Author's Note: I sometimes like playing around with rumors and such. This is one I've been working on since the airing of episode 28, which means it's a bit AU. I'm using some of the speculation/rumors/things apparently culled from magazines, but I've used them in my own way, so they're not going to precisely match the material in-show. If you've read this fic on my LJ, be aware that I'm combining several of the parts there into each part here.
Also, this does, at the moment, have some distinctly slashy overtones, and some sexual references. If this is not your thing, please skip this story.
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Toei and TV-Asahi, not me, with the exception of Drs. Takamoto and Takada, who do belong to me.
Useless Things
by Estirose
c 2008
Keisuke watched Wataru leave the cafe. He'd been so stunned by the revelation that Wataru was the son of the woman he'd met in 1986, the very powerful Fangire who hadn't shied away from slapping him. She'd been an amazing woman, it was unfortunate that she was a Fangire.
So, what was Wataru? Fangire? Part Fangire? Some unfortunate soul that was, for some reason, raised by a Fangire?
Wataru was spineless, weak, nothing like the woman he'd met in 1986. She'd probably made him that way. "Who was his father?" he wondered out loud. Why hadn't the man stood up to her, made Wataru strong?
"Kurenai Otoya," the cafe owner said. Keisuke thought back to the man who had been IXA, who was full of tricks - but he was bulled by his own woman, so he couldn't have been that strong. He took out a photo album out of one of the shelves and opened it, paging though it. "Ah, here." He pointed out a picture of three people to Keisuke.
Otoya, the past IXA, stood there with the woman he'd met, and she held a baby. Below the picture, a note was inscribed: "Kurenai Otoya, Kurenai Maya, and Kurenai Wataru, 1988".
"So, Wataru is her child?" Keisuke demanded. "Or did they..."
"Shima had paternity tests done," the cafe owner said, apparently remembering something. "He couldn't believe it either."
Wataru was half-Fangire. Did he know this? What was he raised as?
"You know, don't you," the cafe owner said, leaning forward and scrutinizing him carefully. "You know what Wataru is."
"Yes," Keisuke said abruptly, folding his arms.
"Wataru doesn't, and we'd like to keep it that way." The man had an intense stare when he wanted to, Keisuke noted. "Shima wasn't keen on having a Fangire member, but he relented in return for Maya never telling Wataru that he wasn't full human. Given what happened, everybody sees the wisdom in it."
"Kiva." Wataru was somehow involved in the near-destruction of the world, somehow.
The cafe owner nodded. "He doesn't know what happened, and he can't. If he does, or if he finds out what he is, he might come into his power."
Keisuke kept himself from shivering. So, Wataru had Maya's potential. Given how damned powerful Maya seemed to be, there was good reason to keep him ignorant.
"Of course, since Wataru doesn't know what he is, we can't stop him from discovering things himself. I mean, at least this whole thing with Suzuki-kun is keeping him distracted, but I'm not sure it's a good idea for him to have children, just in case."
He could grimly imagine what would happen if Wataru was a father and came into his power. Given what the Cafe Owner had implied, it was a good thing for him not to have a family. He might become very difficult for Keisuke to destroy. But not impossible, of course.
"I'll do something about that," he said.
He stalked into Wataru's house, not bothering to ring the doorbell. He never rang doorbells if he could help it. Wataru had left his door unlocked, which was very stupid of him. Nago would have to do something about that later.
On his way to the place, he'd grimly made a plan. Wataru was weak. Under Megumi's influence, he'd go and marry Suzuki Mio and have children, something that should not happen.
Keisuke had to get him under control again, protect him from these destructive influences. Sometimes the strong had to do that for the weak. Sometimes the warriors had to do it for the innocent. He'd thought about just killing Wataru, but Wataru was not a criminal, he was an innocent, if a incredibly destructive one if he found out his true heritage.
"Nago-san?" Wataru asked, quite startled to see Nago in his doorway. Nago recalled that Wataru made violins - not something that really contributed to humanity, but probably something that kept Wataru inside and harmless. He'd have to allow Wataru to keep working on violins. But that was all he was going to allow him to do with music. Actually, playing them would probably also keep him distracted, so Nago would have to allow that, too.
Seizing the moment, he strode over to where Wataru was, grabbed the other man's shoulders, and kissed him.
"... Nago-san?" Wataru asked again, more than a little confused.
"You're mine, now," he said, looking sharply at Wataru, still holding onto his shoulders.
"Nago-san?" Wataru asked once more. "Are you all right?" He looked at Keisuke as if he wasn't sure that Keisuke hadn't gone mad. "Should I get Kengo-san?"
"No!" Eritate Kengo would only put the world in danger by allowing Wataru to get in danger, and if Wataru got in danger, he might discover his heritage by accident. Some Fangire might recognize him for what he was and tell him.
