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Bloodlines:
September 14, 1992
a Sailor Mars/Vampire Princess Miyu crossover
by Meech (archsage.brinn@gmail.com)
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        "May I help you?"

        The woman twirled about, clutching at her neck as if in protection,
before realizing she was being foolish. She could not be in danger here of all 
places. Believing that helped her deal with her anguish.

        "Gomen nasai. I did not mean to startle you." The young teen bowed 
formally. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

        The woman gave the girl a once-over, then shook her head. "I'm afraid 
not. What I need can only be done by the senior priest. Is he in?"

        Frowning, taking offense despite the woman's politeness, the priestess 
replied stiffly, "No, he is not available today. He will not be available until
next week." The girl turned on her foot, neatly grabbing up the rake, and
proceeded back towards the temple stairs.

        Before she could take more than a few steps, the woman grabbed her upon
the shoulder. "Please," she pleaded, "this is an emergency. Do you know where I
can find Hino-sama?"

        "What type of emergency would require me to call my grandfather back
from his sacred pilgrimage in the mountains? What type of emergency would
require the presence of a SENIOR Shinto priest?" Rei asked crisply, shrugging
off the woman's hand.

        The visitor glanced about nervously, then seemed to scan the skies,
before she leaned in close to the raven-haired girl and whispered, "I need an
exorcism."

        Rei arched a brow, but otherwise remained unimpressed.

        "You're, what, only fourteen or so? You wouldn't know what I'm talking
about. At your age, I knew nothing more than a few charms and mantras, more to
ward off the evil eye than of any practical use. Only the senior priest would
know anything about exorcisms and banishments. Hino-sama is the best at both. 
Hell, he taught me everything I know."

        That caught the young priestess' attention. The woman could not have
been more than thirty years old, thirty-three latest, but Rei could not remember
having ever seen her before, not during her tenure at the temple. "Who are you?"

        "My name is Se Himiko."

        The name meant nothing to the girl, but the woman obviously knew
something about her grandfather. Rei had already seen the special warding rings
Himiko wore upon her left hand, and the faint smell of sandalwood, incense and
(Rei smirked) garlic touched upon her weakly. Unsure of what to make of her, the
priestess stared at her a moment before motioning Himiko to follow her inside.

        "So, who needs this, ah, exorcism, Himiko-san?" the priestess asked,
more to make polite conversation than for any interest. Rei could not make up
her mind on whether the woman was lying or sincere, and she hoped a little
casual conversation would clear that up.

        Once again, Himiko glanced furtively back and forth, almost afraid the
shadows would come alive. Rei took the paranoia into consideration. "I... I'd
rather not say right now. Perhaps inside, in the comfort of the Great Fire."

        The young girl nearly stumbled before catching herself on the railing. 
She favored the woman with another stare, this time with more uncertainty, but
said nothing and continued up the stairs.

        Dusk softened the sky above.

        As they removed their footwear, Rei tried another question. "When were
you taught by my grandfather, Himiko-san?"

        The woman stopped with one heel up, her hand reaching down to remove the
flats she wore. A pensive look crossed her face. "Oh, I suppose it was twenty
five years ago. I left his tutelage about fifteen years ago, so I guess that
makes it ten years he taught me." Her eyes lit up suddenly, though, considering
before they were weary and frightened, it seemed a small glimmer. "Oh! Why, you
must be the grandchild he was expecting."

        "Uh..." Rei did not know how to respond to that.

        "Oh yes. His daughter was pregnant when I left. A very nice lady,
Hino-sama's daughter. She was married to a politician I believe. Where are your
parents now?"

        Inwardly, Rei cringed slightly, though she gave no outward appearance of
discomfort. "My mother died when I was young. My father is still a politician
for all I know. I don't see him very much." Cold, contrite, to the point.

