The inside of the building seemed mundane. There was a rune over the bar, but it seemed merely a decoration. There wasn't anything here. Sakaki looked around the crowd. It was nothing more then club. Turning towards the door the hunter pushed his way out. The hunter lost his prey in the night. He came to this club looking for the coven behind the scarring. And now he would leave without them.

"Okay now. I am glad you are having fun, but I am not the one to have fun with." The girl's voice came from behind him. Pausing Sakaki looked over his shoulder.

"You look fun to me."

The fairy fought against the mortal who seemed to have captured her. The scene seemed to have sprung alive from child's novel. Sakaki was not a knight in shining armor. He didn't own a horse. But he did fight the bad guys. And right now it didn't matter if the bad guy wasn't a witch. He storm in and save the princess.

"Hey. How about you let the girl go? She doesn't seem to be in a playful mood." Sakaki screamed over the music.

"Look my fairy. Go find your own." The man called as he turned the girl to face the detective. His hand moved from the girl's stomach up to her throat. Sakaki's caught the shocked look on the girl's face.

"I am only going to tell you one more time. Let the girl go now and I promise I will just let you go." The man stood taller then Sakaki and almost a foot taller then the fairy. His eyes locked with the brutes. The hunter could see the wheels turning in his head. Focusing in harder Sakaki held his ground.

"Bitch isn't worth all of this shit." Disgusted the man wound his fingers through her deep red hair. Taking the only trophy the man could he put his mouth to the girl's then shoved her forward violently.

xxxx

Nycole tried to catch her balance as the villain pushed her into Sakaki. On the other hand trying did not always mean doing. And right now the girl couldn't argue that fact. Nycole had tried many things in her life. A stint in the musical realm left her with nothing more then the voice she already owned to sooth other people. Nycole learned to paint epic scenes with words and not the set of oil paints she had left behind. And right now the empath cursed her self for not sticking with her gymnastics lessons. And so she fell upon her detective in a grand tangle of limbs.

Nycole didn't want to look at him. She didn't need to be a mind reader to hear the string of obscenities running through Sakaki's head. So the girl pulled her self up trying to regain any sense of dignity she had left to her. The man grabbed her, fondled her, and then shoved her away like piece of chocolate gone bad. But that was okay he would get his in the end. She looked at the rune that hung unnoticed over the bar. To the unobservant it merely looked like one of the dance floor lights shown on it. But to the witch it glowed with a slight ruby coloring that herald her revenge. He would burn for his actions. The empath smiled.

It wasn't that she enjoyed the pain of others. She hated pain in all its forms. Physical clung to the body then eventually ebbed leaving the carrier stronger. But emotional pain clung to the soul like black, stick venom destroying everything in its path.

As an empath she was born to heal. It was her sacred duty to ease the suffering of others, to share their pain. And Nycole took this seriously. But more then that Nycole believed in protecting those who needed it. There were people in this world that didn't have a problem destroying the lives of others. And this man was obviously one of them. So she took great pride in knowing his sins would be accounted for.

But right now Nycole had to deal with a detective who was in over his head. Right now it was Sakaki that needed protecting. The girl looked up slightly sheepishly.

'I wonder if he recognizes me?' The empath thought to herself.

"It would seem you are my savior. Let me by you a drink." She leaned into slightly so he could better hear her.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" The man's voice echoed the concern on his face.

"I am fine, but please let me return the favor. Follow me." Nycole said as she pulled him towards the bar. Her hand slipped around his wrist allowing her glimpses into the man's soul. She allowed his feelings of relief and concern wash over her like rain on a hot day. He honestly cared.

It wasn't that fact that this young detective cared that shocked the empath. It was the fact that she wasn't surprised. This man, Sakaki, was an honest person. Nycole could look at his face and tell that. It was his honesty, his genuine heart that she wanted to protect.

Slipping onto one of the open stools at the end of the bar Nycole flagged down Geoff. The visage of a hardened bartender faded leaving the teddy bear of a man she called brother. No one in the rag tag band of miscreants shared a family line.

