Fireflies by Night

reidluver — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:41:02 GMT

Erm....sorry? Just popping in real quick to say I'm not dead and to show this account is still active so it doesn't get deleted or whatever. I have the last of my finals tomorrow and then summer starts so I'll be able to catch up with everything. I miss and love all of you and I can't wait to get caught up again!

I Stopped to Say Good-bye--Buffy Fanfic

reidluver — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:52:46 GMT

Title: I Stopped to Say Good-bye
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Buffy, Giles
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers up to the end of season 2

Summary: Buffy’s about to leave Sunnydale, but there’s one stop she has to make before she does.

A/n Birthday fic for daigranon! Still working on that other fic for you, but I thought I'd take time out and write this fic as a humble apology and happy birthday wish! :) Be warned that it’s been a while since I’ve seen Buffy and it’s been a while since I’ve been in the fandom. That being said, please enjoy and have an incredible birthday!

The battle for the world was over. Again. And like before, Buffy was on top as the victor, but she felt the exact opposite. She may have saved the world, but her world had ended. Buffy thought having Angel turn to Angelus was bad enough, but having him turn back was worse. She got her Angel back, but it was at a price. Once again, she had to sacrifice her own happiness to save everyone else’s, though to add to that, this time her friends also paid quite a heavy price.

Kendra was dead, Willow nearly suffered brain damage and a coma she’d never get out of, Xander’s wrist was broken, and Giles . . . oh god Giles had been tortured. The Slayer had no idea what happened, but she knew he was at least alive. She saw him limping to freedom with Xander’s help out of the corner of her eye while she was fighting Angelus.

Those were the reasons why Buffy decided she had to leave; partly because of her own grief, and partly because she didn’t want anything else terrible to happen to her friends. The Whistler may have been right—she was meant to do this alone. Alone protected those close to her. Anyone who tried to get too close got hurt, and Buffy cared too deeply about her friends to let that happen to them.

She couldn’t say goodbye. Chances were they wouldn’t understand her reasoning, and if she tried to explain it to them it would make it all the more difficult to leave. It was cruel, but this was the only way to protect them.

Buffy would leave Sunnydale, though for how long she didn’t know, only that she had to leave. Get a job somewhere dull and boring (and safe) and do her best to heal. She’d need to sneak into her house and get a few supplies though, and probably some cash to sustain her until she was more settled. Her mom wanted her gone, right?

Yet before she gathered her things, there was one stop she had to make. Buffy knew Willow was awake and lucid and Xander would most likely just have to wear a cast for another month or so—she had no idea how Giles was holding up. Her chest constricted as she speculated on his condition. Giles had been with Angelus for hours; who knew what he did to get her Watcher to talk? Since Angelus knew how to awaken Alfalfa or whatever his name was, then Giles must have talked, and Buffy knew Giles well enough to understand that he would have resisted with everything he had.

Buffy donned her previous beanie disguise and carefully maneuvered her way through the hospital without being seen. She didn’t think the police would still be looking for her, but she couldn’t be too sure. Getting arrested or rather escaping arrest was not something she wanted to deal with now.

Her only problem was that she had no idea which room would be Giles’. She could ask Xander, but then that would lead to too many questions she wasn’t ready to answer. It would also make it that much harder to leave.

Buffy frowned and tapped her foot, scouring the typical waiting room before her as if the answer would be hidden somewhere. If she asked the receptionist directly where to find Giles then there’d be a record of her visit and there was the possibility the cops would be alerted. What else could she do?

Thankfully, the answer appeared in a gangly, freckled, brown-haired teen. The nurse was obviously an intern, and Buffy suspected too much caffeine as the source for the boy’s jittery disposition. That or he really enjoyed working at four in the morning.

A few minutes later and Buffy was directed to Giles’ room. A little bit of lying and a few tears, and she had tricked the intern into taking pity on her. The nurse gave her only five minutes before he would ask her to leave and come back during visiting hours.

Buffy entered the room in trepidation, because her over-the-top concern she used on the intern was only partially faked. Now that most of the adrenaline from saving the world was gone, her initial concern for Giles’ wellbeing came back at full force. She had stayed firm in her belief that he was all right for Willow’s sake, but had been unable to convince herself.

She was at his side before she knew it, sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair that she had moved as close to Giles as she could get. Buffy swallowed against the lump in her throat and glanced upward for a moment to fight back the burning in her eyes. Thankfully Giles didn’t look too worse for wear, at least from what she could see. Two of his fingers were in a splint and she cringed. The young Slayer had her share of broken fingers over the years but injuring yourself in battle and having to sit there while someone broke them deliberately when you couldn’t do a thing were two completely different things.

What hurt the most though, was the way Giles was quietly moaning in his sleep. It only happened every so often, but his eyebrows were knit together as a testament to some unseen pain. Buffy could tell he had been sedated, but shouldn’t that have meant at least his sleep would be undisturbed? The idea of Giles being unable to escape the torture inflicted upon him even in sleep sent a sharp pain through her chest.

“You’re supposed to be the strong one,” she finally blurted out. “I-I mean, of course you’re strong, how else would you still be alive? What I mean is I—” The words wouldn’t come and Buffy let out a frustrated growl. She stared at her lap for a moment to gather her thoughts and tried again.

“What I mean is that you shouldn’t look like . . . this.” Buffy gestured at his prone form. Giles looked so weak, so lost, so old—it wasn’t right. Even though at times (more often than not) he was quite the stereotypical stuffy librarian in true British fashion, Buffy always saw him as brave. She was stronger than him physically, but that was the only area. He was a constant presence to her raging emotions that unfortunately only came with adolescence and was unfairly heightened with the sheer fact she was a Slayer. It was difficult to maintain a positive attitude with everything going on in her life, but Giles made it bearable.

So to see him looking so . . . unlike Giles made Buffy want to leave. She came to the room for a purpose though, and wasn’t going to back out now. With a deep breath to steel herself, she resumed talking.

“I . . . I can’t tell you how sorry I am that you were hurt. It’s all my fault this happened to you. I should have been able to protect you, but I failed. Just like with Kendra,” she whispered. A stray tear rolled down her cheek and Buffy wiped it away angrily.

She let out a defeated laugh. “And now I’m leaving Sunnydale. You’ll probably think it’s childish of me, but I know I have to do it.” Buffy let out a deep sigh and rubbed her temple. “I won’t be gone forever though, just until I get my head screwed on right again. I will be back, I promise.”

Buffy reached out and grasped Giles’ hand with both of hers, being mindful of his broken fingers. To her delight and surprise, his pained expression smoothed out and he finally looked at peace. It seemed that whatever nightmare had been plaguing him was gone. She lightly stroked the hand with her thumb to comfort him.

“ . . . Buffy,” he muttered.

She froze in alarm, worried that she had somehow woken him up. To her relief, it seemed he was only talking in his sleep. There was a light rap at the door, and Buffy knew her time was up.

“Good-bye, Giles,” she whispered. She gave his hand a small kiss and gently laid it back on the bed. “I’m glad you’re okay. Get better for me, all right?”

With that said, Buffy turned around and didn’t look back. She would return, and she could only pray that those close to her would find it in their hearts to forgive her.

“I’m sorry.”

Hope you liked it! I just love their father/daughter relationship.

Writer's Block: B.Y.O.B. Holidays

reidluver — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:28:39 GMT

~ Sherlock Season 1 DVD
~ Merlin Seasons 1-2 DVDs (and Season 3 as a belated Christmas gift because it doesn't come out until Jan 17th)
~ Parked (Irish film with Colm Meaney and Colin Morgan--I know it doesn't come out until March but I want it so badly!!!)
~ New iPod
~ New winter coat

Sorry I've been busy flist--it's finals week! Wish me luck! I know the chances of me winning are super slim but why not try? :)

No Peace for the Wicked

reidluver — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:54:54 GMT

Title: No Peace for the Wicked
Characters: Sherlock, John, mention of Mycroft
Rating: G
Word Count: 221B (credit goes to kcscribbler for the invention of this drabble format)
Warnings: Spoilers for ACD’s story "The Adventure of the Final Problem"
Disclaimer: Don’t own

Summary: Sherlock would never again regret anything in his life as much as this. There was never any other point in his life where he felt so truly evil. He should never be forgiven.

A/N: Those who know my writing style know I have a hard time writing something short. But this image randomly came into my mind today and I just had to put it into words.

----

Even Sherlock knew it was wrong to do so, but his need to see this was so powerful his body trembled. What Sherlock was doing to him was cruel, so cruel. But . . . it had to be done. There was no other way.

With a deep breath, Sherlock steeled himself. Mycroft had wordlessly given him the tape earlier that evening and said simply that Sherlock had better know what he was doing.

(If he were to be completely truthful . . . he didn’t)

Sherlock was shocked by some who were in attendance at his funeral, and even more so by their grief, but they soon became background noise. He only had eyes for one.

With each passing minute, John’s psychosomatic limp grew more and more pronounced until it was worse than when they first met. The hand tremor returned.

But it was the end of the tape that did it. Sherlock could only watch, hardly breathing as John slowly and painfully dropped to his knees, softly touched the gravestone, and the light . . . the very essence of his John, it . . . vanished. Sherlock couldn’t recognize him anymore.

The video ended. Then Sherlock did something he hadn’t done since he was eleven. He buried his face in his hands . . .

—and wept bitterly.

Nevermind

reidluver — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:28:59 GMT

So...I turned in my laptop to Geek Squad for diagnostics in the hope that they'd be able to fix it there. A guy called me back a little bit ago and said that according to them it seems like I have BOTH hard drive and memory RAM problems, which shouldn't really be possible, especially seeing as how I was able to use my computer normally a decent amount of the time. But seeing as how my laptop is SUPER NEW their equipment could be wrong and it's just having a hard time identifying the exact problem. But oh well. Now it's being shipped off to a service place and I don't know how long I'll be without my laptop. :( It makes me really sad. And so my internet availability will be somewhat lacking for a bit.

I might be able to go and rent one for a while though, so that's nice. It's $30/month but since getting my laptop back can take between two or more weeks this might be a good option. I don't want to have to keep using my sister's laptop and it will be nice to go around with a laptop that actually, you know--works for once. XD

As such, I'm using my sister's computer now, but she'll be back any moment now from the fail!Halloween party that I went to for about ten minutes, so I have to be quick. I'll send a shout-out to all these people who were born on the 28th so I can say it now since I don't know when I'll be able to do so via PM. XD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO rainbowfishes, nivek01, makeste, and ethemedie! Hope you had an amazing day!

Guarire--KHR Fanfic

reidluver — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:52:28 GMT

Title: Guarire
Author: Reidluver
Characters/Pairings: Bel, Mammon, with a side of Lussuria & Fran
Rating: PG
Warning: Varia language

Summary: Just because they're assassins doesn't mean they can't feel. Just because they're assassins doesn't mean they can't have people who are important to them. Just because they're assassins doesn't mean they can't be affected by death. Just because they're assassins doesn't mean they aren't human.

Guarire is Italian for "to heal'

“ . . . ‘choo!” The tiny sneeze echoed throughout the expansive corridor and Mammon glanced around quickly, hoping no one had been there to hear it. Thankfully there had not, and the little illusionist’s shoulders slumped forward with relief. For one thing, the last time Lussuria happened to hear him sneeze when he wasn’t using his ability, the Sun Guardian had called it . . . cute.

Naturally, being the size of an infant prompted everyone to see every action of his as “cute” but . . . that didn’t mean Mammon had to like it. A fee was always issued when that hateful “c” word (or any variant of it) was uttered . . .but still. Mammon could read minds after all. The thing that irked him the most about it other than having himself be looked at in that light (because what kind of grown, self-respecting man would want to be called cute?—aside from Lussuria) it was more that it was a constant reminder that he was cursed. Stuck forever in this wretched body unless—

“Achoo!” Mammon once again looked to see there was no one around and then hastily wiped his itchy nose with a handkerchief. He stubbornly ignored his sore throat, plugged ears, and irritated nostrils and tried to focus on conjuring an illusion. He could make the flushed cheeks disappear and—

“Mammon!”

The Arcobaleno barely had time to curse before he was lifted into the air unceremoniously by a certain prince. So the mission in Belize with Squalo is over then. I need to make a note of that in my books. “Bel, put me down,” he said, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice.

“Nu-uh~”

Mammon’s mouth twitched with displeasure. He really wanted to be left alone and be miserable by himself, both for the fact that no one would see him feeling less than perfect and for the privacy. Ever since being brought back to life by Uni, Mammon had felt slightly . . . uncomfortable around the rest of the Varia.

He had expected disappointed glares and the cold shoulder, considering how he had died. Giving up and essentially committing suicide was the most taboo act one could commit as a member of the Varia. It was worse than getting Xanxus’s meal order wrong. Mammon was sure they would consider him less than worthy to be “Varia Quality.” In fact, once he was alone with the Varia in that green clearing, Mammon was half-expecting Xanxus to fire him on the spot.

But he didn’t. No one had been mean to him. They treated him like normal, almost better in the absolute smallest of ways. Like they were . . . relieved.

“The Prince caught you and I’m putting you down when I feel like it.”

Mammon narrowed his eyes in frustration under his hood. Normally he’d just bug Bel to get him to leave him alone when he wanted, but Mammon didn’t really have the strength or patience for that today. And so the Arcobaleno started concentrating on an illusion to get away—

“A-A—choo!” Dammit.

Bel held Mammon at eye level so he could see his face easier, and the Arcobaleno noted with dread the way the blond’s grin widened and grew more mischievous. There was no getting out of this now. Once again Mammon cursed his shrunken size. Of course his adult form was no giant, but it was infinitely better than this.

“Does the baby have a cold?” Bel asked, feigning innocence while he was perfectly aware of the answer.

“No, I don’t. People sneeze all the time without being sick.” Mammon was going to say more, but had to instead pull out his handkerchief and sneeze into it.

“The Prince doesn’t think so. Ushishishi~ I’m going to take care of the sick baby!” Bel held him closer and took off toward the kitchen.

When they arrived, they met Lussuria and Fran who were standing by the island. Lussuria was decked out in his usual pink, frilly apron and it sounded like he was scolding Fran for spoiling his dinner, judging by the way he jabbed a metal ladle in the other man’s direction.

The green-haired illusionist looked up from his container of chocolate pudding. “Yo, sempai, predecessor-san.”

Lussuria spun around with the grace only he possessed and beamed. “Oh hey you two~ I’m about to make dinner, is there anything you want to request?”

Mammon opened his mouth, sensing a chance to escape, but Bel beat him to it. “No can do—the baby is sick! Ushishi~ And now the Prince is going to take care of him.”

The martial artist gasped and placed a hand to his cheek, staring at Mammon in concern. “Oh you poor thing~! Just tell me what you need honey and I'll get it for you.”

As Mammon tried to think of the best way to use Lussuria's worry to his advantage and escape Bel's grip long enough to make good use of his illusions, Fran made his way over and held out his hands. “Why don’t you let me do it instead, sempai? I’m pretty sure you’ll just end up making poor Mammon-san sicker, failing as a prince and all.”

“Hell no!” Bel clutched Mammon closer to his chest and looked at Fran as if he were appalled that the illusionist had the audacity to suggest something like that. “Why would the Prince ever let a shitty toad as yourself take care of my Mammon! You were just his replacement, froggie—don’t let that get to your head.”

Fran blinked. “So why am I still here if Mammon-san is back? Can I leave now?” His eyes almost looked hopeful.

“While that would be nice . . . no,” Bel said. “The Prince has found you to be an entertaining pet so instead of tossing you back into the pond I’ve decided to keep you. Ushishishi~”

“Sempai . . . I’m not your pet—”

“Gotta go!”

Ignoring Lussuria's calls to come back, Bel tore down the hallway at a speed far too childish for one his age, and before Mammon knew it they were in Bel’s unruly and messy room. The blond navigated through the objects strewn about the floor with practiced ease and then dumped Mammon into a pile of silk blankets. They were so soft Mammon easily sunk into them as if they were quicksand and couldn’t get out no matter how much he struggled.

Bel laughed at Mammon’s discomfort. “Just wait there like a good baby while the Prince gets everything ready to take care of my Mammon.” Then he disappeared out of Mammon’s sight and the Arcobaleno immediately set about trying to escape his cushion prison. It proved to be rather useless, seeing as how he was immediately assaulted with a sneezing fit and his energy was slowly deteriorating as an effect of his illness. Not to mention that Bel came back a total of two minutes later.

“Oh no you don’t!” Bel said, noticing the Arcobaleno’s feeble attempts at escape. “You’re going to let the Prince take care of you.” He then sat down on the bed and pulled a protesting Mammon into his lap. “Now first we have to get you warmed up.”

“Muu . . .” Mammon could only lay there in Bel’s arms as the Prince wrapped him roughly in a deep maroon blanket. It was done so tightly Mammon could barely breathe at first.

“Ushishishi~ . . . we should take your temperature next!” A thermometer was placed in his mouth (rather gently, Mammon noted with surprise) and he merely waited until the device beeped. Bel took out the thermometer and read the digital display.

“39°C. That’s a fever all right, baby. You couldn’t fool the Prince!”

“….Fine. Whatever.” Mammon tried to hide his sniffles with an exasperated huff. “But if you want to take care of me you’ll have to pay the price.”

“Ushishi~ You’ve got that backwards, Mammon. When someone’s sick it’s the patient who pays, not the other way around. But I suppose you’re in luck because I am a Prince and therefore can afford your prices!”

Mammon had to admit that was true. Bel never seemed to have any difficulty paying the prices the he charged the blond. And Mammon stubbornly stood by the belief that it was the only reason he would continuously put up with the prince.

“You thirsty, Mammon?” Bel asked, interrupting his thoughts.

The Arcobaleno mentally cursed himself for allowing his cold to distract him so easily and sighed. Chances were that Bel would force him to drink something no matter what he said. And his throat was a little scratchy.

“. . . Maybe.”

“Then would you like the strawberry milk the Prince got for you?” Mammon perked at the mention of his favorite drink but he quickly changed his expression to one of indifference.

“I suppose . . . if you’ve already gone through the trouble of getting it I might as well have some.” Mammon glanced around but did not see a glass anywhere. “Bel, where—”

“Ushishi~ Here’s the drink for the baby!” Bel said gleefully, magically pulling out a container from behind his over-sized striped shirt. He brought it toward Mammon’s mouth but was stopped by Mammon’s glare and powerful shout.

“I’m NOT a baby! What the hell are you doing?!”

The . . . the nerve of him! Calling him a baby was one thing but a . . . a baby bottle was going too far!

“All right, all right, Mammon. No need to get so worked up. Ushishi~” Bel unscrewed the purple top off. “Just a harmless little joke,” he said as he held out the cup and didn’t look sorry at all.

Mammon simply ignored him and grabbed the proffered beverage, his mouth in a small pout. “Just make sure you never try something stupid like that again or I’ll fine you a million times over.” For some reason, Bel looked completely furious for a moment, so much that Mammon wouldn’t be surprised if the blond’s eyes turned red. Any other person would be scared shitless, but Mammon was so used to Bel’s bipolar tendencies it didn’t faze him.

However, he couldn’t help but feel like this time was different, as if there was something he was missing.

Yet when Bel broke into giggles and hugged Mammon like the stuffed animal the self-proclaimed prince thought he was, the Arcobaleno figured the fever was impairing his judgment. He quickly finished the small glass of milk and tried to mentally brace himself for the next activity Bel had up his sleeves. His patience was quickly wearing thin and he hoped everything would be over soon.

Nearly an hour later at the mercy of even more ridiculous activities that the Arcobaleno chose to forget for the sake of his sanity (though he was thankfully free of the restricting blanket) Mammon finally lost his patience completely. He rotated himself in Bel's lap so he was facing the blond and glared. “Bel—it’s just a little cold! Stop! Why are you making such a big deal out of it?!”

The blond’s grin paused for a moment in surprise before it turned into more of a thin, forced line. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “That army baby called earlier to say there was a chance you’d suffer from a small cold as an aftereffect from being brought back to life. He didn’t want you to worry, so he wanted to let you know . . . it’s not like last time.”

Mammon’s eyes widened under his hood with understanding and there was a slight twinge of guilt in his chest. Of course—this was how it started with the non-Trinisette rays. At first, no one had been alarmed because while it was uncommon for Mammon to get sick, it’s not like it was a rare occurrence. Only when the condition worsened and all the other Arcobaleno reported similar symptoms did it become an issue. And of course by then it was too late, even though there was really nothing they could do anyway.

Various memories flashed by; of trudging through the mansion like nothing was wrong; the feeling of anger and hopelessness—both at himself, Byakuran, and the damned curse; his fellow assassins trying to act like they didn’t notice; a silent Prince keeping watch over him at night when he thought Mammon was asleep, as if that was enough to fight back the illness, as if that could prevent the inevitable—

Mammon's face softened. “I . . . suppose I won’t charge you. For this time, anyway.”

Bel nodded stiffly but said nothing. There was an uncomfortable silence as they both just sat there, with Mammon watching the blond intently while the other looked everywhere but at the fellow assassin in his lap. The normally exuberant prince was completely rigid, hands clenched at his side, jaw set, and it seemed like he had to expel a considerable amount of effort to keep his breathing steady.

Mammon slowly and carefully stood up. It didn’t do much for his height, but it was more about the principle of the matter and the importance he was trying to convey. ". . . I'm not going anywhere this time, Bel," he said, voice barely above a whisper. He gave the lightest of touches to Bel's arm.

The prince broke free of his sudden paralysis and let out a choked laugh. "You'd better not. No lying to the Prince, it's . . . you can't. Not allowed."

There was another brief moment of silence, then Mammon reached up and gently brushed back Bel's bangs. At the same time, he lifted his own gaze and let the hood slide off his head. Steel gray met purple. The two of them had reached a point where there was no need to hide their eyes from each other. They respected and understood each other’s need to hide their eyes from the rest of the world.

"I promise it won't happen again. I won't let it," Mammon said, staring purposefully into Bel's eyes. "I bet it on all the money I own."

Slowly, all the worry and fear in the prince's gray eyes were replaced by simple relief. His expression then settled into a warm smile that most would believe the man incapable of making, though Mammon knew better. The amount of people who had seen that smile could be counted on one hand, and the illusionist couldn't help but feel a small amount of pride at being one of those people. Mammon returned the equally rare smile and Bel gently pulled the Arcobaleno into an embrace.

Contrary to earlier in the day, Mammon returned the gesture. His tiny hands gripped the fabric of Bel’s shirt and he buried his face into it, allowing himself the rare opportunity to seek comfort in physical contact. In response, Bel nearly curled around the Arcobaleno by pulling up his knees and rested his head on top of Mammon’s. The illusionist rather felt like a favorite toy that a child sought out after a nightmare.

"I won’t let that happen again,” Bel whispered, so softly Mammon wasn’t sure if it was spoken or he was unconsciously reading the blond’s thoughts. The how wasn’t important though—the only thing that mattered to Mammon was the powerful and raw emotion in Bel’s voice. It was painful and broken. The illusionist couldn't help but feel guilty, although he knew it was through no fault of his own.

During his illness, there were times where it seemed that it was harder on Bel than it was for him. Considering the concern came from a sociopath who delighted in the misery and pain of others, Mammon couldn't help but feel rather touched. He also couldn't deny that he felt the same about Bel, whatever this was. Assassins weren't supposed to have friends or people that were precious to them. It was dangerous, and the reason why Mammon made sure to distance himself from others. Money was all that mattered. But somehow . . . this blond, self-proclaimed prince had barged into his life and became an important person to him. Mammon would never admit it of course, but he would never regret it.

"I'll never leave you, Bel. I promise."

Not too long after, Mammon found himself curled up on Bel's lush bed, still wrapped in the others sinewy arms. No words had passed between them since. They had merely enjoyed the simplicity of each other's presence; a luxury that had been denied them for far too long for both of their tastes.

His royal highness had succumbed to sleep not too long ago and the Arcobaleno fought back a sigh, seeing as how he was the one who was sick. But Bel had just come back from a mission (Mammon was ever so grateful Bel had the decency to shower first and get a change of blood-free clothes) so Mammon couldn’t blame him all that much. But no matter. He yawned and sunk back into the blond's arms.

“Goodnight, Bel." Mammon snuggled a little closer to get comfortable and was soon fast asleep, feeling happier and more at peace than he had in a long time.

Brief Announcement

reidluver — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:45:29 GMT

I GOT INTO POTTERMORE!!!!!

....that is all. XD

Please Notice Me--KHR Fanfic

reidluver — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:18:25 GMT

Title: Please Notice Me
Author: Reidluver
Words: 5,302
Characters/Pairings: Fuuta, Tsuna, Lambo, Hibari, Gokudera
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Language

Summary: 5YL As the only one not an official Guardian or with any specific fighting skills, Fuuta feels useless and unable to contribute anything to his Family. However, he plans to change all that by setting out to solve a mission all on his own, though he learns quickly that he might be in more trouble than he bargained for.

A/n: This is set five years before Tsuna died in the Future. They don't know anything about the Shimon Family.

This is my first submission to the new KHR fanfic community, write_and_run ! I hope I do well. The prompt was 5 Years Later with the bonus guidelines to have it focus on a minor character.

Please Notice Me

"It's just not fair," Fuuta said, frowning up at the ceiling. He was sprawled out on his bed with his hands behind his head. Lambo was in his room, sitting at the small table with his homework strewn about before him. It was math today, and Fuuta was making sure he finished it. Lambo was rather bright, but unless there was someone there to keep him on track it would never get done.

"What's not fair?" Lambo asked absentmindedly, staring at number eight with his forehead scrunched in concentration.

"Everything!" Fuuta slammed his fist against the wall in a rare show of immaturity. "I'm not a Guardian like you and the others, I can't fight like I-Pin and Bianchi-nee, and I'm not smart with computers like Giannini. The only thing I can do is make Rankings, but Tsuna-nii said I should stop doing that for my safety." He sighed bitterly. "I can't do anything to really help the Family."

"You can do lotsa stuff," Lambo mumbled, now choosing to try and balance his pencil rather than wrestle with percentages. "Don't be such a baby."

Fuuta quirked an eyebrow and turned on his side to look at Lambo in astonishment. "Hey! The last person I should ever hear that from is you! Don't you dare—"

A loud knock at his door interrupted him, and Fuuta bade the person entrance with a huff. It was Hayato-nii.

"Oi, stupid cow—hey Fuuta—Tenth says it's time to go train!"

"Yay!" Lambo leapt off the ground, clearly pleased to no longer have to do homework, but then his smile fell as he reached the door. He pouted at Hayato-nii. "Wait—are you going to shoot lightning at me again?"

The all too happy grin that spread on Hayato-nii's face was confirmation enough. At the sight, Lambo blanched and tried running away. "No, I don't wanna! I don't wanna!"

Hayato-nii snorted and grabbed the back of Lambo's shirt roughly. "Tough shit, cow. Tenth's orders, come on." Hayato-nii dragged the protesting Lambo out of the room, said a quick, "See ya, kid," over his shoulders, then shut the door. It took a few minutes for the sounds of Lambo's yells to fully disappear, and when they did, Fuuta was left all alone. Again.

Fuuta let out a scream of frustration and buried his face into his pillow, trying his hardest to fight back the burning in his eyes. He had been feeling this way for a while now. Everything he said to Lambo earlier was true, and instead of making him feel better by venting, it just made him feel worse. His only saving grace in the mafia world was his Ranking Ability, but even then that had started to fade. Ever since that initial contact with Mukuro . . . his Ranking was never really the same. Fuuta's only explanation was that somehow having his mind controlled and invaded by Mukuro messed up his connection forever.

At first Fuuta had been devastated about the loss in his ability, but then he came to terms with it. He no longer made any appearances to other Mafia Families and so the attempts on his life were drastically reduced, he had a loving family with Tsuna-nii, and he didn't need his Rankings anymore.

But now . . . now as his Family was getting more involved in the mafia world and Tsuna-nii was about to take on the full responsibilities of a mafia boss, Fuuta couldn't help but feel left out. He really didn't have anything special to offer his family. It seemed like all he was good for nowadays was looking after Lambo and making sure he didn't do anything too stupid. Everyone else was too busy to do it, so the duty fell to him. Kyoko-nee and Haru-nee helped out sometimes, but now they were busy with college and had to focus on their schoolwork.

Part of Fuuta's mind told him that he was just being pitiful for feeling so sorry for himself but . . . Fuuta just couldn't help it. He was a member of the Vongola Family, wasn't he? He should be able to do his part and help them out! He wanted to see Tsuna-nii's proud smile again and have him ruffle his hair like he used to. Tsuna-nii was so busy lately that Fuuta was unable to see him as much as he liked. Oh he saw him at meals and such and in passing, but it just wasn't the same.

Fuuta sniffed and rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes. Well, he wouldn't accomplish anything just lying down on his bed now, would he? Fuuta made a vow with himself to do whatever he could to help his family. A grin slowly spread across his face and he let out a small giggle as a plan formulated in his mind. If he could make that happen . . . then everyone would be impressed! Tsuna-nii would be so proud of him and perhaps everyone would let him help more often!

With newfound determination, Fuuta rushed out of his room to put his plan into action.

----

The young teen casually walked around the mansion, making a mental note of where everyone was. It seemed like most everyone had gone out to train, but he could hear Kyoko-nee and Haru-nee laughing in the kitchen as they started getting dinner ready, and Tsuna-nii was still in his office doing paperwork.

That meant the mission room was completely unattended. Fuuta carefully walked up to the door and gave a quick glance around both ways before going in. It's not that he wasn't allowed in the mission office but Fuuta didn't want anyone asking unnecessary questions.

He flicked the light on and made his way over to one of the green file cabinets. He easily undid the lock for the leftmost top cabinet and slid it out. This was where the information on the missions that were currently in progress were stored, and he planned to use that to his advantage. How pleased and impressed would they be if Fuuta was able to solve one of their missions for them? If he was able to prove to everyone that he could carry out a mission just as well as they did without any special powers, then they were sure to take him more seriously and let him be more involved in things! This was the best option.

With a quick glance at the clock, Fuuta pulled out a handful of files, sat down, and started skimming over them, trying to find the best one for him to help with.

After nearly twenty minutes of searching, Fuuta found the perfect one. He couldn't help but smirk at the names of the two Guardians assigned to this case: Hibari Kyoya and Gokudera Hayato. Initially, it would seem like a grave mistake to put those two together, but when it came to doing a job—they moved flawlessly.

The mission in question dealt with the Todd Family, which Fuuta recalled as being the last Family that had been after his book when he met Tsuna-nii. At the time they had been ranked seventh for bloodlust, but if Fuuta remembered correctly; they had recently been bumped up to fifth, which made it no wonder the Vongola were looking into them.

The issue with the Todd Family was that they were suspected to be involved with the Millefiore Family. This Family was rather new, and the rumor going around was that the Millefiore was actually created after a merging between two different Mafia Families, though no one knew exactly which ones. They seemed rather small in all their dealings, but they were behaving way too organized and accomplishing too much for their size. It was highly suspected that there were more members than the general population thought. Not much was known about them—not even the name of the Boss.

It was Hibari-nii and Hayato-nii's job to gather enough evidence to incriminate the Todd's involvement and get all the information about the Millefiore that they could. After working on it for about a week, they seemed to have almost everything they needed, but Fuuta could tell it wasn't enough. And that was where he came in. Just imagine the looks on their faces when he gave them what they needed in the morning over breakfast! They would be so proud.

After putting everything back in its original spot, the young teen started preparing.

----

Fuuta tore down the hallways, his mind working a mile a minute. Thanks to some help from his Rankings, his infiltration had been completely successful so far—he had even found the documents! Only problem was that the office he found them in had a silent alarm, so it didn't take long for the enemy to track him down and chase him.

He ducked as another bullet whizzed past his ear. Fuuta mentally swore and cursed his luck. His mission was so close to being completed . . . if only he could make it out of here! The documents in question were clutched in his hand, safely hidden in a manila envelope. There was no way he could let the Todd Family get these back, but what could he do?

In a sudden burst of inspiration, Fuuta reached into the black suit he was wearing to try and blend in as much as he could, and withdrew some of Giannini's modified smoke grenades. He threw three of them on the floor behind him and was pleased to note they worked.

While his pursuers were busy with the smokescreen, Fuuta dove into the adjoining hallway and scrambled on top of some nearby boxes. He then lifted up one of the ceiling tiles and tossed the folders in. Then he leapt off the boxes and continued his way down the hallway. When it connected with another hallway Fuuta took a sharp left, hoping he had enough time to get out of the sight of those chasing him.

Unfortunately, he ran right into the pathway of a gun, and before Fuuta could even stop his forward momentum the man pulled the trigger. His shoulder erupted in pain and then something hit the back of his head, causing darkness to overcome him.

----

When Fuuta awoke, the first thing he noted was his splitting headache. Then the pain in his shoulder flared to life and he cried out. His cries were met with laughter, and to Fuuta's horror, he discovered he was bound to a chair in a small concrete room. The worst part though, was that the three men in there with him were very familiar. If he had to guess, these were the same three people Fuuta was running from before he met Tsuna-nii.

Paulo, the Boss, stepped forward and Fuuta's breathing quickened as his chest constricted in utter fear. He wasn't a stranger to having people after his life, but captured and tied up wasn't something he did all that often. And the worst thing about this was that no one knew where he was, so there would be no one looking for him for at least a day or two.

While they wouldn't know who he was, Fuuta doubted the excuse that he was an innocent person that just got lost wouldn't account for much. He didn't need Rankings to know that this Family would kill first and ask questions later. Paulo smirked at him and walked closer, his right hand casually tucked in his suit pocket. When he was just a feet or so from Fuuta's face, Paulo laughed with the air of someone who was having a hard time believing what was right in front of their face.

"Wh-What do you want?" Fuuta asked. He sure hoped his voice sounded tougher than he felt.

"Oh . . . just you, Ranking Fuuta," the man sneered.

Fuuta's stomach turned ice cold and he couldn't stop the horrified expression from showing on his face. "M-Me? H-How did you find out?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Listen Ranking kid—the next time you try to infiltrate enemy territory . . . don't bring along your personal identification." He mockingly dangled the card in Fuuta's face.

The teen's cheeks burned with embarrassment as he lowered his head. How stupid could he be? He must have just put it in his pockets out of habit, too preoccupied with the excitement of the mission to think anything of it.

