Author's Notes: I apologize for Reiku. He showed up and demanded attention. For those who don't know, when he calls Oriya "Ori-nii", "nii" is short for niisan. Basically, using it (even though he's not Oriya's younger brother) is sort of a way of showing both affection and respect.

More Japanese notes: "Reikan" ability is basically the same type of psychic ability as Hisoka has. I think. I apologize to anyone who knows more about what I'm talking about than I do, which is probably a lot of you, so I'll shut up now.

Chapter One

Saturday nights were the busiest at the Ko Kaku Rou, and Oriya had his hands full keeping the customers happy. He had avoided Muraki's room the entire day, and didn't particularly feel like going up to give him his evening's medicine. Between helping Himiko in the kitchen and running the front desk, he didn't really care that much about Muraki.

Around eight thirty, he finally realized that he shouldn't put it off any longer. He dumped the herbs in the tea and snagged Chisa by the sleeve of her kimono. "Ne, Chisa, are you with a customer?"

She shook her head and looked tired. "Akisada-san just left."

"All right. Can you take this up to Muraki? Just tilt his head back and pour it into his mouth. He'll swallow it."

Chisa looked nervous, and understandably so. The few times that Muraki had been there, Oriya had caught him giving her some speculative glances. It didn't surprise him; Chisa was small and frail and pretty. Just Muraki's type. Oriya had not-so-subtly made it known that if Muraki ever laid a hand on one of his employees, he would regret it.

"Don't worry," Oriya said. "It'll only take you a minute, and I don't have time."

As nervous as she was, Chisa was accustomed to taking orders. She nodded, accepted the tea, and hurried up the stairs. The room was dark, and she flicked the lights on with hands that trembled. She knew -- everyone knew -- that Muraki had never hurt any of the geisha and probably never would, but she couldn't help being afraid. She told herself firmly that an unconscious man certainly couldn't hurt her.

But when she knelt next to Muraki, his eyes were open.

Involuntarily, Chisa uttered a tiny scream and flinched away. Muraki grabbed her by the wrist before she could run. "Don't go," he said. His normally smooth voice was hoarse from the week of disuse. "I'm thirsty."

"Oh," Chisa managed. "Oriya-san sent me with some tea for you. It has medicine in it."

Muraki nodded and reached for the cup. Chisa set it down and helped prop him up with a few pillows. She had to hold the cup to his lips while he drank. He felt very weak, and it annoyed him, almost angered him.

"What's the date?" he asked.

"It's October twenty-second," Chisa answered. "About eight thirty in the evening. Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?"

"I'd like to see Oriya," Muraki said. His voice was soft and flat. There was a total lack of inflection.

Chisa nodded, bobbing her head. "Of course. Right away, Muraki-san." She hurried out of the room and back down to the kitchen. Oriya was stirring a pot of soup for Himiko while she barked orders at the three-member kitchen staff. "Oriya-san? Muraki-san would like to speak to you."

Oriya dropped the spoon. It landed in the pot with a clank and slid underneath the top of the soup. He didn't notice.

"Oriya-san?" Chisa asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry," Oriya said vaguely. "I think I misheard you. What did you say?"

"I said that Muraki-san would like to speak to you." Chisa did not elaborate. She was not used to offering any information other than what she had been asked.

Himiko looked over at this. "He's awake?"

Chisa nodded. "He was awake when I went in the room." Light dawned as she recalled what Oriya had said about the medicine and she blinked at Oriya. "You . . . didn't know?"

Oriya shook his head. He took a new spoon out of a drawer and went back to stirring the soup. Kentarou called his name from the front desk and he dropped the spoon again.

"You keep adding metal to that and no one's going to want it," Himiko observed. "Go see to your customers and then to your friend."

Oriya nodded absently and went out to the main room. Chisa followed on his heels, frowning slightly. "You aren't going to go see him?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm busy," Oriya said shortly. "Go tell him I'll be up after business hours."

