No One Sleeps in Tokyo (Andúrhil)

OoC: Yes, that's right. I was proud of this intro post for the tournament, and I'm disappointed that it was going to go to waste. So...I'm recycling it! You'd better not disappoint me, Andy. >.>

IC:

Rain pattered soothingly against glass. The late afternoon shower in downtown Tokyo was slowly but surely ceasing with the sinking of the golden sun into the western horizon. The streets were packed with denizens frantically trying to get home through the torrential downpour. It wouldn’t be until the sun completely set when the neon lights of Tokyo’s nightclubs would burst forth into a vibrant display of twisting, blinking, and dancing color palettes. Until then, the storm reigned supreme over Japan’s capital, as if God were attempting to cleanse the general filth from the city streets.

Hidden away inside one of the highest rooms of the building bearing the name Immortal Eye, two eternal lovers lay peacefully entwined together, enjoying the other’s warmth even in the gentle embrace of sleep. Black silk curtains were drawn across the expansive window occupying one side of the room, shielding the two nosferatu from the less than desirable rays of the setting sun. Within this dark sanctuary, it seemed nothing could disturb the pair, wrapped inside the protective shadows as they were.

With a barely audible moan, Mariana Heruka stirred faintly, awakening from her pleasant repose. As she opened her stunning violet eyes, the first sight to greet them was Maximilian’s handsome face, made almost cute due to sleep’s calming influence. With a soft smile, the vampiress barely brushed a hand over her lover’s bare chest and released a quiet sigh of contentment. She never wanted to leave this place, nestled between the silken sheets of dark crimson next to her dearest one. And yet…that incessant craving for sustenance suddenly assailed her even as she completed the thought.

The Lady Heruka slipped soundlessly out of the black, four-poster canopy bed that belonged to Max, her clothing already fully reformed over her petite body. The furry, ebony carpet felt good to her bare feet. She stepped silently over to the window to peek through the inky curtains at the outside world as if to assure herself of the existence of a world besides the one she and Max claimed as their own. The sun had set, much to her satisfaction, and she glanced once back at her love before vanishing from the room to reappear on the other side of the glass, riding the warm updrafts that were especially evident so high above the city. Selecting a direction, the winged vampire soared off through the night sky, hoping to find a suitable target to satisfy her longing for blood soon.

Avoiding the crowds of people clustered around the islands of flashing neon, Mariana kept her search for prey restricted to the various back alleys that crisscrossed the darkened metropolis. There. A younger-looking man, probably in his late twenties, early thirties, wended his way alone through the streets. Her eyes traced along his probable route and chose a promising location from which to begin her hunt. Descending silently into the concealing shadows between two buildings, the huntress harnessed one of her abilities inherent to her angelic blood to hide the appearance of her wings from human eyes. They weren’t the most perceptive creatures, and she would use that to her advantage. Acting quickly, for she could faintly detect the approaching footsteps of the man, she tossed her hair about a bit, granting it a more disheveled look, and she dipped her hand in a nearby pool of rainwater to splash several drops over her pale face to form tears. Satisfied that she was ready to commence her game, Mariana teleported into the middle of the wide street, already on the ground in a larger puddle of water, and she began crying.

It wasn’t long until the sound of the footsteps increased in frequency as the man ran toward what he believed to be someone in distress. Upon reaching Mariana, he knelt down beside her and ran a calming hand down her back. “What’s the matter, miss?”

Mariana turned over to fix “tearful” eyes upon the man. Now that she was considerably closer to him, she observed that he was quite white, not Asian in the least bit, an American on a business venture to Tokyo more than likely. Weaving a story on the fly, Mariana quivered, as though still in the throes of sorrow. “Oh…it was terrible… I’d…left my date to go freshen up…and when I came back…” She shut her eyes and sobbed a little harder. “He was with some other girl!”

The man, almost too quickly, slipped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him and whispered soothingly to her. “Now, now, darling... Everything will be alright. Don’t you worry about that. I’m sure you can still have a good time tonight. In fact…I’m almost certain of it…”

Sliding a hand down her back, he had the audacity to lean forward to nibble at her ear before letting his other hand stray across her ample bosom. Her eyes widening ever-so-slightly, she inwardly sighed in exasperation.

Why is it always my luck to get the sadistic rapists? Well, might as well play along.

Allowing a small tremble to run down her spine, she fixed her violet gaze on him, making sure to show a hint of uncertainty and naivety in it. “Wha…what are you doing?”

“Showing you a better time than this date of yours ever could.” Sinuously, both his hands now snaked around her waist and up over her stomach to caress her chest.

