Please read Disclaimer in Chapter One.
Title: Maya's Tale (C7: Message of Rouge)
Author: JaganshiKenshin
Genre: Action/Adventure, General
Rating: K+/PG-13 (for anime-style fight scenes/language)
Summary: A restaurant setting brews complications.
A/N: The chapter title and restaurant name both come from a favorite Studio Ghibli song: the opening theme to Kiki's Delivery Service (Message of Rouge). For the scoop on vampire attacks, see Are You Loathsome Tonight, and for the background on St. Joe's, Codename: Moron.
I appreciate your reviews and thank you for reading this tale!
"I'm positive I've seen you before."
Maya's Tale (7: Message of Rouge)
by
Kenshin
Dear Diary:
That girl-I see her whenever she delivers Father's packages. I see her from my room in the tower. She seems nice enough. Was Mother nice? I imagine I take after Mother, though I never really knew her. One day that girl will come inside, and then we can visit.
Maybe she will not mind what I am.
0-0-0-0-0
"The girl who's coming." Slipping a hand into her purse (an insouciant leather clutch with a kiss-lock and just enough room for the essentials of lipstick, compact, gun) Shayla Kidd nosed
aside the Beretta. "Fill me in again." She retrieved her compact, dabbed her face.
"I swear you save that for the taxi just to distract me."
Sometimes she thought Hiei got a little too used to seeing her in old clamdiggers, covered in sticky twin handprints, or wearing ragged rehearsal sweats. It was good to remind him that she cleaned up nice.
"Distract?" She ruffled her fringe of hair and was gratified to see that Hiei needed a moment to collect himself.
"And that dress-"
"Oh?" 'That dress' was a little crystal-pleated number in deep burnt sienna with fire-gold lettuce edging. "Is there something wrong with it?"
Flicking a frustrated glance at the cab driver, Hiei switched to English. "Do you want my brain to explode?"
"That depends." As a matter of fact, Hiei wore one of her favorites: navy single-breasted suit, dark and unrelenting, and his old school tie from the St. Joe's poltergeist caper. "You look fine, too. Now as for Maya-"
"I tried to kill Kurama. He cut me up. That girl saw it."
"And?"
"While we were fighting, a youkai grabbed her. We tracked him down and killed him. Kurama gave that girl some pixie dust so she would forget."
"Anything else?"
"She had a thing for Kurama."
"Got it. Don't try to kill Kurama again, would you?"
"I'll do my best," said Hiei. "Now stop worshiping yourself in the mirror and get ready."
She gave him her best Mona Lisa smile. "Who's not ready? She'll be eating out of my hand."
0-0-0-0-0
Kurama looked at Kitajima Maya. She looked at him. Neither said anything.
Then Maya blurted, "This is a very nice restaurant."
Kurama agreed.
Maya hadn't changed all that much since junior high. Her hair was longer. She was still quite lovely.
"Moule En Rouge," she added, "what's the name mean?"
"The Red Mussel, I think."
Maya looked around at the restaurant, all red velvet, candle-light, and widely-spaced tables. "It fits."
Hiei and Shay-san weren't exactly late. But they had allowed Maya and Kurama enough time to develop a truly awkward non-rapport before waltzing in.
About time, thought Kurama.
Once they were seated, Hiei ordered a bottle of champagne from the wine steward, a middle-aged man with a delicately condescending manner. Kurama mentally racked up the bill and cringed. Even splitting half the cost-
In spite of the low lighting, they took stock of one another. Kurama had to admit that Hiei was indeed a good actor. Or maybe it was the suit which made him look legitimate, suave, sophisticated.
When Maya studied Hiei, a delicate pucker creased her brow. "Haven't I met you before?"
Kurama dropped his menu.
"Probably," said Hiei, diving to retrieve the fallen foldover. "Shay-san and I play a number of venues. We even appear in TV ads and the occasional movie."
Maya bit her lip. "No, I don't think that's it."
Kurama broke in. "I hear the, ah, escargot is very good."
"Gaah!" Shayla Kidd's face twisted in disgust. "Snails!"
"Oh, I don't know," said Maya. "I'd try snails. I'm pretty adventurous."
"You have them, then." Shayla Kidd studied the menu. "I want something salty and not cooked."
"Beef carpaccio?" suggested Hiei. This was sliced raw Kobe beef, served in a peppered cream sauce.
