Ch. 10

Mercy

Tatsumi jumped as he heard the gunshot, knowing at once he'd made a mistake leaving Muraki alone. Without a second's thought, he, Tsuzuki and Watari ran towards where they knew it came from. Then Tsuzuki realized something. The shot had been fired in the room Muraki and Oriya were together. Oriya had been angry with him for something…

You'd better not be dead, Muraki.

Tsuzuki was the first to reach the door and he pried it open, hoping everyone was alright. The first thing he saw was Oriya crying on the ground, blood dripping onto his beautiful kimono from a wound on his left cheek.

"What happened in here?!" Tatsumi shouted at Oriya.

Oriya paused for a moment, wiping a smudge of blood from his chin. He shook his head at Tatsumi and wiped his eyes.

"It's not your concern now. Kazu wants Tsuzuki to meet him in his old laboratory. He's gone there if you're looking for him."

Oriya stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath before finishing what he wanted to say. Muraki had never been particularly suicidal, but recently…Oriya couldn't be sure of anything anymore. Oriya desperately hoped that somehow Tsuzuki could save him, but he didn't necessarily believe he could.

"I suggest you kill him first before he tries anything." he added, repressing his tears.

There would be no way that Tsuzuki would kill him on purpose. Even if they were still somewhat enemies, their night together had awoken some sort of loyalty within Tsuzuki that bonded him to Muraki.

Tsuzuki looked at him curiously and knelt beside him. "Why are you telling us that? You want us to…kill him? I knew you were mad at him but isn't that kind of…"

Oriya grabbed the edge of Tsuzuki's jacket and firmly tugged on it, pulling their faces inches apart. His dark eyes were intense with such passion that Tsuzuki couldn't help but be intimidated by them. At seeing Tsuzuki's fear, he relented and was calm once more.

My Kazu wouldn't want me to be upset about this.

"Death would be mercy to Kazu. But don't do it because I told you to. If you really do care about him like he believes you to, you will do this for him." he said

Tsuzuki tore Oriya's hands from his jacket and thought about what Oriya was saying.

"Do you really think that? You and I both know that he's not horrible all the time. Even if he has gone…over the edge, he can still come back again right?" Tsuzuki questioned.

"And then what? Yes, there are two sides to him, but it's as if one's gone now. He shot at me because he wanted to use me to buy time. It's not as if he did it out of hatred, but he's never hurt me like that before. Not once." Oriya said sadly, pressing his kimono sleeve against his cheek to stop the bleeding.

Tatsumi walked over to Oriya and helped him up.

"You should stay here while we look for Muraki." Tatsumi said gently, not wanting to risk Oriya's life any further.

Tsuzuki shook his head. "No. He wants me to find him, so I'll go alone."

"No! Don't you remember what happened last time? We go together. All of us. Muraki may be one mortal man, but he's quite powerful. We all go." Watari said suddenly, placing a hand on Tsuzuki's shoulder.

"Right. I'm not leaving you to him. Hisoka stays here with the other shinigami in case Muraki comes back here. I'll inform the rest of JuOhCho of the situation at hand." Tatsumi stated resolutely.

"Wait, why are all of you so concerned about him too?" Tsuzuki asked. "I care about him, but Tatsumi, you and Watari hate him."

Tatsumi hadn't wanted to answer this question. "Because we have to keep him alive, Tsuzuki." was his simple response.

The truth had been revealed to him by The Count in their last meeting. The illustrious Count had actually made a bad call. Muraki's ability to withstand the demon hadn't exceeded a normal mortal man by much more than a few days. This whole thing had been a test given by The Count to see how much he could take. It was a risky procedure, allowing a man working with a demon into JuOhCho, but it had worked…until now. Muraki had lost his mind and there was no predicting what could happen.

"Tsuzuki, The Count was sort of…experimenting with something with him. Do you remember hearing about Muraki's demon? The Count has been watching it, studying it and allowing it to torment him. It's horrible to say even though it's true. Muraki's taken it well, and there was no indication he would go over the edge like this. But this isn't the worst of it. The only reason for Muraki to continue his deal is to obtain his brother's remains. Those were destroyed the same day that he died. However, we only learned of that truth a few days ago. We haven't been able to find the remains; it's believed that the demon still has Saki with him, but…" Tatsumi sighed, shaking his head in shame.

Oriya was horrified. Tatsumi and the others were studying his Kazutaka? But besides that, he realized something else. Saki was dead.

"The demon…already killed Saki?! Then what the hell is Kazu still doing this to himself for?! If he dies, it's on your hands!" he said, almost shouting.

Tsuzuki felt sick.

"By killing Saki, Muraki has no reason to live either!" Oriya persisted.

Even though Tsuzuki hadn't contributed to Saki's death, he felt bad about it…and what it would mean for his new lover. 'Ha,' he thought to himself, 'Muraki's right. I am too sensitive for my line of work after all. But yeah, he does…mean something to me…'

Hell, I love him.

Tsuzuki's cheeks flushed bright red at the realization. No matter how much he seemed to hate Muraki, no matter what Muraki did to him, he was falling in love with him. And it had taken all this for him to realize it. However there was little time to think about this new realization as Oriya was still shouting at him.

