Warning: Wild magic, innuendos ^^

Disclaimer: Nononononono, they don't belong to me. . except Taka & Kyo.

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CHAPTER 2: Just a Nightmare

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"'Soka. . . .are you sure?" A hesitant touch, a hesitant smile.

"Sure I'm sure," Hisoka said and with a smile of his own, he pulled Tsuzuki closer. His body pressed intimately close to the green-eyed boy's, he relished the scent of his cologne, mixed with the smell of today's caramel cream Cinnapon.

Tsuzuki still seemed unsure though, perhaps because they're in the dojo. He was of the opinion that something like this ought to be done somewhere more. . . .private, considering what happened the last time. . . .The dojo was a massive place, the wood-laminated floor stretching on endlessly it seems, gleaming from the overhead fluorescent lights. The weapon racks stood against a wall, the shinais, bokkens, katanas, spears and such gleaming with care. This was, after all, the Shokan and as long as Tatsumi ruled the budget, not one iota of dust would mar the place nor would it be misused. After all, that would depreciate its value.

The vein throbbing at Tatsumi's forehead though, the time when Kyo destroyed most of the shinai in the dojo was awe-inspiring. . . .something to do with Akuma and that time in the alley. . . .Thankfully, Kyo had apologized nicely and replaced the shinais immediately.

Still, Hisoka sighed silently, his husband was being timid. A nice change though, from the times when his usual puppy energy would have bowled him to the floor in sheer happiness. But there was no Cinnapon in sight nor was there Wakaba to feed him. He raised an eyebrow in silent reprimand.

"I thought you promised."

Tsuzuki pouted. "Of course I did! But. . . now? Right here?"

He rolled my eyes and muttered the instinctive 'baka' which caused him to smile. "Yes, here. What's wrong with it?"

Tsuzuki paused then finally gave a shrug. "You're right." A wicked smile curved his face and his hands snuck around Hisoka's waist to rub softly up and down his back. "Are you ready?"

"I've been saying that forever."

"Well. . . how does this feel?"

He gasped and trembled within the circle of his arms. "Oh, god. . .Tsuzuki," he breathed.

The infuriatingly smug man actually had the nerve to grin wider at his reaction. "And how about this?"

He had died and gone to heaven. Well, actually, he was dead but that doesn't count. Dammit, Tsuzuki is too good at this. He was turning him to mush and he was barely raising up a sweat.

No, wait. This goes against his purpose. He had to be strong. Otherwise, it'd all be for nothing. Biting his lower lip, he held on even as Tsuzuki upped his 'attack' and he had to admit, he was looking smug himself when his 'touches' failed to raise the usual reaction. Seeing the lack of response, Tsuzuki pouted some more until a truly evil light entered his amethyst eyes. Hisoka knew then he was going to pull some sort of unfair advantage on him. Something along the lines of how ticklish he can get, he'll bet.

Not waiting for his move, the boy launched an 'attack' of his own.

And Inu-Tsuzuki popped into existence and rolled around on the floor laughing away like mad.

"Hah!" Hisoka smirked. "Who's got the upper hand now huh? Huh?"

Inu-Tsuzuki was giggling too hard to answer properly. "N-no! S-s-stop! Argh! 'Soka-chan!" he howled.

"That's what you get for being so underhanded you hentai," he shook his head and slowly, Hisoka pulled back the wave of emotion he had thrown on his suffering husband.

Of course Hisoka was practicing his empathy. What else would he be doing in the dojo besides practicing?

Hentai. . . .

Death had, with time, made him accept his gift instead of hating it. Hisoka remembered nights when he would wake up screaming or crying or just plain numb from the outpour of emotions crashing in onto him from his family when he was alive. The hate, anger, despise. . . he wanted to die then for all of those emotions were directed at him. Surely someone who was the focus of such emotions deserved it, he had thought then. But he know better now. Death, the Shokan staff and Tsuzuki had taught him to love himself and that there are people out there who loves him for himself. His empathy is just an idiosyncrasy for them. Just as the strongest Shinigami is his husband who's a notorious food binger and the fact that Watari is still adamant on finding a way to change his sex.

But control was still a hard aspect of Hisoka's gift to master. The first time he came here, he couldn't even let Tsuzuki touch him, having no command whatsoever on the emotions that plunge so wildly into his body and mind. But, as time had made him accept his gift, time had also gained Hisoka some measure of control over it. It also helped, the fact that everyone here actually liked him instead of thinking what a freak he was. Of course, he didn't tell anyone that.

