Title: Jellyfish Love [Chapter 8: Precipice] Author: Matrim Email: matrim _ n o _aijin @ yahoo . com (hotmail isn't working so use that one) Warnings and comments and crap: Um...warnings...warnings of yuri and violence and more talking. Also, if you don't know what a switch is--it's where you can be seme and uke and you don't care what you are one day or the next. More nakedness. More Kamijo angst. Seek is important. Seek is bodyguard. Seek (in this story) is Die's brother. Seek makes people nervous just as much as Die does. Also I live for the bloody subtext. XD~ ++ It is funny when the door to the house opens and slams shut. It tends to make the house shiver and shake but not bad like an earthquake shakes a house. It is even funnier when Luci'fer jumps up from her chair and faces the direction of the noise—as if she could do something about it. "Nene!" Kyo's shouting. He's very cross. Nene decides to ignore him and makes Luci'fer sit down again. She presses a cup of tea into the other woman's hand and begins to cut a cake she's made. Things feel clearer in her head now. She doesn't think it has anything to do with medicine but she likes it—whatever it is. "Nene!" Damn, he's getting closer. And he's so loud. She remembers the days when he used to sing and he didn't even need a microphone. Even when he was a baby, he was loud. Nene continues to cut her cake. If Kyo wants something, he has to ask nicely. When he finally appears in the kitchen, Nene keeps a careful eye on Luci'fer. The woman is sitting perfectly still and pretending to be nonchalant. Hmmm. Nene approves of this because Kyo can instantly pick up on any sort of nervousness. "What?" She asks her little brother in a petulant tone. It's very hard to take him seriously especially when she has to look down at him just a little. Just before he says anything, Kyo turns to look at Luci'fer suspiciously and grabs Nene by the hand and into the next room. And he's completely forgotten that she's still holding a knife. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Ask nicely." She demands and points the knife at him. He glances at it but not with very much fear but that's not what she was trying to do to him anyway. Kyo takes the knife away from her gently and holds it while Nene removes her hand from his grip. "Alright. What do you think you're doing?" "Having cake." "Nene." Kyo says, with a not very patient tone to his voice. "You know who she is." "Oh, yes. I know." Nene nods to him. "Why else would I let her in?" She goes on before Kyo can go into hysterics or at least, what passes as hysterics. "She cannot hurt you. I won't let her. I don't think she's fast enough to kill you. She is not fast enough to kill me but she might prove a challenge. I found her following me home so I've adopted her like Daddy does when he likes pretty things." "You have Kyouko." Nene snorts, very unladylike but she's been raised in a house full of boys. "She doesn't like me that way. No. But this one is different. See, how she looks? I'll be disappointed if she doesn't try to kill me." "What if she gets to Ai?" "Who cares about Ai?" "I care about Ai." Nene tilts her head and keeps back the response she wants to give. She watches Kyo for a second and nods. "You do, don't you? Poor thing. Then I shall protect your creature." The last thing she wants is Kyo to get upset. She knows that as family she's safe from any real punishment. She's not a brother but a sister—an older one at that and just an inch's breadth away from normal. She knows that if she were Tatsurou, she'd probably not be so lucky. "She makes the rain stop, Kyo." Nene imparts to him quietly. "Rain?" Kyo sounds confused for a second before he does that weird quirk of his lips. It makes his piercings do weird things. "Rain. You're not involved with this girl, are you, Nene?" She thinks that if he didn't have those weird contacts of his, he'd be giving her his begging look. But since he is wearing those contacts, he looks ferocious. She covers his eyes with her hand and grins. "Don't know. I like her. I'll kill her if I have to." "But you don't want to, do you? Poor thing." "Don't talk like me." Nene tells him just as Kyo moves her hand away from his face. He hands her the cake knife with a grin even if others would say that was an unwise gesture. "You do know that her first and foremost priority is to carry out what Shinya's told her, too, don't you?" Kyo asks. Nene runs her finger along the flat of the blade and licks off the icing. "She'll never love you as much as she loves her life and her boss." Nene closes her eyes for a second then opens them again. She runs another finger against the flat of the blade as she thinks. "Makeshift Daddy. He acts as if they're family. How do you know I can't