grieving

Fic Requests; Drabbles, one shots.

2008-03-27T09:06:41Z

I'm taking requests due to a severe lack of anything else to do. You can request any fandom, character, prompt almost every pairing. Within reason. (I will not write Sakura/Fai or Tomoyo/Kurogane or Delinda/Danny (Las Vegas), just a heads-up) I'll be writing drabbles, oneshots, or if you're very lucky and I like the character/pairing/prompt, you might get an epic.

Fandom: Series.
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Person or pairing.
Prompt: Single word that I can interpret. May not be what you want. (example: "dark." Could mean absence of light or a solemn mood.)

Please, I'm desperate.

red promise - samurai deeper kyo.

2008-02-01T00:18:05Z

Title: Red Promise.
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG.
Comments: Uh, blood? Shihoudou/Sendai Aka no Ou.

“Sendai Aka no Ou,” a familiar voice called out from behind him.

The Sendai Aka no Ou turned, smiling softly at the woman who approached. He hadn't seen her in quite some time and he had a feeling she might have shown up sooner or later. “I see you've decided to come after all, Shihoudou,” he said by way of greeting.

“Yo!” She called, holding up her left hand, a familiar smile on her lips. “Shihoudou's back, man!” She stopped about five feet from him, placing her arms akimbo. Shihoudou sighed loudly as she looked around. “Looks like I picked a good time, too,” she said, “both Kyos are fighting each other! Never seen that before, huh?” Her grin faltered slightly. “And Kyo with his true Mibu side awakening...”

Their eyes met, red meeting brown. Her smile faded completely as his remained. Gaze dropping to the ground, Shihoudou said softly, “Hey... the wind's nice up here.”

Shihoudou, if you think I've taken the wrong path, then strike me down, he had told her so long ago. She had accepted, thinking that that could never happen, but now...

“Live the way you want... and the wind will always be at your back,” Shihoudou said as her eyes strayed over towards the figures frozen some ways away. Julian, his son, Yuan of the Taishirou, Yuan's student and his half brother, Keikoku and Shinrei of the Goyousei. Descendants of battle dolls – turned off like the toys of a bored child. She lifted her gaze, meeting his again and smiled sadly even as her throat constricted and her eyes burned. “But... I—I think I'm too late.”

She was silent for a moment, swallowing thickly to keep her emotions at bay. “You're not the same man anymore,” she told him softly. “You loved our family... You loved children... You were the kindest man I ever knew...”

The Sendai Aka no Ou, however, shook his head. “I haven't changed at all, Shihoudou. I just...” He paused, searching for the correct word, “gotten a little bored is all.”

Vaguely stunned, Shihoudou heard the blond girl gasp and cry, “B-bored?!”

It seemed her analysis was correct. This was not the man she knew. Not the man she loved and was loyal to. His beautiful red eyes were dead, the faint traces of wickedness hidden in their depths. He might have had the same smile as before, but it did not match. “Your face...” She whispered. “It's all wrong.” Shihoudou lowered her head, the brim of her hat obscuring his figure. “I see.” She shut her eyes tightly, but even that could not stop the tears that slipped between her lids. In a broken voice, she breathed, “You've forgotten the things that made you smile...”

You've forgotten what made you happy... You've forgotten the kindness you showed everyone... You've forgotten how much I care about you...

Inhaling deeply, Shihoudou used her left hand to wipe her face clear of tears, her right hand gripping the hilt of her sword as she removed it from the sheath. “So, there's only one thing I can do,” she said, surprised at how composed her voice was. She looked up.

The Sendai Aka no Ou's eyes met hers for a third time. His smile was gone and his hands had curled into fists at his side. This was the first time he had ever seen Shihoudou's tears and for some reason it disturbed him. He didn't like it – he was far too used to her constant smile and anything else was unacceptable, he thought. The Sendai Aka no Ou's eyes left hers for a brief second, abandoning once warm brown irises, now dulled by emotional agony for the cold steel of her sword before they flicked back. “You do know what will happen if you fight me, right?” He asked, false cheerfulness replaced by seriousness.

