Beauty and the Beast - Stone Heart

Band: D=OUT&Acme (ex. xTRiPx), LapLus

Pairing: Naoto&Shougo, Reika&Hikaru and Satoshi&Shougo in the background

Rating: 17+

Genre: AU, fantasy, romance

Series: "Beauty and the Beast"

Warnings: psychopaty

Note: Naoto has to save Kirei (Shougo) from Yajuu (Satoshi), who's a crazy sorcerer.

____________

Kirei - Belle

Yajuu - the Beast

There was a young man living in our small village, who's name, Kirei, matched his person perfectly. But I'm not going to ramble about his beauty, because this story would lose its sense.

The most important thing is that Kirei disappeared one day. I was worried about him and decided to find him.

"It's not a good idea, Naoto" said Reika, my friend, chewing on some dried beef. "Just think about it. Kirei is smart and beautiful. Someone probably seduced him. Besides, he's a man. Do you want to be in a relationship with a man?"

"Yeah, because Hikaru is a woman" I glared at him.

Reika snorted.

"And that's what I mean!" he exclaimed. "Naoto, I know, how complicated the situation it is and I think that..."

"Are you going with me or should I force you to do it?" I asked, losing my patience.

Reika sighed, threw the rest of dried beef to Hikaru's dog and jumped on his horse.

* * *

We've been riding for hours, trying to find Kirei in the forest, when suddenly wolves blocked our path.

"We made a wolf pack mad, Naoto" mumbled Reika, trying to shoot them. "Naoto, where are you going? Naoto!"

But I didn't care about his calling. Snow was squeaking under my horse's hooves.

In June.

"Naoto!" Reika caught up with me and looked at me firmly. "A wolf pack is chasing us, we should go back!"

"Reika, look around. It's winter" I said.

My friend looked at his right side, at his left side and then at me.

"How?" he asked in shock.

"I don't know, but it stinks of black magic" I said. "If Kirei was here, he could've become a victim of some sorcerrer."

"Or wolves" Reika shot another hairy creature. "Is it just me, or they're immortal?"

"Maybe they are. We should find Kirei" I said and suddenly I had to stop my horse abruptly.

Castle. A castle appeared in front of out of nowhere!

"It wasn't there before" said Reika, even if it was obvious.

Maybe he said something like this, because he also hit the gate with his horse.

"Hey, Naoto?"

"Huh?"

"Wolves are running away" Reika pointed on these fucking mutts, which howling and hiding their tails between their hind legs, ran away from the castle.

I looked at the big castle. Who or what lived here that made these animal react like this?

"Help me open the gate" I said, discovering that it wasn't even locked, just very heavy.

We pushed the left gatewing and walked in, bringing our horses with us. We tied them to the fence and walked towards the castle.

"Naoto" Reika nudged my shoulder. "Naoto, do you see these statues?"

"I see. And what?" I asked, looking at sculptures standing on two sides of the road to the castle.

They looked incredible, like people turned into stone.

"Naoto" Reika shook my shoulder this time. "Naoto, these sculptures are observing us. They're alive. They're alive, Naoto. We should go back."

"No way" I growled. "If this thing hurts Kirei, I won't forgive myself."

"And what if it hurts us, huh? Are you going to be happy as a ghost?" Reika stared at the sculpture of some young woman. "They're really alive. It's terrifying."

"I didn't know you're such a coward" I laughed and walked into a castle, then I froze.

There was even more statues here! Beside stairs, in the hall, everywhere!

"Naoto..." Reika clenched fingers on my shoulder. "Naoto, we should go."

"Firstly, we have to find Kirei" I replied, snapping out of shock.

I walked upstairs, feeling the statues' eyes on me. Reika followed me obediently.

We opened the first chamber, but we saw only more statues. It was also super tidy here. As if it wasn't a castle, but some museum.

"Who are you?" we heard a voice out of nowhere.

Reika jumped out of fear and bumped into a wall, breathing hard and I turned around slowly.

I saw a man about my height. He had such strangely built body that I wondered, if he doesn't have a problem with buying clothes, and emotionless expression. Like he couldn't use his facial muscles.

"I'm Naoto, this is Reika" I helped my frightened friend getting up from the floor. "We got lost in the forest, looking for a young man."

"A young man?" repeated the man. "There's no one here. You should leave."

"So you're alone?" I asked.

The man nodded.

"Yes, only me. I'm Yajuu" the man introduced himself. "Can you leave already? I want to be alone."

"But you were alone, before we arrived too" Reika pointed out.

"Don't be such a smartass, you fool" Yajuu walked to us and looked at us from above. "Get out or you're going to end like other lost boys."

"As sculptures?" I asked.

Yajuu glared at me and frowned.

"You're smart. Too smart" he said. "Get out."

"Can I ask you one question?" I asked.

"Naoto, come on, I don't want to be a stone" Reika shook my shoulder.

"Be quiet" Yajuu glared at him. "Ask, if you really have to."

"Have you turned Kirei into a sculpture too?" I asked, making Yajuu sigh.

"Why should I punish someone I love?" Yajuu grabbed my shirt. "Kirei is fine, unlike you."

I heard snapping of his fingers and my body became numb. I could only see, how Yajuu is putting me and Reika against the wall and walks away.

I almost heard in my mind my friend's words "Naoto, you fucking idiot!". Well, maybe I really was one...

* * *

Some days passed. I saw Yajuu wandering many times around the castle. I don't know, if he was looking for something or just liked to walk. I watched him. He was, in fact, insane. He was talking to himself, cried and laughed without reason and cut his wrists just to write on the walls with his own blood. The most interesting part was that everytime he had such episode, the next day he spent on erasing evidence of his madness.

I heard footsteps and looked in their direction. I was surprised, when I saw Kirei. He looked like a shadow of himself. He was barefoot and anxious. He then stopped abruptly and looked at me. I had an impression that he said something like "Impossible".

Kirei walked towards me and looked at me, tilting his head like some puppy, who wonders, why his master doesn't want to give him a sausage.

"I knew that something was wrong with those sculptures" he said. "Why would Yajuu have the sculpture, which looks like you?"

Is he talking to me?

"Kirei?" we heard and he turned around towards the voice.

"Oh, Yajuu" Kirei looked at me somehow apologetically. "Yajuu, these sculptures are scary. Why do you have so many?"

"I'm a collector" announced Yajuu, embracing him. "Come with me, let's drink some tea. You're going to stop being scared."

"I know..."

"Is there something you're scared of, my dear?" asked Yajuu and despite being a sculpture right now, I felt I was going to be sick.

"This sculpture..." Kirei turned towards me. "This sculpture looks like someone I know well."

"Really?" Yajuu seemed surprised.

Well, I was too. We were strangers, we said "Good morning" to each other a few times and that's it. What is he talking about?

"Really" confirmed Kirei. "I mean, we weren't friends. Let's say we were lovers, who didn't see each other's eyes."

If I was still a human, I would freeze on the spot.

Kirei loved me...?

"Oh, I'm sorry" said Yajuu with fake empathy. "I didn't want to make you anxious because of these sculptures."

"It's okay" replied Kirei, grabbing his hand. "I want to drink some tea, before I faint from emotions."

And he left, like this situation didn't happen at all.

* * *

Yajuu came to me at night, picked me up and moved me to the dungeon.

"If he finds you here, I'll break you" he threatened me. "So pray you'll never meet him again."

He closed the gate and ran upstairs, leaving blood on the walls.

* * *

Some days passed and I was losing my mind. I was alone, completely alone. I didn't see anyone, I didn't hear anyone. I couldn't talk, I couldn't breathe and I couldn't move. It was like being in coma, but completely aware. I had an impression that if I won't do something, I'm going to die just because of stress.

I heard footsteps. It was the first sound, which I heard since a long time.

I looked up and saw Kirei.

"He put the sculpture in the cell" Kirei walked downstairs, took the keys from the hook and unlocked the gate. "Sculpture. In the cell."

Kirei walked to me and looked into my eyes.

"I've been looking for you. And I checked something out. I put a hand on one sculpture's chest. You know, the one, which was next to you" Kirei stood on his tiptoes and looked in my eyes. "I felt its heart's beating. Do you have a heart too?"

I felt Kirei's soft hand touching my stone body. I was looking in the eyes of someone I loved and I couldn't tell him about it. I couldn't even talk. I couldn't warn him that these sculptures are cursed people and that Yajuu is a psycho.

"You're alive" said Kirei in shock, stepping back. "You're really alive..."

He thought for a moment, walking around my cell.

"You all are. Every sculpture is a human. He transformed you, right?" he looked at me firmly, but what could've I done?

I couldn't talk.

Kirei walked around the cell one more time, then he walked to me.

"Hey, Naoto?" he put his hands on my shoulders. "You were looking for me, right?"

I wanted to nod, but I couldn't.

"You're in love with me, aren't you? Am I right?"

And I could only stare at him.

