Tactics – Chapter 2
By Nicotine Gum
"Oni gu'i!" Sugino leaped to his feet as soon as the door slammed shut, "That was Kantaro!" He stared wildly at the door, as if fearing some demon would emerge.
"And?" Haruka was still seated calmly on the floor, oddly calm in spite of the circumstances.
"And, and…" Sugino's hysterical voice trailed off to something just above a sheepish mumble, "and." He finished lamely.
"You don't make sense," Haruka snorted at the other, making the short-fused kami bristle at the directed insult.
"That was a minor slip! I'm not always like that and you know it!"
"Hnn." The tengu nodded absently, pointedly not paying the other any more attention than he deserved.
"Oni gu'i!" Sugino glared vehemently at him, "No matter how handsome you are, I won't forgive you so easily!" Haruka stared blankly back at him and Sugino smirked inwardly. There now, he had the other's complete attention now. Really, Haruka was so easy to bait. Oh well. His gain. "But of course, I'm still more handsome than you are, just so you know."
Haruka's blank, uncomprehending stare did not waver. Sugino snapped.
"Oh you are so SLOW sometimes!" he huffed impatiently, "Really! I wonder what Kantaro sees in you!" Immediately he regretted his words. At Haruka's irritated look, he hurried to remedy the situation. "Anyway, before we were interrupted, what was I saying?"
It worked, miraculously enough. Haruka's face relaxed into its usual disinterest and he even smirked. "I can't remember. You talk so randomly it's hard to follow."
No, Sugino would not let him have the satisfaction of grating his nerves. Unfortunately, he did, and did a good job of it at that, and it distressed him to no end. Haruka could get under his skin like no one else could…and probably under his sheets as well. Sugino shuddered at the thought. No, not now. He would not be distracted! A quick glance at the tengu showed him to be leaning easily against the wall, his lean form silhouetted by the moonlight, and apparently deep in thought.
"Oi." He barely startled him. Haruka only turned to regard him coolly as if he hadn't actually made to startle him. "No seriously, what was I saying?"
Black eyes twinkled faintly with amusement. "I was serious too. I can't remember."
"Oni gu'i!"
He cocked his head slightly. "Something about Muu-chan?"
Sugino's eyes lit up. "Oh yes! Muu-chan!" he clapped his hands enthusiastically before sagging suddenly to the floor. "She's not feeling too well these days."
"Youkai can fall sick too," Haruka pointed out bluntly.
"I know, but she isn't ill. It's more like," he frowned prettily, screwing up his nose and all, "she's upset about something."
Haruka stared at him as if he'd sprouted a third wing. "Can she actually do that?"
"Why not?" Sugino shot back defensively, "She has feelings too!" When Haruka shrugged nonchalantly, his voice lowered to barely above a whisper, "Ne, oni gu'i, it's way past time for you to leave."
Haruka stared at his hands, looking slightly troubled. "I know. I should have left long ago."
He shook his head. "Iya. I should never have stayed."
"You shouldn't have," the kami agreed, "but you did, and that's all past now. What are you going to do now is the question we should be asking here. Humans and monsters were not meant to get along. You know that."
Haruka nodded, his countenance darkening by the second. "I know."
"Does he really mean all that much to you, this…boy?" the words were spoken gently, yet they tore at his heart as if the other had said it in malice.
Haruka looked up wearily, his face suddenly changed by grief. "I don't know…" a hand reached out to clutch at the kami's robes, "…I really don't know."
Sugino did the only thing he thought was appropriate. Haruka was asking for confirmation, for certainty; something only another like them could give. So he did. And he did it gladly and willingly.
--
His touches were soft, his kisses gentle. He wasn't wanting, or needing, he was giving. It was so different from the times with Kantaro, where the other would be so needy it actually worried him sometimes. Those embraces, and those kisses that spoke of such a desperate need... Haruka enjoyed his lays with Kantaro, certainly, but this was different, and he more than welcomed the change.
He was reacting, that he knew, and he was reacting positively, judging from the soft smile on Sugino's face as he rained butterfly kisses down his chest. Yes, this was what he wanted, he thought as his eyes fluttered close and his fingers tangled themselves in Sugino's long, silky hair. This was what he needed, he thought, as he arched forward in response to warm lips around his length.
