Standard Disclaimer: I don't own FruBa. This plot and original characters are mine, but not Fruba itself. Any twisted, enhanced psychotic tendency, morbid reactions, deep and well deserved brooding and/or beating ones self up that happen to appear in the story are mine and I stake full claims with some help and idea's. Please review, and any flame will be laughed if not ignored. This has been inspired by many people works and I give credit to all of them and in no way am I claming that all of these idea's are mine. The terms used in this story to define members and ranks in a werewolf pack are borrowed from Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series and I take no clam or credit on creating these names. There is no harm meant in borrowing these names and I only use them for the porpoise of creating a interesting story.
AN: It's 6: 11 p.m. on September 14th, and I'm starting the fourth chapter weather you like it or not...At the pace I'm going. I'll have the whole story out before winter break! Go me! (Remembers that she has another story she should be writing as well...) Yeah, well...SH will be written in it's own time. It's hard writing in now. There's so much going on behind everything else, and I cant keep track of it all...Well...onward we shall go.
Italics language change -English mostly - OR if it's in paragraph form, it's a flashback.
The Collector
By: SAL-Chan
Chapter Four: The Drink
The Sohma Company, 643 Shinwa, Mita, Japan.
Thursday 04: 16
Yukari was in the parking lot of SCO, perched on the railing that protected the stairs that led to the basement office of SCO itself. His legs blended into the darkness of the building that sat on top of our office, leaving the top part of him almost a glowing white. A light wind had picked up around the time we left the crime seen and it still lingered, playing with Yukari's violet strands. A lit cigarette hung loosely in his mouth, its tip lighting bright orange.
I shut my car off the instant I parked it, shutting Jordan Pundik and company off while on their final chorus. Normally, stopping a song near the end is a big no-no for me, but I -for the first time in my life- wanted to be inside that office more then anything at the moment.
I slid out of the car, my gun secure to my side, with both of my knives in each of my hands. I felt the blood drying on my face and arms, and my shirt stuck to me in places I didn't want it to stick to me. I was covered in gray.
Yukari looked toward me with level eyes, looked away, then did a double take. He blinked, dropped his cigarette and slid off the railing and walking a few steps to meet me. I walked right past him.
"I though you would be finished by ten?" He made it sound like a question as I rushed down the stairs. At the bottom was our auto lock door and without being asked, Yukari slipped his ID into the small electronic identifier and the door clicked open. He then politely held it open for me as I stepped onto the gray carpet with a grunt as a thank you. I had quite a fear that if I opened my mouth the bile that was stinging my throat would fall out of my mouth.
Haru was in the waiting room - lying across three chairs on his stomach, one hand under his arm and the other brushing the floor. His eyes were open a crack when I walked in the door, and I felt them follow me as I stalked through the waiting room and kicked open the swinging door that leads to the back offices.
I heard an annoyed 'Kyo!' slip after me through the swinging door, but I ignored it whole heartily. If I didn't wash all this gray off of me soon, I would freak out externally as well. I slipped both of my dirty knives into their sheathes, slid my shoulder holster off and almost ripped my gray-covered shirt off myself. The cold air of the office's constant temperature-regulated AC made goose bumps fall down my arms. I could see spots on my chest where the blood had soaked through the shirt and started staining my skin. It wasn't as bad as the flecked and splotched clumps of gray on my arms, but it still made my stomach twist.
I slipped into the kitchen and dropped my shirt in the sink, placed my holster along with my knives on the cleaning block next to it. I slipped out of the kitchen just as quickly and made my way down the hallway, slipping into the bathroom at the end of it.
The bathroom was decent sized, with four stalls. Shigure had made it duel-sex safe when he had once hoped that a female might work here, so there were no urinals lining one wall. The floor was black and gray tiled, and the walls were a soft yellow. I braced myself on one of the four sinks that lined the opposite wall of the stalls and stared into my reflection in the mirror.
I looked horrible. My eyes were bright - even to me - and my face was pale. The area around the cut I had on my temple from when I smacked my head on the ground the first time was clean and neat. The EMT had said that either she'd clean it and put a butterfly on it or she would sedate me and stitch both my head and my arm back up. Needless to say, the white sterile strip was still pulling the two sides of the cut on my head together nicely. The cut on my arms was wrapped in thick white gauze and hurt when I flexed my arm, and I had found out it made driving a pain in the ass.
Blood had cascaded down my arms, so all my now-pale skin was tinted gray. The palm of my left hand was gray from when I ripped it, and lines of dried blood ran their own paths down the side of my face. Flecks of gray spotted the bridge of my nose like the freckles on Sean's face, and I thought that besides the cut on my head and a split that I had made it out okay for two vampire encounters in one night.
My hands were sticky against the rim of the sink, and my knees were weak. It was taking everything I had not to throw myself into one of those stalls and empty out the coffee that normally replaced food humans were suppose eat. My nerves were totally shot; I could feel tremors race from my hands to the pit of my stomach. I don't know if they were from getting jumped by the foreign vampire or from the meeting with Kazuma and company. That particular meeting I was trying not to think about.
Shit...I hated vampires.
The door to the bathroom opened with a bang, and Sean stumbled in - face almost ashen white. I watched in the mirror as he threw himself into a stall and proceeded to up-chuck his own coffee. I had to concentrate on my breathing in order to not join him in a stall. I'm known for not barfing up my insides at a murder site or on a hunt, but when it comes to standing there and listening to someone else puke - I'm a bit shaky.
