Tsuki had to focus hard on matching her breathing to the demon above her. His blade pressed dangerously under her chin. She desperately needed air after that fight. So she carefully inhaled when he did to avoid impaling herself during her deep breaths. His red eyes were boring into hers and the animosity there nearly incited Tsuki to struggle. Nearly. He was right and she was no fool. She survived by weighting out her options and knowing when the odds were and weren't in her favor.

No matter how she looked at it, this guy had her beat. Closing her eyes, Tsuki laid out her options one more time, to make sure that she wasn't missing something vital. Hell, she was missing a load of vital information. She had no idea who this ninja leaning over her was. Or what his true goal was. All she knew was he was faster than her, stronger than her, and smarter than her. Well, almost smarter. He had her at a disadvantage right now, but that was luck. Or at least that's what she told herself.

Suddenly the beast above her chuckled and Tsuki open her eyes to stared into red ones again. He was smirking and the look on his face, there was one word for it…amused. As if he found her entertaining. The anger Tsuki was barely containing spewed forth from her eyes anew and her face twisted into a sneer. Before she stooped to the unladylike act of spitting in her captor's face, his accomplice spoke.

"Now that we finally have your undivided attention Mizushima, perhaps we can talk peacefully."

Earlier that day

"Is this the mouth that promised such disgusting things?" Tsuki had her hands firmly gripping her friend's face and was pulling the cheeks painfully, while Yuki, wiggling, tried to break free.

"Awwww, Tsuki! What if you stretch my face and it stays this way?" whined the taller girl. Tsuki groaned at how silly the situation looked. Yuki was at least a foot taller with red streaks through inky black hair. With her piercings, she looked like a poster child for either a Yanki or a member of a visual kei band. Tsuki was more of a pixie or loli type at best and androgynous at worse. Too short, too cute, and it didn't fit well with her personality. To see the ever so adorable chibi abusing the gangster was absurd.

"I'm not the one that lied and set up a group blind date." Tsuki glared at her friend before finally letting go and stalking off back toward the station. "I'm not up for this type of thing."

"Oh come on!" The whiny one eye rolled and yanked her diminutive pal back by the collar of her denim vest. "You're too old to be a shy maiden." Yuki leaned down and pointed her finger at Tsuki's round face. "Those features have lasted longer than most girls, but they won't last forever. It's high time you started acting your age."

Tsuki snorted and jerked free of Yuki's grasp. "Yeah, and what does your date have to do with my age, huh?" Without any other logic to support her Yuki called on her final weapon, desperation. She crumpled on the ground and openly wept. Huge body wracking sobs and copious amount of tears complete with IMAX quality shrieks. Two seconds into her hysterics and everyone on the street had stopped to stare at the pair. Tsuki immediately clamped a hand over her theatrical friend's mouth and hauled her into the cafe they previously been standing in front of. "Turn off the freaking water works, NOW!" Tsuki hissed vehemently.

Yuki abruptly stopped and posed with a cocky grin. "You do this gokon or I take these tears and follow you around for the rest of the night." Tsuki smacked herself with her palm across her face and wondered why her as she gestured for Yuki to lead the way and pick a table.

"Bitch."

"Pot." Both girls laughed at their joke and Yuki started looking around for a good table. "Oh, they're early." And Yuki gestured to a booth with two good-looking guys. One of them caught her eye and waved politely. "Oh my gawd, he's seriously sexy! Let's go." Without a second thought, she began dragging Tsuki across the café.

"Jeez woman, contain yourself. You sound like a deprived pre-teen. Who exactly in this duo needs to act their age?" Tsuki grabbed on to her hat, to keep it from falling off, while Yuki tugged. When they got to the table, Yuki and her date made introductions. Then everyone silently sized everyone else up. The guy that wasn't Yuki's looked directly into Tsuki's eyes, scanned her head to toe, and looked her in the eye again before turning his head away and grunting softly. 'Why this smug S.O.B.'

Tsuki would be the first to admit, she wasn't a normal looking girl with her somewhat boyish looks, but she was cute gawddammit. Glancing surreptitiously at her appearance in the window before sitting down, Tsuki saw nothing wrong with her appearance. She was wearing a wide brim fedora, a black denim vest over an artistic tee, cropped blue jeans that ended at her knees, a couple of chains, and sneakers. She thought it was a charming play on her best features: boyish, yet cute.

