Author's Note: This story is set during the events of the game Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (more specifically during the Gone Fishing quest), with a male Tremere as the Player Character. It is narrated from Yukie's perspective, focusing on her interaction with the protagonist of the game. The earlier chapters will use mostly dialogues from the game out of necessity, but I will take some liberties and add a few parts in order to flesh out the interaction; I go with the idea the two characters had more interactions outside of the quest, just ones that weren't shown in the game. I hope you will enjoy.

Disclamer: I do not own Vampire the Masquerade, nor Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Both are the property of White Wolf.

Chapter 1: The Encounter

Yukie was lost in her thought.

It had been a while now since she had arrived in the American city known as Los Angeles. A while since her master, the one who had trained her in the art of hunting down and slaying demons, had died, murdered and devoured by one of the very creatures he was fighting. Yet, the memory was still quite fresh in her mind. She could still remember how she had gone to his house, as she usually did, to train like they always did. How she was excited about it, as he had last told her she was close to complete her formation. And how she had discovered in horror his mutilated, half-eaten corpse, with blood splattered all over the place, and that sickening fish smell.

Of course, the police had been unable to do much. If there was one thing demons were good at besides killing, it was hiding themselves from everyday people. Nothing suggesting supernatural had been found, and they had just believed it was the work of some random serial killer, which they were still trying to find. But Yukie knew better. She had been checking her master's library after his death, and searching for information about what could have committed such a gruesome murder. She had been visiting the various contacts in the supernatural she could find, interrogating them. Eventually, she had managed to find the name they gave to the responsible kind: Hengeyokai.

Unfortunately, she had very little information about him otherwise. All she knew was that it smelled like fish, and could take a human form to walk around unnoticed. But she was determined. She had kept track of all the similar occurrence of murders, using them to follow the assassin. When he had left her town, she had followed him. And she had kept doing so, eventually bringing her to America, where she had been forced to take a half-time job at a ramen shop to pay her rent. And while she was sure to be closer than ever to get him, she had started to lose its track lastly. If she didn't figure out fast where it was, it might find out about her presence and run away, escaping her.

Of course, that probably wasn't what her master would have wanted. He had always told her that revenge wasn't worth pursuing, especially in their career. Demon hunter was a dangerous job, and dying was, unfortunately, a very likely part of it. He would have wanted her to find another master and complete her training, rather than go on a quest to kill the monster responsible for his demise. But she didn't care. The Hengeyokai had gotten away with what he had done, and she couldn't stand with this idea. And the multiple innocent people she had found dead while looking for him had only reinforced her determination. She wouldn't stop until he was dead.

As she was thinking, the door opened and someone entered, bringing her back to reality. It was a young, western man, probably in his twenties. He had a short brown hair, golden eyes, and a piercing above the eye. His face was shaved, though you could still see the beginning of a goatee on his chin, and he wore a blue coat, open just enough to let her see the collar of a red shirt and a strange necklace. He look human, but Yukie wasn't fooled; she knew enough about supernatural to notice the unusually pale skin, and more importantly, her hunter training allowed her to sense the absence of heartbeat. She easily identified the visitor as those undead, blood-drinking creatures occidentals called vampires.

"Hey!" He just said with a cheerful tone while entering, obviously unaware she already knew what he was. "charming night, isn't it?"

Yukie calmly nodded as he sat at the bar. Ordinarly, she probably would have grabbed her sword and killed him where he stood. But the vampire had not done anything yet, and she wasn't there for him anyway. Still, it felt weird to have one of her alledged enemies in front of her and not fight it. For a reason she couldn't really find herself, she started talking.

"Suspicious, isn't it?" She said thoughtfully, in her native tongue.

"... What?"

The vampire raised his head, confused. Apparently, he didn't speak japanese. Yukie made an effort to try speaking english.

"I am shi", she explained. "I am not like all the rest. But I have no vengeance for you... yet."

"What are you talking about? You are crazy!"

"Crazy?"

Yukie had a little smile.

"I am talking with a demon when I should be killing it. I must be crazy, indeed."

"Demon? I am not a demon!"

The surprise seemed almost genuine. This one probably was used to play the innocent human. But she knew better.

"Go to the hospital," she just said. "Your heart stopped beating."

Realizing he was caught, the vampire dropped the act, and his fake surprise disappeared to be replaced by slight distrust.

"Alright, you got me, girl. Who are you?"

"O-gami Yukie e das," she answered. "I am shi, demon hunter. I come to this city for the blood of the demon who killed my master. Do not interfere: my revenge will cut through you if it has to."

"You're a hunter?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Usually, you guys don't talk to my kind."

"Demon and man live in this world against each other. It is forever, maybe. I cannot kill all demons, but I can punish most wicked. Behave yourself!"

The vampire laughed a little at her speech. Obviously, he was amused to have a barely eighteen girl threaten him like that. However, he didn't seem interested in a real conflict.

"I will keep that in mind," he eventually answered, relaxing himself a little. "So, what are you doing in this city, anyway? I think you were talking about a demon and revenge..."

"I hunt Hengyôkai," she answered. My sensei killed demon that killed my family, and now I take the life of his killer. I follow trail of corpses from Japan to Los Angeles. Hengyôkai is here, and it will die here!"

"Ah, I see," the vampire nodded."Not to offend you, but your english is horrible."

Yukie smirked.

"Nihongo o hanasemasu ka?" she replied. "How is your japanese?"

"Point taken," he recognized with a guilty smille. "Anyway what exactly is a... Hengyôkai, you said?"

"Hengyôkai is a demon that hides in the skin of man," she explained, "but it is not man."

"Like me, then?"

"Ïe," she answered, shaking her head. "You were man before, right?"

"Yes?"

"Hengyôkai never was man. It just disguises itself as one. I... don't really know what it looks like."

"Ah, I see. And how is the hunt going, so far?"

Yukie's expression darkened a bit.

"Not well. I know he is nearby, but... I lose its trail. Do you meet Hengyôkai?"

The vampire shook his head.

"Kid, you just said that thing can disguise itself as a human, and you can't even tell me what it looks like. How could I recognize one?"

"You would know one when you see it," she just said.

The vampire started at her for a second, as if he wasn't sure how to react. Then, suddenly, he lowered his head ans sighed.

"Well," he said, "I am officially crazy to get involved in a hunter's business, but... if I run into it, I will tell you."

This answer surprised the young hunter: a demon who actually proposed helping her? Now that was unexpected. She look at the vampire, intrigued.

"Hontoni?" she asked.

"Hey, I might be dead, but I am not heartless. You want revenge on some bastard who killed someone you cared about, and I can sympathize with that. Besides, I find helping people of my own initiative somewhat gratifying. Makes for a nice change from others always telling me what to do."

"I... appreciate your concern for my vengeance," she admited. "Aligato gosaimasu. Do not pity Hengeyôkai. It is a bad demon. The kind that makes little girls into hunter."

"No need to worry about that," he answered. "Anything else you can tell me about this Hengeyôkai? I will kinda need something if I am to find it."

Yukie thought for a second.

"Hengeyôkai scent smells like... sakana. Fishes. I don't know why. Maybe other demons know why."

"Well, I guess that's kind of a clue. I'll see what I can find. See you later!"

With that said, he stood up. Yukie followed his steps as he passed through the door. Accepting help from a demon, now... truly she was crazy. Yet, she felt like she could actually trust this one. There was something in his expressions, his mannerism, that made her feel comfortable. Still, from what she had heard, his kind was known for being good at deception. She'd do best to keep her guard up.

"Oh, and by the way," he added as he was leaving, "My name is Daniel. See you later, hunter girl!"