BLOOD

The Last Vampire

If you're still interested in the movie but can't be arsed to read all this, here's a quicker summery BLOOD: The Last Vampire © Manga Entertainment & Production IG/ IG Plus

If I owned it Hagi would have been busy screwing Saya from the very start.

Chapter 3

The Feast of Samhain

Compared to the buildings within the base, the children were cheerful, clean, chatty and happy. Everything was grey and crumbling, painting fading into the cracks and rust eating the supporting poles. The only life outside the pupils was the weeds sprouting between the concrete. David and Saya blended perfectly into their murky surroundings; no-one noticed them.

Despite everything the sun managed to shine. They hid themselves in the shadows, strolling casually.

Saya picked the tip of her red sailors tie with distain.

"What the hell is this outfit?"

"I'm not sure. It's supposed to be a Japanese high school uniform." answered David, one hand in his pocket. Her clothes looked too cutesy, like a dressed up doll. She looked for all the world to being escorted to the Principle's offices, accompanied by a stern-looking man, whose shoulder she barely came up to. Saya stared straight forward.

"At any rate, another one of those fake corpses was found here last night, and it's the same pattern."

Saya's voice was soft and low.

"It's happening awfully fast . . ."

His eyes gazed down at her. "I told you there was more than one of them – and," he swiftly added. "We'll never find them once they go into hibernation. We've got to find them before we get another corpse on our hands."

Saya's face always points down but her eyes gaze straight forward, with thin eyebrows and an unsmiling face like she's penetrating into the mind of whomever so looks at her. Her ears are slightly pointed.

"You just listen for them."

Her eyes blinked and focused on David.

"And get the sword."

"I know." He scratched the back of his head, his voice a slow sigh. "I know . . ."

In the blurred sunlight under smog purple clouds the whirring of the jet engines rose into a steady roar like a pain as the yellow weather sock flapped hither and thither in the distance. The air was gritty and the paint soiled. In the hazy heat a plane rose from the ground as if lifted by invisible hands, making the air about it tremble with noise. Its extra wheels tucked neatly under its wings.

In the half-gloom half-light a solider jogged briskly round the perimeter of the fence.

The plane flew over Yokota High School like a bird, a magpie perhaps, heading towards its nest, but with an unnatural smoothness and sound.

Light cut through the inside through the squares of window panes. Shadows of trees stretched like fingers to the walls. The noise made the glass rattle.

Inside the nice well-behaved students sat patiently, even though it was nearly the end of the lesson, while the fat balding teacher, his braces stretching, wrote on the blackboard straight from the book. The chalk tapped loudly as he wrote. Everyone was patient. Nobody whispered or passed notes. They were learning about Frankenstein.

Right on time the bell rang.

The fat man snapped his book shut and turned towards the class, he had a double chin and thick glasses too. His tie was clipped to his ample stomach so it didn't hang lazily when he leaned forward.

"All right, that's it for today. Tomorrow we'll have morning classes only."

Everyone cheered and whooped – one guy even leapt out of his seat, another gave the thumbs up – they were all neat and wearing their own clothes and had the glitter of life in their eyes.

In the further corner of the room Saya sat in the shaft of sunlight.

"Wait a minute I'm not through yet," he read from the notice. "Those of you in charge of getting things ready for the dance meet in the assembly hall, the rest of you can stay in the classroom and get ready for the party if you –"

Saya had been seated next to a girl with short, straight reddish-brown hair held in a red Alice band, to match her red top. She packed her books up neatly and turned to her, blue eyes lit up and polite enough not to talk through lessons.

"Hey, are you Japanese?" she asked, leaning forward eagerly.

No answer.

She didn't understand, maybe. "Be home by six or old Pumpkinhead will get you." The teacher rattled on.

"Conichiwa." She smiled brightly.

The Japanese girl's head turned.

"Leave me alone."

And stared forward again. Like a zombie.

The brunette pulled herself back with a shrug. "Weirdo." He eyes darted sideways for a moment before she rose. "C'mon Linda, let's go."

Linda was a washed-out looking girl with near-white hair like mop rope, whose face never left the table. Her top was green like an overall, and when she looked up at Saya she had the eyes of someone much older, lined with wrinkles she shouldn't have. Her hair abruptly stopped at her armpits, unlike her friend's whose waved about her neck and well above her shoulders. Even her eye irises were grey. She stared at the Japanese girl for a hard moment, before her face was drawn back to the floor, like she knew there was something to despair.

