Vampire Shugosha

This is a story somewhat like a Japanese manga combined with a written novel. If you like anime or manga, you might just like this book! If you don’t like them… you still might like this book! Continue reading for an excerpt from the book. This book is actually not complete. If you would like to read what is available of the rest of this book contact me via the About page, or encourage me to hurry up and write the rest of it, and I might just do so. 😉

Prologue

The Rising of the Vampire

Dark shadows danced on the earthen floor and slanted across the lonely walls. The wooden planks that the walls were made of had lost their color from time and lack of upkeep. They were old, cracked, and moonlight shown through the open holes and splits in rays. Outside the moon was shining brightly, illuminating the outer forested area so that objects were easily discernible in the pale blue light. Standing within the door of the abandoned building and looking inside was quite different. Outside, there was a sense of security from being able to see clearly; within the building, The moonlight split through the windows and gaps as an intruder casting a harsh light which seemed as if it were preparing to battle with the dark secretive shadows. Within the building, the shadow ruled, and the light came in as an intruder. Shadows of dancing tree branches, now nearly barren of leaves, teased the intruding light, turning up and down the floor, walls, and what few furniture items yet remained within. Water had long since damaged the furniture beyond repair, yet one might still sit in the chair, or store something in the large chest had they felt the desire or need to do so. The shadows seemed particularly playful within the building. Outside they were still present, but they seemed natural. Amidst the dusty interiors and stark contrast between light and dark, the frolicking shadows were ominous as if they were planning something terrible and finding absolute pleasure in doing so.

“Yume! Go in!” Taiku urged, pushing her forward. She stumbled in through the entrance, barely keeping her balance and finding herself standing in the blackness of a heavy shadow. For a moment she wanted to hurry toward the window to the blue light of the moon, but the darkness of branches and leaves scurried forebodingly there and she found she felt better waiting where she was.

“Careful!” She hissed back to Taiku as he stepped in behind her. “This wood is full of splinters! I don’t want to stumble and get some in me, or ruin my skirt!”

“You worry too much, Yume,” he laughed, running his fingers through his hair and tossing his eyes upward as if he were the perfect image of confidence, yet she could sense that he too was afraid of this place. “We will just walk around for a moment, and then we’ll leave.” He smiled, though it was scarcely visible with the moon behind him silhouetting him and his features. Yume thought him quite attractive for a twelve year old boy, though he still ran from girls who talked about attraction or love. He enjoying spending time with Yume, or she assumed as much anyhow, just as he enjoyed being with other children, male or female, but at this time in his life, love was the furthest thing from his mind. Yume wished she could say the same for herself. At only ten years of age, she was hardly old enough to be often thinking of cute boys and noticing how they behaved when they were around her or other girls.

“Okay.” She nodded and hummed in agreement. She was there because she had been foolish enough to take Taiku’s dare. Because they had been told not to go out after dark, Taiku decided that he had to do it, and he had dared her to come along, unless she was too afraid. Being just the girl she was, Yume could not admit that she was anything less than brave and had succumbed to his request. Now she thought he had only convinced her to come along because he would have been too afraid to have gone on his own.

Part of what convinced her was not so much proving her bravery as it was not wanting to displease Taiku. For the most part, he was a kind boy, despite all his teasing, and she considered him a very near friend—perhaps even her closes friend. She also found him quite attractive and fully expected him to grow in beauty as he aged. He had a smooth face with narrow, but bright eyes. If it were not for the smile in his eyes and often on his face, his narrow eyes and brows may have made him seem angry even when he was not. When he did become angry, he was noticeably so, and Yume found he became suddenly frightening in those moments, though he was rarely angry. He had long blond hair that his mother was constantly saying needed trimmed, yet rarely took the time to do so herself or to pay to have it done. His hair now was the longest she had seen it in quite some time, almost growing down to his shoulders.

Yume herself had been said to have been a very pretty girl when she was younger and others had expected her to grow into a beautiful woman, but she was stuck now at her tenth year with sudden freckles and her adult-sized teeth which were coming in and did not match her childlike face. She had dark hair and eyes and a fair complexion much like her mother.
She had first arrived in Excadia with her mother and father two days ago. Taiku had also arrived at that time. Both families had come to see near relative of theirs who was very ill. Yume’s  great great aunt had been alive over a hundred years, but was now nearing the end of her life. This same old woman was Taiku’s great great grandmother. Yume knew that she and Taiku were related and while her great aunt remained alive their relation did not seem so far apart, however, when her great aunt was gone, she expected that the link between them would seem much more distant and there would be nothing to keep her from marrying Taiku someday, should circumstances work out in that way. First she would have to manage to survive Taiku’s crazy dares he was so often full of and, learn to simply say no to him a little more often. He would also have to learn to accept an answer in the negative. The town was not too far from this broken down building, but to a couple of children, the distance had seemed very far indeed, especially at this time of night. Back in the town Taiku’s parents and Yume’s own parents were likely sound asleep in their separate quarters.

