(no subject)
Happy Halloween!
Title: To The End of the Earth
Rating: 12
Band: Mejibray
Pairing: Koichi/MiA
Summary: When MiA goes missing Koichi can't just sit back and wait for him to return. Following his lover's footsteps he finds himself on a pretty island, hiding a not so pretty secret.
With his vivid pink hair, piercings and excitable personality he knew he never would be one to blend in with a crowd. Even on the streets of Tokyo he could still turn heads. For the most part he liked the attention, though it wasn't always kind. Some nights he would wonder if he should try to be normal, but the day came and with it his resolve returned. Why be normal, when he could just be himself? In this quiet island village things were different. It was the kind of place where standing out was the greatest of sins, but just not being from around here was enough to make anyone stand out like a sore thumb.
It was a pretty village, he thought as he walked through the small residential area. Every house was built of white stone, most decorated with hanging baskets of flowers, decorative flower beds or well cared for lawns. These were people closer to nature than technology, so far from everything he had known. Why had MiA come here? More importantly, why hadn't he returned?
He soon reached the courtyard in the middle of the village, surprised to find that this was all there was. A small shop seemed to stock everything from food, books and clothes to fishing rods and garden supplies, beside it was a community hall that doubled as a library and the third building seemed to be some of kind of doctor's office. No wonder there were daily boats travelling to and from the island, without this trade these people would find it impossible to survive.
He entered the last community building, a friendly looking pub though his own presence here was met with sceptical eyes. It was the pink hair wasn't it? If only he had known, perhaps then he would have been smart enough to wear a wig. No, even if he had known he wasn't ashamed of the way he looked.
“How can I help you?” the man behind the bar greeted him. His voice was wary, his friendly question obviously forced. They didn't like strangers here, that much at least he had been forewarned.
“Hey, my name is Koichi,” he greeted the man politely, bowing on instinct as he did his best not to stare at the man's moustache. “It's nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is surely mine,” the moustached man answered, though his tone suggested it was really not. “Can I get you a drink or something to eat? The kitchen's are closed, but we can probably find you something if you're not too fussy.”
“Just a coke will do fine,” Koichi reassured him, “Oh, and a packet of those peanuts.”
“You to soft to drink?” teased a man at the bar. Koichi did his best not to flinch at the dirt beneath his finger nails, his own were perfectly manicured and painted black. He took great care in his appearance, but this man clearly did not. Perhaps he was being cruel? The man looked the kind who worked hard for a living, who was a city kid like himself to judge these country folk? “Put some Jack in that, on me.”
“Why not,” Koichi agreed warily as the bar tender waited for his approval. He was here for business, not pleasure, but gaining the trust of these locals was perhaps the best way to do so.
“So, what's a man like you doing here?” the man beside him asked. “I may be quick to judge, but it's obvious you don't belong.”
“I'm looking for someone,” Koichi said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. No signal? Luckily he had the photos store in the device. Quickly he found one of MiA and held it up to the stranger. “Have you seen him? His name is MiA.”
“Oh yes, I've seen him,” the stranger replied, “He was around here last week, perhaps the week before, asking questions.”
“What kind of questions?” Koichi asked, greeted by perfect silence. What had MiA been asking that had put these men so on edge? What had been so important that MiA had just left one day with barely enough time to tell him where he was gone? “Please, I haven't seen or heard from him for ten days.”
“He was asking about a woman,” the bar tender eventually shared as he placed the drink and nuts in front of the visitor. “Though it was obvious he wasn't the type to be interested for the normal reasons a man asks about women. Though I suspect you know that already.”
“A woman?” Koichi repeated, that was the last thing he had expected to hear. MiA wasn't into girls, like the bar tender had suggested, he really did know.
“It's a shame really,” the man at the bar added, “Mizuki could do with a polite young man like him, she won't say anything but I know she's lonely.”
“Why don't you ask her out then?” Koichi asked, surprised when the man laughed. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Tsuzuku would rather die that spend his years on the island,” the bar tender explained gently, “Any man who loved Mizuki would be stuck here for life.”
