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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
- 4
- 5
- 6
Title:� The Epic

Chapter:� 5/ 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.

��

~*~

�� Kousuke was
drifting back towards conciousness, but fighting it tooth and nail. He knew
instinctively that waking up would not be pleasant, and there was the potential
for a lot of hurt. But somebody was out there, in the waking
world, and that person was doing something that was making it easier to
breathe, and easier to wake.� He
got conscious enough to realize that his lungs rather resembled water balloons,
and started coughing up what felt to him like half of the ocean. It might not
have been, but Kousuke was half convinced that water regenerated itself just to
annoy him, anyway.

�� Eyes let out a soft breath of
relief as Kousuke came around, helping the redhead to turn enough so that the
water would come out easier. He patted the other's back and held him up so that
he wouldn't fall over. "I've got you," he said quietly.

�� "Ugh," the redhead
muttered when the coughing had reduced down to simple panting for breath. His
mind still hadn't kicked back into 'on' mode yet, so he just said the first
thing that crossed over his dazed senses. "I have Hunter cooties on my
mouth. I want disinfectant. And a lot of aspirin.
Ow..."

�� "I think the water took
care of the cooties," Eyes murmured, tightening his embrace on Kousuke a
little. "And the aspirin is at home."

�� The redhead shuddered, leaning
back into the embrace. He hurt all over, with his shoulder and his head being
the two most intense points. He was also wet, cold, and felt almost too weak to
move. But he was in control of himself again, and he hadn't killed his family.
Slowly, he levered himself up enough to turn in Eyes's arms and embrace the
silver-haired man with the strength born of desperation and relief.
"Gomen," he whispered. "I didn't mean-- I didn't want to--"

�� Eyes pressed a finger to his lips
to quiet the apology. "Do not apologize for something you had no control
over. The woman that caused this is likely now dead. We can walk away from it
as if it were another victory."

�� Kousuke's gold-green eyes were
dark with guilt and anguish, and he shook his head. "Not yet. She almost
got me to kill you. And it would have worked, if Ayumu hadn't gotten the answer
before he ever asked the riddle."

�� "The riddle..." It
had confused him, but the most that Eyes understood was that it wasn't the real
Kousuke that had spoken of betrayal. And that was all he'd needed. "I
don't believe in dwelling on 'almost', Kousuke."

�� Kousuke nodded and laid his
head on Eyes's shoulder, hoping the other would allow that one moment of
weakness. "I know, but...I'm doing my best not to freak out or break down
into tears, here. Just gimme a minute. Then...we need
to go back in there, get the other two, and burn any record of the Hunter's
work." He took a deep shuddering breath, more to calm himself
than in the need for extra air. "The answer to the riddle is an implanted personality, real and alive because it works from
a living host, but not real or alive because it's something born out of
chemicals and subliminal programming. It's murderous because its one purpose is
to kill, but despairing because the real personality is still aware behind it,
but unable to stop it." A small sob burst from his lips, and it was all he
could do not to just break down. "I tried! I really tried, but I couldn't
do anything but sit and watch ass she used my body to try ad hurt you
all!"

�� Eyes didn't know what to say.
The answer to the riddle seemed so obvious to him now, and he hated that for a
brief moment, he'd almost believed the fake personality. But it was in his
nature to doubt everything, especially since it had become an integral part of
staying alive. He could justify his reasons, but that didn't stop him from
feeling bad that he'd come so close to losing faith in Kousuke. The musician
cradled Kousuke in his arms and didn't care that this might be perceived as
weak. It had been close... a fight without fighting, a challenge that he hadn't
quite been prepared to accept. It was over now...and yet it seemed like just
the beginning.

�� Kousuke could feel Eyes's
sadness and guilt, and he tightened his hold as much as his exhausted body
could manage. "Don't...don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault. How could you
have known? If Ayumu hadn't heard me, somehow..." The redhead absently
noted he'd dropped the whole 'ototou' thing, but calling Ayumu by that didn't
feel right, anymore. Not when he'd fixed something that not even Kiyotaka would
have been able to touch.

