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The Epic	By : kyochan Category: +S to Z > Spiral Views: 1747 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Spiral, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Title:� The Epic or To
Be Determined

Chapter:� 1/ many

Authors:� Kyo-chan and
Koko-chan

Genre:� Shounen-ai

Disclaimers:� We do
not own the characters or the series.�
They belong to Kyo Shirodaira and Eita Mizuno.� This fanfiction is written by fans purely for
the enjoyment of fans.

Author's Notes:� First
of all, this is very long with about two-thirds of it completed.� Secondly, this begins right after episode 17,
and for the sake of our memories, we found this site very useful for that http://www.tv.com/spiral/show/31756/episode_guide.html
.� Be forewarned that in addition to
shounen-ai, there will be original characters, elements from both the anime and
manga, and a deviation from both plotlines.�
We started this monster before any translations were available to us, so
we just did our own thing.� Comments and
criticisms are highly appreciated, but please, no flames.� Enjoy the read!

~*~

�� Eyes Rutherford paced the expanse of the conservatory, every
so often glancing out at the city bathed in the midday sun. A letter sat
unfolded on the top of his piano, the words still echoing in his mind as if
spoken by a voice that continued on even when his eyes weren't looking at the
words.

�� Dear Eyes,

�� I hope this letter finds you
well. Unfortunately, my visit will again be delayed by matters necessary
to attend to here. However, I have recently been informed that another
threat is close to you. Various sources at my disposal report that there
is a Hunter being dispatched to see to sweet, unknowing Sayoko Shiranagatani,
and her safety is no doubt compromised. I thought that it would be best
to warn you, since you are in a better position to eliminate yet another threat
to the Blade Children. I trust you will handle it as I have come to
expect of you, especially after all of the special attention I have given you.

�� Until next we meet,

�� Kanone

�� The musician didn't like
the residual anxiousness that accompanied the letter that had arrived
today. Not only did it mean trouble for the few Blade Children he looked
out for here in Tokyo,
but Kanone knew precisely how to word the letter to remind Eyes of the way
things were.� It was especially
disconcerting considering that the last few months had been spent in a hectic
and very intense pursuit of not only one Ayumu Narumi, but his own thoughts
about someone else that had managed to get close to him. In the
slowly-awakening affection he'd begun to enjoy from Kousuke Asazuki, he'd
discovered that he didn't always like "the way things were". It
was true that he and Kousuke fought quite literally like cats and dogs more
than they had gotten along, but they'd patched up their rocky start with both
of them giving just a little bit more in time and patience to what could
possibly be more than just a hesitant partnership.

He was interrupted from his pacing by the sound of the door opening and
none other than Kousuke walking in, not bothering to knock as usual. The
expression on his pale face was determined, his green-gold cat eyes intent
beneath the crimson bangs of his hair. He looked as if he'd been
intending to demand something of Eyes, but he paused when he saw the tiniest
signs of displeasure on the musician's face. "Your lips are
compressed," he said, calling attention to Eyes's version of a tense
scowl, "What's wrong?"

For a single moment, Eyes cursed
the redhead's perception and attention to the very subtlety that the silver
Blade Child relied upon for his own survival. He didn't mind the
intrusion however, as he was getting rather used to them happening
unannounced. "Another Hunter," he replied, turning away from
the window to look at his companion gravely. "I just got word of
it."

"Oh, joy of joys," Kousuke grumbled sarcastically, "I hope
this one doesn't have a thing for rigged hotels. Exploding stairs make
good exercise, but it gets boring after a while."

"No, it seems that this one
would prefer to go against a target that doesn't know how to fight back,"
Eyes said, frowning just slightly at the recollection of what had happened
while he had been away for a concert. He didn't intend on having that
happen again.

"Wonderful," the redhead huffed. "I take it you know
who the target is?"

Eyes gave a single nod.
"Sayoko Shiranagatani."

"Ah. Shoulda expected that, I guess. If I was a Hunter,
that's where I'd go. Or maybe not, considering the last one died at the
hospital from...heh...complications."

