Sano looked at his breakfast companions, glanced over into Jou-chan's living room where Megumi was giving Yahiko a good video-game stomping Mortal Kombat-style, and shook his head. "We're going to have to split up."
"Oro?"
"What do you mean we, agent man?"
He didn't even have to look up from his coffee to imagine the matching stubborn determination on those two faces. Kaoru's was steaming with indignation, while Kenshin might hide it better under innocent cluelessness, but they were both about as easy to move as the rock of Gibraltar.
Perfect pair, Sano thought, hiding a grin. Good thing, too. Considering what I'm going to have to set up with Misao today, given that these two just can't stay out of Agency business...
Not to mention, it's so much fun to see 'Sai blush.
Ah, well. Fun later. "Only thing that makes sense," Sano shrugged. "We've got a bunch of ground to cover and one heck of a narrow window to do it in. The people we've got to talk to won't be up 'til near sunset, and if we're still on the streets for too long after Big Mike goes down, we might as well go trolling with "Kanryuu's guys shoot here" signs on our backs." He shifted in his chair, carefully not snickering. "And somebody has to stay with Takani."
Frustration on Kaoru's face; a blink of pure panic on Kenshin's. Yep, I thought that would get them moving. "So!" Sano grinned at both of them. "Who takes what?"
---------
"A-ha!"
"Eeep!"
"Eeep?" Standing just outside Tae's doorstep, Kaoru loosened her grip on white rayon, and gave her bug-eyed, blood-drinking, creature of the night girlfriend a wry look. "I grab you, and you go 'eep'?"
"Ah... well..." The brunette glanced both ways down the hall of her apartment building, checking the early-evening traffic of residents and visitors for any signs of unusual interest, then gestured Kaoru inside. "It's a long story."
"You, inviting me in?" Kaoru muttered under her breath as she crossed the short entryway to the tiny living room. She shrugged the sword-bag off her shoulder, touching the reassuring weight of oak through cloth. "That's a switch."
"Is that old chestnut still going around?" Locking the door behind them, Tae rolled her eyes. "Vampires don't need an invitation, Kaoru. Demons, yeah - unless somebody's ordered them to go after you. Then it doesn't matter whose threshold you're hiding behind."
"Oh." Kaoru swallowed dryly.
Tae looked her over, shook her head, and padded into the kitchen for glasses of ice water. "Here."
Kaoru took the smooth cylinder and sipped at the chill, ice gliding along her lip before she set it down on the coffee table, shoved aside a calico throw-pillow, and sank into a chair. "Thanks for letting me drop by."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Tae managed a weak smile. "At least now I don't have to make sure the false wall is up if you head for the fridge."
So I don't see the blood you keep in there, Kaoru finished silently. "How - how long have you been...?"
"1898. Paris." Tae shrugged. "My family went to study European fashions, so they could get in good at court. Japan was all about bein' modern, then, and that meant making a good show like the rest of the old royalty. I never did make it back home."
Oh. She could feel the hurt as if it'd happened to her; lost in a foreign land, thirsty for blood, trapped away from the daylight forever. Wait a minute. Kaoru blinked. "What was an Ubo doing in Paris?"
Tae laughed once, worn and bitter. "I didn't find that out until a lot later... but he was hunting Battousai."
"What?"
Tae waved at her to settle back, setting her own glass down as she perched on the couch across the way. "I wasn't even born when the Revolution ended, but I heard the stories," the Ubo began. "The shadow assassin. Katsura's blade." She swallowed dryly. "The Demon of Kyoto."
"He's not-"
"Just hear me out," Tae cut her off. "This is... a lot of bad memories, all right? An' you saying he's not so bad, when I just-" Tae shook her head.
Kaoru held her hands out, unthreatening. "Please. Tell me."
"Stories said he just vanished after the battle was over," Tae said quietly. "All that killing, all that hate he was supposed to be carrying around for the Shogunate... and he just left after Toba Fushimi. Aizu was still up in arms, last of the Shinsengumi were still holding out - and he just vanished."
"But wasn't the real fighting over by then?" Kaoru ventured after a moment. She'd done some reading up, ever since Sano had told her Battousai had surfaced in the Bakumatsu. "The shogun resigned, right?"
"I guess," Tae shrugged. "Thing was, the loyal revolutionaries were all supposed to fight to the end. But he just walked away. And then nine years later, Saigo Takamori cuts loose and starts fighting the emperor, calling in anybody who had a beef with the new government..."
Loyal. They thought Battousai wasn't- "That's why they sent the ninja," Kaoru whispered.
Tae's head jerked up. "You know?"
Kaoru hesitated. Should I? Some of the things Kenshin had told her seemed very private. But Tae was her friend. Even if she hadn't mentioned being a vampire. "He hasn't said much about back then," Kaoru said carefully. "But what he has said - it sounds like he was just trying to live quietly. Until everything fell apart."
"Live quietly? The Demon of Kyoto? You have to be-" Tae cut herself off, fingers clenching on her skirt. "But then, Gan lied about a lot of things."
Imagining her impatience as one long string, Kaoru wadded it up and gripped it tight.
"You have to understand, some of this I got from Gan, my sire, and some of it I figured out later," Tae said at last. "Gan was one of the Kin onmitsu; the spies for the emperor and the new government. But he wasn't one of the guys who first went after Battousai." The Ubo gave her a serious look. "None of that bunch came back alive."
"They attacked his family," Kaoru said softly.
"He had a- oh, hell." Tae sat there for a minute, face pale. "Oh, no, now it makes sense..."
What does? Kaoru wanted to shake her. Patient, I'm going to be patient... just tell me!
"Gan said the job wasn't done," the Ubo said colorlessly. "That's why he made me. Why he said he did, anyway. His people chased Battousai across Japan, across the oceans - China, Egypt, Morocco, you name it. They finally thought they had him cornered in London, but only Gan walked away from that firestorm." Her hands dropped her skirt, twisted together in her lap. "I don't know exactly when that was; sometime in the early 1880's, maybe. So Gan sent home a 'mission accomplished', and settled down in Paris to be eyes and ears for the empire." She took a deep breath. "And then... just before he made me... he found something that told him he wasn't finished yet."
"Like a wife and children," Kaoru guessed. Sano said Target Alpha got Battousai as some kind of trade from a British agency, so that's where Kenshin's been trying to look for Battousai's family. But he didn't have a time, or even a general location - the British Empire was a big place, once. I hope this helps.
