Yoshi turned around to look down at the woman beginning to stir. Clarion let out a moan as she raised up holding a hand to hear newly throbbing head. Instinctively she raised her head and gazed into hard blue eyes and the stone face of her savior. Clarion managed a smile that was not returned. "We gotta stop meeting like this Stretch." She sighed and watched as the tall woman avoided her eyes. "You gonna help a lady up or what?" Yoshi seemed to snap out of her reverie as she reached a hand down and helped the blonde to her feet. Yoshi backed away as she watched the woman dust her self off. Clarion was thinking of a way to break the tension when Yoshi spoke up.
"You remember?"
Clarion smiled and ran a hand through her mussed hair. "Just the eyes I'm afraid. So, how bout that coffee."
Yoshi choked out a cough. "Uh, I don't know if that's the best idea."
"Oh come now, you afraid I'll play with your sword." The tall wall of a woman creased her brow and frowned. Clarion held up her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look, Yoshi, I'm not an idiot. I know what those things are. They were the same as two nights ago and the same as the ones from all the other nights."
"Do you know what they want with you?"
"No clue. So, Stretch, how bout it?"
"What?"
"That coffee." Yoshi sighed and kicked at the ground. Clarion smiled. "Hey, I ran all the way out here, the least you could do is have a cup of coffee, besides, I owe you." Yoshi couldn't help but crack a smile. "Oh my goodness."
The tall woman looked up. "What?"
"Is that a smile, I see." The usually reticent woman expelled a whiff of a laugh as the corners of her mouth pulled into a wider smile. Clarion giggled. "Hey you better put that thing away you're going to blind me. Clarion stepped back with a laugh and feigned shielding her eyes from a bright light.
No more than the dark woman could stop the rumble of laughter that welled up deep in her belly could she stop the blush that was creeping into her face nor could she stop the full fledged smile that graced her face, raising high her cheek bones, causing the skin to crinkle at her eyes, and exposing straight white teeth. How foreign it was for her to really smile. To Clarion it looked as though her dark savior hadn't had a good smile in a hundred years or so. She hadn't. Yoshi curtailed her laugh and this time, without hesitation Yoshi spoke. "Okay, let's go get coffee."
CH 6: Would you like some coffee in your cream?
Coffee turned out to be two steaming paper cups filled to the brim with some over-priced caffeinated elixir and a bench in front of Clarion's apartment building. The warmth of the coffee managed to take the chill off of the evening. In the past ten minutes, Yoshi sat mesmerized as she listened to the blonde prattle on animatedly about her job at the modern museum of art. So far neither woman seemed ready to make comment on what had brought them together thus far. Yoshi watched the small woman at her side with selfish amusement as she flung her hands wildly about and contorted her face to describe her boss. Yoshi was barely paying attention except that she was enjoying watching and listening to the young woman talk. It felt good to the quiet woman to simply just be able to listen and moreover to participate. She couldn't help but laugh where Clarion threw in one liners, and moan and groan when prompted.
Yoshi was smiling crookedly at one of Clarion's comments when she finally added to the conversation. "Are you ever going to drink that?" Yoshi nodded towards the cup in Clarion's hand.
The blonde smiled. "Guess I got carried away, huh?" A small blush rose to her cheeks. Yoshi could only break into a lopsided grin as a reply. Clarion smiled to herself and sighed inwardly as she pushed a lock of hair behind her right ear. She looked down into her coffee for a moment and then took a healthy cup of the still warm liquid. Clarion didn't look up from her coffee cup when she spoke again. "So can you explain all of this to me?"
Yoshi stopped the raising of her cup and brought her head back down. She set her jaw and glanced at the woman who was still contemplating the cream in her coffee. The dark woman was unsure as to what Clarion knew or at least what she thought she knew, and in 800 years she had learned not to volunteer information. "What do you expect me to be able to tell you?"