"Complications
indeed." Eyes knew that Sonobe's death had been Kousuke's fault, and
perhaps in fact encouraged it in his own quiet way. "It means that
she'll have to be watched."

"Maybe. But before that, we gotta talk." Kousuke said, his
expression becoming determined again. "I want you to pull Ryoko out
of this mess. I'm still kind of ticked that you dragged her into this in
the first place."

Blue eyes blinked as he tilted his
head, surprised at both his expression and the request that inspired it.
"But I already went through the trouble of involving her. She is
necessary now that Little Narumi knows Rio's
face. We already agreed upon what she would and wouldn't do."

"That was before the Hunters got crazy and stupid enough to start
taking hostages and rigging whole freaking buildings to explode. Ryoko
hates to fight, you know that! And I don't want her in a place where
she's going to get hurt!"

Eyes crossed his arms, looking at
Kousuke with a stern expression. "And then what am I supposed to do
about having someone else in the school with Narumi? At least Ryoko was a
slightly less violent alternative so that just maybe we would have a chance at
gaining his trust."

"It's not like I'm going to sneak up behind him and ram his face into
one of the lunch tables!" Kousuke argued. "And Rio should be out of the hospital soon."

"Are you offering to take her
place?"

Kousuke crossed his arms. "I already enrolled there,
remember? I'll be nearby to make sure he doesn't get killed by someone
other than us...not that I think you want any more of my little tests to be
done."

"It shouldn't be necessary,
especially not after Rio's test and your most
recent encounter with the Hunters. It's a matter of trust
now." He tilted his head, scrutinizing Kousuke's
determination. "You really want me to remove her, don't you?
You realize that we can't protect her if she's displaced from us."

Kousuke set his jaw, stubborn as ever. "Ryoko can take care of
herself. But!" he said, interrupting Eyes before he could ask why
she couldn't be left where she was if that was the case, "Right now, with
both Narumi-ototou and you in the same area, the Hunters are converging on
us. Ryoko can take care of herself in normal situations, but against the
concentrated forces that are sure to come? I'm not willing to take that risk.
Pull her out and send her somewhere safer."

Eyes took a slow breath, thinking
it over for a quiet moment. It was true that she, out of any of them,
stood the least chance of being able to handle the Hunters. True, she was
tougher than most gave her credit for, but her absolute refusal to adopt the
more vicious, self-defending tactics that Blade Children like himself, Kousuke
and Rio relied upon put her in danger.
He wasn't sure why it bothered him that Kousuke was so adamant, but he pushed
that thought to the side, considering his reasons instead.
"Fine," he finally answered. "I will...arrange for a
better situation to make itself known and release her from our
arrangement."

"You swear?"

"You have my word,
Kousuke."

Kousuke relaxed as he heard those words, knowing that Eyes never went back
on a promise. "Thanks. In return, I'll keep an eye on
Narumi-ototou." He smiled slightly. "Not that that's an
unpleasant prospect."

"Just make sure that 'keeping
an eye on him' means that you don't scare him away," Eyes warned, turning
back to the window that overlooked the city. His voice quieted a little
as his slender fingers traced over the glass. "We need him."

"I'm hardly about to jump him in the halls and ravish him in a closet,
either," Kousuke murmured, leaning against the wall, "But maybe you're
right, and we do need him, in more ways than one. The question is how to get
him?"

"The challenges and tests were
meant to prove to him and to us that he could not only withstand Hunters, but
also that he could be just as good as Kiyotaka," Eyes replied, watching
Kousuke's movements in a reflection against the window. "The more we
keep doing that, the more drawn to us he will be."

"Hmph," the redhead grunted, "Unless someone runs interference.
I swear, if he's shacking up with that Hiyono girl, I'm going to get Rio to blow up her house."

"I highly doubt that's the
case. However much she may want it, I just don't think that's the way he
looks at her."

There was truth in that, and Kousuke couldn't help but snicker softly as he
thought about the dynamic he had witnessed between the younger Narumi brother
and his reporter-wannabe sidekick. "True. He usually looks
dazed or confused instead of desiring. I still haven't figured out if
it's because she's coming on too strong, or not strong enough."

