***][***
A killer stalked the streets of New York, dead eyes hidden from the glaring lights of the city underneath shades as it made its way placidly through the throngs of people. A jovial smirk playing on its features. Men speak of monsters and demons but this…creature made those that went bump in the night seem tame. The beast walked in the skin of a man, average of height and long of gait with neatly combed black hair and far eastern features wearing a fine three piece suit and tie, preverbal blood soaked hands stuffed into a pair of lambskin gloves. His clothing, as well as his gloves, were black of color with the sole exemption of his tie. Decorated with a wide crisscrossing pattern of white lines upon its umbral fabric. With his suit jacket buttoned at the waist the beast he stopped to gaze up through the crowds of people that passed him by like rocks in a stream. Amidst the towering structured glittering in the tainted mixture of starlight and streetlights as they jutted skyward like crystalline monuments to God, stood the single, brightly lit structure of 432 Park Avenue, his target.
***][***
Kurumu Kurono was the vision of beauty, having allowed her azure blue locks to flow freely and dressed in a white, open backed translucent dress that was a tantalizing cross between sultry and modesty. The rich tan of her skin allowed for much of her body to be viewed beneath the dress while a floral pattern stretching from her v-shaped neckline down to her pumps preserved her modesty. Twin slits up the sides gave her the freedom to show as much, or as little, of her ample thighs and sculpted calves as she wished.
Unfortunately, Kurumu wasn't in such a mood and in fact wished to use those legs to flatten the annoying little pricks hanging around her like flies to a carcass. Several men from various generations vied for her attention, showing off quarter million dollar Rolexes and offering her expensive trips and drinks but, to the disappointment of all, the only thing passing her lips was a closely guarded glass of water as she eyed the objects of her ire.
Dominating a corner of the penthouse was a large wrap around couch that held many occupants, but a single woman. This woman was none other than the young succubus' mother, Ageha. Dressed in a red, off the shoulder, fur collared dress that was bursting at the seams under the strain of her curves the elder Kurono masterfully entertained the high rollers of the party. Her attention constantly shifted from one billionaire to another as several wives eyed her jealously and others dragged their husbands away from the clamor that dwarfed Kurumu's own by far.
In another life, Kurumu would have felt a bit envious by the fact, especially since the elder succubus dragged her here all the way here in the first place, However Kurumu wished that those around her would disappear into her mother's throng and leave her in peace.
With her gaze boring into her mother's skull Kurumu wished that her Auntie was here instead of the other side of the country as the beautiful Caro shade would no doubt draw the attention of the pesky flies hanging over her and they'd leave her alone with her thoughts. Thoughts of a man with kind caramel eyes and a warm smile. Her wonderful destined one who refused to listen to the desires of his body and instead choose to follow his big, beautiful heart. A heart forever lost to her.
Tears sprung to her violet eyes and the young woman fought them back, she absolutely refused to cry. Not here, not in front of these wretched vultures that only wanted her for her body. Her lovely face twisted into a scowl that scared the living daylights out of her unwanted entourage before she sent one last look towards her mother and, deciding that the elder woman would most likely not be returning with her anyway, snatched her clutch purse from the nearby table and made a beeline for the door before slamming into something hard, and warm.
***][***
A pair of elevator doors, burnished silver slabs of steel, slowly slid open with a ding, allowing the beast entrance to prowl the halls. Italian leather shoes tapped ominously upon the hardwood floors leading up to the penthouse door at the far end of the hall where two burly men in grey suits stood watch.
Stepping up to the towering pair the unassuming Asian man appeared like a child to them with their bulging muscles and straining suits. The one on the right was a bald African American with a large brow and a stern face with a mouth framed by the faint dusting of facial hair, while his partner was a slightly smaller white male with cropped hair and goatee.
"Password." Barked the first one, his hands in his pockets while his partner leaned against the wall. The black suited horror adjusted his cuffs for a moment before looking up at the pair with a kind smile.
"Giovanni." He said, causing the smaller guard to take up a look of confusion while his partner imitated a buzzer.
"Bhrrrrgh, wrong answer. This is a private party, if you ain't got the password then you've gotta bounce." He said removing his hands from his pockets and attempting to intimidate the much smaller man. It was a wasted effort as the Asian wasn't even looking at him, instead focusing on his partner.
