It was brought to my attention that I made a mistake about the currency exchange between dollars and euros. Thank you. I don't know what happened, but apparently my mind decided to shut down when I read the going rate because I got it backwards. Anyway, it's fixed now. Please continue to help me out if you find any other inconsistencies. Also… Kaoru seems to blush a lot. What's up with that? lol
Disclaimer: If I did I wouldn't have so many problems with distractions. Or perhaps I would… XP
Chapter X: The Screening
A sweet little smile was still present on the young girl as she sat on the patient bed in only a gown and her underwear. For the entire process she had been nothing but patient and cooperative. It was obviously a cover she wore quite comfortably. Her demeanor was admittedly irritating to Megumi, but she was much too old to let such a childish emotion show. Besides, she was more interested in the girl's biological make-up than she was in her psychological state.
Everything about her was perfectly healthy. No abnormalities showed up in her blood tests, and all of her stats checked out fine. Nothing was too high or too low, and she was in fact so perfectly balanced that Megumi was in disbelief. Even the healthiest athlete and gym nut had something that was just a little out of whack. It was the way of life. The girl didn't even have problems with her pores.
"So do I pass inspection?" A light giggle accompanied the question and a tight smile pulled at Megumi's lips.
"With flying colors." Her voice wasn't the friendliest, but it didn't seem to faze the girl at all.
"So is there anything else you need from me? Mr. Himura had to drive me here and he was looking a little tired in the car. I don't want to keep him waiting any longer than I have to." There was genuine concern in her voice for the man who was to be her future employer and Megumi inwardly laughed. The man could take care of himself. He certainly didn't need a child looking out for him. It's his own fault anyway that it's taken this long. A real physical doesn't require all these tests.
Setting aside her clipboard Megumi eyed the bandage that was securely wrapped around Miss Kamiya's throat. It was there that she was supposed to look, per Kenshin's request. Even though she wasn't completely fond of Miss Kamiya's sunny-sweet personality, she had to admit she was curious herself. If what she had been told was true and a vampire was possibly responsible for the injuries she had sustained then there was reason for concern. Punishment was needed for any vampire who broke the Law. And if it has anything to do with why her blood smells so tantalizing to Ken-san then it needs to be taken care of quickly.
"Just one more thing, Miss Kamiya, and we'll be done. Did a proper doctor check you over after your attack?" For the first time the girl tensed, and Megumi's interest sharpened. It was natural to feel apprehension after an attack like the one she had experienced, but Kenshin had warned her that Miss Kamiya was too touchy about the subject. Meaning she was hiding something about it.
"I was taken to the emergency room, but they didn't find anything that would keep me from going home, so I left." She was very careful about her answer. Another habit Kenshin had warned her about.
"You didn't see a personal doctor afterwards? Sometimes things can get very hectic in the ER and things are missed. It's always recommended that you see your doctor."
"No. It's just a couple of scrapes and scratches. There was nothing to worry about."
"You have stitches in your eyebrow and your throat was cut." Dry and humorless Megumi bit straight through her excuses. "Did they even check you for possible brain hemorrhaging? And how well did they clean and fix your wounds? I can already tell those stitches will scar. Who did them? A leatherworker?" Irritated now for a different reason, and playing it up more than needed, Megumi rolled her stool forward and grabbed Miss Kamiya's face. "I may as well look at them since you're here. I doubt Ken-san will want to hire a brain-dead restoration expert."
"But… wouldn't I have to get some kind of brain scan or something to check for that? That'll take too long. Mr. Himura's waiting and…"
"And he can wait. He wants you to be as healthy as you can be, and so that is what I am going to make sure you are. Tch. I'm taking these stitches out before they do you anymore damage. And what about this. Did they have to stitch this too?" Before Kaoru could protest the bandage at her throat was coming off. As the wound came into view Megumi paused to take it in. Just as Miss Kamiya had said there was a knife wound on the side of her neck. Megumi relaxed. So her story checked out. As she leaned forward to examine it closer, however, she found herself noticing something odd.
