I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Chapter 9

Haruka had known very well what she had just done. Did she feel remorse? She had taken a human life and knew it. But she had aided Michiru in the deaths of a few Lilin as well. What was the difference? That man was pure evil and prison had done a number on him. Many people would feel regrets toward that action but Haruka felt nothing. She questioned why she felt no remorse. Was it because her Lilin blood was beginning to change her in ways she did not know?

She pulled into the garage at her mother's mansion and proceeded in with her blood drenched clothing in hand. There were some things she knew she could trust Angeline with and others she knew she could not.

"Mother." Haruka approached Angeline.

"Hello, darling." Angeline looked down at the blood soaked clothing in Haruka's grip. "What's that you have there?" She perked a brow.

"I killed a man." Haruka had no shame in her voice.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. Did anyone see?" The tone in Angeline's voice was calm and a bit uncaring toward the death of a human.

"No, we were alone."

"What happened? Alexander, take these clothes and dispose of them." She motioned for her right hand man.

Haruka sat down and crossed one leg over the other. "It all started five years ago…" She had never thought she would tell anyone else the story except for Michiru. This time when she recalled the story she said without any tears. Michiru had helped her come a long way mentally. Or was it something else inside of her changing?

"I'm sorry to hear that." Angeline was upset when the story had finished.

"When he approached me I could just feel all my hatred for him come out and I couldn't help myself. Aren't I supposed to be upset by it? I took a man's life and I feel no guilt."

"Dear, it's in your blood to prey on humans. We've all killed a human in our lifetime. The more you grow the more your body makes changes. Mental changes as well."

"That's just… strange. I guess it was my hatred for him?" Haruka questioned the action out loud.

"That had play in it. How did you get covered in so much blood?"

"I was so angry that when I bit him I tore his flesh apart. I couldn't stop myself I wanted him to suffer as I did."

"Well, from the sounds of it I don't think it will be traced to one of our kills. That's a good thing. Just be careful in the future. I have no doubt in my mind that this is a onetime thing. Don't let your hatred for anyone consume you again. You're still learning about yourself and your strengths."

"There was something else too." Haruka cracked her knuckles a bit. "When I approached him it was almost like he suddenly couldn't move. All I could see was fear in his eyes. It felt good and strange at the same time."

Angeline listened closely as Haruka told her of the fear that she projected. "That's fascinating." Her mother tapped her chin deep in thought. "I haven't heard of a Lilin doing that for centuries."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, different Lilin have different. Hmm. Powers? Abilities? They mostly stay within certain bloodlines. That's one thing I'm not sure you have tapped into yet."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, my clan has always been able to charm people into doing things for them. That is, without even enthralling them. Think of something along the lines of…" Angeline thought to herself for a moment unsure if Haruka would understand her. "Have you ever heard the myths of succubi and incubi?"

"Suck you who?"

"Succubi. They were in old myths. They appeared in the dreams of men and fed off their sexual desires within their dreams. As time went on the myths changed. They were once thought to be hideous hags and now are thought to be beautiful seductresses. Now, now, that's a myth, old folklore. But as they say, every rumor is started from some basis of truth. To get back to the point- our clan line has always had a charm, much like a succubus of legend. Put that charm on and the person becomes overly sexually attracted to you and will obey simple things. Not as powerful as enthralling someone, but it has its purpose."

"Well, that's nice to know." Haruka wondered if she had done this to Michiru. Surely she had not. "How do you know when it works?"

"They get this glow in their eyes as though they are completely in love with you."

Haruka pondered what Angeline had just told her. "I hope that isn't the case with my girlfriend."

"You will know the difference between fake love and real love. From what you said about her you have put no charm on her." Her mother smiled reassuringly. "It's just interesting you have the ability to project fear. These things are only found to be passed down only in the bloodlines."

"My father is human, right?"

"Trust me, he's more human than most. Intelligent man, don't get me wrong, but he believed me when I created the lie that I was merely embracing the life style of a 'vampire'." She motioned quotation marks with her fingers when she said 'vampire'. "He was handsome and I was bored with everything else. It was fun. Then when I got pregnant I panicked. How did a human get me pregnant?"

