Author's notes:
For all intents and purposes, god's of death from Britain are technically called 'Reapers' instead of 'Shinigami' (makes sense, different culture... different language, hence different name).
Disclaimer: Yanagi-sen and I are only borrowing the characters from Yami no Matsuei and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books to torment for a while... Don't look for Harry to be appearing any time soon in this fanfiction. We claim no ownership over any character that does not belong to us... Itami Korin and Ishida Nanjiro are mine... those I claim and abuse at will.
Special thanks to Kara Angitia who is currently helping Draco speak more British style English.
Enter
the Reaper.
Chapter seven.
Sitting on one of the stools that wasn't being used for horizontal storage, Watari sat blushing... Wakaba had said that she was going to force him and Draco to make peace, or she was going to lock them both in a closet after finding that potion that had made Terazuma make-out with Tsuzuki. The blond boy himself was sitting gingerly on one of the other stools. He looked ready to bolt the instant the girl let go of his sleeve. His silver eyes darted around, not settling on anything, or anyone for more than a second or two.
"Watari, Draco has been avoiding you because he thinks that you hate him." She said while looking (though glare would have been a more appropriate description) at the long haired blonde before turning her attention towards the teen she had firmly in her grip. "Draco, Watari has been avoiding you because since he is older than you... he thinks that he took advantage of you in that situation."
The Reaper shook his head. "No... it's my fault. I don't... I don't remember everything but it's my fault."
Now it was Watari's turn to shake his head, "Draco, I'm three and a half times as old as you..."
The girl stood back, it was interesting now that she had them at least communicating. Though, why hadn't Watari returned himself to his normal age by now she wondered. It wasn't like he wasn't trying... that day he came in invisible again was interesting to say the least. Seeing the resident doctor doing the complete Orson Well's Invisible Man imitation once more was almost worth the oddity of seeing him as a teen on a daily basis. Although Draco wasn't really communicating. He was pretty much just sitting there, staring at the floor and obviously trying to just wait them out until they would let him run away again. He was as bad as Hisoka at times, she swore.
"I thought that you hated me because of what I did... and because I should have shown more self-control in that situation." Watari finally admitted, not even looking in Draco's direction.
"I didn't... I don't, hate you. You made it pretty obvious that you were disgusted by me."
Hazel eyes blinked in surprise, "I did what?"
"You couldn't wait to get away. Don't worry... I'm used to it by now. No one wants to be around a Malfoy."
Watari shook his head, "I didn't leave because I don't like being around you. I left because I had more to drink than you did... and well..."
"Look... you don't need to make excuses. I get it, okay? I won't bother you."
Wakaba thought that this looked like a good enough time for her to disappear.
Hopping off his stool, the shinigami went over to Draco so that he could face him better. "What do you get?"
"You're stuck with me... I'm used to that. People don't want to be with me after a certain amount of time. I'll do what you need me to do and stay away the rest of the time." Long delicate fingers turned the Reaper's head towards the long haired blonde where a shy and gentle kiss was hesitantly planted on those soft lips. Draco reeled back, nearly falling off the narrow stool. "Wh... what? What do you want?"
Pain, hurt and confusion was visible in those hazel eyes as the blonde stepped back from the boy. "gomen," he whispered.
"I... I don't understand. You don't want me around but then you kiss me?" The young blond looked surprised and confused.
"I never said that I didn't want you around..."
Draco looked genuinely lost.
Taking another step back, Watari looked like he was on the verge of tears, "i never said that i didn't want you around..."
Draco looked up, his silver eyes showing hurt. "you left... I apologized and you still couldn't wait to get away from me... what was I supposed to think?"
Finally against the wall, the shinigami let himself slide down into a seated position. Hugging his knees to his chest, Watari kept his eyes glued to the floor, "i'd had more to drink than you did... i didn't think that it was right to get sick in your apartment..."
Draco stumbled off the stool and sat on the floor as well. "I stayed on the floor... I'd never apologized to anyone before... I just couldn't... I don't know what to do!" His fingers dug into his hair, pulling on it painfully. The teen felt himself be pulled into a warm embrace. He turned into the blonde's chest, hiding his face. A couple tears of pure frustration escaped from tightly clenched eyes.
"no one knows what to do..." Watari whispered as he pulled the wizard closer and sighed as he rested his chin on Draco's shoulder.
"i don't know what you want... i'll do it... just tell me what you want..."
"i want you to be happy..."
"happy?" He said it like it was a totally foreign concept.
The shinigami let his fingers run idly through the teen's hair. "hei... happy."
"happy... it's been so long since i was happy..."