"I never knew." Tae shrugged. "Before we could pick up and get across the Channel, Gan ran into some Russian werewolves he'd made idiots of in a business deal two or three years back, and that was that." She smiled wanly. "So I picked up everything of his that wasn't nailed down, sold it off, and just - tried to get by. Ended up down in Charleston a while, then here."
Kaoru let out a whoof. "Wow."
Tae's shoulders shifted under glittery white rayon. "Could've been worse. I've heard Kin with stories a lot worse."
"So you lived hating Battousai," Kaoru concluded softly.
"I lived scared to death of Battousai," Tae corrected, hands shaking a little as she picked up her own glass for a sip. "I mean, here was the guy who made me a monster, telling me everything that hadn't worked to kill a worse monster. And for all I knew Battousai could tell I was Gan's make, and Gan swore the demon held a grudge until the stars fell down. Then the rumors about Battousai being part of Target Alpha got loose, that he was their assassin, and the guy I thought was a nice little collectible dealer turns out to be him..." She shivered.
"He's not that bad," Kaoru insisted. "He saved my life."
Tae waved it off. "Yeah, Virus. Everybody sane hates those things."
"From Kurogasa."
The Ubo snorted. "Target Alpha's been after that guy a long time. Doesn't surprise me a Muramasa blade would grab a new host to get him-"
Kaoru bit her lip. "More like, Kenshin grabbed him."
Tae gaped at her, wordless.
"Battousai wanted to go after Kurogasa," Kaoru said quietly. "But he wouldn't. Not if it meant taking someone against their will. He just wouldn't." She spread empty hands. "So you tell me. Is that a monster?"
Tae got up. Walked across the room to the kitchen nook. Leaned on the counter, and stared into space.
Patient. I'm going to be patient. I'm going to be... chewing through my bag strap if this keeps up!
"When you called, you said you wanted to know more about my New York relatives?" Tae glanced back. "About Ubo, you mean?"
Kaoru stifled a sigh, letting her change the subject. "It's kind of a long shot," the kendo instructor admitted. "But Kenshin thought it was worth asking. And he saw you were scared of him, so I said I'd ask. If you don't mind." Anything, to get out of smirking range of that vixen Takani. Though Yahiko swore the witch had spent the rest of last night in the teen's bedroom, while Kenshin had locked himself into his own with Yahiko, muttering about Sano really needing to get his own place if he wanted to bring suspects home.
The agent himself, of course, had sacked out on the air mattress in Kenshin's living room, apparently oblivious to the redhead's desperate attempts not to share the same part of the space-time continuum with emerald-black fingernails. Apparently.
From his growls, Yahiko didn't buy it for a minute.
"I don't have much to do with other Ubo," Tae admitted. "Most of those in America trace back to Bleacher Bob. Some of them are okay, but he's..." She shivered.
"Head of the Beijings," Kaoru nodded. "Sounds like a pretty bad guy."
"You know that?" Tae gave her a startled look that swept into numb realization. "Oh, hell. That Sano guy, he knew Battousai... he's Target Alpha!"
"He's okay!" Kaoru defended the feckless agent. "At least, so far he is. Keeps cleaning out Kenshin's fridge looking for snacks, but-" Great. Just digging myself in deeper. "He's been helping us out since the mess with Kurogasa. And he says-" she held up a hand to forestall Tae's protest, "-he says he tries to make sure he and Battousai only go after the real bad guys." She hesitated. "He hasn't bothered you, has he?"
"No," Tae admitted. Straightened her shoulders. "And he better not. I may not know many Ubo, but I do know Golgotha."
"Club AfterDark," Kaoru murmured.
"You know him?"
Kaoru shook her head. "Battousai said, if Yahiko or I ever got into real trouble - go to Golgotha, at Club AfterDark."
"He's one of the main Commune Elders," Tae said, a faint smile of relief touching her face. "Oldest vampire in New York; maybe the oldest anywhere. Real good guy, even if he does think Christianity has it over Buddhism."
A Christian vampire. The world is a very weird place, Kaoru thought. "So if you don't know the other Ubo, you probably don't know about the one called Okashira."
"The Oka-" Tae let out a long, trembling whistle. "You don't go for little trouble, do you?"
Trying not to shiver, Kaoru sipped her water.
"I don't know a lot," Tae admitted. "Word is, he's one of Bleacher Bob's make, direct - which doesn't happen too often. But he's Kanryuu Takeda's head of security. Which is weird."
"Why?" Kaoru asked, puzzled.
"Why?" Tae gaped at her a second, then pulled her jaw shut and squinted, gathering her thoughts together. "Okay. You know how Kin are usually made? Kin picks out a human, Drains them, gives them some of their own blood or spit or whatever carries the curse?" She waited for Kaoru's nod, and sighed. "Ubo... Ubo like to take it a lot farther. They get into your dreams, they get into your head... they make you love them. Make you willing to do anything for them. So unless you get really, really lucky-" Tae looked away, into darkness. "Nobody breaks free of that without help. Nobody."
"And Takeda's not dumb," Kaoru said, half to herself, thinking of the details Kenshin had shared over breakfast that morning, now that they knew Takeda would be looking for them. No way would a potentially drug-dealing businessman smart enough to have the cops running rings around each other be dumb enough to leave his security in disloyal hands. Which means - he broke the Okashira loose from Bleacher Bob? But Sano says vampires have real control issues when it comes to their fledglings. And the Beijings, Bob's gang, are still working with Kanryuu. Why would they be doing that if Kanryuu stole the Okashira?
Simple. They wouldn't.
Something else was going on here. But what?
"Scary-evil, but not dumb," Tae agreed. "Kaoru, you got to get out of this-"
"I can't," Kaoru shook her head. "Kenshin's in this up to his ponytail, and - I just can't."
"Kenshin?" Tae threw up her hands. "Girlfriend, I know you think he's cute, but trust me. Breathing beats any amount of cute guys."
"He's - not just cute," Kaoru protested weakly. "He's nice, and Ayame and Suzume like him, and he dodges me all the way across the dojo..."
"Oh, my." Amusement flickered in brown eyes. "You have it bad."
Kaoru growled under her breath. "He just - that witch Takani - I-" She set down her glass, let her fingers rub chill over each other. "Tae - there's - can you tell me about... scarves? I don't want to ask Sano, and Kenshin's already blushing, and Dr. Gensai is... well..."
"Older, and a man." Tae gave her a quick grin, lightly edged with fangs. "And as a Sorcerer, far too much the gentleman to be involved in blood-sports."
"Um..." Darn it, she could feel her face heating up. "Everybody... seems to think if - ah - a Kin who likes blood gets involved with someone..."
