AN: I am really sorry. I kinda forgot that this existed? I'm going to try really hard to update it more regularly so thank you very much for being so patient with me. You guys are the best. I love you!

R+R

She was getting in the way again.

There was my goddess, standing in the sun with her ivory skin capturing its light just perfectly. But, just as it had been before, her image was being ruined by the abomination at her side. I thought I had already given the little bitch enough warning, but apparently her birthday present didn't get my point across well enough. I would have to get rid of her once and for all. Under no circumstances would I allow such a filthy creature to stay by my Suki's side.

"Boss, she's a cop now. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I don't give a shit who she is now!" I shouted at the imbecile behind me. "If that whore isn't gone in three days, I'll castrate the lot of ya!"

"What do you have in mind?" a calm, collective voice inquired. I looked at the spectacled man towering over me and pulled the knife from my belt.

"Kai!" I shouted. The scrawny kid approached with his head lowered and a tail practically between his legs. I grinned. "Go remind our lady friend how friendly she was to you last time you met. If she doesn't intend to do that again, she best get out of town, understand?"

"Yeah boss." he replied with a chuckle.

I turned to the spectacled man. "We'll just see how much this love she claims to have really means to her, won't we?"

I found myself constantly worrying over Shizuru. Work kept us apart for most of the day, but she couldn't avoid me, entirely. While she tried to be as honest as possible with me I knew she was hiding something. Nearly two months had passed and still she hadn't told me about her birthday a year ago. I thought at first that I would be content with that. As long as I could have her I thought I didn't mind. We were always trading off between her apartment and my own, making dinners or eating out. When we were together I felt happy, and I honestly believed that Shizuru felt the same way.

But then that night came.

We had gone to see some strange movie about robots and aliens and were walking back to my apartment. Mato and her friend Sakura had also come, and we were all laughing and having a grand time. Shizuru was hanging on my arm, her head resting on my shoulder as she shivered a bit from the cold. All was right in the world and nothing could ruin my mood.

"Oh? I know you!" a voice shouted.

Shizuru went completely stiff, her eyes widening. Her hands trembled as she clung more tightly to me, and her whole body began to quake. I looked back at the scrawny young man who had spoken. His red hair hung in a mess around his face, and his green eyes were directly aimed at the blonde at my side.

The man turned to completely face us, drawing in the attention of several of his friends. "You guys remember, don't ya? We had a lot of fun the last time we saw you." he sneered. "Won't you come play with us again sometime?"

Silently I detached myself from Shizuru's grip. She looked up at me in horror, but I could not meet her gaze. Instead I looked to Mato. "Could you make sure she gets home safe?"

"Natsuki what-"

"I'll be fine." I assured the girl. "Just take her to my apartment and wait for me there. I'll catch up in a little while."

When the trio was out of sight I rounded my gaze back onto the men. They laughed and the one who spoke before began taunting me. "That was a fine piece of ass. Do you think I could borrow it again sometime? It was so much fun."

Perhaps it was my glare, or perhaps they recognized my face, but sudden realization dawned upon the other in the group, and soon they left their friend in the dust. Alone his bravery was far thinner, and desperately he tried to escape me. I wouldn't allow it, dragging him into an alley by the collar of his shirt. There I pulled out my beloved, hand-crafted nine millimeter, kneeling down in front of him with a sigh. "I think you and I need to have a little chat."

The man tried to scream, but as I pressed the barrel of my gun into his head he stopped. "Please don't kill me." he begged.

"Why would I kill you?" I countered. "You haven't even told me what I want to hear."

"N-no I don't know anything. It was just a misunderstanding. That woman is definitely not the one I was thinking about." he stammered.

"You see, that's not what I want to hear."

"Okay, okay!" he cried. "A year ago we got orders from our boss to go find her. He told us to go scare her a bit. We just had to make sure she would stay away from some broad she was hangin' with. A writer, ya see?"

I lowered the weapon a bit. "Go on."

He smiled, nervously, trembling with his tail between his legs. "They were just orders."

"What did you do?"

"We did her." he squealed. "There were six of us. They were just orders. If I could take it back I would, I swear!"

I wanted to put a bullet in his head. It was the first time I had ever honestly wanted to kill someone. I wanted to tear him to pieces, but I knew that wouldn't solve anything. Though I detested the very idea of admitting it, there were other ways to get even with someone, and I didn't want this piece of scum.

Slowly I rose to my feet. Letting out yet another sigh I looked down at the coward beneath my feet. "I'm not going to kill you." I assured him. "I need you alive."

"I'll do anything. Just name it and it's done."

"Send your boss a message." I instructed. "Tell him that Fujino Shizuru is under the protection of Natsuki Kuga."

As I had thought my name was quite familiar to the man. He stared up at me in horror, knowing exactly just what I was capable of. Then, terrified that I might change my mind, he turned to run, bowing his head. "Thank you. You won't regret this."

"Oh boy," I called after him. He turned just in time to see me take aim. I fired and he collapsed, screaming in agony. I pulled the phone from his back pocket, dialing for an EMT. "Make sure your boss knows that I don't play fair." I said. "If I see you or any of your friends again, I'll make sure there won't be anything left of your bodies for the cops to find."

Letting the phone drop I turned to leave. The people on the street, if they heard anything at all, paid no attention to me. They all went about their business as if nothing had happened. Only a single man made eye contact with me. He gave me a tired smile, following closely behind my heels.

"You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you."

"And you haven't changed a bit, Mazuke." I returned, not bothering to look at the man.

"I didn't expect you to agree to your father's offer."

"I didn't. I'm simply using what's available to me."

"Still we were all quite surprised. What's so special about that girl that you're willing to step into our world to protect her? She's just a small girl in a big city. There are plenty of those you can have that would be willing to understand you. She's insignificant."

I watched with fake interest as the ambulance came. There was no risk of that mutt telling anyone who took his manhood away from him, so I wasn't concerned. Instead I decided to answer the man's question. "She's not insignificant." I stated. "To me her existence isn't small."

AN: So all of my stuff kind of got away from me, but it isn't over yet. Some romance and plenty of action await in the near future.