Once the embrace was broken, the two sat down.
"Did you suffer a lot too?" Sunako suddenly asked.
"I know suffering very well!" Victor replied, staring into Sunako's red eyes.
"I see..." Sunako responded, lowering her gaze.
"I know you're thinking about wanting to turn me... but alas... the transformation is like a lottery, so I might end up dead... it's not worth losing an ally!" Victor suddenly said.
Sunako burst into a hearty laugh.
"Can you read my mind now, Victor?"
"No, just simple logic!" replied the boy, thinking to himself, "Yes, logic, and the fact that I literally know how you think allows me to stay two steps ahead of you, little one!"
"You know, I like intelligent people! A lot! And you're very interesting, and above all, you're a friend to us Shiki! I hate the term vampires! Shiki is much sweeter!"
"Yes, Shiki is much sweeter, Sunako!" Victor confirmed, finishing his tea, followed by Sunako who stood up.
"Follow me, I'll show you the villa, since I think you'll be here often!"
Victor stood up, following Sunako.
"I assume you'll tell your Shiki that I'm off-limits, right? Like with Mr. Seishirou!" Victor asked, smiling.
"Well, of course, anyway, we have several treasures that someone as cultured as you will definitely recognize!"
"I'm not too familiar with art, but I do appreciate it!" Victor replied.
Sunako showed him some elegant Persian rugs, finely decorated, in her personal room, as well as Chiruzu's and Seishirou's rooms, elegant tapestries with complex designs, various house vases, and paintings by Japanese and Chinese artists. Victor followed Sunako, intrigued, mentally noting what everything was, where it was, and how to take it without breaking or damaging it.
"I like it. You know, the oldest things I have at home are some furniture from my grandparents!" the boy laughed.
"Probably I'm older than that furniture... I could be your great-grandmother!" Sunako responded, laughing.
"Oh, a little great-grandmother from the 1800s!" Victor said, picking Sunako up and chuckling.
"Hey!" Sunako snapped, pretending to be offended before being put down, and Victor started tickling her!
"Oh, even the undead suffer from tickling!" Victor burst into laughter.
"Stop it!" Sunako ordered, laughing.
"Laugh, laugh!" Victor shouted while Sunako continued to laugh as he tickled her.
"Let me go!" Sunako screamed again, and Victor let her go, smiling, kneeling down to look into her eyes.
"You haven't laughed in years, have you?" Victor asked, looking into her red eyes.
Sunako stood still for a moment, a few seconds that seemed interminable, then squinted her eyes and finally closed them, took a deep breath, as if she were alive, and then looked at the boy in the eyes.
"Since I became a Shiki! At least not in such a genuine way! Thank you!" Sunako replied.
"You're welcome!" the boy said, smiling and giving her a little pinch on the cheek.
"If all humans were like you, we Shiki wouldn't have to live in hiding," said the little Shiki, and the boy ruffled her hair as if she were really his sister.
"Hey, if you want me to treat you like a little sister, I can do something fitting for your height!" Victor commented with a sadistic smile.
"Like what?" the girl asked, tilting her head.
"Well, hanging you on the coat rack while your little arms and legs flail around!" the boy replied, sticking his tongue out.
Sunako pouted. "You wouldn't be able to!" she snapped.
Victor lifted her up. "Oh, but I would, little one!" he said, looking her in the eyes.
The two stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.
"Would you really be able to do it?" Sunako asked as she was put down.
"Yes, only if I'm not at risk of being killed by one of your Shiki because they think I bullied you!" the boy said, hands on his hips.
"Yeah, it's a bit risky... Tatsumi can be overprotective sometimes... anyway, I'll show you the wine collection we have in the cellar." Sunako continued.
After going down to the cold cellar.
"Sassicaia 1982, an Italian wine from Tuscany, then here, look at this—Château Margaux from '82! A world-renowned Bordeaux! But here's my favorite!" She trotted over to a wooden box and opened it, inside was a bottle with a golden label resting on red silk.
"Krug Clos d'Ambonnay 1980! A sparkling wine! We'll drink this after Sotoba is conquered!"
