The girls eyes seemed to smile, as if to laugh at Karumi’s curiosity. The girl’s body floated up, but Karumi wasn’t alarmed. She felt strangely at ease.

With a smooth motion, the girl glided toward Karumi, and stopped when there was only a gap of a couple of inches between the two. The girl’s head craned toward her throat…

Karumi’s eyes opened. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she was bathed in cold sweat. It was just a dream, Karumi thought. You don’t have to worry…

But still she couldn’t get the image of Miyu out of her mind. What was it telling her?

What am I doing here? Karumi asked herself. I shouldn’t be here…

Karumi walked along the streets of Kyoto, watching the busy people go about their lives.

What was she waiting for?

The hairs at the back of Karumi’s head prickled. She looked around and caught a man looking at her from across the street. Goosebumps flooded her skin. He had a dark mane of hair, and underneath she could see glistening eagle eyes. Karumi could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
Suddenly she felt someone slam into her from behind. She was about to scream, but swallowed it back. Karumi turned around.

"Oh! So sorry," a young girl bowed to her apologetically and started picking up her books, a small brown dog at her feet. The dog stared at Karumi with wary eyes as she bent down to help her.

"You know you shouldn’t rush around like that, especially in a place as busy as this," Karumi said. "You’re liable to get hurt." At that moment their eyes met.

The girl started to tremble.

"What’s wrong?"

"I see your doom," the girl said. "Right there." She poked at the middle of Karumi’s forehead – her third eye.

"Not yourself anymore," she said. "Everything will fall down around you." The girl gathered her books quickly, cradling her dog in her arms. She started to walk away.

"Wait!" Karumi called. "What do you mean?"

"I’m sorry. If I tell you it will affect the future, and nothing will be the same." The girl said and moved off, leaving Karumi to ponder.

Karumi turned back to look at where the man had been, but all she could see was an empty space where he had been.

A curse! Takako trembled, walking away in brief, quick strides. She wanted to get far away from the woman as possible. She clutched her dog in her arms so tightly that it let out a yelp of protest. Takako laid it down on the ground, the leash in her hand. She didn’t know whether to tell the woman what was happening to her, or whether to let fate take its place.

Takako sensed that the woman was spiritualistic, but how could she have not known she was cursed? Takako stopped. Surely great misfortune would come her way if she would allow this happen. Why do I let myself become involved with things like this? She thought.

Karumi listened to the sound of the chirping crickets. The moon was hanging high in the sky, making the pathway shimmer like a silver ribbon, and the plants outside of the inn glow.

Karumi lay in her bed in a room she had rented at an inn, thinking of the day’s events. "Not yourself anymore. Everything will fall down around you." What did the girl mean by that?

"Karumi…" Karumi’s heart skipped a beat. She thought she had heard someone call her name. "Karumi,"

Karumi sat up. Slowly, as if mechanically, she rose from her bed and padded outside to the garden surrounding the inn. The moon cast an eerie glow, which collided with the dark night.

"Karumi," the voice sounded closer. Karumi turned around and Miyu appeared, almost invisible in the darkness.

Behind her closed eyes, Takako could see an inn. In her mind, she ascended the front steps to the wooden sliding doors. She read the name - Sakuranohana-ya. Cherry Blossom Inn. Takako walked down the hallway, descended the stairs and turned right. ‘24a’ – she noted the door number in her head. Takako touched the door and immediately pulled it back. It was cold – colder than ice. She sensed something was wrong.

Suddenly something pulled her back. Her spirit body was jerked back into her physical body and her eyes flew open. She wasn’t in the corridor of Sakuranohana Inn anymore. She was back in her bedroom, sitting on her bed.

Something was terribly wrong.

As if in a dream, Karumi walked toward her, and Miyu enveloped Karumi in her arms. Karumi could feel the coldness of Miyu’s skin as she leaned against her. She looked up and Miyu smiled softly.

Suddenly everything faded away and was replaced with the unfamiliarity of the room at the inn. What’s happening to me? Karumi thought, sitting up. She was being drawn into a complex triangle – with Miyu leading the way, and she had no resistance over it.