People will tell you that blood is thicker then water. And it is. But family was not always defined by blood. The blood in her veins did not save her when she awakened. The blood in her veins didn't stop her parents from torturing her to "cast the demons out." And the blood in her veins did not stop them from sending her to the local convent. No, it had been her true family that had saved her.

"You okay? Why aren't you on the platforms?" Geoff screamed over the music.

"I am fine thanks to my new protector. But I would love you forever if you could get me a bottle of water and whatever he wants. I will explain when it is not so noisy." Nycole said as she leaned over the bar.

"What can I get you?" He shot the younger male a confused look.

"Um… how about a coke." The young detective responded.

With his mission in hand the bartender set out. Nycole watched as he took orders, filled, and made change. Geoff's ability to keep all the orders straight in his hand always amazed the young girl. After the wave of people disappeared back into the dance floor he returned with three drinks in tow.

"You getting into trouble?" Geoff asked.

All she could offer him in reply was a sheepish grin and a shrug. She didn't go looking for trouble. Nycole didn't have to most of the time it came looking for her. So in her mind, at least, she wasn't lying. Geoff sighed. He didn't seem to believe her anymore then she believed herself. And it was fair. The now bartender had known her for five years now. Half of that time had been spent sharing a home.

Geoff knew her. The man had seen some of her more outlandish schemes. He was there for the aftermath of the attempted download. The bartender had been one of the few who had kept her from loosing her mind to the visions. It was the only time the empath/telepath had ever tried to share Kathain's gift. It was also the first times she realized people who can bare the gifts do. And those who can't don't.

She slipped closer to the young detective.

"So what brings you to Nocturne tonight? This doesn't seem like your kinda club." The empath started.

"I was looking for someone. But I guess she is not here." He was lying. She could hear the filth coming off of the words as he spoke them.

"My good fortune. How about you let me slip out of these wings and join me on the floor? I was getting bored on the platforms." She wanted to stay close to her new friend. Tugging at the fastenings under her shirt, Nycole managed to liberate the wings. Twisting, pulling, and tugging she pulled the gossamer contraption from her back.

xxxx

Sakaki watched the girl shuck away parts of her costuming. The young hunter sought a swift retreat from this den of desire. On the other hand he was now being asked to stay. To stay by a woman in the one place he came to seek answers. This moment would have been a coincident in any other life, but for Sakaki it could have been a lead. Or so he told himself. So he stayed.

There were witches out, witches who burned markings into the flesh of their victims. He came to nocturne tonight to find these heathens. It wasn't that he was a religious man. He believed in protecting the innocent, fighting the good fight, and being a good person. However, he didn't believe you had to be Christian to do any of that.

So when offered Sakaki took the girl's hand, her soft creamy skin touching his. The young hunter allowed this new damsel to lead him out into another world. Life in the STN-J seemed hollow. Wake up, eat, follow a seed or witch, capture and secure, sleep, then start over. At the moment it all seemed like a prison to him. It was all some sort of toxic cycle without a chance to really live. Sakaki was more then a hunter. He was a man. And tonight he was a protector of fairies.

The young sprite pulled him in to the center of the floor. The crowd seemed to pull back from them showing the performer respect. Throwing her arms open wide the girl called to him. The girl's hips and waist snaked back and forth.

Sakaki watched in amazement, as the young sprite's dance suddenly resembled that of the belly dancers. Her arms called to him then wound themselves in and out of her hair. She called to him and he joined. Sakaki lost himself in the heavy thumping of the music. The smells of flesh, incenses, and smoke filled his lungs. Sakaki's eyes closed allowing the man to drift further away from this world. He could feel her hands suddenly on his shoulders. The fairy was pulling him towards her.

It was only when he felt his weight being pulled off balance, that Sakaki reopened his eyes. Her face seemed to be contorted into a look of shock and rage. The girl pulled the hunter down on to the floor beside her.