Time's Chain

by Kurara


---

Part 4

Shinya gazed dreamily into the mirror as he brushed his hair,
following with his hands along the shiny strands. The cool hair made
him remember the night hair when he had first seen Die, and he closed
his eyes, picturing the moment again.

***

"Shinya!" Kaoru called out as Shinya ran from the house, tears
streaming down his face as he tried to get away from Sugizo. He
ignored all the calls from his father and Kaoru.

//Stupid Sugizo...// The icy grass made running hard, especially in
his bare feet, causing him to fall many times and struggle up. //He
couldn't just leave me alone...// The night was dark with no moon
and it caused him not to see the tree root, making him trip and
tumble down the hill, screaming. //I'm going to die at sixteen... at
sixteen... I hope you're happy Sugizo, it only took a year of your
molesting me kill me...// He stopped rolling when he got to a
street, bumping into a stopped horse.

The horse became startled and threw a man off before running
away. "God damn it Stormy!" The rider yelled. Shinya continued
crying, not bothering trying to run anymore, curling into a ball and
letting all the tears come out. The rider noticed Shinya and crawled
to her. "Hey, miss, are you alright?" Shinya just kept crying and
shivering. The man put his jacket over Shinya and helped him sit
up. "What's wrong miss? Is someone trying to hurt you? Do you need
protection?"

Shinya shook his head and wiped his eyes, looking at the dark
figure. //I can't see who he is, but I feel safe...// "Don't let
him come..." He sniffed.

"Who?"

"Sugizo..."

"Who's Sugizo?"

"A... a man... at home... he tries to... he tries to get me to..."
He started crying again and hugged the other, crying into his chest.

The man held Shinya to his body. "I'll keep anyone away, okay? I'll
protect you. My name is Ando Daisuke, but everyone calls me Die."

"I'm... I'm Camui Shinya..."

After Shinya's tears cleared up, Die's horse had returned and Die
helped Shinya up. "I'll take you home, okay?"

Shinya shook his head. "Sugizo is there."

"Hmm... well, aren't your parents there?"

Shinya nodded. "But they usually are in their bedroom and don't pay
too much attention to me."

"Well, maybe they'll let me stay? And I can protect you?" Die
offered. "I was looking for a place to stay anyway, since this is
where my job will be for a while."

"What do you do?" Shinya asked as he was helped up on Die's horse.

"I investigate strange occurances, find out what happens, why it
happens. They call me a Spirital Investigator, but I just think of
myself as a strange detective." He smiled.

Shinya gave him a soft smile. "That sounds wonderful."

"Heh. Well, how do we get to your place?"

Shinya bit his lip. "It's up that mountain, but if you take a right
at the fork in the road and follow it straight up you should be able
to get to my place."

Die nodded and led the horse. Shinya fell asleep, so Die had to keep
his arm around his waist to keep him from falling. He narrowed his
eyebrows. //I don't feel a corset... that's strange... is she
naturally that skinny? That might be why she has no chest...// When
he reached the mansion, he gently shook Shinya awake. "Shinya...
Shinya..."

"Uh..." Shinya rubbed his eyes.

"Is this your place?"

Shinya nodded and got off the horse with Die's aide. Die tied the
reins to a post and walked with Shinya up to the door. Kaoru was
sitting outside of it and ran to Shinya, throwing himself into a hug
with the other man. "Shinya! I was so worried! Sugizo really
pushed it this time..." He looked up at Die. "Shinya, who is this?"

Die held out his hand. "Ando Daisuke. Call me Die, please."

Kaoru shook it. "Camui Kaoru."

"This lady just fell into me." He laughed. "She's requested that I
help protect her against this Sugizo?"

Shinya nodded. "Kaoru, do you think mother would let Die stay here?"

Kaoru shrugged. "Probably. He took in Sugizo."

"He?" Die looked puzzled.

"Uh... I meant she..."

Die raised an eyebrow. //There's something weird about this
place...//

"I'll go ask, okay Shinya? Why don't you and Die go in the kitchen
and wait." He went inside.

Shinya nodded to himself and led Die into the kitchen. Gackt was in
there and Shinya hugged him. "Father... why is Sugizo still here?"

"Mana wants him to be... I don't know why...I'm sorry." He looked to
Die. "Were you the one that brought my Shinya home?"

Die nodded.

"His name is Die." Shinya said before Die could say his full name
again. "I want him to stay with us and he's looking for a place in
this area, so I thought he could stay here and protect me from
Sugizo."

Gackt nodded. "Good idea."

"I think so too." Mana's voice came and everyone looked. "Shinya
obviously is insecure, and..." Mana walked up to Die, examining
him. "You look like you can do it... and some other things too...
Die, you'll learn much here about yourself."

Die blinked. //What does she mean by that?//

"I can tell something about you that even you haven't discovered
yet. You'll like it here, trust me." Mana said before grabbing the
top of Gackt's pants and leading him out of the room.

Die took a room next to Shinya's, but Shinya constantly dragged him
into his room, begging him with the fact that he felt unsafe. Sugizo
had left town before Shinya had gotten back, so Die didn't get to see
him, but he knew that Shinya needed him nonetheless. He would sleep
on the floor next to Shinya's bed, and in the mornings Shinya would
gaze at Die's sleeping form. //I need to get dressed...// He
thought, but didn't have the heart to wake up Die and tell him to get
out, so he got out of bed and stripped, looking in his closet for a
dress.

