Without any warning, they leapt at each other almost at the same time, colliding in midair like some twisted aerial ballet. They madly scrambled at each other for a moment before returning to the Earth. Touga reached up to his shoulder, a surprised expression on his face, and his hand came away bloody. "You are such a fool, Tenjou," Touga said softly, looking at his blood stained palm. He clenches it into a fist, crying out "You fed from Lord Akio himself! You could be ruling the student council, not fighting us!" "Not interested," Utena said calmly in reply, and she charged him again. Touga seemed to change, the normally handsome face fading as the monster within him came out to play. Hands like claws, he tore at Utena, his fangs snapping as he fought to gain any advantage over her. Utena cried out as his claws raked across her brow, blood spilling down into her eyes. She swept it away with a gesture, but not fast enough to save her from his next strike. The blow to her stomach staggered her, buying just enough time for him to leap through the window and disappear into the night. She moved to the window to chase him, then she stopped. 'Out there in the dark, the hunter could easily become the hunted,' she thought grimly. She turned and walked out of the room, only to be met by both Miki and Kozue. "You're all right!" Kozue cried out happily. She ran forward, hugging Utena close to her, continuing, "I though I was dead for sure!" The rich scent of blood was all over the girl, freshly made cuts and scrapes the obvious consequences of her fight with Touga. The scent seemed to reach a hidden part of Utena, summoning forth a primal hunger. For just a moment, her arms tightened around the girl as her fangs extended. Utena quickly pushed the girl away, apologizing softly even as she turned and fled down the deserted hallway. Only when she was far enough away from that scent did she finally come to a stop. She leaned against the wall, her body shaking slightly. "I nearly," she gasped out softly, "I nearly hurt her." A single tear, a lone trickle of red blood, coursed down her white cheek. Juri watched from the shadows, carefully concealing herself from Utena's sharp senses. 'Poor little girl," Juri thought sadly, 'fighting what you are.' She smiles, a slow, sexy smile, 'Let me teach you what you can be.' ------------------------------------------------------------ It was nearly noon when the taxi arrived at Ohtori academy. No one travels at night, anymore, at least not in this part of the world. The cab driver quickly helped the young lady unpack her bags then he climbed back into his cab. With a loud squeal of his tires he was gone. Anthy shook out her short purple hair, hefting her cases as she looked around the courtyard thoughtfully. She dressed traditionally, a long dark dress and simple white blouse, white socks and black leather shoes. 'If the reports are true,' Anthy thought, 'I'll find my brother here.' She smiled to herself grimly, thinking of the wooden stakes in her bag, 'And at last I will end the curse on our family line.' She quickly arranged for her registration and sleeping quarters, then began to check out the school itself. The first thing she did was find the temporary head of the student council. Miki Kaoru. The blue hared young man looked nervous, twitchy, sitting at the head of the table in the large meeting room. His school uniform looked rumpled, as if he had dressed hurriedly that morning. "How can I help you, Mrs. Anthy?" he asked softly. She smiled slightly as she explained, "I'm here looking for my brother." At Miki's inquiring look, she elaborated, "Akio Ohtori." The blood seemed to drain from the boy's face, and for a moment Anthy feared he might faint. "He's gone," Miki said simply, his hands visibly shaking. "Gone," Anthy echoed. 'Has he escaped me again?' she frantically wondered. In a fierce tone, "Where did he go? How long has he been gone?" "No, no," Miki said, shaking his head slightly as he held up a hand. "Akio Ohtori is dead," he said to her softly. "Dead," Anthy said softly. She looked lost, somehow, as if she had lost something incredibly precious. "Who did it?" "I wasn't there to see it myself," Miki said quietly, "but I understand that it was Tenjou Utena." Miki was visibly surprised as Anthy suddenly rose from her chair, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Kaoru," Anthy said, giving him a small bow. She left, frowning and lost in thought. The rest of the day Anthy pursued her new quarry, this Tenjou Utena. She talked to students and teachers, quickly gathering a sense of who she had been. But Utena hadn't been seen for months, shortly after the disappearance of most of the old student council. Anthy quickly reached certain conclusions. 