A/N: Right now, I'm going through my third semester. It's a short semester; only 3 months long so we're given a 3- month long assignment which consists of mini- assignments given every week. Fun I tell you. At least I have more time (relatively that is) to spend on my writing!

 What I wanted to say is, when I'm at the university, my only access to the internet is my department's lab. Right now, my lab is currently down "for maintenance purposes". . .*grumble*. They can't say when they'll open again so the only time I can upload my stories is during the weekend when I'm at home. So please be patient with me, onegai? Hey, to make up for it, this chapter is pretty long!  ^__^;;;

Warning: The chapter title says it all. . . . ^__~  And no, it's not a lemon *sigh*. I bet you like that, ne, Shaynie-san? XD

Note: Igara sensei is the school nurse in Wild Adapter/Executive Committee. She has this thing for Kubota where the minute he shows up, she immediately latches on to him acting all pouty and clingy. . .drives Tokitou crazy I tell ya! She also likes S&M apparently. . . .

Disclaimer: I own them! They're mine! Mine mine mine I tell you!!!! Kyo and Takashi that is.

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CHAPTER 10: A Kyo – Flavored Milkshake Please

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"I thought you were supposed to be checking me over?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"You're not exactly being a doctor here, you're playing doctor. I'd say that's a big difference."

"Is this a complaint then?"

"Hell no."

Smirk. "Glad to hear that."

"Ah. . .excuse me. . .Takashi sensei?"

Kyo and Takashi broke apart their rather. . .fervent embrace and quickly set their clothes aright. When all was in order, Takashi stole another kiss and called out, "Come in!"

A head poked in besides the curtain that Takashi had wisely drawn around the infirmary bed when he was 'checking over Kurosaki-san' earlier. Saori and her gang had been ushered out by the sensei, telling them firmly that Kyo would be alright and to please get back to their classes. Their sudden visitor turned out to be Tokitou.

The boy took a moment to stare at them quizzically, Kyo wondering for a frantic second whether he had forgotten to zip up his slacks (no, he hadn't), but with a bare shrug, Tokitou flashed them a grin.

"Hey, Kurosaki-san, nice move you pulled earlier," Tokitou said.

Kyo grinned back, "Not as fancy as the moves you guys did."

"Ah, practice y'know?" Tokitou shrugged. "Ne, are you alright?"

"He'll be fine," Takashi spoke up. "Just a bruise. Nothing serious."

"Glad to hear that," a wry voice piped up from behind the curtain. Curious, Takashi shooed the boys over to the couch in the infirmary to find Kubota, the other half of the pair waiting quietly, cigarette unlit, but dangling from his lips. Takashi raised his eyebrows quizzically at that but didn't comment on it.

As it turns out, the pair wanted nothing more than to make sure that Kyo was okay. They apologized for allowing such a thing to happen in the first place, or rather, Kubota apologized, while Tokitou was busy making googly eyes at Takashi. Now, Kyo prided himself on the fact that he was very secure in the relationship he had with Takashi. He trusted the man. He knew without a doubt that cheating had never once crossed the sensei's mind, as neither had him. He was also well aware of the fact that many people found his husband, with his good looks coupled with his easy charm, extremely desirable. Oh, Kyo knew all these without a doubt.

That was why he had to stop himself from pouncing on the smaller boy and demanding him to place his eyes elsewhere, or he'd put his eyes elsewhere.

As Kyo was imagining all sorts of lovely scenes where he was cheerfully pulverizing Tokitou to a mere pulp with his awesome Shinigami powers, Takashi finally got disconcerted enough with the relentless stare Tokitou had been giving him.

"Ah. . .," he threw the briefest sideways glance at Kyo, "Tokitou-san?"

"Hai?"

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

Tokitou blinked. And laughed. "Aha! Gomen, sensei! I was just so used to the lecherous monkey-"

"-Igara sensei, Tokitou-chan," Kubota interjected dryly.

"-who was the school nurse before you by the way. She had this annoying habit of latching on Kubo-chan here and acting all yucky like! It's kinda nice that you're not doing it," Tokitou grinned.

