Satsuki reached up and brushed her hair out of her face, flinching slightly as her fingers passed across the gauze covering her eye. "Well, I'm home," she said as she walked up the stone path. "I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm home..."

"Go back to school?"

She came to a halt and turned to face Takada, gesturing to herself. "Like this?"

"No, I mean... you know, in your school uniform."

"You mean the one with skirt that shows off all the bandages I have taped over those gaping wounds on my legs that have been stitched shut?" she queried, an edge of irritation creeping into her voice. "That uniform?"

"Yes, but uh... we could probably get you some slacks or... or something." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm pretty sure that the school would allow it in this case."

Her expression softened and she sighed. "Sorry. Again." She shook her head. "I'm being a real bitch today, aren't I?"

"Considering what happened I don't..." he leaned to the side before stepping around Satsuki, staring at the house. "...wait a minute..." he mumbled, furrowing his brow in thought.

"Hey, Takada, what's wrong?"

"You said someone attacked your father, right?"

"Yeah."

"...and you ran into the house to save him?"

"Well, yeah."

"Do you remember what the inside of it looked like?"

"Umm..." she ummed, thinking back. "I'm not too sure, but when I left I think things were pretty trashed. Why do you ask?"

"Was the front door left open?"

"I don't remember. What's this got to do with anything?"

"Well, if the front door was left open then people could see into the house, which means that they would have found all the signs of a struggle. Now in that case you'd think that someone would've contacted the police, right?"

"Right..."

"So where are they? If not them, then at the very least some police tape or somesuch?"

"Man, that is weird." Looking up at the house she added, "now that I think about it, mom should've come back home from her business trip by now. Something's seriously wrong, here..." She lowered her head, looking back at the door. "It seems like all I've been doing these days is opening doors that I don't want to open."

"Whoever was in there probably left by now. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Takada immediately found himself regretting asking that question as Satsuki spun around and stared at him for several seconds before vexedly asking, "you do remember what happened last time, right?"

"But if it is another one of those things you'll know what to expect, right?"

"Maybe." Turning away, Satsuki slowly stepped up the path towards the door. "But I'd rather not take my chances against one of them like this." Coming to a halt, she drew her knife from her pocket, flicked it open and spun it around to an underhanded grip in one fluid motion. She laid one hand on the doorknob, glancing back over her shoulder at Takada before turning the knob and pushing the door open, hopping backwards and bringing her knife up at the ready... only to lower it again and stare, dumbfounded at what she saw.

The hallway stretched backwards about twenty feet, the walls painted a light peach and the floor a polished, unblemished dark wood. A small table, topped with several framed photographs, was set against the wall about halfway down the hall. No scratches, no blood, no signs of any struggle.

Satsuki raised her blade again and slowly crept forward into the house. She scanned the rooms for any signs of the vicious struggles, but in vain; everything had been returned to order so thoroughly that even she found herself wondering if the battles had taken place.

As Takada came in behind her she closed her knife and slid it back into her pocket, eyeing the walls suspiciously. "It's not safe."

"Huh?"

She turned to face him. "It's not safe here. I don't know if they tried to cover up what happened or what, but if I stay here it's only a matter of time before they show up again." She looked around uneasily. "For all I know they could've stuck a bomb in here or zombies under the floorboards or something. Plus it just... feels weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah. I don't know how to describe it. It's just like... I shouldn't be here." After a few seconds of thought she asked, "could you wait outside for a little while?" before striding away, disappearing around the corner before Takada had a chance to ask why. Sighing, he stepped outside and resigned himself to waiting on the steps.

About ten minutes later Satsuki walked out, closing and locking the door behind her. A lumpy white duffel bag was slung over her shoulder, stuffed with what Takada presumed was clothing. "I couldn't find Len," she said. "She's gonna have to fend for herself for the time being."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Somewhere else."

There was a resoluteness about how she said that that Takada didn't exactly find comforting. "Where?"

"I don't know," she replied, walking past him, "maybe a hotel or something. But I'm not staying here."

"So you're going to stay in a hotel while you try and hunt down a mass murderer all by yourself?"

Growling, she stopped and spun around to face him. "If you knew someone was out to kill you, would you stay somewhere where they knew you'd be?"

"No, but I-"

"Then there's no problem, is there?"

"Where are you going to get the money for it?"

"I have money!"

"How much?"

Satsuki averted her eyes briefly before saying, "...enough," with a noted lack of confidence.

Takada could feel his composure slipping despite himself. "Look, at least stay at my house!"

"If I did that I'd be putting you in danger."

"But anything did happen to me then you'd be there, wouldn't you?"

The two fell silent, quietly regarding each other as Takada's statement hung in the air: Satsuki, wondering what Takada meant by it; Takada, wondering how Satsuki would interpret it.

After a few moments a small smile crept across Satsuki's face. "Okay," she said. "I guess I can't turn you down if you put it like that, now can I?"


