Yami No Matsuei Fan Fiction ❯ In the Garden ❯ In the Garden III ( Chapter 3 )

Umm…the ending may seem rather abrupt. I've tried and tried to come up with a better one, but honestly I hated them all. If you're reading this far, I hope you enjoy the last installment, and I thank you deeply for taking the time to read it. I hope it all sounds solid, if you think otherwise don't hesitate to let me know. You won't hurt my feelings - I'd like this story to be good. ~amaretto

In the Garden III

"I've had it with both of you! Do you have any idea what you've done?" Suzaku shouted at the two shikigami standing in front of her, beneath the shade of a massive oak tree. Her red and gold robes stood out in the shadows, her eyes small points of angry fire.

"Closed a wormhole?" Byakko grumbled, looking at the row of bushes to his right. Touda remained silent on his left.

"You destroyed most of the forest! Do you get that? That's the ninth sector to you, Snake. Byakko! I expect that sort of behavior from him, but I expected more control from you. If you want to tear apart domains, you have your own!"

"The problem wasn't in his territory." Touda's voice was as smooth as ever, despite his battered, exhausted state.

Suzaku narrowed her burning eyes, the sword in her hand shaking with suppressed anger. "The only reason I'm not cutting you down, Touda, is our being in the palace. The minute you step outside I'm going to--"

"To do what? Something that you already do on a regular basis anyway? Attack him? Attempt to kill him? Back off, Su."

"What?" the phoenix stared at Byakko, startled briefly into silence.

Byakko glared at her, tensed for attack despite the way he clutched at his left arm, the sleeve there shredded and blood stained." I'm tired of you. We were humiliated by that thing that came crawling out of the wormhole in a key portion of your domain, we just saved you and who knows how many others and instead of "thanks" you rip us apart for causing a bit of damage and start in disparaging Touda again."

"A bit of damage? A bit of damage? You completely ruined the sector. I think there might be one tree left. That's it! If this snake had kept his flames under control, this wouldn't have happened."

"What would you know about it? You weren't there, and you're so busy yelling at us, you won't hear us out!" Arm forgotten, Byakko rose to his full height, shouting back at Suzaku full force. His beaten, bedraggled state seemed to add strength to his counter attack. "I'm tired of it. You need to get over yourself."

Suzaku snarled, surging forward to land a blow, but the exhausted tiger still had some of his speed. "I don't get you, Byakko. Since when do you care how I treat him?"

"Since you started acting like he used to." Byakko growled back, tensed to move should Suzaku lunge for him again.

But Suzaku had frozen, "What did you say?"

Byakko merely looked unhappy, "Haven't you noticed at all, Su? We've all changed. Lord Soh-Ryu has calmed a great deal since Kijin and Kirin were born. Touda's improved as well - not that you ever deigned to notice. The only one who hasn't changed for the better is you. You're so busy being angry all the time, you remind me more of the way he used to be."

Suzaku tensed for a moment, lifting her sword as if to attack. Abruptly she dropped it, sneering. "I notice you left yourself off the list, Byakko. Or did you fail to notice that you've become a sniveling kitten?" Suzaku stormed off, leaving the two alone in the garden.

Byakko was affronted, "Sniveling kitten? I am not a sniveling kitten! Touda, am I really that weak?" He spun to look at his comrade.

"Am I in the room again?"

"Eh? Oh, umm…" Byakko suddenly looked sheepish, "Sorry, guess I got carried away again…" He frowned, staring at the ground, losing himself in thought.

Touda was silent, staring at the tiger standing several feet away near a cluster of rose bushes. "You really need to stop rising to my defense. I'm quite capable of defending myself."

The tiger looked up again, "Really? I hadn't noticed - you never do it."

"I see no point. She'll rage no matter what I do." Touda flexed his shoulders, stretching to ease some of the soreness from their battle.

"She'd rage less if you just stood up to her. So long as you're silent, you're just agreeing with her."

"What do I care what she thinks? " Touda moved toward the rose bushes and Byakko, "She seems to enjoy sparing with kittens more anyway."

Byakko glared, "Please don't tell me you agree with her."

"Not at all. Though I agree that you've changed as much as anyone."

The tiger laughed, though it wasn't a very happy sound. "You mean I'm more prone to picking fights? I'd say that's a change fore worse, not the better."

"You said yesterday that I used to be "wild, angry all the time." But the Byakko I recall from that time didn't care about much at all. You were content to simply "play" in your own lands, leaving problems and concerns to the others. If ever you could be described as a kitten, I would say it was back then. Your picking fights now is some indication that you actually care these days. Though I still am not clear as to why you keep picking fights on my behalf."

"Well, I guess having most of your domain decimated by the flames of hell tends to force a kitten to grow up. And then there's Tsuzuki. I think he's affected all of us more than we like to admit. It was the first time I was that impressed with a human, though it became clear later that he's not quite."

"I still would know, Byakko, why all your fights with Suzaku concern me. It certainly would not have helped that arm of yours if she had not decided to back off."

"Yeah, no kidding. I owe you, by the way, for that last hit. That thing would've ripped my arm off it you hadn't moved when you did."

Cool claws reached out, gripping Byakko's face and forcing the tiger to look at him, "Quit dodging the question." Touda's claws slid slowly away.

Uncertainty flashed briefly across the tiger's face, "What's there to say? You said it yourself already - I care. To be more specific, I care about you."

Touda was motionless, frozen behind his visor. "That makes no sense. I'm the reason you were forced to grow up. You should be as against me as Suzaku is."

"Yeah, well. I needed to stop being a kitten anyway. You had your reasons for what you did, it's not fair to judge without understanding why. And who says it has to make sense?" Byakko was still staring up at the other shikigami, though he wanted nothing more than to look away.

Touda stared back, eyes ever masked but tone for once something other than calm, "You should know by now that it's a bad idea to play with fire."

"Yeah, but it seems like fun. And I like to play - I haven't changed that much." Byakko's uncertainty mixed briefly with determination, and he surged forward to cover Touda's lips with his own.

Hot and cold all at once, the feel of hell fire elevated to a whole new level. But Touda's lips were soft, the taste of the serpent surprisingly, elusively sweet. For all that Touda usually seemed one step ahead of him, clearly the black serpent had not expected this. Byakko pressed closer, using his unexpected advantage to deepen the kiss, searching for the source of that sweet taste he had not expected.

His left arm still too sore to really use, Byakko settled for wrapping his right arm tightly around Touda's neck, getting as close as he possibly could. His eyes widened briefly at the feel of Touda's arms wrapping around his waste, and he lost his brief advantage. The kiss turned fierce, hungry as Touda took control of it, and Byakko broke away, gasping.

He loosened his right arm from Touda's neck, unable to look into the serpent's masked face. But the arms around his waste didn't loosen, and Byakko's tail twitched nervously as he waited for the other shikigami to say something-anything.

"Definitely not a kitten."

"What?" Byakko glared at him, "Is that all you have to say?"

"Well, I'm still confused as to your reason's why."

"You and your questions." Byakko returned his arm to Touda's neck, his confidence slowly returning. "We just survived a rather nasty surprise attack, managed to drive Suzuki off, and escaped punishment for wrecking most of the ninth sector. We're in your garden free and clear - why not stop asking questions and just relax like you usually do? Honestly Touda, half your problem is that you think too much."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me now?"

"No, I'm trying to kiss you again. It worked so well the first time I--"