"You want to know if he'll bite?" Tae's brows went up. "You're serious? About Battousai?"
"About Kenshin," Kaoru insisted, trying not to think too hard about a rooftop kiss. "And... I guess..."
Dismay, disbelief, and a flicker of irony chased each other across Tae's face, settling to a sort of wry sympathy. "I have to say, it's likely," the Ubo nodded. "I do. Especially if it's serious. Hasn't been lately, but-" she lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, let it fall. "If you're hurt, or if he's hurt, don't neck. Don't even start. Hungry Kin can slip, even with people they care about. It's awful." A slight smile touched her face. "Outside of that - well, he is a guy. Just keep a Bane by the bed, so you can grab it if you need to tell him no means no."
I'm going to die of embarrassment. Right here, right now.
"But it doesn't have to be the neck," Tae went on. "Maybe if you both like it there, sure - but if all you're trying to do is take a little at a time, sometimes it's better not to do the neck. Shoulder works. Earlobe, elbow, wrist..." Tae watched her blush deepen, and smirked. "Like the wrist, huh?"
"Um..."
"And some people like the ankle, too," Tae went on deliberately. "Or the thigh..."
"All right, all right - TMI!" Kaoru covered her ears. "I'm going to be scarred for life."
"Vampire bites don't scar," Tae waved it off.
Strangling a throw-pillow, Kaoru mock-glared at her friend. "Who said anything about bites?"
Tae giggled. "Hey - no, wait!"
Feather-stuffed weapon in hand, Kaoru pounced.
---------
Teeth, Kenshin registered, trying not to stare upward at near seven-foot-six of gray suit-clad muscle looming in the deepening twilight. It didn't help that he could remember exactly what a Magadon like Freddy used those strong, white teeth for; tearing the raw flesh off prey it'd lured away by taking the form of something the mortal trusted. Unconsciously, his grip on Yahiko's shoulder tightened.
:It's this, or stay near Megumi while Sano tries to badger more information out of her,: Battousai pointed out. :Not to mention, while he bangs and curses on that nest of computers he's set up in our apartment, trying to connect the dots between what little she has told us and Kanryuu.:
Good point.
The Magadon's lip curled. "We're not open yet."
The rumble went straight to his bones, like a personal earthquake. Kenshin gritted his teeth and stood his ground. "I called ahead. I'm here to see Golgotha."
Freddy's eyes went to dark slits. Slid over to the wide-eyed kid standing speechless beside him. "No snacks."
Battousai's chill wrapped him, and he felt his eyes burn amber. "I don't bring snacks."
"You!" A massive fist clenched.
"You do remember what happened the last time you tried that." Battousai's gaze never wavered. "If you wish another... duel... I will oblige you. But only if Yahiko is out of range."
:Are you crazy? We can't-:
We most certainly can, my own. Like most Magadon, Freddy relies on his strength more than skill. We can't let him lay hands on us, no - but so long as we do not, Sanosuke is more difficult to defeat.
"What's your problem, anyway?" Yahiko said defiantly.
"Mouthy little herd." Teeth visibly sharpened. "Bet those lips would look good in lemon slices. Oh yeah."
Battousai kept his hand resting on the teen's shoulder, reaching into that ki so akin to his own, holding the cub when fear and common sense would have made him bolt. Face, little one. Trust me.
Fear shivered through Yahiko's ki, draining the color from his face, but he did not run.
:What are you doing?:
I'm... not entirely sure, my heart, Battousai admitted. But he is our cub, and he will not lose honor to a lesser creature!
Another few seconds; a slight tightening of amber eyes, matching the none-too-subtle threat of flexing muscles-
Growling, Freddy stepped aside. "Through the back."
Red hair dipped slightly. "Thank you."
He walked the cub inside, past a few empty tables. Stopped near the equally empty bar, breathing in pure relief as the club door closed behind them. And breathing out-
Kenshin blinked, patting his brother's shoulder once more to be certain he was there, before the teen stepped away. "Yahiko-"
"I heard you," Yahiko whispered. "In my head."
Kenshin tried not to let his jaw drop. How?
:I can reach other minds through the sword,: Battousai said slowly. :And... you are my sword.:
When ki touches ki. And Yahiko's is... like ours... Kenshin caught his brother's hand. Little one?
Brown eyes glared at him, anger covering the flash of fear. "Who you calling little?"
Shuffling footsteps cut off any attempt to explain. "Bar's still closed," a tall, sallow man said slowly, pulling out a faded blue cloth to polish the scarred but spotless counter. "Could get you a soda, if you want." Dry eyes looked over them both. "Or a red beer...?"
"Phillip." Kenshin gave the Zombie a polite bow, quelling the involuntary flare of thirst at the casual mention of blood. It's not any different from what you have at home.
But it was different. This wasn't a private arrangement with a butcher, with all its hints of secret shame. This was a place Kin could indulge inhuman needs with the same casual ease as ordinary mortals enjoyed a night on the town.
In a way, it was even more frightening than Virus.
Focus. "Later, perhaps," Kenshin answered. "For now... we came to speak with Golgotha."
Dry skin stretched as a brow rose. "I know you?"
"I suspect you will," Kenshin muttered.
Like any good bartender, Phil knew when to let something drop. He nodded toward the door in the back wall marked Private: By invitation only.
Letting out a slow breath, Kenshin headed that way. "Stay-"
"Close to you, yeah, I heard it the first dozen times..."
Kenshin sighed at the roll of brown eyes. "It's only - this isn't safe, Yahiko." It's only the best of bad options.
Leave Yahiko back in the apartment with Megumi and Sano? Not a chance. Sanosuke could protect himself if the witch decided to be less than honest with them. Yahiko - no. Leave the teen with Kaoru? Leaving aside the lumps he'd get from even suggesting she drag a sullen student along to see her friend - he knew his little brother. If there were trouble anywhere in a five-block radius, Yahiko would find it.
And Virus was still looking for them.
Focus. You only get one shot at this. Keshin walked across Club AfterDark's empty dance floor, past the tables and the Kin band Dark Harvest setting up onstage, toward one of the private booths in the back. He could feel the Ogre drummer's gaze linger on Yahiko... but there were plenty of small Kin. So long as his brother stayed close, no one should question the teen's presence.
I hope.
:At least it's early yet. If Dark Harvest was onstage playing, you couldn't hear yourself think.:
Hardcore's not your style?
