Chapter 3 Damon, unlike every other citizen of Tokyo, hated Saturdays. He was all alone at the apartment, since the bookstore was still open. Damon didn't like hanging out with himself; he wasn't one to go to movies or shop on his own, yet he usually didn't have a choice. Sunday's weren't so bad, since Nushi only kept the store open for half the normal hours. He wandered the apartment, walking in and out of every room five times, before Damon decided that he really was pathetic. The boy couldn't think of anyone he could call up to see if they wanted to do something--his only close friends were Kamoku and Nushi, both of which were obviously occupied. There was the drawback of having managers of bookstores as friends; the store was always on their mind. But, wait. The thought of Kamoku and Nushi sparked another thought. Another person who also worked at a bookstore. Murasaki. Damon could go to The Other Book Garden and see Murasaki! Sure, he'd be working too, but ... it was different. It was Murasaki, who Damon was desperate to see. Spurred on by this idea, Damon threw on some actual flattering clothes, something other than that business suit Murasaki had seen him in earlier. He was pleased to find that his favorite pair of jeans were clean--they were molded almost exactly to his body and fit him perfectly. With the pants, he shrugged on a light blue t-shirt that, again, hugged his body, and the color subtly accented his blue eyes. Damon laughed at himself in the mirror--he really was a queen. After glancing around the apartment, Damon suddenly realized that he should bring the list Emma had given him--he'd be getting work done, he'd have an excuse to be at the bookstore and then later today he'd have something to do, since he couldn't hang around at the store all day. Fifteen minutes later, Damon arrived at The Other Book Garden and quickly looked around, hoping to catch a glance of a tall, dark haired man moving purposefully around the shop. Damon didn't see anything of the like, though there was a wrinkly old Asian man sitting in one of the chairs--not Murasaki. Dejectedly, Damon made his way to the front desk and waited behind a large woman buying a dozen diet books. He was suddenly happy he had brought the werewolf list; at least now he had a plausible reason to be here and didn't have to admit to wanting to see the absent Murasaki. Kamoku grinned when she saw her friend, "What can I do for you, Damon? Sorry, Mr. Tairyou isn't working today." Blushing hotly, Damon pretended to ignore the last remark. "I have a list of books I need for work. Wanna help?" Nodding, Kamoku walked around the front counter and grabbed the worn list out of Damon's hands. "Remember I told you I was on a Defense Team for the capture of the werewolf? I'm supposed to research a lot before I start more advanced steps. So, I'm needing these books." Kamoku was walking quickly down aisles, making sharp turns and thoroughly confusing Damon, as she replied, "I think we have all these--just had a creature shipment in last month. Wasn't sure why, but at least they'll help you along now, right? Ah, here they are." The Asian woman started piling books on him, creating a stack easily two feet high. "Can you see?" Muffled, his reply came, "No." "Alright," Kamoku calmly said as she moved behind Damon. "Here, I'll push you in the right direction." She was true to her word and Damon got out of the maze without stumbling over or running into a single object. "Here, I'll ring those up for you. This is going to be a lot ... I'm guessing the company will be reimbursing you though, right?" "Thankfully," Damon sighed as he eyed the total. Pulling out his credit card, he was doubly sure to get a receipt--Emma better be true to her word about the compensation issue. The books ended up being almost $150 all in all. Damon started to lug his books to the door, hoping to get a cab quickly; he was actually looking forward to flipping through the novels for they seemed interesting. As the blonde boy concentrated on his load, though, he walked into someone. Flushing, Damon looked up to see, of course, Murasaki. He blurted the first thing that came to mind, "Er, uhm, hi." Mentally, he admired his way with words. Murasaki's original embarrassed look easily turned to one of amusement as he replied, "Hello, Damon. We need to stop meeting like this--I'm going to get a bruise if you keep butting your head into me." Damon blushed at himself for being able to find sexual innuendo in Murasaki's innocent comment, but tried to ignore it. "What are you doing here? Kamoku told me that you weren't working today." Slyly, Murasaki replied, "You asked if I was working?" Damon didn't think it was possible--but he turned a brighter crimson. "Well, anyway, Kamoku was right. I was just stopping in to confirm my hours for tomorrow. I thought they were