About the Dawn's Game – Part 6

That night, a simple question was asked to me: what did I do to attract the attention of a high ranking vampire? Why, from all humans, did she choose me and no one else? 

Was it because she believed I was a serial killer? No, if it was simply that, she would have left as soon as she discovered I wasn't one.

Was it because I had some sort of special blood? I often thought about that possibility but if that was the case, it would have made more sense if she started drinking my blood long ago. In fact, after a little research, I learned that if she really wanted to enslave me, she would have no problems doing so with just a few bites. Not scaring me would serve no purpose except maybe her own amusement.

Was it… love then? Maybe, but why me of all people? I was gloomy, pessimistic and I did try to kill her many times. Why would she be so obsessed with me even though we met by accident.

"..."

Wait… Thinking back about our meeting, there were already a few strange things back then. 

First, how did she get into my house that day? Vampires supposedly can't enter a home they weren't invited into unless they want to suffer from dueling sickness. I saw how strong the symptoms could be with Iovanna but Yakatarina never seemed to suffer from it. Sure, she was an Archduchess and they sound powerful but was that really the reason? 

No, before that, why was she here in the first place? If the descriptions about her old self are correct, she wasn't the type to go out and enter people's houses without reasons. Why was she in my house, reading a book on my bed?

I couldn't find any answers to those questions. I think I always wondered about those things, but my attention was focused elsewhere so I couldn't find the time to find answers. Things just started and I somehow went with it.

*rumble*

Bringing me back to reality was the rumbling of the heavy door closing the room.

"Hello, good morning? Oh, it is here…"

Appearing at the door opening was the familiar raven-haired, red-eyed girl I shot months ago. Her face hidden behind her light-reflecting glasses sketched a confused expression before taking a slightly more surprised touch.

"Question. What is going on here?" she asked, entering the room. That is when I noticed both that she changed her swimsuit and that I could move again.

"My, good day, little Katrina!" replied the Archduchess of Benevolence with cordiality and cheerfulness. "You sure took your time. I suppose little Garlic and the others kept you occupied longer than I expected."

The dark-haired girl's expression stayed indecipherable. Her eyes went left and right as if asserting the situation.

"Lua, what were you doing?"

The young-looking woman made a visibly forced smile and put her sleeve-covered hands akimbo on her hips.

"W-Well, I was talking to Dawn here but Tansy tried to behead the poor girl! Thankfully, I, the great Lore A. Lua was here to save the day as they say!"

"Is that all?"

"Yes. You know I wouldn't—"

"Troublesome. I could swear that is not all I heard! What could explain this, I wonder?" added Yakatarina, her usual smile back.

"... Ah, that mastery of the other arts of yours is truly troublesome," said the Archduchess, dropping her shoulders. "So? Can we settle this peacefully, little Katrina?"

She tilted her head, "Unknown. That is something I do not know yet. I will wait for you to tell me what you did exactly and then ask Dawn to confirm your declarations."

"... Oh… To think that at my age I would still… Why, I just restrained and interrogated her a bit. I might have said I wished to eat her but it was mostly to see her reaction. That girl, you see, seems to have developed an unhealthy lack of fear for our kind. You heard it too, didn't you? Her heartbeat and breathing started stabilizing as soon as she saw you. It seems she already feels secure even though I am closer to her than you are."

She turned to me with a large smile.

"Now that is an interesting bond, don't you think?"

"!"

I stepped back as carefully as I could, never keeping away from my gaze. It seemed that she had no intention to intervene so she let me reunite with Yakatarina without moving a single muscle – which was arguably more creepy than anything she did before.

Yakatarina walked before and then put her hands on my shoulders.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"... Y-Yes."

And I don't know if it was just my impression, but she seemed a bit desperate when she asked that. As if she was more worried than she let on, but still tried to keep her calm. She then turned to the Archduchess of Benevolence with an annoyed expression on her face.

"What did you think you were doing, Aunt Lua?! Making her sweat so much!"

"Eh? Aunt? Eh?! S-Sweat?!"

It was true. I didn't realize it was because of the adrenaline but I was covered in sweat. Once I noticed however, I couldn't forget about it since – I could now see a few stains on my dress and the air conditioners made me remember that they were, well, here too. The worst part of this was unfolded next 

"Why, if you two are to stay around each other, situations worse than this one are bound to happen. Or could it be that you dislike sweaty girls?"

"... Now that is a good question," replied Yakatarina.

"Wait… you two—"

"Oh? My, my, little Katrina, have you never smelled a girl's undergarments after an intense sport session?! Ah, youngsters these days! First they start doing sports while dressed and then, when they create clothes as fantastic as bloomers, they stop using them because of some so-called sense of decency! Ah! Ah!!! My, I need a cup of coffee…"

I don't know when she went on the table again, but she jumped on the ground to pour herself another cup of coffee. Just how much liquid did that teapot contain???

