'...' Conversation is in English

“...” Conversation is in Japanese

Chapter 8

Kenji sat in the car, waiting for his mother to come back from the store. Dark rings under his eyes showed how little sleep he had gotten, his dreams were plagued by images of his father laying motionless on the ground, a puddle of blood around him. Several nights he woke up screaming and clung to his mother for comfort, even though he still refused to talk to her.

Never in his life would Kenji ever think that it was possible to hate your own mother, but he felt that he reached that point. Whatever love and respect he had for Grace had faded into a small trace of what had been. When he looked at his momma’s hands, he could always see his father’s blood stained on them. His mother shouldered as much blame for what had happened as Matsuji.

He was happy that Matsuji was no longer with them, what happened to him, Kenji neither knew nor cared. That was a good thing, that man had been the person who had hurt his papa. But his spirits were damp, it had almost been two weeks since he last saw his father and now he feared the worse. His father was really dead and Seiji must be too. No one was coming for him.

Looking down at the pad of paper on his lap, Kenji picked up a yellow colored pencil and put in the finishing touches on his drawing. Over the days, Ken lost himself in his own little fantasy world to escape what was happening around him in the real world. He was spending long hours day dreaming, drawing or reading, anything to keep his mind off of things.

Not only was he scared because his father had died, but because he didn't know where he was. The place he and his mother was visiting was strange, the people spoke funny and the words didn't make sense. His mother seemed to know what other people were saying and she'd speak to them in that weird language. He determined that they were somewhere in Europe, his papa had taught him that his mother came from a different country where things were different than that of Japan.

Closing his eyes, Kenji thought back to his favorite story about the mystical armors again. It was strange how clearly he could see the armors of Kourin and Tenku in his mind, it was like he could reach out and run his small fingers over the unusually warm metal, pulsing with a spirit of its own. He couldn't decide which one he liked best now, Tenku used to be his favorite, though now he wasn't sure. Kourin had its strong points too, it had the power to heal and it was connected to light. But Tenku could fly and it was strongly connected to space.

A small grin tugged on Ken's lips as he thought how cool it'd be if they were one armor. Not like the white armor that his father had told him about, but if there was an armor with both of Kourin and Tenku's abilities. He would like to be the warrior of both space and light, courtesy and wisdom, wield both a sword and bow.

When Kenji's dreams weren't filled with the horrible scene of his dead father, they were comforted by a green and blue light and better memories filled the boy's subconscious. His eyes were still watery when he woke up, remembering the good times that he had lost forever. What confused him though, was that some of memories weren't his.

Sometimes he'd see his father holding a tiny infant with blue hair, a big smile on his face. Or a younger version of Seiji winning a tournament and his father in the audience, cheering him on. There was one with the two of them just talking and another of when Seiji took Touma up to see the house for the first time.

Yawning, Kenji leaned his head against the car door, he didn't get much sleep the night before and he could feel the affects of the lack of sleep. Maybe if he fell asleep, then he'd wake up at home with his papa and Seiji sitting on the edge of his bed, telling him he just had a bad nightmare and everything was going to be all right.

When Grace returned to the car, she put the grocery bags in the trunk and went over to the back seats to check up on her son. The little boy was fast asleep with his pad of paper on his lap. Taking the paper, Grace put a blanket over him and looked down at the picture. She lifted an eyebrow at it and wondered if her son had seen it on TV or if it came from his imagination. It must've come from the TV, she concluded, where else would her son come up with the idea to draw blue and green armors?

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//Stubborn, beautiful man ... But this is his son that we’re looking for. I'd actually be surprised if he did spend all this time resting.// Seiji thought to himself as he brought in Touma’s dinner, only to find his lover on the phone, questioning another of Grace’s friends.

Setting the tray down on the night stand, the blond sat at the edge of the bed, listening carefully to Touma’s conversation with the mystery person. Well, he tried to listen, Touma was talking in English and he couldn’t understand a word of it. His heart beat quickened at the sight of his love’s excited face, it was the closest Touma has looked to being happy in the past week.

It was exactly a week since Touma woke up, nearly two since he was shot. He couldn't believe that almost two weeks had past since Touma had died then brought back to life and Kenji had been kidnapped. Touma was under strict orders to stay in bed by Seiji and the rest of their friends that were constantly visiting them. But that didn't prevent Touma from searching for his son. He started calling all of Grace's friends, asking if they had seen her or his son.

It looked as though Touma was slowly wasting away. He ate less and hardly slept, his worry for his son was eating him alive and Seiji could only helplessly watch. The blond did his best to soothe his love, but there was nothing he could do that made Touma feel any better. He prayed that they would find Kenji soon, for both the boy’s sake and for Touma’s. Seiji didn’t know how long Touma could last without his son, the archer still blamed himself for what had happened.

At times Seiji just wanted to grab Touma and shake him, yell at him that none of this was his fault. He wanted to shout at Touma and tell him that he wasn't doing any good to him or his son by pushing himself like that. He wanted to let it all out, but knew he couldn't. The archer basically living off of the hope that he was going to find Kenji soon, he seemed to be very fragile now. Anything could set him off into a fit of tears or a shouting match with any given person.

