Title: Innamorati

Author: Billxbesitztxmeinxherz

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Romance, Canon Divergence

Main Pairing: Miharu/Yoite

Chapter: 1/2

Completed: No

Time.

Time takes form as a dark being under the heavy shroud of night. It is a creeping figure that sneaks beneath locked bedroom doors at night and steals the breath of the young, pulling its nasty tricks to turn cherub skin old and grey with age. This dark figure is capable of turning the most beautiful beings into ugly pitiful creatures that world turns its shoulder to. In the Nabari world, there is no room for the weak. Only the strong survive in this perilous world where one has to have their wits about them at all times. Like dogs, a shinobi should always sleep with one wear open as to hear approaching danger. It was not a lifestyle suited for most. But no matter how many decades had passed, how many users had wielded the Shinrabanshou, no matter how many secret techniques were perfected, there was none that could conquer time. Ever silent and moving under a guise of stealth, it will bring the strongest of creatures to its knees.

Time was not something easily avoided and no one knew that better than a shinobi that had mastered a forbidden technique.

"Yoite?" A voice startled the young man from his thoughts. Blue eyes, apathetic to the pain of others, turned upwards towards a beaming pale face with two green eyes, set like emeralds into the boy's head.

"What?" His words were soft-spoken, not out of weakness or cowardice, but for a reason that no sixteen-year-old should have to comprehend when one had their whole life to look forward to. But time was a constant dark shadow in the deep recesses of Yoite's mind and it was not a matter to be taken lightly.

"We need to get the daya as fast as we can." Miharu's eyes darted towards the door diving the pair's room from Yukimi and Raiko's shared room.

They were running out of time as it was and things weren't going any faster keeping us this farce of attempted peace at the Alya Academy. Tobari and the others were there as well but Yoite poised them as no threat as long as they did not try to interfere.

"Ah." Yoite agreed, watching as the younger went to close the window framing the night sky.

A threat. A shinobi must always be aware of a threat. As of that moment, there was no immediate threat that Yoite could gauge. While the Koga's actions were suspicious, Yoite felt no concern if the opportunity arose should he have to take them on. Duty, a shinobi must always perform their duty and accomplish a mission with as much precision as possible. Currently the lanky fourteen-year-old named Miharu Rokujou sitting besides him was the mission. Yoite had made this boy, the bearer of the Shinrabanshou-the only chance to escape from this living hell, a promise to make Miharu the Nabari king no matter the cost and protect him by all means. Protection was the main objective of the mission as of now, protect Miharu from any danger and ensure his safety in this darkness that surrounded them.

"Yukimi hasn't said anything of making a move tonight?" Miharu's voice was lowered as the boy began to pull off his shirt. It was night. It was time to change into sleeping clothes.

Yoite merely blinked, slow pulse quickening just the slightest, as Miharu jumped about the room in attempt to pull on his sleeping pants. Finally the transformation was complete and the younger boy drove onto his bed with the enthusiasm of a diver breaking the surface of a pool.

"He hasn't said anything to me yet but I would assume that we plan to make our move tonight. The timing is best." Yoite looked down to the uncomfortable uniform that Yukimi had forced him to wear. Yoite felt ridiculous no matter how many times the shop woman had told him how handsome he looked.

To an outside observer, even this close to death, Yoite was a very attractive man. The black straight cut of the school uniform flattered his thin frame and emphasized his impressive inseam. The broad shoulders of the jacket hung a bit on Yoite's narrow shoulders and he'd taken to wearing the tie as a scarf, as he'd been unsure what to do with the contraption, but still the potential was there. Still Yoite felt no comfort in these clothes even despite the comfort and security that normally accompanied conformity.

Their room at Alya was exceptionally warm and the woolen scarf that Miharu had draped around Yoite's neck was not helping. Hana had in fact knitted it but Yoite had not left the garment on for any feelings or attachments towards the woman. At first the dark haired boy had refused it but Miharu had been insistent.

Feelings. Attachments. Bonds. These were all tying threads that bound one's soul to earth when really it should have just gone on. Long after the body have given way to rot, the soul would not be forgotten through simply existing in the memories of others. In a sense, one could never really die or have had a meaningless existence as long as they were remembered in the memories of others.

Earthly ties were not something that Yoite wanted to involve himself with. It was so much easier to simply be a faceless figure moving throughout life, to do one's anointed slot in fate, and then pass on into the other world, to not be remembered or grieved over, to simply cease existence, to be erased.

