hey hey, I'm back for the final chapter. Sorry it took so long to update, but it's all school's fault i swear!
anyway, I know the last chapter was a really typical Jin/Touya fluff, but i had to wrap them up before I could finish Kiri and Souji! please forgive me :chibi eyes:
Disclaimer: look back at chapter one, I don't feel like retyping it
Warning: uh...this is chapter that made this a PG-13 rating, if i tell you more it'll give away my plot
enjoy!
Blossoms
By: Der Träumer
pt. 6 "Souji's Keeper"
"…stay away or I'll…" Riesho drew his finder slowly across his throat.
Loud banging on the door kept Souji from replying.
"Deal with it," Riesho said calmly and stormed out, nearly knocking Kiri over when he opened the door. Seeing the flora master, he flashed a predatory smile.
Kiri flinched away from him.
Souji steeled himself for what he knew he had to do. "I'm sorry, Kiri, I really am." He fixed his face in an angry expression.
Kiri barely managed to step out of the way when Souji flung the door open. "Uh…hey, Souji," she managed, not liking the look he was fixing her with.
"What do you want?" he snarled, pushing away the urge to catch her to him and tell her everything.
Kiri was panicking. Souji had been cold to her before, but never like this. "I…uh…" Spit it out. "Igrewtheseforyou." She swallowed and produced a flower pot." "They reminded me of you…or the red one did, but whenever I tried to take the other one out it wilted."
Souji stared, transfixed at them for a moment. They were like lilies; the one that reminded Kiri of him was splashed with fire tones, from the darkest red to the brightest yellow. The other was tie-dyed with earth tones from brown to dark blue. They were unnatural looking, something only Kiri could have grown.
Souji swallowed, unable to speak. He squinted his eyes shut and knocked the pot from her hands. It's for her own good, he tried to tell himself as he watched the pot shatter on the ground. "God, Kiri, do I have to spell it out for you…" he gulped, "I don't like you!" he tried to make it sound as convincing as possible.
Nothing could have prepared him for Kiri's reaction. She didn't say anything, just stared at the shattered pottery. Her ears were flat; her eyes were so faded he could barely distinguish the whites from the iris. She looked up at him, her expression filled with pain. One solitary tear dripped down her cheek. "Fine," the word was so quiet he barely heard it. Then, without giving him time to reply, she walked away her steps as graceful as if it had never happened.
Souji closed the door and slumped against it. "That could have gone worse," he said bitterly and shook his head, a sad smile dancing across his features. He frustratedly ran his hands through his hair. He wanted to undo it all so bad. "It was for her own good. It was for her own good. It was for her…" he trailed, voice choking off. He fell to a sitting position, face buried in his hands. "I'm sorry," he sobbed, "If I could undo it all I would."
After several moments, he stood decisively and opened the door. "Screw you Riesho," he murmured, collecting the broken pottery and bringing it inside, the carefully picked up the fallen flowers.
He placed the flowers in a cup of water, then went to work melding the pot back together, all the while thinking about what had started this…
"Who's the boy?" Riesho asked the bartender.
"Works here," was the reply, "Sells himself."
Riesho gave him an appreciative once over. He had a lean, but well-muscled figure and a very young face with large eyes, even though he was probably fifteen or sixteen. He motioned him to come over. Souji had obediently placed himself in Riesho's lap. A coy grin revealing to fangs instead of eye teeth. He was a demon.
Between alcohol and pillow talk Souji had revealed everything about himself to Riesho including his fire.
"We're leaving," Riesho shouted the next morning to wake Souji.
Souji sat up confused, "We?"
"I bought you. We're going somewhere where your fire will be better appreciated." Riesho sat beside him and ran and icy hand from his neck down to his thigh. "Just because we're leaving here, though, doesn't change anything. You're still mine."
"I thought I could…be only yours and push everyone else at arm's length, but Kiri had to come. It'd been two years, I thought my debt had been paid, but you said I was still yours." Souji clenched his fist. "I pushed her away and denied my feelings for her, even to myself, for almost an entire year. I won't do it anymore!" He carefully placed the last piece and melted it into place. He took the flowers and put them in as well as ash from his fireplace.
He took a sticky note off the kitchen counter and scrawled, "We need to talk," across it. Nothing romantic or witty about it. He knew that wasn't what the situation called for.
XxXxX
Kiri lay on her couch, sobbing uncontrollably into a pillow. She felt so hopeless and crushed. It was so much worse than all the other times. He had never been like this; never actually said he didn't like her like that. She didn't know what to do. There didn't seem to be anything left.
The door bell rang.
Kiri ignored it, lacking the heart to get up.
Souji sighed; he didn't really expect her to answer. He set the pot by the door. "Even if you love Jin, or never want to talk to me again, I have to tell you how I feel." He rang the doorbell again and started toward his home.
Kiri stood, then very slowly made her way to the door. She peered out the window and saw Souji walking away. A splash of color on the doorstep drew her eyes from him. She unlocked and opened the door. Seeing the flowers sitting there in the once shattered pot, all she could do was stare in confusion. She caught sight of the yellow sticky note, stuck unceremoniously to its side. She squatted down and pulled it off.
