Enchanted by Illusions

"Mn..." She could lecture him as she pleased tomorrow, for now just...rest. She didn't need to worry about beating a dead horse with him tonight. Neither had the energy to do so, and it was best to just talk about things tomorrow when they were rested a bit more properly.

A small sound of almost surprise escaped him as he felt her tug at his bangs, but he didn't mind her doing it. A small punishment for tonight then, he guessed...considering he was denying her words. Whatever...he could take it.

He'd gotten a giggle out of her at least...

"..." Miyako really and truly tried to be grumpy and sullen longer, but it took too much energy and went against her core nature. Even after today she was a happy person... She...wasn't broken at least...just a little bent...

Her frown disappeared finally and she stared up at Hibiki with much dryer eyes than before. She tugged his hair softly again, but finally gave up her 'punishment' and leaned forward to kiss him again. The hand that tugged his hair settled in it as she took comfort again...

Hopefully she'd be able to sleep...right now she was just distracting herself... She was tired but just not...

Another sound was given as she tugged at his hair again, but he was cut off as she connected their lips again; he responded to the kiss, knowing it helped distract...plus, they were nice to have too.

Kisses were distracting and good, and that's all they needed right now...

Rest would come in a bit, and he hoped she'd at least be able to...rest deep enough for a black out sleep...even that would be better than worrying about nightmares. He was exhausted, but he didn't feel like he could fully sleep really... definitely not right now.

Oh well, he could fake it at least.

Kissing helped, it helped remind her of all the things she liked and was happy over. She was happy over Hibiki... he loved her... She was happy over school... she was happy over everything in her life right now. There wasn't much to be upset over...other than... than today...

Pulling back after a few moments, she whimpered lightly...

"...I don't know if I can sleep... I-I don't want to close my eyes Hibiki..." Miyako admitted, her lips just inches from his. Her eyes were open after the kiss, during kisses it seemed fine... "I-I can when...but now...its...its...hard..."

He'd been...afraid of hearing that; she didn't think she'd be able to sleep either, she was afraid of shutting her eyes. He knew how she felt, he did...but if she didn't try to sleep...she'd never get proper rest.

"I'm gonna be right here... Just hang on to me, tight as you want, it won't hurt me." She could cling to him as tightly as she needed to, and if he noticed her even beginning to have nightmares he'd wake her...talk to her however long she needed.

The best they could hope for was a black out sleep...

"m'Gonna be...right here."

"But..." Miyako protested weakly, wouldn't holding him too tightly hurt him? She... didn't want to keep him up as well... he'd be right here though... He'd be right here and wouldn't leave...

"I can't...keep you up... I gotta yell at you... tomorrow..." She murmured, her eyes on the pillow. It was impossible to yell at him when he was exhausted and worried and hurt... Her arm wrapped around his chest though and held him more... Her legs followed suit, wrapped around his as she buried her face into his neck.

He was here... Hibiki was here... She couldn't not think that, buried against his neck and able to just smell him as well as feel him... Maybe this would be enough... to counter seeing him?

Hibiki didn't mention to Miyako that he doubted he'd be sleeping anyway, knowing she'd attempt to stay up with him or get upset...

"s'Alright... I'll be fine..." He answered. "I'll be right here..."

He didn't protest as she wrapped herself up against him, he held onto her in return; he'd be here for her...

She could rest...

"...No...this isn't right... You need my heartbeat..." Miyako, quite against her will was falling asleep or at least getting drowsy. Hibiki's arms were wrapped around her and holding her so safely... But he would need her heartbeat. He would...need it for his own sleep.

She shifted weakly, attempting to pull away enough to lay on her back. Her words were slurring the more she attempted, the days events catching up quickly now that she had let herself relax a bit. "S'how I protect you...make you happy..."

"Isn't this better for you...?" Hibiki questioned; she was concerned about him hearing her heartbeat...to signify she was here, she was back, was alive...

She needed rest more than he did...

He would be fine, he just wanted her to get rest...

Just holding onto him...that was good. She was worried about him though.

"Don't care...'Biki needs his sleep too." Miyako muttered stubbornly. She may not get him to admit he's a hero... But she could force him to cuddle her in the way that made him happiest...

