The Light of my Life

7 minutes to 11

Illyana felt a little chilly entering the store, so was glad for her choice of disguise. 

~ding ding~

The door's bell sounded upon her entry. She briefly met eyes with the cashier, bowing her head politely as he greeted her. Though she was a regular here she tried her best to keep her face hidden. Little did she know it didn't work. It was difficult to hide such a beautiful face. It lured people's attention. What kept her coming back was that he never seemed to recognize her and leave her be. But Illyana would remain blissfully ignorant of her older sister's intervention... Not that it mattered for the moment!

Her eyes scanned the familiar shelves. She could see that today everything was fully stocked! Just her luck! A smile would  draw on her soft features before she moved towards the cold aisle and she would begin her hunt for onigiri! The young model wouldn't forget picking up the sardines as well, that had been a brilliant idea, leaving her patting herself on her back. Browsing through what they had in the ready-made section she would pass by the less interesting meals. Teriyaki chicken? 

"Had that yesterday." She pulled her lower lip out in a pout.

Moving along the lower shelves where it was colder there were the colder meals that needed a few extra steps: pot stickers, curry, and bento boxes. But none of them caught her attention. She had her heart set on that meal. As she stood she came to eye level with the afternoon's leftover bento. She was going to pass by the meals at first, but she noticed the bentos were on sale seeing as they were from earlier in the day. That was a deal and they did look tasty. Illyana was quite adventurous when it came to her snacking hobbies and couldn't resist a good sale. Sometimes this stressed her manager out, especially when he would have to dig through her cabinets and scrounge for her hidden treats. 

Her lips would pull back in a grin, her fangs peeking out from her plump lips. "Ah, I have a new hiding spot he won't find." She murmured to herself before shoveling a few of the bento into her shopping tote, which was folded in her purse just for such snack emergencies. 

~ding ding~

The three delinquents entered the shop, looking around in search for their target. Once they spotted the young woman they murmured between each other before chuckling. The two men looked to their female compatriot and motioned  their hands encouragingly. Rolling her eyes the blue-haired punk would unbutton the first few buttons on her top, pulling her baggy jacket down behind her, leaving her arms in the sleeves so she could loosely wear it. Approaching the cashier she leaned over the counter, looking behind him as if looking over his services. 

"You wanna heat something up for me?" Her wording was more than suggestive. 

The cashier would be thoroughly distracted. With that out of the way goon one and goon two would make their way towards the woman, but instead of directly approaching her they first would meander to the shelves and look around. The cashier looked up for a moment before returning to the woman. She was flirting with him, but he was doing his best to maintain his customer service act. The door's bell rang again.

~ding ding~

A tall man of about 187cm and white hair. He looked to be a salaryman, though one would be hard pressed to accept that given the man was muscular, his suit outlining the figure on his fit body.  After nodding to the cashier he would scan the store. After observing the occupants the man went over to the book section. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, good one and two made their way to where Illyana was plopping various flavors of onigiri into her tote. Spicy Tuna, pickled plum, fried rice, natto~! She didn't really like natto.

"He does though..." She giggled to herself.  

~ding ding~

Illyana moved to stand up, but as she turned to look towards the door she found herself between the two men. She blinked and took a step back. "Excuse me." She pardoned herself. 

"Red eyes..." Goon one chuckled. "Looks like we have quite the catch. No wonder she's such a beauty."

His friend smiled wide, his entire mouth full of fangs. "I hear they're a rare breed. Hey, you wanna get with some real men?"

Illyana immediately felt her skin crawl. "Uhm, no thank you." 

She was aware of her looks. She was a model and kept a strict track of her weight and size for outfits and maintaining her figure. She stood at about 157cm, her bust a healthy D-cup, though it was only healthy for her photoshoots. Otherwise it was a pain to fit herself for brassieres since her waist was so thin. Her face was round, but had more of a mature charm. Her pale skin made her claret eyes stand out and her ivory hair gave her a supernatural energy. Though her hair was mostly tucked into the hood, with a few strands falling free. Her eyes were mostly shrouded to help hide her face, but those eyes stood out and gave off a faint glow in low light. The men began to circle her like sharks, and if she wasn't imagining it: one of them appeared to be a Shark Demon.