Wataru merely nodded, accepting Keisuke's demand. He was hopeless as a human, and guiding him on the right path put him in danger of triggering the power within him.
"Just remember: you are mine now. Not anybody else's." It was a good thing, Keisuke thought, that he hadn't been planning to have children himself. Wataru didn't have to love him - in fact, it was better if he didn't - but he had to obey Keisuke's demands. In return, he'd keep the boy protected and sexually satisfied so he wouldn't even look at a woman - and if he did, Keisuke could punish him for it. "Understood?"
"I understand," Wataru said, and Keisuke gave him a satisfied nod.
He stalked out, leaving Wataru with his useless things. Because no matter how misguided Wataru was sometimes, he was still a civilian. Still believed he was human. And Keisuke, as long as it didn't inconvenience him too much, would help keep up the pretense. After all, he was Keisuke Nago. He was IXA. And he was the best in the world.
Wataru watched as Nago-san closed the door, and walked to the window, making sure the man had left before turning. "Kivat, what was that about?"
Why had Nago-san acted the way he did? Nago-san had used him off and on as an assistant, but not as of late, and it didn't make sense for him to make a move on Wataru. Wataru hadn't even thought of the possibility that Nago-san liked guys, but it made sense. And Nago-san was very demanding. Wataru wondered what would happen if he told him 'no'.
"I don't know, Wataru," Kivat said, unfolding himself from his perch. "I'm sure it doesn't mean anything good."
"I wonder if Megumi-san could explain it? She works with him, after all." They had each others' cellphone numbers. He was pretty sure he couldn't ask anybody else. Shizuka-chan might be able to help in general. Kengo-san liked Nago-san, but didn't know him well, and he wouldn't burden Mio-san, even when he found her.
"Maybe," Kivat said in a noncommital manner.
Wataru pulled out his cellphone and dialed Megumi-san's number. "Megumi-san?"
"Oh, hi, Wataru-kun," the woman said, clearly surprised to hear his voice. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, but very confused," he said. "May I ask you something?"
"Sure," she said. He imagined her sitting down, ready to answer his question.
"Does Nago-san like guys?"
"Nago? What? The only person he likes is himself." She paused. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, he kissed me, and-" He hoped he sounded as confused to her as he did to himself.
"Nago Keisuke kissed you?" Megumi-san asked. "Wataru-kun, are you sure of this?"
"Yes," he said, wondering why she didn't think he was sure.
"Wataru-kun, I'm coming down there. I'll ring the doorbell, okay?" Megumi-san sounded worried, and he had to admit, it was a bit strange for Nago-san.
"Okay," he said.
He waited for Megumi-san to arrive, rushing down to open the gate for her and ushering her upstairs. "So, tell me what happened," she said.
"Nago-san showed up in my workshop," he said. "Then he kissed me and told me I was his." He frowned. "And nobody else's. I asked him if he needed Kengo-san, and he said no. And then he left."
"And you're sure he kissed you?" Megumi-san asked.
Wataru nodded, wanting to show Megumi-san so she knew he knew what kissing was. "Like this." He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her.
"Wataru-kun," she said, once he'd released her, "I'm going to go have a talk with Nago-kun. In the meantime, have you heard from Mio-chan?"
He shook his head. "No," he said. "I've looked for her, and looked for her..."
"Maybe you should look for her," Megumi-san said. "She's better for you than Nago-kun."
"Okay, Megumi-san," Wataru said, still confused by the whole goings-on. "But why did Nago-san do that to me?"
"That's what I intend to find out," Megumi-san said. "Don't worry, I'll straighten it out." She gave him a strained smile.
Wataru nodded, and returned to his work.
Megumi stormed over to Nago Keisuke as he sat in the cafe. "What in the hell do you think you're doing to Wataru-kun?" she asked.
"Quiet down, please," Nago said, folding his arms. "I'm doing this for the good of the world." He looked over at her with a foreboding expression. "What do you know if it?"
"He called me, wanting to know why you kissed him," she said, taking a seat next to him. "Apparently, you like guys. You scared him."
"Good," Nago said. "And I don't like anybody. I did it because I had to. And quiet down, please! We're right next to each other, sound like you actually were raised in civilized society."
She glared at him, and decided it was best not to tell him that she hadn't for part of her life. He'd use it against her. "You kissed Wataru-kun because you had to."
"Because he, and the world, are in a lot of danger if someone doesn't put him under control, and I can handle him," Nago said. "I kissed him to put a claim on him. Please don't interfere."
"You just want him because you're gay," Megumi said, "And you can't let your playthings live by anything but your own rules." She knew she was rambling on, that she was lying, but she didn't care as long as it got Wataru-kun free.
"I am not gay!" Nago said. "I am doing an important service to this world. You can't possibly understand the ramifications. You'll thank me someday."