The wound was healing nicely, and thankfully for the girl they had foregone using stitches. It wasn't very deep, but it was still deep enough for concern. So instead they had used three butterfly bandages to hold the skin together while it healed. The outer wrap of gauze was just to keep anything from irritating the injury and possibly tearing off the bandages. Because of the length of time between the occurrence and now, Megumi would not have spotted the bruised tissue if not for having seen something similar before.
The skin surrounding the cut was on the healed side of red and aggravated. To anyone else it would just appear to be inflamed or infected, but to Megumi, who was a vampire old enough to remember what it was like to kill her prey, it told her the truth. Like a lover's hickey, the blemished skin had been sucked and sucked hard.
"I-is something wrong?" Miss Kamiya was nervous and Megumi understood why. The poor girl had been attacked by a creature she probably thought only existed in stories. Stories real vampires had just made up to keep humans from knowing the truth. Of course she wouldn't tell anyone. The police would have thought she was crazy. Megumi sighed. I guess she's stronger than she appears if she can deal with this all by herself. Begrudgingly feeling appreciation towards the young girl, she turned away to grab a pair of tweezers and a small set of surgical scissors.
"It appears to be healing just fine, Miss Kamiya, but they weren't worried about your looks at all. I'll do my best, but I can't promise you won't have a little bit of a scar since it has been around a week." A small smile pulled against her lips. "I'll give you some ointment to put on it that will help."
X
Kenshin paced back and forth outside of the clinic doors with his phone to his ear. Outside was the best place for him to be, since Kaoru would be getting blood drawn. He wanted as many barriers between his nose and her as possible when that happened. Also, he wanted a little privacy for the conversation he was trying to instigate.
So far Yumi's people had given him quite the run-a-round and he was almost at the end of his patience. Having tired of trying to be polite, Kenshin had instead contacted Aoshi and he was now calling the woman directly on her personal phone. It was a restricted, private number that no one was supposed to have access to. It was her own fault for being so infuriating, so Kenshin felt no remorse about violating her privacy.
The woman had always been infuriatingly haughty for a human. The few times he had ever met her she had always emitted a superior aura as if she was too good to mingle with anyone she deemed beneath her. Kenshin was one of those people and he was completely fine with that. He really had no desire to talk to her now or ever, but the story surrounding Miss Kamiya's attack seemed to grow thicker by the minute. Her interview had happened with Yumi a week before. It, in fact, had happened the day of her attack. From what he had been able to piece together, Miss Kamiya had gone straight to work from her interview, and it was after she had arrived in her parking garage that night that the attack had happened. It was possibly just a coincidence, but something about it left a sour taste in his mouth. There was a slim chance that Yumi had hired a vampire and didn't even know it.
Even if Miss Kamiya's attacker was a human there was still a possibility that he was in the employ of his competition. If that was the case then there was all the more reason for Yumi to be aware of the danger. As a member of her staff he would have access to everything he needed, such as background information, addresses, work history, and phone numbers. Using such a connection would make it easy to harass young women for his own pleasure. If he was a vampire and using the cover to attack his victims then Yumi would not be told. At least not unless the council thought it necessary. If at all possible vampires handled their own without humans getting involved. The next step involved requesting help from the Hunters, and that was always a tense affair. Relations had become considerably more civil ever since blood packs had been introduced, though.
The droning ring in his ear abruptly ended and Kenshin's attention focused. The quicker he got this over with the better. Unfortunately he knew he would have to be careful and that usually killed swiftness.
"Who is this and how did you get this number?" Yumi's voice was ill-amused and quite indignant. Kenshin, who was far past the limit of his patience, felt no sympathy.
"Miss Komagata, you are a hard woman to get in touch with. When you continually refused my calls, I had no other choice but to use your personal number."
"Ah, Mr. Himura." There was a droll acknowledgment of his identity in her tone and her attitude became a bit bored. "Yes, I do apologize, but I've been rather busy. I really don't have time for idle chit-chat I'm afraid. If you would like to schedule a meeting you will need to call my secretary back."
"I have no interest in a meeting, Miss Komagata, and neither do you, I think, since I was informed, rather rudely, that you will not be available until September. I simply wish to ask you a few questions and then hopefully I will have no further dealings with you again."
