Previously recorded: Thanks! I'll definitely continue, and hopefully you'll like this next bit…

Red Kitsune Flames: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed all three stories!

Yuumei: Lol, yeah, they're kinda missing each other, but hopefully they'll figure it out…

KousukeAsazuki: Well, eventually they'll get together… and even Kanone will get his turn to come and play, but not for a while…

Hopefully I'll get better at doing regular updates (conferences last week destroyed my free time!) But I'll have lovely car rides across three states for Thanksgiving to type on the laptop.

F Major Diminished Fifth Trilogy

III. Unity

Part Four

From Ayumu's Point of View:

The alley air still held the tang of stale blood and death, which I tried to ignore as I carefully skirted around the marked off crime scene to join Eyes, who was sitting on a wooden crate, frowning thoughtfully at the dried blood still present on the concrete.

"Got the police info from Madoka," I said, sitting on the loading dock at Eyes' feet. "Padma was being questioned for the death of her lover. Hard to say if it was an accident or not, but it seems his family had a pretty big grudge and one of the guy's brother's even tried to kill her twice. She headed to London, then LA, before coming here…"

"She was looking for me," Eyes concluded, his face pained. "And the brother probably tracked her easily."

"He may be coming after the rest of you, too," I reminded him. "Or just you, if he figured out Padma was looking for someone."

"Kousuke and I found a photograph in her apartment. It implies that Padma may have confessed her identity as one of the Blade Children to Shyam. His family may know as well."

"Potential Hunters," I thought aloud. "More determined, but also more likely to make stupid mistakes in anger and high emotional states."

"Also likely to come back here," Eyes hissed, and I went still, hearing the same footsteps he was. I had frozen, so it was simply lucky that Eyes dragged me back over the loading dock with him. We rolled down the small ramp, hiding in the deep shadows by the back entrance to the bookstore. Eyes was on top of me, pulling his long black coat up over our heads to prevent us from being spotted should anyone climb up onto the loading dock.

I listened for what seemed like hours as steady footsteps walked around above us, finally fading away again in the same direction they had come from. "It was only one person," I whispered, focusing on Eyes. "Why didn't we just jump him?"

"Her," Eyes whispered back. "It wasn't our murderer. I bet she's related though. There were a few goons behind her. Guards."

"Padma's boyfriend had a sister," I told him. "Could've been her." I waited, surprised Eyes didn't move, his eyes boring into mine. "What is it?"

"Kousuke says I'm cold, shut down," Eyes muttered, and I shook my head, worried by the dark look on his face. "That I hide my feelings so much that you might even think I hate you."

"I know you're my friend," I gasped, my heart racing.

"No," Eyes said, his eyes closing. I stopped, processing slowly what he had said. A tiny bit of courage unfurled within me and I suddenly brought my lips to Eyes' in a soft ghost of a kiss.

I opened my eyes, praying the other man wasn't going to hit me for kissing him, that I hadn't misjudged his feelings. "I told you, I destroy everything I touch," Eyes whispered, the pain etched clearly on his face. "Padma was one of the Blade Children as well. Look what she did to the man she loved."

"I thought you enjoyed taking chances," I joked weakly, my eyes closing to avoid showing him how hurt I was by his words.

"The other Blade Children need you too," Eyes informed me, his voice suddenly cold. "And you shouldn't risk your own health and safety for someone like me."

"Isn't that my decision?" I demanded. "I didn't choose to fall for you, it just happened. And now I won't walk away without a fight."

"You little idiot."

From Eyes' Point of View:

Ayumu's words were too perfect, and I couldn't find the strength to argue any longer. "You little idiot," I told him, before crushing my lips to his in a brutal, fierce kiss. He moaned, wrapping his arms around my chest and opening his mouth to admit my pleading tongue.

The kiss was like a battle, our tongues dueling for control of the kiss. Ayumu was pulling me closer to him, rocking his own hips up to mine, trying to pull our bodies as close together as he could. I broke the kiss, only to begin lightly nipping at Ayumu's jaw line, his permission seeming to have loosed something inside me. "I need you," I murmured, almost unconsciously.