I felt bile bubble at the back of my throat and I closed my eyes, exiting the bathroom as quickly as I could. The hallway was quiet - minus the light conversation that came from the kitchen. I sighed and licked my lips, then grimaced as the vile taste of bile lingering in my mouth mixed with the dried blood on my lips. Confident I wouldn't fall over and puke, I made my way back toward the kitchen. I could wash my arms and face in there - I had a feeling Sean would like to be alone when praying to the porcelain god for his life.
I slipped into the kitchen and all conversation stopped, the weight of everyone's eyes suddenly on me. I blinked back at them, their power surrounding me and spilling into the magic hole in my chest. Yet instead of the awful numbness that had rung through me the first time, warmth grew instead. It raced to my fingertips and settled my stomach instantly.
Haru now sat in between Yukari and Shigure, my gun disassembled in his hands and in the process of being cleaned. He set the final piece down, raised his eyes up to me - taking in the blood-covered sight that I was - and smiled.
"You don't look so good." Shigure said lightly with a smile, my knife expertly held in one of his hands and a cleaning rag in another. We tended to do that for each other - if one stumbled into the bathroom at an ungodly hour like 4: 30 in the morning about to chuck their lunch into the toilet. Because having a clean weapon is quite important to us all, and no one wants to clean their equipment after leaning over a toilet for an hour and a half.
"I look better than the other guy," I said lightly, finding it easer to breathe as their power passed through me. My skin was starting to get itchy where the clotted blood lay in my hair. Yukari's rumbling laugh fell out of his thin frame, and Haru smile. My white-and-black haired cousin gave me a once over again, seeing me but not really seeing me.
"We're going for a drink," he said knowing, then added shortly after "When you're done washing up, of course. You look like you need something heavy."
N.O.E.L. Tavern, 1224 Hoki, Mita, Japan.
Thursday 4: 49
Noel's Tavern sat on the corner of a not-so-busy street, an old three-story building that looked ratty and a few steps away from being ripped down. The building was tiled in a gray flagstone, each piece held onto the sides of the building by nothing short of magic glue - I'm pretty sure it was magic that glued the stones to the building. All the windows were boarded up like all the abandoned buildings near Tokyo harbor. Around the back of the building and three steps up sat a red door with a simple, constantly flickering light over it, and on the door was the name of the tavern - N.O.E.L.
I parked my jeep around the front of the old gray building, the black shingles looking like they were about to slide off the roof and hit the nearest bystander. I parked under a streetlight in the little 12-car parking lot that was nearly empty. A little red Honda sat in the corner, and a small black sports car sat three spots away. I didn't let the low amount of cars parked fool me - no matter what, Noel's was packed.
I sat for a moment in the noiseless car - a truly rare occurrence. The only time I shut my music off was when Shigure was in the car. I had a hypothesis that the noise level I like my music at would make the poor werewolf's ears bleed. This was the only sympathy I spared Shigure. The said shifter sat in the passenger set of the jeep; small wire-framed reading glasses perched on his nose and the file in his hand.
I told both Haru - who was relaxing in the spacious back set of the jeep - and Shigure about my interaction with Kazuma and the Child Vampire Of My Most Dammed Nightmares. Shigure had given me a sideways glance when I mentioned Hiro, his brow furrowing and worry fogging his eyes. I told them the deal I made with Kazuma - never mention his name directly (I found out last year that it's not good to mention vampires when they don't want to be known to others - trust me on this one). Haru had laughed and asked if I was kidding. I didn't answer him.
Shigure closed the folder quietly and slowly took his glasses off, putting them in his breast pocket. Hs chocolate eyes were very quiet and still in their sockets.
"Whatd'ya think?" I said, my voice way to loud in the sudden quiet. His eyes flickered to me and his shoulders slumped. He shook his head, his shaggy black hair swinging around his eyes.
"There is almost nothing here," he said lightly, holding the folder toward me. "There's nothing to go by. No one to suspect, no one to question. There isn't even a declaration of what kind of powers this Honda girl has."
I sighed. "I thought as much."
"How long do you have till you need to find this girl?" Haru spoke up in the back, leaning forward so he was settled in between the seats and able to look back and forth from Shigure and I. I stared at him for a minute.
"I have no idea."
"...Good job, Kyo."
"Screw you." I pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened my door, letting the night air spill into the car. It was crisp, with that pre-morning cold that comes with almost every morning in a city near the water. I slid out and locked the door instinctively, slamming it behind me.
"Just trying to help." I heard him say on the other side of the door as a second slam told me Shigure and Haru were out as well. I started around the truck and walked toward the old looking building.
"You're bloody marvelous at that, aren't you?"
He smiled crooked at my side, his stride matching mine. "I try my best."
I heard Shigure chuckle behind us as I stepped past the boundaries of the magic circle that ran around the pub. By the way, did I mention that a high-class coven of witches met at Noel's? Guess not...
I passed through the circle with a slight tickle of my magic hole, already adapting to the feeling of the empty spot in my chest. I was beginning to think that it wasn't really normal that I got the feeling I could put a metaphysical fist through that hole. I should probably tell someone. I rounded the corner of the building and came quickly to the back entrance. At the same moment Haru and I stopped and let Shigure pass through the middle of us and up the three steps to the red door.
