A SMILE UPON MY FACE

Green and red, everywhere you looked; vapour and light, branches and fire, had turned an ordinary school hall into the insides of a sinister Christmas tree. Everyone in that place would have had to agree, the scenario was more than a little surreal- But not everyone had the possibility of observing that bizarre spectacle from such a safe, yet front row seat. As a matter of fact, most of the people there, were somehow involved in creating the censorially overwhelming show.

Hijiri had conjured some out-of-this-world creature to fight against the monster Hiyama had produced out of thin air but, unlike Hiyama, the shinigami wasn't just staying in the back, watching; he was using every single trick he could- pulling out countless ofuda, reciting spells and, in one opportunity, even trying to punch the monster in the face- to help his fighter along.

The monster was just that, a monster. Tsuzuki wasn't giving him that title because he was mean. The thing was an aberration; a chimera. Part dog, part dragon, part bird and not one bit cute. His skin looked more like embers than skin- and not just for the colour of it. It wasn't something Tsuzuki would be compelled to get close to any time... ever. Its eyes reminded him of a jack-o-lantern and the damn thing was throwing balls of fire through his sharply dented fauces. It was certainly giving Hijiri and the green fellow a hard time, while Hiyama stood in a corner, keeping the other boy really close, and smiling down at them.

'A demon, huh?' Tsuzuki thought. It would certainly explain a lot. But the truth was, it wasn't Hiyama/Demon boy, nor the freaky creature he'd made what caught Tsuzuki's attention the most; it was Inari. The green guy's name had been engraved on his memory because, when Hijiri called out for him- and after thinking for a moment that Inari was Hijiri's deity of choice and they were screwed, since the shinigami was praying- and he appeared, Tsuzuki couldn't help but wonder whether he was the real mythological god, or was just named after him. The guy did have what it took to be a god, he decided- albeit a small one. The monster might have been giving him a run for his money, but it wasn't because Inari was weaker; not at all. It was just a matter of the source of their power. Every weapon and attack Inari threw at the monster was in some way related to vegetation, and you can't quite fight fire with wood, can you?

Inari was powerful; and graceful; and elegant. He moved and jumped and dodged as if he were dancing. Tsuzuki was in awe just by the sight of him. Not to mention he was gorgeous, but Tsuzuki wouldn't allow those thoughts about someone who might or might not have been a heavenly being. One thing was for sure, though; green was becoming his favourite colour at an alarming rate.

Inari must have realized he was getting nowhere with trying to choke the thing to death with roots. Looping backwards, his hands produced a blade that looked pretty much like a leaf. Tsuzuki noticed that Aome and Hisae- of whom he'd forgotten all about- edged, holding their breaths, closer to the invisible wall that was the kekkai protecting them. With a grace and dexterity that had Tsuzuki's jaw dropping an inch or so lower, Inari struck the chimera, slicing it in two perfect halves.

Tsuzuki would have cheered, but Hijiri's and Inari's expressions weren't of victory, more of dread, as the monster hit the ground. And he would have brushed it off as them being awfully pessimistic, if Hiyama's own face hadn't seemed so amused. The weird phenomenon explained itself in a matter of seconds, when the monster's parts drew together, fused together, and it just got up, as if nothing had happened.

"Damn!!" Aome exclaimed, punching the ground, as if it was to blame. "I knew it! That bastard is playing dirty!!"

Which wasn't such a weird notion- Hiyama being a cheater, that is. First of, well... this was Hiyama. But it was also a demon; the whole point of being a demon is that virtue doesn't apply to you, isn't that right? But Tsuzuki was still curious about what she meant, even if he had his suspicions.

"Playing dirty? How come?"

"That... that thing..." Tsuzuki could see a little vein pulsing furiously on her forehead, as her face turned red with anger. He backed away a little, just in case she would just burst. "He's using a puppet!! He's not fighting himself, and the stupid thing can't get hurt! Jii-san is never going to beat him if he keeps fighting a mindless minion!" She sounded as mad as she looked.

Tsuzuki turned his head to study the chimera once more. It did look rather mindless. What was more, now he could tell Inari wasn't really trying to beat it, he was trying to get it out of the way for Hijiri to pass.

