Pull of Destiny

*(6/9)

By Sakata Ri Houjun

 ********************

It was awhile before Tasuki could form a coherent thought.  Slowly he 

brought fingers up to his lips, still shocked that he had actually 

kissed his friend.  The he became very well aware of the blood 

pulsing within his body and finally sank to sit on the floor.

He blinked, staring down at himself, fully realizing the implications 

of those few passionate moments with Chichiri.  He knew how his 

friend felt now, even if what was said last night wasn't implied in 

that manner.  How Chichiri had responded to the moment startled and 

excited Tasuki all the more.

He could still feel his friend's hands on his ass and his erection 

grew stronger.  Tasuki shook his head at the memory and grinned.  

Chichiri had pulled away, a little scared, but he said that he'd see 

him once he got back.  That meant that his friend might be willing to 

finish what they had started.  Memories be damned, he wanted Chichiri 

more than ever.

Using the table to support himself, Tasuki shakily got to his feet 

and looked around the apartment.  Last night, he didn't get too good 

a look at his friend's home.  Now he was beginning to get an idea of 

the type of life his friend had led up till now.  His thief's eye 

appraised some of Chichiri's belongings with interest, but Tasuki 

shook his head with a laugh.  Old habits.  Besides even if he hadn't 

promised, he'd still wouldn't even think about doing such a thing.

The only item he wanted was Chichiri's heart.  That was the only 

thing he found valuable anymore.  But he didn't wish to steal it, he 

wanted his friend to give it to him.  He was willing to wait as long 

as necessary, but he hoped secretly that it wouldn't be too long a 

wait.

~~~~~

No matter how hard he tried, Chichiri couldn't seem to concentrate on 

his teacher's lecture.  His mind kept returning to those few 

heartbeats of time spent within Tasuki's arms.  The way the former 

bandit had so much control over his body with that passionate fire of 

is set Chichiri's heart racing with desire even at the memories which 

still remained vivid.  Every sharp breath...every beat of the 

heart...his scent...his warmth...his lips...all of it.

Chichiri looked down at his hands, nails digging into the palms, and 

balked.  Quietly, he stood and exited the class to seclude himself in 

a bathroom.  Looking at his flushed face, Chichiri slowly breathed, 

trying to get his heart rate down.  His hands shook as he splashed 

cold water on his face.

He loved Tasuki and it was very apparent that his friend returned 

those feelings.  He wanted nothing more than to go back home and act 

on them, to finish what was only hinted at this morning.  However, 

Tasuki didn't remember their awful fight from the last life.

It was a simple argument that slowly escalated into something 

bitter.  It became the driving wedge that ended up splitting them 

apart.  As tempers flared, the fight climaxed and both he and Tasuki 

had turned their backs on one another, leaving resentment and hatred 

hang in the air.

Chichiri didn't know what had possessed him to say such things.  The 

way he had hurt his friend was unforgivable which was why he had been 

punished with a slow and agonizing death.

Now, Tasuki had come back to him.  Now, he had a second chance to 

make things right between them.  But he was scared.  He didn't want 

to lose his friend.  If Tasuki remembered, he might become angry 

again and leave.  Would it be better if Tasuki never remembered?

But if Chichiri kept pretending that nothing had happened, Tasuki 

would stay.  However, Chichiri couldn't live himself.  He shook his 

head at his reflection.  It wouldn't work either way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tasuki listened as the tub filled.  In his last life, he had hated 

water, but in this one, he always too any opportunity he had to relax 

in a bath.  It was one luxury he loved.

He twisted off the knob and slowly got into the tub.  The hot water 

enveloped his body and he sighed contentedly.  Closing his eyes and 

feeling his muscles relax, Tasuki thought back once more to the 

events of that morning.

The memory that he had shared had also been the first of many to 

return to him.  He felt his smile slip as he remembered when the 

memory had resurfaced.  It had only been four years ago, when he was 

just thirteen, and he had been running around with a group of bad 

kids.

They roamed around the streets at night and eventually made it to a 

bridge overlooking the river.  For some reason, they had picked him 

as a target and decided to punish him.  After beating him soundly, 

they tossed him over the side where he hit the water, hard.

Tasuki had been certain that he was dead because the moment he was 

completely submerged, everything went red.  It was then that his 

death as Tasuki had come to him in a hazy vision.  That memory was 

followed by several others, each one bombarding his fragile mind with 

such intensity, he was certain he would be driven mad.

He had screamed then, his eyes snapping open only to find he was no 

longer in the river.  In fact, he was far from the river, alone and 

completely dry.  The next few days, he had sorted through the 

regained memories as well as cataloguing new ones that came to him 

until he had pieced together his past life as Tasuki.

In the following years, he felt an unexplainable pull coming from far 

away.  He knew he was being called by some one, but didn't know who 

or why.  He had come to this city, the apparent source of the pulling 

of his soul and the rest, as they say, was history.

Tasuki sank below the surface and blew out his breath.  He loved 

Chichiri with every ounce of his being.  To think that he had been 

led here to with the one he truly loved, to have another chance to do 

what he never had the guts to do in the last life, it just seemed 

somehow that it was meant to be.

Of course with the emergence of his memories, he would remember the 

fight they had.  How could he forget the very event that had led 

to his death?  The three years prior to his demise were a drunken 

blur of taverns and the endless flow of alcohol.  He couldn't even 

face his gang anymore, that's why he had abandoned his post.

His lungs burned for air so Tasuki resurfaced with a gasp.  He tossed 

his wet bangs from his eyes with a shake of his head and looked about 

him.  Vaguely, he could hear footsteps approaching from the other 

side of the door and he turned just as it opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chichiri had entered his apartment only to find it shrouded in 

silence.  The breakfast dishes he had left were cleaned and the sofa 

bed refolded.  For a moment, he was afraid that his friend had left 

without saying goodbye.  He called out Tasuki's name but got no 

answer.

He felt his heart beginning to break, afraid that he had hurt his 

friend with his sudden departure this morning until he heard a splash 

of water.  Immediately, he headed to the bathroom and burst inside to 

find Tasuki in the tub.  His eyes widened with shock and his body 

hardened with desire at the sight of his friend, wet and naked.

He wanted to leave, but was frozen to the spot by Tasuki's perfect 

body.  He mouth had gone dry and his breath stolen from his lungs.

Tasuki looked shocked for a moment and then grinned as he noticed the 

obvious bulge at Chichiri's groin that was bigger than his eyes.  He 

leaned against the edge of the tub and broke the tension with a laugh.

"The water's still warm.  Care to join me?"