Possession 18: Midnight Musings

                 “I can’t believe I’m sitting in a mausoleum… a mausoleum that happens to be home to a vampire and a girl that looks like a vampire herself… No offense.”

                “None taken.”

                A mausoleum. A large one-room building, made out of stone, meant to house the dead who were important in life. In the center was a stone coffin that rose out of the floor. Along the walls were various living necessities, such as a roll-out bed, some chairs, a small table, even a TV. There was also some portable kitchen equipment. Electricity was provided by a wire that was threaded through a hole in the wall. On the inside, it was rigged up to a make-shift outlet as well as light bulb that hung from the ceiling. On the other side, it traveled to the end of the graveyard, under ground, and up a wooden pole where it connected with the main power line.

                Tenshi sat at the table, Yuna across from him, the bokuto set between them. Ryoga stood near the stone door, one he had mostly closed (it was left open a crack to provide air). His arms were crossed over his chest and his head was lowered, eyes closed. Rei watched him warily from her sitting position on the coffin. She was still not too trusting of the vampire or the young girl that supposedly commanded him.

                It turned out that Yuna was a normal human with hair dyed a dark blue. She regarded Tenshi with eyes that were of the same color, half-closed, with dark eye shadow. She did seem to fit in to the scenery of the area… dark and creepy.

                Tenshi rubbed his neck and glanced over to Ryoga. “Maybe you can answer a few questions,” he said to the girl across from him, “like why that guy tried to kill me.”

                “And how you can see me,” Rei interjected.

                “Fair enough,” Yuna responded, “but I will only tell you what I think you should know. I can see you, priestess, because I have a strong spiritual awareness. I’m a psychic.”

                “Like the ones on TV?” Tenshi asked curiously.

                Both girls in the room gave him a cold stare.

                The teenage boy shrank into his chair. “Sorry…only asking…”

                “Not like the ones on TV. They are all frauds,” Yuna muttered. “I am a true psychic… strong spiritual sense, minor mind-reading… Empathic abilities… Things that allow me to tell who are worth trusting and who deserve to die.” There was no emotion in the girl’s voice. She was very serious.

                “As for Ryoga,” she continued, “he attacked because you saw him. You found him with that girl. No one must know of his existence, and so he attacked out of self-preservation.”

                “So he did kill that girl,” Rei hissed.

                Yuna smiled softly. “No… vampires do not need blood to survive. They drain spiritual energy.”

                “Wait a second,” Tenshi interrupted. “What do you mean? Vampires drink blood in all the stories I’ve heard.”

                “Some time in the middle ages, vampires drew blood as they fed on humans. While not needed to survive, it is addictive to their kind. It is no mistake that many vampires have drained humans dry, but not all have. Ryoga has broken free of his bloodlust. He lives off spiritual energies only.”

                Rei frowned. “Then something else is killing these people…”

                “Correct,” Yuna agreed. “It is a Koumori. A bat demon. Ryoga and I have been hunting it, but it has eluded us for some time.”

                Tenshi ran a hand through his bangs. “I’m still trying to grasp this vampire thing. So they don’t drink blood, they drink spiritual energy. What is that, exactly?”

                This time, Rei answered. “A creature’s aura is made up of their spiritual energy. This energy is also what makes up a spirit or a demon. Usually intangible, it can be manipulated into physical form through talismans or special techniques… such as the Spirit Resonance. Once drained of their spiritual energy, a living creature becomes catatonic. They die, but their body keeps on living.”

                “They become a vegetable,” Tenshi said, beginning to understand.

                “Erm… sure. Anyways, a person’s aura, made up of this energy, is what a vampire feeds on. But it takes quite a bit of energy to sustain a vampire, I believe. If a vampire must feed every night, then why has there not been a news report on an influx of these ‘vegetables’?” Rei asked.

                “Ryoga does not feed on many people,” Yuna responded. “He feeds on just one.” Reaching up, she unlatched her choker. On the side of her neck were two hole-like wounds, not fully healed. “I give him my energy, so that he does not take others… we have found that human spiritual energy takes a day or so to recover to full potency, depending on the amount drained. By feeding a bit at a time, we are both able to live.”

                Rei nodded, understanding. She glanced over at the silent man. But why doesn’t he just kill her? It could not be that difficult… Unless… The priestess looked over at Yuna. “…You know his true name, do you not?”

                The gothic-like girl glanced over at her silent companion. “…I do,” she murmured quietly.

                “I see now… And ‘Ryoga’ is surely false. So that is why he does not kill you…”

                Yuna still watched the vampire. “…There is more to the situation than that…”

                Tenshi frowned. “Well, it turns out everything I knew about vampires is twisted… what exactly are they? Where did they come from? What are their weaknesses?”

                Dark eyes turned to regard the teenage boy carefully. After a moment of silence, Yuna answered. “Alright… I tell you this because I sense no ill intent in your soul.

                “A vampire is half human, half Koumori. The male Koumori is a hideous, vicious demon who thrives off of death. They rarely appear in the physical plane, but when they do, it is for causing chaos, as you can tell from the media storm brewing around the recent murders. The female Koumori, however, take the form of a voluptuous human woman. They are also known as Succubi.”

                Rei scowled. “Succubi… the world is better off without them.”

                Tenshi blinked. “Why’s that?”

                “Succubi are sex demons,” the priestess said flatly. “They are among the basest of creatures. Some humans summon them to fulfill certain… needs.”

                Tenshi’s face went red. He looked down at the table.

