The right to claim
D's hand hesitated over the receiver of the ancient telephone. He sighed and dropped it again. But what choice did he have?
So he convinced himself to take the receiver and dial in the number of the precinct. He knew Leon would be there, and he also knew that his shift would be over soon.
"LAPD, Christian Black, what's the matter?"
D swallowed. "Good evening, Mr Black, this is Count D. Excuse me for calling, but does Detective Orcot happen to be around?"
There was surprised silence at the other end. Then the man took a deep breath and started to yell. "LEON! IT'S THE COUNT!"
The young kami flinched and brought some distance between his ear and the receiver, which was fortunate, because so he didn't hear the comments Leon's colleagues couldn't suppress when he hurried to the phone.
"Oh, shut up, you all!" he bellowed angrily. "What's the matter, D? Dana can't have had a nightmare, it's not even bedtime yet."
Again the kami swallowed. "No, she didn't, Detective. But I have to take care of something and must leave the shop. Could you come over, please? I do not know how long I'll be gone, and I do not want to leave her alone…"
The blonde was silent for a long moment. "Okay. I'm on my way," he said at last. Then he put the phone down. D listened to the free line signal and sighed deeply. Then he put down the receiver, too, and returned to his bedroom to dress for his task. Dana was there, playing with Pon-chan. A smile crept on D's lips as he watched his daughter chase her around the room clumsily. The raccoon was patient and let her come close, though she could've evaded the child easily. But she liked playing with Dana. Every pet liked playing with Dana. Sometimes D worried that they were spoiling the girl to no extend. But he quickly discarded the thoughts again. As long as he was here to raise her, she wouldn't get too spoiled.
That was, if her other father…
Right on cue, the door opened and Leon strode inside. D's heart skipped a beat and clenched painfully. His smile brightened and wavered at the same time. "Hello Detective. Thank you for coming over."
Dana stopped chasing Pon-chan and instead fastened herself on Leon's leg. "Daddy!" she squealed.
"Hey, hello, baby! How was your day?"
"Daddy come play!" the girl claimed and tugged at Leon's leg. He grinned, that familiar lopsided grin and D's heart nearly stopped beating.
"And what do you want to play, honey?" he asked and knelt down. Dana looked around and found her plush cat and Lego.
"Kitty needs house," she announced.
"Then we're going to build a house for Kitty. What about Lucky, huh? Doesn't he get a house, too?"
The girl tilted her head to the side and thought. "Lucky penguin. Lucky needs ice-cream," she decided and her father chuckled.
"I guess that means you want ice-cream. Sorry, Dana, but not today."
D turned back to his mirror and fastened the last closures on his black shirt. Then he slipped a small, sharp knife into one sleeve, making sure it would not hurt him.
Leon watched D. He felt his eyes on his back, blue gaze piercing through his body. Sighing deeply, he turned and faced the blonde. "What is it, Detective? I really must be off," he said and tried to stay calm.
The human took his time to answer. "Where are you going?" he asked at last and indicated the black clothes D was wearing. "You look like you're going to some break into some house."
Fortunately the kami managed to keep down his blush. "I am not going to break in anywhere. Do you really think I would do something that would draw attention to me?"
The blonde shrugged. "I'm just saying. You're up to something, don't deny it. What's it? Does it have something to do with the guy that died? Whom you sold the pet that got stolen?"
D turned back to the mirror and adjusted a small strap. "I have to retrieve the pet. She is not very likely to forgive her kidnapper," he said.
"You're gonna kill the guy that stole it?" Leon asked calmly, shaking the kami off-balance. He spun round and faced the blonde whose eyes were blank and showed no emotion. Still, D writhed under their gaze.
"I do not intend to kill anyone, Detective. I am simply going to punish the thief for his insolence," he stated as calmly as he could manage.
The blonde turned back to Dana. The kami idled around, checking if he had everything with him, even though it wasn't necessary and he knew it.