:Political nihilism, with instruments played for energy instead of skill? No. Nor yours, if I recall. We know enough of death and pain. Dreams, and hope - that sustains us.:
And they were in front of a tall, seated man in a casually-ripped leather jacket and dark pants, bald head showing off his pointed, earring-laced ears. A solid man; where Freddy was obvious muscle, Golgotha had the sturdy frame of a man who favored the Roman short sword. Fangs glinted in his smile. "Evening."
Trying not to shake, Kenshin bowed in the way he and Battousai had polished before leaving home; the rough grace a samurai might use in the field to a daimyo of still-unknown alliance. "Kenshin Himura." He inclined his head toward his brother. Who wasn't bowing, but staring. Argh. "My brother, Yahiko. We're pleased to meet you."
"Sit down."
Soft. But it wasn't a request. Kenshin latched onto Yahiko's arm, trying to make it look casual as he ushered the teen into the inside seat on their side of the booth. The band might have been fooled; he had no illusions that Golgotha was.
"The last time Battousai came through here," the vampire elder went on, mild as a summer night, "he ended up taking down a Skinthief right outside my fire-door. Clean kill. Professional. Scared the hell out of the Crowley who went out for a smoke. Haven't seen that poor bastard back here since." A pale brow went up. "Street said Ward went down, but you... you're not the kind I'd expect Petrio to pick."
Sky-diving is simple. First, step out of the plane... Kenshin braced himself. "He didn't."
The other brow went up. "Interesting." Golgotha turned his look on Yahiko. "You dealing with it? Kin's hard on family..." He stared a little harder at Yahiko's neck. And the scars.
"Virus," Kenshin stated.
"I know the marks." That ancient gaze swept back to him. "You tagged him on top of that."
Kenshin's throat closed. "It was trying to Infect him."
"Good to look after your own." A wide hand spread, palm-up. "Hand."
Yahiko bristled. "I'm not going to-"
"You're young, and you've got your pride," the elder vampire said levelly. "I understand that. Most Kin won't. Help your brother, Yahiko. Hand."
Muttering under his breath, Yahiko slapped his hand down on the booth table.
Golgotha seized it with effortless grace, one sharp fingernail drawing blood from the side of the teen's index finger. He lifted the ruby drop to sniff even as Yahiko squawked and yanked back, tasting crimson like a doubtful chef as Kenshin kept the outraged teen from grabbing for his new bokken. "Seal that, before the smell spreads."
Kenshin pounced and licked, trying not to think too hard about the way Yahiko's blood seemed to sparkle on his tongue. Bad enough to feel that way about Kaoru. His own brother...
:But... we're not hungry for it, my heart. Can't you feel it? When we taste him, we want - not to feed on him, but...:
To protect him.
Which was not the feeling Battousai remembered having for Sano, even after he'd marked the agent. Feeding on Sano had been feeding, pure and simple.
This was - different. Odd. As if something in him relaxed at that sparkle on his tongue, wanting nothing more than to wrap warmth around it and purr.
"You're squashing me..."
Blushing, Kenshin let go. Just a hug. That's all.
:No. It's not.: Battousai shifted within him, restless and afraid. :And that is why we are here.:
Kenshin nodded once, accepting that fear. "What have I done to my brother?"
The elder Kin licked his tongue across the back of his fangs, sober and thoughtful. "Haven't tasted that in a long, long time..." He drummed his fingers on the table once, then seemed to come to a decision, closing his eyes just a moment.
:Telepathy, I think,: Battousai murmured, sensing the flux of the vampire's ki. :I wonder who he's reaching to?:
Opening his eyes, Golgotha looked at them both, then focussed on Kenshin. "He's fine. You're looking after him, that's all. Relax. Have a drink on me." He nodded toward the door. "And while Phil mixes that up for us... what's so important someone in your line of work called here asking to walk in under the white flag?"
"Something may be working with Virus," Kenshin said soberly.
Golgotha went very still. "Like?"
Kenshin shook his head. "I don't know. I only know that - when I was fighting the Infection in Yahiko-" He spread helpless hands. "There was something else there. A presence, that knew who Battousai was."
The elder Kin nodded once. "I hear you."
"I wish I knew more," Kenshin said soberly, listening to the Zombie's footfalls approach. Phil's ki was amazingly bright for a dead man; gentle with listening to others' woes. I wish I could ask you about Kanryuu, and the Okashira. But that wouldn't be wise. Golgotha was a Commune Elder, and the Commune's relationship with Target Alpha was wary at best.
Translucent red glasses set down on the table; two with the expected warm blood, one with- "V-8?" Kenshin asked skeptically.
"Growing kid. Needs his vitamins." A stretched-lip grin, and Phil walked off with his tray.
"I'm not a kid," Yahiko grumbled. But he took his juice, and sat back with a sigh.
:This is a test, you know.:
I know. He'd been Kin less than two weeks. By most of the night-dwellers' standards, he wouldn't be safe loose on his own for at least another year. Golgotha was giving him the chance to prove that he was.
With a handy stake and a sword nearby in case I'm not. Carefully, he lifted his glass. Sipped.
Oh... that is... so good...
Not as sweet as Kaoru's. But he doubted anything ever would be.
He finished it without hurrying, determined to prove that he could handle the thirst. That he was not about to go berserk at the sight or smell of blood - at least, not more than any other young Kin would.
"Hmm." His own cup empty, Golgotha smiled slightly. "Good." He shifted his gaze. "Yahiko?"
Blinking, the teen set down his glass, some red still sloshing at the bottom. "Kind of rich."
Kenshin sat up straight, feeling a slight shift in Yahiko's ki; as if some unknown strain had been suddenly removed. Opened his mouth to ask-
The scent of vegetable juices wafted through his nose. Vegetable - and something more. "How could you!"
"Voice down," Golgotha said levelly. "You don't want people to know this. They wouldn't understand. I do, but I've seen a lot."
"I don't understand!" Kenshin whispered fiercely. How could he? How could he!
"Your brother," Golgotha said soberly, looking Yahiko straight in the eye, "is pulling something a lot of Kin don't even know exists. Some Inuit in town think they invented it a decade back; it's been around a lot longer, but most of the Kin who could do it died out a long, long time ago. Call it a Shunt. He feeds; you get some of the energy. Among other things, that makes you a lot more resistant to getting Infected than humans ought to be. Also makes you a little thirsty. Like us."
"Wha...?" Yahiko stared.
Kenshin gripped the edge of the table, hard. "There's blood in your drink, Yahiko."
Yahiko swallowed. Realized what he'd swallowed, and looked green. "No way. It tasted-"
"Good?" Kenshin said softly. And I can feel it doing you good, gods; your ki feels calmer already. "What have I done?"