See...Noel's - though it's known for the witchcraft and talent user's that often settle into a pint at the bar - is normally full of lycanthropes and shifters. In case you didn't realize, most Trackers track shifters and lycanthropes - thus I'm not very welcome by some of the patrons. Haru - in being one of my partner's and being related to me - isn't much more welcome as I am. Shigure has a 'Get In For Free' card because he is one, though most still don't like him anyway for owning the company we work for.
Other then the shifters, everyone else either likes me or doesn't care. Lucky, lucky me.
Shigure knocked three times on the door, waited a second, the knocked again. I heard the flicker of a switch, then the unbolting of locks and the door swung open without the creepy squeak you would expect.
In the doorway stood Kira, dressed in Noel's standard uniform. A grin was on his perfect face, his eyes alight. He quickly stuck his hand out, and Shigure shook it with a matching grin of his own. Kira then pulled Shigure into a hug and both men rubbed their cheeks together, paused for a second, the pulled back. Neither I, nor Haru, found this strange. Odd what you learn when around a werewolf.
"Shigure, you dog, long time no see." Kira's voice was smooth, and Shigure laughed. Kira's midnight blue eyes swung down the steps towards us, and his smile grew. "Hatsu, Kyon. Good to see you again too."
Kira - in all his 19 year-old glory - was one of the strongest pack members in the local lukoi that I knew. He was Freki - and I know some definitions will be needed. Lukoi is the very technical term for a werewolf pack, and why that is a very long story. Freki is known as a second in command to the pack's Ulfric - or wolf king. He wasn't Freki without a reason, I can say that truthfully. Even standing feet away from him, life power blew off of his body like great warm gusts of wind. I felt the hole in my chest hum with the power, and I could almost see the air shimmering around him because of his aura.
That just made you think. If Kira could only be Freki, then how strong was the Ulfric of their pack? I - for one- was not waiting with baited breath for the day I met the Ulfric.
I grinned back. "Good to see you too, Kira. Can we come in?"
The waiter/werewolf grinned wider and swung the door all the way open, stepping to stand beside Shigure. I hopped up the steps quickly, and noticed that Kira was eye level with my neck. His dusty black hair sat inches under me, his midnight blue eyes looking older then I was by years. I wondered to myself in between scattered thoughts if this Tohru Honda had eyes like that. If she was as warn inside as Kira looked.
I silently prayed she wasn't and stepped into Noel's, my thoughts quiet.
After exacting a long narrow hallway I entered a large room that at one time was space for a living room, the kitchen, and two spare bedrooms. Everything had been renovated - of course - so now the entire floor was more open then before. The bottom floor of the house was changed into an old tavern, like the kind they had in England in the 18th century (or something). The floors were a hard maple wood, with the knots authentically grown in the really once-alive wood. The bar's island was up against the far left wall; racks and racks of liquor from around the world lined up on the glass shelves. The bar reached across the entire wall, panels cut out of the underside of the bar and boxed in with golden leafed squares - or real blocks of gold. There was a door in the far corner after the shelves of drinks started that led to the back wine room and upstairs. I have never been upstairs, or ever behind the cloth door they use to block the stairs from view.
Comfortable looking bar stools lined the bar, their backs high and the seat cushions a deep red. The gray of the bar stool cushions matched Kira's button down dress shirt, and I noticed that the deep gray the legs of the chair were painted were almost the color of Kira's dress pants. The server matched the chairs - how utterly corny, but somehow predictable. Hum...
Tall tables were scattered along the walls of the bar, square and long enough to fit six people - with room left over. Circular tables were scattered in the center of the room, four chairs to every circle, and four chairs to every rectangle. Every table was spaced evenly apart - giving the people sitting there a little breathing room and slight privacy. In the corner that the door was on sat a old grand piano and a piano bench, and I had never once - in all the years that I had been allowed to come to Noel's - heard someone play that piano. It was a little sad, really.
Every piece of furniture - minus the bar stools - was made of wood and gold and red fabric. All the hinges were made from enchanted gold and every nut, bold, and screw were, too. The chairs were made of wood and the seats padded with a red cushion. There wasn't a drop of silver in the entire room - I would bet my knife on it - except for the silver you brought in with you and, judging from the energy that flowed from the patrons in the room, I knew most of them didn't have silver on.
Why, you ask? Well here's a very simple reason:
A (lycanthropes) + B (silver) C (unhappiness).
Simple math, really.
And the place was packed with them; shifters, I mean. The room was warm from their life energies touching. That warmth sat in my chest, and I was content. This place felt safe, and suddenly the need to touch my newly cleaned gun drifted away, despite that every pair of eyes was on me and mine the moment we walked into the bar. And I don't think it was because the three of us are so good looking...
Haru still had his holster looped on to his belt, his Browning safely locked into place and all four of his knives on - adding two knives to each forearm, along with the two on his calf's. That was the only thing he added to his outfit from earlier today, much like Shigure - who only added a soft brown leather shoulder holster and a 9 millimeter Glock strapped securely under his right arm for a cross draw. Strangely - or normally enough -Shigure was a lefty.
