E.H.

Hello all! Welcome to the Sequel of Spiraling Machinations of Fate. This story will be Shizuru-centric! A few things to keep in mind…

Number one, this is a sequel for a series with two more stories before it. So if you read this without reading them, it might not make much sense! If you did read the other two, I hope you guys like this one! Number two, I will be switching the perspectives of whom it's around between the two main characters. I am going to try going into the perspective of my male character. If it sucks, I'm a girl…so please forgive me. Number three, this is set three months after SPoF. Number four, this is rated M for a reason! Things will heat up fast! Just going to throw that out there!

Now, disclaimer. I do not own anything recognizable besides my characters Shiyu, Nabi, Kouta, and any other non-cannon characters.

This chapter will be a bit smaller than the next ones simply because this is the introduction to the story. Enjoy!

Stepping Forward

Topaz eyes scanned the sky with a lazy gaze. Shizuru studied the tendril of smoke that rose and twisted with ease into the warm late-spring air. It contrasted the clouds as it danced on the slight breeze. Footsteps thunked down the walkway before stopping in front of her. She inhaled a lungful of air before sitting up fully to look at her date full on. He was decently tall; of course to her he was simply the same height. She mentally cursed her genes in passing. He was handsome in that good-boy-gone-bad sort of way. He would be her type…if she knew what her type was anymore. He was dressed in simple tan-brown slacks, work shirt with the sleeves rolled up exposing his tattoo, and a cigarette clenched in his teeth. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were just the usual for Japanese men; brown. He held two canned coffees in each hand; holding one out for her. She took it with muted thanks. She let her eyes trail over him slowly. Yeah, she could sleep with that. He was decently put together; nowhere near as buff as her brother and friends…but she didn't give a damn. She stood slowly and popped open the top, sipping the liquid slowly. They began to walk through the park leisurely.

"So what do you usually do for fun, Shizuru?"

She snorted and bit back the chuckle and sarcastic retort of, 'cheer on my bro and friends as they chase down bad guys and kick their asses.' She plucked a random idea from her head. He didn't really care anyway and they both knew it. He was just filling the time until she was ready for him to take her home and screw her. "Browse the bookstores."

He glanced at her sharply. "Seriously?"

A bit insulted by his tone, she rolled her eyes. "Yes. I'm not illiterate."

"No that's not what I meant. I just didn't peg you for the book-worm type."

She shrugged. "Get bored; have to pass the time somehow."

They were quiet for a few minutes before he nodded toward the street. "I think there's a bookstore up on that street."

"Sounds good enough to me."

They made their way to the bookstore; stepping inside. Shizuru moved a bit inside and watched him walk off toward the sports cars and bikini model magazine shelf. She snorted to herself and moved toward the educational section. She browsed through a few self-help books that she poked fun of in her head as she read the titles. She then moved to the art section and scanned until she found a tattooing artist book. She thumbed through it, admiring the work inside. She ran her hand over an intricate dragon design that was as beautiful as it was complicated and complex. She flipped the page to a tribal themed page.

"I think the dragon looked best." She jumped. She; Kuwabara, Shizuru…sensitive psychic to the supernatural and natural who could feel someone's energy from a mile away…jumped. She snapped her eyes to the side and wanted to groan in both desire and pain. If her date was good enough to have a one night stand with, this man was worth dropping her panties on the store floor for. He was like sex-on-legs from what she could tell. His hair was a very un-natural shade of dark blue and kept in that sexy fashion of just long enough to drop over his eyes seductively but still short enough to not worry about getting his hair in her mouth while having sex. She could feel the flush on her cheeks and warmth pooling in her stomach. Holy shit, she'd not felt like this since…an instant ice-cold knife went through her abdomen at the memory. Since the dark tournament. Sakyo. And this man right here was just as devastatingly handsome and mysterious looking to trump Sakyo.

"It was decent." She lied. She could see in his eyes they he knew she was lying. Yup. He was sex-on-legs. Sex-Man. That's what she'd call him later one that night while she pretended what's-his-face was Sex-Man.

"I think it was pretty well detailed, don't you?" He reached over and flipped the page back over with a small smirk. She held her breath as he neared her. Damnit, why did she have to feel so…turned on over this guy! It sucked! She looked at the page again and stared at the dragon.

"It is detailed, but imagine how long it'd take to get it tattooed?" She flipped the pages to a few back and landed on a simple serpent. "That would take half the time and money."

"Maybe so, but a serpent lacks sex appeal."

She looked up at him again, quirking a brow. "Dragons have sex appeal?"

He smirked, meeting her gaze. "You tell me."

She opened her mouth to reply when her date made his grand reappearance.

"Shizuru, what's up?" He stepped up beside her, eying the man beside her. Sex-Man dropped his hand and looked at her date. Her date stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her back in a possessive manner while glaring down Sex-Man. Shizuru felt a fissure of pure annoyance at her date's action. Shoving down the annoyance, she pushed her inner calm onto her face.

"Just talking tattoo art." She replied bluntly.

