Is it bad to be embarrassed reading your own work? Because if not, I'm seriously blushing over here... oh dear, what did I write?

~07-Ghost is not mine!~

Frau gripped him by the collar of the house robe and lifted him off the ground, prompting Teito to yell and thrash against his bishop traveling companion.

"WHAT THE HELL, FRAU? PUT ME DOWN!" Frau scowled darkly at the boy, scenting the darkness on Teito's very skin and pressing his nose to the boy's hair, sniffing.

What is that? He sniffed again, and Teito stiffened. A wars?

"Frau?" Teito swallowed past the rock-hard knot in his throat and managed to call softly for the bishop, who seemed too engrossed in what he was doing to hear him. "Frau?"

Definitely, a wars, but it's inactiveor gone. What is that? Sitting on the edge of the tub, Frau held Teito still has he kept sniffing, his scowl growing deeper and deeper as he smelled more and more darkness. He pulled his nose out the boy's hair when Teito jabbed his side and jerked the boy backwards, revealing a black zaiphon mark in the shape of a hand.

Frau hissed at it, feeling his scythe bubble up inside him, aching for release, and he glared at the mark, reading the zaiphon words seemingly tattooed on Teito's skin.

"What the hell is this?" he growled, pulling Teito's face to his eye level and glaring at the apprentice with malice. "Where did you get these?"

"N-None of your business!" Teito snapped, wriggling and trying to free himself from Frau's clutches. "Let me go, you old perv'!"

"Shaddap, ya pipsqueak!" Frau barked, "Answer my question!"

"Let go!" Teito demanded, and Frau growled his demand again. "Piss off! It's-!"

"You bear dark mana, you dolt! It will rot your soul! Now where did you get them!" Frau was face to face with Teito, practically screaming, and Teito flinched. "WELL?"

"I-I had a nightmare!" Teito blurted, feeling shame well up in the pit of his stomach. "Okay? While you were showering, I had a nightmare!"

"About what?" Frau pressed seriously, and Teito looked away. "Teito, this is not the t-!"

"SHUT UP!" Teito's nightmare came back full swing and his eyes filled with sudden pained tears.

"Well, Teito Klein?" The prince of Raggs stumbled away from the bishop and leaned heavily on the wall outside the bathroom, his mind reeling at the sound of Ayanami's voice seemingly spilling from Frau's mouth. As Frau came out, Teito glared at him from the gaps between his fingers.

"How do I get rid of them?"

"Well," Frau explained, "I could pump you full of healing zaiphon and focus it to the marks, but it would be like sending boiling water through your veins without anesthetic."

"Or?" Teito snapped,

"I could teach you how do it; slightly less painful, but it would still hurt like hell."

"Or? There has to be some other way!" Teito followed the bishop into the main part of their room and sat down on his bed across from the blonde's own bed, pulling his robe tight around his slim body. "You're the all-powerful bishop! Figure something out!"

"Well..." Frau muttered, "I would really just have to cancel them out. If I put positive zaiphon in my hands and go over all the marks one by one, I can cancel them out painlessly." In an instant, Teito was back in his nightmare, the chief of staff sitting back in a carved chair, sans clothing but his hat in place.

"Back for more, Klein?" asked the military man, and Teito let out a deafening scream, scrambling away from the man of his fears.

"Oi! Teito, you brat!" Frau scrambled after the boy and, as Teito turned, he saw the hand marks where someone had gripped the boy's knees for leverage. He suddenly realized what the boy's nightmare had likely been about, knowing from experience why you would grip someone's knees like that, and what he had said hit home. "Crap! Teito-!"

"Don't touch me!" Snarled the teen, his face pale as the snow in Raggs. "Don't f-!" Frau covered his mouth and sighed,

"I'm trying to apologize, ya shrimpy little brat!" Frau said quietly, letting his grip on the boy slowly fade. "I'll teach you how to do the zaiphon focus thing in the morning. We'll work until these creepy marks are-."

"No, let's start now." Teito insisted, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Frau was surprised that the words were so steady and protested,

"It'll be hard; hurt like shit too."

"I don't care." Teito said shortly as colour returned to his cheeks. "teach me now."

"I'll teach you not to go against me." Teito was on his back again suddenly, sweaty flesh above him and icy hands all over his skin. He snarled,"BASTARD!"

"Hey!" The innkeeper was knocking on the door and Teito's head whipped around to stare at it, looking murderous. "I ain't puttin' up with no-!" In an instant, the teen was at the door, his robe securely tied to hide the marks, and glaring terrifyingly at the fat man.

"Get out!" he snarled, "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" Yelping in fear, the pudgy man fled back downstairs as calmly as he could, flinching when Teito slammed the door hard enough to rock it in its hinges. Panting, Teito weaved in the doorway as a bout of weakness came over him and leaned on the door to get his breath back.

"You okay?" Frau asked immediately, appearing at his elbow.

"Just a little light- HEY!" Frau had swept him up off his feet and carried him bridal-style over to the nearest bed. "WHAT THE H-?"

"Weakness is a sign; whoever gave you these is trying to call you to them the hard way." Frau's eyes darkened and he caught Teito's eyes fluttering as another wave of weakness swept over him and his mouth opened. "What's up, kid?"

"H-how can he take my energy like this…?" Teito said thickly, his eyelids feeling heavier than a pound of bricks. "It's… strange…"

"Think of it like when Ayanami put one Kor's wing on Mikage; the soul still existed, but his half overrode it. The marks sort of react to his actions, even from far away, so he could make your limbs move or your thoughts change if he put them in the right places. Whoever did this to you obviously wanted you to come to them of your own free will." When Frau met Teito's eyes, the boy turned his head away and rolled onto his side as best he could. "Who did give you these?"

"Leave it alone, Frau." Teito clammed up, and Frau knew he wouldn't get any more out of the boy tonight. "Go to bed."

Frau paused, standing at Teito's bedside as he heard the boy's breathing slowly even out; Teito had fallen asleep pretty quickly, but Frau doubted he would lose enough energy to kill him. The bishop stood there for a minute longer and shrugged, staggering over to his own bed and rolling under the covers for sleep.

He'll be okay.

~07-Ghost is not mine!~