Tsubaki's Scent

Three years had passed since the defeat of the Demon God. Last month, Black*Star had just turned 17 and his now 20-year-old partner Tsubaki had finally gained her hundredth soul and became a Deathscythe. As the Reaper had called them in for their promotion and asked Tsubaki if she wanted to be reassigned to a new partner, she declined without hesitation, much to Black*Star's surprise, since a lot of meisters had spun around her for an entire week to get her attention, many of them way easier to handle than he was. Even now, knowing that she had chosen to stay his partner, some guy always seemed to try to get to her whenever Black*Star was not within sight, yet watching.

On the other hand, it was the same with him, too. Girls had been crowded around him even before he became the wielder of a Deathscythe, probably for a year or so, when he started to change. Some time before his 16th birthday, he had the long-awaited growth spurt that made him -finally- one head taller than his weapon partner. It did not take him long to replace his now somewhat skinny figure that was pretty close to Crona's, with the steel muscles he had always had. Yet, the biggest change was the one in his personality. Sure, he still wanted to surpass God and have the spotlight right on him, but his ways had changed. He was composed now, not the big-mouthed, noisy self he used to be, ever since they almost lost Kid during a mission due to his behavior. After this incident, he trained hard to finally become a true assassin. Hence, the spotlight -at last- turned right onto him, and with it came the girls.

At first, he enjoyed it. Having all their attention, being almost worshiped... He took a lot of girls out on a date, sometimes making it a double date with Soul and some chic he was with at this moment. He still did that, but it was no longer any fun. None of them were actually interesting in any thinkable way. Basically, it was a waste of time and only serving his image of a cool and desirable guy. So he decided to stay home tonight, absolutely not willing to listen to some brain-dead chic's giggling and stuff.

Black*Star was just a few meters away from his house. He still shared that exact same one with Tsubaki, and there was nothing like this home she made so comfortable with all the small things she always did. His gaze was watching his step as he heard something familiar – Tsubaki's laughter. He looked up and saw her flinging her arms around some guy, kissing him furiously before laughing again. There was no need to go any closer to comprehend the situation to it's extend – they were both drunk. He felt his jaw tighten in anger. How dare he do this to her!

Tsubaki pulled the guy backwards with her. It took her a moment to unlock the door, then they both stumbled in laughing. She hurriedly pushed him down the hallway towards her bedroom, her mind completely blank from all the alcohol she had consumed. Again, she pulled him towards her with his necktie, pressing her lips on his. She felt him placing a hand on one of her breasts, squeezing harder than what was pleasant. His other hand traced down her arm, taking the small strap of her summer dress off his position on her shoulder. His kisses grew fierce when she slid his already unbuttoned jacket down his shoulders where it stuck since he would not let go of her breast. They fell down on her bed, she lying beneath him, feeling crushed by his bodyweight.

"Please stop," she pleaded, trying to push him away from atop of her.

"Oh, you don't mean that," he replied, trailing his hands up her thighs.

She stopped his hands before he could reach too far up. "I do mean it. Stop. Please."

He growled, displeased. "Don't give me that crap, you damn slut." He ripped her dress, causing her to scream panicky.

The door flew open with a giant slam. Black*Star rushed in, furious and undisciplined as he had not been in a long time. He had followed them in, then waiting outside next to Tsubaki's door, eavesdropping. Normally, he would not even think about it – she was old enough to do whatever she felt like – but he had a bad feeling about this one. Good thing he had been eavesdropping.

Black*Stark now grabbed the drunk guy at his hair and threw him right across the room where he landed in a wall. Gladly, he had controlled his strength to the extend that this bastard's impact did not cause the wall to crumble.

"Black*Star!" Tsubaki called out his name, half in relief, half in fear.

Yet, he did not listen. He turned to the guy first. Picking him up at his shirt, he threatened, "You better get your sorry ass out of here, before I actually lose my manners."

He stood, wavering, then hurried out of the house, eyes wide in horror. What the...