Chisa's eyes widened slightly. She nodded and scampered back up the stairs. When Oriya was in a bad enough mood to speak curtly even to her, it was best to stay out of his way. Muraki was still propped up on his pillows when she got there. "I'm sorry, Muraki-san," she squeaked. "Oriya-san is very busy. He said he'll be up after business hours."

Muraki gave her such a hostile glare that Chisa backed away a step. "I want to see him now," he said in a very, very soft voice.

"Yes, sir," Chisa whispered, and darted from the room.

Oriya was still at the front desk, greeting a new guest as Chisa came downstairs. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he said mildly, before turning to the young man. "Hirosuke-san, it's good to see you again. Will you be dining this evening?" That was a question his father had taught him when he had first started running the business. It was a very subtle way of asking what kind of service the man required. Some people came for dinner, some just for the geisha.

Chisa tugged on Oriya's sleeve. "Muraki-san wants to see you right away and he was looking really scary," she whispered.

"I'll certainly be dining," Hirosuke said at the same time. "The food here is too excellent to pass up."

"Of course," Oriya said with a smile. "Chisa, why don't you show Hirosuke-san to a table and see that he's served properly?"

"Hai!" Chisa immediately scurried around him and bowed deeply. "This way, sir."

Hirosuke followed Chisa out of the room. Oriya picked up a pile of menus and slammed it down onto the desk. His hands were shaking. He was caught between unbelievable relief and unbearable anger. How dare Muraki demand to see him and frighten one of his girls?

Just for that, the prick was going to have to wait all night. Oriya clenched his fists and went back into the kitchen.

Himiko looked up from her soup. "Get out of my kitchen," she said. "You're not going to be of any use as angry as you are. And don't go near the customers. Kentarou and I will handle it."

"It's too busy for just you and Kentarou," Oriya said between clenched teeth.

"Yes, and we don't need you making trouble. We also don't need Muraki deciding to come downstairs and look for you, and scaring away all the customers. Bring him some soup. Throw it in his face for all I care, but keep him in his room. We're busy."

Oriya accepted the bowl from her and sighed. "It would have to happen just after I had given up, wouldn't it."

Himiko snorted, but did not reply.

Oriya sighed again and started up the stairs. He stopped outside Muraki's door and took a few deep breaths. Then he pushed the door open and went inside. Muraki had lain down again, but he sat up when Oriya came in. For a long minute, they regarded each other seriously.

"You conceited asshole," Oriya finally snarled. "What the hell were you thinking, scaring Chisa like that? You know how skittish she is. How dare you just demand to see me like I don't have anything better to do with my evening?"

Muraki smiled. "It's good to see you, too."

"Don't make me hurt you," Oriya said. He knelt next to Muraki and held the bowl of soup out to him. "Eat this. You need your strength. You've been unconscious for over a week now." He paused, then added, "You gigantic prick," for good measure.

Muraki took the soup and began to eat it slowly. "A week?" he asked.

"Yes, a week," Oriya snapped. "You waltzed off into the sunset to molest your boyfriend and kill your already dead brother, then the next thing I know you're standing here with a stab wound three inches deep in your stomach and you collapse on my floor. That was over a week ago. So maybe you can understand why I'm a little cranky."

There was a pause. Muraki nodded slightly. Then: "My lab?"

"It burned to the ground," Oriya said quietly. "Along with everything in it."

"I see." Muraki looked into the soup bowl.

Oriya folded his legs under himself and made himself comfortable for a long conversation. He knew how important the lab, and Saki, had been to Muraki. There were no words he could use as comfort. "I'm sorry," he finally offered.

Muraki accepted this with a nod, and continued to eat his soup. "I'm sorry I frightened Chisa," he finally said.

Oriya sighed. "I can never stay mad at you. You know that." He paused, then added, "Besides, I was worried about you. You should know that, too."

"I do know that."

Oriya leaned against the wall. "Any idea what happened to your boyfriend and the kiddo?"