Sighing softly, Seiji watched Touma's silky lips move, spilling out alien words that he couldn't understand. He frown slightly, he could count on one hand how many times he kissed those lips since Touma woke up ... Or at least when Touma was awake. For a whole week they hadn't gone beyond a light kiss on the lips, Touma was too distant, too distressed to even think of touching Seiji.

'You have?! When? Did she have Kenji with her? ... How is he? Did he look okay? ... Thank god ... What!? Of course I’m alive!! I wouldn’t be able to talk to you if I weren’t! Why would you think such a thing? ... Oh, I see ... Did she have her boyfriend with her ... She didn’t? That’s strange ... Never mind ... Thank you, I’ll see you soon, Liz ... Yeah, you too, tell Djinn that I said hi ... Bye.' Hanging up the phone, Touma laid back down on the bed, his head was beginning to hurt from having to remember all of those foreign words!

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about? Or am I going to have to whip out an English/Japanese dictionary?" Seiji began to rub the temples of Touma's forehead, recognizing the signs of a headache coming on.

"That was one of Grace's friends, she saw Grace a couple days ago, with Kenji! With her help I might be able to find my son!" Looking up at Seiji, Touma hesitated a bit and said, "I'm going to England, that's the last place she was seen, so I'm going to start there."

"England? All right, I'll start making some phone calls for you and see when is the soonest we can go."

"I meant that I was going by myself," Touma replied softly, wincing at the hurt look on his lover's face. Reaching up and caressing Seiji's cheek, Touma looked up in cool violet eyes. "Thank you for the offer love, but Seiji, you don't even know how to speak English, I think it'd be better if you just stayed here. You can look after things for me and I promise I'll call everyday."

Seiji roughly pulled Touma into his arms, a scold across his face. "I nearly lost you, I did lose you for awhile. Now that you’re back, like hell am I letting you out of my sight, I’m going with you.”

“But you have your classes to teach at the university and classes at the dojo. You need to look after your family too.”

“Touma, don’t you see that you are my family!? You and Kenji are a part of my family as much as my sisters, my parents and my grandfather are. I'm not going to let you wander around in some other country looking for the woman who had you shot! And who’s going to take care of you?! You DIED, Touma, I’ve learned my lesson and I’m not going to fail you again!"

"Y-You think you failed me?" Touma stared up at Seiji, startled that his lover would think such a thing. Never in all the years he knew the blond had Touma ever thought that Seiji had failed him.

Tears flooded Seiji's violet eyes. "I can understand why you don’t want me to come with you, I did fail you, in the worst possible way. I let you die and I let your son be kidnapped. I-If only I had stopped you that morning ... If only I got there sooner ... None of this would be happening if I just did something ... I'm sorry Touma ... Please forgive me, I'm so sorry ..." The tears fell from Seiji's eyes, running down his cheeks and his hold on Touma tightened.

Gently kissing away Seiji's tears, Touma soothingly petted his golden hair and whispered, "Seiji ... You failed no one, you saved me, in more ways than one on several different occasions. There is nothing for you to be sorry about, you had no idea this was going to happen. Don't cry, Seiji, please don't cry."

“If you truly believe that I didn’t fail you, you’ll let me come with you.”

“I do believe it.” Grasping Seiji’s hand, he laced their fingers together and gave the blond a watery smile. “Ever since I met you, you’ve always been close to my heart. I love you and without you I’ve been lost the past six years. I’ve been a fool to think that I could survive without you even if it might be a short time.”

“So you’re going to let me come?”

A soft chuckle escaped from Touma. “I think the moment we started this conversation we both knew you were coming with me. And you say that I always get my way.”

“You do, you spoiled brat, I just have to get my way sometimes too.”

Touma stuck his tongue out at Seiji. “It’s not my fault you’re a softy. Oh, is that dinner you brought me? Please tell me it’s something other than broth or something in liquid form.” Touma spotted the tray sitting on the night stand.

“Sorry, doctor Shin’s orders, but he did make fresh bread and cooked vegetables for you.” The blond smiled at the pout on the archer’s face and a quick pang of pain filled him as it reminded him of Kenji.

“A guy dies for less than a day and the whole world has him eating mushy and liquefied foods. Tomorrow, I expect Shin to fix me an entire duck and a chocolate cake taller than him.”

“Since when do you like duck?”

“Since Shu gave me some at his family restaurant, it’s actually very good once you get the cute images of the cartoon ducks out of your mind.”

Seiji shook his head. “You and Shu will eat anything as long as it’s cooked.”

“That’s not true, I also eat raw fish when Shin isn’t looking.”

A warm smile lit up Seiji’s face, it had been awhile since he heard Touma joke around like this. It almost felt like nothing was wrong, but that was far from the truth. When would life ever be uncomplicated for them so they could just sit back and enjoy everyday as it came? Why couldn’t they have a normal existence like every other normal person does?

“Hey Seiji, wanna join me for dinner? I could eat my mush while watching you eat foods that actually requires chewing.”

