Anarameha

Chapter 9

"You know, I don't think that you have ever told me if you have a job."

Jiro grimaced, giving Ana a vague shrug as they walked along the path.

"Kind of a freeloader at the moment. The leader, Bran, he's the one that made me. It was a long time ago. I don't remember my life before becoming a vampire. Anyway, he said that this area belonged to him. Because I was now a part of his family, I was entitled to stay in one of the apartments if I wanted to. I guess at the time, it must have seemed okay. I don't remember, though."

Ana frowned and then returned to the plain face before Jiro saw her confusion.

"We don't need to consume food, he already has the places, and I guess he taps into a power source somewhere. We're free to do whatever we want so long as we obey the basic rules, and if we want something that we need credits for, we have to figure out how to get it. Usually, it's stealing from our victims."

"Seems a logical choice. Want to learn how to steal from a pro?"

Jiro grinned, nudging his shoulder against Ana's.

"I didn't know you knew a professional thief."

"You're hilarious."

The two giggled like a pair of children who were up to no good. They walked along the path, comfortable in the silence that followed.

Turning the corner, the pair were faced with a fair woman with a hardened glare on her face. She'd seen them walking along, laughing and talking. It had taken some effort to get ahead of them for this moment, but it was worth it. Catching Jiro, regardless of what he was doing, was always worth the effort.

Marama knew that this was benign. She was beginning to think that Jiro didn't want a woman in his life. He certainly didn't make any effort with her, not that she wanted him to.

Marama forced a smile as she looked at Jiro. He didn't look like anyone that had been caught doing something they shouldn't be, which is precisely why Marama knew that she had nothing to worry about. Still, she liked to make life difficult for Jiro.

Ana stared at the woman with long wavy hair that had a lustrous shine. The silvery-white glowed a soft pink from the nearby sign. Ana could not figure out how Jiro didn't find her interesting because it was clear that this was Marama.

"Darling," she said coldly. "Whatever are you doing up here on five?"

"Just hanging out with a friend. Ana, this is Marama."

Ana gave her a smile that she hoped seemed genuine. It wasn't. She could already feel the daggers being shot at her.

Marama looked at the pretty woman. There was a familiarity to her that Marama couldn't figure out. She definitely knew her from somewhere but couldn't connect the pieces.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Nope. Just a nobody from the west."

"Yes," Marama hummed. "You are a nobody."

Pushing her aside, Marama walked between them while shooting Jiro a cold glare.

"Be careful. Disobey the rules, and you'll be excommunicated."

Ana watched the woman walk down the path, turning towards the direction of the drain entrance. She did not like that Marama was this high up.

"Sorry," Jiro said with a heavy sigh. "I don't know why she's on level five."

Ana had an idea why. The reason stood in front of her, completely clueless.

"And she's never called me darling before. In fact, that has to be the most that she's ever said to me."

Jiro scowled at the thought of what she was up to. Marama liked to play games. The darker, the better. She'd avoid him but find other ways to make his life miserable. Jiro could not figure out why Marama hated him as she clearly did. He wondered if she was just as displeased with the arrangement as he was. The only difference between them was that she played her games against him rather than saying something to Bran.

No part of this made any sense to Ana. She wondered why Marama was so against Jiro. Ana thought that Jiro was pretty good looking. Clearly, he wasn't to Marama's taste, though.

"Yeah, time to switch the brain on. She's either always out of the drains to hunt or shop all the time. In this instance, she's seen you with me. Look at it from afar, see all of it and not just what you think she should be like. She thinks that you're cheating on her. Is there some kind of rule that you'd break if you were?"

"The excommunication thing? It's probably more to do with how awkward things would be afterwards. I'm sure she'd exaggerate and blow everything out of proportion."

"Well, a spouse that has been wronged has the right to do that, you know."

Jiro turned to face Ana, curious about the statement that she'd just offered. He raised an eyebrow as his head tilted. A smirk filled his face, taunting her with a mild teasing.

"Fighting for her cause now? You know that you're a part of the problem here, right?"

"Oh, I'm not fighting for her. I'm just laying out my thoughts. She thinks that this is a problem and she could cause them for you if you're not careful. Scratch that. She could cause them for me."

Jiro knew what Ana meant by that. Marama thought that she knew her from somewhere. Considering that Ana tried to avoid anyone noticing her, he knew it was a problem.

He let the smile drop from his face, sensing the seriousness of the mood. Jiro didn't want Ana to think that he was making fun of her situation.

Marama was a problem. That much was true. There wasn't much that Jiro could do about her, aside from steering her in another direction.

"I'll tell her that you used to be a clothing model. Marama lives for fashion if you couldn't tell."

Ana nodded. She'd noticed that Marama was reasonably well dressed.

"Sounds like a good idea."