eleven to seven, but my calendar said just eleven to three, so I decided the best course of action would be to drop in." Damon nodded and without thinking, followed Murasaki to the counter, where the taller man leaned over and checked out the schedule. "Ah. Both my calendar and I were wrong. I work noon to five." Damon smirked and commented that maybe Murasaki should either improve his memory or his handwriting. With a quick grin in his direction, Murasaki countered, "I wouldn't be talking, you who left your list of books at work." Damon grunted as he slightly lifted his bag of books to show Murasaki. "Maybe I forgot it that one day, but I remembered today." They started to walk toward the door, with Damon dragging the bag behind him. "Here, let me take that," Murasaki offered and didn't wait for a response; he simply relieved Damon of his burden and seemingly easily carried it outside, pausing to hold the door open for the other man. "Jeez, Damon, why so many books? What are you doing, creating your own bookstore?" "Nothing so extravagant. Some research for my job. I work at DAEC--you heard of it?" Damon added the last bit when he saw Murasaki's sudden shocked look. "Defense Against Evil Creatures." Murasaki was suddenly very concerned about the bag of books he carried. "Yes, I have heard of it." "Oh, great! It's a fantastic job. See, I'm working on a new assignment to capture this werewolf that's just moved into the area. I'm real excited about the job, because I've just been doing deskwork since I started working there. So, these are all werewolf information books, so I can learn more about them before I start the actual hunting bit," Damon explained. "That's great. Must be quite an advance in the business world," Murasaki replied as he glanced around the sidewalk. "Oh yes, its so splendid. It's constantly on my mind--I've always wanted to be on a Defense Team," Damon excitedly told him. Murasaki was fidgeting. "Listen, Damon, I just realized how late it was ... I have to get back home and, er, call my mother. I'll talk to you later, then?" He handed Damon his books back and stepped toward the curb, hailing a cab. Grinning, Damon nodded and said, "Definitely! I'd really ... really like to see you again, Murasaki." Pausing before opening the door to the taxi in front of him, Murasaki half-turned to look at Damon. He had a very solemn expression on his face as he answered, "I'm sure we'll see each other around. Goodbye." Puzzled by the other man's abrupt departure and change of manner, Damon simply waved both in a send off and in order to attract his own cab. Later that night, as Damon flipped through his books and jotted down notes, his thoughts kept on being pulled back to his odd conversation with Murasaki. As soon as Damon had mentioned his job, Murasaki had pulled back and gotten quite introverted. It was as if Damon's job had, well, turned him off. Damon couldn't see why, though. Maybe next time, he could ask the other man about this, in a subtle manner of course. Vainly, Damon tried to keep his mind on the werewolf matter, but his notes were soon covered with doodles of Murasaki and he realized he had written his and Murasaki's names all over the paper. Damon Tairyou had a nice ring to it, he thought. Angrily, and yet amusedly, Damon noticed that the thought of Murasaki promptly turned him into a huge clich�d, lovesick schoolgirl. Disgustedly, he eyed his notes. Oh well. At least some of these doodles were alright looking. - - - - - The next Wednesday, Damon was finally ready for fieldwork. He showed up early to work, full of anticipation and hope. He was half-sure that with all the research and effort he'd already done, he'd capture the werewolf that night. Then, of course, every time he got so optimistic, the little pessimistic side of himself noted that not even Kitten captured her creatures the first night out. Damon shrugged this thought off and decided to do his best--who knew, maybe he was the new Kitten and could capture the werewolf the first night! On this happy note, Damon bounded to his desk and started setting down his stuff?--only to realize half way through that a note had been taped to his computer. In bold handwriting, it said, "Damon: come to Fuki's office as soon as you can! We want to get a head start on prepping you for field work! See you soon, love! Heart, Kitten." Damon grinned at Kitten's informal manner, even when dealing with such a serious topic. A couple minutes later, Damon was about to knock on Fuki's door, but before he could, it opened. Kitten was just inside and happily ushered the boy inside. "Come in, Damon! Follow me to the back. Fuki and Emma are waiting. Oh, this is going to be fun! I love instructing first-timers!" Silently, Damon walked closely behind the bouncy woman. He was getting worried about this whole training session. With