Thanks to those who've taken the time to write feedback and continue reading this - I appreciate it very much!
I know I've been slow to update. I'm always slow to update. I'm sorry about the delay. It's frustrating for me as well.
Back in his human form as an elderly man, Genbu shuffled through the corridors of Tenkuu Palace with granite staff in one hand, flaming torch in the other. He carefully descended down a series of dim staircases until he reached a barred door located deep within the depths of the fortress.
"Is that you, Black Warrior?" Tenkuu rumbled, his booming voice echoing through the corridor. "What brings you down here?"
"Open the door," Genbu replied. "I'm here on our master's behalf."
The bar slid aside, and the door swung open.
The room was large yet bare. Sandstone lined the walls from floor to ceiling. The flickering torchlight illuminated the pair of metal chains and manacles that hung from the walls. A matching pair lay on the cobblestone floor. There were no windows or alternative exits. The air was dank and cold.
"Are you after a place to meditate in peace and quiet? A period of solitary confinement in one of my dungeons might be the perfect retreat for you."
Genbu ignored him. Tsuzuki had told him he wanted a secure place to house a chimera - a chimera who moved like the wind and swept aside modern-day bullets and machinery with consummate ease. An ancient dungeon alone was unlikely to be enough.
Genbu shook his head, his beard swaying in time. "Not good enough. If all your dungeons are this poor, you'll have no hope of containing the new exhibit."
"Who? Who? Am I to have a new prisoner?"
"Yes, a defiant Metal chimera. We four Guardians bore witness to his creation many moons ago. Finally he has returned to fulfill his covenant."
"Hmph! I didn't bear witness to anything!" Tenkuu grumbled. "Why aren't all twelve of us summoned when Tsuzuki breaks down and loses his mind?"
"Because we are the Guardians of the Four Directions. We were the very first ones he summoned at the dawn of time. When he falls into despair and regresses to the God he once was, he summons us to his side."
"Our master doesn't regress often, does he? You Four Guardians spend more time pining for his call than dancing on the earth as the great shikigami you once were!"
"That will change," Genbu assured him. "This time his consciousness is stirring. This chimera is preparing the way - the Moon's celestial power is strong within him."
"The Moon? So you think you've found a new candidate to be the Jade Hare?" Tenkuu was unimpressed. "Why do you still believe that silly old prophecy? The Guardian of the Centre has hardly stirred for centuries. He has been reborn time and time again, and remained asleep throughout. In his current incarnation, he has never shown interest in wielding his powers. The Sun, the Moon, and the Planets could prostrate themselves before him, and he would still sleep!"
Genbu sighed. His long moustache fluttered with his breath. "I'm not so maudlin as to wallow in the past. I know the energy of the Moon has been dispersed and forgotten, even more so than Wood. The mythical Jade Hare will never dance again among us fully formed." He stamped his staff on the ground. "But this chimera is unusually strong in Moon energy - I can sense it. His persistent devotions have been impossible for our master to ignore."
"Hmph!" Tenkuu grumbled. "If anything, it is easier to envisage Tsuzuki as the docile white rabbit than the Elemental Guardian of Wood."
"Perhaps so." Genbu shuffled out of the dungeon. "But we Guardians know Tsuzuki is the one. Long before humans walked the earth and created the language we use today, he christened us with the primordial names that brought us into being. "
A shikigami's primordial name was a special name invested with great power. It was kept secret from humankind, for it was considered too dangerous to be spoken aloud in a moment of anger or frustration.
The first time Tsuzuki had uttered it, he was a teenage boy fleeing a lynch mob of villagers calling for his head. Cornered and exhausted, he had fallen to the ground and released his fury and frustration in one ear-splitting howl - a howl so powerful it had pierced the tranquil peace of Gensoukai.
It was a lament for things lost and never gained. Filled with such despair and anguish, it was impossible for one to hear it and remain unmoved.
To Genbu and the other three Guardians - Suzaku of the South, Souryuu of the East, and Byakko of the West - it brought tears to their eyes. At last, someone was giving voice to the aching sense of loss they endured ever since they were separated from the world they had helped to create. At last, someone was acknowledging their longing to return.
At long last, someone was calling them by the names they thought they would never hear again. So they answered him in the only way they knew.
You humans are mere insects! I shall incinerate the lot of you for your heresy!
I shall drown your wretched families, and wash away your foul existence!
My wind shall turn your homes into rubble! The material possessions you hold dear shall be blown to the four corners of the earth!
Foolish humans! May the earth swallow your corpses whole! Foolish, foolish humans!
Their new master had watched the carnage unfold in shock, then wonder...and eventually stark horror. It would take another eight years before he would encounter them again, memory conveniently cloaked, as a new Shinigami on the hunt for shikigami. He had forgotten their first fateful encounter completely.
But they remembered - and they were willing to wait until he remembered too.
