Chapter 1: Divided

A cold, cloudy mist spread throughout the barren streets of Elqui City, standing out immensely as it was illuminated underneath the night sky. The sounds of sirens echoed throughout the district as several police cars rushed by, their flashing red and blue lights providing colour to the white mist that engulfed the streets.

As the car passed, a young boy spent his time staring through the window, his breath condensing against the glass in the cold atmosphere as excitement brought colour to his cheeks at the moment that the police cars drove by. In an instant, the boy dashed away from the window, jumping in excitement as he navigated throughout the house, every step causing the wooden planks underneath him to creak in a low tone.

"Mom! Mom!" he exclaimed, his dark hair bouncing with him as he jumped, pulling on his mother's purple dress upon arriving close behind her in a kitchen-like environment.

The brunette turned away from the dishes, drying her hands in her dress as she smiled down towards the boy, her green eyes sparkling in the warm light given off by the cone-like light source hung up on the ceiling.

"What's the matter, Sebby?" She asked, stooping down to the young boy's level, to give a sense of respect as she entertained his conversation.

"Nothing's wrong mom," he smiled, his blue eyes illuminating with excitement, "I've made up my mind though, I want to be a Police Officer when I grow old, just like dad!"

The mother looked at the boy stunned for a moment before chuckling, "And what makes you say that?"

"Well, you see... They're so cool and they catch bad guys, and keep everyone safe right? And I wanna do just that! No one will be hurt when I'm roaming these streets. Bad guys, better watch out!" After giving his reasoning, the boy struck a pose, with his fists cocked against his hips and chin upright.

She couldn't help but laugh at his pose and the remarks that he made, covering her mouth as she regained her previous poster, resting her palm against his head, "Well, if that's what you want, I can't wait to see what kind of fine police officer you'll turn out to be... Come now, promise mommy you'll save as many people as you can."

"You bet!"

***

The cars that lit up the misty streets came to a stop at a scene that was bombarded with ambulances and other police officers alike. The two cars that have recently arrived had one person leave each, one of which was dressed in a black tuxedo with a blue and white striped tie going down the middle, tinted glasses hiding his eyes from outside parties, and hair styled in a slick, black undercut.

"What's the situation looking like?" The man asked out loud, awaiting an answer from the busy parties as he stepped past the yellow tape, to view the scene before him.

What seemed to be his partner, made his way his side, pulling up the sleeves on his white turtleneck sweater before lighting a cigar and placing it between his chapped lips, his face looking rough and cold with the rest of his body following suit with the rough and scruffed look that his face alone gave off.

"You just got here, and you're already pestering the people. Don't you think they're already stressed enough as is?" he asked, simply side-eyeing his partner as he puffed smoke into the night sky.

"You see because I actually take my job seriously, I'd rather get my stuff done than skylark the whole time."

"Okay 'Mr. Professional', you do you," was the response that was given, his eyes being rolled in order to follow up with the attitude that made its presence known in the latter part of his sentence.

"Detective Matsuda!" exclaimed a female officer as she made her way to the detective who wore the tuxedo, a stack of papers in her hand, "Sorry it took so long, a few stuff had to be revised before we could bring the report to you," she said sheepishly, panting slightly under her breath before regaining her posture.

She took a deep breath before she continued, "So in total, there's a total of 21 victims, 18 of which are dead and the rest being fatally injured. They have already been transported to the hospital and are currently being treated. Every one of the dead bodies has either had a limb or two amputated and was left to bleed out or they'd be sporting bite marks of several varieties with the bodies being pale and dry."

Matsuda hummed to himself, stroking his barren chin as he did so, stooping down as he analyzed the bodies that were seemingly randomly scattered on the floor.

"Is there anything that the victims have in common? Anything that we could use?"

The policewoman thought to herself for a bit while checking the files she's holding in her hands, "Most of them were members of NC Co-Operative... they were either workers or affiliates."

The man smoking his cigar did a final puff before throwing it to the side, following Matsuda behind the yellow tape and standing right behind the young policewoman, "Isn't NC Co-Operative a 'business partner' with the Kliver Clan?" he asked while scratching his head.

"Yeah, but if that's the case, what's the reason for them to kill some of their own? I know you've been eyeing the Klivers for a while, but trying to tie them into this makes no sense," Matsuda stated, glancing over to his partner.

"I do agree with him, Detective Yamada... It is quite illogical to target your own business partners," the policewoman stated, only to be shot down with a glance of disapproval from Yamada.

He sighed, pinching the dorsal bridge of his nose, "Okay fine, it may not be the Klivers... But if that's the case, what other vampire group would have the balls to target anyone working with them?"

"That's what we're here to figure out," Matsuda stated while trying to analyze the scene, "The scene looks like that of B class vampires, at least... So either way, you look at it, normal people like us may not be the right ones to track them down."

