AU. Another fic eh? Well, hopefully this fic won't be put up until after I have finished another one. Like, Alone or something. But, still. Okay, I am planning on making this fic pretty dark, dangerous, some blood and stuff. Demons, creatures, and some bloody evil fairies. lol. Umm, so yeah. I hope you enjoy it:) (With any luck it'll be IC. -snort-)
This first chapter is being posted because before I go any further, I would like to know if people will be interested. It will most likely be redone at a later date, though the plot itself won't be changed. Okay?
Don't be thrown by the beginning of the chapter, there's more description further on.
Rating: M (because of some very interesting tidbits that happen later on in the story. -grin- ain't I just a tease?)
Pairings: ZoLu SanNam SmoAce and maybe some other pairings later. Not sure yet.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or anything related to it. I just own this plot.
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Night Vigil
by WishingforaZoroplushie
Prologue
Moons rise. Moons fall. And the sun insists on following it. Wars begin. Wars end. It is the natural circle of the world. But when the circle is cracked, shattered, and wars rage for years with no end in sight, it is hard to believe in reality. In life. In good or evil. Yes, it is very difficult to believe in anything good when beasts roam the streets at night, with eyes like the devil and glittering teeth.
And their opposition. The monsters of the sky. Beasts that shed strange blood. They were beautiful, like the silver of the moon, and the gold of the sun had been harvested, and placed inside bodies of these beings, but they were pure devils. Sharp, pointed wings that were hard as steel, eyes as bright as emeralds. In comparison, the Vampires were considered kind, sweet and gentle creatures.
The war had raged since the fourteenth century. When Fairies had first laid beady eyes on the Vampires, and when the Vampires had first shown themselves. Innocents had been killed. Many had been slaughtered. The fairies needed their energy to survive, and heal themselves after particularly vicious fights with the Vampires. The Vampires needed no such energy, as they were endowed with their own healing ability. And now… no one was game to go out into the streets, for fear of being captured by a Fairy, or of being harassed by a particularly brutal vampire.
Mortals… lived in fear.
Chapter 1: It begins
April 21st, 1967
"No, no you can't!" a woman cried as she looked out from the safety of her home. The boy she was crying out to, turned and smiled at her with a dazzling grin.
"It's okay! It's not that late! And besides, I'm too skinny for them to worry about." and he hurried away into the darkness. The woman sighed and closed the door, shaking her head. The boy hummed merrily as he strode down the sidewalk, cool night air biting at his skin. He paused as a footstep echoed behind him. He blinked and turned around before tilting his head and smiling.
"Anyone there?" he asked. There was no reply. He turned back and yelped as someone grabbed a hold of him by his throat.
"Hey!" he cried as glinting eyes leant close to his, and hot breath puffed across the delicate skin of his neck. The hold on him wasn't tight, and it wasn't loose, but, he found he could not resist.
"Just stay still." a growling voice whispered near his ear.
"But… I know what you are! I don't wanna be like that!" and his voice trailed off into a pained groan as something pierced the skin of his neck. It was pain beyond pain, and it made his knees weak. There was no escape now. Maybe he should have listened earlier.
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February 5th, 2007
"Damn moon, it's too damn high to be healthy." a voice said from beside him as they stood on the corner of an abandoned street, in the middle of the night.
"Oh shut up Sanji. You're making my ears hurt you shitty bastard." the other returned. Sanji frowned, blonde hair shining from the glow of a nearby street lamp.
"Fuck you Zoro. Stop being such a damn prick."
"I'm freezing my goddamn ass off! Why the hell are we out here anyway?"
"Because Nami wanted to meet us here, and you know very well that I won't let you disobey her."
"Bitch." Zoro muttered under his breath.
"There you are!" a female voice echoed through the still air and the two turned to see a red head walking towards them. She was perfect in every way. Beautifully built body, a delicate face with a touch of makeup, and a seductive smile that sent Sanji wild. Within seconds he was twittering around her, throwing out compliments faster than a machine gun could throw out bullets. Zoro rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"So why did you want to meet us out here in the middle of the night?" Zoro asked, briefly glancing upwards as a cloud sailed over the moon. Nami smiled as she placed a hand on her hip.
"I actually wanted to see Sanji. You can fuck off." she growled. Zoro frowned. Nami didn't usually speak like that. He turned on his heel and stalked away, leaving the two to whatever it was she wanted him for. Zoro hated to think. He shivered as a particularly violent gust of wind blew through the alleyway.
"Why the hell did I choose this alley to walk down?" he muttered to himself. For one, it was creepy. Two, … it was creepy! But he would never admit that he thought it was creepy to… well, anyone really. Not even himself. Glancing to his right and he saw rats scurrying away.