Takashi laughed and leaned back in the couch. "Don't worry, that will never happen. I'm married actually."

Kubota and Tokitou stayed for a few minutes longer, chatting with Takashi and Kyo who took the opportunity to dig a little deeper about the mysterious deaths. Neither of them though, had anything new to add to what the Shinigamis had already found out.

The bell for the next period rang and Kyo, Kubota and Tokitou took their leave of the sensei, making their way down the hallway to their classes. Both Tokitou and Kubota's class were at the next wing while Kyo's was at another. As they were about to part ways, Tokitou already walking ahead and whistling cheerfully, Kubota pulled slightly on Kyo's arm.

"Nani, Kubota-san?" Kyo asked with a smile.

Kubota didn't answer him straightaway but just stared at him, the cigarette still dangling. After a minute or so, Kyo shifted uncomfortably. He was getting slightly unnerved by the boy's intense stare.

"Kubota-san?" he asked uncertainly.

"Ah, gomen, Kurosaki-san," Kubota said softly, taking the cigarette out of his mouth. "I have to warn you about something."

"About. . .?"

Kubota fell silent again, and after a moment, spoke up. "Saori-san likes you," he said abruptly.

Kyo blinked. "And?"

"I know you're not an ordinary student, Kurosaki-san--" he waved off Kyo's protests and leaned closer till Kyo could see his own reflection in the boy's glasses. "--not a lot of people know this but Kobayashi and Tasudo. . ." Kyo nodded in recognition. The two boys were the ones who had died. "Both of them had something in common."

Kyo was curious. As far as he knew, none of the victims had any similarities whatsoever. "They are?"

"Kobayashi and Tasudo, I knew for a fact that both of them were. . .favourites of Saori-san. And Saori-san was one of the last people to see them alive."

"Are you saying that Saori-san may be somehow responsible for their deaths? As well as Echiko sensei's?" Kyo asked cautiously.

Kubota smiled and straightened, taking his hand away. The intensity Kyo had sensed in him earlier was gone, and once more, the smiling boy with somewhat mocking eyes was back. "I said nothing of that sort, Kurosaki-san. All I said was, be careful."

They stared at each other silently, one smiling and the other trying to see past the opaque walls that barricaded the other boy's eyes. Finally, after what seemed an age, Kyo nodded.

"Thank you for your warning, Kubota-san. I'll keep it in mind."

"That's all I ask. Ja ne."

The smiling boy turned and strode down the hallway that Tokitou had taken earlier with the grace and self-possessed ease that made him stood apart from the others like a beacon. As Kyo watched his retreating back, he knew without a doubt that as much as Kubota suspected he was more than your ordinary student, Kubota was also more than what he seemed.

"Kurosaki-san!" Kubota had spun around and was walking backwards, hands in his pockets and threw Kyo a grin. "Don't worry about Tokitou. He already has someone else to occupy his mind."

With those last parting words, Kubota spun back and disappeared around a corner, leaving a slightly baffled, and a little wary Kyo standing where he left him.

Just who exactly was this Kubota?

* * *

The four Shinigamis met back at the hotel to compare notes in Kyo and Takashi's room, all of them lounging easily on the bed. Tatsumi had booked for them two connecting single rooms, no doubt pleased by the fact that since the four of them were married, he would not have to spend extra in getting rooms with double beds. There were benefits after all to married colleagues.

Tsuzuki had spent his time with the other teachers, trying to pry as much information as possible. When Kyo told them about Kubota's rather mysterious words, Tsuzuki shot up straight. "He's right!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers in excitement. "I found out from the other teachers that Echiko's favourite student was Saori. This can't just be coincidence that she's closely connected to the three victims."

"Do you think she could be possessed by a demon?" Takashi asked curiously. Both he and Kyo did not have that much experience concerning the denizens of Makai. Oh, they had encountered one or two, usually low-class ones over the course of their cases. Hisoka and Tsuzuki, from what they had heard, had gone up against a general of the underworld itself and survived. Quite impressive.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki turned to the boy.

