Vampire Hunter D Fan Fiction ❯ History repeats itself... does it? ❯ Second Meeting ( Prologue )

25 years after the epilogue of "Bloodlust"...

Second Meeting

Yes, this was the place. It was even the day. He remembered. As long as it had been, he remembered.

A pale, long fingered hand reached out and gently touched the headstone, slowly tracing along the letters. They became increasingly unreadable over time, and it had been quite a few years since he'd last been here. But he would always be able to make out the name that was engraved in the stone. Leila. He knelt down, the gaze of oddly soft grey eyes falling upon the wilted flowers at his feet. At least there was still *someone* to bring her the flowers she had loved so much, and which she had fortunately been so wrong about never getting. They fell to dust under his touch. He sighed. It had been too long.

The nagging voice that was constantly by his side knew for once when to keep quiet and not pester him with its teasing wisecracks. However, Left Hand did speak up when it sensed a presence nearing. "D... snap out of it! We got company!"

Instantly D was alert. The tall man swiftly straightened up to his full height, body rigid, every muscle tense, right hand, though hidden in his cloak, poised to reach up over his shoulder to pull the long sword strapped to his back any time. His eyes, soft before, were cold and empty as he turned to face the intruder, ready to attack or defend, whichever would be necessary. Better to be safe than sorry.

The long, heavy cloak, billowing from his sudden move, slowly settled around the hunter's slender form as he was startled into motionlessness, surprise never showing on his features though. The woman in front of him sure was as astonished as him, and definitely more scared than scary. Her sky blue eyes were huge in her heart shaped face, and she almost crushed the flowers she was carrying as she pressed them to her chest. There was nothing evil radiating from her. D relaxed.

"Be careful or you're going to crush them," he said, smooth voice cool, low and even but with a hint of warmth.

"Hn..?" Her eyes grew even wider, her grip even tighter, then she suddenly relaxed, releasing the flowers from her death grip and she gave a shaky laugh.

Features remaining emotionless D stepped aside to let the woman pass, showing her with the distance he put between them that he didn't mean to harm her. Yet she seemed hesitant to move on, cradling her flowers while furtively glancing at the tall, dark figure standing beside the grave. And suddenly he noticed these were the same flowers as those that had just fallen to dust under his fingers. Wordlessly he moved away from Leila's grave and turned to leave.

Her heart pounded in her chest, so loud that she was sure he would hear it. Yes, it was him, she was absolutely certain. True, she had been just a girl, but she would never forget a face like that, that ever so slight smile was forever engraved in her memory...

And he had come to visit her grandmother's grave. On the anniversary of her death nontheless. She wondered if he remembered her, the little girl from so many years ago, wondered if he had ever thought of her in all that time, but she was afraid to ask. His gaze had passed over her, unrecognising.

With a sigh Maya-Dee knelt down at her grandmother's grave and swept the rustling remains of the old flowers aside. Then she carefully placed the bundle of fresh flowers at the foot of the headstone. As she had expected, none of the people still living in this town had bothered to look after Grandma Leila's grave. It was sad, really. And all that just because vampires had started to rise again, and Dunpeals were thrown right in with them - and so were those who had some kind of understanding for either of them.

Brushing her golden blond hair back from her face Maya-Dee straightened up. She rememberd the stories Grandma Leila used to tell, about her hunting days - and about the one prey and the one competitor she wasn't able to eliminate, the vampire Meier Link and the hunter D. Maya-Dee had loved those stories, still loved to recite them, feeling oddly sad when thinking of Meier Link's lost love and D's inner torments.

"I'm a Dunpeal. I don't get to have a life. Not like you." That's what he had said. Maya-Dee had always tried to picture that moment, more successfully after she'd seen him at Grandma Leila's funeral, and now... now she could almost see it...

She whirled around, hoping to find him still nearby, but he had gone already. The sound of a horse's gallop was fading in the distance. Maya-Dee's shoulders dropped and she sighed once more. "Time to go home," she said with a sad smile towards the headstone. "I'll come again soon, Grandma Leila." Then she walked away.