02 — No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Fangtasia was packed with vampires when they arrived. A cacophony of voices rose up as everyone started talking at once, vying for his attention. Curious stares were thrown Kagome's way, but Souta discouraged them with a glare.

Stepping on the platform for his 'throne', he stared at his minions until the mob slowly quieted.

"The witches pose a bigger threat than we initially thought. Last night, they sent a booby-trapped witch whom Chow fell prey to. Today during daylight, we had a number of casualties due to a spell they cast. I suspect they have a necromancer in their coven; what happened earlier is similar to one that happened centuries ago." He held up a hand to staunch the growing murmurs. "Fortunately, we have a way to combat the problem this time around." Grabbing an amulet, he held it aloft. "This is an omamori, specifically one to ward off ill will. It has already proven to be capable of warding off necromantic energy and enabled Souta here," he indicated the boy, "to be free of the terrible curse that forced some of us to meet the sun."

"I've never seen that kid before," a random vampire in the crowd said. "Who is he?"

"He is my little brother," Eric replied. "And this is his sister, Kagome. She is Mine."

Not even crickets dared to make a sound.

"You will be given one omamori each. It will be effective for a year, but never open it or else it'll lose its magic. When the year is done, return it to us or burn it, do not throw it away in the trash. Keep it with you at all times—you never know when you might need it. The first one is free and there're a few extra, but if you want more than one, it'll cost you fifty each," he announced.

"Where did you get them?" another random vamp queried.

"My little brother and his sister made them."

"Why should we waste money on a child's elementary art project?" the walking excrement, Bill Compton, snarked from the back of the crowd.

"We all know how worthless you are, but most of us consider our lives more than, or worth at least, fifty dollars." Eric sighed with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "We haven't tested it against other forms of witchcraft, but with a necromancer on the loose and witches dabbling in necromancy, don't you think at least some protection is better than none? Don't tell me you actually enjoy being powerless against that branch of witchery? I know I don't."

"How do we know it's legit?"

"Kagome is a miko and has personally blessed the amulets."

"Are you going to tell us she's certified?" a bald Asian vampire in the front sneered.

"I don't need to be certified to harness spiritual power," Kagome's sweet smile bellied the flaring pressure that followed. "You can say that it runs in the family."

All the vampires in the front row took a step back. Most of them didn't know what a miko was—or spiritual power, for that matter—but their instincts screamed 'Danger!' at the energy displayed.

"Holy shit!" another vamp with spiky hair, on the left side of the room, exclaimed. "The Sheriff found himself an honest-to-goodness miko? I can't believe it! I thought they were extinct!?"

"We would be happy to provide a demonstration," Souta unleashed his own spiritual pressure, a contrasting blue to his sister's pink.

"B-but you're a vampire!" Spiky goggled at him.

"So are you," Souta's eyebrow lifted.

"And you can still— that's incredible—I've never heard—" Spiky's disbelief rendered him incoherent.

It seemed like Baldie didn't need further convincing after that. "I would like ten more extra, please," he eyed the box in Pam's hand. "Enough for my maker, children, and other incidentals."

Spiky placed his own order, and several enthusiastically elbowed their way to Pam, vying for attention. Their urgency rippled across the crowd, prompting the others into action.

"Settle down, there's enough for everybody!" Pam snarled.

"But I want extra, like those guys!"

Vampires, devolved into a bunch of preschoolers, pushed and shoved their way forward, the crowd rapidly turning into a mob. Outnumbered, Pam slowly backed away, protectively clutching her box. One redheaded female reached a greedy hand forward and came away with burns.

"Form a line and get your one allotted in an orderly manner, or you will get none at all. You can buy your extras after everybody has one," voice as cold as his eyes, Souta announced, a translucent blue shield shimmering around him and Pam.

Eric nodded in approval. "I've sent a search & recon team. We will launch a counterattack no later than tomorrow evening. If you would like to volunteer, contact my Second."

Clancy, his redheaded bar manager, came up to whisper in his ear. Leaving Pam and Souta to their own devices, he took Kagome to his office. A hulk of a were and his favorite telepath were waiting inside the room, talking in low voices.

"To what do I owe this visit?" he said after introductions were made, but the two females were more fascinated with each other than anything else.

"What are you?" Sookie asked, looking at the smaller girl in single-minded curiosity.

Head cocked to the side, brow furrowed in thought, Kagome easily replied, "One hundred percent human, unlike you."

Heads whipped to look at her in surprise. How could she tell? Eric knew there was something other about Sookie, but he had no idea what.

Alcide stepped in from of the blonde female protectively. "Liking them a little young these days, aren't you, Sheriff?"

Kagome looked up, up, and up—he was so tall! And probably at least thrice her body mass. "You might think I look young, but I'm older than you, boyo."

"What did you mean by that? I'm not a hundred percent human?" Sookie's eyes were wide as saucers.

"There's something in your aura…it's sort of similar to something I've seen before in half-humans. Yours…it's not exactly half—more like at least a couple generations removed. Mmm… something elemental. Air and sky."

"What are you talking about, lady?" Alcide scoffed. "Elemental and air and sky and auras. What do you think you are, some kind of psychic?"

"I never said anything about being psychic, wolf." Blue eyes narrowed at him.

"Wha—How'd you—" his mouth opened and closed. Unable to form words, he stared daggers at Eric instead. "What have you been telling her, blabbermouth?"

