Darkness Shattered

By senshiofruin

A/N: This is the sequel to 'Welcome to the Dark Side'. I hope everyone enjoys it and, please don't forget to review!

Chapter One: Healing

They entered the apartment in silence. Kei paused by the door to take off his wet jacket and then slip off his shoes. Sho followed his lead, not having spoken since they had begun their journey home. Kei, not wanting to push his friend, hung their jackets up on the back of the door in equal silence. In that time, Sho had crossed the room and then disappeared into the bathroom. A few moments later, Kei heard the shower running. Unsure, he went to the open bathroom door, averting his eyes from the occupied shower cubicle as he collected up Sho’s bloodied clothing to dispose of it. Bloodstains were hell to get out and, in any case, Kei had a feeling that Sho would never want to lay eyes on them again. For now, the blonde vampire dumped them in the wash basket and chose some clean clothes from the vast collection in Sho’s bedroom. The room itself was a mess, just as Sho had left it before… Kei bit his lip, not wanting to torture himself with thoughts of ‘before’ just yet. He could feel the agonising guilt welling up inside of him again and he forced himself to crush this, for now at least. Sho needed him. He needed Kei’s support now more than ever or he would never be able to adjust to his new life.

Kei quickly walked back into the bathroom and hung the clothes over the towel rack before going back into his room and taking off his wet garments. He had snagged a towel on the way out of the bathroom and dried himself off, pulling on a pair of pyjama bottoms as the shower snapped off and his sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of Sho shuffling around in the bathroom and then he heard his footsteps in the hallway and then outside Kei’s bedroom door. Kei instantly regretting pulling the door to for he didn’t want Sho to feel as though, by him shutting it, that he was not welcome.

Moving quickly, Kei went to the door, his hand closing over the handle but, as he did so, he felt a sudden weakness in his limbs, a reminder that he was far from full strength. Drawing a ragged breath, he forced himself to steady as he pulled the door open. Sho stood in the corridor, his eyes a little wild and he looked from Kei and then to the floor, unsure and more than a little awkwardly.

“I… I’m going to bed now” he forced out at last, “I feel quite tired.”

“That’s normal” Kei answered softly. After a feed he always felt some fatigue due to the euphoria that blood invoked inside vampires.

Sho frowned as their eyes met, but Kei broke the gaze quickly. After all, he was Sho’s vampire sire. Already he could feel that intimate pull of the bond urging them closer but Sho was too fragile. He must feel it too, but to act upon it now could destroy the younger vampire. Of course, the bond they shared was not the same as the bond that Kei had shared with Taku. Taku had been a true monster. He had enjoyed what they were as thus this echoed in the bond that so nearly changed Kei. Sho was different; Sho was like Kei. But it didn’t mean that they didn’t have to be careful. Blood was the key to activating the bond completely and Kei would never allow this. The nature of it was that the dominant personality overwhelmed the weaker one.

Kei gasped into Taku’s mouth as he felt his fangs unsheathing themselves and they tore at the invading tongue. His own lapped greedily at the blood and he shuddered when he felt Taku’s hands moving down from his head to his shoulders and they gently eased off the red jacket that he was wearing and Kei allowed it to fall to the floor, too lost in the sensations that he was feeling to do anything else.

Then, much to his disappointment, Taku pulled away. Kei groaned as he felt Taku’s hot lips travelling down his jaw line and to his neck. There he felt fangs graze at his skin, a little hesitantly, but, when he didn’t object, Taku allowed them to drop fully and, before Kei could realise what was about to happen, he plunged them deep into Kei’s neck.

When Luka had turned Kei that night so long ago, the experience had been a painful and terrifying one. Now, however, things were different. He still felt the initial burst of pain as Taku’s fangs pierced his artery, but with this a wave of intense pleasure washed over him and, instead of fighting this, Kei held onto Taku tightly and even allowed his head to fall back in order to give the older vampire better access.

Luka had warned him against drinking another vampire’s blood or allowing one to drink his and Kei knew, from first hand experience, just how it could change the both of them. He couldn’t allow that to happen to Sho. He wouldn’t allow that to happen to Sho.

“I hope you sleep well” he managed to force out when his mind again focused on the present situation.

Sho nodded, bowing his head slightly as he quickly made his way back to his bedroom. The door shut softly behind him. Kei sighed and leaned back against the doorframe. He didn’t know what he was expecting from Sho. He didn’t know if he should go to him, to try to be there for him or whether it was best to leave Sho to make sense of everything in his own time.

