FicWad

Chapter XXIV



Hockey season was finally here, and, in all the sports, this was Jean-Claude’s strongest suit. He came from a state right on the Canadian border, so avoiding hockey was almost impossible. He dove in headfirst! Jean-Claude was in the locker room, getting changed, and attempting to regain some composure before hitting the ice. He wanted to be aggressive, but at this stage, he just might kill someone. Someone then asked him, “What position do you play?”

He looked up at him and said, with a growl, “Enforcer!”

Someone then asked, “What did he say?”

The boy gulped and said, “Defenseman!”

He put on his Bruins Jersey, helmet with half-face visor, military Ray-ban sunglasses, grabbed his stick, and headed to the ice. As the others sat on the bench, they felt like Death himself was walking in. They turned to see the intimidating sight as Jean-Claude walked in and said, “Let’s play hockey!” low and serious.

One could almost hear the strains of Bad to the Bone begin to play as he took to the ice. As they went through some normal warm-ups, skill drills, and speed trials, he scanned the seats wondering if Chiyuki was coming. He had a good idea of what it was she was trying to accomplish. However, he did not like the fact that it almost came at the hands of an expulsion, or a suspension at the very least. Getting the girls jealous was one thing, and he could see her using that as a great cover to get what she wanted. However, trying to instigate a fight was something else entirely, and it was something that he was going to have to teach her, lest she herself gets into trouble. Chiyuki made it just in time and was looking for the rest of the posse she had joined; she searched the seats until she found Karin, Kenta, Maki, and Wiener. She plopped her happy behind near them, with a big grin on her face as she waved at Jean Claude. For the sake of the lights, and the white paint underneath the layer of ice, he wore the Ray-bans, considering what he was. However, he lifted them up just enough to see Chiyuki taking a seat, and waving as if she was some bubbly 16-year-old ditz. He set the glasses back down and raised a stick in her direction. At that, the coach said, “Okay, now it's time for open scrimmage,” and he began dividing the players into teams, seeing what they had in open play. Jean-Claude took up his position in defense, and prepared his game face. His countenance went from jovial to beast in .2 seconds! On the other side, some of the boys were boys that had been angry with him in class earlier, and had been badmouthing him. One of them, a smug looking forward was thinking he was going to make the big oaf look like a fool. However, Jean-Claude’s vampiric hearing detected this, and it caught his attention. When the boy went to the center stripe, he set to be ready for the face-off. Yet, when he looked up, he saw a statue in a Bruins Jersey and Ray-bans staring dead at him. He did not look particularly friendly either! Karin and Maki looked oddly at that, and Karin said, “Why is he just crouched over, not moving like that?”

However, the boys knew exactly what was going on, especially Wiener, who was raised in Germany, which is a nation that loves the sport. He just swallowed hard and said, “I think someone is going to die.”

The boy being stared at said, “Do you think you scare me? Do you think I'd be in this sport if I were scared of taking a hit?”

Jean-Claude stood up and skated over, and whispered something to him, and went back to his position. The other boy did not look so brave anymore. Maki and Wiener said, “I wonder what that was all about?”

Kenta said, “I am not sure, but if any of my g'hul abilities are working correctly, it had something to do with ripping something off, and defecating in something.”

Chiyuki's eyes widened and she said, staring warily at them, “Talk about violent.”

Karin heard it clearly, and said, “He said, ‘I’m going to rip off your head and defecate down your neck!’”

Chiyuki stuck her tongue out one corner of her mouth, lifting an eyebrow, trying to figure out how to react to the statement. She figured that it must have something to do with the game, so she cheered, "GO GET THEM ONII-SAN!" sticking with her earlier story of being Jean's sister.



The puck dropped and the play commenced. On the very first series, that boy who mouthed off came down ice, and found a shoulder in his back as he was pasted hard on the boards. The boards shook hard! Because the place was empty, it, and the boy's groan, echoed off the walls. Despite that, all that had come all released a hard, “Oof!” as he made the hit, as if they had been the one so pasted. Jean-Claude let him drop, and immediately went for the loose puck, paying it no mind—not even a backwards glance at his crumpled foe, who was now trying to regain his feet, trying to get the number of the truck that just hit him! Jean-Claude immediately scooped up the loose puck and went down ice. Because of the commitment of the forwards, and the sudden change in fortunes on the ice, Jean-Claude’s crew found themselves in a 3 on 2 situation. The defenseman for the other team could only brace himself against Jean-Claude’s massive form and harass him. He managed to dump the puck off to the center, which set up the one-time shot from the wing, which went top shelf in the goal—score! The opposing defenseman got cute and pushed a hand in the back of his head. Jean-Claude wheeled around, said, “You want to go at it!”, and dropped his stick and gloves. The coach was over like a shot, and said, “Boys, calm it down! This is only a tryout! Save that for the game!”

