Hemophage Positive

[Yagyu Tsukiko]

When: Distant future
Where: Japan
Catchphrase: "The Blood War is on!"
Inspiration: Ultraviolet (movie); Uglies (books); Neuromancer (books)
The World: The future is now. A crazed pureblood called Shin was determined to turn all humans into vampires so he developed what would be known as the "Hemophage Plague", a biological weapon that turned its victims into vampires. Unfortunately, most of the victims went crazy, as they didn't know they had to be fed blood regularly, creating an uncontrolled number of level Es. Mankind went crazy with fear and hunted anything that displayed a vampiric strain in their blood, and so the lower level population of vampires begun to be hunted. The level Bs and As went into hiding -- despite their superior and godlike powers, they were still susceptible to snipers and weapons of mass destruction. And they certainly didn't want to have to pay for Shin's errors.

But after the Level Es were wiped, level Ds and Cs started to be targeted. They were captured and tested like labrats, as mankind attempted to develop weapons that would work even better against vampires. And so, the leaders of the vampires had once to return to protect themselves. Guerrilla warfare begins, vampires (also know derrisively as Hemophages) striking against government researchers and Hemophage Combat Units, who, in turn hunt them.

The story starts at the Advanced Disease Control Research Center, where a young woman, Tsukiko Yagyu, daughter of the head researcher of the neurology section sits, drawing, in front of a crystal coffin, where a handsome and braindead hemophage floats. What she doesn't know is that he is Seiryu Sakurazuka, Pureblood of the Vampires, and who allowed himself to be captured by his enemies. Unlike his Level E and D cousins, the treatments that would leave them brainded, did little against him. And now he waited only for the signal for him to break from his glass coffin and destroy the research that cause so much trouble for his kind

[Yagyu Tsukiko]

((This was mostly played by MSN, so I'll transcribe and clean up here))

Tsukiko knew she shouldn't be there. But she had all the excuses if security showed up. Besides, her father was the leader of research. It's not as if she could approach the computers, to steal anything. Her father preferred her to be there after school. The house was secure, but since the threats had begun, he felt better that she was with him at the research facilities. It was like a fortress., impugnable. *Her mother was safe, at the government building, so Tsukiko was the weak link. At it was likely that the Hemophiliacs would make short work of any normal bodyguards. And there were so many elite bodyguards to be dispensed to accompany an investigator. She walked across the glass coffins and stopped in front of "him". *He was beautiful. Long dark hair. A perfect body. Angelic features. His eyes were closed as he floated, drugged to the gills. Her father had said that he'd never wake up probably. That the amount of drugs given to him had destroyed his brain.

It never ceased to amaze him how arrogant these humans could be sometimes. Then again, they had likely thought that the simple Level D and E Vampires were the norm. They had never imagined they would have to deal with something of his nature. Surely they had never encountered a Noble born Vampire, much less a Pureblood. His eyes kept silent, floating in the saline solution they had placed him in to remain 'fresh'. The nigh lethal amount of sedatives had been enough to leave him barely coherent for days, but the intravenous blood they had supplied him with to keep his tissues alive had repaired what brain damage had been done. At this moment, he could feel her heartbeat, and hear her voice, garbled as it was do to his floating prison. Sympathy had not been something he had expected, so he cautiously barely opens an eye to peek at her through the tiny sliver of open eyelid.*

"Hi." *she said, and kissed the glass* "You know, they say you can hear any more. But maybe you can sense my voice. It must be really lonely out there, huh? At least they should give you something interesting to do while you float. Music. If I was catatonic in a glass coffin, I'd like to have some music." *on cue, her E-pod screamed a symphonic delicacy, of ancient and deceased instruments made of wood and wire* "It's Beethoven. He was deaf, you know." *she sat, cross-legged in front of the coffin and pulled out her sketchbook* "But still he wrote the most wonderful music... just from vibration." *she pulled the pencils and opened the notebook. There were several drawings of him, as an angel, as a sleeping old fashioned lord, as a drowned elf. He was beautiful and somehow... so sad. She shifted to remove the null-space bracelet where she carried all of her things so she could draw. Her father was going to take long to finish, today, so she might as well work on some of her assignments. The show exhibit would be in a few weeks, and she wanted to feature him in at least one of the pictures.