She pulled away enough to turn onto her back and then tried to tug him to his usual position where he could hear her heartbeat... Rest was impossible without knowing Hibiki was comfortable too... She held herself awake through sheer will now... "Can...bury my face in your hair...smell you better... be nicer... I can feel you..."

Hibiki didn't fight Miyako as she pulled back, allowing her to pull him to her as she wished. She didn't need to waste strength on him, she was tired enough...

"Fine... Alright..." A small voice was telling him that if he didn't allow this she would refuse trying to rest in the first place...she was already obviously fighting sleep.

He'd sleep however she wanted him to, with either position was fine...

She claimed she could smell him better...if that helped then he'd allow it...

He allowed himself to move... good... Miyako's arms dropped down, one against his head and shoulders, the other taking one of his hands and pulling it into a tight hold. She squeezed it as she rested her head against his, breathing deeply and closing her eyes.

The weight of him on her seemed to help more and Hibiki could tell the immediate difference. It was how he liked to sleep normally or tended to, so its normalcy on top of the secureness of his weight was good... Her fingers buried themselves in his hair and she questioned softly. "You...comfy?"

If he was...then all was fine...

Miyako seemed to relax almost immediately, Hibiki noticed; that was good...if this helped her more then he would definitely be fine...

He snuggled up as she wanted him to, making sure the two of them were comfy now that they were settled.

Tonight...just sleep, she could throw lectures at him tomorrow... for now rest was the most important.

He shut his eyes, though didn't fall asleep. If anything...he might be able to lull...a light sleep, half sleep to be able to be there for her if she woke up...

Miyako quickly drifted off now that she was safe and securely held... Against all odds, she slept through the night, deeply and almost passed out levels of sleeping. Her body needed to recover and those dreams weren't even allowed one chance to surface, especially not with the hold Hibiki had on her.

It was too different from before, it wasn't like it was and thus it couldn't set those off. She was warm and safe and loved right here...

Even if she had the softest little snores...

Rukuya wrote:

"Mm, 'kay..." Muika gave a nod, now finished with her own food and moving to Iyuki to help him. Miyako and Hibiki would be fine, there was still food and they could see what else there was if they needed.

Right now, it was bed time for them though...

Helping him up, she led him from the kitchen back down to the bedroom like she had earlier when she'd helped him from the bath.

Bed... Bed would be good...

Her clothes from earlier were still on the floor in a pile, but right now she just wanted to lie down, she'd pick them up after sleep... That thought crossed her mind as she helped Iyuki to the bed.

Iyuki felt miserable for needing her help again, but with Miyako out of commission for the time being he was quite stuck accepting her help. Though what could the woman do really besides heal him?

This just required rest and snuggles. Taken from the kitchen to the bedroom, he ignored the piled up clothes and messes as those would not do him any good to focus on. Instead he moved the blankets back enough to crawl in as Muika helped him and he sat on the edge of the bed with a relieved sigh. His blue eyes looked up gratefully at his sweetheart and he smiled as his hands continued to hold her just lightly. He didn't wish to let go...

It would be... difficult when she was not touching him once more.

With the covers undone, and Iyuki having moved to get ready crawl under them, Muika reluctantly backed up enough to get in herself, though she didn't completely let go of him; her hand having slid from his arm to his and as she went to crawl over to where she normally slept.

No more letting go...

They could...finally rest properly now, baths had been settled, and food had been eaten... She was still...not in the best of ways, but she knew that wasn't just going to fix itself in a few minutes. There was plenty of reasons for her state...

The other two would be perfectly fine so Iyuki felt no worries. Hibiki was much hardier than Muika in that aspect... But his baby cousin would need adoration tomorrow as well. Instead of thinking those things further, he dove for Muika once she was under the covers and they both were somewhat settled. He buried himself in her chest and shook slightly as his arms wrapped around her body.

"I was scared... Terrified. I could do nothing... I was in a tank, they kept me sedated and drugged... I could do nothing to help... She did everything... Muika I am a failure... I did not...not keep... any promises I made you to stay safe..." Iyuki's heart poured out immediately, unable to keep any of these feelings from her no matter how tired they both were.

The fact that he required her to be utterly honest...went both ways... because he could not keep such a thing from her even if he should. He... he was so upset... Now that he was safe and hidden it was coming out at least... She may need him to be better than this but he could not force himself to be for the moment...

