17. Immortal Love
Ingethel grasped desperately at Azazel's pale coat as the warm liquid that saturated it trailed between his distraught fingers. The angel's vacant eyes betrayed his fierce behavior, giving Ingethel an insanely unnatural appearance.
Grounded by the collapsing sensation in his chest, Tsuzuki's shivering palms clutched the damp earth beneath him as his features reflected the hopelessness in Ingethel's expression. Ornamenting the angelic face was a sad despair that the Shinigami was uncomfortably too familiar with. The crucial instinct to survive had fled the quaking angel's visage.
His throat held in a restrictive grip by his own distressed shock, Tsuzuki choked on a painfully impatient sob that successfully escaped its confines. He could try to prevent what was about to occur, but his body refused to obey his brain's demand for motion. He realized it would be pointless since it was apparent that the angel was intent upon joining his fallen comrade and would inevitably follow him one way or another. A chill of abandonment shot through his defeated frame as his mind momentarily considered joining his own partner. At the thought, his arms fell forlornly at his sides as he sat back on his heels, his vertebrae curved into a pitifully helpless arch.
With an eerie numbness glossing his eyes, Tsuzuki watched motionlessly as the enraged Seraph released a dark energy from the claymore's blade in a single vicious stroke, wavering slightly at his own ferocity, and sending it hurtling toward the detached angel.
Ingethel did no more than embrace his friend tightly to his lean chest as he avidly welcomed the piercing hot pain that scorched through his entire body. The angel's world turned a disturbing shade of gray before fading into complete darkness. And suddenly, pain was diminished, along with all other feelings, though the last thought that visited his mind was his certainty that a smile adorned his lips as he sensed Azazel in his arms.
Shock rigidly locked Tsuzuki's body as he powerlessly witnessed Ingethel lock Azazel in an enduring embrace and be slammed lifelessly to the ground under the force of the attack; a banner of crimson temporarily graced the night sky in their wake. Mingling vermillion streams meandered downward and absorbed into the battle-beaten wings that chaotically framed the still pair.
Unrestrained agony tore at Semyaza's angular features, contorting what little angelic grace he had into horrific grief as his gaze darkened on the pair before him. His breath was deep with agony as he realized that his partner had betrayed him for a silently held oath of loyalty with Ingethel, an oath stronger than even the promise of damnation associated with the suicide of a celestial.
Realizing that control over Azazel was not entirely his, a violent jealousy permeated the remaining Seraph's rigid figure as the tangible pair began to dematerialize in front of his disillusioned stare. The Seraph's anger shone intensely across the stiff angles of his face as he witnessed the ethereal droplets of liquefied light slowly rise from the fading pair, a phenomenon that had befallen too many of his comrades. Melding with the icy moonlight, the energy that seemingly held the corporeal forms together slowly dissipated, leaving no trace the two angels had ever been present on this plane of existence.
Immediately turning his resentment to Tsuzuki, Semyaza's blade glistened a dull blue in his straining grasp as he approached Ingethel's associate.
Oblivious to the reality still unfolding around him, an envious sorrow singed Tsuzuki's nerves as he pondered the unwavering devotion and affection in the angel's partnership. His stomach cringed in misery as he recalled how fervently he had always longed for that kind of bond. As self-pity twisted his mind to an uncomfortable ache, Tsuzuki wondered why he had so foolishly believed that he would ever deserve something of that magnitude from Hisoka.
The claymore came down on Tsuzuki with unrestrained rage as his body constricted violently against the searing pain that caught the man viciously deep in the side of his ribcage. The venomous metal of the unnatural blade lodged within his heaving torso caused an involuntary spasm of violent spiritual force surging form the man, making Tsuzuki even weaker at the inadvertent expulsion of energy.
Effectively thrown back by the unchecked counterattack, the Seraph landed hard against the street at a fair distance. Tsuzuki took the precious moment to dislodge the scorching blade form his pulsating chest. The hilt offering inadequate leverage, he grabbed the blade and held his breath as the metal slide from hot flesh and cracked ribs. He felt his chest cavity grow tight with an internal accumulation of blood but abandoned the painful sensation as his expression turned to an eerie curiosity laced with pain while he regarded the profuse cascades of warm crimson slipping through lacerated gloves. The dark streams meandered over pale exposed wrists before retreating down dark sleeves.
Shame crashed upon his fading senses as he realized all fault fell squarely upon him. The events of this case would have occurred differently had he not been too cowardly to trust Hisoka from the beginning. What should have made him more trusting of the boy only scared him away even more. The case in Kyoto was a wake-up call that, in his fear, Tsuzuki blatantly refused to acknowledge. He muffled a cry, knowing that the secrets he had tried so hard to keep were not worth the pain he had unwittingly caused Hisoka.
Clutching his wounded side as emotional and physical pain collided within Tsuzuki's yielding body, defeated tears began to run silently down his cheeks as he wondered if he really wanted to expunge the energy that it would take to survive this fight. Tsuzuki's expression slowly drained of emotion; a familiar hopelessness rendered his senses numb, staring trough apathetic tears as his opponent rose from the pavement.
