[Log] [Complete]

[thrifty-shadow.livejournal.com]

When; January 27; after 12 midnight
Rating; PG-15
Characters; Tatsumi Seiichirou [thrifty_shadow] & Sakurazuka Seishirou [sakurazuka_san]
Summary; Tatsumi decides enough is enough and tries to get back at Seishirou. Tries being the keyword...
Log;

If one wanted to find a Sakurazukamori, Tatsumi had no doubt they only needed to come by the one sakura tree that bloomed all year round, through all seasons. That curse from the other day - he didn't like that curse. He had not been affected, or rather, he was able to resist whatever urge there was to make a cosmic fool out of himself, if there ever had been an urge. On the other hand, Sakurazuka Seishirou clearly had no shame. Announcing that Tatsumi was the Sakurazukamori's sex partner was going too far. Much too far. Declaring that the shinigami had enjoyed having a pen dug into his neck simply convinced Tatsumi they needed to settle this once and for all.

He wasn't going to let Sakurazuka Seishirou oppress and humiliate him any longer. If he was going down, then at least, he was going to take down the Sakurazuka with him!

 

Tree-san had alerted him. Someone was far too close to the tree than necessary - someone with powers that were too familiar. It wasn't hard for Seishirou to guess just who was there, waiting so eagerly for him. The sakura seemed to sigh at the obvious. At least it would provide some entertainment. Tatsumi always seemed to amuse him more than he should. But it was such a reward to see the shinigami bleed.

From behind Tatsumi, he approached the other man and stayed so close for a few moments. Then, finally, he leaned close to the other's ear. "Come to keep Tree-san company?" he muttered, smirking a little while the branches moved about in a light wind.

 

Terribly conscious of the close proximity between him and the Sakurazukamori, most probably because of their previous encounters, Tatsumi spun around and instinctively stepped backwards to gain some distance between him and the Sakurazukamori. With blue eyes watching the Sakurazukamori's every move closely, he straightened his suit and his tie.

"Perhaps," he said, "It's a fine night, don't you think, Sakurazuka-san? Wouldn't your precious master wish to be fed with its servant's own blood?"

 

Seishirou grinned while the wind seemed to pick up and toss about sakura petals. He hadn't made a single move, and yet already strands of an illusion were weaving through the air slowly as the sakura whispered into the night air. Tree-san was good enough to take a hint by now. Working with the tree for so long was enough to have a special sort of bond. It came in useful on more than one occasion.

His amber eyes remained transfixed upon Tatsumi with a strange sort of smile dancing about. "You plan to hurt me, hm?" he asked with an obvious hint of amusement in his voice. "How sweet of you." He took a long drag from the remains of his cigarette before letting the silver-grey smoke disperse through the petal-laced breeze, and then the butt hit the ground.

 

Tatsumi had noticed the faint traces of magic about him, but he shrugged it off. He would take the illusion and try to break through it, even dodge whatever Sakurazuka had ready for him. He ignored the Sakurazukamori's comments and immediately attacked then. Black, liquid, shadows rose from the ground, lifting chunks of earth. Without moving, and by sheer will alone, he hurled the chunks of earth at the Sakurazukamori.

 

Lucky for Seishirou that his ofuda always was close at hand. He pulled three out from his jacket in a fluid motion and tossed them toward the sphere. Instantly, they transformed into shikigami and pierced through the sphere with relative ease. Shadows... he remembered that that was a particular speciality of this man. Though he was making a foolish mistake in attacking within proximity of the tree.

A quick chant under his breath, and the illusion completely formulated. All that was left was the large sakura tree and darkness. Smiling with a deadly sort of mirth, he stood beside the tree and watched the other alertly. He could be on the defensive for as long as he wanted - at least until he found the perfect moment to issue the other an offence. There was no need for foolish strategies.

 

The darkness did not scare Tatsumi at all. He was rather used to it, more so now after having had his eyes plucked out by an angel. Still,  he stood for a while to take in the change that had taken.

