I spend the rest of Christmas day with Rei and Saya playing different things.
Mainly puzzles. Damn puzzles.
They really puzzled my head.
Even though I'm a zombie with a brain that doesn't work properly, I feel like my head was left confused after trying to put together a one-hundred-piece puzzle showing some European castle.
"Ugh... I'm really bad at this."
I mutter to myself while holding a piece trying to find where the hell it fits.
Rei and Saya on the other hand seem to be experts. Huh? Why does it look so easy when they do it? I'm just here confused staring at the same piece for five minutes.
I think I'll have nightmares about puzzles tonight.
Ah, they also forced me to play shogi.
Crap game, I don't even understand the rules. It's confusing as shit. I lost all the games miserably while Saya won five games and Rei twice.
These girls... don't they have any compassion for this miserable zombie?
"How can you be so good at this?"
"Practice, of course."
Saya responds that with a smug smile.
"You should be smarter, Arata. Since okaa-san is thinking about enrolling you in school."
Hey? Is Mrs. Takagi really thinking about enrolling me in school?
What if I eat my classmates?
Also throughout the day Rei kept insisting I try the dishes she had helped prepare with Saya. Apparently they decided to work together in the kitchen to make something special for Christmas.
Since when are these two girls such good cooks?
The food looks delicious, there's a cake decorated with fresh strawberries, cookies shaped like Christmas trees, roasted chicken with aromatic herbs that smells incredible.
When I asked them where they learned, they told me they followed an internet guide. Well, now it makes more sense that they could do it.
Unfortunately I can't enjoy them since they taste like mud mixed with shit to me.
"Do you like it?"
Rei asks with bright eyes.
"It's delicious."
I lie with a smile so as not to break their expectations.
Saya on the other hand was notably more tolerant of Rei's presence during the day. Although of course, she's always tsundere and her biting comments weren't lacking.
"Your cutting technique is terrible, Miyamoto."
"Heh! Look who's talking. I help in the kitchen instead of just supervising, Takagi!"
"In case you don't know, supervising is an important job!"
That kind of exchange happened constantly but there was less tension than before. I even saw them laugh together a couple of times while looking at me.
Hey, I feel like I'm being discriminated against here.
It was a good day overall.
Now I'm lying on my bed in the room while reviewing the day in my head.
I turn my face toward the nightstand and see the digital clock.
7:45 PM.
"It's time."
I close my eyes and start filling my head with depressing and dark thoughts. I think about loneliness, I think about hunger, I think about blood and death, I think about what I really am.
I feel how my body responds to those dark thoughts and my mind clouds slightly and I enter my Ghoul Mode.
—Grunnnn...
My stomach emits a hungry growl, but I realize that this time the pain is much more tolerable and I can even think more clearly than before since my mind isn't completely clouded by hunger.
It might be because this time I entered this mode on my own accord, or because my body is gradually adapting.
The reason I voluntarily enter Ghoul Mode is because I need this to use my Ghoul Vision properly. Which is quite inconvenient if I think about it. Having to enter a state of semi-madness every time I want to use my special ability isn't ideal.
'I have to practice and use this eye without entering my Ghoul Mode.'
It's possible that consuming more special organs from ghouls will also help me. Maybe that will strengthen my control over these abilities.
I focus all my attention on my left eye.
The world around me loses color and the landscape becomes black and white.
Behind the walls I see Saya's bright red silhouette in her room. She's lying in her bed and her emotional frequencies are stable and calm.
'It seems she's already asleep.'
Surely today's games tired her out a lot since she fell asleep only fifteen minutes after lying down.
I move my vision to another part of the mansion. In the master bedroom I see Mrs. Yuriko's red silhouette also lying down. But sensing her emotional frequencies escaping from her, I realize she's worried and sad.
'Her sleep seems restless.'
Makes sense.
She lost her husband recently and now has to deal with raising her daughter alone while managing the family business.
After inspecting all around the mansion using my Ghoul Vision and not seeing any silhouettes with purple objects in their interiors, I also activate my internal parasite GPS, but I don't feel anything either.
'Umu. No ghouls or parasites.'
"I can leave peacefully."
I get up from the bed and put on a black hooded sweatshirt I found in the closet. Eh, it's a bit big on me.
Walking to the window, I open it before jumping outside, landing in the garden from the second floor.