Shihoudou shook her head and said, “Of course I do, and I don't care.” She inhaled deeply and continued, “I just want to carry out the wish that you made long ago.” Closing her eyes, she lifted her sword and, when she reopened her eyes, she had activated her red eyes. “If I stab you through the heart, that's it, right?” Faintly, in the back of her mind, Shihoudou was proud that only her determination showed in her voice even as her heart was breaking. “I'll seal your power...”

The blond that was there before got the connection and from her reaction, she must have known the seer who was connected to the Sendai Aka no Ou. She gasped and cried out, “W-wait!”

Lowering her head to block him from view, Shihoudou sent a silent plea for apology to the seer who was about to die. Tears began to roll down her cheeks again as she grit her teeth. “It's alright,” she told the Sendai Aka no Ou, “you won't die alone.” I have no intention of remaining in this world without you... Charging forwards with both hands gripping the hilt of her sword, she shouted, “I'll sleep beside you forever so you won't be lonely!”

The blond screamed her refusal of the situation as the Sendai Aka no Ou's gaze lifted just in time for Shihoudou's blade to pierce him directly between the ribs, right where his heart should have been. The blond – Yuya – was still screaming.

Beneath the brim of her hat, all Shihoudou saw was the Sendai Aka no Ou's white clothes becoming stained with his blood – the red liquid sliding down the blade of her sword and becoming blocked by the hand guard before it could reach her hands and she wondered if a breaking heart was audible. However...

“Oh! You really got me! Well, that's the power of a battle doll,” the Sendai Aka no Ou said, sounding very unconcerned for a man who had a large sword protruding from his chest. A trickle of fear ran down Shihoudou's spine. “That's what I'd expect from the leader of the Taishirou... You should be very proud... But,” Shihoudou's head shot up, wide brown meeting unconcerned red, “it's really too bad that my heart isn't here,” he confessed. “That makes it rather hard for you to stop me, doesn't it?”

Shihoudou drew back and dropped her sword arm to her side, fingers limp, teeth clenched and bared in anguish. “You...” I'm too late. I should have done this when he first became wicked. I could have prevented so many deaths.

The Sendai Aka no Ou materialized a spear made of light as he spoke, “You're so loyal...” Even he wasn't sure if he was sincere or sarcastic. “Thank you for trying to grant me my wish. But, this isn't enough to keep me amused,” he said to her as she straightened her back, eyes closed in resignation. He smiled and sighed softly, bringing his arm up. “I was expecting something more.” I will miss you. “Goodbye, Shihoudou.”

And he threw the spear straight at her.

remembering fireflies (vi) - samurai deeper kyo

2008-02-01T00:13:24Z

Title: Remembering Fireflies (Chapter Six.)
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG - PG13 (Full series.)
Comments: Language, Hotaru's spacey-ness, Anna's violence towards family, and Anthony. He gets a warning all on his own.

When Anthony and the others learned that Hotaru was leaving for China, hell broke loose. Anri had to jump up, grab his younger brother and restrain him to protect Hotaru from Anthony's foot meeting his face. “What?!” He had demanded rather shrilly.

Lilian and Marian had burst into tears, startling Hotaru so much that he fell over. Girls tears scared him—as proven when Antera had cried during their “fight.” The male quintuplets glared moodily at Hotaru. Angelica shrugged and Anna laughed, saying, “At least he's saying good-bye this time.”

“Exactly,” Yuan said, grinning and laughing as their father strummed his instrument.

Hotaru fumbled through his pockets, removing a bag of rock candy he acquired from Akari. He handed small handfuls to both of the crying girls who stopped, blushed slightly, and tossed a piece into their mouths in perfect unison. “I need to get strong enough to beat Kyo...” He paused, glancing up at Yuan. “And to do that, I need to get strong enough to beat you, Yun-Yun.”

Snorting in distaste, Yuan said, “You think Onime no Kyo can beat me? HA. Not gonna happen, Keikoku!”

Julian chuckled. “My stupid son could give that boy a run for his money.”

