{These characters are not property of me. I would never attempt to claim them as my own. This story may not be used without my permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or form. Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko Takahashi, so don't try any funny stuff!}
"How long do you'll think it'll be here?" Nabiki whispered, as if the portal might take offense at the question.
"I can not say, but I suggest that we conclude our business as quickly as possible," Kuno answered, shifting the weight of the bag he had slung over his shoulder.
The two stood on opposite sides of the room, contemplating the thing they were about to do. They had filled their bags with supplies that they thought they might need, including food and water, but other things as well. Kuno was still dressed in the white gi, but had added a pair of sandals as well. Nabiki was in her overalls and a large shirt. She wanted to avoid busting out of as many clothes as possible.
Kuno stepped forward and mimicked Nabiki's actions of the previous day, running his fingers over the surface of the portal. He looked back at Nabiki. "Shall I go first?" he asked.
Nabiki stood next to him. "Let's go," she said, steel in her voice.
***
The two sat around the fire, one looking supremely bored, the other eating a half-cooked haunch of a rabbit. The portal cast its own other-worldly light on them, but they preferred the warmer, more natural light of the fire. Even though they didn't need the protection from the chill of the darkness, the fire was an old comfort not easily shed.
When the portal flared again, the two were so surprised that they could only stare as two figures stepped out of it. The one eating was the first to react.
He stood quickly, dropping the meat. "What the hell? Who are you? Where are Karl and Anatoly?"
Kuno's only answer was to cover the distance between them impossibly fast and swipe his hand across the man's throat. He then moved to the second man, who was just starting to stand, and drove his fist through the man's head.
Nabiki stood where she was, watching the two fall to the ground, the first, with the slashed throat, was slowly stopping his movement, and the second was still wiggling. "Are they..."
"This one," Kuno said, looking at the wiggling body, "will not die until the morning's light strikes him. That other one, he was a shape shifter." His voice was... regretful.
"How did he die? I thought..."
"No. Only given adequate time do injuries heal. If you should be injured that death would come quickly, nothing can save you. A slit throat means death."
His grave tone worried Nabiki. This was not the place to be giving lessons or for her to be learning them. In fact... She looked around. Where the hell were they? Wilderness of some sort, firs and leafy trees around, though there weren't a lot of leaves on them. That could mean some sort of winter. That could mean cold weather.
Kuno was searching through the sparse clothing the two bodies were wearing. The vampire had stopped moving, but twitched every so often, worrying Nabiki slightly. Unfortunately, neither had anything of note in their possession, and Kuno was soon going after the uneaten food.
"What if it's poisoned? You shouldn't eat that," Nabiki warned, though her nose was telling her it would be just fine.
"Nonsense. You know as well as I that there is nothing wrong with it." Kuno held out half of the unconsumed animal. "Have some. I think we shall need all our available energy." He bit off a piece of flesh and began to chew slowly.
Nabiki couldn't resist what her nose was telling her any longer. She dropped her bag and accepted the offered meat. Come to think of it, she was feeling a bit run down. She sat by the fire, shivering a little, and ignored the bodies while she ate.
Looking around the little makeshift camp, it barely even qualifying as a camp, Nabiki could tell that what Kuno had said about the two men was correct. Their camp was a fire ten feet away from the portal and nothing more. A small pile of bones was the only other evidence that anyone had been waiting there. She looked over at Kuno, who was staring off into the darkness. "A yen for your thoughts," she said.
"A village," Kuno answered immediately. "There is one not very far to the northwest."
"How can you tell?"
"The wind. It carries the scent of many people. It can only be a village or town of some sort."
"Oh." He smelled it. Nabiki tried smelling the air, but there wasn't anything she could pick up.
"It took me a time to get used to it as well, and this was even after I had... accepted my change." He hoped she wouldn't take offense at that.
Nabiki only looked at him strangely.
Kuno sighed. They didn't have time for this. He knew they had to get moving as quickly as possible. "We must leave expediently; I shall explain along the way." Kuno strode over to the bag he had been carrying and lifted it.
Nabiki stood up slowly and retrieved her load. "Where are we heading? Are you sure this village is a good idea?" They needed some voice of reason, even if it wasn't a very sure one.
"To the village. I think we may find some measure of safety there."
"And how do you know that?" Nabiki asked, following Kuno as he started walking through the darkness.
"I do not, but at this point, we have very little choice."
"Oh, right," Nabiki answered awkwardly. At that point, she was in over her head, and that was a feeling she didn't like. Too many unknowns, too many variables, too much she didn't know put her in a very uncomfortable spot.
"It was a strange feeling, but also very compelling."
Nabiki realized that Kuno had been talking and she had expertly tuned him out. "What was that, Kuno-chan?"
Kuno frowned in her direction, perfectly visible to her in the darkness. "I wish you would cease with that infernal name-calling," he replied sternly.
With a faint smile on her face, Nabiki said, "Don't be such a grouch. It's cute."
Kuno put on his most unhappy look while he melted inside.
"And don't act all upset. I know you like it."
Damn it, she had him there as well. He sighed, defeated by her as usual. Something cold and wet struck his arm, and Kuno knew that shelter was a priority. They could have easily survived outside, but without a steady, easily acquirable source of food, that was too risky. "We must hurry before the snow arrives, or we will be tracked."
