Silver Cross Chapter 21: Come Together, a rurouni kenshin fanfic

A/N – Happy New Year everyone!

Disclaimer – I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

Silver Cross

Chapter 21 – Come Together

You know, I didn't figure nail files were much use for anything besides breaking out of jail, but they do come in pretty handy for your nails.
You just realized this?
Hey, at least I'm not the one who just found out why pinstripe pants are called pinstripe pants.

"Are you going to at least tell me why you bought me a suit?" Sou asked. He had become a little bolder around the three vampires. He knew he had to be wary around Saitou, but since Saitou was currently driving he wasn't much threat to Sou as long as he had plenty of L.A. motorists to swear at. The vampire seemed to be possessed by a severe case of road rage.

"We're meeting the Battousai in a public place. A suit is just part of blending in," the Juppongatana's leader replied from the front passenger seat. "Don't think about trying to get away in the crowd. Aside from creating a very big scene, you might give away our position to the dark one. I'm sure you know that wouldn't result in a favorable outcome for yourself."

Sou knew this was true. His uncle had even bothered to warn him not to attract the dark one's notice before he'd sent him to the Juppongatana. "The way all of you speak of the dark one it's as if you're paranoid. Is he really so powerful and almighty that he's watching over our shoulders every moment?"

"Soujiro," Tsubame started from the seat next to him, "the dark one is not to be trifled with unless you want to put all our lives in danger. Remember who you're traveling with, the top three members of the Juppongatana, the organization the dark one seeks to crush. If you're found in our company the dark one will not hesitate to crush you as well."

"But how could he possibly know where we are?" Sou argued, sure the vampires were blowing this whole 'dark one' situation a little out of proportion. "He can't have a million guards who stay posted at every possible public place. If he's gathering his men for a fight, why would he bother posting them there? Even if he did, how could they tell you were vampires? Hell, I couldn't even tell the first time I saw you. You look human."

"Soujiro," Tsubame said softly from beneath her bangs, "the dark one is neither human, nor vampire. It simply uses the two species against each other in an attempt to enslave us all. Its spies are numerous, so please don't act out of hand when we reach the symphony. Three men and a woman are a slightly unusual party to attend a symphony in the first place. None of us wish undue attention brought to the party."

Sou agreed with that reasoning. "I still don't understand how the dark one could get wind of our meeting."

"Traitors, kid," Myojin put in from directly in front of Sou. "I have no doubt a few exist within the Juppongatana, which is more than enough reason for you to stay on your guard. You won't have much to worry about with Tsubame watching over you, but all the same, don't be a dumbass."

"What did the dark one do make everyone so afraid?" Sou asked. He'd been wondering ever since he'd first heard of 'it', as everyone seemed to say when they spoke of the dark one.

"Have you ever read Harry Potter, kid?" Myojin asked.

Why bring up Harry Potter at a time like this? Maybe Saitou's road rage had started to tell on Myojin's sanity. Sou had chosen to ignore the close calls Saitou fumbled through, but it must be marginally harder for Myojin from his position in the front seat.

"No," Sou answered.

"Me either, but the lovely wife here made me see the movie with her."

Sou glanced at Tsubame, who smiled affectionately at her husband. Sou still wasn't used to that.

"Kaoru made me see it with her younger cousins," Sou confessed. There wasn't much use lying to a trio of vampires about whether he'd seen a movie or not.

"Remember who the bad guy was?"

Sou nodded. "Lord Voldemort."

"Yeah, but every one of the wizards called him 'He-who-must-not-be-named'. That's basically the dark one's rep around here. It's brainwashed a lot of vampires as well as turned many humans into vampires and bound them to him. It's also taken out two vampire groups in big cities and many influential vampire leaders all at once in a big fiasco about ten years ago. Have you ever heard of the Inshinshishi?"

"No," Sou replied, only he got the feeling he was lying. "Wait… wasn't that the international company that went bankrupt a few years back? I remember it made the news."

"Yeah. Only the bankruptcy was a cover-up by the dark one. The truth is all its members are dead. The dark one destroyed every vampire associated with the group. It almost did the same to another group called the Sekihoutai. Only a few of its most clever members are alive today. As a result, the dark one has two major cities under its control, as well as many small pockets of towns and suburbs here and there. Now the dark one has come to L.A. to do the same to my people."

Between the two of them, the Myojins had just given Sou the most information anyone had ever told him about this dark one who seemed to be everyone's common enemy. Sou couldn't help but be a little grateful to them for revealing so much, although it was probably common knowledge in the vampire world.

"What did you mean when you said the dark one bound people to him?" Sou asked, deciding to fish for as much information as he could get.

"It's a tattoo on the underside of the wrist," Tsubame explained, holding her left wrist out to Sou. "The tattoo is a black dagger stabbing a red heart dripping black blood."

