"A subspecies!" Vlad shouted as he paced in his living room. His white Persian, Maddie, watched him pace the room with a questioning meow as she sat on the coffee table. "She thinks that Daniel and I are a subspecies!"

Vlad collapsed onto his couch with a heavy sigh. Hearing Maddie's meow, Vlad cracked an eye open and glanced down at her. She looked concerned for him as she tilted her head to the side. "I'm sorry, Maddie. This woman may be a bigger threat to me than I first thought. She is extremely observant and quite intelligent. I need to keep an eye on her," Vlad told Maddie the cat. He watched her use her paw to push the remote control closer to him with another meow. Vlad grinned widely. "You never cease to amaze me with your wonderful ideas, Maddie. Illegally spying on the Fentons is a wonderful show, but I think the cameras would be better suited at the Takahashi residence."

The Plasmius-inspired bug that was resting on the living room wall of the Fenton home quickly reactivated before flying out of the window of the home and across the street. The bug slipped in through an open window upstairs before flying through the seemingly empty house. Vlad frown at the video feed. Was no one home? His silent question was answered when he spotted the family having dinner in the kitchen. Vlad narrowed his eyes with a smirk. He planted his bug on the wall with a clear view of the family.

"How is school going kids?" Kimiko asked her children with a soft smile.

"Mr. Peters gave me detention because I had my skateboard on the ground. I wasn't even riding it!" the son complained before slumping in his seat with a deep frown.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Judai. Do you want me to see your teacher?" Kimiko suggested with a sympathetic look as she soothingly rubbed her son's shoulder.

"No way, mom! I can't have my MOM show up at my school just because I got a detention. Thanks, but no thanks. You'll totally ruin my reputation," Judai said matter-of-factly.

"We're living in a time when getting detention is good and having your mom come to your school is grounds for social suicide. Reputation is EVERYTHING," Kagome said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. Vlad couldn't help but nod along with what the girl was saying. He just didn't understand today's youth.

Kimiko smiled softly at her son before shaking her head. "Well, alright. I'll stay out of it. Just try not to get into any more trouble or the school will have to call me. Then I'll HAVE to go in."

"Yeah, mom."

Vlad watched the family eat their dinner peacefully for several more seconds until Kagome pulled her cellphone out to glance at it. Kimiko frowned. "Kagome, no phones at the table please."

"I know. I'm sorry, mama. Danny just texted me. He's going to see a movie. Can I go?" Kagome asked with a hopeful smile on her face. Kimiko frowned a bit.

"What is wrong with teenagers these days? They know that there are ghosts about and yet they still leave their homes late at night. What's even worse is that plenty of these young girls are putting their lives at danger for a boy. It's foolish and irresponsible. Don't you agree, Maddie?" Vlad commented as he gestured widely at his television. Maddie mewed in reply before curling up on his lap.

"I suppose it will be alright," Kimiko started. Immediately, Kagome got up from the table and ran out of the room. "Kagome!?"

It was a few seconds before Kagome reappeared with her purse and a pair of shoes. "Thanks, mama! I'll be back later! Love you!" she called out as she left in a rush.

Kimiko sputtered a bit as she watched her daughter go before slumping back in her seat. She offered Judai a look, but he just shrugged. A medium-sized dog strolled into the room before going over to a bowl of water for a drink. "It'll be alright. Danny's a good boy," Kimiko said.

"Famous last words," Judai said without bothering to whisper. Kimiko shot her son a glare.

Before Vlad couldn't hear any more family discussion, he could hear that dog from before growling lowly. Without any warning, the dog started barking loudly at the wall where his bug was perched. "Aki, daijoubudesuka?" Kimiko asked the dog with a concerned expression.

"There's a huge bug on the wall! It looks cool!" Judai exclaimed.

With a displeased frown, Kimiko said, "I'm getting the broom."

"Don't kill it, mom!"

With a panicked expression, Vlad quickly took control of the bug and flew it out of the window. "Well, that was a wasted effort," Vlad grumbled as he moved the bug back over to the

Fenton residence. "It looks like I'll have to find some other way to gather intel."

~:~

Kimiko was in the middle of washing some cabbage in preparation for dinner with her family. She was sure that Kagome would love these cabbage rolls. After placing the cabbage in a large pot to steam them, Kimiko heard the doorbell chime. Had Judai forgotten his key again? With a knowing smile already in place, Kimiko went to open the door. She was surprised to see that it wasn't Judai sheepishly standing on the other side of the door.

"Ah, Kimiko. I must apologize for the intrusion, but I was hoping that you would be free to discuss some more ghost theories with me," Vlad started in a charismatic tone with a charming grin on his face.

Kimiko frowned slightly. "I suppose that it would be alright. I was just in the middle of preparing dinner," Kimiko said and stood aside to allow Vlad entrance into the home.

"Would you like some help?" Vlad offered.

"I suppose two sets of hands are better than one. Thank you, Vlad," Kimiko said and led Vlad onto the kitchen.

Vlad couldn't keep the derision off his face as he looked around the small kitchen. "I must ask. A woman of your standing should be able to afford living in a much wealthier neighborhood and a much larger home," Vlad pointed out. "Why don't you?"

