A/N: NightWalker: Midnight Detective belongs to Kiyori Sasano, Ryota Yamaguchi, and the folks at U.S. Manga Corps. No copyright infringement intended.

Beginnings
Evil Overlady

~ Chapter 1 ~

Dark clouds rolled in before sunset and the rain began to fall, lightly at first, then it became a downpour, leaving streams on the windows of Yayoi's dark apartment.

"Keep an eye on her," Shido had said. "I'll be around..."

The fairy-like creature's green bat wings stuck to the wet windows. Long tangled blonde hair wrapped her slender naked body too snug for comfort. Guni made a mental note to comb it out later...

Fortunately for her, one window had been left open a crack to let in the warm air of earlier. The city spirit squeezed in her little form, careful not to bend her wings too far and inched her way along the windowsill on the other side. There was a bookshelf nearby, and she dove for it just as footsteps stopped on the other side of the main apartment door.

The door lock clicked and the woman detective Shido and she saw earlier opened the door, spilling light into the room, flicked on a light switch, and led the way in. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll find us something for dinner."

The girl followed, still in her yellow school uniform, a suitcase in her hands with a folded red umbrella hanging off its handle. The girl set the bag and umbrella down by the door.

Guni shook her head sadly. The poor girl was just on her way home from school, and then this... The police wouldn't officially admit it was a Night Breed, but Guni and Shido were sure of it...

* * *

The girl, Riho, had taken a seat by the window, staring gloomily into the rain when Yayoi emerged from the kitchen again with two plates of sandwiches. She set them on the coffee table by the two tall glasses of milk she'd put there earlier. Neither were touched, Yayoi noticed.

Lips tight, Yayoi lay out the plates.

"They come in the night, don't they..."

Yayoi looked up, caught a flash of her younger self before red flowing hair was replaced by a brown pony tail in red ribbon. Yayoi shuddered inwardly. "Who?"

The girl knew exactly who... or rather what killed her parents... "Monsters," the girl said. "Like the one that took over my dad and killed my mom." Blue eyes were dangerously serious. "They're real. ...Aren't they."

Yayoi swallowed. "Come and eat. It'll do you good."

"Yayoi. I have to know."

Yayoi met her eyes. "They are real, as real as you and I... But I'll protect you, Riho. You have my word."

The girl watched her, reading her, then she lowered her eyes and came over and sat on the couch.

Yayoi waited.

The girl took a breath and bent over to take her first bite.

The telephone rang from the kitchen.

Yayoi took a sip of her own milk and quietly excused herself.

The phone rang a second time before Yayoi picked up the receiver. "Matsunaga here."

"Detective," a gruffy man's voice answered.

"Chief Inspector!" Yayoi straightened.

"You have some explaining to do, Matsunaga. Hoshino tells me you've invited the girl survivor into your home. She could be a Night Breed, Yayoi!"

"All the more reason to keep her close," she answered quietly. "I don't think she is, sir. She's just a kid..."

"Even so... She should be at Central under tight security, not in your home."

"Chief, I know what I'm doing," Yayoi stated firmly. "She's a lonely kid who just lost her parents. The last thing she needs is to be surrounded by a bunch of steel-jawed super soldiers in the middle of some compound. Just give me twenty-four hours to nail the thing who did this to her."

There was a long quiet pause from his end before he sighed. "Twenty-four hours, Matsunaga... not a minute more."

Yayoi closed her eyes with relief. "Thank you, Chief Inspector."

Slowly, she returned the white phone to its cradle and landed heavily against the kitchen counter. Where am I going to find any leads in less than twenty-four hours...?

* * *

Dr. Mako Tano adjusted the overhead light on one of the bodies recovered from the Yamazaki home, scrawling something on her clipboard.

When she looked up again, she gasped.

A lavender-haired man in a tan trench coat stepped into the light. "I need some information, Doctor," he said softly.

* * *

Yayoi rapped on the door to the morgue and walked in.

"That's about all I can tell you," came a woman's voice.

"I do appreciate it, Dr. Tano," a man's voice answered.

Yayoi stepped into view. "Excuse me. Who are you?" she demanded of the long-haired man with the thin ribbon in his hair.

He half-turned. "Detective Matsunaga." He held out a fair hand. "I'm Tatsuhiko Shido." He handed her his card.

She took it cautiously and read it. Purple eyes widened. "You're a private eye?"

He smiled and gestured at his clothes. "Can't you tell?"

She narrowed violet eyes and stuffed the card into her yellow jacket. "What's a P.I. want with a murder case?"

He shrugged innocently. "I'm a sucker for the unusual."

Yayoi raised an auburn brow. "I'll bet."

He stepped toward her. "How is young Yamazaki doing...?"

Yayoi fingered her gun. "You know about her...?"

* * *

Something ash-gray oozed from the mouth of the body of Mr. Yamazaki.

Dr. Tano turned curiously.

"I know what did this," the P.I. continued.

"Mr. Shido!" Mako screamed.

* * *

Shido turned. "Huh?"

The gray sludge grew.

He shoved the coroner aside. "Get back!"

It solidified into something roughly man-shaped with glowing red eyes. Along its thin arms where human hair would grow were pencil-thick sharp spikes.

Shido brought his hand up to bite his finger but he was just a millisecond too slow and the Breed with one swing of its arm knocked Shido into the coroner and both crashed into another examining table.

* * *

Yayoi yanked out her gun. "Freeze!"

A distorted mouth bent into something resembling a smile. "You first..." it hissed.

"No!" Shido yelled. Red projectiles connected with the Breed's back.

The Breed let out an ear-piercing shriek, liquefied again, and shrank away.

Yayoi watched with wide eyes, only consciously remembering to breathe.

Shido ran past her. "It's getting away!" He threw red droplets its way again but they missed and the sludge drained away into a grate. "Damn it!" he cursed.

Yayoi gasped with realization. "Riho!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~