"Well," Paulo continued, "I'm not sure if you remember me, but you caused me a lot of trouble in the past." He then leaned forward to whisper into Fuuta's ear. "It's payback time."

Fuuta nearly stopped breathing. This was bad. Now that they knew who he was . . . there was no telling what they'd do to him, and Fuuta knew it wouldn't be pretty.

"I-I . . . I'm not going to help you!" he said, trying to stay brave. This is what the other Guardians would do . . . right?

Paulo shrugged. "I'm pretty sure I can change your mind. The only thing I want from you right now though, is for you to tell me where those documents are that you stole from me."

Fuuta's spirits lifted. So at least this wasn't a total failure! This told him two things—that they hadn't found his hiding spot, and that he had found the correct documents. With newfound courage, Fuuta raised an eyebrow at Paulo and asked, "What documents?"

The Todd Boss rolled his eyes. "Stop the innocent act, kid. I know you took them, so you'd better tell me where they are. I can make this difficult for you, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Fuuta said. At Paulo's angered expression, Fuuta couldn't help but grow bolder. Even though he was captured, he didn't want to go down without a fight. Both Hayato-nii and Hibari-nii would act the same way in this situation, so Fuuta was going to do it as well.

"Listen up, kid!" Rossi yelled, jamming a finger into Fuuta's ribs. "You'd better answer the Boss or I'll—"

"Calm down," Paulo said. "The kid didn't have them on him and we stopped him before he escaped. He's hidden the documents around here somewhere, and it's only a matter of time until I find them."

"So . . . what do we do with him for now, Boss?" Enzo asked, speaking up for the first time.

Paulo shrugged. "Hold him for now. When we need him we'll know where to get him." He started making his way to the door and muttered, "He'll make an excellent present for Lord Byakuran."

Fuuta's eyes widened. "So Byakuran is the boss of the Millefiore Family?"

The men spun around to stare at Fuuta in shock. A few seconds passed as he tried to reign in his emotions, then the Boss smirked and chuckled lightly. "You catch on pretty quick, kid," he said. "No use lying to you now.

"I'm going to give you to Lord Byakuran as a measure of my good will," he said with his hand on his heart, in what Fuuta supposed was an attempt to look dignified. "I'm sure he'll have need of you and he'll be that much closer to gaining control of the world."

"And I suppose you're just doing this out of the goodness of your heart, huh?" Fuuta said.

Paulo laughed. "Well of course if this act gets me in Lord Byakuran's favors I won't be complaining." He walked forward and crouched down to Fuuta's eye level. "Yet before I give you up, I might as well use you to my advantage. I want you to do a Ranking of all the men that Lord Byakuran trusts so I can see where I fall on the list and who I need to defeat."

"Believe me, I don't need to do a Ranking," Fuuta said with a smirk. "I already know you're at the very bottom of that list."

Paulo's eyes narrowed and Fuuta doubled over and gasped from the pain that Paulo's fist caused to his chest. Despite how much it hurt, Fuuta couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at being able to incite Paulo's anger like that. The teen could actually understand a bit of the reason why Hayato-nii seemed to get a kick out of riling up their enemies. It was like a form of control over another person.

"Quite a little mouth you have there, young Ranking Prince," Paulo scoffed. "All I have to do know is decide whether I should beat that spirit out of you or allow Lord Byakuran the pleasure of doing that himself." Fuuta simply glared at him in response.

" . . . I suppose Lord Byakuran wouldn't mind me helping him out a bit." Paulo turned to the other two men in the room and nodded. "Rough him up a bit boys—but not too much."

Fuuta's bravery faltered at the feral grin Paulo sent his way as he left, then at the sight of Rossi and Enzo coming at him with their fists raised. Perhaps following Hayato-nii's example wasn't the best of ideas. As Enzo grabbed a fistful of his hair and wrenched his head back, Fuuta clenched his eyes shut and tried to brace himself for what was to come.

----

Gokudera and Hibari inched along the walls, ears perked for incoming enemy fire. They had chosen tonight to be the time they infiltrated the Todd Family's stronghold, unable to wait any longer.

Strangely enough though, it seemed like things were going smoother than anticipated. The guards seemed more relaxed then they should have been and it was almost too easy. And while Gokudera wasn't one to question luck when it went in his favor . . . he couldn't help but wonder. Was this a ploy to lure them into a false sense of security? Would there be an ambush waiting for them?

"Seven," Hibari whispered.

Gokudera made a soft sound of affirmation, and then the two of them leapt into the hallway, weapons alit and firing. They took down the men in a few minutes, courtesy of Hibari's tonfa and Gokudera's incomplete Sistema C.A.I.

"At least these guys were more of a challenge than the other ones," Gokudera muttered as he looked through their enemy's pockets. Hibari only gave a half nod; too busy relieving some of the men of their rings.

Just as they were about to continue on their quest, they paused as the sound of muffled screaming reached their ears. It was almost like someone was being tortured, and Gokudera couldn't help but feel like the screaming sounded familiar.

"That . . . that sounds like a kid, don't you think?" Gokudera asked.

Hibari gave him an indifferent look. "So? I have a mission to do." He started to take a step forward but was stopped by Gokudera's hand on his shoulder.

"Listen up, bastard—yeah this mission is important but don't you think we should see what that is? I may not be the Tenth, but it gives me a bad feeling. And it won't even take that long," he added when Hibari glared at him.

"Don't touch me," he said, slapping the Storm Guardian's hand away. "And why should we care? It could just be a disobedient subordinate, so we have no obligation." A smirk. "What, going soft, herbivore?"

"Oh cut the crap, Hibari," Gokudera said as he rolled his eyes. "Do I need to remind you about the kitten incident?"

Hibari's eyes narrowed dangerously and Gokudera idly noted the flame start to flare up on his finger. "You promised never to speak about that!" he hissed.

The grin Gokudera was wearing was much too smug in Hibari's eyes. "Yeah, to no one else. Since you were there, I'm pretty sure you're not off limits."

They held each other's gazes for a few seconds more, and then Hibari growled and looked the other way. "You were there, too," he said, nearly quiet enough to be a mumble.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that my entire reputation won't be ruined by the news," Gokudera said as he lifted his hands above his head in an over exaggerated stretch. "Just think of how people would react to the ferocious Hibari if they knew he—"

"Shut up!" Hibari snarled, his tonfa at Gokudera's throat as he slammed the silver-haired man against the wall.

"Fine! All right, all right!" Hibari pushed harder on the tonfa before releasing him. The Storm Guardian gasped for air and massaged his throat as he shot Hibari a glare. "Sheesh you've got such a temper," he muttered.

Hibari took a few steps forward and gave Gokudera an irritated look. "Well? Are we going to check it out or can we get back to the mission?"

Instead of answering, Gokudera rushed past Hibari, making sure to bump shoulders as he did so. Hibari's grip on his tonfa tightened as he fought against the urge to smash the other Guardian's head in then followed after him.

It didn't take them long to reach the door where they both heard the screams. Gokudera did a quick inspection of the door, noting it to be made of solid steel, then motioned to Hibari, making sure to step out of the way. Pleased, Hibari lit the flames on his tonfa and with no less than four strikes made the entire door collapse.

Silently, the two of them leapt into the room with their weapons raised, but were unable to keep themselves from staring at the scene before them in shock.

"Haya . . . nii . . . Hi—ba . . . ri . . ."

Fuuta sat there, tightly bound to a chair with a gun to his head. The young teen was barely conscious; with his entire left arm laying limp beside him and covered in blood from what seemed to be a gunshot wound in his shoulder, his right eye was swollen, his lip bloody, and his clothes in such disarray that along with the many bruises littering his face and arms it was obvious the other two men had been at it for a while.

"Fuuta!" Gokudera was unable to stop himself from taking a step forward. The man in front of him with the brown Mohawk pushed the barrel harder against Fuuta's head, causing the younger boy to cry out in pain. The Storm Guardian stopped immediately and the man smirked.

"Now that I've got your attention gentlemen, how about a trade? You will let our Family escape and we give you the brat."

Both Guardians bristled at the suggestion and Gokudera quickly spoke up before Hibari did anything too drastic. "And what reason do we have to think you'll hold up your end of the bargain?" he asked, putting a hand out in front of Hibari.

The man snorted. "I guess you're just going to have to trust me. I have to admit it was a good plan on your part to send in the boy as a decoy so our forces would be slower to respond to your invasion, but you've underestimated our abilities. Oh, and now that I think about it, how about handing over those documents you had him steal?"

Mentally, Gokudera and Hibari frowned, but they were smart enough not to show any outward confusion. A subtle glance to Fuuta who did his best to talk to them with his half-lidded eyes told them all they had to know.

"Che, you guys are sure smarter than we imagined. We didn't think you'd notice the documents were missing," Gokudera said with a sigh.

"'Course we would!" the man without the gun yelled. "Who do you think—"

"Roll, attack."

There was a brief second of confusion as the two men stared at Hibari for his odd comment, then they cried out in pain as a purple spike burst through their chest. As they fell backwards Fuuta dove to the side as best as he could and the bullet unconsciously triggered by the first man missed him by centimeters. Gokudera rushed forward to Fuuta's side while Hibari calmly made his way over to the two men to confirm their death.

"Fuck! What the hell were you thinking?" Gokudera yelled. He carefully cut the ropes around Fuuta with a pocketknife he took out of his shoe. "You look like shit! How in the hell did you end up here? Do you have a death wish? Does anyone know you're here? Do you know you could have d—" He was cut off by Hibari's firm hand on his shoulder.

The Cloud Guardian crouched down to look Fuuta in the eyes. "Those herbivores mentioned stolen documents. What was in them and what did you do with them?"

At the mention of the documents Fuuta let out a garbled laugh and some blood trickled down the side of his mouth. "B-Business . . . transactions with . . . Millefiore . . . hidden in the ceiling." Hibari raised an eyebrow and gave the barest of smiles.

"Hmm." Then he turned to Gokudera and nodded. "Get the files and bring him back. I'll deal with the rest of these herbivores."

"Right." Gokudera then scooped Fuuta into his arms as gingerly as he could under the circumstances and they rushed out the door. They were able to get the documents quickly, but Fuuta fainted before they ever made it out of the building, and the Storm Guardian grew more and more frantic with each passing second. He had to get the kid to the mansion now!

----

When Fuuta awoke, he found himself lying in a Vongola hospital bed. He felt groggy but he knew it would pass in time. Someone coughed to his left and Fuuta turned his head to see Hayato-nii.

"Well uh . . . the Tenth wants to see you," he said, looking uncomfortable. "I'll go get him." Then the bomber left and Fuuta was left all by himself. He had been so relieved to know he was safe from the Todd Family, but knowing he'd have to face Tsuna-nii in a few minutes was not something he was looking forward to. He stared at his hands in an effort to distract himself from the inevitable lecture he was about to give.

Fuuta tensed and gripped the white bed sheets as the door suddenly opened. He didn't dare look up, too afraid to see the disappointment and anger in Tsuna-nii's eyes. The fifteen-year-old was smart and mature enough to understand that Tsuna-nii would only be furious at him because he was worried about his safety but . . . but it still would be too much for him to handle. Fuuta never wanted Tsuna-nii to look at him like that.

He heard the soft click-clack of Tsuna-nii's leather shoes against the tile floor. They were slow and controlled, and as they grew ever closer Fuuta's chest constricted tighter and tighter with fear and guilt. His grip on the bed sheets tightened and he was unable to keep himself from biting his already sore lip.

Finally the shoes stopped, and Fuuta could feel the heat of the older man right beside him.

"Fuuta . . ."

The light-haired boy flinched at the sound and the tears started pouring out before he could stop them. "I'm so sorry, Tsuna-nii!" he cried. Fuuta pulled up the bed sheets he was gripping so tightly and sobbed into the thin material. "I-I . . . I d-didn't mean to—I just . . . I just—"

"Oh, Fuuta," Tsuna-nii said softly. The teen felt the pressure on the bed shift and Tsuna-nii sat down beside him. His older brother wrapped an arm around his shoulder and Fuuta couldn't help but turn and bury his face into Tsuna-nii's chest as he wept.

"I just w-wanted to help!" he cried. "Tsuna-nii is so busy and . . . and I wanted to go on missions, too! I-I wanted to—to make you proud and . . ."

Tsuna-nii had his arms wrapped around Fuuta and he lightly rubbed his back. "Fuuta . . . you don't have to do that to make me proud, you know."

"B-But—"

"Listen to me," the older brunette said sternly. "I'm going to be honest and say that I am not proud of you for endangering yourself like that. If Gokudera and Hibari weren't there . . . then I don't even want to think about what would have happened to you. You have to understand what you did was very stupid, Fuuta."

Fuuta choked on the guilt and could only nod his head yes, unable to bring himself to say it out loud. Tsuna-nii was completely right. He was an absolute fool to have gone and done that! No wonder they didn't want his help—

"Look at me, Fuuta."

Even though it was said softly and kindly, Fuuta prepared himself for a reprimand. He lifted his gaze slowly, and was startled to see the tears in Tsuna-nii's eyes.

"Tsuna-nii? What's wrong?"

The older man just shook his head and a few sobs made it past his throat. "I was so worried for you, Fuuta! Do you know how scary it was to see you in Gokudera's arms, shot and beat up? Reborn had to stop me from going over there to fight the Todd Family myself!"

Fuuta's eyes widened. "But you don't like fighting people, Tsuna-nii!"

"I make an exception when they hurt a member of my Family," he said. He grabbed a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit and started wiping away Fuuta's tears.

The younger boy couldn't help but blush and beam in pride at Tsuna-nii's words. He knew it was silly, but whenever he was referred to as a member of the Family he was unable to stop the happy feeling in his chest. "Y-You mean it, Tsuna-nii? Even though I can't fight or . . . or make good Rankings anymore?"

"I don't care about any of that stuff. I don't decide if a person is precious to me because they're good at fighting or have some special power. I care about people because I love them and I know they're good people." Tsuna-nii ruffled his hair and pulled Fuuta into a tight hug.

"I love you, Fuuta. You're my younger brother and nothing is ever going to change that."

New tears started falling down Fuuta's face and he hugged Tsuna-nii back just as tightly. "I love you, too, Tsuna-nii! You're the best brother ever!"

Tsuna-nii then canceled all the appointments he had for the rest of the day and spent it in the hospital room with him. They played games, watched movies, and just talked. Tsuna-nii even had an extra bed be brought in and shoved next to Fuuta's. When asked, Tsuna-nii said they were having a sleepover, just like they did years ago.

They lay in their beds later that night, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that Tsuna-nii put up. He had Fuuta instruct him where to place them, and Fuuta had just finished teaching him some of the constellations. He even taught Tsuna-nii how to use the stars to determine where he was so in case he ever got lost he could find his way. Tsuna-nii had laughed and said that was very good advice and that he'd remember it forever.

As Fuuta fell asleep, partly under the influence of the medication and partly because he was so exhausted, he curled up next to Tsuna-nii. The older man pulled him closer and Fuuta fell asleep, feeling safer and happier than he had in a long time.

---

Hope you enjoyed it! Poor Fuuta deserves more love.

We're Brothers--KHR Fanfic

reidluver — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:17:00 GMT

Title: We're Brothers
Author/Artist: Reidluver
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some blood and language
Prompt: VI- 34. Ryohei, Gokudera - console; "not even the sun can shine brightly all the time"
Word Count: 2,496
Summary: There is more to the Vongola Sun Guardian than his extreme enthusiasm and thickheaded skull. He cares deeply for those he loves, and when his most precious person is in trouble . . .

I'm getting one of these out on time! Go me! In this story they're about 20-yrs-old.

Everything was quiet.

Kyoko had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Try as they might to keep her and Haru out of the more horrifying part of the mafia world, everyone knew deep down that they wouldn't succeed all the time.

This was one of those times.

It was after the negotiations with the Senzoli Family. It wasn't supposed to turn out bad, but as Tsuna and his Family were starting to learn, things rarely (if ever) went the way it was supposed to. Thankfully though, it wasn't the Senzoli who were responsible for this mess. They were actually true to their word and Tsuna found he was happy to work with them. The Senzoli were a small Family, which was probably the reason they were so eager to meet with the Vongola. As part of Tsuna's quest to change the mafia world, he was trying to convince other Families to adopt his ways. The going was slow so far, but Tsuna seemed to be having luck with smaller, newer Families.

And so the Senzoli were more than willing to stand by the Vongola. After the meeting Tsuna was being walked back to his car by the Senzoli Boss, a rather young and aspiring mafioso as well, whom Tsuna had taken to instantly. Kyoko had come with the driver to come pick them up, after getting the call that everything was fine and that they had gotten another Family to join them. Getting her (and Haru) to stay behind had been a bit of a hassle lately, mainly because the two women wanted to help out, claiming that as part of the Family they had to right to fight as well and not be left behind when trouble happened.

As it was, Reborn was training the two of them with guns, so they were more than decent with various firearms. It's not like they were helpless. It was just that old habits die hard and being Ryohei's younger sister, well—that argument was pretty straightforward.

However, since things with the Senzoli were just fine, Tsuna felt it was safe to let Kyoko come to the end of the meeting with a few last minute documents. Despite how nervous it made him, Ryohei couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride as he watched his sister smoothly step out of the sleek black car and come out to meet them. For the occasion, Tsuna had brought along Gokudera, Ryohei, and a few other subordinates. Everyone was in a cheerful mood, pleased that things had gone so well when the chaos began. Kyoko held out the sparse documents to the Senzoli Boss's outstretched hands when the first gunshot rang out.

Ryohei could only watch in petrified horror as his sister, wide-eyed and pained, collapsed onto the cement as the unclaimed papers scattered around her like an explosion and blood went flying. Tsuna immediately went into Hyper Mode and Gokudera's Flame shields covered them all as the next wave of bullets rained upon them. In hindsight, when Ryohei later learned that it was not the Senzoli attacking them but the Mendici who disproved of the negotiations being made between the two Families—it made sense they targeted Kyoko first. It was a symbolic message to their disapproval, attacking the one in possession of the documents that signified their treaty.

Yet none of that mattered.

It was his sister.

His baby sister!

Ryohei vaguely heard all the pandemonium of the fighting going on all around him. All he had eyes for was the figure on the ground before him, bleeding freely. The Sun Guardian collapsed to his knees and scrambled over to Kyoko. He turned her over onto her back with shaky hands and stared in horror at the bullet wound through tear-filled eyes. He brought his ring forward, already lit with Sun Flames.

But Sun Flames could only do so much against a bullet wound, and it had to be handled very delicately. With the bullet still in the body, one had to be careful not to encourage the body to heal over it completely, or that would just cause more problems later on when it was to be extracted. With Sun Flames you had to speed up the rate of blood clotting so the victim didn't bleed out, but you couldn't do anything with the damaged skin.

Ryohei had gotten skilled at this considering their line of work, but this time was different. Of course he loved and cherished all the other Guardians deeply, but having the figure lying in pain being his sister changed things. Ryohei's entire body trembled as he listened to his sister's labored breathing and painful whimpers every few seconds; saw the sweat gather on her forehead from the strain of breathing, the blood (so much blood) that was quickly staining her white blouse, and the image of Kyoko being shot was replayed in his head, over and over again.

His horrified gaze was torn from Kyoko by a hand that grabbed his collar, and he was now staring into the face of the furious Storm Guardian.

"Wake up, you idiot! Why the hell are you staring at your dying sister for? Start healing her, dammit!"

The harsh rebuke was accompanied by a punch to his cheek, but really, the words had been enough. Ryohei's eyes gained a firmer edge to them and he shoved down his emotions. He distanced himself from the situation and in his mind turned Kyoko into a faceless subordinate. He did his work quickly and efficiently and then after scooping Kyoko into his arms, made a hasty retreat as Gokudera covered him.

Ryohei reached their get-away car on the other side of the street (this one was here for emergency purposes, in case the Senzoli had decided to be less than friendly) and nearly wrenched the door open. He carefully laid his unconscious sister down in the back and yelled at the subordinate in the front seat to bring her to the Vongola mansion. The man nodded at his instructions but first reached for his cellphone to alert the medical team to be on stand-by.

With that taken care of, Ryohei turned towards the source of the fighting and grit his teeth. Now it was time to fight. Yet before he could take a step forward Gokudera stood in his way.

"You drive to the mansion with her," he said while simultaneously opening the passenger door.

"Hell no!" Ryohei yelled, grabbing Gokudera's shirt. "I'm going to make those bastards pay!"

Not one to back down, Gokudera yelled right back in his face with just as much fervor. "We've got more than enough people fighting now, and the last thing we need is an idiot without his head screwed on right! Kyoko needs you now and there's a chance there's someone waiting to attack anyone who retreats. You need to protect her, dumbass!"

"What kind of a big brother would I be if I didn't avenge my sister?!" Ryohei said. "You'd extremely better get out of my way or so help me—"

Gokudera placed his gun against Ryohei's head and answered in a short, clipped tone. "This—is—an—order."

The two of them glared at each other, hardly daring to breathe, and then Ryohei scowled. "Fine." He let go of Gokudera and pushed him back. Then he rushed into the car, slammed the door, and yelled at the driver to move.

Thankfully there had been no complications, so they arrived at the Vongola mansion in no time. The medics were already at the front steps with a stretcher and other emergency equipment. They rushed Kyoko inside and began surgery immediately. Ryohei could only pace outside the door impatiently. One of the medics had tried to clean up all the blood on him but he angrily shoved them off and grabbed a damp towel for himself. As he paced he wrung his hands around the cloth to get all the blood off.

Hours—or minutes—passed by and soon the rest of the Family returned. There weren't any casualties or serious injuries, and those who weren't involved in the fight came out to take care of those that were captured to be dealt with later for questioning.

By now Ryohei was sprawled out in one of the chairs, staring straight ahead as if in a trance. Tsuna had stopped by for a moment and placed a gentle hand on Ryohei's shoulder. He gave the boxer an understanding and warm smile then left to get his arm taken care of. A stray bullet had apparently gotten stuck in his arm.

It was after Tsuna had left that Ryohei felt someone collapse in the chair next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see it was Gokudera. The man's clothes were singed, he had a few cuts on his face, and there looked to be a nasty gash on the side of his torso that Ryohei later learned was a graze from a bullet when the nurse asked the bomber.

Gokudera said nothing to Ryohei, just merely sat there as he was attended to by the two nurses that had come to check on him. He hissed and muttered under his breath as they tended to his wounds. Finally, once they were done he leaned back in the chair with a satisfied sigh.

A barely perceptible tension settled between them, but neither said anything. Ryohei had to admit he was grateful that Gokudera didn't start smoking. He had very nearly kicked the habit, only smoking to relieve the stress after a mission or when he was really frustrated or stressed out.

It ended up being Ryohei who broke the silence. "Listen, Octopus-head I . . . I'm sorry for yelling at you back there. You were right and I—"

"Che, only reason I yelled was to get the message through that thick skull of yours," Gokudera said matter-of-factly. He shifted so he was sitting up straighter then wrapped an arm around his bandaged chest and hissed. "Hurts like a bitch," he wheezed. "Asshole got what he deserved though," he added with a demonic smirk.

"Uh . . . good," Ryohei responded after a moment's pause. A few more moments of silence passed between them as Ryohei tried to figure out how to proceed.

It was then that Gokudera snuck a glance at Ryohei and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and mumbled, "Hey."

Ryohei turned to look at him, a patient expression on his face.

Gokudera averted his gaze from the Sun Guardian's and took a deep breath as if to steel himself. "Look, I . . . your sister will be fine," he said, speaking more to the heavily patterned carpet than Ryohei. He clenched his right hand into a fist. "You did a great job on . . . on stopping the bleeding 'cause you've done it for me before and . . . you're pretty decent—for an idiot boxer that is—and the medics here know their stuff so . . . so yeah," he finished lamely. He rubbed the back of his neck and scowled.

He adjusted his position once more and stole a sheepish glance at Ryohei. "And seeing as how she's your sister, she'll be stubborn as hell so she'll get through this all right, Lawn-head." Gokudera gave him a small smile and lightly punched Ryohei's arm. Then he cleared his throat and stood up, straightening his unbuttoned and dirty suit. He looked at Ryohei once more and gave him a curt nod.

"Well, I guess I'll go and check on the Tenth then . . ."

Ryohei just stared up at him, a bit of a dumbfounded look on his face. Then it broke into a wide grin and Ryohei leapt to his feet.

"O-Oi! What're you—"

"Thank you for your extreme words, Octopus-head!" Ryohei declared, with his arms wrapped around Gokudera tightly in a hug.

"Wh-Why—ouch! Shit! Stop, that hurts!"

Ryohei quickly let go and took a step back. "Sorry about that," he said. Gokudera just held his side and glared at him with one eye closed shut from the pain. Ryohei smiled warmly. "Thanks."

Gokudera sighed. "Nah, it's fine. Just a scrape, really. And don't mention it. I just . . . I have a sister, too, so I guess I'm the only one who understands how you feel and . . . and yeah. She'll be fine." He stuck his hands in his pant pockets and glanced at Ryohei nervously before breaking into a rare, soft smile of his own. "Kyoko will be fine 'cause she's got a brother like you."

" . . . Thanks." Ryohei put a gentle but firm hand on Gokudera's shoulder and lightly pushed him forward. "Go check on Sawada, Octopus-head. I'll be fine." With a sigh, Gokudera mumbled something under his breath and gave a tiny wave before entering through the same door Tsuna had gone through earlier.

"Sasagawa-san? You can come and see your sister now. She's still sedated but she should wake up in a few hours. The surgery went well." Ryohei sighed and his entire body sagged forward with relief. With those words all the tension in his body disappeared and he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

But he pushed past it and rushed through the doors where his sister was held. She was lying peacefully beneath the blankets. Drained—but alive, and that's all Ryohei cared about. He pulled a chair close to her bedside and sat down. Then he reached out, grabbed one of her hands, and held it in his own.

"I love you, Kyoko," he whispered silently.

It was fun writing Ryohei in a different situation. I've always loved how much he cared for his sister. I feel like these two have a very interesting relationship and it's something that's not touched up enough on fanfiction, sadly. Methinks I should work on rectifying that, yes?

Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it!

Code Geass: 4 FO Banners + 3 Wallpapers + 40 Icons

reidluver — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:38:28 GMT

And there's many more where this came from, so don't worry! :) This post is mainly here because I really wanted an adorable Code Geass Friends Only Banner but couldn't really find any. And so I decided to make my own and in the process found many, many different pictures I could use, and I figured I might as well make some icons from them as well. I'm just going to post them a few at a time because it takes some work altering them and yaddi-yaddi-yadda.

Teasers

The blank links for the FO banners double as the wallpapers, seeing as how they're so big. :) I don't claim to have drawn any of them—they were all found on google and I simply touched them up and added the text. Please enjoy!

Blank Text

Blank Black text Purple text

I could care less if you adjust the color/added text for YOUR sake, but just be sure to credit me and don't post them as your own. :)
Other than that, have fun!

1	2	3	4	5

6	7	8	9	10

11	12	13	14	15

16	17	18	19	20

21	22	23	24	25

26	27	28	29	30

31	32	33	34	35

36	37	38	39	40

Generated by Malionette's Icon Table Generator

In Her Best Interest--Ouran Fanfic

reidluver — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:30:56 GMT

Title: In Her Best Interest
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Ouran High School Host Club
Pairing/Characters: All Host members
Rating: G

Summary: Really, after all the time she spent with them, you think she'd know better.

Okay, so I'm finally submitting my first story for the ouran_contest</lj>! Hurray!

The prompt for this round is "Complaint."

If there’s one thing Haruhi could say that she had learned from her time spent with the Host Club, it would have to be “Never complain” or rather, “Don’t make any remark or observation that could be vaguely construed as a complaint.”

If she complained or made an offhand remark about something that bothered her, it would be taken care of immediately . . . and in the most annoying way possible.

If she said she was cold, in ten seconds flat Mori would have her wrapped up in five blankets so tightly she could barely breathe. And the blankets were so warm by the time she was able to get Mori to untangle her, she would be covered in so much sweat her clothes stuck to her skin in the most uncomfortable way and her soft hair would be plastered to her forehead.

If she said she was hungry, there would be an almost sickening display of every type of cake or sweet imaginable spread out in front of her. They would cover all the books she was desperately trying to use for studying, all of them stacked up on each other and crammed into the little space known as a Host Table (since everyone was so possessive they wouldn’t let her study in the library) and Honey would be standing off to the side, a bright and wide grin on his face. Thankfully, this one was a bit easier to handle because she could simply eat at least one to be polite and then offer the rest to Honey. The fact that he was eying the food he had so graciously given her with an expression of a hunger-driven child made it all the easier.

If she said she was tired, then Tamaki would snatch her by the wrists (nearly bruising her) and drag her towards a couch. He would then toss her on her back, throw a blanket on her, make sure the pillows were fluffed, put Kuma-chan in her arms, order the twins to close all the blinds and Kyoya to turn off the lights, yell at everyone to be quiet because his precious daughter needed her beauty sleep, and then would sit across from her and stare—as if he believed something bad would happen to her if his eyes strayed from her for more than a second, oblivious to the fact that it was so downright unnerving Haruhi was never able to sleep no matter how much she wanted to.

If she said she was having trouble with her schoolwork, Kyoya would wordlessly snatch up the homework she had been working on, skim through it with an air of indifference as he casually adjusted his glasses, then with a condescending smirk explain how to solve it. And while Haruhi couldn't help but be grateful, it was annoying how Kyoya made a big show of it—as if he needed the ego booster—and he always felt a need to add more to her debt.

If she said she was bored, (though to her credit she never actually said she was bored—she normally just sighed and stared off into space) Hikaru and Kaoru would descend on her like fleas and drag her off to who knows where, but it usually ended up with her being forced into an incredibly embarrassing situation that was purely for their amusement, like trying on the latest fashions or being shoved onto a roller coaster, sandwiched between the two of them.

There were times she would get so frazzled because she had no idea what would set the Host Club members off. It was like trying to walk through a minefield blindfolded—there was no logical way to anticipate an outburst or even brace yourself. At times like these Haruhi felt like tearing her hair out in frustration.

However . . . Haruhi learned that sometimes, complaining (or rather, having her actions interpreted as complaints) wasn’t such a bad thing.

If she was nervous, Mori would place a gentle hand on her shoulder, using his silent but comforting presence to ease the tension in her stature.

If she was worried, Honey would pop out of nowhere and give her a great big hug accompanied by kisses from Usa-chan.

If she was depressed, Tamaki would wordlessly take her hand and guide her over to the piano where he would play beautiful and comforting music.

If she was feeling a bit nostalgic for her mother (though how in the world he could ever know that was a mystery in of itself) Kyoya would hand her a slip of paper with a reference code to a book in the library that would have a goldmine of information about lawyers.

If she was stressed, Hikaru and Kaoru would (still) drag her off somewhere, but those times it was to less wild and embarrassing places and she ended up returning with a wide grin on her face.

And if she was afraid of the thunder, the six of them would crowd around her in the brightly lit room and drown out the sound with their laughter and flamboyant personalities. They never let her mind wander and by the time they left she was so exhausted that she didn't have to worry if there were any more thunderstorms that night.

Yes, Haruhi had learned that complaining about things in front of the Host Club typically had quite the adverse effect on her health (mentally, physically, and emotionally) but sometimes . . . sometimes Haruhi found that the times she appreciated the help tended to outweigh all that.

New World, Same Problems (ch5)--Bleach/xxxholic crossover

reidluver — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:29:48 GMT

Title: New World, Same Problems
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Bleach, xxxholic
Pairing/Characters: Watanuki, Doumeki, Mokona, Yuuko, Ichigo, Urahara
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Before Hueco Mundo Arc, after incident with Jorougomo is resolved

Summary: When Yuuko asks Watanuki and Doumeki to deliver something for a client in another world, Watanuki is excited at first. He should have known that no matter where he is, trouble is never too far behind.

Chapter 5: Meeting Through Dreams

Darkness. Absolute darkness.

Watanuki had been in places with no light over the course of his life due to his interactions with spirits, but he never encountered something like this. It felt like the darkness was actually alive.

That wasn't the worst part though. The worst part was the pain. In the past, entangling with spirits had left him feeling like his lungs were being crushed, and his nose had been abused by the awful stench so much that Watanuki was amazed it hadn't affected his cooking yet. This, however, was nothing like that.

It was like someone was replacing his blood with scalding lava. Like someone decided to sharpen knives against his flesh. Screams were wrenched from his throat, leaving it sore and scratchy. He yelled for it to stop, but of course that didn't do any good. As time wore on he found himself growing weaker and weaker, unable to take the strain of this assault much longer.

Just when he was ready to give up, the pain started to lessen. It was as if someone were gingerly placing a blanket over him, and the warmth chased away the pain. It left behind a lingering dullness though, but it was certainly preferable to what it had been before. The only bad thing about waking up though, was having to deal with those who had captured them. Watanuki didn't know which was worse, the pain or whatever Aizen wanted with him.

"Nice to see our guest is awake."

Realizing he had no choice, Watanuki weakly opened his eyes and turned his head to find a man with glasses and pink hair peering at him. His first instinct was to jump back, but his body was rather unresponsive at the moment. Not that it surprised him much.

"What an amazing specimen," the man said. "And the power he wields is simply delicious. Wherever did you find him, Aizen-sama?"

"Oh, wandering the streets." Aizen then came into view and gave what Watanuki figured was an attempt at a reassuring smile, but all it did was make Watanuki shiver in fear and disgust. He had to get out of here!

The pink-haired man sighed. "Such a pity we had to pause the transformation. And I was having so much fun, too! Though I did get some good data." He bent over and tapped some sort of computer on the other side of Watanuki. It was then the boy took into account his surroundings, or more importantly, what was on him.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing to me?" Watanuki knew his shriek was embarrassingly high and raspy, but he could care less about that at the moment.

He was lying on a hospital bed of some sort with thick black straps holding him down. Then there were probes attached to his head and bare chest. His shirt was still on, just unbuttoned.

The man chuckled at Watanuki's discomfort. "I'm just monitoring your brain wave and reiatsu patterns," he explained. "Such power manifesting itself in a mere human is quite unbelievable. I also hope to gain a way to boost my own power through my findings."