Nabiki nodded, and the two picked up their pace as they traveled through the woodland. "How far do you think it is?" she asked. She wanted to get inside someplace and out of the weather, which was quickly getting worse with the snow coming down quite heavily.
"I am not sure," Kuno answered loudly, his voice threatening to be drown out by the sharply gusting wind. He looked around, and upon seeing a tall tree, dropped his bag. "I shall see if it is visible."
Nabiki nodded and watched him climb the tree. Climbing, he wasn't agile like a squirrel, but did it more like he was on a ladder. The noise as he dug his claws into the bark was audible to her, and she had to wonder by how many other creatures.
Kuno clambered as high as he thought was safe, and peered through the falling snow to the north. Sure enough, in the distance, he could see a faint yellow glow. It was dimmer than he had hoped it would be, but that town was their destination.
Dropping out of the tree, minding not to catch any branches on the way down in a sensitive area, Kuno landed next to Nabiki. "Not far off. If we quicken our pace, it should be no more than 10 minutes," he said, shouldering his bag.
Nabiki nodded and waited for him to go. It annoyed her endlessly that she didn't know where they were going and she had to wait for him to lead. She didn't smell anything on the wind and wasn't totally sure that Kuno even really knew where they were going. This was not a place the two of them could afford to be hindered by his ego and arrogance. 'Or your whining complaints,' that little voice added. Nabiki ignored it.
After they had walked longer than Kuno's estimation through the woods, in the snow and the darkness, the trees suddenly ended and a field stretched out before them. Standing back among the trunks, not wanting to be seen, the two gazed across the barren field at the inviting sight: a moderate sized group of small homes. There were several livestock pens and even a few small barns. The field was no doubt the remains of warmer weather's crops.
"I suggest we seek shelter in one of those buildings," Kuno said as quietly as he could to be heard while pointing at a rickety barn closest to them.
Nabiki, who still couldn't smell anything because she thought her nose was beginning to freeze, nodded and tried not to let her teeth chatter in the harsh wind.
Without warning, Kuno grabbed her hand and began sprinting across the field, not slowing until he reached the barn. Lifting the simple wooden latch, Kuno opened the door enough for them to step inside, and hoped the latch wouldn't close. There weren't any windows and he didn't relish the idea of breaking through a wall. He wasn't one of those destructive Amazons, after all.
Standing just inside the doorway, the barn was comfortably dark and silent. There were a few stalls where thin, scraggly-looking animals were still asleep thankfully, and it was not warm, but at least it was out of the snow and wind.
"we can stay here and leave before morning to avoid discovery," Kuno said quietly. Of course, after that, he had no idea what to do. "Do you require rest?"
Nabiki only shrugged, but the tiredness was coming off her in waves. She was not used to the physical exertion like he was. Well, not in that particular manner.
Kuno shivered a little, finally realizing just how deeply the cold had seeped into him. While more tolerant to the cold than he would have been if he was fully human, the gi he wore didn't do much to protect his bare skin. Seeing a pile of clean straw, he went to it to test its softness.
Not needing an invitation, Nabiki went to the straw, dropped her bag, and tried to arrange herself comfortably in the dry, semi-warmth.
"I would suggest you change, but I know you find that an unpleasant experience," Kuno whispered, then began to cover Nabiki with the straw.
Nabiki watched him then put down his bag, remove his sandals and top, and asked, "What are you doing?"
Without speaking, Kuno folded the top very precisely to form a makeshift pillow. He placed it behind Nabiki's head and reorganized the straw, acting strangely like Kasumi as he did so. "You should rest; I will watch over you." To keep warm and to improve his senses while he waited for night to pass, he changed.
A slightly malnourished cow opened its eyes to gaze upon the man, which it was used to, change into a beast, which it didn't care for at all. A goat and a sheep woke as well, alarmed even in their sleep by the presence of this predator.
First, the sheep began to bleat worriedly, trapped in the pen with no way out. Then the goat joined in, knocking its head against the wooden slats that kept it from roaming the barn freely. The cow, growing more panicked as the beast looked at it, began to moo in earnest.
Kuno was starting to panic himself. If the animals didn't keep quiet, they would be discovered and be in trouble of a manner he didn't want to consider. The animals were obviously agitated by his current state, but he didn't trust staying human in the current situation. Then the answer came to him.
The cow stamped each hoof as the beast got closer, unable to break from the small enclosure it had been shut in. It mooed more plaintively, moving back and forth, trying to find any room at all where it might escape. And then the frightened eyes of the cow met those of the beast, which started to glow.
"Did you hear that?"
The woman nodded. The animals starting such a ruckus could mean only one thing: they had returned.
The man tossed the bed covers and hurried to put on something more appropriate for the weather. "Hurry and get my ax," he said over his shoulder as he dressed.
The woman shook her head, not wanting to believe it. "It can't be them. Why didn't anyone see them? They should've been..."
"It doesn't matter. Now hurry up, woman! Do you want to see all our animals killed again?" The man was nearly finished dressing.
The woman, appearing to almost be in shock, shook her head again and started getting around.
