"I remember that night so well. Everyone smiling as they weaved baskets. Telling scary stories around the fire. Though as this happened, i heard the sound of a flute. My eyes grew heavier and heavier, i couldn't manage to stay awake. All i remember...
~Flashback~ Shiki was seen in the backyard of his new home. As he walked around, he was seemed to be in search of someone. While he was walking around, a boy around the same age as him was smiling as he sat on a tree.
"Hey Nanaya!!!!!!"
Shiki turned around as he saw the person he was looking for. That person was his adoptive brother named Shiki Aozaki.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Since they both had the same first name, they decided to call each other by their last name to avoid any confusion. Aozaki soon jumped down as he made his way towards Shiki.
Shiki and Aozaki actually got along pretty well. It was almost to the point that they saw each other as real brothers. As the two of them were having fun and playing in the backyard, they saw Aozaki's cousin reading in the backyard. Her name was Nanamine Sakura. Soon Aozaki asked the girl if she wanted to play a game with him and Shiki.
"Sakura! Wanna join in on the fun with Nanaya and I?"
Sakura thought about it for a moment. Soon she closed her book as she had a small smile on her face. As she stood next to Shiki, they both smiled as they looked at Aozaki. When Aozaki stepped forward, he heard a voice in his head.
"The blood of the supernatural courses through your veins......."
Aozaki looked around to see who was speaking to him, yet he saw no one else in sight. As Sakura looked at him in concern, Aozaki merely shook his head.
"Don't worry about me, Sakura. But where's Nanaya?"
"Oh, he said he was tired so he's resting over there."
Sakura pointed to a tree that was a fair distance from their location. Shiki was sitting down as he looked at them from a distance. When he saw them, he gave them a small wave.
Soon Sakura and Aozaki started to play tag. As the game went on, Aozaki heard the voice in his head over and over again.
"Yes! This body which contains supernatural blood is perfect. You will no longer live for yourself. Rejoice, for you are my new vessel. You will inherit the name of Roa!!!!!"
"Aozaki? Are you alright? What's wrong?"
Sakura saw Aozaki fall to the ground. When he did, his hands were slowly turning to claws. His body began to change as he looked more and more monstrous. She knew about this situation as she started to run. The supernatural blood in Aozaki's body was starting to take over. However, this happened earlier than most people in Aozaki's family.
"Sakura.......get away......."
"You have no power, boy. You can only restrain me for so long. Besides, that boy over there looks like he wants to kill you."
After listening to Roa, Aozaki looked at Shiki who was charging forward. His eyes held no emotion in them, but he wore a smile on his face. Aozaki didn't want to believe Roa, but was he right? Did Shiki really want to kill him. During that moment of doubt, Roa took the opportunity to control Aozaki's body. Once he did, his hunger for blood was starting to get to him as he made his way towards Sakura in order to feast on her blood.
Shiki ran as fast as he could towards Aozaki and Sakura. Deep within his mind, Aozaki thought Shiki would keep his promise. That if his mixed blood took over, Shiki would be the one to kill him and save Sakura. However, that was the first and only promise Shiki broke.
Blood stained the ground as Shiki stood in front of Sakura. Aozaki's eyes widen as he saw what happened. His claw sunk into Shiki's chest as he could hear the sound of Sakura crying.
"Did you kill him, Shiki Aozaki?"
Aozaki turned around as he heard someone call out his name. Though he realized that Roa suddenly gave up control for this one moment. When Aozaki saw the man in front of him, he remembered exactly who he was. This man was Kishima Kouma, the man who killed the Nanaya family and the murderer of Shiki's mother.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Your father did warn me that you were showing signs of converting to this beast earlier than most of your family. Sakura, take Shiki to your uncle. He is waiting inside a car in front of the mansion. He'll take Shiki to a hospital."
Sakura merely nods as she picks up Shiki and runs as far as she could. While this happened, Aozaki heard the voice in his head.
"Another suitable vessel. Heh, i guess i have no need for this vessel when a better one stands before me."
Roa soon controls Aozaki's body again as he charged at Kouma. He had two options, to let Kouma kill him so he can reincarnate into his body or to turn Kouma into a dead apostle. However, he felt a sudden chill down his spine when he got close to Kouma.
"What makes you think i'll allow you to even have a chance against me?"
~3 days later~ Shiki's foster father was visiting the hospital by himself. As he was doing this, he received news from Kouma about his real son, Shiki Aozaki. Kouma managed to subdue him without having to kill the boy and imprisoned him under the Aozaki mansion. He told him that Aozaki was being possessed by the Dead Apostle, Roa.
After hearing this, the father sighed as he had tears in his eyes. Was this his punishment for having the Nanaya family killed? But he had to do it, he knows he made the right choice but.......at what cost.
Soon he arrived in the hospital room that Shiki was staying in. As he looked at the boy, Shiki slowly opened his eyes. As he looked around, he saw that he was inside of a hospital room. When he looked around, he saw his foster father looking at him.
"Thank goodness, you're alright. But just to be sure, what is your name?"
"My name..........."
Static, that was the only sound he heard in his mind. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't remember anything. Seeing this expression, the foster father decided that it was best that Shiki Nanaya lived in blissful ignorance of the events that have occured to him during his young life.
"You're my son. Your name is Shiki Aozaki."
As Shiki looked at the man, he felt that the name he spoke of sounded familiar. As he nods his head, he accepted that the man was telling the truth. After all, no one else was in the room and he was the only person that seemed to know about him.
Yes, this was the start of a lie that turned Shiki Nanaya into the person that everyone now knows as Shiki Aozaki. ~Flashback ends~ Shiki was lying on the floor of his home. As images of the real Shiki Aozaki/Roa entered his mind, he began tossing and turning.
Yashiro and Teru looked at him with concern. Meanwhile, Arcueid was still trying to figure out Shiki's connection with Roa. As they all were silent, Shiki opened his mouth as he said one thing as he kept seeing images of the real Shiki Aozaki in his mind.