"If that tree is the source of your power, I will attack it." He gathered the shadows around him and willed them into sharp spikes before sending them towards the Sakurazukamori and the tree in near relentless succession.

 

So he had to act quickly. A challenge, perhaps, but nothing he couldn't handle. Again, he tossed more ofuda toward the energy spikes and the same result produced before was replicated. He'd have to take the upper hand now if he didn't want to continue defending himself or the tree, and he had proper time in which to do so.

Seishirou merely smiled at Tatsumi before raising his left arm into the air. He uttered a smooth chant as he did so, and a wind began to pick up before a hawk appeared there on his hand. His most powerful shikigami.... He looked up to it with a smirk before it flew off with a screech right to Tatsumi. If needed, well, he had other ways to keep the other man on his toes.

 

A hawk. Tatsumi had seen far stronger shikigami summoned. He would not allow himself to underestimate the opposition however and instead, began utilizing his ability to fly, to ensure full mobility. Though he never flew much, preferring to stick to the ground -- and far from fighting really -- usually, he ordered his shadows to block and attack the shikigami as he headed towards the Sakurazukamori and his tree.

Once close enough, he forced another shadow spike to rise from beneath the Sakurazukamori's feet. He didn't think the Sakurazukamori was that slow to fall for a simple attack, but he hoped to disorient the Sakurazukamori at least. Enough for an opening. A clean kill, perhaps.

 

His shikigami now was embroiled with its own personal battle against the summoned shadows that Tatsumi himself summoned. It was a little unfortunate that that cost Seishirou some time with his offence, but luckily he wasn't limited in his skills anymore. The tree was an excellent addition for him now, and he eyed it quickly before pushing himself off the ground as he felt something erupt from below him.

A gently graceful leap into the air soon had him regain his footing on a sturdy limb within the tree. He smiled a little up to Tatsumi and then eyed the swaying sakura branches. With hardly a word uttered, roots flew from the base of the tree and coiled around the other man's ankles. He watched while the roots then pulled the kagetsukai to the ground roughly, and his faint smile grew slightly wider with a hint of malice. The illusions were his realm, and he'd be damned if Tatsumi were to supersede that.

 

The attack had been so sudden that Tatsumi barely had time to cry out before his body was violent slammed to the ground. A flash of white shot through his vision as the pain spread through his body. Even if they had been endowed with ridiculously fast regeneration, shinigami body was still pretty much just as immune to damage and pain as  a normal living body.

Tatsumi slammed a hand against the ground angrily and shadows ripped through the earth beneath the surface he was on, traveling towards the roots that had wrapped around his ankle, meant to tear and destroy through wood.

He shot the Sakurazukamori a snarl. There was blood trailing from the cuts on his forehead on his face, but the wounds that had caused them were already rapidly closing and healing.

With a wave of his right hand, Tatsumi called upon another wave of shadows after the Sakurazukamori.

 

Seishirou at least was impressed that Tatsumi wasn't so easy to take out so soon. His own shikigami had finished dispelling the shadow spheres that had attacked it quickly and then flew at a rapid pace to the shadows that were coming right for the roots. He had to remain ready to attack or defend at any moment, and he had been trained decently on how to manage that well enough.

The shadows that moved toward him looked bloodthirsty. Eyeing them closely, he tossed five ofuda into the air before him. With a quick chant under his breath, they aligned to form a defensive circle, brilliant red strands of energy binding them all together in the shape of a pentagram. The shadows soon hit the defence barrier, and they seemed to collide with the shield and spread into the surrounding air as dispersed beads of darkness. Likewise, a screech hailed through the air as the hawk shikigami soared away from the roots after claiming a victory.

More roots sprung forth and coiled tightly at Tatsumi's wrists and ankles, the pressure far too intense for any struggling to be rid of them so quickly. Just as they pulled Tatsumi from the ground, Seishirou jumped down from the limb he had habituated to land right at the base of the tree, right before his new victim. "That's not at all nice to attack the sakura, Tatsumi-kun," he greeted the other with a deceptively carefree tone as he approached him. He had a dangerous look to his eyes, and even though he was smiling, it seemed a more menacing air remained about him.

