But if Victor had woken up around five that very evening, while he had earned Dr. Ozaky's trust, Megumi Shimizu had returned to Kanemasa with Nao, where they met Tatsumi at Kanemasa.
"So, how did it go?" Tatsumi asked with a wicked smile.
"I... I couldn't do it... I... I need more time! But I promise, I'll do it! Just give me time!" Nao pleaded, kneeling and performing a dogeza.
Tatsumi rolled his eyes and sighed. "What a useless fool! Fine, it's your family! Take all the time you need. Lady Sunako said to be understanding with those who take a little longer! Fine, go back inside... Megumi, you look joyful! What's going on? Did you drink someone in one go?" Tatsumi chuckled.
"No, I met an interesting person who just moved here tonight!"
Tatsumi stopped laughing, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"And who is he?"
"The American grandson of Dr. Ozaky!" Megumi replied, smiling.
"The American grandson?!" Tatsumi echoed.
"Yes, someone totally different from the people of Sotoba, polite, kind, elegant both in his clothing and his manners!" Megumi responded, twirling.
"And the most important thing is, he's really a treasure and... he's not scared that I'm a shiki!" Megumi continued, laughing.
"WHAT!? You foolish girl, you exposed yourself and..." Tatsumi began, ready to slap her.
"No, no! He figured it out on his own!" Megumi hastily covered her face with her arms.
Tatsumi stopped and lowered his hand, looking at the girl incredulously, tilting his head.
"Explain yourself," the Jinrou asked.
"Basically, before saying goodbye, he told me, 'See you tomorrow night, little vampire! I'll bring you a blood bag, yeah, I caught you!'" Megumi replied, laughing.
"This isn't an explanation!" Tatsumi snapped.
"When I asked him why, he said, 'Maybe here in Japan, people don't know anything about vampires, but in America and Europe, we can spot them at sight!' And then he was calm the whole time with me, a real gentleman!" Megumi commented, smiling with her hands clasped together.
"And Natsuno?" Tatsumi asked.
"Natsuno can go to North Korea for all I care! He never even spared me a glance, but Victor, as soon as he arrived, had eyes only for me! FOR ME! Not for Kaori, not for some other girl in the village, but for me! He surely saw that I have class compared to the yokels of Sotoba!" Megumi commented, twirling.
"Wow, who is this!? A Latin lover for making you forget Natsuno?!" Tatsumi laughed, intrigued.
"Yes, a human who's not afraid of vampires and who likes me, likes me! He said I'm the most interesting girl he's ever met!" Megumi explained.
"Fine, I'll report it to Sunako," Tatsumi said.
Megumi and Nao started chatting about this and that.
"Do you think it'll be alright?" Nao asked after five long minutes had passed.
"I hope so... if Sunako says he's a danger, it's all over!" Megumi muttered under her breath, before moving away and walking up and down the hallways of the large villa when Tatsumi came out of Sunako's personal rooms.
"Sunako wants to talk to you!" Tatsumi commented.
Megumi sat down in front of Sunako, with a steaming cup of tea but without the usual cookies for obvious reasons.
"A human friend of vampires... like Seishirou, it's hard to believe, but if it really is so..." Sunako began, drinking the tea, followed by Megumi. Megumi's red eyes moved quickly, looking around before focusing on Sunako.
"He... he's... he's amazing!" Megumi commented, smiling.
"Let's do this: Tatsumi will check him out, he's good at reading people. If he's really a friend to us shiki, after you spend some time with him, tomorrow I'll want to meet him too... after all, humans who understand us are so few, right? Those who don't see us as monsters!"
"Yes... I think Natsuno sees me as a monster by now, if I ever revealed myself to him... aside from the fact that he never even noticed me before, but Victor... ah! How cute! He introduced himself, apologized to me while I was coming out of the bush I used to spy on Natsuno... and we started walking through Sotoba, talking about this and that!" Megumi explained.
"Even though he recognized you as a shiki..." Sunako commented with a soft voice, smiling as she looked at the tea before sipping it.
"Yes! A miracle! He wasn't scared, he was happy about what I am!" Megumi commented.
"Sunako, the more you tell me, the more I'm curious to meet this guy!"
"Fine! Tomorrow, bring him to the clearing... it's not time yet to invite him to the villa," Sunako concluded.