Chapter Text
VALENTINE, August 1871
The dusty desert air sweeps up the sand as horses and carriages make their way through the roads. Isagi sweats beneath his collar, the town hall rarely ever summons them, preferring the services of their own sheriffs and policemen. And that’s all well and good.
Summons mean trouble. Summons mean whatever it is is out of the hands of the average cowboy, and into the hands of people like him.
Shipping magnate Adam Blake has been found dead. Foul play glaringly obvious. The body had been drained of blood, Isagi heard the rumors. Pale skin and blood shot eyes. His face was drained of color, an expression of terror in his open eyes.
The culprit was obviously no ordinary criminal, and has then since sent the residents of Valentine into spells of terror.
Mothers are ushering their children home before the sun sets, prohibiting them from going out at night. Armories have reached record high sales, shops shutting down before dusk.
The skeptics call him a cold blooded murderer. The superstitious call him a demon.
The truth isn't far removed from the rumors.
See, Isagi isn’t just a random private detective.
From an early age, his father would bring him on hunts, teaching him to shoot with a dangerous accuracy. His mother would read him stories of the macabre from all over the world. From the sirens that linger in the depths of the sea, the werewolves that terrorize the forests, even the witches that bewitch those unlucky enough to cross their paths.
Growing up, his mother would put bulbs of garlic by the shutters, run lines of salt around their house. Polish her silver knife every morning, and made sure her stakes were always in sight.
His mother comes from a long line of monster hunters. Protectors of the innocent, dwelling in the shadows to protect those that walk in the light.
He dabs at his neck with a bandana, its not just the summer heat, but also his nerves.
He doesn’t even notice that he’s been tapping his right foot, a habit he’s had since his youth, until Chigiri tells him off for being annoying.
“Y’know that’s what calms him down, Princess. “ Bachira chastised before turning to him “Quit being yellow-bellied! Even if it’s really a vampire, We’ve killed lots before!”
It’s true, in fact, they’ve made quite a name for themselves in the industry. They started this when they were teens, fresh faced seventeen-year-olds on a mission to become the best monster hunters in the West.
Now twenty-three with more scars than he can count, it makes him proud to say that they’re much closer to their goal.
During the day, they’re a private detective service. Tasked with finding lost jewelry, background checking suitors for socialites, and finding the occasional underwear thief.
But at night, their work takes a supernatural turn. They investigate the ransacked houses of townsfolk, in search of werewolves. Lure sirens into their traps, and most of all, kill vampires.
Still, Isagi has a bad feeling about this case. He's seen the body himself, the work wasn't one of fledgling vampire with a newly acquired taste for blood, it's too clean for that.
It wasn't the victim that made this case strange to Isagi. Blake was far from a saint, he scammed old sailors of their wages, he desecrated the land till it was land no more. He slept around in brothels and drank till his spurs were upside down. So, it made sense why a man would want to kill him. Keyword: man
Instead of hasty fang marks and open wounds, the body looks clean, it was even still dressed to the nines, put back in his chair as if he were still alive. The maid only found the body the next morning, when she went to wake her boss up with coffee, only to find his cold corpse.
Vampires don't like being seen, their victims are usually settlers in the woods. People nobody would know was gone. So for one to go for a man of the first waters like Blake. Especially one that knows its way around a body, smells like trouble.
Isagi shudders, but puts on a brave face as he faces his friend, "Yeah, you're right."
Just another job. Right?
Before Bachira can reply, the mayor's assistant calls them up to his office
"Mr. Isagi? Yes, the mayor is ready to see you now."
Upon entering his office, Isagi takes his hat off in greeting, his friends quickly following behind.
Mayor Ego Jinpachi is a man of strange disposition. His tall lanky build, beady eyes and sharp senses almost seem otherworldly. His posture sags against his seat and his hair is graying at his temples, crow's feet lining his eyes.
You wouldn't think it a first glance, but back in his youth, he was the most prolific monster hunter in the West. That's how he knows about their..other services.
"Sit down."
They shuffle onto the couch at the east side of the room, his assistant Ms. Anri brings them tea, as they settle in.
"I'm sure you know why I called on you today," He starts, sipping his coffee before continuing. Ego always freaked Isagi out, his spectacles always gave him the impression of a villain in the fairy tales he read in his childhood.
"Yes, sir. We've seen the scene too. Whoever did it isn't new to this." He replies.
"So I assume you know what I want you to do." Ego peers at them from his place on the other end of the table.
"Take them to the theater?" Bachira answers dryly. Kunigami next to him suppresses a chuckle. Chigiri rolls his eyes.
It really amazes Isagi how relaxed Bachira can be, joking around with the hunter who killed an entire pack of werewolves without a gun, or any silver. If looks could kill, his friend would be six-feet-under already.