Hisoka shrugged. "I didn't particularly try to read her but from the general feelings I got, she's normal. So is everyone I met."

"Still, it's a start. We at least have something to go on now," Takashi offered.

Everyone agreed at this and the discussion went late into the night, culminating in a take-out for dinner with everyone feeling a bit too lazy to go out. They finally had to stop when they ran out of ideas and Kyo was sprawled over Takashi's lap, fast asleep. He didn't even stir as Tsuzuki and Hisoka took their leave after cleaning away the remnants of their dinner. Takashi took a few moments to just bask in the feeling of having Kyo with him like this, running his fingers through the boy's hair, Kyo settling deeper at his touch. Finally, feeling tired himself, he gently tugged Kyo over to the pillows, sliding in beside him and pulling the blankets over them. As he turned out the lights, Kyo snuggled closer to him and he hugged him close.

The night passed uneventfully.

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Bamboo clashed into bamboo with a solid thwack. Feet sliding easily on the wooden floor, Kyo and Hisoka circled each other warily, each trying to seek out an opening, that brief flash on distraction that would give them the chance that they need. Sweat trickled down Kyo's forehead, running close to his left eye and he flicked back his bangs impatiently. Hisoka took his chance immediately. With swift, furious swings, the green eyed boy had him pressed back as he fought a defensive stance and Hisoka's supporters cheered.

Gym that morning was free activity, their phys.ed coach deciding to let the kids have some fun. That had definitely made it easier for Kyo and Hisoka to carry out their plan. What had them concerned was that it's been three days since the last victim. According to the study that Watari and the Gushoushin did, this particular demon tended to wait from three to five days before attacking a new victim. The Shinigamis were running out of time. And when you can't get to the villain, why, get the villain to come to you.

It was Tsuzuki's idea actually. The older Shinigami had suggested that they bait the demon out with, what else? Spiritual power, since it's obviously the thing that it craves. Plus, the fact that Hisoka and Kyo were both relatively good looking helped. But sudden, unexpected flares of spiritual power would appear suspicious if there was no reason for it. Thus, their little sword fight. The idea was basically that he and Hisoka would have this all out duel and Kyo would, without realizing it. . . . flare.

It was a good idea. It wasn't unusual for somebody with enough psychic power to accidentally lose control in the heat of the moment, thus negating any suspicion that they were more than what they seemed. Kyo though, was firmly insistent that he'd be the one to do it. When Hisoka had narrowed his eyes at him, Kyo had cheerfully pointed out that Saori was their only suspect and since she liked him the best. . . .well, you figure it out yourself.

Hisoka had been slightly miffed but couldn't come up with a good reason to object.

When Kyo and Hisoka had changed into their hakama and uwagi, each with their favourite shinai slung over a shoulder, their classmates had quickly abandoned their games and crowded around in a loose ring to watch the 'impromptu' match.

Kyo liked sparring with Hisoka. The younger boy had been trained as a bushi since small and was talented to boot. Their practice spars tended to be sporadic at best since cases didn't come by with a regular schedule but they both tried to fit it in when possible. Needless to say, when they sparred, they forgo any sort of protective gear, each liking the added adrenalin that came with being able to move freely in a fight. As such, their match that morning in the gym was also made with no protective gear whatsoever. The coach had been reluctant at first, afraid someone would get injured but Hisoka assured him that they've done it many times before.

A couple of minutes into the fight found the frown that lingered on the coach's face disappearing completely as he too joined his students in cheering the both of them on. Generally, he was rooting for them both as he was technically not supposed to take sides.

From the corner of his eye, Kyo noted that Saori didn't look too pleased with him being on the defensive. Really, when you're out to impress someone, you don't want to leave a bad impression, Kyo thought absently. Catching Hisoka's shinai with his hilt, a deft twist of his wrist sent Hisoka stumbling slightly to the side. Before he could recover, Kyo darted forward and, guess I might as well do it now, loosened the hold he had on his spiritual power just enough for it to flare enticingly, and brought his shinai to a halt a bare inch above Hisoka's left shoulder.