Watanuki just stared at the creepy, eccentric . . . thing and decided to just ignore his existence. He shifted his gaze to the #1 creepy guy and cleared his throat. "So um . . . now that I'm all powerful and stuff, is there any chance you'll let me go?"

Aizen gave him a condescending smile. "I believe we both know the answer to that, Watanuki Kimihiro. And you should know the process isn't over yet. I'm merely giving you a break because if I let it continue any longer, the strain would have killed you." He broke their gaze and nodded in the other man's direction. "Which is why one of my loyal Espada, Szayel, is prepping your body for the rest of the process."

Watanuki followed Aizen's gaze and saw the pink-haired man—Szayel—holding white gloved hands over his chest. The area around Szayel's hands was illuminated in a deep pink color.

Even though his sore and ravaged body felt like it was beginning to heal, Watanuki couldn't help but feel disgusted. They were just doing it to hurt him again! Desperately, he turned to Aizen once more. "Okay, but if I get all powerful like you say, won't I be able to fight you when I'm done? Why do you need me?"

Aizen gave an amused chuckle. "You humans are so stubborn. Always trying to fight back. I will use your power when I attack Soul Society. And as for fighting back—if you'll pardon the cliché—I believe I'll make you an offer you can't refuse." Aizen turned around.

"Bring him in."

When the two Fracción from earlier came into view, Watanuki yelled and fought against the bindings.

"You bastard! Leave him alone!"

Aizen walked to the three figures and smirked. "Well, that wouldn't be smart, would it? He's an important person to you, and I thought you'd like to be together." He leaned over and grabbed Doumeki's chin, seemingly oblivious to the golden eyes glaring at him. "See? he's so happy to see you."

Watanuki thrashed against the bindings once more, fully aware that it was a futile effort. Doumeki just hung there, supported by the Fracción while his arms and legs were bound and mouth gagged. While Watanuki was pleased to know Doumeki was alive, he had a feeling the situation hadn't improved much. The stoic boy's entire chest was heavily bandaged, and the only clothing he wore were the tattered pants he had been wearing when he crashed into the wall.

"He has nothing to do with this, so just let him go!"

Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Now see, I don't appreciate that kind of behavior from those who serve me." He then let go of Doumeki's chin only to give him a swift punch to the chest.

"NO!" Watanuki could only watch as Doumeki's eyes widened with pain and he cried out, only to have it muffled by the cloth around his mouth. The two Fracción released their grip on Doumeki and let him fall to the ground to curl in on himself.

Aizen watched with acute fascination for a moment then turned back to Watanuki with a smug smile. "So, Watanuki Kimihiro." A pause. "You were saying?"

Watanuki glanced helplessly back at Doumeki, who propped himself up on his shoulder and shook his head pointedly. "I'm sorry," Watanuki whispered. Then he grit his teeth and stared up at Aizen with defiance and determination. "I'll help you."

"Wonderful." There was that smile again. "I knew you'd see things my way. Szayel—remove the barrier."

The man giggled. "With pleasure, Aizen-sama!" With a great flourish, Szayel sliced his hand across the air above Watanuki, and the pain returned. Watanuki screamed, his back arching and pushing against the straps as far as they would let him. Then his entire body shook violently, as though he were having a seizure.

Szayel sighed. "Such a beautiful sound. What I wouldn't give to hear an entire batch of humans sounding just like that."

After a few more moments of screaming, Watanuki fell limp against the bed, the only indication he was alive being the occasional twitch as if he were in the midst of a bad dream.

"He passed out quicker than last time," the pink-haired Espada noted with a hint of remorse. "Though I suppose going through the process a second time would have that effect on a human. Still—" He turned his gaze to Doumeki's fallen form. "I thought the boy had not yet been found?"

Aizen nodded. "He wasn't." Doumeki's form shimmered a moment, before disappearing entirely. "But Kimihiro doesn't need to know that." He then walked to the two Fracción and they shied away. "What I want to know is why you let our important bargaining chip lay in the street to die." The two followers held back their protests, knowing that no good would come out of trying to justify their actions.

"We . . . we apologize, Aizen-sama."

"You're lucky his life was spared, but unfortunately he was taken under the protection of Urahara Kisuke. As frustrating as that man is, he is a considerable foe. Nothing I can't handle of course, but dealing with him at the moment would be undesirable."

Nuete saw his chance. "We could go and fetch him for you, Aizen-sama! We'll fight Urahara for you and—"

"No, I don't think you will. Doumeki Shizuka will come to us, under the idealistic notion that he can save his friend. And the two of you will meet him upon arrival and bring him to me, or there will be consequences." Nuete and Pozione nodded vigorously, realizing this was the only way to save themselves.

Aizen slowly made his way to the door, then just before exiting he paused and turned around. "Oh, and Nuete?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama?"

"You might want to get that arm looked at."

Nuete and Pozione frowned at each other. It was Pozione who got his arm destroyed by the dark-haired human, not Nuete. Both of Nuete's arms were perfectly fine—

"AHHHHHHH!"

Nuete's left arm fell to the floor, cleanly severed. Aizen narrowed his eyes before speaking. "Now both of you bear reminders of your failures. One is for being weak enough for a human to harm you, and the other is for letting a valuable human to me fall into the hands of my enemy. Fail me once again, and there won't be a need for any reminders."

"What?"

"How's that possible?"

"You've got to be joking."

Doumeki frowned. "What do you mean? Who is this Gotei Commander?"

Everyone else was in various stages of shock and disbelief, so Urahara continued to explain. "Yamamoto Genryusai is the most powerful shinigami in all of Soul Society, and has been for a few centuries."

"And . . . Watanuki will be more powerful than him? How will Aizen do this?"

Urahara rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The necklace I gave him does more than just mask his reiatsu from Hollow and shinigami. It prevents his reiatsu from growing to its full potential."

"I understand why you needed to hide his power from the Hollows and shinigami, but why stop Watanuki from using his full power?" Doumeki asked, his anger steadily growing. "If he has the chance to be as powerful as you say, then he'd be able to defend himself." Urahara was treated to Doumeki's full glare as the boy struggled to his feet. He knew it was a bad idea in his current state, but this man had put Watanuki in danger and he wouldn't stand for it.

As he laid there in the street, struggling to breathe and stay conscious against the pain, he heard Watanuki agree to go with their attackers to save his life. While Doumeki found himself touched to find Watanuki was actually concerned for him, he was also furious beyond belief that Watanuki would give himself up so easily.

While it wasn't specifically stated, Doumeki knew it was his job to look out for the human spirit magnet. It wasn't like anyone else was going to; Yuuko did the best that she could without asking too much of a price from Watanuki, and Himawari was out of the question. And it wasn't like he didn't enjoy it. Doumeki wouldn't be able to see spirits without Watanuki, and protecting the younger boy from spirits or carrying out jobs for them gave him a chance to become closer to his grandfather.

Because he was unable to see spirits, all he could do was listen to his grandfather's stories and try to use his imagination to picture the spirits around him that his grandfather pointed out. Now that he was engaged in the spirit world with Watanuki, he finally had an edge into his grandfather's work and could finally see spirits.

It had bugged him a little in the beginning that Watanuki could see and talk with his grandfather when he could not, but Doumeki easily squashed that jealousy. There was nothing he could do about it so there was no use complaining. And if his grandfather's presence was able to help Watanuki, then all the better.

But now, Watanuki was in trouble. Doumeki hadn't been strong enough to protect him. In fact, by Watanuki agreeing to go with the Fracción willingly, it was actually Watanuki who was protecting him. And while Doumeki wasn't petty enough to not appreciate the help, he was furious at himself for having caused Watanuki to do so in the first place. Watanuki shouldn't have had to help him. That was Doumeki's job.

And here this man was telling them that he knowingly prevented Watanuki from achieving his full power? Power that could have saved him? Urahara better have a good reason for doing what he did.

"I do know where you're coming from, Doumeki," Urahara began, looking more serious and solemn than Doumeki would have imagined, "and I have to agree that your logic makes sense. However, the process for Watanuki to be able to achieve his full power is very painful. Even if he managed not to attract every Hollow in this town, the process would take days. Karakura town has a rather high density concentration of reiatsu, but not enough to speed up the transformation. Hueco Mundo or Soul Society would actually be the ideal places to carry out such a thing, but both have such a high concentration where although the speed would be decreased from a few days to a few hours, it could very well kill him."

Urahara gave him a small smile. "I promise you that I did what I thought was best to make his time in this dimension enjoyable. If I knew Aizen or any Fracción were aware of his presence here, I would have kept a guard on you at all times, or possibly sent you back to Yuuko-san."

There was silence was everyone held their breath to see Doumeki's reaction He glanced at Urahara for a moment longer than nodded. It was obvious to him that the man bore them no ill intentions and was genuinely concerned for Watanuki's well being.

"So how can I get to his place?" Doumeki asked.

"I will have to open you a portal in my basement to get to Hueco Mundo," Urahara said. "Be aware that I don't do this lightly, but seeing as how this is partially my fault it's the least I can do. And I would accompany you if I could, but I need to stay on this end to let you back through."

Doumeki nodded. "How long will it take for you to prepare the portal?"

"Wait, Doumeki-kun!" Orihime jumped to her feet and gently grabbed Doumeki's shoulder. "You're still recovering from your injuries! I was able to fix your ribs and broken bones, but you're still suffering from blood loss."

"No." His expression was neutral, but his eyes were fixed with a firm resolve. "I couldn't protect him and I'm not going to let this Aizen hurt—" Doumeki clutched his left eye as a sharp spasm of pain ran through it. The next wave sent him to his knees and his ears throbbed to the point where he couldn't think. All he could see through his shared eye was darkness—so powerful that it was suffocating. And as if that weren't enough, he could hear screaming.

It was Watanuki.

Whatever was happening, it wasn't pleasant. Now Doumeki understood why Urahara didn't want to help Watanuki achieve his full power. If he himself was in this much pain, he couldn't imagine how things were going for Watanuki. And that made Doumeki all the more eager to find him.

"Doumeki!"

"Doumeki-kun!"

"Oi! What's wrong?"

Ichigo grasped Doumeki's shoulders and shook him. One moment he was talking to them about rescuing his friend, and the next he was on the ground clutching his eye and screaming like a maniac. Ichigo shook him again. "Doumeki! Doumeki!"

Then he noticed the thin trail of blood rolling down Doumeki's face. Was he trying to claw his eye out or something? Was his eye in that much pain? Panicked, Ichigo grasped Doumeki's wrists and pulled them away from his face. To his surprise, he found it rather difficult. The guy was pretty strong.

When he finally succeeded, he found that the blood wasn't from Doumeki's own doing. His eye was actually bleeding, as if his tears were made of blood instead of water. And not only that, but it was only happening to his right eye.

"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled. The shopkeeper was at his side in an instant. Doumeki continued struggling against Ichigo's grip in an almost crazed manner with his eyes clenched shut. To Ichigo's relief, Chad then appeared behind Doumeki and secured his arms behind his back.

With Doumeki properly restrained, Urahara reached out and placed a palm against Doumeki's eye. The boy immediately froze on contact. Urahara then closed his own eyes and started muttering something under his breath. Yellow reiatsu gathered around his hand and gently pulsated. Doumeki's breathing grew more and more relaxed and he stopped screaming. Once his breathing grew normal, he slouched forward and Urahara removed his hand.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked.

Urahara didn't answer right away. He merely stared at Doumeki with a solemn expression. Tessai then came to his side and held out a damp towel.

"Thank you, Tessa." Urahara wiped off the blood on his hand, then reached out and started cleaning Doumeki's face. The boy blinked blearily at him and Urahara gave him a reassuring smile. "What did you see?"

Doumeki spent a few moment to catch his breath. "Nothing . . . it was all dark." He took a deep breath and composed himself. "Watanuki is in pain. I need to help him."

"Wait! Wait!" Ichigo waved his hand back and forth then jabbed a finger at Doumeki. "What is going on here? Why was your eye bleeding and how can you tell Watanuki is in pain?"

"We share an eye, and it lets me see what he sees sometimes. Usually when he's encountering spirits and experiences strong emotions."

Ichigo and the others gaped at him. "You share an eye?"

"How is that even possible?"

"Oh!" Orihime clapped her hands. "Is that why Doumeki-kun has two different eye colors?" Doumeki nodded then turned back to Urahara.

"We need to go now."

"Right. I'll have the portal ready for you in a few minutes." Urahara then took off towards the basement. Doumeki started to get up and Chad helped him.

"Right," Ichigo said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his brown talisman and held it to his chest. His shinigami form burst out of his body. "Let's go get your friend."

"You don't need to come."

Ichigo carefully laid his body on the round and frowned at Doumeki. "Why can't I?"

"Because his capture was my fault and you don't need to bother yourself in our business." Doumeki knew he was coming across as rude, but he didn't have time to sugarcoat his words. (Not that he ever did anyway) Watanuki was in danger and probably dying. He shrugged out of Chad's grip and started following after Urahara.

"Hey!" Ichigo grabbed Doumeki's arm and spun him around until their noses were almost touching. "What's your deal?"

Doumeki blinked and idly realized his right eye was starting to bleed again. The pain however had dulled to a prickling throb and he had a feeling he had to thank Urahara for that. He could still hear Watanuki's screams though. Doumeki bit his lips at the sound. Ichigo's look softened with concern but his irritation was still present, so Doumeki figured he had better answer him.

"What do you mean? I let them capture Watanuki and because of that you have no obligation to do anything."

"Obligation? First off, I'm a substitute shinigami." He flashed the medallion in Doumeki's face. "This means I can help Soul Society whenever they want me to, but more importantly it means I can take on problems that Soul Society thinks is 'too beneath them' to take care of. I can tell you for a fact they'd rather have Watanuki die than order an attack on Hueco Mundo to rescue him. And so I'm probably the only one who can help you."

Ichigo let go of Doumeki. "And there's no need to feel responsible. It's not like it's your fault." It was obvious to Ichigo that Doumeki didn't believe him, so he tried again.

"Look—as powerful as you and Watanuki are for not being a shinigami, those Fracción and Espada are on a whole 'nother level. Not to mention the fact that you've only practiced for a day. There's no way you could have won against two Fracción, so there's no need to blame yourself. You're lucky they let you live."

Doumeki glanced away in shame. He knew Ichigo was right from the beginning. He knew he'd need help rescuing Watanuki but—it was hard. Doumeki lived his life always doing what he could without any help from others. It wasn't necessarily that he thought others were incompetent, it was just that he preferred doing all he could by himself. The only time he had specifically asked for someone's help straight off the bat was that time Watanuki almost died.

He nearly shuddered at the memory. The sight of Watanuki lying on the ground, surrounded by hundreds of glass shards and a deep crimson pool of his own blood would haunt him forever. And if he wanted to make sure an image like that never appeared again, Doumeki had to save Watanuki as fast as possible.

Doumeki took a deep breath as if to steel himself and nodded. "Let's go."

Ichigo grinned. "Now you're talking."

"We want to come, too!" Orihime said.

"No!" Ichigo and Doumeki said in unison.

"It's going to be very dangerous," Ichigo said. "Hueco Mundo is probably crawling with Hollows, Fracción, and Espada. There's no way you can—"

"And you could get injured! I can—"

"Kurosaki, if you're under the delusion that you can just—"

"—not going to let you go and that's—"

"—all calm down—"

Doumeki's head erupted in pain and before anyone could move he collapsed on the floor.

"—and that's why—Doumeki? Doumeki! What happened?"

"What's wrong?"

"Doumeki-kun!"

Watanuki was once again swallowed up into the darkness, his only companion being unbearable pain. He didn't know if he could go through with this a second time. But he had to. If he didn't, then Doumeki would die. Watanuki had to be strong for his sake.

As he thought of Doumeki being held captive by these psychos, used as a bargaining chip so he would follow orders like a dog, Watanuki found that the pain was starting to lessen. In fact, it was starting to fade rather quickly, as if someone were taking it away from him and—

Suddenly . . . it stopped. All the pain vanished. And no lingering pain. It was as if everything he had just been through never happened. Watanuki blinked against the strangeness of it all, then noticed there was light now. It was faint, and looked to be hidden behind a door. He could also smell incense or smoke of some kind. Utterly bewildered, Watanuki started walking forward, idly noting that he was now dressed in a . . . yukata? What the hell was going on?

He had no other option but to follow the light. Watanuki pushed against the door and held up his arms defensively as he was momentarily blinded by the light.

"You're in quite the fix, Kimihiro."

Watanuki blinked at the figure before him stupidly. "H-Haruka-san?"

The warm presence who happened to bear such an uncanny resemblance to his rival nodded. "I can imagine why you're surprised to see me given the circumstances, but I can explain. Your power is growing rapidly in this dimension, and because of our connection, I was able to draw on some of the power and let us meet in a dream." Haruka gave a small laugh. "And I'm sure you'd much rather prefer being here than in that dark hole you came from."

Watanuki frantically waved his hands and took his usual seat beside Haruka. "Oh believe me, I'm very grateful. Thank you for that, by the way." He sighed and the two of them sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just relishing in each others company. It was Watanuki who broke the silence.

"Haruka-san? What . . . what am I going to do about . . . about all this?" he asked, absently fingering the fabric on his kimono. He turned to Haruka with a pained look in his eyes. "How can I get out of this? They're holding Doumeki captive and there's nothing I can do to get out of here! I-I don't want to hurt anyone or use my power against my new friends, but if I don't then he's going to kill Doumeki and I—"

Haruka moved closer to Watanuki and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "There's always a way, if you look hard enough." He gave Watanuki another comforting smile and took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled, letting the smoke dance before them. The man opened his mouth to say something else, but was distracted by something behind him.

"I see our guest has arrived," he said with a fond smile.

"Huh? Guest?" Watanuki whipped around to follow Haruka's gaze. "Is that even allowed?"

Haruka chuckled. "Come on out."

Watanuki frowned. Who was coming? No one had ever entered their dream before. Was it Yuuko? He sure hoped so. Watanuki knew that she would have some sort of solution to this.

The sliding door was carefully pushed open, and the figure stepped into the light, looking momentarily disoriented as Watanuki himself had.

Watanuki soon found himself at a loss for words. This—this couldn't be real, right? Haruka was just playing tricks on him. There was no way . . . it just wasn't . . . it couldn't . . .

"Doumeki?"

Previous | Next

New World, Same Problems (ch4)--Bleach/xxxholic crossover

reidluver — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 01:04:37 GMT

Chapter 4: New Power

When Ichigo told Watanuki they were going to Urahara's shop to train, he thought the teen had gone mad. The shop wasn't tiny, but it wasn't large enough for proper training either. Yet when he saw the "basement"—Watanuki's eyes bulged. He would have thought after living with the ability to see spirits and ghosts, and then working for Yuuko these past few months, nothing would surprise him anymore. Apparently not.

It was like he was descending into an entire canyon! The place was HUGE! Not only that, but it felt like it was really outside. The lighting didn't look fake like most places. It actually looked like it was coming from the sun, like midday, yet Watanuki knew it was nearing the late afternoon. After struggling with how it was possible for a moment Watanuki gave up. There were just some things he had to take as they were, or else it would drive him crazy.

"This will be the perfect place for the two of you to train!" Urahara exclaimed. He looked so proud at Watanuki's shocked expression and Doumeki's . . . neutral one. It was like Urahara was showing off his elementary school science project.

Watanuki had no idea how long they trained. Since the light stayed constant, time seemed to blur together. Not that Watanuki was able to worry about what time it was though. Ichigo was a drill sergeant! Whenever he learned a new kido from Rukia (Renji had specifically stated that all his kido was good for was blowing up in his face) Ichigo would charge towards him without mercy. Renji would join in from time to time, forcing Watanuki to focus on an enemy from two sides.

The kido spells all came rather easy to him. Of course, as they progressed in difficulty it took him a few tries to get it right, and then a few more to almost master it—but judging by the impressed expressions from Rukia and Renji he was doing pretty good. They also commented on Watanuki's high stamina.

"Running from hungry ghosts your whole life does that to you," he had mumbled. Yet as proud as he was of his stamina, he was blown away by how much Ichigo and Renji had. It was like they could fight forever! For a brief moment, Watanuki had the image of a pink bunny banging a drum like he had seen on one of those commercials.

As he tried to capture Ichigo with a kido spell that shot out purple, cylindrical rods, Watanuki's legs buckled underneath him and he collapsed to the ground. Orihime rushed over to his side and helped him up.

"Are you all right, Watanuki-kun?" she asked, her bright eyes wide with worry.

"I think he's reached his limit, Inoue-san," Urahara laughed, kneeling down opposite of her.

Watanuki tried to sit up but moaned. "I can't move." The shopkeeper reached into one of his sleeves and pulled out a small bottle.

"Drink this."

Watanuki did as he was told, but as soon as the liquid reached his throat he sat up quickly, coughing and sputtering. "Wh-What—ack—is—ack—that?"

"Specialty-made sake!" Urahara declared. He held out the original bottle very proudly and seemed eerily reminiscent of another drunk that Watanuki knew all too well. "It got you moving though, didn't it?" the man asked when Watanuki fixed him with a glare.

"Here you go." Ichigo held out a hand which Watanuki took. "You really did a great job today. I've never learned kido, but I could tell you did well."

Rukia nodded and slapped Watanuki on the back, ignoring his yelp of protest. "You're even better than Renji, and he's been practicing for decades!"

"Hey!"

Watanuki laughed at Renji's expression as Rukia stuck her tongue at the redhead. He then walked around to where Doumeki was practicing to see how he was faring. Despite how tired he was, Watanuki walked with a spring in his step. The power coursing through his body felt so wonderful! He was grateful for it, because now he could protect people and not have to be coddled like a child. After so many years of being protected, he could take care of himself. Doumeki wasn't the only one with power now!

He entertained himself with the thought of saving Doumeki with his new powers. Himawari would be so impressed with him and would even give him a kiss on the cheek for being so heroic. Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful? And then Doumeki would realize how awesome the great Watanuki-sama was and would pledge to serve him forever! Watanuki sighed dreamily at the thought of Himawari's kiss, so caught up in it that he was nearly hit with a beam of energy. It whizzed past him and hit a boulder. The boulder exploded and Watanuki coughed with all the dust that encircled him.

"Watch it!" he yelled. When the cloud cleared he glanced down to see Doumeki fighting down the hill from him. Ishida was yelling instructions and tips as he fired blue arrows at him and Chad would shoot blue beams with some strange arm. Doumeki looked like he was having trouble. His attacks were powerful enough with his golden arrows causing a lot of damage and destruction to the landscape, but he was losing stamina fast.

It must be taking a lot out of him, Watanuki thought. Doumeki's shirt was clinging to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead. The normally stoic boy was panting with exhaustion yet he didn't look like he'd be ready to give up anytime soon.

"Che—that idiot doesn't know when to stop," Watanuki muttered. Doumeki fired off another of his arrows and almost fell to his knees. Ishida and Chad easily leapt out of the way and fired their own respective powers. Watanuki watched in horror as Doumeki tried to move, fell, and his golden bow wavered and shorted out. There was no way he could avoid the attacks coming his way. Watanuki held out his hands and recited one of the protective kido spells he had learned. At the last second, a purple shield erupted out of the ground in front of Doumeki, effectively blocking both of the attacks. Watanuki let out a sigh of relief when he saw Doumeki was all right and joined the others in rushing to his side.

"Are you all right?" Doumeki nodded and turned to Watanuki.

"Thanks."

"That was amazing,Watanuki -kun!" Orihime cheered as she ran down the hill.

"Yeah, you've really learned a lot and have quick reflexes," Rukia said as she joined them.

Watanuki blushed with the praise. He really liked the feeling of being able to help someone with his new powers. And he finally turned the situation around by helping Doumeki! Take that!

"I think that's enough training for today," Urahara said, interrupting Watanuki's thoughts. The man was paying particular attention to Doumeki's barely swaying form. And while Watanuki knew he should be exhausted, the glee of being able to use his powers made him nearly bounce with excitement. He had never felt this way before! The rush of power coursing through his body gave him new-found confidence. He knew that if he ever came across a Hollow or any spirit from his world, he would have no trouble destroying it. Plus, he could also protect other people.

For his entire life, it had always been the other way around. He would be the one who needed saving; the one who could only gasp in pain or moan in the background as people like stupid Doumeki rushed in to save the day! Watanuki had always known it bothered him, but it was only now when he could finally fight back that he realized just how much it did. No need for that now.

At the moment, Watanuki entertained the idea of going hunting for Hollows himself, just to get the many years of frustration out by taking it out on them. They weren't the spirits from his world, but that didn't really matter. And besides—he'd be doing everyone a favor! He recalled something about the Hollows eating the souls of humans, so they were definitely evil. These shinigami-people went out and killed them all the time.

"And Watanuki—Tessai is in the kitchen, ready to assist you for dinner tonight, if you're still up to it." Watanuki started slightly. He had almost forgotten about his promise to make food for the man. Despite his eerie resemblance to Yuuko, Watanuki found that he was more than willing to make dinner. It was just another excuse to show off the awesome talents of the great Watanuki-sama!

Plus there was the fact that he felt a small obligation to pay Urahara back for the housing and medical help. Damn that Yuuko! Now her policies were sinking into his everyday life. He liked helping other people out, but now it was becoming an almost necessary act to pay back anyone who showed him any kindness. That woman had found yet another way to mess up his life.

"Of course! I'll whip up the greatest dinner you've ever had!"

"Yay!" Urahara clapped like an overenthusiastic child. He turned to the others. "Watanuki is making us all dinner!"

"WHAT?"

Urahara waved him off. "No need to worry—I promise I have more than enough ingredients and Tessai can help. He's a wonderful cook." Watanuki stewed for a moment and then sighed. After working for Yuuko for so long, he knew there was no point in trying to argue. It seemed like the same rules applied to this world's eccentric shopkeeper.

"Fine." Watanuki subconsciously paused for a moment.

"Watanuki-kun? Are you okay?"

"Eh? Oh—I'm fine, Orihime-chan!" Watanuki said nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Just thinking about what to make!"

"Such a professional," Urahara said behind his fan. "Watanuki truly knows his stuff." Watanuki blushed with the praise but barely suppressed a shudder. The more time he spent with Urahara, the more Watanuki was convinced that he was related to Yuuko. As Urahara pushed him towards the ladder, Watanuki sneaked a glance back at Doumeki. The lack of the other boy's demand for him to make something specific rather worried him. It was surprising just how much Watanuki had become accustomed to that.

The archer was being helped to his feet by a concerned Orihime. He tried to protest, but gave up when he almost crashed to the ground. "Ishida-kun! Chad-kun! You shouldn't have worked him so hard!" Orihime scolded.

Ishida huffed. "One does not gain control of Quincy powers unless they practice relentlessly." He then walked forward and slung Doumeki's other arm around his shoulder. "I am curious as to why your reiatsu manifestation is a golden color though," the Quincy said as they made their way over to the ladder.

"How did it go?"

"Horrible! No thanks to you!" Watanuki yelled. He jabbed an accusatory finger at Yuuko's reflection. Dinner had been a success, and with that over, Watanuki wanted to speak to Yuuko before retiring for the night. He would have wanted to use Mokona like Syaoran and his friends did, but seeing as how there weren't three Mokonas he required an alternative solution. Urahara had graciously given them a small basin filled with purified water and a few crystals. He had instructed Watanuki to crush the crystals into the water while repeating the name of the person he wanted to speak to. "Why didn't you tell me that this world is full of enormous Hollows that want to eat me! I almost died!"

Yuuko just smiled. "But the shinigami are able to fight them, yes? And Urahara is a brilliant man and surely was able to make you a charm that fought them off."

"But that's not the point!" Watanuki growled. "We could have avoided that all together if you just told me or gave me a charm in the first place!"

"Oh, my dear, Watanuki," Yuuko purred, innocently holding her hands up to her face as if his words wounded her. "Then I would have to ask for payment and if I remember correctly you never appreciate that."

Watanuki paled. He had forgotten about that. "Oh, I-I . . . right, I just—"

"So, are you coming home? No need to ask me anything. Just have Mokona bring you back the same way you came."

"Well, Yuuko-san I just . . . well, I want to—"

His employer narrowed her eyes. "You wish to stay longer?"

Watanuki quickly shook his head and moved his arms back and forth in a placating gesture. "N-No . . . I mean, yes, but I wouldn't go so far as to say wish." If it was phrased that way there was a chance the witch would interpret it as needing some kind of payment, and that was the last thing he needed.

Yuuko just laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it, Watanuki! Though, since I guess I am missing out on your wonderful cooking, I will have to add a few more hours to your debt."

"GAH!" Watanuki knew it. He knew it! "Fine."

Suddenly, Yuuko's expression grew serious. "Watanuki."

"Yes?"

"Be careful." The young boy couldn't stop the small shiver that went down his spine. How was it that someone who ran around singing about the wonders of sake give off such a foreboding presence?

"Careful? Careful of what, Yuuko-san?"

The witch simply stared at him for a moment, then grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Don't forget to bring me my sake!" Then their connection was cut.

Watanuki shook his head. "I'll never figure her out."

"Are you going to be careful?"

"Eh?" Watanuki spun around to see Doumeki staring at him from across the room. The idiot was sitting on his mat with the blanket gathered around his waist. "What do you mean? I'm always careful!" Doumeki still continued to stare at him. "What?"

"Yuuko meant to be extra careful. Perhaps something will happen."

Watanuki just laughed. "Oh please, I'll be fine! I won't do anything stupid and if something tries to attack me I can just use kido!" Watanuki walked over to his own mat and pulled the blanket over his legs. "Besides, did you see how amazing I was today? The shinigami were impressed with my natural talent!" Doumeki just frowned and stared at him with a face that Watanuki knew all too well. "Oh, please! Would you stop worrying about me already?" Really! The nerve of him! Doumeki said nothing more and laid down to sleep. Watanuki mumbled a few words under his breath and roughly pulled his blanket over himself.

Stupid Doumeki! His thoughts then turned to happier things as he dreamed of impressing Himawari when he went back home.

Yuuko simply stared at the small basin for a while, her grin long gone.

"Mistress?" Maru and Moro asked in unison. They stepped forward and snuggled into her arms. They could tell always something was wrong. Yuuko just smiled and nuzzled them affectionately.

"Come on, girls. We might as well get ready."

The next morning found Watanuki and Doumeki returning from the grocery store. Ichigo and the others were at school, and Renji and Rukia had taken off to check up with the shinigami who was supposed to be patrolling the town. Watanuki and Tessai had prepared a wonderful breakfast, and now they were helping Urahara before setting off to explore some more. Then after that they were going to train again.

Mokona was currently with Urahara, and Watanuki had a sinking suspicious that the two of them were drinking themselves silly.

To Watanuki's surprise the currency was even similar in this dimension, so he didn't have that hard of a time getting the proper ingredients. Doumeki had helped, which Watanuki was more than a little surprised at the archer's eye for good products (not that he would ever admit it of course), but he did notice how Doumeki would do a sweep of the area every once and a while.

Now they were returning back to the shop, and Watanuki hoped they wouldn't get lost. He turned to Doumeki. "Hey, do you—"

"Out for a daily stroll, eh?"

The two boys spun around. Whomever the voice belonged to, it wasn't friendly. To their shock, they saw two oddly dressed men with some sort of skeleton mask, and even then there were only pieces of it. They were dressed in similar, black and white apparel. While they didn't look like Hollows, they certainly gave off the same feeling as one, but it was even worse. Not to mention the fact that they each had a gaping hole in their chest. Watanuki's body trembled slightly as if he were struggling with something really heavy. A glance to his right showed him that Doumeki wasn't faring too well either.

The man with blond hair laughed. "Helps that they're alone, huh, Pozione?"

"That it does, Nuete," the other man said.

"Who are you?" Doumeki asked. Watanuki noticed how the archer slackened his grip on the bags and carefully placed himself in front. That act alone infuriated Watanuki. Hadn't he proven more than capable of fending for himself? All the shinigami had been impressed with his skill at kido, and did that ungrateful oaf even remember how Watanuki's kido barrier had protected him from being blown to bits? The nerve! Well, it was time to show Doumeki who was boss now!

"I think the better question is what are we, young traveling humans," Pozione said.

"And why we're here," Nuete added.

Doumeki opened his mouth but Watanuki pushed forward. "Well, whatever it is I suggest you just leave us alone!" he proclaimed, pointing a finger at them. "We don't want any trouble and I'm sure you don't want to get hurt."

The two men gaped at him. Doumeki grabbed his shoulder and hissed, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, calm down, Doumeki!" Watanuki whispered. "I know what I'm doing. They have no idea who they're deal—" His declaration was cut short at the burst of laughter that came from Pozione and Nuete. They threw their heads back and laughed so hard that it was really grating on Watanuki's nerves. "Laugh all you want! If you want a fight I'll give it to you, and you won't stand a chance!"

"Watanuki!"

"Shut up, Doumeki!" Watanuki shoved the archer's hands off him. "I'll handle this myself, so you better stay back!" He let the groceries fall to the ground and got into a defensive stance.

"Look, Nuete! This human actually thinks he can fight us!"

"So does the other one."

Watanuki turned around to see Doumeki releasing one of his golden arrows. The nerve of him! Directly defying him and trying to take on these—whatever they were—by himself! Never before had Watanuki wanted to punch Doumeki so badly.

"Ha! We're Fracción! You think a little Quincy arrow will—aaaahhhhhh!"

"Pozione!" The brunette Fracción clutched the blackened stub where his arm used to be. He clenched his teeth and glared wildly at Doumeki.

"What the hell was that? Quincy arrows aren't supposed to be that strong! He cut through my hierro!"

"You'll pay for that, human! Aizen-sama only wanted the other one, so we can kill you!" Nuete started charging forward but Watanuki jumped in his path.

He held his hands out in front of him and smirked. "I don't think so! It's my tu—" Suddenly, Nuete was at his side.

"This is called sonido," he whispered in passing. And as quickly as he appeared, Nuete was gone again. The only thing Watanuki heard was a loud crash behind him. Watanuki spun around in fear, only to find Doumeki partially concealed beneath a broken section of the concrete wall to their right. Doumeki was gasping for air and his chest heaved up and down unevenly. Then Watanuki saw some blood starting to seep through the white shirt and he realized in terror that one of the idiot's ribs was poking through.

