Title: Vampire Princess Miyu - Nightfall - Prologue
Author: Claw
Archive: Yes, just let me know where to find it.
Spoilers: Um.. VPM OAV 1-4; New Vampire Miyu comics; pretty much the
entire Japanese television series; possibly Vampire Princess Yui, although
I haven't decided to what extent.
Disclaimer: Vampire Princess Miyu and Larva are the rightful work and
property of Kakinouchi Narumi and/or Toshihiro Hirano, AnimEigo, Dark
Horse Comics, Antarctic Press, Studio Ironcat, Victor Entertainment, etc.
or whoever comes first. Please don't sue me. I'm a mere student.
Summary: Nightfall is the time for Miyu to hunt.
Archiving: I'd be honoured, but I'd also like to know.
Nightfall - Part I - Beginnings
----------=====+++++=====----------
Miyu and Larva had traveled up the eastern coast and down the western
coast, moving from area to area, never staying in one place too long.
She was careful not to arouse suspicion, which was difficult in
heavily populated areas like the Tokyo-Osaka Corridor. News of
"inexplicable exsanguinations" prompted massive media coverage. Sales
of garlic, hand mirrors, and crucifixes went up or sold out entirely.
It usually made her laugh aloud.
When things got too hot, Miyu would disenrole from school and
disappear, allowing her presence to be forgotten. After a long enough
time had elapsed, anyone who might have remembered her would be
elderly or dead. She could resurface in about forty or fifty years.
It wasn't that she feared humans, their mortal weapons or their
critical eyes. It was simply better that she remained an illusion,
another little fantasy of some businessman who drank too much sake
or something out of a comic book by Kakinouchi. Most humans, Miyu had
learned, were content in the knowledge that they were the sovereign
masters of their world, that reason and logic placed them on steady
foundations that could not be toppled by any amount of mysticism. The
truth was not worth their peace of mind.
Shinma did not share Miyu's outlook on mortals. The mythical monsters
sought to enslave mankind or feed upon them without mercy. Some wanted to
be worshiped as gods. There was even a few that wanted to destroy humans
completely, to allow the Earth to revert to its purer, primitive
state... the world before mankind. But the Shinma's time was simply over.
The world belonged to humans now, and it was theirs to do with as they
wished. Men may not have been the most sensical creatures, what with
slowly poisoning the planet they lived on, but they were capable of
great nobility and compassion.
The age of Shinma existed for more than a million years, Miyu had
discovered. The age of man deserved the opportunity to redeem
themselves.
----------=====+++++=====----------
It was a productive evening. A Shinma in a local park had taken
sanctuary in a wishing pool. It would give the wisher their heart's
desire to distract them while it fed. The victim would walk home in a
pleasant trance, fall asleep and never wake up.
By the time Miyu began investigating, several students of a nearby
school had already died in this fashion. The cowardly Shinma, once
scorned by a human lover, vowed to take her vengeance upon mortal
youths. It would only reveal itself as a blurred reflection of the
viewer in the pool. Miyu made sure that nothing was left of the Shinma
but ashes.
Miyu turned her head to face her somber-masked companion.
"Come on, Larva."
"It's time to go now."
----------=====+++++=====----------
The pair had found shelter in an abandoned inn just outside of the
city. The neighbors had considered it "cursed" after the mysterious
death of the inn-hostess's daughter and the subsequent disappearance
of the inn-hostess herself. No one wanted to buy or run an inn with
such a bad reputation; only fools and tourists would stay at such a
place. In the end, it was simply shut down.
Miyu had heard none of the rumors, although upon entering the inn
she had detected the old scent of a Shinma that had long since moved
on. The locale was perfect, she reasoned. She moved in immediately.
Rumors of the inn's haunted state only increased as Miyu resided there.
The locals caught quick glimpses of crimson-colored kimono or heard the
soft, undulating tones of a flute. The citizenry were curious, yet not
brave enough to investigate. It might have been spirit of the
inn-mistress' daughter returning home or perhaps the inn-mistress keeping
vigil for her lost child. And if it was, the inn still belonged to them.
The neighbors simply left them at peace.
----------=====+++++=====----------
It was a simple setting. Plain, some might call it, but not austere or
Spartan. Tatami mats lined the rooms. An ideal courtyard garden lay
past a transparent shoji screen. The walls were washed in a soft
yellow and bare of idol posters or magazine clippings a typical
adolescent might have hung. There was a bed for sleeping and a wardrobe
for clothes. There was nothing unusual, except for a dark chest. It was
lacquered to a shiny black finish with etched designs of willow trees.
Inside were various objects of mixed origin, resting on smooth red
velvet.
There was a faded photograph of her mother and father in sepia tones.
The edges were worn from handling, but their faces could still be seen.
Besides the aged photo was a ukiyo-e, an ink painting, of the rolling
sea stored in a sturdy cardboard cylinder. Inside a blue silk pouch
was a round silver charm with the shape of a star and crescent cut out
of the metal. It's surface was beginning to tarnish and lose it's
luster, but the memories it invoked in Miyu was always the same -- a
gentle shock and a warm smile. In a nearby corner was a fan of
vermilion-colored paper with a bamboo spine.
The mismatched trinkets shared one common link -- they were reminders
of a life that once was and can never be again.
----------=====+++++=====----------
Authors Notes: That ending really sucked, didn't it? It didn't seem to end
quite the way I wanted it to. I put myself under some pressure to at least
finish Part I before going back to school. I'm proud that it's done now,
although some heavy editing will take place later.
Feedback: claw789@yahoo.com
"Ocha tte nigai demo... hito no chi wa atatakakute tottemo amai no"
"Tea is always bitter... but blood is warm and sweet"
--Miyu
Author: Claw
Archive: Yes, just let me know where to find it.
