Darkness Unleashed

Feline eyes in a youthful, usually smiling face regarded the sight
in front of him. Spiky white hair shone in the sun. Sitting Indian-style,
the long, black and white striped tail twitching, the short hairs standing
up on end and giving it twice the normal size, Byakko wondered what to
think of it. The surge of power had been unmistakable Tsuzuki’s, but it
had held such aperaperate, almost forced quality, Byakko’s fear for his
friend had immediately peaked.

As Tsuzuki’s first shikigami it usually fell to him to stay close to
his so-called master, a man who insisted he was, if at all, their equal,
and not even worthy of their loyalty. All his twelve shikigami begged to
differ, but getting through that hard head that was filled with so much
self-consciousness and guilt, his self-perceived worthlessness, was near-impossible.
All twelve of them knew tTsuzTsuzuki was far more than he seemed, but few
had ever had a true glimpse of his power. Those who suspected had never
told him anything; it was something he had to discover and accept at his
own pace.

It looked like someone had helped that development process along.

The one now cradling the unconscious shinigami in his arms belonged
to those who had known, and probably the only one who knew just what lurked
behind that friendly, cheerful and sometime very childish façade.

“What happened?” Byakko broke the silence.

Eyes hidden by a tinted visor met his and Touda smiled coldly. “He
was triggered.”

Byakko knew that.

“By Enma himself,” the other shikigami added.

“Well, shit,” the tiger muttered.

“Apt description.”

“Why?”

Touda snorted, attention back on the man in his arms. He was sitting
on the ground, back against a large boulder, Tsuzuki cradled in a protective
hold. One hand, sheathed in a dangerous, metal glove, tenderly caressed
the man he had sworn eternal loyalty to.

“Because he’s a bastard,” the serpent finally replied.

“I know that,” Byakko grumbled, which got him a smirk from the other.
“Hey, I’ve been with Tsuzuki almost from day one and let me tell you, something
was going on even back then. He was hiding from himself and the world,
but Enma-Daiou knew exactly who he had made a shinigami. He’s got plans.”

“Of course he does.” Touda tenderly finger-combed lon longish strands.
“Tsuzuki is special in many ways.”

“Uh-huh. So… Enma triggered him and he ended up here. Do I need to
ask why?”

In a way he knew. Touda’s very presence here, as well as his status
as a shikigami serving Tsuzuki, spoke volumes. Byakko had only once asked
how his friend had found the black serpent, who had, theoretically, been
locked away for all eternity inside Tenku, with no one even having a clue
where he was. His name had been erased from all lists. Not just deactivated
but completely removed.

But Tsuzuki had found him. Somehow, the slender young man who seemed
to be such a far cry from a powerful angel of death, had walked into the
palace with determined strides and right to the cell where Touda was kept.
The very person who could get lost in a heartbeat had gone to a well-hidden
place and offered his hand, his very soul, to a dangerous criminal.

To everyone’s shocked surprise, Touda had offered the same in return
without hesitation. Submitting to the will of the Emperor to be released
only if he wore the control devices, the lethal shikigami had joined the
ranks of Tsuzuki’s allies. He was fiercely and undeniably loyal to Tsuzuki.
Even if everyone else was against him, even though he was with his back
against the wall, he would never forsake that loyalty.

Tilting his head, Byakko gazed thoughtfully at the pair in front of
him.

“You felt him.”

“I always do.”

“We all do, to a degree,” the tiger murmured. “But you… he called to
you and you answered. It’s what Enma wanted. Darkness calls to darkness.”

There was a briefly startled expression in the visored eyes that was
clearly visible on the rest of the face. Then Touda growled softly.

“Enma had no right to force the issue.”

“You knew it would happen.”

A shrug. “I knew it could happen. The moment we met, I realized it.
The attraction was immediate.”

Byakko nodded, tail twitching a little. “So… it’s done now?”

