Tempus Fugit …

XO'MagickMoon'OX

Chapter 9: Possession

Kazahaya groans. I myself have to suppress a few sounds of protest and disgust as we look up at the abandoned house. I really wish I never had to see this place again.

I look passed the tattered roof to the gray sky, smeared with foreboding rain clouds. I'd really rather not be in this house when the storm hits. It's not like the cloud coverage is doing us any good, anyway; sun or not, summer heat and humidity is still hanging in the air.

We walk through the gate, up the path, and into the house. Everything looks almost the same as it did yesterday, except for the fact that the layer of dust has been disturbed and some of the webs are not draped as beautifully as they were, all of which is our doing.

"Marianna!" I call. My voice reverberates eerily through the house. "Marianna!"

No answer.

I shake my head. I grab Kazahaya's hand and help him to the stairs. Despite the fact that his ankle is doing considerably better, it's still a little difficult to walk on. He hobbles after me up the steps. We plan on going up to the widow's walk, but before we reach the stairs that lead to the third floor, a voice calls to us.

"Boys."

We turn. The voice – unmistakably Marianna's breathy whisper – came from the master bedroom. We make our way warily to the room and look inside. There the back-stabbing ghost is, sitting on the edge of the bed. The necklace still glitters around her translucent neck.

"Marianna," Kazahaya says, an air of caution ringing in his voice, "can we have the necklace? We just want it so we can leave and go home."

"Yes, you can have the necklace."

Marianna stands (or, what can be considered the equivalent to standing for a ghost) and glides over to us. Before giving us the accessory, she grabs our wrists and pulls us all the way into the room.

"Agh!" Kazahaya cries as he's suddenly forced to put weight on his bad ankle. He immediately falls to his knees once his captive wrist had been released and grabs his leg, inspecting his bandages.

"Are you all right?" I bend down next to him.

"Oh dear, what happened to your ankle?" Marianna asks.

I glare up at her. "He twisted it when you pushed him off the damn roof!"

The phantom seems taken aback. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for either of you to get hurt."

I turn to Kazahaya and repeat, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he mutters through clenched teeth. I help him stand. He leans against a nearby bedpost for support as Marianna talks.

"Let me give you the necklace now," she says and goes to unclasp it from around her neck. "It's the least I can do."

Marianna moves towards Kazahaya, the necklace in her hand. My eyes narrow suspiciously as I step in front of Kazahaya, blocking him from the ghost.

"Rikuo, what are you doing?" Kazahaya demands.

"I'll take the necklace," I say and hold out my hand.

I see panic flicker through Marianna's turquoise eyes. "No, no, I want to give it to him." She points to the boy behind me.

"I don't trust you," I growl.

"Rikuo, just let her give me the necklace so we can get the hell out of here!" Kazahaya says as he pushes me aside. I stumble to the right, and Marianna advances on Kazahaya before I have time to react. She clips it around his neck, neglecting his open palm, and instantly the room fills with a blinding light that radiates from the diamonds on the chain.

Now I really don't trust her.

"Kazahaya! Nnng ..." I can't see anything through the light. I shield my eyes, and an unseen force pulls me to my knees. There's just so much energy in the room … it's overpowering …

Then it's still. Quiet … and still.

The light fades. I look up. Marianna is gone, and Kazahaya is laying in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed. I crawl over to him, my heart racing. He's not moving … I don't even know if he's breathing …

"K-Kazahaya?" Since when does my voice waver like that? Never before … have I been this scared. My eyes sting. I roll him over on his back, and confirm my fear: he's not breathing. "Kazahaya …"

I can't move … my throat is tight, and I'm finding it hard to breathe … each breath is shuddering … and I'm trembling. What the hell did Marianna do to him? And where did she go?

My chest feels hollow … as if my heart has shattered into a million little glass pieces, piercing the rest of my body and numbing it. "Kaza … haya …" With a shaking hand, I reach over to his face and run my fingers through his hair.

Then, his hand snaps up and catches mine, his chest expanding with air. I jump nearly five feet out of my skin. "What the fu –!"

He sits up and stretches, the necklace glittering around his neck. I look into his green-gray eyes and realize that …

They're not his. I mean … technically, they are … but it's not Kazahaya looking through them.

It's Marianna.

"What's going on?" I demand, my heart beginning to return to its normal pace.

Marianna smiles, probably her first in a long time. "Oh, don't get so touchy. I'm just borrowing his body."

"For what?"

"You love this boy, don't you?" she asks.

I screw my eyes shut. This cannot be happening. "And what if I do?"

She skirts my question. "Can you get the ring from John's bedside table?"

I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"In order for either John or I to move on, we need to finish what we started. John needs to give me the engagement ring, and then we can be together forever. But," her eyes gain the roguish glint I've grown to dread, "he can only give it to me if we have bodies."

My mind begins to put the pieces together. "You needed someone who loved the person you'd possess, just like John loved you. And then John would possess the other person, the person who loved the one you'd possess, so that he could give you the ring. John's soul is inside the engagement ring, isn't it?"