It occurred to Hotaru that no one had ever voiced the mere idea that Kyo could have died during the collapse of the Red Tower. It had been six months and nothing other than Tenro had shown up. Kyoshirou had taken possession of it, saying that he would keep an eye on it for Kyo until he reappeared.

Dinner had been pleasant and familiar. Anthony and Hotaru raced, Lilian and Marian had declared that they were officially at their target weight, Yurian and Kirian fought, Erian fell asleep halfway through, Anna was shouting and throwing empty bowls at Yuan – who had said her food tasted weird – and Angelica began to clean up after them, trying not to laugh. Anri had told Julian all about his wife Asuka and his eleven kids, plus the one she was six months pregnant with. Julian's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Hotaru had looked over to them halfway between his race and asked, around a mouth of food, “Are you trying to beat Ian and Julian in 'who-has-the-most-kids'?” He was kicked in the back of the head by Yuan. “What? I was curious.”

“You're an idiot,” Yuan teased as Anri laughed.

Looking down at his hands, Hotaru smiled at the crude drawing of the chick on his bowl. They had half-jokingly said that they'd give Tokito, Julian's new “adopted daughter,” his bowl but Anna had loudly refused. “It's Keikoku's, and it will remain Keikoku's. No one's allowed to use it,” she said.

He hated that stupid chickie bowl, but it was his and it followed him everywhere he went, even if he was hundreds of miles away from it.

remembering fireflies (v) - samurai deeper kyo

2008-02-01T00:12:03Z

Title: Remembering Fireflies (Chapter Five.)
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG - PG13 (Full series.)
Comments: Language, Hotaru's spacey-ness, Anna's violence towards family, and Anthony. He gets a warning all on his own.

Sometimes, Anthony was jealous of Shinrei. Despite both of the half-siblings always on each others nerves, Shinrei was probably the only person that Keikoku would risk his life for. They claimed to hate each other but they were brothers and had a fierce bond that forced Keikoku to interfere with Shinrei's losing battle against Fubuki.

Keikoku claimed to not understand the concept of family, but he showed what family did when he protected his brother. And maybe he did not understand, maybe he only acted on an impulse, or an instinct that said, my brother is in danger, I have to protect him!

Anthony thought that Keikoku hadn't considered he and his brothers or sisters family. He finally realized that, yes, he did one day.

It was a clichéd ordinary day. Anthony had taken a break from teaching the Mibu children how to read and write to visit his older brothers in the construction of several homes. He approached them, waving in greeting. “Yo,” he said.

“Hey,” Anri greeted, ducking when Yuan turned, a support beam on his shoulder that had nearly taken his head off three times so far. “Nap time for the kiddies?”

Yuan smirked. “Nap time for sensei?” He teased, taking in his brother's tired posture.

“Aa. Maybe a bit of both?” Anthony shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck where his hair tickled his skin. “Seen Keikoku around anywhere?”

“Yea, he was talking to Akari-nee-chan,” Yuan said.

The pink haired cross dresser from the Shiseiten? With the steamed bun breasts? “Oh,” was all he said.

However, he heard a familiar voice say, “No, I'm right here.” Turning, Anthony blinked in surprise at Keikoku.

“Oh, there you are,” he said. “What's up?” Both he and Anri ducked when Yuan turned once again to get back to work.

Keikoku blinked. “I put a caterpillar on Erian to see if he'd jump like Akira did. He thought it was cute...”

Eye brows raised, Anthony nodded slowly. “Okay...” He wouldn't put it past him. Shrugging carelessly, Anthony turned and began to walk off, waving to his brothers and Keikoku over his shoulder. “Gotta get back. Talk to ya later.”

Another cliché. It happened so fast that even he couldn't do anything. The rope supporting scaffold above him snapped. He vaguely heard Anri shout a warning, Yuan drop the support bean. He looked up, startled to see heavy wood begin to descend. He tried to move, honestly he did, but his legs seemed to ignore him.

He was aware of a hard body slam into his, knocking him out of the way. Anthony hit the ground hard, skidding to a halt by a newly built house. He blinked several times to clear the dust and shock. “Huh?”