"Eh. Please don't tell me any sex stories." Haruka cringed.

Angeline cackled. "I won't. I don't think you could handle those stories from me."

Haruka shivered again and tried to erase the mental image that had formed in her head. "Do you think anyone will be able to pin the kill on me?" Haruka desperately needed to think of something else.

"No. If you were alone, you're fine."

"Alright, I need to get home. My girl has had a cold lately and I've been taking care of her."

"Take care, love. And if any trouble does arise from your incident I have my sources that can take care of it. Oh, and Haruka. Don't forget about that dagger, I need you to get it for me."

"The next hunt we go on, I will try to get it without them realizing it was me." Haruka turned to leave and felt a knot in her throat. She could not put it off any longer as Angeline was growing suspicious of her loyalties.

Xxxxxxxxx

Haruka made dinner for Michiru that night. Michiru was looking and feeling much better. In the morning Haruka turned on the TV curious to see if anyone had found the body from the night before. Michiru joined her on the couch and rested her head on Haruka's lap. The stories were still full of the recent achievement Haruka had accomplished and people were speculating as to how she had managed to do so. The news finally came – a body was found at the college.

'It appears to look as though a wild animal might have approached the man from the forest. Speculations have been made that he tried to fight off the attacker but he dropped his knife. It is unknown still as to what animal might have done this.' A news anchor spoke on the television. The scene was covered with a huge blanket behind her. 'It makes it a bit more difficult to figure out what animal it was as other animals had picked at the body over night.'

"Wow." Michiru whispered from Haruka's lap. "It seems like even the wildlife is in chaos as well."

"Yeah." Haruka agreed and ran her fingers through the aqua colored hair on her lap. Behind the news anchor Haruka recognized a woman. It was the woman that had picked them up the night Joe's car was vandalized. "Is that Maggie?"

Michiru took a closer observation. "It is Maggie. That's interesting." She sat up and looked closer. "It could be possible it may be a vamp kill. I'll call Joe." She retrieved her phone from their room and returned to the couch. "Let's see if he knows anything." She leaned to Haruka's ear so she could hear both ends of the conversation.

"Hello?"

"Joe, are you watching the news?"

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Maggie. She's not sure what kind of kill it is. Whatever it is it's not a wild animal and not a vamp either."

"What could it have been?"

"I'm not sure, she's calling in another person to investigate it. This is out of our hands since it's not a vamp kill."

"If you hear anything else, let us know?"

"I will."

The call ended and Haruka looked at Michiru questioningly. "Michi, are there other things out there other than just vampires?"

"I told you I was a part of a group that dealt with keeping vampires in check. That's all we do. There are other teams for other things in the world."

"Other… things?"

"Don't worry about it, that's not what we're focused on. We specialize on the vampires and that's all we worry about."

"Great. There are other things that go bump in the night."

"There are. Ruka, thanks for taking care of me. I feel so much better today." Michiru smiled.

"Anything for the one I love." She said and thought about what her mother had said about the 'charm' effect they possessed. Haruka looked into Michiru's eyes questioningly as she made sure that was not the case with her.

"Something in my eyes?" Michiru batted her eye lashes a few times.

"No." Haruka smiled, Michiru had the same look in her eyes she had always had. "But there's something that's bothered me lately."

"What is it?"

"This." Haruka leaned in and kissed the soft lips in front of her.

Michiru pulled away. "I don't want you to get sick."

"I don't care. You look better now."

"Yeah, I guess that means we're going to start going back out with Joe. Something tells me he's going to need our help tonight, especially after the kill last night. I wonder if the vamps are allying themselves with something else in order to get a better stand in the war."

Tonight – tonight was the night Haruka knew she would have to retrieve the Kris that Michiru had. She had to steal from the woman she loved just to keep her mother satisfied. In a way she felt like it may protect Michiru and keep her mother from sending her goons after Michiru.

