Chapter Text
Everything starts with a woman who has no name. Or rather – a deceased woman tied to no missing person case. Heizou has searched for anyone who might know her and has repeatedly come up blank. Murder cases always begin with those who are closest to the subject, but with no leads regarding that, it’s left Heizou in a bit of a bind.
Staring down at a file in his hands, he decides to go over the facts again.
The deceased woman was discovered in an alleyway downtown early in the morning. The man who found her was a baker taking a back entrance into his shop. This suggests that she was killed sometime in the night, though when precisely is unknown. Heizou has already interrogated the baker twice, and has deemed him irrelevant to the case. Going back a third time will yield no results, and would be a waste of his time.
The state the body was found in is unique, and Heizou can’t decide if what was done to her is supposed to be symbolic or not. He also can’t figure out what quite happened to her in the moments leading to her death. All of the blood from her body has been removed, as well as her right hand. Despite this, very little blood was found at the crime scene itself. He knows this suggests that the woman was killed elsewhere and dumped in the alleyway, but something within Heizou hesitates to go with that conclusion.
Despite having no evidence, Heizou’s gut is telling him that this woman was killed in that alley. That leaves him with many more questions, and unfortunately no answers. If she died there, where did all of her blood go? Why is there no sign of a struggle? And why remove her right hand in the first place? The logical conclusion is that she wasn’t killed there, but Heizou still isn’t convinced.
He decides to make another visit to the crime scene itself.
The area is still taped off, and ignoring a reporter trying to get a story out of him, Heizou ducks under the police tape and heads down the alley. Everything is just as it was left after the woman’s body was removed. He has photographs of the exact scene where her body had laid, and he recalls it now as he stares down at the white chalk marks on the ground. Only a small spatter of blood is dried on the pavement, and Heizou gets a deep sense of foreboding.
Something about this case is very wrong, and he simply has to get to the bottom of it.
Two weeks go by, and another body is found. This time it’s a man, but again no one comes to identify the corpse. Heizou knows it’s by the same person, because his hand is cut off at the wrist and his body is drained of blood. The only difference this time is that more blood is found at the crime scene – another alley – than at the previous one. This feels like proof that these murders happened where the body is left, though Heizou knows his superiors won’t believe that.
A third dead body is found another two weeks later, with the exact same details. Heizou is beginning to wonder if the deceased are homeless. However, while that would make some sense, it still doesn’t explain why no one has come forward. Homeless people still have friends and family most of the time, which means Heizou has hit another wall. Whoever is doing this is getting away with the perfect crime every time, which is statistically impossible. The killer is bound to make a mistake at some point, and Heizou would prefer it to happen before another dead body is found.
With that in mind, Heizou takes to the streets at night. Dressed down, he talks to locals about the disappearances and asks if anyone has noticed anything strange. Everyone he speaks to says that things are business as usual, and no one recognizes the people in the photographs Heizou provides. It’s aggravating that he feels as though he’s making no progress, and Heizou isn’t sure where to go next. He has three dead bodies with no one missing them, three hands that still need to be found, and one killer that’s likely about to strike again.
Walking down a darkened road, Heizou suddenly realizes that he’s alone. Storefronts have all gone dark at the late hour, and thanks to the part of town he’s in, the streetlights are mostly broken. Heizou isn’t one to spook easily, but a deathly silence overtakes the street he’s on, and something causes his steps to falter. He can’t exactly explain how or why, but Heizou suddenly becomes fearful that he’s in danger. He needs to leave, and quickly.
Turning on his heel, Heizou freezes in place. There, in the distance, is a lone figure. They stand under one of the only working streetlights, hands in their coat pockets. Thanks to how far away they are, Heizou can’t discern any other details, but his heart skips a beat regardless. After a long pause, the figure begins walking forward at a casual pace. Heizou still feels frozen in place, despite his rising panic. He needs to get out of here, he needs to run, but his body refuses to move.
As the figure gets closer, their features become more clear. It’s a man, though Heizou can’t see what kind of build he may have under the long coat he’s wearing. His hair is a brilliant white, with a swoop of red to one side. Despite looking relatively normal, a deep sense of dread fills Heizou the closer the man gets to him. Struggling, Heizou manages to shift one foot back somewhat, and it’s as if the spell has been broken. He can move again.
Wasting no time, Heizou turns and begins sprinting in the opposite direction. He hears no running behind him, but that doesn’t mean he’s not being pursued. Sparing a look back, Heizou sees the figure continuing to walk towards him, seemingly unaffected by his running. This only causes Heizou to panic more, and he looks forward again, turning abruptly down a different street. He zigzags through different alleyways, trying to get to a better part of town. He encounters no one, but the thought as to why is sparing at best.
