Disclaimer: I don't own Nightwalker though I do own three of the OC's that will come up later. R&R please!!!!!

The wind blew the slowly changing leaves from their resting places in the trees. It was a nippy night; the full moon was cast over with clouds leaving blotches of light and shadow on the ground. The click-clack of shoes against the sidewalk echoed through the stillness. A figure meandered its way through the last line of trees and continued deep into the concrete jungle of skyscrapers and noise. His pale face was hidden with shadows and the wind whipped through his impossibly long, lilac-under-moon hair. There was no sound except the occasional snap of a twig under his step and the flapping of his khaki trench coat. This was the quiet part of town; he could hear the booming of music not too far away. He tried to relish the silence but couldn't. The tip of his thumb ran over the welts of two small holes on the side of his right hand index finger. His instincts told him something was wrong about what he had just experienced. A cloud moved aside, revealing the moon and spilling pale light over him. Looking up at it, his eyes struggled to focus. Even moonlight bothered him; his eyes were more sensitive than ever. Great, I'm gonna have to start wearing sunglasses at night.

As he turned the corner, he began walking through the crowds coming in and out of the casinos and clubs. The lights blinded his eyes and the music deafened his ears. Tucking his hands into his pockets and tipping down the rim of his 18th century top hat, he hid his face from everyone. He didn't belong here. He entered an old, run-down office building and climbed the stairs until he came to a door. There, written in bold black lettering, was a sign that read:

Mr. Tatsuhiko Shido

"The Midnight Detective"

Private Detective

Fishing through his pockets, he fumbled with the key and unlocked the door. With shaking hands, he opened the door and dragged himself in.

"Hello Mr. Shido! Welcome back!" The cheerful voice of his newest assistant, Riho, rang through the office. "There's a new client is on the phone and - "

"I'm going to bed," he snapped. "Take down their number and I'll call back." In no time, he had sunk into a chair, kicked his feet up onto his desk, covered his face with his hat, and started dozing off. He heard a porcelain cup being put on the desk. Blindly, he reached for it and took a sip. A metallic tinge filled his mouth and he couldn't help but lick his lips joyfully. He sighed deeply and took another sip. The flavor of blood once again tingled his tastes and slid down his throat. It was warm; still fresh.

"Thanks," he said gently to the young girl as she stood there waiting for him to say something. "I needed that."

"Ms. Yayoi was kind enough to leave it for you. She thought you'd like it." An awkward silence filled the air. "So how did it go?" She waited but only got a faint snore as a response. He's asleep. I guess I'll ask him later. Silently, she took the mug from his hand and tiptoed into the kitchen then lie down on the couch. Within moments, she was off into some delightful dream world.

Slowly, one of his eyes opened and scanned the room from beneath the brim of his hat. Why didn't a tell her? He asked himself this over and over but couldn't come up with a good reason. Sighing again, he leaned back in his chair and peered over at the door. "The Midnight Detective" That was his title; Riho had given it to him. But why am I even a detective? It seems that no matter how hard I try, I always seem to hurt someone. But I guess that's the punishment for a vampire like me. You can never be close to normal people. Sighing again, he ran over the clues, once again, to his newest case.

There was only one witness that was both alive and mentally well enough to talk about it. He had said that his best friend had gone out to the grocery store to get something. An hour past his expected time of return, he had come back with a young woman that looked no older than twenty. She stayed for over two hours before leaving without a word. Then, the next day, the victim was supposed to meet her in the park but never came back. When the police finally found him, his throat had been slit wide open and was face down in a fountain in the park.

Shido scanned a picture of the couple, taken the night before his death. She was beauty; he couldn't deny that. With light bluish hair and subtle brown eyes, she looked happy and innocent in the photograph. But, as he himself had experienced, looks could be deceiving.

Stuffing the photo in his pocket, he covered Riho with a blanket, threw on his coat and left. He needed a quiet place to think.

After wandering the streets aimlessly for over an hour, he returned to his office. It was just before sunrise and the sky was full of color. There on the couch, still asleep, was Riho. He gazed at her for a moment, watching how the new day's sun made her hair glisten as it fell around her pale face. She too was like him, trapped in eternity, but she always seemed to find the brighter side of things.

