7 Years After the Finale
Shido Tatsuhiko knelt on the grimy ground of an alley in Yokohama and looked at the body as rain fell. It was a high school girl, and just as Yayoi had told him, the only wound was the bite marks on the girl's neck and apparent loss of blood. There was no doubt it was yet another vampire killing.
"What do you think?" Yayoi Matsunaga asked, standing beside him with an umbrella in hand.
"If this is the same vampire that killed the other two then they're killing for sport," Shido sighed quietly. "We don't need this much blood. Of course, there are so many vampire killings I have no idea which of the vampires this body belongs to."
Yayoi glanced towards the mouth of the alley where they were, but the other NOS agents were giving them room to work. Things had been tense ever since the incident with Mrs. Megumi and her half-breed son when they had learned Shido was a vampire. For now, they were content to leave him alone despite him being a breed. If Shido ever stopped solving cases and hunting down nightbreeds then the situation could quickly change.
They were keeping an eye on Shido anyway, concerned he might have something to do with the events of this past month. Throughout the past month, the cases of vampire deaths had spiked dramatically, and everyone at the NOS was confused. It was clear since the bite marks on the victim's didn't match that there were multiple vampires killing, but so far, they didn't know who they were. The NOS had also received word that the increases in vampire casualties was happening worldwide, not just at Yokohama. In fact, all nightbreed related crimes had risen to a level unseen since the NOS's creation.
"Why are so many killing right now?" Yayoi asked the air. "Why now all of a sudden? What changed?"
Shido shook his head, wishing that he knew. Because of his allegiance with the NOS and the humans, he wasn't a part of the nightbreed world. He didn't have a source of information among their numbers and was not up to date on events that were happening in it. Something had changed among the vampire community, but Shido had no idea what.
He stood, looking at the girl's body sadly. Because Shido was so clueless about events among his breed kin, he had no way knowledge to explain the recent killings, and no idea how to stop them. This girl would be far from the last casualty. There was a soft sound from further within the alley as Shido turned to leave, and he stopped.
"Yayoi," he told her quietly. "Keep walking away, but the vampire is still here."
Yayoi's eyes widened at Shido's words and she crossed her free arm over her chest so she could reach her pistol with the silver bullets easier as she reluctantly walked away so Shido would have be alone. It was more likely the vampire would come out if he were alone. Shido casually turned back towards the body and looked it over again. Just as he thought, there was a faint scent from the vampire present. The rain had masked its presence from him, and he couldn't tell if he knew the vampire.
"Come out," Shido ordered the vampire in the shadows as he raised his eyes from the body. "Why are you killing so many?"
There was movement in the shadows and a ten-year old girl with long, wavy brown hair stepped forward. Her eyes were vampire gold, and there was blood staining her lips and chin. It was the same 500-year old vampire girl Shido had been trapped in the well with.
She smiled at him, revealing red-stained fangs, and spoke arrogantly. "Why not? Haven't you heard?"
Shido looked at the girl hesitantly, and she sighed.
"I guess a traitor like you wouldn't know, but the king is dead." The girl giggled, and linked her hands behind her back, acting her physical age.
Shido was used to being called a traitor because he helped the humans, but he didn't know what the girl meant by her comment. "The king is dead? What king?"
Surprise made the vampire girl stand still, and she stared at him. "You really don't know anything, do you?"
Shido clenched his hands, and the girl shrugged.
"Well," she sighed, "he's dead, and now everyone wants to be the new king. I'm stocking up on blood. The more we eat the stronger we vampires get, and I want to see if I stand a chance at the crown."
Understanding dawned, and Shido stepped back into a fighting stance. "You can't mean that the vampire king is dead."
"You know we have a king," the girl shook her head at his naïveness. "I suppose that's a start."
"The vampire king… is dead?" Shido repeated.
Lightning flashed overhead as if to accent his dramatic question, and the girl giggled.
"I'm glad we got to meet again," she told him cheerfully, "but I've finished my meal so I'll see you later."
"Wait a minute," Shido ordered.
The girl turned to leave and Shido bit his hand, materializing his blood sword. His movement alerted Yayoi it was time to interfere and she drew her pistol quickly and raised it. She fired a few shots at the vampire girl, but the girl dodged them. When Shido swung with his sword, the girl bent backwards at the waist and his blade harmlessly passed above her nose. His swing had too much force behind it, and it threw him off balance.
