The following morning Shinobu is awoken by the familiar voice of her friend Jessica. "Do you make it a habit of sleeping in your underwear?" Jessica teases her as she sits on Shinobu's bed, Shinobu finds her self blushing at the predicament that she has gotten herself into and scrambles into the bathroom in order to shower and dress.
Jessica lets out a laugh as she notices the large brown bear's face which dances seductively as Shinobu runs into the bathroom. Thirty minutes later, Shinobu finds herself sitting at a table in the front of a Starbuck's seeping coffee, on Santa Monica's world famous 3rd street promenade.
"I thought that you were going to spend the entire weekend with your family?" Shinobu asks, as she sips her coffee, something which she finds bitter and strong, but still she drinks it. "Yeah, that got boring fast, so I left and now I'm hanging out with my new friend." Jessica answers as she takes a large sip of her string black coffee. "Man, I love this damn stuff!" Jessica comments as she gulps down the strong black brew.
"I prefer tea." Shinobu comments of hand, as she scans the surrounding area. "Yeah, that and teddy bear panties." Jessica giggles, Shinobu blushes but her eyes continue to roam up and down the streets. Shinobu stare stops cold on one man in particular. She cannot believe what she sees before her, she even finds herself rubbing her eyes just to reassure herself that her mind is not playing tricks with her.
Exactly across the street, slowly enjoying taking puffs of the small cigarette that lies limply between his lips, and reading the current version of the Los Angeles Times is the same man that was in her bedroom the night before. She can had almost convinced herself that it had all been a very bad dream, that it had nothing more than a nightmare, but now as she saw those same piercing silver eyes as they zoom over the tiny black letters of the newspaper she could not deny that what had happened was very much real, and that he had been her savior.
"If you stare any harder, your eyeballs may come out." Jessica speaks breaking Shinobu's deep train of thought, Shinobu blushes as she suddenly realizes that she has been caught staring at a man that she does not know. "He's kind of cute though, let's go talk to him." Jessica giggles as she rises from her chair quickly and tugs on Shinobu's arms urging her to join in.
"Ah…I don't know." Shinobu stammers as she tries to remain firmly on the chair. "I promise, it's going to be fun!" Jessica continues to giggle as she pulls on Shinobu's arm that much harder. Finally Shinobu gives in to Jessica's pleas and rises from her seat slowly, her face as read a cherry from embarrassment. Once again she wished that Keitaro or Motoko, or even Naru were here to protect her.
As Jessica and Shinobu get closer and closer to where the stranger is still slowly taking small puffs of his cigarette, the small voice in the back of Shinobu's head screams at her to turn back, but before she has the chance to utter her concerns, Jessica opens her mouth and shouts at the man who is now only a few feet away from where they stand. "Hey tall dark and gloomy, don't you know that smoking is bad for your health." She giggles as both she and Shinobu arrive at the table.
Not waiting for the stranger to answer, Jessica sits herself at the seat next to him, and once again speaks to him. "So what's up chicken butt?" Jessica giggles as she gives a small playful slap on the stranger's shoulder. Shinobu is in utter shock, she had heard that American girls were more open, but this was far beyond anything that she had ever imagined.
Shinobu simply stands there, completely awestruck at the things that her new found friend was doing and saying to a perfect stranger. After a few moments of Jessica's constant questions and groupings the stranger lifts his face from behind the newspaper.
Shinobu is taken aback once again, he can't be more than 20 yrs, old, yet the large dark rings around his cloudy silver eyes tell of a lifetime of sorrow and pain. His light brown skin is riddled with tiny scars, from what, Shinobu would rather not think about. "I hoped that you would go away if I ignored you, Jess, but since that doesn't seem to be working, what's so important that you had to bother me on my day off." The stranger flashes a lopsided grin to Jessica, which she instantly returns, rising from her chair in sheer delight.
"I want you to meet someone!" she giggles as she throws her arms around the unsuspecting Shinobu. "Shinobu, meet Michael Angelus, the head of our school's security." Turning to Michael who has already risen from the table, "Michael, meet Shinobu Maehara exchange student from Japan." She giggles. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Shinobu bows, blushing greatly as she does so, her English suddenly becoming extremely accented.
"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you." Michael returns her bow, his Japanese as flawless as before. "Hey you never told, me that you spoke Japanese." Jessica pouts as she takes a mock swing at Michael face. Michael only smiles at the much smaller girl, "You never asked." He answers smiling.
Shinobu notes that Michael is a giant of a man standing at least six feet tall, his body slender yet very muscular, he does not wear his long black trench coat this day, but wears a pair of black slacks and an equally black dress shirt. His dark red sun glasses hang neatly from the shirt's pocket. "So this is Shinobu Maehara, I have been looking for you." He smiles to Shinobu as he places his hand lightly into his shirt pocket and removes a small letter, handing in Shinobu.