"I haven't told her anything, Herveaux. She figured it out all by herself. My Pet has many talents."

"You say you're human, and I'm a telepath, but I can't read your mind at all. You're not a void like the vampires, but I can't get a single peep out of you."

"You can read minds?" Kagome's face lit up with honest awe. "I spend a lot of time with an empath and have learned to shield or else he could tell when I'm hungry or even when I need to go to the bathroom," she shuddered in remembrance. "I've never met a telepath before, but I guess my shields hold up to mind-reading, too."

"As fascinating as this conversation is, did you come here just to interrogate me and mine or did you actually have some kind of purpose?"

Sookie looked unwilling to halt the current flow of their discussion, but Alcide was ready to get down to business. "The leader of the coven that's trying to move in on your turf isn't just a witch—she and her brother are also weres, and they're trying to usurp Pack territory, too. They've already taken out a few of our members, including our Beta today."

Reluctantly dragging her gaze from the smaller girl, Sookie continued, "Lafayette didn't come home last night and when Tara went to find him, she got sucked into their weird cult, too. They said he has some kind of valuable power they could use against vampires and added him to their group whether he wanted to join or not. At first they kept him there by force, but now they've got Tara as leverage. She was able to sneak a hysterical phone call to me today but as far as she could tell, the witches are jacked up on V. It gives them an extra punch, and doubly so for their leader Marnie Stonebrook—who goes by Hallow, her brother Mark, and his wife Antonia, a powerful witch who is also very talented in necromancy."

"As if one necromancer wasn't enough," Eric muttered disgustedly.

"Lafayette gave them a big power boost and they decided to take him out for a test drive."

"Must've been a heck of a power boost," Alcide whistled. "It's all over the fucking news."

An almost magnetic charge prevented Eric from replying. Fuck, not again. Familiar tendrils reached for his mind, vying for control. But as he braced himself for impact, the spell faltered, sliding completely off. Echoes of chanting still lingered in the air, but he no longer felt the need to obey them.

Glassy-eyed look gone, he turned to Kagome. "Your brother was right—it sputtered!" unable to contain his excitement, he picked her up, spun her around, and planted a sound smack on her lips. Uncaring of his gaping audience, he zipped to the main floor, clutching his new favorite person in his arms. "It worked!" he announced to the room full of vampires.

No one paid him any attention.

"Settle down! Settle down!" a besieged Souta snapped from the stage. "We've ran out of omamori for tonight, but come back tomorrow if you still want some. We'll make more!" the last part was said in a shout, to be heard above the uproar. "All of you already have at least one each, that should be enough! As we all just experienced first-hand. Don't be greedy, keep it with you at all times and you're covered." Face getting darker, he added, "And if you don't stop acting like infants, I'll make sure you never get one ever again. And just so you know, stealing someone else's stash reverses the effect. Instead of protection, you invite curses—I'm looking at you, Goatee."

An exaggeration, but it was enough to catch the crowd's attention, and they followed his narrowed gaze to a goateed vamp whose hand hovered over Spiky's bag of loot.

Spiky gasped. "Why you—!"

"My name's not Goat—urk!" Spiky's hand latched on to his windpipe.

"Take it outside!" Souta ordered, looking like a thundercloud.

Bemused, Eric nodded at Pam and zipped back to his office. "Your brother is quite a little dictator."

Head bobbing weakly, Kagome wobbled to the couch. "Warn me first next time you do that. I need to brace myself or else my stomach tries to rebel."

Sending Eric and Kagome surreptitious glances—which were ignored—Alcide cleared his throat. "As I was saying—before that exciting interruption—thanks to Sookie, the Pack sniffed out their hideout. We're ready to go, but Colonel Flood thought you vamps might want in on the action, especially after today."

A slow, calculating smile lifted the corner of Eric's mouth.

—o—

Kagome listened with half an ear as plans were made. Souta was in the thick of it, listening attentively to everything that came out of his brother's mouth, occasionally offering suggestions. Already, she could see how attached he was getting to the taller blond. Growing up without a father, he had a tendency towards hero-worshipping older brother-figures, and Eric seemed a perfect fit for the role. Tall, handsome, with hair prettier than hers. Sigh. She hadn't seen such a fine specimen of manhood since Sesshoumaru. If only Souta's delusions were true.

Haha, as if.

Shaking out of her daydreams, she made her own preparations for the assault on the coven. The SUV was big enough to fit the four of them—Kagome riding shotgun, Pam and Souta at the back with Clancy the bar manager, and another vampire named Thalia. Extremely standoffish, but Souta kept trying to include her in the conversation anyway. In the rearview mirror, Kagome could see her pick at the piece of paper stuck to her chest—clearly skeptical at its supposed effectiveness despite what she'd witnessed earlier.

"Experimental," Souta and Kagome called it. The pendants and amulets were nice and would last a whole year, but they'd brainstormed and created some doodles on paper that would—hopefully—provide a one-time-use shield for their assault party. Untested, they had no clue how it would hold up to the witches' magic, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thalia wasn't the only guinea pig who received it with doubt, but obediently did what their Sheriff told them.

