"And I should use this tactic . . ." Ravenna Corvunis muttered to herself, looking through her many diagrams and tactics. "This should do it!"

"What’re you mumbling to yourself?" her classmate, Sanosuke Mikami, asked her. He looked up from his homework and gave her a cold stare, his dark spiky hair making him look very evil.

"Mind your own business," said Ravenna staring him down. She didn’t care very much for Sanosuke; he was obnoxious and rude. "I’m doing something that does not concern you."

"Whatever, weirdo." Sanosuke went back to his homework.

Ravenna was a smart 16-year-old character; she had long curly brown hair that she almost always wore in a ponytail. She had a slim body and always seemed to dress in darker colors.

Ravenna went back to her diagrams and tactics, searching through them thoroughly to make sure she had everything straight. All these diagrams and tactics were not normal to regular people; they had special symbols and words that would not make sense to any normal human. In fact, they were so unusual that the few people who knew how to read them decided not to explain them to anyone, not even their best friend.

"This vampire will be dead before he wakes up tomorrow!" Ravenna said excitedly. Everyone in her classroom stopped their work and gave her wide-eyed stares. "Oh . . . Heh, um, I was, er, talking about this new video game I got!" All the people, from lack of interest now, started working again. Ravenna sighed and looked back down at her diagrams. Almost blew it, she thought. Gotta keep it a secret that I’m a vampire hunter or else everyone would be asking. Anyway, It seems like I’m headed for Tokyo. Ravenna stared down at the paper given to her by her boss.

Ravenna was a vampire hunter. She hunted them for a living, and because she could tell them apart from normal humans.

"C’mon Fujiko! We’re gonna be late!" Crème Smith shouted, while running towards the stairs leading away from the school.

"We’re gonna be late for what?" Fujiko Minamura exclaimed, trying to keep up with Crème. "Wait for me!" The two girls ran down the stairs toward the parking lot. Fujiko ran as fast as her legs could take her, but she was no match for the outstanding runner, Crème.

"My dad’s waiting for us! He doesn’t like when we’re late and neither do I! I’m the one who always gets yelled at!"

"Yeah, but. Wait what?" Fujiko breathed heavily, "He never gets mad!" They made it to the car in record time.

Crème’s athletic body and thin black hair worked well for her. Neither her hair nor her body got in the way of her running. Fujiko was also slim but was not built for running. She was more of an artist, with her violin and brush painting talent she would be going quite far. Both were 16 years old.

"I’m proud of you," Crème’s father said proudly. "Amazing running!"

"Uh huh, let’s go." Crème climbed into the car and started buckling her seatbelt, Fujiko following closely behind.

"What’s the hurry girls?" Crème’s dad asked. "You seem like you’re running away from something."

"Dad, just get in the car."

"Wait!" The three of them heard a distant voice calling them. "Wait! Crème! Fujiko! Wait for me!"

"God damnit, I thought I lost her," Crème mumbled to herself.

"Hey, that looks like Yuki!" Fujiko exclaimed. "Hey Yuki!" She waved to her best friend wildly. Yuki Koyama waved back, smiling big. She also had a slim body, not meant for running, short brown hair that she always wore in different styles, and a unique style of dressing.

"I’m . . . Glad I  . . . Caught you . . ." Yuki stammered, trying to catch her breath. "I just found out something, Fujiko. I need to talk to you." Yuki gave Fujiko a glare that told her it was very important.

"I promise I’ll be right back, Crème. Wait for me!" Fujiko jumped out of the car and followed Yuki a safe distance away from the car.

"Is it about the Soul Society?" Fujiko questioned, seeming quite serious now.

"Yes, it’s about our job. There’s a man in Tokyo who needs to be, taken care of." She said the last words quieter than the others.

"Tokyo!" shouted Fujiko.

"Shhh, shush." Yuki looked around. "We’re leaving tonight, so be ready. You can go back to Crème now. See ya tonight!" With that she twisted around and ran back for the school.

When Fujiko had made her way back to the car, Crème was in a very bad mood.

"What did she want?" she asked grumpily.

"Something about tonight. No need for you to worry about it." Fujiko smiled and buckled her seat belt.

"Kykaro," whined Shuichi Cullen, his bleach blonde hair blinding. He was a 16-year-old slim with no muscle visible and quite pale.

"What?" Kykaro Saito mumbled, annoyed. He was a dirty blonde with a body built for running. He was slim and all his muscle was in his legs, making him look like a twig. He was also 16 years old.

"Why do we have to help him? I don’t even like him," Shuichi whined.

"Well, I don’t like you, so stop whining. Otherwise I’m ignoring you for the rest of my life," stated Kykaro. Not that I don’t want to.

Shuichi ran to Kykaro and glomped him, "Nooooo! I’ll be good, I promise!"

"Geroffme!" yelled Kykaro, pushing Shuichi away from him. "You can stay, just get off me!"

"Ha ha ha, that’s smooth, Kykaro," laughed a boy with long brown hair in the front and short in the back. He was very tall, taller than any other boy in the eleventh grade. "Chilling with a gay boy. So not like you." He took a seat next to Kykaro.

"This is why I don’t like him," whispered Shuichi furiously. He stuck out his tongue at the boy and crossed his arms.

"Hey Izumi," mumbled Kykaro, not looking up from his work.

"I see you’re still doing my project for me." Izumi Ronwell, 16-year-old, examined Kykaro’s work. "Ha, you know you didn’t have to do it for me, but if you insist." Kykaro ignored him and kept working. "So . . . I hear you’re leaving this Friday, anywhere special?"

"Tokyo," Kykaro answered. "Family stuff."

"Noooo! Take me with you!" griped Shuichi. "I don’t wanna be left alone!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I am going to go with you. You come, too, gay-boy. This’ll be entertaining." Izumi smiled broadly. "I have enough money to."

"Ah! I thought I was gonna get away from you people!" Kykaro ran out of the room, screaming.