Semyaza climbed inelegantly to his feet as his body quivered with the wasteful manner in which his anger distributed his power. Tapping the energy born of grief and malice, he summoned an indigo light down his right arm, collecting at his palm with obvious effort. His brow stung with crushing pressure caused by the concentration that a rudimentary attack now took. Releasing the attack more out of an inability to focus, he managed to keep his footing as his wings sagged around his loose posture.
Lightly thrown by the blast that missed its target, Tsuzuki gasped as he landed in a position that reopened his barely healing chest. He disregarded the pain that did little to quell his mental anguish as his mind stubbornly refused to acknowledge anything but thoughts of his partner.
Falling deeper within his subconscious, his panting lips quivered as he his mind played with the idea that he had gotten too comfortable with Hisoka. A masochistic smile cruelly pulled at his lips as he mentally berated himself for believing that Hisoka would put up with his immature attitude, emotional breakdowns, and his artificial good moods. The boy had seen right through him, and he hated himself for believing that it might actually be a good thing; that maybe he would eventually be able to share the pain that tormented him with someone else.
Disgusted with himself, Tsuzuki cringed as his stomach twisted with frantic indignity. It was an irrational hope to think anyone would ever accept him. When Hisoka had been exposed to the man's true nature, he eventually rejected him; though, Tsuzuki admired the boy for holding out as long as he did. He wished he could beg for Hisoka's forgiveness and promise to be good, but his mind drifted and he suddenly felt the clammy trails on his cheeks remoisten. His expression turned treacherously cynical as he wondered with unnaturally childlike curiosity if the boy had purposefully chosen to hurt him in the absolute worst way.
'But if Hisoka hates me so much, then why did he refuse to let me die in Kyoto?'
The bridge of his nose ached in a repressed sob at the confusion created by the situation. Uncertainty wracked his mind and he felt himself flinch against the painful frustration caused by his frenetic contemplation of the boy.
Uncaring in what this opponent had to offer if he were to search his mind, Semyaza was confident that his adrenaline would last him long enough to destroy the man who had been aiding Ingethel. Conjuring another surge of volatile fading energy, a frantic attack ripped from his rough hands and crashed violently against its mark. Palm hard against a fevered temple, the Seraph was forced to his knees at the immediate backlash that his weakened frame incurred at the release of his own spells.
The force threw Tsuzuki brutally across the derelict city street and collided hard with a pile of debris from a construction project long since abandoned. His breathing was immediately labored on impact with an excruciating ache through his right shoulder blade. Vainly attempting to lift himself from the ground, a sharp hiss was suddenly issued from between a clenched jaw as a coarse pain shot through him. Tsuzuki's defeated body lay pinned and vulnerable by a large jagged object impaling his torso.
The cool steel that protruded from the right side of his chest stung his heated flesh as deep scarlet slowly spread through the fibers of his white dress shirt, forming a radiating stigma around the restrictive wound before turning his dark trench coat a deep wine.
Blood poured from between his pale anguished lips as he strategically lifted off the offending metal only to fall roughly in a conquered heap on the corroded pavement. Propping himself inelegantly on his stomach with fatigued elbows, he coughed violently to free his throat of the hot liquid that was making it increasingly harder to breath.
Tsuzuki's mind did not resist the innate desire to ruminate painfully about his under-experienced partner facing off against the power of a fallen celestial. His heart ached more then his current collective physical injuries as he realized how hypocritical it was to wonder about the safety of a partner he had caused so much harm to.
Hearing yet another thunderous roar of raw energy, Tsuzuki opened dull eyes to watch with sad disinterest as the same attack that had killed Ingethel now came at him with fierce urgency.
Abandoning his will to resist the attack, a catatonic chill further subdued the man's already unaffected features as he willfully decided that he did not want to experience his bleak reality any longer.
Closing his unaffected eyes, Tsuzuki dropped his feverish head as the Seraph's oncoming attack relentlessly advanced. Listening to the audible crack of the merciless spell breaking relentlessly upon his dilapidated form, he took temporary joy in the painlessness of his body being instantly ripped apart.
Tsuzuki fell to the ground with little more than an inoffensive thud. Wondering why he still felt predominantly solid, his confused eyes opened to witness the remnants of the Seraph's attack forming gradually fading iridescent waves on the otherwise transparent shield that now stood between the astonished man and the aggravated angel.
Semyaza immediately became preoccupied with the darkened area behind Tsuzuki as the angel's genuflected figure attempted to conserve his fleeting energy. "Back for more, young one?" Each word was a hard short hiss through his clenched jaw as sweat slid down his taut expression to salt rigid lips. Admittedly taken aback by the indomitable Empath's arrival, Semyaza winched as he fervently attempted to conceal his nervous disposition underneath his contemptuous facade.
Refusing to respond to the angel's sarcastic inquiry, Hisoka's concern quickly fell to his partner, who turned to stare back at the boy with an intense mix of confusion and relief, intoxicating the Empath's senses.