Kuno had finally managed to quiet the animals ,giving himself quite a headache in the process. He stumbled back to the straw, where Nabiki was already asleep, and dropped down at the edge of the pile. For a few minutes, he stared at the door, but soon his own desire for sleep overcame him.
The man stepped outside into the blowing snow, his light held high, though it didn't help much. He strode to the barn, ax held comfortably in his other hand, his wife following, holding a crude pitchfork.
At the barn, the man looked at the open latch. "Well, someone opened it, but this isn't what they usually do." He put his hand on the latch to pull open the door. He looked back at his wife, who nodded and held the pitchfork up.
Holding the light forward, the man took a deep breath, holding the ax awkwardly while he made to open the door. He tensed his body and yanked the door open, shining the light inside. Bringing the ax back up, he was ready to use it with deadly force.
The sound of the door opening roused Kuno, and the sudden light caused him to spring to his feet, not quite fully alert. Standing before him, in the open doorway, were two people staring at him. It was obvious that they were both frightened of him, not that it was a surprise since he was growling steadily.
The woman almost dropped her weapon at the sight of the wolf creature. "We... we can't," she said to her husband.
"No, I've never seen this one before," he answered, keeping his threatening position. "It might be wild."
The woman trembled and looked more afraid. "Wild?"
The man spared a glance at the animals and breathed a sigh of relief. At least they were still alive. "What do you want?" the man asked loudly, waving the ax a little. "Why don't you just get out of here!" He waved the light this time and lifted the ax up.
"Don't get it mad!" the woman begged. "It might attack!"
"Good! Then I'll cut off its damn head!"
"Don't!" the woman said, her voice filled with fear.
"Let's go. Maybe we can flush it out. If we don't, it'll think it's got a home here."
"Don't go in there," the woman begged once more.
Kuno watched and listened to the people talk. They were treating him like some unwanted wild animal. It was like they had been expecting to see something... threatening, and he was a little more than what they had bargained for. He looked at the woman and determined that she was not a threat. Then he looked at the man and their eyes locked.
"Go on," the man said loudly and stepped forward. "Get out of here! Go home! Leave us alone!" The man was almost shouting, holding his arms up and completely entering the barn. He was taking tiny steps forward, but also moving to the side, trying to herd Kuno to the door.
The woman, still behind her husband, unwilling to stand unprotected in front of the creature, had the pitchfork in a death grip now. The beast could probably kill them both and not have a second thought about it.
Then her eyes fell on the pile of straw, barely in the light of her husband's directed beam. Among the straw, she could see a girl's face. She gasped. Tugging on her husband's arm, she whispered, "Stop. There's a girl..."
Her husband ignored her, still circling with Kuno. "Not now. It's almost out."
"But there's a girl." Making a frustrated sound, the woman decided to check it out herself. She began moving toward the straw, still holding her weapon tightly.
Kuno saw the woman approach Nabiki, holding the pitchfork threateningly and moved by instinct. Moving quickly to his left, dismissing the man and his ax, he stood directly in the woman's path, snarling with more ferocity than before.
The woman shrieked and took a step back, thinking she was done for.
Kuno grabbed the pitchfork and yanked it from her hands. He tossed it aside, but made no move toward the woman herself. Whoever they were, these people were definitely not fighters.
As the man moved to join his wife, he noticed Nabiki for the first time. His attitude changed drastically, as he was now enraged. "You sick bastard, kidnapping girls... Were you going to take her to your cave and eat her?"
Kuno was starting to get really annoyed at this man and his foolish accusations. Lowering himself to all fours, Kuno paced in front of the man, their eyes never breaking contact.
"Kuno-chan, wha..."
"Girl, you just hold still and keep quiet, and we'll get you away from this thing," the man said, now holding his ax defensively.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just hold it a second," Nabiki said, sitting up in the straw. "This isn't a monster, and I have not been kidnapped." She stood and pushed Kuno aside so the two people could see her better.
The woman waved frantically at her. "Come away from that. It's an animal," she said quietly, with extreme urgency.
Nabiki chuckled. Animal indeed. "He won't hurt anyone without reason. We just stopped here for the night, to get out of the snow."
The two people looked at her strangely, the man still glaring at Kuno. The woman moved to stand closer to her husband so she could whisper to him. "I've never seen that coloring. And those clothes..."
After a few moments of indecision, the man lowered his ax and nodded his head slightly.
That was the only signal the woman needed. "Come inside. You must tell us where you've come from," she said excitedly, taking hold of Nabiki's arm and keep as far away from Kuno as she could. "You must have been very cold out in the snow..." The woman continued to talk as she led Nabiki back to the house.
That left the man and Kuno alone in the barn, glaring at each other. "I don't know where you come from, and I don't trust you, but... You're not wild?" he asked.
Kuno shook his head, feeling vaguely insulted.
"You don't stay like that all the time, do you?"
Kuno shook his head again, now feeling like some unwanted stray.
"You can come in, but I'm going to expect some answers." The man turned and left the barn, not waiting for Kuno to follow.
Gathering their things, Kuno followed soon enough, wondering what kind of mess they had just gotten involved in.
The home was little more than a multi-room shack. A crude fireplace was providing the warmth inside, and the woman was already cooking food in a small metal pot over the flames. There was a simple wooden table with three chairs around it on the other side of the single main room, where Nabiki was sitting, watching the woman.
