Sunday night...

Despite the glut of journalists, aid workers, and refugees from the north of the country, Riley and David were able to find lodgings that weren't in a coffin hotel, or as the Japanese called them, 'kapuseru hoteru', something Riley was incredibly thankful for.? After an exhausting day delivering to the Red Cross the proceeds from the night before's hanami and touring one of the many evacuee shelters that had popped up in the wake of the devastating 9.0 earthquake and resultant tsunami that had displaced some 150,000 people, with another 28,000 missing or known dead, the Los were relaxing in their rented room in a quiet suburb of Tokyo.

"Wanna check out Japanese TV?" Riley said from her spot next to David on their bed.? "We can giggle over the outrageously crazy commercials they have."? She leaned over and grabbed the remote, thumb poised on the button that would turn on the TV.

"Sure, why not?? You'll have to translate for me, though."? He'd picked up a few words of Japanese here and there from her, but certainly nothing on the level of being able to follow even a simple commercial.? He shifted around a bit in the bed, getting comfortable.? His side was pressed up against hers, and he had one arm behind his head.? It was a pretty nice room they'd gotten, considering the crush of people around.

She clicked it on and the TV went automatically to the guide channel.? She flipped through it slowly, looking for something they'd both recognise.? "Ooh," she said with a happy grin.? "Look, Firefly repeats."

"Firefly in Japanese?? That ought to be interesting.? I wonder if they subtitle the Chinese phrases."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she read the description given for the particular episode.? "Oh, no," she said breathlessly and sat up, leaning forward intently.? "Oh, f*ck.? David, this had better be a joke or we're in trouble."

"Huh?? What kind of trouble?"? The Japanese characters on the screen were incomprehensible to him.

She got up, went to the TV, and pointed to a few characters on screen.? "See this?? This says, 'In the ninth season finale...'? Ninth.? Season."? She looked back at David, her face ashen.? "When did Firefly end on your Earth?"

"A long-ass time ago.? Like 2003 or something."? It didn't make any sense to him.? Did they have a different Firefly in Japan??

She nodded slowly.? "Same for me."? Going back to the bed, she sat down on the edge once more, her stomach tied in knots.? "I don't think we're in the right place," she said softly.

A year ago, he probably wouldn't have understood what she was saying.? Things were different now, though.? "Sh*t.? This isn't your Earth, is it?"

"I don't think so, no."? She paused for a moment, then, "Did you feel something weird this morning?? With the portal?"

He started to shake his head, then paused.? "Well.? It did seem to take a little longer than when we went to the Maldives.? Only like a second, though, you know?? Instead of being basically instantaneous."

Riley had only been to Tokyo twice before; both times, her visit had merely been a stop-over on the way to Kyoto, the city where her mother had been born and raised, the city where - as far as Riley knew - her grandmother still lived.? Neither trip to Japan had been under happy circumstances; both had been to attend funerals.? The first trip was to bury Mama-san's brother, the second was to bury Ojii-san, Riley's grandfather.

The city hadn't changed much in the 14 years since Riley's last visit.? It was still a crowded, busy, amazingly clean place.? It reminded her a bit of New York City, in fact - neither town rolled up its streets after sundown.? If anything, both cities became more alive after dark.? The streets of Tokyo were packed with young people, going to restaurants, the theatre, concerts, clubs, or just hanging out together.

They drew looks as they walked through the streets of Tokyo. They were both tall, taller than most of the city's inhabitants, and despite their obvious Asian features, they were pegged as foreigners - Riley as a hafu, and David as Chinese. It didn't bother Riley; she was quite used to people staring at her.? After all, she was the world's - well, her world's - first Lycanthrope to crawl out of the closet.? But she didn't know if it bothered David.? She reached for his hand as they descended the stairs from the elevated train station in the Jinbōchō neighbourhood, and asked quietly, "Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?" he asked, taking her hand when she reached for his.? Then he realized what she must be talking about.? "Oh."? He glanced around at the staring faces.? "It's a little weird, but not enough to worry about."?

"It's 'cos you're tall," she said with a lightning-fast smirk.? "And 'cos you have this...presence...that just sort of screams, 'Look at me!'? Did you know that?"? They hit the streets and Riley paused for a moment, reading street signs and signs on the sides of buildings.? Then she headed to the left, still holding his hand.

He gave her a sideways look, trying to figure out if she was teasing him.? It was hard to tell, sometimes.? "That so?"? Of course, that was pretty much exactly the way he would describe her, too.? She definitely drew attention, just by being present.

She nodded solemnly, not at all teasing.? "I blame your years on the Force.? And maybe the bagua, too.? It's like you're perfectly at ease, all the time, able to deal with everything, undaunted and unafraid."

He was surprised enough by what she'd just said that he stopped walking for several seconds.? It wasn't something he'd ever thought about, or noticed in himself.? He wasn't entirely sure it was true, either.? There were times when he was very much not at ease.? They'd been through some of them fairly recently.? He shrugged a little, feeling oddly embarrassed and somewhat at a loss for words.

She stopped when he did, turning to face him, a curious expression on her face.? It dawned on her that he really had no clue about this aspect of himself.? She chuckled softly and went to him, putting her arms around his waist and pressing her forehead against the bridge of his nose.? She inhaled his scent deeply - Jaguar started purring; She knew that scent, She loved that scent, that scent was Home.? "You really have no idea, do you?" Riley asked softly.

"I just...try to take things as they come," he said quietly, holding her against him and enjoying the sensation.? "I didn't think it was anything special."? He tilted his head up a bit and kissed her forehead.? For a moment, he wondered what the watching people would think about them now, but quickly decided he didn't really care.? He didn't care about much else when she was in his arms; that was more than enough for him.

"Hmm," she said, turning back towards the direction she'd been going in before and taking his hand.? "I think I'm going to petition Emmet Bane to change your name from Ex-Constable Hotstuff to Ex-Constable Awesome Pants."? She took a deep breath.? "If we ever get home, that is."

He snorted softly.? "He'd love that, I'm sure, considering the previous interest in my pants."? He squeezed her hand, tugged her back to face him.? "We'll get home," he said seriously.? "I'm sure of that."

She looked up at him, into those brown eyes that were a near-perfect match for her own.? She gave him a confident smile that she didn't entirely feel and nodded.? "I have confidence in you."? She turned back once more, still hand in hand with him, and set off the street.? "It shouldn't be much farther.? There's a little alley and the shop's supposed to be down at the end of it."

As they walked past a colorful and brightly lit bar, he noticed a sign prominently displayed on the entrance door, and even though there were English words above the Japanese characters, it was still indecipherable.? "Please acknowledge it although it is very sorry because only one of Japanese is asking to do the entrance store in our shop although I asked to come it to this special King Mou," he read.? "What the hell does that even mean?"? There were several young Japanese men loitering around the entrance to the bar; all of them were now staring at him as he pointed. They didn't look especially friendly.

Riley, in a bizarre show of completely uncharacteristic submissiveness, bowed deeply to the young men, lowered her eyes, and took David's hand, dragging him away from the club.? As she walked quickly away, she hissed an explanation, "That's a Yakuza club."

"A...sh*t," he said, glancing over his shoulder.? The young men were still staring at them.? He'd had more than one encounter with Yakuza thugs back in San Francisco, though it was strictly small-time stuff.? Enough, though, that he knew they were Trouble.? Even so, he was a bit nonplussed by her reaction.? He didn't say anything about it, not that it mattered much where her senses were involved.

Monday night...


The following morning, David and Riley went back out to the Red Cross to offer more help, and were quickly put to work building lodgings for the tens of thousands of people left homeless by the disaster. It wasn't especially difficult work for people of their physical capabilities, but there was a definite feeling of accomplishment in what they were doing. They had to be careful not to reveal their more-than-human abilities, but working tirelessly all day wasn't much of a risk, and it sure felt good to know they were helping a lot of people. It was several hours after sunset before they finally decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.

As soon as they stepped off the elevator, the hairs on the back of Riley's neck went straight up and she stopped, dead in her tracks. She reached out and put a warning hand on David's forearm. "Hang on a sec," she said in a soft, wary voice. "Something doesn't feel right."

At her warning, he froze, hand dropping automatically to the place on his belt where he normally carried his gun. It wasn't there, of course, gun laws being the way they were in Japan. He muttered a curse, then said, "What is it?" while glancing in both directions down the hallway. Nothing seemed out of place to him.

She shook her head, unable to put her finger on what had her back up. "I don't know...just something." Pressing her back flat against the wall, she moved silently down the hallway towards their room. Once she was next to their door, she inhaled deeply. Mingled scents reached her nose - the cleaners used by housekeeping, other guests' relaxing in their rooms, various meals, and underneath it all, the distinct scent of gun oil and cordite. "Someone carrying a gun has been here," she said softly, ears straining now as she listened intently to any sounds coming from their room.

