Author's Note: Next chapter. I hope to have another one up tomorrow along with an update on at least one of my other fics. We will see. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :D

Eve: Again, thanks for the review. Yeah, updates will be quick on this one simply because I want to try to finish this by Halloween. Hopefully, I will succeed. :) Yes, I have (and will) be touching on things that happened pretty late in the run of the manga, so I hope that I am not spoiling things too much for you. I will say though that I completely agree that I wish that more of it would be translated into English, partially because it's a slow, slow process for me to get even the basics of the stories with my level of translation skills. :) Too bad no US manga distributors ever stuck around long enough to translate the whole thing. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this update as well.

Additional Notes:

-Yukionna: Literally, "snow woman". Yukionna is an old Japanese legend/folktale about a beautiful, but often vengeful or heartless woman who appears in times and in places of snow. Some stories do attribute more ambiguous motivations to her, but usually her stories are tragic ones.

Chapter Four

Kaori stood near a large picture window with Bruce standing next to her, and the two of them watched the moonlight cast a pale glow onto the gardens outside while the distant strains of music played on in the background. They stayed that way silently for several minutes until Bruce cleared his throat.

"Would you like to return to the party and dance with me, Kaori-san?" he asked her. She blushed again both at his request and the way he smiled at her.

"Um, yes…no….I don't know," she stammered. "Sorry, I…."

"It's all right," Bruce nodded. "We don't have to dance right away. We can just stay here for a while longer if you would like."

Kaori nodded and smiled. Unsure of what do next, she fidgeted in place for a moment before speaking.

"Bruce-san," she said. "Did you come here alone? Or is there someone here with you?"

"No, there's no one," Bruce replied. "I am alone. That is why I am glad to have met someone like you this evening." Kaori turned an even brighter shade of red, and Bruce looked over at her with concern etched into his features.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you think that I am lying?"

"Ah no, it's not that," Kaori said. "It's just…I'm not used to…to hearing things like that."

"Why not?" Bruce asked, astonished. "A beautiful woman like you probably receives compliments like this all the time. To be honest, I was shocked when you told me that you did not have a date for this party."

"Ah, Bruce-san," Kaori murmured. "I, um, no I don't hear things like that so often, no, so I am just not used to them is all."

"Does this, by any chance, have anything to do with the man I saw you with earlier?" he asked. Kaori gasped, and Bruce shook his head.

"I apologize," he said. "I must confess that I was privy to pieces of your conversation with him. I was appalled at the cruel way he was treating you and when you ran away, I ended up searching the mansion for you to see if you were all right. Tell me, is it true that you work with him or….?"

"He's my partner. We work together, yes," Kaori said. "And I'm sorry if you were worried, but it was nothing. We have arguments like that all the time, so it's no big deal. Really."

"Nothing? How can you say that?" Bruce replied. "After the things he said to you? Is he always so unkind to you? "

"That is not how it always is," Kaori said. "Sometimes Ryo is rude and selfish, but he can also be a gentle and generous person. And…and the fact is, sometimes I'm not all that nice to him either."

As the words left her mouth, Kaori contemplated the truth behind them. She thought more about what Ryo had said to her earlier, and she had to admit that she could not remember the last time she had said something nice about him to his face or had complimented him in his presence. She could, however, think of many times recently when she had called him a pervert or had hit him with a hammer. Kaori was still convinced that some, if not most, of those incidents were well deserved, but the more she thought about it, the more she began to wonder if she overreacted at times or was perhaps a little too thoughtless in regards to his feelings.

"Ryo? Is that his name?" Bruce asked with a snort. "I have had the misfortune to observe his antics at this party. From what I have seen, I doubt that he deserves any sort of kindness from you."

"You're wrong," Kaori said, her eyes flickering with defiance. "Ryo's not perfect. He does have plenty of flaws. But underneath it all, he is a good man with a strong, caring heart."

Kaori blushed again at the shock written on Bruce's face at her vehemence, and she immediately looked down at the floor.

'Why am I so willing to say all this to a stranger, but never to Ryo?' she asked herself. 'I have been waiting and longing for Ryo to open his heart to me, and yet I haven't been willing to tell him the things I think and feel about him. Sometimes yes, when we were in danger, but never in the quiet moments and never about the little things. Never about the day to day reasons why he has my life and my heart.'

"You're in love with him," Bruce said, breaking her reverie. Kaori bowed her head even more. She usually tried to deny it, but right now, she couldn't think of a good reason to do so.

"Your feelings and your defense of him are very admirable," Bruce said. "As befitting a fine woman like you. But I am afraid that this man, Ryo, does not share your feelings." Kaori trembled at her words.

'Could he be right? Could I just be seeing what I want to see in Ryo's actions and words?' she wondered. 'No, the kiss, the things he said to Mick that one time…I know he feels something for me. But…is it just a bond that grew from our partnership or….?'

"Kaori-san, I may be being bold here," Bruce continued. "But I cannot help but express how I feel. Love, true love, cannot thrive in a vacuum. It will simply wither away if there is no reciprocation. In cases like this, it is better to let the flame of love and romance die out and find a way to rekindle it with someone else. Someone who is capable of giving as well as receiving love."

Kaori continued to shake slightly and held her arms close to her chest. She could not deny the wisdom behind his words, but the idea of giving up and allowing her love for Ryo to be snuffed out felt…wrong and horrific to her. She felt Bruce put a hand on her shoulder, and she shivered at how cold she suddenly felt.

"True love, true romance, they are worth any sacrifice," Bruce continued, his voice low and hypnotic. "No matter how unfortunate or sorrowful those sacrifices might be." Something in his tone made Kaori uneasy and she looked up at him.

