Hi everyone, first I would like to thank all of you for your kind reviews. I have read every single one of them and it has further motivated me to keep on writing. Once again, thanks for your support. Here is Chapter 7 for you all. ;) Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Uraboku.

Chapter 7: With You

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Shusei."

A crystal clear voice resounded in the air, and Shusei glanced towards the direction. His face lit up when he saw the blond walking towards him.

"Hotsuma-nii-chan!" he exclaimed happily as he got onto his feet and walked briskly towards his new mentor.

Hotsuma scratched his head a little, as though a little embarrassed. "Umm.. just calling me Hotsuma is fine, Shusei."

Shusei smiled, "Oh… ok then, Hotsuma."

.

They took a walk around the vast gardens of the Twilight Mansion, talking to each other. To Shusei, he was very curious about anything to do with the blond. Hence, he bombarded his mentor with many questions.

To Hotsuma, it was a walk down memory lane. He never knew Shusei could be so talkative. He merely smiled down fondly at the young boy and answered all his questions honestly, leaving out the part about his former life.

Shusei smiled up once again to his mentor. "By the way, could you show me how your powers work? I would really like to see it," he asked in a pleading tone.

Hotsuma blinked a few times. "You really are a curious one aren't you?" he teased the young boy a little, but he obliged as he further explained.

"My voice is able to summon the flames from hell itself. So I burn my enemies down till their death," he said somberly.

Shusei paused a little, his eyes widening. "Bu-Burn them?" he whispered out.

Hotsuma met his gaze and went down on one knee, to get a better look at Shusei. "Yes, I burn them all to death…" he paused before continuing. "Are you scared of me, Shusei?" He asked this question to the young boy but deep down, he was nervous of the answer that he will be getting. 'Shit, did I scare him?'

The worst fear he had was Shusei fearing him, and rejecting him altogether.

Shusei looked into the steady gaze of Hotsuma and shook his head immediately.

"No… no I am not afraid. It's just that…" Shusei stopped midway, as though hesitating to continue his sentence.

Hotsuma gently smiled, his hand ruffling silky hair gently. "You don't have to hide anything from me, Shusei. You can just be honest and say that I am a monster."

"NO!"

Suddenly, Hotsuma found a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. Taken aback, he freezed for a second. "Shu-Shusei…"

Shusei's whole boy was shaking, his emotions going haywire as he struggled to tell the man his thoughts. He clung onto the blond closer and buried his face onto the broad shoulders.

"You-You're not a monster. I-I'm sorry if my words cause you to misunderstand. It's just that… I…" he stopped as he took a few deep breaths. He immediately calmed down once he felt Hotsuma returned his embrace, his hands rubbing soft circles, one on the back of his head and the other on his back.

He took one last deep breath and continued, not wanting his mentor to misunderstand. "I am not afraid," he reassured the blond. "I just want to get rid of whatever pain and sorrow that you have gone through," he finally breathed out.

Hotsuma's posture relaxed and he allow himself to lean gently against Shusei, returning the embrace. "Th-Thank you, Shusei. Your words mean a lot to me," he whispered out.

It was as though a huge weight has been lifted off his chest. Although part of him did not want to believe that everything is alright now, he has somewhat found a reason for himself to continue living. When Shusei had died, Hotsuma had felt a part of himself dying that very same day. The pain, the sorrow and the emptiness and despair he felt was unimaginable.

He let go of the small body, holding his shoulders at arm's length – one hand crept up and cupped onto the Shusei's cheek. "Thank you for your concern, Shusei," he thanked the boy once again. He then let go of the boy and stood back on full height.

"Now… you were mentioning that you wanted to know more about my powers and weaponry right?"

Shusei replied by nodding enthusiastically. Hotsuma grinned a little at his former partner's enthusiasm and focused on summoning his powers. He mumbled out a few words that Shusei couldn't catch on.

He opened up his palm and it glowed orangy red for a second before a ball of clear orange flame materialize on his palm. Shusei's eyes widen – before he came closer towards the flames.

"Careful," Hotsuma warned when the brunet was staring at his palm. "These are no ordinary flames," he said.

Hotsuma withdrew his palm and the flames immediately disappeared as well, leaving Shusei speechless.

"W-Wow… you can summon flames?" Shusei asked, his heart still beating from the excitement.