As the day rolled by without any sort of action, Shido was kind of relieved. Riho had left mumbling something about getting ready for something. But his mind, once again, wandered to his case. This had been the fourth murder mystery in the last week and all of them happened in the park. But that was the only similarity besides the fact that all the victims were male. He found himself dazing off a bit, wondering why he helped humans at all. An image of his creator, Cain, flashed in his mind. He shook his head hard, trying to get rid of it but the man's words rang through his mind. "Humans are merely our prey. They should be jealous of us, of our gift of eternal life."

He had tried to make a life in the city where he worked, but his past always seemed to haunt him. It would come up in the most inappropriate times and end up ruining everything. Supernatural murders were his thing; the reason he was a detective. He watched the sun set from behind the shroud that kept him and the light separated. Surrounded by the almost deafening silence, he became lost in thought though he felt like he had forgotten something.

"Shido! Shido are you alive in there!?" Guni, the tiny urban fairy that seemed to have gotten attached to him, glared at him with crimson eyes.

"Yes, I'm sorry Guni. What's wrong?" Yawning, he stood and stretched. Guni was the first friend he made when he came here. Many times he wondered why she followed him. Her tiny green hands rested themselves on her slender green hips as she hovered in front of his face.

"What is it? What is it!? Shido, do you know what time it is?" She flew over and pointed at the clock then began ripping pieces of paper from his corkboard. He stood there, staring at her with a confused expression until she jammed a small pink note in his face. Taking it from her, he read it and his face melted away in shock.

"Oh crap! It's nine thirty already and I'm not even close to being dressed for the Charity Ball!" Jumping and nearly falling over his desk, he dashed off into the bathroom. He was in the shower long enough to wash his hair and body then grabbed his towel and ran into his bedroom. He ran about the room desperately, throwing open all his dresser drawers.

"Guni! Have you seen my clothes? I set them out this morning." She hovered over to his closed bedroom door and cringed when she heard a huge bang.

"Are you alright?" she asked. She heard Shido cursing under his breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But I think I broke my toe on the dresser," he replied with a halfhearted laugh. "Oh I found my clothes." There were more bashing and banging from behind the door. Guni chuckled; he doesn't seem like a vampire at all.

"Hey, Shido! Don't forget to brush your teeth. What kind of vampire would you be without sparkling fangs?" The instant that the last word left her lips, he burst through the door in nothing more than a halfway-buttoned shirt and his boxers. Dashing in to the bathroom, he grabbed his toothbrush he proceeded to scrub his teeth till they shined. After confirming that his mouth was as clean and fresh as it was going to get, he rushed back into his room.

A knock at the door frightened the frantic vampire and caused him to once again shake the room with a loud bang.

"Mr. Shido, are you okay?" Riho's voice came from outside the door. The detective came from his room, jumping into his dress slacks while Guni vigorously tugged at his long hair with a comb. Come on Shido, hurry. Get your pants on before the girls come in. As his secretary, Yayoi, and Riho entered the room, their eyes fell on a well-groomed and formally dressed Shido. His secretary's freshly dyed, dark blue hair, matched her royal blue dress perfectly. It had no sleeves or straps, was tight fitting, and flowed to her ankles with slits coming to about mid-thigh.

Forcing his eyes off her, he looked over at Riho. She looked radiant in a black and blue gown with silver embroidery. Most of her hair was up in a tight bun that was held together with two silver sticks. The rest of her hair fell down her back and over her shoulders. He took her hand in his and kissed it gently, watching her face light up with a pink haze.

As a group they walking down the stairs, led by Yayoi. Guni decided to stay behind instead of hiding within Shido's hair. They made their way outside where, parked beside the building, was a shining new sports car. Shido's eyes lit up at the sight of the hot rod.

"Wow! I guess this one took even more lunch money than the last one." The detective's smart remark was met with a glare. He chuckled hesitantly and climbed into passenger's seat. The girls climbed in and the engine roared beautifully. With a growl, they were off and within moments stopped in front of the great hall.

