The sound of Akechi's departing horse was a relief. Makoto was surprised at herself: taking on Akechi as he towered over her. Well, took him on socially anyway. But a victory was a victory. Just a few days ago, she would never have dreamed of such a thing, but now she had a purpose. A goal. And no pompous dandy was going to get in her way. If Sae could wrap that cretin around her finger, Makoto could, too. Well… maybe not wrap, but Makoto seemed able to flick him away, well enough.

Makoto turned back to Amamiya. He was still standing as quietly and still as before. It was like the man only moved when he had a reason. Left idle. He was… idle. Corpse-like. Makoto shied away from that thought as she regarded Amamiya's dead grey eyes. No. Statue-like. That was… better?

"How did Akechi's sword get in the wall?"

Ryuji wandered back inside. "He attacked Mr. Amamiya! Said it was some sort of test!"

"What!?"

Amamiya nodded. "It was a fair attempt at an Iaijutsu."

A sword-drawing-technique? "Was he trying to kill you?" said Makoto.

Amamiya shook his head slightly. "I doubt it. He advertised the attack beforehand. I assume it was intentional."

"Advertised it?" said Ryuji. "It sure surprised me. How did you know?"

"His eyes. His shoulder. Very obvious if you know what to look for. The man is either a total fool, or hiding his real abilities."

"He hunts noble vampires with my sister," said Makoto, "I don't think a total fool would be able to do that and survive as many times as he has."

Amamiya nodded slightly. "And it's always safer to assume someone is more skilled than less. The surprise of being wrong is more pleasant that way."

Makoto felt a smile turn the corner of her mouth. That was a joke. A dry, mild one, but a joke nonetheless. So there was a sense of humor under the dark clothing and pale skin. But thinking of pale skin. Where was Ann?

Makoto turned to Ryuji. "Where is your sister?"

"In the other room with Shiho. The doc finished her work a while ago."

"Truly? What's the girl's condition?"

Ryuji shrugged. "Asleep."

"...Recovering," added Amamiya. "Ms. Takemi fixed what she could. Now it's up to Shiho to do the rest."

Amamiya's voice sounded matter-of-fact. He knew something. Just like when he knew something about Shiho when they were first transporting her from the school. Oh, right! Makoto asked him how he knew about Shiho's condition with such confidence. He'd promised to reveal his technique in private. Makoto turned on him.

"I want to know how you know these things."

Amamiya frowned slightly. Then his eyes traveled past her. He was looking at Ryuji, she presumed. Ah. How to get rid of the big-mouthed guardsman?

"Ryuji," said Amamiya. "Didn't you mumble something about your mother?"

Ryuji's eyes widened. "Oh, shit! Yeah! Mom! She's probably going insane from me and Ann not coming home. I need to go tell her we are okay!"

He turned and opened the door, then froze. He turned and nervously looked at Ren. Then at Makoto. "Ms. Niijima, will you be staying with Ann until I get back?"

Amamiya shifted his weight. Makoto realized that was one of his emotional reactions. Ryuji didn't trust Amamiya around his sister, that much was obvious. If Ryuji was trying to be subtle about it, he'd just failed miserably. But if Makoto was going learn another dhampir secret, she needed Ryuji gone.

"Yes, Ryuji. I'll be here till you get back.

"Great! See ya." And he was out the door and sounds of boots on the dirt road faded away rapidly.

Makoto shut the door behind him, sealing herself in the office alone with Amamiya the dhampir. But she did not feel any threat from him, and the prejudices against his kind did not sway her. She turned to look at him. He still had not moved from his spot in the center of the room. He was eyeing her with an even gaze.

She walked towards him, keeping her eyes level on his. She stopped at a respectful, but personal, distance. Put her hands on her hips, unconsciously mimicking the mannerisms of her older sister. "So?"

Ren wordlessly raised his left hand toward her, palm upward. Makoto looked down at it curiously. She remembered him putting the left hand on Shiho's skin when he climbed into the school cart with them.

"Show yourself, Morgana," said Amamiya.

The skin on the surface of Amamiya's palm rippled slightly, like how the surface of a pond ripples from a fish just under the surface. Then the skin of Amamiya's hand took texture and form, and the unmistakable face of a cat looked out at Makoto. It was furless, its eyes simply black pools, but certainly a cat.

