Bad Moon Rising

Chapter One

September 9th was when everything changed.

Of course no one knew that at the time. In fact, it would be months (for some years) before anyone would even come to that conclusion. But if you asked any one of them in hindsight, to pick that single moment in time when their lives changed forever…the events that took place on September the 9th would be the one they would choose.

But why that specific date exactly? Surely there were other more important dates? And there were. There were far more significant dates than September 9th 2016. Far more life altering events predecessing that one, that changed lives in a far more instrumental and monumental way.

But September 9th was different. What happened on that date didn't just change one person's life…it changed the way of life. Even though no one knew it at the time.

And it all started with a girl.

Aida Riko was a twenty five year old gym instructor living in a one bedroom flat in Tokyo with her boyfriend, Hyuuga Junpei. They met at university and had been going out for four years before finally deciding to move in together. Hyuuga was a self-employed carpenter who made bespoke furniture for wealthy customers and Riko helped middle aged women get back into shape in one of the local gyms across town. They were the only couple out of all of their couple friends who actually liked their jobs. Hyuuga relished in the satisfaction of seeing something he had created being appreciated and admired (and bought for a wealthy sum) and Riko felt a great deal of worth in helping women feel good about themselves. No matter how sweaty and tired she felt afterwards.

Their apartment wasn't big but it was comfortable. They were currently in the process of saving up for somewhere bigger, preferably with a garden. Riko loved gardening but all she had at the moment was a square patch of green outside the main door and three flowerboxes hanging on the balcony railing that she planted every year and watched grow. That year it was roses.

They didn't have any children and didn't want any, any time soon. Their landlords wouldn't allow cats or dogs in the apartment so instead they had a fat, round, one-eyed goldfish called Frank who spent most of his days bobbing around in circles in his over-sized fish tank.

They had tried on two occasions to provide Frank with companionship (did fish even get lonely?), but both had ended in failure. The first fish swam too close to the filter and ended up being sucked in and never seen again. The second one must have done something to upset Frank (or maybe Frank was just in a bad mood that day) because the morning after they had brought him home, he was dead at the bottom of the tank, upside down with a chunk of his side missing. Frank was bobbing gloriously over the body, as if proud of his kill.

They hadn't tried to introduce Frank to another fish since.

On the morning of September 9th 2016, the pair woke up to the sound of Fleetwood Mac blasting through their radio alarm clock. After making love, they showered together, ate breakfast together and got ready for work. Hyuuga made the bed and Riko fed Frank. It was a perfectly normal morning.

Except that it wasn't. Unbeknownst to them, it would be the last morning they ever spent together. If they had known that, maybe they would have done things differently. Maybe they wouldn't have gotten out of bed that morning, called in sick at work, and spent the rest of the day making love and ordering take out. If they had done that, maybe things would have been different.

At exactly 8:30am (as she did every morning), Riko kissed Hyuuga on the lips before wishing him a good day at work, grabbing her keys and heading out of the door. If Riko had known that that would have been the last time she ever saw her boyfriend, maybe she wouldn't have gone to work that day.

Work wasn't any different from any other day. She had ten appointments scattered throughout the morning and afternoon, with various different women, some her regular clients others brand new. She performed physio, spotted on various weight machines and completed her routine exercise regimes with her various classes. She had lunch in the gym cafeteria with her fellow gym instructors and they discussed their weekend plans as they ate. Unfortunately, Riko would never make it to the weekend to see them through.

Riko's last appointment was at 5:00pm. By 6:30pm she was ready to go home. As she waited for her bus, Riko checked her phone. A text message from Hyuuga told her that he was going to be late home that evening and that she shouldn't wait for him. That was nothing new. Being self-employed meant that Hyuuga could work any hours he wanted. It also meant that there were times when work was slow and times when it was so busy, he would often spend most of his day working away in his workshop and coming home late at night. When that happened, Riko would usually order take out and eat it curled up on the couch with something trashy on the TV and Frank bobbing along in his fish tank beside her.

That night she ordered pizza. One could argue that if Riko hadn't ordered pizza then maybe she would still be alive today and things would still be the way they were before. But that night on September 9th 2016, Riko fancied pizza.

If she hadn't wanted pizza and stuck with her usual order of Thai food, then maybe she wouldn't have left the flat that night and would've been there when Hyuuga got home in an hour's time. However, after feeling slightly guilty about polishing half a large pizza by herself, Riko decided to go for a run. She changed into her running pants, hoodie and trainers before putting the left over pizza in the fridge and leaving the flat for what would be the very last time.

Her usual route took about an hour.

It was exactly half way into her run at approximately 9:00pm that Riko's fate was sealed.

At that point there was no turning back. As she turned off the main street and headed towards the river bank, she had already been targeted by her killer. If she had chosen to stick to the busy, well-lit streets of Tokyo, then maybe Riko would have made it home that night.