"You could just ask me about it." Her date replied before turning to Sex-Man on an afterthought. "No offence man."

Sex-Man smirked in a knowing way. "None taken."

"C'mon, Shizuru. Let's go." Her date turned and started 'herding' her toward the door. She stopped and looked at him, feeling her ire begin to rise.

"I'm not done yet." It wasn't a complaint or a request; it was a firm 'back-off' statement. Obviously her date was as dense as he looked.

"Yes we are."

"No. I'm not." She dug her heels in and pulled away from him a bit only to have him tighten his hold.

"I think it's pretty obvious that she doesn't want to go." Sex-Man sighed boredly.

Her date turned and sneered at Sex-Man. "Why don't you mind your own business and go find your own girl? Leave mine alone."

That was it. Shizuru yanked free from him and glared him down. "Your girl?"

Her date looked at her confused. "Well, yeah. I took you on a date, paid for dinner, and coffee. That makes you my girl for a night."

"Really? I didn't realize a dinner date meant you could buy me for a night. Guess I should have gotten a contract in writing before saying yes." She drawled on sarcastically. To Sex-Man she flashed him an irritated look. "If I needed a knight in shining armor, I'd ask for one." She turned and walked away from both men angrily. She hated being treated like a damned possession.

Her date rushed after her and out the door. "Hey! Shizuru! What the hell? What about our date?"

She turned and snorted at him. "Really? You still think I'm going to sleep with you after that possessive shit. You're an idiot." She continued on her way. She got to her bus stop and didn't have to wait long. Hopping on, she sat down and chuckled bitterly. "Damn have I got the worst taste in men, huh?"

…..

Shizuru sighed as she clocked out of work. She glared at the machine, happy to be rid of it for the next month. Nothing like saving up PTO, working your ass off for it, and getting to take a whole month off at once. She wouldn't have to see the evil machine for a long while. She walked from the building in the throng of people, wishing she could just do something she actually liked for once. Handling people's business accounts and fixing issues with files was not something she looked forward to every day. In fact, she really dreaded it. People were stupid; fact of life.

She stopped off at the locker room and unlocked her locker, dragging her duffle bag out. She then stepped out of the locker room and headed for the door. Once outside, she took a deep breath of city air. In a few hours she'd be filling her lungs with fresh mountain air and drinking on a long wooden porch while enjoying the forest around her. Summer was coming on with a small heat wave. She pulled her jacket off and tossed it over her shoulder as she hopped a bus to the train station. She reached the train station in under an hour with two transfers. She bought her tickets and checked the schedule. She still had forty minutes to kill before she had to board the train. Shizuru stepped into the coffee shop, bought a cup of black coffee and then headed to the small book and entertainment store in the station. She looked over the titles to pick from and wanted to roll her eyes. None of these books were anything she'd be remotely interested in. With a grunt, she moved to another shelf where there were notebooks and drawing/writing materials. She thumbed through the frilly, nonsensical designs until she came to a simple plain solid colored one. She lifted it and flipped through the pages, snorting as she noted someone had taken some time to be an annoying little shit and draw on a page halfway to the last page. Tossing it down, she turned from the table to browse the magazines in defeat. She ignored the frou-frou crap and male ego boosting magazines in favor of simple ones.

"Well, either cooking, interior design, or…ooh, lucky me, gaming." She grumbled to herself.

"What? Not a good cook or house keeper?" A familiar voice said from beside her. She turned and stared at Sex-Man face to face. She blinked and smirked.

"Nope. I prefer to make my baby bro clean my house when he's home. I also buy my food from the frozen section." Shizuru shifted her weight to the side and narrowed her eyes slightly on him. "So, are you following me now after destroying my date?"

"I didn't destroy him. He brought the fight to me." Sex-Man sighed irritably. "Besides, he was a rather large asshole."

She frowned, trying to follow his meaning. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sex-Man tilted his head and studied her. "I suppose I should ask you what you meant by 'destroying my date'?"

"It ended with me alone at home. That, in my book, constitutes destroying my date."

"Ah. Now I see where you were headed with that subject. Sorry. He came back in and challenged me to a fight in the park afterwards. That is what I was referring to here."

Shizuru had plucked a magazine from the rack to glance over only to drop it at his statement. "He did what?"

Sex-Man cleared his throat. "'Hey punk-ass, what the hell were you thinking? You made my girl upset and go home. You-me-the park…now.' At that point I tried to inform him that you had left upon your own accord however he had none of it. I merely followed in order to remove the situation from the store. He attacked me; I defended myself."

Shizuru scoffed and walked away, leaving the magazine. Sex-Man followed her out, brows furrowed.

"Did I say something to upset you?"

"Unbelievable." She spun on him. "What is wrong with men? You fought over me?"

"If I say 'no' you'll think I insulted you, if I say 'yes' I'll be held accountable for my actions. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. I merely reacted to the situation as I thought was necessary."