"DOUMEKI!" How could this be happening? He, the great Watanuki, was supposed to be strong! He knew a variety of kido spells that were stronger than most shinigami, and the others had praised his ability! He should have been able to defeat these Fractions—or whatever they were called, and save the day! Watanuki finally had the power, so why couldn't he? He was supposed to be invincible! And now Doumeki lay dying on the street next to him.

Nuete scoffed. "This is easier than I thought." He raised a hand in the air, but then was stopped by a small binding spell Watanuki cast. Nuete raised an amused eyebrow and shifted his attention to Watanuki like a curious child.

"Leave him alone!" Watanuki was fully aware of the tremor in his voice and the few tears flowing down his face but he didn't care. He couldn't let Doumeki die for a mistake he made! As much as he hated to admit it, Doumeki was a friend—of sorts—and Watanuki would never be able to live with himself if he were the cause of Doumeki's death.

"Oh? You want him alive?"

"Leave him alone or I'll—"

"Do what, puny human?" Pozione suddenly appeared in front of him and grabbed his throat with his remaining hand. The Fracción glared at him menacingly. "Did you think that just because you know some kido you'd be able to take us on? You humans are so arrogant!" Watanuki desperately tried to pry Pozione's fingers apart, but it was no use. His dangling feet flailed about and the corners of his vision were starting to darken from the lack of air. "You're just going to watch while we tear your friend to pieces!"

"NO!" Watanuki gasped. "I-I'll go! I'll go!"

"Put him down, Pozione. You're going to kill the human Aizen-sama wants."

Watanuki collapsed on the ground and massaged his throat. He took deep, shuddering gulps of air and nearly gagged. He thought he was going to die!

"Now, what was it you said, human?"

Watanuki stole a glance at Doumeki and was alarmed to see the amount of blood starting to flow onto the cement. He had to act now! "I said I'd . . . go with you! Just leave . . . him alone and I'll . . . go without complaining! Just let me get him some help before he dies!"

Nuete looked like he was considering it. "How about we just take you now?" He snapped his fingers and there was some strange, black tear in the air beside him. It folded in on itself, and then pulled apart until it was large enough to let them pass through. Pozione grabbed his arm.

"Time to go and meet Aizen-sama, human."

"No!" Watanuki tried to pull away. "No! Doumeki—"

"Listen, human!" Pozione roughly spun him around so they were facing each other. "Either we kill him now and force you to come with us, or we leave him and you come without a fuss."

Watanuki fought back tears and nodded. "Fine. I'll go meet this Aizen and do whatever he wants."

Pozione laughed and pat Watanuki on the head like one would praise a dog. "What an understanding human you are. You humans are always so willing to put yourself at risk for others. How weak."

As he was led into the dark tear, Watanuki stole one last glance at Doumeki. His normally tanned skin was already pale from blood loss and Watanuki feared he was dead already. Please let him be all right, he silently prayed. Then he took a deep breath and dried his eyes. Whatever this Aizen had in store for him, Watanuki wasn't going to cry like a child. He was going to act strong and not give this Aizen any satisfaction.

For Doumeki's sake just as much as his own.

" . . . can't believe . . . who would take . . ."

"Obviously it's . . . the only one who could . . ."

" . . . hope he's . . ."

"Watanuki!"

"We'll call . . . just have to wait . . ."

Doumeki moaned. Even though the people were talking in whispers it wasn't doing wonders for his growing headache. His entire body felt stiff and sore. It was like he crashed through a wall—

"Watanuki!" He shot up but immediately regretted it. It felt like someone had stuck a million needles into his chest and he nearly passed out.

"Doumeki-kun?" A slender hand gently pushed him back down. "You need to rest now. We—We almost lost you."

It sounded like Inoue's voice. Normally he would just do whatever he wanted but she sounded so scared. That—and he didn't think he could move again anyway. The pain coursed through his body like a disease. He figured opening his eyes was safe enough though. Inoue, Ichigo, and all the others were crowded around him. Once his gaze focused on them, they all visibly relaxed.

"You had us worried for a moment there, Doumeki," Ichigo said.

"We sensed some type of high energy Hollow in the general area and immediately came to the source," Ishida said. "That's where we found you."

"And I had to use Soten Kisshun immediately or else you would have died!" Orihime said with tears in her eyes.

"Wh-Where's . . . Watanuki?"

Urahara came into view, looking grave and solemn with a weeping Mokona on his shoulder. "We couldn't find him. It seems that whoever attacked you must have taken him with them to Hueco Mundo. Can you tell us anything about them?"

"It's okay if you can't remember right away, Doumeki-kun," Orihime said. She took his hand. "It must have been horrible."

"They called themselves . . . Fracción." Doumeki furrowed his brow in contemplation. "They . . . reminded me of a . . . Hollow but . . ."

"Fracción are an evolved form of Hollow," Urahara explained.

"They said that . . . someone named Aizen wanted to see Watanuki." There was a collective gasp. Orihime let go of his hand and covered her mouth, Ichigo looked so angry one would think it was his fault, Chad gave a small growl, Ishida clenched his teeth furiously, and Urahara bowed his head. Mokona just glanced all around them frantically.

"What? What's so bad about Aizen? What? Will Watanuki be okay?" Urahara reached up and calmly pet the small creature.

"I should have never let you two go without an escort," he said under his breath. "But those charms I gave you should have masked your reiatsu!"

"What would Aizen want with Watanuki?" Ichigo asked.

The shinigami shopkeeper was silent for a moment. Then he took off his hat and sighed. "Watanuki is . . . something special, even in our dimension. For one thing—whether you've noticed it or not, Doumeki—he has latent seer powers."

Ichigo and Orihime frowned while Chad and Ishida gasped. "What does that mean?"

"It means he can see into the future, Kurosaki," the Quincy responded.

"Eh? So Aizen wants him to do some fortune telling?"

Urahara shook his head. "No. It would take Watanuki a few years to cultivate that power and even then it'd have to be in the care of a professional. Besides, I have a feeling Aizen wouldn't even care if he were a properly trained seer. He has no interest in that. No, what Aizen really wants is—"

Watanuki felt like he was going to die. It took every ounce of his energy not to collapse. The spiritual pressure permeating the place was overwhelming! There was so much killer intent he felt he could drink it from the air. Strangely enough he didn't see the inky clouds like he normally did, but perhaps it was because of the necklace. He reached up and grasped the ruby pendant beneath his shirt. It was warm against his cold and sweaty skin, as if it were overheated from working so hard.

Please be all right, idiot. How could he have been so stupid? Truth be told he was rather ashamed at himself. Even though he knew some impressive kido, Watanuki could see where he had gone astray. He was in an entirely different dimension with different rules. He had gotten a little taste of the power that he wielded with the kido and let it all go to his head. Was that what Yuuko had been referring to when she said be careful? Though in all fairness, he never would have thought her warning was intended towards an internal force, not the usual external force that it always was.

Watanuki sighed and glanced around him. Hueco Mundo was a horrible place. All he had seen so far was white. Nothing but white. It was enough to make him go mad! And it looked so sterile too, like a hospital. Or a nuthouse, which he figured would be the more appropriate comparison. These people, or whatever they were, had to be crazy.

Eventually, his knees gave out and he collapsed on the floor. At this point he didn't care what happened to him. He just couldn't take it anymore!

"Oi! Get up, human!" He tried, he really tried. His legs were just too wobbly.

"I'm sorry I . . . I can't!"

Nuete growled and swept Watanuki into an arm with one motion. "Come on. If we delay Aizen-sama any longer he'll be angry with us." Then he leapt into the air and Watanuki found himself shaken like a rag doll as Nuete sped down the hall at a speed Watanuki had never thought possible. Before he had time to blink twice, he was thrown to the floor.

Watanuki rubbed his head and scowled at Nuete. "What the hell was that for?"

"Ah . . . how nice to finally be able to meet you, Watanuki Kimihiro."

Watanuki froze. His blasted spirit senses were nearly going into overdrive and he couldn't stop himself from shivering. He could only imagine what sort of spirit creature was in charge of all these strange Hollows. Oh well, might as well get it over with. "All right, all right! Just be sure to eat me . . . quickly . . ." Watanuki's mouth dropped. He had been suspecting Aizen to be some sort of hideous, writing mass of spirits—not this. He was a human! Or at least—looked more like a human than any of the Hollows. A shinigami? He didn't have a hole in his chest or one of those partial skeleton masks.

The man laughed. "Eat you? Why would I do that?" He walked until he was standing right in front of Watanuki's sprawled body. "You're far too valuable and of more use to me alive."

"V-V-Valuable? Me?"

Aizen smiled and Watanuki shivered harder. He could actually feel the miasma rolling off of Aizen, even though he couldn't see or smell it. Aizen was unlike any paranormal being he had ever countered. This guy was dangerous. "Of course you are, Watanuki Kimihiro. I believe you can help me." Aizen backed away from Watanuki and nodded in the Fraccións' direction. The boy was immediately lifted off the ground as each Fracción grabbed an arm.

"What do you want?"

Aizen smirked and walked forward. When he was just a few feet in front of Watanuki he reached for the boy's neck. Watanuki immediately tensed. "This is a very interesting charm," Aizen said, pulling out the necklace. "Urahara Kisuke made it, I suspect?"

"Y-Yeah. It keeps the Hollows from coming after me." Watanuki frowned. "Is this what it's about? You know, if you wanted it you could have just asked, really."

"Foolish boy," Aizen whispered. He traced a finger over the heart-shaped ruby. "The only thing I want to do with this necklace is destroy it."

"What? No, you don't understand! If you take that off then I'll be attacked and I'll pass out and—"

"Of course I understand, but I don't think you do. Typical of Urahara Kisuke to keep the truth from you." Aizen shook his head as if he were a parent unimpressed with a child's antics. "He hasn't changed."

"Wait, what do you mean, keep the truth from me? He made that to protect me!" This guy must really be nuts! Why was it that power was always given to the crazy people?

"While it's true that this pendant masks your smell from Hollows and keeps you conscious against the effects they have on you, it also limits your potential."

"Huh? What are you talking about? How can anything that protects me be wrong for me? You're nuts!" In the back of his mind, Watanuki knew it probably wasn't in his best interests to anger his kidnapper, but struggling to maintain conscious was starting to take its toll on him; affect his judgment. Watanuki suspected he had minutes before he passed out completely.

Aizen sighed but still managed to keep that arrogant smirk on his face. Watanuki wanted nothing more than to smack it off. "If you spend just an hour or so in a spiritually dense environment without any interruptions—it will bring forth your latent power and you will be more powerful than the Gotei 13 Sotaicho, Yamamoto Genryusai."

:) What do you think, eh? It will be further explained in the next chapter I assure you.

Previous | Next

New World, Same Problems (ch3)--Bleach/xxxholic crossover

reidluver — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:38:16 GMT

Chapter 3: New Powers

"So . . . you're really from another world?"

"Yeah—it's all because of this thing that we were able to come."

Mokona burst out of the bag slung around Watanuki's shoulder. "Mokona is not a thing!"

"Weird enough, isn't it?" the boy continued, pointing to Mokona.

Ichigo chuckled. "Actually—we have something like this here as well. It's called a Mod Soul and his name is Kon. I thought that Mokona was just another one of Urahara's inventions when I first saw him. What's it like where you live?"

Watanuki frowned and glanced around. "To be honest, if I didn't know where we were, I would have thought we were back home. It's very similar." Watanuki glanced sideways at Chad. "So, what grade are you in, Chad? In college already?"

"Ichigo and I are in the same grade."

"What?"

"Chad looks much older than he is," Ichigo said.

"What did Urahara mean about you being a half-human, half-shinigami?" Doumeki asked, speaking up for the first time.

"And how are you still a human and able to have this reiatsu thing?" Watanuki asked, turning to Chad. "Are you some sort of priest, too?"

The two boys glanced at each other, and Ichigo shrugged. "It's a long story, but basically I've been able to see spirits all my life, and it wasn't until I met Rukia, a shinigami, that I was able to become part shinigami myself. As for Chad, Urahara said that my overflowing reiatsu started affecting my friends and gave them powers as well."

"So then there are others like you?" Watanuki was excited. He had been unconscious at the time, so he didn't know what their powers were like. Doumeki had briefly explained that Ichigo carried a large sword that expelled energy and Chad's whole arm took on a strange shape and emitted a type of energy as well. He was curious to see what other powers people could have in this world. As strange as it was seeing all the spirits back home and the ways Yuuko expelled or communicated with them, Watanuki found it all fascinating.

"Yeah, you'll meet them once we get to school. Their names are Inoue and Ishida."

Mokona leapt out of the book bag again. "Yay! School, school, school!"

"You'll get kicked out if anyone catches you talking!" Watanuki tried to stuff the creature into the bag but then gave up, allowing Mokona to travel on his shoulder. "Why don't you stay with Urahara anyway?" he mumbled. "You guys seemed like great friends."

"But then I won't be able to see all the stuff in this world!" Mokona said with a pout.

"Then why don't you travel with Doumeki?"

Mokona laughed and hugged Watanuki. "Because I need to protect you!"

"GAHH!" Watanuki resisted the urge to throw the creature to the ground like a football. "I don't need you to protect me! I can take care of myself."

"Waaaah!" Mokona wailed. "Watanuki's being mean to me!" A large, tanned arm stretched out and grasped Mokona gently.

"You can be with me, if you want," Chad said, his voice deep and soothing. Mokona looked up at the teen with stars in its eyes and hugged him tightly. Chad smiled and petted the creature.

"Mokona has a new friend!"

Ichigo smirked. "Inoue is going to love you, Mokona." They continued on their way and finally the school was in sight.

"Kurosaki-kun! Chad-kun!" They all turned towards the source of the noise in time to see a beautiful young girl with light orange hair come running towards them. Were it not for Yuuko's rather . . . interesting choice in clothing, Watanuki and Doumeki would have been caught off guard by her—feminine appearance.

"Good morning, Inoue."

"Good morning!" she said happily. Her cheerful attitude made Watanuki briefly wish Himawari was near. He felt the two of them would have gotten together quite nicely. "Who are your friends?" she asked.

"Watanuki and Doumeki," Ichigo said, pointing to each in turn. "They came from another world to deliver something to Urahara."

"Don't forget Mokona!" The black creature jumped off Chad's shoulder into Inoue's arms.

"Another world?" Yep, definitely just like Himawari, Watanuki thought. They both accepted rather unbelievable things to be true without a second thought. "That is so cool!" She glanced down at Mokona and then gave the creature a hug, nuzzling its cheek. "And Mokona is so adorable!"

"See, everyone loves Mokona!"

Once Inoue was done hugging Mokona, she stared at Watanuki intently. "You have very pretty eyes!" she said after a few seconds. "I've never seen anyone with different colored eyes before. And one of them looks like Doumeki-kun's!"

"Oh yeah, I noticed that, too," Ichigo said, leaning in to look at Watanuki. "Why is that?"

The two boys glanced at each other and then quickly looked away. "It's a . . . long story," Watanuki said quietly.

"Oh, uh—sorry about that," Ichigo said. He knew better than to pry.

"So, how long are you going to visit?" Inoue asked, looking back and forth from Watanuki to Doumeki.

"Just a day."

The girl suddenly became very serious and slammed a fist into the palm of her hand. "Before you leave I must make you one of my special dishes!" she announced, looking as if it were a matter of life or death.

Watanuki's interest was piqued. "You enjoy cooking?" It was rather difficult to find other people his age that enjoyed cooking. Most guys didn't care, and all of the girls (besides Himawari-chan~!) avoided him.

"Of course! I live by myself so I cook for myself all the time! One of my favorite hobbies is making new dishes to share with all my friends."

"Really? I like to cook myself, so maybe we could make a meal together."

"That would be wonderful!" Inoue rushed forward and hugged Watanuki tightly, nearly crushing him. All the same, it was one of the few times a girl willingly hugged him and he was unable to keep from blushing. It used to distress him that Himawari would never hug him, but after learning of her curse he knew she only refrained from doing so for his protection.

Through the whole conversation, Ichigo and Chad did their best to pantomime a warning about Inoue's cooking, but Watanuki didn't catch it. Doumeki inwardly smirked at how the part-timer had been so enthusiastic about cooking to notice their less than subtle hints. He didn't see what could be so bad about her cooking though; she looked healthy enough so the food couldn't be that strange, right? And as long as she put her whole heart into cooking, it had to be good.

"I don't think you'd be ready for Orihime's cooking, whoever you are," a voice chided. Doumeki turned towards the source of the noise and noticed another girl come their way. She had short hair and carried herself differently than most girls the archer had ever met. She seemed completely confident and ready to take on anything.

"Tatsuki!" Inoue let go of Watanuki and rushed to the girl to give her a quick hug. "Look, we have some visitors from—"

"From out of town!" Ichigo said quickly. Doumeki and Watanuki exchanged a look. Ichigo was fine with telling Inoue they were from another world, so why wasn't he fine with telling Tatsuki? With a nod, Watanuki carefully put a silent Mokona back into his bag, grateful that the creature had been able to figure it out as well.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tatsuki," Watanuki said with a bow. "My name is Watanuki Kimihiro and this idiot is—"

"Doumeki Shizuka."

"Why couldn't you let me introduce you?" Watanuki flailed his arms and pulled at his hair. "I was trying to be polite!"

"Shut up, you're annoying," Doumeki sighed, a finger already in his ear. "I can introduce myself you know."

"Of course you can! But there is something called basic etiquette which you obviously never learned!"

Ichigo and Chad paled. "His mood swings remind me of Keigo," Ichigo whispered.

Inoue just laughed and clapped her hands. "Wow, you two look like the best of friends!" Her comment didn't go unheard by Watanuki and he sighed in frustration. Even in another world girls got the wrong idea about their relationship! As Watanuki stood there sulking, Doumeki narrowed his eyes at Tatsuki. Rather than be alarmed (or laugh, in Inoue's case) at Watanuki's flailing about, Tatsuki was staring at them critically, as if she didn't trust them. She seemed to be concentrating very hard and Doumeki had a feeling that she could sense their spiritual energy. It felt like everyone in the entire town had varying degrees of spiritual energy, but the most came from Ichigo, Chad, Inoue, and Tatsuki.

Tatsuki had the least, but it wasn't in scant quantities like the rest of the town. Did her friends, or even herself know? It was no business of his, but the staring was getting annoying.

"What is it?" he asked. That seemed to break her out of her trance, but she kept her skeptic look.

"Where exactly are you from?"

"Just a few towns over," Watanuki said.

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "What town?" At that moment the bell rang.

"Time to get to class! Sorry Tatsuki, we've gotta get going!" Ichigo said quickly. He grabbed Watanuki and ran inside, with the others closely following.

"What, can't lie on your feet?" Watanuki teased. Ichigo chose to ignore him and steered the youth towards the classroom. He saw Keigo and Mizuiro sitting in their seats already. Well, Mizuiro was; Keigo was leaning against his desk and it looked like it was about to fall over. They waved at him and Ichigo waved back.

"And who might these two young men be?" Their teacher stood with her arms crossed and she eyed the two newcomers with skepticism. She paid special attention to Doumeki's bandages.

"Eh . . . sensei these are . . . these are—my cousins!" Ichigo said quickly. "They're . . . visiting and I thought they might want to come to class."

"Watanuki Kimihiro," the part-timer introduced with a bow.

"Doumeki Shizuka." The archer bowed as well.

"Hmmm, okay. Kurosaki, you can go and get some extra desks for your cousins and we'll begin the lesson." In a few moments' time, Watanuki and Doumeki had seats next to Ichigo and the lessons began.

The material was rather similar, though history made Watanuki's head spin. All these different names of countries and wars and famous people were completely foreign to him. It was nice to be in a classroom where no one knew who he was though. It was like a fresh start. No longer was he the freak kid who yelled at invisible things. There was one boy who kept starting at him though. He had glasses and dark raven hair, and he made Watanuki feel like he was looking into his soul. Watanuki couldn't shake the feeling that the boy knew he was different.

Finally, the bell rang for lunch. Watanuki stretched his sore muscles and yawned. His chest was still a little sore from nearly being crushed yesterday by that Hollow.

"Oi, Ichigo!" A boy with brown hair walked over to them. "Your cousins came to visit? Why didn't you let us know first? Aren't we your friends?"

"Shut up, Keigo," Ichigo sighed. He held out his hand to keep the boy from trying to hug him. "It was really sudden."

Keigo stopped wailing and glanced at Watanuki and Doumeki. "Did you get in a car accident or something?" he asked, gesturing to Doumeki's head bandage and the ones around his arms.

"Something like that," Doumeki said.

"Well, come sit with us!" Keigo said, slapping Watanuki on the back. The part-timer winced at the spark of pain that traveled down his spine. "We usually don't get many visitors."

"My name is Kojima Mizuiro," a boy with short, dark hair said. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Watanuki said, bowing.

Keigo stepped in between and shook his hands at them, shoving them towards the door. "Okay, okay, enough chit-chat. Let's go eat!"

As they made their way over to the door, Ichigo pulled Watanuki and Doumeki off to the side. "You guys probably need money for food, right?" he whispered.

"Urahara gave us some before leaving," Doumeki said, holding out a few bills. That seemed to put Ichigo at ease.

"Good, I was worried about that. Oh, and if anyone asks, your moms are my Aunts Tomoe and Yuuki, and you're from the Tekkimachi District."

"Got it, what—"

"Kurosaki." The three of them turned around. Watanuki gulped when he noticed the one speaking to them was the same guy who was staring at him strangely. "Who are your 'cousins' really?"

Ichigo folded his arms and matched the boy's glare. "Oh? And what makes you say that?"

"Don't insult me, shinigami," the boy scoffed as he adjusted his glasses. "They have unusually high reiatsu and I saw them get carried off with Urahara yesterday after that Hollow attack." He turned to them. "Where are you from?"

"Another world," Doumeki said.

"Idiot! Why are you so willing to give out information like that!" Watanuki yelled, waving his arms about.

Doumeki put a finger in his ear. "Your screaming is giving me a headache."

"I'm giving you a headache? You—"

"Ishida!" Ichigo cut in. After observing them that morning, Ichigo knew their bickering could go on for a while. "Doumeki is a priest where he's from and can shoot arrows with his spiritual energy."

"Really?" Ishida stepped forward towards Doumeki, looking more interested than Ichigo had ever seen in the time he'd known the Quincy. "You fight Hollows in your world?"

"Not exactly," Doumeki said. "We have spirits, but not Hollows. They are very different from this world and some of them are good."

"And how do you exorcise them? Are you able to make your own bow?" As they walked down the hall, Ishida continued drilling Doumeki on exorcising spirits.

Ichigo rolled his eyes at the exchange. "I don't think I've ever seen him so happy before," he mumbled under his breath.

Lunch was very enjoyable, although Watanuki wished he could have made his own bento. Doumeki also made this observation, much to his annoyance. But what made Watanuki so happy was the fact that he was actually hanging out with "the guys." Aside from Himawari, Doumeki, Yuuko, and Kohane, Watanuki really didn't have any other friends. Whenever he would try to make friends with other guys in his class they would just ignore him because of his past behavior in dealing with spirits.

People would gossip about him running from imaginary things and crawling on the floor like a madman. One time he had even grabbed a girl's arm to stop her from unknowingly touching a nasty looking spirit, but of course everyone else thought he was trying to hurt her. Even the teachers regarded him with some disdain and trepidation, mainly because he was a "nuisance" at times. Some couldn't care less though, as long as he turned in his homework.

And here he was, enjoying a meal with Ichigo, Ishida, Chad, Keigo, Mizuiro, Inoue, and Tatsuki. (Well, and Doumeki—but he didn't count) They were all very kind and Watanuki felt normal and comfortable around them, especially because four out of seven of them apparently could see spirits, too.

Math was next, then language studies, and finally, gym. Once classes got out, Ichigo and the others had to go and see a teacher about something, so Ichigo asked Watanuki and Doumeki to wait for them. The two boys chose to wait near the sports field and watch everyone go by.

"Today was really fun," Watanuki said.

"Hn."

The bag rustled and Mokona stuck his head out. "Mokona got to go to school! Let's do it again!"

"Quiet!" Watanuki whispered, shoving the creature back into the bag. "There are still other people around!"

The two of them waited in comfortable silence until nearly all the students had left. Watanuki started tapping his foot and sighed in frustration. "Geez, what could they be talking about?"

"You're too impatient," Doumeki said.

"I am not! I'll have you know that—"

"Doumeki! Watanuki!" They turned around and saw the gym teacher rushing towards them, waving his arm. "Hey, boys. First of all, great job to both of you in the running exercise today. Second, do you think you could help me bring in some equipment? My usual helper twisted his ankle earlier today."

"Sure. Oh, wait—Ichigo might come back and then he'll wonder where we are," Watanuki said. "I'll stay here and when he comes we'll both go over and help."

"Sounds like a plan, thanks!"

Doumeki frowned. "You sure?"

"Of course I am! Nothing bad is going to happen to me in the two minutes you won't be here!" Watanuki growled. Really, why did Doumeki think he couldn't handle anything? It infuriated him! "Just go! I'll be there in a second." For a moment it looked like Doumeki was going to resist, but then he shrugged and followed the gym teacher.

"Stupid Doumeki," Watanuki mumbled. "Why does he have to act like such a mother hen?"

"Because he knows Watanuki is fragile!" Mokona said, his voice muffled by the bag.

"I am not! Shut up, manju bun—"

"Talking to yourself?"

"Dude, Kurosaki's entire family is made up of screwballs."

Watanuki looked up and his heart sank at the sight of two intimidating boys making their way over. They wore the school uniform but they looked like gangsters. One had auburn hair and two nose rings, while the other had gelled blond hair and his entire left ear was outlined with tiny hoop earrings. This couldn't be good.

"What do you want?" Watanuki asked, making sure to not sound scared.

"Oh . . . nothing much," the blond said. "We just thought you could help us."

"Not really in the mood. Now if you don't mind I have to be somewhere." He tried to walk away but one of them grabbed his arm.

"Hey, what's the rush, man? As a visitor to our school you should be more than willing to help others out." Watanuki struggled to get out of his grip, and in the process his white shirt was pulled back around the neck and the silver chain sparkled in the sunlight. "Eh? What is this?" The auburn-haired boy yanked Watanuki closer and pulled out the necklace.

"Looks like something from his girlfriend, Kenji," the other teased, leaning in for a better look.

Kenji snorted. "Or a boyfriend."

"Get your hands off me!" Watanuki tried to push them away but Kenji just pulled harder on the necklace. The part-timer gagged on the chain and massaged his throat. That had hurt.

"We'll leave you alone, four-eyes," Kenji said, jabbing a finger in Watanuki's face, "if you promise to give your cousin a message."

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Watanuki growled. The older boy was definitely stronger than him so his only option for escape was to hear him out, but that didn't mean Watanuki had to be nice about it. He was sick of spirits and people alike pushing him around.

Kenji patted Watanuki's face. "Cuz we want you to."

"We've had a bone to pick with Kurosaki ever since he beat up our leader a few weeks ago!" the other said, clenching his fists. "He had his friend Chad with him and the boss had to go to the hospital!"

Watanuki rolled his eyes. "Considering how you guys are such cowards it's no wonder your leader was beaten up so badly. It's taken this long for you guys to get revenge and you're not even man enough to challenge him yourself? Pathetic." Watanuki had no idea where this back-talking attitude came from. Whatever it was though, it felt good. He didn't appreciate being taken for a sissy by these people and wanted them to know that.

"Why you little—!" Kenji's face was contorted with rage and he yanked on the chain. The necklace broke off and Watanuki gasped as the constricting feeling on his chest returned. It was nowhere near as oppressive as it was when those Hollow-things were near, but given his previous experiences, he wouldn't be alone for long.

"Give it back!"

Kenji and his friend laughed. "What, miss your pwecious wittle neckwace?" He dangled it in front of Watanuki. "Hold him, Aiko." Watanuki made a grab for the necklace but Kenji sidestepped and Aiko roughly pulled Watanuki's hands behind his back.

"Now, when Kurosaki comes to meet us we'll give him back your necklace," Kenji said. "And to make sure he knows we mean business, we'll send him a little gift by roughin' you up a bit." Kenji curled his hand into a fist and pulled it back. Just then another hand reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"Leave him alone."

"Oh, look, another one of Kurosaki's cousins," Kenji said.

"Doumeki! Get the necklace—I can feel them coming! Hurry!" As much as he hated having to rely on the idiot and ask for his help, if he didn't get that necklace on quick then they were going to be surrounded. Already, Watanuki could feel his strength draining.

The archer wasted no time in asking for the necklace. Instead he pulled back on Kenji's arm and reached out for the necklace in the other hand. Whether by instinct or accident, Kenji's knee came straight up, colliding with Doumeki's face. The boy staggered backward, clutching his nose.

"Doumeki!" Without thinking, Watanuki threw his head back and hit Aiko's chin. The grip around him slackened and he wrenched out of the older boy's arms. Then, while he was still dazed, the part-timer swung his leg around, hoping to knock him off balance. Unfortunately, Aiko wasn't as dazed as Watanuki thought and he grabbed Watanuki's leg before it made contact. Watanuki barely had time to curse when Ichigo suddenly appeared beside him and punched Aiko directly in the face.

Aiko crashed to the ground and Watanuki would have fallen as well if Ichigo hadn't grasped his wrist. "Sorry about that," Ichigo said. "I hope they didn't hurt you too much." At the sight of Ichigo, Aiko yelped and took off.

"Nah, I'm fine. But I need the neckla—"

"Here." Doumeki dumped the chain and pendant into Watanuki's hand, and the boy felt immediate relief. Being next to Ichigo had really started to zap his strength. He must be very powerful, Watanuki thought.

"Where did that other guy go?"

Doumeki shrugged. "He ran after his friend." It was then that Watanuki noticed how red the area around Doumeki's nose was.

"Your nose okay?" Watanuki asked. Doumeki nodded.

"Yeah." He reached up to touch it and involuntarily hissed.

"At least it's not broken," Ichigo said.

"Kurosaki!" The three of them turned around and saw Ishida, Inoue, and Chad running towards them. Inoue and Chad looked concerned, whereas Ishida looked irritated.

"What is it?"

"Large number of Hollows coming in fast," Ishida said. He glanced at Watanuki. "There was a large blast of your reiatsu and now all the Hollows are drawn to this spot."

"It's not my fault!" Watanuki shook the necklace at him. "Some guys pulled it off me and now it's broken!"

Ishida yanked the necklace from his hands and examined it for a moment. "It's not broken." He fiddled around with it for a few seconds and handed it back. "One of the chains snapped, but the clasp still works. Put it on." Watanuki quickly did as he said and then hid the abomination under his shirt.

"Well, it looks like we're just gonna have to fight," Ichigo said with a grin. He pulled out a brown medallion and Watanuki nearly had a heart attack as he leapt out of his body, clad in a black hakama.

"H-H-How did you do that?"

"This is how I'm half-human, half-shinigami," Ichigo explained as Chad carefully lowered his body to the ground. "Like I said, long story."

Just then some lattice doors appeared out of nowhere and they opened, showing nothing but a blinding white light. Two black butterflies came out, followed by two people dressed like Ichigo.

"Rukia? Renji?" It appeared that Ichigo and his friends were as surprised at the appearance of the two strange people as Watanuki was. That made him feel better, since it meant that people arriving out of thin air wasn't a regular occurrence.

"Yo, Ichigo," the red-haired man said. Watanuki noticed that they also had swords but Ichigo's was much larger.

"Why is your sword different?" Watanuki asked, gesturing to the thick sword slung around Ichigo's back.

"Huh?" Ichigo turned around to face Watanuki and followed his gaze. "Oh—hard to explain, but our zanpakuto have two releases, shikai and bankai. I can't seal mine completely, so it stays in shikai all the time."

"Ichigo!" The short, dark-haired woman grabbed the top of his hakama and pulled him down to her level. "Why are you explaining that to him and how can he see us?" she hissed.

"Relax, Rukia! They're not going to do anything." Ichigo wrenched out of her grasp and pointed to them in turn. "Watanuki and Doumeki, visitors from another world."

"Eh?" Renji raised and eyebrow and walked towards the two boys as if sizing them up. He quirked an eyebrow. "They look normal to me."

"Of course we look normal! Why wouldn't we be?"

Renji shrugged. "I would have thought you'd look like those aliens from the movies Ichigo showed us. All green and short." Watanuki just stood there dumbfounded, experiencing one of the rare moments where he was at a loss for words.

"We delivered a box to Urahara!" Mokona shouted, leaping out of the bag before Watanuki could stop him.

Rukia gasped. "You're so cute!" She rushed forward and held out her hands for Mokona. "What's your name?"

"Mokona Modoki!"

"You know, if you put your ears up like this you look a bit like Chappy!" She let out a happy squeal and hugged the creature tightly.

"Chappy?" Doumeki asked, raising an eyebrow at such a strange name.

Ichigo and Renji groaned. "You don't wanna know."

"What are you two here for?" Inoue asked, stepping forward.

"Kurotsuchi-taicho recorded an unusual spike of powerful reiatsu yesterday," Renji explained. "At first he figured it was Ichigo going out of control—"

"Hey!"

"—but when it happened again he thought it could be something different and Seireitei sent us. That way, if it really was you being stupid we could beat it out of you," Renji teased as he slapped Ichigo on the back.

"Sorry, that must have been me," Watanuki said, raising his hand sheepishly. "Spirits are attracted to me. Urahara gave me something to mask my reiatsu but it came off for a few minutes."

"What? You are—" The rest of Rukia's sentence was drowned out by the Hollow shriek that cut through the air.

"I guess we'll talk later," Renji smirked as he withdrew his zanpakuto. He ran his hand down the blade and yelled, "Howl, Zabimaru!"

"Inoue, protect them and my body!"

"Santen Kesshun!"

Watanuki stared in fascination as many things happened at once. Renji's zanpakuto transformed into a segmented blade with spiky protrusions on each segment; pieces of Inoue's hairpins disappeared and formed a triangular shield in front of them; Chad's arm turned into a strange, weapon-like arm; Ishida pulled his left arm back and a blue mass of energy formed into a bow; Ichigo and Rukia withdrew their swords and crouched into an attack position, and twenty or so Hollows appeared out of nowhere.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

The resulting battle was beyond description—Watanuki had never seen anything like it! As he watched Ishida shoot blue arrows and the shinigami slice through the Hollows, he couldn't help but wish there was something he could do besides watch. That's all he ever did; watch while others protected him. And the sheer amount of spiritual pressure was making him feel a little groggy, but were it not for the necklace he was sure he'd be out cold.