Vengeance for his routed partner engulfed the boy as he broke eye contact with Tsuzuki to regard the contently malicious Seraph. Hisoka's amalgamation of intense emotions coalesced into one threatening gesture as he glared pure death at the enraged Seraph.
Pulling himself back to the supremacy of his full height, Semyaza replied spitefully with a guarantee of his own. "Be warned; Azazel is not here to protect you this time, and due to my companion's unexpected passing, I am not in the mood to show mercy."
Noticing the boy flinch at the news, Tsuzuki's body ached with the desire to hold Hisoka and tell him he was sorry and that everything would be okay now that he was there. But with a slight, inconsolable pain in his chest, Tsuzuki realized that he actually wanted his partner to be the one to hold and comfort him. Not willing to hurt himself any longer with false hope, Tsuzuki's eyes began to sting at the bitter improbability of that scenario as he found himself wondering why the boy was there now.
Returning his attention to Tsuzuki, Hisoka cringed at the shame and guilt emanating off his partner; pained at how if mimed his behavior in Kyoto. However, an anxious hope played upon the Empath's senses as he discovered his partner's emotions were laced in vulnerability and need. Tsuzuki wanted desperately to believe that the boy still cared even if Tsuzuki no longer did; he wanted the boy's help, and Hisoka was not about to deny him that.
While keeping the Seraph in view, Hisoka walked forward to his grounded partner. He immediately knelt down next to him and was disheartened by the amount of blood that was supposed to be on the inside of his body.
Tsuzuki stiffened as a chilled sweat formed between his shoulder blades as he watched his partner's concerned features twist with revulsion as the boy regarded Tsuzuki's shattered form.
Hisoka's visage was evidence of his angered disgust as he recognized the deformed scars on his partner's hands and chest as ones made with the Seraph's claymore; with his innate healing ability, his own thigh had taken several days before it was completely healed of its mark. Lowering his shields to his partner to better comprehend their current situation, a confused fright struck the boy's features as Tsuzuki's rampant emotions were strained in fear of the boy.
Tsuzuki's heart lurched at the rejection that the boy's expression emanated. His shoulders began to quake with the promise of tears as his apathy lost to fiercer emotions brought out of suppression by his Hisoka's presence. Too ashamed to hold the gaze any longer, Tsuzuki's head dipped in dismissal. Whenever he believed he was worthy of someone's care and affection, he would always be disappointed.
Comprehending what his resentful expression must have done, a hard grip immediately caught Tsuzuki's chin as his neck and shoulders instinctually tightened with fright. The hand suddenly soft, his head was gently guided back up to meet emeralds that begged for forgiveness of the obviously misunderstood emotion. Hisoka only felt Tsuzuki's confusion grow deeper at the gesture as the man's dark lashes were suddenly burdened with a load that they were unable to withstand.
Taking in a sharp shocked breath as his partner completely surrendered to his tears, Hisoka impulsively wrapped his arms around the rigid man and held him tightly to his own awkwardly tense chest. He felt the fearful hesitation in the other man and hated himself for allowing Tsuzuki to hurt this much. Though, to his relief it did not take long for Tsuzuki to eagerly return the embrace. Unwilling to disturb his partner's comfort, Hisoka buried his face in Tsuzuki's warm shoulder in a childlike attempt to hide from his abnormal behavior.
Sensing an intensifying malice in front of him, Hisoka clutched Tsuzuki tightly as his mind shuddered from the force of the attack on his barrier. The fractured shield was evident in the dark liquid sliding from the Empath's nose, sinking into his partner collarbone to match the crimson threads of Tsuzuki's dress shirt.
Turning his unwilling gaze toward the Seraph, Tsuzuki noticed the angel regarding the pair with a hatred that was previously reserved for Ingethel alone. Shock chilled Tsuzuki as he gripped his partner tightly to his chest in a fiercely protective hug as if his beaten figure would be enough to protect them both.
Hisoka gave a slight grunt at the behavior and lightly pushed against a body that eventually yielded regretfully and released the boy. Coming to a powerful stance in front of Tsuzuki, Hisoka's blood was vicious within him as a fierce desire to destroy anything that would harm his partner charged his lithe frame for combat.
Seeing as how his previous strategy had not worked during their first encounter, Hisoka resolved to battle the angel psychically, pitting their mental capabilities against one another. Although the boy's throbbing temples re minded him that he was still rebounding from a mental episode from only hours earlier, the liquefied fever running through his veins served to make the Empath intensely resolute.
Hisoka's struggle against himself had admittedly weakened him and he consciously resisted the pitiful gesture of massaging the area between his eyes to dismiss the dull pressure. And even though he was certain he had lost that battle, he felt strangely more powerful because of it. Due to the realization that Tsuzuki did indeed depend on him, the Empath was imbued with a passionate strength that he was formerly unaccustomed to. He was fighting because Tsuzuki believed he was important, because Tsuzuki specifically needed him.
