Hello readers! Because I got such great reviews from awesome people, I've decided to continue the story! Here's the second chapter, enjoy. ~Moonlinny ❤️
Chapter 2: Going undercover and meeting a blue eyed boy
MAI'S POV
"Mai! Over here!" John smiles, waving at me. I smile and take a seat across from him. The tea café is small, there's only four booths against the glass window and three tables that sit two in the middle of the shop. There's also a tea bar that sits six people. Other than me, John, and an elder man siting at the tea bar reading a newspaper quietly, the café is pretty empty.
"You dyed your hair black?"
"Yeah, I wanted to change up my hair style a little bit, brown gets boring." I respond automatically. I hate lying. I really didn't want to dye my hair, but I had to. The other day one of Peter's vampire friends told me I looked like the former Vampire Queen a little. He has no idea how close he was to discovering he was talking to her daughter, the Vampire Princess. I'm starting to look a lot like my mother so I had to change up my appearance, leading me to dye my hair to play it safe.
"It looks nice." John says. I smile. He goes into his bag and takes out a folder and hands it to me. I open the folder to see multiple pictures. The first victim had long black hair and big brown eyes. She'd be pretty if she wasn't covered in blood. In the picture, her eyes are closed, her body laying straight, with both arms against her sides as if she was in a coffin. There was another picture of only her neck, two holes with blood seeping through them are shown. A Vampire bite. He must have drunk her to death. The second victim looks similar to the first, black hair, brown eyes, same age, fang wounds on her neck.
"Does the third victim have black hair and brown eyes?" I ask John. He nods. "So this vampire has a preference..." I mumble, mostly to myself.
"Do you think this vampire could just be passing by the neighborhood and stopped by the church to feed?" John asks.
"Maybe... How long did the girls go missing before the body was found?"
"A couple of days, four days maximum. The first girl was found in the basement two days after she went missing. The second victim's body was found four days after she went missing behind the altar in the mass room. The third victim went missing yesterday."
"Any signs of abuse?"
"No, just a few small cuts and bruises, and I think they were hung by their hands, because their wrists shows signs of being tied up." John says.
I'm lost in my thoughts when I hear familiar voices enter the shop. Monk and Ayako are arguing while Yasu is behind them, watching. Ayako then slaps Monk on the back of his head with her purse. Yasu laughs up a storm while Monk curses but doesn't dare to say anything else that might make her hit him again. Ayako and Monk are both vampires, their eyes bright red. Yasu is a human. Monk spots me, then runs over to me and pulls me into a bear crushing hug. When I start suffocating, Ayako slaps him with her purse again, causing him to let me go.
"You're killing her you old pervert!" Ayako screams at him.
"Shut up you old-" I interrupt him.
"Stop it. John needs our help. It's a pretty serious case, so please just calm down and listen to the details."
Monk glares at Ayako, who glares back twice as hard, then he sits down next to me in the booth. Ayako sits next to John and Yasu pulls up a chair.
"Here's some pictures," I give Monk the folder and he passes it around after he looks at the photos.
"It seems like John's Church's orphanage is having some serious vampire issues. Two girls were found dead in a week and the latest victim went missing yesterday. I fit the preference of the vampire, so I'm going undercover as a new orphan entering the orphanage, if that's alright with you John-" I look at him and he nods so I continue, "Yasu will replace me as team leader-" a bunch of groans are heard from Monk and Ayako, I glare at them before rolling my eyes. "John, I don't want you to tell anyone that I'm going undercover. The vampire might be one of the church's staff members, so we have to play it safe."
"Of course," John says.
"Monk, Yasu, Ayako pack for a week and be at the church by 2 pm. If you have any questions or concerns, just text me. Avoid all physical contact with me the whole time we're at the church, I don't want to risk getting caught together." They all nod.
"John, would you come with me to my house so I could pack my things? I don't want us to meet me at the orphanage. It'll look suspicious if I just show up at the orphanage by myself." Yasu whistles. Monk winks at John and Ayako tries to hide a smile.
"Um, okay." He blushes as I glare at my team. We all get up and start towards the door.
"Good luck." I say to my team before we part ways.
"Mai, please don't get hurt." Ayako gives me a worried look.
"Yeah Mai, you're super clumsy so watch your step." Monk ruffles my hair and I pull his hand off my head.
"You're a danger magnet, so take care of yourself." Yasu grins.
"I'll be fine." I say rolling my eyes and walking away from them with John.