Shinobu blushes, as Michael hands her the letter, and becomes very excited when she sees that her name has been written in Keitaro's unique handwriting. She can almost imagine Naru as she sends Keitaro far into orbit, for writing her name like that, she cannot help but giggle as she thinks this. "It seems that our young friend here is physic or something, she hasn't opened the letter yet and already she is laughing, I'm amazed." Michael comments as he looks down at the giggling Shinobu.
Shinobu instantly stops her giggling, blushes and open the letter quickly, hoping not to draw anymore attention to her self. Shinobu tries hard not to let the surprise that comes to her from reading the letter that Keitaro has written not become to obvious on her face, but as hard as she tries she cannot accomplish this.
"Looks like Shinobu received some very good news!" giggles Jessica as she jumps around for no reason whatsoever, something which reminds Shinobu very much of her good friend Su who although is older than she, acts like a little child, and she is strangely comforted by the fact that she has meet someone like Jessica so far from her home. Shinobu can no longer contain her excitement, as she speaks. "There coming today, there coming today." She screams happily, and soon stops her gleeful display as both Michael and Jessica flash her questioning looks.
"Um.. sorry..!" she bows, blushing brightly. "My friends Keitaro Urishima and Motoko Aoyama are coming from Japan to visit me today." She answers a large smile erupting upon her face as she does so. "There planning to meet at the school or something?" Michael asks after a few moments of thinking the situation over in his head.
"No I'm supposed meet them at the airport." Shinobu gasps as she realizes what she had just said. "The letter said that there plane would be landing around, 3:00 pm." Shinobu says the tears welling up in her eyes. "Well it's already 2:30; I hope that you can fly." Jessica answers seriously for a moment.
Shinobu is on the verge of crying, she can think of no way that she can get to the airport in time to meet her beloved Sempai and Motoko. "Michael can take us he has a car!" Jessica screams, "Hey, aren't you assuming that I want to take to the airport?" Michael asks as Shinobu tries to hold back the tears which have begun to blur her vision.
"Whoa, chica, you don't have to cry, I was only kidding." Michael says as he wipes a lone tear from Shinobu delicate cheek. Shinobu's face instantly lights up as she realizes that she will be able to see her friends after all, blushing brightly from Michael's touch.
"Let's go ladies, before I change my mind" he laughs as he leads the two young girls towards the mall parking lot to where his car is parked. In a few minutes all three are in Michael's black, 1978, Z-28 Camaro, zooming down the 405 freeway with unbelievable speed.
Shinobu can't help smile as she sits in the back seat of the car watching the other cars fly by. She was hoping that Keitaro would come, and somehow even though he was a married man he had managed to not disappoint her.
It took about twenty minutes to find the terminal that the Motoko and Keitaro were leaving from, partly for the reason that neither Shinobu nor Michael could make out Keitaro's sad attempt at writing. "What did this guy do, write with his feet!" Michael says frustrated after a few minutes of hopelessly looking at the paper before him.
"Actually I think it would neater if he wrote with his feet." Shinobu giggles, placing her hand delicately over her mouth. "Hey, I heard that!" comes a familiar voice, from somewhere behind Shinobu, his English is thickly accented but his message is understood nonetheless.
Shinobu turns around, and her face glows with delight as she encounters both Motoko and Keitaro there hands full of luggage and huge smiles across there faces. Shinobu can no longer contain her excitement, she runs towards Keitaro, her arms outstretched and tears of joy running down her face. Keitaro instantly drops his luggage, and takes the crying Shinobu into his arms and places a loving kiss upon the young girl's cheek.
"Damn Keitaro!" Motoko says in a tired voice. "If that's all I needed to do to get a kiss from you, I would have done it long ago!" she laughs, as she too embraces the young Shinobu. Removing the tears from her cheeks, Shinobu quickly turns and faces Michael and Jessica, who stand around like two children which have lost there way. "Oh..sorry! Keitaro, Motoko I would like you to meet my roommate Jessica Crimson and the school's head of security Mr. Michael Angelus, he gave me a ride to the airport just now." She says introducing her new friends to her old ones.
"Heya, you got any food in there?" Jessica asks hopeful that the answer could be yes, "Is food all you thing about, Jess, don't you eat enough food from the school cafeteria?" Michael laughs, as both Motoko and Keitaro think how this new American girl reminds them so much of the young princess Su, down to her cravings for food.
Sensing the silence that is beginning to grow around the group, Michael quickly breaks the silence. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Michael bows speaking to them in Japanese. "Wow, your Japanese is great!" Keitaro says quite impressed by Michael's knowledge of his language. "Now if only you could speak English as well as he speaks Japanese." Motoko mocks Keitaro as he places a loving hand upon his shoulder.