He slipped silently down the hall, one hand pressing lightly against her arm as he leaned in to whisper almost imperceptibly in her ear. "Is anyone in there now?" he asked, trusting her superior senses to know if there was.

"No," she said softly and slipped her fingers into her bag and withdrew the room's key card. She held it up to David, raised a brow. Did he want to breach or enter? Living with a cop as she had for nearly the entirety of the past year had taught her a lot about entering a potential conflict. Before she met David, she would have just burst in without thought, trusting Jaguar to keep her safe. Now, though, she'd learned better, safer techniques.

He reached out and took the key card, nodding for her to be the one who'd enter. He didn't think she was wrong about anyone being in there; he had too much faith in Super-Kitty senses. Even if she was somehow wrong, he wasn't too proud or too chauvinistic to admit that she still had the edge on him when it came to durability. She healed faster and was less vulnerable to anything but silver, which wasn't exactly a common metal of choice for weapon. He poised the key card in front of the lock and raised a brow back at her, asking if she was ready.

She nodded solemnly and moved quickly to the other side of the door, her eyes still locked on his. She winked at him, feeling a burst of excitement and adrenaline. It had been a very long time since she and David had thrown down with someone. She nodded to David once more when she was in place and held up three fingers - would they go on three?

That wink got a little grin in response. He loved that she got excited when sh*t like this went down, instead of being scared or overly cautious. He gave her a thumbs up, indicating that she should count whenever she was ready, then slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out one of the gold marks from Rhy'Din. It was solid and heavy enough to make a pretty good projectile when thrown by someone as strong as he was. Not quite a bullet, but it would do in a pinch.

She frowned a bit at the gold mark, confused by its appearance in his hand, but shrugged it off. She lowered her fingers one by one slowly, her excitement growing as the seconds ticked by. Jaguar was very much awake and pacing back and forth inside Her mental cage; Riley could feel the hot brush of silken fur against her mind, could hear the excited, almost playful purring. Once she hit zero, she took a step out to her left, standing right in front of the door, poised to enter the instant David unlocked it.

He stood to the right of the door and slid the key card into the lock, then gave the door a gentle push, enough to swing it wide open, but not so much that it smacked against the opposite wall.

She hunkered down, presenting as small a profile as possible, and stalked into their room. Jaguar's purring had changed to a warning growl, but Riley detected no other living presence in the room. She stood up once she was certain that she and David were alone and looked over the room.

It was a mess - clothing had been torn from drawers and tossed all over the place, the bedding had been stripped and thrown into a pile in the centre of the room, chairs and lamps had been knocked over. Riley stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "What the f*ck?" she said with obvious confusion.

Just behind and to the right of her, hand poised to hurl the mark, David peered over her shoulder and sucked in an audible breath; the equivalent of a surprised exclamation for him. He lowered his hand, put the mark back into his pocket, and stepped past her, looking around the room with a trained eye. "This room's been tossed," he said. "Someone was looking for something."

Her nostrils flared as she paced the perimeter of the room. "There were three of them," she said, memorizing their scents. "They were armed, too." She sighed and stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed over her chest, touching nothing. She looked at David. "Do we call the cops? What could they have been looking for?"

Tuesday night...


After a long and unexciting, if not unrewarding, day of building houses for tsunami victims, and being filmed by a camera crew from NHK World news, David and Riley decided to relax and blow off some steam by going out for dinner at a nice restaurant.? After a truly delicious dinner, which included more types of sushi and sashimi than David had ever seen in one place, they'd headed out to the Harajuku area to visit the Green Turtle club.? If there was one sure way to get Riley relaxed and happy, it was definitely dancing.? Inside the dark, industrial-looking club, they'd spent hours under the strobes and colored spot lights, finally deciding to head back to the hotel well after midnight.

"Thank you for taking me out tonight," Riley purred into David's ear as she clung to his arm while they walked through the streets of Tokyo.? She was, as would be no surprise to anyone who knew her, dressed to the nines in a slinky, off-the shoulder midnight blue dress and four inch heels.? She'd twisted her hair up and secured it at the crown of her head with two chopsticks and diamonds and platinum flashed at her ears, throat, and wrist.? "It was fun and just what I needed."

He turned, grinning at her, and leaned into to plant a quick kiss on her lips.? "I know you pretty well, babe," he murmured.? "Which isn't to say I didn't have fun, too.? I did."? Walking through the Tokyo streets at night was an interesting experience.? The city had a very different feel to it than San Francisco had, and nothing at all like the barely-controlled chaos of RhyDin.? There was almost none of the wary sense of danger that most cities had after dark.? It felt almost safe.? Being a cop here would be a different sort of job than back in California.?

She gave him a knowing look.? Throughout their year together, she'd picked up on more than a few things David thought he hid well from the rest of those around him, and the biggest was a certain grace that lent itself well to dancing.? She grinned suddenly and said in her best Rainman voice, "You're a very good dancer."

"Not compared to you," he replied, but there was a little glint of humor in his eyes in response to her grin.?

She shrugged humbly.? "But I've been dancing since I was three.? It's sort of expected, don't you think?"?

"You have a point.? And feline grace hasn't exactly hurt.? I'm just glad I can keep up with you."? Still, that glint remained.? She'd recognize it, of course.? She always knew when he had some surprising revelation to share.

"Mmm," she said neutrally, wondering at that glint, wondering if she'd have to draw it out of him like an abscessed tooth.? Maybe if she pretended she didn't know he had a secret, he'd get flustered by her seeming ambivalence and just come out with whatever was on his mind in his own time.? On second thought, this was David, after all...? "Okay, Mr Lo.? What's on your mind?"

He shrugged, grinning again.? "Sex, Mrs. Lo."? It wasn't exactly a lie, either.? He wasn't about to give away his secrets without a little bit of a fight, though, even if he was already intending to tell her.

She arched a brow and gave him a long, level look.? Finally, after they'd walked four or five more steps, she shook her head.? "Nope, that's not your 'horny David' look.? That's your 'David's got a secret look', and baby, it ain't no secret that you want me."? She flashed him a smug, self-satisfied smile, the sort of expression that wouldn't have looked out of place on the face of a cat who'd eaten an entire aviary full of canaries.

She had a point.? Again.? Of all the obvious things in the world, him wanting her definitely ranked in top ten.? Probably even the top five.? He chuckled, nodding.? "True enough."? He glanced around them, a vigilant reflex he couldn't -and wouldn't want to- suppress even in a city like Tokyo.? Seeing no one nearby who looking even vaguely threatening, he turned his attention back to Riley.? "You know about how I started bagua when I was five, of course."

She nodded and settled in for a tale.? She was vaguely aware of their surroundings, though it was perhaps better said that Jaguar was aware of their surroundings - the sights, the smells, the feel of the streets they walked through.? Riley trusted Her to bring any danger to attention immediately and concentrated for a moment on being a normal girl with a normal love - husband, she corrected herself with a mental grin - who was learning another facet of the man she worshiped.

He slid his arm around her waist as he spoke, drawing her warm body against his.? "Well, by the time I was twelve or so, it was pretty clear that I was going to be a hell of a martial artist."? There wasn't any boasting in his voice, but there was definitely some pride.? His skills had always been something that made him proud.? "You learn a lot of grace in bagua, obviously.? You know that.? But my master thought it wasn't enough."

She had a sudden feeling she knew where this was going and glanced at him, a smirk lurking in the corners of her mouth and dancing through the caramel of her eyes.

He nodded at the smirk.? "Yup.? He sent me to learn ballet," he confirmed.? "I wasn't too thrilled with it, at first.? It's hard to convince a 12-year-old boy that ballet, of all things, could be cool, or helpful.? But I wasn't about to disappoint my master, either.? In a lot of ways, he was just as important to me as my parents were.? So I stuck with it.? And I learned fast just how strong and agile you have to be to dance."? He shook his head, grinning.? "And it helped my bagua a lot, let me tell you.? Before, I was just good.? Really good, maybe, but just good.? After just two years of combined bagua and ballet, I was untouchable."? Now the pride really showed in his voice.? "They jumped me into the adults class, and I went to competitions against people who'd been practicing for longer than I'd been alive."

She grinned at the sight of little pre-teen David leaping about the stage in tights, doing lifts and holds.? "Did all the girls in your class have a crush on you?"? She would have, big time.

He snorted.? "Yeah.? I was just old enough to start appreciating it, too."

She giggled at that and turned to press a kiss against his cheek.? "Maybe we should do some cross training, too.? I know a few students who would love the opportunity to learn bagua."

He squeezed her into a hug when she kissed him, nodded.? "Any of them are welcome, and a couple of mine could use some of the grace they'd get from ballet."

