She rolled her eyes when nothing happened. Standing up, Kyoko turned full circle trying to find her target⦠and flinched when she spotted him. She stared across the street into a shadow, where a small boy stood staring at her. The lifeless dog lay at his feet. The childâs skin and hair were white as snow, but even from this distance she could tell his eyes were solid black.
How unusual⦠most vampires looked exactly like humans. That was what made them the most dangerous out of all the demons that secretly roamed the earth. This boy didnât look human at all. As she watched him, she was caught between the sadness of one being turned so young⦠and the knowledge that it no longer mattered.
Yuuhi locked eyes with her⦠almost wishing he were the one who was going to drink her. He liked the pretty ones. He called to his half-breed children, wondering how long she would last against them. He inhaled but couldnât find the scent of fear that normally heated his cold blood. He did however find her scent to be a mixture of purity and danger⦠and wondered at it. Yuuhi watched as the vampires under his thrall came from the shadows behind her.
Feeling a tingle of warning sweep across the back of her head, down her neck and spine, Kyoko swung around knowing it had been a setup to get her attention and sure enough⦠she was surrounded. Sheâd been waiting for a vampire, not three⦠four if she counted the boy.
âWell, I guess I got what I asked for,â Kyoko mocked herself as she tried to focus on all of them at once.
One preppy-looking vampire sneered, which really ruined his good looks. âGot what you wanted, huh? I got what you want baby.â He flashed his teeth at her as he tried to capture her gaze and put her under his thrall.
Kyoko knew what he was doing⦠and felt instant satisfaction that no vampire had ever been able to take her will away during a fight. She looked him up and down. âI doubt it,â she taunted as she wondered if the loudmouth would make the first move. âThe sexually frustrated ones really are not my type,â She smirked when he growled.
At least these vampires looked normal. Well⦠about as normal as three young men that looked like they belonged on the college debate squad, wearing fangs could look. It wasnât every day you saw a vampire sporting Armani. Hell, these three would probably cry their undead eyes out if they got dirty. And, of course, she couldnât forget the deadly child that was watching them like some sick voyeur.
That thought made her shiver inwardly. Sheâd heard stories about that kind of stuff among vampires. Some of them would descend on the victim of their choice, and commence to drink or rape them while others watched. One thing the movies did have right is that vampires were very sexual creatures and many of them had no preference⦠man or woman it didnât matter⦠they did both.
âI wouldnât quit your day job if I were you,â She laughed at her own pun⦠then kneed him right in the groin. Another thing about vampires, they might be faster and stronger, but the males still had the same weaknesses as their human counterparts.
She ducked just as one came at her and was surprised at the speed it had⦠so much for normal. Sheâd never dealt with anything this fast before. She clenched her fist feeling the power of the spirit dart form in the palm of her hand.
Sidestepping another demon, she twisted her upper body as one of the vampires lunged past, striking at him with the dart. A cold and clammy hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked, causing her body to twist further⦠almost painfully. Kyoko used the momentum and let the rest of her body follow the move, grabbing the vampire by the sleeve of its jacket and slamming it to the ground.
They rolled once on the ground and came to rest with Kyoko sitting on loudmouthâs stomach. She had to move quickly or she knew she might not get another chance at this.
âHere is something for you,â she informed him. Raising her arm up, she stabbed down with the spirit dart. The third vampire slammed into her from the side⦠making her roll and skid across the ground. This time, she found herself on the bottom looking up.
Okay, this was starting to piss her off. Glaring up, she noticed this guy looked like a straight âAâ student who had decided to bring a gun to school. The sadistic hint of murder in his eyes was a dead giveaway.
âI donât think so buddy.â Bending her wrist at an odd angle, she touched the dart in her hand to his arm slicing it with only a small wound. She was rewarded when the vampireâs skin started to smoke⦠making him scream in agony. Bringing her knees up against her chest, she used her feet and legs to throw the demon off. It sailed a few yards away still screaming as its arm slowly melted from the rest of its body.
In a few moments, he would be nothing more than a bubbling puddle of dusty goop on the sidewalk that would vanish before the sun announced a new day. Kyoko had never thought much on where it went; she was just happy not to have to clean up the mess.