'In other news, Haruka Tenoh, best known for setting a new world record in the-' Haruka shut off the TV as the news switched back to her.

"I'm really hating all this attention."

"I think it's sexy." Michiru winked.

Xxxxxxxxx

Michiru was feeling fully restored when the night came. Joe had summoned them to his house that night and they discussed a few things regarding what would be happening.

"First things first. Maggie says they are speculating a werewolf attack on the man from last night." Joe said to both girls.

Haruka gulped. Seriously, werewolves?

"Although, they don't know. It's hard to judge from the condition of the body. Other than that we are thinking the vamps are gathering other creatures to help them. Luckily, we managed to find something up our alley." Joe rolled out a map of the area they were going to. "There's only one vampire this time. Again, I have no idea what is going on with the vamps lately." He continued. Haruka knew what it was; the Lilin were deliberately disobeying the orders from Angeline to back off. "This one has been making a home at a night club. At least this time we aren't going to be in a dark neighborhood so my car should be fine. I'm going to be inside the club to see what I can find. I want you girls outside see if you notice anything strange." He traced his finger around the night club and hinted a few spots of interest. "You girls ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." Haruka walked to the front door. Joe had become more accepting of her relationship with Michiru as time went by.

The night club was booming with life. It was a popular place on the weekends and found itself situated off the corner of the town near the edge of a forest. Haruka and Michiru stood outside as they observed people enter and leave. Nothing seemed out of place for a while except the random ghoul every so often – no doubt the Lilin was out and about.

"He's definitely here." Michiru whispered to Haruka as one of the enthralled humans walked past her.

Haruka watched the ghoul walk around in a drunken stupor. "Let's follow her." She motioned at the woman under the Lilin's control. The two girls followed the woman behind the club.

"Ehh, there's my favorite girl there." A man called to the woman as she approached him. No doubt, that was their target. He began to fiercely make out with the woman behind the club.

"Hey!" Haruka called to the man and caught him off guard.

"Oh, look what we have here. I've heard all about the hunters of late." He pushed the woman away and she fell to the ground without the will to get up. "Are you the ones killing us?" He eyed Haruka closely. They knew each other and he also knew of her endeavors on getting the weapon. The entire night was a set up Angeline had been putting together for a while.

Haruka charged at him and sent him back as she planted her fist onto his face. Michiru was waiting for the opportune moment to strike with her weapon. The blonde battled with their target for a few minutes. She purposely let her guard down for him to clock her in the jaw and launch her back a few feet. This was enough to send Michiru to her aid and fight him off as he tried to approach Haruka on the ground. She stayed on the ground acting as though she had taken quite a hit and observed Michiru fight him. Right as the smaller girl was ready to take his life Haruka stood and ran. What was she going to do? She had no idea. The blonde tripped over the woman that had been pushed on the ground before their encounter. It sent her tumbling forward into Michiru and sent the dagger flying in the distance and down a small incline.

"Get the dagger!" Michiru commanded as she continued to fight off the aggressor.

This is it. Haruka thought as she charged down the hill and retrieved the weapon. She seized the blade on the ground and tucked it safely into her boot so Michiru would not see it.

"Haruka!" She heard Michiru call for her and charged back up the hill. The Lilin was ready to sink his teeth into her tender neck. Haruka charged at him and separated him from her girlfriend. She landed a roundhouse kick onto his chest and went to make sure Michiru was fine. "No, don't worry about me." Michiru pushed Haruka away. "We can't lose that weapon!" The Lilin had disappeared as Haruka had tried to help Michiru.

They searched for an hour but could not find the weapon anywhere. It was gone. Of course it was, Haruka had it. All the acting she had endured the past couple of months had finally paid off. Michiru was mad beyond belief. "Haruka, you're so damn clumsy!" She yelled for the first time at the blonde.

"I'm sorry, Michiru, I didn't see the woman on the ground."

"I had him! You didn't have to help me. Now we've lost our only defense against the vampires!" She continued to scream at Haruka frantically.

"Let's return in the morning. It's possible we can't find it because it's so dark."

