Porcelain Tears

Chapter One

"Come on, follow me!" The boy yelled, as he ducked into a side alley. The footsteps that followed him told him that his charge had heard, and responded to his call. Tugging on the females arm, he continued down the dark outdoor corridor. A few seconds into the alley, he suddenly stopped, and let out a groan of dismay. A dead end. Turning back to the girl, he gasped. She was gone. In her place, a tall, stunningly handsome looking young man. He was dressed from head to foot in black, but it was in the form of an elegant dinner jacket, well cut trousers, and a flowing cape. The mans features were so elegant, so defined. Everything from his small, cold blue eyes to his well trimmed, thin beard, and pale skin. Even his hair, a widows peak, was elegant, and noble. He smiled at the boy.

"Looking for someone?" he asked. His voice was almost hypnotic. The boy tried to back away from the imposing figure, but was frozen to the spot.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, his voice wavering with fear, "And why do the mindless things not attack you?"

"Why? Because, my dear, sweet Micheal, I am their master." The boy gasped.

"Then you are..."

"Demitri Vladimir von Hausen."

The boy glared at the handsome man. "Nosferatu! VAMPIRE!" He yelled, suddenly lurching forward, his hands reaching inside his coat. His hand never reached the wooden stake it had been charging for. Around his wrist was the vampires own hand, gripping his hand like an iron vice. The boy winced in pain. The vampire leaned in close to the boy.

"I am sorry, Micheal, but I cannot alow you, the only...living...heir to the von Hausen name get away." The vampire said. He moved his lips in closer to the boy, brushing them against the boys own, before moving forwards, to sinking his teeth into the boys neck.

Haruna sat up, panting. Wow... she thought to herself, searching with one of her hands for her glasses, which were on the desk near her bed. Her questing hand finally finding her trademark rectangular rims, she pulled the glasses up, gave them a quick wipe with her bedsheet, and placed them on. What had been a blur before became a focused world. Or, would've, had there been enough light to see. The girl looked over at the illuminated clock that sat on the desk. Ten to seven...Not enough time to write my dream here...damn my inspiration... She thought, brushing aside her covers, and padding silently over to her wardrobe. A cute mumble came from the bed that was above hers, but it was the mumble of someone deep within slumber. Harunas best friend, Yue Ayase, was sleeping soundly. The artistic girl grinned, especially since the mumble had sounded very similar to the name of a certain teacher that Haruna knew Yue was, to put it nicely, besotted with. Making sure she made as little noise as possible, Haruna got changed into her school uniform, and snuck out of the room.

The corridors of the dorm hall were completely devoid of life, something Haruna had been expecting, she was normally one of the first people in the building to wake up, as it is. Although, she thought as she went past one of the rooms, It looks like Hasegawa-san has beaten me to it, again. There was a light shinging around the frame of the door, and a tapping sound coming from within. Always on a computer. What a net otaku... Haruna thought, before giggling. The girl wondered how Chisame would react if she found out that almost everyone in the class knew her 'secret' identity. A chilly wind hit the female as she exitted the building, making her wish she had put on a jumper. Shivering slightly, she began to jog towards the school building.

Seems everyone's got the wake up bug this morning Haruna mused, as she passed Makie Sasaki, and Ako Izumi, who both seemed to be training themselves. Makie was wearing her famous 'pink albatross' leotard, and Ako was in her soccer uniform. Haruna waved at the two, smiling brightly, before continuing on her jog. It took her a little under ten minutes to get to the school building, and a furthur two to change her shoes, and make her way up to 3-A. As she openned the door, she allowed a smile to pass her lips. There she was. Every morning. No matter how early Haruna arrived, Zazie Rainyday was always earlier than her. The tanned girl was sitting in her seat, a little back from the desk, and she was juggling. She had a deadpan look on her face, as usual, and her concentration was locked on the four rapidly spinning juggling clubs. Haruna waved at her, but received no imput from Zazie. This didn't phase her at all, Zazie was the quietest person in the class by a fair distance, and she barely spoke at all.

Sitting down at her desk, Haruna sighed. The faint swish of clothing from Zazie was the only noise she could hear, and it was, in a way, comforting. Everything is as it should be, the green haired girl though, before pushing her glasses back up to her eyes, as they had a tendancy of slipping down the bridge of her nose. She removed an A4 pad from her desk, and openned it. Writing covered the entire page. At the top of the pad there were several bookmarks, and bits of paper, indicating areas of interest. The one she openned the pad at next was the biggest, and most solid, and it needed to be, because it marked the next blank page. Withdrawing a pen out from her little blue pen case she twirled it in her hand a few times, before beginning to write.

