Chapter 11
holy shit, I can't believe I'm up to chapter 11 already. I meant to end this by ch 9 I swear!. Oh well. Warning: if you don't like my take on Soujiro, and you can't tolerate Tsukushi-Soujiro weirdness-you Really Don't want to read this chapter. Trust me. I was inspired by a two hour meeting this morning in a freezing room, with a speaker who I couldn't hear, and slides I couldn't see, on a topic I understood about maybe 1/5 of-nothing good ever comes out of thoughts inspired by that setting
ps, I lied in my last note-this is also a rui chapter
Rui had not been able to go to sleep after he'd left the others outside Tsukushi's room He was worried about Makino, of course. She Always claimed that she was going to be OK, that she could handle everything all by herself. But sometimes even a weed needs to be sheltered from the raging storm. She would be grateful for his company on this dreary night, he reflected, though she might not ever admit it. And he could not help himself; even if she didn't want him there, he had to go make sure she was truly all right. At the very least, he knew she would sleep easier if he was there to hold her hand. Smiling to himself at this thought, Rui quietly left his room. He tiptoed down the hallway past Soujiro's room, noting that Soujiro had forgotten to close his door all the way, though the light was off. At this, Rui tried to be even more quiet. He did not particularly wish to wake Soujiro up as he passed; for Soujiro was notoriously grumpy when awoken unexpectedly. Softly, then, so as not to disturb the sleeper next door, Rui knocked at Tsukushi's door. There was no reply from within.
"She can't possibly be asleep already!" Rui knew Tsukushi too well to doubt this.
"Tsukushi!" he called softly, "are you there?"
Still, there was no reply, and Rui tried the door. He found that it was unlocked, and opened it just a crack so he could peer inside. There was no sign of Tsukushi anywhere within the chamber. "Huh," Rui thought to himself, "Wonder where that silly girl went off to. Hope she's not lost." He figured she had to return sometime. That is, of course, if she was able to find her way back to her room from wherever she'd gone off to. He would wait here for her. He slid down the doorframe, and leaned back against the wall to sit in the doorway.
Time passed, and still Tsukushi did not return. Rui found himself drifting off to sleep. Still, he was unwilling to return to his own bed without first seeing Tsukushi. "I'll wake up when she returns," he assured himself mere seconds before he slid away into a deep sleep.
Returning to her room at last, Tsukushi sighed at the sight of Rui slumped against her doorway. She wished she could be surprised by his presence there, but in truth, she'd rather suspected he'd show up at some point. "Couldn't just let well enough alone," she shook her head, "I suppose I should wake him." Still, she made no move to rouse the sleeper in her path. Instead she crouched down on her heels and regarded him intently. Rui's sleeping face was so serene, despite his uncomfortable choice of sleeping places, that Tsukushi could not look away.
"He looks as though nothing in this world could touch him." Tsukushi smiled at this thought, "If only that were true." Just then, something in his dreams sent a brief smile flashing across Rui's face, and Tsukushi's heart melted in the way that only Rui could do to her. Before she could squash this spasm of emotion back into its proper place, she leaned over to kiss Rui softly on his cheek. "Why does he always do this to me?" Tsukushi's heart filled with regret, "So strong, so supportive-he claims I taught him to care for someone other than himself. . . .he deserves to be happy; to care for someone who can give him all their love in return-not me; who has so little left to give to him, since Tsukasa took it all away."
Deep in his unknowable dreams, Rui still felt Tsukushi's lips brush his cheek-even asleep he recognized her presence, and with a start he came awake.
The sudden flicker of Rui's eyes as he awoke startled Tsukushi out of her reverie, and she fell back abruptly.
"Ow!" she exclaimed as she hit the floor. Rui smiled one of his slow smiles as his eyes focused on her figure.
"So you're back," he greeted, "I was worried about you."
"I just went for a walk around the house, " Tsukushi was unwilling to admit what had passed between Akira and herself. "I still can't understand how you rich people can stand to live in places so huge, and so Empty!"
"Ah, Akira's place isn't that big," Rui dismissed her comments as he stretched out his stiff muscles, "I wish you'd come back sooner. You need to sleep."
