TITLE: Empty Spaces
Sequel to Pawn
AUTHOR: Macx and Lara Bee
DISCLAIMER: not ours. Definitely not! We just play with them and hope we tread on no one's toes.
Author's Voice of Warning (aka Author's Note):
English is not our language; it's German. This is the best we can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize g The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are...
TYPE: yaoi
WARNINGS: direct sequel to Pawn
RATING: R
PAIRING(s): multiple
FEEDBACK: empty inbox seeks emails

I. Meifu: The Truth

The realms were still echoing with what had occurred in Meifu. It could be heard everywhere and even in Heaven and Hell the Lords had listened up. In GensouKai, Enma knew he had lost. He was sitting in his empty palace, all servants sent away, and he was waiting.

He was waiting for the consequences he knew that would come.

There was a breathing space for now, a few days maybe, but things were now in motion. The avalanche had gathered speed and it was about to destroy him.

Dark eyes set in a handsome face, ethereal and beautiful and inhuman, roamed around the empty room. In a way he missed his companion of so many years. He had liked their verbal sparring, and he had enjoyed the sex, to put it very clearly.

Muraki's soul was still in Meifu, awaiting judgment, but Enma couldn't care less. He was awaiting his own judgment and it would happen soon.

Heaven and Hell had noticed.

GensouKai would soon know the truth.

He smiled humorless and in a swish of robes he moved across the emptiness.

His future would be interesting.

As interesting as Tsuzuki Asato's.

° ° °

Sohryu gazed at his lover with a fond smile on his lips. Despite all the pain and emotional upheaval, he hadn't lost the ability to do so, to smile. Terazuma shot him a half-hearted glare. Even with his now dark eyes, he still managed to bring it across quite well.

Terazuma remembered little of the events, only that he had wanted to go into GensouKai and then... nothing. He couldn't even recall the forced separation or his time in Limbo. Sohryu was thankful for little things. Touda's brief jump into that lethal space had been enough to give the serpent nightmares already. They had talked only once and Touda's expression had been stony and pale when he had briefly told Sohryu about it.

"What?" the shinigami demanded.

"Nothing," was the soft reply and Sohryu took his lover's hand, entwining their fingers. "I'm just happy."

Terazuma's features softened. "Yeah."

"You're alive."

"What about the Black One?"

"Tenkou and Kijin are with him."

It was all Sohryu wanted to say right now. Terazuma would hear about that particular problem soon enough. Right now he only wanted him to recover, to heal.

He leaned forward and kissed him and Terazuma answered the contact readily. He drew Sohryu close as he sank back into the pillows and the dragon allowed himself to be cradled to the shinigami's chest. His eyes closed and he drew a shuddering breath.

"I was so afraid I had lost you, Hajime," he whispered.

Strong fingers carded into his hair. "You haven't. I'm not that easy to get rid off."

Sohryu chuckled. "Yes."

Terazuma continued the tender caress. "How is Tsuzuki?"

"Sleeping. Hisoka and Touda are staying with him. I can still feel the power rush, but it's getting better. He's returning to normal." Sohryu shivered again. "It was so close, Hajime. So very close."

And there were still so many questions. Watari had only answered a few and so many more had risen. The blond had promised to give them every detail of what he had discovered inside Mother, but right now they had to heal.

"I know," Terazuma murmured, burying his fingers in the long, blue hair.

"I love you," Sohryu added shakily.

And he couldn't lose him. Not someone else. Not Hajime.

The grip tightened. "Sohryu..."

Sohryu blanketed the other man, wanting to be physically as close as he could be without being naked, and Terazuma only held him as the dragon finally released the tears that had threatened to fall ever since the beginning. He had to be strong. For his lover, for his friends, for his people, for his children, and for his master and friend. But not right now. For a moment, he could be weak; and he could be weak in Hajime's arms.

Terazuma whispered softly to him, soothing him, stroking his hands over the slender back. It was all he did, all he could do.

° ° °

It was dawn in Meifu. The sun was peeking out behind the hazy clouds in the slate gray sky, not yet strong enough to warm but enough to spend a little light to chase away the darkness. Morning dew clung to the grass and flowers. In the distance a water fountain gurgled softly, the only artificial sound in the awakening of mother nature. Birds chirped, there was a rustle of small animals in the bushes, and here or there a few insects lingered.

It was an illusion of perfection, but it was a perfect illusion. Nothing here was real. The insects, the birds, the animals in the bushes. Meifu had no fauna or flora as such. It had what the realm was creating, but it had never been born naturally. Weather, day and night, tides, everything was just a mirror of the world of the living.

Like the shinigami were mirrors of their former alive and human selves.

At the edge of this illusion stood a huge building, a palace, the only building at all in the vastness surrounding it. Nothing moved, no one seemed to be awake, but still there was an unholy thrum of life. Millions upon millions of lives, actually.

Tsuzuki Asato felt them all. He had always been sensitive to the Candles, to the souls that were born and died, that were his duty to guide into Meifu should they get lost. He was one of the shinigami chosen for it.

