Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Tactics. They are the property of Kinoshita Sakura and Higashiyama Kazuko.

A/N: Don't worry, Yuki, as long as I get reviews coming in I will continue this story. I mean, it would be pointless to continue if I received no feedback, right? Likewise, everyone, please keep leaving reviews for me, I'd appreciate it!

REVISED: June 9, 2010

I hardly, if ever, will edit/remove my previous Author's Notes. Only the text of the story, in case anyone is wondering. If I have more A/N to add for whatever reasons, I shall place em' right here.

Breathe
Chapter 3: You Owe Me
By: LadyYuina

Kantarou scratched out the last line of his (not too well written) article. He was hung up on the fact that he wasn't going to finish in time before his editor arrived. What a pain . . . She was surely going to shove her foot down his throat. Youko's cheering wasn't helping either. She donned a headband with folding fans labeled "good luck" in each hand. Her little good luck dance was grating on his nerves.

"Kan-chan, Kan-chan, do your best! Youko is here! Finish the rest! Good luck! Good luck to you!" Youko chanted, as if possessed. At the moment, Kantarou wanted nothing more than to disappear into thin air. By all means, he simply wanted to get away from Youko and avoid Reiko. It also didn't help that Sugino and Muu-chan were staying over. Sugino, the hard-headed husband, refused to leave his wife here alone - him and his paranoia of infidelity.

"Youko, can you stop cheering . . . It isn't helping me at all," Kantarou explained.

"Don't say that, Kan-chan!" Youko scolded, giving her Master a toothy grin. "You know my cheering helps you a lot!"

"Gives me a headache, you mean . . ." Kantarou muttered. Youko stopped cheering to ask him to speak up. "It's nothing to worry about; I was mumbling to myself."

"Muu-chan, don't go in there!" Both Kantarou and Youko heard Sugino say. It seemed like his voice was getting closer. Kantarou knew that at any moment Muu-chan would fly into his arms, and Sugino (as usual) would get on his case about touching his wife. As expected, she threw herself upon the sliver-haired man, knocking him over. Kantarou groaned in discomfort when he realized he cracked his back.

"Mu-muuu!" Muu-chan shouted.

"Muu-chan, not now," Kantarou ushered. He needed to finish his article. Looking at the clock he realized he only had twenty minutes to left to finish. Kantarou sweat dropped . . . He had already delayed his past articles way too many times to delay this one. "Muu-chan, I'm really busy right now. Go spend some time with your husband?" Muu-chan defiantly shook her head - being stubborn as always.

Sugino came into the room then, green eyes blazing with heated jealousy. He pointed a finger at Kantarou accusingly, "you've stolen Muu-chan from me too many times now! It's time that she should come back to me for good!"

"She's your wife, Sugino . . . I would never take her away from you. As a matter of fact, you and Muu-chan ought to go home. Try not to visit too often, all right?" Kantarou said. Kantarou knew it'd be better for him if he rid himself of Muu-chan and the white-winged youkai.

"We'll gladly leave . . . I don't even want to visit you! I'd rather see Haruka or Youko instead of you!" Sugino declared. He took off into the air as he carried his small wife in his arms, and for a moment Kantarou thought of her as a cuddly alien toy. What Sugino said hurt . . . Kantarou has heard of rebuttals before but hearing it coming from a youkai like Sugino was horrifying. The white winged-youkai wasn't just some common youkai and for him to hate Kantarou . . .

Kantarou didn't realize he was trembling until Youko patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. The spiritualist let out a dry laugh . . . He had thought he'd grown past this issue. Sadly, he was proven wrong. Picking up his pen, Kantarou began to madly scribble on the paper. Youko watched him with proud admiration. Her Master was finally motivated enough to finish his work. No more fish and rice at night! They were gonna get some steak! However, the fox youkai's smile faded when she saw what Kantarou was writing.

"Kan-chan! You're just writing nonsense! Reiko won't accept that!" Youko cried. She tried to snatch away his paperwork but Kantarou was too fast. "Kan-chan! Give me that! You can't hand that in to her!"

"Don't worry, all is fine. Trust me," Kantarou told her. Youko sighed in distress - somehow, Kantarou suddenly became all too easy going. She didn't like it at all. "Reiko should be here soon." Handing the document to the fox youkai, he added, "give this to her when she arrives, I'm going out."

"Whhhaaaattttt!" Youko shrieked. "You're going to let me deal with Reiko?"

"Correct. You told me to hand you the paper, didn't you?" Youko cringed, because she 'did' indeed say that. "See you later!"


"That was irresponsible-" Kantarou shushed the agitated Tengu by clamping a hand over his mouth. He shook his head disapprovingly to signify that he didn't want to hear it. "Ka . . . n . . . turu . . ."

"What was that?" Kantarou asked, coyly smiling. "Did you say canopy? Sashimi perhaps? I could really go for some sashimi right now. Your treat, okay?"