"You of all people, the one that he loves so much that he-…"

Tsuzuki's brow furrowed in anger as Oriya continued to throw insults at him.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear about it anymore!" he yelled back.

Everyone in the room fell silent.

"Tsuzuki…" Tatsumi started.

Somehow Oriya's shouting had made Tsuzuki realize the seriousness of the situation before him.

"Listen, we have to go find him now. Oriya you should come too. Muraki didn't kill you, so that means he must still feel something for you. If we don't hurry…I don't know what would happen to him." he said, looking at the floor.

"I may hate him sometimes, but he needs our help. Oriya you come too." he said, his familiar amiable smile showing brightly on his face.

Oriya gave a slight smile back and nodded. The others had to give in to Tsuzuki's request, even though they knew it wasn't the best idea. Oriya was completely mortal and therefore was in the greatest danger; Kazu, in his current state, wouldn't protect him anymore.

"Come on, let's go." Tatsumi said, motioning Tsuzuki and the others to follow him.

Watari and Tsuzuki nodded and they prepared to transport themselves back to Muraki's laboratory ruins hopefully for the final time. Oriya slid his arms around Tsuzuki's stomach, realizing he'd be left if he didn't…although he hated every moment of it.

As the spell began and they started to fade, Oriya spoke to Tsuzuki.

"I guess I have to trust you for two things today. For one, this damn transportation spell and for another…I want you to take care of him. If he dies I mean. Well…if I die as well. Even if I don't enjoy thinking of the two of you together, he cares about you…more than you realize." Oriya said, keeping his body as far away as possible from Tsuzuki's.

Tsuzuki nodded quickly in response and they all disappeared.

A few minutes before

"Finally you've decided to bring Tsuzuki to me. Good choice, Kazutaka."

The instant Muraki had arrived in his laboratory, the demon had been right there in its complete form. It was a hideous creature with the head of a dragon with several wide arcing horns acting as a shield of spikes around its neck. There were five other patches of smaller spikes on its cheekbones, above its eyes and one particularly large patch on its chin, partially guarding its neck. From its gargantuan head formed a muscular neck and large, sharply pointed shoulder blades that made it look larger than it already was. Protecting its heart and stomach were large plates of hardened flesh of a slightly lighter shade than the rest of its body. The strangest feature of the demon was its five black and whip-like tails that looked too small for its gigantic body, slithering on the ground and in the air like slender snakes.

Muraki no longer cared about his demon; it was no longer a threat to him.

So this is it. After this, I die.

He'd accepted his fate after shooting at his beloved friend, realizing only now the consequences of his actions. Oriya would still care about him, he knew that of his persistent friend, but there would always be the memory of this event lingering forever in both of their minds. But now Muraki would no longer have to worry about things like that. Perhaps now there would be peace.

Without answering the creature's haughty laughter, he approached the wreckage of Saki's containment, now layered with dust and full of spider webs. A layer of film coated itself on his palm as he slowly ran his hand along the smooth glass exterior. Ages ago it had felt exactly the same way as he'd set Saki's head inside the tank. He'd been thoroughly soaked in blood and nearly as mad as he was at this moment. This was when his humanity had begun to slip away. He remembered trudging to this laboratory, keeping Saki's head and spinal column high above himself, making sure that the specimen was kept immaculate while allowing his feet to be cut, struggling against brambles and harsh overgrowth that lay in his way. Thorns lodged in his ankles, blood rushing down to his bare legs to be absorbed in his clean white cotton socks. Muraki could remember everything from that moment now that he was here…alone once more as he'd been then. His heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the broken glass, closing his eyes, retching at the tank's very existence as well as its destruction. What if he'd left Saki in his grave to rot? And what about now that Saki had been stolen from him? Could he rebuild the laboratory and salvage old research? His instincts told him that it would not be easy to do, but he'd chosen this life and there was no way to go back on that decision. However, now the possibilities of what his life could have been were beginning to haunt him. Ukyou still held her offer for marriage even though he knew he had no romantic feelings toward her, she was a good friend and would have made good company.

I must say, I'll miss you as well Ukyou. Marry someone else and be happy.

He ran his hand along the side of the remaining glass…suddenly he stopped. There were dried spots of blood splattered on the sides. Oddly enough, he didn't remember this being here before. Maybe it was his own blood, dried from the last time he'd been in the lab. But no, it couldn't be. It was covering an entire side…on the inside. This had to be Saki's blood. He sensed something was wrong. There was too much blood here. Muraki's eyes followed the large mass of blood and traced it to the floor where it had collected in an even greater puddle. Then he noticed something even more unusual. There was a trail of it leading away from the spot on the floor, the blood becoming lighter and thinner as it went. His pulse quickened as he calculated how much blood there really was on the tank and floor; there was no way that anyone could have survived such blood loss.

Suddenly the demon realized what was going on and spoke up, whipping its tails through the air in boredom.