The woman busied herself, heating some thick meat stew, and adding a kettle to heat water as well. There were already large cups on the table waiting to be filled. "Wasn't it cold outside?" the woman asked, stirring the stew, unsure of what else to say.
"A little," Nabiki said noncommittally. She didn't think the woman would take the truth very well. She watched the woman fill the cup in front of her with steaming water, then took a sip from it. Whatever mix of herbs had been in the cup was quite powerful. "Whoa, what's in this?"
The woman looked back at Nabiki and smiled a little. "It's from an herb that grows in the cool weather before the snow. It seems to spread warmth throughout the body. Do you like it?"
Nabiki took another drink, feeling the liquid travel down to her stomach. It gave her the same warm, tingling feeling that sake did, but without the alcohol. "Very good."
The door opened and the man entered, carrying his ax and lamp, covered in snow. He stomped his feet and brushed the snow off his shoulders. "It's getting worse out there," he said as he shed his outdoor clothing.
The woman nodded and filled another cup with hot water. She carried the cup to her husband, her hands beginning to tremble slightly when she saw Kuno come inside as well. This one, who took the form of their tormenters, made her very nervous. She turned to him, but could not meet his gaze. "Would you like some?"
"Have some, Kuno-chan. It's good stuff," Nabiki said, drinking down more of her own.
It did have a rather tempting aroma. Kuno nodded and watched the woman turn away to hurriedly pour another cup. He moved to the side of the door so it could be shut then slowly set the bags down. It seemed best not to do anything too fast or too sudden around these people. He didn't want a confrontation.
"Kuno-chan, why don't you go change? You're making the nice people nervous," Nabiki offered playfully.
Kuno sighed. He didn't think she was drunk, but she was sure acting like it. Still holding his top, and not waiting for an offer, Kuno went down a short hall that led to two back rooms so he was out of sight and changed. No doubt the man and his wife knew what he was and there was no reason to hide, but there was something personal; about the change that made him uncomfortable doing it in front of others.
He emerged less than a minute later from the short hallway, adjusting the top and tightening the belt. The other were all seated at the table and looking at him. There was another empty chair that had been set there for him, along with a full cup and a bowl of food waiting for for him.
Kuno's eyes met those of the woman, who held his gaze for only a second before she looked away. Then he looked at the man, who was studying him. Finding something he approved of, the man nodded and gestured to the empty seat. Sitting slowly, Kuno sipped the steaming drink, and was quite surprised at the taste. His next drink was a bit deeper.
Nabiki was already digging into the stew, eating heartily. The woman was watching her with almost starry eyes, not eating or drinking anything herself. Whatever the herb was, it could make her a fortune back in Japan. It tasted better, had actual benefits, and didn't have the drawbacks the alcohol did. Yet, she still felt like she had a rather pleasant buzz.
The man was eating his own food slowly. "So," he said finally, "do you have a name?" This was directed at Nabiki.
"Nabiki Tendo," she said, her mouth half-filled with food.
"Nabiki Tendo," the man said thoughtfully. "Does he have a name?" The man pointed at Kuno, but was still speaking to Nabiki.
She smiled. "Kuno-chan? Sure he does. Tell him, Kuno-chan."
The man looked at Kuno. "Kuno-chan?"
Kuno's face flushed at that. "My name is Tatewaki Kuno, and I can speak for myself. If you have questions, you may ask me. My... companion seems a bit impeded."
The man nodded. "This drink will do that if you're not used to it." He looked down at his cup for a moment, then back at Kuno. "My name is Rhodes, and my wife's name is Anatalia. I hope you don't think too unkindly of us; your presence in the barn was most unexpected."
Kuno nodded and began to eat. He had been taken aback by their hostility, but he had also been the trespasser. He was actually more annoyed at himself for being caught off-guard so easily.
"Around here, you can never be too careful. Especially so close to the mountains."
"Did you know Mr. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan?" Nabiki said, the drink having gone straight to her head.
Kuno and Rhodes looked at her strangely, each for their own reason, then returned to their conversation.
"And what is it about the mountains that you find so threatening?" Kuno asked, avoiding his cup now after witnessing what it had done to Nabiki.
Rhodes' expression turned serious. "They come from the mountains. I only know the legends, stories really..."
That earned him a sharp stare from his wife. "Come along," she said, suddenly trying to get Nabiki to stand. "You need your sleep."
"Nonsense. I wanted to talk about Mr. Fuji," she replied, remaining seated. "What do you think of Mr. Fuji, Kuno-chan?"
Seeing no way around it, Kuno decided to suffer the humiliation. He nodded as he spoke. "He's a very nice man."
"See? Kuno-chan knows!" That seemed to placate Nabiki, who was now ready for some sleep. She stood up and walked around the table to stand next to Kuno.
She bent over and talked quietly in his ear. "Good night, Kuno-chan," she said lustily, then began nibbling on his ear.
"Nabiki Tendo," Kuno said sternly, barely controlling his rising passion, "you must cease this at once and take your night's rest. It is important."
Nabiki pouted, sad and exaggerated, and swayed back and forth drunkenly. "If you say so, Kuno-chan."
Kuno tried not to look at Nabiki, waiting for her to be gone so he could continue his talk with Rhodes. Unfortunately, Rhodes was no better, giving him an amused look.