They stood there frozen for a moment, both caught in the sudden giddiness of the aftereffects of the adrenalin rush.

"You do realize that I was going easy on you," Hisoka said tartly.

"Oh, of course I did," Kyo assured him solemnly.

"Jerk."

"I love you too."

They grinned at each other and were both startled when the gym erupted into cheers and their classmates flocked around them, babbling excitedly about the match and congratulating them both. As Kyo politely took the towel offered to him by a blushing girl, he caught Saori's eye and she smiled sunnily at him. As he smiled back, a brief shadow passed the girl's hazel eyes.

"That was a very good fight, Kyo-san," she murmured, her voice carrying over the tumult.

"Thank you," he said modestly.

"Well," she gave the crowd around them a brief, assessing glance. "I'll see you later then? For lunch?"

Kyo nodded and with a satisfied smile, Saori melted into the press, her loyal followers detaching themselves regretfully and trotted after her like obedient pets. At his side, Hisoka leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"I definitely felt something. . .off with her." There was a cautionary note in his voice.

Kyo nodded again, watching Saori's retreating back. As she neared the gym's double doors, she glanced behind and again, smiled as another deeper, darker shadow flitted through her warm eyes.

Inwardly, Kyo shuddered.

* * *

Kyo sighed.

Lunch with Saori and her friends had been decidedly mundane. Not that he expected her to jump him there and then, and suck his powers like a leech (or however it is the demon did it) but nonetheless, he was disappointed. Saori had acted perfectly normal and Hisoka, who joined them, felt absolutely nothing abnormal.

Not that he was looking forward to getting sucked, mind you. He was apprehensive rather, afraid that they were targeting the wrong person. Demon. Whatever. But Hisoka's hunches have yet to be proven wrong. He wondered idly the fact that as yet, they were  unsure as to whether Saori was possessed or is a demon in disguise.

Shrugging, Kyo took his time as he walked softly down the empty halls heading towards the infirmary. Taka, Hisoka and Tsuzuki were waiting for him there as the kendo club's sensei had snagged him after the last bell to have a talk with him. The sensei had heard their phys.ed coach raving about their match and wanted to know whether he and his brother would be interested in joining the club.

He had been tempted to say 'yes' straightaway. So very tempted. It would be something similar to when he was alive; being in the kendo club. But, he squashed the little flame of longing that had flared to life firmly, you're not here to reminisce. You have a case to solve. Thanking the sensei politely, he had answered that he would talk with his brother about it and give him an answer soon. It had taken him quite awhile to excuse himself. The sensei had been determined to brainwash him into joining as much as possible.

Windows lined the corridors, giving view of the playing field outside. Both the track and soccer team were practicing, their high-spirited yells ringing the air. Soccer. A wistful smile tugged his face as he stopped by a window and stared down to the field below. He missed that too. He wondered if Josui had made it to the finals again this year.

As he stood there, lost in memories, a faint sound reached his ears.

Frowning, he spun around lightly. It had sounded like someone was whimpering. Looking up and down the deserted corridor, he finally noticed that the room before him had its door slightly ajar. From the sign, it was the janitor's supply room. Kyo hesitated, wondering whether he did heard anything in the first place when the sound came again, this time definitely from the supply room. It wasn't a whimpering. More like mewling. Like a kitten that got lost from its mother.

He always did have a weakness for cats. The sad note in the kitten's mewls melted him instantly and without thought, he crossed the hall and pushed the door fully open. The interior beyond was pitch black. As he fumbled for the light switch on the wall beside, calling out softly for the kitty, something shot out of the dark. Something that moved so fast, he only registered a faint blur and before he could twist aside, that thing had a firm grip on his hand and he was jerked inside.

Before the door slammed shut behind him, Kyo thought of one thing clear; Damn.

