===============================================================
My thanks to Jupiter Lover , turtlerad17 , baka_kitsuneko and Lady-Silverkiss for reviewing .
Now , without further ado . . .
===============================================================
A DREADED CONFLICT
Yayoi was driving in her car with Riho in the passenger's seat when they noticed a car flanked by
a couple of vans .
" That ' s Megumi in there , all right , " Yayoi said . Soon enough , they managed to intercept the
NOS vehicles . The head agent of the NOS who Yayoi met before emerged from one of them .
" Matsunaga ! " He exclaimed . "What 's the meaning of this ? " To which Yayoi replied , " Where
are you taking that woman ? "
The head agent then said , " This woman may be involved in these phantom killings . For all we
know , she could be a nightbreed herself . "
" But she 's not involved ! " Riho exclaimed as she climbed out of Yayoi ' s car . " Not in this sort
of thing ! Release her ! "
" What the hell ? " The agent asked . " What is that girl doing here ? Matsunaga , did you bring her
along ? It was bad enough you brought in that private eye , but to involve a minor as well ? You
have some serious explaining . " Then he called in a few armed troopers who emerged from the
vans . " Men , take that girl away , NOW ! " As some of the troopers grabbed Riho , she began to
struggle .
" Stop . . . don ' t make . . . me . . . "
Her eyes began to flash . Then she threw off the troopers holding her . After biting into her finger
to produce a blood sword , she swung at some of the troopers who got too close , gravely injuring
them in the process . Guni flew out of Riho' s ponytail , avoiding any troopers who tried to grab
her .
" The girl . . . " the agent said , " she must be a nightbreed ! GET HER ! "
Suddenly Riho dashed towards Megumi and called out to her , " Hang on to me ! " Megumi did so ,
and soon , the two females fled away . Meanwhile Yayoi was caught by two troopers . An incensed
Head agent went to her and said , " This has gone too far , Matsunaga ! You 're going to
headquarters ! "
Guni , meanwhile , flew as fast as she could , trying to keep up with Riho and Megumi . Elsewhere ,
Shido was driving in his used car when he saw Riho dashing away quite fast with Megumi at her
side .
" What the ? " He muttered . Altough the two females were ahead of him by a mile or two , he
decided to follow them , so he drove off . Unknown to him , Guni had seen his car and followed .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No more than half an hour later , Riho and Megumi managed to reach a church . As soon as both
females caught their breath , Riho stared at her hands with a look of disbelief . They shook
slightly .
" W . . . what . . . what have I . . . done . . . ? " She asked quietly . " I . . . I . . . I swore I ' d never
harm any human being . . . but . . . but . . . I struck at those men . . . "
" Are you all right ? " A concerned Megumi asked .
" How can I be all right ? I . . . I went and attacked human beings , " Riho said , feeling more than
a bit upset . Suddenly , from out of nowhere , a voice was heard saying , " Ah , but humans are
little more than cattle to us , my dear . " Riho gasped as she saw someone very familiar at the
back . "They exist only to serve our purposes . "
" Cain . " She said quietly .
" Only a few of them are worthy of being given the gift of being a vampire , " Cain continued . " Do
you know why we vampires are given the blessing of eternal life ? So that we may witness history . "
" You call eternal life a blessing ? " Riho asked . " I call it a curse ! Divine punishment for preying
on humanity ! "
" Really , my dear , " Cain said , " have you forgotten those nights of ecstasy we spent in
Transylvania ? "
" T-Transylvania . . . ? " Riho asked .
" Yes , I do remember , even if you do not , my sweet Riho . Come to me . . . "
" No . . . I . . . "
" Come . . . "
" I . . . "
" Come . . . "
Cain 's voice was as hypnotic now as it was when he first appeared to Riho . Suddenly she stepped
slowly towards him , as though she was in a daze . Megumi looked on with alarm .
"Snap out of it ! " She called out .
Suddenly , Riho began to shake her head , as though she had just awoken , which was not far from
the truth . As soon as she saw Cain ' s hand reaching out for her , she slapped it away .