“Of course,” Seiji tweaked Touma’s nose. “I need to tease you in every way possible, even if it is just eating.”

After dinner was done with and the late hours of the night crept in, Seiji settled on his side of the bed and stared up at the ceiling. His eyes traced the patterns of the glow in the dark stars there and found his heart aching for Touma’s son and the happiness the small family used to have. His hopes had risen today, but he was still worried that they might be too late. Grace and Kenji could be anywhere and that scared him, it also scared Touma, even though he never admitted it.

Rather than dwelling on those thoughts, Seiji decided to think about what they were going to do once they got Kenji back. First they’d have to make sure that he and Touma still had a job and to get Kenji enrolled in the nearby school. It would probably be a good idea to start a college fund for the boy, Seiji could tell that Ken would be going to a college of his choice. The blond also toyed with the idea of making Kenji his heir, but that would mean that Ken would also be the heir to Kourin and that wouldn’t work out, the boy was already in line for Tenku.

If Touma would allow it, Seiji wanted to teach the boy kendo and other martial arts, to teach Kenji what his grandfather had taught him so long ago. Seiji had always wanted a child to raise and care for, and he was a little sad that he’d probably never have one of his own, but he loved Ken as if he were his own. Every time Seiji looked at the boy, he could feel his heart swell with pride and joy at the thought that he was going to help Touma raise this child into a man.

Sighing silently, Seiji tried to make himself comfortable and get some sleep. Usually he’d be halfway draped over Touma, but the archer was too detached from himself and everyone else from grief to really want contact. Guilt weighed down in Touma’s heart and soul and the archer didn’t think he deserved the comfort and love that Seiji longed to give him. Though now with the new hope that Touma was given, the archer seemed a little bit more like himself.

On the opposite side of the bed, Touma tossed and turned restlessly, it was almost a habit that the archer developed in his sleep. Turning to his side, Seiji reached out to try to calm his lover down and was surprised to find that Touma was awake. The couple gazed at each other for a minute before the archer pulled Seiji halfway on top of him and rested his chin in soft blond hair.

“For four years now I've had a nice little family, wonderful friends and that whole time I was empty," Touma whispered softly. "I never felt complete until you came back into my life, six years I longed for you, dreamed of you, wondered if you were happy ..." Tears spilled down from Touma's eyes as he held Seiji firmly against him. "The day I came home from London, my heart died. I knew I couldn't survive without you and I almost didn't.” Touma turned over his wrist and looked sadly at the scar there. “Then Kenji was born ..."

"Touma, I'll never forgive myself for all of the pain that I've caused you." Seiji gently took Touma’s wrist and traced the thick scar that marred his prefect skin, the blond could already feel his eyes start to sting.

"But it's all right, Seiji, if all that has happen didn't, I would've never had my son. Ken was the only thing in my life that pulled me through those years, I remember the first time I held him. Looking down at him, I realized how much I loved him and he wasn't even an hour old." Wiping his tears away, Touma sniffled a bit and buried his face in Seiji’s hair. “And now she’s taken him away from me. Why would she do that? ... Seiji?” A small sob rose from Touma’s throat. “Wh-What if we never find Kenji? What if we can’t find my son?”

“We’ll find him, I promise you, I swear on my armor we will.”

“Promises are meaningless, Seiji. I won’t rest peacefully until Kenji is safe in my arms again.”

“I know that, but we are going to find him.”

They laid there not saying anything, only the soft sound of their breathing filled the silence of the room. Soon Touma’s soft snores were added in, telling Seiji that his lover had fallen asleep. He didn’t move from the embrace of Touma’s arms, realizing how long it has been since Touma held him like this and how much he missed it.

What if they couldn’t find Kenji? Would Touma forever be stuck in a depressed void, on the edge of a total break down? Would he remain distant and withdrawn in himself? Would Seiji be able to take care of him like this?

“I love you, Touma.” Seiji’s raspy whisper was followed by another round of tears.

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Grace grinned widely at the sight of her new house, it was a large, two story home already furnished. She was pleased to see that her “business partners” could still be trusted to hold up their end of the bargain and provided a safe house for her and her son outside of the city. With the last payment, the money coming from the late Matsuji’s bank account, sent to her associates, she was free of debt and the threat that had been hanging over her head for so long.

Gazing out the window, her looked out at the view and her grin disappeared. 'Touma would’ve loved this place ...'

Her heart ached for Touma, knowing that he was dead made the hurt inside of her grow even more. She still loved him so much and cursed the day that they met. Slumping down in a chair and closing her eyes, Grace thought back to when she first walked into Touma’s life and would eventually become a bigger part of it ...

// Flash Back

(Five years ago, London)

Moving among the crowds of students leaving the university, Grace looked at the new flock of men that had come just for the lecture. She rolled her eyes, why would someone come halfway around the world just to hear some guy talk? But whatever the reason, it brought in new fish for Grace and for that she was thankful.

