3/19/2003

04:52 PM

Logfile from Ichijin.

 

Penthouse Loft...

 

Kieran hadn't intruded when he came home late last night, opting to crash in one of the other rooms for a change. He, on the other hand, is awake, showered, dressed, and looking relaxed as he sits on one of the couches. His eyes slide to Sebastian as he enters, taking over the whole of his appearance with a growing frown. "What the hell happened to you, Bastian?" Already his pushing off the couch to stand, crossing the distance to the other.

 

Sebastian comes about, gaze lifting to look at Kieran. Before, the other might have noted a distinct light in the oni's eyes, but that is long gone now, only the hardness and calculation remain. "Quiet," he murmurs, moving away from the door with deliberation. "Do not wake Reese. She requires her rest."

 

Kieran lowers his voice as he follows after Sebastian, a hand coming out to reach for his shoulder, "Bastian, what happened to Reese. To you? Why didn't anyone call me?" The missing light is noted and the fire oni curses under his breath. Go away for a few hours and the house falls apart. Sheesh.

 

Sebastian moves to slip out of the other's reach. He likes his emotions right exactly where they are right now, thank you very much. All the better to hoard them away for a better time. "I apologize for not calling you, but Reese needed me. She was rather in a bad way and I was not about to leave her. Sleeping peacefully now." He sighs once more, dragging fingers back through his hair to pull it away, "Gouka happened, to Reese."

 

"Do not make me grab you and do what I did before, Bastian," Kieran says succintly. "Escape from my touch all you want, fine, but tell me now what Gouka did to Reese that has you like this and Reese in a bad way. Tell me /now/ before I set the entire city on fire trying to find that oni bitch." Yes, he is keeping his voice low and soft, but the tone is deadly in its intent.

 

Sebastian's eyes close momentarily, only to open a moment later and focus back upon Kieran. "Reese was hardly coherent when she told me. Just words. Fragments that I managed to piece together. She had passed out and found herself in Gouka's apartment. Being burned and healed, choking, vertigo... bad touches..." His voice trails off, gaze slipping away, vacant once more. "Every time I tried to touch her, she flinched. Reese was... never have I seen her like that before. Not after her battles with the seishi. Never."

 

Kieran curls his fingers into a fist, releasing them as a small ball of fire comes into existance before him, his palm rising to cup it and caress it, even as the skin touching the flames begins to slowly burn. "The seishi were meant to be our enemies, not other oni. Reese should never have had to fear one of the other oni. Our gods all want to break free. We'll never accomplish this if we... Nevermind. She's dead. Gouka is dead as far as I'm concerned. Is this also your desire?"

 

Sebastian is but standing there, slowly breathing in and out. "She wept in my arms," he murmurs, allowing the remembrance of what that provoked to roil deep within. Darkening gaze lifts once more to watch Kieran and the fire ball, "Yes." Another very simple answer.

 

Kieran curls his fingers around the fireball, quenching it out with his own flesh. The accompanying sizzle and smell are quite distinct. The hand falls to his side, black, burnt, but already healing. He takes a step closer to Sebastian, holding out his unblemished hand in offering.

Sebastian eyes the hand, skepticism evident, but he refrains from taking it. He looks back up at Kieran, "If you wish to be with me when I kill the woman, I will not stop you. But her death is mine, and mine alone. Do you understand that?"

 

"Take my hand, Bastian. I won't force my heat on you, but let me comfort you. If not for yourself, than for me. I don't like the cold," Kierans says quietly back to him, a note of something that sounds suspiciously like need in his voice. "I understand and I would not deny that, but yes, I wish to be with you." Because he refuses to consider losing this man, and because he wants to make Gouka pay for harming someone he cares for.

 

Sebastian is still extremely reluctant, and it shows. He actually draws back a step, back straightening. "I do not require comfort. It is not necessary, nor desired. My apologizes if you need something more. If so, you might wish to seek out another. I'm sure Malachai would be willing."

 

Kieran frowns at that comment, taking a step closer, "I don't want to do this again, with you Bastian. You refused to let me go cold when my fire was out, I'm not about to abandon you either. I don't need anymore more at the moment, you do. I don't want to fight with you about it. Just take my hand, take a little from me. I'm offering because I want to give something to you. Not because I'm some dog in heat." Bad joke, he knows.

 

Sebastian holds his ground this time, but his gaze steels. "You will not do it again, Kieran. And there is no abandoning involved. All is well with me, your touch is not necessary. Things are as they are for a reason. Trust in that if nothing else." 

 

"So now I'm regulated to nothing but a diversion in this household. Unwanted at that. Glad you could get some use out of me, Bastian. Hope you enjoyed yourself." The hand is brought back to his side, his amber-gaze smoldering. Kieran glances over the man in front of him then walks past him, heading down the stairs into the main penthouse.

 

Higuchi has left.

 

Kieran reappears once more and he has that crystal bowl in his arm still, though the cigarette has been smoked and crushed out. "I'm back," he states the obvious. "Alexandria is downstairs. She wishes she had shot Gouka now. Alright, now that I'm no longer steaming mad, we're talking about this. I don't like feeling used and I'm tired of watching you behave like an old man who didn't take his Metamusil."

 

Sebastian is just emerging from the bathroom, looking a little bit more like he has joined the land of the living. A robe swathes his form, hair damp and streaming behind him. As Kieran returns, he hesitates and almost seems to sigh, "What do you need to talk about, Kieran?"

 

"I will come over there, hold you down and melt you. Do you want that? Do you even care?" Kieran asks, barely managing to keep his voice calm. "Are we through, Bastian? As juvenille as that sounds, I want do know? If I wanted to be with Malachai all the time, I likely could, but I come home here because there are those I care about here. Reese yes, but namely you."

 

Sebastian seems almost to sigh, "Please just leave me as I am, Kieran. There is a reason for this. I can deal with what happened best this way. There is method to it, and necessity. I will allow myself to let go when I find Gouka, then and only then. Until that time, what you and the others provoke will remain away." Kieran's next words earn another sigh, "That is your choice, Kieran. I just... I cannot have you have you touching me now. It would not go well."

 

Kieran sighs, frustrated, but understanding it seems. "All the better to find her and get it over with. I will respect your wishes in this, Bastian. I'm not so selfish that I would take away your cold-hearted resolve. Once it's finished, I won't make the same promise. I'll fight her because of what she did to not only Reese, but to you too. That makes me that more furious. I'm not going to leave though. I'll avoid touching you, since that's what you want, but damnit, I'm not going to be driven away."