"Haruka." Michiru tried to calm herself. "I can't lose that weapon." She rubbed her forehead.

"We'll come back in the morning. It's too dark to see it. First sight of the sun we'll come back, okay?"

"Alright." Michiru huffed a bit at her frustration. "Joe is going to be pissed if we can't find it."

"We'll find it." Haruka kissed Michiru's forehead but received the cold shoulder as Michiru pushed her away.

"Don't make me make you sleep on the couch tonight." Michiru glared at the girl in front of her. "I'm so pissed at you right now you have no idea. We need to find Joe and tell him what happened."

Haruka sunk her head in shame. The in past couple of days she had been promoted to murderer and thief. She felt more than ever she needed to tell Michiru the truth, even if the truth would cause them to split. It was that feeling alone, the feeling of losing Michiru, which prevented her from speaking the truth.

"Joe." Michiru said coolly as they met the man standing next to his car.

"Did you find anything?" Joe continued to survey the scene.

"We did and we almost had him until…" Michiru took the moment to glare at Haruka. "Until Haruka tripped and ran into me and we lost the weapon."

"You lost what?" Joe's eyes opened wide. "You lost… what!?"

"The dagger." Haruka turned away from Joe.

His face turned red with anger. "I knew taking you with us was a mistake." He shoved the blonde back a few feet and approached her. "Now we have no defense against them!" Their faces were inches away as Haruka allowed him to scream at her. "I can't believe this!" He gripped her shirt in his fists and shook her. "You better find that damn dagger." He continued to shake her.

"Joe, let her go." Michiru tried to butt in before a fight broke out.

"I can't believe this!" He repeated as he let go of her ruffled shirt collar. "You need to find it, Haruka. It's your fault. That dagger has been with us for centuries."

"I will find it." Haruka replied as she fixed her shirt.

Xxxxxxxxx

Haruka took the couch anyways, she felt too guilty for what she had been tasked to do and could not sleep with Michiru that night. Once she was certain Michiru was asleep she slipped out of the house and went to her father's house. He allowed her to keep the key to his house in case of an emergency. His car was gone, what a surprise. Haruka entered the house and went to the room that was once hers. The few items she was unable to take with her still stood in the same place.

"I fucking hate my life." She said as she sat down on the bed that once belonged to her. She withdrew the dagger from her boot and looked at it. Maybe I should just end everything now. She traced her fingers over the smooth side of the blade where the etchings were as she contemplated using the weapon on herself. No. I can't do that to Michiru. I need to hide it. No way in hell will I give this to my mother. But where should I hide it? She looked around the room. Her father had not entered the room since she left-evidence from the dust that had settled down. There. She looked at the vent above her old bed. Who would look in there? After a few minutes she managed to get the screws out and she placed it into the shaft and went back home.

Xxxxxxxxx

"Haruka." Michiru was standing in the kitchen when she returned home. "Where were you?" She sipped on a glass of water.

"I just needed some time to myself."

"I'm still mad at you but I realized something."

"What's that?" Their conversation was very soft spoken.

"No matter how mad I am with you I can't sleep alone. I need you by my side." Michiru approached the blonde and embraced her. "Come to bed. I miss you."

"I'm sorry for everything." Haruka returned the hug. "I didn't mean to-"

"I know. It was an accident. We'll find it one day." Michiru tightened her grip on the blonde.

"We'll return in the morning and search again." Haruka ran her hands through the aqua colored hair of the girl in her arms.

Morning soon came and they returned. Haruka knew the weapon would not be there but continued to play the game she was forced into playing. They searched for hours until they gave up. Michiru collapsed on the ground in tears.

"Haruka." She spoke through sobs. "What are we going to do now?" Michiru pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Maybe we should just run away. Leave this whole life behind us. Doesn't it sound nice? I can pursue my dream as a violinist and you can pursue your dream." Michiru buried her face in her knees. "This life is so hard, you know. Most of us are widowed or orphaned."

"Let's run away." Haruka knelt down next to the sobbing girl.