Mai's Apartment
I empty out my small black duffle bag and stuff in clothes, socks, undergarments, my toothbrush and comb. I look at the old brown teddy bear sitting on my bed. I grab it and stuff it in my bag too. Maybe it'll make me look a little younger. I throw in my black converse and a small silver dagger and zip it close. John sits on my black leather sofa in my living room, patiently waiting. He looks up when he hears me walk in.
"Ready?" He asks. I nod and we leave.
The Church
I gasp when I see the church. It's a huge Victorian church with stone walls. There's a balcony on the second floor. The church is simply beautiful. John leads me into the church. Once you walk in there's a huge chandelier in the middle of the high ceiling room. A wide staircase that looks like a 'T' is straight across from the entrance. There's a closed door on the left when you enter and a closed door on the right too. John leads me toward the staircase and we turn to the left side. We pass a bunch of closed doors and stand in front of the last door in the hallway. John knocks and we here a soft 'come in'. We enter the room.
A man in his late 50's sits on a chair behind a big brown desk. He's wearing reading glasses and he is writing something in a journal. When he looks up, he takes off his glasses and smiles at us.
"You must be the new pretty girl to enter our family." He says getting up and going around his desk to meet us. I blush.
"Yes, Father Kimura. This is Mai Taniyama. She lost both her parents in a fire, unfortunately, both of her parents were only children, so she has no family." John looks at me sadly, because it's true. I told John that I lost my parents in a fire and ever since then, I was alone. Which is half true. I did lose my parents, there was a fire involved, and I was alone, so it doesn't count as lying... Right?
"Oh, how tragic! It sounds like you've been through a lot my dear. Please, make yourself at home, God will protect you here." He smiles, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Thank you, Father Kimura." I say. A knock is heard behind us.
"Excuse me Father Kimura, you called?" A middle aged woman wearing a habit says, she enters the room.
"Ah, Sister Shimizu, just on time. I'd like you to show our latest addition to the family around. Please make sure she knows all the rules of the church."
"Yes, of course Father." She gives him a little bow then looks at me.
"Come with me child." She says. I look at John and he nods encouragingly. I follow her down the hall.
"This is the boy's sleeping quarters, Rule #1: You are not allowed to go into a boys room, no matter what the reason. No boys are allowed in the girls sleeping quarters either." We walk down the stairs and then walk up to the right side of the main staircase.
"This is the girl's sleeping quarters," she walks down three doors, then stops and opens the door on the right.
"This is your room, you'll meet your roommate when she comes up from lunch. Put your luggage on the bed for now. I'll give you the whole tour now." I do as she says. We walk down the hallway, then she opens the second to last door on the left, revealing a staircase. We go up the staircase to the third floor.
"The boy's sleeping quarters has the same staircase leading to the other side of the third floor. The second door on the left is the playroom. This is the Adult's sleeping quarters, you are absolutely forbidden to go to the third floor unless you are given permission to go to the playroom by one of the sisters or fathers of the church, understood?"
"Yes, Sister." I say. She opens the playroom. There are three huge gated windows across from the door. On the left side of the huge room are coloring boards, stickers, crayons, markers and a bunch of toy chests. On the right side of the room are three tables with chairs. She closes the door, and goes down stairs to the first floor. She goes to the door left of the entrance, when she opens it, I heard giggles and a bunch of voices talking.
"Come along child, don't be shy." She smiles warmly at me. I go into the room. The room is huge and looks like a cafeteria. Some children look up, curious of who I am, others continue being in their own little worlds.
"This is the dining hall. Breakfast is at 8:30am, lunch is at 1pm, and dinner is at 6pm." She then looks at everyone who are sitting down eating their lunches and talking excitedly. "SILENCE." She yells and almost immediately, everyone quiets down.
"This is Mai Taniyama, she is joining our family today. Please be kind to her and help her if she needs help."
"Yes Sister Shimizu!" All the children reply. Then they all go back to what they were doing before.
"Make yourself at home, Mai. Everyone must be in their rooms no later than 8pm and you are forbidden to go to the basement. Any questions?" She asks.
"No, Sister Shimizu."
"Good. Have a great day, and don't be shy to talk to others, they don't bite." She smiles at me, then leaves the dining room. I wait a few moments, then slip out of the dining room. I go to the room across from me, when I open the door, I realize it's the mass room. I walk down the aisle past the rolls of seats and go to the altar. I bend down behind it, and touch the floor, I inhale deeply through my nose when I smell a familiar scent I open my eyes, there was definitely a vampire here.