Clarion's sharp laughter filled the space between the two women, as she cut wide green eyes at the tall woman. "If I'm not mistaken, isn't it your job to know about these kind of things." The dark woman shrugged broad shoulders and sipped from her coffee. Clarion let out a snort of laughter to herself. "Are you denying the job or you just like to walk around with swords and daggers?" No reply. The tall woman's obvious ability to change moods was beginning to grate on Clarion. "Okay. How about this." Clarion sat her cup on the ground and turned sideways so that she was facing Yoshi. She raised a blonde eyebrow and pursed pink lips moist with gloss. "For the last three months I have been attacked, followed, watched by Vampires. The undead. Blood-sucking night stalkers." On the inside, Clarion was cringing at the names that were said to often refer to her as well. "And since you, are so obviously a Vampire Hunter I'm thinking that you might be able to tell me why I'm so popular." She stared hard at Yoshi as the sting of sarcasm at up her words.
Yoshi was stuck and she knew it. She took the time to gather herself as she placed her own cup on the bench and leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands together. She was unsure of what to say and what not to say. But, at the same time, the woman next to her seemed to know a lot, especially for someone who claimed they had no clue why they were being hunted. The contradictions swirled in Yoshi's mind taking up space in the areas that weren't wrapped up in the fact that she was fiercely attracted to the woman next to her. Clarion's voice broke her thought process.
"You formulating an answer or are we being a stoic warrior?" Clarion fought the smirk that was ready to form on her lips as the dark woman turned towards her with an eyebrow raised high. Clarion awaited some gruff response, but Yoshi surprised both women by smiling. "There you go blinding me again." Clarion smiled fully. Yoshi laughed and sat up straight. Clarion could tell the woman was willing away the faint blush that was threatening to overtake her cheekbones.
"I don't really know what to tell you. I don't know very much right now, but I do know that you're in trouble."
"Well no crap." She swatted Yoshi lightly on the shoulder. "Am I the flavor of the month or something? If so, I'm cutting my hair, dying it, and moving to another country." She let out a huff of air.
Full lips curved into a smirk and then she turned serious. "They'd find you."
The hairs on the back of Clarion's neck bristled at the timbre of Yoshi's voice. "I don't think I warrant hopping continents."
Yoshi released a breath before speaking. "Clarion, do you know what the Daywalker is?"
Being born a Vampire gave Clarion the luxury of having a heart that beat, so she wasn't used to having it stop. As the question breathed life into Clarion's psyche she made a decision in a fraction of a second. She simply focused a slightly awed stare on Yoshi's lips and waited for the woman to take the bait.
Yoshi bit. The tall woman arched an eyebrow and stared back at the blonde, who was looking at her like she was a four course meal. "Problem, Clarion?" ‘Maybe she did know what was going on.'
Clarion shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, not breaking her gaze. "Not that I'm vain, but I just really like the way my name sounds when you say it."
Yoshi stared at the ground, she hadn't been expecting that answer, nor the flip-flops that her stomach was making as the small woman openly gazed at her. "Uh..so does that mean you know what I'm talking about?" Yoshi was clueless as to what to say to her comment, so she just ignored it.
Clarion let out a light laugh. "What that means, is that you can't take a compliment." She smiled and released her gaze on the nervous woman. "As to what the Daywalker is--no." ‘It's not like she asked me who the Daywalker was, right, technically it's not that bad of lie..and technically I'm jackass.' "What's that got to do with anything?"
Yoshi nodded. "Well, when I figure that out, I think I'll be able to tell you about your unwelcome visitors." Yoshi fidgeted with her hands. "How come you know so much?"
Clarion smiled. "Not that a lady isn't entitled to her secrets," she wiggled blonde brows ",but the museum business does have it's advantages. Actually, I think I have a few pieces that you would be extremely interested in." She looked over at the tall woman and watched as she glanced at her watch. "Need to leave?"
Yoshi gave a small nod. "I'm afraid so." She darted her eyes across the ground.