Marianna nods. "He's bound to the ring and the house, just as I'm bound to the necklace and the house. If you'll get the ring, he'll possess you and we can do what we need to do. We're bound to the house because of the argument, and we're bound to the jewelry because of our unfinished proposal. Once we apologize and he slips the ring on my finger, we'll be free."

I sigh. There's no way I'm getting out of this one. But, I've never been possessed before, I realize as I make may way to the other side of the bed. Kazahaya was always the one to get possessed … what's going to happen? It's kind of a scary concept.

My mind is reeling as I pull the ring out of the drawer. I open the little black box, and the ring gleams up at me, mocking me. I bring the box over to the other side of the bed where Marianna has seated herself, watching me through Kazahaya's eyes.

"Well," she says, "take it out."

I take a deep breath to ready myself before I pick the ring off its cushion in the box.

That's when it hits me. The lightheadedness, my vision filled with blinding light that radiates from the diamond. Then my eyes begin to darken …

And soon everything goes black as I feel control of my body being given to someone else.

---

I feel … warmth. Underneath me and on my lips, but my back is cold. Underneath me … it's a person … and on my lips … are theirs. They're running their hands over the bare skin of my back, from my shoulder blades down to my waist. I'm raking my fingers through their hair … soft and silky. A moan sounds from the back of my throat as I feel their tongue inside my mouth, their hands moving slowly lower down my back until their fingers crawl beneath the waistline of my jeans. But, who is the person?

My eyes, which had been closed thus far, open slowly to see …

KAZAHAYA?

As I realize that we're on the bed, he slowly opens his eyes, too, but just for a moment before they fall closed again. Why didn't he stop? Is he still possessed? That must be it. And if he's still possessed, then I have to at least pretend I am so Marianna can finish up and free her soul already.

And hey, while I have Kazahaya in this position – even if it may not technically him – why not indulge in my desires?

I move my lips from his mouth to his neck, taking my hands from his head and sliding them underneath his shirt. He moans softly. I can't believe this is happening. After holding back for so long, I finally have him, all because of a stupid ghost that, just yesterday, nearly killed both of us.

Funny how things happen.

His skin is so soft … just waiting to be tasted and touched. My mouth continues down his neck, but is then rudely interrupted by the collar of his shirt. Meanwhile my fingers are exploring the torso beneath his T, trailing up his abdomen, over his chest, and back down again. As I move to kiss his temple, another moan escapes his lips.

Then he wraps his fists around my arms and flips me over. A dominance struggle? Hadn't expected that. Oh well, I'll let him lead for a while.

Wait? Him? Dammit Rikuo, remember that this is not Kazahaya.

I sigh wearily. I was enjoying this … but realizing once again that Kazahaya doesn't love me just doused every flame of passion I had burning in me.

Then, Kazahaya sits up, straddling my waist. His hands are splayed across my stomach, and he's blinking dazedly, as if he'd just woken up. He looks down at me with the expression of one seeing the world for the first time.

"Rikuo?"

Kazahaya falls sideways in surprise, scrambling to the side of the bed, sitting on his knees. "THAT WAS YOU I WAS KISSING?" His eyes are wide in shock.

I sit up, too, propping myself on my elbows. "Wait … you mean those last five minutes … you weren't possessed?"

Kazahaya shakes his head fervently. "N-No! I … I came to my senses a little while ago … but I was … I don't know … caught up in the moment, so I didn't stop. I didn't know what was going on, only that I lik –" He stops, his words cut off by a gasp.

"That you what?" I narrow my eyes.

His face reddens. "Nothing."

I smirk. "That you … liked it? Is that what you were going to say?"

"NO!"

"Yes you were, you dirty little boy."

"'Dirty'! You were the one that was kissing me back! You obviously weren't possessed those past five minutes, either! And you knew what was going on!"

"Yeah, but I thought you were still possessed," I say half-heartedly. Really, I had sort of known all along that he wasn't, but had made myself believe he was so I wouldn't feel guilty about taking advantage of him. I'm such an jackass.

Obviously he can see the emotion in my eyes. I don't know what they portray, maybe guilt, or sadness, or anger at myself, or shame … whatever it is, it makes Kazahaya reach out and grab my hand.

I lock eyes with him, and he smiles reassuringly. Then he says, "Well, I guess Marianna and John thought it would be funny to leave when we'd be in the most awkward position." His gaze shifts to the floor. "Look, there's your shirt, and the necklace and ring."

Personally, I think it was Marianna's idea to leave at that moment just to torture me. She knew we'd wake up to find ourselves in the heat of passion. I can imagine her up there in the afterlife, laughing her ass off.

Or maybe her reasons for releasing our bodies then aren't as scandalous as I think.

I pick up my shirt and pocket the diamonds (I figure if we're bringing Kakei the necklace, might as well bring him the ring, too). We make our way down the stairs, Kazahaya still hobbling on his bad ankle, and leave the house … for good, I hope.

The rain had started falling, pitter-pattering softly against the dirt road as we head towards the bus stop. I actually finding myself welcoming the drizzle, as it's nice and cool.

"Hey Rikuo," Kazahaya says.

"Yeah?"

"I have a question."

"What?"

"Am I a good kisser?"

A/N: There is another chapter or two left to go! BIG thanks to all of my reviewers thus far. -huggles- I love you guys!