"There you go again, shoving all your work over to the vampire hunters," Yamada chuckled.

"Better that than trying to get myself killed targeting the Klivers in every case," Matsuda replied, shaking his head as he stood up, "Let's just go back to the office and look over the papers before we reach any conclusions though."

"Aye aye captain," Yamada said in the most sarcastic tone he could muster up as he walked back to the cars behind Matsuda.

***

Sunlight slowly peeked into the dimly lit room as the sweet smell of food travelled throughout the entire house, causing the young Sebastian to jump out of bed, his purple, star-patterned pyjamas swaying with every movement he made.

"What's for breakfast mom?" he asked as he happily made his way down the stairs, coming to a halt at the very foot of it. He glanced over to the kitchen where his mother stood, tears slowly going down her cheeks as she stood over the stove.

"Mom...?" he asked, his voice shaking as he slowly turned towards the other portion of the room where a blonde man wearing a casual black jacket, and white undershirt sat around the counter, a wide smile on his face as he looked over to where Sebastian stood.

"Why hello there," He said in a sinister tone, "You must be the young boy I've been hearing so much about."

After saying this, he got up from where he sat, hands behind his back as he slowly walked over to the child who was now too scared to move. He bent so that he'd be at eye level, allowing the boy to stare into his bright-red eyes.

"Leave him be... He doesn't need to be involved," Sebastian's mother said in a shaky voice, the nervousness, and concern quite audible in how she spoke.

"I didn't ask you anything now did I?" The man immediately snapped back at her, "Now, where was I?"

His attention was back on the young boy before him, his right index finger stroking a string of hair behind his ear, "No need to be scared my boy, no harm will come your way. You see, your father did something rude last night and I'm simply paying a visit to talk some sense into him... That makes sense to you right?" he asked with a calming tone in his voice.

Sebastian did nothing but nod, still too afraid to move as he watched the man ease away from him.

"Good boy, see, I knew your kid was smart."

As if on cue, the moment it was said, the front door could be heard swinging open, the smile on the blonde's face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree.

"Look how nice... Daddy's home," he said with a slight laugh as he slowly made his way toward the living room.

"Maki? You there?" asked a masculine voice, the sound of the door closing following right after.

"Aye, Matsuda, long time no see," said the blonde man as he stood before Matsuda, arms wide open as if getting ready to embrace him in a long and snug hug.

"...Shouji... What are you doing here?"

"Ouch man, the tone of your voice made it seem like you almost didn't want me here," he chuckled, his face soon after being changed from a humorous tone to one that implies that of a serious matter, "Like it or not though... There's something I wish to discuss with you -"

He was cut off by the motion of hot water travelling through the air, coming in contact with the back of his head, drenching him from the head down, the water dripping off his shoulders in an instant. He turned slowly, seemingly unphased by the water, only to see Maki holding a pot in a position that implies she was the one who threw the water at him.

He chuckled to himself, Matsuda's expression being changed to one of fear as he did so.

"Get out of my house," Maki said, both fear and anger evident in both her face and her eyes.

"What is it with you people and imagining yourself the hero in every scenario!?" Shouji asked, clenching his fists as if he was stopping himself from doing something he may regret later.

"Get. Out," Maki repeated, her expression not changing as she stared him dead in the eye.

"Maki, calm down please," Matsuda said in a hushed tone, putting his hand before him as he said so, however it came too late, for, within the blink of an eye, blood painted the floor as Maki fell, hands around her neck as she attempted to cover the wound that was just opened up.

Bearing witness to the sight before him, Sebastian's body and soul wanted to scream and cry, but at the same time, his body was overflowing with fear, fear of the man before him, fear of the very aura he gave off.

Matsuda on the other hand, reached for his gun almost immediately, tears in his eyes as he fired two bullets at Shouji. For a moment, in Matsuda's eyes at least, time seemed to be moving in slow motion as he saw the bullets leave the gun, gliding gracefully through the air, perfectly in line with their target, but in an instant, the person they were heading toward was gone.

Shouji now stood beside Matsuda, exasperation in his eyes as he sighed, "And all I wanted to do was have a little chat."

He pulled his right hand before him, licking the blood that ran down his fingers as Matsuda began coughing out blood himself, grasping the wound that was now open in his stomach.

A hooded figure entered the room shortly after, brushing the robe's hood backwards as he sighed, "Did you really have to kill them?"

"They pissed me off."

He simply shook his head, the faint light in the room reflecting off it before he looked up, locking eyes with Sebastian for a brief moment.

"And what of the kid?"

Shouji seemed shocked as he heard the question, now turning toward where Sebastian stood, still frozen in fear as his eyes swelled, tears fighting their way to the surface, making every effort to escape. He smiled at the boy, stroking his chin as he thought to himself for a moment.

"Leave him... I like the look in his eyes, reminds me of myself when I was his age."

<Chapter 1 End>