sway her to our side?" "Would you ever betray me?" "No." "Exactly." Kyo kisses her on the cheek gently, like he used to do when she was whole and she could kill just as ruthlessly as Aiji, Toshiya or even Izam. "I'll make sure this one doesn't leave you, Nene." She beams and watches him ascend the stairs. She returns to the kitchen and begins to serve the cake. When Luci'fer isn't looking, Nene stares at her with mixed feelings. She's not too attached yet. She still has time. ++ "How can we be sure that Aiji is still alive?" Atsushi moves around the room like a poisonous snake in a black silk Chinese robe. He's drinking again despite the fact that the doctors have told him not to. Tatsurou knows that if he looks to the side, he will see Kyo glaring at him. And Tatsurou can't even apologize for the fact that he gave Atsushi wine because he wasn't sorry. He couldn't fake feelings that he didn't have. If Kyo was overindulgent with Nene, Tatsurou was the same with Atsushi. Unlike Kyo, Tatsurou wasn't raised by his father. His mother told him that he had no father, up until the day she was killed and the person who delivered the news was Atsushi himself. "He was alive this morning." Kyo tells Atsushi. He stands from the leather couch that he's been sitting on with Tatsurou. Just as he tries to wrest the glass of wine from his father, Atsushi holds it up and out of his reach. Kyo can only glare at him and when Tatsurou closes his eyes, he can hear a quiet menacing growl emerging from him. Atsushi only smirks. Tatsurou smirks too because he's inherited from his father. "Someone must've seen him by now." "Definitely. But if Shinya has Aiji, we have Luci'fer." Kyo takes one last look at the wine and leans against the desk as Atsushi moves to the window. Tatsurou stares down at his feet. He doesn't like this. He doesn't like waiting. He dislikes staying at home and he absolutely hates being kept back to do nothing. "Tatsurou's getting restless." "Good. He deserves it for trying to get you drunk." It is a brotherly jab but the sibling rivalry in this family could sometimes draw blood. And Atsushi encouraged every single bit of it. Their father would smirk and laugh. His favor changed to whoever could impress him the most by their cunning or by the amount of blood shed. Tatsurou knows his mother wouldn't approve but she's dead now and she wasn't very kind to him when bits of him began to vaguely resemble Atsushi. However, Kyo was Atsushi's oldest son and since he had 'inherited' the business, his favor always came back to him. Tatsurou decides to throw a knife at Kyo, anyway. He misses, but only because Kyo has moved. His knife lands into the desk with a thud and vibrates. Now, Tatsurou has to deal with Kyo pointing a gun at his forehead. But he has some sort of insurance in that, he has his gun against Kyo's chest. Both hammers in each gun is drawn back with a click. "Stop it." Atsushi says in a commanding voice. He removes the knife from his desk and without looking, Tatsurou knows he's frowning. Immediately, the two brothers lower their weapons and turn their attention to their father. If you were distracted and Atsushi had a weapon in his hand, you wouldn't be alive in the next five minutes. Tatsurou doubts that Atsushi would actually hurt one of his children but he doesn't want to push it to find out. Apparently, Atsushi's not in the mood to humor them today. "My poor desk." Atsushi murmurs then hands the knife to Tatsurou, hilt first. "Where is Kengo?" "Infiltrating a club." Kyo puts his gun away but Tatsurou only lowers his hand to rest on the couch. "Shinya's only move against you has been that woman. It's almost as if he's humoring you. Are you sure that you want to go through with this? Once you start, you can't stop." Kyo nods. There is no flicker of hesitation within him—nothing to betray his innermost thoughts. "I've already started. The weak must now be weeded out and replaced. That goes for everyone. Tatsurou can find the replacements. There's no mistaking his eyes for it." Atsushi and Kyo both turn to stare at him. So, he's to sit here and make other people do the work? It's not as if he's not used to it but considering the circumstances—Tatsurou wants to be doing more. "If Aiji should fail?" Kyo prompts. "Toshiya." Tatsurou replies, without thinking. "If both fail?" "Matatabi. Maneki." "Izam?" "Kyouka." Tatsurou's eyes flickers between the two. "But they shouldn't fail." "Izam won't. Kengo might not fail but he'll die anyway. Matatabi and Maneki may be too much." Tatsurou wants to argue with Kyo, ask him 'Isn't that what you want?' but questioning him is not an option. Kyo would do more than hit him again if he found Tatsurou 'thinking'. Kyo smiles suddenly, but doesn't voice his