Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ Silver Cross ❯ Airport Scenes ( Chapter 5 )

A/N - I am sooo sorry that I am such a slacker and haven't updated for a month! A month! I can hardly believe it. Now no one will like my story anymore and they won't bother to review…. Ahhh! I am just really glad that certain reviewers who shall remain nameless sent me emails and asked me when the next chapter was coming out. If it wasn't for them, I might never have pinned down a date. Sorry about that again. I can't say sorry enough. And sorry to this story and sorry to myself for waiting. I'd forgotten how it was to get into the writing groove. Shiver. May that never happen again. Well now on to thank the reviewers!

The Girl Who Cried Oro, Hitokiri-miao miao, bitchy brunette, HiEi FoR sALe, zeus the moose, KeNsHiN FoR SaLe, En Satsu Koku Ryuu Ha, notta jabronie, hOoTs, sbae222, aglaia102, Lilfrozenfire, kouri, Hiromi, Sara, Saturn-pegasussword, Riokai Guardian of the Night, Poppy2, Rikki-chan, Saiya Winters, Videl621, Avalonian Witch, Katie, Linay

Disclaimer - I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or Aquafina water, or vampires, or the moon, or the sun, or a car, or a house or Los Angeles, or New York City, or a swimming pool. Wouldn't it be something if I did?

Silver Cross

Chapter 5 - Airport Scenes

I think we should check on Megumi's family, Ken. See if they got through the war.

They weren't in Nagasakiwere they? Didn't her husband have relatives there?

That's why I need to go, Ken. Plus it'd be nice to get back to Japan.

Yeah. The land down under isn't what it's cracked up to be after a couple years.

And I think the accent's starting to wear off on me, mate.

Sure is. Let's get the hell out of here and back to Japan. I hate lying low during these world wars anyway.

You got it. But I kinda got used to summer. It's winter in Japan.

Then we'll head to Egyptafterwards. I haven't been there in a while.

Sounds like a plan.

"You have the tickets, right?" Ken asked, as he pulled into the bustling airport terminal boulevard. "I can't remember if the airline was Delta or UA Air."

"Sec. I put them in my wallet because I didn't want to carry around a purse," she reached into her back pocket, retrieved the wallet, and flipped through it for the tickets.

Meanwhile, Ken was scanning the crowd for the man Aoshi had promised to pick up the car. He didn't want to be stuck having to rent a space in the lot until Aoshi had a chance to pick it up.

"Delta," Kaoru answered, just as Ken half saw-half sensed the contact standing just inside the door of the Delta terminal, probably enjoying the air-conditioning. Ken pulled over to the side in a spot where a car had just vacated and shut off the car. He decided to wait for the contact to approach, just to be sure he had the right man.

"Let's start unloading," he instructed Kaoru, checking for cars in his rearview mirror and opening the door.

"Alright. Don't let me forget this carry-on bag though," Kaoru fussed, hopping out of the car and heading for the back.

Ken tossed her the keys as he was walking to join her. "Unlock it while I grab that baggage cart."

"Sure," Kaoru agreed, catching them easily. She wondered why he looked so distracted. "Is everything okay?"

He refocused and smiled at her, touching her arm lightly as he passed. "It's fine. Be right back."

Kaoru shrugged. That was good enough a response for her.

Ken made a point not to look at the old man who was by now keenly watching him. This probably was Aoshi's contact, though Ken couldn't tell for sure as his face was hidden in shadow. His senses picked up vampire energy. It felt vaguely familiar. Ken decided he must have run into the man previously. He had worked with most of the Oniwaban at some point in time or another. He turned his back to the man, knowing the vampire would make his move then.

"Battousai. I did not expect to find you so much changed. You let your guard down. I could kill you this very moment."

Ken felt a dagger pressed against his side, out of everyone's view but the speaker. "I doubt that, old man," a tense Ken replied evenly, letting his bangs cover his eyes. A dagger wouldn't kill him, but he would be wounded enough that the airline officials would surely notice and force him to seek medical care. And he certainly couldn't do that. He could just picture the doctor's reaction to his slow pulse and low temperature. If the man did decide to stab him, Ken knew he would be no match for any skilled vampire who tried to harm Kaoru, at least not until he could sleep again.

