Rin opened her eyes and found herself outside under a bright sliver of moon in a temple courtyard. A Giant mural of Owatatsumi, The Dragon God of the Sea, hung before her. Smiling not so differently from the drooling madmen from before, Owatatsumi shapeshifted into a pale-faced woman. Hardly original. Half of Japanese legends had a transforming monster/beauty. It was a wonder they didn’t see vampires coming earlier.

Sitting under the mural were some familiar faces. Dressed in a black, silk kimono, looking smug and satisfied, the prostitute from Carmilla’s that Keiko was supposed to have killed sat and filed her nails. Kenjutsu pupils, including some of her father’s former students, knelt nearby, their squinting eyes filled with fear and hatred. Yuki Sasaki, the twins’ old friend and one of the best students under Master Kenshin, was among them. His expression was more solemn and conflicted. Regardless of how he may have felt, his palm rested on his katana’s hilt, ready to draw the blade.

“Damn traitors,” Rin muttered.

Effects of the poison, weakness in her limbs and flashing dots of light remained, as well as a nagging headache. Burning incense wafted around her. Rin had always found the jasmine aroma soothing, and it helped to mitigate the migraine.

Behind her, facing away, Keiko breathed a heavy sigh and rested the back of her head on Rin’s shoulders. “Sis, you’re awake.”

Keiko’s fingers wormed their way into Rin’s hand. It was the extent that either of them could move. Thick rope bound the twins together back to back. Prickly twine dug into the underside of Rin’s breasts. Another rope wrapped her ankles, rubbing against her bare skin. Her swords and Keiko’s ranged weapons were lying agonizingly close, but out of reach, propped up against a golden statue of Orochi, the evil eight-headed dragon of ancient myth. Images of dragons appeared on vases, scrolls, and swords all over the temple. A blue dragon wind chime rang between Rin’s grunts as she struggled to escape her bindings.

“It’s no use,” Keiko said, causing the sex worker’s wicked grin to widen.

“No use,” the woman echoed with glee.

Rin nodded her head towards the prostitute. “I told you, you should have ended this bitch.”

The whore, with the eyes of a geisha still painted on, straightened her back and paused her manicure. “Apologies for tying you up, dragons,” she said and giggled without a trace of remorse. “But you’re worth a lot of money.”

“So, why not just kill us and collect the reward?” Rin grunted.

Keiko nudged the back of her shoulders. “Rin!”

Rin ignored her sister’s protest. “If you want us to grovel and beg for our lives, it’s not going to happen.”

The prostitute shed her fake, sunny demeanor, unmasking malice in her eyes. “Believe me, after what you’ve cost my business, I’d love to strip the skin from your bones, but he wants you alive. Why do you think poor Sakura coated her nails with a non-lethal poison? It’s because I told her to!”

Rin scratched at the rope with her nails. This bitch had to go, but since she was gloating openly, Rin would gladly absorb any helpful information.

“Who’s ‘he’? And what do you mean ‘your business’?”

Keiko leaned over to whisper in her ear. “She’s Carmilla. The white woman you killed was just a hostess.”

Rin wondered how long she’d been out.

Carmilla nodded approvingly. “Yes, and now I have to find a new face for my front desk, thanks to you. You might not be aware, being country bumkins and all… but pretty, white women who speak Japanese are in short supply.”

Keiko slumped against Rin’s back. “Kuso! She played us like puppets.”

Rin scrunched her eyes shut. “You mean this entire time-- ”

Carmilla cackled to the heavens, sensing that Rin understood. “It was a good story we crafted, wasn’t it? The governor’s innocent son… corrupted by a sultry, vampire woman of the night.”

Rin’s face boiled red. Gods, how annoyingly that hag’s voice bit at her eardrums. “You still haven’t said who wants us alive.” She felt Keiko’s muscles tighten behind her.

“It-- it’s him.” Keiko stammered.

Rin couldn’t see anyone, but whoever it was was about to get killed. Carmilla went to a formal posture and bowed deeply. The pupils followed suit, except for Yuki who stood rigid, eyes forward.

“Introducing Master Drake, the Fire-Breathing Dragon of the West,” Yuki announced.

Rin had to bite her lip to keep from vomiting.

Drake emerged from behind the Orochi statue with a spring in his step. He hadn’t aged a day, and looked as grubby as the day that he stormed into Rin’s life, ruined her father, and carved up her face. The only difference was a new pair of geta sandals on his hairy feet.

“Welcome, Twin Dragons. My, how you’ve grown,” Drake said proudly, and bowed to the sisters. “How do you like my humble training facility?”

“It’s creepy,” Rin spat.