"It's late. Why don't we all turn in?" he offered, rising from his chair. "The day begins early tomorrow."
Kuno nodded and stood as well, which caused the woman to look at him fearfully.
"Anna, help our guest," Rhodes said, seeing his wife's hesitation. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
Anatalia paused for a moment, then nodded, taking Nabiki by the arm. Leading her down the little hallway, Anatalia glanced back at her husband once more.
Rhodes ignored her for the time being, keeping his attention on Kuno. "Don't mind her. You're the first..." He paused, unsure of exactly what he could say that wouldn't be offensive. "Well, most of your kind aren't friendly to us. There are a handful that are less hostile, but... Keep your secret. Things will be easier that way."
Kuno nodded. "Things were similar back at my home."
"Good, then you understand. Don't take any offense by my wife's actions. She's just afraid." He couldn't bring himself to talk about the rest of it.
Nodding again, Kuno could tell there was something Rhodes was holding back.
Rhodes looked around the little home, his eyes haunted, seeing how empty it was. Barren and empty, almost devoid of life... Devoid of life as the entire village waited for the inevitable each day, when maybe the next time, they wouldn't be able to withstand the attack.
Kuno walked away slowly, leaving Rhodes to his contemplations. Down the hall, the two doors, one on either side of the hall, closed, he opened the one he could smell Nabiki behind and looked inside. She was in the small bed there, her head covered by the blanket and legs bare.
Shaking his head as entered the bedroom, Kuno shut the door and began to undress. He attempted to squeeze into the narrow bed next to Nabiki, but she expertly managed to take up whatever space he tried to fit into. Finally, as her final defense, Nabiki kicked out and struck him right in the gut.
Breathing heavily, Kuno looked at the bed longingly. He sighed, then changed and settled on the floor next to it instead.
***
Anatalia knocked on the door softly. Receiving no answer, she opened the door slowly and peeked her head in. She barely managed to stifle the scream and prevent the neighboring homes from hearing her, but it was enough to bring her husband in a hurry.
"What is it? What's happened?" he asked worriedly.
Anatalia had her mouth covered and slowly shook her head, still staring into the room.
Rhodes physically moved her to see what the horror was. "Woman, you know there's nothing wrong with him," he said. Turning his attention to the two sleepers, he clapped his hands loudly. "Wake up, you two!" he said.
Kuno was up almost immediately, looking at what had caused so much noise. Seeing the two people looking at him, he curled up and hid himself as best he could.
"Right. Wake your friend up; you're going to have to earn your keep, one day at a time." Rhodes ushered his wife away to leave the two teenagers to their privacy.
Kuno sat up and looked at Nabiki. She hadn't been bothered by the noise at all, since she was still asleep. Standing and stretching, Kuno shook himself, fluffing out the fur that had matted as he slept on it.
"Mmm, Kuno-chan... What's for breakfast?" Nabiki asked as she did start to wake up.
Kuno looked down at her, amazed how she could make even the simple straw mattress look like a bed made for a queen. He shivered as he reverted to being human, and said, "You must awaken. We have... chores to do." Strange. He had never done chores before. These would most likely be nothing like the ones he might have done back in Japan.
Nabiki wrinkled her nose. "Chores... What time is it anyway?" she asked as she sat up.
Kuno looked around. "I do not know. There do not seem to be any clocks..." And it wasn't much lighter than it had been when they had gone to sleep. "At my best estimation, early morning."
Yawning, Nabiki got her legs out of the bed, still partially covered by the blanket. "Morning. I hate the morning."
"Good to see you two finally up. Ready to do some work?" Rhodes asked far too cheerily.
Nabiki gave him a look that said she wasn't ready for anything except going back to bed, and Kuno looked at him with apprehension.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you won't have any trouble with it. It's nice and easy for a couple of healthy looking kids like you," Rhodes said encouragingly.
Kuno and Nabiki didn't feel all that encouraged.
"They don't like you much," Rhodes said as he tried to settle down a panicking goat. "Don't worry, they just smell... it in you." He watched Kuno refill the water bucket as he put some hay and a small scoop of grain in for the frightened animals. "They might learn to tolerate you."
Kuno didn't say it, but he had no intention of staying there long enough for the animals to get used to him. Not if he could help it. Instead, he continued to refill the water.
This was a strange situation for him. He was doing manual labor, staying in a house that was nearly a shack with people that didn't know anything of the respect he commanded back in Japan.
What a strange path his life had taken, then made even stranger by the journey to this place. The rest of it he was not looking forward to. Unless... unless he could somehow find a way to make Nabiki happy. If he could really accomplish that, then it would be worth it. Mostly.
"Don't worry. It's only a few hours of hard work. I'm sure you'll do just fine... If you don't pass out first." Rhodes smirked at him.
"You don't do much housework, do you?"
"Me? No way. I avoid it if at all possible." Nabiki swayed on her feet as she attempted to help Anatalia. She was still obviously very tired.
"That's quite all right. You just do the best you can." Anatalia smiled gently at the slightly scowling girl. "Don't trouble yourself over it. I'll do it if you can't. After all, I've been doing it ever since I was old enough." She gave a nervous laugh and glanced quickly at Nabiki.
