Gaara: Oh my little baby cantaloupes! Is that a second chapter I see?
Me: Why yes... yes it is!
Rae: Shut up, both of you before I KILL YOU ALL!
Gaara: Someone's cranky.
Me: I don't own any Naruto related things... sad day :(
"Raeeeeeeeeeee! Do you want to see my ring?" Beatrice came back, showing off her stone graced finger. Without even moving Rae said,
"Hey wow that's amazing! It's awesome…yay!" Her dead pan tone put Rika into a fit of giggles.
"There's no need to be mean!" Beatrice huffed.
"I'm tired and cranky and hungry and cranky. I'll determine when my meanness is enough!" The red eyed woman yelled into the table. Lifting her head, she glared at the blue haired woman.
"You're never going to find a guy with that attitude missy!" Beatrice hissed.
"Meh. I just don't see the point in it. I mean yeah, it's great for some one like you who only lives one lifetime, and so will die with their partner. But for me, it's simply a hassle to have to find a new mate every hundred years or so. My brother seems to have found a good pattern, but I was never really one for it." Rae said, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Rae, aren't there ways to ensure that a mate will live just as long as you would?" Rika asked, looking at the red eyed woman with curiosity.
"Yes, but that option is never really practical. It's far too complicated." Rae said in a huff.
"Woah, woah woah!" Kankuro yelled, confused.
"What are you talking about hundreds of years? I'm not catching on here!" He grabbed his head due to his oncoming head ache. Rae let out a very exasperated sigh.
"I'm a vampire, creeper. I live at least 50 of your life times." Rae said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Rika nodded her head in agreement.
"Rae's already… um… let's see, carry the two, plus 3… about 1200 already. Is that close?" Rika asked after counting on her fingers. Rae shrugged.
"I stopped keeping track after the first 5 centuries." She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Kankuro was pointing at the woman, stuttering.
"You're twelve HUNDRED YEARS OLD?" He yelled, causing some people on the street to stop and sneer at the young woman, who merely glanced their way, causing the onlookers to disperse fairly quickly.
"Yes, idiot. And don't talk so loudly. You're drawing far too much attention as it is." She scowled at the brown haired man.
"Vampires, which is what Rae is, are now readily acknowledged by our society, however, many people still think of them as monsters." Beatrice added, trying to ease the confusion.
"What is a vampire?" Gaara asked, his calm deep voice startling his overly worked up brother.
"Vampires… are the undead. They don't have heart beats, or reflections. They hate the sun, period. It used to be able to turn them into ashes in mere seconds, but you know, global warming and what not has weakened its affect, as well as the strengthening as their own race has raised their immunity. they drink blood to keep themselves alive. Before they were officially recognized they drank strictly human blood from unwilling bystanders, in a motion of retribution for their ignored status. Now, there are blood banks where humans can go to donate blood, and then they mix it was several thinners, and sometimes animal blood, to make it last longer." Rika explained, as Rae started to fall asleep again. Rika smacked the table.
"Rae, can I talk to you in private?" Rika asked the now very irritated Rae.
"Sure." Rae huffed and stood. Rika and her walked around the corner of the small café as Beatrice grinned at the two still confused males.
"So. What do you think? Pretty neat huh? I know you two aren't from our world. I can sense the magic that has touched you to bring you here." Her yellow eyes gleamed with satisfaction as the brothers stiffened.
"I'll try to help you get back to your home, but my magic ability is not anywhere near as strong as the one used to bring you here, and if done wrong, you could be stuck in the inbetween until you die." A sad looked crossed her face.
"What?" A loud yell was heard and the four looked in the direction of the shout to see Rika being dragged along by a growling Rae.
"That bastard. I'm going to rip his fucking throat out!" Rae shouted.
"Rae! No! I told you not to over-react!" Rika was struggling to release herself from the vampires steel grip.
"I'm NOT over-reacting! YOU'RE under-reacting!" Rae snapped back, her red eyes now glowing with anger. Kankuro shuddered at the fierce woman now heading back to their table. Rika finally managed to tear her wrist from Rae's grip.
"Rae. Stop. I understand that you are upset but killing him won't do any good." Rika said, tears in her eyes.
"It'll make me feel better." Rae mumbled, looking at the ground in shame. Rae sighed as a couple tears fell off Rika's cheeks.
"Ok. Fine. But you're not living in that apartment anymore. You're going to live with me, and that's final. At least that way, if anything like that happens again… well, lets just say it won't be pretty." Rae gave the sniffling woman a quick hug before heading back over to the small table.
"What the hell was all that about?" Beatrice asked.
"Kane." Rae mumbled. Beatrice nodded, understanding. Rae and Beatrice had not liked that man one bit, but it was useless to convince Rika that he was up to no good, so they had backed off.
"Come on. Lets go get your stuff. I need to get home." Rae huffed, giving Beatrice and her beau a quick hug as they said their good byes.
Gaara watched their interactions closely. That woman with the red eyes had just admitted to being a monster, yet here these people were, hugging her, smiling at her. He was endlessly curious at this new world they had stumbled into. However his brother did not seem quite as happy. Kankuro was fidgety and obviously uncomfortable.
They walked back to Rika's apartment in silence. As the four climbed the last set of stairs, Rae stopped ahead of them.
"Rae?" Rika touched the woman's arm.
"He's in your apartment." Rae growled out. She turned back to look at Rika, who had turned a sickly looking pale. Rae took several long strides and put herself in front of the door and simply stood there, waiting, eyes glowing like embers in a fire place. It was only a few minutes before the door swung open. Kankuro blinked and realized it was all over already. Kane was face first on the ground, Rae on top of him, bending an arm back in a very unnatural way. Rae bent down and whispered something into the terrified mans ear. Even as much as he strained, Gaara could not hear what she said.