Haruka sighed, Kantarou was being difficult again. He pushed his Master's hand away from his mouth. Kantarou walked on ahead while Haruka growled in frustration. To him, it seemed rather silly to try to escape one's problems when one knew you couldn't. It'd always catch up to you sooner or later . . . What can be bothering that emotional maniac now?

By the time Haruka caught up to the spiritualist he had already ordered two platefuls of sashimi with sweet sauce - whatever kind he didn't know. The Tengu knew for a fact that he had no money - surely Kantarou knew that? "Kantarou, you do know that I have no money?"

"You . . . you don't?" Kantarou looked dumbstruck. It seemed like he was really spacing out. "Crap . . . I don't have any money either! You should have told me before I ordered anything! In a place like this once you order something they won't take it back! What are we gonna do now?"

"You brought this upon yourself so you handle it."

"You're a Tengu, so you're supposed to help me," Kantarou whined. "I'm your Master after all . . ."

"Not in matters such as this one. I only deal with demons, not money issues," Haruka replied.


"What exactly is this rubbish supposed to be, Youko?" Reiko asked, eyes as sharp as a hawk's. "You didn't write this, did you?"

"Of course not! If I were to write I would have done a much better job, unlike Kantarou who likes to write bull."

"Hehe, well said, Youko. Now, tell me where Kantarou is . . . I know he'd hiding here somewhere." Reiko placed the papers down on the living room table as she started her search for him. "I wonder why I even work with that guy. Odd, isn't it? Despite his annoying habits of delaying work and incomplete articles I still like working with him . . ."

"I guess you're right . . . I like working with him too." Not to mention that I'm a slave of his! Well, more like a servant. Bah! They're the same thing! Kantarou is Kantarou, I'll stick by him no matter what he does. "Oh yeah . . . your searching is pointless . . . he isn't home."

Reiko let out a huff of air while brushing her brown hair over her shoulders. Her eyes started to water. Youko knew that she was going into her so called 'whiny mode'. "How can Kantarou do this to me! The boss is going to be so mad! I work my butt off for him! He should be grateful! All he ever does is stay home; writing can't be that difficult, can it!"

"Beats me . . ." Though he does have clients who need a ghost/demon buster so that takes up some of his time. Does Kantarou get writer's block too . . .?

"What does he exactly do all day?" Reiko asked.

"Um . . . As of late I guess he's been moping . . . over Suzu . . ." Youko's fox ears popped out momentarily, though she willed them away before the editor caught sight of them. "It's really out of the blue, since she's been dead for four months."

"I see . . . That's understandable," Reiko said in a low voice. Instantly changing tones, she shouted, "but that doesn't help me one bit! I don't mean to sound like a irritated bitch against someone who's grieving, but she has died four months ago! Kantarou needs to move on and rewrite me my damn article!" She sat down in a determined state of mind, telling Youko that she wasn't going to leave until Kantarou got his share of the workload finished.

"Well now, would you like some tea while we wait? It's not very strong, but still, I hope you'll enjoy it," Youko offered.

"That's fine with me. Tea helps me calm down."

"Right."


"This is all your fault, Haruka . . . now we owe the man." Kantarou pulled at his hair in a annoyed manner - he hated wasting money when he didn't have any to waste to begin with. His hands were already full with Reiko, and now he had to add the restaurant owner in too. Money really does not grow on trees . . .

"Don't blame me for your petty mistakes. You assumed I had money. I never said I did," Haruka countered. They glared at each other, and if you looked carefully and closely you could see magnetic sparks coming out of their eyes - battling one another. When Haruka had enough he simply looked away with a haughty turn of his head.

"Hey! Look at me! I'm your Master!" Kantarou demanded.

"You can't always get your way, Kantarou. I'll see you back at home when you've cooled down a bit." Haruka smiled as he walked away. He decided he liked the word 'home', because it made him feel as if he belonged. Kantarou turned around and walked his own way - the opposite direction of the Tengu. He knew he was acting like a spoiled brat, although . . .

"I'm feeling more depressed . . . Why is that? I can't really explain it . . ." Kantarou let out a sympathetic laugh - a laugh that was reserved only for him; no one else. "I feel as if the world is crushing me."

"Write . . . All I ask of you is to write."

Kantarou narrowed his eyes and looked around. Her voice reverberated behind him, but it seemed like no one else noticed or heard it. The bells on his bracelet started to jingle gently, the sound being very faint. Could it be that woman again? Can it be her? This voice sounds rather different . . .? Kantarou's keen sense for the unknown was fully on alert mode. However, as soon as Haruka arrived Kantarou's bracelet stopped rattling, and the sound of the woman's voice had all but disappeared as well.

"I . . . err . . . came to get you," the Tengu told his Master.

"That was awfully fast . . ."

"Huh? It took me ten minutes to get back here." Haruka gave Kantarou a funny look. "Reiko insisted . . ."

