"This is bad," Melissa said as her eyes darted to her companions. "You– he– if he can do that– and he wants to–"
"It's a little late to have second thoughts," Himiko hissed as she tightened her grip on her blades.
"Himiko is correct," Ochako admitted. "I cannot risk sending you back now. Izuku–"
"I've got her," Izuku said. Taking a step toward his cousin, he grabbed her arm, the move causing her to jump before she recognized his familiar grip and relaxed ever-so-slightly.
"Sorry," Melissa apologized.
"I understand!" Izuku assured her. "But we have to move."
"You're right." Melissa tried to put on a brave face. "What are we doing?"
As Izuku gently pulled his cousin behind Ochako, Himiko stepped forward and shot the vampire a challenging glance.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"What does it look like I'm doing," The man swept his hands wide to indicate the graveyard. "I'm planning on amassing an army and making this city mine."
"You're insane!" Himiko spat. "Especially if you think you'll last the night."
"Oh, I'll last the night," The man laughed, a deep, maniacal laugh that Himiko had to wonder if he practiced. "And the next one and the one after that and soon… soon everyone will fear the name Romero Fujimi!"
Himiko let out a barking laugh before she rolled her head to look back at the others. "Just so you know, I'm gonna need some more blood after this."
"What are you–"
"Unlike you, I don't have a death wish!" Himiko exclaimed. He sputtered at her interruption and gave her the opening she needed. Her eyes darted around briefly before she began to focus. She tightened the grip on her knives, preparing for an ambush as she called upon her illusions. "There, now we can deal with you properly."
"You! What'd you do!?"
"Simple," Himiko gave him a predatory smile. "I cast this whole place in an illusion so that the city's Adjudicator doesn't come after me."
"You're worried about the Adjudicator?" Romero giggled. "And you expect to take me down?!"
"Yep!" Himiko chirped. "I promise you it doesn't have anything to do with skill. I just don't want any trouble."
"Don't want trouble…" Romero's eyes went wide. "I see! You're just another pawn in their game then. Following their rules like a good little vampire." His eyes narrowed on Himiko. "I almost feel bad for you. Listening to their lies." He shrugged and gave her a wicked smile. "But if you're that far gone, I'll save my pity for someone else."
Himiko scoffed. "I'm a terrible vampire. Not even Chizome could bring me in line. But," She slid her left leg sideways as she shifted the grip on her daggers, preparing for combat. "At least I'm not a hypocrite."
"H-hypocrite?!"
"Look at what you're doing!" Himiko's eyes narrowed as she surveyed the zombie-like creatures. By continuing to talk, she had allowed him to raise several more, and now there were almost twenty amassing in front of her. "You're acting just like those elders you claim to hate! I'm not the one trying to bend people to my will."
She knew she struck a nerve when she saw his face twist and contort in anger. "Kill her! Kill them all!"
"Thanks for letting me talk," Himiko said over her shoulder.
"You sounded like you needed it," Ochako admitted. As she gazed at their vampiric companion she swore that there was a faint smile on her lips, but she didn't quite understand why.
"Now then," Himiko returned her attention to the creatures bearing down on her. "Time to go to work." Dashing forward, she drove both blades into the chest of the nearest creature, the creature letting out an unearthly hiss as she dragged the blades downward before she pulled them out.
"Agreed," Ochako said as she spread her arms wide. A half-dozen points of light appeared around her as two tendrils of space wrapped around her limbs, while more appeared over her shoulders.
"The dead are always shown to be weak against fire," Shoto smirked. "Time to see how true that is."
He began chanting and Izuku quickly recognized that he was invoking the Flame Wall that he had shown them. Unlike the previous night, Shoto was casting the spell much faster this time, and it only took a few seconds for the wall of fire to appear, engulfing three of the creatures. With inhuman hisses, they writhed and struggled against the flames. But even their supernatural bodies weren't enough and as Izuku watched, he saw their bodies slowed down and fell apart.
"I guess that's something," Melissa muttered next to Izuku. "Even being desensitized it's still hard to watch though."
"I– Yeah," Izuku agreed. "I'm still not used to it."
"That's a relief," Melissa admitted.