The next thing Haruna noticed something besides the pen, paper, words and imaginary world she had conjoured up within her head was a cough. She looked up, directly into the slightly pouting face of Yue.

"Yuetchi! Good morning" She said, brightly.

"Hello, Paru. Another dream?" Yue asked in her usual monotones. Haruna had to supress the laugh she wanted to release, Yues was so cute when she was like this. Slightly annoyed. Probably because I didn't wake her...

"Yep! It was really vivid, too. I could defenitely make a short story out of it." She replied, nodding. She began to flick thorugh what she had written, and found to her own surprise that she had done a few doodles, along with the reams of words. "The only thing that's annoying is I can't remember the name of someone..."

Yue was a little pleased to hear this. Haruna was an incredibly talented writer and artist, but she did have a black spot at remembering things without writing them down. It was her big secret, one that Yue and Nodoka guarded well for her. Haruna tapped one of the doodles with her pen.

"That guy. He's a vampire. Count something von Hausen."

"Demitri"

Haruna and Yue both turned to who had said the word. It was the tiny blonde girl, Evangeline MacDowell. Paru gasped, and smiled. "YES! Demitri Vladimir Von Hausen!" She proclaimed, writing the name down underneith the doodle.

"How did you know that, Evangeline-san?" Yue asked.

Evangeline grinned. "He's famous. Back in the eighteenth century, he ruled over what is now known as Latvia with an iron fist. People believed that he was a vampire." Yue looked a little concerned.

"Haruna, have you ever heard of him?" The mangaka shook her head.

"No, nowhere outside of my dream. Guess I must know about him subconsciously, or something." She replied, shrugging it off. She had done things like this before. Once, she had put nearly a weeks worth of writing into a story, only to find it had been a legend she had heard when she was five.

Neither Evangeline nor Yue got the chance to say anything more, as at that moment, Negi Springfield, the classes ten year old teacher walked into the room. See you after class Haruna mouthed to Yue, as the girl looked back at her. The rest of the class drifted to their seats, and class began. As this hapenned, the girl began to count within her own mind. She had gotten up to thirty five before something hapenned to make her stop. She did this every lesson, and so far, ninety three had been her biggest number. She would stop counting if; A) The trickster trio pulled a prank on Negi, B) The word Lolita was used in referance to Ayaka, C) The term Baboon was used to describe Asuna, or D) if someone fully removed an article of clothing from their upper or middle torso. Shoes, socks, hats and coats didn't count for this one. This time, it was part B that had caused her to cease her counting. And there goes the lesson. Haruna thought with a sigh. She replaced the marker in her writing pad, and placed it back within her desk. She then took out her sketch book, and notes on her published work, and began to do some work on that. However, her mind stayed on the vampire and the boy that she had dreamt about.

As Haruna had predicted, the lesson degenerated into chaos, and it was only the ending bell that brought some semblence of order back to the girls. Haruna was one of the first out of her seat, almost running across the classroom, and hugging Yue, her arms going across Yues chest. The short girl seemed not to mind, merely withdrawing a box of juice from her desk, and piercing the film circle on the top with the straw. Nodoka Miyazaki, the classes book worm, approached the two, thus completing their little group of friends. The library trio. A writer, a reader and a philosopher. Haruna thought with a light chuckle.

"Haruna and I do not have any more classes today." Yue told Nodoka. She nodded.

"I have one more. I'll, uh, meet you in the library." She said, her voice quiet, and a little shakey. Haruna couldn't help but beam. Her two friends were just too cute. Squeezing Yue again a little, she pipped in, "Yue's gonna be assisting the Librarian today, but I've got a deadline due, so I need to do some work on that."

The two other girls walked Nodoka to her classroom, before splitting up themselves. "I have to get something for Akashi-sensei. I will meet you in the Library in a while." Yue had said, and Haruna had nodded at this. Yue was the second best book finder in the whole explorer club, second only to Nodoka. The two could, with a little time, find ANY book within the library. As the girl walked onwards, she rounded one of the school buildings, which brought Library Island into sight. The whole place was amazing to behold. Sitting on the middle of Mahora lake, the sun glistening on the water made the leviathan of a building practically glow. Haruna still got goosebumps looking at the huge place, even though she had grown up near it. She was one of the people in the class that had lived in Mahora for most of her life. She was so overawed by the place that she failed to notice the person in front of her until she had practically walked into her.