Jean-Claude picked up his gloves and stick, glared at the boy, and went back to center ice for the next face-off. That set the pace for the scrimmage. The new kid had one good hit to his credit, and a point for his assist. The other team knew they were in trouble. Chiyuki stared at the rest of her posse, looking for a clue for what to cheer. Wiener knew that was a good hit, even though it was sort of a payback. He winced with the rest, but he said, “Like it or not, that was a good shot, and a good goal. Did you see that one-timer? I mean it was ‘pass, pop, goal!’” The others, however, were concerned about how quickly Jean-Claude was ready to drop the gloves. Wiener said, “I think he is what would be called an enforcer. He looks for bullies and cheats on the other side, and neutralizes them. That means he plays with a hard, mean, but clean playing attitude. He uses good hits to set up offense, and well-timed passes. He's headhunting right now, trying to get them aware of him.”

“What will that do?” asked Maki, feeling that she may not like what she was seeing.

“It will make the offense a little more leery about coming to that side, thus, limiting what they can do,” said Wiener, “And I wouldn’t cross him: getting hit by him would be the same as getting hit by a freight train, except there is one difference.”

Karin, trying to figure out what Chiyuki was getting at asked Wiener, “What is the difference?”

“A freight train doesn't back up and finish the job!” said Wiener.

Chiyuki cheered, “RIP THEM APART ONII-SAN!” not caring if she was being stared at. Indeed, throughout the first part of the scrimmage, he was fast and hard. It was not so much that he was being particularly vicious; it was just that, when you got in his path, he would hurt you. In addition to that, he also knew when to use his stick and elbows cleverly, because, normally, elbows and stick work would earn you two minutes in the sin bin. The coach blew his whistle for a five-minute water break, and then he was going to mix up the players a bit to see different combinations of lines. At this, Karin said, “Let's go down, and talk to him, I wonder what's going on in his head?”



Chiyuki was getting read to simply just jump down and land gracefully. She got into a preparatory position and was about to jump, but Karin said, in pig Latin, “Exnay on the umpjay!”

She then whispered, “There are too many people watching. We don’t need too many questions!”

Chiyuki froze and then stood up and walked like everyone else, though she did not seem too happy about it. Karin put an arm around her shoulder and said, “I know you are used to this, but if you wish to hang out with us, there are certain faces and appearances you have to keep. When it is just us, okay, but around here well...,” She thought for a moment, and said, “If they ever found out, we would have to uproot every vampire in Tokyo and move somewhere else. That would not be good.”

Chiyuki nodded and went to glomp Jean-Claude, yelling, “ONII-SAN! You'd better not lose!”

However, as clear as it was, she forgot all about the Plexiglas, and, in her jump, plastered herself right into it! Jean-Claude heard the loud thud and the shaking of the Plexiglas panel behind him, got up, and turned to see Chiyuki rubbing her nose. “Um, if you want to get in here, just jump down into the player’s tunnel next to the bench here and walk around!”

He just put his forehead in his hand and shook it. He then said in a whisper that he knew only she could hear, “You’re a vampire, not a ghost!”

She smacked her teeth at him and took the appropriate route to get to him to successfully glomp him. He laughed at the affection, and said, “Well, I hope you’re enjoying things!”

Karin was now confused. He suddenly was not the vicious looking character she had been watching on the ice for the past ten minutes. Chiyuki smiled, and then backed away as a violent look came over her face, saying, “YOU HAD BETTER WIN OR ELSE ONII-SAN!”

“First of all, this is just a tryout,” he said, “And don’t worry, I’ll make the team. Second, with some of that vicious, we should put skates on you, and put you out there,” joking by this. The coach caught this and joined in, saying, “Well, the ladies do have a team, and they're on next. Put her out there when they come out—let’s see what she’s got!”

“I don’t know how to play!” she said.

