The Ultimate Loss

Taki had gotten very used to having Komi there for him after his suicide attempt. When he wasn’t talking to Kiyoshi’s grave, he was talking to Komi. He knew already that he could never, ever love anyone like he had loved Kiyoshi but… Komi was filling a hole in his heart that he thought would never be whole again. His relationship with Komi was so different then his relationship with Kiyoshi had been but still, he couldn’t help but feel a little… guilty over it.
Kiyoshi hadn’t been dead more then a year and he was already with someone else. He didn’t know what the standard grieving time was but he felt like he was moving on far too quickly. Komi kept telling him he wasn’t but that didn’t make him stop thinking he was.

“Taki… love?”

Taki looked down when he heard Komi say his name, blushing slightly as he pulled his hand through his hair. “Sorry… I got lost in thought.” That was happening more and more, even sitting here where he was, sprawled across Komi’s lap and wrapped up in his arms, he still lost himself in the memories of his dead lover. “Forgive me?” He asked, trying to smile as he slid his hand down, touching the healers cheek gently. Sometimes, he could swear he still heard Kiyoshi’s voice or felt his hands on his body and those ghost sensations would cause him stand absolutely still or cause his heart to still in his chest, those feelings would make him lose all progress towards this new relationship and revert back to the grieving man he had been for months. Komi was so good to him though, even when he reverted, the healer stayed with him, working with him until he was comfortable with being with him again. He knew Komi loved him… he just couldn’t say it back yet.

“It’s ok.” Komi murmured softly, his hand moving along Taki’s side softly as he leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He could already tell that Taki was drifting off again but it was ok, he knew how to bring him back. “I understand love, just come back to me.” He tapped Taki’s nose, chuckling softly when the man in his arms jumped. Yes, that was the way to do it. He just had to touch him, he just had to show him that there was someone there that would hold him, that could actually touch him and Taki would come back to him, at least for a few moments. “I’ve got you, feel free to lean.” He said before he was kissing Taki again, his hands moving through his hair as he held him close.

It wasn’t long before they got lost in embrace, their hands carefully touching each others bodies as they kissed. It was as far as they had gotten, just kissing, but it was enough progress for them. Taki had been in such a deep depression since Kiyoshi’s death that it was good he was willing to do anything with another person. Yes, kissing was enough, especially kissing like this. It was deep, intent kissing. It was the type of kiss that stole their breath and made their heads spin, the type of kiss that made their bodies tremble and them to get so caught up in each other that they didn’t notice anything going on around them. This one caused them to miss the knock on the temple door… which turned out to be a good thing.

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Midnight was at the door, he was an old friend of Komi’s as well as the head of the local orphanage. He had been there for him through everything, well, he had been there for him through everything until he had became the owner of the orphanage. He had just been so busy after that. He hadn’t even gotten to meet Taki’s little lover before he had passed away. He didn’t even know what he looked like… So, when he saw a pale, white haired ghost standing right inside the doors of the temple, he didn’t know who he was, he just knew he needed help. Seeing ghosts was his ability, his heritage. Sometimes the ghosts frightened him but this ghost looked… peaceful, not at all scary like some of the ghosts he had seen.

He stepped up to the small spirit, carefully stepping around him and stopping in front of his form while he held the blood sprinkled cloth around his lower arm. He had originally come in because one of the windows in the orphanage had shattered, cutting his arm rather badly but he was more focused on the pale man in front of him now. “Hello there, little one.” He said softly, shaking his head when the other man didn’t even speak. He probably had gotten so used to no one being able to see him that he didn’t expect to be spoken too. He carefully reached out, touching the man’s rounded stomach carefully to try to get his attention. “Pregnant… how sad…”

Kiyoshi jumped when he was touched, his soft white eyes wide with shock. He couldn’t speak for a few moments, his hands just going to his stomach as he stumbled back a bit. “You… you can see me?” He asked, his voice soft and a bit scratchy from not being used. “You can touch me?” He was absolutely shocked, his hands shaking as he backed up another step, moving dangerously close to the temple steps.

