It was a short ride back to Cafe Leblanc. The sun was sinking into the east, and darkness hinting in the dark red colors of the sky. Makoto parked Johanna, set the defenses on, and took off her helmet. She was surprised to find the restaurant empty. A bored Sojiro looked up from his newspaper, brightening slightly as he recognized her.

"What can I get you this time, Ms. Niijima?"

"Actually, is Mr. Amamiya still here?"

"As far as I know. During my rush, a woman physician snuck by me and went down into the cellar with him," Sojiro fiddled with his beard. "She left like she was on a mission, but seemed unharmed."

So, the enthusiasm of Ms. Takemi took her as far as that? To enter the dark cellar where a dhampir dwelled? A gutsy proposition. But then again, this Mr. Amamiya did seem to be of honorable nature. Would a rescuer of small children be likely to assault women in the cellar of a cafe? It didn't seem likely, but- his hafu nature… could instinct kick in? The desire to feed suddenly overwhelming whatever human side the dhampir might have?

"So you suspect me of harming women?" said a soft voice, but no longer warm. Both Sojiro and Makoto turned to regard Amamiya atop the cellar stairs, dressed again in black clothing and black hat. His saddle was again over his shoulder. Amamiya's pale face was as neutral as ever, but Makoto thought she saw the faint hint of a disturbed frown.

An embarrassed denial grew behind Makoto's lips, an ashamed blush blossomed on her cheeks- but before she could speak, Sojiro turned on Amamiya with one hand on his hip.

"Of course. Your kind has a bad reputation. Women seem to follow you about-" his hand indicated Makoto, causing her to blush even more, "...and then you draw them into the cellar with you. I'm your landlord. What am I supposed to think?'

"Think what you want," Amamiya's eyes turned to Makoto. "And why are you here again?"

Makoto shook off the embarrassment. If Sojiro could be so bold, so could she. And he said she was bad a lying, so why not be equally genuine? Makoto forced herself to grin at Amamiya.

"I'm following you, remember?"

She watched his face, seeking some subtle tell of his emotion, but saw nothing. She was shocked at herself, and she fought to keep her face set in that grin. That was such an aggressive thing to say! Why was she so daring around this dhampir? She was practically stalking him, and she would never dream of doing such a thing to a person. A person. Was that it? Did she not see this Amamiya as a person? Was it making her behave differently towards him?

"Well- stop." said Amamiya, lamely.

"No."

Amamiya stared evenly into Makoto's face. She put on a defiant look, daring him to disagree. Sojiro watched them both with curiosity. Then Amamiya broke his gaze with Makoto and strode past her into the darkening day. Makoto followed him.

"Where are you going?" Makoto asked him she stepped out of the cafe.

Amamiya didn't answer. He tossed his saddle atop his eerily still mechanical horse. He began to thread the billet straps under the torso of the artificial beast. He was clearly not planning to respond to her questions. So… that was his play? Not talking? It was a childish tactic. Makoto could be childish, too. She lifted up her leg and put her foot firmly over the billet buckle, preventing Amamiya from threading the strap.

Amamiya froze. His eyes slowly traveled up Makoto's long, armored leg and met her gaze- his grey eyes were less lifeless now. Something burned there. Anger? Annoyance? Makoto wasn't sure, but she certainly had his attention. His passive face was tenser, his mouth a bit more drawn. He definitely had emotions, but one had to search his features for them.

"Move. Your. Leg."

"Or what? You'll attack a woman in the street? Assault me? I have a famous name, you know. It won't end well for you."

A long silence stretched between them. Makoto's leg started to complain from the stance. Then Amamiya surprised Makoto by chuckling quietly.

"Well played," he said. Then his face went back to its stoicism. "Move your leg and I'll tell you what you want to know. And for as long as you stay out of my way, I'll answer whatever questions you might have. Deal?"

Makoto pursed her lips. That worked better than she anticipated. So.. a little tenacity could go a long way. She moved her leg. Amamiya continued to work on his saddle.

He still wasn't talking. Makoto was about to object, but then he said: "I'm going hunting at Shujin Girl's Academy. I believe the noble hunts his prey there."

