The Sacred Night, Chapter One
The moon's friendly light shone, turning everything blue. I was in a forest, purposely away from any human that might be about at this hour. I didn't want to hurt them, as I could do too easily if I lost control. Every fiber of my body screamed at me to do so, to hurt them and kill them and not care as long as I got my prize: shining red liquid overflowing with ki. I could not afford to listen to my body in this matter, however, as that would result in several things I found profoundly undesirable. I would have to bear the knowledge that I had killed again to satisfy the selfish urges my evil nature impressed on me, for one. For another, I would continue not really living, but not fully dead, either, which was in itself depressing when I thought about it, but which also meant I was still a plague to humankind. As long as I walked the earth, no one was truly safe, and that was the worst thing about my existence.
The moon, as I said, was shining benignly and happily, the complete opposite of my life. I was about as malignant as they come, and morose to boot. This was one of many dramatic ironies in my existence- the moon, my only light and only friend, was continually mocking me with its cheeriness and harmlessness. I wanted to be like the moon. It was a helpful little guide for travelers and a beautiful inspiration for poets, nothing more. I was neither helpful nor beautiful. The only thing I could inspire was fear in those who recognized me for what I was and nothing at all in those who didn't.
I was leaning against a tree at this particular moment, trying to decide where to go or what to do next. I had not fed recently, so that was naturally my foremost concern, but I tried to push it away. I had not fed recently for a reason, and it was going to stay that way. If I wanted to feed, I could easily do so, but all that would do was continue the cycle. I wanted to break the cycle. Finding a way to survive without hurting others would have been nice, but I doubted it could happen, so the only alternative was to simply not survive. It wasn't as if I hadn't died before, but I had been unconscious when it happened. I still didn't know how I'd been changed into this undead thing I was, or who had changed me.
I was not afraid to die. It was more like I was afraid I wouldn't be able to die. With my unnatural strength, I could last weeks without feeding, though it wasn't a pleasant ordeal. I got very hungry after a few nights, and could lose control easily by just smelling blood. After a week or two, all it took was seeing a human and that human was dead. Right now, it had been three weeks.
Tonight was torture not only because I was so hungry, but also because I was lonely. I had not seen a human in almost three weeks, which was good for my plan but bad for my spirits, and had not seen any of my kind in two. Members of my species, as it were, were not temptation whatsoever. Though our blood tasted even better than that of humans, it was not very filling. That would be like drinking vodka instead of milk for a human- pleasant if you were into that sort of thing, but very bad for you. I hadn't seen any others in awhile simply because there weren't many around. Most vampires claimed large areas as theirs and populated them with ones they changed. The island I inhabited was viewed as mine by others, though I didn't really claim it, so they didn't come in and change people, and I never changed anyone.
Not that I couldn't change someone if I wanted to do so. Just because I didn't know how I'd been changed didn't mean I couldn't do it. It was just that there were several ways and I didn't know which my benefactor had chosen. I probably could have figured it out if I'd known what to look for at the time, but any marks left by the process would be long gone by now, though otherwise I looked the same as I had. Contrary to popular belief, my kind did age, but slowly. I had been one for about fifteen years, which meant I was still a child by our standards, but none of my kind treated me as they would a normal fifteen year old. Peaceful as I was now, I had not always been that way.
When I was first changed, I had quite a reputation as an extremely strong and extremely hungry vampire who didn't know the word mercy. I killed all of my victims, and I fed every night. If I felt a little guilty, I only told myself this was what I needed to survive, and surviving was not wrong. When I'd had that philosophy for about four years, though, I met a human named Yukishiro Tomoe who changed everything I thought. She had actually given her blood willingly, unlike any human I'd ever encountered. I didn't have to kill anyone while I was with her, because she let me take just enough blood to live on, which would not kill her. She didn't live long after that, though, since I found out the hard way that a vampire feeding on the same human regularly had a cumulative effect. She aged very quickly and died when I'd known her a year. I swore then that she would be the last person I killed.