“Idiot,” he heard Keikoku's muffled mutter. Anthony blinked and looked down. Keikoku's arms were wrapped around his waist, face buried in his stomach. Keikoku pushed off, glaring at him. “Pay attention!”

“Follow your own advice!” Yuan said above them, looking them over for wounds before he uttered a swear.

Anthony was fine, but Keikoku had a piece of wood pierce his calf. It wasn't deep, but it was long and bled freely. Keikoku glared at it, fishing through his pockets for a rag he carried around. He mopped at the blood that ran down his leg before pressing down hard on the wound, stemming the flow of blood. “Ow,” was all he said, rather belatedly.

“Why'd you push me out of the way?” Anthony found himself saying. “We both could have been killed.”

Keikoku shrugged carelessly. “We're 'family,' aren't we?”

Anthony blinked several times. Even Yuan seemed taken aback before his grin returned, with a noticeable softness. “Got that right. You okay, Keikoku? Didn't hit your head in the process?”

“I hit Anthony's ribs, I think...”

Anri snorted. “They're fine. Anthony's ribs learned to be tough, and Keikoku's head's hard, right?”

Yuan nodded. “Yea, they're okay. Let's get back to work. Keikoku, make sure you get that cleaned—I don't want Akari-nee-chan hitting me 'cause you died of infection.” With that, the older brothers returned to work.

Again, Anthony blinked, standing. He offered his hand to Keikoku, who took it with his clean hand. “Thanks, Keikoku,” he said.

Keikoku nodded, a small smile twitching at his lips. “Aa.”

remembering fireflies (iv) - samurai deeper kyo

2008-01-29T00:40:49Z

Title: Remembering Fireflies (Chapter Four.)
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG - PG13 (Full series.)
Comments: Language, Hotaru's spacey-ness, Anna's violence towards family, and Anthony. He gets a warning all on his own.

Anna stared in horror. Her brain could not process what she just witnessed. The thought of what the hell repeated through her mind, eyes wide. She licked her dry lips and managed to grind out, “What the hell, Anthony?!”

Anthony looked up, wiping the corners of his mouth on a clean cloth. “Eh?” He said around a mouthful a food. Keikoku looked up at well, his chopsticks at his lips. The two them had been in the middle of another race, rice pieces going in every direction, sauce splattering on their clothes and faces.

“You pigs!” She screamed, grabbing the now empty rice container and hurled it hard into the back of her brother's head. She was pleased when he hit the ground, knocked over by the momentum of the projectile. “You and Keikoku better clean this up!” She shouted, furious and disgusted.

Yuan was grinning and laughing, his hand gripping his hair. “Oh, jeez, you two better listen to her,” he said, edging away from the scene.

“And you!” Anna rounded on Yuan, poking him hard in the chest. “They're your brother and student! Control them before I hurt you as well!” She turned around sharply and disappeared into the kitchen.

Pouting, Yuan shrugged and said, “Yea, you two need to learn to at least race cleanly. Anna'll have my head and then both of you are screwed,” he said, grinning.

Keikoku shrugged, taking a bite of his food, the race forgotten. “Anna's scary,” he stated.

“Yea,” Yuan agreed. “She scares me, too.”

Anthony nearly smirked, lifting himself back up into a kneeling position. “Yuan of the Taishirou, afraid of his little sister. What would the other Taishirou think?”

Yuan's lip curled. “Yea, let 'em taunt. They didn't nearly have their damn skull cracked from a bowl.” He snorted, mood ruined and looked away. “Fuck 'em.”

“Anna could take them,” Keikoku said, taking a sip of water.

The brothers smirked then, nodding. “True,”Yuan said, mood renewed. “She could.”

Mind wandering, Keikoku looked at his chopsticks. “I'm tired.”

“Go to sleep?” Anthony suggested, familiar to the attention span of his brother's student. To his surprise, however, Keikoku nodded and promptly curled up into a fetal position right there beside the table.

Yuan's eyebrows rose. “He meant in your room.”

“It's next to Marian and Lilian's. They're loud,” Keikoku said by way of explaining.

