Don't forget to vote or leave a comment. Hopefully you like how the story is progressing! And my apologies for being away for so long.
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"I can't make it in today. I feel like shit." Kaori shivered and sank deeper into her blankets.
"But, Minamoto-san, we can't shoot the scene without you," her assistant's nervous voice stuttered over the phone.
"Well then you'll just have to wait, won't you?" she snapped before slamming her phone shut. This was ridiculous. It was a typical hot summer day outside and she was buried under three blankets, her teeth still chattering. For the last four days, she'd been experiencing severe chills, fever, muscle aches and weakness nonstop. On top of that, her appetite was terrible and bright light hurt her eyes. If this was a flu, it was unlike any flu she had ever had before. Wondering what the hell was going on, her thoughts were broken by the buzzer of her apartment intercom. Still covered in the blanket, she walked the aching steps to the plastic box and depressed the button, croaking, "Who is it?"
A disturbingly familiar chill crept up her spine as the last voice in the world she wanted to hear greeted her. "Kaori-chan. [Konichiwa]."
Attempting to keep the fear out of her voice, she retorted, "What the hell do you want?"
"Haven't heard from you in a few days," he drawled idly. "Not going to invite me in?" She heard him tut-tut disapprovingly in the background.
"What have you done to me?" she demanded angrily, momentarily forgetting her fear.
"Temper, temper," he admonished. "What seems to be the problem?"
"The problem is that I feel like shit all the time and you had better be able to explain why!"
"Well, how can I answer that question if I can't see what's happening to you, [neh]?" She could picture the infuriating smile on his face.
He had a point. She wrestled with the decision to let him in or not to, conflicted between wanting to know what was wrong and not wanting him anywhere near her.
"I'm waiting..." his voice reminded her.
Needing her questions answered, she swallowed her misgivings and buzzed him in. A minute later, her skin crawled as she heard him knock on her door. Taking a deep breath to steady her jangled nerves, she opened the door and attempted to look as unafraid as possible. "So? Is this supposed to happen?"
He studied her drawn features and cocked his head to one side, contemplating her presentation. "Odd," he said nonchalantly. "This is the first time I've seen someone react like this."
"You don't know what this is?!" she shouted hysterically.
Saburo ambled over to her couch and sat down without bothering to take off his shoes. "Nope," he shrugged carelessly, as he looked around her apartment. "Nice place you have here." Resting both arms along the back of her sofa, he grinned at her from across the room.
Kaori began to panic. "What am I supposed to do about this?" She gestured frantically towards her weakened body.
"How should I know?" he asked blandly.
Realizing she had let him into her home for nothing, she tried her best not to completely break down in front of him. "Why are you here?"
"Maybe I thought you missed me," he sneered.
He was so repugnant. "I didn't, so you can leave."
Saburo feigned a wounded expression. "Such a lack of gratitude." Clucking his tongue, he shook his head and stood up. "I'll show myself out, shall I?" Sauntering past her, he waited until he was some distance away from her apartment before swearing in displeasure. This was an unexpected and quite unwelcome turn of events. He hadn't anticipated that her infection would manifest as an actual illness and at this rate, there would be no possible way to use her period of estrus to his advantage, if she even made it that far. His wretched brother would be departing Tokyo in less than two weeks with his woman, leaving little time for him to exact vengeance. The only thing that brought him a scant amount of comfort was that at least if Kaori died, it would be one less loose end with which to concern himself, so in the end, nothing was lost.
Stumbling shakily into her bathroom, Kaori leaned against her sink as a wave of dizziness overtook her. Putting a hand to her head, she felt something brush against her skin and let out a small scream as a large clump of her hair fell onto the floor. "No! What?!" Touching her scalp, her breath came in rapid gulps as more and more sections of her hair joined the strands on the tiles. "What...what's happening to me?" Suddenly feeling like she needed some air, she ran to the nearest window and threw it open and thrust her head out into the breeze. After a few minutes, she attempted to collect her thoughts and felt chilled again. Withdrawing from the window, she willed herself not to touch her head, lest any more of her hair fell out and returned to her couch. Retreating into her nest of blankets, she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.
When she woke, it was dark outside. Sitting up on aching joints, she winced. The skin felt stretched and tight over her cheeks. Getting to her feet, she lurched to the bathroom and flipped the light switch. When she saw her face she couldn't even manage a scream. An angry, red set of what almost looked like scales covered her cheeks and forehead. Not sure what it was, she scratched at one of them and yelped in pain as it came away from the others. From the spot it had vacated, a thin line of blood began to drip onto the marble countertop. Desperate, she grabbed a jar of facial cream and began slathering it over the rough surface. Shaking, she slid to the floor and huddled into a corner, wondering for the first time in her life if she was going to die.
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neh: right / eh
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Hearing the sound of Ryu shout "Haddoken!", Angela knew she had a text message. Noboru raised one eyebrow over his shoulder at her message alert, chuckled and went back to sleep. Looking at her clock, she saw that it was about 2AM. Flipping open her phone, she saw that it was from her sister. It simply read, "Call me. Need to talk." The message was uncharacteristically serious. Usually her sister sent her lighthearted funny texts. Dialing her number, she waited anxiously for her to pick up.
"H-hello?" her sister's shaky voice answered.
"Linnsa? What's wrong?"
"Oh, [Unnie]!" She began to cry.
Angela sat up in bed at the sound of her tears. "Linnsa, talk to me! What happened?"
"Richard called off the engagement," she sobbed.
"Oh no, honey!" No wonder she sounded so heartbroken.
"I'm taking some time off work. I can't be at the hospital the way I'm feeling." She sniffled, "I was wondering if I could come stay with you? I just don't want to be by myself right now."
Not knowing what to say, Angela admitted, "Sure...but...uh...I'm not in...the country...right now."
"Huh?"
"But that doesn't mean you can't come see me," she hastily added. "Look, don't ask any questions, just book the first nonstop to Tokyo and email me your flight info. I'll explain everything when you get here."
"Are you sure?" Her voice showed her hesitation.
"Totally. I'll be waiting for you when you get here," she promised. "I love you."
"Love you, too. I'll see you tomorrow."
When she'd hung up, she saw that Noboru was wide awake looking at her with concern. "[Doshta]?"
Angela sighed and hugged him. "That was my little sister. Her fiancé just called off their engagement. The wedding was supposed to be in two months."
His brow furrowed. "How is she faring?"
"Not well." That was a major understatement. "She met the guy in college and he's the only guy she's ever dated. She took a job in Cali just to be near him and she basically took the job because it paid well. She's spent the last eight years of her life planning her future with this guy and he called off the whole thing." She rolled on top of Noboru and pleaded, "Can we find her some place to stay while she's here? I don't want anything bad to happen to her."
"Of course. Would you prefer I put her in a hotel or with one of my men?" He stroked her back at the distressed expression on her face.
"Actually, I think it would be better if we got someone to look after her."
Noboru thought for a moment. "I could put Genzo in an apartment and have him guard your sister."