She was an attractive woman with wavy hair of light brown and silvery violet eyes, she had a slim figure, slightly tanned skin and long legs. Many men had their eyes out on her, but she wasn’t interested. There was a certain man she was looking for, one that was vulnerable and easy to control.

Being no stranger to manipulation, Grace prided herself in being the best there was at such a thing. She could get away with anything with just the batting of her eyelashes and the simple charm of her smile. Men melted at the sight of her and she was all but happy to take advantage of them. They were weak and so fun to bend, just touch them the right way and they would get on their knees and ask of what was needed of them.

Sighing softly, she removed herself from the crowd of college students and sat down on a nearby bench on the campus. Her eyes watched as some fresh faces appeared and then disappeared in the mob of people. There was a wide variety, but only so few that she could afford to pick this time around. She needed a good one.

'Out fishing again?' A soft, smug, female voice asked behind of her.

A cross look flashed over Grace’s fair features. Out of anything in the world, she hated being interrupted in her observing. 'Well, at least I get bites unlike someone I know,' she shot back, venom dripping from her voice.

'Ouch,' the woman hissed as she sat down next to Grace. 'Do you think you’ll be able to find one today? What would you with him? Drain him of his money? Abuse him? Use him for sex? Blackmail him? Maybe even love him?'

'I think you know the answer to that. What are you doing here, Angela?'

The dark haired woman smirked. 'Just checking up on my best friend, can’t I even do that without being questioned?'

'No, not really. I’ve known you since we were running around with pigtails and dolls, but it doesn’t mean that I trust you.' Grace’s eyes never left the crowd, but shifted as she noticed a group of astronomy students around a young man. A man with blue hair.

'See something that interests you?' Angela leaned forward and licked her lips. 'He’s kind of cute, isn’t he? A bit weird with the blue hair, but still cute. You can just tell that he has a great body under that shirt ... What do you think? A bite?'

Grace winked at Angela. 'He could be, he looks like he could use a friend. Look at those rings under his eyes, you can tell that he hasn’t gotten much sleep lately and that smile of his is forced. And those eyes, pretty as they are, they just scream depression. I bet you anything that he's been screwed over by some other bitch and probably has had a bad childhood. He's perfect in every way.' Running a hand through her long hair, a brilliant smile spread across her face. 'I think I’ve gotten my fish, so you better keep your bloody paws off.'

Raising her hands up in defense, Angela replied, 'He’s all yours, I’ve been working on my own catch, so go work your magic on him and tell me what happens tonight.' With that she got up and walked away.

Standing up, Grace made her way towards the group of people and listened in with the rest of the students to what the young man had to say. She cursed mentally as she realized that the man was done with his speaking and she still didn’t know what he was talking about. Her hopes sank, she had just missed a perfect opportunity.

'If any of you need any help, I offer tutoring for astronomy classes.' After saying that, he gave the group a soft smile and turned to leave.

This was her chance, walking forward, she gently grabbed his arm and he turned around to look at her. 'Excuse me, sir. You said you were offering tutoring for astronomy? Well, I’m considering taking that class next semester, but I really don’t know anything about it. Do you think that you can help me?'

'Of course. I’m not busy right now, how about we talk things over?'

'Sure, I’ll even treat you out to lunch, since you’re now my new tutor.' Grace grinned happily as she looked up into his bright blue eyes and for the first time she could feel her heart begin to beat faster just by gazing into them. 'By the way, my name is Grace Williams.'

'It’s nice to meet you Grace, I’m Hashiba Touma.' He saw the strange look on Grace’s face and laughed softly at her confusion. 'I’m sorry, I guess here it’d be Touma Hashiba, I come from Japan.'

'I could hear an accent, but it’s not too heavy, you’ve been here before?'

Brief sadness swept over Touma’s features, as if the thought of his last visit stirred up bad memories. 'I have.'

The sadness was not missed by Grace, she was skilled at detecting these kinds of things. //Hm, there’s something that’s troubling him. I just need him to open up and then I can begin the real work. I have a feeling that this guy is going to be fun once I’m able to gain his trust. I wonder what his sob story is.//

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'Touma! Over here!' Grace stood on her toes and waved her hand above her head to get the blue haired man’s attention. A warm feeling swept over her when Touma flashed that beautiful, natural smile at her as he made his way towards her. He had been tutoring her in astronomy for about a month, which she now found fascinating, and they had become friends quickly.

Friends, the word burned Grace like as if she had put her hand over a candle. Touma was supposed to be her prey, her fish, but instead he was now her friend. All other men she had been able to keep at a distance, but there was something about Touma that drew her to him.

He was special, that was for sure. Grace found herself breathless whenever he would just brush his blue bangs out of his bottomless blue eyes or when their hands would lightly touch by accident. One time she had playfully pushed him into a fountain and he had taken off his T-shirt to wring out the water. She had stared at his pale, wet chest, unable to take her eyes off of it.

A part of her dreaded to take advantage of him, he was such a sweet, caring person and he seemed to think highly of her. But another, the more sinister, part of her longed to seduce him. She couldn’t tell if he was a virgin or not, but she knew he was certainly not the type to sleep around or go through several women. Whatever relationships he had before had to have been meaningful and loving.

