Halloween night, Victor was binge-watching Shiki, as he did every year.
His sleepy gaze watched the ending credits of the last episode, a yawn
interrupting and covering the music. The figure sighed and turned off
the computer before checking his phone, which had a wallpaper of Megumi
as a human, smiling on one side, and as a Shiki on the other.
"Poor thing, you didn't make it to the city again," the boy
commented.
"How stupid of me to think that an anime where everything is already
written could ever change," he muttered.
He looked at the screen one last time: "00:01" — time to go
to bed.
A gust of wind made him shiver, but everything was sealed up: doors,
windows, triple-glazed windows, everything was secured. He looked
around, feeling as if someone was watching him.
"It would be nice to give poor Megumi the ending she deserves... and
others too," the boy commented, collapsing onto his bed. For a moment,
he saw Megumi watching him, first with her beautiful pink eyes, then
with blood-red ones.
"Goodnight, princess!" the boy said, closing his eyes.
"At least in my dreams, you're happy... we're happy!"

The world of dreams, where everything is possible, everything is
beautiful, and if your mind can, you can control them... like a
blanket, sleep wrapped around him and slowly descended into the
darkness, covered by warm and cozy blankets, as if he were falling, but
slowly, as if someone were holding him. For a moment, he saw Megumi
Shiki, but with pink eyes, holding him in her arms, her hair floating
as if it were slowly sinking in water.
"Victor-kun, you're so sweet. Save me, take me with you, please, I
don't want to die..."
"Victor-kun?" he asked, but she only uses "kun" with... " he murmured
as Megumi began to cry, and her eyes turned red.
"Help me... don't leave me alone, I'm scared...
where are you, Victor-kun!?" she cried, still looking upward.
"Megumi, I'm here, in your arms! Look down!" he replied.
Megumi's eyes turned fiery red, almost like lights, her face
drenched in tears.
"Victor-kun! Don't... don't leave me like
Natsuno... please, take me with you, help me... stay away... VICTOR!"
Suddenly, Megumi began to gasp and spit blood, more blood flowing from
her chest as her eyes dimmed.
"Victor-kun..." And then she disappeared, and he felt the hard ground
beneath him, his head no longer on the pillow. He opened his eyes; it
was dark — no, it was the dead of night, and... where was his
room? Where was the city? But most importantly, why was he in the
middle of the street?!

Victor stood up and looked around. The place felt both unfamiliar and
strangely familiar... very, very strange.
His eyes started adjusting to the dark, and he noticed Japanese writing
— and he could understand it.
"When did I learn Japanese!?" he wondered, eyes wide as he looked
around and read "Police Station" and then turned to read "Criole Coffee
Shop."
"No, NO, NO! NOOOOO!" Victor yelled, then dropped to his knees.
"People are trying to sleep here!" someone shouted, throwing a pitcher
at him.
"S-sorry!" Victor replied, dumbfounded, pinching himself.
"I'm not dreaming, I'm really in the Shiki world," he
commented, trembling, pulling out his phone, and the date appeared:
September 7th. He checked the year — 1994. The battery showed
100%, and he had signal with 4G.
He stared at the phone for a moment.
"Wait, wait... how!? How!? How does the internet work in the
Shiki-verse, in damn 1994!? When computers were still hand-cranked and
potato-powered!?" he commented, then looked back at the phone and saw a
notification.
"Find Megumi," and when he opened it, it said, "You know where she is
right now!"
"What? Who sent me a notification!?" Victor asked, then noticed it was
from "Shiki Notifications
System."
"What the hell is this?" he wondered, then tapped the question mark.

"Welcome to the Shiki Notifications System, Victor! From now on, SNS.
SNS is a divine system that uses your mortal phone to communicate important
things and help you understand a lot!
SNS
gives you access to Shiki videos, survival documentaries, how to build
weapons with household items, anti-vampire information, the Shiki
novel, and the novel. Plus, a real-time map of Sotoba with 'you are
here.' Don't ask which god gave you this opportunity! I'm
just bored, I don't want thanks, prayers, or insults in my
name!I am only HORRIBLY BORED"

Victor's eyes widened.
"Blasphemous God... I've been Isekai'd into Shiki!"

he commented, then returned to reading and clicked "Current Objectives."
Find Megumi

...and no one else... He then clicked "Achievements."

I could add new ones if I have ideas. *emoticons of smiles*
Happy Ending: Escape with Megumi from Sotoba.
Tragic Ending: Escape alone from Sotoba.
Let them Burn: Let Sotoba burn.
Ozaky Victory: Prevent Sotoba from burning and let the humans win.
Just as Planned: Help Sunako win.

The description, however, was creepy: "After all, you don't
care about Sotoba, right?" but he kept reading.