The rest of the evening was boring and a disaster as far as both girls were concerned. Yuki's date, whom Tsuki dubbed Red, seemed to be paying an awful lot of attention to Tsuki. He kept asking her questions and trying to get her to open up. He wasn't rude or inattentive to Yuki, but both girls noted his marked attention. The other guy, whom Tsuki dubbed Spike, sat at the table almost in near silence, except for grunts or snorts of derision. Who did this guy think he was with all black apparel and a freaking bandana wrapped around his head. He was also unnerving because he stared at her so intently.

After half an hour, Tsuki was ready to stab the stare-er in the eye with her fork and she had begun rudely ignoring Yuki's date's questions. Thankfully, the guy took the hint and soon after excused himself for another appointment taking his creepy friend with him. Tsuki took a long sip of her coffee and listened to her friend sigh. "Well, that sucked."

"Hmm, can't argue there." It seemed unnecessary to say I told you so, especially since she hadn't explicitly told her friend these things didn't really work. Sadly, Yuki was aching for want of love and tended to be naïve about these things. She was looking, and looking Hard, for love. Tsuki had a very different opinion of love and romance, so when it came to this one area she was at a loss as to how to comfort her friend. Neither could she simply ignore her friend's problem.

Silence reigned as the girls settled the bill and started back to the train station. Yuki sulked and Tsuki contemplated on the train ride. She wouldn't lie, but she could be supportive. In her own warped way. "I don't believe in love and romance you know. But I don't believe in string theory either."

This time Yuki face-palmed. "I love it when you speak geek, but I'm not so depressed that I need you to cheer me up. Not that I have any clue how that was supposed to cheer me up."

"I'm saying," Tsuki raised her voice to over-ride her friend. "that although string theory hasn't be proven, a lot of people believe in it. There are people dedicating their lives to researching it."

The girls rode in quiet until they neared Tsuki's stop and finally Yuki gave up. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Let's just say I support your research of string theory, and hope one day you prove my view of the universe wrong."

Yuki stared at Tsuki for a moment before giving her pint-sized friend a big hug. "And what exactly is your view of the universe?"

"Well I'm not sure. But I mostly believe in the Big Bang. Hopefully, my universe will be full of them." Tsuki smirked at her friend and stepped off as the door opened. Yuki burst out laughing and held onto her sides.

"Eww, you're such a little devil." Yuki swiped her eyes of tears and quickly called out before the doors closed. "But you're an angel too." Both girls waved until the train took off from the platform.

Tsuki started walking home and didn't sense anything out of the ordinary until she got to her street. The crowds had thinned out as she walked away from the station, but there were two people walking behind her. She could feel them watching her. They could be heading the same way, but Tsuki lived at the small apartment that dead-ended the street. No one should be walking back here unless he or she lived there.

Risking a glance behind her, Tsuki checked to see if she recognized a neighbor. But the street behind her was empty. There was nobody there. She stopped walking and searched the small street. Had she imagined the footsteps, or had they gone into one of the lots before she looked. Shrugging, Tsuki turned and finished her trek home.

She entered her 46 square-meter apartment and locked the door. She slid out her shoes and started down the narrow hall to the living room, when she heard a knock at the door. Must be her snoopy landlady, she always watched for tenants and attacked with lightening quick reflexes. It was with an obsequious smile that Tsuki swore killed a tiny bit of her soul that she opened her door preparing for ever-so-polite battle. To her surprise, it wasn't her landlady.

Tsuki narrowed her eyes and addressed the knocker without an ounce of civility. "Yo, Red. Mind telling me what you're doing knocking on my door?"

The guy laughed and smiled but looked at ill ease. "Ha, actually my name is Shui..."

"I don't care what your name is creep-show." Tsuki cut in ruthlessly. "I didn't care an hour ago and I really don't care now. Maybe you didn't get the vibe earlier at the café, but I'm not interested and I don't do stalkers." Tsuki went to slam the door in the pervert's face but found that she couldn't. She glanced up and saw a hand holding the door from moving an inch.