The Empath did not bother to lower his shields for confirmation as he glanced back at his partner; the forlorn expression that desperately pleaded for Hisoka's help was laced in a confident faith. Hisoka's pride in that fact fed his determination and added a fierce intensity to the menacingly narrowed eyes that regarded the winged creature that, to the boy, clearly had a death wish if it had willingly tried to hurt Tsuzuki.
Semyaza merely watched the boy with an impervious composure, making no effort to attack or defend. He read his opponent carefully, catching every intricate detail of the boy's mind that at their earlier meeting had been a million hellacious shattered pieces. Gripping his fists tighter as the thought of his late partner entered his battle-weary mind, the angel's knuckles cracked as he realized the youth had seemingly become stronger to compensate for his vulnerable partner. The Seraph's checked tears were held at bay by thick ebony lashes that reflected an enchanting hint of ice blue in the moonlight.
Suddenly wrenching aggressively as he impulsively drew a gripping palm to his forehead, the angel was forcibly expelled from the boy's ardently focused mind. His gaze slowly turned a mild shade of shock and amusement as his fingertips graced his ear and were immediately glazed in a warm scarlet.
Cleansing his mind of the arrogantly intrusive angel, Hisoka removed one of many paper fuda his partner had entrusted the boy with, charging the Sanskrit parchment with a blaze that impassioned the entirety of his build.
Hisoka's breath was fierce across his pale lips as he was suddenly captured in an intentional concentrated flood of his partner's avid emotions. Glancing back in his concentration, he caught Tsuzuki's ruthless gaze and felt the customary brunt of concern and grief, but behind it was a heated loyalty and a zealous lust for survival that he generously offered the boy.
Accepting any energy Tsuzuki could spare him, Hisoka conjured the previously repressed flood of emotions that surrounded his partner and pulled them to the forefront in a controlled current. Immersing his consciousness in the overwhelming mental power as he summoned every ounce of his energy, the Empath focused the accumulated energy for his attack. Through his already intense migraine, the Empath estimated that he had one shot at this, and he would have to make it count, focusing his power with a single thought.
'I will protect you, because you strengthen me.'
His shoulders trembled with the feral instinct to protect as his empathy drew on the strength of his innately powerful defensive ability. He had never before wanted to protect another person so passionately and it made his body quake with an unbridled fire as he realized that for the first time, he was protecting someone precious to him. He was beginning to understand why protecting someone made Tsuzuki so happy and why the man was so anguished when he failed.
Placing two hands ceremoniously in front of himself, Hisoka's accumulated power rose from his form like an iridescent green smoke. Entranced emeralds devoid of darkened pupils shot open at Semyaza as energy viciously shot in a focused torrent at the targeted angel.
The Seraph's notably cool appearance denied his inner turmoil his mind still mulled over. He refused to allow someone to experience the happiness he was so cruelly denied, especially not the only pair the angel had left to blame for Azazel's death. They had aided that pretentious little blonde Power from the Celestial Council; he was the reason for the Seraph's suffering. But Ingethel had passed as well, and the Seraph's appetite for vengeance was far from satiated. An imperceptible smile slipped to his cold lips. He could not fight in his current condition; another time perhaps.
The violent explosion from the Empath's ferocious attack caused the boy to stumble backwards, almost tripping over his grounded partner who braced the slim, jean-clad leg with his left arm. Hisoka's slender arms shielding his head from the vicious gust, the hems of his denim jacket gradually ceased their untamed flapping until finally hanging quietly at his sides. Holding his ground on weary legs as his arms retracted from his exhausted face, the boy panted deeply as he surveyed his destruction with a predatory glare.
The Seraph was gone.
Hisoka stretched his empathy across the entire area for good measure until the remnants of the angel's insane aura spent his already weakened abilities.
Confident the angel was no longer a threat, Hisoka allowed the energy to slowly leech from his exhausted body as he collapsed to his knees beside a wounded, concerned, but undeniably proud partner.
With a numbness setting throughout his drained body, Hisoka torpidly watched several black feathers float slowly to the ground. He unknowingly joined them with an inelegant thud on top of a suddenly very worried Tsuzuki as unconsciousness subdued the Empath's overwrought senses.
To Be Concluded...
-Puts away angst kit and takes out fluff toolbox- Time to fix this mess! -smiles-
As always, thank you very much to all my reviewers, including: SapphireDragon, Zatken (I'm going to read your fic soon -smiles-), Kamikakushi, Yanagi-sen, inu400, Fin-Phoenix, Ying Fa 19...
ola: You win the I-know-my-Latin-award on valiant effort alone -smiles-. I don't know much Latin myself so that was impressive.
Dazzle1: Davidson, Gustav 'A Dictionary of Angels, including the fallen angels' The Free Press, 1994. How about I post the 'spell' and translation on my homepage by the time chapter 18 is up?
I would love to respond to all my reviewers, but then the notes at the end get to lengthy, and I wouldn't want to bother anyone at there email inboxes -smiles-. Just know that I appreciate all of you!
Anyways, only one chapter left... So get your reviews in before time is up -smiles- (look how close I am to 100 reviews! You guys are so great!)