Izuku shot his cousin a sideways glance but saw she was already turning her attention elsewhere, trying to take in the chaos as Ochako placed herself between them and the remaining creatures.
"Do you think mindless creatures such as these will pose any threat to me?" Ochako asked.
She stepped forward and swept both of her arms toward the zombies. Her summoned tendrils responded to her very thoughts as each one caught a zombie in its grasp. Once she had collected five she opened a rift, the very ground beneath her appearing to crack and split as the rift raced forward, revealing the void of space. Ochako then dumped the five into the rift.
"That's half of them," Shoto said as he watched a fireball ignite two more of the creatures that shambled around his wall of flame.
"Grr!" Romero growled. "Fine then. I'll get serious too!"
His brows furrowed and he let out a grunt of pain, and suddenly the three humans felt a fresh wave of pressure as the fog thickened.
"Melissa–" Izuku called out, concerned for his cousin's safety.
"I'm right here Izu," She assured him as she grabbed his arm, her nails biting into his skin as she inadvertently applied more pressure than she intended. "This is… this is bad."
"Stay close to me," Izuku instructed her. He saw her nod before he carefully took several steps toward Ochako, trusting that she wouldn't harm them by accident.
"What are you doing?!" Himiko demanded as she cut down another zombie, her runed blades glowing a blazing orange as they reacted to the animated flesh.
"I was told I could raise my army much faster," Romero explained.
As if to demonstrate the mist congealed around four different gravestones at once before striking the ground like bolts of lightning. Partially freed from their prisons of earth the newly-reanimated creatures quickly scrambled out of the ground to refill their ranks.
"It just hurts to speed things up." He let out a weary sigh. "But it's a small price to pay. Once I sacrifice the five of you to my army your corpses and souls will more than make up for it."
From her position in the back, Melissa froze at those words, her grip tightening on her cousin.
What are you doing? She scolded herself. Everyone else is fighting, are you just gonna cower back here?
Her eyes darted from Shoto to Himiko, and finally to Ochako. All of them are fighting to stop him. And… Her eyes fell onto her cousin, whose determined gaze was locked onto Ochako as he tried to mumble silent encouragements to her. Even Izuku's fighting in his own way. Besides, you chose to be here! So what are you going to do?
Melissa blinked and slowly eased the grip on Izuku's arm before she finally released it. As her eyes once again swept the battlefield they once again fell on Romero, whose attention was focused almost entirely on Himiko.
"That's right…" Melissa said to herself. "If everyone's busy fighting, that means nobody's paying attention to the girl in the back." She straightened up. "Which means I can afford to pay attention to everyone else." She closed her eyes for a moment and took a calming breath, before opening them and turning her attention to Romero. "It hurts him to speed things up…"
Focusing her attention on their adversary, her gaze drifted to the strange box in his hands. The same box that appeared to be powering the ritual he was performing.
The box… Melissa's eyes narrowed as she observed it. It was made out of material that she wanted to call obsidian by appearance, but the fact that it was absorbing ambient light, rather than reflecting it meant that was the wrong answer. Just like it was…
Wait…
As Melissa watched, she saw a single drop of blood leaking out of Romero's finger, only to be absorbed into the hard material, like a sponge. Straining her eyes, she realized that it wasn't just blood – his fingertips appeared raw and bleeding as if the skin had been peeled off.
He's using his own body to fuel the box!
"We need to get the box away from him!" Melissa shouted.
Ochako hesitated for a moment, allowing one of the zombies to get closer. Frowning, she took a step back towards the humans and crossed her arms, the tendrils wrapped around them condensing into a shield that burst outward and sent the creature flying, bowling over several of its companions before it landed. With a moment's space to breathe, she turned toward Izuku and Melissa. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Melissa nodded vigorously. She quickly debated with herself, before deciding to raise her voice as she continued. "The box he's– it's being powered by his blood."
"Great!" Himiko exclaimed from her position as she dodged between two creatures who tried to lunge at her, causing them to crash into each other. "Just let me get to him!"
"Let me help," Shoto insisted as a fireball formed in his hand. It grew in size until it was the size of a beach ball before he launched it toward the vampire–
-only for a pack of zombies to intercept it, letting out the same inhuman hisses as they were ignited by its flames.
