fic: Rings

[bonnefois]

Title: Rings.
Series: Death Mark
Character/pairing: Yashiki/Mashita
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Mashita goes over The Departed case, and comes to a conclusion.
Word count: 2161
Author's note:

Post Death Mark 2, and contains spoilers for that.



He'd been chainsmoking again, which meant that something wasn't going well. the entire ashtray was full, to the point where the glass had lost its sheen in all the ashes.

Yashiki never kept ash trays before Mashita. Now, there was practically one in every room.

"You're up late," Mashita said, as Yashiki came into the room. In the Kujou mansion, at night the lighting grew almost eerie. Though, Mashita never minded it.

"You are as well," Yashiki said.

"I was just taking stock of what happened with The Departed case," Mashita said.

If anything, the memories would certainly make a person reach for something. A cigarette, a drink, a prayer. Anything for comfort, even if for a moment.

Yashiki took a seat at the kitchen table. Papers were strewn about. Red pen mentioned something about the Prime Minister. Frankly, Yashiki wasn't sure how these things connected.

Yashiki looked back to his partner--both in work, and love.

"And I came to the realization that I leave for a few days on a case, and yet another spirit falls head over heels for you, as well as a bunch of students."

Yashiki sighed. "Don't remind me."

"This is the third female spirit in months that tried to know you carnally. This is getting to be a problem."

Before that, it'd been Mary with her twisted obsession with him that had devoured his memories, and almost taken his life, too, with a death curse and monsters unleashed. Then, he'd nearly gotten killed in the Masquerade case. A fact that Mashita often reminded him when he was being too reckless.

And then, The Departed had courted him in the most grotesque way possible. Despite his best efforts, the Departed had left a body count, and he'd nearly joined it.

"I'm working on it."

Mashita rolled his eyes. "Tch. 'Working on it.' Working on breaking up with your next ghost girlfriend is more like it."

And Mashita had a point, as always. The amount of spirits courting him in increasingly disturbing ways was mounting.

"Talismans won't work on this shit. But you know what will? A ring."

Yashiki furrowed his brow.

"As in, a wedding ring?"

"Tch, obviously."

"You want me to wear a wedding ring and pretend to be married?" Yashiki said.

Mashita took in a deep drag of his cigarette before he answered.

"No, I want you to marry me."

As ever, Mashita barreled into the subject, blunt and without any forewarning. They'd started dating after the Masquerade case, and things had been going well. Except, it was Japan in the 90s. Gay marriage was not legal. Yashiki didn't even have to say it. Mashita held up his hand.

"I know, I know. I'll go to the Prime Minister, the Diet itself. I'll get them to change the law."

"Leave the gun at home, please," Yashiki said.

"You think I'd hold them all hostage? Come on. You know me better than that."

"I'll tell them the fate of H City--no, all of Japan--is at risk. Because you're just too fuckable to ghosts. Apparently all of them in a ten mile radius come running to you like you emit pheromones which only attract ghosts. Everyone else goes 'who the fuck is this weird old guy? whereas ghosts want to fuck you, marry you, and then eat you."

"Everyone, Mashita?"

Mashita rolled his eyes. "That's not the damn point, Yashiki. Obviously I went from 'who the fuck is this weird old guy' to 'I need to know this old man carnally immediately.' You already know that."

This elicited a chuckle from Yashiki.

"And you think me wearing a wedding ring will stop them, when they ignored all my protests otherwise?"

"Next time they call you 'husband,' you can say 'I already have a husband."

"That'd probably just enrage them more," Yashiki said.

"You think they're homophobes? Damn. Not only are they brutally killing people, they hate gays too."

"They're hungry ghosts. They hate everyone."

"If that doesn't work, there's always a gun to the face. That's worked on a couple ghosts. Maybe one day we can find some relic to give us magic bullets."

"They're hungry ghosts, not werewolves," Yashiki said. "Besides, you put a gun in their face and you'd be what--a paranormal cop?"

"I'm already a paranormal ex-cop," Mashita said. "It comes with the spirit hunter husband-to-be."

"Give it a thought," Mashita said. "You know I'd be dragging you to the altar if it was legal."

And Yashiki did.

His was a life already laid down with curses. He'd lost everything, even his own name, to Mary. Even if he no longer was "Masamune Kujou," the curses, and hungry ghosts still found him. Whoever he joined with would have to share that burden.

Around him was the Kujou mansion. It might as well been a mausoleum, from all the Kujou family members who had met untimely deaths here, due to Mary's curse. Once, it'd housed a corrupted, evil Doll who had almost killed him. Mashita had made his place here. And made it his goal to join with Yashiki, and fight the hungry and vengeful ghosts.

He didn't have any family left to disown him--though Saya would've accepted him regardless. She always was kind-heated like that.

The closest thing he had to family now was the Mark Bearers. That ragtag, and often nosy group. They'd even come to help him during the Departed case, and endangered themselves when they didn't need to, with no Death Mark burned upon their hands to push them forward.

Though, he didn't think any would reject him either. Though Moe would assuredly be quite loud about it, as well as Ai. Shou looked up to Mashita too much to ever be dissuaded.

Madame Yasuoka would probably claim some psychic knowledge this would happen. He smiled at the thought.

"You've got a weird look on your face. Hearing from one of your jilted ghost girlfriends, huh?" Mashita said.

"No. Just thinking."

Douryou, Kinikuwa, and Moe had become fast friends once the last of the Departed's effects had faded.
Thankfully, there were no more awkward advances to deal with. Now, they were far more interested with talking about OOPTARTs articles with Moe.

