The War part eighteen

[krystalkatz.livejournal.com]

“What are you and my brother up to, husband?” Tahiya asked softly coming into the room as he was preparing to meet with Nino. He wasn’t sure how but Sho had told him that he had been in contact with Masaki and that thy would be meeting him today and that they would be able to spend some time locked away in the library. The anticipation of being able to be with Nino for more than a quick fumble far outweighed the worry that he had been feeling “That brat, Chinen, has been around here asking questions…”

“Tell him that I am working with your brother and whatever he and I are doing it is none of his concern…” Satoshi growled his eyes flashing angrily at the thought of his movements being monitored by anyone. He was a general in the army, he had served far longer than even Chinen had been alive and yet he dared to question him. He breathed deep pushing away the hot anger that would have come from Nino’s side of the bond. It was a young man’s anger fresh with all the vigour of youth that he hadn’t had in a long time. Tahiya looked surprised by the emotion and he gave his wife the best smile that he could as she hummed;

“I did do…Though with rather more tact then you just have…But…Satoshi…What you are doing is it to do with that dog?”

“…Tahiya…I respect you more than I do anyone else but…As a friendly warning…Don’t call him that again…” Satoshi bit out and his wife nodded taking a step back as her eyes watched him carefully flashing between dark and light orbs. “…It has a lot to do with my bonded…But…It is more than that…Your brother, with good intentions, has done something incredibly stupid…”

“…Considering that you bonded yourself to a werewolf…I dread to even imagine what foolishness my brother has gotten himself into…You will protect him won’t you? Sho…He is a genius but he can be so dumb sometimes...” Tahiya asked and Satoshi gave her a nod coming and gripping her shoulders tightly bringing their foreheads so they were resting against each other. The action served to calm the woman down, even as she clawed at his arms “He and I may only be brother and sister in name but I care for him deeply…As I do you…And now you both are worrying me…”

“…We both want to bring an end to this war, Tahiya...We want a peaceful and safe world for both Vampires and werewolves and for Rhian…” Satoshi said thinking of his young daughter knowing that he would give anything to be able to bring both his daughter and his puppy into a new peaceful life.

“And your d…Bonded? Does he share your desire for a peaceful life?”

“…He saved my life, Tahiya, and he is tired of this war…I believe more than anything my puppy would want to see the stars…Do you remember them? Do you remember sitting on the roof watching for shooting stars? Tahiya?” Satoshi asked and the female vampire nodded a breath stealing smile stretching over her lips as she seemed to cast her eyes upwards. “He has never seen them…Neither had Rhian…Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could find a way to make it possible for her?”

“…Even if the war ends the sky is still scorched…” Tahiya pointed out moving out of his grip and Satoshi gave her a nod reluctantly having to admit that that was true.

“…If the war ended we could turn our attention to healing what we have destroyed…Vampires and Werewolves we could work together…Pull our resources into something good over new ways of killing each other…It would be hard but it would be worth it…” He said surprised when she let out a surprised sounding laugh saying;

“You are so much more optimistic these days…A side effect of your bond?”

“…Nino…He is an idealist though he acts like a pessimist…He has so much belief that the world can and should be better…” Satoshi hummed with an embarrassed shrug turning away from her when she gave another laugh. He ran his fingers through his fringe and then sighed continuing to pack the small bag of clothes “I will be gone until at least tomorrow night…I will be with your brother if anyone comes asking…”

“…Okay, be careful Satoshi…I wouldn’t want to explain to Rhian why her daddy never came home…” Tahiya told him and Satoshi gave a nod chewing on his lower lip knowing that his worry for how this might affect his daughter was one, if not the only, reason that he might be convinced to stay away from Nino but he knew that no matter what happened to him Rhian wouldn’t be affected his father-in-law wouldn’t allow it.

“I will, take care of yourself and Rhian…I don’t trust, Chinen…” He told her half hoping that she would tell him that his fear was just in his head but to his surprise Tahiya let out a clicking noise of agreement sitting down on the bed as she hummed;

“…Nor do I…He is a smarmy as his father but twice as dangerous…” Satoshi nodded slowly thinking about the boy’s father. They had never been friends even though he had been a skilled solider. He had recently been sent to what was mostly considered to be a safe posting miles away from the front lines and Satoshi had been glad to be rid of him. His happiness had only lasted a short while as then Chinen had been sent. “He hates me because in his mind I have you…If he carries on I will go to my father and report him…”

“…I didn’t want to draw attention to the situation…I thought that it was just a crush…But recently it has become something more dangerous…” Satoshi said with reluctance. He didn’t want Chinen to be punished just because he was homosexual but he had noticed the looks that the younger man had been giving both his wife and daughter and he was worried that if Chinen kept hanging around people might grow suspicious and he refused to be arrested for something that he hadn’t been doing. “Do what you think is right, Tahiya…”

“I always do…” His wife quipped before leaving the room again and allowing him to finish his packing. Once done he headed into Rhian’s bedroom. His daughter was sitting on the floor with one of her dolls on her knee a broken crayon on her hand drawing swirls on a sheet of paper. She was humming a made-up song and Satoshi gave a smile kneeling down beside her.

“What are you drawing, Rhian?” He asked and the little girl held up her drawing and Satoshi smiled seeing that it was a surreal image of the three of them and he chuckled trying to work out which one was which. Chuckling he took a piece of paper for himself and then the crayons carefully drawing Nino a picture of stars over the ocean. It wasn’t a perfect image, the wax crayons making it difficult to go over the paper, but he hoped that it would be enough to give his young lover an impression of what the sight was like. “I’m going away today…I will be gone for a few days…”

“Can I come?”

“Not this time sweetheart but maybe another day?” He answered stroking her hair lightly before drawing her up on to his lap and giving her a tight hug. Rhian nodded and then hugged him tightly around his neck her lips pressing to his cheek.

“See you soon daddy! Say hello to puppy for me! I made him a picture!” She said brightly, lifting a picture of what he suspected was meant to be a vase of flowers and he nodded tucking it into his pocket with his own picture and then kissed her on the cheek.

“I think puppy will like it very much…I’ll see you soon okay?” He purred and Rhian nodded happily going back to drawing as he left the room. He picked up his bag and nodded to Tahiya who was standing in the kitchen with her hand on her hips. The female vampire gave him a smile and a wave. He moved towards the door anticipation coming through him at the thought of meeting Nino soon and at the idea of being allowed in the famed library.

TBC
A/N: I hope that this is okay ^_^