Title: Heart of the Sword
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Legal Drug
Pairing: Kazahaya x Rikuo
Epilogue: Pay Day
Summary: When Kakei-san sends the boys out to find an old sword, the boys find that it is a cursed sword and that all cursed are supposed to do highly unexpected tasks, like love one another! Trouble stirs around two receptionists and Samurai Champloo quotes are said! A ride up an elevator is all it takes...
Disclaimer: LD belongs to the geniuses of CLAMP.
Warnings: Beware some OOC-ness.
A/N: HERE'S YOUR FINAL CHAPTER! Huzzah!!!!!!!!!!! I've finally written it!!!! YESS! Will be writing the next book for CLAMP as they have not made notions that they are still even thinking about LD. Look for it in the New Year!
Author: We Heart Katamochi Jill!

Kazahaya and Rikuo left the resort the next morning by train. Ayumu said that she and Jill would clean up the sword shards on the roof, so no worries there.

What Kazahaya might have worried about was the phone call Ayumu posed after he and Rikuo had left.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes? They're coming to you. The job they did is half-complete, but you shouldn't count that against them." Ayumu said into the phone.

There was a long pause until the other voice said, "I'll try." Ayumu smiled and hung up the phone.

"They gone?" came another voice from behind Ayumu. She recognized that Osakan accent. She smiled to herself and said, "Yeah, they're gone."

---

The train ride back to Tokyo was peaceful. Rikuo was finally acting like his normal brooding self, but seemed a bit more inviting towards Kazahaya now that they had saved each other on several accounts on this whole wild journey.

Kazahaya fingered the sword sheath in his hand that was inside an ornate drawstring bag. He let his head fall onto Rikuo's shoulder and just lay their peacefully for the duration of the trip. Rikuo crossed and uncrossed his arms every once in a while as if he didn't know what to do with them. Kazahaya could see the fake look of annoyance on Rikuo's face, but could feel the pleasure that was emitting from the taller boy. The two of them didn't talk for the entire trip, but Kazahaya fell asleep after a little while anyway enjoying the peaceful feeling generating between them.

When they got back to the drug store late in the afternoon, they were surprised to see that neither Kakei-san nor Saiga-san was waiting for them. A tall woman was standing with a box over by the register restocking a few items, while a small high school girl sat stood behind the register reading a magazine.

They looked up from what they were doing when the bell tinkled against the metal on the door as Kazahaya and Rikuo stepped in.

"Umm, tadaima?" Kazahaya called out into the drug store.

The girl behind the register, who was reading the magazine, came over to them. The boys noticed she had an odd look about her eyes that sort of reminded them both of someone they knew …

"Welcome back. Aiji's been waiting for you," Said the girl. Her voice was cool and a bit dark, who was she? And who did they remind them of?

The woman trounced over to them after she had set her box down. Her hands were on her hips and she gazed at them appraisingly. Kazahaya stared back at her a bit frightfully, now who was this woman now? Rikuo just glared at her.

The woman turned over her shoulder and called, "Shun? Shunichi! You're boys are back!"

"What's that?" said a familiar voice. The head of Saiga popped out behind a back door and smiled as soon as he saw the boys. "Oh, welcome back!" He said bounding over to them. He grabbed Kazahaya by the waist as he usually did sending Kazahaya into a fit of protest, but Saiga just slung Kazahaya over his shoulder and carried him towards the back stairwell while Kazahaya kicked at him.

Rikuo said nothing, but followed Kazahaya and Saiga up the stairs to the next floor where he and Kakei lived. The interior of the apartment looked no different from Kazahaya and Rikuo's one upstairs, though the place had a much warmer and loving feels to it. There was different furniture than what the boys had upstairs. Their room compared to a dorm room while Kakei and Saiga set up more of a long-term establishment. There was an array of silver pots and pans hanging on a rack on one of the kitchen walls and several decorated plates and bowls drying on a dish rack. The dining room table was large enough for about six people and had a white table cloth to cover it. There were curtains hanging in every window and the shades were brought up so sunlight poured into the room. A small main area was set off past the dining room where a large sofa stood and a television stood before that on a large wooden stand.