"The very thing," agreed Shay-san.
"Raw meat?" said Maya. "Well, you beat me there."
The sommelier brought the champagne, nestled in a bucket of ice with a napkin wrapped around its neck. He was good at his job. He opened it without the cork hitting anyone. He poured for Hiei first, then all around.
Taking a cautious sip, Kurama had to admit the champagne was a nice touch.
"So you have an interest in the occult?" began Hiei.
"Oh, yes!" Maya's eyes sparkled. "What about you? Do you watch Ghost Hunters?"
"No," Hiei replied.
"Paranormal Ponderings?"
"No."
"What about Super Mystery Magazine?"
"Can't read."
"He's lying," put in Shay-san.
"You mean Hiei-san reads it?" Maya's blue eyes widened.
"No," she replied. "But I assure you Hiei can read."
"And what about you, Mrs.-?"
"I have twins." Shay-san reached into her purse. "That's more than paranormal enough for me."
There followed an excessive amount of female cooing, and photo-displaying, so that Kurama was relieved when the first course put a stop to it.
They ate in silence, but after a few minutes, Shayla Kidd rose. "Break time," she announced.
Maya got up, too. "I'll go with you."
When they had gone, Kurama took a nervous gulp of champagne. "What does it mean when girls go to the rest room together?"
Hiei momentarily stopped devouring his tuna rolls. "They're talking about me."
"About-"
"About how superior I am compared to you."
"No, seriously."
"Hiei-"
"Ch. Maybe they're battling over who gets me."
"If your ego got any bigger you'd-"
"My money's on Shay-san. Maya may have her in reach and weight, but there's the gun-"
"I liked you better when I was doing all the taunting."
"Listen." Hiei glanced at Shay-san's half-eaten carpaccio. "It's taking just about all I have to suppress my aura. You once said that Kitajima's sixth sense was enhanced in your presence."
"What of it?"
"Yours is circling the drain."
"Speak Japanese, Hiei. For that matter, English. Just as long as you make sense."
"The wine steward."
"What of him?"
"Youkai."
Kurama choked on his champagne.
"Don't stare. Part-youkai. And my occasional informant."
0-0-0-0-0
The ladies' room was white marble, and apart from a sleepy attendant, Shayla Kidd and the girl were the only ones present.
In the mirror, Shayla kept an eye on Kitajima Maya: pretty, somewhat taller than she, but nowhere near as tall as Kurama. Younger. Kurama's age, 23. Wide cobalt eyes. A deep wealth of mink-brown hair cut shoulder-length, and fair, pinkish coloring.
The girl re-applied a coral shade of lipstick that did nothing to enhance her looks. She was going to need a few lessons. That would be the fun part.
Shayla Kidd refreshed her own lip color-Sugared Bisque by Shiseido-a gold-sparked pink.
Maya was a child compared to her, really. Not that she was yet quite over the hill. And there was something about the girl. It would be a mistake to take her too lightly. She's cute, but not dumb. This'll be the performance of my life.
Maya blurted, "Are you on a diet?"
Maybe not so cute. "No. Should I be?"
"Oh! I didn't mean-!" The girl dropped her lipstick to the counter, fumbled to retrieve it before it rolled onto the floor, and came up pink-faced. "Just... your plate... you left so much on it!"
"Oh, that." Shayla Kidd relaxed. "I'll polish it off later. If Hiei hasn't beaten me to it."
The girl's eyes widened. "Would he really do that?"
"I put nothing past him."
Maya frowned. "I don't think he likes me."
"Hiei? Don't let it bother you. He hates everyone."
"Even you?"
"Especially me."
"Ah, well, actually, I meant Minamino-kun."
Objective: discover any possible threat to Kitajima Maya. Shayla Kidd was a Spellcaster. She could peel info out of the girl in two seconds flat using her powers. There was Command Voice, to be invoked only in case of dire emergency, such as being attacked by vampires.
But there were multiple reasons not to use such a power level. For one, it left her drained, unable to move or speak for crucial moments afterward. For another, she had strict self-imposed rules on whom she might use this power. She knew her own weaknesses, her own headstrong passion for justice, and how far she could be corrupted by power.
And anyway, she liked this girl. "Why do you say that?"
"Minamino's barely spoken two sentences to me since-"
"Oh, is that what's worrying you?"