“Can you skate?” he asked.

“Well, yeah,” she said.

He then whispered, “Where you’re from originally, you have Native American in you, right?” hoping to make a connection between one sport and another. She nodded, saying, “Yeah, I do, but I don’t study it much.”

“Well, you had to have seen the game of Lacrosse at some point,” he said, “I mean, that was a purely native American sport, and this game is much like it, except that its more on the ground, and fast.”

He thought for a moment, and then went to the glass where everyone was, signaled Karin and Wiener to the tunnel, and handed over a big wad of cash. He then looked at Chiyuki, and said, “Tell you what, give Karin your sizes, or you can just go with her, and come back. Having some kind of activity could help your image, and whatever you don't know, I’ll teach you. It is not that hard a game to play.”

“Wait, is it like soccer, just more violent?” she asked.

“Now you're getting it,” he said, “except you use the stick, not the feet. You can kick the puck along, and you can grab it out of the air, just don't pass it in either way.”

“Oh...well then, that’s easier than I originally thought. SIGN ME UP!” she yelled excitedly.

“Then you can either give her your sizes, or just go with her,” he said, “And Wiener, you know what she needs for gear.”

He thought for a second, and then he said, “Oh, wait, do you want to be on the ice, or do you want to play goalie?”

She raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Which one is more violent?”

“That depends on how you want to define it,” he said, “If you like to skate and hit a lot, then on the ice is for you, (and do remember that there is an actual object to the game more than just hitting.) However, if you have no problem being pelted with hard rubber biscuits for 60 minutes, everyone on the team protect you, (because you are that important, that is, no one will take a cheap shot at you without feeling the wrath of the other five girls,) if you have good reflexes and are agile, then goalie is for you.”

Chiyuki thought about it, and said, giggling, “For the sake of the poor kids who would have been injured otherwise, I’ll tryout for goalie.”

“Then get ready to look like a knight going into battle,” pointing to the fellow in goal wearing the full face helmet, blocker, what looked liked a first baseman’s glove, the large shin pads, and the large stick. He then said, “That’s the most important position on the ice, because, without a goalie, they would be scoring all day long. You have to have sharp reflexes to stop, catch the puck, or just get your stick or yourself in front of the puck. You can use any part of your body to stop it, and it won’t be bad, because you will be wearing so much protection that you will not feel it. Now, that arced area in front is called the crease, or goalie’s box. No one can go in there unless the puck is there. However, you are not married to that spot, and you can leave it to play the puck. However, remember, when you do, you no longer have the protection of the crease, and you can be hit, or hit someone else, just like any other player. Note this also, if you stop the puck, and there are too many opposing players around you, just cover or fall on the puck, and freeze it—that is—freeze play, and they will just face it off. Now, while they get your things, sit here, and watch the keeper work as we do this last ten-minute set. Watch him closely, and see what he does. The guy over here likes the butterfly style, meaning his limbs are all over the place, he can flop down and stop the puck with his body, and then be back on his feet. It is hard to get it by him without lifting the puck, and even then, that is not a guarantee. The other guy likes to stay on his feet, but he can play at the top of his crease and use his shin pads well to stop the shots. He can get from one side of the crease to the other fast. The best goalies can do some of both styles. The most important thing to remember is that you must keep yourself between the puck and the goal mouth as much as possible.”

With that, he jumped back on the ice to get ready for the second set. He then came back over and said, “Don’t worry about my attitude on the ice. That's just my game face, nothing more,” and went out to play. Then Chiyuki stared at the decked out goalie, and said, rolling her eyes, “I wouldn’t even need all that.”

“I know that and you know that,” he said, sighing and rolling his eyes, “Just humor me, okay? What would people think if you took a puck going 95 mph hit you square in the jaw and you just sat there and took it? Besides, the rules wouldn’t let you do that without protection. However, we can tone it down under your uniform a bit for better mobility. Just watch the keeper and learn some things, okay?”

With that, he went back to his position. Chiyuki walked back up to the stands and watched the game with a new eye, picking out helpful things that would better help her understand the game.



Karin and Wiener hit a sporting goods store, and hit the hockey shelves. They got the uni-top undershirt that gave all the protection a goalie needed. They got her one of the basic faceplate goalie masks that are all the rage now with, not just goalies, but with catchers in baseball. He made sure to get a sturdy stick, skates, and a good blocker and glove. Karin was amazed at all the gear, and she said, “It's amazing how they can move in this!”