Were it not for the barricades the school might have been somewhere in the country. The blare of motors overhead was as familiar as cows lowing and birds chirping. And the grass was always green.

The students in their sensible pullovers and short haircuts chatted to each other between the wails of planes, under the zigzag of power lines. The carried party supplies without complaint – boxes full of wrapping paper.

Chores rattled as he clean-cut banners were hung, without creasing, without dipping: OCT. 31 HALLOWEEN PARTY OPEN HOUSE 4:00. Even the boys mucked about in their witches hats as their friends boarded the heavily-armoured Shuttle Bus.

So inside was empty.

Without the lights on darkness quickly stole the corridors, cringing away from the light gleaming on the doors and lockers. Banners hung across the wall, pumpkins sat here and there grinning at no one, the witch's hat sat waiting on the table. Posters were everywhere. Voices chattered outside.

The classrooms were deserted, desks and chairs out of line but freshly polished. The birds were singing.

Tinsel edged the signs down every corridor, white and blue sparkling tinsel. Above the cuts of light.

The biggest sign had a little bat hanging from the "O" in HALOWEEN, though the top sagged a little.

Lots of different pumpkin faces, some happy, some sad, some angry, some goofy, all good, were pasted on the walls with their creators names written next to them on black paper.

The skeleton, between the bat and the ghost seemed to glow in the sun. The hands were so detailed. There was even a crack in his skull.

In the darkest spot were only the green light faintly glowed, behind the book shelves and the rows of desks, stood Saya in the Information Center. She was looking through the file cabinets.

Her face was dull, not expecting anything.

Her fingers flicked through the neatly arranged student's files like spiders. Stopping, then scurrying.

She knew what she wanted, and closed the file door without the heavy slam, or checking to see if no one was around. She is still holding her sword sheath. The clock read five to five.

As she walked down that same corridor the nurse saw her this morning she passed by sickbay and noticed the door was open.

Instinctively she drew back, without taking her eyes out of the room. A moment or two, then she went in.

The curtains were perfect white and floated gently by the open window, the frocks of ghosts. Against the purity of white curtains, white beds, a white screen and soft azure skies, Saya looked very dark, engulfed by shadow.

She stopped in the middle of the room, were the grimy hidden side of the medicine cabinet and the radiance of the crisp linen met, on the shine on the floor like a greasy puddle. There was an eeriness about that spot.

The wind hissed a little. Then a little more.

Alone standing in that room the emptiness became all-consuming. Regarding her like a totem.

Sniff. Saya's nostrils flared. Sniff, sniff.

It was on the floor right next to her.

She bent down to feel it. It was between the tiles, just below where four corners met.

She drew her index finger along it. The emptiness quivered.

She stared at it long and hard, and the emptiness shook.

Could you imagine then, having your nose so close to the floor, that all you can see is the brief violent shadow of a human, then something not quite human quickly snatching it, and the smell of the blood droplets quickly fall and spatter inches away from your face?

With two fingers she caressed the gouge between the tiles that were cracked and chipped, despite looking so clean. It would have been difficult to see her face in the murkiness.

"So, this is their "dining room", then." She said to herself.

She heard someone coming.

Clip-clops quickly headed towards these tiled floors.

She stood up quickly and gripped the end of her holster, eyes cast, head low, waiting.

The shadow appeared in the doorway. She took the top off the sheath, eyes unblinking.

Here it comes –

The nurse was so shocked she squeaked and dropped her papers.

She stood there for a second, breathing deep.

"Oh you scared me." Luckily she new Japanese well. She picked her files from the floor. "What were you doing here?"

Saya's other hand was now waiting patiently by her side. She didn't look down.

"Nothing. I thought I had a headache. But it's gone now."

She headed stiffly out the door. She'd already collected most of her papers. It was now 5:28pm.

"Oh. Wait!"

Saya ignored her as she fumbled with more files trying to escape.

"Hold on a minute!"

But her footsteps and the door opening, and closing, were already gone by the time she put her head round the door.

She peered a little at the large doors with EXIT marked above them, feeling strangely despondent, regardless of the papers.

The sky turned purple. The lights inside were bright yellow.

I know, I know, I haven't updated for ages. This time I have an excuse. I was busy. My ISP changed and I couldn't get onto the bloody internet for ages. My house burned down. I'm lazy. I got drunk too often and killed by brain cells.

At least four of those are true.