---
Instead of going back to his apartment that evening, Draco tagged along with Watari to the shinigami's home instead. The boy had been hesitant. But had obviously been spending far too much time alone and didn't want another evening by himself. Some carrots were handed over to the British teen as well as a peeler...
"Start peeling those, I'll take care of the rest..." Watari said with a gentle smile. Draco kind of stared at the tool for a moment before figuring out how to use it. More or less. He mangled a couple carrots before getting the hang of the task.
It wasn't long before the smell of good food cooking made the Reaper's stomach growl. Draco ducked his head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."
"It's nice to know my cooking is appreciated." The hazel eyed teen commented as he twirled a spatula, "go on and sit at the kotatsu ... and I'll bring it out..."
"ko-what?"
"Kotatsu... table."
"Oh... okay." He stood over the low table. "Isn't it a little... small?" Sounds from the kitchen nearly made the teen's mouth water...
"Small?"
"There are no chairs..."
Watari came out of the kitchen with a set of trays filled with food and started to arrange them on the table. "What chairs?"
"You don't sit in chairs?" The blond looked confused.
The shinigami shook his head before going into the kitchen to get the last of the food in there, "not normally... wait, your apartment was set up in a western style, right?"
"There's a difference?"
Coming out with the last, and the drinks, Watari settled himself on a cushion next to the table. "Hei, there is a big difference... and you sit on the pillows..."
"Oh." He dropped carefully and perched on one of the pillows. One thing that he noticed, was a severe lack of forks, spoons, or knives on the table. He looked around... the only spoon seemed to be a very flat paddle that was obviously for serving rice. Ick... more rice... he'd seen enough rice. The other blonde started to serve the food... with sticks? "Sticks?"
Watari chuckled, "Chopsticks... this is what is normally used."
"Oh... okay..." He looked very skeptical.
---
Locating the bus hadn't been easy, and it had taken a little tweaking on her translating charm, but Hermione had managed to understand at least a little bit of the complicated writing system used here. Walking around Tokyo, Hermione noticed a very familiar looking blue haired teen hanging around an older man... "Hey!"
/hermione? go away... can't you see that i'm on a date/
She could see the older man grab the teen by his upper arm and roughly drag him into a building. /well sorry... i thought you wanted your camera back./
/i'll pick it up... tomorrow/ he answered.
A sliver of pain crept into the link between the two teens, and Hermione thought that she could hear a slight whimper... /fine then.../ She paused for a moment. /are you okay/
/I said leave me alone/
Not liking what she 'heard'... the witch stalked into the building the blue-haired teen had disappeared in to. "Nanjiro?" On the other side of the building, that turned out to be filled with offices which were currently closed, she could hear a person yelling...
'Why the hell can't you ever do anything right? You can't even show up on time... why do I even bother with a miserable brat like you anyway?'
She frowned. This didn't sound right... didn't he say he was on a date?
'That's it... cry... cry like the brat you are...'
The girl scowled and headed for where she could hear that voice. "Nanjiro!" Throwing open the door, she entered the room and saw Nanjiro pinned against the wall. A man who would have been exceedingly sexy if he wasn't red faced in anger glared at her but didn't bother to lower his hand to the teen in his grip. "Let him go!"
Nanjiro was slammed against the wall, "I didn't know that you liked little girls..."
"Hiro... it isn't like that." The teen whimpered in obvious pain.
"What are you doing to him?"
"Nan-kun," the disdain was nearly dripping over the man's words, "tell your little friend to go home, and maybe I'll forgive you for tonight."
Rolling his head so that he could look at the witch, she could see a small trickle of blood from the corner of Nanjiro's mouth plus plenty of cuts and bruises on his face, "hermione... go away.
---
Bringing a set of mugs filled with hot cocoa and marshmallows, Watari hands one over to Draco and sits down. Locating the remote, the shinigami checks to see if the batteries are still alive before clicking the tv on and switching to a station he hopes might have a movie playing. The young blond was staring at the remote curiously. "What is that?" He sipped at the cocoa.
"Simplest explanation... muggle magic." Smiling, Watari held up the remote so that Draco could see it, "this turns on the television... and the television shows people or drawings that have been recorded and sent out to those specific boxes."
"Why would people want to look at that?"
"Think of it akin to going out to the theater or to a sporting event and not having to leave the comfort of your own home."
"Oh, okay." He was sitting very stiffly on the couch, back straight and feet planted on the floor. "Do you often watch this... thing?"
"Not really. I prefer reading." Watari took a sip from his cocoa, and waited for the teen to put his mug down.