Red wasn't smiling anymore and Tsuki got the vibe that this guy could be very dangerous. Still his tone was the same smooth and cultured notes that she'd heard at the café. "I'm sorry, but I think there's been a misunderstanding. We need to speak and it would be better in private." Tsuki didn't acquiesce but Red exerted force and pushed the door further. That surprised Tsuki. This guy should not have been stronger than her.

A whisper of awareness shot through her as he took a step into the apartment. Tsuki attacked with a teep kick that knocked the guy right back out the doorway. Then she slammed the door shut. She stood on the tips of her toes and peered through the peephole to survey her handiwork. Red was lightly dusting off his jacket as if the kick hadn't fazed him. Her kicks weren't very strong, but he should have at least been rubbing his side. She strongly suspected that the force of the kick hadn't ejected him from the doorway, only the shock at being kicked.

It didn't take any more evidence to convince Tsuki of what she was dealing with. It was time to start planning and stop reacting. Before she could begin to formulate a plan, Tsuki felt something cold and heavy lay across her shoulder and press against the side of her neck. A voice spoke very close behind her. "It will take more than a flimsy door to keep us out, onna."

Tsuki couldn't keep the snide remark back, "Spike, good to see you too. You're just as stealthy and quick as I assumed you'd be." Raising her hands and moving slowly, Tsuki turned and faced her intruder. "A little too quick for a human, so I'm guessing a demon."

The man snorted unimpressed. "It's not as if I was masking my aura or anything. " He shrugged. Then using the sword pressed against her neck, prodded Tsuki away from the door. They continued moving and eventually Spike was at the door. Using his free hand, he let Red in. Then prodded her backward into the living area.

The apartment was tiny and Tsuki was very familiar with its layout. So as she walked she closed eyes and started weighting her possibilities. She settled on the one that required the least effort with the most results. She opened her eyes and made her way to the center of the living room. There she stood with arms raised and waited for her chance.

"I'm sorry about this. Under different circumstances we wouldn't be taking such harsh measures."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Red. Mind asking your friend to put down the weapon? It's not very sportsman-like. It is two-on-one after all."

"Not a chance." Spike replied before his partner could. "Hn. I have no doubt in my mind that you couldn't defeat one of us, let alone the both of us. But this way is a lot faster." ' Well that didn't work.' Tsuki groaned and glared at Spike. If she was going to launch her plan, she needed to be sure that he wouldn't just lob her head off. But apparently, the cocky bastard wasn't going to let her get an opening. Actually, looking at him, he wasn't that much taller than her. Tsuki developed an idea.

"Whatever, shorty. You must feel like a mighty big man wielding a sword to boss around a girl that's even shorter than you." Spike bared his teeth, but remained silent. Red however, looked …mildly confused. Tsuki continued raving, relying on her desired outcome. "And don't think that I can't tell that you're over-compensating. Not only do you need to bring something," Tsuki flicked one finger against the blade, "long and hard to get the job done, you had to bring a pal too." The short guy was starting to growl and the tall one looked like he was torn between laughing and putting an end to the absurd conversation. Honestly, Tsuki was nervous. There was a chance her plan could back fire and Tiny would just kill her now. 'Given the stats on demon with necrophilia leanings, I'll bank there's only a 3% chance of that.'

'There's nothing left but to keep pushing.' "Feh. And FYI, you shinobi looking freak! You say that you can take me, but as long as you're hiding behind that sword, there's no way to prove it." Tsuki mustered as much contempt and disgust as she could into her voice. "A man defending himself with a katana against an unarmed woman… I don't care what you do to me tonight, you'll always be a" The last word never passed by her lips.

He moved so fast that Tsuki didn't even have time to respond. One moment she was running off at the mouth and the next, suspended in the air held by her throat. Red responded quickly, "Hiei!"

Tsuki's feet kicked uselessly, as if trying to find the ground they'd left behind, and her lungs screamed. Since she been mid-tirade when he choked off her air supply, she was already in desperate need of oxygen. He shook her back and forth roughly and before he dropped her at his friend's urging. "There has been a misunderstanding, onna. NO one is here to touch you." Even though Tsuki was more concerned with wheezing, she still heard the utter disgust in his voice when he spoke about touching her. 'So they don't want sex…but whatever they want it can't be good.'