“Life?” Tsuzuku repeated, “More like a living death.”
“Is it really so bad?” Koichi asked, surprised by Tsuzuku's reaction.
“Ignore him, he's always been a moody teenager,” the bar tender reassured Koichi.
“I'm twenty-two!” Tsuzuku objected, the same age as him them? He had seemed older.
“After MiA asked his questions, where did he go?” Koichi prompted, desperate for any sort of clue that might help him find his lover.
“Probably to her house,” the bar tender replied, which was rather obvious now that Koichi thought about it.
“I'll take you there,” Tsuzuku offered, “I have some free time.”
Mizuki's house wasn't far from the centre of town, though every home here apart from the lighthouse and the odd farm could boast the same. It was a standard white stone cottage, with red flowers growing from pretty much everywhere.
“She must really like flowers,” Koichi commented as he looked around the front garden. Tsuzuku could only shrug as he brought down the door knocker on the door. A minute or so later a beautiful young girl opened the door, smiling as she recognised her guest. She was dressed in crimson from head to toe, the colour bringing out the gold in her hair and the contrasting with the green in her turquoise eyes.
“Tsuzuku! It's not like you to come and visit me,” she teased, “You'd think he hated me the way he's so reluctant to come.”
“I've told you a thousand times,” Tsuzuku objected, “I don't trust you.”
“And still, you come and help me with my garden,” Mizuki reminded him. Helped, or was forced? She seemed friendly enough, but it was very clear that Tsuzuku didn't return the affections she obvious had for him. Why chase after a guy who had clearly had enough of been chased? If he had done that he knew he would have entered up in serious trouble Not that he would. Koichi had far more sense than that, besides he had MiA now.
“He's looking for MiA, have you seen him?” Tsuzuku asked bluntly. Taken back by the question Mizuki took a moment to answer.
“MiA? He was here last week but he didn't stay long,” she answered. “Is he missing?”
“I haven't heard from him,” Koichi confessed. “He never ignores my messages.”
“Oh, the possessive boyfriend?” Mizuki asked, “I should have guessed. My brother isn't here, so run along and go back home.”
“MiA said that about me?” Koichi asked, shock quickly followed by mistrust. There was something off about this woman, something not quite right. She was lying, but about which part?
“He said a lot of things,” Mizuki said with a sad smile, “Look in all honesty I suggest you give up on him.”
“MiA isn't a coward,” Koichi retorted, “If I did something wrong he'd tell me!”
“It's not my job to answer for my brother,” Mizuki answered, silently shutting the door behind her. Koichi was about ready to tear the place down, but Tsuzuku quietly led him away without saying a word. Everything this woman said reeked of deceit and yet he couldn't deny the family resemblances. If he trusted her on just one thing, then he believed she was MiA's sister.
Koichi sat in the window seat, staring out at the rain pouring down outside. Part of him wished it would wash Mizuki's garden clear away. How could she tell him such terrible things about MiA? He was kind of possessive of his boyfriend, he had realised as he had sulked in Tsuzuku's spare room. He liked to know where MiA was, and always took his hand whenever anyone got too friendly towards him. He didn't think MiA minded, but what if he had? What if MiA really had come here to escape him? Only if that was the case, wouldn't he still be here? Perhaps he was hiding away in Mizuki's house, letting his sister do the talking for him. No, MiA wasn't a coward, he was being paranoid.
With a sigh he got up and headed in to the bathroom, surprised to smell the faint scent of lemon in the room. MiA's favourite scent was coming from the bathtub, and when he pulled away the shower curtain he found a bar of lemon soap. MiA's soap? No it couldn't be, it was just a coincidence. Though he had been in the small shop and knew that they didn't stock anything like this.
Suddenly suspicious of his host he began to search the room, finding a strand of blond hair that could quite easily have been MiA's. His boyfriend had been here, he was sure of it. Why then would Tsuzuku lie and say he only saw him in the pub?