"You think it's good for Dana to have a dad who goes around and kills people for no real reason?"
Leon's eyes were still fixed on the child. D froze. He didn't dare look at the blonde. "You know who I am, Detective. I cannot change it," he said silently, feeling like his throat had just corded up.
"Must suck pretty much," the human commented matter-of-factly, still with that bland voice that told nothing about what he really felt. "I mean, being half-human when one of your parents is sworn to kill humans every given chance."
"It is what I am," D repeated, now with a shaking voice.
Leon didn't answer. He scooped Dana up, surprising the girl, and turned to go to the back. "We'll be with Honlon in the crystal palace. Have fun. Don't get yourself caught. Would be hard to keep that a secret."
"I will do my very best," the kami choked out. But Leon and Dana were already gone.
From the roof of the pet shop, finding the direction in which he had to go was easy. D narrowed his eyes and sat still for another moment, getting used to the break of night surrounding him. The air was cool and for a second he shuddered in his light silken clothes. But he knew that as soon as he moved, he would be warm again.
Finally, he stood and made his way through the city, careful not to draw any attention, hiding in shadows and dark alleys. It was good to concentrate on his task. As long as he was alert, he didn't have to think about Leon and Dana.
The farther he got away from the pet shop, the better D felt. This was the hunt, and the part of him that was still enrooted in his being rejoiced at the thrill it caused in his body, the adrenaline rushing through his veins, making his heart thump hard in his chest, not painful but excited.
The young kami was almost disappointed when he reached the apartment of the woman. Not a thief, Leon, he told the human quietly, triumphantly. A she. A female stole the wolf. You would have known if you had made inquiries instead of flat out accusing me again.
His mismatched eyes followed her moving through the room. He could feel the pet in one of the rooms, hungry and hurt, waiting for her chance to get her revenge at the one who'd taken her away from the one she loved so much, and his mind flowed into hers, drank in the hatred and rage.
Quietly D opened the roof window and slipped inside. She didn't notice him gliding through the sitting room to the door that kept the wolf prisoner. But somehow she felt that something was amiss, straightened from preparing food and glanced around in the semi-darkness of the apartment.
"Hello?" she called. "Is there anybody here?"
Her voice was unsure. D felt the beginnings of a smirk on his lips. Then, suddenly, they disappeared again. Instead he shuddered, feeling the wolf inside the door, only held back by the latch, waiting for her master to open up, set her free to avenge her beloved.
He could not falter here and now. He had to go through this, no matter what.
"Janet Williamson. Did I not tell you to keep out of the affairs of Mr Carter?"
His own voice floated through the darkness sweetly, deadly. Janet Williamson winced as if he'd hit her. "Count D?" she inquired, the quiver in her voice exciting the wolf to no end. The kami could almost see her behind the door, slobbering in expectation of finally getting to her prey. He stepped forward and showed himself to the human. She stumbled back, clutching the useless kitchen knife she had been using to cut carrots.
"What are you doing here?" she stammered.
D's eyes caught the light and threw it back, making them blaze dangerously. "I am, Miss Williamson, reclaiming the pet Mr Carter bought. I assume you remember that she was his property, not yours?"
"I – John didn't have a pet," Janet Williamson tried to defend herself, but her eyes were nervously resting on the door handle of the wolf's prison. D clicked his tongue displeased.
"Miss Williamson, let's not prolong this too much. I do not have much time." Someone is waiting for me back at the shop. A small child and a human whom I both love. "Why did you kill your lover? Surely he didn't do anything to upset you so much you had to basically rip him apart."
The woman hissed and gripped the knife so hard her knuckles went white. "John and I weren't lovers anymore. And all thanks to you and that wolf!" she spat out. "He left me for her. Can you believe that? He left me for a damn pet, because he said I was too jealous of her and he wouldn't tolerate that any longer. Can you imagine he'd rather have a damn wolf than me?!"