"What you had to," Golgotha said levelly. "You've stepped on the toes of every anti-Herd bunch in town, Battousai. They'd turn your brother in a heartbeat, just for kicks. Now, they can't." He fixed Yahiko with a serious look. "You're a bright kid. I know you're not going to talk about this where other Kin can hear. Most Kin hear Shunt, they think Pox Zombie, because that's what Inuit use it to cure. Not something you want people thinking about you. The Pox scares Kin, understand? And scared people do stupid things."
Wide-eyed, Yahiko gulped.
"I thought you would." With surprising gentleness, Golgotha reached out and tapped Yahiko's lip twice, just above the canine teeth. "If that starts to hurt, you let your brother know. Don't be stubborn, don't worry about where you are or what he's doing - just get back to him and let him help you."
:He... dares...:
Kenshin held onto the blade's incandescent fury by his fingernails, claws digging into the tabletop. He would not attack Golgotha. He would not.
But Yahiko was terrified.
And for that, someone would pay.
---------
"Never tamper with one of mine again."
Hand on Goddess' vocal mike as he helped Samantha X set up, Tyler Darrow froze. He'd heard a lot of Kin be menacing, ever since the first night he'd interviewed the vampire bass player, trying to get a handle on the world his research for horror novels had led him to believe really was real. Starting with her.
But that wasn't menace. It wasn't even a threat. It was fact, cold and hard and implacable as an Arctic night.
Cross this line, and I will kill you. No matter what it takes.
Who the hell had enough stones to say that to Golgotha?
The vampire himself lifted a hand as the rest of Dark Harvest made a move that way: stop. "Man came in peace, and polite," Golgotha said evenly. "Let him leave the same way."
Him? Tyler blinked at the little, long-haired redhead in some kind of ancient Japanese outfit. Sword? Not good. Not that armed Kin were unusual, even in Club AfterDark - but most enchanted weapons these days ran to magical Uzis, not enspelled swords. Melee weapons meant somebody was willing to get up close and personal. Oh, really not good.
And then Tyler saw the mussed-haired kid, and sucked in a sharp breath. He doesn't look any older than James.
And he was scared white. And Golgotha wasn't doing anything...
Samantha's hand landed on his shoulder, hard; the vampire shook her head at him, eyes cool under her crewcut. Wait, his sort-of-girlfriend mouthed. Watch.
Easy for her to say. She didn't have a son just that age-
And... the kid was clinging to the scary little guy? Why? Tyler shifted for a better view of their faces, and caught his jaw before it could hit the stage. Holy mother of- they're family?
No doubt about it. Even if the redhead's eyes were pure, inhuman amber, while the kid's were all-too-human brown. Tyler felt his gut knot in scary sympathy. Did weird enough things to your worldview to be dating a Kin. To have one crop up as a blood relation...
Amber faded to steel-blue; still furious, but closer to human limits. Fluid as a stalking cat, the redhead bowed. "For your counsel, Elder, I owe you gratitude."
The writer in Tyler perked up its ears, fascinated. "I owe" instead of "I am"?
Standing, Golgotha inclined his head. "For information on Virus, there is no debt."
Oh. Oh, I've got to know more about this! This was full-out, old-fashioned Kin customs on full display; the kind of manners most denizens of the Apple's nightlife had tossed decades ago. Who was this guy?
"No debt, hell!" Bobby Blank growled, along with something else in Russian that Tyler was fairly sure meant something along the lines of, who the hell is this shrimp who thinks he can start a fight in our club?
"Nyet," Golgotha said firmly, giving the Ogre drummer a firm look in the eye. "I don't need to break in a new band."
Say what? Tyler thought, stunned. Not that he would be much help in an intra-Kin rumble, and he knew it; he was only human, and no great shakes even when it came to his own self-defense. But there was Bobby; Goddess coming back from the ladies', sunglasses on and snakes writhing under her bandanna; Shiv 17 tuning up his guitar, withered Wyght fingers ready to rip and tear - and that didn't even get into the kind of damage Samantha could do in a bad mood.
And... steel-blue eyes gave them one cool look-over, and were not impressed.
Um. Hiding in a corner, good. Where's a corner?
"One more thing." Golgotha's tone never shifted, still even and careful as an ordinance sergeant with a crate-full of leaking dynamite. "This presence, with Virus. Where?"
A slight shake of red hair. "Where it was, I do not know; though I had the impression it was not nearby. Where I was - I encountered those Virus who carried it in the alley between Zip Electronics and Wonderful Things."
He named a more specific street; Tyler didn't listen, mentally snapping his fingers in realization. I knew I'd seen that kid before!
Which meant... he might have to do something about this. Oh boy.
Golgotha nodded. "We'll pass on the word." He glanced at the teen. "Stay safe."
"Safe!" the kid was muttering even as the redhead tugged him out the fire door. "What's safe? Libraries aren't safe, movie theaters aren't safe, tomato juice isn't goddamn safe-"
"Yahiko!"
"Well, it wasn't!"
The bickering faded into the street noise outside, and Tyler let himself feel a faint relief. Even if he did have a sudden urge to check that all his limbs were attached.
"Who the hell was that?" Samantha rounded on Golgotha. "Why the hell did you let him talk to you like-"
"Man had reason." And that, Golgotha's expression stated, was that. He shrugged then, humor glinting in dark eyes. "Thought you'd recognize the sword."
"Recognize the-" Samantha X paled. Which was saying something, for a vampire.
"Bozhe moi-"
"Son of a frickin'-"
"Battousai?" three voices yelped as one.
Three? Tyler's head jerked toward a dull thump.
Goddess was passed out cold on the stage, hand still clutching her mike. Even the Medusa's snake hair was limp.
Tyler cleared his throat. "Um, not to look like a stupid idiot, here, but...?"
Golgotha beckoned him down as the rest of the band gathered around their unconscious vocalist. "Sit down."
Wary, Tyler picked the spot the redhead had been in not two minutes before. "Why do I get the feeling a tank just walked out of here?"
"Close." A thick brow went up. "How's Bloody Blades coming?"
Tyler perked up, almost bouncing at the thought of the finished manuscript on his home computer, now in the couple-of-days waiting period before he'd go back and edit it. Hence his being here, without a scrap of computer equipment on him, instead of pounding away on a keyboard. "You come up with some of the greatest plot-starters. Two possessed swords, hating each other for centuries, finding hosts to play it out over and over again..." Swords. Samantha recognized... the sword. "Oh."