"Glad we don't have these spirits back home," Watanuki whispered. He would have been killed before he ever made it to Yuuko's shop that fateful day. Doumeki just nodded.

"This is a cool world!" Mokona said happily. He was currently perched atop Inoue's shoulders.

"Ahhhh!" Watanuki watched in horror as Rukia sailed through the air and slammed into the side of the school building.

"Rukia!"

"Come back!" Doumeki yelled.

"Stay by my shield, Watanuki-kun!" The boy ignored them and continued running toward the female shinigami. She was injured and he wanted to bring her over to Inoue's shield for protection. He couldn't very well leave her out there to be attacked by Hollows! Especially when it was his fault they were there in the first place.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow," Rukia hissed. She cradled her head and pushed herself up off the ground.

"Rukia? Are you all right?" Watanuki reached out and helped her stand up.

"I'm fine, but what are you doing here?" she snapped.

"B-But I—"

"Don't worry about me, they're after you! The only way we can protect you is if you stay by Orihime, so go back." Two Hollows suddenly appeared beside them.

"Tasty . . . so delicious . . ."

"Stand back!" Rukia said. She held out her hands and yelled, "Hadou no Sanjuu Ichi: Shakkahou!" A red ball of energy appeared out of her hands and shot towards the Hollow, effectively destroying the first one. Then she gripped her zanpakuto and charged towards the second.

That was amazing, Watanuki thought to himself. Remembering her warning, he took off towards Inoue's shield. Just then three Hollows landed in his path.

"Watanuki!" Through their legs he could see Inoue and Doumeki running towards him. He knew they wouldn't make it in time, and a crazy thought popped into his mind. Watanuki held out his hands like he had seen Rukia do, aimed it at the Hollows coming towards him and yelled, "Hadou no Sanjuu Ichi: Shakkahou!"

The red ball of energy that burst from Watanuki's hand was more like a wall. It was larger than him and so blinding that he had to cover his eyes. There was a loud explosion and once he could see again, to his utter shock the three Hollows were obliterated and the ground was all torn up. Doumeki and Inoue were kneeling on the ground off to the side, with Doumeki in front of Inoue protectively. The color drained from Watanuki's face as he realized he could have shot them.

Everyone (even the Hollows) paused in their attack and stared at Watanuki with a dumbfounded expression. He suddenly became very conscious of their stares and responded the only way he knew how.

"What?"

"Y-You just—"

"Focus on the Hollows and talk later, Kurosaki!" Ishida yelled as he jumped to the side to avoid a Hollow's tail. The remaining Hollows were defeated easily enough, and they all rushed towards Watanuki.

"That's so impressive, Watanuki-kun!" Inoue said. "I didn't know you knew kido!"

"I-I . . . I didn't," Watanuki said. He stared at his hands as if he had never seen them before.

Doumeki frowned. "So it just happened on its own?"

"No—I heard Rukia use it and so I just repeated what she said."

"But that was one of the simpler kido spells," Rukia said in amazement. "The level you used was near the level of a captain!"

"A captain?"

"They're some of the more advanced and powerful shinigami in Soul Society," Ichigo said. He laughed and patted Watanuki on the back. "You'd make a great substitute shinigami, if you were dead."

Watanuki paled. "Thanks—I guess?"

"Don't listen to anything Kurosaki says," Ishida smirked as he adjusted his glasses. "He possess no social skills whatsoever."

"Oi! Like you have room to talk!"

As he watched the two banter, Watanuki had an eerie sense of deja vu. It was like Ishida was Doumeki's counterpart in this world—albeit a more sadistic and emotional one. For the first time, Watanuki was almost grateful that Doumeki was usually so emotionless.

"Are you all right?" Watanuki teared his eyes from the fighting boys to glare at Doumeki. As per usual, the archer was staring at him intently, as if he expected him to break at any second.

Not anymore though.

"Of course I'm all right! I feel great!" The boy clenched his fists and grinned. "All these years the spirits have been taunting me and ruining my life. Now I have the power to fight them back."

"You're so awesome, Watanuki-sama!" Mokona cheered. He leapt from Inoue's shoulder and hugged him.

"I think we'll stay a few more days," Watanuki announced. "I want to learn a little more about this kido."

"What do you think, Pozione?"

"A human who can do kido with the reiatsu of a shinigami, and he smelled so delicious . . . "

"You think Szayel-sama would be interested in him?"

The Fracción let out a cruel laugh. "I bet even Aizen-sama would want to know more about this human."

So, what do you think? Does it seem believable? And now the trouble begins. If you're confused as to how Watanuki has this ability I promise you that all shall be explained eventually. :)

Community Pimpage

reidluver — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:59:02 GMT

All right! I would like to invite you all to join the newest khr community for the Namimori Trio, made up of Yamamoto, Tsuna, and Gokudera! Check it out at brot3 ! :D

highskyfighter and I are the mods and we'd love to have people join! The community welcomes any level of friendship be it bromance or romance and we welcome fanart, fanfiction, icons, discussions...anything that has to do with these three! We're even thinking of having contests and such if we have enough people. :) I also have a bunch of icons ready to show that are different alterations of the one I have above. *points*

I love the dynamic between those three so much and I know a lot of other people do as well!

KHR 326 Primo Wallpaper & Icons

reidluver — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 23:43:50 GMT

All right, so I've been spending the past many hours working on this thing because the Primo Family is just way too hot for their own good and I thought others might want to see it. I know there are most likely a ton of other people coloring it as well but I figured I'd put forth my contribution. And I like icons, so there are a few included.

Preview

Icon teaser

Wallpaper (click to fullview)

I really wanted to get rid of the text but no matter how hard I tried it ended up looking stupid. If there ends up being a textless scan somewhere I'll adjust it accordingly. :)

Now here are some icons of this if you'd like. Be sure to credit! (Sorry if some of the text is hard to read--I did my best)

1	2	3	4

5	6	7	8

9	10	11	12

13	14	15	16

New World, Same Problems (ch2)--Bleach/xxxholic crossover

reidluver — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 13:18:18 GMT

Chapter 2: Karakura 101

Watanuki felt like an oppressive force was pushing him down. There was no pain, but his body felt sluggish and hard to move. He wanted to go back to sleep, but seeing as how he was already awake it was hopeless. Plus, he wanted to know where he was and what happened after he fainted. The last thing he remembered was seeing all those spirit monsters coming towards them and Doumeki trying to defend him—

"Doumeki!" Watanuki shot up into a seated position and closed his eyes against the bright light. His head was swimming from the slight nausea from shifting his position so fast. Once his head cleared he noticed everything was blurry.

"Your glasses are behind your pillow, Watanuki," a voice called out. The fact that a stranger knew his name made Watanuki uneasy. Where was he? Where was Doumeki? Or Mokona? What had happened? He quickly found his glasses and glanced around at his surroundings.

It looked like a traditional Japanese dwelling with sliding lattice doors and sparse interior. There was a man kneeling in front of him, wearing green clothes and a striped hat. He didn't look intimidating, which eased Watanuki's fears somewhat.

"Where am I?"

"Why, in my shop!" the man said. "My name is Urahara Kisuke—the client Yuuko-san spoke of."

Watanuki bowed politely. "You are? How did you find us? Did Doumeki—" It was then that he glanced to his left and saw Doumeki sleeping on a mat beside him. The boy's arms and chest were covered in bandages with a single one wrapped around his head. His shirt was gone and Watanuki was immediately reminded that Doumeki's injuries were sustained while protecting him. He just prayed that Doumeki was all right.

"How is he?"

"Your friend is fine," Urahara said . "He did a fine job taking care of you." Watanuki breathed a sigh of relief. Doumeki was still hurt because of him, but at least it wasn't as bad as he had thought.

"I apologize for your injuries," Urahara continued. "If I had known that you and your friend were being sent I would have arranged an escort. Usually Fuuma handles the delivery."

"That's okay. What were those things that chased us? They're different from any spirit I've seen."

"They are called Hollows," Urahara explained. "I understand you seem quite irresistible to them, even more so than Kurosaki."

"Yeah, I seem to get that a lot," the boy sighed. Though he had no idea who or what a Kurosaki was. "But what happened? How did you find us?"

"I'll explain more in detail once your friend wakes up, but I can tell you a little. You were saved by Kurosaki and Chad, both capable of defeating Hollows. I sensed a battle taking place and went to investigate when I found you."

At that point the door opened and a burly, black-haired man stepped in, carrying a small tray with tea on it. "Ah, Tessai! Thank you very much."

"Watanuki!" Mokona leapt from Tessai's shoulders and hugged the boy. "I'm glad you're awake. Mokona was so worried!"

"Thank you," Watanuki said, unable to keep a smile off his face as he hugged the creature back . "I'm glad you're all right as well." As Tessai leaned forward to give Watanuki some tea, the boy felt his strength draining.

"Oh! I apologize, young sir," Tessai said, backing up quickly. "You must put this on first." With his strength returned, Watanuki frowned as an object was tossed to him. Watanuki caught it and examined it in his hands. It was a necklace—a fine, silver chain with a large, ruby-red heart medallion on it.

"Uh . . . what is this?" Watanuki asked, trying to conceal his disgust. It looked like something a love-struck school girl would wear.

"Why, that's a very special device that will ward off the effects of shinigami reiatsu!" Urahara said. "The silver chain also conceals your scent from any Hollows so there won't be a repeat of what happened when you arrived."

"Shinigami reiatsu?"

Urahara waved his hand. "Nothing to worry about. All you need to know is that you seem to be affected by the powers that allow myself and others like me to be able to defeat Hollows. Without that necklace you would be fainting on us all the time."

Watanuki sighed. He could see the usefulness of such a device, but really? "Why does it have to be heart-shaped?" he mumbled.

"Because the ruby is the best material to channel and withstand the energy, of course!" As the man laughed at his comment, Watanuki found himself wondering if Urahara was related to a certain other shopkeeper who had a thing for making his life miserable.

Suppose it can't be helped. Watanuki slid the necklace over his head but quickly put it out of sight under his shirt. There was an immediate sense of relief and Watanuki was surprised at how much better he felt. It really was effective.

"Here's one for Doumeki as well," Urahara said as Tessai tossed him another object. To Watanuki's annoyance he saw it was just a plain leather bracelet!

"Why does that idiot's have to look so much cooler than mine?"

"Because he's not nearly as affected as you are," the shopkeeper said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "He still reacts to our reiatsu and can attract a Hollow here and there, but not nearly to the extent that you can. That item is sufficient." Watanuki growled angrily but realized there was nothing to be done. He threw the bracelet at the sleeping boy, causing it to land on his chest, but Doumeki didn't even move.

"So, uh," Watanuki began as he sipped the tea that had been offered him, "what would you like as payment? I can cook you a meal."

Tessai and Urahara glanced at each other and laughed. "You're confusing me for Yuuko-san!" Urahara said. "Unlike her, I can do service for others without requiring an equivalent exchange." He then pulled out a fan and held it in front of his face playfully. "But since you've offered, I don't see why not!"

Watanuki blanched. Yes, it was obvious now that he had to be related to Yuuko in some twisted way.

"Doumeki's up!" Mokona exclaimed. The creature leapt from Watanuki's shoulder and landed on the archer's shoulder. The boy was glancing around in confusion.

"Where am I?"

"In my shop," Urahara explained. "You already know me and this is my associate Tessai."

Doumeki just nodded and turned to look at Watanuki, eying the bandages.

"What?" the smaller boy asked. As usual, Doumeki said nothing and instead turned his attention to Urahara.

"Before I begin explaining what those things were," Urahara began, "you should put on that bracelet, Doumeki." Mokona held up the leather armband and Doumeki put it on, his eyes widening in surprise at the instant relief it brought.

"The spirits that plague this world are called Hollows, which are basically souls that have either become devoured by other Hollows, or have become corrupted. Shinigami exist to keep a balance between the pure souls and the Hollows, while keeping human beings safe from them as well."

"So, you two and those people from earlier were shinigami?" Doumeki asked.

Urahara smiled. "Yes and no. Tessai and I are full-fledged shinigami, while Kurosaki is half-human, half-shinigami, and Chad is all human with enough reiatsu that he can fight Hollows. Reiatsu is the spiritual energy that we use to fight them, and with varying degrees a person can see both Hollows and shinigami."

"Then, the both of us have some reiatsu?" Watanuki asked. Urahara nodded.

"You and Doumeki both have high levels of spiritual energy which manifests itself as reiatsu in our world. That is why you were able to see the Hollows, and because yours is so raw and powerful, Watanuki—that is why they were so focused on eating you."

"Well, that's just great!" Watanuki huffed in annoyance. "Can we quickly deliver the box and get out of here?"

The shopkeeper looked surprised and brought the folded fan up to his face once again. "You don't want to stay for a day or two? You're still recovering from yesterday and why not accept my hospitality as an apology? Besides, it's not every day you get to visit another world. Why not enjoy it?"

"Oh, please, Watanuki!" Mokona pleaded. It tugged on Watanuki's white shirt as its lips turned up in a pout. "White Mokona gets to travel all this time, but Black Mokona never gets to go anywhere! Can we stay for a while? Can we? Can we?"

"B-But . . . I—" Watanuki looked over at Doumeki for help, but to his dismay the boy was already standing up.

"Let's stay."

"Aaaaah!" Watanuki pulled at his hair. Why did those two always aim to make his life difficult? And what was with Doumeki moving about anyway? He should be resting!

"Fine," Watanuki sighed. "But one day!"

Mokona jumped up and down happily. "Yay for Watanuki!"

"Do you have the box, Mokona?" Tessai asked, learning close to the creature. Mokona nodded.

"MEKYO!" His mouth opened wide and the box flew out, only to land delicately in Urahara's arms. He inspected the markings on the box and placed his hand over it as if scanning the contents inside, then nodded in relief.

"Thank you so much you three! This is very valuable to my cause."

Watanuki raised a curious eyebrow. "What's in the box anyway? Yuuko-san said that I couldn't touch it."

"And she was certainly right about that," Urahara said gravely, looking serious for the first time.

"What is it then?"

The grin was back on Urahara's face. "Nothing you need to know! It's simply . . . information for something big and inevitable that will happen in my world. Now, I believe it's time for me to give Yuuko-san the payment?"

As Mokona nodded Watanuki sighed in frustration. Why was it that people like Yuuko always thought that they were doing him a favor by keeping him in the dark? If there was one thing that bugged him, it was not knowing something. It wasn't his fault though—he was just naturally curious. He also didn't like sitting on the sidelines in anything. He had to be doing something.

Urahara withdrew a small scroll from his robe and held it out. Mokona's eyes popped open once again and sucked in the scroll.

"What was your payment?" Watanuki asked. Urahara raised an eyebrow and peered at Watanuki for a moment behind his hand-held fan.

"Information about spiritual shields," he eventually answered. "Our methods are a little different than hers, and I feel that scroll will help strengthen the ones she uses."

Watanuki frowned. What did Yuuko need a spiritual shield for? The shop? He guessed it could be considered a shield of some sorts in light of how it kept people out who didn't have a wish and allowed those who did in, but why would she need help? It was working as fine as ever. Perhaps it was for a different reason?

The door slid open and a small girl poked her head in. "U-Urahara? Um, Ichigo—"

"Ichigo and Chad are here!" A boy with red hair pushed past the girl rudely, resting a broom over his shoulder like a sword.

Urahara sighed. "Jinta, how many times have I told you to be nice to Ururu?" The young boy folded his arms but didn't say anything else. "We'll talk about it later. Come on in!"

Watanuki stared in surprise at the rather peculiar boys who entered. One had bright orange hair and the other was a large foreigner of some sort. So these were the people who fought off the spirits while he was unconscious?

"Hello!" the orange haired one said cheerfully. "My name is Ichigo, and I'm glad you're all right," (He looked straight at Watanuki as he said this), "I kind of feared the worst for a little bit there." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I was afraid that we were too late to help you." The foreigner—Chad—just nodded.

"You fought off those spirits?" Watanuki asked. "How did you do it? Even Doumeki had a hard time exorcising them and he's always been able to do that back home." Everyone's eyes widened at the sudden exclamation, and Watanuki wondered if he said something wrong.

"I was wondering about that!" Ichigo exclaimed, pointing to Doumeki who raised an eyebrow at the outburst. "When we arrived there was a Hollow whose arm was cut clean off! And you were holding some sort of bow." He frowned and stared at the teen quizzically. "Are you some sort of Quincy?"

"Quincy?" Doumeki wondered.

Urahara smiled. "Ah, so you can summon an arrow that exorcises spirits? It's a trait that's been handed down through your family, yes?"

Doumeki nodded. "My grandfather was a Shinto priest and was able to both see spirits and exorcise them."

"Fascinating . . . very fascinating. Perhaps if you had a different bow or were trained to make a bow in the same way you make an arrow, then maybe you could stand a chance against a Hollow," Urahara muttered to himself.

"So, Urahara said you were from another world or dimension. Is that true?" Ichigo was regarding them skeptically and Watanuki couldn't blame him for being so suspicious. If he hadn't seen all he had seen with spirits and the oddities that came from working for Yuuko, he would have found it questionable as well.

"Hard to believe, but it's true. We just came to deliver something to Urahara-san from Yuuko-san. She runs a shop that grants wishes."

Ichigo sniggered. "What, like a genie?"

"A sadistic genie that demands equal payment for everything you do, yeah." As much as she annoyed him, Watanuki felt a little angry at Ichigo for seeming to take Yuuko so lightly. "You don't want to mess with her."

"When are you going back?" Chad asked, speaking for the first time.

"In a few days!" Mokona shouted, jumping up and down.

"I said one day!" Watanuki grabbed Mokona by the ears. "Don't you go around putting words in my mouth!"

"I thought it would be a good idea if they went with you two to school today," Urahara suggested, turning to Ichigo and Chad. "Figured it would be an interesting experience."

"Sure," Chad said.

"Do you need any extra clothes?" Ichigo asked. He gestured to Doumeki's nonexistent shirt and the ruined remains of his pants and all of Watanuki's clothes.

"Already taken care of!" Urahara said, clapping his hands. "Ururu, if you may." The dark-haired girl walked forward and they noticed for the first time that she had some clothes in her hands. She gave one set to Doumeki and the other to Watanuki. It was rather similar to their school uniform, yet the pants were gray instead of black.

"We'll leave you to get changed and then you can walk to school with Ichigo and Chad!" Urahara said. He held his arms out for Mokona as he stood up to leave, and the black creature eagerly hopped up.

Once everyone left, Watanuki turned to Doumeki.

"Are . . . are you sure you're all right?"

"Huh?" Doumeki looked down at the bandages covering his torso. "Yeah. You?"

"Of—Of course I'm all right!" Watanuki jumped to his feet and shook the shirt Ururu gave him at Doumeki. "You think I need someone like you to worry about me? Geez, it seems that no matter where we are you find a way to piss me off!" He bent down to pick up the pants. "I'd rather not change with you here, but since there's no other option I guess I'll just have to deal with it. You get dressed over there and I'll get dressed over here."

Doumeki rubbed his forehead as if fighting off a headache. "You're so annoying."

"What do you mean I'm annoying? You're the most annoying idiot I've ever met in my entire life! Just listening to your voice makes me angry, and I have to put up with it nearly every day! And then Yuuko has me carry out errands for her with you and—"

"My, my!" Urahara whispered outside the door. He was standing nearby with Ichigo and Chad who looked rather alarmed at all the shouting coming from the room.

"They're more interesting than I thought."

Thanks for reading. Sorry not too much happened here, but I had to set the story. Next chapter is where the problems begin.

Previous | Next

New World, Same Problems (ch1)--Bleach/xxxholic crossover

reidluver — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:17:43 GMT

Title: New World, Same Problems
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Bleach, xxxholic
Pairing/Characters: Watanuki, Doumeki, Mokona, Yuuko, Ichigo, Urahara
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Before Hueco Mundo Arc, after incident with Jorougomo is resolved

Summary: When Yuuko asks Watanuki and Doumeki to deliver something for a client in another world, Watanuki is excited at first. He should have known that no matter where he is, trouble is never too far behind.

Chapter 1: Spirit Trouble

"This looks just like Japan!" Watanuki turned to Mokona. "Are you sure we ended up in another world?"

The black creature looked indignant. "Of course we did! Do you not trust Mokona?"

"More than I trust this guy!" Watanuki pointed to Doumeki who simply stuck his finger in his ear.

"Let's just deliver it already."

"Yes, let's deliver it!" Mokona chanted. He jumped into Doumeki's arms.

"How are we supposed to find this place anyway?" Watanuki grumbled. He glanced around for something out of the ordinary to help them.

Except there wasn't. Nothing looked out of place or seemed worthy of being from another world. Even the writing looked the same. There was a restaurant off to their right that was serving tempura and soba. Watanuki's mouth watered at the smell and hoped they could finish their mission soon so he could have something to eat.

Ten minutes ago, he and Doumeki had been summoned by Yuuko to complete a task. As always, there was no warning or a chance for him to decline. The woman always assumed that his services included carrying out crazy orders that most of the time nearly got him killed.

This mission was different though, because they were going to have to go to another world to accomplish it.

"My normal correspondent is unavailable at the moment," Yuuko had said, "so I need someone else to fill his place. You will take this box to my client. Since it is very important, Mokona will hold onto it until you reach him." She held out the ornate box and Mokona's eyes opened before swallowing it whole.

"What, do you not trust us to be able to carry it ourselves?" Watanuki had asked.

Yuuko just smiled. "Of course I trust you—why else would I ask you to help me out?"

"She has a point," Doumeki said.

"You're not involved in this discussion so shut your mouth!"

"Mokona is holding onto it because this box is very powerful and for someone who can see spirits it might have . . . fatal consequences." Watanuki hadn't liked how Yuuko sounded so calm or looked so intrigued at the prospect of him dying.

"Fatal consequences! Fatal consequences!" Maru and Moro chanted as they danced around Watanuki.

"All right, all right! Who is this client?"

Yuuko inhaled her pipe deeply before speaking. "No need to know his name. Mokona has met him before and that should be enough. Now, you can't be transported directly into his shop—"

"His shop?" Watanuki interrupted. "Is he like you?"

"Not exactly, but we do deal in a similar business, so he has special wards placed throughout it that doesn't allow for this type of transportation. Now off you go!"

Suddenly Mokona had jumped into the air with wings and levitated above Watanuki and Doumeki as a complex but beautiful circular seal appeared beneath them. Watanuki had a vague sense of déjà vu as to when Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, and Kurogane had disappeared from the lawn out front.

"Oh, and while you're there be sure to pick me up some sake!" Yuuko had called out before they disappeared.

Now they were stuck in another world without any idea where to go! Watanuki could already tell this mission wasn't going to go smoothly.

"We need to go this way!" Mokona proclaimed loudly, pointing down the street.

"How can you possibly know that?"

The black creature just smiled widely. "Mokona just knows!"

"Arggggg!" Doumeki watched the boy with mismatched eyes flail around for a minute before turning his back on him.

"Hurry up or you'll get left behind, idiot."

"Shut up! It's bad enough that I had to go on this stupid errand for Yuuko in another world—but the fact that you have to come along makes it ten times worse!" His shoulders slumped as he walked behind Doumeki.

"Why couldn't Himawari-chan have come with me?" he mumbled. "We could quickly finish the mission and then have a romantic dinner from another world! It would be perfect!" He sighed dreamily at the prospect.

Doumeki glanced back at him and raised an eyebrow. "Eating here is a good idea. We should do it when we're done."

"You think I want to eat here with you?" Watanuki growled. "You've got to be out of your mind if you could think for a moment that I would ever want to do something like that with you! Are you even listening to me? Stop covering your ears!"

Watanuki finally calmed down five minutes later as they continued to walk down the street that Mokona instructed.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Of course I'm sure! Mokona is never wrong!"

Watanuki sighed. "Why couldn't we have just appeared at the shop?"

"Be qu—" Suddenly the air was filled with an almost intoxicating presence. Doumeki stumbled as his stomach constricted painfully and he found it difficult to breathe. He heard Watanuki collapse on the floor behind him and he spun around.

The smaller boy was sprawled on the ground in obvious pain. His limbs trembled as he struggled to lift his upper torso off the ground. Doumeki staggered to his side and grasped one of his shoulders. Mokona kept calling Watanuki's name in concern.

"A-Are you all right?" Doumeki asked. He was finding it difficult to speak. Watanuki chuckled weakly and gave Doumeki a half smile, but it quickly transformed into one of frozen terror. "What's wrong?" The archer had never seen Watanuki that scared before.

"Th-Th-Th-That!" Doumeki glanced to his right and was unable to keep his mouth from opening in shock.

There were three enormous—creatures of some sort slowly making their way over to the boys. They each wore a different white mask with various markings in some strange representation of an animal. A large, gaping hole was also common to each of them, near where the heart should be.

The spiritual pressure they were giving off was almost unbearable, and Doumeki wondered how Watanuki was even conscious. If he was affected this much, then Watanuki was bound to be in considerable pain. They had to get out of there.

"What are those things?" Mokona instinctively moved closer to Doumeki and shivered.

"Spirits unique to this world I'm guessing," Watanuki sighed. "I should have known this problem would have follow me anywh—"

"Can you move?"

Watanuki scowled at Doumeki. "Of course! You think I'm gonna let you carry me? Not a chance!"

"There's two more!" Mokona cried. The two boys spared a moment to glance at the other two spirits coming up from behind.

"Are you going to help me up or stand there staring, idiot?" Doumeki roughly hoisted Watanuki to his feet and pushed him forward.

"You're as gentle as a bull you miserable oaf!" Watanuki yelled as he sprinted down the street. People were giving them odd looks as they sped by. Figures, Watanuki thought grimly.

They ran rather fast considering their current affected physical state, but it wasn't good enough.

"Look out!" Mokona warned.

Doumeki and Watanuki spun around to see a pair of hands as large as they were come barreling towards them. Without thinking Doumeki thrust Mokona into Watanuki's arms and pushed the two out of the way. A split second later a hand slammed into his right side and he felt his body fly through the air as darkness clouded his vision.

"Doumeki!"

Curse that idiot! Watanuki could only watch as the archer was cast aside as if he weighed nothing more than a feather. He had been hit so hard that Watanuki couldn't see where he was anymore. When Watanuki tried to run towards where Doumeki disappeared Mokona tugged on his ear frantically.

"We need to go!" it wailed. "Those spirits only want you—Doumeki was trying to prevent that!" Watanuki clenched his fists and then ran in the opposite direction. "I'll come back for you, idiot," he muttered under his breath. His instincts screamed at him to go and make sure his frien—Doumeki was all right but he knew that he would only get scolded for not following orders later.

By now there were a grand total of eight of those monsters chasing him, and Watanuki knew it was helpless. He could barely jog and he had no way to defend himself.

Everything swirled in a blurry mass and Watanuki's hearing started to fail him. Mokona was screaming something in his ear but he couldn't make out the words. All he knew was that he hurt all over and he desperately needed some air.

One of the spirits who reminded him of a lion stepped forward and picked him up with one giant, purple hand. That's odd, Watanuki thought. Most spirits have never been this solid before.

"Such a tasty looking treat!" the lion-spirit boomed. "No soul has ever looked so good!" Watanuki's eyes felt so heavy but he fought the urge to close them. He looked the creature in the face and was startled at what he saw.

It appeared as if there were numerous souls spinning around the interior of the spirit. Almost as if they made up its blood. Before he could ponder what it meant, the spirit creature holding him let out an agonizing scream that nearly split the boy's head open. He felt himself falling but the purple hands were still grasping him.

Warm liquid splashed in his face. When his descent came to a stop the fingers released him almost like a springboard and he rolled onto the ground.

"Doumeki!"

The taller boy was standing a few feet to his left. He was panting heavily and his clothes were mildly torn and frayed with bloody patches that stood out against the white shirt. In his left hand was what appeared to be a makeshift bow, made of a horribly mangled piece of pipe and string. Doumeki opened his mouth to speak but then another earsplitting screech tore through the air.

Watanuki screamed in pain as he covered his ears in an attempt to block out the sound. He had never heard a spirit make that sound before! It was the most horrifying sound he had ever heard in his life.

With his last bit of strength Watanuki opened his eyes and peered around. Through a blurry haze he could see Doumeki struggling to stand up while the purple lion cradled its stump of a hand. Now there were at least ten of those strange spirit creatures closing in on them. Watanuki laughed bitterly at the injustice of it all before finally succumbing to the darkness.

"Watanuki!" Doumeki rubbed his eyes and looked back at where Watanuki had fallen. Mokona was trying to wake the unconscious boy as tears fell down its black face. It came as no surprise to Doumeki that the boy had fainted, but Doumeki had to admit he was impressed at how long Watanuki had stayed awake.

With more effort than should have been necessary, Doumeki pushed himself to a standing position and tightened his grip on the makeshift bow. He was able to make an arrow with the powers he inherited from his grandfather, but it wasn't nearly effective enough. All he could do was sever a limb instead of exorcise the entire being.

"Mokona—go hide somewhere safe!" Doumeki ordered. The black creature looked like it would protest for a moment, but then nodded and quickly bounced out of harm's way. Doumeki stumbled to Watanuki's body and stood over it protectively, aiming his bow at the one-armed purple spirit.

The two of them were completely surrounded by twelve spirit creatures and Doumeki spared a second to rack his brain for a solution to save Watanuki.

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Out of nowhere an enormous and powerful dark-red energy attacked the purple spirit creature. With a final scream it dissipated into nothing. There was another cry and a thick beam of blue light barreled its way into a green, cat-like spirit who disappeared in the same manner.

Doumeki's bow dropped a few inches as he glanced about him in shock, trying to find where those impressive attacks came from. Suddenly a tall boy with orange hair clad in black robes appeared in front of him.

"There's no need to worry anymore," the newcomer said cheerfully. "We can take it from here." The orange-haired teen glanced at Doumeki's bow and frowned, yet before he could say anything there was another scream from the spirits.

"Take your friend and hide somewhere safe!" he yelled. Then he turned around and charged towards the two spirit creatures sprinting towards them. It was then that Doumeki noticed the uncommonly large sword in the boy's hand. He marveled at how a person could swing something that heavy around like it was nothing.

An explosion behind him brought the archer back to his senses. He threw down the crude bow and swept Watanuki into his arms. The boy was trembling violently and beads of sweat fell down his face. He was moaning softly and Doumeki wished for a way to make him feel better. It pained him to see Watanuki like this.

After doing a quick survey of his surroundings Doumeki took off towards some rubble near a half-demolished building. When he found a suitable place to rest he collapsed, his legs unable to support him any longer. He gasped for air and fought the urge to vomit. He then swept aside some shards of glass so he could lean against a large upturned piece of cement.

Once it was good enough he leaned against it in relief. He was still holding Watanuki and the boy was holding onto Doumeki's shirt like his life depended on it. Watanuki was curled up against his body and Doumeki instinctively pulled him closer. If his presence could calm the boy then he would gladly hold him for as long as was necessary.

A wry smirk tugged on his mouth as he wondered what Watanuki would say if he ever found out how he was clinging onto him. The annoying idiot would sputter something about not wanting Himawari to have seen him and something about how he—Doumeki—was a complete jerk. It really was fun watching the idiot flail around like a fish out of water.

There was another loud explosion followed by a scream and Doumeki turned his attention to the battle playing out before him. Fighting alongside the orange-haired boy was a very tall and muscular Mexican-looking man. Instead of a sword this one's entire right arm was a weapon. Bright beams of energy were emitted from his palm.

The two of them moved in such an organized rhythm that Doumeki could tell that they did this often. Their powers were both fascinating and horrifying to behold. And despite the fact that they appeared to be helping them, Doumeki couldn't be sure they were trustworthy.

He didn't know about the dark-skinned one, but the orange-haired boy gave off the same suffocating spirit energy that the creatures did. It didn't feel as menacing, but there was no doubt that it was too similar for Doumeki to feel comfortable. He wasn't as skilled as Watanuki at interpreting the meaning behind spiritual powers, but it was best to be careful.

Ichigo was very puzzled. He and Chad had been studying for a math test in his room when they both felt the presence of quite a number of Hollows. They glanced towards each other in concern before leaping out the window as soon as Ichigo separated from his body.

"There seems to be a large amount," Chad had said.

"Must be something big."

When they arrived there were thirteen rather advanced looking Hollows. They were all focused on two boys, one who appeared unconscious and the other was standing in front of him protectively with a crudely fashioned bow made from pipe and string. He had no arrows which was puzzling enough, but what was even more odd was that the Hollow standing before him had his left arm cleanly severed. Was it possible that the human had been able to injure the Hollow so extensively?

Whatever the answer was, it would have to wait. The one-armed Hollow was about to kill the two of them so Ichigo slashed Zangetsu through the air. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He heard Chad yelling behind him and knew that his friend had joined the fight. As the purple Hollow disappeared, Ichigo spared a moment to let the conscious boy know that he meant them no harm. He seemed rather alarmed at his presence and Ichigo figured it was only natural. The poor guy had probably never dealt with something so traumatic before.

It was then that he noticed there was no carrier for arrows anywhere. Without any arrows, why would he make a bow? In the back of his mind Ichigo felt like something wasn't right but a Hollow's scream interrupted his train of thought.

"Take your friend and hid somewhere safe!" he yelled. After he disposed of the two Hollows who were stupid enough to challenge him, he spared a glance back to the two teens. The taller boy had been smart in his choice of a hiding place and he was holding onto his friend very protectively. The substitute shinigami hoped that the first boy wasn't dead.

To his shock he discovered that three other Hollows had appeared. Why were all these Hollows gathered in one place? Was it because of those two boys?

There would be time to figure that out later. Right now he had to focus all his attention on getting rid of the Hollows.

Urahara Kisuke was only slightly alarmed when he sensed a large number of Hollows centered in one area. Hollows weren't uncommon, but it could mean trouble if they were organized like that. He knew that Ichigo and his friends would have it under control soon enough, but his curious side got the best of him. He was bored and figured that he still had some time before the person he was expecting would arrive.