�� "Heard?"
Eyes questioned. "You mean...heard something other than the fake exterior?
Is that possible?"

�� Kousuke shrugged. "It
better be, or both Ayumu and I have become delusional under stress. I don't
know how he heard me, how he could talk to me, but he did. And...I'm
still connected to him. I can feel him at the edges of my mind, like I was part
of a mental web, with him as the anchor point. It's very strange and a little
scary."

�� "It sounds that
way..." Eyes just held him close for a moment now that there wasn't any
more immediate danger. He was cold...the plunge into the water a little icy,
and he shivered against Kousuke, burying his face in the other's neck. He vowed
to never let anything or anyone come so close to taking one of his own away
from him ever again.

�� Kousuke tangled his fingers
into Eyes's soft hair, just glad for the closeness. He could feel the other boy
shiver against him, and he concentrated, calling a very low ring of fire around
them to keep them both warm. He knew he shouldn't, his own strength already
almost spent, but he wasn't about to let the other Blade Child stay cold and
possibly get sick. It would be bad enough with just him and Rio
recovering. All three of them bedridden would be dangerous. And he didn't want
Eyes to suffer anymore, not for any reason.

�� "Kousuke....don't...."
Eyes felt the warmth cover him like a blanket, and he let out a quiet breath.
"You've been through enough. I'm fine." He didn't want Kousuke to
waste his energy, not when he'd already been pushed to the limits of his
resources by that woman. It was almost a shame that he couldn't kill her
himself, and that thought surprised him. He wasn't accustomed to killing like
he was evading, but he felt that perhaps this time, it was personal.

�� Kousuke slowly shook his head,
stubborn as always. "You're cold," he whispered, "I don't want
you to get sick."

�� Eyes felt like he was shaking
more now from his own nerves than anything else. The warmth was there, but he
was still worried about how close he'd come to losing Kousuke...and how close
he was to losing himself to Kousuke. "I'm not cold....when you're
near..." It was barely a whisper, as if he didn't want anyone to hear it,
not even Kousuke. He couldn't explain the knot twisting in his stomach, and to
lose some of his composure did not make it any easier.

�� Kousuke's senses were a lot
sharper in his half cat form, and his eyes widened as he heard those whispered
words, and felt the tiniest thread of fear from Eyes's heart.
"Then..." he whispered, just as frightened for the trust he was about
to put in the other boy, "...I'll try to never leave your side." He
wished he could have given something more solid, but they both knew that their
lives weren't ones that afforded the luxury of promised forever.

�� Eyes felt like he didn't want
to break the moment. For the first time, he felt the twinge of bitterness at
being what he was. How had it been so easy for him to accept his fate and then
turn around and fight it? How had he gone all this time defying his Fate
without thinking about anything else? He supposed that survival was indeed the
strongest instinct, but... Now he resented it, hated it.
He wanted to live like Ayumu and Hiyono, not like a Blade Child. And he wanted
the same life for Kousuke and Rio. That had to
be what they were fighting for. "Thank you...Kousuke..."

�� Kousuke gave a soft smile. "Anytime."

�� Meanwhile, Rio
and Ayumu had just reached the ground and were approaching the shore. Rio saw the other two before they saw her, and she
stopped, grabbing Ayumu's arm to stop him as well. "Awwww!" she
gushed, "Aren't they adorable, Little Narumi?"

�� Ayumu blinked as he was
stopped and looked where she was gushing at. Eyes was
curled protectively around Kousuke, and he could almost swear there was a soft,
reddish glow around them. He didn't know why, but looking at them like this
changed something inside. After the last week, he had been questioning
everything that had happened since meeting the Blade Children and beginning the
search anew for Kiyotaka. Like Hiyono, he'd first viewed the Blade Children as
killers, ruthless and heartless, but he was beginning to discover that such an
assumption was a far cry from the reality. Their Fate seemed to threaten their
humanity, and fighting it so hard and so ruthlessly looked like the only thing
that allowed them to live beyond their title. Ayumu felt...a
little guilty for misunderstanding. The picture was becoming clearer
now, blurred only by what Eyes had still chosen not to tell him. He hoped the
time for him to learn everything would come soon.

