Story Title: What the night brings
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my orginal characters, Amiko and Kiyoshi, and the plot.
Chapter Summary: a trap is set.
Chapter 2: Night secrets!
' She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire,
she has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave.
-Walter Pater on Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (1873)'
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The phone's sharp Beckoned sliced through the silence that had fallen peacefully on Shigure's house. With Kyo and Yuki gone out, the house became almost eerily silent except for the occasional appearance of Ami and Shigure. Shigure had been "Struck by the angel of Inspiration" as he put it, and so had only made an appearance to request more jelly buns. Moreover, even now he had grown lazy and just called to Tohru when he required more. Ami, who had come out recently from Shigure's room, where she had spent the Majority of her day reading a couple of his books, had disappeared into Yuki's room. Tohru had found her asleep sometime later on his bed, the dried pathways of tears that streaked her cheeks shown in the soft mid-afternoon sun. Tohru watched her sleep, curious of what she hid behind her mask. What would make her cry cause her so much pain? The answers weren't about to just appear, it would take time, and hopefully one day Ami would open up to her. 'Just be yourself, you'll be fine.' Her mother's voice whispered in her head. 'You're right mom.' She nodded in silent agreement. Tohru's gentle smile crept onto her face, 'Maybe one day.' She thought.
"Hello?" Tohru said as she picked up the receiver. The person on the other end was silent, but Tohru could hear their breathing. "Hello?" She said again.
"Tohru," It was Kiyoshi's voice on the other end. The sound sent a chill up her spine, and a delightful tingle back down it. "Is Ami, there?" He asked casually. "She's asleep. Would you like me to take a message?"
"No. I will talk to her later. Hey," He heisted a moment, "would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
"I don't know Kiyoshi, I mean Shigure is busy with his book and tonight is my night to cook dinner and-"
"You don't have to make excuses. Just say no." The bitter reply made her heart skip a beat. She had never heard Kiyoshi's voice anything but pleasant. She did not want him to think she did not like him. She did! He was everything, cultured, sweet, amusing, cheerful, odd, and beautiful, he was a lot like Yuki only more open and social with everyone. He did not seem to hate anyone the way Kyo did; if he did, he kept it hidden well. "No Kiyoshi, that's not what I mean. I would love to, but tomorrow night would be better." She could swear she could see his smile through the phone. His smooth voice came through the line, "Dewa ashita no ban, Tohru-kun." He hung up.
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--/Night secrets... --
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The sweet scent of food, and Tohru's gentle voice lulled Ami from the dreamless sleep she had enjoyed for the past several hours. "Ami dinner is downstairs; would you like to join us?" Tohru's voice held gentle concern. "Dinner, oh yes it sounds lovely." Ami said pushing herself up into a sitting position. "Has the sunset?" Ami asked causally, hating the confused look in Tohru's eyes. "Yes, it's setting now. Behind the trees, Can't you see it?" Tohru asked confused. The tone in her voice made Ami want to strangle her. 'Of course I can't see it! .' She thought bitterly, however keeping the thoughts to herself. Ami's head turned slightly towards the window, and she fiend a smile. "Yes, I'm sorry my eyes are still blurry I guess." The pleasant reply put Tohru's confusion to rest.
"What's for dinner?" Ami asked as she stood up, stretching her limbs with an almost cat like grace. "Winter vegetables, Curried rice, spring rolls, and steamed leeks." Tohru said, giggling at the way Ami grimaced at the word leeks. "You're not a big fan of leeks, are you?" Ami's smiles never reached her eyes they did not even try. However, the smile she gave Tohru was still as warm as always. "No I suppose I'm not." She chuckled a bit.
Amiko hated leeks. This was now a known fact to Tohru. Ami ate her leeks first quickly and in big mouthfuls, to cut down on the tasting time of them. She did not seem to slow down much a got to other dishes however she took smaller bites. "Somebody is hungry." Shigure said in a cheerful awe. Her eyes filled with wry amusement. "Starved." she said in a voice like midnight, whispery and dark, powerful and gentle.
"Actually, I'm eating fast," Ami began between bites, "because I'm going out tonight with-"
"Me." Kiyoshi's voice startled them all as he entered the room. He gave them all a dazzling smile, and strode towards his sister. "Daisaku and Koji are waiting for us." His hand came to rest on her frail shoulder. He pulled her to her feet, and studied her with an unhappy look. "I don't see you for a week and you lose seven pounds." He said trying to keep the anger and worry out of his voice. "Have you eaten?" The look she gave him was all he needed, but her answer was not directed at him. "I have food." She said in an odd tone. He nodded. "I see."
