Thanks to demonprist, Gengkotsuya and sithwitch for helping to beta this. demonprist has also been an inspiration with character development. And thanks to everyone who has commented! The amount of encouragement is incredibly generous.
O has told me that Huis Ten Bosch means 'little house in the forest' in Dutch: the name of the Queen's castle.
miss kittin has done a gorgeous sketch of Muraki nibbling Tsuzuki's gloved hand - so very sexy. It's up at my homepage.
To the staff at the country club, they looked like battle-weary soldiers returning from the war front. The surgeon from Tokyo strode with his head slightly lowered, long silver bangs falling over his eyes, his once-pristine white coat stained with soot and blood. Beside him, separated by several feet, his companion walked with arms folded across his chest, black sunglasses concealing his eyes. Although his dark coat appeared to be in better condition, the tails were singed and ragged.
Stride for stride, their steps were perfectly synchronised despite their distance apart. Between them walked a big cat, head held high, its matted grey fur sticking up at odd angles.
Did they have an argument?
No, not at all, Muraki reassured them. It was a freak lightning strike, nothing more. He was uninjured, and so was his companion. Unfortunately the fifth hole hadn't fared so well.
He had smiled at Tsuzuki then, a feral grin of triumph. Tsuzuki chose to ignore it.
When the manager of the course caught sight of the cat, he politely but firmly insisted Muraki step into his office. Doctor or no doctor - no one was supposed to bring pets onto the golf course. An official reprimand was in order.
Tsuzuki eyed Muraki's car. Without the car keys, he had no choice but to wait outside. Using his powers to enter the car wasn't practical - there was always the danger of being caught in public.
He looked at his bare hands, now dry from being exposed to the air. They looked no different to him. He peered at the creases of his palms, searching for pores or holes - something to explain the torrent of water and ice.
You were the one who defeated him. I merely nourished what lies dormant inside you.
Tsuzuki shoved his hands in his pockets, his heart pounding in his chest. He remembered the scrape of Muraki's nails against his shoulder blade - the sensation of being marked. Something was changing within him. He would be a fool to deny it any longer. How else could he explain his new powers? Or the pain that coursed along his back - the agony Muraki knew how to ease with his touch?
But this wasn't like Saaga's possession. His mind was still his own - for the time being. He still had control over his abilities, didn't he?
He held out his arm, palm forward like a policeman stopping traffic, and tried to summon the water again. He shut his eyes and thought of waves gushing forth to flood everything in their path. He imagined torrential rain drenching the earth.
Nothing happened. Not even a drop of water.
Tsuzuki looked at his palm. Was there a spell to recite? But he didn't speak a word when he attacked Saaga with water. It simply poured forth, obedient to his will.
So maybe he needed Muraki's touch to access Water.
Tsuzuki clenched his hand into a fist. If he needed Muraki's assistance, then he would do without Water. He couldn't afford to depend on Muraki for his powers. His conflicted feelings of lust notwithstanding, Muraki was still the enemy.
Seated on the hood of the car, the cat cleaned itself with indolent carelessness, seemingly unaffected by its growth spurt. It paused in its cleaning routine to watch him.
"You looked cuter as a kitten."
The cat tilted its head at him, then went back to licking its paw.
Tsuzuki reached inside his trenchcoat and pulled out the list. He still didn't know the creature's name. From the look of the soggy ink-smeared papers, they weren't going to be much use. His heart sank as he squinted at the smudged print. This entire day was turning out to be a complete waste of time.
"Excuse me, sir."
Before him stood two young women from the country club. They wore the traditional Dutch dress of colourful striped skirts, black aprons decorated with bright flowers at the waist, black jackets with flowery shawls, and peaked lace caps. On their feet they wore wooden clogs.
Tsuzuki shoved the papers back into his coat, then propped his glasses on his head so he could see them better. "Hi! How can I help you?"
They looked at each other and blushed. One of them burst into embarrassed giggles.
"Is this your car? Do you mind if we take a look at it?"
"Ahh...it's not really my car..."
The giggling one walked around him to peer inside. "It's so cool! I've never seen a Ferrari before!"
"Me neither. I see Porsches now and then, but never a Ferrari." Her friend gaped at the rear engine, visible from behind its transparent glass cover. "What's the fastest speed you've reached? Do you get pulled over by the traffic police a lot?"
"No, no." Tsuzuki let out a sheepish laugh. "We make sure to stay within the speed limits." He sobered suddenly as he remembered his work. "Speeding is dangerous, you know."
The giggling one lifted her head from the window. "Can you take me for a ride? Please? I want to sit in a car like this before I die!"
The cat yowled at her, baring its fangs.
Tsuzuki pulled her away from the animal. "Someone so young and pretty shouldn't think such morbid thoughts."
The other girl grabbed his arm. "You must be rich to afford a car like this! What work do you do? Do you live around here? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Tsuzuki laughed and tried to disengage himself. "I don't have time for such things! I'm too busy working..." He saw the quizzical looks they gave him. "...on my golf game."
"Oh, please, let me sit in the car. I promise I won't touch anything!"
"I can't believe a man as good-looking as you doesn't have a girlfriend!" Her friend rested her head on Tsuzuki's shoulder. "Are you doing anything this evening? I finish work in a couple of hours."
Tsuzuki blushed bright red. Despite all his years as a human, then as a Shinigami, he never knew how to refuse a pretty face. "I...umm...that's nice of you to offer but-"
A prickling sensation at the back of his neck made him turn around.
It was Muraki, standing directly behind him, unmoving apart from the silver hair that fell over his forehead. In his white suit, he looked as immaculate as ever - the soiled trenchcoat was draped over one arm.
"Excuse me." Muraki's gaze pinned Tsuzuki to the spot. "Am I interrupting anything?"
"Uh...no, not at all. These ladies here were interested in your car."
Both women were transfixed, like rabbits caught in the headlight of his aura. They stared at him with round eyes, lips parted in wonder, too awestruck to respond.
Muraki's gaze drifted from their hands - clutching each of Tsuzuki's arms - up to Tsuzuki's flushed face. "Not only my car, I see."
Tsuzuki lowered his head, feeling oddly guilty and annoyed with himself. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong.
Muraki graced both women with a warm smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I am afraid Tsuzuki-san and I are in a hurry to leave. Perhaps we can take you for a ride the next time we visit."
His velvet voice awoke them from their enchantment. They released Tsuzuki as once.
"Thank you so much, sensei!"
"Yes, please! I'll be looking forward to it!"
Muraki bowed to them. "Good day, ladies." But when he lifted his head, his penetrating gaze was fixed only on Tsuzuki.
They bowed in return and scattered like pheasants before the hunter's rifle. Neither man noticed their absence.
"Did you call them over?"
"They were curious about the car, so they came to have a look. I just happened to be here as well." Tsuzuki shifted uneasily under Muraki's unblinking stare. "What's wrong with me talking to other people?"
"Are you sure you didn't summon them?"
"Summon them? You mean like shikigami?" Tsuzuki laughed, his tension evaporating. "Of course not! They have their own free will."
Muraki raised his brows, but his tension eased a little. "Am I hearing this correctly? You, as a Shinigami responsible for summoning souls to the afterlife, believe humans on earth possess free will?"
