A/N – Ah another chapter. Thanks to the reviewers, ya'll know who you are. I appreciate each and every review.
Disclaimer – I don't own Pocahontas. I don't own RK. If I did, I'd be writing episodes, not fanfiction.
Silver Cross
Chapter 15 – Tomoe Yukishiro, Part 2
Darn Shirley Temple, she's making all the money.
So? It's because she's cute.
You call that cute! Just because she's got
curly blonde hair. Ha! I've got spiked brown hair and look
what that did for me. She's a witch.
What'd she ever do to you?
She wouldn't sign an autograph for me and my girl
really wanted one.
She's just a kid, Sano, and
you're not the best looking adult out there. She was probably
scared of you.
Scared of me? Hey, I'm
cuter than her! She's the scary one!
"Yeah, and get one for my friend as well. He's in the restroom."
Kaoru watched as the man took off the jacket of his suit as he talked and placed it on the chair behind him, revealing a pale green dress shirt. He undid a few buttons on the collar of his shirt. If nothing else, he was a good dresser, Kaoru thought as she placed two waters from the tray she'd been holding onto the table. The close cut of the suit showed off his slim profile, accentuating each muscle. He certainly was a lady killer. It was really too bad he was a vampire or she might have felt more at ease around him when he flashed her a rather insolent smile.
Kaoru held back a shudder and placed a menu on the table in front of him and one across for his friend. She smiled politely, which wasn't very hard considering she'd had a couple hours to practice. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order, sir."
The man nodded and turned his eyes away, dismissing her in an instant in favor of watching the performer on stage. Kaoru sighed inwardly and walked back towards the kitchen to retrieve an order for another table. She knew only a couple hours had passed, but for the life of her, it felt like a couple days.
Once she reached the kitchen, the cook told her five more minutes, so she decided to check on her customers. She my as well go for some tips since Ken didn't provide her with spending money. Just as Kaoru was about to venture into the main floor of the restaurant again, she caught a glimpse of a face she'd never thought she would ever see again.
Hoping he hadn't seen her, she ducked behind a huge fern plant, hoping against hope that he hadn't seen her. She watched intently as he sat down at the table of her newest customer, picked up the menu, and proceeded to study it. Kaoru studied him for a few moments, not caring how ridiculous her behavior might seem to the people in the kitchen. To her dismay, she came to the same conclusion. It was the same vampire from Club Shinta, the one who'd interviewed her for the job of contact while he and his friend were on vacation. Not for the first time, Kaoru wondered what had happened after she and Ken had escaped from the club. She hoped for her sake that the vampire hadn't been too put out when she'd fled. If he had been, that made it all the more likely that he would recognize her. Kaoru cursed her big mouth. Why hadn't she acted more meek back at the club, less memorable?
Darkness crept into her thoughts as she remembered the most important detail of that evening: that these men, well at least one of them, worked for the dark one. If the interviewer recognized her he'd put two and two together and figure out that she'd been a spy. And then… Kaoru didn't dare finish that sentence. True, Saitou had been assigned to protect her, but it would still be two against one. Plus, Kaoru wasn't at all sure how valiantly Saitou would fight to save her when he hadn't wanted to watch over her in the first place. And they were the dark one's men. Even if Saitou managed to fight them off the first time, they would surely have reinforcements. Granted, Saitou would have a few vampires at his disposal as well, but Kaoru had no doubt as to who would win in the end. She wasn't all that Ken on meeting the dark one without Ken behind her all the way, preferably in front of her.
Kaoru cast around frantically for another waitress. If she begged and forked over the money from her tips, she could probably persuade a girl to take an extra table. Then she would have a better chance of avoiding the notice of the dark one's followers. Typically, there were no waitresses within a hundred feet of her.
"Hey, new girl, your order's ready," the cook yelled.
Kaoru fairly dove away from the plant and towards the relative safety of the kitchen. She didn't want to take the chance that one of the men could have heard, and there was no way she wanted them to notice her.
"Don't let Ayame catch you still unless you're on break," the cook advised in low tones. "She'll fire you on the spot just to set an example."