"Did I lose my mind?" Kirei sighed. "Everything is just my imagination probably. Or hallucinations. But I should try, right?"

Kirei stood on his toes and kissed me. I blinked. Did he...

Wait. I blinked?

Lifting an arm was hard, but I managed to do it. I embraced Kirei's waist and put my other hand on his cheek, then I kissed him back, still confused with the whole situation.

But this sweet moment couldn't last long. I heard door opening with a slam and I looked towards the stairs. I saw Yajuu, who looked like wanted to kill me right now.

"What are you doing, Kirei?" he asked, walking downstairs towards us.

Kirei moved away from me. His eyes were empty, like he didn't have a soul.

Kirei ran from my cell towards Yajuu's arms.

"I told you that something is wrong with this sculpture" he cried. "That's a living human being."

"It's not" denied Yajuu, pulling out a gun and pointing it at me. "It's just a sculpture."

I dodged the bullet and ran away upstairs, miraclously dodging other bullets too.

So that's what we're doing now? He dropped snapping fingers and being a sculptor? Now he really wants to kill me?

Awesome...

* * *

Trying to hide from Yajuu, I found myself in the ballroom. I turned around and saw this mad insane crazy angry prince, who tried to shoot me, but...

"Stop it!" Kirei probably decided to take things in his own hands. "What are you..."

And then he had this empty look again.

"What are you doing, Yajuu?" asked Kirei. "Why do you want to break a sculpture?"

Illusion? Wait. He's under the spell!

"Don't even think about breaking it" growled Yajuu, confirming that he can read my thoughts.

Awesome.

"Kirei" I said softly, pulling out my gun.

Yes, I suddenly remembered I have a weapon too.

"Kirei, don't hesitate and run."

"I won't run away" replied Kirei, walking towards us. "I'll stay."

"You chose him?" asked Yajuu.

"My head hurts" said Kirei. "I see two realities merging with each other. I'm tired of this situation. Tell me, what's going on, I won't leave this ballroom."

"Go back to your chamber" told him Yajuu. "It's dangerous here, this man has a gun."

"You have a gun too" Kirei turned towards him. "I remember now, Yajuu. I was suppoused to unfreeze your frozen heart. To teach you love. But you're still a terrifying sorccerrer. You can't even learn love. You only know obsession."

"What are you talking about?" I felt a little confused.

"And what did you think, you fool?" asked Yajuu. "He's some kind of a fairy, just male! And I would make him loyal to me, if you didn't show up!"

"You're talking such nonsense..." Kirei rubbed his temples. "Stop messing with my mind! I'm bad at such tricks and you know it well!"

"So you won't stay with me forever?" asked Yajuu.

"I was suppoused to cast a spell on this castle..." Kirei fell to his knees and leaned on the floor. "I wasn't suppoused to stay here... You were suppoused to find your true love later..."

"Whatever you're doing, stop" I said, pointing my gun to Yajuu. "Break this spell. You must see you're hurting him."

"He's mine" Yajuu grabbed Kirei's shoulder and picked him up abruptly. "He's mine and no one else's!".

I decided to do something. Even if it meant that I have to kill him. I don't know, if Yajuu is a human, but he for sure is a monster.

I shot him twice, then thrice, trying not to hurt Kirei. Yajuu fell on the floor and Kirei ran to me, then hid behind me.

"Is he dead?" he asked.

"Are you a sorcerrer?" I asked him a question myself.

He nodded.

"Yes, but I'm weak. I just know some transmutation spells. And some healing potions" he explained. "I was supposed to transform him into a beast. The guild wanted me to do it. But..."

"But he was a monster already" I finished his thoughts. "What are we going to do with other sculptures?"

"I have no idea" replied Kirei. "Naoto!"

I turned around and saw Yajuu, who should be dead already, but instead he shot me. Bullet hit me under my ribs. Well, I didn't expect that.

Then I heard another shot.

Yajuu fell on the floor and I fell beside him. I turned around towards the direction, from which I heard shooting.

I saw Reika and Hikaru, who ran to us.

"Kirei sent me a letter" explained Hikaru. "Let's leave this place."

"Sculptures... They're humans..." I mumbled, feeling like strengh is leaving me.

"Shut up, you pathetic hero" growled Reika, throwing my arm over his shoulder. "Why do you care about some strangers? Now you're in such condition that you should focus... What an undead cockroach!"

Reika turned around and shot Yajuu straight in the forehead.

"Why can't he just die?" Reika kicked Yajuu, like it was going to help. "Die, you fucking creature!"

"Maybe we should burn him or something?" asked Hikaru.

Well, I was a little surprised it was him, who said this.

But the room could've stopped swirling...

Can I faint already? It's too exhausing...

"Damn it, Naoto, don't go to the light!"

Oh, thanks.

* * *

I woke up in my own bed and I saw Kirei, who was treating my wound with a cloth soaked in some stinky substance.

"Oh, you're awake" he said emotionlessly. "If you want to know, we burned that castle."

"What about the sculptures?" I asked.

"I've told you betore that transmutation is my main field of magic" Kirei gave me a cup with something, which had even worse scent than this stinky mud. "I transformed everyone back into humans. It was a good idea, because Hikaru wasn't able to pick me up..."

"Wait, pick you up?"

"I fainted. I used too much energy" explained Kirei. "Sorry that I put you in such a situation. Well, I mean, you decided to look for me yourself, but I guess you were bored."

"I was bored of being single" I shrugged. "But I'm not single anymore, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere" said Kirei. "If you don't tell me to go. But I'm afraid I'm going to destroy this little town then."

"Do you have so much power?"

"Don't underistimate me!" Kirei seemed offended.

"You told me yourself that you're weak."

"I didn't mean it so literally!"

"Are you sure?"

"Naoto!"

From frying pan to the fire, like they say. Maybe I should die in this castle.

Kirei hit me with a pillow.

Can he read my mind too or is he only still mad?

The end

Beauty and the Beast - The Rose of Darkness

Band: The Guzmania&Acme (ex.DIV), NEXX

Pairing: Chobi&Chisa

Rating: 17+

Genre: romance, fantasy, AU

Series: "Beauty and the Beast"

Warnings: magic, violence

Note: Yajuu (Chisa) has a body of a beast because of his curse, but when he meets Kirei (Chobi), he suddenly realises that he's not a monster at all.

____________

Kirei - Belle

Yajuu - the Beast

He appeared suddenly, in the middle of the night. He was some old man asking for shelter. And we, naive people, let him in.

He stayed in our castle for a week. He was a little annoying, but he was just a poor, sick grandpa. He's old and he's getting crazy because of it. And he had a soft, if I can call it that, side for me.

"Come with me" he said, grabbing my hand and walking with me to the ballroom. "You're a good kid. Do you want a rose?"

I looked at the rose. It was such a dark shade of red that it was almost black. I looked at the old man. He was grimacing, like he tried to smile, but failed. We thought that he's just like this. He was just a weak grandpa, wasn't he?

"I'm not a girl, so I have to refuse" I said.

"Hey, don't be like that" grandpa put this flower just under my nose. "Take this rose. I got it especially for you."

Of course I was stupid enough to take it from him. Rose’s thorn stabbed my finger, so I hissed and wanted to drop the rose.

But I couldn't let it go of my hand.

"Amazing" said the old man and his wrinkles started to disappear.

I remember that my parents, my brother, my butler and my maid came to see, what happened, when they heard my scream.

A rose crawled under my skin. I felt its thorns, which activated the curse of a sorcerer, because this old man was just that. A sorcerer.

As my father rushed to stop him, the wizard summoned a staff and struck it against the floor. In this moment, my family and two servant-friends became a candlestick, a broom, a clock, a teapot and a teacup.

And the sorcerer stood there and laughed mockingly as I laid on the tiles covered in fur, with a mutated body that I didn't even have the strength to look at at the time.

"If someone is going to fall in love with you, when you're in this body, I'll give back your old one" announced the sorcerer. "For now be my battery of the eternal youth."

He left and I looked at my hands. They were covered with yellow fur, under which, when I spread it with my fingers, I saw a rose. Yes, its vines were under my skin. The flower itself was in my chest. The sorcerrer had a reason to choose me. He could cast a spell on my brother instead, but he prefered to watch the rose irritate my already hypersensitive bronchis, causing an asthma attacks to occur twice as often.

I looked at the mirror only once. I saw claws, tail, fangs, horns and yellow fur over all my body. It was enough to break every mirror in the castle.

And hide in my room, then leave it once a year...

* * *

It was one of winter evenings. I didn't like to go out during the day, because I was scared that someone could see me.

I went to the forest. Branches were breaking under my feet, my tail was sweeping the snow lazily. And then I heard it.

A voice.

"Excuse me, is anybody here?" a little girl's voice.

She probably got lost in the forest.

But I'm a monster! If she sees me, she'll run away...

Well, I have to risk it, wolves are common in this area.