With a soft click the door unlocked and, pushing it open, Takada gestured for Satsuki to enter. Slipping her shoes off in the entryway she stepped inside, Takada following suit as he let the door shut behind him. "You can put your bag do-"

The duffel bag hit the floor of the hall with a dull thump.

"...down wherever you'd like."

"Sorry." Satsuki rubbed her shoulder. "It just felt like something was tearing, is all."

"Well, I could have carried it for you if you wanted."

"Don't worry about it." She poked her head into one of the side rooms. "Where's your dad?"

"America." He walked past her, talking over his shoulder. "There's been talk of opening a branch somewhere in... Hawaii, I think he said."

"Any plans on getting a vacation house there while he's at it?"

"I doubt it," he replied, ducking into the laundry room. "We don't have that much money lying around."

Satsuki nodded, plucking idly at the front of her shirt before pausing, pulling it towards her nose and giving it a few tentative sniffs. "...man, I stink."

"Did you say something?"

"Yeah, I said I-" She cut herself short as she spotted her bra dangling off the end of Takada's index finger.

Takada gestured, his cheeks reddening slightly. "You, uh... left this here."

She looked at him in disbelief before smirking, shaking her head and plucking it away. "Thanks. Anyway, is it alright if I use your bathtub?"

"Sure." He paused. "You're probably going to need more bandages, though. I'll be sure to pick some up when I'm out."

"What?"

"You're going to have to replace them eventually, right?"

"No, I mean, you're going out?"

He nodded. "I needed to get something for dinner anyway."

After a second of thought she said, "I should probably go with you, then."

"...why?"

"To make sure you're safe?" she replied, as if it were obvious.

Takada looked out the window. "It's still daylight out, so I should be fine. Plus, from what you described to me I don't think that whoever's doing this is so brazen as to try anything in public."

"...all right," she said finally. "But if anything happens, either call me or get back here as soon as possible, and make sure you're back by sunset."

"All right."

She put her hands on his shoulders, looking straight into his eyes. "Promise me."

"I promise."


Satsuki leaned back in the tub and sighed. While the bath was relaxing, her thoughts kept drifting back to the killer and, more importantly, how she was going to stop her. She didn't have any clues as to who - or what - she was, aside from the rather questionable trait of "vampire," and no idea how to find her before she struck. The only thing she could do is keep her victims from attacking other people if - or when - they came back to life and hope that the killer left some sort of clue behind.

In a way, she was grateful that she told Takada. Even though she ended up putting him at risk, he could help her find and put a stop to whoever was responsible.

Raising one of her arms out of the water, ran her thumb idly along one of the scars. While still scabbed over, they appeared to be healing well, which was more than she could say for her eye: All that remained was an empty pit ringed with reddish, sunken flesh. It didn't hurt, though the sensation of air blowing into her skull was off-putting and she was leery about letting her head slide underwater for fear of what might happen.

What would Katsuya think, she wondered? Considering that he showed interest in the one girl in school who stood out like a sore thumb, she figured that he wasn't too hung up on looks - or, if he was, he had some sort of thing for blondes; Satsuki didn't think this unusual, only a bit off-putting that it would be the only reason he was interested in her. Still, she cared about him, and the thought of having to leave him in the dark about everything that was going on pained her, even if it was for his own good. She didn't want to see him end up like her or, worse yet, her father.

Her father...

She turned her head and looked over at her knife, currently resting atop her pile of clothes. She hadn't really thought about it until now, but why did he teach her how to fight, and why was her mother okay with it? Did they know something like this could happen? It was almost too far-fetched to consider, and yet...

"Too many questions," she mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. Time seemed to slip by without notice, and in the warm stillness of the bath, Satsuki's eyelid fluttered briefly before slowly closing as she drifted off to sleep.


"Satsuki!"

Satsuki woke with a start, grasping at the sides of the tub and struggling to pull herself up before her head went underwater. Forcing herself into a sitting position, she took a moment to compose herself before replying, "what?"

It came out sounding a bit angrier than she had hoped, something that, judging from the slightly cowed sound of his voice, Takada didn't fail to notice. "Dinner's almost ready."

"...so early?"

"Early? It's 5:30."

It was about this time that Satsuki realized she was sitting in a tub full of lukewarm water and had been for the past three hours. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I didn't want to disturb you!"

She sighed, climbing out of the tub. "Right, right... give me a sec, okay?"

"All right." A few seconds later Takada said, "also, I was thinking that, uh... I could help you catch up on your schoolwork after dinner."

"I didn't bring any of it with me," she replied, drying herself off.

"Don't worry, I kept track of what you needed."

Hastily wrapping the towel around herself, she slid open the door and poked her head out, gaping at Takada. "You what?"

Takada looked away, partly due to her disrobed state and partly due to the state of her eye. "I was worried about you, so I-"

"I have other things to worry about, Takada."

"You're not going to throw away your future for that, are you?"

"I'm not gonna throw anything away! I can catch up on this stuff later!"

