Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Learning to Love ❯ Healing ( Chapter 3 )

Legal Disclaimer - Okay, I sorta know this guy who knows this other guy who knows this girl's cousin's sister's ex-boyfriend who just happens to be the brother-in-law to Sanami Matoh. You do believe me, right? Heh. Thought not. I don't own `em!

Another Legal Disclaimer - I forgot about this one: I do not own Beauty and The Beast. Please Disney, don't sue!!! I ain't got no money and I live in a box underneath the freeway and all I . . . well, you get my drift, right?

Author's Note - Updating. Yep. And eating chicken salad. -munch, munch, munch- And it's really good. -munch, munch, swallow- And, I'm updating this fic because the voice in my head told me to. -licks bowl- And. And. Um . . . yeah. That's all. Man, this was a waste of space . . .

Chapter 3 - Healing

After Ryo had been shown the entire castle from top to bottom, it was time for them to part. Ryo was sent back to his chambers where he found a silver tray of some very delicious looking food sitting on a small gaming table in the center of the room. Kneeling down, Ryo poured himself some hot tea from the kettle that had also been occupying space on the tray.

He sipped his tea slowly, his tense body relaxing from his long day. Ryo would have really enjoyed to be reading a book while drinking his tea in front of the beautiful fire before him; however, all the walking and climbing seemed to have drained Ryo of all of his strength and he could not find the energy within himself to stand and get a book. Therefore, he merely sat and watched as the flames danced around in the small hearth, drinking his tea and occasionally taking a taste of some of the food on the tray.

Ryo basically picked at his dinner, not always finding red meat to his liking, and so he only ate the vegetables and some of the potatoes on his plate. When he felt as if he had eaten his fill, Ryo stood slowly and with a small whimper of pain as he forced his tired body to move once more.

Noticing that Mother had changed both his bedclothes and bed sheets to flannel material so he would not freeze over during the night, Ryo took the clothes and limped into the bathroom. He set the clothes on the toilet seat and found a fluffy towel in a small compartment in the wall before he commenced in trying to figure out the bathtub.

Once he figured this task out, Ryo filled the tub half-way with hot water; the steam in the closed room caused the mirrors the cloud up with condensation. He stripped out of his clothes and slipped into the water, letting out a small sigh of pure bliss while his sore muscles screamed out "hallelujah!"

He slumped down a little bit, letting the warm water go over his shoulders and neck. Closing his eyes, Ryo thought about his new master, Dee. Even with knowing what he looked like and his name, Ryo still felt as if there was some sort of barrier between them. As if there was something else he needed to know.

As Ryo pondered the subject, he couldn't help but remember how beautiful Dee's eyes were. They were sharp, yet vibrant, letting Ryo know that Dee possessed some kind of intelligence in a certain skill. He then saw Dee's face in his mind, noting how it was long in shape and broad in forehead. It meant that he was stubborn, and sometimes cruel, but also gentle and understanding. In Ryo's perspective, Dee was a walking contradiction.

Smiling over his thought, Ryo lathered up a small cloth with a wonderful smelling soap and started to rub it all over himself. Ryo started at his face, peeling off the bandage tenderly and then gently sponging the infected area; he went nowhere near the gashes on his face, for they hurt too badly. Then, he washed the rest of his body before plunging underneath the water. Ryo immediately resurfaced because of the wounds on his face burned beneath the soapy liquid.

Deciding that he would stay in a bit longer before getting out, Ryo sat there and began to doze off; the hot steam having a drowsy effect on him. He was just about to head into fuzzy land when he heard the sound of the bathroom door being opened slowly. Ryo opened his eyes and looked up; a pair of emerald eyes gazed back at him. There was a ten second pause when suddenly Ryo realized that he was very naked (though you couldn't really see anything in the soapy water) and that Dee was definitely standing right there above him like a watchful predator.

Therefore, Ryo did the only thing that he could think of (and it wasn't "Why don't you come in and join me?") and yelled at the top of his lungs:

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Dee was startled and fell backwards onto the floor, and was even more surprised when Ryo started to grab random things near the tub and began to hurl them at him while screaming for him to get out. Doing as he was told, Dee ducked out of the room and closed the door behind him, wondering how someone that innocent looking could have such good aim.

