Victor began walking toward Ozaky's clinic with Megumi by his side.
"Let me get this straight: what's your plan in a nutshell?" Megumi asked.
"Simple, during the Kagura, while both humans and Shiki are busy relaxing for different reasons, we escape from Sotoba! Technically, I have some 'secondary objectives' that should give us 'bonuses' if we complete them, but... I'm afraid to do them! I just want to escape with you!" Victor commented.
"Let me see these objectives, maybe there's an easy one! And do you know what these bonuses are?" Megumi asked.
"No, I don't even know if they're for here or rewards for when I get home!" replied the boy as the two advanced through the dark night.
"Alright, 'Happy ending,' yeah, we'll do that as a base, 'Let them burn,' I think so too—meaning, we let Sotoba burn, right? This place deserves it," Megumi commented.
"Yeah, but that's easy... maybe we do the one with Ozaky. After all, we just have to warn Ozaky about what's going to happen, right? It'll be their problem to save Sotoba, not ours," Victor responded while Megumi crossed her arms under her chest.
"Yeah, that's true, but there's always the fact that everything could change... it's still ONLY the 7th of September, maybe the 8th," Megumi remarked as Victor checked the time on his phone: 0:40 AM.
"Megumi, this is worse! We're not even one day away from Kagura! The further back you push the point of divergence, the more the timeline... well, diverges and moves away from the original unless you mess things up again to bring it back on track, and it's doubly hard if you don't have superpowers! And you and I don't have them! So if something goes wrong... it goes wrong! If Sunako wins and the Shiki aren't discovered, how do we escape?! Maybe she'll let me go, but you!? Oh, I don't think so... and I want a safe escape, not an action movie chase with half the village vampirized chasing us!" Victor exploded.
"Well, neither do I! Being chased by Yoshie, Tatsumi, and Seishirou is definitely not pleasant! Anyway! First blood? Since people die like flies in this village, right!?" Megumi suggested with a smile.
"I don't want to kill anyone unless it's absolutely necessary! I'm a good person!" Victor huffed before looking up and smoothing his hair.
"Yeah, but we're in the damn Shiki-verse, I'll probably end up killing someone!" Victor blurted.
"Steal $10,000 from the Kirishiki," we could do that before leaving, you said the Shiki will be relaxed, right... I mean, I don't think if 'we've almost won,' they care about Kanemasa rotting, right?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about that, actually, we could probably set that up! Megumi, are the trucks they used for the move still around?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, can you drive one?" the Shiki raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! I used to trade with my dad... if you're wondering, yes, I'm 25! I drove trucks for almost 4 years, making $1,000 a week, and then we moved to Italy, it was my mom's idea, she's Italian! Basically, in America, we lived 'like Italians,' we have lunch and dinner at home, we almost never order anything, and we do everything at home, we go out rarely, not much fun, and most importantly, we save money... then we sold the house we had in America and moved to Italy. Italy is a fantastic country: Sun, sea, good food, and life is so cheap or almost nothing! Especially in Southern Italy..." Victor explained.
"Hmm? Treat a Shiki with Jinrou blood! You could do that soon!" Megumi suggested.
"Oh sure, you could become a Jinrou too, too bad that if you do, Tatsumi and the others will figure out something's off in no time: you won't be pale anymore, you won't be cold, your eyes will go back to normal and won't be red... oh yeah, you can eat normal food without vomiting and the blood is just for the powers! Yeah, tomorrow I'll turn you, and Tatsumi and Seishirou will torture you until you talk!" Victor joked.
"How boring! Why does everything have to be so difficult!?" Megumi huffed.
"Maybe we could do Nao's... that poor woman doesn't deserve what's going to happen to her: killing her family and then being taken like a ripe fruit, dragged through the sewers, set on fire in the sun, and maybe even heal her using Jinrou blood... is Yoshie easy to approach? Let's say the classic headshot and take the blood, at worst, we say you were attacked together by a thief who hit you both with a crowbar to rob you! Even though it's Sotoba, it could happen, right? Or I could come up with another method... but I'll have to check! If we heal Nao, she could have a normal life with her family outside of Sotoba... maybe there's an extra reward for completing it this way," the boy commented as Ozaky's clinic appeared in the dark of the night as they approached.
