FicWad

Chapter 15

When Jean-Claude returned, the kids were already getting ready for school, and he told them, “We’re going to have guests tomorrow night, and I want all five of you to be there, if you can. I have asked Aunt Karin to prepare a dinner for them, and I want to make them feel right at home.”
Keelin nodded, to show she understood. Her mother stood behind her, petted her head and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “Be extra polite they are old friends of mine.”
Once the crew was headed out the door, he headed upstairs for an extra shot of blood and coffee, because he had to go into work, and there would be no time for sleep, save for the few hours before dinner. He would need the extra energy. As he put on his uniform for gym class, he wondered just what kind of a dinner it would be.

As soon as the sun was set later that day, Karin, Yuriya, Fumio, and Elda were cooking up a storm in the Cavern kitchen. A special area was reserved for the meal. In presence was the Empress’ Hand with their respective significant others, ready to meet and greet warmly the newcomers. Chiyuki was waiting outside for them, and smiled when she smelt their scent. First Yuri was there, with a huge broad sword on her back. Onyx was wearing a long, black coat that covered a bunch of guns and knives and Tarai just looked like her normal self, she was also the one carrying three suitcases. Jean-Claude looked askance at the bags until it was explained that, while they were doing their work, they would need to stay there a few days. However, Tarai seemed to be a bit more fashion conscious, and she wanted to make sure that she had what she needed for the stay. Once he learned this, he volunteered one of the furnished apartments for them to stay in, and made a point to tell them where the stores were to get the supplies they would need for their stay. Chiyuki signaled them in and they all followed her in. Jean-Claude greeted them warmly as Karin approached saying, “Welcome to the family! Please, come dine with us!”
Anjou sat there with her husband Vincent, as stoic as ever, and the kids were all there in force, (The twins, Sophia, Kannon, and Keelin.) Onyx and Yuri seemed to not notice the fact that the kids were anything important but, Tarai dropped her bags and bowed to them (she is able to since things magic stronger than others.) Jean-Claude ignored the slight and welcomed them in. Sophia, in her regal manner, (though she be only 9 years old,) said, “Please, arise dear Tarai, and join us. We know your sense of taste is heavily dampened, but we made sure to have pleasing scents and textures. Please, what is your preference, that we may provide it for you?”
Tarai nodded, and didn't seem surprised by the way she was talking, and picked up her bags. Keelin seemed a little caught off-guard by the way Tarai had reacted. All she could think was, “Mom sure has some weird friends.”
Jean-Claude then began to introduce the Usuis, the Yoshidas, Elda and Victor, and his lovely wife. He then said, “This is Mickey and Sheila, who are my kids, this is Kannon—Karin and Kenta’s child, this is Sophia, and this is Keelin. This little ankle biter is Franklin, my youngest.”
Tarai nodded her head. Yuri smiled, “Hello.”
Onyx seemed to be thinking about something, and Jean-Claude was at a loss to the odd fellow. Kannon spoke gleefully, “Hey, dig in before it gets cold! Welcome to the nerve center of Clan USA.”
Tarai did just that, (after saying a quick thank you,) devouring the food. Onyx was only eating the green things. Yuri was eating, and keeping her eyes to her plate, and she was not making much eye-contact. Sophia saw that, and smiled as she said gently to Yuri, “Dear Yuri, why are you so sad? Is there anything we can do for you?”
Yuri blushed and said, "I…uh…I’m not sad.”
Sophia took on a childlike look and said, “Are you shy?”
Onyx nodded and teased, “It’s almost a disability how shy she is!”
Sophia left her seat and approached Yuri. She practically glided up to her with that innocent smile, gently took her hands, and said, “It’s okay; you are loved,” and pecked her on the cheek. Yuri blushed, and in her surprise to the kind gesture, knocked her food onto her own head. Instead of laughing, Sophia quickly grabbed a napkin and started to help clean her up. Yuri was blushing and stuttering an apology. Sophia stroked her face and said, “Oh, don’t be sorry. We all make mistakes sometimes.”
“B…b…but I do this type of thing all the time,” she said, as she helped clean the food off her head.
