Saya nods.
"I know, you don't have to remind me of something so simple. I know it's dangerous to know these things. But honestly I don't care."
"Um? You don't care?"
"No."
She shakes her head firmly.
"Because it's you, Arata. And because you've already saved me before risking your life, and that's why I feel safe by your side no matter what you are."
Saying all that in one go, she stops abruptly and her cheeks turn red.
"A-Anyway, since you've come this far revealing to me what you really are, are you afraid?"
She changes the subject quickly and continues saying.
"I don't know much about the monsters that exist, and apart from the parasite that killed my father I haven't seen others directly. I don't know to what extent they're actually dangerous."
"I'm not worried about myself, but about you, Saya, and the others who are close to me. I can defend myself easily, but you currently can't."
Saya lets out a snort and with a serious face, seems about to scold me.
"If you think I or okaa-san are in danger because of you, and therefore think about escaping from here and hiding so as not to involve us, then I'll never forgive you."
I laugh at her amused while shrugging.
"I won't lie. At first I was thinking of escaping. But now that I've come this far revealing all this to you, and seeing that you accept me as I am, then there's no need to flee anywhere. I just need to be alert and protect you all too, isn't that right?"
Now I'm a vampire. I don't know the full extent of my powers, because I need exhaustive training sessions to familiarize myself with all the power I have and explore my full potential.
Even so, I have several methods to defend myself. I'm even sure I can keep the people who are close to me safe, with the All-Seeing Eye being just one of the methods.
It was for that security that I started revealing the truth to Saya.
At that moment, I can feel Saya's emotional frequencies swirling. She seems quite happy with my response.
She may be happy, but she still lets out a snort.
"So you were thinking of escaping like a coward! Hmph!"
She gives me a contemptuous look, before saying.
"You still haven't told everything, especially why you're so changed today."
So I sigh and start telling her the whole story from the beginning. About my first encounter with that bastard ghoul who wanted to eat me, about how I discovered I could devour other supernatural beings to constantly evolve.
I speak slowly while carefully observing her reactions, sometimes pausing when I see her fear increasing, and explaining in more detail when I see she's confused about something.
Of course, I don't tell her about my death and reincarnation in this world from another different world.
I only focus on making her understand what I am, and that despite what I am and what I've done to survive, at the end of the day those actions are what define me, and that I'm still the same Arata who saved her, who played with her and who constantly teases her.
After talking for a good while, there's silence in the room.
A little over two minutes after assimilating all the information, Saya speaks.
"So when you disappeared all those days supposedly going to Touka's house... you were hunting ghouls in the 24th Ward?"
She seems to be in emotional conflict knowing that. She emits fluctuations of happiness mixed with sadness.
I assume the happiness is linked to knowing I had previously shamelessly lied about visiting Touka every day. And she's also sad because I was facing extremely dangerous situations in solo mode in an underground district full of crazy monsters that could kill me.
"I needed to get stronger quickly to protect you and the others. And then, it was also in that place I found something much more powerful than a ghoul or a parasite..."
I pause, and seeing Saya urging me with her eyes, I continue.
"It's a vampire, and I devoured it after a life or death battle."
In the end, we both died. But she doesn't have to know that.
"A vampire?"
Saya's eyes open enormously, while she asks with disbelief.
"There are also vampires in this world?"
Nodding, I open my mouth to show my sharp fangs.
"I-I see... Vampires need to suck blood to survive, right? You are a vampire... so..."
Saya looks away from me while asking that, and for some reason touches her neck with her fingers while blushing intensely. It's quite adorable.
I smile maliciously when I notice her so uncomfortable. With my head tilted, I slowly lean toward her. Her breathing becomes agitated and her crimson aura writhes, making it look like a whirlwind. My own smile widens as I stare into her eyes.
"Why do you ask, Saya? Are you offering yourself? Do you realize I could suck your blood? Are you afraid?"
"D-Don't be silly... Who would be afraid of you? And offering what exactly... hmph! You perverted bloodsucker!"