"School was out hours ago."

"There are dormitories. After school activities. Clubs. And none of the vanished students were ones which leave the campus earlier in the daylight hours."

"How do you know that?"

"I was sent a docket of information with an advance payment. That conclusion was already made by he who sent for me."

"Who sent for you?"

"I don't know him, but perhaps you do? His letter was signed 'Akechi Goro.'"

Makoto did know him. He was a young vampire hunter, too- but famously skilled. Or at least he was in Tock-Yo. Even Sae acknowledged him. They even hunted together. Akechi was younger than Makoto and he went hunting nobles with Sae, while Makoto stayed in the city, alone in the house. The train of thought started to reignite Makoto's earlier anger towards her sister.

Amamiya finished the last bit of preparation with his saddle and mounted up. He pulled the reins of his horse, and the horse suddenly sprang to life and turned, moving just like a real horse. Makoto hurriedly put her armored helmet back on and mounted Johanna.

Amamiya eyed her, and Makoto expected another objection. But after a moment, he turned his horse fully around and trotted off down the street in the growing dusk. Makoto started her motorcycle and followed slowly after. She waited all day for this moment, and she wasn't going to miss this supposedly famous 'Vampire Hunter J' in action. Sae never took her to hunt nobles, but Mr. Amamiya didn't have the luxury of choice in the matter. He was stuck with her.

As Makoto followed Amamiya's trotting mechanical horse, she wondered about this docket of information from Akechi Goro. Why would a vampire hunter seek to hire a dhampir vampire hunter to help hunt for a noble? And in his home city, no less. It was a lot like hiring the competition. However, the Akechi family was another powerful and wealthy family in the city- one of the founding families, even. Akechi Goro's father, Akechi Masayoshi, was one of the ranking members of the city government, and often jockeyed for the top spot.

So with that in consideration, perhaps Akechi Sr. would not view hiring Mr. Amamiya, the so-called 'Vampire Hunter J', as payment to the competition. As a council member, he would want the rumor of the infiltrating noble vampire quashed, the problem solved. The longer it persisted, the more people who disappeared, the more incompetent the city council would appear.

Masayoshi Akechi was somewhat notoriously political, or at least, that was what Makoto's father used to complain about. 'Akechi is a windmill. He only turns when the winds blow.'

Well- vanishing schoolgirls spoke to every parent's fears, so a mighty storm was brewing if the problem was not solved. But even so- invite a dhampir? Provide him a writ of citizenship? Extreme measures that could go bad for the senior Akechi. But... what if it were some imprudent action committed by the young Akechi? In that case, if Amamiya solved the problem, then it was the senior Akechi's idea, of course. If he failed or it went nowhere... well, boys will be boys, and little Goro would be appropriately schooled in proper action to minimize political damage to Akechi Sr. And perhaps a little political boost: oh, that Akechi's son went a little out of line and he took care of it immediately. What a leader he is!

It was an interesting theory. Her father used to talk endlessly about city politics, and he would praise Makoto when she remembered what he said from one conversation to the next. Perhaps that was why she still kept tabs on the city news. What would father have said about a vampire in the city? That he'd take care of it, probably.

Then Makoto wondered just how nervous the members of the city government were getting right now. It was not four years ago that Sen-Dye, the city to the north, experienced a full-scale revolution. Rumors of executions filtered down the trade routes for months. For older people, like city council members, four years would not seem long at all. If the people thought them incompetent, would the population rebel?

So the politicians probably nervously awaited news of victory over the vampire infiltration. Sae was certainly involved, Makoto was sure. And she hadn't decided to involve Makoto in the assignment. Makoto felt that anger bubble into a hotter simmer the back of her mind. She was father's daughter, too! She was trained by father, too! Her training might have been truncated by his disappearance, but she'd basically been ready- as ready as Sae had been when she'd started going with father on hunts!

Makoto decided she would show Sae just how useful she could be. She would help Amamiya find this vampire and kill it, then her sister would see. Makoto would prove she was worthy of her father's legacy, worthy of the Niijima name, and certainly not useless!