“It’s raw, painful and new,” Touda answered, in a rare open mood at
the moment. “He needs to heal first for it to have the wanted effects.”

Feline eyes bore into the visor. “And you?”

“That is of no consequence.”

The red eyes darkened in reproach. “It is, Touda. It always was, but
now it’s even more important for the two of you. Tsuzuki will feel it and
he will need you.”

“He always had me.”

Byakko smiled. “Yeah, he always did.” His tail twitched again and he
grabbed it, running gentle fingers over the still upset fur.

Tsuzuki moaned softly, drawing their attention to the slender figure,
looking so small and vulnerable. Touda’s black-clad form, his hidden eyes,
his metal-clawed fingers, appeared threatening in comparison, but Byakko
knew that the other shikigami would sooner die before he hurt the young
man safely in his arms.

Amethyst eyes cracked open, blinked, then blinked again, and finally
locked on the one above him. They widened, one hand twitched, and then
a tentative smile stretched over the pale lips. Byakko could almost see
the healing lines, the way wounds knitted and broken scars closed once
more. The darkness inside Tsuzuki, that incredible power, called out and
received and answer from the other force so close to him, and they twirled
around each other in an intimate dance. Byakko watched in fascination but
without the slightest trace of jealousy.

“T… Touda?” Tsuzuki whispered, voice weak and unsure.

Those dangerous but extremely gentle claws caressed the soft skin of
his face. “Yes.”

Byakko held his breath as the inhuman eyes widened fractionally, as
memories came back to their friend, and then Touda suddenly found himself
with an armful of sobbing human. He closed his arms around him held him
tight, resting his chin on the dark strands of hair that stuck out in every
direction.

Byakko met the shielded eyes and smiled calmly, still stroking his
tail as if to soothe himself.

“Hurts,” Tsuzuki managed and shivered.

“I know,” Touda murmured, never faltering in his car

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Tsuzuki buried himself in the safety and warmth of the one being who
responded to his despair more than any other of his shikigami. Byakko watched
the harsh lines around the black serpent smooth out, the indifferent face
reflecting the pain the shinigami in his arms radiated. Tsuzuki moaned
softly again, twitching a little, and ripples of pain raced through him.
His body was adjusting to the newly-found power.

“I could kill him for what he did,” Touda rumbled.

Tsuzuki’s hands clenched into the black clothes. “No,” he breathed.
He sniffled a little. “No, Touda. Please, no…”

Never stopping his caress, Touda gazed at him. “He did it deliberately.
He wanted to finally trigger you.”

“Please…” Tsuzuki repeated.

The serpent sighed softly. There was no way any one of them could deny
their master anything. Those eyes had power.

“Okay,” he agreed. “I won’t rip him apart.”

Tsuzuki relaxed a little, smiling, and snuggled into the gentle embrace
once more. “You’re here,” he murmured.

“I’m always here.”

Byakko smiled tenderly at the softly voiced answer.

“You’re closer now.” Tsuzuki swallowed a little. “I can… feel you.”
He winced once more, but the pain seemed less intense now.

Touda rested the clawed hand on Tsuzuki’s head, features neutral.

“It feels… nice. Better. Warm.”

Byakko had to grin at the serpent’s expression when he was called ‘nice
and warm’.

Tsuzuki finally raised his head and sat up, slow and almost deliberate.
There was a shift in his features and suddenly he reached out, cupping
the shikigami’s face, his own expression serious, serene.

“Thank you for acc acceptance,” he whispered.

Byakko sat silently, waiting, holding his breath. Touda placed a hand
over the one on his cheek and curled his fingers around it.

“I would accept no other.”

Tsuzuki’s smile was brilliant, chasing away the lines of pain. It was
the smile they all cherished, what drew them so magically to the young
man. Byakko felt his own heart lift at the sight and when the amethyst
eyes suddenly fell on him, the smile growing even more, he felt himself
respond in kind.