"Can't you help him?" he asked cautiously. "Don't you have one of those... guys?" He pointed at Inari. Aome huffed, shaking her head no.

"I told the boss I needed a shiki! But nooooooo! He wouldn't even let me go to the GenSouKai!" Her eyes got a bit starry, as she raised a fist to the air in defiance. "I'm gonna get me the best shiki ever!! One that spits fire, or ice, and looks really hot! You'll see Rika Himamura! You won't be able to rub your stupid shiki on my face ever again!!"

Hisae-san, who'd been fairly quiet through it all, shared a look of confusion with Tsuzuki, as Aome went on cursing some unknown person; someone she obviously hated with a passion, but that didn't seem all that important at that moment. A pretty strong explosion stopped her ramblings and they all jumped, focusing on the fight once more.

It seemed the mindless drone had gotten tired of just stalling Hijiri and pushed Inari aside to strike the shinigami. He now lay on all fours, his middle bleeding profusely. Tsuzuki shrieked, thinking his new friend was as good as dead- or deader- and almost drops the ofuda that kept them safe to run to his aid. Aome was fast to stop him though.

"He'll be alright in a moment. Don't worry." Of course the worry in her own voice as she said that didn't help matters much.

Inari had gone from trying to make way for Hijiri to keep him away from the monster's constant attacks. Tsuzuki felt useless. Something inside of him to just get up and fight, instead of sitting still, holding a stupid piece of paper. Things were not looking good and he wanted to do something about it!!

His eyes caught sight of something that, though he'd already taken notice of, sparkled his imagination. Tsuzuki eyed the kekkai, then the ofuda, and smiled, a little proud of himself.

"I just have to hold this to protect us, ne?" he asked; more for confirmation than anything. Aome nodded absentmindedly. His smile broadened. "So, if I were to... say, walk, while holding it, the kekkai would follow me, am I right?"

"What are you trying to say?" Aome asked, and Tsuzuki could tell his plan was taking form in her own brain. He didn't answer, he just turned to Hisae.

"Do you think you can walk?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, I can; I think so..." She paused, frowning. "I guess this is not the time to be asking this, but what the hell is going on? Am I dreaming?"

Tsuzuki smiled sheepishly at her; he could certainly sympathize with her disbelief, but she was right; it wasn't the time to explain. He pointed at where Hiyama and Kenji stood.

"We have to get there without them noticing. Do you think we can?" Aome frowned but both her and Hisae nodded. Tsuzuki grinned brightly. "All Hijiri-san needs is a distraction."

His head- understandably so- hurt like hell. His jaw felt several times its intended size and it was pulsing pain with every pump of his heart. Tatsumi was having a bit of a hard time coming around, feeling a little numb from head to toe- ok, maybe not his head; from neck to toe, then- but he was, indeed, waking; and with every step closer to awareness, grew his concern.

He must have hit his head pretty bad, he figured, because he thought he remembered Hiyama picking him up as if he weighed nothing. Just in case his memories were correct, though, he tried to sit up, to compose himself a little to look for Watari. There was no way the blond would have stood a chance with that scum bag on a normal day, never mind against an enhanced and proportionally more bitchy Hiyama.

It took him a while to gather enough courage to open his eyes, rubbing his temples to try and ease his killer headache. Even when he was just sitting, the room seemed to be spinning under him. Seeing as he was taking longer to regroup than he was willing to stand the suspense over Watari's well-being, he called out- more like, groaned out- for his friend.

"Watari?"

He heard something that sounded like a tin tray hitting the floor, followed by a thud and a yelp. Afraid that Watari was badly hurt and in need of assistance, he sucked in a sharp breath and opened his eyes, hissing at the bright, white light that sent needles through his brain. Instead of a wounded Watari, though, what he found was the blond lying sprawled on the floor next to the window, cursing and mumbling incoherently at an instrument tray that had met a similar fate as him.