"Just thinking about how the rest of the Mark Bearers would react."

"That's your first thought? What a bunch of ragtag freaks would think? Tch, come on, Yashiki. Who cares what the fuck they think? I don't give a fuck. Just tell them you have a wife in Canada."

Yashiki chuckled. "No, it was a happy thought. I thought they'd be noisy, but if they'd follow me to death when they didn't even need to, they'd certainly not shut the door on me because I married you."

"....You know there's no thought needed. I'd marry you anytime, any place. But, it isn't legal or possible. And you might inherit the curse by wedding me, legal or not."

"Yeah, I almost died. It happens. I'm still here. Besides, fuck legality."

"Coming from a former cop?"

"Yeah, the law's dead wrong on this one. Fuck 'em. There's a reason I'm 'former' too. There's a lot of corruption in the force. Plenty of cops were willing to look the other way and take bribes. That's why I'm a private detective now."

Mashita smiled, though it came out more like a smirk.

"Besides, I already inherited curses from you tenfold. What's fucking new?"

"I suppose so," Yashiki said.

"We could do a ceremony if you want. Though, that'd probably be courting disaster. All your ghost girlfriends would line up one by one and object and try and drag you into the underworld with them."

"I'm not one for parties. Just buy some rings. It could be symbolic."

And comforting, like his sister's bag always near him, like a talisman. Even if the golden rings didn't keep the hungry ghosts away.

"No wonder, old man. You can't stay up late past your bedtime," Mashita said.

"I can't stay up late because you drag me off to bed," Yashiki said.

"If I don't, you'll pace all night because of some sob story from a hungry ghost that wants to kill you. Yet you are determined to save, instead of just shooting."

"You're all heart, old man."

"And you're the brains of the operation. So, we even each other out."

"Tell me about it. I read your notes on The Departed case. Every damn time you found a notice saying 'do not do this or an evil spirit will come out and kill you' you immediately ran into it, like you were courting death."

"It's my way of working things."

"It's a damn stupid way, and as your future husband, I have the right to say that."

Yashiki held out his hand, and Mashita took it.

"All right, all right. Next case, you come and set me straight."

"Straight is the last thing I'll set you," Mashita said.

But he took Mashita's hand, and kissed it so gently on the ring finger. In such a way that perhaps no one else had known, in a way just for Yashiki.

"I'll marry you, even if it isn't legal," Yashiki said.

"I'd go to jail for you, for this, you know."

"I'd worry about everyone else in there with you," Yashiki said.

"Tch, they hate cops, ex-or not."

"You're pretty scrappy. You'd make them fall in line before your prison term was over."

"Shou would go back to his delinquent ways and break me out before Friday," Mashita said.

"Oh, I bet they all would," Yashiki said.

Mashita chuckled.

"I just...I had the mental image of Suzu baking a file into a cake, and Eita trading his comics to try and get the prisoners onto my better side."

"Oh, they definitely would," Yashiki said.

And they drank coffee late at night. A kiss between them, a promise. Notes of a tragedy left behind. He'd had a heavy casualty number during The Departed case. He would always carry that weight with him.

He filed away the notes, the last evidence and photos from there.

"You did what you could. Now don't mope around so much. Live for the ones who died."

Mashita stubbed out his cigarette in an ash tray. "Besides, it seems like some of them were beyond saving."

Horikoshi had courted death. Ran towards it in hopes of one day seeing her beloved. Kukuta had thought himself far too strong to ever need help. Douryou and Kinukuwa had been already gone a month before he even got there.

The pain still was a dull ache he would carry, just like every other victim, just like his sister. It didn't matter if he logically couldn't do a thing to change it, like the threads of fate by cruel spirits.

But, there was joy too.

"Come on, old man. It's past your bedtime," Mashita said.

Yashiki went to bed, and set aside the world of spirits for a while.

*

The next day, the sun had barely risen. In that slant of light, he saw Mashita. A cigarette hung from his mouth.There was a bag in his hand. He tossed it on the bed.

Yashiki groggily put on his glasses. He still smelled of sweat, and hadn't even brushed his teeth yet. Mashita stood in front of the window. Even though the curtains were drawn, little slants of light framed him. His expression still seemed sour. Maybe he hadn't had his coffee yet, or maybe his face really had gotten stuck like that. (As the old adage mother's said went.)

"There you go. Two rings. Call it a talisman to keep the thirsty ghosts away from you."

"You work fast."

"I work fast, but the hungry ghosts coming for my husband work faster. If I waited, you'd have a whole harem of ghost wives fighting me for your hand in marriage."

He took Yashiki's hand, with the kind of gentleness few would believe he even had. And even a smile, a real treat. Not a smirk, a grimace, but an actual expression of happiness. Few saw that from Mashita, that was for sure.

He slipped the ring on Yashiki's finger.

"Good. It fits. I had to guess your size."

Yashiki's lips curved into a smile. "You aren't even going to wait until I shower before you propose?"

"Knowing you, you'd find another ghost in there, and two more on the way to the kitchen," Mashita said.

Mashita sat on the bed, and kissed Yashiki's cheek. New stubble covered Yashiki's jaw.

"Besides, you think I'd miss getting to go in the shower with you?"

"You spend the whole time complaining I hog all the water and you're freezing."

"You do. Still worth it."

"Now, let's go get washed up, before the inevitable fifty cases land on our doorstep."

Knowing them, it'd be a short honeymoon.