"Excuse me, but I would like to speak to Sergeant McIntire." Sashima tapped her foot impatiently at the base of the reception desk in the front hall of the police station. Besides a young officer who sat behind the desk, shifting through heaps of paper, they were the only people in sight.

"I'm sorry Miss, but the sergeant is out at the moment," he replied, busying himself with his computer. "Do you want me to leave a message for him, or would you like to speak to someone else?"

"Is there someone else working on the Briefs' break-in case? If there is, I would like to speak to them."

"Nope, all officers on the case are out following a possible lead. Is there a reason you wanted to know?"

"I'm a friend who's living with the Briefs and wanted to check up on the case for them," Sashima answered coolly.

"Is that so?" Raising his head from his papers, he took his first look at Sashima, and immediately became wide-eyed. His eyes traveled slowly from her face and slowly down to her feet, then back up again, eyes lingering at her chest.

She was remotely aware of what the officer was doing, and it didn't seem quite unusual as he seemed not much older than she was, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six at most. Even so, she usually hated men who ogled at her.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked quietly, pretending to check that everything was in place. She had purposely attempted to make her outfit as conservative as possible, wearing a pair of sweats, running shoes, and a white, short-sleeved button-up shirt, but it seemly that no matter what she wore, the message was still plain and clear: being a half-angel would give you qualities that were just a little TOO nice.

The officer came around to the front of his desk. "Say, I'm off duty tonight, so how about it? Wanna go on a date with me?" He could not take his eyes away from her.

Frowning at the bluntness of the question and the nerve of him, she did her best at a calm answer. "I'm sorry, but I have something I need to attend to tonight and--"

"Oh come on," he broke in, moving ever closer. Sashima visibly flinched, and he took the moment to put his arm around her waist. "It'll be a fun evening, I promise, I'll take you to dinner and then we can head back to my apartment…" Slowly he moved his hand up her shirt.

She had had it. "You perverted bastard, get your dirty hands off of me!" she screamed, giving him a hard strike to the face. He flew back, crashing into his desk, and grabbing his nose quickly. When he took his hands away, his nose was bleeding profusely.

"You-you--" He stammered, at a loss of words.

"Tell McIntire that Sashima Makimoto came and paid the office a visit," she snarled, pushing open the glass door and stalking out, not giving any more looks to the officer who was still staring, shocked and bleeding, on the floor. "People these days are just…ARGH!" Throwing up her hands in disgust, she made sure her shirt was on properly before leaving the station behind and venturing off.

* * * * *

The sign shimmered golden in the afternoon sun, flecks of light bouncing off the red background, which were surrounded by two ferocious looking dragons. "China's Delight," Sashima read the English below the Chinese characters.

Entering, and telling the lady at the counter she wanted a table for one, Sashima was directed to one near a brightly lit window. The sun's glare was almost unbearable, and she plunged a hand into her sweat pockets for Muten Roshi's sunglasses. It was an amusing sight alright, to see a woman with sunglasses indoors, but at the moment, it didn't matter if anyone had been staring.

Presently, a cart rolled by and a woman in a white blouse politely asked what she wanted to order. After selecting several dishes, she sat back to enjoy the savory food. All the while she was deep in thought--her mind kept wandering back to the man she had helped earlier that morning. Where was he now? Who was he? How had he disappeared so quickly? Why were the thugs after him? And how did the thugs get away so quickly without leaving any signs?

All these questions and more her cluttered her head as soon as she had left the police station. While passing through the lot once more, she had looked in, and still there was nothing. Nothing but a slight haze remained. There was a coldness about the place, a sense where something seemed to be breathing right down the back of your neck, or maybe from the touch of a ghost. She didn't know if ghosts really existed or not, but if angels and demons did, then they sure as hell might coexist as well.

For the first time, as she was passing the lot, she noticed in the back, way back, shrouded with trees and shielded with shrubbery of all sorts--a house. From the sidewalk, one would not be able to notice that it was present at all, yet when one ventured farther in, one could see it was a magnificent brick-home of two stories in height, a style of building not common to the modern world. The maroon curtains had been drawn closed, and there was no sign of anything in, out, or around the house at all. She dared not go any closer than she did, though, for she could sense the house had some evil in it, a slight odor that she knew had sensed before, but could not recollect. There was something about it…that just reminded her of herself.

Engrossed in her own thoughts, she did not realize the figure that had came into the Chinese restaurant until he had sat down directly in front of her.