"Hi there!" a happy voice cried and Zoro nearly jumped out of his skin. Spinning around, he spotted a boy crouched on a trash can beside him. The boy tilted his head and grinned. Zoro couldn't help but notice the sharper canine teeth. He frowned and hurried onwards.
"Hey!" the boy called as he jumped from the trash can and followed Zoro down the alley, "You know, a friend of mine said that it's impolite not to say hello when you're spoken to."
"I don't care. Go away." Zoro replied.
"Nawww. Come on! I just wanna talk!" and he trotted up beside Zoro, "Let's start with names! Mine's Monkey D Luffy! And you are?" Luffy waited a moment as he waited for Zoro to say something, and then pouted when he didn't.
"None of your business." Zoro finally replied and Luffy grinned.
"Well that's a strange name." and the boy chuckled to himself. Zoro stopped abruptly and turned to face Luffy.
"Listen, kid, why don't you go home where you belong?"
"I was home earlier today. I spent enough time there. Now, I wanna be out here! It's more fun! Besides, Nami won't let me stay in at night." and Zoro stopped.
"Nami? Do you know her?" and then Zoro shook his head, "You shouldn't listen to what other people say." and he continued towards his home on the edge of town. Luffy grinned.
"But Nami hurts when she hits! So, whatcha doin out here this late at night anyway?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Zoro replied blandly. Luffy chuckled.
"I already told you. I was at home all day sleeping!"
"Why were you sleeping during the day?"
"Cos, I have to. Not allowed to go outside in the day."
"Why?"
"Nami says I'm not allowed, and Usopp says there's things that will get me."
"There probably are."
"You think?"
"Why the hell are you annoying me!?"
"I'm not annoying you. I'm talking to you."
"Then find someone else to talk to. I'm going home to sleep." and Zoro turned another corner. This kid was a pain in his ass! And he hoped to rectify that soon.
"Sleep is overrated. Come on! I just wanna talk! I don't get anyone normal to talk to this late at night." Luffy whined. Zoro paused for a moment.
"Normal?" he asked. Luffy winced.
"Oops." he muttered before grinning, "Never mind. I just want to talk." and he pulled large, puppy dog eyes on Zoro. The man frowned and crossed his arms.
"Fine. We'll talk. Hi, goodbye. There's our talk." and Zoro turned and stormed off again. Luffy pouted before jumping and running after him.
"You're weird. But cool!" Luffy cried as he trotted beside his one sided 'friend'. Zoro sighed angrily, wishing his home wasn't on the other side of town.
"Listen, kid." and as Luffy grinned at him, Zoro couldn't help but notice those teeth again. Was it just him, or were they getting longer?
"I'm listening." Luffy replied. His skin seemed to be an interestingly pale white as well. With slightly over bright, and almost glowing eyes. And those eyes. They were… well there was no other description for it. Hypnotizing. Zoro frowned, shaking his head.
"I'm not interested in talking. I'm not interested in playing. I'm not interested in having anything to do with you." Zoro growled. Luffy pouted.
"But-"
"No. Don't care." and Zoro turned and walked away, leaving a rather dejected Luffy behind. It didn't take long for the boy to recover though, and soon he was taking chase of his quarry once again.
"You still haven't told me your name!" Luffy cried as he caught up. Zoro turned around and full on punched Luffy in the face, sending the kid backwards.
"For god's sake! Leave me the hell alone!" and Zoro hurried away again. Luffy sat on the ground, rubbing at his chin with a delicate hand. A small trickle of blood escaped from the side of Luffy's mouth, and joined the already dribble of blood that had tracked from the boy's nostril.
His eyes automatically tracked the dark liquid, canine teeth elongating to a thin, needle sharp point and his eyes beginning to glow a deep brown. Shuddering, Luffy forced his eyes shut. No, he was hungry… but not that hungry. He would sooner run into a wall than drink human, or his own, blood.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked nearby. Luffy twisted slightly to see Nami walking towards him, her eyes glowing a light orangey brown, and her teeth pointed and sharp, as she led that blonde man who had used to be her friend, after her. Luffy grinned and got up, wiping the blood away with the back of his hand.
"Nothing. Just talking to someone." he replied, brushing off the seat of his pants. Nami smirked and glanced over her shoulder.
"We've got a new one."
"Oooh. You think he can help?"
"I certainly hope so. I had to kiss the dolt before he would shut up and listen to me. Did you pick anyone you want to help yet?"
"Ahh…" and he looked in the direction Zoro had gone, "Just some guy. He wouldn't tell me his name, and my hypo- hyponitizing… wouldn't work on him." Luffy replied, grinning despite his mistake. Actually, it was quite possible that the boy's mistake wasn't even clear to him. Nami sighed and shook her head.
"Come on. We'd best keep going. We need to convert him before the sun comes up." Nami said, jerking her head towards the blonde. Luffy grinned.
