A/N I know it has been a long time coming and I am very very sorry for that you guys. Life throws curves and I am not an exception to that rule by any means. I have been facing separation from my husband and illness for both my daughter and I. I will be updating, but nothing will have much of a schedule. Truly sorry. As a thank you, I have put a bit of lemony goodness in this one. It is clearly marked off in the usual fashion. Enjoy!

Chapter 43- The Aftermath

Red water splashed into the foamy water that filled the shallow roasting dish. He had no bowls that could be used as a basin, but this substitute seemed work just as well. Lulu watched in rapt curiosity as she sipped on a unit of blood while the IV fed Mary Frances through her arm.

The silent chevalier's loose strands of hair curled around his face as he carefully lowered the warm cloth to the young woman's face, soothing the aches their massive battle had caused her. If the chevalier was injured, it would not be known. There were no hints on him that could tell anyone that he had been the girl's opponent.

She let out a low, shaky groan and tilted her head toward the left side, he right eye still swollen shut, but the purple bruises that had blotched her face were fading to a sickly yellow before vanishing completely. Hagi knew the right eye socket had been smashed and would take longer to heal than her other injuries. It had not been intentional and truly an accident. When he had thrown her into the water, he had not realized there was a rock just under the surface where she landed.

Inwardly, he sighed in guilt. It wasn't his fault, but like Saya, he had sworn to protect this rebellious girl. Instead, he had injured her.

"It'll heal, Hagi," the young-looking, lavender hair Schiff piped up from the seat she had taken on a nearby sofa. The room always reminded Lulu of a hotel lobby- not because of any fancy décor, but the impersonal nature of the furniture and decorations. She had followed Hagi closely before she joined the CIA and, in spite of her demanding job, continued to watch over her silent mentor from a distance. He was quite a mystery even now. It was like him to stand silently for hours- even days on end, just watching over everything. It was unusual to say the least, to see him caring for this young woman.

He silently nodded as he continued his care toward the girl as she healed before their very eyes. The bones that were broken were knitting themselves back together beneath the skin, causing the discolored skin to roll and undulate over the mending bones- looking like something from an alien horror movie.

"Nathan has found the location of Argiano and Smith," Hagi informed Lulu. He took in a deep breath, revealing the heaviness of the decision he had made. "As soon as Mary Frances is awake, I will inform the Red Shield."

Lulu became still and gave Hagi a serious look. "If the Red Shield moves in on them now, they might have a chance to destroy any information they have on the princesses."

The stoic chevalier bowed his head and stilled his hand. For a moment, there was a silence that fell in the room like a heavy curtain. He finally answered, "I know."

Lulu was at his side in the next breath, pleading with him. "Hagi, if you do this, you will never be able to prove your innocence! You can't let them have this information without planning to sneak in and retrieve their records first."

Taking a breath, the chevalier lifted the roasting pan and headed for the kitchen with the soiled cloth, leaving behind the now clean Mary Frances. Her eye was still quite swollen and she remained unconscious, but at least she was looking better than when she had arrived.

In spite of this snub, Lulu continued after him, "You can't just tell them and allow another chance to escape you- not when you're so close." As the two came into the kitchen, Lulu continued after him. While he dumped the blood-stained water, she pulled a chair up next to the counter and climbed on it. The tactic was used in many CIA meetings where she was ignored during a first encounter, but Hagi wasn't a short-lived human and didn't fall for such gimmicks. "At least go out there and look through everything first. Or-or better yet… tell me where they are…"

Hagi turned and finally caught her sympathetic eyes. "The Red Shield will not…" he began and then turned to the dish in his hands before correcting, "I will not allow you to risk your life again." The memory of his own decision was one that would haunt him for all his immortal days was the moment he agreed to Lulu going into that facility. It would nearly be as painful a memory as Vietnam.

She gave a small smile, thinking that she still could grasp victory in this argument. "Great! You can go in and just gather up…"

"No, Lulu," he replied. "I will not allow this war to go any further. We do not know what Argiano and Smith have planned. If we do not eliminate them immediately, there is a possibility that the entire world will become chiropterans." He finished scrubbing the pan and looked out the window above the sink into the darkness of night before he added, "Saya would not like that. The only reason she agreed to live on was…"

Lulu rolled her eyes before she interrupted, "… was you! The only reason she chose to live on was you!" She hopped onto the counter and whacked him in the back of the head before hopping down from the chair and moving toward the living room and Mary Frances. "Kai can be right sometimes- you are humble to the point of stupidity."

