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Empty Spaces	By : Macx Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 3189 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants of Darkness (Yami no Matsuei), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Empty Spaces
- 2-part 2
- 3-part 3
- 4-part 4
- 5-part 5
- 6-part 6
- 7-part 7
- 8-part 8
- 9-part 9
- 10-part 10
- 11-part 11
- 12-part 12
- 13-part 13
- 14-part 14
- 15-part 15
- 16-part 16
- 17-part 17
- 18-part 18
- 19-part 19
- 20-part 20
- 21-part 21
- 2
- 3
- 4
Tatsumi Seiichiro gazed at his lover of so many years. The
truth of the events was just now settling in, told to him by Watari in
a soft, even voice as the scientist related his findings inside the Mother
computer. His voice never wavered, was slightly more flat than normal,
and he wouldn't meet Tatsumi's eyes.
Shock was too mild a word for what coursed through the Shadow Master.
"Enma... is behind all this?" he whispered.
Watari nodded. "Yes. Right from the beginning."
Tatsumi swallowed hard.
This was all their Lord's doing. Everything, from Tsuzuki's first day
in Meifu to today, all had been because Enma had needed him. What Watari
had revealed was shocking and horrifying and Tatsumi had been reeling with
it ever since.
And not only was all of this one grand scheme of their Lord, he had
also found out another truth about his lover. Watari Yutaka had been, was
still, one of the Five Generals. He was the Chief Researcher of the Mother
program.
His Yutaka.
One of the most secretive of shinigami that existed. One of the most
highly acclaimed ones. Those five that had created the super-computer known
as Mother.
"I want the others to know," Watari said softly. "Not just the two of
us. Tsuzuki and Hisoka, too. The Council in GensouKai, too."
"But Enma..."
"Won't do anything right now."
"We are nothing but his servants, Taka!" Tatsumi argued. "He can get
rid of us easily!"
"He would have to get rid of the whole of GensouKai, too."
"They don't know yet!"
"Seii, he tried to kill Touda to break the bond, he tried a virus, he
tried to upset the balance by attempting to murder some of the others,
and he used Terazuma... it's no longer a secret. I might be the only one
right now who knows everything, but the others suspect. They would find
the truth even without us. And then there's Tsuzuki... Don't underestimate
what he touched and can remember of it.
Enma-Daiou he would find a new way, Tatsumi thought fearfully. He didn't
want to think of Tsuzuki, what his friend had looked like when the powers
had been completely unleashed.
That had been Enma's plan from the beginning?
Tatsumi gathered his lower into his arms, felt the thin body stiffen
briefly, then relax into his hold.
"The moment we know Tsuzuki is fine, we'll go to the Palace," the Shadow
Master murmured.
"We should go now. Enma... Enma knows that I know. Tsuzuki is only safe
as long as the Count can withstand Enma."
And how can he? Tatsumi wondered. Why is the Palace safe? Why does it
seem to be the only place Enma has to respect to be neutral territory of
sorts?
"We will," he finally said. "Taka... if I ask you about the Mother project...
and you... will you answer?"
Amber eyes regarded him solemnly. And there was a deep pain in them,
a physical pain, that manifested in the steep line between Watari's eyes,
too. His lover was suffering from a headache.
Shinigami rarely got headaches. Healing powers took care of physical
discomfort.
"Yes." Watari just smiled wryly.
Tatsumi had expected all kinds of answers, but not such a straight-forward
one.
"Seii, I love you," Watari added as he took in his surprise. "And you
know everything else already. You know about Yuki and the devil and...
and everything."
"I never knew you were one of the Five."
Watari drew slightly away. "It wasn't a time I wanted to remember."
"Why not?" he asked quietly. "Unlimited resources, a top notch lab,
all the funds you can think of... everything a scientist can dream of."
Watari smiled derisively, one hand rubbing over his forehead and then
massaging his temples. "At the time the offer was made I was in seventh
heaven, Seii, you can believe me. I was young, eager, overflowing with
ideas..."
