OK, after some excellent comments by James Bahng, I revised
some parts of this, and, I think, fixed all the problems. Unless someone
finds anything horribly wrong, I'll send this to the remailer and
RAAC on tuesday.
     It's been fun writing this one.

                     A Different Demon.
                       By Ben Kosse
                    <bmk7411@cs.rit.edu>
      A different sort of story of Vampire Princess Miyu.

     It was strange that I hadn't seen her until now. I
saw her sitting on the rocky parapet across from me, her slender,
delicate hands resting centimeters onto the stone ledge. She was
cute, beautiful, and even strangely erotic, even though she was
only, at most, fifteen. She was wearing a short wraparound dress,
pale blue in color, which was tied in the front with a large red
bow that wrapped about her abdomen.
     Her head hung forward, slightly hidden by the long
sleeves of her dress. The cloth would only hang to her mid-thigh,
if she was standing. Her left leg was hooked under the crook of
her right knee. Her other leg swung freely over the edge. The
first thing I noticed about the girl, besides her beautiful and
lithe figure, was that she had only one sandal. It was on her
right foot, with leather wraps which extended to her mid-calf.
     It was then that she looked my direction. Her eyes,
good Lord, her eyes were beautiful. They weren't normal, by any
means, but a strange golden color. They were happy and sad at the
same time. Next, I noticed her hair. It was all pulled to her
left, leaving a wisp of hair hanging freely on the right. A small
bun draped into a long ponytail which was held in place with a
slender red ribbon spiraling up the length of her dark brown
hair.
     Then, I lost myself again in those strange eyes.
     I realized why she was up here, the knowledge
filtering through my clouded mind. By God, it looked like she was
going to jump. "Wait!" I cried, hoping she wouldn't plummet to
her doom before I could reach her. "What are you doing?"
     She looked down again, as I rose to stop her.
"Flying," she said. "It's fun." With that, she tumbled face
forwards from the cliff. I had risen to my feet by now, and
peered over the edge. I saw her disappear into the mist of the
morning fog, and turned to a small path that led to the shore,
praying she wasn't dead.

     I suppose I should tell you a little about myself. I
am an American named Russel Strong. I am a former millionaire.
Actually, I was almost a billionaire before my business collapsed
from the inside out, the victim of an anonymous hacker who subtly
altered all our data.
     I tried to keep my investment firm from sinking, but
after loosing over $800 million, I sold out, keeping a mere ten
million dollars after paying all my expenses. I thought about
restarting, being more secure this time, when I found out I had
only six months to live. It was a strange new disease; something
no one knew how to cure. The last three days were hell, but until
then, you were absolutely fine. Good thing it was almost
impossible to transmit.
     So, nine million dollars went to trying to find
someone who could cure me. That was five months ago. The
prognosis hasn't changed, so I came to Japan, having always
wanted to come here, only as a tourist, not a businessman.
     I spent my last million dollars, well, almost all of
it, indulging my fantasies and learning more about their
fascinating culture. That was three weeks ago. The last of my
money went to purchasing the white gi and black hakima, that I am
now wearing, and a katana, wakazashi, and tanto. Reading up on
the samurai code of honor, I deemed the best way for me to die
was to commit seppuku. Without a second person to behead me, I
had come to this cliff, and planned to cut myself while sitting
on the edge. The fall would take care of the rest.
     And that brings me to this rocky cliff. I was ready
to kill myself when I saw that beautiful girl jump off the edge
of the cliff.