[Yagyu Tsukiko]

He watched her quietly, simply floating there as she drew. She was pretty for a human, and so young to be exposed to this. He wondered what lie the humans had concocted to explain his presence, passing the time until the signal by thinking of various scenarios involving this young girl, finally something to do to distract him from the waiting. She speaks of Beethoven, listening to one of the symphonies, and he wonders for a moment what she would think had he told her he had actually met the man. The thought makes the corners of his mouth curl up, barely moving in a fraction of a smile.

Tsukiko noticed the Mona Lisa smile, and smiled as well. He was even more beautiful. Maybe she was imagining things, but maybe her music was helping him. Her father's assistant comes over for a moment, to bring her a cup of chocolate and a small card for when she wants to have dinner. She apologizes, telling her her father might take a while tonight, but since her mother and her bodyguard are out of town, she'll really have to wait for her father. They got more threats from the Bloods, which increased security all around. The woman jokes a little more, if she's not afraid of being next to all those vegetative corpses. Who, even though they were brain dead, were still Hemophages. Tsukiko smiles at the woman, and tells her that she'll be fine and no, she's not afraid. The woman exasperates her, always trying to suck up to her father, but she tries to pretend all is well. When the woman finally goes, she mutters "Bitch. I hate to be treated as a child. I'm a teenager, not stupid." She looks at the lovely floating man "I suppose I am being stupid when I wish you would talk back. You'd kill me as fast as look at me. Besides, you're pretty... like a snake. Just a way to lure the prey... and warn them at the same time. How is it, to be feared and hated? How is it to be able to see a thousand colours that no one else but your kind can see?"

He wants to answer her, to tell her that she is mistaken, that he doesn't want to just kill her. That this was all a misunderstanding, what happens when humans torment poor turned vampires until they go feral... But he cannot, she is a human, an aggressive human, what she doesn't understand she kills, just like the rest of her kind. Humanity had come so far, only to become the most savage beast on the planet. Hemophages, just a word they used to try to distance themselves from something that frightened them. It made his stomach hurt. So she was the daughter of Yagyu? Mores the pity, she had seemed so nice too.

Tsukiko continues to draw, to take looks at him every now and then "What if a Hemo falls in love with a human... and she grows old and he doesn't? Would his heart break? Can Hemos even feel sadness? Love? I hope you could. Even if it can be despairing at times. There is this boy at school... but I don't trust him. He keeps telling me that if I really like him, I should sleep with him... and why am I telling you this? You're a boy too. You hate conversations about feelings" she sticks her tongue out at him " ... Do vampires go to school? Wonder what a vampire school is like. Do you study anatomy to know where to bite? Or maybe "Seduction 101" to know how to make humans give themselves willingly for a necking. Literally." she giggles

The lights flicker and go out, before the backup generators can kick on, a blinking of the lights.... The signal hes been waiting for. For a moment the only light in the room comes from the backlights in this cursed tube he floats in, but its enough for her to see that his eyes suddenly snap open with the utmost focus.

Tsukiko blinks. She had never seen the lights fail, and as they do, she reaches for her nullspace bracelet. She has a light source there, but the backup generators kick in. She relaxes slightly and gets up. Her eyes are still dazed by the shift from total darkness to light and she approaches the Sleeping Boy with squinting eyes. "Don't be afraid. Just a light--- oh my." Her vision returned that moment, and she noticed his eyes were open. For long moments, she couldn't help looking at his eyes. She could swear he was looking at her. But he couldn't be. His brain was destroyed. But she could almost swear.... maybe the blackout was caused by an electricity wave, and his body was twitched to open his eyes. His grey eyes are lovely. Slowly, she approaches the glass coffin, resting her hand on the cool surface "Why did they trap you here... like an animal?" she murmurs.

His hands impact the glass on either side of her, hard enough to crack this glass coffin and free himself. As safety systems drain away the liquid that doesn't rush from the holes his eyes move to fix on hers, and he frees himself tearing out of the bullet proof casing, pealing it back and standing before her. "Because I'm different, and humans fear what they don't understand." He says simply.

She screams as the glass coffin explodes, thrown backwards by the sudden rush of water, which makes her slip and fall on her back. Tiny shards of glinting glass fall all arond her, a hundred red-hot caresses on her skin, drawing blood. His answer terrifies her, and even though she's scared, she can't help seeing how beautiful he is. He's naked, and she saw it before, but now, with him acting and moving, it makes her blush for some reason, even if she is freaking out at the same time.