Acting as though the reality of the situation had just dawned on her, Mariana cunningly traced a hand up his neck, struggling to restrain the savage instinct within her that urged her to dart for his pulsating arteries. She dropped her voice to a low, sultry sound, not caring so much anymore about maintaining the character of innocence. The end of the game was at hand. “Oh…I see you…wish to play with me, yes?”

In response, he remained silent and moved in to kiss her, but she stopped him, placing a slender hand gently over his mouth. She allowed that hungry, feral look to surface in her eyes and exposed her deadly fangs in a dangerous grin. “Then, let’s play, shall we?”

Her hand tightened over his mouth, preventing the inevitable screams from escaping.

The man’s body tensed and convulsed vainly as the vampiress’ incisors penetrated his neck, draining away his lifeblood greedily. Employing her vampiric strength, she held him down, despite the obvious difference in their weights and body builds. Even as his strength slowly left him, the man managed to flail an arm out, sending a nearby scrap of metal flying noisily into the side of the nearest building. Immediately afterward, the sound of swift footsteps filled Mariana’s sensitive ears. Inwardly cursing her carelessness, the nightwalker vanished and materialized in the shadows of a nearby alleyway, licking the remaining evidence of blood from her lips.

So much for a flawless hunt tonight.

The footsteps were louder now, echoing far more intensely than they normally should have due to the relative silence of the night. Mariana prepared herself for whatever might approach, her eyes still attached to the moaning body of her victim. A pity she hadn’t been able to finish him before he’d attracted unwanted company. She was at least satisfied that she’d reduced him to a whimpering child who had suddenly lost his ability to recall any words other than the one which repeatedly issued weakly from between his quivering lips.

“Vampire…vampire…vampire…”

OOC: I pwomised I wouldn't let you down, muffin

IC:

A blinding flash lit up the golden armours of the angel as he flew through the rain, his wings waxy with the condensed moisture. The flash was quickly followed by a low roar as the sound of thunder filled his ears. Before him stretched the futuristic megalopolis that was Tokyo.

How he loathed human citadels. Overflowing cesspools of sin and corruption, a collection of greedy and worthless individuals whose only interest was to how best abuse their fellow man to achieve their own ends. This was a sight he had never seen before, a city built with the help of what humans called technology, yet it still had the same distinct aura of a city tainted with innocent blood. Twisting and turning between the multitudes of skyscrapers, the winged form of Osiris soared above the darkening metropolis.

The rain began to die into a drizzle as the last rays of the sun were lost to the horizon, and the streets began to empty as the denizens retreated into the relative safety of their cramped apartments, leaving the neon kingdom in the hands of night-clubbers, shady businessmen, drunks, drug dealers and gangsters.

Even though the city reeked of amorality and decay, the angel's curiosity got the better of him and he went into a dive, folding his wings to gain speed. Spiralling down elegantly amidst the towering structures, he made his way to the ground, opening his wings to slow his descent and land with a gentle thud in a back alley.

Walking amidst the drying puddles, the angel took in the musty scent of drenched concrete as he made his way out of the alley and onto the pavement lining the side of the street, and stopped to observe his surroundings. The intolerable glare of neon lights was something completely alien to him, and he very much felt out of place. Looking down the street, he came across what appeared to be a strip club, before averting his gaze in newly-found contempt of human practices.

A dull metal clang reverberated from a street adjacent to his own, almost as if something metallic had just collided with a wall. The angel raised an eyebrow at the clatter, and began to trot towards the source of the sound. As he came around the corner and laid eyes on the street in question, he saw a writhing figure in a puddle of rainwater some distance away. Frowning slightly, he quickly made his way towards the figure, his feathers rustling slightly.

As the angel knelt down besides the shaking, sobbing figure of the man, he noticed a stream of blood flowing from the side of his neck. On closer inspection, the golden warrior noticed two teeth marks at the base of the neck, from whence the crimson river issued from. The man was clearly in shock, writhing like he was having a seizure, the only word he could utter being "vampire". And the blood was still flowing. Whoever the perpetrator was, he couldn't have gone too far. However, he knew exactly just what the perpetrator was - a nightwalker.

Slowly rising to his feet, Osiris scanned his surroundings for any sign of the predator. There was a multitude of alleys interwoven with the street he was now on, all of them valid hiding places. Yet he couldn't leave a vampire unchecked, corrupt human citadel or not.

"I know you're there, vampire. Show yourself."