That got a silver brow to rise.
"I certainly never gave that any thought. She's just in the
way. An...unexpected variable."

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but if you try to cancel out
that particular variable, Narumi-ototou's going to go into the negative."

"Little Narumi has separated
himself from everything," Eyes pointed out with an almost inaudible
sigh. "And the only reason he hasn't shut her out is because she's
simply too stubborn for that."

Kousuke made a face, not really liking the fact that they were being beaten
out by a girl who sang weird songs with lyrics that made no sense.
"At least we have some links to him, however tenuous. His obsession
with finding his brother, for one."

"I almost wish I knew where
Kiyotaka was." It almost sounded as if he should have been wearing a
wistful expression, but his face betrayed nothing. "If his younger
brother can truly help save us, I feel as if we should offer him something in
return."

"Whatever," the redhead replied with a shrug. "I don't
think he can save us. Everything's been planned and plotted to the point
where it's not possible to change Fate. But of course, that's not really
the point here. The point is that even if we knew, we couldn't tell him.
Otherwise, he'd stop chasing."

"And thus never believe in
what he's actually capable of doing," Eyes conceded the point with a
nod. "As for believing in him, I'm not entirely sure that I do
either, but it's worth trying." His hand came up to brush a few
strands of silver away from his face.

"Bah. If he can't learn to have confidence in himself and his judgments,
he's no help at all. You weren't there for either of Rio's
tests. Even when he got the right answer with the strychnine in the
hospital, he was too much of a pussy to really follow through. And the
thing with the tape? Hah! He gets the key and the tape
and outwits myself and Rio, and he still
just moans about how he's not good enough. For someone so damn clever,
he's amazingly dense."

"But that just runs in the
family, doesn't it?" Eyes said, tilting his head. "And all this
time, he's had it thrown in his face how much better Kiyotaka is, it's like the
reverse psychology of the boy who cried wolf. Instead of learning to know
it for a lie, his wolf kept coming back to stare in his face. That wolf
was his own making."

"Maybe, but it's still damn frustrating."

Eyes nodded his head once
again. "I wonder how many times he will exceed our expectations
before he obtains the confidence he needs." He finally turned away
from the window completely, approaching Kousuke. "I hope that we're
still alive then."

Kousuke gave Eyes a significant look over the rims of those ever-present
yellow shades. "I intend to be, but if you keep pulling stunts like you
did with that sniper, I don't know about you." Though his tone was
reproachful, there was concern in the green-gold eyes. As much as Kousuke
tried to hide it, he worried about Eyes.

The corners of Eyes's mouth
twitched, as if he wanted to smile but couldn't quite do it. Even if he
could, it likely wouldn't have reached his bright blue gaze. "I
think you know precisely why I did it that way. Don't you?"

One crimson eyebrow raised, and then Kousuke rolled his eyes.
"You mean besides scare me to death and make me act like an
overprotective idiot in front of Narumi-ototou? No, not really."

"I don't play by anyone else's
rules." His eyes were intent as he met Kousuke's. "Not a
Hunter's, not even Little Narumi's. I may not be able to outrun Fate, but
there are certainly better ways to die, so I'll make that happen on my terms
for as long as I can."

Kousuke's expression hardened as his temper was roused, his eyes flashing
with molten intensity as they glared into endless blue.
"Maybe," he growled, "but that won't stop me from playing by my own rules
to try and keep you alive. I am not going to be the one that has
to go to Kanone and tell him you got yourself killed!"

Eyes sensed that depending on his
answers, the flash in those eyes before him could mean the downward spiral into
another of their arguments. "You don't think he wouldn't
approve?" Eyes's voice never reached above the pitch he always held,
but there was something underneath it, as if that something had stolen his ability
to yell. "Whether we follow Fate or not, Blade Children still don't
answer to Hunters, nor do we die by them. Do you think he'd want us
skulking in the shadows when we have the skill to defeat the Hunters at their
own game?"