"Ah! Oh, Chachamaru, Evangeline-san. I didn't see you two there." She said, stumbling back sightly. Evangeline grinned smugly.

"Of course you didn't. I thought I'd be the good samaritan today, and do a good deed. Don't get involved with the Legend of Hausen any more than you are. It'll end badly." The tiny girl said to Paru, whos brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean, end badly? It's just a story." She said, highly confused. Evangeline laughed loudly.

"Believe what you want, Saotome-san. Just don't say you weren't warned." She said, before walking away from the girl. Chachamaru bowed slightly, before whispering "Legends always have their basis within truth" and walking behind Evangeline. Haruna watched the duo walk off, before shaking her head. Weird girls. It's pretty clear who wears the trousers in THAT relationship. Oh! I wonder if those two are THAT way? She thought to herself, as she continued her walk towards the library. The thought of the tall, silent Chachamaru with the tiny and aggressive Evangeline entertained Haruna to no end, and she had to stop walking at one point to catch the breath she had lost through her laughter.

Upon walking into the library, Paru was hit by the familiar smell of old books. That smell was one of her drugs, it truely did get her going. She waved at the counter attendant, a young girl called Tomiko. She was in the year below Haruna, and had long black hair, of similar length and design to Harunas. She even had an antennae strand at the top of her forehead, but it seemed to be a little limp, and constantly got in her eyes. The girl smiled, and walked over to Haruna. "Good morning, Saotome-senpai! I got to read the newest Y! Shonen magazine today. I loved your short in it." Haruna smiled at the girl.

"Thank you, Tomi-chan." She said, before reaching into her bag, and withdrawing a black marker pen.

"The usual mark?" She said, popping the lid off the pen, and grinning cheekily. The shorter girl almost jumped for joy.

"Yes please!"

Haruna took the magazine from the girl, and openned the cover. In it, she wrote 'To Tomi-chan. Ganbatte. Thank you for your support. Paru'

"There, all done." She said, clicking the lid back onto the pen, and slipping it back into her bag. As a rule, she didn't give out autographs, but Tomiko was a really die-hard fan.

"So, what brings you here today?" The younger girl asked.

"Deadlines...As always..." Haruna said, sighing slightly. Being a mangaka would have been so much easier if she didn't have deadlines. "I'm also doing a bit of research for a new story."

"Well, if you need any help, feel free to ask me. Good luck, Paru-senpai!" The girl said, smiling, and walking back to the counter.

Haruna walked across the grand hall that was the main foyer of the Library, heading for one of the wrought iron staircases that were set into the stone at various points along the hall. stepping down the spiral stairway, she looked at the little white metal signs that showed what was on what level. She went past four levels before she got to where she was going. Eighteenth Century European Mythology. She stepped off the stairs, and headed over to one of the four PCs that made up this sections records. The Library had a very efficient filing system. Every section got its own area, and its own set of PCs to browse the titles, and a little bit of info about each book. The system must have taken years to implement. Haruna sat down at the computer, and logged onto the system. Everyone in the school had a unique code to get into the system, of varying degrees of access. Those in the Library Exploration and Literature clubs had high levels of access, whereas those in sporting clubs were given relatively limited access. She selected the option 'Search by Reference' option, one available only to the Explorers and Literature club members, and typed in the phrase 'Von Hausen', before clicking enter.

Ten minutes later, the bespectacled girl was walking along the row upon row of books, with a little list in her hand. She had been able to find three books that had references to the Von Hausen family, and one that refered directly to Demitri. Strangely, there had been nothing on Micheal Von Hausen, the 'hero' of Parus dream. Which is odd, because you'd think he were important, being the last living member of the family. Maybe I just made that bit up... She thought as she walked along the dusty book cases. Uugh. Dust. All the money the library gets for funding, and they never think to hire a team of cleaners... She thought, before sneezing loudly. She sneezed again, and again, before finally sniffing. "Dust..." She mumbled. After a few moments , she reached up for a book that had caught her eye. Eastern Europe, It's Myths and Legends by Giancarlo Hossi. Flicking through the book, she noted that there was a bookmark already in the pages. Having a quick look at the contents of the page, she gasped. It had a little story on the eighty year rampage of the Von Hausens.