Amamyia reigned in his horse, bringing it back to its eerily still state. Shujin Girl's Academy loomed before them. It was a three-story construction of old brick and tile roof, one of the earliest schools built in the city; almost four hundred years ago when Tock-Yo was just expanding from a settlement to a real city. The gate was closed, but the door for people that was within that gate remained open. A few young women drifted out, perhaps seventeen years old or so. About the age as those girls who were rumored vanished.

Amamiya dismounted and stood next to his horse, looking intently at the school. Makoto parked her motorcycle and walked forward to stand next to him. His head slightly turned to look at her from the corner of his grey eyes, then he gazed back at the school. Makoto watched the passing schoolgirls. They looked at the two of them curiously, but then they continued down the street. Perhaps if one didn't know what to look for, Amamiya was not immediately obvious as a dhampir- he did do a good job of tucking his pointed ears up into his wide, black hat. He might pass for a… strange man.

"There is no other entrance to the campus," offered Makoto, "unless you scale the wall, of course, but there are safeguards against that sort of thing."

"Good," said Amamiya, "but how do you know?"

"This was my school. I graduated two years ago."

"I see."

"What are you looking for?"

"Not looking. Smelling. But I smell nothing."

Smelling? Seeking the scent of a vampire? This was some sort of dhampir thing, then. And what would a noble vampire smell like? Blood, probably.

"Is it the wrong spot, then?"

Amamiya shook his head very slightly. "Inconclusive. A careful noble will mask their scent. It is not difficult for them. But I expect the victims are not immediately abducted. Within the city, the noble will want everything quiet, so it will influence the chosen target for several weeks, weakening their inhibitions, and then when the moment is right, the victim will abduct themselves at the noble's will."

Makoto felt her mind churning on Amamiya's words. She was getting excited. So much new information! Amamiya's earlier reticence to talk was gone. He seemed committed to their deal over her not getting in his way in exchange for answering questions. So- the technique Amamiya was describing was like a sort of hypnotism? If so, it was an insidious mechanism of predation.

"Will you go inside and investigate the campus?"

"I'd rather not. People tend to dislike it when I am around their young women."

"Ah… and waiting outside like some stalker is better?"

Amamiya softly chuckled. He glanced at Makoto, his grey eyes a little less dead than usual. "Marginally. But I'm hoping to smell the next victim if she passes this way."

Smell the next victim? So… the influence of the noble could be detected on the girl it was preparing to attack?

"The noble cannot mask its scent on the target?"

Amamiya looked over at Makoto again and gave her a nod of respect. "Exactly."

"And if she is in the dorms on campus?"

"I'll think of something. Urban hunting is a rather new thing for me. I'm used to infiltrating abandoned castles and such."

They waited together in silence. A few dozen schoolgirls drifted by in small groups, all of them giving Amamiya and Ren curious looks, but none becoming alarmed. Makoto watched the side of Amamiya's face as each group passed, but he didn't react. She assumed that meant he wasn't sensing whatever he hoped to sense.

"Hey!" called a new, loud voice. Makoto turned her head to see a blond city guard approaching them from down the street, walking in a rather slouched manner. He was unarmed, but still in his uniform. "I recognize you two!"

Makoto realized this was one of the guards from this morning- the one who objected to Amamiya being allowed in the city. Well, perhaps not objected. But he'd been loudly surprised. What was his name again? The guard captain said it…

Before Makoto could remember the name, the young, blond-haired man stopped before them and grinned, his eyes flicking between Amamiya and Makoto. Finally, he pointed at Makoto. "Yer one of the Niijima sisters, right?"

Makoto blinked at the pointing finger. What a rude person. But she said: "Yes."

"For real! That's awesome!" He then pointed at Amamiya. "And yer that dhampir!"

Amamiya remained silent, but it seemed the young man was not really interested in an answer.

"I'm Sakamoto Ryuji! I'm glad I get to meet you both for real. But what are you two doing together? And here?"

Amamiya ignored the question and turned his attention back to the school. Sakamoto's eyes shifted to Makoto. She felt a social obligation to answer the question, and she was unaware of a reason to lie.

"We are hunting a vampire."

"Whoa! Hunting a vampire! Here!" Sakamoto practically shouted. A few schoolgirls looked at them in alarm.

