Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters.
Content warning - violence.
The evening's light, unobtrusive mist of rain was welcomed by the city's denizens after a day of which had offered very little in the way of respite from the sweltering temperatures. The rain, though light, was persistent and soon turned the sun bleached gray of the sidewalks slick and dark under the lamplight.
Huddled under a shallow eve, a pale, dark-haired man lounged against the small patch of dry concrete watching the customers filter in and out of Ampersand, a popular New Orleans club. His eyes darted back and forth between the two young blonds who were currently exiting the club. One was carrying on an animated conversation on a cell phone, while the other followed closely behind with a bored expression marring her pretty features.
Now she's about the right size, but she's wearing gold – why do so many young women wear yellow gold these days?
Ever since Emma's denunciation of his gift, he had avoided yellow gold, just in case.
Neither girl had noticed the dark figure under the eve, being quite used to men ogling their every move.
His attention soon turned to the next group, which consisted of three scantily clad darker-haired girls. This time his staring was noticed by one of the girls. She paused, studying his face for a moment and taking in his handsome features-- high cheekbones, full lips, striking eyes.
He smiled at her, but not a nice smile.
Nervously, she turned away, jogging the few feet required to re-join her friends. After she had gone only a little farther, she looked back over her shoulder, meeting his gaze. She shivered at what she saw there, looking away quickly.
Perceptive little bitch. Too bad she's not wearing any jewelry. I don't like the pieces that the others are wearing. There is not much of a selection tonight, is there?
A few minutes later, his eyes were following another pair of blonds entering the club. Neither had what he was looking for either.
Nope, nothing of interest. Why do women always seem to segregate themselves according to hair color?
There was a longer wait in between females this time. He was not sure why, but there were very few revelers out for a Friday night in the city.
The weather, perhaps that is what is keeping them away. There, that one, that looks like platinum. Very nice, but I don't think diamonds are quite what I'm looking for. Too wedding-ish. I'm not proposing. Don't want that little half-wit thinking she's to be the next Bride of Dracula.
He smiled at his own dim joke. Shifting into a more comfortable position, he wondered how much more time he was willing to spend here tonight. The traffic in and out of the club had already slowed to a crawl.
Nice garnet, but gold again.
White gold and sapphire – this would be perfect if the girl were only the right size.
That brunette's fucking cell phone is in the way. These girls will all have brain tumors by the time their thirty- five at this rate.
She had better appreciate this after all this trouble.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, slouching over, realizing that he had not seen anyone enter or exit, or even walk by the club for at least half an hour other than a few males. He was beginning to think that it was time to call it quits when, finally, he saw her. She was just what he had been looking for. He had noticed her arrival earlier, accompanied by another female friend, and now she was leaving the club, alone.
She fit his desired profile perfectly—she was small in stature and, most importantly, she sported a white gold and emerald ring. She paused for a moment, turning back to look through the doorway of the club, as if questioning the wisdom of leaving the place without her friend in tow. Her hair was a lovely shade of auburn, almost red, a color he found to be particularly attractive, but that was irrelevant to the task at hand.
She stepped onto the street. Gotcha, he thought smugly as Fortune stepped out from under the eve and into the misting rain to follow her. The woman opened her umbrella with a snap and proceeded confidently around the corner, her previous hesitation forgotten. She appeared to be a tourist, or some sort of visitor to the city. His suspicions were confirmed shortly thereafter as she darted into the lobby of an expensive hotel catering mainly to business travelers.
Fortune silently followed her into the hotel lobby, moving unnoticed past the clerk who was intently watching a rerun of Fear Factor on the small television behind the desk. He found her waiting for the elevator. When it arrived, he quickly slipped in behind her, joining her just as the doors were closing. She gave him a startled look as he moved past her towards the far corner of the elevator. She stood stiffly, facing the open doors and not looking at Fortune.
She was afraid. He could feel it.
Meanwhile her instincts were screaming that there was something very wrong with her current situation. The stranger gave her the creeps. He had seemed to come out of nowhere. She almost bolted out as the doors were closing, but hesitated due to what seemed like a fairly reasonable voice inside her head insisting that it would look awfully foolish. After all, the reasonable voice persisted, he must be another resident of the hotel returning to his room. She ignored her instincts and stood stiffly waiting for the elevator to move.