A few flash steps brought him to where the commotion was. Ichigo and Chad were doing fine battling the Hollows, but what was peculiar was that they seemed to just keep coming. Generally, Hollows weren't that persistent unless they were being ordered by someone more powerful than them or they wanted something really bad. He frowned and extended his senses in an attempt to discover the reason, and it fell on two boys. His curiosity peaked, Urahara made his way over to them.

Both looked worse for wear and they had rather unusual spiritual energy. It didn't feel like reiatsu, but at the same time it did. What was even more interesting was that they both exhibited a different type of spiritual energy. The most noticeable was coming from the smaller one and Urahara figured that he was the one attracting all the Hollows.

In the interest of not wanting any more Hollows to invade the town in search of the boy, the retired shinigami placed a few unseen kidou wards around the two figures. Once they were erected it appeared as if there were no more Hollows coming from Hueco Mundo.

With that taken care of, Urahara made his presence known to the conscious boy and made his way over. He tried to be as friendly as possible by waving at them.

"Yo!"

"Stay back!" the boy ordered. He thrust out his left arm that held a dangerous looking shard of glass. A desperate act but a noble one, Urahara figured. Droplets of blood dripped to the floor from the dark-haired boy's arm but he didn't seem to notice. Urahara shifted his gaze to the other boy.

"You really care for him don't you?" The taller boy tightened his grip around his unconscious friend and pulled him closer.

"Don't you touch him," he hissed.

Urahara sighed. "I'm only trying to help you."

"Urahara! I didn't expect to see you here!" Ichigo ran up to the shopkeeper and then turned his attention to the two boys.

"It's okay now," Ichigo said kindly. "We got rid of the monsters. Let us help you." He tried to step forward but the conscious boy jabbed the glass in Ichigo's direction.

"I said stay back!" His tone was very forceful and empowering, but Ichigo could tell his strength was faltering. Beads of sweat plastered his grimy face and his entire frame shook with each shaky breath.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." Ichigo tried once again but as he walked closer the boy grunted in pain and the shinigami jumped back quickly. Once he was back at Urahara's side it looked like the boy regained what little strength he had.

"It seems like they react to your overflowing reiatsu," Urahara noted. "It might be best if you step back a little."

Ichigo frowned. "But I've gotten better at controlling it! And they're only human, how can they sense it?"

"Perhaps—"

"Watanuki! Doumeki!" The two turned around towards the source of the noise and were startled to see a black ball with ears come bouncing towards them. Ichigo's mind immediately associated it with a live plushie.

"Mod Soul?"

Whatever it was, the black ball rushed past them and landed gently on the black-haired boy's knee.

"Are you all right?" it asked in concern. The boy gave a small nod and the plushie turned its attention to the shivering figure. "What about Watanuki?" The first boy shrugged but seemed to instantly regret the movement as a flash of pain graced his features.

"Mokona?" Urahara immediately felt three pairs of eyes on him. "Mokona from Yuuko's shop?" Mokona frowned for a moment before yelling in surprise.

"Urahara!" It jumped into his arms and laughing happily. As the two greeted each other warmly, Ichigo turned to the boy and raised an eyebrow at the strange exchange.

"Mokona!" The boy's arm fell a few inches and it looked like he was using all his remaining energy to stay awake.

"Oh, sorry, Doumeki! This is Urahara—Yuuko's client!" Urahara nodded happily at the exclamation and Ichigo felt very confused.

"It's safe then?" The black thing called Mokona nodded. "Right." Ichigo watched in alarm as Doumeki's arm fell to the floor and his head drooped against his chest. The shinigami was amazed at how the teen held out for so long.

"So their reaction to reiatsu and the Hollow's attraction to them makes sense now," Urahara muttered. Mokona stared back at the two boys in concern, but the shinigami patted him on the head. "Don't worry, they'll be all right."

"Urahara—what's going on? Who are these boys? Where did they come from? Who's Yuuko? And what is that?"

The black ball appeared indignant. "Mokona is Mokona!" it yelled in Ichigo's face.

"Eh, heh-heh . . . " Ichigo rubbed his neck nervously.

"We should bring these boys to the shop. Kurosaki, you take Mokona because it seems like you'll do more harm to them in this state. Chad!" The silent boy looked up at the mention of his name. "I need your help!" With that Urahara bent down and tried to pry the bespectacled boy from Doumeki's fingers but found he could not.

"My, my, what a devoted friend you are," he chuckled. Without warning he jabbed Doumeki's upper arm and it fell limp.

"Oi!" Ichigo cried. "What did you do that for?"

The shinigami smirked and faced Ichigo with the smaller boy in his arms. "He wasn't going to let go." By now Chad had reached them and he lifted Doumeki off the ground.

"Right then, let's go!" Urahara said happily, already making his way towards the direction of his shop. "I'm sure you two will find these boys interesting."

I'm just going with the assumption that Yuuko told Kurogane that Black Mokona couldn't travel between dimensions so he'd feel he had to go with White Mokona. XD

It's Up! It's Fixed!

reidluver — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:28:12 GMT

All right! Thanks to the help of kathy_williams, josiefier, and the instructions found here---I now have a personalized layout!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!

For any of you who may have seen this journal a little wonky--that was most likely when I was in the process of trying things out and fixing things. ^^; But I know a little more about CSS now! And in my pursuits, I found a wonderful website that explains all about html, CSS, javascript, etc for FREE! There is so much information there it's kind of mind-boggling. I haven't had the time to look over much, but I'm slowly going to learn more and more!

I'm also going to adjust a few things here and there, like put actual fireflies on the main background, but I'll do that later. To be truthful I'm a bit burned out from getting this far.

IT'S SO PRETTY!! XD

Fun Little Changes

reidluver — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:39:04 GMT

I'm quite surprised by how much we're able to change our journal layout. Look around my main page and look at all the fun changes I've made! :) If any of you have questions as to how to do it yourself feel free to ask! It's a lot of fun. ~~I'm really going with my song obsession~~

Now all I need to do is change the graphic at the top of my journal. Seems like it's only something I can do with a Paid Account, correct? Any tips on how to figure out how in the world I can make a CSS code once I get a Paid Account?

Deadly Commoners' Game (ch6) END--Ouran/Jumanji crossover

reidluver — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:18:27 GMT

Summary: In an effort to understand more of a commoner's lifestyle, Tamaki invites the Host Club members to the school to play an old board game that he found. Too bad this game fights back . . .

Chapter 6: The End of the Nightmare

"STOP! STOP IT! HIKARU, STOP!

He felt numb, and was only vaguely aware that his entire body was stretched at an impossible length. All he knew was that he was afraid. Terrified.

Hikaru saw the center of the game swirling towards him and then he saw darkness. Complete and utter darkness. Just when he felt he couldn't take it anymore, he found himself immersed in water. Panicked, Hikaru swam towards the surface. Once he broke free he tread water for a moment, gasping for breath. His dazed brain couldn't make out where he was exactly, but he knew he had to get out of the water. Memories of the crocodiles plagued him as he rushed towards the shore.

Once he was standing firmly on the ground, Hikaru spared a moment to glance at his surroundings. It was a jungle and not like the kinds they showed in movies. It just felt so . . . alive. Everything was a deep green or brown. The air was humid and filled with many noises; some he could identify, and some he couldn't. For a moment Hikaru felt peaceful. Despite the eminent danger he was in, Hikaru couldn't deny the beauty of the place. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. In fact, everything would be just perfect were it not for the annoying pinching all over his body. It was as if—

Hikaru froze, then glanced down. He nearly passed out.

He was covered in leeches. Big ones.

They covered his body like a disease, pulsating together in an odd rhythm as they drank his blood, growing bigger every second. Hikaru went crazy; screaming like mad as he tore them off his body. His hands moved in an erratic blur—he couldn't get them off fast enough! Some of the fuller leeches popped from the rough treatment, but Hikaru didn't notice. His brain had temporarily shut down from the shock and he barely remembered to breathe.

Finally after what seemed like ages, Hikaru had succeeded in tearing every last leech off. He scrambled away from the flung bodies and backed up against a far tree trunk. Hikaru took deep, shuddering breathes as he clutched his chest. In his haste, he had torn off his shirt and jacket. They lay in a soggy heap close to the swamp's edge but Hikaru didn't dare go near it.

It took him a while to calm his beating heart. As a distraction, Hikaru's thoughts turned to Kaoru. How was he doing? Hikaru squirmed in guilt as he recalled Kaoru's stricken face. It hurt him to think that he had caused his brother to feel that way. Why didn't he listen to Kaoru in the first place? Why did he have to cheat? But in his defense, the trouble the game was causing was getting a little too much for him to bear. Everyone was in such bad shape that he didn't want them to suffer anymore. It felt like it was only a matter of time until someone was fatally wounded. The game said something about all the animals returning to the game once it was finished, but that didn't necessarily mean all the damages and injuries suffered would be magically healed, and Hikaru didn't want to take that bet.

But what could he do? Would he be stuck inside the game forever? Could the others roll to bring him back, or would the game free him when it was over, or would he never get out? Hikaru shivered and decided he didn't really want to think about that now. The most important thing for him would be to find a safe hiding place. Aside from the leeches, he really hadn't seen anything dangerous, but if what he had seen back at Ouran was anything to go by, he wouldn't be safe for long.

Right at that moment, there was a rustling off to Hikaru's left. He froze, knowing he should flee but he was just too scared. It was then that he realized just how alone he was and he knew the chances of him surviving by himself were very low. But he had to try—Kaoru would never forgive him if he just quit now! Suddenly, a man burst through the foliage and came into view.

Hikaru yelped and scrambled backwards. He wanted to run, but the man was pointing a rather nasty looking gun at him. If he wasn't so scared, then Hikaru would actually find the scene rather funny. The man was dressed in a similar outfit to the one Tamaki had been wearing, though it definitely suited this man more. Hikaru could tell he really lived (or at least hunted) in the jungle. The funny thing was that instead of a rifle, the man appeared to be holding some sort of automatic machine gun. It was like a horrible, frightening clash of history.

He wanted to ask the man if he was stuck in the game as well or if he lived here, but somehow his voice had deserted him. His throat was dry and little beads of sweat rolled down his face. With one pull of the trigger the man could turn him into a human-sized slice of Swiss Cheese.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, until the man slightly lowered his weapon and spoke. "Comment avez-vous reçu ici petit garçon? Avez-vous joué au jeu?"

The twin frowned in contemplation. It sounded like the guy was speaking French—maybe that's why the boss found it among French antiques? But why would the instructions be written in English? And anyway, Hikaru didn't know any French so this was going to be a problem.

"Eh . . . sorry but I don't speak that. Co-Could you please put the gun down?"

"Ah, je vois que nous avons déplacé l'endroit. Que parlez-vous, l'asiatique?" The man completely lowered the weapon and stroked his dirty, gray beard. "Voyons, est cela le Coréen . . . ou le chinois? Ah! C'est le japonais!" The man cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here, boy?"

Hikaru stared in awe at the man. He spoke fluent Japanese! He must be just like Tamaki, he thought. "Um . . . I was playing a game and I . . . "

"Ah, yes. Well, it sure has been a long time since someone has been brought here. I believe the last time was the little Alan boy. I wonder how long you'll be here. What's your name?"

"Hikaru."

"Nice to meet you, Hikaru. My name is Van Pelt."

Hikaru eyed the old man warily, confused as to why he hadn't abandoned the gun yet. Perhaps it was for their protection, seeing as how it was likely an animal could pop out any moment, but he couldn't help but feel unease around Van Pelt. Aside from the misunderstanding he seemed like a harmless old man, but Hikaru couldn't be too sure. Well, he might as well get some answers.

"Can I ever go back home? Are you stuck here too? Are there other people here? Did that Alan kid die and how long was he here?"

Van Pelt chuckled and leaned against a tree. "So full of questions, aren't you, Hikaru? Yes, you can go home, and no there aren't any other people here besides those infernal savage men. Alan Parish did not die—at least not here—and he was stuck in the game for twenty-six years."

Hikaru felt all the color drain from his face. Twenty-six years? How in the world could he have survived?

"And as for myself—" (Van Pelt chuckled and leaned forward) "—I'm part of the game. It's my job to hunt you down and make a man out of you." He pat his gun and took a few steps back from Hikaru. "Since you're new, I guess I can give you a two-minute head start."

Silence passed between them as Hikaru stared up at Van Pelt in a mixture of disbelief and horror. He couldn't be telling the truth, could he?

"You've got to be joking."

Van Pelt shook his head. "I'd start running if I were you. You've already lost thirty seconds." When Hikaru made no further movement Van Pelt cocked his gun and pointed it at him. "Move! You've got to make this at least enjoyable for me—I haven't had a decent challenge in years!"

Hardly believing this was actually happening, Hikaru leapt to his feet and took off in the opposite direction. It was then that he remembered he had no shoes and his feet hurt with each twig he snapped. Perfect. And his shirt was lying in a heap back with that crazy man, so he was reduced to wet, soggy black pants. He cursed his luck. How was it that the only other civilized human in this jungle was out to get him? And with a machine gun no less. He'd be dead in minutes.

Perhaps he could set a trap for him to slow him down? No—everything that came to mind was what he saw from movies and there definitely wasn't enough time to set any of them up. Plus he didn't have any of the proper supplies either. He could come up with a trap on his own though! Actually, that wouldn't work either. Without Kaoru around, Hikaru found his prankish imagination greatly hampered. They always did that stuff together.

Hikaru took a sharp left and nearly skewered himself on a tree branch. He ducked underneath it and continued on. Well, Kaoru wasn't here so he'd have to do it on his own. The thought terrified him, but it had to be done. It was almost funny how crippled he was without his brother. He felt like he was missing a limb or something. Having Kaoru at his side was as normal as breathing, and just thinking about never seeing him again squeezed his chest and made it difficult to breathe—

No! Hikaru shook his head. He had to get a grip on himself and focus on surviving the crazy man. Then he could relax. No sense in getting worked up over something he couldn't control. Breaking down would do nothing to help him at the moment. Now, what to do? Ah! Hikaru spotted the perfect spot up ahead. Time to put his plan to work.

A few minutes later, Hikaru spotted him. It was scary how quickly the man had caught up to him. Thankfully he was able to put his trap together in time, and he prayed that it would work. Just enough to slow him down so Hikaru could find a safe place to hide until he was rescued.

Van Pelt moved in a brisk jog, pausing every couple moments to inspect the ground or the trees, or even sniff the air. Could he really smell him? Hikaru couldn't help but be a little offended.

He was moving into position and . . . now! Hikaru yanked on the vine and Van Pelt glanced upwards as a number of objects started falling from the sky. Hikaru had climbed the trees and rigged a little hammock full of rocks and coconuts. When he pulled the vine they would all come crashing down and with any luck the man would be knocked out. Not the best plan, but at least it was something. Hikaru would much rather prefer a gaping hole, but there wasn't enough time to dig one (not that he had anything to dig it with anyway), and he wasn't exactly sure how he'd cover it up.

To his dismay, Van Pelt cocked his gun at the falling debris and blasted the objects either out of the way or into little pieces. He seemed undeterred by the coconut juice falling on him and instead looked straight at Hikaru. How did he do that?

Van Pelt laughed. "Nice try, Sonny-Jim. Something like that won't work on me. I suppose you get credit for trying though. The Alan boy spent the first month running around and whimpering like an coward. Your will is inspiring!" He fired a single shot just inches above Hikaru's head. "But you need to do better than that."

Hikaru swore under his breath and took off running again. He was obviously fighting a master hunter. What chance did he have? At least he hadn't run into any animals yet. What was that up ahead? It looked like some sort of green fog. Certainly ominous, but it would make for a great hiding spot. Van Pelt would most likely follow him in there, but Hikaru could at least have more time to think of a plan. He sniffed the air and figured as long as the mist didn't smell bad, there was a good chance it was safe. He spared one last glance behind him and charged through the mist, hoping he wasn't about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

While following the boy, Van Pelt caught a glimpse of him before he disappeared into the mist. The hunter chuckled. This boy was certainly an interesting one. He adjusted his grip on his weapon and walked towards the mist.

Time to see what plagued the newest addition to the game.

It wasn't as dark as he thought. The green mist certainly obscured his vision, but if he squinted he was able to see a few feet in front of himself. As he walked through the mist, Hikaru considered his options. Should he hide until Van Pelt had passed him by, or stay here for a few hours—or days, depending on how long it took for the others to rescue him. Suddenly, he heard the unmistakable crunching of feet through the jungle. Hikaru buried himself in a nearby bush and held his breath. It wouldn't surprise him if Van Pelt were able to hear his breathing.

"Hikaru! Where are you?"

His chest constricted at the familiar voice. Kaoru? No—that wasn't possible! Kaoru was back at Ouran with the others! Unless he found a way into the game as well and was going to take him back—

"There you are! Guys, I found him!" Hikaru jumped out of the bush and was startled to see his brother come running towards him with tears in his eyes. He barely had time to react when Kaoru tackled him and started sobbing.

"I can't believe we found you! I've been so worried!" Kaoru cried. "I thought I lost you forever!"

Still doubtful, Hikaru pushed Kaoru off of himself and examined him. Chest bandages, dirty hair, ripped pants—certainly looked like Kaoru. Every part of Hikaru wanted to believe that it was really Kaoru, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it! It just didn't make any sense!

"Hikaru? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Seeing Kaoru's hurt expression was too much for Hikaru. It had to be his brother! There was no doubt about that. And besides, Hikaru could feel Kaoru's shoulders, why wouldn't he be real?

"I'm sorry, Kaoru," he said quickly, pulling his twin into a hug. "I couldn't believe it. I was so worried—"

"Shhh. It's okay."

"I'm so happy you're okay, Hika-chan!"

"You gave us quite a startle there."

Hikaru and Kaoru broke apart, and tears fell down Hikaru's face as he saw all his friends come into view. He never thought he'd seen anything so wonderful in his life before! Here were all his friends, smiling and keeping him company. As long as he had them by his side he knew he was safe.

Or perhaps not.

Suddenly, Mori was behind him and pulled his arms back roughly, effectively immobilizing him. "M-Mori-senpai? What's going on? What about your le—" The words died in Hikaru's throat as he glanced up at the senior. Instead of the detached look that Mori always wore, there was a murderous and frightening face that stared down at him. It was like a crazed animal was possessing Mori.

"Did you really think we'd come all this way for you?" Hikaru froze. He had no idea his brother could sound so twisted and evil. "You mean nothing to us!"

"You're only allowed in the group for the brotherly love package," Kyoya said. He pushed up his glasses and sneered. "It was the only logical choice to achieve such a profit."

Haruhi stepped forward and pulled on Hikaru's ear to bring him eye level with her. She spared a moment to glance at his terrified expression and smirked. "The only reason any of us can tolerate you is because you're always with Kaoru. Don't you remember me saying so before? Without Kaoru around you're nothing but a conniving, worthless, and pathetic excuse for a human being. I just can't stand being alone with you!"

"B-B-But what about . . . our date?" Hikaru asked. He was starting to feel rather woozy. There was a part of his brain screaming that there was no way this could ever be real, but a larger part kept doubting. Everything they were saying was just what he had always feared. He knew that he could be hard to deal with sometimes, but he had always thought that didn't matter—or at least he hoped.

Haruhi laughed cruelly. "You call that a date?" She grabbed his hair and yanked on it until their noses were touching. "You left me in a thunderstorm! Whether you knew I was afraid of thunder or not, that's not the way you treat a person! You don't care about anyone!"

"I-I . . . I thought you f-forgave me?" Hikaru squeaked.

"Yeah right," Haruhi scoffed. She let go of Hikaru and pushed him back into Mori. "I just said that because I didn't want to have to listen to your stupid attempts at an apology of how sorry you were. At least you had the sense to shut up after that."

Honey stepped forward, looking very much like his evil side, the side that Hikaru had only seen when Usa-chan was covered in tea. A face he never wanted to see again. "You've caused us a lot of trouble, Hikaru."

"It was truly difficult to put up with one such as yourself. Not all humans are as gifted as me. But now our wonderful patience has run short and we shall be glad to be rid of you." It amazed Hikaru how Tamaki could act as obnoxious as he usually did but still manage to sound so evil and bitter.

"Then why do you put up with me then? Huh?" There just had to be a better reason! They wouldn't do all of this for no reason, would they?

Kaoru chuckled and grabbed Hikaru's chin, forcing him to look up at him. "Simple." All the others leaned in with cruel smiles.

"You're our toy."

" . . . then I just appeared back in the school and I thought I was still in the illusion," Hikaru finished. The seven of them had taken refuge in one of the many classrooms. They had all silently agreed it would be the best place for Hikaru to tell his story. He hadn't told them the exact details of what the illusions said or did—they didn't need to know the specifics. And now that he was truly among his friends, Hikaru knew that his fears were foolish and without any substance. They truly cared about him.

Tamaki had immediately started blubbering like a fool when he arrived, but it didn't bother Hikaru this time. He felt rather touched. Both Honey and Haruhi had cried as well, though they were more subdued than the boss. Kyoya had slumped against the wall with obvious relief, though he pretended to pass it off as exhaustion. Then Mori had enveloped him with the tightest hug Hikaru had ever experienced. And since he was the only one to notice the slight shake in Mori's grip he chose to pretend it wasn't there.

Now he was sitting at a desk with Kaoru. His younger twin had his arms wrapped around him like he never wanted to let go. Occasionally there would be a tear that would trail down his cheek, but Hikaru said nothing. All he cared about was that he and his brother were reunited, along with all his dear friends.

"I'm so sorry, Hika-chan!" Honey wailed. "That must have been really scary! I hope our illusions didn't say anything mean to you!"

Hikaru chuckled. "Don't worry, Honey-senpai—I knew it wasn't real."

"I hate to ruin the heart-warming reunion," Kyoya began, "but there are much bigger problems at hand." He pushed up his glasses and spared a moment to glance at each person to make sure he had their undivided attention. "We can end this game now; the sooner we finish the sooner things go back to normal."

"You got it! All right, men—you heard what Mommy said! Let's finish the game!"

"How many times must I—never mind. I believe it's your roll, Tamaki."

The blond gulped. "Y-Yeah . . . I guess it is."

"Here's the game, Tama-chan." Honey carefully placed the game on the desk closest to Tamaki and stepped back. The second-year slowly picked up the dice and stared at them. They lay so innocently in his scratched and dirty hand. Odd to think that everything hinged on such small items.

"You only have six spaces left," Kyoya said gently. Tamaki nodded mutely and glanced at everyone. The twins were sharing a seat in the desk across from him, Haruhi was standing next to Kyoya's desk, and Honey sat in Mori's lap. They all looked at him expectantly, with no anger or blame in their eyes.

Tamaki felt a small rush of gratitude and affection for his friends. They really didn't blame him for everything that happened, and for that he was pleased. Of course he still harbored some guilt, but that came with being the Father. And now it was his job to save them from all this suffering.

"H-Here goes." He closed his eyes and let go of the dice. Everyone held their breath as they watched the dice roll around on the board. Each of them prayed for a miracle, but they knew better than to completely let their hopes up. They still couldn't help wondering though. Would this be the final roll?

A three . . . and a one.

Tamaki wilted at the sight, but before he could say anything there was a loud outburst from Kyoya. He kicked his leg out and toppled the desks next to him as he gripped the edge of his own desk with his good arm. No one acknowledged his brief display of emotion, knowing full well none of them could blame him. They were just so tired of the game.

"Beware the ground on which you stand, the floor is quicker than the sand."

"Tamaki!" He had tried to back up in time, he really did—but he was immersed in the floor in an instant. Tamaki watched in horror as the desk started sinking along with him. He tried to yank his feet out, but was forced to admit defeat.

The moment the floor started sinking all the others backed away as fast as they could, knocking over desks and chairs. The only thing they had going for them was that the entire floor wasn't sinking—just the area around Tamaki.

"Get the game!" Tamaki shouted, being careful not to make any sudden movements. Hikaru quickly snatched the game off the sinking desk and backed up.

"Don't worry! We'll get you out, boss!" Hikaru turned around and shoved the game into Haruhi's hands. "Take it!" She accepted it without question and the twins ran to Tamaki's aid. They came as close as they dared and tried to pull him out.

"It's not working!" Tamaki yelled.

"I'll help you guys!" Honey said. "Stay there, Takashi." He wriggled himself out from underneath the desks. As soon as the floor started sinking, Takashi had grabbed him and awkwardly dive bombed away. Honey knew that were it not for his leg, Takashi would have been able to avoid the desks altogether, but didn't matter. What was important was that they needed to free Tamaki now!

Haruhi knew she needed to bring the game over to the sprawled Kyoya, but something made her turn around. She watched as Honey kicked the locked cabinet door to look at the materials inside. He was so preoccupied with going back to Tamaki that he didn't notice the strangely beautiful purple flower. It looked to her like it was peeking around the top of the large cabinet and was—staring?—directly at Honey.

For whatever reason, Haruhi knew the flower was dangerous. Before she knew it, she dropped the game and rushed to Honey's side. She grabbed the tiny senior's shirt and pulled him back. The two of them crashed to the floor as something pricked her shoulder.

"Haru-chan, what's—Haru-chan!"

Haruhi pushed herself up sluggishly and glanced at her arm. There was some type of needle poking out. Oh wait, it was moving—maybe a snake? She really couldn't tell with everything being so fuzzy and shimmery. Perhaps she could just . . . rest for a while . . . yeah, that sounded . . . good . . .

"Haru-chan! Don't go to sleep!" Honey roughly shook the girl but she didn't respond. "Takashi! Haru-chan's having a hard time brea—" He was interrupted by a sharp prick in the back of his neck. Dazed, Honey reached behind him and pulled out a similar needle.

"Mitskuni!" Mori watched in horror as his cousin collapsed on the ground next to Haruhi. He growled at the offending plant and hefted a chair at its main vine that was trailing down the wall. The chair bruised it and the emerging, purple flowers all shuddered before wilting.

In an almost crazed fervor, Mori crawled towards Mitskuni and Haruhi. He quickly pulled them into his lap and felt for a pulse.

Kyoya groaned. As soon as Tamaki finished reading the clue—or whatever it was—Haruhi pulled on his good arm and sent the two of them toppling backwards. His head hit the floor rather painfully and he could have sworn he saw stars. He thought that only happened in the movies.

He could hear some indistinct yelling and rubbed his head. While her intentions may have been good, Haruhi should have known the dangers of jostling him around like that. He still wasn't fully recovered from the hail that had fallen on his head from earlier. Most likely he had a concussion. He paused as he touched something wet and sticky.

Yeah—definitely a concussion. That would explain the blood and massive headache. Not to mention the swimming images and inability to hear correctly. Kyoya sat up and willed himself to see straight. He'd be no help if he passed out, especially in his condition.

Something hit his leg and Kyoya slowly glanced down. One of the dice? Why was it on the floor? He frowned and focused his attention to what was happening before him—and almost wished he didn't. At that moment, he saw a purple flower shoot something at Honey's head. The blond crumpled to the ground and Mori was scrambling towards them.

Haruhi? What was she—oh, there was a needle in her arm as well. Kyoya watched as Mori yanked the needle out and pulled her and Honey into his lap like one would do with sleeping children. Except they weren't sleeping. Or breathing for that matter.

Kyoya stared in mute shock and then Mori's eyes glanced up to meet his. Kyoya's eyes asked the question he could not, and Mori bowed his head. The senior's entire frame started trembling and strangled sobs made their way to Kyoya's muddled ears.

No, it—it couldn't be! They . . . they couldn't be dead! That wasn't possible! But try as he did to deny it, there was no mistake by the way Mori was acting. To distract himself, Kyoya glanced over to see how the others were faring.

Not that well, apparently. The twins were trying to pull Tamaki out of the sinking floor, using a heavy cabinet for support. Hikaru was holding onto the cabinet and his brother, while Kaoru held onto Tamaki. For a moment, it appeared that they had succeeded, with Tamaki's torso pulled free from the ground, but then the hope was dashed as Hikaru lost his grip. The twins plunged into the sinking floor along with Tamaki.

"ROLL THE DICE, KYOYA!" Tamaki roared. Only his head was visible now.

Kyoya didn't know what to do. It felt like all logic and thinking had failed him. Honey and Haruhi were dead, he had no idea of Mori's mental state, the twins were flailing around in the ground with their heads already covered, Tamaki was almost gone, and Kyoya was using all his strength just to stay conscious.

"NOW, KYOYA!"

His friend's shriek jolted him out of his stupor and Kyoya scrambled to pick up the other die. He wasted no time and impatiently waited for the dice to finish rolling. All he had were five more spaces . . . five more spaces and this would all be over.

A wilted purple flower slowly raised its petals off the ground and faced him. Kyoya didn't dare move, but when he heard his piece sliding across the game, he glanced down.

There, at the very center where all the phrases kept appearing—was his alligator game piece and the word Jumanji.

"JUMANJI!"

For a moment, Kyoya wondered if the world exploded. Then he watched in fascination as the flower suddenly rushed towards the game in the same manner as Hikaru. There was a loud crash behind him, and Kyoya realized that everything that had come out of the game was now returning. Worried about getting hit, Kyoya pressed himself against the floor and covered his head.

The tornado howled and nearly blew him away. After a while, Kyoya wondered if it would ever stop. His tolerance and nerves had nearly left him, and he didn't think he could take it any longer. Suddenly—it stopped.

Kyoya heard the gentle sound of a bird off in the distance and felt something warm wash over him. Figuring it was safe to do so, Kyoya slowly opened his eyes.

To his utter amazement, he found himself back in Music Room 3. Not only that, but his previous clothes were returned and he could move his arm. Kyoya tentatively touched his head, and was thrilled to see there was no more blood.

He heard moans off to his left and glanced to them sharply. There they were! His eyes started burning and Kyoya didn't know if he had ever felt this happy before.

"T-Takashi?" Mori's breath hitched at the sound of Mitskuni's voice. He had to be imagining things, right? His cousin had been dead not mere seconds before. There was no way—

"Takashi, what's wrong?" There was no denying it—either he was driven mad or Mitskuni was really speaking to him. Afraid of what he'd see, Mori carefully lifted his head and opened his eyes.

To his shock, he was greeted by Mitskuni's wide smile. "Sorry about scaring you like that, Takashi," he said sheepishly.

"M-Mori-senpai? Huh?" Mori then turned his attention to the girl in his lap. She was looking at him with a dazed expression on her face. "What happened?" she managed to ask.

One minute she had been staring at the needle in her arm, feeling really tired, and the next she woke up in Mori's lap and—wait, had he been crying? Mori just let out a sob and pulled her and Honey into a bone-crushing hug as she struggled to piece together what had happened.

She let out a small gasp as everything came back to her, as well as the realization of what must have happened to make Mori act like that. Was it really true? Had she—died?

Meanwhile, Tamaki was having a hard time clearing his thoughts as well. What were the twins doing in his lap? Before he could answer that question, someone suddenly appeared at his side. "Kyoya? What—" His friend interrupted him with a large hug, something so out of character for Kyoya that Tamaki felt he would die of shock. Then he remembered what had happened. He wrapped himself around Kyoya as well and was unable to keep a few tears from spilling out.

The twins lay on the ground gasping for air. They knew something important had happened, but at the moment they were trying to get badly needed oxygen to their brain. Once they could breathe normally they pushed themselves into an unsteady kneeling position and glanced around.

Tamaki and Kyoya were hugging each other beside them, and the others were doing the same on their other side. The twins gasped as they noticed their clothes were returned to their proper condition, and that everything was exactly the way it had been the moment they started the game.

"Kaoru—"

"—Hikaru!" The two embraced as they both cried happily.

It was over.

Somehow—none of them quite knew how—but they all had gathered together in a circle. They all exchanged hugs and laughed and cried. None of them could believe that it was over. With all the injuries gone and the afternoon sun at their backs, they couldn't help but feel everything was just a bad dream. One look at the discarded game told them otherwise though.

They reached an unspoken agreement that tonight would be spent at Tamaki's house. Everyone informed their parents and piled into Tamaki's limo. It was eerie how they could act like nothing had happened, to make their parents believe that all they wanted was to hang out and watch movies together. Like life was normal.

Once they arrived at Tamaki's house, they made sure to burn the game. It made a horrifying, screeching sound, but it was unable to withstand the bonfire. Or the smashing and stomping. Or Mori slicing through it with a sword. The game was reduced to a pile of rubble. And just to be on the safe side, they separated it into three different piles, all thrown into three different trash receptacles. They didn't want to take any chances.

With the stars gleaming in the sky a few hours later, they all piled into bed. Tamaki had requested a spare bed brought in, and the seven of them sprawled out on both of them. (Each were King-sized, naturally) At first a separate bed was offered to Haruhi, but she turned it down and insisted she be with them. None of them were all that surprised, and promised not to let her father know (Tamaki especially).

And so that night, they all took comfort in each other's presence, knowing that no matter what, they'd always be together.

Sadly, this is the end of the story. I would like to thank all of you who have read this story and/or commented! I also hope you enjoyed this rather crazy story as well. :)

Previous | First

Deadly Commoners' Game (ch5)--Ouran/Jumanji crossover

reidluver — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 23:19:23 GMT

Summary: In an effort to understand more of a commoner's lifestyle, Tamaki invites the Host Club members to the school to play an old board game that he found. Too bad this game fights back . . .

Chapter 5: It All Falls Apart

"HIKARU! HIKARU! HIKARU!"

Kaoru could only watch, paralyzed in fear as his brother's hands started disappearing. It was as if he were sand and was being blown away. Only when Hikaru started screaming did Kaoru snap out of it. He ran forward and grabbed his brother's shoulders. Every sound had turned into a dull roar in his ears.

"STOP! STOP IT! HIKARU! STOP!"

No matter how much he screamed, Hikaru still kept disappearing. Soon his arms stretched and his body followed, turning the screaming redhead into a thin ribbon. Kaoru tried to hold onto Hikaru's shoulders, but they slipped from his fingers and he couldn't grab a hold of him anymore. Hikaru's stretched body rushed towards the game and whirled around towards the center, like the bottom of a tornado. Then he completely vanished—sucked into the game.

"STOP! GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE ME MY BROTHER BACK! GIVE HIM BACK!"

