4. The Witch Turns Green Leaves
“Get in for now.”
The next morning, after waking up my sister—who was still lazing around in bed—and getting her ready, I opened the front door. The black sedan from yesterday was waiting with its rear door open. Ichinose was gesturing for me to come over, her expression half-joking, half-serious. When I stopped at the entrance, my sister poked her head out, wondering what was up, and her face twisted into something strange.
Whatever. I decided not to overthink it and just go with the flow. I mentally called Hiru and had her follow the car in crow form, then slid into the sedan's back seat.
“Your sister looks nothing like you.”
“I spoiled her rotten.”
“Oh my. I didn't know you were the nurturing type.”
Don't use weird phrasing like that. Once the car started moving, Ichinose didn't try to keep the conversation going. I had my own reasons too—now that incidents were starting to pop up, I needed to stay vigilant about my surroundings, and I didn't have much to say to someone I wasn't that close with anyway. The only sound between us was the smooth, gliding hum of the quiet engine. It wasn't until we arrived at school and it was time to get out that I realized something new.
Getting out of the same car as Ichinose. It felt heavier than expected.
I glanced at her, wondering if she'd let me out first, but she just grinned mischievously. No chance.
“Embarrassed?”
“More like burdened.”
“You'll have to do this for a while.”
Three months of escort duty, as requested. The thought of drawing even more stares while commuting with her—someone who already stood out with her Western features—made my stomach turn. I knew my name was already floating around in rumors because of how Inuyama and Hanasaki treated me despite being aloof with others. If Ichinose joined the gossip mill, who knew what wild stories they'd spin? Actually, I could guess, and that's what scared me.
“Playboy.”
“You know none of this was my choice, right?”
“That's exactly the problem. You know it all and still drag it out.”
Yeah, I know. But each of these issues involved people I'd grown close to, and they were struggling with life-or-death stakes. I couldn't just bail knowing that.
She smirked slightly at my sour expression, then announced we'd arrived and stepped out of the car. She wasn't a bad person at heart—pretty level-headed, really—but with her own safety and her clan's fate on the line, she kept giving me these loaded gestures.
As I followed her out, I felt a few glances from around us. Nothing malicious, so I caught Hiru—who had trailed me—and asked her to keep watch from the school rooftop before heading through the main gate to the shoe lockers.
“How's it feel commuting by car?”
“Convenient, but... exercise...”
“It's not like walking from home to school makes you any fitter.”
She giggled, waved goodbye, and headed to her class. I let out a deep sigh at the premonition of even more exhaustion ahead and changed my shoes.
“Tsukino.”
“Ah, yes.”
“You came to school with President Ichinose.”
“Well, uh... it's like this.”
Hanasaki appeared right away—either because she sensed me coming or was keeping tabs on Ichinose's arrival—and struck up a conversation. How much of the truth could I share? After a moment's hesitation, I spoke up.
“Senpai asked for some help. We talked about it yesterday for the first time, and this morning her car was waiting right outside.”
“Hoo. Another troublesome matter.”
“From what she said, it didn't seem like something I couldn't handle, so I agreed for now.”
“I-I don't mean to gossip, but the Ichinose family has... complicated circumstances, so you should be cau—”
“I think you're right to be wary.”
Hanasaki walked beside me, keeping a careful distance as if something was bothering her, until we reached the classroom. The car had gotten me there faster than my usual walk, so it was a bit earlier than normal. Even so, Inuyama—who had arrived early as usual—spotted me and came right over, sniffing at me.
“Vampire scent. And diffuser too.”
“I had a quick thing with Ichinose-senpai this morning.”
“That person makes me uncomfortable.”
“Me too, honestly...”
Lately, I'd been handling things separately from Inuyama a lot. When we met at school, her reactions seemed even more sensitive than before. She was touchier about other girls' scents on me, and the distance she kept during lunch had shrunk noticeably. Right after wrapping up Aoba's issue—when I hadn't even properly started on Hanasaki's—dealing with jealousy wasn't easy. Inuyama's personal matters were messy too, and I wanted to help sort them out, but this storyline hinged on raw combat power. I couldn't just blurt out “let's meet your parents” yet.
“Inuyama. Let's spar again sometime.”
“Uh, y-yeah!”
“Tsukino.”