He was moments away from storming out of the room to confront his host when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He grabbed it, like he had done a million times, hoping that it would be MiA but was still shocked to see that it actually was.
Eagerly he opened the message, frowning as he read the message. His heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest, this couldn't be. MiA was really breaking up with him? Just because Mizuki had complained he had been harassing her? That wasn't how things had happened at all. Who broke up by a text? Not MiA, and not from this number.
His sorrow was instantly replaced by anger as he double checked the number in his phone. His lover carried two phones, one for work and one for personal calls. Koichi had never received a message from the work line, it was a number he only had for emergencies. Someone had stolen MiA's phone and was pretending to be him. He was certain of it.
He packed up his things quickly, rather braving the rain outside than spending another minute in Tsuzuku's home. He was involved in all of this, as big a liar as Mizuki herself. Who in town could he trust? He didn't know any one, for all he knew everyone knew where MiA was and was hiding it from him.
He met Tsuzuku at the bottom of the stairs, his host watching him warily as he went for the door. Was he behind the messages? It seemed quite likely, his only other suspect being Mizuki herself.
“He was here and you didn't tell me!” Koichi snapped at his host, the other man looking resigned to accept the accusations.
“He stayed for a night, yes,” Tsuzuku confirmed, “It didn't seem important.”
“Why would he stay with you?” Koichi asked, “His sister doesn't live far away.”
“They had a disagreement.” Tsuzuku replied, “He stayed the night and then left. I never saw him after that. I assumed he had gone home until you came looking for him.”
“You're still lying,” Koichi accused him, “If that was the truth you would have told me before.”
“In the morning you should leave,” Tsuzuku informed him calmly, “The boats won't run at night, especially not in this rain, but for your own safety you need to get off this island.”
“Why?” Koichi asked, “What will you do to me if don't?”
“It's not me that you should be afraid off,” Tsuzuku replied as he headed up the stairs. Koichi was still fuming but challenging Tsuzuku wasn't going to get him anywhere. Whatever Tsuzuku knew, he wasn't sharing.
Koichi regretted his decision to walk out almost instantly. The rain was falling hard, fast and cold, making the still unfamiliar town dark and sinister. He had nowhere to go, and to his disappointment the lights in the pub were now out. Had it closed so soon? It was only his pride that stopped him from turning back and returning to the warm bedroom Tsuzuku had offered him. Despite his deception he didn't seem so bad. Perhaps there was nothing more to his story than what had been told? He hadn't wanted to arouse suspicion upon himself, that much was obvious. Only his instincts screamed that there was more to the story than what had been shared. Tsuzuku had been hiding things from him, just as Mizuki had.
Twinkling blue and green lights on the hillside caught his attention, quickly going out as if they were never there. Was he coming down with a cold already? MiA always teased him with the old saying whenever he got sick; Only idiots caught colds. Well he was being stupid tonight, he couldn't deny that.
With nowhere else to go he headed towards the hills, wondering if perhaps there were some campers up there. Those lights weren't natural in the slightest. In all honesty they looked nothing like anything he had ever seen before, but they had to be man made.
He hadn't explored the hill in the day, so the hundreds of mounds came as a surprise. Each one was a couple of meter's across and rose to about his waist height. They spanned the hillside in perfect lines, could this be some kind of burial ground? It felt sinister enough but it was silly to be afraid. If there were people up here he had to find them.
He called into the darkness as he walked between the mounds, using his phone to light the way. It was so dark and cold up here, the rain turning the dirt into mud. He must be a sight to behold, he'd even go for dirt under his fingernails over this. Lost in thought he didn't notice the movement behind him. Realising that he wasn't only alone after something grabbed his ankle. He screamed into the night, startled and afraid. Stupid, it was just the people he was looking for he thought moments before he was dragged into the dirt.
He jumped to his feet in an instance, realising that he was inside some kind of windowless room. It was bright here, but his eyes adjusted quickly and he took in the sight of his companion warily. He looked human enough, in a creepy kind of way. His skin was too pale, his eyes too large and blue and appeared to be weeping blood.