As Iyuki made himself comfortable Muika held onto him as securely as he did her, burying her face in his hair as she felt him shake; now that they were alone...in their room, this...this wasn't so easy to just bottle up...

Her hold on him secured further, but not painfully so, as he explained his side of things, what had been going on with him...

It didn't help her keep her tears from beginning to pour again, but this wasn't about her. He was being honest with her, how he felt...but...

"If...If you hadn't of done what you did...at the end... O-One of you might not have..." She didn't want to finish the sentence, didn't want to finish it at all... "It's their fault... You had no way of...being able... They knew you were the biggest threat..."

They knew they wouldn't have been able to properly hold him had they not...though just thinking about what they'd done... It made her wish she'd harmed them more, but...

"I...I was stupid..." He was being honest... She needed to be too... "I was reckless... I blanked after...after finding out what happened and nearly ran off... Had...Takuya and Hibiki not stopped me..." Had she not been stopped the two of them might be... "I..."

If... This... This wasn't supposed to have happened. It wasn't... They shouldn't have ever had to go through this...

There were a few toxic thoughts flowing through her, but none of them...she wanted to voice, if she voiced them... Iyuki would get upset, even...even if they were obvious thoughts...he was tired...so...

Iyuki felt the tears and his own welled up. He'd never been good at keeping them inside even as a child... He just silently cried as she spoke. "I know... I wish I hadn't... I wish she had been the threat. Then at least I would have been the one awake for this... Though I have large blank chunks that...that bother me now... Muika I know I saved us at the end...but why couldn't I have saved us before?

Why...could... Why did they force you both back? I never wanted that... I wanted you two to have a happy and safe home... You most of all... They hurt it and you again..."

He paused his rambling words as she was also honest... and shook his head against her chest. "I know... I mean I did not...but... I knew if something happened to me you would not... not be able to...I... knew you would come but I did not...think what state it would be... I am sorry... We should... should thank them..."

She was not able to handle these things... How could she? Iyuki knew this better than anyone else... how deep those scars went... He saw them every day. "It is...it is okay. They were there... Y-You came for me... safely... You stopped them... finally..."

He had known...he would have known that she would be reckless... He wished to ask her what she had done but it might hurt her more... And he would not lie to her to make her feel better. If she had run off... What did he say though? His words were not coming out right or even to acceptable levels...

They had data on them... Data on all of them, they knew what to hit, what actions to take; they had not taken into account the improvement of their abilities...it seemed, they hadn't noticed her walking amongst them...

They probably...had had data on that ability too, but... it was stronger now...she realized that earlier, and that's why...why she'd taken the risk.

She was hurt, yes...but...but Iyuki and Miyako were much more hurt, they were both innocents no matter how involved they were, they had been dragged into this, they had never had to experience something like that ever before until now...

That...that wasn't something anyone could forget...

She had lived her life like that for years, she had eventually grown...at least somewhat numb. She'd never really known happiness, or anything before... These two though... They shouldn't have ever had this happen...

"I... They were afraid...because a lot of the others were getting...wiped out... Not... Not by just your family or Selena's influences, but... I...met someone...that could take care of them too...and asked them... that was who they were afraid of..." It was her fault they'd taken such drastic actions; she'd sent Naki after them, Naki needed souls to live...and she had thought them better off dead anyway... It had seemed...like a win-win...but...

This base should...should have been the first one taken care of... she was stupid...

If she had been more careful, if she'd never sent Naki, if she hadn't escaped in the first damn place... None of this would have happened... They would have never...

Was the happiness really worth all of the pain she'd caused him?

Her body froze at that thought momentarily, and she clenched her eyes shut to avoid hinting Iyuki off to what her mind kept wandering to. He'd get upset...even more upset...

"This... This shouldn't of happened, neither of you... you..." Neither of them deserved it...

There was... was one option that had come to mind back there, but...seeing how things were personally her hopes had been dashed on it. No matter how much she hated that place, feared it... She would have exchanged herself if that had meant letting those two go alive...

She had thought... She was their most wanted, the number one with a target... She had thought at first...but... There goals hadn't been getting either her nor Hibiki back... It'd been surviving...

