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Balance Factor – Extra

Ryuuko's Story

Dark's Compassion

A/N: Here is the story Ryuuko told! Kazuki does not remember because, as mentioned in chapter 42, he had his memory erased by Shirogane. Hypnotist coin trick!

A six year old Kazuki toppled in the dining room, his face flushed heavily and his breaths in rough pants. It was empty, but there was a plate of food left for him on the table along with a note in Ryuuko's neat handwriting. The pain from the fusion of Light and Dark had not faded like Shirogane told him it would and he was having trouble focusing his vision on things.

He didn't make it to the table, having collapsed three steps into the room. Sinking to his hands and knees, Kazuki coughed roughly, trying to get oxygen into his system. His airway was closing and his gasps were getting deeper. To his horror, saliva was soon replaced by blood. It stained his hand and the ground in front of him, splattering on his white clothes. His head was spinning.

Kazuki slumped to the floor, too dizzy to remain up any longer and in too much pain to care whether or not he was staining his clothes. Blood pooled out of his mouth and stained his raven black hair. The room was spinning faster and faster. Kazuki wished that it would all stop. Then, abruptly, the pain faded and the room vanished into darkness.

Finally.

About two hours after that, Shirogane stalked up to the Light Palace, only slightly angry with Ryuuko's lateness. He was only late half an hour this time; as opposed to the one and a half hours he was usually late. Shirogane had agreed to watch Kazuki while he was studying and help him out with anything he needed. Afterwards, they would spar and Kazuki could show him how much he had learned from his training sessions with Ryuuko. Ryuuko, meanwhile, would go to the Human World to seal up more tears.

Shirogane stopped in front of Kazuki's room, knocking once and waiting for an answer. Kazuki may be his Child, but even he would respect that his Child had privacy. A couple minutes passed.

Scowling, Shirogane knocked again before trying the doorknob. He swung open the door.

The bed was neat. There was no evidence of the violent fusion that took place the day before. There was a mat on the floor that was undisturbed and a deep red wooden dresser in the corner of the room. Ryuuko had insisted that Shirogane wait a little longer for the fusion as Kazuki was still a little unstable, but Shirogane had argued that Kazuki could take it. Kazuki had agreed with him, as he knew that the faster the fusions were complete, the less work Shirogane and Ryuuko had to do. Ryuuko had given in.

Halfway into the process, the two elements became volatile. Light and Darkness weren't meant to fuse naturally, so they had been extra careful when they attempted it each time. So far, things had been smooth, but they were prepared in case anything happened. And it happened that very night.

Kazuki had been laying on the bed, his eyes shut and his breaths calm. He would almost be mistaken as sleeping, except that his brow was furrowed. Shirogane was sitting on his left side, holding one of his hands, and Ryuuko on the right, holding his other hand.

Shirogane fought to keep the Darkness in his palm under control. The elements battled each other, but Shirogane and Ryuuko were determined to finish the job, as they could not stop in the middle of a fusion without consequences to themselves. They plunged the sizzling elements into Kazuki's chest. That's when it all went to hell.

Kazuki screamed the entire night, Darkness and Light ripping out of his body in waves, tearing up the room and shredding the bed sheets. Since Kazuki's body was meant to hold the two elements, it would do no physical damage to him, though the fusion was always painful. To Kazuki, it felt like his body was being torn apart, shredded, put together again, and then torn apart again. Fire and ice were racing through his nerves, burning him up, but freezing him, all at the same time.

Tears streamed down Kazuki's cheeks as the elements rippled and shredded each other, attempting to find their equilibrium. Shirogane and Ryuuko kept their hands on Kazuki's chest firmly, pouring more Darkness and Light into him, supplying him with the energy Kazuki would need for obtaining equilibrium between the two powerful, pure elements. Kazuki fought against their hold, as always, but it was all in vain. It was something that had to be done.

When it was all over, Ryuuko had scooped Kazuki up, trying to comfort him, despite Kazuki curled up in a ball, pain still fresh on his mind. Shirogane simply swung off his cape and covered Kazuki in it, giving a small look of disapproval to the ruined bed. As it was made with Light particles it would repair itself eventually.