Golgotha nodded. "He's been around almost as long as there's been a Target Alpha. Takes a body, changes it, switches off control of it with the host. The host isn't Kin - if it dies, it stays dead - but it's more resilient than any human. And it knows how to kill Kin. He's been through... three, possibly four hosts now. Up until two weeks ago, his host was Agent Joseph Ward."
"And now it's this guy," Tyler finished. Poor guy. He grimaced. "How are we going to tell Himura - without telling him, I know that - his little brother's mixed up with a Kin?"
"That was Himura."
"No, no; Kenshin Himura. Guy who runs Wonderful Things." Tyler had been in the reproductions store a time or two; a nice place, but a dead end as far as Kin were concerned. He hadn't been back since he'd followed the leads that had led him to Club AfterDark. "Short guy, short dark hair, not as messy as Yahiko's..."
Golgotha's gaze didn't so much as flicker.
"Oh, hell," the horror writer breathed. "He was such a nice guy..."
"Might still be." The vampire frowned. "Owns it, or just runs it?"
"Owns it, I guess," Tyler said after a moment to think. "It used to be his parents' place, but they died in a car crash a few weeks before I walked in there. That'd be - over a year ago, now... why?"
"It used to be run by the Dullahan clan. Humans. Always human." Golgotha rapped his knuckles on the table. "Tell Phil I need to make some phone calls."
---------
"So Kanryuu's flunkies add up to about sixty guys?" Sano scratched out notes, glanced around the courtyard garden. Sure, witches needed a little time communing with Mother Nature if they wanted to keep a good grip on their magic. And definitely, it was easier to talk to Megumi out here while Misao tried to unravel the knot he'd made of the computer system in Kenshin's apartment, and easier to fiddle with the gym-bag of new gear Misao had brought for his partner without the lab tech futzing over his shoulder. Not to mention the wards on the Graystone apartment complex did cover the garden; it shouldn't be any more dangerous out here than inside.
But he still didn't like it.
"Mmm." Megumi shrugged, toying with a long strap of green leaf.
"I wouldn't," Sano warned, barely glancing toward smoke-touched pots. Ten runners, ten guns, ten leg-breakers, thirty Beijings; sheesh, private army, all right. "Kenshin saved those daylilies from his last apartment. And the guy's been having a really bad month."
"Hmph." But she let go of the grassy leaf, caressing its spidery red-and-lime-green flower instead. Looked over the various tools Kenshin had abandoned when sunset had neared; trowel, small gardening fork, and heavy leather gloves that went all the way to the elbow, all hastily left in a tote bag after he'd repotted one last tomato.
Trying to figure out Kenshin's Banes, I bet, Sano thought cynically. Good luck, lady. Outside of that problem with high pitches, Battousai doesn't have any more trouble living in the world than you do.
Which was... kind of odd, now that he thought about it. Kin had Banes; humans, including Witches, didn't. Battousai could Drain, which defined a Kin - even Sorcerers could Drain, and they had no other Edges - but his hosts died like any human.
When killing a Sorcerer takes a meteorite through the heart, Sano recalled. Something out of this world, when other Kin get taken down by stuff in this world. Cold Iron. Silver. Wood.
Then again, flip the problem around, and you could say anything was a Bane for Battousai. Just not a fatal one, unless he got unlucky.
Balance. Kenjutsu - ki manipulation - it's all about balance. Anything can hurt him... but Kenshin's right, that hilt wasn't part of the original sakabatou. And his hit went right through a Deflection anyway...
Frowning, Sano set that thought aside to play with later. "So. Takeda's security, under the Okashira?"
"No more than ten," Megumi said thoughtfully, leaning her chin on her fist.
Sano nodded. "And you got the Spider's Web where...?"
She stuck out her tongue at him.
Sano stomped on an impulse to snatch it. "Talk, already!"
"If it helps you fight, I'll tell you anything." The agent had a sudden impression of perky black fox-ears, as Megumi gave him her most innocent eye-twinkle. "But a lady's past is her own."
"Grrr..."
She giggled. "You're so cute when you're annoyed!"
You're really starting to get to me, lady-
Whoa, Sano thought suddenly. Slow down, you baka. What is it 'Sai always says? "If your enemy wishes you angry, there's a reason."
But we're not her enemies, damn it! Why the hell would she want us too mad to think straight when we're going to have to fight Kin-
Unless that was the point.
A chill ran down Sano's spine as Megumi danced away down the courtyard, the very picture of unconcern. Totally unlike the trembling fear she'd shown in the face of the Okashira.
She's covering, Sano realized. She latched onto Kenshin 'cause she thought he was good enough to stop the little guys - but she doesn't think he can stop the Okashira. She doesn't think anyone can.
She's going to use us as roadblocks, then bolt before the dust can clear.
Smart. Cold, but smart. Well, he was onto her little plan now-
"Sanosuke Sagara!"
"Hey - I was just getting a little more efficiency in the wiring, we're not going to get any kind of speed as long as it's just dial-up-"
Oh no, Sano cringed. No, no, no; it couldn't be-
A steaming kendo instructor dragged a protesting lab tech into the garden by the collar, bokken waving whenever Misao tried to bolt. "Why," Kaoru gritted out, "Did you tell her she could put a hole in my wall?"
"Itachi-jou," Sano groaned.
"But you said she needs access!" Misao protested, squirming half out of the stranglehold. "And I can only put in one line; you know how touchy that circuit wizardry is. One log-on; one apartment. So..."
Kaoru let go, the better to get a two-handed grip on shaped oak. "So you knock a hole in my wall I could drive a truck through?"
"Principle of intent," Misao shrugged. "A hole's a hole. A door's a door; magically speaking, they'd still be two apartments. An archway, though- hey, I was trying to help!" She ducked another swing. "Look, I tried not to get too much dust on your stuff; that's why I used the saw, instead of a hammer like Sano wanted!"
"What?"
Oops. Sano tried to grin, as Kaoru turned his way with an evil look to match Battousai in a bad mood. Busted. "Ah. I can explain..."
As he got set to run for his life, he thought he saw Megumi smile wistfully.
And then joints and muscles cracked as inhuman power tried to flatten him into a carpet, and he couldn't even scream.
---------
"Okay, I've heard of break-ins," Yahiko said numbly, staring through the lingering haze of dust at the two-door-wide hole into Kaoru's apartment. "But this takes the cake."
:Misao,: Battousai sighed.
"How do you know?" Kenshin asked, almost as dazed.
:There are dust protectors over all the computer equipment.:
Shaking his head, Kenshin stepped through the opening into what had been Kaoru's apartment... still was Kaoru's apartment, on paper. But not so far as magic was concerned. He could sense it, reaching out for the wards woven about the building; energies that had responded to Misao's human use of intent as surely as they would a sorcerer's spell. This was no longer a pair of dwellings. This was one home, as quick to welcome his step in the kitchen as it would Kaoru's in his own living room.