“Perhaps there is a reason,” said Sophia, “Maybe there is something past that needs present resolving. Certainly, you are amongst friends that will not mock you or laugh at you, right?” turning her gaze to the others, “We are all family here, and it would be wonderful if you could be of our family as well.”
Chiyuki bit her lip to stop from adding in a smart-alecky comment, considering how far out on a limb she had gone to make Yuri to feel welcome. Karin, to be kind, came up with a new plate, and said, “Here you go! Eat hardy!”
Jean-Claude started some conversations going, and got the eyes off her. They were going to do all they could to make her feel at home. Onyx grabbed the plate and sat it on the table, quickly picking Yuri up and sitting her in her chair. “There ya go, Clutzophrantic,” he said, teasingly.
“Oh, please, don't be mean,” pleaded Sophia with a firm pout, “It was only an accident.”
Onyx blinked and said, seemingly confused, “Huh?”
“It’s how he shows affection: he teases you,” Tarai explained.
Now, he was the one to which the laughter was directed, and did not like this at all. Instead, he said defensively, “I do not show affection!”
“Uh-huh…suuure,” Chiyuki said, rolling her eyes.
Sophia, continuing her hospitality, said, “Here, what is your blood preference?”
“Yep, they’re family, alright!” said Karin, eyeing Ren in the process.
“Shyness,” Yuri said, quietly.
Sophia smiled and said, “Please, have it brought, 37 degrees Celsius.”
“Err...huh?” Yuri asked confused.
Chiyuki just shook her head at her naïve friend, and used her super speed to fetch the blood. Yuri took it and bowed multiple times. Anjou saw that she was nervous, and she said, “Worry not, for we are very difficult to offend. Trust us: you are loved here, Yuri.”
Yuri drank the blood glancing around, it was obvious she was really hungry, and Chiyuki said, “Maybe after dinner you could show these good people why you three are my closet spies/friends.”
Jean-Claude said, “That would be good. We can go up to my place and just talk. Baby, can you head up and get some coffee going?”
Yuriya nodded and smiled as she went up to do so. Anjou then said, “Did that satisfy? Would you like more?”
“That’s plenty, thank you,” she said, bowing her head.
After they dined, he said, “Okay, let’s head up to my place.”
Tarai and Onyx nodded in sync. Yuri nodded slightly after, (being that she was the kind of person who caught things a second or two behind everyone else. The trio then got up and followed after him.

The workers steadily cleaned up the feast as Jean-Claude seemingly led them to a blank wall. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a large elevator door appeared. Tarai jumped and Onyx caught her, a memorable Shaggy and Scooby type moment. “Sorry,” said Karin, “We have wards on it. The general public is not necessarily invited to use this lift.”
The doors opened, and the Clan folk entered in. Tarai climbed out of Onyx’s arms when they got into the elevator and glanced around. Jean-Claude pushed the lowest of the buttons, (his apartment,) and they went up, (and yes, there was that muzak playing in the speakers, at that moment, playing “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”) Tarai blinked and announced, “There is music coming from nowhere!”
Karin said, “Um...that’s coming from the speakers above us, from the radio.”
“Oh,’ Tarai said, glancing up in wonder.
Franklin, in his innocence, said, “Don’t you know what radio is, ma’am?”
“I know what one is!” Tarai exclaimed.
Franklin then cowered behind his father’s leg, not sure if this lady was mean or not. “We’ve been living kinda separate from the world, to avoid people finding us, so some of the newer technology will seem kinda strange to us.” Yuri explained quietly.
“Well, being cloistered is something I am trying to aid vampires into not having to do anymore,” said Jean-Claude, “Thanks to Uncle Sam, we don’t have to anymore. To some extent, we have the Dream. These five kids are the key to a brighter future. They were the Golconda that was prophesied, and one of them—Empress Sophia—is now the physical embodiment of the spirit that was behind the Fount of Psyche for all those centuries. Here, in this family—the Clan—we are living out that dream.”