âJerk,â Kyoko threw the insult as she quickly regained her footing. She had been spoiled with fighting one-on-one over the years⦠so this was a new one for her.
She arched an eyebrow as the vampireâs scream quickly vanished. âObviously not a direct descendant,â she thought to herself. Her grandfather called them the gutter trash of demons, not pure blood vampires or demons⦠just half-breeds. But⦠they still carried the same name. The better grade of vampire, the slower they melted⦠gross but true.
She knew the ancients were said to be much more powerful than this, but even Grandpa Hogo wasnât sure if the pure blood vampires could withstand her spirit darts. Heâd once told her the spirit dart was nothing more than sunlight harnessed into a weapon that could only be conjured up by a priestess or a guardian.
Kyoko saw a fist coming for her face and turned her head to the side knowing she didnât have time to do anything to stop it. If she took the time out to play dodge ball, then there would be consequences and she would be on the losing side of them. Feeling the impact of knuckles split the skin on her cheek, she suddenly crossed the line from annoyed to pissed.
The last thing she needed was to go home looking like sheâd been in a gang fight. She growled when loudmouth got close enough to slash her shirt almost wide open, leaving four deep scratches across her left breast.
âPervert,â She hissed at him, knowing heâd done it on purpose. The leering grin he gave her confirmed it.
Her mother would worry if she came home wounded, but Grandpa Hogo would only help her get patched up and let her go to bed. He knew she healed ten times faster than a normal human. Heâd spent the last few years training her to be what she had become.
Grandfather had known about her long before she had ever been born⦠or so he said. The old scrolls passed down through the family told about the guardian heart crystal⦠and the priestess that possessed it.
At first she hadnât believed him, but her mind was abruptly changed when she was only ten years old. She saw him fight a vampire while he was walking her home one night from Tasukiâs birthday party. Sheâd been having so much fun that she had stayed even after the other kids had gone home.
When they were attacked, it had been very strange to see a man his age move with the same lethal grace of a skilled warrior. What was even stranger was that the demon had been very real. Sheâd run up to help her grandpa and hit the monster on the back with her fist⦠that was when she had first seen the spirit dart. It had still been in her hand as the vampire melted.
When they were attacked, it had been very strange to see a man his age move with the same lethal grace of a skilled warrior. What was even stranger was that the demon had been very real. Sheâd run up to help her grandpa and hit the monster on the back with her fist⦠that was when she had first seen the spirit dart. It had still been in her hand as the vampire melted.
Once the fight was done and over with, Kyoko remembered asking her grandfather what exactly had attacked him. Grandpa Hogo then explained that while he was strong enough to fight the demons, he did not have the same power as Kyoko nor the ability to heal as quickly from injury.
He insisted that she had been born with a gift. Heâd seemed proud to witness it come to pass during his lifetime. This led to a long-winded explanation that the vampire was actually after her, that the demons had been stalking her since her birth⦠because of the holy power she housed within her soul.
He didnât know what the creatures could possibly use it for, but their lust for it had only become stronger over the years. Grandpa had come to the conclusion that maybe it had been placed inside her only to draw the demons toward her, so she could destroy them.
Kyoko still shivered in revulsion at that bit of news. Sometimes it made her wonder what else her grandfather had been hiding from her. One thing was certain⦠she hadnât looked at him the same since⦠neither had Tasuki, because Tasuki had followed them home that night and was a witness to the fight. That had only bonded her and Tasuki even closer together.
She shook the memory from her mind as she focused back on the fight. She quickly decided loudmouth needed to be the next to die before he somehow figured out a way to slowly strip her.
She lowered her arms⦠feigning pain so he would come at her once again. Despite their usually sexual nature, she wondered if all vampires were perverts or if it was just the ones she met. Just as he slammed into her and took her down, she watched as fear registered in his overly bright eyes. The spirit dart had impaled him in the last place heâd ever thought it would.
Yuuhi silently watched her fight wondering how a simple human female could take that much punishment and still be fighting. A normal girl would not fight at all. They would simply fall under the vampires thrall and do as asked. He was not pleased with this development. Heâd sired those three vampires within the last year⦠wanting to know what it would be like to have brothers.