Illyana was in a bit of trouble. It wasn't as if she couldn't handle these two on her own. She did mixed martial arts training for her fitness routine. She was also a master of sword fighting, a tradition of her father's family. She could ruin these men's days easily but that would cause her two problems. First if it got out that she was some violent person who could take out hoodlums it could ruin the reputation she was fighting to grow. And two it would out her identity if she got into a scuffle and her hood fell or the police were called and she would have to reveal herself.

Goon two smiled at his friend. "She thinks she has a choice."

"She thought, right? Her first mistake." Goon one laughed as if he was told a funny joke, only to snap out his hand to grab her arm.

Illyana winced, bracing her instincts. She didn't want to lash out and severely hurt someone.   She waited, but nothing happened. When she looked up she gasped. Goon one's wrist was in a death grip. Looking to the left she caught the gaze of her savior! Tamotsu! Looking to the right the shark-toothed demon was pinned against the wall by the white haired man, one of her bodyguards. Tamotsu was smiling. It was the kind of smile that chased Illyana's smile away. Oooh, she was in trouble.

Tamotsu leaned forward as he pulled the goon's arm behind his back, the sound of cracking heard as he nearly pulled his arm out of the socket. "Everyone sure is making mistakes tonight, huh?" He pulled the arm further, the man finally releasing the shout of pain he was holding in. "Excuse me." he bowed his head to Illyana and turned to walk the goon out of the store, throwing  him with enough force to slam him onto the ground.

The bodyguard followed suit. Tamotsu turned his attention to the woman. The delinquent squeaked and hurried out. Her buddies rushed to their feet and they took off. Tamotsu thanked the bodyguard and would relieve him for the night. 

"I've got it from here, thank you for your hard work." He politely offered before he looked to the cashier who blushed with embarrassment.

"Tama!" Illyana called out as she hurried up to his side. 

"Lily." Tamotsu turned to face her as the bodyguard left. "Your tote."

"B-but..." She clutched the tote to her chest, but he didn't withdraw his hand.

Pouting Illyana placed the tote in his hand and Tamotsu proceeded to dump the goods on the counter. "Just the Onigiri." Tamotsu spoke as he took out his wallet.

Lily, who was looking rather dejected, brightened up. After purchasing the snacks Tamotsu walked Illyana back to her apartment. The building was extravagant, what one would expect in Tokyo. The neon lights  reflected brilliantly off the skyrise's windows, creating an artificial illumination that made one feel safe while walking the streets. At this time the streets weren't crowded, but neither were they empty. Couples going out on dates, or businessmen and women returning home on public transit, or late workers heading to work now. There are so many kinds of foreigners and interesting places to go. It would have been a waste to go to bed so early in Tokyo

The two walked silently, side by side. Illyana hugged her bag to her chest, Tamotsu on his phone, typing away as he continued to work even after hours. She was glad he had come to her rescue. She wasn't sure what would have happened if she had to defend herself. Arriving at the apartment the pair would pass the secure gate entrance using Illyana's code. 

Upon crossing the threshold of the great glass entrance: the lobby would greet residents and guests alike with great marble columns and high ceilings that were decorated with a faux skylight lit by deep yellow fluorescent lights. From the column hung lantern lamps with the soft yellow glow, filling the room with a wash of gold. The floor was a deep red marble surface marked with three inch long thick white lines that stretched out in decorative webbing. The lobby was sparsely decorated with plants: the potted palms and ferns settled near every other column. Sitting near the grand windows were some bergere style wingback armchairs with shaded lamps to provide a relaxing place to read or chat late in the evenings. The elevators, six in total, carried residents to their floors with speed and efficiency.   

After that they made their way to the elevators and would hit the call button, boarding as soon as they arrived. They faced the doors as they closed.

"We have to talk, Lily." He spoke, only for her to deflate.

"H-hai..." She murmured.