"Yes, Mother." Tsukushi stuck her tongue out at him, "What a nag you've become tonight!"
Rui could contain himself no longer when he saw her laughing eyes. He reached out one long arm to grab Tsukushi by the wrist, and hauled her bodily onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her, he murmured in her ear, "Yes, but only because I care. Someone has to keep you safe."
"You don't think I'm safe in Mimasaka's house?" Tsukushi protested, as she made a weak effort to escape Rui's encircling arms.
"Well," Rui amended, "Now that I'm here . . . " Perhaps it was sleep deprivation that was making Rui so bold, or perhaps it was the sight of Tsukushi looking so cute in her borrowed pajamas. Either way, he didn't much feel like self restraint at this moment, so he simply held her tightly and began to plant soft kisses down her neck.
Tsukushi often managed to forget that Rui was a man too, and like Doumyouji, had carnal urges which she was not yet ready to share. This fact was, however, brought back to her with shocking clarity as she heard Rui's low murmur tickling her ears. "I can't deal with this right now," she sighed to herself. "I don't really want to hurt him, but. . ."
Tsukushi twisted free of Rui's arms and stood up abruptly. She was surprised to realize that she was shaking again. "Rui. . . it's too soon. . . I . . " She started to explain., but he was already apologizing.
"I'm sorry, Tsukushi. . . . " He ran out of words, and could not justify his behavior, even in his own mind. He still sat where Tsukushi had pushed him, looking up at her. For her part Tsukushi just sighed, and, at last, threw up her hands in dismissal.
"It's ok. . . I understand. " She thought she did, "But, I think I'd just like to be left alone right now, If you don't mind."
He nodded sadly, and slowly climbed to his feet. As he turned to leave, Tsukushi spoke again, as if to apologize for all that she could not give him.
"Thank you for being here for me. I don't know what I'd do with out you."
"It's my pleasure," he started to smile back at her, then turned away again and slowly made his way back to his room for the night.
Tsukushi slumped against the wall and gazed after him. "This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder." After all that kept happening to her, she didn't think there was any way she could sleep now.
It was indeed a night for sleeplessness.
From Soujiro's perspective, the whole night had been rather bizarre. Tsukushi was acting strangely, Rui was as enigmatic as ever, and that whole scene with Tsukasa? Soujiro hadn't a clue what to make of that. Why, he couldn't even explain his own lapses around Makino. And, as he climbed into bed, shaking out his freshly showered hair, he was struck by the thought that if events continued in their present trend, they'd only get weirder. With this thought, he carefully left his door open just a little, so that, while he lay in the dark, he could hear everything that occurred in the hallway outside. Just in case something interesting did happen.
Knowing his friend as well as he did, Soujiro was convinced that Akira would try and make some move on Makino, and he was curious to hear how that turned out.
Of course, he would rather sleep, if that was possible. But as he turned out his light, and lay back on the soft pillows, he found his mind plodding down old familiar hallways, and sleep would not come. For years now, he'd been unable to sleep well when alone; left to himself, he was haunted by memories of his father yelling at his mother in the middle of the night. Back then it had always been his father's feet he'd heard stomping in the hall outside as his father had stormed out of the house on his way to a date with his mistress. And his mother's sobs had carried through the thin walls as if she were only a few feet away. At an early age, Soujiro had learned that to escape the bitter house, the tormented nights, he'd only to follow his father's example. With a beautiful face, money, and manners to match, Soujiro had always been a success with women; and each night he spent in a hotel with some faceless woman, denying his pain by indulging in worldly pleasures, let him survive another bitter day. Few saw through to his inner loneliness, and those who did, he drove away. Sara, Yuki; there may have been others who saw through him, but it didn't matter. Right now he longed for a warm body to be lying here beside him; proof that he wasn't alone in the night. When you came right down to it, even the sex was just a means to this end; a way to ensure that when he rolled over in the dark, there'd be someone to hold. Still, Most of the women who came and went in his life saw no further than the sexy, confident exterior he wanted them to.