She keeps looking away with her face as red as her aura.
"Perverted bloodsucker? Heh, sounds cool to me. That title."
I move closer, until my mouth is right next to her ear and whisper.
"And it's very true. I'm very hungry, Saya..."
Pat!
Saya snorts indignantly and hits me repeatedly with her twin tail attack.
My laughter resonates in the room, mixing with her sounds of "Urusai! Urusai!" and her small cries of frustration.
Some time after calming down, Saya sighs deeply and asks with a serious voice.
"Will you ever hurt me, Rei or okaa-san?"
"I've killed two humans so far, it's true. One was a CCG agent who was hunting me, and another was a disgusting pervert who went after little girls. But I won't touch innocent people unless they come after me first, much less will I harm people close to me under any circumstances."
"So it was you..."
Saya says that connecting the dots, and then adds.
"Some time ago it came out in the news about the CCG agent brutally killed, and it's said to be the work of a dangerous S-class ghoul. Don't CCG people protect humans from ghouls? You killed him?"
I shrug.
"That may be so in theory, and that man may have been innocent in his normal life. But he's an innocent who wanted to kill me, so I had to defend myself. If I left him alive, they would eventually discover me and probably the people I know, involving them in unnecessary danger."
With my memories from the manga, I know that CCG people, or at least the high command and bosses, aren't really someone worthy of admiration or respect.
Saya says quickly.
"I'm not blaming you for defending yourself, not at all. It's just a bit shocking to hear it directly. Forget it..."
Sighing, she continues.
"In the news it was revealed that many CCG agents will come to the 20th Ward looking for this mysterious ghoul, or you in this case. You have to be very careful, okay? No! In fact, you shouldn't even think about doing something stupid during these days. Stay still!"
"Hehe, of course I'll be careful."
She asks with a hesitant voice.
"As for humans... you don't eat their flesh, right?"
"No."
Their flesh is disgusting. But I do eat their hearts which are delicious. At least before when I was a ghoul. Now that I'm a vampire, human hearts no longer seem as attractive to me as before.
Saya shows relief on her face.
"That's good at least. It's better that way than trying to be a stupid hero..."
She looks at me seriously.
"And you must never try to be a hero who saves everyone, understood?"
My lips purse.
"I'm not trying to be a hero."
At what point does a hero enjoy killing his enemies and devouring them to evolve?
I laugh at the idea of being a hero and we stay like that for a few long minutes in silence.
It's Saya who once again breaks the silence.
"That's enough drama for today. Tsk! I hate the emotional dramas my okaa-san watches."
I nod in agreement.
"It's late. You should go to sleep, Saya."
"Mm..."
Saya looks at me sideways, and says while stuttering.
"I-It's already past midnight. If I go to my room now, I'll wake okaa-san with the noise. So, so... I'll sleep here with you!"
"Um?"
She snorts seeing my surprised reaction.
"Don't think anything weird, idiot! I'm just afraid okaa-san will scold me for being up so late, okay? It's not because I wanted to sleep with you or anything like that."
Is it because Saya is still young? Her tsundere mode isn't very sharp yet. Her excuses are still very green and transparent, and I can easily tell she's just trying not to separate from me tonight.
"Saya."
I say with a warm smile.
"Hah?"
"Thank you for accepting me."
Saya's cheeks turn completely red and she quickly lies down on the bed before hiding under the sheets like a scared rabbit. Her muffled voice is heard from below.
"I already told you it's not a big deal, fool. Now shut up and sleep already."
"Heh..."
I let myself fall onto the bed beside her and look at the ceiling.
'Saya accepted me, huh? Despite everything horrible I told her about myself.'
I feel a wave of relief flooding me completely, and at that moment I realize I'm genuinely happy.
At some point I'll have to talk to Rei too about all this, and eventually with Mrs. Yuriko.
That's going to be complicated, especially with Rei.
But for now, I close my eyes and in a short time I fall asleep with a great weight lifting from my shoulders.
If you liked this, throw me your Power Stones!
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