Itsuki found himself standing by the merry go round. Since he had, until a moment ago, been laying on the ground, he guessed he had successfully astral projected. That, and when he looked down at his wrist, he discovered a thin silver thread wrapped around it. His tether had worked successfully; he would be able to find his way back to his body.

Now I just have to find Ashiya… Itsuki peered around the playground, but just as he imagined, the air was thick with energy past and present. It was difficult to parse one signature from another. He would have to rely mostly on his eyes. Eyes weren't known to be the most reliable things in the astral plane... Itsuki sighed through his nose.

He wandered through the playground, ducking under jungle gyms, and peering under benches, checking any places he could imagine Ashiya cowering. He called Ashiya's name a few times, but he felt silly and uncomfortable shouting into the seemingly deserted space.

Please don't be possessed, Ashiya, he thought miserably as he climbed up the slide.

He would never forgive himself if Ashiya had been harmed. They never should have split up. How could he have been so stupid? He should have believed in Ashiya more, should have treated him more as an exorcist rather than a victim. Maybe then he wouldn't be pushing him away all the time when he wanted nothing more than to keep him close and safe at his side.

I'll do better. Just be safe, god damn it.

Itsuki pulled himself up onto the platform. He could see the whole playground from here, and some ways into the parking lot and to the baseball diamond, but he couldn't make out any wandering souls in the muted gray. Itsuki crouched down and peered into the tunnel that connected the slide platform to the monkey bars'. Two huge blue eyes blinked at him from the other side.

Itsuki nearly jumped out of his skin. "Ashiya!" he yelped, managing at the last second to recognize the eyes as belonging to his friend and to turn his cry of fear into one of annoyance. "What the hell? Didn't you hear me calling you?"

"Sorry, Abeno-san," Ashiya mumbled. He crawled through the tunnel and stood by Itsuki's side.

His pallor was ashen. All the anger and annoyance leached out of Itsuki as he took in his friend's badly shaken appearance.

"Did something happen?"

"I saw the youkai." Ashiya's voice wobbled as he spoke. "It… It tried to take my energy. I don't know where it went, but…" He swallowed thickly, his voice dropping to barely a whisper, "I was so scared, Abeno-san."

Itsuki's stomach clenched. It hurt to see this version of Ashiya. He hated to see him terrified of youkai; youkai were for the most part kind and harmless creatures, but all it took was one bad encounter, a youkai like the Executive or this astral specter, to ruin someone's impression forever. Ashiya was resilient, but everyone had a limit.

"Ashiya…" Itsuki didn't know what else to say, though. He didn't know how he could keep Ashiya as an employee if one day he finally decided he'd had enough. And Itsuki knew he should let him go if he truly wanted to leave, no matter how much it would hurt.

With no comforting words at his disposal, Itsuki fell back on action. He laid a hand on Ashiya's shoulder. To his surprise, Ashiya leaned into it, resting his head against Itsuki's collar bone.

And that's when Itsuki felt it. A subtle shift in the energy around him. Itsuki's Influence licked down his arm like frigid fire.

Ashiya reacted fast—inhumanely fast. He hissed and jumped away, skidding down the slide backwards, his blue eyes burning all the way down.

By the time it touched down on the faded wood chips below, the youkai had abandoned its farce and reverted back to its true form.

The thing was massive, nearly seven feet tall and broad about the shoulders. It would've been even taller if it stood up straight, but it seemed comfortable to defy gravity and hover with its scaly feet dragging beneath it. Lanky, mossy looking wings hung over its arms, trailing down to mingle with its...fingers? Feelers? Whatever they were, they were hideous.

Itsuki dearly hoped Ashiya never saw this thing face to face.

The youkai's skull head shouldn't have been capable of emotion, but at the moment it looked decidedly put out. "If it didn't work on your employee, I knew there was no way it would work on the almighty Master of the Mononokean, but," the youkai rubbed its shoulder where Itsuki's Influence had sunk in, if only for a second, "my stars you two are a scary couple!"