"Are you a sommelier?" the boy asked, joking.
"Yes, do I like good wine? Any problem?" Sunako asked with an offended tone, placing her hand over her heart theatrically.
"Oh no, none... it's just that you shouldn't drink it, you know, it stunts your growth!" Victor replied, laughing, and Sunako punched him before putting the wine bottle back and then leading the way upstairs.
"Now that we're friends, can I order all the vampires to turn into bats and bring me a cappuccino in Italy and bring it here?" Victor asked, laughing.
"Funny! Anyway, no, not for now! But no one will raise a finger or fang against you!" Sunako replied, crossing her arms with a serious expression after a faint smile. "Tatsumi will escort you home to make sure no one who's missing tries to do something irreversible, you know, I'm busy," she explained, leading the way up the stairs.
"Of course, Sotoba doesn't conquer itself!" Victor replied, smiling.
Soon after, Tatsumi was by the boy's side and led him toward the exit.
"Victor... I think you know that..." Tatsumi began with his elegant waiter-like manner.
"You followed me to make sure I wouldn't harm Sunako? Oh, it was easier for her to harm me than the other way around... she's an adult, you know?" Victor replied, laughing, joined by Tatsumi.
"Oh, I know, and you have a good sense of humor, my boy... but yes, I'm extremely protective of Sunako! And I'll tell you... I like you, seeing Sunako happy makes me happy..."
The two had exited the villa and were slowly heading toward Ozaky's house.
"Well, I think Sunako is just someone who wants to be understood, I think it really sucks being a Shiki... I mean... I think you understand, right?" Victor replied.
"Oh, I know all too well! But one thing makes me doubt... you've befriended that crazy Megumi Shimizu, she walks among us without fear, as if she's been doing it forever... and your smell... you reek of garlic and chili, very strong! Strange!" Tatsumi said with disgust.
"Damn! The day before coming here, I had garlic and chili pasta, how can he still smell it after a day!?" Victor thought.
"Umm... the day before moving in, I ate at an Italian restaurant, they use a lot of garlic and chili there!" Victor replied, smiling awkwardly.
"Avoid showing or eating too much garlic, we Shiki and Jinrou are disgusted by it, it keeps us away, same with holy water... You know why Italy is the worst place for us... vampires? Garlic in almost every dish, damn Mediterranean cuisine... and you know why?"
Victor thought for a moment. "Because too much garlic slightly burns us, like an allergy, a blood that's too... Mediterranean literally makes us vomit, and holy water? That burns us too!"
"Yes, holy water in general, I guess, so if..." Victor burst out laughing suddenly.
"What's so funny?" Tatsumi snapped, raising an eyebrow.
"I was imagining you happily taking a bath, Seishin walks in, does a couple of gestures, blesses the water you're bathing in, and you jump out as if it became boiling hot."
Unexpectedly, even Tatsumi burst out laughing.
"Oh, yeah, that would be ironic... just give me time to recover from the burns and I'd smash Seishin's face."
"Well, that would be a pretty equivalent response... are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"What!?" asked the Jinrou.
"I don't know, the Shiki are having a nice bath under the moon with Yoshie, in a lovely pond, and Seishin is with us and... blesses the lake."
Tatsumi exploded with laughter, holding his stomach.
"Oh God, that would be a beautiful sight! A bunch of beautiful naked women!"
"Yeah, the problem is if we get caught, we'll have to run faster than the wind!" Victor replied with a smile.
"Hey, you're definitely a blast, we'll have to party after Sotoba is conquered! Of course, safely, you humans can't be thrown around too much, you're like eggs!" Tatsumi said, giving the boy a punch on the shoulder.
"Well, until next time, tell Megumi she can visit me whenever she wants! Although I think she already knows!" The boy waved goodbye, heading toward his home.
"Oh, of course! I'll do that!" Tatsumi waved back and then left.
Victor undressed and got into bed.
"And now, Sunako and Tatsumi are all set. Now I just need to wait a few days, and I can start the plan to save Nao and his family," the boy thought, smiling.