-Leigh's pov-
Ha ha. To this day he'll still say he was only expressing affection for me.
I put Kam to bed (he fell asleep almost instantly) and found Ronin leaning on the wall right outside my door, looking rather nervous and kind of…well, embarrassed (still, it's hard to tell with him).
"Well," I demanded, looking into his eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself?" My voice was only above a whisper because I didn't want to wake Kam, but it sounded weak, too.
"I apologize if I offended you, Leigh," he said in a drone of a voice, like he'd rehearsed the line too much. I raise an eyebrow at him and he continues. "Okay, I'm sorry that I pretty much asked you to have sex with me. Better?"
Well, that blunt answer certainly had not been better, but I didn't think I'd get anything else out of him, so I let it go.
"But…" he continued, "If I asked more politely…would you consider the offer?"
"Ronin, you're pushing your luck."
"Ah, my lady, you don't push your luck enough. So that means I can go now? Time is wasting, Toklata could be dying as we speak, Miss Leigh."
"E-excuse me? She's dying?" I asked, eyes wide, I'm sure. I hadn't known it was anything that serious…and even if I had… I don't know. People tell me I'm selfish sometimes. "She's dying and you're hitting on me!"
Ronin backed away a bit. "You misunderstand. I said she could be dying. Besides, I have no idea where she is."
"You moron!"
"Look, Leigh, she was kidnapped, all right!" he snapped. Through my perseverance, his story was coming out in little bits and pieces, though none of them made sense to me at the time.
"Oh, Ronin…We need to find her!"
"No. I need to find her," he corrected, speaking firmly. "Meaning you're not coming with me."
"Nonsense! Why can't I?" I snapped, feeling unwanted and useless.
"Because I don't want you to get hurt. No, Leigh, that's the last thing I want. So you stay here, I'm just gonna leave now…"
"I want to go with you. And don't you dare just walk off on me. You need a cool head to come along with you. I can tell you act on impulse." Well, that was true, but I certainly wasn't much of a "cool head" either, and Ronin noted this skeptically with an arch of one slim, black eyebrow.
"And your nephew?"
"I'll call a babysitter. Just think about it."
He seemed to consider it, and looked like he was thinking about something, so I just patiently let him brood.
"I thought about it," he finally said. "And the answer is still no. I love you Leigh, and I don't want any innocent people getting hurt on my behalf."
"Wh-what?"
His pale face showed a slight tinge of red. "Uh… I don't want any innocent people getting—"
"No, before that."
"The answer is still no."
"You, Ronin Takoda," I sighed, "are an impossible man. But I'm still coming with you."
"You, Miss Leigh, are an impossible woman, who is most certainly not coming with me."
--
-Ronin's pov-
I didn't expect her to show me any loyalty after my little line, so I was slightly amused (though I was even more grateful) at her offer of help. Still, it didn't really sound like an offer, it sounded like something she was very set on doing. Konosuke might hesitate on harming her if he knew that fact that she didn't actually know what I was, but I still didn't want to take any chances.
Unfortunately, while Iwas thinking, Leigh had apparently slipped away and taken advantage of my lapse. She came back and shook my shoulder lightly.
"I called the babysitter. She's on her way right now. And we," she snapped, linking arms with me, "are going on a date."
"You…you…sneaking, conniving, stubborn little—"
"Watch your mouth, Ronin," she teased happily, apparently enjoying this whole situation much more than I was. I didn't mind her company, but I was so afraid (one more emotion to keep track of) that she was going to end up dead somewhere (in which case my guilt would probably will me to take care of Kam until he turned eighteen—damn these emotions). Not to mention, Leigh tagging along almost ensured that she would find out what I really was. I didn't know why I was worried about this; I guess I was just worried about what Leigh would think of my vampirism. I could already imagine some of her worst reactions…
But I digress. Clearly, she wanted to come with me. And to deny her that would be cruel—and lets make sure I got this out of the way: I didn't want her to come for her own safety. Remember that.
The babysitter had come to watch over Kam and Leigh had paid her graciously and began chatting with her while I stood in a dark corner impatiently. After these—rather annoying—pleasantries, we left and I yanked her like a dog on a leash into the woods.
"Ronin," she snapped, using an irritatingly brisk tone with me. "What are we doing?"
"Get on my back. You're too slow." She didn't look too pleased with this comment, but did as I asked without further discussion. I couldn't flit with her, but I wouldn't have anyway, since I had no idea where I was going.
Leigh didn't say a thing the whole time, in fact, once or twice I looked back at her to make sure she wasn't asleep. But each time I did this, she had on the same determined look, with drawn brows and not the slightest hint of sleepiness. Some odd part of me felt happy to be carrying her around on my back; liked her warmth, despite my usual loner-ish behavior. Having her there urged me through a lot more, as if something in me was trying to impress her (maybe my Master had been right when she said I was someone who—personality wise—would be a teenager until my death). I covered a lot of forest and even thought to check some back dirt roads.