"Don’t mind him, he’ll be glad for our company," Izumi said. "See you later, gay-boy." He stood up and left through the same door Kykaro had run out of.

Yay! Thought Shuichi. Time alone with Kykaro! He got up and followed the others out the door.

Ravenna was pacing the floor furiously, knocking down all objects and people in her way. Why am I not able to track him anymore? How did he just disappear? she thought angrily. She kicked some random passerby who ran away scared. Ravenna walked out of the airport hoping to relieve some of her anger, but right when she walked outside her cell phone rang. She opened the cover just to reveal that it was her boss. Crap! He’s gonna want to know how I’m doing!

"Hello?" she almost whispered.

"Why, hello Ravenna," said a voice on the other line.

"Hello boss," she mumbled.

"What’s wrong? It sounds like you’re having trouble in Tokyo."

"Nothing’s wrong," she lied. "Tokyo’s fine, and I’ve almost found the vampire."

"Great!" he exclaimed. "I’ll be waiting for your call." With that her boss hung up.

Ravenna heaved a sigh and put her phone back in her pocket. Good thing he’s easy to lie to, she thought. If not, I would’ve been in trouble. She starting walking straight, towards the subway and bought a ticket. Maybe if I go into the middle of Tokyo I’ll be able to track him again.

"Hello," she replied and looked straightforward again.

"My name’s Shuichi Cullen," he smiled and put out his hand. "And yours?"

"Ravenna Corvunis." She smiled back and shook his hand.

"Are you talking to yourself again?" asked a boy with dirty blonde hair, also around Ravenna’s age.

"No!" exclaimed Shuichi. "I’m talking to Ravenna Corvunis!"

The boy turned his gaze toward her, "Kykaro Saito." He extended his hand.

Ravenna took it, "Ravenna Corvunis." Well this is interesting. Shuichi seems . . . Flamboyant and the other boy . . . he seems, well . . .

"Er . . . Ravenna, are you all right?" Shuichi questioned. "You seem a little out of it. Owww! Why’d you hit me?"

"Because that was rude, and it wasn’t that hard anyway," Kykaro stated. "I apologize for my, er, friend."

"That’s all-"

"Did you just call Shuichi your friend?" another boy her own age asked, cutting Ravenna off.

"Uh, no! Of course not!" Kykaro exclaimed. "Why would I do that?"

"Ohhh! He did, he did!" shouted Shuichi. "I’m so excited!"

"Well this is wonderful for you, but I need to go because my ride is here," Ravenna said. "See you around, I guess." She got up and started for the subway train.

"What?" asked Shuichi. "You’re going on the same subway we are!" He got up excitedly from his seat and ran towards her, the two other boys following behind.

"Oh, how wonderful," she said sarcastically. They four entered the subway train and sat down side-by-side.

"And who is this?" the boy with the brown hair asked.

"I’m Ravenna," she explained. "Shuichi, Kykaro, and I just met."

"Nice to meet you," he said, grabbing her hand and kissing the top of it. "I’m Izumi."

Ravenna pulled her hand away and said, "Yeah, you, too." She looked away from the three boys and looked across the subway train. Sitting across from her were three girls, all seeming to be arguing over something.

"Why would you do something like stow away in my bag?" one girl with black hair questioned loudly.

"I wanted to come along to see where you guys were going off to randomly!" yelled another girl with black hair, although she seemed to be shorter than the others. "You guys always run off to cool places, I just wanted to go with you once!"

"That was a stupid idea, Crème," said a girl with brown hair, lighter than Izumi’s. "You could’ve just asked."

"Like you would let me come, Yuki!" the one called Crème exclaimed. "This was the only way I could get to come!"

"Calm down you two," sighed the one with the black hair. "We’re attracting attention." She looked straight at Ravenna and the girls calmed down.

"Er, sorry about that," Ravenna apologized. "I didn’t mean to be rude. You guys were just, kinda loud."

"Ha ha, it’s fine," said the one seemed to be named Yuki. "I’m Yuki Koyama, this is Fujiko Minamura," she pointed to the black haired one, "and this is Crème Smith."

"I’m Ravenna," said Ravenna, "and these three boys I just met are Izumi, Kykaro, and Shuichi."

The three boys looked up and all said, "Hi."

And that is where this story really begins.

"It’s so cool to come to Tokyo and automatically make so many new friends!" yelled Shuichi excitedly. "I was afraid that I was going to be pretty much alone on this trip . . . "

"You would’ve never been alone," said Izumi smoothly. "Kykaro is always there for you, aren’t you Kykaro?" He chuckled, looking straight at Kykaro.

"Yeah, right," Kykaro said sarcastically. I wanted to come here alone. Without anyone, away from them. "Always there for you, yeah."

"You don’t sound too enthusiastic," laughed Crème. "Can’t say I blame you." She laughed harder.

"You don’t even know me," stated Kykaro. I hate Shuichi, but life without him would be so different. He’s become somewhat a part of me.

Crème stopped laughing. "Well, duh," she said. "I did only just meet you."

"Stop tormenting Kykaro, Crème," Yuki smiled. "It’s not nice."

"Yeah, yeah," Crème muttered, "I hate you, too." She looked down and remained silent the rest of the time.

"So where are we going, anyway?" questioned Yuki. The seven teenagers were roaming the streets of Tokyo, window-shopping.

"Well, I’m not staying with you six for long," replied Ravenna. "I have something else I have to do."

"So do we." Fujiko moved her finger back and fourth between her and Yuki. "We have something important to do in Tokyo."

Yuki nodded slightly and added, "We have to find, er, someone."

"Someone?" Kykaro said quizzically. She seemed to say that word strangely . . .

"Yes, someone," Yuki said with more confidence. "He’s gonna be hard to find, too. We should probably start. C’mon Fujiko, let’s go."

"Wait, what? I wanna window shop more!" Fujiko cried. "Wait, Yuki. Wait!" Fujiko ran after Yuki who was already very far ahead of the rest of the kids.

