The true Delirium.

Enjoy~

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Chapter 4

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"Ha.. Ruka.."

Dark eyes snapped open when a weak voice cut through the silence. Haruka's gaze shot towards his ill master, but he frowned when Kantarou appeared to be still in the clutches of the fever. His dull red eyes kept staring forward, and his breaths were rasping a bit more than before. 'Sugino's healing is wearing off..' The thought of those harsh wheezing gasps returning was enough to tempt Haruka into searching for the mountain god, but he stayed in place.

Youko had tried earlier to get him to eat something, but he refused to move a single inch from Kantarou's side. His legs were probably numb from the position he had been sitting in for so long, but he didn't care. He silently tugged the damp cloth from the writer's forehead and dipped it back into the bowl of water. The motion seemed automatic now. In the back of his mind he was certain that someone could time a watch by his motions.

"Haruka..."

The louder call made the black tengu freeze and lock his gaze back on the human. "Kantarou?"

Kantarou's eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling, but his hand began twitching. Slowly reaching out as if to find something. "Where.. Where are you, Haruka...?"

Dropping the cloth into the water, Haruka took up the trembling hand and held it tight. "I'm right here, Kantarou."

But the glazed eyes didn't flicker towards him. "Haruka... Why can't I find you..? Do.. Do you not want to be found..?"

Haruka's brow furrowed deeply at the strange words. "Kantarou, I'm right beside you. Can't you hear me?" he asked as he gently brushed his knuckles across his heated cheek.

The human made no sign that he recognized his presence. "Haruka... I've searched for so long..." Tears began welling up in the crimson eyes and rolling down the sides of Kantarou's face. "You don't want me... You don't want me as your master..." he cried out on a broken whimper.

"Kantarou! Wake up! I'm right here!" Haruka nearly shouted as he took hold of the trembling shoulders and gave them a brief shake. When the human still didn't acknowledge him, Haruka remembered the warning that his master had given him the night before. 'He said.. He might not recognize me when the fever hit its peak... Does that mean the worst has yet to happen..?'

"Dammit... I gave up everything for you..."

Haruka froze when he heard the faint growl leave the human's throat. "K.. Kantarou?"

The heart broken expression on the fevered face suddenly turned into a vicious scowl that couldn't seem to focus correctly. "Everything.. I gave up everything for you! My family! My career! My life! I threw it all away because of you!" he seemed to snarl.

The tengu didn't have a moment to allow the shock to set in when the human began to struggle viciously against him. "Kantarou! Dammit.. Stop it!" he growled as he tried to keep the writhing form in place on the futon.

"I was willing to sell my soul for you! But that's not enough, is it, you damn tengu?!" Kantarou thrashed his head wildly from side to side as he tried in vain to break hold of the tight grip holding him down. "What does it take for you to show your face, you bastard?!"

Haruka hissed out in pain when the human's short nails clawed against the skin of his forearms. He could feel his blood sliding down his wrists and making his grip too slick to keep hold of the struggling arms. "Dammit.. I don't have a choice..." He glanced over his shoulder towards the door. "Youko! Get the rope! Quickly!" he shouted before shooting his attention back to the vicious snarls his master was giving. "Kantarou... Have I really hurt you this much..?"

Kantarou's eyes were now filled with so much unbridled rage that it almost hurt. Those weren't the beautiful sparkling orbs that had been given to him. Those were eyes of a madman. "You.. You're not my Kantarou." he grunted as he held on tighter to the struggling form.

The sound of rushed footsteps were nearly drowned out by the animalistic growls, but soon Youko entered with two coils of rope in her arms. The moment she saw the state of her master she gasped and nearly dropped the rope. "He really has gone mad.. Haruka-chan, what do we do?!"

"We.. We need to restrain him before he hurts himself.." Haruka's eyes darted around quickly for anything that would be of use and soon spotted a table that had several of his master's papers and books. "There.. Youko! Clear off that table!"

This time Youko did drop the rope coils as she dashed for the low table. Her arms swept over every inch, knocking the books and paper off the flat surface. Ignoring the papers that fluttered to the floor, she ripped the blankets that were scattered around the futon and quickly placed them over the table so Kantarou wouldn't bruise himself on the hard surface. "Ready, Haruka-chan!" she called out while moving for the ropes.

With a fast jerking motion, Haruka pulled the human into his arms and lifted him from the floor. The curses and growls nearly pierced his already sensitive hearing as he carried Kantarou to the table. The moment he sat the fighting body on the covered table one of Kantarou's hands broke free from his grip. He didn't have time to react when he felt a pain streak across his right cheek. A growl left him, but he focused on only restraining the human to the table. "Youko! Tie him to the table!"

Youko instantly had a loop of the rope around Kantarou's freed wrist and forcefully tugged it down. "Haruka-chan! His other arm!" Once the other wrist was within her reach she bound the two wrists together before lifting them above the silver head. She made quick work of wrapping the rest of the rope around the two table legs at the end to tether the pale arms in place. "Okay! I've got them! Hold down his legs!"

Shifting to his master's lower half, Haruka grabbed both the flailing legs and forced them to lay flat on the table. "Shit.. I can't believe he still has this much strength.." he grunted when he narrowly missed getting kicked in the jaw. It took another minute before the kitsune finally had the human's ankles tied down to table legs, but the moment she did the two of them backed away from the table to catch their breath.

Kantarou was still struggling violently against the ropes. It was bound to leave painful burns on his wrists, but they didn't have time to cover them. They were too overwhelmed by the foul words coming from the pale lips to even register much else.

"You damn youkai took everything from me!! I should have left you all to burn! You never deserved my devotion! What the hell have I ever gotten from any of you?! What have I gotten in return for my pain?! My blood!? You're the reason everyone left me behind! You're the reason why I was hated! You did this to me!! You made me this way!" Kantarou screamed as he fought against his restraints harder than ever.

