Previously, on "The Gun, The Sword, and The Vampires":
Following the successful hunt of a noble vampire in the city of Tock-Yo, a victory gala is held at the Niijima Estate. Niijima Makoto, (her late father: a legendary vampire hunter in the city,) takes center stage amongst all of Tock-Yo's high-society and dances with her hunting partner, Amamiya Ren, a half-vampire. Mid-dance, Ren notices a vampiric intruder and slays the disguised agent of an unknown noble vampire. This event prematurely (and sensationally) ends the party for all involved.
Amidst departing guests, Ren advises Makoto he must leave the city because there are currently no contracts to hunt more vampires in Tock-Yo, despite the now clear evidence of another noble intruder in the city. This is a fact, but unbeknownst to Makoto, Ren is also short on his food supply: a type of capsule that turns water into sustaining blood. An essential item, allowing Ren to survive… and to resist his instinctual urges to feed on humans himself.
Niijima Makoto dressed herself in a frenzy of urgency, cursing herself for a fool. Hire Amamiya herself? Create a contract for him to accept? It was so obvious! But like so many retrospectively obvious things in Makoto's life, Yoshida was the one to open her eyes. More than a butler, more than an old friend of Father's, Toranosuke Yoshida was… as much a parent as Father was. Certainly more than Mother, but that was because she died.
The sudden thought of Mother and Father put Makoto mentally off-balance. She froze, halfway through pulling off her sleeping gown. Makoto frowned to herself, finished stripping, and she tossed aside the chemise: a thin, gossamer thing for warm nights. But as it landed on the corner of her bed, the lace edging of the shiny fabric summoned a memory into her mind.
Makoto remembered something from long ago, from childhood, based on her own relative height compared to the doorframe she was holding. She could feel the painted wood in her small hands as she stared into her parents bedroom on some unknown morning. The light all around her was murky, like the dim light of a dawn not yet birthed.
Mother had her back to young Makoto's point of view, and she was standing in a posture that Makoto instinctively recognized as angry. Mother was standing in the middle of the bedroom, halfway between the door where Makoto stood and the bed. Mother was wearing a gossamer chemise, much like the one the older Makoto had just removed and tossed aside. And beyond her, Father and Yoshida were sitting in the bed, both shirtless, their legs covered by bedsheets.
The memory vanished as suddenly as it appeared, freezing Makoto again. That… that was a strange thing to suddenly remember. A childhood dream, perhaps? Well, it didn't seem relevant to anything. Makoto tossed the memory aside and refocused on dressing. She didn't have need, nor the time, for her usual hunting gear. She opted instead for black denim and leather pants, and a dull blue jerkin over a basic undershirt- which she then stripped back off to first put on a basic, button-up corset. Makoto might embrace the wearing of pants by women, but not wearing a corset? It was like… like being naked in public… but under your clothing! It was just too bizarre.
Dressed to satisfaction, an urgent mission to catch Amamiya before he left the city... the idea to leave the house was not yet a possibility in Makoto's mind. Instead, she stepped away from her bedroom door and sat down at her vanity table. The vanity was not an essential part of her normal morning routine, but today, Makoto's eyes seriously evaluated her own face in the mirror as her hands reached for brushes and powders with practiced movements.
Author's Note: A brief teaser to announce my renewed work on this story. I plan a larger update by the end of tomorrow, at the latest.