"Where are you, kid?" I asked and I heard a cry of joy.

"Here!" I saw a girl waving her hand. "I got lost, when I went to the forest to pick flowers, because this one boy started chasing me. I don't like him, he's terribly rude."

I looked at her. I couldn't understand, why she's talking to me normally.

"Aren't you scared of me?" I was surprised.

"Why should I?" she replied with a question.

"I'm a monster. You should" I explained.

"Monster?" this time she was the one surprised.

She walked to me and put her small hands on my chest.

"I can feel your beating heart. You can't be a monster. You wouldn't want to help me."

Then I realised.

"Are you blind, right?" I asked.

She nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Meiko" she replied.

"Come with me, I'll take you to my home. In the morning we're going to look for yours" I replied, taking her hand.

"Morning? Is it night already?" she started to panic. "My older brother probably lost his mind by now!"

"You'll meet him in the morning" I promised her.

"Mister..."

"What?"

"You have fur and claws."

"I know."

"So you're really a monster" she said, when we were already in front of the gate. "But you're nice."

"Thanks" I opened the gate and we walked inside.

* * *

"Maybe she's the one, who can lift the curse?" wondered my mum, pouring hot water into the bathtub.

"She's just a kid, Tsukiko" said dad. "Should we keep her here until her twenties, according to you?"

"And do you want to be a clock forever, Jirou?" asked mum, this time pouring cold water to prevent Meiko from burning herself.

"No, but forcing a child to marriage is a little icky" dad sighed.

"Yajuu is beautiful, nobody would deny his feelings!" cried Tsukasa, our butler.

He was kind of obsessed over me, to be honest.

"You can’t force a child to love him" murmured Hayato, my childhood friend.

He's been our manservant since his parents died.

"I helped her getting here" Hotaka, my younger brother, jumped into the bathroom and Meiko followed him, covered only with a towel.

"How old are you?" I asked, helping her get into the bathtub.

"Ten" she replied, holding the towel with her fingers. "Water is fine, it's warm."

"If you want to be alone, just tell us" I said.

She shook her head.

"Nah. My brother always helps me shower" she replied.

"Your brother seems to be nice" I said.

"He is. Sometimes he's too nice" she mumbled.

I helped her to change, but I had to close my eyes, and then we put her in a bed in one of the chambers.

We were supposed to finally take her home in the morning. She needed to sleep.

* * *

I woke up abruptly, hearing a noise.

"Burglar! Burglar is here!" Tsukasa was screaming, running around my bed. "Master, wake up, someone wants to rob us!"

I pulled pants over my rear and ran to check, what is going on. Who was stupid enough to break into a monster’s casle? This sorcerrer told everyone in Meiko's village that such a creature like me lives here!

I ran into the kitchen. The window was opened and our burglar was sitting there with a pot on his head, covered with flour.

"It's you!" he yelled, trying to get up, but he tripped and fell again then got up.

He threw a pot and jumped on me with a knife.

"Tell me, where is my sister, you beast!"

I would tell him, but he sat on me, so I couldn't breathe for a moment and then my body decided to continue this state.

"Hey, little monster. Are you okay?" really, burglar, who wanted to stab me to death, felt pity, because I had an asthma atack?

Really?!

Kitchen was too far from my chamber. And I didn't take my inhaler with me. Awesome...

I lost consciousness after a while, even if this youngster tried to prevent it.

* * *

"Hey, beastie? World to beastie, say something" I heard, waking up.

I saw a burglar, who was sitting at my bedside. He still had flour in his hair.

"Erm, I'm sorry for everything. Meiko already explained to me that I'm an idiot. By the way, your in-something is on the night stand. The kettle told me that I should give you this and wow, you started breathing again. Furries are always like this?"

Gods, why is he talking so much...

"It's just asthma" I replied.

He looked at me with curiosity.

"Is this some illness?"

"Yes."

"Does it make you breathless?"

"Yes."

"Not good" mumbled the burglar. "Oh, right. I'm Kirei, Meiko's brother, nice to meet you. I'm sorry for everything once again."

I smiled slightly.

"My name is Yajuu" I introduced myself.

"Funny name. Listen, I..." he started slowly. "Thanks for saving Meiko. By the way, you're so tall. It's awesome, isn't it? How tall are you, two metres? I want to be tall too, but mother nature hates me."

"You're shorter than 160 centimeters, right?" I asked.

Kirei snorted.

"I'm not! I mean, I’m three centimeters short from that..." he scratched his head and looked away.

I laughed.

"Don't laugh, you're just tall as hell" he mumbled.

"It's because of the curse" I replied.

"Curse?" Kirei seemed confused.

I wanted to explain to him, what the curse is, but I felt such pain that I almost fainted. Rose's thorns were stabbing my body.

Can something eat this sorccerrer, please...?

"Hey, Yajuu? Are you okay?" Kirei put his hand on my cheek. "Is everything fine?"

"I don't think so" I mumbled. "We can't talk about this curse, I think."

"So let's not talk about it" said Kirei. "If something like that is happening, we shouldn't."

I sighed.

"Follow me. I'll find some chamber for you" I said, grabbing his hand.

When we wished each other good night, I realised that he can see me. And he still wasn't scared to touch me, was worried about me and probably carried me from the kitchen to my chamber.

Why is so he nice for such a monster like me...?

* * *

The next day I found winter coats for Kirei and Meiko, because their worn jackets made me feel cold, even if I had fur, then we walked towards the village.

"I hate winter" said Kirei, trying to walk through the snow. "We can't wear summer clothes and we have to dress warm. And we're often sick. It doesn't make sense, right?"

"Right" I nodded.

"If you want to know, he always whines like that" announced Meiko. "Yajuu?"

"What?"

"Do you hear that?"

I froze suddenly.

"I do."

"What you, blind girl and beastie, hear?" asked Kirei and stopped next to me, when he saw this.

Wolves. There were seven of them or more.

The whole pack!

"Run!" I screamed, grabbing Kirei's and Meiko's hands and running back towards my castle.

One of wolves jumped on my back, pushing me into the snow. I kicked it, but others came to help their companion.

"Run! Now!" I urged the young siblings, picked up a branch from the ground and tried to push away these wolves.

Two of them jumped on me, knocking me on the ground. Well, it's going to be fast. They're going to tear me apart and my suffering under the curse wll finally end.

"URYA!" I heard suddenly and both wolves were pushed away with a heavy winter shoe and some thick branch. "He saved my sister's life, get off him!"

Wolves looked at Kirei like was a madman and he started barking like a mutated dog, then he threw stones towards them, which finally made them run away.

"Stupid flea-bags" he mumbled, looking at me. "Hey, beastie, you're bleeding a lot. Are you okay?"

I looked at my hands. Fur wasn't as yellow as always, it was scarlet.

"Hey, but don't faint right now!" he screamed, when I fell on the snow, diving in the darkness.

* * *

"Stupid bastards, hurting poor prince just like that" I heard Tsukasa's voice.

"Prince?" Kirei was confused.

"Yajuu is a prince. And these three there are a king, a queen and his younger brother" explained Hayato.

"Hayato, I don't think that you should talk about it" said mum.

"Tsuki, don't be mad. They would know sooner or later" replied dad.

"He's waking up, I think" I felt that Meiko poked my cheek.

I opened my eyes. Kirei was leaning over me.

"Are you alive, beastie?"

"I think I am..." I replied, trying to sit up, but I failed.

"Well, it doesn't look too well" said Kirei. "You know, what? We should stay here with Meiko a little longer."

"Why?" I was confused.

"You can't take care of yourself in such condition. And you can't rely on walking rubbish to help you" explained Kirei.

"You don't have to pity me..." I said, given up.

"I have to. You saved Meiko's life twice and my own once, sacrificing yourself during our fight with these howling flea-bags" replied Kirei. "I have to pay you back."

"You paid me back. You saved my life, when you came back for me" I pointed out.

"I only paid back my debt. What about Meiko?" asked Kirei. "Don't whine. It's in vain."

I sighed. This boy is really stubborn...

* * *

Kirei has been taking care of me for two weeks or maybe a little longer. I didn't understand, why he's doing it. I looked like a monster. And my asthma wasn't making it any easier for him.

When I felt better, I decided to paint something. I liked to draw since I was a kid and I even was in an art school, before I was cursed.

I thought for a moment. What I should put on the canvas? A landscape or something else?

"Hey, Yajuu. What are you doing?" asked Kirei, appearing suddenly behind my back, which startled me and made me jump, that's why I dropped my paintbrush. "Do you want to paint?"

"Yes, I was preparing to do it" I replied, reaching my hand towards the paintbrush and I caught it in the same moment as Kirei.

We looked at each other just like in these cliche romance books, which my mum used to read, when she was still a human, then we froze.

He saved my life. Probably even twice, because when he broke in, I could have died because of an asthma attack, if he didn't carry me to my chamber and didn't give me my medicine.

