Also, this version has been edited to fall in line with content restrictions. There is still some sexual content. If you want the full version of the chapter, go to http/
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I glanced at the rumpled fax; double-checking the time on it, then shoved it back into my pocket irritably.
My client was supposed to be here at three. It was already well past that. I sighed, checking my watch.
It had been a week since I met Kamui and the others, and I had gone back to working as usual. Today was supposed to be a simple consultation with a powerful businessman who preferred to keep spiritualists out of his company unless strictly necessary.
I folded my arms, leaned on the bars in front of me. Of course, he had to arrange to meet me at the zoo. In the bird enclosure, of all places.
If he wasn't here in another fifteen minutes, I decided, I would leave. This was getting ridiculous.
I stared out into the simulated forest, catching glimpses of the net that served as its walls, not really seeing any of it. It hadn't changed in the last half hour.
Sighing, I closed my eyes, listening to the occasional chirps of the exotic birds around me, trying to identify them by their calls. I was only able to name a few, but then I wasn't nearly as good with birds as I used to be with dogs.
A low voice behind me startled me out of my reverie. "I'm sorry, I'm late. I was working and it took longer than I expected."
"Seishirou-san." My eyes flew open as I whispered the name, and I gathered power as quickly as possible, letting a trickle of it flow out of my palm. I turned around to the strange emptiness of the kekkai. And him.
He smiled at me, hands shoved nonchalantly into the pockets of his jacket. "Did you wait long?"
My eyes narrowed, and I studied him warily. I didn't sense any power around him. If I attacked now, it would be hard for him to deflect the spell, and it was tempting. But he didn't appear to be looking for a fight, and if I could avoid one...
My voice kept carefully flat, I asked. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugged, "I thought it was time we had a proper date."
I blinked at him in shock. "Date?" I barely managed the question without stuttering over it. Momentarily, I was thrown. And then I could have kicked myself for not expecting this.
He really hadn't changed at all. Always looking to confuse me, push me off balance. He was playing with me again...and it enraged me. Did he really think I was that stupid still?
And then, as suddenly as it took hold of me, the anger died, and I was amused. He really had no idea, did he? Seishirou still thought he was dealing with a naive sixteen-year-old. He hadn't even bothered to come up with a new line. Raising an eyebrow, I smiled just a little. "Alright."
After all, if I was going to beat him, I'd have to start playing his game.
I couldn't be sure, but his eyes looked just the faintest bit surprised before he held out a hand to me. I let myself take some satisfaction in that. "Splendid. There's this wonderful French restaurant I know, we can start there."
Start? I took his hand, gritting my teeth in a sunny smile. Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about this. I remembered the affinity test. And the karaoke incident. And the fact that his 'dates' tended to take several hours and usually involved bystanders.
I wondered if I had the sheer patience this was going to take.
I had to admit; the restaurant he chose was beautiful. On the ground floor of one of the more exclusive hotels in Tokyo, it was a small, glittering room with several private seating areas, and a line out the door. One that we were ushered past, into a private veranda. It was beautiful. We were seated in a small, enclosed area, with windows that looked out into lush gardens.
The restaurant was also expensive. I stared at the wine list that the waiter had handed us, noting that there were no prices on it. This was obviously one of those kinds of places where the patrons didn't care how much they spent.
"Do you have a preference, Subaru-kun?"
I shook my head. "Not really." I handed the list to him.
He smiled, and looked up at the waiter, who smiled at us thinly. "Two bottles of my usual then."
The waiter bowed rapidly. "Aaa, oui, monsieur, very good!" I hid a smirk. Seishirou must have ordered something expensive, because the waiter's Japanese accent was making his French almost incomprehensible. "Can I bring you anything else?"
Seishirou shook his head. "Not at the moment."
The waiter bowed again, "Tres bon. If you will excuse me, I will bring your champagne immediately."
Silence reigned for a moment, and I studied him over the table devoid of anything as basic as silverware. He was watching me, head turned slightly, smiling, eyes somehow dark. I suppressed a shiver.
The look pulled at me, made the blood in my veins run just a bit faster. I sucked in a breath; held it, let it out slowly. My skin felt hot, too tight, and I suppressed a shiver. I knew that look.
Seishirou's gaze was warm, even more intense than I had remembered by its mismatch. I wanted to look away, but I held the gaze, somehow sure it was a battle of some sort, that looking away would prove me to be weak, or shy, or pathetic. And then I smiled, ever so faintly.
The waiter was back quickly, presenting the wine to Seishirou who barely afforded it a glance before he nodded. Still, it broke the eye contact, and the delicate flute set before me gave me something else to focus on.