"Now who's being rude, Mr. Himura? What is keeping me from hanging up on you?"
"The understanding that I will no doubt call back."
"Look, if you're still after that Ming Dynasty fish bowl I told you it's not for sale. You know as well as I do that the five fingers on the dragon indicate it belonged to the emperor himself. I'm more suited to own sovereign art than you are. Besides, it makes a great flower pot."
The woman is using it for potted flowers? Rubbing his hand irritably across his eyes, Kenshin took a deep breath and fought his way past the disgusting thought of such a priceless piece of history sporting no doubt ill-suited flowers from its porcelain.
"Aren't you supposed to be buried under some castle in France? I heard you finally talked those siblings into selling it for some God-awful price. The place wasn't that amazing, you know. Surely you don't think you can fix it up and sell it."
"I have no interest in speaking to you about my chateau, Miss Komagata, nor am I calling about the Ming Dynasty set that should have gone to me at the auction. What I am interested in is your interview with a potential hire of mine. Miss Kaoru Kamiya is her name. I believe you interviewed her last week?"
"You're wasting my time on that girl?" An impatient, and quite overly aggravated sigh filtered through the speaker. "She was completely dull and unenthusiastic. I practically told her I was going to hire her for nothing and she acted like it wasn't good enough. If you ask me, she is much too full of herself. I tried to be polite with her, but really, I couldn't have anyone so uppity working for me and unbalancing my team. I was completely disappointed, after all of the outstanding references she had. Everyone practically sang praises of her as if she were heaven sent, or some such nonsense. I think being shot down will do her some good. It might keep her grounded, before she becomes as arrogant and foolhardy as the rest of this new generation. You want my opinion, Mr. Himura, I wouldn't hire her at all. I wasn't all that impressed, and I don't understand why anyone else would be. Frankly, I'm sick of hearing about how great she is."
"I see. What about the director? Were they as unimpressed as you?"
"Director for what?"
"The lead of the branch you wished to hire her under. Surely you interviewed her with the lead present."
"Why would I do something silly like that? I interview all of my personnel alone. If I do not approve of them, then I do not hire them. This stuff I allow them to handle is irreplaceable, you realize. I cannot hand it over to just anyone. I'm accountable for it all."
"You flew out to Boston alone just to interview her?" That certainly clears her of any unintentional involvement. I suppose it could just be a coincidence.
"Of course, and do you think she appreciated that at all. No. She no doubt expects others to just hand things to her because she has a pretty little face and a sweet little smile. I don't buy that innocent little façade, not for a minute." As Yumi began to rant, Kenshin let out a vexed breath. Her voice had long since become unbearable, and the fact that he had learned nothing useful from her only frustrated him further.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned to watch Megumi lean back against the doors of the clinic. A wave of her hand suggested she needed his attention and he nodded to let her know he understood. "Thank you, Miss Komagata. That's really all I needed from you. Forgive me for taking up your preciously demanding time. I'm afraid my own few minutes of respite have ended."
"Good. I'm behind schedule now. I just hope you will take my advice into consideration and drop that dead weight before you take it on."
"Ah. As to that, I really should thank you. Your… assessment of Miss Kamiya has been a great help, since I would even now be fruitlessly searching for a replacement if you had understood the gem you almost had within your possession. What luck you were unable to recognize her true value."
"You don't mean to actually hire her, do you!?"
"I have already. Perhaps you'll see some of her work soon at the next auction. Goodbye, Miss Komagata." The off button muted her indignant huffs and puffs, and he pocketed his phone before walking over to meet Megumi's patiently waiting form. "Well?"
Megumi's cinnamon irises looked him up and down. The girl had been right. He did look tired. And he's really not going to like what I tell him. "She's getting dressed now. I did some extra scans on top of all the tests you requested and everything checks out fine. Physically she's completely healthy."
"What about her neck wound?"
Her lips pursed just slightly and he closed his eyes to calm himself against her answer. "It was a vampire. The skin was puckered and aggravated around the knife wound. There's no mistaking whoever cut her sucked on it afterwards."
