"Why do you do this to me?"

Watanuki smiled. "You are my Intended. I will never leave you alone."

Intended? What in all the worlds did that mean? Watanuki had said that word with such meaning Doumeki had to wonder at the significance of it. Instead of a well worded, witty, eloquent come-back, Doumeki merely grunted at the person above him with a disgruntled "What?"

The Traveler's head popped up and his attention was immediately diverted to some area in the distance, beyond the trees to their left. The captain trapped beneath him could not hear or sense anything yet, but if something had caught the other man's attention he didn't doubt that whatever it was, it was coming their way.

"Che," Watanuki huffed. He looked back to Doumeki and, after a short pause, grinned. He pushed his cheek against Doumeki's softly, reverently, and pressed his lips against the captain's ear. "It seems we will have company in a moment. I must take my leave, although I look forward to our next encounter."

Doumeki growled lowly in his throat.

Watanuki chuckled so deeply his whole chest vibrated. "My feisty hunter. If you're anything like your grandfather the sex will be earth-shattering." The look in the Traveler's eyes said he could hardly wait.

As Doumeki shouted curses Watanuki laughed maniacally while he jumped up and hopped away. From behind him another invisible whirlwind kicked up around him and whisked him away with barely a blink.

The captain hauled himself up to his knees and ground his teeth together in frustration. That man... he was just baiting him now. He would have to keep his temper in check if he ever wanted to gain the upper hand with that creature the next time they crossed paths.

If Watanuki was to be believed, and there wasn't to be force involved in this ordeal with him, if he was strong enough then Doumeki could resist him.

He must resist him. Everything would fall apart if he didn't.

The pounding of hooves on packed earth was the first warning Doumeki had that someone else had entered the clearing. He forced his fists to unclench and schooled his face as the unsurprising visage of his subordinate came into view.

"Captain Doumeki!" Subaru called to him as he pulled on the reins of his horse to slow the creature down.

Even though Doumeki was not surprised to see Subaru had followed him, he wasn't pleased. "Ensign, what are you doing here?"

"I-" Subaru paused and fidgeted in his saddle. Doumeki was getting very tired of Sumeragi's growing awkwardness. "I was worried for you. I saw the training accident today. Are you..?" His question was unfinished but the tone was still conveyed.

Doumeki suppressed a sigh and stood upright. "I'm fine, and ensigns aren't supposed to leave their stations without prior orders."

Subaru visibly blushed in embarrassment. "Yes, Sir," was the automatic response. His eyes traveled over his captain's form. "What happened here? You're all torn up."

Belatedly Doumeki looked down at himself and noticed that the high winds that had been charged with magic had ripped at his armor and clothing. It was true – they were a tattered mess. His hands were still dripping with blood and his weapons were askew on the ground. Doumeki resolutely ignored his state of attire and started to collect his things. "There was a nest," he lied smoothly. It was only a partial lie, after all. While it hadn't been a true nest, there had been a collection of witches larger than any nest he'd ever encountered before.

They hunt me, Shizuka, just as sure as you hunt them...

They'd been after Watanuki. It was strange to think that not even powerful and terrifying beings like Watanuki Kimihiro were free of the plague of witches.

"A nest?" Subaru asked with astonishment. "Here?"

"Here," Doumeki confirmed. He looked down the side of the hill that still had not been revealed to Subaru. "Down there," he pointed.

Subaru dismounted his horse and jogged over to the indicated area. His eyes widened in surprise. "I see."

There were about eight bodies on the ground, all in various states of decapitation, dismemberment, or worse. Both captain and ensign picked their way through the recent graveyard of dead beings. "Some of these are really old," Subaru commented. "Where there-"

"Spirits, yes," Doumeki confirmed.

"How many?"

"...Two," he said, while his mind supplied 'about fifty.' But that was hardly here nor there, as he hadn't been the one to deal with those anyway.

"You were all alone!" The surprise in Subaru's voice was not unfounded. Very few hunters could take on such circumstances alone and survive.