"Fine," Crème announced, "just leave me here!" She crossed her arms and moved more swiftly now.

"I should leave, too," Ravenna said. "I have places to be. I’ll see you around." She waved and walked hastily to the left.

"Well, we’re all alone now." Shuichi looked around. "Where should we go?"

"Game store," Crème said suddenly. "Let’s go." She moved quickly down the sidewalk and walked into a giant game store.

"I guess we’re going there," Kykaro said. I never realized how strange her name was. Crème, interesting. Kykaro, Shuichi, and Izumi followed Crème’s fast pace into the game store.

Inside the store was much larger than outside the store. The back wall was so far away it was almost not seeable, and the amount in the store was almost unimaginable. There was one aisle going straight to the back of the store with little aisles of many kinds of toys.

"Amazing," murmured Izumi. "More than I’ve ever seen." He ran down the middle aisle into an anime section. Crème rushed into the toy section and started searching through many different items.

"I like that aisle," Shuichi said, pointing towards an aisle with many rare Broadway objects. He rushed to it and started searching for his favorite Broadway production.

"Where would it be hiding, do you think?" Yuki asked Fujiko, stopping to look around. They were in a deserted alleyway with apartments on either side of them.

"No idea," replied Fujiko, also stopping to look around. "Maybe . . . " She walked over to a trash can. "Here? No." She started searching through everything in the alleyway. Yuki followed her lead.

"We’ve searched everywhere in this alley," complained Fujiko. "Are you sure it’s here, Yuki? Our detector might be off . . ."

"No," Yuki stated. "I know I checked it before we left for Tokyo. It’s perfectly fine."

"Well the-"

"Sh!" Yuki whispered. "Hear that?"  Fujiko stopped talking and listened.

"Hear what?" she asked finally. All of a sudden there was a loud screech. "What was that?" She yelled covering her ears. "It sounded like a dying cat!"

"Follow me." Yuki ran around the left building and into another alleyway between two other buildings. She looked behind her, making sure Fujiko was following close behind. It’s a spirit, I know it, she thought. Now just to find out where that screech came from . . . Yuki jumped a fence in front of her and stopped for a second to look around, then suddenly darted right.

"What’re we doing, Yuki?" she heard Fujiko shout over the screeching. "It sounds like we’re going closer to that awful screeching!" Ignoring Fujiko, Yuki turned left and ran straight into a park. Here, It’s coming from here. She ran onto the grass and out into the wide-open area.

"There!" Yuki shouted, pointing towards a very dark, blurry image. It seemed to take the form of a human, and it was reeking havoc in the park.

"Is that an evil spirit?" Fujiko asked.

"Yeah," Yuki answered. "Now let’s go." She ran straight forward, taking out a small knife.

"That?" asked Fujiko. "Shouldn’t we use something other than that?" Yuki, again, ignored Fujiko and pushed a button on the handle of the knife, making it grow quite large. As she rushed up to the spirit she heard Fujiko taking out her katana.

"Aim for the head," said Yuki when Fujiko caught up. "And this knife should be able to take care of it, don’t worry." They jumped landing on the spirit and both slashed at the head. Instantly it disappeared and they jumped back onto the grass.

"Well, that was interesting." Fujiko stood up, brushing herself off and putting her katana back into her pocket. "Since we’re done with Tokyo, can we go back to window shopping?"

"That wasn’t what we came here for," Yuki said, also putting her knife away. "We came here for a live person, not a spirit." She laid back in wonderment. I wonder what that spirit was doing here. It’s unusual . . .

"Really?" Fujiko looked at her questioningly. "Who?"

"Dunno. Just know we came here to take a soul, not to destroy a spirit."

"Hm, maybe we should find the person."

"Not now," Yuki said. "Let’s go back to the others. I just realized with left Crème with three strange boys we just met."

"Ok, so now we can window shop?" Fujiko and Yuki walked back to the street they had just left, making their way back to the middle of Tokyo.

Shuichi was alone in an aisle full of posters and merchandise of past Broadway productions. He felt in heaven, here with Kykaro, looking through his favorite types of things. It was wonderful. I wonder what Ky-chan is doing now? wondered Shuichi. I’m gonna go find him!

Leaving the Broadway aisle, he made his way to where he thought Kykaro would be. Shuichi had known him long enough to know his favorite thing in the world was music, so he made his way there.

Once there, Shuichi looked around, it was such a big music section. Ah! There! He ran up to Kykaro and hugged him from the back.

"Ah!" yelled Kykaro dropping the CD he was holding. "Get off me!" He spun around and pushed Shuichi off, looking around to make sure no one had seen that.

"Konnichiwa, Ky-chan!" smiled Shuichi. He’s so cute when he’s angry. "What’re you doing?" He went around Kykaro to see the music he was listening to. When he realized it was regular rock music he got bored and turned back to Kykaro.

Watching Shuichi carefully, Kykaro said, "Listening to music, stupid. What else would I be doing in the music section?" He spun back around and put his headphones back on.

"Aww, don’t do that," griped Shuichi, pulling at the headphones. "I came here to be with you. Don’t ignore me!" He pulled Kykaro’s headphones off and turned him around.

"This . . . Is weird," Kykaro stammered stepping back from Shuichi. "You’re, too close." He blocked Shuichi, who tried to move forward. Aw, I came over to talk to him. Now he’s acting weird. I thought he liked me. Shuichi stepped back, his smile fading.

"Uh, I guess I’ll go see Izumi then," mumbled Shuichi. "I’ll see you later." He ran out of the music section, then towards where Izumi was.

"Wait, Shuichi," muttered Kykaro. "I wasn’t trying to be mean."

Shuichi looked back at him and his face lighted up into a smile again. I knew he liked me. He ran back to Kykaro, hugging him again.