"Perfect.? When...if...we get back home, we'll have to do that."? A certain scent, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, reached her nose and Jaguar sat up in her silver-lined mental cage and growled softly.? The hair along the back of Riley's neck and all along her arms stood up and she stopped in mid-stride, eyes bleeding to amber as she scanned their surroundings.

The one who tried to tackle her overcompensated, clearly expecting to have run into a solid body, and stumbled forward, giving her time to deal with the guy who'd clouted her.? He seemed surprised when she refused to go down in a heap and instead turned to face him with a feral snarl of rage.? He recovered quickly, though, and aimed another blow at her head, this one obviously intended to be a much harder strike.

She threw her left arm to block the blow, catching it solidly on her forearm.? With her right hand, she reached up, grabbed a handful of leather jacket and gave the guy a firm shove backwards.? He dropped his gun in surprise and Riley kicked it away, out of the reach of anyone who might be inclined to use it against her or David.

Facing two unarmed men, now, David didn't hesitate to wade right into them.? He slipped around a clumsy roundhouse punch and slapped aside a kick that revealed some karate training.? That kick marked the second man as the more dangerous of the two, and he got the lion's share of David's attention.? He blocked another kick, moved in too close for a third to follow.? Pressed almost bodily against the man, he stepped in a half-circle to avoid a punch, catching the arm and pulling sharply down on it.? The man staggered, and before he could recover, David was behind him, levering the arm up in a classic comealong move.? It did leave him open for the first man to land a punch on his side, but the blow was weak; those cracked ribs had robbed the biker thug of most of his strength.? David grunted at the impact, then twisted his captive around until he was in between them, giving him a few seconds free from attack.

Riley was angry and frustrated by having to keep Jaguar in check while at the same time take care of these baka dabo Yakies.? While one of her assailants was flat on his back, she rounded on the one who'd tried to tackle her and sent a flurry of quick jabs to his kidneys.? He swore vehemently and squealed in pain, dropping to his knees and squirming out of her reach.? Satisfied that he would at last stay down, she returned her attention to the other.

The man David was holding struggled fiercely, trying to pull away.? Meanwhile, his buddy had taken the opportunity presented by the momentary lull to find and grab for one of the discarded guns.? David torqued the captured arm up sharply, dislocating it at the shoulder, then twisted, throwing the man down onto the same shoulder.? That drew a scream from his opponent, and he knew the man would be immobilized for several minutes at least as the agonizing waves of pain emanating from his shoulder.?

David vaulted straight over the fallen man and sprinted towards the leather-clad attacker.? He arrived at almost the same instant the man straightened with gun in hand, and grabbed for his wrist.? The gun went off, and David swore as the bullet grazed his forearm, hot gases burning the skin and hair there.? He twisted savagely, felt bones crack.? The man gasped in shock and dropped the gun once more, curling over the wounded arm.? This left his face at a convenient height for David's knee to send him to dreamland and drive away the pain of his broken hand.?

Unfortunately for him, the one Riley planted on his ass was in the process of regaining his feet.? If he'd been smart - or observant - he'd have stayed on the ground, curled up in the foetal position and feigned unconsciousness.? It would have spared him the vicious kick Riley sent towards his cheek, shattering the bone and setting him up for reconstructive surgery at a later date.? "Stay down," she growled, her voice not entirely human, her control slipping just a bit.

At the growling sound of Riley's voice, David spun, assessing the situation in an instant.? She had it well in hand.?? In foot, too, unfortunate as it was for her hapless victim.? He glanced down at the man whose shoulder he'd dislocated, finding him still writhing on the ground.? He wasn't going to be any trouble for a while yet.?? All six attackers were down, and neither he nor Riley had taken any serious damage.? He saw a spot of blood on Riley's temple, but the wound had already healed, and his arm was in the process of doing so.? "Let's get out of here," he said, heading her way.

She stood, feet planted shoulder-width apart, with broken, bleeding bodies scattered around her, eyes wild, hair streaming freely down her back and around her shoulders.? She looked every bit the untamed, savage warrior goddess her father's ancestors worshiped.? Then she stirred, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and fought for control.? David's voice helped her shove Jaguar back into Her cage and she looked at him, eyes soft, caramel now.? She nodded, stepped over and around bodies, tarrying only long enough to retrieve her shoes, before grabbing David's hand and leading him away from their hotel.

Was it weird that he found her ridiculously sexy right now?? Nah.? Anyone would.? He gave her hand a little squeeze, but didn't say anything until they were more than a block away from their attackers.? "One of them said something about a red pole," he said quietly.? "Any idea what that means?"

She shook her head and pulled him against a building long enough for her to slip on her shoes.? "They were Yakies, though.? Their jackets.? They're bosozoku, like in Akira."? After she was properly shod, she led him down the street again, towards a metro station.? Pausing for a moment in front of the board that showed which trains served this particular station, she chose one that would take them straight into the heart of Tokyo's financial district.? "You're not claustrophobic, are you?" she asked as they boarded their train.

He raised a brow at the seeming non-sequitur, but answered anyway.? "No, not at all.? Why?"? As he asked, his mind raced.? Yakuza.? Again.? Had that group they'd seen taken some kind of offense at his pointing, and gone after them?? But that was two days ago.? Would they really have wasted all that time for something so small?

"We can't go back to the hotel.? They've obviously been watching us, so we're gonna grab a spot at a coffin hotel."? She glanced up at him, brow furrowing.? "Why did the f*cking Yakuza come after us, David?? There's no sense in it at all.? Nothing I can think of.? We've only seen that one bunch."

"That's exactly what I was thinking.? Could they have been so pissed off by my pointing that they'd spend two days looking for us?"

She shook her head.? "No.? That's stupid, even for them.? Besides, they've got their hands busy with the relief aid and everything."? The train arrived at their stop and she got off, nostrils flaring, testing the air.? Nothing but the crush of humanity.? The Japanese started their work days early and she'd picked this part of the city so they would have plenty of opportunity to fade into the crowd.

"Could it be the aid?? You said they have their hands in all the relief efforts.? Did we insult someone by bringing aid straight to the Red Cross?"? It didn't really seem likely, to him, but he wasn't nearly as conversant with Japan's mindset as Riley was.? His eyes moved constantly as he spoke, watching the businessmen and workers move around them.? No one seemed to be paying much attention to them, despite their disheveled appearance.

Again, Riley shook her head.? "No, I'm sure someone's pockets still got lined.? They help in the distribution, too, don't forget.? Maybe...? Maybe it's just they don't like the idea of you being with me."? She was grasping at straws, knowing the still lingering prejudices against hafu, but it was the only reason she could see...if reason it could be called.

A sour expression crossed his face at that. It was a sore spot with him. His own parents had been vehemently anti-Japanese, so much so that they hadn't even wanted to meet Riley, regardless of how clear he'd made it that he loved her, or the fact that she wasn't even full Japanese.

Thursday afternoon...


The rest of Wednesday passed without anything remarkable happening.? They spent the majority of their time in the tiny room, watching Japanese TV, with Riley translating as much as she could.? There were, however, more than a few things that couldn't fully be appreciated without actually being Japanese.? The phrase "lost in translation" was definitely applicable here.

There was a little diner in the lobby of the hotel so there was a chance for them to leave the room and get a little air.? The food was very basic and unexciting and they drew more than a few looks, but it was worth it just to get out of the confining, almost claustrophobic room they'd willingly stuffed themselves into.

Riley put her foot down, however, Thursday morning.? "We need to figure out why the Yakies are after us, David.? I would like eventually to go home, you know.? The room has internet access.? Why don't we see what kind of stuff we can dig up?"

While he wasn't the biggest of men, David was significantly larger than the average Japanese, and being in that room for multiple hours at a stretch was very nearly approaching the level of torture.? He'd never been particularly claustrophobic, but there were occasionally some very disturbing flashbacks to his time spent chained and hanging in warehouse.? If Riley hadn't been there with him, he might very well have decided to tell all the Yaks to f*ck themselves, and gone out anyway.? She was a soothing presence, though, and made even the long hours in the tiny room a lot more bearable.?

Despite that, he was more than ready to do something--anything.? "That's a great idea, love.? I've been trying to come up with something useful to do, but it's hard in that little room."

She sipped her tea and nodded readily.? "It's really, really hard to think sometimes.? Reminds me a little too much of the Unseelie sithen."? She shuddered and reached for his hand, determined not to think of that time right now.? She realised that it had been a year since that time.? So much had happened in just that small amount of time that it seemed as though she'd been imprisoned a lifetime ago.

That was eerily close to his own thoughts on it.? He squeezed her hand and nodded.? "Tell me about it.? I keep expecting to be chained up."?

She gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze and then polished off the last of her tea.? "Well, should we go back?? Get started on trying to figure this out?"

"Yeah, let's get to it."? He stood, still holding her hand in his, and lead her back to their room--if you could call the little box a room.? "How's your Google-Fu?"? he asked when they'd squeezed their way inside.

"My Google-Fu is at least a triple blackbelt," she said and snuggled with him for a moment, letting go of the tough-as-nails image she always projected and indulging in a minute of fear.? "David," she said in a soft, vulnerable voice.? "I'm scared."

He wrapped strong arms around her, holding her comfortingly against him.? "We'll figure this out, Riley.? I promise.? We've survived too much to let a little thing like being stuck on the wrong Earths stop us.? And if these Yakuza want to keep messing with us...? They have no idea what kind of sh*tstorm they're going to unleash."? He kissed the top of her head, then tilted her head up to plant another kiss on her lips.? "You and me, babe.? We can handle anything together."

She hugged him tightly, feeling the quiet, understated strength in him and drawing from it.? "I know.? You're right.? We'll go all...um...Rhy'Din on their *sses!"? She giggled a little at that thought and then turned over to face the wall of the little room, her backside snuggled tightly against him.? She disengaged the keyboard from the wall and brought up the internet browser, which, unfortunately for David, was all in Japanese.? "I'll see if I can get only English results, okay?"

And speaking of *sses...no matter what the situation, there was no way he couldn't react to the pressure of her rear rubbing up against him.? "Yeah, English would be good," he said distractedly.? Not for the first time, he wondered what sort of great karma he'd built up in his last lifetime that had lead to being with her.? Must've been something pretty freaking special.

Chuckling evilly, she wriggled against him a little more than was absolutely necessary while she searched.? "Oh!? Look at this!"? She ducked her head and pointed to the screen.? It was an article from an English language newspaper in Tokyo from two years ago.? The article was all about rising violence between a Triad group, the Wo Shing Wo, from Hong Kong, and a Yakuza group, the Aizukotetsu-kai, which was actually from Kyoto.? "Huh," Riley said.? "That's weird."

Oh, so that's how she was going to be, eh?? Well, two could play at that game.? He reached down and ran his hands up her thighs, under that very, very short dress, squeezing that perfect bottom firmly as he answered.? "What's weird?"? He looked over her at the computer screen, reading the article.

She shivered at his touch, bit down on her lower lip.? Driving a very gentle elbow into his ribs, she said, "Quit that.? We're supposed to be concentrating here."? She turned her head and winked over her shoulder at him before wriggling against him again.? Then she said, "This Yakie group mentioned is from Kyoto, where Mama-san is from."

"Christ," he muttered as he was forced to think about that seriously unpleasant idea.? "I think our best bet is just to lay low until Friday, go talk to that magic lady, and get our asses out of here.? It's either that or take on the Yakuza and quite possibly the Triads by ourselves."

She snorted softly.? "We make an amazing team, but something makes me think we can't do that, right?"? She frowned softly.? "What is a Red Pole anyway?? Is it a title?? A position?? A nickname?"

"It's a title and a position," he said, calling up the briefings he'd had when he was still a cop.? "Red Poles are the enforcers for the Triad.? They're above the common thugs, below the leaders.? They're bad people.? Killers."

"And this other you is one of them?"? She sighed and shook her head.? "Why do you always have to be bigger and badder than everyone else, David?"? She gave him a teasing smile to soften the blow of her words and to show him that she didn't blame him at all for what was happening to them.

He snorted softly.? " 'Cause I am."

"My man is so modest and humble."? She grinned and then poked him gently in the ribs.? "So, we just lay low until Friday?? I need clothes, David.? I feel...weird wearing this all the time."

He nodded in agreement with that.? "Yeah, I know what you mean."? He thought about it for a minute, then shrugged a little.? "Maybe we can find a place that would deliver some clothes.? Or we can risk going out."

"We're right in the middle of the financial district of Tokyo.? I'm sure there's a shop close by.? We could probably risk it, don't you think?? If we time it right, we could lose a tail in the rush-hour crowds."

He nodded.? "Yeah.? With your senses and my training, I think we could spot any tail.? I'm willing to risk it.? I don't like waiting around, hiding."

"Me, either.? It chafes."? She struggled into her panties, dress and put his jacket on as well.? Then she lifted the privacy screen and peeked out into the hallway.? It was empty, which was not surprising at it was the middle of the day and the hotel was, for the most part, unoccupied until nightfall.? She grabbed her shoes and slid open the door, scooting out of the room and into the hallway where she stretched luxuriously, going up on tip-toe and reaching for the ceiling.

He slid out right after her, taking a moment to enjoy the sight of her stretching before copying that motion.? "Oh yeah," he groaned.? "That feels good."? He couldn't say he hated that tiny room, considering what had just gone on in it, but he was definitely happy to be out of it, too.

She smirked at him.? "We are entirely too tall for this country."? She slipped on her shoes and buttoned his jacket over her dress.? It just touched the tops of her knees, covering her dress entirely and making it appear as if there was nothing on underneath the jacket.

"That's for sure.? That jacket looks a hundred times better on you than it does me, babe."? He grinned, taking her hand and turning to head down the hall of the hotel.

She chuckled softly and followed in his wake, headed to the elevator.? "I don't have much money left, so go easy.? No designers.? Levis are fine, though."

He snorted.? "You're the one with the thousand dollar shoes, love of mine.? I'd wear thrift-store clothes if you let me."? Of course, he kind of liked it how she liked picking out expensive clothes for him, and she knew it, even though he never said so.? It was just one of the ways she showed her affection.? In the elevator, he punched the button for the ground floor and waited for the doors to close.? "Wish I'd brought my piece, though."? Not that it would have gone over well.? Japan had some very tight gun laws.?

She nodded.? "Me, too.? Though it probably wouldn't have done much to help.? Probably would have gotten you arrested and thrown in jail and then where would we be?"? She leaned against him, kissed his lips softly.

"Mmm..." He kissed her back, smiling just a bit as he did.? He wondered what he'd have done if he'd been arrested.? He knew for sure any jail they put him in had no chance of holding him if he really wanted out...but could he go that far against what he'd believed for all these years?? If it was a choice between leaving Riley out alone in a possibly hostile city and breaking out of jail, though...? Yeah, he'd tear down the whole jail before letting that happen.

Friday evening...

Riley and David stayed in their new hotel room throughout the day on Friday. Now that they each had some extra clothes, there was no real need to risk going out again. This hotel had room service, and a comfortable bed, which was more than enough to make the day pass quickly. Just after sunset, they got ready to go. It didn't take long, since neither of them had much with them. "I sure hope that magic lady has found a way to help," David said as they dressed.

Riley nodded, tucking her t shirt into her jeans before putting on a pair of running shoes. "Yeah, if she hasn't..." She trailed off, not sure she wanted to speak the words. If the Onmyōji hadn't figured out a way to get them back to Rhy'Din, then they were stuck in this Japan, where they knew no one, and creatures such as herself were apparently still relegated to the level of myths and stories. Still, she thought with a quicksilver smirk, she had outed the preternatural community once. Surely she could do it again, right?

"If she hasn't, I'm going to find this other me and jam his Red Pole right up his *ss," he muttered. He was dressed as plainly as her, t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Not only was it inconspicuous, both of them could move quickly in these clothes, if they had to.

She snorted at his mutterings and then went to the door. Before opening it, she turned to face David, a sober expression on her face. "The moon is full tonight," she said softly.

He nodded. "I noticed." Moon phases were something he'd learned to keep careful track of during his time with Riley. "You might need Her help tonight. I've got a feeling about it."

She nodded, took a deep breath. "You're probably right. But it's so hard to control Her. I'm afraid if I let go just a little, She'll take control and then...we'll be screwed." She could feel the Moon in her blood; it made her body feverish, made her irritable and snappish, restless and on edge. If they were at home, she'd have Changed hours ago and gone hunting in the Glen or the forests between the city and Star's End.

He reached out and took her hand. "I know, la mei, I know. Just try to relax. Don't fight so hard against Her. Use her, instead. You're stronger than She is. She can keep watch for us." When Riley gave him a dubious look, he wished that Dan was still around, still helping her learn to co-exist with her Jaguar. David had been trying to help her with meditation, sure, but it wasn't the same as when it came from someone who knew exactly what she was feeling, someone who could really understand it. "All right, we'll just take it easy, then. You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said and tugged open the door, sniffing the air before stepping out into the hallway and heading for the elevator. She'd been doing a lot of thinking about their situation since they'd discovered the Yakies and Triads were at war with one another. "So, this Lao, this other you, is an enforcer with this Hong Kong Triad, right? And for some reason ? a reason maybe we should try to discover before we leave - he's brought the fight to Japan and has been picking on the Kyoto Yakuza. Why Kyoto? Why not Tokyo or Osaka? Those organizations are so much bigger, more important."