"I wasn't serious. It just sounds nice."

"Maybe we should take a break from everything."

"We can't just take a break."

"Why not? We don't have anything to protect us now." Haruka sat next to the smaller girl on the ground.

"What do you think Joe will say?"

"I think we should lay low for now. For all we know the vampires have that blade now."

"I didn't think of that."

"No doubt they've been trying to get their hands on it for a while."

"Yeah." Michiru looked up and stared off into a distance. "You know what I would like to do?"

"What's that?" Haruka wrapped her arm around Michiru's shoulders to comfort her.

"When we were watching the news yesterday morning on the couch something caught my attention." Michiru looked back at Haruka and smiled. Her eyes had already turned red from crying. "One of the commercials was advertising a huge talent show that would be televised."

"Oh?"

"Maybe, we should just get away from a while. Just for a little while. Maybe I could enter that contest."

"What would Joe think?"

"I don't care anymore. I need time for myself. It would be nice to get away, just the two of us."

"What about school?"

Michiru sighed. "I've been thinking about dropping out to focus on other things. I really have no reason to be there anymore. My mother was hoping I could live a somewhat normal life and that's why I was in college. But, when she died… it was up to me to continue in her footsteps."

"Enter that contest and we'll get away for a couple of days."

"I will. I'll find out what I can about it and we'll leave for a couple days. I won't call Joe until we're gone. I don't want him to guilt me into changing my decision."

Xxxxxxxxx

Michiru researched the competition for the rest of the day. The closest auditions were in Atlanta, Georgia. Haruka took the time to make a phone call to her mother and tell her about her failure to retrieve the weapon.

"Hello, darling." Angeline greeted her as usual.

Haruka stood outside on the front porch as she talked. "I was unable to get the weapon last night." She looked around to make sure Michiru would not hear her conversation. "I managed to get it out of their hands for a moment. They were incredibly upset at my clumsiness and told me to back off for a while."

"Haruka." Her mother sighed on the other side of the phone line.

"I need to lay low after that one."

Her mother sighed again. "Alright, I don't want them to think you are deceiving them. As soon as the opportunity arises I need you to get that weapon though. Take a few days away from them."

"I will. I've managed to get convince my girlfriend to enter a talent show so I can get away for a few days myself as well. We'll be in Atlanta."

"Don't forget what I told you about missing feeds. It's dangerous. You don't want to attack anyone do you?"

"I'll be fine. It's just a couple days."

"Maybe you should try to sneak out during the night and find someone to feed off of then."

"Don't worry, I've got it all worked out. Anyways, I gotta go I can hear her calling me inside the house."

"I need to discuss something with you when you come over later."

"Alright."

"Take care, love."

Michiru sat at her computer as she looked at plane flights and hotels. They planned to be gone for three days. Haruka silently debated with herself if she would be fine going a few days without needing a feed. She had been doing so well lately controlling herself she was sure she would be fine for a couple of days.

"Alright. We'll fly out on Friday after you're done with practice. The competition is on Saturday and we return Sunday night." Michiru said once she had reserved everything. "Do you think it's a bad idea?" She questioned the blonde that hovered over her shoulder watching her make the reservations.

"No. You deserve a bit of freedom from this life and it's only for a few days. Joe will be fine by himself. It's not like we can do anything right now."

"I get the feeling we should be looking for the weapon though. I feel guilty about the whole situation."

"Michi, we can't just stick our necks into everything and especially now since we don't have proper protection. Let Maggie and John gather the information they need on the whereabouts of it then we can go get it."

"You're right." Michiru turned to Haruka. "Let's write a new song."

"Alright, any ideas?"

"Actually, I was thinking. Wouldn't it be fun to write a song that was about things that happened in the world people knew nothing about? I've had this idea for a while for a song I wanted to make called 'Underworld'." Michiru always spoke with passion when it came to music. "It would just be a play on how oblivious people are to the true dangers in the world. I want it to sound dark."

"That's something new. What song do you plan on auditioning with?"

"One of my old ones. The one I played at the school talent show- Submerge in the Deep."