“Yes, it looks like a lot, but note how light it is,” said Wiener, “They design this stuff with that in mind. Man, she’s a brave one!”

“What do you mean?” said Karin.

“Would you want to stand in front of the puck?” asked Wiener.

She picked up a hockey puck, and noticed how hard the thing was. She then imagined trying to stand in front of the thing, and then she looked at her teeth, wondering what it would be like to catch one there. She then thought, “No wonder these guys look like they never brush. All their front teeth have been knocked out!”

Then, she wondered why Jean-Claude did not wear a full plate on his helmet. They picked up a set of Ray-bans for her, (so recommended because of the florescent lights reflecting off the white surface.) With all the gear they got, Karin was sure glad that there was someone there to help carry it all.



However, when they returned to the rink, Chiyuki looked askance at all that a goalie had to wear. “That surely is too much gear,” she said with a sweat drop bigger then life on her head.

Jean-Claude thought for a moment, and then he said, “Okay, some of that has a practical purpose, other than protection. The mitt is for catching the puck easier in your free hand. The blocker on your stick hand is just to make it easier to stop a puck, that is, it covers more area than just your forearm. You'll stop more that way. The same thing goes for the shin guards. It's more for area coverage than it is for protection. Even if you could work without that, think about how much more you could stop with it? If you reeeeely want to go without the chest, arm and shoulder protectors, fine by me. Just don’t tell the ref. It’s your body!”

Chiyuki nodded, and went back to change. In about ten minutes, she emerged with the rest of the girls. “Am I ready for my close up?” she asked, after she had been decked out in hockey gear. After telling her about the basic rules, that is, enough to go out and play with, he sent her out. “Okay,” said Jean-Claude, “You’ve seen what the goalie does. So, what’s going to happen is that they are going to do some drills at first, to see your skill, and how to place you. Then they will have open play. I should be showered up by then, and I will be behind you. Listen carefully, because I’ll be feeding you instructions from there, okay?”

She nodded, “Yup!” and yawned. He hoped her nonchalant attitude towards things would not cost her as he headed to the locker room to change. Kenta, Karin, and Wiener went to sit down as they watched Chiyuki go through her drills. Because of her abilities, Chiyuki found no difficulties in the basics of shot stopping, and playing the crease. Karin saw that everything was okay; however, she worried what would happen during open play. This was about to start when Jean-Claude took a position in the booth that sat right behind the goal. Chiyuki sat in front of the goal, her face wearing the expression of a monster pulled out of a horror movie, scaring the living daylights out of the other girls against her. As open play progressed, Jean-Claude found it odd that the opposition would only shoot from the top of the circles or the slot. They weren’t charging in. Because of that, Chiyuki found it easy to catch the puck, block, and leave the crease to play a dump in pass. Karin and Wiener were scratching their heads. Karin said, “They don’t seem to want to move in.”

“It almost looks like they're afraid to move in,” said Wiener.

Jean-Claude couldn’t understand what was going on, until she came behind the net to clear the puck, and he saw her face. At that point, he was thankful for the grill on the mask, or else both teams would be killing themselves to get off the ice. “Just be careful of that one or two goons that have absolutely no fear,” he said in a normal voice, but one that she could hear, “They may just test how fearsome you really are.”

As if an answer to this, (and just as she was taking position in the net,) two forwards were charging in, still keeping their distance, but using their speed to try to make it happen. They tried a quick pass and one-time touch to try to get it past her. However, she was quick enough to get in front of it, and it ricocheted off her chest. Because she forewent the protector, it left a nice welt on her chest, although she herself may not have felt it. The one girl said, (from a safe distance,) “I sure hope that stung!”

Chiyuki chuckled and made a "bring-it-on" gesture. Jean-Claude chuckled, and could only wonder what was going to happen next. Meanwhile, a couple of the girls went over to the coach, and they seemed to be discussing something. Then Karin watched as the coach gestured, and one of the girls on Chiyuki's side sat down. Wiener smiled and said, “It looks like the coach has seen something in Chiyuki.”

“How do you know that?” asked Karin.

“She’s setting up a power play situation,” said Wiener, “She is going to see just how good she is under pressure. Feelings of anticipation, running through my mind: on the edge of my seat, excitement flowing!”

