Chapter 6
Takako unpacked her clothes and placed them in drawer next to her bed. She had just arrived at Bishamon's Shrine 1 hour prior for the shogun meeting. She found these meetings rather boring only because Bishamon had strict rules on how they would operate. Shoguns were the only vampire that could attend and no human were allowed. This bothered her because she would be forced to drink synthetic blood while she was here. Takako got her blood from various human lovers and truly hated synthetic blood. She wasn't sure what would be harder drinking synthetic blood for the next week or being celibate.
Takako was a daughter of a fisherman in a small town by the ocean. Born in the late 13th century she had very few options as woman. Her family was poor and they could barely make ends meet. Takako's beauty pulled her family out of poverty when her father arranged her marriage to local aristocrat's son. Her family was no longer poor, but she had the unfortunate fate of being married to a violent drunk. In the beginning she tried to be passive and obedient, but that did nothing to stop his rage. After years of abuse instead of being broken she became stronger and rebellious.
She had multiple lovers with various men throughout the town with little fear of her husband's wrath. One night her husband came home in a drunken rage. He had found out about one of her affairs and his plan was to kill her. Walking straight to their bedroom he said nothing and punched her in the face. Takako fell to the ground next to her bed and grabbed a knife she hid under the bed. She knew this night would happen it was only a matter of time. As he knelt down to land another punch she stabbed him in the chest. Her husband fell back confused by her sudden defiance.
"Did you think I would just let you kill me?" She yelled with a rage that had been suppressed for so many years. "I know I will be put to death for killing you, but at least I get the satisfaction of seeing you die first."
"But what about the kids?" He tried to play on her motherly instincts.
"They will be better off without you." She said simply and plunge the knife into his neck.
Takako spent the next three nights on the run from the local authorities. She had found a cave to squat in one night when a visitor met her. At first she had thought that a bounty hunter had found her when she realized the person was a woman.
"Who are you?" Takako asked.
"My name doesn't matter. What matters is that I can provide you with something your about to lose" She said as she moved closer to Takako.
"What is that?"
"Life. You only have one more day tops before they find you and execute you."
Takako shook with fear and moved away from the woman. "How can you give me life?"
"You're not like other women. You have a fire and defiance that sets you apart. This makes you worthy of living forever. You have a choice now. Take my hand or stay here and wait to be found by those who want to execute you." The woman held out her hand and waited for Takako's decision.
Takako did not want to die. It did not seem fair that she lived a life controlled by her father and then by her husband. She never had the opportunity to make her own decisions in life. Why should she have to die for trying to escape her tormentor?
That night she took the woman's hand and began her life as a vampire. She got to live a life free of restraints that had been afforded to her gender. Vampires treated other vampires with respected and valued them with no regards to their gender or sexual preferences. The vampire world was truly freeing.
Takako closed the drawer and looked at her watch. She had fifteen minutes until the meeting started.
Sebastian watched as Usagi transformed in front of him. A beautiful array of colors covered Usagi as she spun and eventually stopped in a sailor outfit with wings.
Usagi looked at Sebastian with a hint of insecurity as she waited for him to speak.
Sebastian moved closer to Usagi and touch one of her wings. "So, this is what a Sailor Senshi looks like. Now can I see one fight?"
Usagi turned around and looked at the punching bag that was in the shape of a man. Grabbing her heart shape staff she aimed it towards the punching bag. "Silver Moon! Crystal Power Kiss." Energy was released from her staff knocking the punching bag into the wall and then to the ground."
"Powerful indeed". Sebastian said as he walked over to the punching bag and knelt beside it. He inspected the punching bag and then looked over to Usagi. "Have you ever used your power without transforming."
Usagi thought for a moment. "Yes. But only when I'm under extreme stress."
"Hmm." Sebastian stood up and walked towards Usagi. "Well, at least we know you can access your power without transforming." Sebastian moved closer to Usagi and traced the crescent on her forehead. " Vampire's are very strong and very fast. The older the vampire the more powerful they are. You must be able to access your power without transforming. It should be like a reflex."
