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 304

The General was growing more frustrated by the hour. He had sent out his special guard to collect the money from the banks where Tate no Kai's income had been stashed. There was an old saying about not keeping all of a person's eggs in one basket. The General had tried to make sure that his organization would have enough money to operate for a while even if collections dried up. By his count there should be enough for more than a year, but since Tate no Kai was going to close down for a while. Kuyou wanted to take that money with him to help start over.

It was a part of his master strategy. He would take his special guard and set up in a new area. The money could be used for bribes, gifts, and assorted other survival necessities. By draining those accounts he would be distancing himself from the Tate no Kai identity. If anything lead the police to those accounts, seeing them empty would lead them to think he had fled the country.

That had been the plan. The plan, much to Koyou's frustration ran in to a wall very quickly. The first man had called in to report that he had the money. The second and third had reported that the banks would not give them any money, and that the accounts had been frozen because of a police investigations. The fourth call had come in later than expected, but that man had finally been successful. The fifth man never reported in at all.

Out of eight accounts, only two had been successfully emptied. That was a painful blow. After the first bank, some of the men had a second bank to visit. It was another painful blow when two more of his trusted five went silent after their second bank visits. The General put it together quickly. The police had somehow discovered some of the Tate no Kai accounts, in spite of passing the money through additional hands and occasionally changing banks, and had ordered those known accounts frozen and the banks watched. Koyou knew he had to write off his men as captured by the enemy.

X

In spite of the problems bringing down his organization, The General still had a few allies left. It was one of these allies that called to tell him to turn on the television. It was not a call that The General was happy to get.

The leader of Tate no Kai turned on the television and tuned in the channel in time to catch the last part of a police press conference. The captions on the edge of the screen summed things up. The police were talking about their success in their fight against Tate no Kai.

The news made The General angry. He was so angry in fact that he took the television remote and threw it against the wall. It exploded in a shower of plastic and bits of wire. Even the batteries were misshapen by the force of force of the impact. For Koyou, the loss of the remote was meaningless. He would be abandoning the place soon enough. For Tsukune however, the destruction of The General's remote was a good thing, because it kept Koyou from turning off the television too soon.

XxXxX

"...And that concluded the press conference from today," An announcer said in a happy voice. "And now we have a special treat for our audience. We take you now to the studio for a special interview with the Sweetheart Chef..."

"Thank you for inviting us to meet with you," A middle aged woman said. She was dressed in an attractive suit as she stood beside a counter set up in the studio. A short distance away, the famous Sweetheart Chef was doing her best to appear confident and cute; two things she knew how to do very well.

"I am so glad you can make it," Kurumu said with a smile that was impossible not to believe came from being genuinely happy. The smile was real because Kurumu was feeling very happy at the moment. Tsukune had called her up and asked her for a favor that only she could do. He had even promised her a two night get-away as repayment for her help.

"I know our audience is as curious as I am about what the Sweetheart Chef has in store for us," The reporter said.

"Oh, please," Kurumu batted her eyes. "The Sweetheart Chef if my working identity, but it is not my name. Why don't you go ahead and call me Kay-chan."

Kurumu did not really care for the nick-name, but it was the one that her agent had wanted her to use. In truth, it should have been used years before as a part of a whole strategy, but had been sidelined by how quickly the title Sweetheart Chef had caught on and grew to popularity. This interview was a good opportunity to use the nick-name. There was no reason to not use all of her tools when the right opportunities presented themselves.

"And as for why I asked for the meeting," Kurumu went on. "By now your audience has had a chance to hear the news from the police about how they are trouncing the gang that calls itself Tate-no-something-or-other." She made a small dismissive gesture to show how little she cared about the name of the organization. "And as my fans can tell you, I am a big supporter of the police."

"That's right," The reported replied. "There was a time when you were seeing a police officer."

"That's right," Kurumu agreed. "My sweetheart had been a police officer then. And it is in honor of his own commitment to protecting others that I am here today." She shot the camera another smile. "I have two special dishes I wanted to share with everybody." She gestured to the counter and the items laid out upon it.