So with Tsuzuki being the most powerful Shinigami, Hisoka felt that he had to put in some effort to ensure that Tsuzuki won't spend all his time looking after him when they're on missions. Call it flexing his manly muscles. After all, they're family. He had to look out for him too. It was Tatsumi actually, that gave him the idea. Not that he said it directly but one day, looking at him, Hisoka realize how the secretary never seems to lose his cool and bam! It hit him then that his empathy is his greatest weapon.

Sadly, onmyouji has, and is still not Hisoka's strongest point. He just didn't have the flair for it as Tsuzuki or Takashi does. But he did have his empathy. And as his still chortling husband has demonstrated, it can be quite a useful thing.

The main trouble with it is that he always got overwhelmed with strong shows of emotions so naturally, the first step would be to master his shields up to the level that it'd be strong enough to withstand such an attack. It wasn't easy. He had to pester Tsuzuki into helping him since he was reluctant to do anything that might hurt the green-eyed boy. But Hisoka reminded him that not all emotions need to be negative for him to get overwhelmed. Even excessive genkiness could see him on the floor. One reason why he tries to avoid Watari after he's discovered a new potion.

They started small first. Tsuzuki would start by just touching him and letting Hisoka feel his emotions slowly. It was kind of like building up your immune system by exposing yourself. As time went on and his shields grew stronger, Tsuzuki would increase his 'emotional wave' till Hisoka could withstand a full-on blast of pure sugar high. Very helpful on mornings when Cinnapon had a sale.

Now that his defense was looking good, they moved on to attacks. Hisoka actually got the idea from reflecting back on his own experiences. If people could overwhelm him with their emotions, why couldn't he do the same to them? Of course, not everyone are empaths but everyone is born with some measure of empathy. Every one has been through it; when you go to a funeral, don't you feel as though you can practically touch the sadness in the air? For normal humans, it takes such large amounts or level of emotions before they can feel it tangibly. Since he was an empath, projecting high level of emotions should be a snap.

What did need work was his control of his 'bombs'. They were always careful to work with positive emotions like happiness or cheerfulness. One day though, Tsuzuki had suggested that they try some other emotion. When Hisoka had asked him what kind, he had a most innocent smile on his face when he said, "Oh, I don't know. . .like the kind of emotion you feel when I kiss you like this?"

Now that, had been pure hormones.

Still, it was an interesting idea. . . .

Okay, so he needed to work on his control and the degree of emotions he was throwing. Practicing in the office one day, they had moved on to quite a high level when he was distracted by an explosion coming from, where else? Watari's lab. Hisoka was, he had been embarrassed to admit, at the point of lobbing at Tsuzuki, a very high amount of. . . .er. . . . .lust. . . .

. . . . . . . .

Anyway, he was just about to release it when the explosion shook the building. Distracted, Hisoka lost control and his aim went off. Instead of going straight at Tsuzuki, his little love-ball veered to the left. . . .and Tatsumi, who was just walking in, got it full-on.

Hisoka, horrified as he was, didn't think he had ever seen Tatsumi's shields got that strained.

"Kurosaki-kun," he said calmly, even as his face paled.

"Er. . . .yes?" he smiled weakly. Tsuzuki meanwhile, was gaping like a fish.

"Next time, watch where you're aiming," and Tatsumi promptly passed out.

Ah, needless to say, they didn't quite know what to tell Watari when they delivered the comatose Tatsumi to him in the infirmary. The blond was getting quite flustered seeing the infallible secretary down and out like that and it didn't help that when he asked the two what happened, all they could do was blush and stammer.

Pulling his mind back to the present, Hisoka saw that the inu incarnation of Tsuzuki was gone. He was still sitting on the floor though and gestured for the boy to join him. He sat himself down on his lap and settled in comfortably. Lowering his shields down enough so that he could feel the gentle wave of contentment radiating from Tsuzuki, the boy let him feel his. Tsuzuki sighed in happiness and pecked him on the cheek.

"You've been practicing more and more lately," he commented softly. "Are we having some sort of emergency that I'm not aware of?"

A thread was unraveling from the cuff of Tsuzuki's sleeve. Hisoka picked at the white thread hanging limply before he said anything.

"Kyo's starting to come around lately," he said instead.

