Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies.
A/N: Inspired by a certain scene in the TVB drama, The Last Breakthrough. Happy holidays, everyone!
NOTES: Future fic. Light d/s. Dom!Akuto. Sub!Yanagi. Logical romance. Psychological conditioning. Doctor!Yanagi. Medical jargon. Yanagi POV.
For the person who whips me into shape, who hurts me to love me.
[BGM: Gackt - "Ghost"]
Iron Mercy
He came home to a warmly lit condominium. The arboraceous fragrance of roasted wood and the gurgling of rivulets descending to form individual bodies of water gave him the impression that he had stepped into a nature scene instead.
Renji hung up his coat, pulled off his shoes and slipped into slippers before strolling into the living room.
"Akuto-niisan." He greeted.
"You're back." The other nodded. His companion sat on the edge of the microfiber couch, a porcelain tea set displayed before him on the low table. "Come join me."
Renji carefully dissected his words, assessed his tone before concluding that the other had made a mere suggestion. He chose to plant his black briefcase on the carpet next to his feet when he sat down beside his companion.
Akuto pushed a cup of tea in his direction.
Renji picked it up gazing at the dark liquid amber that resembled the color of his own eyes. He sipped. Contrary to the tea's strong roasted aroma, it tasted mellow, delicate, leaving a trail of lasting silkiness down his throat.
After quenching his thirst, his mouth opened naturally to recount his day.
"A woman arrived at the hospital in active labor today." He began, and the focus that had once upon a time been placed on brewing a cup of perfection shifted to him.
Renji persevered in his usual calm voice revealing nothing of his anticipation and anxiety. Although, he knew the other silently saw through his facade the same way he sees through the transparency of his myopia correctional lens. He always did.
"When the nurses changed her into the hospital gown, they found a packet taped to her back. She was transporting illegal drugs.
"Eventually, the police tracked her activity to the hospital and demanded to search and arrest her."
When Renji glanced over to his companion, who encouraged him to continue. Though, Renji knew the other was really waiting patiently for him to reveal his expected outcome. To confirm that he was right. Again.
"She pleaded to me not to turn her in. That she had wanted to raise more money so she could support herself and her newborn as a single she had planned the occasion to be her final trade, the last time she would be involved in illegal business.
"In the end, after delivering her child, I disposed of the evidence against her in the lavatory, rendering the investigation fruitless."
He finished the narrative. He finished his cup of tea.
"Did you know, the tea that we're enjoying now is called the Iron Goddess of Mercy? It's quite fitting for a tea as balanced as this."
Usually his followup comments and statements such as this seemed irrelevant to what he encounters and recounts. But, Renji understood the other's tendency to speak in riddles and ambiguities as a method to encourage deep thought. He wanted to guide him, and yet, he wanted for him to reach to his own conclusions.
"Tell me, as life proceeds, will it make you as cold and calloused as iron or as soft and gentle as the goddess of mercy (1)? Or will you become like the tea that bears the balance of two opposites?"
Before Renji could answer, Akuto packed the teaware back on the bamboo serving tray and rose from his seat. "Give it some thought. Go bathe. Be sure to make thorough preparations. I will be waiting for you in the room."
...
The room that Akuto referred to occupied the corner of the three bedroom condominium, on the other side of the living room, opposite to their individual bedrooms. In the average household, the extra room would have been made into a guest room. Yet, in their residence, the solitary room never opened its locked door to outsiders.
Renji thought, perhaps everyone, even the extreme extrovert, had a locked room in his mind, his heart that he kept off-limits.
He stepped inside. He could feel his pupils dilate, adjusting to the room's dimness. The only lit area was the middle of the room, where a sturdy rope hung from the ceiling.
Renji approached the light source, approached the other who stood out among the shadows and silhouettes of their surroundings.
Wordlessly, the other moved to undo his obi, then slide off his yukata. He wore nothing underneath.
Now, in the privacy of their residence, Yanagi Renji stood, exposed to Mitsuya Akuto's scrutiny.
He remembered back to the initial rituals, where he had been uncomfortable to present himself to the other in his current bareness. His body naked. Vulnerable. That locked room in his heart, his mind opened. Exhibited.
Renji knew it was the other's way of conditioning him, so his heart, his mind would be as naked, exposed, vulnerable as his body. That he, in his entirety, was under the other's mercy.
"It begins." He said.
"Yes, master." Renji answered automatically.
"I'm going to tie you up now. But before that, I need to establish a safe word with you." He asked him in the same tone he used when he asked him about life. "So, what is your safe word?"
He paused. Then responded. "Mercy."
"That is your answer, is it?" Akuto ordered him to raise his arms over his head then. Grabbing the rope that was suspended from the ceiling, he circled his wrist two times before knotting it. Afterwards, he tested the tightness and other's comfort with the width of two fingers.
"I must say, Renji, I am rather disappointed in you today. It may be true that what you have done is a good deed in your standards. But because you have failed to consider the possible grave consequences of your actions, you will be penalized."
"Yes, master."
"Understand that you are at fault for disregarding your safety, for voluntarily putting yourself in danger. You would have been seen as the partner in crime if the investigators found proof of your doings. You would have ended up serving time in jail. Are you aware of the impact of that on your life and career?" The edge of the other's voice forecasted turbulence.
He hung his head. "Yes, master."
"It seems you are aware of your transgression. Very well. The punishment of your actions shall still be enforced. However, for your honesty, you will be awarded." Akuto gestured to the table in front of them. "There are several punishment devices before you. You may make your selection."
Eying the devices, big and small, familiar and unfamiliar, he made his choice.
"I request the black leather crop, master."
Akuto picked up the object pulling and bending several times to test its durability and flexibility.
"I shall deliver thirty lashes." The other announced.
Tight leather caressed his skin roughly. Renji accepted through furrowed brows and clenched teeth. The initial pain that sprouted from his skin melted away to strips of heat. The heat warmed him up to the December chill that managed to seep through closed windows and doors and into their home.
With every hard stroke, the other reprimanded him.
"You need to understand that nothing is more important than your safety, your life."
Lash.
"You need to learn not to trust people too easily."
Lash.
"Don't be too benevolent."
Lash.
"Don't let your guard down."
Lash.
When the other delivered the final whip, a cry almost broke free from his bitten lips.
"And if you are going to go against what I have taught you, if you're going to disobey, then do so leaving no evidence. Be discreet." Akuto whispered to him as he leaned against his sweat-drenched body.
...
Afterwards, Akuto untied him, letting him down gently on the carpeted floor.
"Does it hurt?" His voice matched the December weather, but his words as warm as March.
Renji shook his head.
The older man picked up his hands and examined his wrists with the care he reserves for the stock quotes he peruses in the morning paper.
Renji watched as the other carefully massaged his arms the same way he attempted to rub his words into his mind, into his memory.
The other, as his companion, partner, mentor, dom rarely pampered him or praised him. His methods were strict, and his words cold and at times biting and merciless.
But Renji knows he is cared for in the gentleness and consideration in the other's actions.
He brings out the best of him. He brings out the worst of him.
He was like iron. Yet, he was also like the goddess of mercy.
Akuto pulled his yukata over his shoulders, covering his nudity and the lessons he branded on his skin beneath.
Then, he gazed at him with affection and offered his lips as ointment to sooth his own bloodied lips.
END NOTES:
(1) Kannon (or Guan Yin, Avalokitesvara) is the goddess of mercy in Buddhism.
The title of this fic is inspired by (wait for it) a certain type of roasted oolong tea.