“You idiot, why would you visit the mounds so close to Samhain?” the stranger demanded. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are that I'm the one who found you?”
“Who are you?” Koichi stammered, “What is this place?”
“Meto,” the man answered, “You're not from around here are you?”
“What was your first clue?” Koichi muttered.
“Well you don't look or act like the locals, that's for sure,” Meto answered, missing Koichi's sarcasm, “And you're clearly not Aos Sidhe.”
“I'm not... what?” Koichi stammered.
“Aos Sidhe,” Meto repeating, the words sounding like Ow Sith to Koichi's ears, “The people of the mounds?”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Koichi stammered, “Do they wish us harm?”
“Us?” Meto teased, “Isn't it obvious that I'm one of them? Yes, you really are stupid I think.”
“I don't even know what these Aos...” Koichi began, stumbling over the foreign words once more.
“Aos Sidhe,” Meto repeated, “We're the creatures of the dimension between life and death. Yokai and ghosts live on this plain. To use your human terms. Or do you prefer the name fairies? I don't, not at all but call me an oni if you like?”
“You want to be thought of as a demon?” Koichi asked, “If so, why then am I lucky that you're the one who dragged me here?”
“Let's just say I like your style,” Meto answered with a wink, “The pink contrasts so nicely with my blue. Don't you think?”
“I have a boyfriend,” Koichi stammered, nervous before this creature who found him so fascinating. Meto laughed at him, shaking his head in disbelief.
“How are you so stupid?” Meto demanded. Getting no answer he walked into another room and returned with a towel. “Don't answer me then, just get dry before you catch a cold. They say colds love men like you.”
“That's what MiA used to say,” Koichi muttered as he did his best to dry himself in his soaking wet clothes, “Though he didn't really believe that like you do.”
“MiA?” Meto repeated, so surprised by the name that he forgot his crusade of mocking Koichi.
“You know him?!” Koichi asked excited, “Please I've been looking for him all day. Is he here?”
“A MiA is here,” Meto answered slowly, glaring with his electric eyes as Koichi pushed his phone into his face, “Yes, that MiA. He's here.”
“Really?” Koichi asked, “You're a hundred percent sure?”
“I know what I saw,” Meto scolded, “He's to be the star of the Samhain celebrations. No, don't ask. I don't think you want to hear what they will do to him.”
“He's everything to me,” Koichi found himself begging. “Please tell me where he is, what's going to happen to him?”
“He's in a holding cell,” Meto answered, “And no, I won't risk my life taking you there so don't even ask. As to what they want him for, it changes with the will of the people. Every Samhain we choose a new leader and a human is offered to him as a gift. Most gifts end up as thralls, the less worthy are broken and tossed aside.”
“What's a thrall?” Koichi asked, cursing his lack of knowledge. Every question he asked made Meto think less and less of him. Not that it should matter. Meto was one of the Aos Sidhe and he couldn't even guarantee that Meto was on his side.
“A thrall works for their master with limited freedoms,” Meto answered, “Some thralls are treated well, others are not. As for their duties, they vary from master to master. I know what I would do with a thrall that looked like this MiA.”
“That's enough threats,” a man's voice filled the mound from above. Tsuzuku, Koichi realised as a shadowy man appeared before him. Moments later he had materialised fully and was holding the point of a black bladed sword towards Meto. “You know well enough that the Aos Sidhe don't intervene with human affairs.”
“I was protecting him!” Meto protested, “Tell him Stupid, that I did you no harm.”
“Leave Meto alone!” Koichi ordered angrily. Who was Tsuzuku to barge in here and threaten the one man who had told him anything resembling the truth? He didn't know if he should trust Meto or not, but he knew he couldn't trust Tsuzuku. “He knows where MiA is.”
“You do?” Tsuzuku demanded, “He's here?”
“He was offered as the sacrifice,” Meto said, still wary of the blade even though it no longer pointed at his neck. “You should know that. Aren't you the Priest?”