Something that looked suspiciously like hurt passed through Kousuke's eyes,
even as he glowered at his leader. Then he looked away, his expression
closing down into something unreadable. "So you'd rather I didn't
care when you put yourself in danger?" he whispered, "That I do
nothing when someone threatens your life?" He shook his head and
forced that familiar cocky grin onto his face, the jesters' mask his best
defense, and the one he was most skilled at. "Well, thanks but no
thanks, Fearless Leader. Kanone freaks me out, and I'm not doing anything
that makes me have to talk to him. He's spooky."

This time, Eyes's sigh was audible,
the only sign that he would allow for the tightening in his chest as that look
of hurt didn't pass unnoticed. He lowered his head, lovely argent hair
falling forward to curtain his face, hiding an expression that he wasn't sure
he wanted seen. "I never said that no one should care."
He wouldn't admit that Kanone intimidated him, but he had been the closest
thing to a leader the Blade Children had once had, the one who taught them how
to stand up and fight against the Hunters in the first place.

"Then don't expect me to act that way!" Kousuke shot back,
turning to look at Eyes once more. "Maybe I can't stop you
when you do things like that, but I can sure as hell complain about it.
Hells, half the time I think Kanone's just waiting for one of us to slip up
anyway, just so he can come down and terrorize us all. Or hang off you
like a sex-crazed anaconda." The redhead paused, and tilted his head
in thought. "Hm. Is it possible to do both at the same
time..?"

"Aren't you being a little
unreasonable?" the pianist asked, his tone hushed as if he didn't want
someone unseen to hear. And it would not have been difficult for Kousuke
to guess who that unseen shadow might be. His hand came up to rub the
opposite arm as if he were cold. "You make Kanone out to
be--" Eyes couldn't think of an appropriate comparison, so he let
the sentence linger.

That caused Kousuke to smirk and shrug, though he inwardly did feel a
little sorry for Eyes. "You're right, I'm exaggerating. This
is Kanone, after all, and he'd act like a subtle sex-crazed
anaconda."

"Kousuke..." The
same hand as before moved again, and this time he dared to slowly lift
it. His fingertips brushed the side of the redhead's face. "I
don't wish to talk about Kanone anymore."

The grin on Kousuke's face faded, becoming something much sadder but far
more real. He lifted one of his own hands up to cover Eyes's, surprisingly
gentle. "Sorry," he whispered, feeling a little bad about the
look in the other Blade Child's eyes. He still hadn't quite figured out
where the limit to teasing lay between them, so he still crossed the line every
now and again.

Eyes distantly wondered why the
other Blade Child's touch felt so warm against his own skin. Was he
really as cold to the touch as he felt? "Our future is unknown, our
survival is questionable. I don't want to contemplate what happens if we
fail or if Little Narumi cannot save us. I would like to learn how to
feel before I die."

"I dunno," Kousuke sighed, rubbing his thumb over the back of
Eyes's hand in a gentle motion, daring for just a little while to actually show
the affection he held for his leader and friend.� "Feelings are all well and good, but
mortal terror sucks."

"I suppose that's not the best
thing to start with," he replied. The touch was reassuring, and Eyes
hoped that Kousuke could see how much it meant in his gaze, since he couldn't
quite let the smile pull at his lips yet. "You're right."

It seemed that he could, because the redhead's gemlike eyes softened a
little more, and he allowed a rare genuine smile to grace his lips.
"Of course. The Great and Powerful Kousuke-sama is always
right."

A bit of a nod was all Eyes needed
to show that he agreed, even if it was only to make Kousuke happy.
"Doesn't it ever get tiring to know everything, Kousuke?" he teased,
his tone barely changing, but there was a softness to it that let the redhead
know he was joking.

"Well yes," Kousuke replied, his smile becoming impish, "but
when the pressure of my obvious omniscience becomes too much for me to bear, I
just go talk to Rio. She then proceeds
to give me a heaping dose of reality and make me feel like a total idiot.
Quite refreshing, really."