"And what's got you so curious all of a sudden Kazu? The blood?" it sneered, its straight black lips formed into such a malicious grin that it instantly heightened Muraki's curiosity.

He walked briskly along the line of blood, feeling nauseous as he watched it stretch out for the entire length of his laboratory until it reached the door and abruptly turned left. Muraki followed, but before he could even take a step out of his lab, his eyes met with those of another…

"No…" he stammered, falling instantly to his knees, at eye level with the head sitting on the ground.

Or rather, it was now a half-decayed corpse. Its eyes were now sunken holes, staring back at Muraki with unblinking intensity. There were still dark patches of hair, matted with blood and the spinal column connected had been snapped in half, its brittle pieces scattered around the head. It seemed to mock him with its very existence now, its skinless jaw forever frozen into a grin.

"Saki?! Saki…"

Muraki was too stunned to continue. For half of his life, Saki had been his one reason for staying alive. His one reason to continue with his murders and countless other atrocities. And now as Saki lay before him, he realized that everything he'd ever done was for nothing. He couldn't speak. Suddenly he felt a light breeze behind him.

"Ah poor Kazutaka. Too bad isn't it? I couldn't look at this thing so I destroyed it." the demon laughed.

Muraki slowly rose to his feet, his eyes now as empty as Saki's. "When did you do this?" he asked calmly, slowly approaching the demon.

"Why? I told you when we made our deal that I was in control, correct? You really should have listened."

Muraki wasn't about to be taken advantage of by some animal.

"Do you have any idea at what you've done? I don't think you fully comprehend it do you? You were the one that came to me. You needed me for Tsuzuki. Now that Saki is dead, our contract is up and you will not touch my Tsuzuki."

The demon started laughing.

"Oh but Kazutaka…you've already brought him to me! Your little act was just enough to lure him, and possible other shinigami, to this lab to find you!" it taunted.

Muraki was about to respond when he realized it was true. Tsuzuki would come after him. He had told Tsuzuki to come after him. If the demon was strong enough to hurt Tsuzuki...

The door to the laboratory slammed shut, sending a loud clang reverberating through the seemingly empty room. As the door was closed, so became his heart. Left in silence now, he hoped that he could be forgotten here in the deep darkness.

The monster is dead. Father, uncle, mother, Saki- the monster is dead.

His lip trembled as he slowly brought his hands to cover his face.

"The monster has gone to hell."

There was nothing, no one to save him from his fate now. He slowly pulled his gun to his chest, embracing it tightly even as his hands shook terribly.

And then he heard it.

A voice from outside his laboratory. "Kazu! You get the hell out of there you bastard!!!"

Oriya. Oriya had come to find him after all, and the demon loved every second of it.

"Ooh Kazutaka, is that the weak human you whore yourself out to? Humans always make the loveliest screams when their spirits are torn from their weak bodies."

"If you hurt him…I swear I'll strangle you with your own putrid entrails!" Muraki snarled back, his blue eye flashing with unbridled madness.

"Ha…I wouldn't put that past you. But enough talk. I don't want you to go to hell without an escort." it murmured as gently as it could, motioning to the door with his tail.

To Muraki's heartache, the door was slowly lifted and before it was even three feet off the ground, Oriya had dove under it, stumbling to his feet and running towards Muraki.

"Kazu!!! Kazutaka Muraki what were you thinking you idiot! I don't care that you shot at me! I really…"

It was then that Oriya witnessed the great demon that Muraki had been dealing with. Oriya knew slightly of demons, as Muraki had used them for spells before, but had never seen one before him. He froze, in an instant stunned by the behemoth. The demon rose to its hind legs, threatening Oriya with its armor-plated chest and stomach.

"Oriya…Oriya leave here. Oriya now!!!" Muraki cried out to him as one of the demon's tails lashed forward towards his friend.

A loud whirr followed by a sharp slap was all he heard as Oriya tumbled to the floor, clutching his right arm in sheer agony. His mouth was agape with painful shock as blood poured freely from the deep laceration on the backside of his right hand. And then the tail came down again, but this time harder. This time more severe. Muraki watched, unable to do anything: his power was so drained that if he even completed a simple spell, he could die. Tears flooded his eyes, but he didn't cry. His face was stone cold, even as Oriya was slashed and cut before him. Soon the demon was bored and tore at Oriya with its claws this time. He struggled vainly to defend himself, but there was no possible escape.

"KAZU!!!! KAZU GET OUT OF HERE! AAAGH KAZU!!!!!!!!!" he cried out, unable to do anything more.

Muraki knew that if he attacked the demon alone, he would be killed himself, but he couldn't sit and watch his best friend die.

"Oriya…Leave him alone, he did nothing to you!" Muraki said, facing the demon.

He didn't answer. All that could be seen was blood. Muraki feared for the worst, walking closer to where the demon and Oriya had just stood together.

Oriya was dead.

Eeesh the end of chapter 10! This one came out to be kind of a shocker as in the earlier chapter I was even thinking of writing a bit more Oriya/Muraki. Can't wait to post the next chapter when I'm done with it! I've already got it planned and I like it so far. Thanks everyone for all your reviews and everyone reading this fic!