When Tatsuya returned home after his date with Lina, Miyuki was waiting at the entryway to greet him, almost as if she had been lying in wait for this very moment.
"Welcome home, Brother."
"I'm back."
Tatsuya showed no surprise at her reception. Miyuki, finding no fault in his stoic reaction, simply smiled and led him into the living room. Almost the instant Tatsuya sat on the sofa, she placed a drink before him.
"Sorry to trouble you."
"Not at all. Looking after you is my purpose in life."
It felt slightly excessive, but Tatsuya didn't retort. He took a sip of the drink she had prepared and let out a deep sigh.
"Brother?"
"Dealing with Lina is exhausting. Even setting aside the fact that she is Sirius, she's a difficult person to interact with normally."
"I would have thought you capable of handling anyone gracefully, Brother."
"I don't possess that kind of diplomatic skill. Besides, she has Kudou Retsu backing her. I have absolutely no idea what he is thinking."
Seeing her brother unusually fatigued sparked a faint sense of joy in Miyuki. Tatsuya only showed his exhaustion to her; it was proof that he felt safe enough to expose his weaknesses in her presence.
"By the way, Brother, is it really alright for you not to assist Saegusa-senpai and Erika?"
"I've helped enough by giving them that device earlier. Besides, if I stepped in now, I'd only disrupt their teamwork."
"Did you not arrange it that way on purpose?"
Tatsuya offered a wry smile at Miyuki's knowing, slightly mischievous grin.
"I have a general idea of who the culprit is, but I lack concrete proof. Not that it matters who disposes of them."
"You really are wicked, aren't you, Brother? I wonder how shocked Lina would be if she discovered the Vampire's true identity."
"She hasn't realized it? It almost looks like she's letting them swim on purpose."
"I don't think Lina is capable of such a nuanced maneuver. Furthermore, according to information from Aunt, the US Military has not yet identified the Vampire."
"Is that so?"
Thanks to the transmitter he had shot into the target, Tatsuya had already pinpointed the Vampire's hideout. He had told Mayumi and the others to use receivers designed to intercept illegal frequencies attached to street cameras, but there was no way the person who fired the tracker wouldn't have a way to receive the signal himself. Tatsuya looked at the Vampire's location displayed on his monitor and smiled cynically.
"It seems Saegusa-senpai and Mikihiko are working hard again today."
"Is there no conflict between the pride of the Ten Master Clans and the stubbornness to oppose them?"
"Saegusa-senpai and Erika seem to have some sort of grudge, but that has nothing to do with Juumonji-senpai. And Mikihiko isn't the type to poke his nose where it doesn't belong unnecessarily."
"I think there is a possibility Yoshida-kun might get dragged into it."
"True. But I'm sure even those two understand that this isn't the time or place for petty squabbles."
Watching the camera feeds of those dedicating themselves to capturing the Vampire alongside Miyuki, Tatsuya harbored a rather slim hope: If possible, I'd prefer this didn't spark any fires that reach me.
The following morning, Mikihiko—who had spent the previous night running around with Mayumi and her team to capture the Vampire—collapsed onto his desk the moment he arrived in the classroom.
"Yoshida-kun? Are you alright?"
"Shibata-san... Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little sleep-deprived."
"Is it really that difficult? Catching this Vampire, I mean?"
"Difficult... isn't quite the word. But yes, I suppose it is."
Talking to Mizuki had been somewhat healing for Mikihiko, but his fatigue redoubled when Erika arrived in the classroom looking equally exhausted and directed a glare straight at him.
"Mikihiko, you look worn out. You okay?"
"Tatsuya..."
To Mizuki, who was unaware of the circumstances, Tatsuya appeared to be genuinely worried about Mikihiko. However, to the involved parties—Mikihiko and Erika—Tatsuya's words rang entirely hollow.
"Tatsuya-kun, why didn't you help us last night?"
"Things came up. Besides, that transmitter was useful, wasn't it?"
"Well... it certainly saved us from running around blindly, so it made things easier, but..."
"If you had just captured it properly, Tatsuya-kun, we wouldn't have been running around all night!"
"It couldn't be helped. I ran into another team chasing the Vampire, and while we were skirmishing, the target escaped."
"Did you get hurt, Tatsuya-san?"
"I'm fine. It wasn't a particularly flashy engagement."
Self-restoration magic was not a topic for a public setting like this. So, Tatsuya maintained the fiction that he hadn't been injured in the first place, concealing the truth he couldn't speak of while sounding entirely plausible.
"Anyway! Why do we have to run around doing the legwork while the seniors just give orders?"
"Don't complain to me. Take it up directly with Saegusa-senpai or Juumonji-senpai."
"Ugh, I'm so tired! I'm going to sleep through the morning classes, so help me with the assignments later."
"Why me...?"
Though exasperated by Erika, who was clearly taking her frustrations out on him, Tatsuya didn't refuse her request as he took his seat. The desk in front of him remained empty; Leo was still in the hospital.
(In the first place, I'm hardly in a position to be worrying about Erika or Mikihiko...)
"Tatsuya-san? Are you okay?"
"Hm? No, I'm fine. There's nothing for you to worry about, Mizuki."
"Really? You seem... weary somehow."
"Just a lot of things going on. But I'm fine. It's not like I pulled an all-nighter like Mikihiko and Erika."
Addressed by his neighbor, Tatsuya feigned nonchalance to put Mizuki at ease. He was at least capable of enough consideration to prevent others from worrying.
"I see. But I suppose even you get tired sometimes, Tatsuya-san."
"Look... I am human. It's only natural that I get tired or injured, isn't it?"
"That's true... but I've so rarely seen you look tired before."
Tatsuya offered a bitter smile at Mizuki's remark, which, depending on how one heard it, could be taken as quite rude. In truth, he was exhausted from a mountain of concerns, but he smiled to stop this good-natured friend from worrying any further.
However, Mizuki misinterpreted his expression. Assuming Tatsuya was exasperated by her comment, she spent the entire morning glancing at his face and feeling depressed.
Will Mikihiko's suffering ever end...?
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