Doumeki shrugged noncommittally. "Hn." Now that he had his sword again he started to cut the heads off of the bodies where they were still attached and gather them. The council demanded that all heads of witches be removed and confiscated. The identities were to be determined, the level of magic evaluated, and the teeth and hair used for counter-measures in defeating new ones. Subaru started helping without needing to be prompted.

Doumeki found his frustrations start to mount again. Subaru had already picked up that there was some external force that was affecting his captain and he seemed bound and determined to help and fix whatever it was. Doumeki didn't quite know how to tell the poor sod off without arousing suspicion.

"Where's your horse, captain?" Subaru asked once the heads had been stuffed into a spare sack from his pack of supplies.

Doumeki grunted. "Still attached to the tree that way," he pointed with his finger, "if it didn't manage to free itself during the fight."

Subaru nodded and started to walk with him in the right direction. Doumeki knew it would be a long ride home.

Indeed, it was. They ran their horses as often as they could, but still it was nearly daybreak by the time they reentered the village where their barracks were located. Doumeki and Subaru wordlessly led their tired horses into the stables and removed the saddles and gear. They did not worry about brushing or feeding the beasts, as the stable hands were already up and starting to go about their day. The horses would be tended to in a matter of minutes by other hands.

Subaru volunteered to drop off the heads of the dead witches at the collection counter, which allowed Doumeki to trudge tiredly into the barracks towards his private quarters.

He most certainly did not expect to see his commander waiting in his room at his desk when he entered.

"Commander," he intoned, though was careful to not let any surprise enter his voice or expression.

"Captain," Sakurazuka replied.

Doumeki dropped his pack by his bunk and sat down. "Is there something you need from me?"

The commander's grin was eerie as he leaned back and propped an ankle across his knee. "There's nothing wrong with catching up, now is there?"

Doumeki's look was deadpan. Sakurazuka's falsetto tactics had never worked very well on the lower ranked captain. The commander sighed at the loss of the verbal battle. "This is the second time you've been gone all night in a week, Shizuka."

Doumeki tried very hard not to wince at the use of his first name. It made him extremely uncomfortable.

"It's also the second time you've been out all night, only to have cute Subaru bring you home. What have you been up to?"

Doumeki needed a diverting subject in order to throw off the questions he couldn't answer. He released a sigh, a controlled one, because he wanted the other to see the emotions such an action was supposed to convey. "What is the Hunter's Heart Attack?"

Sakurazuka Seiichiro laughed, long and hard and loud. He even wiped an invisible tear from the corner of one eye. "Ah ha! So someone spilled a little to you, did they? You haven't been visiting the veteran's center, have you?"

Doumeki was glad he refrained from ever saying much. When he didn't say anything, it wasn't an admission of guilt, but usually a silent reply that the person talking to him was an idiot. He did, however, clutch one of his hands into a fist at the commander's reaction. Watanuki couldn't have been right. He was lying and twisting the truth around to deceive me, he couldn't be right...!

The commander grinned at him, and there was something dark and razor sharp in his eyes. "Ah, Shizuka, it's terrible what happens to the old ones, they say. If you don't go insane first, you will when you die. You see, it's in the way the magic affects the heart in later years. When you become old enough, and there's been enough malicious magic exposed to your body, your heart will grow weak. Eventually, it will slow down to an agonizing pace. Your body won't get enough blood, and you will start to loose your limbs and your organs, one by one. By the time your body is dying from too little blood flow, you will lose the ability to move, to talk, even to scream." Sakurazuka licked his lips as the story rolled off his tongue. "The magic breaks something in you, because you won't be able to sleep, or eat, or gain any reprieve from the pain. Your death can last anywhere from three days...to a few weeks... the longest one on record is four months. The stronger the hunter you were, the worse it will be."

His heart had never felt so cold or empty. "How do we know this? No one can speak while it is happening."

Sakurazuka laughed again. "Why do you think empaths won't be caught dead near a veteran's center?"

When the understanding dawned on him of the horrible truth of it all, the blood must have drained from his face because there was a reaction from his captain. "Heh. I suppose I can forgive you for running off a little. Makes you just a bit angry, doesn't it? Not knowing all this time?"

"Why aren't any of us warned about this sooner?"