"Keep it down!" hissed Makoto.

"Quiet, fool!" snarled Amamiya.

"Sorry. But I thought the vampire in the city thing was just rumors."

"Then who abducted the women?"

"They ran away, from like- a bad father or something."

Makoto frowned. It was possible. But three in two months? Unlikely.

"Why are you here?" asked Amamiya quietly.

"My twin sister is a student. My mom wanted me to walk her home because… you know. The rumors. And I'm a guard!"

"Where's your polearm," asked Makoto.

Sakamoto frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not allowed to bring it from the wall yet."

"And if your twin sister goes to school here, why aren't you in school, too?"

"School wasn't really my thing."

"I see," said Makoto. School was not really his... thing? How could learning not be someone's... thing? What did this young man do with his mind then? How did he sate his curiosities? Did he not have curiosities? What a strange way to live.

Makoto started to ponder this other way of life when a lone, blond-haired schoolgirl exited Shujin Academy. She had long, pale legs, an hourglass figure, and two blazingly blond pigtails off both sides of her head. The same blond color as Sakamoto Ryuji's.

Ryuji pointed at her. "That's her. Hey! Hey, Ann! Over here!" Ryuji started to wave his arm in an exaggerated fashion.

Ann stopped, looked in their direction with a somewhat surprised face. She walked over, her gaze flickering between her brother, Amamiya, and Makoto. Her pale blue eyes were vivid in the pre-night dusk, seeming to glow out of her pale complexion. Ann was a woman that Makoto could see men fantasizing over. Makoto didn't believe what that physician Takemi said earlier today about her own body. Whatever was perfect female beauty, this girl Ann had it, assuredly.

"Ann!" said Ryuji as his twin sister approached, "Check out these people I met!"

"Hello," said Ann, her face brightening politely. She was also obviously wary of her brother's enthusiasm. "I'm Sakamoto Ann."

Makoto glanced at Amamiya. His face was intensely riveted on Ann. So… even the half-vampire man was interested in this blond bombshell. Makoto felt annoyance scrape along her consciousness, but she wasn't sure why. It was probably Sakamoto's loud voice getting on her nerves.

"This is Niijima Makoto," said Ryuji.

Ann's blue eyes went wide. "Wow! Real- uh.. I mean it's nice to meet you, Ms. Niijima."

Makoto returned the greeting.

"And this is- uh… well- he's a dhampir!"

"What! Really?!" Ann's eyes opened wide and she stared at Amamiya.

Amamiya remained still. But Makoto thought she could see evidence of tension in his shoulders. Perhaps something was showing on his face, too, because Ann suddenly blushed with shame and bowed to Amamiya.

"Sorry, that was very rude of me. It is nice to meet you, Mr.-"

"Amamiya."

"-Mr. Amamiya," Ann finished sheepishly.

"See?" said Ryuji with confidence. "I told you I'd meet famous people working with the city watch."

"Shut up, Ryuji! You can't even introduce him right!"

"What!? I did so!"

"You didn't even know his name! What kind of introduction was that!? You're a moron, Ryuji! You always embarrass me!"

"What!? I didn't even-"

Amamiya raised his arm and pointed upward. "Look."

Makoto turned her gaze from the fighting siblings and followed Amamiya's indication. A dark-haired schoolgirl was on the roof of Shujin Academy, standing very close to the edge, looking out somewhere off into the distance.

"Shiho!" gasped Ann. "What is she doing?!" She sprinted off towards the entrance to the school. Her voice ramping up in volume. "Shiho!"

"Holy shit, what's that girl doing?!" said Ryuji. He started to run after his sister.

"Who is that?" yelled Makoto.

"My sister's best friend!"

Makoto frowned and looked up at the girl on the roof again. What was this Shiho doing? Scaring people for no reason? Why stand so close to the edge. Unless…? An alarm of sudden realization rang through Makoto's mind: was she going to jump? Intentionally? Like the agonized young women in novels? That sort of thing happened in real life?

"She's entranced," said Amamiya quietly. "She's the one."

"How do you-?" Makoto's mouth froze as the girl named Shiho walked off the roof and fell.