The wind whistled through the treetops and Karumi could hear the sounds of children playing as she walked through the park. She had only been in Kyoto for two days and so much had happened – she could hardly stand it. There was nothing to relieve her of her stress – not even sleep. Nights had become like a living nightmare. Strange things were happening to her – she could hardly control herself. She would drift off into a dream, and when she would come about, it would be a few hours later, and she would have no memory of what she had done.

Suddenly Karumi could sense that she was not alone. She looked up and saw the man who she had seen on her arrival in Kyoto. "You…!"

The man smiled softly. "You are Karumi."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Karumi said, turning around to look him straight in the eye.

"My name is Tetsuo. I have been sent here to tell you that you should be careful of things. Things that you don’t know about." He said. "But you shouldn’t be frightened…"

Suddenly he came closer to Karumi. She stepped back, but a tree blocked her path of escape. He walked closer to her, craning his head to her ear to whisper. "…Since you were born, fate has told me that we should be together. And the time will arrive soon."

He was only inches away from her. All she had to do was move her head forward and their lips would touch. Karumi swallowed.

Tetsuo looked into her eyes, as if reading what she was thinking. Then he stepped back and out of sight.

Karumi shivered. It was nearly ten o’clock at night and all she could think about was heading back to the inn and sleeping. Her car keys tinkled as she drew them from her purse and she unlocked the door.

Suddenly there was a loud crack as the windows exploded, sending fragments of glass onto the street. Karumi screamed, covering her eyes.

There was a loud, ear-piercing cry that hurt her ears. Something that resembled a serpent flew from the sky, leaving a trail of mist behind it. It was a transparent white, and glimmered blue.

It let out another cry. It flew towards Karumi, and as she fell to the ground, all she could think about was the coldness.

"Oh, so you’re awake now?"

Karumi opened her eyes. She was lying in a hospital bed on her back with only a thin white sheet keeping her warm. Karumi turned her head to see the girl she had bumped into the other day sitting on the edge of her bed. "You…you’re…"

"Takako. Nirumiya Takako." She hopped off the bed. "And you are Karumi. Tetsuo – he checked you in here."

Tetsuo! The man she had spoken to the other day!

"Do you remember what happened?" Takako asked.

"What? What happened…?" Karumi said.

Takako sighed. "You say you’re a medium, but…how could you have not known you were under a curse?"

"A curse…!"

"A vampire’s curse." Takako said.

"Miyu!"

"Yes. She’s been around Kyoto for more than two hundred years." Takako said.

"Two hundred years?" Karumi could not help but repeat her.

"Yes." Takako replied. "I was one of her victims. It was spring of 1868, and I was fourteen years old. Unlike everyone else, I was born with special powers – I don’t really know how to describe it. I could see things that nobody else saw, and sense things. Then I met Miyu. Her companion – Larva – made her into what she is now. She was only a little girl then, very quiet. Her mother Yui was a vampire as well, and Miyu had inherited her blood. Of course, she didn’t know that then. Larva was a shinma demon, unleashed by Miyu from the underworld. Yui was banished to the underworld leaving Miyu behind. Larva took Miyu – but gave her something in return. Eternal life, but there were consequences."

"Where do you come in?" Karumi asked.

"Miyu wanted me to join her. With my psychic ability, she knew I would be one of them. She could see my fate. I was under a curse, but I broke it off just in time. But I am now immortal – and my powers have grown stronger. The same thing will happen to you."

"Me?" Karumi asked, sitting up against the flat hospital pillows. "W…why?"

"Because you’re like me. Tetsuo as well. We are spiritualistic. We are a cross between the beings of the underworld and humans. Miyu sees us as her people."

"But I can’t be! I’m a human being…I’m…"

"You’re not entirely human. As I said, half of us belong in the underworld – the world of the supernatural. The total opposite to the reality above."

Karumi sighed. Why me? Why can’t I be like a normal human being?

"If Miyu takes you, the gate to the underworld will be open, and the demons will be free to come out. They’ll take over the Earth, this can’t happen!" Takako cried.

Suddenly the door opened and the nurse stepped in holding a tray of food. She looked startled.

"I’m sorry," Takako said, shaking.

The room was silent as the nurse set the tray on the table and went out.

Takako looked at her watch. "I have to leave," she said as she scrawled some words on to a piece of paper. She stuck it on the wall over Karumi’s bed with sticky tape.

