Boktai: First Meetings

For the past five years now, Dainn had often been watching San Miguel. Not too closely, for that would put him inside the Sun Barrier erected by the Sunflower Girl, and that would mean one extra-crispy Immortal if he wasn't careful, no matter if it was nighttime. Nevertheless, he needed to make sure that when he conducted his plan, all of the pieces were in place. He couldn't conduct it now, not with that annoying woman Hel from the Death Clan still claiming to be the Queen of Immortals. He nearly wanted to gag at the thought. Who in their right mind would want Hel, of all people, as the Queen?

One day, he swore, when Hel was no longer in power, he would unleash his plan to get rid of those humans that refused to become undead. Though, for goodness' sakes, what on Earth was taking the Count so long to get rid of Hel? He knew he shouldn't have depended on that worthless Vampire. Anyways, back to the city. If he were in a good mood, he may even turn a few of the humans living there to his cause. There were some physically strong individuals in San Miguel, he noticed, and there was even a Solar Child! Yes, apparently, that infamous Vampire Hunter, Red Ringo, was one of the last Solar Children.

The cooperation of a Solar Child was instrumental in his plan, but since there was no way one would willingly help him, he had to turn them. And Red Ringo was the only one left, which meant that he couldn't wait too long. If he did, Ringo would get killed by some foolish vampire that didn't know of his importance, or even die of old age if Dainn waited too many years. And there were strong individuals in the city, others that would benefit the Shadow Clan, so that it was no longer just Dainn and his three sisters...

So deep was Dainn in his thoughts that he never heard the pitter-patter of small footsteps approaching him.

"Hi, mister."

Black Dainn the Shadow-Ruling Immortal, currently the oldest, most prestigious, and most feared vampire of the Shadow Clan, was so startled that he nearly fell off the boulder he was sitting on.

He whirled, looking around him, before finally looking down... and spotting a little human boy. The boy couldn't have been older than five years, if he remembered how humans were (it had been awhile since he was one). This human boy had the typical pinkish-white skin of humans, spiky sandy-blond hair, and large gray eyes. He was wearing a bright yellow T-Shirt with the statement "The Sun will rise tomorrow!" written on it, as well as gray shorts that matched his eyes, and brown shoes.

Dainn stared at the child. Had this human actually approached an Immortal? As tempting as it was to feed from the child (indeed, Dainn hadn't had human blood in awhile and was living off of tomato juice), if he did so then he would either have to then either turn the child, kill him, or let him go afterwards, neither option which bode well. If he let the boy go, he was sure people would realize that an Immortal was closeby when they discovered that the boy had been bitten and lost blood, and the news would soon reach Ringo's ears, who would then hunt him down. If he killed the boy or turned him, people would question his disappearance, and it wouldn't be too long before the conclusion of a vampire wandering around reached Ringo -- especially if they found his body.

So with those thoughts in mind, Dainn chose to not feed from the little boy. "Go home, boy," he said, adding a glare for good measure. "You shouldn't be talking to me. I'm a bad person." He couldn't afford to let his presence be known quite yet, and was hoping to get the child to leave him alone and mind his own business.

The boy gazed up at him thoughtfully. "You haven't done anything bad yet, mister." He sat down on the rock next to Dainn.

"Aren't your parents going to be worried?" Dainn asked, not out of concern, but in an attempt to get the boy to leave.

"No. I always go play outside before I go to bed," the boy said. "'Specially when there's a full moon. Mama says that the full moon will protect me."

Something about that statement sounded familiar to Dainn, but he filed the statement away in the back of his mind and focused on what was happening at the moment. "How did you know I was here?"

"I saw you a few days ago," the boy replied. "I watched you 'cause I thought you might be one of those Im...Imor... those people that bite people and attack others 'cause I only see you at night. But you didn't bite anyone, so you can't be one of them."

Dainn had to smile. The boy was rather cute, and maybe when he finally brought his plans to fruition, he would turn him and bring him back to Durathror as a playmate. She would like that. After all, she was a child at heart, still. "What is your name?" he asked.

"I'm Django. What's your name, mister?" the boy asked.

"My name is Dainn," he said, purposely leaving out his title. Django? Interesting name.

Django beamed. "Hi, mister Dainn!" he chirped, completely oblivious to the Immortal's extremely pale blue skin and red eyes.

Reaching out, Dainn carefully ruffled Django's sandy-blond hair. Hmm, if I turn him into a vampire, he could be 'Yellow Django'. Though, his element... he can't be... Sol? No, impossible... no Immortal has Sol. Perhaps Fire. 'Yellow Django the Fire-Ruling Immortal' has a nice ring to it.

"Do you have a family, mister Dainn?" Django asked him, eyes wide and curious.

"Three sisters," Dainn told him, not bothering to elaborate.

"What about your Papa and Mama? Everyone has a Papa and a Mama," Django persisted.

"They... died many years ago," Dainn replied, wanting to not talk about it. He hadn't thought about his parents for a few hundred years, and he didn't plan to now any longer than necessary.

"Oh, I'm sorry, mister. I still have Papa and Mama, though I don't want sisters..." He made a grossed out face, and Dainn had to chuckle. Before the four had been sealed away, his sisters Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Durathror had driven him crazy, though he was perfectly ready to free them once he started his plan. "I want a brother," Django continued matter-of-factly. "I dream I have a big brother all the time. He looks just like me, except he also looks like Mama. But Papa and Mama keep saying that he isn't real."

