Vietnam, 1972.
"The enemy will be here shortly we have no other choice!"
"We don't know what'll happen!" A man said behind the other, rushing into an empty tent after the other soldier.
"It doesn't matter." The weapon clad soldier said solemnly as he peered out of a flap in the tent before making his way to a cedar box. Dwelling in this box, was the end of the war and victory, no way was he going to let that slip out of his fingers. Suddenly a few men in white lab coats appeared holding a syringe with dark fluid, the chevalier's blood no doubt.
"We can't do thi-"
"Miyagusuku! We can, and we will." The soldier said sternly before nodding once to the syringe armed doctor. Opening the box, the three stepped forward, George Miyagusuku backed away slowly towards the exit of the tent as they advanced on the now open wooden crypt. Their eyes rested on a young girl in her teens, with long ebony strands surrounding her, and all of them held their breath.
"But, she's just a girl." The doctor suddenly began to lose his nerve, but the soldier beside him sensed this almost immediately and shoved him forward even more.
"She… is our weapon." He said without hesitation, watching intently as the young doctor advanced on the slumbering girl before piercing into her skin with the needle, and pushing the plunger down.
The next few seconds were a blur, the last thing the doctor had seen was the dark blood flowing slowly into her veins, then all three of them were on their backs.
"Saya!" George yelled as she pounced on them, letting out a feral growl when he tried to get near. The young private stared in horror as her crimson eyes pierced into him, into his every being until he was completely paralyzed with fear. A scream from beneath her caught her attention, and she looked down at the terrified soldier under her. With a snap of her teeth, Saya ripped into the man's flesh, ripping through veins and snapping arteries cleanly. George's horror stricken face watched as she advanced on the other two doctors who were huddled together beside a table, then ran like a coward, tears welling up and stinging his vision as he tried to find David.
Yes, David would know what to do, he could do something… couldn't he? George hoped that he could with every ounce of his heart but doubt stung him almost as bad as the guilt he felt from leaving the two poor doctors.
Saya had found her sword. She began to slash at everything, soldier, civilian, women, children, it didn't matter. She was just running, running after each random target until she saw their blood paint her sword crimson. Just like her eyes, those eyes filled with rage and malice that yearned to be quenched of their thirst, their thirst for blood. She had found another target, a small girl running as fast as her little legs could carry her, too bad it wasn't fast enough. Raising her glimmering katana in the surrounding napalm firelight Saya hurled herself toward the little girl, swinging blindly. She would keep swinging until her dying breath it seemed, that or her blade caught resistance from flesh. But when her sword made contact with a harder, less fragile resistance, a terrible snarl erupted from her. Her eyes flashed open to look down at her chevalier, holding back her katana and disobeying her wishes.
"Saya, please!" Haji pleaded as he tried to hold back her ridiculous strength with a single dagger, in order to protect the child. No, in order to protect Saya, but only another snarl greeted him. Her expression hadn't even faltered for a second, as if she didn't even recognize him. He began speaking to her more, but got the same result, if anything she got more angry, and this caused one scar that would stay with him forever. Haji's skin ripped off of him, showing his true form… that of a chiropteran, when Saya continued to press on his heart weakened along with his body. Throwing down his dagger and falling to his knees, Saya's only chevalier offered his neck to his queen. But just as her sword was about to fall on him, an unlucky soul happened to bump into her and disturb her concentration. The woman ran as fast as she could away from the crazed monster, but soon, she too fell, and the monster escaped off into the sea of hysteria to slay once again.
Present Day: Okinawa
"Saya, how are you feeling?" A soft female voice lulled her from a dead sleep, and soon she was almost sitting up.
"Julia?" The teenage girl's voice came out raspy and somewhat strange, but she managed just as she always had.
"How is she doing?" Almost immediately after waking up, David walked into the room and began scrutinizing every detail of Saya's exterior appearance.
Once again he's treating me like a liability. She thought as she turned her attention away from him, looking back at Julia's knowing expression.
"There will be a change of plans. We will be heading back to the school to conduct a thorough investigation of the school and presumed phantom." He said grabbing her chart at the foot of her bed, scanning for any abnormalities whatsoever.
"What do you mean –presumed?" Saya said, suddenly growing a bit more un-fond of the blonde haired member of the red shield.
"Well Saya, have you seen his face?" He retorted, acting suspiciously confident of his position.
"He- He was wearing a mask at all times how the hell was I-"
"So you didn't, see his face." David interjected, causing Saya to get a bit more frustrated, but she didn't retaliate.
"No sir." She said with a scoff before jumping out of bed and walking away from David and Julia.
"What do you think you're doing-" He started before noticing she was walking toward the bathroom.
"I have to go back right?" Saya said after a short pause, sizing up the tall man as his posture changed, she stared ahead for a moment, then closed the door behind her and leaned against the sink for support. Though her words were tough, Saya was shaking inside, she didn't want to go back. She didn't want to see him. A low whimper escaped the girl's mouth before she put on her school uniform and sucked up the courage needed to put up a carefree front. The only person she didn't fool, couldn't fool, was Haji. He saw it in her eyes, that fear that she couldn't express, and his sorrow reached out to touch her, anything ailing her, ailed him double, anything that hurt her, hurt him threefold.