Yoite glanced down at the scarf and thumbed the soft white wool between his gloved fingers. For a brief moment the wool appeared to be red thread but this was a notion that Yoite did not want to dwell on too long. What this scarf symbolized was a tying bond; a representation of his peculiar relationship with a Miharu Rokujou that meant his memory would exist in the mind of that young boy once the elder had passed. It was not something that Yoite had encouraged but their friendship had grown without Yoite really having any control in it.

Yoite stared at the white thick material for only a few moments longer before flipping the lights off. Darkness encased the room and for the first time that day, Yoite was able to relax. The night was familiar to him and not something he feared very often unless it brought with it painful memories.

"What are you thinking about?" Miharu's voice was the softest whisper, carrying across the light rays that peeked into their room by the observing stars. Even in this blackness their light was subdued, subdued but not obliterated.

"How it will feel when you erase me." He answered back truthfully, noting the slightest hitch in his companion's breath.

"I made you a promise." Was said after a few moments of silence.

"I made you one as well. I will do all in my power to see that you are the Nabari king." Yoite responded automatically.

The sounds of shuffling covers was heard and Yoite's eyes trailed up towards the ceiling, observing its odd molding pattern. Suddenly the bed gave way under an addition weight and Yoite startled, eyes wide as Miharu climbed under the covers with the older boy. Instantly, like a cat, Yoite's back went up and he backed away as far as he could in the swimming depth of the small twin bed.

"M-Miharu…" Yoite trailed off, eyes darting from the boy's twinkling green eyes to his calm smile. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to talk more." Cold feet found their way to Yoite's leg and the boy's lips fell open. "You're still in your school clothes?"

"I have no others to change into." The dark haired boy concentrated on calming his beating heart and Miharu let out a soft hum of understanding besides him. How strange. How strange that this boy, one that Yoite held the capability of killing his dearest friends, would act as if they'd been companions since early childhood.

"You didn't bring any along?"

"I was never given any." A shinobi does not need unnecessary luxuries.

"Yukimi didn't…" Miharu trailed off and Yoite shifted uneasily. The space beneath the covers was starting to heat up and the calmly whimsical hum of the air conditioning blew softly like peels of laughter from the ceiling.

"The faster you can erase me the better." Yoite closed his eyes and turned over so that his back was to his companion. "I have no need to unnecessary trifles in life."

"Not even one thing?" The younger's voice was stilled hushed, heart beating slowly and rhythmically in his chest, "That must get lonely."

Yoite continued to stare at the blank wall in front of him and kept silent. Miharu sunk a glance at the other and blinked when he saw that the older boy would not turn to face him. Miharu let out a great sigh before stretching his arms behind his head and kicking his feet out to get comfortable. Yoite's eyes flashed, body stilling at the sudden movement of Miharu getting comfy, and inevitably taking up more space on the bed. The young boy's feet were nearly touching Yoite's knee now and he kept his legs still in worry that any movement would cause them to accidentally brush.

A long silence grew between them but it was not an unpleasant one. Yoite could hear everything from the muffled voices of Raiko and Yukimi in the other room to the slow inhales and exhales of breath coming from Miharu. The latter's heart had slowed down now in preparation for sleep as his emerald eyes stared at the stars peeking through the window.

"At home, with my grandma, I have this cat named Shiratama. She's not a very good cat. She doesn't listen to half the things I tell her and she's always being lazy by lying around in the sun all day." Miharu began, smiling gracing his lips. Yoite turned his head slightly as to hear the other better, interest slightly piqued.

"I got her when I was very young so she must be very old for a cat by now. How do cat years convert to human years? Dog years are seven but I'm not sure if it's the same for cats. I'd always wanted a dog but Grandma said that they eat too much and require much more care than a cat. I don't really bother my grandmother with things, you see, the mere fact that I was asking, that I was showing interest, it meant a lot to me. I was always like that, apathetic and unfeeling, right before I met…" Miharu cut off, eyes widening slightly. There was no look of pain or regret over his face, just a look that resembled more surprise than anything.

"Before I met Kumohira-sensei and Aizawa and Raimei." The boy stretched a hand out towards the ceiling and grasped the air uselessly.

"I'll go back to all of that once this over." The words were sad, meant to reassure the speaker more than make a strong statement, "I'll go back to my normal life and live with my grandma. I'll go back to school with Aizawa and Raimei. I like it here too though. I like Yukimi and the others. We'll have to go back to my grandma's restaurant and I'll make you this really great chanpuru. I'll go back to Banten."

"I will be erased by then." Yoite said gently as a reminder.