Tsuzuki nodded. "Yeah, Watari and Takashi were pretty relieved. It's been a few weeks already and they were getting worried. Everyone's getting worried. What does that have to do with your practicing though?"

He closed my eyes and rested his head against Tsuzuki's chest. He could hear his heart beating slowly and steadily beneath him and tried to take some measure of comfort from that. He adored tucking himself into the older man's embrace like this. It made him feel protected and loved.

"When I remembered how Muraki killed me," he swallowed hard, "I felt like I was dying again."

Before he went on, Tsuzuki hugged him fiercely, and he took courage from that to go on. "I remembered again that night. . .what he did to me. . .and I-" Hisoka broke off with a shudder.

"You don't have to talk about it," Tsuzuki said hoarsely.

He shook my head. "No, I have to. I felt. . .dirty, helpless and I felt pain. But there was also the pain of his curse burning into me. I lived with that pain for 3 years before I finally died."

Tsuzuki was silent for a moment before comprehension set in. "Kyo. . ."

"Akuma. . .took him. . .in front of us. When I saw that, I felt again my own pain," Hisoka choked out. "That night, I screamed for my parents to help me. For anyone to help me, but there wasn't anyone." Tears had started falling from his eyes. He always cried when he talked about it. Will he never stop crying?

"No one came to help me because there wasn't anyone. There was only me and Muraki. So I wanted to help Kyo. I really do. But I couldn't move. I tried to, I really did."

He was embarrassed to find himself shaking and crying like crazy, shuddering helplessly as the memories of one blood-soaked night melded with another. In his mind he saw again Muraki, smiling, always smiling as that demon forced him under that red moon. Even as Muraki smiled, Akuma's face swam over his and Hisoka became Kyo. But the pain stayed the same.

It was always the same.

"I want to help him. In any way I can. I just want to help him."

Tsuzuki didn't say anything. He just held the boy tight and rocked back and forth slowly. His puny outburst didn't last long though. The cries soon died to pitiful whimpers and then to the occasional hiccups. Time, and Tsuzuki, helped distanced the grief for him. What about Kyo?

"Feeling better?" Tsuzuki whispered into his ear.

"Not really," Hisoka sniffled and wiped his wet nose on Tsuzuki's sleeve.

"Hey!"

Hisoka grinned a shaky grin. "Now I feel better."

"That's nice," Tsuzuki rolled his eyes and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Hey, wanna get some ice-cream?" he asked brightly.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "You just had some for breakfast," Hisoka reminded him.

"Breakfast was at nine. It's not nine anymore."

Puppy-logic. Never try to argue with it. Before Hisoka could grudgingly give in though, a horrifying scream pierced the air.

The boy practically jumped to his feet in complete shock as that voice wailed out in pure agony. Beside him, Tsuzuki was asking what's wrong? Why did he jump like that?

He understood then. Tsuzuki couldn't hear the scream. Only he could.

It meant one thing; Kyo.

Without a word, he spun around and ran out of the dojo and straight to the infirmary

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The scene inside the infirmary was one of contained chaos.

Kyo had been given the bed beside the window when Takashi felt he was strong enough to be moved. He wanted Kyo to wake up to sunshine and feel the breeze on his face. The girls had also taken turns to make sure the vase beside his bed was filled with fresh flowers everyday and besides the vase, the little table was piled high with get-well gifts from everyone.

When Hisoka and Tsuzuki raced in though, they stopped in stark surprise. The vase was on the floor, smashed to bits and the daisies trodden to a sad crumple. Most of the gifts were on the floor too, flung it seemed. The reason became clear immediately.

From what it looks like, Kyo was having a fit.

The older boy was bucking and straining against Takashi's and Watari's desperate grip. They were practically lying on top of him, trying to contain his struggles but it only seemed to make it worse. He was kicking and twisting with no regard whatsoever to what he was hitting. The IV tube lay torn and mangled, its precious liquid pooling on the linoleum floor. What made the scene even more unsettling was that his struggles were done in utter silence. There was no sobbing, no moaning, no crying. Just gasps heaved in and out as he fought against the two.

Hisoka and Tsuzuki stood there for a second or two in dumb silence before Takashi turned a desperate glance at them.

"Help us!" he pleaded.

