Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ Conquest ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

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Se Himiko breathed in the crisp winter air as she casually strode down the street dressed in an outfit of green and a long, thick red winter coat lined with fleece. She was in search of something to do today. Cases were few and far in between these days. Even though no news was good news on the subject of the Shinma, this lack of work made her crazy with boredom not to mention thin in the pocket book. Then again, her job never really made her very much to begin with.

As Himiko strode down the sidewalk away from the hotel where she was staying, her eyes stared at the bright blood colored fabric of the coat as she hugged it closer to her for warmth. The color turned her thoughts to the little vampire girl she had once chased. It had been far too long since she'd seen Miyu.

Himiko had figured years ago when she first noticed the absence of Shinma activity that Miyu had at last fulfilled her destiny as Guardian. Yet, to this day, Himiko couldn't help but wonder. Was that really the reason behind Miyu's disappearance? And if so, what was the girl doing now? For as much as Himiko hated what Miyu had to do to survive, and thus, for a long time, hated Miyu, Himiko couldn't keep some remote part of her from feeling the loss of the girl she'd aided so many times in the battles against the stray Shinma. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, there was still always a part of the woman that secretly missed the Vampire Princess.

As the Spiritualist pondered on her memories of Miyu, her feet took her to a small suburban park where she found herself coming to stand at the edge of a pond frozen over. The sight made her think of the house Miyu had taken her to see. The house where two parents stood trapped behind a barrier frozen in time. Miyu had taken her there to try and convince her that the vampire girl was not someone deserving of Himiko's contempt.

In that time, Miyu had reminded Himiko of an event who's memory time had mutated. Miyu had reminded Himiko of a time in her youth when she'd first met the vampire princess. Supposedly, at the time, Miyu had embraced her. Although Miyu told her that sometimes when people are embraced by a vampire, the new vampire within them doesn't always awaken right away. However, these days, Himiko had to wonder if she truly had been bitten. Surely, if she had, that part of her that was vampire would have awakened by now after all these years. Or would it?

Himiko sighed and shook those thoughts from her head. It would do her no good to get all psyched up over something as sketchy as a distant memory. However, the thought of the old house were Miyu's parents had been imprisoned gave her an idea. Perhaps if she went there, she might find a clue or two as to where Miyu's been for the past five years. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try. Perhaps, along the way, she might even get lucky and land herself a new case.

Armed with this new plan of action, Himiko turned and began her journey back to the hotel to pack her things. Even if she didn't find anything, the excitement of chasing after something after so long of handling minor issues gave her a much needed surge of thrill. This brought a smile to brighten her face that had been so melancholy lately.

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The taxi cab pulled up to the curb and came to a stop. Himiko thanked the driver as she paid him his dues then got out to watch the cab drive away. Turning, she began her walk along the path that would eventually lead her to the slope she sought after.

With the air as cold as it was today, there weren't very many people about. Perhaps that was for the better, the woman though to herself as her feet carried her along. If she ran into something dangerous, she sure as hell didn't want any innocent bystanders getting hurt because of her drive to seek answers in a place so strongly connected to the Shinma.

Eventually, Himiko's feet brought her to stand before the little tunnel leading to the field she sought. There she came to a halt remembering the daydreams it gave her last time. Even now, after Miyu had helped her clarify what had happened that day that she came here and first met the vampire princess, Himiko still felt a chill race down her spine as she looked on at the land before her.

The spiritualist remained rooted where she stood for a good five minutes, simply waiting to see if her mere presence would be enough to attract Miyu's attention. It did not. Himiko sighed, tossing her hair, then continued on.

Her journey brought her to stand in the very field where she remembered finding the old mansion. Of course, like last time, as she looked about with a clear head, she found it to no longer be here.

"Miyu?" Himiko voiced out to the deserted land. She received no answer. Though, as she pondered, she realized that past experiences with Miyu and the Shinma had taught her that things aren't always what they seem to be.

Breathing in deeply, Himiko closed her eyes and cleared her mind. Silently standing, she then began to use what little power she had to search the field for any clues it might possess. For minutes on end she stood there just like this, calmly waiting for a clue to manifest itself. However, when nothing showed up, she hung her head with a sigh of failure. And then, she opened her eyes.

To Himiko's shock and dismay, as she turned to gaze at the field again, there before her was the house. After taking a moment to calm her nerves, she approached the aging building.

"Miyu?" she tried to call the vampire once again. Yet, once again, she got no answer. A better look around at the mansion then served her a clue things might not be as good as she'd surmised. Parts of the building showed signs there may have been a recent battle. After calling for Miyu several more times without success of locating the girl, Himiko decided to let herself in.

Cautiously, Himiko opened the front door and stepped inside. The inside of the house looked fairly clean as though it had recently been lived in. After shutting the door, Himiko politely slipped off her shoes and set them by the wall.

"Miyu?" Himiko tried again. Still, no luck.

Slowly, the spiritualist padded her way through the house while keeping her senses out-stretched, wary of anything that might still be present in the house. As she got deeper into the house, she began to discover definite internal signs of a recent battle. There was no doubt someone had been living here. Whoever it was met up with a very challenging adversary. The thought brought another chill to Himiko's spine.

Locating the room that had belonged to Miyu, Himiko found stronger signs of struggle. The fabric that had been Miyu's bed was trampled, shredded, and strewn about everywhere. Turning to head another way, Himiko found herself in the central part of the house. In the place where the seal had once kept Miyu's parents locked in suspended animation, Himiko found it to be now open. With the barrier now gone, Himiko could only guess that Miyu had succeed in freeing her parents.

They'd obviously lived here at least several years in peace and comfort. Yet, something happened within the past few weeks to change all that. Here, in the central part of the home, the damage was the greatest. The walls and ceiling where rattled with holes. Wood was viciously splintered and split. Furniture was burnt, shredded, and otherwise destroyed. Then there was the horrifying part. The blood stains. Everywhere, there were splatters of blood.

Whatever had happened here, it wasn't pretty. There seemed to be a number of attackers, some terrifyingly strong. Seeing as Miyu's parents were obviously a great weak point to the girl, Himiko figured the blood in the room, or at least some of it, came from the mother and father. But what of Miyu and her servant?

Himiko swallowed hard and backtracked to the front door. There, she put on her shoes and stepped back outside to take a look around. The blanket of snow on the ground covered the tracks, so that was of no use. However in a pocket of the yard near the bamboo forest, there lay two fresh graves. Himiko's heart sank as she realized she was right. How horrid it must have been for Miyu to endure such a loss this a second time, and this time for good. This finally brought Himiko back to the one question that had started this quest. Where was Miyu?

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Penguine: There, as I promised you, Chapter 1. Only a few hours after I'd posted the prologue. Aren't you proud of me? Me who's been known to take eons to finish things?

Heh. Well anyways, I know yall are probably hating me right now for the cliffhanger. But oh well. I've got a major headache right now and it's the best place I could think of to pull the chapter cut-off. More soon to come, of course.