"The living don't have a say in the circumstances surrounding their birth or death, but they are given the freedom to make choices during their lifetime. The activities of the living are beyond the jurisdiction of JuOhCho. The only exception is when there are aberrations between the souls entering Meifu compared to the expected numbers according to the Kiseki - that's when we Shinigami are called in to investigate." He paused to look at Muraki, his expression serious. "As you well know."
"So I do." Muraki grinned, unrepentant. "But I don't have to resort to such drastic measures anymore. I am a changed man now that you are here."
Tsuzuki snorted in disbelief. "You have more power at your command than ever before, and a little friend to assist you in your schemes." He pointed at the cat. "If anything, I suspect you've changed for the worst."
The cat meowed loudly at Tsuzuki.
"Maybe so. But I'm not the only one who's changing, ne?"
Tsuzuki's eyes flashed. "What do you know about it?"
"There's no need to fear change, Tsuzuki-san. It's merely a part of growing up." Muraki unlocked the car. "Come, let us leave before the young ladies return to tear you from limb to limb. I recognised the look in their eyes all too well."
Muraki drove through the Huis Ten Bosch resort, past wooden windmills with blades lazily slicing the humid air, bright beds of bobbing tulips hugging cobblestone roads, narrow canals with little cruise boats carrying snap-happy tourists, and rows of terrace houses in hues of white, dark brown, slate grey and terracotta.
Tsuzuki's nose was glued to the window while the cat dozed in his lap, a heavy weight that smelt of sulphur and ash. This place looked nothing like Japan at all. Only the ethnicity of the people they passed seemed a little out of kilter with the image of a Dutch trading port. And the odd taxi cab.
"So much for being a faithful reproduction of a 17th Century town," he muttered as one of the vintage cars trundled past.
Muraki smiled. "The tourists don't mind. Their fascination with history extends only so far; they still want their modern conveniences when they return to their rooms at the end of the day. Considering the hotel tariff, I can hardly blame them."
"So you've been here before?"
"Once. I attended a conference held here a few years ago. It left a great impression on me, so I wanted you to see it. This beautiful historical façade cannibalised from the Old World is merely an empty shell of rosy memories. This is the Netherlands for tourists who long for quaint prettiness without the ugliness of modern reality - a decadent monument to humanity's infinite capacity for self-delusion." He cast Tsuzuki a sidelong look. "I thought you would feel right at home here."
Tsuzuki stared out the window, and said nothing.
Their destination was Hotel Den Haag, a grand brick-red building with tall rectangular windows gilded in white and topped by steeply sloping slate grey rooftops. A big sailing ship was moored before the hotel, sails neatly furled, its three masts taller than the hotel itself. Tsuzuki went to admire it while Muraki took out the golf bag.
"Amazing! I didn't know such ships were still in working condition."
"They aren't. This is a replica of a 19th century Dutch warship. The original is either at the bottom of the ocean or rotted away thanks to termites."
Tsuzuki shielded his eyes from the sun to admire it. "Replica or not, it's still beautiful."
"It's merely a rickety wooden boat." Muraki grabbed Tsuzuki and dragged him into the hotel with one arm, while the other pulled the golf bag. "Come, we must check in."
"Hey! Aren't we going to take a look around?"
"I have to feed. If you're in the mood later, we can have dinner and explore the grounds."
"Muraki!" Tsuzuki lowered his voice to a harsh whisper as a bellhop took the golf bag. "You are out of your mind!" But there was a kindling heat within his groin, and his insides were twisting with anticipation.
"Out of my mind for you? Certainly - guilty as charged. But you must believe in yourself, Tsuzuki-san." Muraki slid one hand around his waist and nuzzled his ear. "I know you can do it."
Tsuzuki tried to writhe free as they made their way across the lobby. "Don't do this in public, idiot!"
Sharp teeth bit his earlobe, and the arm around his waist became a stranglehold. "You hypocrite. You let those women touch you, but you forbid me to do the same."
"That's different! They aren't like you!"
"Did you enjoy it?" Muraki sneered. "Did you prefer their mindless fawning? Would you rather bask in the attention of those beneath you, reassured of your own superiority?"
"What?"
But Muraki was no longer listening. He released Tsuzuki and began talking to the concierge about a room for the night, once again his charming debonair self.
The quicksilver shift in manner left Tsuzuki bemused. Could Muraki be jealous? Did he wish the girls had flocked to him instead? But surely Muraki noticed the way they hung onto his every word, virtually ignoring Tsuzuki the second they saw him. What more could he want? Even now, talking to the concierge about the limited vacancies during the holiday season, Muraki managed to secure a room for the night with ease.
Such skill in dealing with people was a talent Tsuzuki envied. It was amazing how easily others fell captive to Muraki's charm. What was it about him? Tsuzuki wished he could exercise a fraction of the same command over others. The women hadn't hesitated to grab him like a stuffed toy - but with Muraki they were deferential of his personal space. The way they treated him - it was as if they knew he was not like other mortals.
Even Saagatanus - he had mocked Muraki too, but there had been a trace of deference in his manner when speaking to him. Grudging admiration of a subordinate to his superior. Tsuzuki had never heard a demon address a human in such a way before.
And of course, there was the way Muraki manipulated him. What about the demon alliance? What about the feline? He was no closer to an answer to any of these questions, but here he was, placidly going along with Muraki's plans. He was no better than any of them - in fact, he was worse because he knew what Muraki was, yet followed him anyway.
Brooding over this as they were taken up to their room, he didn't realise something was amiss until they were in the elevator with the bellhop.
"Where's your cat?"
Muraki blinked at him. "I beg your pardon?"
"Your cat." Tsuzuki looked down at Muraki's feet, expecting to see the animal curled around his legs. "Didn't you bring it with you?"
"Pets are forbidden in this establishment," the bellhop told them.
"I completely agree with such regulations. The presence of animals would be most unhygienic and a potential health hazard." Muraki looked closely at Tsuzuki. "You must be mistaken, Tsuzuki-san. Are you sure you took your tablets this morning?"
"Tablets? I'm not on any-"
"You forgot again, didn't you? It's just as well I brought them along with me." With one hand, Muraki lifted his jaw. His nails pressed against the underside of his jaw as he kissed Tsuzuki lightly on the forehead - a silent threat clothed in tenderness. "Don't worry about the imaginary cat any longer."
Tsuzuki nodded and pulled away, more to avoid attention from the curious bellhop than to please Muraki. So where was the cat? He tried using his spiritual sense, and could definitely sense something. Was it invisible to his eyes? Was it now so powerful it knew how to hide from him?
Inside their luxuriously appointed suite, he discovered the truth. The moment Muraki shut the door, the cat leapt out of the golf bag onto the thick pile carpet.
"Bath for you," Muraki said. He shrugged out of his jacket, took off his tie and began folding up the sleeves of his shirt.
The four-poster bed, completewith a lace canopy, took pride of place by the large windows. It was covered with a cream damask bedspread decorated with twining leaves and roses. Matching ruffled pillows were scattered before the ornate headboard. It was the type of bed a bride would choose for a Western-themed honeymoon - lavishly romantic and feminine with an antique charm.
Tsuzuki gawked at it, fascinated and horrified. This was wrong, all wrong. His heart hammered in his chest as he imagined what they would be doing on it later.