"We should get somewhere safe," Ayumu told me, his hand finding my hair and gently stroking my hair. "Or perhaps continue this conversation a bit later, when we're certain there isn't anyone coming to try to kill you."

"If you insist," I agreed, sitting up and offering Ayumu a hand up. "I suppose tearing each other's clothing off at a murder scene is a bad idea."

I was pleased to see a smile tug at his lips, and his fingers laced through mine tightly. "You're morbid, you know that?" he joked, and I nodded, shrugging.

"Part of my charm," I replied, tugging him back up the ramp. "Let's get clear of this alley so I can call Kousuke and tell him to stop looking for Shyam." I paused at the crime scene tape, marveling at the pools of blood. "This seems odd," I said, glancing at Ayumu to see what he thought.

"She was killed here," Ayumu said, looking around suspiciously at the open windows along the alley and the flat above The Crayon Box, where a light shone. "How did he have time to disfigure her so badly without anyone hearing her scream?"

"Snuck up, cut her throat," I suggested. "No screaming, no attention drawn immediately. But from what Kousuke said, the amount of time the killer would have had would be limited severely by the location."

"It couldn't have been one person then," Ayumu agreed. "One of the brothers at least, the sister probably."

"Odd level of violence from a female family member though," I thought aloud.

"She lost her brother," Ayumu pointed out. "People do odd things over family."

"Like getting involved with dangerous criminals and saving their lives?" I suggested, my voice laced with irony.

"Finding their own true love?" he countered, something suggestive and heated in his eyes sending a pleasant thrill through my body. "Call Kousuke quickly, so we can go back to your place."

"Okay," I agreed easily, slipping out my cell phone as we walked. "Kousuke, forget Shyam."

"Hello to you too," Kousuke replied grumpily. "What did you find?"

"Shyam's dead," I informed him. "Padma may have killed him, which is why his family was trying to kill her."

"Trying nothing! They got her!" Kousuke burst out. "Do they know about us?"

"I don't know," I replied. "It's late though, Kousuke. Head home. I'll call in the morning."

"'Kay." Kousuke hung up the phone, and I frowned at his usual lack of manners on the phone. That was when I noticed Ayumu dialing a number on his phone.

"Madoka? You asked me to call." I raised an eyebrow, uncertain of what information Ayumu was passing along to his sister in law. "No, I won't," he said, and he gave me one of his small mischievous smiles as he said this. "Bye."

He hung up, and I looked at him expectantly. "She asked me to call if I thought I might not be home tonight," Ayumu told me, and I nodded. The full weight of his words hit me in the next moment, and I halted suddenly, pulling Ayumu back into a small side alley, pinning him to the wall and kissing him hungrily. My hands were under his coat, running along his hips. He gasped, wrapping his arms around my chest, his cold fingers finding the small of my back and sliding up my spine. His lips responded eagerly to mine, nipping at my lower lip before opening his mouth and letting me slide my tongue along his, softening and slowing the kiss abruptly.

Desperation and need battled with something deeper and more delicate, making my hands suddenly tighten and pull Ayumu closer to me gently. His hands reached my face and wrapped in my hair, holding my face softly. The kiss became gentler, slower, transforming into something that curled my toes in my shoes and made me sigh as our lips parted. "Wow," Ayumu breathed, burying his lips into the crook of my neck. "What did I do to deserve that?" His breath on my skin sent a pleasant shiver through me.

"You accept me," I told him. "You want me, just me." I stumbled over the words, grateful that his face reflected his understanding.

"You have no idea how much I want you," Ayumu told me, kissing the point in my neck where my pulse was pounding. "It's much, much worse. I need you, Eyes."

"Are we trying to get back to my hotel?" I asked as Ayumu nipped at my neck, his teeth grazing skin. "Because I'm about to forget propriety and have my way with you here."

"If I'd known you'd react this way, I'd have kissed you sooner," Ayumu joked, lacing his fingers with mine. "Let's go to your place, quickly."