no idea what to expect, Damon imagined himself back in school, sitting in an uncomfortable wooden desk with three women yelling at him, telling him what to do and how to act. Damon knew this wouldn't be the reality, but the thought still made him shudder. As he entered the backroom, all thoughts of school exited his mind. Fuki's office was nice in general, but the back was lovely. Furnished with what looked like oak and leather, the dimmed lights added to the ambiance. It kept its professional atmosphere but gained a relaxing air. Fuki and Emma were seated in leather chairs with tall backs, flipping through papers and talking about what seemed to be a serious subject. Fuki looked up at the two arrivals and nodded to the empty chairs by her. In her brisk English accent, she directed them to sit down. Right away, she got down to business. "Okay, Damon. We as a group have obviously decided that you're ready to go onto fieldwork. But, before you run out the door and start hunting, you need to know what to do." She handed him a sheath of papers. "These will basically outline the steps you should take while on the job. They're not that difficult--basically just narrowing down where the creature could be located." Flipping through her own copy of the papers she had just handed Damon, Fuki briefly explained the steps to him. After she finished, Emma automatically started talking, "Now, there are just a few things you need to remember. Always bring your information with you--you never know when you need to remember some obscure fact about the creature you're hunting." "Don't be too hung-up on facts, though. Trust your instinct and your memory," Kitten added. "You're not always going to have time to search your notes to find what to do." Shooting a glance at Kitten, Emma continued, "You may not need the notes sometimes, but others they'll come in handy like you wouldn't imagine. The day you don't carry them with you will be the day you'll need them." She nodded firmly. Fuki interjected, "Always be careful and don't be rash." "Don't be afraid to explore a bit, though. You won't know all the area around you, but that's okay. As long as you're careful, yeah, don't be afraid to explore," Kitten continued, fiddling with her vinyl sleeve. "Be safe, though. Know the basic area and don't just run into places you know nothing about," Emma said. "Once you get the creature, call for backup right away." Fuki's green eyes widened as she finished the statement, as if big eyes would definitely make Damon listen. Kitten sighed, "True, call for backup, but don't hesitate to barge in there and start the capture by yourself. Usually the creature will be too shocked to right out attack you, and you'd be surprised at how well bluffing works. Backup is always deployed right when you call, so you don't even have to be alone for long. But if you don't get there right after you call, it's really easy to lose the trail." Emma and Fuki grinned, as Emma muttered, "You would know ..." Kitten glared at the blonde. The three women continued in this vein, each of them generally backing the others up, but adding their own twists. Damon wondered how he was going to remember all of this and vainly wished he had been taking notes. About half an hour later, they all seemed satisfied and smiled at each other happily. Fuki turned to Damon and told him, "I think that's about it then, Damon. Now, how about you head home and then start tracking a bit tonight. Remember--if you're going to do field work either that day or night, you only have to either call or stop in, so we know what's up." "Alright," Damon nodded and stood up. After shaking hands with each of the ladies, he left the room and soon the building. - - - - - Damon looked in his closet. He had absolutely nothing to wear on a werewolf-hunting mission. How could this be? He must have some ratty old jeans or a shirt he could get dirty--but, no. By some odd coincidence, his closet was actually organized and he didn't currently own any old clothes. Sighing, Damon decided the best think to do would be to raid Nushi's closet. Nushi was infamous for having several pairs of old pants and shirts he never wore anymore. After a short trip into Nushi?s room, Damon was decked out in torn, faded jeans that were too big and a green t-shirt, again too big for him. Damon just hoped he would NEED to get his clothes dirty--or else he'd feel like a big fool. Soon, after a quick dinner of chicken and cheese sandwich, Damon headed out to stalk the forces of evil. Two hours later Damon was upset. He had stalked and strolled and crept and jogged and slithered and even hopped around a bit, but to no avail. He had not seen a single piece of evidence even leading to the conclusion there might be a werewolf in the vicinity. Damon didn't know what to do. Was it because this was his first time