The chimera had been the first to revive some of Tsuzuki's dormant memories. No doubt he had his own objectives for doing so, but as long as he continued to aid in Tsuzuki's development, no shikigami would harm him. For now, he was of great use to them.
And as long as Tsuzuki continued to tend to him, there was always a chance the Jade Hare of legend could rise again and prepare the way for them all...
Genbu waved at the dungeon doorway with his staff. "As I said before, you will have to improve your act if you are going to house the chimera securely."
"Do you insult me? No prisoner has ever escaped my dungeons! Anyone caught in my bowels is trapped there forever unless I show them leniency! Ask the Fire Snake yourself if you want proof!"
"But have you ever housed one dominant in Metal and Wind? Cast-iron locks and bolts and chains won't be enough to restrain this one."
Tenkuu slammed the dungeon door shut and slid the bar across. "Hmm. Give me time to modify one of my existing dungeons. Chimera or not, it will be a pleasure to tailor one suitable for a new inmate."
Tsuzuki opened his eyes. He was in a dark room lit by flickering torches. In front of him was a crowd of various humanoid creatures with animal-like heads - some avian, some reptilian, other mammalian. Some wore flowing robes, while others wore traditional armour. They all had their backs to him.
As he moved towards them, he could hear the muffled sounds of someone sobbing. He stood on tiptoe, but he couldn't see past the crowd.
"I warned you, didn't I? I warned you of the consequences of breaching the terms of your tenure."
Tsuzuki froze. He knew that dry, raspy voice. He hadn't heard it for a long time...but he would remember that distinctive voice anywhere.
"I...know, DaiOh-sama." The wavering words came between heart-wrenching sobs.
"As a Shinigami, you serve me and me alone. Your powers are not to be used for your own selfish gain. What were you doing in the land of the living last night?"
"Nothing! I...I just felt...a bit homesick, I guess. I...I missed being around a real garden...so I just went for a walk in a park."
Some of the creatures gasped. Others shook their heads.
"Why is he allowed to wander through the land of the living so freely?" one muttered to another.
"Well, is it any wonder? He's DaiOh-sama's most successful reaper to date."
Tsuzuki could just make out the rest of the room through the haze of smoke and incense. Situated atop a dais was a man reclining on a chaise lounge. He wore elaborate embroidered silk robes that seemed to glow with their own otherworldly light. It was EnmaDaiOh - absolute ruler of Meifu.
"A real garden? And what is wrong with the gardens we have here in Meifu? Are you saying the eternally flourishing gardens of Meifu are less beautiful than the decaying gardens of the material world?"
The crowd fell silent, waiting for the answer.
"No...they're perfect...too perfect." The sobbing eased into awkward hiccups. "They don't need me...there's nothing I can do for them. It's not like the land of the living..."
Enma sat up, his long black hair cascading down his shoulders and casting a shadow over his eyes. "Are you saying you prefer that ugly place - that world that reeks of the stench of decay and death?"
"No! But I just...I just wanted to help out. I used to love gardening. I thought I could help the plants there grow and flourish..."
The crowd let out a collective gasp.
Tsuzuki wanted to turn and run. He wanted to block his ears. But like a sleepwalker who couldn't control himself, he found himself inching forward through the crowd for a closer look.
"Really?" Enma stood up, and the flames stopped moving. The flickering shadows became still. "Then why were you interfering with that human?"
Below the dais was a man in a black trenchcoat grovelling on his hands and knees. His face was so low to the floor it was impossible to see his face. "I didn't mean to do it! I swear I didn't mean to do it! It was an accident!"
Enma strode down the dais. His black hair flowed in mid-air around him. He stood over the grovelling supplicant. "Taking human life without a summons is expressly forbidden. You know that, don't you?"
Without lifting his gaze, the man nodded. "I know, DaiOh-sama! I didn't forget! He was about to kill himself! I was trying to save him, I swear!"
"Were you?" Enma crouched beside him. "Then I'd hate to see what would've happened if you tried harming him. Are you sure you haven't gone back to your old habits?"
"No, no! I'm not like that anymore!" He started sobbing again. "I swear I'm not, DaiOh-sama!"
Enma rested his hand on the back of the man's head, making him flinch. "You know the consequences of disobedience, don't you?"
"Not the mirror! Please...not the mirror! Anything but that!"
Even as a mere bystander, Tsuzuki couldn't stop trembling in reaction.
"You haven't changed. You have been, and always shall be, a bloodthirsty creature." A cold smile curved Enma's lips as he caressed the dark hair beneath his fingertips. "But I knew that when I employed you. As long as you reap souls on my command alone, you'll live an afterlife of comfort and ease. But if you dare steal a single human soul in defiance of my authority, then be prepared to pay the price. Humanity is mine, and mine alone."
"Hush, Tsuzuki-san. It's all right."
Someone was holding him close, crooning his name. Lips caressed his lightly, coaxing them open to initiate a deeper kiss.