An abandoned warehouse was the coven's base, and they had to park a couple of blocks away to avoid detection. A ward surrounded the perimeter, preventing supernaturals from entry. Bubba—a decades-old vampire who looked suspiciously like a certain King of Rock n' Roll, Sookie—the only other human, Kagome—human or not wards and shields and the like never seemed to work on her anyway, and Souta—who had the same talent as his sister's to a certain degree—were the only ones able to cross. A quick debate settled the argument of who was going to do what, and Kagome took off with Sookie and Bubba while Souta stayed behind.

When Sookie and Bubba sneaked off to rescue Tara and Lafayette, Kagome floated up to the rafters, scouting for the best position to use her arrows. Defense and long-range attacks were her specialty, while Souta excelled on offense and short-range battles. Though he owned a few well-cared for katana, he only ever used his wooden swords, further leaning more towards the shinai than his bokuto, stating—rather arrogantly, she kept telling him with an accompanying eyeroll—that his precious blades were overkill for 'mere mortals'. Like her bow, his weapons were formidable when infused with spiritual energy, but he found wood to be a better conductor than metal.

Bubba was assigned the task of zipping back to the assault force when Sookie and her friends were out of harm's way—Souta's cue to break the wards and allow the combined forces of weres and vampires to attack the witches, but the battle itself was rather…easy. Arrows rained from above, quick and precise. The coven packed a strong deadly punch with their magic, but the paper shields worked, to an extent—deflecting spells, giving the were or vampire enough time to get up close and deal damage and/or death—although they got less effective, the more abuse they took, burning little by little at each spell that landed. But by the time the papers disintegrated completely, the battle was drawing to a close. The number of combatants were fairly even, but the witches relied heavily on magic. Speed, agility, stamina and sheer ruthlessness tipped the scales for the weres and vampires. Antonia's necromancy wasn't as potent without Lafayette and was rendered useless by the protective pendants. Hallow and Mark, as both magical and were, put up a good fight and lasted the longest, but the odds were stacked against them. Without the Higurashi siblings, perhaps the battle would've been more even, with numerous casualties on both sides. But the duo tipped the scales, and it was a massacre. Whatever injuries the weres and vampires sustained were superficial at best.

It was rather anti-climactic.

"Nice job," bloodlust still lingered, a hazy sheen over his blue eyes when Eric nodded at Kagome.

Refusing to look at the body she knew had an arrow embedded in the forehead, Kagome nodded in acknowledgment. Maybe it was a testament to the sad, lonely life they'd lived since that night years ago, but no longer was she the helpless schoolgirl of the past. Youkai, vampire, were, witch, human, alien or whatever else lurked in a dark alley waiting to attack—they were met with no mercy if they threatened her family. She avoided looking closely at the carnage that littered the warehouse floor, though. Merciless she may be, but there was still a squeamish part of her that shied away from yucky, squishy things like exposed viscera, bugs and other creepy crawlies.

Feeling like a big fat juicy steak being eyed by a starved pitbull, Kagome looked around. Pam was loudly complaining to Souta, berating him for staining her clothes. Souta argued it wasn't his fault the coven wasn't made of sterner stuff. He'd only tried his techniques on vampires intent on taking a bite of his sister before, and they tended to burn and/or disintegrate. How was he supposed to know witches and were-witches/warlocks exploded like piñatas?

Clancy found several vampires in silver, wasting away as their blood slowly drained from their bodies and into blood bags. Among them was Chow, looking emaciated but relieved his ordeal was over. Ignoring the pleading looks from Bill, Sookie was having a tearful reunion with two people who could only be Lafayette and Tara, a stone-faced Alcide standing guard. Eric barked rapid orders and the combined crew systematically erased all evidence of the battle.

Crashing from the adrenaline rush, Kagome found a spot to sit on. Her legs dangled on one side of the crate, but it was the nearest clean surface. Unease skittered in her belly at the glances she received.

"You've earned their respect," explained Eric as he leaned on her crate. "Nobody thought those little pieces of paper would work, but even Thalia is a believer now. If we'd known how effective they were, we wouldn't have needed the weres' assistance. We could've taken them out on our own."

Butterflies fluttered in her tummy at his undivided attention. "I dunno…they packed a lot of magic. We probably would've won in the end, but not without losing several limbs." Unable to hold his gaze for too long, she dropped her own, examining, "Were you hurt anywhere?"

Making room in between her legs, he tilted her chin up. "I'm not sure. I need a volunteer to do a full body inspection. You up for it?"

Eyes wide, Kagome could only gape as his face drew closer. Although she'd assumed that kissing and sex were part of the package when one became a vampire's pet, there'd been no mention of it when Eric explained the particulars of their arrangement earlier. Their master-pet relationship was anything but normal, and she thought he wasn't interested in that. Yes, every time he fed he copped a feel and more, but she chalked it up to reflex. Like a vampire version of Miroku, flirting was probably second nature to him, and his vampiric instincts only exacerbated his urges. He'd never initiated a kiss or anything remotely sexual out of the blue before, sans feeding. It never occurred to her that he might be interested; she wasn't delusional. Maybe he was just leaning closer to whisper?

Mmm, nope. Soft lips slanted over hers decisively. Were you hit with a stray lust spell? she wanted to ask, but couldn't speak around the tongue that slipped passed her open lips to duel with hers. Licking and sucking and teasing little nips, just enough time to allow her to take a breath before returning to explore the cavern of her mouth. Insides melting, her world narrowed down to the two of them. The man was an expert kisser.