Kaoru wanted to grumble that she wasn't even getting paid, so therefore she wasn't technically hired and that she could care less what Ayame thought when her life was in danger, but she swallowed her pride and managed to nod gravely. Arguing with Ken and Saitou, not to mention the effort it took to not argue with a few picky customers, had worn her out. She had more pressing matters to worry about than a cook or Ayame catching her slacking.
Taking up the tray of food and squaring her shoulders, Kaoru summoned up the nerve to walk away from the kitchens and peer around the giant fern. Dismayed, Kaoru realized that to serve the food she was presently holding, she would have to walk past the table where the dark one's men sat. True, the man she'd recognized was sitting with his back to her, but that was about the only thing that counted in her favor. Hoping he wouldn't happen to turn and see her, she pasted a fake smile on her face and prayed.
Have you ever seen the wolf cry to the blue corn
moon?
Nani?!
For whether we are white or copper skinned, we need
to sing with all the voices of the mountain, we need to paint with all
the colors of the wind.
I knew I shouldn't have let you drink this much.
Pocahontas was hot in that movie. What'd John
Smith do to get her?
Sano, all that happened before you were born.
You can paint with all the colors of the wind.
Ken hesitated, if the man was inexperienced, he could probably disarm him with only a shallow gash across his throat. On the other hand, it was unnerving him that he hadn't sensed another vampire in the house. The man obviously knew how to hide his ki when he wanted to, that spoke of a warrior. There was no telling how old the man was, he could be centuries older than Ken, in which case he would be seasoned in battle and Ken had no chance of attempting to escape without it resulting in decapitation. But if he dropped his katana he would be defenseless and at the mercy of Tomoe, who would soon get around to torturing him slowly and painfully with the aid of the katana owner. Ken decided to risk decapitation. Knowing Tomoe, it was much more likely that this was a young vampire who had just been turned and was still dependant on her for survival. In which case, Ken could disarm him and be master of his own destiny once again.
"It's blessed silver. Drop your katana," the man said, drawing the blade close so that it touched Ken's throat. The burning started. Maybe if it hadn't been silver, Ken could have risked disobeying the command, but it was, and he had no choice but to do as the man ordered. He had Kaoru to think of. If he didn't come back he didn't want to know what would happen to her, and he wouldn't be able to stop the dark one and avenge Sano.
Reluctantly, Ken let his sword clatter to the ground, the impact of its falling muffled by the thick carpet. There went his hope of finishing Tomoe in a timely fashion. The slight smirk was fading from her face until it was gone as abruptly as it had come. Ken supposed she was above smirks in any case. The expression hadn't looked quite right on her features.
"He's probably got a wakizashi as well," Tomoe informed the man behind her coolly. She drew away from the wall she'd been standing against and took a few slow steps towards Ken and his assailant.
"Draw it and drop it," the male voice instructed. "Tomoe, get a chair so he can sit." Tomoe looked vaguely displeased to be ordered around, but disappeared from Ken's view to do as the man had asked.
The burning sensation from the katana at his throat was starting to get to him, Ken noted with dismay as he slowly drew his wakizashi and let it fall to the ground in front of him on top of his katana. In the back of his mind, Ken wondered how long the wound would take to heal. Then he realized he had more immediate issues to worry about, such as if it would get the chance to heal. A chair shoved his legs just behind his knees and his legs gave out, forcing him to fall back. Luckily, he landed on the chair and the owner of the katana had managed not to chop off his head in the process. The man drew the katana slightly back so that it wasn't touching Ken's skin and walked around from behind to face him.
Ken had never seen him before in his life. The man was obviously of Japanese descent, with black hair and brown eyes. Ken estimated him to be a couple inches taller than himself, and though he held his katana in a well-practiced stance, he would be no match for Ken in an all-out battle. The man strove to appear stern and relaxed, but to Ken he came off as slightly nervous and tense. He had probably been turned recently. The man was not comfortable in his body, a fact which lent Ken another advantage. He had expected an old enemy to be allied with Tomoe, not a vampire hatchling. Perhaps the circumstances weren't as dire as he'd thought.
"Well Ken, I think introductions are in order," Tomoe said dryly as she entered Ken's field of vision from the left. She stopped a foot away from the unknown man. "This is Akira Kiyosato. He's the man following me around at the moment." She paused to cover her mouth as she yawned. "Akira is quite happy to fill the roll you shunned all those years ago."