Tsuzuki opened his eyes. It was dark outside. A bedside lamp was the only illumination in the room. He was nude in Muraki's bed, being held in Muraki's arms. Muraki smelled of soap, as if he'd just come out of the shower.
"You had another bad dream, didn't you?"
"How did you know?"
"You were talking in your sleep." Muraki stroked the hair from his forehead. "I'm pleased your memory is returning."
"Do you think...I'm bloodthirsty?"
Muraki's brow lifted. "Not lately. You've only partaken of my flesh and blood on a few occasions so far."
"So how many times am I supposed to drink your blood? You're severely anaemic as it is, Gyokuto-sama ."
Muraki rolled away onto his back. "Don't call me that in jest."
"Why not?" Tsuzuki followed him by rolling on his stomach. "Genbu calls you a chimera: half-human, half..." His voice faded off uncertainly.
"Half what?"
Tsuzuki gazed at the false metallic eye. He could hear the taunts of the village children echoing in his mind.
You're a monster! Freak! Monster!
"It doesn't matter." Tsuzuki rested his head on Muraki's chest. He could still hear a heartbeat. "Then again, I guess that makes me a chimera too."
"Indeed you are. I was amazed to find non-human DNA in the skin samples collected by my grandfather - the forbidden DNA of a demon."
Once those words would have struck horror in Tsuzuki's heart - his deepest, darkest secret voiced aloud. But now - nothing. No soul-crushing guilt or catatonic-inducing despair. Muraki had taught him demons were not the monsters he had once believed them to be.
"You knew about my origins, yet you didn't know you'd made a contract with me until the lab fire in Kyoto. Tell me what happened. How did you find out?"
"You revealed yourself to me." Muraki clasped his hand and drew it down to his abdominal scars. "You unveiled your true nature for the very first time." His other hand idly stroked Tsuzuki's hair. "Bloodthirsty doesn't begin to describe it."
Tsuzuki closed his eyes. All he could remember was dark suffocating smoke...and Touda hovering over him, his thick black flames crackling around them both. "I acted...in self-defence."
"You attacked me while my back was turned."
"You drove me to it. Being your grandfather's guinea pig was bad enough - I didn't want to repeat the experience again." Tsuzuki traced the ridges and indentations of the thickened scar tissue. "Drive a dog into a corner, and eventually it will lose control and snap, right?"
"Mmm. I suppose so." Muraki's fingers stroked the sensitive nape of Tsuzuki's neck.
"Well, I'm no different...except I have little memory of what I've done once I regain consciousness."
"You were probably in some kind of dissociative state," Muraki murmured. "But you should have seen yourself: your face and hands splattered with my blood, your violet eyes burning with rage - you truly were a magnificent sight to behold."
Tsuzuki lifted his head. "You're not afraid, are you? This other side of me - it doesn't scare you at all."
"Why should I be afraid?" Muraki ruffled his hair. "This is all part of your true nature." His lips curved in a lopsided smile.
Tsuzuki felt a strange tightness in his chest. Why couldn't Muraki always be like this? "Aren't you afraid I'll turn on you again?" He ran his nails lightly along Muraki's scars.
"My Metal energy is growing, and with it my spiritual power. There is nothing for either of us to fear as long as Metal dominates Wood." His heavy-lidded gaze held an implicit challenge.
Tsuzuki sat up and stretched his wings high above his head, flaunting them for Muraki's benefit. "Wood may not be as easy to dominate as you think." He lowered himself to the bed so that his head was alongside Muraki's hip, and his legs tucked beside Muraki's head on the pillow.
"Well, well...I see your thirst for blood has been replaced by a different kind of thirst, hmm?"
Tsuzuki took hold of Muraki's lax cock. It twitched and stiffened in his grip. "What if Wood were to leech valuable minerals away from Metal?" He allowed his lips to hover tantalisingly over the crown. "What will you do then?"
Muraki's grin was wicked. "Get it back, naturally." He shifted across until his head was resting across Tsuzuki's splayed thighs, and Tsuzuki's cock was rapidly firming in his stroking hands. "Get back every single drop."
Tsuzuki shivered in anticipation. The last time they had tried this, the pleasure had been so unbearable he had ended it prematurely. But now he was ready to give it another try. The other Shinigami were after them, and the full moon was still too far away. If he was ever going to be the Guardian of Wood, he would have to do whatever it takes to rid himself of EnmaDaiOh's seal.
"You do that, Muraki." His voice was husky and thick - a voice he didn't recognise as his own. "You do that."
Muraki chuckled - and swallowed Tsuzuki down in one ravenous gulp.
Tsuzuki closed his eyes. He was drowning in pleasure, exquisite pleasure...pleasure that rendered him as helpless as a kitten, even as it made him feel as powerful as a god. Every caress of Muraki's lips, every lash of his tongue, every touch of his skilled hands - all indicative of an insatiable hunger that refused to be denied.
