Archive of Our Own

Once upon a dreary day in the great city of London, something strange occurred. This strange thing was strange in a special way, being somehow stranger even than any of the other strange things that had occurred that very day.

You see, every now and then – even among an impressive array of exciting and unusual cases of great mystery – there is one that stands out. This could be for numerous reasons: perhaps a particularly difficult mystery, a spectacular way in which the case was solved, sentimental significance, or – as is the case today – it could be as a result of the crime itself.

Most ghastly and intriguing, today’s case is a thing of true horror and excitement. Caught by her stepson in the middle of the awful crime, a woman has been arrested on charges of attempting to kill her baby. Though the child yet lives, it is difficult not to fret, as the woman appears to have been attempting to take his life in the most terrifying way possible –

She drank his blood!

Though hard to believe, those are the details of the case as they exist at this moment. It is in pursuit of the truth behind this apparent vampire that the brave lawyer Chuunosuke and his judicial assistant Usato have set out.

We join our heroes as they approach and enter the looming manor, inside of which dwells the scene of the crime. Winding hallways of painted plywood protect a secret, and the duo traverses them bravely despite the weight of the house’s darkness on their spirits.

“It’s a n-nice house, isn’t it?” Chuunosuke squeaks, wide eyes firmly fixed upon the manor’s fine decor. If his voice does squeak, it is only on account of his mouseness, and if he appears pale, it is surely only as a result of his white fur.

Politely, Usato nods, the picture of composure and dignity as she continues shuffling forward. “It is,” she agrees, “the . . .curtains and such are all very pretty. Though . . .”

She pauses, glancing briefly over her shoulder, and inches just slightly closer to her companion while placing a paw to her cheek. “. . . It would be easier to see them if they didn’t insist on keeping the place so very . . . dark.”

The house certainly isn’t warm, and it is certainly only as a result of this that Chuunosuke suppresses a shiver. “Dark?” he says with a strange, high-pitched laugh, “ Is it dark? I hadn’t noticed. . .”

In perfect time with his statement, he stumbles over a wrinkle in the carpet. Fortunately, he does not fall, and in short time stands as tall and proud as possible, chest puffed out even as his eyes dart nervously to and fro.

“Oh dear – are you alright?” Usato asks with a worried frown, and it is this genuine show of concern which serves to finally rattle our hero’s determined spirits.

“Not at all!” Darting ahead several steps, Chuunosuke then allows his head to fall into his paws, which tug at despondently drooping ears. “We’re going to die here, I think – if not by a ghost, then certainly by whatever curse our client’s placed upon it all.”

“Curse?” She scurries to catch up, curiosity overriding whatever fear may be causing her own fur to stand on end. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Creatures like – like what they say she is –” Chuunosuke stammers.

“ – Vampires?”

“ Sh!” he jumps, pressing a finger to his lips. “If you say that, it will make the curse worse – they can do that, I think. Cast . . . curses on people who trespass into their territory. Oh, why did we have to come here? I don’t know what I expected to find, unless we somehow stumble upon her coffin . . .”

Despite herself, Usato giggles, the sound muffled by a kimono sleeve. “Do you think that would hurt our case?” she asks. “How does one even go about defending a vampire?”

“I don’t know . . .” Chuunosuke groans as if part of the living dead himself. “. . .But we had better figure it out. At least she seems a nice enough vampire – you don’t think there are any more around here, do you?”

Usato shakes her head. “There doesn’t seem to be anybody at all.”

“Well . . . that’s good, at least. . .” Chuunosuke lets out a heavy breath, allowing his shoulders to slump. The duo are nearing the end of the hall, as well as their destination, which has been marked off by members of Scotland Yard. “Still, I can’t help but wish I’d brought some of that garlic with me from lunch, just in case.”

“Oh, don’t be silly.” Shaking her head, Usato clicks her tongue against her teeth. “If there are any vampires, that certainly wouldn’t work to turn them away. It’s garlic flowers that repel them, not the bulb. I just read all about it in the most wonderful book –”

Pale now for reasons unrelated to his fur, Chuunosuke shudders all the way from ears to tail. “Please,” he begs weakly, “don’t tell me about your vampire book. Let’s just investigate and get out of here as quickly as possible.”

Slowly, the pair edge into the child’s bedroom, where a lamp burns brightly on the wall next to the bed, which is covered by rumpled handkerchief bedding in quite a state of disarray. Somehow, the light only serves to make the room’s cast shadows more severe, composed of a deep and terrible darkness in which anything at all could lurk.

So thinks Chuunosuke as his body sidles inside entirely against his will. Still trembling, he looks towards the bed, then very quickly away. “That’s – that’s where it happened, then?” he asks as calmly as possible.

“So it seems. . .” Usato nods, frowning. “. . . It’s different, isn’t it? Than the other times we’ve seen places where a body was left, I mean. The child isn’t dead , but . . . “

She hesitates, paw placed once more upon the side of her cheek.

“. . .It’s still where they say she – she –” Chuunosuke continues for her, nodding half in an attempt to reassure himself and half in an attempt to shake the words from his throat. “D-drank his blood.”

Frightened, the pair inch closer together.