 

The kagetsukai tried struggling against the roots binding him for a while, enough to cut through cloth and skin and have blood flowing freely from the wounds. But then, he finally gave up and instead, focused on willing the shadows to attack the Sakurazukamori from all sides. The roots seemed to tighten around his wrist and ankles as he mentally guided his shadows, but the pain only served to spur him on and to strengthen his attacks.

Just as he felt shadows moving from underneath him, he pushed himself off the ground with a jump and launched into the air with apparent ease. Even then, the shadows that had been around him on all sides leaped up after him. A rain of black ofuda met the shadows with what seemed to be explosions of psychic energy - but not before one tendril of shadows reached for his leg and cut through the fabric to his shin. A minor injury, at best, and he didn't feel impeded at all by it. Perhaps it merely was a shallow graze along his skin that caused a stinging sensation there. Close, but certainly not good enough.

Once the psychic energy seemed to settle like dust blown about in the wind, He again landed just before Tatsumi - this time, though, he managed to be noticeably closer. A hand reached for the other man's throat and curled around it with a surprising amount of pressure. "Your shadows are so eager to please, aren't they?" They were strong - in that, there was no doubt. However, even those with strong attacks could be subdued with distractions. Smiling with a deadly calmness, he moved in even closer as a second hand grazed at the blood that trickled at Tatsumi's wrist. The blood was so liquid, thick. He hadn't ever been able to mistake the feel of blood on his fingertips.

 

Though Tatsumi, having died once already, couldn't possibly die from suffocation any longer, his body still struggled to breathe, the action  of inhaling and exhaling having been part of him even in his afterlife. Gritting his teeth, he hissed as he answered the Sakurazukamori's inquiry.

"Of course... they are. A kagetsukai... has complete control over them..." Another try -- he didn't need to say it. He was going to keep attacking Seishirou as long as he had the conscious will to do so.

 

How many more times would Tatsumi try the same attack? Seishirou had almost expected that attack when the shadows lunged for him, and he was more than ready this time. His hand that had rested on Tatsumi's wrist sent forth that same protective barrier to be cast around him - this time, without even so much as one ofuda or chant. It was getting a little dull now, Tatsumi attacking in such a stock manner, Seishirou merely countering with his own onmyoudou. He wanted a clean victory, sure, but since that didn't seem to be happening insofar, he would at least get all the entertainment possible from this encounter.

The shadows dispersed quickly, and again he had a tight, if not slightly more constricting grip upon Tatsumi's neck now. He stared right at Tatsumi with an intense sort of gaze as he pressed himself right against his bound captive. He knew Tatsumi's small weaknesses, and he would exploit them as much as necessary. "Your shadows are so responsive..." He smirked now to the other man, relaxing his hold upon his neck. "How much more can they handle, though?" he asked, his voice a casual mumble now as that distance between them was all but eliminated. The proximity, he knew, was something Tatsumi couldn't tolerate normally. The proximity had triggered so many interesting reactions....

 

Tatsumi fought against the roots to get as much distance from the Sakurazukamori as he could. Had he weakened? Tatsumi was confident he could take the Sakurazukamori on, however, his attacks that certainly had the power to level public property if he so wished, weren't doing much to the man. Was it the city? Had the city somehow weakened him like it had restrained Tsuzuki his all-powerful shikigami summoning ability? He didn't like the idea, but it was becoming more and more plausible. Shinigami were put in partners for a reason; that power bestowed upon them was not to be taken lightly.

"They can handle a lot, Sakurazuka-san," Tatsumi said calmly as he went through what he could still do. He still had several kunai... but with his hands bound and the Sakurazukamori's eyes on him, he doubted he could succeed with a surprise attack... yet.

 

"Yes, of course they can..." Despite the struggling he felt from the other, Seishirou maintained his closeness with the other and that alone seemed enough to work upon Tatsumi. He smiled with as much charm as he thought one could emanate without losing their sanity - not that his sanity ever needed to be brought into question. "But you and your shadows are completely separate entities."