Ryo was shaking with anger and embarrassment; red from head to toe and it wasn't because of the water. He made sure the door was securely closed before jumping out and wrapping a towel around himself. Ryo then let the water out of the tub before he dried himself completely off and slipped into some under garments before putting on his pajama pants.

Since the door had been opened, most of the hot air had escaped the room, letting the fogged mirrors become somewhat clear again. Ryo looked at his reflection, touching the gashes on his face tenderly, hoping that they weren't bleeding from all the yelling he had just done.

Finding that they were not open, Ryo dressed in his button-up pajama top; he did not button it all the way so that if he were to pull at the fabric in his sleep, it would not put tension on his bruised shoulders. He then hung his towel up on a small hook in the bathroom before standing in front of the door. Pulling open the door, Ryo walked out into his room and looked around, still feeling totally embarrassed.

He did not see any sign of Dee, nor any signs that anyone but himself had been in the room. But, Ryo then glanced towards the window seat and saw that Dee was watching him intently from the darkness, those green eyes glowing in the dim light.

When Dee stood and walked towards him, Ryo felt his stomach flip in fear for just a second. Dee seemed so tall and intimidating at that moment, and Ryo almost felt as if he had been thrown into one of the novels that he had read not long ago: Bram Stoker's Dracula. It was the eerie silence that followed that made Ryo think maybe Dee would pounce suddenly and devour him.

"I'm sorry," Dee said quietly, looking down.

Ryo was startled when he spoke, but regained his composure enough to say:

"Me too. I'm sorry. You scared me is all. I didn't expect someone to be there when I looked up," Ryo explained.

There was another moment of silence between them before Ryo broke it.

"So, um, do you need me for something?" Ryo asked.

"Huh?" Dee replied unintelligently.

"What do you need me for? I mean, that is why you're here, right?" Ryo elaborated; Dee adverted his gaze.

"I came to take care of something," Dee said.

"To take care of what?" Ryo asked, curious.

Dee didn't respond, and before Ryo knew it, he was face-to-face with him.

"How do you move so fast?" Ryo inquired, flushing under the intense stare.

"Demons are very capable of moving quickly," Dee replied.

"So, you're a demon?" Ryo asked, sounding unsure.

"Yes and no," Dee said, "but that is not important now."

"And what is important now?" Ryo questioned.

Dee touched his upper arms gently, as if he had been practicing how to be tender and caring so he wouldn't hurt Ryo, and guided him over towards the bed before making him lie down on it. Also getting up onto the bed, Dee looked Ryo over, noting how innocent Ryo appeared, not knowing what Dee had in store for him. He leaned over until they nose-to-nose; Ryo pulled away a little bit, not liking how close they were.

"Relax a little, I don't bite," Dee whispered; Ryo remained tense under his hands.

Noticing that Ryo's hands were clutching the comforter in a death-like grip, Dee figured that Ryo still had some sort of pent-up fear of him. He looked into Ryo's dark eyes, but did not see fear. He saw an inner flame, burning brightly from Ryo's soul that said he was not afraid, cautious, yes, but not afraid. And Dee could not help but notice how much Ryo looked like "him."

"I do not understand you," Dee said after a moment of observation.

"And I do not understand you either," Ryo replied.

"Why does your body react in fear, yet your eyes tell a different tale?" Dee asked.

"Why do you look at me as if you aren't seeing me, but someone entirely different?" Ryo inquired.

"You are full of questions," Dee commented with a smile.

"As are you," Ryo replied.

Dee chuckled softly. They weren't getting anywhere by interrogating each other.

"If I tell you what I am about to do, will you instill your trust in me and not act as if I am going to hurt you?" Dee inquired.

"It depends on what you are planning to do," Ryo reasoned, crossing his arms while looking defiant.

"I am going to heal the wounds that I have inflicted upon you," Dee said.

"And how, might I ask, do you plan to do that?" Ryo asked.

"It will not hurt, if that's what you're asking," Dee replied, gazing down into those beautiful dark eyes.

"But what will not hurt?" Ryo inquired.

Dee did not answer and instead leaned forward so close to Ryo that when Dee blinked, Ryo could feel the tickle of his lashes against his cheek.

"I am not going to hurt you," Dee said, somewhat soothingly.

Ryo hesitated for a moment, but then willed his body to release all tension and to just relax all the muscles so that there was no strain whatsoever in his form. Dee took this as his cue to start his healing method.

