Chapter 36: Oshino Meme Rarely Shows an Interest
Up to 20 advanced chapters on Patreon: Fiction Haven
===
Shinobu revealed that Meme-san's plane would land at three today. After school, she immediately took Saki and I to eat some parfait before going to the airport. She revealed that she didn't want to pick Meme-san up at the airport, but if she didn't, she wouldn't guarantee she would ever meet him. Meme-san turned out to be the adventurous type. She liked to travel around and forget the promise he had made to everyone, regardless of how important it was.
It wasn't long until an eccentric man walked up to us. He had messy blond hair, yellow eyes, an easy-going look, and a goatee decorating his face. Even though he dressed properly in a kimono, he didn't look reliable at all, which was quite a feat. Probably, it was because of the look on his face. I wondered if this was what Yukinoshita meant when she had first.
"Yo, Shinobu-chan," he greeted.
"It's been some time, Meme-san," Shinobu replied.
"You said there was an urgent matter, so I flew from Hawaii to Japan. I didn't know you just wanted to show off your boyfriend." Meme-san smirked as he turned to me. "What is your name, young man?"
"Hikigaya Hachiman. Nice to meet you, Oshino-san," I introduced myself as I extended my hand.
"Nice to meet you, Hikigaya-kun. You can just call me Meme."
I nodded and he let go of my hand. He then turned to Saki but said nothing. Saki was about to introduce herself when he turned to Shinobu with an inquiring look. Shinobu said nothing, bringing a wry smile to his face. He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
Looking at Shinobu tiredly, he said, "At least, treat me to some ramen. I haven't recovered from the Jetlag, you know."
Shinobu nodded wordlessly and then we left the airport. Meme-san opted to sit shotgun, so we could talk about his eccentric behavior. Saki asked Shinobu if she had somehow offended him. Shinobu said he just didn't bother himself to know her so soon as he was bound to know her later. After all, she was going to be his disciple. She expressed her worry about his competence, but Shinobu assured her that he was very competent.
When we arrived at the ramen shop, Meme-san immediately secured a table for us. He then called the waiter and listed his order. He ordered three bowls just for himself, which surprised Saki greatly as she didn't expect such a lanky man could stomach that much food. We waited for our order to come in silence. After some time, he broke the silence by talking to Saki for the first time.
"So, you want to be a Vampire hunter…"
"Kawasaki Saki," Saki informed.
"Nice to meet you, Kawasaki-san." Meme-san nodded his head. "Then, do you know what entails your choice?"
"I don't specifically want to be a Vampire hunter. I just want to be able to protect myself, given that I am already involved in the Vampire world," Saki explained honestly. "Heck, I am even afraid after seeing what a Vampire is capable of."
Meme-san cupped his chin and then remarked, "That's a good mentality there, Kawasaki-san. You are going to make a good Vampire hunter."
"I told you I don't want—"
"Heeyah…it's refreshing that, finally, someone with a functioning head comes to seek me. It has always been 'I want to kill all Vampires' and then they will falter when they figure out that some Vampires do more good things than any human ever did. To be a good Vampire hunter is to understand that Vampires are intelligent beings with compassion. Just like humans, not all of them are bad. Vampire hunters kill dangerous Vampires and not the peaceful Vampires."
Shinobu had never told me much about Vampire hunters, so the information was quite surprising. I had thought every Vampire hunter was Van Hellsing, tirelessly hunting every Vampire until none of them remained. It was no wonder that Shinobu had never warned me about Vampire hunters. Unless we harmed humans, they wouldn't go their way to hunt us.
Our orders arrived and we immediately ate them. Silence descended on us as Meme-san enjoyed his ramen. He mumbled about how he missed ramen as he couldn't find a single good ramen shop in Hawaii. His rant was amusing, so we enjoyed it as we ate. Before long, he decided to break the silence.
"Being a Vampire hunter is not a viable job, you know. Most of the time, only poor Vampires do the crime, so even if you take them down, you won't get much from their possession. Even that rarely occurs as Vampires have a good head on their shoulders. So, I am glad that you don't want to become a Vampire hunter, Kawasaki-san."
"Vampire hunters are not that needed, it seems," Saki remarked.
"That is right but not entirely. Our presence is still needed as a check and balance measure. Vampires are mostly a peaceful bunch, but some of them can get crazy." Slurp! "Ah, we also have to thank the Hellsing for that. Without them, more crazy Vampires would appear."
