*****4: The Veiled Truth*****
The restless night has come to an end, and dawn has proven once again to be the savior of those in darkness. All are safe, for now. But much needs to be answered, much light needs to be shed, and much hope needs to be found before this nightmare can be put to rest.
"And then?" Wakaba presses, urging Tsuzuki to tell her more.
"I've already told you more than I should have." the brunette answers weakly, very shaken by all that has transpired.
Wakaba is lying back in bed, afflicted by a powerful fever. Tsuzuki sits beside her in a chair he pulled over from the dressing table, retelling his friend the events of the previous night.
Although she had been the main attraction for most of the oddities Tsuzuki witnessed, Wakaba remembers very little, and longs to grasp some tiny clue as to what has befallen her.
"Please, Asato. I must know."
Asato. She only refers to Tsuzuki by his given name when she is truly angry or truly serious. Neither come about very often, and the poor young man knows there is no way for him to escape her trap.
Nervously wringing his hands, Tsuzuki shifts in the chair, unable to look Wakaba in the eye. "After you jumped from the window, I tried to follow you." he speaks softly, hesitantly. "But you were too fast. I couldn't keep up. When I finally found you, you were lying by the rocks near the shoreline. I still can't believe you didn't get swept in. You could have drowned. I was so scared, all I could do was pick you up and carry you back to the house."
"Tsuzuki -"
"You're fine now. You're safe. I've sent for Terazuma to check you over, just in case."
"Tsuzuki, listen to me." Wakaba stresses urgently, grasping one of her friend's trembling hands. "Promise me, as my dearest friend, that you won't tell anyone what really happened. Not Hajime, or my family, or anyone else. Promise me."
Lifting his violet eyes to study Wakaba's deathly pale face, Tsuzuki reaches out with his free hand to stroke her cheek. At long last, he nods in reply to her request, but feels a certain unsettling tremor in the pit of his stomach. Everything is wrong.
"Let's change the subject, kudesai." Wakaba smiles, instantly missing the warmth of Tsuzuki's hand when he pulls it away. "What of Hisoka? You haven't heard from him in so long."
"There's still no news." Tsuzuki replies mournfully, clearly worried. "Almost a month since his last letter, and still not a word. I hate to think something happened to his newest message, keeping it from reaching me. Or, at the very worst, that something has happened to him. I just wish I knew -"
"Terazuma-sensei is here, Wakaba-san." interrupts GuShoShin's unique voice.
Just then, the tall and striking young doctor walks in, following the fluttering bird closely. A slight flicker of electricity passes between Terazuma and Tsuzuki when their eyes meet, and considering the not-so-friendly terms they last left each other on, it isn't that surprising.
GuShoShin takes this tension as a signal to leave, mumbling something about throwing together a tray of tea and pastries for later.
The two men continue to eye each other for a moment, before Terazuma finally breaks from their shared glare. "Excuse my poor manners. Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Wakaba-san. Tsuzuki-san. It's been a long time, ne?"
"Not long enough." Tsuzuki grumbles.
"Don't tell me you're going to start in on each other already." Wakaba laments, rolling her head back against the pillow. "You were teenagers back in school, and very foolish for not learning to see one other's good sides. Now, behave yourselves, or I will throw both of you out right now."
The mutual dislike for one another between these two began the moment they first met, but for Wakaba's sake, and maybe even their own, they will consent to get along.
Well, at least they'll try.
"Thank you for coming, Terazuma." Tsuzuki mends, smiling as genuinely as he can. "Wakaba commends you for your skills as a doctor."
"More for minds than bodies." Terazuma explains, offering a similar expression of forced acceptance. "But I'll do what I can. How is she?"
"Weak. And very pale. Please...if you can...help her."
As Terazuma steps around to the other side of the bed, Wakaba accepts his approach with a warm smile of her own, despite her obvious fatigue. Quite professionally, he checks her pulse and the sides of her neck, wearing an expression of pure seriousness, and doing his best to avoid her unique gaze, a gaze that makes him weak in the knees at the slightest look.
Wakaba is truly like no other.
"When did this begin?" Terazuma questions.