�� Kousuke saw them first, and
regretfully lowered the barrier of fire he had set up, grimacing a little at
the lost warmth. He really wanted to be in dry clothes. He loosened his grip on
Eyes, doing his best to sit up a little straighter, though his body protested
loudly. He put his jester's mask back on, not quite ready to be so open around
Ayumu or Rio. "Oi, Ayumu!" he
called, "I'm not making gambles with you anymore! You hit too hard!"

�� Eyes lifted his head, and his
own mask was back on, trying to look as if the hold on Kousuke was merely to
preserve warmth between them.

�� Ayumu gave him a look and
smirked. "Are you kidding? I've wanted to hit you since the day I met
you."

�� "Fuck you!" Kousuke
shot back, but he was grinning. Banter, he knew. Banter was comforting at the
moment. Then he made the mistake of trying to stand. The world blacked out on
him for a few seconds, a roaring sound in his ears, and he began to fall again,
his legs refusing to support him.

�� Eyes caught him before he
could hit the ground, easily supporting his weight. "Careful," was
all he would allow himself to say in front of the other two.

�� Ayumu was all business again
after that. They really needed to be back home now,
and the longer they stayed here, the more chance they had of running into the
Hunter's friends, and he wasn't really up to that. "You said that there
were two others in the compound?" he asked Kousuke.

�� Kousuke nodded, putting one
hand around Eyes's shoulders for extra support. "I felt them, two little
points of fear and anger. Until I realized what the Hunter was doing, I thought
I was caught in another drug dream. Speaking of, I think we should destroy the
lab. I really don't want other Hunters taking her methods. And then, I want to
sleep for a week and eat something real. I've been on nothing but this weird
sort of subliminal half-sleep and IV infusions for however long I've been here.
How long have I been here, anyway? Things just started to melt all
together after a while."

�� "A week," Ayumu
answered before Eyes could. The flash of darker blue in the Englishman's eyes
was not a good thing. "Maybe...you and Eyes should head back." He
glanced down at Rio, putting a hand on her
shoulder. "Do you think so, Rio?"

�� Rio
took a hard look at Kousuke's condition and nodded. "You're a wreck,
Kousuke. I really think Eyes should take you home and put you to bed." With
him snuggled next to you, preferably. And let's just add Ayumu on the other
side and ooooh, that's a nice picture. She quickly squashed her yaoi
fantasies, getting her mind back on business. "We can find the other Blade
Children and destroy the lab without your help."

�� "But..." Kousuke
protested, knowing she was right, but not comfortable with leaving Rio and Ayumu there alone.

�� "It'll be all
right." Ayumu tilted his head a little, the smirk something softer now.
"Let me return the favor, Kousuke."

�� Eyes nodded. "If you're
sure you can handle it, Rio, then I agree with that plan."

�� Kousuke finally noticed that
Ayumu had started calling him by his name, and it made him feel oddly warm. He
wondered when Ayumu had started giving him that respect. "Arigatou,
Ayumu." he sighed, reaching up with his free hand to rub at sore eyes.
Gods, he was tired!

�� "What, no thanks for
me?" Rio pouted.

�� "No,
because you're a brat."

�� "Grrrrr...I'll get you
for that, Kousuke!"

�� "What, you'd hit a
defenseless guy?"

�� "If it
was you, definitely."

�� "Boy, you're
vicious..."

�� Ayumu shook his head. Some
things just didn't change, and the fact that Rio
and Kousuke quarreled like siblings was one of those things. "You should
both continue this later. We have things to do."

�� "Yes." Just like
he'd done with Ayumu, he very easily and gracefully swept Kousuke up into his
arms, shifting him so that he could carry him away without much difficulty.
"You two be careful."

�� Rio
smiled. "Of course! And you take good care of
Kousuke! Otherwise, he's liable to do something stupid like drown himself in a teacup or whatever."

�� Kousuke flipped her the bird, perfectly comfortable in Eyes's arms.
"Ayumu, keep an eye on Rio, ne?
Otherwise, she might do something crazy like try to steal the entire world's
melon supplies or whatever."