"So, why don't you tell me why... why you're really here. I mean, I know this isn't just some... scenic getaway," Anatalia said hesitantly, not making eye contact with Nabiki.
Nabiki was fairly uncomfortable with the confrontation herself. There were several tense moments of silence in which she couldn't think of anything to say.
"Well? Why? You understand, it's not that I don't trust you. It's just... Why are you here?"
"Yes, why don't you tell us from your own mouth. No secrets this time, if you please," Rhodes said as he entered the home with Kuno following him. "The truth please."
Kuno was sweating and looked like he had been doing something to strain even his enhanced strength. Apparently, manual labor did not agree with him.
Nabiki cast one not very happy look at Kuno, who looked back evenly and nodded. "Fine. How much did he say?" she asked, resigned to the fact that Kuno talked too much for his own good.
"He said enough to make me very curious. Now, don't be concerned. I think I can say in all honesty that I trust you, both of you. I've gotten good at listening to my instincts; if you don't, you don't live here long." Rhodes' voice was calm and rational, his gaze steady and even. "So tell us. Everything."
Sighing, Nabiki sat down at the table. "This could take a while."
Rhodes nodded and sat down as well. Kuno and Anatalia followed shortly.
"I'm... I'm like him," Nabiki said, pointing at Kuno.
Anatalia gasped, but Rhodes only nodded.
"I don't want to be," Nabiki added quickly. "It's been more trouble than it's worth for both of us."
Out of the corner of his eye, Rhodes saw the downcast look on Kuno's face and wondered why exactly this was a sticking point between the two. He would have to ask the boy later.
"This is the only way we could think of finding a cure because..." Forced to vocalize it again. How she hated it. "Because I..." The others looked at her with great interest, which made it worse. Nabiki took a big breath. "I'm pregnant, and I want to be normal. I want them to be normal."
To their credit, Rhodes and Anatalia did not bat an eyelash. In fact, they appeared less apprehensive than they had before Nabiki had said anything.
"I can see your dilemma then," Rhodes said. "If you don't mind me asking, what type are you? And the children?" Instincts and information. That was how he survived. He knew it wasn't as simple as just someone turning into a wolf creature. There were other considerations.
"Type? What do you mean?" Nabiki asked, suddenly concerned that there might be something more for her to worry about.
"Well, there are two ways even the farmers know of getting... your condition. One is to be bitten by one. It's passed on like that. The other way is to be born like that," Rhodes answered. Everyone knew that; it was like knowing that birds and reptiles laid eggs while mammals had live births.
"And what would be the difference between the two?" Kuno asked.
Being so... foreign, alien, Rhodes has assumed that the boy had been bitten and had probably bitten the girl as well. That was a story he wanted to hear. "Someone's who's been bitten can pass it on in the same way, or... Someone born with it can only pass it on to any children they might eventually have."
It appeared that they might be in for a very long period of discussion. "I don't normally talk about these things because... " haven't always lived here. I wasn't always a farmer. I used to work in one of those hellish castles, as a servant basically. I've seen the experiments, seen the notes... I've seen the lies.
"It must have been very frightening for you the first time. I've seen men go through it, the agony on their faces..." He wiped something non-existent off the table before he continued talking. "If you're bitten, it's very... active. If you've been injured, you know the healing power it has. It attacks what threatens its presence. That's about the best way to put it because they really didn't know. No one does."
Rhodes smiled slightly. "The concept was so simple, but the process was impossible to understand. When you're bitten, depending on the condition you're in, it spreads through you. The weaker you are, the faster it works. It gets into every part of you and stays very active. That is how it is passed on through the bite."
He gestured at the fire and Anatalia hurried to get him some food. "The ones born with it can either be considered blessed or cursed. Inside of them, it's much more.. stable I think is the right word. It's not as active. They can't pass it on through the but, but... they can't be cured of it either.
"So I ask you, what types are you?"
"Both... bitten," Nabiki answered stiffly. Couldn't be cured?
"And when did you... conceive? Before or after?"
"Before... Just before." A pause. "Before I was. But..." Nabiki looked over at Kuno.
Rhodes looked at the two and nodded. When he spoke, his voice was solemn. "Unfortunate then."
That sounded... very bad to Nabiki's ears. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sorry, but there's no cure. It's never been discovered how to cure the ones born that way. There's just too deep a hold; it can't be flushed out," Rhodes answered apologetically.
"If I have to do this," Nabiki said, sounding quite dangerous, "then I will find a cure. There's no way I'll let them stay this way. No way." She gave Kuno a shove for good measure and marched outside with an angry look on her face.
"Will... will she be all right outside like that?" Anna asked hesitantly.
Kuno nodded and looked at Rhodes sadly. "She was near death. She would have died if I hadn't... I could not allow that."
Rhodes nodded, knowing exactly what Kuno was talking about, the kind of pain he was in. "You meant no malice by it. If either of you had known better, I'm sure things would have turned out differently," he offered sympathetically.
The guilt came back to Kuno in a flood. Over and over again he told himself that he shouldn't have done it. He should have just... let go. So desperate, so angry though, he just hadn't been able to.
Kuno suddenly turn around and ran out the door.
Rhodes stood and went to shut it to keep the snow out. "I'm surprised it took him that long," he said quietly.