"I should have expected such a
thing," Eyes said, a soft exhalation of breath sounding somewhat close to
a laugh. "Trust Rio to put you in your
place." Why couldn't he smile? Between them, it was always like this.
Kousuke had a knack for saying or doing the right things to provoke a smile,
but it almost hurt for Eyes to give him even the slightest acknowledgement. He
couldn't complain though. He'd done it all himself, he'd made himself this way
to avoid fate.

�� Kousuke didn't mind the
unresponsiveness of the Brit too much. While it was sometimes a little
daunting, he was becoming quite adept in reading all the small signs that
passed for change of expression on the other boy. And he understood that their
relationship was still too new to expect the gigantic amount of trust that it
would take for Eyes to lower his walls. There were times when Kousuke still had
trouble lowering his when they were alone, after all. Still, for right now it
was enough to just be near him and sometimes see this softer side of the
pianist.

�� "Kousuke..." he
began quietly, his blue eyes fixing on the gold."It's...only going to get
more difficult from now on. I don't need Kanone to tell me that. We're
outnumbered and one boy who doesn't have the power to believe is our last
chance at hope. Are you sure you want to remain here with me? You and Rio are free to go whenever you please."

�� Kousuke sighed, slowly
lowering both his eyes and their clasped hands. "You know I don't
personally believe he can change our fate. Not yet. If he can, he needs to grow
up a little first. But what both I and Rio do
believe in is you, and the fact that if we don't at least try, that makes us no
better than the dolls they want to turn us into." He looked up into Eyes's
sapphire gaze again, his own eyes determined. "And I'm not about to leave
you alone against the world. Knowing you, you'd just run out and do something
that put you in danger again. I'm not abandoning you to anyone, not even
Kanone."

�� Eyes held Kousuke's gaze for a
few moments longer before he nodded once. "You're probably right. I'm not
good at staying out of sight." It made him feel better that Rio and Kousuke still believed in him. For awhile now, he
felt like he'd been stumbling around blindly, Kanone's letters from wherever he
was doing nothing to help him figure things out. He knew where his brother
stood, and the letters were probably meant more to entice him to the
"right" side than to actually save him from the Hunters. At least
with Kousuke and Rio, he knew that they all
had the same plan in mind, no ulterior motives. Their only differences were the
degrees in which they trusted Ayumu to save them. Rio's
near-absolute faith, his wavering doubts, and Kousuke's blatant disbelief until
he was proven wrong. "Thank you," Eyes murmured after a moment.

�� Kousuke grinned and reached up
to brush back a long strand of silver hair. "Aw, don't mention it. I'm
doing this because Rio would kill me if I let
you get in trouble. You may be the unofficial Leader-sama, but she
scares me." His tone may have been light, but the softness of his golden
eyes belied it, showing the care that hid beneath the jester's mask.

�� It was that care that Eyes
managed to see which flared his hope. It wasn't Kiyotaka's words of
inspiration, it had nothing to do with fate. It was the reality that he wasn't
really alone that made him believe he could evade what had been set out for
him. "Kousuke..." He felt there was something he should have been
able to say, but he couldn't find it. He leaned forward slowly and pressed his
lips to the redhead's. The movement was slight, not much pressure, but the
meaning had more power to it than the gesture itself.

�� Kousuke froze in shock for a
second, but that was normal for the redhead. He had never been one to take
surprises well, and the kiss was totally unexpected. Still, he booted his brain
back into action and hesitantly raised his arms to wrap around Eyes, keeping
the hold loose in case the other didn't like it. Golden eyes fluttered closed
as he leaned into the kiss, returning the light pressure and feeling his heart
swell with the knowledge of Eyes's affection.

�� It was strange....to have
someone's arms around him that weren't Kanone's. It had taken a brief second to
register that difference so that he wouldn't offend Kousuke by pulling away.
His experiences with such things were rare, but he made the most of it, holding
the pressure for as long as it felt right before hesitantly withdrawing. He
didn't leave the seemingly protective circle of Kousuke's arms, however, not
feeling the immediate urge to escape. He felt as if he should have apologized
for taking advantage of the moment, but instead, he just lowered his head.