The other Host members could only watch in horror and confusion. They were walking back from the nurse's office when they heard the screaming. They all rushed towards the cafeteria, all wondering what else came out of the game. They were also a little angry at the twins for taking their turn without them there to help. The first thing they saw was Kyoya just standing there, staring at something in front of him and to their right, out of their sight. He was just staring ahead with a look of absolute horror, even more so than when he had been cornered by the lion.

When they turned the corner, all they saw was Kaoru bent over the game. He was slamming the ground with his fists so hard they were starting to bleed, and he kept screaming about giving Hikaru back. Tamaki and Mori ran to his side and Tamaki grabbed Kaoru's arms. He struggled against Kaoru's flailing for a moment.

"What's going on? Kaoru—stop! You're hurting your—stop! What's going on?"

"It took him! The game took Hikaru! I NEED TO GET HIM BACK!"

Tamaki was so shocked he let go of Kaoru. He glanced at the game and took a step backward. "Kyoya? D-Did that really happen?"

"I-I . . . h-h-he . . . Hikaru he . . ." All the black-haired boy could do was point at the game, for the first time in his life at a loss for words. Haruhi reached out and touched Kyoya's arm. He glanced down at her, his eyes wide and confused.

"It's okay, Kyoya-senpai," she said. Haruhi smiled and gave his arm a small squeeze.

"He's gone," Kaoru sobbed. The boy collapsed to his knees and buried his face into his hands. "He's gone, all gone . . . it's my fault . . . all gone . . . " For a moment nobody moved, all of them too shocked to think. Tamaki merely stared at the game while the others watched Kaoru break down. All of them wanted to comfort him, but none could move their legs. They couldn't do anything. They couldn't think.

Hikaru was gone.

Finally, Mori hobbled towards the game and read what was written in the middle aloud. "In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read five or eight."

"S-So there's still a chance w-we can get Hika-chan back!" Honey said, as tears of his own flowed down his face.

Kaoru didn't hear him. He just kept repeating his mantra of . . . he's gone . . . he's gone . . . With a cry, Honey ran towards Kaoru and hugged him. The boy didn't flinch, didn't move into the comforting gesture. He kept sobbing and chanting.

It was too much for Haruhi. She knew there was no way any of them could understand what it was like for Kaoru, but he needed to snap out of it fast. She left Kyoya and knelt in front of Kaoru. She lifted up his chin and forced him to look at her.

" . . . he's gone . . . Hikaru's—"

"Kaoru!" Haruhi's voice was firm but gentle.

"—ne, he's . . . H-Haruhi?"

She smiled, eyes glistening with her own tears. "It's all right, Kaoru. We'll do everything we can to get Hikaru back. I promise."

"Are—Are you . . . s-s-sure?"

Haruhi's throat constricted at Kaoru's expression. She was never one to be overly emotional, but Kaoru looked so lost and defeated she couldn't help but be moved. "Yeah—I'm sure." The redhead barely looked appeased. Haruhi threw her arms around Kaoru and hugged him tightly. For a moment the boy did nothing but kneel there with his arms hanging limply at his sides. Then his entire body started shaking and he clutched onto Haruhi for all he was worth.

Honey latched onto Kaoru's arm again, sobbing. Mori hobbled forward, only he kept a solemn stance beside the three on the ground. Kyoya took a step forward, stopped, and looked at Tamaki. The blond was still staring at the game, looking like a lost statue.

"Let's continue the game," Kyoya said, his voice more subdued than any of them had ever heard. "The sooner we roll, the sooner Hikaru will be freed. I believe it's your roll, Honey-senpai."

The small senior sniffed and pulled away from Kaoru. He rubbed his wide eyes and nodded. "I'll get Hika-chan back, Kao-chan! I promise!"

Kaoru let out a laugh that was part sob. "Th-Thanks, Honey-senpai."

"We'll get him back," Haruhi said. She stood up and extended a hand towards Kaoru.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Mori walked forward and gently wiped Kaoru's face dry. He said nothing, merely brushed Kaoru's hair and squeezed his shoulder. The redhead smiled and embraced Mori, burying his face into the dirty white shirt.

As the others were helping Kaoru, Kyoya had walked to Tamaki's side. The blond was still staring at the game. "Tamaki—we'll get him back," Kyoya said. " . . . Tamaki!" The dark-haired boy grabbed the Suoh heir's shirt with his good hand and forced him to look at him. "You need to snap out of this! Stop! Stop blaming yourself and grow up."

"No—it's his fault!" Everyone stared at Kaoru in shock. Fresh tears poured down his face as he glared at Tamaki. "My brother's trapped in that game and it's all your fault!"

"Kaoru—" Mori began, his deep voice thick with warning.

"No!" He shoved Mori aside (nearly toppling the unbalanced senior) and marched up to Tamaki.

Kyoya grabbed Kaoru's shoulder. "You know that's not true. Stop before you say something you'll—"

"Leave me alone!" Kaoru pushed the second year away as well. He grabbed Tamaki's shirt and started shaking him. "It's all because you brought that stupid game! Why do you keep dragging us into these stupid problems! Me and Mori almost got eaten by crocodiles! Kyoya's arm is bleeding, Honey nearly disappeared into the floor, and NOW MY BROTHER'S STUCK IN THE GAME! HE MIGHT BE KILLED ALREADY!

"EVERYTHING'S ALWAYS YOUR FAULT!"

"Stop it, Kaoru!" Kyoya said. "We know you're angry about Hikaru, but that doesn't give you a right to—"

"Don't deny it, Kyoya! You know I'm right!"

"The game is stupid, but there's no way Tamaki could have known what would happen! You think he did it on purpose?"

"It doesn't change the fact that everything else we've done has—"

"Kaoru! Stop! Think about what you're saying! You—"

"Oh, shut up, Haruhi! We all know you're defending Tamaki because you're secretly in love with him!"

" . . . I-I . . . what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You can't tell me you haven't—"

"You guys! Let's stop fighting! Kao-chan, you're being—"

"Stop the innocent act, Honey! We know it's just—"

"Kaoru! You need to stop this! You're letting your emotions overcome your judgment like Hika—"

"Oh—like Hikaru, huh? Now that my brother's gone we're going to talk bad about him? HUH?" Kaoru paused for a moment to catch his breath. He glared at everyone through his tears. Tamaki's eyes were downcast; Kyoya was standing in between the two of them, looking as if he were unsure whether or not to be angry at him; Haruhi was still in a state of shock; Honey was sobbing with Mori at his side, the tall senior unsure of what to do. Kaoru was furious at them all. None of them understood anything! Hikaru was gone! Why couldn't they understand this? It was all Tamaki's fault!

"And why aren't you saying anything?" Kaoru yelled, pointing his finger at Tamaki. He walked up to him and grabbed his shirt once again. "You're not saying anything because YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!" Everyone waited for Tamaki to say something, all worried about where this could go.

Tamaki slowly lifted Kaoru's hands off of him, his face in shadow. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Kaoru's eyes widened, then he grit his teeth and wrenched out of Tamaki's grip. He knew his anger against Tamaki was unjustified, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His brother was gone—he needed someone to blame! A person touched his shoulder and he glanced up sharply to find Mori there. The senior pulled him into a one-arm hug as he leaned on one of his crutches and Kaoru hugged him back, too tired to do much else.

The tears continued flowing but Kaoru didn't care. All he knew was that he felt so alone, so helpless. All he had been able to do was watch his brother be pulled into that game, towards horrific dangers that Kaoru believed they had barely scratched the surface of. It was trouble enough fighting these creatures that came out of the game with the seven of them, so there was no telling what it would be like for just Hikaru. More than anything, Kaoru wanted to be there alongside his brother; to suffer through the jungle together. They did everything together. That's just how it was.

While Mori comforted Kaoru, Kyoya and Haruhi went to Tamaki's side. They tried to comfort him, but he merely shook his head. "Roll, Honey-senpai."

"Oh, right!" Honey said. He rushed towards the game and slowly picked up the dice. "I'll get him back." The small senior took a deep breath, prayed to every cake and bunny god he had ever thought of, and rolled the dice. . . . five or eight, please be a five or eight . . . five or eight . . .

Two ones.

Kaoru's chest constricted painfully and he couldn't breathe. One more turn that Hikaru wouldn't be back with them. Who knew how long it would be until they were done battling whatever came out of the game? How much longer would Hikaru be left in the game? What if Kyoya or Tamaki weren't able to roll a five or eight and it got down to Hikaru's turn? Without him, there was no chance of him ever being freed! Hikaru would be stuck in the game for the rest of his life and Kaoru would be left alone without him! If that happened, Kaoru felt he would be unable to keep living. It would be better if he were—

"Kaoru!"

"He's hyperventilating!"

"Breathe, Kao-chan! Breathe!"

The redhead's vision was going hazy. Kaoru could only see splotches of flickering light. He could feel hands all over him, and then something roughly forced his head down to the point where he felt his entire body twist in on itself. "Take deep breaths," a calming voice said. Kaoru immediately obeyed the voice and started gulping in the air. Someone was rubbing circles in his back and soon enough, Kaoru found his sight returning.

His forehead was pressed against the ground and he was staring between his legs. With a final deep breath, Kaoru pushed himself up into a seated position and all the blood rushed from his head. All the other Host Club members let out a sigh of relief when he glanced at them. "Sorry," he said. He turned his head around to see Mori still rubbing circles into his back, and the senior smiled.

"I—"

"AAHHHHHH!" They were all startled by a loud scream from Haruhi, which was immediately followed by a loud hissing sound. The ground shook and they glanced across the divide in the floor to see an enormous, jade python. It was nearly 20 feet in length with a mouth so wide it could devour them each in one swallow. Honey gulped and spared a second to read the center of the game.

"When you see it, you will shake. It's big and green and rhymes with lake."

None of them had time to move. The python reared its head back and struck. It missed and collided with the balcony above them, sending down an avalanche of concrete and debris. It was mayhem, but someone they were all able to come out relatively unharmed. Tamaki's cheek was bleeding, Haruhi was holding her shoulder gingerly, and Kyoya's glasses were cracked.

Honey rolled to the side and pushed himself up. Thanks to all his years of training he had been able to grab the game and dive to safety. He gave the game a glance over and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed it wasn't damaged. Hikaru was in there somewhere (he didn't really know how or why) and if something happened to the game there was no chance of them getting him back. Honey clutched the game tightly and whispered, "We'll get you back, Hika-chan. I promise."

He turned his attention back to the snake. It was so large that the crack made by the earthquake didn't phase it at all. The python was shaking its head to get rid of the leftover debris and searched for them once more. Honey frantically searched for Takashi and Kaoru from his hiding place. They were the only ones he didn't see come out of the rubble.

The doorway was blocked, having collapsed in on itself from the blast from the snake. Honey could see Tamaki, Kyoya, and Haruhi doing their best to clear away all the rubble so they could escape. It was their only way out with the rift in the floor and the snake blocking all their other exits. What could they do? Honey didn't know how they'd be able to get out of this, even if he and Takashi were in perfect health. Fighting plants, lions, and crocodiles were one thing—but an elephant-sized snake? Not likely.

Takashi's leg was ruined, and he himself was protecting Hikaru. Before, none of them put too much care in the game's well-being, but with one of their own stuck inside that was a different story. They couldn't let anything bad happen to it. But they couldn't let anything bad happen to themselves either! Especially with Kyoya and Tamaki having to roll next so they could free Hikaru.

Honey just didn't know what to do! He always did his best to be positive no matter what the situation, because he believed that if everyone tried their hardest they could accomplish anything. Now . . . he didn't know what to think. Was it really possible that they would die here? That couldn't happen!

The snake hissed again, nearly sounding like a roar. Honey watched in fear as it charged towards Haruhi and the others, and it was clear the snake wouldn't miss this time.

"NOOOOO!"

Just then, something whizzed towards the snake and it recoiled in pain. Blood and other fluids flew everywhere, some even reaching Honey despite him being ten feet away. He wiped the blood off his face and glanced at the writhing snake. Embedded in its left eye was one of Takashi's crutches!

"Takashi!" Honey turned towards the rubble and saw Takashi heavily leaning on his other crutch with Kaoru beside him. They were covered in dirt and bruises, but otherwise they looked all right. Sweat poured down their faces as they panted and Kaoru was acting as Takashi's other crutch. A big smile broke out on Honey's face. No matter what, his cousin would always protect them. It was good thinking on his part to use his crutch to hurt the snake.

It was a very dangerous situation though. Honey knew that wounded animals could be even more dangerous. If the snake kept thrashing like that, it would cause the roof to collapse in on them. But at the moment it was distracted, and Honey decided he should take the opportunity to reach the others.

"I've got the game!" he said as way of greeting.

"Oh, thank you!" Kaoru let out a sigh of relief as he helped Mori down to the ground. "I was afraid it was crushed."

"How about you hold onto it, Haru-chan?" Honey said, holding it out to the girl.

"Huh? Why me?"

"If you hold it, then I can work on getting rid of the big bad snakey!" he explained. "This way I don't have to worry about hurting Hika-chan."

"Let's just roll again!" Kaoru said. "Kyoya-senpai, it's your turn, right? We need to get Hikaru out of there!" The python hissed again and the second-year shook his head.

"I could, but then we might have to deal with two creatures. We might as well take care of this one before we get too busy. We don't know what will come through next." Kaoru struggled with a response then admitted defeat. As much as he hated it, Kyoya was right. No point in getting Hikaru back to them only to be killed by being overwhelmed by whatever came next.

"How can we fight it?" Haruhi asked. The python stopped writing and glared at them with its one good eye. It hissed and charged towards them again. Kyoya quickly moved Haruhi out of the way towards the pile of rubble, and Honey had an idea.

"I need this, Takashi!" He snatched the remaining crutch out of his cousin's hand and jumped in front of the snake. He felt bad for unbalancing Takashi without warning, but there was no time to apologize. Once the snake was defeated he would.

"Mitskuni!"

"Honey-senpai! Don't!" Kaoru and Tamaki were holding onto Mori so he wouldn't fall and they could only watch in horror as Honey charged towards the python. Just as the snake was about to strike, the blond leapt into the air. The python slammed its face into the ground and Honey landed on its head. With a yell and great flourish of the crutch, Honey stabbed the other eye. Blood and fluids erupted from the creature's eye and it sent Honey flying as it flailed once more.

"MITSKUNI!" Mori tried to run where Honey had fallen but Tamaki and Kaoru held him back.

"Mori-senpai! Just wait a minute! We have to—" Just then, the python's tail came whizzing towards them. Tamaki shoved Mori and Kaoru out of the way just as the tail struck him. The second year was thrown into the pile of rubble and his limp body rolled down until it hit the ground.

"Tamaki!" Haruhi made a move forward but Kyoya pushed her back into the corner with his good hand.

"You're protecting the game, remember! We can't risk you getting hit!"

"But Tamaki's hurt!"

"Kaoru's going to help him!" Kyoya didn't know what to do. Haruhi had tears running down her face beside him, Honey and Tamaki were most likely unconscious, Mori was now unable to walk, Kaoru was still injured from the crocodile attack, Hikaru was lost in the game, and he only had one good arm. How were they ever going to win against the python? Or anything else that came out of the game for that matter? It was all just too much.

Half of him just wanted to give up then and there, but he knew there was something that had to be done. He couldn't lose confidence. With Tamaki out of commission he was the next appointed leader and he needed to make sure everyone would survive this. There just had to be a way.

As Mori crawled over to Honey's side, Kaoru made his way over to Tamaki. Now all the guilt at what he had said to Tamaki before came crashing down on him at the sight of his lifeless body.

"Boss! Boss, please—wake up! Wake up!" Kaoru turned the older boy on his back and shook his shoulders. "Tamaki, wake up!"

To Kaoru's relief, the blond groaned and started moving. He opened one eye and glanced up. "K-Kaoru?"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to blame you!" Kaoru pounced on Tamaki, much to his dismay. "Oops! Sorry—I just, I'm so sorry for saying all those things! It's just that . . . with Hikaru gone I—I didn't mean . . . I'm so glad you're okay!"

Grateful tears sprung to Tamaki's eyes as he hugged the redhead back. "Thank you," he whispered. While Tamaki still harbored some guilt with Hikaru's disappearance, it was a great relief to know that Kaoru didn't blame him anymore. "Now let's figure out how to fight this snake!" They turned their attention to the python, still writhing in agony. It was buying them precious time, but for the life of them, none could think of a way to fight it.

"A-Any ideas, guys?" Haruhi asked. The four of them stayed there, wracking their brains for a plausible solution. Just then, the python threw its head backwards and hit the balcony opposite the earthquake's divide. This time the balcony collapsed on top of the snake in one piece, and the python stopped moving. The Host Club members held their breath, hardly daring to hope. Could they really have been granted a sliver of luck? Of course, the fact that no one had died yet was hardly something to scoff at, but was this round over?

"Is it . . . dead?" Kaoru asked.

Kyoya shook his head. "Most likely it's unconscious. We should take advantage of this opportunity and just end the game now though. I believe it's my turn, yes?" As Haruhi started setting up the game, Kaoru helped Tamaki to his feet.

"Is Honey-senpai okay, Mori-senpai?" Tamaki asked, making his way over to them.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Tama-chan. I just hurt a lot." The small senior stood up and winced, but otherwise seemed fine. "Sorry we had to use your crutches, Takashi." Mori shook his head.

"It's fine."

Kaoru draped one of Mori's arms around his shoulder. "We'll help you walk until we can get you some new ones." Mori nodded and Tamaki rushed forward to help as well. The four of them then made their way over to Kyoya and Haruhi.

"There's something wrong with the game!" Kyoya said. "I keep rolling but it won't move my piece. I'm one of the original four who rolled, so it should let me!"

Honey gasped. "Do you think it's broken? How can we get Hika-chan back now?"

"Wait guys! Look at this!" Haruhi said. She pointed to the instructions written on the side. "Doubles get another turn—didn't you roll a double, Honey-senpai?"

"Oh yeah! I rolled two ones!" Kyoya shoved the dice into the third year's hands and Honey quickly rolled. A three . . . two—

"FIVE! It's a five! It's a five! It's a five!" Honey and Kaoru jumped into the air and the twin grabbed Honey into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Honey-senpai!" Everyone glanced around, waiting for their friend's return.

"Where is he?"

"Does he come out of the game like the way he went in?"

"Maybe we have to beat whatever comes—ow!" Tamaki rubbed his shoulder and suddenly they were all assaulted by enormous balls of ice.

Honey glanced at the game and read aloud, "Big as fists these balls of ice. Through umbrellas they will slice."

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Well," Tamaki said as he tried to doge another piece of hail, "hopefully this will end once we leave the room."

"But hail this size could kill you," Kyoya said. He cried out when he was unable to doge a piece of hail that fell on his injured shoulder. "We need to get out of here!" They all scrambled towards the blocked doorway and started clearing away the rubble.

"What about Hikaru?" Kaoru yelled. He was the only one still standing by the game and he didn't even bother trying to shield himself from the hail. "Where is he? We rolled a five, so where is he? WHERE IS MY BROTHER?"

"Maybe he's somewhere else in the school," Tamaki said. He bent down to rescue the game and tugged on Kaoru's arm. "Let's get out of here so we can start looking for him, okay?"

"But what if he's somewhere in here, and he got hit in the head with the hail?"

"We can figure that out later!" Kyoya yelled. "We need to get out of here first! The hail might wake up the snake, so we should get away as soon as possible!" A piece of hail hit him directly on the head and he staggered backward, clutching his head.

"Kyoya!"

"This is taking too long! Everyone stand back!" They all did as they were told and Honey jumped into the air. "USA-CHAN KICK!" The rubble was cleared away in seconds, with it all scattered and gathered among the many vines crisscrossing the floor.

"Great job, Honey-senpai!"

"I haven't really noticed until now, but where is Usa-chan?" Haruhi asked in a whisper, leaning in towards Mori.

The senior looked at Honey sadly. "It got lost during the monsoon." The young girl glanced at Honey in pity. It had to be hard for him, but hopefully he was preoccupied enough that he didn't notice it all that much.

"Let's get out of here!" None of them needed telling twice. They all rushed into the safe hallway and to their relief the hailstorm didn't follow them. By now they were all sporting bruises that were likely to be very painful in an hour or so. Kyoya was still dizzy and needed help walking in a straight line.

"Maybe you should lie down," Haruhi suggested as she held the boy's arms.

"Once we find a place to play in," Kyoya said, grimacing from the pain.

"But what about searching for Hikaru?" Kaoru asked. "We need to—" Just then, they all noticed a huddled figure near a particularly large vine. His hands were covering his ears and he was shaking. His jacket and white shirt were all gone. It was Hikaru.

"HIKARU!" They all rushed forward and Kaoru pounced on him. "I'm so happy you're back!" he sobbed.

"Get away from me!" Hikaru shrieked. He shoved Kaoru away and backed away from everyone. His eyes were wild and he twitched at every sound. It was then that they noticed the tiny oval welts all over Hikaru's body. There were also twigs in his hair and he looked drenched.

Kaoru tried to dry his tears and took a tentative step forward. "Hikaru? Are you okay?" He held out a hand but Hikaru slapped it away and pressed up against the wall with his legs pulled up to his chest. He whimpered and started pulling his hair.

"It's just an illusion—just an illusion," he muttered. "Just another trick . . . they're not really there . . . not really there . . . " As Kaoru stared at his brother in disbelief, the other Host Club members exchanged a glance. They hadn't ever given any thought as to what Hikaru's mental state would be. Was it really that bad?

But Kaoru was not going to stand for this. He clenched his fists and knelt down in front of his brother. "H-Hikaru? It's all right. We're really here. I promise . . . so please—please talk to me!" He reached out and gingerly touched Hikaru's knee. The redhead's entire body froze at the contact, but after a few moments he slowly lifted his head.

"Kaoru? Is that—re-really you?"

The twin let out a happy sob and wiped his eyes. "Of course it is, you dummy." Tears started flowing down Hikaru's dirty face.

"Oh, Kaoru!" They both wrapped their arms around each other and cried. "I thought I was going to be stuck in that game forever," Hikaru whispered. Kaoru grip tightened and he shook his head.

"There was no way I'd let that happen. I love you."

Whoa—I ended on a happy note in this chapter? That's unheard of! :) Well, I have been known to have my moments. And I figured that there was enough emotional baggage in that chapter to satisfy you.

So, I'm sure that many of you who watched the movie or just read this story are wondering why there were two rhymes for Hikaru. This is because normally, the game would have turned him into a monkey, but with that roll (if he hadn't cheated) he would have been sucked into the game anyway, so the game figured that was a good enough punishment for him. And it had to put out that second rhyme so they would know how to get him back. Make sense? :) If not, feel free to ask.

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Deadly Commoners' Game (ch4)--Ouran/Jumanji crossover

reidluver — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:10:55 GMT

Title: Deadly Commoners' Game

Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Ouran High School Host Club, Jumanji
Pairing/Characters: All Host Club members
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Intense danger and emotional scenes

Summary: In an effort to understand more of a commoner's lifestyle, Tamaki invites the Host Club members to the school to play an old board game that he found. Too bad this game fights back . . .

Chapter 4: We Must Band Together

There was a moment of silence after Tamaki's shout, which was then dispelled by the onslaught of arrows. The others were able to get out of the line of fire quickly, being the closest to a pair of doors. They rushed to safety then spun around to see how Tamaki and Mori were faring.

"Takashi! Tama-chan!" The pair was not doing so well. Spider carcasses, fallen chairs, and overturned tables stood in their way as unwanted obstacles, making it even harder to Mori to navigate across the floor. As Tamaki crouched down to avoid a spear that came whizzing towards his head, he glanced back.

"Mori-senpai!" The senior held up one of his crutches to block three arrows, but in doing so was caught off balance. Mori tripped over his feet and stumbled backwards. Tamaki watched in fear as all the hunters took their attention off him and all aimed their weapons at Mori.

Tamaki figured their intent was to attack the weakest first. For a brief moment, the Host King suppressed the urge to chuckle at the thought. Really? Mori-senpai—the weakest? If anything he was the strongest out of all of them, though Honey-senpai wasn't a person to scoff at either. The only reason all those hunters weren't knocked out yet was because Mori-senpai's leg was broken.

Tearing himself away from his thoughts, Tamaki watched as the seconds ticked by in slow motion. As the hunters pulled back their spears or arrows, his eyes drifted to a fallen spider beside him. Suddenly he got an idea.

"STARLIGHT KICK!"

The spider sailed through the air, and while it missed its intended target, it still did the job. Three hunters fell backwards, their action distracting the others. Tamaki then took advantage of their confusion and charged towards Mori. He grabbed his arms and dragged the senior behind an overturned table for cover.

"Thanks," Mori said. He tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. Tamaki figured that the small spill the senior took must have jarred his leg terribly. He was unable to imagine how much it had to hurt.

Tamaki flashed him a wide smile, hoping to lift the protective boy's spirits. "Just returning the favor," he said, before peering over the table. He ducked down quickly as a barrage of arrows fell on them. Tamaki flinched at the thud of many arrows colliding with the wood. He then glanced over at the others, looking at Kyoya in particular.

The Shadow King understood the look and nodded, his expression determined and serious. Kyoya adjusted his glasses and spoke to the people beside him. "I've got a plan."

The hunters were furious. Never before had they been forced to wait so long for their prey. These children were infuriating! One would have thought they'd have it easy with the black-haired one walking with sticks, but his yellow-haired friend ruined it. They couldn't deny the fact that they were impressed with the boy's resourcefulness though. It was amazing how he was able to kick the spider so far and with such power.

Now the two of them had ducked for cover. Their chief yelled an order and they started running down the white-stoned steps. If arrows wouldn't work, then spears and clubs certainly would. And it's not like any of them were complaining about a little hand-to-hand combat action with their prey. None of them were graced with much interaction with other humans ever since that Alan or whatever that boy's name was came into their jungle all those years ago. They had rescued him from the man with the long stick that shot fire. It was entertaining to see the little boy try and fend for himself in the forest, but he had long since left.

"Hey, underwear freaks!" The hunters paused in their attack and glanced upward towards the source of the sound. They couldn't understand what was being said, but it sounded insulting, whatever it was. To their surprise, it was not one person, but two perfectly identical orange-haired boys! Both of them had similar smirks on their face and to be truthful, each of the hunters felt a small trickle of fear run down their spine at the sight of it. Not that they were ever going to admit it, though.

"Betcha can't get us!"

"Of course they can't, Hikaru! Just look at those wimpy little sticks they're holding."

"I agree. I think we'd be too much for them."

The hunters watched in confusion as the two boys conversed with each other, almost like they didn't consider them as much of a threat. What did those children take them for? The group turned to their chief for instructions and he glared at the two boys who now were sticking their tongues out at him. The chief had no idea what the action was for, but it was obviously a form of insult. And he was not going to stand for it.

He opened his mouth to issue an order to charge after the boys, but to his surprise something wet and slimy collided with his face. The chief blinked furiously and wiped the water off. When he pulled his hand away there was something bright and orange in his hand. It looked like a piece of clothing but it felt—different. His inspection of the strange object was interrupted by laughter up above where those two boys were standing.

"There's more where that came from!"

The two boys held floppy, vibrant balls in their hands. At first it looked like strange fruit, but the way it jiggled the hunters could tell it was something different. Suddenly, the hunters found themselves assaulted by a dozen or so of those brightly colored balls that shattered on impact and had them all drenched in seconds.

"All their paint is coming off!"

"They sure look ridiculous that way!"

"How can we ever take them seriously now?"

It was too much. The chief gave a barely comprehensible shout of attack and they all charged back up the stone steps to enact their revenge on the identical boys. Three of the hunters stayed behind to go after the other two boys though. Despite their anger at being made a fool of they understood that those two previous boys were done for and it was their duty to capture them.

To their surprise, something small and yellow came charging at them, and before they could raise a hand to defend themselves they were knocked out cold. All they saw was darkness.

"Uh, Honey-senpai?"

Honey glanced up from tightening the rope around the last hunter. "What is it, Haru-chan?"

"How did Kyoya-senpai know the twins would have water balloons? And where did they get them, anyway?"

The small boy just smiled. "Because Kyo-chan knows everything!" Haruhi resisted the urge to wince at Honey's expression. No matter how wide he smiled, the effect was diminished by that nasty black eye. It hurt her to see him looking so beat up, and the deep cut across his cheek didn't help either.

"Thanks a lot, guys." Haruhi spun around to see Tamaki and Mori emerge from behind the table, which now looked more like a porcupine than anything else. "Where did Kyoya go?"

"He's helping the twins trap the hunters," Haruhi explained. "Are you guys all right?"

It was amazing how fast Tamaki could move. "It makes me so happy to know that my daughter is so concerned about my well-being!" Tamaki proclaimed as he spun around with Haruhi.

"Mori-senpai! Help—Oh." Haruhi's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she realized her mistake. Knowing Mori, he would feel depressed at not being able to save her from Tamaki's death grip like he usually did. Tamaki noticed her hesitation and stopped. They both glanced over at Mori.

To their surprise, he wasn't paying any attention to either of them. He sitting in a chair, panting heavily as Honey stood near him like a mother hen. The small blond was speaking quietly to his cousin and holding his hand. Haruhi and Tamaki smiled warmly at the sight, finding it adorable how the roles had become reversed.

"How about we go and get you some more pain medicine, Mori-senpai?" Tamaki asked. The senior slowly opened one bleary eye and nodded. "Let's go, Haruhi." The young girl smiled up at Tamaki and took his hand. He looked a little surprised, blushed furiously, and then walked forward without another word, giving her hand a tiny squeeze.

Part of Haruhi's mind loudly protested her action, but she quickly shrugged it off. With all the insane things going on, this small action gave her a little comfort. She also knew that Tamaki needed reassurance as well. As they walked she heard the shouts and calls of the hunters along with the undeniable cackles of Hikaru and Kaoru. What in the world were they doing? And for that matter, what was Kyoya doing?

Ever since the fiasco with the lion, everything had been really scary and solemn. Now it was fun! Of course, there was still the factor of deadly Indians or whatever chasing after them with clubs and spears—but who cares? The moment Kyoya asked them to provide a distraction and lead the men away from Tamaki and Mori they knew just what to do. They just so happened to have a stash of various assorted objects that were perfect for pranking. Some school days just needed to be livened up, that's all. And if they were able to include Tamaki in the prank, then all the better.

Hikaru grew concerned for his brother though. All this running was starting to wear on him, and he could see his twin wincing in pain as they dashed through the school. Just a little further, he told himself. As they ran, Hikaru was shocked to see that the plant they encountered earlier had now started to grow outside of Music Room 3. The second floor was already covered! This posed a bit of a problem, because with vines zigzagging across the floor it slowed them down. Plus, it was obvious that the hunters were used to dealing with this sort of terrain, and they were starting to gain on them.

Up ahead they saw two blinking lights. "That's our cue!" Hikaru shouted. Kaoru simply nodded. He was hunched over and breathing heavily. The two of them yanked out a nose plug from their pant pocket and put them on. When they reached the end of the hallway, they spun around and faced the hunters. Then they nodded to each other and simultaneously pulled out a small object and held it up for the men to see.

The hunters slowed down and stared at the two boys with apprehension, wondering if they should dare move any further. Sure, they were just boys, but those grins on their faces were the look of the devil.

"I would suggest a nice, long bath after this," Hikaru laughed, his voice pinched from the nose plug. "NOW!" The two of them threw down the objects and the entire hallway erupted in smoke with an overwhelming smell of rotten eggs. Some of the hunters fell to their knees with their eyes watering and nose burning. They couldn't see anything past the smoke and all they could hear was the laughter of the two boys.

Once it cleared, those two were nowhere in sight. Enraged, the hunters rushed to the spot where the two of them had been previously standing, and glanced left and right, looking down the adjoining hallways. No one. Just when they were about to give up, they heard someone clapping behind them. It was a dark-haired boy with a strange object resting on his nose.

"Everyone gets pranked by the twins sooner or later. There's no reason to be upset." Kyoya adjusted his glasses and smirked. He had to hand it to Hikaru and Kaoru—they were handy in a crisis such as this. Now it was his turn. Everything was prepared, so all he had to do was lead them to it.

He took a step backward to start running, but at that instant something whizzed through the air toward him and embedded itself in his shoulder. Kyoya cried out in pain and staggered backward, clutching the arrow. As the hunters cheered, Kyoya's mind was whirling from pain and confusion.

I thought for sure that my appearance would have shocked them long enough for me to get away, he thought. That archer moved too fast. The pain in his shoulder would be the least of his problems if he didn't move though. He was lucky he chose that time to move, or else it would have gone through his neck. Kyoya reached out with his uninjured arm and grasped the nearby doorknob. He quickly rushed inside as another arrow collided with the door frame, where his head had been mere seconds before.

When the hunters charged through the door to follow their injured prey, they noticed that it was pitch dark. Perhaps the kid thought he'd have a greater chance in the darkness? The thought nearly made them laugh. They were trained to fight with hardly any visibility. Once their senses recovered from the stink attack, they would find him in no time. Just then, the door slammed shut with a click, and they heard the boy's taunting voice from the other side of the door.

"Sorry to keep you locked up like this, gentlemen, but it's for your own good. And don't think about breaking down the door. It's made of some of the strongest materials and there are no windows."

Kyoya's good hand fumbled with the vine as he struggled to wrap it around the doorknob, just in case. Suddenly, hands reached out and Kyoya spun around in fear and started attacking whomever it was with his one good arm.

"Hey-hey-hey! Relax, Kyoya-senpai—it's us!"

He blinked and noticed that it was indeed Kaoru and Hikaru. Both had their arms up in a "We surrender" type of way, and instead of their usual grins they were looking at him with something that could almost be construed as pity. Kyoya let out a small cough as he adjusted his glasses and cursed his momentary lapse in neutrality. That was twice now in one afternoon!

"A most impressive display," Kyoya said. "How did you manage to escape so fast?"

"Climbed up the vines," Hikaru explained as he tied the vine Kyoya was previously using around the door. The could hear the hunters banging on the doors and yelling.

Kaoru gave a feeble laugh as he wrapped his arm around his stomach. "They didn't think to look up."

"Well, you w-were a great—h-help," Kyoya stammered. He was starting to feel really dizzy and weak in the knees. He glanced down at his injured shoulder and saw the blood was flowing freely, despite his attempts to stanch it with his opposite hand. It was already stained red. So this is what it's like then? he thought. Fascinating.