The next room they entered was the bedroom where there was only one large bed situated in the center of the room amidst two sets of dresser drawers and a bookshelf. Currently occupying the bed was Kakei-san who sat up right in the center with a breakfast tray placed beside him. He folded his hands in his lap as soon as they entered and smiled.

Kakei-san didn't look so good. He sat up straight, but his face was strained and a little pale. He must have been sick, but all the same, Saiga removed the tray from the bed and gave it to Rikuo to hold, then promptly threw Kazahaya onto the bed where he gazed up at Kakei-san's face.

Kakei-san looked down at Kazahaya, smiled, and asked, "What have you brought back for me?" in a hoarse voice.

"Err," Kazahaya said feeling quite uncomfortable having his head in Kakei-san's lap. Kazahaya managed to sit up slowly as Saiga sat down next to Kakei, letting his feet fall off the bed, but managing to wrap a strong arm around Kakei-san's waist.

Kazahaya pulled the sword hilt in its pouch from one of his pockets and presented it to his boss as Rikuo came in closer, though he didn't sit on the bed.

Kakei took the pouch from Kazahaya and inspected its contents. He fingered the hilt quite carefully for a few moments before saying, "Now boys,"

Rikuo and Kazahaya stared at their boss, but Kazahaya was the only one anticipating a good pay for their hard job well done.

"Your mission was to bring back the sword, correct?"

"Yes," Kazahaya confirmed, "We did that."

"Actually, as you have only brought me back the sword hilt, I'm afraid I can't pay you in full."

Kazahaya was shocked. He couldn't believe that his boss would foul him up like that, but when had Kakei-san ever … not? Completely dismayed, Kazahaya slid himself off the bed and turned wide-eyed to stare at Rikuo as if he could do something.

"No money?" Kazahaya asked, not really talking to Rikuo, but more like asking the question to himself just so he could hear the reality of what was happening to him.

"No money." Rikuo said finally and seriously.

"Thank you boys, you can leave now." Kakei said.

Kazahaya moved towards the door, but as he was about to open the door, the two women from downstairs came through.

"Onii-chan! Medicine time!" said the younger girl who had been reading the magazine in the shop.

"Azura …" Came Kakei's hoarse voice as the young girl came in close to give her apparent brother his medicine.

"Onii-chan?!" Kazahaya exclaimed whipping around to stare at Kakei.

"Yes, Rikuo, Kazahaya, this is my younger sister Azura. She's around your age. She helps with the shop when you two have long missions for me."

This is unfair … Kazahaya thought to himself staring at the girl as she smiled at him and said, "I need the money,"

"You two would get along," Kakei said smiling and taking the medicine from his sister. He swallowed two pills along with some water Azura had brought up for him and then he turned to look around Rikuo to find the older woman standing right behind the tall boy. He said, "Yes Chi?"

"There's a problem with that Aiji-kun. You actually pay her," Said the woman. "Shuni-chan, why don't you ever stop his tyranny?"

"There'd be no point, Chiaka," Saiga said to the woman who was eyeballing the two of them in suspicion. "Besides, it's more fun this way. Pays the bills!"

"I'm sure Shunichi," Chiaka said now turning to the two boys and glaring at them. "I defended you, you better thank me!"

"Oh, err, ano, thank you!" Kazahaya said. She was a bit scary.

Chiaka turned on her heel and went over to sit next to Kakei and the two of them started laughing at the boy's reactions. She later began fussing—in a much different voice than the one she had used with the two boys—over Kakei's health and such. The conversations got more random the longer Kazahaya and Rikuo stood in the doorway. They must have all been old friends, and Kazahaya didn't know how this could all happen, but the again, he never asked anything about his bosses' pasts.

Finally Chiaka said, "You all are like one big happy family," She looked over at the two boys smiling and said, "Parents never give their kids what they want, I wish I could have that."

Azura said, "Aiji-Okaa-san and Shunichi-Otou-san won't give Chi-chan any of that!"