I put enough force in my legs, flexing them before running. I leave only a dark blur in the night as I move at a speed no normal human could reach. Along the way, after leaving the Takagi mansion territory and entering the normal residential zone, I start jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
—Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
I show a smile full of white teeth as I feel the cold breeze caressing my face.
Touka's house is quite far from the Takagi mansion, but with the speed at which I'm moving, it feels like a simple walk.
Jumping between buildings I observe the illuminated city below me. Christmas lights still shine and I see many families celebrating through the windows.
As I get closer to the area where Touka lives, I see something that makes me stop on a rooftop.
Two men dressed in formal black suits are walking down the street below me. They seem to be inspecting the surroundings.
I crouch down to hide behind the railing while watching them.
One of them raises a device that looks like a walkie-talkie to his mouth.
"It's clear here. We're proceeding to move forward."
His voice reaches my enhanced ears clearly.
Could they be CCG investigators? Although they're not carrying briefcases...
I narrow my eyes while following them with my gaze until they disappear turning onto another street.
It seems they're looking for someone, and if they're from the CCG, they're probably looking for ghouls in the area.
Well, with what I did to that piece of shit human a few days ago, it's normal for them to be alert since they know there's a ghoul around here.
Once they're far enough away, I move again in the shadows.
I finally arrive at the high wall surrounding Touka's house. I jump over it and land in the inner garden.
Looking around searching for something to throw. I find a stone the size of my pinky finger near a small tree. I pick it up and weigh it in my hand.
'Now I'm much more skilled when using my strength.'
I think while calculating the trajectory and necessary force.
'I'm getting used to my body's changes quite quickly even though I haven't specifically practiced.'
I throw the stone toward the second-floor window where I know Touka's room is.
—Tak!
The stone hits the glass making that sound, but my throw isn't strong enough to break it.
Umu!
I activate my Ghoul Vision again and see Touka's red silhouette getting up abruptly from her bed. She stays still for a moment. Is she listening to see if there's another movement? Then she moves toward the wall.
'Mm? I see. There's an observation hole there.'
It's invisible from the outside but I see that she looks through that small hole toward the garden where I'm standing.
I show a big smile and take off my sweatshirt hood at the same time I wave my arm to greet her.
Moments later Touka is going down the stairs from the second floor.
The front door opens.
I deactivate my Ghoul Mode completely and feel it's easier now than before. I mean, I still have to think about positive and happy things. But it's easier because I have more positive and happy moments than in the past.
Touka stand in the entrance with a frown on her sleepy face. She's wearing light blue pajamas and her purple hair is messy from sleeping.
"What the hell are you doing here at this hour? You're interrupting my sleep."
She says those words to me with a cold and annoyed voice.
I ignore her harsh tone because I already know she's like that and respond cheerfully while smiling.
"Merry Christmas, Touka! Although there are only a few hours left before it ends. It's a shame. I really liked this day."
Touka's eyes open and I feel her emotional frequencies change from irritation to confusion.
"Christmas? I had completely forgotten about it..."
She pauses before looking into my eyes and telling me.
"I see. Merry Christmas I suppose. Although for monsters like us these human celebrations don't really mean much. But I guess to blend in among them we must learn a thing or two about their customs."
After saying all that in a monotone voice, she gives me a suspicious look.
"Did you come all the way here just to wish me Merry Christmas?"
"Not exactly. Hehe. I came to bother you like I warned you the last time we saw each other."
"Bother me?"
Touka's lips purse and she begins to close the door.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
I appear in front of her and put my hand against the door to prevent her from closing it completely.
I see her startle at my speed, but she quickly regains her composure.
"I'm actually coming because I'm quite ignorant about the world of ghouls. And I'm coming to learn from my only ghoul friend since I don't know anyone else who can teach me. Is that too much to ask?"
I put on an abandoned puppy face.
"At this hour?"
"Eh. I don't have many options since I can only go out at night without raising suspicion."
It's partly true, but it's also because I didn't want to leave Saya alone during the morning without Mrs. Yuriko nearby.
Touka stares at me for a long moment. I feel she's evaluating me and thinking about whether I'm worth her time.
After a second or two she lets out a sigh while stepping aside, opening the door more widely.
"Come in. But if you're going to bother me with silly questions I'll kick you out. Keep that in mind. And please take off your shoes. I don't want you to dirty my house."
I smile while bowing.
"As you command, my lady."
It's time to learn about the world of ghouls.
×××
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