Into the Darkness Part 1

The only sounds around Kiku were the cries of battle. Metal on metal as swords clashed and repelled one another. Screams and cries of pain echoed through out the field, both physical and emotional, as many men were slain. So many lost friends and brothers; fathers and sons. At the head of the army fighting for the emperor, one man stood tall. He led them all into what he hoped was victory. The opposing shogun's army was strong and heavily outnumbered them. Among this opposing side, one lone samurai stood out among the rest. Unlike many of the others in the sweltering summer heat, this man was fully clothed and armored from head to toe so that no trace of skin could be seen below. His strength was much greater than any of the humans' and was even enough to possibly overpower a healthy nation like himself. This one man was taking on as many of Japan's men at one time as he possibly could, and came out victorious with nigh a scratch on him.

Finally the battle had come down to only Kiku and this mysterious, superhuman warrior. The summer sun beat down on them both, making it almost unbearable to be covered by so many layers of armor. As much as he wanted to shed even one layer of it all, he knew that would cost him his life, and he couldn't afford to do that. After all, he was the life and blood of this country. If anything bad were to happen to him, his land and people would feel its effects as well. It was bad enough that he had lost his helmet somewhere among the littered battle field, and thus had nothing to shield his eyes from the bright and blazing sun.

Several moments passed as the two men circled around each other, thinking through many strategies to get the upper hand and defeat the other for their respective lords. Then, without much warning, the final moment came. Both stopped dead in their tracks, standing stalk still; waiting for the perfect moment to strike… They both charged as one, each man letting out a war cry as they gave just one single swing of their swords. They would make sure this was the first and final strike of the match.

Red seeped through Japan's clothes and armor as thunder began to roll in the distance. So this was how it felt to lose a draw… He fell to the grassy earth below and dark storm clouds began rolling in from the mountains. His vision began to blur, a pool of his blood slowly beginning to saturate the ground beneath him. The feet of the victor stopped just in his field of unfocused vision. The man knelt down beside the injured nation and removed his mask, now that the cloud was overhead and obstructing the sun from shining down on them. The last thing Kiku saw before he passed out was the man smiling with a pair of sharp white fangs poised atop his lower lip.

The next thing he knew was a very sweet and sticky liquid being poured into his mouth. Kiku swallowed what was there and instantly craved more. He reached for the source of this great sweetness. He was so focused on drinking as much as he could, he didn't seem to care that the liquid was coming from a wrist that was pressed softly against his lips. After a few minutes that wrist was taken away, causing Kiku to whimper sadly. Until a sharp pain came upon his heart and a burning sensation seemed to light his blood on fire. His back arched off the wooden floor of the hut that he and that man were staying in as an anguished scream resounded from Japan's lips and echoed from the walls. His entire body writhed and twitched as the entire structure changed and configured into something very different.

After nearly two hours of trying to endure the pain, Kiku finally blacked out so that the transformation could finish taking hold of Japan's body. It wasn't for another three full days that he finally awoke.

Kiku sat up slowly with a groan. He put a hand to his head and shut his eyes tightly against a throbbing headache. When it had passed, he opened them again. There was a very distinct burning dryness in the back of his throat and he brought a hand up to lightly massage at the skin underneath. That was when he started looking around and taking in his surroundings.

The floor and walls were all completely covered in dust, save for a few footprints littered around the wooden floor. It was somewhat dark due to the door and windows being closed to keep the sun out. Despite the darkness, however, Kiku had no trouble seeing. A voice sounding behind him made him jump in surprise.

"Well you're up a little earlier than I was expecting," the man said.

It was odd. Japan had never heard this man's voice before in his life (that he could remember) and yet it was so familiar to him. He turned around to face him. Kiku blinked a few times, not quite sure if his mind was registering this properly or not. The only thing that went through his mind at seeing the man was one word.

"…Master…?" he whispered.

The man smirked and nodded. "That's right. You must be feeling really thirsty, am I right?"

Kiku looked down and at the floor for a moment. Thirsty? Then was that why his throat felt all dry and scratchy? Yeah that had to be it. He nodded.

"Yes. I think I am."

"Good. That's normal. I have something here you can drink though, so don't worry. Now, before I give it to you I need to teach you the way you're supposed to do it. Otherwise, you could die, or attract attention to us and have us killed."

This confused Kiku greatly. Why would a simple drink kill him if he drank it wrong? On top of that how could a drink attract attention to them?

The man sighed, seeing the confused look on Japan's face. "Look, you aren't human anymore. You are a vampire now."
That information fell on him like a sack of bricks. "…But…I wasn't human before… I was a nation…" No, he was still a nation. He could feel the deep connection he had to his country. But did that mean he was both a nation and a vampire? He opened his mouth and raised a finger to touch the fangs there. So he was.