--

"Breathe in," Giles instructed.

Buffy complied, the feeling of Tenseiga in her lap becoming less noticeable. Though she had her eyes closed, she could tell exactly where Giles was based entirely on sound.

"Breath out."

Buffy exhaled. Thanks to these meditative techniques, she had begun to better utilize her yoki.

She opened her eyes suddenly as she heard footsteps quickly approaching from outside.

"Somebody's in trouble," she said, standing up "they're heading for the door fast."

Without another word she headed to the door with Giles right behind. She flung the door open to reveal a man with a briefcase walking quickly toward her.

"Philip?" Giles asked from behind her, "What are you doing here?"

"Rupert," Philip replied, a bit breathless, "It's Eyghon."

Buffy heard Giles inhale sharply, but also heard someone or something approaching from the darkness. A whiff of rotten flesh suggested it was at one time a someone and was now a something. Slowly it walked out into the light, a woman with rotten flesh.

"Philip," she said, "Rupert. And Ryuk, I was especially looking forward to seeing you again."

"Diedre," Giles and Philip said simultaneously.

"Great, so we know everyone's names," Buffy said, "Now what's the deal here, Giles? Zombie?"

"Ah…" Giles was still a bit speechless, "She's a corpse animated by a demon."

"Okay, undeadness I can handle," she replied, drawing Tenseiga from its sheath.

She rushed forward and with a leap brought the glowing blade down on Diedre's head. The rotting woman instantly melted into a puddle of green goo. A weird mist swirled over the puddle before dissolving into dust. Buffy sheathed her sword and turned back to Giles.

"Well, the forces of darkness are defeated again," she said, "So can I please go home now?"

"Yes, of course," Giles said, still seeming a little agitated, "Philip and I should catch up."

"Bye."

Buffy made a careful leap across the goo puddle and headed out into the dark streets of Sunnydale. She felt oddly at peace as she made her way home. The quiet darkness was somewhat comforting now that she knew the things that go bump weren't likely to pose a threat to her. The other citizens of Sunnydale however…

"Help! Someone please help me!" a feminine voice called out

Buffy immediately took a sharp left and rushed toward the voice. Scenery blurred by her as she traveled a bit faster than would be prudent to make people believe she was just an ordinary girl. At the end of her path she found herself in front of one of the smaller of Sunnydale's churches, remarkable only in its lack of anything remarkable about it.

Two figures stood before her, a vampire with his game face on who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and a girl who looked to be about the same age who was struggling to get away from him. The boy had a fairly dark skin with unruly dark hair, while the girl appeared to be Asian with short cropped hair. Both were wearing clothing that was definitely about a decade or two out of style, but the vampire had a sword sheathed at his waist.

Buffy placed her hand on Tenseiga's hilt and adopted a posture that conveyed boredom.

"It never ends around here," Buffy complained.

"Please help me!" the girl shouted.

"Okay, let's go over what you two did wrong," Buffy said condescendingly, "One: the clothes are a dead giveaway that you have no idea how kids dress nowadays. Seriously, when were you turned? The early eighties? Two: if you had really wanted to kill her, your fangs would already be in her neck. Your average teenage girl isn't strong enough to hold off a vamp for long. Then we arrive at number three: I can smell you and you both reek of vampiry-ness."

The two of them exchanged a quick glance before they both dropped the pretense. The girl put on her game face as they had a two on one staring contest with Buffy.

"Who are you?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"What, you mean this wasn't a nefarious trap to get the Slayer?" Buffy asked.

"The Slayer is already here?"

"Yeah, she's standing right here in front of you, in case you didn't notice."

"You are not the Slayer," he insisted, "The Slayer is dark skinned. Unless you are the other we heard about."

"Yahiko-chan," the girl said in Japanese, "Let's just kill her. We still need to get some food for the others."

"In a minute, Tsubame-chan," he replied in Japanese, then he went back to English, "Can you use that sword?"

He indicated Tenseiga. Buffy nodded.

"Yeah," she replied in Japanese, "But you were about find that out anyway."

"You speak our language?"

"A kitsune taught me," she said casually, "Now let's get this over with, I don't want to get in past curfew on a school night and get grounded because a couple vamps were feeling chatty."

She drew Tenseiga from its sheath and adopted a basic stance she had learned from Giles. It was actually a stance for fighting with a Western sword, but a few training sessions had allowed them to adapt it. The best part had been that since Tenseiga can't harm the living, she hadn't needed to hold back at all during training. Yahiko made no movement for his sword.