Soujiro groaned and rolled over. Why wouldn't these thoughts leave him alone? It was with some relief that he noted the muffled sound of Tsukushi's door opening. At last, Something was happening. He sat up and listened intently. A few moments later he smiled to himself as he heard her yelp of surprise. That would be Akira, of course. He wondered where the two of them were going-- it was not to Akira's room or he'd have heard the door open again. It probably wasn't important; they'd be back, he knew. The quiet continued a few moments more, and Soujiro was beginning to get sucked back down into the dark vortex of his mind again, when he heard Rui's door open. "Curiouser and Curiouser," he mused, as Rui tiptoed past his door. It was difficult to refrain from laughing at this attempt at stealth. He was somewhat surprised when Rui stuck around after Tsukushi failed to appear.
The silence dragged on. After what seemed like an eternity, he at last heard the distant shuffle of footsteps that stopped at Akira's room. Soujiro quirked an eyebrow and listened even harder, though he knew he'd not be able to hear anything through the walls at that distance. When the voices resumed again, he caught himself heaving a sigh of. . . was that relief? Why should he care about whether Tsukushi fell under Akira's spell? She was a grown woman (almost), she could bloody well look after herself! He rebuked himself sternly, and tried to convince himself he only cared about losing his wager.
Ah! She was almost back to her room. Soujiro could hear her conversation with Rui clearly through the slit in his door. Perhaps he should try not to listen. His friends would not take kindly to having this moment eavesdropped upon. But he couldn't help himself. . . . He could almost feel Tsukushi's cold confusion and emptiness as she sent Rui away at last. At least it spared him from thinking about his own problems.
The silence continued. Soujiro could not tell if Tsukushi had moved at all; the silence was so complete. He wished he'd never left his door open; wished he could have drunk himself in a stupor; wished he'd slipped out of the mansion and found himself a girl for the night, anything to keep himself from being here, right now, awake in a dark room, listening to the mournful silence of the girl two of his best friends loved.
"Stupid Stupid!" he kicked himself, "She's just a girl, why should you care!?" but a little voice of decency couldn't help but speak up, "She's also a friend-whether you admit it or not." Soujiro tried to drown this voice out, by rolling over and burying his head under the pillows. "Maybe she'll go to bed soon. Why doesn't she go away?"
But, he was not quiet enough in his movements, and something in the rustling of his sheets, as the sound crept out the door, alerted Tsukushi that she was not the only one left awake.
She'd been staring into space; frozen and unwilling to move. Her body cried out for sleep, but her brain churned restlessly, failing to find peace. When she heard movement from Soujiro's room, something called her to action; though she didn't understand just what. Tsukushi had always behaved strangely under stress, and when she'd not slept enough; perhaps that would excuse, if not fully explain what she did next.
Tsukushi poked her head into to Soujiro's room.
"Nishikido, are you awake/" She whispered softly.
Soujiro did not reply, "Maybe she'll go away." he hoped.
"Soujiro?" Tsukushi tried again, still in a whisper so low as to be almost inaudible.
He could not help himself. He answered her plea, though his voice came out strangely harsh, "What do you want? You shouldn't be here. Go to sleep."
"Can I come in?" Tsukushi's voice was small and hesitant. She should be frightened of him, she knew.
"Do you know what you're asking?" He laughed harshly. "You know what I am, right?"
"You wouldn't do anything." Tsukushi replied, more confidently than she felt.
"Yeah you're probably right, " Soujiro laughed again; it was a strained, joyless sound, "Not my type, and you'd probably break my jaw, at the slightest provocation anyway. . . Well come in then, if you're going to." He reached over and clicked on a dim light. At the very least, if neither of them could sleep, then they could spend the remaining hours of the night keeping each other's demons away, somehow.
Tsukushi made her way carefully across the dark room, to the bed where Soujiro reclined in his dim pool of light.
"How much did you hear?" She asked at last, as she reached the foot of the bed.
"Enough," was his only reply.
Tsukushi sighed, "I just want to sleep. I should have gone home. It's hard to relax without my brother snoring nearby," she paused then rambled on. ". . . I had to send Rui away, I've never had to do that before." Abruptly she seemed to realize the ludicrousness of her confessions, and finished in some consternation, " . . Why am I telling you this anyway? You've no reason to care."