�� Kousuke took a chance and
tightened the hold just a little. He liked the feeling of having Eyes in his
arms. Sure, their relationship was very new and not terribly deep, but that
hadn't stopped Kousuke from daydreaming about the softer stuff, even if neither
of them were really sure they could trust the other that much just yet.

�� The trust was a large issue.
When Eyes had first begun to slip away from Kanone, he thought that he would be
defying the Saviors alone. That Kousuke and Rio
had joined up with him was indeed a surprise, but he'd accepted them, always
guarding his back just in case they turned out to be under Kanone. It was
difficult, but he had to have learned something, or he wouldn't be allowing
Kousuke to hold him like this.

�� Kousuke felt like he wanted to
hold Eyes like this forever. But he knew it wasn't really possible. For one
thing, they'd both get damn bored with just remaining stationary after a while,
and two, Rio could pop in at any minute, and
neither of them was really ready to have others know just yet. Even if Kousuke
suspected that she already knew. Rio was
sneaky like that.

�� Eyes let out another soft
sight and very gently pulled away. He wanted Kousuke to know that it he wasn't
unhappy with their moment of comfort with each other, but he had the same
things on his mind as the redhead. "We need to work on the next plan. Now
that we've been alerted to the presence of another Hunter, I don't want to wait
for him to get to us first, as they have before."

�� Kousuke nodded and let go of
Eyes without complaint. For now, this was enough, and he turned his mind to
business as usual. "Maybe we should lure the Hunter out and kill him quickly?
It's annoying to wait for their death threats, and the freaking out part when
they target you gives me a headache."

"You mean because I'm not as
cautious as you would prefer?" Eyes asked, and inwardly, he was amused. He
knew that it had bothered both Kousuke and Ayumu when he'd gone against the
younger Narumi's plans to take matters into his own hands. He was too clever to
die just yet, too stubborn to let someone dictate how he'd live, and too set in
the belief that he still called the shots.

�� "Well, yeah." Kousuke
replied. "Look Eyes, like it or not, you're the one leading this motley
little group. What would happen to Rio and me
if you bit the big one? For all her maturity, Rio's
not a leader, and I can barely lead a dog to its food bowl, let alone lead her!
You've got other lives besides your own on the line when you take risks like
that." And I don't think I could bear it to watch you die, the look
in his eyes said.

�� "It's not that I'm not
thinking of you." Eyes walked quietly over to sit at his piano, but like
so often lately, his gaze was what touched the keys, not his fingers. "I
have every intention of surviving when I make the plans I do. It's just that I
prefer to survive on my own terms. I could fight, but if I can evade them
without killing, it would be the more preferable choice."

�� Kousuke sighed and plopped
into a nearby chair, somehow managing to look bonelessly graceful while doing
so. "I guess that's where we differ. I'd rather kill them and eliminate
the danger of them returning to try again."

�� "By killing, we are one
step closer to being what he wanted us to be." Eyes knew he could
kill. And that he could probably do it without a second thought or a backwards
glance.

�� "I don't think so. That
would just be killing anyone, anywhere, for no reason. When I kill, it's
because someone has threatened me or my family. And I would have killed that
Hunter at the concert, if I had been able."

�� Eyes let out a soft sigh,
staring at the ivory as if it held all the answers he was looking for. "I
know you would have. And I wouldn't have held it against you."

�� Kousuke smirked. "Of
course not! He was getting in the way of you being adored by all your lady
fans, ne?" the redhead teased, settling into a comfortable sprawl within
the large chair, his legs dangling over one arm while his head rested on the
other.

�� His eyebrow lifted again. "The
female fans are the loudest ones."

�� Kousuke laughed. "That's
not true. The loudest ones are your staff, since you keep changing plans on
them."

�� "They can deal with it."

�� Kousuke chuckled. "You
say that now, but what will you do when one of the organizers finally blows a
gasket and tries to shave you bald?"

�� "What, and ruin that
precious superficial beauty that they all seem to like? She would probably fear
for her own safety." He tilted his head. "If she did that to me, she
might have a hundred other women bearing down with weapons in hand.

