Drops of Blood by : Rukawa Nishiki
He bit his victim's neck, energized as the fresh blood flowed into his mouth. The warm, red liquid coursed through his entire body, giving life to what was supposed to be dead years ago. She was limp, drained of her blood, but he would not let go. It was minutes before he realized he had sucked her dry. Throwing the body down, he licked his lips for whatever blood was left. Then he walked away.
Back on the streets, he walked pass brightly-lit shops and restaurants. At times he would look for his reflection in shop windows, only to remember he had none. Not that he actually cared. His looks had never bothered him, anyway. For all he knew, he still had the same longish dark hair framing his pale, emotionless face. The same tall, built frame he had when he was alive. They said he would retain his looks despite the death of his soul almost three decades ago.
Dead you are, he told himself. Not that he could have avoided it. Bitten in a dark alley after basketball practice, nothing could have kept him alive had the god-forsaken creature decided not to give him the immortal blood. Something about not wasting his pretty face. K'so!
Hunger cut his reminiscence short. No time for memories. He continued walking, looking around in search of prey. There. His cold blue eyes zeroed in on a pretty young woman with reddish brown hair. Shohoku High, he noted upon seeing the uniform she wore. Same school, he muttered, smiling slightly.
He walked towards her. Not that he intended to chat her up and lure her to bed like the ones portrayed in Western movies. He'd never been one for words anyway. No. In fact, he wasn't sure how he would get her. Hypnotizing her into a dark alley would be his best bet. His kind has been able to do that since the dawn of time. Besides, that's been his ace ever since he got into this...lifestyle.
He found himself a few steps away from the red-haired woman. Bump into her. Yes. She reacted in surprise, raising her head to look at him. It was his turn to recoil. She looked exactly like someone he knew. No time to think of that. He stepped into a dark alley with the young woman following him, entranced.
Sure that no one had seen them, he tilted the woman's head to one side and pushed her long red hair away from her neck. His cold lips touched her warm flesh. Bite her. He bared his fangs, poised to sink them teeth into her neck. But he couldn't. Then he realized he had been holding her in his arms in what seemed like an embrace. Aho...what do you think you're doing, holding her like that?
Bite her now. But all he wanted was to kiss her again and again like a long lost friend. He brushed the hair away from her face. Quite pretty, he noted. He put a hand to her face, caressing her cheek. I love you, he whispered into her ear. She smiled, still entranced. It was too inviting for him to resist. He kissed her lips gently and left her on a wooden bench near the alley.
Quickly he walked away. I love you? Aho. You don't even know her. He turned to look at her one last time and caught sight of an old man trying to wake her up. Her father? Possible. Quietly, he returned to where she and the old man were seated. Their conversation proved him right. He was her father.
"What are you doing sleeping here on a bench? Your mother's worried sick!"
"I'm sorry, father. I don't know what got into me. I...bumped into this handsome guy and..."
"Handsome guy, eh? Teme! Didn't I tell you you're too young to date?!"
"But father..."
"Home with you! Let's see what your mother makes out of your story. Handsome guy...kitsunes abound I tell you. Looking all cool and seductive, k'so..."
"But father, I think I know him from somewhere..."
They walked away from him, heading home. The old man's voice was depressingly familiar. Kitsune. Someone had called him that years ago. But that's unimportant. What matters is that he wants the girl...and he wants her bad.
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"Goodness! Where were you, Hina?" an old woman greeted father and daughter at the door.
"Oi, Haruko, this daughter of yours was sleeping on a bench! Something about a handsome man bumping into her. Rubbish, if you ask me." The father answered in annoyance.
"Well, come in now, Hanamichi! You, too, Hina! It's freezing out there!"
Hanamichi? Haruko? Certainly names from his past. But what did it matter? He was as dead to them as they were to him. What mattered was the girl they called Hina. It was ironic, actually, for him to love someone -- even want someone. He had never felt so when he was alive, so why now? Why now, when he was dead and had nothing to offer?
But he wanted her, and that made all the difference. A few minutes later, the entire household went dark. Everyone was asleep. It was time. Stealthily, he climbed to Hina's bedroom window, letting himself in with the agility of a cat. The room was dark, and Hina was fast asleep.