Drake smiled, his fangs sharper than Rin remembered. “I hail from House Dracul. In Japanese, our name means ‘The Order of Dragons’. Everything I’ve done was for my family. There aren’t many of us left, and I had to search long and hard, but I finally found another dragon. Twin Dragons in fact.”

Keiko’s flushed cheeks warmed the air between them. “But all of this… if you care about us so much, why put us through hell?”

Drake strolled over to Keiko, and put a finger under her chin. “I put you through hell because you’re attracted to devils. I want you,” Drake said, and walked to Rin and stroked her scar with his pinky. “And you… as my brides.”

Rin tried to bite the intruding finger off, but was too slow. “Don’t touch me! Lecher! Bastard! We refuse! Iyada! Zettai iyada!”

Keiko struggled against the ropes.“We’d rather die!”

Drake pursed his lips in disappointment. “Look around, girls.”

“No amount of gold or fancy, dragon decor is going to woo us,” said Rin.

“Not the decor, the students. See your friends?”

Rin looked into Yuki’s stern, but confused face. His apologetic eyes belonged to a changed man, but the earnest, rocks-for-brains farm boy that she used to beat up was still present. Though he was Drake’s puppet, he was completely unlike Sakura’s mind slaves. He was unsullied, unbitten, still Yuki.

“You didn’t turn them?” Rin asked.

“As promised, I brought them here to show them the way of the samurai and perhaps the way of the world. I could show you the same, and I vow not to turn you. I wouldn't wish eternal life on my worst enemy, let alone my pupils. Certainly not on my brides-to-be.”

Rin snorted. “Is that your idea of a marriage vow? Not very romantic.”

“The answer is no,” Keiko added.

Carmilla rose and placed her slender hands on Drake’s shoulders. “Do away with these peasant girls, master. They’re not becoming of a man of your stature.”

Drake seemed annoyed, but Rin could tell he was trying to keep a friendly persona up in front of her and her sister. “Ah, Carmilla. I had almost forgotten.” He produced a fat roll of banknotes from the folds of his kendogi and handed it to her. “This is for a job well done. You may return to your business. I’ll join you once I’m done here.”

Drake may as well have slapped her ass and told her to get lost. Carmilla’s face turned as red as Keiko’s. Rin loved every second of it.

“But surely you don’t mean to bring these-- ” Carmilla’s voice shook with every syllable. “These insolent brats into your home? They killed Sakura!” She pointed to Keiko. “This one almost killed me!”

Drake closed his eyes. “Sakura knew the risks. As did you. I’ll hear no more. Now go.”

“But master, please-- ”

Drake seized her by the neck and lifted her into the air. “I said I’ll hear no more!”

Carmilla made a hacking sound as her body convulsed, her back arching like a stretching cat’s. Drake squeezed his dirty fingernails into her jugular. Her eyes bulged and she clawed at his wrists with her newly filed fingernails, tearing some of his flesh. Carmilla’s eyes rolled into the back of her skull and she went limp. Drake released her and her unconscious body fell in a heap. He signalled one of his boys to carry her away.

Rin couldn’t suppress a smile. “You grow more charming by the second, Drake.”

“Forgive me. She never would have shut up, always buzzing around like a mosquito. Now, as for our marriage...”

Rin thrashed against the ropes. They were slowly loosening, but still did not leave enough room to wriggle out of. “There won’t be a marriage! Get these damn ropes off!”

“Rin-chan, you’re still as stubborn as the day we met. Don’t worry, I’ll release you both if you agree to my proposal: if the two of you can best me in a duel, I’ll set you free and leave you alone for the rest of your lives.”

“Let me guess, if you win, we have to make dragon babies with you?”

Drake shrugged, as if to say, ‘Yeah, that’s more or less the idea.’

Keiko smirked through hot tears, and Rin knew that their thoughts were synchronized. They’d give the vampire creep the rejection of a lifetime. “We accept!” they shouted in unison.

“I hope you're ready. Pupils, stand down. You’re not to harm my prizes. Understood?”

Yuki and the rest of the students, answered in the affirmative. Their eyes trained on the Twin Dragons, all of the pupils stood and took a few steps back. Drake unsheathed his nodachi and severed the bindings.

Rin became Sleeping Dragon, threw the ropes away, and scrambled to her katana. She drew the blade and tossed the scabbard aside.

Drake laughed like an ass. “No grace, just like your father. Only you’ve got more fire.”

Rin charged him. Her rage swelled, but she contained it, and released a pulse of anger with each katana strike as if she was opening and closing a valve.

“Good! Good!” Drake said through his grinning, gritted fangs.