"I love that song."

"You love all my songs."

"I know. Let's get started on the new song." Haruka said with a cheeky grin.

When Haruka visited her mother later in the day Angeline gave her an order. She needed Haruka to investigate a Lilin in Atlanta. Haruka questioned the order given to her. Angeline said she merely needed to know if the man still lived there. She gave Haruka the address before she returned home to Michiru.

Xxxxxxxxx

Both girls found relief as they ignored everything going on around them. They spent their free time on the new song Michiru was composing and Haruka even had a part in it on the piano. The song truly sounded dark and mysterious. Michiru worked on her own choreography with the song as she danced to the tune and played. The day came and they were ready for the plane flight. They had decided to take Benny to Haruka's father's house while they were out. Joe had not called Michiru since the blade went missing.

The two girls boarded the plane. Michiru put her violin in the over head case and sat down next to Haruka. "I'm still a bit nervous. And I'm worried. Joe is going to be mad when we land and I give him a call."

"I know." Haruka took Michiru's hand. "It's only a few days. You need to have a bit of fun."

"What if I advance in the show? Then it will be more than a few days."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Excuse me." Their conversation was interrupted when a teenage girl approached them.

"Yes?" Haruka turned and smiled at the girl.

"A-are you Haruka Tenoh?"

"Uh." Haruka paused. "Yeah."

"Could I get your autograph? I've watched everything on the news about you and read everything I could get my hands on. I run track in my high school and you're kind of like an idol of mine."

"Sure." Haruka's face reddened. She never took the time to realize people had looked up to her after her success.

"Thanks!" The girl passed a magazine to her. On the cover was Haruka from the photo shoot she had at the college with the words written 'The Woman Paving the Way to the Future'. The picture chosen was her winking at the camera with her black jacket thrown over one shoulder.

"You're welcome." Haruka passed it back. Damn, I look so conceded in that picture. She thought once the magazine had left her possession.

Michiru giggled. "You have fans. How cute."

"You'll have fans soon yourself. I've never been on a plane before."

"Are you nervous?"

"No, it's just something new. I've never needed to go anywhere before."

"It'll be fine. I'm going to rest a bit. I'm not too fond of plane flights myself." Michiru rested her head on Haruka's shoulder.

Haruka looked down at the aqua colored hair on her shoulder. She wondered if Michiru suspected anything about her actions in the past week. Joe probably suspected her. Soon she drifted to sleep as well.

The plane landed and both girls woke. "We have just arrived in Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. Please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop." The announcements continued for a minute.

Haruka looked out of the window. It looked very much like home outside. Trees covered every bit of the ground outside of the airport. Michiru had also stirred and looked out the window. "Looks just like home."

"It does." The plane had stopped and people began getting off. Haruka took a glance at Michiru. The smaller girl had worry written on her face. "Hey." She whispered to Michiru. "Just have fun, forget about everything for a few days."

"I'll try my best. Let's get to our hotel."

They rented a car and Haruka drove to the hotel. The streets in Atlanta were confusing, many one way streets. It took her an hour to find the hotel. Haruka gathered their things from the trunk once they arrived. She insisted Michiru carry her violin and she would get the rest.

Michiru approached the counter. "Hi, I have a reservation for Michelle Kaio."

Haruka stood to the side as Michiru handled everything. She had forgot that here Michiru would be known as Michelle. Haruka looked around the hotel lobby while waiting.

"Alright, here's your cards." The hotel clerk handed the keys to Michiru. "Hey." He tried to get Haruka's attention. "Are you Haruka Tenoh?"

"That's me." Haruka had to accept the fact she had grown into a semi celebrity.

"I see lots of famous people come through here."

"Ah." She laughed nervously. "I don't think I'm famous."

"Well, congratulations on your achievement." He extended his hand for a handshake.

"Thanks." She said as she shook his hand. "Ready to go, Michelle?" Haruka smiled as she spoke Michiru's alias.

"Yeah, let's go and relax a bit."