"Stupid thing!" he finished and, in truth, it had been pretty much all Tatsumi had been able to make out from his rambling. He tossed a few things across the room in frustration and watched them fall with a bit of sick satisfaction. Tatsumi made a mental note of never, ever, making Watari angry for real. Eventually, the blond's revenge was complete and he turned to look at him with big, shimmery eyes. The boy half crawled, half stumbled to where he was and threw his arms around him. "You're awake!!" he cried, squeezing a bit too hard; though Tatsumi wouldn't dare complain about it. "Oh, my God! I thought you had a concussion or something!!" Watari pulled away, barely, and inspected his forehead with both his eyes and fingers. "How is it? Does it hurt much? I was right here, with you, waiting for you to wake up! Don't think I'd leave you lying on the floor, all concussiony and by your self! But there was this noise, and then this light, and then an explosion; which technically is a noise and a light, and you called me and I fell and I think the world is coming to an end!!"

Tatsumi blinked, both for what the blond was saying, and the speed at which he was saying it.

"Excuse me?"

"The world!!" the blond exclaimed, gesturing a sphere with his hands, as if Tatsumi needed to be reminded of the shape of it. "It's either WW III or the Apocalypse and I don't know which's worse!! And I think Hiyama is one of the Apocalypse's horsemen, only he didn't have a horse, so I can't be sure. And he took Kenji!! He might keep his horse in his room, though, because..."

"Watari." Tatsumi couldn't help smiling. He put his arms around the blond's waist and pulled him closer, to try and calm him down.

"He was wicked strong!! And his eyes! I tell you, he's not human!! Do you think we're going to hell? I'm not ready for judgment day! I wouldn't do well in hell! I'm too delicate!"

"Stop." Tatsumi put a finger to Watari's lips, gazing deeply and sternly into his eyes. As cute as he was all distressed, the shrieky tone of his voice wasn't doing his headache a favour; besides, Tatsumi feared Watari would cross the point of no return and remain a thousand miles per hour for the rest of his life. "'Tari," he said kindly, brushing the messy hair away from his face. "Calm down and run that over with me again?"

Before Watari had a chance to reply, a terrible explosion was heard, that made the glass of the windows rattle. Tatsumi jumped a bit, while Watari again threw himself at him, whimpering.

"I don't wanna die, yet! I'm too young!!"

Watari looked so scared, that Tatsumi forgot all about his own fear- that wasn't exactly insignificant- and wrapped his arms tightly around the small, shaking form.

"Shh, it's alright," he cooed, caressing the blond's back in circles. "I won't let anything happen to you, ok?"

The blond sniffed.

"I thought you weren't waking up!" he cried. "I saw him! I knew he was going to hurt you, and I couldn't move!!"

"Hey!" Tatsumi scolded gently, forcing Watari to look at him. "I'm ok, you're ok. Everything fine, you hear me? No one's dying and you didn't do anything wrong."

The blond nodded, with such trust in his eyes directed at him, that it touched Tatsumi to the core. Oh, he was aware of how complicated his situation- their situation- was; of how much needed to be said and done before he could do what he was about to do, free of any guilt. At the moment, though, he didn't mind the idea of being a little irresponsible, for a change. The world might have been coming to an end, after all. So, Tatsumi did the logical thing to do, that just happened to be the wrong thing to do, and leaned to brush Watari's lips with his own.

Unlike their first two kisses, this one lingered. Watari didn't quite respond at first, but he wasn't discouraged; the boy was actually too shocked to do so; the way his eyes had widened and he'd stopped breathing, the tiny shivers of his body, were proof of that. Tatsumi changed strategies, pulling the blond to sit on his lap and caressing his back rhythmically up and down, as he gently nipped Watari's lower lip. The boy squeaked adorably, shaking like a leaf but, at last, attempting to kiss back. Who'd have guessed Watari would be more frightened by him than by Armageddon?

Ever so slowly, the blond eased into the kiss; his body relaxed and he tried to follow Tatsumi's lead until kissing became as natural to him as it was to the older boy and the kiss deepened, turning into a sort of duel, both trying to show that they loved the other more, wanted the other more.