Muraki squeezed his shoulder. "Believe me, I share your eagerness. But first things first - we must cleanse ourselves before we come to you. It would be sacrilegious if we came to you tainted with that worm's blood, ne?"
Tsuzuki shook him off. "Don't talk such nonsense. This has nothing to do with me."
Muraki's lips thinned. "As you wish." He turned on his heel and went into the bathroom.
Tsuzuki blinked. More accustomed to Muraki fondling him against his will, he couldn't quite believe Muraki's ready acquiescence. It could only be a temporary truce - later he would revert to his usual demanding self.
From the window he could see the sparkling blue water of Omura Bay. He placed his palms on the window sill and took deep breaths in and out to calm his mind. Behind him, he could hear the sound of running water.
Admit it. You want him. That's the real reason you're here.
Tsuzuki pulled out the crumpled list of names, covered in watermarks and ink stains. He flattened them against the glass and tried to memorise the few legible names left.
You're no better than him. In fact you're worse - for all his delusional thinking, at least he is honest about his needs.
Tsuzuki scrunched the papers into a tight ball and hurled them to the floor.
Muraki was still the puppet master, manipulating everyone around him - including demons and one foolish Shinigami. Saagatanus was summoned and destroyed, his demonic feline absorbing the energy to become a stronger entity - all of it was in accordance with Muraki's plans. The surge of water that erupted from his hands...that was Muraki's doing too.
He was under no illusion that Muraki was his ally. Muraki engineered the entire confrontation with Saaga, and in doing so mocked Duke Ashitarote's authority by annihilating one of his chosen deputies. Even EnmaDaiOh did not escape Muraki's thinly-veiled contempt.
This was not the behaviour of a human working under a demonic contract - such damned individuals hid their relationship with the demon world, preferring to work in secret to avoid discovery from humans and other demons.
Tsuzuki rested his forehead against the window pane. Maybe Muraki was insane, but that didn't explain the chaos he wrought around him.
Unless...
A binding alliance ratified by blood.
For no other would I willingly sacrifice so much.
For all Muraki's sneering condescension, Tsuzuki could tell he was suffering. His desperation to 'feed,' the visible hollows at the base of his neck, his cachectic physique of skin and bone...
"No." Tsuzuki clenched his hands into fists, his white knuckles pressing against the window sill. "I just wanted the pain to end. We who hurt others richly deserve our punishment - but I never intended you to suffer like this."
A familiar must feed from its master to survive. So must I feed from you.
"You're the liar, Muraki. I can't see you serving any master, least of all me."
Cold wetness lined his palms and trickled between the web of his fingers.
But it was his name on Muraki's false eye. It was the scars from his stabbing that adorned Muraki's side like a grotesque brand. These were all signs of his own culpability for Muraki's demonic covenant. The standard procedure for dealing with a human held under a contract was drilled into all Shinigami as part of their training - the demon had to be exorcised then bound, the contract severed. Then, and only then, could the individual be sent to JuOhCho for judgment.
He should have known. He, who had dealt with Muraki in person on several occasions, knew the man was more than human, yet never thought more about it. The Shoukanka never ordered an investigation, and he went along with their decision as befitting a model employee. Ignorance was bliss - until it haunted one later with the twin spectres of guilt and regret.
"My mistake, my responsibility," he muttered to himself. "I will replace the blood that was spilled. I will exorcise this demon. I will break this covenant if it's the last thing I do!"
A twinge of prickling heat sizzled across his shoulder blades.
Tsuzuki pulled his coat off and let it fall to the floor, followed by his jacket. He reached around to scratch his back...and found the palm of his hand was soaking wet. His other palm was the same.
Quickly he held out both arms in front of him, and focused his mind. He thought of swollen rivers breaking their banks, massive waves crashing against sandstone cliffs. He did his best to think of water's destructive power.
Nothing. But at least the heat over his back was gone.
Hopelessly perplexed, he bent to pick up his clothes. He had enough problems to deal with without adding his unpredictable powers to the mix.
Silence fell over the suite as the running water stopped. There were no splashing noises to be heard. He couldn't even hear the sound of Muraki's voice.
Quietly Tsuzuki went to the bathroom doorway to investigate.
Polished marble tiles in hues of cream and peach lined the floor and walls. The fittings were polished brass. Muraki knelt by the claw-foot bath, forearms resting on the edge. Perched on the far end of the bath was the cat, clinging to the porcelain as it eyed the bath in wide-eyed horror.
"Is grey its new colour?" Tsuzuki asked.
"That's what we're about to find out." Muraki held out his hand to the cat. "Come now."
The cat meowed plaintively and refused to move closer.
Muraki sighed. "I understand." He reached out to scratch behind its ears. "But you fed off that worm and survived, ne? You have nothing to fear."
The cat meowed again.
"This is for your own good." Muraki picked it up by the scruff of the neck and, ignoring the yowls of protest, firmly lowered it into the bath.
"Hey! It might drown!"
Muraki merely smiled. "Not at all. Look."
The cat was in the bath, its head visible. The water level was only a quarter full, allowing it to stand in the bath. Its legs moved like little pistons as it waded through the water.
"I didn't know cats could swim." Tsuzuki knelt by the bath to watch. The cat squinted up at him and yowled pitifully. "It doesn't seem too happy about it."
"It has more reason than most to dislike water." When Muraki tried to stroke the creature, it hissed and swiped at his hand. "Fool," he scolded it. "No demon can live by fire alone. Remember what happened to Saaga today."
The cat became still. It let Muraki stroke the fur on its head and behind its ears.
"That is better." He scooped some water into his palm and let it trickle over the creature's head. Apart from scrunching its eyes shut, it remained still. "This day I cleanse you with water, but there is one who will come after me, one whose name I am not worthy to utter; he will replenish you anew with all five of the elements: Fire's heat, Earth's fecundity, Water's purity, Metal's strength, and Wood's vigour. May he reveal himself soon to us, the wretched souls who await deliverance."
The cat opened its eyes and blinked at him.
Tsuzuki felt an odd sensation inside him. A slight itch began across his shoulder blades. "Is...is this a prayer?"
"An old one that has gone unanswered for too long." Muraki's smile was oddly wistful. "Could you pass me the shampoo bottle?"
Muraki poured a generous amount in the water. The cat meowed as froth and bubbles clung to its fur. Its frantic paddling only created more foam, which annoyed it further.
"You're only making it worse for yourself," Muraki said.
Tsuzuki took pity on it. He held out his hands to the animal. "You poor thing. Come here."
The cat yowled in terror. It scrambled back to Muraki and scrabbled against the side of the bath, its front claws sliding over the porcelain. It fell back in with a big splash, drenching Muraki.
Muraki snorted. "Enough of this nonsense!"
The cat took a running jump and leapt out of the bath into Muraki's arms. Muraki grimaced as he found himself holding a wet writhing mass of fur in his arms.
"What did I do wrong?" Tsuzuki blinked in astonishment. "I was only trying to help."
Muraki looked from him to the cat, then back to him again. "Let me see your hands."
"Why?"
"It fears your hands. Show them to me."
Reluctantly Tsuzuki held them palm up to reveal their glistening dampness.
Muraki was mesmerised. "You never once touched the bath water. Did you do this yourself?"
"I...I'm not sure. It just happened a few minutes ago, before I came in."
"I see." He placed the cat on the floor and reached for a towel hanging on a nearby rack. "Let me dry them for you."