The vampire girl smiled and slipped inside his guard. She barely tapped on his chest with the fingers of one of her hands, but there was an unnatural force behind it. Shido soared backwards through the air, and he crashed hard onto the asphalt almost at Yayoi's feet, sword clattering to the ground away from him.
Yayoi's gunshots had alerted the other NOS agents of the threat, and they jumped back as Shido crashed near them before firing at the vampire girl as well. The girl just laughed and faded into the shadows as the older vampires could do, vanishing. Her laughter echoed in the alleyway and slowly faded.
Yayoi tssked in annoyance, and lowered her gun. Shido's sword turned back into blood as he sat up next to her, rubbing his head. Aware of the presence of the NOS agents, Shido stood before Yayoi could help him.
"Are you alright?" Yayoi asked him and holstered her pistol back inside her jacket.
"I'm fine," Shido assured her.
He seemed shaken though, and that made Yayoi wary. "Did she tell you anything?"
Shido nodded, and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets as if to brace himself against a winter wind. "I know why there are so many vampire killings all of a sudden."
"Why?" One of the NOS agents demanded.
"The king is dead," Shido repeated.
"King?" Yayoi asked curiously, "what king?"
"Ours," Shido answered seriously and raised his blue-green eyes to her. "The king of the vampires is dead."
There was dead silence for a few seconds, broken only by the fall of rain.
Finally, one of the NOS agents spoke up. "I thought the vampire king was just a legend. There really is an overall ruler the vampires answer to?"
Shido nodded agreement. "Most vampires live alone in their own hunting territory, accompanied occasionally by their fledglings. The vampire king is our central power though, and the king is the most powerful among us."
"Yet now he's dead," Yayoi said softly as she understood, "and there's a power vacuum."
"All of the vampires are feeding on humans to get stronger. They want to see if they can win the crown," Shido agreed.
"Hence the killings," the NOS agent sighed, understanding the situation now made sense. "Didn't the king have an heir, er, fledgling to take his place?"
"Two," Shido spoke as he tried to remember some of what Cain had told him, a rare event. "Both will be vying for the crown. Some of the vampires are likely supporting one heir or the other, but others are just trying to get the title themselves."
"Like the one that just ran off," the agent understood. "What's so special about becoming king other than the title? It's not like you vampires serve your king like humans would serve theirs."
"Whoever is the vampire king has the obedience of all vampires," Shido told him darkly. "No vampire can ignore an order given by them, no matter what that order entails. Vampires are the rarest species of nightbreed, yet the most powerful and respected. You could consider vampire the dominant species, and the other nightbreeds would also obey the king's orders."
Shido remembered how Cain had enthralled him so long ago when he had been hiding with the then pregnant Mrs. Megumi in a church. Cain had found them and simply by holding out his hand and telling Shido to come, Shido had done so. Sires had the ability to enthrall their fledglings to obey their orders, but the vampire king could force any vampire to do what they said, even if they were not their fledgling.
"So depending on the new king's wishes concerning humans, we could be in trouble." Yayoi summed up. "If the new king is one of the breeds who wants to take over the human world then…"
"It would mean total war between the nightbreeds and the humans," Shido said softly. "The last king had no vendetta against those of the light, and didn't care about them. He never pushed for war and let each breed do what they wanted how they wanted. The new king might take a more aggressive approach."
The agent swallowed, and said with a hesitant stutter as he backed away to the phone within his car. "I-I need to report this."
Shido nodded agreement that would be for the best, and the agent nearly ran to the car. His foot slipped once as he jerked open the door and scrambled into the passenger seat. With a little trouble, he sat down and reached for the phone between the front seats.
"This is Lieutenant Hayashi Seiji," the NOS officer said rapidly. "And I have new information on the recent increase in vampire killings."
Shido looked away and back at the girl's body. Depending on who became the new king, the situation between the humans of the day and the nightbreeds could change drastically.
Although we do have a general idea on a vampire's abilities, not very much about them is given as a species. This leaves it free for me. he he he. Refs made to Episode 6 with the vampire girl, and later to Episode 4 with Mrs. Megumi.
First off, i'll repeat the warning that this doesn't have any slash in it. I prefer adventure and a plot that doesn't involve "snuggles". There's more then enough Nightwalker slash out there already if that's what you're looking for.
I initially thought the series took place in San Francisco. You're going to look at me and go, what are you talking about Pengping? This is anime. Unless it takes place on a made-up world or alternate dimension it always happens in Japan. Sorry. I heard Bay Bridge and though it meant the San Francisco Bay Bridge. That's on me. It actually takes place in Yokohama.