Dark Secrets

Prologue:

"Mama Toya is scarring me again!" a three-year-old Sakura Kinomoto wined as she felt the full wrath of her brother's ghost stories. Sakura's ten-year-old brother Toya loved to tease his little sister, especially about her fear of ghosts and other supernatural creatures. He scratched at the window beside his bed making sound affects adding to his tale, he then added in an eerie voice.

"Now be careful tonight sis I noticed a vampire waiting at your window to take your blood," Toya whispered in a serious way. The young girl whimpered and jumped into her mother's protective lap. Toya was always doing this maybe because it was a brother sister thing or he was trying to protect her innocence. He smiled a quick sympathetic smile before returning to his teasing ways.

"Sweetie don't tease your sister," Nadesiko Kinomoto smiled at her son as she wrapped her arms around the shivering girl. "I don't want her staying up half the night with nightmares again," she then lowered her head to Sakura and whispered so only she could hear, "I can assure they are no ghosts, vampires, werewolves or even boogiemen. They are just stories made up by your big brother to scare you. "

Toya snickered as he hoped into bed and pulled the covers to his chin. He waited till his mother placed Sakura into her bed before questioning her, "Mother is dad home yet?"

Nadesiko turned to Toya and smiled the smile she always showed when she was sad, "He won't be coming home tonight sweetie," she turned back to Sakura and pulled the covers up onto the now sleeping girl. Sighing a soft sight Nadesiko placed a light kiss onto her forehead before heading over to Toya.

"Is dad working late?" Toya asked as his mother placed an identical kiss on his forehead. Nadesiko didn't answer his question; she just looked at him sadly knowing she would never see her sweet little boy again. "Well I guess he is so goodnight mother." He fell asleep almost instantly producing a soft snore, she smiled softly at him and looked at Sakura one last time.

"I love you Toya and you to Sakura. They will not destroy your lives even if it costs me my life." Nadesiko whispered to them. She waited till she knew they were asleep before turning off the light and lightly closed the door behind her. She headed for the door outside grabbing a piece of wood she hid in the cupboard along the way, it was a stake from one of the fences they had put up three months ago. "He's here and I will not let him get to my children."

Closing her hand tightly around the stake she noticed her husband's body laying motionless a few yards away, he laid face down a small knife sticking from his back. Then she saw the silhouette stepping from behind an old oak, he stayed in one place for a few seconds before noticing her. The moon produced an eerie glow around him as he stepped closer and closer to her.

She felt the cold feeling of fear wash over her, was this what her husband felt before he died? She wiped her hands quickly upon her skirt trying to rid them of sweat, she couldn't afford any mistakes. Her children were right behind her. Unprotected from the dangers of the world. He drew nearer to the light of the moon, his features slowly being revealed.

Finally he took a full step into the moon's rays that was when she stopped dead in her tracks. It was just a small boy about the same age as her daughter. "Who are you?" she asked confused. Her sudden abruptness gave the boy the opportunity to finish her off. He suddenly attacked and with one slash of his sword her head fell from her body. Then he went in for the meal, sinking his teeth into her flesh he drunk the remaining blood.

Smiling grimly he wiped the fresh blood from around his mouth, and looked towards the house were he felt two other humans. Then he saw her face starring at him through the window of one of the bedrooms, she had been seen the murder but he didn't move in for the kill. The soft tears that were running down her soft skin allowed for his emotions to surface, this girl of all people made him feel sorry for what he had done.

He quickly disposed of the bodies not wanting them to be found. He would let the girl live hoping beyond hoping she wouldn't tell anyone what she saw tonight. He couldn't kill her even if she did but his superiors would. Concluding that there were no other witnesses he set off back into the dark leaving behind one girl who would one day seek him out. Who would seek him out and kill him.

He quickly caught up to his superior and reported in that his kill was successful.

"You made sure that no one saw?"

"Yes sir none at all," the boy replied with a smile.

But he was lying.

There was one person who witnessed the demise.

The future vampire slayer Sakura Kinomoto.