"It's all right." Awkwardly Tsuzuki wiped his hands on his trousers. "I didn't think your cat would mind - I mean, it was already soaked-"
"I want to do this for you," Muraki insisted. He shook his head when Tsuzuki tried to take the towel. "This is my responsibility and privilege." Still on his knees, he gestured to the toilet with its closed lid. "Please be seated."
His manner was deferential, yet Tsuzuki recognised the implied order. Puzzled, he decided to follow Muraki's bizarre request. If he was going to wrestle Muraki from the covenant, he couldn't afford to anger him over trivial matters.
The cat scurried behind Muraki for protection. It tentatively peeked out as Muraki knelt before Tsuzuki and enclosed both his hands in a fluffy towel.
"It remembers what you did to Saagatanus," Muraki explained. He lifted one of Tsuzuki's hands, now covered with the towel, and gently dried between each finger. "Without the use of fuda or shikigami, you extinguished it yourself. What you did today will shake the foundations of the Demon World."
"I didn't do anything. You were the one who channelled power through me. Who does it belong to? Where does it come from?"
"Hush, hush." Muraki's voice was gentle. "Change is an inevitable part of growing up. There is nothing to fear."
"I'm already an adult, you idiot! I've lived for several decades longer than you."
Muraki was drying the thumb and the palm, rubbing the towel over his skin. "I am not referring to your corporeal form." He looked up at Tsuzuki, his gaze earnest and intense. "Can't you feel the change in your powers? Doesn't it excite you? Don't you want to learn how to wield them to your advantage?"
"I have no use for powers loaned to me from another. Tell your demon it can keep its power to itself." He looked at the cat, still cowering behind Muraki. Something wasn't right. If it was responsible for the covenant, why did it fear his wet hands? Surely this would be in accordance with its plans.
"Such wilful blindness. Enma has you well and truly under his thumb." Muraki shook his head as he began to dry the other hand.
"Why is your cat hiding? Water won't affect it, especially now that it's trapped in physical form. It survived within Saaga's belly as a parasite even as its host drowned."
Muraki turned. "Are you listening? Even Tsuzuki-san recognises your foolishness."
The cat meowed, and rubbed its head against Muraki's hip.
"Unfortunately it still thinks like a demon," Muraki explained. "All demons fear an attack of elemental Water - to have one's Fire extinguished is to risk annihilation. All their huffing and puffing is merely hot air." His voice was mocking, but it was difficult to say who was the target of his sarcasm. "They know that without their Fire, they are not worthy of the title demon at all. They are simply dogs chained to the dead hand of Ashitarote's puppet governance."
The cat meowed again as if in agreement.
"You are little better," he said to the cat. "Your only purpose in life is to eat and make a nuisance of yourself."
The cat mewed plaintively.
"Puppet governance?" Tsuzuki repeated. "But Duke Ashitarote is the ruler of the demon hierarchy. How can someone else tell him what to do?"
"Demons are not what they once were. They accept the meagre concessions granted by the powers that reside in Meifu, pitifully eager for the scraps thrown their way. They are willing to sacrifice and cannibalise their own to preserve their fragile existence." Muraki's lower lip curled in disgust. "They have forgotten their heritage, so this is their punishment."
"You know a great deal about demon affairs," Tsuzuki commented.
Muraki began to dry the other hand with meticulous care. "And you do not as Enma's right-hand man?"
"I'm merely a Shinigami assigned to the Kyushu area. We follow the directives of the JuOhCho court administration - the menial jobs that keep the court proceedings running smoothly. The affairs of the demon hierarchy are not my concern."
Muraki cast him a sceptical look. "Then why do you keep so many shikigami?"
"Often the cases I work on involve demons, and I'm called in to fight them."
"Using all twelve?"
"Well, no - one is enough. I rely on Suzaku and her Fire the most - and she causes enough damage by herself without summoning the others to join in." Tsuzuki shrugged sheepishly. "It's hardly any wonder I don't see any of my wages: I'm too busy paying repair bills."
"You should summon the Holy Dragon. He is one of your shikigami, ne?" Muraki slowly worked the towel between each of Tsuzuki's fingers. "His Water would drown any demonic fire with ease, and perhaps avoid the same damage."
"Water damage instead of Fire damage, huh?" Tsuzuki chuckled. "Souryuu doesn't like to be disturbed without good reason, though. He has his hands full keeping the peace among the spirits of Gensoukai."
"Maybe so, but he has pledged to serve you. If you do not summon him, he will think you do not need him and become lax in his service."
Tsuzuki looked at Muraki curiously. How strange it felt to discuss his shikigami with another person. He seldom talked about his shikigami to others in the Shoukanka. After all, he didn't want to appear boastful or arrogant, and he knew some of his workmates - especially Terazuma - were envious of the power he could wield.
But Muraki didn't seem to mind at all. He wasn't jealous or awestruck - maybe he could afford to be blasé after dealing with unpredictable and capricious demons. Or perhaps Muraki wanted to learn about his shikigami for his own nefarious purposes. He claimed Tsuzuki's power was superior to his shikigami, but Tsuzuki didn't believe it for a moment. In any case, he would be a fool to tell Muraki too much.
"I don't need to summon Sourryu that often. Suzaku's Fire power is more than a match for any demon."
"As it should be. The Red Bird is Fire incarnate - all others are smouldering embers in comparison." Muraki finished patting the other hand dry. "There, all done." He traced one of the palms with his index finger. "You have such beautiful hands, Tsuzuki-san. Long and slender, yet imbued with such power..." He lifted it up to kiss the back of one hand.
Tsuzuki turned red, and pulled his hand away. "How did you survive Suzaku's flames in Nagasaki? You never explained to me how you managed such a feat."
"You never asked."
"I'm asking now."
Muraki sat back on his knees, an amused smile playing about his lips. "So you are, but I fear you will not believe the truth if I were to tell you."
Tsuzuki rested his elbows on his thighs so he could look Muraki in the eye. "How can you expect me to believe your claims about my power when you never reveal the source behind your own? I can only take you seriously if you have evidence to back up your statements. Why, for all I know, you could merely be Saagatanus's 'false prophet'."
Muraki's good eye narrowed. "Saaga knows nothing. He lived as he died - a dog to the end." He pulled out a pair of violet gloves from his trouser pocket and almost threw them into Tsuzuki's lap. "You are never to repeat that worm's words to me again. I will not tolerate such heresy, even from you. Now put these on."
"You brought along a spare?"
"I keep several for emergencies. You must wear them until you have greater mastery of your powers. It was remiss of me to leave you ungloved for so long."
Tsuzuki slipped his hands into them and did up the cuffs, but he wasn't pleased about it. "But I defeated Saaga on my own," he challenged, hurling Muraki's words back at him. "Just now I made water appear on my hands. Isn't that a sign of greater mastery?"
Muraki snorted as he rose to his feet. "No master would idly summon an elemental power without conscious thought."
"It wasn't like that! I was thinking at the time-"
"Of what? Those young women?" His thin lips curled in disgust.
Tsuzuki looked blankly at Muraki. "You mean at the golf course?"
"Were you thinking of how to impress them? Perhaps you could offer them a glass of iced water. I'm sure they would be thrilled with such infantile trickery." Muraki turned away and hurled the towel to the floor. "Perhaps if you practised long enough, you could serve soda water and iceblocks-"
"No, dammit! I hardly know them! I was thinking of...of..."