Die, being a light sleeper due to his profession, awoke shortly after
and got up, ready to go change in his own room, when he saw Shinya's
back... and then the reflection of his front in a mirror. He gasped
and Shinya spun around. "DIE!"

"Shinya! You're a--" Die backed up against the wall, trying to calm
his heart and trying to advert his eyes from the thin figure.

Shinya started to cry. //He's going to hate me now. He'll go away.
He'll think I'm a freak...//

Die calmed himself down quickly, a skill he learned from his job, and
looked up to see Shinya sitting in a corner of the room crying into
his knees. A pang hit his heart and he stood up, walking to the
bishonen. "Shinya?"

"I'm sorry..." He sniffed.

"Shinya... I don't understand why you do it, but you're still my
friend." He kneeled down next to Shinya and lifted his face. "I'm
okay with this, okay?"

Shinya smiled and more tears filled his eyes. "Really?"

Die nodded. "We all have our little things that make us who we are."

Shinya started wiping his tears, but they came faster than he could
brush them away. "You'll still protect me?"

"Hai. I'll protect you." He stood up. "Now, let's get dressed so
that we can eat, okay? I'm going to go to my room and I'll meet you
between our rooms, okay?"

Shinya nodded. "Okay."

Die was still a little uncomfortable sometimes, but quickly got over
it the more he was around Shinya and still treated him like a girl to
the point he considered Shinya a girl. Eventually he found he
couldn't go long without Shinya around and didn't even have to be
asked anymore to stay in Shinya's room. One night, before they went
to sleep, Die asked, "Shinya, why do you dress like you do?"

Shinya turned and looked over his bed. "Why?"

Die sat up and looked at him. "Curious?"

Shinya smiled. "Well, I... I always felt like a girl, and my mother,
he--"

"There's that "he" again. Is your mother like you?"

Shinya nodded.

"Then, is your father a girl?"

"No... they are both men..."

Die bit his lip. "They're together, but both men?"

Shinya nodded. "Mother always told me love is rare, and if it's with
anyone, it's special, no matter if they are male or female. He said
love is something special and blind."

"So, they are like a normal couple, just, two men?" Die asked,
resting his torso across the bed, looking at Shinya sideways as
Shinya went back to laying like normal.

"Hai. They do everything a normal couple does." Shinya closed his
eyes.

"Even kiss?"

Shinya nodded. "Even kiss."

Die blinked. "Wouldn't it be... weird?"

"I don't know, I've never done it with a boy or girl."

"Hmm... I've done it with a girl, but never boy. I wonder if it's
any different..."

Shinya smiled. "Why don't you find out?"

Die sat up. "Find out?" He scratched his head. "How?"

Shinya opened his eyes and looked up to Die. "You can kiss a man.
Find a man that's willing and kiss him."

Die bit his lip. "I can't just go ask someone if I can kiss them.
That's kind of... forward..."

"Then kiss me."

Die's eyes widened. "What?"

Shinya pouted. "I'm here. I wouldn't mind if my first kiss was from
you. I just thought it might be easier." He closed his eyes. "I
guess I was wrong."

Die touched Shinya's cheek, causing the younger man to look up to
him. Die gazed into the glints cast off by the moonlight in Shinya's
eyes and licked his lips before lowering down to Shinya's mouth. He
brushed his lips along the other's lightly, and then harder as he
felt an urge to deepen it somehow. Shinya moaned into his mouth and
lifted his hands up to Die's hair and holding him. Die ran his
tongue along Shinya's lips, tasting the other and asking to be let
in. Shinya opened his mouth and Die slipped his tongue in, causing
Shinya to gasp and arch up into the other. Die's tongue explored all
over Shinya's mouth, memorizing the taste within before reluctantly
pulling away. Shinya panted under him, hands still in his hair. He
smiled. "Die..."

Die brought his fingers to his own lips contemplatively before
looking down at Shinya. "That... that was better than with women."
And he went down, enveloping into another kiss.

***

Shinya touched his lips, remembering that event from three years
ago. His eyes then went to the ring on his left hand.

***

"Shinya, I have to go away again." Die said one warm night. "I'll
be away for a month, and I have to go alone."

Shinya pouted. "Why can't you take me?"

"It'll be dangerous, and you have to look after Kaoru. He's still
sad about Toshiya, and you don't want what happened two years ago to
happen again, do you?"

Shinya shook his head. "You'll be right back, right?"

Die nodded. "I'll try to get the job finished sooner so I can get
back here."

Shinya sighed sadly. "I'll miss you."

Die hugged Shinya. "I'll miss you too." Then, as they were still in
an embrace, he slipped a ring around Shinya's right ring finger.

Shinya pulled away and looked at his hand. "Die?"

Die smiled. "Shinya, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
If you're willing to as well, to be married to me, then move that
ring to your left hand. If not, I'll still love you and you can keep
that on your right."

Crystal tears formed at Shinya's eyes and he shakedly removed the
ring and placed it on his other hand before hugging Die again. Die
started to kiss his check and neck as he held him tightly. "Die, I
love you." Shinya sobbed.

Die kissed him on the lips and gazed into his eyes. "I love you too."

***

Shinya kissed the ring and stood up, finally ready to come down for
breakfast.

***

Well, that's all for right now. Heehe. Now you know about Die! LOL
C/C??
~kurara

to be continued~

comments to Kurara

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