"Wakaba, what are you doing up?" The young man stopped in his tracks, foot
resting back onto the patio in mid-step. He had almost missed the ginger
haired beauty, the red moonlight, dim as it was, hid her like a soft veil.
The girl didn't answer right away, her glossy eyes focused on a point high
above the horizon. Her words were as distant as her gaze.
"They say there's a fire, on the other side of the world and all the smoke from it is causing the sun to reflect red light onto the moon."
Hisoka paused in his gaze at the girl and turned it to the moon. "Where did you hear that?"
"Some of the servants overheard the master speaking about it. They say it's a bad sign. All the souls killed in the fire are like karma, spreading death into the moonlight." As if broken from a spell, she side glanced at him. "The maid I share my room with didn't come to bed tonight. I thought I might be able to find her in the courtyard."
Hisoka's eyes locked onto hers. She looked so soft and touchable, frail and real all at once. At times like this, he could almost forget her time was growing short. He could almost allow the fear of losing her to recede enough to see the beautiful woman before him.
Almost.
"Why would she be in the courtyard at this hour?"
The girl's hesitation and slightly fearful eyes told him all he needed to know to venture a guess. "She's meeting with someone, right?"
The auburn head nodded slowly, her eyes unwilling to meet his.
"Who is it?"
"A lover, I think. A lot of the girls meet with page boys, or hired hands from the nearby estate, all in secret, of course, but its common knowledge that it happens. It's safer that way, knowing but not letting it be known. That way, if there's trouble, the servants know where to look."
"So her meeting place is the courtyard?" He asked, piecing it together. It was interesting to think that the lower class of the House had private lives and secrets past serving.
Wakaba slowly nodded, her eyes finally rising up to meet his. A slight breeze tugged at the hair so carefully pulled into ribbons, teasing free a silky strand to fall across her cheek. Without thinking, Hisoka took that last step between them, his fingers playing against her soft skin as he brushed the hair back behind her ear.
"What about you, Wakaba?" He whispered faintly, "Do you meet someone out here?"
Again, there came the faintest hint of a nod, as if fearful any movement might cause him to retract his hand.
"Every night, I've meet you here," She whispered back, just as soft, her hand moving up to cover the back of his as it lingered against her face, "in my dreams."
Senses filled him like a cup.
-Care-
Rubbing against his mind like velvet, purring with feelings that were as familiar as his own.
-Compassion-
Until they reached something inside of him that resounded back, echoing and rising like meeting tides.
-Love, hope-
How his arms found their way around her, how he was suddenly embracing the one person who had ever shown him human kindness, leaving him reeling in emotions so pure, they surely had a light of their own, he did not know. But for a moment, that was all there was. He was lost in the warm press of her delicate body against his, the fabric of their clothing caressing in a hushed whisper as he allowed himself this small pleasure.
She was talking, but her words seemed a dream away. In the intoxication of it all, he was only dimly aware that she was asking him to return to her room with her. The surprise of that was only matched by the answer that spilled from his lips.
"Yes."
Her embrace around his waist tightened. "I must go find Arisu." She whispered against his chest.
"That the name of the girl you're looking for?"
She nodded. Kissing her lightly on the forehead, he reluctantly released her. "I'll find her. You go inside before the night chill gives you another fever." Before she could voice any argument, he slipped away from her, walking down into the courtyard.
His warmth lingered around her and she sighed, happy and feeling more alive then she ever had.
"Be safe." She called faintly, watching him vanish through the arch of the courtyard before slowly making her way back inside.
~~
Hisoka moved across the courtyard path, the full trees casting ripple like shadows around him. His mind and heart was racing. His empathy had always been a curse, causing him to shy away from human contact and especially the touch of another. But never had he imaged the blessing it could be when that contact awoke tender feelings. More intimate then bedside whispers, he could see into her very soul and did not find it lacking. She loved him and it was honest. For the first time in a long time, a smile lingered on his face, giving his green eyes a tender look.
On the path up ahead, under a large and ghostly looking tree, he saw the silhouettes of a couple. The taller one, wore a long white jacket, its ivory color seemed to be stained with blood under the touch of the moon. Stark, silvery white hair, shone with the same light. In his arms, he held a smaller woman, with long dark hair and a very feminine figure. Vaguely, Hisoka realized he recognized her, having seen her once or twice with Wakaba.
-That must be Arisu.-
He watched the pair, unsure of how to approach them and interrupt the intimate moment that was occurring. From the side, he could see that the man's lips were pressed against her neck, giving her a deep lover's kiss. Her eyes seemed glassy, her mouth trembling as her arms went slack in the embrace, falling weakly to her side.
A strange feeling breathed upon the air. A sensation unlike anything he had ever felt and it caused him to take a step back, eyes wide. It was like the sent of a candle's smoke once it had been blown out and he could almost hear the malevolent hiss that strangled away the light. Yet he couldn't turn away.
The silver haired man drew back from the kiss, his lips full and red. In a blur of motion too fast for Hisoka to follow, a ghostly white hand rose up and grabbed the very same neck he had just been kissing, tossing the body to the side, like a broken doll.
