The Paladin | By : Tcharlatan Category: > Toshiya/Die Views: 952 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure fiction. I do not personally know any of the members of Dir en grey, and do not profit from this work. |
June 5th - 10:00 pm
“How could you call them here?!” Die hissed, white light glinting off his sunglasses as he loomed menacingly over his boss’s lover/advisor, the effect only slightly lessened by the ice pack he had against his head.
Kyo bristled defensively. “You came into the office bleeding all over the place, gibbering like a damn drunk, and then passed out! You were alone! What the hell was I supposed to do?! I needed help – we need help getting Kaoru back – and I trust them.”
The topics of their heated discussion – Shinya and Toshiya – stood politely on the other side of the room, murmuring quietly between themselves. Die had woken half naked and vulnerable under Shinya’s hands and with Kaoru gone missing, the man’s presence in the Niikura headquarters felt deeply threatening. Though friendship had blossomed and thrived between the Terachi and Niikura family heads, due largely in part to their respective attachments to Kyo, under duress, Die was quick to remember the shakier beginnings of their relationship. The redhead found himself building into a defensive – and maybe a little panicked – fit of temper.
“You shouldn’t! Terachi tried to kill Kaoru, in case you forgot – hell, he put a hit out on you – and he can’t appreciate being stuck as a figurehead paying tribute to this family. For all we know, he could be behind Kaoru’s kidnapping!”
“Don’t be an ass, Die! Shinya wouldn’t-”
“You don’t know that!” The redhead spun on his heel and stalked towards the conference room door, dropping his ice pack in favor of his bloodied jacket as he passed the table.
“Where are you going?!” Kyo demanded.
“To look for Kaoru.” Die was caught up short when Toshiya slid between himself and the door before he could open it. “Move, Hara.”
Toshiya shook his head. “Sorry, Die.”
Shinya’s voice came, soft but uncompromising. “You don’t know where he is, or who has him, and you have a concussion. You’re not leaving this tower tonight.”
Die snarled, “You have no right-”
“Die, stop, you can’t help Kaoru this way!” Kyo snapped, grabbing Die’s arm and trying to pull him back out of Toshiya’s face.
“Get off me!” Die jerked his arm angrily, trying to dislodge the blonde’s hold.
Toshiya reached out anxiously. “Look, just calm down-”
Kyo was getting frustrated, his grip getting too tight. “Die, you have to-”
“Kyo, get-”
“Just fucking-”
“Get off-”
“Daisuke-”
“If we just-”
“Die, maybe-”
“I SAID GET OFF OF ME!”
A loud, fleshy crack sounded in the room, and everything went still and silent for one horrible moment. Toshiya’s hands came up to cover his mouth, eyes wide, and even Shinya looked shocked. Die stared, panting a little, at his own outstretched fist, feeling a familiar tingling spread across his knuckles. Kyo’s head came back slowly from where it had been knocked to the side, a red mark quickly forming on his cheek.
Die’s furious face went slack, his entire body slumping as all the frantic anger drained out of him, leaving only sharp guilt in its wake. “Kyo… gods, Kyo, I… I’m so sorry… I…”
The blonde sighed and wrapped his arms around the taller man’s shaking shoulders. “It’s okay, Die.”
The gentle touch broke something in Die, and he fell to his knees. Large hands tangled desperately in Kyo’s shirt as Die hid his face against his younger friend’s chest, his wavering voice muffled by cloth and flesh. “I’m sorry, Kyo, I’m so sorry… I lost him… gods… he’s gone and it’s my fault and I don’t-… I’m sorry, Kyo… I’m so sorry…”
Shinya turned away politely, mindful of Die’s cherished pride, but Toshiya couldn’t bring himself not to watch. Since he’d first met the Niikura family’s Head of Security, he’d harbored a deep admiration for the man, and it had easily developed into a bit of a crush. The redhead always carried himself with such strength and poise and – when necessary – such menace, it seemed that Kaoru would remain immortal simply for Die having intimidated Death himself from touching the man. He knew from the few casual outings that the five of them had gone on that there was something bright and fun and human behind those black sunglasses, but so far he hadn’t been able to access much of it. Panicking and concussed, the redhead’s defenses were flagging horribly, and Toshiya snatched up the opportunity to see past them.
Shinya’s authoritative voice cut through the tense air with gentle command. “Toshiya, please help Daisuke back up to his room. Stay with him and make sure he rests. Kyo, I will be staying in my usual quarters here for the time being, please get your computer and join me there. I need you to send out your eyes and ears to see if we can’t figure out who has our friend, then we’ll need to get everything set up to run smoothly in his absence.”
Kyo nodded, stepping away from Die and taking a deep, shuddering breath to steady himself. “Not the office?”
The auburn-haired man smiled a little and rested a hand lightly on his best friend’s shoulder, though a sidewise glance caught Die’s intent gaze. “That’s not my place, Kyo. Goodness knows I have enough on my plate as it is; I have no interest in occupying Kaoru’s throne even temporarily.”