and he didn't know what to do? Or maybe it wasn't Damon's fault. He remembered Kitten saying something about how its unlikely he'd find anything the first night out. Even though, Damon was disappointed. His visions of supreme hunter Damon didn't seem so realistic now, as he dejectedly headed home to bed. - - - - - A day later, Damon sat in his apartment, waiting. He went into work that day, heading straight for Kitten, full of angst and insecurity. She consoled him, restating the altruism that no one found anything their first day out, especially not when it was their first day out ever. Damon refused to believe her for the longest time, until finally Kitten insisted on going out with him that night to see what they could find. So, Damon was sitting at his kitchen table, watching Kamoku and Nushi work on tax forms, killing time until Kitten arrived. Amazedly, there wasn't as much arguing as usual between the two, because both were so focused on the forms they didn't even seem to remember to quarrel with the other. It was sort of amusing to watch. They weren't talking nicely--they weren't really talking at all--but any change was a drastic one. Damon had been watching them for almost twenty minutes when the doorbell rang and he opened the door to see a sheepishly smiling Kitten. Kitten was wearing not her usual hunting gear--no jumpsuit or leather or even cat ears. Just some tight jeans and a blue t-shirt. Blushing, she told Damon, "Sorry I'm late--My cat was throwing up and I had to make sure she wasn't really sick. She wasn't, though, so it's okay. I hurried over as fast as I could." Damon smiled at her and told her, "No worries. Let me just grab my coat; here, come in for a second." Kitten accepted his offer and was led into the kitchen. "Nushi, Kamoku, I'd like you to meet Ame Imai, one of my coworkers and the lovely lady who is going to try to assist me tonight. Kitten, this fellow is Nushi, my roommate and Kamoku is his assistant manager," Damon said, pointing to everyone in turn. Nushi broke himself away from the absorbent tax forms and glanced up, then back down. Then up and his stare stayed. Green eyes widening, he stood up and reached across the table to offer Kitten his hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Ame-san. I've heard much about you and it's very kind of you to help Damon out like this." Shaking Nushi's hand, Kitten smiled at him sparklingly. "Oh, please, call me Kitten. All my friends do," she purred. Kamoku continued to write, no, grind, information out on the table. Damon quickly grabbed his coat from the back of a chair and started to usher Kitten out of the apartment. "Okay, bye Nushi, Kamoku. Don't stay up too late! Have fun!" On the elevator down, Damon mockingly reprimanded Kitten. "Have you no shame? I thought Kamoku was going to leap out of her chair and strangle you right then and there." Kitten chucked throatily, "Aw, he started it. It's not like they're going out, are they?" "Technically, no. They both just hate anyone who's interested or involved in the other," Damon grinned. The pair hailed a cab and were soon in the middle of a near by park, reviewing the profile on a bench. Kitten hadn't seen most of it and so was reading every detail, occasionally asking questions to Damon to clarify things. Soon, they both felt comfortable with the situation and started to walk around. "How do you know where to look?" Damon asked. Kitten mused for a second, then easily replied, "I guess it's just a lot of investigative work. You ask people if they've seen anything weird around, you do a lot of inference ... It's hard to explain, but easy to get a hang of." They walked in silence for a while, Damon looking around furiously as if to catch a glimpse of the creature, while Kitten strolled serenely. Suddenly, though, she stopped walking. "Oh gosh, Damon. We're both such idiots." Damon turned and looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? How are we idiots?" "Of course there isn't going to be any evidence of a werewolf--the full moon hasn't gone by yet! When the full moon is happening, a werewolf looks and acts exactly like a human, so there wouldn't be any suspicious characters wandering around, other than the normal weirdoes. We can't really look for anything until then. Agh, why didn't I think of that before?" Kitten exclaimed. Damon was stricken. Of course! That explained so much, and he said as much. "Don't worry about it, Kitten. This just gives us more time to develop a better profile." Nodding, Kitten started to walk toward the perimeter of the park. "I guess this happens to the best of us, eh? It just totally slipped my mind that the werewolf hadn't been here during a full moon yet." She continued to rag on herself for forgetting, and Damon kept on reassuring her it was okay until the cab they were in dropped her off. |