Sacred Council

The night air, chilled as it was, seemed far colder this time of year, after all the mild weather the citizens of Karakura Town had, at least for a time, come to enjoy. But like all good things, such weather was doomed to end. The full moon overhead was bloated and orange, like a pumpkin hung in the stars themselves. The town itself seemed quiet and empty, except for the occasional late night shopper trying to grab a quick drink and a few motorists trying to get home after a late night at work. It was life as usual, even at this time of year and this time of night.

A young woman scanned the streets, hoping to come across one such late-night commuter. Her eyes enabled her to see clearly though the dim and dark spaces between streetlights, some of which were flickering, likely from dying bulbs or a shorted power supply, with ease. In the glow of a light nearby.

A man in a suit walked out of a nearby store, arms loaded with cases of imported beer. Likely, the man had gotten off of work and decided to unwind with alcoholic drinks. His steps gave the young woman the impression that he was already intoxicated to some degree. Perhaps not as noticeable to others, but her trained eyes, used to watching for drunkards like this, picked up on the invariable signs, a sway that most men would not carry themselves with and, barely visible movements of the pupils. Noticing a figure in the distance, he called out. “Hey! Mind helping me? I need to get home and I can’t carry my drinks all the way there.”

The woman, who had been waiting for just such an opportunity to present itself replied quickly. “No, not at all.” She pitched her voice as if it were an act of generosity rather than a means to an end. It would only be seconds before she had the information she desired.

Not wasting time, the woman walked up to the slightly intoxicated man, who began to walk to her and had stopped beneath one of the lights to catch his breath. In the light, her features were evident to the man. Her skin was pale, as if she hadn’t seen sunlight for a while, blue eyes (although one was somehow lighter than the other) and most shockingly, what he could assume was naturally pink hair. Despite the chilly night, her attire was more fitting of warmer weather, a simple brown turtleneck, sleeveless overcoat a skirt and knee high boots. Light reflected off of a piece of metal hanging from her shoulder. She raised her hand and faster than he could ever perceive, she knocked his cases of beer away. “Listen to me,” she began, loving the look of fear on his face, “You’re going to die, not tonight, but if you keep drinking that garbage, I’ll bet you won’t live to see your kid’s eighteenth birthday.”

The man took only a few moments to register the fact his beer had just been scattered all over the road. “I don’t have a kid and wouldn’t  give a shit about one if I did, stupid bitch. Why’d you knock my drinks out of my hand?!” he was getting belligerent.

“Then this is going to be much easer on me. I’m going to beat you up, drink your blood and when the cops decide to ask what happened, you tell them you got beat by a scary girl with pink hair. I’m sure you know they’ll laugh at you, even call you a liar. Now, I’ll offer you a choice, just to show how reasonable I can be. You can tell me where I can find someone or else I’ll do to you what I just said I would.” Without even a second thought, the woman lifted him into the air with one hand, showing a massive amount of strength for a woman her size.

“I’ll tell you anything, just please let me go!” the man yelled, obviously wanting to be put safely down. He was afraid of the woman in front of him, something changed in her voice changed, coupled with the sudden lift, revealing to him she wasn’t a normal person. He began sobbing in fear.

“Oh, good. Tell me where I can find the Ishida family.” her response was quick, all the more proof that she had a motive for this.

All the man managed to say was he didn’t know before he felt them, two needle-like pricks in the side of his neck. The woman had bit down, hard enough to draw blood. The man couldn’t even scream as a feeling of euphoria coursed through him. Although he didn’t know it, he was just bitten by a vampire, and not just any vampire. The Queen, Myst Kagekyo, ravenous with hunger after a long journey.

Only a moment later and Myst dropped him, spitting and sputtering. Even the minor amount of alcohol in the man’s system was enough to make her ill. “Get out of my sight, filthy-blooded man. And learn to sober up.” With that, she walked away, ready to have to search the entire town if she had to to find her friend’s home and perhaps fill her need for blood as well. “Why did I have to keep my phone in my pocket during training?” she wondered to the night sky, as if wondering would erase the fact the night didn’t go as planned.