I - on the other hand - was now wearing one of my favorite and lucky green t-shirts that actually managed to not clash with my hair. My black shoulder holster held my Mag and the knives looked dark on my skin. My loose tan cargos held an assortment of knives in my many pockets. I probably smelled like silver. My lightly black leather jacked did nothing to hide the shoulder holster when it was open - like it was now - and it certainly didn't hide my cross. Me, jumpy about vampires? No...
I took a seat across from Shigure, who had wandered over to one of the taller tables. There were lamps lit all over the bar –real, authentic, whale oil burning lamps (They didn't really burn whale oil. I had asked once, and had been laughed at.). They gave the room the lighting effect of an old English tavern - or so Sean says. It was very nice.
"So, what can I get you gentlemen?" Kira put both hands on the table and smiled as Haru got into the seat next to me. "The usual?"
Shigure nodded, but I said, "Give me a Mai Tai."
"Bloody Mary." Haru said. Kira's smile grew and he slipped off toward the bar. Haru turned to me then. "Starting strong tonight, ne? You know Kaori give doubles shots to Mai Tai's."
There were three normal bartenders that always worked at Noel's. Seo - who made the best martinis in the world - was a shifter that worked Mondays and Fridays. Kagurazaka was a redheaded fox - in the real sense of the term - with pointed orange ears and a tail when he's not casting an illusion. The fox made one mad Mudslide, and his Bloody Marys were to die for. But Kaori was the man who made the best Mai Tai's in the world.
I guess that Kagurazaka and Kaori were both on tonight, for Haru never orders a Bloody Mary from anyone else. I guess he needed a good drink more then I though he did.
"How did your hunt go?" Shigure said to Haru as he sighed and leaned into the seat.
"Fine enough. You'll get the money." It was a phrase we all used when we didn't want to talk about what happened. It most likely meant that blood was involved in more then a comfortable way. I sighed.
"How bad was it?" I asked, taking my light jacket off and wrapping it around the back of the chair. I could care less if everyone else knew I had a damn gun. Everyone considered Noel's - and when I say everyone I mean it - neutral ground. There were no fights at Noel's, no demonstrations of power. The reason why there were no fights here was very unclear, but it was known by everyone and for some reason no one disobeyed that rule. The minute you stepped out of Noel's parking lot – tough. Then the fights raged with blood and gore like any other place. I wasn't so sure I would care if I got in a fight tonight - I was numb and tired, if not slightly annoyed. I would probably just kill the poor bastard. I was shocked and freaked to my extent tonight, thank you very much...
Haru shrugged and grabbed a toothpick out of a small holder on the table and put it in his mouth. "Ritual-sacrifice type. I saw a heart lying on a table, people elbow deep in someone else's chest, all that jazz. "
I nodded and Shigure turned a bit green, if anything. He wasn't too knowledgeable on what happened in the field, thus he was squeamish. Can you believe that? A werewolf squeamish about a little sacrificed blood...
In case you hadn't guessed - yes, i am insane. So is the rest of my family...
I chanced to look up at Haru and found his eyes dark, and he was biting his lip. Worry was written of his face clearly, and that wasn't something you normally saw in Haru. I cocked an eyebrow at him.
"What?" I asked, and I brought Shigure's attention to Haru's face. The Were also cocked an eyebrow at him, leaning forward. Haru shook his head.
"It was...disturbing, that's all." It was calm and final. I had my mouth halfway open to probe about it some more when the following things happened in a sequence that my brain couldn't seem to keep up with.
1 - A hand found its way though my gritty hair and anchored itself firmly in a fist.
2- Another hand touched my right cheek and - with the hand that was laced in my hair - turned my head to the left, my mouth still slightly open now in surprise, and pulled forward.
3- The force of the hands turning my head dragged me off the stool with such an uncharacteristic ungraceful-ness that I was falling forward on my feet before I knew it.
4- I took an almost automatic step forward, my hands reaching out to catch myself on something - anything. The first thing my hands touched, they latched onto it.
5- My hands latched onto something - more accurately someone, just as a vanilla flooded my nose and a pair of lips met mine.
If I said that I had been shell-shocked and numb before, cancel that. Now I was shell-shocked and numb. There was no sound, no movement, and no sight. My brain had stopped altogether, along with my heart. Even with my eyes wide open I couldn't tell who was kissing me for a few moments. Then gray-brown eyes flooded mine - amusement and pride making the vibrant color glow - and I felt my heart pick up.
I pushed my hands away as I pulled my head back, laughter and catcalls echoing within the wooden walls. Shigure and Haru's laughter chimed right along with her high-pitched laughter, creating a light cord. I pushed her away with all I had, and she stumbled back and falling gracefully onto her butt, laughing the entire time.
Her hair was cropped to her shoulders and pulled back by two braids. Her hair was just the right color brown - almost a chestnut - that let her graying eyes stand out on her pale face. Her thin frame was covered with the normal Noel's waitress uniform, the burgundy dress shirt with its first 3 button's undone and a pair of black slacks. Her apron was black and tied around twice, and - like normal - her feet splayed out in front of her. I felt a flush creep up my cheeks - momentarily surprised that I had any blood left in my body at all to blush.
"Shit! God damnit Kagura!" I almost screamed it at her, my fists shaking. " Why tha hell did you hafta go and do that? What tha hell's wrong with you?"
She waved a thin hand at me, her cheeks flushed from laughing. The men around us were laughing as well, small smiles on their faces. "Ne, Kyon, don't take it so hard."