“I thought you were dead. For two weeks, Kei! For two weeks I’ve been alone, I thought I was alone with this… this curse! Why, Kei? Why did you do this to me?”

“Because you were going to die.”

“Baka! I gave my life for you. I wanted to give up my life to help you. How could you be so selfish, Kei?”

Sho was a long way from forgiving him, Kei knew, if he ever did at all and Kei wasn’t altogether sure that he deserved Sho’s forgiveness. But, whether Sho still hatred him or not, it was clear that the younger vampire needed him and he knew this too. It was too early to be thinking of tomorrows, Kei told himself as he climbed into his own bed. They just had to take one night at a time.

With this in mind, Kei’s eyes drifted closed but he was kept from sleep by the muffled sobs coming from the next room.

---

“Ohayo” Sho exclaimed cheerfully as he entered the pet shop, pausing to peer into a Koi tank on his way passed. It was a sunny day and he had ditched his usual leather trousers and white trench coat for a lighter shirt and a pair of casual jeans. As he turned to face the pretty girl seated on a stool, who continued to watch him a little reproachfully, seemingly even more so at his cheerful greeting, he pushed the sunglasses over his eyes up onto the top of his head to nestle in his hair. It was strange how the store seemed darker, but at the same time bigger and the furnishings stood out more, although the girl’s face was little more of a blur of a memory as he faced her. A little confused, Sho spoke, whilst trying to ignore this and her attitude towards him.

“Have you seen Shinji?”

She didn’t bother to grant him with a reply and simply jerked her head towards the back door. Irritated, Sho paused in front of her.

“What is your problem?” he challenged her, whilst aware that his own voice sounded muffled as his hearing focused on something else; the steady thumping of the girl’s heart.

“My problem?” she laughed a little scornfully, “Let me see. All your brother does is get high on drugs. Chan’s men are constantly coming into the store and robbing the till because your brother owes them money. He’s dragging the store down with him and if the store goes down, my job goes with it. That’s my problem.”

“He’ll get it sorted” Sho assured her quietly, “He’ll get some help.”

She shook her head, “No, he won’t. You’ve been telling me this for months. Is it because you’re too scared to see what your brother really is?”

Sho felt a spark of anger flare up inside of him as he asked: “And what is he then?”

“A waster. A junkie who should just do everyone in his miserable life a favour and die. He has nothing to give, he’s not your brother anymore so I don’t know why you waste your time with him?”

Somewhere a tiny voice in the back of Sho’s mind was telling him that something about this scene wasn’t real, that her words weren’t real but by this time his anger at her scorn towards Shinji had overtaken him completely and Sho felt himself lung forward, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the wall behind.

What is wrong with me? I’m not usually like this…

She cried out as his grip tightened and Sho leaned forward, his intention only to give her a bit of a scare but as he did so, he felt fangs ripping through flesh and then blood in his mouth. He gasped loudly into the wound he had made and sucked harder, drawing more of the crimson liquid into his mouth, drinking deeply and even revelling at his body’s reaction to her struggling against him, her fists beating against his chest in a weak attempt to fight back but that was impossible.

After a time, she fell still; slumping forward into his arms. Her head was nestled against his chest and he grasped her by the shoulders to push her away. She was limp and her head fell against her own chest, her skin white and cold to touch.

“Monster” that one word was uttered softly and it caused Sho to look around. He released his grip on the girl as Shinji stumbled into the room, still only just coming down from his drugs high.

Sho knew that he should be seeing his brother but all the vampire could sense was the warm blood pumping beneath Shinji’s skin. Sho felt a feral growl leave him and, within seconds, he was upon his brother, his fangs tearing into him, ripping open his throat as though he was just another victim.

Iie! Stop… this is Shinji… this is my brother…

But Sho couldn’t stop. The monster inside of him wanted to feed, it wanted blood and there was nothing that Sho could do except scream inside his head as his brother shuddered beneath him…

“Sho!”

He was disorientated. His senses swimming, Sho opened his eyes, barely aware that the screams that tore through the silence of the apartment were his own. He thrashed about as a pair of strong arms encircled him, drawing him to another body. His fangs had dropped and almost ached due to the intensity of his nightmare. Scenting only the vampire holding him, Sho clung to Kei, not even aware when his screams died. Only the presence of his sire could force him to grasp hold of the situation that he had found himself in.