"I said I wasn’t trying to be mean," he struggled, pushing at Shuichi. "That doesn’t mean you can hug me." He pushed him off and attempted a smile, not doing too well.

"You smiled!" Shuichi exclaimed. "I never see you smile!" He jumped up and then made his way to stand next to Kykaro. He smiled! He smiled! I guess I can try to get into his music. After all, he smiled!

"Ky-chan?" asked Shuichi.

"Yeah?"

"What’s this music?"

"The Fray. They’re a really good band. Here, listen." Kykaro scanned the CD under Shuichi’s headphones.

"Wow!" Shuichi ejaculated. "This is a really good band!" He started bobbing his head to the music. Shuichi looked so funny, Kykaro couldn’t help laughing.

"You’re funny, Shuichi," Kykaro laughed. "Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought you were. You’re still pretty strange though."

"Heh," Shuichi chuckled. "Yeah . . . Whatever, Ky-chan."

"Whatever!" yelled Ravenna annoyed. "I don’t need to worry myself about other problems right now! That vampire, ah! He’s driving me nuts! My tracker is flawless, so why can’t I track him?" She screamed loud to blow off some steam, then, realizing she was in public, started hopping from building to building again.

Realizing she had gotten to her destination, Ravenna jumped off the building she was on and walked up to a door. She rang the doorbell and stood there awkwardly.

"Hello?" said a man’s voice from behind the door. "Who is it?"

"Me," Ravenna said.

"Ok, come in." The man opened the door and let her in. "Please sit." He pointed to a sofa at the far end of his living room. He had gray hair and many wrinkles, which made Ravenna think he was over 70 years old.

"I’ve come to ask for a favor," she sighed. "I need to know how to track a vampire when my tracker isn’t working."

"Your tracker isn’t working?" he asked worriedly.

"No, that’s not it. My tracker just won’t track this certain vampire. It’s very weird . . ."

"Hm . . ." thought the old man. "Maybe you should wait a few days. It might just be you haven’t had a rest in a while. Go out, have fun, make friends. It should come back in a few days."

"What?" she exclaimed. "I can’t just wait it out! I need to catch this vampire!"

"That’s the only way," stated the old man. "I apologize. Now please leave." Stunned Ravenna stood and made her way towards the door. What a weird guy. Maybe I’ll wait just one day and it’ll come back. Just maybe . . . She walked outside and the old man shut the door loudly. Jumping back up to the roofs she made her way back to the center of Tokyo. Those six people I met, maybe they’ll help me get my tracker back. Plus, against my will, I want to know more about that Yuki Koyama. She found the six in a game store near where they had parted.

Izumi was browsing through many different manga at the same time. He was in a dream world because manga was one of his favorite pastimes. Wow, he thought. This hasn’t even come out in Borders yet!

"Izumi!" He heard a girl calling him from the main aisle. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" he yelled. "In the anime section!"

The girl who had been calling his name appeared at the end of his aisle. "There you are!"

"Ah, Crème." Izumi smiled. "What’s wrong?"

She walked over to him. "Don’t give me any of this crap. I was just looking for everybody. Do you happen to know where they are?"

"Why would you need to know where everybody else is? Aren’t I enough for you?"

"You know," she replied, "you are really creepy. I knew I shouldn’t have found you first."

"You know you love me, Crème," Izumi said invitingly. "You’re just too shy to admit it."

"Uh huh," said Crème slowly. "Right. I’ll remember that the next time I want to humiliate you. Now let’s go find the others before you do anything even more creepy." She walked out of the aisle, Izumi following closely behind. Oh, she really loves me. You can just tell. He smiled in spite of himself. I’ll have her one of these days.

"You best not be thinking anything about me, Strange, or else I’ll smack you silly," Crème stated.

"No, nothing," Izumi said quickly. She stared straightforward and smiled, knowing full well that she had so much control over him. Once the two reached the music section Izumi was down right scared of Crème. She’s so unusual it’s scary.

"Oh look!" came a shout from inside the music department.

"Yuki, Fujiko, Ravenna!" exclaimed Crème. "I thought you guys had left me with these nitwits for good!"

"We would never do that, Crème," Fujiko assured her. "You are my best friend."

"I just came back to relax, and decided to do it with you six," explained Ravenna.

"They just all came at once," said Shuichi. "It was cool."

"So, since we’re all here, let’s have some fun!" yelled Izumi. Even if I’m scared of Crème, she will be mine.

"So, where to next?" asked Yuki, excited to do something out of the ordinary for her.

"Wherever you want to go," Izumi said. "In fact, we can probably go everywhere in Tokyo." He laughed and looked at Crème.

"Why are you looking at me?" Crème stared at him, no sense of emotion showing.

"Er," stammered Izumi. "Uh, yeah." He looked straight ahead and it grew silent.

Hating the silence, Shuichi suggested, "How about looking for a hotel room first? It seems to be getting late, and we have no where to stay." Everyone agreed and they all started searching for a nice, cheap hotel.

"How ‘bout that one?" Yuki pointed toward a tall, light blue building. It had many windows with non-matching pink curtains.

"Ha, it looks cheesy," laughed Kykaro. "I think I’ll like it. Let’s go in." He led the way into the hotel and to the front desk.

"How may I help you?" the man at the front desk asked.

"How much for a room?" asked Fujiko.

"5850 yen a night," he replied.

"We can afford that if we combine our money." Ravenna took out her wallet and started rummaging through her cash. "I’ve got 1000 yen."

"Don’t worry about it," Izumi said taking out his credit card. "I’ll pay for it all." The four girls all stared wide-eyed as Izumi used his credit card to pay for two rooms.

"But, wha?" Crème stammered. "Are you, like, rich? How the hell can you pay for two rooms all by yourself?"

"Ha ha," Izumi said amused. "If I told you I were rich, then would you be mine?"

