A/N - My many, many apologies for the extremely long wait.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Beginning of the End
You're too sad
So you don't notice me
Love is like the stars in the sky
Shining forever
~Eien no Kagayaki
When Takato opened his eyes, he was staring into a pair of gray ones. He blinked, and suddenly jerked away from Jenrya. He was still at Ruki's house, and everyone else was here, watching him. He was tied to a nearby table. "Sorry Takato, but in case Mr. Demon-dude comes out, we need you to stay put."
Takato said nothing. He didn't want to talk. He instead shifted his eyes from each person in the room, debating whether or not to trust them. His eyes stared rather hardly at Ryo, who had a large stick in one hand. Juri was watching him tenderly. Shaochung seemed mystified. Jenrya had his "puzzle" look on. Hirokazu looked nervous. Kenta looked scared. Ruki was calm. "Um…what happened?"
"That demon inside of you came and attacked Ruki again. If you hadn't intervened, she would've died." But from the look in Ryo's eyes, he was warning Takato off, away from Ruki. Takato stared back. Ryo's eyes silently screamed, It's your fault. You could've killed Ruki.
"Oh."
"That's all you can say??!? OH?" Ryo was angry. Very angry. Very, very angry. Takato took note of this, and the fact that these ropes weren't tied very securely. He neatly unbound himself, and neatly coiled the ropes up.
"What can I say?" Takato folded his arms. "Should I say, 'I'm sorry, there's a homicidal demon living in my head, he controls my body whenever he feels like it, and I have almost no control over when this happens?'"
Juri, ever the observer, noted a few things. Takato was a little toy compared to Ryo, Jenrya, and Hirokazu. Kenta was a tiny bit taller. His voice was a dramatic contrast to Ryo's. A sweet, china-doll voice, talking to a gruff, manly voice. Takato's soft red eyes with the sadness radiated through them. Ryo's unique blue eyes with the blazing confidence. Ryo was muscular, and he looked strong. Takato was slim, with his spidery limbs.
Takato sighed and slowly stood up. He opened his mouth to say something. Then… Aishuu's evil presence reappeared in his mind. For a moment he froze, before his eyes flashed color and everyone knew it wasn't Takato standing there in front of them. Aishuu picked up the glaive from where it had fallen, forgotten.
He licked the blade maliciously, and his eyes flashed dangerously at the tamers.