Yume’s mind slipped back to the evening after they had first arrived in Excadia.

“Can I help you carry your bags, miss?” a hotel security guard asked as Yume’s mother gathered her things and prepared to move them up to the room. Yume’s father had gone out to get some dinner.

“Thank you,” she answered, leaving the bag for him to collect.

“Are you new to these parts?” the security guard asked, picking up her bags and following her and Yume, who was also following her.

“Yes,” She answered. “We probably won’t be staying long.

“I see,” he answered. “We have had a little trouble lately with some skirmishes after dark. It likely isn’t anything you should be concerned about, but it would be best if you stayed indoors after dark. As a matter of fact, you will need to stay inside at night as there is a temporary curfew in force across all of southern Excadia.”

“I see,” Yume’s mother responded. “I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you for notifying me.”

“That is my job,” he answered. “Safety.”

“I wish I had known that earlier,” she said. “We should have gone for dinner before shopping and coming here. No matter. What sort of skirmishes are you referring to?” she asked.

“Nothing serious,” the guard answered after a long pause. He glanced down at Yume as if hinting that, even if he were to explain the current problems at hand, he did not think it best to do so in front of a young child. Yume did not need to be an adult to understand that look. She wasn’t concerned with knowing what the adults were talking about anyway. She cared only to get to her room and to eat, then to talk with Taiku about each others trip to Excadia.

It was after she had told Taiku what she had heard that he wanted to sneak out at night. She convinced him that night that she was much too tired. The following day they had come to the rundown place where they now were and studied it from a distance, but as they were short on time in returning for lunch, they didn’t take the time to enter the buildings. Not surprisingly, it was Taiku who came up with the idea to return here after dark.

“Is it true these buildings were once homes for the insane?” Yume asked, slowly taking a step forward, entering much more deeply into the building than she ever wanted to come—not having wanted to go inside at all in the first place.

“How should I know. There must have been a reason why they put a fence around this place. The sign said something about it being off limits, but in the weeds below was an older sign which was so worn I couldn’t read it. Two words were all I could read: Home, and insane. Either way it doesn’t matter. These have been abandoned for years.”

“We aren’t going to look in all the buildings are we?” Yume asked, her voice beginning to shake noticeably. There were only three buildings, though there had once been a fourth which was now torn to the ground.

“No,” he answered, giving her cause to sigh for relief. “Like I said, we are only going to have a short look around here, and then we are heading back again.”

She nodded and hummed in agreement once again, then took another step forward. She ran her hand slowly across the back of the old chair. She could feel the grainy wood and small splinters that, if she were to move her hand any more quickly, would have likely embedded themselves into her skin. A tinkling noise from beside her caused her to spin quickly. Taiku had picked up a rusty wind chime from the floor and was hitting the pieces together with a finger.

“Stop it!” She hissed.

“It is only a wind chime!” He complained.

“It might attract something here,” she responded worriedly.

“Like who?” Taiku scoffed.

“I don’t know. Someone, or something.”

“Something?!” he repeated in a laughing tone. “Do you really believe those stories about vampires? Those are just stories the adults tell to scare children into doing what they are told. No person, or creature, could ever really have red eyes, especially not ones which glow.”

“Maybe the glowing isn’t true. Maybe none of it is true. But right now, I cannot help thinking about it.”

Taiku snickered, but carefully set the chime on the floor nevertheless. It was said that vampires could hide their fangs so they could walk among the humans unseen. Their eyes only turned red when they were about to feed on human blood, or when their hunger for blood became so great that they would do anything to find someone from whom they could suck blood. She had always wondered if perhaps vampires were real. Sometimes real events seemed like something that might have happened because of a vampire. Even in her hometown two men were found dead with blood on their necks, shoulders and chest. There was an open wound on their necks and those who studied the bodies said there was not nearly as much blood to be found as a human body should have carried. The papers never mentioned anything about the wounds seeming like fangs, and the stories were somewhat obscure. She wondered if it was merely a story which had been made up to gain some more sales for the papers, but the names of those who had been found dead must have been real names, and those that knew these two men must have known they were dead whether they saw the bodies or not.