Karin wished, at this point, that Maki were here, just to calm him down! However, when Jean-Claude saw what was shaping up, he began to smile. He knew that he was about to see a show and he said, “Come on Chiyuki-san: kick some tail!”

Chiyuki watched curiously, ready for anything to happen, but not sure what would happen. They faced off the puck from the other blue line on center ice, and the girls on Chiyuki's team fell back into a defensive square, the others began to take positions in the attacking zone, and one in the center, just atop the slot. They then started to move the puck around, hoping to avoid a steal, or set up the one-timer that they could rip past her. Jean-Claude then said, “Stay in the crease—do not come out of it! Follow the puck with both your eyes and body. Always keep yourself between the goal and the puck!”

Chiyuki did as he said, her eyes following its every move, waiting like a snake ready to strike, ready for the puck to come. Finally, a pass rocketed in to the middle, and it was one-timed, intended to get through the five-hole, but Chiyuki sidestepped and caught it in her mitt, killing the play, and setting off a face-off at the left circle. The girls on her side screamed, and said, “Great snag, girl!” and the four skated past for the face-off, tapping her shin pads with their sticks as they went, one patting her on the head. She was staring at them, as if nothing had happened, then realized she did something good and turned to the opposite team, pulled off her mask, pulled down one bottom eyelid, and stuck out her tongue. “Blek!” she said, before she and her entire team broke out in laughter. The other girls were getting frustrated, and one started to approach, but she found, quick as a wink, four girls lined up in front, saying, “You want her, you have to get through us first!”

The coach was ready to stop any foolishness, but was not going to stop it altogether, because she knew that she was possibly looking at the core of her varsity team—and the starters at that. The face-off went, and the puck was cleared. One of the defense girls said, “Don't worry about them: we’ve got your back! Just keep it up!”

She put her mask on and her chainsaw massacre face came back. She was thinking of what she could do and if they would try something that stupid again. As was expected, the puck came back in ahead of the offense, and Chiyuki went back to play it. However, she saw them closing in, and thought better of it. However, because she was out of her crease, she was fair game, and they took advantage of it by blindsiding her to the ice. “Sorry: clean hit,’ said Jean-Claude, while Karin yelped, “Oh no!”

They swept the puck to the other side, and were preparing to sweep it into the goal. Chiyuki's vampire side kicked in and she watched the puck and saw where it was going and blocked it before it had even got there, her chainsaw massacre face, turned into a face of pure hate and anger that would make the demons quiver in their boots. Everyone looked in amazement at how fast she was able to scoot on her belly to the puck, and then how quickly she was on her feet, ready for a rebound shot. A sideward glance back to the girl made her face turn white. However, the puck came her way, but before Chiyuki could pounce, her defense woman came over and pasted her in an open ice hit, (normally the worst you can take.) saying, “Not so much fun on the other end, is it...” and called her a female dog. She cleared the puck out, looked a Chiyuki, pointed at her, and winked with a smile as she headed down ice. The other girl was staggering to her feet, and was enraged. She looked at Chiyuki and said, “I’ll see you after tryouts, whore!” and went down ice. Chiyuki looked like she was about to kill the girl who had talked to her in such a manner...she gritted her teeth and was about to go medieval on her buttocks! Jean-Claude saw what was brewing, and he said, “Just channel that into your keeping—your doing fine. You have that other girl watching out for you, so don’t worry. She’s like me—an enforcer. She takes care of the well-being of her teammates on the ice. Besides, if dummy wants to meet up with you, you can always take her out for a bite!”

Chiyuki seemingly calmed down and then smiled too sweetly at the girl who had insulted her and her teammate, and then said directly to the girl, “Its alright, people with real talent don’t resort to that.”

“’At a girl!” said Jean-Claude.

Not wanting to lose her position on the team, she just grunted, squeezed her stick, and went to go play the puck. Then, everyone was in for a surprise. The puck was dumped in again, and Chiyuki came out of her crease. She met the puck at the top of the slot, came up to the blue line with it, and rocketed a shot at the other goal! The other keeper, not expecting this, got her blocker up one split-second too late, and it deflected into the goal. Everyone cheered this shot, that, though not impossible, it was rare, and great sight to see. Jean-Claude yelled in approval, as Wiener and Karin were on their feet cheering. The coach blew the whistle, and said, “Great shot, Chiyuki: keep that in store, because we can use that this season! Okay, ten minutes, and then we’ll get the other two keepers in there.”