And he saved me from these wolves. So he's already returned the favor twice. He has one left.

"Can I paint you?" I asked, when I realised that I wished the last time would be, when he would take the curse off me.

But who can fall in love with someone like me?

"You can, of course" replied Kirei, getting up. "But do you want me to sit still, when you're painting me?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"He can't sit still at all" explained Meiko, entering the chamber. "You'll finish your fun time later, there's dinner for you in the dining room."

She turned on her heel and left.

"Is she really just ten years old?" I asked.

"Yes, she is. Why do you ask?"

"She acts very responsible" I explained.

"She's been always like this" Kirei shrugged. "Can we go already? I hope there's going to be a lot of meat, because last time it wasn't enough.

Then he walked towards the dining room, skipping around. I was still weak, so I followed him slowly.

He's crazy. But I love his craziness.

* * *

Working on my paiting lasted for a week. Meiko was right. Kirei couldn't sit still even for a minute.

But in the end his portrait was finished.

"Done" I announced, slipping from the chair and walking towards Kirei. "Come with me, I'll show you. Just close your eyes."

I grabbed his hand and led him to the paiting.

"Can I see?"

"Yes."

Kirei opened his eyes slightly, but then he immediately opened them wide. He looked at the paiting, then at me, totally in shock.

"It's wonderful!" he exclaimed. "How? My gods, you're so talented, beastie!"

I wanted to hide under my desk.

"Do you really think so?" I asked, blushing.

"I'm serious! Don't you want to be a professional artist? Or maybe you can't be, if you're a prince?" asked Kirei.

"I would like to, but..." I sighed. "I can't with this look."

"Don't be silly, if you put on a hood, you can do it" said Kirei. "You can't just give up your dreams, you know? You have to believe in yourself. The art you've made is beautiful. It's a shame that you can't paint Meiko... I mean, you can, but she can't see it."

"If I stick different size pebbles to the canvas, she can see it with her fingers" I suggested.

"Can you really do it?" Kirei was surprised.

"Of course" I nodded. "In my garden there's a lot of them. Can you help me pick them up?"

"Yeah!" he grabbed my hand. "Come with me, beastie. We have to make my sister happy. She deserves this."

I followed him. I felt this positive, bubbly energy in his presence. It was making me smile. I haven't been smiling so much since I became a beast.

* * *

We sat Meiko down against the wall. First I drew a sketch with a pencil, then I stuck stones and pebbles to it. Then I painted them It lasted about as much as with Kirei's portrait, because Meiko could sit still for a long time, not like her older brother.

"You have to wait until the paint dries up" I told her, when I finished the paiting.

"For now you can show it to my brother. He's probably more excited than me" said Meiko.

"I'll show both of you tomorrow. Now go to sleep" I stroked her head and she giggled.

Why those siblings treat me like that? I'm just an ugly and scary monster...

I returned to my chamber. I opened the door, but then Kirei walked to me.

"Hey, Yajuu, I have a problem" he scratched his head. "You know... I have no idea, where my chamber is."

"You've been here for a month" I said, surprised.

"I know, I'm clumsy" he laughed a little hysterically. "Can you lead me there?"

"Of course" I replied and he grabbed my hand, then he started walking somewhere.

Didn't he just say that he doesn't know, where his chamber is?

He led me to the balcony. Snow was shining on trees, reflecting the moonlight.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Kirei.

"Yes" I admitted. "But I spoil the mood, I think."

"You?" Kirei blinked. "Stop it. True beauty is internal. And sometimes people can look just perfect, meanwhile inside they're rotting like old apples. You can't judge a book by its cover."

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand, what was the point of his speech.

"That you have a heart of gold" he put his hand on my chest, just like his sister, when we first met. "Don't worry about your appearance. Until your heart is beating, everything is okay."

I froze. I was staring at him in shock. What is he talking about? Does he really think that I'm beautiful just because of my personality? But I am...

"And don't cry, for gods' sake!"

...just an emotionally unstable monster...

"Kirei..." I whispered and he smiled fondly.

"I'm going to sleep" he announced, streching out. "I know the way. I just wanted to make you realise, how wrong you are about yourself."

And he left the balcony, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

* * *

The next day I showed Kirei and Meiko the latter's portrait. They both were amazed.

"How beautiful" said Meiko. "Like you."

"Like me?" I repeated.

"You took care of us" she giggled. "No one wanted to do it before."

"Before?"

"We're orphans" explained Meiko. "Kirei is my only family. No one wanted to take care of us, because... You know. I'm blind. So my nine years older brother had to do it."

"So he's ninteen?"

"Yes. Is it a problem?"

"No, but I'm one year younger than him" I replied, making Meiko surprised.

"Strange, I thought you're older" she said. "But I'm still grateful."

"No problem" I smiled and stroked her head. "Do you want to go to the ballroom?"

"I don't know... I can't see it" she said.

"But you can hear the music" I grabbed her small hand.

"Kirei!" Meiko called him, when we were passing by the kitchen.

Kirei walked out with a cookie in one hand and a ham onigiri in other.

"What happened, sis?"

"We're going to the ballroom. Come with us" she urged him and he followed us without whining.

We walked into the ballroom. I snapped my fingers, turning music on. After the sorcerrer put spell on us, the castle was alive.

"Wow, this music is pretty" said Meiko, starting dancing like a nixie on the clearing.

"Kirei?" I looked at him.

He was thinking about something.

"Someone put a curse on you" he said suddenly. "On you, your family and your servants. That's why you look like a monster, your castle is alive and your loved ones are dishes and other things. Is there some way to turn you into a human again?"

"It is, but..." I felt this pain again.

I fell to my knees. Kirei ran to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Say it! He won't kill you. He has some reason to not do it, right?"

"This rose is a source of energy to his eternal youth" I explained, feeling spikes stabbing me deeply. "Someone has to fall in love with me to make me a human again. But who can do it, if I look like a beast?!"

Kirei caught me, when I almost fell on the floor.

"Me" replied Kirei. "I love you. I told you that true beauty is internal, right?"

"Kirei..." I whispered and then we heard a scream.

We looked up. We saw the sorccerrer, holding Meiko hostage and looking at us firmly.

"So cliche" he said, clenching fingers on her shoulder. "Do you really believe in what I told you back then? That I'm going to let you go, if someone falls in love with you? Bullshit!"

"You promised him, so now do it!" Kirei shouted, getting up and helping me to do the same.

"Whoopsy-daisy, I lied! I'm a sorcerrer, brats. I don't have to keep my promises" the sorcerrer laughed and summoned his staff. "But I can play another game."

Before we could do anything, he touched Meiko with his staff and changed her into a daisy.

"Meiko!" called her Kirei and ran to the sorcerrer, who threw her to him like bones to his dog.

"I'll break the spell, if you leave and never come back" said the sorcerrer.

"You said you don't keep promises" Kirei pointed out.

"Of course I don't! Unless they're helping me in my plan" the sorcerrer laughed. "So?"

"Kirei, go" I said. "Go and save your sister."

"Forget about it" said Kirei. "I won't leave nor you or Meiko!"

"So I don't have a choice" the sorcerrer put his hand into his pocket. "I don't want to waste my time for you."

Knife he threw towards Kirei was sharp. It was a beautiful dagger, with gilded ornaments. I could've examined it perfectly, because it pierced my chest and was stuck in it.

"Yajuu!" Kirei ran to me and caught me and pushed away the sorcerrer, who tried to do the same. "You asshole!"

Kirei put Meiko on me and ran towards the sorcerrer, then he punched him and took his staff away from him.

"I have to heal him, you idiot! Give this to me!" he shouted forst wrinles started appearing on his face. "Give it back to me!"

"Never" Kirei threw the staff against the wall. "You won't touch anyone I love!"

"Have you fallen in love with this ugly creature for real?" the sorcerrer was shocked.

He looked just like when he gave me the rose. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. His body was too old.

"Yajuu" said Kirei and ran to me. "Yajuu!"

He shook me.

"Yajuu, don't die! I really love you! I didn't lie just to break the curse! Really!"

"I believe you" I whispered. "I fell in love with you too, Kirei. But until I die, he won't lose his powers and is going to live..."

Before I closed my eyes, I saw the sorcerrer crawling towards his staff. He desperately tried to catch it. But then only Kirei's voice, whispering and sobbing, left. And finally everything disappeared.

* * *

"Yajuu, sweetie, can you hear me?" I heard my mum's voice and I opened my eyes.

I saw her leaning over me.

Wait a minute.

I sat up and looked around.

My parents, brother, Hayato and Tsukasa were humans.

Meiko too.

Withered rose was laying next to me and I saw a pile of ash nearby.

"Kirei broke the staff" explained Hotaka. "I mean, when you died, this asshole died too and we returned to our bodies."

"We ran here and Kirei explained, what happened. We were worried about you, because even if this cursed rose left your body, you were still laying on the floor lifeless" added Tsukasa. "Kirei was standing above you, because, you know, you returned to your body too and he probably couldn't understand your beauty."