But of course, that thought never crossed Riko's mind. She ran that route almost every other night after work, why would that night have been any different? She didn't know that she was being stalked by a ravenous, bloody-thirsty animal. There hadn't been any vampire killings in Tokyo for years. Not since the truce was formed (not to her knowledge anyway). As far as Riko was concerned (and she had every right to think that way), she was safe.

Maybe if she hadn't had her headphones in, she would have had time to react. Maybe she could've screamed and alerted those close by. Maybe it would've been pointless either way. After all, once a vampire had you in their sights, there was no stopping them. They were deadly. Lethal. Predators. And their prey never escaped them.

Riko took the steps leading down to the river two at a time. She turned left at the bottom and carried on jogging alongside the river's edge. From her current position, she could still hear and make out the busy night life from the streets above. The glow from the street lights illuminated the river next to her. However, up ahead was a bridge. And it was under that bridge that Riko's life would end (her body would be found exactly a week later, up-stream by a local man doing a spot of fishing).

As she approached the bridge, the song on her iPod changed. It was of her dad's old favourites: Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival. She was about half way under the bridge and about thirty seconds into the song when it happened. Little did Riko know that her death would kick start the start of something huge.

Fortunately for her (if you could call such a thing fortunate), it happened quick. Thanks to Creedence Clearwater Revival, Riko had no time to react when something large and solid smashed into her, knocking her off her feet.

She landed face first onto the cold path, her head cracking on the stone slabs as she fell. Through her pounding head and ringing ears, she could just make out the lyrics of Bad Moon Rising.

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.

Before she could gather her senses, something or someone was pinning her to the floor. She tried to scream but whoever (or whatever) it was pulled her head so far back, she thought her spine was going to snap.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

In was in that moment that Aida Riko knew what was happening. But it was too late. Her eyes widened in shock as she felt teeth bury into her neck. She couldn't scream and no one saw it happen. Back in her apartment, her boyfriend had just walked in and found the handwritten note she had left him on the fridge. He smiled to himself as he took out the leftover pizza and turned on the TV. He wouldn't report her missing until the next morning. Frank the goldfish carried on bobbing in circles in his over-sized fish tank as if nothing had happened.

I hear hurricanes a blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Under the dark bridge crossing the Sumida river, no one saw Riko Aida draw her last breath.

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

No one saw as her lifeless body was dumped into the river.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

No one knew (not even her killer), that the death of Aida Riko on September 9th 2016 signified the start of change. Like the first ripple felt in a pond after a stone had been dropped from great height. Even though it would take a while before the ripples reached the bay, change was on its way to Tokyo. But nobody knew that yet.

No one, except one.

Seven miles across town, at the same time as Aida Riko's body was being dumped into the Sumida river, Kise Ryouta woke up with a splitting headache. His breathing was heavy and sweat dripped down his forehead. He couldn't remember falling asleep or what he had just been dreaming about but for some reason everything felt different.

He winced at the throbbing pain coming from his neck. Through the pounding in his head and the ringing in his ears, he made his way to the bathroom. He poured on the cold tap and cupped his hands underneath the running water. After rinsing his face several times he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.

He was pale, his eyes were red and he felt sick. His head felt like it had been split down the middle and the pulsating feeling in his neck was only getting worse. He tilted his head to one side and examined the scar just below his right ear. It had been years since it had hurt this much. He closed his eyes tight and clasped his hand to the side of his neck. The mark underneath felt hot and…raw. As if he had been bitten yesterday.

If you asked Kise what had caused his scar to burn this badly for the first time in years he wouldn't have been able to answer you. Not yet anyway. But he knew (like he always did) that something significant had happened that night. Something important. Something that would change their lives forever.

Of that, he was absolutely certain.

A/N

Hello everyone! So here we have it! My new story! This is an idea I have been toying with for a VERY long time. Inspiration has finally come to me and this is what I have managed to come up with so far. Let me know what you think.

With regards to my other story (Little Bitty Pretty One), I did have chapters to upload but then my laptop broke and I lost the lot! This was about November last year. Ever since then I haven't had the motivation to write for that story. But don't worry! I will be continuing it, just not at this moment.

With regards to this one, I hope you enjoy it. My work life is hectic to say the least and I have no life on a daily basis so writing is like an escape for me. But the opportunities I get to write are few and far between so uploading might be slow. I'm really looking forward to this story. I've been wanting to write a vamp/supernatural AoKise fic for AGES.

Inspired by True Blood, Tokyo Ghoul, It and a few other things but mainly my own imagination just wanting to write something a little bit different to my usual stuff. I love slow builds in stories in general, so bear with this. I'm making it up as I go along but I have the general outline sorted.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and that you will stick with it. I didn't want to write too much in the description as I didn't want to give too much away!

I love you all

RH

x