        Himiko bit her bottom lip, feeling she had overstepped a bound. "Gomen 
nasai, I didn't mean-"

        "You didn't know," Rei replied tersely and entered the temple compound. 
After a pause, Himiko did the same.

        Feeling more dejected than before, the woman shuffled after the 
teenager, finally emerging in the chamber of the Great Fire. Almost immediately, 
the warmth of the meditating flames eased the atmosphere somewhat.

        Rei turned on the woman. "Would you like some tea?"

        Himiko declined, then kneeled before the fire. "You're probably 
wondering if I'm crazy or not, what with me barging in here and demanding an 
exorcism."

        "There isn't much call for archaic ceremonies like that anymore," Rei 
admitted, kneeling besides the woman. "The supernatural has become a thing of 
dreams and fairy tales to humanity." A slight note of scorn touched her tone.

        Himiko did not miss it. "You believe otherwise?"

        "I've been raised with the belief of the supernatural just as I know I 
need to breathe. Being a spiritualist is not for the close-minded."

        "Well put," the woman replied, genuinely impressed. "It's a pity there 
aren't more who think as you do. Your grandfather taught you well."

        Rei blushed unconsciously. "Arigato. I've had... experiences to back up 
my beliefs as well, so I'm about as open-minded as one can get." A fleeting 
image of Usagi wailing in laughter at a manga flashed through her mind, but she 
quelled that stubbornly. There is only so much open-mindedness in the world.

        Himiko stared at the girl for a long moment, apparently deep in thought, 
and it was only then that Rei realized the woman's eyes were the most 
interesting shade of deep grey, sort of like tumultuous thunderclouds. Even 
more, they were speckled with gold flecks. She had never seen that before.

        The Great Fire flared at the same time Rei sensed the wrongness suddenly 
permeating the room. In the blink of an eye, she leaped back and landed with her 
hand reaching for a charm within her robes. Her flat and unrelenting violet orbs 
settled upon the woman, who had not moved an inch, but continued to stare 
solemnly back.

        "Who are you?" the priestess growled, her fury growing at her own 
stupidity on letting a foreign entity so deep within her temple.

        Those dark, gold-speckled eyes churned with unreadable emotion. "I am as 
I said. My name is Se Himiko, the Fallen, the Damned, the Dark, whatever you 
wish. I came here for the same reason that I gave before, to be exorcised by 
your grandfather. Can you help me?"

        Rei faltered in her resolve, unsure of herself. "Help you? What ARE 
you?" Wrongness exuded from this woman in waves, yet she could not tell what to 
make of it. A youma always reeked of darkness, corrupting the very air, but this 
felt more... sad. It was strange, but the girl could feel Himiko was a 
personification of eternal sorrow.

        Sighing resignedly, Himiko let the full horror of her form show, though 
only her eyes and teeth changed.

        The young girl gasped, taking a tremulous step back. "You’re... 
you’re..."

        "Yes, I am kyuuketsu, a vampire, Fallen and Damned, as I said before." 
The words spat out harsh and bitter. "This is why I must be exorcised." Gold had 
swallowed all of the color of her eyes, mesmerizing Rei through her terror. No 
thoughts of her earlier fury could pierce the sudden gauze that seemed to cover 
her mind. All of her mental training struggled to hold onto something, anything, 
that would break her from the anesthetizing effect, but steadily, her arm 
dropped back to her side, the weight of her defensive posture dissipating to a 
simple pose.

        "That is much better, child," Himiko crooned, rising to her feet and 
approaching the priestess. "It won't do either of us any good to be hostile 
towards each other."

        Her shoulders slack, Rei nodded slowly.

        "Larva, stop her," a new voice called out.

        A figure of deep blue robes and masked ivory face burst from the 
darkened corner of the room, materializing almost from nothing. Needle-sharp 
nails of scarlet grew from pristine gloves of similar white, trailing an 
afterimage through the air. Seven feet tall, the intruder's movement was a 
symphony of grace as it bound forward, hand raised for Himiko's throat.