They were losing their grip. Even as the two raced to Kyo's bedside, Watari got a beautiful kick in the stomach and his breath came out in a whoosh. He stumbled back in surprise and Hisoka winced in shared pain. That has got to hurt. Tsuzuki quickly took his place and flung his body against Kyo's trashing legs. Even pinned under his weight, Kyo was still struggling. Hisoka stood next to Takashi who was trying to get a hold of Kyo's flailing fists while pinning down his heaving torso.

"What happened?" Hisoka asked quickly. He went nearer to the head of the bed and a second's opportunity presented itself. When Kyo stopped his struggles for just an instant, he hurriedly placed both of his hands at the sides of his face, capturing it in his grip and held fast even as Kyo tried to break free again.

"We don't know!" Takashi gasped out. "We were checking him over as usual when he went berserk all of a sudden!"

He looked down at Kyo. Those pale blue eyes of his were open, staring straight ahead, but they were blank. Completely empty. He wasn't awake then. He told Takashi that and the former doctor nodded his head, his gesture harassed.

"I thought so," he said grimly, and had to stop when a fist nearly connected with his nose. "Did you bring your ofuda?"

Hisoka risked a sharp glance of surprise at him.

"We can't try to sedate him like this," Takashi explained. "We could injure him more. You have to use a sleep 'fuda. And make it quick," he added as Kyo bucked against their combined grasp, his back arching off the bed.

One hand pressed firmly against his forehead, they boy slipped his other hand into his pocket and pulled out the fudas. Thumbing through it and finding the one that he wanted, he let the others fall to the floor. A sleep fuda wasn't difficult to use, thankfully. With just one hand, Hisoka clutched the paper tight and muttered the prayer hurriedly, his fingers weaving the prayer pattern with practiced ease. Finished, he ended the incantation and slapped the fuda against Kyo's sweating forehead.

Or at least, he tried to.

What happened was that the talisman was just an inch away from his skin when it burst into bright flames. It burned for only a second before it crumbled to ashes and was blown away by a breeze.

Hisoka gaped in surprise.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Tsuzuki asked in complete bewilderment.

His sentiments exactly. What the hell happened? They were still staring at Kyo in dumbfounded shock, trying to figure out exactly that when the room darkened ominously.

Now, though Meifu is a land of eternal spring, they do get the occasional rains. But never anything too heavy and never anything this abrupt. One minute, the room was bathed in noon sunlight and the next, they were plunged into a dreary gloom. Watari took a quick look outside and reported to them with awe in his voice.

"The sky. . ." he said, "It's completely covered with dark clouds!"

In response, lightning flashed with stunning brilliance and an instant later, thunder roared and shook the building. The floor trembled slightly beneath us. That was how loud it was.

"Kyo's doing this," Takashi said, understanding in his eyes. "He's losing control of his powers."

Lightning planted its forked feet into the earth with frightening regularity. Coupled with the booming thunder, Hisoka felt as though they were in the eye of a storm. Which, if you think about it, is right. The eye of the storm was Kyo. While they were wondering what to do, Tatsumi and the chief came running in.

They didn't need to ask what was going on. One look told them all they needed to know. But before they could say anything though, Takashi released his grip on Kyo in one swift move.

"Everyone!" he barked. "Let go of Kyo!"

They stared at him in silent surprise.

"Now! Hurry!"

The urgency in his voice could not be ignored. They released their own grip and stood back a few paces from the bed. When released, Kyo instantly ceased his struggles but his body continued to tremble and shake even as the sudden storm outside gained its ferocity.

"Takashi, wh-" Hisoka stopped in amazement.

Lines of power erupted from Kyo, tendrils that shone brightly in the gloom. Like snakes, they undulated and danced over Kyo, a lashing, twisting mindless dance that had all of them stumbling back in fear. They've seen this before. These lines of power.

Kyo was casting the same spell that killed Akuma.

"Takashi! Tsuzuki! Kurosaki!" Tatsumi shouted. "Each of you try to hold down on one! Smother his spell completely before it reaches completion!"

All of them, including Tatsumi, stood on either sides of the bed. Before they could take out their fudas though, Tatsumi shook his head.

"No! Use your own powers! 'Jitsu won't work on him!"

It made sense. Long hours of discussion between them as they kept Takashi company in the infirmary these past weeks had given them an understanding of the nature of Kyo's spell that had managed to destroy Akuma. Basically, he had used magic in its purest form, something that not a lot of people can do. And naturally, 'jitsu could never stand up to that. Onmyoujitsu is a form of magic that relies on talismans as its focus and receptacle. The extent of a talisman's power depends on the prayer used and the calligraphy of the spell that acts as the focus. That meant that no matter how powerful a talisman is, it still has a very tangible limit.