"The storm last night." Wakaba explains, watching him carefully as he checks her eyes and ears. "I was having bad dreams, but they're very vague to me now."
"Can you tell me about them?" Terazuma presses, kneeling down beside the bed and revealing his stethoscope to listen to her heart.
Still in his chair across the bed from the good doctor, Tsuzuki eyes their exchange worriedly, filled with fear for Wakaba's sake and all she is going through.
Nightmares are not to be feared, for they are nothing but dreams and have no power over us unless we let them. However, Tsuzuki has the oddest feeling that whatever is happening goes beyond mere dreams.
"There was...howling." Wakaba begins, distancing her gaze as she remembers. "A dog howling...or a wolf..."
"A dog...or a wolf...?" Terazuma repeats, barely audible, and very disturbed by that description.
"I felt as though I were floating, surrounded by that howl, and there was this strange singing that echoed through the wind..."
"Go on."
"And then...there was something very sweet and very bitter all at ounce that overtook everything I was hearing...and I felt it all pass away...as if my soul went out of my body and drifted out into the air. And then..." she trails off a moment, allowing Terazuma to move her head to the side as he finishes his examination. There, on the right side of her neck, the side that had been furthest from him, he finds a mark low on her throat. "...and then...Tsuzuki woke me, and told me I'd been dreaming."
Removing his hand, Terazuma sits back in the chair opposite Tsuzuki's and continues to stare at Wakaba for a long time.
There is something that clearly disturbs him concerning what he has found, and both others in the room effortlessly pick up on the doctor's unease.
"Nan desu, ka, Terazuma?" Tsuzuki inquires firmly, never one to favor silences.
"There is a mark on your neck." he hesitantly explains to the bedridden, young woman, barely registering anymore that Tsuzuki is still with them.
"A mark...?" she repeats.
"A red mark. As though...as though you'd been kissed there." Terazuma's voice comes out sounding obviously hurt, and he pauses before asking his next question, now with a hint of jealousy. "Have you been?"
Tenderly, Wakaba reaches out, only able to reach her fingertips to his cheek as she answers. "No, Hajime-chan. I swear."
For a moment, he seems inclined not to believe her, but that gentle touch, the compassion and sweet emotion in her eyes, melts his stern demeanor all too easily.
Terazuma nods, taking her hand from his face to hold it in his own. They share a moment then, Tsuzuki so long forgotten even he has a hard time believing that he is actually there with them instead of watching from the outside in.
At last, the spell is broken, and Terazuma stands, gathering his things. "I don't know what to tell you, Wakaba-san. You are indeed pale and appear quite weak, just as Tsuzuki said, but other than that strange mark, I can't imagine why. I'll come back later with supplies to test your blood, in case something may be found there, but I'm sure it is only a mild fever and affliction. Nothing to worry over. Just get some rest, and I'm sure you'll feel much better."
Smiling in gratitude, Wakaba snuggles back into the bed, longing for that suggested sleep more than she ever thought she could.
Terazuma moves to the door then, intent on leaving as quietly as possible, when GuShoShin suddenly flutters in past him, carrying very urgent news. "Tsuzuki-san! A letter has arrived for you."
"Honto ni?" Tsuzuki beams, instantly getting to his feet, and struggling to keep his voice down for the sake of his exhausted friend. "Where is it postmarked from?"
"From a hospital in Budapest."
"Budapest? I'll be right there."
GuShoShin gives another flutter of wings and is soon gone, off to wait for Tsuzuki to follow after him. Rushing past Terazuma, who had stopped to hear what the bird might say, Tsuzuki stops before going through the door, and turns to him with genuine appreciation.
"Arigato, Terazuma-sensei. Wakaba looks better just by having you here."
If Tsuzuki wasn't certain it was impossible, he would have sworn the doctor blushed at his comment. "Yes, well...keep a watchful eye on her." Terazuma instructs. "Make sure she stays in bed for as long as possible, and don't let her leave this room unless it is absolutely necessary."
"I won't. I promise."
"Good. And...if I may say so...you seem to be just as Wakaba described. Not nearly as...foolhardy and immature as I remember."