"You're right. I can. I just choose not to. My family has everything that it needs right here. I feel that unless you have a large family, living in a large home would only separate and distance you. It just sounds so lonely," Kimiko said as she cut up some carrots.

Vlad didn't reply. His newest home was state of the art. It symbolized everything he stood for, namely being larger-than-life and reeking of money and power and it did so much better than his last mansion. She may be a ghost expert, but what did she know about extravagant living? But, maybe she did have a point. There were some times when his home felt empty. Standing in her kitchen or even in the Fenton's middle-class home felt like just that- a home. When was the last time he lived somewhere he could call a home? Nonetheless, he was proud of his mansion. He'd have someone to live in it with him eventually (a certain red-haired someone).

"I'm curious. You seem so interested in ghosts. Are your children the same way?" Vlad asked while chopping some mushrooms.

"I'm afraid not. None of my children seem to have taken an interest in the paranormal. But that's alright. Children are free to follow their own paths," Kimiko answered.

So Kimiko would be the only one in the family to worry about? Good. That meant that whatever the girl had done had been unintentional and probably because of her mother.

"Do you have any children of your own?"

Vlad blinked owlishly at the innocent question. Children? He'd once entertained the thought of having children- 1 or 2. But that had been decades ago. "Oh no. I've never had children. I suppose it just wasn't in my future," Vlad said and batted his blue eyes with a wistful sigh. Surely, such a maternal woman would take pity on him.

"That's a shame. I can't imagine what my life would be like without Kagome and my boys," Kimiko said and added the carrots to a large mixing bowl.

Vlad raised a brow. "Boys?"

"Yes. I have three of them. Judai is the youngest. The other two are all grown up and out of the house," Kimiko explained with a fond smile.

"But, you're so young!" Vlad exclaimed before he could stop himself. 'Sugar cookies!' She might get upset with him. Women could be very temperamental about their age.

"I'm only thirty-six. I had my first child when I was sixteen."

Vlad wasn't sure how to respond to that. After several seconds of deliberations, he said, "You've done well for yourself."

"I consider myself very successful. I've always wanted a large family and now I do. Sometimes, I miss the days when they were all still smaller than me," Kimiko said wistfully.

Vlad pushed down the slight discomfort he felt with the topic. Kimiko sounded so maternal and loving when she spoke about her family. It only served to remind Vlad of what he didn't have. He could have bought a family easily. But he had wanted a family with one, specific person. But now, she wanted nothing to do with him. She didn't even want friendship, much less romance.

Vlad decided to change the topic. "About your research, have you found anything new?"

"I think I have, but it's all preliminary observations."

"Oh?" Vlad nearly grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Finally, he was getting somewhere.

"I see what you're trying to do. But, it's not going to happen. You'll have to wait for me to publish my findings just like everyone else," Kimiko told him with a friendly smile.

Vlad returned the smile easily. She really was a sweet woman. It was a shame that he would have to eventually take drastic measures against her. It wasn't her fault. But he had to protect his way of life. But first, he had to get her comfortable enough to speak freely around him... "Kimiko, I do hope that you don't think of me as out of place, but I must ask you something. Would you be willing to have dinner with me this weekend?" Vlad asked in a hopeful tone with his best smile.

Kimiko stared up at Vlad in surprise. She cleared her throat a few times before sighing. "I am so sorry, Vlad. I hope I didn't give you the wrong idea, but I'm not interested in dating right now. I hope you'll understand," Kimiko said before patting his shoulder consolingly and moving to check of the cabbage leaves that were being steamed.

Vlad stared down at the spot she had inhabited with a confused expression. Had she really just turned him down? More importantly, did she really think he was interested? Well that was obvious. He'd have to find some way to convince her.

~:~

Kagome placed her books into her locker before closing the metal door shut and pulling out her phone. She quickly texted Danny to let him know that she was leaving school and would meet him at his house in a few minutes. Luckily, cheerleading practice hadn't taken too long today. With quick movements, Kagome finally made her way out of Casper High for the day.

It had first started as a weird feeling in the back of her mind. She couldn't explain it, but Kagome could have sworn that she heard footsteps behind her. But whenever she turned around, there was no one there. Was there a ghost following her? Did ghosts usually walk or was this one just trying to freak her out? Kagome picked up her pace slightly and kept her phone in hand with her fingers ready to dial 911 if she needed it.

Sam nearly cursed. Moving out from behind a trash can, Sam quickly jogged to catch up to Kagome. If only she could go invisible like Danny, then she could follow Kagome without any problems. When Kagome suddenly turned around again, Sam ducked in between another alleyway.

She had been following Kagome since the Japanese girl had left school. Was it creepy? Probably. But more importantly, it was necessary. Sam was sure that this girl was hiding something, especially after what Danny had told her what had happened to Vlad yesterday. Since when did touching someone make you turn blue like a ghost?

Sam quickly hid behind someone's stoop and observed Kagome. She was almost home now. Maybe Sam could find some way to get into the house? Or was that too creepy? Instead of going home, however, Sam watched Kagome climb the steps to Fenton Works and step inside as if she owned the place! Sam glared before standing and turning to head home. You think Danny would be more careful around that girl! But no. Like all teenage boys, Danny was letting a pretty face distract him again. Well, Sam wasn't fooled. If she was going to get some real dirt on Kagome, she had to had to take extreme measures.