"Anyway, you should try to do it. There are only a few things that are that stimulating. It is better than alcohol!"

"Oh! Interesting!" exclaimed Yakatarina.

"What?"

"Not just interesting! Powerful! Transcendental! I would like to divulge to you other ways to reach happiness but let's start there."

She pointed at me under her sleeves.

"Dawn! Give her your panties! It is for science!!!"

"... You know, 'youngsters' also created another funny concept. It is called sexual harassment, do you know about it? Also, why are we suddenly talking about my panties here? Wasn't I about to die a few minutes ago? What is this 360? I am not sure if I should fear vampires or not here?!"

"My, is it not working? I thought that saying 'it is for science' were the magic words that allowed you to get away from everything. Just like 'it is for peace', or 'democracy', or 'for your parents'..."

"..."

The more she talked, the her in my head took damage. 

"Well, if she says it's for science…" said Yakatarina, turning to me, her hand outstretched as if she was waiting for something.

"You are doing this to annoy me, aren't you? Remind me, where is my gun at a time like this?"

"Apologies. I couldn't help it. Though, if you change your mind– kick – ah … please, refrain from kicking me. It is not pleasant."

"That is why I am doing this! Besides, why are you smiling like that if you don't like it?! You masochistic vampire!"

"Ah~, Dawn is yelling at me again. Notice. This might not be bad at all."

"Take that disgusting smile off your face right away!!!"

*thud*thud**thud*

Our bickering was interrupted by the Archduchess of Benevolence who suddenly started clapping into her hands. That is what I realized after looking at her though because the fact that her hands were still covered by her long black sleeves muffled the sound in such a way that it sounded more like someone beating the back of someone else.

"Such a beautiful bond. I am very for you two, you know? You make such a wonderful couple!"

"C-Couple…?" I mumbled.

"Does that mean this is over, Aunt Lua?"

(Stop saying Aunt. It is disturbing~...)

The girl nodded, "The prince rescued the princess before the time limit so everything is well that ends well. This ending is quite unlike my playthrough of that game of the late eighties, Ghouls 'n Ghosts as it is known worldwide. Maybe you heard about it, Dawn?"

"Huh? Oh… yeah, I know it." I think I played it on the family PC when I was younger but I don't know the difference between it and the other. Besides… "This game is really hard. Did you finish it?"

"Hmhmhm, who do you take for?"

"Eh~, impre—"

"I watched all the boss fights and the endings on Thoutube."

"... Right." Please, stop talking. Your dignity is… not liking it…

"I think I read about them somewhere too. Though I don't remember the details," said Yakatarina.

"Is that so? My, my, how unfortunate," she said, nodding multiple times. "If you knew about them, then you wouldn't be surprised by what is going to happen next."

"Huh?"

Before I had time to move, I saw someone appearing next to Yakatarina. It was the Archduchess of Benevolence's student, Tansy Wormwood.

"Star of Ida."

As soon as they touched Yakatarina, a sort of dark mist shining with little stars enveloped them and both of them disappeared without a trace.

"Huh? Huh???"

"My, I cannot believe it worked so easily. Little Katrina must be very carefree around you, Dawn."

I turned to the young woman in dark Gothic clothes. She sat on her chair and rested her head on her hand.

"What… What did you do?" I finally asked. 

I was sure the answer wasn't something I wanted to hear, but I knew I would hear it whether or not I wanted it. In fact, I was just asking in the faint hope the situation wouldn't evolve in the way I foresaw it would.

"This is a game and every game needs to have a decent final boss. Tansy simply used her Moon Shadow to teleport little Katrina back where she started. This time however, they will fight each other a bit more seriously. This should be entertaining."

"En… Entertaining? But you said it was over…"

"Oh my, don't you know about Ghouls 'n Ghosts ending? You need to finish the game at least a second time to fight the final boss just like in the first game. Of course, I wouldn't pull such a stunt on little Katrina but a variation of it sits well with me. Which is why she will have to defeat only Tansy to get here again."

"But…"

"Ah, good, you are worried now, aren't you? Well, don't worry, my variation includes you two. You won't stand idly here like your common princess, though I personally don't see a problem with that trope. Ah, changes in mentality, always going back and forth and up and down if not sideways. But I digress…"

Surprisingly, she didn't take another cup of coffee this time but simply snapped her finger. A shadowy figure appeared close to her – it somewhat resembled her but was made of a shadow-like material.

"You are a Curse Eater, aren't you? Then you know part of your line of work involves dealing with uncanny beings like, oh, what a surprise, myself! You defeated YAKATARINA before, didn't you? Then you must be a worthy opponent. Let's see how much the school directed by that illuminated witch taught you. The rules are simple, truly. A simple game of math."

The first one reach 0 heartbeats by minutes loses.