The diner, resting in the city, lonely to itself, had brought customers, and let them go. People had come satisfied, and gone satisfied; all except one.

Rain pattered against the window, the silence given no space among the sounds. Water rushed down the sides of the building and filled the streets as the rain exploded and turned to mist upon the streets, making the outside night appear filled with darkness. Sitting within, his head hanging loosely over a mug of coffee and a hamburger, a man rested, remaining motionless with the exception of his head, sitting in a booth quietly. His hair remained covered by an old "Detective" hat, partially dried from the time he had spent. Through the thin shadows, his face looked as though it was lacking any real emotion other than self pity.

Lifting his head up and shifting into a slouched position in the booth, his head pressing against the back rest. His hand calmly moved up to his face, the fingers then eventually his palm moving in between his eyes and his half frame glasses. From there, he wiped the water clear of his face, his hand rubbing downwards until finally reaching his chin. Slowly reaching into his trench coat, he withdrew a small round locket, a single letter stamped into the shiny material.

"J"

Opening it, his eyes looked towards the two pictures on the inside. On the left was the picture of a man and a woman, one tall, his face aged with a brown mustach looming over his grinning mouth. Under his right arm, a woman slightly shorter stood, smiling as well. Both looked roughly in their thirties, not too old. The other frame held pictures of three boys, one of which stood taller than the rest. The middle of the three, was a boy visibly dressed in a brown shirt and black vest. Half framed glasses adorned his smiling face, which seemed to smile in unison with the other two brothers. His hair remained hidden behind a black cap, which remained turned backwards.

Slowly, moving his finger along the picture of his brothers, the agent closed the locket. From there, his shaky hand placed the locked back into a pocket within his trench coat.

Tatsumi was sipping on tea... Something she had trained her body to accept over the two centuries. It was the only thing that warmed her body now besides blood... It was the only thing that brought her some inner comfort.

Arriving only a few weeks ago, she had finally gotten her affairs in order. A place to live, a small, though adequate apartment a few blocks away from this little diner. She didn't really need a job, her and her departed husband had been rich in both their mortal lives and immortal lives. Well, he had been… She had been a mere servant girl, no more than a slave really…

The widow vampiress looked solemnly around the diner as she felt a very similar feeling from a near by occupant. He was looking at a trinket… A locket or a pocket watch perhaps, but her intuition told her there was some sort of picture. Perhaps of a loved one lost? She knew there was no point in mourning the dead… There was nothing that could be done to bring them back… She would do anything to bring her beloved husband back from beyond… But all she could do was keep him alive in her heart, of course at great cost to herself… Perhaps… Perhaps one day she would be able to think of him without wanting to cry. But today was not that day.

No. For at the so very similar emotions little crimson droplets touched the corners of her eyes.

Putting her teacup down, a little clatter as her own hands shivered slightly, she wiped them quickly with the black sleeve of her shirt. But maybe there was something she could do to help this mortal forget… Or at least cheer him up for the time being.

Taking her tea tray and the spare cup she made her way to his table, as if a waitress.

“Would you care for a cup of tea? Take the edge of the cold.” She offered with a soft smile.

Jack, having been mourning his poorly lived life further, had removed his gave from the still sizzling hamburger and fries. His sight passed by the ketchup and mustard, the movement of his eyes slow and lazy, as if he had been drained of energy. From there, he looked at the girl that stood before his table, asking him something about...tea...

Having been a man who had let his magical belief fizzle into nothing more than a spark of nothingness, he seemed to stare at her, as if something about the whole question were a sin. His eyes served to explain his emotions, his face loose and looking more aged as his faded eyes stared into hers. His hands, resting beside the plate which held his food, did not move at all.

for a moment, all that could be heard beyond the rain hitting the window in marble sized raindrops was the stead breathing of the two, Jack taking in the sight and letting hope vanish from his heart further. With the sight of somebody like her, it wasn't surprising that he died a little more inside, knowing that he shouldn't have been around to see her. with the mere idea that somebody had survived something horrible, it pounded his head for years up until the point where he decided to cast the idea of life being important aside, and dawn a new appearance, one that was cold, emotionless, and willing to bea thte crap out of those who thought otherwise.

The very same look, in a much more weakened state stared at the girl holding the tea. He didn't need to speak, not to tell her, that his cold gave could stare into her very heart, and answer her questions without the attention of time itself.

In a way the man, who was still a child compared to her, seemed even older than her. He knew loss, that was a thing that Tatsumi could tell. His eyes were lifeless, his movements slow, almost forced. In her mind she even had to block out a nearly overwhelming flow of emotions... So many, so hard to discern and unravle to their propper places... Thoughts too flooded her mind before she slammed the gate down. She hated doing such... But she could only manage to handle a few at a time... She was still very young after all

"You should have some tea..." She said softly, her voice holding a little push that her powers offered her. "It will make you feel better." Tatsumi added as she poured the tea in the spare cup, using her own saucer to pass the cup on to him. "But company may do you good as well." She said as she sat simply on the edge. She wouldn't be detured simply because he seemed so unresponsive.

Entertaining and hosting was something she knew well. She may not have ever been a geisha, but being raised around them, she knew those arts well.

"I am Tatsumi. You seem to have a lot on your mind Sir... Perhaps there is something I could do to help you? Grief and sorrow are best not delt with alone." No. Those emotions held for too long would drive even a strong immortal mind mad... Humans however had no resistance to their emotions.