�� And one guy, Kousuke
added, but kept the thought to himself. He wasn't ready to open himself that
much and show his affections so obviously. "True. But people do odd things
in the state of madness." He stretched, his long body arching as his arms
reached above his head. "So, what do you think we should do about this new
Hunter of ours? I'm all for laying bait and luring him away from Sayoko and into some sort of fatal little trap, but what
would you prefer?"

�� Eyes knew how to get Kousuke
to react, and he glanced in the other Blade Child's direction. "Are you in
need of bait? I could free up a night."

�� "Gack!" Kousuke
momentarily freaked, losing all his grace, agility, and sadly, his balance. He
fell out of the chair and landed in a heap. "Don't you dare!!!"

�� As much as Eyes found that
amusing, there was a bit of truth to it. It would require an actual Blade Child
to be bait for any Hunter, and Eyes was willing to do it himself rather than
put Rio or Kousuke. Especially since Rio was still healing and Kousuke didn't have as much
fighting skill. "Our options are rather limited, Kousuke."

�� Kousuke righted himself and
glared at his silver-haired friend and leader. "Still, no way in hell!
You're not stupid, you're not expendable, and you're not going. If anything, I
should be bait, since Rio's still
healing."

�� Eyes managed to hide the fact
that the concept bothered him. "I suppose you may have a point, but are
you volunteering because you really want to, or to keep me from going?"

�� "Both." Kousuke
replied promptly, removing his yellow glasses to check them for damage from the
tumble. "Not only are you not as expendable as I am, but there's just the
fact that you never go walking out around town unless you have to. To do so now
would be out of character, and the Hunter might notice that and be suspicious.
I, however, like to wander around and cause chaos, so catching me out and about
won't seem strange. And while I'm not the demon you are in a fight, I can
hold my own."

�� "I wasn't suggesting that
you couldn't, Kousuke." There was something in the way that he said the
redhead's name that was different from the rest of his tone. As if it had more
meaning than anything else. It sometimes happened with Rio
too, as if the only thing that broke the chain of his aloofness was the people
that surrounded him. "And I hate to bend to the fact that you're
right."

�� Kousuke grinned. "Hey,
what did I say before? The great and powerful Kousuke-sama is always
right!"

�� "And quite modest
too."

�� Kousuke shrugged.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, my antics do seem to amuse you,
so it's all good." He hopped to his feet, lithe as a cat, and walked over
to stand behind Eyes at the piano. "So, do we actually use my bait idea,
or do you have any other ideas?" Times like this, Kousuke wished Rio was here. She was always good for plans.

�� "It sounds like the bait
idea is all we have for the moment. Hunters won't be particular about who they kill at this point.� Still, I don't think that Rio's
going to like it anymore than I do. I'm not sure if Ayumu cares at this
point." The presence behind Eyes was reassuring, and he almost leaned
back, but remained where he was.

�� Kousuke shrugged. "I
don't think we should drag Narumi-ototou in on this anyway. Call me a sick
bastard--which I am--but I really don't think he'd be able to handle me
eviscerating someone in broad daylight."

�� Eyes nodded. "You may be
right about that. It might just end up that he gets involved anyway, but I'd
rather not instigate such a connection. If it happens, it might be more in tune
with fate than we can control."

�� "I was thinking more that
he'd freak out and run away, never to return, but yeah, that's also true."
Kousuke replied, absently playing with a strand of Eyes's silver hair.

�� Without really thinking about
it, the musician's head tipped back in the direction of Kousuke's hand.
"What you say is a good point as well, but I have a feeling he might keep
coming back until he hears what he wants to about Kiyotaka. Unfortunately, that
might be all we're good for to him."

�� Kousuke sighed, but a slight
smile stayed on his face. "Well, I guess you'll just have to exercise that
infamous Eyes Rutherford charm of yours to nab more than his curiosity about
his brother." He let his hands wander lower, resting on the Brit's
shoulders as a silent offering of a shoulder rub.

