A/N:

Chapter warnings: It's the T-rated filter, dammit. (I am so done with chapter warnings from now on. Might as well spoil everything if I keep 'em up, you know?)

-Reddie

After two relatively uneventful weeks, Yuuko's parents returned from their anniversary trip. In turn, Ryuu left for his own house, but not without keeping in constant touch with Yuuko at school. He was reliable even then. When they were alone during lunch, Yuuko would finally pass out from insomnia-related exhaustion, and she'd trust him to watch over her and wake her up when the next class started. He even did her homework when the load of assignments got hefty. She didn't know what to say except "thank you", yet still he'd always reply, "It's alright" with an air of guilt looming overhead.

A month passed, but not without an intense search for solutions through every sorcery website and book page available to them. Yuuko was even attempting to improve in English grammar and definitions to widen their searching horizons, but to no avail. Even less was available about Japanese sorcery in English pages, at least from what Yuuko could interpret. When the end of the month arrived, the two immediately resolved to return to the witch's shop, hoping to explore more possibilities in escaping this curse.

"I know she promised to take good care of it, but," Ryuu held up the amber gem, "what if I broke this at night? Would that… kill him, maybe?"

The witch shook her head, "No, that won't work. Kitsune-sama will just return to Himura-san and permanently embed himself there. He'll have nowhere else to go if you destroy his first body."

Another fox, not Kitsune, strolled through the room, with an amber pendant around its neck and a cup of roasted tea. The old woman gave it a "thank you" pat on the head as she took her cup from it.

Ryuu piped up, "What about Kitsune-sama's fox body though? Is there any way to route him there?"

Yuuko nods in agreement, "Yeah! It's still sleeping in my backyard! I can just take the amulet and put it around the fox's neck once I get my feeling back. And then in the morning—"

"It doesn't work that way. He's bound to return to your body by your blood-written name. Only your body. No one else's."

"Dammit! These were some really good ideas…" Yuuko lamented, plastering a sad smile on her face. She was ready to give up. But Ryuu kept pondering the word blood. It was his blood… so there had to be something he could do to reverse this…

"This is a really bold idea." Ryuu stood up, trembling, "but… if something happens to me, will that change anything?"

"Well… it's been said that," The witch bit her lip before exhaling a long, ragged sigh, "if you sign a contract in blood, then spilling your blood in death will release you from the contract. 'You are bound by blood, and so only blood shall unbind you'. Yes, that was the saying. I think it had to be done by seppuku, actually…"

"Then I'll do it." He forced out the words, shocking both ladies. "I said I'd do anything for her. I told the shikigami that. I better live up to it. I'd better—"

"No!" Yuuko cried, jolting to stand up and throwing her fists against his chest. "Tachibana—"

"Himura, it's alright." He smiled sadly, with that same air of guilt still surrounding him.

"Dammit, stop already! It's not alright! I'm so sick of hearing you say that!" she stomped, banging her hands against him, again and again, before tiring out. Stumbling over her words, she uttered, "Tachibana, if you… if you kill yourself, I… I will never forgive you! I'll hate you forever if you kill yourself! S-So… s-so…" tears began to cascade down her ruddy cheeks.

"Himura…" he moved a thumb under her eye, swiping a tear away with a warm hand.

"Dammit! Just don't do it… don't…"

She made no move to embrace him, though she easily could've. No, she simply stood there with her hands on his chest, neither pushing him away nor drawing him any closer. He froze for a moment, unsure of what to do or say. And their heartbeats mingled.

Then he took to one knee with his head bowed, with loyalty and humbleness conveyed in the gesture as gracefully as the sheathing of a sword back into its holster.

"As you wish, Hime."

They'd rushed to the station only to find that they'd already missed the first train home, and the next one wouldn't come for two more hours. It seemed that they took too long with the witch this time around…

Yuuko was intent on finishing her homework before the train came, but Ryuu was too fixated on their biggest dilemma.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Ryuu muttered, crestfallen. "That's every idea we have."

"I don't know…" and when the long pause came, she wished it would stay. She'd rather deal with her homework than talk about it. The day already ended disappointingly enough already. But he just… wouldn't drop it.

"I'm such a jackass…" he berated bitterly.

And immediately, she snapped her sights to him in irritation, "Oh, enough of that already!"