Makoto felt her own flesh crawl and goosebumps trace down along her spine. If she had expected anything at all, it certainly was not this. She looked at Amamiya face. He was regarding her impassively. Taking that as a sort of permission, Makoto bent down closer to his hand.

"What is it? Some kind of… cat spirit?"

The cat face on Amamiya's palm moved, taking on what was unmistakably an angry continence.

"I'm not a cat!" it said in a high-pitched voice.

Makoto jerked her head back in surprise. "It can talk!"

"Yes," sighed Amamiya. "An ability Morgana uses too often, I fear."

"I'm not an 'it'!" said the cat-face named Morgana.

"Um-" said Makoto, feeling decidedly strange to be talking to Amamiya's hand. "Then what are you, uh- Mr. Morgana?"

"Such a direct question!" said Morgana, his black eyes shifting sideways. "I think I was a person once. A long time ago."

"My mother's people call him a 'symbiote'" said Amamiya. "They were once common, but are now quite rare in this world."

"Your-... your mother's people?"

Amamiya regarded her evenly. "My father was human."

So that would make his mother the noble vampire. That was an unusual combination. Usually, it was the male nobles who became infatuated with humans. Makoto assumed it was because males were such prolific and inexact creatures. They see something they want to mate with and they go for it by looks alone. Many women, too, perhaps were that way- but Makoto thought her own gender was in general more disseminating. Any nagging doubt to that assumption she quickly quashed.

"If we once lived alone," said Morgana, "It is now forgotten."

"Then how did you… um- get inside? Mr. Amamiya?" Said Makoto.

"I was transferred by-!"

Ren closed his left palm.

A muffled: "Hey!"

Then when Amamiya reopened his hand, it was just normal skin. The cat-face was gone.

Makoto frowned. Was he trying to keep something from her? "Transferred?" she pressed.

"More like taken. Forcibly."

"From who?"

Amamiya paused. Broke his gaze from Makoto. "Someone who disagreed with my mother. She then gave Morgana to me as a gift. His kind's abilities are much prized."

"Does a vampire survive that process? The… transfer?"

"No."

"I see…" Amamiya's mother must have been a frightening personality.

Amamiya didn't look back at her, instead he continued to look off to the side. It was unclear what he was thinking, though he was obviously not inviting more questions. But he'd told her enough. Prying into his family history was not part of their deal. It was a… technical exchange between them. That was all. And speaking of that, Makoto's surprise to find Akechi had made her forget the excitement of events last night at her own residence.

"Mr. Amamiya, I think our target followed me to my home last night."

That brought Amamiya's eyes back to hers in a flash. He didn't say anything, but waited for her to continue.

"My guard shot something that came over the wall- maybe two hours after I returned home." Makoto reached into her belt pouches and pulled out a paper-wrapped glass. "She described it was a moving pool of shadow."

Amamiya frowned but took the glass from Makoto's offering hand. He took off the paper and eyed the congealed black substance inside. His eyes became a bit more eager. "It's vampiric, certainly." He sniffed at the glass. Frowned. Sniffed again. Frowned deeper.

Makoto watched him intently. Trying to let Amamiya do… whatever he was doing. But dammit, she was excited! "Well- can you use it to find our target?"

Amamiya's thoughtful glance turned to Makoto. "No."

A surprisingly deep surge of disappointment fell into Makoto's gut. "Truly? It's not a vampire?"

"Oh, it's vampiric, certainly. But it's not our target. Nor is this creature derived from him.'

Makoto blinked. Not their target? So… there was more than one vampire in the city! Wait. What did he mean by that?

"Derived?"

"Yes. I think this is the blood of a vampslave. A high-grade one, but a slave all the same. It's hard to tell from this, but what your guard saw- the pool of shadow- makes me think this is the case. To a noble, that's a parlor trick. Enthralled humans infected with vampirism can accomplish such a thing, which is why a true vampire would consider it beneath them."

"A high-grade vamp-slave…?"

Amamiya eyed her. "Yes, of course." His gaze narrowed slightly. "You've not seen one? They can look and act like normal humans, but they hide their necks with makeup or clothing. You can see the bite marks, otherwise."

"No. I've… I've never seen one."

Amamiya lowered the glass and stared at her more directly. His eyes roving her body again. Makoto felt herself being appraised.

"What have you seen, Ms. Niijima?"