Tsuzuki grins, allowing this twisted praise to be taken as pure compliment, and nothing more. "Same to you. I didn't feel like clocking you even once." The pair chuckle lightly, on the verge of enjoying each others company, and move once again for the door.
"Early today..." Terazuma begins, after both of them had given Wakaba's already sleeping form a parting glance. "...I had the pleasure of meeting your friend, Kurosaki-san. He seems to be a fine man."
Stopping dead in his tracks, Tsuzuki soon falls behind as Terazuma continues down the hallway. Noticing this, the doctor turns back, not understanding the deeply troubled look that has overcome the young man's features.
"Nan desu, ka?"
"That's...impossible." Tsuzuki breathes, practically shaking he is so stricken. "Hisoka is...out of the country. Till just now, I haven't heard a word from him in weeks. Why would you say something like that?!"
Angrily, Tsuzuki runs past the astonished young doctor, flying down the hallway into a far off room, and slams the door behind him.
For a long time, Terazuma stands stunned, unable to comprehend what he possibly could have said to cause such a reaction. He had only spoken the truth, so far as he knew it. How could anyone get so upset over the truth?
*****
The day passed with little incident from that point, for after all, how much can evil do with the sun still looming above? It is now night once again, just after sunset, and the young houseboy for Wakaba's home has gone down to the front door to lock up for the evening.
He isn't the most memorable character - a young boy, standing rather short, with dark hair and bright green eyes - although a few have commented that he bears a striking resemblance to the businessman Kurosaki Hisoka.
"Oh!" he cries, caught off guard by a shadowy figure just off the stoop as he steps outside to give the grounds a once over. "Sumimasen. May I help you?"
The shadows shift, and a man appears, dressed all in black with his cloak drawn up high to cover his face. "Why yes, I believe you can...Hijiri." he speaks, his voice so smooth and melodic in its deep tambour, the boy almost forgets to reply.
"How...how do you know my name...?" he breathes at last, entranced completely by this incredible stranger.
"Say it." the tall figure commands, slowly climbing the steps of the stoop.
"Nani...?"
"This is the home of Wakaba-san, ne? This is where she lives?"
"Hai, it is." Hijiri answers hesitantly, unconsciously backing up against the closed door as the man approaches him. He comes so close, Hijiri can feel an almost inhuman chill emanating from the man's body. "What do you want -"
"You're a very beautiful boy." he breaks in, with a certain seductive tone entering his voice. "Do you know that?"
Hijiri shudders, forming completely against the door now as an ice-cold hand reaches up and strokes his youthful cheek.
"Now...please..." the stranger whispers, bending in close enough to nearly brush his lips against the boy's skin. "...say it..."
Utterly petrified in place, Hijiri looks up into the man's eyes, finally able to see them now that they are so close. The moment he does, however, he is sucked right in, trapped within those haunting, silver irises, glowing unnaturally in the darkness.
Hijiri is in a trance, unable to do anything but what he is told to do.
"You. May. Enter." the boy consents mechanically, and upon saying the words, the trance fades away, and Hijiri is merely captivated by the man in front of him.
Grandly, this fascinating stranger steps back and tosses his long cloak over his shoulder, revealing for the first time his flawlessly beautiful face. He is youthful and vibrant, sensual and charismatic. His skin is as white as the moon above, his hair a shimmering silver to match his eyes, and the smile he grants the young boy before him is nothing short of dazzling.
Completely drawn in by this image, Hijiri leaves the safety of the door, and haphazardly leaps into the man's arms, clutching at his chest as if he cannot possibly imagine such a perfect vision ever leaving his sight.
"Please, Master, let me stay with you!" he pleads, filled with unimaginable passion.
"Dear boy..." the stranger laughs, holding Hijiri tight. "...you are not the one I am after. However, I am sure I can think of *some* use for you..."
The scream that nearly shatters the night is instantly silenced before it can begin, and the true villain of this story has arrived. He is not only on the shore now, he is at the door, and he now has permission to step inside.
*****A/N*****
Late update. Sorry. But I hope you like. Prepair to see Dracula...I mean...Muraki...in action soon! And...PLEASE REVIEW!