But it turned out that Ken need not have worried. The man simply laughed, withdrew the dagger from Ken's side, and shook his hand. Ken wondered how the man had managed to sneak the weapon on the airlines past all the security. He allowed himself to relax a little.

"It's been too long," the man continued. Ken now vaguely remembered him from thirty or forty years ago. "Now you must introduce me to the lady you're with. My leader spoke briefly of her, but I see his description didn't do her justice."

Kaoru watched the exchange worriedly. Was this the man the Shinomoris had said would take the car back, or another altogether? To be honest, he didn't look very threatening. His hair was white and he had a ridiculous purple bow tied onto his beard. She was confident Ken could beat him if it came down to blows, but if he was part of the Oniwaban group Misao had mentioned, he must be quite formidable. Ken and the intruder seemed to be agreeing on something, and then both walked over towards Kaoru, the older man dragging a suitcase and Ken pushing along the luggage cart.

Kaoru handed Ken back the keys, along with a questioning look, but he didn't even bother to explain the old man's presence, just started loading the suitcases from the back of the Jeep to the luggage rack. He was remembering more about the man by the moment and knew he would get around to introducing himself to Kaoru. Ken vaguely remembered that he was a lecherous old man. His attempts to seduce young women were always pitiful. It embarrassed Ken just thinking about them.

The old man held out his hand to Kaoru and winked. "I'm Okina. Who are you and what are you doing stuck with this guy?"

Kaoru smiled hesitantly and shook his hand. "Call me Kaoru." She wasn't sure why, but she didn't think it would be wise to go around blabbing her last name too.

"Well Kaoru, any chance I can convince you to come back to the apartment with me instead of flying off who the hell knows where with Ken?" he asked, not letting go of her hand.

She forced a laugh and glanced at Ken, who was silently loading the bags. "Sorry."

"Really? Too bad. He's a lucky guy then."

"He doesn't know how lucky he is," Kaoru put in, drawing her hand from the old man's.

Ken rolled his eyes in disgust and loaded the last bag. He hated it when people talked about him as if he wasn't there, and trust Kaoru to get a word in against him.

"We're ready to go then?" Kaoru asked, turning to Ken.

He nodded and pulled the back of the Jeep shut. "Don't forget your carry-on bag."

"Oh yeah." Kaoru walked past Okina and around the side of the car to get it.

"Nice one, Battousai," Okina commented low enough so Kaoru couldn't hear.

"What are you talking about?"

"You traveling with a human, and a hot girl at that."

Ken was mortified to hear the old man talking like that. He was embarrassed for him yet again, but barely able to control a laugh. To cover his discomfort, he tossed Okina the keys to the Jeep and moved behind the luggage cart. "Tell the Shinomoris I said thanks."

"Will do," the old man replied cheerfully. "See you," he called to Kaoru as she came up to Ken's side with her carry on bag draped over her shoulder.

They watched as he hopped into the car, tossed his luggage into the passenger seat, and jetted into the clogged street, and somehow managing to avoid an accident. Ken shook his head, hoping he'd never have to see that particular old man again.

"Well that was weird," Kaoru commented.

"You don't want to know," Ken sighed. "Let's go inside and find a porter to check our bags."

"Ken, how did you manage to buy the tickets? I didn't know you had ID," Kaoru asked curiously.

"That's why I bought them last night. I know a vampire who works here and owed me a favor. He set it up after some persuading."

"Persuading?" Kaoru asked, wondering just what that entailed.

"It's better you don't know and he never sees you with me."

"Okay," Kaoru said doubtfully.

They found a porter to check their bags without any trouble and Ken tipped him handsomely. The security check went smoothly and soon they were waiting in the departure area for the call to board. Kaoru was standing in front of the big picture windows, watching the planes land and take off. Ken was used to airports and didn't find them very impressive, but it was fun to watch her awe of the giant machines. Not sensing any vampires or their contacts around, he softened and went to stand by her.