"Alright, here's the clinic! Now, what do you want to do?" Megumi asked.
"Simple: talk to Ozaky and get him on my side! The problem is that most of the events are interconnected: I'll have to help him, but not too much! Otherwise, OUR plan fails!" Victor concluded, checking his phone one last time. It was just Megumi around him.
"So we save Nao and her family with a bonus for the reward, and then we do Bonnie and Clyde at Kanemasa, screw that little vampire queen!? I like that idea!" Megumi commented, rubbing her hands together, closing her eyes, and smiling maliciously. It was definitely way more fun than killing the stupid Sotoba villagers for Sunako.
Victor started throwing stones at the clinic, but then suddenly stopped.
"Wait... today is the 7th of September, Nao is already a vampire, so..." Saying this, Victor pulled out his phone, checked the time, zoomed in on the timeline, and his eyes widened. He grabbed Megumi's hand and ran.
"Change of plans! We're going to Nao's house!"
"Why!?" Megumi asked, being dragged, then running at his side.
"Because that idiot is going to kill her son thinking he'll resurrect! None of her damn family is coming back to life!" the boy explained.
The two arrived exhausted at Nao's house, while Victor entered the house. The Shiki Alert Radar showed the layout of Nao's house, and he opened the door, seeing Nao staring at him because she had heard him.
"Don't do it, Nao! He will die! No one will rise again!" Victor said with his last breath.
"Who are you? How do you know my name... I—" Nao began, confused, looking at the boy with her red eyes.
Victor motioned for her to wait, then to be silent, and finally to follow him. He saw Megumi.
"Are you like Tatsumi?" Nao asked.
"Listen... listen to me! I know it might be hard, but... NO ONE from his family will rise from the dead! No one!" Victor exclaimed.
"But... they told me..." Nao began.
"Listen... do you know what Russian roulette is? No? Okay, let's take a revolver with 10 chambers, put 7 bullets in it, and spin the cylinder before loading it! You don't know if there's a bullet in the chamber or if it's safe! And you have to shoot your loved ones in the head. If the shot is empty, you continue. If you've fired, put in another bullet, spin the cylinder again, and reload. Do that for each member of your family! Because there's only a 30% chance they'll come back, my dear! And I KNOW… they won't come back! Don't ask me why... I just know! But I have a way to give you and your family a life! Please, listen to me!" Victor pleaded.
"Nao, listen to him! He's a damn Oracle! I'm telling you, I don't care about Natsuno anymore! I'm telling you... he KNOWS what he's talking about!" Megumi commented, with a relaxed tone, crossing her arms.
"Natsuno? But the whole village knows..." Nao observed the sleeping child in the other room and then looked at Megumi and Victor.
"Listen, Nao, listen to me! You have two choices: do what I say or, do what Sunako said, eat your family, and live the rest of your life with the guilt of having left them to rot in a grave." Victor said with an almost acidic tone.
"I trust you!" Nao said.
"Good, let's wake up your husband, we need to explain the whole Shiki thing, what they are, and that'll take at least 20 minutes! Then I need to know your blood type... because only then can I turn you into a day-walking vampire."
With that, he took out his phone and showed Megumi the achievement "Shiki Healer" with a sly smile.
"Type B, why?" Nao answered.
"I'll make something up with Ozaky! You don't say a word to anyone, not even to Megumi between you two! The Jinrou have much better hearing than a Shiki, so avoid it, if Tatsumi finds out, your family becomes a feast for the other Shiki... and you know they won't rise again!"
Victor then left Nao alone with her husband, and they heard cries of joy, explanations, and kisses...
"You know? I imagined life with Natsuno like this... with the obvious difference that I would have been much more elegant!"
"When you become a Jinrou... or return to being human, if we both go back to the... well, let's call it the 'real world', okay? I wouldn't mind... be careful, my mom will force you to become a great chef!" Victor chuckled.
"By the way, what's your full name?"
"Vittorio Rossi, but in America, everyone anglicized my name to Victor or more briefly, Vic... even at home, my dad calls me 'Vic,'" the boy commented.
"But are they making love or arguing?" Megumi asked, knocking. "Hey! You have guests! And my friend has things to do!"
