A mile away....
The Irish girl barely had a chance to scream before Tomoe's hands locked around her throat, cutting off her air and soon her consciousness as she was drained of life-force....Tomoe letting her go with an effort to slump to the street.
*Getting harder to keep myself in check.....* She realized. *How am I going to make it through tomorrow....* Her hunger was slowly growing to the point she could barely control it. And she couldn't rejuvenate herself during the day, since they were leaving early, which made things worse....
Tomoe spotted another suitable prey, shutting out her thoughts of self-pity and concentrating on the next feast.
*After all, I have a whole night to worry about that....For Kenshin's sake.....*
##
What the hell were you thinking?!!!!
Megumi winced at her conscience's screaming in her head. It had good reason to, since this wasn't looking like a great idea at the moment....
She had followed Silk into the travesty that was called 'Chinatown',
(Her opinion of Americans dipped several points when she saw how the neighborhoods were all separated by race, the nerve....) and was now scuttling around outside the rickety old building looking in the windows for Silk's playmates.....
"About time, Sister...." Megumi ducked, peeping over the edge of window at the villains inside.
That's them all right...Ashura, Daisho, Silk.....KAMI-SAMA!
The reason for the mental outburst was the forth member of the group, which was easily the most hideous thing Megumi had ever witnessed. The raggedy dressed old woman was so wizened by age that she was four feet tall and hunchbacked, the large hump seeming to pulse and twitch every now and then under her clothes as if something was going to tear free any moment....Gnarled claws gripping a twisted walking stick with a dragon claw for the figurehead that kept the old woman's balanced, however Megumi had a feeling that it was more for show than support. Sinister, catlike eyes stared out of her twisted face with such malice Megumi felt like she was staring down a tiger....
"Thought I'd get some culture, expand my horizons a bit...." Silk snickered.
"Check on our pet freak...."
"Ah yes...." The woman's voice was like dead leaves. "How is the dear girl...."
*Pet freak? Dear girl?* Megumi didn't like the sound of that. *Could it be....?*
"That snotty little bitch's left quite a trail of snoozing victims, so I'd say she's starvin' like a bitch hound nursing ten pups, just like you expected Mother."
The cackle that came from 'Mother' gave Megumi the chills. "Tomoe's silly refusal to kill for survival cripples her, my child, because her hunger for life-force she needs to sustain herbody will soon take control of her....And if she snaps, those with a strong Ki will be her first targets....
Megumi's eyes widened in dread.
*Strong Ki....that would mean Kenshin, Jubei and Sano....*Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by Daisho's Katana stabbing through the wall an inch from her face...Megumi crying out and scrabbling on her hands and knees under the repeated stabs tracking her before climbing to her feet and bolting for her life....
"I think she heard enough, don't you, sister?" The two exchanged sinister grins. "Mind fetching her back, Silk?"
"Any particular condition?" Silk rumbled.
"Undamaged enough to breathe at least. I think that gives you plenty of leeway, don't you?" Silk's answer was cracking her knuckles as she licked her lips, sprinting into darkness after her.
"Taking advantage of a spy by giving her disruptive information and sowing discord among your enemy...." Mother smiled at her daughter, her sharklike teeth glinting. "You make me so proud...."
Ashura chuckled. "You taught us well, Mother. Now let's return to our hotel before you catch cold....
##
Meanwhile....
Sano took a deep swallow of whiskey and glared at it as he walked back
to his room. "Weak ass swill...." He pitched it behind him, so bummed out he didn't even hear it hit the floor.It's a sad day when a Sagara lets a woman mess with his head.His thoughts drifted back to how....right they looked, the way she leaned on him, laughed and did all the flirty things women did with guys they liked....wishing he had something strong enough to knock him on his ass.
*Or the balls to swallow your pride and get it over with.*
"Who asked you?" Sano snapped at his Conscience, glancing at Megumi's door with a sigh.....
Just as Jubei opened it and walked out. The two stare at each other in shock for a second. The second it took Sano to overreact.
"You've got ten seconds to explain yourself, Kimagami." The bones popped in Sano's right hand as he clenched it into a fist. "And nine before I hit you so hard you'll be shitting teeth for a week."
Jubei was about to make a smart remark but decided otherwise when he saw the homicidal gleam in Sano's eyes. "I sensed a dark presence, and went to check on everybody.....And found her gone."
"NANI??!!!" Sano checked her room, seeing only a rumpled bed and her stuff.
"CHE! Megumi no Baka! Come on Jubei!" He grabbed Jubei and practically dragged him downstairs.
"You think she's been kidnapped?" Sano snorted.
"I think that Fox spotted one of them and decided to play detective....right into a trap, I'd bet!"
"Whoa, Sano...." Jubei tugged on his arm to stop him. "We can't just run around like a chicken with his head cut off!"
"If I know her," Sano replied. "She'll stand out." At that moment, A bonechilling, indescribable howl echoed across the night, raising the hairs on the backs of their necks.
"Told ya..." Sano remarked, the men sprinting off in the direction of the howl.
##
The rooftop cracked and splintered as Silk landed on it in a crouch, stalking on all fours around it as she sniffed the air.
"Ah, nothing like the scent of a prey's fear to know you're alive...." She reared back and howled. In the alley below, Megumi tried to scrunch herself even smaller behind the piles of opened crates and trash, desperately wishing that she could block out that horrible howl and the massive THOOMS of Silk hopping rooftop to rooftop like some great big cat, since it was murder on her nerves...
She had figured that just running away would be stupid, she wasn't in the shape Kenshin or even Karou was in so she would have to hide and pray and outsmart her....She just had to keep from having a nervous breakdown....The sound of rocks being crushed made her look up, choking back a gasp. Silk was climbing down the building in front of her like a cat would....gripping handholds in the solid rock like it was paper.....
