Just some quick notes about this story before you start reading - I actually started this a long time ago as an entry for the UH HalloweenFest. I had meant for it to be a one shot ... But then it turned into this long, multi-chapter thing instead which I'm still (slowly) working on.
So, no, this is not yet complete. However, I have around twenty chapters to post before you'll have caught up to where I'm writing - And, hopefully, by the time I get to chapter twenty, I'll have managed to finish writing. That being the case, I intend on posting a chapter each week

Also, the theme song for this is "Lust for Blood" by Gackt. If you haven't heard it yet, I really do recommend it - I always put it on when I'm sitting down to write this.

And, on that note ... I think it's time to get on with the story 3

Full Summary: Draculquiorra was a fariy tale being entirely made up to frighten young children. Something that Inoue Orihime certainly did not believe in, regardless of the strange attacks and deaths that had been worrying her township recently. And so, when Orihime wakes to discover that she had been captured - that fairy tales have suddenly slipped into the world of her reality - her world is, understandably, turned upside down. However, a new path has opened for her, under the watchful eye of her captor. One that is sure to lead her into a darker realm where the adventures, and relationships she forms are much more exciting than she had ever dreamed. [UlquiHime is given a "Dracula"-edge w]


Stories about Draculquiorra were always, always, prevalent in the weeks leading up to Halloween. Parents would tell their children, "Make sure you brush your teeth tonight, or else the Draculquiorra will come to get you!", or "Wash behind your ears! Draculquiorra is particularly fond of children with dirt behind their ears!". As Orihime grew up, she realised how stupid some of those stories were, just excuses to scare negligent children into doing everything they were supposed to of a night.

This year, the stories seemed to be even more noticeable than usual though, and Orihime could only assume that the townspeople were afraid. There had been reports of people of all kinds disappearing – most of these being young women – late into the night, and reappearing in their bed when the morning came. Some if them were already dead when they were found the next morning, other's simply seemed to be lethargic, only to die a few hours later. The only clue to these disappearances lay with those who returned with two puncture wounds in their throat, but with those same people too exhausted to tell them who was behind the attacks before their own death claimed them … Well, the town was buzzing with stories of Draculquiorra.

Did Orihime believe in them? She couldn't quite decide. She would acknowledge that it was odd, after all, not even her fairy-guardians could assist with the revival of those who had been bitten – for it was certainly a bite. The puncture wounds were always the same distance apart, they were even the same depth each time, but what was biting the people … Orihime couldn't say. She didn't want to believe it could be Draculquiorra - it had simply been a wives-tale for so long, she found it hard to believe there was any truth to it anymore. And yet …

Well, regardless, the circumstances were suspicious. That was the only thing she could be sure of as she tended to another young girl, probably fifteen years old this time.

"I'm sorry," Orihime said, turning to the girls mother. "It's the same as the others. I can't seem to heal these wounds. I truly am sorry," and it was apparent in the way her face was contorted with pain.

"I see. Thankyou anyway, Healer-Inoue."

With a heavy sigh, Orihime turned and left the room, giving the mother some privacy with her daughter in their last hours together. Orihime leaned against the wall of the house, trying to ignore the heartbroken sobs of the woman inside. She hated this more than anything - What was the point of having an ability like hers if she couldn't help the people who needed her? A broken leg? Sure, no problem. But, when people are actually dying by some unknown cause … She couldn't do anything. There was just … some odd aura around the bite marks that prevented her from being able to reject it's presence.

No, she did not believe it could be some silly, fairy-tale creature designed to scare children. Whatever this was, it was much, much, more sinister than that.

~X~

At last, it was night, and he was free to roam the streets, away from the prying, prejudiced eyes of the townsfolk. His bright, green eyes flicked over to the red-house to his left, and he grimaced ever so slightly.

It was unlike him, but he'd avoided that house for as long as possible. There was simply an … unusual aura that permeated off it, and yet, each and every time he passed, he felt the inane compulsion to enter. He was, bewilderingly, inclined to find out who lived there … to ascertain who it was that radiated such an overwhelmingly, intoxicating aroma that his mouth watered and his thoughts were consumed every time he caught it.

Resolutely, he trudged on past, hands in his pockets as he watched the bats as they fluttered about in the night sky, trying to locate another scent. One that could distract him from the siren's call behind him.

… … He couldn't do it. On every other night he hunted, he had been able to find another that was at least acceptable. Tonight however, the smell was taunting him. Invading his senses, overtaking his every thought.

By the time he had fully realised what had happened, he found himself standing in the bedroom of a young woman, her sunset hair fanned out around her as though she were the living incarnation of the Sun. As he stood there watching her, pondering over what to do now that he was here, she shifted in her sleep as though she could sense him there, and he melted into the shadows.

It was strange, he decided as he melded himself with the wall, no matter how hungry he was, or wasn't, this woman's smell had always enticed his thirst, and yet … Now that he was here in her very room, he no longer felt the desire to drain her in order to sustain himself. No, if anything … he felt something else, something he couldn't place, something he wasn't sure he wanted to place.

