2 Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning to the red sun shining through the window. Sitting up, I found a pile of folded clothes sitting on the nightstand. I swung my feet out from under the covers, grabbing the clothes. They were heavy, almost like they were armor. Unfolding the top cloth, I found I was right. The item which I held in my hand was a corseted piece of light armor, meant for fast movement and little protection. I wondered why anyone would give me armor, but then considered what I had seen yesterday. The world was much different than I had remembered. A lot had changed in five hundred years.

I quickly changed, then headed back towards the main room of the club. When I entered, I found Akaba and five other people sitting around, eating. Vampires ate? When I stepped into the room, everybody looked in my direction. A girl with curly charcoal colored hair jumped up and skipped towards me. She grabbed my hands, looking giddy.

"Good morning, sunshine." She said in a cheery voice. "My name is Kumiko. It's nice to meet you, Yuki."

I forced a smile, but ultimately felt overwhelmed. "Nice to meet you too, Kumiko."

She started swinging our arms back and forth between us. "The armor looks perfect on you. And Akaba brought me your sword. It's quite impressive. I haven't seen that kind of design in half a century. Maybe longer. You should show us how to use it."

"Kumiko lay off," Akaba said from the table, not looking up from his food. "She's been through a lot. Just let her relax."

Kumiko let go of my hands, looking at the floor like a child that's just been scolded. "Sorry, Akaba." She turned back to look at me. "Come join us. Yamamoto just finished cooking, and his breakfast is always amazing."

I followed Kumiko back to the table. Akaba got up and pulled another chair over for me. I sat between him and the hyper girl, feeling everybody else's eyes on me. I met each one in order, and then they all went back to eating. Akaba filled a plate with pancakes, eggs, and bacon for me. I looked up at him, suddenly feeling nervous.

"How'd you sleep?" Akaba asked.

"I slept okay," I told him sheepishly.

He smiled. "Don't be shy. Let me make the introductions." He turned to the other members of the table. "Everyone, this is Yuki. Yuki, you've already met Kumiko. She's our outfit specialist. She made the armor you're wearing."

I smiled in her direction. "Thank you for that."

"Next to her is Souta." He gestured to a pale man who had equally pale hair and an angular face. "He is our weapons specialist. He's been looking over your weapon."

Souta nodded in my direction. "As Kumiko said, it's quite an impressive piece. Who made it? Can you show me how it works?"

"I made it," I told him. "And yes, I can show you all how it works."

"Next is Yamamoto,��� Akaba told me. "He's our cook and our muscle. No job is too big for him."

Yamamoto did look the part of the muscle of the group, but I would've never expected him to be a cook. He sat with his muscular arms folding across his chest; his red eyes narrowed at me. It was almost like the guy was trying to read my mind. Sweaty golden hair clung to his forehead, almost as if he had just been working out. Or maybe it had been hot in the kitchen. When he didn't say anything, Akaba moved on.

"Okay. Next to Yamamoto is Satomi. She's our magic specialist." He said.

Satomi smiled at me, twirling her olive green hair between two of her fingers. "It's nice to meet you. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of magic you hold within you."

I turned to Akaba. "Magic?"

He nodded. "The combination of turning into vampires and the impurities in the air caused magic and special abilities to manifest in most people. We think there's some in you, too."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you're a human," Satomi said from across the table. "No human has ever been able to breathe this air without dying. Something is interesting about you, and we intend to find out what it is."

"The Nightingale!" The last of the party, a young girl with bright blue hair, shot out of her chair. Her wide eyes were trained on me, her hands holding open a book. "That's who you are."

Akaba laughed. "Calm down. Yuki, this is Miyazaki. She's our historian and our fence. Anything you could know or want, she's got you covered."

"Hush, Akaba," Miyazaki said. "Now is not the time. You're the Nightingale of legend, aren't you? You're her."

I nodded. "How'd you know that?"

She didn't answer, just pushed her chair back and ran off screaming. Nobody else said anything. Five pairs of red eyes were watching me. I looked around the table, trying to find an explanation for what was going on. It didn't seem like anybody had one to offer. Finally, Akaba cleared his throat.

"Don't mind her." He said. "That scream was an excited one. She's not scared of you."

I looked at him. "But, how does she know of the Nightingale?"

Satomi grabbed the book Miyazaki left behind, handing it to me. "Because she's famous. I mean, you're famous. Stories have been passed down about you and your group of heroes."

"We weren't seen as heroes back then," I whispered.

Looking down at the book, I found the page she was on was all about me. It even had drawings of what the author speculated I looked like and of my sword staff. I turned the page to find more illustrations, some of the twins, and another of Yukio. I ran my fingers over the pictures. They were wrong, of course. We wore masks so that nobody knew who we were. I smiled, thinking of our daring adventures and of the people we saved. And still, the public called us vigilantes.