"And that's different from today how?" Tatsumi teased, squeezing one
too cold hand.
He was given a warm smile. "Today, Seii, today I know there is more.
Today I'm a man who has lived, who had his ups and downs, who loves and
cries and laughs and hates... and who has you."
Tatsumi felt a faint blush creep over his cheeks.
"Back then I was idealistic. I believed what they told me. I wanted
so badly to make up for the blunder I had thought had been my death in
the world of the living. I understood their dilemma with the computer,
with storage and run-time and speed and everything. It was like something
I had always dreamed of. Kazei Reina was the Chief Researcher then. I was
so in awe of her.
I want you to succeed me. You have the capacity.
It had been her words. Her words exactly.
She had tested him, she had watched him, and she had seen his potential.
He had been promised everything, and in the end, he had taken Kazei's place.
"So I took her place and she... left. I don't know what happened to
her. I think she ascended. She was one of the first, she was old, and she
was brilliant, Seii. She was my mentor and she was my idol. I took her
place and worked in her honor, in her name, and Mother was everything I
could ever dream of."
Watari touched his temples with tentative fingers.
"I was part of Mother. I was Mother's extension. We were one throughout
her creation and when I gave her life... it was incredible. I had never
done something on such a scale before, but I went and did it. And it worked.
I was my greatest achievement."
Tatsumi watched the thin face pale even more. Watari was trembling slightly.
"And it was the end of everything else. I had been part of Mother and
they had stripped my brain of everything useful. I was like an empty shell
and still they offered me to connect myself to the computer, to take a
peek, to see if I could bear it. I left then, Seii. I couldn't bear it,
the connection, touching that vast intellect that knew everything, from
the first death to the first human being, to the first Lord of Meifu. Everything
was in there."
"But now you touched it," Tatsumi said softly.
"Not that. I was inside Mother, she protected me, but she let me go
wherever I pleased. And I saw it all."
Tatsumi reached out and took one of the hands massaging the temples.
"You are in pain," he stated.
Watari smiled tearfully. "It was to be expected. My mind has trouble
disconnecting from the system as it did. It's like ripping a piece of hardware
from a running computer. It will show failure and signs of malfunction."
"You're not a piece of hardware."
"I was, Seii. I was. Nothing but an extension, sometimes even the carrier
of software, too." He hunched over. "It hurts. It will continue hurting
for a while."
"How long?"
"Till the nanites figure out that there won't be a reconnect to the
Mother computer."
Tatsumi froze. "N-nanites?" he stuttered.
The smile was barely even there and the amber eyes filled with unshed
tears. "One of the perks of becoming Mother's extension. Nanites. Tiny
machines dormant inside me... and able to configure the access into the
main system with ease. They remain active for a while after the disconnection
because I might just reconnect again. It's what causes the headaches...
and the eyes. I'm just hyperactive, in a way. My mind's firing up, remains
fired up, and it's... it's hell..."
Tatsumi swallowed. The eyes... Watari had had golden eyes with vertical
slits for a while, but lately it had lessened, the eyes turning more human
in appearance.
"Oh Taka," he breathed.
Watari flung his arms around his lover and held on tight, shaking hard.
No tears left his eyes, but he might as well have been crying. Tatsumi
just held him back, arms wrapped around the slender form.
"I wish I could go back to being ignorant of it all," Watari whispered
desperately. "Everything will change. Everything will be different. Heaven
and Hell and GensouKai will need to know about the death of the Emperor,
about Enma's role, about... about why this happened."
"I know," Tatsumi murmured. "You told me and I will be there when you
tell the others."
Watari made a hiccupping sound. "I'm afraid, Seii. I'm so scared of
what's to come after this. Enma... he tried to silence us once before.
What if..."
Tatsumi silenced him with a gentle kiss. "I'll protect you with my life,
Watari Yutaka. We all will. And I doubt Enma will do anything any more."
"How can you be so sure?"
"It's a feeling. Like you said, things have changed and are still changing."
Tatsumi rose and pulled the blond with him. "And we'll make sure that the
truth gets out."