As the Sun's image rolled in her sleep, he wondered whether he should leave and find another who could satisfy his need. And then she spoke, muffled by the pillow, but she certainly had called out.

"Wait, don't go," and her hand was reaching in the direction of the shadows in which he hid.

It was in that moment, he had lost a mental debate with himself. He wanted - No, he needed this woman, and so, he would take her with him. But, unlike the others, he would not return her half-drained, nearing death. Oh no, this mortal Sun fascinated him far too much for that.

So, as silently as the predator he was, Draculquiorra swept forth and pulled the woman's form to him, the window flying open at his command as wings sprouted from his back and he flew off into the night, Bat holding the still-sleeping Sun tight to his chest, wondering if perhaps he was making the biggest mistake of his several-century-long life.

~X~

When Orihime awoke, it was to a strange room filled with scarlet tapestries, and black bedsheets. Filled with shadows and … well, it quite simply looked like it belonged in some gothic-horror novel - It even had what looked like dark grey, stone floors!

"Where -?" she asked the empty air, bringing a hand up to rub the sleep from her eyes.

What she was not expecting was the reply that drifted to her from the shadows, "I see you're finally awake, woman."

Mildly surprised at her lack of fear considering the situation, Orihime turned her head in the direction of the voice and suppressed a surprised gasp. Standing there was a man … or, she thought he was a man. She couldn't be entirely sure, because he had the torso of a human-male, and yet his legs and forearms were covered in thick, black fur. Horns protruded from his inky black, hair, and there were big, leathery bat-wings folded behind his back, not to mention there was an extremely long tail swishing about restlessly behind him. While all these things, in addition to the fangs that were barely hidden by his pale lips, should have startled Orihime - Okay, maybe she was a little startled, but not afraid, somehow - she was entranced by the creature's bright, green eyes, illuminated by the moonlight in a way that they seemed to glow with an other-worldly light.

"Who … are you?" she asked, pulling the covers closer around her.

The creature before her sighed as though he found the answer troublesome, and then, hesitantly, "… I am that which is haunting the stories in your town."

"… That, doesn't tell me much you know."

The creature fixed her with a glare, his mouth tightening ever so slightly before he said in a voice devoid of emotion, "Draculquiorra."

And Orihime burst into a fit of giggles completely inappropriate for the moment before she could stop herself. Draculquiorra's irritation at her reaction was evident in the way his tail suddenly pounded against the floor.

"Sorry, sorry. But is this a joke?" the woman asked, wiping at the water leaking from the corners of her eyes, a smile still on her face.

"Certainly not."

"But … You can't be serious!" Orihime said, an annoyed frown on her face. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that the man before her was not human - That was obvious if you considered the wings, tail and fur, but … "Draculquiorra? That's just a fairy tale," she stated, folding her arms resolutely across her chest. "Something told to simply frighten young children."

One second, the creature was on one side of the room, and the next, he was right beside Orihime, his tail now positively thrashing about behind him. Orihime, naturally, jumped in surprise, and then she felt it; those first trickles of fear eating away at her resolve. Looking up into those luminescent green eyes, Orihime realised that they were certainly not of this world. But if they weren't from her world, which world did they belong to? The one where fairy tales were not 'tales' at all, but reality?

And, as his lips parted, revealing those decidedly sharp teeth, his eyes narrowing in an almost-defiant fashion, he asked, "Shall I prove it to you?", his eyes resting on the vein of her throat. It was then that Orihime decided it didn't matter from which world Draculquiorra belonged, because right then he was in her world, and those teeth were looking alarmingly sinister as they drew closer to her neck.

"Santen Kesshun!" she cried, and Draculquiorra was forced back several paces by the barrier suddenly erected between them, Orihime's hands enforcing it as she looked at the creature before her, her mouth tight and her brows knitted with concentration.

Draculquiorra looked over at her, his green eyes a fraction wider than usual in his surprise, and then he let loose one amused chuckle. "You truly are a strange woman," he remarked, his eyes taking in the fairies controlling the barrier, and Orihime's defiant expression before sweeping out the room, the door closing with a bang behind him.

Heart racing, Orihime pulled her knees close to her chest, her eyes closed as she drew in deep, calming breaths. "Thankyou, Baigon, Hinagiku and Lily," she spoke to her fairies and they returned to her hairpins, albeit reluctantly.

Blowing the air back out again in a sigh, Orihime realised two things as she lay back down - First, she somehow, inexplicably, was not afraid. She was in an environment she knew absolutely nothing about, not even knowing how she came to be there, but she was not afraid. Confused, yes, but not afraid.

The second was how unbearably sad Draculquiorra looked with those thick tear-stains down his pale face, and she couldn't help but wonder why.


And there's chapter one for you - So, what did you think? Hopefully you were able to enjoy it, even if it was me just setting the scene, haha.