Shirogane turned to Ryuuko.

"It would be a lot easier if we chained up Kazuki before each fusion. It would stop him from thrashing and potentially hurting himself when we're supplying him," Shirogane said, watching Kazuki pass out, yet again, from the pain. Ryuuko shot him a very dark glare.

"He can't help it, Shirogane. We're causing him pain," Ryuuko said, his ruby eyes burning angrily. "Kazuki doesn't want to be chained up for each fusion and I won't force him to be. I just wish it wasn't so painful to him." Ryuuko gave a gentle look to his unconscious son, petting his hair. "Poor Child. To have to suffer through such agony…"

"Ryuuko, we created him for this purpose," Shirogane reminded. "He should be able to take it." Shirogane reached over, petting Kazuki's sweaty forehead.

"He has taken it, Shirogane," Ryuuko said quietly. "Six times now. But it doesn't make it any less agonizing. To him… though he agrees… he must truly dread this day." Ryuuko placed Kazuki's unconscious form on the bed and wrapped Shirogane's cape around him, gently tucking him in the soft black cloth.

Shirogane didn't reply to that, watching Ryuuko dip down to kiss Kazuki on the forehead before getting up. They had work to be done and even though Shirogane knew Ryuuko wanted to stay with their Child until Kazuki woke up, both of them knew they couldn't afford it. Homurabi was coming back soon from the Human World to report.

But now, as Shirogane looked, there was no sign of Kazuki in the room at all. His cape was folded carefully on the bed, right next to Kazuki's pillow. Kazuki usually would stay in bed late the day after fusions, to let the stabilizing elements settle. Perhaps he had gotten hungry?

Shirogane turned towards the kitchens. He wasn't sure if Ryuuko had prepared something for the Child. If he hadn't, Kazuki would be in the kitchen, cooking himself a meal. If he had, then Kazuki would be in the dining room, probably eating.

The kitchen was empty. There was a dry pan in the drying rack, which meant Ryuuko had made something for the child to eat. The cupboards were closed and Ryuuko's tea leaves were neatly stacked in a corner of the counter. There was a single pair of dried chopsticks on a dishtowel, most likely, Shirogane reasoned, Ryuuko's cooking pair.

Shirogane backed out of the kitchen and headed towards the dining room. The door was ajar and Shirogane pushed it open fully to see if Kazuki was inside. He expected to see Kazuki at the table, cheerfully eating breakfast and ready to greet him, but instead, the stench of blood hit his senses. Shirogane looked down.

Kazuki was lying face-down on the floor, a large puddle of blood around him. It looked like someone had taken a whip or a sword to his body. His cape had completely decomposed at this point, his coat was in shreds. As Shirogane watched, almost paralyzed from surprise, another cut appeared on Kazuki's young fragile skin, Darkness ripping his body apart from inside to out. His coat gained another cut, the light particles decomposing from the thin ripple of Darkness from Kazuki's body. It dissolved in the air, broken apart by the Light all around it. The cuts oozed blood, adding to the slowly growing pool beneath him.

Shirogane instantly stooped down and picked up his Child, sweeping back to Kazuki's room. Blood dripped slowly onto the floor leaving a trail behind them. It was then that Shirogane noticed that Kazuki was light, much too light to have been eating well for the past couple days. Kazuki's face was very pale, but one touch to his skin revealed that he had a fever.

He settled Kazuki onto his bed, instantly ripping off the remains of the coat. The sight that greeted him was not a pretty one.

The place where Shirogane had placed his hand the night before was an angry black. Darkness was swirling just under Kazuki's skin, but it did not integrate into Kazuki's factor. Instead, without Shirogane knowing it or, perhaps, understanding it, it merely sat there, the Darkness rotting away the Light that made up Kazuki's body and clothes, causing him to bleed. Kazuki was in his rei form right now, so he had integrated Ryuuko's Light, but found his Darkness much more difficult. The elements had not fused properly.

Shirogane placed his hand on Kazuki's body, trying to draw the Darkness out of it. To his horror, the Darkness did not respond to his command. It did not pull out of Kazuki's body like it should have. It merely sat there, becoming more and more agitated, ripping open Kazuki's skin. Kazuki shrieked in pain, writhing and squirming, curling up, his consciousness returning from bliss of unconsciousness to agony.