"The dark one sounds a little melodramatic," Sou commented with raised eyebrows.

Saitou let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a smoker's cough, but remained silent.

Tsubame smiled gently, as if humoring him. "Yes, but if you ever come across a vampire with one of those marks, you'll do well to stay away. The marks can't be forged, so there's no mistaking a person who works for the dark one."

Sou nodded, turning over this new information in his mind. "So why are the hunters scared of the dark one if it only goes after vampires?"

"The dark one is quite proficient at turning humans into vampires," Tsubame reminded him.

"And there's also the fact that humans are next once the vampire species is conquered," Myojin added. "Unlike your average vampire, the dark one's brood is out to corrupt and kill as many humans as possible as long as they get a kick out of it. Many of my people have died protecting humans from the dark one."

"Sure you're not telling the kid too much," Saitou commented.

"Shishio wants to keep him in the dark. I enjoy foiling that man's plans, even in the smallest way," Myojin replied idly. "Ten minutes until we arrive, Seta."

Yellow number six, blue number nine, red number forty. What do all these colors mean?
I don't know. Some kind of preservative maybe?
Food tastes a lot nastier then it used to when we were human.
You don't have to eat food you know.
I know. It just reminds me of the good old days I guess.

Kaoru sighed, feeling almost satisfied as she snuggled closer to Ken with eyes closed, savoring the music of the orchestra.

"Enjoying yourself?" Ken asked the woman safely ensconced in his arms.

"Yeah," Kaoru whispered, "At least until Myojin gets here. That man grates on my nerves."

Ken chuckled in her ear. "I like him."

"I didn't say you couldn't like him," Kaoru replied, opening her eyes to focus on the orchestra below them from their booth. "I just said he gets on my nerves."

"You'll like his wife."

"She's coming too? I thought you said this was research. How is meeting with the Juppongatana again helping us," Kaoru asked, not able to keep a tiny pout from her voice.

"It's an emergency meeting," Ken murmured, "Myojin said he needed both of us in person when you were asleep before we left. This is only the start of our Saturday night. I promise it will be more eventful soon."

"Fine, but I don't know how fast I can run in these shoes," Kaoru confessed. "I should have made Kamatari pick out a more sensible pair."

"If you need to, you'll run fast enough."

"I guess you're right," Kaoru agreed, although she was fast growing tired of running. All the running had started to undermine her self confidence. She hadn't felt truly capable since she'd punched Hiko. Kaoru took the pleasure of reliving the moment for a few seconds.

Ken's right leg was starting to go numb.

"Sorry!" Kaoru breathed, somehow understanding his dilemma and sliding from his arms to sit on the plush leather seat with Ken's arm around her shoulders.

A girl couldn't ask for a more romantic date: orchestra music, a beautiful dress, a hot guy who actually dressed with a bit of class. Yup, this was the life. Too bad they weren't actually on a date. Ken would have to take her somewhere danger free one of these days. But it wouldn't hurt if she just put aside the darker reasons for them being there and acted as if it was a harmless date, now would it? Nope. Thus decided, Kaoru also decided she could afford to forget the propriety her parents had taught her, and which had never gotten her anywhere as long as Ken was around anyway. So she pulled her dress up so she could actually move a little, directed her date's gaze from the orchestra to her, and kissed him. Intensely.

Ken found he was not one to pass up the chance for a make-out session with Kaoru, even with Myojin liable to pop in at any moment. Whatever perfume Kamatari had spritzed on her only added to her allure. Maybe he owed the gay cross-dresser something after all.

"We have to do this again when we're both not under pressure," Kaoru murmured.

"How about tonight?"

Kaoru laughed. "No, I mean the symphony, not the other stuff."

"You don't want to do the 'other stuff'?" Ken teased. He didn't miss Kaoru's blush in the dark, or the way her heartbeat sped up. "Don't you want to?"

"Shut up," Kaoru admonished in an embarrassed tone.

"You want me to force you to admit it?" Ken half-threatened.

"Don't make me scream in the middle of the symphony!" Kaoru warned. Knowing Ken, he probably would, despite his warning that they should blend in as much as possible.

"Battousai."

Quicker than Kaoru could process Ken had them both standing, facing the door to the booth.

"Ms. Kamiya," Myojin nodded to her. Kaoru supposed he considered that a greeting. "Hopefully this won't take up much of our time."

"Who else is here with you?" Ken asked, sensing the ki of two other vampires and a human hovering immediately outside the door.

"My wife, Saitou, and Seta Soujiro. I entered first to prepare you for Seta, Ms. Kamiya. I trust you both will restrain yourselves around him," Yahiko remarked casually.

All of a sudden Ken's arm around her waist felt like a chain of guilt. Kaoru had managed to put Sou from her mind, considering the other stress she had to deal with, but now he'd be thrown in her face a little sooner then she had planned after the horrible confrontation on the beach.