I could smell it. I am part vampire so my senses are far more advanced than a human's. I'm as strong as a vampire too and heal just as quickly as one. The only difference between me and a full vampire is that I don't have red eyes and I prefer human food over blood. Also, if I die, I don't think I'll burn up and turn to ashes. Then a hear a click of a door. I quickly hide underneath the altar. I hear Father Kimura speak and a bunch of foot steps walk in. I smell two vampires and two humans, one of them being Father Kimura.
"When I heard London's top Vampire Hunting Team moved to Japan a few weeks ago, I called you immediately. I believe you could catch the criminal whose been murdering my innocent children."
"Where did you say her body was found?" The human's voice asks. The voice is cold and I believe it's a boy not much older than me.
"Behind the Altar." Father Kimura says. Nervous butterflies fill my stomach as he takes a step closer to my hiding space. My heart pounds rapidly against my chest. Then I see his feet. I'm dead. My cover's blown. The human squats and my caramel brown eyes meet his blue eyes. His eyes slightly widen in surprise, but then almost automatically his eyes become unemotional. He has black hair and his face is... Beautiful. I would have blushed if I wasn't having a nervous break down. He opens his mouth to speak but I quickly put my index finger to my lips and give him my pleading eyes. His eyes never leave mine when he speaks.
"Father Kimura, do you mind if I have a few moments alone in here? You could update my two assistances, Lin and Masako." He says. His cold voice send shivers up my back.
"Of course, we'll be in my office." Father Kimura says before leaving the mass room with the two vampires. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
"Now would you like to explain to me why you're hiding underneath the Altar where a body was found?" He demands coldly.
"Well... Let's just say I'm having a first bad day." I say, not backing down. There's no way I'd be scare of a human, even if he looks and sounds mean. He glares at me.
"I guess I'll tell Father Kimura where I found you." He says, then quickly stands up straight and starts walking towards the door. I scramble out from underneath the altar and reach out to grab his hand. However, I forgot about the big step going to the altar and I trip. Just before I'm about to hit the floor, big warm arms capture me gracefully. My caramel brown eyes meet his beautiful blue eyes. We're so close, if I wanted I could move up three inches and kiss him. His eyes never leave mine and before I can stop myself, I blush. I push off his hands.
"Thanks." I mumble, not meeting his eyes.
"You were going to tell me why you were under the altar." His cold voice cuts through my ridiculous thoughts.
"I was exploring the church. It's my first day at this orphanage so I'd thought I'd explore my surroundings. I had no idea a body was found behind the altar." I'm surprised at how sincere and innocent my voice sounds. I meet his eyes. He analyzes my face for a few seconds, then sighs.
"Leave. Don't even come in here again." He scolds me. I nod and run out of the mass room. I quickly run upstairs to the second floor and into my room. When I close the door, I notice a girl sitting on the bed across from mine.
"Hello, I'm Mary. You're the new girl, Mai right?" She asks. Mary is beautiful, she has long blonde wavy and big green eyes. She's wearing a white dress, causing her to look like an angel. She's probably about seven years old.
"Yeah, nice to meet you Mary." I smile at her. She smiles back at me, showing me her perfect white teeth. I walk to my bed and start putting my clothes in the dresser. I then slide my duffle bag containing my little dagger under the bed.
"Did they tell you?" She asks, curious.
"Tell me what?" I ask.
"About the girls that were killed here. Both of them were my friends, the last one that went missing is Sakura, she was my roommate." Mary says.
"I didn't know... That's horrible... What happened to them?"
"Well rumor has it that there's a vampire running around loose in the church. My friend, Dai, who found the first girl said he saw vampire bite marks on her neck... It freaks me out... Sakura was there when I closed my eyes, but when I opened them she just vanished..." Mary says, she tries to keep her voice from sounding scared. However, I can tell this little girl is terrified.
"Do you think I'm next Mai?" She asks, tears fill her eyes. I quickly get up and automatically feel the need to protect this beautiful innocent child. I sit on her bed and hug her.
"Of course not! You'll be fine! Don't worry! I'll kick that vampire's butt if he gets any where near you." I say. She sniffles and wipes her tears. Then she breaks the hug and holds out her pinky.
"You promise you'll protect me?" She asks, her big green eyes hopeful. My heart stops when I remember me asking Peter the same question when I was younger.