While Hagi was left to the kitchen, soaking in her words while rinsing off the dish in his hands, Lulu was checking on Mary Frances. The girl was beginning to breathe a bit faster and the swollen eye was now simply discolored and would soon be completely healed.

Lulu had been around her student long enough to know when the girl was truly asleep and when she was faking. No doubt she was plotting revenge of some sort on Hagi. Lulu smiled and spoke softly, "Mary Frances, you may want to open your eyes."

The dark haired girl shifted slightly in the uncomfortable chair and grumbled, but her eyes remained shut.

Before Lulu could say another word, her ears began to twitch as she caught a very ancient presence. A frilly, periwinkle sleeve nearly surrounded a well-manicured hand that gripped the handle of the balcony door. Her ear twitched in the direction of the girl as Mary Frances simpered, "Nathan, so good to see your girly face again."

"Ew," the blonde chevalier responded as his face fell into a frown and his hand cupped the injury that remained on the princess's face. "Did he really have to do that to your face?" Nathan asked with a mean spirited smirk.

"Mary Frances needed to be disciplined," claimed a voice as Hagi emerged from the kitchen. He continued, "It was not my intention to damage her so badly."

Giving a sigh, Nathan flopped on the sofa adding, "Ah, well, such is the life of a chiropteran- and a chevalier." The last part was added with a sly smirk. He then frowned as he noted the empty space on the table across the way. "What happened to the TV?" he whined.

"I moved it to Mary Frances's room," Hagi informed. "I have no use for such a device."

"Really, cutie," Nathan complained. "Even Iron-ass James had a TV in his house and he was more boring than a straight man."

Mary Frances snorted before adding, "Hagi is more boring than any man."

Lulu clicked a warning with her tongue and wondered if Mary Frances would ever learn to respect Hagi.

Deciding to get straight to the business at hand, Nathan's half-lidded face took in the chevalier as he dried the large dish in his hands. "I thought you would have taken off by now, Hagi." His blue gaze slipped to the side to take in the questioning reaction of Mary Frances. He knew very well that Hagi had not yet revealed to her what he knew. "I won't be giving out freebies like this again, you know."

Lulu's mouth opened and shut like a fish. She was torn between glaring at Nathan for his meddlesome ways and trying to soften the blow to Mary Frances for not being told sooner.

Nathan gave her no chance to do anything. He was already looking at the girl with a wicked smirk. "Surely your father told you that I found the location of Argiano and that scientist of his."

The corners of her mouth sank, causing the discolored bruise to cast a shadow on the side of her face. She listened through the crackling of her inflamed temper to hear that Hagi knew about this before the confrontation on the beach. How much time had they wasted on this ridiculous game of machismo male versus female? They could have had the two in custody, questioning them both!

Nathan was in full force, gesturing with his sleeves dancing in the air as he told of Hagi's ability to put off the inevitable- even during the war. She vaguely heard him recalling aloud the events in Russia where Amshel confronted Hagi about not telling Saya the truth, even when she had demanded it of him.

The calculating eyes of the chevalier shifted carefully between the angry girl and the reminiscing male. He was not one for fleeing a situation, but in this case it made sense. Nathan would never take on Argiano and Smith by himself- mainly because he did not see it as his fight. Hagi also knew that Nathan would never lead Mary Frances and Lulu into the fray without adequate backup- in case there were some of the more advanced chiropterans near the area. Basically, without him, Nathan's plan would fail.

Mary Frances was fuming. That man was just standing there, looking around like nothing was going on. It was as if no one had mentioned there was an opportunity to finish this once and for all. Just as she found her feet, he was out the balcony door like a blue lightening.

"What the fuck?!" she shouted after him. The angry young woman turned to the two that remained in the living room only to find that Nathan had also vanished in to thin air. With a frown etched into her featured, the young woman pushed past Lulu and grabbed her weapons from the table, along with her cloak and the staff.