Ingethel grasped desperately at Azazel's pale coat as the warm liquid that saturated it trailed between his distraught fingers. The angel's vacant eyes betrayed his fierce behavior, giving Ingethel an insanely unnatural appearance.
Grounded by the collapsing sensation in his chest, Tsuzuki's shivering palms clutched the damp earth beneath him as his features reflected the hopelessness in Ingethel's expression. Ornamenting the angelic face was a sad despair that the Shinigami was uncomfortably too familiar with. The crucial instinct to survive had fled the quaking angel's visage.
His throat held in a restrictive grip by his own distressed shock, Tsuzuki choked on a painfully impatient sob that successfully escaped its confines. He could try to prevent what was about to occur, but his body refused to obey his brain's demand for motion. He realized it would be pointless since it was apparent that the angel was intent upon joining his fallen comrade and would inevitably follow him one way or another. A chill of abandonment shot through his defeated frame as his mind momentarily considered joining his own partner. At the thought, his arms fell forlornly at his sides as he sat back on his heels, his vertebrae curved into a pitifully helpless arch.
With an eerie numbness glossing his eyes, Tsuzuki watched motionlessly as the enraged Seraph released a dark energy from the claymore's blade in a single vicious stroke, wavering slightly at his own ferocity, and sending it hurtling toward the detached angel.
Ingethel did no more than embrace his friend tightly to his lean chest as he avidly welcomed the piercing hot pain that scorched through his entire body. The angel's world turned a disturbing shade of gray before fading into complete darkness. And suddenly, pain was diminished, along with all other feelings, though the last thought that visited his mind was his certainty that a smile adorned his lips as he sensed Azazel in his arms.
Shock rigidly locked Tsuzuki's body as he powerlessly witnessed Ingethel lock Azazel in an enduring embrace and be slammed lifelessly to the ground under the force of the attack; a banner of crimson temporarily graced the night sky in their wake. Mingling vermillion streams meandered downward and absorbed into the battle-beaten wings that chaotically framed the still pair.
Unrestrained agony tore at Semyaza's angular features, contorting what little angelic grace he had into horrific grief as his gaze darkened on the pair before him. His breath was deep with agony as he realized that his partner had betrayed him for a silently held oath of loyalty with Ingethel, an oath stronger than even the promise of damnation associated with the suicide of a celestial.
Realizing that control over Azazel was not entirely his, a violent jealousy permeated the remaining Seraph's rigid figure as the tangible pair began to dematerialize in front of his disillusioned stare. The Seraph's anger shone intensely across the stiff angles of his face as he witnessed the ethereal droplets of liquefied light slowly rise from the fading pair, a phenomenon that had befallen too many of his comrades. Melding with the icy moonlight, the energy that seemingly held the corporeal forms together slowly dissipated, leaving no trace the two angels had ever been present on this plane of existence.
Immediately turning his resentment to Tsuzuki, Semyaza's blade glistened a dull blue in his straining grasp as he approached Ingethel's associate.
Oblivious to the reality still unfolding around him, an envious sorrow singed Tsuzuki's nerves as he pondered the unwavering devotion and affection in the angel's partnership. His stomach cringed in misery as he recalled how fervently he had always longed for that kind of bond. As self-pity twisted his mind to an uncomfortable ache, Tsuzuki wondered why he had so foolishly believed that he would ever deserve something of that magnitude from Hisoka.
The claymore came down on Tsuzuki with unrestrained rage as his body constricted violently against the searing pain that caught the man viciously deep in the side of his ribcage. The venomous metal of the unnatural blade lodged within his heaving torso caused an involuntary spasm of violent spiritual force surging form the man, making Tsuzuki even weaker at the inadvertent expulsion of energy.
Effectively thrown back by the unchecked counterattack, the Seraph landed hard against the street at a fair distance. Tsuzuki took the precious moment to dislodge the scorching blade form his pulsating chest. The hilt offering inadequate leverage, he grabbed the blade and held his breath as the metal slide from hot flesh and cracked ribs. He felt his chest cavity grow tight with an internal accumulation of blood but abandoned the painful sensation as his expression turned to an eerie curiosity laced with pain while he regarded the profuse cascades of warm crimson slipping through lacerated gloves. The dark streams meandered over pale exposed wrists before retreating down dark sleeves.
Shame crashed upon his fading senses as he realized all fault fell squarely upon him. The events of this case would have occurred differently had he not been too cowardly to trust Hisoka from the beginning. What should have made him more trusting of the boy only scared him away even more. The case in Kyoto was a wake-up call that, in his fear, Tsuzuki blatantly refused to acknowledge. He muffled a cry, knowing that the secrets he had tried so hard to keep were not worth the pain he had unwittingly caused Hisoka.
Clutching his wounded side as emotional and physical pain collided within Tsuzuki's yielding body, defeated tears began to run silently down his cheeks as he wondered if he really wanted to expunge the energy that it would take to survive this fight. Tsuzuki's expression slowly drained of emotion; a familiar hopelessness rendered his senses numb, staring trough apathetic tears as his opponent rose from the pavement.
