Empty Eyes
Prologue: Strangers in the Night
Strangers in the night, two lonely people
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment when we said our first hello
-Frank Sinatra, "Strangers in the Night"
He walked alone.
A soft night breeze blew through his black hair. His emerald green eyes seemed to glitter in the night as he walked through the empty park. Dry autumn leaves blew across his path and his footsteps seemed to echo in the silence. He reached into one of the pockets of his long black coat and brought out a pair of black leather driver's gloves and put them on.
He knew that he didn't need the gloves, but they brought a level of comfort for him. He continued walking and saw a figure walking towards him.
"Spare some change?" the figure asked and held out a hand.
He said nothing, but rather kept going.
"Didn't ya hear me? I asked if you could spare some change."
He sighed and continued walking. Ahead, two more figures came out of the shadows, both holding knives. They blocked his path.
"Ya know, this is a toll road," the young man behind him said.
"No shit," one of the two ahead said and laughed. "No toll, no pass."
"Ya look like ya might have something on ya. I suggest ya pay up," the third said.
"Why should I waste my time on trash like you?" he asked. His emerald green eyes glittered maniacally.
"What did you call us?" one of the figures asked.
"I called you trash," he said and began to take his gloves off.
"Do ya wanna fight?"
"Do not waste my time. If you tried to fight me you would find the outcome…unpleasant."
"GET HIM!" the one behind him shouted.
He closed his eyes and listened as the three rushed towards them. Then his eyes opened and were no longer emerald green. They were now twin orbs that appeared to be made of silver mist.
Screams rose into the air.
Orihime Inoue
She walked alone.
The bag of groceries was clutched in both hands. She hummed to herself as she walked. She did not notice the figure walking towards her until she bumped into him. She let out a cry of surprise as she fell back and a hand reached out and took hold of her wrist while the other reached out and caught the bag.
"I'm sorry," Orihime said and let out a giggle. "I guess I wasn't paying any attention."
"That is obvious," the young man said in a monotonous voice. Then he paused. "That was rude of me to say. I apologize."
"Oh no…no need to," Orihime said.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I am," she said and looked into his green eyes.
She felt her breath catch. They were the most beautiful pair of eyes she ever saw and the lock of raven black hair that hung between them looked as soft as silk. She then took a look at him. He was slightly taller than she was and he had pale smooth skin.
"Are you sure you're alright? You look dazed."
"I'm…I'm fine," she whispered.
"Ah…I understand," he said and then handed her the bag of groceries. "I believe these are yours."
"Oh…uh…thank you…uh…"
"I am Ulquiorra Schiffer and you are?"
"I'm Orihime Inoue."
"Well, have a good evening Orihime."
"Wait, uh…would you…would you like to come back to my place for a cup of tea? You know; as a way to say 'Thank you' for saving me."
"That will not be necessary," Ulquiorra said. "I'm not thirsty right now. Have a good evening."
Orihime watched as he walked off. She thought him a bit strange and yet alluring. For some reason, she thought that he looked familiar. She tried to reach for it, but it just wouldn't come. She decided to let it be and continued to walk home.
Ichigo Kurosaki
He looked at the bodies lying on the path.
"Damn it," he growled.
"Looks like it was quick," Rukia said as she got up form examining them. She looked at the device in her hand and frowned. "It looks like we got a Class 4," she said.
"Are you sure?"
"That's what the traces of Reiatsu in their auras are telling me," she said and showed him the device.
He looked at the device's window and saw the bodies surrounded by a bag of white, signifying death, and in the midst were dark purple blotches with streaks of gold over the wounds. Ichigo looked away from the device.
"You're right."
"Did you doubt me?"
"I didn't doubt you. I just doubted that device. I mean, it's newly developed."
"Leave it to Kisuke to come up with such a terrific device," Rukia said and put the device back into its casing, which she smiled at. "He even has good taste in casing decoration," she said and showed Ichigo the casing that was covered with Chappy the Rabbit.
"Remind me to pick out my own casing," Ichigo said and sighed. "We better call it in," he said and brought out a cell phone. "Rukia, would you mind?"
"Not at all," Rukia said and placed the duffle bag on the ground.
She was about to open it when she noticed something.
"Ichigo, look at this," she said and pointed.
"What is it?"
"Just…look," she said. "We don't have to worry. They won't be Resurrecting any time soon," she said and pointed to the three still-beating hearts that looked as though they had merely been tossed aside.
Ulquiorra Schiffer
Ulquiorra looked around as he approached the pair of iron gates in front of the manor house. He placed a hand to the scanner imbedded in one of the side pillars and the gate began to swing open. He walked through the gate and it closed behind him. Ahead, the door to the manor opened and he saw, with no surprise, that Gin Ichimaru was standing in the doorway.
"Welcome back," Gin said and smiled at him.
"Thank you," Ulquiorra said as he stepped inside.
"The others are waiting."
"I know they are," Ulquiorra said.
He walked into the front room and Gin closed the door. He turned to one of the tables and pressed a part of the ornate carving on the left side in. Part of the table's surface sprung open to reveal a keypad. Gin typed entered in the code and closed the secret compartment as the floor began to lift up to reveal a series of marble steps that led down.
"Thank you, Gin," Ulquiorra said as he made his way down the steps.