"W-W-Wha?!" Ryo managed to spit out.

Blushing a lovely shade of pink, Ryo couldn't help but release that small little inquiry for Dee was doing something that Ryo thought (and had hoped) he would never experience; Dee was, to put it in a nice way, licking him. Yes, Dee was licking the wounds on Ryo's face and it wasn't one of the most pleasant experiences Ryo had ever had.

"Um . . . w-w-what was t-that for?" Ryo asked, once Dee had finished.

Dee pulled away and turned his head to the side.

"Demon saliva is a miracle worker in the field of medicine. It is one of the best antiseptics known to the modern world and is supposed to cure flesh wounds," Dee explained.

With his head turned, Dee knew that Ryo could not see him licking his lips hungrily. Oh, Ryo did not know how good he tasted or how wonderful he smelled; only Dee did, and he was holding back with everything he had to not pounce on the boy and just take him. It was almost as if Dee was once again with "him"

"Oh, I see. Um . . . thank you," Ryo replied, also looking away to hide his heavy blush.

They sat there for a long time, until Ryo broke down and leaned towards the pillows at the head of the bed. He laid his head down and closed his dark eyes, slipping into a deep sleep almost instantly. And when Dee looked over his shoulder, he saw that Ryo was resting with his back to him. He watched Ryo's form, breathing softly, and Dee found himself feeling sleepy from the rhythm of both Ryo's breathing and heart rate.

Dee also lay down on the bed, gently turning Ryo over so he could gaze at his beautiful face before he went to sleep. Stroking some strands of sandy-blonde hair back from Ryo's forehead, Dee felt as if he had been thrown back in time. As if he had gotten his second chance to be with "him" again.

And with that thought in his head, Dee fell asleep, seeing flashbacks of a man with honey-blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes smiling at him from within a grove of red roses.

-Somewhere not far from the castle, in a small town, within a small pub . . .

"Oi! Come n' get mes anotha beer sweet thang," a drunken man said to the busty waitress.

She merely smacked him with her empty tray.

"I think you've had enough," she replied coolly.

"Aw, c'mon Diana. Give the man a little sumthan," another man said from across the room.

"And you'd better shove it Clyde before I come over there and smack you too," Diana told him sourly, giving him the finger.

As she turned and walked away, a couple of men bent down onto the ground and tried desperately to see up her short skirt. A few people at some of the back tables whistled as she walked by, staring at her behind or at her overly-large chest. Diana went and took a seat at the bar, starting up a conversation with the bartender to get her mind off the obnoxious men who just wanted to get laid.

That's when the door was thrown open and a large man stomped in, dragging bits of snow into the warm bar. He set both his crossbow and shotgun down by the door before taking off his warm coat and hanging it up on a small hook just above his weapons. Diana hopped off of the barstool and ran to him, enveloping him in a big hug.

"How was your trip, Berkley?" Diana asked, looking up into his cool lavender eyes.

"Uneventful," he replied, sounding bored. "I'll have the usual, if you don't mind."

She merely nodded and scampered away to go and get him a draft as Berkley scanned all the tables for a face he knew. He sighed and sat down at an empty table towards the fire in the center of the pub.

"Whut's wrong there ol' Berkie? Not a findin' somethan to your likin'?" Clyde asked.

"You could say that," Berkley replied, watching as Diana came to his table with a draft the size of Texas.

"What's the matter, Berkley?" Diana asked, looking concerned.

It was very unlike the strong, brave, and courageous hunter to look so low and depressed. Berkley Rose was always on the up and upper, always at social gatherings, parties, and a total number one with the ladies. But, tonight, he looked as if he had just missed something very important.

"Aww, Berkies. Methinks this one was the one that got `way," Howard, the local shoemaker, commented aloud.

There was a lot of murmuring from around the pub. Berkley Rose was never a man to lose something that he hunted; Diana's face lit in realization.

"Oh, I see. It's about Ryo, isn't it?" Diana asked; he merely sighed in response.

Diana personally didn't like the idea of Berkley and Ryo being together. It wasn't the fact that they were both men, but more of a personality issue. She knew that if they ever were to enter a relationship together, it would be more one-sided than an equal partnership.

"Ol' McLean?" Clyde asked.

"That's the one," Diana replied, and patted Berkley on the shoulder. "It's alright. Maybe it's just not meant to be."