Again Miharu's breathing fluctuated slightly and it did not go unnoticed by Yoite this time. He could sense the confliction in the boy and he pondered briefly with the idea that Miharu may not be able to keep up his end of the promise.

"You will erase me at that time. I will finally be gone from this world." Tattered gloves clutching the sheets.

"Why?" Miharu swallowed and asked thickly, "Why Yoite? What is your reason for wanting to be erased?"

The boy threw back the covers and sat up to stare down at the older boy lying beside him. Yoite, not being one to appear smaller than anyone in the situation, sat up as well towering over Miharu in his upright-seated position. Fire emerald eyes searched the other's face, mouth pulled slightly into a desperate grimace.

"Why?" Miharu repeated once more as he reached out his hand towards the dark haired boy's face. Tender pale fingers weaved through silken raven locks and cupped a pale face. Ice blue eyes, normally glazed with a look of disinterest, were now locked with green ones that sang of an unsaid emotion.

"What could have possibly happened to you that you'd hate living so much?" Tears now, perfectly clear crystals, were threatening to spill out from those emerald eyes and Yoite found himself catching one ever so gently with his gloved finger.

"My reasons are my own. Do not cry over someone whose existence will soon be gone from this world. I am not someone worth crying over." Miharu brought his hands over Yoite's and held it to his face.

"You are. You are worth crying over. You're Yoite. Yoite is a person worth crying over. There are no people who are not worthy of being cried over." Soft pink lips spoke these words and Yoite found his eyes trained on them.

"Miharu." The elder tried to pull away but the younger's grip held firm.

Their relationship was not definable by any standards that society used. A basis of a codependent relationship surrounding blackmail only to then bridge the gap into what some could define as friendship but there was a third layer to their bond as well. One that both boy was only slightly aware of from time to time but never dwelled long on. Others had begun to notice the abnormal amount of time the two spent together, while in private their backgrounds gave them a similarity. They were slightly varied mirror versions of each other. Another me.

At the mention of his name, his name being formed so bitter sweetly by those lips, the younger found his face moving towards the others. Whether it was by his own will or that he was being pulled closer remains a mystery, but soon the two were only centimeters apart. A locked gaze confirmed that the feelings were mutual and both parties wanted this just as much as the other.

This was not homosexual, heterosexual, or even bisexual. Societies codes and terminology could not even begin to describe what an utterly beautiful and complex relationship these two shared.

Miharu exhaled shakily as his lips chastely met Yoite's. The older boy's shoulders were stiff from nervousness, waiting to be pushed away and yelled at, but that moment never came. Yoite opened his eyes and gazed as Miharu's flushed pink face, his eyes closed delicately, and how his eyelashes fanned across his cheeks. Yoite was half aware that it was he who initiated the kiss and so it was only fit that he took charge.

Slowly a shaking hand was brought to cradle the base of the younger's neck and then Miharu was sliding his arms around Yoite's neck. The younger boy pulled himself upwards so that he was now level with the taller boy and sighed softly. Instinctively Yoite locked his other arm around the younger's slim waist and now the two were intertwined.

They remained like this for almost half an hour, just enjoying the warmth of each other's body and still not quite believing that this was not fantasy. At last it was Miharu who shyly peeked his tongue against Yoite's lips and then it was as if a switch had been set off in the older boy. He opened his mouth and met his own tongue to the younger's tongue. They laved at each other's mouths in a gentle slow manner that bordered more sweet than passionate. Miharu found that the grip around his waist tightened and he gasped softly against the older boy's lips.

This entire experience was both liberating and frightening for Yoite. His body was reacting in a manner that he did not know was possible for someone like him and his condition. Biologically he appeared male but that was not entirely true. While he had no breasts to speak of, there was the slightest opening between his sack and opening. It was so small that one would not notice it unless truly investigating around down there but it was enough to force Yoite into an asexual state. He was male. He had a boy's name, he looked like a boy, and he sounded like a boy. The extra extremity down there would never bear fruit. Never before had he been attracted to a particular sex though, not until now.

"Yoite." Miharu's eyes fluttered open. There was a depth to them that had Yoite tipping the smaller boy backwards onto the bed. He loomed overhead, arms braced on either side of the younger's head, legs straddling his sides, head hung low as they remained joined at the lips.

"Miharu." Yoite returned, stroking a hand up the boy's side. The smaller boy let out a gasp as his body arched upwards off the bed, a storm of emotions swirling pleasantly within his stomach.

"Yoite." Miharu's voice contained a tinge of pain and Yoite glanced downwards. The boy's face was bright red in embarrassment at his pleaful omission and Yoite realized that the boy was hard. The evidence was the slightest tent to his sleeping pants and Yoite's heart gave a strange lurch.