"Don't take it so hard!" I fumed. "How did'ya expect me to take it when every time-"
"-exactly! You should be us to this alread-"
"-a normally thing to do! I'm not your boyfriend or any-"
She threw her hand up over her head and I felt all the willpower I had to speak disappear into thin air. I felt my mouth snap shut on its own accord, and it left me staring down at her with a contempt on my face. I stared down at her form and I would have growled if I had the ability.
In her hand sat a small black orb and I knew from experience that it was my voice. She had taken my voice out of me - and she wondered why I once called her Ursula. No one got the joke.
"Na, Kyon..." She smiled up at me, pushing herself off the floor with one hand and dusting her pants off. "I'll give it back, don't worry. You just have to calm down first..."
Her smile was mischievous and it matched the unearthly glint in her eye. Kagura was the only witch I knew that was able to steal a person's voice. Then again, I remember once a long time ago she cast a spell on me when we were growing up - when I was like...12. I've gone to a lot of people that have tried to take the spell off me, but everyone I've gone to has said that the spell has grown into me as I've grown up. So I was stuck with someone who could tell you exactly were I was, if I was hurt, what state me mine is in, and any major thought I was having at the time.
How did you think Shigure and Sean found me and saved my sorry ass before? Kagura tapped into me just as the first cut on my hand was made. The vampire cut us off instantly after, but Kagura was able to tell them where we were. I guess she's handy for some things.
"Can you teach me to do that?" Shigure said, now standing next to me. I turned my head to him and gave him a sharp look, unable to do anything else. The Were smiled at me and clapped me on the back, laughing. "It's a good trick."
I had a few things to counter that - for proof, Kagura burst out laughing - but the smug look stayed on his face. So I made it easy for myself and flipped him off. Oh yeah, there's another language I know. Sign language. Haha...I'm so funny.
"Did you order something?" she asked, ignoring Shigure all together. The werewolf's face fell instantly, and it made me grin. No one could brush another person off like Kagura. I nodded, still unable to talk, and put my hands in my pockets - at a totally loss as of what to do before I got my damn voice back.
"Yes," Haru said with my nod, and her attention was dragged from me to him. She raised a thin eyebrow at him and shrugged, taking a few steps and sitting in the seat next to Shigure. The Were sat down the moment he was dismissed and was playing with the napkin on the table. I suddenly felt very awkward, standing while the rest of my party was sitting, and I still felt the eyes of the others in the bar on me as well. So I sat with all the dignity I had left tonight - and to tell you the truth, after that it wasn't much.
Once I was seated, Kagura turned to me again, her eyes alight with wanting. She was smiling, and she leaned forward when she asked "So, tell me what happened?"
I blinked at the suddenness and I felt a cough roll up my throat. I let it out in a fit that made my eyes tear, then cleared my throat afterwards and found that I made noise. I gave Kagura a hard look and rubbed my throat, then raised my eyebrow at her.
"What do you mean what happened?" I sounded raspy. I cleared my throat again.
"At the meeting, stupid! Goddess..." She looked like I should understand what she was saying. I didn't have a clue. I let it show. I wanted to know what happened at this meeting too...
"What meeting?"
"With Gabriel of Japan's Kiss, duh!" She 'ticked' at me, and I gaped at her.
"When did I do this?" My voice was very soft. Fear stabbed me in the stomach like a knife, and it sent a thrill of horror up my spine. My fingers were suddenly cold, and I didn't seem able to get the blood in me to move. If felt like everything stopped with an icy cold feeling all over. I saw Shigure's eyes widen at me out of the corner of my eyes. Kagura, for her part, looked very confused herself.
"What do you mean, when? You met with him today, right? Everyone in the coven is talking about it...you did meet with Gabriel, right?" She sounded as nervous as she looked, like her information was wrong or something. I wished so much for it to be wrong, but that dread-life feeling that something had indeed slipped through my fingers like it had when I agreed with Yosuki-...Atsuo this morning. I knew I had missed something in the office, and I had been right. I knew I was missing something at the graveyard too. That must have been what I was missing.
"Who's Gabriel?" Haru asked, and I watched Kagura's head swivel from me to face him. I didn't move that quickly, but slowly and almost painfully turned to look at him. My cousin was staring back at us like he knew it was a stupid question but didn't know nevertheless.
"Gabriel, " Kira's voice was accompanied by the sound of my drink being delivered. And what a nice sound it was... " is the Archangel who is God's heavenly messenger and Lord of fire and thunder. But in the term that Kagura's talking about, it's the Kiss's second."
"Exactly." Kagura said, and as she started I picked my drink up and downed the entire thing in a few gulps. The sweet coldness that slid down my throat was followed by the rawness of the alcohol. It felt very real, and very me, and it made me stop thinking about the fact that I might have met one of the strongest vampires in Japan tonight and I came out alive. After I said no to him...
"I told him no," I said, and my voice was scratchy to my own ears. I sounded distant - separated from the rest of myself. Mild shock. Kagura's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
"What!"
I looked up to her, and I know my eyes were darker from the look that flashed through her eyes. " I said no to him - to his deal."
"Wait, that's who you talked to?" Shigure broke in, sounding astounded. I couldn't see his eyebrows either. "The vampire in the graveyard was Gabriel?"
"Wait, I'm lost," Kagura broke in.