Heizou doesn’t see the figure again, but something tells him that he’s still being pursued. There is a bone deep fear in Heizou, but he begins to slow down despite this. Eventually he stops, panting for air as he rests his hands on his knees. Surely he’s put enough distance between them for a short rest. There’s no way whoever that was will be able to find him thanks to all of the turns he took. Heizou sucks in deep breaths of air, still feeling himself panicking. Despite his best efforts, his heart rate won’t go down.
A sense of foreboding hits Heizou again, and he hesitates before glancing behind him. There in the distance, a figure stands still underneath a streetlight. Getting a major sense of deja vu, Heizou feels as though he’s about to start crying. Turning away, he begins to run once more. He tries to go even faster this time and even manages to get out of the lower districts of the city. He should begin to see people soon, and then surely he’ll be safe.
Heizou has half the mind to start knocking on doors, but with every building darkened, there’s no guarantee that anyone will answer. He would rather keep running instead of wasting precious time on something that might turn into a dead end. Tears prick at the edges of his eyes, and Heizou tries his best to stop himself from crying. He can’t afford for his vision to be blurred, and wiping at his eyes, he does his best to keep moving forward.
Every time Heizou looks behind himself, the figure is there.
No matter how far Heizou runs, he finds no one.
All of the shopfronts and apartments are dark.
For whatever reason, Heizou feels as though he is entirely alone in the world, with only this man who is pursuing him for company. He’s running out of options, so Heizou does perhaps the stupidest thing he can do; he heads toward his own apartment. Perhaps it’s the familiarity he craves, or the guarantee that there’s a lock on his door, or the fact that his neighbors are surely home. Whatever it is, Heizou knows he shouldn’t show this man where he lives, but he’s going to anyway.
With a destination finally in mind, Heizou runs through the abandoned and dark streets of Inazuma, praying to the heavens above that he makes it home safely. He’s thankfully not far by now, but he has a hard time believing that he’s seriously run all this way. Heizou makes it to his apartment building and spares a glance behind him as he rushes inside. The man is still there in the distance, and Heizou’s chest is restricted with anxiety.
The doorman is nowhere to be found, and Heizou takes the stairs two at a time. Making it up to the third floor, he curses as he fumbles with his keys. Finally finding the right one, he unlocks his door and slams it shut behind him, turning the lock firmly. He’s home. He’s safe… but he doesn’t feel safe. Swallowing hard, Heizou dares to inch towards his bedroom window. It’s a horrible idea, almost as bad as coming home is, but he looks outside.
The man is nowhere to be found.
Just as Heizou is about to relax, he nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears a knock on the door. It’s loud in the quiet of his apartment, and tears threaten to well up in the corners of Heizou’s eyes again. The knock comes once more, and as quietly as he can, Heizou approaches the door. Glancing through the peephole, Heizou gets his first good look at his pursuer.
Just as before, the man has pale hair, and even paler skin. His eyes are a hypnotizing shade of red, and the expression on his face is placid. Heizou hates to think it, but whoever this man is, he’s beautiful. It’s the kind of beauty one reads about in fairytales, and it sparks a dark attraction within Heizou that fills him with a different sort of dread. The man does not knock again, as if sensing Heizou‘s presence. When time stretches by with nothing happening, a smooth voice resonates on the opposite side of the door.
“Please, open the door for me.”
The man sounds soft and charming, and Heizou finds himself relaxing. He reaches to unlock the door before catching himself, taking a step back in horror. Heizou has no idea why he almost listened. Something tells him that if he does, there will be deadly consequences. Feeling the need to stand up for himself, Heizou speaks up for the first time.
“G-go away!”
“Please, open the door for me.”
Again, Heizou’s hand moves to unlock it before he stops himself. It’s significantly harder this time to resist, and Heizou feels sweat begin to form on his brow. He doesn’t want to know what will happen if the man repeats himself again. If Heizou opens the door, he’s certain that he will be killed.
“What do you want?”
“…Please, open the door for me.”
Heizou lets out a choked sob as he watches his hand slowly undo the lock. Try as he might, he can’t stop himself from opening the door, coming face to face with the man for the first time. Despite being almost the same height, Heizou feels small, and he cowers in fear as he’s smiled at pleasantly.
“May I come in?”
“N-no–“
“Please? I assure you it’s with your best interest in mind.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
The man looks at Heizou with an unidentifiable expression, before trying something different.
“Come here.”