He found her down at the riverside, watching the swift-moving water. She didn't acknowledge his presence, but it wasn't necessary. Kuno walked up behind her and sat down. He put his legs on either side of her body and scooted forward in the snow until they were in a rather intimate position.
"I don't believe him," she said angrily. "It's not true. There has to be a cure."
Kuno put his arms around her and pulled her back against him, unresisting. "Do you believe that?" he asked quietly.
"It doesn't matter what I believe. It's not the truth." The anger had flowed from her to be replaced by... pity?
"And what if it is?" His hold tightened briefly.
"I don't know. I don't care because it's not. You hear me? It's not."
His hands moved to her stomach. "And will you care for them less?"
Nabiki sighed and shook her head. "No," she said without emotion.
They sat in the cold winter silence with only the burbling water to disturb them.
"What did you dream about last night?" Kuno asked suddenly.
Nabiki answered after a moment, "My family mostly."
"Ah."
"And you, but you already know that, don't you?"
"I dream about you every night. Every night, it's you... and me. is it really so bad? I would have thought so at one time, but not now."
"That's not the point. You know that has nothing to do with it. The only thing I'm concerned with is..." She shrugged.
"Not yourself?"
Her reply was slow in coming this time. "I suppose I can handle it. No, I don't like it, but..." But it wasn't so bad really, better than she would admit. "If I have to deal with this, then... Damn it! You know what I mean!"
"I do. If there was any possibility, I would be as adamant as you."
"You really don't think there's any cure? That they'll be... stuck like that?"
"I am afraid so." He looked downcast behind her. "I hope you realize just because I choose to stay this way does not mean I think you should. Or... our children."
That sounded so weird. Was he really about to become a father at 17? And his children would apparently require a type of instruction nobody had ever anticipated. How would he handle that? Could he handle that?
He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "I do love you."
"I told you not to say that. You don't mean it; how could you? There's nothing about me..."
"On the contrary. You would wish that I list the things about you that I desire? The light in your eyes in the morning, the ire of your spirit..."
It was typical Kuno, just what she had expected him to say, and she was not impressed at all.
"Your body, and the way it moves, the way your skin feels against mine..." He nuzzled her neck. "The way you smell, the sound of your voice, whether used in anger or ecstasy..."
"Stop it," she said weakly. "I won't just let you..."
"But it was what you wanted. Or have you suddenly become a shirking violet, unable to face that which you know is the truth? I know you better than that. I know you better than you may think. Simply accept these things, do not run away from them. You deserve to have your entire being coveted. Do not deny this. I would not deny that I need you more than life itself, nor that I love you more than life itself for all the things I could never truly see before."
Nabiki felt that tightening in her chest again. Was that all it really took? Just some guy she had never really respected before telling her that he loved her? And the companionship, and the understanding... and the great sex? Was love really such a sham?
There was a subtle physical shift in the body behind her, and a not wholly human tongue ran behind her ear.
"Not now!" she hissed at him, but couldn't hide her sudden arousal. "Not out here... where someone... might see us..." Nabiki's voice had grown even weaker.
The shift again. "If you insist, I shall stop," he whispered.
Nabiki turned and leaned against him. "Not on your life, you bastard," she warned, then kissed him.
***
"What do we do?"
"There's nothing we can do. Those two are better off going back to where they came from and forgetting this place ever existed."
"But they can be cured. Why didn't you tell them everything?"
"Tell them the quickest way to get themselves killed, you mean? I wouldn't do that. A life as a partial beast is better than no life at all, don't you think?"
"But what about... Maxim?"
"Are you insane, woman!?"
"He could do it. Even the babies..."
"Yes, he could cure them, but he'd be just as likely to kill them! Do you want that on your conscience?"
"Who holds this cure?" Kuno asked from the doorway, Nabiki at his side. They were both covered in snow.
"No. You can't even consider it. You would both be dead, or worse," Rhodes warned, looking at them seriously. "Anna has no idea what she's talking about. There is no cure. There's nothing..."
"I heard you. I want a cure," Nabiki demanded. "Tell us."
Anna started to speak, but a withering look from Rhodes silenced her.
"Suicide. Do you want to die? Is that it? A cure is so important that you would risk your lives? What kind of foolish world do you come from?" Rhodes asked, angry and irritated. "You're just children! He'll kill you!"
Both Nabiki and Kuno looked at him with cool gazes. "Who?" Kuno asked.
Rhodes shook his head, looking angry with himself. "Damn you. You think I want your deaths on my conscience?"
"I have to know. Nothing will stop me," Nabiki said.
The strange, fiercely determined tone of her voice made Kuno look at her in surprise. He hadn't really seen this side of her up close before, and it was just a little worrying.
Hanging his head, breaking eye contact, Rhodes seemed to be struggling internally over whether to answer or not. "There's no other way to describe him. He's a monster, plain and simple. Anything you hear about him just can't do his cruelty justice."
That seemed to temper the teenagers some. "How do you know?" Nabiki asked, a little unsure of herself now.
"Everyone knows, dear," Anatalia said. The stories, tales, legends of his cruelty were... They were enough to shake any man, no matter his age or stature.
