Nearly a half hour of waiting.
The loss of time burns me like a scorch.
Where the hell is that idiot?!
"Mr. Makishima, do you wish me to go on without Mr. Cross?"
My boss shakes his head, scowling at me. "Keep patient, Yamaguchi."
I narrow my eyes at the hypocrite. The only time this bastard knows patience is when there's someone higher up on the food chain than him.
After a moment I tug on my leather jacket. "Where is Mr. Cross staying? I'll go give him a wake up call."
"You will do nothing of the sort, Yamaguchi! Mr. Cross works much and needs his rest. It's understandable that he's late."
Usually I would shut away my opinions, but at this moment I can't care less. Ignoring my boss's threats I stomp out the door and into the main entrance. The lard doesn't bother to follow. Once you get high up enough you don't bother actually working like those working under you. This I have seen from Makishima himself.
"Where is Kaien Cross residing?" I ask the red headed secretary at the front desk, she's the same one I saw last night.
"I don't think I'm allowed to give out that information, Miss Hitomi."
"I'm his partner." I supply.
She fidgets nervously, but my steely eyes on hers is enough to kick her into gear. The secretary promptly takes out a shred of paper, scribbling down Kaien's address before handing it to me.
"Thank you." My words do not sound grateful, nor kind. But then again they rarely ever do.
The girl nods and then nervously makes herself busy with some paperwork scattered across her messy work space. I peer down at the scrap, decoding her equally messy scrawl.
Hm, the Blue Blossom hotel. It's one of the fanciest hotels around, of course someone like Kaien Cross would pick something so extravagant. No doubt he gets payed better than the rest of us due to his skill.
Pocketing the note I wonder away from the "insurance" building and hail a canary yellow taxi.
"Blue Blossom hotel and be quick about it." I press some yen into the man's greedy hands and he steps on it. The taxi just a streak of yellow in the oncoming traffic. The drive is short, which is to be expected considering the amount of money I gave him.
Once there I give him the remaining yen owed and step out of the vehicle. The Blue Blossom looms in front of me, looking similar to a gleaming mansion. The whole building is made from a white and blue marble, causing it to nearly blind me from the amount of light it reflects off of it.
I enter the elegant hotel, unsurprised that the inside is just as classy. Bellboys, maids, and clerks shuffle around, catering to all the guests needs. Some guests dressed in expensive clothes lounge around on plush light blue furniture gathered in the lobby.
However, as soon as I enter the orderly bustle all seems to stop. All eyes turn to me and my army-like clothes. I ignore their stares as I sidle up to the front desk. A snobby looking man stands watch there.
"Kaien Cross."
"Wh-what?" He stutters.
"Which suite is Kaien Cross staying in? I'm his colleague and must see him now." I quietly dare him to deny me.
"O-oh, of course. It is room 369, third floor. Do you need anyone to show you there, Miss?"
"No, I'll find it." Without further ado I spin on my heel and enter the nearest elevator, pushing the third floor button.
Annoying classical music filters through the speakers. Maybe it's calming to other people, but to me it just brings up dirt from my past.
The ding of the elevator reaching its destination brings me at least a small amount of relief. Stepping out of the elevator I wander down the left hallway in search for the room. Down the hall I spot the plaque with my keen eyes, stating the magic number.
Wasting no time I spring over to the door, managing not to slip on the shining waxed floors. My fingers curl into a hard fist and I waste no time banging on the large door, most likely disturbing the tenets in the rooms near this one. But who cares? Certainly not me.
When no one comes to answer, I sigh, sweeping down into a crouch. I pull out my lock picking kit, it's a small one but will suffice. In under a minute I swiftly unlock the door and stuff my kit back in its pouch on my black tool belt. I push open the door and walk into the dark room, letting the door shut lightly behind me.
My eyes adjust quickly to the darkness of the room. The suite is not as fancy as the rest of the hotel, but still it's better than any hotel I've ever stayed in.
Heavy draperies hang in front of large windows at the other end of the suite. To the right at the end of the room is a King sized bed, partly shielded by the corner of a wall. At the opposite side of the room from the bed is a quant closet and to my right is a door to what I assume is the bathroom. Because of the darkness in the room I cannot tell the color scheme in the room, but not doubt it is made up of darker shades on the color wheel or else I would be able to better make it out.
On silent feet I pad over to the large bed, my boots sink into what I assume to be carpet as I near the bed.
"Cross." I hiss. "Kaien Cross."
The man's breathing form doesn't even stir from the sound of my voice. Some vampire hunter he is, we always need to be aware of our surroundings even when we're asleep.
An annoyed sigh tumbles from my lips as I extend my fingers to lightly jostle the dozing hunter.
Suddenly I'm on my back pinned to the soft carpet by a humanoid shape. My lips part in surprise but I'm only surprised for a moment until my instincts kick in. I head butt my predator, but the person doesn't even seem fazed. I fight against the hold with all my might but it doesn't move.
"Off." I growl.
"Wait, Hitomi? Is that you?"
That voice...Kaien Cross.
"Yes, now get the hell off of me." I glower.
Kaien releases my arms and claps his hands. Blaring light nearly blinds me, but it doesn't seem to bother him. Tangled blond hair hangs in his face, tickling my nose. His brown eyes widen as he realizes that it is indeed me. A faint blush dusts his cheeks and he quite literally leaps into the air and off of me, apologizing profusely.
"It's fine." I say, ignoring the hand he offers me and instead getting up myself.
"What are you doing here? Is there a problem?" He asks, running a hand through his long locks.
That's when he realizes he's shirtless. Kaien squeals like a school girl and wraps a bed sheet around him like a toga. Skin is skin, it doesn't matter to me. How immature can this man be?
"You're an hour late." I answer simply.
His chestnut colored eyes widen. "Oh, my! I'm so sorry!" Cue my ears filling with thousands of more apologies.
"Let's just go." I interrupt.
Kaien grins. "Straight to the point, I like that!" At that the emotional blond dances out the door.
I sweat drop. "Kaien, your clothes."
Another squeal and he rushes back inside, smiling embarrassed. "Right, can't forget those."
"I'll wait in the lobby." I announce.
"M'kay!"
〰〰
I lean against one of the lobby's four walls, glaring at anyone who dares look my way. Nosy people is something I just can't deal with, especially human nosy people.
Relievedly, Kaien doesn't take long in getting ready. As hunters we sometimes have a small window of time to prepare for things, so it makes sense.
"I'm ready." Kaien states unnecessarily as he strides over to me.
Thankfully he'd ditched his bed sheet toga for dark clothes and sturdy boots. Glasses cover his brown eyes and his hair is tied back from his face. However, his bangs and a few rebellious chunks of hair still frame his face.
I nod and he takes the lead as we leave the hotel. Kaien hails a taxi and we ride on over to headquarters. We meet Makishima in his office, I note that it looks as if he hadn't moved at all from the last time I saw him.
Makishima dons a friendly grin as he spots Kaien. "Ah good, you're here!"
"I am so sorry I'm this late!" Cross gushes.
"I completely understand." Makishima grins.
Cross smiles and takes a seat, I, however am content leaning against the wall in my usual stance.
"Now for the debriefing." Mr. Makishima slides over twin files for both Kaien and I to study. "All that has happened so far is in this case, including what we believe is also connected to this case."
He takes a breath before continuing. "Basically vampire hunter families have been being slaughtered of late. There are rarely any survivors, so there aren't really many witnesses. And the witnesses we have are all shocked children, they are all being inconveniently difficult. So, I doubt you will get much information from them. As I said everything is in your files. Now, go get a move on, let's stop any more murders before they can begin, shall we?"