Ken felt his eyes widen despite his best efforts to keep a straight face. He looked at the man with a katana to his throat in a new light. Just as she had charmed Ken over two hundred years ago, Tomoe had walked into this man's life and taken control, overwhelming him with her refined personality. At the time, it had hardly seemed possible to Ken that this woman could want anything to do with him, let alone a relationship. But she had pursued him, ignoring the advances of more seasoned men than himself, had dropped him enough hints to let him know she wanted him. Even in the midst of the brashness of his youth, he'd come to the conclusion that he could easily get what he wanted from her. And what had that been? Sex. He'd been fighting a war. There'd been no time for delicate relationships, no time for getting to know a woman.
Tomoe had been too good to be true, following him from battleground to battleground until she'd won his trust, which Ken had to admit hadn't taken very long. With Tomoe's arrival, thoughts of settling down with one of the girls from the village had been banished. Hadn't Ken been relieved? He'd been shy around women as a human, having grown up with all brothers. Tomoe had unburdened him from worry in the romance department. She'd focused her attentions on Ken, snubbing other men in the practiced manner only she could pull off. Back then, men had been stunned, shocked into silence. In present times her manner wasn't unusual, but back in nineteenth century Japan, she had made a statement. She had been a coveted prize. And Ken had won her with no effort at all.
He still wondered after all the years they had been apart – why him? Why Himura Kenshin, a man who had only been permitted to fight after defeating a high-ranking officer of the army because he was not a pureblooded Japanese man? What had she seen in him across the tavern that first night? Had she sensed the naïve youth who desperately sought to prove himself to his father by joining the war to avenge the death of his brothers? Had she been drawn to the kid with a soft-spot for women, a quality drilled into him by his mother? The young man who took lives without remorse? Whatever Tomoe had seen in him, she had been interested enough to pursue him for months.
Looking at her new prize, this man, Akira Kiyosato, Ken wondered how he'd ended up with her. Had she met him as a human and then turned him? Or had he been a newly turned vampire, searching for someone experienced to teach him the ropes of his new life? Was he in love with Tomoe?
"You seem surprised that Akira's with me, Ken. No need to worry. He's here by choice."
"You've always been above forcing people to hang out with you."
Tomoe laughed mirthlessly, the smooth tinkle of it falling on his shoulders with great weight. "It's strange hearing you speak such modern sayings. You bring back memories of old Japan for me. By the way, your English is excellent."
She was toying with him, the old cat and mouse trick. Ken hadn't found himself in the starring role of 'mouse' for decades. He still was no more used to it now then he ever had been.
"Yours is too. Why haven't you killed me yet?"
"I think you should be asking Akira that question. While I have no qualms when it comes to defending myself against you, I would never actually kill you."
Ken had serious doubts about that statement.
"Akira's not the one in charge here," Ken argued gamely.
She rewarded him with a small smile. "Well you're right about that now, aren't you," she mumbled, half to herself. "Even though you called this meeting to kill me, I agreed to this meeting to talk. I want information, and the grapevine says you're usually in the middle of every abrupt change that goes on in our culture."
Ken blinked. It was strange hearing Tomoe use the phrase 'goes on.'
"I feel a change coming," she stated simply. "So tell me about it," she finished, seating herself gracefully on the loveseat behind, and to the left of Akira.
There was no way in Hell that Ken was going to tell Tomoe anything. In any case, she doubtless knew a lot more than him.
"Are you sure it's wise to just let him sit there?" Akira asked doubtfully, keeping his eyes on Ken. "He's dangerous."
"Everything is fine, Akira," Tomoe assured smoothly. "Just don't let your guard down, no matter where the topic of conversation may stray. Ken, I am requesting again: tell me about it."
Ken shrugged, an action that was not easy with the katana mere millimeters from his throat, but he managed to pull it off smoothly. "You probably know more than me." He honestly had no clue what she wanted from him. If rumor had circulated that he was deeply involved in the Juppongatana because of his appearance with Saitou, then she'd likely want secret from the organization, but such rumors were false. Ten years ago he would've had something to hide, but all that information was outdated.
