The little car chugged it's way over the hill, and they pulled over to the side of the road. "Tokyo at last," Ruka sighed to himself aloud, squinting in the sunlight. Juri didn't answer, fast asleep in the back seat. He looked over the large city and sighed softly. Ruka hadn't really thought about how big a city Tokyo was, how large the population it held was. 'Our search for Utena's just begun,' he thought mournfully. He started the car up, and continued on into town. Later that night, the music pounded in the nightclub, stirring the blood of everyone there, "You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug," a short pause, then, "You are the perfect drug, the perfect drug, the perfect drug." Utena slipped through the dancers like a shadow, her eyes scanning the dancers for what she was looking for. Across the way, Anthy cut through the crowd like a knife, the revelers warily moving away from the danger they sensed. 'I have to try to teach Anthy to hide her vampire nature a little better,' Utena though grimly. She frowned slightly, 'Anthy's taken to being a vampire very well." She sighed softly, admitting, "Maybe a little too well?' They were here looking for someone, or something, that had killed patrons here the past few nights. Bloodless bodies found in the back alley, bite marks on the neck, pointed to a vampire, making it Utena's business. Utena's, and one other's... She had received the phone call only the day before, just a few days after they had all arrived in Tokyo. Wakaba and the Girl Groupies were off attending classes at Utena's firm insistence, while she and Anthy went out each night, patrolling the darkened alleys of the city and learning the lay of the land. And slaying vampires trying to feed on humans. The sun had just finished setting when the phone rang, Anthy walking over to pick it up cautiously. "Hello?" Anthy asked, listened for a moment, then she looked at Utena curiously as she said, "It's for you." "Yes?" Utena asked. "Utena Tenjou?" the familiar voice asked. Utena blinked, surprised at hearing the voice. "Ayeka Kisaragi?" she asked. "Good memory," Ayeka answered, and Utena could almost imagine the smile on the redheaded miko's face. "How did you know who I am?" Utena asked. "I have my ways," Ayeka answered. "And what can I do for you?" Utena asked. She wondered if her initial judgment call on the miko had been right. 'Maybe I was wrong and she really is some kind of user?' she wondered. "I could use you and your.. special talents. Bloodless bodies have been found around a certain nightclub, and they've hired me to help clear that problem up," Ayeka explained. "You think it's a vampire," Utena said quietly. "Pretty much," Ayeka agreed. "I'll pay you for your assistance, as well," she added. Utena opened her mouth to refuse, but hesitated. She and Anthy were fine, but they did need to buy food for Wakaba and the others. "Where do you want to meet?" she asked her instead. "At the club," Ayeka said, reading off the address. Utena hung up and turned to Anthy, "Looks like we're going clubbing tonight." 'Which brings us back to know,' Utena thought, scanning the crowd. Ayeka cut through the mob towards her, giving her a sassy smile. "I can't believe you're out in that outfit," Ayeka grinned. Utena looked down at her boy's school uniform and shook her head, "I'm comfortable in it." She raked the crowd with her eyes, "Have you seen anything?" "No," Ayeka admitted, "you?" Utena grit her teeth, "Not yet." She narrowed her eyes, looking up at the dancers suspended just over the crowd in their metal cages, and the bartender who was standing behind the bar, "But I haven't checked them." "Who called you in?" Anthy asked. She looked paler than normal, and Utena was alarmed to see a hint of fang as she talked. "Are you all right?" Utena asked quietly, ignoring the question. Anthy shivered, visibly fighting for control, "I will be." She took a deep breath more due to reflex than any actual need at looked up at Utena, "How do you stand it?" Utena knew what she was talking about, the constant hunger that Utena herself felt walking among human beings. Honestly, she answered, "Practice." Ayeka looked back and forth between them, and decided that she didn't want to know. Answering Anthy's earlier question, "We were hired by the club's owner. He doesn't work in here himself, though." "Then we need to check out the staff, too," Utena nodded. "Shall I order us a drink?" she smiled at them. Ayeka looked at Anthy thoughtfully, "And we'll go check out the dancers." Utena watched them walk off together, standing there still. Then she turned, cutting through the crowd to the long bar. As grew nearer her nose began to twitch, an odd flurry of scents reaching her, but one was strongest. 'A sedative?' she thought in surprise. The bartender's eyes widened as she reached the bar, and his smiled showed the gleam of fangs. "Well, well," he murmured, "are you here for one of our specials?" Playing it cool Utena answered, "Of course." He reached under the bar and pulled out a tall, dark colored decanter. He uncorked it, then smoothly poured out a thick, red fluid, the scent making Utena's fangs ache. "First one's on the house," he grinned. Utena picked up the glass, swirling the human blood in it around thoughtfully. "Where do you get such quality stock?" she asked. "The city doesn't miss one or two club goers," he answered her quietly. Utena nodded thoughtfully, absorbing his words. Then she simply hurled the glass of blood right into his face. "What the," he sputtered, then Utena was upon him, leaping over the bar with stake in hand. She struck smoothly, and with barely a struggle he slumped to the floor. Screams brought her attention to the rest of the club, and she watched in astonishment as the dancers burst out of their cages, dropping on the crowd with fangs extended. "Oh hell," Utena cursed, vaulting over the bar and into the fight. Ayeka's sword blazed scarlet as she cut vampires down, and Anthy was a blur with her stake and fists. 'They probably don't even need my help,' Utena though, but chipped in anyway. "The owner isn't going to like this," Ayeka sighed, standing in the ruble. The cages were wrecked, the bar was blood splattered, and the carpets were all stained. "Want to bet this enhances the club's reputation?" Anthy smiled, a wild gleam in her eyes. "At least the vampires have been stopped," Utena sighed. 'Yes, Anthy and I are definitely going to have a long talk,' Utena thought. "Thank you," Ayeka smiled. She drew an envelope from her slinky red dress and passed it to Utena, "A cut on our fee." Utena took it without opening it, "You're welcome." Quietly she added, "If you need our assistance with anything else, just call." "I will," Ayeka smiled. As Utena and Anthy began to walk away she added, "You might want to talk to a paranormal investigator named Himiko. It could be very enlightening." Elsewhere, a figure sits, swirling red fluid around in a glass. "So they're in Tokyo at last," Mrs. Ohtori murmured softly. She reached down, running fingers through purple hair, "You're Juri is very determined. I didn't expect this so soon." Mrs. Ohtori drank deep, a bit of blood running down the side of her face. Shiori didn't answer, curled around the body that lay at Mrs. Ohtori's feet. The girl was latched on to the neck of the weakly struggling woman like a babe to it's mother's breast. "Much better than that animal blood they were feeding you, isn't it?" Mrs. Ohtori asked, not really expecting an answer. "You'll be much stronger when we finally find Utena, and won't they all be surprised?" she mused. A throaty, animalistic purr was all the answer Shiori could give.
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