"Ugh, not again—GET A ROOM, you two!"

Abruptly shoving away from him, she accidentally bit down hard enough to draw blood. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? I'm so sorry!"

Eric licked his bloody lips, eyes sparkling. "It's fine, already healed—see?"

Ignoring Souta's fake retching sounds, they shared another kiss. Short, with copious amounts of tongue, she was too dizzy with pleasure to notice the faint tang of blood. Limbs the consistency of goo, she was thankful she was sitting down, but a hole to crawl into would've been much appreciated when she discovered their audience. Every gaze in the warehouse was centered on them—except for Souta's, which were shielded behind his hands as he loudly protested the abuse to his poor innocent eyes. Some looked utterly gobsmacked, like that…what was his name again? Average height, dark hair, walked around like he owned the place while having a stick in his arse and always shot moony eyes at Sookie…Phil? Will? And speaking of whom…the telepath and her two friends, plus Alcide had that same wide-eyed expression, too.

Not for the first time Kagome wondered if there was some history between Sookie and Eric that she didn't know about. She didn't see Eric give the busty blonde longing emo looks like that other vamp who sounded like a bad extra from Gone With the Wind, but what did she know? Ex-girlfriend, maybe? The looks she kept receiving from Sookie's inner circle were too loaded to be pure curiosity.

Not that it mattered anyway.

At this point, she'd settle for figuring out what the Sheriff wanted. Did he kiss her because he was high from victory and somehow credited her for that, or something else? As much as she loved his kisses and attention, she'd have to set some ground rules if they were going to be around each other a lot. She wasn't willing to risk a potential friendship and Souta's chances just because his male perfection sent her hormones into a riot.

Pretending indifference to their observers, she checked Pam and Souta for injuries.

"I'm fine, mom," Souta ineffectually ducked her grabby hands. As payback for his teasing, she made sure to fuss over him more than necessary.

"Just minor scratches, but everyone emerged relatively unscathed," Pam reported. "The worst of the lot are the vampires they've been draining. They'll recover eventually, but it'll be a long process for some. Chow was among the lucky ones. If I knew it was going to be this easy I would've just sit this one out to save my wardrobe."

"That one tried to kill Sookie," Souta stared poison at a tall, athletic-looking young woman with short black hair and a narrow face who was nursing her right arm in the corner. "She's lucky I only broke her bones."

"You missed all the drama," Pam drawled. "Alcide found out what Debbie did in Mississippi and abjured her."

"She locked Sookie in a trunk of a car with a starving vampire," Souta supplied helpfully for his sister who was out of the loop. "She's really shady," he switched to Japanese. "I offered to ward Sookie's house in the guise of escorting her home. I don't trust the were not to try to finish the job when she gets Sookie alone."

"How will you get home?" she asked in English.

"Pam will take the SUV. You and I will hitch a ride with the others," Eric replied, having been briefed by Pam.

Aside from the pints of vampire blood, the only other objects of value they found were various spellbooks. There were no magic practitioners in their group who could make use of them, but Eric commandeered half and sent the rest to Colonel Flood. Vampire-Were relations were at an all-time high. After the umpteenth checkup and all signs of battle were cleared, the participants left. They hitched a ride to Fangtasia and reunited with Eric's corvette in the parking lot.

"Where are we going?" Kagome queried, staring at his profile.

"Home for a quick shower and change, but we could go anywhere you like," a knowing smirk curled his lips. "Not all of us have energy shields that could be used like a full-body raincoat to protect against gut splatters, like some people."

Flushing, embarrassed he'd caught her staring, she turned to the scenery whizzing by. "Do you have a girlfriend?" trying for nonchalance, she looked at his reflection on the car window. "Watch the road!"

"No," head swiveling back to the road, he answered. "Never had a 'girlfriend' in my life."

"Are you one of those people who consider boyfriend a weird term and/or consider themselves above such plebian terms," a mocking lilt colored her voice, her gaze speculative, "or do you have relationship issues?"

"Actually, I prefer the term 'lover'," a bit chagrined, his tone might or might not have been a little defensive. "Can you really see me as anyone's boyfriend though?"

"It's just a technical term, Eric," she quoted him in a sing-song, grinning cheekily.

"Minx!" ducking the hand that reached out to pinch her cheek, she blew a raspberry, forcing him to switch tactics. Raising a brow, he teased, "Why? Are you applying for the position?"

Rolling her eyes did nothing to disguise the creeping blush. "Oh please! Like I'm going to fall for that."

"Fall for what?" eyes innocent, he honestly looked confused, but she only shook her head. "I feel like I'm missing something here. Did I say something wrong?"

She gave him a wan smile. "No, sorry for being a downer. That was just me remembering I'm not exactly girlfriend material."

"Why, exactly?"

Refusing to answer, she shrugged.

Undaunted, he asked, "How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Just the one."

His head swiveled back to stare at her. "One?"

Not noticing his eyes were off the road again, she had a faraway look on her face. "Kinda one. I dunno if he really counted, though. He sorta acted like it most of the time even though we never really discussed it, but he was still hung up on his ex-girlfriend and would go to her when she called. So…maybe, but it was mostly one-sided on my part. I wouldn't be surprised if it was all just in my head and he wasn't really into me at all."

