Golden, glittering sunlight filtered through the paper doors of Tsukina's one-room flat in dancing shafts; playing a theatre of light and shadow across the worn tatami mats. The soft light gently illuminated her equally soft steps as she tucked her dark waves into a well-practised bun and draped herself in a light yukata robe. Slipping into a well-worn pair of flats, she slid the delicate wooden doors open, smiling into the morning as she stepped off the small porch and onto a familiar footpath of broken stone. Parasol in hand, she hummed softly as she floated between the shrubs and trees that decorated her small, fenceless yard. Her small garden was in full bloom, enticing all who passed with its beauty. 

The air was heavy with the scent of thriving blooms and the tinkle of trickling water. Pink Wysteria blossoms floated on the air like Sakura in spring. Azaleas, lavender, and heather dotted the small footpath; Red Pines and Japanese Maples making a fine contrast to the draping curtains of Wisteria and Willows that adorned the small Koi pond with lilies of all types floating gracefully atop the water. It was nothing spectacular, but to Suki it was an oasis of peace amidst the bustle of the city - a small comfort and a smaller reminder of home. 

Gliding gracefully through the greenery, Tsukina twirled her parasol absentmindedly; largely ignoring the usual looks of mixed curiosity and contempt that her morning strolls so frequently garnered. It was always the same... equal parts love and loathing for her exoticness. It was tiring some days. But always lucrative. Sighing softly, she held her hand out to catch a falling flower as the light morning breeze stirred the blossoms into a veritable blizzard of delicate petals. Giggling softly, Suki twirled playfully; dancing with the blossoms as the wind stirred her dark curls loose around her temples. 

For a few brief moments, enraptured in her own little paradise, she seemed the epitome of grace and beauty... 

At least she would have, were it not for the frozen stare that halted her in her tracks. For the briefest of moments, between the curtains of weeping blooms, her gaze locked with the most stunning pair of slicing blue eyes she'd ever seen. The look stole her breath away, kidnapping the song from her lips as she froze in place... a thrilling shock tremoring through her lungs as she blinked... stunned and spellbound. 

It was a split second... a single fleeting moment in the history of the universe. And yet, in that moment, Tsukina was sure that she felt time itself stutter and slip; the gentle stirring of Wisteria flowers slowing impossibly as the breeze stilled in time with her skipping heartbeat. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind one ear, Suki blushed as she turned her face away. Her heart beating like a taiko in her chest... as if trying to make up for lost time. Her stomach flipped in and out of knots like acrobatic butterflies as her breath shuttered in a soft, disbelieving chuckle. 

... never in her life... 

Smiling bashfully, she stole another glance over her shoulder at her lingering admirer. There was something in his stance... the hunger in his eyes... the sharpness of his dark features. He was like a living Koan. Her body strained with anticipation... a tense kind of tautness that made her feel both courted and hunted all at once. Paradoxically, she felt more at home and in more danger than she'd ever felt in her life. The sensation of it was enchanting and electric. 

Glued to the spot like a china doll frozen in time, she blushed shyly, glancing away for a split second. And just like that, the moment was over. She FELT it leave her... like the loss of a lover or the last breath of life drifting away. Gasping and grasping for the fading memory of the feeling, her eyes snapped back up to where her handsome stranger had been. But in the blink of an eye, he was gone from her sight... just as quickly as he'd appeared. She was left only with the soft shifting of Wisteria and pale, dancing sunlight. And, as she forced herself to move from her rooted spot, she feared that she would mourn that singular moment for all of her life. 

He watched her, just as he'd done for years. Always just out of sight. Every time she'd felt the hair on the back of her neck stand like someone was watching... He had been. Every time she could feel the temperature drop like a ghost or spirit had been near... He had been. Every time she'd felt someone breathing down the back of her neck... He had been. He'd perfected the game many times over, and she was no different... Well. That was a lie. Each one of them were very different...