"Alexander Giovanni, wanted in seven countries for a list about as long as my arm." He said holding up his left hand towards the ceiling. "Murder, rape, mutilation, torture, and let's not forget Libya." Giovanni grew paler and paler in complexion as the Asian man listed off his crimes with his fingers, until his partner moved forward.
"What type of shit you talking man?" The mountain of muscle exclaimed as he went to grab the Asian but was stopped when the man's gaze cut to him.
"I'll get to you in a moment Francis." He interjected before returning to Giovanni just in time to see him drawing a gun from the inside of his coat. Moving swiftly the Asian ducked underneath the out swinging arm holding the gun and jammed his thumb between the backside of the trigger and the guard to stop him from firing before slamming the palm of his hand into the underside of Giovanni's nose, forcing the cartilage up through the nasal cavity and into the brain. Taking the gun from the dying man's hand the killer calmly turned back to Francis who gaped in shock.
"Now…where were we?"
***][***
Strong hands steadied her to make sure she stayed on her feet as Kurumu reeled from her sudden collision. Looking up she saw that the hands belonged to a man just barely a head taller than her looking down at her from behind dark sunglasses. He appeared to be around her age and his features told her that he was from Asia though she couldn't tell from where. His calloused hands where rough on the bare skin of her arms but there was something vaguely familiar about his touch, almost as if she'd felt it before.
"A little early to be running into things isn't it?" He joked in perfect English, if slightly dull and monotonous.
"I don't know, isn't it a little late to be wearing shades? Especially indoors." Kurumu shot back before removing herself from his steady grip. With a chuckle the man reached up and removed his glasses.
"I suppose it is." He said as his covered hands revealed rich purple eyes to the world, a shade brighter than her own. Folding the arms of the accessory back, he placed them into the inside pocket of his coat and fixed his eyes on her and cracked a smile.
"So, what's got you in such a hurry?" He said. Kurumu risked a glance behind her to see a few of those pesky flies had tried to follow her on her way out. Looking back at the man, she found him looking over her shoulder towards the advancing group with curiosity before those violet orbs flicked back to her knowingly.
Without warning Kurumu was suddenly whisked away towards the dancefloor, away from the door and the flies. She felt a hand land just above her hip, pressing her into his firm chest, as another took hers and they began to waltz.
"There we are, one escape free of charge." The stranger said, mischief glinting in his eyes as he led her around the dancefloor. Kurumu glared up at the man, while escape had been her desire the method it was achieved was far from what she wanted. Only one man could touch her like this, only one man deserved to feel her body against his, to have his hot breath rush warmly against her skin, so why then wasn't she pushing him away?
"You're an asshole." She said.
He laughed.
**][**
The elder succubus watched her daughter out the corner of her eye as the young man lead her around the dance floor and she had mixed feelings, on one hand she was glad her daughter had finally taken a liking to someone and stopped chasing a ghost. For gods sake the boys been missing for years, it'll be a miracle if he was even alive much less still single. For all they knew the boy had run of with that Mizore girl to shack up in the mountains somewhere, a thought that irritated Ageha to no end. On the other there was something unnerving about the guy, like his smile was false, like it hid fangs. The amount of lust she felt coming from him was almost like a corpse, unnatural considering how close he was to a prodigy amongst a race that unconsciously radiated pheromones to attract prey. The amount of sexual desire coming from him should be suffocating and well visible by now, but there was nothing not even a tightening of his tailored slacks. He may as well be dead.
With her mind split between lording over her conquest and worrying about her daughter she never noticed the woman's presence until a spotless white gloved hand landed on her shoulder. A deep feeling of unease settled into Ageha which turned into full blown terror as she looked up into the seraphic smile of Kahlua Shuzen. The deceptively innocent blonde was radiating demonic energy directly at her though the childishly friendly smile never left her face; the effect was instant and made her next words even more frightening.
"If you and your daughter want to live, I suggest you leave now." She said with all the innocent malice of a little girl who see's someone playing with her toys, and perhaps she did.
**][**
Kurumu found that she was enjoying herself, with the man having laughed her insult away the two made small talk throughout the song till the very finish and somehow, she managed to learn even less about the stranger than she thought. She didn't even know his name.
A strong hand gripped her arm and Kurumu turned from him to find her pale faced mother grabbing her tightly.
"We have to go." She said, tugging heavily on her arm, almost pulling the smaller woman off balance.
"H-hold on, what's wrong momma?" Kurumu said, trying to keep both her balance and her modesty intact as she was pulled through the throng of party goers and aristocrats.
