Chapter Nine: Stupid Vampires!
Everyone had agreed that it was probably a good idea to relax for a while, especially after such a rending experience only a matter of hours ago. So, Scott had taken the interested parties for a bit of a tour of the somewhat abandoned movie site. And since Kotaro wanted to go and Mimiko didn't, Jiro went with him, partly to prove that he was more than fine. Mimiko kept giving him meaningful glances that he chose to ignore.
The compromiser found a convenient perch and settled down on it with a sigh. She was started to by Zelman coming up behind her and gently saying," boo." She blinked rapidly, one hand to her heart as she turned to scowl at him.
Zelman chuckled at her expression, enjoying every moment of it.
"Don't do that!" Mimiko admonished him sharply. "I've had enough drama for one day, what with the rain and everything else."
Zelman found an opposite perch to hers, only a few feet away, and sat down, more than amused. "Is that so." He glanced at her bandaged finger, then reached over to pick up the hand it was attached to, idly sliding velvet soft fingers across the makeshift bandage. "You know, if you really wanted to have your blood sucked that badly, you could have always asked me. I'd be more than willing to indulge you." His eyes crinkled with mirth, the corners of his lips turned up in a slightly unpleasant way that made her unsure of whether or not he was teasing her or not.
She snatched her hand back and held it with the uninjured one, her cheeks flaming. "It's nothing like that! You know I was only showing my concern for him! It's not like I… wanted…."
He raised his brows at her. "Oh really. Are you absolutely certain about that? After all, there are many vampires who wouldn't give you the chance to protest if you'd offered to one. It's as good as offering to another, after all. And I thought most humans enjoyed the experience."
Mimiko's cheeks flamed even more. "That's…! That's not the point! I was only trying to be nice to him! I didn't want him to be suffering needlessly!"
Zelman rolled his eyes. "Suffer needlessly? Perhaps. But you already know how stubborn that one can be. Once he sets his mind on something, there's little you or anyone else can do to change it." He smiled again. "For an Old Blood he is still so very young."
Mimiko wasn't sure how to respond to that, still trying to make her pounding heart come back under control. She glanced around to see where the others were but couldn't see them. They were likely behind one of the large set pieces left standing from an old western town setup, too far away to come quickly, though probably not too far that Jiro wouldn't hear her if she called out. But did she want to call out? She was torn. Zelman wasn't doing anything to her, well, minus a bit of potential harassment. It wasn't like he was forcing her to do something against her will. And she was an adult and should be able to handle whatever situation came up. She was a compromiser, after all.
"What an interesting expression you have on your face," Zelman commented conversationally. "I believe it to say something along the lines of, 'should I scream for my hero or leave off because he might not have enough strength to come save me if the evil vampire decides to do something to me,' or something along those lines. Am I right?"
She glanced quickly his way, shock showing on her face despite her trying very hard to control her emotions. It wasn't entirely correct, but close enough to cause her some alarm.
"Don't act so surprised," he laughed. "You're so transparent when it comes to the Silver Blade. You'd do anything for him, wouldn't you." He looked her straight in the eye, locking gazes with her.
Her voice only shook slightly as she tried to answer. "Almost anything." She quickly looked away. "Besides, you saw that he refused so your point is moot."
He chuckled again. "Is it, Compromiser? Of course, I have to applaud him for refusing. It takes a very strong vampire to resist that kind of temptation, especially after what he'd just been through. I personally don't know how he does it. But, of course, decorum dictates that he refuse, if only for the sake of his circumstances. We are not alone, after all. And he was raised to be a gentleman." He snorted slightly in amusement to his words.
Mimiko stood, hands on her hips. "And what's wrong with being a gentleman? I personally find it refreshing when compared to the less civilized company I sometimes find myself in!" With that remark, she stormed off in the direction she'd last seen the rest of the group.
Zelman shook his head in amusement, chuckling lightly as he watched her rapid progress away from him. So easy to tease. So easy to rattle when he chose. It made life all that much more enjoyable. Not that he'd intended to actually suck her blood, but he had wondered what she'd do if he'd brought it up, especially under such a scenario. He'd had no desire to resist the temptation when it had risen and had purposely stayed back just so he could bow to it.
Jiro caught sight of Mimiko stomping towards them from the corner of his eye. He paused, letting the group move on without him, waiting for her to catch up with him. Her expression was a mass of indignation, frustration, and, he thought, possibly some embarrassment, and wondered just what had happened to cause such a mix of emotion in her.
