Kana and I have lived alone for some time now. Our father passed away when we were young, and our mother was always out working. Our father looked after us when we were kids, but our grandmother took that role and raised us after he passed. She’s a sweet old lady who owned a store in the city. She gave that up to look after us temporarily, but she left us to return to her shop as we got older. As for my mother, we don’t see her that often. The last time we did was a little more than a year ago, and she only visited us for a few days. I was so fed up. I confronted her about her constant absence. All she did was apologize and justify it by saying, ‘ I have the most important job in the world.’ What is she, the fucking President of the United States or something?
Chapter 11
Out from the Shadow
Haru slowly awoke with a bright shining light in his eyes. He hoisted himself to the sitting position on the soft yet firm mattress. He was in a white room with not much going on inside. The carpet beneath was a light gray, and the walls felt metallic as he reached out to touch them. Haru’s eyes had yet to adjust to the vast brightness of the fluorescent lights that lit up the room.
It was chilly. Haru wore nothing except a light blue gown and his underwear. He blushed in embarrassment before glancing around the room to find something to wear. A desk with a chair was on the other end of the room. A computer monitor was sitting atop it, and a fresh pair of clothes was next to it.
Haru stood up, fighting through his spinning head, and meandered his way to reach the clothing to change into them. A lot went through his mind.
Where am I? What is this place? And where is that girl? Who was she? Am I in trouble? Damnit! What is happening?
One thing that stood out in the cold white room was the pitch-black door, which contradicted the room's brightness. It was the only thing leading in and out of this room, as there were no windows.
Footsteps approached the door.
*Knock Knock*
“Hey, I’m coming in.”
A male’s voice from outside the door called. This voice was familiar to Haru. He knew exactly who it belonged to, and it gave him goosebumps.
There’s no way, right?
The blackened door slowly creaked open as a tall, athletic figure walked in with an earnest look. The same face that filled Haru with dread for many years.
It was no other than Shintani Raiden, Haru’s school bully.
Haru was frozen in horror as Raiden closed the door behind him and stared Haru down. He looked sincere, something Haru wasn’t used to.
He was wearing his school uniform, even though Haru remembered him not being in school the previous day.
“It’s time for your orientation, Haru.” Raiden calmly said. “Typically, someone from the Regulatory Enforcement and Deliberation Division would do it instead, but Roxanne volunteered to be the – Hey, what's with that look on that face?”
Haru’s face was red, and his eye’s watered as if he was about to cry. His school bully, the same person who made his life hell in school, the same person who had mentally and even sometimes physically abused him in class, was standing between him and the door, speaking as if they were now friendly and acquaintances.
“Tsk. Anyways, Roxanne will be speaking to you, so give me a minute to transform.”
Did he say ….. Transform?
Raiden grinned as he snapped his fingers and began glowing. Haru couldn’t detail what was happening, but his body shrank, and his hair grew long. The bright glow started dissipating, and he saw that his hair had turned red.
“Hi, Haru!” A soft, cheery voice spoke out from the light. “We’ll finally get a chance to know each other!” The same woman with the pleasant smell of perfume and long red hair emerged from the glare. She was even wearing the same dress as before.
Haru was dumbfounded, to say the least. Everything felt like a dream to him. Vampires, Werewolves, now his long-time bully transformed into a cute girl right before him.
“My name is Roxanne! I’m happy to have some time to speak to you, Haru,” She merrily said as she sat down on the mattress next to him. “Sigh ….. Where do I begin?”
“Wait a minute,” Haru said, finally catching his voice. “Are you and Shintani the same person?”
“No,” She firmly responded. “Raiden and I are two separate people. I guess I’ll have to explain what we are. I am a Supernatural, just like you. I am what is known as a Shaman spirit, a spirit that can share a body with whoever we possess. Shintani is just a normal boy. He is the owner of the body we share. We can switch back and forth between our two bodies and personas. We are aware of each other's experiences, so Raiden is fully aware of the SRC. Keep in mind that I am the Supernatural and not Shintani.”
There was a few seconds of silence as Haru processed the information. After getting involved with the Supernatural, it was unlikely that his bully would be involved, but yet, here he was.
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“Wait,” Haru muttered. “You do know that he is my school bully, right?”
“Whaaaaaat!” Roxanne responded in shock. “I had no idea! Whenever he was in school, I would always fall asleep because class would be so boooooring!”
She began banging her head with the palm of her hand.
“Raiden! Can you hear me?! Are you bullying Haru in school? Is that what you do when I’m asleep? Next time you get a chance, you will apologize to him, you hear me?!”
She sat in silence, listening to Raiden’s response in her head.
“We will have a long talk after I’m finished with Haru’s orientation, got that!?”
Roxanne was so unapologetically cheerful when first meeting Haru; he was astounded to see her getting angry and flustered like this. Although it just came to Haru’s mind that she was yelling at Ryu the first time he saw her.
“Sorry about that,” Roxanne said with a smile.