"Why is Seta with you?" Ken asked.

"His uncle traded him in as a token of the hunter-Juppongatana alliance," Myojin informed him casually.

"What the hell!" Ken exclaimed. "They'll betray you!"

Kaoru winced. At least he'd exploded during the loud climax of the current song the orchestra was playing. No one in the audience below seemed to have noticed. "I think we should talk in the hall," Kaoru put in.

"Fair enough," Myojin nodded, turning to exit the booth, "No one will hear us there."

"Why are you so mad he's joined with the hunters?" Kaoru asked in a whisper.

"I'll tell you later," Ken replied, releasing her waist.

Kaoru could tell he was too intent on getting down to the reason Myojin had decided to ally with the hunters to explain anything. She watched him walk through the doorway with no hesitation and followed him after taking a deep breath. Eyes downcast, she shut the door quietly behind her. She had a sneaking suspicion that the first eyes she would see when she looked up would be Soujiro's.

It sucked being right all the time.

He stood between Saitou and a petite brown-haired woman about Kaoru's height. The last time she'd seen him, Sou had said some hurtful things to her. Kaoru wasn't about to forget being called a whore by her former boyfriend anytime soon, but she couldn't let go of the fact that the whole scene had been her fault in the first place. And it wasn't like Kaoru could simply stand there and let the awkward moment play out. If an outsider happened to mosey along down the hallway, she had to keep up appearances, despite the fact that she really didn't feel like being within five miles of Soujiro.

"Hi, Sou," Kaoru offered somewhat tentatively. She hated to seem uncertain, but after all was said and done Sou's opinion remained important to her. She didn't want him to condemn her relationship with Ken.

"Hi, Kaoru. I'm relieved to see you're alright."

"I'm inclined to give Shishio the benefit of doubt since he's handed his nephew over to me." Myojin was addressing Ken. "It's unfortunate you don't agree, Battousai."

And that was that. Myojin broke the moment and Kaoru didn't have to deal with the stress of talking to Soujiro again, at least for the moment.

"You know as well as I do Shishio has never cared for anyone but himself. He's using Seta to lull your senses," Ken argued.

Sou tore his eyes from Kaoru at the sound of his name. He hadn't paid much attention to the Battousai when he'd had the fight with Kaoru on the beach. Now, since he was being completely ignored for all intents and purposes, he took the man in. The vampire was taller than Sou, but that wasn't saying much, since a lot of men were taller than Sou. Like Sou, his slim frame was decked out presentably in a suit. What a laugh that would have been if the 'Battousai' had been unfit and out-of-shape. Unfortunately for Sou he appeared to be in the peak of physical health, however healthy you could get being technically not alive. His hair was red, surprisingly enough. Sou hadn't come across too many Japanese people with red hair, but the Battousai's racial origin couldn't be denied. His hair up in a high ponytail would have made him seem a bit fruity if it wasn't for the strong and clearly masculine ki he Sou could sense within the vampire.

Saitou laughed, jolting Sou from his evaluation of the vampire Kaoru had dumped him for. "For once, we agree."

Ken's blue-eyed gaze flashed to Saitou. "I wasn't speaking to you."

The woman, who Kaoru now recognized from the time she'd been kidnapped, stepped between Ken and Saitou. "Come now, Battousai. I would like to carry out this conversation discreetly. Perhaps it would be best if I did the talking."

Ken glared at Saitou a moment longer, then nodded and backed down. "I take it I'm not going to like what you're going to say."

"There's good and bad," Tsubame acknowledged. She took a deep breath. "I need to borrow Ms. Kamiya."

Kaoru almost jumped. "What?"

"You're not taking her anywhere," Ken told Tsubame, shifting so he stood slightly in front of Kaoru. Sou didn't miss the vampire's almost unconscious gesture to protect Kaoru. Kaoru seemed startled, both at the news that the Juppongatana wanted to borrow her, and at the Battousai suddenly blocking her from the rest of the group. Her eyes were on the back of his head, as if she could tell what he was thinking if she stared hard enough. Kaoru seemed more concerned with the Battousai's reaction, Sou noted.

"Don't decide so quickly," Myojin rolled his eyes. "At least hear what my wife has to say."

"It's only for a few hours," Tsubame continued, shifting her gaze from Kaoru to Ken. "Ayame needs a favor. Her niece was taken by the dark one's men the previous evening. We just came across the girl's location an hour before dawn last night. Naturally, nothing could be done at the time. I need Ms. Kamiya and Seta to go in and get her out. She'll be in the custody of humans for the next two hours. If she's not rescued, after that she'll be turned and bound to the dark one. You both know it will be too late to save her then. We need to rescue her, or Ayame will not lend her support in the fight against the dark one. She refuses to fight her niece." Tsubame made eye contact with Kaoru. "We've got a safe-house prepared already. Once Seta and Ms. Kamiya smuggle the girl out I'll be there in a getaway car, ready to take the girl and Seta to that safe-house and Ms. Kamiya to wherever she specifies. Will you help us?"