"Okay!" he was lucky. Nami wouldn't make him eat tonight. He hated it when Nami made him eat. It was one of the most… disgusting feelings he had ever experienced. And it brought out an instinct in Vampires that Luffy had seen first hand, and he really didn't want to become like that. It was bad enough when he fought. When he chased. When he used his special ability. He became an animal then.
A beast.
Tearing, ripping, shredding and unable to be recaptured. And lost. Whenever Luffy became that monster… he felt lost. Like he was loosing a small part of himself every time that happened to him, and in a way, he supposed he was. After all, he had seen some of the older vampires. The ones that had been around since Roman times, and they were savages. No more than beasts with a lust for blood, and a power that had been honed and encouraged to grow over the years.
Decades.
Centuries.
"Come on." Nami snapped. Luffy blinked, grinned and ran after her. His life wasn't so bad. He was mostly around younger vampires. Only a century or so old. Luffy was among the youngest of them all. He was only four decades old. Though he still retained the look of a seventeen year old boy, as most vampires tended to keep their ages. Some let themselves age a little. Some even liked to let themselves age a lot. It all depended on how you wanted to look.
Then there were the elders. The oldest vampires of them all. Ones that no longer needed blood to sustain their lust, but were satiated with feeding off of energy through meditation. Every now and again, they would go out and have a feast of real blood. The blood they craved, but it wasn't essential to them. It wasn't vital.
Luffy's favourite elder was a one armed, red haired man of around his late twenties, by the name of Shanks. He always wore the garb of a pirate with a black cloak, for the era in which he had been bitten, had been during the time of Pirates. Shanks was one of Luffy's most valued, and prized friends. Shanks had been the one who had looked after Luffy after he had been converted. When Luffy didn't know what to do, where to go and why the sun burned him like it did.
The second elder, was a mysterious, and yet absolutely caring woman by the name of Nico Robin. She was as beautiful as she was deadly. For she was not one of the ordinary vampires. She was of one of the rarest strands of vampires to be found. The S clan. A cross of vampire, and devil's curse. She now had the ability to create a replica of any part of her body, where ever she wished. And the clones of body parts, were endless. Robin had nicknamed her power, the Hana Hana. Devil's curse and S clan, were outcasts usually, but, in the matter of these vampires, this strand of vampire blood, belonged to her, and four others.
So, it had been accepted.
The third elder, also had a mix of this blood, surging through his veins. He was a surly, grouchy, grumpy man who always had to follow the rules. He was a tight ass in other words. Taller than the other two, not to mention broader, he had an air of authority about him. But Luffy hardly ever had dealings with Smoker, he was always busy. That elder had the power to dissolve into smoke at will. This power proved to be effective against almost anything that came his direction.
The fourth, and last elder, was someone Luffy tried to avoid entirely. His sire. Kladhadore C Kuro. He didn't have a strand of the rare blood, and the ones with the power of the crossed curse, were treated like dirt by him. Standing in the shadows, was often his method of introduction, and a flash of his blades, would be most likely the only thing you would see before you were dead in his arms. More vicious, and bloodthirsty than the other three Elders, Kuro had a knack for sneaking out without the other's knowledge, and then gorging himself on human blood. He was a monster… in disguise.
To meet him, he was kind, polite, a little strict but well mannered. Clean cut, and smart. Luffy despised him. Despised the way Kuro tried to make Luffy like him, and if Luffy didn't eat the blood that was given to him by Kuro, then he would be locked in the Room of despair. A room where the sunlight filtered through thin holes in the wall, and the vampire entrapped would be burned, scorched on his arms, legs, or face every time he moved. So, you had to sit there. Still as a statue until the sun went down. It was Kuro's idea for the room of despair, and despite Robin, Shanks and even Smoker's protests, it had been built.
Luffy shuddered as he remembered his time in there last year. Kuro had thrown him in, and conveniently forgotten to give Shanks the key to let Luffy out that night. The boy had spent three days in there without anything. Food, water. Shanks had finally broken down the door and taken him out. The room of despair had become a punishment for only those who had committed horrible crimes.
From then on, Kuro had tried his hardest to make Luffy's life, or afterlife as the case may be, a nightmare. Shanks and Robin saw this, but there was nothing they could do. Smoker was one of the ones who would alert Robin and Shanks to Luffy's peril too, so that made Smoker okay in the youngest vampire's books.
"Come on, Luffy." Nami growled, holding open the trap door that led down into their home. Luffy blinked before grinning.
"Thanks Nami!" he cried and bounded over, jumping through the hole easily and landing on his feet. The blonde man jumped down beside them, a permanent goofy smile attached to his face, and his eyes dull.
"Wow Nami. You're getting good at that." Luffy commented, waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. Nami smirked.
