Implied Odds

"Don't you just hate eating alone?" The soft voice spoke.

At first it all seemed so out of place. A foreigner trying to make friends with someone who for all she knew barely spoke English. After listening to the two strangers talk so openly about the runes, Nycole knew she had to learn more. So the young woman did the only thing she could think of. She tried to join him for lunch. Now she held her breath waiting on a reply.

"Doesn't everyone." The empath listened carefully to his words. But more then that the young woman listened to their true meaning. Nycole felt the resistance. She felt incorporeal walls surrounding his inner self. She felt distance and a grand canyon of hidden knowledge.

"I guess your right. I haven't been here long, but I guess social behaviors are the same anywhere." Nycole couldn't tell if she was trying to hard. With every attempt to get the young sandy brown haired to open up she felt she was walking blind. It was as if the walls were not his.

"My name is Sakaki." His voice reached out closing the distance just a little. She felt a great void within him. For one second, she could feel him. Then in the next, he was gone. His body remained. His mind was still here, but once again he was closed off to her.

"My name is Nycole. Would you like to have lunch together? It seems like my friend is not going to be showing up… and I have at least another hour or two before I am expected anywhere." She stumbled over her words. The woman cursed herself. She wasn't good at this. Picking up strange men with horrible pick up lines. She only hoped that it wasn't obvious.

She waited.

xxxx

Sakaki had never enjoyed eating alone. The isolation of the act always seemed to destroy the taste of the food. He would focus on the people around him wondering if they felt pity for him. He would wonder what they were like. Sometimes the young man would daydream about meeting some exotic woman.

Sometimes she was from the coast of Italy with long thick black hair and clear blue eyes. Sometimes she was American with honey sandy brown haired hair and sea green eyes. But today she was different. Today she was real. Today she was trying to meet him.

'What am I doing? I don't know her, but then again how many times does this happen to a person?'

"Since I have already ordered. Why don't you join me?" He offered as the waitress finally brought out his shrimp tempura. The sounds of rustling told him that she was gathering her stuff.

xxxx

Internally she gave a sigh of relief while she packed her book into her bag. Pulling herself out of the booth, Nycole did the best she could to smooth out her wayward hair. Suddenly very self conscious about her look she tried to ready herself for the part. It wouldn't be hard to act like the naive tourist type.

Mustering all the internal strength she had Nycole fought back the on coming signs of a headache. Putting an extra bounce in her step she made herself comfortable on the other side of the booth. With an all to natural easy she placed a smile on her face ready to learn what he knew about the runes.

Finally looking at the young man she couldn't help, but find him fairly attractive. His light brown hair hung down to wear she assumed his jacket collar would come to. He wore a simple green t-shirt with a strange cross pendant, which seemed to herald his faith. It was only when the young man caught her staring at it that she blushed slightly.

"I am sorry it is such a unique piece of jewelry. I have never seen a cross before that had a liquid in it. The jeweler must have been a real visionary." She admitted. It was an amazing piece. She had to admit if she practiced the faith it would be something she too would wear.

"Thank you." Sakaki responded without really thinking about it.

The young male seemed to be studying her as diligently as she was him. Without trying to draw to much attention to the act, Nycole allowed her eyes to fall out of focus. She allowed her gifts to expand around her simply feeling out the emotions in the area around her.

It was a part of her Craft that used to torture her. It was the ability to feel the inner most workings of a person. Only without control it was like listening to multiple radios all set to different stations. Now almost a decade later, Nycole finally knew how to listen and only hear one song. And that is exactly what she would do. She wanted to hear this man's song.

Suddenly the cross began to glow. Alarmed Nycole snapped back into herself. The empath became painfully aware of how she must have looked. Quickly her hands shot up over her nose and she faked a sneeze.

'What on earth? His necklace began to glow! It stopped when I did. Is he one of the hunters the other witches talked about? Is that why he is intressed in the runes?'

"Bless you. Didn't you say you were knew here?" The brunette asked trying to start conversation.

"Yes. I moved here about three months ago from America." For now Nycole put the strange necklace out of her mind.

'I will just have to do this the old fashion way.' The empath thought.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, why Kabukichu? I mean this isn't somewhere known for its tourist locations."

"I work around here. I am a performer at one of the local clubs." Nycole watched him. His eyes widened. He seemed to suddenly look her up and down. The look of confusion in his eyes mirrored that of a man whose math just wouldn't add up. It was only then that she connected the dots that even someone without her unique abilities would have been able to see.

"No." She said rather startled. "Let me rephrase that… I am a stage performer at one of the local bars. I work with dexterity toys. I am one of the dancers who use glow sticks and poi to entertain the patrons. I guess I should have been more specific." She seemed to fumble around her words. She didn't mean to imply that she was a stripper. Sometimes things came out and as harmless as they were she knew they were rarely taken that way. Her cheeks flushed a little more as she sipped her warm tea.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I have heard of people doing that. I don't go to clubs myself, but I do go to the movies. I have to say you are probably pretty talented if it is anything like the movies make it out to be." He replied. Nycole could tell he was trying to ease the air between them. She was thankful for the very covering nature of her outfit.

"So what do you do?" She looked up and into his eyes. The soft hazel color betrayed his child-like nature. She wondered how he was mixed up in all of this stuff.