"I never asked, how did you get away from those people at the club?" Ken asked, watching her watch a plane taxi down the runway.

"Judo."

"Judo?"

"I flipped the girl over my shoulder when she tried to stop me from leaving. Oh!" Kaoru remembered. "I never told you what I found out."

"So tell me now."

She gazed out at the plane taking off into the night as she tried to recall the conversation. So much had happened since then. "He said he was offering me a temporary job for the next two nights. He wanted me to be his partner's contact. He offered me three thousand a night. I didn't think they would have that kind of money."

"Yeah. Their leader's made a name for himself," Ken said grimly.

"Well then I asked him how he could afford that and he said he worked for the 'dark one' and he and his buddy were on leave or something. I told him I didn't believe him, and he showed me some tattoo on his wrist."

Ken put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "What did it look like?"

"Hold on! I'm going to tell you. Not so tight, Ken," she said with a wince.

"Sorry." He released his hold on her. "This is really important to me."

"I know." She searched his eyes for a moment before continuing. "It was on his left wrist I think. There was a tattoo of a black dagger stabbing a heart that was dripping blood. The blood was the only color on the tattoo. He said it was his mark and that if anyone faked it they'd die in three days. Is that true?"

"Yes." So then it was the dark one's men.

"How? How would he know if some random person a world away forged his mark?"

"He has a . . . sense about it. He usually has one of his men do it. Where exactly on his wrist was it?" He wanted to be absolutely sure.

"Underneath, why?"

"No reason, just continue," Ken waved her on. The dark one must be planning something if he was letting his people get away for a while. Probably preparing for a long undercover activity and letting them get out a little bit. Two nights, they wanted to hire Kaoru for. So they'd be back wherever the dark one was the night after next, or at least on their way.

"I said I was satisfied with the proof and he said I smelled healthy or something. What's with that? And I could get started right then if I wanted. I said sure and those girls were leading me to the other guy when I ditched them at the top of the stairway and ran into you."

"Who were the four vampires that I saw taking you to them?"

"Just random people, probably guests at the club. They said they were paid to take me up to the dark one's men. Now just who is the dark one and how do all these vampires know I'm human by smelling me?"

"We smell the blood. That's why you stood out at the club. It's hard to resist." He swallowed hard just thinking about it. "It's more subtle when you wear those earrings though."

"What's it like?"

"It's like a call, always beckoning to you. But there are so many humans everywhere that you learn to ignore the ones that aren't healthy, or the ones whose souls are sick. And after a while you even tune out the healthy ones, because there's almost always one with special energy." He closed his eyes. "You have to be able to hold yourself back because it's not good to drink in excess. Most vampires drink just once every two weeks. I do it once a month so I can afford one in between if I really need it."

Kaoru studied him. She wondered what kind of human she was. As if he'd read her mind, he continued.

"You have special energy. That's why I hung around at the restaurant you worked at. I knew I shouldn't, but for the first time since I first became a vampire, I could barely control myself again. It was more than that though."

Kaoru held her breath. It had sure as hell better be more than that or he was going to get the beating of his life. She almost laughed at herself. What was she going to do? Beat him up for not loving her? She couldn't make him. She was dismayed that she wished she could make him love her. Why did she always have to get stuck in these situations? He had turned away from her and didn't look like he was going to elaborate anytime soon.

"First class, flight, 106, first call to board!" a stewardess called over the intercom in their area of the terminal.

Kaoru sighed. Looks like that was all she was going to get today. Or tonight rather. "Like I said before, I guess there are worse guys. Did it have to be you though? You never tell me anything," she half joked lightly.

"It's for your own good." He turned to her, an almost smile playing across his face.

"Ken," she breathed, "tell me why you want to kill the dark one."

He wondered how she knew.

"You're constantly avoiding the subject. Why are you so evasive about it?" she asked.