Sebastian placed his right hand on the small of her back. Usagi began to de-transform into her normal clothes as Sebastian brought her in closer.
"You will have to trust me. I can help you access that raw power within you." Sebastian looked deep into to Usagi eyes. " I can teach you to control it."
Usagi's heart was racing and her skin was practically crawling in response to Sebastian's touch. "I want you to teach me."
"Good."
Bishamon sat in his chair as he waited for the meeting to begin. The biannual meeting always tested his patience and resolve. His fellow Shoguns were constantly at each other's throats. They were opposites in everyway and it usually ended in Bishamon having to separate the two from a physical altercation. Bishamon doubted that they hated each other, but actually had an enormous amount of sexual tension that neither one wanted to break first.
Bishamon had been the oldest son of a Shinto priest in the late 12th century. He had been groomed at a young age to become his father's replacement. At the age of 25 he was married and full ready to take over his father Shrine. This was not meant to be.
He could remember it as if it was yesterday. He was having evening tea with his father.
"In one week you will officially be the Priest of this Shrine. I have looked forward to this day for many years." His father said with pride in his eyes.
"Thank you father. I hope I am a good Priest. Just like you."
His father smiled. "I'm sure you will be. So when will I get to be a Grandfather?"
Bishamon shifted in his seat. "Only the gods know that."
"You have been married to your wife for almost three years and she has not been pregnant once. Is she infertile?"
Bishamon averted his eyes and looked into his tea. The fact that he had no children had nothing to do with his wife. They had only slept together once on their weeding night and that produce no children. " I don't believe so."
"Well. I will leave you now so you can be with your wife." He said as he stood up. "Life means nothing if you don't have children to carry on your legacy."
Bishamon watched as his father left. He was not sure he would ever be able to give his father the grandchildren he desired.
Walking through the woods on the outskirts of the Shrine, Bishamon leaned against a tree and waited. In the moonlight a man appeared. He wore a black Kimono and had two swords attacked to his left side, a symbol of his rank as a Samurai.
"Good evening Bishamon." The man said as he moved closer to him
"Good evening." Bishamon said as he waited for the man to approach him. The man drew in closer until his face was inches away from his.
"I see my lover waits expectantly for me." The man said kissing Bishamon deeply. "I hope you were not waiting long."
Bishamon shook his head and leaned in for another kiss. He was so deeply in love with this man and being even a moment away from him created a deep sadness within him. "I wish we could be together for eternity and that we did not have to hide our love. I wish I could see you in the light."
The man gave a sympathetic smile to his lover. "You will never see me in the light, but we can spend an eternity together if you wish it."
"I do." Bishamon said without hesitation and kissed his lover again. His lover began to kiss his neck and then Bishamon felt him bite. Bishamon gasped as he felt his blood being drained from his body. His lover placed him down on the ground and when Bishamon looked upon his face he saw fangs with his own blood dripping from his lover's mouth."
"Join me for eternity." His lover said as he open up his own wrist and fed his blood to Bishamon.
Bishamon's reverie was broken by the sound of Daichi and Takako entering the room. It was now time for the meeting to begin.
Sebastian and Usagi sat on the floor across from each other. Usagi was in a deep meditation as Sebastian guided her. Usagi felt the energy begin to build deep within her.
"Now let go of your worries and feel nothing but the energy. Become the energy."
Usagi did her best to clear her mind and let the energy envelop her. She felt the energy move from her heart towards her neck and then down to her arms.
Sebastian watched as a yellow stream of energy coiled around her arms like barbwire. Sebastian slowly moved back to try to get out of the way before he told Usagi to release the energy.
Usagi felt Sebastian absence causing her to loose her concentration. In an instant the energy that she had been controlling was release in a violent burst. The burst of energy headed straight for Sebastian who sat across from Usagi. With lightning speed he flung himself to the side barely missing being hit.