Yuri nodded and sighed as she waited for the elevator to stop. The elevator opened right into a modern apartment, beautifully furnished, but still with a touch of Japan. It was warm, and the colors welcoming and comforting. He invited them all in. Tarai got big sparkly eyes, and said, running in, “It’s sooo kawaii!”
“Make yourselves at home,” said Jean-Claude as Yuriya came up and offered some coffee to Tarai. He then said, “And the great thing is that, you see all those big windows from floor to ceiling? All the glass is specially designed to block ultraviolet rays, and so, if you have to be up in the day, the sun won't cook you!”
Onyx smiled slightly and said, “That’s useful.”
“Glad you think so,” said Jean-Claude sarcastically.
He then said, “This building is a veritable vampire paradise. We have humans that live here too, and they all know.”
Onyx nodded and said, “I see...” letting his voice trail off as he looked around. However, someone was taking a keen note in Onyx. Sheila was kind of looking dreamy eyed at the quite handsome vampire. Onyx didn't seem to notice, though Yuri did, with a faint smile on her face. Mick then whispered to Sheila, “Hey, what are you doing?”
Yuri nudged Onyx, trying to make him catch the hint. She asked, in a whisper so quiet only he would be able to catch it, “I hate to rib you about this, but you’re the last male in our line, only one who can pass on the name, shouldn’t you start looking?”
Onyx rolled his eyes, “Isn’t it Tarai who harasses me about that, Ms. ‘Never-dated-a-guy-in-my-life’?”
Yuri kept picking on Onyx and Onyx picking on Yuri as they went back and forth playfully.

Meanwhile, Sheila was still enthralled. This did not escape the notice of her father, who was starting to get a bit miffed at this. She was 13, and he was…well, being a vampire, there was no telling how old he was. As he began to stand up, his wife grabbed his arm and said, “Baby, remember: this is a different world. They start courting at that age, and considering how old we can be, this is actually normal. Just let it go.”
“But, we don’t know him all that well,” he protested, but she said, “That’s Chiyuki’s friend: give her the benefit of the doubt, baby.”
Jean-Claude wanted to protest, but she did make sense. He just let it go and watched. Sheila then said to Mickey, “But...he is quite handsome!”
Sheila went over and waxed bold as she said, “Hi, I’m Duchess Sheila.”
Onyx and Yuri bowed in sync, as Onyx then erected himself from the bow and said, “Your highness.”
“Oh, have a seat!” she said happily, “Right now, it's just Sheila,” and she plopped down beside him.
Onyx sat back down, blinking in mild confusion. She continued on like there was nothing wrong and she said, “Hey, it's not often I get to meet new vampires. So, how long have you been hanging around New York?”
She was indeed pretty: half Caucasian, half Asian. Onyx smiled, flashing some teeth, “Never, never lived in New York in my entire life.”
“Oh, that’s right!” she gleefully responded, “You’re from out of town. Well, you need to come to the Big Apple more! There’s so much to do here. I moved here when I was twelve. I wasn't sure about it at first, but daddy was right: I did like it here!”
Onyx shrugged and said, “I don’t like cities much. That’s not my thing, really.”
She kept trying to engage him, and said, “Do you like dancing? I dance ballet!”
“I can’t dance,” he responded, “But I do enjoy watching people dance, especially ones with talent. Dancing is really beautiful to watch.”
Now she got a sparkle in her eye, in that she was getting somewhere. “Well, you’ll have to come watch a show that I’m in sometime. It’s nice to have people that appreciate these kinds of things.”
With that, she inched in a touch closer. Oblivious to her approach, he said, “Hmm…maybe I will.”
Dad wasn’t sure what to say. On the one hand, his teenage daughter was flirting with a vampire that had to be at least decades old, but on the other hand, how dense could a guy be? He leaned over to Chiyuki and said, “Is that normal for him?”
“No,” responded Chiyuki, “Normally he would ignore her.”
Now Jean-Claude’s curiosity was stoked a bit, and he asked, “Um...just how old is he, anyway?”
“Nineteen years old,” Chiyuki said.
That put him at some ease. Then he said, “How do you get through to him that my daughter has an interest in him?”
“Like this...ONYX!” Chiyuki yelled.
Sheila nearly jumped out of her skin. “What was that all about?” she asked.