The tall man placed his hand on her shoulder as he approached her, his smile still on his face. 'Hey Grace, you ready? We have a lot of material to cover today.'

'I sure am! I studied all last night, so I think that I’ll be able to understand a bit better today.'

'Good! Come on, let’s go see if we can get our usual table.' Touma blushed lightly as Grace took his hand as they went into the cafe, which pleased the girl.

They sat down at their usual place, in the corner of the cafe, by the big window that gave them a good view of the park it over looked. Touma ordered a sandwich, but Grace couldn’t eat, Touma gave her butterflies in her stomach and she felt bashful in front of him. Even just sitting there with him made her nervous and brought up weird feelings that she never felt before.

Her heart almost stopped as she noticed Touma gazing out the window, his chin resting in his hand and the sunlight coming through bathed him in its light. There was a tinge of sorrow in his eyes that made Grace almost want to cry. A person like Touma should never be sad.

'Touma ... Please tell me what's on your mind,' she begged.

'I was just thinking how beautiful it is over here, but how I still miss my home.' His voice was soft and hard to hear.

'What's wrong, ever since I met you I could tell that there's something weighing down your heart.' For once Grace had real concern for her prey, truly wanting to know what has been plaguing him. Even though she had patronized him before, now she was ready to really listen to what he had to say. When Touma didn't reply, she frowned and said, 'It's all right, I understand that you don't quite trust me yet.'

Reaching out, Touma took her hand and held it gently in his own. 'It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I've never told anyone this before ... I don't know what you'll think of me afterwards.'

'Touma, nothing could make me stop being your friend.' She gave him a grin and then added, 'Unless I find out that you're really an ax murderer hiding out in an European university.'

A sudden serious look swept over Touma and in a low voice he asked, 'How did you know that?'

Grace sat there stunned, till Touma started laughing. He was too convincing sometimes for his own good. Laughing along with him, Grace shook her head. 'You had me there. But please, tell me what's wrong. What happened to you?'

After a few minutes of hesitation, Touma began his story. Grace was shocked to hear that Touma had a male lover for six months. She would've never guessed that he was attracted to men. As he told her about coming home from London and discovering that his boyfriend was with another man, Grace felt pity for Touma. She couldn't believe that anyone would cheat on this sweet man. And as she learned of his struggles over the last year, she almost felt sorry she had picked him out as her prey.

If she could, she would've dropped him, let him go on with his life and not have her complicate it even further. But she couldn't afford such a loss, Touma was exactly what she needed and she was going to have to take those simple steps to crush him.

End Of Flashback //

Grace shook her head, trying to clear herself of those thoughts of the past. Even though Touma should've been easy, he wasn't and because of that he was dead. Burying her face in her hands, tears began to run down her cheeks.

'Touma ...'

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Seiji's head was beginning to pound with the new assault of a raging headache. There seemed to be little he could do in his new surroundings. Since they were now in England, he couldn't even ask for directions unless for some miracle someone spoke Japanese. He did learn a few new phrases from Touma, like 'I don't speak English', 'My name is Seiji Date' and 'I love Touma and I am his sex slave'. So far he hadn't used any of his new phrases and had the feeling that he'd never need to use the third one.

For a week they had been in England, looking for any information on Grace and where she might be. Or at least Touma did, Seiji was helpless when it came down to all of this, though he did call Shin almost every night to tell him of their progress, or lack of, and to tell him that they were all right.

Two of Touma's friends had been generous enough to help them in their search. They were two pleasant, young ladies by the name of Elizabeth Sklar, better known as Liz, and Jennifer Shield, who was fondly called Djinn, why she was called this or what it meant was beyond Seiji. The blond was thrilled to learn that Liz knew Japanese and hugged her on the spot. He had her be his translator whenever available so he could be of some use to Touma.

Liz and Djinn had very little information on Grace to give them, except that she did visit them and Kenji was with her. But for some reason Matsuji wasn’t with Grace and the two girls heard nothing of him while Grace was visiting. They were also told that Touma was dead and were shocked when he had called them. Whenever they’d ask why Grace had told them that Touma was dead, Touma would shrug his shoulders and tell them that he didn’t know for sure.

The couple had been staying at the apartment Liz and Djinn shared, it was a bit of a squeeze, but Seiji and Touma were always out. Touma would go and ask old friends if they had heard from Grace or if they had her phone number or address. Each time he came empty handed and Seiji was there to offer his support.

His concern for Touma was increasing by the day. The archer still looked weak, his skin was almost as white as a piece of paper and he hadn't been sleeping well. Seiji feared that Touma might have a relapse and he did his best to get the archer to sleep at night. He would cradle Touma in his arms, singing softly to him till slumber overcame both of them.

The blond didn't feel any closer to Kenji than they did a week ago in Japan. Fingering his armor orb in his pocket, Seiji thought of little boy. The two of them had become closer and the small child looked up to Seiji as a second father. When Touma was busy with work or was out, Seiji and Kenji would sit down and talk or read. The blond learned much of Kenji’s life and his friends, finding that the boy had the same intelligence and hunger to learn that his father possessed.