Yume shook her head. She was thinking far beyond the level of a ten year old and she knew it. She was not an ignorant child. She often understood conversations carried on by the adults that they would not have expected her to be able to fully comprehend. She tried to stand more bravely and finally took the step into the light coming through the window. The long chest was sitting against the wall directly in the light of the moon. It had a lid over it made of a single wooden plank. The hinges on it were so rusty she wondered if it would even open and, if it would, whether it would break before the hinges would turn. She reached down and gripped the edges of the llid.

“Don’t!” Someone yelled and she felt something jolt her, gripping her by the shoulders. “It might be vampire!” She screamed loudly and spun around smacking Taiku across the face so hard that he staggered, nearly falling to the floor. When he came to, he was holding his reddened face with one hand, then he started laughing.

“You should have seen the look on your face!” Taiku chortled.

Suddenly a cold chill shot down Yume’s spine as Taiku slowly took a step backward. His eyes were wide and his lips quivering. The force of her blow had not brought this about. Many times she had assumed he was truly frightened but was trying not to show it. This was the first time she had noticed that he was certainly filled with fear.

Yume swallowed and turned around slowly, backing towards where Taiku stood motionless. A dark shape moved in the shadows. She could not see for certain what it was, yet its eyes revealed the mystery. Stepping from the shadows, waiting on the edge of the light, and the dark, the shape came forward. He was tall with pale skin and wore a pitch-black robe. He studied the two children carefully with his red eyes—and they did glow, only very faintly, but it was noticeable beyond a doubt.

“What are two children doing all alone out here?” He asked. His voice was raspy. Amidst all her frantic fears, Yume found a moment for one thought she knew did not belong. She thought for a moment that this creature in front of her was handsome—then he smiled. Sharp fangs appeared. “Let me escort you to safety,” he spoke almost soothingly. “Let me escort you to heaven!”

Yume was the first to scream, but Taiku was not far behind her, however, Taiku was the first to run. Yume tried to move but stumbled in fear, then she turned towards the door and started to run. She had only taken a few steps when she felt something grip her arm with such a force that she stopped completely, falling to the floor. She felt something sharp sinking into her wrist and blood starting to ooze out.

“Help!” She screamed out in worry and pain.

“You’re friend has abandoned you,” came the grating voice of the evil creature. “There is no one else.”

Scrambling to break free, she glanced back to realize that the vampire had not sunk his teeth into her, but his fingernails. His robe was still finishing billowing around him after his quick lunge. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the blood, and his eyes seemed to become a little more red. His strong arms curled her into his chest despite her useless struggles, and he forced her head down onto his knee while he pulled back the hair from her neck. He grimaced and coughed as if he were the one afraid for a moment. Then he scrambled at the necklace she wore around her neck. It was a thin silver chain with a locket and a picture of her mother and father and her, as a baby, in it.

“Take off that necklace!” The vampire shrieked! “Take it off or I will rip out your entrails!” He drew his hand back, readying the sharp nails on his fingers.
Not sure what else to do, Yume hastily removed the necklace. He stepped on her hand which contained it, pressing it to the floor, then he forced her head back onto his knee and bared her neck once more.

“It always tastes better coming from the neck,” he sighed with pleasure, leaning forward.

Just then Taiku leaped out of the shadows, clutching a metal bar from the wind chime he had found earlier.

“Die you demon!” He shrieked driving the small weapon into the side of the vampires head with all his might. Despite his own small size, and the simple size of his weapon, it tore a noticeable gash down the side of the vampire’s face and blood began to drip from the wound.

Regardless of his injury the vampire held Yume in place, using one arm to knock Taiku back. Then he prepared to drink her blood again.

“I’m not done with you!” Taiku screamed, coming back again lunging with the bar in his hands. He wasn’t able to get a blow in before he was stuck back with such force that he struck the wall with a thud and dropped to the floor.

“Give up,” the vampire warned.

“I won’t give up until you let her go,” Taiku grunted in pain as he forced himself to his feet and again picked up the small bar which he had dropped nearby where he fell. He began to run at the vampire. This time the vampire was truly getting annoyed with him.

“Very well. I shall drink your blood as well! I am thirsty enough for both of you!” He stood, keeping his foot on Yume’s arm, then faced the charging Taiku.