"Hina," he called to her, sitting at the edge of her bed. The girl woke up, surprised to see him.
"You!" she managed to cry out before he cupped a hand over her mouth. She stared back at him, fear evident in her eyes.
"I love you," he managed to whisper. He pulled her close and kissed her lips passionately -- as passionately as someone dead could ever muster. Then the door opened with a bang.
"Teme! Who the hell..." the red-haired father cried. Fear struck the old man as he realized who was kissing his daughter. "Rukawa..."
"You remember me?"
"Rukawa Kaede! You're dead! You've been dead for decades!"
"Evidently."
"Let...let my daughter go! What do you want from us, kitsune?! You're dead!"
"I want her. I want your daughter."
"You really are Rukawa-kun, aren't you?" a voice from behind Hanamichi said.
"Haruko? Of course I am," he smirked.
"And you're dead!" Hanamichi cried out.
"Stop reminding me or I may have to break your neck."
"Just let my daughter go, please, Rukawa-kun." Haruko begged.
"No. I'm taking her with me. She's mine." He stood up and took Hina's hand, ready to walk out the door. "Move, please." he asked politely.
Without a word, Hanamichi threw a punch that landed squarely on Rukawa's jaw.
"That your best?"
Hanamichi was aghast to see the pale face unbruised after such a blow. Of course he was no longer as young as he was back then. But still, he had expected Rukawa to at least stagger.
"Yes, you're old, doahou. And even if you were young, you wouldn't have hurt me. Nothing can hurt me." Rukawa said, reading his mind.
"K'so..." the old man cursed.
"Rukawa-kun..."
"Speak, Haruko."
"Hina is my only child. Please don't take her," Haruko cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"No."
"Then let me have her for one more day. You can take her tomorrow night. Please...please..."
"Well then," he shrugged, "but I'll be back tomorrow night." He let go of the girl's hand and started for the door. Hanamichi was blocking his path. Rather impatiently, he swung a fist at Hanamichi, sending the old man reeling to the floor.
"Ja."
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"What the hell was that about?!" Hanamichi cried the moment Rukawa left. "What's with this one more day deal?! You're giving Hina up?!"
"I am not. We have to save Hina from him." Haruko answered rather stiffly, busy snapping Hina out of trance.
"Mother? Where is he?" Hina asked.
"He's gone, Hina. Forget about him. It was just a dream."
"But mother, he seemed so real, like he wasn't a dream at all."
"No he isn't. He's a nightmare." Hanamichi snarled.
"Go back to sleep, Hina. You need rest." Haruko said. Helping Hina to bed, they closed the lights and left the room.
Haruko never intended to give Hina up. In fact, it was a reprieve she sought, a reprieve to give her enough time to save her daughter. It all came back to her now, seeing Rukawa alive after three decades of believing he was dead. Not that they ever found his body. All they had were his things stained with his blood to tell them he was gone forever. And now here he was, standing before them, threatening to take their daughter to whatever hell he had been hiding in.
"You have to admit he hasn't changed a bit." Hanamichi said, breaking her reverie.
"He's dead."
"That I know. But how do you explain all this? How can he be alive looking the same as he was thirty years ago?"
"He's a demon."
"He's probably been one all his life. Makes me wonder how you ever fell in love with that guy," Hanamichi said sarcastically. Haruko shook her head, wondering why she ever consented to marrying an egoistic, immature maniac.
"The deal is we have to find a way to stop him tomorrow night. We have to know what he is in order to defeat him." she said. Then she remembered. Quickly, she turned on the TV, just in time to catch the late night news.
A woman was found dead in a dark alley near Shohoku High, the fifth murder committed in the area this week. Reports are unconfirmed as of the moment, but sources claim that all five victims were women and that all died of loss of blood. No wounds are found except for two puncture marks on the neck. A vampire? Tune in for more of the news...
Haruko's fears were coming true. She jumped out of bed and turned on the computer. Quickly she logged on to the Kanagawa Times website. It was confirmed. Several murders had been committed in the area for the past thirty or so years, all victims died from loss of blood.
"So, what is he?"
"He's a goddamn vampire..."
"A what? Haruko, you think this is the X-Files or something?"
"I'm not kidding. We have to get rid him before he takes Hina."