Muraki looked at him over his shoulder. "Of what?"
Tsuzuki lowered his gaze as the truth hit home: during the battle with Saagatanus, and here in the hotel suite, it was the thought of one person alone that brought Water forth. "Why does it matter who or what I was thinking about? We both know this power is no more mine than you are!"
Muraki chuckled without humour as he swung around. "You are such a hopeless liar, Tsuzuki-san. Do you think you can fool me?" He seized Tsuzuki's wrist and pulled him to his feet. "Come. I think it's time I reminded you of your prior obligations."
"Obligations? What-" Tsuzuki stumbled after him. "But what about your cat?"
The feline peered up from beneath the towel Muraki had thrown on the floor.
"It knows where to find us."
Muraki only released him when they reached the four-poster bed. Tsuzuki, for all his outward reluctance, didn't resist.
"You said you know how to undress yourself, ne?" Muraki began to undress by pulling the ends of his shirt free of his trousers. "And you did such a good job last time." His grey eyes, false and true, cut through Tsuzuki's clothes like a knife.
"Muraki, I..." Tsuzuki took a nervous step back. He suddenly wished he had kept his coat and jacket on. "Let me explain what happened with those ladies-"
"I know already." With one hand, Muraki undid his collar button with a sharp twist of nimble fingers. "They took one look at you and wanted you. Even with their minuscule spiritual sense, they knew you could fill what they lacked within themselves."
"No, idiot! They just wanted to look at your car!"
Muraki took off his glasses and placed them on the nightstand. "If you recall, Tsuzuki-san, it wasn't my car they were fondling." The rest of the buttons of Muraki's linen shirt came undone, one by one.
"They were just...being friendly." Tsuzuki couldn't drag his gaze from Muraki's torso. In the afternoon sun, he could clearly see the prominence of Muraki's ribcage, the concavity of his abdomen. All skin and bone...
"Is that what you call it?" With his shirt open, Muraki shrugged it off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. In the light of day, the scars stood out as angry purple-red slashes, appearing even darker against his pale skin that Tsuzuki remembered. He strode towards Tsuzuki and seized his jaw, forcing him to meet his eyes. "Then why don't we be 'friendly' this very minute, Tsuzuki-san? If you can be friendly with them, you can do the same for me." With that, Muraki kissed him hard.
His ravenous brutality sparked Tsuzuki's desire in a way loving tenderness never could. His gloved hands came around to clutch Muraki's shoulder blades, restlessly shifting up and down his spine, tracing sharp bone and lean flesh. He arched up into the kiss, lips parting freely, all the better to accommodate Muraki's aggression.
Their journey here, the golf game, even the battle with Saagatanus might never have been - their lust simply arced across the missing hours, continuing from where they left off in Muraki's apartment.
Muraki's hands wrenched at his belt, almost tearing at the fly of Tsuzuki's trousers in his eagerness. "Tsuzuki-san...help me..."
Tsuzuki wasn't listening. He pressed biting kisses against the pale skin clinging to the bones of Muraki's shoulder, savouring the sweat that dewed his skin and the twitch of living muscle. He swept across the scars, blindly tracing their contours with his gloved hands. Even through the velvet fabric, he could still feel their irregular texture and varying thickness, a network of markings that would have slain a normal man.
"I must feed," Muraki muttered against Tsuzuki's ear. "This way is the best. The essence is strongest here." He yanked Tsuzuki's belt free of the loops, unzipped the fly, then reached inside.
"Ahhh." Tsuzuki bucked wildly, eyes glazing over as Muraki stroked his cock from shaft to crown, and back down again in a steady sure rhythm. His trousers and underpants slid off, leaving him clad in his white shirt and tie. "Muraki...don't..."
"Don't be so greedy." Muraki's voice was a low husky growl. "I have indulged you twice - no, three times if you count this afternoon. Do you want to drain me until I am an empty husk?" Abruptly he released Tsuzuki and shoved him back against the mattress, then pulled the rest of Tsuzuki's clothing free of his ankles.
Tsuzuki sat up, still wearing his shirt, and tore at his own tie to loosen it. Saliva filled his mouth as he remembered how he'd tasted Muraki earlier. "Muraki...I didn't finish that first time..."
"Not now." Muraki clambered between Tsuzuki's legs and seized his erection, making him groan aloud. "You have been spoiled for too long - indulged to excess. I vowed never to fall into the same trap, but I never knew how persuasive you could be. You beguiled me as cleverly as you trick everyone around you." He lowered his head and nibbled the velvet soft crown with his lips until he tasted precome oozing from the slit. "Mmm." He lapped at it with his tongue while his hand remained firm over the shaft. "Delicious."
Tsuzuki shook his head in denial, even as his cock throbbed within Muraki's grasp. The wet caresses against his cock elicited a pleasure so rich and refined he found it intolerable to bear. He grabbed Muraki's silver hair and tried to pull him off. Muraki seized his wrist and held it by his side.
"Stop...please..."
"There's no turning back - not now, not ever. I won't be swayed by your entreaties again."
A throaty growl left Tsuzuki's throat. "Muraki...you..." He writhed against the bed, squirming to free himself, but Muraki's weight pinned his trembling lower legs.
"This imbalance cannot continue any longer!" he snarled. His steely gaze hypnotised Tsuzuki. "The cycles are chaotic, the elements in discord. This is the only way left." He bent his head and took Tsuzuki into his mouth.
Tsuzuki couldn't breathe. He gasped, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he twisted against the ecstasy. His hands gripped the bedspreadbeneath him, balling the material between his clenched fingers.
For all Muraki's icy impatience, there was nothing cold about his mouth. Warm, wet and welcoming, he enveloped Tsuzuki without hesitation, his tongue whipping around the shaft while his throat relaxed to draw Tsuzuki deeper with painstaking slowness.
"You're...you're torturing me. Damn you..."
Muraki sighed, his breath warm against Tsuzuki's groin. He slid his mouth back to expose the shaft to the shock of cool air, and lapped over the delicate crown once more. His hair fell over Tsuzuki's groin and thighs, tickling his skin and obscuring Tsuzuki's view. All Tsuzuki could see was a silver cascade between his legs, the hunched shoulders on either side and the bony arm that reached up to grip his gloved wrist - all gilded a burnished gold by the afternoon sun.
He looked so thin and pale. Was this 'feeding' so much to ask? Tsuzuki wasn't even sure it would work...but if it helped him, even a little...
Tsuzuki squeezed his eyes shut as Muraki went down on him again. He didn't have to see - he could feel the slick hardness of teeth against his shaft, the yielding warmth as he slid against the inside of a cheek, the insistent caress of Muraki's tongue. Fear and excitement coiled within his gut at the conflicting mix of sensations.
Who was he kidding? He wanted this, needed this, as much as Muraki.
Sensing his waning resistance, Muraki let the cock slide free and tossed his hair back to look Tsuzuki's way. "This is how it should be between us. This is the completion of the cycle that binds us together, the one you set in motion with your own hand."
Tsuzuki struggled to get his gasping breaths under control. "What...cycle..."
"As you drained me once, so you will restore me anew. But like any cycle, it can switch direction, ne?" Tilting his head to one side, he ran the edge of his teeth along the thickness of Tsuzuki's shaft.