�� "MOU!"

�� "That's
enough, you two," Eyes said, turning to leave. "We'll see you
later."� Without another word, he
carried Kousuke between a couple of darkened
buildings, sticking to the shadows as he made his way home. His hold on the
redhead never faltered, and all the while he would glance down just to make
sure that Kousuke was still all right. After all this, he was going to take the
other Blade Child's safety very seriously. They had both crossed something very
big tonight, and he wasn't about to let that slip through his fingers.

�� Kousuke lay quiet for a while,
but when they started getting to areas where Eyes wouldn't be able to avoid
populated streets, he tugged on the other boy's sleeve. "Oi...stop for a
minute..."

�� Surprised at the request, he
did as he was asked, again looking down with those
intense blue eyes of his in case there was something wrong."What is
it?"

�� The redhead gave him a wry
little grin and pointed to the fuzzy ears sticking out of his head.
"Somehow, I don't think you want the stares that come with a celebrity
carrying what looks to be a half-dead cosplay junkie. I need to change back,
and that takes a minute."

�� "Is there something I
should do?" The ears hadn't really stood out to him after Kousuke had
taken a dive off the roof. Now that he looked at them more closely, and the
markings that went with it, he couldn't help but be fascinated.

�� The redhead sighed unhappily.
"Put me down. Changing hurts like hell, and I might get a little
indiscriminate with the claws. I'd rather that your fan club didn't come after
me for bloodying up your pretty face." The crimson tail that had also
somehow escaped inspection twitched anxiously.

�� Eyes nodded quietly and set
Kousuke down, holding up a finger for him to wait just a moment. He circled the
redhead once he was sure he had his footing, absently touching an ear at one
turn, the line of the tail in the other, inspecting Kousuke's second form with
quiet wonder now that he had the chance.

�� Being a Blade Child, Kousuke
was not familiar with large amounts of physical contact, especially since one
of the first things any Blade Child learned was how many ways a person could
kill with just bare hands. So the redhead was totally unprepared for how
pleasant the little touches Eyes was giving his ears and tail actually felt. Before
he knew it, he'd relaxed a little, and a deep rumble had begun in his chest,
green-gold eyes fluttering shut as he leaned just the slightest bit into the
pianist's hands.

�� The sound startled Eyes, and
for a moment, he pulled back as if he'd done something wrong. But when he saw
the relaxed expression on Kousuke's face and put the pieces together, he
understood that the sound the other was making certainly related to nothing
bad. "Is this...something they made...or was this...inside
you?" Eyes whispered, referring to the feline side. He wouldn't have
judged the redhead any if it was a creation of the Hunter, but he did want to
know. He began touching the ears again, tracing their shape and brushing the
little tufts of fur at the tips.

�� "Well, I don't remember
any experiments that would have caused this if it were artificial, but they
kept me pretty incoherent a lot of the time. The Hunter, she implied that this
is...natural, in a way. That it came from my mother. She said...that none
of the Blade Children were human, that we all have nonhuman mothers. But she
was more than a little whacked, and I can't tell you if it was the truth or if
she was just playing more mind games with her new toy. You should see the other
form I changed into, the first time. Big red leopard. Scared me to death."

�� "I'll bet it was
incredible," Eyes mused, coming around to face Kousuke again. He didn't
want to add to Kousuke's exhaustion by keeping him out any longer than he had
to. So regretfully, he had pulled himself away from the feline features,
standing with his hands behind his back, and waiting.

�� Kousuke took a deep breath and
began the change back to the fully human body. So far as he could tell, the
pain wasn't any less or any easier to bear this time around, either. But he didn't
dare scream out there in the open, where anyone passing by the alleys could
hear, so he did his best to remain silent as his entire body seemed to suddenly
become one huge burning mass of pain. A choked whimper escaped, but that was
all, and after a minute or so, the Blade Child fell to his knees, pale as a
sheet and his eyes so dilated that there was only a slight ring of color, but
as human as he was ever going to be.

�� Eyes was
immediately there to embrace him, wishing that he hadn't lost his coat when
he'd jumped into the water. He carefully scooped the other up into his arms
again to carry him the rest of the way home. "Will you be all right?"

