Love and Blood

Mieko I am outside, watching my younger brother train at our training grounds. We are members of the Oyama clan, who serve the vampire council. We need to keep up with our training to succeed in our missions. They can get dangerous at times. Keiichi suddenly looks my way. “Is that you Mieko?” he asks. “Sorry for interrupting your training,” I say. “That's alright, I needed a break anyway.” “You have improved a lot on your training, at this pace I think you already surpassed me.” “No, that’s not true. You’re still better at-” Our parent’s assistant Mr. Ishikawa comes running toward us, interrupting Keiichi. “Mr. Ishikawa,” I say worried. “There has been an emergency.” “What happened?” Keiichi asks with a stern look on his face. “Well, apparently there was a vampire who infiltrated school grounds and killed 4 girls yesterday. It caused a huge scandal,” Mr. Ishikawa explains. “Why didn't they let us know sooner? My parents could have gone.” Keiichi complains. “Well, your parents said that if there was an emergency to send you alone.” “What? That can’t be! Why send Keiichi alone?” “He has gone on many missions with his father” “But never alone! I am coming with him,” I tell him. I am going to go with Keiichi whether he likes it or not. I'm not letting this go. “No, I was instructed to not let you go. You are not ready to go on a mission without your parents,” Mr. Ishikawa goes on to explain. “Alright.” “Keiichi, get ready so you can leave.” “Alright,” Keiichi says, then runs off towards the house. “You know Keiichi is too young to go on a mission on his own. Are you really going to let him go alone?” “I’m sorry but that's what I was instructed to do.” “Then why can’t you go with him?” “Someone needs to stay here to protect you and watch over the house. I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do,” Ishikawa says apologetically. “I’m going back to my room,” I tell Mr. Ishikawa, then walk away. There is no point in arguing with him. He always follows orders exactly as they are given. It's that simple. He won't go against what my parents say. ---------------- I walk down the hallway towards Keiichi’s room. I am worried about him. I know he is strong, but he’s my little brother. I can’t help but worry. I also can’t risk him getting hurt, I will protect Keiichi even if it goes against my parents' orders. I can not understand the logic behind my parent’s decision to send him alone. I arrive at his room and knock on his door. “May I come in?” I ask. “Sure, come in,” Keiichi responds. “Good luck on your mission,” I say with a worried look on my face. “I will be fine, I have gone on plenty of missions with father before.” “But never by yourself.” “Mieko, I’ll be fine, I want to do this, it's my duty.” “Right, our duty,” I say. As members of the Oyama clan, we must serve the Vampire council by helping to maintain peace with humans. We do that by eliminating vampires who go around killing humans recklessly. It is our job to guard the secret of our existence. “It is vampires like those that have to be eliminated. By killing those school girls he is putting our secret at risk.” Keiichi comments. “Alright, I get it. Now, get going, it's getting late,” I urge him. “I'll be ok, don't worry.” He says, then exits the room. I follow behind him. Ishikawa and Keiichi are at the front entrance talking about the mission. Keiichi waves goodbye and walks off. “I am going to sleep now,” I tell Mr. Ishikawa. “There is no point in staying up worrying.” “Alright have a good rest,” he replies. ---------------- I go to my room and then wait for the right moment to sneak out. I open the door slowly and look around. “Alright, now's my chance.” I exit through the back door and run quickly to catch up to my brother. I catch a glimpse of him up ahead and move quickly so I don't lose sight of him. This proves to be a difficult task as we walk through a crowded street. “Ugh! Which way did he go?” I look towards an alleyway and see someone who resembles my brother. I run towards that person hoping it's him. I trip on something and scrape my hand. I feel my hand sting and look down and see that it is bleeding. A young man, who appears to be the person I was chasing, approaches me. “What is a pretty girl like you doing here? Are you lost?” Says the man. “No,” I say warily. I realize he is a vampire, and back away. I react with caution even though I am a vampire as well. As he comes closer, I notice he reeks of alcohol. “Really?” He says, violently grabbing my hand. “Looks like you are hurt, why don't I help you tend to your wounds?” “No, let go of me!” I protest. I try to pull my hand away but I am unable to, his grip on me is strong. “Stop being so stubborn,” he says. He brings his lips to my hand, then licks my blood. “My my you have very tasty blood.” He grabs my wrist and pins me against the wall. “Why don't I find out if the rest of you is tasty as well.” “Let go of me!” I yell. I struggle but I am unable to escape from his grasp. He holds me in place and attempts to bite my neck. I feel his fangs graze against the sensitive skin on my neck. I panic, then I remember I have a dagger. I reach into my pocket with my free hand, then stab the man. He moans in pain. I feel him loosen his grip and I use that opportunity to push him away. “Damn she’s escaping,” he cries. I run as fast as I can, fearing he will come after me. I see a crowd up ahead and feel relief. I look back to see if the man has caught up to me then, I suddenly run into someone. “Sorry.” I gasp. “Mieko, what are you doing here?” I hear a voice call out. I look up and see a familiar face. “K- Keiichi?” “Did you follow me?” Keiichi says with a stern look. He then notices the scared look on my face and the wound on my hand. “What happened?” “Nothing! I’m sorry I followed you.” I tell him, then turn around to walk away. “Wait, why don’t you just go with me?” “You sure I won't hold you back?” “You came all this way, you sure you want to go back now? Besides, that wound doesn't look that deep.” “I’ll try my best!” “Now, tell me what happened?” I tell him the whole story while we walk to the location. I feel better after talking to Keiichi about it. I am glad I have him by my side.