Just like his hunger for regeneration and eternal life.
Tsuzuki lowered his lips to Muraki's cock. He ignored the voice inside his head warning that Muraki was only doing this to gain more power. He allowed the bulk of the erection to slide slowly past his lips, along his tongue. Normally he preferred sweets, but he made a special exception for Muraki. Something about the salty-bitter taste of the precome made his mouth water. He swallowed once, then twice...
...and it was like he was sucking himself off. His own cock was being suckled, slowly and steadily. Before he knew it, Tsuzuki found himself falling into the same hypnotic rhythm with his mouth, lips and tongue.
His head was spinning. He was lost. Utterly lost.
With a soft groan, he twisted his head, adjusting the angle so he could accommodate more of Muraki's cock. There, that was better. Much better. He was suckling like a man dying of thirst...and sinking into a surfeit of self-indulgent ecstasy.
Muraki wasn't the only one who took pleasure in imbibing essence.
We can't run, you and I. We are the same kind.
Tsuzuki's black wings fluttered wildly like a nervous bird. His cock was being exposed to cool air one second, and engulfed by the slick heat of Muraki's ravenous mouth the next. His hips bucked against the delight - only Muraki's grip over one hip kept him in place. His pleasure-wracked body was teetering on the precipice...
"I can't take this! Muraki...please..."
"Yes, you can." Muraki's voice was slurred with passion. "You can't run...or fly...now that I've caught you." He dug sharp nails into Tsuzuki's buttock. His other hand steadily stroked Tsuzuki's aching cock.
"I...I'm not going anywhere." Tsuzuki slid his lips along the shaft of Muraki's cock as proof. "But this...feels like torture..."
Muraki exhaled sharply. "Now you know how I feel. Now you know how everyone feels." He lapped at the oozing precome with his tongue. "Even sealed, you draw living and non-living beings to you like a magnet."
"No..." Tsuzuki didn't want to hear this now. "That's...untrue."
"Most have no idea why they find you attractive - they attribute it to personality or charisma or looks. But it's because of your energy...your irresistible Wood energy...the key to regeneration and-"
Tsuzuki silenced him the only way he could - he swallowed Muraki down whole. He suckled and gulped as if his very survival depended on it - doing to Muraki what Muraki had done earlier for him. He didn't want to hear about his powers. He didn't want to hear about his nature, true or otherwise. If Muraki didn't want him for himself, then at least he could make Muraki forget his supernatural attributes for the moment.
Muraki got the message. With an inarticulate growl, he devoured Tsuzuki once more.
Pleasure begetting pleasure in a spiral of ecstasy. A neverending cycle of one consuming the other, over and over, striving for a common goal. Tsuzuki had no idea where he ended and Muraki began. His entire world was spinning around him...spinning like the mysterious red spiral he had once seen in Muraki's eye.
Tsuzuki couldn't pull away to break the irresistible circuit of pleasure. His black wings shook and flapped wildly to no avail. He wanted to soar free, but only found himself sinking deeper and deeper...
Deeper into the the warm, wet confines of Muraki's mouth...and deeper as Muraki's cock slid inexorably down his own voracious throat.
This time, there would be no escape.
In a flurry of black feathers, he tumbled headlong into the abyss.
In the hospital's intensive care unit, the white swallow shikigami stood vigil at the foot of Keiko's bed. Norata-san and his wife did not notice it - their attention was devoted only on their ill daughter. Nurses and doctors wandered in and out, too preoccupied with the realities of the physical world to sense the presence of the little guardian spirit.
At one point, Keiko's eyes flickered open. Her mother called her name and squeezed her hand. Her father placed his hands together in prayer. But the girl's glazed eyes stared up at the ceiling.
The swallow flew to the head of the bed and cocked its head to one side. It let out a trill of greeting.
Keiko blinked. Her gaze shifted towards it.
Pleased at being noticed, the swallow bobbed its crested head and trilled again - a louder song of encouragement.
Keiko blinked again, then slowly closed her eyes.
The hopes of her parents sank. The swallow trilled a song to lift their spirits too, but their hearts were too weighed down by grief to hear it. They left shortly after.
The swallow stayed behind, watching and waiting as instructed. Occasionally it would eye the monitors with their zigzagging lines and changing digits out of curiosity.
Two people materialised in the room. Unlike the others, they had not entered through the doorway. Unlike the others, they both noticed the swallow at once.
"That's one of Tsuzuki's shikigami! What is it doing here?"
The swallow trilled and bobbed its head in greeting.
"Tsuzuki-san may have left it here as a sentinel." Tatsumi stroked his chin. "He may have located the rest of the family by now."
Hisoka moved gingerly to the bed. Being in hospital brought back bad memories of his own numerous admissions as a patient. He peered at the mass of tubing and wiring, the panels of equipment and blinking monitors. It was easier to focus on the high-tech gadgetry than the comatose young woman who depended on them for survival. "She's on full life support. It doesn't look as if she has much time left."