“Seiji?” Touma looked over at his lover as he stopped the car as the traffic light turned red.

Seiji jumped a little as his train of thoughts had been derailed. “Yes, Touma?”

“You were spacing out on me again ... I was asking you if you thought that I was correct about it.”

“Correct about what?” The blond felt a little bad that he hadn’t been listening to Touma, especially when the archer needed him the most.

Sighing softly, Touma shook his head. “Never mind, it wasn’t important.”

“No, go on and tell me. I’m sorry that I wasn’t paying attention earlier, I wasn’t aware that you were trying to talk to me.” Seiji winced at he realized that wasn’t really the right thing to say.

“As I said, it wasn’t important.” Touma put his concentration back on driving, a tense silence falling over them.

He was frustrated that he and Seiji were becoming more and more distant. Touma had been determined not to let this affect his relationship with Seiji, but it was. It caused a great strain on things between them and it was because of his inability to cope with the situation well.

His heart constricted in pain at the thought that maybe this would end up destroying their love for each other. That it’d wedge a gap too far between them to mend and things would go back to the way they were. It wasn’t that Touma was afraid that Seiji was going to leave him because things were becoming difficult. Touma was just afraid that he was going to drive Seiji away like he had the first time. If they broke up for the second time, Touma didn’t know how he was going to deal with it, even if he did get Kenji back from Grace.

As if being able to read Touma’s mind, Seiji placed his hand on Touma’s thigh and gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry, my dear Tou, not even the claws of death could tear me away from you and your love, you should know that. This will not break us, we’re stronger than that now.”

“I know, I just can’t help worrying sometimes ...”

“Touma, there’s something bothering you. What is it, love? Please, you have my full attention, I’m sorry about what happened before.”

Touma pulled the car into a parking lot in front of a university and turned towards Seiji, his face full of worry. “Djinn and Liz have been doing a lot for me, searching deep for anything that might help, but nothing has come up under the name Grace Williams. I don’t think Grace Williams really exists.”

“What?” Seiji’s eyes filled with shock.

“She has to have another name ... I’ve called up all the places she used to work at, even the company in Japan, none of them have ever heard of a woman named Grace Williams. She doesn’t exist, Seiji.” Leaning his head against the headrest on the seat, Touma became more disturbed by the second. “But if she isn’t Grace ... Then who the hell is she? Why did she lie about herself? Was she just using me all these years? She really didn’t get much out of me, I did tutor her for awhile and supported her while she was pregnant, but that was about it.”

“Touma, sometimes people change their names, it’s perfectly legal. Maybe she had a bad past that she wanted to leave behind or something like that.” Even though his words sounded logical, Seiji didn’t believe them himself. The thought of that woman sent chills down his spine, even though they had never met before.

Narrowing his eyes in thought, Touma pondered over what Seiji had said. “No ... It’s not that ... From time to time I’ve seen glimpses of a darker side to her. It was nothing that made me really think, I mean, we all have that little devil sitting on our shoulder ... But it’s beginning to make sense to me now. I just can’t believe that I’ve been so dense over the last five years.” Opening the car door, he stepped out. “Come on.”

“Why are we here?”

“To see if Grace Williams is really a person or if she’s a figment of someone’s imagination.”

Seiji got out of the car and followed Touma in the university, not wanting to lose sight of him. What they were going to find there, Seiji had no idea, but didn’t ask. Touma probably would’ve just ignored his question as he had done before, like he didn’t hear Seiji’s voice.

The blond soon saw that they were in the library and headed for the front desk. He noticed that a tall, good looking man was sitting at the desk, typing away at the computer. The man’s dark eyes looked up at Touma and right away he stood up to greet the archer.

‘Touma! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you!’ Exclaimed the man as he got up from his desk and embraced Touma, which alarmed Seiji right away.

‘Jason, it’s good to see you again,’ Touma halfheartedly returned the hug.

‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist me for much longer,’ the man grinned as he ran his hand through his black hair.

Rolling his eyes, the archer replied, ‘I know you like women, so don’t give me that. I need a favor from you.’

Jason eyed Touma suspiciously. ‘Touma, I told you before, I won’t sleep with you.’

‘Oh gods, get over yourself.’ The archer’s voice had an annoyed tinge to it. ‘I need the school records of Grace Williams.’

‘That’s easy! I thought that you were going to ask something hard!’ Jason went back to his desk and started typing at the computer again.

“Touma, what did you ask of him?” Seiji asked as he watched the man go back to work.

“He’s getting me Grace’s school records.”

“Isn’t that illegal or something?”

“Yeah, but he can hack into the school system and get them for me.”

‘Hey Touma, there is a Grace Williams on the records, but she went to this school twenty years ago. Is that the girl you wanted?’ Jason looked a bit confused.

‘What!?’ Fishing out his wallet, Touma took out a picture of Grace holding Kenji as a baby. ‘Do you know this woman?’