The heavy elevator doors closed with a muffled thud, leaving them in silence. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She glanced to her left, trying to catch a quick glimpse of the man to convince herself that all was well. He's just an ordinary man, the reasonable voice assured again.
But what she saw was not at all reassuring—his eyes were fixed, unblinking, upon her. The goose bumps spread over her shoulder and arms.
Something was not right. He is so very pale. His expression…it is so fierce and cold.
After what seemed like a mini-eternity, the gears jolted the elevator into movement and its gentle upwards momentum was soon accompanied by the soft tones of the beeping floor counters. These familiar sounds lent a feeling of normalcy to the situation, calming the woman's nerves a fraction. Still, when the doors opened again, she fought back another urge to bolt. Instead, she walked slowly through the open doors. Running out of the door in panic was definitely not a good idea. If the man did pose a danger, it was better to appear calm and in control of the situation. Plus there was still a good chance that the feelings of dread were a product of her vivid imagination.
She stepped into the hallway and the man followed closely behind her. Tentatively, she started towards her room; each step forward left her feeling more vulnerable, more trapped. Why the hell didn't I wait for Melissa at the club?
Looking back over her shoulder, she felt a wave of relief when she realized he had stepped into the first doorway to the left. More steadily now, she crossed the hall to her room, glad to hear the reassuring 'click' of the key card as it unlocked the door. That was creepy, she thought, relieved to finally be safely ensconced in her own room.
That was, until she realized she was not alone after all. By that time it was too late.
Fortune snaked an arm around the woman's waist, pulling her flush against his chest and covering her mouth firmly with his other hand. She struggled briefly, twisting and turning in his vice-like grip, as he dragged her onto the bed. Removing his hand from her waist, he shifted his grip so that he held her hands above her head and paused to study her, his other hand still firmly covering her mouth. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut and her breath came in short, panicked gasps through the small gaps between his fingers.
She tried to scream, but Fortune clamped down, effectively stifling the sound.
He did not need her blood. It had not been long since he had last taken Sesshoumaru's blood and he soon discovered that the youkai's blood sustained him for much longer periods than human blood ever could.
Still, he wanted her. He wanted this.
Fortune lowered his nose to snuffle at the soft skin of the woman's neck. His breathed into her soft hair, causing it to tickle his nose a little. She reminds me of Erin. This thought startled him out of his musings. Why am I thinking that now, he wondered, a little confused by this reaction.
The woman whimpered and turned her head away, unintentionally baring her neck to the vampire. It was all the encouragement he needed. He bit down hard, taking an intense carnal satisfaction in the flow of human blood over his lips. His body burned with the pleasure her blood gave. It had not felt this good in a long while. He was too busy enjoying the welcome sensations coursing through his body to wonder why.
He now felt strangely at ease, even relaxed.
After he was finished, he tugged the ring off of her finger and slipped it carefully into his pocket. He noticed that with the ring's removal, it exposed a pale band across her finger. She must have had the ring for a long time.
He closed the door quietly behind him, leaving the room quiet and still. A band of streetlight from beneath the window curtain revealed a substantial amount of blood pooling across the white sheets of the bed. In an hour or two when the other returned, there would be screams. And in yet another city, with the news of her death there would be tears.
But Fortune did not think about these things. He had been doing this for a long time. He had all but forgotten that he was even supposed to think about these things. It had also been a long time since there had been another near to remind him of these things—these human things.
Instead, he patted the ring in his pocket, thinking, our little ragamuffin is bound to be pleased with her gift.
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"I have a little something for you."
"What," Sesshoumaru replied sharply, though Fortune's statement was not directed his way.
"Not you, you spoiled puppy," Fortune said, giving him a haughty look, "I have something for Erin" As an afterthought, gave Sesshoumaru a hard look and added, "You missed your chance, since you never did propose."
"What something is that," Erin looked over at him, surprised. The three of them were standing at the edge of the rusted, wrought iron fencing surrounding the garden and home.
"Just a little something," he briefly considered making her guess, but dismissed the idea quickly and held out his hand towards her.