"So am I." Haru and Kira echoed each other, then turned and gave each other a look. I sighed, and the numbness in my fingertips almost disappeared. I looked at the empty cup, then turned to Kira and put the cup in front of him.
"Hit me again, then take a set."
Kira took the glass without question, and first I turned to Haru. "What don't you get?"
"Why haven't I heard of this 'Gabriel' before?" He sipped at his Bloody Marry, and I only glanced at it. You would never know how distracting it is to watch people drink gray liquid. Creepy ass tomato juice. Why did they feel the need to make drinks red?
"I never let you go after anything that big," I said truthfully. He gave me a look over the rim of his cup, a look that was on the edge of an unspoken death threat. I grinned back. "Just being careful."
"You've never had to kill something so strong, so you don't know about it. Why wouldn't basic training cover who Gabriel is?" Shigure said more to himself then to Haru, and gave his drink a puzzled look.
"LVE's aren't meant to go after the big bad vamps." Kagura offered, crossing her arms. "You not meant to deal with Gabriel or Michael."
"Or Lucifer." I said.
"Japan's Kiss doesn't have a Lucifer."
"All Kisses have a Lucifer. Us regular monsters just don't know who it is." Kira set my glass down with a frown on his face from his own comment. The table was quiet suddenly, and uneasy type of topic and a very uneasy answer - no one denied the monster comment. No one agreed either. I was getting to into the mindset that everyone's life was a nightmare as worthy as mine seemed to be. Or that everyone did things that could turn into nightmares behind their backs. Within the group that sat at the table with me, I was correct.
"I..." Haru tested the waters again, ripping our minds away from dissecting the fact that no one objected. "...still don't know what any of theses names mean."
"Gabriel-" Kira started for me, and I took another sip of the acid like drink. This one was stronger then the last. "-is to a Kiss as Geri is to pack. They're both thirds to the head of the group."
Haru nodded. We all (minus Kagura) knew the structure of a Pack like the back of our hands. I gave Kira a brownie point for comparing the two positions to one another. I -truthfully -had never thought of the similarities within both.
"Michael is God's right hand, so naturally in a Kiss, Michel is second to their 'god'. Michael is equal to what Kira is in his pack, right?" I continued, rather slowly and rose and eyebrow at Kira. He nodded, and I sipped the battery acid colored drink again. My toes weren't as cold as before. I reminded myself to thank Kaori before I left.
"Every Michael is allowed -if old and strong enough - to start their own Kiss under their God." I continued, letting go of my glass and leaning back. "Thus he becomes a God of his own Kiss. But the true 'God' still controls all of the Kisses, and the first Michael controls all the of the Kisses under him, and the that Michael's Michael controls everything under him, so on and so forth. There are two Michael with their own Kisses in this city...that I know of anyway."
"I know that there is a Kiss made by Lucifer in Tokyo." Shigure put in, then flushed when he found everyone's eyes on him. Half of his Mai Tai was gone and the other half sparkled in the glass in his hand. The effects of alcohol didn't last long in werewolves. Did I mention that Mai Tai glasses were almost as big as a ceiling fan globe? It's a big ass glass.
"There isn't a Lucifer in Tokyo Shigure. That's a myth." Kagura started, but Shigure shook his head at her.
"Alright, believe whatever. But Lucifer is able to create his own Kiss as well. Lucifer is...like Freki or Geri and Fenrir in one. He's as strong or stronger then Michel and Gabriel like Freki and Geri, but he's challenged the authority of 'God' - or in the were case, the Ulfric." The Were said and ended his sentence with a sip of his drink. For a moment I felt very lost myself. I can't imagine what Kagura felt knowing next to nothing about this.
"Definitions and explanations," Haru said quickly toward Shigure. The oldest at the table sighed.
"That's right, we haven't had a Fenrir yet. They're the challenger to the Ulfric's position. Either the Ulfric wins and nothing happens to Fenrir, or Fenrir wins and the Ulfric dies. It works almost the same way in the Kiss. If 'God' is destroyed by Lucifer, the wicked become God...fairly simple, actually."
Haru glared at him. "Shut up. Now pretend I'm three and tell me again."
Shigure smiled. "That should be easy."
"Shut up and tell him." I said stiffly.
"Ulfric is a wolf King - he's the leader of a pack or werewolf's. Freki is second in command in the pack to the Ulfric. Geri is third in command." Kagura noted to herself, counting on her fingers. Out of all of us, she knew the least about werewolf order, let alone werewolf's in general. Kira nodded.
"And Fenrir is the challenger to the Ulfric. He was - before he became Fenrir - either Geri or Freki, or someone else who's strong in the pack." Shigure said toward Kagura, attracting the witch's eyes to him.
"So..." She pouted her lips and stared at her counted fingers and started again. "...so an Ulfric and God -the leader of a Kiss- are the same."
"Technically," Kira said and I took another sip of my drink. Now that panicky feeling didn't flood my body when I though about what we were talking about. Kagura nodded at him.
"Then Michael is like Freki, Gabriel is like Geri, and Lucifer is like Fenrir...roughly." She looked surprised that it finally clicked in her head and I saw from the corner of my eye that it clicked for Haru too.
I spoke up again, suddenly very tired. "What was the next question?"
Kagura blinked to me then remembered with a slight jolt. I guess she hadn't know how important a Kiss's Gabriel was before...