"That may be true, but I need to know what you know. I sense that we're on opposite sides, Ken."
"Whose side are you on?" Ken asked readily.
"I figured you would know by now. I guess your intelligence sources aren't as reliable as I'd assumed."
Ken ignored Akira and stared into her eyes. She hadn't answered him, hadn't shown him respect since he'd set eyes on her again after two hundred odd years. She still viewed him as the vampire he'd been back then, immature, inexperienced, and easily manipulated.
Tomoe seemed amused at his silence. Ken had been hoping for annoyed. Without a trace of frustration, she continued. "I've struck a deal of sorts with the dark one. I suppose you could say we're uneasy allies."
Ken wasn't surprised, not really. Tomoe must have been the woman Katsu had mentioned to him in New York, the woman who had suddenly appeared at the dark one's side. Some how, Myojin had found out it was her. He'd found out that she and Ken had a history, that she was the one who had made Ken a vampire. Myojin had known that Ken had the best chance of killing her. Kaoru had been a convenient and easy way for him to blackmail Ken into executing her for him.
"I suppose you want to know why," Tomoe continued. "The dark one is a means to an end, nothing more. I really am surprised that the Juppongatana sent you to kill me. I do believe Saitou has been itching for that honor." She leaned forward slightly. "Tell me, Ken, what are they using to blackmail you?"
"It's not your concern," Ken told her, almost angry. She'd hit the mark seemingly without trying.
"Is it that girl, Ken?" She searched his face for a moment. "Yes, I rather think it is. By the way, I love your facial expressions."
Ken ignored the jibe. "Who else is working for the dark one?"
"I don't think you're in the position to ask the questions, Ken."
"Who else, Tomoe? I know about Cho, Anji, Shurra, and Yutaro."
"So your sources aren't as hopeless as I thought. Why were you in New York though, Ken? Was it just to speak to Cho, or to have a little chit chat with your friends, the Shinomoris?"
Ken glared at her, cursing himself for speaking Cho's name. As soon as he'd said it, she'd known he'd been in New York recently.
Tomoe sighed. "I didn't suppose you'd tell me. I suppose this calls for heavier questioning then. Akira, search him. He's probably carrying more weapons in that overcoat of his." Tomoe stood and swept out of the room in one fluid motion. Ken and Akira were left watching each other warily. Akira spoke first.
"I have trained in the Shigekura sword style all my life. Don't try to escape."
Ken said nothing as the young vampire kept his eyes and katana steady and reached gingerly into the first of many pockets on Ken's overcoat. Withdrawing his hand, his eyes flickered to the object in his palm – Ken's key ring.
"I didn't take you for a car thief," Ken commented, sure he could provoke the younger man into a rash action.
"Shut up. The only reason I haven't killed you is because Tomoe wants to play with you first."
"I doubt you've ever killed anyone your whole life."
"There's always a first time," Akira retorted, taking his eyes off Ken's for a split second to toss the keys on the end table behind him. Then, once again, he met Ken's stare and reached into another pocket. This time Akira was rewarded with something more rewarding, a capped needle. Since he couldn't very well toss it on the table behind him, for fear it would break, Akira did a dumb and very naïve thing – he took his eyes off Ken's for a split second and leaned his body back from the fighting stance it had been locked in.
Ken took the opportunity and lunged.
Whu id wu eba oo wu-oot ooth-wuff, Wen?
I did not understand one word that just came out of
your mouth.
I said, what did we ever do
without toothpaste, Ken? It always leaves my teeth sparkling
white.
You sound like a cheesy commercial.
"Miss, would you take our orders as soon as you're done serving that tray?" he asked.
Kaoru was petrified, but to her credit, she didn't let out the little squeak of fear that was building inside her. Instead, she nodded, said a polite – of course, sir, and moved on. Kaoru served the tray in a daze. There was no way she could avoid the notice of the vampire she'd met in New York now. All she could do was keep hoping for a miracle. Maybe the man had been so busy that night that he wouldn't recognize her now, especially since her hair, which had been down that night, was now up in a neat bun. She wasn't wearing any make-up either, and Kamatari had certainly applied laborious amounts to her face that night. She was relatively confident that as long as she kept her voice sweet and said as little as possible, he wouldn't recognize her right away. Having boosted her confidence, she handed the empty tray over to a bell-boy and made her way to the table.