Many believed that, in 1719, the Lord Von Hausen married a woman who had within her the blood of Nosferatu. It was she who tainted the bloodline Von Hausen, and she who pulled the strings. Others say it was one of the young girls that the Lord had bought, as playthings, and as companions for his daughter, Stefania. Of course, the truth of the matter is that the Von Hausen family did terrible things in what is now Latvia, but wether or not they were Vampires is another matter. It is the authors opinion that this 'myth' is a nonsense, created by the peasants of the time to explain the lords ruthlessness.

Well, so much for useful... Paru thought, before going to put the book back. Before she did though, she flicked the bookmark over, purely on a wild whim. On the reverse, the words 'Page Seventy Three' were written. Flicking through the book, she found the page. There was a picture on it. There was a tall, elderly man with his arms up over his head, in the classic vampire pose, menacing a young boy whos features and clothing were exactly the same as the boys from her dream. Behind him, a young person was cowering, clutching onto the boys arms. The face was obscured by the hood the child wore. Underneith the picture, the phrase Maxwell Faces off against the dread Vampire, protecting She of the Crying Sky. Haruna wrinkled her brow, before reading the story next to the picture.

In the late 1700s Vampiric feuding was at an all time high. Three mighty families all fought each other for control of Europe. The mightiest of these was Lord Von Dracula. It was in 1783 that Maxwell was born. He was destined to overthrow the Vampire Lords, and bring about peace for humanity. Aided by the mysterious She of the Crying Sky, a young girl who could communicate with beasts, he fought back the Vampiric undead hordes, and in the end, managed to end the terror of nearly eighty vampiresa. Though he was killed by one such beast, It is believed that he inspired the Vampiric purges of 1801. which lead to the near extinction of the plague known as Nosferatu.

These are kids horror stories. What a waste of time... Haruna sighed, placing the book back on the shelf. "The next one better shed some light on this, or I'm going back to drawing..." She muttered, almost to herself. She believed that the Library itself was like a living creature, a vast beast of stone and tile, full of knowledge. She was threatenning it now. "Don't waste my time again, Ya hear?" She chuckled. Even though she was a modern girl, and reasonably intelligent, she did like to think there was something more to life than mundane things. Magic, Mystery, the Soul, all those things. Silly, though. Normalcy will do for me.. She thought, as she picked up the next book.

"Huh? The pages are blank?" She said aloud, genuinely startled by the revelation. She had never seen this before, a book this old with such stark, white pages. The writing. It's all been erased. She thought, before feeling someone behind her. She span round, but saw nothing.

"Not Erased. Simply...Gone!" A voice practiclly snarled. A hand placed itself on Harunas neck, and gripped. Haruna span again, but again, saw nothing. She shivered, and hurredly put the book back. The whole area seemed to be a little darker now. Come on Paru, pull yourself together. You're imagining things... She tried to reassure herself. She walked onwards, and found the last book she had been looking for. Grimoire Of Mysterie. Haruna groaned. This book looked newer than the others, and was written by a Japanese person. Right, like we're going to know about obscure European history... She thought, shaking her head. She had a quick look through the book, and was proved right. It had very little information on the story. She was about to turn away, when she heard a little gasp. She turned, to see Zazie standing, staring at her with wide eyes. "Th...that book..." She whispered.

Paru was in shock. Not only was Zazie doing something other than juggling or acrobatics, but she was talking. Talking to her. Zazie's got a cute voice. A tiny part of Harunas brain said, before shutting up.

"Oh, this thing? Heh..Not very reliable, if you ask me. No good for what I need." She said, a little meekly. She offered it to Zazie. "It's no use to me at all. You're welcome to it."

Zazies features changed, for a spilt second. Haruna could have sworn she saw the girl smile. "Thank...you..." She whispered, taking hold of the book, and walking away. Strange girl. Haruna thought. She had, as Mahoras rumor mill, heard all the rumors about Zazie. She's a demon. She can talk to animals. She can change into an animal. She sleeps with animals. Her tattoos can shoot lasers, and her hair is actually a wig. The last one she had made up herself, because she was rather bored, and thought it was funny. However, she had never expected it to be believed.

Sighing, she walked back to the computer, and logged off. Another wasted hour... She mused, as she began to walk back up the stairs. She didn't see Zazie on her way up, so she assumed she had gone to a reading room. However, this was not the case. The silver haired girl had watched Haruna go, before closing her eyes. I've finally found your spirit again, Micheal. But I fear, HE has also found it...