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Pivotal	By : Macx Category: Descendents of Darkness/Yami No Matsuei > General Views: 2391 -:- 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-Pivotal
- 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
- 8
- 9
- 10
It took twenty-four hours for the anti-dote to show the first signs
of working. Kochin was still there, keeping an eye on not only Touda but
Rikugo as well. She watched as the astrologer sighed softly, pulling away
from Touda. Black eyes, unfocused and clouded, blinked several times, then
closed and the tall form collapsed.
Kochin hurried over to her fellow Divine Commander, then called for
the servants.
° ° °
Terazuma hadn't left his lover alone, even though their fight had truly
brought out the worst in him. He had wanted to turn around and leave the
obstinate, stubborn and pissed off dragon, feeling angry himself. But the
anger had evaporated almost right afterwards by the sheer exhaustion he
read in his lover's eyes.
So he had stayed.
And he had kept himself updated through Sohryu's servants that came
and went, bringing news of the fire serpent's condition. He couldn't get
Sohryu to rest, despite the blatant need the dragon radiated by now.
"You'll be trapped here forever," Sohryu said softly, repeating his
earlier argument, but the tone of voice was much softer.
"And I'll be spending the rest of my life with the person I love." Terazuma
smiled at the pale dragon. "I can't imagine being in Meifu, knowing you're
out there somewhere, unreachable, adrift in GensouKai... I'd rather be
here, away from the others, than without you, Sohryu."
"GensouKai, as you know it, won't survive the new separation. The last
time we were able to save ourselves by moving into this virtual world.
But not again."
Terazuma close the distance and placed a finger on the familiar lips.
"I know. But I'm here because Touda needed this chance, the anti-dote Watari
developed. And I'm here because I love you. Accept it."
Sohryu smiled a little, tiredness in his every move. "Thank you, Hajime."
There was a knock and then a servant entered, bowing deeply.
"My Lord Sohryu. I bring news from Commander Touda. Lady Kochin asked
me to tell you that the anti-dote is working."
A breath whistled out of Sohryu's lungs and his eyes widened. "He's
healing?" he demanded.
"Yes, my Lord."
Terazuma was close enough to feel the tremors racing through the tall
man. The servant retreated and it was moments after the doors closed that
the Protector of the East suddenly swayed.
"He's healing," Sohryu repeated, stunned. "Hajime, he's healing!"
Terazuma grinned. "I heard it. It's the best I've heard in days!"
He slung his arms around his lover and that was the moment the full
weight of the dragon collapsed into his arms.
"Sohryu!"
Unconsciousness had claimed the dragon and Terazuma lowered him to the
ground, calling for the servants.
° ° °
Rikugo woke to the sensation of lying flat on his back. He blinked,
his eyes burning, eye lids heavy, and his vision was far from clear. It
was like a fog wavering in front of his eyes. His body felt heavy, weak,
and he seemed to be shivering.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Touda!
Rikugo managed to turn his head and found he lay on a bed in the room
next to where Touda was. The wide doors were open and he could see the
serpent shikigami from here.
Why was he here?
What was he doing in bed?
Touda needed him!
The astrologer pushed himself up. The world lurched around him, nausea
rose and he swallowed reflexively to stop from throwing up. Everything
blurred and he had to hold onto the mattress to keep from falling over.
He could do this, he told himself. He had a patient to take care of.

Sohryu had slept for most of the day, and had finally woken to his lover
sitting with him on the broad bed, smiling as blue-gray eyes blinked open.
Terazuma had forced a large breakfast into him and Sohryu had to confess
that he had felt better since... well, since the whole mess had started.
A soft, gentle session of kisses and touches had followed, and Sohryu hadn't
really been up to much more.
It had taken a while to get out of bed anyway, even if nothing had happened.
His personal assistant had brought him up to speed as to what had occurred
while he had slept and Sohryu was pleased to hear that Touda was truly
healing. At the current speed it would take a while, but he was on his
way to recovery.
Rikugo's breakdown had not been unexpected. The astrologer had completely
depleted himself, but Sohryu was sure the other dragon would be up and
about by now. Dragons were fast to recover and as long as there were no
deep wounds or poison, their own healing powers were enough to counter
such situations.
Sohryu walked into the room where Touda was sleeping peacefully, Byakko
curled up at his side, to the sight of Rikugo clinging to the wall and
trying to walk toward the bed.
"Rikugo!" he exclaimed.
The blond head came up, dazed, onyx eyes trying to focus on him, and
Sohryu was shocked by the sickly pallor of the shikigami. Rikugo looked
nowhere close to recovered or healed!
"Rikugo?"
"Have to... Touda..." Rikugo whispered.
"Touda's fine," the dragon answered, striding over to the other man.
Rikugo trembled badly. His hair was mostly undone, falling over his
back in white-blond waves. He was dressed in simple pants and a shirt,
showing his slender form more clearly than the layers of robes.
"But..."
"The anti-virus worked. He's getting better."
Rikugo's eyes were widening. "He... is..?"
"Yes."
Sohryu was just fast enough to grab the collapsing body. Rikugo felt
incredibly light and fragile in his arms, shaken by tremors, and his skin
was cold and clammy to the touch. A moan escaped the astrologer and his
hands clenched into Sohryu's far from representative robes, eyes screwed
shut, simply trying to breathe.
The dragon looked down on the blond, truly realizing how much Rikugo
had really put into keeping Touda alive. All his energy had been expended;
all of it, not just the healing energies. He had poured his life into Touda
in small doses, weakening himself to a level that had nearly killed him.