Semyaza climbed inelegantly to his feet as his body quivered with the wasteful manner in which his anger distributed his power. Tapping the energy born of grief and malice, he summoned an indigo light down his right arm, collecting at his palm with obvious effort. His brow stung with crushing pressure caused by the concentration that a rudimentary attack now took. Releasing the attack more out of an inability to focus, he managed to keep his footing as his wings sagged around his loose posture.
Lightly thrown by the blast that missed its target, Tsuzuki gasped as he landed in a position that reopened his barely healing chest. He disregarded the pain that did little to quell his mental anguish as his mind stubbornly refused to acknowledge anything but thoughts of his partner.
Falling deeper within his subconscious, his panting lips quivered as he his mind played with the idea that he had gotten too comfortable with Hisoka. A masochistic smile cruelly pulled at his lips as he mentally berated himself for believing that Hisoka would put up with his immature attitude, emotional breakdowns, and his artificial good moods. The boy had seen right through him, and he hated himself for believing that it might actually be a good thing; that maybe he would eventually be able to share the pain that tormented him with someone else.
Disgusted with himself, Tsuzuki cringed as his stomach twisted with frantic indignity. It was an irrational hope to think anyone would ever accept him. When Hisoka had been exposed to the man's true nature, he eventually rejected him; though, Tsuzuki admired the boy for holding out as long as he did. He wished he could beg for Hisoka's forgiveness and promise to be good, but his mind drifted and he suddenly felt the clammy trails on his cheeks remoisten. His expression turned treacherously cynical as he wondered with unnaturally childlike curiosity if the boy had purposefully chosen to hurt him in the absolute worst way.
'But if Hisoka hates me so much, then why did he refuse to let me die in Kyoto?'
The bridge of his nose ached in a repressed sob at the confusion created by the situation. Uncertainty wracked his mind and he felt himself flinch against the painful frustration caused by his frenetic contemplation of the boy.
Uncaring in what this opponent had to offer if he were to search his mind, Semyaza was confident that his adrenaline would last him long enough to destroy the man who had been aiding Ingethel. Conjuring another surge of volatile fading energy, a frantic attack ripped from his rough hands and crashed violently against its mark. Palm hard against a fevered temple, the Seraph was forced to his knees at the immediate backlash that his weakened frame incurred at the release of his own spells.
The force threw Tsuzuki brutally across the derelict city street and collided hard with a pile of debris from a construction project long since abandoned. His breathing was immediately labored on impact with an excruciating ache through his right shoulder blade. Vainly attempting to lift himself from the ground, a sharp hiss was suddenly issued from between a clenched jaw as a coarse pain shot through him. Tsuzuki's defeated body lay pinned and vulnerable by a large jagged object impaling his torso.
The cool steel that protruded from the right side of his chest stung his heated flesh as deep scarlet slowly spread through the fibers of his white dress shirt, forming a radiating stigma around the restrictive wound before turning his dark trench coat a deep wine.
Blood poured from between his pale anguished lips as he strategically lifted off the offending metal only to fall roughly in a conquered heap on the corroded pavement. Propping himself inelegantly on his stomach with fatigued elbows, he coughed violently to free his throat of the hot liquid that was making it increasingly harder to breath.
Tsuzuki's mind did not resist the innate desire to ruminate painfully about his under-experienced partner facing off against the power of a fallen celestial. His heart ached more then his current collective physical injuries as he realized how hypocritical it was to wonder about the safety of a partner he had caused so much harm to.
Hearing yet another thunderous roar of raw energy, Tsuzuki opened dull eyes to watch with sad disinterest as the same attack that had killed Ingethel now came at him with fierce urgency.
Abandoning his will to resist the attack, a catatonic chill further subdued the man's already unaffected features as he willfully decided that he did not want to experience his bleak reality any longer.
Closing his unaffected eyes, Tsuzuki dropped his feverish head as the Seraph's oncoming attack relentlessly advanced. Listening to the audible crack of the merciless spell breaking relentlessly upon his dilapidated form, he took temporary joy in the painlessness of his body being instantly ripped apart.
Tsuzuki fell to the ground with little more than an inoffensive thud. Wondering why he still felt predominantly solid, his confused eyes opened to witness the remnants of the Seraph's attack forming gradually fading iridescent waves on the otherwise transparent shield that now stood between the astonished man and the aggravated angel.
Semyaza immediately became preoccupied with the darkened area behind Tsuzuki as the angel's genuflected figure attempted to conserve his fleeting energy. "Back for more, young one?" Each word was a hard short hiss through his clenched jaw as sweat slid down his taut expression to salt rigid lips. Admittedly taken aback by the indomitable Empath's arrival, Semyaza winched as he fervently attempted to conceal his nervous disposition underneath his contemptuous facade.
Refusing to respond to the angel's sarcastic inquiry, Hisoka's concern quickly fell to his partner, who turned to stare back at the boy with an intense mix of confusion and relief, intoxicating the Empath's senses.