"I promise." I say, taking her pinky in mine. She smiles and hugs me tightly.
"Thanks one-chan!" She says brightly. She's so cute I want to squeeze her to death! No one's ever called me their older sister before.
"I'm going downstairs to grab a snack since I missed lunch, you wanna come with me?" She nods excitedly and grabs my hand. I smile, she's just too adorable!
When we get to the main staircase, Monk, Ayako, and Yasu are talking to Father Kimura while the human with blue eyes and the two vampires named Lin and Masako are glaring at them.
"Excuse me." The blue eyed Boy says.
"I will not tolerate any of you getting in my way. Therefore, you should all leave." He states coldly. Sheesh why is this boy so harsh?
"We will not get in your way, but don't you believe we should work together to solve this case quicker?" Yasu says in his professional voice.
"Absolutely not." The blue eyed boy answers.
"What a rude little boy! Listen here you little prick-" Ayako starts but Monk grabs her arm roughly and shakes his head. She snatches her arm back, then crosses her arms across her chest and shuts her mouth.
"I thought a woman was the leader of your team." The vampire girl named Masako says.
"That is correct, the leader is a woman, however, she had to leave the country due to family affairs and left me in charge."
"Sounds like a vacation to me." Masako mumbles, her kimono sleeve covers her mouth. I shoot her a glare, but of course she doesn't notice. I don't like her already. The vampire man named Lin is tall and he looks Chinese. He's unemotional and doesn't speak at all.
I walk further down the stairs, so the group of people could finally notice me. The blue eyed boy is the first to notice.
"You again?" He says coldly. I roll my eyes, annoyed at how harsh his tone is.
"Do you mind not following me around?" I smirk.
"You've been following a little girl around Mr. Kazuya Shibuya?" Monk asks, a slight tease indicated in his voice. Kazuya Shibuya? That name doesn't suit him at all. Masako grabs Kazuya's arm, however, he remains stiff and doesn't show any affection for her as she defends him.
"Of course he isn't! She's lying." She says, glaring daggers at me. I glare back at her. I feel Mary's little hand tightening her grip on me.
"Mai... look at their eyes... They're vampires..." She whispers, her voice shaking. Ayako looks at the scared little girl.
"Aww she's super cute! Don't worry hunny, we won't hurt you." She says reaching her hand out to Mary. Mary screams at her sudden movement and hides behind me.
"Mai I'm scared!" She says.
"Hahaha! You scared her with your old wrinkly fingers!" Monk laughs. Ayako glares daggers at him but doesn't respond when I shoot her a quick glare. She sighs. Mary relaxes behind me when she hears everyone laughing.
"So who are you guys anyways?" I ask, playing stupid.
"We're Japan's top Vampire hunting team." Yasu answers me with a smile. I look at Kazuya... Ugh, that name really doesn't suit him at all, I'll come up with a nickname for him later.
"I know I'm incredibly handsome, but haven't you ever been taught it's rude to stare?" Kazuya asks. I blush in embarrassment.
"Why you... You... Jerk! I was just wondering what you were doing here." I stutter. I turn even more red when I see a hint of a smirk on his face.
"Kazuya Shibuya doesn't suit you at all! Is that even your real name? I'm going call you..." Narcissistic is the first word to describe him that comes to my head "Naru!" I smile, feeling accomplished because I gave him a suitable name. Naru suddenly freezes along with the rest of the team.
"Pardon me, but did you just call him Naru?" Lin asks. I look at him surprised, he finally spoke.
"Yes... Naru, short for Narcissistic." I say confused, did I miss something? They all relax. What a weird reaction.
"Mai, what are you doing down here?" Father Kimura finally asks. I gulp.
"Oh, Father Kimura, um, I missed lunch, so I thought I'd grab a small snack with Mary." I explain.
"Then run along, you're distracting the guests." he says.
"Yes Father Kimura." I say and quickly go into the dining room, dragging Mary with me.
"Mai, were those vampire's bad?" She asks.
"No, Mary. Those vampires are good. They came to help us get rid of the bad vampire hiding here." I say.
"Are you sure? I mean, I thought all vampires were bad."
"Not all vampires are bad. Some vampires kill humans and others, like the ones in the other room, don't like hurting humans. They like humans and want to protect them."
"So they're gonna protect us?" She asks. I smile at her brightly.
"Of course they are!" I go to the cabinets at the back of the dining room, find some Oreos and devour them. Now time to do my own little investigating tonight.