"Of course I am." She replied with a quick wink, "I've been doing it for eight decades. I'd hope I was getting good." and she continued down the dark tunnel that led to the underground workings of their lair. Luffy sighed. At least none of those fairies had appeared tonight. Too afraid after their last fight with him. Luffy smirked at the thought before trotting after Nami and her prize.
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It didn't really occur to Zoro, until he had gotten back to his home, locked the door and then gone to bed, that the boy, Luffy… was it? Might possibly have been a vampire. The very thought seemed preposterous. For a skinny, unco-ordinated and easily hurt boy like that to be a vampire… well, the very thought was ludicrous. Zoro rolled over in his bed, staring out the window as the black night sky lightened to a dark purple, and then to a light pink.
Those teeth.
Those eyes.
And the sort of… lingering darkness Zoro had either seen, or imagined, surrounding the boy. Zoro turned back over, giving his pillow a good hard punch to try and soften it so he could sleep. Unfortunately for Zoro… he punched it too hard and feathers went everywhere. Growling under his breath, Zoro got out of the bed and stalked across the room to the cupboard, muttering something about 'weak pillows,' and 'third time this week'.
Opening the cupboard, he pulled out another pillow and then slammed the door, stalking back to his bed again. This time, he chose to mutter about 'shitty cheese heads' and 'idiot kids with vampire teeth'. Zoro really wasn't a happy bunny this time of the morning. Throwing himself back into the bed, and burying his face in the pillow, Zoro tried to let himself drift off to sleep. He turned slightly so he wouldn't breathe in the stuffy smell of the pillow, Zoro frowned with his eyes closed.
"Che, vampire. Yeah right." he muttered. Somewhere a rooster crowed. Zoro ignored it, but, the rooster continued crowing.
"Shut up." Zoro groaned, pulling the pillow over his head and yawning deeply. He was tired, more so than usual, and that damn rooster was going to get a shoe in it's throat before long. The rooster decided fifteen crows was enough, and jumped down off of whatever pedestal it had been standing on to strut amongst the hens. Zoro sighed as silence reigned through his home, broken only by the sound of the refrigerator turning on and humming as it cooled itself down.
A clock was ticking.
Boards were squeaking.
And birds were singing. Zoro growled loudly and sat up. Why the hell wasn't he allowed to sleep!? He blinked wearily and yawned again, standing and moving towards the door that led out of his room and into the corridor. That kid really had been strange though. And all that stuff about not being allowed out in the day. What the hell had that been? Outside, a fairy flashed past the window, a large red, blood stained sword in it's hand.
Zoro paused and watched it warily. Those things had frightened the hell out of him more than a few times. They had also tried to steal his swords on a few occasions. Zoro had kicked their little sparkly butts for that. No way in hell were some little 'pretty people' going to steal his swords. Zoro glanced over to where the three sheathed weapons were on display on the wall.
His lips twisted before he moved over and grabbed them, not trusting those little fairy mongrels any further than he could throw them. Which… mind you, probably wasn't the best terminology as Zoro could probably throw them a fair way. Yawning, stretching, and yawning some more, Zoro made his way into the kitchen to see if he could find some sort of drink or food that could potentially help him get to sleep.
Milk was out, as he refused to heat milk up like a little child and cold milk this early in the morning would only serve to wake him up even more, and coffee was a definite no-no, but, all Zoro seemed to have was coffee. So… the green haired man made himself a cup, sauntered into the lounge room and sat down, flicking on the TV. Some random, live news show came on, yelping about how the Vampires were attacking their station as they spoke. Zoro snorted.
"Idiots. Vampires don't attack during the day." he muttered, taking a sip of his coffee. Now the show was yelping about how people should be learning how to protect themselves. Ha! How? Zoro only barely managed to make it out of the last confrontation he had had with the fairies, and that was only because a Vampire saw the fairies and decided he wanted to take them on.
The Vampire then ran away screaming like a girl as the Fairies chased after him, chattering angrily and squeaking in those high pitched, almost sonar ranged, voices. Zoro sighed and set the cup down on the table in front of him. He changed the channel again, flicking it over to a kid's program about dancing dogs and skipping cats.
Actually… it wasn't that bad. Zoro flicked the channel as fast as he could, the song of the dogs and cats already beginning to get stuck in his head. Okay, so it was that bad. Yawning, Zoro let himself slide back into the chair, his eyelids drooping and finally closing as he drifted off to sleep. Who was the idiot who said coffee wouldn't let you sleep?
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Okay, what did you think of this? This was more an explaining chapter, and don't be fooled by the shortness, as it will get longer as it goes along. But, please tell me what you think because... well, this is the first time I have written a vampire story... at all. My original ones don't have Vampires in them as such, but they will soon! Hopefully. And I wanna know how I am doing so far.
Readers: You're babbling... again!
Plushie:P