I suddenly sensed a human presence coming toward me, jolting me out of memories. I had to get out of here before I smelled her or saw her, because if I didn't, she was a goner. I got up and started walking quickly away without looking her direction, but she changed direction to follow me. I sped up, but so did she. I changed direction several times, but I couldn't lose her. The only thing I could do was to flat-out run and then she'd never be able to catch me. Heck, she probably wouldn't even be able to see me.
"Wait!" She called out, but I didn't stop running. Maybe she needed help with something, but whatever it was, I couldn't help her. She'd be eighty before I realized what I was doing. I could still sense her trying to follow me, but she was falling behind. I'd only have to run for a few minutes before I wouldn't be able to sense her anymore, and then it was probably safe to stop. All that running made me feel faint when I was already starving to death. When I stopped running, I could neither sense nor see any human near me. The sun would rise soon, and then she'd be safe, because I'd be conked out for a good twelve hours. She could come right up to me then and I wouldn't even sense her. Surely she'd go away if she couldn't wake me up, which she definitely couldn't.
I climbed up into a tree and got comfortable to wait for sunrise. The sun wouldn't burn me any more than it would a human, and I would heal almost instantly. The only thing it would do was make me very, very tired. I wouldn't be able to wake up until it was reasonably dark again. It only took a few minutes for the sun to begin to rise, and I drifted off still not feeling any human presences.
I woke up to find my friend, the moon, ruling the sky again. Night noises drifted through the air and I was calm, all except for one thing. The human was there. Before I even opened my eyes, I could sense her standing there under the tree. Curses.
"Go away," I requested groggily, trying not to breathe the human smell.
"No. It was rude of you to run away even after I asked you to wait, and I'd really appreciate your help. I'm on my way to Kyoto," she explained. My ears perked up when I recognized the name of the city I'd resided in when I was alive, and I pointed in the appropriate direction.
"It's that way," I directed, still without opening my eyes.
"I know that. I was referring to helping me procure supplies for the journey... I'm not a big traveler, but I can see you are. I just want you to come into town and help me buy things. Of course I'd also like someone to travel with, but..."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," I answered. I didn't want to be rude, but if I was nice she'd just keep trying and possibly end up dead or injured.
"Oh, really? You don't look like you're in any hurry. You're just lazy; you won't even open your eyes. Look at me!" She commanded impatiently.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, either. Go away,"
"Not until you stop being rude to me and either come with me or give me a good reason you can't,"
A good reason. I had an excellent reason, but telling it to her didn't really seem like a good idea. "If I come down there and talk to you, you have to promise to slap me as soon as I'm there,"
"Why?" She asked incredulously.
"Just promise me, please."
"You're not one of those weird people who likes..."
"No! I just... look, I deserve it, don't I?"
"Certainly. Ok, I'll slap you, just get down here,"
I climbed down, carefully keeping my eyes on the tree and its bloodless bark until I was standing on the ground. I turned to look at her, and felt a sharp sting on my cheek as promised. It helped to banish the hunger awakened by the sight of her rosy, healthy face. I didn't even want to think about what my face looked like after three weeks without feeding.
"You don't look so good," she commented on seeing me full in the face. So much for not thinking about it.
"I, uh... haven't eaten in awhile," I said truthfully.
"I can get you supper while we're in town," she offered, suddenly seeming concerned.
"No, it's all right. I can take care of it,"
"You sure?"
"Of course. Let's just go get your stuff, all right?" I suggested impatiently. I didn't want to have to be around her longer than necessary, because that slap would only help so much.
"Ok!" She smiled and turned toward town, long braid whipping around her in a wide arc.
We walked the relatively short distance to the town closest to us, and I had to breathe deeply to calm myself after seeing all the humans bustling about. Fortunately, the town also brought smells stronger than that of humans. She guided me through various shops and I pointed out the most durable clothes and the longest lasting food for the trek from here to Kyoto. She told me she had taken a train here to look for the leader of some group she was in, but had stayed too long and didn't quite have enough money for a ticket back, so she had to walk.
"So I take it you didn't find your leader?" I asked, just interested in the conversation.
"Of course not, do you see him here?" She countered, gesturing to the empty space beside her.