�� The redhead gave a very
catlike hiss as he was lifted, his skin still burning from the change, but he
laid his head trustingly against Eyes's shoulder.
"Short-term...yeah," he replied, his voice breathy and a little
dazed, threatening impending shock, "the pain usually dies down after a
while. Long-term...I don't know. It feels...it feels like I'm not physically ready
to be changing like that. But the Hunter did something that forced it, and
now I can't just lock it away anymore."

�� The answer worried Eyes, but
at least he knew that what he was told was the truth. Kousuke wouldn't lie or
exaggerate about something so important. "The good news is that none of us
would force you to take that form ever again before you were ready." His
footsteps were more hurried than before, his head ducked just slightly to keep
his face hidden. He took mostly back ways to their private little tower, but
one never knew how sneaky his fans could be.

�� Kousuke just clung to him, not
currently caring about Eyes's horde of ravening psycho-girls. He was hurt,
hungry, and bone-tired. And, severely suppressed until no one was around to see
it, deathly afraid. He just wanted to be back in a place he recognized as
'safe'.

�� Eyes did his best to grant
that wish, even without it being spoken. Before long, they had arrived at the
building, and from there, the elevator ride was surprisingly short. The
musician went straight for Kousuke's room, wanting him to be in the most
familiar and comforting place.

�� Kousuke relaxed a little when
they reached his room, letting out a very soft sigh of relief. There had been a
few times over the last week where he hadn't been all that sure he'd ever see
it again. It made him feel better to know he was home.

�� The bed was a little rumpled,
as if someone had slept in it and then tried to remake it to hide the evidence.
Eyes hoped that Kousuke wouldn't mind that Ayumu had spent most of the week
recovering in here. As he lay the redhead down, the faintest scent of satsuma
tickled Kousuke's more sensitive nose, a bit of evidence that Ayumu couldn't
hide just by making the bed.

�� Kousuke gave a soft chuckle,
smelling the scent of citrus and recognizing it instantly. Not because of the
satsuma, but because of the underlying earthy scent that was Ayumu's alone,
tempered just slightly with the spices he used when cooking. "Remind me to
ask Ayumu if the blankets gave him nightmares." Despite really wanting to
just stay down and pass out, the redhead forced himself to sit up. He wanted to
change. The clothes he was wearing, though clean and mended from the gunshot, weren't really his anymore, and he didn't
want them. And his injuries needed a last looking over, anyway.� Besides, his clothes were wet!

�� "If they did, I certainly
didn't notice, but with that color, it's entirely possible." Eyes watched
the other boy for a moment before going to the bathroom next door to get the
first aid kit and a bowl of warm water with a cloth. He trusted that Kousuke
would get his own change of clothes, so he'd take care of the rest.

�� Kousuke silently blessed Eyes
for understanding him so well without anything being said. He dragged himself
to his dresser and dug through it, promising himself (again) that one of these
days, he really would go through the thing and actually organize it. Really. And if the
Fates truly believed that, he had some wonderful lakeside property in the Sahara to sell them.

�� Since he knew the next few
days would be nothing but bed rest, he settled for just grabbing the shirt he
usually slept in, an overlarge dark green linen shirt with long sleeves
gathered at the cuffs. Belted, it doubled as a formal and quite nice tunic, but
since the only way that Kousuke and 'formal' were ever going to meet was at
gunpoint, it was best as comfortable sleepwear.

�� Eyes brought the water and kit
in with him, nodding for Kousuke to sit back down on the bed again. When he
did, the silver-haired boy sat with him, balancing the bowl in his lap. He
dipped the cloth in and squeezed it before touching it to Kousuke's face. The
water was warm, and Eyes's touch was gentle.

�� Kousuke couldn't help it.
After an entire week of terror and pain, the warmth and kindness was a little
too much for his overtaxed nerves. Much to the redhead's personal horror, he
started crying and couldn't stop.