Unlike Inuyama's beaming smile, Hanasaki gave me a look like she was scolding me. I get it, okay? Inuyama picked up on our silent exchange and dropped another bombshell with a straight face.
“I'd be fine as long as I'm next to Tsukino—even if I'm just a pet.”
“...Don't say stuff like that.”
“But it's true.”
“That's why you shouldn't say it.”
I patted her deflated head and guided her to her seat. Lucky the classroom was empty; imagining that in public wasn't pleasant. Even the kinkiest couples wouldn't say that stuff.
Anyway, turning away from her grinning face—at the promise of training together to tackle her biggest weakness—I spotted Hanasaki looking a tad miffed. What's your deal?
“Hanasaki.”
“Yes.”
“To sync up with Hiru and ask a few things... you free this weekend?”
“...Very well.”
Is this really happening? How do harem protagonists handle this mental fatigue and pressure? As a subtle tension hung in the still-empty classroom, the back door opened, and Ichinose sauntered in with a sly grin.
“Mind if I borrow him for a sec?”
She grabbed my wrist to drag me off, but Hanasaki seized my other hand.
“If it's not urgent, discuss it here.”
“It's urgent.”
“Urgent enough to pull a student right before HR?”
“Not right before, and it's life-or-death for both of us.”
Hanasaki's eyes twitched at that. She whispered for me not to go along with everything and let go. Ichinose, unfazed, hauled me to the student council room.
“Normally it'd be election season for student council president, but with me around, it's basically defunct. De facto, it's mine.”
“Perks of being the chairman's daughter?”
“Power abuse. The president's got no real authority anyway, so it doesn't matter much.”
She sank into a plush chair while I dragged over a metal one with a screech and sat facing her.
“So, what's this about?”
“Interested in VP?”
“No. Not at all.”
She fidgeted awkwardly at my blunt refusal, then averted her eyes to mask it.
“Why not?”
“After school, I head straight to the dojo for training. I'm busy.”
“It'd just be a nameplate position.”
“Even a figurehead role—I won't take it just to sit on it.”
Responsibilities have a way of piling up later. Yeah, if someone like Inuyama begged purely, or Hanasaki desperately, or Aoba pleadingly, I'd cave to my nature. But the colder and more logical they got, the same with me.
“Ichinose-senpai. So why drag me here specifically?”
“...You know what vampires are, right?”
“Yes. At least the legends.”
“Give me your blood.”
“...”
Vampires in this world needed blood, but modern ones didn't suck it straight. They used blood packs and such. Mostly. So a direct, blunt request like this meant something else.
“When vampires drink blood, they can mix in their own.”
“Doesn't that turn the victim into a vampire?”
“If they force a ton in on purpose, sure.”
“So no intention of that.”
“Right. It's the opposite—I'm placing full trust in you from here on.”
Blood dripped from her protruding fangs. When she offered it to me, I understood why this proved trust.
A vampire's soul structure. Blood as the medium to overwrite a human soul with a vampire's. Exposing it to me—and letting me ingest it—meant revealing every weakness and flaw. Even ones she didn't know herself.
Hoo. No choice then. If Hanasaki—an outsider to vampire issues—offered this, I'd refuse. But a vampire's weakness was Ichinose's own. Like yesterday, even my novice spiritual power could overpower her and do as I pleased.
“If that's the reason, I'll accept.”
“Quick on the uptake.”
“I won't ignore someone staking their life like this.”
A wry smile slipped out naturally. Poor girl, really. Born into a chaebol and as a vampire—how many could she truly trust? With me, someone she'd just met this year and barely opened up to, handing over life-and-death power... what doubts had she wrestled with?
I offered my arm, but she ignored it, slipping her thigh between mine and hugging me tight as she whispered and sank her teeth into my neck.
“Now I see why Hanasaki likes you. One revelation a day.”
The bite stung less than it pleasured, a euphoric haze. Glancing at my hand, I saw some force acting on my soul.
This is a vampire. This is their essence, their blood. If I analyzed it with my eyes, dissected the weaknesses...
After the brief feeding, our flushed eyes met.
“Oh dear, HR's about to start. Lock up when you leave.”
As she bolted, it hit me. Ichinose was the type with zero tolerance for this before her first time. Afterward? Total nympho, time and place be damned.