A depressing thought, even after all these years. Embarrassing revelation over, she settled for remaining silent for the rest of the drive. Talk about buzz kill. Way to go, Kagome.

Sensing the change of moods, he dogged her steps after they parked in the garage. "No other prospects?"

Relieved she hadn't entirely managed to destroy the light atmosphere, she pondered. "Well…there was this other guy who went around calling me his woman and was extremely vocal about his feelings, but he didn't really show it except for that one time he kidnapped me. I don't think he was really serious, though. I think most of it was so he could thumb his nose at that other guy who was still into his ex. He'd barely exchange a few words with me before he got off tangent and went off fighting with that other guy.

"Oh, and there was also a third one whom I've been schoolmates with for a long time. Really persistent, and really sweet—brought me a lot of presents to improve my health." She reminisced with a sad smile, explaining, "Grandpa used to invent these crazy stories about me having all kinds of diseases and sickness back in the day, and people actually believed him. But we all grew up and he eventually married one of my middle school friends." She shrugged, smiling a bit self-deprecatingly. "It wasn't for a lack of trying, but I'm not really girlfriend material. And after Souta turned, there wasn't really much time for silly frivolities…sooo…that's it."

Forming that kind of attachment to mortals didn't seem ideal anymore. She never really thought about it before, but now she sometimes wondered if this factored into Sesshoumaru's general attitude toward humans. What went through his mind whenever he looked at Rin, knowing her life was but a drop in his well? Treating humans with disdain, beneath his notice and unworthy to be his equals, but eventually falling into the same trap as his father's. How did it feel, to know the girl he'd grown to love like a daughter will eventually wither and die right before his very eyes?

The Dog General was a braver person than she was. He who loved and died for Inuyasha's mother. Most days, the reality of her situation hadn't really sunk in yet, or sometimes she would forget—but the one thing that remained constant was her lack of interest in forming a serious attachment with someone she would outlive by infinity. Pets had even become a taboo subject. Buyo died a few months into their journey and although she and her brother were both animal lovers who couldn't resist cooing over an occasional box of puppies or stray cat, showed absolutely no desire to replace their deceased pet.

"Does that make me the fourth contender?"

"What? Really?" genuinely surprised, she blinked owlishly. Then her gaze turned suspicious. "It's not because of the stuff that I could do, is it? Because if it is, you don't have to put on a show for me. I'll be at your disposal as long as Souta wants to stay."

"It's not because of that," he protested.

"Well it couldn't be because of the blood," voicing her thoughts out loud just as the garage door closed, she got out of the car. "Because the witches are gone now and you can go back to your regularly scheduled diet like before."

"As my Pet, I honestly thought you'd be a bit territorial and expect me to feed exclusively on you and survive on blood bags or artificial blood if you're not on hand."

"Eh? Why would I do that? Isn't our arrangement in name only? You give me the protection of being Yours and take Souta under your wing. In exchange, our powers are at your disposal, and if you need a donor, you can feed from me, too. Otherwise, you're free to choose whomever to drink from and I'm free to—"

Having absolutely no body issues, his suit jacket was off and shirt undone by the time they were through the garage door. Losing her train of thought, Kagome stared a bit dumbly at every inch of skin exposed as they stopped by the laundry room. Shucking his trousers off, he started a wash cycle wearing only his underpants.

"Free to…?" a gentle nudge in the direction of the stairs kept them moving, and he felt a keen sense of satisfaction at the look on her face. Earlier, he'd given her his blood on the sly, but he still couldn't feel her emotions.

Maybe it hadn't been enough to establish a connection? Perhaps it needed more time for the link to kick in? He wasn't above using his blood to gain a much needed advantage. If he had his way…

It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who could be rendered speechless, though. Ever since the siblings' introduction last night, he'd felt off kilter, out of his game. Desperate to catch the fish but not knowing with what to bait the hook with. Each time he thought he had her pegged, she did something unexpected. But at the moment, her response only seemed to be catatonia. In her dreamlike state, he easily maneuvered her to his room and into the bathroom. Naked, he poked her in the cheeks and had to repeat his questions a few times.

"What are you doing!" blinking rapidly, she snapped out of her haze.

"Taking a shower," he stepped into the water, only bothering to close the curtains halfway.

"But I…what are you…why… gah!" like a magnet, her eyes drifted south, widening into saucers. Was it supposed to look like that?

"You were saying…?"

It required a supreme act of will to drag her eyes up. "What?" Good lord it was as long as her arm!

"…you're free to choose whomever to drink from and I'm free to…"

"Um…" was she drooling? Because that would be embarrassing.

"Would you like to join me?"

The amusement in his tone was like a cold bucket of water. "No, thank you," she answered primly. Thankfully, her memory came to the rescue. "Free to get a boyfriend, if I wanted to."

Hands paused in the process of shampooing his hair, one eye scrutinized her, the other hidden under a veil of bubbles. "What."

Pretending she too could ignore the state of his undress if he wasn't bothered by it, she put the toilet lid down and made herself comfortable. Wrong move, she strangled another rising blush. It put her at perfect eye level with his crotch. "Is that not allowed?" she asked his bellybutton. "Because I would like to point out that you didn't say so when we made this arrangement earlier and if so, would like to lodge a complaint."

"Why? Do you already have your eye on someone in particular?"

