Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rosario Vampire. I am merely twisting the creator's vision into my own dream. If the supernatural, sexuality, or violence is offensive to you, then you should not read this.

Chapter 295

Tsukune had a dark grin on his face as he entered the office. The young man working the front desk had never seen that look on his boss' face before, and it made him more than a little nervous. Of course the majority of what went on in that place made Jun nervous. He probably would have quit in the first week if he had not been so afraid of what his sister would do to him.

Jun had been planing to enjoy a ronin year. He had just missed a passing score on his college entrance exams by a narrow margin. He was confident that he would get in the next time, but until then, a year to take life easy seemed like a good idea. His sister did not agree with him. She read him the riot act up one side and down the other. Every time he quit one part time job for another, she would tear into him again over his too casual nature.

Jun's sister had been working retail for years, and was even being considered for a store management position. She had complained about her little brother around the water cooler one day with some of the other department managers. It turned out that one of them had a cousin with his own business. A few phone calls were all that it took to get Jun a job interview.

"I have just the position for you," Aono Tsukune, the owner of the company had said. "You have to have a quick mind, but there is not much physical labor involved."

Jun soon found himself in a crisp uniform behind a desk. At first he thought that the job was a joke. He thought that he had been put there because his sister wanted him to learn some kind of lesson. Jun's duties included taking phone messages for the security officers, handing out and collecting job applications, and keeping the main lobby in order during his shifts. In the first two days on the job, while being closely supervised by the second in command of the company, Jun quickly learned how serious the position really was.

Taking messages for the security officers also meant figuring out which messages to pass on to the dispatch office so the officer in question could get it right away. Other messages could be sent out with a patrol officer if it wasn't time sensitive. Little things like that helped keep the security officers happy, because they knew that the company was looking out for them. While it was true that just about everybody had a cell phone, company policy restricted their on-duty use to emergencies only. A reminder of a family dinner plan, for example, could be passed along by a patrol officer, unless it was too close to shift change, in which case a quick message through dispatch for the officer would be a better choice.

One of the interesting things that was required of Jun was that he have or get a driver's license. He had one, fortunately, but had never driven anything more than a bicycle since getting his license a year prior. The reason he needed the license was once in a while he needed to drive errands in one of the company cars. Sometimes it was to make sure equipment was provided to officers in the field, but mostly it was to just go on snack runs.

Jun also quickly learned that there were some messages to be collected and just held on to until asked for. The company had a series of semi-visible jobs involving idols. The owner of the company had a small fan following of his own even. Any calls about any idols were duly recorded. Any messages were put in a file until asked for. Anybody asking questions about an idol was given the number of the agency to call. For all the phone calls that Jun handled, very few had anything to do with actual company business. About one call in twenty he transferred to either the dispatch office or the second in command.

The boss of the company for some reason was almost never around. Any calls for him were to be connected to his lieutenant, and she would decide what to do about them. When people came in asking for the boss by name, it was the second in command that was notified.

In the first week Jun had come to understand why the job required a quick mind. The phone would sometimes be ringing off the hook. At the same time there could be three or four people in the lobby waiting to see one of the company officers or filling out job applications. Jun had felt the pressure of the position from the first day, and even when everything was quiet, it still felt like something was about to happen.

On the positive side, he never had to do any cleaning. Each morning the floors were spotless. His own desk was always perfectly organized. Not that organized of a person himself, he had been worried about how he was going to keep his work space presentable. It took him a few days to notice, but he finally realized that in spite of him, his desk was staying clean and organized. The point really struck home one afternoon, after a very busy morning, when he had finally managed to make it to the water closet for a much needed break to relieve himself. When he returned, the desk was clean and every piece of paper was in one neat stack or another. The only thing missing was the half empty package of rice crackers he had left out. He found the empty wrapper in the trash, but there was not a single cracker or crumb to be found anywhere.

Strange little things like that seemed to happen all the time in that office. One night Jun had used the company exercise room and shower; a company perk he had been told when hired. When he was getting dressed afterwords, Jun discovered that his shoes had been polished.

Jun was able to shake off the strangeness of little things happening. Strange things happened all the time after all. It was the larger things that shook him up. In the middle of the week, when the boss was actually in his office, the famous Sweetheart Chef had stopped by with a picnic basket to see him. Being told that the company provided security for idols and events was one thing. Having one show up, larger than life right in front of Jun, that was something else all together.