A whimper left Tsuzuki's throat. His heart pounded in his chest, every muscle tensed as he dreaded Muraki's next move. To pull away would risk agonising injury, but to remain still was no less of a gamble. This implicit threat couldn't be ignored. For all the pleasure they gave each other, this exquisite intimacy was no less dangerous than fighting Saagatanus. But Tsuzuki stayed where he was, held down by fear of pain...and the wild hope of release.
"But not yet." Muraki's voice was husky and soft as he chastely kissed the slit. "Not for a long time yet." Holding Tsuzuki's gaze, Muraki took his erection, gleaming with saliva and precome, into his mouth.
Watching was the last straw. Physical sensation and vision converged together in a lightning bolt that short-circuited reason and doubt.
Tsuzuki couldn't say no any longer: not to Muraki nor himself.
Falling back against the bed, Tsuzuki arched his hips, guiding his cock into Muraki's throat.
It was exactly what Muraki wanted. He made a deep humming sound that sent delicious vibrations rippling from Tsuzuki's cock to encompass his entire body, and began sucking him off in earnest. He released Tsuzuki's wrist and guided his thighs up so his knees were bent.
Tsuzuki moaned, grateful for the shift in posture - now he could use his heels to rock in and out of Muraki's demanding mouth, a willing participant in his own enslavement. It was a different kind of pleasure to the rough urgency of fucking - a refined filigree of sweet sensation that blossomed at Muraki's touch, only to wind around his nerve endings and bind him with its tendrils of torturous bliss.
This felt so incredibly good. Tsuzuki revelled in this pleasure without question. Such selfishness was an indulgence he once reserved for food alone - so to focus purely on this gift was a luxury beyond price. Lost in the spell Muraki wove with his mouth, Tsuzuki felt like a god. What deity would turn away the offering of his most devoted follower? It would be nothing short of cruelty - for them both.
"Free yourself. Let yourself go." Muraki graced every inch of Tsuzuki's groin with the lash of his tongue, and caressed the testicles that rested tightly against his body. He tugged at them gently, guiding them down so he could suckle them with his lips. When they twitched and tried to escape, he chuckled and brought them down again. "Even you - there's no need to be shy. You don't have to hide any longer, ne?"
"Ahhh..." Tsuzuki's harsh panting breaths echoed in the room. That part of him was too sensitive - even Muraki's lightest touches felt like bittersweet agony. He grit his teeth to silence himself, but the room wasn't completely quiet - there was still the restless shift of their sweat-damp bodies, the faint creaking of the timber bed beneath them, and the wet sounds of Muraki's mouth. Tsuzuki shook his head wildly. He couldn't take much more of this. His hips were tiring, the muscles of his lower back knotting with tension. His shirt clung to his heaving chest, damp with sweat. With clumsy fingers he fumbled to undo the buttons, but this routine task was beyond him. He gave up after removing the first two.
Muraki released him for a moment. "How much longer...must I wait?" He let out a whimpering growl of frustration. "I feel the cracks...but I cannot hold out much longer."
"What?" With his mind so fogged with sensation, Tsuzuki could barely understand the words.
"So close..." Muraki sucked on his fingers, then slid them within Tsuzuki. Using his mouth he swallowed Tsuzuki's cock once more.
Tsuzuki cried out, his body jerking to life, his erection swelling to the point of pain. He tried to rock against the mattress, energised once more, but Muraki's weight pinned down his hips. All he could do was clutch the sheets and groan against the conflicting sensations that propelled his trembling body to the limit of its endurance.
His cock throbbed, his prostate ached - he wanted to come so badly. Anything to end such torturous pleasure...
"Please...Muraki, please..."
Muraki suddenly clambered up to lie on the bed beside him, gasping for breath. His eyes were scrunched shut in pain. Sweat dewed his forehead. His lips, glistening wet, were twisted into a rictus of unbearable torment.
Tsuzuki looked down. Muraki's trousers were taut across his groin, his erection straining against the cloth.
"The limitations...of the human form..." Muraki laughed bitterly. "Weak...fallible...never good enough..."
Shame filled Tsuzuki. So preoccupied with his own pleasure, he had forgotten about Muraki's. Awkwardly he sat up and dragged his half unbuttoned shirt over his head, then reached for Muraki's trousers. "Let me help."
Muraki shook his head, but he was too exhausted to resist. With narrowed glittering eyes, he watched Tsuzuki undo his belt and fly and yank everything off. His erection leapt into Tsuzuki's palm the moment he touched it, hard and hot and heavy even through the gloves.
Tsuzuki caressed it slowly, fascinated by the way it twitched under his fingers. The scent of male musk made his mouth water. "It's good enough for me," he murmured.
"Don't-"
Tsuzuki swooped.
Muraki grabbed his hair and yanked him away. "No!"
Tsuzuki didn't care. He squeezed the shaft, ignoring Muraki's anguished groan, until precome oozed over the crown. He caught the drops with his gloved fingers and brought it to his lips, but the fabric absorbed most of the liquid before he could taste it.
"Fool. You are going to pay for that later." Muraki pulled Tsuzuki down by his side and kissed him fiercely. His tongue invaded Tsuzuki's mouth as he tried to retrieve what had already been taken.
Tsuzuki broke free and ground their hips together. Their cocks rubbed against each other, a delicious friction that made them both tremble.
"You don't want to break it, do you?" Muraki muttered. "It's the only...logical explanation."
Tsuzuki wasn't interested in conversation. He clutched Muraki by the hip and shoulder to brace himself, and pushed his aching cock within the crevice between Muraki's thighs. The friction sent a welcome jolt of pleasure-pain up along his spine.
Muraki hissed, and his eyes flew open. His false eye glowed.
Tsuzuki saw he wasn't the only one who liked it. He thrust again and again, and imagined he was inside Muraki, fucking him properly, possessing him at last. The forbidden fantasy excited him further. He rolled himself on top of Muraki and picked up the pace.
Muraki gasped. The sensation of Tsuzuki's cock between his thighs, against the underside of his testicles felt good...too good. The rough insistency was more than he could bear. "Tsuzuki-san, stop..." He arched his hips to push Tsuzuki off. His movements only increased the friction between them.
"Why?" Tsuzuki's thrusts became more frenzied. His voice was slurred and thick against Muraki's ear. "You are mine - you said so." He slid one gloved hand along the scars over Muraki's waist, a testament to the truth of his words. Even through the gloves he could feel the fierce heat radiating from Muraki's pale skin. Tsuzuki gladly sank against him, pushing himself deeper, longing for the fire to consume his own being and meld them into one.
Muraki dug his nails into undulating buttocks, drawing blood from Tsuzuki's flesh. His teeth was clenched, his muscles locked as he fought Tsuzuki's irresistible rhythm, but his exhausted body couldn't hold out. He shuddered as he came beneath Tsuzuki, his seed spilling between them.
Gamely Tsuzuki continued for a few more minutes, but there was no more pleasure to be had. When the plateau of desire turned into discomfort, Tsuzuki eased his way down Muraki's body to lap at the remnants of semen splattered over his abdomen. He traced the shiny discoloured scars with his tongue, curious about their rippled texture.
Beneath him, Muraki panted, his abdomen trembling with each shaky breath. His finger clenched and relaxed spasmodically against the bedspread.
