Looking Glass

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Branch

Ink Burns

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

This is a work of fanfiction, produced according to the principles of transformative fair use as put forward in US copyright law, and abiding by the custom and practice of fan-produced work in Japan, where the source texts were created. No author is in any way affiliated with any of the creators of the source texts, nor with the companies who distribute their products, nor any other rights holder, and these stories were not authorized by either the creators or the producers. Ink Burns is a fan site and the material here is freely provided for the enjoyment of fellow fan-community members; there is no commercial infringement.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 US license at the Ink Burns fanfiction archive (http://alltrees.org/archive/).

Published on 2009-06-30 13:04:06.

Attributions can be made by author's name and a link to the archive.

This ebook edition was published on May 14, 2012 by the Ink Burns fanfiction archive.

Looking Glass

After Shirogane returns to see to his own world, Akira comes to visit and get him to unwind a little. Lulu has a talk with Kou, in the meantime, about finding more shin. Drama with Smut, I-3, MANGA CONTINUITY

Akira sat on Kou's couch, arms folded around his knees and watched while Kou wandered around getting drinks and turning on the AC.

"So you want me to show you how to get between the worlds," Kou sighed as he thumped down on the other couch, bottle dangling from his fingers. "Properly, not by accidentally falling through a weak spot."

"Yeah."

Kou's eyes on him were dark as he took a drink. "So you can see Shirogane."

Akira tried not to squirm. "Well. Yeah."

"Any reason he didn't teach you before he left?"

Akira snorted. "This is Shirogane. Control freak of the millennium. You really have to ask?"

"Mm." Kou hadn't looked away yet. "So you're not worried he'll be pissed off if you just show up unexpectedly?"

"Probably will be," Akira allowed. "So what?"

Kou choked on a swallow.

"Sometimes he needs someone around even if he doesn't want to talk about it." Akira shrugged. "So I should know how to go."

Kou laughed through his last few coughs. "Yeah, you're you all right." He leaned back, mouth quirked. "And totally in love too, aren't you?"

Akira jerked upright. "I am not!"

Kou lifted both brows.

"I'm not... It isn't... It's..." Akira tried helplessly to find a word for what it was like, for the man who had highhandedly turned his life inside out and tried to protect him from the consequences, who was ferociously possessive and who had never even breathed a hint that he was Akira's king and master under their contract, who smiled and kissed and teased and killed with equal ease. "It's complicated," he finally mumbled.

"I'll believe that," Kou agreed dryly. He heaved a sigh. "All right, all right, I'll show you. But," he held up a finger, "I'm coming with you the first time. Just to make sure."

"Deal."

Akira stumbled a little as he emerged through the careful rings of definition and redefinition into shadow and nearly jumped out of his skin as someone right behind him huffed.

"Oh, it's just you." Lulu jumped down from her perch. "What are you doing here?" She cocked her head as Kou emerged on Akira's heels. "Both of you?"

"Just visiting."

Lulu's mouth twisted wryly. "Oh. Right." She waved a careless hand. "Well come on, then."

Akira followed her through a door that hadn't been there a few seconds ago, shaking his head. He still thought this whole place was weird.

"Shirogane-sama," Lulu caroled as she skipped ahead of them. How old was she supposed to be again? "Visitors!"

"I gathered that," Shirogane was saying dryly, as he turned, and then stopped short. "Akira? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting," he repeated patiently.

Shirogane's eyes narrowed, first at him and then at Kou, behind him. "And you thought this was a good idea?"

"Excuse me? Who's my king again?" Kou scratched his head theatrically. "Pretty sure his name isn't Shirogane..."

Akira considered the chill growing in Shirogane's aura and nodded to himself. "You're too alone, here," he stated. And added, at Lulu's pout, "Even with her."

"So you came to keep me company?" Shirogane lifted an arrogant brow.

"Seemed like a good idea, yeah."

Shirogane gave him a long hard look, which Akira waited out. Shirogane had never been dangerous to him, and he wasn't about to start freaking out now. Finally a corner of Shirogane's mouth quirked up reluctantly. "Keep me company, hm?"

"Yeah." A tingle went down Akira's spine as Shirogane stalked toward him. "Um..." He glanced over at Kou and Lulu; the latter was watching with interest. She looked like she only needed some popcorn. "Um." He looked back up at Shirogane, who was now standing very close, face heating.