"Let's board the plane, they called first class already," Ken said, angry that she'd dared to bring up the subject.

Annoyed with him, she pushed away and strode towards where the airline personnel waited to take their tickets. She knew he would follow. It appeared that no matter how old men were, they never understood women. Did they have no common sense? She made up her mind not to talk to him unless he talked to her first. He needed the silent treatment, how ever immature it was of her to do that.

Hey! Long time no see. Sure I can't persuade you to join the Sekihoutai?

We've been over this. I've had my fill of belonging to groups.

Well you sure helped us out last time, so I had to try. Since you dropped by, why don't you come to a club with me? I've got a couple nights off.

Nah, I'm not here for long. Just wanted to drop in. My plane leaves in an hour. I should head back to the airport.

How'd you get here?

Taxi.

I'll drive you back. We've been buds for too long for me to just turn you lose into the night. What if you and your short self get jumped?

Watch the comments on my height, Sano. And no one around here could ever beat me.

Sure, sure, Ken. Wait 'til you see my car. There's no way I'm letting you drive her.

I won't mind a chauffeur.

Kaoru hadn't said a word to him throughout the boarding and take off. He couldn't understand what had made her angry. Females always had to make things more complicated then they really were. He wasn't going to tell her and that was supposed to be the end of the matter. The contacts were definitely easier to deal with. They knew that each of them was just using the other and were perfectly okay with that fact. Well he wasn't using Kaoru and he didn't plan on making her his contact, but shouldn't she be okay with what he wanted? Okay, maybe he was using her a little , but all the other women certainly hadn't been this touchy. Even the one who had gotten him into all this mess hadn't objected to secrets between them. Wasn't that a part of life? You couldn't tell someone every single thing about yourself no matter how long you talked.

He realized that he was avoiding the real reason Kaoru was mad even in his mind. Okay. So she wanted him to tell her why he wanted to kill the dark one. How had he responded to that? Ken struggled to recall. He'd dismissed the question because no humans were supposed to know anything more about the vampire culture than was necessary for them to function in it. Most contacts knew about the dark one only because they needed to be aware of the vampire hierarchy. But even the contact of a male or female vampire close to the dark one would not know anymore. They only needed to know enough to fear him. They knew about the tattoo of his followers and never to forge it and that was about it.

But Kaoru was asking for more. What if she happened to mention whatever Ken told her, if he ever told her anything, and got herself killed for knowing too much? But then again, he was out to kill the dark one. That wasn't much of a secret. It wasn't as if she wouldn't be traced to him sooner or later, and if that happened before the dark one was killed, she'd be captured and tortured. So it didn't really matter if she knew anything or not. She my as well not know anything. On the other hand, didn't she deserve to know what she was getting into by going to Californiawith him? He wasn't going to stop in his hunt for the dark one. Not even she could convince him to do that. Maybe he should tell her just enough to satisfy her curiosity. It wouldn't put her much more at risk if she knew why he wanted to kill the dark one after all, if she knew why he wouldn't stop until he did, not even for her.

He opened his mouth and looked at her before he realized that he would stop, would have to stop, for her. He wouldn't be happy about it, but he would have no choice but to do as she asked, for the same reason he couldn't say her name out loud. It was just a risk he'd have to take because he couldn't stand the way she had so completely and effectively blocked him out of her life.

She glanced over and saw him looking at her, but let her glance travel right across his without a glint of acknowledgment and to the stewardess who was asking if they wanted anything to drink.

"Just water, please."

"And you sir?"

"Nothing."

The stewardess handed Kaoru an Aquafina water bottle across Ken and moved on to the next row. Kaoru was silent once more. She pulled her headphones down from overhead and was about to put them on when Ken decided he couldn't stand it anymore. So he was beaten in a test of wills by this twenty year old college kid who had only given him the silent treatment for forty-five minutes? He'd been ignored for a whole month once and still hadn't caved in. No one had to know about this but him and her, and who was she going to tell? He took the headphones away from her and put them back up over her head. She didn't even protest, just looked at him pointedly. Well at least she wasn't going to gloat about it.

