Today was the day.
His first day outside these walls.
And I've got nothing to wear, he thought with faint amusement.
What a cliché.
But he didn't. Not really. He had tons of clothes, from all eras, from all cultures, but they were more befitting of a grand reception or a masquerade, not a... date.
He smiled a little and the pale features softened.
His first real date. He was going out with the man he loved.
Ryu shook his head and turned away from the mirror. He didn't know what to look like, only what not - the Count. The Count would stay here, back in the Palace, and only Ryu would go out and have fun.
The well-known presence of his lover entered the Palace and like a missile, Rikugo homed in on him, very much aware where he was. Ryu smiled as the tall blond entered his chamber and Rikugo placed a kiss on his lips.
"Ready?" he asked and there was an almost child-like eagerness in his voice.
"Yes and no. I've got no idea what to dress like."
"Like yourself?" Rikugo suggested.
"But... who am I? I've been the Count for two thousand years, Rikugo. I... who am I when not him?"
Strong fingers carded into his hair, brushing over his scalp. "You look just fine as you are now, Ryu."
He glanced at the simple outfit.
"And where we're going, you've got no one to impress."
"Oh?"
Rikugo smiled. "Yes. I'm already in awe of you as it is," he murmured and ran a caressing hand over his arm.
"You are?" There was wonder in his voice, emotions, doubt...
"Yes. Very much." Rikugo kissed him softly. "Come on... let's go."
"Uhm, I just want to talk to Tsuzuki, okay?"
"Of course." Another kiss was placed onto his lips, then Rikugo left.
As did Ryu, leaving the jacket on the ground as he walked through the vast corridors and hallways to where he knew Tsuzuki was. The shinigami was in the library, gazing at the endless rows of books, clearly impressed.
"You going?" he asked, shooting Ryu a brilliant smile that, only a few months ago, would have melted the man's heart. Now it was just a warm rain on his soul.
"Yes. You okay?"
"Sure, no problem. You go and have fun."
Ryu hesitated, then nodded. "Thanks, Asato."
Another beaming smile. Ryu left the Palace no five minutes later and the moment he was down the stairs and didn't encounter the barrier, something inside of him started to tremble.
Enma's name...
It was real... it was for real...
There was a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. He looked into the black eyes of his lover, swallowing.
"Want to go for a ride?" Rikugo asked, smiling.
"R-ride?"
"Or should I say flight? I'm a dragon after all."
He gaped at the blond astrologer, who smiled more.
"I take that as a yes. Hop on."
And with it he transformed smoothly into his dragon self, the brown dragon gazing down at the demon with amused, red eyes.
This had to be a dream, Ryu thought frantically as he settled on the neck. A good dream. A very good dream.
Please don't let me wake up now...!
Huge wings unfurled and the dragon pushed himself off the ground, Magic and muscles worked, bringing him higher into the air, and the wind nipped at Ryu's hair as he clutched the long mane, legs locking so he wouldn't fall off. Beneath him he could see the Palace, growing smaller and more distant.
He was free.
He was flying and he was free.
For the next forty-eight hours he would be someone else.
° ° °
He looked into the azure sky, watched the clouds pass by, listened to the birds sing their songs, and he felt the grass underneath his skin. There was a sweet-earthy smell in the air and if he listened closely, the breeze moved the branches and the leaves rustled gently. Sun played over his exposed skin, warming it, heating it up nicely.
A shadow blocked the sun and he blinked lazily up into the handsome face with its onyx eyes and white-blond hair. Strands of that silky mass fell forward, framing Rikugo's face, and Ryu reached up, playing with it.
"Enjoying yourself?" the astrologer murmured.
"Very much."
And he did. They had come here, to this perfectly remote place with its small lake and gently sloping hills, with its faraway mountains and the spring green grass, the trees of a small forest and the chatter of insects and birds... and Ryu had felt his soul unwind, relax...
They had gone for a swim in the lake. Nothing extraordinary, but he had never been able to do that before. Well, before he had been sent here for punishment, to live at the Palace. In his former life he had learned to do so. He could swim.
Skinny dipping, testing the waters, playing around, and finally, two strong arms closing around him, a hot mouth on his, and the clearly defined form of his lover melting against him. They had made love on the shore, cleaning up in the lake afterwards, drying in the sun, and making love again.
One of Rikugo's hands ran along his side and he stretched like a lazy cat, feeling like purring. The shikigami smiled and leaned forward, nibbling at his lower lips, lapping at his mouth and finally closing his lips over Ryu's, and the demon groaned softly.
"So... want to see some more sights?" Rikugo murmured.
"I like what I've seen so far..." he teased.
A chuckle answered him. "Good. I wish I could show you Tsuzuki's workplace, but I guess that's a bit soon."
Ryu nodded. Not because of Ryu, but because of the others. They didn't know who he was, what he looked like, and he wanted to keep it that way. Only a select few knew about his true appearance anyway, and it would stay that way.
"One day," he only replied. "I would love to see the library. It must be incredible."
The astrologer nodded, never stopping the caresses. "There's a nice little place where I planned we can spend the night, too."