        The golden-eyed vampire dropped to a crouch a split second before the 
foot-long nails slashed where her neck used to be. One leg slipped back, tamped 
down, then snapped straight, launching her directly into its midriff. It 
stumbled slightly, enough for Himiko to jump back and put a little ground 
between them, her canines glistening in the light of the Great Fire.

        Rei had not moved from her position, still glazed over with an 
expression of complete contentment.

        "This is wrong, Himiko-san," the voice of a girl-child murmured in 
disappointment. The owner of the spoken words appeared just behind Rei, a youth 
dressed in a pale kimono tied at the waist with a lavender sash. She, too, 
sported eyes of luminous gold. "You cannot rid yourself of Destiny."

        "I didn't ask for this!" Himiko raged back.

        The girl shook her head. "Who among us are truly allowed to choose our 
path? Do you think I wished this upon myself? Being a child for the last fifty 
years is hardly a choice, but a curse." Absently, she trailed her finger lazily 
over Rei's features. "She's very beautiful, Himiko-san. I can see why you would 
choose her."

        "That isn't why I'm here," the woman spat out, warily watching the 
taller guardian, who as of yet had not pressed his attack. "I'm nothing like the 
demon that you are, Miyu!"

        Petulantly, the girl pouted, removing her hand from Rei's face. "That is 
no way to treat a friend, Himiko-san. There are things that you must do, and I 
will not be here forever. Why run from it when you are just beginning?"

        "Because I am human!"

        "No!" Miyu yelled back, her eyes blazing. "You are not. We are not. The 
moment we were born, Fate took her hand and removed us from humanity. There is 
nothing to be done."

        Himiko gaped for a moment, then yelled back, "You MADE me what I am 
today! Against my will!"

        The girl shook her head, almost sadly. "Himiko-san, you had no will at 
the time. Need I remind you that YOU came to ME? You were a child at the time, 
but I was as I am now, and I took pity on you. You should thank me, really. Your 
mother and father cared nothing for you. I gave you the chance to live beyond, 
to make something of a life that would eventually run into a chasm."

        "Who do you think you are?!" Himiko took a menacing step towards Miyu, 
but Larva swiped down, mere inches from slicing her in twain. The woman held her 
ground. "You play with lives as if you are a god!"

        "No, Himiko-san, I am not a god. They are much crueler." She raised one 
hand, and a spark of flame appeared. "I will allow you to leave, but you can 
never return here. Do not ever seek to rid yourself of my kiss, for it is 
impossible. An exorcism would merely cause you a great deal of pain 
unnecessarily, without removing your blessing." Here she stopped, her lips 
twisted in scorn, and half-whispered, "Believe me, I have already tried."

        The woman seemed ready to argue, but the spark of flame grew larger, 
great enough to engulf her whole hand. "Leave at once. The shinma do not wait, 
and nor will I. You try my eternal patience." To punctuate her point, the ball 
of fire launched forth, bursting harmlessly at Himiko's feet.

        Shaking with fury, but unable to gain an advantage, and unwilling to 
take her own life, Se Himiko turned to leave, then halted. "What of the child? 
She is innocent."

        "No one is innocent," Miyu replied coldly. She had not moved from Rei's 
side.

        "But surely you do not plan to...?" she left her question hanging, 
expecting the vampire child to alleviate her worries.

        Miyu stood quietly, unmoving, but Larva sprung into action anyway. With 
even greater speed than before, he spread wide the folds of his billowing cloak, 
engulfing the surprised Himiko. Before the vampire could move, the giant pulled 
the folds shut around her. The folds continued to close after until they pulled 
shut around Larva as well, and both vanished from the room.

        Miyu strolled before Rei, glancing up into her face. Rei dazedly stared 
back. "So you would pit your inner strength against that of my blood?" she 
mused, once again trailing a finger along Rei's neck.