He turned towards her. "How much later?"

"When I'm done."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know! When I... I-" She growled. "Fine, I'll do it!" She slammed the door shut. "Just let me get some clothes on."

"Thank you."

"...you're such a nag."

"Someone needs to act responsibly around here," he muttered, wincing as soon as the words left his mouth. Oh crap, he thought, I hope she didn't hear-

The door slid open long enough for Satsuki to give him a good, long glare before closing again.

"...crap."


As the yacht continued to churn its way through the ocean waters, Ciel strode down its breezeway towards Arcueid's cabin, giving three sharp knocks on the door and pausing briefly before pushing the door open and making her entrance. "I've some good news," she announced. "We've only three more days' travel until we reach the island."

"Finally!" Arcueid fell back onto the beat she was seated upon, knitting her fingers behind her head. "Man, we really took the scenic route on this trip, huh?"

Ciel merely nodded, looking away.

"What's with you, anyway?" she asked as she stood up and approached her. "You've been really down for the past couple of days."

"..."

"It's about that guy on the island, isn't it?"

"...part of me is already regretting what we're going to do," she said, staring off into space.

"Ohhh, right. After everything that's happened you still trust him, huh?"

Ciel slowly nodded. "In a way, yes."

"But hey," Arcueid continued, leaning forward and looking up into Ciel's eyes. "People are counting on you, right? Even if you don't want to do it, it still needs to be done."

"It's strange hearing that from you..." she replied.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry, I'm thinking out loud." She smiled wanly. "But I am interested in seeing you in action once again."

"Well, I might be a little bit rusty, but it'll come back quick enough."

Ciel nodded. "I suppose it will."


16. INT. POV SHOT - SHOP - NIGHT

The shop's interior is that of a modern convenience store,
long since closed; all that remains are bare metal shelves
and empty rows of freezers. The front door and windows are
blocked by large metal shutters on the outside, but an open
door leading to the back room lets in barely enough light to
see.

The CAMERA is at eye level, at the neck of a man in his
mid-twenties. The man's eyes are open and unfocused and his
throat looks wet and slightly shiny in the low light. Lapping
noises can be heard.

The lapping sound stops suddenly, and the camera pans up
before turning around to face the far front corner of the
store. There is a low thump as the body slumps to the
ground, and the camera turns back towards the door and
passes through it. The camera continues through an empty
back room to the rear door of the store, pausing for a few
seconds before a feminine hand reaches down and slowly
pushes it open, stepping out into the back alley as the door
makes a soft click behind it.

The alley is about six feet wide and situated between two
grey stone buildings, with the ground paved over with
asphalt. The camera pans up to a strip of starless night
sky, bordered on either side by the backs of two buildings.
It suddenly jolts upward, moving back and forth between the
walls, rapidly rising before coming to rest atop the
building it recently exited.

The camera pans over and slowly moves towards the far edge
of the roof before rapidly increasing its pace, sailing off
the building and across the narrow street in front of it
before landing atop a lamp post. It turns before silently
bounding along the tops of street lamps and telephone poles,
the scenery blurring by as it passes from downtown to the
suburbs in a matter of minutes.

The camera takes a sudden sharp turn to the right and flies
forward, landing silently in the grass alongside a
medium-sized two-story western-style home. It pans up to
the open second-story window before slowly moving to the
side, situating itself directly underneath, pointed up
at it.

F. VOICE (OS)

I know you've been watching me; trying to stop me.

The camera slowly pans back and forth, as if the speaker
were shaking her head.

F. VOICE (OS)

But I never thought you'd end up like this. (beat) There's
no use for you when you're in that condition, so...

After a brief pause the camera sails upward, landing on
the sill. Just as it it pans back down into the room
the scene cuts to black.

F. VOICE (OS)

It's time to wake up.


Satsuki awoke with a jolt, finding herself staring out an empty window. She quickly sat up, glancing about the room in search of the girl while reaching behind her for her knife. Taking it in hand, she flicked it open as she tossed the sheet covering her aside, turning and rising to her feet before slowly backing away from the center of the room, weapon held out at the ready. There she stood, the room silent save for the slow, steady sound of her own breath.

Realizing that she was alone in the room she slowly lowered her knife, mulling over the girl's appearance. She said that there was no use for her in her injured state, Satsuki thought, but did that mean the girl was just using her? Assuming that assuming that it was her and not simply a horrible, albeit non-portentous, dream.

Closing her knife, she reached up to rub her eye. As Satsuki's hand brushed across her bandages, however, she felt them shifting oddly. She drew her hand back in surprise, then gently pressed the bandages over her empty socket. Before they had an unpleasant amount of give, but now they seemed... firmer, like-

Her knife fell to the floor as she reached up with both hands, struggling to undo the wrappings holding the dressings in place. The cloth was tossed aside unceremoniously as she set to work peeling off the tape and gauze below it.

Satsuki pulled the last of the bandages away, and the world broke apart before her eyes.