A/N: Wan! Wan! I'm back! Yay!
Ruby-Tears: Woohoo! My, my, you seem to like Taka taking top position don't you? =P I'll see if I can work something out, ne?
Ice-Phoenix: Happy Belated Birthday! (^ . ^ )
Graffiti: *Giggle* Hey, fellow countrywoman! I stay in KL, what about you? When you've drawn Kyo, send it to me! I can't wait to see how other ppl interpreted the way he looks like!
Asuko: I can't help it *wails* !!! I love to torture Kyo soooo much! *Sob!* *Points to fellow reviewer M.s Author below* she doesn't mind Kyo-bashing. . . = . ='
M.s Author: M WHAHAHAHA to you too!! Hehehe, more Kyo-Torture in this chappie and the next! Enjoy!
Murakis_love_slave: Thank you for taking the time to review! I really appreciate it!
Hcbenitez: Ah, to die or not to die. . . *giggles insanely* who knows what will happen to Kyo? Ah. . .life.
Lil Yaoi Kitten: Domo arigatou gozaimasu!
Miss Misery: I'm afraid Kyo won't be alright in THIS chapter. . .maybe in an upcoming one??
A/N2: Wahahaha! I survived the class trip! Though it kinda sucked in a way. The last hotel we stayed at, the central air-conditioning was on the fritz and it was hot all night long!! Thank you to all well-wishers anyway! ^^ A word of warning; I'm afraid we're nearing the ending of this story arc. Probably in another 1 or 2 chapters and perhaps an epilogue. . .NO!!!! Ah well, all good things must come to an end. . .sigh. . I'll move on to a story I had in mind then; of how Kyo's & Taka's life were before they died so keep your eyes peeled for that one after this arc finishes (if you're interested that is. . .that story will explain what Kyo's dreams about his parents actually meant). I really hope somebody does get interested. . .
Warning: Kyo-Torture! Slight tinge of lemon! (Yum!)
Pairings: Kyo x Taka, Kyo x Akuma (not again!)
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies
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CHAPTER 17: When He Calls, So I Come
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"Kyo's gone!"
A baffled silence met this startling announcement of Wakaba's. If the situation hadn't been serious, she would have been tempted to laugh at the dumbfounded looks on her co-workers' faces just then.
She had run to the meeting room as soon as she found Kyo's bed empty and she now wrung her hands worriedly. Takashi was the first to break the silence. "What happened exactly, Wakaba-chan?" The sensei was sitting in his chair perfectly still, looking as though at the slightest movement, he was likely to do something destructive.
"Saya and Yuma went to get him something to eat and I was in the bathroom making a cold compress for him, 'cause he was feeling a bit feverish, and when I came out, he was gone!" Wakaba cried out.
Tatsumi got to his feet then, a determined look on his face. "He can't have teleported down to Chijou since the wards are still in place. With luck, he might still be somewhere in the compounds. Kurosaki-kun?" He gave the empath an enquiring look.
Hisoka had a faraway look in his eyes. "I'm way ahead of you, Tatsumi-san" he murmured, as he slowly lowered down his shields and tentatively reached out to Kyo. He was wary in case another attack was coming. Should he get incapacitated now, it would be too late for them.
He could almost get it. . .
{Boredom. . . .happiness. . . .hunger. . . .apprehension. . . }
He tuned those feelings out, discarding them as nothing more than the usual background emotions of the other people in JuuOhCho and reached out some more. He extended his senses beyond the immediate vicinity, traveling further out.
Pain. . . .so much pain. . . a trace of fear. . . .anger.
Longing.
Longing for. . . .Taka?
Hisoka snapped straight to his feet, running to the door. He flung it open and the rest followed him out, keeping pace with him. He shouted over his shoulder, "He's in the sakura grove outside! Hurry!"
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Kyo's mind was a blur of images and senses. Everything felt unreal and incomprehensible, mere blots of colors and sounds skittering just as the edge of his hearing. His bare feet barely registered the soft, velvetiness of the sakura petals carpeting the ground, the grass which was slightly damp with last night's rain and springy with life.
He didn't feel also, the soft touches and caresses of the pink and white rain of the everlasting cherry blossoms, dancing around him in mute tribute to the everlasting spring of Meifu.
He was vaguely aware though, that as of some time ago, he had been in considerable pain. His whole body had felt like it was being stabbed over and over with millions of these sharp little knives, the pain washing over him again and again. As one wave recedes, another had taken its place.
But the pain now was gone. Or rather, it had been pushed aside to the farthest reaches of his mind and a kind of numbness was spreading welcoming warmth over him. But the one thing he didn't appreciate though was that voice in his head.
It was a nice voice. More than nice even. Low, sweet and seductive, promising him in an endless whisper that it can make the pain go away, that there would be someone who can make it all better.
He hated that voice. Though his pain was receding because of it, a small part of his mind remembered that it was that voice that gave him the pain in the first place and that he shouldn't listen to it. The voice had a name, he recalled. . .something simple yet so very profound in its irony. . .
Akuma.
Though his feet kept on their dazed stumbling through the grove, the recollection of that name caused him to grimace and a flash of anger coursed through him, burning away a little of the fog in his head.
Yes, that's why he was outside. He wanted to get away from the voice. He couldn't give in to it. He mustn't. So he had went looking for the one person who could make the voice go away. He had been looking for Taka.
Where was he? Where was Taka? Kyo whimpered and nearly fell as the voice grew louder, more insistent. His feet were getting really wet now; in fact, he was nearly knee-deep in the pond, but he waded on doggedly. It didn't matter where he was going. All that mattered was that he get away from Akuma.
The water reached to nearly his waist now, his yukata sodding wet, when he felt somebody pulling him back. He lashed out but that somebody caught his hand and spun him around, crushing him against a warm chest. He looked up and saw a pair of hazel-green eyes.
Kyo blinked in bemusement. Akuma's eyes weren't hazel green. He was pretty sure about that. So that meant that this wasn't Akuma. That meant that the person was a friend then. That was good.
The fog then totally lifted from his mind when that said, kind person gave him a shake and shouted at him, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Kyo?"
Taka. With that same realization, the pain came rushing back and he nearly fell in the water if Taka hadn't been holding him up. Wait, water? He looked around then and noticed with a start that everyone of the Shokan staff was there and that he was waist-deep in the pond in the sakura grove outside of JuuOhCho.
"What am I doing here?" Kyo asked stupidly. He was still trying to process out why Kacho looked all sweaty and was huffing away like mad, as though he had been running and why the normally neat secretary looked rather wind- mussed.
Taka bent down then and swept Kyo into his arms easily. "We can talk about that later," he said in a terse voice. "Let's get you back to the room and change you out of these wet clothes first."
In a matter of minutes, Kyo found himself back in bed, a fresh yukata on and the pain increasing tenfold since this morning. He lay on his side, facing Taka who was sitting by the bed, the sensei's warm hands clasping his as he tried to ignore the throbbing and stabbing aches.
He wasn't succeeding at it. Every time he tried to focus his breath, to center his mind and detach his body from the ache, his concentration would waver and scatter like so many grains of sand. At last, he gave up and just tried to breathe for now. It was getting to be quite a chore as well.
It was getting to be a common sight, the entire Shokan staff crowded into that one hospital room, though they tactfully avoided the bed as too many people there would just be suffocating Kyo. As it is, Tatsumi, Kacho and Watari stood to the side, behind Taka.
They had told Kyo about the test results and they seemed surprised that Kyo had taken it quite well. In fact, he had been expecting it. He had merely sighed.
"It is just a game to him, after all," he explained wearily. "What's the fun in that if he didn't add that extra bit of 'suspense' and 'excitement'?"
"So what happened just now?" Tatsumi asked, frowning.
Sigh. "Akuma was calling me again. I didn't feel like answering but he was being quite insistent about it."
Watari rolled his eyes in exasperation and Kyo stifled a rather weak chuckle at that. "It's nice to know you still got your sense of humour considering the situation you're in," the blond complained sourly.
"It's part of my charm," Kyo deadpanned.
A few twitchmarks had appeared on various foreheads, including Taka's, so he quickly changed the subject. "Any luck on breaking the curse?"
Watari looked uncomfortable for the first time, being in everybody's sudden scrutiny and he cleared his throat apologetically.
"I have been doing nearly non-stop research ever since we found the curse, but. . . there's no counter-curse. Considering the nature of the curse, I doubt whether anyone can even design one, except for Akuma himself." Watari took off his glasses and ran a hand through his disheveled blond locks. His ribbon had came off earlier when he ran outside and he had not bothered looking for a replacement.
"Which I sincerely doubt he will," Kyo murmured. Taka heard him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Watari continued, "So that leaves only one option, taking into account the time limit we're working on."
"And that is?" Tatsumi raised a fine eyebrow.
"Kill Akuma."
He shrugged at their incredulous looks. "It's tough, I know, but it's usually the most effective way to destroy a curse; kill the caster."
"So all we have to do," Hisoka said slowly, "is to kill the same guy that had managed to terrorize and torture Muraki? The same Muraki that even WE couldn't kill, let alone abduct? That's it?"
"I never said it was going to be easy, kiddo."
"But how are we going to kill him if we can't even find him in the first place?" Tsuzuki protested then. "We've been looking for him too but every time we do find him, it's because he decided to show up."
Watari looked a bit lost then, until Kyo spoke up. "I can find him."
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They had been loud in their protests. Quite loud. They had argued, bickered, Saya and Yuma had nearly threw a tantrum, Wakaba was crying, Hisoka was nearly speechless with disbelief and even Tatsumi looked ready to kill.
But Kyo had merely smiled through it all and when the noise had finally died down, he asked them a question that they couldn't answer. "Do we have any other choice?"
It galled them that he was right. Of course he was. They didn't have a choice. But that didn't mean that they have to like it. They promised though to come up with a foolproof plan; how they should confront Akuma, what to prepare for, what to bring to the confrontation. Kyo kept on smiling and finally asked them whether he could have some time alone with Taka.
Every one filed out of the room then, heading for a brainstorming session in the meeting room, leaving Taka alone with Kyo. Hisoka, the last one out, had thoughtfully locked the door behind him.
They stared at each other in silence. Were there anything at all to be said in the first place? The look in Kyo's eyes said it all and Taka responded. He climbed onto the bed carefully and with tender motions, cradled the boy close. Gentle hands cupped his back, caressed his hair, and traced a cheekbone delicately. With each touch, the pain became more bearable, more insignificant.
With the same gentleness, Taka untied Kyo's yukata and the soft fabric fell unheeded to the floor. Careful so as to not jar Kyo, he took off his own clothes and they joined the yukata as he leaned over Kyo protectively, placing a kiss on those too pale lips. Time lost meaning then as they explored each other anew, butterfly kisses and silky touches that ignited a languorous passion.
With that same gentle care, Taka finally entered him, each slow inch burning a fire that was, in a way, as painful as the curse but instead of killing him, it filled his body with such ecstasy that Kyo arched his neck back on the pillow and gave a small gasp. In response, Taka trailed kisses down the length of his neck, nibbling at a favourite spot and licking a particularly sensitive one.
The double assault on his senses was enough to drown out the lingering fire of the curse and he clutched Taka closer, hands which were weak with pain grasped those strong shoulders for support as the sensei moved rhythmically in and out, bringing them to a slow, upward spiral to a place they longed to be together.
The stuttering, ragged breaths he drew had nothing to do with the curse as he moaned, and Taka moved faster within him, yet always careful to be as soft. They came to their climax together, their seeds finally spilling out and each let out a shuddering gasp, quiet in the aftermath of their passion. This moment was special, was just for them and Taka laid on his back and pulled Kyo close. It was, the calm before the storm that was brewing on the horizon.
Their breathing finally calmed down after some time, chests now rising and falling slow and languid. The curse was coming back now, and Kyo clenched his teeth, determined to ride out the incoming wave. He wasn't going to let Akuma spoil this moment for him and Taka.
It was a futile hope. Someone chose that moment to knock on the door, timidly, but insistently. "Ano, Takashi-san?" It was Terazuma. "Tatsumi wants you in the meeting room for a few minutes."
Taka sighed in resignation and called out, "Hai, I'll be there in a little bit." Silence and the sound of receding footsteps acknowledged his reply and with a rueful smile, Taka disentangled himself from Kyo's protesting grasp and padded to the bathroom. He came back and carefully cleaned Kyo and himself up and helped Kyo into his yukata. He pulled on his own clothes, now rather rumpled, and he walked out of the room, after promising Kyo that he wouldn't be long.
After the door closed behind the sensei, Kyo just laid there on the bed, listening to the silence of the waning day. The sunlight had turned a warm gold, shining amber through the curtains which were dancing in the sudden wind. The doves outside cooed a song and he listened to them too, cocking his head to the side, eyes closed in contemplation.
It wasn't really necessary to thought it out for some more. He knew what he had to do ever since the idea came to him that he would voluntarily submit himself to Akuma's call so that they could track him down. He gave a wry grin at the thought of how furious everyone was going to be but of course, like he had said earlier, he didn't have a choice.
He would rather go to hell and face the demon alone rather than risk Taka, or the others, to Akuma's manipulations. He really didn't know what it was about him that made Akuma so fascinated with himself, but he was betting all he had on it to use that advantage and maybe, beat Akuma once and for all in his game.
An inquisitive dove alighted on the window sill and cooed questioningly. It triggered him into action. A fine trembling had taken over his body in the last minute; courtesy of the increasing intensity of the curse, and he lifted his hands into prayer position and muttered a spell. The wards pasted on each corner of the room flared a brilliant orange and crumbled into fine dust. Even that little bit of 'jitsu left him weak and lightheaded and he took a moment to collect his breath. But he couldn't evade it any longer and with a kind of resigned sigh, he let down his inner barriers slowly. He didn't want to arouse Akuma's suspicion. It was important that Akuma thought he had given in and had not deliberately let down his guard. Instantly, Akuma's voice filled his head once more.
{Kyo. . .sweet, sweet Kyo. . . I miss you. . . .won't you come?}
A wave of revulsion washed over him and he nearly retched. His fists clenched, he ignored the pounding need that had risen up in him to blast all his powers straight to the source of that offending voice. Not now. Not yet.
{Are you angry? Don't be. . . I can make the pain go away. . . if you're nice. . . Kyo-chan.}
Barely stirring up a breeze, he locked on to the voice and with a shimmer, disappeared.
Outside, the sakuras rained down in eternal grief.
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The minute he solidified and his feet touched ground, he nearly fell over from sheer pain as the teleporting had taken even more of his strength, but before he could hit ground zero, arms encircled and steadied him. He looked up to see a curtain of blood-red hair and twinkling, golden amber eyes.
Akuma. Kyo's lips drew back in a silent snarl and Akuma merely laughed. "It's nice to know you still got your spirit, Kyo-chan. It's very admirable," he offered instead.
Kyo muttered something about how would Akuma like it if he planted one admirable foot in his ass instead. The red-haired demon just giggled. Though his very touch was making Kyo nearly go insane with anger, he had to admit that he really didn't have the energy to struggle, much less stand upright. So with a sour expression on his face, he grudgingly let Akuma lead him to a red, velvet upholstered sofa.
He also couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he sank down gratefully into that soft, yielding cushions and his body sagged against the backrest out of their own volition. Surprisingly, Akuma left him then and Kyo really took a good look for the first time at his surroundings.
It appeared that he had teleported directly to Akuma's home. From all appearances, he was in the sitting room. It was quite large and spacious, the ceiling high up and giving the room an airy feel. The furniture was all red velvet, all upholstered, and the wood gleamed the dark, rich gleam of expensive mahogany. At the left wall, there was a picture window, stretching from floor to ceiling and also curtained with red velvet.
"You have a fetish for red velvet or something?" Kyo grumbled. He was starting to feel like he was in a high-class brothel. Akuma, who was over at a side table, was preparing some tea, from the looks of it, and he threw a grin at Kyo.
"I like red and velvet," he shrugged harmlessly. "Or perhaps you would like a rather mundane, typical, crazy-killer-psycho-type of response?"
"Let me guess, 'I like red 'cause I'm actually a bloodsucking monster and I like velvet 'cause I'm secretly into S&M'?"
"Tsk. Sarcasm ill becomes you, Kyo-chan," Akuma rebuked him gently and poured fragrant tea into a delicate porcelain cup. Setting the pot down, he picked up the cup and carried it over to Kyo. As Akuma sat down beside him, Kyo tried to scoot away but ended up doubling over in cramps, fresh waves of pain gleefully reminding him of why exactly he was there.
As he lay on his side, gasping, Akuma had set the cup down on the table in front of the sofa and despite Kyo's flinching, drew him up and settled the boy against his shoulder, a hand palm-down on his chest. A sudden warmth spread throughout his body from that contact and amazingly, the pain lessened enough to be manageable.
"I told you I can make it better," he whispered in Kyo's ear. Kyo was still trapped in his close embrace, keeping still. He was wary of making any sudden moves. Though the pain had lessened, the curse was still rampaging through his body, still weakening him in slow degrees so for now, Akuma had the upper hand. What he planned had to wait.
"I got a better idea; why don't you remove the curse? I'm sure that will really help also," Kyo grumbled.
"Ne, that goes against my plan, won't it? Besides, you'll run off the minute I lift the curse and I'll get bored again," Akuma pouted. "And I'm sure you wouldn't like what will happen when I get bored. . . innocents tend to die."
Kyo nodded his head, his hair just brushing underneath Akuma's chin but he snorted also. "Oh, I wasn't planning on letting you get bored. I was planning on killing you actually."
Akuma seemed quite pleased at that, if his delighted laughter that filled the room was any indication, and he hugged Kyo. "Such a wonderful boy you are, Kyo-chan! Here, why don't you drink some tea? It'll make you feel better," he assured the suspicious boy. "It's an English blend."
"How about you give me poison instead? That'll be much-" his smart retort was quickly choked back as the same hand on his chest that had provided relief now gave pain back again instead. This time, a thousand times worse. It felt like liquid magma had been poured onto his naked chest, turning his lungs into ashes and his body to dust. He started to jerk spasmodically, eyes rolling back in his head from the pain.
He couldn't scream. The fire was such that he couldn't give voice to his agony. All that came out were gasps and little whimpers. He couldn't feel Akuma beside him, or the sofa underneath him. His world was a red haze that threatened to engulf him and drown him in blood.
Just as suddenly it started, the fire stopped and he drew in gasping breaths of relief, his body shivering from the aftermath. Unconsciously, his hands had clutched Akuma's Chinese robes in his throes and the spotless grey silk was now creased and stained with sweat. He tried to release his grip but his hands wouldn't hear his command, so he gave up. Akuma was still cradling him, crooning to him, his voice a low murmur that wrapped an embrace around his ravaged body.
"Kyo, you really shouldn't have pushed it too far. I was being sincere you know," he said reproachfully. "Look at you now, tsk."
With that, he reached into a hidden pocket in his floor-length robes and pulled out a silk handkerchief. He carefully wiped the sweat dry on Kyo's face and that square piece of cloth was rapidly becoming wet. He tsked again in disapproval. He threw the handkerchief over the back of the sofa and reached for the teacup. His hand was steady as he placed the cup at Kyo's lips and nudged them gently open. "It'll make you feel better, I promise," he whispered.
Helplessly, Kyo obediently opened his mouth and the warm, fragrant amber liquid flooded his mouth and traced a soothing river down his throat and deep into his belly, loosening somewhat the hard aching knot inside. He gulped the tea down then almost gratefully, choking slightly as he drank too fast. Akuma quickly rubbed his back and he drank the tea down to the last drop.
He felt a bit better now, though still very weak and if anything, the shivering had gotten worse, his drying sweat raising a chill that permeated his body. Akuma set the empty cup down and helped Kyo to lie down on the sofa, promising that he'll be back soon. He left the room then, locking the heavy mahogany door behind him but he needn't have bothered. Kyo's limbs were a heavy weight dragging him down and he could only stare at the ceiling in mute agony and fury as the curse kicked in again, though not as bad as the 'chastisement' that Akuma had given him. He wondered then if he would still have the strength to carry out his plan.
The door clicked open and from the corner of his eye, Kyo could see Akuma coming in, changed into a fresh robe, this time a royal midnight blue and carrying some towels and what looked like a change of clothing. Efficiently, but with as much tender care as Taka would have shown, Akuma stripped the boy out of his damp yukata, Kyo keeping quiet but with eyes that flashed with anger as Akuma then proceeded to wipe him dry and helped him into another yukata, plain white cotton that was not unlike the one he had on earlier. Finished, Akuma discarded the soiled towels and yukata to join the handkerchief thrown aside earlier and pulled Kyo back up into another hug as he sat down on the sofa.
Akuma's face showed some surprise then as he got a good look at Kyo's eyes. He seemed to have remembered the boy as having the loveliest pale blue irises but they were now a blue so dark, it was almost purple in color. "Kyo-chan? What's wrong with you eyes? They seemed to have changed color."
Kyo considered the merits of refusing to answer him but grudgingly admitted that he couldn't stand another session of torturing so he answered Akuma, albeit rather diffidently. "It's a gene abnormality. My irises change color in response to internal damage. They get darker as I get more injured."
Of course, he didn't need to add who was it that was causing it in the first place.
Akuma didn't say anything then but continued to hold him close. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Kyo wondering how he was going to initiate his plan when his wandering gaze alighted on a certain incongruity with the furniture arrangements. He wondered how he could have missed it before. Opposite them were five heavy armchairs, spaced slightly apart but all five facing the sofa.
"Your interior designer seemed to have a rather different idea concerning furniture placing. I've never seen so many armchairs in one room," Kyo frowned.
A deep chuckle escaped Akuma. Kyo could feel it reverberating in the man's chest, being in such close proximity with him as it is. He made no move to get away though and Akuma appeared to like it, placing a kiss on Kyo's pale cheek. "I decorated the room myself. Those armchairs are there for a very good reason."
A feeling of dread was giving off an ice cold chill in his gut to spread slowly throughout his body. He didn't want to know Akuma's reason but he had to. It boded ill.
"What are they for?" Kyo's voice was a throaty rasp as his eyes widened in sudden suspicion and fear. He hoped to God that his guess wasn't correct. God must have not heard him apparently because Akuma's answer confirmed his fears, solidifying the dread into a block of ice in his gut.
"For your friends of course. Why else would I have prepared so much tea in the first place?"
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~to be continued~
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A/N: How was it then? I hope the break I took didn't dull my writing. . . As always, reviews are more than welcomed (but be gentle, please). ^^ Like I said earlier, this story will be ending soon and I'll move on to another story. But, if there are any aspiring muses out there with great ideas just begging to be let out, floating in your head, just drop me a line in your review and maybe we can create beautiful bishie-torture together!! Hohoho! Ja ne!
Ruby-Tears: Woohoo! My, my, you seem to like Taka taking top position don't you? =P I'll see if I can work something out, ne?
Ice-Phoenix: Happy Belated Birthday! (^ . ^ )
Graffiti: *Giggle* Hey, fellow countrywoman! I stay in KL, what about you? When you've drawn Kyo, send it to me! I can't wait to see how other ppl interpreted the way he looks like!
Asuko: I can't help it *wails* !!! I love to torture Kyo soooo much! *Sob!* *Points to fellow reviewer M.s Author below* she doesn't mind Kyo-bashing. . . = . ='
M.s Author: M WHAHAHAHA to you too!! Hehehe, more Kyo-Torture in this chappie and the next! Enjoy!
Murakis_love_slave: Thank you for taking the time to review! I really appreciate it!
Hcbenitez: Ah, to die or not to die. . . *giggles insanely* who knows what will happen to Kyo? Ah. . .life.
Lil Yaoi Kitten: Domo arigatou gozaimasu!
Miss Misery: I'm afraid Kyo won't be alright in THIS chapter. . .maybe in an upcoming one??
A/N2: Wahahaha! I survived the class trip! Though it kinda sucked in a way. The last hotel we stayed at, the central air-conditioning was on the fritz and it was hot all night long!! Thank you to all well-wishers anyway! ^^ A word of warning; I'm afraid we're nearing the ending of this story arc. Probably in another 1 or 2 chapters and perhaps an epilogue. . .NO!!!! Ah well, all good things must come to an end. . .sigh. . I'll move on to a story I had in mind then; of how Kyo's & Taka's life were before they died so keep your eyes peeled for that one after this arc finishes (if you're interested that is. . .that story will explain what Kyo's dreams about his parents actually meant). I really hope somebody does get interested. . .
Warning: Kyo-Torture! Slight tinge of lemon! (Yum!)
Pairings: Kyo x Taka, Kyo x Akuma (not again!)
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies
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CHAPTER 17: When He Calls, So I Come
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"Kyo's gone!"
A baffled silence met this startling announcement of Wakaba's. If the situation hadn't been serious, she would have been tempted to laugh at the dumbfounded looks on her co-workers' faces just then.
She had run to the meeting room as soon as she found Kyo's bed empty and she now wrung her hands worriedly. Takashi was the first to break the silence. "What happened exactly, Wakaba-chan?" The sensei was sitting in his chair perfectly still, looking as though at the slightest movement, he was likely to do something destructive.
"Saya and Yuma went to get him something to eat and I was in the bathroom making a cold compress for him, 'cause he was feeling a bit feverish, and when I came out, he was gone!" Wakaba cried out.
Tatsumi got to his feet then, a determined look on his face. "He can't have teleported down to Chijou since the wards are still in place. With luck, he might still be somewhere in the compounds. Kurosaki-kun?" He gave the empath an enquiring look.
Hisoka had a faraway look in his eyes. "I'm way ahead of you, Tatsumi-san" he murmured, as he slowly lowered down his shields and tentatively reached out to Kyo. He was wary in case another attack was coming. Should he get incapacitated now, it would be too late for them.
He could almost get it. . .
{Boredom. . . .happiness. . . .hunger. . . .apprehension. . . }
He tuned those feelings out, discarding them as nothing more than the usual background emotions of the other people in JuuOhCho and reached out some more. He extended his senses beyond the immediate vicinity, traveling further out.
Pain. . . .so much pain. . . a trace of fear. . . .anger.
Longing.
Longing for. . . .Taka?
Hisoka snapped straight to his feet, running to the door. He flung it open and the rest followed him out, keeping pace with him. He shouted over his shoulder, "He's in the sakura grove outside! Hurry!"
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Kyo's mind was a blur of images and senses. Everything felt unreal and incomprehensible, mere blots of colors and sounds skittering just as the edge of his hearing. His bare feet barely registered the soft, velvetiness of the sakura petals carpeting the ground, the grass which was slightly damp with last night's rain and springy with life.
He didn't feel also, the soft touches and caresses of the pink and white rain of the everlasting cherry blossoms, dancing around him in mute tribute to the everlasting spring of Meifu.
He was vaguely aware though, that as of some time ago, he had been in considerable pain. His whole body had felt like it was being stabbed over and over with millions of these sharp little knives, the pain washing over him again and again. As one wave recedes, another had taken its place.
But the pain now was gone. Or rather, it had been pushed aside to the farthest reaches of his mind and a kind of numbness was spreading welcoming warmth over him. But the one thing he didn't appreciate though was that voice in his head.
It was a nice voice. More than nice even. Low, sweet and seductive, promising him in an endless whisper that it can make the pain go away, that there would be someone who can make it all better.
He hated that voice. Though his pain was receding because of it, a small part of his mind remembered that it was that voice that gave him the pain in the first place and that he shouldn't listen to it. The voice had a name, he recalled. . .something simple yet so very profound in its irony. . .
Akuma.
Though his feet kept on their dazed stumbling through the grove, the recollection of that name caused him to grimace and a flash of anger coursed through him, burning away a little of the fog in his head.
Yes, that's why he was outside. He wanted to get away from the voice. He couldn't give in to it. He mustn't. So he had went looking for the one person who could make the voice go away. He had been looking for Taka.
Where was he? Where was Taka? Kyo whimpered and nearly fell as the voice grew louder, more insistent. His feet were getting really wet now; in fact, he was nearly knee-deep in the pond, but he waded on doggedly. It didn't matter where he was going. All that mattered was that he get away from Akuma.
The water reached to nearly his waist now, his yukata sodding wet, when he felt somebody pulling him back. He lashed out but that somebody caught his hand and spun him around, crushing him against a warm chest. He looked up and saw a pair of hazel-green eyes.
Kyo blinked in bemusement. Akuma's eyes weren't hazel green. He was pretty sure about that. So that meant that this wasn't Akuma. That meant that the person was a friend then. That was good.
The fog then totally lifted from his mind when that said, kind person gave him a shake and shouted at him, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Kyo?"
Taka. With that same realization, the pain came rushing back and he nearly fell in the water if Taka hadn't been holding him up. Wait, water? He looked around then and noticed with a start that everyone of the Shokan staff was there and that he was waist-deep in the pond in the sakura grove outside of JuuOhCho.
"What am I doing here?" Kyo asked stupidly. He was still trying to process out why Kacho looked all sweaty and was huffing away like mad, as though he had been running and why the normally neat secretary looked rather wind- mussed.
Taka bent down then and swept Kyo into his arms easily. "We can talk about that later," he said in a terse voice. "Let's get you back to the room and change you out of these wet clothes first."
In a matter of minutes, Kyo found himself back in bed, a fresh yukata on and the pain increasing tenfold since this morning. He lay on his side, facing Taka who was sitting by the bed, the sensei's warm hands clasping his as he tried to ignore the throbbing and stabbing aches.
He wasn't succeeding at it. Every time he tried to focus his breath, to center his mind and detach his body from the ache, his concentration would waver and scatter like so many grains of sand. At last, he gave up and just tried to breathe for now. It was getting to be quite a chore as well.
It was getting to be a common sight, the entire Shokan staff crowded into that one hospital room, though they tactfully avoided the bed as too many people there would just be suffocating Kyo. As it is, Tatsumi, Kacho and Watari stood to the side, behind Taka.
They had told Kyo about the test results and they seemed surprised that Kyo had taken it quite well. In fact, he had been expecting it. He had merely sighed.
"It is just a game to him, after all," he explained wearily. "What's the fun in that if he didn't add that extra bit of 'suspense' and 'excitement'?"
"So what happened just now?" Tatsumi asked, frowning.
Sigh. "Akuma was calling me again. I didn't feel like answering but he was being quite insistent about it."
Watari rolled his eyes in exasperation and Kyo stifled a rather weak chuckle at that. "It's nice to know you still got your sense of humour considering the situation you're in," the blond complained sourly.
"It's part of my charm," Kyo deadpanned.
A few twitchmarks had appeared on various foreheads, including Taka's, so he quickly changed the subject. "Any luck on breaking the curse?"
Watari looked uncomfortable for the first time, being in everybody's sudden scrutiny and he cleared his throat apologetically.
"I have been doing nearly non-stop research ever since we found the curse, but. . . there's no counter-curse. Considering the nature of the curse, I doubt whether anyone can even design one, except for Akuma himself." Watari took off his glasses and ran a hand through his disheveled blond locks. His ribbon had came off earlier when he ran outside and he had not bothered looking for a replacement.
"Which I sincerely doubt he will," Kyo murmured. Taka heard him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Watari continued, "So that leaves only one option, taking into account the time limit we're working on."
"And that is?" Tatsumi raised a fine eyebrow.
"Kill Akuma."
He shrugged at their incredulous looks. "It's tough, I know, but it's usually the most effective way to destroy a curse; kill the caster."
"So all we have to do," Hisoka said slowly, "is to kill the same guy that had managed to terrorize and torture Muraki? The same Muraki that even WE couldn't kill, let alone abduct? That's it?"
"I never said it was going to be easy, kiddo."
"But how are we going to kill him if we can't even find him in the first place?" Tsuzuki protested then. "We've been looking for him too but every time we do find him, it's because he decided to show up."
Watari looked a bit lost then, until Kyo spoke up. "I can find him."
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They had been loud in their protests. Quite loud. They had argued, bickered, Saya and Yuma had nearly threw a tantrum, Wakaba was crying, Hisoka was nearly speechless with disbelief and even Tatsumi looked ready to kill.
But Kyo had merely smiled through it all and when the noise had finally died down, he asked them a question that they couldn't answer. "Do we have any other choice?"
It galled them that he was right. Of course he was. They didn't have a choice. But that didn't mean that they have to like it. They promised though to come up with a foolproof plan; how they should confront Akuma, what to prepare for, what to bring to the confrontation. Kyo kept on smiling and finally asked them whether he could have some time alone with Taka.
Every one filed out of the room then, heading for a brainstorming session in the meeting room, leaving Taka alone with Kyo. Hisoka, the last one out, had thoughtfully locked the door behind him.
They stared at each other in silence. Were there anything at all to be said in the first place? The look in Kyo's eyes said it all and Taka responded. He climbed onto the bed carefully and with tender motions, cradled the boy close. Gentle hands cupped his back, caressed his hair, and traced a cheekbone delicately. With each touch, the pain became more bearable, more insignificant.
With the same gentleness, Taka untied Kyo's yukata and the soft fabric fell unheeded to the floor. Careful so as to not jar Kyo, he took off his own clothes and they joined the yukata as he leaned over Kyo protectively, placing a kiss on those too pale lips. Time lost meaning then as they explored each other anew, butterfly kisses and silky touches that ignited a languorous passion.
With that same gentle care, Taka finally entered him, each slow inch burning a fire that was, in a way, as painful as the curse but instead of killing him, it filled his body with such ecstasy that Kyo arched his neck back on the pillow and gave a small gasp. In response, Taka trailed kisses down the length of his neck, nibbling at a favourite spot and licking a particularly sensitive one.
The double assault on his senses was enough to drown out the lingering fire of the curse and he clutched Taka closer, hands which were weak with pain grasped those strong shoulders for support as the sensei moved rhythmically in and out, bringing them to a slow, upward spiral to a place they longed to be together.
