Like a complete dummy, I forgot adding any sort of disclaimer to the first part…even the usual "it's my first fanfic, please be gentle."
Anyway, Kaito belongs to Crypton Future Media, Gakupo to Internet Co., story and art to me.
Thanks to L-est for beta duties.
Also, if you want to see my illustrations for this, check out narumo at deviantart
II
Silence stretched for a few seconds. Somewhere behind Kaito, insects buzzed happily around the flowers in the garden, and a bird chirped. The hair ornaments on each side of the young man's brows clinked softly, as he tilted his head.
"This is a bit uncomfortable," he said, almost apologetically. "The chains are hurting my arms." His voice was low and slightly hoarse, as if he was about to come down with a sore throat. And yet there was certain sweetness to his tones, a hidden laugh somewhere.
Kaito relaxed his hold slightly, still keeping the knife close to the boy's neck. "Is there anyone else around here?" he asked.
"Just me" Kaito carefully gauged the boy's expression. He seemed sincere enough.
At Kaito's prompting, the boy started walking towards the house; with the bandit behind him keeping one of his hands resting on the boy's left shoulder and the other aiming the knife at his back.
"You can take anything you want. I wouldn't stop you even if I could." The boy said calmly as they made their way along the garden path surrounded by fragrant bushes. Kaito made no reply.
They reached a side door, and stepped into the coolness of a small kitchen, with colorful painted tiles and a fire cracking in a corner inside a small furnace. In the wall opposing the door, an opening lead into what appeared to be a bigger living area.
The house was even fancier on the inside, which Kaito quickly discovered. It had indoor plumbing, something only the richest merchants and the aristocracy of the city-estates enjoyed, including a bathtub that –as Kaito noted to himself with a smirk- could easily accommodate two people. The walls had painted frescoes with landscapes of the different zones of Eto, and although the furniture wasn't overly abundant, it was lacquered and painted with gold. Kaito made the young man show him each room in turn, until he was satisfied there was no one else in the property.
The last room they visited was the master's bedroom, with the expected large bed dominating a room of marble and fine dark wood. There were statues in the corners, and a couple of large trunks that Kaito couldn't wait to riffle through. It seemed almost too intimidating a room to actually use, and in fact it was so neat it didn't look as if it was being lived in at all.
"You sleep here?" Kaito stole a glance to the boy, who stood at the door quietly. His face was remote and unexpressive, like a festival mask.
"No" he whispered. "Not when he's away."
Kaito felt a sudden rush of pity for the boy, almost surprising for its intensity. He sheathed the knife and fished a lock pick from one of his inside pockets.
"You know, that sound you make when you walk is driving me insane. Is there a place less stuffy we can sit in while I take those chains off?"
The young man turned to look at him wide eyed, the beginnings of a hopeful expression showing in his face.
The music room was a long rectangular space opened in one side, with the wall replaced by mats of straw that could be rolled up to reveal a view of the garden. On one end, there was a raised platform that served as a small stage, with a princely chair placed before it. Kaito instantly imagined the boy dancing in the stage for Yu's enjoyment, with his long hair whipping around him. He shook his head, and made the boy sit on the chair, while he sat on the stage. He took one of the boy's feet on his lap, and studied the manacle. At least Yu had them loose enough not to hurt the young man's skin too much.
"My name's Kaito. What's yours?" He started casually.
"Gakupo Kamui." The young man looked with interest as Kaito worked the lock.
"Kamui...like the theater actor?" Kaito raised his eyes in surprise, and Gakupo nodded.
"You have seen him perform?" Gakupo asked innocently.
"What? No, that's far outside of my price range." Not to mention, Bou's guards had a bone or two to pick with him. "But by reputation alone, that's the first man one should think when hearing your name. He's your old man?"
"He adopted me."
Gakuto Kamui was the biggest theater actor in Bou. Even if the most of the performances were done in front of the most influential people in Eto, his skill was renowned far and wide, and the very few performances he did in front of the common people were almost legendary. Even Mio and Mine, one of her nieces, had a collection of woodprints celebrating Gakuto's most famous roles. How could Yu get his hands on the son of such an important person?
"My father tried to get me exempted from the draft, but his main sponsor died in one of the attacks, and his successor made sure every family sent at least one man to the barracks. I was captured in the very first battle I took part in." Probably sensing his puzzlement, Gakupo explained in a sedate tone, again wearing a closed off expression on his face.
With a satisfying click, the manacle around Gakupo's ankle fell open. Kaito rubbed the tender skin lightly and set off to work on the other one, considering what Gakupo had just told him. Bou was probably about to fall, if they were pulling unprepared boys from wealthy artist families to defend the walls. There were clearly defined roles in the upper echelons of the society of Eto, and in a normal situation only the military class and the populace would be required to serve in defense of the city-estate. And to staff the common soldiers with middle and upper class citizens was almost unbelievable.