“Sho” he heard Kei murmur above him and he felt Kei’s hands run soothingly up and down his back and, slowly, Sho felt himself regain some kind of control although he was still shaking when he finally pulled away from the older vampire. Sho ran his tongue across his fully dropped fangs and winced at this painful reminder of what he was. Again, as he recalled his nightmare with a frightening vividness, Sho felt his anger at Kei return. Kei had done this to him. Kei was the one person who Sho had thought he could trust with his life and he had abused that trust.

“Leave” Sho said, feeling strangely numb all over as he spoke.

Kei nodded and stood up, albeit hesitantly, “If you need--”

“I won’t” Sho turned away, lying back down on his bed and rolling over to face the wall, putting his back to Kei. A tiny part of him was still able to realise that Kei had only been trying to help but, with his fangs still fully unsheathed and, coupled with the desire of blood that his nightmare had invoked as well as the horror of it, Sho just couldn’t tolerate his presence.

He didn’t want to die, but he just didn’t know if he could live with what he had become. He had most likely lost Shinji forever and he doubted that even Toshi and Son would ever want to see him again. Sho still loved Kei, but he wasn’t sure if that was enough to overcome everything that had happened.

“Kei. When this is all over… you’ll stop changing, ne? You’ll go back to how you were before.”

“I don’t know”

“If you stop changing then perhaps… Perhaps we could work things out between us?”

“Perhaps we can,”

Now that Sho was a vampire, too, he supposed that Kei would expect them to have the relationship that Sho himself had wanted but now… Sho wasn’t sure that he wanted it after all. They could be together. Kei’s fear that Sho would one day leave him alone would never be realised, but this barrier had been replaced by one of Sho’s own making. He felt so betrayed that he struggled to have Kei near to him at the moment. What if it never got any better? What if he always hated Kei? Sho couldn’t bear that. He didn’t want to feel this way but he couldn’t help it. Feelings weren’t something that he could shield himself from. He just had so many emotions running through him and he just couldn’t see any way forward at the moment.

Sho shifted again on the bed, struggling to make himself more comfortable but, after that nightmare, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep again.

---

Toshi struggled to not appear too apprehensive as he approached Sho’s apartment. After his friend had failed to come back last night, Toshi, overcome by concern, had gone to look for him. Now it was daylight, Toshi’s concern had heightened and he stepped up to the door to the apartment finding himself hoping that Sho was inside.

Toshi knew he would be lying if he said that what had happened hadn’t effected him and how he felt about Sho as a friend. It wasn’t the fact that Sho was now a vampire, although it was one thing that Toshi was still struggling to get his head around. Kei had sworn that he would never turn a human, that he would never burden anyone with his curse and yet he had done so to Sho. Shinji would never forgive Kei for this, but Shinji only saw vampires as monsters, but Toshi knew better. Kei had saved their lives, had looked after them, and had protected them when he could have easily killed them. Kei had cared about them. He had never been a monster, not to Toshi. Kei had been like an older brother to him. Sho’s feelings had been different. Sho had loved Kei and Kei had loved Sho, although they both thought that they hid it well, Toshi could see it and he didn’t blame Kei for turning Sho. If anything, Toshi was grateful to him in a selfish way. Sho was his best friend and Toshi didn’t want to lose him. But what Sho had become did scare Toshi. For a moment he thought that Sho was going to turn on them and that terrified him. Kei had always been careful; he had never lost control the way Sho had done. Without Kei… Toshi didn’t know how Sho was going to adjust to his new life, if at all. A horrible voice in the back of Toshi’s mind was whispering that perhaps Sho had already killed himself. Toshi, again feeling selfish, didn’t want this. He didn’t want to lose Sho as well as Kei.

Kei was gone. This was another thing that Toshi was having trouble accepting. Even now, as he thought about it, he just couldn’t believe that it was true. He had always thought that Kei would be there and now, all of a sudden, he wasn’t. Kei was gone.

Sighing, Toshi dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the spare key to the apartment. Sho had given it to him a year ago as Toshi was always coming over unannounced.

“Do you think he’ll be in there?” Son asked, his voice giving away the apprehension that they were both feeling. Toshi had asked Son to come along, as he was concerned that, when he found Sho, Sho might not have calmed down yet. A part of Toshi hoped that Sho had fed but a part of him hoped he hadn’t for he wasn’t sure if Sho would be able to deal with this alone.

“I hope so,” Toshi decided on answering to Son’s question. Son hadn’t said much about Sho since last night and the dark bruise that had formed across his lower jaw where Sho had struck him was a stark reminder as to just how dangerous the situation had become.