She would make him talk though. Whether he told her to leave, or spoke to her about his worries, he would speak to her.

The man sat, watching as the tea was set before him. His eyes stared at the rippling fluid within for a moment, as if his very own life were within that cup of tea, while at the same time nothing really important stood within.

A saddening sight, Jack tilted his head forward a little as his hand maneuvered from its concealed position under the table to the small plate which held his food. Grabbing one of the diner french fries, he lifted it to his mouth, and ate it.

The food was good, damn good, but like revenge, it was a dish best served cold during a stormy depressed night. For Jack, it didn't quite satisfy him to eat the food, his mind knowing that he would most certainly die at his age if he slaughtered the next donut store just for a temporary relief. For now, he simply repeated the process of getting food and eating, getting what little joy he could out of the french fries. He would be on duty in an hour, and he needed a moral boost before going on duty.

Beyond his actions, no words were spoken, and the tea remained untouched. With each fry however, Jack seemed to magically grow some sort of stamina from seemingly nowhere, energy that seemed to have been stored away in his pocket...or his hat, somewhere unseen from before.

So close to food now... She was longing to taste the curious things. They hadn't had food like this when she was alive at all. At least not in Japan. And as he moved the fries around, they smelt even more appitizing. But of course she could never eat them.

But pouring a cup of tea for herself, she sipped at it gently. "I know you are not a mute Jack... But what I do not know... Is why you won't speak, even to tell me to go away." Her voice was again light and gentle, not harsh or accusitory, not demeaning or anything else. But it was curious and soft.

"I know that you are not always this quiet and reserved. It is not possible for one to be so." Her eyes were on his half closed eyes as she watched him. It made her heart ache slightly to see one so alone... To suffer without a soul there to be with you.

Tatsumi didn't know if she still had her soul... But none the less she would acompany him unless otherwise asked. Someone so alone would not survive long in this world. And no human truly longed for death. If put against something that would end their lives, she knew they would fight to live with everything they had...

"Please. It would honor me if I could talk with such a well known officer as yourself. I have only just arrived in this city and I have heard things that both sooth and trouble me. Perhaps you could calm the fears I have?"

Jacks eyes seemed to be more focused on the food now, his hands working around the hamburger before lifting it up. Like he had done so many times before in his life, he would simply take a moment to mourn, then pretend everything was alright. Things weren't really alright, but it didn't seem like there was any way they would get to the point of alrightness.

"I know you are not a mute Jack... But what I do not know... Is why you won't speak, even to tell me to go away."

The words seemed to spark something within the man, much like a lighter moving to a can of oil with a crack in the side. The lame slowly started to grow within him before finally it started generating heat, the heat that thawed his mind from the cold sadness that had enveloped him for so long. He never really did tell her of his name, or anything for that matter...it was much like the moment back at the....the...where the...somebody...

Memories seemed to have failed him at the moment, the happening simply at the tip of his tongue yet so far away. He could remember something similar, but this was the exact opposite of that moment, the woman knew more than she was supposed to.

"Please. It would honor me if I could talk with such a well known officer as yourself. I have only just arrived in this city and I have heard things that both sooth and trouble me. Perhaps you could calm the fears I have?"

The lack of emotion, feeling, anything, had vanished as he continued to listen. Movements, reflexes, the whole kahootz started to kick in as reality smacked Jack across the face, the warning signs flaring up like sirens and buzzers jabbing into his brain. An entire thought process started going, something so mind boggingly critical to the situation he was now in, it was impossible to believe he would do such a thing in the public.

Turning towards the woman beside the table, Jack raised an eyebrow at the statement, his hands sliding away from the hamburger and stopping to rest beside the plate. From there, he gave her a much more lively look that resembled more or less one of befuddlement. His hands didn't really move in any violent matter, or at all for that matter, but instead his lungs took in some air through his nose before letting it out with the help of his vocal cords.

"Do I know you?"

The words came out more casually than what might have been expected from him earlier, if anything could have been expected back then. His voice, unlike the many times before, held more tone than his usual mix of a whisper and a grunt combined. Both of his eyes seemed normal now, moving behind the lenses of his half frame glasses as he examined Tatsumi. She seemed Asian, and it wouldn't be surprising, with all of America already having gone to hell with the japanese cartoons and all that other jazz.

She could see, feel the wheels working in his head almost. As if they ground to a halt, sped up once more and then slowed to a steady pace. All that for four little words? It was amusing to no end really. What one could with a few simple words.

Of course she could expect him to be anything but surprised as she said his name, even his occupation.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to trouble you with my questions Detective... But no. I fear not many in this city do know me. I've come recently from Japan by way of Seatle. It was quite a troubling city... And such dismal weather... I was hoping to find a new life here." She said as she took a sip of her own tea.

"My name is Tatsumi. And I noticed that you seemed lonely and troubled. So I can to see if there was anything I could do for you. After all you and your co-workers give back unbelievably so to the city. And I know it is very tiering work." And honestly she did admire those who were in the service of the public, for she knew pleasing the masses was never an easy thing to do. For no how much you gave, they wanted an inimaginable amount more.

"But please. If there is anything. Feel free to let me know." She said with a warm, delicate smile, her hands still around her cup of tea politely as her brown eyes gazed at him in an almost admiering fashion.