He had never liked killing though. Taking a life that still hung on to its former existence, maintaining a human façade after the body was already gone. Killing this person had weighed heavily on his soul.

Tsuzuki blinked into the rising sun and smiled a little. It was a far cry from his usual, carefree self. He wondered if that would come back one day.

His memories of the events of the last twenty-four hours were crystal clear. Nothing hazy, nothing questionable, nothing strange. He knew what had happened; he knew what he had done; he knew...

But the knowledge didn't break him.

The darkness had receded once more, had become the core of his being, his ultimate power, but a strange kind of calmness had remained. This was him. He was a half-demon, his father had been a powerful demon in Hell, and he had inherited that power. He felt no fear of that, no horror of using it, though he was far from accessing that darkness any time soon.

Tsuzuki rested his head against the wall behind him. A slight breeze played over his skin, refreshing and strangely vitalizing.

He had hurt people when he had been triggered, when he had lost himself. He had even killed a man.

Muraki was dead.

By his own hands.

By Muraki's request.

Even those moments were clear despite the rage he had felt.

It was all there.

Strange.

Everyone was protecting him. He was being kept safe in this place, in the Palace of Candles where no one could enter without the permission of the Count. Ryu had been absent ever since Tsuzuki's awakening, but Touda was never far, be it through the bond or physically. Right now the hell serpent was sleeping, which was good, and the bond pulsed gently.

He had hurt them all. Touda had suffered a lot; not just in the last twenty-four hours but before that. He needed to recover and Tsuzuki would try to keep his side of their strange link as calm and peaceful as possible. Hisoka was also still asleep, curled up in the huge bed in one of the countless guest rooms.

There was a soft pulse of a presence, an announcement of it actually, and Tsuzuki turned his head, meeting red eyes in a handsome face. Ryu, without his mask, without his habitually very formal clothing, was standing not far away. His face was expressionless, but his eyes held a question.

Tsuzuki smiled. "Hello," he said softly.

Ryu approached, the demon neither wary nor overly exuberant. It was a strange kind of respect he showed. Ryu was his host, his friend, and he had done as much harm to him as to anyone else, though him he had hurt physically as well.

"How are you?" Tsuzuki wanted to know, checking the aura surrounding the other man.

They were so much alike, but still more different than that. Both were of demonic origin. Tsuzuki by birth, Ryu by his own fault; a deal with a demon gone wrong. Ryu felt like kin, felt safe, had always felt safe despite his sexual overtures as the Count. Tsuzuki had never had an explanation for it until a few months ago. And Ryu, like Touda, was now his protection.

Against Enma-Daiou.

The Lord of Hades had instigated all of this and Tsuzuki had yet to understand why. In his triggered state he had felt the power, the faint connections, but he had yet to make sense of it all.

"Fine," Ryu now replied.

He smiled a little.

Tsuzuki answered that smile with one of his own.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Ryu."

"I healed, Tsuzuki."

Yes, he had. A few faint traces remained of what Tsuzuki had done, and he knew the pain had been excruciating. Ryu was immortal, couldn't die, not even by such terrible wounds, but the mind was another matter.

"I can see it all. I can feel it. I can remember it," he murmured. "Nothing has disappeared. It's like seeing a movie with yourself as the main character."

Ryu settled down beside him, raven wing eyebrows rising a little. His aura seemed to strengthen and Tsuzuki felt it touch his own. It was careful, quizzical, but still so very protective. He stayed still and waited, then relaxed into the touch of Ryu's presence against his.

There was nothing sexual to it; it was just... protection. Friendship. Needing to know he was safe. Ryu was reacting with an instinct he had had for over seventy years. The moment Tsuzuki had become a shinigami and walked into Meifu, the Count had felt his presence, had reacted to him, and even now, after Tsuzuki had grown so much more secure and stronger, he still did it.

"I can feel the darkness and it no longer scares me, Ryu."

"I think that's good."

"It's like... like getting to know another me, but it's not a monster. It's just... me."

It made no sense sometimes, but right now, it was perfectly logical.

Silence descended between them and Tsuzuki looked at the other man, taking in the fine lines of past pain and stress. Rikugo was constantly moving between Meifu and GensouKai, and Ryu accepted his partner's absence, but it was weighing heavily on him. He had been put through the wringer ever since Tsuzuki had discovered who he was for real, ever since he had fallen in love with Rikugo, and even now, after everything, there was no real time to take a breather.

Whatever had triggered all this, it was still there. Tsuzuki was safest at the Palace and Ryu was his guardian.

"You were always just you, Asato," he murmured.

"With a few extras," was the faintly amused reply.

"I'm glad you're okay," the master of the Palace added softly.

Tsuzuki gave him a more open smile. He was okay, he was healing, and he was protected by his friends. For whatever reason Enma-Daiou had wanted to have him, he had lost that fight, but he was still out there, still Tsuzuki's Lord, and the shinigami hoped that if push came to shove, Ryu wouldn't get hurt again.