Vengeance for his routed partner engulfed the boy as he broke eye contact with Tsuzuki to regard the contently malicious Seraph. Hisoka's amalgamation of intense emotions coalesced into one threatening gesture as he glared pure death at the enraged Seraph.
Pulling himself back to the supremacy of his full height, Semyaza replied spitefully with a guarantee of his own. "Be warned; Azazel is not here to protect you this time, and due to my companion's unexpected passing, I am not in the mood to show mercy."
Noticing the boy flinch at the news, Tsuzuki's body ached with the desire to hold Hisoka and tell him he was sorry and that everything would be okay now that he was there. But with a slight, inconsolable pain in his chest, Tsuzuki realized that he actually wanted his partner to be the one to hold and comfort him. Not willing to hurt himself any longer with false hope, Tsuzuki's eyes began to sting at the bitter improbability of that scenario as he found himself wondering why the boy was there now.
Returning his attention to Tsuzuki, Hisoka cringed at the shame and guilt emanating off his partner; pained at how if mimed his behavior in Kyoto. However, an anxious hope played upon the Empath's senses as he discovered his partner's emotions were laced in vulnerability and need. Tsuzuki wanted desperately to believe that the boy still cared even if Tsuzuki no longer did; he wanted the boy's help, and Hisoka was not about to deny him that.
While keeping the Seraph in view, Hisoka walked forward to his grounded partner. He immediately knelt down next to him and was disheartened by the amount of blood that was supposed to be on the inside of his body.
Tsuzuki stiffened as a chilled sweat formed between his shoulder blades as he watched his partner's concerned features twist with revulsion as the boy regarded Tsuzuki's shattered form.
Hisoka's visage was evidence of his angered disgust as he recognized the deformed scars on his partner's hands and chest as ones made with the Seraph's claymore; with his innate healing ability, his own thigh had taken several days before it was completely healed of its mark. Lowering his shields to his partner to better comprehend their current situation, a confused fright struck the boy's features as Tsuzuki's rampant emotions were strained in fear of the boy.
Tsuzuki's heart lurched at the rejection that the boy's expression emanated. His shoulders began to quake with the promise of tears as his apathy lost to fiercer emotions brought out of suppression by his Hisoka's presence. Too ashamed to hold the gaze any longer, Tsuzuki's head dipped in dismissal. Whenever he believed he was worthy of someone's care and affection, he would always be disappointed.
Comprehending what his resentful expression must have done, a hard grip immediately caught Tsuzuki's chin as his neck and shoulders instinctually tightened with fright. The hand suddenly soft, his head was gently guided back up to meet emeralds that begged for forgiveness of the obviously misunderstood emotion. Hisoka only felt Tsuzuki's confusion grow deeper at the gesture as the man's dark lashes were suddenly burdened with a load that they were unable to withstand.
Taking in a sharp shocked breath as his partner completely surrendered to his tears, Hisoka impulsively wrapped his arms around the rigid man and held him tightly to his own awkwardly tense chest. He felt the fearful hesitation in the other man and hated himself for allowing Tsuzuki to hurt this much. Though, to his relief it did not take long for Tsuzuki to eagerly return the embrace. Unwilling to disturb his partner's comfort, Hisoka buried his face in Tsuzuki's warm shoulder in a childlike attempt to hide from his abnormal behavior.
Sensing an intensifying malice in front of him, Hisoka clutched Tsuzuki tightly as his mind shuddered from the force of the attack on his barrier. The fractured shield was evident in the dark liquid sliding from the Empath's nose, sinking into his partner collarbone to match the crimson threads of Tsuzuki's dress shirt.
Turning his unwilling gaze toward the Seraph, Tsuzuki noticed the angel regarding the pair with a hatred that was previously reserved for Ingethel alone. Shock chilled Tsuzuki as he gripped his partner tightly to his chest in a fiercely protective hug as if his beaten figure would be enough to protect them both.
Hisoka gave a slight grunt at the behavior and lightly pushed against a body that eventually yielded regretfully and released the boy. Coming to a powerful stance in front of Tsuzuki, Hisoka's blood was vicious within him as a fierce desire to destroy anything that would harm his partner charged his lithe frame for combat.
Seeing as how his previous strategy had not worked during their first encounter, Hisoka resolved to battle the angel psychically, pitting their mental capabilities against one another. Although the boy's throbbing temples re minded him that he was still rebounding from a mental episode from only hours earlier, the liquefied fever running through his veins served to make the Empath intensely resolute.
Hisoka's struggle against himself had admittedly weakened him and he consciously resisted the pitiful gesture of massaging the area between his eyes to dismiss the dull pressure. And even though he was certain he had lost that battle, he felt strangely more powerful because of it. Due to the realization that Tsuzuki did indeed depend on him, the Empath was imbued with a passionate strength that he was formerly unaccustomed to. He was fighting because Tsuzuki believed he was important, because Tsuzuki specifically needed him.
