“Bring them to me.” A pair of burly men dressed in suits nod and exit the room. They promptly return dragging a bloodied, limp body between them. This person is topless, their chest is bound, and their pants are in tatters. It’s quite clear they are a prisoner to anyone who sees them. “Lift them up, I want to see their eyes.” The booming voice commands them again, and they oblige.
Soon, the demanding man is face to face with the young eyes of a broken soul, who despite their youth, appears to be aged from their misery and hardships. However, they defiantly stare at their aggressor, refusing to yield or show fear. Even with their face black and blue, swollen and a body riddled with pain, they are firm in their defiance, ready to take whatever comes next.
“You still have fight left in you I see. Good. You’ll need it. I have a job for you, one that only you can do. How fortunate you are, otherwise, I was just thinking of disposing you for good.”
“Then do it! We both know you will sooner or later, so do it and stop wasting our time!”
“Come now hybrid, don’t be in such a rush to die. Your time will come soon enough, indeed.”
“Right, you want to use me for all you can first. Can’t let your riches spent on me go to waste.”
“Your father gave me quite the bargain for you, so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice. He hates you.”
“Yeah, no shit sherlock. Thanks for telling me something I already know. I hate him too.”
“Yes, yes, I know. Daddy never loved you, how sad. Family drama is so tedious, spare me, would you? The only family I care to hear about is my own, but even that’s a bit broken now.”
“Family, huh? I can only imagine what kind of family you have, you bastard! I bet your family members are all as sick and depraved as you! Just a bunch of gremlins and freaks of nature!”
The man occluded in darkness winds back and plunges his closed fist into the prisoner’s stomach, causing them to gag as the wind is knocked from them. The man shakes his fist.
“Do not talk about my family that way! I may have left them behind, but they’re all good kids and their mother is doing her best. They’ll be ok, but my dear daughter…she’s in danger.” He approaches the weakened prisoner. “You will bring her to me. Fail me again…and you’ll die.”
“Yeah, I should be so lucky!” They shout back at him. “Your daughter will definitely hate you.”
“It’s okay if she hates me. She’s justified in feeling that way. I promised her I’d always protect her and give her the happy life she deserved. I promised her mother too. Then failed them both.”
“Then, why not just leave her alone? You’ve had me running surveillance on her all these years. I put up with the shit of that damn priest and his strict rules for five years. It was hell! But I got you your intel. I only failed you because he caught on to me. Booted my ass out like a Don!”
“Yes, you failed. I’m aware. You specialize in making yourself into anyone you need to be, yet you still got caught. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t kill you. But then again, he doesn’t do his own dirty work. He uses everyone else as his pawns and barks commands like he’s a god.”
“That’s an understatement. He’s beyond having a god complex. He believes himself to be the second coming of the great lord himself. He believes he has been chosen to rule over this land and he’s willing to turn to the darkness to do it. It’s all in his plans and that demon girl is at the center of it all. He knows he can’t control it on his own, so he’s using your girl to do it instead.”
“Indeed, and that’s why I’m giving you this task. I don’t care what he’s got planned nor what he wishes to use that demon spawn for. I’m not here to get in his way. I frankly don’t give a damn about the vampires either. But I will not allow my daughter to be used in his ploy. I’ll take her away from all of this madness and give her the life she deserves. That will be my atonement.”
“But have you stopped to consider what she wants? Maybe you don’t give a damn about the vampires, but maybe she does. Or rather, perhaps she cares for one in particular. Surely you-.”
“I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN!” He shouts this, no longer interested in their discussion. “She’s a good girl at heart, but she’s also naïve. She’s a simple girl who fixates on anything that makes her feel special. She’s a lonely girl and doesn’t do well isolated. So, she clings to those who give her attention. That girl has humored her over the years, but she’ll abandon her too. If the goddess gets what she wants, that demon will be free to do as she pleases and leave my girl, as she’ll be no longer needed. My daughter will be left alone to suffer, until the goddess snuffs her out too.”
“I won’t let that happen to her, Sir! You have my word! I hate you, but I love her! I’ll save her.”
“Such a fool…but a useful one. Succeed and I’ll offer my blessing. Now go.” He waves them off and they’re dragged away. Looking up at the moon the man whispers, “Keiko, I’ll see you soon.”