The young kami regarded her quietly. She shrank back against the counter. "She was between us!" she whimpered. "All that thing did was come between us, always, ever! I couldn't let her win that fight! John was mine, mine alone, not hers!"
"It is not your decision who someone else dedicates his life to. You have no right to claim someone else's love if he doesn't give it freely and because he wants to," D said hard, placing a hand on the handle. It rattled. The wolf behind was getting restless. She wanted to kill. She needed to kill.
Kill another human for what she'd done to another of her kin. Humans were a depraved, despicable species, not worth to share earth with her other creatures. Or so he'd always been taught.
Janet Williamson shrieked in fear as D slowly pressed the handle down. The magic of the pet shop worked even here, in this place where the pet had never been supposed to end up. Grass spread from the room, covering all signs of modern technology in the apartment, fern grew in a few seconds, closely followed by old trees, their bark battered and beaten by wind, rain and snow.
And from the midst of it all, the wolf rushed, a beautiful young woman with fierce, wild eyes, her fangs bared, a howl on her lips that spoke of the triumph of being free again, of being able to avenge the death of her pack mate.
D watched without emotion. Watched the woman try to run, to get away from the fierce predator, falling and stumbling on the uneven, foreign terrain. Watched the wolf reach her, burying her teeth in the soft, unprotected flesh while the victim still tried to fight for her life. But she soon lost her will to struggle and surrendered to the sharp teeth ripping her apart. The kami listened to her cries ringing through the forest and smelled anger and fear, despair and blood. Yet he didn't notice any of it. He stared with unseeing eyes, oblivious to everything but Leon's voice in his head.
"Must suck pretty much. I mean, being half-human when one of your parents is sworn to kill humans."
Leon understood a lot about killing. He had killed himself, D didn't know how often. It was part of his job, and he did it like he did everything else. When it was necessary and then without doubt or hesitation. But did D not have the right to kill as well, when he thought it necessary? Could Leon not understand why he had to punish humans?
Slowly, a searing pain worked its way into his chest. Breathing got difficult. D's fingers went cold. He clutched himself protectively.
And then he bolted over to the wolf.
"Stop, Aya-chan!" he yelled. She obliged at once. The woman stared at him with glassy eyes, but she was not yet dead. D didn't know what he was doing. He'd never felt so confused in his whole life, not even when he found out that he was pregnant. All he knew was that he couldn't watch this human getting killed in front of his eyes right now.
"It's enough, Aya-chan," he breathed, voice barely above a whisper. "It is enough. Leave her and come with me."
The wolf bared her teeth. "But she killed my mate! I have to avenge him!" she accused, yellow eyes wild and pained. D swallowed the lump in his throat.
"I know, Aya-chan. But letting her live with this knowledge, with what you did to her, is better revenge than killing her, no matter how painful you would make it. Leave with me, now."
She followed his commands, like he knew she would. They hastened through the night, D painfully aware of the sirens where they had just left the bleeding woman.
When they arrived back at the shop, Leon was sitting beside Dana's bed, watching the girl sleep. The second he noticed D's presence, he briskly stood and strode out. "Gotta go. Jill's gonna have my ass if I don't turn up soon. Bye, D."
"Leon," D got out. His throat felt like corded up. It was meant to be a cry, but it came out as a pledge. The blonde hesitated, but didn't turn.
"You are what you are. That's okay. I'm what I am, too. Dana's going to have to live with parents who know how to kill."
He strode out. D sank onto the chair beside Dana's small bed and buried his face in his hands. The tears still found their way through his fingers.
A/N: Oh god, drama queens in action -.- Me sorry. (I don't like this chapter. Perhaps you noticed.) Thanks for the reviews and a happy new year to everybody! We'll see if they're going to do better in the new year... ^^
BC: Thanks *smile* I've got a little niece, too, and a lot of baby-sitting kids, so I shaped Dana pretty much like them since I don't have kids on my own. And thanks for reading my profile ;-) Sometimes I get the feeling nobody looks at it at all...