However, Haru felt relieved. Maybe Raiden won’t be a problem anymore. Perhaps Roxanne will prevent Raiden from harassing him. This could be a light at the end of the tunnel for Haru.
“Raiden and I share each other's experiences, besides when we choose to sleep, so Raiden is also familiar with the SRC and the work I do with them. Ryu had told me he turned someone into a Vampire, so Raiden knew about this too. He told me you were that person.”
That would explain Raiden's unusual actions the last time he bullied Haru. He knew Haru was a Vampire before Haru knew it himself. Something must have given it away. Of course, Haru isn’t used to his new body just yet, and Raiden seemed to have experience with the SRC and would easily deduce Haru’s Vampire body. There was much more to Haru’s school bully than met the eye.
*Knock*
A single but firm knock on the black door averted Roxanne's and Haru's attention to the room's entrance. A woman holding a large plastic bag casually entered. She wore the same uniform as the other agents of the SRC did. She had red stripes. However, something else was different. She had a golden star patch, similar to Bret from before, and her outfit had gold lacing around it, something Haru hadn’t seen.
“Hello,” she greeted, sounding exhausted.
Roxanne greeted her back, with Haru doing the same a second after.
“My name is Alyssa. We’re almost done putting you in our registry; after we are finished, you’ll be free to go.” She sat on the chair, placed the plastic bag underneath the desk, and turned on the computer. Numerous documents and files opened up on the computer. It was an absolute mess. She quietly swore under her breath as it all popped on her screen.
“I’ll do Haru’s orientation; you can finish the paperwork,” Roxanne assured the woman. Alyssa wearyingly nodded in gratitude as she started typing. Roxanne quickly turned to Haru to continue her briefing.
“Ok, so the first thing you should know is the three categories the SRC puts the entire human population in. Naturals, Unnaturals, and Supernaturals.”
Haru sat back comfortably as Roxanne continued with her exposition.
Naturals were the first category. These were ordinary humans. This type of category made up a majority of the world's population. There was nothing exceptional about them. These were the primary group of people the SRC wanted to keep ignorant about the supernatural creatures, primarily due to fear of their reaction to learning about them.
Supernaturals were the second group of people. They were the supernatural creatures that roamed the world, all with different powers, abilities, and concerns for the SRC to handle. Some don’t even look human. The SRC kept track of almost every person or everything in this category.
“Haru, I bet you’re wondering how you became a Vampire and a Supernatural. At some point, you weren’t one. The answer to that is complicated, but the final category will help explain how it was possible.”
The last group was the Unnaturals. This class of people was a combination of the first two. On the surface, they are normal human beings. However, they had an abundance amount of supernatural energy inside of them. Most of them were unaware of this. Because of their energy, they can interact with the supernatural in various ways—some to their benefit, some to their detriment. In Haru’s case, he used to belong to this category. It was the reason he was able to turn into a Vampire.
“Vampires can turn normal Unnaturals into Vampires with a bite to their neck. You were lucky to be one when Ryu met you. Otherwise, that Werewolf might have killed you.”
The feeling of wonderment roamed through Haru’s mind as he thought of all the possible creatures that wandered this planet. But so did the thought of disturbance. It was hard to imagine that Haru only avoided death because of that little fact. He still felt uneasy. He didn’t know if his life would be worse or better now that he was a Vampire. The uncertainty would gnaw at his mind.
*Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock Knock*
A rapid-fire of furious bangs slammed on the door. Roxanne abruptly stood up and stomped towards the entrance of the room.
“Ryu! This whole thing was your fault! Poor Haru’s life is now ruined — I mean, changed because of you!”
Alyssa was still seated at the desk, wincing in frustration as the commotion interrupted her work.
“He would be doggie waste if it wasn't for me!” Ryu’s voice shrieked, muffled by the door. “Let me in, Roxy! I need to see if Haru is doing ok.”
“Not a chance!” She retorted, quickly returning to sit next to Haru.
“So, where was I?” She chirped.
The door handle wiggled and slowly turned, allowing Ryu to open the door and enter the room.
“Ha! You didn’t lock the door! Dummy!” Ryu bantered as he walked in. His left arm was fully wrapped in bandages. Gel oozed from between the crevices of the plaster.
“Damn it! Do we not have money for door locks, Alyssa?” Roxanne fumed. Alyssa responded with a lifeless glance.
“You said you would give Haru his orientation, didn’t you? I’d get back to that if I were you,” She deadpanned with a glare before returning to her work.
Ryu laughed as he swaggered towards the computer desk and sat on top. He shook the table as he landed, causing the annoyed Alyssa to give him a sharp stare. Ryu returned his glare with a smirk on his face before she returned to her work on the computer.
“Ryu, your arm!” Haru exclaimed, expressing concern.
“Oh, this? Its nothing. We, Vampires, got good healing abilities. It will recover in no time!” Ryu said with a wince on his face. Clearly, he was still in pain, his arm was shredded to bits after all, but he seemed to have recovered most of it.
Roxanne sighed before turning to Haru with a forced smile on her face.
“So anyway, next I will explain the SRC and their purpose, so listen up.”