Itsuki carefully slid down the slide, and felt mollified when the youkai backed away so there was a comfortable distance between them. Although, there really was no "comfortable distance" when the youkai was that large and nightmarish. Itsuki was, however, a professional, and didn't let his dislike show.

"Where's my employee?"

The youkai grunted and pointed toward the field. "Somewhere over there."

"Did you hurt him?"

"Who? Me?" The youkai sounded flabbergasted. "No. I tried to take his energy—just a little itty bit!—but he went crazy! Nearly killed me whipping out his Influence all of a sudden…"

Itsuki raised an eyebrow. Ashiya called on his Influence again? That was good. Even if he couldn't quite control it yet, it had come in his time of need. Ashiya had defended himself without hesitation, just as Itsuki had instructed him. Pride fizzed in Itsuki's chest.

"Good," he told the youkai, and it scoffed. Now that he knew Ashiya wasn't in imminent danger, he could deal with what they came here for. "You shouldn't be here, attacking innocent humans for their energy. It's not the way things are done anymore. I can open a door for you to the Underworld. You won't have to leech off humans' energy there."

The youkai turned its face away. "I'm not ready to retire yet."

Itsuki drew his mouth into a hard line. "Well then, you only have one other option: Leave this area and go somewhere far away, where I don't have to hear about you."

"Oh yeah? Is that my only option, Master of the Mononokean?"

Itsuki didn't care for the laughter in its voice. He fixed the youkai with his most dispassionate glare. "You can't stay here," he said, and the Influence around his hand flared ominously.

Of course, Itsuki would never use his Influence to control or kill a youkai, unless it was a really desperate situation. But most youkai didn't know Ituski well enough to call him on his principles. They saw his sharp eyes and the aura of power wafting around him and decided not to tempt his temper.

The youkai shrunk at Itsuki's fearsome display. "...Fine," it mumbled and Itsuki felt supremely satisfied. "I'll disappear somewhere, so relax."

Itsuki obligingly snuffed out his Influence. "Good choice. Before you go, bring me and my employee back to the real world."

The youkai snorted. It was a nasty, dry scraping sort of sound. "I can't do that. Astral projection is hard stuff; I barely have enough energy for myself. Why do you think I steal from humans?"

Itsuki narrowed his eyes.

"I'm telling the truth! Now, you better have been telling the truth too!" The youkai backed away. "I'll keep my side of the bargain if you do."

And just like that, the youkai blipped out of sight, zipping off to wherever it would cause trouble next, hopefully, far, far away from Tokyo. Itsuki shook his head and strode across the field to find Ashiya.

He found him lying face down in the middle of the field. This was disconcerting.

"Ashiya?" Itsuki shook his shoulder, a little roughly, to be honest. He was finding Ashiya passed out on the ground far too often lately and it was beginning to feel like one day he really would be dead.

Thankfully, today was not that day. Ashiya twitched, and slowly his eyes opened. He lifted his face and blinked at Itsuki.

"Abeno-san?"

"You idiot. I leave you for one second and you get kidnapped."

The muzzy look on Ashiya's face vanished. He sat up ramrod straight and scuttled backward. "Wait a minute," he said ferociously. "How do I know it's really you and not the youkai again?"

"Because I'm going to punch you in the face if you don't come back here right now. Do you know how draining astral projection is?"

Ashiya pursed his lips. He looked almost convinced that Itsuki really was Itsuki, but the fool of course had to stick to his guns and prove it. "Alright, just answer this one question then: How many tails does Fuzzy have?"

"What?" Itsuki furrowed his brow. "Am I supposed to know that?" Ashiya narrowed his eyes. "I… This is ridiculous," Itsuki mumbled to himself, mussing his hair to coxcomb proportions. "I don't care how many tails it has, so I don't know. Three? Why couldn't you just ask me when your birthday is? Or your favorite food? December 21st and strawberries. Or melon bread."