"They got out. I didn't see it, but I'm still tied to the boy through the curse. He's still alive. That means that Tsuzuki-san must be also." Muraki delivered this statement as though there were perfectly reasonable logic behind it. Oriya accepted this; having seen Hisoka's determination to rescue Tsuzuki, he thought he understood.

Muraki finished the soup as they sat in silence. "Are you still hungry?" Oriya asked, when he was finished.

"No," Muraki replied. "I'm tired, though."

"You've been very ill," Oriya said, taking the bowl and spoon. "You had a high fever for the first few days. I wasn't sure you were going to make it." He stared at his hands as he spoke. "I had a feeling that if I brought you to a hospital, there would be a few too many unanswered questions."

Muraki laughed. "You always know what to do, Ori-chan."

"You know I hate it when you call me that," Oriya grumbled. It was a habit that Muraki had picked up in high school from one of the older geisha, who had grown up with Oriya. "Don't be a jerk. I should have left your carcass to rot in my backyard."

"You're a sucker like that," Muraki agreed.

"I am," Oriya said with a sigh.

Muraki leaned over and kissed him. He ran his fingers through Oriya's hair, loosening and pulling out the band that was holding it back. Oriya put one hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"I'm working," he said coolly. "And you're wounded. Besides, I'm still mad at you."

Muraki laughed. "All right. When I've successfully atoned, let me know."