Buffy, not feeling particularly like having a fair fight, charged with a burst of superhuman speed. Her blade left a trail of blue light in its wake. Within an instant her sword was on its inevitable course to his head.

With speed rivaling Buffy's own, Yahiko's hand shot up and grabbed her blade. Had she been using a regular sword, this probably would've worked. However, grabbing the instant vampire dusting Tenseiga turned out to be a very bad idea for him. The only thing he had time to do was widen his eyes in shock as he turned to dust.

Buffy turned to face his girlfriend. The vampire girl, probably realizing that she was far outmatched, turned tail and tried to get away. Buffy prepared to give chase when something leapt out of the shadows in front of Tsubame. The female vampire collapsed into dust, revealing a black girl holding a stake.

"You wouldn't happen to be the other Slayer they were talking about, would you?" Buffy asked as she approached the girl.

"D'ere is only one Slayer," the girl replied, her accent indicating a possibly Jamaican origin, "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy, and you are?"

"Kendra, da Vampire Slayer," she replied.

Buffy sighed and studied the girl. As far as she knew, there was only one Slayer at a time. Still, she couldn't dismiss the possibility that her recent non-humaness had screwed up the Slayer line of succession somehow. Even if she wasn't another Slayer, the girl seemed to know her way around a stake.

"C'mon, we better go talk to my Watcher. Maybe he'll know what's going on."

--

Drusilla ghosted her way around the table in the center of the main room of the warehouse. She placed dirty and cracked china on it, arranging everything just so. Spike watched her, trying to discern some possible meaning from this. Finding none, he decided to just ask.

"Dru, love," he said as he walked to her side, "May I ask what you're doing?"

Drusilla ignored him for the moment, intent on making sure the last place setting was just right.

"There, now our guests will feel ever so welcome," she said.

"What guests?" Spike asked.

"Our old friends," Drusilla said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Miss Edith was being ever so naughty, but before I could properly punish her I heard the stars whispering. They're coming soon to put the Slaye in the dirt."

Spike wrapped the mad vampiress in an embrace and nuzzled affectionately at her face.

"Who's coming Drusilla?" he asked, "Can they really kill the Slayer?"

"Blood clings to him like a second skin," she replied, "There was fire and screaming everywhere and he cut them down like wheat. Do you remember Spike? We drank the Slayer's blood and Daddy went away."

"You mean it's someone we met during the Boxer Rebellion? You'll have to be a bit more specific. There were a lot of us there enjoying the carnage."

"His eyes were like blades, cutting deep into everything. He sliced and sliced until there was nothing left. I wanted to touch his face. That scar with such a story to tell."

"Wait, do you mean the red haired bloke with the cross-shaped scar and the fancy sword tricks?"

"Yeah," Drusilla said simply.

"So when can we expect our Slayer-killing guest?"

"I believe he has already arrived," someone behind them said.

The two vampires turned to see their guests. One was a short, thin man with red hair, a distinctive scar on his face, and a sword sheathed at his waist. Next to him was a tall, slightly muscular man with wild brown hair and a fishbone sticking out of his mouth. The two of them were followed by a beautiful woman with long dark hair. Judging by their clothing, the three of them hadn't been in the country in a decade or two.

"I am sorry to impose," he said, though there was no sincerity in his voice, "I am Kenshin Himura my companions are Sanosuke Sagara and Megumi Takani, in case our names have slipped your mind in the last century. I believe we might be of mutual assistance to one another."

"Yeah? How's that?" Spike asked.

"The Slayer has been pursuing us from the Caribbean. She killed my wife and son and always attacks us during the day. She knows who we are and is very cautious. I know that you also have Slayer troubles and you are experienced with killing them, so I sought you out."

"Wait, there are two Slayers?"

"Yes, if what I have heard is correct."

"Well doesn't this just get more and more interesting? All right, you three can stay here but you better pull your weight."

Kenshin flashed a sadistic smile that seemed so…wrong on his face.

"I do not believe that will be an issue."

--

After a brief introduction and Philip taking his leave so that Giles could take care of this official business, the two Slayers and Giles got down to real discussion.

"So, you mind explaining how this happened?" Buffy asked.

"It must be because you died while facing the Master," Giles replied, "Apparently it doesn't matter how long a Slayer is dead, just that she dies."