Mimiko trudged rapidly towards the red-coated man a dozen or so feet in front of her, hands balled into fists. "Stupid vampire! Like I'd stoop that low! I'd kick him if I thought it would do anything!"
Jiro blinked in surprise as he caught snatches of what she was murmuring to herself. Why on earth did she want to kick a vampire, he wondered. He schooled his expression to somewhat blank surprised inquiry as she stomped up to him. "Everything all right?"
Mimiko scowled fiercely and cast a somewhat angry glance back towards the van. Zelman had disappeared from sight; however, since she'd started out that way and she had no idea where he was. Instead, she turned back to Jiro and let out a bit of a growl. "Stupid vampire."
Jiro's eyes widened in surprise. "Stupid vampire? Mimiko. Did something happen?"
She glared up at him. "It's none of your business," she snapped. "But if you'd stop being so stubborn I wouldn't be so upset." She stomped off to join the rest of the group, leaving Jiro blinking in increased surprise and confusion behind her.
"What did I do?"
Mimiko avoided both older vampires for the rest of the afternoon, even though Zelman mysteriously rejoined the group once they'd finished their tour of the area, and Kotaro had insisted on playing cowboys and Indians for a while. The locals were more than willing to play along, though Mimi had opted to just sit back and watch, arms folded and glared if either Zelman or Jiro came too close to her.
"What on earth have you done to make our compromiser so irritable," Zelman asked in a tone heavy with irony. "Could it be that you spurned her advances earlier? Really now, Silver Blade. I do believe you've hurt her feelings."
Jiro gave a low growl as he watched with folded arms. "Better her feelings than something else," he returned with irritation. Inside, he wondered if that was why she was really upset. Despite having lived with her for so long, he still found he couldn't quite figure her out. Was it because she was a woman as well as human? Or was it just because she was that kind of woman? The kind that you couldn't figure out?
The red head rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you thought you were doing a kindness by refusing her. Why, Silver Blade, I never imagined you were that naive."
Jiro felt for a blade that was not at his side, gloved hands clenching. "That's enough, Zelman."
Zelman put his hands up in a shrug. "I was only trying to help."
Jiro's reply was cut off as Kotaro ran over, laughing. "Guess what! Guess what! Lucienne says we're going to have Mexican food tonight! Just like in some of those old shows I like to watch! I'm so excited!" He twirled around in delight.
"Time to pack up," Matt called to the group as they started to head back to the van. "Mexican food is waiting!"
Mimiko claimed the front seat this time around, leaving the others to choose seats in the back as Matt took the driver's seat and pulled out of the parking lot, heading south once more, back to their dorms and the potential of food.
Jiro watched Mimiko closely for the rest of the night. She still refused to sit next to him, or Zelman, he noted. But she was more than willing to play around with Kotaro. The one time he'd tried to figure out what was wrong, she practically bit his head off and told him to mind his own business, something that had made Zelman laugh, despite her giving him a glare as well.
He sighed as he settled onto his borrowed bet, Kotaro already asleep in the one next to him. Was she really that nettled over his refusing to drink her blood? Or was it something else? Or, perhaps, it was just that time of the month, though he was fairly sure he'd know if that were the case, so maybe precursor to it.
Whatever the reason, he had to find a way to make their last day of vacation memorable, and in a good way. He'd discovered that his initial plans had somehow fallen through, and he was now at a loss as to what to do instead of them. He was fairly certain, as well, that all of the guys in their party knew that his plans hadn't worked out, and could only hope that they didn't try to come up with something to make up for it.
His bones creaked slightly as he rolled to one side to look out the open slit in the window covering. He would have to be more careful in the future, to not let himself get caught in any situation where he would be in danger of causing her more worry. If he did, he was fairly certain she'd find a way to force-feed him her blood. She was definitely that stubborn, but he would not allow that. And he would not ask anyone else to give him any, even if it was from a blood pack. At least, definitely not until they were back in the Special Zone. After that, he'd have to wait and see what happened. He'd gone longer without before.
Mimiko stared up at the ceiling of her room. Being mad at the both of them was probably not worth the effort anymore. They were both just showing their colors and she had to accept that. Jiro was, to the core, a gentleman. And Zelman, well, he was something else entirely. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know exactly what he was, other than a complete sociopath, but for all of that, he was still at least sort of nice to her, probably because of her mom, but still.
She rolled over to her stomach and rested her head in her hands. "Why are boys, vampire and human, so stupid," she asked the air, then rolled back to her side. "I give up." She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