"Bruce-san?" she whispered. Bruce looked at her with a sad smile on his face before tightening his grip on her and placing his other hand onto her forehead. As soon as he did so, her entire body was chilled and her mind was filled with a pale fog. Soon her eyes rolled back and she felt as if her breath was being taken away. Kaori fainted and started to slide down toward the floor, but Bruce caught her in his arms and fluidly swept her off her feet before carrying her to another part of the mansion.

"I regret forcing you into this role, Miss Makimura," he said as he carried her. "But I am afraid that I have no choice. Besides, in the end, it will be better for you this way. Better for you to dream your romantic dream with a prince that only exists in your mind for a while longer before slipping into eternal sleep."

He eventually took her into one of his private rooms, intent on beginning the first part of his plan.


Ryo leaned against a wall in the ballroom, watching the people dance around him. After leaving Mick, he returned to the party and tried to find the woman he was talking to earlier. He soon gave up on that and searched for some other woman to spend some time with. But every time he spied a woman he was interested in, hesitation gripped him and he could not bring himself to approach her. A couple of times, a woman would try to approach him, but Ryo found that he could not work up the energy to stay engaged with them, and soon she would leave him alone. Eventually, he decided to get himself a drink and was now sipping at it while silently observing the festivities.

'If I can't find a woman, then the next best thing to do is to get drunk,' he told himself. 'So much for having fun at this party. Just what was Mick thinking inviting me and Kaori to something like this anyway?'

Ryo continued to brood and was about to refill his drink when another woman caught his eye and he nearly dropped the glass in his hand.

A tall man in an all-black tuxedo and black mask was walking into the room with a woman on his arm. The woman wore a wig of long black hair and her makeup was tinged with blue with blue lipstick on her lips. She wore a long white kimono with accents of pale blue and an obi of royal blue. The two of them walked slowly onto the dance floor and then began a languid waltz together.

Ryo continued to stare at the woman. It was not just because she was beautiful and wore a striking costume…it was because he recognized her instantly being as she was the woman who was closest to his heart.

'Kaori? What is she doing in that outfit? And for that matter what is she doing with that man?'

Ryo felt a dull flame of some unknown emotion begin to burn inside him. He could not discern what it was, but he was certain that he did not like what he was seeing. He put the glass down onto a nearby stand and marched over toward Kaori and the man she was dancing with. Ryo put himself directly in their path, causing the man to frown and glower at him.

"Excuse me," the man said. "But I am trying to enjoy a dance with this lovely lady."

"I do not know who you are," Ryo said, his tone cold. "Nor do I care. But the woman you are dancing with is my partner. And I am telling you to let her go."

"Oh, your partner?" the man said with a smirk. "Well if you ask me, I think she prefers my company over yours. If you don't believe me, why not ask her?"

The man then took Kaori by the shoulders and turned her toward Ryo. Ryo blinked hard at the vacant stare that greeted him, and his agitation grew.

"Kaori, what is going on?" he asked. "What happened to your Joan of Arc costume?" Kaori stared at him for several seconds before finally opening her mouth to answer.

"I...I am Yukionna now," she said. "Not Joan of Arc."

"Yukionna?" Ryo replied. "Well I admit that it is a nice look, but that is not you. Your Joan of Arc costume was far better suited for you. At any rate, let's go. Mick, Kazue-chan, Miki-chan and Umi-chan are probably wondering where we are."

"No," Kaori murmured. "I…I want…I want to be with Bruce. Leave."

Ryo's eyes widened as his confusion grew. Even though it was definitely Kaori speaking those words, Ryo did not recognize the cold, emotionless voice that emanated from her lips.

"I think the young lady has spoken Mister…Saeba, is it?" Bruce said. "I'd ask that you leave us now." Bruce's tone was somewhat polite if a touch haughty and that only served to intensify the anger that was started to creep into Ryo's soul.

"Kaori," he said, making sure to keep a soft tone with her. "Let's go and I will get you a drink. I have something I need to say to you."

"I'm sure whatever you need to discuss can wait," Bruce said, putting his arm around Kaori's waist and pulling her close to his chest. The gesture was a gentle, but a deliberate act of ownership in Ryo's eyes and in that moment, Ryo felt his anger morph into hatred for the man who dared to try to claim Kaori like she was some kind of shiny trinket.

"Kaori…."

"Leave," she repeated. "I want to stay here."

Ryo clenched his hands but remained silent and still. At that moment he wanted to grab Kaori and drag her away from Bruce, but he also did not want to cause a scene or upset Kaori if she truly did want to stay. He struggled to regain a more relaxed air and put forth a hint of a smile.

"You're right, it can wait," he said. "I will let the others know and I will catch up with you later." He started to walk away, but Ryo stopped when he saw Kaori's eyes become shiny and wet.

"Ryo," she whispered. Ryo started slightly, startled to hear her say his name in the warm voice he was familiar with.

"Come now," Bruce said, putting a hand on her chin and turning her face toward him. "Mr. Saeba can wait for us to finish our dance." She robotically nodded and turned back toward him, letting her arms fall limply against Bruce's sides while Bruce held her close to him and guided her to waltz with him.

As he watched the two of them resume their dance, Ryo was filled with disgust. His instincts had continued to tell him that something was wrong the moment he saw Kaori with this man and now he was completely certain that they were right. Still, he was unsure of the correct way to proceed and decided that the best thing to do for now was to wait and continue to keep a close eye on them. He retreated from the dance floor and proceeded to disappear into the crowd.


Once Ryo was gone, Bruce grinned and held Kaori even closer to him.

'Soon, not much longer now. Soon my Maiko, you will come back and I will finally have the chance to love you the way I should have before.'