Black*Star turned to face Tsubaki sitting on her bed, her arms wrapped around her chest since the dress was no longer covering them. His fury had not yet ceased, it was still reflected in this green eyes when he stood in front of her, graping her firmly by her shoulders. He shook her fierce, yet not painful. "What the hell were you thinking, Tsubaki? This isn't like you. Not at all." His tone was dark and grim.

Tears slid down her face before she knew it. She covered her face with her hands, her body shaking from the heavy sobs.

"Answer me, Tsubaki," he demanded, shaking her once more.

She was unable to ease the sobs. Yet, knowing he would not leave until she had actually answered his question, she stuttered, "It-it's all be-because of you..."

He tensed. "Me?"

She gulped. "Because you ne-never see me, bec-cause you never n-need me..." She took a moment to -finally- steady her voice, at least to some extend, "Because you'll never love me."

Black*Star's heart skipped a beat as the word love slipped her mouth. Not love her? How could he not love her, for crying out loud? She was his best friend, his partner, and -to even top that- his soul mate. Why would she think he did not love her?

He loosened his grip around her shoulders. "Of course I love you, stupid. What makes you think I don't?" he replied.

Tsubaki shook her head, the sobs finally starting to cease. She continued to hide her face beneath her hands. "I'm the scentless flower. Just as my brother said, I'll never-"

He suddenly was sitting next to her, his head bowed down to her neck. He took a deep breath that tickled her skin. "You're not scentless, Tsubaki. You smell... beautiful." A slight blush crept onto his cheeks, hidden by her long hair. He was not lying, she did smell good. She always had. Whenever she was by his side, close, holding him up after a battle, her scent had filled his head. "I always liked it." He had asked himself more than once what it was that she smelled like, but he was never able to figure it out.

New tears escaped her eyes, some dropping on his cheeks. "Don't say that," Tsubaki whispered. "I know you don't mean it... and it hurts."

He sat straight and looked at her. Her hands were clung to her chest, nails digging into the soft skin, like she wanted to rip her heart out of her body. Blood showed. The tears slid down her cheeks silently, not accompanied by sobs as they had been before. Her eyes were shut, hiding the beautiful sapphire color.

"Tsubaki..." He reached out to remove her hands from her chest, he could not bear seeing her hurting herself, but she slapped his hand away.

She shifted her hands, covering her ears. She did not want to hear one more word coming from his mouth, since each and every one only stung in her heart like a knife. "Enough... Enough already. Why won't you just stop? I've been waiting for you for six damn years, and I just can't take it anymore!" She had started with a whisper, but now her angry yelling rang through the room. She had never been angry like this before, and she definitely had never cursed before! Thanks to the alcohol in her bloodstream, she was totally out of it.

Black*Star's eyes widened in disbelief. He finally realized that she loved him. Truly. With all her heart. More than a weapon would usually bond with its meister. Even more, Tsubaki had always loved him, and he never noticed, blinded by his eagerness to get everyones attention, and later on by the spotlight itself. He had been a fool all these years. He had always had her attention, from the very first day they had met. She had clapped for his performance, and had been by his side ever since. She had adapted the star, his clan's symbol, to her clothing without even knowing how much it actually meant to him. And he had never told her. He had not told her a lot of things... not thanked her... not given anything back to her. Until now.

He placed one of his large, scar-scratched hands over hers which was still covering her ears. Even though she winced at the touch and tried to pull away, he would not let her. He pulled her against his chest, wrapping her in a tender, yet adamant embrace. "I'm sorry, Tsubaki."

One of Tsubaki's hands clenched into his shirt, the other formed a fist and pounded half-heartedly against his chest, over and over. She started to sob again, shaking in his arms. "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." She whispered it with every bump her fist made against his chest.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," he said softly. His head bend down to her neck and his lips brushed her black hair only for a second. He took a deep breath while she continued to hit and curse him. He knew now what she smelled like. It was something only she had. Tsubaki's scent... The scent of trust, care, home... and love.

A/N: Hope you liked it. I really, really wanted this off my chest. I think it's sweet... Ah, let me know what you have to say! =)