"Well, you could have found him and failed to convince him to come with you, or even decided on your own just to see him and then leave. He also could have ordered you to leave, since he's your leader, correct?"
"Well, he ordered me not to look for him in the first place, but I suppose you're right,"
"So is that everything? I wouldn't want to keep you up too late, and the shops will be closing soon," I pointed out, remembering it was not normal for humans to stay awake all night.
"M-hm, that's everything! Time to make camp so we can get up really early tomorrow and get going!"
"We?"
"Aren't you going to come with me? You've been so helpful, and you obviously know somebody in Kyoto. Why don't you come with me and you can see whoever it is?"
"It would be very inconvenient. I'm used to traveling at night and sleeping during the day. I'd just slow you down, that I would,"
"I can travel at night. Besides, somebody's got to make sure you get some food in you! You look like you haven't eaten in three weeks!" She poked me in the stomach to punctuate her words. I just laughed and followed her out of the shop.
We camped in the forest and she insisted I eat some of the food she'd bought. I accepted it even though it wouldn't do me any good, because telling her she was the only nourishment in sight didn't seem like a very good idea. I didn't plan on feeding on her anyway. I just hoped I could stick to that plan.
"Ok, I'm finished. You ready?"
"I don't think it's a good idea for me to come with you, Miss,"
"Oh, come on, at least walk with me a little while," she inclined her head and took on a sort of pleading tone.
"All right, I just have to, um... I have to do something first. Please excuse me a moment," I requested and walked off into the trees where she couldn't see. There was no way I was going to keep a human alive long if I didn't feed soon, so I did the only thing I could do. I drew my sword and slit my own wrist, drinking the lifeless blood that came forth there. It wouldn't actually help me live any longer, because it would be right back where it came from in 24 hours, but it would give my stomach something to do so I wouldn't feel so hungry. It was the worst blood I'd ever tasted, since it had so ki whatsoever, but it filled me up. I walked back into the little clearing where the girl awaited me.
"All right, we can go now, that we can," I informed her and we began walking. "Since we're going to be traveling together, may I ask your name?"
"Makimachi Misao, what's yours?"
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well, there it is. man, it hasn't been this easy to write such a long chapter in forever. cool!
TYDYE girl: glad you like it, and i will try to show you how kenshin can be a vampire and a nice guy! You will see more next chapter, but a whole lot in chapter 3.
Yuhi-thedoerofevildeeds: glad you like it, and happy new year!
Chibi Yuushi: whoa! I am absolutely bowled over by this, the longest review i have ever received! If you were here i'd give you the biggest hug! I love vampires, but always thought it was stupid to make kenshin one until recently. Different authors produce different variants of the biological aspects of vampire nature, but with most women can be vampires. What is porphyria? I've heard it in conjunction with vamps before, but never knew what it was. Yeah, most modern vamp authors have a very sexual idea about vamps, but i will not be doing any of that! Especially since misao is the female in his life right now and i'm not fond of that pairing. *blushes* glad you liked history behind the history and my writing so much... that does seem to be the most popular of my stories. I was especially fond of this prologue as well, and i hope to continue the intrigue as the story goes on. You will see how i keep him in character soon, if this chapter didn't already let the cat out of the bag. *stifles happy squeal* oh and about your HBtH review: i may have said writing PROSE doesn't come naturally to me, because i am really a poet at heart, but writing runs in my family, though again it's mostly poetry. Thank you, though, for saying i am a writer!
Unique-starfish: finally what? Glad you liked the story, though, and i'll try to update frequently.
Kaoru-chan21: glad you like my IC vamp kenshin, but no, he will not always be battousai. You shall see. By "i hate B&K" did you mean the battousai/kaoru pairing? I like it myself, but it won't be appearing in this story.
Crazy Girl Person: glad you like the IC-ness, i hate OOC. Also glad you liked the detail- as a fledgling writer, I was always being told to add more detail, but as i've matured, i've fallen in love with detail!
Califpinay3001: glad you liked it. I feel a bit bad for the woman as well, but she would likely have died anyway from her injuries. That's no excuse, but that's why it's his DARK past. He feels bad, too.