Momo awoke to the sound of something crashing to the floor. She bolted upright and grabbed the knife she had placed under her pillow in case something happened while they were asleep.

        “Ow,” Mina said from the floor. Momo blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes adjust to the dark room. She could just barely make out a dark outline on the floor. It started to move and Momo let her shoulders slump into a more relaxed position. She the lamp by the bedside and peered over the edge of the bed.

        Mina was sat up now, her legs curled around her. Her dark hair was a mess from rolling around in her sleep.

        “Did you seriously just roll off the bed?” Momo asked.

        Mina pouted. “I had a nightmare that Sailor Jupiter was coming after me with a .” Mina placed a hand to her chest, her facial expression unreadable. “We never should have watched that DVD. I don’t think I’ll be able to erase it from my mind any time soon.”

        “You’re the one who insisted on watching it,” Momo said. She had tried her best to block the movie from her mind. She had been watching it from behind Mina, peering over her shoulder and usually retreating when something appeared on the screen that she didn’t particularly want to see. Mina had laughed through most of it, so it was surprising that it seemed to haunt her so much. Momo looked at the time. “Should we patrol the building, see if we can find anything suspicious?”

        Mina nodded and ran her fingers through her hair to tame the mess it had become. It didn’t seem to be working so Momo handed her the rubber band from around her own wrist. “Here.”

        “Thanks,” Mina said, taking it and throwing her hair up into a messy ponytail. Momo had to admit, the woman was pretty, even with her hair a mess and her makeup a little smudged. “What time is it?”

        “Midnight.”

        “Good. That’s when the vampires are most active.” Mina stood up. “Hopefully we’ll catch them in the act and they’ll lead us straight to Sana. I mean, that probably won’t happen – but one can hope.” She placed her hands on her hips and gave a satisfied nod. “Okay, ready?”

        Momo rubbed the sleep from her eyes and gave a yawn. She was used to staying up late because of her condition and not being able to go out into the sunlight, but once she had started to sleep it was hard for her to get in the mood to be awake and alert. She wanted to do her job and she wanted to catch the bad guys, to stop the spread of vampirism and all the cruelty vampires committed – but she also wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep.

        “Let’s go,” Mina said, slapping Momo’s knee playfully. “If we stick around here too long we might become their target and as awesome as that would be, because it would make our job just that much easier, it would be hard for us to escape them. It’d be better to follow them silently without them knowing a thing.”

        “What if they’re not even here?” Momo threw back her head as she yawned. Her eyes watered and she wiped at them.

        “Are you doubting my sources?”

        Momo shook her head and let her shoulders slump. She was not in the mood for this. She climbed out of bed though, it took every little bit of energy but once she started moving around she wouldn’t be so sleepy.

        “What are we going to do?”

        “Patrol the halls. Listen for anything suspicious.”

        “Should we really do that?” Momo cringed at the thought of the kinds of noises she would surely hear from the other rooms in the hotel.

        “Don’t worry,” Mina said as she headed towards the door. She put on her shoes and then disappeared into the hallway without waiting for Momo. With a sigh Momo followed after the girl.

        Mina was standing out in the hallway, her expression unreadable as she looked up and down the corridor. A drunken couple were getting off the elevator, the girl giggling as they walked passed Momo and Mina. Momo couldn’t help how her face contorted in disgust as the smell of alcohol washed over her. The couple unlocked their room and went inside, the male of the duo pausing to look back at Momo and Mina with curiosity.

        “Enjoy your stay,” Mina said with a polite bow, as if she worked for the hotel or something. In confusion the man gave a short bow back before stepping fully into his room and closing the door softly behind him. “How cute,” Mina sighed. She looked over at Momo as if she just realized the other girl had joined her. “Let’s start at the top floor and make our way down.”

        Momo only nodded and followed Mina to the staircase. Mina explained quietly that the staircase was a better option since the elevator dinged upon its arrival to a floor. The staircase was quiet and wouldn’t alert anyone to their presence. Momo only nodded in response.

        They entered the stairwell and Mina paused to look around. A small smile curled up the left side of and she crossed her arms over her chest. She nodded her head towards the corner of the enclosed space. Momo followed her direction and spotted the camera immediately.

        “I didn’t see a camera in the elevator or in the lobby. So why do they have them here?” Mina pondered. The sound of a door closing on one of the floors above them echoed throughout the stairwell. Then the sound of high-heeled shoes on the wooden stairs surrounded them. Mina kept her eyes transfixed on the staircase, her eyes searching upwards but obviously not able to see the person descending upon them.

        Her nostrils flared, leading Momo to believe that she smelled something, some kind of strong scent that Momo’s normal human nose couldn’t detect.

        “We have company,” Mina said quietly. “And it’s bad news.”

        “Vampire?” Momo asked, suddenly on edge. She could feel the hairs on her arms raising with the tension. For the last two years she had trained for this kind of confrontation, but she wasn’t prepared. In fact, she was scared.

        “Yes. And they’re very full.”

        Momo’s eyes widened. A well-fed vampire led to dangerous situations. Luckily, they weren’t hungry, but on the other hand they were stronger. Momo wondered if they could take on such a foe.

        “What should we do?”

        Mina took a step onto the staircase. Momo’s eyes widened, was Mina going to meet the other vampire head on? Momo followed Mina up to the next floor, listening quietly to the footsteps that were becoming louder the closer they approached. Suddenly the footsteps stopped and a woman appeared before them, her face cast in shadow from the dim lights behind her. Momo watched and waited, wondering who should make the first move. If she should leave this situation to Mina who had more experience.

        “I’ve been waiting for you,” the woman before them said, her voice ringing clear and familiar to Momo’s ears. Momo stepped out from behind Mina then, to get a clearer look at the woman.

        “Sana,” Mina said under her breath, but still loud enough that the other vampire heard it as Mina had been speaking in a normal voice.

        Sana smiled and looked between Mina and Momo. “You’ve finally found your way to me,” Sana said, her gaze set on Momo.

        Momo gulped, remembering this woman and the encounter she had had with her two years ago. It all came flooding back, the moonlight, the alcohol, the stinging pain of fangs entering . Her head swam with dizziness before it fogged over and she felt herself becoming weak. She stumbled, her legs giving out on her. She grabbed onto Mina’s arm for support, but it did little good. She fell to her knees, nauseous. She heard a door opening below them and the sound of what seemed to be a dozen pairs of feet rushing up the stairs behind them.

        “It’s too bad we met again under these circumstances.”

        Momo could feel herself losing consciousness as the footsteps behind them drew close.  She felt Mina leave her side, heard her shout something profane before all was totally black and silent.