Mariana tried to resist the urge to hiss in frustration. The last thing she’d expected to walk around that corner had been an angel. She did not need that right now. And it seemed as though he somehow knew she was still here. Either that, or he was making a very good guess. She could easily flee the scene without divulging so much as a hint of her current location, but her body was still craving blood. Without any way of knowing how long it would take her to find some other source of sustenance, the vampiress needed to stay with her present target. Perhaps the angel would give up and leave after a few moments of silence.

Wrong.

“You’re still here somewhere. I know it.” The angel started to move, slowly and cautiously, in a medium-sized circle around the still-bleeding and shocked man. He seemed to exhibit little, if any, concern for the human’s survival, which puzzled Mariana somewhat. If it had been her in his position, she would have assured the human’s safety and continued well-being first and foremost before seeking out whatever had placed him in that critical condition.

He had reached the alleyway adjacent to her now. Any moment, and he would be upon her. Closing her eyes gently, she willed herself to move silently to the opposite side of the street. She thought she could possibly quench her unrelenting thirst while the angel’s back was turned on her victim’s body. Stealthily, she crept forward, careful not to make any sort of noise that would betray her to him. Slipping a hand smoothly over the man’s mouth upon reaching him, Mariana leaned over his neck once more to suck at the half-healed bite wounds she had inflicted moments earlier. She hoped the angel wouldn’t turn around until she had drunk to her satisfaction.

Osiris continued his circumnavigation of the large street, treading carefuly as his eyes darted up and down each of the suspect alley-ways. The human had appeared to be more in shock rather than in any serious danger, so he had decided to postpone dealing with him until he had secured the area. Besdes, it wasn't that he particularly cared for the human, but allowing a vampire to survive was simply unacceptable.

A sound in a nearby alley alerted the angel's senses, and he promptly turned towards it, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Cautiously moving towards the alley, he quickly scanned down it's length, but saw nothing. The screeching of nails against the concrete ground betrayed the scurrying of a city rat, exposing the culprit of the noise. Growling somewhat in frustration and convinced that the vampire had managed to escape, Osiris turned around to deal with the injured human.

And that's when he saw her. Her pale face was hidden behind a dark blue mop of disheveled hair, but her sharpened canines were clearly seen embedded into the man's neck, slowly draining the man's lifeblood away. Her victim tried to squirm away in vain, and she held him down harder, her head turning somewhat and offering the angel a glimpse of her beautiful face. Her eyes were slightly closed in pleasure as she savoured every drop of the crimson fluid.

And then his eyes widened as he took notice of the magnificent cerulean wings folded down her back, a few feet longer in wingspan than even his own. This could only mean she was an angel, most probably outranking even him. But surely that was impossible, an angel would most definitely never exhibit vampiric behaviour and resort to feeding on humans. Unless it was a fallen one... He gritted his teeth in fury at the thought. That was most definitely not a pure being, it was a corruption of what angels are supposed to be like. It was a vampire and there was only one solution: death.

Unsheathing his sword, he aimed it straight at the vampire and a stream of energy started to coalesce around his arm, flowing into the sword itself and making it glow brightly. After a few moments, he released the energy as a blinding beam of golden light, heading towards the unknowing vampire at an inconcievable speed.

OoC: It lives!! Sorry this took so long. Just be glad I finally got something up. ^^

Pain tore through Mariana, and she hurtled several feet backward, ripping a considerable amount of the man's neck and throat out as she was violently separated from her victim. Blood spattered everywhere. She landed with an audible thud against the brick wall opening of one of the alleyways, and lights danced before the vampiress' eyes. Shaking her head to clear it, Mariana took quick stock of her condition. At least the angel's holy attack had left only mere bruises from its brute strength. There were advantages to retaining her angelic blood, after all.

Hissing softly in irritation, Mariana fixed the intruder with a cool stare. "I suppose you aren't aware of the penalty you earn when you interfere in a vampire's hunt, are you? Either that, or you are aware and just reckless."

Pushing herself off the wall easily, she fluffed her wings, knocking the dirt out of them. Only after she'd straightened out her midnight-and-silver hair and brushed the rest of herself off did she eye the angel across from her. Clearly, he had an advantage over her in size. But then again, almost all of the adversaries she'd ever run across had held that in their favor. Size was of no consequence to her. She simply found other ways to gain the upper hand.

Allowing a small trickle of holy power to surface in her palm, Mariana touched it to her bruises to alleviate the slight stinging pain they left almost as an afterthought. Without looking up again, she addressed the hostile angel once more. "What's wrong? Are you unable to speak?"