003, who had been completely silent so far, hooted loudly in agreement.
She fluttered over to her master and rubbed her tiny head against Watari's
pale cheek.
° ° °
Hisoka couldn't remember much of the first day of their forced refuge
in the Palace of Candles, only dropping dead into the pillows, falling
asleep after his empathic barriers had been destroyed and his mind pummeled
into oblivion. He had slept for a long time, had had breakfast with the
others, Tsuzuki's guardians, and then slept some more.
This time outside, in the garden, sitting in the shade of a tree, and
with Tsuzuki holding him.
Time flies, he thought. He had never really noticed how quickly it had
become dark again.
Now, feeling more awake and with a lo more shields protecting his sensitive
mind, Hisoka stood in front of the full-length mirror, gazing at his nude
image. Green eyes looked back, no emotions in them, nor were there any
on his face. Light brown hair fell into those stoic eyes.
He wasn't very tall, had never been. Even as a child he had been smaller
than the rest of the children in his village. Not that he had had a lot
of contact with them anyway. He had been the unwanted child. His parents
had seen an aberration in him. He had had powers that had scared everyone.
He had been an empath and still was. He could sense emotions in others
and when his shields were down they would take him over, make him run in
synchrony with the other person. He would feel the same love and hatred,
anger and joy. He would lose himself in that person.
Shields had been non-existent as a child. He had only learned them after
his death. Before that he had dealt with the overpowering emotions by drawing
away from people. He had shied from contact. He had wanted to be alone.
Until Tsuzuki Asato.
Their work partnership had had a very rocky start and Hisoka had no
idea why Tsuzuki had persisted in wanting to be his friend. Maybe because
he had been just as lonely and lost, had seen himself in Hisoka. It had
been a strange first few cases, and Hisoka had been constantly surprised
by what Tsuzuki did, by how he acted, what peeked through that innocent
and child-like façade, and he had found the true Asato underneath.
It was the man he had fallen in love with.,
He had fought that emotion long and hard, and he knew he had hurt Tsuzuki
even more by his rejection. It was a rejection Tsuzuki hadn't understood
because he hadn't known about the tender emotions running through Hisoka's
body and mind whenever he looked at his older partner.
Today they were more than work partners and a lot more than mere lovers.
Lovers, in Hisoka's mind, spoke of brief liaisons, not the soul-deep bond
between them, the intense emotions they felt when they were together, just
the two of them. Hisoka was no longer afraid to lose himself in Tsuzuki.
He wanted to be part of this man, fought to show what he felt, but years
of conditioning normally thwarted those plans. He wasn't the one for romance,
sweet-talk and love-sick smiles and expressions. He could speak the words,
but not always.
Tsuzuki made up for that. Hisoka knew his partner understood, that he
knew and felt it, that he was aware of Hisoka's slow progress, and he had
never ever mentioned it. Hisoka was in awe of this man. For his understanding,
for his gentleness, his empathy without being an empath, and for his incredible
powers.
Hisoka had envied him those powers in the beginning. He had watched
Tsuzuki fight with the shikigami at his command, had been shocked to know
he had twelve altogether, and he had wanted to be Tsuzuki's equal. In fights
Hisoka was the weak link, had to be protected, had no shikigami to call
upon, and he had finally argued long and hard enough to go into GensouKai
to claim his own.
It had ended in pain.
Hisoka wrapped his arms around his stomach, feeling the familiar pang
of guilt at Rico's death. At Koujiro's injuries. At everything that had
happened. Just because he had been such a fool to think he could ever be
strong enough to win a shikigami who was so strong that not even Tsuzuki
had thought about winning him. Kurikara was a fire dragon, he was the strongest
of them all, aside from Sohryu, and he had no equal.
That was the past. Hisoka needed no shikigami. He knew that now. It
was still a secret wish, but no longer consumed him so badly. He knew he
was Tsuzuki's equal and he loved him.
And now he was free.
Slender fingers traced over his pale skin, up and down his arm, then
across his chest.
The curse was gone.
