That night the city began to quiet down. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk with a dim yellowish glow, while the sound of cars was rarely heard anymore. Raku walked alone, his steps slow as he hugged the bag of books he had just bought. The night wind blew cold, making the leaves on the trees sway gently.
But suddenly, his eyes caught something. At the end of the dark street, under the flickering light of a streetlamp, there was a small figure. A little girl with golden blond hair flowing messily. Her body looked fragile, standing unsteadily as if about to fall.
Raku stopped in his tracks. His heart beat faster. 'Golden hair…?' Vaguely, a blurred memory appeared: the shadow of an elegant woman, a cold yet graceful face, with the aura of a queen—Tokiwadai Queen…? but her body was small though her hair resembled it. Raku didn't understand, but the sense of déjà vu pressed against his head.
Without thinking, he approached. "Hey… are you alright?"
The little girl only turned her head slowly. Her eyes were a dim red, her voice trembling weakly. "...Blood. I… need blood."
Raku froze. "Blood…? You… Vampire?"
Before he could step back, the little figure moved swiftly. In an instant, she clung to Raku's shoulder, her fangs piercing his skin. Raku felt a sharp sensation, then a warm flow being sucked out.
"Ugh—!" Raku flinched, his body stiff. Suddenly a strong wind swirled around them, leaves flying, streetlights flickering as if shaken.
At once, the little girl's body trembled violently, then she released the bite. Crimson light enveloped her small body. Raku was pushed back strongly, thrown several meters until he fell on the sidewalk. His breath ragged, his shoulder stung with pain.
In front of him, the little girl began to change. Her body stretched, her golden hair lengthened, her clothes transformed into an elegant red-black gown. From a weak child, now stood a beautiful yet terrifying woman, with a swirling dark aura around her. Her eyes were shut, her body like it had lost consciousness. The strong winds from her aura made billboards tremble and store windows crack slightly.
Raku stared in shock. "…What was that just now…?"
Meanwhile, far away, someone else also sensed the anomaly. In his room, Saiki Kusuo had just put down his spoon after enjoying the last coffee jelly of the night. Suddenly, a surge of foreign energy struck his psychic senses.
He let out a long sigh. 'Haaah… this is clearly vampire aura. Don't tell me…' He closed his eyes, focusing, then traced the source. His face stiffened. 'Of course. Raku. That amnesiac kid. At New Year a goddess cried to him, then angels and demons appeared. Now… a vampire? Truly a nightmare for my peaceful life.'
In an instant, Saiki's body vanished.
On that quiet street, Raku was still frozen staring at the vampire woman who kept emitting an uncontrollable aura. The wind whipped his hair, nearly knocking him off balance.
Then, with a small pop sound, someone appeared beside him.
Raku turned in shock. "Eh!? Who are you!? Suddenly showing up like that!?"
Saiki, with a blank face and arms folded, replied curtly. "That's not important. What matters now is, why is this vampire suddenly rampaging and losing consciousness?"
Raku, still confused, shook his head. "I… I don't know. I just found her collapsed on the street. When I tried to help her, she said she needed blood. Then suddenly she bit me and… changed like this!"
Saiki sighed heavily, as if burdened with yet another problem. "Tsk. Again… strange things always appear around you. Goddess, angel, demon… now vampire. This isn't coincidence."
He glanced briefly at Raku, staring into that innocent face with sharp eyes. "Amnesia, huh? Your soul's wound… there must be something big behind it. And for some reason all supernatural beings are drawn to you."
Meanwhile, the vampire's aura grew more chaotic. Small stones on the sidewalk lifted, air spun fiercely, and a low hiss escaped her lips though she wasn't conscious.
Raku clutched his chest, his heart uneasy. "If this keeps up… she might hurt others…"
Saiki looked at the vampire with a serious gaze, then glanced back at Raku. "You really do bring huge trouble. Looks like… I'll have to step in before everything gets worse."
Raku, though confused, nodded. "Please… if you can."
The wind roared louder, and the vampire's shadow floated as if ready to attack. The peaceful night turned into a stage for something that shouldn't exist in the normal world.
The vampire stood in the middle of the street with a raging aura, a whirlwind of fierce wind scattering dust and leaves wildly. Cracking sounds came from billboards, store glass shook as if ready to shatter. Raku covered his face with his hand, his body pushed back by the violent current.
But Saiki only let out a small sigh. 'Yare yare… so noisy.'
With a light gesture, he raised his hand. His telekinesis spread quickly, pressing down on the whirlwind spinning around the vampire. As if invisible walls closed in, forcing the storm of energy to shrink.
Raku stared in awe, his eyes wide. "W-what are you doing…?"
Saiki didn't answer. Slowly but surely, the whirlwind diminished, shrinking more and more, until it finally stopped completely. Leaves fell back to the ground, billboards stopped trembling, the air turned calm.
Silence fell, only Raku's heavy breathing audible.
Saiki lowered his hand, letting out a long breath. "Hmph. At least this is under control for now."
The vampire now slumped, her body slightly swaying, her face still elegant but eyes tightly shut. Saiki stepped forward, approaching carefully. He crouched down, then touched her shoulder intending to give a little psychic push to wake her up.
But the moment his palm touched, a subtle flash like glass cracking appeared in the air. His Psychometry safeguard—a mechanism that automatically filtered foreign information so his mind wouldn't be tainted—instantly cracked and tore.
Saiki narrowed his eyes. "…Damn."