"But... I..." Iyuki couldn't understand... he wasn't cut out for this... he was too emotionally hurt and damaged by today to be able to coherently think. What she said later would make much sense with him, but for now he was just a bit of a mess....

"It shouldn't have happened to anyone! They..deserved...it all. All you did. All your friend did... All Selena and Takuya did... I-I do hope those two...technical support made it out however. They were nice and did not deserve..." It seemed he had been somewhat aware at least during part of that even if he could not move or respond to anything and Iyuki spat out his words with anger rarely seen or felt. He was hurting and he... he wanted to show it.

He never could have done it himself, but his dearest could. It should have scared him, it might have scared him before he'd had to listen to a young woman's screams and his own excruciating pain for hours...

"...I-I feel like there are things you are keeping..." Muika's demeanor was obvious but... he couldn't right now... His hands clutched her shirt tightly, his shirt really but it was hers for now... She was...hurting, he could tell that much at least from her tone and words and how she'd been. "I will...in the morning... Make sure you tell me... you aren't at fault... like you said, it is all on them. They are responsible for what they did. They are responsible for their own deaths as well..."

"I love you Muika... They did not take me away. Miyako either... we are still here due to you..." He could not right now though, his mind was too clustered to sort through what she was feeling and what he was feeling and everything... They needed comfort and venting and rest... He pulled from her chest and lifted his head up enough to kiss her. Kissing was comfort. He would give her comfort in the only way he could now.

Iyuki was...rarely like this, he rarely wished such things on other people... The first time it'd happened was when he'd heard of Seiya's death... he had realized at least that the man could not be allowed to live.

This was...

He was fully saying they deserved it though...

She didn't disagree, but it was odd how their thoughts were similar on that matter. What... What that place had done...

Again, she froze slightly as he noticed; she was hiding things, feeling his hands clutch at the shirt on her. She... She was...they weren't good things...but tonight especially he didn't need to hear them.

"M-Mm..." Tomorrow...

He was too exhausted, and he'd never get rest if he knew...

He would in the morning...

Wasn't at fault... She didn't know if she could agree with that; this was...on them, the pain they had caused, but... but it could have been avoided...

His words following caused a similar reaction to what she'd given in the kitchen when he'd said the same words, though this time she couldn't just turn and avoid his eyes as he pulled back.

Luckily...maybe, he leaned in; her hands clenched as she felt his lips touch hers, and of course she responded to the kiss. D-Distracting... the kiss... this was distracting...

Iyuki was unable to stop the kiss as he felt Muika responding. It hadn't been that long and yet wasn't sure if she'd gotten any upon his return. Had she...? If not this would make up for it he felt. They both needed distractions... right now it was too soon. Neither were stable or able to deal with what had happened.

It...might take a while for them to recover... His hands held the shirt tightly for a moment before one slid up to her head and hair. Playing with it helped them both, he needed to do this. Her soft hair was...just as much distracting as her nice kissing...

Muika continued to hold onto Iyuki as he continued with the kiss, she certainly wasn't going to pull away...especially if he didn't want to either; they hadn't been able to really hold one another like this, or be close like this until now...

She'd been keeping herself from doing or acting in any way back in the car, focusing on letting him rest a little on the way home...and obviously there was no closeness to be had before...

Her mind had still been...much too unstable, her only focus after securing the two alive being the death of that doctor...and in the end she'd given up on that. She couldn't have...not with Iyuki there and not even if he'd left. He still would have known...

That wasn't something she could have risked...

It was comforting, feeling his hands move to her hair; it was a gesture she'd never refuse him, it was comforting for both of them, and if it was distracting then...then it was more than alright.

Iyuki's desperate kissing had to end and he pulled away after a few moments, staring up at Muika's face as if imprinting it on him memory. He hadn't had time to process his being home, he hadn't had really any mental capacity to. It had been get home, get washed, get food in him... get in bed...

Now what though? Get sleep? They both were all wired up though despite how tired they were. His hands played with her hair, twining between the soft and floofy locks as he attempted to soothe them both a bit more. "I...am home, right? I am not being fed some odd drug...?"

His voice was weak, but these sensations of her wrapped around him and the sight of her in front of him...and the feeling of her hair... Warmth... All of it was too much to be a hallucination right? He had heard those drugs were possible before.

It would be cruel to force this on him...