When Ichirou first encountered Bloody, a vampire unlike any he had encountered before, he was immediately struck by Bloody's distinctive crimson hair and eyes, unusual indifference to blood, and immunity to sunlight. Their introduction came through Bloody's heroic intervention; saving Ichirou from other vampires who coveted his "Blood of Maria." Although Bloody defeated their attacker, he approached Ichirou, requesting he end Bloody's eternal life.
Initially doubtful of Bloody's claim of harmlessness, Ichirou questioned how a vampire could be powerful enough to defeat an immortal vampire. Bloody, however, mistook Ichirou for the famous priest Isaac Rosario di Maria, whose powerful legacy had persisted for centuries. Ichirou possessed his grandfather's cross-shaped rosario, which held the power to exorcise vampires, though he didn't know how to use it.
Reluctantly, to stay alive, Ichirou agreed to let Bloody, now known as Mary, protect him until he could follow through with Mary's wish for death.