"Never mind, let’s just say I didn’t ask that question." Crème looked at Kykaro who mouthed, Yes he’s rich. Her mouthed dropped open and her eyes became even bigger than before. Sweet. That means I can have anything. Just need to use this power over him right. She grinned, starting to devise a plan in her head.

"Er, you okay Crème?" Fujiko questioned, looking worried. "You seem like you’re in your ‘evil mood’"

"Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know what you’re talking about though." Crème gave Fujiko a glare, telling Fujiko not to mention her mood to the others. "Well, since we have our rooms, let’s go upstairs and drop off our stuff." The seven teens walked to the elevator door and pushed the up button. The elevator made a noise and the sliding doors opened, letting them into it.

"Which floor?" Yuki asked Izumi.

He looked at a piece of paper he had gotten from the man at the front desk. "Five." Yuki pushed the button with a 5 on it and the elevator started making its way up the hotel.

Once they were at the fifth floor the elevator doors slid open and revealed a long hallway with fancy, wooden doors and a patterned floor. They walked out of the elevator and started walking down the hallway, turning left to reveal another hallway of the same fashion.

"What room?" Crème reached over to grab the paper out of Izumi’s hands. He was too quick for her and she ended up grabbing air.

"Not for you," he said, acting like she was a kid. "583."

She scowled at him. Oh do I hate him, she thought. If he’s not careful he’s gonna die. He smiled at her, ignoring the angry face she gave him.

"Aw, you’re cute when you’re mad," he grinned.

"Oh you just be quite." She tried to make her face angrier, not doing too well. He laughed at her attempt and patted her on the head. "Don’t do that!" She pushed his hand away and crossed her arms.

"We’re here, guys," said Yuki, trying not to laugh at the show the two were putting on. "Key please?" Izumi handed her the key, and Yuki put it into the slot, making the little light turn green.

"We’re in a different room then you guys," Izumi said. "We’ll let you get situated and come back in a half an hour." The three boys left out the door and entered the door right next to theirs.

"Heh, this should be fun!" exclaimed Fujiko. "Tokyo! I’ve always wanted to come here!" She smiled to herself and started packing away her clothes.

"Yeah, I agree." Yuki nodded. "Best time of our life, right?"

"Maybe," said Crème. "If I make it that way." She laughed; the three other girls looked at her. "Er, nothing. Just happy to be here." Let them think that. That way I’ll be the only girl who gets everything she wants. Crème started putting her clothes into the drawers that came with the room.

"I apologize, guys," Ravenna started. "I might only be with you for a day. I have other things to do, remember that."

"Aw, that sucks," complained Yuki. "Why? You can just put whatever you have to do off until we leave . . ."

"No, I have to do this a quick as possible." Ravenna got up, pushing her empty suitcase under one of the two beds.

"Ok," Yuki sighed.

"Now, we have about fifteen more minutes till the guys arrive," said Fujiko, checking the digital clock on the bedside table. "Wanna just, talk?"

"Sure," the three other girls agreed, sitting on the bed. The four girls started talking about many different subjects.

There were three knocks on the door.

"Come in!" yelled Yuki, Crème, Ravenna, and Fujiko together. The door was opened and Shuichi, Izumi, and Kykaro walked into the room.

"Are you ready to go?" questioned Kykaro, looking around the room to see if it was any different than his own.

"Yeah," Yuki answered. The four girls had all changed into fancier clothing and all looked as if they were going out to a club.

"Are you guys comfortable?" Kykaro gave each girl a puzzling look. "You look, um, fancy."

"We’re fine," replied Fujiko. "We just wanted to look nice going into Tokyo, that’s all."

"You guys look great!" Shuichi exclaimed. "Why didn’t we dress up, too, Kykaro? I wanna dress up, too!"

Kykaro stared at him. "Why would we dress up? We’re not going anywhere special."

"But-"

"No buts." Kykaro turned his gaze towards the girls. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah," the four answered. They walked out the door of their hotel room and down the hallway. When they reached the elevator Fujiko pressed the down button and the seven all filed in. Outside the teens all looked around. It had gotten dark and Tokyo seemed like a different place at night.

"Amazing! All the lights!" exclaimed Fujiko, running out into the street.

"Be careful!" Yuki yelled at her. "Are you trying to die?" Not that she can . . .

"Yeah, yeah," mumbled Fujiko, coming back to the sidewalk. "You take all the fun away, Yuki."

"Where to?" asked Izumi.

"Everywhere!" Fujiko burst out. "Let’s go everywhere! Starting there." She pointed to a giant building. The seven went around the entire city of Tokyo, looking through shops and artifacts and having a really good time.

"It sucks we have to go inside already . . ." yawned Fujiko. "I wanna stay out longer." She took another, long, yawn.

"It’s probably best we went inside," said Crème. "You look exhausted." The teens made their way back to the hotel and up to their rooms.

"G’night everyone," smiled Yuki, rushing into the girls room and into the restroom.

"’Night," replied the six. They stayed outside longer, talking in whispered voices so not to disturb anyone.

It’s a good thing no one suspected anything, thought Yuki. Nights alone with people scare me. I could just become thirsty one night and not mean to, well, yeah . . . What to do, hm? I could probably go this entire night without worrying about that, but what if . . .? Let’s not think about that, Yuki. You’re still a semi-normal human being. You can still have fun with others at night, no matter your situation. Just think . . . I could go out and make sure I wouldn’t become thirsty, but what if they notice I’m gone for that two minutes? Eh, too risky. I’ll be fine. Yuki opened the bathroom door and sat down on the bed, ready to get into her pajamas.

"Hey, Yuki," she heard a voice whisper. "Over here." Yuki walked to the drawers and peeked around the corner.

"Oh, it’s just you, Fujiko," sighed Yuki. "You scared me."

"Oh, sorry," whispered Fujiko. "Just needed to know if you had that, you know, problem already taken care of for tonight."

"Yeah, I should be fine. I don’t feel thirsty at all tonight. Yeah, I’ll be fine."