Michael cannot help but laugh at this. Motoko gives Michael a vicious stare, taking his laughter to be an insult against her. "Don't you dare laugh at me or Keitaro!" she screams angrily, taking a swing directly at the taller man's head. Michael grasps Motoko's fist in his own, as if her attack was nothing more that the slap of a child. " I meant to offence, Aoyama-san, I was laughing out of jealousy, because it seems that Urishima-san is quiet the lady's man, if he is able to make such radiant and gorgeous creatures as you and the young Meahara-san swoon over him so easily." He answers in a calmed voice, realizing her hand, and flashing a lopsided grin.
Keitaro, Motoko, and Shinobu, all find themselves blushing at Michaels' comments. "Well, he's an idiot, clumsy and a pervert, not to mentioned married, but we love him anyway." Motoko smiles back at Michael. Keitaro glows even brighter with Motoko's comment. "Hey, people no offense, but do you mind speaking in English I have no idea what you people are saying." Jessica screams in frustration at being held out of there conversation.
"Okay, Okay." Michael pats the young Jessica on the head his speech returning to English as she asked, "Hey, you must be hungry, how about we go to this great burger place that I know around here, my treat." Michael smiles at the group and they all accept not wanting to offend him.
So they get into his car, which has suddenly become much more cramped they head to have some lunch. It is isn't until late afternoon that the group finally finds they way back home, dropping off Motoko and Keitaro at there Hotel, promising to return tomorrow in the morning to continue there sight seeing adventure, Shinobu, Jessica and Michael head back to the school grounds.
"Aren't we going to get into trouble for being out this late?" Shinobu asks in a worried voice, as Michael pulls into the parking lot. "Don't worry about, you were with me, and who would be a better bodyguard than the head of the school's security?" Michael comments as he helps both Shinobu and Jessica out of the car.
"Yeah, that's the greatest excuse that I never thought of!" Jessica laughs as she skips off towards her dorm room, leaving Shinobu alone with Michael in the darkened parking lot. "Meahara-san we need to talk." Michael voice has taken on a very serious tone, which frightens Shinobu.
"About?" she asks weakly, as Michael slowly removes a cigarette from his shirt pocket and lights, taking a large huff of the cigarette before he continues to speak. "About what happened last night." Michael says slowly as the smoke begins to leave his nostrils like a slow winding snake leaving its burrow.
At hearing this Shinobu stops dead in her tracks, she had almost convinced herself that it had only been a nightmare, but when she heard Michael utters those words she could no longer deny herself the truth, something horrible had happened back in that room and he had saved her from it.
"Look kid, I know that you don't want to hear this, but last night did happen it wasn't a bad dream, that asshole Jose tried to rape you." Michael says taking another long puff of his cigarette. "What was he though?" Shinobu asks, terrified about hearing the answer but curious to now it all the same.
"He was a vampire, plain and simple, he was hungry and he thought that you would make a tender morsel." Michael answers without so much as looking at Shinobu. Shinobu cannot believe the things that he is saying, what he says can't be true she thinks to herself, yet somewhere deep inside her, she knows that he is telling the truth and decides to believe him for reasons which she cannot truly understand herself.
"Look, Meahara-san I know that this is a lot of for you too swallow but it's true, I wish I could have stopped him before he had entered the room, that way you would have been spared all this." Michael says clearly blaming himself for what happened to the young girl.
"It wasn't you fault, but how did you know that he was in there in the first place, or that he was a vampire for that matter?" Shinobu asks him after a few minutes silence. "I've been tracking him and the rest of his clan for some time know, I managed to track him and the other two here to Santa Monica, when I found out that he had become a teacher, I quickly got a job here myself, so that I could kill him more easily." Michael answers his voice still very serious and cold.
"Are you some kind of vampire hunter or something?" Shinobu asks, accepting the story which he has told her. "No Maehara-san, I'm just a guy out for revenge." Michael says as they step out of the parking at into the night. "Look Maehara-san I really want you to know is that what happened do you last night won't ever happen again, I promise you that, I won't rest until I have all there heads mounted on my wall." Michael says, his anger which he felt betrayed in his voice.
"You should go to bed now it's getting kind of late and you have to get up early, to go visit your friends." Michael smiles at her, making Shinobu blush brightly. She begins to make her way quickly towards her dorm. "Will you join us too?" Shinobu turns and asks Michael. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Meahara-san." He answers smiling, "Please call me Shinobu." She replies with a smile.
"As you wish, Shinobu-san." He answers, dropping his cigarette on the floor and stomping on it with one large black boot.
AN: Sorry about taking so long to add another chapter to the story, I have very busy as of late, I hope that you all enjoy it and I thanks to Baka-Alaskan for all the great reviews, hopefully I won't this long in uploading the next chapter, later!