"Did you meet with Japan's Gabriel tonight?" she said again, and this time I could think and not be bothered by the shock of the question.
I tired to remember the last time a vampire had felt like that to me. I could vividly remember the feel of his power rubbing again my skin, and the feel of his voice along my spine. He was a master vampire all right - that I'm sure of. He was masking more then half of his power, but even so...could he be powerful enough to be Gabriel? I'm not so sure.
I answered truthfully. " I don't know."
She threw he hands up in a fit and glared at me. "How do you not know!"
"Vampire X felt strong, but I could tell he was masking most of whatever he has - more then half." I sat back and furrowed my eyebrows. Vampire X was a name we used when we didn't know the name of the vampire in question. There is a taboo about saying a vampire's name in a conversation when you do not wish to invoke the vampire's power. I'm not so sure about that, but I know that vampires don't like being known to more people than absolutely necessary. Almost no one knew the names of the ranking vampires in the country. The only truly open and known vampires live somewhere in England, or France - somewhere in Europe.
"Did he feel as strong as Kazuhiko?" Shigure asked and I felt my heart skip a beat. My suddenly wild eyes trained on him, and the Were stared back with calm and cold eyes. Sometimes I'm surprised at the amount of emotion he can hide behind in his eyes. I felt my eyes shift and split and my limited power bubble in my chest despite the warding of the building. No outside magic in a safe-zone, remember that. I felt myself snarl at him, but Shigure reached out and grabbed my bad hand and pulled me toward him. Suddenly, I was nose to nose with my older cousin, who looked just as pissed as I was.
"Before you even say anything-" he said lowly, his hand so very warm against my suddenly cold and clammy skin. " - or try to bite my head off, I'm just asking to see if we're dealing with the real thing." A quick note - Kazuhiko was the strongest vampire that we ever had to destroy. "If Vampire X is stronger then him, we have found Japan's Gabriel. Now think..."
His sentenced was clipped a bit, and even when he finished, he didn't let go of my hand. He held it tight, grounding me. Shigure knew me well enough to know that if I got caught up in my fury or my pain that even I could damage something metaphysically. The warm current of his hand kept me ground and rational.
Even saying his name brought goose bumps to my flesh. I could suddenly smell the dust and sweat and old wine and old blood like it was in the room around me. I could feel the night crying out in pain with every cut on my skin, I could feel the bite of the blade on my body, I could feel his laugher and his joy as I felt it with him. The momentary flashback broke a sweat across my back and over my arms. I felt like my skin was numb, but I was feverish at the same time.
Shigure squeezed my hand hard and I focused my eyes back on him. His brown eyes were troubled and pain filled, as well as apologetic. I took a breath through the cold-heat and shook my head at him, and thought.
"Most of his power felt like a giant weight against my neck," I said, and my voice didn't waiver. Kudos for me.
"Was he stronger than Kazuhiko?" Shigure's voice didn't waiver, and slowly I found sound coming back to my ears. I could feel my fingertips again, and rational thought cam back into full swing. Damn, magical flashbacks are a bitch.
"Yes." Kazuma felt stronger then Kazuhiko. If I had actually stopped and though about it before I would have realized it. Sean's predicament had come too fast after the revel, and I was all for sweeping myself away in that and not think about what happened.
"Who's Kazuhiko?" Kira asked in all innocence. The name made goose bumps fly across my skin again. Hello reality, stop reminding me.
"The vampire who cut up Kyon's hand a while ago," Kagura answered for me, a worried look in her eye. She said it quickly - as if saying faster would make it not hurt as much. Immediately, she continued. "But if Vampire X is stronger then Kazuhiko...what would he want with Kyon?"
"Damn good question." Shigure released my hand and I was relived that the cold didn't creep up my back again. I felt everyone's eyes suddenly on me, and I met them in turn.
The truth was, I had no idea why they would go to such lengths to meet me like that. I'm not dangerous to most master vampires. I'm a Tracker. Mostly, I hunt lycanthropes - I normally have nothing to do with vampires - until a vampire or two need to die. I don't cover vamps any other time. That is not my department. Sean normally takes care of that, and Haru works with the Supernatural Board of Japan, not me. I track and kill and hunt. That's it. I don't work with vampires. Well...at least not before tonight...
"I don't know..." I sounded very lost, even to myself.
"I don't think you will know..." Haru said, placing his empty glass back on the table. His dark eyes were calm but troubled. "...until you find this Honda girl."
Kagura - who looked passive a second ago - suddenly slammed her fists on the table and glared at me. "'Honda'! Who's this girl you're chasing after, Kyo? What has happened with us? Why are you cheating on me?"
"Kagura!" I almost wailed her name, and my table - my friends- erupted into laughter, along with half the patrons at the bar that night. It was slowly approaching 5 in the morning -almost another hour and a half till the sun rose. I suddenly had the feeling that I could go home in peace.
Sometime I wonder why I need to open my big, fat metaphysical mouth and say things like 'I could go home in peace!'. It normally never happens when you say that...
(End of Chapter Four)
Ranting: Well this took me a very long time to write. School's started up again, and this time I'm actually trying to do my homework! Yay for me! I finished my outline for TC all together, and I like it. I like it a lot...
No one get discouraged that their favorite character hasn't appeared yet! You'll get to see everyone eventually -. I have a few stories that I can write after TC is finished. I want to make this into a series. I have so many idea's...