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She sat on the sofa, tensely gripping the sharpened stake fashioned out of wood. On the table beside her were several things. A rosary and a bottle of blessed water from the church; and a few pieces of holy paper from the Shinto temple across town.
"You ready?" she asked her husband who was sitting beside her.
"Of course. I've seen 'The Exorcist' so many times, I could kill that pale bastard in my sleep!"
"They weren't fighting a vampire in that movie."
"Oh...well, what's the difference?"
"You're just too confident, aren't you?"
Hanamichi could sense that Haruko was really worried. And who wouldn't be? He himself was terrified of the undead, but he had to act tough in front of her. Quietly, he put his arms around his wife.
"It'll be alright, honey. I'm here with you." he whispered. "I'll protect this family." Lovingly, he kissed her hair and held her tight.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Hanamichi and Haruko sat up and stared at the pale figure at the door. He was back.
"What do you want?" Hanamichi snarled.
"I want the girl."
"You won't take her." Haruko answered defiantly.
"Oh? I see you've prepared some things." He said, smirking. Quietly he reached for the rosary and the blessed water. He tossed the things outside the window, then ripped the holy paper into shreds. "Is that all you have?"
Husband and wife were terrified and speechless. Without another word, Rukawa went up the stairs towards Hina's bedroom. Then he knocked. The door swung open. The girl screamed.
Taken aback, Rukawa turned around and was just in time to see Haruko's arms raised, stake in hand, in the over-head stab that Hollywood thriller movie directors preferred. He grabbed Haruko's arm and twisted it. The stake spun out of her hand. Then he threw her down the stairs.
"Hina...we're leaving."
"No you're not," a voice from behind him said. Hanamichi snarled and jumped at Rukawa from behind, sending them both reeling to the floor. Hanamichi pinned Rukawa to the floor, punching him left and right.
"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!!!" Hanamichi shrieked.
"I'm already dead!" Rukawa cried, kicking Hanamichi off him. He regained composure and got on his feet. Murderously, he kneeled beside Hanamichi's groaning figure.
"What now, old man?" Rukawa held Hanamichi by the neck and raised his limp body. Then he threw Hanamichi out the window.
"Sayonara."
A terrifying scream came from behind. Haruko was bloodied and limping, but she held the rope in her hands tightly.
"You!" she cried savagely.
"I want your daughter."
"You're not taking her!!!"
"Want to stop me?"
In a split second, she lunged at him, throwing the rope around his neck. It was like a noose of fire had been thrown around his neck. He went around the room madly, trying to get the rope off him. He screamed deafeningly, destroying everything in his path.
"So I guess some holy things do work on you, you demon," Haruko gloated amidst the mayhem. "I got that from the Taoist priest. Maybe you should go pay him a visit if you ever get out of here alive."
Angrily, Rukawa threw a lampshade at Haruko's limping leg. Blood spurted from the wound. Haruko winced in pain.
"Hina! Get the stake! Get the stake and stab that bastard!" Haruko cried to her daughter who had been standing mutely near the window.
"Mother..." Hina whispered. She picked up the wooden stake and raised her arm.
"I love him, mother." Then she stabbed herself. Blood sprayed all over the room. Aghast, Rukawa ran to her side, the burning rope still around his neck. Weakly, Hina raised her bloody hand to remove the rope.
"I love you." she said weakly.
"I love you..." Rukawa whispered.
Haruko sat on the floor, shocked by the spectacle before her eyes. She could not move, and could only watch the drama unfolding before her.
"Goodbye..."
"No. I'm taking you with me." There was only one way to keep her alive. He picked up a sliver of glass and slashed his wrist.
"Drink," he ordered, the blood from his wound dripping into her mouth. Slowly, the gaping wound on her chest closed, with nothing but the stain of blood on her dress to attest to what had happened.
"I love you, " she smiled mischievously, licking his bloody wrist.
"I love you," he said smiling, then kissed her lips gently. "Let's go?"
Hina took one look at her mother. "Goodbye, mother," she said.
"We might drop by anytime soon. Tell my father-in-law that."
Tears rolled down Haruko's cheeks as she watched the two walk off into the darkness. It was over. There was nothing left for her to do but cry.
"You think we should get someone to eat?"
The End