"Hey," he said, gazing at her face.

"Oh!" Snapping out of her thoughts she took a good look at the figure in front of her. Her heart nearly did a cartwheel. Never in her life had she seen someone so…there were no words to describe it. He had long blonde hair the color of straw, flowing neatly down to the nape of his neck, and his eyes--they were as red as her own! He had a fine nose and a slightly angular face, and in one ear hung a small hoop earring--the other, three stud earrings. Wearing a black button-up shirt that had the first three buttons open, she could see his well-muscled chest, and at that moment, a strange desire to put her hand on it completely overwhelmed her by surprise.

He was looking at her quietly, a puzzled expression. "Um…is there something wrong?" he asked.

Sashima had been staring too hard at him, and she quickly whacked the inside of her head for doing so. "Heh heh," she stammered nervously, "sorry I was just caught up in my own thoughts."

He smiled, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. "Never expected to see you here of all places."

Now it was her turn to be confused. Did she know this man? "Have I met you before?"

He threw back his head and laughed, a loud raucous laugh that drew the attention of most people in the room. "I guess it's hard to notice what one really looks like when they have blood covered on half their face, isn't it?"

"But…oh!" Blushing, she took a drink of water to calm herself down. "You're the same one from this morning?" She noticed no sign of blood on his clean clothes, and then realized her idiocy--he must have changed into fresh ones.

"Sure am," he replied, "went to the hospital and they fixed me up. See here." Pushing his hair away from his eyes, Sashima noticed a white bandage to the side of his head, blood contained on the other side that threatened to leak through.

"That still doesn't look too good…" she commented, busying herself with her food. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"No, just got out of the hospital," he said as his stomach gave a loud growl.

She gave him a slight smile--she could never let her guard down around men, but this one…she couldn't help it. "Take that plate and help yourself," she instructed, and called to a waiter nearby, "Excuse me, but could I have another glass of water?"

When the waiter left, Sashima searched desperately for a conversation starter, but she needn't have bothered since he was talking again.

"Soooo…I still don't know your name…" he began, feeling slightly awkward.

"Oh hahaha…how stupid of me not to tell you…um, yeah…my name is Sashima…" she blushed again. 'Damn, what is wrong with me today?!' she thought.

"Sashima…what a beautiful name…"

"Er…thanks. What's your name?"

"Xavier."

Xavier. A fine name for a--she whacked her head again, trying to shake the cobwebs from it. Just why she was acting this way was a complete mystery, a feeling she had never in her life felt before. It made butterflies in the pit of her stomach and her heart was beating faster than ever.

"Why do you wear sunglasses inside?" Xavier asked, "I'm sure your eyes aren't bad at all."

"What? These?" Sashima reached up to her face and jerked the glasses away, the sunlight blinding her instantly. She just couldn't take it--the sun was directly overhead and shining straight into the windows. "Er…vision problems, can't tolerate much sun. Hope you don't mind if I leave them on."

Shaking his head, he made to take some of the food from the tray, just as she did the same. Their hands brushed, Sashima drawing hers back quickly. "Sorry, you go first."

'His eyes,' the thoughts ran, 'are the same color as mine. But why--why doesn't he have anything to the sunlight? Red eyes are not too common, so why--it must be he has on sunlight-resistant contacts. Yes that must be it…'

As if reading her thoughts, he casually looked towards the sky. "This sun really is too bright. You should get sunlight-resistant contacts, like the ones I have."

"I suppose so…" Inwardly, she knew no pair of contacts would work as long as she had the demon blood.

For the next few minutes, they munched on their food silently, making little conversation. After about ten minutes, Xavier looked at his watch and did a start.

"I have to go--I'm late for an appointment!" Scrambling to his feet, he began to leave when he turned around. "I was wondering…would you like to get together some other time? Like next Saturday?"

"Of course," she blurted out before she could stop herself, and then rushed on, "what time?"

"How about I meet you at the ferry docks at 7:00? You know where that is?"

"Yeah I do…" she said, making a note to ask Bulma when she returned.

"Okay. I'll see you next Saturday then, Sashima!" With a wave of his hand, he was out the door and dashing down the crowded sidewalk, dodging the hoards of people.

"Oh Kami…" she muttered, now coming to realize what she had just done. "What in the world was I THINKING?"

She had never been on a date before.