“That's none of your business,” Tsuzuku replied. “Who performed the ritual?”
“The Priestess,” Meto answered, “As she always does.”
“Damn her!” Tsuzuku snarled, “What on earth was she thinking?”
“Don't ask me,” Meto complained, “I don't know what you humans are up to. Don't ask him either, he doesn't know anything.”
“Lucky him,” Tsuzuku muttered.
“Now here's the question,” Meto began, “How is it the Priestess can take action, and the Priest doesn't know at all? Unless you're not the Priest after all.” Silent filled the small room after Meto's words, the kind of quiet that made you acutely aware of the danger. The title of Priest, whatever that meant, had protected Tsuzuku while it had remained.
“I still carry the sword,” Tsuzuku eventually answered.
“Useless, just metal,” Meto teased. “Oh this is knowledge worthy of gold. All this time you march down here, barking your orders, and they're all false.”
“Meto, don't you dare!” Tsuzuku warned, but the demon had already vanished in the shadows.
Tsuzuku had refused to discuss what had happened, warning Koichi not to say a single word. He longed to rebel but the sword was still in his hand, looking plenty deadly to his eyes. He kept his silence, trusting the man he had already run away from once to lead him to MiA. He tried a few times to spark conversation but it was like Tsuzuku had gone deaf, such was the extent that he was refusing to listen.
They made their way out of the burrow, into a dark field and making their way to the village beyond. It all looked so familiar and yet it wasn't the Island he had been to before. A dark mirror image that bustled with life. The creatures shied away from the two of them, fearing the man who they believed to be the Priest.
Finally they reached the holding cells, and forgetting his fear he ran to MiA's side. He'd been chained to the bars, weak and injured. Desperately he tried to release him, though the bonds wouldn't give and MiA didn't awaken. Falling to the floor he knelt over MiA's legs, resting his head against the other's chest as he listened to him breath. MiA was alive, it was only now that he realised how convinced he was deep inside that he was not.
Angry voices filled the room as Tsuzuku ordered MiA's release from the hideous creature that was standing guard. Koichi had barely looked at the man, who was at least half bear. He hadn't cared in his excitement of finding MiA.
“Ko, is that you?” MiA muttered. He was awake? Delighted Koichi sat up and gave MiA an excited kiss. He was crying, embarrassing himself like he was so prone to do, but he couldn't help it. He was just so relieved. “How are you here?”
“I was brought-,” Koichi began, stopping mid sentence as he sensed he was being watched by the monster in the room. He shouldn't name Meto, it would get him in trouble. “I fell.” He corrected himself, knowing MiA would question him more later.
The monster sulked over towards them, and Koichi tensed up ready for a fight. To his relief and surprise the monster released Mia, convinced by Tsuzuku to let them go? Koichi didn't question it, helping MiA up and letting the blond lean heavily against him as they made their way to the door.
Tsuzuku led the way, nervously watching out the whole time. The Aos Sidhe were angry. He didn't have to be ordered to hurry, his instincts were screaming at him to do so. It was only the sword in Tsuzuku's hand that kept these creatures at bay.
They'd almost made it when they heard the sounds of horse hooves rapidly approaching. Glancing behind him he saw a black horse carrying a figure dressed all in black. One hand gripped the reins, fingers as white as bone, whilst under his free arm was the horseman's head.
“We need to run,” Tsuzuku warned, grabbing MiA by the other side as they both half carried him down the street.
They'd returned to the real world in a flash of light, though how Koichi didn't know. He'd simply run until his lungs were about to burst. He needed to stop, but Tsuzuku was still dragging MiA towards the town and he had no choice but to try and keep up.
The reason for Tsuzuku's haste became obvious when the sounds of the horse returned behind them. The horseman had followed them here! He didn't look, simply ran and ran in a blind panic.
“Left,” Tsuzuku got out between breaths, darting through a white gate and up to the porch of the first house they found. “We should be safe here.”