"No time to explain." Her mother said curtly. Kurumu looked back to find the strange man staring after her with something akin to sadness in his eyes.
"What's your name?!" She called over the throng. The man simply smiled and bowed deeply, thanking her for the dance before he vanished into the crowd.
***][***
The murderer watched as his dance partner vanished through the crowd on her way to the door. He wasn't worried, the doormen's bodies had already been disposed of before he entered the penthouse door, but he regretted not being able to dance with her anymore. She had such beautiful…everything.
"May I have this dance?" Said a girlish voice behind him as the door closed behind the succubus. Without even looking the monster knew just who was behind him as it wasn't the first time the two had danced, yet still he turned and confirmed his suspicions.
"Kahlua Shuzen, why is it that I always run into at these things?" He said to the tanned skinned princess currently holding out her gloved hand towards him, richly dressed in a snow-white evening gown with a diamond tiara. she smiled at him innocently.
"Why Iwao, I dare say its fate." She said as he took her hand.
"You give your spy's too little credit lady Shuzen." Iwao retorted as he kissed her knuckles before they shifted into the waltz. "So, is it business or pleasure that brings you here today lady Shuzen?" He said, slipping into Japanese
"Please Ao-kun, for the umpteenth time call me Lulu!" Kahlua reprimanded with a childish pout, slipping into perfect Japanese as well. "It was business, but then…" She trailed off with a slight blush.
"You saw that I was going to be here." He finished for her as they went through the steps, back and forth, back and forth, one two three, one two three, her lithe body pressing against him warmly as they whirled gracefully across the dancefloor. The deceptively strong muscles of her legs taking the lead from him without contest, gracefully pulling him along.
"Well Ao-kun, I never figured you for a mind reader." She chirped, a knowing smile playing at her lips. She knew damn well that this had become a pattern, showing up where ever the risk was high enough. In the beginning he had simply believed it was because they shared the same profession, but now it was just plain ridiculous.
Seeing the frown on his face, Kahlua giggled. "Oh behave, I was only teasing. You're always so serious, it's charming." She finished huskily, pressing herself deeper into his body.
"Shall we get the dance underway?" Iwao said, eager to get things going so he could complete his objective. Kahlua just laughed and pulled herself into an outward twirl.
"But Ao-kun, we're already dancing." She pointed out after her spin, their hands bridging the gap between them until she spun once more, this time inwardly, bringing his arm around her so that it draped against her front as she pressed her back against his torso. Using the position, the beast in mans clothing began to squeeze the woman with unnatural strength. Bearing down on her with all he had would've crushed a normal human, but both he and she knew that she was not ordinary, even amongst their kind. Instead of being flattened to a paste she dissolved into a pout.
"Oh alright, party pooper." She said, easily breaking a hold that could snap steel with a flick of her wrist as she stepped forward. "Perhaps we should clear the room first?" She said looking around the crowded penthouse, having gathered quite the crowd during their spectacle of a dance that still awed onlookers.
"You sure I won't just vanish during the commotion?" Iwao said, straightening and brushing off the non-existent dust from his suit. At this Kahlua laughed as she removed her gloves, it wasn't the childish giggle of endearment from before, nor the mirthful sound of joy, but the chuckle of a being confident in her prowess and place in the world confronted by the challenge of a fumbling child.
"Oh darling." The blue-eyed angel smirked as she pulled at the fingers of her remaining glove, pulling the white silk away from the contrasting mocha of her skin and tossing it aside, her eyes examining her nails. The white princess took a moment to close her eyes, a beatific smile on her face before those same eyes slid open, slowly opening to reveal the burning crimson of the damned as she spoke, her voice went from sweet chiding to darkly threatening as she growled. "You can't run from me."
***][***
Wiping a tear from her eye, the dark-skinned princess surveyed her handiwork before she turned an electric smile towards the other survivor of the massacre, her eyes still a brilliant crimson that matched the blood splattered on the walls. It had been so quick, so merciless that they barely had time to scream much less put up a fight before they perished. With the natural grace of her species, Kahlua stepped over the corpses to stand before Iwao.
"See, that wasn't so hard." Kahlua chirped, gesturing towards the many dismembered bodies littering the room. "You really bring out the best in me Ao-kun." She smiled.
"Or the worst." Iwao said, wiping away a spot of blood from his face before looking around at all the unrecognizable corpses.