It was a huge building made of stone that was beautifully carved. A banner was strung between the gigantic pillars that invited all victims of a breed attack and their families to celebrate. What they were to celebrate he didn't know but maybe it made them feel better. It reassured them that there was someone else in this world that had the same problem.

They entered through the huge double doors and came into the ballroom. The ceiling was high and carved. There was a floor in the very center of the room here couples danced and children weaved in and out of the adult's legs. On one side of the dance floor was a concession table with everything from punch, chips and dip to escargot and other fancy dishes. On the other side was an area where you coud sit on the upholstered loungers and talk while behind that were the French doors that led out the balconies.

Riho stuck close to him, her arm hooked in his, while Yayoi ran off in pursuit of someone she knew. Shido took in all the wonderful sights and smells until there came a tug at his pants leg. He looked down to see a pair of red-orange eyes staring back up at him. It was Shinji, the kid who had died and been possessed by a breed. Shido had let the breed live out of compassion for the boy's mother, but he had never thought that the boy would live.

"Hello Mr. Shido," he said with a small, raspy voice. "How have you been?" The detective kneeled on one knee and patted the boy on the head.

"I've been fine, how about you?" He took Shinji and sat him on one of the couches, then plopped down beside him.

"I've been good, mother says I've been really good about . . ." He looked around the room and then leaned close. "about my . . . thing." Shido smiled and got a grin in reply. The boy had devoured pets before Shido came along and now, it seemed, he hadn't in quite a while. Shinji's mother came over and thanked him for his work, then picked up the boy and left. As they walked away, Shinji gave him the thumbs up sign from over his mother's shoulder.

Over the course of the next hour, Shido met with Megumi and her son, Taci Jr., whose father was a breed. Yuki came by to say hello and thank him for everything. He felt like he belonged here, with these people and that he'd done something good with the curse that had been put upon him. Everyone he had helped came to see him and all seemed thankful. As Yuki left, Riho pulled at his sleeve.

"Shido, could you get us something to drink?" Shido stared at her in disbelief. "Like from the punch bowl dummy." He nodded and started over toward the tables of food. After pouring both of them a glass, he turned around and ran smack into someone else, spilling the punch all over both of them and the floor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm clumsy sometimes." The woman he had run into bent over and picked up the empty cup on the floor. She stood up and looked at him. At first he was shocked at her appearance. She had two large, wavy locks of light bluish-gray hair hanging on either side of her face. She wore an old 18th century style dress of blood red velvet. Her eyes were like roses, not in color but in the way they felt. They were beautiful to look at but if he touched, they could draw blood. She was the lady in the photograph. "Here." She handed him the cup. "I haven't seen you here, what's you're name?"

He was a little shaken but reply. "Shido, my name's Shido." After she knew who he was, her eyes seemed to change, but just barely. A little bit of the cheer had disappeared. He gave a half hearted smile in apology for something he did know he had done.

"You're cute," she said, her happiness coming back, "do you think I could have the honor of dancing?" He smiled at her but shook his head.

"I've already got an appointment, I'm sorry, but I'll keep you in mind." Her happiness faded a little again and she stepped past him and poured three drinks.

"An appointment, with who?" All he could do was jab a blind finger over his shoulder to point at were Riho was standing when he left. Her eyes followed his finger and rested on a ditzy looking blonde with an over-sized bosom. She glared inwardly.

"Ok," She pushed past him. "Just keep me in mind, but next time I might not be free." In silence she made her way through the crowd, her long hair bouncing in the blood red bow that kept it calm. He scratched his head. Well she was strange and I'm a little glad I didn't dance, she looks too familiar. He cringed at the thought. Now Shido, you're supposed to be having fun. He got two more cups and walked back to Riho, bumping into a drunk blonde along the way.

"What took so long?" Riho asked as he handed her a cup. He scanned the room for the woman.

"I was just talking to someone sorry." He continued looking around until his eyes fell on a frightening sight, nearing making him spit out his punch.

A/N: CLIFFY!!!!! I'll update soon.