His hand, which left red marks along Tatsumi's neck from pressure, moved to join the other resting on Tatsumi's chest. He knew the other's reactions to anything even mildly related to sex. It was only too easy of a vice, really. "I could do such mean things," he remarked in a sly voice while his hands slid upward slowly. "Maybe even terrible things..." He leaned in close enough to brush his lips against Tatsumi's, but that was as far as he would go. For now.

 

"Nothing you can do will faze me now, Sakurazuka-san," the kagetsukai said quietly, calming suddenly. Tatsumi put up a carefully neutral expression against the Sakurazukamori's actions. He knew what Seishirou was aiming for and at the very least, Tatsumi would have the consolation of not acting to the Sakurazukamori's expectations. He would play along and show the Sakurazukamori how much he had learned... at least, until he had the upper hand.

 

He hadn't really expected Tatsumi to remain so calm. Then again, though, the outward façade was a bit intriguing - just how far could he go without eliciting a different reaction from the other? That thought in contemplation, he turned about to, instead, focus upon one of the other man's ears. Generally, they were weak spots in most people, and he really hadn't been very gentle with Tatsumi in past encounters.

"Oh, I don't honestly care, Tatsumi-kun," he barely whispered into Tatsumi's ear. Had Tatsumi been able to see, he would note a sly sort of look in his eyes while his hand reached over to graze along the other's waist. "You see, other things of interest take precedence." With a smirk, he pressed his lips right against Tatsumi's ear lobe.

"Have you noticed a certain doctor about?"

 

Tatsumi shivered slightly at the Sakurazukamori's suggestive advances, but he merely closed his eyes and hung his head slightly, just so the other man wouldn't see his face as clearly. His answer didn't come so quickly. "I don't care for the good doctor, you see, Sakurazuka-san. He could be bleeding in a gutter now for all I care."

 

Seishirou chuckled a little while he kept so close to Tatsumi. His hand moved upward before coursing down again to unbutton that blazer Tatsumi seemed to perennially wear. "And what if he is?" he asked languidly while he pushed at the shirt fabric. Why not play a little with the scenario? He had a general idea of the situation, and he knew exactly what to say. "What would the repercussions bring for your Tsuzuki-san?"

Of course, he was curious about the ordeal. Muraki Kazutaka seemed of great importance to Tatsumi and his companions, so for the good doctor to die... Well, he only could imagine the reactions. It seemed an inevitable fate for the walking hypocrisy of a man. His hand reached for that tie and began to tug on it slightly, almost as though to alert Tatsumi. "Sometimes, you must wonder...."

 

Tatsumi's breathe hitched when the Sakurazukamori began tugging at his necktie. His blazer had just been unbuttoned. Still, with years of practice, he calmed himself -- he wasn't going to give the Sakurazukamori that satisfaction. He'd have to make him bleed first if he really wanted a reaction out of a kagetsukai. And even then, Tatsumi vowed not to lose so shamefully as he had before.

"And why do you care about Tsuzuki-san, Sakurazuka-san?" Tatsumi challenged, aiming to divert from the subject that was Tsuzuki. He knew Tsuzuki; Tsuzuki would be upset. But he didn't have to say that.

 

He smirked. Just as he had thought Tatsumi would say. Seishirou gently bit at the other's earlobe and tugged upon it once before letting it go. "I wonder what his reaction would be." Whether or not he was applying that phrase to the scenario at hand or his hypothetical situation, it was hard to determine. Of course, he had a feeling about it... Seeing one's nemesis dead... certainly there would be some reaction.

"I wonder what yours would be," he mumbled as his other hand worked to coax Tatsumi's neck. "If you detest him so much...." Now he pulled away from Tatsumi's ear to stare right to him, and a brilliant smile met the other's stoic expression. But his eyes flashed with dark intentions as he continued. "Enough to wish him dead, no less."