He'd picked her in the hospital after she was born... Always he'd look into their eyes. Like a young lycanthrope imprinting on a child barely from the mother's womb, he could see many possible futures unfurling along the web; wyrd as it was... And so it was that Tsukina Sakamoto had been hand chosen by Hiram to become his muse, his siren, and her song played louder with every year she grew. He yearned for her companionship, yet he waited... It was no longer like the olden days where he took his thrall and kept them, no... That was frowned upon in today's society. There were aging standards now, and the older he got, the older those standards became... Frustrating as it was, he'd grown to be a very patient being.

Now, with Tsukina being a few years beyond the social normality of betrothal, Hiram Black would allow her to catch glimpse of him... She wandered around her garden, happy and gracefully, ignoring the accepting yet prejudiced eyes of the public. He'd long forgone the usefulness of racism in the same sense as humans saw it. Italian? American? German? African? Spaniard? Asian? Any other? None of that mattered any longer. The way she carried herself, however. That spoke volumes to him. Her smile. Her meticulous care of both plant and herself. The lack of worry of what others thought... She was, by far, the most captivating woman to entertain his thoughts within the last century.

It was time...

As Tsukina Sakamoto spun, dancing with the blossoms that floated in the air around her, Hiram showed himself... His icy-blue stare froze her in her tracks, her dress almost seeming to float in place as time felt like it stopped. She'd see him, and the blossoms floated even lighter in the air. Raven black hair, short and styled. Clean face. Black on black on black suit, silver adornments of jewelry; rings, a bracelet, a small silver cross with a blood red gem on the X. Slightly paler skin, simply from what appeared to be lack of much time in the Sun. However, what held her attention were the blue eyes the pierced through her own and straight into her soul. Unblinking, unwavering...

He could hear her heartbeat even from that distance...

**bmp bmp**  **bmp bmp**

To him it sounded as if each beat thumped seconds apart, exaggerated by the hands of a dying clock as time drew to a stand still...

**bmp bmp** **bmp bmp**

She blushed and looked away...

**bmp bmp**

As her gaze returned with a soft giggle, glancing over her shoulder, Hiram remained; unblinking, unwavering...

**bmp bmp**

He could feel the mix of excitement and fear in the air around her, the pheromones emitted into the air...

*bmp bmp**

Her eyes drifted for just a moment, and that was it... He turned it off as quick as he had turned the magic on. He was back, safely tucked away where she could no longer see or even sense his presence. His eyes never left her though as a wicked smile crept across his features. The bait had been set;  the seed planted. He watched as she gasped with his absence as she felt him leave her. He watched as she desperately tried to cling to the sensation of it. He watched, as he always did... As he'd always done... And he chuckled softly to himself.

Turning his back, he left her to herself. The next stage needed to be set, and it was time to actually meet her... Randomly... Somewhere that wasn't her home... Because if he wasn't creepy enough already, just randomly approaching her home would make it that much more so. No. He would catch her in town later.

As he walked away, however, there came the wave of sadness... How many times had he done this now that he was practically a master of mesmerizing others? How many times had he watched as those he'd chosen took the wrong path and fell away from the strands of wyrd he'd been shown? How many times had held a mate as they died in his arms? How many times had a mate aged and began questioning before he could bring it up? How many times had they known, and left him as they'd gotten older?

Hiram lowered himself onto a bench, sitting and looking out over the lighthouse in Chicago's bay... His family itself had never had ties to this tower, but the tower itself held ties to a previous organization his brother had worked for.

His brother, Sullivan. There was a thought he'd not had in some time. Perhaps seeing the original Ivory Tower headquarters was bringing back memories of an old lighthouse in Seattle. Even more? Memories of Sullivan. He'd carried their blood and never acted upon it...

"Little brother," Hiram chuckled softly before sighing and looking to the sky... "Perhaps you had it right. Who wants to live forever, anyway?"

Shaking his head, Hiram Black pushed himself from the bench and cleared his thoughts. "Back to the task at hand, Hiram... Miss Sakamoto won't wait forever like you can..." He smirked and headed into the city.

Peace and stability will never be a part of the Mafia. Burdened by the future of your family, you were brought by fate to be its new leader. The Mafia has always tried to protect and expand its territory, even if violence is necessary.

You will make your way in this city doing crimes, fighting for your territory, training your skills and having a gang of your own. Respect is that gangsters fight for and you need to get dirty to get to the top. Time to hit the streets and make some cash