The restless night has come to an end, and dawn has proven once again to be the savior of those in darkness. All are safe, for now. But much needs to be answered, much light needs to be shed, and much hope needs to be found before this nightmare can be put to rest.
"And then?" Wakaba presses, urging Tsuzuki to tell her more.
"I've already told you more than I should have." the brunette answers weakly, very shaken by all that has transpired.
Wakaba is lying back in bed, afflicted by a powerful fever. Tsuzuki sits beside her in a chair he pulled over from the dressing table, retelling his friend the events of the previous night.
Although she had been the main attraction for most of the oddities Tsuzuki witnessed, Wakaba remembers very little, and longs to grasp some tiny clue as to what has befallen her.
"Please, Asato. I must know."
Asato. She only refers to Tsuzuki by his given name when she is truly angry or truly serious. Neither come about very often, and the poor young man knows there is no way for him to escape her trap.
Nervously wringing his hands, Tsuzuki shifts in the chair, unable to look Wakaba in the eye. "After you jumped from the window, I tried to follow you." he speaks softly, hesitantly. "But you were too fast. I couldn't keep up. When I finally found you, you were lying by the rocks near the shoreline. I still can't believe you didn't get swept in. You could have drowned. I was so scared, all I could do was pick you up and carry you back to the house."
"Tsuzuki -"
"You're fine now. You're safe. I've sent for Terazuma to check you over, just in case."
"Tsuzuki, listen to me." Wakaba stresses urgently, grasping one of her friend's trembling hands. "Promise me, as my dearest friend, that you won't tell anyone what really happened. Not Hajime, or my family, or anyone else. Promise me."
Lifting his violet eyes to study Wakaba's deathly pale face, Tsuzuki reaches out with his free hand to stroke her cheek. At long last, he nods in reply to her request, but feels a certain unsettling tremor in the pit of his stomach. Everything is wrong.
"Let's change the subject, kudesai." Wakaba smiles, instantly missing the warmth of Tsuzuki's hand when he pulls it away. "What of Hisoka? You haven't heard from him in so long."
"There's still no news." Tsuzuki replies mournfully, clearly worried. "Almost a month since his last letter, and still not a word. I hate to think something happened to his newest message, keeping it from reaching me. Or, at the very worst, that something has happened to him. I just wish I knew -"
"Terazuma-sensei is here, Wakaba-san." interrupts GuShoShin's unique voice.
Just then, the tall and striking young doctor walks in, following the fluttering bird closely. A slight flicker of electricity passes between Terazuma and Tsuzuki when their eyes meet, and considering the not-so-friendly terms they last left each other on, it isn't that surprising.
GuShoShin takes this tension as a signal to leave, mumbling something about throwing together a tray of tea and pastries for later.
The two men continue to eye each other for a moment, before Terazuma finally breaks from their shared glare. "Excuse my poor manners. Ohaiyo gozaimasu, Wakaba-san. Tsuzuki-san. It's been a long time, ne?"
"Not long enough." Tsuzuki grumbles.
"Don't tell me you're going to start in on each other already." Wakaba laments, rolling her head back against the pillow. "You were teenagers back in school, and very foolish for not learning to see one other's good sides. Now, behave yourselves, or I will throw both of you out right now."
The mutual dislike for one another between these two began the moment they first met, but for Wakaba's sake, and maybe even their own, they will consent to get along.
Well, at least they'll try.
"Thank you for coming, Terazuma." Tsuzuki mends, smiling as genuinely as he can. "Wakaba commends you for your skills as a doctor."
"More for minds than bodies." Terazuma explains, offering a similar expression of forced acceptance. "But I'll do what I can. How is she?"
"Weak. And very pale. Please...if you can...help her."
As Terazuma steps around to the other side of the bed, Wakaba accepts his approach with a warm smile of her own, despite her obvious fatigue. Quite professionally, he checks her pulse and the sides of her neck, wearing an expression of pure seriousness, and doing his best to avoid her unique gaze, a gaze that makes him weak in the knees at the slightest look.
Wakaba is truly like no other.
"When did this begin?" Terazuma questions.