Carved into his body by Muraki, the curse had died with him. It had
killed him as a human, slowly and painfully, making him sick and weak,
and finally it had taken his last breath.
Because he had witnessed a murder.
Because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Muraki had haunted him ever since. Through the curse, through the memories
of a sixteen year old boy who had suffered for years until he had died,
and through his sudden reappearance in his undead life.
Now the doctor was dead, killed by Tsuzuki, and Hisoka was free.
A dark shadow appeared behind him and Hisoka was suddenly embraced warmly,
pulled against the fully clothed form of his partner. Tsuzuki felt cool,
like he had been outside, which he had probably been. He liked to sit in
the garden or even on the roof of the building, lost in his thoughts but
never alone. Someone was always with him. His hair was tousled as always,
the violet eyes calm and so balanced, Hisoka latched onto that stability.
"Hey," Tsuzuki murmured and placed a little kiss against his neck.
Hisoka closed his eyes, resting fully against the man he loved so deeply,
and his fingers dug into the arms slung around his body.
"Hisoka?" There was a sliver of worry in his voice.
Hisoka smiled faintly. Leave it to Tsuzuki. After everything he went
through, after the pain and near-destruction of what made him what he was,
he still worried about others.
Only you, he thought.
"I'm fine," he answered softly.
"You sure?"
Hisoka met the worried gaze through the mirror and smiled more. "Yes.
The curse is gone and you're back."
Tsuzuki swallowed, emotions flitting over his features. Finally he closed
his eyes and buried his face against Hisoka's neck. A tremor raced through
him.
"I'm so sorry for what happened, Hisoka," he murmured, holding on more
tightly.
"It wasn't your fault."
"I hurt you. I hurt so many people. I..."
"No one blames you, Asato," Hisoka whispered and turned into the loosening
embrace. He framed the pale face with shaky hands and met the tear-filled
eyes.
So different to the creature he had faced and brought down. So different.
He had lashed out at this incredible mind he had felt so often before,
to stop him, to give Touda a chance to latch onto his master's mind and
act as the buffer he was. Hisoka had felt the true darkness for the first
time and it was scary, terrifying, a complete horror, but deep inside it
was Tsuzuki and would always be. He was of demonic heritage, it was him.
"I did this because I love you. I touched this darkness because I wanted
you back. If someone has to apologize, it's me. I hurt you."
"No," Tsuzuki murmured.
"And you didn't hurt me either. It was Muraki who killed me over and
over again. It was Muraki who triggered you."
Tsuzuki was silent, gazing into his eyes, and Hisoka felt a niggle of
emotions leap from his partner into him.
"Tsuzuki...?"
"He was a pawn," the older shinigami finally said softly. "He asked
me to kill him, to free him. I remember it all and I remember understanding,
believing, seeing..."
Hisoka's hands clenched into the dark suit. He felt no guilt from Tsuzuki,
something he would have expected. He was so calm, so at peace, though the
active volcano that was the darkness sizzled underneath that stability.
"You remember it all," Hisoka whispered, resting his head against he
shirt-clad chest.
"Yes," was the soft reply. "I can remember it all."
They stood together, in each other's arms, and Hisoka soaked up the
calmness that had settled over Tsuzuki's soul. It was strange that here,
in a place where there had been nightmares before, where the master of
the palace had more or less stalked the older shinigami to have him pay
his debts with his body, Tsuzuki was totally at peace.
Hisoka had stopped pondering the enigma that was Tsuzuki, and he had
forced himself to stop thinking about the Count. Something had happened
between the two men, a long time ago, around the time Rikugo had spent
days upon days, even weeks in Meifu. Hisoka was aware of a relationship
between the shikigami and the keeper of the candles, but in the wake of
this relationship, Tsuzuki had made a discovery that had bound him closer
to the Count than ever before while also freeing him.
Still thinking about it, he chastised himself.
Closing his eyes, aware that he completely naked and Tsuzuki fully clothed,
he just enjoyed the presence of his partner and lover.

tbc...
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Empty Spaces