�� Eyes's chest tightened in an
almost panic for a brief moment. He knew he wasn't good with emotions, not just
with his own, but in dealing with others'. Regardless, he knew not to leave
Kousuke uncomforted, and no matter how difficult it was for him, he'd soothe
the other Blade Child in any way he could. He dropped the cloth back into the
bowl, putting it on the floor before dragging Kousuke once more into his arms.
He couldn't remember ever holding someone like this so much. But for some
reason, it felt right.

�� "Gomen," Kousuke
sobbed, burying his face in the other boy's shoulder. He knew this sort of
thing made Eyes uncomfortable, and he hated that he'd lost control of himself
so thoroughly. But the events of the week were bearing down on him, and all he
could do now was cry to release the tension.

�� Eyes didn't care about himself at the moment. Even if the situation made him
uncomfortable, it was something he would deal with anyway. "Shhh..."
he whispered to keep Kousuke from apologizing. It wasn't his fault, and Eyes
knew that. A little awkwardly at first, he reached up to gently stroke the wild
strands of crimson hair.

�� The feel of that touch
was soothing, and Kousuke's tears began to subside. He wondered absently if his
sudden weakness to such things was in any way related to being part cat, but
didn't bother to question it any further than that. No one had bothered to hold
him like this since his mother died, and the fact that it was Eyes doing this
for him just made it that much more meaningful. He started purring again.

�� This time, instead of startled
or worried, Eyes was relieved to hear that sound. He continued the petting
until Kousuke was only doing that, and there were no tears. He knew now that he
hated the thought of the redhead being that upset, and he would try and make
sure it didn't happen often.

�� Kousuke finally took a deep
breath and reluctantly pulled away from Eyes's shoulder, but not yet out of his
arms. "I'm okay," he murmured, trying to convince himself of that
fact more than Eyes. However, the blatantly suspicious glare he got from the
silver-haired boy made him flush and give a little
embarrassed grin. "Okay, so I'm not. But I will be."

�� "I know better than to
ask for a promise, but I'm going to make sure you're not lying." Eyes only
let go with one hand, bending a little to pick up the cloth again, this time to
wipe at the tear tracks.

�� "Probably
by confining me to bed until I'm so stir crazy that I'm climbing the curtains
of this room. Which, I might add, don't exist."
Kousuke teased.

�� "You never know."
Eyes finished with his face and then gave a nod towards Kousuke's shoulder.
"Now let me have a look at your wound."

�� Kousuke nodded and started
struggling with his jacket and shirt. He knew better than to argue with Eyes.
First of all, it would be damn awkward to check his own shoulder properly, and
second, refusing would just start a struggle that he would most definitely
lose, and Kousuke wanted to keep at least a little of his dignity.
However, it was lost anyway when he found he couldn't get his black shirt off
because his shoulder hurt too much to raise his arm beyond a certain level.
"Well, shit," he sighed. He had a sinking suspicion that he might
have reopened the healing wound in the struggle with Ayumu, if it hurt this
much.

�� "Just
hold still," Eyes instructed quietly, helping Kousuke to get the shirt off
that he had trouble with. He winced at the reddened bandage over the gunshot
wound.

�� Aside from the bandage,
Kousuke's body was not pretty to look at, either. Besides being too pale, the
insides of his arms were covered in needle tracks from countless IVs and
injections, and there were bruises and even mild burns where wires and sensors
had been hooked up. And to top it all off, there was the dramatic weight loss
that came with lack of real food, making his ribs stand out just enough to be
worrying, though not yet enough to make him look truly emaciated.

�� Silver brows furrowed, and he
let his gaze move once slowly up and down Kousuke's body. Somewhere deep down,
he could feel a quietly suppressed rage. No one had the right to do this to
him. No one. For not the first time, he wished that he
had been the one to kill the Hunter. He passed that thought by, first using the
cloth to wipe down the rest of Kousuke's upper body, sharing that gentleness as
he'd done at first.

�� Kousuke began to purr again,
liking the feel of that warm cloth against his chilled skin. He reached up with
his good hand to start tearing off the bandages around his shoulder, glad that
keeping it properly tended had been on the Hunter's agenda, even if it had been
for nasty reasons.