"And then he picked the staff up and, just like Hotaka said, he broke it" added Hayato. "Some dust fell from it, so Kirei decided to spread it over you in hope that maybe it's going to wake you up."

"It didn't work, so Tsukiko said that maybe it has to be activated, so this crazy boy kissed you" explained my dad, looking like he was in shock that his son was kissed by a man.

"So, you're alive, right?" asked Meiko.

"Yeah, I'm alive" I confirmed, then I looked up.

Kirei stood there, with a broken staff in his hands, and was smiling.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing" he dropped a staff, grabbed my hands and helped me to get up. "I'm just happy that you're not as tall as you were, when you were a beast, so I won't have a problem with doing it. And I think that my name matches you better."

"What are you talking about?" I blinked, then I was kissed again.

This time I was conscious, thouhg.

"Jirou, stop it, he's finally happy" I heard my mum's voice, who probably nudged my dad's ribs, just like always, when she didn't agree with him.

Ladies and gentlemen, lady Tsukiko, serious queen and mother of two sons...

But she's right. I'm finally happy.

The end

Beauty and the Beast - Black-white Melody

Band: Moran, mentioned Matenrou Opera and Versailles

Pairing: Soan&Hitomi, Ivy&Vivi and Sizna&Sono in the background

Rating: 17+

Genre: romance, fantasy, AU

Series: "Beauty and the Beast"

Warnings: magic, violence

Note: Kirei (Hitomi) has to escape from hunters and meets Yajuu (Soan), who doesn't want to be involved in any interactions with other humans.

____________

Kirei - Belle

Yajuu - the Beast

We should start with the fact that everything happened in some normal village with normal citizens... Okay, maybe not all of them were. There was a lake near the village and mermaids lived there. They loved to seduce their neighbours from the surface land. And my mum was among them.

They call us "mutts". And, to be honest, people usually don't like us. The reason is that humans are often obsessed with us.

"Kirei!" I heard and I saw the ideal example of what I was thinking about just a moment before.

Kamijo, my crazy admirer. He didn't care that I was a man - all that mattered to him was my mermaid genes. He wanted to fuck me and enslave me, in any order.

"What do you want, Kamijo?" I sighed, when he embraced me with his arm.

Well, I have to stop reading a book for now. I closed it and looked at my admirer. I wonder, when he's going to learn the word "no".

"Kirei, Kirei, my dear. You'll marry me, won't you?" Kamijo smiled radiantly and I looked at the sky and wondered, if I'm gonna be struck by lightning, if I'll look for long enough.

"Kirei, are you even listening to me?"

"Not really" I replied honestly. "Can you let me go? I want to read."

"Are you really doing this bullshit again?" asked Kamijo, looking at me with disgust. "You should stop."

"You're the one, who should stop" I got up and smacked Kamijo's head with my book. "No means no. Find yourself a woman."

"I don't want a woman, I want you" Kamijo hugged my legs. "You're so... Perfect~!"

I broke free and went back to my home. Why is he so stubborn? He even followed me, but I just didn't care about him.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of night, hearing some noise. My frightened mum burst into my room.

"Kirei, wake up" she said, covering me with a blanket and giving me a basket. "You have to go."

"Go?" I asked, when she took me out the back door. "But why? What happened?"

"They want to burn all the mutts at the stake" she said, helping me onto my horse, Horase. "Go."

"What about you?"

"I can handle it. Run away!" she shouted, slapped the horse's bum and ran back home.

Oh, so that's why Kamijo was so annoying recently. He probably tried to protect me, because he knew that if I were his boyfriend, he would do everything to safe my life. And lives of others mutts probably too. Well, I'm too proud to be a private prostitute for this naive aristocrat. I'd rather die than let him touch me.

I've been riding through the forest and I reached... a castle. I blinked. A castle. In the middle of the forest. So close to our village. How?

I looked around. Maybe there is some wizard, who's just playing with my mind? Or a fairy? Or some other creature?

I jumped off Horase and opened the gate, then I walked into the palace's garden. As I was coming closer to it, it seemed to be more and more abandoned and in a bad shape.

I left Horase outside and walked into the castle. I was surprised, because there was a fire in the fireplace. So it's not abandoned, fine.

"Good evening. Is anybody here?" I asked, but nobody answered.

I walked to the fireplace and sat in the armchair, because I wanted to warm up. Then I felt someone's eyes at me, so I looked in that direction. I saw a table and a teacup, which was staring at me.

Wait.

A teacup...

I looked at it again. Yes, it really was staring at me. It was blinking. And smiling.

I thought that I'm experiencing hallucinations. Kirei, it's because you're tired. Teacups don't blink and don't stare.

"Good morning" I said, looking at the teacup and it... chuckled.

"You have a funny expression" it said with girly voice. "You should say >>Good evening<<. It's dark outside already."

I froze and smiled hysterically.

A TEACUP IS TALKING TO ME.

"Dura! Don't scare our guest" a kettle scolded her.

A kettle.

A KETTLE.

"I'm sorry, dad" mumbled Dura.

"I hope that you didn't panic, mister" said the kettle.

Nah, I didn't.

I'M JUST TALKING WITH A PORCELAIN.

"I think that silence means you scared him" said the candlestick, climbing on the tea table. "I'm Ivy and I'm the butler. And I promise you don't have to worry about anything, mister! They're not dangerous. They're just a chef and his adoptive daughter. By the way, he's obsessed with her."

"Ivy!"

"Easy, Sizna" Ivy smiled brightly. "Or our majordomo is going to scold us for being too loud."

"Of course you're too loud" a mechanical clock climbed onto the table.

"This is Sono, our majordomo" introduced him Ivy, then he patted a little broom in a shape of some bird, laying on the table. "Vivi, wake up. You don't have to pretend anymore."

The broom sat up and rubbed its eyes.

"I think I fell asleep" it said with a high-pitched manly voice. "Good morning, mister."

"Good evening, it's dark outside" corrected him Dura.

"Stop talking" Sono waved his >>arms<<. "If you wake up our master, we're going to have a problem and this youngster will be torn apart!"

"Now you're the one, who's screaming" noticed Sizna.

"By the way, what's your name?" asked Ivy, smiling friendly.

Trinkets. I talk to trinkets and porcelain.

Yes.

It makes sense.

"Kirei" I replied.

"Oh, how pretty" Ivy jumped from excitment. "Are you lost?"

"I ran away, because people were hunting my kind" I replied.

They looked at me suspiciously. Well, I should stop being so shocked. I mean I'm...

"...I'm a half-mermaid. A mutt."

"That explains a lot" Ivy nodded.

"What?" asked Vivi.

"Why he's so beautiful" explained Ivy.

"Ivy!"

I blushed and sat in the armchair. A candlestick is complimenting me...

At this point, the heat from the fireplace and the exhaustion finally got me and I fell asleep.

* * *

I woke up, hearing footsteps. I managed to notice that someone covered me with a blanket, when I fell asleep, before someone's hand didn't clench on my shirt and I didn't hit a wall next to the fireplace.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" screamed... the monster, who was clenching his fingers on my shirt.

I'm sorry for using such peiorative words, but when you wake up and see some two metres tall, covered with black fur beast with horns, tail and big cat claws, how can you call it then?

"I hid from humans, who wanted to kill me" I explained, trying to stay calm.

"I'm going to be the one, who'll kill you" growled the beast, glaring at me. "Tell me the truth. Why are you here?"

"I told you already that I just hid from humans."

"I don't believe you."

"I wouldn't walk into some monster's castle otherwise" I said and he dropped me, then grabbed my leg and started dragging me across the floor, walking in an unknown direction. "What are you doing?!"

"I won't let anyone callin me a monster" replied the beast.

"So tell me your name" I said. "I'm Kirei."

"Is it really a name or your ego is so big?" the beast snorted. "I'm Yajuu. And you're going to sleep here."

He threw me into a cell and closed the gate.

"Good night."

"Good night" I replied, when he turned on his heel and left.

I sat against the wall. Out of the frying pan into the fire, like they say. I stopped being confused, why Sono was was overdramatic.

I sighed. I wonder, if he'll let me out someday?

I cuddled on the floor. When I thought that it's cold, suddenly some blanket hit my face.

I looked up. Yajuu glared at me and left the cell again.

I covered myself with a blanket and I tried to sleep. It was so uncomfortable that I fell asleep only after a while.

"Knock knock" I heard suddenly, waking up.

Ivy stood behind bars, smiling friendly.

"I see that Ya-san wasn't happy that you visited us, Ki-san."

"He wasn't" I sat up. "You can even say that he was furious."

"He's like that sometimes" Ivy climbed through the bars and jumped on some lift, pulling it down.

Gate opened immediately.

"Let's go."

"But Yajuu is going to throw me into the cell again."

"Don't be silly" Ivy laughed, jumping on the floor. "But you shouldn't do this thing again."