"Do I look like I'm in a jokin' mood? I want y'all to kill 'em." He replies sternly, "I'd do it myself, but.." He stands as he rolls his sleeves up, revealing a long gash running down his left forearm. He opens the drawer under his desk, pulling out a folder before tossing them onto the coffee table.
"It's time for new talent to show me they ain't all hat and no cattle, that right, boys?"
His smirk is so damn creepy. Isagi is thankful he says it in his head instead of out loud.
Hold on, them?
"Mr. Mayor, what do you mean, 'them'? 'Ya think there's more of 'em? Never took vampires for the social kind, what makes you think they're in cahoots?" Isagi recalls his mother's tales, vampires are solitary creatures, not like werewolves who travel and hunt in packs. They prefer not to share their prey, which is why killing 'em ain't the hardest part, finding them is.
Ego takes a cigar from his drawer, lighting it and taking a drag before turning to them. "You got eyes, ain't ya? Read the files."
Isagi flushes in embarrassment. Asshole.
Isagi opens the envelope, drawing out tits contents. Pictures, small noted, even full blown pages that looked like they were ripped out of a journal. Messy handwriting scrawled over it.
The picture is old, judging from the wrinkles in the corners from where it was probably held.
Two men are in the picture, one older than the other, thinning at the top, sitting in a leather chair in his best clothes. A teenage boy stands next to him, blond hair to his shoulders, sharp nose and features. He stares into the camera with a kind of gaze that rubs Isagi the wrong way. '1831' the date reads.
He shifts his focus onto the notes laid bare on the table as he passes the photograph to his friends. Diary entries, it looks like, judging from the dated passages. From 30 years ago.
February, 1841
I've never seen anything like it. Blood, blood everywhere. Nobody believes me. But I know what I saw. Demons, whatever that is. I saw it. I saw what it did. It's coming for me. I know it. Demons sent to torment me, but surely whatever sin I've done isn't enough to warrant this.
It's eyes no longer hold any soul. It's vaguely human, if you can call it that. Straw colored hair and blue eyes. Whatever it is, I am certain that it is man no more.
February 19, 1841
It's taunting me. It's making me think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. It's leaving me messages, It left my head on a stick in my dreams, sick bastard! I'll kill you. Before you kill me, I swear, I'll kill you first.
February 23
It's getting closer, It's toying with me. Seeing how much I can take before I break. I will not.
february March 2
I'm going insane. It's not touching me. It's been in my dreams, showing me what it's going to do to me. I see it in mirrors, in my own face. Everywhere. Anywhere.
At least that's what Isagi can read, the handwriting goes from neat to messy, like a physical trophy to this man's insanity. Isagi shudders, Bachira peers over his shoulder to read the notes too. He lets out a low whistle.
"Reckon this guy's gone to roost? Looks like it." Isagi nods, he turns his eyes to the newspaper clipping that fell out of the envelope too, it reads,
HEIR FOUND DEAD!
Thomas Fowler, the son of trade merchant Sigmund Fowler, was found dead in his fields, blood drained from his body. His cause of death remains unknown. The young man, aged 22, has been helping his father manage the farm since his youth. We learn that he has a father and mother to lament his loss.
"Poor fella, they toyed with him before killing him. Sick bastard." Rensuke sighs, his eyes scanning over the documents on the table. Chigiri thumbs the photo before meeting his eyes. "Looks like it."
Ego finally turns around to look at them, drawing one last puff from his cigar before humming in agreement.
"What county this from? the notes ain't say nothing about it." Isagi questions.
"England."
Their eyes widen, brows lifting up to their hairline. "Long way from home ain't it?" Chigiri comments.
Ego puts his cigar down. Isagi always hated the smell from cigars, the smoke always made his nose itch.
"Back then, I was just starting out as a hunter. I received a letter from my uncle in those parts, see, the loon was one of his friend's son. He found the death odd, and he wrote to me to see if I could go over there and sniff it out, sent all he think I needed to know. Paid for my voyage and everything."
'When I got there, I got that journal, didn't seem like anything at first, then I saw those entries. Noticed I ain't seen a blonde man in that town, so I asked around. I ended up drinkin' with this wobble - jaw fella tellin' old ghost stories. About fifteen years ago, this German couple with a kid bought a big 'ol house in the middle of town, people took a likin' to them, so it was strange when they ended up burned to death in their own house" Ego continued.
"Strange thing was, they found the couple, but not the kid. Never saw hide or hair of him again."
"Some people say he got kidnapped, sold for parts. Others say he killed them himself. I got lucky enough that I got that picture, whole house was ransacked by bandits after the fire."
Isagi nods in understanding. "So the kid probably got turned by whoever killed his ma and pa, came back for revenge on the townspeople or whatever reason, but why would he come all the way over here?"
"Check the envelope again."