Unaware of the terse note in his voice, she teased, "Welllll…not that I've met that many people yet, but Alcide seemed pretty cute. I kinda have a thing for canines." Unwittingly saving the wolf's life, she added, "He seemed pretty interested in Sookie though, so he's out. Are they a couple?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm not up to date with the local dating gossip," he answered through gritted teeth as he rinsed off.

"Oh, is this a sensitive subject for you?" she eyed him sympathetically. "Is Sookie your ex-girlfriend?"

Shrugging, he admitted, "No. In the effort for full disclosure, she intrigued me, but she was with Bill Compton at the time and she didn't reciprocate the feeling. I heard earlier they're not together anymore, but my interests lay elsewhere now." The significant look that he shot her was met with a blank one.

Blinking uncomprehendingly, she stared at him for a moment until a slow look of disbelief dawned on her face. "Who, me?!"

"Yes," he smiled.

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

"For real now?"

"Is it really hard to believe?" he grew a little annoyed.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" she asked, not without a little suspicion.

Finished, he shut the water off and turned to her. "Does this look like a joke to you?" he asked as he stroked himself from root to tip.

Unwilling to distract herself with the hypnotic movement of his hand, she looked him in the eye despite the crick in her neck. "I'm sure there's a long line of women willing to help you with your…um…problem."

"I'm only interested in you, Kagome." Not bothering to cover himself as he toweled off, he stood directly in front of her. "Would you like to kiss it?" She almost headbutted his groin in her haste to stand up. A hand snaked around her waist to prevent her from fleeing, ignoring her pleas to let her go and cursing his unfair super strength. "I promise he won't bite. You, though, are free to nibble and suck all you like."

"This isn't funny, Eric," she bounced on the bed with a squeak. When he merely smiled and opened his closet, she sat up, staring death at him.

"Blue balls never is," he quickly dressed.

"You're not still hung up on an ex-love who might or might not have been revived as a soul-leeching clay zombie…are you?"

Shaking his head, he turned to stare at her. "What is with you and zombies?"

She shrugged. "You don't even know me. We've only known each other for two nights."

"I know enough, and I know I want you," in a blink, he pinned her to the mattress.

"Enough?"

"Lineage is easy to trace once you have access to the family registry," he rattled off the names and dates of birth and death of her father, mother, and grandparents on both sides. Apparently, combined with near photographic memory, he could list her relatives dating back a few centuries, complete with the more important notable events. "You and your brother lead surprisingly boring lives," he continued. "Nothing really raises a red flag, except for Souta being the prime suspect in your mother and grandfather's murders."

"That was Appius and Alexei," her measly strength was no match for his, but that didn't stop her from grabbing a handful of hair to stall the mouth aiming for her neck.

Thwarted, he grinned unrepentantly. "Didn't they eventually drop the charges though? Lack of evidence despite Souta's suspicious disappearance."

"We left the country as soon as Souta was able, and I never liked those detectives in the first place." At his questioning look, she shared, "We stowed away on a ship to China and backpacked from there. Souta couldn't place Appius' accent, but he recalled Alexei's and thought Russia was a good place to start as any. Bet you your snooping didn't tell you that, huh?" she said with a petulant tongue out.

When he nipped at it playfully, she eeped and used both hands to push his head away. Laughing, he lifted from the bed, carrying her close as he walked downstairs. There was something to be said about how much he enjoyed the feeling of her legs wrapped around his waist. "No other interesting tidbits, unless you count your numerous absences during middle school, and there was that time the roof of your gymnasium caved in… Were you in the middle of a play?"

"A sign from the heavens that I'm not actress material," she admitted dryly. "Where are we going?"

Hands strayed to parts unnecessary when he placed her in the car and buckled her in. "I thought we'd go shopping."

The streets were empty, the stars barely visible over the harsh glare of street lights. "Ooh, good idea! Can we go to a Wal-Mart? They should have everything we need in one place. Rice and bath salts and ice cream and a few small appliances that your surprisingly well-stocked kitchen doesn't have."

"You could make a list and I'll email it to my day man. He'll have everything ready by the time you wake up tomorrow," he looked apprehensive. "I was thinking more along the lines of clothes. Do you have enough that are bar-appropriate?"

"Hm," looking at her standard leggings and oversized sweater dress paired with cute but simple flats—more of a comfort over fashion person (and besides, rolled up leggings took way less space than jeans)—she could see his point. "I guess now that we're staying in one place, we could afford to get more clothes than those that would fit our luggage…and I guess we could spare some from the budget so long as I find a job sooner or later."

"You also have that money from tonight. There were a little over a thousand made, and half were given as freebies. The other half sold out, a lot of greedy bastards ordering in bulk, and Pam said the promise of more tomorrow was the only thing that prevented a riot."

"Eh? Oh…well, Pam provided the materials, Souta and I only did the labor, so maybe we could split the profits."

"No, it belongs to you. Pam has a lot of spare fabric just lying around or in storage, she won't miss what you used tonight."

Five hundred times fifty…her eyes rounded at the amount. "Speaking of which, I need to get more. Some brocaded fabric would be nice. Fifty dollars is way overpriced for those little things, but on such short notice, we could give it to them in prettier cloth for tomorrow night at least." Grandpa sold handmade shrine trinkets for cheap, the most expensive going for (roughly converted) ten dollars a pop—fifteen, at most, for his specially made arrows. None of them were like the generic, most basic ones she and Souta made tonight.