When he reached the bottom he found himself facing a long mirror-covered passage with a floor of alternating black-and-white tiles like on a chess board. Ulquiorra walked down and he glimpsed at the mirrors where he could see his reflection. He knew that they alternated between regular, modern mirrors, which showed him as how he would appear to others, and older silver mirrors where his face was completely blank and somewhat blurred except for the two orbs of silvery mist where his eyes would be.
He stopped when he reached the pair of doors covered in polished obsidian. He reached for the crimson rope that hung down to the side and when he pulled it, he could hear the sound of silver bells ringing. He waited until the doors opened and he stepped into the room beyond. The dazzling white of the milky quartz floors and wall was blinding, but his eyes quickly adjusted.
The room itself resembled an amphitheater with a tall dais on the other side. He could see that the other Ten High Bloods were gathered along with their various Fraccions. They were scattered in the bleachers. Some were leaning against the pillars while others lied down on the crimson pillows that were scattered throughout the room.
He was not surprise to see Starrk and Harribel sitting with each other, his head in her lap while she stroked his shoulder-length brown hair. Everyone in the Las Noches Manor knew that those two had the Blood Bond as so often happened amongst Vampire lovers, especially those who were High Bloods. Nor was he surprised to see Grimmjow, dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a tight white undershirt beneath a black leather jacket, glaring at him as he leaned against a pillar.
Ulquiorra looked at the dais directly across from where he stood and bowed to the man who sat on the throne made out of carved marble, on either side on the wall behind him hung the paintings Vampyren by Edvard Munch and Lilith by John Collier.
"Welcome back, Ulquiorra," Aizen said.
"Thank you, Blood Lord," Ulquiorra said.
"How was your walk?"
"Uneventful," Ulquiorra said as he sat down.
"That's not what I think," Loly said as she unwound herself from around Menoly enough to look at him, smirking. "What about that girl?"
"So, you were using the Blood Connection again to spy on your superiors," Ulquiorra said.
"With my permission," Aizen said. "Now tell us, who was that girl?"
"She's just a human," Ulquiorra said.
"I see," Aizen said and smiled. "I think I would like to meet her."
"If you wish, Blood Lord," Ulquiorra said.
Byakuya Kuchiki
"Sir, we got another one," Renji Abarai said.
"Where?" Byakuya asked.
"Over here," Renji said and led Byakuya to the office of the abandoned warehouse.
Renji stood to the side as Byakuya looked in. He was not surprised with what he saw. Like the other eight victims, the ninth had been torn to pieces and some of the parts showed signs of being chewed and whole chunks were missing especially in the torso. He sniffed the air slightly and smelled something like rotting meat cooked in honey.
"Vampire," Byakuya said. "Class 1, about five days old I think."
"Do you want me to bring in some of the equipment?"
"Yes."
"Sir, this is the fifth attack we've had by a Class 1 Vampire this evening. Don't you think we should let the other Council members know?"
"Council business is not your business, Renji. Leave that decision to me."
"Yes Councilor Kuchiki," Renji said and looked at the remains. "Gods, they were my age."
"Class 1 Vampires don't care about that. They're only mindless brutes who can only feed until they've drunk enough blood to go through metamorphosis and become Class 2 Vampires. In that regard, we're fortunate."
"What do you mean? Nine civilians lost their lives."
"Yes, but the Vampire couldn't go far. When hungry, Class 1 Vampires are extremely quick and hard to kill, but after they've fed they're slow and much easier to kill. All that we have to do is find out where its haunt is. Now, get the equipment. Let's do some hunting."
End of Prologue
A.N.: Ever since I was a little kid, I was fascinated with Vampires. That fascination never died out, even with the sparklization of Vampires in Twilight. However, for me the way a Vampire is supposed to be is deeply rooted in Bram Stoker's novel: Dracula. Vampires are supposed to be a combination of brutal and extremely erotic and alluring. However, I don't think that all Vampires are suave and cultured like in Underworld. So, I thought that Vampires would probably have a course of evolution. The evolution of Hollows in Bleach served as a basic foundation along with the evolution of man from animalistic apes (Type 1 Vampires) to being cultured and suave (Type 4 and above) and those Vampires Type 4 and above can walk in the sunlight. The idea of the Blood Lord was inspired by George R. R. Martin's novel Fevre Dream.
This Vampire society is based on evolution and strength and cunning. Evolution comes from blood. Strength comes from flesh (either by devouring a defeated opponent or through sex). Cunning comes from experience. Likewise, the Vampires in this world can prey off each other, except if they belong to the same Blood Lord. Likewise, there will be Werewolves, but their society is also based on a survival-of-the-fittest rule as well as a desire for a pack. Both are extremely harsh environments.
Essentially, in this Vampire world, if Edward and Jacob were dropped into it...they wouldn't last very long.
The title: "Empty Eyes" is the title of one of this story's theme songs: "Empty Eyes" by Within Temptation. A second theme song is also by Within Temptation: "The Last Dance. The third theme song is "Eyes on Fire" by Blue Foundation.
A word of caution, since I'll be sticking with more traditional Vampire lore, there will be a lot of violence and even a few sex scenes (some heterosexual and others homosexual and others bisexual). Likewise, the way these Vampires feed...let's just say it's more than a mere two puncture wounds on the side of the throat.
Until next time, thank you for reading and please review.