Chiaka stood up from her place on the bed and ushered the three teenagers out so Saiga and Kakei could be alone. They were talking in hushed tones as Chiaka closed the door behind her.

"Oh, it's not fair. I've offered to work here, but Aiji-kun won't let me for some reason," Chiaka lamented at they all reached the staircase.

"You don't want to work here," Kazahaya said with the little-to-no-pay-thing still weighing heavily on his mind.

Chiaka laughed and said, "Oh really?" She started to head downstairs with Azura while the boys headed upstairs to drop off their things when Chiaka said, very kindly, "Oh, I've clean all you rooms and washed your clothes for you, the least you could do is to come downstairs in twenty minutes and work the shop!" She winked at them and she and Azura headed downstairs.

"We have to work as soon as we get back?" Kazahaya whined as soon as he and Rikuo made it to their floor, which was spotless thanks to the ladies downstairs.

Rikuo said, "I'm not sure about her family theory,"

Kazahaya turned to face him, "Why is that?"

"Because," Rikuo went on, "I wouldn't want to be your brother."

Kazahaya glared at him quite forgetting himself. He said, "And why is that?"

Rikuo glared at him. He grabbed Kazahaya's wrists and slammed the smaller boy up against a wall and said, "If I were your brother it would be illegal to do this." Rikuo said and started to kiss Kazahaya firmly on the lips.

That's right, their whole ordeal, how could Kazahaya have forgotten? All the confusion he experienced when he came back home must have made their ordeal leave him. Where would they go from here on out? They've had so many difficulties with each other in past, would they overcome all that and find happiness?

Rikuo deepened the kiss as Kazahaya was thinking about all these things. Eventually Rikuo let go of Kazahaya's wrists and slipped his hands around the boy's waist. Kazahaya's hands wended their way to Rikuo's back and clung onto his shirt.

They seemed to be falling and kissing at the same time. They slid down to the base of the wall and situated themselves there until they fell completely to the floor kissing intensely as if all the tension they had built up over the time they'd been together in their apartment was coming out in this one kiss.

The kiss seemed to go on and on for a long time until …

"BOYS!" Chiaka called through their apartment. She found them lying on the floor tangled in each other's arms and breathing heavily.

She exclaimed, "You two can make out after dinner, but right now the shop's suddenly gotten busy and I need your help, so come down stairs, grab your aprons, and help me out!"

The boys got up hurriedly and followed her as she stormed out of their room to go downstairs. That was all too embarrassing for Kazahaya. He wondered how Rikuo felt. He looked quite expressionless putting on his apron, but maybe he was just used to hiding how he really felt all the time.

But it all came out in that kiss … Kazahaya thought to himself smiling as he was watching Rikuo help some girl customers cooing over him while he restocked some shelves.

He'd just have to figure out how Rikuo was feeling after dinner he supposed.

END.

Enjoy it? Hee. I already know what I'm doing for the sequel. I'm thinking of giving it a horrific twist (as in horror/romance genre). And we really must give CLAMP the benefit of the doubt. They are putting out Tsubasa weekly, making xxxHOLiC manga novels, AND now they are doing all the animations for the new anime called Code Geass, which if you have not seen yet, SEE IT! It is sooooooooooooooooo kick ass. Only 8 episodes out now. All you shounen-ai/yaoi-type fans will squeal over it. And perhaps I'll write fanfic for that and create the category like I did for xxxHOLiC. Fuuuun fun fun.

But yeah. I'll put out the new LD, probably in the New Year. I have to do a ton of research on it for my idea AND I must acquire the LD manga so I can better perfect putting the boys into character (and I have to study for midterms). Expect more indepth-ness and better writing. I'm really trying to work on my style/descriptions even though it's fanfiction.

Thanks for reading/waiting for this to come out! It's been great. Thanks for your reviews. You know Heart of the Sword has gotten over 8,000 hits since I last checked. Thanks for reading so much; it really makes me happy knowing so many people like what I do. Thank you. I'll see you with the next book in the New Year!