"I see." This complicated everything on a completely different level. "I'll have Aoshi start scanning through every file he can find that matches or is similar to her attack. Perhaps that will narrow the search down."
"The council will have to be informed."
"I'll do that. Hopefully they won't have to involve her. If at all possible I want Miss Kamiya to stay ignorant." Kenshin reached for the door but paused when Megumi hesitated to follow. "Was there something else?"
For a moment she chewed her lip and didn't respond. "I'm not sure yet. I want to do some further study of Miss Goody-Goody's blood."
"Because of the effect it has on me?" Slowly he nodded. Perhaps finding out the cause would help Megumi discover a way to counteract his response.
"Yes, but there are other curiosities about her as well. I don't have enough info to give you now, but I may need you to come up with some excuse to send her back at random intervals for more blood tests."
Kenshin frowned. There was a small crease between Megumi's brows that Sano often talked about. Kenshin himself had seen it very rarely, but he knew what it meant. Whatever was so different about Miss Kamiya, it had captured the interest of the researcher side of Mrs. Sagara. She has captured the interest of all of us, I think. "I'll see what I can do. You'll let me know what you find out?"
A shrug lifted her straight shoulders and she walked through the door he was holding open. "If I find anything."
While adjusting her purse Miss Kamiya stepped out of the back of the clinic and she smiled when she caught sight of the both of them. Turning as they all three met at the center of the waiting room, Megumi crossed her arms. "You're cleared for work, Miss Kamiya."
"Thank you very much, Dr. Takani." Kaoru bowed her head, and then turned her smile on Mr. Himura.
"As for you, Ken-san, I'm ordering you to get some sleep." Red eyebrows furrowed deeply as the conversation turned abruptly towards his health, and he looked between the two women when Miss Kamiya smiled gratefully at the doctor. "In fact, I think you should let Miss Kamiya drive the car." Lightly her hand touched Miss Kamiya's shoulder. "It was a pleasure meeting you." As Kaoru replied in kind the dignified doctor disappeared through the swinging door behind them.
"I'm sorry." The apology came as they exited the clinic and walked towards the car.
"For what, Miss Kamiya?"
"I mentioned you were looking tired to Dr. Takani. I didn't mean for her to embarrass you."
"It was a fair observation, and to be truthful I would be eternally grateful if you drove us back to the hotel. I'm afraid the jetlag has finally caught up with me."
"Of course, I would be happy to." She beamed and happily took the keys from him. Such a sweet smell leaned back towards the feeling of intoxication her aroma drowned him in. Though everything about her made him feel dangerous, this intoxication made him complacent, and complacency weighed down his body. This sluggish state was probably as close to slumber as he was going to get. "Don't you have somewhere to stay, yet, Mr. Himura?"
"Hmm?" Buckling his seatbelt, he leaned back into the cushioned passenger seat appreciatively.
"Well, I was just wondering why you needed to stay in a hotel. I thought for sure you would have a private residence rented nearby, since the chateau is going to take a really long time. Oh, well, perhaps you have made arrangements to live at the hotel?"
"No. I'm leasing a building." The sun would be up for another few hours and Kenshin was suddenly fighting his eyelids to stay open. Once his body knew he was thinking about resting, it seemed unwilling to let him back out of his promise. "It has an apartment on each floor. You are welcome to stay in one, unless or until you find somewhere else you wish to live. I thought I would show you tomorrow, if that is fine with you."
"Okay. For now, please get some rest." The sluggishness was taking him, and he frowned at the amusement that was in her voice. He really hoped she knew how to get back to the hotel.
X
A/N: I won't even apologize because I hope everyone understands by now. I think this entire year is cursed or something, because everything has gone wrong. Now it's my car. Again. The POS. I can't wait until next year. It has to be better.
Well, Yumi seemed a bit more irritated then was warranted. Why would she care so much about someone she rejected for a job? Also Megumi is quite interested in Kaoru's blood. I wonder how Kenshin plans to sleep with Kaoru living in the same building. Just food for thought. I hope to have the next chapter up soon. Please leave a review and thanks for sticking with me. Maybe we'll finally get to meet Aoshi soon.