Erin looked at his closed fist. "I have it here. All you have to do is to open my fingers," Fortune stepped closer. Erin tentatively reached out, but hesitated before she made contact.
"We don't have all night," he prodded.
More boldly this time, Erin tugged at his fingers.
"You will have to pull harder than that."
"Fortune, stop teasing," she chided in an irritated voice, but her smile belied her tone.
Sesshoumaru watched the odd exchange, feeling increasingly more annoyed. What the hell does the vampire think he is doing? Erin actually seems to be enjoying this idiotic game of his. A dark, possessive feeling welled up inside, caused him to curl his lip in disdain as he watched Erin tug once again at Fortune's hand.
He wanted to rip the two of them apart. He wanted to yell at Fortune to get his hands off of the girl, if it were not for the fact that she was the one doing the touching. Consequently, t did not matter what he wanted, since his pride would not allow him to interfere. He turned from the scene, attempting to squelch the dark feeling rising in his belly.
He heard Erin giggle. That bastard! He'd had enough. In a flash, he whipped back around, grabbing Fortune's wrist in a punishing grip. Fortune's fist opened reflexively and something glittered and fell to the concrete below with a tinkling sound.
Fortune glared angrily into Sesshoumaru's eyes, who returned his gaze coldly. Neither was willing to look away, not wanting to back down from a challenge. Finally, Fortune was the one who relented and jerked his wrist from the vice-like grip, bending over to retrieve the fallen ring.
"I thought you might like to have this," he told Erin. He gave Sesshoumaru a smug look.
"Oh," she squealed, "it's so pretty! Is that an emerald? Why thank you, Fortune. No one has ever given me a ring before." She put it on her finger and held up her hand. It fit a little loosely, but was not enough so as to slip off accidentally, "how does it look?"
"Thought you'd like it," Fortune spared another glance Sesshoumaru's way. If looks could kill, Fortune smirked, I might be in serious trouble now. It was interesting to see the youkai display emotion, albeit in a subtle fashion. His eyes were narrowed fractionally, his brows drawn closer to his eyes giving them a hooded appearance. His lips were set in a thin, hard line. He looked positively menacing.
Fortune chuckled. He half-expected this to anger the youkai further. However, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Sesshoumaru's face relaxed and he resumed his usual impassive expression. "It looks very nice, Erin," Sesshoumaru finally answered, turning away, "come, let us proceed."
Fortune had been quite pleased with both Erin's and Sesshoumaru's reaction to the ring. Erin's obvious delight had given him a pleasant thrill. Sesshoumaru's reaction, on the other hand, had given him the satisfied feeling that comes only after giving your opponent a thorough thrashing.
The entire scene did bring to mind a question. Was Sesshoumaru now his rival? He enjoyed both the youkai's and Erin's company. He and Erin now conversed easily, if not at length. In fact, he was finding her company to be more entertaining and less annoying than before.
Still, Fortune decided that he enjoyed their comfortable threesome a great deal more than he would either of the two companions solo. He was not certain of what Sesshoumaru's thoughts on the subject were, but, for his part, he was content with things as they were. It was a rather unique situation he had found himself in at the present. He wondered what good deed he could have possibly performed to have fate send such an amusing pair of companions his way.
With that thought, Fortune called out to the other two, already far ahead, "Wait up, you jerks!"
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2nd Disclaimer: There were no lovely auburn haired business travelers harmed in the writing of this fic. Fortune did frighten her a little, but then he can be overwhelming at times
AN: Hope you enjoyed the latest installment. It was short-roughly half the size of the previous couple of chapters. I'm sure the next will be longer, though. If you likey, review and let me know. I always get paranoid when my normal reviewers don't review a chapter—I worry that they are giving it a sort of silent 'thumbs down' or something. I should another update in 2 weeks. I promise I'm going to stop getting freaky with the lj language communities and do some actual work!
Botticelliangel: Ah, you warm my heart, girl. As always, you include helpful comments in your reviews. I always . Also, thank you so much for pointing out the italics gone wild. I had messed up a closure.
Sesshoumarubride: Glad you liked the note. I am always happy to read a review from you.
Selene182: Nice to hear from you and I'm glad you like Fortune's character. I'm all about character development these days—perhaps too much!
Aaron and Phoenix: Glad you approve!