Opening the door, Toshi took the lead and stepped hesitantly inside. The apartment was dark, the drapes having been pulled. Son followed him but hung back a little way and told Toshi to do the same. Toshi didn’t know Son as well as Sho did but he could clearly see that Son was barely holding it together on account of his sister’s brutal murder at Taku’s hands a few weeks earlier. For Son, not being able to avenge her death made it worse and again Toshi was unsure of just what to say to help him. So much pain had been caused the last few weeks and Toshi didn’t know what to do for the best. His own wound had been physical and had more or less healed completely, only causing him some slight discomfort if he moved awkwardly. The others had suffered in different ways.

Scanning the front room of the apartment, Toshi found it deserted but Son, who didn’t really want to move away from the door in case, called out: “Sho? Sho, are you here?”

Somewhere inside the apartment, a door opened.

“Sho?” Toshi called, taking another step into the room.

“Toshi? Son?” Toshi’s eyes widened in disbelief when the door connecting the front room to the bedrooms opened.

“Kei?”

Overwhelming relief struck him at that moment and Toshi hurried to the vampire, coming to a stop in front of him and lightly swatting him round the back of the head, “Where have you been? We thought you were dead!”

“I needed to rest up for a while” Kei answered softly, “It’s good to see you… both of you.”

He looked a little uncertainly at Son but the other man gave him a small smile, “I’m glad you’re safe,” he said, breaking the tension between the two of them, tension that Toshi wasn’t sure that he understood.

Observing the blonde again, Toshi could see that Kei was still a little paler than normal but aside from that he seemed fine and for this Toshi was very glad. Words couldn’t express how happy to see Kei he was but he had a feeling that Kei already knew without him having to vocalise anything. He had always been able to sense their emotions before, when they were younger.

“Kei” Toshi said, these thoughts reminding him of why they were here to start with, “Is Sho here?”

Kei nodded and motioned for them to take a seat on the sofa, which they did whilst Kei chose to sit on the edge of his sofa bed.

“He’s sleeping at the moment.”

Toshi didn’t like the disquiet in Kei’s voice. Something was wrong and he called Kei on it.

“He was pretty upset yesterday.”

“We know. He…” Toshi looked at Son again, unsure of whether to mention the events that led to Sho running away or not. After a few seconds thinking about it, Toshi came to the conclusion that he had to. Kei was looking after Sho but he couldn’t do so if he didn’t know everything. “He almost turned on us” Toshi admitted, but felt bad just by saying those words. He didn’t blame Sho; in some strange way he blamed himself for not doing more to help his friend.

“I see” Kei remained impassive at this, “Did he… did he hurt you?”

Toshi shook his head, “Not really. He hurt himself more than anything.”

Kei nodded again. The older vampire would have known the guilt better than anyone. All of a sudden the conversation had become awkward and Toshi didn’t know what to say. It was as though both Kei and Sho were part of a different world now, a world that he could no longer touch. This was, in a sense, true, but Toshi had always thought of Kei as one of them, human, before. Now Kei had drawn Sho into his world, Toshi no longer felt a part of it, but he didn’t resent Kei for it. He was just glad that the man was alive and that he could help Sho, for Toshi had a feeling that his and Son’s support just wasn’t going to be enough.

“What about Shinji?” Kei asked next. Toshi didn’t know how to answer this. Shinji had been quiet since Sho left. It was painfully obvious that he couldn’t bring himself to accept his brother now and Sho knew this. As far as Shinji was concerned, Sho had died.

“Last night upset him” Son spoke up, breaking his silence, “I’m sure he’ll come around.”

The look on Kei’s face very much suggested that he had drawn the same conclusions that Toshi had although he would never admit it. Kei and Shinji would never be friends, in fact they could barely be civil to each other, even for Sho’s sake, and Toshi knew that Shinji would never forgive Kei for what he had done, which was sad because at long last Toshi had thought that Shinji was beginning to understand that Kei wasn’t a monster at all. Now the hatred had most likely returned and was stronger than ever.

“Can we see Sho?” Toshi asked, now wanting to get off the Shinji topic as soon as possible. They all knew that Shinji would not ‘come around’ any time soon, if at all. As far as he was concerned, Sho was a monster now.

“He’s sleeping” Kei answered again, “I think it would be best if we leave him for a while.”

“Then… perhaps we should come back later?” Toshi suggested, “Or perhaps you could give me a call when Sho’s feeling up to visitors?”