 

What did the Sakurazukamori want out of him? Tatsumi met Seishirou's eyes calmly and then decided on his response. He smiled at the Sakurazukamori. "That's no secret, Sakurazuka-san. I do not wish him dead, I want him dead."

 

"At your hand, is that right?" Seishirou's smile grew marginally wider as he looked right to Tatsumi, but his eyes seemed to narrow down to slits of golden-brown. "And if someone else took his life, then what?"

He seemed to completely embrace Tatsumi at this point, and, had anyone passed them at this moment, someone would have possibly thought they were lovers. Of course, Tatsumi was bound with sakura branches, but the appearance was enough to facilitate the belief. Both of his arms coiled around Tatsumi's neck, and as one moved slowly along the other's spine he again moved to the ear so close now to him. "What would you do then, Tatsumi-kun?"

 

Seishirou's words left little for Tatsumi not to get what he was insinuating. Eyebrows furrowing, he turned and stared at Seishirou -- what he could stare at the man in their current position anyway. "What are you--" he stopped himself. It was much too obvious. Would the Sakurazukamori do it? But what reason did he have? Killing Muraki... Tatsumi wanted it, and yet, he wasn't... if somebody else was going to kill the doctor, Tatsumi would have been relieved. Good riddance -- that's how it should be, but to think that Sakurazuka Seishirou was thinking of that...

"...You have no right," he said finally. And indeed, what reason did the Sakurazukamori have? He wasn't even from their world. It would only be a whim... yes. Out of all the people who could kill Muraki, Seishirou was the one who had the least reason....

 

The hand that worked at Tatsumi's spine seemed now to want to gouge the skin underneath the fabric, even though he still was using a light touch. Now it was his turn to stare right at the other, looking him right in the eye with a cryptic smile. What an interesting reaction from the man who had admitted he wanted Muraki Kazutaka dead.

"Does anyone have that right?" he asked in a low, smooth tone. "To take a man's life... surely that's not a right one can earn, lest I point out those laws against murder." Of course, he was chuckling at the thought - humans seemed to place far too much value upon life, really. Especially if it were their own life brought into the question. The hand that had been running along Tatsumi's neck began to rake through the hair that sat at his nape while he gave a small nibble to Tatsumi's bottom lip. "Are you implying what I think you are?"

 

Tatsumi turned his face away from Seishirou and glared at the the Sakurazukamori at the edge of his vision. "I am a shinigami, you remember? It is our job to end people's lives and the good doctor's life was forfeited the very moment he chose to meddle with our kind. He deserves it, Sakurazukamori. Unlike you, my actions are justified and sanctioned by the laws of our world."

 

"And you forget that, likewise, my actions are sanctioned." Seishirou looked again directly at Tatsumi as he pushed himself right against the other. This was turning very interesting now, and he knew that he had Tatsumi in just the place he wanted him to be in this conversation. The branches around the other's wrists constricted tighter, almost as though in contempt. "Laws matter little with so many loopholes, Tatsumi-kun," he whispered with a telling smirk.

He knew this juxtaposition of physical intimacy and verbal hostility had to be affecting Tatsumi somehow. The sheer irony of it all was terribly amusing. And he knew even more specifically that Tatsumi detested the physical contact Seishirou instigated with him. His smirk deepened, then, when he pulled the other into a startlingly intense kiss.

 

Seishirou was right in that Tatsumi was affected by their current exchange. He didn't want it, he hated the Sakurazukamori, and yet, especially when Seishirou kissed him, he found his resolve weakening.

It was shameful.

At first, caught off guard by the sudden kiss, Tatsumi let the Sakurazukamori. However, when it finally registered in his mind, he stopped himself, fought back, and bit the tongue in his lips, hoping to draw blood, and to make the Sakurazukamori draw back.

 

Interesting, though certainly not unexpected. Tatsumi did seem to bite rather hard, as a muffled sound escaped from Seishirou while he still was inside Tatsumi's mouth. He did step back, and as he did, that coppery taste began to well onto his tongue. So he did draw blood. He raised his hand to his mouth as he stepped backwards from the other man, but instead of the typically hurt expression one would display, Seishirou smiled with an unsettling cheeriness.