My Beta (Misaki-San!) Just goy chapter 2, and I'm starting on chapter 5 (well truthfully, I could be working on Strange Happenings chapter 15...Hits her hand Bad SAL-Chan! Bad!)
Date Finished: November 7th, 2004. 10:31 p.m. (Wow this chapter took a wile! But I finished the outline!)
Date Eddited: April 20th, 2005. 5:13pm (...wow...that's a long time.)
anyway...
YumiTakato: Thank you 3 glad it rox your sox. I haven't seen tom many complete AU's where the characters stay intact, but I'll try to keep them as real to Furuba as possable.bows Thanks, btw. come review again!
KawaiiBabe: well well,y ou'll just have to weight and see. I have a lot of cards up my sleeves. but yes, i can say there will be quite a bit of Kyoru in here...lol there's more to come. This is only the first part of the story...
HanaTenshiHimeko: lol 3 Remember that vampire, btw...
Cat: --U ...i am so sorry that this took so long...Glad this hypes you up. I get hyped up when I start writing it. I swage I'll start pumping out chapters faster...hey, you may even get two next time round... 3
Kute Anime Kitty: Really? anything like it?...at all? Well, thanx! hehe! come review again!
...so, i think you all deserve an explanation. I've been swamped by school. I had a regents, and I have 3 more coming up in about 2 months. I'm not in charge of the Technical part of our theater group at school, so I need to be there for every practice, the talent show, the multicultural show, everything that has to do with the auditorium. And I know it's not a good excuse, but I have a major writers block. My hands keep writing crap and I'm like "I'm not putting this shit up. I can do so much better!"..and I re-write it. Oh, P.S.! I have a new Email, if anyone wants to chat. it's Drop me a note any time. but...still review...please!
And because you all weighted so long, I'll give up and give you...
A Bonus! Preview of the next chapter! as always, it's un-beta-ed... anyway, from chapter 4..:
I was about to laugh when someone grabbed onto the back of my holster and puller. A moment later I was face to face with my eldest cousin's level brown eyes. I almost laughed in his face, but I bit my cheek and held it. Kudos for me.
"You're late again." He said, sounding board. I shrugs him off and adjusted my holster to fit under my arms again. I grinned at his bored tone.
"I'm sorry, I try not to live here twenty-four seven."
"You're so luck your family. I would of fired you're ass so long ago-"
"That's why Sean is in 10 minuets early every day."
"Hey!"
Shigure smacked me on top of the head and grinned, his brown eyes coming to life again. I grinned back. Sean glared.
"You have a client in your office." The Were said, the sudden glint fading. I blinked.
"I just got in."
Shigure shrugged and turned away from me. "He was asking for you specifically. Sorry Kyon."
"Sorry...Sorry?" I parroted, wondering what brought that on. Shaking my head, I took a step toward him, mentioning the biggest weight on my mind. "Wait, did Haru call in sick?"
"No." Shigure didn't even stop to say it. He shut his door with a echoing slam and I knew something was very, very wrong. I had a sinking feeling that whoever it was in my office was the cause of the disturbance. Great, just freaken' great...
I handed the CD case back to Sean with a serious look on my face. The American took it without question, patting me once on the back before he stepped back into his office. I sighed. I did think this day would be better...
I hesitated outside my office and just touched the door knob. Cold rushed up my arm and the spongy-brain feeling came back. I sudden in a breath without realizing it, cold death-power vibrating up my arm.
Another one! Damnit! I can't get away from damn vampires today!
The knob turned under my hand, and the door opened with a slightly vacuum effect that pulled my hair forward to sit on top of my eyes. I almost took a step back in surprise, but I stood my ground. I stared at my next employer and marked the tally down in my head: That's three blond vamps.
His hair was canary yellow - a bright blond that hadn't seen the sun in...well, a few hundred years I would guess. His skin wasn't a sticky pale as some of the other vamps I saw today - he was by far the darkest. He was also the most casually dressed next to Alastra, but so far he didn't luanch himself at me with nails raised. It was still early though.
A cotton candy pink long sleeved shirt covered his thin torso and made him look to young. A pair of black jeans covered his legs - I was debating weather or not to ask him if he had to poor his legs into those jeans they looked so tight. Small dress shoes held his feet, and I noticed they were taping before I pulled my eyes up to meat his.
I couldn't stop myself. I looked up to his thin face and stared at his honey eyes. I think that messed both of us up. He took a step back, but didn't break eye contact. I didn't move.
"How...how can ya do that?" It was child like. The vampire didn't look much older then Hiro. But I could tell the difference between the two instantly. This vamp was smiling as he said it, and that smile actually lit his eyes. Either he was way young, or he didn't care if he showed emotion.
I blinked back at him. "I...don't know." Yeah, great Kyo. I'm so skilled with words. The vampire swung the door to my office open all the way and took a step back and out of the doorway. I stepped in - finding it a bit odd to have someone open the door for me - still staring at his eyes. He stared back and swung the door closed, then put his hands on his hips. His face show pride and excitement - for me. Way odd...
"Who...who the hell are you?" I finally managed to ask, not breaking eye contact. We stayed still for another moment, then the vampire blinked and bowed.
"My name is Momiji." There was a smile in his voice and on his face as he stood up straight again. "And you're exactly what my master expected you to be."
Hehe...Ja!
SAL-Chan