They had managed to get their unconscious burden up into the apartment and into the bedroom, though it hadn't been a small feat. Ryo was breathing hard, his injuries making themselves known again, but he doggedly refused to let Barclay do all the work. The surprise that their boss, the commissioner of the 27th, was an ally, was still ringing through his mind, but he was too shocked about Dee to give it much thought. Right now he was functioning as an ally and Dee needed him.
Stripping him of his shoes and the jacket, taking the gun and placing it into the safety box, he finally covered the man he loved and stood back, swaying slightly.
A strong hand touched his elbow and Ryo flinched.
"Ryo?"
The voice was soft, low, masculine, and held a million questions.
"Were you hurt?" Barclay asked one of them.
"Just bruised," he heard himself answer, his eyes on the still figure on the bed.
Dee was a paranormal… with quite a punch… howwhywhenwhere? How could it be? Why had never anyone identified him as a potential paranormal? When had his powers started to develop? Where did that leave them now? Dee wasn't some witch or wizard. Ryo knew he had been right in categorizing the powers as those of a warlock. Or more.
"Ryo?" Barclay's insistent voice interrupted his whirling thoughts. "Let me look at your injuries."
He followed the older man outside and let himself be pushed to sit on a chair. He winced slightly as he moved wrong and Barclay frowned.
"Ribs?" he guessed.
"Yeah."
"Take off your shirt. I'll see what Latener has concerning first aid supplies."
Ryo didn't really think about the order, just removed his jacket, halter and shirt. By the time Barclay came back out of the bathroom, carrying bandages and what looked like a tin of cream, he was semi-naked. Only then did he register the fact that this was Ross Barclay, the man who had tried to become more than friends with him.
But the commissioner didn't so much as let his eyes wander, just palpated the bruised ribs, making him wince more, then started to wrap a bandage around him. There was a completely professional air around him, his touches precise and not the least bit personal, and the way he looked at him was almost clinical. Ryo was astounded by the change. Then again, the ally was always a different person from the man or woman behind the cover. He knew he himself was – had always been. Barclay seemed to be in the business for about as long as Ryo, judging by his status as the next ally in Ryo's vicinity to handle a newly awakened paranormal.
Sometimes, people surprised you, he mused.
"Do you have a contact to help identify Dee?" Barclay asked as he put the finishing touches to the stabilizing bandage.
Ryo winced a little, trying to breath more shallow. "Yes. You?"
A smile. "Yes. I think it would be best to call them both. Something tells me this is no ordinary case. With Latener, it never is."
Ryo pulled on his shirt, wincing several more times. "Yes."
Barclay helped him, easing his arms into the sleeves, then stepped back. It was almost as if to reassure him that the blond meant no harm, wasn't invading his personal space. It was weird, Ryo thought, so different.
He reached for his cell phone, feeling the first tendrils of exhaustion creep through his mind.
Barclay dug out his own phone, and both men placed their call.