"The storm last night." Wakaba explains, watching him carefully as he checks her eyes and ears. "I was having bad dreams, but they're very vague to me now."
"Can you tell me about them?" Terazuma presses, kneeling down beside the bed and revealing his stethoscope to listen to her heart.
Still in his chair across the bed from the good doctor, Tsuzuki eyes their exchange worriedly, filled with fear for Wakaba's sake and all she is going through.
Nightmares are not to be feared, for they are nothing but dreams and have no power over us unless we let them. However, Tsuzuki has the oddest feeling that whatever is happening goes beyond mere dreams.
"There was...howling." Wakaba begins, distancing her gaze as she remembers. "A dog howling...or a wolf..."
"A dog...or a wolf...?" Terazuma repeats, barely audible, and very disturbed by that description.
"I felt as though I were floating, surrounded by that howl, and there was this strange singing that echoed through the wind..."
"Go on."
"And then...there was something very sweet and very bitter all at ounce that overtook everything I was hearing...and I felt it all pass away...as if my soul went out of my body and drifted out into the air. And then..." she trails off a moment, allowing Terazuma to move her head to the side as he finishes his examination. There, on the right side of her neck, the side that had been furthest from him, he finds a mark low on her throat. "...and then...Tsuzuki woke me, and told me I'd been dreaming."
Removing his hand, Terazuma sits back in the chair opposite Tsuzuki's and continues to stare at Wakaba for a long time.
There is something that clearly disturbs him concerning what he has found, and both others in the room effortlessly pick up on the doctor's unease.
"Nan desu, ka, Terazuma?" Tsuzuki inquires firmly, never one to favor silences.
"There is a mark on your neck." he hesitantly explains to the bedridden, young woman, barely registering anymore that Tsuzuki is still with them.
"A mark...?" she repeats.
"A red mark. As though...as though you'd been kissed there." Terazuma's voice comes out sounding obviously hurt, and he pauses before asking his next question, now with a hint of jealousy. "Have you been?"
Tenderly, Wakaba reaches out, only able to reach her fingertips to his cheek as she answers. "No, Hajime-chan. I swear."
For a moment, he seems inclined not to believe her, but that gentle touch, the compassion and sweet emotion in her eyes, melts his stern demeanor all too easily.
Terazuma nods, taking her hand from his face to hold it in his own. They share a moment then, Tsuzuki so long forgotten even he has a hard time believing that he is actually there with them instead of watching from the outside in.
At last, the spell is broken, and Terazuma stands, gathering his things. "I don't know what to tell you, Wakaba-san. You are indeed pale and appear quite weak, just as Tsuzuki said, but other than that strange mark, I can't imagine why. I'll come back later with supplies to test your blood, in case something may be found there, but I'm sure it is only a mild fever and affliction. Nothing to worry over. Just get some rest, and I'm sure you'll feel much better."
Smiling in gratitude, Wakaba snuggles back into the bed, longing for that suggested sleep more than she ever thought she could.
Terazuma moves to the door then, intent on leaving as quietly as possible, when GuShoShin suddenly flutters in past him, carrying very urgent news. "Tsuzuki-san! A letter has arrived for you."
"Honto ni?" Tsuzuki beams, instantly getting to his feet, and struggling to keep his voice down for the sake of his exhausted friend. "Where is it postmarked from?"
"From a hospital in Budapest."
"Budapest? I'll be right there."
GuShoShin gives another flutter of wings and is soon gone, off to wait for Tsuzuki to follow after him. Rushing past Terazuma, who had stopped to hear what the bird might say, Tsuzuki stops before going through the door, and turns to him with genuine appreciation.
"Arigato, Terazuma-sensei. Wakaba looks better just by having you here."
If Tsuzuki wasn't certain it was impossible, he would have sworn the doctor blushed at his comment. "Yes, well...keep a watchful eye on her." Terazuma instructs. "Make sure she stays in bed for as long as possible, and don't let her leave this room unless it is absolutely necessary."
"I won't. I promise."
"Good. And...if I may say so...you seem to be just as Wakaba described. Not nearly as...foolhardy and immature as I remember."