"That's a good question. With any luck, though, we'll be out of here before we have to worry too much about it. I'm really not looking forward to running into another of my doppelgangers." He shook his head, mouth turned down at the corners. "It's going to be rough if we do, and he wants to fight. He'll be as fast and strong as me...and who knows what other weird abilities."

"Oh, crap," she said as she entered the elevator and pressed the button for the Lobby. "I hadn't thought of that." Then she frowned as something occurred to her. She darted a quick, slightly guilty look at David, chewed her lower lip for a moment.

He knew her too well to miss that lip-chewing, and knew exactly what it meant. The elevator arrived, and he stepped inside with her. Then he raised a brow at her, silently inviting her to say whatever it was that was nagging at her.

She blew out a reluctant breath and turned to him, meeting his eyes. She swallowed and then said apologetically, "I know we've never really talked about what went on last fall, and it's because... Well, I know what it's like to have people pulling at you to talk about horrible things and I didn't want to be that person. But if he --" meaning Dave Luo, "said anything to you while he...had...you, anything that could help us here? Well... I think... I think you should try to talk about it."

He reached out and took her hand, running his thumb over the back of it. "I don't mind talking about it with you, Riley. I think we've long since reached the point where we can talk about anything, you know? And it's been a while. I'm over it. Mostly." Some things never go away, but she knew that as well as he. "He spent most of the time bragging about the things he'd done to f*ck me over. Killing my parents, Charlotte...pretending to be me, on Earth and RhyDin both." He thought back to the many days of his captivity, with Luo walking around and gloating, bragging, posturing below him. "He did say that he'd gone to a lot of other Earths and killed the version of him...us...there already."

She licked her lips and nodded. "Did he ever say how many were left?" The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Testing the air before exiting, she kept her hold on David's hand and led him quickly through the Lobby and out onto the street. "Was it just you and him? Were there more?"

"He never said...but the way he talked about it...I think he thought it was just the two of us left. He said it had been hard to find me after our first encounter sent me to RhyDin." When they were out on the street, he looked around carefully, all of his senses alert. It was a combination of the training he'd received as a cop, and the awareness gained from a lifetime of physical and mental discipline, and it resulted in an extremely fine-tuned sense of his surroundings. Everything seemed safe at the moment.

She was letting Jaguar do their surveillance tonight, trusting Her to take care of them while she used higher brain functions to puzzle through their present situation. "So. If there was just you and him, then...either he missed one or Lao is dead. But if Lao is dead, then...why the big war? Why did those bosozoku jump us the other night, thinking you were Lao?" They entered the subway platform and Riley led them to the correct train to the Jinbocho neighbourhood.

That was another good question. "I don't know. It doesn't make much sense, does it? Unless Luo somehow didn't find Lao, and he's still alive." They took seats on the subway, watching the other passengers around them. No one took much more interest in them than usual.

She shook her head, not liking the way that scenario felt. She remained quiet for the majority of the short trip to the publishing industry's stronghold in Tokyo, ruminating on everything they'd learned, shifting through facts, stacking things, sorting things. None of it added up. None of it made sense. No matter how she looked at it, no matter how she dealt the cards they had possession of, none of it added up.

He didn't speak, either, letting her think. Being quiet had never been a difficulty for him, after all. When the subway train slid to a halt, he lead the way out the doors and into the station, paying close attention to everyone around them.

He couldn't understand a word the tiny woman was saying, but she was apparently pretty excited about something. He hoped that meant she had good news for them. He walked inside with Riley, and glanced around the shop. It looked the same as it had last time, and there was no one else in sight. He had a feeling that even if the Yaks found them, they wouldn't start a fight in this place. It was clear enough that the old woman had real magical ability.

When the woman finally paused in her story, Riley held up a slender finger and said, "Chotto matte kudasai, honya-san," before turning to David. She raised her brows and then took a deep breath. "First, she's utterly convinced that we're the Earthly vehicles of Prince Saruta and the Great Persuader. Kami. Gods." Riley arched her brow, giving David a very obviously dubious look. "And she said she's found Rhy'Din. In fact, she...I don't know how to explain it any better, but I guess she touched someone who was looking for us. She said the person called us the Cat and the Warrior." Riley shrugged and glanced back at the Onmyōji, who was smiling beatifically at them, as if she were basking in the glow of some holy figure.

The first part was strange and interesting, but he was a lot more interested in the second half of the explanation. "She found it? Someone from home is looking for us?" He grinned happily. "That's really good to hear. Can she get us home, then?" He wondered who it was that was looking for them. They didn't know very many magically inclined people.

Riley repeated David's questions to the woman, who immediately fell on her knees and starting speaking in a wailing, forlorn voice, crawling towards Riley on her hands and knees and attempting to kiss Riley's shoes. Riley turned a horrified look on David, stunned for a moment into utter shock by the woman's wailing and grovelling.

He very nearly took a step back when the tiny old woman fell to her knees and starting wailing. "What the hell? What's wrong with her?" He hesitated, wanting to reach down and draw the woman up, but was worried that he'd freak her out more, or even hurt her. She looked frail enough that a strong wind might crack bones.

"She's apologizing to us, asking us to spare her because she has lots of family depending upon her." Riley leaned down, gently hooked her hands under the woman's arms and hauled her to her feet. The woman refused to look David or Riley in the eye and was still wailing and apparently apologizing. Riley tried patting her comfortingly and when that got her nowhere, raised her voice just a bit, breaking through the stream of words pouring forth from the woman's mouth. She blinked and rocked back on her heels, finally raising her eyes to Riley's face. In a calm voice, Riley asked what the woman was going on about. The woman explained, in a soft voice with a minimum of apologizing and grovelling.

"Spare her? What do you mean? Spare her from what? We're not going to hurt her. Christ, it would be like attacking my great grandmother." He gave the old woman a reassuring smile, keeping his hands down at his sides, projecting his most non-threatening demeanor. "What is she saying?"

"She's saying that she's not strong enough to get us back by herself. That she has to... Oh, she has to join her abilities with this other person who is looking for us. She's saying..." Riley shook her head, frowning in confusion. The woman stopped speaking and looked back and forth between them, as if waiting for some sort of judgment. Riley asked a single question. The woman paled and uttered a single syllable, "Ni." Riley's eyes went wide and she said softly, "Oh, sh*t."

"What?" He shifted from foot to foot, feeling a sudden and uncharacteristic wave of impatience. It was tough having this tense conversation going back and forth and not having any idea what was being said. He resolved to have Riley start teaching him Japanese as soon as they got home.

"Rhy'Din is two weeks ahead of us now,? she explained to David, turning a bit to look at him while she spoke. "So...she's going to have to...shove us not only though different dimensions to get us home, but through time, too." The woman was still looking back and forth between Riley and David, her face pale, lips compressed into a thin line.

Riley turned back to her, studying her carefully then spoke more to her. The woman ducked her head and said in a thin voice, "Sore wa watashi o korosudeshou." Riley gasped and shook her head, reaching out to grasp the woman's arms and force her to look her in the eye.

They'd have to travel through time to get home? Well, that was different...but he wasn't sure why the woman got so worked up about it. Two weeks wasn't such a big deal...was it? He snapped out of his thoughts when Riley grabbed the woman. "Now what?"

"She says it'll kill her. The effort to get us home will kill her."

"It'll...f*ck." He turned away, walking over to the door of the shop and rested his forehead on the wood.

The woman started speaking again, her voice firmer now, confident in whatever she was saying. Riley said something in reply, her voice obviously strained with the effort not to cry. The woman responded, her tone now forgiving, understanding.

He lifted his head, turning to look down at the tiny woman, forcing his face to remain calm and pleasant, despite the roiling mass of emotions that lay just below the surface. How could they ask her to give her life to get them home? But what was the alternative? Stay here, and...what? Try to make a new life? With nothing but the clothes on their backs?

She left Riley's side and went to gently tug at David's sleeve. The woman gave him a smile and said in very broken Mandarin, "I willingly give you my life, Prince Saruta. For you and your lady, I would give my life a thousand times." Now it was Riley's turn to look back and forth between them with incomprehension.

He stared at her for a second, then shook his head vehemently, replying in Mandarin. "No. No, I can't let you do that. I'm not this Saruta, and you can't give your life to get us home."

"You do not give permission. I offer. I am 93 years old, Prince Saruta. I have five great-grandchildren. I will do this for you and your lady." She turned and faced Riley, saying the same thing to her in Japanese now. Riley's eyes filled with tears and she looked at David, helpless and confused.