Toshi didn’t like the idea of leaving without seeing Sho, but he had a feeling that seeing him now would be a mistake and the last thing Toshi wanted was to cause Sho any further pain.

“I will” Kei stood up to see them out, “I’m sorry” he added quietly when they were nearer the door.

They had all gone from being best friends to strangers within the space of a few weeks and Toshi didn’t quite know what to do to resolve the situation.

So he did what he did best and tried to make their goodbye light hearted. “I’ll come round later in the week and I’ll bring some pizza, too.”

“Not drugged I hope” Kei forced a smile at this despite the fact that they both knew that Sho would never be able to eat pizza again and enjoy it. He had said before, once, that Kei could eat but normal food, as he put it, tasted of nothing to him. Toshi had often seen the vampire with a glass of water or something stronger but he had never eaten in front of them and the younger man just didn’t know how to ask Kei this.

“I’ll talk to you later then?” Toshi prompted when silence befell them again.

Kei nodded, “Of course.”

“Bye, Kei” Son was quick enough to leave the apartment for suddenly the tension had heightened again.

Toshi lingered for a few seconds before again saying how glad he was that Kei was all right after all before exiting. As soon as he heard the door click softly shut, he hurried to catch Son up.

“Well?” he prompted the older man, “What do you think really?”

Son shrugged, “I don’t know. They seem fine, but… I don’t know.”

Toshi sighed, “That’s what I thought, too. I want to keep an eye on them but… I think we should give them some space for a while.”

Son, still very much grieving his sister, really didn’t have the mind to protest against this or say anything otherwise. Toshi checked his watch and sighed again. He had work soon.

“Will you let Shinji know that Sho is okay?” he asked after explaining that he had to go.

“I will” Son assured him but, in all honesty, Toshi wasn’t convinced that Shinji would care. To Shinji, Sho was dead. If only he could see passed his prejudice, then he could see that his brother was still alive and needed him. Toshi didn’t really think it was a good idea for Sho to be alone with Kei at the moment. Sho already hated himself enough and felt so cut off from the world, by just being with Kei, the only other vampire in existence, he was bound to feel even more so. He hadn’t voiced these thoughts, as he was unsure. After all Kei knew Sho better than any of them… but he had reacted badly before. Toshi shivered slightly as he recalled the feral look in Sho’s eyes and the obvious hunger. He could lose control and, Toshi had to admit, he was afraid of Sho now in a way that he had never been afraid of Kei. Kei had always had some level of self-control but Sho was younger and the manner that he had been turned was different. It was bound to have affected him and thus Toshi decided that it would probably be better if he kept his distance for the moment at least.

---

“Can we see Sho?”

“He’s sleeping. I think it would be best if we leave him for a while.”

Sho, much to his pain, sensed Toshi and Son’s arrival before he heard their voices. His heightened senses smelt the blood pumping through their veins as they entered the apartment, mingled with some apprehension and fear. They thought they were talking low enough so that he wouldn’t hear them but Sho did anyway. He lay on his side on his bed, his gaze staring intently at the door as he again brought his wrist to his lips, tearing into his vein and moaning softly as his blood filled his mouth. He was not hungry anymore, but drinking his own blood comforted him in ways that he didn’t understand. At first he had done it simply to sate his raging hunger whilst at Shinji’s but now he did it because he sought reassurance and, perhaps, atonement. His mind still kept replaying that moment in Shinji’s apartment. Had Toshi and Son not come in then he would have killed his brother.

“Why can’t you come out and just say it? You hate me. You think I’m a monster.”

“I---” Shinji struggled with his words, fear going wild in his eyes when Sho bared his teeth and rather foolishly allowed his fangs to drop fully before continuing:

“This is what I am, Nii-chan. This is what I have become. Would you rather I had died? Would you rather be planning my funeral?”

He nodded, very slowly and Sho’s grip on him tightened as his heart clenched in pain at this.

Shinji… his brother couldn’t even bear to look at him, not since he became this… this monster.

He bit down harder at this, forcing more blood into his mouth. The voices had died away now and for this Sho was glad. He didn’t want to see Toshi or Son. He didn’t think he could bear it at the moment. Toshi, he knew, would accept him and this was worse in a way. How could Sho even look at him knowing that he could have killed him, that he had wanted to kill him? Sho didn’t know, but the relief was overwhelming, especially when the front door clicked shut again.