Clarion reached out and patted Yoshi's thigh. "Let's just say you're hurrying off to your second job." Yoshi shrugged nervously and stood up. Clarion craned her neck up and regarded the tall woman. "Will you tell me how you got this gig?"
Yoshi gave Clarion a crooked grin and looked at her watch again. "I don't think I have the time." ‘800 years takes a little more than conversation over coffee.'
Clarion grinned and stood up. "Then we'll make some time. How much do you think we'll need?" She grinned innocently at the slightly squirming woman.
Yoshi clasped her hands behind her back and looked everywhere but down at the green-eyed woman smiling at her. ‘A lifetime that you don't have to give.' she wanted to say. Full lips curved into a smile. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to ask you out to dinner?"
Clarion threw her head back in honest laughter. "You catch on quick." They started walking towards the entrance of her building.
"I guess I need to meet you here as well, since I can't seem to leave you by yourself for more than five minutes."
Clarion shrugged playfully. "What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment. A beacon for trouble if you will."
Yoshi raised a sculpted eyebrow and grinned at the small woman, quickly getting into the game. "Guess I'll be keeping me eye on you then."
Clarion only grinned as she thought, ‘eyes, lips, hands, teeth, tongue, whatever.' "This may turn into a 24/7 relationship."
Yoshi stopped at the door. "Are you really worth all that?"
Clarion fought a laugh. "I'll leave that in your capable hands."
Clarion's words suddenly seemed serious to Yoshi and surprisingly the sentiment warmed her insides. She found herself humbled in the presence of the small woman before her and she knew that this was far beyond merely protecting the innocent. Yoshi kept her hands clasped behind her back as she bowed her head slightly at the woman's words. "I thank you for thinking me capable."
Clarion could only smile as she watched emotion run through the tall woman. As she listened to her speak with quiet respect, Clarion felt extremely awful for having lied. But wasn't this survival? She knew she probably wouldn't stay alive without the Hunter and more than likely she would die at her hand. Even in her gregarious nature, Clarion found herself at a loss for words in acknowledging the woman's honesty. She could only move forward and stand on her tip-toes as she placed a chaste kiss on an olive-hued cheek. She stepped back. "Pick me up at work tomorrow?"
The tall woman was in a heated haze. She wasn't sure if it was the last remnants of coffee, the blush creeping its way into her face, or the warm shock of perfect lips pressed to her skin. She managed to nod at Clarion's question and then watched the blonde enter the lobby of the building and disappear among the banks of elevators.
Yoshi turned up the collar on her leather coat and pushed her hands into her pockets as she began her walk back to the store. She decided that she would go home for an hour or so and do some reading and write some letters. As she made the trip from the store to the warehouse that housed her home, Yoshima Miakoda made the decision to go home to pray. She would pull out her Gi, polish her blade, light her candles and incense, and bring out her chimes. She would not pray for forgiveness or for strength. This night she would pray for herself and for a certain green-eyed blonde. She prayed that she would uphold her oath and mostly she prayed that she would not fail
* * *
CH 7: Let he who is without dog shit on his shoe, take the first step on the white rug
Clarion was in the lab when Yoshi showed up at her office door the next day, so it was Riley that greeted the tentative woman. Yoshi stood in the doorway of Clarion's office looking down at the slim man who did a complete 360 in a chair to face her. He curved thin lips into a smile as he looked up at the blue eyed woman in the leather jacket.
He cocked his head to the side as he took in her features and spoke. "Have a seat won't you?" He arched a brow as he recognized the tall woman from the store the other day. Yoshi bowed her head slightly and then took a seat in front of the desk.
Riley plastered a smug look on his face as he rested his elbows on the desk and leaned in. "So, I take it you're here to see Clarion?"
Yoshi could tell he was fighting the urge to break into a full smile, but at the same time he was definitely sizing up her worth. She only nodded in reply. Riley sucked his teeth and let his lips give way to a smirk. "Not much of a talker I see, can't imagine what she sees in you then."