Tsuzuki grins, allowing this twisted praise to be taken as pure compliment, and nothing more. "Same to you. I didn't feel like clocking you even once." The pair chuckle lightly, on the verge of enjoying each others company, and move once again for the door.
"Early today..." Terazuma begins, after both of them had given Wakaba's already sleeping form a parting glance. "...I had the pleasure of meeting your friend, Kurosaki-san. He seems to be a fine man."
Stopping dead in his tracks, Tsuzuki soon falls behind as Terazuma continues down the hallway. Noticing this, the doctor turns back, not understanding the deeply troubled look that has overcome the young man's features.
"Nan desu, ka?"
"That's...impossible." Tsuzuki breathes, practically shaking he is so stricken. "Hisoka is...out of the country. Till just now, I haven't heard a word from him in weeks. Why would you say something like that?!"
Angrily, Tsuzuki runs past the astonished young doctor, flying down the hallway into a far off room, and slams the door behind him.
For a long time, Terazuma stands stunned, unable to comprehend what he possibly could have said to cause such a reaction. He had only spoken the truth, so far as he knew it. How could anyone get so upset over the truth?
*****
The day passed with little incident from that point, for after all, how much can evil do with the sun still looming above? It is now night once again, just after sunset, and the young houseboy for Wakaba's home has gone down to the front door to lock up for the evening.
He isn't the most memorable character - a young boy, standing rather short, with dark hair and bright green eyes - although a few have commented that he bears a striking resemblance to the businessman Kurosaki Hisoka.
"Oh!" he cries, caught off guard by a shadowy figure just off the stoop as he steps outside to give the grounds a once over. "Sumimasen. May I help you?"
The shadows shift, and a man appears, dressed all in black with his cloak drawn up high to cover his face. "Why yes, I believe you can...Hijiri." he speaks, his voice so smooth and melodic in its deep tambour, the boy almost forgets to reply.
"How...how do you know my name...?" he breathes at last, entranced completely by this incredible stranger.
"Say it." the tall figure commands, slowly climbing the steps of the stoop.
"Nani...?"
"This is the home of Wakaba-san, ne? This is where she lives?"
"Hai, it is." Hijiri answers hesitantly, unconsciously backing up against the closed door as the man approaches him. He comes so close, Hijiri can feel an almost inhuman chill emanating from the man's body. "What do you want -"
"You're a very beautiful boy." he breaks in, with a certain seductive tone entering his voice. "Do you know that?"
Hijiri shudders, forming completely against the door now as an ice-cold hand reaches up and strokes his youthful cheek.
"Now...please..." the stranger whispers, bending in close enough to nearly brush his lips against the boy's skin. "...say it..."
Utterly petrified in place, Hijiri looks up into the man's eyes, finally able to see them now that they are so close. The moment he does, however, he is sucked right in, trapped within those haunting, silver irises, glowing unnaturally in the darkness.
Hijiri is in a trance, unable to do anything but what he is told to do.
"You. May. Enter." the boy consents mechanically, and upon saying the words, the trance fades away, and Hijiri is merely captivated by the man in front of him.
Grandly, this fascinating stranger steps back and tosses his long cloak over his shoulder, revealing for the first time his flawlessly beautiful face. He is youthful and vibrant, sensual and charismatic. His skin is as white as the moon above, his hair a shimmering silver to match his eyes, and the smile he grants the young boy before him is nothing short of dazzling.
Completely drawn in by this image, Hijiri leaves the safety of the door, and haphazardly leaps into the man's arms, clutching at his chest as if he cannot possibly imagine such a perfect vision ever leaving his sight.
"Please, Master, let me stay with you!" he pleads, filled with unimaginable passion.
"Dear boy..." the stranger laughs, holding Hijiri tight. "...you are not the one I am after. However, I am sure I can think of *some* use for you..."
The scream that nearly shatters the night is instantly silenced before it can begin, and the true villain of this story has arrived. He is not only on the shore now, he is at the door, and he now has permission to step inside.
*****A/N*****
Late update. Sorry. But I hope you like. Prepair to see Dracula...I mean...Muraki...in action soon! And...PLEASE REVIEW!