Lulu pulled at her arm and insisted, "You cannot go after him! You still need to heal… besides, you don't know where he went."

She turned slightly and offered a smirk as she threw on the cloak, "Oh, I know where he went. Where does he always go?"

The fabric of the cloak brushed over Lulu's body as she pulled back and took in the young woman. "That doesn't mean you should go there. He is only trying to protect her."

Mary Frances stilled, brown eyes that were smoldering now became slightly watery. She sucked in a breath and steeled her nerve. Her voice was bitter as she spoke, "Yeah, I know. She is his reason for being. I am nothing to him."

Lulu jumped in front of her, creating a small barricade. Mary Frances took in the sudden expression change in the small, child-like creature. Lulu always carried this innocence about her like a garment, but now, it was traded for something much more serious.

The two stared at each other for a minute before Lulu finally broke the silence. "Is that what you think?" she asked.

Mary Frances held her gaze, her jaw working as her teeth ground together. Of course that was what she thought.

Lulu's eyes began to fill with tears. "I always thought that Karman was just being mean and stubborn when he warned me about going to see Kai and Saya." She looked down at the floor. "I didn't understand until after he died that he was only looking out for me."

Her eyes then turned back to the brown ones in front of her. "If he really didn't care, he would have just let me do whatever I wanted."

Mary Frances scoffed and pushed past the little Schiff, mumbling about not having time to listen to stories of the good old days.

Lulu grabbed her arm harshly and yanked her back, "Don't you get it? If Hagi didn't care about you, he'd let you just talk any way you wanted. If he didn't care, he would let you act like an idiot and make a fool of yourself. Tonight, he was trying to teach you to respect him… and respect yourself."

The princess shook off the grasp of the young Schiff and took off into the night. First thing on her agenda was to feed. The next was to get some answers before going after the sperm doner that had everyone on his side.

~0~

Pale blue moonlight spilled into the room through the open window. The young woman's features were cast in shadow. There was no sound as two black boots touched the floor, even though the cello case he carried seemed to be quite heavy.

His porcelain features framed by midnight waves that had worked their way loose from the ribbon at the back of his neck. He had to give this another shot.

The chiropteran queen shifted in her sleep, taking in the scent change that indicated her chevalier had arrived. Too tired from the eventful day to start an argument, she waited for him to speak.

Instead, she watched through the slit of her eyes as she opened them just a crack. He was standing at the window, looking out into the night sky. Inside she was screaming for him to come nearer while another part of her just wanted him as far from her as possible.

He knew she was awake. Even the worst chevalier knew his queen's patterns of sleep and how they breathed when they were awake or sleeping. He did not worry about how this would come out, he just needed to speak it- to make her understand. Surely she knew him well enough over the past 150 years. She had to know he would not betray her- not like this.

"Saya," he uttered in his usual calm and soothing tone. He watched through the shadows as she held herself perfectly still. "I have followed you through time as you fight against those that would destroy the world. I thought that you knew me well enough to know when I am telling you the truth."

At this, she sat up in her bed and peered through the darkness, her face still cast in shadow. Her voice did not respond, but he could hear her heart thunder in her chest in outrage.

He continued as his face turned to her, blue eyes shining in the darkness with sincerity, "I have not betrayed you."

Her fists clenched as she shook, bringing them to scrub at her eyes, willing the red haze of rage to leave her vision. Again, he lies to save his own hide. "Why did you come here?" she asked in a growling tone.

When his answer did not come, she looked up, pulling her fists away from her face. He was still staring at her. "Why? Why come here?" she asked again as she looked away, her voice a whisper that nearly disappeared in the sounds of the night. Her teeth clenched as she willed herself not to cry, but stubborn tears made marks on her cheeks.

Once she regained a semblance of control, she turned her accusing glare to him, "And you bring me nothing but lies again." They stared at each other for a moment, one in accusation, the other pleading for understanding.

A bitter laugh came from her lips before she spoke again, "You know, I really can't blame you. I sleep for 30 years while you can't sleep at all. It-it can get lonely, I bet."

He heard her shift her weight on the bed and watched as her feet came down on the floor. As she moved toward him, he waited for the other shoe to drop. Her calm demeanor belied the turmoil of emotions inside, but all he could do was wait for this to play out.

