My first PMK drabble. Perhaps my last fic for a long time to come. I've decided to branch more into original stories, photography and drawing. So, unless I get an inspiration to write another ficcie, I'm probably dead from and fanfiction world. But since, I'm such a sucker for fic-writing, who knows?

Anyways, WARNINGS for yaoi implications and the fact that I have yet to finish watching the anime. Onlywatched randoms episodes. As usual, standard disclaimers applies.


Punishment

He could hear the coughs, had heard it since the beginning. After some time, he had noticed the coughs turned from dry, heaving coughs to wet, choking ones. And it was at these times when he felt an overwhelming urge to either go to the childlike man, or to run far away from him. Sometimes, he did neither; instead he laid on the futon, trying hard not to hear anything at all.

But on the occasions that he took the medicine to Souji's room, he kept watch over him the entire night. Perhaps he feared that the panted breathing would stop in the middle of the night, and Souji would die horribly alone. Or maybe he wanted to be there to answer the young samurai should he ever call for help. But Souji did neither. He merely smiled at the coughing intervals and said that he was fine.

Hijikata did not ask much because he thought he could perhaps understand why Souji never said much on his suffering. Perhaps, in a way, the young man felt like he deserved it, for all the blood he caused to be spilt in dark alleyways, or in raided rooms. Perhaps he thought that he deserved to die of something he could not fight.

The Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, on the other hand, felt that he deserved to watch Death claim his lover in the slowest and most painful way because he was the one who created a demon in the first place. He was the one who created an oni who spilled the most blood in each battle. Because of that, he deserved to watch his own creation slowly fade into a pale dying shadow of his former self.

On some nights when he stayed up late into the nights and could still hear the wet coughs turn into painful choking, he thought that in the end, it was their punishment. It was retribution, for one demon to watch the other suffer, both utterly helpless like the many victims that they slaughtered in the dead of nights.


Dou da? I started out with a different idea in mind, but...the thing evolved by itself. It's like walking and suddenly you find yourself somewhere wayyyyy not where you were intending on heading to. Or likeyour brains leaving you behind and all...

Anyways, I guess this is probably sayonara from fanfiction world. But don't get your hopes of getting rid of me up! The pest (me) might be back soon...who knows? After all, my muse is a naughty naughty fella...who loves to steal haiku books...(grins)