"I'm the only one left awake." Soujiro snorted. "You've run out of options. Unless you want to talk to yourself. Have a seat." He waved to the edge of the bed. Tsukushi looked skeptically at it, at him, back at the bed. She'd noticed a trend around here tonight. She wasn't going to be taken unawares this time. "Relax," Soujiro laughed bitterly again, "I only go for stupid, attractive women. You're perfectly safe with me."
A strange time for honesty. A strange situation. Tsukushi was sure that in the light of day she'd kick herself for everything that had happened tonight. Nevertheless, she shrugged and curled up gingerly amidst the pillows.
"Now then, " Soujiro continued more cruelly than he'd intended, "Why are you here? What do you think I can do for you? Advice? I don't have any of that. I hate meddlers, interference, that sort of shit. You want me to kick Tsukasa's ass for you? Maybe Rui's? No can do. They've always been better fighters than I. I doubt you're interested in my amorous abilities; so what are you doing here in my bed. Why don't you just leave well enough alone?"
But he was talking to himself. Somewhere in the midst of his little diatribe, Tsukushi's exhausted body had finally claimed her for the realm of sleep. Almost the second she'd climbed into the bed, her brain had recognized it as safe place, let down its guard, and been overpowered by her need for oblivion. Not even residual distrust of the boy next to her could prevent her from losing consciousness.
Soujiro looked over at her small form curled up among the pillows. He sighed, and pulled the comforter up to cover her. "Looks like I get a warm body after all," he laughed in incredulity at this unexpected turn of events, and, strangely comforted by the sight of the girl sleeping near him, turned off the light. He listened to her breathing in the dark, letting the gentle sighs lull him into a sort of peace. At last, he turned his back on her, and drifted off into sleep, himself.
To be continued.
don't say I didn't warn you that It was going to be weird. I claim no responsibility for the words my fingers choose to type. And if you're upset by my characterizations, or by the actions of the characters, remember, it's just a fic, written to keep my mind off my term paper, and all the bloody power point presentations I'm supposed to be hacking together-don't take it too seriously. After all, what would be the point at all if everyone acted just as they did in the manga? ( that's all my justification for those who have issues with what I've done. (
holy shit, I can't believe I'm up to chapter 11 already. I meant to end this by ch 9 I swear!. Oh well. Warning: if you don't like my take on Soujiro, and you can't tolerate Tsukushi-Soujiro weirdness-you Really Don't want to read this chapter. Trust me. I was inspired by a two hour meeting this morning in a freezing room, with a speaker who I couldn't hear, and slides I couldn't see, on a topic I understood about maybe 1/5 of-nothing good ever comes out of thoughts inspired by that setting
ps, I lied in my last note-this is also a rui chapter
Rui had not been able to go to sleep after he'd left the others outside Tsukushi's room He was worried about Makino, of course. She Always claimed that she was going to be OK, that she could handle everything all by herself. But sometimes even a weed needs to be sheltered from the raging storm. She would be grateful for his company on this dreary night, he reflected, though she might not ever admit it. And he could not help himself; even if she didn't want him there, he had to go make sure she was truly all right. At the very least, he knew she would sleep easier if he was there to hold her hand. Smiling to himself at this thought, Rui quietly left his room. He tiptoed down the hallway past Soujiro's room, noting that Soujiro had forgotten to close his door all the way, though the light was off. At this, Rui tried to be even more quiet. He did not particularly wish to wake Soujiro up as he passed; for Soujiro was notoriously grumpy when awoken unexpectedly. Softly, then, so as not to disturb the sleeper next door, Rui knocked at Tsukushi's door. There was no reply from within.
"She can't possibly be asleep already!" Rui knew Tsukushi too well to doubt this.
"Tsukushi!" he called softly, "are you there?"
Still, there was no reply, and Rui tried the door. He found that it was unlocked, and opened it just a crack so he could peer inside. There was no sign of Tsukushi anywhere within the chamber. "Huh," Rui thought to himself, "Wonder where that silly girl went off to. Hope she's not lost." He figured she had to return sometime. That is, of course, if she was able to find her way back to her room from wherever she'd gone off to. He would wait here for her. He slid down the doorframe, and leaned back against the wall to sit in the doorway.