“Is that why you're always sleeping in my room?” Anthony asked, lifting himself to his knees to peer over the table at Keikoku. When he nodded, Anthony's lips twitched. “I see.”

Yuan, however, seemed to find this amusing—then again, what didn't, Anthony wondered. “Ah, jeez, you're hopeless.”

Anthony looked over to his brother, an eyebrow raised. By the soft breathing coming from Keikoku, he realized that the younger boy had fallen asleep. “By the way... how old is he?”

Beneath the blindfold, Yuan blinked. “Er, he was, what, six when I found him? Six plus nine is fifteen. He's probably almost sixteen.”

Wrinkling his nose, Anthony said, “He acts six.”

“Yea, but, he's good at it.”

“He's fucking annoying.”

Both Anthony and Yuan had to dodge two bowls that were hurled in their direction followed by a shout of, “Language!”

Hands above his head to avoid any other bowls, Yuan looked to his younger brother and said, “Scary.”

“Scarier than all of the Taishirou combined,” Anthony corrected.

Yuan couldn't have agreed more.

remembering fireflies (iii) - samurai deeper kyo

2008-01-29T00:31:37Z

Title: Remembering Fireflies (Chapter Three.)
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG - PG13 (Full series.)
Comments: Language, Hotaru's spacey-ness, Anna's violence towards family, and Anthony. He gets a warning all on his own.

Everyone was quiet but for sniffles and the occasional sob that they couldn't swallow in time. The quintuplets were clinging to each other, making sure that the others wouldn't leave. Anna and Angelica were staring at the ground, tears running down their cheeks. Anri and Julian were avoiding everyone's glances, expressions blank. Anthony looked like he was still in shock—Hotaru couldn't blame him. It hadn't quite sunk into himself yet, either.

During the collapse of the Red Tower, Yuan had died.

Hotaru knelt before the body of his master, his father figure, his friend. Yuan's body was unmarred for the most part, but the dark stain on his red shirt told Hotaru that he had been wounded by the debris, stabbed in the back from metal and stone. A curious, suffocating feeling swelled inside him. His eyes burned and his hands clenched so tightly into fists that his short nails had managed to pierce the skin, blood seeping in between his fingers. This was... so wrong.

Yuan looked naked without his blindfold, laying on the ground, surrounded by his family. Hotaru frowned suddenly and looked around for the cloth, finding it limply around Yuan's neck, still knotted. Reaching over, ignoring Julian's sharp look, Hotaru's blood stained fingers untied the blindfold from Yuan's neck and carefully retied it, properly around his eyes. When Anthony gave him a questioning look, he said, “I met him with it on.” It seemed to be answer enough because Anthony nodded, returning his gaze to his knees.

Hotaru stood then, sword in hand. Anri and Julian seemed to know what he was about to do because they stood as well, gently prodding the younger ones into taking several steps back. Holding his sword out, he summoned the fires that Yuan had taught to him and cremated Yuan's body until not even the bones remained. Yuan had, half-joking, told him once that he wanted to be cremated by his own flames in the event of his death and it was “tradition” for Hotaru to be the one to do it. He was familiar to the scent of burning human flesh and ash—he had become immune to it, but Yuan's scent made him want to be ill.

He was suddenly painfully aware of the tears that ran down his cheeks, dripping to the ground when they ran out of skin. A hand gently clasped his shoulder and Hotaru's gaze shot up, yellow eyes meeting the yellow eyes of his half-brother, who gave him a sympathetic, concerned look. “I don't understand,” he finally said, his voice choked.

“Understand what?” Shinrei asked.

Swallowing, Hotaru gestured helplessly to the ashes that had once been his master. “I didn't cry when my mother died.” He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “I didn't cry when our father tried to kill me... So why...” He swallowed thickly, large tears spilling from his eyes. “Why am I crying now?”

Shinrei's hand tightened on his shoulder. “Because you loved him.”

Hotaru made a distressed sound in the back of his throat as he nodded. “It hurts,” he admitted in a soft, strained voice, pressing his sleeve to his eyes.