Now, Tatsumi knew a thing or two about kisses, even if he wasn't the greatest of experts on unleashed passion, but that was turning into one hell of a kiss. The blue eyed boy felt a kind of contentment, a kind of bond with the being before him, that he hadn't experienced before. It filled him with a sort of paradoxical sadness, as his treacherous brain provided memories of the countless times he'd kissed Tsuzuki, touched Tsuzuki, made love to Tsuzuki, hoping to reach the other boy. How he'd tried to get 'inside' him, in more than a physical fashion. But Tsuzuki had always remained distant, millions of miles away from his reach.

And here he was, this little boy- it was almost scary to have that slim, tiny form in his arms, knowing how frail he was, how responsible Tatsumi had become for his soul- that in an instant, in a kiss that wasn't even as heated as it was comforting, had given him the keys to his heart. How much sweeter, delicious, was this kiss because of it! And it made Tatsumi feel a sort of bittersweet melancholy, and a bright hope. In any case, there was no turning back. They could hide, they could pretend, but after that moment, there was no more Tatsumi and Watari as two separate beings anymore.

As it always happens, they had to stop- to breathe, you know?- and Tatsumi took that pause before his reason- and fears- kicked back, to study Watari's flushed face, eyelids closed and lips red and swollen, as he caught his own breath. The sight, it goes without saying, was enchanting.

"That was..." The blond opened his eyes slowly, tentatively, and focused them on him in wonder and amazement. Tatsumi's heart ached.

"Wrong," he found himself saying. At Watari's hurt frown, he quickly caressed the blond's cheek and added, "I don't regret it, though. Do you?"

Watari relaxed visibly and shook his head no. Then he frowned again.

"It was wrong, though. Wasn't it?"

Tatsumi sighed in defeat.

"Honestly? I don't know. It didn't feel wrong to me."

"But... Tsuzuki..." Now Watari looked mortified.

"For what it's worth," he began, taking Watari's hand in his. "My feelings for you have nothing to do with my relationship with him- or the lack thereof. I'm not on the rebound and I really do love you." Watari gasped at this. "I really wanna give us a chance. I'll take full responsibility; I'll talk to Tsuzuki, convince him I have charmed you with an evil love spell, if necessary. He won't blame you." He punctuated this with a feather-like kiss.

"And you?" Watari asked in a small voice. "Will he blame you? I know you still love him; you'll hate me if you loose him because of me. Don't you even care we might hurt him?" There was a bit of reproach in his eyes.

"I know it's complicated..." Tatsumi took a deep breath, a shaky breath. "I can't stop loving him as much as I can't stop loving you. I broke up with him, but I know he understands I did it for both our sakes. He knows I don't love him any less..." Watari's eyes filled with sadness at this, followed by guilt. Tatsumi threw his hands in the air. "Fuck! It's so complicated!!"

Watari was silent, not looking at him, for the longest time, before nodding to himself.

"So," he started, timidly. "You love me?"

"With all my heart," Tatsumi said in earnest. It was funny how he could love two people, and still love them both so completely.

"I..." Watari flushed and stammered. "I love you, too. So..."

"So?"

"So, we'll figure it out as we go? Improvise?"

There was another explosion- they had all but forgotten about the mayhem outside- and this time it was strong enough to shatter the windows, sending tiny little shards of glass flying everywhere. They both covered themselves with their arms and waited for it to pass. When it did, Tatsumi took Watari's hand and stood up, pulling the blond up with him.

"Why don't we start by getting the hell out of here? I think that was our cue."

Watari nodded nervously and they both rushed out.

It was bad, really bad. Hijiri was hurting pretty much everywhere and it seemed he was getting nowhere. It could have been worse, of course; no matter what, the demon was still focusing on him and Inari, instead of those who couldn't defend themselves. But at the rate things were going, they would lose out of sheer exhaustion. On top of things, the demon wasn't even fighting his own battle. If he'd only been able to reach him, even for the shortest of times; just long enough to distract him and break the spell that kept his drone in motion. But that seemed more far fetched with each passing second.