"Come on," Hikaru said as he rolled his eyes and gentled prodded Kyoya down the hall. "We need to take you to the infirmary."

"W-We need to catch up with the others—" Kyoya protested, trying to stop the hallway from spinning as he was pushed along.

"Not in that condition, you aren't," Kaoru said.

"But it's my turn to roll—"

"All the more reason for them to wait for us."

"Besides," Kaoru added with a smile, "what would daddy say if we let mommy bleed to death?"

Mori looked a lot better after taking the pain killers, but he did look a little sleepy. Haruhi fervently prayed that it wouldn't affect his mood though, because a sleepy Mori terrified her. She did her best to forget that afternoon because out of all the Host Club members, Mori had been the only one she hadn't been afraid of, and she wanted to kid herself into thinking that way purely for sanity's sake.

She glanced over at Tamaki who was pacing impatiently. He kept rubbing his neck, as if he were entranced by the feeling of his swollen skin. It appeared like he was doing it subconsciously, but she just wished he would stop. It served as a painful reminder that he was almost choked to death.

"Kyo-chan! What's wrong?" Haruhi turned around and was shocked to see Kyoya walking towards them with his shoulder bandaged and wrapped up in a sling. His blue coat was gone, and his white shirt was unbuttoned halfway so as not to disturb his wound.

"He got hit with one of the arrows," Hikaru explained. He rubbed his hands together as if he were trying to wash them. When they finally got Kyoya to the infirmary, they quickly pulled the arrow out and for some reason Hikaru could still feel the blood on his hands. It unnerved him, but not as much as hearing Kyoya yelp in pain when it was removed. When he thought of Kyoya, he imagined a sadistic man bent on money. Not an injured kid, one year his senior. It just didn't feel right.

Once he was all bandaged up and took a few pain killers, Kyoya was back to his old self, which Hikaru was grateful for. With all the crazy stuff going on, it was comforting to know that some things would never change.

"And before you ask, I'm perfectly fine," Kyoya said quickly. "All I want to do is get this game over with so we can resume our lives. Where's the board?"

Everyone turned to Tamaki, still looking to him as the leader. The blond just stood there, staring at Kyoya's injury with an unreadable expression on his face. A few uncomfortable seconds ticked by as they all waited for the energetic, obnoxious Host King to say something.

"I'm sorry," he finally mumbled.

Kyoya just sighed. "Just get the game so we can finish. If I remember correctly I have less than ten spaces left—"

"Don't you get it?" Tamaki yelled. "This is all my fault! Everyone keeps getting hurt, and it's only a matter of time before someone dies—"

"We don't have time for your dramatics, Tamaki," Kyoya said in irritation. "Just get me the game."

"But you don't—"

"What do you want me to say?" Kyoya glared at Tamaki and walked forward until he was a few feet in front of him. "Do you want me to yell at you and blame you for everything? Scold you for bringing us into another one of these crazy adventures?"

Tamaki said nothing but stared at Kyoya with a mixture of fear and sorrow. He opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and glanced at his feet.

"I'm not going to blame you, since you seem to be doing enough of that yourself. Can we just finish the game and get this over with?"

They stood there for a few brief moments, the air thick with tension. Suddenly, Tamaki smiled. "Looks like Mommy had to put Daddy in his place."

Kyoya sighed and pushed Tamaki lightly on the shoulder. "Why must you insist on giving us those ridiculous titles? Go get the game, idiot. The rest of you pick up that table; I'm going to end this game now."

In a few moment's time, they were all standing around the game. Kyoya held the dice in his hand and was mentally counting the board spaces. "I have nine squares left." He gripped the dice tightly and then rolled them onto the board. Everyone watched with bated breath, hardly daring to hope.

Four.

"Damn!" Kyoya slammed his fist onto the table and glared as the alligator stopped just inches from the center.

"You're almost there with much at stake, but now the ground begins to quake." No sooner had the words left Kyoya's lips did the entire school shake with an incredible force. Kaoru and Hikaru immediately latched onto each other as they fell to the ground, Tamaki reached out and pulled Haruhi close to him, Kyoya fell against the table and wrapped his arms around the game as if protecting it, and Mori extended a hand towards Honey but was unbalanced due to his leg and collapsed onto the floor.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them started to give way. There was a loud CRACK and the floor started to split right down the middle underneath the table they were all gathered around. As Tamaki started to fall backwards with Haruhi, he grabbed the back of Kyoya's shirt and yanked him away from the ever widening hole. Kyoya let out a cry when his shoulder collided with the hard ground, but he joined Tamaki and Haruhi in scrambling away from the crumbling edge.

On the other side of the crack, the floor rose a few feet and sent the occupants tumbling backwards. The twins were sent rolling where they eventually slammed into the nearby wall and Mori scrambled across the floor towards Honey, who was huddled too close to the crack for the senior's liking. Honey reached out his hand towards Mori, and then in one traumatizing moment, everyone watched as the floor beneath the small blond gave way.

"MITSKUNI!"

The other hosts didn't know what was worse—the raw terror and emotion in Mori's voice or Honey's scream as he plummeted down the crack. Suddenly, the shaking ceased just as quickly as it had began. The twins blinked, trying to chase away the throbbing in their ears from slamming into the wall.

"Mitskuni!" Hikaru and Kaoru glanced up and saw Mori crawling towards the ledge, his crutches lying forgotten a couple feet behind him.

The absence of Honey's reply filled the twins with an undesirable dread. A small part of their mind told them there was no way he would have survived that, but they brushed it aside and rushed to join Mori at the ledge. Out of the corner of their eyes they could see the others doing the same across the gaping divide that separated them.

All five of them joined Mori in calling Honey's name, each praying for him to be all right. After a few horrifying moments they heard a feeble, "I'm here." His small voice came from the darkness and he sounded dazed.

"Where are you?"

"Can you see us, Honey-senpai?"

"Are you okay?"

"My . . . head hurts," Honey admitted. "My . . . whole body . . . hurts."

"But can you see us?" Tamaki repeated. It sounded as if Honey was fighting to stay conscious.

"I can . . . see all of . . . you."

Kyoya leaned forward, ignoring the strain it caused on his shoulder. "Are you on a ledge or at the bottom of the crack?"

There was silence for a moment, then Honey said, "It feels . . . squishy and . . . wet . . ." The Host Club members stared at each other in confusion and fear. Honey had to be losing it. There was nothing but cement and rock down there. Kyoya frowned and glanced around the room idly before his gaze settled on something. His eyes grew wide and excited.

"It's the vines!" he said. "They were already growing on the second floor, and now they've made their way onto this floor, look!" Everyone looked up and glanced around the room and discovered Kyoya was right. The plants were growing all around the walls now—not as quick as before but they were there.

Mori immediately pushed himself away from the edge and started scrambling towards the vines in a half-crazed manner, startling everyone.

"H-Hey! Mori-senpai!" the twins yelled, running after him. "We'll get a vine for Honey-senpai, don't worry!" Mori nodded furiously and then returned to the crevice and peered through the darkness. He stared at it so intently that Haruhi felt Mori believed that if he stared hard enough he would be able to find out where Honey was.

"We'll pull you up, Mitskuni."

"O-Okay, Takashi."

The next few minutes stretched out for eternity as the Host Club members pulled Honey to safety. The twins pulled on the vine while Mori leaned out over the edge, ready to grab onto Honey once he was within reach. Finally, he came into view. The smallest host looked to be in bad shape, yet by some miracle he had no broken bones. His elbows and one side of his face was all scuffed up and bleeding, but other than that there weren't any life-threatening injuries. He also seemed to be coming out of his previous daze and was more coherent.

Once he was close enough, Mori wrenched Honey over the ledge and immediately began checking him over in a hurried manner. His eyes were wide and his hands shook slightly as he prodded Honey's limbs and chest to make absolute sure there were no broken bones. Honey giggled when Mori touched his stomach.

"Th-That tickles!" He tried pushing Mori's hands away and the senior glanced at his big, wide eyes; his own filled with worry. Honey smiled warmly and pat Mori on the head. "I'm okay, Takashi. Nothing to worry about."

Mori stared at Honey a few seconds more as if trying to see for sure whether or not Honey was telling the truth. Then he wrapped his arms around the small boy and pulled him into a tight embrace. He made no sound, but Haruhi could see Mori tremble slightly. The girl gave a sigh of relief, grateful that nothing too serious had happened to Honey. She cared about the small senior too much and had no idea how Mori would be able to handle something like that. Mori and Honey felt like a single person—like you couldn't have one without the other. Just like with Hikaru and Kaoru, and if one thought about it long enough, then it applied to Tamaki and Kyoya as well. Each of them had their own special someone.

But where did that leave her? Haruhi frowned at the thought. She had never really thought about it before. With her included, that made seven. Definitely not an even number. Where was her double?

"How about we figured out a way to go across?" Tamaki suggested, giving Haruhi's shoulder a small squeeze. Along with Kyoya, the three of them were still huddled together on the ground; Tamaki had his arms wrapped around both Haruhi and Kyoya, and Kyoya was holding onto the game board with his one good arm. Tamaki stood up and helped the other two to their feet.

"The crack is narrowest over there," Kyoya said, nudging his head a couple feet to their left. "We might be able to walk across it using one of the tables."

"Let's go find a table, Haruhi!" Tamaki said, dragging her away. They found a table that slid into the crack perfectly, and then as an extra precaution, Haruhi, Tamaki, and Kyoya tied a strong vine across their waists and the twins tied it around one of the columns that held up the balcony overhead. Mori and Honey held onto the rope in the middle to make sure it wouldn't break.

As Haruhi gingerly walked across the table first with everyone cheering her on, she realized that she didn't have just a someone. She had all of them! Instead of hanging in twos she was able to insert herself to make three. Each and every one of them made her feel welcome and included. She never felt left out of anything because they all were the most important person to her. When she reached the other side safely and everyone clapped enthusiastically, Haruhi made an effort to give them all the warmest smile she could. And because she was looking for it, the young girl could see the way all their expressions grew softer and lightened up. Even Kyoya looked happier.

"Well, before we move any further we should have your wounds looked at, Honey-senpai," Tamaki said once they were all together again. "Those scrapes don't look so good."

"Oh, I'm okay, Tama-chan!" Honey protested. "It doesn't hurt that much—ow!" Honey bit his lip to fight the pain as Mori lowered a finger from Honey's elbow.

"Let's clean it . . . please," Mori said quietly. The oldest member of the Host Club opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it.

He smiled and nuzzled into Mori's lap. "Sure."

Tamaki boldly stepped forward. "I shall carry you, Honey-senpai!" Mori shot him a bemused and grateful look as Honey giggled.

"Okay, Tama-chan!" The small blond walked over to Tamaki and the Host King hefted Honey into his arms.

"We'll be back in a few minutes! Mommy, can you and the twins watch over the game?" Kyoya rolled his eyes but nodded. Haruhi and Mori stood up and then followed after Tamaki. "Wait until we get back to roll, Hikaru." The twin shrugged and joined his brother in playfully shooing them away.

"Just go already." Kyoya laid the game board on the ground and looked up at the twins. "Watch over that. I'm curious to see how the earthquake affected some of the infrastructure of this room."

"Bleh, sounds boring!" the twins chimed. Kyoya chose to just ignore them and walked over to the divided stairs, apparently deep in thought.

"After all that's happened he's still a nerd," Kaoru sighed. "Don't you agree?"

"Let's finish the game," Hikaru whispered, ignoring his brother's previous comment. He knelt down and pulled the game closer to himself.

"They said to wait!" Kaoru whispered back, frowning at his brother. He then joined him on the ground and cast a nervous glance in Kyoya's direction.

Hikaru waved him off and grabbed the dice. "Who cares? If I can finish the game right now no one will care! I've only got . . . ten more spaces! All I've got to do is make it so I roll a twelve or something. . . "

A bad feeling manifested itself in Kaoru's stomach as he watched his brother hold the dice over the game board with the sixes on top. "Are you trying to cheat?"

"It's not cheating," Hikaru argued. "The game thought that Honey-senpai rolled when all he did was toss the dice! As long as I make it fall, the game won't be able to tell!"

"But, Hikaru—"

"I know what I'm doing!" Hikaru growled. "I just can't take this game anymore! Everything is going wrong!" Kaoru could see the anger and helplessness in his brother's eyes. "Everyone's hurt, and I'm not letting anything else in this game hurt you! Don't you understand? I wasn't able to protect you! It's going to end now!" He dropped the dice, and by some miracle they landed, wobbled, and then lay still with the sixes facing upwards.

"I did it!" Kaoru gazed in awe at the dice and hugged his brother tightly as the two of them jumped for joy. "It's all over! We don't have to . . . why isn't the monkey moving?" Hikaru and Kaoru stared at the monkey which didn't move an inch even though the center was forming words just like usual. The two of them leaned in slowly to read the words, feeling very—very afraid.

"Because you tried to cheat, there is something interesting you must meet."

"What do you suppose that means, Hikaru?" Kaoru looked at his twin, who was no longer paying attention to the game. He was staring at his hands with a horrified look on his face.

"Hikaru . . . Hikaru? HIKARU?"

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Deadly Commoners' Game (ch3)--Ouran/Jumanji crossover

reidluver — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:40:49 GMT

Title: Deadly Commoners' Game
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Ouran High School Host Club, Jumanji
Pairing/Characters: All Host Club members
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Intense danger and emotional scenes

Summary: In an effort to understand more of a commoner's lifestyle, Tamaki invites the Host Club members to the school to play an old board game that he found. Too bad this game fights back . . .

Chapter 3: The Battle for Survival

It was rather odd, how underneath the water all the thunder was muffled. Haruhi found it all rather pleasant. There was the problem of not being able to breathe though. A hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her to the surface. Haruhi sucked in the badly needed air and turned towards her savior.

"T-Tamaki!" she sputtered. A loud clap of thunder sent her into his arms once again, and she latched on for dear life. Through the fog in her fear-driven brain, she was aware that Tamaki was struggling with both of their weight, but she was unable to do anything.

"Over here!" a voice called. Tamaki turned towards the voice and saw everyone else climbing up onto a table or couch. Mori was busy lifting people up onto the chandelier, with the twins already huddled among the vines. Honey and Kyoya were standing nearby, waiting for their turn.

The water level continued to rise, and Tamaki knew it was just a matter of time until their refuge on the chandelier would end. However, it would be easier to come up with a plan without having to worry about drowning. He adjusted Haruhi in his arms and started his way over. The going was slow, and soon enough Tamaki had swallowed more water than he knew he should have.

Just when he was about to give up, three pairs of hands grabbed Haruhi and him. Kyoya and Honey pulled Haruhi up onto the table, while Mori dragged him onto the couch. With a heave, he was thrown onto the chandelier with Haruhi not long after.

"You all right, my lord?" the twins asked, pulling him closer so as to make room. All he could do was nod and try to get all the water out of his lungs. Haruhi was gasping and sputtering in his arms, and with each rumble of thunder she held onto him tighter.

"We need to think of a plan!" Kyoya yelled, coming to join them.

"Great! Got any bright ideas?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked, not in the best of moods. At this point, Honey and Mori jumped on, and despite the vines having strengthened the hanging lights, it nearly broke off. The sudden shift of weight sent Kaoru flying into the water.

Hikaru reached out, but only grabbed empty air. "KAORU!"

The twin resurfaced and gasped for air, but then smiled. "It's fine! I can swim, you know." Hikaru smiled, but froze at something behind his brother. His mouth quivered and he tried to yell, but nothing came out. Kaoru frowned and turned around to see what all the fuss was about.

"CROCODILES!" He started swimming as fast as he could towards the chandelier.

"GRAB MY HAND!" Hikaru screamed, reaching out as much as he dared while the others held onto his legs. Just as their hands were about to touch, the chandelier shifted under their weight once more, throwing them back. The two crocodiles behind Kaoru disappeared under the water, and with a horrible scream—so did Kaoru.

"KAORU!"

Mori immediately dove into the water while the rest held Hikaru back.

"You can't go in!" Honey protested.

"Leave it to Mori-senpai!" Kyoya added.

Hikaru was inconsolable. "BUT IT'S MY FAULT! I ROLLED THE DICE! HE'S MY BROTHER!" He continued to struggle.

"I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM!"

Just then one of the crocodiles was sent flying out of the water, and the two missing Host Club members broke the surface, gasping for air. Mori swam towards the couch and pulled himself up onto it. He then threw Kaoru onto the chandelier into the waiting arms of Hikaru. Tears fell down Hikaru's face as he embraced his twin with a suffocating hug.

"Don't scare me like that again!" he cried.

"O-Okay," Kaoru coughed. It was then that Hikaru noticed the bloody gashes running across his brother's chest. His shirt and vest were ripped to shreds, but at least there were no missing limbs.

"You're hurt!"

Kaoru chuckled weakly and grasped his brother's hand. "A little pain never hurt anybody, right?" Hikaru closed his eyes against the stinging tears and buried his head into Kaoru's hair, pulling him close. It was times like these that Hikaru wished he could share in his brother's pain, like twins in the movies did. At any rate it would make him feel better. He was the older brother and as such felt responsible for Kaoru's well-being. Though at times it would feel like Kaoru were the older and wiser one, Hikaru wanted to be able to protect him from harm.

He looked up at Mori to thank him for saving his brother. The tall senior just smiled at him with his hair plastered to his forehead from the incessant rain. Idly, Hikaru wondered why he didn't feel as cold as he should. They were soaked to the bone. It would make more sense—

There was a loud CRUNCH followed by an agonizing scream. Hikaru stared in shock at Mori. The other crocodile had leapt into the air as Mori was getting onto the chandelier and had its teeth sunk into his right leg. It was a wonder he hadn't lost it yet. Mori lost his grip on the chandelier and fell into the water.

"MORI-SENPAI!"

"TAKASHI!" Honey dove into the water and was soon engaged in an furious battle against the two crocodiles. They would try to go after Mori who was barely treading water, but were blocked by the young karate master. Hikaru could tell he wasn't going to last much longer though. Fighting in the water and fighting on land were two different things, and the two crocodiles were much faster in the water.

"We've got to do something!" Kaoru said. He tried to sit up but Hikaru still kept a tight grip on him. "Hikaru, we have to do something! Mori-senpai saved me, and it's only a matter of time before Honey-senpai gets hurt." The twins, Kyoya, and Tamaki scrambled to figure out an answer. Haruhi was still shivering and jumping at each crack of thunder. Suddenly, Hikaru had an idea. He handed his brother over to Kyoya and started tearing his shoes off.

"Uh . . . Hikaru?" Kaoru asked. "What are you doing?"

"Same thing Haruhi did." The twin crawled to the other side of the chandelier, threw his arm back, and took aim at one of the windows. The shoe whizzed through the air and struck the window, shattering the glass. The rest of the window gave way from the pressure and water poured out. Hikaru then turned to the next window and threw his other shoe. In a few moments the music room was reduced to a few inches of water. Strangely enough, as soon as the windows were broken the storm stopped.

"Are you guys all right?"

"I'm okay," Honey sputtered. "Great thinking! The crocodiles all went—Takashi!" The senior sprinted towards the two windows that Hikaru had broken. Mori was sitting there, leaning against the small bit of wall that stood between them. His pale face was scrunched up in pain, his breathing was labored, and he clutched his leg, which wasn't a pretty sight. There were deep teeth marks and it looked as if the crocodile had tried to sharpen his teeth on his leg. The water surrounding him was already doused red with overflowing blood.

"We've got to do something to stop the bleeding!" Kyoya said once he got a good view of Mori. He had already leapt off the chandelier and was helping Hikaru lower Kaoru to the ground. Hikaru then jumped down and slung his brother's arm around him while Kyoya ran to Mori. While Kyoya had no experience with practical medical treatment, he knew enough of the principles from growing up around the hospitals his father's company oversaw.

"The swamp water couldn't have been good for the wound," he said. "We need to clean it first before we use any bandages."

"Kaoru needs attention, too!" Hikaru said. His twin was holding his chest and could barely walk due to the pain. The wounds were bleeding freely now, and the upper half of Kaoru's pants already were stained with blood.

Kyoya nodded. "We need to go to the nurse's office. Tamaki, help me with Mori-senpai." The blond second year finished helping a trembling Haruhi down to the ground and rushed over. Then the two of them draped one of Mori's arms over their shoulder and pulled him up. Mori gasped with the sudden pain.

"Sorry, Mori-senpai."

"My—leg—" he grunted, the words forced through clenched teeth.

"It's definitely broken," Kyoya said, his voice surprisingly calm. "As soon as we get to the office we can make you a splint and find you some crutches." Mori nodded and the three of them starting making their way towards the door. It was slow going, since all Mori could do was hobble across the floor as Kyoya and Tamaki gave him support so he wouldn't fall over.

"I-I'll go open the door and grab the game," Honey offered, taking off immediately. Haruhi watched the two groups make their way towards the main doors and decided to help the twins.

"Let me help." The two of them looked at her in surprise and then shook their heads.

"I've got it—"

"—and we don't want to get any blood on you," Kaoru finished. Haruhi rolled her eyes and grabbed Kaoru's free arm.

She gave him a small smile. "I don't care." The three of them walked in silence, too wrapped in their thoughts while Kaoru did his best to fight back the pain. Each movement and breath felt like it pulled his wounds further apart. He tried to control his breathing but it didn't do much.

"What happened to your shoes, Hikaru?" Haruhi asked.

"Nothing—they helped chase away the crocodiles." The girl frowned and then stole a glance at Kaoru and Mori. Both were in a lot of pain and she couldn't help but feel guilty about it. While there was nothing she could have done, Haruhi wished she hadn't had her face buried into Tamaki's chest during the whole ordeal. More than anything she had wanted to stop being so afraid of thunder and be there for her friends while they were all in danger.

And what was the deal with what was going on? How was it possible that a game was causing all of this? That last roll had dispelled any thoughts of hers that it could have been a prank, because there was no denying that the rain came out of nowhere, as well as the thunder. She shifted her glance to Tamaki and even from a side view could see the guilt on his face as he looked at Mori. Since he brought the game, it was natural for him to feel responsible. It wasn't his fault though, and Haruhi was determined to make sure he would understand that once Kaoru and Mori were taken care of.

As they inched their way towards the nurse's office, Haruhi was amazed at how normal the rest of the school looked. It shocked her to know that outside of the music room everything else was carrying on like always. Was it all a dream?

One glance at their small group told her it wasn't. Hikaru was walking around barefoot with bloodstains on his clothes; Kaoru's chest was fully exposed with his shirt tattered, unable to hide the deep, bloody gashes across his chest; Tamaki and Kyoya looked more normal, other than the circular, swollen bruise around Tamaki's neck where the vine had throttled him; Mori's broken leg looked like it had been skinned; and Honey was walking beside him, covered with a few scratches, bruises, and a black eye, which Haruhi assumed came from fighting the crocodiles. Haruhi was scared to think about what she looked like.

On top of that they were all completely soaked, though with Tamaki in his safari outfit it was an almost appropriate look for him. Haruhi suppressed a shiver and hoped there were extra clothes in the nurse's office.

In ten minute's time they had finally reached the nurse's office. Kyoya and Tamaki set Mori down and immediately went to work. Haruhi figured that in caring for his mother, Tamaki had to be rather adept at basic medical treatment as well. Honey tossed the game onto a table and rushed to Mori's side.

"What can I do to help?" Haruhi asked once she helped Kaoru into a chair. Hikaru was gently brushing back Kaoru's hair and whispering to him in an attempt to distract him from the pain.

Kyoya glanced at her and tossed some sort of wet cloth in her hands. "That's a gauze. Use it to clean Kaoru's wounds. Tamaki will tend to Mori."

She started dabbing at the biggest gash and Kaoru hissed. "Sorry, but I have to do this."

"Oh no, it's fine," Kaoru said through clenched teeth. "Don't worry about me." Hikaru looked at his brother with worry and held his hand.

"Hikaru, can you get some scissors and use it to take the rest of his shirt off?" Haruhi asked. "I think it would be best if we took the wet clothes off him."

"Got it." Hikaru quickly cut all the remaining strands of clothing and tore off the shirt. Then he put his arms around Kaoru's shoulders and held onto his twin's offered hand. They nodded at Haruhi and she began quickly cleaning the wound, doing her best to soak up all the blood without tearing the skin. As she cleaned Kaoru bit his lip and did his best not to cry out. Hikaru distracted him by resuming his whispering and stroking Kaoru's hair. Once the cuts were all cleaned, Haruhi made sure to disinfect the wound, using what Kyoya gave her.

"There, that should be better," she said cheerfully. Kaoru just nodded weakly. His face was drenched in sweat and he was panting. "Now we just need to bandage it." Kyoya handed her a long roll and she and Hikaru then started tightly wrapping them around Kaoru's chest.

Meanwhile, Tamaki was having a hard time with Mori. The senior's leg was propped up on another chair in an attempt to elevate it. Tamaki wanted to raise it more, but with his leg being broken that was out of the question. Mori was barely conscious as it was. His face was flushed and hot to the touch, and it took him a while to respond.

Silent tears fell down Honey's face as he dabbed Mori's forehead with a cool, wet cloth. The small senior had to stand on a stool to reach, and he was holding Mori's hand for both his comfort and his cousin's. Whenever Honey had to get a shot Mori always held his hand and told him to squeeze as hard as he wanted. Honey wanted to do the same for him.

Tamaki had already removed part of Mori's pant leg and was doing his best to clean the wounds. He was afraid of scrubbing off any of the remaining skin since there was so few of it. Once it was all cleaned and disinfected, Kyoya came over to help splint his leg.

"I gave some pills to Kaoru to help with the pain," Kyoya said. He held out a glass of water and pills to Honey. "These should help." As Honey helped Mori swallow the pills, Kyoya and Tamaki wrapped bandages around Mori's leg, being sure not to make it too tight. Then they set his leg using two, thin boards the nurses kept for such purposes. Mori nearly passed out during the process, but once it was finished he was able to breathe easier and the pain was lessened from the absence of any accidental jarring.

"C-C-Can we get some new c-clothes?" Kaoru asked. He had his arms wrapped around his bare, bandaged chest and shivered violently. A few minutes later, they were all changed into warmer clothing. Because of Mori's leg splint and Honey's rather small stature, the two of them were unable to change their pants, and Honey's white shirt was two sizes too big. It would have looked adorable under normal circumstances, but with his black eye and cuts and scrapes he looked more like an abused child than the cute lolita he usually was.

"Where should we go now?" Hikaru asked once everyone was settled.

"I don't want to go back into the music room," Honey sniffed. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Mori.

"I agree," Kyoya said. "It's too damp and that plant is still in there."

Haruhi glanced at the game and thought. "I think we should go somewhere with a lot of room. That will make it easier to escape."

Kyoya nodded. "I believe Haruhi is right. The cafeteria should be sufficient."

"And we can get some food," Hikaru said with a weak laugh. "I know I'm hungry."

As everyone started to file out of the room, Haruhi stole a glance at Tamaki. He hadn't said a word since he apologized to Mori in the music room. His sulking was different from what it usually was, and the young girl was overcome with sympathy and worry for him. In all their time together she had never seen him like this. He was staring at the floor with such a detached and hurtful expression he looked close to tears.

"Tamaki-senpai?" Haruhi crouched down in front of him and looked up at his face, forcing him to look at her. Thankfully there was a boy's outfit in her size, so she didn't feel as awkward around him as she could have. Plus, she felt safer in a shirt and pants because a dress would have certainly slowed her down should she need to run from anything else that came out of the game.

"It's all my fault," he whispered. "All my fault."

"It isn't your fault."

"Mori-senpai and Kaoru are hurt, Kyoya almost got eaten, you almost drowned—"

"Stop it. Tamaki—"

"What kind of father am I? Everyone is getting hurt—"

"Stop!" Tamaki wasn't responding to her, even when she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. He just kept staring straight ahead, speaking so softly she could barely hear him.

"Everything is my fault. If only I didn't bring the game—"

"Tamaki-senpai!"

"—none of this would have happened. What am I going to do—"

Unable to take it anymore, Haruhi slapped him across the face. He stopped muttering to himself and actually looked at her, his eyes wide with grief and pain. "H-Haruhi . . ." Then he broke into tears and Haruhi pulled him into a hug.

"I-It's okay," she whispered, rubbing his back like she would with a child. "Everyone is going to be fine." Tamaki had his arms wrapped around her and the girl's thoughts drifted to that night on the beach. She would have never thought their roles would have been reversed, with her comforting the older boy. It was still a nice feeling though, being able to be there for him.

Seeing him utterly defeated like that had scared her. While he tended to be annoying at times, Haruhi had only seen him with a smile on his face. It was just who Tamaki was. He never let anything get him down and his cheeriness always affected those around him. She didn't want that to change.

"I wish we could just stop playing," Tamaki sighed, once he calmed down enough.

"Once we win the game everything will go back to normal," Haruhi gently reminded him. "I promise we'll all be fine." She held out her hand.

Tamaki stared at her hand, and then back up at her. "Promise?"

"Of course!" Haruhi made sure to smile as wide as she could and it seemed to cheer Tamaki up.

"Okay." He took her hand and then the two of them made their way to the cafeteria.

"Whose turn is it again?"

The seven of them were seated around a single table in the cafeteria. They had all grabbed something to eat from the kitchen and were in a cheerier mood with food in their stomach. As an afterthought, all of them held various objects that could be used as weapons should the need arise. After all that had happened they learned they had to be prepared. The twins were brandishing large, metal ladles they found sitting in a large soup container; Kyoya, Tamaki, and Honey each had a wooden staff that Honey had fashioned out of brooms; Mori was content to use his crutches; and Haruhi held two large pans. For extra precaution they also had a few knives nearby, but the only ones who had the nerve to use them were Mori and Honey.

"I just went," Hikaru said, "so it's Honey-senpai's."

The small blond stared at the game in fear. Mori placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine." Honey gulped and picked up the dice. Everyone stared at the yellowing squares expectantly, each gripping their preferred weapon of choice a little tighter. For a split second Haruhi thought of how normal this must have looked, if one overlooked the fact they were carrying random, everyday objects. Just a group of friends playing a board game in a shiny, spotless cafeteria. She wondered how long it would stay that way.

Honey quickly rolled the dice and jumped back. They all stared in silence and watched the black elephant move forward four spaces.

"Need a hand while you just wait? We'll help you out, we each have eight."

"Spiders!" they all yelled. No sooner had they opened their mouth when enormous, brown and black spiders came falling from the ceiling, using a sticky thread. Each one was nearly three feet long and they made loud, screeching sounds like someone was rubbing their nails against a chalkboard.

"How can spiders get so big?" Kaoru said, pulling his metal ladle closer. "It's unnatural!" Just then a spider landed on the game board and shook its two front legs at them, saliva dripped from its mouth and they all leapt back in fear. Tamaki then pulled his broom handle back (nearly hitting everyone in the process) and smacked the spider off the table. In doing so, he also knocked the game off, and the dice went flying.

"Great job, my lord!" the twins said.

"I'll fix it!" he yelled back. The spider he had hit was lying flat on its back a few inches away from the board. Its long, hairy legs were flailing in the air in such a sickening way Tamaki felt nauseous.

"Tamaki! Duck!" The blond immediately did as he was told and he heard something whiz through the air before it struck something with a disturbing, gurgling sound. He looked up and saw the spider shudder and die, with a large knife poking out of its chest. The Host King turned around and saw Mori smile at him, leaning on one of his crutches. Tamaki smiled back and then focused his attention back to the game.

The dice had rolled underneath the table, far from Tamaki's reach. He cursed at his luck and dove for them, scrambling underneath the table. Just before he could grab them, spider legs reached out and attacked his hands. The second year shrieked in surprise and immediately scrambled backwards. In his haste he smacked his head against the table. Tamaki moaned and cradled his head as his blurred vision swerved in and out.

Suddenly a hand yanked him backwards out from underneath the table. He was tossed up against a chair, and there was a sound of a something falling over. When the world righted itself, Tamaki saw Mori standing in front of him with the table overturned. The offending spider lay twitching a few feet away with a knife lodged between its many eyes.

"Th-Thanks, Mori-senpai," Tamaki said as he stood up. The senior was breathing heavily and leaning on his crutches.

"Get the dice," he said.

Being careful not to get too close to the monstrous spider, Tamaki quickly snatched up the dice. When he stood up, he stole a glance at all the other Host Club members. Honey was whirling his broken broom with ease, Kyoya was awkwardly swinging his weapon like a baseball bat, and the twins were slashing their ladles across the ground like golf clubs, appropriately yelling, "FORE!" whenever they sent a spider flying. Haruhi was standing nearby the twins and she slammed her pots down on the spiders when they got too close. They moved too fast for her to actually hit them, but they knew enough to keep their distance from her. It even appeared like she was purposefully sending them in the twin's direction.

With the dice in his hand Tamaki remembered it was his turn, but then paled when he realized what must have happened. He glanced at a confused Mori in fear and sprinted towards the table. Sure enough, his white rhino had moved. Once again, the game had misinterpreted a roll. How it could have known that it was he who knocked the game over, Tamaki would never know. He leaned forward to read the green writing, but just then a spider leapt towards him out of nowhere.

Before it could strike, there was a whizzing sound and the spider was thrown sideways and onto the ground. And this time, instead of a knife there was an arrow sticking out of its chest. There was a loud yell with incoherent chanting following it, and Tamaki glanced up towards the balcony overlooking the cafeteria in fear.

Standing in a foreboding line above them was a group of men, clad only in loincloths and paint. Their tanned skin gleamed in the light from the chandeliers and glinted off their bows. A few of them were adorned in headdresses and feathers. They also were brandishing spears and had their arrows pointed directly at them.

Tamaki quickly glanced at the game and read, These group of hunters are in a hurry; if you want to live you'd better scurry. He turned to the awestruck members of his club and yelled, "RUN!"

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Criminal Minds--Family Vid

reidluver — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:26:27 GMT

This is just gonna be real quick, but I absolutely love this video. It embodies what I love about my favorite show Criminal Minds AND it's set to Enya's "Orinoco Flow" which is my second favorite song of all time, the first being "Fireflies" by Owl City.

My next entry will be another "Cooking With Reid" and this time it'll be about Stir Fry, so stay tuned!

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