As usual , I want to thank those who reviewed , in particular :

Lady - Silverkiss , turtlerad17 and JupiterLover.

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR FROM THE PAST

Four people went down a dark tunnel . Shido and Yayoi , each wielding a gun , were ahead while

Riho was by Megumi ' s side . Yayoi took out a flashlight and shined upon the gloom . Guni

had caught up with them . Megumi found herself intrigued by these people . She was rather surprised

at Riho , who seemed to her rather composed beyond her years .

" Nothing so far , " Yayoi said . " I ' ll tell you one thing . This Taki had better be here or else

I ' ll be extremely upset for wasting my time . "

" You 're upset ? " Guni asked . " What about me ? I mean , I ' m not too keen on cramped tunnels if

you catch my drift . "

Then Shido said , " Quiet , everybody . I think I heard something . "

It was then that a low growling was heard . What leapt ahead of them could barely be described as

human .

" Taki ? " A concerned Megumi asked . " Is that you ? "

" Lady , " Shido said , " I don't think that 's your boyfriend anymore . "

" True , " Riho replied , " a nightbreed has all but taken him over . " As Riho bit her finger to

generate a blood sword , Megumi then said , " I can't believe that ! I know my Taki is in there ! "

While Riho faced down the creature , Megumi suddenly shoved Yayoi away , then she snatched

Shido ' s gun .

" Hey ! " An astonished Shido yelled out before Megumi fired the gun . The silver - jacketed bullet

hit Riho in the shoulder .

" Don't move , any of you ! " Megumi exclaimed . " Taki ! It 's me , Megumi ! "

At the sound of Megumi ' s voice , the ' breed retreated within Taki , who then regained his human

features . " Me . . . Megu . . . Me . . . gumi ? " He asked .

Megumi went to support him and they both walked away into the shadows . Shido went to where

Riho was .

" Sheesh , " Guni said as Riho clutched her bleeding shoulder, " that ' s a nasty wound . " Then Shido

asked , " Are you okay , Riho ? "

" I ' ll recover , " she replied. " What about Yayoi ? "

" I ' m all right , " answered Yayoi .

" Well , in any case , " Shido said , " we lost track of those two . They could be anywhere by now ."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took a while for the bullet hole in Riho ' s shoulder to heal . Fortunately for her , this was not

like the wounds inflicted on her by that shadow mass , which required quantities of blood for

her to heal,blood which first Yayoi and then Shido provided . Now Riho was on the rooftop after

nightfall pondering what to do next while Shido and Yayoi were in the office .

" Well , my little one , " a familiar voice was heard , " we have a lot to talk about . "

Riho turned and was surprised to see Cain standing not far away .

" What do you want from me , Cain ? " She asked .

" For one thing , my dear Riho , you should tell your friend , the private investigator , to stay out of

this case . "

It was then that Yayoi showed up . " What the ? " She called out as she took out her gun .

" Hold it , Yayoi , " Riho said . Then Cain said , " A wise move on your part , my dear . Anyway , I

came to tell you that the Golden Dawn is at hand soon and I want you by my side to witness this ."

" Do you think I ' m interested in this Golden Dawn of yours ? " Riho asked .

Then Cain replied , " You should be , my dear girl . " After that , he vanished into the night sky .

Yayoi went to Riho and asked , " That was Cain , right ? "

" Yes , Yayoi , " she replied , " the one who turned me into what I am now . The one who holds my

memories of my past life . "

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While all this was going on , Shido was at his desk , where Guni sat .

" Guni , you ' ve known Riho for a long time , haven ' t you ? " Shido asked , to which Guni replied ,

" I certainly have . I must say , Shido , I may have given you a hard time before , but you ' re

definitely one of the good ones . So , what ' s on your mind ? "

" See , " Shido started , " there's so much I don 't know about her . So much . . . " Guni then said,

" There isn't much she knows about herself . You see , after she left this guy Cain , he took her

memories of her life before she met Cain . " Shido then asked , " Cain ? "

" A vampire . A real nasty one too , " Guni replied .

" Man , " Shido said , " that ' s rough . To not know who your parents were or even what your real

name is . " Guni watched Shido with interest .

" Anything the matter ? " He asked her .

" Shido , do you have . . . feelings for Riho ? "Guni asked .

They were both silent for a moment . Then Shido exhaled before saying , " You . . . you ' ll

probably think I ' m crazy , but I . . . I guess so . . . and not just in a big brotherly way either . I

mean , I realize she ' s not as young as she looks but . . . I guess most people would . . . I don't

know . . . think I was , er , robbng the cradle or something . . . I mean , it 's not something I could

admit without sounding like some sort of creep or anything , after all , I realize there ' s an age

difference between us , but . . . "

" Whoa there ! " Guni replied . " There 's an age difference all right , but it ' s not what most folks

would think . Shido , as you may or may not know , vampires live for an extremely long time , if

not forever . Do you know how old Riho is ? She ' s over a hundred and forty years old . Give or

take a couple of decades . "

" Hoo boy , " Shido replied as he slumped into his chair, " I knew she was older than she looked . I

just didn ' t realize by how much . " Guni then said , " Shido , you ' ll probably grow old and you ' ll

definitely die . After all , you ' re only human . Whereas Riho will live on and on , forever stuck in

the body of a young girl , so it ' s not fair for her to love you only to lose you to age and death .

She , more than anyone else realizes that ."

But Shido did not seem to hear this , for he said , " After I first met her , I thought that she ' d

make a nice wife if only she wasn 't too young for me . I never realized that I was the one who was

too young for her . "

Shido then stared ahead , wondering what to make of all that he had heard .

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dawn had come , and Megumi and Taki were preparing to leave the apartment where they had

been holed up .

" Well , Megumi , " he said , " I think we better go . No telling when that thing inside me will come

out . "

" As long as you ' re all right , Taki. That ' s all that matters , " Megumi said .