"Um, Kenshin?" Yahiko followed after him, wary as if he expected his sensei to pounce out of a closet. "I know you're clueless about girls. But she's not going to like you putting her groceries away."
"She'd like spoiled milk even less." And given how Kaoru had apparently just dropped the two bags of food on the counter, likely in stunned reaction to the hole in her wall, she was already throttling Sano. At least unspoiled milk might keep that down to a maiming.
Besides, it was something to do. Something to feel, other than the fear and fury had warred within him all the way back home. He was torn between a terrified impulse to get Yahiko as far from him as possible, and a stronger instinct to keep his brother-
-Our cub-
As close as was practical. And it was instinct; he could track the twists and turns of it, leading into that place in his soul where he and Battousai were knotted so closely together, it was impossible to tell where he ended and steel began.
Kin instinct. Gods, he was so... cold.
Kenshin swallowed dryly, feeling the sword's horrified silence. We have Infected Yahiko, haven't we?
:It's... possible. I know of the Inuit Golgotha spoke of. They use Shunting to re-teach Pox Zombies how to Drain, so that they can heal themselves and eventually recover. Very messy, when it comes to werewolves... We haven't tried to make Yahiko other than he is, but we are Shunting to him. And his ki is becoming accustomed to that flow of energy. To the forms that energy takes within him, as we use our own Edges to heal and protect him.:
Like a Flinger, who's not quite a Sorcerer, Kenshin finished for him. The easier it is for them to spellcast and move their own energy, the more likely they are to break that last barrier and start Draining someone else's.
:And then they are Kin.:
Kenshin winced at that grief. It's not your fault!
:Then whose?:
Whoever set the damn sword up in the first place!
:You... believe I am a trap?:
Fear halted any answer in its tracks; Kaoru's fear and anger, a lighter touch that had to be Misao's, a blatant presence as Sano geared himself for a fight-
And a subtle quiver in the flow of ki outside, as something that had snuck past the Graystone's wards grew more careless.
"Sano!"
Kenshin was at the windowed door to the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard before Kaoru's yell died, painfully aware of Yahiko puffing to catch up. Stay here, he started to say as he eased the door open.
:And you truly think he'd listen?:
No. "Keep your head down, we don't know what's out there." Drawing on Battousai's knowledge of stealth, Kenshin ghosted out onto the balcony, careful to keep his profile low enough not to draw eyes over the railing. All the while fighting the suicidal impulse to fling himself into the fight first and worry why later - something was hurting Sano, he could feel it-
And that something had gotten past the wards that should have distracted any hostile Kin from coming near these apartments. Think. He had to stay calm and think.
Sano, forgive me...
Gray skin glistened like clay in the streetlights, one ham hand curled into a fist. Built like a gigantic sumo wrestler, the black-haired Kin took one slow, earth-shaking step forward.
:It is clay,: Battousai noted. :Golem Animate. This could be tricky.:
Kaoru was white-faced, trying to support Sano's shoulder as inhuman power twisted flesh and bone. Misao had backed off to put some distance between them, all too aware that Body Control had a limited range; dark steel glinted between the fingers of her left hand. And Megumi...
The witch was hiding behind the old apple tree, eyes lost in a half-trance as she desperately tried to cloak her aura in its own.
:There's more than one enemy,: Battousai noted, reaching out through his ki sense. :But they've skill at concealing themselves. I cannot be certain if there are two, or three.:
Worst-case scenario. Ki shielded to a ghost of itself, Kenshin flowed over the balcony railing, keeping his silhouette a shape that would not draw eyes. He hung on the outer edges of the balcony a moment; then released a breath, and dropped.
And found himself holding back a laugh instead; three stories was such an easy fall...
Focus.
The clay fist loosened. Sano straightened with a ragged gasp, bruises already flowering across face and chest as his body stopped trying to assume the rough size and shape of a doormat. "Who the... hell are you...?"
"Heh. Call me Hyottoko." Flint teeth gleamed in a fleshy face; a ham hand hovered near waist level, ready to clench into another body-squashing fist. "Hand over Megumi, and I'll go a little easier on you, Herd."
"Hand over who?" Sano said blandly. "I swear, you Frankies all read from a script somewhere. Ever occur to you guys that not everybody out there is trying to walk off with your Bride? If whoever made you even made a Bride, mad scientist types being kind of sexist that way-"
"No games, Agent Sagara." Hyottoko's flat yellow eyes slid to Kaoru, and then Misao. "Bounce back from a Body Control, not bad... then again, you're supposed to be one of the toughest Herds out there. Are they?"
Face set, Kaoru firmed her grip on her bokken.
"Just try it!" Misao's free hand dipped into her pocket, came out with a taser. "I know what hurts you!"
Flint smirked. "Twitch on that trigger, little girl, and she's a steaming pile of guts."
"Coward," Kaoru stated. Blue eyes didn't flinch, even though Kenshin could feel her trembling. "I'm half your size. Sano's half your size. Why don't you leave those Edges alone and face me in a fair fight?"
A deep, clay-shaking laugh. "What's the fun in that?"
And... Kenshin could hear Yahiko scrambling from balcony to balcony down to ground level, even though the teen was trying to be quiet. Enough.
Deliberately, Kenshin stepped into the light. "I doubt Kanryuu Takeda would approve of your having... fun."
"Hoo hoo." Flat yellow scrunched into a vicious smile. "We work under the Okashira. And he doesn't care... so long as we get the job done."
"You may," Kenshin said evenly, "find that... difficult."
"Hard way, huh?" Flint teeth gleamed. "Works for me."
Great. Just great. I thought you had a reputation!
:Among New York Kin, yes. This one must have come with Kanryuu.: Fangs gleamed in the darkness of his mind. :Good.:
I don't want to fight-
:I do.: Fury shivered through him, echoing his own; scales tightened about his soul. :Will you deny it to me?:
...No. Resigned, Kenshin began to let go-
:No. Be with me, my own. Be ever with me.:
"Who wants to go first?" Hyottoko sneered. "Or come together if you-"
Sano's fist landed in his gut.
Kenshin blinked; able to see what would happen next clearly as if he had a script. Sano, damn it, why didn't you just shoot him?
:Clay,: Battousai groaned. :He is clay - and that might let bullets pass like water, we've seen it before... Sano, you idiot, you're too close!:
Clay fingers clenched.