Time passed, and still Tsukushi did not return. Rui found himself drifting off to sleep. Still, he was unwilling to return to his own bed without first seeing Tsukushi. "I'll wake up when she returns," he assured himself mere seconds before he slid away into a deep sleep.
Returning to her room at last, Tsukushi sighed at the sight of Rui slumped against her doorway. She wished she could be surprised by his presence there, but in truth, she'd rather suspected he'd show up at some point. "Couldn't just let well enough alone," she shook her head, "I suppose I should wake him." Still, she made no move to rouse the sleeper in her path. Instead she crouched down on her heels and regarded him intently. Rui's sleeping face was so serene, despite his uncomfortable choice of sleeping places, that Tsukushi could not look away.
"He looks as though nothing in this world could touch him." Tsukushi smiled at this thought, "If only that were true." Just then, something in his dreams sent a brief smile flashing across Rui's face, and Tsukushi's heart melted in the way that only Rui could do to her. Before she could squash this spasm of emotion back into its proper place, she leaned over to kiss Rui softly on his cheek. "Why does he always do this to me?" Tsukushi's heart filled with regret, "So strong, so supportive-he claims I taught him to care for someone other than himself. . . .he deserves to be happy; to care for someone who can give him all their love in return-not me; who has so little left to give to him, since Tsukasa took it all away."
Deep in his unknowable dreams, Rui still felt Tsukushi's lips brush his cheek-even asleep he recognized her presence, and with a start he came awake.
The sudden flicker of Rui's eyes as he awoke startled Tsukushi out of her reverie, and she fell back abruptly.
"Ow!" she exclaimed as she hit the floor. Rui smiled one of his slow smiles as his eyes focused on her figure.
"So you're back," he greeted, "I was worried about you."
"I just went for a walk around the house, " Tsukushi was unwilling to admit what had passed between Akira and herself. "I still can't understand how you rich people can stand to live in places so huge, and so Empty!"
"Ah, Akira's place isn't that big," Rui dismissed her comments as he stretched out his stiff muscles, "I wish you'd come back sooner. You need to sleep."
"Yes, Mother." Tsukushi stuck her tongue out at him, "What a nag you've become tonight!"
Rui could contain himself no longer when he saw her laughing eyes. He reached out one long arm to grab Tsukushi by the wrist, and hauled her bodily onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her, he murmured in her ear, "Yes, but only because I care. Someone has to keep you safe."
"You don't think I'm safe in Mimasaka's house?" Tsukushi protested, as she made a weak effort to escape Rui's encircling arms.
"Well," Rui amended, "Now that I'm here . . . " Perhaps it was sleep deprivation that was making Rui so bold, or perhaps it was the sight of Tsukushi looking so cute in her borrowed pajamas. Either way, he didn't much feel like self restraint at this moment, so he simply held her tightly and began to plant soft kisses down her neck.
Tsukushi often managed to forget that Rui was a man too, and like Doumyouji, had carnal urges which she was not yet ready to share. This fact was, however, brought back to her with shocking clarity as she heard Rui's low murmur tickling her ears. "I can't deal with this right now," she sighed to herself. "I don't really want to hurt him, but. . ."
Tsukushi twisted free of Rui's arms and stood up abruptly. She was surprised to realize that she was shaking again. "Rui. . . it's too soon. . . I . . " She started to explain., but he was already apologizing.
"I'm sorry, Tsukushi. . . . " He ran out of words, and could not justify his behavior, even in his own mind. He still sat where Tsukushi had pushed him, looking up at her. For her part Tsukushi just sighed, and, at last, threw up her hands in dismissal.
"It's ok. . . I understand. " She thought she did, "But, I think I'd just like to be left alone right now, If you don't mind."
He nodded sadly, and slowly climbed to his feet. As he turned to leave, Tsukushi spoke again, as if to apologize for all that she could not give him.
"Thank you for being here for me. I don't know what I'd do with out you."
"It's my pleasure," he started to smile back at her, then turned away again and slowly made his way back to his room for the night.
Tsukushi slumped against the wall and gazed after him. "This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder." After all that kept happening to her, she didn't think there was any way she could sleep now.
It was indeed a night for sleeplessness.