He laughed weakly, "What? It's true. And you call me that all the time." But it wasn't like she really meant it! It was just something she said when she got pissed! Honestly, couldn't he tell…?

"Well then, only I'm allowed to call you that, and that's that!"

"Alright, alright…" another simple, weak laugh came from him.

"Or if you want…" she offered, "I can just stop calling you that altogether."

"It's al—"

"If you say 'it's alright' again, I will kill you." With that, he clammed up completely. "Come on, now, tell me for real. What do you want?"

"Not like I deserve to ask anything of you… I got you into this mess in the first place."

"Never mind that! You've already been yanked to and fro by me like a faithful dog on a leash for over a month now, so in the very least you deserve one simple thing from me." She took him by the tie, gently this time, and let go when he faced her. "Tell me what you want."

He didn't need to be told twice. There were many little things he wanted from her, mostly physical gestures: a simple embrace that didn't have to last all that long, a small kiss which didn't necessarily have to be on the lips, even a fleeting touch of her hand in his for a short moment. But then he thought of things she could say to him, something he'd die to hear in his dreams: his first name spoken earnestly and an "I love you".

All these things were part of his more innocent reveries, and suddenly, the chance to have them acted out by her out of anything other than her true feelings felt silly. It occurred to him that… had things gone the way he wanted, her love for him would've been as unreal as these silly little daydreams.

Yes, all these things belonged to fantasy, and he didn't want to waste what seemed to be second chance at a wish on a lie.

"Okay, so… when you asked if I loved you, I confessed, but… you never gave me a real reply. Just… 'now I'm satisfied'. I want your clearest reply: how do you feel about me? It's… it's okay to say you hate me. Just, please, be honest." He looked at his feet. Well, it was really time to face the music now. It was time to be a man and face up to the truth.

Now it was Yuuko's turn to think carefully. His heart rate escalated alongside the temperature of his skin, anxious to hear her reply.

After some critical contemplation, she had it.

"I don't hate you." She spoke bluntly, "Though, yes, I've often wished before in the past to leave you for dead someplace, and though, yes, it is your fault we got into this mess, I'm grateful that you've been at my side every day since this started, always helping me. And, to be really honest, I do miss you when I go home at night. But probably just because I get so used to your presence! Still… it's not like I could care less. So… there."

"So that means…?" Ryuu cocked head to the side. She placed a numb hand on his shoulder.

"It means you're alright, Tachibana. Satisfied now?" She was so hoping he'd say yes, because this was already getting to be slightly uncomfortable now. For some reason, she felt embarrassed, as if she'd made her own love confession…

But of course, he said, "Um, no, because… that doesn't give me a lot of insight as to where we stand now, in relation to each other…" Was he kidding her? That was as thorough as it got!

"Ask a blunter question then." Scoffing, she placed her hands on her hips.

"Umm… would you…" he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and curled his toes inward, "ever consider going out with me?"

Another hard question for Yuuko to answer… but it didn't take her long to make her reply.

"…Possibly, if we ever got out of this." Neither of them paid much heed as the train's arrival was announced over the speakers.

"Are you serious?" he blinked in disbelief, "you'd really do that?"

"Well, when a girl walks around with someone else's heartbeat in her chest," she picked up her stuff, "it does things to her."

Without another word, she led him aboard the train and they parted ways once they'd reached their destination. Even when they reached their own doorsteps, it felt as though they hadn't really ever gotten home.

"Possibly." He said to himself as he stared at the ceiling of his room, his hands sandwiched between his pillow and his head. "But only if we could get out. She said that."

His mind began to speed through a million thoughts. He'd read so many sorcery books in the search that it had become like an extracurricular study, one he'd really gotten good at. There just had to be another good idea in there somewhere in the midst of his memory…

"I, Ryuu Tachibana, want Yuuko Himura to feel what I feel!"

Maybe he could make another wish? The witch already had a new shikigami in her employment, anyway…

A tap came at his window, springing him off his bed. His room was on the second floor, so what could've been there? He took a deep breath, feeling worked up over nothing. Most likely, it was just a bird or something.

But, no, of course it wasn't some bird.

Upon opening the curtains, he saw Yuuko dressed in a negligee of all things. With a blush spreading across his cheeks, he scrambled to get the window open so that he could tell her to go back home. But she let herself inside before he could retrieve the ability to speak coherently.