"It'll be all right." She said, seeing the twist of agony in his eyes, she knew the pressure he felt and hated herself for being the one to put it there, but she couldn't change the past.
"I promise." She said finally, projecting her very soul into those words. She truly wanted to believe that things would be all right, but somehow deep inside she knew that it could never be.
That day in school passed by like any other normal day surprisingly, but she knew she could never really be at ease until this was all over. As she made her way to her homeroom the next morning, that was when she got those familiar stares… Immediately Saya rushed to her desk, pushing away the large crowd of people who had gathered. Her eyes caught the striking color before her brain could register what exactly they were, but then her mouth sounded out her so far away thoughts.
"A bouquet… of blue roses." Saya's eyes widened in delayed shock, then she began scanning the place for anyone that would fit the profile of the phantom, Karl. The homeroom teacher disrupted her search when she asked people to be seated, and she knew she had lost once again. Saya stared menacingly at the bouquet, throughout the day, and that glare stayed stronger than ever when her roommate had insisted that she keep them. As she stared off at them, she suddenly noticed a white card buried inside the striking flowers, curiosity guided her fingers to the card and she opened it after a prolonged stare at the cursive writing on the paper.
For my Saya.
Meet me at our special place…
Midnight. And this time keep the chevalier at bay.
The Phantom
Frustrated, Saya shoved the card back into the bouquet, then withdrew her hand quickly and pulled it to her chest.
"Ow!" Saya looked down at her bleeding finger, pulling out a long thorn from one of the roses and tossing it away into the wastebasket nearby. After a moment of sucking on her finger, the young girl noticed the time and the frustration within her increased. She didn't like it, but she knew that she had to leave now if she was going to face The Phantom at the specified time. It was like déjà vu all over again as she began running across the school's campus, across the lawn and past the white roses, only this time she had something different, an advantage that she hadn't had before. Saya eyed her katana as the metal of her blade glistened maliciously in the moonlight, then smiled to herself at the warm feeling of protection that it gave her as she held onto the hilt. She reached the bell tower in record time, but time could not prepare her for the pure, predatory fear that began radiating from her when the Phantom chose not to reveal himself. Saya hated the fact that she couldn't tell where the beast was, and knew her skills weren't that good to block her from sustaining injury for the entire night.
"Phantom!" Her call echoed throughout the tall tower, and could be heard softly vibrating from the bell. Instead of hiding like he had before, the shadowy figure of Diva's chevalier moved out of hiding, stopping just an arms length out of her sword's range.
"The scent of your deadly blood is so lovely, but how many times must I tell you to call me Karl… Lovely Saya?" The unmasked man stared into her confused, un-awakened eyes with true sorrow before extending a hand to the girl. Just as soon as she flinched, his hand stopped in midair, before falling back to his side, cold and unwanted.
"Tonight, you will die!" Saya screamed at the man as she charged toward him in a rage, the horrible kind of controlled rage that hardened his heart. This rage was nothing like the passion he had seen back in Vietnam, not even close… and the thought that he might not be able to have another glimpse of said passion killed him inside.
"I have come to a decision… I will do this for the both of us, because you are my soulmate born unwanted, my eternal life and elixir. If you refuse to be like you once were… if you refuse to smell the napalm and bloodshed and suppress those memories I hold so dear- I will die with you Saya. We will perish together!" Karl became crazed with the thought of killing her, the glamour of their deaths and their souls departing from their bodies, entangled in bliss.
"Dear Saya, die with me!" The Phantom screamed, lunging his body at the charging girl with a steel skinned chiropteran arm, slashing at her over and over again. The unprepared girl was overwhelmed by the sheer force of the vampire in front of her. The battle commenced, between Saya's dodging and slashing, and Karl not caring if he was cut or not, the energy of the un-awakened chiropteran queen began depleting dramatically until finally Karl was behind her. Without a second thought, he tore at the cloth by her neck and stared down at the beautiful porcelain flesh in front of him.
"You'll never know… How much I truly love you Saya. Don't hate me…" Karl said gently before craning his neck and tearing into his love's flesh.
"Ah!" Saya let out a pained gasp as the phantom's fangs reached her jugular, then her mind began to reel.
"I made a…. promise." Her voice held an unseen determination as she struggled to lift her sword, in a swift movement, Saya pierced through her abdomen into Karl's heart.
"But- I… don't leave me alone- I'm…" The words came out strangled as Karl tried to utter his last words, then just as he and his love kneeled to the floor, his lips rested on her neck with a tender kiss. The phantom's skin began to crystallize quickly, causing glowing cracks to appear from Saya's poisonous blood, then he groaned in pain.
"-Scared…" He said with his last breath of air, the word came out faint, almost as if he sighed, but Saya knew better and she heard his body shatter completely, leaving no trace of him except small amounts of dust.
"I'm sorry… Karl."