Spoilers: Um.. VPM OAV 1-4; New Vampire Miyu comics; pretty much the
entire Japanese television series; possibly Vampire Princess Yui, although
I haven't decided to what extent.
Disclaimer: Vampire Princess Miyu and Larva are the rightful work and
property of Kakinouchi Narumi and/or Toshihiro Hirano, AnimEigo, Dark
Horse Comics, Antarctic Press, Studio Ironcat, Victor Entertainment, etc.
or whoever comes first. Please don't sue me. I'm a mere student.
Summary: Nightfall is the time for Miyu to hunt.
Archiving: I'd be honoured, but I'd also like to know.
Nightfall - Part I - Beginnings
----------=====+++++=====----------
Miyu and Larva had traveled up the eastern coast and down the western
coast, moving from area to area, never staying in one place too long.
She was careful not to arouse suspicion, which was difficult in
heavily populated areas like the Tokyo-Osaka Corridor. News of
"inexplicable exsanguinations" prompted massive media coverage. Sales
of garlic, hand mirrors, and crucifixes went up or sold out entirely.
It usually made her laugh aloud.
When things got too hot, Miyu would disenrole from school and
disappear, allowing her presence to be forgotten. After a long enough
time had elapsed, anyone who might have remembered her would be
elderly or dead. She could resurface in about forty or fifty years.
It wasn't that she feared humans, their mortal weapons or their
critical eyes. It was simply better that she remained an illusion,
another little fantasy of some businessman who drank too much sake
or something out of a comic book by Kakinouchi. Most humans, Miyu had
learned, were content in the knowledge that they were the sovereign
masters of their world, that reason and logic placed them on steady
foundations that could not be toppled by any amount of mysticism. The
truth was not worth their peace of mind.
Shinma did not share Miyu's outlook on mortals. The mythical monsters
sought to enslave mankind or feed upon them without mercy. Some wanted to
be worshiped as gods. There was even a few that wanted to destroy humans
completely, to allow the Earth to revert to its purer, primitive
state... the world before mankind. But the Shinma's time was simply over.
The world belonged to humans now, and it was theirs to do with as they
wished. Men may not have been the most sensical creatures, what with
slowly poisoning the planet they lived on, but they were capable of
great nobility and compassion.
The age of Shinma existed for more than a million years, Miyu had
discovered. The age of man deserved the opportunity to redeem
themselves.
----------=====+++++=====----------
It was a productive evening. A Shinma in a local park had taken
sanctuary in a wishing pool. It would give the wisher their heart's
desire to distract them while it fed. The victim would walk home in a
pleasant trance, fall asleep and never wake up.
By the time Miyu began investigating, several students of a nearby
school had already died in this fashion. The cowardly Shinma, once
scorned by a human lover, vowed to take her vengeance upon mortal
youths. It would only reveal itself as a blurred reflection of the
viewer in the pool. Miyu made sure that nothing was left of the Shinma
but ashes.
Miyu turned her head to face her somber-masked companion.
"Come on, Larva."
"It's time to go now."
----------=====+++++=====----------
The pair had found shelter in an abandoned inn just outside of the
city. The neighbors had considered it "cursed" after the mysterious
death of the inn-hostess's daughter and the subsequent disappearance
of the inn-hostess herself. No one wanted to buy or run an inn with
such a bad reputation; only fools and tourists would stay at such a
place. In the end, it was simply shut down.
Miyu had heard none of the rumors, although upon entering the inn
she had detected the old scent of a Shinma that had long since moved
on. The locale was perfect, she reasoned. She moved in immediately.
Rumors of the inn's haunted state only increased as Miyu resided there.
The locals caught quick glimpses of crimson-colored kimono or heard the
soft, undulating tones of a flute. The citizenry were curious, yet not
brave enough to investigate. It might have been spirit of the
inn-mistress' daughter returning home or perhaps the inn-mistress keeping
vigil for her lost child. And if it was, the inn still belonged to them.
The neighbors simply left them at peace.
----------=====+++++=====----------
It was a simple setting. Plain, some might call it, but not austere or
Spartan. Tatami mats lined the rooms. An ideal courtyard garden lay
past a transparent shoji screen. The walls were washed in a soft
yellow and bare of idol posters or magazine clippings a typical
adolescent might have hung. There was a bed for sleeping and a wardrobe
for clothes. There was nothing unusual, except for a dark chest. It was
lacquered to a shiny black finish with etched designs of willow trees.
Inside were various objects of mixed origin, resting on smooth red
velvet.
There was a faded photograph of her mother and father in sepia tones.
The edges were worn from handling, but their faces could still be seen.
Besides the aged photo was a ukiyo-e, an ink painting, of the rolling
sea stored in a sturdy cardboard cylinder. Inside a blue silk pouch
was a round silver charm with the shape of a star and crescent cut out
of the metal. It's surface was beginning to tarnish and lose it's
luster, but the memories it invoked in Miyu was always the same -- a
gentle shock and a warm smile. In a nearby corner was a fan of
vermilion-colored paper with a bamboo spine.
The mismatched trinkets shared one common link -- they were reminders
of a life that once was and can never be again.
----------=====+++++=====----------
Authors Notes: That ending really sucked, didn't it? It didn't seem to end
quite the way I wanted it to. I put myself under some pressure to at least
finish Part I before going back to school. I'm proud that it's done now,
although some heavy editing will take place later.
Feedback: claw789@yahoo.com
"Ocha tte nigai demo... hito no chi wa atatakakute tottemo amai no"
"Tea is always bitter... but blood is warm and sweet"
--Miyu