Midnight moved forward, wrapping his arms around the other man quickly and carefully pulling him away from the stairs. He didn’t use his power to touch spirits often but Kiyoshi seemed to need it and he really didn’t want him to be hurt. “Even if you are dead.” He murmured, sighing softly. “A tumble down the stairs wouldn’t be good for either of you.” He let go of Kiyoshi once they were away from the stairs, smiling as he looked at him. “Yes, I can see you and touch you, not many people can but I’m sure you’ve noticed that by now. I have to think you’re… Kiyoshi, right? You were pregnant when you died, right?”

Kiyoshi was enjoying being able to be touched again. He hadn’t noticed just how much he had missed it over the year he had been dead. “Yeah… I’m Kiyoshi.” He murmured, nodding a bit as he looked up at Midnight. “I was… am.” He looked confused at that, touching his stomach again. “Well… it feels like I am… like I can still feel the baby moving but it’s been far too long for a pregnancy.”

“Not necessarily.” Midnight murmured, just waving at one of the workers in the temple when they looked at him strangely for talking to himself. “You see, time moves differently in death then it does in life. Yeah, if you were alive, you would have had that baby by now but, since you aren’t, there are many different factors that have to come together before you give birth. But don’t worry; you will have your baby. It has to be born one way or the other. Either it’s born into the living world and lives or, it dies with the mother and is born or, it dies after birth and that’s just like a regular person dying.” He explained, gesturing slightly as he did. “So, pretty much, what will happen is you will grow, very slowly.” He patted his stomach as he said it, smiling softly. “And either the baby will appear after a predetermined amount of time or you will have the child when whatever is holding you here is resolved.”

Kiyoshi looked confused at that, wrinkling his nose slightly as he tried to understand it. If he had, had animal ears, he could have looked very much like a confused bunny rabbit. “So… what you’re saying.” He was speaking slow as he tried to recount it, one hand rubbing his stomach again. “You’re saying, right now I’m pregnant just like I was alive only we’re both dead.” He waited for the nod before he continued. “And, I will have the baby… sometime.” Another nod and he looked less confused. “So… how long will it take?”

Midnight shrugged at the question, looking very much like he didn’t know. “Well, if the issues keeping you here aren’t resolved, I don’t know. It could take decades, maybe even centuries.” He just stopped himself from giggling at the shell shocked look on Kiyoshi’s face, taking a deep breath. Really, he had never met a cuter ghost and he was really wishing now that he had, had the chance to meet the man while he was still alive. “What we need to figure out is why you’re still here. What is holding you here? I can help you resolve your unfinished business so that you can move on.”

Kiyoshi was about to answer when they suddenly heard the sound of a door opening and footsteps in their direction. The white haired ghost looked a bit frightened for a few moments before he suddenly disappeared into thin air, making Midnight mumble a curse under his breath before he was looking up to see who it was, smiling softly when Komi walked up to him.

“Chris told me you were here.” Komi murmured, a soft, worried noise coming from his throat when he saw Midnights arm. “Ahhh, you could of just come back, come with me.” He murmured, already working his healing on the arm as he they walked. He looked back for just a moment before looking back up at Midnight. “I thought I heard you talking to someone… who was it?”

Midnight just sighed and shook his head, looking back also before he shrugged. “It was just me talking to myself; you know how I can be.” He chuckled a bit when Komi nodded, looking very much like he knew. He turned somber just moments later though, sighing as he thought of the pale ghost. He wanted to help him… needed to help him but he just hadn’t had the time. He shook his head slightly, knowing now he had spent too much time just chatting. He hadn’t even asked Kiyoshi if there was anything he wanted to say to Taki, how absent minded could he be?

“Midnight… are you ok?”

Midnight looked down when Komi spoke, just smiling as he nodded his head. “Of course I’m ok.” He murmured, sitting down when he was urged too. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kiyoshi though and the almost lost look he had, had on his face. He knew now, he was going to help the albino spirit. He wouldn’t be able to rest until he did. He wouldn’t do it because he was the only person who could, he would do it because Kiyoshi’s spirit deserved to be put to rest. No ghost should ever be chained to it’s past life.

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AN: Ahhha! Another chapter! *Smiles*

Well, this is the chapter where everyone gets to meet Kiyoshi! Me lovels my lil ghosty *huggles him*

Anyway, I hope you guys like it.

Taki, Komi and Midnight are Nat’s.

Kiyoshi and Chris are mine.

Well, more later. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to feed the author!