I nodded my thanks to the waiter, taking the glass, and meeting Seishirou's eyes again. He raised his glass slightly.
"What shall we toast to, Subaru-kun?"
I held up my glass, looked through it towards him, watching the bubbles stream up in it. It looked like a sunlit version of Kamui's inner world.
"The end of the world?"
He laughed, and reached over to lightly tap his glass to mine. "The end of the world it is." He raised it to his lips, and I quickly followed suit.
I'm sure the champagne was delicious, but I barely tasted it. He was looking at me again, over the rim of his glass, and I could feel myself flush. I let my eyes drop as I put my glass down, taking a deep breath, exhaling, locking away all the confusion that threatened to overwhelm me.
"Do you approve?"
I shrugged. "You have excellent taste."
Smiling, he set his glass down, still looking at me intently. "I suppose that's true."
His tone, his eyes...they were such lies. And I realized with surprise that it didn't bother me.
"So. Other than the fact that you have excellent taste..." I ran my finger along the stem of my glass idly. "Tell me about yourself."
"I wouldn't know what to say. I lead a very boring life" For a moment, his smile was hauntingly familiar, and he looked exactly like the man I had fallen in love with so long ago.
"It's been nine years." I shrugged. "Surely something interesting must have happened since I saw you last."
He chuckled. "Not really. I tend to lead a solitary life."
His voice was just the slightest bit off, and my eyebrows drew together in a slight frown. Was that bitterness coloring it? "That sounds lonely. Is that why you decided to look me up, Seishirou-san? For company?"
He didn't answer, just smiled and sipped his champagne, letting the silence stretch between us for a moment, before he broke it. "And what about you, Subaru-kun? Have you also lacked for...company?"
He traced his finger along the side of his glass slowly, leaving a trail in the condensation.
I shrugged. "Not really."
Seishirou tilted his head slightly, and now his smile seemed slightly forced. "Oh really?"
I nodded, sipping at my champagne. He wanted me to go on, to tell him about my affairs. Nosy bastard. "Yes." My answer was clipped, cool. I hoped he didn't press for details. To tell the truth, I had had more lovers in the past nine years than I could really remember. Faces, names, places...they began to blur together. The only one I could recall with any clarity was Kazuhiko.
My glass was empty, and he reached for it, refilling it slowly. Setting it back down, he looked up at me, eyes dark. "What do you want, Subaru-kun?"
I stared at him for a second, confused, and he chuckled. "For dinner."
I glanced up, noticing the waiter who hovered uncertainly at the edge of our table. "Ah..." I sighed. "I'm not sure." I stood up, smiled. "Why don't you order for me? I'll be right back."
"Very well." He smiled, but his eyes were predatory. I could feel them, hot on my back, as I made my way to the bathroom.
The room was just as lush as the rest of the hotel that I had seen; immaculately clean and delicately furbished. I turned on the tap, held my hands under the cold water. Looked up at my reflection.
My lips were turned up in a faint smile, and my eyes glittered, shockingly green. Suddenly, I was reminded of Hokuto, up to something devious.
I turned off the water, shaking my hands slightly, brushed them through my hair. Cool droplets of it ran down my face, soothing the flush that still marked my cheeks.
He was standing outside the door when I opened it, nonchalantly leaning on the wall of the hallway. I paused for a moment, considering him, as he pushed off the wall, reached out to grab my wrist and pull me into him.
The kiss caught me off-guard, and I just stood there for a breath, eyes wide, body tense as his warm mouth slid over mine. His hand slipped back to cradle my head, his fingers twining in my hair, pulling it to the slide slightly. I sighed as I relaxed, a breathless pant that just let him in deeper.
Funny, he didn't kiss like I thought he would. It was slower, softer. As if he was still trying to play the caring seducer. As if he thought I still needed it.
At sixteen, I would have been utterly overwhelmed. I think he expected that still. He probably thought I had been lying when told him that I hadn't lacked for lovers. Maybe he even really did expect me to be a virgin. As if I had been saving myself for him. What a ridiculous thought.
But I had played this game before...possibly more than Seishirou himself had. I let my arms wrap around his neck, participating wholeheartedly in a hot, sweet kiss that denied our need for air.
But the gentleness bored me. I roughed it up a little, kissing him harder and nipping at his lips. I rubbed up against him, sliding my leg between his, noting the hardness there. He pulled away to look at me.
His eyes were clouded, and he was breathing a bit rapidly. I grinned wickedly.