"Hi there, what can I get you gentlemen tonight?" she asked, careful to seem at ease in her role as waitress.
The man she didn't know ordered first, while the other glanced over the menu. "I'd like the domburi."
Kaoru scribbled down the order. "What topping would you like on top?"
"Just gyudon."
"Alright. Anything else?"
"A rice bowl as well."
"Yes, sir. And what would you like to drink?"
"Hmm. Sencha tea."
"Alright, sir. And you?" Kaoru asked, addressing the other man. He finally looked up at her. Kaoru held her breath. No hint of recognition dawned in his eyes. She let out a small sigh of relief as his eyes flickered back to the menu.
"I'll take the okonomiyaki, bencha tea, and some melon soda."
Kaoru nodded. "Anything else, sir?" Kaoru asked, thankful to be busy scribbling.
"No."
"Very well, I'll just take your menus then," Kaoru finished with a smile, retrieving the menus and turning to walk away. She was already breathing much easier. Then she caught a strain of the conversation the two men had started with each other after she had left.
"I swear I've seen that girl somewhere before."
What did you think of that movie they made off of
Braham Stoker's Dracula?
Most directors
have assiduously avoided the sexual overtones of the novel, but I
thought this version of it was uncharacteristically well done in a
tacky almost Playboy manner.
... Um, smaller words?
It was okay.
All this flashed through Ken's mind until his hand closed around the hilt of his katana, the cold hilt of the sword shut out all thought. He heard the sound of Akira yelling in the background and renewed his effort. Ken knew his speed was a blur even to the average vampire. He willed himself to be fast enough, fast enough to lift the katana and block the swing that was even now arcing towards his shoulder, fast enough to defend himself so that he could confront the dark one, fast enough so that he didn't die in the middle of nowhere on a ranch, fast enough to get back to Kaoru, who was even now waiting for him, needing him.
Miraculously, he was fast enough. He was once again armed with only a slash on his right shoulder courtesy of Akira to belie the fact that he'd lost his katana in the first place
"Damn," Akira swore as he pressed his blade against Ken's. "You're fast."
"You shouldn't take your eyes from your opponent. Where did Tomoe go?"
They both jumped back at the same time, katanas raised. "Forget Tomoe, your fight is with me."
"Akira?"
Tomoe's voice. Ken could remember the times when she'd said his name in exactly that tone. His suspicion was confirmed when Akira's eyes flickered to the woman standing in the doorway between them, even though he knew the risk. Akira was in love with Tomoe. It made sense. She was tempting, beautiful, a woman any man would be proud to claim as his. So she'd won Akira and turned him, the same as she had Ken.
It was time to end it, time to dismiss Akira's presence and end Tomoe's life. Ken could deal with Akira after she was nothing but ash and bone. No doubt he'd either fall apart or fly at Ken in a murderous rage. Either possibility would be easy for Ken to handle. Decision made, Ken turned towards Tomoe. She knew. He saw it in her eyes. Strangely enough, she didn't look at all distressed that he meant to kill her. She didn't look at all disturbed by the fate that was staring her in the eyes.
Akira didn't bother to yell. His speed must have been born of desperation, Ken thought later, because there was no other way he could have pulled it off, no way he could have saved Tomoe, prolonged her life for a few more moments. But he did. He blocked Ken's swing. As Ken strove to blink away the surprise he knew was reflected in his eyes, Akira brought up the needle with his other hand. The needle he'd drawn from Ken's pocket. The needle that was filled with holy water.
It was Akira's youth that saved Ken. No doubt, he'd never killed before, and was hesitant to start. Whatever the reason, he shut his eyes as he drove the needle into flesh, as he pushed the stopper down until there was no holy water left in the syringe. Ken's wide eyes were not on Akira as the other man opened his, as the shock washed Akira's face slack, devoid of emotion for a still moment in time. Ken's eyes were on Tomoe.
"Why?" Akira asked, as his katana fell from his hand, creating a muffled thump on the carpet.