His comment did a good job of getting Yoshi's attention. She sat up straight in the chair. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Riley only raised an eyebrow in triumph instead of smiling. "Oh nothing. You just seem a little introverted for the likes of Claire that's all. But hey, everybody's entitled to trying something a little new."
Yoshi nodded. "Glad you approve then."
"And I'm glad you can form a sentence."
The dark woman had half a mind to reach across the table and begin plucking the vital organs out of Riley's body with tweezers, but she was aware that he was simply being protective of the blonde, and she couldn't deny him that duty. Instead of maiming him, she gave him a lopsided grin and nodded her head in concession. Riley relaxed back in the chair steepling his fingers and briefly reveled in his small victory. "So what's your name?"
"Yoshima Miakoda."
Riley smiled. "Ahh, Japanese." He looked up at the ceiling. "Means, you're clever and deep of thought."
"Very good. Do you study Japanese culture?"
Riley was about to make up some swift lie, but he was interrupted by the sweet drawl of Clarion's voice. "No, but I have."
Both Yoshi and Riley turned towards the doorway to find Clarion's small frame occupying the space. She wore a small grin on her face as she raked her eyes over Yoshi and Riley. Riley immediately hopped up from his seat behind Clarion's desk and seated himself on the edge of the desk. Clarion only smiled as she moved past them both and dropped a handful of brushes on her side table. She walked around her desk and plopped down into the soft cushions of leather, stretching her legs out before her.
She focused her eyes on Yoshi. "Riley been in here interrogating you?"
Yoshi shook her head as Riley piped up with an answer. "No such thing my dear. Simply shooting the breeze."
Clarion let out a snort of laughter. "I'm sure that wasn't all you were shooting Ri." The lanky man only shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes for his reply.
Yoshi let out a chuckle. "He was only being a friend."
Clarion kept her eyes locked on Yoshi. "Yeah I bet." She shot a glance at the smug looking Riley and shook her head. "Anyway, I'm about ready to go, so Riley you can say your good-byes."
Riley mumbled something unintelligible but he got up off of the desk all the same. Clarion stood with him as she watched him walk to the door. Riley stopped at the doorway and turned his attention towards Yoshi. "It was nice to meet you Yoshima. Take care of my girl." Riley smiled. Yoshi bowed her head in agreement and watched as Clarion walked out of the door with Riley. Even though she was equipped with hearing that would allow her to hear the conversation outside the doorway, she was polite and focused her attention on the painting that hung on the far wall.
Clarion helped Riley put on his jacket as they walked down the hallway. "Thanks a lot Dad." The two shared a smile.
Riley shrugged. "Hey I'm just making sure tall dark and I only speak in Haikus, is safe."
Clarion shook with laughter. "I'll have to count the syllables next time she talks."
Riley waved a hand through the air. "Sure thing. So, what are you guys up to tonight?"
Clarion couldn't help but smile. "Just a little dinner."
Riley wiggled slim eyebrows. "Un huh. A little dinner you say." They shared mischievous smiles. "Are you taking her out, or our you going to show off all those hours of watching the Food Network."
Clarion held in a laugh. "Well," she raised her brows, "Bobby Flay made this kick ass Paella on Martha Stewart the other day. I think I can do it."
Riley let out a whoop and swatted Clarion on the shoulder. "Oh my, I saw that. I say go for it. If you filch it, you can just make some calamari and lobster tails." They clasped hands and shared a smile.
"Hey look, I'll let you know how it turns out."
"No shit Sherlock." Riley leaned in, gave Clarion a kiss on the lips, and then turned to walk down the hallway.
Clarion held the smile to her face as she watched Riley walk away and exit into the stairwell. She smoothed down the blouse she was wearing, drew in a breath of air, and walked back towards her office. Not surprisingly the tall woman hadn't moved from the chair she was sitting. She turned deep blue eyes on Clarion as she entered the office and then stood up from the chair. Clarion smiled. "You ready to go Stretch?" Yoshi nodded in reply. As Clarion retrieved her coat from the hook on the wall she spoke. "So, you feel like a home cooked meal or you want to go out?"