Mitsumi was a small, Asian woman in her fifties. Or at least appeared to be that old. She might be older or even younger. One could never be sure. Her hair was shot through with gray, but her face showed barely any lines, and she was dressed in a dark blue and gray business suit. She didn't look like any kind of witch, but witches rarely did. They either hid in plain sight or were so indistinguishable from the rest, no one would ever believe it anyway.
The moment the woman entered the apartment, her sharp, dark eyes swept around the room, then stopped on Ryo. Her brows rose a fraction and she seemed to follow an invisible line to the bedroom, her feet taking her there before either Ryo or Barclay had said more than a 'hello'.
"Well, we certainly felt him come to life," she remarked as she looked at the peacefully sleeping Dee. "He left the impression Godzilla leaves on Tokyo. And no one ever sensed him before?"
The last question was directed at the two allies.
"Not to my knowledge," Ryo answered.
"Hm. Well, looking at you, something happened and it was like a dam breaking. At least on my end. Now let me have a look at the boy."
With that Mitsumi set to work. It was throughout that time Carl Harrington came in. He was Ryo's only magic-user contact in New York. They rarely met, actually. He saw more of Nacho and his friends than Carl.
"Mitsumi is here already?" Harrington asked.
Both men nodded.
"Well, if she's checking him out, I'll leave her to it for now, but I'm willing to give a second opinion. Your friend in there made his presence known throughout New York, Ryo."
"Mitsumi already said so."
"Well, he caught me in the shower. I nearly hit my head when he blasted. Damn, the boy is either a first class wizard or something really weird."
"The latter is quite a good description, Carl." Mitsumi closed the door to the bedroom behind her. She smiled at her fellow witch. "He's part shaman, part wizard."
Carl whistled softly. "Now there's an explosive combination."
The woman's dark eyes fell on Ryo. "Speaking of which, here's the other half of the pair."
Barclay frowned. "Mitsumi?"
"Sit down, boys, this will take a while. Any coffee to have?"
Ryo nodded and started to rise, but Barclay's firm hand on his shoulder kept him down. "You take it ease, McLane."
Mitsumi frowned a little, running an eye over him. "Sit, boy. You look like shit."
Ryo blinked in embarrassment, but he sat down. Barclay came back with coffee and after everyone had one – except Ryo, who couldn't really bring himself to taste coffee right now, and who had a tea – Mitsumi gazed gravely at the assembled group.
"What we have in there is a paranormal whose powers were shielded from prying eyes; I suspect for all his life. It's hard to see even now. He's still shielded and I had quite some trouble just getting a whiff of what we have. Dee was born a powerful shaman with some unique touches to his aura. He's part shaman, part wizard, and very much all active now."
"Shielded?" Ryo heard himself ask, feeling like in a dream. "How? Why?"
"How? Well, it must have been a shaman or a high level wizard, an old one. Someone who knew a lot about life shields. Whatever it was that encased him, it was broken. I suspect it was leaking for a while now, things trickling out, things leaking into it." Mitsumi gave Ryo a close look. "Ross said you were attacked and that's when he triggered."
McLane nodded. Ryo still remembered the rush of energy passing him by, disturbing no more than a hair on his head while almost killing his attackers.
"And here you are, unharmed. You stood in the middle of a blast that had been building behind his leaky shields…"
Carl frowned. "Ryo's no paranormal, Mitsumi…"
"I'm not implying it. At least not any one we have ever met. Can't you see the bond?"
Carl's eyes narrowed and he gave Ryo a very close look that had the younger man blush slightly.
"Hot damn!" Harrington suddenly breathed.
Mitsumi nodded. "I only heard about such things, but what we have here is most likely a Shaman Pair."
Ryo lost all color at the words. "That can't be!" he blurted.
Both witches and Barclay shot him surprised looks.
"You know what a Shaman Pair is?" Mitsumi wanted to know.
"It's a connection formed between a powerful shaman and a non-paranormal who's then called a shield," Ryo recited automatically. "The shield is the protection of the shaman, shielding his powers, his body, his mind and his soul. He's the only one untouched by the energy the shaman can wield. The shaman forms a life bond between himself and the shield, an unbreakable bond…" he trailed off as he took in their startled looks. "What?"
Carl suddenly grinned. "I always said you were an encyclopedia on legs, Ryo."
Mitsumi shook her head in clear amazement. "How do you know that, Ryo?"
"I… ah… I read up a lot when I was younger… uh… and still do…"
"He's an overeager study-puppy, Mitsumi. He devours knowledge." Carl's grin was almost splitting his face.
Barclay looked just plain amazed. He finally turned from staring at Ryo to the female witch and shot her a quizzical look.
"So, Dee's a shaman and bonded to Ryo? But Ryo's still human?"
"He's a shield. He's not your average paranormal since his powers don't register at all. I could scan him all day long and not find an ounce of talent. Dee triggered him, but he also harbors his powers. Ryo is simply the shield, but the shield is never anything but simple…"
"The shield protects," Ryo murmured, glancing at the door leading to the bedroom.
His exhausted, too overtaxed mind was yearning for some rest, but his thoughts were whirling.
"The shaman can trust his partner without doubt; his life depends on him. There are only seven known Shaman Pairs in the world. They're thrown together by chance, bonded, unable to live apart…"
A strong hand touched him and he blinked, looking up and into a pair of concerned, blue eyes. Clear, blue eyes, like ice. But there was a warmth in there Ryo had never noticed. A humanity that had never been allowed to surface. No smirks, no calculating looks, no defenses against subordinates who might try to upset his balance. This was a human being worried about his own kind, about Ryo, about another ally. The concern, so stark naked and open, baffled Ryo. He couldn't quite grasp the concept of the expression and the man who showed it to clearly.
"Ryo, get some rest," Barclay said gently.
"But…"
"I'll handle matters."
He nodded slowly, aware that Barclay knew what he was doing. And sleep sounded so promising…
Give in, something inside of him told Ryo. Trust him to do his job. He's your ally, too.

Barclay looked at the peacefully sleeping man, curled up against the newly discovered paranormal.
"Shaman Pair," he murmured, disbelief coloring his voice.
Ryo had dropped dead before even hitting the mattress. Barclay doubted the young detective had actually understood a word about his role in this new development.
"Well, yes," Mitsumi said, smiling.
The witch gave him a little push, drawing his gaze away from the two men.
"Let's give them some peace. Dee needs rest, as does Ryo. Dee will have enough on his mind when he wakes up. Literally." She chuckled.
Barclay went into the living room with the old woman where Ryo's contact was drinking his coffee.
"I'll stay," Carl said calmly. "There will be questions when Dee wakes. I also made a few more calls. Dee's awakening caused some disturbance with the sensitive. He was registered, but he immediately disappeared off the radar again because of the shield."
Mitsumi nodded. "Keeps him safe. Well, boys, I'll be off now. There's a class waiting for me and you, Ross, should go back to your work, too. You've two men to excuse now."
He smiled a little. "Yes, for a quite a while, I suppose."
"At least for two days. Do you think he needs training, Mitsumi?"
Barclay dreaded the idea of Dee Latener not in control of those incredible powers.
"We'll see and know that when he wakes." Mitsumi looked thoughtful. "We should try and get a shaman here. This is way over the head of a mere witch."
Carl nodded in agreement. "We won't be able to do anything should Dee lose control… He'd vaporize us."
"Well, Ryo's his shield," Barclay threw in.
"We have no idea how far his abilities go right now. It might have been luck…" Mitsumi chewed on her lower lip. "I'll see if I can find a shaman in our vicinity. They're not really advertising in the yellow pages."
"Some of them must have felt the blast," Carl argued. "We did and we're on the first level."
"Yes, but it was momentary. We wouldn't have been able to pinpoint Dee's location if not for the call from Ryo and Ross. The shamans might have gotten a heads up, but they're most likely as clueless as we are."
Barclay's eyes wandered back to the closed bedroom door, then he nodded slowly. "I'll take care of matters," he promised.
"And we see if we can't find a shaman," Mitsumi added. "Have fun, Carl, and don't drink too much coffee."
Harrington only grimaced.

On his way back to the precinct, Ross Barclay placed a few calls and made sure his two detective had not only two days off, but also weren't brought into connection with the three injured criminals a patrol car had picked up. It would be handled as a fight between the three where matters had gotten out of hand. If they remembered anything about trying to almost kill Ryo, there were ways to shut them up.