Ashiya arched an eyebrow. "Huh. I didn't think you paid that much attention." There was a smile threatening the corner of his mouth.

"I make it a point to know as much about my employees as possible."

Ashiya chuckled and rose to his feet. "Okay. I believe you." He dusted nonexistent dirt off the front of his pants. "And you were right about Fuzzy's tails, by the way. You should trust yourself more."

Itsuki crossed his arms and grunted. That was when he noticed the silver thread around his wrist looked a little anemic. His energy reserves were running low. He could feel his body growing fainter now that he was focusing.

"We gotta go," he told Ashiya.

"But the youkai…?"

"I took care of it. Come here."

Ashiya came obediently to his side. Itsuki raised a hand to his mouth, trying to think how he was going to pull this off. "I have a tether back to my physical body," he explained to Ashiya's questioning look, "but it's going to be tricky pulling you along with me. I guess… It would be best if we could tie you to me somehow, so we can't be separated."

Maybe I can untie the thread and wrap it around both of us? He was a little wary of that, though. As far as he knew, unrooting the tether wasn't highly recommended.

Ashiya tilted his head. "How about if I…" He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Itsuki's waist. "This way, it'll be like we're one soul."

He flashed an innocent smile as he said this, as if this was a completely normal and logical explanation for hugging Itsuki so close. Which it was. Of course it was. What else would it be?

"Uh. Yeah…" "Like we're one soul?" Did he seriously just say that?

Itsuki stared into Ashiya's eyes and tried to discreetly choke down his apprehension. "This…could work, maybe." He felt a little fuzzy headed. He chose to think this was a result of his soul being stretched too thin for too long.

Their noses brushed as Ashiya shifted to get a more comfortable, tighter hold on his waist, and after a moment struggling with his nerves, Itsuki wrapped his arms around Ashiya as well.

And now Ashiya seemed to realize the intimacy of the position. He pressed his lips together and averted his eyes.

This display of shyness made Itsuki feel instantly better. "Okay, I'm going to travel back now."

He tugged the thread and directed his thoughts towards the corporeal realm. He and Ashiya held fast to each other as the tide of consciousness yanked them forward.

Hanae landed back in his body with a solid thump. His bones actually jolted at the impact, and his muscles ached all over, as if they had been through intense physical training. He sat up and groaned aloud.

"If this is what astral projection feels like…" he said to Abeno as he rubbed his temples, "I am never doing that again." Abeno didn't answer. Hanae turned to him. The other boy had sat up, but he was doubled over. "Abeno-san…?"

Abeno squinted up at him. "Get me to a door…now." His pallor was ghostly pale, and the sides of his hair were matted with sweat. Abeno screwed his eyes shut and reached out a hand. "Mononokean. Before I pass out."

"R-right! Okay." Hanae jumped up, his muscle fatigue completely forgotten. He took hold of Abeno's hand and hauled him to his feet. "I've got you. Hang on."

Abeno was so weak he could barely walk, so Hanae had to wrap an arm around him and shoulder the brunt of his weight while they hobbled across the field. The closest building with a door was a bathroom. Hanae wanted to pass by it and head to the supply shed by the parking lot, but Abeno was getting heavier and heavier and Hanae wasn't sure he was going to stay conscious for much longer.

I wish I could call the Mononokean myself! But he was just an employee. An employee with no way to get them both home but to walk if Abeno passed out.

"Abeno-san, we're here," he said when they reached the front of the bathroom. He knew that Abeno was in a bad way when he didn't have the energy to be annoyed or disgusted at his choice of door.

"Mon…" Abeno huffed and raised one shaking hand, "Mono...nokean...come."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he passed out cold. Hanae made a strangled noise as Abeno's full weight crashed against him. He had to hook his elbow in the handle of the door and pull it open as he looped his arms under Abeno's armpits to hold him up.