* * * * *

In the shadows of a nearby alley, two figures stood, conversing with one another.

"How did it go?"

"Wonderful," the younger one smirked, leaning against the brick wall of the building. "I think our plan would do perfectly…"

* * * * *

"Bulma?" Sashima called from the front door when she returned later that afternoon. The reporters and cameramen had long since gone, and the front hall was nothing but silent.

"Oh Sashima, you're back!" Mrs. Briefs ushered into the hall from the kitchen, an apron on and a cutting knife in one hand, obviously making that night's dinner. "Bulma wants you to go to the main computer and research lab as soon as you came back."

"Thanks, Mrs. Briefs." Sashima smiled and turned to head back out the front doors.

"Won't you have something to drink before you go?" asked Mrs. Briefs, running back into the kitchen and grabbing an orange soda, thrusting it into Sashima's hands. "You must be thirsty!"

"Er…thanks again!" Sashima smiled sheepishly and put a hand to the back of her head. "Where's the main lab?"

"Take the main path straight to the end, dear, and it's that building with the extra big satellite on top of the roof," Mrs. Briefs replied pleasantly. "Be sure to come back in time for dinner!"

"Don't worry, I won't miss the chance for food!" Waving heartily, she exited the house and strolled along the path into the heart of the Capsule Corporation grounds. It was only about 5:00 P.M.; Sashima had returned earlier than expected for lack of better things to do, and the feeling that she had felt while having lunch with Xavier was still present. But alongside that though, was a pang of nervousness, and one that questioned the validity of her decision.

Something about him…just something about Xavier troubled her. He had been bleeding, bleeding to death it had seemed, and still he had managed to disappear so quickly and without a trace. The thugs had disappeared as well, in the same fashion. Then about two hours later he showed up, looking fine and in good condition--how did that work? They surely would've surely kept him much longer, she was sure of it. But no, she had to be foolish, foolish and stupid, to accept his date. Something about him was not to be trusted, yet she was attracted to him all the same. But it was too late now, wasn't it? She had already accepted, and the only thing left to do was to be on her guard whenever she was near him.

At the end of the pathway was the main lab of Capsule Corporation, a two-storied building with windows lined in neat rows. Through one of the windows on the ground-level, Sashima spied a flash of turquoise hair posed in front of a computer screen, who she was sure was Bulma.

She gave a sharp rap on the door. Presently, it was opened and a wearied-looking Bulma stepped out. "Oh you're back! How has your day been?" She inquired, forcing a tired smile.

"Hectic, but your mother told me you had something important to tell me, or it at least sounded like something important was going on…"

The two women stepped inside, Bulma leading Sashima to a complicated-looking computer near the back of the room, and took a seat. "I was trying to dig up information on Dr. Willis, like you suggested. There was nothing much I could find on him, at first--"

"Wait a second," Sashima broke in, taking a chair nearby. "Did Willis ever show up for work today?"

Frowning, Bulma shook her head. "No he never did, which adds more suspicion on him, but as I was looking onto the files, I came across some information that was highly disturbing."

Raising her eyebrows quizzically, Sashima watched carefully as Bulma opened a folder and pulled out several files. After closing some, Bulma scrolled down the current document that was open and took a deep breath.

"Read that paragraph." She pointed to a small section halfway down the page.

Sashima looked over at the words, and began reading aloud, " 'Paul Willis was an active doctor of the Meizano Institute of Health of Sciences for over ten years. As part of our team of doctors who studied in neurology, he had performed a total of six hundred and seventy nine surgeries, with no failures reported. Unfortunately, due to his own complications of the heart, he retired to live a peaceful life of his own. On March 2nd, he was admitted to a local hospital, where he died hours later from a resultant heart attack…' "

Sashima gulped, rereading the paragraph once more, then another time to make certain she was not imagining anything. Scrolling down the page, she finally found what she had been looking for.

"This article was written two years ago…"
_____________________________________________________________________________________

AN: The second half of Chapter 18 completed, but this isn't Chapter 18, so what am I saying? It's Chapter 19 for Heaven's sake! Yes and I spent another day without homework, yayness for me. I just love putting [ness] at the end of words, such coolness. J/K. It gets to be a usual thing…yeah. Also, I knew I mentioned like some sorta *cough* scene in Chapter 19 or 20, and I'm sorry yet again, but I decided to move that back a couple of chapters. But I promise, there will be SOMETHING at least.