"Sh*t," he said softly, then again, because once wasn't enough, "Sh*t." He met Riley's gaze, this time unable to hide the pain in his eyes. "I...don't think she's going to let us stop her," he said softly, in English.

((Warning: The following posts contain scenes of graphic violence. Reader discretion is advised.))

Friday night...


Jaguar growled and Riley went stiff in David's arms, her head coming up oh-so slowly, nostrils flaring.? "We're not alone," she whispered directly into David's ear.? "A large group of men with guns.? At the mouth of the alley.? Fourteen...no, fifteen of them."

The whispered warning short-circuited the sadness and anger at the choice they were being forced into, and kicked him into full alertness.? Fifteen armed men was a serious danger; one that couldn't be handled by normal means.? They were going to have to reveal their superhuman abilities if a firefight broke out.? "Be ready to move fast," he whispered.? "Don't hold back this time."

She nodded and let Jaguar slip Her chain just a tiny bit, feeling the rush of power and strength as the Big Cat came out to play.? She carefully pulled away from David, taking care not to act as if she knew what was facing them at the end of the alley.? Her warm, caramel-brown eyes had Shifted into the cold, cruel alien amber of Jaguar and she could feel the tips of her fingers tingling.? Perhaps there would be a chance to talk, to extract some information first.? She glanced at David, a brow arched, and thought these words really hard, trying to shove them into his head.

"Let's try to talk first," he said.? No, he still couldn't read minds yet, but it was logical and tactically sound.? If the men with guns were talking, they probably weren't shooting.? That could only be a good thing.? He turned casually to face the mouth of the alley, seeing the first rank of hard-faced young men waiting there, blocking off any exit from the dead-end alley.? There was enough light for him to see that that all of them had their weapons out and ready.? Most of them carried pistols, but several had some of kind of sub-machine gun; he thought they looked like? MP7s.?? That was some serious firepower for Japan, with its stringent gun control laws.?

Riley stood behind David, letting him take the lead here.? The Yakies wouldn't pay her much mind; women served three purposes in the minds of most Yakuza - servants, sex partners, and money-makers.? If they refused to speak English, she would, of course, translate, but she worked hard to keep her eyes downcast and her posture as subservient as possible...which considering the circumstances, was really freaking hard.

The first Yakuza--it was obvious that's what these men were--took a step into the alley, pointing his gun at David's midsection.? "Take it easy, guys," David said, spreading his hands to make it obvious he wasn't armed.? "I'm not the guy you want."?

It looked like the Yakuza spoke English, because he sneered and lifted his gun until it was aimed at the center of David's chest.? "Don't try to play games, Lao," he said in accented but easily understandable English.? "If you want to take it easy, come with us."

Riley raised her head a little, eyes narrowing so that their alieness wouldn't be quite so obvious.? She glanced over the men standing at the end of the alley, taking in their weaponry, where they were standing, their levels of confidence.? They were all very confident, quite assured that they could easily handle two gaijin, especially since one of them was a woman.? The poor dumb bastards, Riley thought with a smirk, they really have no idea what they're getting into, do they?

"I'm not Lao," David said calmly.? "Whatever trouble you've got with him, it has nothing to do with me."? He didn't really expect that to work, and wasn't terribly surprised when the Yakuza's face twisted in anger, and the gun rose higher, in line with his nose.?

"You must think we're fools," the Yakzua thug said.? "Put your hands in the air, and don't make any sudden movements, or we shoot.? That goes for the woman, too."

Riley had been told by many different people, on many different occasions, that her mouth was going to be the death of her.? It was pathological, the need to be snarky and sarcastic.? She just couldn't help herself.? Her head snapped up and she boldly met the eyes of the guy who'd just spoken to them as she stepped out and away from David.? "So, I'm a little confused," she said in Japanese, her tone one of genuine befuddlement.? "Which is it?? Are we to hold still or put our hands up?"

The sound of bullets grabbed Riley's attention and she glanced towards David.? He was fine, thankfully, had even managed to dodge shots obviously intended to hit him.? A final triplet burst of gunfire rang out and there was suddenly searing, white-hot pain in her shoulder.? She screamed - an primal, jungle cat sound, half pain, half rage - and staggered to her knees, left hand coming up and clapping over the wound.? Each thud of her heart sent blood spilling through her fingers. Her clavicle was shattered and it felt as though her scapula was blown out, too.? Despite the fact that the bones and muscles started to heal almost instantly, it was still too painful to contemplate rejoining the fight.

He came out of his roll, poised only a few feet away from the two Yakuza who had fired at him.? Off to the side, he saw the third and final unharmed Yak firing a burst from his MP7.? The muzzle flash was bright and lasted a long time to his sped-up senses.? He pivoted slightly, tracking the trajectory of the shot and saw the bullets slam into Riley, saw the blood fly out behind her as the bullets tore through skin, muscle, and bone.? He heard her scream, and the sound shattered his walls of calm into jagged lines of red-hot fury.?

Time snapped back to its normal pace abruptly, and he watched as she fell to her knees.? In that instant, all of his training, all of his skills deserted him, leaving him with only the most primitive form of attack against the man who'd shot the woman he loved.? He charged straight for the Yakuza, a simple bull rush--but no bull had ever moved that fast.? A Formula One driver would have been envious of the acceleration David's legs churned out.? From a standing start to sixty miles per hour in less than a second, he blasted into the shooter shoulder first.? He didn't see the blood spray from the Yakuza's gaping mouth.? He didn't feel the man's sternum flex and split where his shoulder struck it.? All he saw was the brick wall behind them, approaching at breakneck speed.? At the last instant, he pulled up short, letting the limp body of the Yak sail on and crash into the bricks with enough force to reduce several of them to broken rubble.? What fell through that hole in the wall no longer resembled a human being.

He paused for a moment, staring at the pulped body, and spat at it.? Behind him, the two remaining Yakuza glanced at each other.? One of them broke, turning and bolting towards the walled-off end of the alley where several rusting dumpsters sat.? The other was made of sterner stuff; he pointed his pistol at David's back and pulled the trigger as fast as he could.

Even through her red, pain-filled haze, she saw the remaining Yakie aiming his pistol at David's back.? "David!" she screamed, though the movement jarred her wounded shoulder, sending molten steel coursing through her body.? "Behind you!"? She attempted to get up, to tackle the guy, but the world went blurry and grey at the edges, and every beat of her heart was accompanied by shards of razor-sharp pain.

David whirled around at her scream, saw the pistol aimed straight at him and leaped, an arc that carried him across the alley.? In mid-flight, something struck his left thigh, but there was no sensation of pain, only distant pressure.? He landed next to the Yakuza and thrust stiffened fingers into his throat.? There was a sickening popping sound as his fingers sank to the second knuckle in flesh, then he wrenched his hand back in a welter of blood, leaving a gaping hole in the man's throat.?

Without another glance at him, David turned to track the fleeing man.? "You're not really trying to escape, are you?" he said as he broke into a run again, chasing the final Yakuza.?? He reached edge of the dumpsters just as the man vaulted on top of one and started to leap for the edge of the 15-foot wall.? David snapped out his hands and grabbed his ankles, yanking his feet out from under him.? The Yakuza fell forwards, landing face first on the unyielding metal lid of the dumpster. The lid rang like a boxing ring's bell, signaling the end of the fight.? All but three of the Yakuza were dead, and two were crippled.? Only the unconscious man in front of him had escaped major injury. He turned away from the prone form and back towards Riley, hurrying across the distance to her.

The pain in her shoulder began to fade slowly, replaced by an agonising itch as bones and muscles and skin healed.? She stood gingerly and turned to face David.? "Oh, sh*t," she said.? The thigh of his jeans was damp with his blood.? "You're hit."

As though her words had summoned it, pain suddenly lanced through his leg.? He stumbled in mid-step as his leg gave out, dropping him to one knee.? "Sonofa..." he growled, grabbing his thigh and squeezing just above the hole the bullet had left in jeans and leg.

She stepped over and around fallen, bloody, beaten bodies, paying them no more mind than if she'd been crossing over a gravel drive.? "Are you okay?"? Stupid question, Riley.? He's been shot.? "I mean, other than the obvious hole in your leg."? She glanced around the alley, wondering if the gunfire had drawn any one's attention.? As far as she knew, there were mostly businesses around, businesses that would be empty until Monday.? "We should go...somewhere," she finished lamely.

He gritted his teeth, pushing away the pain of his wound.? Already, it was lessening as his accelerated healing began its work.? Slowly, he pushed himself back to his feet, keeping most of the weight on his right leg.? "Hurts like hell," he muttered.? "Be okay in a few, though.? Let's go."? Even if the gunfire hadn't brought extra attention, the Yakuza in charge was sure to find out soon and send more men.