Yume quickly moved her free arm to grab the silver necklace from her pinned hand. She recalled that vampires hated silver. Obtaining it with his weight on her was not easy, but she managed to do it in a very short time. She hurriedly grasped at his leg and slid the necklace under his trousers, touching it against his bare skin. He bent over in anguish as if he had just been hit in the midsection. Taiku came down on top of him with the metal bar and he took his foot off of Yume’s arm. She stood and leaped away from him, still gripping the silver necklace in her fist.

“Run!” Taiku ordered! “Go now!”

“It is the girl’s blood I want!” The vampire hissed. He grabbed Taiku’s arm and spun him downward violently. Yume heard the boy’s arm snap and saw its mangled form get twisted all the way behind his back and over his shoulder. Taiku screamed in pain.

“Run, Yume! Run!” He managed to shout amidst his screams of agony. Tears of pain dripped down his face.

She did not know what else to do but follow Taiku’s orders. She turned to run.

In an instant she heard the sounds of the vampire lunging after her again. She turned and hurled her necklace at his face. He shrieked and leaped aside, scarcely dodging the silver chain. Taiku snatched it up from where it landed.

“Yaru ka! Kono yaro!” he raged, somehow managing to stand again despite all he had been through.

Yume didn’t see what happened next, for she was fleeing away as quickly as she could, but she knew that Taiku must have managed to draw the vampires attention again, for moments later she heard the boy release an agonizing cry that continued for several seconds. Moisture began to build in her eyes as she ran, ducking under the fence and continuing onward. She knew the vampire was fast and would be after her soon. There was a dull ache in her side, but she had no choice but to keep running. Tears now streamed from her eyes and blurred her vision. Still she ran.

* * *

Torches flickered along the several columns down the large corridor. Red carpet lined with a golden trim and design was rolled down the center of the room. Guards stood beside each of the pillars. At the eastern end of the hall, it opened up even more expanding into what was like a large room with twelve exotic chairs and a thirteenth chair, or throne, at the head of the room. Six chairs rested to one side of the large centermost seat, and six to the other. A tall, arched, stain-glass window seemed to hover high above the thirteen chairs. The ceiling was high above, and several smaller windows near the uppermost parts of the room cast their light down as well. The light coming in from the windows did little to brighten the room at this late evening hour. Though the place was meant to be like a sanctuary, yet it seemed cold and empty at the time.

Catherine paced the floor where the wide hall expanded to become the room at the eastern end. Looking further down the hall she could see the large double doors open. several guards stood outside the door, and a few more stood directly inside as well. Anyone entering, would be entering with permission. She had only just heard what little news there was of the one who was coming, yet she immediately allowed audience. The twelve Shugoshin, her counselors and the guardians of the Realm, were not around. Having one or two of them around was not uncommon, but unless there was an arranged meeting, or a sudden urgent meeting, they were usually not around. They had lives and some had families as well. There were better things for them to do than to sit in the grand hall and wait. Catherine had no family. Her mother had died giving birth to her and her father was killed only a few years later by vampires. Besides her grandfather, she had no other known close relatives. At the time, her grandfather was the Chief Shugoshin. He took her in and raised her and, though she was only sixteen when he died, she took his place at the head of Realm as the Chief Shugoshin. Not two years had passed since then. It seemed not so distant and yet, somehow, so very far away. A lot had happened since then. She was perhaps the youngest person to ever fill the seat of the Chief Shugoshin. Many thought her unqualified for the position, though by custom and unwritten law they were not supposed to question the place of those who supposedly held the blood of deity, which was assumed of all those who were Shugoshin. She doubted that she had any more deity in her blood than did any others. Perhaps all mankind was the offspring of deity. It didn’t matter now. She had to do the best with what she had been given, however small, or large, it may be.

“Lady Catherine,” a guard spoke as he and two others led a child along the hall. She turned and faced the approaching group, her cloak swirling behind her. She hated the long red robes she had to wear almost constantly, but they did seem to help others realize her position and respect her more. Her wardrobe contained very little of anything else other than long red robes. The bushy layers of cloth hid her slim features, but she didn’t mind that. She was not of the mind to impress people with her beauty, but only to lead them with whatever wisdom she could gather. She was very grateful for the Shugoshin, all but two of which were around when her grandfather was the chief Shugoshin. They knew very well how to guide and counsel her, and they were respectful in doing so.

“This is the boy you were told of,” the guard said, stopping a few paces away from Catherine.