They fell through the open door, which blessedly led to the soft tatami of the Mononokean and not the hard tile of a public restroom. Fuzzy and the Mononokean went into instant panic mode.

What happened? Σ(°°|||)Did Itsuki open too many doors?

"He had to bring me back from the astral plane," Hanae said miserably. He lay on his back where he fell, Abeno draped across his chest. This close, he could feel how hot Abeno was and see the sweat beading on his brow.

(O_O;) The astral plane? Oh no…

Fuzzy nuzzled Hanae's cheek and then pawed at Abeno's sleeve, looking concerned.

"He's running a fever." Hanae sat up, carefully cradling Abeno in his lap as he did so. "Is that normal? Is he going to be alright?"

It's okay, Hanae. He probably just strained himself. He just needs to sleep it off.

Hanae hoped desperately that this was the case. He didn't know what he would do if Abeno was really sick. It would be all his fault. If only I wasn't so weak. If only I wasn't such a burden.

I'll open a door to Hana Ashi, the scroll read. The characters rolled down gently, and Hanae knew that the Mononokean felt the same worry he did. It would be best if you kept an eye on him. Would that be okay?

"Yes, of course."

Hanae struggled to get to his feet and drag Abeno up with him. Abeno was slight, but he was also tall, and an unconscious person was amazingly heavy. Fuzzy did his best to help push Abeno up, which, in truth, wasn't much, but Hanae was touched by the effort.

Before they left, the Mononokean jingled its bell to get Hanae's attention. Leave the door cracked, just in case. If something doesn't look right, I'll call the Legislator and Koura.

Hanae agreed gratefully. Together he and Fuzzy managed to carry Abeno out the door the Mononokean opened for them. The door led to Hanae's bedroom, and he was thankful for it. He lugged Abeno across the room and slid him onto the bed as gently as he could manage.

Hanae pulled the blanket up from the foot of the bed and tucked Abeno in. Then he went into the bathroom and dampened a washcloth to dab at his forehead. Abeno murmured at the cool cloth against his skin, but didn't wake.

Hanae knelt at the side of the bed and studied his friend's face. It was troubled in sleep. "Abeno-san… Please be okay. I promise I'll work harder. I'll become stronger, so just… Be okay."

He swept at his eyes. Here he was, promising to be stronger, and he was crying like a baby. Fuzzy crawled into his lap and nudged him. Hanae pet the little youkai and smiled.

"You're right. He's fine. It's just a fever! I shouldn't get all worked up like this." He tried out a laugh, and found it actually did improve his mood. "Right! I'll tend to Abeno-san and he'll be better in no time. Just you watch!"

He wet the cloth again and laid it across Abeno's forehead. Abeno shivered and suddenly Hanae remembered that he had been sweating a lot. He probably was soaked through.

"His clothes! I have to change them, or the fever will get worse." He pulled out what clothes looked biggest from his drawer and stood over Abeno. Uh… Hanae swallowed. He kept imagining how angry Abeno would be if he caught him stripping him down. And then suddenly his mind decided to call up the memory of them embracing to escape the astral plane. Hanae's face heated. Maybe I shouldn't change his clothes after all. It'll probably be fine. ...Right?

But Abeno shivered again and made a soft noise that sounded a lot like pain or discomfort and Hanae's heart lurched. Maybe… Just change the top? He carefully, respectfully, and with as minimal blushing as possible carried out the deed.

Hanae breathed a sigh of relief and sagged onto the end of the bed. Now that Abeno had been taken care of, the adrenaline faded and he felt the full force of the astral trip surge back onto him. His body felt like a sandbag. He could feel the pound of his heart behind his eyes. Hanae planted the heels of his hands against the sockets and lay back against the bed. Abeno made an irritable noise when Hanae's head jounced the pillow.

"I'm not slacking," Hanae mumbled in response. "I'm just resting a sec. Then I'll get you a new compress, m'kay?" He curled onto his side and sighed. "Promise…."