* * *

Hanging up a wall a good few inches above the floor, courtesy of a hand gripping your throat tightly, Kyo decided, was not a good thing. The minute he had been pulled inside, he was slammed against a wall, a hand curling around his throat tightly and pushing him up against the concrete till his toes touched only air. As he gasped for breath, he tried to kick out at his attacker, his shoes meeting something that felt hard, rough and probably scaly as well. His kicks had no effect whatsoever, merely causing the grip around his neck to tighten, totally cutting off his air supply.

"Feisty. . ." a sibilant voice hissed, sounding as though it spoke through a mouthful of teeth. Big teeth too, Kyo bet. Probably very sharp also. For a moment, the hiss brought back the sharp recollection of Akuma and Kyo struggled harder, his panic overwhelming him.

"Keep struggling and it will be very painful," the thing warned.

Since Kyo had no desire to make the whole thing more uncomfortable than it already was, he immediately ceased struggling, though he still choked for breath. Even dead people needed to breathe after all.

Pleased that its prey would not fight back, its grip loosened enough to enable him to breathe just slightly, but a definite improvement than not breathing at all. He was still hanging in the air though. The demon was strong.

"What. . . .are. . .you?" he managed to gasp out. He needed to stall for as much time as possible. Their plan had been to never let him out of sight but he doubted anyone was watching him earlier. He wondered though, why his friends have yet to come bursting in. He was pretty sure he was panicking loud enough for Hisoka to pick it up.

Not unless he's still shielding himself from being detected, a wry voice piped up in his head. Crap. The room was too dark for him to make out any distinctive features, the only light coming in from the small, square window set high up in the wall on his right. The window was tightly shut it looked like and enough dirt and grime coated it to make the little light that filtered through weak and watery at best. But from what he could make out, the demon seemed to be of the lizard-like, scaly and generally ugly type. That, or his assailant had a very bad skin problem.

Great, Kyo thought almost hysterically. Here I am getting attacked by a demon and I'm cracking jokes inside my head! He blamed it on the fact that this was the first time he encountered a demon as powerful as this, without Taka as backup, plus the fact that this was a REALLY small, extremely dark room.

He was claustrophobic, remember?

"I was just looking for dinner," the demon hissed, adding a little bubbling laugh that grated against his ears. "An attractive dinner. Looks like I'm in luck."

Kyo quickly, despite the growing hysteria he was sinking in, tried to evaluate the options he had. His ofudas were out of the question. He couldn't choke out a spell to save his live (ha ha ha) and he didn't think the demon would let him finish incant one in the first place. That left him with relatively little choice. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated. Earth, Air and Water were out of the question. For one thing, he really didn't want to start an earthquake, he doubted that there was a water pipe large enough nearby to be of sufficient use and the air in the room was dead still. That left him with Fire.

He grimaced. He hated using Fire. It was always his last choice. But then, it wasn't as if he had a choice now anyway.

His power answered him immediately and from thin air, a crackling, twisting tongue of bright fire circled the demon in a spiral that rushed to close in. For a moment, he sensed complete surprise from the demon but before he could burn the thing to a crisp golden brown, the demon tightened his chokehold and slammed his head back against the wall.

Kyo let out a cry of pain. Blackness against blackness crowded his vision, sprinkled with bright stars as he tried to stay conscious. The minute the pain had blossomed, his summoned Fire had died out as he lost his concentration. While his Shinigami healing power had kicked in, he was still too dazed to put up a fight. Peripherally, he noted that the demon's eyes glowed in the dark. They burned an incongruous warm, honey brown that reminded him of Saori.

The demon had been surprised. And infinitely pleased. It hissed again. "You have more power than I thought. You'd keep me full for a long time."

Looks like I don't have to wonder about how it sucks its victims' power anymore, Kyo thought dazedly. I'm about to have firsthand experience.

The demon slammed his head against the wall again, keeping him barely conscious and it loosened its grip till Kyo was standing on firm ground again. Not that it was much help to him. He was in too much pain to try anything except to slump against the wall and try to not pass out.

The demon kept a tight hold on his shoulders and for good measure, slammed him against the wall again. His head lolled on his shoulders, eyes rolling back. He barely registered the feel of the demon's hot breath on his neck as it leaned close. Dimly, he felt the velvety rough feel of a long, forked tongue flicking against his skin. His collar was ripped open and a moment later, the soft, slightly dry tongue which was nuzzling him turned hard and plunged deep into his neck, right above his jugular.

