“It solves all the problems besides her naughty family. I still would kill them before they do more damage, although the sister sounds sweet. Maybe let her live.” She picked at her fingernails as sunlight burst through the trees.
“No.” Kat had made it clear she did not wish to be a vampire right now. My Kat with fangs and a bloodlust was opposite to her kind personality. She was no monster.
I stared at the familiar car driving down the dirt road to the farm.
“The family wasn’t expecting visitors today. I wonder who that could be.” Eleanor prepared to scope out our visitors.
When a brown-headed girl stepped out of the luxury car, the sweet scent of cherry blossoms wrapped around my body and soul.
“My Katsumi.” I breathed and watched her walk to the house.
“Oh, this is delightful. Introduce me, you brute.” She took off and I followed after her, needing to see Katsumi’s face up close.
Chapter Thirty- Three
Katsumi
“This is quite the place,” Rei said, as we waited for the family who lived at this farm to answer the door. I’d had a dream the other day about wisteria, and it hit me. I bet Tatsou went home to his original home. We visited the Byakugou-Ji Temple where he had mentioned his farm was near and knocked on every door around.
“You must be Katsumi,” a female voice purred from behind me, and I jumped into Rei. A blond-haired beauty stood about five feet from me with eager blue eyes, plump pink lips, and a bright smile. Movement behind her shifted my focus and my heart stopped beating.
“Tatsou,” I breathed, and my heart beat once more while my feet rushed me to him. He smiled, and I launched myself into his arms again.
“You’re okay! You’re safe!”
“You thought otherwise?” I hugged him tightly. His arms were strong at my back, holding me up while I clung to him.
He didn’t leave me. If he had wanted nothing to do with me, it would have shown. “Well, you left abruptly and didn’t come back. Father sought me out and said you were gone on a job for him, but then I had some weird warning-slash-concern speech for me. I was worried he figured out who you were or had you. So I looked for you, and now you’re here.” I whispered parts of my rambling, so Rei couldn’t hear. The vamp lowered me to the ground and placed his hands at my cheeks.
“You risked much for me, Little Flower.” His soft voice melted me, then his lips pressed against mine and my knees wobbled.
“Enough snogging! I want time with her, too,” the female called out to us, and we remembered we had an audience. I untangled myself from my vamp’s strong hands and walked back to the woman.
“I’m Katsumi, this is my friend Rei.” I introduced us to the stranger and watched as Tatsou’s eyes narrowed at Rei’s presence.
“He helped me find you, jackass. Stop being a territorial jerk.” I pointed my finger at him like a badass. The action made everyone snicker. Ok, so apparently I wasn’t as cool as I felt.
“This is my best friend, Eleanor. We met in my youth.” Tatsou looked at me and I understood immediately. She was a vampire, most likely an original like him.
“I’m excited to meet you.” I bowed and the woman pulled me in for a tight hug.
“If you break his heart, I’ll eat yours for dessert,” she whispered quickly in my ear, and I plastered a smile on my face when we broke apart. Nice lady.
“It’s so nice to meet you. Tatsou has been telling me all about you. I’m so happy he’s finally found someone. Be sure to invite me to the wedding one day.” She winked and her sincerity confused me. Did she like me or not like me?
“Eleanor is dramatic. You’ll get used to it.” He strode to my side as the door behind us opened and a man stood confused as to why we were here. Eleanor jumped into explanations, but I was too busy thinking over the woman to hear what she said.
“She wants to be your friend, but she’s known me for a long time. I got the same talk from your sister, so I would not worry if I were you,” Tatsou whispered in my ear to calm my nerves. It worked, then I realized what he truly said.
“Romi threatened you?” I wouldn’t put it past her, but she seemed afraid of him. He nodded and we were being invited in for tea by the farmer.
“You guys go ahead, I gotta check in with your dad.” Rei lifted his phone with a frown and walked back to the car. I hoped the conversation went well. He’d been able to fool Father thus far, and I claimed to be meeting with a bride in this area to get inspiration for her beautiful dress. Now that we found Tatsou, I’d head home before dinnertime to keep any doubts away.
Our lovely host the Nakamura family welcomed us in, then gave us some privacy to talk in the sitting room. Eleanor was a doll, but I sensed a strong fighter in her. Tatsou and her were friends for a reason, and I wanted to know everything. We’d have to save that conversation for another time, though, without human ears around. Tatsou stood near the window, his face completely passive while us girls chatted. We were close to finishing our tea when Rei walked into the room.
“I think heading home tonight is a good plan. He sounded nervous about you being so far away.” Rei sat beside the female vampire and poured himself a cup. She watched him curiously and when her eyes darted to mine, they were swirling bright blue.
“I need to talk with Eleanor for a moment,” Tatsou said, and the two of them walked out of the room with haste.