"Vampires wouldn't care if it were made of gold or dirt, as long as it works. That's cheap compared to the protection they're getting now that necromancers seem like a dime a dozen now," he was still in disbelief at how one was right under his nose the whole time and didn't even know about it. "I'll talk to Clancy about adding it to the website. I'm sure we can increase the price and offer to ship it everywhere."

"Increase the… Why would you do that!? It's already expensive as it is! A first-grader could make a prettier one," she ended with embarrassed laughter. Grandpa was probably laughing himself sick in the afterlife.

"But will it work as good as yours?" he tweaked her nose. "With the level of paranoia Hallow's stunt caused, vampires will be lining up just to get one. And the beauty of it all is they have to renew it every year, so you'll have a steady source of income. You don't have to look for a job elsewhere, but if you really insist on working, I'll hire you as my bodyguard."

Mumbling under her breath, she rolled her eyes. "Pervert."

In the end, despite his clear reluctance, Kagome got her way. He stalked the aisles of Wal-Mart beside her, babbling about how she missed the comforts of home and marveled at the selection as she bought enough items to fill two carts. Thankfully, he didn't bring the corvette because who knows how they would've fit all of it in there. Pam, he decided, would be the one to tackle the task of outfitting the siblings in appropriate fashion. When asked, he'd cite the upcoming Vampire Summit as an excuse. Not that he had any complaints about how they dressed themselves, Kagome in particular, but first impressions were important and no one was going to look down on Kagome and their brother because of their clothes. Not if he could help it. He hoped she wasn't one of those persnickety humans who got their dander up whenever they received gifts—or worse—got their prides damaged because they considered it 'charity'.

He was relieved they didn't stay long, but she still paid—despite his insistence—and they were driving back home when he remembered that she didn't answer his earlier question. She didn't say no either, he reflected, but where exactly did that leave them? He could hardly pass her a note with checkboxes for yes and no, and asking again would make him look desperate.

"Have you ever thought of becoming a vampire?" he asked instead.

She shook her head. "Not really. I could certainly appreciate the enhanced speed and strength, but if I become a vampire, who's going to feed my brother? Unless vampires could feed from other vampires…? Can you survive on the blood of other vampires?"

"Technically, we can, but it's very rare to find vampires feeding on other vampires. You'd have to trust each other implicitly and hope the other doesn't take advantage of your vulnerability to slit your throat or drive a stake through your heart at close range. There's also the unfortunate, depending on how you see it, side-effect of gaining each others' strengths and/or weaknesses. In fact, you'll be lucky to walk away in a similar state as before you fed from or got fed on. There is almost a leech-like effect when we feed from our own kind, and the stronger/older one doesn't automatically come out on top. It's safer to just steer clear of it."

Humming, she considered that piece of information. "I guess if I could, if I really really really had to, I wouldn't be opposed, but I don't think that'll ever happen. I'm just not vampire material." She'd have to die first, wouldn't she? Until she could get past that hurdle, vampirism was out of her reach. No super strength or speed for her, sadly. "How do you make a vampire, exactly? Souta recalls bits and pieces, and we don't know if we can really trust what we've gathered throughout the years. Is Pam your only child?"

"Vampires who have trouble controlling their bloodlust will find it difficult to sire children. The magic in charge of reanimating vampires is iffy at best, and going against the natural instinct to drain your prey instead of leaving just the smallest amount is difficult. I was many centuries old before I attempted to make my first child and lucked out with Pam." Fascinated with the process, he held her full attention as he explained the details. "What did you do in Russia?"

She seemed to be in a sharing mood, recounting their travels. Language, they learned quickly, was the first big hurdle in their path. Almost as soon as they touched ground in China, they knew they were in way over their heads. "But we learned fast," she said, a little shifty-eyed. Their second encounter with vampires was just as off-putting as the first—one tried to take a chunk out of her before they could even say hello. Rusty from the lack of practice during his captivity and subsequent recuperation, Souta re-mastered his kata quickly and they both found out what happened when you added spiritual energy, shinai and a vampire in bloodlust.

It turned out that the guy was some sort of big shot, with many vassals who wanted revenge. Basically chased out of China, in the wrong direction thanks to her superb navigation skills, they landed in Nepal and had to detour through India and some parts of the Middle East to climb back up to Russia. Passing the time by experimenting 'doodles on paper', among others, they tried to keep to themselves as much as possible, afraid of accidentally inciting the wrath of an angry mob again.

But super sleuths they were not, and their hunt proved fruitless. Learning about Alexei's human past was interesting, but offered no clues on where they could go next. With no definite destination in mind, they set out for Europe. In Poland, they met a fresh-faced vampire who was covered in blue runic tattoos, whom Eric surprisingly recognized as his old friend Godric.

"I thought he was dead. A lot of the older ones lose their zeal for life the longer they live," he admitted to Kagome, telling her about a vampire named Godfrey who met the sun recently in Texas.

She couldn't fault his assumption. The vampire they met carried an enormous guilt and grief about his existence. Apprehensive at first, he stayed with them for a short time and told them stories around the campfire. An aura of detachment and emptiness hovered around him, but he had been their biggest source of vampire facts—which they might or might not have taken as gospel—until Eric came along, and it was due to some offhand comment Godric made that planted the idea of going to America after vampires 'came out of the coffin'. Up until that point, the Higurashis drifted like a leaf in the wind, nomads with one main purpose and no sense of direction. Lost little orphans still clinging to the concept of home.