"Ah ah ah," Romero wagged a finger at Shoto. "You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you?"
"Damn it!" Himiko cursed as she stabbed another zombie in the chest before her knife lashed out to sever its head from its neck. Finding her way blocked, she danced back several feet to give herself some breathing room. "Ochako, you're sending these things somewhere right?"
Ochako blinked and turned her attention back toward Himiko as her tendrils grabbed two more zombies that had tried to approach. "Yes, why?"
"Open your rift under me!" Himiko said. "That'll clear a path!"
"Are you sure?" Ochako asked. "Then you will be trapped with all of these creatures until I can retrieve you."
From their position, the others couldn't see clearly, but they could only imagine Himiko was rolling her eyes in response. "Don't care! Just trust me!"
Without another word, she charged forward in another desperate attempt to get through. But rather than waste her time in a desperate assault, she bobbed and weaved through the creatures as she sought to reach their master.
Silently, Ochako grabbed several more approaching zombies, ensnaring them in her tendrils before she once again created a rift along the ground. But this time instead of controlling it, she let it run wild as it raced forward, aimed directly at where the creatures were the densest… and Himiko was doing her best to break through.
Everyone, friend and foe alike, watched the rift grow. Several zombies managed to get out of the way, only to be battered by Ochako's void tentacles. After what felt like an eternity, it opened wide underneath Himiko, pulling her and a half dozen of the creatures into the void. Not wanting to risk any further casualties, Ochako immediately sealed the rift, trapping all inside it.
Romero looked on in stunned silence before he slowly turned toward the survivors. On one hand, the number of zombies under his control had been cut in half. On the other hand…
His back started shaking before he threw his head back, his arms spread wide as he erupted into full-throated laughter.
"Ohohohoh. This is rich!" He lowered his head to stare at the four, a manic grin on his face. "There's hundreds of corpses in this graveyard! You had to sacrifice one of your own and barely put a dent in my plans. At this rate–"
He was interrupted as a soccer ball made of ice slammed into his head, exploding into thousands of shards.
"You talk too much," Shoto said.
"Grr! How Dare you!" Romero quickly recovered and glowered at Shoto as the box began to glow with a baleful light.
"Thanks for distracting him!" Himiko chirped from behind Romero.
"Wha– AAARGH!" Romero screamed as Himiko's blade sliced through flesh and bone, sending his hand – and the box – to the ground. There it landed with a dull thud, where the light of the box dulled and faded until it was once again black. He spun around and came face-to-face with his assailant, his eyes going wide as he recognized her. "You- how?!"
"I told you," Himiko said as she swept her leg out, tripping Romero and sending him to the ground. "I've been trained by no less than Chizome Akaguro." Standing over him, she dropped to her knees so she was straddling his chest, her blade glowing menacingly as she held it inches away from his neck. "Some third-rate vampire who's relying on others to give him power isn't gonna be enough to stop me."
As she raised her arm to deliver the finishing blow, she felt more than saw a wave of supernatural darkness flood the area surrounding them, deepening the shadows and dropping the temperature by a few more degrees – or it would have if she felt such things. Pausing, her grin widened as she looked up for a moment. "Finally!" She looked down at the form of Romero sitting underneath her. "Hee, I guess you get to live… for a few more minutes."
Thrusting her hand down, she stabbed a dagger through Romero's remaining hand. He let out a pained scream as she pinned him to the ground before she quickly rose to her feet to greet their new guest.
Twenty meters away, the humans were feeling the full effects of the darkness.
"C-cold," Melissa shivered as Izuku wrapped his arms around her.
"This is just like…" Izuku said as he huddled next to his cousin, wishing he had something heavier on.
"Yes," Ochako called from several feet away. "He is here."
As she felt, more than saw, shadows dispersing around the area, Ochako knew she had to protect her humans. She began to glow, her skin emitting a faint light that grew in intensity until it pushed away the darkness from Izuku and Melissa. With Ochako acting as a source of light, Izuku began to look around in search of Shoto, only to see he had already taken similar measures. He had called upon his Ice Armor, except he somehow managed to switch its elements and was currently wreathed in fire. With a quiet sigh, he loosened his grip on his cousin and moved toward Ochako.