He was so tired. Every time his wounds attempted to start healing, the monster would strike and open a new one. His sight was beginning to blur at the blood loss, that would have been enough to kill a human twice. Inari, though not visibly hurt, wasn't coping that much better. After so many years of fighting side by side, Hijiri could tell when his movements were becoming sloppier, slower; even if it would have been impossible to discern by an untrained eye. For the Nth time in the course of an after-life, Hijiri cursed his inherent lack of power. He couldn't hold more than one shiki and that had endangered Inari's life in more than one occasion. Inari, who, in over 90 years, had become a very close and loyal friend. But not everyone could be as Tsuzuki had been. No one could ever be Tsuzuki.

It was Tsuzuki, in fact, who -unwittingly- caused what happened next; what drove him out of his meditation; of his concentration. It all happened awfully fast. On moment, his movements were perfectly coordinated with the fight- as much strain as they cost him; the next, his eyes landed, out of their own free will, on the spot where Tsuzuki was supposed to be; safe. Only he wasn't. His surprise caused his attention to linger in that spot for long enough that the monster noticed his distraction, struck Inari out of the way and delivered a fierce blow to his stomach.

Hijiri went down, blacking out for a moment. His head tilted slightly to a side, when he reopened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Inari kneeling down a few feet away from him, his face a rictus of pain. His crystal green eyes, so different, so much purer than his own, met his. Hijiri was too dazed to move but, from Inari's helpless, guilty stare, he figured everything would be over too soon unless he did. Fast.

He wasn't about to give up just yet. He'd lost battles before, countless times; but he'd never, ever, lost the war.

Inari's eyes widened in horror and he desperately attempted to recover, to get up, which told Hijiri it might be a good time to look around for that sneaky monster. He needn't look far; the thing just happened to be right above him and, if its face hadn't been so disgustingly deformed, he'd have sworn it was smiling with satisfaction.

He wouldn't be fast enough, he realized; wouldn't be able to move out of the way before the monster finished him off, and the monster knew it too. Hijiri watched, terrified really, as it gathered fire in its horrid mouth. He closed his eyes tight, praying for the fire not to be like Touda's and preparing himself for another round of unbearable pain.

It didn't came. He heard a faraway cry and assume it was because of him, but the pain never came. He was experienced enough to know there wasn't such a thing as being too hurt to hurt when you're a shinigami. Then the cry came again, clearer this time.

"You bastard!! I will eat your fucking heart out!!"

The voice was way too deep and manic to be from anyone he liked and Hijiri opened his eyes. Inari had dragged himself to where he was; his face had regained some of the old, healthy green. He helped Hijiri to sit up, pointing ahead. To Hijiri's surprise, there was no more beast. Only an angry demon, pounding his fists against a kekkai that wouldn't bear his wrath for long.

"The kid..." Inari said, a little breathlessly. "The violet eyed kid. He took the other boy while the demon wasn't looking. C'mon, we better go there before he gets himself killed." He smiled, so did Hijiri. Apparently, Tsuzuki wasn't aware of the frailty of the kekkai; he kept sticking his tongue out at the demon, mocking him, while Aome doubled over with laughter.

"That's Tsuzuki for you." Hijiri strained out as they got up, resembling the old men that they really were. Inari gasped.

"Tsuzuki? Your Tsuzuki?" he asked in shock.

Hijiri wasn't at all surprised by his friend's utter disbelief; Inari had become a close friend, yes; he'd heard hundreds, thousands of stories about the amethyst eyed shinigami just from Hijiri's lips. But Tsuzuki also happened to be a sort of legend in all of the GenSouKai. Lets just say, there were twelve shikigami who refused to have any master. Hijiri nodded.

"The very same." Taking an ofuda from his pocket, barely able to stand on his own two feet, he shouted at the demon. "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size, asshole?!"

Of course, he didn't give the demon a chance to answer or, say, built another monster- and he hit him full force with a burst of green lightening as Inari wrapped him in vines. The demon's eyes lit a bright red as he let out a mad haul. It didn't take him long to break free, but Hijiri wasn't worried- not too much, anyway. The demon seemed angry enough, be that because of Kenji being out of his reach or for being attacked directly; he wouldn't leave the dirty work for a minion anymore. It was personal now, and Hijiri was glad for that.

"You're dead! You hear me, shinigami?! Dead!!!" he yelled as the vines tore into pieces. Hijiri smirked.

"I see news travel fast where you live, jackass."