/You've seen something you shouldn't have./ A male voice pierced into his mind like a white hot iron. The man straightened himself to a truly impressive height, turning in an almost lazy manner to face Hisoka. Thin glasses caught the light of the moon like the reflection of hell fire. /The eyes of a killer./
"I-." Hisoka tried to force words past the sudden terror catching his breath. Feelings washed over him like the stare of a serpent, freezing the marrow in his bones. Nothing he had ever sensed, even the hate and fear from his parents, came close to the darkness that threatened to swallow him now.
He stumbled back, his heel hitting against the cobble stones and upsetting his balance. For a moment, the world tilted back and just as quickly, cold arms embraced him, letting him fall half way, his body suspended a breath from the ground. Raising his head up, his eyes locked onto the person holding him from above, his heart and mind racing. It was as if he had been caught up in a nightmare, inside, he was screaming to wake up.
One arm wrapped tightly around his waist, the man lifted the other and almost lovingly caressed the side of his face with those ice cold fingers. Hisoka could see a faint flush of red on the man's cheeks as he lowered snowy lips towards his.
The soft purr of his words raced over Hisoka's lips, a voice that was as chilled and inhuman as the speaker.
"You're too beautiful for a quick death, young one. I want to see your eyes, don't turn away when you start screaming. Look only at me and let me enjoy breaking -him- again through you." A wicked smile curved on his lips, causing them to brush against his. "My most cherished pet, I see why you love this one. It must have been so tempting finding a mortal with the Gift of Empathy. Someone who would sooner or later see you for all the things inside you hide even from yourself. What a dangerous dance, you choose, risking it all to see if in the end he wouldn't find you out and turn away. But it was that hope that he wouldn't that kept you, wasn't it, my, pet? Ahh, you always did love to suffer so."
Hisoka knew the words were not meant for him, but the effect of them was profound.
-Pet? Tsuzuki. It's the same feeling that I get from Tsuzuki. Human emotions lined with something unnatural, but just as real. Is that who he is talking about?-
Things started to click into place.
The man chuckled without humor. "Oh, you didn't know? Even after all the time with him, you couldn't figure out why you'd lose entire nights without memory, why he never stood in strong light, appearing only at night? Or did you even realize it? Would you like to know? Yes, I think you would. I think it's important for you not to die in ignorance, feeling pity and love for the one that has given you to death itself."
His lips pulled back and for a second, Hisoka saw the flash of demon-like fangs. The hand caressing him slide across his face, covering his eyes.
For one terrible moment, everything was deathly silent. Whatever had been blocking his empathy to this point, abruptly fell away and the night erupted into screams.
"They say there's a fire, on the other side of the world and all the smoke from it is causing the sun to reflect red light onto the moon."
Hisoka paused in his gaze at the girl and turned it to the moon. "Where did you hear that?"
"Some of the servants overheard the master speaking about it. They say it's a bad sign. All the souls killed in the fire are like karma, spreading death into the moonlight." As if broken from a spell, she side glanced at him. "The maid I share my room with didn't come to bed tonight. I thought I might be able to find her in the courtyard."
Hisoka's eyes locked onto hers. She looked so soft and touchable, frail and real all at once. At times like this, he could almost forget her time was growing short. He could almost allow the fear of losing her to recede enough to see the beautiful woman before him.
Almost.
"Why would she be in the courtyard at this hour?"
The girl's hesitation and slightly fearful eyes told him all he needed to know to venture a guess. "She's meeting with someone, right?"
The auburn head nodded slowly, her eyes unwilling to meet his.
"Who is it?"
"A lover, I think. A lot of the girls meet with page boys, or hired hands from the nearby estate, all in secret, of course, but its common knowledge that it happens. It's safer that way, knowing but not letting it be known. That way, if there's trouble, the servants know where to look."
"So her meeting place is the courtyard?" He asked, piecing it together. It was interesting to think that the lower class of the House had private lives and secrets past serving.
Wakaba slowly nodded, her eyes finally rising up to meet his. A slight breeze tugged at the hair so carefully pulled into ribbons, teasing free a silky strand to fall across her cheek. Without thinking, Hisoka took that last step between them, his fingers playing against her soft skin as he brushed the hair back behind her ear.
"What about you, Wakaba?" He whispered faintly, "Do you meet someone out here?"
Again, there came the faintest hint of a nod, as if fearful any movement might cause him to retract his hand.
"Every night, I've meet you here," She whispered back, just as soft, her hand moving up to cover the back of his as it lingered against her face, "in my dreams."
Senses filled him like a cup.
-Care-
Rubbing against his mind like velvet, purring with feelings that were as familiar as his own.
-Compassion-
Until they reached something inside of him that resounded back, echoing and rising like meeting tides.
-Love, hope-
How his arms found their way around her, how he was suddenly embracing the one person who had ever shown him human kindness, leaving him reeling in emotions so pure, they surely had a light of their own, he did not know. But for a moment, that was all there was. He was lost in the warm press of her delicate body against his, the fabric of their clothing caressing in a hushed whisper as he allowed himself this small pleasure.