"I'll do it," Kaoru stated firmly, stepping from behind Ken. "If I have the opportunity to save someone's life, I will certainly take it." This was just what she needed to stop feeling useless.

"Wait," Ken commanded, holding out an arm to prevent her from advancing.

Kaoru thought better of arguing.

"You wouldn't have asked me this if you didn't have something to give in return. What is it?"

Myojin laughed. "Nice attempt at tricking him, Tsubame." His voice grew serious. "We've got the time and place where Tsukayama Yutaro, an ex-Juppongatana member, will be. Ken, you get to interrogate him. Personally, I'd rather you kill him afterwards. He's been responsible for the deaths of three loyal vampires and the binding of five humans to the dark one so far. He works closely with Anji."

Kaoru glanced sideways at Ken. His eyes were narrowed. He did not look happy.

"Your decision," Myojin finished.

"This is great," Kaoru told Ken with a smile that took only a little effort to generate. "I'll go help rescue Ayame's niece while you get closer to figuring out what's going on with the dark one."

"Kaoru-," Ken started in protest, his eyes wide with worry and misgivings as he turned to her.

"Isn't Anji the monk responsible for Sano's death? This is your chance to get him. I know you want to. Why not take the opportunity?"

"I can't trust you to the Juppongatana."

"Ken, it's for Ayame, you know, your friend, the woman who hates me. She'll never forgive you if you didn't let me go. Who knows? Maybe she'll actually like me a little after this."

"Kaoru, I can't trade you for a chance to get to Anji," Ken told her flatly.

"It's not your choice, it's our choice. I want to go. I don't want another death on my conscience, Ken. It's hard enough living with Tomoe's memory. I'm fully capable of protecting myself from a bunch of humans. Are you going to see reason and let me go?"

Ken shook his head slowly. "Kaoru, a vampire could come to check up on the girl at any time. And it's not safe."

Kaoru leaned in close so at least Sou couldn't hear. The three other vampires would probably be able to no matter what she did. "I need to make up with Sou too, Kenshin. I can't let our relationship end like that. I need closure. This is the perfect opportunity for me to talk with him." He was still hesitant. "Come on, this is the best thing we've got going for us right now. I'm not letting that girl die, Kenshin."

Ken sighed. "I wouldn't let you do this alone if Kamatari didn't warn me something was off with Sano," he encircled his arms around her waist. "I trust Tsubame to get you out if anything goes wrong, if something does I'm going to kill Saitou first."

"Thanks, Kenshin," Kaoru breathed, sliding her arms around his neck and hugging him with all her might. "Good luck with this Tsukayama guy," she said as they broke apart. "Myojin seems pretty disgusted with him. Have you met him?"

"No," Ken replied.

"I take it this means you've convinced the Battousai to do what you want him to," Saitou commented dryly.

Sou couldn't help but be grateful to the caustic vampire for breaking up the moment between the Battousai and his girlfriend. Okay, so she was his ex-girlfriend, but it hadn't even been a week yet. Who could blame him for still thinking of her as his?

Kaoru chose to ignore Saitou. "How are we getting there, Ms. Myojin?"

"Please, call me Tsubame. We'll take Saitou's car."

"You can't use my baby as a getaway car!" Saitou spluttered, almost spitting out his cigarette. Kaoru was pretty sure the building had a no smoking policy.

Tsubame grinned at him and pulled a set of car keys from her purse. "I'm afraid Yahiko's pickpocket skills have rubbed off on me over the years. I'll pay you back the gas money later, Saitou. Let's go, Ms. Kamiya, Soujiro. We're running out of time to save the girl." Tsubame turned and walked away with Sou on her heels.

Kaoru smiled at Ken before striding after them. "See ya," she called over her shoulder. Kaoru was careful not to look back. Ken might change his mind about letting her go at the last moment. Or she might lose her nerve. But that wasn't likely. She was Kaoru Kamiya after all, master of the Kamiya Kasshin style of swordsmanship, and she was headed off to save a human life with her ex-boyfriend and a vampire in tow. She could so handle this.

How can this be food? It's just a metal can.
I bought it at a store. It was the only meal we could afford.
But-
You said you've got a craving for human food. So figure out how to open it.
The only way I can think of is to use my teeth.
The woman at the store said something about a can opener.
Did you buy me one?
How am I supposed to know what a can opener looks like?

"Question, how'd they convince her to go with them?"

"They're her friends," Tsubame answered. "That's why the dark one recruited them."

"Her friends are going to betray her to the dark one?" Kaoru asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"The usual: money. From our information, these three young men have fallen on hard times."

