A/N- Greetings, constant readers. Yes, the plot develops, finally.

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A strong hand gripped Toklata's wrist and pulled her up by it, so she was dangling above the ground.

"Ronin?" she muttered, hoping hopelessly that she was right.

"Guess again."

She looked up into a scarred face and felt a chill run through her. It was cold and nasty, kind of like ice with mud frozen into it. He had pale blue eyes, also like ice, and he wore a falsely sweet smile that was apparently supposed to be comforting, but just made Toklata feel she had gotten herself deeper into something that she shouldn't have been involved in to begin with.

His face seemed slightly familiar.

"Are you gonna kill me?" Toklata found that she was meeting a lot of people who she had to ask that as a sort of introduction lately. This man looked even less friendly than Ronin had after he'd just killed someone. She wanted to get out of his grip, but knew that even if she did, it would be impossible to outrun him.

The man chuckled, which wasn't a comforting sound. "'Course not, girlie. I just need you to do one little favor for me." He put Toklata down, slightly surprised when she didn't try to run.

"What's that?" she asked cautiously. She had not intention of trusting the shady man.

"I need you to tell your vampire friend something."

"Ronin?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. "What do you want me to tell Ronin?"

The man grinned, then, suddenly; he lashed out and punched Toklata hard in the face. She stumbled back and toppled over herself, clutching the place where she had been hit. It was bleeding horribly. The same place as the scrape from the day before.

"You tell Vampire Takoda that that's from Konosuke," he growled, before taking off into the darkness, bushes rustling with his exit.

Toklata wasted no time gawking. She picked herself off the ground and, still clutching at her cheek, turned quickly back into the direction from which she had come, back towards the small cave. She thought only of warning Ronin of this 'Konosuke' man, whoever he was.

Running as fast as her short legs would carry her, Toklata reached the cavern in a matter of minutes, calling Ronin's name and jumping on top of him when he came into view, sobbing.

"Oh, Ronin!" she wailed. "I'm sorry, sorry, so, so very sorry!"

Ronin shook her lightly. "What the hell are you talking about, girl? What happened to you?" He touched her cheek softly and she drew back from him, stuttering out all sorts of words. Tired of her babblings, he shook her a little harder.

"Kono…suke!"

He dropped her. Breathing heavily he asked, "W-what did you say?"

"A…a man named Konosuke did this," she managed to gasp out. "Said…said it was a message to y-you. Ronin, are there really people…people out there who want to kill you?"

He managed only a grim nod, but his mind was racing.

Shinobu Konosuke was back with a vengeance.

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Ronin remembered the last time he had seen that man. He sure as hell didn't want to, but he did all the same. Konosuke was quite the vampire hunter. He was the proud assassin of Jaden Takoda, Ronin's own master, and his namesake. And ever since he'd killed her, Konosuke had been after Ronin's hide as well.