She was talking, but her words seemed a dream away. In the intoxication of it all, he was only dimly aware that she was asking him to return to her room with her. The surprise of that was only matched by the answer that spilled from his lips.
"Yes."
Her embrace around his waist tightened. "I must go find Arisu." She whispered against his chest.
"That the name of the girl you're looking for?"
She nodded. Kissing her lightly on the forehead, he reluctantly released her. "I'll find her. You go inside before the night chill gives you another fever." Before she could voice any argument, he slipped away from her, walking down into the courtyard.
His warmth lingered around her and she sighed, happy and feeling more alive then she ever had.
"Be safe." She called faintly, watching him vanish through the arch of the courtyard before slowly making her way back inside.
~~
Hisoka moved across the courtyard path, the full trees casting ripple like shadows around him. His mind and heart was racing. His empathy had always been a curse, causing him to shy away from human contact and especially the touch of another. But never had he imaged the blessing it could be when that contact awoke tender feelings. More intimate then bedside whispers, he could see into her very soul and did not find it lacking. She loved him and it was honest. For the first time in a long time, a smile lingered on his face, giving his green eyes a tender look.
On the path up ahead, under a large and ghostly looking tree, he saw the silhouettes of a couple. The taller one, wore a long white jacket, its ivory color seemed to be stained with blood under the touch of the moon. Stark, silvery white hair, shone with the same light. In his arms, he held a smaller woman, with long dark hair and a very feminine figure. Vaguely, Hisoka realized he recognized her, having seen her once or twice with Wakaba.
-That must be Arisu.-
He watched the pair, unsure of how to approach them and interrupt the intimate moment that was occurring. From the side, he could see that the man's lips were pressed against her neck, giving her a deep lover's kiss. Her eyes seemed glassy, her mouth trembling as her arms went slack in the embrace, falling weakly to her side.
A strange feeling breathed upon the air. A sensation unlike anything he had ever felt and it caused him to take a step back, eyes wide. It was like the sent of a candle's smoke once it had been blown out and he could almost hear the malevolent hiss that strangled away the light. Yet he couldn't turn away.
The silver haired man drew back from the kiss, his lips full and red. In a blur of motion too fast for Hisoka to follow, a ghostly white hand rose up and grabbed the very same neck he had just been kissing, tossing the body to the side, like a broken doll.
/You've seen something you shouldn't have./ A male voice pierced into his mind like a white hot iron. The man straightened himself to a truly impressive height, turning in an almost lazy manner to face Hisoka. Thin glasses caught the light of the moon like the reflection of hell fire. /The eyes of a killer./
"I-." Hisoka tried to force words past the sudden terror catching his breath. Feelings washed over him like the stare of a serpent, freezing the marrow in his bones. Nothing he had ever sensed, even the hate and fear from his parents, came close to the darkness that threatened to swallow him now.
He stumbled back, his heel hitting against the cobble stones and upsetting his balance. For a moment, the world tilted back and just as quickly, cold arms embraced him, letting him fall half way, his body suspended a breath from the ground. Raising his head up, his eyes locked onto the person holding him from above, his heart and mind racing. It was as if he had been caught up in a nightmare, inside, he was screaming to wake up.
One arm wrapped tightly around his waist, the man lifted the other and almost lovingly caressed the side of his face with those ice cold fingers. Hisoka could see a faint flush of red on the man's cheeks as he lowered snowy lips towards his.
The soft purr of his words raced over Hisoka's lips, a voice that was as chilled and inhuman as the speaker.
"You're too beautiful for a quick death, young one. I want to see your eyes, don't turn away when you start screaming. Look only at me and let me enjoy breaking -him- again through you." A wicked smile curved on his lips, causing them to brush against his. "My most cherished pet, I see why you love this one. It must have been so tempting finding a mortal with the Gift of Empathy. Someone who would sooner or later see you for all the things inside you hide even from yourself. What a dangerous dance, you choose, risking it all to see if in the end he wouldn't find you out and turn away. But it was that hope that he wouldn't that kept you, wasn't it, my, pet? Ahh, you always did love to suffer so."
Hisoka knew the words were not meant for him, but the effect of them was profound.
-Pet? Tsuzuki. It's the same feeling that I get from Tsuzuki. Human emotions lined with something unnatural, but just as real. Is that who he is talking about?-
Things started to click into place.
The man chuckled without humor. "Oh, you didn't know? Even after all the time with him, you couldn't figure out why you'd lose entire nights without memory, why he never stood in strong light, appearing only at night? Or did you even realize it? Would you like to know? Yes, I think you would. I think it's important for you not to die in ignorance, feeling pity and love for the one that has given you to death itself."
His lips pulled back and for a second, Hisoka saw the flash of demon-like fangs. The hand caressing him slide across his face, covering his eyes.
For one terrible moment, everything was deathly silent. Whatever had been blocking his empathy to this point, abruptly fell away and the night erupted into screams.