        "She said she came here for help," came the priestess' deadpanned reply.
"I think she came for understanding."

        The delicate caress stopped. Miyu frowned marginally, surprised at the 
last remark. Never in her existence had someone actually had the presence of 
mind to voice an opinion through the trance of a vampire's gaze, especially not 
her own. It was all a victim could do to answer a direct question as succinctly 
as possible.

        Dropping her arm, Miyu searched the young teen's face for some sign of 
oddity about her, besides the fact that her spiritual power was incredibly 
strong. Religion could not harm the vampire child. The unknown could.

        It was only after a closer inspection that Miyu noticed the mark. 
Terribly faint, it could have easily been mistaken as a slight flush of Rei's 
skin, but after a tentative touch, Miyu could not doubt any more.

        Moments later, Larva materialized again, this time sporting a number of 
shallow slashes across both arms and his chest. Blood had seeped through the 
robes, darkening the already deep blue. He stood quietly behind his mistress, 
uncomplaining, and apparently unconcerned with his injuries. The mask hid any 
expression he might have.

        "It is strange, Larva," Miyu murmured distantly, tracing the odd symbol 
that seemed to glow just beneath the skin of Rei's forehead. "I do not believe 
she is shinma, but there is a power within her that is quite destructive, almost 
as deadly as my own. Do you think I should be frightened?"

        Larva did not answer. He never answered her.

        "Still," Miyu continued, "she is enticing. I can give her the eternal 
bliss. You are not truly happy, are you?" The latter was addressed rhetorically 
to Rei.

        Eyelids drooping, the priestess sighed quietly. "Usagi is always reading 
my mangas," she replied in that deadpanned voice. "She doesn't take much 
responsibility either."

        Miyu's brow furrowed, once again caught off guard by her victim's 
coherence. Not only that, but the response sounded faintly exasperated. "I do 
not know how you are doing it, pretty girl, but it is not amusing. Perhaps...?" 
She glanced over her shoulder at her guardian inquiringly.

        Larva shook his head, indicating the negative.

        "Well, you are not a shinma, so that means you must be human, and a 
human I can handle." Miyu stepped forward, cupping her hands behind Rei's head 
to bring the two of them closer. "And if you are human, you will enjoy this," 
she whispered before sinking her exposed teeth delicately within Rei's neck.

        The Great Fire roared to life once again, this time accompanied by the 
brilliant explosion of ruby light bursting from the symbol of Mars upon Rei's 
brow.

*****

        Several days later, Rei hummed quietly to herself, raking the leaves of 
the temple ground into tidy piles just as she did every week.

        The bandage covering the two puncture wounds on her neck was all but 
hidden beneath her waves of hair.

        A great wail of laughter shattered the peace from the direction of the 
stairs, where a enormously amused Usagi rolled about with a manga waving in her 
hand. A twitch flicked at Rei's left eyebrow, and her humming became more of a 
rumbling growl, before she whirled about.

        "USAGI, BAKA-ODANGO-ATAMA!! CAN'T YOU LAUGH ANY QUIETER?!"

        In the foliage seclusion of a cherry blossom tree, the youthful child 
stared with a determined frown. "I do not understand, Larva," Miyu muttered, 
watching without amusement at the antics of the priestess and her blonde friend.

       The masked giant wrapped a comforting arm about his charge. He silently 
gazed off in the distance, his thoughts hidden.

        For many minutes, the two observed, one impassively, eventually losing 
sight of their quarry as Rei chased the exuberant blonde inside the temple. "I 
do not understand," Miyu repeated, clutching Larva's arm tightly, then reaching 
out with her other arm to pull his neck close. Taking the hint, he lifted her 
easily into his arms and carried her back to the Dark.

Fin.


Sailormoon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi. Vampire Princess Miyu is the 
property of Ms. Kakinouchi and Sooeishinsha. This story will not be used without 
Meech’s (archsage.brinn@gmail.com) permission.