From the corner of his eye he could see Aome tending to Kenji, who seemed to be snapping out of the spell he'd been under; surely, the kekkai was working as a barrier from the demon's powers, which meant the guys were still safe. He prepared to strike again, so did Inari and the demon. He knew the demon was probably much stronger than his monster, but, at least, the damage they did to him would mean something. Angry red flames surrounded the boyish figure and he laughed a macabre, dark laughter.

"Bugs!!" he taunted. "That's what you are to me! Nothing but..." He paused, widening his eyes as the flames flickered. "Urgh!" Choking- and much to Hijiri's surprise- the demon fell to his knees. "Nooo!" he cried out, grabbing his head.

Cautiously, having an idea of what was happening, Hijiri stepped closer. The demon rose his head, only his eyes weren't red anymore. Hijiri turned to Inari, who shrugged. The boy- the host- was struggling; it was as good as it was unexpected.

"Hey," Hijiri extended his hand to him. "C'mon, kid; you can do it."

The kid did take his hand, but only to pull him down to the floor and grabbing him by the neck.

"Kenji...Give me....Kenji..." he breathed, hissed, "I did... all he asked!" The kid winced in pain and Hijiri took the chance to push him away. "He's...mine! He said...he'd be mine!"

Hijiri stared, completely dumbfounded, at the boy as he fought with his own body for control. He'd never thought about that possibility; it hadn't occurred to him that the deal with the demon could have been done fairly. But seeing into that kid's eyes, the shinigami realized he'd accepted the demon in his body, he'd agreed to the terms knowing what they meant, for the sake of his own sick desires. Kenji had been the bargaining chip and it was only his absence that had caused the struggling.

Red and black vapour and light started pouring out of the kid's body, making him look smaller, more pathetic, as the demon left him. Hijiri knew, though- he could feel it in his gut- that wasn't the end of it.

Sure enough, a sinister looking angel appeared above the slumped kid, swirling with fire again.

"You'll regret this, shinigami. Sooner than you think." Hijiri heard the words, inside his head, a moment before the demon disappeared.

Hijiri fell to his knees, tired beyond belief. The hall appeared to be normal again- if only wrecked- and, though he knew the demon hadn't been bluffing, all he could think of doing was laying down and sleeping. Inari nudged the demon's ex-host with his foot, confirming he was out of it and then sat next to him, sighing.

"We have to go after him." Inari whispered tiredly; Hijiri nodded absentmindedly.

"Tsuzuki, Aome, and the others appeared in front of him, all gazing down at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Gathering the last bit of strength he had, he got up and threw his arms around Tsuzuki's neck, causing the boy to yelp.

"You stupid, crazy, sneaky son of a bitch!!!" he laughed. "He could have killed you!!"

Tsuzuki laughed nervously, hugging back awkwardly. Aome waved a finger at him, smiling.

"You're welcome, Jii-san. You had us all worried for a moment there."

Hijiri pulled away, staggering a bit.

"I almost poop my pants," he admitted.

"So, you won, ne? Is it over?" Tsuzuki asked hopefully. Hijiri sighed, rubbing his temples.

"No. He's still out there and it ain't over. I just need to sit for a moment and then I'll kill him, I promise. Even as he said this, he let himself drop.

Inari- who hadn't got up at all- frowned, then looked at Tsuzuki, askance.

"I... If I may," he turned to Hijiri, with that 'shikigami-obeys-master' expression on his face that Hijiri found so amusing. "I think I have a plan."

Muraki glanced down at his watch again, tapping his foot. For almost an hour he'd heard the racket outside, knowing it was the demon. Now, with dawn on their toes, he knew he was bound to show up soon. Dawn, after all, was the demon's cue to leave. His time was up.

Hisoka was still tied up, his hands white from the bad circulation his awkward position caused. Oriya was sitting next to the boy in absolute silence, as if doing penance. The wax from the candles was melting fast. Muraki was growing impatient. What if Hisoka wasn't as important to the demon as he'd thought? What if he left without passing through there? Everything would be ruined!