--
When morning came, Haruka found himself tucked in nicely, a white feather placed delicately on his table. Sugino had left him a gentle reminder that there was something he had to do.
Slipping out easily from under the sheets, he noted how he suddenly felt so much lighter, and more powerful at the same time. Indeed, he had stayed with humans for too long if just one night with a kami could rejuvenate him so much. He had to be careful. If he stayed any longer, he could risk becoming just another tengu, with no special powers. And that, he thought firmly, could not happen, not if he could help it.
With renewed strength at hand, he prepared himself for what was to come.
Of course, things are always easier said than done.
--
Knock knock.
Kantaro pulled the sheets over his head, intent on blocking out the sound. Curse the daylight, it was blinding him! Curse the birds, they were bursting his eardrums with their loud twittering so early in the morning!
Knock knock.
Curse the stupid person who was knocking on his door so early! Really, was the world all that inconsiderate? Didn't anybody realise that he'd gone through the whole night without a wink and would appreciate very much if he was left alone?
Knock knock KNOCK!
Oh the person sure was persistent! Must be Youko-chan, he deduced, probably wanting to know if things are okay. Well, he thought crossly, they most certainly are not!
The door slid open loudly and someone stepped into the room. Kantaro tensed. Something told him it wasn't the fox-demon.
"Kantaro." There it was, the low baritone that always sounded so sweet to his ears. Kantaro tensed under the sheets, and prayed silently for the other to go away, even as part of him hoped…for something.
"I want you to release me." His entire body went cold, and he frosted completely at the words spoken aloud. "Did you hear me? I want you to release me."
"Why!" Kantaro shot up like an arrow from a highly-strung bow.
"Because I shouldn't be here."
"Why not?" Kantaro's voice was desperate, rising quickly with every word, "Is this about what happened?"
"No," Haruka answered coldly, "as if something like that would matter."
Kantaro's eyes flashed angrily, even as tears filled his eyes. "Then why does it? Tell me, Haruka! If it doesn't matter, why does it?"
The tengu glared frostily at his master, and something sparked behind those lifeless eyes. "It doesn't."
"It does. You've never been good at lying Haruka, and you can't lie to me. It matters to you, what happened, but you just won't admit it!"
"And if it does?" Haruka shot back, "It doesn't change the fact that I want you to release me."
"Yes," Kantaro whispered softly, "Yes it does." He looked up and met Haruka's gaze straight on. "Because then you wouldn't."
Haruka snorted, averting his eyes from the other. "You think too highly of yourself."
The words were meant to hurt, but the smaller boy only shook his head sadly. "No, I don't. Don't say things you don't mean, Haruka. It's not like you."
"You don't know me," Haruka told him flatly.
"I think I do. I knew you even before I met you."
"That's not possible."
"It is. If you've been searching for something all your life, it is." A certain softness had come to his eyes, and he gazed fondly at his tengu. Haruka shifted uneasily under his gaze.
"You don't understand."
"What don't I understand?" he asked, "Tell me, so I will."
"I have to go. I've stayed too long."
"I never knew there was a limit to how long you could stay," he spoke softly, not meaning to instigate.
"There is," Haruka answered sharply, not liking the situation at all, "and it's past time for me to go."
"Do you have to?"
Haruka looked away. "Yes."
"Isn't there any other way?"
"No."
"If it makes you happy then…" he almost choked on his suppressed tears. Something was clawing at him from the inside, and it hurt. He didn't want his tengu to go, not now, and not ever, but how could he say no if he was asking it of him? How could he ever refuse him?
He couldn't.
"If it makes Haruka-chan happy…" he inhaled deeply, knowing he would regret it for the rest of his life, "then I cannot refuse. I release you from my service, Haruka. You are free to go."
The tengu bowed, surprising even himself, and offered a sincere thanks before spreading his wings and flying away.
--
When Youko-chan came back several hours later, she only needed to see the state Kantaro was in before everything clicked into place. "He's gone hasn't he?" she asked, "Why didn't you stop him?"
"I tried…demo," he looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot and his face tear-stained from many hours of weeping, "I couldn't refuse him. Not when he wanted to go so badly."
"You could've made him stay. He would've obeyed. Why?" she asked, gathering him gently in her arms.
"Sometimes when you love something, you need to let it go. And I love him and want him to be happy."
"My poor Kan-chan," she whispered rocking him gently, "my poor, poor master."
--