"I'm sorry! Are you ok?" Usagi screamed as she ran over to Sebastian.
Sebastian stood up and smiled. "It's ok. You're not going to master your power over night."
Usagi looked guilty and scared. "I knew I had a lot of power, but even I'm surprised of how much power I hold within me."
"Don't worry. You will learn to control it. It just takes practice." Sebastian held out his hand. "Come on let's call it a night on the training. I have on Demand movies, lets pick a movie to watch."
Usagi took his hand and followed him into the living room. "Sebastian, where are you from?"
"I'm from America. My family moved to America from Ireland during the great Irish famine. We lived in a Tenement building in an Irish community in New York City."
"When did you become a vampire?" Usagi asked as she sat down on the couch.
"When I was 21. In the late 1800s there was a lot of prejudice against Irish people. I couldn't find a job and got involved with a Irish gang." Sebastian shook his head and sat down next to Usagi. "I was a wild young man. I spent all my nights drinking and my days causing trouble."
"That doesn't seem like you." Usagi had a hard time seeing Sebastian as a wild man.
"I was like that. Young and stupid. After one night of drinking I followed a lady into an alleyway. I thought she was a prostitute and could get lucky. She was the one who turned me into a vampire."
"So you were changed into a vampire by a vampire prostitute?" Usagi did her best to suppress a smile.
"No. I said I thought she was a prostitute. I was wrong. She wanted a companion and had been stalking me for months. I'm not sure why she chose me though. I was very obnoxious at that age"
"How did you end up in Tokyo?"
"Well, I was an enforcer in America with my fellow vampires in my nest. I grew tired of New York City and wanted change. My king in New York arraigned the transfer with Bishamon for me to become an enforcer here. That was almost 8 years ago"
Usagi became confused when Sebastian said the word nest. "What's a nest?"
"A nest is the home of three or more vampires. The vampires live together and are companions throughout life. My nest followed me here because I had seniority."
" So you don't live alone?" Usagi said looking around.
Sebastian laughed. "No. I live with two other vampires. They are not here right now. When they return I will introduce you to them."
"Ok." Usagi said. Looking to the table in front of her she noticed an invitation to a party. "What party is this?"
Sebastian picked up the invitation. "This is the party we are going to on Friday."
"Huh? What kind of party is it?"
"It's a vampire and human party. Masquerade themed."
"Do you think you will be able to get some information on that vampire you are looking for there?"
"Well, that's the plan." Sebastian picked up the remote and then turned on the TV. "But we can talk about that later. Let's enjoy a movie."
Bishamon rubbed his temples as he listen to Takako and Daichi bicker. They had just finished going over the finances and new vampires that had been created. The meeting had now digressed into Daichi calling Takako a whore and Takako responding with calling him a prude.
"Maybe if you didn't screw and drink any human that walk by you'd be a better Shogun." Daichi yelled as he pointed at Takako.
"Well. Maybe if you got laid you wouldn't be so angry," Takako countered with a smile
"That's enough you two." Bishamon yelled getting increasingly annoyed. " We are almost done for the evening and I suggest he handle tonight's final business."
Daichi and Takako nodded to Bishamon to continue.
"Now I have had two human deaths in my territory and I have become concerned about that." Bishamon said.
"So some young vamps accidentally killed people. That's how they are at that age. They will bite anything that walks by." Takako said unimpressed by Bishamon's concern.
"The killings suggest an older vampire killed them. Someone skilled in hunting and killing." Bishamon continued.
"Do you think they're a threat to the court?" Daichi asked.
"They could be. I have one of my enforcers on the job. But I suggest that you keep an eye out in your territories for any vampire related deaths.
Daichi and Takako agreed and then retired to their rooms as dawn approached.
End of Chapter
Chapter 7 preview: More training for Usagi, Haruka takes Hotaru to The New Moon movie, and a Masquerade.