"What thing?"

"Don't call him a >>monster<<" explained Ivy. "He doesn't like it."

"I managed to notice it already..." I mumbled, following him.

Ivy lead me to a chamber. I was right with saying that this castle looks like it's abandoned. It was. Besides Yajuu and these living things, there was no human here.

I laid down on a bed and looked at the ceiling. I should run away. But where to? To the village? That is out of question.

I closed my eyes. This bed was so comfortable...

"Do you want some tea?" I heard suddenly and sat up.

I saw Sizna and Dura.

"Dad, he probably wants to sleep" said Dura.

"In his daily clothes?" Sizna was confused. "Kirei, you should change into pajamas. Vivi, find some for him."

"Of course" Vivi opened the closet and pulled out some aristocratic nightgown.

I picked it up and when everyone had left, I put it on.

I laid down in the bed. I could finally sleep now.

* * *

I woke up in the morning. I walked to the window and saw that it was snowing.

"Nice weather, right?" asked Sono, walking to me. "Yajuu hates it."

"He doesn't like winter?"

"He hates it" repeated Sono. "Ivy told me that he wants to show you around the castle. But firstly you have to eat breakfast."

I changed and went downstairs with Sono, straight to the dining room. I realised, how hungry I was. I haven't eaten anything since I finished food prepared by my mum.

I sat at the table and started eating, when I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked up and saw Yajuu.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, trying not to kill me.

"Sono led me here" I replied.

"Who let you escape?"

"Ivy."

"I'm going to kill him" Yajuu shook his head and grabbed my hand. "Now we go."

"But wait!" I yelled. "I wanted... I wanted to apologise."

"For what? For calling me a monster, sneaking into my castle or eating breakfast in my dining room made by my cook? Or maybe for sleeping in one of my beds?"

"You used too much >>my<< in two sentences" I scolded him.

"And you spent too much time here" growled Yajuu. "Go away or I'll throw you into your cell again."

"Then I prefer to leave into the unknown than staying here any longer" I announced, pushing Yajuu away, then I ran towards the front door.'

"Ki-san, wait!" Ivy tried to catch up with me, running on his short, candlestick's legs. "Ki-san, stop!"

But I stopped listening to him already. I mounted my horse and rode in the direction I had been heading before stopping at the castle.

It started snowing.

And then I realised, why Ivy was trying to stop me.

Wolves.

They had to have their own territory around the castle. And there were about ten of them.

"Horase, time to turn back" I said to my horse. "Go!"

I drove towards castle. It was snowing heavily.

I heard howling.

I drove to the gate and shook it.

It didn't want to open.

"Ivy!" I called him and at this moment one wolf bit my shoulder and pulled me away from my horse. "Open the gate, please!"

I kicked one wolf and then I kicked another one. There was too many of them.

"Get off!" I heard along with the gate opening.

Wolves froze.

"I said, get off!"

Wolves looked at me and ran away. I looked at Yajuu standing in the gate and fainted.

* * *

I woke up in the bed, feeling some cold cloth on my head.

"Oh, Si-san, Ki-san is probably awake" I heard Ivy's voice.

"Kirei is alive!" exclaimed Dura.

"Be quiet, he doesn't have to get a migraine just after returning to the world of the living" growled Sono.

"You're talking like he was dead" mumbled Sizna. "But he's been alive all the time. He eas breathing, he was just unconcious."

"Exactly" Vivi nodded.

I opened my eyes. I saw the only person, who had been silent, leaning over me. And it was Yajuu.

"Sorry" he said quietly, taking a wet cloth from my forehead and washing it in the bowl standing on the night stand. "It's my fault you're hurt. The only thing I'm able to do is making humans my enemies..."

"I'm not fully a human" I admitted.

Yajuu looked at me with curiousity.

"My father was a mermaid."

"Oh, so you're a mutt" Yajuu smiled slightly, putting his paw on my forehead. "Well, your fever is gone finally. I thought it would never pass."

"Thanks for scaring off these wolves" I smiled to him.

"I don't like, when they come too close to the castle" replied Yajuu. "Kirei, right?"

"What?"

"It's your name, isn't it?"

"Yes, I'm Kirei."

"Forgive me, Kirei. I forgot already, how to be a human" he smiled apologetically.

"You were a human?" I was surprised a little.

"I was a bad human" replied Yajuu. "I was much worse, in fact. That's why I look like this right now."

"Your servants also weren't just talking rubbish, right?"

"I used to eat pasta!" cried Ivy. "And I'm never going to eat it again..."

"You're going to eat pasta again, little pug" Vivi patted his... shoulder?

I sighed.

"Yajuu?"

"What?"

"It's a curse, isn't it?"

"You're right."

"Is there a way to lift it?"

"It is" confirmed Yajuu. "But you can't do it."

"Why?"

"You're a man. Only a woman can do it" explained Yajuu, getting up. "But maybe I don't know about something?"

"If we're talking about my gender, you're right, unfortunatelly" I confirmed.

"So the only thing I can do now is waiting for her" announced Yajuu, walking towards the door. "Sleep, Kirei. You're going to feel better."

"You're right" I yawned, rubbing my eyes and covered myself with a quilt. "Good night, Yajuu."

He froze suddenly and sighed.

"Good night, Kirei" he replied finally and left.

* * *

Some days later, during which Yajuu tried to be nice, I woke up in the middle of the night. After a while I realised that I can hear a melody. Someone has been playing on the piano.

I got up, streched and put on my dressing-gown. I walked out to the corridor and went towards the music. It was quiet. Really quiet.

This melody led me to the left wing of the castle. I walked upstairs and opened the door to one chamber.

Yajuu was playing the piano. He looked so calm that his humanity seemed to be back just for this moment. His fingers were touching keys, his eyes followed every move of them. To be honest... His eyes were beautiful. Even if he was a monster, they were the only part of his body that stayed human.

The melody was melancholic and sad, full of longing for the past, probably to days, when Yajuu didn't look like a scary creature.

Yajuu finished the song and sighed, then he closed keys with a loud slam and got up. He turned around, noticed me and... got embarrassed like I caught him red handed, while he was doing something bad

"Oh, it's you" he mumbled, embarrassed. "Sometimes I play... You know, because I'm bored."

"It was beatiful" I said, walking to him. "Really."

"You think so?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Thank you."

"Can you teach me?" I asked, making Yajuu freeze.

"What?"

"Playing on the piano. I've always wanted to learn, but we couldn't afford it."

Yajuu glared at me, like he wanted to be sure, if I'm not joking.

"We can start tomorrow" Yajuu smiled fondly. "Now we have to go to sleep. How are your wounds?"

"Fine. They almost healed" I replied.

Yajuu turned around and waved his paw.

"Good. Good night, Kirei" he replied and went towards his bed.

"Good night, Yajuu" I replied, leaving his chamber.

...from what direction I came here?

"Did something happen, Ki-san?" asked Ivy, appearing beside me.

"I don't remember, where is my room."

"Well, not good" said Ivy. "Follow me, I'll lead you."

Ivy led me to my chamber. I jumped into my bed and fell asleep soon.

* * *

The next day Yajuu took me with him to the first piano lesson.

"First, you have to know that if you don't feel instrument, you won't do anything correctly" he said, sitting me down on the chair. "You have to feel that you and the piano are one. Pour your soul into it. Name the melody."

"How can I do it, if I don't have any music sheets?"

"Do you really think that what I played during last night, was from music sheets?" Yajuu laughed, grabbing my hands. "You have to be best friends with the instrument first. Then you can read these sheets."

Yajuu's claws pressed my fingers, which pressed the keys. I heard loud bing.

"What do you feel?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think about keys?"

"They're cold. But your hands are warm" I replied.

"Hands..." Yajuu laughed, sounding almost hysterical. "They're paws, not hands. Anyway, try to press every key in a row. First white, then black."

I did, what he told me. It was amazing.

"Did you feel it?"

"Music?"

"Music."

"I felt it."

"Exellent" Yajuu pulled out the music score. "So now we can start with something easy."

It was easy, but only for him. I made as many mistakes as my classmates during caligraphy lessons.

"Don't worry. It was just your first lesson" Yajuu stroked my head.

I sighed. I didn't believe that I'll be as good as him.

But I learned a lot during next lessons. I practiced this song for two weeks and I could play it almost perfectly.

"See, Kirei? You just need to believe in yourself" said Yajuu.

I looked at him. He looked so nice during these lessons. Just like the fact that he was a beast was completely unimportant.

"How are your piano lessons, Ki-san?" asked Ivy, walking beside me, when I was coming back to my chamber.

"Good. Why do you ask?" I looked at him, curious.

"Ya-san hadn't been so happy for years" explained Ivy.

"Really?"

"Ivy is right" Vivi flew to me and sat down on my shoulder. "Yajuu likes you."

"He likes me?"

"Yes, strangely. He doesn't like people" said Sono, catching up with us finally. "And no one likes him."