"If you want to know why I have to kill the dark one, then you have to know about my friend Sano," he sighed, not looking at her.

"I want to know, Ken. Chasing after this dark one sounds like it could get you killed. I want to know why you're risking both our lives. You've been very selfish."

So now she was preaching to him? He decided to ignore that last scolding and just continue anyway. It was no use trying to make her understand why he'd risked her life too. Even he didn't really understand and couldn't say anything better than 'It seemed like a good idea at the time.' But he was sorry he'd done it. Well kind of. Well, he'd tell her he was sorry if she asked. He wasn't completely under her control after all. He still had his pride. Mostly. As long as she didn't catch on.

"Do you want to hear it or not?" he asked, glancing reproachfully at her.

"Fine. I'll shut up."

"Good. I met Sano at a bar in Kamakura, Japanin 1876, eight years after the revolution."

"So it was during the Meji era?" Kaoru asked, forgetting her promise that she'd shut up.

Ken was surprised that she'd known, but annoyed that she'd interrupted. "Yeah. Are you going to let me talk or what?"

"Sorry," Kaoru apologized, putting on her best contrite face. It seemed to satisfy him.

"I'd already been a vampire for about seventy-five years by that time and was just hanging around Tokyoafter having ditched these hunters in the mountains in Hokkaido. He found me in the bar because he was new to the whole thing and the vampire who'd turned him had sacrificed his life for Sano when some hunters found them."

Run, Sanosuke, I'll hold them off!

But Captain Sagara, I can't leave you!

Run dammit!

"He was from Hakone. He had no one to turn to until he got the hang of his new senses and found me."

My name's Sano. I was turned a couple nights ago. Listen, do you know a place I could stay? My parents kicked me out when I told them.

"I traveled alone back then, but he attached himself to me, so I figured I'd let him tag along. Of course he brought his own problems and took a little getting used to, but after a while we became friends. We traveled around Japantogether, always winding up back in Hakone, because that was where this woman lived. Then later she relocated to Tokyo, so we visited her there. She was a doctor and had known Sano since she moved north from the Izu Peninsula. They were in love and it broke both of their hearts every time he dropped in to see her, but he always went. She knew what he was and that she could never become one. When she got married and had kids we visited less and less. Sano wanted to put distance between himself and Japan, so we stayed in other countries, but the memory of her would always draw him back in the end and we'd rush back to Japan. I remember the day he saw her granddaughter. Sano told me she looked just like Megumi at her age."

It was like a blast from the past. Her granddaughter answered the door.

So? She turn you away?

She's just the age Megumi was when I met her. She looks exactly like her, same stuck up expression, same laugh too.

I'm sorry.

"Her husband was dead by that time. Sano started worrying that she would die, but it was too late to turn her, even if she'd let him. He blamed me for a while for not letting him work on Megumi to convince her, but he knew being a vampire was no way to live and he was happy that she'd had a happy life. We weren't gone when she died, I'm thankful for that. It was 1923, springtime, the cherry blossoms were blooming. He was there with her. Her relatives had gone for the doctor."

I love you, Sanosuke.

Megumi! Don't talk-

No. I have to say this. I've loved you all my life, but I'm glad I didn't give in to you and turn into what you are. When you die I'll see you in the afterlife, alright?

Megumi! I'm already dead. I have to live forever without you now.

This world isn't forever, Sano. Don't be afraid to move on. I know you have a soul.

"When she died he grieved for so long. I couldn't begin to understand the depth of it, so I let him be. We traveled far across the world and didn't go back to Japanafter that."

Kaoru could understand. She wondered what it was like for Sano. She realized that she and Ken were in the same position as he and Megumi had been. Well, kind of. She wasn't in love with him or anything and she scoffed at the idea that he would be in love with her. Still, there was that special something about him. She hoped whatever was between her and Ken ended better than Sano and Megumi's sad story, but there was no way she was going to become a vampire! No way in heaven or hell.