First Blood: Kill someone.
Killer: Kill 10 humans.
Homicide Maniac: Kill 50 humans.
Shiki-Killer: Kill 10 Shiki.
Shiki Slayer: Kill 50 Shiki.
Jinrou Assassin: Kill a Jinrou.
No Day Walker: Kill Tatsumi and Yoshie.
Van Helsing Pupill: Kill Sunako.
Death by Light: Kill a vampire using sunlight.
Ozaky Best Friend: Help Ozaky expose the Shiki.
Unholy Salvation: Save the Kirishiki family from death.
Kagura Sacrifice Not Requested: Save Chizuru from her fate.
True Hero: Save 10 lives.
Sewers Purger: Participate in the purge of the Shiki in the sewers.
The description was very grim: "Those idiots hid in the sewers, with no
way out... very fun, right?"
Nao Family Guardian: Save Nao's family.
Real Raid to Kanemasa: Raid Kanemasa gain 10k of $ from the loot; after all, they're bastard rich vamps, right?
Christian Funeral: Kill Seishin and Sunako in the church.
Hero of All: Protect at least one Shiki and one human from death.
Shiki Healer: "Heal" a Shiki, suggestion: Jinrou blood.
"And how the hell am I supposed to do these things!?" Victor commented,
shaking his head.
Then he read, "They're
optional, but I'll reward you if you complete them.
Obviously, some are mutually exclusive."

"Let's go find Megumi, she's probably spying on
Natsuno from the usual bush! Then we'll go see Ozaky and
I'll show him the videos."
Soon after, he received another message.
"Oh,I almost forgot: you can't lose the phone, to prevent you
from losing this important thing. It can't even break! At
least while you're in the Shiki-verse! The last thing, you can only
show things on your phone if you want to, and if someone else uses it,
it won't work! You know, to prevent you, a perfect idiot of
your time and generation, from losing or having something so important
stolen."
"Okay... where's Natsuno's house?" he said, opening
the map. He saw the tag "Natsuno's House" along with a list
of "points of interest," including "Kanemasa Mansion," "Ozaky Clinic,"
"The Old Church," "Seishin Temple," and others like "Tohoru's
House."
Then he noticed another notification:
"Shiki Alert Radar" will notify you if there are Shiki nearby and mark them!
Of course, it won't mark friendly Shiki as hostile! You can
make friends, you lonely NEET with the social skills of a rock! Hey,
there's a silver lining, right?"
"Can't it stop insulting me?" Victor snapped, just before
receiving a message with three emojis: an L-shaped arm, a middle
finger, and laughter.
"Ah, ah, ah! So funny! And people wonder why I kicked my old Beliefs
years ago!"
When he got close to Natsuno's house, the radar alerted him:
"Shiki
Detected: Neutral, Megumi Shimizu."
Then
he saw a legend.

Blue:Friendly Shiki, will help you.

White:Neutral; they'll attack if provoked or if you're bleeding.

Red:Hostile, will attack on sight.

Skull:Jinrou, depending on the context, can be friendly, neutral, or hostile.

Example:Tatsumi, while in the village, is white because he can't take
actions that expose the Shiki, but at night... better avoid him!"
"The final sentence was logical, Captain Obvious!" Victor huffed, then
thought about how to talk to Megumi.
Victor took a deep breath and sighed, trying to muster some confidence.
He wasn't prepared for this moment.
"Hi, Megumi Shimizu, I'm Victor, and I...—" he
started, before shaking his head.
"HEY! Are you spying on that asshole Natsuno, huh? Oh yeah, just the
perfect way to get me attacked!" Victor snapped, frustration building
up in his chest.
"Hi! I'm Victor, and I come from the future! You know, you're
gonna die in a horrible way in less than two months and... then she
attacks me, mocks me, and sends me to a mental institution!" Victor
vented as he took a deep breath. His phone started to beep faster.
"Why is talking to people so hard? Why is talking to girls so hard!?
Add the fact that she's a damn vampire, and if I mess up, I
don't just get a 'no,' or even a slap...
she'll drink me like a damn cocktail!" Victor muttered,
pacing back and forth on the street, when two glowing red eyes watched
him from the shadows."Okay, okay, maybe something simple... something REALLY simple like...
Hi Megumi, I'm Victor, I'm Italian-American, and I
come from..." He was interrupted by a sound behind him.
"Whoever you are, please don't bother me asking for
directions, I'm thinking!" Victor snapped, waving his hand in
the air to signal whoever it was to leave him alone.
"Good evening, may I ask how you know me?" A voice he knew all too well
said, with a beautifully smooth Japanese tone that was strangely
familiar. It was speaking in Italian, his first language at home. The
sensation sent chills down his spine as he turned around, his blood
freezing in his veins. Her red eyes stared at him, her pale skin, the
lovely pink pigtails, a revealing red top, and a short blue bat-winged
skirt with spider web patterns. Her low-heeled shoes, arms crossed
beneath her chest, a sly smile playing on her lips with an arched
eyebrow.
"Hi..." she said, and Victor forced a wide, false smile, one so fake it
could be seen across the galaxy, full of terror.