Because if Enma set his mind on entering the Palace against the Count's will, he would do whatever was in his considerable power. For now they had a breathing space, a time to gather their strength and lick their wounds.

"I won't let him get you," Ryu's hard voice entered his thoughts.

Tsuzuki looked at his friend, saw the resolution in the red eyes.

"Ryu..."

The demon shook his head. "He won't lay a finger on you as long as you are here. He has no jurisdiction on these grounds."

"Thank you, my friend."

Ryu smiled a little. "You'll always be safe her, Tsuzuki. From me and from anyone else."

Violet eyes that reflected what the shinigami had gone through darkened a little. "I was never afraid of you and I'll never be. I know you love me, I know you protect me, and it's something I'm very grateful for."

The other man was speechless for a moment, then looked away, uncomfortable.

"How about breakfast?" he asked, changing the topic, needing to change it.

Tsuzuki rose and they walked inside. The moment they were in the building, Ryu took the mask out and placed it on his face. Tsuzuki felt his stomach constrict at the sight, or lack thereof as his friend became invisible again. Hisoka had never seen the demon and it was Ryu's sentence to remain behind the mask.

A gloved hand came to rest on his forearm. "Asato," Ryu murmured calmingly.

"It's not fair," he just replied. "It hurts to know that you can never be free, Ryu. You did so much and I can't even repay you with more than a little freedom."

"You gave me more than I could ever hope," Ryu stopped him, caressing his face. "You are a miracle in my life, Tsuzuki Asato. I lived because of you. Your innocent, pure soul..."

Tsuzuki wanted to deny it. He had done nothing but get this man forty-eight hours of restricted freedom. But he could never show his face to the world. Yes, he had found a partner in form of Rikugo who loved him, who he loved in turn, but... it was so little. Ryu had fought and suffered and nearly broken apart, but no one aside from a select few would ever see the face behind the mask.

Then he suddenly understood. Ryu had lived... Ryu had found a reason to stay sane when Tsuzuki had entered Meifu for the first time. It had been sick, perverted lust back then, but also a deep need underneath that layer. A need and craving that was beyond anything physical.

"Ryu..."

A gloved finger on his lips silenced him. "Shhh, Asato. I'm happy. Believe me, I am. And we won a little victory over Enma. Don't spoil it by thinking 'what if'."

Tsuzuki lowered his gaze. He just wanted everyone to be happy, even now, even after everything that had hurt them, after their lives had been turned upside down.
Ryu gathered him close, hugging him, and he felt the warmth of the other demon. It was like so long ago, at the masquerade, when the Count had soothed him.

"You're only human," he now heard familiar words.

He chuckled sadly.

"Come. Let's eat."

Tsuzuki swallowed his misery and followed the other man. When he looked up he discovered Hisoka watching them. The younger shinigami walked down the stairs and nodded at the Count.

"Slept well?" Tsuzuki asked brightly, trying to push away the sadness.

Hisoka frowned a little as he watched the Count disappear into the dining room ahead of them.

"Hisoka?" Tsuzuki tried again.

"What is he?" the empath simply asked.

Tsuzuki stopped. "Our host?" he evaded a direct answer.

"Don't play with me. It's not the first time I felt it. Right now, when he touched you, I felt it again. It was right after we brought you here that I sensed it. It was brief, but it was there. He's... different."

"Hisoka..."

Green eyes gave him a hard look. "You know what he is?"

It wasn't even really a question.

"Yes. I can't tell you and neither can he. It's his sentence. Just... just accept it. We are his guests and he will protect us."

"Which is kind of hard to accept." Hisoka chewed his lower lip. "He tried to get you into his bed more often than not and now he's what stands between you and Enma?"

"In a way."

Another silence. Hisoka's eyes were hard, unyielding, and Tsuzuki tried to project his trust in Ryu, that they were truly safe.

"Okay."

Tsuzuki breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Hisoka." He drew his lover into a kiss. "I wish I could tell you. I really wish he could."

"Let's just get breakfast," was all his partner said and pushed away.

Tsuzuki smiled more as he followed him into the dining room where the Count was talking softly to Watson. Touda was already there, a silently scowling presence. Tsuzuki felt his mental touch and gave him a warm hug through the bond.

:I'm fine: was the gruff reply.

Tsuzuki nodded, aware that the hell serpent had recovered, though there were still a few echoes from the stay in Limbo.

Rikugo joined them a few minutes later, radiating the calmness Tsuzuki so badly needed, and while neither he nor Ryu showed it openly, Tsuzuki felt their touch, their connection. If not for Hisoka, all of this would be a lot more open, but as Ryu had said, it was his sentence. He had shown his face to too many people already.

They all sat down for an extensive breakfast that Watson had whipped up, and Tsuzuki lost himself in the conversation, the banter, the feeling of a moment of peace.

Things would heat up again soon enough.

tbc...