I somehow know today is going to end up a bad day. To start things off, there�s someone pounding on my door and it�s�
�Six in the fucking morning?� I stare at the clock, trying to make sense of this. I don�t have to be anywhere until one in the afternoon and damnit, I was planning on making the best of it. Callie gives an impatient meow from where she�s curled up next to me, telling me to answer the damn door already so that noise will stop.
�Oh shut up,� I mutter, glancing at the cat taking up space on my pillow, �you sleep all day anyway.� All I get in return is a feline glare, and I can almost hear the �But you don�t, and you�re losing sleep now too, so stop being a lazy ass and do us both a favor� that would accompany it if she could speak. I sigh and pull myself into a sitting up position with a sigh, running a hand through my hair in order to look at least somewhat presentable. With one more baleful glance at Callie, who�s already falling asleep again, I finally get up.
I get sidetracked before I reach the door, however, because as I reach the living room, I see that Himeko�s apparently spent the night on my couch. I�ve been expecting something like this to happen ever since Luna found out where the spare key was hidden and told Himeko about it, but she could at least warn me first.
Whoever�s at the door is still pounding away, though the noise is steadily getting softer and less frequent. It�s odd, but I find the answer is an exhausted Dakumi. He looks about ready to collapse, and all but kicking my door down for the last ten minutes has worn him down even more, apparently. I just give him a questioning glance, noticing he looks rather disheveled, an odd thing for him. Taijou probably got hold of him when he was working late again.
�I was sent�I�m supposed to be telling you�� he says slowly, waving a hand slightly, �something. But I�ve decided I�m claiming your couch in the name of sleep-deprivation.�
�Himeko�s apparently already done so,� I inform him, stepping back from the door to allow him entry, �but if you wanna fight for the space, go ahead.� I�d protest, but Dakumi and myself actually get along rather well, so this isn�t the first time something like this has happened. Besides, even if it was, he looks like complete hell; it�s partly pity, I admit.
�I have no need to fight,� he mutters, merely shoving Himeko to one side. She mutters some insult in protest, but doesn�t even open her eyes.
�I must have a sign outside my door that says �Inn.� Why must everyone always crash at my place?�
�Because we love you, Arare-chan�� Himeko answers, adjusting her position so as to use Dakumi as a pillow. Her fellow snake-turned-pillow gives a somewhat more logical explanation.
�Because you live closest to the company�and if I try to go home I�ll collapse in the street. Then get run over by a truck��
�Whatever, I�m going back to sleep,� I tell them both, noting with amusement how comfortably they�re curled up together. It�ll be one hell of an interesting reaction when they wake up in a few hours.
�Delsus, if you don�t get up right now, I swear I will either dump water over your head or shoot you. Or--nevermind that--both!�
Himeko punches me in the shoulder hard as she can with the last bit of her words since I�ve managed to sleep through her panicking for the past five minutes.
�What the hell is worth depriving me of sleep?�
�I can�t do anything�I can�t help him, but I hate seeing him like that! You have to do something�you�ve stopped it before, I know you have�� Himeko�s distraught right down to the tone of her voice, and she promptly buries her face in my chest.
�Himeko, you do realize that made absolutely no sense to me, right? You�ll have to be more�specific than that. I�m still half-asleep for Leviathan�s sake.�
�Dakumi�� she says quietly, �Dakumi is a complete wreck�I�m his partner, we�re supposed to look out for each other�but I can�t do a damn thing. I don�t have your power��
I thought for sure she�d break down in tears, the way her voice was wavering, but she managed not to. I sigh and run a hand through my hair again. This could get difficult.
�Look, don�t worry about him. I�ll take care of it. But you�ll have to leave because we both know you won�t be able to calm down enough, and that�ll interfere.� Himeko starts to say something to protest her having to leave, but she realizes I�m right before she speaks. I don�t need to end up stealing the wrong person�s emotions.
It generally affects people different ways, but in the case of both Dakumi and Himeko, I can transfer their negative emotions to myself. It�s not erasing, or even repressing, the memories; the memories are still present, it�s just that the negative emotions and whatever mental problems they cause aren't.
Employing the power is a bit risky (if the feelings are strong enough, they�ll stick), annoying (even if I can get rid of the negative emotions easier than Dakumi can because I don�t have the memories that cause them), and absolutely draining.
Therefore it�s best if Himeko, and all her worrying and near-panic, leaves. I haven�t really figured out how to choose a �target� when there�s more than one sufferer in the area yet, so I could end up healing Himeko instead if she stays. And then it�d be at least three days before I could even attempt to help Dakumi. I could try before then, but then the risk of me being stuck for good with whatever emotions I take raises greatly because I�d be too weak.
Himeko gives Dakumi one last sorrowful look as she heads out the door, and me a pleading one. I nod slightly, and she manages to give me a small smile before heading down the stairs.
Dakumi sits sideways on the couch, leaning back against the armrest with his legs folded under him, Callie half in his lap, half on his chest. She meows at me then goes back to nuzzling his arm, offering comfort by cuddling. His gaze shifts to me as I sit, then falls down to the calico curled up on him. Callie just purrs and glances back at him with a calm, pale green stare for a minute or two before shifting her position slightly and closing her eyes. Now that I�m here, her job is done because I can offer better comfort than she can.
�I liked it better when you were half-asleep and didn�t have the energy to care, Daa-kun.�
�Yeah, me too,� he agrees quietly, �but, well�here I am.�
�I know,� I say with a small sigh, �but it�ll be okay in a few minutes.�
�For you, at least.� The bitter part of my mind randomly throws this in before the rest points out, �And that�s all that matters.�
�I don�t want it to be �okay,�� he mutters, not really meaning for me to hear, �I want it to end.� He glances up at me and the pure hatred in his eyes, even though it�s not directed at me (more at Ishiro for being the cause of this and himself for being weak), it terrifies me. But now is not the time to be scared off.
Not when I can see the tears building up behind that hatred.
�It will,� I say with a resolute nod, �I�ll see to that myself. But for now�you know the drill. Close your eyes, concentrate, and try to relax.� Dakumi takes a deep breath then obediently does so as I lightly press my left palm to his forehead, fingers tangling slightly in the silver silk strands of his hair, while my right hand rests over his. I also take a deep breath, then brace myself as I close my eyes.