Makoto realized she was about to reveal herself as the novice she actually was. But there was no helping it. She stuck out her chin and looked into Amamiya's grey eyes. "I've seen many packs of vamp-slaves in the wilds. I've slain dozens at a time."

"Ferals. You've only matched yourself against ferals?"

"That's vastly more than most people!"

"They're insects," said Amamiya, his voice was impatient. It was some of the first auditory emotion Makoto had heard him use, and it was negative and directed at her. She began to blush furiously.

"You said you were a vampire hunter. But you've only exterminated vermin. Leftovers."

"My sister-!" Makoto stopped herself as Amamiya raised his eyebrows slightly. He was already calling her out as an amateur, which if Makoto was honest with herself, she was. But he would label her a child if she complained that her big sister didn't take her on big hunts.

"I mean- I haven't had the chance to do anything else yet." She raised her gaze back on Amamiya. "I want to hunt real targets, but it seemed an entirely foolish thing to do for the first time by myself."

Amamiya's expression went back to neutral. "Well, you're not wrong. But I'm not your teacher."

"No. You're just my partner who has a lot more experience."

"Partner!" There was shock in his voice now.

"Yes," said Makoto, pressing the advantage. "Because you can't get rid of me."

"I'm not a teacher!"

"I know. I intend to learn passively through proximity."

"Passively through proximity…" Amamiya mumbled to himself and his eyes rolled slowly upward. "What is with this city?"

Makoto remained silent. Staring Amamiya Ren down. She wasn't going to give him any conversation points to turn against her.

His eyes refocused on hers. He looked her up and down again. A reappraisal. Makoto wondered what he thought of her now. Unlike with Akechi… Makoto did want the approval of this Vampire Hunter J- though she had yet to see him in action. Just the way he quietly carried himself seemed to waft an aura of competence and confidence.

"It's not my fault if you die."

"Fine."

"And all the prize money is mine."

"I don't need it."

Amamiya blinked.

"Let's just say I live in a big house." That was two potential objections easily overcome. It was a prime moment to seal this arrangement. Formalize their relationship as more than… stalker and stalked. She offered out her right hand. "Well?"

Amamiya took her offered hand in a firm grip. "Don't make me regret this."

"It's not like you would get rid of me by refusing."

"I don't doubt it."

They shook hands. Then stared at each other.

"So-" said Makoto, breaking the silence. "What do we do now, Amamiya-sensei?"

"I'm not a teacher."

"Amamiya-senpai."

"No! Not senpai! Never that! Just... use the same honorifics you used before. '-san' is fine. Nothing is changed!"

Oh, but everything was changed now. Makoto had a partner. A teacher. An experienced mentor that would have to take her along every step of the way. And one so much more patient, and pliable, than Sae. But Makoto had sense enough not to push the point with Amamiya, who was likely very accustomed to being alone.

"Very well, Mr. Amamiya. What is next?"

Amamiya rubbed his face in a show of exasperation. He was becoming quite animated this morning. Was her ruthless pursuit at familiarity getting to Amamiya? Was the strong-and-silent thing just a mask that was cracking under the pressure of this little bit of personal attention? That was interesting, but something to think about later. Amamiya's face returned to its more or less impassive neutral state.

"I was actually planning on asking you that."

"Me? The vampire novice?"

"Yes, but not about vampires. About humans. We have here a grievously injured young woman- a member of high society in this city. And if what Mr. Akechi says is true, we can soon be expecting her relations to arrive."

Oh, he was right. That was a rather pressing concern. They could not very well leave the clinic with Shiho in her current state. Whomever came for her might very well whisk her off to a priest, injuring her body again during transport, and inadvertently killing the fragile young woman. Not to mention the political considerations of their actions of taking the girl in the first place. It was almost kidnapping. Almost. But if the girl was taken back and then she died, they would be blamed even if it wasn't their fault. And Amamiya would be chased from town. And the Niijima name would be irredeemably tarnished. That was unacceptable.

"I see your point. I don't think there is anything to do but wait for the arrival of Shiho's relatives. I'll simply have to convince them."

"That's your plan? Hope to convince them?"

"What other options should I consider? Threats? These people can muster the city guard against us, Mr. Amamiya. Are you a human expert? How many times have you spoken with human aristocracy? How well versed are you in the culture and politics of my home city?" Makoto fixed Amamiya with a deep frown. You're the novice in this. Not me!

Amamiya frowned, his eyes dropping in consideration. "Point taken."