It hurt so much when Fubuki died, so, Shinrei could relate. Pulling his half-brother to him, Shinrei wrapped his arms around him securely, knowing full well that this was probably the only time he would ever get the chance to act like a real brother to him. He placed his chin on Hotaru's head – Hotaru's geta had been abandoned some time ago and he was short enough without them to reach Shinrei's shin. “I know,” he murmured softly as Hotaru's hands gripped the gi he borrowed. He felt the small tremors that over-took his younger brother and his heart hurt—he knew Hotaru wasn't an emotional person and this was killing him enough to be.

Absently, Shinrei noted that the majority of Yuan's family had broken down, the older girls crying onto each other's shoulders, the quintuplets sobbing onto laps or to each other. Anri leaned against Anthony who had tears silently running down his cheeks, Anri's own eyes wet with unshed tears. Julian had his face buried in his hands, silent, his shoulders trembling slightly with Shihoudou's somewhat comforting hand on one of them.

This was so wrong...

remembering fireflies (ii) - samurai deeper kyo

2008-01-27T15:24:14Z

Title: Remembering Fireflies (Chapter Two.)
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG - PG13 (Full series.)
Comments: Language, Hotaru's spacey-ness, Anna's violence towards family, and Anthony. He gets a warning all on his own.

“Ow!” Keikoku shrieked, jerking away from Anthony to massage the tip of his abused ear. He threw the slightly older boy a vaguely betrayed look. “You said it wouldn't hurt!” He cried, knowing he was whining and being weak but too angry to care.

“It hurt because you moved!” Anthony shouted, looking torn between amusement and annoyance. “I have facial piercings—those hurt. Would you like one as well, Keikoku?” He asked with forced politeness. Angelica had come out from the laundry room, Marian and Lilian looking from either side of her hips, an eyebrow raised, but she left without asking questions—this was just another day in their home.

Keikoku glanced warily at the needle in Anthony's hand. “No,” he growled in the same voice he used when Anthony tried to take his food last year.

Rolling his eyes at the tone – and hoping he wouldn't get a foot to his jaw again – Anthony tapped the needle against his fingertip. “You do want the rest of the piercings you asked for, right?”

“Aa.”

“Then quit your bitching,” Anthony said cheerfully, taking Keikoku's right ear in between his fingers again, allowing the boy half a second to prepare before he pushed the needle through cartilage and skin. It didn't hurt Keikoku too badly this time, but he did tense when the sharp tip first broke the skin. Removing the needle, he took the clean, damp cloth and wiped the drop of blood from his ear. He held his hand out, accepting the earring from Keikoku. Gently, he slid the metal into the new hole, pleased. “There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?”

Keikoku pouted. “Why am I doing this again?”

“Because, we all have piercings and you said you wanted one?” Anthony blinked.

“Yun-Yun doesn't.”

“Yuan's a bit of a freak,” Anthony muttered darkly.

Blinking, Keikoku found that he agreed and asked, “Does Anri have piercings?” He didn't know Anri personally—he had left the Mibu before Yuan found him. He seemed interesting, though. “Does Julian?”

Anthony had to bite down a sarcastic comment. “Yes, they do.”

“Did Ian have one?”

Biting his lip firmly, Anthony outright stabbed Keikoku's ear with another needle, pleased when the boy jerked in surprise. “What's with the twenty questions? You met mom before. She had big hoop earrings, remember?”

“Aa, yea. I thought they were big... Like...” Keikoku trailed off thoughtfully.

Anthony repeated the piercing process: piercing, cleaning, placing, repeat. His eyebrow rose. “'Like'?”

Keikoku blinked, shrugging. “I don't know.”

He laughed – he shouldn't have expected anything from Keikoku. “You're an idiot,” he said, cuffing the blond upside the head teasingly. “Ready for the big pierces?” He nearly snickered when Keikoku tensed. In reality, he could probably (definitely) do this completely painless/bloodless... but, what Keikoku didn't know won't hurt him.

“Ow!”