"True." Tatsumi's thoughtful gaze was on the shikigami. He held out his hand, inviting it to come to him. But it simply bobbed its head and remained perched by the bed.
Hisoka studied her face for the first time. She seemed a little older than he was when he died. It seemed such a shame to summon her for judgement so soon. Was she loved by her parents? Was death for her a premature end to a promising young life or a welcome release from a miserable existence?
I cursed him, and yet I saved him...I saved him from a fate worse than death.
Hisoka froze. The memory of Muraki's words sent chills down his spine...and filled him with self-disgust. Was he trying to justify the purpose of this morbid assignment with the same self-serving reasons Muraki used to justify weaving that wretched curse? Was he no better than the man who had callously brought an end to his own life?
"Are you all right, Kurosaki-kun?"
"Yes." Hisoka nodded furiously. "I...I just felt dizzy for a moment. I'm fine now."
"I see." Tatsumi wasn't convinced, but decided to change the topic. "Let's go outside for the time being. By leaving this shikigami as his eyes and ears, Tsuzuki-san is unlikely to return unless her condition worsens."
"Wait a minute. Can't we use the shikigami to lead us to Tsuzuki?" Hisoka lowered his head so he was eye-to-eye with the swallow. "You know where he is, don't you?"
The swallow stepped away from him, bobbing its head repeatedly in apology.
"It won't tell us because it's not a messenger shikigami," Tatsumi explained. "Its role is to watch over her, and it won't defy its master. Let's go, Kurosaki-kun."
Questions nagged at Hisoka's mind. When they materialised outside the hospital in the shadows of the foyer, he voiced his concerns aloud. "It doesn't make sense, Tatsumi-san. Why would Saagatanus do something like this?"
Tatsumi hesitated for a moment. "Do what?"
"Use one of Tsuzuki's shikigami to watch over her. Why didn't he just take her soul and be done with it?"
"Tsuzuki-san was probably still himself when he placed it by her bed." Tatsumi started walking, leaving Hisoka no choice but to follow.
Hisoka mulled it over. Bird shikigami were created by folding paper charms. They had the advantage of being discreet and unobtrusive, but their power was limited. The little swallow would be easily defeated by a demon like Saaga.
So who was it really watching out for? Muraki perhaps?
Tatsumi must have been thinking along the same lines, because he answered the unspoken question for him. "I suspect Tsuzuki-san posted it there to delay us from delivering the summons."
"So it was keeping a lookout for us?" At Tatsumi's nod, Hisoka exclaimed, "But why? It's just a fuda shikigami! If we had wanted to, we could've easily found a way to break through it!"
"It wouldn't have stopped us," Tatsumi agreed, "but it would've hindered us long enough for Tsuzuki-san to arrive on the scene."
"You...you mean Saaga, don't you? Tsuzuki would never disobey an order from EnmaDaioh-sama on purpose."
Tatsumi pushed his glasses up his nose. It was hard to make out his features in the evening shadows.
"I'm sure he wouldn't," Hisoka insisted. "I can't believe he'd betray us like that."
Tatsumi slowed to a stop. "No...I suppose you wouldn't. Tsuzuki-san has changed for the better these past few years." He seemed to be considering his next words with great care. "You...you've been very good for him, Kurosaki-kun. But sometimes I wonder whether he's been good for you."
"Good for me?" Hisoka repeated. He flushed and turned away, torn between confusion and embarrassment. "Well, he can be a lazy idiot...but he's helped me a lot as well. He's lifted my spirits when I've been low. He's given me encouragement when I doubted myself. Although I've never had another partner to compare him with, I'm sure he's been a good influence on me too."
"I'm glad to hear it, Kurosaki-kun." Tatsumi began walking again. "I'm glad to hear it."
But he wasn't. Hisoka could detect a hint of wistful sadness that made no sense at all. Was Tatsumi disappointed with him? Envious of him? But why?
"We should check up on Watari-san. Maybe he's found some useful clues in the park."
Tatsumi's abrupt tone seemed to quell further discussion...and Hisoka didn't have the courage to question him further. He quickened his pace to catch up.
Exhausted and satisfied for the moment, Muraki and Tsuzuki fell asleep entwined in a tangle of bodies and limbs.
Lying on the bedroom floor, Ohryuu rested her head between her paws. It wasn't her place to interfere, but she was worried. The two of them were feeding from each other repeatedly, with little regard for the consequences. They took an inordinate pleasure in the process, and were indulging themselves to an excessive degree.
Surely the Light had taken in enough energy to assume his true form by now. But he seemed to be waging an internal battle to suppress his full transformation. Maybe he preferred to remain human so he could continue feeding from the one he called Muraki.
