Those strangely blood-red eyes widened, the man behind the mask still not aware that he was quite visible to the astrologer.

They were standing next to a fountain, a large pool of shimmering water with a single spout in the middle, surrounded by water sprites of bronze or stone. It was a playful expression of life.

"Come again?"

"You're not human, nor are you a shinigami. Your aura speaks of demonic influence. Unlike Tsuzuki though. You are a pure blood."

The Count froze, paling. "You must be mistaken..."

"I'm not. It's also in your eyes. The mask hides it, but your eyes aren't human either."

"You... can see me?" the other man breathed, eyes impossibly wide, looking almost comically shocked, but Rikugo didn't laugh.

The horror was real that this man felt. The fear and panic and everything radiating off him were true.

But why?

"Yes, I can," he confirmed.

The Count blanched more, stepping away from the taller shikigami as if he was afraid of him all of a sudden. Gravel crunched underneath his booted feet and except for the gushing water there was no sound.

"It's my ability," the astrologer added softly. "I could see you the moment we met." He was hesitant for a moment, then added the question that had been burning on his mind for too long. "Why do you wear the mask?"

Trembling fingers caressed over the object in question. "I... It was part of the punishment."

Rikugo was taken aback. "Punishment?"

The Count moved back two more steps, looking close to running. "I apologize for deceiving you, Rikugo." He dropped his gaze briefly, like bowing without physically moving a muscle. "I'm a prisoner of this place. I cannot leave the Palace grounds. This," he gestured at the garden, "is as far as I can walk."

"Why?" Rikugo had never heard of such a punishment, though it seemed less cruel than what had been done to Touda for instance.

"It was the better of two evils."

"And you serve Meifu?"

Another tremor. "Yes. I'm not a demon, nor a devil. I'm human," he whispered. "I was born a human being. This here... it's my eternal curse."

"Why? What did you do?"

For a long moment there was no answer. The Count was silent, staring ahead, lost in a world Rikugo couldn't fathom.

"I didn't kill anybody, if that's what you think," the Count said softly, breaking the silence in the end. "At least not by my own hands. I'm not some kind of crazed murderer. Never was, never had the intention to harm anyone. I just made mistakes. I... wanted immortality, eternal beauty... to live forever and be untouched by sickness, poverty and famine."

He laughed darkly, those strange eyes briefly glancing at the listening shikigami.

"I got all I wanted and more. I got eternity. I have my looks. I can never die, but this isn't what I would call life!"

"What happened?" Rikugo asked softly.

"I made a deal with a devil. I offered him what he wished for immortality in return. I was naïve when I summoned him. I was naïve enough to believe that I could control him, that all the tales of before about evil demons was just make-believe, that he would be my servant."

Trembling fingers ran through the black hair, then touched the half mask. He finally removed it, making himself completely visible to his only guest. The eyes took on their true color, blood red with a black pupil, a fiery shimmer in their depths. They were a sure sign of his demonic heritage and the Count didn't meet Rikugo's gaze. He played with the mask, fingers still trembling.

"It was all true. That thing used me, my desires, my wishes, my dreams. It made me immortal, but not in any way I wanted. I began to live off the life time of others, needed human life like a vampire. People aged around me, grew sick and old and finally died. I didn't know that. When I finally realized what was happening, it was too late. I harbored so much energy, it suffused my body, it changed me in turn." He drew a shaky breath. "I was handsome, I was desirable, but none of my companions survived the night. Each climax leeched their energy into mine. It was when I ran. I tried to hide, but that thing came after me... and staying away from human life hurt me."

Rikugo was aghast. He knew that devils made all kinds of deals, but this was worse than stealing a single soul. The Count still didn't meet his eyes, staring at the mask, face pale and drawn.

"I didn't know that all those souls whose lives I took were condemned to go to Hell. I didn't know..." The voice trembled more. "When I fought the pact, I made my last mistake. I fought fire with fire and was burned. I used magic to kill the creature, but in the end all I did was fuse his power with mine. I became what he was..."

"You're a half demon then?" Rikugo asked softly.

A wry laugh. "Yes and no. I merged with one, molecule by molecule. I became one. My whole body changed; everything about me changed. You can't tell me apart from any of the others because when Enma-Daiou brought me here he locked that part away." The Count stared at the floor. "He gave me my last chance. I was supposed to serve Hell, become one of those minions, lose my soul to that creature that I had become, but I ended up here. Alone." He smiled darkly. "I think it was the lesser evil. Hiding behind the mask, behind invisibility is a small price to pay. It could be a lot worse."

"What's your name?"

A sad smile. "No one's asked me that in a long time. I've been the Count for all my existence here."

"Who were you before?"

Finally those demonic eyes met Rikugo's and the shikigami held them with a steady expression. He was neither frightened nor shocked by them. Shikigami had all kinds of eyes and only humans turned away in fright from what they didn't know. Rikugo himself looked different and his second set of eyes was red and reptilian; dragon eyes.

"My people had a name for me. You could translate it as Demon Spawn."

Rikugo looked into those pained eyes, saw the truth of the emotions behind the name. "What did your parents call you?" he asked quietly.

A sigh he evaded his gaze. Rikugo waited, waited for the emotions to settle, for the other man to make up his mind.

"Ryu," the Count finally said. "My mother called me Ryu. It's an abbreviated version of my full name and title."

The astrologer smiled. "May I call you Ryu?"

The Count looked at him, sadness in his eyes, his whole demeanor, but there was also a spark of hope. "I'd like you to."

° ° °

He sat in the darkened room, a glass of sherry in one hand, eyes gazing out over the garden at night. There were a few lights on, illuminating the fountain for no one else but him and Watson. It was a spectacle to amuse himself, to take his mind off darker thoughts, and right now Ryu felt it soothing him. The lights were wonderful in the night, little sparkles, beacons, life. Cold and artificial, but still life.

Why had he told Rikugo his name?

Why had he revealed his past?

Because he had been desperate for someone to know, he answered his own question. He had needed someone other than Watson to talk to him, and he didn't want to keep secrets from this wonderful man.

Rikugo was like a life line. He had come back, he had continued their conversation, he had been truly interested. And there hadn't been a perverted thought on the Count's mind.

I'm so hungry for it, I'm a fool, he thought desperately.

This was momentary. Just another visitor in the millennia of imprisonment. No one to stay. Not company in the real sense of the word.

Rikugo was a hope that would soon shrivel up and die again.

Enjoy it while you can. Here today, gone tomorrow.

Whatever held the shikigami in this realm, whatever his troubles were-- and the Count wasn't stupid; Rikugo was one troubled shikigami- soon he would solve that problem and leave for his own realm.

"Let's make the best of it," Ryu murmured, emptying the sherry.

tbc...