" I ' ll never go with you , Cain ." Riho said in a tone of quiet anger . " Never ! " Cain , for his part ,
seemed non-plussed about this .
" I will not give up on you , my little one , " he said . " If you wish to stop me , follow me if you can . "
Then he chuckled before vanishing into the gloom .
" I have to find him , " Riho told Megumi , " but I can ' t leave you alone . If he should come
back . . . "
" Go after him , " Megumi said , " don ' t worry about me . Just get him if you can . "
Riho stood in thought for a while , then she said , " All right . Just be careful . "
With that , the vampire girl left .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elsewhere , Yayoi was being interrogated by a group of men .
" Let me get this straight , Ms . Matsunaga . You claim that this girl , Riho Yamazaki , has been your
roommate for quite some time now . How long have you known that she was a vampire ? " One of
them asked in a very stern tone of voice . The only answer Yayoi gave was silence .
" Did she ever drink your blood ? " Another asked .
" She 's a good person , " Yayoi said , " the fact that she ' s a vampire doesn ' t change that . "
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Megumi stood by herself inside the church , wondering if Riho had managed to find Cain . Suddenly ,
the door opened . To her surprise , Shido had entered .
" M . . . mr . Tatsuhiko ? Is that you ? Thank god it ' s you ," she said .
" What happened ? Where ' s Riho ? " Shido asked .
" She went after Cain . I hope she 's all right . "
" Yeah . . . me too , "Shido said . " Well , I ' d better get you someplace safe . "
" What ? Are you with those people who took me ? "
" Not exactly , " Shido said . " Look , I ' m not sure what to tell you . See , there have been several
killings and they think you ' re a suspect . Me , I ' m not sure . I do know this , I ' ll bet the real
culprit is a nightbreed . "
'Whether or not that nightbreed is the baby growing within her , I have no idea , ' he thought to
himself . " Well , we ' d better . . . "
But before Shido could finish his sentence , he and Megumi saw someone at the door .
" I lead my little one on a merry chase and return to this place and who do I find ? The foolish man
who would dare steal her from me , " a displeased Cain said .
My thanks to Jupiter Lover , turtlerad17 , baka_kitsuneko and Lady-Silverkiss for reviewing .
Now , without further ado . . .
===============================================================
A DREADED CONFLICT
Yayoi was driving in her car with Riho in the passenger's seat when they noticed a car flanked by
a couple of vans .
" That ' s Megumi in there , all right , " Yayoi said . Soon enough , they managed to intercept the
NOS vehicles . The head agent of the NOS who Yayoi met before emerged from one of them .
" Matsunaga ! " He exclaimed . "What 's the meaning of this ? " To which Yayoi replied , " Where
are you taking that woman ? "
The head agent then said , " This woman may be involved in these phantom killings . For all we
know , she could be a nightbreed herself . "
" But she 's not involved ! " Riho exclaimed as she climbed out of Yayoi ' s car . " Not in this sort
of thing ! Release her ! "
" What the hell ? " The agent asked . " What is that girl doing here ? Matsunaga , did you bring her
along ? It was bad enough you brought in that private eye , but to involve a minor as well ? You
have some serious explaining . " Then he called in a few armed troopers who emerged from the
vans . " Men , take that girl away , NOW ! " As some of the troopers grabbed Riho , she began to
struggle .
" Stop . . . don ' t make . . . me . . . "
Her eyes began to flash . Then she threw off the troopers holding her . After biting into her finger
to produce a blood sword , she swung at some of the troopers who got too close , gravely injuring
them in the process . Guni flew out of Riho' s ponytail , avoiding any troopers who tried to grab
her .
" The girl . . . " the agent said , " she must be a nightbreed ! GET HER ! "
Suddenly Riho dashed towards Megumi and called out to her , " Hang on to me ! " Megumi did so ,
and soon , the two females fled away . Meanwhile Yayoi was caught by two troopers . An incensed
Head agent went to her and said , " This has gone too far , Matsunaga ! You 're going to
headquarters ! "
Guni , meanwhile , flew as fast as she could , trying to keep up with Riho and Megumi . Elsewhere ,
Shido was driving in his used car when he saw Riho dashing away quite fast with Megumi at her
side .