"Does it show?" Blushing made her even prettier. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize. If our Mr. M. disliked you, why go to all the trouble of finding you?" Given the fact that I'm the one who actually did the finding.
Maya thought about it for a second. "Maybe he dislikes me now that he's seen me again."
"Impossible. Bet it means just the opposite."
"Really?" Her cheeks flushed again. Maybe pink was her color. "Is that how boys operate?"
"Oh, Sweetie. Is that all? Because how men operate is simple. You feed them. They follow you home."
Maya giggled. "No, it isn't that. But-"
"What then? The Moule En Rouge is an expensive venue, but we'll pick up the tab."
"Will you really? Then why didn't you say?"
"I just want to see Minamino's face when he reads it."
"But isn't that a little-"
"Cruel? Maybe. But we love one another. Practically family. And don't forget I'm an American."
"I suppose that explains the gorgeous dress." Maya plucked at her own outfit. "I mean, look. I can never seem to, well-"
The dress was pretty bad at that. A mud-colored sack that hung almost to the girl's ankles. The only good thing about it was the crisp white collar. "Nonsense. You should see what I look like on a daily basis. As I think you will."
"Can't be as bad as an old green sweatshirt."
"Worse. Give me an afternoon and a handful of yen and you're there."
In the mirror, Maya eyed Shay-san's dress, bag, and the lone gold bangle on her wrist. "But I don't have the knack you do."
"That's just a matter of cut and color."
"Seems way out of my league."
"Doesn't have to be. Now that dress. You belt it up and boom, you're a cute little pilgrim right out of a Hollywood musical."
"You're offering to-would really help me do that?"
"It would be my privilege. One afternoon, and you'll have the knack yourself. And it just so happens I'm free tomorrow."
"One afternoon? Hard to believe, but you're on!"
"This is the result of ten years' worth of costume designers hollering in my ear. Allow me to save you the trouble."
"Awesome. We're going to be good friends, aren't we?"
"Already are."
Maya scrunched at the waist of her dress, as if imagining a belt there. "But... that wasn't really it either. It's just that I'm positive I've seen him before."
"Seen who?" Busy with her hair in the mirror, Shayla Kidd hit just the right note of airy distraction.
"Hiei-san."
Uh-oh. Maybe that pixie dust of Kurama's has a statute of limitations. She still managed to hit the right note. "Like Hiei said, you probably have seen him before. He just appeared in a TV ad for a new restaurant featuring Kobe beef."
"Beef?"
"He was happy. They paid him in product."
"No." Maya's frown deepened. "Doesn't ring a bell."
With a single sentence, Shayla could have convinced Maya: 'You saw Hiei on TV, remember?'
She possessed many other power levels in addition to Command: Suggest, recently deployed on that group of Yakuza-wannabes, and Cajole, neither of which paralyzed or tongue-tied her afterward. She prided herself on never having used it, even once, on either Hiei or the twins.
She said only, "Perhaps you shop the same stores."
"It'll come to me," Maya trilled. "I'm sure of it."
0-0-0-0-0
"Straighten your tie," Hiei said. "They're coming."
"How-"
"Did you take a Kuwabara pill this morning? I'm facing the powder room." Hiei got to his feet. Kurama followed suit.
The girls were seated. Shayla Kidd returned to nibbling her beef carpaccio.
"Hiei almost had his hands on it," Kurama informed her. "But I stopped him."
Hiei drained his glass. "Don't make stuff up about me."
Shay-san glimmered at them both. "You are nothing if not gallant."
The candle-light gathered to draw threads of copper and bronze from Maya's hair. Kurama fumbled for his fork.
He should have insisted on meeting Maya alone. Too bad he wasn't psychic.
Or maybe he was. Kurama could not shake the notion that this girl was in danger.
Shay-san, Hiei, and himself, as Shadow Warriors, had evolved a method of communication that included gestures and offhand remarks, a code of sorts. Just now, Shayla Kidd had given him clues that she had not uncovered any imminent threat, but would pursue the inquiry tomorrow.
The waiter brought their second course, and Maya seemed relieved to talk about the food and the service.
Kurama thought that it was going to be a long night. If only they could make it through dessert.
They did, with everyone intact.
"Oh, look," announced Shay-san. "Here comes the bill."
Kurama turned pale. Inexplicably, Maya giggled.
"See?" Shay-san winked at Maya. "Told you so."
-30-
(To be continued: Shadow warriors often fight peculiar battles.)