For a brief second, shock stilled his bemused mind.

And then the pain came. It felt like pure acid mixed with liquid fire was racing through his body. It felt as though his very soul was being ripped free and pouring out from the puncture in his neck. He arched his head back, his heels drumming uselessly on the floor as he tried to break free. This pain far surpassed what Akuma had put him through; Akuma's curse was like getting your knees skinned while this. . .this was like nothing he ever felt before.

He tried to hold on, he really did. But barely a second after the pain started, Kyo screamed.

* * *

Takashi took another sip of the now-cool coffee and frowned.

"He's late," he announced to his colleagues.

Tsuzuki and Hisoka were both perched on one of the infirmary's bed, the latter being hugged tightly by his partner. It was quite safe from him to do so as the door was locked.

"The sensei is probably talking his ear off, trying to get him and me to join the club," Hisoka assured him. Tsuzuki nodded and added something that relatively summed up as that, or him being mobbed by his fangirls.

Takashi turned and gave them a pout. "You have no idea how painful it was the first month after we were married. I barely managed to restrain myself from kicking all those girls that insisted on draping themselves all over him. And the guys," he added mournfully.

"Why didn't you or Kyo tell them to back off?" Tsuzuki asked reasonably.

Takashi rolled his eyes. "If just telling them off worked, he wouldn't have that trouble in the first place. Plus, a sensei who married his own student and the fact that they were both gay is hardly something the school board would approve of."

"True, true," Tsuzuki nodded somberly. One hand was still clutched around Hisoka's waist while the other was expertly unwrapping a candy bar. He had lots of practice.

"Hey," Takashi spoke up, smiling. "Let's have dinner tonight at—"

Taka.

He broke off abruptly, staring into the distance.

"Takashi?" Hisoka asked. "Is something wrong?"

He rushed to the door, fumbling with the lock and nearly slamming it into the frame as he pushed the door open and took off running down the hall.

"Takashi! What's wrong?" Hisoka yelled behind him as the two of them tried to catch up.

"Kyo!" he shouted back without pausing his run. "He's in trouble!"

He didn't bother to stop and wonder where Kyo was exactly. He just knew. He ran down as fast as he could, took two sharp turns and was pounding down the corridor that overlooked the playing field when they heard the scream echoing in the air.

"Kyo!"

* * *

A second lasts an eternity when you're drowning in that much pain.

He usually had a high level of pain tolerance, preferring to just suffer in silence or crack a few good jokes to distract himself. He supposed it could be blamed on his whole 'I'm-alone-and-I'll-always-be-alone' complex, that got better after he met Taka. Considering the fact that he was a Shinigami, he and Taka both had been through quite a few injuries that would have killed a normal human but he had bore it stoically enough. Well, he did have a tendency to get all cute and pouty with Taka but that's strictly about getting some love and sympathy.

This though. . . .his power sucked greedily as though it was no more than some delicious malt in a glass was more than he could bear. If he was given the option to die again right there and then to escape it, he probably would have taken it without a second thought. As it was, he screamed in pure pain, the small room ringing with the sound, his screams bouncing back till he felt he was drowning in it.

As it was, he barely registered Taka's voice shouting out his name from somewhere near. "Kyo!" He sounded terrified.

The pain drew on for a moment longer and abruptly, he felt the hardened tongue withdrawing from his neck with a sick, slurpy sound and the clawed hands that had propped him up during the feeding released him and Kyo slumped bonelessly on the floor. The world swam before his eyes and he noted, rather abstractedly, that the demon had six toes.

The demon hissed in anger. "Some other time then, my pretty boy. You'll wait for me won't you?" There was a note of malicious glee in its voice and Kyo tried to whimper, but produced only a faint gurgle in the back of his throat.

