Multiversal Friendship System

PS: The regeneration abilities of vampires in the Monogatari world are somewhat vague.

For example, when Araragi Koyomi had his arm chopped off, the severed limb disappeared entirely, and a new arm was regenerated. However, it was never explained whether the arm grew back like traditional regeneration or if it was similar to the Elixir of Immortality's automatic body reconstruction.

For now, let's assume it grows back normally.

By the way, today's base updates are complete—additional updates will be posted in the afternoon.

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"Idiot!"

Right after the scolding came a series of rapid footsteps.

At the staircase, a small blonde girl in a puffy dress lunged at Souta and delivered a flying kick straight to his waist.

Souta was sent soaring through the air, forcibly thrown out of the sunlight-covered area in front of the door.

That was definitely not the kind of kick a normal little girl could throw.

When he hit the ground, the flames engulfing his body immediately extinguished, and within mere seconds, his flesh was fully restored.

The fire that ignited when a vampire was exposed to sunlight wasn't ordinary fire.

It did absolutely no damage to clothing—not even a single fiber would burn—but it directly incinerated a vampire's flesh.

Even the cellular reconstruction property of the Elixir of Immortality couldn't counteract it.

Thankfully, Souta's vampiric regeneration took over, regrowing the skin that had been burned away.

As he sat up, he instinctively ran his fingers through his hair.

Thank god, his hair had regenerated too.

After all, if he went bald, he wouldn't get stronger.

For him, being bald was completely pointless—it would only make him look ugly.

"You are truly a complete fool!"

As Souta rubbed his aching waist, a crisp yet icy voice rang out once again.

The ten-year-old Kiss-Shot, standing before him, gazed down at him with an arrogant and completely un-childlike expression.

"Seriously! What kind of absolute idiot suddenly runs into sunlight?! I take my eyes off you for one moment, and you pull something like this?! Do you have a death wish? A normal vampire would've been instantly vaporized!"

Souta awkwardly scratched his cheek, offering an explanation:

"Well… I didn't actually run into the sunlight. I just stuck my hand out to test if vampires are really weak to the sun. But then, my whole body caught fire…"

Upon hearing that, Kiss-Shot gave him the "I can't believe you just said that with a straight face" look.

"You… you do realize that you already knew vampires are weak to sunlight, right? So why would you do something this reckless?!"

Her voice carried a tone of frustration and reprimand:

"Had you not been my familiar, that little stunt alone would have turned you to ashes!"

"Yeah, yeah… my bad, I won't do it again."

Seeing how genuinely concerned she was for his safety, Souta couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed about his stupid decision.

Strangely enough, despite being scolded by a little girl, it didn't feel weird to him at all.

Kiss-Shot's icy arrogance completely overshadowed the youthfulness of her small frame.

Souta stood up and dusted himself off.

"By the way, Kiss-Shot." He suddenly asked, "How long has it been since you turned me?"

"Hmm? What did you just call me?"

A flicker of surprise—and a hint of sternness—flashed in Kiss-Shot's eyes.

"Kiss-Shot," Souta repeated, puzzled. "Am I… not supposed to call you that?"

To be honest, he didn't remember her having any particular restrictions about her name.

It had been a while since he last watched the Monogatari series, so he didn't recall all the small details.

"Hmph. There's no rule against it." Kiss-Shot waved her little hand dismissively.

"If you insist on calling me that, then so be it—I have no reason to object."

Despite her words, Souta could tell that she was at least a little bothered by the name.

"You have been asleep for two days," Kiss-Shot said, sizing him up.

As she examined him, she gave a small nod of approval.

"Hmm, the familiar transformation seems to have gone smoothly. From this day forth, you are my servant."

"Wait, I was out for two whole days?"

Souta wasn't too concerned about being called a servant—he was more surprised by how much time had passed.

He quickly pulled out his system phone and checked.

Two days had gone by, yet… no one had sent a single message in the group chat.

"Is Kurumi… still on the run?"

Or maybe—since different worlds had different time flows—had less time actually passed in the Date A Live world?

Souta figured it was probably the latter.

However, that raised a new question.

"If time flows at different speeds, wouldn't that make it impossible to have real-time conversations?"

For example, what if one world experienced only a single second, while another world went through a full hour?

Wouldn't that completely mess up conversations?

Souta silently threw this question at the system in his mind.

A moment later, the system responded:

[When using the system phone to chat, the time flow of all participating members' worlds will temporarily synchronize.]

"Oh… that actually makes perfect sense."

It explained why the group chat had been functioning normally so far.

"Hey, servant, I'm talking to you!"

Kiss-Shot noticed that Souta was zoning out and couldn't help but feel a little displeased.

"Ah, sorry, I was just thinking about something."

Souta snapped back to reality and glanced at Kiss-Shot's thin arms and small legs.

She caught his gaze and explained,

"As you can see, my limbs have regenerated. However, only their shape has returned—on the inside, they're still hollow."

"Does that affect your movement?"

"Not at all. Daily activities are fine, but I can't use my vampire abilities for the time being."

Kiss-Shot stood barefoot on the cracked wooden floor, her tiny toes looking like little pearls—round, smooth, and glossy.

If a certain type of person saw them, they'd probably want to— ahem—never mind.

"Speaking of which, servant, I have yet to ask—how much do you actually know about vampires?"

Kiss-Shot suddenly fixed him with a scrutinizing gaze.

"For instance, do you understand the purpose behind a vampire sucking blood?"

"Yeah, I do." Souta nodded. "There are two reasons: one is to feed, and the other is to create a familiar."

"Correct." Kiss-Shot continued, "Creating a familiar is akin to reproduction—forming a family, in a sense. We rarely turn humans into familiars. Normally, after feeding, we simply consume them. You're aware of that, right?"

"Yeah." Souta nodded again.

"Then…"

Kiss-Shot's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"You willingly offered your blood to me, without any fear that I might consume you afterward. That is highly suspicious."

"Tell me the truth—did you already plan this from the start? Were you banking on my gratitude to ensure that I would turn you into my familiar?"

Kiss-Shot needed to understand his motives.

Her pride wouldn't allow herself to be manipulated like that—especially when it came to something as significant as creating a familiar.

Souta immediately realized he had been misunderstood.

He quickly shook his head and awkwardly explained,

"Ahem… Kiss-Shot, to be honest, I had no idea whether you'd eat me or not. For my own safety, I assumed you would—that's why my original plan was to give you my blood and immediately leave."

"…You're saying that after saving me, you weren't planning to stay?"

"Yeah."