The only other family he had was his sire⦠Tadamichi. As of late, the masterâs attention had turned from him⦠to the twin brother that had returned to the city.
Wanting to get his new family away from the hyper nightlife of the city and the danger of the approaching conflict between the twins, Yuuhi had decided to take a trip outside the city, where their attention would be solely focused on him.
The city was a crude place to learn the basics of their kind, and he thought the suburbs would be best to test their abilities. The city breed of new vampires was sloppy, and reminded him of nothing more than hungry animals. During their outing within this small town, they had actually been able to bring on new recruits. But, the newbie vampires kept vanishing without a trace.
Yuuhi at first believed the new half-breeds had just moved on⦠abandoning him. But now he knew differently. They were being killed one at a time by nothing more than a human female. The demon child hid his emotions well as he watched his self-made brothers being killed. Deep inside, he was somewhat angry⦠but more curious.
Maybe this would get Tadamichiâs attention away from his twin brother. Would he care that someone was killing off his family?
Kyoko watched with satisfaction as the last vampire began to melt and she knew it would only take about an hour before the puddles were gone without a trace. She rubbed the back of her hand across her cheek, leaving a trail of smeared blood in its wake as she jerked her gaze back around to look for the creepy little boy.
Yuuhi moved into the shadows where she could no longer see him. Some sixth sense told him he did not want to tangle with the girl right now, though he did not take his eyes off her or the way she was holding that strange glowing weapon hard within her hand.
Kyoko blinked into the darkness thinking that it was disturbing on many levels that the child had vanished.
âDid I scare him off?â She asked herself refusing to move. She stared at the spot where the child had been standing. Minutes passed⦠hours⦠or maybe it was just a couple heartbeats. Finally releasing her clenched fist and letting the spirit dart disappear⦠she shrugged her shoulders.
Yuuhiâs lips hinted at an evil smile as Kyoko picked up her discarded books and started walking again. He noticed as she came close to the objects around her, their appearance shifted and changed until she had passed it⦠like a halo of magic. He glanced at the trees ahead of her. The tops of the trees were like black claws reaching for the sky⦠but when she came closer to them, they became a thing of beauty⦠until she was once again out of its reach.
His black gaze leveled on her as if she were a target. Moving through the still air, he followed her. She would make a powerful new addition to his family of darkness⦠a gift for his sire. She had a high survival instinct unlike the careless fools sheâd just killed. Even now there was a small trail of blood on the sidewalk; as if it was stalking her but she paid no notice of this. She held magic within her and he wanted to be a part of it⦠to see things he had not seen since his turning.
*****
Grandpa paced back and forth in front of the window wondering where Kyoko was. It wasnât like her to not tell him if she was going to be out late. He ran his hand through his white thinning hair in worry. They had an arrangement and she was supposed to always tell him before she went hunting for the creatures of the underworld.
He swung around when the phone rang and grabbed it up before it could wake the rest of the household.
Tasuki hadnât been able to shake the weird feeling he had since leaving Kyoko alone in the parking lot. He drove around for only a few minutes before swinging back by and finding it empty. He cursed silently as he hit his steering wheel in frustration. Doing a doughnut right there in the parking lot, he left the library⦠but instead of going home, he staked out Kyokoâs place.
The longer he sat there⦠the more unnerving it got until he couldnât help himself⦠he had to call. When she answered her phone so fast he smiled. âThank god you made it home Kyoko.â
âYouâre sick⦠you know that?â Grandpa glanced back out the window as he held the phone to his ear. He raised an eyebrow seeing Tasukiâs car parked only a couple houses down. âCalling a young lady this time of the night!? What are you, a pervert?â
Tasuki almost dropped the phone as all the color rushed out of his face then quickly raced right back up his body making his ears burn. Only the old man could make him feel like a total idiot this often. Closing his cell phone, he continued to watch Kyokoâs house waiting for her to get home. The phone call verified that her grandpa was definitely not picking her up.
Tasuki rubbed his temples and sighed wearily. Sheâd lied to him⦠but why? Staring angrily at the only target within striking distance, he slapped the steering wheel with both hands then one more time for good measure. When was Kyoko going to face the fact that he could take care of himself? Well, maybe not as well as she could⦠but still well enough to help her out in a jam.