thoughts. "For now, we sit and wait for those three to do their jobs." Atsushi nods. Tatsurou's distaste with the situation goes unspoken as it's written all over Atsushi's face. Kyo straightens and moves to leave. "Wait." Atsushi says and Kyo turns back around. He glances between the brothers and he has a smirk on his face. "Were your guns loaded?" With a flick of their hands, the brothers push out the barrels of their guns and hold it upside down. The bullet slide out and bounce harmlessly on the thick carpet. Atsushi laughs, deep and dark. It sends shivers down Tatsurou's spine but he won't show it. He stares at the bullets that were emptied from Kyo's gun then looks up to Kyo's face. There is no sign of emotion there and Kyo won't find anything on him, either. Atsushi is still laughing as Kyo turns around and heads out of the door, bullets forgotten on the floor. As Tatsurou ponders who has won this round of sibling rivalry, the answer immediately arrives when Atsushi strokes his hair. ++ The light flickers on in the apartment and Toshiya would shiver at the cold if he weren't trained otherwise. Things are kept neat here but only because there isn't much to keep it messy. "Just sit down and I'll get you something to drink in a minute," Kamijo murmurs. He collects Toshiya's coat from him and moves into one of the two rooms near the back of the apartment. Toshiya stuffs his hands in his pocket then wanders into the tiny area that serves as a TV room. There are shelves here for CDs and DVDs. Near the TV is a stereo player and a small liquor cabinet. It seems that if any empty space could be found on the shelves, then these spaces were filled with pictures. Toshiya tilts his head. There are pictures of Kamijo with a man with red hair. The length of hair varies but it is the same man. It must be fake hair. There are a lot of these pictures and one of these pictures features Kamijo and him in the midst of a kiss. "What's up?" Toshiya turns around quickly and nearly scares Kamijo into dropping the glass of water. Toshiya takes it from him and gives him a smile. "What're you looking at?" "Your pictures. Who's that guy?" He points. Kamijo glances at the pictures. He doesn't say anything for awhile and instead, sits down at the small folding futon that serves as a couch here. He turns on the TV and only when Toshiya joins him does he say, "That was Machi. My ex-boyfriend." It's not like he cares what Kamijo does or who Kamijo cares for. Toshiya doesn't expect something to spring up out of nowhere. And he's sorry that he can't give Kamijo the love that he's so desperately seeking but then he'd be lying and hurting them both. "Still love him?" Toshiya doesn't flinch when Kamijo looks at him sharply. "I'm just asking. Seems like it. Most exes would throw the thing out." "The thing is�E#034; Kamijo pauses. He's already speaking low—beneath the volume of the TV and Toshiya has to move closer in order to hear him. "Machi just packed up and left without telling me anything. I tried calling his cell phone but I didn't get an answer. He was here one day and then, he was gone. Those are the only things I've got left of him." Kamijo shrugs. "It was months ago. Five? Not sure. I'm mostly over it but�Eust in case, he comes back. I don't want him to not see his pictures there, you know? And not many people see it because if they did, they'd think I'm trying to replace him." "You bought me here." "I knew you wouldn't think that." Toshiya raises an eyebrow and takes the remote control to turn off the TV so he can actually hear Kamijo. "You could never replace him, hm?" "No." "You don't have to look so guilty." Kamijo gives him one of his surprised faces and Toshiya grins. "Why would you want to replace an ex anyway? Wouldn't the same problems just occur? You can have other lovers but replacing an ex? Spells trouble." Kamijo smiles hesitantly but it fades and he's making that angst-filled face again. Toshiya suppresses a sigh. He hates that face. Kamijo thinks too much in his opinion and it is possible that Toshiya received this trait from Hakuei and the others. Yasu was more sensitive though, so he had to be talked out of his funk before Hakuei's Sleep-With-Us treatment worked. In order to keep himself from saying something to piss Kamijo off, Toshiya busies himself with stroking blonde hair off of the other man's cheek. He tucks a lock behind Kamijo's ear just as Kamijo sighs. "I'm thinking too much, aren't I?" "Yeah." "Not stopping me?" "You offering? I'm very good at it." "I know you are." Toshiya smiles and kisses Kamijo's forehead. He never kisses him on the mouth because Kamijo always turns his head away. Toshiya thinks that Kamijo won't let him kiss him unless Toshiya says that he wants them to be something