WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WE'RE OUT OF DONUTS??? Oh, the chapter's started? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE CHAPTER'S STARTED??? Sheesh, you're supposed to warn me! -sigh- I guess that's why we don't let parakeets be secretaries... -smiles- Hello, everyone, and welcome to chapter six of Ice Freezes! Well...I dunno, everything I have to say is in the other author's note, so I suppose you'll have to read to find out. Yup! Aren't I clever! ... Shut up, Peeper! It is too clever! Dumb parakeet... Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to all of you who think that Touya shouldn't always be the one needing comfort and solace. Now...on to the story!

After sleeping the day away, I felt much better. I was mildly irritated at Shishi; after all, he had not only hurt me, but he had gone so far as to drink my blood. It was something that, if he had been in his right mind, he would never have done. Sharing blood was only for lovers and the storybooks, after all. I was, therefore, feeling quite violated. Every time I thought of the feeling of his fangs in my flesh, I felt disgusted. It turned my stomach, even if I had been too shocked when it actually happened to react. I couldn't bring myself to be mad at him, though. It hadn't really been his fault.

Still, I felt like I needed to see Shishi, to talk it over with him. He was probably feeling like dirt right now, and he would want me there to help him. I, too, needed his support. There was no way we could get over this without each other's help. The problem was Tal was far too worried to let me out of the house. I didn't see why; my blood had already clotted, and a scab was already forming. By my logic, nothing would be wrong with going to see Shishi. Tal insisted that something bad would happen to me, though. He said that the swordsman might still be put into the same frenzy the scent of my blood had put him in. It wasn't in my nature to argue, so I quietly submitted to the isolation.

Bitterly, I knew that if I had fought back, I would only have been put in my place. I was growing annoyed with the bat demon. I didn't like the fact that he was so quick to categorize Shishi as a vicious demon killer, nor did I like the fact that he was so certain that the youkai would repeat the offense again. In fact, Tal seemed to say that Shishi willingly took a chunk out of me. Maybe it was these discontent thoughts, maybe it was the wound, or maybe it was the knowledge that I had already went against Tal's authority and hadn't been killed because of it, but I was feeling ready to ignore what he had said and sneak out to see the half-bird apparition. Luckily, the bat was under no circumstances prepared for my decision. I had been, and probably always would be, a perfect rule-abider. Therefore, to him, going against the rules that had been laid down would not happen, not by me, at least.

A slight smile, crooked as always, spread across my face, although it vanished seconds later. What had happened to my honor if I would break the rules? I hesitated, staring nervously at the front door, as though the second I opened it someone would move my name to the list of those who would go to Limbo. Not for the first time, I wondered if I would already go there, based simply on my species of birth. Demons were, after all, called the damned beings, those who had done such horrible things in past lives that they had been reincarnated as such creatures. I hoped desperately that that was not true, reassured myself that I would not have done something that awful in a past life. The thought was still daunting.

No, I assured myself, nothing like that is true. I'm not a damned being, I'm not here as punishment, and I'm not going to get sent to Limbo just for breaking one tiny rule. That would be silly. No one is perfect, and I'm far from it, so crossing the line just this once wouldn't matter, right?

Just to be sure, I quickly drew the fangs sign in the air, prayed to Enma for good luck, and opened the door. Taking one last look behind me, I stole into the night, following the same path I had tread on many times before. In fact, even with the moonlight shining and the sky a deep blood red, as it never was during the day, I hardly noticed it at all. The usual crack of lightning briefly lit up the sky every now and then, but that was as common an occurrence in the Makai as the chattering of nocturnal insects. It was almost automatic for me. Turn left at Juro the Baker's house, walk for a couple dozen paces, turn right at the cluster of trees, head through the town square, turn to the right at the first crossroads, head across the field with the long grass that always tickled me, and it was the only house out there. Something that routine isn't all that special after going over it so many times.

Quietly, so I wouldn't alarm him or his parents, I stepped through the field Shishi always trained in. In fact, the same two dummies he had been using earlier in the day were still there. I had to jump over the remnants of a third, the twigs it was made of snagging at the hem of my pants. To get to Shishi's room, I had to weave through a small copse of trees that bordered the field, and there it was. My friend's window was shut, as would be expected. Carefully, I squirmed in between a few decorative bushes, and peered in, although I knew I shouldn't have been doing so.

He was lying on his back on his bed, dully staring up at the stark white ceiling. The swordsman was awake, but he didn't seem to be responsive or content at all. The glazed over look in his eyes wasn't my only clue; the fact that he was sitting inside, doing absolutely nothing, while still awake was a dead giveaway. I'd never seen him acting like this before. His sword was propped up against the wall, a cleaning cloth on the floor next to it. I assumed he had been polishing his most prized possession to try and take his mind off things. It looked like that hadn't been the only thing he had been cleaning. For one of the first times ever, his room was tidy. No spare outfits lay scattered across the floor; his chess set was sitting neatly on one of his shelves; even Shishi's collection of pebbles, bird's feathers, and other random trinkets had been organized.