"Why this particular girl?" Sou asked from the front passenger seat.

"You've never met her aunt, Soujiro. The woman's influence is powerful."

"He's eliminating your allies, one by one," Kaoru commented. "Clever, but not original. That's what the bad guys do in the movies all the time."

Tsubame favored her with a sharp glare. "This isn't the movies or television. The girl will die and become a vampire if you two don't save her. We're almost there. I'll drop you off and circle the block until you come out with the girl. If you don't see the car when you come out start walking east down the street until I pick you up. I can't go in there and save you. The place is holy. Vampires cannot enter. You both know what to do."

"Yes, Tsubame," Soujiro affirmed.

"Alright," Tsubame nodded. "I'll give you twenty minutes before I assume you've failed and drive away. I don't need the dark one after my ass."

Kaoru blinked in surprise. For a relatively small, diminutive woman, the female Myojin was uncommonly tough. Hadn't she heard something about short people always having something to prove and that was why they were so in-your-face? Kaoru smiled wryly. That was probably what was wrong with her.

Tsubame pulled over to the right side of the road and into a parking spot in a residential neighborhood. "Get out quickly. Sou, open the door for Kaoru to keep up appearances. The house you want is number 2788."

Sou did as she asked, opening his door and stepping out onto the curb with the brown grocery bag in hand. His eyes met Tsubame's briefly as he shut the car door before he opened the back to let Kaoru out. She kept her eyes downcast until Tsubame hissed a command Sou didn't hear. She looked up as Sou caught a flicker of annoyance, presumably at Tsubame's expense, pass through her eyes. Her expression settled into resignation. He fought the urge to laugh as she walked past him and he shut the door behind her. They stood there for a moment until Tsubame sped away into traffic.

Kaoru gazed down the street, acting as if she was searching for house number 2788, but Soujiro knew better. She was feeling uneasy. She didn't want to look at him for fear she'd see the hurt look in his eyes and feel guilty. It looked like he had to be the one to act as if nothing had happened and break the ice. If they weren't comfortable trusting each other now, there was no way they'd be able to pull off a rescue effort.

"Kaoru, you've got to at least act like I'm your brother," Soujiro offered.

She turned to him, recognizing the peace offering. "Older or younger brother?"

Sou realized she'd take offense if he said older, since that would mean he had the rights to boss her around. On the other hand, he didn't particularly feel like letting her boss him around. "Twin." Sou answered, starting the walk down the street to row-house number 2788.

"I guess that works," Kaoru agreed, starting the walk as well. "And how did we decide to explain the opera clothes?"

"We were on a double date. Mother doesn't approve of you and Ken."

"Low blow, Sou." Kaoru attempted to comment flippantly, but she couldn't keep the hurt tone from her voice.

"Sorry. Now's not the time," Sou muttered, spotting number 2788. He stopped at the head of the walkway, which extended for twenty feet until it reached the house. "You first."

Kaoru refused to think about anything more than this great acting performance in front of her as she walked down the cement path. She'd never taken drama lessons. People had always been able to read her emotions easily. This was going to be a challenge. It was best to chuck Tsubame's warning words and do it like some undercover television spy would, not Kaoru Kamiya. When she judged she'd reached a point where whoever was watching out the left window of the row-house could read her expression, she took on what she hoped was a hurried countenance.

"Sean, if they messed things up it's your fault," Kaoru said crossly to her twin over her shoulder.

"Don't blame me. It's because you're so slow in those heels," Sou retorted mildly, trying his best to act as if they had insulted each other back and forth every day of their lives. "Why'd you wear them anyway? They look horrible."

"What did you expect me to wear, flip flops with this dress?" Kaoru shot back as she rapped on the door with the door knocker. "Now don't mess this up or we're not getting paid."

The door opened an inch. A blue eye glared at her. "What do you want?"

"We were sent as extra protection for the girl. Someone is on to you," Kaoru told him flatly.

"I wasn't informed of this."

Kaoru didn't bother to react to his statement. "He told me you'd say that. The girl's name is Suzume. Pick up is in another forty-five minutes. I'd hate for you to lose her this close to the completion of your arrangement with the dark one."

The door opened a little wider. "Who's that?"

"I'm her brother, you idiot," Soujiro scoffed. "I can't be expected to let my sister do this alone. My mother'd kill me."

"What's in the bag?"

Sou grinned. "A bit of alcohol to get the blood flowin'. Let us in. You're risking us being noticed as out of the ordinary visitors."

The man scoffed and opened the door wide. "Fine. Trevor, Ben, we've got backup."

Two young men playing cards in the living room waved to Kaoru as she entered. "I like backup," one of the men stated, nudging his buddy.

"Hey, don't mess with my sister," Soujiro glowered from behind Kaoru as he entered. That had been close. He's almost said girlfriend.