Onyx nodded his head once to Shelia, walked over to Chiyuki, who cupped his face with both her hands and rammed her forehead into his. Onyx then walked back over to Shelia. Now everyone just stared, wondering what was going on. Sheila came up and asked, “Um...are you okay?”
Onyx nodded and said as he rubbed his forehead, “Yea....Chiyuki-sama is violent!”
Elda then spoke up and said, “Um, I think it's time we came down to the business end of why they came, yes?”
“To help with our newest problem, they are very good at the job description I gave them,” Chiyuki said, nodding at Onyx who then vanished into thin air, without a trace of him. Sheila yelped while Jean-Claude started looking in the infrared and the ultraviolet scales to see if he could find him. Very faint traces of him could be seen, but it was like looking at the mirror of an illusion through blurry water. Jean-Claude said, “It almost looks like you’ve stepped inter-dimensionally.”
“It’s sort of like that. I’m on a different plane, but I can still see this one,” he said, his voice seemingly coming from everywhere.
“What else can you guys do?” asked Jean-Claude.
Yuri pulled out her large sword saying with a voice devoid of emotion, “I can take any of you on in hand-to-hand combat or weapons.”
“Let’s not try that theory out, shall we?” he said, “Well, here is the matter...”
And Jean-Claude laid out the whole thing. However, Tarai was upset that no one asked what she could do. She furrowed her brow and said, “Nobody asks me what I can do!”
Anjou slipped up in her silent way and said, “Yes, what can you do?”
“I do cool stuff!” Tarai said, smiling and biting the tip of her finger to bring out blood.
“So, you bleed on the enemy?” she said sarcastically.
“I’m a healer,” she said, when she had blood drawn, picking up a dagger on her belt and dragging it across her own arm, making a deep wound, then touching her bleeding finger to the wound, it healed instantly. Tarai was unsteady on her feet for a minute then back to normal, “I can do that to anyone, and I also make force fields.”
“That is very useful,” said Anjou without much emotion, “There are humans that fight alongside us, and that would help greatly.”
Tarai nodded and smiled, “Though it’s not as cool as Onyx,” she said, rolling her eyes, “Or Yuri even, we still make a pretty awesome team.”

While this was going on, the conversation was still going on with Onyx and Jean-Claude. Jean-Claude then said, “So, do we stay here and then head for Romania, split forces, or go straight for Romania?”
Onyx thought about it and said, “We should learn more about our enemy before we just run right into the middle of them.”
Jean-Claude said, “I agree. However, I would love to find the nerve center here, because I have only been able to find the edge elements, but not the head of the beast.”
“Only way to find it is to start with what we have,” responded Onyx, and Jean-Claude spread out the files that he had gotten from that one place. Onyx glanced through them, “I don’t see very much useful here.”
“Then we need to find the nerve center,” said Jean-Claude, “We need to find something more tangible to work with, but I would not know the first place to start.”
“Well, you have those two werewolves that seem to want to help,” he said, “I know they don’t have much love for this kind of evil, so they can be trusted. What we need to do is get them to help us find that nerve center.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” said Jean-Claude, who then said, “Die Kaiserenhand!”
The whole team responded, “Achtung, Baby!”
“Let’s head to the armory and get the team ready,” said Jean-Claude, who, in a flash of vampiric speed, had his hunting clothes. Everyone else followed suit, except for Hondo, who had to do it the old fashioned way. Onyx and Yuri, whom were already in all the clothing they needed, just waited for everyone. Tarai was humming a tune that sounded eerily creepy. “Perfect mood music,” said Jean-Claude, “We are about to enter the Twilight Zone.”
“It sounds like we’re about to swallow the blue pill and enter the Matrix,” said Karin, to which Jean-Claude added, “We may well be, Karin, we may well be…to the armory!”
“Okay, Batman,” joked Kenta, at which Jean-Claude rolled his eyes and said, “Right Robin, the Joker won’t know what hit him!”
Hondo started to hum the Batman theme as they went. As Jean-Claude got Romulus and Remus on the horn, he knew this was going to be an interesting evening.