Tentatively, I reached out and tapped on the glass, which I noted was as spotless as everything else. If he hadn't been lying down, I was sure he would have jumped several feet in the air. As it was, Shishi twitched, sitting up, and looking over, his right hand habitually straying to his left hip. The look he had on as he saw me was one of mixed self-loathing, sorrow, fear, and pain, and it was almost enough to break my heart. It hurt me, to see that expression on Shishi's, strong Shishi's, face. I was even more worried for him/

Although I couldn't hear him very well through the glass, it seemed to me like he had mouthed "Blue?" I nodded, gesturing for him to come over to the window.

He shook his head, moving over to the corner farthest from me, despite the fact that there was already a wooden chair there. I frowned, motioning for him to come here again. The half-bird apparition looked to be in bad shape, and I wanted to help him.

Shishi shut his lavender eyes, turning away from me, a look of shame on his face. It was then that I realized that he didn't want to see me, that he was just as afraid of biting me again as Tal was of him doing so. I pounded on the glass, staring at him with pleading eyes.

He took one look at my face, and his will crumbled. Shishi paced over to the window, unhooking the latch and opening the window.

"Shishi, please come out here," I begged.

"I can't, I'm just going to hurt you again," he whimpered, looking at me with hurt eyes. I had never seen Shishi so weak, so vulnerable, as he was right then. He had always been the strong one out of the two of us, the one I could always turn to for my worries and troubles. Now, though, it was my turn to help him. Enma knows, he needed all the help he could get.

"It's okay," I murmured, trying my best to console him.

He hung his head.
"It's not."

"Just…come out here, okay? Please, for me," I pleaded.

He looked hesitant before slowly, unsurely, nodding. With a quick flare of his aura, he shifted into his owl-like imp form, hopping up on the windowsill. I backed up slightly, trying not to trip over the hedges, offering up my arm as a perch. Shishi shook his head, instead opting to remain on the ledge.

I grabbed him around the middle, trying to be gentle, but I was fairly sure that it felt like he was being youkaihandled. Mindful of his small, fragile bones, I hugged the miniature apparition to me, trying to reassure him that it was okay. I could feel him stiffen, his diminutive body rigid, before he relaxed, even going so far as to bury his horned head in my chest.

"I'm not going anywhere, Shishi. We're in this together, remember? I'm not going anywhere, and it's going to be okay. Look, you didn't mean to hurt me, and you couldn't help it. That wasn't your fault, Shishi. I swear that I'm not mad at you one bit. You couldn't have stopped yourself any sooner than you did. We all have faults. After all, we're only demon," I whispered, trying to comfort the visibly shaken demon.

"Yeah…I guess you're right," he murmured, words muffled by my shirt. "Could you set me down, Blue?"

I shuffled back even more, leaving Shishi room to stand without setting him on the hedge, and backed up farther. After all, I didn't want to get knocked flat on my back, as would surely happen if he shapeshifted in such close proximity to me. His owlish form flickered once, and in its place was his usual form.

"Thanks, Blue," he softly said, running his fingers through the hair at the back of his neck, as I had noticed he did when nervous. "Oh, and by the way, if I ever try to bite you again… I give you permission to hit me 'below the belt', okay? I'd deserve it."

I nodded, smiling slightly, and my gaze fell back to my feet, per usual. There was something about eye contact that irritated me. To my shock, I felt Shishi's fingers, for some reason unnaturally warm against my skin, under my chin, and he tipped my head back so I was looking him in the eyes.

"Would you cut that out? I don't get why you won't look at me," he said, dropping his hand to his side.

"Habit, I guess. I don't really make eye contact with anyone," I admitted.

"Eh, whatever. As long as it isn't just me. By the way, Blue, is it just me, or is your skin kinda cold?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

Blinking in confusion, I touched my arm with one finger.

"It doesn't feel any different to me," I replied, confused.

He frowned.

"Do you mind…?" he started.

I shook my head. The indigo-haired youkai set his hand on my arm, and I stared at him expectantly. Now that he mentioned it, he did feel a bit warmer than usual, but I had assumed that that was him, not me. Shishi scowled, pulling his hand away.

"Yeah, it's definitely cooler than usual," he said at last.

What's wrong with me? I thought. Wait a minute… I highly doubt that it's a coincidence that the day after I start using these weird ice powers, my skin feels cool to the touch. It has to be because of my aura!

"I…think it's because I'm an ice demon."

Shishi's mouth hung open, eyes wide. If I had wanted to, I could quite probably have pushed him over right then.