The Empath did not bother to lower his shields for confirmation as he glanced back at his partner; the forlorn expression that desperately pleaded for Hisoka's help was laced in a confident faith. Hisoka's pride in that fact fed his determination and added a fierce intensity to the menacingly narrowed eyes that regarded the winged creature that, to the boy, clearly had a death wish if it had willingly tried to hurt Tsuzuki.
Semyaza merely watched the boy with an impervious composure, making no effort to attack or defend. He read his opponent carefully, catching every intricate detail of the boy's mind that at their earlier meeting had been a million hellacious shattered pieces. Gripping his fists tighter as the thought of his late partner entered his battle-weary mind, the angel's knuckles cracked as he realized the youth had seemingly become stronger to compensate for his vulnerable partner. The Seraph's checked tears were held at bay by thick ebony lashes that reflected an enchanting hint of ice blue in the moonlight.
Suddenly wrenching aggressively as he impulsively drew a gripping palm to his forehead, the angel was forcibly expelled from the boy's ardently focused mind. His gaze slowly turned a mild shade of shock and amusement as his fingertips graced his ear and were immediately glazed in a warm scarlet.
Cleansing his mind of the arrogantly intrusive angel, Hisoka removed one of many paper fuda his partner had entrusted the boy with, charging the Sanskrit parchment with a blaze that impassioned the entirety of his build.
Hisoka's breath was fierce across his pale lips as he was suddenly captured in an intentional concentrated flood of his partner's avid emotions. Glancing back in his concentration, he caught Tsuzuki's ruthless gaze and felt the customary brunt of concern and grief, but behind it was a heated loyalty and a zealous lust for survival that he generously offered the boy.
Accepting any energy Tsuzuki could spare him, Hisoka conjured the previously repressed flood of emotions that surrounded his partner and pulled them to the forefront in a controlled current. Immersing his consciousness in the overwhelming mental power as he summoned every ounce of his energy, the Empath focused the accumulated energy for his attack. Through his already intense migraine, the Empath estimated that he had one shot at this, and he would have to make it count, focusing his power with a single thought.
'I will protect you, because you strengthen me.'
His shoulders trembled with the feral instinct to protect as his empathy drew on the strength of his innately powerful defensive ability. He had never before wanted to protect another person so passionately and it made his body quake with an unbridled fire as he realized that for the first time, he was protecting someone precious to him. He was beginning to understand why protecting someone made Tsuzuki so happy and why the man was so anguished when he failed.
Placing two hands ceremoniously in front of himself, Hisoka's accumulated power rose from his form like an iridescent green smoke. Entranced emeralds devoid of darkened pupils shot open at Semyaza as energy viciously shot in a focused torrent at the targeted angel.
The Seraph's notably cool appearance denied his inner turmoil his mind still mulled over. He refused to allow someone to experience the happiness he was so cruelly denied, especially not the only pair the angel had left to blame for Azazel's death. They had aided that pretentious little blonde Power from the Celestial Council; he was the reason for the Seraph's suffering. But Ingethel had passed as well, and the Seraph's appetite for vengeance was far from satiated. An imperceptible smile slipped to his cold lips. He could not fight in his current condition; another time perhaps.
The violent explosion from the Empath's ferocious attack caused the boy to stumble backwards, almost tripping over his grounded partner who braced the slim, jean-clad leg with his left arm. Hisoka's slender arms shielding his head from the vicious gust, the hems of his denim jacket gradually ceased their untamed flapping until finally hanging quietly at his sides. Holding his ground on weary legs as his arms retracted from his exhausted face, the boy panted deeply as he surveyed his destruction with a predatory glare.
The Seraph was gone.
Hisoka stretched his empathy across the entire area for good measure until the remnants of the angel's insane aura spent his already weakened abilities.
Confident the angel was no longer a threat, Hisoka allowed the energy to slowly leech from his exhausted body as he collapsed to his knees beside a wounded, concerned, but undeniably proud partner.
With a numbness setting throughout his drained body, Hisoka torpidly watched several black feathers float slowly to the ground. He unknowingly joined them with an inelegant thud on top of a suddenly very worried Tsuzuki as unconsciousness subdued the Empath's overwrought senses.
To Be Concluded...
-Puts away angst kit and takes out fluff toolbox- Time to fix this mess! -smiles-
As always, thank you very much to all my reviewers, including: SapphireDragon, Zatken (I'm going to read your fic soon -smiles-), Kamikakushi, Yanagi-sen, inu400, Fin-Phoenix, Ying Fa 19...
ola: You win the I-know-my-Latin-award on valiant effort alone -smiles-. I don't know much Latin myself so that was impressive.
Dazzle1: Davidson, Gustav 'A Dictionary of Angels, including the fallen angels' The Free Press, 1994. How about I post the 'spell' and translation on my homepage by the time chapter 18 is up?
I would love to respond to all my reviewers, but then the notes at the end get to lengthy, and I wouldn't want to bother anyone at there email inboxes -smiles-. Just know that I appreciate all of you!
Anyways, only one chapter left... So get your reviews in before time is up -smiles- (look how close I am to 100 reviews! You guys are so great!)