Instantly stopping, Shirogane's eyes widened. Now what? Shirogane had no experience being gentle and tender to Kazuki-that was usually Ryuuko's job. He had no idea how to soothe the pain, or how to stop it. This was the first time something like this had happened.

Kazuki was whimpering in pain, his whole body feeling like it was on fire. He curled his arms in towards his body, rolling up and trying to stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks. Each new cut caused Kazuki to scream and cry.

"Stop! Stop! I beg of you! Please stop!" Kazuki wailed.

"How?" Shirogane asked, his voice panicked, his ice blue eyes wild. "How do I stop it? You must tell me Kazuki! You must! I do not know how to stop it!" He was frantic, not knowing what to do or how to do it. Shisui was with Ryuuko right now, in the Human World, too far away to help. Shirogane did not want to leave Kazuki alone, afraid for his Child's health. Kazuki might not survive today at the rate he was losing blood. Shirogane tried to convince himself that the reason he was so worried was because he would have been wasting six years creating Kazuki only to have the other die on him, but, even in his mind, it sounded weak.

"Hot… so… hot… too… dizzy…" Kazuki's words were becoming fainter. Shirogane dashed out of the room, running to a sink and turning on the water. Immediately a jet of cold water shot out and Shirogane dunked a towel under the facet. He watched as the towel became saturated with water before yanking it out and running back to Kazuki, leaving a trail of water behind.

He dabbed his Child's face with the cool towel, Kazuki giving a shuddering breath of relief. Shirogane hesitated before moving to clean the cuts, the white towel quickly becoming soaked in watery blood. Shirogane simply moved to a clean part of the towel, continuing to clean. The cuts still oozed, but just a trickle of blood was left.

Shirogane breathed a soft sigh of relief, picking up Kazuki and carrying him to the bathroom. He turned on the water to the bath as cold as it would get and set Kazuki down on the floor on top of a white, fluffy towel. Kazuki was still very, very pale, the amount of blood he lost enough to kill a human.

Ice was Ryuuko's element. Ice would combat the fire in his Darkness. Shirogane hesitated before running out of the bathroom and out of Kazuki's room, dashing to the kitchen again and opening the freezer. He grabbed three bags of ice, yanking them out and dashing back to Kazuki. He tore them over the bathtub, the ice pouring out of the bag and landing in the cold water. Shirogane shut off the water before picking up the still burning Kazuki and lowering him into the slushy ice bath.

Kazuki gave a shuddering breath, coughing up two mouthfuls of blood, but was then still. For a horrible second, Shirogane thought he had murdered their Child, but then he saw that Kazuki's breathing had become more even, less labored. The cuts stopped oozing completely the second they touched the water and the Darkness on Kazuki's chest faded slowly. Shirogane looked closely, watching the Darkness finally settle in Kazuki's Factor, creeping away from his skin. He gave a sigh of relief.

Kazuki opened his eyes, still very dizzy, but the pain having stopped. He looked at the person still holding him in the water and murmured, "Father…"

Shirogane reached into the icy water, holding one of Kazuki's hands. "Yes. That's right. Your Father is here. Shirogane is here. I'm here to help you." The relief was evident in his voice, his eyes shining a little with tears.

Kazuki closed his eyes again, his head slumping on Shirogane's arm. "I'm… glad…"

Shirogane bit his lip, immensely glad that no one was here with them in the Light Palace. He let Kazuki rest against the edge of the tub and stood up, his hands and one of his arms completely numb from the cold water, but feeling satisfied anyway. He moved back into the kitchen, completely ignoring the mess he had made from his panic, heading to the tea leaves Ryuuko kept.

Looking through the labels and sorting them was somewhat of a challenge for Shirogane. He had never really understood Ryuuko's obsession with tea, nor had he really listened when Ryuuko had been talking about his tea. He regretted it a little now.

He selected one and set down some water to boil. Shirogane wasn't an avid tea maker, but he did understand the basics. He poured the hot water in a teapot and then added the leaves, letting them seep. Washing the pot, Shirogane paused and decided to leave the dried pan and chopsticks where they were. It wasn't like Ryuuko couldn't clean up later.

