A few minutes ago…
A woman shrouded in black clothing, which stuck to her body like glue, was atop the roof of a nearby building, her eyes locked on Kikimaru cafe.
She had been there for hours now, sent to investigate a minor infraction by the Japanese branch of their gang.
After confirming what she needed to, she was about to leave when she spotted three figures leaving through the back door.
The woman pulled out her binoculars and looked in the direction, her expression shifting when she saw them.
A smile graced her black, lipstick-painted lips, as she watched the group as they walked all the way up to the car.
Then she grabbed her phone and tossed her hair to the side to place it against her ears, the salamander tattoo on her neck on full display.
"What?" A voice came through the other end in Chinese.
The woman smiled. "I have found her. I have located Bao Xian."
•••
Present time…
Kyle was agitated after his call from Sakura, but he could not rush, he had to sit back and wait for the police to come for the gang members.
According to Sakura, Akiko's condition was something that had been going on for some time now, not a sudden medical emergency.
'How long has Akiko been hiding this?' He thought.
Had she been sick since the day he took over this body? Or had it been even long before that?
When he had told the police the story which he had compelled the gang members to say, he wrote a statement before they took them away.
"Solvane, take care of things, we'll meet tomorrow." Kyle said as he began walking towards the hole in their wall.
The woman nodded and then vanished, blending into the darkness.
Just as Kyle stepped out of the building, he summoned Cyno.
The darkness behind him shook, sparks of purple currents bursting around him as his figure took form.
"It's been a while…" Cyno muttered, his arms crossed across his chest.
Kyle nodded. "A lot has happened, long story short, we have this building now."
"Building?" Cyno turned to the left and whistled as he saw the gigantic place. Then his eyes stopped at the door and he perked a brow.
"A door wasn't part of the deal?"
Kyle sighed. "That is the reason I summoned you. Protect this building for me, I don't want something like this happening again."
Cyno noticed the change in his mood but chose not to speak about it.
Instead, he nodded, and both of them began to walk to the bus stop, while Kyle informed him of everything that had been happening, including his new recruits.
By the time he was done, the bus had arrived, and Cyno had vanished, returning back to Kikimaru cafe to do his job.
Wasting no time, Kyle climbed up the small steps and found a seat at the back of the bus.
Sakura had used his car to take Akiko to the hospital, and he was not too keen on flying in the open that night.
Plus he needed time to think…
Over time, he had slowly developed a personal relationship with the girls, and although he was closer to Sakura, Akiko was still important to him.
The three of them were a team, and with their help, he had built up Kikimaru cafe to what it was today.
Hearing that she was in a possibly fatal situation had completely ruined his day.
But Kyle could not make speculations, he still had to hear from the doctor first, then he would know what step to take.
He was staring at the street through the window, watching as they sped past multiple stores when the bus came to a stop to pick up some people.
One of the women in particular, a foreign woman with short black hair who wore a long coat, walked past all the free chairs, all the way to the back, and sat next to him.
"Beautiful night isn't it?" She asked, staring at the window as well.
Kyle barely glanced at her. "I'm not buying whatever you're selling."
The woman's eyes widened slightly and then she giggled.
"You're a funny one, but who says I'm selling anything?" Her voice was mature, but smoother than milk. Like a well-seasoned negotiator with years of experience under her belt.
There was a mischievous smirk on her face as she watched him.
Kyle did not like the look one bit. It was like he was a pack of finely packed candy, and she was unwrapping him with her eyes.
"Stop." He frowned, which only made her laugh.
"Forgive my manners. I did not expect a Japanese man to be this… carnally sexy."
Kyle blinked then shifted closer to the window, buttoning up his shirt all the way up to his neck. "You have no shame do you?"
'Who the fuck is this cougar?'
The woman laughed. "Not really, shame doesn't come as part of the deal where I work."
The bus suddenly went underneath a tunnel, the vehicle alternating between moments of light and darkness as it sped through the space.
And in one of those times, for less than a millisecond, Kyle saw something move in the shadows.
But even as he saw it, he pretended to be completely oblivious, his face remaining perfectly stoic.
'This woman is dangerous.'
Kyle had suspected there was something more to her from the moment she walked up to him.
But at that time, he felt she had eyes for people just at the age to make things legal.
Now he was certain it was something else, and Kyle had no interest in dealing with it.
There was the issue with Akiko, he was still raising Blood Fang, and he had a major plan set to occur some months from today.
Adding anything else to the mix would be too much on his plate.
'Let the heroes settle this one, it's their job anyways…'
The woman placed her hand into the pocket just over her ample chest, every movement deliberate and slow.
Then she pulled out a card from her pocket and slipped it into his hand.
"I feel like we will be seeing ourselves a lot more in the future, call me?"
Just then Kyle grabbed the bell cord and tugged on it, pulling the bus to a stop. He walked past her then ripped the card apart.
"Not interested auntie." Kyle smiled and tossed the pieces away as he began walking out of the bus.
'I'll walk the rest of the way.'
But the moment he stepped out of the bus, he froze and felt his pockets.
Then he placed his hand into it only to pull out another card with a name and number written on it.
— Gypsy
He turned around to see the woman smiling at him as the bus drove past him.
'How did she do this?'
His perception was off the charts, there was no way he would not have noticed her slip a card in.
After pondering it for a few minutes, he placed the card into his pocket and continued walking.
'I don't have time for this…'
•••
Back in the bus, Gypsy was resting her back on the chair, a little frown on her face as she sighed deeply.
"Ahhhh… he's gone…"
After a few minutes of sitting in absolute silence, she glanced at her watch and jolted to her feet.
"Damn it, I'm late!"
She grabbed her bag, staring at the place Kyle had sat and smiling.
Then she began humming a pleasant tune while walking towards the front of the bus.
"Da da da…" she sang, her voice light and cheery.
The driver who noticed her in the rearview mirror was about to scream at her to get back into her seat.
And then he saw it.
A black eerie mass slowly devouring every person she walked past.
While the passengers sat, unaware of the disaster encroaching upon them, until it was too late…
He panicked and immediately slammed the brake of the bus, but no matter how hard he stepped on it, the bus would not stop.
"What the fuck—urgh, uhh ek!" His voice was drowned in gurgling sounds, as the mass swallowed him whole, invading every part of his body.
The bus mysteriously came to a stop, and the woman stepped out, still singing.
But the bus that had once housed more than twenty passengers… was now completely empty.
..
..
A/N
Happy new year!
Updates will resume as usual :]