more. Something different. Toshiya's water is left forgotten on the table as Kamijo stands and tugs Toshiya toward his bedroom. "It's time for you to learn how to become a switch." Toshiya says as he wraps his arms around Kamijo's waist. The door to the bedroom slides closed behind them. "A what?" "It'll take your mind off of things, honestly." ++ Later, Toshiya wakes to the sound of Kamijo's soft and steady breathing. He is unsurprised to find Kamijo's arms around him and carefully, he detaches the other man. Kamijo groans out a question as Toshiya pats his forehead gently. "Just going to the bathroom." "Mmph." Kamijo settles back onto his bed and curls up in the blankets. Toshiya sits up and glances to the clock then grimaces at the time. It was early morning—still considered night by most people. He opens the sliding door quietly and closes it behind him. Despite the chill in the air, he walks naked to the bathroom which was near the front door. Whoever designed the apartment must've been on a crack. He puts on slippers, the only clothing on him at the moment and takes a piss. After he's done, he makes sure he isn't doing anything disgusting like dripping. He flushes the toilet and stumbles out into the cold hallway but abandons the slippers long before then. Toshiya stretches and winces as a few muscles protest the rough treatment he's put them through. He smiles, albeit a bit stupidly, as he thinks of Kamijo passed out in his bed. The man had absolutely no stamina as an uke. He is about to go back to the bedroom before a lingering nagging memory pokes him in the back of the head. Oh, yeah. He'd wanted to see the rest of Kamijo's pictures. Now was a good time as any, considering Kamijo was asleep. His eyes scan across the pictures, ignoring the red headed man because he's not interested anymore. Toshiya's interested in what is not known. There is a picture of Kamijo with another blonde man. He looks perky and cheerful and he's flashing a peace sign at the camera. Hm. There is another picture of Kamijo surrounded by two people with dark makeup on. They look like girls but Toshiya knows that it could be men. There is another picture of a man with pink hair and another with blonde hair, holding up drinks in their odd little costumes. Smiling, of course. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except�E --there is one picture of a young man with long dark hair and piercings all over his face. Toshiya frowns. He knows that face. It looks familiar to—but it couldn't be. He scans the pictures and his eyes widen. A similar face without piercings and shorter hair looks out at him from a picture frame with Kamijo. On Kamijo's other side, another man with cheekbones and a weird hat gives an intimidating glare to the camera. Kaoru. And Die. And in the other picture, Seek. Kamijo knew Kaoru and Die. Somehow, he knew Shinya. But what was the connection? Kamijo was just a bartender. He didn't know anything about gangs. He didn't have a mark on his body to suggest that he was part of any group. Toshiya eyes the picture one last time and retrieves his bag. He heads into the bedroom. He stands by the side of the bed and watches Kamijo sleep. He could do it easy. Kill him now and quickly before Kamijo woke up. He wouldn't even feel anything. But why would he have to? Kamijo didn't know anything. The man didn't come armed into the club that was clearly marked as Kyo's own. If a man like that worked for a man like Shinya and came into Kyo's club, then obviously, Kamijo didn't matter quite as much. There are no pictures of Shinya on Kamijo's shelves and Toshiya is one of the few who can identify the man. Just because there are no pictures there, does not mean anything. Toshiya licks his lips and removes his hand from his bag. He releases the hold on the weapon he has hidden in its depths. The bag is placed back down on the floor as Toshiya slides back under the sheets. He pulls Kamijo close and nibbles on his ear gently. "Mm�Eo, Totchi. Tired." "Liar. You were awake all this time." "No�E#034; It is a half-whine, full of sleep and confusion. Just a bartender then. If it were anything more, Toshiya's sure one of them would've died already. Toshiya kisses his ear and smiles again. "I'm afraid that I'm going to be using you again, Kamijo." He whispers in the blonde man's ear. "Wait until morning." Toshiya strokes his lover's hair and nods, even if the man can't see it. I'm sorry, darling, but I'm going to have to kill your employer. You can work for mine, though, he's so much more agreeable, anyway. And since you're going to be mine in order for this to work, I'm sure Kyo will give us anything your little heart desires. Except Machi. You're mine now, baby. All mine. ++ To Chapter Nine Jelly Home Fics Home