Muraki began pacing. At all times, he could feel Hisoka's eyes on him, glaring, wondering, pitying. He wanted to smack him hard. The sole effort of keeping his emotions in check was driving him insane! He was beginning to doubt, to falter. The only thing that kept him going was Oriya, sitting there, repentant, having lost all faith in him. Faith, after all, was only a step closer to disappointment, and he knew it first hand. It was Oriya for whom he'll see things through, if not for himself. If there was one person who deserved the truth, that was Oriya.

Muraki was about to scream in frustration when the doors of the auditorium opened, letting in a creature so beautiful and foul at the same time, it immediately reminded Muraki of his mother. It was the demon, he realized; even though he'd never seen him in his true form. Black wings tainted with crimson spurted from his back. His body, lean and lithe and dark, sparkled Muraki's lust, as did his face. It was the face of an angel; its features were delicate and elegant, gorgeous and innocent; boyish, even. The eyes betrayed the illusion, though, revealing an amount of blind ambition and greed that Muraki, oddly enough, considered his most appealing feature. At the moment, though, he looked angry; not the best of times to be thinking about bedding him.

"Why isn't he dead?!" he bellowed. "I need him dead!!"

Muraki wasn't put off; not one bit.

"I was waiting for you, of course," he said, calmly, resting Oriya's sword on his shoulder. He turned to look at his prey- and Oriya, who was also a prey, of sorts- to see them both pale as sheets and shaking in sheer terror. Muraki smiled innocently. "You really want him dead?"

"Yes!!" the demon shouted. "Those were my terms, you insect! Now, kill him!!"

Muraki cocked his head, mock confusion.

"Didn't you say I should rape him first?" he said, hearing the gasps his words caused on the other two 'humans' there.

"Whatever! There's no time! Kill him now and then rape him, if you feel like it! But do it now!!"

"Why?" e asked, causing the demon to blink.

"What?!" he hissed.

"Why do I have to? Why me?"

"Because I tell you to! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

The demon was now dangerously close to him, but Muraki didn't show any sign of fear; he had none, really.

"You tell me. Who am I? You said this was my destiny, and it got me thinking, you know? If I don't do it- not that I won't, it's just a theory- what would happen?"

He could feel the demon's hot breath on his face as he answered.

"I would tear you apart Piece By Piece. That's what would happen."

"No, it's not." Muraki said cockily, astonishing and outraging the demon further. "Unless your whole 'destiny' thing was a lie. How can I meet my fate if I'm dead? I want to know why don't you kill him yourself. Why do I have to do it? What if I don't?" He smiled triumphantly. "Until you tell me why I'm so... special, no one dies."

Tsuzuku

LYK: Yeah, I kinda feel bad for hitting Tatsumi so often. Bad, bad K-chan. No worries, Watari will make it all better in his own 'Tari way :D And Oriya is such a sweetie!! Between you and I, when I saw his part on the Kyoto arc, I cried; poor baby. Huggles!

azdriel: Perdon por lo frustrante de Tatsumi/Watari. Todo va a salir bien. Que me dices del Psico-doctor ahora? heh, heh. Espero que este capi haya sido mas larguito. No puedo medirlo tan bien escribiendo en una hoja de papel. Mi letra es horriblemente inestable! A veces es grande, a veces chiquita! Bueno, besos!!

Ardwynna Morrigu: I knew it was Celtic somehow! The Morrigu part was a hint. Me loves Celts!! It's so funny that my Hisoka has been so well received, because- though I do like him- he's the one I relate to less. He's reaallly hard to write, so I put twice as much effort in him, and always end up feeling he came out forced, unnatural. But people seem to like him, so that makes me happy. And I'm glad you like my updating rate, but my first fic also took forever to write. I'm just improving with age? And I also hope I can wrap it all up nicely! Imagine 30 chapters down the drain because of one awful last chapter!! T.T May the muse help me with this one!! Hugs.

Keruri: Welcome to the club, I say!! Now you have to start writing!! I know what you mean about wanting it to end, but not. Same happens to me with every story, I get so anxious to see what happens, but when it's over, I bawl my eyes out! You really like Tsu-chan? He's the one who gets less attention, I dunno why. I was starting to think I'd messed him up horribly. And again, I don't understand why, but glad you like my 'Soka-chan! I kinda like him a lot too :p Huggles and congrats on your new account!