Much.

remembering fireflies (i) - samurai deeper kyo

2008-01-27T03:34:55Z

Title: Remembering Fireflies (Chapter One.)
Fandom: Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG - PG13 (Full series.)
Comments: Language, Hotaru's spacey-ness, Anna's violence towards family, and Anthony. He gets a warning all on his own.

Looking up at the dilapidated house, Hotaru felt a spark of recognition. He knew this house. The only question was: where, though? He made a soft sound in the back of his throat and approached the house, stopping about twenty feet from it to look up, his yellow eyes blinking slowly. “Hm.”

“Yo, Keikoku,” he heard someone greet. Turning, Hotaru saw a man in red and white, a blindfold around his eyes approach, stopping about arms length from him. His hair was weird... white, like a cloud.

Or his shirt. Or maybe his teeth...

He stared blankly at the man for several long moments before the man grinned. “Don't tell me you forgot my name again.”

Hotaru tilted his head to the side.

Yuan laughed, grinning widely. He could practically see the gears turning in his idiot student's head. Any minute now...

Oh, that's right. “Maa. How've ya been, Yun-Yun?” He greeted rather belatedly, waving to his master.

“That's Yuan-shishou,” he corrected lightly, punching Hotaru gently above his temple. They'd done this several times and it had become second nature.

“But, Yuan's so long and complicated!” Hotaru protested, smacking Yuan's hand away.

“Yun-Yun's longer,” Yuan muttered, brushing aside that annoying feeling of déjà vu he got every time they repeated those lines.

Hotaru blinked. “It is?” He shrugged it off – he didn't want to get hit for real!

“Hey, Yuan!” A feminine voice called, stilling both master and student. A head of light coloured hair poked out from the doorway. “Oh, Keikoku!” Anna grinned. “I didn't know you were there. Are you staying for dinner?” She asked.

Nodding, Hotaru said, “Hey, Anna,” which translated to yes, I am staying for dinner. Yes, Anthony and I are going to race again. Yes, you should make more rice. And don't forget the soy sauce.

“Well, dinner is almost ready, so, come inside when you're done!” And she slipped back inside leaving a rather irritated Yuan.

“You've known me longer than most of the people in the Mibu and yet you remember Anna's name,” Yuan grumbled.

Turning his yellow eyes to Yuan, Hotaru said, “She would hit me if I forgot.”

That made Yuan pause. Oh. Hm, that made sense given who his younger sister was. She scared him. “Eh, anyway, how'd you end up here?” Not that he wasn't welcome, Yuan was just curious.

“I don't know,” Hotaru said, turning away to give his attention to a caterpillar that was making its home on a plant. “I'm leaving.”

“Again?” Yuan frowned. He didn't like it when Hotaru left 'cause he tended to do stupid things when he came home, like fight his family. “Where?”

Hotaru didn't answer for a long time – the caterpillar was munching on a leaf and walking at the same time. Then, he said, “China.”

Laughing, Yuan pressed his palm to his forehead. “Ah, jeez. Why China? Isn't that a little... far?”

“Is it? I thought it was near Edo...”

And Yuan's fist connected with Hotaru's cheek – not lightly, not hard. Yuan felt the urge to desperately beat some sense into his adopted son's brain. Then again, only death could cure stupidity. He wondered absently if Hotaru's mother dropped his as an infant.

That thought brought him up short – it was nearly impossible to think of Hotaru as a baby. Remembering him as an angry child was bad enough. Yuan nearly rolled his eyes from underneath the blindfold. “No, Keikoku,” he said with exaggerated patience that even Hotaru noticed – and was annoyed by. “No, China is very, very, very, very... very far!”

Hotaru blinked, tilting his head gently to the side. “That's a lot of verys. Maybe it's very, very, very, very, very, very far?”

Yuan's eyebrows wrinkled together as he counted the verys. “Oi, forget the verys! It's far!”

“Or maybe it's just very, very, very, very far?”

Inhaling deeply, Yuan counted down from ten slowly, his hands clenching and unclenching. “Maybe. Don't care. Are you gonna go inside or not? You know how Anna gets.”