"I need to talk to you," she read aloud. She looked up at where Souji had been and took the plant inside. She wanted so badly to run after him but… He'd hurt her, hurt her real bad, and she wasn't sure she was willing to forgive him, even if it was an apology he was offering.
She slumped back down on the couch and buried her face in her hands, crying more tears of hurt and confusion.
XxXxX
Souji opened the door and reached for the light switch. A haunting voice from within the house caused him to freeze in mid-motion.
"I thought I told you to stay away from her," it hissed.
"I don't care, Riesho, you don't own me anymore!" he answered defiantly and made his way further into the house, not bothering with the lights.
Cold arms wrapped around him from behind. "But, my boy, yes I do. Remember where you'd be if I hadn't found you."
"You can't send me back. I'm too strong now. You have nothing on me. You can't control me." He tried to wriggle free of the larger man, but Riesho only tightened his grip.
"Wrong again, Souji. I do have something on you. I have the flora master." Riesho laughed and nuzzled Souji's throat. "You've been very cooperative in revealing your feelings for her." Riesho slid his hands up Souji's black tank top.
Souji yelped at the icy touch on his bare skin. A candle on the table lit fire, its flame growing upwards in a long rope and making its way toward Riesho.
"Call it off, Souji," Riesho ordered.
"And let you have me?" Souji scoffed, "Let you think you still own me?"
"Call it off," Riesho hissed and licked along Souji's ear. "Call it off, or when I'm done with you, I'll leave you broken on this floor and kill the girl while you lay in your own blood." He kissed Souji's neck. "You know if I wanted to kill you I could. You know your three years of training cannot compare with my lifetime. If you struggle you will die, and I will kill the girl."
Riesho trailed his hands lower and Souji choked back another cry, surrendering himself to those icy hands. He knew Riesho was right, and that he wouldn't hesitate to kill both him and Kiri. Souji could only squint his eyes shut against the tears as Riesho touched him. I love you Kiri. He desperately sought solace in that thought.
XxXxX
Souji yanked his pants back up and collapsed against the sofa. He was panting quietly and trembling a little. He still hurt in a lot of places and blood trickled from several bite marks marring his torso.
Riesho straightened his own clothes. "I suppose I'll see you later." He turned toward the door, right as it was knocked on.
"Souji!" Kiri called from the other side. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"
Riesho was going to just let her keep banging.
"Souji, are you in there? Is everything okay? Why'd you want to talk to me?" On the other side of the door, Kiri was becoming worried. The snapdragons by the door when asked if Souji was here went into hysterics, telling Kiri to get away. "Souji are you okay?" In a last ditch effort to figure out what was wrong, she reached for the door and realized it was unlocked. "Look, Souji, I'm coming in!"
Riesho realized this would not be good and flung the door open before Kiri got the chance. "Well, look who's here. Kiri we were just talking about you, weren't we Souji?" he called to the bedraggled figure on the couch.
Kiri tried to look around him to see Souji, but Riesho purposely moved so she couldn't. "What's going on, Riesho?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
A wicked idea came to Riesho's mind. "We were trying to think of a gentle way to tell you about our relationship."
Kiri's breath hitched. "What?"
Souji sprung from the couch, ignoring the pain it caused him. "Liar!" he snarled and lunged at him. "He lies, Kiri!"
Riesho knocked him to the ground and placed a foot on his chest to hold him down. "You insolent little fool. That was bold of you, but now I have to kill her, you know." He bent over so his face was only inches from Souji's. "Let this be a reminder, Souji-kun, you are mine!"
He turned away from Souji to see that Kiri was still in the doorway. "Well, haven't you made this easy for me," he mused.
Kiri's eyes seemed to glow an even brighter green as her anger rose. "Come to me," she whispered, and Riesho wondered what it meant. A vine tore through the floorboards and wrapped around his throat. She stalked toward him and another ripped through and bound his hands behind his back. Several more wrapped about him, holding him in place.
Kiri stood glaring up at him. "You're an asshole, Riesho, but I'm sure you already knew that," she stated, "You're also a liar, though, and the only thing I hate worse than an asshole is a liar." The vine tightened. "I want to kill you, but if you promise one thing, I'll let you leave."
"Name it," Riesho gasped.
"I don't know what this owning crap it about, but you let it go. You don't own Souji!" The vines dropped away. "Now get out!"
Riesho scrambled out the door and the vines and shrank back under the floorboards. Kiri's eyes stopped glowing and resumed their natural green.
"I'm really sorry about your floor, Souji, I promise I'll fix it!" she pleaded, dropping to her knees beside him. "You're hurt," she realized, "What happened?"
Souji sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "Let's not worry about it right now," hew answered.
"Uh…okay," she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I love you, Kiri," he told her after several moments, and pressed his mouth gently to hers. Kiri clumsily returned said kiss.
"I love you too," she answered when they broke apart.
Not far away Jin and Touya were sharing a similar moment.
On Kiri's kitchen table the lilies seemed to bloom even brighter than before.
ende finale
too sappy? too dramatic :sigh: was it at least a sorta surprise ending, with the whole Souji/Reisho thing? feedback would be greatly appreciated!
thankyou to all you readers who followed this to the end!
much love
Der Traumer