Oriya rolled his eyes. "I'll be sure to. For now, I'm going to go rescue Kentarou and Himiko."

~~~~

Once Oriya was out of the room, Muraki closed his eyes and turned inward.

He had never told Oriya the extent of his magic. It wasn't necessary. Oriya had said it himself once. "I don't know how powerful you are and I don't care. The last thing I want is to be afraid of you." Muraki agreed whole-heartedly. Given that Oriya was the one person he knew who wasn't afraid of him, at least to some extent, he thought that his friend was right.

In the end, it hadn't really mattered. Oriya had known about the lab, known about Saki, known about the genetic experiments. He had disapproved, but not openly; Muraki knew he didn't like it and that was enough.

The only thing that Oriya didn't know about, as far as Muraki was aware of, was how Tsuzuki was involved. Muraki simply had never found a way to say 'Well, he's got a perfect body that can heal, so I'm gonna whack his head off and put Saki's on instead.'

Somehow, he didn't think that would go over very well. Even if the look on Oriya's face would have been priceless. All right, maybe that explanation was just a bit crude -- he would have been perfectly happy with dissecting Tsuzuki and figuring out what it was that made him heal, so he could apply it to Saki. The other way had just seemed quicker.

Muraki sighed and ran his fingers over the bandages. Oriya was skilled enough in first aid; otherwise, he wouldn't still be alive. But the wound would be a hindrance in the weeks to come, and he wanted it gone.

He was weak -- very weak, so weak that it took conscious effort to move. Even eating the soup had taken a tremendous amount of energy. Healing himself was not a good idea. It would require too much of the little reserves he had left. However, it would also make those reserves replenish themselves faster, if he wasn't dealing with it.

A lose-lose situation, really.

Given that, he decided to go with the first and heal it now. If nothing else, the wound hurt too much to be ignored.

It was hardly the first time he had done this. As a doctor, he could tend wounds with the best of them, but he never had the patience when it was himself that had wounded. The skill had taken him longer to develop than any other magical ability, because it required so much knowledge. In order to repair a wound, one had to know how, whether it was being done through magic or stitches.

He supposed that it was lucky he had gone through medical school.

Bit by bit, the knife wound in his stomach closed, healed, disappeared. The healing was accompanied by a tingling he was long used to. He was perhaps better at this than at any other magic. He was so good at it that he could remain near death for days, and as long as a spark of consciousness remained alive inside him, he could return. It had come in handy a number of times, particularly on the Queen Camillia. He had been so far gone then that even the autopsy hadn't showed any signs of life.

It was lucky Tsubaki (he did not think of her as Eileen, and never had) hadn't gone ahead and removed his heart. That would have made things a bit tricky.

Finally, the wound was gone. The tingling vanished and was replaced with bone-deep exhaustion. His eyes remained closed.

He was finally faced with the inevitable 'now what?'

The lab was gone, and Saki with it. It was a hard truth to face, and one that Muraki was unsure of how to go about facing. For so many years, he had lived to get his revenge. Now that would be impossible. If Touda's fire burned hot enough to destroy a Shinigami, it certainly burned hot enough to get rid of any scraps of DNA that might have been left.

Even if it hadn't -- even if by some miracle he managed to find so much of a hair -- the fact remained that even after years of study, Muraki still couldn't create bodies from scratch. That was why he had needed Tsuzuki.

Tsuzuki, who was undoubtedly back in the Meifu being coddled by the other Shinigami by now.

It made Muraki want to grind his teeth, but he lacked the energy. Oh, he had wanted Tsuzuki, but that wasn't what bothered him. But of all the stupid, stupid ways to be defeated -- to be knifed in the stomach by that half-brained and yet somehow still beautiful, so utterly desirable --

Muraki sighed and shook the thoughts off. He somewhat doubted that he was ever going to get his hands on Tsuzuki again. If he tried, he would almost certainly be decapitated by Tatsumi. Besides, with Saki gone, there was no real point in pursuing Tsuzuki except for the point of amusement.

And he really didn't feel like seeking amusement at the moment.

It had been stupid, though. After all the work he had done tearing down Tsuzuki's psyche enough that he would be vulnerable, it had somehow slipped his mind that tearing it down too far would be more dangerous than leaving it intact. It had not occurred to him that Tsuzuki might sacrifice himself to bring Muraki down -- or that he might want to die so badly he didn't care if Muraki was in the way.

A murder-suicide. How elegant. How romantic.

How idiotic.

He wanted to unwrap the bandages, check to make sure the wound was gone, but he didn't have the energy. And why bother? He knew that he had healed it properly. Having to check would mean that he was second-guessing himself, and he wasn't. He just would have liked to feel the intact skin, that was all.

The door opened. Muraki glanced over to see Oriya come in again, and was startled. Had that many hours passed? Healing always took time, but never hours, not even the worst of injuries. For it to have taken that long meant that his reserves were more weakened than he thought.

"You should be sleeping," Oriya said. He took off the outer robe he wore over his kimono and hung it on a peg near the door. Muraki looked around and realized, for the first time, that he was not in his usual guest room. He was on a futon in Oriya's room. It brought a smile to his face.

"But then," Oriya continued, "you never did know what was good for you."

"Maybe I was sleeping until you came in," Muraki replied, and was pleased to note that his voice had returned, more or less, to its normal tenor. "Your clomping woke me up."

"I never clomp," Oriya replied. He walked over to his desk and picked up a hairbrush, then turned to face Muraki as he ran it through his hair. He knew how much Muraki loved his hair, and Muraki couldn't help but wonder if he was doing it purposely to taunt him. He wouldn't put it past him. Traditionally, Oriya got a real kick out of taunting him. "And you were awake when I got here. Don't think you can fool me. I know you better than you know yourself."

Muraki had to wonder if it was true. Certainly, on many occasions, Oriya had shown remarkable insights to his character. However, Muraki considered that he knew himself fairly well. He almost always knew the reasons for what he did. He was very big on introspection.

Of course, it could not be said that he understood Oriya. In fact, he didn't understand a damn thing about Oriya. The man was a total mystery to him.

"All right," he said agreeably. "I was already awake. But you can't blame that on me. I slept for the past week. I was allowed to stay up a little while. Besides, I was busy."

"Busy?" Oriya asked skeptically, unable to fathom what Muraki might have been doing to qualify for that statement.

"Healing. Can you take the bandages off? They itch."

Oriya gaped at him, and Muraki wished abstractly for a camera to take a picture of his expression. Oriya definitely made some of the most interesting faces he'd ever seen. "You arrogant prick," Oriya finally said, but the words were without heat, without anger. He knelt next to Muraki and helped him sit up, then started to unwind the bandages. "If I'd known you were going to do that, I would've slapped you harder, trying to get you to wake up."

Muraki shrugged slightly. "I wouldn't have had the energy until the fever was gone anyway." Now that the bandages were gone, he felt much better. He ran the tips of his fingers over his newly formed skin. It was still sensitive, but it didn't hurt. Good. At least something was going right.

Oriya sighed and finished brushing his hair. "You drive me insane," he finally said, his voice flat, lacking in emotion.

"I'm sorry," Muraki said, and the contrition in his voice would have sounded real to everyone except Oriya.

"Yeah, right." Oriya started to undo the obi that held his kimono on, then gave Muraki a pointed look.

Muraki looked pointedly right back. "You're not going to tell me that you're suddenly modest, are you?" he asked, amused. "I've seen you naked more times than I can count, and now you're suddenly ashamed to change in front of me?"

"I thought you might show some consideration for once," Oriya said, undoing the obi and shrugging off the kimono. "The more fool, I."

Muraki watched him undress. After that remark, he certainly wasn't going to look away.

"Enjoy the show?" Oriya asked dryly, getting into bed. He slept naked. Muraki wondered how he could have forgotten that. They had not seen each other in quite some time before this latest misadventure.

"Quite," Muraki replied. He felt weariness starting to overwhelm him. He let it. Everything else could be dealt with tomorrow. There was no plan, so there was no time limit. He closed his eyes.

For a long minute, there was nothing but the gentle sound of the wind chimes.

"Ne, Muraki . . ." Oriya hesitated, unsure of whether or not Muraki was still awake.

"Aa?"

"I'm glad you're all right."

There was a long pause. Then: "Aa."

Oriya had not expected anything more. In truth, he had expected arrogance, some reply like 'I am too.' He supposed he ought to be grateful for the little he received.

He rolled over and went to sleep.