At the moment he was weaker than a new born. His body was trying to work
through the energy loss but it was too much to counter immediately.
Soft steps announced a visitor and Sohryu looked up, right into the
faceless darkness that was Taimo's face. Serenity flowed off the shikigami
and despite the missing face Sohryu thought he detected a worried frown.
"He depleted himself," Taimo said, voice soft and calm, but the underlying
worry was there.
Sohryu nodded, still holding the semi-conscious astrologer.
"I can offer to unravel his energy lines," Taimo went on. "But it won't
be easy and it won't happen overnight."
Sohryu was aware of that. Taimo had guiding powers, but unlike Rikugo,
who used them actively to counter a virus or worse, Taimo could only touch
the energy lines that joined all life forms to the fabric of this realm.
It was also a drawback because whatever darkness touched the energy, it
would flood Taimo as well. He could give Rikugo a little push into the
right direction and it was probably all the other shikigami needed.
"It's better than nothing," the dragon replied and hoisted up the shaking
man.
He carried him over to the other bed once more and placed him onto the
mattress. Rikugo just whimpered softly, eyes still closed, and he curled
up almost instinctively.
Taimo sat down and withdrew his hands from the folds of his white robe,
reaching for Rikugo's chest. Sohryu stood back, watching, worried just
like everyone else. He might not like Rikugo for his constant opposition,
but that had changed lately. He had come to accept the astrologer's role
in his life, in GensouKai's life, and he knew he needed him as his opponent
just as he needed Tsuzuki and Terazuma and his children...
Rikugo gave a breathy moan as Taimo began to scan the abused body and
mind.
"He is very weak, Sohryu," the faceless shikigami whispered. "His channeling
power is non-existent. I'm amazed he even made it so far."
Sohryu nodded to himself. The astrologer had sacrificed almost everything.
"It will take time," Taimo repeated.
"He'll get whatever I can give," the dragon answered softly.
Eyes on the haggard, lined face, noting shadows so deep that it looked
like his eyes had been bruised, Sohryu swore to himself that when they
were past this, he would change a lot. He had started to change already,
mostly toward Touda and Byakko, as well as their master, but now was the
time to put whatever had been between him and Rikugo behind them. Tsuzuki
had once told him that he needed the opposition, that it made him what
he was, that it gave him the necessary jolt to live.
It was true.
He needed Rikugo. Not as an enemy, but as an ally who saw what Sohryu
didn't, who pushed him further than the dragon would normally go, who opened
his eyes to things he had mistaken for something else.
I don't need to abuse you, Sohryu thought sadly. I don't need you as
a punching bag. I know that you're serious about what you say and do concerning
me, and I always saw it as a personal attack.
He sighed softly.
Changes were in order.
In the light of the intricate network that connected them all... they
were more important than ever.
° ° °
It was like waking up after sleeping very deeply. There was confusion,
the sensation of missing things and unable to remember why. Amethyst eyes
blinked once-twice, then the dazed expression tried to clear. Lungs inflated,
but not under his own account.
Another blink.
The non-human eyes gazed at the tube leading from a machine to him,
wondering what was going on.
As he moved, an alarm went off and someone burst into the room.
"Tsuzuki!"
The excited voice belonged to his best friend and Watari leaned over
him, beaming at the prone man.
"You're awake! It worked!"
What had worked?
"Wait. I'll remove the ventilator. This won't be nice while I'm pulling
it out, but you can breathe on your own now."
The ventilator was off fifteen minutes later and Watari had been right.
It hadn't been nice. Tsuzuki's throat felt sore and dry.
"Here. Small sips."
A glass was held against his lips and a bit of wonderfully cool water
trickled down his abused throat.
"Thanks," Tsuzuki answered, his voice scratchy. "What... happened?"
A sigh. "Let me check you first, okay. Then I'll get Tatsumi and we
can talk."
°
Tsuzuki lay propped up in the hospital bed, feeling sleepy, tired, but
not too bad considering he had spent the last week in a coma and had nearly
died. Hisoka was with him, curled up against his side in the wide bed,
snuggled close under the covers. Tsuzuki's right hand was resting on the
younger shinigami, now and then stroking over the slender body.
Hisoka had come to see him two hours after the ventilator had been removed,
a few minutes after Tatsumi had briefed him on what had happened. Tsuzuki
had been shocked, had tried to reach for his shikigami, but Touda was like
a leaden weight; unresponsive.
Few words had been lost, but the emotions running between them had been
deep. The kiss had spoken more than any words anyway and Hisoka had just
climbed into the bed, seeking nearness, and Tsuzuki had pulled him to him.
There was a shift coming from the unresponsive form and Tsuzuki turned
toward the bond.
::Touda?':: he whispered.
Another shift and the dark ball uncurled. A soft moan echoed through
the shared realm.
Tsuzuki reached out. ::Touda::
He touched the inky black presence and smiled when the shikigami reacted
instinctively.
::Tsuzuki?':: came the soft question.
::Yes, I'm here::
The presence flowed openly around him, enveloped him, and Tsuzuki sank
into the other mind, very much at ease with the intimate connection. Touda
was incredibly weak and Tsuzuki sent warmth.
::What happened?':: the shikigami murmured.
::You caught a virus. A computer virus:: Tsuzuki replied, then opened
up and let the information Tatsumi had shared with him seep into his bonded
friend.
To the outside, he appeared to be sleeping, but inside two souls lay
close together, closer than anyone else could be, while their lovers curled
up close on each man's side, simply happy that he was alive and getting
well.

tbc...
- 8
- 9
- 10
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