"Ah." He took another sip of his cocoa, then put his cup down on the end table beside him. He folded his hands, placing them in his lap. His mother's lessons on etiquette had been drilled into him for years and still molded his behavior.
Smiling mischievously, the shinigami pulled the reaper back with him against the sofa cushions... disturbing 003 in the process. Flying across the room, the small own located her perch and hooted indignantly at the two teens.
Draco flailed for a moment. "Wha!"
Watari held the silver eyed boy and did his best not to laugh, "relax, you looked uncomfortable."
"Ummm... ah... I guess." He seemed uncertain.
"You don't have to try and behave polite here... you're my pain in the neck partner and nothing short of destroying my lab again will make me get rid of you. So... relax." Draco's hair was mussed up to add emphasis to the last words.
The boy's hands immediately went to try to fix his hair... largely unsuccessfully. He was still somewhat stiff but his attention was caught by the television. "What is that?"
Watari looked at the screen, "Oh, that is a movie from America... I think that it was called... Back to the Future?"
"Back to the Future? That doesn't make any sense."
The long haired blonde wrapped his arms around the reaper and sighed, "the main story is about a boy who ends up in the past and is trying to get back to his present... their future.
---
Drifting in and out of sleep, Draco finally wakes completely and finds himself cuddled up to a still sleeping Watari. He panicked. He didn't want a repeat of before. The young blond tried to extricate himself from the shinigami. Yawning, the blonde shinigami wrapped his arms even tighter around the teen. Draco grimaced. This wasn't good. He tried to slip down, out of Watari's arms.
"ohayo..."
Draco froze. Hazel eyes opened and Watari smiled warmly at the teen. "um... sorry... I'll just ah... slide out here..."
"sorry?" The shinigami looked truly confused, but allowed the reaper to slip out of his arms.
Draco moved off the couch, sitting on the floor. "i didn't mean to... um... hold you."
"There's nothing wrong with that... "
The blond turned away from the shinigami, muttering softly.
"I didn't catch that..."
"nothing..."
Watari slid to the floor next to Draco, "Okay, so why was it so wrong for you to hold me?"
Silver eyes darted up, then back down to the floor again. "It's a weakness."
"What is the last time you remember being hugged?" The shinigami inquired.
"Hugged?" The boy looked thoughtful. "Except for a couple house elves... I must have been seven. When my nanny was sent away."
Watari shook his head. "Wanting the comfort of non-threatening physical contact is not a weakness... "
Draco frowned. "It's... womanly..."
"I wasn't aware that wanting contact magically transformed a person's genetics and made them female."
"No... it's... not, manly. To want that I mean." He sounded confused.
"It just shows that you are human."
The blond looked at him. "But... my father said..."
"How weak and womanly am I?" Laughing, Watari wrapped his arms around his partner.
The boy stiffened, almost instinctively. "Well... you do have long hair..."
"Yes, I have long hair..."
Draco snickered. "my father has long hair... longer than yours actually."
"So, we can't use long hair as a basis for saying someone is womanly... "
"Its really... okay, to want..."
Watari gave the teen a warm smile, "it's okay to want..."
Nibbling on his lower lip, Draco leaned against the other blond a little. Carefully Watari teleports them upstairs and into the bed... The smaller blond swayed as they were deposited on the mattress. "whoa... is that what apparating is like all the time?"
"I'm not the one to ask about that... since all I can really do is guess at what apparating is."
"What you just did... um... teleporting?"
"hei..."
Draco finally noticed where they were. "What? This is your room..." He tried to slip away.
Yawning sleepily Watari reluctantly let the teen slip away. "Beds are comfier than floors or sofas... not to mention more forgiving on my back."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I woke you up."
"It's really late... there's a bedroom across the hallway if you want to use that room, or sleep with me... I used to wake up all the time when was alive and find a nephew or two had crawled into my bed while I was asleep..."
"I can stay here? Really? You don't mind?" The blond looked uncertain and for once, like the boy he truly was.
"Hei... though, maybe we should get changed into some pajamas?"
"I don't have any."
Sliding off the bed Watari went to a dresser and opened one of the drawers. A set of flannel pajamas were brought out. "Saya and Yuma had too much fun getting clothes that would fit this teenage form..."
Blushing a bit, Draco accepted the pjs. He stepped into the adjoining bathroom to change. He stepped out, looking somewhat odd in a green and blue plaid. "Well... at least its not red and gold." The shinigami was already on the bed, wearing a red and white plaid set himself. "you're sure about..." He stared at his bare toes. "staying with you?"
"Only if you don't want to stay," Watari chirped.
The young man crept over and climbed up on the edge of the bed. "i'd like to stay..."