Some of the people that came through the office were so beautiful they made Jun's mouth dry. Others were so sexy that he had a hard time keeping himself from drooling. One attractive woman came in with a business card declaring her to be some kind of talent agent, that gave Jun a look like he had just crapped on her shoes, but had still tried to sweet-talk, and then bully her way in to see the boss. Lieutenant Sansai finally agreed to meet the woman. The self-pronounced talent agent came down the stairs and left the building at a near run, never to return again.

Jun thought the job might have been interesting if someone had told him about it in advance, but it was turning into too much real work for his tastes. He liked the idea of doing odd jobs until he got into college, so he could sample life before making any final decisions on a career. But because his sister had found the job for him, Jun knew he better tough it out.

To his credit, Jun did get a hang of the job quickly. He had an open and friendly nature, even if he would rather being doing something mindless. He was able to do his job well, and quickly made friends with the other employees. That was how he learned that more than two thirds of the company had come from the same high school as the boss. Some had even been in the same year as him.

Then came the day that Aono Tsukune came in with that smile...

Jun had seen his boss come and go many times. Frequently he had a look of concentration on his face. He had been seen scowling a few times here and there. Once in a while he would have some kind of happy or amused expression. The morning the boss came in with a smile that made Jun shiver, the young man started to think it may be time to look for a new job.

XxxxX

It was a kind of bitter happiness that made Tsukune smile that day. There had been four more arson attacks by Tate no Kai over the past month. Two against the police, and two against civilian targets. That meant that Tsukune had been hunting for clues from four additional crime scenes. In addition to the traditional sort of investigations, he was buying drinks, treats, and meat for feral youkai everywhere he encountered them in the hope of cultivating a contact that could help him. He was asking around business and neighborhoods for any possible leads. If his mother knew how many shrines he had been visiting lately she would probably worry he was going to become a monk. But all of his effort was bringing him information.

Tsukune was gathering threads of information, and it was slow work. Every piece of information he collected had to be investigated. He had to pile the threads together and sort through them. At times it was tedious, but no mater how much the slow pace irritated Tsukune, the work was producing results. Tsukune was smiling because he had identified some potential targets.

Of course having likely targets gave Tsukune a new set of problems. Giving information to Ross or Tanaka to have them help verify it ran the risk of either of them trying to take action on their own. The problem with that, of course, was that there was at least one youkai working with Tate no Kai that was willing to kill. It was an additional complication that if the police took action against a discovered Tate no Kai officer, Tate no Kai was likely to retaliate.

Tsukune wasn't happy about it, but he knew he would have to trust his allies to work with him. He needed more information, and his allies dissevered to know the truth. In spite of the potential problems, Tsukune was still pleased to have made some progress.

There was one little gem of information that Tsukune had collected that he was going to keep to himself. Those threads he had been collecting, thinner than spiders' silk, piece by piece, had made a pattern. It was a complicated pattern, and still incomplete, but he was confident they would be able to fill in the empty gaps. But one of those threads stood out. The information was still incomplete, but there was enough there that Tsukune was willing to take a chance. If all went well, he would be able to strike a blow against Tate no Kai very soon.

XxxxxxxxX

The name on the building read 'Nikkan Gendai,' (Daily Modern Times.) The headquarters of the often politically incorrect, even radical newspaper was an older office building five stories tall. On the forth floor, which was mostly used for storage and research, Was the office of the Red Division. Red Division was also known as the Spooky Division, and that place where 'those strange people work.' Red Division specialized in investigating the stories that the other departments were careful not to look to hard at.

When a sea monster sighted in Osaka Bay was reported, other division of Nikkan Gendai wanted to treat the story as a curiosity piece. Red Division on the other hand did an aggressive investigation of the area around Osaka Bay. In their final report the sea monster, complete with pictures, turned out to be a line of small, overturned boats, forming the series of humps witnesses had reported, that had broken loose from their moorings during a storm. The report went on to add that the "eye witness reports" had been exaggerated, and that strange markings on a breakwater was just so much graffiti by local teens.

The editor of Red Division, Shuzen Kokoa, had been lauded by senior management for pursuing the story. The reporter, who was known as Mahoshoji Hana, was rewarded with a page three printing of her story. The two women were the only regular staff of Red Division. In fact it was Kokoa that had come up with the name. Before she had come along that section of the tabloid had been run by whichever editor had recently offended the owners, and then only until they were forgiven or they left. Any other staff was assigned as punishment, new hire hazing, or pulled in at need from the long list of staff reporters and photographers, who were usually little more than amateurs looking for part time work.