~~~~

Muraki slept all night and most of the next day. Even when he wasn't sleeping, he continued to lie in bed, conserving his energy. It would take time to return to his normal state of being. But there was no rush. Nowhere to go, nothing to do.

No reason to leave.

In the past, whenever he had stayed at Ko Kaku Rou, he had always been stopping by between jobs, on his way to somewhere else, on a brief vacation. It was always one thing or another. He found himself rather comforted by the fact that he could stay as long as he wanted. But the long hours in bed were starting to get to him. It left him with nothing to do but think.

No matter how hard he tried, he did not know what to do.

Oh, he could go back to being a doctor. He had a job, a research lab, a nice fat paycheck. He could go back to his DNA research, cloning research, stem cells, organ transplantation, any one of a dozen projects. But with no goal, no reason to apply them, he found himself drastically less enthusiastic.

It would keep him occupied, but that was all.

He awoke the next morning when the sun hit his eyes. Oriya was still asleep, sprawled out on his stomach as he always slept. One of his arms was hanging off the futon to the side; the other was stretched over his head. His face was turned towards Muraki, blank and peaceful in sleep. Muraki smiled slightly. Oriya had no idea how innocent he looked when he was asleep, and he probably would have snarled if Muraki had told him.

After a few moments, Muraki carefully sat up, then pushed himself to his feet. He had walked a little the day before, with Oriya's help, to use the bathroom. There was no point in being embarrassed about it; he assumed that Oriya had been taking care of him while he had been unconscious. Now, however, he was not about to wake Oriya just for this.

He hobbled to the upstairs bathroom, but the door was shut. He knocked once. "Be out in a sec," a voice called. A masculine voice. Muraki frowned. He had thought that Oriya was the only man who lived in the house.

A few seconds later, the door opened and an attractive young teenager sauntered out, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. He gave Muraki a blatant onceover, pushing his spiky hair out of his face, and fixed dark blue eyes on Muraki. "Yo," he said.