Heizou’s feet move forward, and he can’t stop himself from inching toward the man. He stops when they’re barely a foot apart, and deep down Heizou knows that this is how he dies. There’s no other possible resolution to this mess that he’s found himself in.
The man reaches up and Heizou flinches, unable to move away as his cheek is cupped.
“May I ask for your name?”
Heizou’s tongue feels heavy, but something compels him to tell the truth.
“H-Heizou..”
“Well, Heizou. My name is Kazuha. May I come in?”
Heizou closes his eyes in defeat as his mouth opens, speaking against his will.
“Yes.”
Kazuha takes a step forward over the threshold, and Heizou, suddenly feeling free, takes several steps back. The hand that was on his cheek falls back to Kazuha’s side, and Heizou stares at him in fear. He’s petrified, and Heizou knows that he’s powerless against whatever Kazuha is.
“I-if you’re going to kill me, please get it over with.”
Kazuha blinks slowly, but otherwise, his expression doesn’t change.
“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so an hour ago.”
“Then.. then what do you want?”
“Stand still.”
Heizou feels himself freeze up, and tears freely fall down his face as Kazuha approaches. Each step feels like death itself is coming for him, and Heizou closes his eyes when Kazuha gets within range again. At first, nothing happens, but then two fingers rest on Heizou’s jaw, gently turning his head to the side. Confused, Heizou opens his eyes again, glancing at Kazuha out of the corner of his eyes.
“What–“
“Shh..”
Kazuha leans in, and Heizou stiffens when his neck is kissed. A tongue laves over a sensitive spot, and Heizou is about to attempt to protest again when he’s bitten. Heizou has been bitten before, but never has it ever been like this. The bite is sharp and it stings. That’s the only thought Heizou gets before his body ragdolls. Kazuha wraps his arms around Heizou, supporting him, before beginning to suck. Unable to struggle, Heizou’s eyes begin to glaze over.
When Heizou was a young boy, his mother told him a story about a scary monster. She said that this monster only came out at night, and that that’s why he should be home before sundown every day – otherwise, it’ll come and steal his blood. It was a grotesque story to tell a little kid, though it was successful in getting him to behave. Heizou thinks about that story now as he lays limp in Kazuha’s arms.
Parting his lips, Heizou lets out a whisper.
“V-vampire..”
At the word, Kazuha pulls back, and Heizou sees his lips covered in blood. His own blood, his mind supplies. Kazuha grins, showing off a pair of sharp fangs, and there is little room left within Heizou to feel more fear. When Kazuha speaks, his voice still has that soft cadence to it, and something about it causes a fuzziness to take over Heizou’s mind.
“I think I like you, detective.”
“How did you know that I’m..”
Heizou frowns as his thought process is lost. In fact, he seems to be losing a lot at a rapid pace. The man in front of him is Kazuha, and they’re in Heizou’s apartment, but he remembers little else. He thinks he’s supposed to be scared, but the fear doesn’t come. Instead, he relaxes in Kazuha’s arms, letting curiosity get the better of him.
“What are we doing here?”
“You invited me in for dinner, don’t you remember?”
Heizou frowns, unable to recall, but it sounds right somehow.
“I… I’m afraid I don’t know how to cook.”
“That’s perfectly alright, dear. You’ve provided a delicious meal for me already.”
“Wh– a-ah..”
Kazuha leans down and bites into Heizou’s neck again. This time it’s deeper, and the sharpness is accompanied by raw, shocking pleasure. Heizou is dizzy, and he bites back a moan as his entire body becomes a livewire of energy. He feels like he’s going insane, and Heizou presses his neck into Kazuha’s teeth for more. Perhaps he’s imagining it, but he thinks he hears Kazuha gasp, and the small mistake has warm blood spilling down Heizou’s neck.
Kazuha retracts his teeth, licking at what’s spilled, and Heizou whimpers at the action. Every time he breathes, fresh blood leaks from the bite wound. His vein has been punctured, and Heizou needs to get to a hospital before he bleeds out, but still, he remains limp in Kazuha’s arms, body too weak to move. Kazuha bites him again, and Heizou can’t hold back a moan this time as adrenaline and endorphins flood his system.
This is how I’m going to die.
That’s the last thought Heizou has before darkness begins to take him. Already a dead weight in Kazuha’s arms, Heizou merely closes his eyes before his senses gradually cease. For a while, Heizou drifts in darkness, and he welcomes the nothing that embraces him. Perhaps this is the way it was always meant to be. Maybe death is supposed to be warm and accompanied by a bone deep exhaustion. If this is the end, there’s a chance that Heizou won’t ever know for sure.