"We were best friends and hung around each other for decades just having fun until Sano got restless," Ken continued. "He needed a purpose. So around 1950 he joined this underground vampire group called the Sekihoutai. That was the end of us traveling together because I refused to join. I had had enough of secret groups before I became a vampire. We split up and I visited him at his headquarters in Spainwhen he wasn't on a mission every couple years. Even though I missed him, it wasn't hard to go back to how I'd lived before I met him, just exploring the world alone."

Kaoru reached for Ken's hand and held it, happy when he didn't pull away.

"The news of the dark one emerged in 1976. I remember because I was in the States at the time, and they were still recovering from Vietnam. Sano and a team of other operatives in the Sekihoutai were assigned to find and kill the dark one ten years later. He'd been gathering followers and killing humans or turning them into vampires. He had to be stopped, but no one knew where he was. Sano and his team found the dark one right away. That probably should have told them it was a trap, but they thought they had him fooled. Sano's whole team was killed. He was the only one who escaped."

Kaoru shuddered. It sounded a lot like the theme for the first Mission Impossible movie. Only that kind of stuff wasn't supposed to happen in real life.

"I don't know if the experience changed him more than Megumi's death, but he was a driven man after that. I visited him once and was disquieted at what I saw. The dark one was his whole life. By then the dark one was so influential that he'd had the top members of the Sekihoutai killed, since they were the most threat to him and his followers. I tried to get Sano to lay low for a few years, but he wouldn't listen, just went on hunting the dark one and being reckless about it."

Kaoru listened to the inflections in Ken's voice. He'd sounded sad when retelling the love affair of Sano and Megumi, but now the anger in his tone made his voice sharp and hard as diamond. Then it changed to regret with his next sentence. He stared down at his hands as he talked.

"I didn't think the dark one really cared about Sano, or that Sano would ever find him, so I decided to wait until he'd cooled down and left on a trip around the world. Sano found him in 1990 and was killed. I dropped by headquarters a year later and the vampires of the remaining Sekihoutai told me. The dark one ruined Sano's life. He was young when he became a vampire, and young when he died. I've sworn to kill the dark one before he takes more lives. But he's wary of me. I've been looking twelve years now."

Kaoru mulled the story over in her mind. So the dark one had killed Ken's best friend. She supposed that was reason enough for her to be bent on revenge if she was in Ken's place, but twelve years! Ken was so persistent. And it was all for his friend, Sanosuke. She didn't know what she'd expected to hear, just not a story like that. She was still confused as to why he didn't tell her before.

"That's a sad story, Ken. I'm sorry that happened to him. I wish I could've met him and Megumi."

Ken nodded miserably, looking down at their interlaced fingers.

"Does the Sekihoutai still exist?"

"Yes, but they're scattered. I saw one of the members in New York, Sano's best friend in the organization, Katsu. He's an okay guy."

"Thanks for telling me why you want to find the dark one. I'll go along with whatever you say. I want to help you get him."

Ken was relieved that she didn't press for an explanation as to how he got to be a vampire. She might get a little annoyed at that. She seemed content to mull it over. He sat back, still holding her hand, and recalled bittersweet memories of Sano.

Yo, why did we come to Russiaagain?

It was your turn to pick, not mine. This is all your fault, Sano.

You shouldn't have let me. And I thought Hokkaidowas bad this time of year.

We're never coming here again. And that trip to see the penguins, forget about it!

Aw come on, at least we can't get frostbite.

Sano! We're vampires! If we're shivering in the cold it's got to be fifty degrees below zero!

Then let's head to that last town and get warm again.

I don't think I'll ever be warm again.

You will once we get some girls.

Ah Los Angles. Ken reflected that he hadn't been there in around twenty years. That meant no contacts. Oh well. He had a month to wait until he could safely drink from a human again anyway. He searched for Kaoru in the crowd. She'd gone to get their bags while he'd found a taxi that would take them and their luggage to a car dealer. He felt a little uneasy about the fact that he didn't know exactly where she was, but he could feel her energy thrumming in the background of his thoughts, reassuring his mind that she was near.