"Oh, okay. Just making sure." Fujiko walked over to Ravenna and Crème, leaving Yuki to get ready for bed by herself. Yeah, fine. I’ll be fine, Yuki thought. Just fine. She crawled into bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Yuki woke to a sudden urge for blood. No, not now! Please not now! she thought angrily looking at the digital clock. Three thirty. Shit! She walked over to the bathroom, holding her stomach to try and void off the urge. Must find . . . Something. Something to . . . Stop.

"Erg!" she yelled as pain suddenly hit her. Pain? I’ve never felt pain because of this! She went to the bathroom window and opened it, smelling the musty air of a city. No, this won’t do. I have to go somewhere with cleaner air. Where? I don’t care! I’ll find somewhere! She jumped out of the window, landing on her feet five floors below. Rushing, fast as lightning, she made her way out of the city into a giant forest. Ah, fresh air. Oh, maybe this forest has something to quench my thirst. Yuki looked around the forest, hearing the sounds of many animals.

"I can find something here," she said, stepping farther into the forest. Yuki heard a movement somewhere in the distance. "Maybe that’s something big that will quench it for a while." Moving quickly and quietly through the forest she followed where the sound was coming from. She stopped and looked around, trying to listen for the movement again.

"Ouch." Yuki heard someone whisper, quite close to her. Damnit! I can’t be found like this! She touched the two side teeth at the top of her mouth. My teeth! I’ll be found out! It’ll be over for the vampires! Yuki heard movement in the direction she heard the voice.

"Yuki? Is that you?" The voice asked. She slid into the trees, then realized that that voice sounded really familiar. She peeked around the tree she was hiding behind. Oh my God, Shuichi? What do I do? He might be in trouble. Uh . . .

"Yeah, I’m here." She came out from behind the tree and stepped into the clearing. "What’re you doing here?"

"Uh, well," Shuichi stammered. "It’s, well, kinda hard to explain. What’re you doing here?"

"Er, mine’s hard to explain, too," she replied. She laughed, then realizing her teeth, suddenly stopped. "Uh, yeah. I better get going . . ." Yuki started walking back the way she came.

"Wait! Yuki!" Shuichi exclaimed.

Shit, he probably saw my teeth, she thought furiously. What do I tell him?

"Uh, yeah?" Yuki stopped walking and turned around.

"You . . ." he muttered, almost so she couldn’t hear. "You’re like me . . ."

"What?" Yuki asked, bewildered. "What’re you talking about?"

"Those, those fangs . . ."

"Uh, heh heh, I well, um . . ." she stammered.

"I know what they are, because I have them too." He gave a broad smile, and two, large, pointy teeth showed.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "You . . . You’re a vampire?" Yuki was breathing hard.

"Uh, yeah . . ." Shuichi said awkwardly. "Well, an outcast vampire, I guess . . ."

"Outcast? Why?"

"Well, It’s awkward to talk about," he muttered. "Really awkward."

"It’s all right, I’m not gonna tell anyone. Or, like, make fun of you," Yuki assured him. "Just tell me."

"Well, you see, I was a really good vampire. I would even say a great vampire! But one day I was called up to the Head’s castle. I thought I was going to get some sort of promotion, you know, like, being able to work for the master. Well, when I got there I was so excited, I was almost crying. I walked into the castle and a servant led me to his room. I walked up to his desk and he told me to sit down. Once I sat he told me . . . Told me." Shuichi started crying.

"Shuichi, what’s wrong?" Yuki asked worriedly. "What did he do?"

"He, he told me he hated homosexuals," he whimpered. "He, he told me he . . . He never wanted to see my face again! That I was a disgrace to all vampires!" He started bawling, and Yuki went and kneeled next to him, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Don’t listen to him," she sad, matter-of-factly. "He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I betchu he’s never even had a decent conversation with them. He probably thinks of all homosexuals as evil or a disgrace. Don’t take it to heart, Shuichi. I bet you’re still a great vampire!"

He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and looked up. "But, but how can I be a great vampire while I’m acting like a human! I can’t even tell anyone!" He started crying again.

"You can do it, I know you can," Yuki comforted. "Now, go on back to the hotel. I need to take of something first."

"Ok," he sniveled. "Ok, I will." Shuichi got up off the ground and dashed out of the forest. Now, to quench my thirst, Yuki thought. I need to find something big . . . And with that she raced back into the darkness of the forest.

Shuichi had left somewhere and Izumi was fast asleep. This is a perfect time to go, thought Kykaro, sitting up in bed and looking around his room. It was dark and it took a while for his eyes to adjust. Once they did Kykaro rolled out of bed and tiptoed to the window. Outside there were still many neon lights on, but not very many people still wandered the streets. Kykaro checked his watch. Three-thirty, just enough time to leave, train, then some back again.

Kykaro tiptoed away from the window and exited out into the hallway. Bright light hit him, automatically making him squint. He blinked a few times and then, when his eyes had adjusted, turned on his heel and ran down the hall. He hit the elevator button impatiently and paced, waiting for the elevator to come up. Once it had he hastened into it and pushed the button to the lobby.

I have to make it down and out of the hotel without a soul seeing me. Kykaro walked fast out of the elevator and rushed out of the hotel. He looked around, no one in sight. Yes. Just perfect. Kykaro strained his eyes, trying to see farther down. It didn’t look like anyone was down there.

In a flash he was gone, the hotel far away from him. I don’t have to be worried now, he assured himself. No one can see me while I’m going this fast. I’ll just feel like a random amount of wind. He rushed out of Tokyo and into a field, a forest on the right side, a large amount of flat area on the left. The perfect place to train. There’s almost nothing here to get in my way. Kykaro went over to a rock and sat down. Now to remember what that technique was . . . He sat in thought for a few minutes.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, remembering what to do. He took a sports stance and steadied himself, moving his hands in weird positions quite quickly. Suddenly gas filled the entire field.

