Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ Conquest ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Conquest

Chapter 2

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The rest of the evening, Himiko spent resting. She had a feeling things would soon get a little more than crazy. Bright and early the next morning, she checked out of the hotel then hit the streets. Several hours later, out of all of the gossip she'd listened in on, she heard nothing of any use to her. Then as she was passing a sushi bar, she got the break she was looking for.

Two older guys stood out front gabbing idly.

"Hey, speaking of weird, have you heard anything about the strange shit going on up around Mito's place?" asked one guy.

"Bah! I don't believe a word of that bogus bullshit," replied the other.

"Excuse me. Pardon me for interrupting, but did I hear you say something about strange happenings taking place?" Himiko asked carefully, hopeful she could pump them for more information.

"What's it to you, lady?" the skeptic retorted.

"Well, you see, I'm a spiritualist. I'm wondering if I might be able to help," she answered.

"Oh! Well, yeah. Just up the road a ways in the town on the other side of the river. People have been talking about ghosts…" the first man explained before Himiko stopped him.

"Thank you for the information. I'm most grateful," she said quickly before splitting the scene.

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Brad Johnston growled and threw down his text book before flopping back on the couch. He was getting absolutely no where in his quest to complete the report assigned to him in his economics course. Sighing heavily, he ran his fingers through his blond hair streaked with neon green then turned to glance out the front window of his apartment. He knew there was something he was suppose to find here in Japan, but what the hell it was he was searching for he hadn't the faintest idea.

The moderately built young man watched through emerald eyes as flakes of snow drifted down from the heavens. Rising to his feet, he put on a jacket, gloves, and a toboggan. Turning then, he stepped outside, locked his door, then let his feet carry him away on a refreshing walk.

Brad smiled charmingly and waved to women he passed on the street as he made his way to the park. In the park, he randomly chose a path and immersed himself in the small pocket of nature's serenity. He listened as his sneakers crunched through the blanket of freshly fallen snow. His mind on other things, he failed to notice the strange shadow that followed him. That is, till something hidden deep inside him told him to turn around.

As Brad turned to look back the way he'd come, he gasped in surprise as he found what looked like the black shadow of a demon tiger racing towards him, ready to strike.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed as he turned tail and took off running towards the lake in the distance. Quickly, he realized, no matter how hard he ran, it made no difference. This thing was far to fast. As he spun back to glance at the beast, he was sure it was going to leap in for the kill, hissing with razor sharp claws extended.

A whistling sound met Brad's ears and a split second later a blast of fire collided with the shadow tiger. Brad instinctively hit the ground rolling out of the way as the blast sent the beast flying down the path to slam into a tree. Seeing this as his chance to escape, Brad sprang to his feet and made a mad dash to get out of the park and out of the way of that thing and whatever created that blast of fire.

Nearing the park entrance, the sound of demonic screams caused Brad to toss a glance back behind him. However all he could see was trees, a giant swift moving shadow, and fire. With as close as he'd come to getting mauled, Brad wasn't willing to stick around to see what the hell all those two things were. That is, until he blindly collided with someone on the pathway, knocking them both over into the snow. Brad noticed by the sound of the scream, it was a girl an turned to see who he'd run into.

"I'm so sorry, babe! I really didn't mean to run into you. But you and I both need to get the hell out of dodge else there's a fair chance that demon or whatever the hell's fighting it will come after us!" he blurted as he sprang to his feet and tried to help her up. The woman took one look at him and gasped.

"Lemures!" she exclaimed going wide-eyed as she froze in shock.

"Say what?" Brad asked over the sounds of a vicious battle in the forest.

"Lemures! You're suppose to be dead!" the woman cried.

"Pardon, but run that name by me one more time," Brad prodded, following that inner voice that had led him here to Japan in the first place.

"L-Lemures," the woman stammered. Brad's jaw dropped as something inside him clicked. He whipped his head around to the battle.

"Miyu. The one with the fire is Miyu! And the tiger is… oh SHIT!," he cursed as he realized what was going on. "Lady, I beg your pardon for my lack of explanation, but there is no time. Get the HELL out of here now if you value your life!" he barked, sparing pleasantries for later.

Himiko started to object, yet as the demon tiger, now several stories tall started bounding their direction, she wasted no time in rising to her feet. Brad growled realizing they would lose time if they ran separately, so he picked her up and took off running. Despite her protests, he didn't even slow much less put her down.

Then suddenly a loud feral scream shook the forest. Brad tripped over a root and went tumbling through the snow again with Himiko. The moment he was able to, he turned to look back towards the beast. He caught sight of it in time to see the last of it burn to ash in a pyre of Miyu's scarlet flame. Realizing the fight was now over, he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

"You're right. I did die that day at Miyu's hand. But remember my power was resurrection. I used the last of my strength on myself to reincarnate myself into a human being. For years, I've had dreams about my past life, but only when you said my name did the memories click," Brad explained. "Are you all right?" he asked as he faced Himiko.

"I.. I.." she stuttered.

"It's all right. I won't hurt you. My name is Brad now, by the way," he flashed her one of his charming smiles.

"I'm all right. Just a little shaken. What just happened?"

"That was the shadow tiger Shinma Kuroken. He was an ancient and powerful beast with a rebellious nature worse than even mine and Larva's. As to his reason for being outside the Dark when last I knew he was inside, I haven't a damn clue. We'll have to ask Miyu that one," Brad replied. He then blinked and gawked. "Wait a minute, for one, she didn't recognize me, and for two, Larva wasn't with her. What the fuck's going on?" he blurted as he got up and started walking back towards the battle.

"Wait, I'm coming to," Himiko said as she got up and trotted after him. She hated the fact she had to be nice to the idiot. After all, she didn't trust him in the least, but he did know a whole lot more about the Shinma than she did. She was curious to find out what he intended to do about this.

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Penguine: Yippity do da. Another chapter done. Hey, it's only a mini-cliffhanger this time. ^_^

Review Replies

Chibi Parker: HeeHee… Don't worry about waiting long on this story. I've already got the next 2 chapters written at this point. I'm just spacing out my uploads for added suspense. *giggles wickedly* I hope to finish another chapter or two tonight. This thing is just too much fun to write. ^_^