“Should be?” Koichi repeated, “We're out in the open!” He would have said more but the sight of the horseman on the street before them silenced him. This was it then, the end of all of them. He was so convinced that it was over, that it came as a shock when the horseman refused to approach. He stalked around the house a few times, as if looking for a gap in some kind of invisible fence.
“You can always trust Jin to put his pumpkins up early,” Tsuzuku explained, “The poor old man lost his daughter to the Aos Sidhe a few years back.”
“The pumpkins keep the Aos Sidhe away,” Koichi realised, staring at the glowing Jack-o'-lanterns with a new found appreciation. They'd saved his life, and he'd just assumed they were nothing but Halloween decorations.
“Samhain is when the borders between the dimensions are weakest, the Aos Sidhe come and walk through the town as if it was their own. The nights around Samhain the strongest can pass, for the borders are weak.” Tsuzuku explained. “The horseman will give up soon and we can get back to my place. In the morning the two of you must run. They won't cross the sea, you'll be safe once you get off this Island.”
“MiA can't travel,” Koichi warned. His lover was barley awake, clinging onto his two rescuers barely conscious at all.
“You don't know that,” Tsuzuku corrected, “Maybe in the morning he'll be a bit better?”
“He's sick!” Koichi protested, “He needs to heal! You're some kind of Priest, don't you control them with that sword?”
“Control us?” the horseman sneered, his voice twisted into almost a growl. “Fake Priest, your time is up! Tomorrow the armies will come, I will lead them myself!”
Koichi made sure that MiA was safely tucked into the guest bed in Tsuzuku's house before he quietly left the room and found Tsuzuku waiting for him downstairs. MiA seemed to be fine, just suffering a bad cold and a few minor injuries. Hopefully a good night sleep would be enough, if not they would have to ask the doctor to come and look at him.
Now he had the other issue to worry about, Tsuzuku. He still didn't know what to make of the man, but he was human and had helped him rescue MiA. Even so, Koichi wasn't one to quickly return lost trust. He needed answers, and he needed them now.
“What's going on here?” he demanded, “Don't lie to me this time. I need the truth.”
“You do,” Tsuzuku, “But you might not believe it. This is the Island of the Aos Sidhe. Their dimension runs parallel to ours and every year they demand a sacrifice. This is the duty of the Priest and the Priestess, Mizuki has taken the role the last few years. Last year it was a Sailor who had stolen from the bar and created trouble more than a few times. The year before it was an obnoxious woman who had been living here, beating her child the whole time. To save the village the Priest and Priestess have always removed such people form the town. I was to be the Priest, but when I found out what was really going on I stopped my training. I can't be involved in this, it's not right. Even when the people are criminals.”
“MiA isn't a criminal,” Koichi informed him, “Are you saying Mizuki sold him out for the town safety?”
“It looks like it,” Tsuzuku confessed, “I thought better of her. Really I had no idea she could be so cruel! MiA and Mizuki share a father, she figured it out a couple of years ago. When I quit my Priest training she got in contact with him, to take my place she said. He came here to meet her, but only stayed a few days.”
“He told her no,” Koichi realised. “There's no way MiA would get involved in this.”
“He packed his bags, and left,” Tsuzuku finished, “That's what I thought at least. Only he must have threatened to go to the authorities, or something. Refused to keep the secret and Mizuki eliminated the threat. Even this village won't turn a blind eye to a crime like that!”
“They turn a blind eye to enough,” Koichi muttered. Tsuzuku was one of those villages, more involved than most. He couldn't let himself forget that.
“They don't really know what happens,” Tsuzuku confessed, “They believe what they need to, as long as it's bad people vanishing they don't feel the need to worry. I was one of them, back then I was happy here. Now I can't wait to get away from this place, only I can't. Not until a Priest has been chosen.”
“The Aos Sidhe feared your sword,” Koichi remembered, spotting the sword resting on mantle piece. “Until they realised you weren't the Priest.”
“The Priest can use the blade to channel their power, for anyone else it's just a weapon,” Tsuzuku explained, “Your friend Meto must have shared the truth. He's an information broker of sorts, that's why he lurks near the boundary. He's after information from our world.”