Die allowed Toshiya to help him back to his feet, his energy having fled with his temper. He was deeply accustomed to taking orders, anyways, and Shinya’s commanding presence was an unexpected reassurance. Still, he couldn’t contain his protective nature entirely. “I can go myself… Toshiya should stay to watch you two.”
Shinya shook his head. “You have a concussion, Daisuke. Toshiya will stay with you to make sure you don’t get any worse; I don’t want to send you to the hospital, but I will if it becomes necessary. Kyo, who was the gentleman you had phone me earlier?”
“Akio? Die makes him babysit me when he and Kao are out,” Kyo responded, making a face. “He’s the only security guard we have that knows I’m not a concubine.”
Toshiya snorted a bit, and hid it behind a cough when Shinya shot him a dirty look.
“He already knows about Kaoru, then. He can stay with Kyo and I, if that will make you feel better,” Shinya offered.
Die nodded – Akio was one of his most trusted lieutenants – and followed Toshiya to the elevator without further protest. The silence stretched between them was tense, and without distraction, Die felt himself spiraling quickly into overwhelming guilt and anxiety. His sole purpose in life was to keep Kaoru safe from harm, and he had failed miserably. He had spent few nights away from him in his life, and even fewer days, and he had never not known exactly where the man was. Thoughts of his best friend lying cold and grey in a gutter with dead eyes and a slit throat haunted him and made his stomach turn viciously.
“Shinya would never do anything to hurt Kaoru, you know. It’s not like it was before… We both consider ourselves part of the Niikura family, and beyond that, you guys are our friends.” Toshiya’s voice cut through the quiet air. “You’ll never see him show it, but Shin’s just as worried about him as you and Kyo are. We’re only here to help get him back.”
Die glanced at the younger man and found dark eyes watching him with ill-disguised sympathy. He grimaced a little; he must look like hell, to be getting a look like that. “Yeah…”
The elevator dinged and Die led the way back to the suite he shared with Kaoru. Toshiya kept close to his side, ready to catch him if he should stumble, as the redhead shuffled tiredly into his bedroom. Die couldn’t help but notice the inquisitive eyes that tracked his every move as he stripped down to his boxers, but chose not to mention it. He knew the younger man had some weird fascination with him, but Toshiya had never acted on it, and Die wasn’t generally one to entertain such pursuits. He had no time to spare for lovers and flings.
Toshiya scanned the room around him curiously. Despite the dire circumstances that allowed him into this haven, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see a little bit of Die that was usually hidden to him. It was almost too clean; every surface free of dust and fingerprints, everything neatly put away in its proper place. There was an extensive weapons display that Toshiya would explore later, but something more personal caught his attention. Heedless of Die’s stare on his back, he went to inspect the two long shelves mounted one above the other on the side wall, cluttered with trophies, framed photographs, and little souvenirs.
A signed baseball. A medal for first place in a kendo tournament. A spiral seashell. Countless tickets to sporting events, movies, theme parks. A painted wooden doll in a faded silk kimono. A knife with a curved blade and an ivory handle carved into the shape of a pouncing tiger. Most of the photos were of other people – family, Toshiya supposed – but in every single photo that Die was in, even when he wasn’t looking at the camera, the redhead’s face was split with a brilliant smile.
He picked up one from behind the seashell. Kaoru and Die, gangly teenagers only just growing into their frames, were on a beach under a blinding afternoon sun, wearing only swim trunks and huge grins. Kaoru had both arms wrapped around Die’s chest from behind and was swinging him around, sending long, skinny limbs all akimbo and kicking up sparkling drops of sea water all around them. Die’s face – cat-like eyes wide and sparkling with mirth, cupid’s-bow mouth caught in eternal silent laughter – was the very picture of joy and innocence.
‘Gods, why would he ever cover those eyes? And that smile…’
“You’re nosey,” Die grumbled, interrupting his musings. “You people are always so caught up by photos. Do the Terachis not have pictures in their homes?”
“Almost none, and all of them are the crappy professional, staged kinds. Nothing fun or interesting like these,” Toshiya responded with a grin, returning the frame to its place. “I just never expected you to be such a sentimental person, to have a collection like this.”
“That so?” Die snorted, trying to make himself comfortable with an aching chest and a throbbing head. “Kyo was surprised that I play baseball.”
“With those shoulders? I’m not surprised at all.” Toshiya eyed the older man thoughtfully, then padded into the adjoining bathroom to rummage through the medicine cabinet. “You need to sleep if you want to heal up. I’ll have to wake you up a few times, though.”
“I know.” Die wasn’t necessarily prone to head injuries, but this wasn’t his first concussion. By tomorrow, he would probably have most of his memory of the past few hours back, even if he never remembered the specific event that caused the injury.
When the Terachi Head of Security returned, he had two white pills and a glass of water. “Here.”
Die eyed the pills warily. He knew of Toshiya's relationship with Kyo, and how much of it had revolved around drug use. “…I’m fine.”
The younger man rolled his eyes. “It’s acetaminophen. I wouldn’t roofie a man with a head injury.”
“Such a gentleman…” Die sighed and took the pills. If it was Rohypnol, at least he’d be able to sleep.
“I promise I’ll only molest you a little.”
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