‘She looks familiar ...’ Then Jason’s face lit up. ‘I remember her now! She’s the girl you tutored right? Her name was Sarah ... Um, I think it was Sarah Miller.’

‘Are you sure that’s her name?’ Touma’s heart began to beat faster and his skin just about lost all color.

‘Yeah, she used to come in here almost everyday. Pretty girl with those nice silvery violet eyes and legs that seemed to never end, she used to always hang out with Angela Jenson when she wasn’t hanging onto your arm. You want me to print out the records for you?’

‘Sure, thanks.’ The archer had to lean against the desk to keep himself from collapsing.

So many questions began to buzz in his mind ... Why did she give him a fake name? And if she didn’t want to be found out, then why did she go under her real name when she attended the school? Was Sarah even her real name? Was she just using him all this time? But why did she choose him? Because he had few friends? Because he was trusting? Because he never noticed that she went under another name? Oh gods, he didn’t even know the real name of the mother of his child!

‘Here you go, Touma.’ Jason handed him a few papers. ‘There isn’t much there, but I hope it helps you for whatever you’re doing. Hey, are you going to be able to stick around later? Maybe we could go get a drink or something, catch on our lives.’

‘Maybe later on a different visit. My stay here is strictly business and I don’t know how much time I have left.’

‘That sucks, oh well, another time then. See you later, Touma.’

‘See ya.’

Seiji watched as Touma took the papers from the other man and walked out with him as he left the library. “What did you find out, Tou?”

“Grace does have a different name. She was registered under the name Sarah Miller at this school.”

“But why? Didn’t you go to this university too? Wouldn’t you have noticed that others were calling her Sarah instead of Grace?” Seiji questioned as they got back into the car.

“I actually never did attend the school, I only went there a few times for a lectures being held. Now that I think about it, we rarely hung out near the university and everyone else who knew her that I’ve met didn’t go to the university either, except for Angela.”

“Who’s Angela?”

“Grace’s best friend, but I never liked her ... There was just something about her that made me uneasy.” Touma buckled his seat belt, but didn’t make a move to start up the car.

“Touma? Are you okay?” Putting his arm around Touma’s shoulders, Seiji unbuckled his seat belt and drew the younger man closer to him as the archer broke down into tears and clung desperately onto him. How long they stayed like that, Seiji didn’t know nor did he care.

Never in all of Touma’s life had he ever felt so betrayed, it felt even worse than when Seiji had cheated on him with Ryo. He had put so much trust into her, he had spent so many nights talking to her, telling her his deepest thoughts and secrets and all of it had to have meant nothing to her! She was just using him, just playing with him. What made things worse was that he trusted her enough to make love to her and then she became pregnant with his child!

Touma cried out his frustration, anger and sadness over the betrayal, his son’s kidnapping and the strain placed on his relationship with Seiji. For the first time since he was shot, Touma reached out for condolence from Seiji, needing, wanting it now.

Finally Touma pulled away and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “Thank you, for everything, for putting up with me, for being dragged here without a complaint. What would I do without you? I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the love you have for me. I love you so much, Seiji.”

“I love you too, Touma. You’re my everything, if I had lost you, I would’ve lost myself. If you wanted me to walk the ends of the Earth, I would do it just to make you happy. That’s what matters to me.”

This time when silence settled over them, it was more relaxed, though the tension was still there. Seiji wisely kept his mind clear of heavy thoughts, just encase Touma decided to say something. He didn’t want Touma to become more withdrawn because he thought that Seiji did not want to listen to him.

To his disappointment though, the ride back to the apartment they were staying at was silent. Seiji wanted to strike up a conversation, but he could tell that Touma was not in a talking mood. It was just better to wait till they went to bed to talk.

When they came back, Touma’s friend, Liz, came up to Seiji and informed him that his mother had called and needed Seiji to call her back right away.

Touma sat down at the kitchen table and started quietly talking with Liz and Djinn when he began to feel a growing grief coming from the blond. Turning around, he saw Seiji’s sorrow filled eyes and was automatically concerned. It was rare to see such emotion plainly visible on Seiji, he knew whatever was happening was bad.

From the moment his mother had said those certain words, Seiji couldn’t hear anymore. The news his mother had given him made his heart weigh down in greater remorse and his soul was wrenched in pain. It took everything he had to keep from crying right then and there, he didn’t want to upset his mother by beginning to cry.

Of all times to receive such news though ... Of all times ...

Once Seiji hung up the phone, he looked straight at Touma. “I ... I think we need to go talk, Touma.”

In the privacy of the guest room, Touma watched Seiji pace worriedly in front of the window, pausing now and then. “Seiji, what’s wrong?”

Sitting down besides Touma on the bed, the blond stared down at his hands in his lap. Tears began to build up in his eyes and now began to spill down his cheeks. “Touma ... M-Mother told me that ... That Father is dying ...”

Just the thought of losing his father scared Seiji. He always looked up to his father, the man had always been a supporting figure in his life. Even though they didn’t always agree on things all the time, he knew that his father loved him and only wanted his happiness. His father had been the one who had accepted Seiji’s relationship with Ryo, it was with Ryo did he reveal to his family that he was seeing a male, and then with Touma.