"What do -you- want, Seishirou-san?" It was a low whisper in his ear, a graze of teeth that made his breath hitch. I could feel his heartbeat between us. Or was that mine?
His hands slid to my shoulders, forcing me back. I looked up to his familiar smirk, though it looked a little thin. His hand dropped to his pocket, fishing for something.
"Dessert." He brought up his hand. Between his fingers was a slim, plain card with the hotel logo embossed on it.
It made me laugh, and I bowed my head with the chuckle. He planned this from the beginning. Seishirou should have been a boy scout.
"Lead the way."
We didn't talk or touch once in on the way to his room...not even in the elevator, though he watched me with half-closed, hungry eyes.
When we finally got to his room, he fumbled the lock, and I had to choke back a laugh. Seishirou always seemed so damned perfect. Untouchable. Finally, he opened the door and pulled me inside.
Not gentle, not coaxing; he had finally given up on the charade. Unceremoniously, he pushed me up against the door, shutting it with my body and sliding the lock home as he pressed up against me, kissing me hard.
I kicked off my shoes, and then went to work on his clothes as he kissed me. Soon I was sliding my hands over his bare chest, cataloguing the feel of his skin, the hollows of his ribs, the sensitive spots that made him jump.
He jumped as my short nails slid down over his stomach, down towards his belt, and pulled away with a hiss, grabbing my wrists. He turned, shoving me over towards the bed, pushing me backwards onto it.
Was he trying to scare me into passivity? I smiled, catching the hem of my shirt, pulling it up over my head, tossing it to the side. He watched me, unmoving as I undid my belt.
I paused, fingers hovering just above my waistband, considering. He looked down at me, face carefully composed into a vaguely interested mask. If his eyes didn't give the lie, I would have thought this interested him about as much as the morning newspaper.
I reached out for his belt, quickly pulling him closer, until he was just inches from me. Pressed my lips to his stomach and felt the muscle there twitch as my breath and lips caressed his skin.
After a long moment of my tongue tracing the tensely clenched contours of his stomach, delving into his navel, he reached down, grabbing my wrists, jerking them above my head and pushing me down to the bed, pinning me. It was a gesture I remembered.
He was looking for control. I arched into his body, moaning into his mouth as I wrapped my legs around his body. Tried to drive him over the edge just a little more.
A single hand dropped down to my waist, ripping at my pants, tugging the zipper down.
He was mine now. The realization made me smile into his shoulder even as he took me, hard and unprepared. The pain hardly mattered. I'd done worse..
Afterwards, I let my eyes drift shut, listening to his soft breathing - barely audible even in the quiet room. He lay there for some time, unmoving.
Finally, he sat up, and leaned over. I could hear him rummaging around in the nightstand drawer, and then there was the familiar strike of a lighter, the soft sizzle as he drew his breath in and the paper burned.
I breathed in deeply as he shifted again, savoring the smoke that curled around us in a silent embrace.
He leaned over me, and I could feel the end of the cigarette as it traced my lips. I parted them as I cracked my eyes open slightly and took a slow drag. He was staring at me, eyes shadowed.
I held my breath for a second, then let the smoke slide out of my mouth slowly. He raised the cigarette back to his lips.
I sighed, stretched slightly. His eyes ran down my naked body. I think he expected me to be shyer, to hide under the sheet. Instead I propped myself up, stole his cigarette again for a quick pull, then pressed a quick kiss to his lips and handed it back to him.
I slid out of the bed, stretching as I walked across the room to the bathroom. He was silent behind me, but I could tell he was watching...and that he was confused.
The shower water was cold, crisp needles on my sticky, hot skin. It felt wonderful. I closed my eyes, dunked my head under and let the water close my eyes as it ran down my face.
I sighed and leaned against the wall, raising a hand to brush my hair back. I was shaking, I noticed with surprise.
I bit back a laugh. I never would have thought I would actually see the day where I would actually end up in Seishirou's bed. I turned off the tap, stepped out of the shower.
Grabbing a towel from the rack, I actually looked at the room. Noticed the general disarray - the mess that couldn't be caused in just a day or two of use. Seishirou had been living here for at least a month. No wonder I could never find him, if he had been primarily living in hotels.
I pulled on my clothes, not even bothering to shake out the wrinkles, and walked back out to the room. Seishirou was still on the bed, smoking, a slight crease between his eyes.
"Going somewhere?" The barest frown creased his forehead as I looked back from the door.
"Home." I let myself smile, a mocking, slow grin that I had learned from Kazuhiko. "Thanks. It was fun."
I couldn't suppress the satisfied smirk as the door clicked shut on his wide, surprised eyes.