"What is that?" I asked curiously.
"I am glad that you ask, Hikigaya-kun. The Hellsing is a group of Vampires that hunt other Vampires for the crime they do. They are similar to the police in the Vampire world. Although most Vampire hunters don't get along with them, we always work together when a serious matter arises. Just like a decade ago."
I noticed Meme-san's eyes went to Shinobu briefly but didn't comment. He changed the topic and talked about more mundane things. I was not too interested in his story—so was Shinobu—so I was entirely focused on finishing my ramen. Only Saki listened to his talk while occasionally commenting on the story she found odd.
When we had had our fill, we left the ramen shop and headed to Meme-san's residence that Shinobu had just bought. It was an old Japanese-style house located on the outskirts of Chiba. The neighborhood was a fairly quiet one as we could hardly see anyone walking around. As soon as we entered, I marveled at how spacious and homey the house was. I wouldn't mind living in one, so I considered buying one in the future.
"Hikigaya-kun, let's head to the training ground," Meme-san called.
"You should tell that to Saki," I replied, quite confused.
"Ah, don't worry. I will have a lot of time to train Kawasaki-san in the future."
Quirking an eyebrow as I turned to Shinobu, she greeted me with an encouraging nod. I shrugged and followed Meme-san to the backyard. It was more than thrice the size of the front yard. It was big enough to host a 40 people party. Meme-san and I walked to the center of the yard as Shinobu and Saki sat on the engawa.
"Well, how do you want this to go, Hikigaya-kun?"
"You can make the rule. I am just following your words." I shrugged.
"Well, if you say so… let's stop until you can land a hit on me. Before then, do your best to survive my attack," Meme-san said calmly.
My gaze sharpened as my mind became alert. Meme-san was testing for some reason. His eyes glinted dangerously and I would be hurt if I wasn't serious. I doubted it would be fatal, but the sparring would be a bloody one. I took a few steps back and took a stance. Meme-san quirked an eyebrow before taking out a pair of daggers. Before I could ask him what he was doing, I found him right in front of me, daggers ready to shred me.
I backflipped, kicking his daggers in the process. As soon as I regained my footing, I invaded his guard and thrust my fist at his stomach. Magically, he slipped away and appeared beside me. My senses were screaming danger and I immediately rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a slash from the dagger. A mark appeared on the ground even though the dagger didn't touch it. My mood became somber and a frown marred my face.
"I had asked you to specify the rules, didn't I, Hikigaya-kun?" Meme-san asked tauntingly. "Oh, these daggers hurt, you know. You won't heal as quickly if they manage to cut you."
I stayed silent and let my Vampire instinct take over. Shinobu had been teaching me the way to fight as a Vampire. Although I was not that good, I had learned to utilize every one of Vampire's abilities. I usually hesitated to utilize them, but now wasn't the time to. I had Shinobu to subjugate me when I lost control. Meme-san would be left quite battered but would survive.
Kicking the ground, I appeared before Meme-san, surprising him with my speed. I thrust my hand at his neck and he blocked it with his dagger. A spark flew out as my nails clashed with it. The clash made him skid to the back. His posture remained firm, but he was genuinely taken aback. Exploiting his confusion, I dived into the shadow. Darkness greeted me before I willed myself to come out of his shadow.
Clank!
My hand was firmly met by a downward slash from him. As I looked at him, his confusion had gone and was replaced with a look of intrigue. I pushed myself completely out of the shadow, forcing him to take a few steps back. Eliminating the distance between us, I thrust and slash at him with my hands. His daggers blocked every single one of them, but he was overwhelmed. Of course, I knew not to feel complacent.
When I saw him pull one of his feet back and lower his stance, I dived into the shadow and came out below him with a high kick. My kick hit his chin, sending him flying. For some reason, my instinct was still screaming. I listened to it and added a roundhouse kick. It was much to my surprise that I found myself kicking a flying sword instead of Meme-san. The sword was sent back in the direction it had come before being caught by Meme-san.
"Interesting… this is interesting."
A few meters away from me, he looked at me with an excited look, completely ignoring his bloodied nose.
===
Honorary Mention:
Venerable Immortal Bowzer
Venerable Immortal Drowz
Venerable Immortal Funéral
Venerable Immortal Keksimus Rex
Venerable Immortal Orion
Venerable Immortal x_iLaggedOut_x
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone