Author's Note: Congratulations, Askani Blue, for being my eleventy-first reviewer...even if you won't be reviewing anymore. I really am sorry. ~grins~ (In joke everyone, we're not really mad at each other. LOL) But see? I got this out quickly anyway!

We're quickly approaching the end of this story. There will be overlap of events in Not Human, otherwise this would be the last chapter and it would cut off in the middle! ~laughs~ There won't be much more after this though. I will be sad to see it end, this story has been good to me.

To my reviewers...Raine Weather, you stretched out my review page! Eeep! Ah, well, thank you for the review. ~laughs~ Rui, L-chan, Anthy, and EJ, thank you very much, you guys are sweet! Dark Ice Angel, your reviews are NOT crappy. They look a bit rushed, but I hope that reading my story could distract you from your headache. Thank you for reviewing even when in pain! Kira, all I can say is I *hate* when people keep distracting me from reading a good fic. I sympathize more than you know.

On with the story...

Shades of Discovery

Don't Leave

After that day Yuki tried harder to pretend nothing was wrong. I tried ever harder to point out to him that I knew better. Akizuki seemed to try even harder than that to make sure I couldn't tell him. She overheard us talking one day about how he would be helping out where I worked, so she followed along and worked there too.

The three of us working together gave me no time to talk to him, even when I caught him fading away again. I was sick of his denial, but he simply shrugged it off even when I tried to show him the hand I had just been looking through. By the time I wrapped my fingers around his wrist it was normal though, and he didn't see a thing. He smiled, telling me he was fine all over again, and I couldn't even tell him to stop lying to me. Akizuki was there, interrupting yet again, and I had to just get back to work and let him do the same.

I was in hell.

Things kept happening, everything was getting worse, and there was nothing I could do.

But--there had to be something I could do.

Item one: Yuki was fading away. Item two: Yuki wasn't human, he was part of some magic being. Item three: He wasn't the only magical being of the sort around here, Akizuki was also. Item four: Akizuki was trying to keep me from having any time with Yuki, and she seemed to know exactly when I was about to talk to him about the truth. Item five: Sakura had also been tired when this whole mess began, and it seemed like some magical drain.

Item six: I have magic.

If Akizuki was trying to keep me from Yuki, there must be something I can do. Was she working for Sakura's rival, or did she simply want whatever I could do for herself once he was gone? I couldn't discount the possibility of both though.

We were handed the scripts for the project we were doing for the festival coming up. Written by Akizuki and to be directed by Akizuki. When I started reading my part my veins ran with ice. She was taunting me with some of that dialogue. No, she was taunting Yuki I think. She had put him in the roll of a man who lived a double life, and my roll was as one who would confront him.

Damn her.

Yuki and I practiced our lines together, but it was clearly difficult for him. He couldn't concentrate for long on anything, so we were spending all our time together going over the same thing instead of talking like I wanted to do. His fading got worse and worse, and I was the only one who ever noticed.

It wouldn't suddenly stop, it wouldn't go away. Sakura had gotten better on her own, but Yuki wouldn't. He needed something. Something I could do, something only I could do.

I was falling asleep one night when I realized exactly what it was.

I could give him my magic.

~~~~~@~~~~~

I didn't get any sleep that night. Who would? I had a decision to make, and it wouldn't be easy. My magic was my sole connection to my mother, wasn't it? She still came around to check on Sakura, and I could see her when that happened. Who knew when the next time would be? I wouldn't know.

The other option was to lose Yuki. My Yukito. How could I even consider not giving my everything for him?

But it was such a thing to ask.

I would be blinding myself. There were things that I wouldn't be able to "see" that I was used to relying on.

What else was I doing with it though?

I could give my power to Yuki and save his life, and I'd know that he would look after Sakura better than I could ever have done. I could keep the knowledge of what I knew to myself and let Yuki die so that I wouldn't have to rely on anyone else to keep her safe. Could I be that selfish?

Could anyone be that selfish?

The rest of the long night was spent saying goodbye. I let it all go, made peace with my decision, and readied myself for what would come. I would not take no for an answer, I would not let Akizuki interfere, and I would have my friend back.

I would give anything for him.

If it called for it, I would die for him.

The sun rose and I smiled. I would save my friend's life today, and I would do it without hesitation. I was so optimistic with the light streaming into my room. I was ready for anything, or so I thought. I had one small thought that I shoved aside, one small doubt, but it seemed silly. What if I was too late? Impossible.

~~~~~@~~~~~

I wasn't a bit tired as we started what was supposed to be the last day of shooting. My optimism had been erased as soon as I saw Yuki though, and dealing with Akizuki and her strange relative, Hiiragizawa Eriol, made me more apprehensive. That kid had eyes that knew too much, and I wondered if he had something to do with Yuki's disappearing strength somehow.

Optimism had quickly become determination to get this over with as soon as filming was complete.

I could tell I was running out of time.

I had no idea how close things would be though.

We stood on the balcony, ready to do the last scene. Sakura was done for the day and had rejoined her friends outside, including Eriol. They were watching us closely as I started to deliver my lines, though I couldn't see them. I could just feel their eyes upon me. Sakura, our cousin, that kid from Hong Kong, and Akizuki's relative. I shrugged it off, concentrating on my lines.

"I know who the criminal is, now."

"Who was that?"

Yuki's voice was too weak, too tired as he delivered the line. He was supposed to be acting weary, tired of hiding the truth, not completely exhausted.

I went on.

"I know all about it. You..." I closed my eyes, getting into the roll a little too easily. It was a regretful confrontation of someone I had trusted, but found out I shouldn't. (Was this how Akizuki thought I should be reacting outside the film?) I opened my eyes for dramatic effect, "You--"

He fell.

He was over the edge so fast, I almost couldn't catch him at all. A cry was torn from my throat as I dashed to save him. He fell so fast, but it passed before me as if in slow motion, and I managed to catch his hand.

How long could I hold him like this? He wasn't even awake as he dangled there, swinging while my grip loosened. If he would just wake up, if he would just help me a little so I could pull him to safety. "Open your eyes!!! Yuki!!!"

I could feel it in the air. Sakura was doing magic and I could sense the energy further slipping from his nearly insubstantial body. She must be trying to save him, she must be trying to cushion his fall, but doesn't she realize that he needs her magic to survive?

How could she do this?

Yet, he was going to fall. I could feel his hand fading away even as my fingers tightened around his wrist. Too soon there was just nothing to hold on to, and Sakura's magic had saved him. He would have fallen either way.

So, how could she not try to save him?

It didn't matter. I jumped from the balcony to the tree outside, leaping to his side without thought of how far down it was. He was laying so still on the grass, laying as if he was already dead. I saw him breathe though and thought that it would be fine. I almost smiled in relief. Almost.

That's when his entire body began to fade in shifting patches, as if leaves in some tree overhead were casting shadows of reality, but the sun touched the grass beneath. There were huge gaping holes where I could see the lawn he was resting on. I was too late. I was just too late. I hadn't been able to save his life even after that long night of figuring out how I could and coming to terms with what I must do. Now I wouldn't be able to. Fate had a sick sense of humor to pull him from my grasp like this. I would never--

He began to stabilize, and that's when I noticed the presence of Hiiragizawa standing a few feet away. He had to have seen the whole thing, including the part where Yuki had started to fade away. He simply stood there with a calm smile on his face though, as if this sort of thing was to be expected. It didn't ruffle him in the slightest.

"We should put him in a room to rest."

"You--"

"Don't worry," he said gently. "It's no bother."

How could he be so calm at a time like this? My heart was racing as it never had before and I couldn't imagine anything in the world that could make this all better. Yet, that calm attitude he maintained helped me to center my thoughts. Yuki was still here. There was still a chance. Next time he might fade away forever, but I still had time to make it right before that happened.

I picked Yuki up and held him close, following Hiiragizawa to a room where Yuki and I could have some privacy. That boy knew what must be done, and he was allowing it to happen. I didn't understand his roll, I had assumed he might be Sakura's rival at first, but there was something benevolent underneath. I wanted to ask him a thousand questions, but I could feel that he would offer me no answers.

So be it. I had a more important matter to attend to. Hiiragizawa slipped entirely from my mind as I contemplated the sleeping form of my best friend. I carefully took his glasses off, setting them on the bedside table, and waited for him to return to consciousness.

I didn't wait long. His eyes opened slowly, then a smile lit his face as he looked at me.

"To-ya. I guess I fell asleep again."

"Something like that," I answered, relieved that he had woken up. I would do this now, before anything else--

"So...tired..." He was fading again. I couldn't let that happen. Never again. Not after this moment.

"Yuki, if this keeps up you'll disappear. I won't allow that to happen."

His eyes were closed, but he answered. "Why will I disappear?"

He didn't know, he hadn't guessed, and the other being within him was not going to make this easy on me by just appearing. I took a deep breath and started to explain. "When you lose track of time...I know all about it. You--"

I should have been expecting it.

Akizuki's voice pierced the hushed atmosphere of the room. "Tsukishiro-kun! Are you okay?"

Again?

"I'm okay. Really, Akizuki-san." Yuki sat up, ready to continue with the farce that he would be fine if he could just pretend hard enough.

"Are you sure you're not hurt anywhere?" She did such a good job at pretending to be concerned, but she accepted his lie when he nodded. "Oh good! Well, then, let's go finish the scene!"

I could not believe her. What kind of--? No, that thought was better left unfinished. Mother would not be proud of what went through my mind right then.

I didn't even think, I just started yelling, directing her to the door. "I have something to say to him, without distractions!" Enough was enough, and I would not put up with her stalling tactics any further. This was too important to put off any further.

I slammed the door in her face, then turned back to my best friend. "Yuki, I know all about it. You--"

He just looked up at me with his innocent eyes, looking so young without his glasses. "We've done that scene already." He smiled, telling me I was being silly.

Telling me to drop it.

That was not going to happen. "No. Please listen." I sat on the bed next to him, holding his eyes with my gaze, talking to him on the same level and too close for him to escape again. I reached out to touch him, reassure him that it was okay, I was here for him. "I know you're not human, so you have no reason to hide from me." I smiled to soften the impact of my words. I had no idea what he was thinking at that moment, but I could imagine. I was talking through Yuki to the other being within him, but they were not one being. This was a shock to him. Had I hurt him with those words?

This was more important than that.

His eyes closed again and he fell back, away from me. I let my hand simply drop back to my side and I waited. I would finally meet with the truth behind my Yuki. Finally.

The room was bathed in a soft blue glow, like that of the full moon on a clear night. He was now standing beside the bed, no masks or disguises, and he was even more beautiful standing this close to me than I would have believed possible. He didn't even look like Yuki anymore. I could see now that his eyes were a clear silver-blue and slitted like a cat's. His skin was just as fair, but seemed to glow when surrounded by the white mane of hair that reached past his feet. How could I breathe?

I had to.

"We finally meet." I was so relieved to see him that my voice was lighter than I expected it to be. "Your name is?"

"Yue," he answered simply. "Yukito wanted you to know--about him and me. That is why I came."

He was so formal about it. I could see now why Yuki had those moments where he was so careful. It just struck me as amusing that he would be like this somehow. He was so formal to me, of all people. "That's fine by me."

"I heard you say that you wouldn't let us disappear."

"Yes."

"Do you know what you'd have to do?"

"I know," I admitted. "You can have my strength. All of it."

"You may never see your mother again."

I had thought about that for a long time last night, and that wasn't my biggest concern I had realized. "It's not fair that I'm the only one who can see her. However, without my power, I won't be able to protect Sakura. Will you protect her for me?"

"There's no need to ask. I'd protect her anyway."

I didn't like how he said that so dismissively. This was the most important thing in the world to me after making sure Yuki survived. "I'm asking anyway! Promise me you'll protect her, and yourself."

"That's all you want for your magic?"

What was this, a contract? So formal, so precise. "That's it."

"It's a deal then."

I could picture Yuki reacting the same way, and all my doubts vanished. "You two aren't so different."

He blinked, but didn't say a word. There weren't really any words that needed to be said after that. It was time. In my heart I said goodbye once more to my magic and all I had gained from having it. I stepped closer, not hesitating, ready for the changes I would face.

The only change that mattered was that Yuki would be okay.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and leaned in close, then magic exploded around us and within me. I had no time to thrill at the feeling of being so close to this image of perfection because it felt like my blood was suddenly on fire and freezing at the same time. I could hear my heart beating like a drum, faster and faster, building as the magic was set loose. I could feel it flowing to him from me. It felt like drowning, or like freezing to death. The world became fuzzy, then dark, and I was too tired to catch myself as pitch blackness crashed around me and closed me in, trapping me in my own skull.

Thrilling and painful all at once--it didn't matter. I was doing this for Yuki. That was my final thought. I was doing this for him.