Kaoru tossed her head. "I can take care of myself, Sean." She fought back the desire to drop the whole plan and run as she heard the man who'd answered the door shutting and locking it. A bolt slid into place.

"Yeah, whatever," Soujiro muttered, half his resentment a little too real. He needed to get over his anger with Kaoru. It wasn't going to get him anywhere. "Mind if I join you two," Soujiro asked, pulling a bottle of bourbon half out of the grocery bag.

Their eyes lit. "Come on over. How about a few games of poker?"

"Don't drink too much," the man who'd answered the door cautioned.

"Jake, we've got backup, we're sitting in a freakin' priest's house, and there're only forty-five minutes left until the deal's official. We're in the clear, man," Trevor or Ben stated from the couch.

Jake sighed, watching as Soujiro made his way over to the two men on the couch. "I guess you're right. I'm going to check on Suzume one more time."

Kaoru placed a hand on his arm. "Let me come with you," she leaned towards him confidentially. "I have some details to discuss with you after you've checked on her."

Jake looked tired. He nodded. "Fine. Follow me."

Kaoru took a deep breath as she followed him up the carpeted stairs from the main room. It looked like the plan was working so far. Too bad they hadn't come to the tricky part yet. She'd have to wait until they were downstairs to try anything or else Trevor and Ben would hear through the ceiling.

Jake paused outside a door to look at her thoughtfully. Kaoru willed herself not to start sweating.

"I didn't catch your name, or your brother's."

"He's Sean and I'm Amy."

"Last name?"

Kaoru smiled. "I think it would be best for all of us if we didn't get in to last names tonight. Is this the room she's in?"

Jake stared at her a moment before nodding and turning to the door. He withdrew a key from his left pants pocket. "Yeah. She's sedated, handcuffed to the bed, and gagged. I didn't want to be too harsh on her. We were friends once."

Kaoru nodded as she watched him unlock the door and place the key back in his pants pocket. "Understandable. This is your first time working for him?"

"First and last. We figure we're headed for Mexico after this. We'll be okay with the money." He opened the door and motioned for her to walk in before him.

You know how I got hit by a car the other night?
Yeah. You should be fine by now. Nothing's wrong is it?
No, no. I was just wondering if I could sue.
I think the defendant's lawyer would dig into your past and find out you have no past. Might get a little sticky for you.
Eh, the lawyer might not.
Yeah, but aren't trials during daylight hours?
I could say I have xeroderma pigmentosa.
Sounds like a lot of hassle.
Yeah, it might be interesting though. I've never been in court before.
Trials can take years.
Years? Forget it. I don't have time for that kind of shit. He hit me last night! I should get my money by next week. What's wrong with the justice system? What's up with this country when little immigrant girls are hit by cars and no one cares? What's up with country when the middle class can't even afford a movie ticket? What's up with a country that falls apart because the stock market crashed?
I didn't know you cared.
Hell yeah. I want my money.

Here he was, watching a back alley from the roof of one of Los Angeles's most profitable bars. Ken swore to God that if Tsukayama didn't show and he'd let Kaoru risk her life for nothing he was going to slice Myojin's head off himself, as well as Saitou's. He'd been waiting half an hour and no one had exited through the bar's back door except three off-duty waitresses for a smoke. If the hired help used the back entrance he'd have to be quick to transfer Tsukayama to another location once the man actually showed up.

If he showed up.

Ken fingered one of seven throwing knives Myojin had leant him for the occasion. He would have felt more comfortable with Shinomori Misao beside him. Her experience with distance weapons surpassed his by a long shot. What he wouldn't give for her kunai skills. But the Shinomoris weren't due to arrive for an hour, and they'd probably be stuck at the airport for another hour smuggling all their weapons through security. No, he couldn't count on Misao to dispatch the thugs no doubt surrounding Tsukayama Yutaro. He couldn't afford to miss.

The door flew open, banging against the brick wall of the back of the building. Two men swaggered out, scanning the dark alley. They didn't bother to look for Ken up on the roof. After a moment one nodded his satisfaction and out followed Tsukayama Yutaro. He was drunk. His steps wavered. His gaze was unsure. He gave the alley nothing more than a cursory glance before training his eyes on the back of one of the vampires in front of him. Two more men came out behind Tsukayama before the iron door shut behind them.

From his perch atop the bar Ken withdrew the first two knives and sent them towards their targets with an extra spin. The rear two vampires did not fall right away, giving him time to withdraw the next two blades just as the two bodyguards in front of Tsukayama were starting to turn. He threw the spinning knives.

Tsukayama wavered on his feet as four vampire heads dropped to the ground around him. By the time the bodies followed Ken had sent another knife whirling towards its last target.

Tsukayama reached into the air, caught it, let the knife sweep him in a three-sixty turn, and hurled it back to Ken.