"What the hell are you doing here? Himura, my mom will kill me if she—"

"Wrong name. Try again." She interjected.

With this, he paled. "K-Kitsune-sama?"

"Correct." Kitsune stated inanely.

"Get out of her right now!" he hissed, now red with fury, "this is the only time she has to feel for herself and if you take one more minute of that away from her—"

"You'll what?" Kitsune laughed cruelly. "Beat me up? You'll hurt your friend's body. There's nothing you can do to me, kid. Ya can't control me. I'll do what I want." Ryuu grit his teeth and sighed.

"How the hell did you know I lived here?"

"I could smell your blood from a mile away. Lucky me. I just had to get here."

"Why?"

"I wanted to make a special delivery." Kitsune lifted Yuuko's skirt slightly, revealing a tanto knife bound to her thigh by a sock garter. Carelessly, he slipped it out and tossed it to the floor, letting it land at Ryuu's feet. He stared in horror when he realized that this dagger was prepared for seppuku.

"Yuuko already said no."

"Well, then, tell me again, do you truly love her?"

"Yes, of course I do." He remained firm. "You've seen me this past month, haven't you? I took responsibility."

"Then to continue doing so, you'll do this before the first sunrise of next week. Or I'll do it myself, and then kill her."

"That a threat?" Ryuu inquired challengingly as Kitsune stood up.

"No. It's a promise." Kitsune coolly rejoined, turning his back on him. "Sweet dreams, kid."

Ryuu bent down to pick up the weapon, and he stared at it before looking back at Kitsune.

Astonished, he whispered, "What could you possibly gain from this?"

"I'm tired of the daily shift, and so is this girl. Do the two of us a favor and end it quickly." He perched at the window, looking back one last time, "I mean, you wouldn't want her to suffer any more if you could help it, right?"

Watching the shikigami leap out the window with Yuuko and make his getaway, Ryuu gripped the tanto's handle and chucked it across the room. It fell with a clatter under his bed.

"Tachibana, if you… if you kill yourself, I… I will never forgive you! I'll hate you forever if you kill yourself!"

Yuuko said no, and that was final, no matter what. There was no way some shikigami could just waltz in and take over. Only Yuuko had that privilege, and no one else.

"There's gotta be another way…" he repeated softly as he turned in bed languidly, hands over his eyes, until he finally succumbed to sleep.

"Himura, do you trust me?" Ryuu mused aloud and he fiddled with the rice ball in his hand, not quite meaning for her to hear it. She swallowed her food and nodded at him, but he hadn't really been paying much attention.

Yuuko squinted at him, "Yeah, I trust you. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing!" he blurted anxiously, though his racing pulse was a dead giveaway.

She glared and lowed in voice coated with warning, "Tachibana…"

"Sorry, I know, you can feel it…" he groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Would you prefer I tell you right now or later? Because it's really, really heavy…"

"How heavy?"

"Like, I-need-you-to-return-the-amulet-sort-of heavy." Her eyes shot wide open and she almost choked. Possessively, a hand flew up to the amber gem.

"What for?"

"I don't know if it'd be better to explain now or—"

"Tell me now."

"Are you gonna freak out? I won't tell you if you're gonna freak out." At this, Yuuko stopped herself and reconsidered. If it was that extreme, maybe she'd want to hear it later when they were alone and in private.

"'Kay, maybe not right now…" She stared at his hand and then looked into his eyes. Reluctantly, she nodded, removed the necklace and placed it in his palm. "You're gonna explain everything later, right?"

"Definitely." He reassured, extending his pinky forward, "That's a promise."

They hooked their pinkies and shook on it.

"Unhand me!" the princess shouted. The dragon cackled and only let his grip grow stronger. Fiery breath cascaded all around her as she hid behind her shield. Boldly, she dug her arms through the tight space to grip the hilt of her sword, and she managed to pull it out using a great courageous strength hidden deep inside her heart.

She had learned stabbing the dragon only made him grow more resistant, so she went for another tactic. With a smirk, she held the sword high, letting it wave before the eye of the dragon.

The dragon roared with arrogant laughter, "Do you think that you shall tame me?"

"I shall!" The princess declared confidently. Reaching as far as she could, she tenderly placed the blade on both shoulders of the dragon, crying, "You are my noble knight! Awaken, Sir Ouji-sama!"

