~The Next Day~
The rays of the sun shined brightly as a new day has started. As he slowly opened his eyes, Shiki let a yawn escape from his lips as he looked around and saw that he was at his home. After stretching for a few moments, he slowly began to get out of his bed.

"Damn, that was a long night. Even when I came back, dad wasn't home. I hope he didn't get drunk off his ass with a co-worker or something."

Once more his head began to hurt a bit as he saw them. Those damn lines that will always plague his sight. The more he was forced to look upon them, the more sick he began to feel.

"What I wouldn't give for a day to not see these things without the need of my glasses."

Soon he put on his glasses as his eyes returned to their normal green color and the lines were now gone from his sight. Soon he began to put on his school uniform as he was preparing for school. As he was about to walk out the door, he heard the sound of someone yawning.

"You're up awfully early, aren't you? What's the rush?"

When Shiki turned around, he saw his dad yawning again as he was suffering from a major case of bed hair. Shiki quickly bowed his head after remembering what he forgot yesterday.

"I'm sorry I came back home so late!"

"No worries, I had dinner with a work associate. If anything, it's my fault for not calling and letting you worry. My apologies, Shiki. Though, something seems to be on your mind. You wanna talk about it?"

Shiki was surprised to see his dad like this. After a few seconds of thinking things over, Shiki sat down at the table as he sat across from his father. As Ayumu looked at Shiki, he noticed how his shoulders were tensed up. He already knew the details, but he'll still act like a parent for his child.

"So then, what is on your mind?"

"Well......um. Last night, I got into a bit of trouble and I wound up having to owe someone a favor. It's just that, if I agree to it, I have no idea what might happen next. If I don't agree to it, i'm just going to regret it. What should I do, Dad?"

"This is good." Ayumu thought to himself as he heard his son trying to explain his situation without revealing the supernatural side of the world. After fixing some tea for himself, Ayumu looked at Shiki in the eyes. Right now, he needs to be a father.

"I can't say I found myself in your position. However, I wouldn't decide by saying which is right or wrong. I'd choose by going with the option I would regret the least."

As Ayumu took a sip of his tea, he looked at his child. He could tell the boy was feeling a bit stressed after what happened to him last night. Hell, Ayumu believed anyone would be this stressed given the situation.

"Life is short and when my time comes, i'd rather go out with certainty than to take my regrets to my grave. So Shiki, don't concern yourself with what is right or wrong for others. Do what YOU will be satisfied with."

Shiki could only blink in surprise as he listened to his dad. To be honest, he kind of liked the advice he got from him. Soon Shiki stood up as he was heading off to school. Just before he left the house, he looked towards his dad.

"Thanks, I needed that."

Having finished his talk with his father, Shiki was now walking to school. As he did so, he saw a familiar face standing on the side walk as if she was waiting for him. With a smile on her face, the girl waved at him.

"Good morning, Koritsu-kun."

"Heh, how many times do I have to say it. Just call me Shiki, Mirei."

As Shiki kept walking, Mirei smiled as she caught up to the boy and started walking next to him. As they were walking to school, Mirei looked at Shiki as he was saying hello to any of the other students who greeted him with a smile on his face. As they walked inside of their school, Mirei spoke to Shiki as he was putting some stuff in his locker.

"Shiki, are you okay?"

"If I had 100 yen for everytime you asked me that, I'd be rich by now", Shiki said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at the question. Just as he was about to head to class,  Mirei remembered something.

"Haha, you're right. I just worry about you. Especially after what happened last night."

Shiki's eyes widen in horror when he heard Mirei say this. As soon as he turned around, he put both of his hands on Mirei's shoulder. Only one question was on his mind as he looked at the girl.

"What happened last night?"

"You didn't see the news?"

Mirei put her index finger on her cheek as she was trying to recall what she saw on T.V.

"Apparently there were people found dead in several alleyways yet something strange happened. All of them had the same injury, a bite on their necks and their bodies looking shriveled. By the time paramedics and the cops showed up, the bodies were already gone."

Two things were made clear to Shiki. The first, Mirei didn't know of his situation. The second, while not the same carnage as that monster he met, something was out there causing just as much damage.

"Sorry for putting my hands on you. Just be careful, Mirei."

"The same to you, now then. We better hurry before we're late to class."

As Shiki was walking to class with Mirei, multiple thoughts end up invading his mind. If he declined the deal, would Mirei end up just like those victims if he did nothing?  Would his father suffer from that same fate as well?

"I don't know. If I decline, my life is over. I wouldn't have to deal with this shit. I wouldn't have to worry about anything. Maybe then.....those damn lines will finally be gone for good."

How can he be okay with that?

Okay with leaving behind his father. Okay with leaving behind the only friend he has. Okay with dying like a dog or worse, letting some creature out there roam free. A creature that could very well kill both his father AND Mirei. With a sigh escaping from his lips, Shiki said one thing before heading to class.

"Life is too complicated sometimes."

~At Hotel Vista Sendai~

"A victim that gets all of his blood sucked dies and becomes all shriveled up like a mummy." said Megumi as she was dressed in her normal attire. Black Keys hidden within her sleeves as she learned the news of the new victims.

"A vampire can then intentionally skip the process of their vitcim becoming a vampire by turning the dead body into its familiar. Considering they're still running about despite this happening last night, they must be stage 2 familiars:Ghouls."