Forcing his wrist from his lips, Sho watched it heal in silence. He always felt disgust after drinking his own blood but he found it almost addictive and, a tiny voice in the back of his head pointed out, it was Kei’s blood. They shared the same blood now and the comfort that drinking from himself gave him was such that Sho didn’t think he could stop, even if he really wanted to which he didn’t.

Uttering a soft and barely audible sigh, Sho rolled over to face the wall again as his sensitive hearing again picked up the sound of Kei moving about the apartment. Sho’s mind still hadn’t adjusted to the fact that it was midmorning and he was still in bed, that he wouldn’t be able to go outside during the day ever again unless it was cloudy or raining. He bit his lower lip and his fingers clenched at the sheet beneath him. He didn’t think that he would ever be able to get used to that. How could he? Gods, how had Kei lived with this for so long?

“Leave”

“If you need--”

“I won’t”

Sho felt himself tensing as Kei’s footsteps grew nearer but the door next to his room opened and then shut and he felt himself relax again. A part of Sho wanted to see Kei but another part of him didn’t think that he could bear it. He was just a mix of different emotions and Sho didn’t know which ones that he felt at the moment were real.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep, lest the nightmares return, Sho leaned over to the cabinet beside his bed and switched on his clock radio. Keeping the volume on low, he instead focused on the rock music playing, wanting more than anything to just forget everything that had happened even if it were just for a moment.

---

“Her name was Sugano Ai. She was the barmaid here.”

Hirai Kiyoshi stepped into the bar, pulling back the police tape that surrounded the doors as he did so. Even though he had just entered the aura of death was strong here. He could feel it, as he had before. It was the same. He knew this instinctively, even before his companion continued:

“The other barmaid was a girl called Kurota Etsu. We have been unable to trace her so we have assumed that she is also dead.”

Hirai again said nothing. The bar was like any other that he had been in, but its oppressiveness was to difficult to ignore. The drapes were pulled down over the windows to obscure the crime scene from the eyes of the press and public in general. The police would want to keep this quiet for as long as possible but the truth was bound to leak out eventually. Already there were rumours, but rumours were not something that Hirai was interested in. He wanted facts and figures and quickly. The hefty sum he had paid to the officer on duty to allow him access to the crime scene would be money well spent if he could get some answers here.

Walking behind the bar, Hirai knelt down beside the white chalk outline on the floor. She had been found here. A young girl; savagely murdered.

“The official cause of death is that she had her throat cut out” his companion, Tashiro, again consulted his notes.

“And the truth?”

“Her throat was torn out. It was as though something had ripped out her jugular. Here.” Tashiro placed a photograph down on the bar.

Hirai stood up to take a look and couldn’t help but wince. The girl’s throat was in tatters; her head and neck bent back at an almost impossible angle. Her black hair was spread out in a halo around her. Her clothes weren’t torn but Hirai made his enquiry anyway.

“No” Tashiro again consulted his notes, “No evidence of sexual assault of any kind, but she wasn’t a virgin when she died.”

“There’s hardly any blood” Hirai stated quietly, unable to take his eyes off of the dead girl’s photograph.

“No” Tashiro shook his head, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before adding, “There wasn’t a drop left in her and none on her clothes or on the floor where she was found. There’s barely any on her throat. It is as if whoever did this to her cleaned her afterwards.”

“Then we can assume that our suspicions are correct?”

“We can.”

“Right” Hirai looked around, scanning the bar, “How long do we have?”

“About an hour.”

“Then move quickly. I want you to check this entire area for anything that the police may have missed. There would have been security tapes. I want them. Pay whatever amount you have to so that you can get a copy.”

“How far back would you like me to get?”

“The last few weeks. We know this bar belonged to them and those tapes might hold vital evidence” Hirai turned away, moving towards the stairs at the back of the bar, “I’ll do upstairs. Also, find out if the police have any leads and then throw them off the scent. I don’t want anyone interfering, understand?”

Tashiro nodded, “Yes, Hirai-san.”

“Good. We’re close, Tashiro. We’re very close so there can be no room for mistakes. You have seen what these creatures are capable of. They are monsters and only we can deal with them. The authorities would be cut down before they could so much as blink, but we know better. Get anything that you feel may be of use. I want us to get closer, to learn everything about them. There will be no mistakes. We just have to be patient.”

Tashiro, used to this speech before, again accentuated his agreement and loyalty. Hirai, satisfied by this, started to climb the stairs quickly and eagerly. Finally, after all these years, his search was at an end.