"You know," Haruka said as they walked to their hotel room. "I read about this one place here in Atlanta a while ago. A grill, it's called The Vortex. I heard they have amazing burgers."

"You plan on working all those carbs off alone?" Michiru smirked a bit.

"Of course not. Let's go there tomorrow after the show." Haruka smirked back at Michiru.

"Alright, it's a date. I'll call Joe when we get to our room."

Joe was furious when he heard what the girls had done. "You are WHERE!?" He yelled from his side of the line.

"Atlanta." Michiru said calmly.

"Was this Haruka's idea!?" He continued to yell.

"No, it was mine. We needed to get away for a while. And besides- we don't have anything to defend ourselves with now."

"Maggie and John are trying their best to locate that weapon. You better be here when they find it. Damn it, Michiru. I can't believe you did this."

"I need time for myself sometimes too, you know."

"Well hurry the hell up and don't do this again, at least not without warning me first!"

"I'm going to go now… it's late and we have to be up early."

"Alright."

Michiru ended the call and turned to Haruka. "Well, he was mad but, he'll be fine." Both girls giggled. Freedom-freedom for just a few nights…

Xxxxxxxxx

"You ready for the show?" Haruka asked Michiru as the smaller girl ran frantically around the hotel room the next day making her final preparations.

"Have you seen my hair bow?" Michiru dug through her suit case tossing clothing all over the room.

"The blue one?"

"Yeah. Where is it? I can't find it!" Michiru turned her suit case upside down and shook the rest of the contents out.

"Michi." Haruka giggled as she approached the frantic girl. "It's in your hair."

"Of… of course it is!"

"You have everything else? That CD you mixed for the background tracks, your violin, anything else?"

"I've got it all. Let's go!" Michiru grabbed Haruka by the wrist as she darted out of the room. Haruka had little time to admire the outfit her girlfriend was wearing. It was the same outfit she had put together for the talent show at the school.

"You got the directions?" Michiru asked the second they sat in the car.

"Yes, dear, calm down. I have it all under control." Haruka said as she fastened her seatbelt. "I have a GPS on my phone."

Michiru sat calmly to catch her breath and focus on the show ahead. She replayed all the dance moves in her head and silently rehearsed the song with her hands as Haruka drove.

Even with the GPS the streets were still overly confusing for the blonde girl. She had never driven in a huge city before. "I think that's the place." Haruka pointed as they approached a building that had several people gathered around. "Now to find a decent parking space that doesn't charge an arm and a leg."

"There!" Michiru pointed. "They have a parking garage."

They pulled into the parking garage. The fee was small and a lot cheaper than 20$ every other place was charging. "Alright, Michi." Haruka placed her hands on the shoulders of the girl in front of her as Michiru tried to catch her breath. "You got this." She gave Michiru a short but passionate kiss to calm her down. "Let's get going."

Many people had gathered in the building. A lot were practicing their acts and doing their final preparations for their performance. Michiru sat gathering her thoughts to focus on everything as she had done in the car. She played silently with her hands in the air. All the while Haruka sat back coolly with her arm over the chair Michiru sat in. The blonde girl wore sunglasses and a ball cap to prevent anyone from interrupting them. Her small bit of fame had already introduced her to two people.

After hours of waiting, Michiru's turn arrived. "Michelle Kaio." The name was called and she stood.

Haruka caught her by the arm before she left. "Blow them away."

Michiru smiled and went to the judges. She had brought a small radio to play her background track while she played.

"Michelle Kaio." The judges looked up at her. "So what are you going to be doing for us today?"

She bowed to them and set the radio down. "I'm going to play violin for you but with a twist. I promise it's something you've never seen before."

The judges looked at each other. They had seen many different acts today and a girl with a screeching violin was something they were afraid to hear. "Alright, show us what you have." One judge piped up.

Michiru popped in the CD and let the background music start. She plucked at the strings for a moment until the song picked up. The judges continued to watch her still unsure of what was in store for them. Then she began to dance, not missing a single note. Their eyes grew larger as the small girl danced around the room. A judge held her hand up in the middle of her performance and she stopped.