Shizuru looked at him studiously. She couldn't find it in her to be upset with him when he was as bluntly honest with her as she'd be with him. His eyes caught her off guard. She tried to remember what color they were in the store the other day but couldn't seem to recall them at all. As she stood there staring at his eyes, she found herself in an odd haze. One eye was a deep, steel grey while the other was almost an electric looking violet that was still dark while being bright. Energy rolled off this man like a tangible cloak; he was dangerous. She could not only feel it but taste it. And unfortunately, the danger he was emanated plus the odd mysteriousness he put off were highly intoxicating to her. She threw the image of Sakyo up in her mind and used the sting of that memory to help peel away from him.

"I have a train to catch." She threw out there. He nodded and looked away. The pull he had over her immediately severed and she felt as though she'd stumble.

"As do I. I am sorry about my behavior the other day. Please accept my apology." He turned back with a devastating smile that made her knees weaken. She wanted to punch him and kiss him all at once.

She nodded. "Apology accepted. Don't want to part ways feeling like an ass after all." She turned and pulled her bag higher onto her shoulder. As she walked down the corridor, she could feel his eyes on her back. She fought back the urge to blush and bit down on her emotions. "Damnit."

…..

The train ride was long and quiet. She was already regretting not buying that notebook and pens. Leaning her head back against the seat, she stared out the window at the rushing scenery. Her eyes flittered closed as she drifted off to sleep. Her mind flung images at her one right after another.

He grabbed her wrist and ran. "Hurry!" The sound of their feet clattering on the floor echoed around them. He turned a corner quickly. She paused, grabbing her aching shoulder to look at him confused. He reached out and grabbed her. "Come on!" He pulled her into the hallway and shadows against the wall. They both stood flat-backed to the wall as the lizard-like guards ran past. He pushed away from the wall and straightened his suit.

"Let me guess, human?" She asked him. He looked at her with dark, stormy blue eyes. A jagged scar ran down his face. A knowing smirk crossed his lips faintly.

"Yes. But remember, down here we're in the minority. So be careful." With that he turned and began to walk away with a small wave over his shoulder. She watched him walk away with a sense of foreboding.

"That's right, just walk away like all the beautiful men in my life." She sighed to herself.

The jostled waking her from her nap immediately. She sat up with a start and looked around; half-expecting to be surrounded by demons leering down at her. She breathed out a slow breath and shoved her bangs back from her face. She listened to the announcement and was slightly surprised that her stop was already up. She stood and gathered her things, heading for the exit as the train came to a stop. She disembarked from her car and moved without really seeing her surroundings. Her mind was still focused on her dreaming memory. She ignored the crowd as she climbed the steps and meandered to the line of taxis.

She climbed into one and told him the address. At the taxi cabby's look, she let him know that the bottom of the long steps was where she needed to go. Shaking his head, the cabby took off. She leaned back in her seat and snorted softly. 'Still not letting me move on in peace, are you Sakyo? Selfish bastard.'

From the train station, it was only a twenty minute car ride to the temple's staircase from hell. She climbed out, paid the taxi cabby, and gathered her bag. She waved to the cabby and moved toward the stairs. She just reached them when another cab pulled up. She glanced over with a frown, wondering who the hell could be coming all the way out here. Sex-Man stepped out of the cab, paid him and waved the cabby off. He turned and saw her staring at him. His eyes narrowed at her.

"What are you doing here?" They both said in unison.

Shizuru shifted, digging into her smaller bag for her cigarettes. She tapped out a stick and placed it between her lips. She reached into her pocket and pulled free the lighter from Sakyo. She lit the cigarette and lifted her eyebrows at Sex-Man, waiting for his answer first. She sure as hell wasn't going to talk first.

Sex-Man snorted and moved closer. "A friend of mine frequents this place."

"Fancy that. So do mine." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Who the hell are you?"

"I should ask you the same question."

"Tough. I asked first."

A sexy smirk twitched onto his lips. She cursed herself to being attracted to this man. "Call me Kou."

"Shizuru." She answered. She flicked her hair over her shoulder. Sex-Man, or Kou in this case, watched the movement closely. An amused glitter sparkled in his eyes.

"I have to say though, Shizuru…" He moved toward the stairs and started up them. He paused and looked back at her with a grin. "I think I'll miss being referred to Sex-Man."

He continued up the stairs without waiting for her. Her shoulders fell as her eyes widened. Well shit. Nothing like a sexy man who was able to read every single thought you'd ever had about him. She glared up at the sky wondering what she'd done this time to piss off the fates. On that somber note, she shouldered her bags and headed up after him at her own pace. She was in no hurry to catch up to him.

Snicker. Oh, how I'm loving putting Shizuru into these kind of situations! I hope you liked it so far! Please leave me reviews and tell me how I'm doing!

I hope Shizuru stayed in character! She's a complex character to write for. Also, references to her profession in the Manga will be coming up in the next chapter! I know she's a beautician in the manga and cuts Keiko's hair after Yusuke's apartment fire fiasco in the first few chapters of the manga. I'm working on a different route with her! So if you read the manga and are going "what the heck?" I promise I have a plan!

Thanks a bunches!

Erika Hearken