I
"A vampire," Nabuo said dryly. To say that he and the rest of the gang-those who hadn't been picked up in the police sweep-were unimpressed by Toshi's story was an understatement. "Exactly what have you been smoking, Toshi?"
"I'm serious! C'mon, what's so hard to believe about it, anyway?"
"This is the twenty-first century, Toshi," Gentaro protested.
"He killed Hiro," Toshi pointed out. "That ought to tell you something right there. And Hiro called him a vampire. That's what he said." He rounded on Ken, whom he'd expected some support from. "C'mon, Ken, you were there. You saw the guy."
"Well..." Ken mused"he did have that freaky sword thing."
"And he knocked you out with one kick, too! Does that sound like some normal guy?"
"That's a point there, too," Ken said. He prided himself on being a tough guy, and it was almost easier to accept that he'd been taken down by a vampire than that an ordinary cop had so easily brushed him aside.
"And really, what's so hard about believing in vampires? Hiro...he was real, right? He made a bargain with a demon and that was for real!"
That was the undeniable truth. Their gang had been losing out on a nasty turf war until their leader had found that old book, tried that spell-and something answered.
"That's one thing, but vampires? Dracula and 'I vant to suck your blood' and all that?"
"This wasn't Bela whatshisname in an opera cape and tux, Nabuo. He killed Hiro, killed our leader just when we were going to off those lousy Black Oni once and for all!"
"Okay, okay," Gentaro gave up. "He was a vampire, all right, Toshi? But what difference does that make?"
"He killed our boss. It's one thing if he was a cop, but he's just a stinking outsider. Vampire or not, he can't just come in and take out one of us."
The others looked at him in stunned surprise. Gentaro and Ken kept that look, that kind of "What are you, nuts?" thing, but Nabuo's started to melt into the kind of anger Toshi felt.
"You want us, the four of us, to go try and take out that guy?" Ken protested. "Toshi, he killed Hiro! He took us both down in what, half a second? How can we-"
Toshi didn't even let him finish whining.
"He's a vampire, right? It's like Nabuo said, there's only, like, a zillion movies and books and TV shows and manga about them. It ain't like he's some freak we never heard of."
He could tell he was starting to get through to them.
"So we're gonna find this guy and bang! Come high noon, he gets it right through the heart!"
II
"The breed actually said that?" Yayoi asked. "About not killing any more people than its human host would have?"
"He did."
"Boy, that one had some nerve," snorted Guni. Shido looked up at her and reflected that, in a city where night breeds were almost less of a problem than some humans, a green-skinned manikin with demonic-looking dragon wings was a much more appropriate appearance for a fairy than some storybook elf with the glistening wings of a dragonfly would have been. As was her sarcastic attitude, come to think of it.
"It isn't true, you know," Yayoi said gently. The beautiful NOS agent could see how upset he was. She'd probably noticed the night before when he'd made his report.
"Oh?"
"This isn't New York or Los Angeles, Shido. Yes, there's crime and gang activity, but they don't often devolve into mass murder. Remember that the whole reason the NOS became involved in this case was the unusual nature and number of deaths."
"Or just because some punk kid wants to be a big nasty gang boss doesn't mean he could or would have done it without the breed pulling his strings," Guni put in her version as she flitted over to Yayoi with a cup of coffee.
"Thanks, Guni. Where's Riho, though?"
"Shido sent her out on some errand. The little idiot probably burst into flames in the sun, knowing her."
Yayoi glanced at Shido, seeking clarification.
"I sent her to pick up a few books from the library. She needs the practice in being out alone during the daytime. She left during the morning, she'll be inside researching while the sun is up, and she'll come back during the early evening before sunset." The more diffuse sunlight of dawn and dusk was irritating to vampires, but unlike sustained, direct light not harmful.
"How is she coming along?"
Shido shrugged.
"It's difficult for her to cope with some of the changes, but she's doing better. You know Riho; when she sets her mind to something she goes after it one hundred percent. She's very determined."
"Obsessive would be a better word."
"You're just cranky because you had to make the coffee, Guni," Yayoi pointed out.
"Okay, that's true, but still..."
Yayoi laughed, then rested her hand lightly on Shido's shoulder.
"I have to get back to work. Don't worry, Shido. I know you want to save humans from the darkness, but there's nothing you can do if they step into it of their own will. Be happy for the people that breed won't be killing tonight, thanks to you."
"Thanks for stopping by, Yayoi." A yawn suddenly welled up within him.
"And get some sleep! Fighting breeds at night and wrestling with philosophical musings in the morning tires a man out."
"You know, there are more pleasant ways to tire a person out."
Yayoi laughed.
"Save it for when Riho gets back and you can watch her blush."
