Disclaimer: I don't claim any rights to Nightwalker.

Chapter Two: Misgive

Fear, worry, and unease were not emotions frequented by Tatsuhiko Shido. In fact, even while retaining his human heart, he had fancied himself detached from those particular feelings for years on end. That, of course, was before he had takenfem a little orphaned human under his wing. Keeping a watchful eye on the girl had brought first impressions of worry into his daily life. Then, as time progressed, unease infiltrated his life as the girl set herself up as his personal assistant. Hiding his vampiric nature from her, along with dodging her awkward affections had caused unease and the best of times. But only now, as Riho's vampiric sire, lover, and partner, only now was he becoming well acquainted with the emotion called fear.

"Mister Shido!" Riho chastised, tugging on her green coat and flipping her long hair out from beneath the collar. The lavender headed man didn't seem to notice, pacing up and down the long hallway, wringing his hands behind his back. "Shido!" She called again, finally breaking him from his musings. "What is wrong with you?" She asked, positioning her high ponytail to sit comfortably under her hat. Shido brought his hand to his face, brushing stray hands of hair away in an attempt to gather his thoughts.

"I'm just nervous." He finally admitted. Riho frowned, beginning to take offense. "Its not you!" He corrected himself quickly. "I don't doubt your skill, I just can't help but worry about loosing you!" Riho's brow furrowed farther and Shido turned around, using the excuse of finding the sunscreen to avoid her hurt gaze. "I know you won't die," He casually flipped the SPF 75 bottle over his shoulder, counting on her reflexes to catch it. "But you're so young, you'd take a long time to regenerate." He murmured, finding his nail beds immensely interesting as he admitted his fears. "And you might not be the same."

Small arms wrap themselves around Shido's waist, her hands barely meeting on the other side of his muscled body. "I know you worry. But I just want you to know that I'll be careful. And even if something does happen, I'll always come back to you. You just have to trust me." Riho rubbed her forehead between his shoulder blades, comforting him while trying not to leave a patch of oily suntan lotion in her wake. "Now, are you ready? I don't want to be late for my first meeting."

~*~

They were twelve minutes late to the meeting, Riho noticed with none- too-little embarrassment. Shido didn't seem to notice the disgruntled looks they'd received upon their arrival; either that or he didn't care. Judging from the lack of respect he held for the NOH, Riho suspected the latter.

She exchanged well-meant quips with Guni and polite greetings with Yayoi before her attention focused on her new associates. The burly men, dressed in gaudy tweed, wool, or polyester suits looked completely out of place set at the splintering picnic table, attempting to act professional while a dozen yards off children were engaged in a game of tag. She bowed politely, apologized to the men for her tardiness, and proceeded to be completely ignored. Biting her lip and keeping half an ear on the businessmen's droning, she allowed attention to drift. She ranged from noting the irony of how well she blended with their cheery surroundings, compared to the men, to congratulating herself for holding up so well in the naturally bright area.

A short time later, Shido tapped her shoulder carefully, bringing her out of her observational trance and gesturing to the file folder in hand. Flushing, Riho realized she'd just zoned through her entire first conference. This was not a good start.

~*~

"Were you listening to anything they said?" Shido truly attempted to reign in his annoyance, honestly he did. But seeing the guilty blush rise to Riho's cheeks, his suspicions were confirmed and rightfully placed anger presided. "Do you realize how dangerous being uninformed can be? You could have at least attempted to pay attention!" He barked testily, the stress of their new assignment having a not-unsubstantial effect on his temper. Their new assignment, he mused for a moment, make that his new assignment. If he couldn't trust her to sit through a short meeting, how could he expect her to perform competently on a mission? With a wave of his hand, quelling an urge to send Riho to her room, Shido poured himself a drink, hoping to drown himself in the coppery taste of blood. It was times like this that her really wished his constitution reacted to alcohol.

A/N: Well, what do you think? It's short, with too much dialogue and too much action, but I'm developing the plot. (Plot? What plot!) I can't believe I'm actually continuing this. Review if you want more.