"Hmm." Miharu squirmed beneath the examination and his thigh grazed up against Yoite's pants. The older boy gasped, eyes widening, as his own arousal had become evident.

"H-how?" Yoite looked down in wonderment. This had never happened before, ever.

"Yoite… I…" Miharu looked away in shame but Yoite was pressing a soft kiss to his eyelids.

"Let me. Let me do this for you." And with a sudden burst of confidence, Yoite was slipping his hand down the front of the younger's pants.

"Y-Yoite!" Miharu gasped, fingers digging into the boy's shoulders. "Oh!"

The sensation was otherworldly. The roughness of Yoite's glove wrapped around his member to the intoxicating smell of Yoite's natural scent. It was enough to make Miharu's head spin and all he could do was call out weakly to voice his pleasure.

Yoite started at the head, thumbing the slit softly in a circular pattern that had Miharu's toes curling. His hooded eyes trailed up the frame of the boy beneath him and leaned down to press a kiss to the boy's gasping mouth. Like fire, Miharu returned the kiss as their tongues met wetly and they alternated nibbling softly on the other's bottom lip. Sweat had begun to gather on Yoite's brow and he hastily yanked off his woolen scarf and tossed it to the floor.

While his own desire was calling out for attention, this was a new experience and Yoite wanted Miharu to come first. He wanted some reassurance that Miharu truly wanted this as Yoite did and that he could bring the other pleasure and happiness.

His hand dragged downwards, down the tiny organ with a light grazing that sent explosive shivers through Miharu's body only to then apply more pressure as it dragged back up. Pearls of pleasure had begin to leak from Miharu's member and made the slid easily with each stroke. Alternating pressure coupled with deeper kisses provided enough to have Miharu in a fit of almost desperate need.

"Yoite!" Miharu panted, cheeks flushed, "Yoite please. Please."

"Hmm?" Yoite leaned his sweaty forehead down and rested it on Miharu's. He watched the younger struggle to control his breathing but the continuous stimulation from Yoite's hand was not aiding in the fact.

The older boy dragged his hand downwards once more, shifting his weight to lean on his forearm, as he pressed another kiss to the boy's slick neck. Miharu's eyes were glazed now, his chest rising and falling in anticipation, and he moaned softly with each chaste kiss to his neck.

This was not a fast and furious act of passion but rather the slow and caring pace of lovemaking, although the two had yet to get that far. It was during this moment that Miharu's inner feelings became clear to himself. He could not erase Yoite. He could not erase this boy, this wounded yet beautiful boy. This boy who had sworn to protect Miharu from any harm that could befall him. This boy who was another Miharu.

Spider-like fingers trailed further, past the base of the shaft, past his sack, and rubbed curiously over the opening that was found there. Miharu's body arched upwards in a start, his mouth opening in a ragged gasp, as he clutched weakly at Yoite's frame.

"Y-Yoite!" Miharu choked out and then he was coming.

In an explosion of white, that sticky fluid, proof of their attraction to each other, was shooting out between them. It coated the insides of Miharu's sleeping pants. It coated the rough texture of Yoite's glove. It oozed downwards and even coated the upper portion of Miharu's thighs.

"Ah! Ah!" Miharu panted, eyes closed, head ducked against Yoite's neck, as he came down and finished in soft waves. At last he was spent and he flopped backwards, struggling to regain his breath as he watched Yoite with those emerald eyes.

Yoite sat there frozen. Eyes wide as he stared from Miharu's expression to his glove and the evidence there.

"Come here, Yoite." Miharu called softly and the older boy was pulled down along side the younger. Yoite could feel the sweat seeping through Miharu's sleeping top.

"I-… I'm sorry." Yoite flushed but Miharu was steadily stroking the older boy's face.

"Don't say that. There's no reason to say that." Miharu whispered before offering the other a smile.

"Alright." Yoite lied down fully and stared at the other boy in wonder. Wonderment that this Miharu Rokujou had stirred up such dormant feelings within him.

"Are you…?" Miharu's eyes trailed downwards but Yoite shook his head.

"Not tonight."

Miharu simply nodded. Then the two remained silent for the rest of the night, gazing at the stars peeking through the window, listening to the soft voices of the air conditioning, and feeling each other heartbeats. Then the darkness came once more and wrapped them both in a blanket of sleep.

Their arms remained thrown across each other in a loose hug until Yoite woke once again, all too alert of the lurking danger that awaited them at Alya Academy.