She nodded, wondering where they should go.? Back to their hotel?? Why not?? There weren't any other options she could see at this moment.? She reached for him, sliding her unhurt arm around his waist and steered him in the direction of the street.? She flagged a cab, rather than risk the walk to the subway, and soon they were safely tucked away in their hotel room, tending to each others' wounds, too tired even to celebrate the fact that they were still alive.

"Yeah...it's weird.? Does it itch when you heal?? This itches like mad."? He settled himself next to her, pressed up against her side, leaning back against the headboard.

She cuddled against him, resting her hand on his other thigh.? "It does for a little while, but it's like days of itching all compressed into a few hours.? Really, really unbearable sometimes."? She was quiet for a while, just watching Serenity's crew.? Then she said softly, "What do they want, David?"

He knew she meant the Yakuza.? "They want me."? His voice was slightly resigned.? "Or who they think I am.? It's clear they're looking for Lao, and he's nowhere to be found.? But suddenly, here I am, big as life and twice as obvious."

"I don't like it."? She snorted softly at the obviousness of her statement.? "I know we won't be here much longer, but still...four days is a long time when you consider it only takes seconds to die."

"I know.? We'll be okay, though.? They have no idea who they're messing with."

"They'll have Honya-san's shop covered.? We can't go back there Tuesday."

He nodded.? "You're right.? I was thinking about that while you slept.? We'll have to call her, see if she can meet us somewhere else."

"How easy would it be to tap her phones?"

"For Yakuza?? Probably not too hard.? Still..what choice do we have?"

She took a deep breath, knowing he'd hate her plan.? "I could go, speak to her, come back."

"By yourself?"

"Yes.? You'd...you'd..."? She trailed off, shook her head minutely, thinking that he'd bristle at her suggestion that he'd weigh her down, that he wasn't nearly as sneaky as she.

She didn't give him enough credit.? He knew there were some things he could never match her at.? It didn't mean he was very comfortable with the idea of her being out there alone, though.? "I don't like the idea much," he said slowly, holding up a hand so she'd let him finish.? "but you have a point.? You might be able to get past any watchers unseen, if you're alone."? He frowned slightly.? "It feels wrong to let you go alone...I should be there to help."

She arched a brow at him, giving him a tiny smirk.? "Don't go all Rhys on me now.? I'm a big girl.? In fact, I'm an Alpha Lycanthrope who has been throwing down with beasties and ghoulies for the better part of the past 12 years.? I can take care of myself."

"I'm well aware," he said dryly.? "You're about the most capable woman..no, person...I've ever met.? It's part of why I love you.? But knowing you can handle just about anything doesn't mean I won't be concerned."

She kissed his forehead and then brushed her cheek along his, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she smelled Home.? "What time is it?"? If it was late enough - or, conversely, early enough - she'd leave now.

"It's just about midnight," he answered, holding his cheek against hers in that feline way he'd picked up from her.?

"Hmm...? I'll give it another couple of hours and leave around three or so, okay?"

He nodded in agreement.? "When people are least likely to be alert."

"Yep.? Exactly.? That also gives us quite a lot of time on our hands.? Whatever shall we do with it?"

"Well, you could come over here and kiss me.? How's that sound?"

?It sounds perfect,? she murmured against his lips before she kissed him.? And when they finally came up for breath, it was 2:30 in the morning.? She patted his face, kissed him one last time, and slipped out of the bed, headed into the bathroom to shower.

He sat up as she went to shower, not bothering to get dressed.? There wasn't any real reason for him to do so, since he was sitting this one out.

She landed quietly on the roof on Honya-san's building and immediately fell into a crouch.? An explosion of pigeons had her gasp in fright and curse her luck all at the same time.? She scuttled backwards, pressing her back against a steam vent and went absolutely still, keeping her eyes slits so that the moon's light wouldn't reflect in them.

One of the Yaks glanced up when the pigeons burst out from the roof.? He grinned, pointing at the birds and c*cking his finger back as if it were a gun.? The other Yakuza laughed as he told the first one that he wasn't good enough with a gun to shoot a bird.? This started the first one boasting about the incredible shots he'd made in the past.

She rolled her eyes at the banter and decided that these two were definite candidates for the Darwin awards.? Standing carefully, she began searching the roof of the building for a stairwell or other opening.? No luck.? She cursed vehemently when the only way down turned out to be a rusted-out fire escape ladder...that would spill out right into the alleyway, delivering her directly to the two morons in front of the doors.

Well, there was nothing for it, was there?? She'd have to chance the fire escape.? She had only descended three steps when the rusted metal screws that attached it to the side of the building squealed in protest.? "Oh, you have got to be be f*cking kidding me," she grumbled after freezing in place and looking down at the floor of the alley three stories below her.

Both Yakuza spun at the sound of the squealing metal, hands dropping to the bulges of pistols in shoulder holsters.? They glanced at each other, then slowly began moving down the alley toward the fire escape, looking around and squinting as they tried to see through the dark and shadowed alley.

"Merde," she swore under her breath as they came towards her.? They'd see her soon enough and then she might as well have a big ol' bulls-eye painted on her chest.? She bit her lower lip, thinking furiously.? Maybe they'd be dumb and bunch up together...?

When the Yaks had moved about fifteen feet into the alley, they stopped, and a whispered argument broke out.? Neither of them wanted to be the first to go into the deepest shadows.? The fact that the shop they guarded was an occult, mystic place had both of them worried, though neither would admit.? After a minute of two of gun-waving and bickering, they settled on going together, and walked the rest of the way into the alley, guns drawn.

She just shook her head and thanked Murphy or Buddha or hell, Ame-no-Uzume even, for her luck.? Once they were directly beneath the ladder, she let go.? As she fell, she Shifted her hands into lethal, razor-sharp claws.? Jaguar was excited, pacing back and forth within Her mental cage, chuffing and purring and growling her approval of being Death from Above.

With almost comical timing, both Yakuza looked up and saw the Descent of Woman.? Two jaws fell open in surprise, guns forgotten. She landed on top of both of them, slamming them into the ground hard enough to knock them senseless.? Wasting no time, she ripped out their throats and wiped her hands on their jackets.? Picking up both guns, she held one in hand and put the other down the back of her jeans.? She could hear David shouting at her in her head about the danger of having a gun down your pants, but she didn't really have any other choice at the moment.

Flattening herself against the wall of the shop, she slipped down the alley as quietly as she'd fallen from the building.? Once she reached the shop's door, she sniffed the air.? Only the scent of the Onmyōji and the two dead buffoons hit her nose.? She carefully reached out and tried the doorknob.? It was unlocked.

"Death From Above?"? He knew his lady...and her Cat.? "Bet they sh*t themselves."

"I'm pretty sure they didn't have time.? They found themselves sans throats too quickly."? She turned a wicked, wicked smile on David.? "Honya-san is going to meet us just past dawn Tuesday morning at a Shinto shrine not too far from her neighbourhood.? We just have to figure out a way to get there undetected.? Did you notice if they had maps of Tokyo downstairs?"

"Poor Yaks," he said facetiously.? He grinned, then nodded.? "I saw some tourist guides on a rack."? He squeezed her hand, glad that they were coming to end of this...adventure.

"I think we'll need one to plan our route.? I'll pop down and grab one, okay?"?

"Okay."? He didn't think there was much chance anyone had followed them here...and none that they'd followed her back.

She kissed him and then headed down to the giftshop, picking up a street map, Sharpie markers in black and red...and a surprise for David as well.? When she came back to the room, she threw the larger bag at him and took the map and the markers to the small table under the windows, sitting down with them and spreading the map out in front of her.

He raised a brow as he plucked the bag out of the air.? "What's this?"? Opening the bag as he spoke, he peered into it.

"A present for you, silly man."? She was studying the map intently now, selecting possible routes, by train, city bus, walking, and taxi.

He reached in, pulling out a pair of DVD cases, and looked at the title.? A grin curved his lips.? "The last two seasons of Firefly.? Awesome.? We have to find the rest, now."? He set them down on the bed and went to look over her shoulder, giving her a little neck massage as he did.

She turned her head and pecked a quick kiss to the hand that was laying on her shoulder before turning back to the map.? "So, which do you think would be best?? And are we going together?"

He shook his head.? "I'll leave the route to you, you at least know something about the city.? We should go separately...but we need some way to communicate.? Maybe cell phones with BlueTooth."

"Burner phones will be frighteningly easy to come by here.? We can pick some up Monday night.? I think one of us should take a cab and the other the train or a public bus."? She glanced up at him, a brow raised in question.

He shook his head.? "No cab.? One on the bus, one on the train or subway.? Public transportation is safer.? The Yaks aren't usually known for indiscriminate civilian casualties."

She nodded, then traced the subway route in red, the bus route in black.? "Rock Paper Scissors to see who gets what?"