The stuttering, ragged breaths he drew had nothing to do with the curse as he moaned, and Taka moved faster within him, yet always careful to be as soft. They came to their climax together, their seeds finally spilling out and each let out a shuddering gasp, quiet in the aftermath of their passion. This moment was special, was just for them and Taka laid on his back and pulled Kyo close. It was, the calm before the storm that was brewing on the horizon.
Their breathing finally calmed down after some time, chests now rising and falling slow and languid. The curse was coming back now, and Kyo clenched his teeth, determined to ride out the incoming wave. He wasn't going to let Akuma spoil this moment for him and Taka.
It was a futile hope. Someone chose that moment to knock on the door, timidly, but insistently. "Ano, Takashi-san?" It was Terazuma. "Tatsumi wants you in the meeting room for a few minutes."
Taka sighed in resignation and called out, "Hai, I'll be there in a little bit." Silence and the sound of receding footsteps acknowledged his reply and with a rueful smile, Taka disentangled himself from Kyo's protesting grasp and padded to the bathroom. He came back and carefully cleaned Kyo and himself up and helped Kyo into his yukata. He pulled on his own clothes, now rather rumpled, and he walked out of the room, after promising Kyo that he wouldn't be long.
After the door closed behind the sensei, Kyo just laid there on the bed, listening to the silence of the waning day. The sunlight had turned a warm gold, shining amber through the curtains which were dancing in the sudden wind. The doves outside cooed a song and he listened to them too, cocking his head to the side, eyes closed in contemplation.
It wasn't really necessary to thought it out for some more. He knew what he had to do ever since the idea came to him that he would voluntarily submit himself to Akuma's call so that they could track him down. He gave a wry grin at the thought of how furious everyone was going to be but of course, like he had said earlier, he didn't have a choice.
He would rather go to hell and face the demon alone rather than risk Taka, or the others, to Akuma's manipulations. He really didn't know what it was about him that made Akuma so fascinated with himself, but he was betting all he had on it to use that advantage and maybe, beat Akuma once and for all in his game.
An inquisitive dove alighted on the window sill and cooed questioningly. It triggered him into action. A fine trembling had taken over his body in the last minute; courtesy of the increasing intensity of the curse, and he lifted his hands into prayer position and muttered a spell. The wards pasted on each corner of the room flared a brilliant orange and crumbled into fine dust. Even that little bit of 'jitsu left him weak and lightheaded and he took a moment to collect his breath. But he couldn't evade it any longer and with a kind of resigned sigh, he let down his inner barriers slowly. He didn't want to arouse Akuma's suspicion. It was important that Akuma thought he had given in and had not deliberately let down his guard. Instantly, Akuma's voice filled his head once more.
{Kyo. . .sweet, sweet Kyo. . . I miss you. . . .won't you come?}
A wave of revulsion washed over him and he nearly retched. His fists clenched, he ignored the pounding need that had risen up in him to blast all his powers straight to the source of that offending voice. Not now. Not yet.
{Are you angry? Don't be. . . I can make the pain go away. . . if you're nice. . . Kyo-chan.}
Barely stirring up a breeze, he locked on to the voice and with a shimmer, disappeared.
Outside, the sakuras rained down in eternal grief.
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The minute he solidified and his feet touched ground, he nearly fell over from sheer pain as the teleporting had taken even more of his strength, but before he could hit ground zero, arms encircled and steadied him. He looked up to see a curtain of blood-red hair and twinkling, golden amber eyes.
Akuma. Kyo's lips drew back in a silent snarl and Akuma merely laughed. "It's nice to know you still got your spirit, Kyo-chan. It's very admirable," he offered instead.
Kyo muttered something about how would Akuma like it if he planted one admirable foot in his ass instead. The red-haired demon just giggled. Though his very touch was making Kyo nearly go insane with anger, he had to admit that he really didn't have the energy to struggle, much less stand upright. So with a sour expression on his face, he grudgingly let Akuma lead him to a red, velvet upholstered sofa.
He also couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he sank down gratefully into that soft, yielding cushions and his body sagged against the backrest out of their own volition. Surprisingly, Akuma left him then and Kyo really took a good look for the first time at his surroundings.
It appeared that he had teleported directly to Akuma's home. From all appearances, he was in the sitting room. It was quite large and spacious, the ceiling high up and giving the room an airy feel. The furniture was all red velvet, all upholstered, and the wood gleamed the dark, rich gleam of expensive mahogany. At the left wall, there was a picture window, stretching from floor to ceiling and also curtained with red velvet.
"You have a fetish for red velvet or something?" Kyo grumbled. He was starting to feel like he was in a high-class brothel. Akuma, who was over at a side table, was preparing some tea, from the looks of it, and he threw a grin at Kyo.
"I like red and velvet," he shrugged harmlessly. "Or perhaps you would like a rather mundane, typical, crazy-killer-psycho-type of response?"
"Let me guess, 'I like red 'cause I'm actually a bloodsucking monster and I like velvet 'cause I'm secretly into S&M'?"
"Tsk. Sarcasm ill becomes you, Kyo-chan," Akuma rebuked him gently and poured fragrant tea into a delicate porcelain cup. Setting the pot down, he picked up the cup and carried it over to Kyo. As Akuma sat down beside him, Kyo tried to scoot away but ended up doubling over in cramps, fresh waves of pain gleefully reminding him of why exactly he was there.
As he lay on his side, gasping, Akuma had set the cup down on the table in front of the sofa and despite Kyo's flinching, drew him up and settled the boy against his shoulder, a hand palm-down on his chest. A sudden warmth spread throughout his body from that contact and amazingly, the pain lessened enough to be manageable.
"I told you I can make it better," he whispered in Kyo's ear. Kyo was still trapped in his close embrace, keeping still. He was wary of making any sudden moves. Though the pain had lessened, the curse was still rampaging through his body, still weakening him in slow degrees so for now, Akuma had the upper hand. What he planned had to wait.