“I see,” she answered. The boy’s clothes were tattered and he had blood spattered on them. “Vampires?” She asked the guard softly. He nodded. She stepped nearer the boy and knelt down in front of him, putting her hand on the cleaner of his two shoulders. “What is your name,” she asked. The boy was silent. He stared downward as if seeing nothing. His eyes were cold and silent. He looked lost, both physically and in his mind. He seemed confused.
“You look hungry. Perhaps we can talk after you have been cleaned up, have a new change of clothes, and have had a bite to eat.” At her words, the guards began to turn the boy away as if to guide him back down the hall. He pulled away from them and turned to face Catherine again. He was breathing more intently now and he seemed more alert. Whereas before his eyes seemed to see nothing, something was sparking in them now, but it was not something Catherine was pleased to see. Anger.

“You wanted to speak to me, did you not?” she asked. He nodded. “Then perhaps you should allow me to speak with you, as well. It is only proper that a conversation go two ways.” He nodded. “What is your name?” she asked again.

“Akuma,” he answered.

“Akuma?” she questioned. “That cannot be your name.” She could sense the anger in his voice and was quite certain he was lying.

“It is now,” he answered.

“If you wish to change your name, it would be best to choose something to remind you of the good in your past, not the darkness you are looking into.”

The boy trembled and clenched one of his fists, but remained looking downward. He did not appreciate her words.

“Don’t you think your family deserves that respect?” she asked.

“What?!” he gasped and stumbled backwards, then gritted his teeth together. “Baka!”

“Do not speak so in front of the Chief Shugoshin, Lady Catherine!” A guard scolded.

Catherine held up her hand to the guard, motioning for him to stay his tongue. She noticed that her words had sparked some life into the child’s eyes, if only a very small amount.

“Hunta?” The boy asked, seeing what Catherine thought of the name.

“That is a little better, I suppose,” she smiled. “It will do until we think of something else for you. Now, Hunta, tell me, are you ready to get cleaned up and have a bite to eat, or did you have something to speak with me about right away?”

“I want to get into Excadia!” He immediately admitted.

“What?!” Catherine gasped. The request surprised her so that she could think of nothing to say for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. “Excadia is quarantined. It is off limits to all. The virus which spread there is—”

“Baka!” Hunta complained. “I know what the virus is! The vampires! The vampires took over the entire town and killed everyone in it! Why are they still roaming there?! They should be dead, every last vampire! I will kill them all!” he screamed loudly.

“You are a bright boy,” she commented. “There are several plans being worked with that we hope will help us to be able to rid us of the vampire threat, but in the meantime, we need to keep as many people alive as possible.”

“I will kill them all!” he raged through clenched teeth.

“You will die!” Catherine emphasized, putting her hand back on his shoulder and gripping it firmly. “If you want something, the way to go about it is not to die, but to live and improve yourself until you can obtain what you want. I am trying to raise a special band of vampire assassins—the Shugosha. Do you want to run away and be killed, or would you like to join this team and make a difference?”

“I—” Hunta looked up into her eyes for the first time. His own eyes were still filled with anger, but she saw tears trying to well up in them. He choked them back. “I want to join your Shugosha,” he pleaded. “I will become the greatest fighter! I will destroy the vampires!”

“You can think about that later, for now go and get cleaned up and get something to eat before you faint from weakness.”

“Yes. Thank you, Lady Catherine!” he nodded and turned as two of the guards led him out.

“Some of the vampires have plead to be taught humanity. They wish to be in peace with the humans. Do you think it will ever be a possibility?” she asked the guard.

“If they want it badly enough, perhaps it will, Lady Catherine,” he bowed. “Your wisdom will lead the way. I am sure you will know which decisions are the right ones.”

* * *

Sleep in solitude beneath shady veil of blue moonlight.
When darkness comes sweet dreams share sweet crimson.
For a moment there was pain, then I saw you, still out of reach.
Your cold embrace made me warm, your distant smile spread through me.

And I told the dark, you can sit beside me, just don’t sit too close.
When everything is over will any of this make sense anymore?

So soft. So cold.
What is eternity to us?
What then? Wait then.
Will we ever know if we don’t seek?

Sleep in loneliness beneath the misty veil of red moonlight.
Once I stumbled in the bright light, now for you I wait in it.
For a moment there is joy, but how long can it last?
An unreachable warm glow on the horizon. Some things cannot be.

And I told the dark, you can sit beside me, just don’t sit too close.
For destiny knows this must end, and what becomes of us?

So soft. So cold.
What is eternity to us?
What then? Wait then.
Will we ever know if we don’t seek?
I’m dreaming.
Keep dreaming.
Keep dreaming…