The one girl just avoided Chiyuki, while the other came up and said, “Wow, you did great! You’re one tough cookie!”

She then extended a hand and said, “My name's Rei. And you?”

“Chiyuki Makka,” she said, taking her hand and shaking.

At that, the other keeper came up, and had a familiar voice. “Wow! I didn’t know you played! It’s going to be great to have another girl to rotate with in goal! That was a sick shot! I wasn't expecting that!”

“Don’t I know you?” she said, pointing at Yukiko.

“Sure!” she said happily, “We met at Julian’s, remember?”

Rei then said, “Jean-Claude never mentioned he had a sister. Poor Mr. Makka--he must have a houseful now!”

However, Yukiko cocked her head at this, and then looked as if a light came on, and smiled at Chiyuki knowingly. However, Yukiko cocked her head at this, and then looked as if a light came on, and smiled at Chiyuki knowingly. “Well, at least we can talk while the other two girls take their turn in goal, let's go sit,” she said, tapping Chiyuki on the shin guard with her stick, and going to the bench, and Rei went out to play some more. Karin spotted Yukiko, and made her way down, as Wiener followed suit. Jean-Claude then went over to congratulate Chiyuki. Chiyuki pointed at the girl form earlier, “I am going to hurt her,” she whispered. She then lowered her hand and sighed. Karin heard this, and came around the tunnel side, as Jean-Claude climbed over the Plexiglas. He kneaded her shoulder, as Karin gave her a hug, and said, “You know how to take care of the hatred in her, right?”

Jean-Claude added, “You can also leave her with a bad nightmare! There are ways outside of violence and risking exposure to do what you seek.”

“She might just have one if I have anything to say about it,” she said smiling evilly.

“Do what you want,” he said, “Just don't blow the lid off the thing. I can't tell you what to do.”

She chuckled, and said, “Alright,” before shooting a deadly glare at the girl who torqued her off.

All she could do was throw a sideways glance as she passed, trying to concentrate on her play.



Soon, all the girls were called over, and they were told, as the boys were, that the teams would be posted on the board in school the next morning. With that, they hit the showers. Chiyuki went in, and that one girl tried to follow, but Yukiko intercepted her, (to allow Chiyuki a head start if nothing else,) and pulled her into a side room. She slammed her hard against the wall, and said, “I’m telling you for your own good—leave her alone, because you are not going to like what happens to you if you don’t!”

“Oh really!” she said in response, “And just what are you going to do about it?”

Yukiko backed off, smiled, and said, “It’s not me you have to worry about!” and she walked away.

By the time the girl was done with her shower, Chiyuki was already gone. She thought, “So, she wants to get away, huh? She's not so tough!” and left the building to do homework and go home. However, Chiyuki followed the girl in whatever shadows she could find. She would soon rue the day that she did not heed the warning Yukiko had given. The girl felt the hairs on the back of her neck telling her someone was watching her. She picked up her pace and started walking and Chiyuki followed, finally she had her in the park. Chiyuki used her speed to be beside her in a second, “I’m a whore...right?” she asked in a whisper, next to the girl’s ear. She spun around to see nothing, Chiyuki moved out of her line of sight. She turned and continued walking when Chiyuki came and tapped her on the shoulder. The girl spun around to face a bleak nothingness again. Chiyuki toyed with her like this until she was completely terrified. Then Chiyuki walked away, leaving that girl with nightmares as she dashed screaming towards her home, and didn't sleep very much that night. Unfortunately, her actions were not unobserved. Using a bat, Boris was watching for vampire activity, the large boy, and the crew with which he hung out that intrigued him. Boris’ power and time as a vampire allowed him to avoid detection. He wondered about the short, bubbly, well-endowed Marker that was with them, and wondering why it was that she was out in the daylight. She certainly was of age at this point. He wondered if this was the one they had been looking for all this time. However, the new one that also walked in daylight also intrigued him. She also bore the Marker name, but he was unaware of another daughter in the mix. She also could walk in the sunlight, but she was far more gifted in her powers, so that may disqualify her as the blood cow. Yet, she was different. This would warrant some more observation. He had to be sure that she was the one, and then try to figure out who this new one was. Things just had to be in place before he tried for checkmate in his ultimate plot.