Shido arrived in his office just as the traffic outside was picking up for a new day. The sky was grey and matched his mood perfectly. Fatigue seemed to ride his shoulders, making him feel heavy and slow.

"Why me?" he muttered sullenly, as he reached for the doorknob.

"Why not?" came a sprightly voice in his ear. "Where the hell have you been anyhow?"

Shido just shook his head. "Good morning to you too, Guni," he said as she settled down on his shoulder. "And don't ask."

"Yeah, well I won't be the only one," the little pest replied, ducking under his long hair and wrapping it around her like a cloak as he pushed the door open.

"SHIDO! Dammit, where the hell did you GO! I've ben worried sick about you!" Yayoi was on her feet, coming toward him, and Shido couldn't remember seeing her quite this angry before. He held up his hands in a gesture of defense or warding.

"I was walking."

She didn't appear mollified. "Did you find any trace of the grandson?"

Shido blinked. "Oh, shit." He looked up at Yayoi and saw her blink, concerned. "I - I forgot." He shrugged apologetically.

"You forgot? Forgot! Are you alright? What happened last night? You just – disappeared and I couldn't find you."

She moved over to him, putting her arms around him, and he merely stood there and let her. He felt completely drained suddenly - not just of interest but of energy, of any desire to do more than sleep - maybe forever.

"It's' a long story," he mumbled, bestirring himself to walk over and take a seat on the couch. She watched him with narrowed eyes, sliding over next to him.

"You need to feed, Shido - you act like you've lost all your vitality. You've been with that other vampire again haven't you? That Cain."

Yayoi slipped off her jacket, leaving her in a silky tank top that exposed all of her long, lovely throat. Shido became aware that he was staring, although he didn't know quite why, or what he was feeling at the moment.

"I told you about him." he swallowed and shook his head. "But not about *her*"

His emphasis on the word "her" made Yayoi pause, and Guni's head poked out from among his hair. Both females stared at him, waiting for him to go on. When he didn't, Guni prompted.

"Her, who? Shido, who are you talking about?"

Shido shook his head abruptly, unseating the little imp. She fell off his shoulder, grabbing vainly at his hair, and screaming.

"Daaaammmmit, Shido!...oof!" She picked herself up and dusted off with melodramatic finesse. "Watch it, will ya?"

Shido appeared not to notice as his eyes locked with Yayoi's, and his arms slid around hers. "What were we talking about?" He seemed genuinely puzzled.

"Feed first, Shido, then we can talk." The woman smiled to herself as she slipped her arms around him in return, feeling the brush of his lips against her neck. "Later."

Yayoi's soft gasp was the only sound in the room as Guni turned slipped out the mail slot in the door, knowing when to leave the two of them alone.

"You've been sitting like that for hours," Yayoi pointed out, glancing up from her paperwork on the coffee table. Outside the sun was setting and the rain which had held off all day was beginning to fall. Inside the office, Shido reclined in his desk chair, feet on the desk, hands clasped behind his head.

"Thinking," is all he said in reply.

"You were going to tell me about some woman." she reminded him.

"No I wasn't." His reply was so bland, she looked up again.

"Yes you were, Shido," she looked him over closely. He looked better, certainly, with food and rest, but there was still something oddly fragile about him. "Why does she frighten you so?"

He looked over, his expression saying he didn't need to answer that. Then it softened a little, and he sighed. "Okay - I can tell you very little, but you deserve to know. I don't know how much this is going to affect me - and if it affects me, it affects you as well."

She waited, watching him, as he marshaled his thoughts. It seemed to take a while - his expressions varied from an almost blissful look to one that narrowed his eyes with pain - each a fleeting second as he sorted memories and words to explain. She was just on the verge of repeating the question, in case he had forgotten, when he took his feet from the desk and sat up as if addressing a client.

'Okay. I've told you about Cain - how I became what I am – or at least, as much as I remember. Well, there was a vampire - a female - he once had some association with. She says he loved her. I don't think that's possible."

He sighed a little, shaking his head as if to clear the memories away, and continued. "Anyway, her name was Annaias, and she was supposed to be as powerful as Cain. She took a daughter, just as Cain took me. The only difference was –is – Drusla is really good at being a vampire."

Yayoi nodded slightly, settling back on the couch. "This daughter was supposed to be your - wife then? Do vampires marry and all that?"

Shido's laugh was short and without humor. "Oh, they might - it's a power thing, not for love. They don't really understand love." His voice trailed off, hearing Cain's voice in his head, the echoes of his pledges of love. He cleared his throat. "At any rate, Drusla and I were companions for a while. It's what I was trying to remember last night when I was out walking - those memories are so fragmented, so elusive. But yes, what I remember is we were together for a short time, and she frightened me. She loves her cruelty, and her power. She would have made a good daughter for Cain. I'm sure he feels the same way by now."

Yayoi's presence seemed to bring him back from his maze of memories as her arms slid around his neck from the back. "It's okay, Shido. We will find some way to deal with her. Does she have a connection to the missing child, do you think?"

Shido unconsciously leaned back into her embrace and nodded slowly. "I was following the breed's tracks, and she showed up. It would be just her style - but if that's the case, he is alive. She wants toys and slaves, not bodies. I'm betting the accident either happened without her involvement, or it *was* an accident - perhaps she didn't see the car coming and the driver caused it trying to avoid her."

"Or there is another breed out there. Does she have pets like that? You said she has slaves."

Shido shook his head with surprising violence. "No - not like that. It's lust she loves, and power - not death. Dead slaves do not do your bidding; dead people cannot bow before her power."

"Sounds charming," the policewoman said with droll humor. "The perfect match for Cain in my book." Dropping a gentle kiss on his hair, she released him and went back to her work on the coffee table.

"Oh, you're wrong there. I hate to say it, but compared to Drusla, Cain is an angel."

Shido no sooner said it than his head snapped up, ignoring Yayoi's surprised look at his abrupt movement, hearing Cain's voice echo in his mind. "Shido, my love, you flatter me."

"Get out of my head, damn you!" Shido said out loud. The echo turned to laughter and died away, and he sighed, leaning his head tiredly in his hands.

"Feel like some fresh air," Yayoi said quickly, slipping on her jacket and settling an extra gun in the holster at the small of her back under it. "I think you could use it."

"Yeah," Shido got to his feet, and she was struck again by how fragile he seemed.

"Are you going to be okay, Shido? I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine," he said with utter determination, slipping into the trench coat and picking up an umbrella for them. "I just need to quit thinking and get to work. We have a little boy to find."