To Ohryuu, Muraki was the Voice. He was the one who had called out to her in the spiritual wilderness of human civilization. It was he who told her and others who would listen about the Light who was to come.
Ohryuu sighed and lashed her tail. Being trapped in feline form was frustrating enough, but it was better to be sealed as a feline than a human. Humans were too attached to their frail bodies, and the fleeting pleasure to be derived from them.
Feeling restless, she padded to the living room. Muraki's spiritual barrier was now in place around the penthouse apartment, but she still felt obliged to do her part as security guard. She watched the evening view of Nagasaki by night, her eyes drawn to the rising gibbous moon. She longingly eyed the mesh metal bracelet Muraki had discarded on the coffee table.
One day, she would regain her Wind energy. Already her claws and teeth were Metal, a promising sign of things to come. But she was still a demon who needed to consume the spiritual energy of others to generate Fire - and sooner or later, she would have to feed again.
Although Muraki's vandalism the other night had left the intercom a wreck, the CCTV screen was now switched permanently on. A flicker of movement on the screen caught Ohryuu's attention. She reared up on her hind legs for a closer look.
A man with wavy long hair peered into the camera. He was gesticulating and speaking animatedly, but with the intercom out of order it was impossible to hear him.
Ohryuu scrambled to the bedroom to find Tsuzuki already hauling himself out of bed. His nude back was bare, free of the black wings.
"Is someone here? I sensed a strong spiritual presence a moment ago." He turned to Muraki, who was still sleeping soundly. He combed the stray strands of silver hair from his forehead. "Let him rest. I'll handle this."
"Your wings! Where are they?"
Tsuzuki felt his back. "I...I'm not sure. The excess energy in my body must've been transferred when we..." He got out of his bed, his face flushed. "Never mind." He cast a quick spell, and was dressed in his usual black trenchcoat outfit by the time he reached the lift doors.
"Do you know him?"
"Yeah, it's Watari. He's a Shinigami like me." Tsuzuki ran a hand through his hair. "I should've known he'd be the first to find us."
On the screen, Watari was holding up a book and pointing at it. Tsuzuki tried to read his lips without success.
"This place is shielded by a barrier spell," the panther said. "It won't be easy for him to enter."
"I wouldn't be so sure. What Watari lacks in supernatural power he makes up for with ingenuity." Tsuzuki pulled out some bloodstained illusion fuda. "It might be easier to let him in and find out what he wants. I can make doubles of myself and Muraki to-"
"Tsk tsk, Tsuzuki-san," a laconic voice drawled. "Don't tell me you're going to be so rude as to hide from our guest?"
Leaning by the lift doors, looking dishevelled, disreputable...and too devastatingly sexy for his own good was Muraki in his white yukata.
"You know what this means, don't you? He knows about us! He knows we're here!"
"Who?" Without his glasses, Muraki had to peer closely at the screen. "Oh, the engineer. Maybe he's come to give us his blessing."
"Muraki! This is no laughing matter! He's here to arrest me for failing to deliver the summons!"
Muraki put an arm around Tsuzuki's shoulders. "Then let him try. We have nothing to be ashamed of, do we?"
Considering what they had been doing earlier, Tsuzuki wasn't so sure. "Shouldn't you go and get dressed?"
"I am dressed. This is what I normally wear at home."
"His wings are gone," Ohryuu growled at Muraki. "Where are they?"
"Never fear." Muraki's self-satisfied smile said it all. "They're in safe-keeping, so to speak."
"Forget that!" Tsuzuki couldn't see Watari on the CCTV screen anymore - a sign he was already starting to disable the security system. "You should make yourself invisible," he told the panther. "And as for you," he jabbed Muraki in the chest, "if you don't wear your suit and trenchcoat, I'm going to activate an illusion fuda of you and use that instead!"
Muraki took hold of Tsuzuki's hand and guided it to his bare chest. "There is no need to panic. All we have to do is behave the way we normally do with each other."
Tsuzuki pulled his hand free. "Are you crazy? If he sees how we normally behave together, he'll probably film an amateur video and upload it to the JuOhCho computer network for laughs!"
"Really? He sounds like a man after my own heart."
"Muraki! You've got to be serious! Watari may act goofy on the outside, but he knows a lot more than he lets on!"
"I know. He's intimately acquainted with the great JuOhCho supercomputer, isn't he?" Muraki's sidelong look was sly and knowing. "Perhaps you should be asking him what use Enma has for hoarding human knowledge along with human souls."
A horrible suspicion dawned on Tsuzuki.
Kinu is said to be the eyes and ears for Akasha, the supercomputer of JuOhCho...but no one has ever seen him, or at least lasted long enough to tell the tale.
If Gyokuto chose to conceal himself in human guise, then what was stopping Kinu, the Gold Raven, from doing the same?
"If he's Kinu, this is worse than I thought! He's the one who expunged all mention of non-Fire demons from the database!" Tsuzuki turned to the panther. "As far as he's concerned, you're not supposed to exist!"
