Through the Ages

By Senshi of Ruin

Beta Read by Laura Organa Solo

29 November 1888, Tokyo, JAPAN

He sat huddled between two crates, the icy November wind biting mercilessly through the light jacket he wore, causing him to shiver in spite of himself. His legs were starting to cramp from remaining in a hunched position for so long but he couldn't move, not yet.

The voyage from Taiwan had been an arduous one. Storms had battered the vessel and two crewmen had been lost. The ship was a military vessel, manned by a Japanese crew they were slinking back to their country with their honour and pride in tatters at the, once again, failed invasion intent on wrestling Taiwan from China's control. Moral was low and they were all keen to get home.

The journey itself had been days; it was a long time for Luka to go without a feed in these conditions.

Grinding his teeth together and flexing his frozen fingers a couple of times to allow the feeling to return to them, Luka pulled his jacket tighter still around himself. Vampires couldn't die from the cold but temperature did affect them. Luka didn't like this feeling and struggled to keep his senses alert and his body tense, ready to flee should he be discovered.

It had been three weeks since his companion was killed, however, it might as well have been longer for him. Time seemed to stretch mercilessly out before him, each day drawing out longer than the last. His companion was a younger, less cautious vampire. He saw their curse as simply a game and enjoyed his extended life, taking risks and it was as his insistence that they had journeyed to Taiwan, despite the war. He was young and wanted to see the world as it was now, going through some great changes and Luka had never sought to suppress such things, even if he himself did not share his companion's enthusiasm for Taiwan. It wasn't if either of them could die anyway, or so he had thought.

However, this carelessness had been his companion's undoing. Taiwan was a savage and brutal country and the parts where the natives still ruled were more or less uninhabitable. With the Japanese population sparse and only really consisting of military personnel, Luka and his companion had taken up refuge in the Chinese parts, keeping in shadow and doing their best to blend in where they could.

The Chinese in Taiwan had grown suspicious of the two loners and had caught him feeding. Correctly believing the myths and legends that had been born, they had trapped him and waited for the sun to rise. There had been nothing that Luka was willing to do. These people hadn't been rapists or murderers, only scared human beings and Luka would not have killed them, not even to save the only other one of his kind.

What little grief he felt had been short-lived for they had not been close but he did miss the company and security of travelling with another vampire. Forever was a long time to spend alone.

Luka had left Japan four years ago. With the modernisation that was fast taking over his country, Luka had felt the need to travel as much as his companion. Edo, now renamed Tokyo, had held little interest for them, for Luka had lived there for many years. Humanity would also evolve along with cities and he had learned long ago not to take too much an interest in the lives of the mortals. He couldn't for it would only serve to remind him what he had lost and of the monster that he had become.

He did not plan to stay in Tokyo for long. He was merely passing through, although his destination was unknown. Luka went where he could remain an anonymity, feeding on the evil men that he met on his way. The latter action he did for an entirely selfish reason; feeding from evil men helped lessen his own guilt at his drinking blood to survive.

A cry from one of the crewmen momentarily startled Luka from his thoughts. They were nearing land and he would have to be watchful and await a chance to slip off of the ship unnoticed.

Keeping his head down, Luka stared through half lidded eyes as they struggled to dock the ship with waves buffeting them. Occasionally a big wave would crash over the sides of the vessel and a particularly strong one almost reached his hiding place. Several crates were carried out to sea by the receding water, forever lost in its churning abyss.

Of course Luka, being the creature that he was, did not have to concern himself with such things or so he reminded himself. He shouldn't have forgotten really and it was foolish for having done so. Luka had already lived out the life expectancy of the times twice over and would continue doing so, forever. This was a sobering thought and not one that he had dwelt on for any length of time before, not until he was left alone.

There had always been one thing that his sire had been very clear on and that was the turning of another. Whilst it hadn't been forbidden, his sire had advised against it. He had stated that eternity was a long time to spend with someone that you didn't really like. Of course, the underlying meaning was clear: choose wisely for not everyone would be as accepting of their position in the world as they were. What was their position exactly? Luka fed from men who deserved such a fate, evil men for want of a better word, and they had kept in shadows. Should a human who lusted after something more be turned then the consequences could potentially be devastating.

As it was now, Luka had no thought of turning another. Being alone was strange but it was something that he could get used to. He had been alone before he was turned and he just needed to adjust again. Fleetingly, as the ship finally docked, he wondered what he would do with his eternal life. At least with another of his kind time hadn't seemed to pass so slowly than it did now that he was alone. Seeking companionship among humans was not something that could be considered as an alternative. When Luka saw them, he saw them as walking corpses, for they would be gone in a blink of his lifetime. He the masses and not the individuals for it was easier that way for it did pain Luka to recall that he used to walk among them and not apart from them.

He looked up, feeling another blast of cold air as crates were shifted from the decks, signalling that they had at last reached port. It was dark but Luka knew that this would not hide him for long. He had but a moment's grace at the most before he was spotted.

However, the crewmen were more concerned with unloading their cargo and the vampire was able, whilst their backs were turned, to slink from the deck undiscovered and unchallenged. For after all, he was a creature of the night, a perfect hunter and could be gone within a blink of the eye.

The dock was busy for this time of night, many were here to assist with the shipments and none paid heed to Luka, probably not even realising fully that he was there.

Staring towards the city, Luka felt another shiver run through him. He had not expected to feel anything when gazing upon his home but, despite all the changes that it had gone through, it still managed to stir something inside of him. Luka had a feeling that he would not be leaving Tokyo in a hurry after all.