"Hmmm . . . well, I swent up to ol' McLean's house the otha day and ain't nobody was home," Clyde commented.

"No one was there?" Diana asked.

"Nope. I didn't see `im no where's. I was a lookin' for `im everywheres. I checkin in tha barn and in tha field and even in tha house; lock wasn't shut tight," Clyde said.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Berkley demanded, looking totally furious.

"I just a thought that maybe he was a out or a somethin' like that," Clyde replied, sounding scared as Berkley neared him.

"He could have been kidnapped or killed or something horrible! Why did you not inform anyone of us?!" Berkley shouted, picking up the drunken man by the collar of his shirt.

"I'm a sorry! I'm a sorry!" Clyde cried; Berkley dropped him.

"Do you think he's been taken by that thing?" Berkley asked suddenly, looking around the room for a response.

"What are you talking about, Rose?" the bartender asked, cleaning a shot glass with a small rag.

"I'm talking about the Beast of course. Don't you all remember about that thing? Remember? About 25 years back? The demon-spawn that was run out of our town and built himself a fortress in the middle of the forest?" Berkley inquired, still looking about the room.

"Ith remembers that of courth," an extremely intoxicated man said from the back, and then fell out of his chair and onto the ground.

Berkley shrugged him off and began his tale.

"About 25 years ago there was this guy, my father knew him, who was a blacksmith and he fell in love with some witch-craft using healer. They were together for some time, but then all of these murders arose in the town and people immediately blamed the healer, for he possessed enough power to strip a person of their soul and sell it to the devil himself.

"Therefore, they trapped the healer and burned him at the stake; the blacksmith arrived just in time for the healer to hex him. Yes, the healer, who was supposed to love the man before him, cursed the blacksmith and transformed him into a terrifying beast.

"The demon lived in the town until a few years later. He had managed a farm up on the top of the hill, and only prowled around in the darkness when he needed something. I was only seven by that time and I can remember more murders happening. My father was one of the unfortunate few who met his end by the slashing claws of a beast.

"All fingers pointed towards the demon and so, the townspeople ran him out of the town so he could not harm any more people who dwelled in the rolling hills of Bellwicket. But, he still lives, deep within the forest and his castle is buried within a moor on the mountainous side of our town," Berkley explained.

"So, you're saying that this Beast thing is still alive and came all the way from the mountains to kidnap Ryo and do something to him?" Diana asked.

Berkley nodded, and some of the other townspeople looked like they were agreeing.

"You have one messed-up theory there, Berks," Diana said.

She walked past him and patted him on the shoulder.

"He'll come back, you'll see. And then all of you will be laughing at yourselves and how foolishly you were all thinking," Diana said.

But, what Diana didn't know was how wrong she was.

-_-

After Talk with The Random Queen:

Okay, I'm tired. Too much writing! That whole last scene was hard to write because . . . well . . . I dunno. It just was. And the scene before that . . . I had to walk away because I was squealing so hard.

But anyways, I'm sorry for the delay. I've had color guard practice, final exams, graduation (still sleepin' off that hangover), chores, and a last minute writing competition in some hick-ass town about three hours from where I live. Here's a tip to all of you college kids: Do not sleep in dorms. They're hot and smelly and there's no bathroom.

About the characters . . . . . . . .

There you have it. Diana and Berkley. I know. They are way OOC, but . . . it's my fic and I can do what I want! So there! Bite me!

Now you have more of a glimpse into Dee's past and how he sort of became a demon. I really think I gave too much away, but I have a feeling (unlike all of my other fics) that this is gonna be a short little, 10-15 chapter ficlet. And if you ask me, I believe that this has way too much of an Inuyasha twist to it. If you watch it, you can see that there's definitely a parallel between some of the characters.

And now it's time for you to guess, who is this beautiful blonde man that Dee keeps seeing? And who is this healer person? Are they -dramatic gasp- the same person? You bet your boots! But who is it? Give me the right answer and you get yourself a nice little cookie my muffins.

Parting Words and The Bribe:

Okay, you know the drill. Please review, write something nice, and then you get yourself some homemade ice-cream. Don't ask. In my house, we make ice-cream instead of going down to Rite Aid and just buying some 0_o

Thanks for reading! It helps me get through my therapy!

-The Random Queen

See you Soon!