Hotsuma returned a smile. "Well… in a way yes. My voice is able to call upon the flames from hell. I used to be able to only summon those kind of flames but recently, I have mastered a few new tricks up along my sleeve," he explained to his new student before raising his palm once more, and whispering another incantation.

This time, clear blue flames materialize on his palm. Hotsuma smiled when he saw Shusei gaped once more. He put his palm closer to the boy.

"You can try touching it if you want. These flames won't hurt or burn you," he reassured.

Shusei looked at Hotsuma once, and stared back at the flames. He raise up his hands and slowly move it closer to the blue flames. True enough, the flames did not burn him, in fact it provided a comfortable warmth to him as he placed his whole palm on top of Hotsuma's hand.

Hotsuma smiled gently at Shusei. "This flames reflect my feelings. It will only harm those who I regard as my enemy," he further explained.

Shusei glanced between the blue flames and Hotsuma. "It's beautiful…" he softly whispered out. Hotsuma's eyes widen, before his gaze softened at the brunet. "This is the first time someone has said that my powers are beautiful," he whispered out.

Hotsuma then went on further to explaining how Zweilt guardians came about in this world, and how the war with the Duras all started. Shusei was a keen listener – never once interrupting the blond when he was explaining. 'Shusei is still as amazing as ever,' Hotsuma thought. 'It's amazing how he is not finding my talk boring.' Afterall, Hotsuma distinctly remembered that he had never really paid attention when his previous mentor was talking about the history of the the Duras and Zweilt guardians. Hotsuma only read up on it after Shusei's passing.

.

"Now… we need to talk more about you," said Hotsuma, as he glanced down at Shusei.

"M-Me?" Shusei was confused for a moment before Hotsuma started ruffling his hair. "Of course, this training will be all about you," Hotsuma replied.

"Okay…" Shusei replied back, still not sure what he was even supposed to talk about. He never thought that his life was worth talking about, as he spent all of his time at the orphanage. It was a good orphanage, but nothing exciting ever happens. It was the usual dull days, until his first encounter with Duras.

"How did you discover that you had God of Eyes?" Hotsuma asked. Shusei's whole body tensed up, as though he was reliving a bad dream. Hotsuma immediately noticed the change in Shusei's demeanor and his heart went out to the brunet. "If… If it is too painful to talk about it…"

Shusei shook his head, reassuring the blond. "No… it's fine. I don't mind telling you at all."

.

-Five years ago-

'Noooooo!' a voice screamed out. A woman was brutally stabbed in the chest at an alleyway. It was near one of the streets at he would often passed by on his way back to school. He reached out – wanting to help out the woman but when he saw the attacker, his mind went blank. That figure was not human – it looked like a shadow instead. The shadow didn't seemed to have noticed him as it continued to stab the woman. Seeing the bloody scene, all he could do was turn back and run for help.

He opened his eyes, his whole body breaking out into a cold sweat. The five-year –old Shusei breathed in and out, gasping for air as he held onto his head when an intense pain shot through his brain.

A few minutes later, once the pain has subsided a little and his breathing has evend out, the boy stepped out of his futon and headed towards the kitchen in the orphanage.

He took a mug and poured himself a glass of water, gulping down everything in one shot. As he was about to head towards the sink to rinse the mug, he looked up towards the glass window and nearly dropped his mug in shock.

In front of the reflective surface, he saw the same dream that had haunted him just now – a lady being brutally stabbed by the shadow.

Having to relive the same scene once again, he screamed in agony.

.

"I see…" Hotsuma said somberly as he listened to Shusei's story.

Shusei glanced towards the forest leading out from Twilight Mansion. "Many people didn't believe me. They… they thought I was being delusional. I never knew it was because my God of Eyes had awaken."

Hotsuma patted the small head gently. "Shusei, you are not alone. Whatever happens, I will always stay with you," the blond smiled gently at the brunet.

"Hotsuma…"

This was how a new bond was formed between young Shusei and Hotsuma.

This chapter is mainly about Hotsuma and Shusei warming up to each other again, so I hope it was not too boring - since it was mainly conversations going on between the two. No worries, the next few chapters will be a lot more *ahem* interesting with more HotsumaXShusei scenes.

Appreciate if you guys can please please review. Also, if you all are interested, please also check out my new HotsumaXShusei fanfic "Beautiful Disaster" which is also another story I am currently working on. Thank you so much for all your support. Many thanks. :)

xoxo Kimihearts