"It worked!" he jumped up, shouting. "I’ve finally mastered it!" All of a sudden he heard coughing. He jerked his head towards the noise; it had come from the forest. What could it be? He steadied himself again, ready to make a clone to fight off whatever was coming towards him.

"What is this?" he heard a high voice say through coughing fits. "God damnit."

Such a familiar voice, Kykaro thought. Why does he sound familiar?

"Is someone there?" the person asked. "Hello?"

"Oh jeez," he muttered. "Shuichi?"

"Ky-chan?" Shuichi tried to see through the fog. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," replied Kykaro, "it’s me." Kykaro moved quickly and made familiar hand movements; the fog disappeared.

"Ky-chan!" exclaimed Shuichi running to Kykaro. "It really is you! Did you make all that fog disappear?" He looked at Kykaro questioningly.

"Er, yeah," stammered Kykaro. "I guess I did . . ." He backed away awkwardly. He can’t know my secret, no one can know my secret.

"Well, that’s different. How’d you do it?"

"Long story," Kykaro said. "Now what’re you doing out here so late at night?"

"Another long story . . ." Shuichi trailed off. "Hey, wanna trade long story for long story?"

Kykaro looked startled, "Uh, well, it’s probably best you didn’t know." He laughed oddly.

"It’s probably best you didn’t know what I was doing, but I trust you. Please?" Shuichi looked at Kykaro pleadingly.

"Fine," Kykaro finally put out. "But you go first." Shuichi related his long story of being an outcast vampire.

"Do you believe me?" Shuichi asked. "If not, I can show you my fangs."

"Really? I’d like to see them," Kykaro said enthusiastically. Shuichi smiled, his large teeth glinting in the sunlight.

"They’re for hunting prey. Although, since I’m an outcast, my prey’s not human any more," he added.

"That is pretty much the coolest thing ever," Kykaro stated. "My story doesn’t even come near in cool to yours."

"Naw, I doubt that. Your story probably has some interesting factors, too." Shuichi smiled.

"I doubt it," mumbled Kykaro.

"Just tell me."

"Ok, fine. I’m kinda like you. An outcast, I mean," Kykaro started. "I was dropped out of ninja school by my teacher, who hated me with a passion. He literally kicked me out of the school and told me to scram. I left the school, but not without a scroll, telling me all the Ninjustu techniques I could ever dream of. I promised myself that, by the time I turned eighteen, I would have mastered every single technique in the scroll. So far it looks as if I’m not gonna make it. I only have two more years to go and I’ve only learned half of the techniques. At this rate I’ll never be able to face my town again. It’s kinda depressing . . ."

"Kinda? Are you kidding?" Shuichi asked bewildered. "It’s horrible you can never face people who used to be your friends! That’s just ridiculous!"

"Who are you to talk? You were kicked out by the head honcho himself!"

"Yes, but see, I had no friends. It’s not like I went around making friends with bloodthirsty vampires. They could turn on me in two seconds if they wanted to. Being kicked out by Dracula must’ve actually been better for me." Shuichi sighed. "But still, I miss it there."

"I’m sorry I got all huffy puffy on you. Let’s go back home." Kykaro checked his watch. "It’s only five, no one should be awake by now."

"But wait!" Shuichi stopped suddenly. "What about Yuki?"

"Huh? What about Yuki?" Kykaro questioned. "She’s probably at the hotel sleeping right now. Why are you worried about her?"

"Oh, oh right. I didn’t tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Oh yes, tell him what, Shuichi?" said a girl’s voice from back in the forest. "Were you gonna tell him all about me? I betchu you were. Oh, then you woulda been dead."

"I am so confused right now." Kykaro looked towards the forest. "Oh, Yuki, It’s just you. You sounded . . . Woah." Kykaro stopped speaking because Yuki was covered in blood. From head to foot she was just layered in it. What’d she do? Wrestle with a bear?

"Yes, Kykaro, that’s exactly what I did," Yuki stated, staring at Kykaro. "I wrestled with a bear."

"Buh, wha, huh? How’d you know I thought that?" Kykaro questioned. "And why would you, would you wrestle with a bear?"

"It’s better you know nothing about me." Yuki started walking towards the two boys. "I’ve gotta get home and get cleaned up before the sun rises, though. I’ll see you guys in a few hours." She raced towards the hotel, quicker than lightning.

"She never told me of that power . . ." mumbled Shuichi.

"What? What power? What’re you hiding from me?"

"Oh nothing." Shuichi grinned. "Nothing that concerns you. We should go, though. I’ll race you there." He took a lead start and raced for the rooftops.

"Wait! That was an unfair move!" Kykaro followed Shuichi, close behind.

Crème was sitting on the inside ledge of the window, looking outside at all of the neon lights of the city. She heaved a sigh and looked over at Fujiko and Ravenna, sleeping peacefully; then looked at Yuki’s empty bed. Wait, It’s empty! Jumping off the window ledge, Crème made her way to Yuki’s bed. Where would she go off to this early in the morning? It’s Three-thirty! I mean, seriously! Crème kicked the wooden part of the bed and went back to the window ledge. Sitting on it again she looked back outside, this time looking for any sign of Yuki. Looking out she noticed a distant, fuzzy black thing in midair.

"What is that?" she whispered, blinking her eyes to make sure she was seeing correctly. "It looks like it’s heading this way . . . Holy crap, it is heading this way!" Crème scrambled off the window ledge and almost tripped over her own bed.

Crème, said a voice in her head.

"What the?" She looked around.

The window, Crème, the voice said. She was almost afraid to look out her window, she almost just wanted to back away into the bathroom and wait for daylight.

"No," she said to herself. "I’m not afraid, I can do this." Reaching the window, Crème looked outside at the neon lights.