Oh, shit.....
Silk hopped down halfway, seeming to shake the alley as she stalked through it, her chuckling more like an animal growling....
"Ah, Smart girl. I do so hate panicky prey that runs around screaming. So damn boring...." Through the cracks in the stack of crates, Megumi watched her stop and turn in her direction. "Not that hiding's gonna help much, Miss Takani....." The crates rattled with every step, Megumi gripping the scalpel in her sleeve. "You see, I'm not your ordinary woman.... My body produces more than twice the amount of hormones and adrenaline than ordinary men and as a doctor, you should understand what that means...."
*Hai....That explains how you're so huge....The excess hormones increased your muscle development while the adrenaline keeps you going- Mou, Megumi! This is no time to play doctor!*
"Giving me almost demonic strength and stamina...." A rat crawled out of the garbage and onto Megumi's hair, the doctor biting her lip to keep from yelling as two more hopped down on her....
"And the welcome bonus....."Silk stopped and sniffed the air again, Megumi realizing what she meant by that. "Of every one of my senses heightened to an incredible level." Silk stopped a foot away from the crates, Megumi swearing she was smiling at her. "Guess what that means, Doc?"
One of the rats scurried off her and ran off....Megumi watching it head right toward Silk.
"I can track you down by the smell of your fear...." She crushed the rat under her foot.
"All night long....." Megumi pulled out the scalpel. *I may die....But I'll at least hurt you, Silk....*
Silk stepped forwar....
*Sano....Jubei....*
Silk grinned....Then something else lurched out the shadows at that moment, Silk turning and punching it in one smooth motion....Megumi wincing at the way the victim sounded like a rotten fruit hitting the floor when it hit the wall....Silk swearing as she looked at the unfortunate remains of the drunk carriage driver that had stumbled in...
*MOVE!* Megumi lunged at Silk at that moment....throwing all her weight into ramming the back of Silk's knee as she stabbed the Scalpel into the thick leg....Silk too surprised to react and hitting the ground face first as Megumi ran out the alley with the speed of pure terror....Thanking Kami-sama as she hopped into the seat of the carriage .....pausing long enough to pull a rat from the inside of her Kimono with disgust and spurred the horses into a gallop....Silk's roar heard even over the gallop as she threw down the scalpel and bounded after them on all fours....
*No way she could outrun the horses.....Can she?* Megumi looked back at the killer, a few feet away but too close for Megumi's comfort and gaining....*She may be a freak of nature but even she can't keep this up for long.....*
Silk grinned to herself as a better idea popped into her head....turning right down an alley and smashing through the brick wall blocking it off from the next street....knocking people flying out of her way and springing up a building....hopping rooftops at an incredible rate....
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Megumi yelled at the scattering crowd as she barreled on, lost as hell but it didn't matter as long as she outran that demon....She allowed herself to look back, relieved to see Silk wasn't behind her anymore but not convinced she gave up that easily....
And was convinced as Silk dropped howling out of the air....Megumi almost flipping the carriage over as she turned down a street to avoid the manic lunge that sideswiped the carriage onto one wheel....Silk already twisting her body to spring after her again after landing as easily from the jump as normal people would take a step of a staircase....Cackling the whole way as Megumi managed to get the carriage back to all fours as she neared.
"Nothing like a shortcut, ne Sensei?!"
Megumi could only spur the horses on, throwing or kicking out whatever she could lay her hands on in the carriage....Luggage, bottles of whiskey and what not.....Silk dodging or smashing them out the way. *If I get out of this, Kami-sama.....* Megumi prayed, *I'll never tease Karou about being a tomboy again cause she's nothing compared to Silk....*
Megumi glanced back at Silk, and immediately regretted it when she saw her reach out and causally tear off one of the streetlamps right out of the ground as she ran by it.....Grinning at her as she twirled it.....*Nani? What the hell is she.....* Silk answered by using the streetlamp like a spear to ram the carriage, Megumi screaming as it almost flipped....Silk ramming it again, this time the broken head of the lamp smashing through the seat and just an inch from breaking her back...the next throwing her onto one of the horses's back as they galloped on in sheer terror as Silk bashed at the carriage...Megumi swearing Sano style as she held on for dear life....sawing at the strap attaching them to the carriage with the scalpel....Her teeth rattling in her head as Silk swung the lamp like a bat and smashed the top of the carriage off...
"Come on....Come on...." Silk slowed down a bit....twirling the lamp like a master staff wielder....
The strap cut free....Megumi's horse bolting free....Just as Silk threw the streetlamp like a damn spear.....
Megumi watched in stunned horror as the Carriage splintered from the sheer force of the impact and flipped off to the side, the 'spear' just barely missing her as it kept going and smashed into a building. *I can't keep this up....* Megumi gasped as she clung to the horse and watched Silk check the wreckage, searching for her....*Gotta be somewhere I can hide....There!* She spotted a small building with an open door. *If I can only make it there...*
Silk looked up from the wreckage with a snarl, spotting the runaway horse.
"Oh, no you don't...." She picked up a rock and flung it, hitting the horse in the rump and causing it to throw Megumi off....Silk charging after her....Megumi just managing to recover from her fall in time to scrabble inside and close the door before Silk caught her...slumping to the ground with a sigh of relief. "Safe....."
Then she opened her eyes and got an eyeful of where she ran into.
The place was just a shade cleaner than the Last chance inn, but almost worse because of the thick cloud of smoke that hung over the place, the smell of opium very familiar and choking to Megumi. Oriental music played from somewhere, Very indecently dressed women of all races strutting around flirting with men or even 'consorting' on the few bits of furniture tossed her and there around the rundown place.
"A whorehouse....." Megumi facefaulted. "Terrific....."