Yoshi shrugged her shoulders. "Do I have to cook?"
Clarion turned around to face the tall woman and grinned. "Can't cook?" Clarion's voice rang out with disbelief.
"On the contrary, I've got a few cooking skills." ‘I hope I can do a little more than boil water after 800 years.'.
Clarion raised a blonde brow at the grinning woman and walked past her out of the door. "Well then I guess we'll just be putting those cooking skills to the test."
Yoshi joined her as they walked side by side down the hallway. "How so?"
"How do you feel about Paella?"
Blue eyes looked up in consideration. "It's never rubbed me the wrong way." Clarion smiled. "Is it spicy?"
Clarion's smile got even wider as they entered the stairwell. "No other way to make it ch¾ r."
The two women continued the journey to Clarion's car in mutual silence, both trying not to make a big deal out of the fact that they were searching the parking garage for unwanted visitors. Aimless chit-chat about work occupied the drive to Clarion's apartment complex and the ride in the elevator up 17 floors.
---------------
It wasn't until Yoshi found herself standing in front of Clarion's doorway did she feel her throat close up on her. Her feet seemed to be welded to the ground as she waited for the small woman to unlock the door. Yoshima Miakoda was nervous. She was so nervous she was practically giddy. Granted this wasn't like random one-night stands or strategic sex, but she remembered how to do date. She kept trying to tell herself that she had done this before, and she had….eight decades ago. In her head she was running through several katas when Clarion finally opened the door to her apartment.
Clarion turned her head and looked up at the blankly staring woman and held in her smile. "You coming or you want to eat dinner out here?"
Yoshi snapped out of her trance with a jerk and gave a crooked smile as she ducked her head and followed the woman into her apartment. Even though she could make out the furniture pretty well, she decided to stay put until Clarion turned on all the lights. She listened as the woman moved swiftly through the apartment with quick ease, and then suddenly there was illumination.
Almost a millennium of life had afforded Yoshi with vast amounts of knowledge. She had pretty much seen everything under the sun and met just about every person and thing ever deemed possible. Indeed, it was true that mortal human beings never ceased to amaze her, even if they were predictable as a calendar. In almost a thousand years of life, Yoshi had the opportunity to even meet her match every couple of decades or so. In a blur of motion her mind thumbed through battle fields were she stood victorious only to collapse to the ground in exhaustion and triumph. She remembered every fatal wound, every glancing blow, and every near miss. She could count the number of times she had been outsmarted on one hand and the number of times she had been lied to without her knowledge only took up three digits. A feeling of hesitation and confusion that was becoming all too familiar to the dark woman welled up in her gut once again as she took in the décor of Clarion's home. Sure it could all be a coincidence she told herself as she strolled about the living room. It could all be fated too or just a sadistic joke enacted by one of her ancestors. Whatever the case, for the first time in a long time, Yoshima was confused. More than that, she found that she could decipher no out to this situation nor could she decipher the smiling blonde that watched her take in the furnishings of her home.
As Yoshi took a seat on what appeared to be an authentic 18th century maroon recamÍ er she got the distinct feeling that she was in over her head. Worse than that however, the thing that brought a wisp of a smile to her face, was that she didn't care. Yoshi heard Clarion call out to her as she shrugged out of her jacket and focused her attention on the three paintings on the far wall. Clarion called out from the kitchen to her. "Wine?" Yoshi barely whispered a reply of yes as she gazed at the paintings on the wall with a raised brow.
Clarion heard the woman's faint reply even in the distance and reminded herself that she probably shouldn't do that as she poured out a healthy glass of Merlot. She poured one for herself and joined Yoshi in the living room. Yoshi didn't look up as she retrieved the glass from Clarion's hand. Clarion smiled into her glass as she walked to the entertainment center that housed her CD changer and drank deeply from her glass. She pressed the shuffle button and then turned to her visitor. "So, are you going to ask?"