“. . . Do you think he was awake when she did it?” Usato whispers.

A whimper escapes Chuunosuke’s throat despite himself. “For his sake, I hope not . . .” he forces out. “Can you imagine? Waking up in the middle of the night and looking up to see. . . something hovering over you . . . something with – with gleaming, terrible, long . . .sharp . . . teeth . . .”

So absorbed are the pair in their investigation, they fail to notice the sudden glint of eyes in the darkness behind them until it is too late.

Fur standing on end in response to the sudden difference in the silence – the sort of silence things lived in, rather than the sort that occurred as a result of their absence – our heroes stand stock still. Wide eyes fixed dead ahead out of fear of what they may see if he dared to look around, Chuunosuke finally shakes himself from his paralysis in order to take a single, frightened half-step backwards.

As he does so, the silence is thoroughly shattered by a startling, inhuman screech.

Panicked noises echo from each of their own throats as Chuunosuke and Usato whirl around, the former holding tightly to his companion. They are just in time to catch a brief glimpse of those glowing eyes before they disappear, though the flicker of light remains, this time off of:

“L-l-long – sh-sharp –”

The sight of those teeth nearly caused him to faint, pearly white as they were against the pink background of the creature’s maw. Wide open, it loomed closer, seemingly prepared to strike –

In reality, letting out a startled yell.

“ – Cease that pitiful squeaking, it is not as if you’re the one that’s been stepped on,” the sharped-tooth mouth then continues as its owner emerges from the shadows. “Pray forgive the discourtesy of placing my tail beneath your foot.”

Though dripping in affronted insincerity, the voice is at the very least familiar enough to cause our heroes to relax. Letting out a slow, relieved breath, Usato gives the paw still holding tightly to her kimono a gentle pat.

“L-Lord nyan Zieks . . .” she says with a bow. Indeed, it is the pointy-eared prosecutor who stands before them, fur ruffled even as he attempts to feign composure. Arms crossed over his chest, he gives only a tiny nod in response while moving past them towards the child’s bed.

All the while, Chuunosuke remains tense, though no longer jumping out of his skin. As Usato gives him a look of concern, he inches closer to one of her ears, then whispers:

“That settles it, once and for all – he’s one of them!”

“‘One of them?’” Usato echoes in surprise while shooting a single glance towards the cat’s back. “One of. . . who?”

“The – th-the vampires, of course!” Chuunosuke stammers, “what else would he be doing here?”

Though his cloaked back remains turned towards the pair, nyan Zieks’ ears twitch. “Perhaps,” he says slowly, testily, “as a result of the necessity that I perform an investigation. The same could be said for yourself, I would imagine – thus, we can easily infer how the three of us came to exist here, in this room, within hearing distance.”

A mundane embarrassment overtaking his fright, Chuunosuke blinks, then finally begins to let go of Usato. Despite herself, she hides a laugh behind a paw. “. . . He does have a point.”

“Right! Right. That – makes sense. How silly of me. . .” Chuunosuke squeaks, then coughs. Still, he cannot shake the thought that the cat’s black cloak and somber demeanor remain incredibly fitting to the eerie environment.

As if sensing his thoughts, nyan Zieks flicks his injured tail. “‘Silly’ is putting it lightly,” he meows irritably, “to have believed those idiotic rumors in the first place speaks volumes as to your intelligence – please tell me you have sense enough to know that . . . creatures of that kind are not real, so it would be impossible for me to be one.”

Something about his frank dismissal of the spooky whispers causes them to dispel, like ghosts turned to morning fog. The room is empty, upon a more thorough inspection not particularly unusual, and somehow not quite as dark as it had been before.

“. . . Of course not,” Usato agrees with a smile, suddenly the picture of wisdom and serenity. “They’re only in stories.”

Feeling rather silly, Chuunosuke scratches behind an ear and lets out a garbled squeak. “Of course,” he mutters, somewhat betrayed. “There must be a more mundane explanation for our case.”

“At long last, a glimmer of intelligence,” nyan Zieks’ huffs. While attempting to maintain his dignity, he begins to nurse his tail, looking just a bit too pitiful to be a frightening vampire. Of course, if he were told this, the situation might very well change.

“Well! That settles it – we’ll just have to figure out the truth of what our client was up to!” Seeming reinvigorated, Usato does a little hop and punches the air.

A little smile finds its way to Chuunosuke’s face, and he nods while thoughtfully holding his chin. “Yes!” he agrees emphatically, “if she wasn’t after his blood, then . . .”

The idea still causes him to shudder, as does discussing their case in front of the prosecutor. Sparing a glance towards the cat, he trails off. “. . . I suppose we should take a proper look around, shouldn’t we?”

Usato nods, then looks to where nyan Zieks stands in front of the bed, still tending to his tail. Stepping closer, she pulls a handkerchief from her sleeve and bows her head before offering to tie up the wound. After a moment’s hesitation, the prosecutor agrees, then begins to go about his business with a much more shy demeanor and a neat little bow upon his tail.

With that, it appears our story will have to end for now. Next time, surely our brave heroes will discover the truth behind this spooky secret without a hint of fear!

After all, vampires aren’t real . . . Right?