"Go to the dark one," Tomoe's voice came unruffled, breaking the strained silence. "Tell him the Battousai killed me."
Tomoe collapsed.
Against his will, Ken found himself dropping his katana and reaching out to break her fall, sinking down to the ground with the weight of her body in his arms. In the back of his mind he heard Akira's retreating steps, heard a door slam and a car start, the tread of the tires on the gravel driveway, the engine fading away into the night.
"I know you want to know why I did it."
Her voice was calm as it had been when she'd said hello to him again for the first time in two hundred years, as serene as it had been when she'd said hello to him the first time he'd met her.
She'd saved him from death a second time. And now he was in her debt. "I want to know," he admitted, wondering how long she had left before the holy water spreading throughout her body reached her heart and killed her. Her head was lying in his lap. She struggled weakly to sit up, but succeeded only in leaning against him with Ken's help, her face against his chest, long ebony hair flowing down her back.
"I made you into a vampire. I could not watch you die."
"Then why not call Akira off?"
She suppressed a cough weakly. "I knew you had holy water. I could sense it. I'm much older than you. I saw my chance to rid myself of this life and decided to take it." Her voice, ever clear, was becoming raspy. "I'm not strong enough. I wouldn't have done it on my own."
Ken shook his head, staring down at the woman he'd hated since he'd been turned, lying in his arms. "Why me?"
A coughing fit took her, leaving her body shaking against him. "You were the first vampire I ever made. I could not watch you die."
Ken shook his head again. "I don't believe you. You hate me. I'd kill you in a heartbeat."
"Maybe I do hate you," Tomoe breathed shallowly. "Akira will tell the dark one it was you who killed me. You'll get your wish to confront the dark one soon. I've given you a gift."
Ken was disturbed. He hadn't been able to hold onto the hatred he'd felt for Tomoe, the hatred that had kept him going in those early weeks when he'd first been turned, until he'd gained enough strength to leave her. As much as Ken wanted to, he couldn't truly hate her, not while she was dying in his arms. He realized that he hadn't hated her for a long time. At some point in his life he'd forgiven her, a fact that was uncharacteristic of him. Perhaps he'd forgiven her because of the fear that if he did stumble upon her again, he would kill her because of that hate and not be able to live with himself. He had executed only detached kills during the last few years of his human life. He had never killed from passion, only from necessity.
She was still shivering in his arms. For some twisted reason, he was fascinated. He'd never actually witnessed the effects of an injection of holy water. Her pale skin was growing rosy with color, and tiny beads of sweat accompanied the flushed face. Her breathing was labored, as if she'd just escaped a dangerous undertow and come up for air. Her skin radiated heat, sending an unpleasant rush of warmth through his body from the points where her skin came in contact with his clothes. She smelled like burning incense.
"You should have let me kill you quickly if you wanted death."
Tomoe sighed. "I don't want you responsible for my death. I know you've never killed a woman before. I deserve this pain."
Tomoe had been considerate of him when she'd jumped in front of Ken? He hadn't expected anything resembling mercy from her. It had been easier to hate her blindly, to dismiss the pleasant times they had spent together as an act. Suddenly, Ken had to know. Had it been an act, her seduction of him?
The heat from her face burned through his shirt. "Why did you turn me, Tomoe?"
She met his eyes. "At the time I first saw you," she started as she painstakingly lifted her right hand to touch his cheek. Her fingers were so hot it hurt. "I'd been alone since my master abandoned me. I knew you would be easy to sway. You were young and all alone in that war."
"So it was because I was young and dumb," Ken summed up, unable to keep the bitterness from his tone. The novelty of his red hair and strange eyes had probably been a bonus. She'd seen him as a prize to be won, a distraction from her solitary lifestyle.
"Yes," Tomoe confirmed, her voice soft and fading. "I've always favored you over the others since then." She closed her eyes and her hand slid from his face to rest in her lap. "Perhaps Akira and I could have had something eventually. He was turned only to be with me." She smiled her classic smile, the expression oddly misplaced on her damp flushed face.
Ken realized she probably wouldn't open her eyes again. "Tomoe, where's the dark one going to attack first? Where is it now?"
"I don't know."