Now there was a seductive look if Ryu had ever seen one. "You're insatiable," he teased.
"Coming from your mouth, that's a compliment."
He laughed and tangled his fingers in the long hair. "It is, Rikugo. I love you. Thank you for everything."
"Hm, wasn't me. It was Tsuzuki."
"And I thanked him already."
Sandy eyebrows rose. "Oh? Hopefully not the same way."
Ryu gave him a mock scowl. "Rikugo..."
A smile stopped him. "I know. I trust you. You know that." Another kiss was bestowed onto his lips. "Go?"
He nodded, rising with his lover, both men still very close, caressing each other, trading little nips and kisses. Ryu breathed in the sunwarmed scent of the blond, wondering for the umpteenth time what fate had finally intervened and given him this man. Fingers raked through his tousled strands, so pitch-black and a complete opposite to the almost white hair of his lover. They were opposites in so many ways, but deep down inside they shared something, and it was this something that had gotten them together.
Slipping into his clothes, he smiled.
This little something and someone special. Tsuzuki Asato.
I owe you, he thought faintly. Forever. Nothing can ever repay what you did for me, Tsuzuki. Nothing.
° ° °
Tsuzuki had never really spent much time at the Palace. Sure, throughout the parties and the fateful evening of the masquerade, but he had never been anywhere outside the official reception areas.
Today was different.
Today he could explore.
He knew part of the layout from the previous visits and he had seen the basement with its collection of porn - which was no longer. Ryu, after his rage and the following destruction of parts of this place, had never replaced it. That, more than anything, told Tsuzuki how serious it was between the two men. Ryu was coming more and more to the surface while the Count was being banished into the depth of the fragmented soul.
Tsuzuki smiled as he walked past the many rooms, peeking inside now and then. He was happy about events. So much good had happened, even if it had been born out of suffering and pain.
Watson had served him something to drink and had then gone off to do... whatever Watson did. Tsuzuki shrugged and entered the next room. It looked like a reading room, complete with a fire place, a balcony hidden behind French doors, and held in the ever-present luscious style of the whole place. A few things had changed since the last reconstruction. The outside had remained the same, but inside... those were tiny things and knowing that the Palace was bound to Ryu, that his mind shaped the rooms, told Tsuzuki about more changes inside the ancient being.
Good.
So very good.
It was twelve hours after the beginning of his 'shift' that Tsuzuki noticed the growing unease. It was like something was watching him, keeping track of his every move, and as the hours passed by, the feeling increased.
But he was alone.
Completely alone.
Aside from Watson, of course, and the candles. He had checked on them a few times, but everything was fine. The books were being written, the candles burned, and whenever one died, a new one would light up somewhere else. He knew that those candles meant lives, that perishing lights meant death, but there was nothing he could do.
Tsuzuki sighed and shook his head. As much as he wanted happiness, as much as he understood the never-ending circle of life and death, as much as he knew what he was and what he was supposed to do, he rarely accepted it. He just had to live with it.
And something flickered across the edge of his vision.
He flinched and turned, wide eyes searching the shadows.
There was nothing.
He was alone.
A shiver passed across his back and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants, quickly leaving the room. Outside it was already growing dark and he should get something to eat. Maybe he was just hungry.
Yes, that was it.
And the shadows danced, whispering.
Tsuzuki stopped, gasping softly, trying to pierce the darkness that was encroaching.
Something was there.
It whispered.
It was a voice.
"You killed me."
He swallowed hard, trying to suppress a whimper.
It was an illusion! He knew it was one. Like the last time...
Tsuzuki hurried down the corridor toward the stairs. He would go to the dinner room, have Watson prepare him something, with a wonderfully sweet dessert...
"Tsuzuki..."
And the voice was so close. So enticing, wooing, sweet and...
"Muraki!"
Silver eyes glowed in the dimmed lights and pale fingers reached for him.
Tsuzuki cried out in terror as his worst nightmare, the most primal one he had, touched his cheek, cold fingers sliding over his skin.
"NO!"
He stumbled back, connecting with the wall, and scrambled along it to the stairs.
"No, no, no! You're an illusion..."
"I am as real as you are. I am inside you, Tsuzuki... Asato..."
Power churned, called by instinct to defeat a creature he was terrified of like no other.
And then there was a warm embrace, inside and out. There was a gentle presence, black silk, cool and reassuring.
:Tsuzuki: Touda whispered intensely.
He clung to his shikigami, groaning as the shadows dissolved, as nightmares receded.
:Are you real?': he asked weakly.
A smile was the answer. :Very.:
Tsuzuki closed his eyes, sagging against the more muscular form, taking strength from Touda's physical presence.
:You probably set off every alarm in Meifu: he murmured.
:I don't care:
Tsuzuki smiled slightly, then inhaled deeply, pushing away. Golden eyes regarded him critically, Touda's arms still around him.
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not."
Dark brows drew down. "It was a shadow, Touda."
"It was Muraki. It was your mind playing with your fears."
Tsuzuki felt his insides clench. "No..."
"Tsuzuki..."
"I can do this, Touda! I can!"
tbc...