"He's brutal and bloodthirsty. He is ruthless and rules everything on this piece of unbroken land. Rules with an iron fist. Not that he needs to. We are all powerless against him anyway," Rhodes continued.
Out loud, their situation sounded even more hopeless than he liked to believe. "He could possibly help you, yes, it it entertained him enough to do so." Rhodes first looked at Kuno, and then Nabiki. "Yes, it is correct to believe that he can help you..."
"But?" Kuno asked.
"But will he? Your lives are inconsequential to him. He's seen others like you come and go over the time he's been in control. Longer than my lifetime." Rhodes shrugged.
"I heard of him from my mother and grandmother," Anatalia said, nodding her head in agreement.
"How? how can he be so..." Nabiki started to say, then her eyes got wide. "Not more of them."
"Vampires," Kuno said with a sneer.
"You've dealt with them? They must have been quite anxious if they were sending them out. During the winter, they usually stay all locked up, away from the people and their fires," said Rhodes.
Nabiki still wasn't quite buying it. "Don't you understand? I can't just give up. I can't. I won't."
"Neither shall I." Nabiki spared Kuno a quick glance, but that was all.
"We can't stop them," Anatalia said to her husband, clasping her hands tightly. "If they're determined, how will we stop them? We could... we could..."
Rhodes looked horrified. "You can't be suggesting..."
"They are not our prisoners. If they are determined, we must help them." Anatalia looked at him evenly. "I don't like it either, but we can help even if they choose not to heed our advice. We must help."
Nodding, Rhodes knew when he was beat. They were right, after all. "If you insist. If you think this is really the best way."
Kuno looked at Nabiki, then at Rhodes. "Do not think us ungrateful. This is the reason we came here though, to find a way to alleviate this condition."
"You know you could be killed, don't you? What will you do then?"
"Die," Nabiki answered coldly.
"It would not be the first time we have faced it." They hadn't faced it very well, but they had faced it, and come out alive. That was all that mattered.
"Right now, we won't discuss this matter," asserted Anatalia. "We'll save it for later. Today we shall simply go about our business as usual. All this talk about death, it isn't necessary now." She looked faintly disturbed. "It can wait..."
And that was the end of the discussion.
In a gesture that surprised Kuno, Nabiki took his hand. "We have to talk," she said seriously.
"About what?"
"Not here. Let's go for a walk." She tugged on his hand and led him outside into the crisp night air.
Night was the only time the clouds ever broke, and even then, not for very long. This was one night where they parted enough to reveal a reddish moon and a host of stars in unfamiliar patterns. Nabiki avoided looking at it though. It reminded her too much of where she was and where she wanted to be.
She led him back to the river, slightly upstream from where she had been earlier in the day. Nabiki sat in the snow with her back to a fallen tree, still holding Kuno's hand.
He sat down next to her closely, their legs touching. "What was it you wanted to..."
"Is this the right thing? Facing death... once was enough for me. I don't want to do it again," she said simply. "I'm not so sure now. I just want to know that I'm making the right choice."
Kuno shook his head, watching the water flow past them. "I do not know. I will stand beside you in whatever decision you make though. I owe it to you."
"I don't know if I'd do the same for you."
"I know. It is no one's fault, but I am the cause and understand that I can not expect you to return my feelings." He added quietly, "Even though I wish you to."
"The sex isn't enough. None of it's enough."
Kuno sighed sadly. Why couldn't she just try? Just et it all go and try? It had made everything so much simpler for him when he had finally given up on Akane and Ranma in the face of his sudden powerful feelings for Nabiki. "What would be?"
"I... I don't know," she answered immediately, but she did. She just didn't want to admit it.
"I'm hungry," Kuno said abruptly. He stood, pulling his hand from Nabiki's. He peeled off his shirt and removed his sandals, leaving them both on the ground. "Wait for me," he said before shifting his shape and bounding off across the river.
Nabiki shook her head as she watched him go.
Kuno returned barely 15 minutes later with a fat rabbit and a smaller rodent that looked similar to a guinea pig. Many of the larger animals were hidden away until morning, leaving the smaller nocturnal herbivores for him to catch.
Slogging back through the river, both corpses hanging from his mouth, he sat down across from Nabiki, shaking himself slightly. He handed the rabbit to her, which she took without a word. Immediately he tore into his own catch, eating it quickly.
Nabiki looked at the still warm rabbit in her hands. She was hungry, there was no doubt about that. But she couldn't just eat a rabbit like this, and she didn't want to change... She looked up at Kuno flatly.
He took the rabbit from her and held it in the palm of one hand. Running one finger down its side, he turned it slightly so his claw cut into the flesh. Kuno slowly slit the rabbit open, steam rising from the body in the cold air. Blood spilled out, coating his finger with it.
As he lifted his finger to his mouth to lick the blood off, Nabiki grabbed him by the forearm, preventing him from doing so. She pulled his arm back toward her and took his hand in hers so his finger was still extended.
Kuno watched wide-eyed as Nabiki licked his finger, then put her mouth around it and cleaned the blood off, sucking and licking. She ran her tongue along it, long after it was clean, her warm hands wrapped around his, his body starting to tremble.
He pulled his finger from her mouth slowly, revealing her blood-stained lips. Kuno almost lost it completely when Nabiki licked it all off, staring at him with a smoldering gaze.