"So we won't be surprised, if you tell us you don't like him too" added Sizna, standing with Dura on the cupboard.

I had to ask myself. Do I like Yajuu?

"I think I have a soft side for him" I said.

"Wow, soft side" Dura jumped. "Do you hear, daddy? Soft side!"

"Dura-chan, don't scare him" Sizna scolded her.

"Okie-dokie" Dura sighed.

I returned to my chamber and laid down on my bed. I closed my eyes.

Are "soft side" good words for what I'm feeling?

Or maybe it's not just a "soft side"?

* * *

"Almost perfect" Yajuu sat down beside me and grabbed my hands, just like during our first lesson. "Here, I'll show you, how you should do it."

Clink, clank. The melody slowly flowed from under our fingers. It was so beautiful. So lively. And Yajuu's hands were warm like the summer sun on this winter day.

"See? Perfect" Yajuu smiled fondly. "Try to do it yourself."

I tried once again and I succeeded this time. I didn't make any mistake.

"Congrats!" exclaimed Yajuu and clapped his hands. "By the way, can you sing?"

"A little..." I admitted.

I've always been shy about it.

"Here, it's lyrics" Yajuu pointed on text with his claw. "If you want to sing, you can do it."

"I don't know, if I can play and sing at the same time" I said.

"I'm going to play. Just sing" he said and started playing.

At first I was singing just queitly, but then I felt the rhythm and somehow managed to sing a little louder. And in tune with the melody.

I looked at Yajuu. He had an expression as if he was deeply analyzing something.

"Do you want to see the ballroom?"

"Ballroom?"

"Yes."

"Don't you think that we should wear some elegant clothes, if we want to go to the ballroom?" I asked, pointing on Yajuu's rags and my village clothes.

"True" Yajuu nodded. "Vivi will find us something. Let's go."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him.

And it was the moment I realised that I would follow him to the edge of world.

* * *

I got a suit with golden ornaments from Vivi and Ivy opened the door to the ballroom for me. It was wonderful, even if a little dusty and seemed to be not used for a long time.

"You know, Kirei" I heard Yajuu's voice behind me. "I understand now, why they named you like this."

I turned around. He was in a blue suit with white ornaments. He tied his long black hair into a pony tail. I smiled and he grabbed my hands.

"Can you dance?"

"I can. I went to dance lessons in our village" I told him.

"Wonderful" said Yajuu, still holding my hands. "I don't have to worry that we'll hurt each other."

I realised that he really wants to dance with me. And I agreed.

I felt his warm body close to mine. His fond look on me. I saw my reflection in his eyes. Deep, black eyes, which made me calm. Until they suddenly narrowed.

Yajuu stopped abruptly, hearing some noises. I stopped too, catching his arm not to trip.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I have no idea. Maybe your servants?"

"I doubt it" he replied and then balcony doors opened wide.

Kamijo appeared in the treshold.

"Kirei! I came here to save you!" he announced, holding a crossbow in his hand. "For beautiful roses' sake, what the hell is that monster?!"

"Don't call me a monster!" yelled Yajuu, walking towards him. "And get out of my castle!"

"I won't leave without Kirei!" Kamijo pointed his weapon to Yajuu.

"Do you want to go with him, Kirei?" asked Yajuu.

I shook my head.

"See? He wants to stay."

"You brainwashed him, you beast!" shouted Kamijo.

"I didn't brainwash anyone. And for sure I didn't break into someone's house. Get out, before I'll stop being patient" announced Yajuu.

"Kirei is mine! I won't let him go with such a beast" growled Kamijo and released an arrow.

Yajuu jumped away, so arrow just scratched him, then he lunged towards Kamijo, knocking him off. Then he picked him up and threw away through balcony doors, which he close immediately.

"Do you know him?" asked Yajuu.

"Yes. He's just an annoying womanizer, who also happens to like me" I replied.

But then we heard glass breaking.

Before Yajuu could turn around, Kamijo managed to shoot from his crossbow through the broken window. It was an impulse. I jumped in front of Yajuu and shielded him with my own body.

Arrow pierced my chest. I felt strong pain and fell to my knees, even if Yajuu tried to catch me.

"Kirei!" he called my name and I was sitting on the cold floor, feeling taste of blood in my mouth.

"You beast!" I heard Kamijo's voice. "You killed him! You brainwashed him!"

"I didn't shoot at innocent people!"

"You're not innocent!"

"But he is!"

My vision was blurry. I saw Yajuu knocking Kamijo down once again and tying him with curtain rope. Then he ran to me and picked me up.

"You're going to be okay, Kirei. I promise" he whispered, but I saw tears in his eyes.

Even if I almost couldn't see anymore.

"Yajuu..." I smiled weakly. "Yajuu... I... fell in love with you, you know?"

"What?" Yajuu looked at me in shock.

"It's weird, but... I think I love you" I said quietly and closed my eyes.

I couldn't leave them open anymore.

I still felt warmth of Yajuu's body and heard his voice for next few seconds.

"Kirei. I fell in love with you too. I love you unlike anyone else. I love you more than myself. Don't die, I beg you!"

And then the world went black.

* * *

I woke up on the floor in the ballroom, hearing some voices. I opened my eyes. I saw a little girl, who had black hair tied with a white ribbon. She also had a black-white dress and shoes and green eyes.

"Oh, you're awake~!" she exclaimed happilly.

I knew her voice, but...

"You're scaring him, Dura. They just revived him" I looked up.

I saw Sizna, but he wasn't a kettle. He was a tall, slender man. He had short, brown hair and small eyes.

"Sizna?" I asked, then I was suddenly hugged.

"Ki-san, I can eat pasta!" exclaimed Ivy, who had long brown hair, chubby face and happy eyes.

He wasn't as slender as Sizna, but I wanted to feed him with onigiri.

"You're going to break his ribs, Ivy" murmured black-haired, shorter than Sizna and Ivy man.

His nose was like an eagle's beak.

"Don't be mean to Ivy, Sono" quietly said blonde-haired young man with big eyes and petite body.

"Kirei?" I heard from my right side and looked up.

And, to be honest, I froze.

I recognised him because of his deep, black eyes. He was as tall as this blonde-haired youngster, probably Vivi, but... Yajuu was handsome, not so fragile and cute like him. His hair were shoulder lenght, he was slim, muscular and I almost forgot, how to breathe at first. His voice sounded much different than in his beast form. It was deep like a well in my village.

"I was wrong. You are the one, who broke the spell" Yajuu took my hand and helped me get up.

"But I died" I reminded him.

"The Sorcerress revived you just after she lifted the curse" explained Yajuu and kissed me gently.

I heard Ivy and Dura crying with joy and Sono whining about it. But I didn't care.

We moved away from each other. Yajuu smiled fondly. Ivy took Vivi in his arms and kissed him, making him embarrassed.

"What? I haven't kissed him for years" said Ivy, when he saw Sono's scolding look. "You should kiss Sizna too."

"I won't show my feelings in front of other people" snorted Sono, making Sizna laugh.

"Gods, my head" I heard a voice behind me.

We turned around. Poor Kamijo was still tied up.

"Where's this monster?" he asked, when Yajuu walked to him to untie him.

"I killed it" he replied, untying the ropes. "Why do you ask?"

"So can I take Kirei with me?" he asked, looking at me. "Wait a minute... Didn't you die?"

"I died" I confirmed.

"So, are you a ghost?" he asked and I thought for a moment.

"Exactly" I nodded, thinking that it's the best conclussion. "Go to our village and tell everyone that I'm dead. And ask my mother to come here. I want to say my goodbyes, before I go towards the light."

"Of course" Kamijo got up from the floor. "So, goodbye. And I'm sorry once again."

"Goodbye" we replied.

"I'll show you the way, mister" said Sono, taking him from the ballroom.

"Did he really... believe you?" Yajuu was surprised.

"He's never been too smart" I shrugged, making Yajuu laugh.

* * *

Kamijo kept his promise. My mum arrived to the castle some days later. She jumped into my arms. She accepted me and Yajuu. She told me it's important for me to be happy, no matter with whom.

And no one called Yajuu a monster ever again. Well, maybe a demon. In the bed.

The end

Mistletoe

Band: Purple Stone, mentioned Yusai/Zin

Pairing: Keiya&Fuma, Orochi&Gaku in the background

Rating: 17+

Genre: romance

Warnings: -

Note: A sweet and cliche Christmas story.

Christmas, Holidays or whatever you want to call it. In Europe or the United States - one of the most important Christian holidays. In Japan - an opportunity for romantic trips in the glow of colorful lights and accompanied by sugar-sweet songs about mistletoe and other sugar canes. Generally love everywhere, Valentine's Day for the more sentimental. And of course, thanks to this, you can experiment in the kitchen with spices typical of that period, and in bed with the costumes of Snowflake and Santa Claus... But you haven't read this last sentence. Especially the kids.

