Disclaimer: I only own the words, not the folks.
No need for Kindred
His blood tasted of sake and steak; the dinner he'd ordered for himself and his fiancé. Unfortunately for him, his trip to the bathroom after desert landed him right in Ryoko's clutches. She wasn't concerned that he'd be missed within a few minutes. All she cared about was the thump of his jugular and the intoxicating smell of his blood.
Not wanting to waste any time, she pulled him into a dark corner and began feasting on him the moment he stepped from the bathroom.
"Ughn. No, stop", he groaned as she sucked steadily. It wasn't long before he passed out from the loss of blood. Ryoko dragged him out the back door into the dark ally and finished her meal.
"Mmmm", she intones, licking the warm liquid from her lips. "And to think I'd almost left this place yesterday."
Before then, it had been nearly 2 weeks since she'd eaten. Today she feasted.
One at 6am.
One a little after 1pm.
And this luscious late evening snack.
"Rather tasty", she agrees with herself as the stranger rolls from her lap into the slightly damp ally.
Standing slowly, she stretches her arms above her head to relieve the tightness in her back. With practiced ease she tosses the blonde wig covering her cyan ponytail into the nearest dumpster. Flipping open her compact, she checks for any blood traces before re-applying her warm red lipstick.
"Well, guess I'd better find a place to hole up for the night", she figures out loud, "I'm beat."
Stepping cautiously from the ally, she meanders down the street, nodding and smiling at the passers-by. Many men admire her and she flirts openly, to the chagrin of their wives and girlfriends.
"Don't be so uptight," she calls to the latest 'victim' of her charm, a very angry matron dragging her drooling husband down the street.
Giggling to herself, she wanders down another block, energized by her last meal.
Noting the bullet train station on the corner, she makes a mental note to ride it at least once while she's here. As she continues down the street, she spies a Hilton hotel.
'That's where I'm staying tonight,' she smiles to herself.
"I'd like a suite please", she asserts, handing the desk clerk the pilfered Platinum Visa from her 6am meal.
'It's not like she'll need it anymore', she scoffs to herself, smiling at the clerk politely.
"Do you have any luggage, ma'am."
"No, the airlines lost it", she lies easily, "so I'll need some new things. What time does the boutique open in the morning?"
"10:00am. Shall I arrange for a wake up call?"
"No, that's alright, I'll manage."
Retrieving "her" card and the room key, the golden-eyed beauty makes her way to the elevator.
Giggling with anticipation, she clutches the key to her ample bosom as the elevator whisks her to the 28th floor. This will be the first time she's slept in a real bed in years! Ever since she crashed on this backwater planet, she'd struggled. Before she got to Osaka, her meals consisted mostly of bums, homeless people, prostitutes and street kids. Even when she lucked up and got the occasional "suit", he (or she) turned out to be a "mere cog" with little money. She'd still have to stay on the street or in a rooming house with beds that felt full of rocks.
"I'm sure there are no rocks in the bed tonight," she laughs to herself.
The elevator opens on her floor and she nearly squeals with delight as she runs down the hall to her room.
"Woo hoo!" she yells as she runs around the large room, tossing her clothes as she goes. "What a great place this is! Wow! I gotta get naked and get into that bed! Wait! Gotta see the bathroom first!"
Stepping into the large bathroom with extensive amenities, she is suitably impressed, letting out a low whistle.
"Man, I'm afraid to pee in this place," she laughs.
Eying the large, Jacuzzi-style tub, a big smile crosses her face.
"I know what I'm doing first," she decides.
Shedding the last of her clothes, a trouser sock and her panties, she turns on the water, adding various oils and scents from a shelf nearby.
While waiting for the tub to fill, she pours herself some sake from the full sized bar and strolls out onto the spacious balcony. Sipping her fifth cup after gulping down the first four, she sighs deeply; enjoying the cool caress of the night air. The silence of the night soothes her, and she relaxes for the first time in recent memory.
"Maybe I'll be safe here for a while," she whispers.
Hugging herself, she shivers involuntarily. Every time she has a chance to relax, she can't help but remember.
"That bastard," she sniffs, tears flowing freely for the first time in nearly a decade.
She's been running for centuries from her sire, Kagato, who'd embraced her nearly 5,000 years ago. She was 17 and on her way home to finish packing for summer vacation. She and Washu had spent months deciding where to go and buying things for the trip. They would have left the next morning, but Ryoko never came home.