�� Eyes wanted to stop him, but
he didn't, letting Kousuke do what he felt was needed. When the bandages were
gone, Eyes cleaned that next. "It's not so bad."

�� Kousuke winced a little at the
sting of the cloth against injured flesh, but nodded. "Yeah.
It's actually healing pretty well, all things considered." When Eyes was
done, the redhead reached up and caught the Brit's pale hand in his own,
lifting it to his lips before meeting that sapphire gaze. "Eyes, I...I
just want you to know how much I appreciate you being here. It means a lot to
me. Especially after I've gone and caused so much chaos for
you."

�� Eyes shook his head, the mane
of silver fluttering around his still features. "Everything that we've
been through, Kousuke, means a lot. The chaos was
always there, so don't blame yourself." For once,
he felt at a loss for the right thing to say, coy or otherwise. He knew that
there was a deeper level of commitment between the two of them, but saying it
in words wasn't coming out right.

�� Kousuke just smiled softly,
rubbing his cheek in a catlike fashion over the hand he held. "You know,
it's strange..." he murmured softly, "While I was trapped with the
Hunter, the emotions of the other people were all so loud and almost painfully
clear. Even with Rio and Ayumu, it was almost
like reading a book or looking at a picture. But your emotions are so much
quieter, with the way you hide them so deeply. I barely sense them as emotions
at all. But...they're so warm, Eyes. You, and sometimes Ayumu, you feel
so incredibly warm to me. And that, more than anything else, tells me that you
care, even if you can't say it yet. I wonder...would I feel that warm to
you?"

�� Eyes thought about that for a
long moment. He had a feeling that Kousuke being able to feel emotions had much
to do with Ayumu being able to tell which was the real thing
and which was the program. So much needed explaining...but not now. For a brief
moment, Eyes let the tiniest smile tug at his lips. "You already do,"
he whispered.

�� Kousuke's smile widened just a
hair, his green-gold eyes warming. He wanted, at that moment, to tell Eyes just
how much he cared, how afraid he'd been that he would lose him, how devastating
the thought of the other never trusting him again was. He wanted to tell him
that he thought he was falling in love with him. Real love,
and not the shared need for comfort and companionship. But he couldn't quite
bring himself to speak those words. He wasn't ready to trust Eyes with so much
of himself, and he wasn't even sure Eyes was ready to bear that trust. Even if
they both had been ready, love was not something a Blade Child admitted to
easily, in a world where things that were loved could easily be targeted by
enemies. So he would wait a little longer, to make sure that when he did
confess, nothing would shatter from the strain of too much truth.

�� It had been
the best that Eyes could do. He had no words for the way he felt deep down
where he had hidden those feelings. He'd spent too much time forgetting what
each emotion was, burning away everything except his own determination to live.
Kanone had made it quite apparent that he was marked for life, designated for a
fate that he couldn't change. He knew that he needed to live, and that if
emotions got in the way, then he would get rid of them as best he could.
Teaching himself not to feel, not to cry, not to know
rage...it had helped keep him calm and collected all this time, and he was
still alive. But until he'd discovered the other Blade Children -- Rio...Kousuke...and even Ryoko -- it had been a road he'd
traveled alone. Even when he wasn't alone, he remained separated from his
little group, leading them from behind his cold mask. Kousuke was beginning to
change that, and he suspected that the longer the younger Narumi was around
them, things would change even more. Still....he couldn't bring himself to give
up any more, not right this minute. So he settled for being this close to
Kousuke, letting the other hold his hand, lean against him. It was the best he
could do.

�� The moment was broken as
Kousuke suddenly let out a jaw-cracking yawn. He grimaced in mild embarrassment
and let go of Eyes's hand so that he could pick up the green tunic he had set
aside. "I guess that's the body's way of saying it's time for bed."
he murmured, trying to wrestle the garment on with just one arm.

�� Eyes stopped him once more,
batting the redhead's hands away and helping him on with the shirt.
"There." He gently brushed his fingers along Kousuke's cheek
affectionately. "You should get some rest."

�� Kousuke leaned into the
caress, his eyes slitting like a happy cat's. "Can I have a favor?"
he asked softly, looking up at that pale expressionless face. Sometimes, he
wondered what it would be like to see Eyes give a full smile, and his
imagination could only supply the empty word 'beautiful'.