From Soujiro's perspective, the whole night had been rather bizarre. Tsukushi was acting strangely, Rui was as enigmatic as ever, and that whole scene with Tsukasa? Soujiro hadn't a clue what to make of that. Why, he couldn't even explain his own lapses around Makino. And, as he climbed into bed, shaking out his freshly showered hair, he was struck by the thought that if events continued in their present trend, they'd only get weirder. With this thought, he carefully left his door open just a little, so that, while he lay in the dark, he could hear everything that occurred in the hallway outside. Just in case something interesting did happen.
Knowing his friend as well as he did, Soujiro was convinced that Akira would try and make some move on Makino, and he was curious to hear how that turned out.
Of course, he would rather sleep, if that was possible. But as he turned out his light, and lay back on the soft pillows, he found his mind plodding down old familiar hallways, and sleep would not come. For years now, he'd been unable to sleep well when alone; left to himself, he was haunted by memories of his father yelling at his mother in the middle of the night. Back then it had always been his father's feet he'd heard stomping in the hall outside as his father had stormed out of the house on his way to a date with his mistress. And his mother's sobs had carried through the thin walls as if she were only a few feet away. At an early age, Soujiro had learned that to escape the bitter house, the tormented nights, he'd only to follow his father's example. With a beautiful face, money, and manners to match, Soujiro had always been a success with women; and each night he spent in a hotel with some faceless woman, denying his pain by indulging in worldly pleasures, let him survive another bitter day. Few saw through to his inner loneliness, and those who did, he drove away. Sara, Yuki; there may have been others who saw through him, but it didn't matter. Right now he longed for a warm body to be lying here beside him; proof that he wasn't alone in the night. When you came right down to it, even the sex was just a means to this end; a way to ensure that when he rolled over in the dark, there'd be someone to hold. Still, Most of the women who came and went in his life saw no further than the sexy, confident exterior he wanted them to.
Soujiro groaned and rolled over. Why wouldn't these thoughts leave him alone? It was with some relief that he noted the muffled sound of Tsukushi's door opening. At last, Something was happening. He sat up and listened intently. A few moments later he smiled to himself as he heard her yelp of surprise. That would be Akira, of course. He wondered where the two of them were going-- it was not to Akira's room or he'd have heard the door open again. It probably wasn't important; they'd be back, he knew. The quiet continued a few moments more, and Soujiro was beginning to get sucked back down into the dark vortex of his mind again, when he heard Rui's door open. "Curiouser and Curiouser," he mused, as Rui tiptoed past his door. It was difficult to refrain from laughing at this attempt at stealth. He was somewhat surprised when Rui stuck around after Tsukushi failed to appear.
The silence dragged on. After what seemed like an eternity, he at last heard the distant shuffle of footsteps that stopped at Akira's room. Soujiro quirked an eyebrow and listened even harder, though he knew he'd not be able to hear anything through the walls at that distance. When the voices resumed again, he caught himself heaving a sigh of. . . was that relief? Why should he care about whether Tsukushi fell under Akira's spell? She was a grown woman (almost), she could bloody well look after herself! He rebuked himself sternly, and tried to convince himself he only cared about losing his wager.
Ah! She was almost back to her room. Soujiro could hear her conversation with Rui clearly through the slit in his door. Perhaps he should try not to listen. His friends would not take kindly to having this moment eavesdropped upon. But he couldn't help himself. . . . He could almost feel Tsukushi's cold confusion and emptiness as she sent Rui away at last. At least it spared him from thinking about his own problems.
The silence continued. Soujiro could not tell if Tsukushi had moved at all; the silence was so complete. He wished he'd never left his door open; wished he could have drunk himself in a stupor; wished he'd slipped out of the mansion and found himself a girl for the night, anything to keep himself from being here, right now, awake in a dark room, listening to the mournful silence of the girl two of his best friends loved.
"Stupid Stupid!" he kicked himself, "She's just a girl, why should you care!?" but a little voice of decency couldn't help but speak up, "She's also a friend-whether you admit it or not." Soujiro tried to drown this voice out, by rolling over and burying his head under the pillows. "Maybe she'll go to bed soon. Why doesn't she go away?"