Turn your head. The voice had come back. Turn your head and look at me. Slowly Crème started to move her head, making her way towards the other side of the window. This is more nerve racking than it should be, Crème thought, getting closer and closer to looking at the person talking. I should just whip my head around to look at the guy, so why don’t I do that? Still moving slowly, Crème reached her destination. She suppressed a scream, choking it down. It was a horrid looking thing; ghost white with no visible skin. It was basically a levitating skeleton covered in a dark black cloak.

Still coughing she asked, "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

I’ve come to tell you something of mass importance, he replied. It concerns you, but no one else must know about it.

"So what? Why me?"

I have been studying you for a while, little one.

"What?" she exclaimed, almost breaking out of her whisper. "You mean you were spying on me? For how long?" Staring angrily at him, Crème crossed her arms and half way closed her eyes.

Well, not spying, persay, he replied. I would call it studying, and for how long? About a year.

"A year?" she shouted. "For a whole entire, freaking, year?"

You need to be quite, or else you’ll wake the other. We mustn’t do that or I’d be in huge trouble.

"Well maybe I don’t care if you’ll be in ‘huge trouble’," Crème stated. "Maybe I should just wake this entire place up and tell them of you. How does that sound?"

Not too good of an idea, I suppose, he said. Not too good at all.

"Well maybe it wasn’t too good of an idea to spy on me for a whole year! Ever think of that?"

Not spying! Studying! There’s a difference!

"What difference?" she asked. "I sense no difference!"

I needed to know if you were capable enough to do the task that has become your future.

Crème could tell he was nodding slightly so added, "You’re talking in riddles. Just another reason to dislike you."

Ok, he sighed. Please just let me explain. I’ll make it clear for you to understand, too. Ok? Ok. I was studying you for a whole year to make sure you were capable for this task I am about to hand over to you. Now, before I tell you about your future, I must introduce myself. I have long forgotten my original name given to me by my parents, but I think you should know that I am the real, semi-living, grim reaper. I reap souls to leave this world in a deadly fashion that regular people are not accustomed to.

"Wait, wait, wait," Crème said, cutting off the grim reaper. "You’re saying that you, a levitating white thing in a coat, are the grim reaper?"

Yes, he replied.

Crème burst out laughing. "Oh my God, ok guys. You can come out now! Joke’s on me! You got me!" She looked around for some sort of projector or string or something. "C’mon guys, I get it, you’re done!"

I, um, am not sure what it is you are doing, but I must explain your task quickly before the sun rises.

"Wait." Crème stopped looking around. "You’re totally serious, aren’t you? Ha ha, that’s so rich. Where’d you come from, kid? I’ll take you back home."

Please, pleaded the reaper, I must tell you quickly. The sun already starts to rise over the mountain range.

"Ok, ok," laughed Crème. "Tell me what you want, but promise me you’ll go home after this. I don’t want my friends to know what I’ve been doing all night."

Yes, I must. Now to your task. Your future has become part of the living dead. You must now take my place in the reaper world and become the reaper yourself. If you do not do this, the world will surely turn to chaos, since the grim reaper must reap souls to keep the population in control. Please, I must go now, but I leave you with the only thing you shall ever need as a reaper. Here. The reaper reached out his hand, going straight through the glass of the window and handed Crème a long scythe. It was all black, except the blade which was clean, polished silver.

"Wha" started Crème. "What is this? Is this really a, a scythe? A real, living, scythe?"

You have now started to understand. Your duty as a reaper is important. More important, I suspect, than your friend Fujiko’s Soul Society duties.

"Huh? Soul Society? Whassat?"

You will learn in due time, little one. Now I must be off. The scythe, its master may choose its name. It will tell you everything you need to know. Now, I bid you farewell. I will never see you again. And faster than Crème could say ‘good bye’ the reaper had left.

"This is so weird. A scythe, where would a kid get a scythe?" Crème sat questioningly on her bed.

"You are one dim witted kid, you know that?" She heard a voice say. Crème jumped up in astonishment and looked around. "Again, I say, dim witted. It’s the scythe stupid."

"Huh? The scythe?" She looked down at the silver blade. "Scythe’s can talk? No, I’m just going ballistic . . ."

"I could second that," replied the voice. It was coming from the scythe.

"Oh jeez," Crème said, dropping the scythe onto her bed. "Er, well then. What do I do with you, talking scythe?"

"First you must give me a name," said the scythe. "It must be a name connected to you in a way."

"Connected to me . . .?" mumbled Crème. "What name is connected to me . . . Oh! Ha ha, I have an idea! It can be connected to me just by what my name is, right?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"Ha! Your name is now Cookie!" exclaimed Crème, smiling at her stupid attempt for a joke.

"Ok then," Cookie said slowly. "My name in Cookie, then."

"Wait, what? I was totally joking!"

"Sorry, too late. Once a name is picked it can only change if a new owner comes along."

"Damnit, me and my stupid mouth," muttered Crème. "Ok, now what?"

"I must tell you the fundamentals of being the grim reaper. First, you only come out at night as the grim reaper. I shall provide all costume wear. Second, you use me, and only me, to reap souls. If you were to use anything else it could cost you more than just your life. Third, I am a shape shifter. I may take the shape of anything you would like. Although everything shall have to be black and silver because changing colors is beyond me. And last but not least, you must tell no one about me or of you being a grim reaper. Is this clear to you?"

"You mean you can shape shift into anything? Even a car?"

"Uh, yes, but that isn’t-"

"Freaking awesome! You’re gonna be my new car! It’ll be a Lamborghini!"

"THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT," stated Cookie. "I need to know you know the rules, so do you?"

"Yes, I heard you. Don’t fret about it!" Crème said, smiling. "I just want my car!"

Cookie sighed. "Fine, I’ll be your Lamborghini, just stop talking about it. I need to hide so I’m going to become your stopwatch. When you need me, call me. See you." With that Cookie became a stopwatch and put herself onto Crème’s wrist.

"Odd, but convenient," grinned Crème. "I get myself a Lamborghini!" She crawled into bed and fell asleep without realizing that Yuki had just sneaked into the room.