“Meto sold us out,” Koichi repeated, he wanted to defend the man but it was true that he was the only one who had known. “But he was going to show me where MiA was.”
“It wouldn't have been for free,” Tsuzuku replied gently. Again Koichi wanted to argue, but he couldn't help but remember the way Meto had gloated about how he already knew what he'd do with MiA if he was his slave.
“He wanted MiA for himself,” Koichi realised, unable to finish his thoughts. What Meto had wanted was a sex slave, his intentions had been obvious the whole time.
“MiA, you, or perhaps both,” Tsuzuku corrected, “Don't misunderstand me when I say this, but you must be aware that you're a beautiful man yourself?”
“I'm nothing compared to MiA,” Koichi said, forcing a laugh. “He's a model you know.”
“If I was gay, and had to chose between you both, it wouldn't be MiA,” Tsuzuku confessed making Koichi blush. Tsuzuku really believed he was prettier than MiA?
“You're straight, what do you know,” Koichi muttered, pleased by the compliment none the less.
MiA was awake when he returned to the guest room. He'd spent the last half hour with Tsuzuku, really getting to know the man and realising that perhaps he was wrong to judge him so harshly. Tsuzuku wasn't that bad. Growing tired he had accepted a couple of blankets and a cushion to use as a pillow and had been planning to make a bed for himself in the guest room. He'd been offered the sofa downstairs, but he needed to be around in case MiA needed anything.
“Are you feeling any better?” he asked gently.
“Cold,” MiA answered, not sounding sick at all.
“Well you would get sick, Mr Idiot,” Koichi teased. It was rare that MiA got sick so he was going to take full advantage of it.
“It's more fatigue I think,” MiA confessed, “Really I'm not that sick.”
“Right,” Koichi replied, “You just want me to get in that bed with you, admit it.”
“I admit it,” MiA said with a weak smile. Smiling back Koichi pulled of his outer clothes and slipped into the single bed with MiA. He really was an idiot, he thought as MiA wrapped him in his arms, he was going to catch MiA's illness for sure. He just couldn't bring it upon himself to care.
Quietly they lay together, MiA falling back to sleep quickly. It was such a relief to finally be back in MiA's arms, but he knew his worries were far from over. If they didn't leave the island tomorrow then the Aos Sidhe were going to come for MiA. He wouldn't let them take him, but surely they wouldn't give up until they took somebody. He wanted to run so bad, but even if MiA was well was it fair to leave Tsuzuku in this mess all by himself? Funny, when did I begin to worry about Tsuzuku, he wondered as he finally fell asleep.
Koichi stood beside Tsuzuku on the doorstep, watching the sun go down. The night of Samhain had come and thanks to MiA's illness he was still on the island, ready to defend the man he loved more than anyone else.
They came the moment the sun set, dark shadows appearing on the hillside and moving quickly towards the town. The bow he held was drawn, his aim only satisfactory after his afternoon of practice. The creatures would have to get through the lines of pumpkins first, but they would come.
First was the headless horseman, stopping just out of range with a smirk on the face held beneath his left arm. In his right was a sword, long, sharp and shining slightly in the moonlight. It was a beautiful blade, but Koichi didn't stop to admire it.
Besides the horseman appeared a large brown bear with teeth like a sabre-toothed cat and claws of gold. Standing on it's hind legs it towered higher than the horseman and let out a loud growl as several black cats slipped between his paws.
One by one the Aos Sidhe came, demonic men, wicked looking imps and twisted versions of animals he well knew. Meto wasn't here Koichi noticed, not sure if this pleased or angered him. He wanted to question Meto, learn who's side he was truly on. Perhaps Tsuzuku had been right the whole time, Meto only sided with himself.
The horseman bellowed a battle cry, and the unholy army began to approach. Koichi was sure they were doomed, but before his eyes the pumpkins jumped to life. Barely larger than an eight year old child their skin was bright orange, with green hair and glowing yellow eyes. They attached quickly and without fear, falling apart like smashed pumpkins whenever they were slain.