Miyazaki came running back in. "Is it true that you were twins with the Marksman? And is it true that the Terror Twins aren't twins at all?"

I laughed. "The Marksman was my twin brother, yes. But, the Terror Twins were twins."

"What happened to them?" She asked. "And what happened to you? You disappeared one day and were never heard from again. Well, that is, until now."

I shrugged. "I don't know. The last thing I remember is chasing after someone. But, I don't remember catching them, and then I woke up under the red sky."

"It doesn't matter how you ended up here," Akaba said, standing up. "For now, we have to focus on protecting you and not draw attention to ourselves." He turned to look at me head-on. "But, as a human, there is something you can help us with."

After breakfast, we gathered in the lounge downstairs. There were three bulletin boards. Pictures and drawings of other vampires filled the first board. It was labeled "enemies." The second one had locations throughout Tokyo mapped on it. The third one had pictures of trees and rivers turned red. They had this one labeled "sources." I stared at each of the three boards, wondering what exactly they were planning.

Akaba stood in front of the boards. Everybody else sat in the couches around the room. I sat furthest towards the front, and only Kumiko sat near me. The other vampires either looked in awe of me, scared of me or like they didn't trust me. I couldn't blame them, but it made me feel lonely.

"Alright. Let's get this meeting started." Akaba said. "First things first, enemies. Highest on that list is the queen." I raised my hand slowly. "Yes, Yuki?"

"Why is she the top of the list?" I asked.

"Because she's oppressive," Yamamoto said from across the room. "She controls the blood supply, making sure every vampire inside the barrier bows before her. And the blood rations she does give out are measly, to put it lightly."

"Moving on," Akaba said. "The next one down is Fumio, her right-hand man. He's ruthless and will kill anyone who steps foot in the castle unannounced. The next three are the most vicious and hardest to find. The first is the Bloodhound. A fierce warrior who is an expert in teleportation. No one knows what he looks like or how to find him because he kills his marks before they ever see him."

"Then how do we know that he even exists?" I asked.

"Because I've seen him," Yamamoto told me. "I couldn't get a good look at him, but I know it was him. It couldn't have been anybody else."

"Next, we have the Twins." Akaba continued. "We have the same problem with them as we do the Bloodhound. People have caught glimpses of them, but they're fast. Faster than any other vampire I've seen. And they work together. One's blind, but we're told he can see auras. They are a duo we cannot underestimate."

My chest tightened, thinking about my twins once more. I hoped that if they were still alive, they were still together. But I also hoped these twins they were talking about weren't my boys. Thinking about being associated with a group hunting down my sons made my heart ache.

"Yuki?" I glanced up, seeing that Akaba was staring at me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Just zoned out for a moment."

He nodded. "Anyway, we have one more target. He's someone we just found out about from our inside sources. He's not high up, but if we find him, we can get more information that'll get up closer to the queen. His name is Goro. We also know he has a partner named Fuchizaki. We know nothing about her, though."

Akaba took a picture out of his pocket and posted it on the board. The drawing was of a man with a scruffy beard and a shaved head. He had the look of a killer, and I was immediately scared to go anywhere near him. Not that anybody said that I needed to. His eyes were squinted, and his jaw set in a hard line. The look sent a shiver down my spine.

"Goro's last known location after leaving the castle was here, in the Undead Quarter." He continued, moving to the second board and gesturing to a section on the map. "This is where we'll start our search. Yamamoto and Yuki will be with me in the field. Souta and Satomi, you two will be in charge of getting as much information from the locals as you can. I know they'll be hesitant to talk, but you know how to handle those situations. Miyazaki and Kumiko will stay here just in case we need more information or help. Everyone clear on what we're doing?"

The others in the room agreed loudly. They all stood up, leaving to make the necessary preparations. I stood up slowly, walking over to Akaba, who was still looking at the boards. He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Everything okay, Yuki?" He asked.

I nodded. "Why am I going with?"

"I need to keep an eye on you." He turned back to the board. "Not that I don't trust the others. It'll just be easier to protect you from vampires who will want to feed on you if you're with Yamamoto and I. Don't worry. We won't put you in danger."

"Will other vampires want to feed on me?" I asked. "It doesn't seem like you all want to."

"We're… special cases. You don't have to worry about us." He turned away, then turned back to me. "Tell me about being the Nightingale. I need to know your set of skills before we go out."

"Well, I'm faster than humans were," I told him, thinking hard on what I used to do. "My staff doubles as either two swords or a double-sided spear. I can also shapeshift, but I don't do it very often as it drains most of my energy."

"Okay. Make sure you stay close to me, then. You can fight, but I don't want to risk you getting hurt."