"So, you mixed violin with other styles of music and you dance to it." The judges looked at each other whispering. "That was the best performance we've seen all day!"

Michiru's heart was racing.

"We want you to come to the next round. You're in!"

Michiru jumped with joy, she never thought she would impress the judges. She picked up her radio and sped out of the door. One of the men helping with the audition handed her the flier with the next place she needed to be. Haruka was standing outside of the door as she ran out.

"Haruka! I'm going to the next round!" She flew into the blonde girl's arms.

"That's great!" Haruka hugged her tightly. "How about some food?" Haruka had been looking forward to trying out the bar all day.

The bar was situated in an area in Atlanta known as Little Five Points. The entrance to the grill has a huge skull and the mouth as an entrance. As they entered they had to show their IDs to prove they were at least eighteen. The food was amazing. Haruka ordered her burger rare, maybe the red in the meat would help curve the appetite she had been building for blood. She was unable to feed the day before or today. Michiru enjoyed the burgers as well. The atmosphere of the bar was unique all in its own.

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The moment they entered the hotel room Haruka had pinned Michiru to the wall. She tried hard to fight back her lust for the blood of her girlfriend as she pushed her into the bed. Their tongues battled each other for a while. Haruka slowly moved to kiss Michiru's neck. She found the urge to bite Michiru overwhelming. The battle to curve her appetite for the blood was difficult. She took extra care as she nibbled a bit on the tender neck and sucked on it hard.

"Haruka." Michiru moaned as Haruka began to lick her neck.

The blonde pulled back to her senses before she bit the girl beneath her. She looked into the blue eyes of her girlfriend and smiled to her.

"Haruka." Michiru's tone had changed a bit. She had a frightened look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Haruka questioned if her fangs had come out while she fought the desire to taste the blood in Michiru's neck. She closed her mouth and made sure they were in their hiding spot.

"I guess this life is taking its toll on me." Michiru traced Haruka's lips with her index finger. "I'm starting to see things. I thought I saw fangs in your mouth for a moment."

Well shit. Haruka thought and smiled nervously to show Michiru she was imagining things.

"Here we are trying to get away for a few days and I've still got vampires on my mind." Michiru ran her fingers over Haruka's perfectly straight teeth. "Maybe I'm going insane." Her finger found the nerve inside Haruka's mouth and a fang revealed itself. "Haruka!" She shoved the blonde girl off of her. "I can't believe this."

"What's wrong?" Haruka began to panic as she realized Michiru had discovered her secret.

"This whole time. This whole, God damned time! You were tricking me, deceiving me!" Michiru threw her things into her bag that she had thrown all over the room earlier in the day while looking for her bow. "I can't fucking believe this!" The smaller girl cursed. "You're good. This whole time you were acting. I bet you planned it the whole time."

"Michi." Haruka tried to calm the furious girl. "It's not what you think."

"Don't you dare try to calm me down now. I've been dating and sleeping with the enemy. Did you even meet your mother? I bet that was a lie too. Everything was a lie. You were just getting information for your damn clan!"

"No!" The blonde pleaded from the bed with tears in her eyes. "Michiru!"

"It's over, all of it. We're over."

Haruka's whole world crashed around her as Michiru muttered those words 'we're over'. "Michiru! No! Let me explain!" She approached the girl packing her things.

"Don't you dare touch me." Michiru shot a warning glance up at the blonde. "When I get home, your shit better be gone. I can't believe you betrayed me. I actually thought I loved you." She fought back tears. "Fuck you, Haruka."

Haruka had dropped to her hands and knees and began sobbing on the floor. All this time she knew this moment would come. She had hoped she would have been able to tell Michiru before it came to this. "Michiru." She cried from the floor as the other girl gathered her things from the bathroom. Then the door slammed closed. Michiru was gone.

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I've been waiting to write this scene for a while now.

I'd like to know what you guys want to see more of, maybe I'm missing something you want to read. Reviews keep my spirits up when I write. So let me know what you think, please. :)