Shirogane carried the tray of tea back to Kazuki's room. He poured out a cup of tea for his Child, putting it on the tray to cool before heading back to the bathroom where Kazuki was passed out on the edge of the tub. Shirogane reached in the water, pulling his son out and taking a fresh towel to dry him, dabbing him clean of blood and water. The wounds had begun to heal already, though it would take some time for it to completely fade.

Carrying the very pale Kazuki back to bed was simple enough. Shirogane glanced only briefly at his cape before pulling it open and wrapping his son in it again. Kazuki snuggled into it, relaxing.

"Kazuki… wake… You must wake," Shirogane said softly, gently shaking the boy. Kazuki's sapphire eyes opened, looking very tired and only half alert. "Good… You must drink some tea. I prepared some tea for you. Here."

Shirogane tilted up Kazuki, feeding him the tea carefully. Kazuki drank obediently, but only finished half of the cup. Shirogane put the teacup back on the tray, lowering Kazuki back onto his pillow. Kazuki's hand reached over and grabbed Shirogane's coat. Shirogane froze, not wanting to pull away in case Kazuki needed something.

"Father…? Rest… with me?" Kazuki requested quietly. Shirogane hesitated before slowly nodded, lowering himself back onto the bed so that Kazuki was tucked into his chest. Kazuki's eyes closed and his breaths evened out, aided by exhaustion.

Shirogane was feeling quite tired too, though he didn't know why. Was this what Ryuuko did all the time when Kazuki fell ill? He found himself drifting off, wondering when Ryuuko was going to be back.

-0-

Ryuuko stepped back into the Light Palace with Shisui, chatting about the success of repairing tears. They turned the corner and suddenly, Shisui stopped.

"I smell blood," Shusui commented. Ryuuko froze and gave a soft laugh.

"Ah, could it be that Shirogane and Kazuki had a hard day of training?" Ryuuko asked, looking slightly amused. He glanced into the open doors of the living room and then shook his head. They weren't in there relaxing, which meant that they were most likely in Kazuki's room.

"Not this amount. This… is quite strong. Could something have happened?" Shisui asked. Ryuuko hesitated and then dashed the corner. Then he gasped.

There was water and blood all over the floor. It looked like a fight had broken out and someone was seriously hurt. There was evidence of someone being carried back to Kazuki's room from the dining room, Kazuki's food untouched. Ryuuko looked inside and then down at the puddle of blood on the ground. Ryuuko ran into the kitchen, finding his tea slightly out of place and a teapot and cup missing from its place.

"This… oh dear…!" Ryuuko murmured. Shisui was right behind him, following him to Kazuki's room. Ryuuko was about to slam in the door, but Shisui tackled him to the ground.

"Shisui, wha?" Ryuuko asked, looking at him, absolutely bewildered. Shisui placed a finger to his mouth and slowly creaked open the door looking inside.

The bed was bloody, the floor was bloody, and the bathroom door was open. There was a bloody towel on the floor at the foot of Kazuki's bed and another bloody towel in Kazuki's bathroom. The water inside the tub was only tinged pink, though it wasn't hard to figure out that it had been bloody too. The missing teacup and teapot was sitting on the dresser, the cup still half full of cold tea.

Ryuuko's attention, however, was on the two figures curled on the bed. Shirogane's silvery-white hair was stained with blood, but he was wrapped protectively over the sleeping Kazuki. Kazuki was bundled up in Shirogane's cape and tucked into Shirogane's chest, sleeping soundly. Shirogane did not stir when Ryuuko entered, so Ryuuko guessed that Shirogane must have been quite exhausted when he fell asleep.

Shisui gave a small laugh. Though he could not see them, he could hear them. Both sounded exhausted.

Ryuuko crossed the room and picked up the cup of half full tea, examining it. He looked inside the teapot to see tea leaves still swimming in it and gave a small laugh. It was just like Shirogane to forget that he needed to take out the leaves after seeping.

He took a sip of the tea in the cup, placing it back down. It was a perfect cup of Jasmine Green tea.