Shirogane caught Akira up tight against him. "You're the one who insisted," he purred, fingers twining into Akira's hair, drawing his head back.

"Shiroga--mmm..." Heat curled low in Akira's stomach as Shirogane kissed him, deep and relentless. It never failed to make him hard when Shirogane got like this.

He did manage to gasp, between kisses, "No audience!"

Shirogane's lips curled up. "Very well." He leaned down to murmur in Akira's ear, "I admit, I think I'll like it better to have you all to myself when I bend you over in my bed."

Akira's last coherent thought for a while was that maybe he'd left this visit too long.

Lulu shook her head ruefully as Shirogane-sama swept Akira off, and looked at Kou. "You probably shouldn't stay here too long. I'll make sure he gets back all right."

"After that?" Kou snorted. "You may be right, but I'm damn well not leaving until I get Akira back in one piece."

She shrugged. "Your neck. How about a drink, then?"

Kou turned away from glaring down the hallway after Shirogane-sama, at that. "Hospitable of you," he said, slowly.

"There aren't enough of us to avoid working together, right now." She called her door again and beckoned him after her, stepping through into her own home.

"Not as many ruffles as I expected," Kou muttered, picking a chair.

"That's for the bedroom," she told him, just to see his eyes bug, and laughed. "Here." She poured a glass for each of them. "Listen. There's only just me so far, here; Akira is different and I'm not sure he knows what to look for yet."

Kou's eyes sharpened over the rim of his glass. "You want me to keep an eye out for people who could be shin."

She smiled; always nice to deal with someone quick on the uptake. "That too. More than that, though." She took a sip from her own. "Watch for the king."

Kou blinked. "Not already..."

"No, probably not. But soon. By the time Akira grows into himself and Ryuuko, we need the other king."

Kou regarded her narrowly. "There something you're not telling me?"

She looked up, eyes sharp. "Of course there is! You said it yourself. My king isn't your king. My contract is with Shirogane-sama now!"

Kou lifted a hand, palm up, acknowledging the justice of that. Lulu sighed.

"I'll tell you this much. Shirogane-sama needs to be settled with the new king before he has to let go of Akira."

"Because Ryuuko is different," Kou filled in slowly.

She nodded. Shirogane-sama needed more shin period, to convince him it was all right to have them, but the king should come first so he could get the anxiety of having failed with Homurabi out of his system and not pass it on to new Children.

"All right. I'll keep an eye out," Kou agreed after a moment.

Lulu let out a breath of relief. "Good. By the time we need him, the factor should have had time to grow in whoever it is."

And with luck that would help steady her king, who was far more delicately balanced than she was going to tell a lunk like Kou who seemed to like provoking him.

She drained her glass, hoping that Akira's visit would soothe that angry, desperate edge for now.

Akira lay perfectly limp on the bed and moaned a little as Shirogane's hand kneaded his ass, which was feeling very well worked. Husky, he murmured, "Don't think it will ever stop turning me on when you get like that."

Shirogane laughed, low, against his shoulder. "Yes. I'll miss that."

Akira folded his arms under his cheek, thoughtful. "Mm. I remember more now, you know. Or, at least... I know stuff." He turned his head to look at Shirogane. "I think I'll like it even later on."

Shirogane leaned up on an elbow and looked down at him, eyes startled. "You never did before," he said carefully.

Akira shrugged and grinned. "Yeah, well. That was before." He turned on his side so he could look up at Shirogane, serious. "I'm going to be Ryuuko, I guess. But he's going to be me, too."

Shirogane blinked. "Oh," he said at last.

Akira snorted. "It never occurred to you, did it?"

"I'm afraid not, any more than it seems to have occurred to anyone else." Shirogane smiled crookedly, stroking Akira's hair back, and leaned down to kiss him. "Of all of us, I should have known better. Forgive me," he murmured against Akira's mouth.

Akira's cheeks heated just a little. Shirogane didn't use polite language with him very often anymore. "Sure."

Shirogane laughed again and held him close. Akira rested his cheek against Shirogane's chest, hands stroking up and down his back, and smiled to himself. The tension was gone.

He'd have to be sure and visit again soon.

End