The commander shrugged. "Who'd want to be a hunter with a guaranteed death like that? Council is filled with nothing but a bunch of placating, conniving pussies if you ask me. Shit like this is mandated, after all." He grinned again. "They should all know young. To agonize over it, for so long, to really know when you're going to die..."

Watanuki was right. His commander really was a cruel man. Doumeki suddenly wanted to do nothing more than cry himself to sleep.

Sakurazuka stood up from the captain's desk chair. "Take the day off tomorrow, captain. Take the day to mourn or cry or whatever it is you do to cope. I want to see you back to normal right after that." He turned and looked Doumeki in the eyes before he exited the small room. "There shouldn't be any more issues with these...excursions, I expect." His eyes narrowed dangerously. The threat was plainly visible for any that dared look. Doumeki gave a curt nod and was glad when his door finally closed with a resounding snap!

Grandfather...what did this world do to you?

When his eyes opened again, he was sitting on the steps of a temple house. The grounds were large and expansive, with multiple sakura trees that dotted the landscaping. The time of day looked like it was sunset. Doumeki knew it was a place he'd never been before. He wondered if it was a dream.

"Hello, Shizuka."

Indeed, it was a dream. Doumeki turned his head to look at the person that was suddenly sitting next to him. It was his grandfather, though his face looked younger than the last time Doumeki remembered seeing him.

He could hardly remember what his grandfather looked like, now that he thought about it. He'd only been four when that man took him away. He could see now that they were very nearly twins. "I don't want to see you."

Haruka pulled a lungful of smoke from the pipe in his hands. "I'm sure, but there are some things that you need to hear."

Shizuka dropped his shoulders and hunched over his lap. "I've heard enough."

"You've not heard my story."

"I don't c-"

"He's a gentle lover, Shizuka."

Doumeki ground his teeth. "Don't talk about it."

His grandfather sighed. "You are his Intended, you know. This is something you cannot fight. To resist, well... it could very will kill you in the end, I suppose."

Doumeki's eyes snapped to that of his grandfather's with accusation. "What does that mean? His 'Intended?'"

"It means you were born for him. Seven hundred years ago, Watanuki Kimihiro used a scrying pool to divine where, when, or who his Intended would be. Every Traveler has one. It is the only concession the Fates would allow these immortal beings. One Intended soul mate to stay with them forever. It was up to the Traveler to find this person, no matter what world or what time they are born in, and solidify the bond before their mortal mate died. If they were too late... there would be no second chance."

"Ridiculous."

Haruka shook his head. "He thought I was you, Shizuka. Our spirits and auras are very similar. He couldn't take the chance that it wasn't me, because if it had been and he'd waited it would have been too late."

"And seven hundred years ago he divined that it was me, but mistook me for you?"

"No," his grandfather replied. He took another drag from his pipe. The sweet tobacco smoke lazily filled the air around them both. "Seven hundred years ago, the scrying pool told Kimihiro that his Intended would be born in this dimension, and be born a Doumeki. For seven hundred years, he's been watching us, and waiting, and taking those he thought might be you, but never were."

"Then there's a chance that it's not me," Doumeki reasoned.

Haruka smiled at him. "Not this time. Even the dead like me can see it."

Doumeki looked forward again, away from his deceased relative. "Then I'll die fighting him. I don't want it."

"He saved me, Shizuka. I know you are angry, but he did save me from a fate worse than death, worse than dying."

"You still died."

"Yes, but many years after I was supposed to, without the scars of insanity to carry with my soul, and without any pain."

Shizuka's gold colored eyes moved to look at him again.

Haruka leaned back on his hands. "If Kimihiro hadn't found me, I would have died when you were eight. As it was, I did not die until you were fourteen. He took care of me, even when I became so weak I could not move."

"Hn."

Haruka shook his head. "You are still angry, my grandson. My words will not convince you." At this he stood up and moved to stand in front of his grandchild. In one fluid motion he moved the index finger of his right hand to point at Shizuka's forehead. "So, you will see my story, as I saw it, and felt it, and you will know."

Doumeki's vision flashed white, and then he was falling.