Of course for Kokoa and Hana the success of their department was a private joke. It was easy to come up with a logical, if weak, story to explain monster sightings. Hana enjoyed the work of learning the secrets behind sightings and mysteries. She also enjoyed the work of writing cover stories and finding evidence, or sometimes making it, that supported her stories. Kokoa liked having the title of Division Editor. She did some field work of her own once in a while as well.

Kokoa had been thrilled to get a story printed about a new attorney getting the better of an established veteran in the legal business. In that case, the new attorney, her sister, had busted the chops , metaphorically speaking, of a slum lord and his legal counsel, representing the tenants in a contract dispute. In the end the slum lord had settled out of court because it was the least expensive option and would let him save some face, he thought. Kokoa had not named her source for the story, which had been her own sister, but had run a follow-up story where the slum lord had been caught up in a sweep of Tate no Kai supporters.

Kokoa and Hana had been celebrating the busting of the Sea Monster myth when their next project had fallen in their lap. A friend had called and asked them to do a piece about a night club. One of the best parts had been permission to use some creative license about the morals of the club goers, as personal names or recognizable personalities were mentioned. The piece needed to be attention grabbing, and not actually hold any substance beyond the name and address of the club.

XxxX x XxxX

The night club was filled with bodies. Men and women were talking and drinking, and music was playing. The place had been a bar skirting on the edge of being a hostess club for years. In the past few weeks it had seen an up-swing in its business. Some of the people that knew of the place suspected that the increased popularity was related to its rumored connection with the underworld of Japan. Because of such a connection it enjoyed more protection against would-be vandals, which in turn made it more attractive to people looking to have a good time.

In contrast to the crowd within, the area outside the club was quiet. A pair of men in modest suits kept strolling up and down the sidewalk outside of the club, obviously acting as security. Another pair of men lazily watched over the parking lot near by. The club had arranged enough security to make it attractive to the potential client base, without really going out of its way or breaking any budgets. Enough people were eager to enjoy nights out that the club.

Some would worry that such a place would be at risk of attracting the attention of Tate no Kai. The club was just the kind of place offend a group intent on telling others how they should think and act. The club, in short, was challenging Tate no Kai to try something, and with the ego of the General, it was a given that the thuggish terrorists would accept that challenge.

x

After two steady weeks of thriving business, the agents of Tate no Kai were ready to show the club's management and patrons how foolish they were. It was going to be the largest operation since the failed attack on LaLaPort mall. A full score of Tate no Kai members were mobilized for the smash-and-splash attack on the club. They were out to make a statement.

The firebombing attacks against the police were about showing the public how powerless the government was. Attacking civilians the same way would make the masses afraid of Tate no Kai, but it was likely to also make them angry. If the general populace was angry enough, they would close ranks and turn against Tate no Kai, and that would be a bad thing. The General had learned that no matter how insignificant the pathetic common people were on their own, when they banded together against a common target, no matter how misguided they were, they could be dangerous.

The smash-and-splash was going to help show everyone that they were weak and corrupt, and that they needed to follow Tate no Kai's orders. The people at the club were going to be made into an object lesson. The attacking force had been given clear orders. Balloons filled, not with paint this time but with blood from livestock, were going to be thrown at the men and women that were foolishly embracing a life of vice. In addition to making a gross mess, the thugs were going to deal out some violence as well. A few broken bones should help deliver the point home that they masses were powerless against Tate no Kai. If anybody tried to put of a fight, the attackers were told that they were free to make an example out of them.

The atmosphere was charged with emotions as the attack team moved into position. The patrons of the club were practically partying in the street. The music was loud and the bright neon at the front of the club attracted eyes and made the rest of the street appear darker. The Tate no Kai thugs moved in to attack...

…. Right into the waiting trap.

Xxxx

Xxx

Xx

Special word from the Author...

Hello and thank you for reading my work. As I see the end of this project on the horizon... No really, I do. I know I have said that before, but this time I think it will be a reachable goal, in about another twenty or so chapters... Anyway, back on topic...

As I see the end of this project in the not to distant future, I am looking towards future projects. As an experiment, I have gained the consent of Lord Gray to publish a pair of letters he wrote long ago to his beloved. Vampirotic: Letters of Passion available for kindle by 9/21/2013, the start of Autumn.

As always, thank you for your support.