I still wonder to this day if Leigh is of Irish descent (I never bothered to ask her). Not because of the frizzy red hair, or the sparkling green eyes, but because of the luck she gave me that night. Maybe that's just superstition (certainly, I had never experienced any of the "Luck of the Vampires" that I was supposed to have…)
On one of the roads, I caught a distinct scent; a few days old but, clear as day to my senses. I had forgotten about Toklata's injured cheek. It could've easily torn back open and began to bleed. So this whole time, while I was searching for the slightest hint of Konosuke's scent, I should have really been sniffing around for Toklata's blood.
After all, I am a vampire.
Leigh tensed slightly when I came to a stop on the road. "What is it?" she asked. "You couldn't have found something. I can't see two feet in front of myself."
I couldn't lie to her, and I certainly didn't want to argue with her, so I told her the truth. "I smell Toklata's blood. There might be a trail of it."
Instead of wondering why in hell I could smell day-old blood, she focused more on the fact that there was something for me to smell. "Blood? Oh, the poor girl, she must be terrified. You said she was kidnapped?" That impulsive side of her took over, and her arms curled a little too tightly around my neck for comfort. "You've gotta find her, Ronin! WHAT ARE YOU WAI—"
Her arms were nearly gagging me at this point; it was almost like she was trying to pull me to the ground. My legs buckled, her arms loosened completely, and we both toppled over. I tried to turn around, catch her, and regain my balance, but failed and ended up in a very suspicious position.
--
-Leigh's pov-
"Ronin! Get off of me!"
"My earlier offer still stands, Leigh," he said jokingly, and unfortunately, I was in no position to slap him.
"You stupid idiot! No wonder you haven't found her yet! You're so easily sidetracked!" I screeched, pushing a stray lock of hair behind my ears. I was still in my clothes from work (pretty much a white t-shirt, black capris, and a green and white apron-type thing) and I didn't want them all dirty. Ronin had put on that ridiculous cloak, but other than that his outfit was the same as it had been, including that long sheath (it seemed really dumb without a sword in it).
Looking at the wooden scabbard got me thinking about his odd habits again. Sleeping all day, wearing all black, all of that stuff; but no matter what I told myself, I couldn't will myself to feel uneasy around him. Despite the womanizing, the sword, the amber eyes, and the scar, he still seemed very huggable.
He stood up, but had a slight limp in his stride, though he tried to hide it.
"Oh, Ronin—your legs, I forgot," I gasped, brushing my pants off and going over to his side. "You should rest."
"No. I can't, now that I have a trail to follow." He's so stubborn. But then, so am I.
"You're right," I sighed. "We can't stop. This is a rescue mission! But,"—and here was where my stubbornness came in—"you're not going to carry me." I hooked his arm around my shoulders. "I'm going to carry you."
He tried to pull off of me but eventually accepted my help. We didn't get very far; naturally, out pace was pretty slow, but it still felt good to be productive. I couldn't really see where I was going too well, so while Ronin partly relied on me, I relied on his senses. I didn't question how he could smell Toklata's blood; it just hadn't occurred to me that it was a very inhuman trait at the time.
After hours of this tedious work, Ronin told me to go back into the dense forest on either side of the small dirt road we were traveling on because the sun would be coming up soon. The clever man told me we'd look odd limping around out in the open, and that was why we had to avoid the daylight.
Stupid, lying jerk.
--
-Third person pov, Konosuke's house-
"Y-your house is so c-c-cold!" Toklata snapped, pointing out the obvious. "You should c-cook something."
"Oh come on, it's not that cold. You're a little drama queen. Do you have any twos?"
"Go fish," she sniffed, glad to be playing a game that was short enough as not to lose her attention, and also one that she could win. "Um…do you have any aces? And do you still plan on killing Ronin?"
Konosuke choked on his whiskey. "Where the hell did that come from! Oh, and go fish."
Toklata calmly took a card. "Ronin. When he comes and saves me, do you still plan to kill him? Because that would make me very sad." She made big, teary puppy-dog eyes at him.
"You, girl, have a knack for saying things you shouldn't say," the vampire hunter growled. "And you like to sneak those questions in when I least expect you to. Damn that's annoying. Now look at the time, you should be in bed. Get some sleep and tomorrow I'll teach you to play poker."
"B-but Mister Konosuke, you didn't answer my question!" she whined, getting up and heading down the hall nevertheless. Konosuke followed her, absentmindedly shuffling the cards they had been playing with, to make sure she was in fact going to bed.
"Come on, I know you're sleepy," he said, gently pushing her into bed.
"Not really. Tell me a story. With ponies. And furry pink things." She gave an almost evil grin.
He sighed; young girls certainly were scarier than vampires.
--
A/N-Consider it an Easter gift. Spring break gets kind of boring. –sigh- My cousins went to Disneyland. Oh well, enjoy.