He had enough money to afford buying a car. It wouldn't be a new one, but they could deal with that. As long as it had air conditioning. He saw Kaoru's ponytail bobbing in the crowd and walked over to her, still pouring over the newspaper for potential apartments. They'd have to stop by the housing office if he didn't find one. They only needed it for a week tops. By then the hunters would be off her back if they hadn't already picked up on the fact that she wasn't in town, and it would be safe for him to send her back. And anyway, the whole thing with the dark one would be over one way or another. He reminded himself to get around to reserving a plane ticket for her in case he wasn't around.

Okay, he decided to be honest with himself, unless the dark one beat him after all and he was dead. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He would have to leave her with instructions on how to get back home. She'd be leaving in the day of course. He'd have to make sure to go after the dark one a couple hours before dawn. That way they could never track down where he was staying before she left. Assuming they could find a place at- He checked his watch- three o'clock in the morning. It would have to be a pretty shady apartment or a pretty desperate landlord. Most likely a combination of the two would do. Did he have any contacts in the housing business? Um, no. Not in LA anyway. How about someone with an apartment? Again, nope. Any vampires at all in LA? Plenty, but who knew where the hell they were? There were still at least three hours left in the night. They were probably snacking on something. Mmmm. A snack sounded good about now. There were some healthy livestock outside of LA. Maybe he and Kaoru would be taking a little side trip…

"So what's the plan, Ken? Where are we going to stay?" Kaoru broke into his thoughts.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. First we're going to find a taxi and go to a dealership."

Kaoru looked at him doubtfully. "Are there any open this time of night?"

Ken favored her with a disdainful gaze. "This is LA. There's always something open. It's like New York, only snobbier."

Kaoru laughed. "That's a very stereotypical thing to say, especially when you're surrounded by people from LA."

"No it's not. I'm sure they're all gaga over the Lakers too. I can't stand that team."

Kaoru laughed even more. "I didn't take you for the type that keeps up with sports."

"One of my contacts is an American basketball fanatic. Not to mention the fact that a lot of vampires like to bet on who wins games. Breaks up the monotony."

Kaoru sobered a bit when Ken mentioned his contacts, but he had her curious again. "Do you bet money? I can't see that it would be worth that much to you." She observed, watching as Ken started loading their luggage onto the trolley.

"Sometimes. More likely we do a dare to keep it fun."

"A dare? Give me an example."

"Once I lost and I had to stalk the most skilled hunter of the time for a night without him knowing. That was interesting. I almost had a stake through my heart that time." Ken chuckled.

Kaoru looked at him incredulously. "I hope you've grown up a little since then. That was immature and you could've died."

Ken shrugged. "So? It was worth it for the rush of exhilaration that instant I thought he'd discovered me. You haven't grown out of roller coasters, have you?" he asked, favoring her with a glance that was almost amused. He supposed it was kind of endearing the way she fussed over him sometimes, if still annoying.

"No. I haven't. But that's completely different from risking my life stalking some hunter who's out to kill me."

"People have died on roller coasters", Ken said mildly, steering the baggage cart through the crowd toward the exit.

"It's not the same. There's a greater chance of a vampire dying stalking a hunter than a human dying riding a roller coaster, and you know it," Kaoru told him firmly as she followed after Ken. "Don't try to play it off. You have to promise me that you won't bet anymore, Ken, at least not while I'm around."

"No. If I need information and the best way is to bet, then that is what I'm going to do and nothing you can say is going to stop me." Ken rolled his eyes, glad Kaoru couldn't see as his back was toward her. He could feel the strength of her frown beating against his back and almost grimaced. He didn't think he was up for another silent treatment, but he was not going to promise her what she wanted only to break his promise. She might never trust him again if he did. So if she didn't decide to back off then they would just have to both be unhappy for a while, until she caved in. But Kaoru seemed to know when no was no and when she could mess with him. She was silent until they reached the oppressive heat of the LA night.

