Trinity wandered around the neon city for about an hour. She found places that were open, but didn't want to know what she would find inside. When she walked past those establishments, all she got was side glances from the ladies in the front and catcalls from the men they were with. She sped up her pace.

Eventually, Trinity stumbled upon a brick bar. "Hmph," She said to herself, "I guess this will have to do." She pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

The place was a pig sty. She had to hold her breath as she walked inside. It was all lit up and there were drunk men stumbling all over the place. There was no hint as to where that stench was coming from, unless it was coming from the men themselves. The bartender was just standing at the counter, cleaning a glass, probably waiting to kick out a man for breaking one of his tables. She decided to sit by him, he did smell the best out of all of them.

"Excuse me sir, can I have a drink?" Trinity tried her best to sound as old as possible.

"You got money?" He grunted.

"Well, no."

"Then get out." The bartender stopped paying attention to her and continued to scrub at an invisible stain on the glass.

Right when Trinity was about to leave, a hooded man strode into the bar. The whole room fell silent, the drunk men stilled. All eyes were on this stranger. He walked across the room making no sound at all. He sat at the bar only one seat down from Trinity.

"Vodka," He said, his voice deep and raspy. He then looked directly at her. She couldn't see any part of his face, except for his mouth, which had curled into a wicked smile. "While you're at it, get something for the lady."

The room slowly returned to its previous atmosphere as the men started to pick fights among one another again, but Trinity couldn't stop looking at this stranger. He seemed to have lost interest in her, but every couple of seconds he would glance in her direction and flash her his smile. It made shivers run down her spine.

She took the drink the bartender gave her. It was clear with a lime and she just assumed it was also Vodka. She took a sip expecting to spit it out. It was just water. She glared at the bartender who just laughed at her. He knew she was underage, but that was fine. She was too busy paying attention to something, someone, else anyway.

When the bar started to thin out, the stranger approached her. "What is a pretty young lady like yourself doing wandering the streets of New York, alone, at twelve in the morning?" The way he said 'alone' made her feel like it was the perfect time to leave, but she didn't move, she couldn't. He leaned in closer and whispered, "Don't you know that these parts can be dangerous?" The word 'dangerous' came out more like a hiss than a whisper. He sat up straight. "How's about you and I get out of here and do something more fun?" He took another sip of his drink.

"I'm having plenty of fun right here actually, but don't let me keep you from leaving." Trinity took a sip from her glass trying not to shake. She actually had the nerve to speak to this man like that? What was she thinking? She put down her glass slowly, but her shaking hands almost spilled it over. She looked at the bartender who was still scrubbing at the glass, trying to ignore the two of them. 

The stranger grabbed her arm right below the elbow. "If you know what's good for you," He was at her side in a second, "you'll come with me right now." he growled. She looked at his face. His eyes were glowing from underneath his hood. Trinity nodded her head. "Smart girl." He said. Trinity looked back at the bartender who was still trying hard to divert his attention from her. Well he's helpful.

The stranger half lead and half dragged Trinity out of the bar through the side door. The door slammed shut, and he threw her to the concrete. She realized she was in an alley with no visibility to the street as it was blocked by a tall, wooden fence. She was completely and utterly trapped. She picked herself up from the floor and stood her ground, "I have a friend who will know if I go missing." She said to him. She stood there, her hands in tight fists, trying not to shake.

The man just ignored her and said, "What the hell were you thinking, Trinity? You could have gotten yourself killed! Any one of those men could have been dangerous! Hell, I could have been dangerous!" His voice changed, rose an octave and became...softer. She immediately recognized him.

"Takeo?" He took off his hood to reveal his green eyes, "How could you do that to me? I thought he, you, were going to kill me! Or something worse!" She went up to him and slapped him in the face- Or, tried to since he had somehow become taller- she settled on punching him in the arm. 

"I'm sorry, but it was the only way I could think of how to get you out of there without causing suspicion! Plus, now I know for sure you won't try something like that again." He seemed to shrink back to his normal height as something in his boots deflated.

She was too angry to deal with him, "You could have pretended to be my brother or friend or guardian who was trying to take me home." She started, and stared at him as if he were a true idiot. He sure was acting like a jerk.

He thought about that for a moment, "True, but did you see the way those men looked at me when I walked in? I was so cool!"

She snorted. She was still pretty pissed, but it was pretty funny how he sounded like a kid when he was dressed to look like a demon. "Fine, you win, but, just for the record, if something did go wrong I would have been able to protect myself." she crossed her arms. 

His eyebrow raised and he smiled, "Oh really? Even if I did this?" In half a breath he was behind her, holding her in a headlock.

"Yes, actually," She purred, "Your one mistake is not guarding a very crucial point of your body." She kicked her leg back, right into his crotch. He didn't even see the hit coming and he crumpled to the ground like a wet piece of paper. "See, I told ya." She smiled in triumph. 

He just laughed and stood up a little awkwardly, "Okay, okay, I get the point." Takeo dusted off his pants and looked at her face. His smile grew wider.

"What?" She asked, still laughing.

"It's just...nothing. Let's go home." He held out his elbow for her to take.

She shrugged and put her arm through his, "Yes, let's go home. I'm getting tired." She paused before they got out of the alley. "How did you get that outfit anyway?"

He smiled, "Long story. Don't worry about it."