"Now don't just go by appearances," Kurumu warned. "This meal is something I planned out carefully. I call it the honest reward celebration dinner. It may look simple and average, but the secret is in the seasoning and preparation..."

Kurumu then went through steps to prepare the meal she was presenting. She included the importance of cleaning and setting up the right cooking dishes and utensils as well as the needed ingredients. She went over the steps of cooking the dishes and arranging the presentation.

The interview was unusual. The reporter on the scene had been told that it was an important assignment, but was fighting hard to hide her disappointment at doing a fluff piece. What she did not know was that the company she worked for had been given a strongly worded request from the government to record and broadcast the interview with the Sweetheart Chef.

"... And there you have a simple looking meal filled with love and respect to satisfy the body and the heart," Kurumu finished her presentation. "If anybody watching has a special someone in uniform, I encourage you to make this for them. They can be a police officer, a soldier, a fireman, or just that person you like on your school's morals committee. Any and all of those people are working hard to bring out the best in their human nature for the sake of others, just like my own sweetheart. After the good news from the police today, why don't we all give our brave protectors some special attention." She gave a wink and a pose towards the camera.

"Thank you very much," The reporter said in a pleasant voice. "But it appears that you left something out." She gestured to the end of the counter, to something that had been mostly hidden behind the kitchen idol.

"Oh?" Kurumu blinked. The she stepped aside. "You must mean this cake." She gestured to a small cake that looked to be big enough for four people.

"Yes," The reporter said. "Isn't that something for your sweetheart as well?"

"Oh no," Kurumu gave a cute frown and shook her finger in the negative at the camera. "This is something for the naughty children. I call it the bully's dessert."

"What a... unique name for a cake," The reporter observed.

"I call it that, because that is what it is," Kurumu said. With a gleam in her eyes she pulled out a large knife from behind her back. She deftly cut the cake in half in one motion. With another she separated the two halves to show the empty middle of the cake.

"This is the Bully's Dessert because this is all the reward they ever get," Kurumu explained. "It is bitter, hollow, and unsatisfying." She gave the camera a stead look. "And right now my sweetheart is on his way to deliver a great big serving to the leader of Tate no Kai."

XxXxX

The General had been surprised by the interview that had followed the police press conference. The Sweetheart Chef was a face he recognized from his school days. In spite of himself, he had enjoyed the site of the woman's appearance. He told himself that he had watched the interview in hope of learning of a live appearance he could go to so he could make a strike at her. He did not want to think about how well she presented what looked like a delicious meal. And he would vehemently deny that he enjoyed looking at the woman's curves and smile.

Then the part about the cake had come out. The whole thing, Kuyou realized, had been as much of an insult as the police interview. But then there was the cake. The bully's dessert that the Sweetheart Chef said was for him.

The television died in a ball of fire. It was time to leave. He reached for his phone to call his men. They would have to meet him somewhere else. It was no longer safe to wait for them where he was. Confident that the growing fire would destroy any evidence, Kuyou headed for the exit.

As he was about to emerge from his hidden den, Kuyou extended his senses to make sure it was safe to go outside. He was looking for that focused intent that came from people on the hunt. It was something that being aware of had saved Kuyou from being caught after the collapse of Fairy Tail. It had given him the warning he needed to escape after the LaLaPort mall fiasco, when the police had come for him.

Kuyou realized he was in deep trouble even before he reached the street. He could feel the intent of those searching for him, and they were all around him. Smoke was starting to find its way out of the building as he walked calmly away from it. With a little luck the fire would cause a distraction he could use to escape the area.

XxxxX

The General had not realized how much things had turned against him. Yes, one of his special guard had been arrested. One managed to collect from the bank without a problem. One had been stalled until police had been in place to follow him, and then he had been given a bugged stack of yen notes. The other two had made it to their secondary bank sites, where they had both, on their own, came to the same conclusion. Tate no Kai was doomed. The two men, without talking with anybody, collected the money they had been sent for, but then walked out of the banks and away from Tate no Kai.

