Hira woke up the next night and looked around. The room she was in was dark, but she could still make out a few walls, which were bare, just like everything else in the room. She rubbed her back sorely, feeling her torn clothes. "Feeling better I see?" Came a voice out of the darkness. She backed against the wall and answered back shakily,

"W..whos there??" Her reply was a chuckle, as Takaji came out of the shadows smiling and looking at her. She looked about his age, and she had spiky blonde hair which was mottled with mud and blood, as was her jeans and shirt. Her clothes were torn in several places, and she looked up at him with fearful eyes.

"Ah, I see my worry’s were for nothing." He said quietly. "I thought you may attack me if I came in here, but it turns out all I found last night was a little lost lycan stray." He kneeled in front of her, getting inches from her face as he brushed her mud speckled hair from her face. She gulped and backed farther up, but couldn’t, seeing as she was already pressed against the wall.

Her since of dignity and pride swelled angrily inside of her. "Little lost Lycan stray? What am I, a dog? Who the hell do you think you are huh?" She demanded angrily, knowing that she shouldn’t have said that. There was something about this man that made her know she was outranked.

Takaji smirked and put his hands on the cold wall on either side of her head and got mere inches away from her. "Who do you think you are little Lycan? You are speaking to Takaji Van Helsing, please do not insult me like that."

Her eyes widened with terror. Van Helsing. They were one of the most powerful families of vampires, the meanest as well. They had killed numerous people in her family, numerous friends. She wanted to scream with fear, to push him away and run, but she couldn’t. His face turned friendly, and he ran a hand through her hair. "Listen, I didn’t mean to sound mean. Your all dirty, I have clothes you can wear and a bath ready for you. Please take the opportunity." He said quietly.

She scoffed. "You perv, I’m not doing anything with my clothes off. What are you going to sit and watch me bathe, then rape me, then kill me?" She asked him haughtily.

His eyes flashed with hurt and anger, and he closed the gap between their bodies, grinding his large body roughly against her smaller one. "No, if you wish I can rape you now, though it was not at all my intention when I invited you to clean yourself up." He said in a quiet and harsh whisper, his breath on her ear as his red eyes met her terrified green ones. She gasped in fright and pressed against him, trying to push him away. He backed up and looked at her, his eyes now a cool gray color, like the sky when it rains. He turned away and didn’t look at her, but she saw a glint of shame in his eyes while he turned.

"The bathroom is the second door to the left." He mumbled quietly, walking quickly out the door and leaving it open behind him, as he turned right, to go back to his warm fire. Hira panted, trying to stop her heart from beating out of her chest. She leaned against the cold castle wall.

So she had met him, Takaji Van Helsing. The thought played in her mind as she washed her body in the warm pool of water. It was like a small hot tub, but deeper, deep enough for her to stand in and come up to her neck. She sighed as she climbed out of the bath, finally clean and free of blood. ‘Wait, where are my clothes?’ She thought to herself. She turned and looked at the counter, and saw a pile of clothes. ‘Oh.’

She walked out into the hallway and followed the sound of the fire. The clothes weren’t exactly her type, but they were comfortable. She wore a pair of black pants with metal chains hanging from them, like the gothic kids at her school wore. They were held up by a black leather belt. Her shirt was, just like the pants, much too big for her. It was black as well, but had a pattern of silver along its front. It was accompanied by a black overcoat. She smiled to herself. ‘No wonder those kids wear this stuff, its really comfortable.’

She turned as she reached the room with the fireplace. Takaji sat sideways in a large chair, his legs draped over the armrest, his head propped up on his elbow. He stared blankly into the fire, obviously lost in thought.

She walked in silently, sitting on the floor a few feet away from him. "So," She said quietly, "Why am I here? Am I your..your prisoner now or something?" She said, her voice trailing off into uncertainty and fear. He lowered his gaze and looked at her, his eyes searching hers. He stared at her for a few moments, then answered quietly.

"Why I was simply saving you because I don’t think that you would have enjoyed being interrogated by the police as to why you were covered with fur and blood." He mumbled.

"The police were after me??" Hira asked quickly, her eyes widening again.

"Yes." He said simply, raising an eyebrow. "Now little one, I need to ask you a few questions. What is your name, and why were they after you?"

Hira looked down. "Hira Shimhari, and..well.." She mumbled quietly. "Because..because I killed my family last night by accident." She looked away from him.

He stared at her. "Accidentally? How did that happen, accidentally?"

Hira’s eyes filled with tears. "I..lost control of my body. I held back my werewolf side too long, and I snapped. Now I have no where to go." She choked out, covering her eyes with her hands and sobbing.

Takaji’s gray eyes wandered over her sadly, and he slid off his armchair and kneeled in front of her. "Sh..its ok. It’s ok."

Hira hiccupped as her sobs slowed, she pulled her head up to see the lone vampires eyes meet hers. She was surprised by the gentle look in his eyes, but that look disappeared the moment he noticed her gaze.

"Don’t think I’m going to let you stay here for ever dog-girl. This is my house and has been my families for generations, they would not want to know it was contaminated with werewolf blood." Takaji paused he speech in time to see that Hira had fallen asleep on the floor. He gently lifted her once again and brought down the hall to a bedroom.