�� "What's that?" Eyes
asked, wondering what Kousuke needed. He was quite sure he'd do just about
anything now.

�� Surprisingly, Kousuke blushed
and looked away, focusing his gaze on his knees as he squirmed out of the rest
of his clothing under the nightshirt. "Could you...stay with me? Just
until I fall asleep? I don't want to be alone just now..."

�� The tiniest of smiles tugged
on Eyes's pale lips, as if those words were an invitation he'd secretly been
waiting for. "Yes." He stood up to take the supplies back to the
bathroom, and he picked up Kousuke's discarded clothes as well. "I will
stay."

�� Kousuke relaxed and looked
relieved, as if he hadn't been expecting the other boy to agree. And in truth,
he hadn't. Eyes was usually such a private person, and Kousuke was unsure
sometimes about just how much he could ask for without infringing on those
personal boundaries. "I'm glad," he whispered, moving under the
covers and snuggling a little into the horrible orange blankets, "Even my
nightmares are afraid to cross the Great and Powerful Eyes Rutherford."

�� This time, the young man
rolled his eyes. "Don't make me sound like that..."

�� Kousuke snickered."But it
suits you! It reminds me of that one American movie I saw once, the Wizard of
Oz. You'd make a pretty cool wizard."

�� "How do you figure?"
Eyes asked, wrinkling his nose.

�� The redhead yawned and smiled
dreamily. "It's just the image of you flinging spells around, I guess. Really dramatic and all that stuff. And you already have
that really powerful personality that makes you seem taller than you are.
Besides, the original Wizard of Oz suckered the whole of Emerald City.
You strike me as the kind of guy who could sucker a city, if he wanted."

�� Eyes shook his head and turned
down the bed for Kousuke, waiting for him to settle in before covering him with
the frightening orange blankets. "Only if I wanted.
But who wants a city that can be suckered, mm?"

�� "Um....someone
who wants an endless supply of brainless minions to carry out his Evil
Biddings?" The capital letters were clearly audible, even though
Kousuke's voice was getting more vague and dreamy as exhaustion began to catch
up to him.

�� Eyes stretched out next to
Kousuke, wrapping an arm casually around the redhead's waist. "Useless. I
want to live, Kousuke. I want to live life...like I should. That's what I
need."

�� The redhead smiled, one hand
moving to rest over Eyes's arm, marveling at the cool silky feel of his skin.
"You will. We'll make sure of it, me an' Rio an' even Ayumu, even if I
have t' sit on the little baka an'...an'...I dunno what I'd do. Maybe
tickle 'im. He looks like someone who's ticklish. Bet he laughs reeeaaal cute,
too..."

�� "I'll
bet he is ticklish, but there's only one way to find out, and we can get to
that when you've rested." Eyes wondered if Kousuke was right. What was it
like to hear Ayumu laugh?

�� Kousuke nodded a little,
blinking his eyes in a way that made him look like a sleepy child. "Mmm-hmmm. And then, after I complete that impossible
job, I'm gonna set out on another, and find out a way to make you laugh.
I like it when people laugh...means they're not cryin'." He yawned again,
curling up a little against the silver-haired boy. "Never wanna see
you cryin'."

�� "You'll never have to
worry about that," Eyes reassured him. After this long, it was likely an
impossible task to get him to cry. He was too well trained.

�� Kousuke's brow wrinkled
slightly, as if he wanted to argue, but he was rapidly losing the battle
against sleep. "Hmph...sez you. But you don't cry
with y'r face. You cry with y'r heart. Inside. Don't
wanna see that, either. So I'll learn to make y'r heart laugh, so it's
not cryin'. I'll learn..." And with that last proclamation, the redhead
was dead to the world.

�� Eyes let his head fall back to
the pillows, staring at the ceiling. You can't be so close to the truth. Was
I that obvious, or are you already that close to me? Both were hard to
believe, but possible. He didn't want to think about what that meant, except
that he had to hold on to Kousuke tighter than ever.

�
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