"Right," Megumi drawled. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"And Wataru is mine," Nago said. "If you value your life, please don't interfere. In fact, don't go near Wataru ever again."
"Are you threatening me, Nago-kun?" she asked deliberately.
"I'm stating fact," Nago said. "If you do continue to interact with Wataru, you'll regret it."
Poor Wataru-kun. He didn't deserve Nago. He deserved sweet, shy Mio, a girl that was good for him. "And if you try to stop me, you'll regret it. Good day, Nago-kun."
She got up to return to Wataru-kun. Or maybe to find Mio-chan. She wasn't sure, she just knew that Wataru deserved so much more than Nago. And she would do anything to make sure that Nago didn't interfere.
Keisuke fumed as Megumi left. Wataru was disobeying his instructions only minutes after he gave them to the younger man, apparently. He'd have to put together instructions, because apparently Wataru had to be told in detail on what was expected of him.
Maybe Keisuke would find something worthwhile that Wataru could do for humanity, while keeping Wataru occupied. If Wataru was occupied, he couldn't find out what he was, or father any kids.
Keisuke started writing up a list for Wataru. Detailed was best. He then drove back to Wataru's place, not bothering with the doorbell or knocking, and stormed up to Wataru's main work room.
Wataru looked up. "Nago-san?" he asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Keisuke grabbed Wataru's arm and hauled him to a nearby couch. "I think there are some rules you need to understand."
The younger man seemed about to protest, and Keisuke glared at him. "First of all, you do not argue with me."
Wataru closed his mouth, much to Keisuke's satisfaction.
"You are not allowed any contact with any women. That includes Megumi." He glared at the boy. "Unless it's a purely professional transaction." Wataru probably had to grocery shop, after all, and he probably did have customers. "Understood?"
"But Nago-san-"
"UNDERSTOOD?" Keisuke repeated, glaring at the other person. "What's the first rule?"
"Don't argue with you," Wataru said softly.
"You're allowed to buy goods, you're allowed to have customers, you're allowed to play whatever musical instrument you want, as long as I'm not within earshot. I do not want to hear any music. I don't care if you and Eritate Kengo play all night in your little band, I just don't want to hear it."
"But Nago-san, Shizuka-chan is in the band too," Wataru whined.
"She's not now," Keisuke said in irritation. "Break the news to Eritate Kengo."
Wataru stared at him.
"If you feel the need to have sex, you come to me." There was no denying who would be on top, but he would make sure that the boy was satisfied, if only so that he wouldn't try to seek it with someone else.
"Nago-san, are you sure you're all right?" Wataru asked. Keisuke looked into his dark eyes, wondering if the boy got them from his Fangire mother or his human father.
"I'm fine," he said abruptly, hoping to discourage further discussion. "If you encounter any Fangire, you are to call me and get out of there. Do not dawdle, do not attempt to befriend the Fangire, you will get out of there. If it turns out you've befriended one, call me immediately. Do not continue contact."
Wataru was still sitting there like a stupid sheep. "Are you listening to me?" Keisuke asked, his voice rising.
"Yes," Wataru said in a quiet tone. At least he wasn't arguing.
Keisuke thrust a piece of paper with his rules at Wataru. "Read these, and live by them."
"Nago-san, are you sure you're all right?" Wataru asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Keisuke snapped. "I'm doing my job to save the world." He remembered Wataru's mother, who had so enchanted him. Even if she was a damned Fangire, he liked her. He just didn't want Wataru to discover he had powers.
But what if he could control Wataru, and control Wataru's powers? That was something to think about. First, he had to make sure that Wataru was under his control, and then...
And then, he'd tell Wataru what he was. The Fangire power would awaken inside the boy, and he could use him to fight off the Fangire and save the world. He would get the respect he was entitled to.
One step at a time. He'd have to break Wataru's will, tighten the cord around the boy's freedoms until the boy was reliant only on him for support. And then he'd awaken what Wataru was. He'd start with the rules he'd given Wataru and go from there. Wataru had a small spark of rebellion against him, but Maya had made sure that he wasn't anything that anybody would be afraid of.
"But... I can't be what you want me to be," Wataru bleated. "Nago-san, I admire you, but-"
Keisuke grabbed the front of Wataru's t-shirt, along with a portion of his scarf. "You can either be my boyfriend, live within my strictures, or I can kill you," he warned. "I will do it to save everything."
Wataru bowed his head in submission.
Smiling, Keisuke stood up. "If you don't, I'll punish you. If needs be, I'll kill you. It's your choice. Understand?"
"Yes," Wataru said, head still bowed, looking at Keisuke's shoes.
"Good." Keisuke let Wataru stay on the couch. He'd devise punishments if needed, but he hoped they weren't. On the other hand, everybody needed to learn their place. Wataru would too. "And don't forget rule number five - lock your door."
He thought he heard a mumbled "Okay" before he left the room.