Light fell on him as the door swung open and the demon ran out. Before it stepped out though, it looked back and through his steadily dimming vision, Kyo now saw that in its place, instead of the demon, was Saori. Strangely enough, tears were running down her cheeks while her mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "Ja ne," it/Saori hissed.

* * *

The three of them figured it out soon enough that Kyo's scream came from the one room in the corridor they ran down. Before they reached it though, the door swung open and something, moving so fast that it was only a grey blur, raced out of the room and disappeared down a corner. They ignored it for the moment though. Besides, judging by the way it moved, they doubted whether they'd be able to catch it on foot.

It was a supply room, or closet would be a more apt description, and dark as a bottomless well. Takashi didn't bother with the light. Instead, he just focused on the dim, blurred shape that was lying on the floor and quickly crouched down.

"Is anything broken Kyo?" He tried to keep the panic out of his voice.

Kyo mumbled something that sounded like a negative and he hurriedly scooped the boy up in his arms and brought him out to the better-lighted corridor, Hisoka and Tsuzuki waiting there in agitated concern. Seeing Kyo conscious, if barely, in his arms, they relaxed visibly but they each couldn't help the gasp that escaped them as the light fell on the boy.

His shirt was torn into shreds and liberally splashed with blood.

Takashi kneeled on the cold floor, carefully cradling Kyo and trying to find the source of all that blood. It didn't take long for him to find it; just at the side of Kyo's neck, right above his jugular, was a smooth, bloodied hole, nearly an inch in diameter. He fought to keep the bile in his throat down.

"Kyo?" he called gently. "Can you hear me?" Already the wound was closing slowly till it was only a faint scar and soon enough, even that was gone.

Kyo stirred fitfully in his arms. "Taka?" he said weakly. Blinking, he tried to bring his eyes into focus. It didn't seem to work. He kept on seeing three Taka fading in and out.

"What did it do to you?" Tsuzuki asked gently.

Kyo also didn't seem able to move much. Instead of turning to look at Tsuzuki he just let his eyes drift to the side but answered, "Sucked. . . .my power," he slurred out. "Like a milkshake."

They exchanged grim looks. That confirmed it then. But for now, they had to concentrate on the boy. Though his wound had closed, he didn't seem to be getting lucid; instead, he was slipping more and more into what appeared to be a drunken haze.

"Hold on," Takashi murmured. He placed both hands against either side of Kyo's face and closed his eyes. Concentrating, he extended his senses gently and what he felt relieved him greatly. "He's okay," he told the others. "The demon didn't take enough to do much of anything. He's just a bit low on his spiritual power now."

A quick discussion and they agreed that it'd be better if they just teleported straight to their hotel room, thus avoiding any delicate questions like why Kyo appeared drunk and why his clothes where torn to pieces and bloodied. As Takashi carefully cradled Kyo in his arms, Kyo managed to land a blinking gaze on Hisoka.

"You got green eyes," Kyo said, sounding as though he was surprised.

The three of them blinked.

"I think it's because his power was drained," Tsuzuki whispered in Takashi's ear. "He's not making much sense."

"Aa," Takashi nodded. "I think he needs a good sleep. That should be enough to help him recover. Kyo-kun? We're going back to the hotel so you can sleep, okay?"

Kyo was still slurring and his head lolled back, eyes drifting close. "Sounds good," he mumbled.

As they prepared to leave, Kyo mumbled again. "Demon got brown eyes. . . .it glowed."

Again, the three of them exchanged looks. It was Hisoka who said it.

"She's possessed."

He didn't sound happy and they couldn't blame him.

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~to be continued~

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A/N: Again, I need your help people. In the Kojiki, it's mentioned that the gods first created an island called Onokoro; the supposed backbone of the world. Is there an island called Onokoro in Japan? Oh, as usual, praise me. Nyahahaha! Another question! In this original novel of the Angel series (Buffy's ex), their new case was about a woman who is said to be Lilith, who is supposed to be Adam's first wife. She was created separately from him and refused to obey Adam. She was then thrown out of heaven and that's when Eve was created. Is this mentioned anywhere in the Bible, or it's just a myth or something the writer made up?