Ochako, meanwhile, frowned as she looked around in the darkness. The shadow creatures were currently striking down the remaining zombies with ruthless efficiency. However several were still lurking nearby, their attention focused on her. It seemed that their guest still wasn't taking any chances.
Well, she wouldn't either. Channeling the light from the nearby star, she began to grow brighter and brighter, pushing back the darkness and the shadow monsters until she heard a loud hissing from the shadows.
There!
Ochako turned her head and saw the man, his body wreathed in writhing shadows as he held his hands up defensively. "Call off your creatures. We are not your enemy."
"Then why are you trying to kill me with your daylight!" The man yelled back.
"I am truly sorry," Ochako dimmed the light, once again concealing the man in shadow. "But without knowing your intentions I needed to keep my companions safe, and it was the most direct method."
"This is still the second time you have shown up to meddle in affairs that don't concern you." The man said as he lowered his arm, although Ochako could sense his shadow creatures hovering nearby. "Merely saying you are not my enemy is not enough to earn trust."
"Actually," Izuku interjected. He stepped around Ochako, giving his girlfriend an apologetic look before he stared into the darkness where her attention was focused. "It does! We've been working with a vampire! And she's the one who took down the vampire you're looking for!"
"He's telling the truth," Shoto added as he finally stepped into the circle of light, where he dismissed his fire armor. "We've been trying to contact you but haven't had any luck, until tonight."
"You two!" The man gasped, before he let out a howl of laughter. "Of course, it would be you."
"W-what are you talking about?" Izuku asked nervously.
They saw the darkness pull back far enough so that the three humans could see the man wrapped in shadows, much like Ochako wrapped herself in tendrils made from the void of space. Around his face was a tenebrious mask molded into the shape of a raven, his piercing red eyes the only thing that was visible. With a wave of his hand, the shadows began to dissolve, revealing a tailored red suit until only the mask remained. Finally, the mask dissolved and revealed a face that Izuku and Shoto were both familiar with.
"I– Not again!" Izuku moaned as he grabbed his head with his hands.
"Of course, it would be you," Shoto sighed. "I've always wondered what happened when you disappeared after high school."
There, standing in front of them was their old classmate, Fumikage Tokoyami. His eyes had taken on a red tone and his skin was the same pale porcelain as Himiko's, but it was unmistakable.
"Was everyone at the school connected supernatural except me?!" Izuku asked.
"Well, you certainly appear to be connected to the supernatural now," Tokoyami said as he examined Izuku with a critical eye.
Melissa put a pitying hand on Izuku's shoulder. "Now I see why you called me."
"I– yeah," Izuku looked at his cousin.
"Hey!" Himiko shouted. "Sorry to interrupt whatever reunion you're having, but I've got your vampire right here!"
Fumikage let out a resigned sigh. "She is right," He turned his attention toward Himiko. "And you were telling the truth that you are working with another vampire."
"Yes," Ochako said plainly. "I have been seeking to meet with you ever since our first meeting since we have important matters to discuss, but finding your kind has been difficult. We stumbled upon Himiko by accident and, since our goals lined up, we have been working together."
"What a tangled tapestry that has been woven," Fumikage shook his head. "Very well. Let us deal with these matters one at a time." He straightened his suit, and as the four watched he cloaked himself in shadows again.
Himiko watched as the Adjudicator finally finished talking with her companions and began to circle Ochako.
"Finally," She breathed before she looked down at Romero. "Guess your time's almost up."
She was disappointed that the vampire didn't even attempt to come up with a reply, and instead simply stared daggers at her. Finally growing bored of his silence, she placed a boot on his chest before she turned her attention toward the approaching vampire.
Fumikage stopped in front of Himiko and examined her with a critical eye, his red eyes meeting her gold. "So you're the one who cloaked this area in illusion?"
"Yep!" Himiko chirped proudly, a fanged smile splitting her face. "I thought you'd like to know what was going on, so I hope you liked the signs I left for you."
"You what?" Izuku exclaimed as he and the others approached.
"What?" Himiko turned to shoot her companions a playful glance. "You didn't think I'd want to ensure that he," She gestured towards Fumikage, "couldn't find us? When I've been looking for another vampire for weeks now?"