Ken hadn't expected to hit him, but he hadn't expected his own weapon to be used against him either. Maybe, Ken thought, this might be a challenge.

Whatcha reading?
The Diary of Anne Frank.
Oh.
Sometimes I regret not fighting in World War One and finishing Hitler then.

The first thing Kaoru noted was Suzume wasn't really a girl. Kaoru supposed she should have picked up on that, given the age of the girl's 'friends', but she hadn't, and that was that. Suzume was actually a woman, a woman at least a couple years older than Kaoru herself. Even though her body was sedated, clearly, she had at least a few of her wits about her. Her eyes expressed anger with a healthy lacing of fear.

Although her heart went out to the woman, Kaoru didn't dare cast her even one sympathetic glance. She merely nodded. "You've done a good job with her, Jake." Kaoru walked closer, inspecting not the woman, but the way she was bound to the bed. "Handcuffs are a bit cliché, but you've made them work for you. I trust the key is in a safe, but easily accessible place in case of emergency?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

He nodded grimly. "Of course."

"And you'll sedate her again before we take her out of here, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Is there any place I can discuss a private matter with you?"

"We could talk right here. Suzume's not going to tell anyone."

Kaoru shook her head. "It needs to be downstairs so I can be of assistance in case of attack." Kaoru could only pray Sou hadn't made his move and disabled Trevor and Ben yet. That would look extremely suspicious, and, judging from what she'd seen so far, Jake was the smart one. There was no way she'd be able to figure out where he kept the handcuff keys before Tsubame abandoned them in twenty minutes. Make that fifteen.

"The kitchen then?" Jake asked, following Kaoru from the room.

"Sounds ideal. Why don't you leave the door unlocked to taunt her a bit," Kaoru suggested, wondering if a normal crooked twenty year old woman would say that. She decided it had probably been a valid thing to say, since she might very well still be bitter at the shortening of her double date.

"You're crazy! What if she escapes?"

"She's not going to escape! You put the handcuffs on yourself." She turned to face him. "We need easy access to her, and it won't hurt if she's too angry to think straight. Leave it unlocked." Kaoru wished she possessed some of that hypnotizing stare Misao had used on her that first night in New York City. Maybe a little had rubbed off on her, because Jake nodded and followed her when she turned to head down the stairs.

Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Sou playing cards with a still conscious Trevor and Ben. He was getting along with them so well she would've thought him a traitor if she hadn't been sure where his loyalties lay. Come to think of it, she didn't really know what Soujiro thought about this whole thing, but she knew he wouldn't betray them to the dark one. Soujiro was too smart to act that dumb.

"Is everything okay?" Kaoru asked the card playing trio once she'd reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Just fine, Amy," Soujiro replied, doing his best to glance up casually from his hand. He watched for a moment as she followed Jake into the kitchen. She'd do her part while he did his. Time to break out the alcohol. He didn't feel guilty doing it either. He'd only met Trevor and Ben five minutes ago and even though he still didn't know which was which, he knew already he wasn't going to have any qualms poisoning either of the two men. Suzume must not have been the world's greatest judge of character to choose these two men as friends.

Soujiro took a gulp from one of the bottles he'd placed on the table. Thankfully, he could hold his alcohol well. "Don't let me drink alone, guys. Have a swallow, Ben," Sou encouraged with a gesture to the other bottle. Ben, at least he thought it was Ben, had been eyeing the two bourbon bottles the moment Sou had revealed them to the two card players. Judging from his ruddy skin and his current crappy card playing, he was probably an alcoholic dying for a drink.

"Thought you'd never offer," the man Soujiro finally knew was Ben agreed readily enough, grabbing the neck of the bottle, popping the cap off and chugging for all he was worth.

Soujiro winced. "You sure can put it back," he commented a little uneasily. Just as long as Ben didn't drink all the alcohol everything was fine.

Trevor smirked. "Don't worry about him, Sean. Now stop being greedy and let me have a swig before you down the whole bottle," Trevor commanded, wrenching the bottle from Ben's grasp and chugging down what was left of the bottle.

Soujiro tried not to blink incredulously. It was great news for him that the other two young men were a couple of alcoholics, but he was a little worried about the amount they'd consumed. Tsubame had said they only needed to ingest one gulp of bourbon for the poison to take effect. Apparently she hadn't anticipated a couple of wonder-boys who could probably chug a whole bottle of vodka and not feel the burn. Were their throats numb or something? But they didn't look like they were in any danger of dying. In fact, they looked about the same and were now tipsily encouraging him to chug down his whole bottle.

Not knowing what else to do, Soujiro took a long drink to appease them, hoping they'd pass out soon enough.

"Don't hold back, Sean. Yah wimp," Ben murmured before abruptly falling back against the couch and starting to snore.