There was more truth in that then he cared to admit.
III
"His name it Tatsuhiko Shido" Ken announced.
"How'd you find that out?" asked Nabuo.
"One of the cops the NOS had working the cleanup crew wasn't too picky about where his cash came from." He rubbed his fingertips together. "I remembered him 'cause Hiro used to pay him off regularly."
"So how'd he know the vampire's name?"
"Saw him talking with the NOS agent who was running the op. She was a real babe, so he paid pretty close attention. The guy's name, like I said, is Tatsuhiko Shido, and he's a private eye."
Gentaro laughed mockingly.
"A vampire P.I.? What is this, a bad movie?"
"Sure, and just like all Dracula movies, the vamp's gonna get it right through the heart before the credits roll." Toshi spilled a set of hand-carved wooden stakes onto the concrete floor of the old factory.
"If he's got a job, is his address in the phone book?" Nabuo asked Ken.
"Yep; I got it right here."
"Good work, Ken," Toshi said. "You got the address, Gentaro got that old furnace up and running, I got the stakes and tools, and Nabuo picked up some silver crosses and garlic."
"So what's the plan?"
"We go to this guy's place, we bust in, we bring his sleeping body back here, and we do like the books say. Stake through the heart, saw off the head, stuff the mouth with garlic, and burn it all to ash. Teach that undead freak to mess with us, hey?"
IV
Even with sunglasses on, Riho Yamazaki found the world to be more than a little blurry, as if she was actually looking through prescription lenses meant for someone else's eyes. Taking the glasses off would just make it worse, though.
Concentrate, Riho! she told herself. Mr. Shido can do this, and you don't want to let him down, right?
"Still having trouble putting one foot in front of the other?"
"I'll put one foot into your backside!" Riho shot back reflexively. Most of her conversations with Guni went that way. Then she realized what was going on. "Hey, Guni, what are you doing here?"
Guni darted into Riho's hair before passerby could see and start wondering what an eight-inch-tall, green-skinned fairy was doing talking to a girl on the street.
"Shido went to bed for the day. There's nothing more boring than sitting around listening to a vampire snore. Yayoi stopped by earlier, and that was fun."
Guni chuckled meaningfully, but Riho refused to rise to the bait. She'd been terribly jealous of Yayoi once, when she'd believed Yayoi and Shido were involved, but now of course she knew it was strictly friendship, with a little vampire-blood donor kinkiness added in.
Wait a second. I drink Ms. Yayoi's blood, too. Well, that just proved there was nothing romantic going on. But then again, Yayoi seemed to really...enjoy...having her blood taken. So did that mean that Shido and Yayoi were... And that she and Yayoi were also... Or did it have nothing to do with...that...at all?
Being a vampire is so confusing! But I'm really glad I can be with Mr. Shido now forever.
Except that they weren't really "together." Not as a couple.
Now she was blushing.
"Uh, Riho, you were supposed to turn left a block ago," Guni observed.
V
"You'd think a P.I. would at least have a decent lock on his door," Nabuo muttered.
"Quit complaining. We're in, aren't we?" Toshi groused. The tan coveralls he was wearing itched; he didn't see how real delivery guys could wear them every day. Still, if anyone saw them carrying a box-or coffin-out of Shido's office, it made for a good disguise. "Halloween party prop, ma'am. Just taking it back to the company," or "Just picking up a package for delivery, sir."
"The place looks empty. Shouldn't there be some kind of human guard on hand while he's asleep?"
"If there is, he'll get what's coming to him." Toshi patted the gun under his coveralls. Garlic and crosses and stakes were one thing, but for some Renfield guy, good old-fashioned bullets would do the trick just fine.
The place looked more like an apartment than a business office. The main room had the usual desk and chairs, with a large bookshelf for easy reference, but off to one side there was a kitchen, if a little understocked. Another door was closed, so Toshi opened it.
"Jackpot!" A big ebony coffin sat there.
"Why do vampires sleep in these things?"
"Ask someone who cares, Ken. C'mon, let's get it out of here. No, wait. We ought to check his case files, see if he left anything to point his NOS friends back to us."
"Cop said that NOS agent was a real hotty. Figure a vampire to get the pretty ones. Getting your blood sucked must really feel good."
"Yeah, well, let's move this along, 'cause I don't want to find out. I want this guy staked, sliced, and burnt by sunset."
"Ken, since you've got the time to run off at the mouth, why don't you stay here and check his files?" Nabuo suggested. "Meet us back at the factory."
"If you work fast enough, you might even get back in time to see the main event." Toshi grinned cruelly. "I wonder if he'll scream as much as they do in the movies. I want this bastard to hurt for what he did to us."