Meow – Part 06
When I got home, Sera looked pale as a sheet. That somber look on her face was beautiful enough to give me chills, though I couldn’t help but wonder if she was okay.
“I need… blood. Could you get Haruna for me?” she asked in a very thin voice.
Apparently, if a Vampire Ninja didn’t get blood regularly, they’d die. But as long as she kept replenishing, she was about as hard to kill as me.
“I won’t do?” I asked.
“You don’t look very appetizing.”
“Right.”
Even in an emergency, she didn’t want zombie blood.
I dashed upstairs for Sera’s sake and headed to Haruna’s room. I knocked twice. Heavy footsteps thudded across the floor, and I quickly reached for the doorknob.
“Hey! Don’t come in! I mean it, stay out!”
I threw the door open, and Haruna burst out. Today, she was wearing nothing but panties. So she’d managed to get at least those on in the brief moment before I opened the door. Tch, close one.
“You ourobogross!”
“That one’s kinda hard to figure out.”
“It’s a snake!”
Ah, she meant Ouroboros.
“Whatever. Sera’s in bad shape. Can you give her some blood?”
“No way! Absoluuutely not! Don’t look at me!”
Blushing furiously, she stormed back into her room. Her skin was flawless as always. But this wasn’t the time to admire her. What now? Drag her out by force?
I went back to the living room and asked the limp Sera, “You sure I won’t work?”
“No. Absoluuuuuutely not.”
She dragged it out even longer than Haruna.
Tap, tap. Sera and I turned to the table.
“You can have mine.”
“Mine’s fine, right? I can do it!”
“No. I-I can’t possibly ask for your blood.”
“Come on. Eu’s offering, so just take it. Once won’t kill her.”
Sera looked like she’d just sipped bitter tea. She pressed her index finger to her lips, thought for a moment, then gave Eu a determined look.
“Then… I will accept your offer. Please, excuse me.”
Reluctantly, she walked over to Eu and kissed her, just like she’d done to Haruna before.
Eu didn’t blink or react at all at first, but the corners of her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Then Sera bit into her neck.
“Ah.”
Eu moved faster than I’d ever seen, clapping her hands over her mouth. She shut her eyes tight.
Did she just make a sound? That was the first time I’d heard her voice. Did it hurt? Her cheeks looked a bit flushed.
The bloodsucking ended quickly, and Sera immediately dropped to her knees in apology.
“I am terribly sorry!”
The blush on Eu’s cheeks vanished without a trace. She cast her a glance, her expression still blank, then turned back to the TV as if nothing had happened.
“I think… she forgives you,” I said.
Sera looked unsure. She kept watching Eu, but Eu didn’t look back. Right, I still had something to ask Eu.
“Hey, Eu. That dog earlier… that was a Megalo, right?”
Eu turned to me and gave a small nod.
“So, you were with the Megalo all along. You gonna turn into one of those monsters too?”
Eu downed her tea in one gulp, then turned toward the table. It looked like she was willing to explain.
“There are people who live in the Underworld, just like this world. I’m simply one of its residents.”
“So, you don’t turn into a monster.”
She gave a firm nod.
“However, some do possess that kind of power.”
I see. So there were others in the Underworld with strange powers like hers. No surprises there. It sounded like the kind of place that’d actually have demons or ogres walking around.
“What exactly is a Megalo?”
“In the Underworld, to counter Magiclad Girls, they began gathering the souls of the dead. Then, they placed them into animal-like bodies and raised them. That’s the Megalo system.”
“So people who died in this world become Megalo?”
“Not just this world. All souls of the dead gather in the Underworld. There are people with the power to do that.”
Dead people became Megalo. Wait a sec. Then what was a zombie, exactly? I always thought zombies were just dead people who kept moving. Did that make me a Megalo too?
“You are not a Megalo. My power simply prevented your soul from being shattered.”
Right. Megalo could still die, but I couldn’t. So I was similar but still something else. A real zombie, maybe. Not sure if that should be comforting.
So those white particles when a Megalo vanished were their shattered souls.
“Isn’t Haruna your enemy, then? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“She was a pitiful girl who had lost her mana. She posed no threat.”
So Haruna without her powers wasn’t even worth worrying about to Eu.
“Sera, you got nothing to do with Megalo?”
“Regrettably, I have been unable to follow this conversation from the start.”
So Vampire Ninjas didn’t know about Megalo. Even if they got dragged into the fight, Magiclad Girls probably messed with their memories to keep them unaware.
“But still, you helped take down a Megalo without question, didn’t you? Like that whale or anteater?”
“We have long been tasked with protecting people from yokai and similar creatures.”
Yokai, huh. Maybe those old legends referred to Megalo too.
“Eu, you sure you’re okay with this? Haruna and I will probably keep fighting Megalo from now on.”
“I don’t mind. I’m not fond of the Megalo system. The dead deserve peace.”
So she hated the Megalo system. Maybe that’s part of the reason why she left the Underworld in the first place.
Man, what a day. Felt like it dragged on forever.
Bzzzt, bzzzt.
My pocket vibrated. I pulled out my phone and saw a new text waiting. It was from Kyouko. The message was full of cute little emojis.
To sum it up, her grandfather from Kyoto was coming to visit tomorrow, and she’d managed to get him to bring some Kyoto-style tofu along. She said if I dropped by after school, I’d catch him just before he left.
Smooth coordination. Thanks, Kyouko. That would wrap up Haruna’s mission nicely.
I went back to my room and flopped onto the bed. Oh, right. I had to let Big Teach know about the tofu. I pulled out my phone again and redialed the number from earlier in my call history.
Beep, beep, beep. Ring, ring, ring.
“Thank you for calling. This is Els from Matellis Magic School.”
A beautiful female voice echoed in my ear, bright and cheerful, the kind that made you feel better just hearing it. But it wasn’t Big Teach’s voice.
“Uh, um… Is Big Teach there?”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Uh, I’m calling on behalf of Haruna from the Refrain Year, Rising Class.”
Thank god it was an easy class name to remember. It had stuck with me because it sounded so dramatic. No way I could remember her student number though.
“You must be looking for Miss Ariel then, her homeroom teacher. She’s currently away from her desk. If you’d like, I can take a message.”
“Ah… okay. Could you just let her know that the item we talked about will likely be ready tomorrow?”
“Understood. And may I get your name, please?”
“Oh, I’m… My name is Ayumu Aikawa.”
“Ayumu Aikawa, correct? Got it. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Thank you very much for calling. Have a pleasant day.”
Yes. Uh, yes. Thanks. Yep. Thank you. Bye.
That was all I could manage. I had no idea why I was so nervous.
Anyway, maybe I’d head to the convenience store and browse a few magazines.
Sleep? What for?
Zombies were more nocturnal than any animal out there.
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