The beast that started the early cases has retreated. Knowing this, Megumi had a few guesses as to what is causing this. However, the most likely idea was the one that was the most concerning for her.

"I thought this job would be a simple task, but if this is the work of a Dead Apostles or worse, then we just might find ourselves in more trouble than we thought. Plus ghouls are more savage than the stage one variant of a vampire's familiar. I need to get rid of them before more victims pile up."

Soon Megumi began to leave her room as she was ready to go out and try to clean up the mess. As this happened, the television was still playing the news about the recent incidents.

"All civilians please be careful when going out or heading to your homes late at night. Especially the students of Miyagiken Sendai Daiichi Academy, which recently started having these sightings in the area."

~With Shiki~
Shiki was seen asleep in the library of his school. It was just a normal day overall, but he was slightly worried after he learned about the situation from Mirei.

"So tired......" Shiki yawned as he woke up. He was reading books as he wanted to learn what could cause the problem that he heard about. That and he wanted to take his mind off of the deal for a while. The moment he woke up, he took out his phone as he saw that he got a message from Mirei.

"You seemed like you were studying hard, so I decided to head out on my own. Hope you get home safe."

"That girl, what did I do to have a friend like her?" Shiki asked tiredly as he was stretching his body.

The moment he looked at the time of on his phone, his eyes widen in shock as he saw how late it was. At first Shiki wanted to just take his time getting home. After a couple of minutes of thinking, his face began to pale as he ran out of the library and trying to hurry out of the school.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!!!!!! What kind of idiot am I?! I could've just googled the damn info on my phone after walking Mirei home!!!"

Slowly the situation Shiki just created was slowly sinking in. It would have been a better idea walking Mirei home THEN doing research in the safety of his own home. Because then she would at least have someone to look out for her in this dangerous situation.

As Shiki mentally slapped himself for this mistake, he was trying to head to Mirei's apartment as he had one thing on his mind.

"God, Buddha, whoever can hear me. Please....KEEP HER SAFE."

~With Mirei~

"I hope Shiki is okay."

Mirei let a sigh escape from her lips as she was walking home alone. To be honest, it felt a little bit lonely not walking home together with Shiki. Though seeing how hard he was studying, she didn't want to interrupt him.

"Maybe I should invite him over for dinner. He did seem out of it today. Maybe that could cheer him up-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

A violent scream echoes through the area. As Mirei heard this scream, she looked at the direction it was coming from. Straight ahead, just down the street from the apartment complex she stayed in. She saw a woman's body exiting an alleyway, only for the body to fall to the ground as her blood slowly escaped from it.

"What the hell? What is going-"

Suddenly Mirei felt a hand over her mouth. It was cold to the touch. Before she knew it, Mirei was being dragged into an alleyway herself. Soon the figure that grabbed her threw her body against the wall. The moment Mirei looked up, she couldn't believe what she saw.

"Monsters............."

The bodies were shaped as if they were grown adults but there was no life in them. Their bodies shriveled up like mummy as their skin was rotting and as dark as charcoal. Their eyes were no longer in the sockets as they were completely vacant. Soon one of the monster leaped at Mirei as their claws were digging into her shoulders.

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

The claws digging into her body. The way it felt like her wound was being set on fire. Tears were beginning to escape her eyes as she couldn't stop the screaming. As she saw the moving corpses opening their mouths as if to take a bite out of her, she heard the sound of rushing footsteps. Mustering any strength she had left, Mirei screamed out.

"HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

~With Shiki ~
"Dammit, just how big of an idiot am I." As Shiki was dashing to where Mirei lived, he felt his own heartbeat getting faster and faster.

He didn't care about the deal with the church. He didn't care that his life was on a timer if he was indecisive. Right now, his only focus was getting to Mirei. Just as he saw Mirei's apartment complex ahead, Shiki heard a familiar voice screaming.

"HELP ME!!!!!!"

"Mirei!!!!!!!!" Shiki screamed out as he heard Mirei's voice. The moment he turned into the direction he heard the girl's voice, he heard it again. Static being played in his ears as he saw about five corpses now have their sights on him after hearing his voice. The moment Shiki saw blood on Mirei's body as claws were sunk into her, he felt as if his body was giving him message.

Kill them.

Kill them and leave no traces.

They shouldn't exist. They shouldn't be allowed to run amok.

The tools you have necessary are already in your possession. So kill them.

"Bloodlust. Deep within my body, I felt an insatiable bloodlust beginning to surface. It's terrifying, knowing that this much hunger for blood is within me. But beyond....beyond that madness.....there was something else. I wanted something more than just killing these monsters."

Soon Shiki was taking off his glasses as he saw one of the monsters charging towards him. The boy swiftly took out the switch blade from his pocket and lunged forward. As he did, the image he hated seeing was now in front of him.

The lines.

The lines were everywhere within his sight. On the creatures in front of him, the buildings surrounding them, and even on Mirei's own body. Just as Shiki swung his knife at one of the monsters, he saw that he was cutting one of the lines.

"I'm not a dumbass who wants to save everyone." Shiki said as his knife sliced through the monster's head like butter as its blood was now staining the ground as some of it got on the boy's face. The other monsters took a step back when it noticed the first one wasn't moving before its body disintegrated into nothingness.

"While I want to kill these monsters, I have one more desire behind this bloodlust. I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU DIE, MIREI!!!!"