                “That is true,” Yuna agreed, “but some Succubi appear without summons. In modern times, they take physical forms in cities to do their business. Being spiritual creatures, they usually can not become pregnant by humans. Every so often, however, a Succubus conceives a human child… thus a vampire is born. Despite what humans believe, a vampire is not created by a bite from another vampire. If that were so, then it would not be long until they ruled the planet.

                “Vampires have few weaknesses. Being bred from the Koumori, they cannot stand the light of day. That part of their mythos is true. A stake through the heart will, of course, kill them, as well as cutting off their heads. They can regenerate any other wounds. They are not immortal as they do have a lifespan. It just happens to be a few hundred years longer than a human’s. The Christian cross, as well as holy water, does not exactly harm them. It is more the faith in the object that makes it powerful. The stronger the belief in the symbol, the more potent it becomes in warding off a vampire. The idea of garlic and other similar effects are made up, as well as the idea that a vampire has no reflection.

                “As for their strengths… well, you have seen them first hand. They are extremely fast, strong, and agile. They have limited telepathy, heightened senses and a hypnotic ability based on terror. As you can see, a vampire is nearly unstoppable. It is a blessing to humans that they prefer to be left alone.”

                Tenshi was staring at Yuna by the time she finished. Slowly, he shifted his gaze to Ryoga. A shiver went down his spine. He’s so powerful! I could never even imagine beating him… how could anyone?

                “Hm… you have an enviable knowledge on vampires, it seems,” Rei said to the gothic girl.

                Yuna shrugged. “I’ve known Ryoga for quite a while.”

                “And this is his home, I assume?”

                “Correct.”

                “Then all these living necessities are yours. That would mean you spend quite a bit of time here. Don’t you have a home? Parents?”

                Yuna lowered her gaze. “…Yes, I do…”

                The priestess waited for an answer. When one didn’t come, she decided to let the subject go. “You seem about Tenshi’s age… do you go to Kakidashi High?”

                “I know what you’re getting at, priestess. There are many demons and spiritual creatures at that particular high school. I know you seek a certain demon, but I cannot help you. The one you seek and those close to him are too difficult to sense and far too difficult to fight.”

                Rei frowned. “We’ve fought two of them already, one of which was a Hell Hound trainer and the other being a Kamereon. I believe we can handle ourselves.”

                “…Gouka and Kawari were weaklings,” came a soft voice near the doorway. Both Tenshi and Rei turned to look at Ryoga as he spoke for the first time since Yuna revealed herself. “...If you cannot defeat me, then you will stand no chance against Tenma…”

                The priestess pushed off of the coffin she sat on and narrowed her eyes at the vampire. “It seems you are familiar with our target, as well as with his underlings.”

                Ryoga opened his eyes. In the stronger light, Tenshi and Rei noticed that his irises were diamond-shaped, like a cat’s. “…I am… and that is why I know you will never defeat him…”

                “Regardless, we have to try,” Rei asserted.

                The vampire pushed away from the wall and walked slowly over to Tenshi. The teenage boy shrank into his chair, despite the false bravery he attempted to show. Ryoga seemed to consider him. “… When we were fighting… you tried to use a spiritual technique on me… correct…?”

                Tenshi blinked. Ryoga was right. During their mini-battle, he had attempted to do the Spirit Resonance attack, but the vampire had dodged it. “Yeah…”

                “…Tell me… when was the first time you used it…?”

                “Erm… The first time? In a battle with Kawari, a few weeks ago. We finished her off with it. Wait, I actually used it just before then… She was about to kill me, then—” Tenshi paused. Something clicked in his mind. “…The first time I used it, I thought I was going to die… When I tried it on you, I thought the same thing…”

                Rei frowned, churning the idea in her mind. “A response out of desperation? But then we couldn’t have used it to finish Kawari. We had the upper hand.”

                Ryoga shook his head and turned away. “…Fools… you still don’t see it…”

                “Rei,” Yuna murmured, “during the three times this technique was used… even if it only truly succeeded once… would you say that you were feeling the same way Tenshi was?”

                The priestess exchanged a glance with the teenage boy. “Perhaps… when he feared for his life, I feared for it also… when he was determined to destroy the Kamereon, I was determined as well. It is only natural, I suppose. Why do you ask?”

                Yuna smiled slightly. “I believe I understand now.”

                “Understand what?” Tenshi asked.

                “Spiritual energy has its own wavelength, called a signature. Each person’s wavelength is different. It seems that this technique of yours can only be used when both of your spiritual signatures are perfectly in sync. He cannot perform the attack unless Rei’s mind and spirit works on the same wavelength as his own.”

                “I am familiar with that theory,” Rei replied, “but such a connection has not existed for several centuries. In fact, I know of very few outside the Kagebatsu and Hanshabatsu clans that had the discipline to use such skills.”

                Tenshi let the girls talked. He didn’t really understand what they were saying anyway. He was thinking about the hallucination he had while Ryoga was choking him; the one where his body seemed covered in a strange glow. He wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but he was pretty sure that when he tried the Spirit Resonance attack on Ryoga, it was powered by that glow. Rei didn’t have anything to do with it. But then again, the attack had failed. And at any rate, he didn’t even know what that glow was.

                “... I believe we should head out…” Ryoga murmured from the door way. He had opened the stone door and was peering intently into the night.

                Yuna glanced over to the man. “What is it? Do you sense something?”

                Ryoga narrowed his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. “Yes… the Koumori has returned.”