Yoshi looked back at Clarion as if she wasn't speaking. Finally, the words registered and Yoshi broke into a small grin. "You knew that I would eventually." Clarion shrugged and rolled her eyes playfully. "Are they real?" Yoshi practically whispered her question, only to have her musings swallowed up by the sound of a lone trumpet.
Clarion let out a light laugh and sipped from her glass. "If I tell you that they are just really good replicas will you leave it at that?"
Yoshi cocked a brow as she stared smugly at the blonde across the room. "I've seen a enough Mon¾ ts, Rembrants,..and I believe that's Boucher's ‘Love Letter; to know the real thing." She shrugged her shoulders at Clarion's expressionless face. "But perhaps you're just that good and I'm underestimating your skills." Clarion's lithe frame rumbled with throaty laughter. Yoshi looked at her with interest. "What?"
"Nothing, I've just got a really good comeback for that."
"Oh." Yoshi felt like there was something else she should say, but she was still getting accustomed to the mind and word games that Clarion seemed fond of.
Clarion smirked sensing the woman's discomfort. "Don't worry Yoshi, there won't be a quiz."
Yoshi laughed at her own antics. "But you will avoid the question?"
Blonde brows raised. "I wasn't aware there was a question and just for your information I tend to reveal things over dinner." She walked past the still seated woman into the kitchen. "So, suit up, wash your hands, and then once you've got your hands shoved up a chicken we can talk about my artwork and other things that catch your eye." Clarion knew that Yoshi was staring hard at the paintings. But the charcoal drawings that gave life to some of Clarion's kindred, as well as the bookshelf loaded with Vampire lore, and the fact that nothing in Clarion's home appeared to be from the last century, were no doubt giving the blue-eyed woman something to think about. Admittedly, she felt bad about lying, but Clarion gave a sultry wink to the dark woman seated in her living room and decided if she couldn't talk her way out of this one, she was going to have to pull a rabbit out of her hat; so to speak.
---------------
In between cracking the claws on Lobsters, searing squid, and cleaning up the saffron rice that boiled over--Yoshi made the mistake of ignoring the inkling in her stomach. She would later rationalize that it wasn't as if she was getting major warning bells, but at the same time, all was not well and she knew it. Perhaps it had simply been too long, and enough attention had not been paid. Whatever the case, Yoshi threw good sense to the wind and ignored the fact that everything about Clarion screamed out that she knew way more about what was going on than she was saying. As they talked over their meal Yoshi allowed herself to buy the explanation that Clarion's forays as curator at small museums in Russia, Romania, and Greece accounted for all the Vampire lore. Yoshi allowed herself to believe that Clarion was merely following the swings of pop culture. Yoshi didn't always like to admit it, but hey Anne Rice did write a good book or two and even she couldn't deny Mr. Stoker his talent for storytelling.
As they ate dinner and laughed about inconsequential things and Clarion's adventures with Marianna, Yoshi would stealthily cut her eyes about the room and make mental notes of her surroundings. Later as Yoshi waited for coffee to brew she stood in front of the bookcase as she sipped on her fourth glass of wine and perused the titles openly. For a moment, she thought Clarion might have the books she got from Gregor. Yoshi could hear Clarion shuffling around in the kitchen, turning on the dishwasher and giving the counter a final wipe, as she stood at the bookcase trying to clear her mind. She turned towards the kitchen and brazenly took in the frame of the woman who had promptly shoved her out of the kitchen only moments before. Even if Yoshi no longer had a word for it, it was clear to her that this was no longer about simple protection. She was extremely attracted to Clarion, and so much so, that she was willing to ignore the obvious signs that the blonde was lying to her. Yoshi rationalized that she was just scared, and after all who wouldn't be. For someone who studied the lore of Vampires and Hunters alike, the reticent woman was sure that it came as quite a surprise to the blonde to find that those things actually existed.
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