"You died?" Kendra asked incredulously.

"I got better," Buffy replied, "Plus I got this nifty sword out of it so it's totally cool."

"It is very impressive," Kendra said, "I would like to know how it works, but first I believe d'at I must report why I am here. I am hunting a vampire: Kenshin Himura."

Giles paled.

"You mean Hitokiri Battousai?"

Kendra nodded gravely, "Da very same."

"Wait, wait," Buffy interjected, "Hitokiri means manslayer. So who's this Battousai the Manslayer guy?"

"He was a hero of the Boshin War, a civil war in Japan that restored the emperor to power, who became a wanderer and vowed never to kill again as penance for all the lives he took. Eventually he settled down and was turned at some point afterwards. He is extremely dangerous and has been glutting himself on carnage in East Asia for the good part of the last century. Only in the last few decades have there been reports of him and his group in the western hemisphere."

"Me Watcher warned me not to underestimate him, so I have been attacking during da day and using sneak tactics," she said, then looked a bit ashamed, "Mr. Zabuto said it would be fine, but it felt wrong."

"Don't worry Kendra, you did the right thing in keeping yourself alive," Giles said, "I think perhaps I should contact the Council and let them know what's going on so that they can send any information they have on Battousai."

"I better call home," Buffy said, "I was supposed to be finished with my 'report' a while go."

Buffy moved to get the phone while Giles continued to speak with Kendra. She picked it up and dialed her number, ignoring Kendra and Giles's shared laughter at some comment Giles had made. The phone rang a couple times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" he mother said.

"Hey Mom, it's Buffy."

"Oh, I though you would be on your way home by now."

"Yeah, well Mr. Giles's niece is in town and the two of us just sort of lost track of time with all the girl talk. But I'll be home soon."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

"Later Mom."

--

Cordelia tossed fitfully in her sleep. Strange images flashed through her dreams. They weren't the nightmarish images of before, but they weren't exactly pleasant either. She finally awoke with a racing heart covered in sweat. Sleep had become a precious commodity recently.

She carefully slipped out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. She got a glass out of the cabinet and filled it under the tap. She drank it slowly, savoring the cool feeling.

"When I find out who's responsible for this, I'll slay you myself," she growled.

"That's not very nice," a voice-her own voice-replied.

"Who's there?!" Cordelia demanded, ready to make a run for it.

A figure stepped out of the shadows. A figure that looked exactly like Cordelia dressed in some kind of black belly dancer outfit that Cordelia would never be caught dead in.

"Hi, I'm Kira," the look-alike said.

"Oh god, you're like my evil twin, aren't you? You're going to try to kill me and take my place or something. Well let me tell you, I'm friends with the Slayer and as soon as she figures you out she'll kick your ass back to wherever you came from."

"Calm down, I'm not your evil twin and I'm not here to kill you. I guess you could say I am you, only from a parallel universe. I need your help."

"Have you been the one giving me those messed up dreams?"

"Yes, I was attempting to communicate with you, but obviously I wasn't making much headway on that front."

"And you couldn't just talk to me because?"

"I'm dead and I ended up here on the Hellmouth after I got killed thanks to a friend of mine. Anyway, I've only recently been able to appear like this. But enough chit-chat. I have deal to offer you. I'll give you eternal youth and clairvoyance in exchange for half of your humanity."

"Um, what?"

"Maybe I phrased that poorly. I will exchange half of my demon essence for half of your human essence. You become a half-demon and I get reborn in my universe as a half-demon. We go our separate ways with equal powers."

"Why would you do this? More importantly, why should I trust you?"

"I'm doing this because I want to live and feel like you humans do. You have no idea what it feels like to never feel anything. It's hell. And I can't really give you a reason to trust me, but I have to warn you that without this power, more people will die than if you have it."

"Right, I'm just going to believe the demon who wants half of my soul."

"Essence. There's a difference. Not a huge difference, but it's significant. Tell you what, I'll let you think it over for a while. I think in the end you'll agree. But for now I have an insane vampire to torment so that she doesn't see what's really going on in this town. Bye."

With a wave, Kira disappeared. Cordelia poured the remains of her water into the sink and placed the glass in it. She made her way back to bed, pushing all thoughts of what had just happened out of her head, and had a peaceful night's sleep.

--

A/N: I thought Kendra's dialogue would be fun to write. I was wrong. If anyone has any advice about improving, pleas let me know.