"Wow. It's a lot worse here," she commented, shrugging out of her jacket. "Nicer inside. How about I go wait inside until you get a cab?" she suggested, half teasing.

"Um. No." Ken raised his arm in the air and two cabs came flying towards him. They somehow managed to avoid a fender bender, the winner pulling up in on the curb in front of Ken, the loser beeping its horn loudly and driving away in a cloud of exhaust.

"Cabs always ignore me," Kaoru sulked.

"Help me load the bags into the trunk," Ken commanded, ignoring her sulking and nodding to the driver.

I don't like this, Ken. Why are the humans strapping themselves into those giant steel tracks?

It's an amusement park. That's what they come here to do.

But they're screaming.

They're not scared. The worst thing that happens to them is they get an upset stomach and puke.

But those steel cars could flip over. Hey! We're in line for one of those crazy rides!

Yes we are. And you're going on too.

There's no way in hell I'm going on that!

Stop staring at it. You'll sike yourself out. And don't be a baby. Seven year old children are dying to go on it. You'll live.

There's something wrong with this generation…

"I can't believe you wouldn't let me into the dealership with you, Ken. What was I going to do, mess up your bargaining strategy? You're always leaving me behind."

"Why are you so bitchy lately?" Ken asked bluntly, shifting the car into third gear as they sped along a highway.

"You've got a lot of nerve. You act like you've got PMS 24/7," Kaoru muttered. Los Angeles was NOT agreeing with her. The taxi driver had been horrible, she was coughing every few minutes from the bad air, and Ken was back to being bossy and egotistical. And he had just said she was bitchy! She had half a mind to just leave him during the day. But where would she go? And who in their right mind would want to leave Ken anyway? Sou had never taken her to LA for a relaxing vacation mixing with the movie stars and maybe getting discovered. Well Ken wasn't either. What a choice in men she was left with.

Wait, Sou was the perfect boyfriend. He was nice, normal. When he went out with the guys he called her if it was going to conflict with their plans. He was human. Well Ken, if that was his real name, used to be human. There was a chance that Sou could be turned into a vampire or something. Then who would she like better? That situation would really suck. Hopefully Ken would never meet Sou and Sou would never know about Ken. Ken didn't seem to care about Sou, at least he hadn't said anything about him to her. With the way he was acting now, it was a wonder he didn't drop her by the side of the road somewhere and call it a night. She wouldn't be surprised if he did, hurt, but not surprised.

"Something's bugging you," Ken observed.

Kaoru frowned and turned her face away, staring at her reflection in the window. "I'm fine. Where are we going?"

"The car dealer happened to have a brother who owns an apartment building. He called and told him we were coming. That's where we're staying for the next few days."

"Why not a hotel?" Kaoru asked, not really interested in the reason.

"It's cheaper this way. I don't have enough money left to pay for a hotel and food in a restaurant every night. Buy some supplies for yourself this afternoon."

Kaoru sighed. "Fine. Do you need anything? I don't remember ever seeing you eat."

"Just get what you need for yourself. I'll go and feed tomorrow when I first wake," Ken answered, thinking of a nice healthy piece of livestock and the feel of its veins pulsing under his teeth right before he-

"How much longer until we get there?" Kaoru broke into this thoughts, her tone irate. "I'm tired and I want to go to sleep."

He sighed, too quiet for her to hear. "Catch as much as you can in the car then. We've still got a half hour drive."

He watched as she used her jacket for a pillow and curled up, her back to him. She had a nice ass. He stopped himself from thinking any further and turned his concentration back to the road.

Well here's the long awaited Chapter 5 of Silver Cross. I hope it was worth the wait. Tell me what you thought. It was kind of slow in the action department, but things will definitely be picking up soon, like the next chapter. Not too much Ken and Kaoru WAFF here, but there was a little in the beginning right? Again, PLEASE tell me what you thought. Your feedback is VERY appreciated. Love, love, love,

Aryanne.

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