Mine. For the first time, Tsuzuki allowed himself to believe it. He moved lower to lick at Muraki's flaccid cock.
Muraki pushed him away with his knee. "Enough. You have done...more than enough." His eyelids were heavy as he regarded Tsuzuki. "Come lie with me."
Tsuzuki lay on his side to face him. "Are you all right now?"
"You almost sound like you care." Muraki reached up one hand to ruffle Tsuzuki's hair. "But you haven't fed me, and in the end you drained me again." His tone sounded light, almost amused. "You want me dead, don't you?"
"I want to rid you of the demon's influence. If you'd only tell me its name, I could break the covenant-"
Muraki placed a finger on his lips. "I don't want it broken."
Tsuzuki pushed it aside. "Why not? Look at yourself. Look at what it's doing to you."
"Shinigami, heal thyself," Muraki replied dryly. He glanced down at Tsuzuki's groin. "You are one to talk."
"What do you mean?"
"Your condition is not a result of any physical ailment or disease process. This is all Enma's doing. But I never realised until now how well he has you twisted around his finger."
"I...That's not true. I choose to serve EnmaDaiOh."
"But can't you see what he's done to you? He has sealed your essence along with your powers, and - worst of all- you comply with it! You ask me why I would work under the terms of a demonic covenant. Well, I ask you now - why do you work under Enma's seal?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Tsuzuki's voice was tight. "EnmaDaiOh provided me with everything: shikigami, fuda magic, all my powers...he granted them to me so I may serve as a Shinigami. When I have done things wrong, he has been my only advocate within the JuOhCho administration. He believed in me. He gave my existence a purpose."
Muraki said nothing for a long time. "I see. So the eagle is so charmed by its gilded cage it is willing to play a songbird. You're willing to deny your very nature to maintain a lie."
Tsuzuki lowered his gaze. "I carry no mark on my body. My mind is still my own. You have no evidence to support your crazy claim."
"What about this?" Muraki ran his finger along the underside of Tsuzuki's erection. "You mistake a seal for possession if you think you must be visibly marked. If the subject is obedient, no mark is necessary or even desirable."
"Don't." Tsuzuki winced and slapped his wrist away.
"Your seal is strong but it has cracks, Tsuzuki-san. Your ability to harness Water to defeat Saaga is testament to its fragility - Enma would never entrust Fire's controlling element to a mere shinigami." He seized Tsuzuki's shoulder, his eyes alight. "If we work together, I know we can break it."
"Work with you?" Tsuzuki twisted away to lie on his back. "You've used and abused and manipulated others all your life. Do you think I'd be so dumb as to believe a word you say? You may have channelled power through me, but that doesn't make us allies. As a shinigami, I pledged my allegiance to EnmaDaiOh-sama. Seal or no seal - he is the one I serve."
"How noble you are," Muraki sneered. "How you disgust me. But it explains a great many things. As long as you uphold it, the seal will never be broken. A seal this strong must be broken from within as well as without. If a chick does not wish to leave the egg, there is no point breaking the shell to help it hatch, ne?"
Tsuzuki said nothing. He stared at the way sunlight fell on the wooden posts at the end of the bed, and the long shadows they cast on the far wall.
Maybe Muraki was right. Maybe he was sealed. His early memories of coming to Meifu were a blur, dimmed by the passage of time and his own desire to forget the past. But EnmaDaiOh must have had his reasons - good reasons. Tsuzuki was convinced of it.
Muraki spoke again, his voice low and angry. "So you will choose to remain blind to the suffering of your brethren, while we who wait grow more desperate day by day..."
Tsuzuki looked at him, puzzled by his abrupt silence. Muraki's eyes were squeezed shut, his mouth bracketed with pain. "What's wrong?"
"Why do you care?" Muraki shook his head. "I'm too tired to argue any more. I must conserve what few resources I have left."
"But you...you did feed a little."
"What you gave me is not enough. The richest essence only comes in the complete ejaculate."
Muraki was crazy - Tsuzuki was convinced of it - but it was obvious he was suffering. "Is...is there any other way you can feed?"
"I wish there was." Muraki began to stroke the shaft of Tsuzuki's cock. He looked down at what he held, his expression a curious mix of hunger and resignation. "I know you only ask out of pity, but I have no pride left. Even this is better than nothing."
Hours of more sexual frustration stretched out ahead of him, as Muraki tortured and pleasured him until they both went mad. Unless...
"Wait." Tsuzuki moved away and sat up. "Where's your knife?"
Muraki's hand fell limply on the bed. "I may be weakened but my memories of our Kyoto encounter are vivid enough."
"I'm trying to help you, idiot! Where's your knife?"
Muraki shrugged as if he no longer cared. "Jacket - inside breast pocket."
Tsuzuki found the jacket, took out the penknife and flicked out the blade. It looked clean to the naked eye. To be on the safe side, Tsuzuki took it to the bathroom to rinse it under the tap. When he returned, he noticed the cat on the nightstand, its coat now silver grey, watching him with pale grey eyes.
Muraki remained lying on his side, but his eyes watched Tsuzuki's every move. "What are you doing?"
Slowly Tsuzuki seated himself on the bed and rested his back against the headboard. He took off his watch, then pushed down the glove cuff to reveal the scars over his right wrist. The flesh there would be less sensitive, but more difficult to lacerate deeply. It would be easier to slice the unmarked skin above the wrist.
He lifted the blade and made a single clean incision. A trickle of blood oozed across the wound.
Muraki froze. Both his true and false eyes glittered as he watched.
Tsuzuki held the blade over the wound, and sliced into it a second time. Blood flowed freely, dripping onto his thigh - most likely a lacerated vein. "Here." He sheathed the blade and held out his bleeding wrist. "Drink this."
Muraki sat up slowly. He stared at Tsuzuki's wrist, then searched his face.
"You've taken my spiritual energy this way before, ne?"
Muraki blinked at him, his expression a comical look of disbelief.
In other circumstances, Tsuzuki might have laughed. "Do you want it to go to waste?" Already blood oozed over the cuff of the glove.
Without another word, Muraki placed his lips over the wound and lapped at the blood with his tongue. He was gentle at first, his sucking tentative, almost reverential. It sent a thrill of languid pleasure up Tsuzuki's arm. Without thinking, he reached out to caress Muraki's tangled hair with his free hand, combing it with his gloved fingers.
Beneath Muraki's lips, the wound began to heal. Greedy for more, Muraki lashed his tongue over it and sucked harder.
"That's enough now." Tsuzuki tried to pull his wrist away.
Muraki clung to it. He nibbled at the bloodstained cuff and licked the wound again. When that failed, he bared his teeth.
Tsuzuki yanked him away by his hair. "I said enough."
Muraki's lips were stained with dried blood. The false eye glowed then dimmed as he remembered himself. "Forgive me. I...I wasn't expecting such generosity." He shook free of Tsuzuki's grip and lay back on the bed again. There was a slight flush in his cheeks. His entire body looked less pale than it did moments before.
Tsuzuki placed the penknife on the nightstand and lay next to Muraki. "Was that enough for you?"
"No...but it will do." His gaze was solemn as he studied Tsuzuki's face.
"Only this once," Tsuzuki warned him. He was secretly relieved - Muraki did look better. More alert, more spirited - more like his old self. "Don't think I'm going to do this on a regular basis."
