Chapter 2

Dedicated to rusalkaz

Watanuki groaned as he woke and blinked his eyes slowly. The smell was still awful and it clung to his throat like some sticky syrup that no matter how many times you swallowed would still stay. It didn't help that there was some sort of itchy feeling at the back of his throat that he couldn't do a damn thing about either.

"You're awake?"

"Kazahaya-san," he muttered, his voice sounding thick to his ears. He rolled over a little onto his side until there was a strange resistance against his side.

"Don't move, you'll wake him up."

"Huh?" Watanuki looked down and his mouth dropped open in surprise. Doumeki was currently sleeping quietly against the edge of the 'sofa' he was laying on, seated on the floor. His hand was extremely hot and awkwardly being pressed and when he looked, he saw that it was Doumeki clutching onto his hand.

"He hasn't let go of your hand since we put you here."

Watanuki tried to see around the sludge that clung to everything in the room. It wasn't all that bad in here, or maybe it was just because Doumeki was so close to him. Rikuou snoozed on the floor and he rose an eyebrow when he noticed that the black-haired boy's head was in Kazahaya's lap as he sat on the floor and leaned against one of the remaining legs of the desk in the room.

"What's going on?"

"You passed out shortly after we entered this house. He carried you in here and we've been here waiting for you to wake up since."

"How long was I out?"

"About three hours. Both of them were really exhausted so I let them sleep. I was waiting for you to wake up."

Watanuki rubbed his face with his free hand, but didn't pull his other from Doumeki's grip. It was probably the only reason he was able to wake up at all and…well, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, it was sorta nice.

The smell was as bad as ever, but he had no choice but to deal with it. He'd only been asleep for three hours after only spending five minutes being conscious in the house. This didn't bode well for finishing quickly and leaving. And to tell the truth, he was terrified of the place. Probably more than anyone else, he was the most scared of this whole place. He could feel the malicious atmosphere and the spirits that hovered just outside the room, sending in tendrils that desperately tried to grab them, but fell short at the very last second. He'd never come across anything so powerful or fearful in his entire life and he could practically feel every spirit's eye on him while he was there.

"So you can see spirits, huh?"

Watanuki blinked and looked at Kazahaya, who had given him a few minutes to collect himself. "You know about that?"

He listened intently as Kazahaya gave a detailed account of their conversation and abilities while he had been unconscious. So Kazahaya could see memories? He didn't know if that was worse or better than his ability. Either way, he wished he didn't have any ability of any kind. He just wanted a normal life.

Kazahaya eyed him for a moment. "I saw a lot more of your memories than I told them. Like why you're working for Yuuko-san and what our purpose is here. It's to banish some spirit and grab something, isn't it? Something that's evil so Yuuko-san can purify it, right?"

Watanuki glumly nodded. "This is just like any other job she's sent me out on, except ten times more dangerous. She warned Doumeki and me when she told me about this how dangerous it would be, but I didn't think you two wouldn't know anything. That really wasn't fair of her."

His new friend shrugged. "Not a big deal. I've done these strange jobs myself too, for Kakei-san, the manager of the store. Nothing quite so dangerous, but it's not new to me." He paused and looked down at the sleeping Rikuou in his lap and it seemed that without conscious thought, he ran a hand through the relatively long black strands of hair. "You really should heed that woman's advice."

"About what?"

"About relying on Doumeki-san. That's what she told you when we were leaving for this house, right? To rely on Doumeki-san and trust him. You really should. The guy's been worried sick about you since he carried you in here."

Watanuki shivered under Kazahaya's gaze and looked away, but it appeared as if Kazahaya had finished with his point. He was glad, because he didn't want to hear any more. Not about Doumeki or how he shouldn't hate him or about the strange feelings he had been developing lately.

It was another hour of talking with Kazahaya before Doumeki and Rikuou woke up. When Watanuki's eyes met that of his 'rival', he couldn't hold the gaze and looked away. It didn't appear as if Rikuou noticed anything, but he could feel Kazahaya looking at him.

"You still look horrible," Doumeki told him and Watanuki glared at him in response.

"Well, thanks so very much! It's not like I asked to nearly die in this place!"