"We need to go." He said in a mock cheerful tone. Obediently Ami began marching towards the front. "Have a wonderful time!" Tohru piped up cheerily. "We'll have fun." Ami said over her shoulder, giving them all one of her stares that suggested a double meaning; one they would not yet understand. Kiyoshi waved to them all and began to fallow his sister from the room.
Kiyoshi whirled around suddenly with a large grin draping across his face. "Tohru, what time would you like me to pick you up tomorrow night?"
"Oh? Well I have work, so I could meet you on the bus." Tohru offered.
"What's going on?" Ami did not turn around, but her hand gripped the doorway with enough force to leave faint imprints of her fingers. 'The Bastard! The bastard.' Her rage ran through her veins, hot and fast. He was supposed to have dinner with her tomorrow, not Tohru. It was all game, she knew this, but it did not change her jealousy. It made her heart ache that he would rather have dinner with Tohru. She hated her self for feeling this way, for being so touchy.
"I'm taking Tohru out to dinner and maybe a movie." Kiyoshi said cautiously. His face lit up suddenly, "I have a great idea! Why don't you and Yuki join us? We'll make it a double date!"
"That's a wonderful idea!" Tohru said before anybody else could speak. Her azure eyes glowed happily in a way that made every face in the room light with a smile.
Ami turned faintly, a small smirk on her lips, "No, it's an awful idea." She said with sweet sadness, "if Yuki had wanted to date me, he would have asked me." Her pained brown eyes met Yuki's. She could see the whirlwind of emotions traveling through his violet eyes. "Aren't I right?" She asked quietly and left the room, her hips swaying faintly as she walked.
She could hear Yuki call her name, she could hear Tohru's nervous voice trying to sort things out, and Kiyoshi's ramblings. A smile bloomed, the kind a cat might give after swallowing a canary. Her trap was set.
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--/Night secrets... --
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Silently sitting away from the circle Ami watched her clan feast on the trembling corpse to-be of a young girl. Probably no older then 15, no younger either. Heavily drugged to prevent screaming and flailing as none of them were that type of hungry right now.
Ami's instincts told her to push through the group and be the one to grace this young thing with the last set of teeth she would know. To drain her greedily until she felt sustained again. However Protocol told her only Sato was aloud the first bite. And stubbornness wouldn't allow her sustenance anyway. She pulled her slender legs to her chest and closed her eyes tightly so as to not see the carnage about to take place.
No matter how tightly Ami closed her eyes she could not block out the sounds of slurping and the raw scent of blood in the air. Her body ached for this experience, an experience she would no allow herself until she held a specific silver haired young man captive in her arms. Until he begged her for that bite, then and only then would she allow herself that experience again.
The sounds emitting from across the room sounded like animals feeding on their pray, and not the beautiful elegant creatures Vampires were rumored to be. They really were more like animals than they would like to admit.
Ami's thoughts wandered back to Shigure's house, in an effort to block out the bloodbath in the room before her. At that house, they probably settled down to their evening activities. Tohru to cleaning and school work, as she usually dully did every day. Yuki to whatever secrecy he applied himself to when the evening fell, Ami rarely stayed after dinner to find out what he actually does. Kyo to curling up and sleeping, such as any well fed cat. And Shigure to his writing. An author of marvelous works really, even writing adult novels of the smut kind he was quite good.
A warm hand rested on Ami's shoulder shaking her frail form lightly but persistently until she muttered a fairly obscene sentence and looked up at her vexation. Sato kneeled in front of her, towering and seeming infinitely intimidating. Forcing a juice glass into her hand filled with a pleasantly warm raw smelling liquid into her small quivering hands. Attempts to return, spill, and finally throw the glass were obstructed by the larger and easily stronger man. However, attempted to force her to ingest the metallic liquid were made ineffective by tightly sealed lips and female stubbornness.
Eventually time won the quarrel for Ami as the clock struck two and they had to pile into Sato's small electric car.
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--/Night secrets... --
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Yuki sat down next to Tohru. She had fallen asleep on her closed notes and was in fact snoring ever lightly. He eased her back onto a pillow he had placed on the floor and draped a blanket over the sleeping girl. She woke up briefly enough to murmur a sentence Yuki couldn't understand, picking up only the words 'Love', and 'sorry'. A smile found his lips as he left up the stairs towards his room to retire for the evening. Tohru was very cute.
As the clock struck Midnight. Some how he knew Ami wouldn't be home by now. 'There is always tomorrow.' Yuki thought warily and he climbed the stairs to his room. Each stair seemingly higher then the next.
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--/Author's Note. --
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Please review and constructive criticism is always welcomed. If in anyway you think the story could be better I would be delighted to hear it.