Dainn just stared at him, the word 'brother' echoing in his mind. Half the reason he wanted to turn the boy Django was because the Shadow Clan could use some more Immortals, and the other half was because he was desperate for some constant male company -- and the Count did not factor into company, he was turned by someone else and was never around. After living either alone or with female Immortals that could be particularly vain, could anyone blame him? Perhaps that was why he continued to talk with Django, humoring him as he would a younger brother, despite him being a human child...

As they talked, something small, cold, and wet fell from the sky onto Dainn's hand, causing it to blister violently. Oh no. He had been so wrapped up in his conversation that he hadn't even noticed the clouds gathering in the sky. Muttering a curse that he never would have uttered in front of his sisters (and indeed should not have uttered in front of Django), he leaped up from the rock and dashed underneath a rocky alcove just before the sky rumbled and rain poured from the sky.

Phew. I was nearly caught in it. It would not have boded well had he gotten caught in the rain, which was just as lethal to an Immortal as sunlight. He then heard a sneeze behind him.

"...!" Dainn stared at the little boy that had followed him, who was soaking wet. Apparently, he hadn't made it to the alcove before getting drenched. Django sneezed again.

I can't believe what I am about to do... Dainn mentally groaned as he shrugged off his black overcoat, leaving him in his black slacks and black turtleneck sweater, and handed it to the little boy, who wrapped himself in it after muttering a quiet 'thank you'. The alcove was just big enough for an Immortal and a human boy, so Dainn decided to sit down and wait for the rain to pass. Better than scalding myself from the rainwater...

When a now-dry Django sat down next to him and curled up against him, Dainn nearly jumped again. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

"I don't like rain," Django stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And it's cold." He sneezed again.

Surprising even himself, Dainn picked Django up and placed him in his lap. An Immortal still gave off bodyheat, even if it was to a much lesser degree than humans, and the quicker Django got warmer, maybe the quicker he would stop testing Dainn's patience.

"Your parents are going to be looking for you," Dainn told him as the little boy snuggled into Dainn's arms. Hmm. Dainn had forgotten how much heat humans gave off, and Django was rather warm... he hadn't felt warmth like this in awhile. He pulled the boy closer with one arm, enjoying the heat that he gave off. This was probably the most warmth he'd feel for a long time unless he sunbathed, but he wasn't suicidal enough to go sunbathing.

Two large gray eyes peered up at him as the Immortal idly ran his hand through the sandy-blonde hair. "I know, but it's too wet to go back."

"So why did you follow me instead of going home when it started raining? Didn't I tell you that I'm a bad person?"

"You're not doing anything bad right now," Django said.

"But I will do something bad later," Dainn told him. Shocked at his own slip, he quickly caught amended, "Or rather, you don't know that I won't do something bad."

"But you're not doing anything bad right now," Django repeated as if that answered everything. "I like you."

You may like me now, but what about later, when I get everyone in San Miguel killed, and kidnap you to turn you into a vampire? the vampire thought, but he didn't voice these words. Out loud, he sighed, "Fine then..." Maybe not 'Yellow Django the Fire-Ruling Immortal'. He is not just yellow, but yellow like the sun. I can't help but feel he would be Sol-element, despite the fact a Sol-elemental Immortal has never existed before. Perhaps he should be 'Yellow Django the Dark Sun'? He smiled inwardly at the irony. Yes... That sounds fitting for him. "I do want to know, though, Django," Dainn said, twirling a lock of the boy's hair in his fingers. "Why are you not afraid of me?"

When he looked down, Django was looking at him thoughtfully. "You look like someone that came from the shadows..." Dainn nearly flinched. He was, after all, known as Black Shadow amongst the Immortals. "Everyone says that shadows and darkness are bad while the sun and light are good. I know that the sun and light are good. But the stronger light is, the stronger the shadow is, right? So I can't be afraid of shadows if they come from light, because I can't be afraid of something that came from something good."

For the first time since becoming an Immortal, Dainn was shocked completely speechless. By a human, no less.

The two sat there for several minutes before Dainn felt a weight on his chest. Looking down, he noticed that Django was resting his head on him, looking rather tired. The gray eyes were beginning to droop. I can't have him fall asleep on me! I can't just stick him in a coffin, either, even if I did have my coffin with me... but if I just leave him here, he'll die and there go my plans of turning him. There was nothing to it. He'd have to take Django back. Stealing him away now would only cause mass panic amongst the San Miguel citizens, and make them even more wary of everything going on around them. This could lead to them realizing that an Immortal was watching them. No matter how tempting it was... the boy's blood smelled intoxicatingly good at such close range, and it was taking everything Dainn had to not bite him.

At least it was no longer raining. The full moon was peeking out behind some clouds again. Holding Django carefully in his arms, still wrapped in his overcoat, Dainn stood up, intending to walk back to the outskirts of San Miguel and drop Django off just outside the barrier. He just hoped there weren't too many puddles.

Django didn't say anything the entire way, he just lay in Dainn's arms, two small hands holding onto the Immortal's shirt, looking relatively comfortable. Finally, Dainn put him down, and he wiggled out of Dainn's overcoat. "Here's your coat back, mister Dainn," he said, doing his best to lift the giant black overcoat and give it to Dainn.

Dainn accepted the coat back, avoiding letting the wet parts that had brushed against the ground touch his skin. "Go home, Django."

"Will I see you again, mister?" the little boy asked.

"Perhaps."

"Okay," Django said, turnng around. "Bye, mister Dainn!" Django shouted cheerfully, running into San Miguel.

The Immortal's red eyes followed him until he was out of sight, and then Dainn sighed, heading back to the Remains, which he had made his temporary home. For a human child, he was rather... thoughtful. He might make a good vampire, when the time comes...