Rae released the man and he ran past the three onlookers, a horrified look in his eyes.
"Rae. What did you tell him?" Rika asked, walking up to the vampire. Kankuro took note that Rae was at least a head shorter than her human counterpart. He wanted to laugh at the small woman. She was so terrifying in a cute way.
"I just reminded him of where his place was." Rae shrugged and entered the apartment.
Rika followed, motioning for the two men to follow as well. Rika went about the apartment gathering her things while Rae sat down at the small kitchen table. Rae motioned to Gaara and Kankuro.
"Sit." She ordered, which annoyed Kankuro to know end. She raised a brow as they refused to move.
"Please?" She asked. Gaara obliged, and Kankuro followed suit.
"So. Beatrice says you're not from our world. That actually makes a lot of sense. Tell me about what happened." Rae said, watching their reactions. Gaara sighed.
"We were having a discussion when this woman came out of nowhere and transported us here." Gaara said.
"Did she say anything? What did she look like?" Rae asked, eyeing Kankuro.
"She had a blue star on her cheek and gray eyes. She said she wanted to help us, not hurt us." Kankuro answered. Rae's eyes opened wide.
"She didn't happen to be singing a song about coconuts did she?" The woman sputtered. Gaara and Kankuro looked at each other.
"Yeah. Do you know her?" Kankuro asked, wondering if they'd be going home sooner than he thought.
"Yes and no." Rae smiled. Rika stopped in her tracks. She hadn't seen Rae smile in so long, she was starting to wonder if Rae had lost the ability to do so.
"Corine. That's her name. We went to school together about 200 years ago. She always did have a knack for creating mischief." Rae rubbed her chin, deep in thought.
"Well! Have her send us home!" Kankuro almost yelled, growing impatient.
"I am not one to make demands of her. She is far older than I am and could kill me should I go about demanding things from her." Rae said, waving off his demand. Rika stood next to Rae. (I wonder if I used the word 'demand' enough?)
"The Vampire society is very strict and complicated. There is an order that must be followed. Rae is... powerful to say the least, however there are still a few above her that could demand her death and get it. It is best she remain on their good side." Rika said, laying a hand on Rae's shoulder.
"Listen. I'll have my father talk to her. But he's away doing things for a bit, so it'll be a while before we actually find out if she really is behind this whole thing. For now, just relax. And you wipe that look off your face Kankuro. I'm not going to kill you, well, as long as you don't do anything bad to Rika that is." Rae stood and walked out of the apartment, a cigarette in hand.
"Rae! I thought you quit!" Rika called after Rae, to no avail.
"What exactly is your relationship with her?" Gaara asked, wondering if this woman was older than he had originally thought as well.
"Rae ... saved my life. I know she seems distant and cold, but she's just trying to keep herself from getting hurt. She cares greatly about human life and, you wouldn't guess it, but she is the leader in a pacifist movement to keep vampires from actually biting humans." Rika saw their confused reaction.
"When a vampire bites a human, that human can then become a vampire, if the vampire is strong enough. A human that is bitten is then that vampires subordinate." Rika explained.
"They are not subordinates. They are slaves, and it is a disgrace to our kind to practice such habits." Rae spat from behind the two boys. Her face, as flawless as it was, was pulled into a nasty scowl, wrinkling her delicate features.
Kankuro gazed up at the woman standing behind him. As much as he wanted to be afraid of her, he found her alluring. Her red eyes gazed into his own, seeming to stare into his soul. They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity until Rika cleared her throat, causing the vampire to break the spell as her eyes snapped up to the young woman in front of her.
"You set?" Rae asked.
"Yeah. Your brother picking us up?" Rika asked. Rae snorted.
"No way. I drove my baby. It's parked a block away." Rae said. The four made it back to the car without a word. Kankuro and Gaara stopped in their tracks as they approached the sleek black vehicle.
"What is that?" Kankuro asked. Rae rolled her eyes, losing her patience as the day grew later.
"It's a car. Get in." She growled, narrowing her eyes at the men.
"It's what we get around in. Please get in and I'll explain." Rika explained. Kankuro shook his head no.
"Get in." Rae said, bearing her elongated canines in a hard scowl. Kankuro paled at the woman's deadly aura radiating off of her.
"Rae, be nice please." Rika said, trying to calm the woman down. Rae sighed.
"Please get in. I'm tired and I just want to go home." Rae whined, giving in to her exhaustion. The men looked at each other before hesitantly climbing into the vehicle. The ride was fairly boring. Rika explained what a car is and whatnot and Rae zoned out, thinking only of her warm bed waiting for her. Kankuro, who got to sit up front, watched Rae from the corner of his eye. He had to admit she was gorgeous, in fierce powerful way.
They came to a halt in front of a gigantic mansion. Loud music was blasting through the place, causing the vehicle to vibrate and the windows to shake. Rae sighed and shook her head as Rika giggled.
They entered the home and the music was turned off.
"Raeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Yelled a deep voice that steadily got louder. Within seconds a man leapt from the stairway onto Rae, seemingly crushing her in a hug.
"Ugh! Get off of me Sabien!" Rae pushed at the man, whose straight blonde hair fell like silk down his back. His red eyes scanned Gaara and Kankuro up and down as he stood.
"What's up with them?" He asked, pointing to the two.
"Rika's living here now, ergo her odd friends live here for the time being too. I'm going to bed, don't do anything terribly regrettable." Rae said with a yawn and disappeared up the stairs.
"I hate how she thinks she can just order me around." Sabien said, sticking his tongue out at the now gone woman.
"Can't she?" Rika asked, setting her bags down.
Is there a chapter 3 in the making? IDK!