"Tsuzuki… let me help you."
"Help?" Tsuzuki echoed.
"I did the damage, I can undo it. I won't harm you again. I'm deeply, deeply sorry about this."
A weak hand curled fingers around his wrist and Tsuzuki smiled. "My own fault for thinking I could take on someone like you."
He smiled gently. "You won. You beat me. I had no right to go so deep. Allow me to fix the damage…?"
"How?"
Rikugo slowly opened the extra set of eyes above his human eyes and he felt Tsuzuki tense. It hurt him to see the reaction, but he knew that those eyes had buried themselves in that incredible soul and done harm. He stroked over the damp hair.
"I won't hurt you."
He held up one palm, the eye in the middle of it open, too.
"I never could. I am yours now. I will protect you, serve you, and I can't stand by and watch you suffer."
"Rikugo…" Tsuzuki swallowed. "I trust you."
Already? You fear my eyes, but you trust me?
The answer was in the violet eyes that were suddenly very steady. Rikugo inhaled deeply, then smiled.
"Relax," he whispered almost hypnotically.
And then he let his power do the rest. He entered a mind that was as intoxicating, as fascinating, as incredible as nothing the astrologer had ever met. And he stroked over the terrible wound he had left, soothing the pain, erasing the terror. He briefly wrapped himself around the bright light that he would never let go, that he would serve, and he smiled at the peaceful emissions, at the gentle aura that radiated its need back to the shikigami.
I'll serve and protect you. I'll guard you. You're mine.
The last sentiment was echoed strongly, and something inside him rippled with joy.
Tsuzuki woke to the wonderful sensation of being perfectly safe and
comfortable ensconced in a protective cocoon. He felt secure, was not alone,
and his body and mind seemed to be utterly relaxed. Opening his eyes he
found he lay in a large bed in an equally large room that looked nothing
like the guest room he had spent the last night in.
Confused he sat up.
There was a rustle of clothes and he discovered Rikugo, who had apparently
been waiting for him to wake up.
Rikugo, his new shikigami.
Rikugo, who had brought him here, had Looked at him, had…
Tsuzuki frowned a little. Rikugo hadn't hurt him; at least not that
he could feel it. He actually felt pretty good.
"How do you feel?"
"Uh, fine," he answered, still confused.
"I'm glad. I can't tell you how sorry I am for inflicting such damage."
Rikugo looked positively chagrined.
"But you didn't hurt me…" Tsuzuki protested.
"Not physically, but my challenge… it left you with spiritual wounds.
I healed them, Tsuzuki. You should be well enough to return home if you
wish to."
Tsuzuki met the dark eyes that were such a contrast to the fair skin
and hair, and an even bigger contrast to the two sets of eyes Rikugo usually
kept closed. Eyes that weren't human at all and which had scared him at
first.
"Thank you," he whispered.
Rikugo just bowed his head a little. "I am your guardian spirit. It
was my honor."
Tsuzuki swung his legs out of the bed, pleased to notice the tremors
were gone. He had felt so sick, so dizzy, so nauseous, and he had little
memory as to what had happened after he had mastered Rikugo. He only remembered
the shikigami's touch, his coaxing voice, looking into those alien eyes,
and then… warmth.
"What about you?" he asked, looking the taller shikigami over. "Are
you okay? Did I hurt you?"
Rikugo shot him a startled look. "Why do you ask…?"
"Because when I beat Byakko I left him with a few bruises and I didn't
want that. Suzaku… I, uh, well… I kinda hit her hard…"
Tsuzuki evaded those onyx eyes. He was ashamed of his loss of control,
and he was scared of what always lurked inside him. A power he hated, but
a power he simply had.
Long fingers touched his cheek, stroked over it in a tender gesture.
"You didn't hurt me, Tsuzuki. I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Rikugo
smiled warmly. "You are a kind soul. I'm proud to be yours."
Tsuzuki felt a smile break out on his face. He couldn't help but react
to the loving declaration.
"I'm proud to have you."
The plum trees were in full blossom, heralding the arrival of spring.
Winter had been mild, without the snow that Sohryu always claimed was a
bad omen. It would be a bad omen to have it snow in summer, but winter
was a time of coolness, of life freezing to be reborn in spring. There
was nothing bad about snow.
Rikugo looked out over the garden that lay behind Tenkuu, smiling to
himself. The landscaped garden was pretty but superficial and while he
liked it, he appreciated the rougher front yard of his own place. The Zen
pattern, the oak trees, the cherry wood bench.
Today, though, he watched something happen within the shade of the
beautiful garden that had been told to him by the oracle. He had looked
into the world of astrology, immersed himself in the energies of the Universe,
the Cosmos, that he could interpret like no other, and he had seen the
beginning of something that both scared and fascinated him.
He had seen and known it for months now. Rikugo had looked at it from
all angles, had spent hours questioning the answers, but they had never
changed. He had seen the familiar darkness, a power so incredible its bearer
shied away from it, hated himself for being who he was, and he had seen
another darkness. A darkness so great, so powerful it matched the first,
a darkness that called out and wanted to be heard.
Today it had come to pass.
The black fire serpent of Hell had been released from Tenkuu's depth,
had been bonded to the kindest soul he had ever met, a soul that wrapped
its steel core in cotton, that tried to hide the darkness it possessed
with an innate innocence.
His master Tsuzuki Asato had accepted Touda as his last and twelfth
shikigami.
Rikugo didn't know how to feel about it because he had known it would
happen one day. He just hadn't realized how.
So simple, actually.
So… straight-forward.
He watched the two men sitting in the garden, watched Tsuzuki gaze
at his latest guardian spirit, and he watched as one slender hand rose
and touched the visor that would forever disable Touda in a for shikigami
worst possible way. He would be unable to use his heightened senses or
his powers, making him an easy target for an attack since he couldn't sense
the others' auras. It hid the golden eyes of the fire serpent, his expression,
his emotions. It was crude, actually close to torture for such a proud
and independent being, but necessary.
Touda was lethal. Dangerous and lethal.
And now he belonged to Tsuzuki.
Rikugo froze as the metal clawed hand came up and gently, oh so gently,
pushed Tsuzuki hand away from the mechanical device.
Touda was a predator without claws or teeth, stripped of rank and power
for his crimes against GensouKai, and Tsuzuki Asato had demanded him to
be set free.
Rikugo had seen the signs, had seen the powerful energy lines snaking
toward both men, entwining them more than they could ever imagine. Something
would happen again in the near future, something that would change matters
forever.
It had started yesterday; it would be concluded, but he had no idea
when. It was a foggy vision, one filled with pain and suffering, and he
felt his protective instincts rise.
The astrologer knew there was nothing he could do, that the wheels
were turning, that fate was inevitable, but he didn't have to like it.
Touda.
He would be the pivotal point of the change.
"Don't you ever hurt him, serpent," he murmured. "Don't you ever harm
him."