She joined him at the window pressing her palms to the sill and looking at the ground below. "I only want you to tell me what it was like."

His brow briefly knit in confusion before returning to the usual placid expression he wore. "Saya," he began.

"I want to know how it felt to kiss someone else- n-not like the kiss at the Met, but a kiss… of pa-passion," she clarified as her cheeks flushed red. She turned her gaze to up to him, "I want to know how it felt to give yourself t-to her."

"Saya," he warned, "I did not…"

He could not finish the sentence. She had pulled him down to her in a move so fast, no human could have caught it. Her mouth was pressed against his, soft lips moving against his in a seductive dance.

He tried to pull away, but the lack of contact with his queen was grating at his nerves. A touch… any touch was a welcome change. Hagi closed his eyes as he allowed her to lead him to her bed. Her mouth opened as she took in his tongue. Her tongue began to taste the inside of his mouth, lapping at every corner and crevice it could find.

Her hands roamed over the jacket, pulling it down. The cello case dropped to the floor beside the bed. His hands began to move over places he had only dreamed of touching in this way. They shook as they moved under her thin shirt, absorbing the warmth of her soft skin.

~Citrus Ahead~

He took in a breath as she pushed him back, her fingers undoing the buttons of his white shirt while her mouth pressed kisses against his jaw and then along his neck.

His body usually relaxed into this, knowing his queen would feed from him, but a different reaction came as her fangs penetrated the artery in his neck. The jolt of desire that surged through him was unexpected. He needed to escape before something happened, but she held him fast.

His eyes were wide with surprise as he felt her hand cupping the obvious bulge in his slacks. "Had he done this before?" his mind wondered briefly. But her mouth was on his again and his hands began to move over her belly and up to the firm mounds. Her hand began to roam over his now pulsing bulge as he moved his hips, bringing about a sensation that he only recalled ever coming about by his own hand.

She gasped as she felt his fingers brush over her pert nipples. His tongue began to taste her mouth further. There was a proud glee that surged through her when his hips tilted upward while the bulge in his slacks seemed to have a life of its own. What was this sensation? She could feel the apex of her thighs become damp and begin to quiver with some unnamed need.

The chiropteran senses took over in Saya. Her eyes glowed red as her hands tore at the zipper of the slacks, finally getting it open without too much damage. Her sleeping shorts were easily discarded while she felt a growl rise in her throat. She growled out, "I want to know how it feels. How does it feel to lose your virginity, Hagi? I want to know how it felt to give away what was rightfully mine?"

Her mouth crashed into his as she straddled his hips, pushing him back onto the bed. Her hips began to rock against him, causing his now exposed cock to be sandwiched between them. The dampness of her arousal began to slick the length as she rubbed the hardened nub up and down against it.

It felt so very amazing to her. Her body was demanding this. It kept thrumming the need for release throughout her body- in her veins. She could feel his hips begin to move in rhythm against hers, but there was something missing- something more was needed. She pulled herself upright and felt his hips pull back, causing the head of his cock to separate her nether lips. His shallow penetration began to drive her wild.

This was it. He was going to be with the woman he had loved for so very long. He felt himself sliding further into her body. The warmth was amazing. The way her virgin body was writhing around him was like nothing he could ever imagine.

But as he looked up at her face, he could not continue this. The look she was giving him was not of love… nor was it a look of lust. The look was that of anger and of rage. This was wrong- so very wrong.

She could feel him trying to pull back and looked down at him, pressing herself further on his engorged cock until he was pressed against the hymen inside her. Her red-hazed vision directed to the man beneath her as he tried to free himself.

"Saya," he reasoned, "this is wrong. I do not want this to happen out of revenge or anger. I love you. I want us to come together as an act of that love."

With a growl, she tried to press him down to the bed with her hips, causing him to break through the barrier inadvertently. The unexpected sensation distracted her enough for him to pull out of her and back away.

She curled into a ball at the back of her bed. He stood at the foot of the bed, disheveled and still quite aroused.

~End of Citrus~

"Get out," she warned from the shadows. "Don't come around here again. I don't want you as my chevalier anymore."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Saya, you can't mean that."

"Get out!" she shouted.