"And…you never saw fit to tell me this?" he managed to say, staring.

I was about to tell him that I had, it had just been before he sank his fangs into me, but I caught myself. Making him feel any guiltier would not be a good move.

"I only just found out myself. Remember when my aura was acting up? Well, once I got home, I was feeling a bit mad at you because you overreacted to telling me about your…um, inability to read… and then I started glowing bright green. That was when I started grinning and dancing around like a madyoukai, then things just started to freeze. I guess my aura lowered my body temperature as well," I explained.

"Well, hell, I didn't realize that you were that weird! By the way, did you know that whenever the light hits your eyes, they gleam, kind of like a cat's?"

"No… Does that always happen?"

"Only when it's all dark out."

I chortled, that small smile returning to my face.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"I can see in infravision," I told him, laughing all the harder. "I suppose, then, that that changes the reflective qualities of my eyes."

"You keep a lot of secrets, Blue. What's next? Am I going to find out that you're a girl or something?" he asked. "Kidding, I was kidding," he added, seeing my annoyed expression.

"Nothing else that I can think of…" I responded. "Um… I can't swim? Does that count?"

"Eh, me neither, but I can fly, so who really cares?"

I shrugged.

"Well… I guess I'd better get back before Tal finds out I'm gone," I murmured.

"Okay… hey, wait a minute. You snuck out of your house to see me? Are my ears not working of something? You're, like, perfectly rule-following."

"I thought you needed some company… But, you're right, I guess I did. Still, I need to get out of here, fast, before he catches me. You should have seen how mad he was when I tried to lie to cover up for the bite… He was furious. Of course, when I kind of collapsed on him, he found out pretty quickly. Well, bye Shishi!"

"You covered up for me? Sweet! You rule, Blue! G'bye!"

I made it to my house, slipped through the front door, and darted into my room, feeling glad that both Tal's room and workshop were farther down the hall. Picking up one of my books, I sat down in my armchair and started reading.

My heart raced, and it wasn't strictly because of my short sprint on the way back home. No, the thrill of bending the rules and escaping, the feeling of danger, stirred me. I knew I must have seemed half mad for actually liking that sensation, but it was invigorating. Sure, Shishi liked streaking towards the ground on the back of a giant eagle, but this…this was something else.

After five minutes or so, Tal popped in, checking up on me, as he had been doing almost constantly since Shishi had bitten me.

"Touya? Are you all right?" he asked.

I nodded, trying to look too caught up in the book to be able to focus much on him.

"Well, okay. Do you need your bandages changed? Would you-" he began, stopping abruptly to sniff the air. "Something smells off… Kind of like lemon and cedar tinged with a bit of copper… Wait… lemon and copper? Touya…you have some explaining to do."

I gulped. All the thrill and exhilaration was gone, and breaking the rules didn't seem quite so much fun anymore.

"I had to see him," I protested, voice a bit shaky. "He was so angry with himself, and he seemed so hurt. He whimpered, Tal! Shishi actually whimpered. Please understand!"

He remained silent for a bit.

"Fine, Touya. I see. I was worried for you, that's all. If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. Just…please be careful around him, okay? No matter what his intentions are, you saw what happened the first time."

I nodded, tentatively smiling.

"I'm sorry about breaking the rules," I murmured. "I… I just needed to see him so badly… I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. I don't think it would be fair to punish you after that nasty bite. Don't do it again, okay?"

I nodded again, telling the part of my mind that thought that it would be fun to break the rules to shut up. He smiled at me, before turning and walking away, wings wrapped around him to help ward off the winter chill. Actually, now that I thought about it, it didn't seem cold at all. Well, no, that wasn't right. I could feel the cold; it didn't bother me, though… I shook my head. Suddenly gaining all these unusual traits was confusing. I mean, my blood temperature has dropped, the cold doesn't affect me, I can freeze things… It made me wonder what would be next. Would my breath freeze when I breathed out?

Shaking my head, I turned back to my book. Life was just too weird…

Wow. I think I did a good job on that (I really tried not to make Tal too much of an asshole, but it was hard!), but I need reviews to tell me for certain! Yes, I am nothing without you, reviewers! I tried to throw in a bit of humor to counteract the serious moment, but I'm not sure it worked... This chapter was a little shorter than the others, but I thought that it needed to be ended there, so, meh. For the record, I don't know too much about the Makai, so please attempt to forgive any inconsistencies, as well as pointing them out. Yes, Sora Sotara. Thanks for being the one to point out a few Makai mistakes! Oh, as for the scent-thing, Shishi's half bird, half vampire, right? So... Well, blood smells rather coppery, so...yeah, and my pet bird, Peeper, smells rather lemon-y, so I figured that works as well as anything else. The ceder is because Touya was running around in the forest!