Trevor looked amazed. "I've never seen him pass out so quickly. He must've been having a drink or two all those times he said he was going to the bathroom." The man's tone held nothing short of wonder as he examined his fallen partner. "How am I going to explain Ben when we take Suzume out?"

"It's my fault," Soujiro amended, close to panic, since Trevor wasn't showing any signs of passing out. "I gave him the bourbon, I'll take the fall."

"Thanks, man. That's awful noble of ya," Trevor replied, just before his eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed on top of Ben.

Soujiro smiled. The hard part was over. He stood up in a hurry, a little too fast he soon found as the world started to swim. Okay, the whole thing about him being able to hold his alcohol had been a lie, but now wasn't the time to get drunk. Deftly, albeit a little unsteadily, Soujiro made his way up the stairs to find, and hopefully free, Suzume.

What shaped early African civilizations more than anything else? Trade!
History test coming up?Yeah.
Earning another degree?
Yeah. Did you know the two major divisions of the Indian subcontinent are the Himalayas and the Indus-Ganges plain?
What's the Indus-Ganges plain?
I don't know!

Dodging lethal weapons hurled towards his neck at speeds greater than sixty miles per hour had never been one of Ken's favorite past times. But there are many things in this world we don't want to do, even though we have to. For Ken, this happened to be one of them. In an ideal world, Ken would have simply stepped to the side or leaned his head sideways, the picture of grace and poise, and avoided the knife. In this world, Ken felt compelled to lunge to the right, a bit ungracefully and completely lacking in poise. He only nearly missed tripping and falling off the roof, and by the time he could afford to look down at Tsukayama Yutaro, the vampire was not longer visible. Judging from his ki though, he was very near, and getting nearer every second. Taking the possibility into account that he might get his head chopped of by leaning over the side of the building and the probability of this very event happening, Ken decided his odds of survival didn't matter as much as extracting information from Tsukayama about Anji.

Lean over he did, in time to spot Tsukayama Yutaro jump up and grasp the bottom of the fire escape Ken had used to get on top of the roof, haul his body up, and begin jogging up the stairs two at a time. The man must have been partial to the body guards Ken had just killed, hence his decision to rush up to meet Ken and take his revenge. Ken shrugged and moved back to the center of the concrete roof, so as to be ready for any surprises Tsukayama might attempt to dish out. If he really wanted to kill the guy he would have waited at the top of the fire escape, but the information his man held was too important.

Apparently the man was too angry for surprises. He simply hopped up on the roof and stood there, catching his breath and glaring at Ken. He wasn't drunk anymore.

"Who are you?" Tsukayama yelled across the roof. "I need to know who you are before I kill you, vampire."

Ken highly doubted that would happen. He was partial to the other way around, himself. After, of course, he got the information he wanted.

"Who are you?" the other vampire asked again.

"I don't believe we've ever met," Ken started warily. "But we do have a mutual acquaintance I'd like you to help me get in touch with."

"Who?" Tsukayama asked, dropping into a crouch.

"Anji."

"I know a few Anji's," Tsukayama shrugged. "Which one are you looking for?"

"The ex-monk."

"I can't tell you. That's classified information."

"I need to know," Ken informed him.

"And I need you to die," Tsukayama shot back, withdrawing a sword from his black trench coat as he stood and fell into a ready stance.

"Why the sword?" Ken asked, drawing his last two knives, one in each hand.

"I find killing with a sword more personal than a hand gun. It also puts me more in touch with my roots in ancient Japan."

So maybe this Yutaro was a little…quirky.

A/N –

Thanks to all the reviewers:

animegurl23, Kuroi Tsuki Jyurian, alex, Cluless Girl, Serenity Komoshiro, trunksgirl85, lildevilangel, Iram, Mishorou Mie, starry night blue, Keiko C. Crawford, Videl621, Lisica, Witchitta, hitomi, crasyducky, Annabella5, evilteddybear, HLH, pruningshears, Hitokiri-miao miao, Sasha, Bradybunch4529, seikkyokuka, Hiei's.punk.rocker.girl, kik-ting, ixchen, stoictimer, dolphingirl0113, kotone, Ryu Sachiko Sama, De Lazy Lime, MZ. AMBER EYES, Lyphta, Sailor Tiamat, laku, Hikari-kawaii, Aye, Kamille, kitsune, Zackire, Brittanie Love, kouri, NARGIEGIRL21, Sagitarious Devil, Jupiter's Light

Your opinions are very important to me. I'm happy knowing someone is reading my work. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. Indeed, things seem to be coming to a head. Leave a review and tell me what you thought in the case that you are so inclined.

Aryanne

(Edit: I did the mirror mistake AGAIN. Why?!!!! Thanks, Videl621. And I accidentally typed in Tsubame instead of Suzume. Oops. Thanks Shannon.)