A/N: Hey guys! I'm back! Exhausted as mess, but I'm here and it's absolutely fabulous to be home. I'm giving at least one update tonight, since I remembered I won't have a chance tomorrow.
Thanks to Xros-Hero! I... well, we'll see with her. Akari has a special plot waiting for her, as does everyone here. :) Enjoy!
IX. Bitter
"It hurts to swallow poison."
There was dirt in his shoes.
He was grateful it wasn't in his eyes. The blonde brushed his hair from his face and grumbled. Still, he trudged on. How had he ended up here, by himself was either an irony or a contrived coincidence.
Aonuma Kiriha was a man who frequently believed in the former. Especially after all of this…
"Such a pensive expression you wear today, Aonuma Kiriha-san. Is today a memorial?"
Kiriha didn't even flinch in surprise or terror. He simply grunted, unwilling to budge an inch. "Yeah, I'm mourning your fighting spirit, you cowardly punk."
Taiki chuckled. "Couldn't I have once accused you of the same thing?" His black eyes flickered. "How many times did you fall down before you figured out standing up was a safer idea?" Kiriha shrugged as he continued his walk. Taiki's footsteps were almost inaudible in the crunch of the sand. "He's quite upset with me, you know? That angel you are so angry with."
"Because you aren't murdering me right now?" Kiriha finally stopped and whipped around, glaring at still water eyes.
The brunette smiled at this, shaking his head. "That's quite the possibility, but if that were so, wouldn't he just rip you to non-existence and be done with it?" The blond bristled, unable to disagree. "I wonder… what is he looking for?"
Kiriha scowled and marched over, lifting the brunette by the collar of his red and blue shirt. "Enough," he hissed. Taiki merely looked down at him, clearly too amused to care. "You are under his thumb, quit talking any other way!"
Taiki smiled again, hauntingly patient. "Am I really? Well, if you want to think that way, that's your business. Perhaps you will die easier if you do. You will be at peace if you believe I have not betrayed you." He pulled himself from Kiriha's grip and casually walked away.
"If that's what makes you happy~"