The dragon howled as his scales disintegrated and fluttered away all around him. A bright shining light radiated all around him until the dragon was no more. In the beast's place, stood a man. Waning, he leaned against the princess. Lovingly, she cradled his cheek with a gentle hand.

Breathlessly, he whispered, "Hime-sama…"

"Hey you, whatcha reading?" Yuuko's voice suddenly inquired right next to Ryuu's ear, causing him to jolt and slam the book shut. She gave him a look of befuddlement and distaste.

"J-Just a kid's book." He replied timidly. "No big deal."

Though she felt his pulse rate increase, she decided to let him off the hook this time around and not embarrass him any further.

"Okay then, let's go to the witch's place." She tugged him along, not caring for the sound of the book as it dropped behind them.

The witch's house had seemed chalkier somehow once they got there, as though dust had been collecting ever since their last visit. The witch herself, too, seemed chalky in color. Her pallid face was reminiscent of a sad moon, a moon which hid behind gray clouds on a gloomy night.

"Back so soon?" she asked tiredly. A weak chuckle escaped her lips, her breath giving a temporary float to stray tufts of hair hanging all around her face.

"Goodness, Madam, you don't look well." Yuuko frowned.

Ryuu added, "Are you alright?" the old woman merely waved.

"Hush, hush now! I'm fine." She mustered up a small smile for them, despite the excruciating loneliness which ate away at her from the inside. The house wasn't quite as lively without Kitsune-sama around. She didn't know why this bothered her so much, since a couple of other shikigami had left in years past. Perhaps it was because Kitsune-sama seemed to be the only one she'd ever truly developed a friendship with. Even the one in her employment now made no attempt to comfort her, simply waiting for orders like a maid who came in every day for work.

"I have bad news." Ryuu pulled the tanto knife from his backpack, thankful that it hadn't been confiscated while he was at school. Yuuko went wide-eyed at the sight. He sighed, "Alright… Kitsune-sama came last night threatening to kill me and Himura if I didn't commit seppuku by next week's first sunrise. I don't know where he got it, but he dropped this off for me." the old woman picked up the tanto and examined it.

"I own quite a few swords like this, but this is certainly not one of mine. Does your family happen to own antique weapons, Himura-san?"

"No…" then it occurred to her, "oh, the old neighbors did though! Maybe they left this one behind after the move…"

The old woman nodded, "Well, that would explain where it came from."

Abruptly, Yuuko clutched her chest and began to choke.

"It's Kitsune-sama!" she managed to get out. Ryuu placed his hands on her, providing her support to lean on.

"Fight him!" Ryuu encouraged. Gripping her trembling hand, he held her close until Kitsune gave up on taking over again. "Way to go, Himura."

"Thank you…" she could barely reply, still shaking. Shuddering, she swallowed back tears, "Tachibana, w-what are we gonna do? If Kitsune-sama can do that… th-then…"

"It's alright." He comforted, "I'll take care of you."

"Please don't kill yourself!" she panicked, grabbing him.

He rejoined, "I won't, I won't! I have another idea." Helping her up, he returned the amulet to the old woman. "I have another wish. I'll be back tonight, alone."

"Tachibana…?" she looked up at him quizzically.

"Trust me. Please. I'll be at your window right after." He placed a hand over her heart and his own, allowing her to feel their pulses in sync. As poignant emotions stirred to life, she let her eyes flutter shut and then gave a nod.

"Okay."

The moon shone brightly through the window, casting translucent bars of pure snow through the glass. Absentmindedly, Ryuu stroked behind the ears of the fox on his lap, perhaps feeling sorry that it would have to occupy him for the rest of his life. It wasn't that big a deal, was it? A shikigami would most definitely outlive his human lifespan. It was simply a matter of patience… but even so, it'd be a burden.

"Sorry…" he whispered to the fox, its fur tickling his bare stomach. It merely raised its paw to its forehead, as if to salute him. This shikigami really seemed to have a committed sense of duty. He glanced to the photograph of Yuuko as a child, her hair cut short.

"Are you ready, young master?" Ryuu stood up from the couch at this and made his way to kneel on the floor in front of the old woman. "What is it that you want?"

"I, Ryuu Tachibana, want to feel what Yuuko Himura should feel." He spoke solemnly, dutifully, like a dedicated warrior following bushido.