In fact, the Japanese like to organize sweet Christmas parties, to which they invite friends and give each other gifts. And that was the point of the whole problem.

Fuma was standing in front of the shop window, wearing gray, fluffy earmuffs and thick leather gloves. He already bought pralines for Gaku and jelly beans for Orochi, but he didn't know what to buy for Keiya.

">>Something cheap and sweet<<" he was repeating Gaku's words in head.

He invited him and Keiya to his apartament. Everything was his idea.

"Cheap and sweet. What I should do? Give him a kiss or what?"

Fuma laughed a little hysterically at the very thought. Him. Kissing. Keiya. Him kissing Keiya. Probably in dreams. Bassist's dreams, of course.

Fuma wasn't shy or something. He didn't also known Keiya too briefly to even think about falling in love with him. The problem was in a very prosaic fact that didn't matter at all for Fuma's heart.

Well, Keiya, as you could see right away and at first glance, was a man. Fuma was one too. And the bassist had no idea if there was any possibility for Keika to look at him in any way different than as his friend.

And he doesn't want to ask Keiya "Hey, Keiya, listen, there's a case. Are you gay or at least bisexual?". It's too private thing and if the vocalist wanted to, he would have came out a long time ago!

Going for advice to Gaku, who is in a happy relationship, also wasn't a good idea, because this band babble, which by some miracle became their leader, would surely immediately tell the whole music world that Fuma has a crush on Keiya.

"At least it's not Sana" mumbled the bassist, staring at a cat-shaped figurine.

He remembered, how ended musicians, who told Sana about their secrets and he trembled.

Such terrible fate...

Fuma sighed and then he saw a tiny music box that was in his hand. It was sweet and cheap, so Murakami smiled brightly and headed towards the cashier, glad to find something okay.

The bassist came home, took off his shoes and said "hello" to his cat, then went into the kitchen and boiled some water for tea.

Fuma opened the cupboard and took out green tea with orange, cinnamon and cloves, then poured a few teaspoons into the star-shaped infuser, put it in the kettle and when the water boiled and cooled a little, he poured the tea and carried it to the bedroom. He took a mug with a cat in a cap from the kitchen, went into the bedroom, got comfortable on the bed, played a medley of Christmas songs on his mobile, put on his headphones, then picked up the book and began reading. Meanwhile, Dora laid down on his lap and he lost himself in his world, in which he lacked nothing.

Apart from their somewhat crazy vocalist...

* * *

Gaku lived in the center of Osaka, on the third floor of a skyscraper. Fuma had to remember it from time to time, because for a long time the guitarist had an apartment on the fourth floor in the same building and the bassist sometimes forgets about it.

Fuma checked again that he hadn't forgotten any of the "sweet and cheap" gifts for his friends, then walked briskly inside. As he made his way to the elevator, he felt a tap on his shoulder, almost having a heart attack.

He turned to see Keiya smiling radiantly.

"Hi, Fuma" said the vocalist, pushing a button to call an elevator. "How are you?"

"I'm okay" replied Fuma. "And you?"

"Awesome!" yelled Keiya, entering an elevator and pulling Fuma in.

"Can I ask, what happened?" asked Fuma.

"It's nothing" Keiya smiled nervously. "You'll see. I'm talking about one of the gifts."

"Oh, okay" Fuma nodded and left the elevator with Keiya.

Gaku opened the door. He had flower patterned apron. Keika laughed because of this, so the guitarist smacked his face with the cloth.

"I baked cookies. What, the guy can be dirty, huh? Only a woman can keep clothes from getting damaged?" Gaku growled, before smacking Keiya again, this time in the back of the head.

The reason was simple - the singer continued to chuckle.

"Hey, Orochi" Fuma greeted Orochi sitting at the table, mournfully eating his dough in colorful sugar slivers.

Gaku made tea for everyone, put cups before them and sat down in the armchair, announcing that it's the time for unpacking the gifts.

Fuma got a pack of sweets from Orochi and a toy mouse for Dora from Gaku. Keiya grabbed his hand and pulled the bassist to the kitchen, as if his gift was the only one that deserved a better light or a change of surroundings.

"This is for you" Keika gave him a little box.

Fuma sighed. He was expecting everything inside. Even fake bug, Keiya could do something like that.

He was completely confused, when he found a mistletoe inside.

"A mistletoe?" he looked at Keiya, surprised.

"A mistletoe" the vocalist pulled it out from the box and hung on a chandelier. "Oh, Fuma, listen. We stand under the mistletoe..."

"Keiya, this is awfully bla..." Fuma fell silent, when Keiya put a finger on his lips.

"Maybe so, but I have to kiss you" said Keika and kissed surprised Fuma.

Murakami finally shook off the shock and gave back this "sweet and cheap" caress, losing himself completely in the situation that had arisen.

* * *

"I had to run from my own house. It's scandalous..." mumbled Gaku, sitting on the balcony and wearing headphones.

Orochi was leaning over the barrier and laughing for fifteen minutes already.

"Orochi! Stop laughing or you'll be bottom tonight!"

It worked.

The End

I Won't Say

Band: DIV

Pairing: Chobi&Chisa

Rating: 17+

Genre: romance

Warnings: -

Note: Chobi is like Megara from "Hercules".

He won't say that he loves Chisa.

I remember this first impulse which told me that I should ask you if everything is okay. I remember your sad smile, which you sent me and nodded and I said that I believe you. Later you admitted that something was bothering you, but this thing was trivial and we could quickly solve it.

But the impulse came more and more often and I didn't understand what was happening. For almost thirty years, I was sure that I was straight and didn't allow myself to think that this could be something stronger than friendship.

"Chobi, please" Shougo sighed, looking at me as he wanted something.

We shared a room that day. You were in the other room with this i... Ehem, with Satoshi.

"What do you want from me? I have to buy you a fourth dog or something?" I asked, confused.

Shougo groaned miserably and covered his face with a pillow.

"What?"

"I'm talking about Chisa" he said firmly, throwing his pillow at me. "About Chisa, dummy. You follow him like a cat after a mouse, but you don't do anything about it!"

"I don't follow anyone" I said, tossing the pillow to him. "It's just a friendship."

"Friendship..." Shougo snorted and layed down on the bed again. "Friendship can turn into love, you know? And it's stronger than the one made from strangers to lovers."

"Yes, especially you and Naoto's love" I muttered. "And your big break up."

"Chobi, maybe get interested in your own love life, huh?" Shougo looked at me. "What was between me and Naoto is over. Now I'm with Satoshi."

"You're interested in my love life, I'm interested in yours" I shrugged. "Can I ask, why did you break up?"

"I don't want to talk about it" said Shougo.

"But I'm a blabber and I like talking" I replied and Shougo threw a pillow at me again.

"You know that feeling, when you feel like your relationship is too perfect?" asked Shougo.

"I know" I nodded. "And what?"

"Yoshito told me... Eh, it doesn't matter anyway. It's over" said Shougo. "Talk with Chisa, if you love talking so much. Or I'm gonna smash your heads against each other and send you both to hospital."

"But I don't love him."

"But you have a crush on him."

"I'm straight!"

"And I'm the Ukrainian ballerina in sneakers."

"What?"

"Nothing. Go to sleep, if you still don't get it" Shougo covered his head with a quilt and turned his back to me.

I didn't understand him then. And I hadn't understood him for a long time.

I hadn't understood myself. My reactions about your beautiful smile, about your slim hands, about your big, cat eyes with puppy look, which makes them forever sad. And your hair falling over your tiny shoulders, and your low voice and...

Yes. The biggest problem started in the moment, when I started to see your traits of character that charmed me in some strange way. The fact that you were so kind to everyone, that you were hellishly intelligent, though you didn't want to show it, and that it was so easy to embarrass you. This last feature made me want to protect you, I wanted people who cause panic in your beautiful eyes to burn alive. Or at least make them apologize.

Shougo wasn't the only one who tried to tell me that something isn't okay with my behaviour. Hikaru, Lin and Ivy also were calling, sending me direct messages and telling me in my face "Do something with it, Ishizuka Hiroki".

And I, like some kid in denial, were running into a cold shower and stared blankly at the tiles, trying not to imagine that the drops of water were your forever cold hands.

It never worked.

"Kurihara Sachi, what are you doing with me?" I whispered once, hitting the tiles with my forehead a little too hard, because it made my head dizzy.

I just wanted to resist, not to concuss myself, for gods' sake!

And Meiko just laughed, sticking a kitten patch on my forehead, that life of clumsy boy has to be crazy.

And I lived like that, trying to get as close to you as possible, though I just wanted to pull myself away completely, and finally, by a coincidence of many circumstances, I kissed you while you were asleep and you were completely unaware of what I wanted to do.

But you know what? Your real hands are nothing compared to that cold water. Especially since you're a graduate of art studies and can play many instruments.

And a candy you delay tastes much better than one you take without hesitation.

The end