'It's likely this Utena is a vampire, one created by Akio himself,' she thought. 'Somehow, the young vampire had turned the tables on her elder, destroying him. But why? To rule the other vampires of Ohtori?' she wondered Anthy shook her head, thinking, 'It didn't matter, really. All that mattered was that Utena was a vampire, and she was a vampire slayer.' ------------------------------------------------------------ Wakaba pushed open the door before Utena could even finish washing. "Do you mind?" Utena said with a little frown, standing there naked. "It's not like I haven't seen it all before," Wakaba said with a little shrug. She frowned, "There's a strange lady at the school, asking about Akio and you. She says her name's Anthy." "Well, I don't know her," Utena started to say, when the door was slammed open. "Hold, spawn of darkness!" Anthy declared, holding a cross in one hand and a stake in the other. "Step away from the girl!" Utena and Wakaba stood motionless for a moment. "Would you mind if I get dressed first?" Utena asked her mildly, covering her naughty-bits with her hands. "Yeah, you shouldn't be seeing my Utena-sama naked," Wakaba said to Anthy firmly, stepping up to her and then turning her right around. Under her breath she added, "Only I get to do that." "I heard that," Utena shot back, dressing as quickly as possible. Anthy looked at Wakaba in surprise, "The vampire wasn't attacking you? I guess you must be her servant, then." Utena laughed softly at that. "If she is," Utena said, her voice a little muffled as she pulled a shirt over her head, "can I trade her in on an more obedient model?" Wakaba stuck her tongue out, "Bleah!" Anthy looked back and forth between the two girls. She finally sighed softly to herself as she said, "It seems I don't quite understand what's going on here. Would you two care to explain?" Finally dressed in her boy's uniform, Utena lit a small oil lamp, bringing some light into the long abandoned dorm room. She sat Anthy down in a salvaged chair, a bit rickety but stable. Wakaba took the other one, and Utena leaned against the wall, keeping some space between her and them. "You know what Akio was," Utena said softly to Anthy. The girl nodded, and she continued, "I caught his eye, shortly after I transferred here. He courted me, tried to win me over, and when charm failed, he took by force." "He raped me first, then he bit me," Utena said, tipping her head back to reveal the faint fang marks on her neck, "but for some reason he decided to turn me. He cut his arm, pressed it to my lips, and his foul blood filled my mouth until I had to swallow or choke." "She woke up three days later," Wakaba said, sounding much more serious. "We were roommates, and I saw Akio bring her back and leave her there. Because of some of the stories about him, I was worried about her." Utena continued, "I was ravenous. I fought against it, kept myself from attacking her, and Wakaba figured out what I had become. She went out into the hallway and caught me a rat to feed on." "Akio must have thought you'd feed on your friend," Anthy said softly. "I've never heard of a newborn vampire resisting the hunger before," she said wonderingly, shaking her head. "It's not easy," Utena said softly, and Anthy suddenly understood why she kept her distance. She looked at the pale face lit by the golden lamp light, and was a little in awe of the strength she saw there. Wakaba took up the story again, "We moved Utena into this abandoned dorm that night, and she hunted in the woods for the first time." She looked very passionate as she added, "She only feeds on animals, not humans, Ms Anthy." "For now," Anthy said softly. "For now," Utena quietly agreed. Her eyes met Anthy's, "And if I ever cross that line to feed on human beings, I hope there'll be someone like you around to stop me." She took a deep breath, continuing, "Eventually, I faced Akio. He underestimated my strength, I think, and I was able to stake him." Wakaba sighed softly, "But he was a busy little vampire before Utena stopped him. He turned most of the student council to vampires." "I've been trying to stop them ever since," Utena sighed. Anthy looked at the two young women thoughtfully. 'They didn't seem to be lying,' she mused, and rose to her feet. "I'm going to go check out your story," she said respectfully, "If you've told me the truth, I'd like to help you." Slightly grimly, she added, "If you've lied to me, I'll stake you." "Medium rare, please," Wakaba quipped, spoiling a serious moment. She got a glare from both Utena and Anthy. "Sorry, couldn't resist," she said with a small shrug.
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