The woman did not ask him to confirm his wish, because she knew for sure that this was it.

She stood up, "As you wish, Tachibana-san."

He winced as the fox came before him and shot the familiar arrow of pain through him again. As the witch handed him the paper and stylus, he reached out with a trembling hand to take them both. Trying and succeeding in keeping a steady hand, he wrote once more in blood, putting his own name down on the paper. He handed it to the witch, watching the wound dissipate as it did the first time.

She wrapped the photograph in the blood-stained paper and fed it to the fox.

She gave the command, "Please come now, and make Ryuu Tachibana-san feel what Yuuko Himura-san should feel."

The fox fainted, and the shikigami took hold of Ryuu.

She felt it immediately. After watching the sunset, she did not expect to feel on her own until further notice. And yet, there it was, her own sensations suddenly restored to life, without an amulet hanging around her neck.

Her heartbeat had become two.

Yuuko stared listlessly at her bedroom door, alone in the dark, as she waited for a sound at the window. And at long last, it finally came.

Getting up, she opened the curtains and lifted the screen to let him into her arms.

He embraced her, "Hime."

"What did you do?" Yuuko whispered into his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Can you feel again?"

"Yes…" she choked out, "What did you wish for?"

"To feel what you feel." He gently took her wrist, placing her hand over his chest, "Look."

The thumping of two drum-pulse rhythms echoed within them both, complementing one another in tandem. Somehow, his heartbeat fit to hers perfectly…

"Ryuu." That was the only thing she could whisper. "Oh, Ryuu, what's going to happen to you now?"

"Only one way to find out…" he placed his arm over her shoulders, "I'll need to stay with you until the sun rises."

They ended up asleep on her bed, lying like straight sowing rows side by side. As she roused from her slumber in the middle of the night to sit up, he awakened.

Kitsune came one last time to Ryuu, with hands up in surrender.

"You're possessed now, huh?" Kitsune spoke softly, Ryuu not aware of who was speaking now.

"Yeah. Don't worry. Kitsune-sama can't get you or me now. Without his other body and my own body open to him, he can't hurt either of us. Plus, now he knows you're strong enough to hold him back…"

Kitsune smiled weakly, not even bothering to make himself known, "Damn right… looks like, we win."

"We sure did… good night, Hime." Ryuu yawned before lying back down. Tenderly, Kitsune tucked Yuuko under Ryuu's arm, and finally came to rest. The shikigami fell asleep staring at the open window.

"I'll see you in the next life, my friend…" he whispered, hoping the breeze in the curtains would carry his words to the old woman.

The moon sank in the brightening sky, until the great orb of white light reclaimed its rightful place as ruler of the heavens once again.

Wrapped in each other's arms and in the morning light, it immediately had become quite clear that both would be able to feel for themselves without fail for the rest of their lives. Even still, there would always be the daily or nightly burden of carrying the other's sensations, due to the shikigami neutralizing one another. By night, Ryuu would experience his sensations alongside hers. By day, Yuuko would carry both their feelings as well. Over time, it became less of a curse and more of a blessing, as they came to love each other on whole new level.

In her senior year, she did something special and long overdue.

"You've gone beyond atoning for the torment." she read to him, now a visitor from college, in the AP class one day, from her first English-written poem, "You've given me more than recompense. You've given me a gift: your own heart, to have and hold every day of my life. I've come to see that, hiding behind the façade of the bully I once knew, you were truly a caring and faithful knight with the courageous heart of a dragon. I'm grateful that you of all people love me. I've accepted your feelings and I want to reciprocate them. I love you and I always will, until both our heartbeats cease to go on."

The whole class clapped, Ryuu embarrassing himself by roaring with applause. She giggled and he sent a wink.

"Good job, Himura-san." The teacher smiled.

"Thank you, Nakamura-sensei." She bowed.

Arm in arm, he'd walk her home, place a kiss on her nose that the both of them could feel, and he would depart. But he remained with her eternally. She now measured her life and love in moonrises, in which his pulse would come to keep her company to warm her through the night.

And by moonset every day, he would feel her hand on his chest and smile, before heading into the living room to call her over the phone.

"Good morning, Yuuko-hime."

A/N:

Well, I do hope you enjoyed that conclusion. Thank you for reading my shoujo manga-style story. Reviews are appreciated greatly. Have a great day/night, everyone.

-Reddie