"This will stop you from having bad dreams." Takako said. "I’ll see you later."

The door opened and Takako left.

Tetsuo’s words suddenly came back to her. "Fate has told me that we should be together…"

What did this mean?

"Don’t worry," Takako said to Karumi as they walked through the market. "You’ll be safe here. There are lots of people."

"Are you sure?" Karumi asked, looking around the market place at the busy shoppers. It was a crowded place, filled with hustle and bustle. The air was filled with the faint smell of ginger and frying fish. Karumi’s stomach grumbled.

"I’m going to get us something to eat. You wait here." Takako said, and moved into the crowd.

Even in a place as busy as this, Karumi felt scared and alone. She was afraid of what would happen next; who she was going to meet. Karumi couldn’t believe this was happening to her.

Suddenly her skin became overcrowded with goosebumps. Karumi looked around her, and in the corner of her eye she caught the back of a man walking into a crowd.

Tetsuo! Karumi could recognize him. Without thinking, she started following him into the crowd.

"Karumi?" Takako called. She carried a small bag of dumplings in her hand, fresh from the steamer. There you are! Takako could see Karumi heading off outside the market into an alley. What is she doing?

Karumi tried to keep up. "Tetsuo!" she cried out loud. Karumi looked around her surroundings, realizing where she had walked. She was standing in a dark alley, even though the sun was high above. She swore she had seen him walk this way.

Karumi suddenly had the feeling that she was not alone. She turned around.

"Miyu…!" Karumi exclaimed.

Miyu smiled slightly. "Like a dog responding to its owner’s call…" The sun dimmed and Karumi could see her surroundings whirring around her at tremendous speed until she could only see darkness. She felt dizzy.

My heart! Karumi fell to her knees, clutching her chest. It was as if something was squeezing her heart so hard it would almost burst. Karumi looked up. She could only see Miyu who was still smiling softly. Miyu drifted towards Karumi, who was barely able to stand. Her head craned towards her neck.

No! This…this can’t be! Karumi suddenly felt something like two hot daggers bite into her neck. She could feel energy being drained out of her as Miyu sucked the life out of her body. Karumi let out a strangled moan. Her chest tightened like all the air was being sucked out of it and her breaths shortened. She was lying on the floor now; her body screwed up in a ball.

"No!" a voice suddenly yelled. "I won’t let you take her away!"

"It’s too late, Takako," Miyu said. "She’s mine now."

"I’m not going to allow you to do this again!" In the palm of Takako’s hand appeared a ball of blue fire, its brilliant light contrasting against the darkness. Swiftly, the blue flame shot out towards Miyu, but suddenly, with a loud crack, the ball of blue fire whirled around and hit Takako, sending her into a wall. Takako groaned, her body sliding to the floor.

"You’re exactly the same as the last time I met you." Miyu said.

Karumi closed her eyes. The pain in her chest grew tighter and as she drifted off into the world of the unconscious, she could see everything grow out of focus.

Takako’s body started to glow a brilliant purple, as her chi became stronger. "Miyu! I won’t let you do this any longer!" Takako rose from the ground and stopped when she was a metre above the floor. She channelled her chi into her hands so that she had created a large crackling mass of blue fire. With a roar, she flung it at Miyu.

Miyu gasped, covering her head.

All that was left was a red, smoky shadow. Desperately clinging onto life, it flew towards Karumi, leaving a trail of smoke behind.

"Karumi!" Takako cried, rushing to her side. She could see the two holes that was on her neck. "Hang on, Karumi,"

Takako bit into her wrist, drawing blood. It dripped onto the ground.

Suddenly Karumi’s body rose from the ground. Takako gasped, scurrying back.

A hand lay on Karumi’s shoulder.

"Tetsuo!" Takako gasped.

Tetsuo embraced Karumi in his arms, holding her to his chest.

Karumi opened her eyes. "Tetsuo…"

There was a brilliant flash of light and they were gone.

Slowly, Takako limped out of the alley and into the bright sunlight, like she had emerged new to the world. She no longer knew Tetsuo – he had found his spiritual partner that he had been waiting for, for nearly two hundred years. Karumi had filled up the hole in his heart and together they merged into one immortal spirit.

Takako wondered when her time would come.