"That's a lie. If Akira knows, you know," Ken countered fiercely. "Damn you Tomoe, tell me."
"The Juppongatana should be wary."
Her voice was a whisper now, almost clogged by the fluid in her throat.
"Why is it starting on the west coast? What did you want from it? Where did Akira go?" Ken asked, almost yelling. He had a feeling she was drifting far away and could barely hear him. He watched as she swallowed with difficulty.
"Akira? I bet he didn't check your license plate number, stupid boy. Tell him I forgive him when you see him." She sighed, her exhaling breath a gentle puff of searing air on his skin.
"Who betrayed Sano to the dark one? Why are you working for him? How long will he stay in L.A.?"
"They'll be here in ten minutes," Tomoe whispered. "Go." Her whole body writhed in his hands as she suppressed a bought of coughing. "It has something you want. Don't fight tonight."
"What does the dark one have that I want? Tomoe? Tomoe? Tomoe?"
She was still. She was dead. Tomoe was dead. Her body began to crumble in his arms. Ken stood in disgust, retrieving his katana from its position near her and drawing back to watch as her body started rapidly disintegrating. She would be ashes soiling the carpet in five minutes. Tomoe Yukishiro, the vampire who had made him, was dead.
Ten minutes. He had ten minutes until the dark one's vampires would arrive. Ken realized that the pressure from her fingers had burned him, he had a wicked burn mark across his throat, a hole in his left shoulder where Tomoe had thrown the needle, a slash on his left cheek from the very first needle, and Akira had sliced his right shoulder when he'd bent down to retrieve his katana. Ken reached down and retrieved one of Tomoe's canine teeth to give to Saitou as proof that he'd killed her. Stopping only to get his car keys from the table where Akira had replaced them and to untie the unconscious caretaker, he sprinted the mile back to his car. He couldn't let his thoughts dwell on the scene that had just transpired until he went to the dealership to trade in his car on the off chance that Akira had taken note of his license plate. No, he wouldn't think of Tomoe until he had picked up Kaoru, dealt with Saitou, thanked Ayame, and passed out at the apartment.
What happened to the one who turned you?
He left me.
Have you ever tried to find him?
… No. Though perhaps someday, he'll find me.
"Thanks for the excellent service, miss," the one she hadn't met before said.
"No problem," Kaoru replied, uneasy that they'd stopped to compliment her.
"If only you'd hung around to service us in New York," the one she recognized mumbled. "Watch your back, bitch."
Kaoru glared up at him. "You're the one with the back that needs watching."
"Somehow, I doubt that," the man replied, flashing her the same insolent smile he had when he'd first laid eyes on her, and brushing past her. The other man shrugged and followed his friend out the door.
Kaoru turned to watch the two men exit the restaurant. She didn't notice Saitou staring speculatively after them as well.
A/N – Thanks for reviewing. You deserve an explanation about the
food. So here it is. This information is from www.
japan-guide. com/e/e2035. html and
japan.chez.tiscali.fr/Cuisine/E-Boissons.htm.
Domburi - A bowl of cooked rice with some other food put on top of the rice. Some of the most popular toppings are tempura (tendon), egg and chicken (oyakodon), tonkatsu (katsudon) and beef (gyudon).
Gyudon – beef
Rice bowl - A bowl of rice is frequently served as a side dish for lunch and dinner, and as a main dish for breakfast when it is eaten plain, mixed with a raw egg and soya sauce (tamago-kake-gohan) or with natto or various other toppings.
Okonomiyaki - Okonomiyaki is a mix between pizza and pancake. Various ingredients such as seafood, vegetables and meat can be mixed with the dough and placed on the okonomiyaki as topping.
Sencha and bencha tea - Tea (nihoncha) accompanies all the Japanese meals, at home and in the restaurants. There are several varieties of tea: sencha, bencha, kôcha, matcha, etc..., the most common being sencha and the matcha being reserved for the tea ceremony. Most of the time the tea is drunk cold but it is appreciated ice-cold or hot as well, and generally without sugar.
Melon soda -As in almost all countries of the world, American sodas companies are dominant on the Japanese market. However some Japanese soft drink manufacturers thrive by selling some original drinks as, for example, the melon soda.