Drowning In Power (Book 2 of Danny Phantom Trilogy)

The Witch Equivalent of A Leper

Kimiko took a deep breath before she knocked on Kagome's bedroom door. "Kagome? Can I talk to you, sweetheart?" Kimiko called out.

"Sure thing, mama. Come on in!"

With a soft sigh escaping her, Kimiko pushed the door open. What she found was slightly concerning. "Um, Kagome? What are you doing with those boxes?"

"I'm packing away the books that grandma gave me," Kagome declared with a deep frown.

With a look of confusion, Kimiko glanced in the boxes to see a few stacks of grimoires. "What are you going to do with them?"

"Throw them away? Sell them to that occult bookstore in town? Who cares? I won't be using them," Kagome declared firmly and slammed a book down into the box.

"I understand that you feel upset towards your grandmother. But you have to understand that she was just doing what she felt was right. Despite her being completely misinformed," Kimiko soothed.

"And wrong. Don't forget wrong," Kagome supplied.

"I think that she would argue that it's a matter of perspective," Kimiko replied with a smirk. "Unfortunately, sweetheart, we can't choose our family."

"No kidding. My grandma tried to waste my best friend. Who knows what she would have done to Vlad!" Kagome exclaimed while standing to close a full, cardboard box. "Life is starting to get seriously complicated, Mama."

"Tell me about it. I don't think it's going to get any easier any time soon," Kimiko said and pecked Kagome on the temple. "Kagome, I'm going to head out for a little while. Can you get dinner started for me? I'm not sure when I'll be back."

"Sure thing. Are you going to see Vlad?" Kagome asked with a conspiratorial smirk.

Kimiko frowned in slight annoyance before shaking her head with a smile. "I'm just going to talk to him."

"Sure. Have fun," Kagome responded with a wink. Her teasing was cut short by Kimiko suddenly using her magic to levitate a pillow from off the bed and smacking the pillow into Kagome's face. "Hey!"

"See you later, sweetie!"

~:~

While Vlad greatly enjoyed his position of power, the amount of paperwork that he had to tackle on a daily basis was quite the "drag" (as the young people called it). He almost missed the regular ghost attacks. At least then he was given small breaks on a semi-daily basis. Fortunately, a break was coming in the form of Kimiko Takahashi. Finally! Vlad quickly tucked away his paper work before moving to shut down his computer.

When the door opened slowly and Kimiko hesitantly stuck her head through, Vlad grinned brightly. "Come in, my dear," Vlad greeted and stood with his arms gestured wide. Kimiko stepped into the room silently before softly shutting the door behind her. "And what do I owe the pleasure?" Vlad asked.

"I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced like this, but there was something I really needed to tell you," Kimiko started.

"Perish the thought! You are always welcome, my dear," Vlad said as he ushered Kimiko towards one of the soft chairs in front of his desk. With both hands on her slim shoulders, Vlad pushed Kimiko down onto the seat before he moved over to his personal wine refrigerator. "Would you like a drink?"