Keiko crawled to her bow, arrows, and guns while Rin occupied Drake’s attention. From her knees, she quickly fired off an arrow headed straight for his heart. While locked up with Rin, Drake turned his back slightly, but enough so that the arrow dug into his shoulder blade instead of his chest. Drake gritted his teeth and continued the fight. Rin wouldn’t allow him a chance to pull it out and recover. Her attacks flew from every angle, each precise slash and stab aimed at his heart. Rin went low to high with a vicious strike, shaving some of Drake’s beard. But with a backstep and parry, Drake used Rin’s force against her and sent her sword skywards. It plunged into one of the temple’s awnings, well out of reach.

Drake pointed his nodachi at Rin’s nose and breathed a relieved sigh. “You’ve improved, no doubt, but you’d need another century of training to match me. I win.”

Rin grinned. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Behind Drake’s head, the hammer of Rising Dragon’s Smith & Wesson cocked back. He slowly turned around and stared down the barrel of the revolver.

“Drop the sword!” Keiko ordered. “Sis, let’s get out of here.”

However, Drake was too busy laughing to comply. “Do you really think that you snuck up on me just now? I thought better of you. At any rate, your little bullets won’t stop me.”

“Who said anything about bullets?”

She squeezed the trigger, and a supernova of a flash round engulfed Drake’s eyes and ears. He staggered back, screaming, and gnashed his fangs together. He swung his giant blade in wild arcs.

“Here, sis! I’ll boost you!” Keiko shouted, cupping her hands together and crouching down.

Keiko catapulted Rin into the air, and she got enough elevation to grab the handle of her sword. It was stuck deep into the wood. Twisting her body, she planted her feet on the awning and pulled hard. It wouldn’t budge. She gave the sword another yank, this time wiggling it up and down. It came loose and Rin and her favorite weapon crashed into the gravel below, kicking up a billowing cloud of dust. Drake’s guard was wide and she wouldn’t waste her opportunity. She raised her katana overhead.

“Wait! Wait!” Keiko shouted with frightened eyes.

Before the decisive blow against Drake was dealt, Yuki rushed from the sidelines to block for his master. Rin had no intention of holding back for the traitor’s sake and clashed her blade against his.

“Get back, sensei!” Yuki screamed to his likely deafened tutor while doing his best to hold Rin off.

His concise movements and stout defence impressed her, despite harsh feelings towards him. He’d improved under Drake’s tutelage, but was completely focused on defence and wasn’t showing her any signs of a counterattack. She relentlessly rained swords on him. Her strikes opened his guard, shearing his kendogi, slicing at his torso. Behind Yuki’s back, some of Drake’s pupils pulled the vampire swordmaster away to safety.

“Get back here!” Rin screamed.

“Stop it, Rin!” Keiko yelled. “That’s Sasaki-kun!”

Rin kept up her furious barrage. “Don’t you think I know that, you dunce?”

Yuki defended valiantly, but with each inflicted wound, his posture worsened. Soon, he was dripping with sweat and could barely stand. His eyes had grown dark and almost sleepy, though he had aged several years in a few sword exchanges. With every heavy breath, he produced sprays of spittle.

“Out of my way, traitor!” Rin yelled as she stuck her katana between his ribs.

His teary eyes widened and his knees buckled. “I w-won’t let you...” He coughed blood. Hands shaking, he grabbed the katana skewering him, the edge cutting into his palms.

Keiko ran behind Rin and tried to wrestle her away from her weapon. “Rin, what have you done?”

Rin tried to pull her sword out of Yuki’s torso, but the young warrior held strong. Obedient to their sensei’s orders, the rest of Drake’s pupils did nothing to help Yuki as he locked the blade inside his ribcage, using every last ounce of his lifeforce. The other students stood together, drew swords, and blocked Drake’s escape route. After a minute, Yuki lost consciousness and slumped back into Keiko’s waiting arms. Rin yanked her sword loose from his chest, but her real opponent was long gone.

She raised her bloody weapon and pointed it at her former sparring dummies. “You wanna die too? Come on then!”

The pupils flinched, but wouldn’t advance or back down.

“Let it go, Rin! Stop it!” Keiko pleaded, holding the dying Yuki against her bosom with one hand, and tugging at Rin’s leggings with the other. “It’s over. Drake’s gone.”

Rin roared at the sliver of moon and started hacking off Orochi’s golden heads. When all eight had fallen, Rin breathed heavily as bitter tears trickled down her scar. “You’re right. It is over, nee-san.”

She screamed once more from her soul. Everyone in the temple observed her unquenched wrath in silence. But father’s words echoed in her subconscious, attempting calm and guide her.

“A dragon knows when to be as hard as steel and when to be as soft as a woman’s breasts.”

What foolishness. It was no time to be soft. Rin turned to face her twin, who grovelled in the dirt, snotty-nosed and crying. “You are too weak after all. Sayounara.”