“Oh gods no! Seiji, I’m so sorry ...” Touma had known that Mr. Date’s health had been failing him for some time now, but he could never imagine that such a strong man could be dying. He felt his heart go out to his lover as he did his best to comfort the warrior of Kourin. No matter how cold the blond seemed to other people, Touma knew that Seiji was just as compassionate as anyone else, probably even more and his Seiji was hurting now.

“I want to go home to see him again before it’s too late, but I don’t want to leave you here ... Tell me what to do, Touma-san ...” Seiji buried his face in Touma’s shoulder, accepting the warm embrace and small kisses his love offered him.

Touma’s own tears slipped down from his eyes. He wanted Seiji to stay with him and if he asked it of Seiji, he would do just that, but how could he be that selfish? This was probably going to be the last time Seiji was ever going to see his father. “You have to go home, you need to see your father.”

“A-Are you sure?” Seiji sniffled. He didn’t want Touma to feel that he was abandoning him.

“Of course I am.” Touma stroked Seiji’s soft cheek and closed his eyes. “You’re needed more at home, your father needs you and you must go.”

“Who’s going to take care of you though?”

“I can take care of myself and Liz and Djinn will be here to help me. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“But I do anyway ...”

“Then you’ll have to worry about me in Japan, because you’re going home. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Staring into Touma’s blue eyes, Seiji said, “I’ll come back as soon as I can.” Then he rested his head back on Touma’s shoulder, leaning heavily against the archer.

“Don’t come rushing back if your heart is still filled with the grief that I see in your eyes. You need to allow yourself to mourn and to be with your family before coming back to the turmoil that I put you through daily. I worry about you too, Seiji, I worry even more now.” When he got no reply, he saw that Seiji had fallen asleep and had probably not heard a word he just said. Sighing to himself, Touma laid the blond on the bed, undressed him and pulled the covers over his strong body before crawling in and placing an arm around the blonde’s waist. “Sleep well, my love.”

================================================================

“Will you be all right without me?” Seiji kissed Touma’s cheek again, ignoring the stares from the swarms of people around them.

Normally Seiji wouldn’t do such things in public, like in the airport they were in at that moment, but it didn’t matter to him. They didn’t even live in this country, so why should he care? And he didn’t know when he’d get the chance to kiss that face again. He missed Touma already and he wasn’t even on the plane!

//How am I going to last without you, Touma? I wish you could come with me, but we both know that you can’t. If only our paths didn’t have to stray apart, but I promise you that I will be at your side as soon as I can.//

“I already told you I would. Now give everyone back at home a hug for me and poke Mizu’s belly for me, just to annoy her.” Touma smiled at the thought of his friends back in Japan and he missed them terribly. He couldn’t wait till he got back home with his son, so life could go back to normal.

“I will. Now take care of yourself and call me every night.”

“Of course and you take care of yourself too.” Touma’s eyes filled with tears as he heard Seiji’s rows being called onto the plane. “You better go ...”

“Yeah ...” Seiji hesitated, then grabbed Touma by the shoulders and kissed him square on the lips.

His tongue brushed against the entrance to Touma’s mouth and was pleased when Touma opened up for him. Greedily he plundered the sweetness that he longed for the past weeks and held Touma tightly against him. The archer’s own tongue began to play with Seiji’s and they became engaged with a game of tag in their mouths. When they finally broke apart for air, both of their faces were flushed.

“You don’t know how long I wanted to do that,” Seiji whispered and nipped Touma’s nose. “I will see you when I come back or perhaps when you come back home, if luck is on our side. I love you Touma, never forget that.”

“I love you too, Seiji.” The archer kisses Seiji lightly on the lips and then watched as the blond left to board the plane.

His hand was pressed up against the window as he watched the plane take off, carrying his lover on it. He could feel his heart call out for his soul mate as if he had saw Seiji for the last time. Silently he had to remind himself that he was going to see Seiji again and that he had to continue his search to find Kenji.

As Touma walked away once the plane was out of sight, a young lady stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened when she saw the pale, young man with blue hair. Quickly her hid to make sure that he couldn’t see her. Her mouth hung open in shock as if she had just seen a ghost.

//Dear god! That was Touma! I ... I thought she told me he was dead!// Then a sinister like smile crept up on her face as she realized what she had just discovered. //Now I know someone who would be delighted to know this information. Oh the fun we can have with that man!//

Then darting out of her hiding spot, the woman started to follow Touma.

<<>>

Hiruma: Oh my gosh! I actually finished this chapter!

Touma: It’s about time...

Seiji: Yeah, really! Taking your time on this one, eh?

Hiruma: Hey! I was busy! I was ... Um ... Doing stuff!

Seiji: Excuses, excuses. Well, anyway, please review this chapter!! Please? Hiruma’s getting discouraged here! And if there aren’t enough people giving her feed back, then evil, bad things will happen to Touma!

Touma: WAAAAH! Don’t let bad things happen to me!!! I’m too young and pretty to die!!!