�� "Hn. Charm." He said
that as if he didn't believe he had it, though it had been proven somehow time and
again. Against his usual better judgment, he didn't pull away from Kousuke's
hands, allowing that tentative trust to hang between them just a little longer.

�� Kousuke immediately started to
wring the tension out of the musician's shoulders. "Yup, charm. As crazy
as it sounds. What is it about the silent type that drives admirers
nuts?"

�� "I don't know, but
whoever solves that mystery might find something to gain from it." A bit
of a groan left his lips as Kousuke's hands dug into his shoulders, kneading out
knots he hadn't even noticed until now. His head fell forward, argent hair
slipping down to curtain his pale features.

�� The redhead let out a small
chuckle as he watched Eyes reluctantly relax. Who would have thought that he
was such a slave to simple massage? "You tense too much. I'd tell you to
go on vacation, but knowing you, nowhere in the world would be safe. If it
isn't hoards of fangirls, it'll be hired killers."

�� "Such is the life of Eyes
Rutherford, I suppose," Eyes said, giving the slightest shrug so he
wouldn't dislodge the hands. He didn't sound resentful of it; rather he
accepted that as his life.

�� "Hai, hai," Kousuke
sighed, digging at a particularly stubborn spot. "So I'll stake out that
creepy old manor, huh?� Hopefully if they
see me first, they'll forget about her long enough for me to kill them."

�� Eyes hissed softly at the spot
of tension, but let out his breath slowly. "They're going to assume she's
the easier target."

�� Kousuke made a small 'tsk'ing
sound as he continued to work. Most of the tension was melting away, leaving
relaxation in its wake. "Well, that's not very nice. I'll have to go
wander around there and look conspicuous. I'm good at conspicuous."

�� "Without even
trying," Eyes confirmed, shaking his head. "You're really not going
to be talked out of being bait, are you?"

�� "When the only other
choices are you, Rio, and Sayoko? No, not
really." Kousuke replied, removing his hands now that the tension in
Eyes's shoulders was gone.

�� Eyes slumped just a little
more in his seat, but made no more movement than that. "I suppose I'll
agree, but you'd better be careful."

�� Kousuke waved the concern away
with an airy wave of his hand. "Please, I'm a Blade Child, ne? What can
happen?"

�� "Please don't try to find
out," Eyes said, his voice the same as ever but with a hint of imploring
to it.

�� "Don't worry. This is a
game of cat and mouse. And I almost never lose at my own games." Kousuke
smiled and put his shades back on. "I should go arm up and take a walk. I
should be back by nightfall."

�� "And if you're not?"
Eyes asked, his head remaining lowered. His hand reached out, catching the
redhead's sleeve. He knew already that if Kousuke didn't come back that night,
he was going to go after his companion.

�� Green-golden eyes glanced at
the pale hand clutching his sleeve before softening and rising to look at Eyes
again. "If I'm not, bring backup with you. If this person catches
me, I don't want you going alone. Take Rio...and
maybe Narumi-ototou, if you can persuade him. But not the Hiyono girl. The thought
of being rescued by a girl who punches with teddy bears makes me cringe."

�� Eyes turned his gaze up to
Kousuke, something highly unreadable in his expression. Today's subtle
incidents had let him know just how much he cared about his little team of defiance.
They were more than just renegade Blade Children together. "You have to
be careful."

�� The redhead gave another of
those rare, genuine smiles and clasped the pale hand between his own, bringing
the back of it up to his lips. "Of course. After all, I don't want you mad
at me."

�� Eyes fought back a shiver as
he nodded once, appreciating that smile as best he could. "You make me
sound so brutal, Kousuke. I don't really have a temper."

�� Kousuke chuckled and freed the
Brit's hand. "No, but you're too clever for my comfort. Especially when
getting back at someone for annoying you. I'll avoid that, if I can." He
turned and walked out of the room, but paused just as he would have closed the
door behind him and looked back at Eyes. "Besides...making you mad at me
would mean that I'd made you unhappy." With that, he closed the door and
left to prepare.
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