Muraki nuzzled his nose against Tsuzuki's, then kissed him deeply. The metallic taste of blood lingered on his tongue, blending with the salty-bitter taste of precome. "You shed your blood so I may drink from it. This is as it should be. I am well pleased with you, Tsuzuki-san."
"You said you were disgusted with me."
"I am not one to hold a grudge in the face of such kindness." Muraki sighed lustily as he curled next to Tsuzuki. "I feel your fiery blood coursing through me, energising me anew. Let us try again to break the seal."
"But...but if you're already nourished, there's no need to try anything!"
"Of course there is a need. Blood is thick and sweet, but there is no substitute for essence, ne? Through essence, all things are made."
Tsuzuki wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "I don't believe this. I think I've unleashed a monster."
"Not at all," Muraki drawled. He reached for Tsuzuki's still-erect cock. "That will come later."
Several hours later, when fake gaslight lamps lit the cobblestone streets of Huis Ten Bosch, smoke from the evening fireworks drifted away on the ocean breeze, and the sounds of Latin music - a medley of guitars and brass to an irresistible hip-swinging beat - echoed from the streets below, Muraki decided he needed a cigarette break.
Hot and exhausted, lower back and limbs aching from their mutual exertion, his erection as hard and swollen as when they first started, Tsuzuki wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or pleased.
They opened a window to let in thesea breeze. The window sill was wide enough to accommodate them both. Tsuzuki sat with his legs dangling over the edge, the cat resting in his lap. Muraki rested his back against one side of the window frame so he could watch Tsuzuki. One of his knees was bent with his foot on the sill, while the other hung over the edge. For the sake of propriety, each wore the yukata provided by the hotel.
"It's a beautiful view," Tsuzuki said.
Muraki flicked ash from his cigarette out the window, his eyes on Tsuzuki's face. "Indeed it is."
"Does your cat want to join in? Is that why it keeps watching us?"
Muraki laughed. "Perhaps. Why don't you ask it?"
The cat meowed and looked up at Tsuzuki.
"Never mind. I don't want to know."
"Then why did you ask?" Muraki teased. "Do you like cats?"
"Yes, but not like that! And I'm not into birds either!"
"I never said you were." Muraki raised a quizzical brow at him. "I never considered the possibility. Should I raid a pet shop before we meet again tomorrow night?"
"No way, idiot! Forget I said anything."
Muraki grinned as he combed back his silver hair. "I was merely offering assistance-"
"Don't."
The sky was clear. Stars twinkled overhead, so much brighter than in Nagasaki city. Silver moonlight lit the gentle ripples of Omura Bay, courtesy of the gibbous moon near the horizon. The cat purred as Tsuzuki scratched behind its ears.
Five more nights, Tsuzuki thought. So little time...
"May I ask you a personal question, Tsuzuki-san?"
Tsuzuki eyed him warily. "It depends on the question."
"If you had to choose between a woman and a man, which would you prefer?"
"Well..." Tsuzuki's brow furrowed. He had always found beauty in both sexes. "It really depends on the woman - or the man." He became a little flustered by Muraki's unnerving stare. "What I mean is, the personality matters the most, not whether they're male or female."
"I see." Muraki took a drag from his cigarette. "But there are some things one can do with a woman one cannot do with a man, ne?"
Tsuzuki cast a sidelong glance at him, curious about this turn in their conversation.
Muraki watched him intently through the haze of smoke - waiting for his reply.
"It doesn't matter that much to me. Sex is sex."
"And anorgasmia is anorgasmia," Muraki added. "But I appreciate your attempt at diplomacy."
Tsuzuki bowed his head, embarrassed. He wasn't accustomed to discussing sexual matters so openly...but now that Muraki provided an opening, this was his chance to speak his mind. He licked suddenly dry lips. "You know, of all the ways you've tried to feed..." He flushed at the word. "...there's one method you haven't-"
"I know." Muraki's voice was curt. "I'm not doing it."
"It...it doesn't have to hurt, Muraki." It was easier to look at the moonlit bay than Muraki's face. "Under the right circumstances, it can feel amazing-"
"You want to fuck me?" Muraki asked bluntly. "Why don't you come out and say it?"
"All right!" So much for his attempt at subtlety. Tsuzuki lifted his chin and looked Muraki in the eye, heart pounding. "I want to fuck you."
The moment the words were out of his mouth, he felt it - the twinge between his shoulder blades.
The cat looked from one man to the other.
Muraki took another drag of his cigarette, his features impassive. Smoke curled from his nostrils as he exhaled. "Have you ever said that to anyone before?"
Tsuzuki shook his head.
Thin lips quirked at the corners. "I suppose I should be flattered. But I won't do it, Tsuzuki-san. Not even for you."
Tsuzuki shrugged and looked back at the view. What else could he say? He already knew what Muraki's answer would be. Scarred by the memory of his half-brother, why would he even consider trying it again?
The fragile bud of hope shrivelled within him. The pain between his shoulder blades sizzled down his back. He tried to reach behind to scratch it.
Sensing trouble, the cat scrambled off his lap and went to Muraki.
"What is it?" Muraki said.
"My back...it's hurting again."
Muraki swore softly and crushed the cigarette against the brick wall. "Come inside."
Another spasm made Tsuzuki double over in pain. Muraki dropped the cat into the room then swung himself inside. Slowly he lifted Tsuzuki in his arms and carried him to the rumpled bed.
"Serves you right," he muttered as he untied the yukata. "This is what happens when you won't let me feed."
"But...I did..."
"You teased me. All you gave me was a sip, the barest taste." Muraki pulled the yukata free. He dug his nails into Tsuzuki's flesh, marking him from shoulder blade to hip with deep scratches.
Tsuzuki gasped, his violet eyes slitted in pain-pleasure. He could smell his blood on Muraki's hands and the sheets, but it didn't matter. He was a Shinigami. He could take this. His skin would heal quickly enough. So he held Muraki close and let him do as he pleased.
The pain finally eased to a languid ache. When Tsuzuki opened his eyes, he found himself lying within the circle of Muraki's arms. They were both nude.
Tsuzuki sighed. After all they'd done tonight, it didn't matter.
"There." Muraki nuzzled his forehead. "Better now?"
"I don't get it. When I bled myself...wasn't it enough to prevent this?"
Muraki licked the drying blood from his fingernails. "Essence is richer than blood. From essence, blood is made. Until you release it, you will remain prone to such episodes. All power, sooner or later, requires an outlet."
"This is crazy. You make my groin hurt. You make my back hurt. All you do is bring me pain."
"Only pain?" Muraki pretended to look crestfallen. "What about the pleasure I give you?"
"The pain outweighs the pleasure." Tsuzuki combed his overlong hair from his face so he could look at Muraki properly. "I don't know why I keep coming to you."
"Maybe it's love," Muraki said lightly.
Tsuzuki snorted with laughter. "Hah!"
"Or destiny."
Tsuzuki stopped laughing.
Muraki smiled crookedly at him. "Let us rest now. We have tired ourselves enough today, ne?"
Tsuzuki could only agree. He let Muraki pull the sheets over them both. When Muraki cuddled him close, he didn't resist.
Long after he went to sleep, Muraki remained awake, the light from his narrowed false eye glowing white in the darkness.