Looking down at her coughing and wheezing on the floor. "Don't be stupid again. I can kill you sword or no. Someone like you would never stand a chance." He sheathed his katana, reached down and pulled her off the floor by her collar. Once she was standing on her own two feet. He retreated slowly to his friend's side. As if he knew, he didn't have to guard himself against her. "Now shut up and behave."

'NOW!' "MIASMA!" It was if a smoke bomb detonated in the middle of the room. A thick purple cloud of smoke exploded from Tsuki and enveloped the whole room. Tsuki immediately dodged to the side, just in case one of them rushed through the smoke to where she was standing. She could hear the two coughing and choking in the mist. She could breathe in the cloud but her visibility was reduced just as much as the intruders were. To be safe, she'd had to locate them in the miasma and make sure they went down. She listened for the coughing to pinpoint her target and charged. Only when she was a foot away did she actually see the long red hair. She kicked but he dodged away and deeper into the cloud.

"Running won't do any good, Red." Tsuki called through the mist as she walked slowly through the room. "This is my ability. And it's particularly effective in small enclosed spaces." There was coughing coming from the right of her, so she turned and followed. "It won't dissipate without more air and space for diffusion." Tsuki was close to the coughing and launched another teep kick. It connected with someone and sent him flying through the mist. She heard him collide with the wall. "Give up, get out, or else."

"Or else what?" Judging from the voice and direction, she must have kicked Red. "You'll have to…cough cough cough...excuse me, but… cough cough cough… this seems like a stalling measure." This time Tsuki moved slowly and didn't response. She wouldn't give him any indication that a knock out strike was about to occur. When she finally crept up behind him, she jumped on his back and wrapped her hands around his nose. Simultaneously she said "Sleep!" and he cried, "Now!"

Red twisted his head away from her hands and avoiding getting a dose of gas in the face, as the other guy yanked open the door to the balcony. Almost immediately, the cloud began clearing, taking away the smothering smoke and returning visibility. Tsuki almost screamed in frustration. Red tried to twist and grab her, but Tsuki used him like a spring board and jumped backward deeper into the receding mist. Soon it would fade completely; it wouldn't shield her for long. She needed a new plan.

Tsuki attempted to shut her eyes to concentrate, but in the thin smoke she saw the attack coming. Spike emerged out of the mist and sliced at her with his sword. For a brief moment, they looked at each other. 'Challenge accepted.' "Okay, you and me, for real this time Ninja-kun."

"Hn." He sheathed his blade.

"Feh."

Then they disappeared. Red watched the battle from his position near the balcony. The mist was still thick in places, and it looked like his friend had found a match for his speed, so it was hard to follow the action. One moment he would see Tsuki, then his friend, then she'd appear behind him, then he would disappear and so would she. The cycle continued. At one point, he lingered too long and Tsuki latched on to him and delivered a knee to his temple. After that, the pace of the battle changed. Tsuki would flit about all over the room. No matter, how fast or far she moved each moment, Red's friend pressed in behind her.

At first, this bewildered Tsuki. He didn't land many hits, but she wasn't built to withstand punishment. And this particular demon wasn't weak at all. 'Why is he faster all of a sudden?' Almost as if summoned, he appeared right in her path as she was moving forward. She looked into his face and her steps faltered. There was another eye in the center of his head. 'A Jagan-eye!' He started delivering lightening quick punches and Tsuki just couldn't keep up. Every time she tried to retreat away, he appeared directly in her path. Until…

One punch lifted her off her feet and while she was in the air, he jumped higher than her and kicked her back down. Tsuki landed in a painful heap. The wind was knocked out of her, and she couldn't seem to breathe yet. Her brain screamed at her to move, but her body wouldn't respond. When she cracked her eyes open from her face-up prone position, she was staring at Spike. "You lose." Tsuki screamed in anger and surged up to fight more. But a now familiar katana forced her back down. "Don't be stupid." Suddenly he dropped to one knee and coughed. Luckily he controlled his arm and avoiding skewing her when he dropped. Tsuki could see that he was suffering, he was very poisoned from her miasma. Truthfully, if he didn't have the Jagan he wouldn't have won this battle. He was breathing just as raggedly as she was.

But she had lost the fight. And now she would have to deal with the consequences.