Episode 12: Vlad

Vlad is the twelfth and final episode for Hidan no Aria. It was aired on July 1, 2011.

Summary
Aria and Kinji have been double crossed. Not only has Riko turned on them, but also the rosary is what unlocks her powers! Once again against the Phantom Thief, can the duo hope to defeat her? More importantly, can they defeat an even greater threat that is about to come upon them?

Plot
Holding the duo at gunpoint, Riko explains she betrayed them in order to prove her own worth by surpassing her ancestor - the legendary French Phantom Thief, Arsène Lupin. Recounting the history of her and Aria's lineage, their two ancestors had once fought over a century ago but their duel ended in a draw thus creating an obsession for her to defeat Aria and the Holmes bloodline to prove her supperiority over her ancestors. However, before she could make her first move she was immediately tased from behind by Tooru Sayonaki and dropped to the floor unable to move.

Sayonaki's arrival, however, was not a gesture of kindness for Kinji and Aria. Immerging from the shadows behind him were two wolves ready to attack Kinji and Aria should they make any sudden movements. Kinji quickly realizes that the wolves were the same species of wolf that Reki had tamed, to which Sayonaki confirmed that it was his wolf and expressed interest in aquiring a sample of Reki's blood. He then switched his attention back to the incapacitated Riko, whom he mocked for not recognizing him as the one who imprisoned and tested on her as a child ten years ago. He then announced to Kinji and Aria, much to Riko's protest, that despite being a descendent of Lupin she's genetically inept and inherited no useful traits from Lupin. Then to the horror of Kinji and Aria, he pulled the Rosary from her chest, forced it into her mouth, and proceeded to stomp on her face. As her screams and despair grew Sayonaki's body began to contort and swell in size, revealing his true form; Vlad.

Aria opened fire at Vlas as his wolves pounced them. Imitating Reki's shot, Kinji fired twice at the wolves ensuring the bullets graze over their back in order to incapacitate them from fighting. Despite unloading two clips of her pistols in Vlad, Aria's bullets had no effect and the wounds caused by them were quickly healed. Vlad gloated about his near invicibility to their weapons and the traditional weaknesses of a vampire then picked Riko up and gave her one last look of the Tokyo skyline before he would lock her away again in order to breed the perfect Lupin V. With tears and blood beginning to blurr her vision, she swallowed her pride and begged Aria and Kinji for help.

The duo exploded into action as Aria lunged at Vlad, slashing at the two marks on his arms causing him to drop Riko. Kinji recovered Riko and brought her to a safe distance while Aria kept Vlad busy. After he set her down, Riko informed Kinji of Vlad's fourth hidden weak point in the center of his chest. He immeditately rushed back to Aria and after a quick talk, they shot all four points on Vlad. He dropped to his knee then began laughing as the wounds began to regenerate. He revealed to them the supposed fourth point on his chest wasn't true then gave out a loud roar, splintering the ground and causing Aria to fly back. Kinji managed to hold his ground against the shockwave but quickly realized his Hysteria mode had been purged. Without his Hysteria to sharpen his thinking, he was paralyzed with fear as Vlad approached him. Before Vlad could strike him with a light fixture he had torn out of the ground, Aria shouldered Kinji to try to knock him away but it ended up causing both of them to bear the brunt of Vlad's attack. While Aria was flung against the ledge, Kinji was thrown over it. As he fell off the building, Riko quickly dove after him and caught him then opened her parachute uniform. Riko attempted to persuade Kinji to flee but he was adamant in saving Aria. After fulfilling her request to be called Riko, ignoring her lineage as a Lupin, they caught an updraft and flew back to the top of the building where they snagged Aria from being struck by Vlad.

Much to Aria's suprise, Riko commented how good Aria's sweat smelled then began to lick her neck. Kinji noticed this and felt his blood beginning to rush. As a "finishing touch," she dropped the two back on the rooftop in a way that caused Kinji to land face first on Aria's chest. Upon realizing where he was, his blood surged and he re-entered Hysteria mode. After calming Aria down he formed a plan to defeat Vlad; Aria shooting his left shoulder and chest, Riko should his right shoulder, and Kinji shooting his right flank. Despite protests from Aria that it's the same plan from before that didn't work, Kinji told her to trust him. Unbeknownst to everyone except Kinji, the trick behind his plan was to get Vlad's guard down as he had figured out where Vlad's true fourth weakpoint was. At the count of five, they moved into position and fired. As their bullet flew, Kinji's seemingly went to the same spot as one of Aria's but as they drew closer to Vlad's body they briefly made contact with each other than bounced off into different directions. Kinji's bullet then flew straight into Vlad's tounge while the rest struck the marks on his arms and chest. With his tounge hanging out of his mouth and blood poruing from the wounds, Vlad flailed around in pain and revealed to them the fourth mark on his tounge before collapsing to the ground.

As they stood over the defeated Vlad, Aria asked how Kinji figured it out. He recounted that the first time they shot at Vlad he had covered his mouth. He realized that if Vlad's regeneration makes him invicibile, then he shouldn't need to shielf himself unless that's where his hidden weakpoint was. Kinji then congradulated Riko, saying that she was able to \ defeat Vlad where Lupin couldn't a century before. Aria further congradulated her, commenting that this achievment has made her exceed Lupin. Riko smiled upon the realization she finally proved herself as a Lupin, then immediately put on a stern face claiming the interests of Holmes and Lupin just so happened to intersect. She then decided to no longer look down on the two and considered them her rivals before flying off into the night with her uniform parachute.

Days later, Aria makes Kinji tag along to help her shop for a new swimsuit. As she leaves for the changing room, he notices Kana walking amongst the crowd. For a brief momment, their eyes meet before Kana walks away. Kinji attempts to follow her, but Aria immerges from the changing room wearing one of the bikinis she picked and  hugs him. She says that one of her mother's lawyers called saying that Riko has agreed to testify in her mother's defense. As Aria happily dances around, Kinji notices Aria dropped something. Upon realzing on of her pads had fallen out, she swipes it from him, puts it back in, then slaps him across the face.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Mine Riko
 * Aria H. Kanzaki
 * Tohyama Kinji
 * Vlad

Trivia

 * The final scene of the episode is anime exclusive

Quotes


