79. The Reluctant Vampire
"You can't ignore me; I'm a vampire slayer!"
"Mhm." Starrk really wasn't listening; he'd long since passed beyond the realm of caring.
"…And you're just an evil bloodsucker…"
Starrk sighed, staring woefully at his castle in the distance. He'd have to relocate. Again.
"…Are you even listening to me?!"
"No." He glanced back at the kid in disinterest. Riki, or Renni, or something. Starrk had stopped keeping track after…well, honestly, he'd never paid much attention to their names, but he'd still been forced to listen to upwards of a hundred of them. Although the red hair and extensive tattoos on this one might be memorable. Maybe.
…Then again, last month he'd been attacked by an orange-haired dhampir wielding a kitchen cleaver and the week before that there was a church-brat dressed all in white who'd spent a good ten minutes preaching before trying to attack. And those were only the most recent in a long line of supremely unimpressive vampire slayers.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Oh. He'd forgotten the kid, who was now glaring at him indignantly. Whoops.
Starrk gave a half-hearted shrug and yawned, extending needle-sharp fangs in the process. His opponent's breath caught and the slayer sunk into a fighting position with his 'weapon' held out in front of him.
(Starrk used the term 'weapon' loosely, in that it was obviously a tool meant to fight. The thing was a rough amalgamation of elastic, metal, and sword-pieces that looked on the verge of breaking every time the boy moved.)
Starrk shot the slayer an unimpressed look and scratched at the scruff on his chin without concern, before stating his decision.
"Whatever. I'm leaving."
"H-hey! We're…supposed to fight?" The voice trailed off in genuine confusion as the vampire - First Blood, alpha remnant, terror of the high desert, all around monstrous abomination, Lord and scourge of the bloody emptiness, bloodsucker with the highest number of defeated slayers ever – turned and walked away without a second glance backwards. It was actually kind of insulting. Before that thought could penetrate, the intimidating figure of the master vampire twisted, shrunk, and was gone.
Renji lunged forward with a curse as he realized what was happening, but it was too late.
Reduced to his bat form, Starrk had to boost his speed with a touch of blood magic to reach his castle before daybreak. Now that his location had been compromised, he needed to find a new home as soon as possible. He'd endure the daylight hours in the hidden catacombs beneath the castle today and leave as soon as the sun set.
Hopefully, he'd be able to avoid reinforcements – it depended on how much time Renji wasted trying to hunt him on his own before reporting in. He knew from experience that the senior monster hunters of the Van Helsing organization were far more dangerous than any number of kiddie slayers. Dangerous, and memorable enough in personality and ability for him to actually remember their names and appearances.
However, even though Kyoraku and Ukitake were unique enough to bring a bit of excitement to his dull eternal existence, he'd still prefer to avoid another painful encounter.
Author's Notes:
Kinda silly and old, but it's festive! For the end of Spooky Season!
I hope you enjoyed it and stay tuned for a longer (and way sillier) installment tomorrow!
Happy Halloween!