Strike the Blood - Volume 6 - Chapter Ep

OUTRO 

“Mhmm…” 

Exhaling as if she was singing, the woman in the white coat raised the stethoscope. 

Though she was well into her thirties, she was a woman for whom the word cute fit her cherubic face more than beautiful. But she had really big breasts. 

Her long hair was disheveled, the white coat she wore all wrinkled. Though she was reserved, she projected the aura of a very slothful adult. 

“Okaaay! Take a deep breath. Yes, yes, just like that.” 

She put the stethoscope to Asagi’s chest as she spoke. Mm, mm, she said with an exaggerated nod, proceeding to look down the girl’s throat and examine her tongue. Finally, she ran her hands over Asagi’s entire body, groping her in the name of taking her vitals. 

“No particular health proooblems. You seem to be growing quite nicely. Eighty-three, fifty-seven, eighty-two…” 

“Eh?!” 

Asagi twitched and froze at the accurate guess of her measurements. You can’t let down your guard around this chick, she thought, hastily covering her breasts with a towel. 

They were not in a hospital, but rather, the Akatsuki residence’s living room. 

The woman in the white coat was Mimori Akatsuki, Kojou and Nagisa’s mother. To Asagi, she was a familiar face going way back. 

And Mimori was also an elite researcher at a lab for MAR—Magna Atraxia Research, a giant conglomerate. Not only did she hold a proper medical license; she was also one of the natural psychics known as Hyper-Adapters. She was a so-called “medical psychometer.” 

Mimori smiled in obvious delight as she put the stethoscope away. “Tee-hee, I must say I’m surprised, though. I come back home for once and who do I find sleeping in Kojou’s bed? Oh, Asagi…” 

Asagi narrowed her shoulders as she cringed. Even at that moment, Asagi didn’t actually remember why she had been sleeping in a place like that. 

Actually, while Asagi was out cold, Natsuki Minamiya had pushed Kojou to bring her home, but little did she know that Kojou had taken that to mean bringing her to Kojou’s home. 

Asagi put a finger to her own temple as she spoke in a faltering tone, “I’m sorry, my memory kind of breaks off right around yesterday evening—” 

That was part of why Mimori had examined her, but as far as her behavior indicated, there was nothing particularly wrong with Asagi’s body. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Kojou properly takes responsibility.” 

“Er, no, um, it’s really not like that…” 

She’s got this sooo wrong, lamented Asagi, uneasily shaking her head. 

“Ahh, it really takes me back. Why, when I was your age, I had Kojou right here in my belly…” 

Asagi, of course, raised her voice in surprise. 

“Ehh, is that so?!” 

She’d always thought Mimori was young for a mother of two; so that’s how it was. The simplest explanation carried the day. 

Mhmm, mused Mimori as she walked toward the kitchen. “Want some lunch, Asagi?” 

Asagi bobbed her head in agreement and thanks. She had no reason to hurry back home; it was late enough in the morning that she’d be written up for skipping class anyway. If she stayed put, Kojou would be getting back home soon enough. She had a pile of things she wanted to grill him about. 

As Asagi’s thoughts drifted to such things, she belatedly set eyes on some documents strewn over the floor; they’d apparently fallen out of Mimori’s medical bag. Without fanfare, Asagi picked them up and put them in order. Apparently it was some kind of patient report from the lab. 

The project name listed at the top of the report was SLEEPING BEAUTY. 

A color copy of a blurry photo displayed a girl lying inside a medical capsule. 

She had rainbow-colored hair that resembled a vortex of flames— 

“Aa…!” 

—That was when she suddenly heard Mimori’s cry from the kitchen. Asagi stuffed the report back in the bag and hurried over to check on Mimori. “Wh-what happened?” 

Asagi beheld the sight of Mimori slumped onto the floor, in front of the fridge. She looked up at Asagi with a forlorn expression born of a pitiless world. 

“This is so cruel, Asagi. I’m starving here, and there’s no frozen pizza in the fridge…!” 

“Ah, ah…” 

Asagi scratched her face with a mildly conflicted look. She recalled that Kojou had complained that frozen pizza was the only dish in Mimori’s repertoire. She’d thought he had to be exaggerating. To think it was the gospel truth… 

“…Asagi, are you any good at cooking?” 

Mimori looked up at Asagi with eyes like those of an abandoned puppy. 

Asagi thought about it a little: This was a pretty good chance to earn some brownie points with Kojou’s mom. Perhaps this was the time to demonstrate the fruits of her intensive training. 

Asagi smiled triumphantly and reached for a nearby apron. 

“Leave it to me!” 

Evening was fast approaching when Kojou and the others made it back to the apartment complex. 

Due to limited capacity, the armored airship had only taken actual wounded aboard, so in the end, Kojou and the others were picked up by an old-fashioned fishing boat for a leisurely return to Itogami Island. 