For Kyo, they had to use their own powers to subdue him. Bowing their heads, they tried to concentrate, despite the power still lashing out wildly above them and the storm outside. Hisoka could practically touch the palpable aura of pure power concentrated in this room. From his left, he felt the distinctive signature of Takashi's own power brought up, trained and centered. Opposite him, a wave of deeper darkness against darkness rose up around Tatsumi. He had called up his shadows. Beside Tatsumi, Tsuzuki himself was cloaked in a dancing aura that was tinged a silverish-purple.

"Ready?" Tatsumi asked between clenched teeth.

Hisoka knew he must be feeling as pressured as they all were. They had to control a frighteningly large amount of their own power and it felt like they were trying to bottle up a tsunami. Hisoka's own power, empathy in its most tangible, pure form laced with his spiritual power, showed itself as a shimmering white haze. His eyeteeth were tingling like crazy as he fought to hold it in control.

"On my count," Tatsumi started. "One. . .two. . .three!"

They let go and a distinctive snap and crackle was heard as they each caught a dancing tendril. Brilliant lines of colors meshed together as each tried to grapple and subdue Kyo. It felt as though they were playing a game of tug-of-war. When they thought they had his under control, Kyo would pull back with alarming ferocity. There was a tense moment when Hisoka thought he was going to lose his grip but he held on. Light flashed.

Looking up, they saw those lines of power were completely covered by their own. It struggled for a moment or two against the cloaking and with a final, sullen snap, the lines flared again. . .and died away.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

But their troubles weren't over yet. The storm outside was still raging, even more so now. Kyo had gone still on the bed with his eyes still staring ahead blankly. But now tears were running down his face.

Now it's Hisoka's turn to help.

Wiping away the sweat that was trickling down his forehead, the boy placed his hand gingerly against Kyo's cheek, his tears washing over.

He kept a tight hold on his shield even as he lowered it enough so that he could slip inside of Kyo.

There was a second of disorientation and as he adjusted, he was inside.

* * *

White haze blanketed everything.

He took a step and the ghostly fog swirled and parted, only to close back behind him. Hisoka could see practically nothing but white. Endless white. This was different from the time he synched with Kyo when Akuma placed that spell on him. This time, he could sense. . . .things going on around him but every time he tried to look for it, the fog was the only thing he could find.

But he could catch snatches of it though.

Every sacrifice needs witnesses so that it will be remembered and cherished. Doesn't that make the sacrifice even more worth it?

Tantalizing glimpses that played at the very edges of the haze only to dance away when he tried to close in on it.

I came here to kill you.

Time doesn't really seem to mean anything here. Or distance. Not even direction. Every where he looked, every where he walked, it's all just haze and distant lights.

I made it myself you know. Made it from my own blood. To spill the blood of others.

The fog feels denser here. More consolidated. As though there was a higher concentration of it here than anywhere else in Kyo's mindscape.

Kyo-chan. You are so beautiful. Such beauty shouldn't go to waste, ne? It should be tasted and enjoyed. . . by everyone.

The fog around him suddenly roiled as though agitated by another force. The white tendrils danced this way and that, a swirling soup that made his eyes tear in reflex with the coldness. Whatever it is that's the cause of this, Hisoka knew he was nearing the source.

He lifted his foot, prepared to take a step forward when the fog stilled suddenly as though frozen. As his foot came down, the fog burst into life again and he could feel an unseen force pushing him back. The boy held on though. If he backed away, without a doubt he would lose his chance. But he didn't try to break through the misty barrier. He knew if he did, it'd be doing more harm than good. So Hisoka waited even as the invisible wall pressed against him. The pressure rose and rose. . . .and was gone.

He let out a silent sigh of relief. The next step met no resistance at all. In fact, the fog thinned perceptibly till he could at least see where he was. Not that it's much help. The surroundings were a featureless black.

"Oniichan? What are you doing here?"

It was the voice of a small child. Hisoka whirled around and there was a little boy standing behind him, around 10 years old. His face still had that chubbiness you can find in kids that age with an adorable smudge of dirt across one cheek. He was wearing a yukata and looking at Hisoka quizzically with eyes that were such a pale blue, it was nearly white. Hisoka lifted his glance sharply. The boy had deep black hair lent bluish highlights by the dancing lights in the fog.