"How dare he!" Ohryuu lashed her tail. "The sacrilege!"
Muraki sighed. "Tsuzuki-san, please allow me to take care of this."
"No way! You'll either summon another demon or go on a killing spree!" Tsuzuki began pacing back and forth. "Arresting me for insubordination is one thing, but if he knows about you and Ohryuu..." He whirled around to face the panther. "Hide. Make yourself invisible."
Ohryuu exchanged glances with Muraki, who gave a small nod. Slowly she dematerialised into nothingness.
"Now it's your turn, Muraki." Tsuzuki looked around, only to find himself speaking to an empty room. "Muraki?"
Had he already vanished? It wasn't like Muraki to be so compliant.
Relieved, Tsuzuki took out one of his bloodstained fuda and placed it between his index and middle fingers. He sat down on the lounge and started chanting the spell - only for the fuda to be snatched out of his fingers.
Standing over him was Muraki, dressed in his white trenchcoat and suit, wearing his metal-framed glasses. He sniffed the paper charm, then wrinkled his nose. "One of mine, I see." He slid it in his pocket. "Why create a replica of me? Surely no fuda double can ever match the real thing."
Tsuzuki glared. "When it comes to being an insufferable jerk who refuses to listen to a word I say, I suppose not."
Muraki sat beside him and crossed his legs. "Someone has to let down the barrier around the apartment so he can come in, right?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes.
Tsuzuki couldn't help fuming at how calm and collected Muraki was. Perhaps it was because Muraki, unlike him, had nothing to hide. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? What excuses could he give to explain his shameless conduct?
"If you're going to stay, you mustn't show off your Metal powers. You've got to act as normal as possible, got it?"
"Understood." Muraki took a drag from his cigarette. "I'll do my best to act normal." His false eye began to glow.
Tsuzuki buried his face in his hands. "You're looking forward to this, aren't you?"
"Not at all." Muraki caressed the hair at the nape of his neck. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Don't do that. It's too distracting." But Tsuzuki didn't shake him off.
"You were incredibly distracting yourself earlier." Muraki's fingers were tracing slow circles against his nape. "You truly are voracious...I could barely keep up. For a moment, I thought I was losing myself..."
Tsuzuki lifted his head. "I felt the same way too. That's why I pulled away the first time. It scared me..."
Muraki's gaze was oddly tender. "Why? The moon must take its fill in order to grow full."
Tsuzuki went still. "Who...who are you referring to?"
Muraki kissed him, a gentle meeting of lips. "All in good time, Tsuzuki-san. All in good time."
The flashing indicator lights of the lift caught Tsuzuki's attention. They didn't have much time left. Quickly he withdrew from Muraki's embrace. "So what's supposed to happen when Kinu meets Gyokuto?"
"Well..." Muraki reclined back in his seat and took another drag from the cigarette. "I suppose the sky will go dark and rivers will dry up. Then crops will fail and pestilence plague the living, until finally civilization as we know it crumbles - the typical chaos and destruction foretold by seers each time the sun and moon meet in an eclipse."
Muraki's breezy tone did nothing to allay Tsuzuki's unease. "Chaos and destruction, huh? That's right up your alley."
"Really, Tsuzuki-san?" Through the haze of cigarette smoke, Muraki's sidelong glance held mocking amusement. "I thought it was more up yours."
Tsuzuki decided to get up and wait in front of the lift doors. He was on edge already - the last thing he needed was to be goaded by Muraki's taunts. But doubts were creeping into his mind. Surely Muraki had to be Gyokuto. Why else would he revere the moon? Why else was he so driven to seek eternal life to the exclusion of all else?
But perhaps it was he who had inadvertently anointed Muraki to be Gyokuto. With a stab of a knife, Muraki's whole life had been turned upside down.
I will give you a name! You will be Gyokuto-sama!
The hum of the lift doors sliding open brought Tsuzuki back to reality.
Watari stood there, dressed in his white lab coat, a big cheery grin on his face as usual. "Hey, Tsuzuki! You know what?" He began walking towards him. "I think I've figured out the meaning of the-" He suddenly slammed his face against an invisible barrier positioned at the lift entrance, and promptly fell back inside the lift. The lift doors slid shut, and the lift started going down.
"What the...Muraki!"
"Didn't I tell you I'd take care of everything?" Still sitting on the lounge, Muraki placed his cigarette on the ashtray. "You seemed so agitated about seeing him I thought it best he come back at a more appropriate time."
"No! You were right about what you said earlier. There's no point in hiding. I might as well face him here and now without resorting to fuda doubles or any other supernatural tricks. Bring him back up."
"That's more like it," Muraki murmured approvingly. He walked over to the lift doors and gave a careless wave of his hand. The lift rose once more and the doors opened again.
Watari winced as he rubbed the back of his head. "Silly me. I should've known there would be some kind of barrier spell in place." Cautiously he extended a hand towards the entrance.