Chigiri grabs the envelope, shaking it upside down till another newspaper clipping fell.
FOWLER FAMILY DEAD.
The trading magnate Sigmund Fowler and his wife, Antoinette Fowler has been found dead in the same manner as their son. A disturbing message has been left in the massacre's wake, written on the walls of their sitting room in the couple's blood
I WILL PICK YOU OFF, ONE BY ONE,
YOU WILL NEVER FEEL SAFE AGAIN.
I. WILL. ALWAYS. BE. HERE.
The cryptic message has sent the rest of the Fowler family into a panic, some even leaving the continent altogether. The perpetrators have not been found. If any details surface that may aid in the investigation, please contact the authorities immediately.
Kunigami huffs, Bachira winces as he reads the clipping again. For a moment, Isagi hates his career choice.
So they have an unusually murderous vampire with a thirst for revenge, who's so vengeful that he's traveled hundreds of miles to pick off this family one-by-one.
Isagi thanks his lucky stars that being poor and American has saved him once again.
"What's that got to do with Blake then?" Bachira asks, Ego rolls his eyes.
"His mother's maiden name is Fowler, Sigmund's sister— Died in 1842 birthin' him" He answers anyway.
"This is just one man though? You said they." Chigiri pulls his hair away from his nape, tying it up in a knot.
"A kid saw two men lurking around the Blake house around midnight two days before the murder. Matched the description I was lookin' for, the boy in that picture and another man"
"Who's the other guy?"
"Alexis Ness."
"Shit."
"Quit airin' yer lungs in my office, punk."
But Isagi has no words other than shit.
Alexis Ness is one of the most notorious mages in the world, infamous for how many he's cursed. Entire bloodlines and cities forced to exist under his whim. He's centuries, maybe even millennia old. Nobody knows who he learned his magic from, and nobody has lived to tell tales of his weaknesses.
"You sure you don't want a piece of this?" Chigiri jokes.
"Not my problem anymore, my days of killing vampires are long gone. These things are up to you boys now." Ego actually smiles at that, Isagi doesn't know what's worse. His smile or his scowl.
"I already mapped out the family tree of the Fowlers that moved here, their addresses too. That's as much as I'm gonna help you."
'Help' my ass. Isagi thinks.
Help would include tightening your bootstraps and comin' with us.
Ego sits up from his spot on the couch opposite them and saunters over to his desk again, before plopping down on his seat.
"Feel free to take that envelope with 'ya, close the door when you leave. Anri!"
Isagi feels bad that Ms. Anri has to deal with this odd-stick. Whatever her wages are, Isagi's sure it ain't enough.
SAINT DENIS, A FEW DAYS LATER.
After leaving Ego's office, they spent a couple of days reckoning on what to do. They decided to split up to cover more ground.
Kunigami and Chigiri stayed in town for any new information that might come their way, also because the business depended on its day services for most of its funding.
Can't make much money in the occult.
Isagi and Bachira followed the trail to Saint Denis, a larger town up north from where they usually ride around. As a kid, Isagi remembers trips to the town being a big occasion, his ma and pa dressing him in Sunday's best.
The buttery smell of popcorn invades his nose, causing his stomach to grumble.
Bachira whistles low. "Let's get something to eat cowboy. Saw a saloon right around the corner we passed. C'mon, get a wiggle on it!" He sets off into the direction they came from.
Bachira is his closest friend, his brother in all but blood. Before they were monster hunters, ridin' through the west, they were kids playing hopscotch on the roads, hiding behind their mother's skirts.
Isagi watches as he scarfs down Prime Rib like a dog. His own plate only half eaten. Bachira grumbles something but Isagi can't tell what it is.
"Chew your food before talkin'" He admonishes. Bachira swallows and takes a glug of his beer.
"You reckon that it's really Ness with that Kaiser boy?" "I can hardly believe it myself, but I don't see why Ego would spill his beans without being sure, y'know that man hates having to call us for our….services." Isagi sighs, looking past his companion to the darkening sky. They left yesterday before the sun rose, set up camp for the night before arriving earlier this morning.
They spent the afternoon asking around for the Mikage estate. From the information given to them, they had reason to believe that the heir, Reo, was the next target because of his connection to the Fowler family through his mother's line, one of Blake's aunts.
Their plan tonight was simple, keep a look-see around the manor. Get a visual on their targets, so they know for sure what they're dealing with. Since it was only him and Bachira, contact was not to be made unless absolutely necessary. One vampire was trouble enough, with their heightened senses and strength, even as a fledgling. What more two veteran beasts with a sadistic sense of humor?
"'Ya make it sound like we're whores." "Bachira!"
Bachira chuckles. "Eat up, cowboy. Got a long night ahead of us."