When she saw the blood that was beginning to stain the ropes that tied his wrists together, Youko felt herself choke as she hid behind the tengu. "Haruka-chan.. Is.. Is that how he really feels?"

Haruka was quick to hold onto the kitsune tight and shield her from the sight of their raving master. "No.. That's not Kantarou. It's the fever, Youko. He doesn't know what he's saying." he told her gently.

Youko wanted to hold on tight to the tengu and try to block out the words, but she picked up the scent of another's blood. When she pulled away she gasped on seeing the crimson rolling from the cut on the demon eater's face. "Haruka-chan! You're bleeding!"

It was then that Haruka noticed the stinging on his face and his forearms. "I know... He caught me a few times. His nails are sharper than I thought."

"Hold on, I'll get some bandages!"

Haruka wasn't able to protest quickly enough as the kitsune ran out of the room. Left alone with his master, Haruka glanced back to see that the human had stopped the struggling. He was now gasping raggedly for breath as more whimpers left his throat. "Kantarou..?"

The flushed face was in a grimace of intense pain. "No.. I'm sorry.. I didn't mean it.. Pleased don't hurt me.. I'm not bad.. Please don't.. I didn't mean to! Mother! Please stop! No! Mother!" A sharp agonized cry left Kantarou as his back arched tightly off the blankets beneath him.

Seeing the pain that ripped through his master's form made Haruka's chest feel as if it was ready to burst open. He moved to the writer's side and knelt down next to the table. "Kantarou.. What can I do..? Please.. Tell me.." he begged, clutching tight to the robes that were falling from the sweat slicked skin.

Kantarou's breaths were now harsher and more pain riddled than before Sugino's healing. His throat was more than likely raw from the sharp screams. But even though the screaming stopped, the human seemed to still be locked within whatever nightmare was playing through his mind.

Weak sobs were strangling him as more tears fell. "I don't want to do this anymore... It hurts.. I want it to stop.. Please make it stop.. I don't want to see them anymore... Make them go away..."

The more his master spoke, the more Haruka felt his heart breaking. "All my strength, and I'm helpless..." he muttered through his clenched teeth.

"Haruka..."

The tengu knew he shouldn't let his hopes rise too high, but he still looked towards his master and held his breath. "Kantarou..."

That dead gaze was still staring at nothing, but now there was a strange little smile on the chapped lips. "Haruka... Rip my heart out slowly... I want to feel you hold it in your hand.."

Haruka felt his own heart stop as the invocation of his name made his body twitch. "No.. No, stop it!" He clamped his hands over his ears and forced himself to back away from the table. If Kantarou kept saying such gruesome things then he would be compelled by their contract to obey. He could already feel his hands wanting to carry out the command. 'He's going to make me kill him if he keeps up these fever induced rants!'

He sensed the kitsune returning and quickly looked towards her. "Youko! You need to gag Kantarou! Quickly!"

Youko nearly tripped at the sudden order, and became wary. "What's going on, Haruka-chan?" Her gaze shifted towards the bound human. "But Kan-chan looks like he's calmed down..."

The tengu let out a growl and backed away further from the table. "He's started rambling.. He's trying to order me to hurt him.. Quickly! I can't hold back on another direct order!" he growled sharply.

Hearing that desperate edge to the tengu's voice was all it took to convince Youko. She pulled a handkerchief out of her kimono sleeve and rushed to her Master.

A gravelly chuckle left the human as his head suddenly turned towards the tengu. "Haruka... That was an ord-eermph!" his words were cut off when the light blue cloth forced its way between his teeth.

Youko tied off the handkerchief behind the silver head and jumped back to avoid another fit of violent struggles against the ropes. She gasped for breath and bit at her lower lip at the monstrous sounds that Kantarou was making. "Kan-chan..." There was nothing more she could do for him, so she moved to the bandages that she had dropped in her haste. "Haruka-chan.. This is supposed to be as bad as it will get, right?" she asked while motioning for him to come to her.

Haruka was able to stagger towards the kistune and dropped to his knees in front of her. "I pray that it is... That was far too close..." he groaned. His muscles were still twitching and his head was splitting from refusing a direct order. He couldn't remember refusing causing this much pain. 'This feels different... Like.. It's not really the refusal hurting me...'

The kitsune was already dabbing at the long scratch across Haruka's right cheek, but kept stealing worried glances towards their master. "This is too scary.. I've never seen Kan-chan like this.. It's like he's possessed.." she whispered.

"He very well may be, Youko.." Haruka muttered. "From what I've gathered working with him, a curse is sort of like a possession.. It's an evil force that takes control over some aspect of a life... At the moment, the curse has taken over his body and mind. Twisting it against him.."

"But Kan-chan said he broke the curse..." Youko pointed out as she carefully placed a bandage over the cut on his face.

"Yes, the part of it that was supposed to kill him. Apparently whatever is making him ill is still working its way through his body." Haruka let out a weary sigh and slumped forward a bit. "There's nothing more that we can really do... We have to keep him bound and gagged to keep him from hurting himself or making us hurt him."

Youko's visible ears flattened back, but she kept her focus on the arm she was bandaging. "He's supposed to be okay by morning.. Right?"

"Yes." 'If he was telling the truth..' Haruka muttered inside his head.

The kitsune nodded. "We can make it. Everything will be fine. Kantarou's strong. He'll be back on his feet in no time."

Haruka kept silent as the white bandages were wrapped around the cuts on his forearms. He looked away from her and to the growling form of his master.

'I wish I had your optimism, Youko.. I truly do..'

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TBC

It's called Hell for a reason.

Later~