     I saw my life in her fall. Starting high, soaring
wonderfully, then disappearing into a fog of nothingness. I ran
down the little trail, determined she would at least get a proper
burial. She must have left so much behind.
     I had reached the end of the path, and was about to
begin searching for her when I heard a wonderful, twinkling
laughter. I couldn't place where it was originating from, but I
began surveying my surroundings more carefully as I moved
forward.
     Then, from nowhere, she appeared, resting against a
tree, her hands behind her back and her left foot braced against
the tree trunk. I almost ran into her. "But... But, you just?" I
stammered. She giggled more of that twinkling laugh, her eyes
sparkling and punctuating the sound with a starry glow. Finally,
I could speak again. "You just jumped off the cliff?"
     More giggles.
     "But, here you are, talking to me."
     Finally she responded. Musical is how I would
describe her voice. "Yes, I jumped. But like I said, I flew." I
couldn't deny the possibility. Here she was, standing. Beautiful,
exotic, and unharmed.
     "You don't want to die, do you?" She asked. Her eyes
seemed to see everything in me, golden orbs which danced, merrily
contrasting the gray skies. I, on the other hand, could only see
her surface. She was a true mystery, something not entirely
normal, and all the better for it.
     "No," I replied. It was true; I didn't want to die.
"But, if I don't die like this, I will die, in pain and
suffering, and hopelessness. A deathbed of a wretched disease
awaits me."
     She took everything in, listening passively, then
responded, sweetly. "What would you do if I said I could remedy
your disease?"
     "You can't." The statement made my surprise fade to
depression. "It's impossible. The best doctors don't know how, so
how could you?"
     She moved from the tree, walking closer, catching me
and holding me captive in those beautiful golden eyes. One foot
slowly moved in front of the other, and she quietly closed the
distance. Soon, she was right next to me, and I was staring
downward into her eyes, for she was much shorter than myself.
"But, you want to live, don't you?" She asked. Could she really
cure me?
     I couldn't move from looking in her eyes. "Yes." I
hesitated, unsure. "Yes, I want to live."
     Once I said that, she moved closer, still, and
wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She pulled me, delicately,
but forcefully, closer, stopping when my face was nuzzled against
her shoulder. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't resist. Soon
enough, I felt her warm breath against my neck.
     It was, I thought as I looked upon her head, brown
hair swirling in the soft, intermittent breeze, like chance had
given me hope.
     Then her lips made contact, followed by the feel of,
I guess, teeth. It was so powerful, the feelings I had, that I
moved my mouth to her neck, and began to kiss her there. Nothing
had felt more right than being here with her.
     Immediately after I had begun kissing her, the most
wonderful sensation began flooding through me. It was like
everything wrong with me was being cast out, while everything
good was staying behind. I can't even fully describe it, other
than to say it was truly the most wonderful thing I had ever
felt.
     However, this came with a price. I was growing
weaker and weaker. I realized what she was doing, and still
couldn't pull myself from her. Not that I wanted to.
     "Russel, you have to finish," she whispered in my
ear, barely audible above the waves and breeze. I knew,
instinctively, what I had to do. I don't know how, but my teeth
had grown just enough to puncture her neck, and I pressed against
her.
     She started under my inexperienced prodding, and
then guided me to the right spot. Her warm blood flowed into my
mouth. It was truly heaven. Nothing could match this feeling: it
was more intense than the prior one.
     The strength I had lost was returning ten, no,
hundred fold. Finally, she pulled away. Again, even with my new
strength, I was helpless to resist. I thought she would die from
blood loss, as I had dug deeply into her skin, but when she moved
back, the wound healed instantly.
     A third voice then entered the picture. Slowly,
hazily, it reached though the fog of the exquisite experience I
just had gone through. "Miyu! What have you done?" It was a
woman's voice. Slowly, my head turned to see a beautiful woman,
in her later-20's running towards us. She seemed to finally
understand what had happened, and spoke again. "Miyu, you
monster! How can you do this?"
     The little girl, Miyu, I guess, cocked her head.
"When will you understand, Himiko?"
     "You've just turned him into another vampire. That's
all I need to know!"
     So that's what happened. Funny, it wasn't anything
like the old myths and legends say.
     Miyu responded, "He was going to kill himself. I
just felt like giving him another chance. This was the only way
he could live. No one else could help him." She paused for a
time, while the words drifted on the wind. Then, she looked
straight at Himiko and began to speak again. "You seem to always
want people to suffer when they can live happily, and want those
to die who are given a chance to live. Why is that, Himiko? Why
do you torture others so much?"
     Himiko pulled up short. It was almost like Miyu had
broken down a wall, one which Himiko had prided herself on for a
good long time. Indeed, when Miyu led me into the mist, Himiko
didn't follow.
     After a long walk, she turned to me. "You know what
I have given you, don't you." She said it as if I already knew,
which I did.
     "Yes, Miyu. You made me into a vampire, didn't you?"
     "Russel, I gave you this because I find it funny.
You die and because of it, live. Me, a little girl, can cure an
incurable disease that most doctors haven't even heard of yet."
She made a little giggle at the end.
     I couldn't say anything. I knew it was a whim that
had saved me.
     "Russel, you will not die by mortal hands. However,
I will come and kill you if you do anything to upset the view
humans have. You can pretend to live hundreds or thousands of
different lives for all I care. Or, you can choose to live out
just one life.
     "When you decide you wish to die, I will come and
find you again. However, if you let others know what you are, I
will, as well, come and find you. I give you my word. I only do
that, because I think, in a little way, I like you." More
giggling. Music was in her little laugh. Music which I heard in
my soul.
     Finally, I could speak. "So, I can't die, except by
your hands?"
     "No. Almost any Shinma could kill you, but they
probably won't attack you. There are easier targets."
     "And I will only die when I want to, or when someone
finds out what I am?" I questioned.
     "When someone believes you are what you are. Except
Himiko, I like her, too." I heard her laughter again, and watched
as she disappeared from sight. Gone completely.
     Minutes passed, as I comprehended what had occurred.
Finally, I left the mists and found Himiko, sitting on the
ground. She looked up to me. "How could you let her do that?" She
was furious, that was obvious in her voice, though her face was a
mask of calmness.
     "I wanted it. I guess. She was right, though. By
next week, I would have been dead, had I not killed myself today.
That is why I was here--to kill myself."
     She looked at me strangely, but said nothing.
     "So, what does Miyu do?" I continued.
     "She sends the Shimna back to the dark. But, she
also attacks people for their blood," Himiko responded.
     "So, you could say she slays demons, in her own
way," I commented quietly, and saw Himiko nod her head in mute
agreement. "I think she slew my own demon today."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's notes: This idea was something that popped into my head while
going to work last week. It was a quick story to write, and was done
in all of about 2 hours.

Music to listen to while writing this kind of story: Anything by Purple
Motion or Skaven from the PC Demo group Future Crew.

Thanks go to James Bahng (who I mentioned at the top) for helping me to
see that Miyu wasn't completely IC and for helping me notice a glaring
wrong in the description of Russel's seppuku ritual (which he did
account for, even if I didn't :).
Thanks also to Bengman for pointing out that the Russel's last comment
wasn't very clear. I can't give it away completely, but I hope this
version is a little more understandable.
Finally, thanks to Kirpal Sukumar, who pointed out a grammatical error,
which in turn prompted me to look at the story, fix the error and some
others, and elaborate on a few other points.

Keep writing fanfic authors.

Oh, and Jim Franks (a.k.a. Penty), I expect to see that fanfic written
and posted sometime before the end of next quarter. Failure to do so will
get your name sent to the author prodding sect. :)
--
Ben Kosse bmk7411@cs.rit.edu
BGC Otaku and worshipper of the Red-Eyed Goddess. Member of ShAS.
Anime, RPG's, computers, poetry (read/write), music (listen/compose).
Author of the Bubblegum Crisis theme pack (see the homepage below).
Homepage with anime and other interests. (http://www.rit.edu/~bmk7411)