The General never imagined that his loyal special guard members would abandon him. He knew that some of the grunts that had joined Tate no Kai would talk, giving up anything and everything they knew if it would save them. He had taken steps protect himself from such weaklings in the organization.

As the man formerly known as The General abandoned his hideout, he knew the hunt for him was on. He did not know that one of his special guards was at that moment telling all he knew. As Kuyou called the men he thought were still in a position to help him, he did not know about the van filled with equipment that was recording every word. He did not realize the importance of the ravens watching him from the rooftops and telephone cables overhead.

XxxxxxxX

"Well that makes it official," Tanaka said as he turned to the open side door of the van. "We have flushed him out."

"So now we track him," Tsukune said. "When he gets to someplace safe we will start to close in."

"We better make this work," Tanaka complained. "Because if we don't bring this guy down today the politics are going to cripple the police for weeks."

"That bad?" Tsukune questioned.

"A failure at this point could be a career breaker," Tanaka nodded. "And then there will be a storm of finger pointing and arguing before any decisions are made. We are using a lot of resources to try to catch one person. Reports are already coming in of a fire at where we suspect was his old hideout. We did not try to take him there because of the risk of collateral damage, but now we are getting that anyway."

"Shit," Tsukune fumed.

"Exactly," Tanaka agreed.

"Well we will just have to keep tracking him and keep the pressure on until he tries to hide where we can take him," Tsukune said. "We need to try to get him someplace away from potential witnesses and victims."

"We have enough uniformed police at train stations do discourage him from that route of running away," Tanaka confirmed. "So we just have to watch and wait."

"I know," Tsukune grumbled. "Watching and waiting..."

"The hardest part of being a good police officer," Tanaka picked up on the other man's train of thought.

XxxxxxxxX

It was turning in to a long day for both sides. For the police, it was a long, careful hunt. Their target, their prey, was being tracked and hounded. They were working in teams and shifts to keep the pressure on, even though most did not even know who they were actually after. Uniformed men and women were dispatched from one address to another. Posted at places like rail stations, the officers were visible, and by being seen they discouraged the target from lingering in the area.

For Kuyou it was a long and frustrating day of being on the move. He met with one, just one of his special guard to pick up an envelope of cash, but had to move on. He could feel the intent of those looking for him. He needed to find a way out of the area, or to throw them off his scent.

He tried to look calm. It was clear that the police were looking for him, but they did not seem to know who he was specifically. He walked right past a pair of police officers, both young men, who were talking about the Sweetheart Chef and the special dish one officer hoped his girlfriend would be making for him.

While Kuyou was confident he could kill a pair of police officers before they even knew he was coming for them, he knew that he would be risking too much. Feeling frustrated, he pressed on. The local buses just went in circles. The terminal for taking a bus to another city had three patrol cars in front of it, and four officers in sight. Kuyou was starting to thing about hiring a taxi to get him out of town as the sun started to set.

XxXxX

As the day wore on, Lieutenant Tanaka grew more frustrated. In contrast, Tsukune was actually feeling more confident as the hour grew later. As the Sun reached the horizon and the sky started to turn red, Tsukune started making calls to the friends that worked for him.

"People will be going home," Tsukune explained. "Soon there will be fewer innocent bystanders around. It will be safe to move in on him soon."

"I still have a problem to solve," Tanaka spoke up. "Once you get to him, then what? If he is as strong as you think, how are we going to arrest him?"

"I am hoping that arresting him will be an option," Tsukune answered with a grim expression. "And just in case it is, I did some research that suggests how it may be possible."

"Are you going to share with me?" Tanaka questioned.

"During lunch I found a hardware store," Tsukune explained. "I have an iron bar in my saddle bag. As soon as I can, I am going to wrap it around his neck."

"How is that going to help arrest him?" Tanaka challenged. "Sounds more like you are going to kill him."

"It is an old way of trapping spirits," Tsukune said with a small shake of his head. "An iron collar may bind his power, but I won't know for sure until I try it."

"Well it's better than nothing, I guess," Tanaka wished he had more confidence in his friend's plan. "Now let's see if we can give you that chance to make it work.