"You could say I am a private detective. I am working a case around here." She knew instinctively that he was trying to change the subject. It wasn't that he seemed alarmed at her interest only that he was uninterested in talking about it.

"That must be exciting. I used to watch movies all the time about private eyes. Their lifestyles always seemed so amazing. The gunfights, strange and exotic women, treasure, and saving people from the bad guys. I know it probably isn't like that, but I figure they had to get the idea from somewhere." Nycole tried to lead the conversation without putting the man on the defensive. She needed to get the man comfortable talking about his job.

A small smile crossed Sakaki's lips. And Nycole had to admit she liked it. If only she was here to really get to know this man, but she wasn't. Right now it was her job to learn what they knew. It was her job to help protect the whole.

"Sometimes it's like that. But mostly it is talking to victims. You hear a lot of sad stories that way." Sakaki glanced around looking for a waitress. Spotting one he gave a small nod letting her know he needed assistance. Quickly she made her way through a sea of tables. The young woman pulled out a pad of paper ready to take an order.

The one costume that was the same in both cultures was letting women order first. It was comforting. With the extremely different cultures, it was hard to find her footing.

"I would like an two orders of Ebi and an order of Ama Ebi." With a very slight up turn of her chin, she felt confident in the small things she knew. Granted it was one of two things she knew to order, but she wanted to look good in front of this private eye.

"I take it you like shrimp?" The detective asked showing his curiosity.

"I do. It was a delicacy that you couldn't find except in one sushi bar back home." Nycole admitted.

Her eyes lowered from his. She wasn't listening to him as he talked to the waitress. No. She was studying the crude drawings on the small spiral notebook. It laid open to the page that the woman had drawn the runes on. Nycole had to admit it was rather sloppy of the detective to leave it laid open like that. I mean how did he know others weren't studying the runes as well. Let alone that the one witch who helped create them wasn't sitting across from him.

She gave a small approving smile to herself as she studied them. They were the ones. They were her runes. Well not only hers. This belonged to Raven, but the energy that fueled them was her gift. And she couldn't help but feel a pang of maternal nature when she looked at them. These were her children to that helped her pack. It was only when he reached over and shut the book that she realized how much she had been staring.

"I am sorry. They caught my attention and I was trying to figure out what they were." Nycole announced trying to sound convincing. With a sheepish grin she looked down at her lap.

'If he is really following the case he is going to end up in over his head. And more then that I don't need him snooping around Nocturne.' She ran several scenarios through in her head. It was only when she had a course of action that she looked up.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It is just they are involved in the case I am following. I am not sure what they are myself." The young male admitted.

Nycole was happy to see the waitress returning. With a glance down at her watch she knew she was beginning to push it. It was almost three in the afternoon, and soon the others would wake up. The young server placed the sushi plate in front of her. With a slight bow the woman retreated from the table. Gracefully Nycole plucked a rice roll off the plate in front of her. She settled back into the booth.

The empath had to admit she enjoyed talking to someone new. It was a slightly strained conversation or at least it seemed to be. It had been years since she had talked to someone without being able to know exactly how the person felt about her. This was different. She couldn't hear his mind nor could she feel his heart. Nycole had to admit she liked the mystery.

" If you will excuse me for a moment." Sakaki said as he finished his cup of green tea. Removing his napkin he slid out of the booth.

This was her chance. Nycole's heart leapt into her chest. Moving quickly she pulled out enough cash to cover her meal and his. It was the least she could do. Then with a final motion she swept up her bags and the spiral notebook. Silently she prayed he would forgive her. This wasn't like her, but she needed to keep him away from the runes and the club as long as she could.

With that last thought she rushed through the restaurant. Pushing her way through the door the turned in the direction of Nocturne. Deciding it would be best to stay off the main street, she decided to return back down the ally. The folds of her skirt billowed behind her as she rushed down the little pathway.

For a second her mind slipped back to Sakaki. She thought about the way his hair flopped slightly into his deep violet eyes. Nycole pushed herself away from the thought. He was just a guy. No, worse he was a normal guy. And that was a line she wasn't allowed to cross.

xxxx

Disappointment spread across Sakaki's face as he made his way out of the little hallway. Scanning the restaurant he realized his lunch companion was gone.

'Was it something I said?' Running through the conversation in his head he scanned every detail. After a few moments the young man was still as confused as before. Winding his way through the chairs he made his way back to the booth.

Slightly defeated he sat back in the booth. He just didn't get women. One minute they seem like they are completely into you. The next moment they seem distant as if they are in their own little world. And the moment you take your eyes off of them they run away. He just didn't get them.

Reaching for his glass of water, Sakaki took note of the money that had been left on the table. Reaching out he pulled it all closer to him. Trying to make sense of the small pile he smoothed out the slips of paper. It was only when he was done he noticed the total.

"Silly American, she left too much. She must still be getting used to our money." He shook his head. Then reached for the bill.

"I guess she is not that silly after all." Sakaki muttered to himself.

Checking the time on his watch he decided it was time for him to return to Raven's Flat. It was only then that he noticed the empty space on the table. Leaning back he glanced under the table to see if it had fallen out of sight. Internally he sighed.

'Nothing I can do right now, but the next time I see you it will be very different.' Annoyed with his relaxed attitude Sakaki made a little promise. He would find the redheaded American again and demand to know what she knew.