"Mom…." A sob catches in her throat.
Downing the last of the sake, she tosses the bottle into a corner of the balcony, where it shatters noisily. Rubbing her eyes, she tears herself away from more unpleasant memories and heads for the Jacuzzi.
A luxurious bath later, she curls into the king sized bed, full and happy. Sleep isn't long in coming. As always, it only lasts a few hours before she wakes with a start from one of her usual nightmares; sinking her teeth into her mother's neck. She can still taste the savory nectar as reality re-asserts itself. Rising groggily, she stumbles to the bar and proceeds to drink as much as she can. Alcohol has always helped her to deal with things; and to forget. And she had a lot to forget.
Like Jurai. It haunts her continuously. Not it, she. She haunts her. Sasami. That was her name. She was only a little girl, no more than ten, and Ryoko bled her dry.
Sasami's sister and mother attacked Ryoko with everything they had when they caught her draining one of the royal knights, Kamadake, but it wasn't enough. In the end, her sister Ayeka's force field and power logs were no match for Ryoko's gem-fueled, Kagato stoked rage. First she tore through the force field and then through their unprotected bodies. Their mother, Misaki, was first. The backlash of the field collapse had rendered her unconscious and Ryoko took the advantage to bleed her. Ayeka watched with horror as the life drained from her mother's body, but was too weak to move. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sasami stumbling down the hall.
"Run Sasami," she cried weakly.
By the time Sasami reached her fallen mother, Ryoko was noisily feasting on her sister.
"M-Mommy?"
Hearing the girl behind her, Ryoko turned quickly, her eyes bright red and blood still dripping from her fangs and down the side of her face.
Sasami screamed loud enough to wake the dead.
As Ryoko advanced upon the terrified little girl, a part of her screamed in protest; the same part of her that had been fighting her sire Kagato's will for centuries. She didn't want to do any of the things he forced her to through her blood tie to him.
She didn't even want to be on Jurai. But Kagato wanted a branch from a royal tree. With his help, she was able to teleport into the hallway near the trees' nursery. The knight had stopped her in the hall and they fought a few minutes until Ryoko had assessed his abilities. After knocking away his shielding, she'd begun feasting on him when Ayeka's blast knocked her across the room.
"Please," she cried to the air, "please don't make me do this. She's just a baby! Please!"
Kagato's reply was to steal her will completely. She came back to herself with Sasami's lifeless body in her arms. Totally distraught, she rocked Sasami and sobbed.
"I'm sorry," she cried, "So sorry. Please forgive me. I'm so sorry."
Hearing the sound of many footfalls heading her way, she gently lay the child on the cold floor and teleported to her cloaked ship nearby. Kagato was screaming in her head, but her grief was so great, it reduced him to a mere whisper. Finding strength within herself, she left Jurai and headed away from all she'd known for the last 5,000 years.
For 700 years she ran from her sire, jumping from star system to star system. No matter how carefully she tried to hide her tracks and shield her thoughts, he always found her and she'd have to leave her latest haven. One day, she decided that she was through running. Setting a course for deep space away from all inhabited sectors she knew, she curled up on the floor of her ship and waited to die of starvation.
Nearly 3 months later, she crashed into a half demolished warehouse in Wakayama, Japan. Practically invulnerable and able to heal herself almost instantaneously with her gems power, she emerged nearly unscathed. But it had been so long since she'd eaten that she was ravenous. It took five people to satisfy her initial hunger. The planet was backward and alien, but the humanoid blood was palatable. More importantly Kagato's voice wasn't in her head.
"Safe," she'd whispered to herself that first day.
Osaka had initially been a frustrating place and she was about to steal a car and go somewhere else when she spied an early morning arrival at the garage she was casing. The olive-skinned beauty screamed of money and class. Ryoko almost hated taking her, but loved the perks from it; platinum credit cards, a luxury car, a tailored suit that fit her perfectly. Her ID had given an address in another country, so Ryoko figured she was there on business.
"Too bad I didn't know where to find the rest of her luggage. I could have had a wardrobe 'to die for'," she had smirked.
After two hours of steady drinking, the alcohol finally does its trick and she passes out on the smooth carpeting.
7