Disclaimer: Don't own them…. sighs

Prologue:

The flames of the lamps lining the street flickered in uncertainty, sending incandescent rays onto the pavement in a small puddle of light. Every so often a lone figure would step into the light and continue on to her destination. It had gotten darker than she had expected it too. If she had known it would have been this dark at this time, she would have accepted her friend's offer on an escort.

Japan at this time of night was not very friendly to women, especially since there were wars going on.

Shuffling as fast as her kimono hem would let her, the woman kept walking. "My bad…" She whispered to herself in the ongoing silence, her words comforting her.

She kept walking. Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed, and the cloak of night fell down heavier upon the city. The small woman bit down softly on her bottom lip. She still had a long way to reach her home.

A cool night wind blew across her thinly covered feet, sending a shiver rolling up her back. Maybe she could call for a litter? Shifting the shawl she had over her shoulders, she looked around, peering into alleys ways, hoping to spot a litter in disuse. Surely they would be out at this time of night.

"It's not that late…" She murmured, not stopping to devote her time in finding a litter.

Soft, calculated footsteps fell behind her. She stopped, turning around, expecting to see someone following her, only to see a barren street. Had she been imagining things? Hesitantly, she turned back around and, picking up the speed a bit, started walking again. She shook her head, mentally reprimanding herself. There was no one there. It was dark and cold, and only she was stupid enough to be out this late on the streets.

The footsteps started again.

She ran, the footsteps loudly echoing in her ears as they continued to follow her. She tossed a quick glance over her shoulder, still seeing no one. Seeing an alley that she often times used for a short cut up ahead, she dove into its shadows. Her pants sounded off the walls that rose up on both her sides. She knew the person could hear her, but didn't feel the need to try and cover up her breathing when she could see the lights of her house up ahead.

Weapons. There were weapons inside her house. She could fight if she was still being followed. Hope blossomed in her chest, warding of the cold and fear that had been settling there.

She had reached the gate when a cold hand clamped down on her shoulder, another one coming up to silence the scream that was forming in her throat.

No! So close!

Her grasp on the gate tightened as she felt herself being pulled back into the alleyway. Back into the dark. She kicked and screamed as loud as she could, wishing for her cries to be heard past her assailant's hand. The cool metal of a knife presented itself, a silent, but firm threat. Her eyes widened in fear, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

The hands pulled at her again, but she held on to the metal bars still. She shook her head, still attempting to get free. She was so close! She could make it.

Without warning, the knife slid across her throat, and the hand over her mouth fell away, leaving her to fall to hear knees, fruitlessly clutching at her throat to stop the blood flow. A disgusting gurgling sound filled her ears, and it took a fraction of a second before she realized it was herself, chocking on her own blood. Darkness edged her line of vision, as she swayed forward, near death from blood loss.

Hands hoisted her from the ground and carried her softly away from her home, her salvation, into the alley, her deathbed.

----

He looked down at the woman in his arms, feeling his time limit press down upon him as her very lifeblood fell on the ground. He would have to be quick and precise. Setting her on the ground, propped against the wall of the cold alley, he bent down to the slit he had made with the knife, taking in her blood, feeling it warm his very cold insides.

Time was running out…

Swiftly, he put the dagger to his wrist, digging into the flesh until a steady stream of blood came to the surface. Carefully, using his other hand, he opened her mouth and put his wrist to it, allowing his blood to flow down her throat.

A sound came from the front of the alley, making him pull back his wrist from the woman's mouth. She lay still, unmoving and unresponsive to his blood.

He had been too late.

Startled gasps sounded whenever the blood was spotted. He glanced down, once more at the woman, before standing up to leave. She would have to be left behind. Nobody would suspect anything other than a simple murder. Sighing disappointedly, he jumped up onto the roof silently, and left.

--

The woman was dead. She apparently had been drug into the alley after being severely injured, if the blood trail had anything to say. Bending over, one of the men who stumbled upon the find, looked for the cause of death, expecting there to be a huge gash in her neck from all the blood staining the front of her kimono. There was none.

Disturbed that such a horrible act had happened not to far from his own home, the men intended to inform the police. The light in the alley receded as they took their lantern with them.

--

It was cold. Very cold.

She tried to move and succeeded in lifting her hand on the ground before she put it on her lap, drained. She was resting up against something hard. Her eyes fluttered open to take in her surroundings.

The alley.

She closed her eyes. He had killed her.

A moan escaped her parted lips as she tried to turn her head in the direction of her house. How did she live?

Voices, all men, sounded from the entrance to the alley, confusing her even more. Hadn't there only been one man?

"She's back here!"

"Did you see the killer?"

"No, sir."

"So he's still out in the night?"

A pause. "Yes, sir."

"How did she die?"

Her pupils dilated in fear as realization struck. She was dead. He hadn't failed in killing her. She was very much dead and was somehow managing to move around.

The voices grew louder as the men came closer to where she sat.

She had to leave. They were expecting a dead body. Not a live one. Standing up, she began to run out of the alley, shrouded in a cloud of confusion and anguish.

'What did he do to me?'

Heh. That's pretty good seeing as I took that from one paragraph and spread it out to… 1,000 words? I figured, since the earlier version, the first person POV one, wasn't being read too much, that is was best to switch it over to third person.

Yes. You technically don't know who all was in this chapter. You're not really supposed to, though it will be quite obvious within the upcoming chapter.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Luv,

K