"And you seem to know how to use those loopholes," he laughed out. The branches that clung to Tatsumi in what seemed desperation loosened somewhat. Oh, he'd give Tatsumi loopholes, all right. There wasn't too much Tatsumi could do to injure him. Unless Seishirou let him.

 

The roots loosening around his bound wrists and ankles did not go unnoticed by Tatsumi. He took that chance, forcefully freeing his hands from the roots. The action was rough enough to have caused bits of the skin around his wrist to come away but the pain barely registered as he produced the kunai masterfully hidden inside his vest. He threw two at first, to distract the Sakurazukamori, before sending several more, though those were aimed at the Sakurazukamori's feet and not at his body at all but at his shadow. The Sakurazukamori would think he missed, until he tried to move.

"I have you now, Sakurazuka-san. For a change."

 

Kunai. Seishirou smiled as he saw the flash of silver and the whiz of a blade cutting through the air. And he had an idea of just what Tatsumi had planned. But that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun in facilitating this "turnaround". If anything, he had managed to get Tatsumi to listen. A little gossip really never hurt anyone.

He remained exactly where he was, and he knew those kunai would make certain that he would. If Tatsumi wanted to fight, then who was he to stop the man? The ironic thought made him smile even brighter as he stared straight ahead to Tatsumi. "Do you, now?" he seemed to muse with almost indifferent cheer.

 

Tatsumi had one more kunai left and he intended to use it wisely. However, before he that, he decided the Sakurazukamori needed a little payback. If it ended here now, Tatsumi felt that it would be much too kind to the Sakurazukamori, especially after what the man had put him through. The kagetsukai wrapped his left hand around the Sakurazukamori's neck (his right held his last kunai) and leaned closer, close enough so their warm breathes mingled.

"You underestimate me -- that, I cannot forgive. You may think you have the upper hand, Sakurazukamori, but I will show you how ruthless I can be."

It didn't take a genius to realize what the Sakurazukamori had let him do. It sickened Tatsumi -- it was direct attack to his pride. He may enjoy having the upper hand but not like this. It was demeaning. The shinigami contemplated on killing the Sakurazukamori then and there, but found himself unable to claim victory then and there. Disgusted with Seishirou and then himself, he used his the kunai to make a diagonal slash at the Sakurazukamori's chest.

"I hope you bleed to death," he hissed.

 

His breath seemed to halt when the kunai's blade slashed across his chest. Seishirou's head dropped as the pain - my god, the pain - coursed from the wound all throughout his body. Was the blade poisoned? He dully wondered this as he began to register exactly what happened. He let a small groan out as he reflexively stiffened any muscles in his body he could. Finally, though, the pain seemed to subside, or at least plateau in intensity, and he looked back up to Tatsumi with an odd sort of smile that seemed to flicker like a dying light.

"Ruthless, indeed..." A short laugh escaped him like a cough. Underestimate Tatsumi. People would think anything if they wanted to believe it enough. That eternal breeze that made the sakura dance in the air appeared to pick up some speed, and light pink petals flew right between the two. What seemed to be the petals falling from the tree was not at all - Seishirou's body was disintegrating into petals. Appearances so often deceived, though. First his feet, then legs, and fingers.... That faint smile seemed to remain there longest until finally it, too vanished in a mass of petals.

Sakurazuka Seishirou no longer was there, or so it seemed, and the illusion about them, the blackness surrounding the two, slowly faded into reality.

 

Sakurazukamori -- that was what Seishirou was. Tatsumi glared at the mass of sakura petals about, and then reached out to pluck one from the wind. "Damn you, Sakurazuka." He crushed the sakura petal in a fist before angrily tossing it back to the wind. He shot the sakura tree in the distance and furious glare and then spun around.

He fixed his tie and buttoned up his blazer. His suit was ruined, torn and bloodied, and it was all a waste. He had not won over the Sakurazukamori, and neither had he killed him.

There was no profit.