But, he was not quiet enough in his movements, and something in the rustling of his sheets, as the sound crept out the door, alerted Tsukushi that she was not the only one left awake.
She'd been staring into space; frozen and unwilling to move. Her body cried out for sleep, but her brain churned restlessly, failing to find peace. When she heard movement from Soujiro's room, something called her to action; though she didn't understand just what. Tsukushi had always behaved strangely under stress, and when she'd not slept enough; perhaps that would excuse, if not fully explain what she did next.
Tsukushi poked her head into to Soujiro's room.
"Nishikido, are you awake/" She whispered softly.
Soujiro did not reply, "Maybe she'll go away." he hoped.
"Soujiro?" Tsukushi tried again, still in a whisper so low as to be almost inaudible.
He could not help himself. He answered her plea, though his voice came out strangely harsh, "What do you want? You shouldn't be here. Go to sleep."
"Can I come in?" Tsukushi's voice was small and hesitant. She should be frightened of him, she knew.
"Do you know what you're asking?" He laughed harshly. "You know what I am, right?"
"You wouldn't do anything." Tsukushi replied, more confidently than she felt.
"Yeah you're probably right, " Soujiro laughed again; it was a strained, joyless sound, "Not my type, and you'd probably break my jaw, at the slightest provocation anyway. . . Well come in then, if you're going to." He reached over and clicked on a dim light. At the very least, if neither of them could sleep, then they could spend the remaining hours of the night keeping each other's demons away, somehow.
Tsukushi made her way carefully across the dark room, to the bed where Soujiro reclined in his dim pool of light.
"How much did you hear?" She asked at last, as she reached the foot of the bed.
"Enough," was his only reply.
Tsukushi sighed, "I just want to sleep. I should have gone home. It's hard to relax without my brother snoring nearby," she paused then rambled on. ". . . I had to send Rui away, I've never had to do that before." Abruptly she seemed to realize the ludicrousness of her confessions, and finished in some consternation, " . . Why am I telling you this anyway? You've no reason to care."
"I'm the only one left awake." Soujiro snorted. "You've run out of options. Unless you want to talk to yourself. Have a seat." He waved to the edge of the bed. Tsukushi looked skeptically at it, at him, back at the bed. She'd noticed a trend around here tonight. She wasn't going to be taken unawares this time. "Relax," Soujiro laughed bitterly again, "I only go for stupid, attractive women. You're perfectly safe with me."
A strange time for honesty. A strange situation. Tsukushi was sure that in the light of day she'd kick herself for everything that had happened tonight. Nevertheless, she shrugged and curled up gingerly amidst the pillows.
"Now then, " Soujiro continued more cruelly than he'd intended, "Why are you here? What do you think I can do for you? Advice? I don't have any of that. I hate meddlers, interference, that sort of shit. You want me to kick Tsukasa's ass for you? Maybe Rui's? No can do. They've always been better fighters than I. I doubt you're interested in my amorous abilities; so what are you doing here in my bed. Why don't you just leave well enough alone?"
But he was talking to himself. Somewhere in the midst of his little diatribe, Tsukushi's exhausted body had finally claimed her for the realm of sleep. Almost the second she'd climbed into the bed, her brain had recognized it as safe place, let down its guard, and been overpowered by her need for oblivion. Not even residual distrust of the boy next to her could prevent her from losing consciousness.
Soujiro looked over at her small form curled up among the pillows. He sighed, and pulled the comforter up to cover her. "Looks like I get a warm body after all," he laughed in incredulity at this unexpected turn of events, and, strangely comforted by the sight of the girl sleeping near him, turned off the light. He listened to her breathing in the dark, letting the gentle sighs lull him into a sort of peace. At last, he turned his back on her, and drifted off into sleep, himself.
To be continued.
don't say I didn't warn you that It was going to be weird. I claim no responsibility for the words my fingers choose to type. And if you're upset by my characterizations, or by the actions of the characters, remember, it's just a fic, written to keep my mind off my term paper, and all the bloody power point presentations I'm supposed to be hacking together-don't take it too seriously. After all, what would be the point at all if everyone acted just as they did in the manga? ( that's all my justification for those who have issues with what I've done. (