“Aa, okay.”

our kingdom - godchild

2008-01-15T10:03:06Z

Title: Our Kingdom.
Fandom: The Cain Saga by Kaori Yuki.
Author: Your god, kisaragi
Rating: PG.
Comments: Some mild shounen-ai.

Cain smiled lightly up at Riff, his arms around the older man's neck. “You made me cry,” he told him quietly and despite the roof collapsing, he knew Riff had heard him. The two slowly sank to the ground and Cain turned his body so that his back was against Riff's chest. He was pleased when both Riff's good arm and the deteriorating arm locked around him.
“I apologize, Lord Cain,” Riff murmured softly into Cain's ear.

“Cain,” he corrected. “I believe we can drop the formalities.” He sensed a small smile appearing on Riff's lips.

Nodding, Riff carefully settled Cain between his legs. “I suppose we can... Cain.”

A brief, comfortable silence passed between the two. After deciding that the sounds of the building collapsing were too much, Riff said, “I wonder if Hell is our next destination.”

Cain laughed softly. “I don't think God would welcome us into His Home.”

“That's not what I mean,” Riff said, resting his cheek against Cain's dark hair – he noticed that his right arm was completely skeletal now. “What I meant to say was, there are some cultures that believe in reincarnation – the concept of rebirth,” he needlessly added.

“Do you believe in it?” Cain asked, turning his head slightly to catch the other man's eyes.

Riff gave a small shrug. “I do not know.” He paused and added wryly, “It certainly has a better appeal than eternally burning in Hell, though.”

Chuckling, Cain pressed his left hand against Riff's thigh, a gesture he had never had enough courage to do before, but figured he might as well – after all, they were going to die. “Yes, it does.” He paused for a long time before saying, “If reincarnation is real... do you think we would meet again in the next life?”

“Of course,” Riff answered instantly, gripping Cain tighter to his chest with his good arm. “Even if we are not born near each other, I would hunt the earth for you.”

Cain felt his throat constrict and he nodded fiercely. “And I wouldn't rest until I found you as well.” He smiled slightly, ignoring the burning feeling at his eyes even as he twirled Mikaila's–Suzette's–emerald ring.

“Miss Merry will be there, too – though, hopefully, not for a long time,” Riff added.

“I'll haunt Oscar if he lets her follow anytime before she has grandchildren,” Cain muttered darkly, only half joking.

Riff laughed. “You do realize that means he would be the grandfather, right?” He smiled when he heard Cain grunt out “don't remind me.” Shaking his head in amusement, he said, “Don't worry. His feelings for her are sincere and he will protect her.”

“Oh, I know. It doesn't mean I have to like it,” Cain said in a huff.

The oddness of the situation did not pass the two. They were speaking like it was a normal day – Cain had not just killed his father, Jezebel had not died, Riff had never become “Riffael” and they weren't about to die in a collapsing building. The two just believed it was better to talk about happy – or relatively happy – things.

“...I love you,” Cain suddenly confessed, resting his head against Riff's. He felt more than saw Riff smile.

“And I you, Cain,” Riff said, pressing a kiss to Cain's temple.

A chunk of the roof above the two collapsed, sending glass and other shrapnel descending upon the two. Riff moved, covering Cain with his body out of instinct. The pain of the glass shards embedding themselves into the soft flesh of his back did not register in his mind, only concern for his once master. “Are you alright?” He asked.

Cain turned, stricken. “We will be happy the next time,” he swore, voice cracking under the stress of his constricted throat and the effort it took to not cry. Both of Riff's arms are skeletal now and half of his face is starting to deteriorate now – he would die within a minute, from the wounds from the glass or the deterioration, he didn't know.

Riff just gave him a sad sort of smile, pulling Cain as close to him as his legs could push him – his arms are useless now. He buried his face in Cain's shoulder.

God or the Devil, whomever had a hand in Cain's life, granted him a small mercy then – he died the exact same moment he heard the soft, final exhale from Riff at his ear.

When Dominic Clehadol found them minutes later, he knew he would never forget the small, peaceful smile on Cain's lips as he lay, as if sleeping, in the arms of the person he loved most.

We will be happy the next time – together.