Ten minutes? But . . . it only felt like a minute has gone by. What was that odd presence I was feeling before? Did Haruka feel it? "Hey, Haruka, did you feel someone's presence here just now?"

"No."

Kantarou clutched at his bracelet, frowning as he did so. The odd feeling slowly subsided, but it left him with a urge to write . . . "Haruka, let's go home. I'm ready to leave."

"Reiko is going to kill you," Haruka warned. "Ready to face her?" Kantarou nodded, looking really distracted. Haruka noticed that there was a twinkle in his eyes - whenever that twinkle came up it meant that Kantarou had the urge to write. Haruka smiled, glad to see his Master wanted to redo the article.


"I'm home!" Kantarou called out, hopping out of his wooden sandals.

Reiko's eyes flared up angrily. She went towards the entrance of the house to confront the spiritualist. "Kantarou, I demand that you rewrite the article now! I have to turn it in by tomorrow afternoon! What you wrote before was gibberish! it doesn't even make sense! You also kept mentioning a girl named Dirina . . . Is she a key person to this particular article?"

"No . . ." Kantarou scratched the side of his head as he thought things over. He nearly fell over when Reiko shouted at him again - she could be really loud when she wanted to be. "Sheesh . . .calm down, Reiko! I heard you the first time!"

"Get to work then, because I don't have all day to wait!" she hollered back.

"Give me the article then." Reiko slapped it into his open palms with such livid force that it made Kantarou's hands sting from the impact. She smirked when he winced in pain. He glared daggers at her, but she didn't see because she had already turned her back to him (to hide her now ever-broadening smile).

"Hustle, hustle, Kan-chan!" Youko urged, steering Kantarou into his room. Once he was inside she went out and closed the door behind her. Kantarou looked at the door for a moment before settling down before his desk.

"I can do this!" He picked up his pen to write, but no matter how hard he tried though his hand refused to process his thoughts about the article clearly. His mind was elsewhere. He kept thinking about the story he was writing about - the story of his life. "Focus on the article . . . Kantarou . . . that other thing can wait . . . right?"

Despite what little encouragement he said to himself he found it hard to not grab the sheet of papers and continue writing where he last left off. The story was going to continue . . . Reiko's article, sadly, had to wait its turn . . .

He . . . He knew that he'd believe youkai existed no matter what anyone else said. However, his fascination for Tengu, a certain type of youkai, didn't surface until he met this one peculiar monk. The monk went by the name of Nanao Hidetoshi, and he told the boy everything he knew about Tengu. Kantarou absorbed everything he said like his life depended on it . . . Kantarou's new goal was to meet a Tengu no matter how long it would take.

"Are you leaving, monk Nanao?" the silver-haired boy asked.

"Yes. I'd like to stay but the road beckons for me to go. I'm sorry, Kantarou."

"Uh-uh! Don't be! I've learned a lot from you! Thank you for telling me everything you know about Tengu. I'll spend the rest of my days if I have to," the boy found he was welling up with tears, ". . . to find one!" Monk Nanao let out a hearty laugh and smiled.

"Do you believe I will succeed?" The monk nodded. "I feel honored to have met you, monk Nanao! I'll . . . I'll never forget you!"

"As of you. You'll always have a place in my heart. Goodbye, now." Muttering under his breath, the monk added, "I'm sure Dirina will remember you too."

"Huh? Dirina? How did she suddenly appear in my story like that? Did monk Nanao really say that?" Kantarou placed his pen on his desk and looked at his hand. "What made me write…?" I recall seeing her grave, and yet it still puzzles me that I can't remember her, only her name.

Kantarou's curiosity was growing by the second. If he kept writing his life's story he was bound to unravel some answers to his past. He, at earnest wanted to continue but since he stopped, he begrudgingly surrendered himself over to Reiko's article - hands down. To the silver-haired man's mild consternation, he didn't finish Reiko's source of income (as well as his own) until morning. It was pretty much an all night project. Completely exhausted, Kantarou only had the strength to hand it to his editor until he collapsed onto the floor before her.

"Kantarou!" Haruka started, kneeling by his Master's side.

"He's just tired. Serves him right for ignoring this. Thank him for me when he wakes up. Bye, guys."

"Bye, Reiko!" Youko called after her. When Reiko was gone, Youko said, "once we get some money we can get some better food for a while!"

"Don't count on it." Haruka lifted Kantarou up into his arms. Youko looked at him inquiringly. "He owes this restaurant we went to yesterday some money."

"Whhhaaattttt! That Kantarou! Why does he do this to us!" Youko wailed. Bright blue eyes threatened to spill over with tears of agony. Haruka sweat dropped as he excused himself while he carried Kantarou to his room.

Once placed on his futon, Haruka had the mind to kiss him good night even though it was morning, but likewise, he refrained from doing so. He had no right to touch his Master that way unless it was allowed . . .

When will he let me . . .?

Chapter 3: END