SapphireDragon: Hello there! This is scaringly long. I made an approximate, and it's 250 pages long. A novel, almost!! But you like it? About how do I do it, don't ask me, I have no idea :d Hugs!

Schatten Wolfendorf: Viste? Viste que rapido? lol. Ay, yo tambien estoy pensando en Tatsumi y sus sombras, pero necesitaria como otros cinco capitulos para explicarlo!! No se, voy a ver que hago! Tatsumi 'es' tierno, en una manera muy Tatsumi :D Lo adoro. Y gracias por la ayuda! La aprecio mucho! Sos como mi editora! Ya esta, desde hoy sos mi editora oficial!! Hugs!!

Loki's Rose: 'Hugs like a freaking maniac!!!' Helloooooooooooooo!!!! 'bounces up and down' Hi, Hi!! Oh, it was so hard to have 'soka as the victim, but no. You know what I mean? I just don't like helpless characters that much, and 'Soka doesn't strike me as weak, at all. You really like my Hi-chan!? 'sings' lalalala. I missed you!!! I know I've been faltering with the update rate lately. Just stick around, it's almost over, and then tell me at the end if you liked it? I mean, the last chapter's reviews are the ones that reaaaallly worry me. Hugs and more hugs!!!

Nsib: 'pats nsib's back' I know!! It'll be so awful when this is over!! I just might have to write a sequel!! Though I said I'd write one for 'A devil's thrill' first 'pouts' I like this fic so much, waaaaah T.T- Glad you've stuck around for so long, though. Thanks so much!! Hugs.

dodger-chan: Yes, responding to reviews again. Isn't it great?! 'is overly excited for no reason' There's more Tsu-chan here, too, but he doesn't get to be the Typical Tsu-chan, all cute and silly. I suck at fight scenes, as you might have realised by now. I do not want this to end, but I so want it over with, which makes no sense at all. And thanks for the compliments on the Tatariness. Huggles!

KuriKuri: Hello again! Yes, computers and internet can be so mean sometimes. - I'm glad to see you still enjoy this and I'll see you around DA, okies?

Watercolor-Dragon: AU can be so hard to read, ne? I'm so glad people seem to like mine!! 'dances' Huggles to you, new reviewer, old reader!!!

Hunter: I'm glad you enjoy the tatariness. I've been told I'm good at it, heh heh (hope it's true n.n) Anyway, are you a new reader too? Hugs!

Kara Angitia: Welcome back super ninja friend!! I fear your review was cut at the beginning, but I was just so happy to see your name there, I'll huggle you to death!! - Huggles!!

crazed artist: You read ADT? Thankies!! It means a lot to me when ppl read old stories! I sort of promise some lemony goodness for the epilogue, ok? But not too explicit, something like the other story. Hugs!!

xXLil Yu JahXx: Typing is making my fingers hurt so so bad!! I hate typing!! T.T Ah, I think you can get an idea of what Muraki's doing from this chapter, though more on the next (the last, most likely) Hugs you too!

BakayaroManiac: Oh, my! Bosnia?! You people have such interesting lives! I always wanted to see Europe, east, west all of it, every place has something to love about it. Tsuzuki style lost... lol, sounds cute! Glad you're liking it, and yes, it's coming to an end... next chappy, most likely T.T Hugs and Welcome back!!

Silv: Another new reviewer, old reader! I'm thrilled to see new faces so near the end, considering how unbearably long this turned out to be! I wanted to tell you, I had written Inari as a boy all along, I was sure he was a 'he' until your review, but I checked then, and it turns out he's both he and she, so I'm cool, lol. And lol at your teacher. It's a cool name, if you think about it! Hugs dear!

Kyraille Fade: Yay! Yay! Hello again! I missed you! Glad you liked Tatsumi's fessing up. Glad you're back! And I hope you're all rested now. Are you still on summer vacation? Hugs my friend!!

A special hug to Zatken, who reviewed avery singke chapter of 'A devil's thrill' in one day!!(wow) Hugs to you too dear!!


Ja Ne!