"You've been seeking us out for weeks?"
"Yes!" Himiko exclaimed. "You haven't been easy to find either!"
"You know there are proper procedures and traditions to set up a meeting…"
"I know," Himiko crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, but she still felt blood rushing to her cheeks. Thanks, Ochako. "And I would have used them if I didn't decide to pack up and run away from my Sire."
Fumikage sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?"
Himiko threw her head back and laughed. "You don't know half of it."
Shaking his head, the Adjudicator turned his attention to the vampire on the ground. "So what was his crime?"
"Those undead your minions slaughtered?" Himiko said. "He summoned them." She gestured towards his severed hand. "With that."
Fumikage's eyes swept over to the artifact. "I've never seen such a device before."
He reached down to take it when suddenly Ochako's voice cried out. "Do not touch that!"
For emphasis she began to glow brighter, forcing Fumikage to take a step back. Himiko threw up an arm to cover her eyes, feeling a slight discomfort from the light. From below, she heard anguished hissing from Romero as he struggled to get away, his skin blistering from the rays of the sun.
A moment later Ochako's brilliance faded, bringing relief in its wake. "I am sorry, but this device is related to my matter." She looked down at it. "And it is why I wished to speak with you because I believe we will have more incidents in the future."
"I see," Tokoyami's eyes narrowed. "I am clearly outmatched here, so have it your way."
"Thank you," Ochako said. Looking down at the box, she opened a smaller rift underneath it, the portal pulling the hand and device out of the world for later study. With a satisfied nod, she closed the rift and turned her attention toward the vampire on the ground. "Where did you get such a thing?"
"Why do you care?" He spat. "You think they'll give you something better?"
"No," Ochako said firmly. "But they are the people I am seeking. You were merely being used by them."
"Used?!"
"That box was hurting you, right?" Melissa asked. "Do you think they really cared about you if they gave you something so dangerous?"
"I knew what I was getting," He spat defensively. "It was only supposed to be temporary. Once I raised my army I would feed others to it instead!"
"What a sad, desperate plan," Fumikage shook his head. "To rely on the power of others…"
"You don't know what it's like!" Romero spat. "You've already got everything! Power! Authority! What would you–"
"Silence!" Fumikage roared as shadows impaled Romero's legs. "You do not know of what you speak!"
"I know more than you think," Romero began to laugh as his eyes widened. "A storm is coming, and then all of your games won't matter anymore."
"What storm?" Ochako asked curtly.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Romero sneered.
"He knows he's a dead man," Himiko's eyes narrowed. "He's not gonna tell us anything."
"Agreed," Fumikage said. "At the end of their unlives, people will say and do anything to strike one final blow into our hearts." He looked down at Romero and shook his head. "It is much better to end this quickly."
"What are you– noooo!" Romero shrieked as he felt shadows engulf him.
The others watched in horror as the man struggled on the ground, his limbs writhing as he struggled until he finally became still.
"You…" Melissa whispered in horror.
"Yes," Fumikage turned toward the woman. "There was no other way for this to end, and I am sure you knew that."
"I–" Melissa raised her hands to her mouth before she nodded meekly. "-it's one thing to know, and another to see it."
"I agree," Shoto said as he closed his eyes. "How long have you been doing this Fumikage?"
"Three years," The man said somberly as he turned towards Shoto. "The first kill was the hardest."
"I see, thank you."
"Shouldn't we…" Izuku swallowed the thick lump in his throat. "Now that that is done, shouldn't we go elsewhere?"
"Yes," Fumikage turned to examine Himiko. "I believe you owe me a lengthy explanation."
"Finally!" Himiko exclaimed as she slid her daggers into their holsters. "I've been waiting for this!" Closing her eyes, she dispelled the illusion around the graveyard. She then opened them and gave Fumikage a fanged smile. "Lead the way!"
Fumikage sighed and looked at his old classmates. "I believe we need to speak as well. I would say once she is dealt with but…" His eyes darted to the others. "Something tells me you are all connected."
"You could say that…" Izuku said sheepishly.
"Very well then, follow me."
Fumikage led the five out of the graveyard. Once they were gone the supernatural darkness began to lift, leaving nothing in the group's wake but disturbed graves and overturned monuments.