Nao opened the shoji and then stepped out, closing it behind her.
"Sorry..." Nao said, looking down.
"Listen, now you go to Kanemasa, I'll go with Megumi to talk to Dr. Ozaky. I knew it was going to be a long night! But at least my conscience is clear! Megumi will tell you when everything's ready." The boy commented, exhausted, putting his hands on his face for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.
"Thanks for everything you're doing for my family!"
"You're welcome! No problem... at least, can I have something to drink?" The boy asked.
"Right away, is beer okay?" Nao asked, smiling.
The two, after drinking, left for Ozaky's clinic.
"How do you plan to rob the Kirishiki?" Megumi asked during the walk.
"The idea is simple: you ask a few questions about the paintings, vases, and stuff like that, asking if they are ancient or something. Innocent questions, like you're someone who's interested! I don't think they'll suspect if, while passing your free time, you ask a few questions, right? I think some other Shiki must have asked similar questions, right?" Victor rhetorically asked.
"I think so, yes... right! They won't notice!" Megumi commented.
"The problem will be marking the loot to take away... and preparing fragile things will be a hassle! And typically, the most fragile things are the most delicate. It will be a nightmare to take them to Kanemasa... unless..."
Victor started looking at the sky, putting his thumb and index under his chin and then looking down.
"Unless what?" Megumi asked.
"Unless I manage to get in the good graces of the Kirishiki... or rather, Sunako! It would be hard to play the double agent, but it would definitely pay off... so it would be convenient if Ozaky plays along and the Kirishiki see us flirting... after all, there's already a human-Shiki couple, right? And probably Sunako is already making friends with Seishin Muroi."
"She wants to be friends with HIM!? She has no taste!" Megumi commented, shaking her head.
"Anyway, you'll have to talk about me to Sunako... tell her... I don't know, that I'm charming, that you like me so much that you forgot about Natsuno... stuff like that! But be convincing!"
"Okay! I hope I can convince her!" Megumi responded, crossing her arms.
"Use a bit of flattery, like 'Lady Sunako.' Obviously, it has to seem natural! Like a couple of young people! This is very risky, but it will definitely help us loot the Kirishiki easily during the Kagura! I don't even believe what I'm saying! Holy crap!" Victor sighed, rubbing his face, then continued talking.
"Anyway, let's go talk to Ozaky, I hate walking at night! It's almost 1 AM!" Victor snapped, looking at the time.
"But what does that thing do besides telling you the time and showing me my death?" Megumi asked.
"Yes... whoever sent me here put in useful things like detecting Shiki from 500 meters away..."
"What!? And why did you ask me to come with you!?" Megumi asked, raising her voice.
"I wanted to get to know you better... and look, we're already getting to know each other better! You're already freer from the grip of the Kirishiki... before you were just a puppet in their hands... they'll tell you to kill X because they're with Natsuno, including your friend Kaori. Yes, even if you don't like her, she's the only one in this horrible place who tried to lend you a hand! Maybe she didn't understand you because she likes Sotoba, maybe because she's simple, but at least she tried to stay by your side! You at least owe her that, Megumi! She's probably the only one, along with Seishin and Ozaky, who's the only good fruit in the rotten basket that is Sotoba!" Victor blurted out, firing all his thoughts like a machine gun.
Megumi was silent for a while, continuing to follow Victor in the night.
"You're right! You're completely right!" Megumi laughed. "They're the only three who've never said a word about how I dress!"
"You deserve someone who loves you, Megumi... and that someone isn't in Sotoba... you thought you had to escape the village... but no, he came to save you! And I promise, I'll never abandon you, I'd rather dirty my hands with blood than let you be in danger... and I'd rather not kill anyone... but this damn world with vampires calls for blood... and if they want yours, they'll have to make sure I get my hands dirty with theirs! And if they succeed, they'll have to bring me down!" Victor commented, taking Megumi's cold hands and looking her in the crimson eyes. Megumi weakly smiled; he was the first person to say something like that to her in her life.
"Thank you! Well, let's make the Kirishiki lose and get revenge for what they did to me! They will pay!" With that, Megumi began walking quickly, followed by Victor, toward the clinic.