"Forgive me," Muraki replied dryly. "I had no idea I was expecting an unwanted intruder."
Finding the barrier gone, Watari bounded in. "Hey! Long time no see, Doctor Muraki!" He eyed Muraki up and down with unabashed curiosity. "Well, well! You look in remarkable shape for a man with multiple mineral deficiency!"
Muraki was also assessing Watari, albeit in a much more measured way. "I hope you don't mind me asking how you found this place."
"Oh, it took me a while. I hacked into the various government and banking databases in the local area, but I couldn't find any recent records of you. I had to look back several years before I stumbled across an old deed to this apartment in your name." Watari strode to the windows and pressed his face against the glass. "Wow! What a cool place you have here!"
"Did Chief Konoe send you?" Tsuzuki asked.
"Well, he didn't have much choice but to send me and Tatsumi down here, did he?" Watari bounced on the lounge, making himself at home. "The boy turned up in his office with this outlandish story about you sprouting wings. He's convinced you've been possessed by Saagatanus again!"
Tsuzuki remained standing. "Don't you believe him?" Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuzuki noticed Muraki drift to the far wall by the curtains. He was watching Watari like a hawk.
"Why should I? I know the truth about Saaga, remember? The high-security channels of the JuOhCho information network were abuzz with rumours of his annihilation." Watari leaned forward. "You never fully explained how you did it, you know." He glanced Muraki's way. "Perhaps you got a helping hand, huh?"
Apart from a raised brow, Muraki chose not to respond.
"Did you tell the others?" Tsuzuki asked.
"Nah, why should I? It's classified information, anyway - well above the clearance level of the average Shinigami."
"I see." Tsuzuki darted a look Muraki's way. "Obviously you don't fall in that category."
Strangely enough, Muraki's reticence was making him more nervous than Watari's presence. It wasn't like Muraki to be silent - when he was, it was usually a sign of trouble brewing.
"I would certainly hope not!" Watari chuckled. "Anyway, you don't have to worry about either of them. The boy and Tatsumi are visiting the girl in hospital."
"That's good." Tsuzuki seated himself on the edge of the adjacent armchair. "So why exactly are you here?"
"Hey, no need to be so suspicious! I just wanted to see what you've both been up to." Watari craned his neck towards the bedroom doorway. "I was hoping to surprise the two of you, but I guess-"
"Out with it, Watari! What are you doing here?"
"All right, all right! Remember you asked me to decipher that anagram?"
"What anagram?"
"3, 22, LUX - that anagram you saw in your dream!" Watari placed a leather-bound Bible embossed with a gold cross on the coffee table. "Well, I think the answer's in here! I'm sure of it!"
Before Tsuzuki could pick it up, a sudden gust of air swept the Bible off the table. It flew across the room and into Muraki's hands with a firm thud. He flicked through it, his good eye narrowed. "Nothing more than an antiquated Western religious text from a bygone era." He shut the book with a decisive snap. "This is of no use to you, Tsuzuki-san."
Tsuzuki was too dumbfounded to reply. Muraki's ease in manipulating the Bible took him by complete surprise. The only metal in the book was the gold embossed cross - surely not enough elemental Metal present for Muraki to manipulate.
"Oh well," Watari shrugged, apparently unconcerned. "You can keep that copy if you like." He pulled out a pencil and a notepad. "There's plenty more where that came from."
Another gust of air blew the pencil and notepad out of Watari's hands. Still standing by the far wall, Muraki caught them easily as well.
No, this wasn't simply Metal at work. This was Wind manipulation – yet another sign of Muraki's growing power.
"Tsuzuki-san, I assure you that there is nothing to be gained in looking through this book. It has no relevance to you and your true nature."
"But...but that anagram is something I saw in my dream - the same dream that led me to seek you out here in Nagasaki. At the time, I thought it was another clue to help me understand what was going on-"
"Forget it. It's of no consequence." Muraki's dismissive tone left no room for compromise.
Tsuzuki was puzzled and angered by it. After six days of taunting him for turning his back on his past and playing the ignorant fool, why was Muraki now refusing to let him see a simple book? The anagram that marked his body in that dream may have slipped his mind, but it was still an important clue - no matter what Muraki said.
Besides, wasn't Muraki the one who placed the dream in his mind to begin with? Why was he suddenly unwilling to reveal its true significance?
"How can you be so sure it's of no consequence? After all, it appeared in Tsuzuki's dream, not yours." Watari wasn't bothered at all by Muraki's brusque manner - if anything, he seemed amused, even smug. "Why don't you let Tsuzuki skim the Bible and judge for himself? Or are you afraid of what he might find out?"
Note:
1. The name of the JuOhCho supercomputer throughout this story has been changed from Mother to Akasha to maintain consistency with the Volume 12 tankoubon. The word Akasha is Sanskrit for aether.