A/N: Oooooo… Hakkai, that sneaky fellow… Ooops. Sowwie for the OOC-ness running around. Sanzo and Hakkai are both slowly becoming foxes. And clever foxes they are…
"Hm…" Hakkai looked up from his music scores. His flute was about to be played when he heard the doorbell ring. He opened the chestnut doors of the manor and looked at who stood there. It was Toki.
"Ohayou, Toki-san." Hakkai politely smiled as he put his flute upon the top of the grand piano in the lobby. The blue-eyed blonde plopped down on one of the lavender sofas of the lobby and drew out his dagger. He looked at the blade in a bored manner and sighed.
"I want to spar." Toki sighed as he did tricks with his weapon. Tossing it into the air and catching it by the blade without any flaw, "Would you spar with me, Hakkai-san?"
"Gomenasai, Toki-san…" Hakkai said apologetically as he took his flute with him, "I have to practice my pieces. Why don't you look at the training area? I bet one of the others may be willing to spar."
---
"En garde!" Quietus attacked as he sparred with Sanzo. The two were in a furious sparring match. Quietus quick with the rapier and Sanzo trying to beat the immortal elder with the same weapon. Unfortunately, the blonde monk wasn't as adept with swords as his opponent and with a few quick twists of the reaper's blade Sanzo fell. Quietus smiled as he pointed the tip of the rapier at Sanzo's face.
"You aren't doing well, Sanzo-san…"
"Hmph… It's not my sport…" Sanzo growled at the elder dressed in his most elegant fencing attire. His black vest without crease, the gray undershirt without sign of moisture.
"I demand a rematch!" Sanzo challenge Quietus.
"Oh… You never give up, do you, Genjo Sanzo?" Quietus sighed as he got back to the starting position. But before either immortal could make a move, they both spotted Toki leaning on the shoji doors of the training room.
"Oh, Toki-san," Quietus bowed politely. Sanzo nodded to acknowledge his brother's presence and teleported away leaving the two alone.
"I challenge you, Quietus-san!" Toki said as he drew out his dagger. Quietus smiled as he accepted, his body poised like a proper fencer. The reaper's eyes scanned the body of his opponent. Same build as his brother. Quite wonderful, indeed. If his style is cruel, he would be a very easy opponent.
Toki analyzed the reaper. His body shown no sign of weakness. His stance was only to belittle his opponent and it had no effect on Toki.
"That peacock stance of yours makes me want to puke…" Toki smirked, trying to provoke his opponent. But Quietus wasn't hurt by the remark.
"I've heard your brother say that every time he spars with me." Quietus smiled calmly as he gracefully executed the first move. Fortunately, Toki blocked it well. Pushing the reaper away, he made his move. Quietus stepped aside and watched Toki crash into the wall of the training room. He got back into his fencing stance and faced Toki. The blonde was breathing heavily, his blue eyes glittering with fighting spirit. Evident on his sleeve was a little tear made by the sleeve's brush with Quietus' rapier.
"Ah… This is getting interesting…" Toki smirked as he plotted to do some payback for the torn sleeve.
Meanwhile, in the Classico, Sanzo and Hakkai sat down drinking cold beverages in the eerie quiet. There was no one in the bar in the mornings as always. This was the time for morning rehearsals.
"So, why didn't you decide to stay and watch those two spar?" Hakkai asked Sanzo as he sipped the beverage, savoring its cool effect on his parched tongue.
"Toki's more than a match for that damned brother of yours," Sanzo said, "I wouldn't be surprised if I'd walk into the training room and see those two in heated battle."
"But they don't hate each other, do they?" Hakkai curiously asked. Sanzo shrugged his shoulders and looked at his reflection in the mirror decked in the same fencing attire he wore during his duel with the immortal elder. The deep purple of the vest bringing out the color in his eyes.
"Let's go rehearse for tonight…"
The battle in the training room started to become fierce. Loud battlecries and the metallic sound of steel against steel rang throughout the house.
The two sparrers finally became exhausted. Toki's shirt was almost completely tattered, his skin gleaming with sweat underneath. Quietus, on the other hand, was in better shape although his calm appearance had been turned unruly and his vest and undershirt had prominent gashes although few.
Both were breathing heavily, their bodies exhausted from the heavy sparring.
"I'm lucky to find an opponent like you…" Quietus said as he caught his breath, "I could easily beat Sanzo up. Hakkai can beat me up any day and Hibi-chan's too easy if you memorize all her tactics. But you're something. You're unpredictable…"
But the most unpredictable event was yet to happen. The reaper's upper garments began to stain red from a gash on the chest.
"Shit!" Toki cursed as Quietus stumbled, "I knew I hit something tougher than cotton back then!" The blonde scooped up Quietus in his arms and teleported away.
Time seemed to stop for Quietus as he laid his head upon Toki's chest. His desire for this burned brighter than his former infatuation with Sanzo. He felt Toki's cold hand entwined with his own and somehow, he wished this wasn't a dream…
Unfortunately, it was.
Toki watched the unconscious immortal on the blue-sheeted bed. Being in a hurry when Quietus fainted, he teleported to his room. Fortunately, thanks to Quietus' medicinal know-how, it was easy to find bandages in his drawers and treat the wound. He was supposed to have left when he was done treating the wound but something held him there. He looked into the immortal's face, a perfect replica of Hakkai. Those two were truly twins. Somehow, he wanted to treat the twin as if he was his Hakkai. His Hakkai? That was stupid. He knew that Hakkai already belonged to Sanzo and that Quietus could never match his own brother.
But… Why can't he take the risk and try?
Hakkai finished his duet with Sanzo onstage. He played the flute as Sanzo sang "Music Of The Night" with his clear tenor voice. Sanzo looked proud. The rehearsal was splendid.
"Sanzo…" Hakkai began as he cleaned his flute, "Why don't we check on those two? I'm kinda worried about them."
Sanzo nodded and walked out of the bar arm-in-arm with Hakkai.
Cold…
That was the first thing that came into Quietus' mind as he awoke from his unconsciousness. His hand drifted to his chest and felt nothing covering it. Moving his hand upwards, he expected to find a gash, but instead, he felt soft bandages. So there he lay on his bed, his torn shirt and vest folded upon his desk and Toki sat in front of him, gazing at the brunette's half-naked form on the bed. The reaper blushed as he turned around, his back turned to the blonde watching over him.
"Qui…" Toki said roughly as his cold hand touched Quietus' equally cold shoulder.
"Doushite, Toki-san?" Quietus softly asked as he hid his desire.
Toki's hand drifted until it met Quietus' own.
"Why did you treat my wounds, Toki-san?" Quietus asked again. At the sound of that question, Toki tried to turn away, but Quietus had his hand clasped tightly around his, "Matte, Toki-san!" Toki stopped in his tracks and looked at the immortal behind him. His emerald eyes were shining with a plot in mind, "My brother and I are having our birthdays next week and I want to plan with you on something for my dear brother…" He began to whisper in Toki's ear.
But unfortunately, Sanzo peeked into Quietus' room silently at that moment. He looked at Toki's hand clasped tightly by Quietus and Toki's head bent down close to Quietus' own. Surprised, he quietly closed the door and whispered his findings to Hakkai who giggled quietly in prospect of a plan for a birthday gift to his brother.