"Pfft, potato potahto, I simply made us enough room." She reached out a tanned hand invitingly. "Now…about that dance."
"Fine then." Iwao said before he removed his coat and tossed it onto one of the burning bodies and rolling up the sleeves of his black button down, revealing a silver chain and cross pendant wrapped around his right wrist. "Far be it from me to refuse a lady a dance, shall we begin?"
Without reply Kahlua rushed forward to deliver a spinning high kick which he met with an arm bar. Grabbing the offending appendage, Iwao slung her around and slammed her against the wall. Apparently unaffected, Kahlua wrapped her free leg around his arm and pushed herself off the wall and into a spin that pulled Iwao off his feet and slammed him into the ground while keeping him pinned between her thighs.
"You know…" She drawled. "This isn't how I imagined getting your hand between my legs."
"It has its advantages." Iwao said before forcing himself to his knees to whip Kahlua around and fling her off, the passing of her manicured nails leaving deep gouged in his skin that healed in mere moments.
Landing in a crouch, Kahlua grabbed the burning hulk of a table and flung it at Iwao, who simply plowed his fist into the solid oak. As the ruins passed him, Kahlua sprang into view with a smirk to deliver a devastating gut shot that lifted Iwao from the floor to be the perfect target for the following roundhouse delivered via Kahlua's white thigh-high stiletto clad leg to plow him into a wall and into the next room.
A bone crushing fist met Kahlua as she dashed into the room, colliding with her jaw. She responded with an uppercut that forced Iwao to back step and deliver a one two punch combo, knocking her around before a mule kick plowed into her abdomen with enough force to send her stumbling back.
Kahlua's hair whipped back as she looked up from her crouch to find Iwao bearing down on her with the bedrooms vanity. The heavy object plowed into her slender frame with great speed thanks to Iwao's unnatural strength, blasting her head upwards a moment before the vanity came around once more knocking her to the side. Kahlua never stopped smiling throughout the entire exchange and now, looking over her shoulder, the excitement in her eyes was evident as she reached towards one of the crosses dangling from her ear.
Seeing this Iwao flung his improvised weapon at her, hoping to stop her from removing the limiter, but he was too late however, as the vanity was suddenly sliced apart. Not even pausing, Iwao rushed back. Trying to gain some distance between him and the wicked blades now replacing Kahlua's left arm.
The caramel marble masterpiece was replaced by several disturbing bat-like protrusions that belied her angelic appearance, grotesque and veiny membranes that Iwao knew from experience could easily slice through anything short of a miracle.
"You know." Kahlua said with a smile, the diaphanous blades twitching and jerking with a mind of their own. "You're among the few people to survive seeing me like this, many times in fact."
"Just lucky I guess." Iwao said, not reacting in the slightest at the horrendous sight of her half-released state. Kahlua wasn't convinced.
"Or fate." She offered once again. "Perhaps if you-."
"Not interested." Iwao cut in. "Quite happy where I'm at thank you, besides you Shuzen women have a tendency of being black widows."
"It wasn't imouto's fault!" Kahlua shouted with a childish stamp of her foot, once more showing her infantile side. "I'm so tired of people blaming her, It's just a stupid, baseless, horrible rumor!" Her blades responded to her frustration, whipping about wildly to slice apart anything around her.
With out fear Iwao calmly pulled out a small black box with a blinking red light and antenna, Kahlua stilled.
"I'm afraid I must cut our dance short." With a flick of his gloved finger, the light turned green. Iwao wasted no time, and was already sprinting towards the nearest window before Kahlua could react. His legs blurred as he gained momentum before he crashed through the window and into the darkness beyond.
***][***
The Kurono family had barely exited the building when it exploded. A massive fireball lit the night and shockwaves rocked the area sending pedestrians, including the mother-daughter pair, to the ground amidst a hail of broken glass.
As they watched the building burn, they were unaware of the eyes watching them from the crowd. The masses of first responders and civilians flowing around him like water, with a small smile Iwao looked on as Kurumu helped her mother to stand.
Reaching into a side pocket, the man in black removed a pair of gold framed sunglasses, opened the arms and placing them on his face…just as the color of kings faded to brown and his black hair bled to chocolate and vanished into the crowd.
***][***
This is just something I've had in my head for a while now. It's loosely based on the Get what you wanted story line with a few changes. The incident happened two years after Tsukune and Moka got married and this is three years after that.