"I'll take the subway."? It was, in his opinion, the slightly more dangerous choice, and she'd already had her fun.

"You, sir, are one who poops at parties."

"Hey, I've been potty trained for years."

She cracked herself up at that one.? Leaving the map open on the table, she stood, still giggling at her rather lame insult, and then began removing her clothing.? "It's too bad you're a party pooper, too.? I've got some excess energy to get rid of."? She dropped her shirt on the floor, then skinned out of her jeans.

He put a hand on his chest in mock-surprise.? "Why Mrs. Lo.? Are you suggesting some sort of...sexual activity?"? As though he could keep his eyes off of her body while it was being revealed.

She turned around so that her back was to him and reached behind her to unclasp her bra and shrug it off.? Then she shed her panties as well, turning to give him a heated look over her shoulder.? "I was thinking about it.? But then you crapped on my plan.? And now...now I think I'll just go to bed.? And sleep."? She moved slowly, hips rocking in a long-legged, sinful strut, to the bed and bent provocatively to pull the covers down.

No chance of that.? He had his clothes off in a blur, and was pressed right up against her before the covers had moved an inch.? Hands on her hips, he pulled her body roughly against his, letting her feel what she did to him every time.? "That's what you think," he murmured.

She shivered, leaned back against him.? "I think I could be persuaded to change my mind," she said in a husky voice.? "Think you're up --" she thrust her hips back against his, "for the challenge?"

He bent over, rubbing his hips hard against hers, and bit the back of her neck, in just the spot she loved.? "I'm always up for you."

She growled, spun in his arms, hooked one leg behind his and dragged him towards the bed.? "Show me," she breathed before kissing him.

He showed her.? Several times.? Until they'd both worked off much of the pent-up energy that had built up.? Finally, they lay back in the bed, breathing hard and holding each other close.? The sheet and covers were missing, kicked off onto the floor at some point.? Neither of them cared.? They fell asleep tangled together.

"Yaks?"?

"Maybe.? There's a kid staring at me.? Oh, crap.? Here he comes."? She saw the guy approaching her in the reflection in the bus's window and turned to look up at him, meeting his eyes, nostrils flaring subtly.? No scent of cordite or gun oil.? He wasn't carrying a gun.? She ran her eyes boldly over his body, looking for tell-tale bulges but found none.? He gave her a c*cky smile and sat down next to her, reaching to touch her hair.? Her hand sprang up, knocking his away.? He looked surprised and then glanced at her left hand.? "Oh, sorry," he said in broken English.? "You married.? You talking to husband?"? He nodded to the phone in her hand.

He leaned forward in his seat, gripping one of the support poles tightly enough that it creaked warningly.? She was on her own if there was trouble.? The kid was close enough to her headset that the words carried through clearly.? He let out a little bark of relieved laughter.? The kid was hitting on her!? "Christ," he said.

She bit her lower lip, stifling a giggle that was caused both by the kid chatting her up and from David's reaction.? "Yes, I'm married.? Yes, I'm talking to my husband.? Sorry."? She truly sounded it, too.? The kid gave her a sheepish little smile and returned to his seat.? "Oh, God," Riley breathed softly into the phone.? "I thought he was gonna shoot me or stab me or something."

He snorted, still chuckling.? "Do remember that you're hot, my love.? Guys notice that."

She made a face, realised he couldn't see it, then made the audible version of the face.? "Feh."? Still, she was smirking rather proudly to herself.? A kid - he couldn't be more than 19, 20 years old - had hit on her!? That was rather a strong ego boost.

"Feh nothing.? You're gorgeous.? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.? Almost at my stop.? Where are you?"

"Getting off the subway now, and heading for the park.? No Yaks in sight."

"Good.? I think this is where it's gonna get tricky.? I wish I could be there first to scout things, you know?"

"Relax.? I might not have your super-kitty senses, but I do have some training.? I can spot an ambush."

"I know," she said softly, shoving down the urge to scream for the driver to hurry up.? She thought she could see the park just a few blocks away, and glanced at her phone.? It was 4:58.

He reached the park, walking casually past the entrance, scanning the area and looking for anything unusual.? It seemed completely peaceful.? He didn't see the old woman yet, but the park wasn't that small.? "I'm here.? No sign of anyone yet."

"Okay.? I'm still a few blocks down, but I can see it from here.? Maybe five more minutes."? She stood, winked at the kid, who blushed furiously, and moved towards the front in preparation for getting off.

"I'm going into the park, see if I can find her.? Watch for cars when you get here; there weren't any when I did."

"Okay.? Will do."? A few moments later, the bus stopped and she hopped off, pausing for a moment to get her bearings and to scout for anything that looked, sounded, or smelled, out of place.? There were a few cars parked along the street but they looked empty.? "There's an SUV and two sedans here, but they appear empty."? She crossed the street and headed into the park.? The time was 5:07.? Three minutes 'til dawn.

"I think I saw a couple cars parked down the street a ways.? Maybe a block away?"

"Yeah, something like."? She entered the park just at the edge of the pond that was fed by the spring the Onmyōji had mentioned.? Skirting along it, she kept the shrine in front of her, slowing her steps and acting as if she were on her way to worship.? "Is Honya-san there?"

Normally, he would have suggested checking those cars out anyway, but their time was so tight right now, they couldn't afford it.? "No sign...wait...there's someone up ahead."? He stared hard through the brightening gloom in the park.? The figure was sitting near the water, and looked roughly like the old woman's shape.? "Looks like her...I'm going in closer to check." He moved in, feeling a wave of relief when the shape resolved clearly into the kneeling form of the Onmyōji.? "It's her.? Come in quickly."

"Okay."? She turned and headed with alacrity towards the rear of the shrine, arriving at approximately the same time as David.? She reached for his hand, as if to assure herself that it was really him and that he was really okay.? Then she watched the tiny old woman ply her craft.? From an non-magical being's point of view, it was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

His relief grew when Riley appeared, and he grabbed her hand tightly.? To him, it looked like the old woman wasn't doing much more than sitting over a bowl, but the hair on his forearms began to tingle almost immediately.? He was getting used to that feeling meaning magic going on near him.

"Prince Saurta, Ame-no-Uzume, it is done.? You must be quick.? There are but three breaths left."? The honya-san's voice was very weak and it tore at Riley's heart.

He nodded, even though the old woman wasn't looking their way.? He saw a faint blue glow in front of her, a generally round shape that seemed to shimmer and dance.? It had to be the portal.? Still gripping Riley's hand, he moved towards it.?

Riley followed in David's footsteps, her eyes locked onto that portal hovering in the air in front of the Onmyōji.? Her grip on David's hand was white-knuckled; she was desperately afraid that if they were somehow physically separated, one or both of them would go astray.

Shouts rang out behind them abruptly; guttural voices calling in Japanese.? They were followed almost instantly by gunfire.? Sh*t...? It was all he had time to think before a sledgehammer struck him in the back, followed by instant, burning pain.? His legs gave out, and he sagged towards the ground.? Dimly, he realized he'd been shot, and badly.

The sudden explosion of gunfire was too much for her ears to handle.? She clapped her hands impotently over her ears and hit the ground, desperately looking around for David.? She saw him, lying face down in the dirt next to her, bleeding from a hole in his back.? The world went red.? She could distantly feel Jaguar taking over, shifting them into the seven-foot-tall movie monster that was the Alpha Lycanthrope's War Form.? She screamed and turned, fixing deadly cold alien eyes on the nearest group of Yakuza and crouching down to spring at them.

Only the Onmyōji's voice stayed her leap.? "Please, Ame-no-Uzume!" she cried.? "Only two breaths left.? You must save your husband.? Just go.? Go!"? Jaguar stopped, listened with Her head tilted to the side, then turned, picked David up carefully, clutching him to Her chest, and sprinted into the tunnel, with gunfire and angry Japanese insults chasing them the entire way.

Suddenly, the portal changed, shifting from blue to white.? The feeling of the magic changed, too.? What was different wasn't something Riley - or Jaguar, for that matter - could put her finger on.? The tunnel just no longer felt or looked the same.? Riley idly wondered if they'd crossed over to the Rhy'Din side of things.

The portal behind them was collapsing; the Onmyōji was dead.? Up ahead of Her, Jaguar could see the sakura trees and the Dragon Fountain of the Zen Gardens building's roof.? She picked up speed and spilled out of the tunnel, landing in front of a vaguely familiar looking witch dressed in white, sitting in the centre of a circle that was dotted with red, green, and white candles.? "Aurelia!" Riley supplied in her head.? It was all Jaguar needed.? She carefully set David down and then Shifted back to Human form.? Poor Aurelia. She was now facing an unconscious, bleeding David, and a nearly-unconscious naked Riley.