Kyo.

In our mindscapes, our consciousness all take a form that is our representation of ourselves. The forms we take are usually a truer reflection of ourselves than we'll ever know. Here, in his mind, Kyo was still a little boy.

Hisoka smiled gently and knelt down on the ground so that he was eye to eye with him.

"Hello, Kyo," Hisoka said softly.

Kyo's eyes widened in surprise. "How'd you know my name, oniichan? Have we met?"

Hisoka hesitated a bit, unsure himself now. Kyo didn't recognize him. He frowned as he tried to figure it out. The fog. . .the dancing glimpses. . . .him as a child. . .

He was trying to hide.

Kyo was starting to look a bit uncertain as he kept quiet even as he thought furiously on how to handle the situation. The fog responded to his uncertainty by getting agitated again. Hisoka quickly spoke up to distract him.

"We haven't met, Kyo-kun. But I have heard of you from. . .a friend. My name's Hisoka," he added.

Kyo tilted his head adorably to the side, his child's innocence taking the somewhat lacking explanation in his stride. He reached out a small hand and fingered a lock of his wheat-gold hair.

"Pretty," he whispered. And giggled guiltily as though expecting a reprimand.

Hisoka smiled though and was rewarded with another smile in return.

"Ne, Kyo-kun. What are you doing here?" he tried asking.

He looked around fearfully at the question and Hisoka saw those lights getting nearer. As a particular one came close,

by flesh and by earth do I punish you,

He flinched back, face paling and a grubby fist was brought up as though defying it to come close. Hisoka didn't think about it then. He just acted. Before Kyo could run away, he scooped him into my embrace and hugged him tight. He went perfectly still for a moment, as though surprised, but as Hisoka continued hugging him, he relaxed in the embrace. He felt cold. But Hisoka's warmth soon heated him up as well and he snuggled deeper, purring happily.

Some things never change.

"Kyo-kun?"

Kyo sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "There were things chasing me, oniichan. I'm so tired."

"Why don't you sleep then?" he asked. "You'll feel better after getting a good rest."

"I can't sleep," Kyo shook his head. "I tried, I really did!" he was anxious, wanting 'oniichan' to believe him. When Hisoka smiled reassuringly, he went on. "Then those lights came. I don't like them."

"Would you like me to help you go to sleep?" Hisoka asked softly.

Kyo's eyes brightened. "Can you really?"

He nodded. "Yes. Would you like to?"

"Yeah! Thank you, oniichan!"

It felt kinda nice, being called oniichan. He settled down as best as he could on the hard ground and settled Kyo in his lap in a more comfortable position. Giving him another hug, he placed a palm against his forehead. Then, reaching into himself, Hisoka drew a gentle wave of his power and let it out slowly. Without knowing why exactly, he crooned a meaningless lullaby, rocking the child as the blanket of sleep was drawn over him.

Thick lashes trembled. The little body in his lap settled deeper and his breathing slowed to a peaceful rhythm. Those thick lashes dipped lower and lower and finally, closed. His little fist had been clutching his shirt earlier and as sleep claimed him, his grip relaxed and finally loosened.

The fog grew calmer then. Slowly, it dissipated till only a thin gauze remained.

Thank you, Hisoka.

"You're welcome," he murmured.

* * *

Forest-green eyes blinked as awareness melted back into its rightful body. He was still standing by Kyo's side, palm pressed against his cheek. The tears had dried and his eyes were finally closed. He breathed deep and peacefully, a small smile playing on his face. Hisoka was frankly amazed though to find himself still on his feet. Usually, when he synchronized with somebody as deep as that, he tended to find himself slumped over like a rag doll. His control had progressed farther than he thought.

"Bon?" Watari spoke softly.

Hisoka shook himself out my reverie and looked up. "Yeah?"

The storm outside had stopped, he noticed. Slowly, the clouds rolled back and light filled the room once again.

"What happened just now? What was wrong with Kyo?"

His eyes drifted back to the now sleeping Kyo and he rubbed the last traces of tears away from his cheeks. Takashi took his limp hand in his own and squeezed it tight. His eyes met Hisoka's and understanding passed silently between them.

"Nothing wrong," Hisoka said softly. "He just had a nightmare."

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~to be continued~

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A/N: Ta-da! How'd you like it?