They settled atop the hill overlooking the main house, decently covered by the greenery in the area. They debated whether or not to tell the family about their plan, but a couple of newcomers comin' to tell them that a couple of vampires are gonna suck their blood out and they're here to protect them would probably get them sent to the nearest jail, or a loon-house.
From their vantage point, they could see both the front and back of the house. It's an hour and a half past midnight at this point, and Isagi's legs are sore from sittin' around. The only sounds he can hear is Bachira's breathing polishing his revolver, spinning its body around.
This is the part Isagi hates the most. Waiting. He does much better in the heat of the moment, gunfire from all sides, smoke and sweat sticking to his skin. Waiting feels like torture, like the countdown before the shots ring out in a shoot-out.
But then he sees something in one of the manor's windows. A man, tall and built, his face is covered by the darkness, but he moves unnaturally, too fast, to snappy to be human, moves around second floor hall.
Even from afar, Isagi can smell its metallic, arsenic stench. His sharp nose is one of the reasons he's still alive, saving him and his team more times than he can count.
How the hell did it get in? I could swear I never took my eyes off it.
"Bachira!" He whispers.
"Let's go! Inside, get in through the window on the east side of the first floor."
Quickly, they sprint to the window. Isagi can hear crickets humming in the background as they kick up the dirt beneath their boots.
His heart is pounding in his ear as they enter the manor. It's dark, they can barely see anything.
This is bad. Vampires thrive in the dark, but lighting a lamp would draw the attention of the people living there, they'd toss them out, and the night will claim another victim before they even know what their foe looks like.
So, reluctantly, they traverse with the only light source being the moonlight reflecting onto hardwood floor.
Isagi isn't sure when it happens, but he loses Bachira. The manor's layout is too complicated to be able to know where everything is without a map. All they know is that Reo's room is on the second floor, near the west side.
There's no time to look for him, Reo could be dead if they waste even a second. So, he reluctantly pads upstairs as quiet as he can, his revolver loaded, his stakes shaking in their place on his sash.
When he comes upstairs he sees nothing.
But the stench of the undead is stronger.
A unnatural force bashes him to the wall, his back bounces off of it but he recovers pretty quick.
"What's this? Pesky little vampire hunters meddling in my business again?" The voice is accented, a teasing lilt of arrogance.
A hand attempts to choke his neck to the wall but he rolls out of the way. He ends up behind the figure, but before he can take out his stake to bury in its back, it turns around punches him square in the stomach.
Fuck! It's definitely going to leave a bruise.
Isagi takes a risk. He slumps down onto the floor before he pretends to pass out.
If I can get this bastard close enough so I can cut his throat.. He'll be weak enough that he's going to retreat.
As expected, the vampire gets greedy. Crouching down, he can feel its breath as it fangs near his neck.
Now!
He kicks it square in the chest, causing his opponent to fall to the ground in shock. He wastes no time pinning him to the ground, straddling his hips, putting his whole weight against him. He uses one hand to pin his arms above his head while he gets his knife to his throat.
Underneath the moonlight, he finally gets a good look at him.
Isagi knows that vampires are meant to be seductive by nature. Their charm is a reason why so many men and women fall victim to their whims. Willing lambs to the slaughter.
Bright blue eyes stare into him, blonde hair sprawled around his head. His aristocratic features mirror the boy in the picture, but have matured handsomely. His skin is pale, contrasting against Isagi's tanned, scarred arms. Pink lips curve up into a fanged grin as he looks up at him.
The man- no, vampire beneath him might be the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.
His hips grind down into his more as he puts more of his weight into pinning him down. Unintentionally, the move forces Kaiser's crotch slides against his ass. Isagi's breath hitches.
It's his moment of hesitation that almost gets him killed. It doesn't take much for kaiser to breakout of his hold, flipping their positions so that he's the one pinned to the floor. He thinks this is it. He's going to die because he got seduced by a German vampire who didn't even really do anything.
"What's wrong, Yoichi? Cat got your tongue?"
BANG!
The noise startles them both, turning to look at the source of the sound at the end of the hall.
Bachira stands opposite them with a shotgun in his hand, smoke still coming off from the barrel. Behind him stands Mikage Reo, still in his sleepwear, his hair is in a mess, but his eyes are tense as he clutches a rifle in his hands.
Isagi takes advantage of the situation, quickly grabbing his knife that got flung to the side, he tries to stab him in the stomach, but Kaiser's too quick—it only grazes his abdomen instead.
Kaiser hisses in annoyance, cold blood dripping on Isagi's clothes. His eyes meet Isagi's.
"Isagi Yoichi, you might prove to be more interesting than I thought."
It's the last thing he hears before he sees a flash of color fly out the window, disappearing into the night.
He hears a rifle cock on the other side of the hall, he turns to see Reo aiming the gun at Bachira. He must be confused, but his expression is hard and his arms don't tremble.
"What the fuck are you all doing in my house?"