Muraki raised an eyebrow at him. "And you are?" he asked.

"I could be asking the same of you," the teenager retorted. "I live here. You don't."

"This is a geisha house," Muraki replied evenly. He couldn't even recall how many times Oriya had smacked him over the head and reminded him that they sold women. "Geisha are women. Women, not men, and certainly not boys."

"Ooh, I'm insulted," he said, putting a hand over his chest. Then he extended the hand. "Sanaka Reiku. I'm a new addition. Apparently, Ori-nii has been getting a lot of requests for my type. My type being the type with outdoor plumbing."

Muraki shook his hand, now giving him a quick look. He estimated that Reiku was in his late teens, perhaps eighteen or nineteen. Just on the edge of being a man. The lack of clothing showed that he was in shape, not overly thin, and not really fragile. His hair was disheveled, but it was early in the morning. And his dark blue eyes were almost captivating. He would be a challenge, but Muraki quickly assessed that if he wanted him, he could have him. He suspected that this was why Oriya had never let him know that the boy had started working there. Obviously, Oriya didn't trust him. "Muraki Kazutaka."

"Ori-nii's lover." Reiku nodded. "I know."

Muraki wanted to bristle at the casual affection for Oriya that Reiku was applying, but didn't. It was highly probably that Oriya had found Reiku on a street corner. Loyalty and gratitude ran deep at Ko Kaku Rou. "How did you know we were lovers?" he asked mildly.

Reiku grinned, a lazy, arrogant grin. "You just told me."

Muraki gave him a withering look.

"It's a rumor the girls were spreading," Reiku said with a shrug. "But who listens to them? Asawe and Chisa are both terrified of you, and Itsuko wants your guts for garters. Not too popular here, are you."

Muraki shrugged. "They put up with me for Oriya's sake. I don't know why they don't like me."

"Hm . . ." Reiku considered it for a few seconds. "I do. You're pretty much the worst nightmare of everyone here. Oh, none of them know it consciously, except maybe Chisa. She's bright for someone so nervous. And Itsuko is a good judge of character. But come on, you get people like us who've been whoring on the streets? We all know a rapist when we see one. You're lucky Ori-nii loves you so much, or you would've been out of here and on your ass a long time ago."

Muraki had to admit that he was impressed. He was also deeply suspicious. "You didn't get all that just from looking at me," he said. "Or from listening to rumors."

Reiku grinned again. This time it was a bit more manic. "Prove it."

There was a pause while Muraki replayed the scene in his head, and realized what had happened. "You read me," he said. "When you shook my hand. You have Reikan ability, don't you."

Reiku laughed. "Wow, I'm impressed. Okay, yes, very good. Ten points for the albino. So my question, 'Taka-nii -- can I call you 'Taka-nii?" Muraki simply shrugged. Arguing would only give Reiku more fuel. "My question is if you think you could actually rape me."

Muraki gave him a measuring look. "Yes. Oriya might disembowel me afterwards, but if I was so inclined, I could rape you." He changed the subject. "Why are you up so early?"

"Up so late," Reiku corrected. "I'm just showering before bed. I'm nocturnal. But alas, my futon is calling me. However, you're wrong."

"About which part?" Muraki asked, slightly amused.

"About being able to rape me."

"You think I couldn't?" Muraki asked, leaning closer. Normally, it would be menacing, but Reiku just grinned. "And why not, pray tell?"

"Can't rape the willing." Reiku winked at him, slid away from his grasp, and down the hallway. His door shut behind him with a thud.

Muraki shook his head and went back to his room. He pushed his futon over so it lined up with Oriya's and lay down again. It would startle Oriya to wake up with the two of them so close together, and Muraki considered that it would be quite amusing. Much to his surprise, Oriya rolled onto his side, curling his body around his taller friend.

Muraki smiled a little, and fell asleep.

~~~~