"I got a better idea; why don't you remove the curse? I'm sure that will really help also," Kyo grumbled.
"Ne, that goes against my plan, won't it? Besides, you'll run off the minute I lift the curse and I'll get bored again," Akuma pouted. "And I'm sure you wouldn't like what will happen when I get bored. . . innocents tend to die."
Kyo nodded his head, his hair just brushing underneath Akuma's chin but he snorted also. "Oh, I wasn't planning on letting you get bored. I was planning on killing you actually."
Akuma seemed quite pleased at that, if his delighted laughter that filled the room was any indication, and he hugged Kyo. "Such a wonderful boy you are, Kyo-chan! Here, why don't you drink some tea? It'll make you feel better," he assured the suspicious boy. "It's an English blend."
"How about you give me poison instead? That'll be much-" his smart retort was quickly choked back as the same hand on his chest that had provided relief now gave pain back again instead. This time, a thousand times worse. It felt like liquid magma had been poured onto his naked chest, turning his lungs into ashes and his body to dust. He started to jerk spasmodically, eyes rolling back in his head from the pain.
He couldn't scream. The fire was such that he couldn't give voice to his agony. All that came out were gasps and little whimpers. He couldn't feel Akuma beside him, or the sofa underneath him. His world was a red haze that threatened to engulf him and drown him in blood.
Just as suddenly it started, the fire stopped and he drew in gasping breaths of relief, his body shivering from the aftermath. Unconsciously, his hands had clutched Akuma's Chinese robes in his throes and the spotless grey silk was now creased and stained with sweat. He tried to release his grip but his hands wouldn't hear his command, so he gave up. Akuma was still cradling him, crooning to him, his voice a low murmur that wrapped an embrace around his ravaged body.
"Kyo, you really shouldn't have pushed it too far. I was being sincere you know," he said reproachfully. "Look at you now, tsk."
With that, he reached into a hidden pocket in his floor-length robes and pulled out a silk handkerchief. He carefully wiped the sweat dry on Kyo's face and that square piece of cloth was rapidly becoming wet. He tsked again in disapproval. He threw the handkerchief over the back of the sofa and reached for the teacup. His hand was steady as he placed the cup at Kyo's lips and nudged them gently open. "It'll make you feel better, I promise," he whispered.
Helplessly, Kyo obediently opened his mouth and the warm, fragrant amber liquid flooded his mouth and traced a soothing river down his throat and deep into his belly, loosening somewhat the hard aching knot inside. He gulped the tea down then almost gratefully, choking slightly as he drank too fast. Akuma quickly rubbed his back and he drank the tea down to the last drop.
He felt a bit better now, though still very weak and if anything, the shivering had gotten worse, his drying sweat raising a chill that permeated his body. Akuma set the empty cup down and helped Kyo to lie down on the sofa, promising that he'll be back soon. He left the room then, locking the heavy mahogany door behind him but he needn't have bothered. Kyo's limbs were a heavy weight dragging him down and he could only stare at the ceiling in mute agony and fury as the curse kicked in again, though not as bad as the 'chastisement' that Akuma had given him. He wondered then if he would still have the strength to carry out his plan.
The door clicked open and from the corner of his eye, Kyo could see Akuma coming in, changed into a fresh robe, this time a royal midnight blue and carrying some towels and what looked like a change of clothing. Efficiently, but with as much tender care as Taka would have shown, Akuma stripped the boy out of his damp yukata, Kyo keeping quiet but with eyes that flashed with anger as Akuma then proceeded to wipe him dry and helped him into another yukata, plain white cotton that was not unlike the one he had on earlier. Finished, Akuma discarded the soiled towels and yukata to join the handkerchief thrown aside earlier and pulled Kyo back up into another hug as he sat down on the sofa.
Akuma's face showed some surprise then as he got a good look at Kyo's eyes. He seemed to have remembered the boy as having the loveliest pale blue irises but they were now a blue so dark, it was almost purple in color. "Kyo-chan? What's wrong with you eyes? They seemed to have changed color."
Kyo considered the merits of refusing to answer him but grudgingly admitted that he couldn't stand another session of torturing so he answered Akuma, albeit rather diffidently. "It's a gene abnormality. My irises change color in response to internal damage. They get darker as I get more injured."
Of course, he didn't need to add who was it that was causing it in the first place.
Akuma didn't say anything then but continued to hold him close. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Kyo wondering how he was going to initiate his plan when his wandering gaze alighted on a certain incongruity with the furniture arrangements. He wondered how he could have missed it before. Opposite them were five heavy armchairs, spaced slightly apart but all five facing the sofa.
"Your interior designer seemed to have a rather different idea concerning furniture placing. I've never seen so many armchairs in one room," Kyo frowned.
A deep chuckle escaped Akuma. Kyo could feel it reverberating in the man's chest, being in such close proximity with him as it is. He made no move to get away though and Akuma appeared to like it, placing a kiss on Kyo's pale cheek. "I decorated the room myself. Those armchairs are there for a very good reason."
A feeling of dread was giving off an ice cold chill in his gut to spread slowly throughout his body. He didn't want to know Akuma's reason but he had to. It boded ill.
"What are they for?" Kyo's voice was a throaty rasp as his eyes widened in sudden suspicion and fear. He hoped to God that his guess wasn't correct. God must have not heard him apparently because Akuma's answer confirmed his fears, solidifying the dread into a block of ice in his gut.
"For your friends of course. Why else would I have prepared so much tea in the first place?"
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~to be continued~
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A/N: How was it then? I hope the break I took didn't dull my writing. . . As always, reviews are more than welcomed (but be gentle, please). ^^ Like I said earlier, this story will be ending soon and I'll move on to another story. But, if there are any aspiring muses out there with great ideas just begging to be let out, floating in your head, just drop me a line in your review and maybe we can create beautiful bishie-torture together!! Hohoho! Ja ne!