Was it his imagination or was there a faint smile on that stoic face? As if he was pleased that Watanuki was feeling better enough to argue? The thought made his heart race and he firmly told himself that it couldn't be true.

"Let's get going and finish this," Rikuou told them, standing and brushing off his clothes. It didn't appear as if he'd given any thought to how he'd slept in Kazahaya's lap and Kazahaya himself didn't appear as if he wanted to bring up the subject. Was it his imagination again that there seemed to be some strange awkward atmospheres with both of them?

He sighed and despite arguing about it, let Doumeki help him up. A strong arm slipped around his waist and he could feel the muscles against his back twitch. Really, Doumeki was really strong. Guess using a bow for so many years would do that to you. Then again, Watanuki knew he didn't weigh that much to begin with.

When they left the study, the smell got stronger and he coughed behind his hand, but it wasn't as bad as when he entered, since he was expecting it. Or maybe it was because Doumeki was holding him, which while it sent a thrill up his spine for no apparent reason, it also irritated him. Why did he always have to rely on the stupid boy?

"Where do we go now? What are you doing, Kazahaya?"

Watanuki blinked and watched as Kazahaya was slowly approaching one of nearest walls. He seemed nervous and afraid and Rikuou automatically approached him. Rikuou wasn't nearly as stoic as Doumeki, Watanuki noticed, and he could see some concern in those green eyes.

"I'm going to take a look at the history of this place, so…be ready."

"Be ready to catch you when you pass out," Rikuou retorted.

"You jerk!"

The banter reminded him of himself and Doumeki, but he knew how Kazahaya was feeling. It was like they were almost the same. He knew that Kazahaya was scared stiff to know what he'd learn and that his outburst was only a temporary method to soothe his nerves. He could see in every taunt muscle ready to run. How his pale gray-brown eyes were a little too wide, like that of a deer's.

He'd seen the expression enough in glass windows of himself when he saw spirits following him to know.

Was he the only one that noticed how Kazahaya's hand shook when he touched the wall? He was definitely not the only one to notice the tears that suddenly streamed down those cheeks, but they were not tears of sympathy or pain, but terror.

"Kazahaya!"

Rikuou's hand shot out and dragged Kazahaya back just as the boy had opened his mouth to scream. Oddly enough, the scream seemed right at home in the decaying building and that made Watanuki even more horrified.

"Is he alright?" Doumeki cut in before Watanuki could, and was it his imagination that the arm around his waist tightened a little?

"What did you see?" Rikuou prompted, a little too frantically.

"Blood…" came the shocked and horrified voice of Kazahaya. "Blood everywhere…covers even the ceiling…screams…pain…death…blood…blood…B

LOOD!"

Rikuou didn't have much choice in the matter as suddenly Kazahaya was clinging to his chest with the tenacity of a woodpecker on a tree. The tears weren't stopping and Watanuki knew suddenly that Kazahaya's ability was so much worse than his own. He would have to live with those memories, unable to forget them, for the rest of his life, whereas he might be able to forget the things he saw if he tried.

"The laughter…the owner…he killed so many people…he liked it! He loved killing! Blood everywhere! It's everywhere! It won't go away!"

"Easy, easy, Kazahaya."

Watanuki could only watch as Rikuou's voice became soft to the frantic Kazahaya, arms wrapping around those shaking, thin shoulders. "Just a memory. There's no more blood. It's all faded now."

"We really should get moving," Doumeki said at last, but even before Rikuou could say a word, chaos erupted.

The bespectacled boy could only scream in terror as he saw the claws reaching for him. Doumeki couldn't possibly see it and his heart ripped in two when he saw Doumeki slammed into what remained of the marble fireplace. His legs were jerked out from underneath him and he landed on his back onto the floor. Already his voice was going hoarse from the high pitch of his screams.

"DOUMEKI! DOUMEKI HELP ME DOUMEKI DOUMEKI!"

"Watanuki-san!"

He could barely dimly register Kazahaya's voice and Rikuou's call for him to watch out. He barely noticed seeing Rikuou jerked onto the floor and then floating in the air like him. The wind suddenly whipping by as he was being carried somewhere quickly and Doumeki's yelling for him to not pass out.

This wasn't happening…

That was his last thought before the black sludge overwhelmed him and he lost consciousness for the second time that night.

End