But story time had to be cut short once the garage doors closed.

"If you missed anything, call Bobby and he'll get it for you," he reminded as he helped unload her 'new shinies', amused at how much enjoyment she found in something as simple as a rice cooker.

"It would be nice if he knows of an Asian market nearby, but I don't want to trouble him."

"It's his job, Kagome," shaking his head, he told her a bit exasperatedly. "You could send him to Canada for a quick smoothie for all I care, he has to earn his keep somehow. He's extremely overpaid and a bit under worked."

She laughed, thinking he was joking.

"He was my personal assistant before the Revelation, and he literally pissed himself when he found out he'd been working for a vampire all along."

"Noo!"

"You wouldn't think it so funny if it were your carpet he made a puddle on," he added, smiling as she collapsed in giggles.

"Stop! You're just making that up!" she said in between laughs.

Moving quickly, he bodily trapped her on the kitchen counter. "Are you calling me a liar?" So tiny was she that he probably didn't need more than a pinky finger to lift her up to eye-level. "Why, I think I'd have to punish you for that." Learning from earlier, he gave her a moment's notice to brace for super speed. Using his elbows, he trapped her on the bed, tugged her sweater up, and unhooked her bra with expert fingers.

"Do you ever think of anything else?!" she ended with a moan, enjoying the mouth that suckled at a breast. Briefly, he switched sides and then journeyed up to fit his lips to hers. Tongues dueling, she couldn't resist running her hands through that beautiful head of hair as he angled his head over and over. Large fingers stroked her bottom, but she made no move to stop him until he reached for her leggings.

"Shhh," he murmured against her lips. "I won't do anything more tonight, I just want a taste."

A taste of what? she wondered, but he dove for her as soon as he divested her of her panties. Eyes widening, she grabbed two handfuls of blond hair. "No, Eric! It's dirty!" but he merely chuckled and playfully nipped at her inner thigh.

The first lick sent her arching off the bed, letting go of his head in an effort to crabwalk out of his hold. But he held tight, hands firmly holding the tops of her thighs.

Soon, her protests turned into moans.

There was a definite advantage to not needing to breathe anymore.

Unfortunately for her, she still required air, and the gasps and mewls he coaxed from her combined with licking and sucking sounds made for a very lewd soundtrack. Legs propped up on broad shoulders, she flailed helplessly, torn between squeezing the blond head between her thighs and kicking him away. Gently, firmly, one long lick followed by a few short stabs of that expert tongue. Nuzzling and humming and rubbing and oh god that tongue.

Her crisis came in an unexpected rush of pleasure, bringing both hands up to muffle her keening wail.

Allowing her no time to bask in the afterglow, he continued, adding a finger into the mix.

Boneless, weightless, and witless, she lost track of how many times she came. Sometimes he'd bring her to the edge and then pull away, nicking her thighs with his fangs or continuing to lick and suck everything but where it mattered most. He'd wait until she was mindless with need, pleading please please please like a mantra, until he allowed her release.

Other times he'd use only the tips of his fingers, or the tip of his tongue, and pet her into insanity.

Carried away in the heat of the moment, she begged him to just fuck her already, but he kept his promise. He tortured her endlessly, but he kept his pants on. Briefly, it occurred to her to return the favor, but she had no more strength left, her limbs mysteriously turned into jelly. That didn't dim his enthusiasm, though. In fact, he seemed to get more and more excited the more demented she became with pleasure.

Unable to even lift her hands anymore, she was spread like a banquet as he feasted, throat hoarse from shouting. It could've been days, weeks, years…minutes. What was time?

Eric was in heaven.

He couldn't decide which tasted better—her pleasure or her blood. Both equally delicious, but perhaps her pleasure was more addicting. The sexy little mews she made at the back of her throat fired his blood. Eternity was not long enough to spend in his new favorite place, in between her legs. From now on, he wanted to wake up and have an early evening taste. Making a quick mental note, he promised himself he'd grab a bite whenever he caught a short break in the evenings, and then again just before sunrise so he could die for the day with the sweet nectar on his lips.

A millennia could've passed for all he cared, but it felt only seconds as far as he knew. Not enough, it wasn't enough. His pants pocket vibrated, but he ignored it. More, more, more.

"Shouldn't you get that?" her voice, barely a whisper, cracked.

While he could've ignored the persistent buzzing of his phone forever, Pam's emotions leaking into the bond were a little distracting. Phantom chest pain was also starting to intrude from that new thread he now knew was his bond with Souta… Reluctantly pulling away, he gave her one last lick and reached for his phone.

His eyes roamed appreciatively over the beautiful tableau in front of him. Disheveled hair, eyes glazed with passion, legs spread giving him a perfect view of her pretty pink lips. He clicked answer and listened to the nervous babble of his child.

Sensing something was amiss, Kagome weakly sat up. "What is it?" With heroic effort, she pushed her sweater down, covering the growing blush that invaded from head to chest. Panties and leggings required too much strength that she currently didn't have.

Blue eyes trained on him like a hawk, he tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible. "I don't want you to panic, but…" he licked his lips, "Souta's been shot."

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