The one saving grace was they were allowed to eat the fresh fish the ship had caught. Maybe it’s a pretty small thing, but as rewards for saving the world go, could be worse, Kojou thought. 

Nagisa slumped against the wall of the elevator and heaved a great sigh. “I’m really worn out for some reason. The field trip’s suspended, and the coat I saved up for is no good… But they said they’d compensate for the luggage at least.” 

Her voice was as energetic as usual, but the volume of words was just a little lower than normal. Knowing the field trip was canceled apparently got her down. 

“Geez, with that big an accident, it’s real lucky no one died. It was one step away from a huge disaster.” 

“Well, that’s true, but… Ugh… Pillow tossing… Boy talk…” 

Nagisa was slumping her shoulders as the elevator door opened before her. 

Yukina led Nagisa by the hand into the corridor when she suddenly stopped. She raised an eyebrow as she guardedly looked all around. 

“…Um, do you smell something odd?” 

Prodded by Yukina, Nagisa gave the air a good sniff, like a puppy. 

Kojou, too, noticed the faint burning smell wafting through the air. “Wow, you’re right! Is it a fire?! Wait, smoke?!” 

Nagisa shrieked as she pointed at the entrance to her and her brother’s apartment. Black smoke was puffing out from the hallway-side vent like it was car exhaust. 

“Why aren’t the fire extinguishers working?!” 

Kojou hastily ran toward the apartment. Meanwhile, Yukina pulled a fire extinguisher from its holder in the corridor. The very next moment, the front door to the Akatsuki residence burst open with great vigor, and a woman with a cherubic face, wearing a white gown, flew out of the room. 

Kojou and Yukina were stopped cold by Mimori’s unexpectedly calm state. 

“Mhmm? Ah, Kojou, Nagisa, welcome back.” 

Though she seemed somewhat hurried, she didn’t look like someone escaping the scene of a fire. 

Nagisa stared at her mother’s face, sounding a little bewildered. “…Mimori?” 

For some reason, Mimori looked like she’d just been thrown a lifeline. “Sorry, it’s in your hands now. An urgent job came up so I have to go. A very urgent job!” 

Rapid-firing her lines, Mimori made a hasty beeline for the elevator. 

Kojou and the others stared at his mother’s back, dumbfounded. 

“What the heck was that…?” Somewhat at a loss, Kojou turned toward his apartment. 

At the very least, it wasn’t on fire, but the fact remained that smoke mysteriously filled it. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the smoke seemed…ominous. The scent triggered instinctive terror within him. 

Then, as Kojou entered the apartment, the sight of Asagi, in an apron, wielding a kitchen knife, greeted his eyes. 

Asagi, who for some reason was holding the kitchen knife backward, blinked and asked, “Ah? Kojou? You’re back early; weren’t you at school?” 

Kojou stood rooted to the spot, aghast. “A-Asagi?! Whaddaya think you’re doing?!” 

“What does it look like…? I’m cooking, cooking. You’re just in time. Mimori asked me to make something for her, but she had to go, so there goes that plan. Hey, waste not, want not, right?” 

“Um…!” 

Kojou grimaced as he recalled how Mimori had returned to her workplace in a big hurry. No doubt, having whipped Asagi into a frenzy, she’d fled the scene like the irresponsible woman she was. 

Realizing that Kojou had gone pale, Asagi smiled. 

“Don’t worry. I said cooking, but it’s only sandwiches. Tanahara said you can’t mess up a sandwich. It’s just cutting bread and stuffing some ingredients inside.” 

Kojou awkwardly nodded. “Th-that so…” 

The strange black smoke filling the apartment made it hard not to assume that something had already gone wrong. Maybe that was why the sight of a high school girl in an apron wasn’t doing anything for him here. 

Nagisa’s voice quivered, looking like she was smiling through tears. “W-wow, Kojou. Asagi’s homemade cooking. You lucky dog.” 

Yukina, silently retreating a step, spoke with a businesslike voice lacking any shred of emotion. “Er, senpai. I shall take my leave, then…” 

As Yukina started to turn around, Nagisa firmly gripped her slender wrist. “Oh, no you don’t, Yukina. Desertion before the enemy is a serious offense.” 

“But,” Yukina earnestly objected, “if my physical condition is thrown off, it’ll hinder my mission as watcher…” 

But Nagisa’s desperation was no less than her own. After all, the greater the number of victims, the less the burden was on each person, potentially reducing it to under a lethal dose. 

Kojou, resigning himself with a Well, fine, walked into the kitchen filled with strange smoke. 

After all, Kojou Akatsuki was the Fourth Primogenitor, an immortal vampire. It wasn’t like he was going to actually die from it— 

And so, another afternoon in the Demon Sanctuary of Itogami Island passed by. 

The surface of the sea surrounding the man-made island, reflecting the rays of the sun, glittered like dazzling gold…