“Fire!” Tsuzuku ordered, snapping Koichi out of his shock. He needed to fight, he reminded himself as he let loose an arrow. It stuck straight into some kind of demoness. Spurred on by his first success he fired arrows as fast as he could, trying to hold back the advancing forces with only some success.
“It's no good,” he despaired as his last arrow flew across the now crushed garden. “We're done for.”
“No,” Tsuzuku replied as he stepped towards the army, “We're not.” In his hand was the blade he had carried before, but something was different now. It glowed in his hands, sparks travelling down the blade as he began to slay the Aos Sidhe before him. The blade was enchanted, Koichi remembered, but only for the Priest. They had won, but it had cost Tsuzuku more than he could ever imagine.
“So, you're the Priest after all,” Meto teased from across the road. He had been watching the battle, helping neither side, “I did wonder before, it's nice to be wrong sometimes.”
“You're the one who told them I wasn't,” Tsuzuku accused, “You're the reason this battle even happened.”
“Me?” Meto asked, “You're wrong, I shared nothing.”
“Why did you try to help me?” Koichi asked, “Last night what was your price?”
“There was none,” Meto reassured him, “Not for the man I see as kin.”
“What does Koichi have that could ever be compared to you?” Tsuzuku accused. “He's nothing like you.”
“Not all Aos Sidhe are bad, little one,” Meto mocked, “The love between there two men made a wonderful story, stories always do sell for the highest price.”
“That's not an answer,” Tsuzuku accused, sighing as Meto vanished into shadows. “Don't let him get to you, you're not like him at all.”
“Actually, I think I just might be,” Koichi admitted. Like Meto he knew exactly what it felt like to not fit in.
Once MiA was better they decided to return home. Parting with Tsuzuku was hard, but the man had made his decision to stay on the island and undo the damage of the Priestess. Mizuki had vanished that night, the whispers on the wind that she had been sacrificed to the Aos Sidhe. Others said otherwise, that she had left by her own free will, but the truth remained that she was gone.
“Will you be all right here?” MiA asked, his hand held tightly in Koichi's the whole time. Koichi couldn't bare the thought of letting him go, and so far MiA hadn't complained. If anything he still seemed a little scared of what had happened here, needing his support as much as Koichi needed confirmation that MiA was there.
“It's my home,” Tsuzuku said, a hint of sadness in his voice, “I still long to leave it but that's not my fate. Turning a blind eye to what happens here was never the answer, running away would be even worse. I will protect this island, as I was always raised to do.”
“We'll visit you,” Koichi promised, “And contact you all the time. You'll get fed up of me soon enough.”
“He is clingy,” MiA teased, laughing as Koichi pouted at him, “What? It's true!”
“Whatever, you like it,” Koichi decided, giving Tsuzuku a one armed hug and a sad smile. “Thank you so much, for everything. I was wrong to judge you so harshly.”
“You're perspective, you saw I was being fake,” Tsuzuku corrected, “And that Meto wasn't like the other's at all. He's been helping me keep things in check you know. I've yet to figure out what he hopes to gain.”
“Stories,” Koichi answered, “He said it himself, they're what pay well.”
“I'll contact you almost as much as him,” MiA promised, giving Tsuzuku himself, “The ship is going to leave without us if we don't go now.”
“Have a safe journey,” Tsuzuku ordered, standing at the port and waving at his friends until he was out of sight. Sadly Koichi turned to MiA, missing Tsuzuku already but relieved that things had gotten back to normal at long last.
“You know he said I was hotter than you,” Koichi teased, “If he was gay he'd be all over me. I wouldn't say no either.”
“Don't be daft, you're an annoying brat,” MiA answered, “And your nail varnish is chipped.”
“I'll have to fix that,” Koichi answered. Once he would have run of to do so right away, but he let it be for now. Some things were more important than a man's nails, it had taken a man with dirt under his nails to show him that.