"Gaaah!" Flesh twisting, Sano rolled clear of the Edge's range, gasping as he got back to his feet. Gray dribbled between his fingers, turning to dust in the wind.
"Hoho... so you dodged." Hyottoko smirked, ignoring the ragged earthen hole in his gut. "But now your legs are almost broken..."
Snkt.
---------
Kenshin, you idiot! Heart pounding, Kaoru started forward.
Only to have Misao snatch her sleeve and drag backwards, hard. "Are you nuts? That clay guy's an Animate! Don't get into his range!"
"But Kenshin-" He was just standing there, before Hyottoko's disbelieving eyes, sword drawn, face set, and waiting.
"Edge use is ki use, and - oh, just watch!"
Hyottoko's hand closed-
Kenshin vanished.
"Body Control only works inside twenty, thirty feet; forty max," Misao said hurriedly. "As long as Battousai's outside that when the Edge goes off-"
"Ryuu Tsui Sen!"
"Like that," Misao grinned.
Disbelieving, Kaoru watched a red blur hurtle out of the sky, landing a blow to a thick skull she could feel all the way to her feet. Clay crushed, skewing flat yellow eyes aside.
Oh... I'm going to be sick...
Hyottoko let out a guttural roar, grabbing for a red gi. Only cloth blurred away again, landing a blue gleam of strikes that left massive dents in the muscles of clay forearms.
Which was when Sano straightened back up from Kenshin's gardening tote on the ground, something small and metal gleaming dully in his hand. "You know, being made out of dirt, comes in handy," the agent grinned. "Poison, bullets, fire - not a scratch. Only one little problem."
He landed an uppercut that staggered the Animate, then struck home into the massive gut, trowel digging up toward the heart.
"Gardeners."
Misao let out a relieved sigh, looking away. "I think they've got him now." She met Kaoru's horrified gaze, and winced. "It won't kill him permanently! Not unless they powder him and leave him in the sun afterward. And Battousai-" a heartbeat's hesitation "-probably won't do that."
"Probably?" Kaoru gulped.
"Does that guy look like he came just to talk-"
Kaoru cut her off with a raised hand; quiet. Something was heading their way, and fast. "Yahiko?"
"You want to let everybody know you're over here?" Yahiko grumbled, emerging from the shadows. "Come on, let's grab the witch and get out of here."
That's where the noise came from, Kaoru realized. But... that's not the place that felt wrong.
There was something missing. Something she wasn't seeing.
"Megumi," Kaoru hissed, seeing Misao likewise searching the dark. "I can't see Megumi!"
"What are you, blind?" Yahiko rolled his eyes, heading straight for the apple tree. "She's right over there!"
Cat-eyes gleamed yellow in the night, snickering. "Why, thank you, little one."
What- where-
She barely got her bokken up in time to block steel claws. The blow itself forced her down and back, inhumanly strong; Kaoru rolled with it, flowing along the circle of least resistance.
Too strong!
Too strong - and leeching the strength from her even as it struck, drinking even her will to fight...
She hit the ground hard, breath driven from her lungs. The world grayed.
Dimly she heard Yahiko shouting, a crack of wood on flesh, Misao's sharp kiai as steel shuriken whickered through the air.
And through it all, Megumi's terrified whimper.
Kaoru fought for breath, queasily aware that the impact had felt bad in a way no dojo strike ever had. Something... something was wrong in her chest...
My heart.
It's not beating.
Damn it - I am not going to die here! Intent as a kata, she focused on lips and tongue. "Help..."
Only a whisper, Kaoru knew, and felt the tears start. She could barely hear it, much less-
Claws shredded her shirt like tissue paper, pressing warmth above her left breast. Fire blazed through her veins, wrapping around the quivering muscle of her heart.
:Never give up, Kamiya-sensei. Never!:
I... won't...
Heat stroked bruised muscle, healing as it touched. Reminding the stunned organ what was, what should be-
Thump.
:Fight, Kaoru-dono! Fight, and believe!:
I want... my life!
And she was coughing and shaking in warm arms, feeling her shocked heart stumble back into rhythm. "Don't try to move," Kenshin was saying hurriedly. "He Drained you - gods, with just a touch-"
"Yahiko," she croaked.
"Ow..."
"Idiot kid's okay," Sano said breathlessly, staggering into her line of sight with clay-stained hands. "Okay as anybody who goes after a Rakshasa with just a bokken can be, anyway. Wood or no wood, you're damn lucky all he wanted to leave you with was bruises, brat."
"Who you calling a-" Yahiko winced at his own yell, clutching the side of his head. "Ow..."
Three accounted for. Good. But- "Misao?"
Violet met her gaze, shimmering toward steel-blue. "Kaoru-dono. Please take Sano and Yahiko inside, to Gensai-isha."
"You think I'm going to stay here?" Sano growled. "They didn't just take the witch; they took Itachi-jou!"
"And fled over the rooftops," the redhead said levelly. "Be reasonable. Keep them safe." He hesitated, and touched his saya. "Track me."
"You stay!"
Kaoru flinched at Sano's snarl; felt Kenshin instinctively draw her closer.
The agent ignored them both, limping to a clay-stained gym-bag to fish out something black and dangly. That looks like... some kind of headset? Kaoru thought. With a collar?
"Throat mike," Sano bit out, thrusting it at the redhead. "No way am I going to stay just tracking you without an ear into what's going on. You got me?"
Kenshin inclined his head, accepting the light bundle of Velcro and circuitry.
And was gone.
---------
Translations and info:
Animate - beings of dead or non-organic matter that have somehow gained "life" and sentience; some examples would be Frankenstein's Monster, the Swamp Thing, and Chucky. Vulnerable to fire.
Big Mike - Kin slang for the sun, given its "microwaving" effects on those Kin vulnerable to sunlight.
Body Control - a gruesome Animate Edge, reshaping the victim's form to the user's will.
Commune - a loose association of Kin who believe in peaceful, or at least relatively nonviolent, coexistence with humans.
Daimyo - "great name"; head of a major samurai clan.
Flinger - spellcaster.
Frankie - derogatory term for Animate.
Kiai - shout to focus strength.
Magadon - Kin, shape-shifting Indian troll, consumes raw flesh.
Nyet - No. (Russian.)
Pox Zombie - a Kin victim of Nerve Rot, also called the Pox; one of the very few diseases that can affect supernatural creatures, turning them into mindless zombies.
Ryuu Tsui Sen - Dragon Mallet Strike.
Skinthief - supernatural race that would like to control both humans and Kin; they have no skin of their own, so they steal it from others.