Um, I can’t understand him at all?! Is he just trying to make Ginka mad? How is dying better than literally anything else?
“Ruka...” said Ginka.
Ruka turned around, but Ginka was talking to David. “Ruka...acts impulsively before giving matters serious thought, and her beliefs are biased toward people being fundamentally good. Thus she sides with those who do her harm and easily experiences Stockholm syndrome. To be honest, her testimony is not trustworthy.”
“Ouch. You’re dragging me pretty hard...”
Ginka ignored Ruka’s comment and kept going. “However, that also proves Ruka is a good person. The way she lives her life—how she tries to enjoy every single day—is like a celebration of peace. She knows nothing of the bloody world we hunters have lived in... We are here to protect people like her. I am very glad to have met her, and the fact that she is alive and well is something I am proud of.”
“Wh-Whoa, now you’re being super nice?!” Ruka laughed, but she couldn’t hide how embarrassed she was. “That’s a crazy one-eighty all of a sudden. You gotta work up to stuff like that!”
“You thought so too,” said Ginka, ignoring Ruka once again, “which is why you saved her, isn’t it?”
David was silent at first, but then he sighed. “I realize I’m repeating myself, but my involvement was mere coincidence. You seem to be prone to flights of fancy, Silver Dancer.”
He sounds harsh...and disappointed. And he’s still trying to piss Ginka off. Why does he wanna die so bad?
“David, you’ve forgotten yourself,” said Ginka.
She was so calm, it almost seemed unreal to Ruka.
“What are you trying to say?” asked David.
“In your agitation, you forgot my ability to discern falsehoods.”
“Ah...!” David started trembling, and his mouth fell open.
Whoa, his mouth is huge. I could probably fit my fist into it... Wait, that’s not important! Ginka can see through lies, so Davy-san was lying just now?!
Ginka lowered her sword. Her will to fight seemed to be gone.
“I-I was struck by a fleeting whim, that’s all!” David shouted. His face was burning red like he’d just been stripped naked. “By supporting the vampire revival plan, I put lives in danger! That is an irrefutable fact! I am a criminal who must be judged!”
“How we judge you is our choice. I will take the fact that you protected Ruka into consideration,” said Ginka.
“You really did save me, huh, Davy-san!” added Ruka.
“As if I would do such a thing...!” David hissed.
“More lies, David?” Ginka asked.
David’s anger was replaced by disappointment as he hung his head. “I never intended...” He paused, then let all of his regret and anguish out. “Because I was only watching the young lady to find a way to contact you, Ginka, I had no intention of revealing myself to her. But my body moved on its own... I tried to make the boy into a vampire to cover my tracks. I do not know what I was thinking...”
David reached for Ginka with his battered arm like he wanted to be saved. “Even as a criminal, I am only capable of half measures. I find myself unable to embody evil or return to righteousness... Rather than live in disgrace, I wish to die by the strongest vampire hunter’s hand. That is my only desire...”
He looks so sad, begging for his own death... If Ginka hadn’t been holding Ruka back, Ruka would probably be trying to make him feel better right now.
Ginka had once said that David became a vampire hunter to be an ally of justice. She’d also told Ruka she regretted letting David be when she’d had the chance to do something about him. Ruka could understand that. If she had, maybe he wouldn’t be suffering so much.
“I understand, David.” Ginka waved her hand for Ruka to step back.
“G-Ginka...”
Ginka smiled at her. “Ruka, leave this to me.” She stood in front of David and raised her silver blade up high.
David closed his eyes with satisfaction. He seemed to be moved by Ginka stepping forward to take his life. Even though he still trembled in a cold sweat, he looked like he was at peace.
The silver hunter gripped the handle of her sword and—
—stomped with her heel, right between his legs.
“Urmph!” David’s gray eyes rolled back. A bunch of sweat flew off him as he twitched and spasmed on the ground.
“As if I’d just grant your wish, dumbass! Cool your head!!!” Ginka’s angry yelling shook the parking garage.
Foam trickled out of David’s mouth. His head drooped to one side, and he passed out.
Ruka was honestly a little overwhelmed by what happened to David. All she could say was, “Doesn’t getting kicked down there really hurt for a guy?”
Ginka, who had been looking pretty satisfied, made her expression neutral again. “A woman would find a kick to the groin painful as well.”
“I mean, yeah, but...”
“I held back, so everything should still be functional. Besides, that fool is a hunter. He can use exoforce to heal himself.”
“So jealous... I’d love to have exoforce for real.”
Ginka ignored that and crouched next to David. She dispersed the knife in his arm and bound his wrists with his coat. For a moment, there was a sentimental look in her eyes.
Ruka watched without saying anything. There are some things only vampire hunters understand. Butting in right now would be lame.
Ginka stood up and looked at the unconscious people lying around and all the black sand in the parking garage. “We need to deal with the aftermath,” she said.
She sounds exhausted. How long has she been fighting?
“Break time first?” Ruka asked.
“No. I need to remove the vampire cells from those people and contact the hunter alliance. Then I’ll need to collect the weapons scattered around town... There are apartment repairs to consider as well...”
Okay, fair. Sounds like she can’t rest if she wants to get all of this done.
“I’ll help you out,” said Ruka.
Ginka looked like she was going to say no again, but she smiled at Ruka instead. “Right. I’m counting on you.”
Seriously, why is she so pretty... Ruka’s heart skipped a beat.
Ginka rolled her shoulders. “We’ll need to start by treating these people.”
“Aw, yeah, bring on the puke party!”
“That is the worst victory party I have ever heard of.” Ginka cringed.
Ruka gave her a big smile. “Then let’s celebrate some other time.”
“My treat, then. We’ll have crepes and go to karaoke and such.”
“Yup! Looking forward to it!”
Ruka and Ginka nodded at each other and got to work.