" What the ? " He muttered . Altough the two females were ahead of him by a mile or two , he
decided to follow them , so he drove off . Unknown to him , Guni had seen his car and followed .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No more than half an hour later , Riho and Megumi managed to reach a church . As soon as both
females caught their breath , Riho stared at her hands with a look of disbelief . They shook
slightly .
" W . . . what . . . what have I . . . done . . . ? " She asked quietly . " I . . . I . . . I swore I ' d never
harm any human being . . . but . . . but . . . I struck at those men . . . "
" Are you all right ? " A concerned Megumi asked .
" How can I be all right ? I . . . I went and attacked human beings , " Riho said , feeling more than
a bit upset . Suddenly , from out of nowhere , a voice was heard saying , " Ah , but humans are
little more than cattle to us , my dear . " Riho gasped as she saw someone very familiar at the
back . "They exist only to serve our purposes . "
" Cain . " She said quietly .
" Only a few of them are worthy of being given the gift of being a vampire , " Cain continued . " Do
you know why we vampires are given the blessing of eternal life ? So that we may witness history . "
" You call eternal life a blessing ? " Riho asked . " I call it a curse ! Divine punishment for preying
on humanity ! "
" Really , my dear , " Cain said , " have you forgotten those nights of ecstasy we spent in
Transylvania ? "
" T-Transylvania . . . ? " Riho asked .
" Yes , I do remember , even if you do not , my sweet Riho . Come to me . . . "
" No . . . I . . . "
" Come . . . "
" I . . . "
" Come . . . "
Cain 's voice was as hypnotic now as it was when he first appeared to Riho . Suddenly she stepped
slowly towards him , as though she was in a daze . Megumi looked on with alarm .
"Snap out of it ! " She called out .
Suddenly , Riho began to shake her head , as though she had just awoken , which was not far from
the truth . As soon as she saw Cain ' s hand reaching out for her , she slapped it away .
" I ' ll never go with you , Cain ." Riho said in a tone of quiet anger . " Never ! " Cain , for his part ,
seemed non-plussed about this .
" I will not give up on you , my little one , " he said . " If you wish to stop me , follow me if you can . "
Then he chuckled before vanishing into the gloom .
" I have to find him , " Riho told Megumi , " but I can ' t leave you alone . If he should come
back . . . "
" Go after him , " Megumi said , " don ' t worry about me . Just get him if you can . "
Riho stood in thought for a while , then she said , " All right . Just be careful . "
With that , the vampire girl left .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elsewhere , Yayoi was being interrogated by a group of men .
" Let me get this straight , Ms . Matsunaga . You claim that this girl , Riho Yamazaki , has been your
roommate for quite some time now . How long have you known that she was a vampire ? " One of
them asked in a very stern tone of voice . The only answer Yayoi gave was silence .
" Did she ever drink your blood ? " Another asked .
" She 's a good person , " Yayoi said , " the fact that she ' s a vampire doesn ' t change that . "
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Megumi stood by herself inside the church , wondering if Riho had managed to find Cain . Suddenly ,
the door opened . To her surprise , Shido had entered .
" M . . . mr . Tatsuhiko ? Is that you ? Thank god it ' s you ," she said .
" What happened ? Where ' s Riho ? " Shido asked .
" She went after Cain . I hope she 's all right . "
" Yeah . . . me too , "Shido said . " Well , I ' d better get you someplace safe . "
" What ? Are you with those people who took me ? "
" Not exactly , " Shido said . " Look , I ' m not sure what to tell you . See , there have been several
killings and they think you ' re a suspect . Me , I ' m not sure . I do know this , I ' ll bet the real
culprit is a nightbreed . "
'Whether or not that nightbreed is the baby growing within her , I have no idea , ' he thought to
himself . " Well , we ' d better . . . "
But before Shido could finish his sentence , he and Megumi saw someone at the door .
" I lead my little one on a merry chase and return to this place and who do I find ? The foolish man
who would dare steal her from me , " a displeased Cain said .