tone was so comical that I started laughing again, this time falling seated on the other side while laughing. Kaori looked at me, not understanding what was going on, and then, though she was a bit offended at first, she ended up laughing too.

"Your laughter is contagious, G!" she laughed heartily. But suddenly, we heard a noise, and someone came down to the engine area. Kaori and I hid behind some pipes in the deepest part of the ship. The space was tight, so we had to awkwardly fit ourselves in that small crevice without making a single sound.

We started smelling the man's blood as he adjusted parts and performed maintenance. Kaori tried to rush out. It was then that I realized she didn't have the same level of control as I did, so I embraced her to prevent her from leaping at the man and whispered:

"Look at me, look at me. If you jump on him, they might discover us, and we'll be in trouble. You want to be a hero, right?"

Looking into my eyes and sideways at the man, she said:

"Yes, I want to help good people... but..."

"Kaori, focus," I pleaded, and then added, "Do you sense any wickedness in him?"

Thinking, she finally admitted after a long pause: "No... no, none."

"You see, heroes don't kill good people, right?"

"But I'm a vampire, like you..."

"Even so, you can choose what you will do about it. Do you want to be a slave to your instincts, or do you want to be free?" I said, looking into her eyes.

The man finally went back up and closed the door. Kaori and I remained face to face for a moment, and then I let her go.

"I had to make sure," I told her as I cleared my throat.

She smiled and said, "You smell better now, I think you have less wickedness."

"That's good," I replied with another smile.

We continued chatting for a while about her obsession with manga and anime, her journeys through Southeast Asia, China, and India, and other topics.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Hmm... I think if I was born on May 12, 1925, then..."

"No, no. Sorry, I meant how old you were when you were turned..."

She looked at me and said, "Just turned 20. And I haven't been back to Japan in years either." Then she added jokingly, "I could be your grandmother, G."

"My grandmother is younger than you," I responded and added, "Still, you look younger than me."

I was thinking about how her behavior was that of a person the same age. How a vampire's personality seems to freeze at the moment of their conversion.

We arrived at a port near Tokyo. It was nighttime, and the city lights were incredible; it looked like a city from the future. I could see the tall buildings and Mount Fuji.

"This city is enormous!" I exclaimed.

"We'll find Yui here; she must be hiding somewhere in the suburbs. We just need to search here and there."

"Wait," I said. "We can't just go in headfirst. We need a plan and to be prepared."

"A hero charges in, knocking on the door, ready for action. Don't be a coward, G."

I rubbed my face with my hand and said, "Kaori, this isn't a chapter from your favorite manga, this is real life. We need a plan. Also, would you like to see how I use my gift?"

"Excellent idea, dear G! But first, we need to figure out where they're hiding, and then you can do your part."

I took another pause, thought for a moment, and added, "Yes, but we can't get too close. Look, let's map out places where we might detect Yui's or the yakuza's activity. I'll check surveillance cameras, Wi-Fi networks, and other devices that might give me clues. What I mean is, we need to know everything, every detail, before we go in because we have no idea what we're up against, understood?"

Kaori gave me a thumbs-up and winked her left eye.

Tokyo was a challenge for me. The city's network was massive, and there were devices everywhere. We climbed onto a rooftop, and I closed my eyes while she looked at me curiously. I needed to filter out all the sound, all the signals coursing through my body.

First, I hacked into the police database and began reviewing profiles that matched yakuza parameters. I logged all activity and scanned all locations where they conducted their operations. One by one, I listed each place, and Kaori marked them with a pencil. Finally, I had a long list of addresses and potential locations.

"Wow, G, that's a long list. I'm bored. This will be more intense than a fight between two Metapods."

I remembered that scene and chuckled a bit.

"See! You also like anime. Come on, my dear Detective Conan, let's go on an adventure! But first, we must prepare!"

"Not a bad idea," I replied. "In some store, I can get some tools we'll need."

We reached a shopping center. I disabled all alarms and security cameras. Kaori sneaked in quickly and put the security guard to sleep.

"Oh my god! I thought you were going to kill him..."

"A heroine never kills innocent people, G," she smiled and added, "I'll pick up a few things, and we'll meet in the alley next door, okay, G?"

"Don't take too long!"

Kaori winked at me again and vanished into the shadows. I started gathering some things: a backpack, gloves, a couple of tools, non-lethal chemicals to incapacitate people, scents to mask my odor, and dark clothing to blend in.

I arrived at the designated spot on time and got ready. I put on the gloves and everything I needed.

"Konnichiwa, my dear G! I'm ready!"

I looked at her outfit and didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.

"Kaori, we're supposed to go undercover to face criminals. How are you going dressed like a schoolgirl?"

"It's called seifuku! And it'll be a special occasion! It has to be memorable!"

"Oh, Kaori," I touched my forehead in frustration. "But this isn't an anime convention. Do you at least have a mask? Look, I got a balaclava."

She looked disapprovingly at the balaclava and showed me her mask: a typical black cat mask covering her eyes and forehead.

I shrugged and said, "Well, whatever, let's just get to it. I'm going to try to infiltrate, gather as much information as possible, and rescue the people inside, while you distract them. But, just distract them, understood?"

Kaori adjusted her hair and improvised some pigtails. I started silently laughing, and she looked at me and stuck out her tongue in annoyance. "Alright, G!"

"You really enjoy this," I said with a sarcastic and teasing tone. "But now seriously, let's go!"

As Kaori dashed toward the door, I started scanning the whole place. I found the back door and listened to her speaking with the men, who let her in. "This is my chance," I told myself, and I slowly opened the door, quickly slipping into the basement.

There, I found a man, a woman, and a child tied up. Quickly, I scanned the computer and inserted a small script that provided me with data on their system logs and all sessions. As I freed the captives, I downloaded everything I could onto a USB using my mind and the computer. I tried to talk to the man or the woman, but there was no time. Then I started hearing noises of blows and cries...

"There's a girl upstairs, they're killing her!" I translated what the man said.

"I'm more worried about them," I thought to myself as I rushed them upstairs.

The family ran through the garden, and I went back to the room to see what Kaori was doing.

The scene seemed like something out of a horror movie. Kaori was partially covered in blood, and the bodies of the men lay on the floor. I saw blood on her mouth and remembered the same look Anastasia had during her hunts. I remembered the fateful day when I killed my singer.

"Kaori, what have you done?"

"Don't worry, I just broke the others' necks, but this, the nastiest one, abused the child, and I was thirsty. There's some left if you want..."

"Kaori, I don't drink directly from people, I... I don't do it like this, not like this."

"But, but, they're bad guys," she retorted.

"I won't force you into my lifestyle, but if you follow this path, you'll inevitably hurt someone innocent," I took a pause and then added, "Come on, we have to clean up this mess, I'll have to destroy the servers. Just let me extract the rest of the data, then we'll burn the place."

It was my mistake. I was naive to think that I would just distract her.

I retrieved the remaining information and set fire to the whole place. It was necessary; in our world, everything had to be done with extreme discretion if we didn't want the Volturi chasing us.

I handed Kaori a tissue, and she wiped herself off as best she could.

"Forgive me, G, really."

"Don't worry. I already have the data we need, and I think I know where Yui is hiding. She's in a small mansion in the middle of a forest. We'll have to cross the Aokigahara Forest."

"What did you find on those computers?"

"Explicit illegal content involving minors," I told her. "I've placed malware that will report them to the police, with addresses, faces, everything. Both the administrators and their clients."