"That's rotten luck," Kaito understated." Here we go." The other manacle fell as well, and Kaito threw the chain into a corner of a room with a whoop, prompting the shadow of a smile to pass through Gakupo's face.
"Now for the hands," Kaito took one of Gakupo's hands, inwardly admiring the softness of the skin. His own hands had their share of scars and calluses born out or years of rough treatment, but Kaito didn't particularly mind.
"You are very skilled at opening locks," Gakupo said politely.
"Nah, I'm not even the best of my band at this." There was no safe or lock that could resist little Mine, and she was well on her way to become a master of the craft before Yu's attack. Kaito was facing downwards, still working on the lock, and allowed himself to cringe at the memory of Mine's smile as they practiced lock picking together back in the old hideout.
"Still, you are very quick," Gakupo observed as the manacle opened, and Kaito rubbed his wrist.
"I try," Kaito said modestly, already at work with the other wrist.
"Could you take me with you, when you leave?" Gakupo inquired, rather abruptly. "If you want a reward, I'm sure my father..."
"Bou is under attack at the moment. I wouldn't' go anywhere near it right now." Gakupo's face fell and Kaito hastily added, "But of course I'll take you along. We'll just have to hang low in the coast for a while until they force Yu back to Koume, and then I'll take back to your dad." He was rewarded with a real smile this time, unguarded and thoroughly adorable.
If they force Yu back, Kaito thought to himself. If Bou fell, there was no guarantee Gakuto wouldn't be killed, or slaved. Yu might even want both the father and the son to play with. Yet he kept all those thoughts to himself.
The manacle of Gakupo's right hand opened, and he stretched his arms with a pleased expression. Kaito leaned forward, placing a hand on Gakupo's chest.
"Keep your head up," He instructed, looking at the collar around the boy's slender neck. Gakupo tilted his head upwards, and closed his eyes patiently. Kaito felt a sudden urge to run a finger along Gakupo's jaw. The way his soft hair was tickling his hands wasn't adding to his concentration either. Kaito paused, trying to drive the unexpected impulses out from his head.
"This one looks a bit harder. Don't worry if I take longer, I'll get it undone" If I manage to keep myself focused, Kaito didn't add. He pushed Gakupo's long strands of hair out of the way and tried to ignore the very pretty boy inside of the collar.
"I was just about to start cooking dinner before you came," Gakupo said, oblivious to the effect he was having on the bandit. "Are we staying here tonight?"
"Hm...? Ah, yes, it's too late in the day to set out now. We'll leave tomorrow morning, so prepare some rations and pack anything you'd like to take after dinner."
"...I don't need anything of his."
"You'll need at least a couple of robes until we get to a place we can buy something less flashy. And I intend to sell all the fancy jewelry you are wearing, and anything else I can easily carry, if you don't mind."
"Do that. I don't want to see any of these things ever again." Gakupo's voice was stony. At that moment, the collar surrendered his hold on the young man's neck. Gakupo jumped out of the chair, letting the chain fall to the floor with a loud noise, and went through a series of moves that probably were part of some ceremonial dance. Kaito looked on, amazed at the fluidity of his movements, wondering in some corner of his mind if Gakuto's performances were anything like this. If that was the case, it was no wonder people flocked to his theater every week.
Gakupo stopped in the middle of an elaborate bow, and smiled sheepishly. "It's been so long I been completely unchained, I just wanted to try... Sorry." He pulled the upper portion of his robes up and wrapped himself properly in them, somewhat self-consciously.
"Hey, don't apologize. Moneybags all over Eto pay to see that, and I get to watch some of it for free." Gakupo chuckled lightly at this.
Though admittedly he had but a short criminal career –he was in his twenties, after all- Kaito had never faced a situation quite like this. None of his victims (merchant caravans, mostly) had ever sat him down at a fancy dinning table and fed him a delicious dinner, certainly. Despite his protests, Gakupo had insisted on doing all the preparations on his own, and hadn't sat by his side until everything was on the table, steaming and gleaming, and making Kaito wish more raids ended up as dinner dates.
By the time they were done eating, Kaito was smiling from ear to ear, for the first time in months. He set out with Gakupo to find the best things to loot, and he merrily trashed everything else, toppling over the statues and dropping the drawers of every piece of furniture to the floor, spilling their contents. Gakupo watched with discrete elation, and even stomped on a couple of things. He readily agreed to burn the house down the next morning, but wanted to spare the garden and orchard, if possible. Kaito suspected the greenery had been much more comforting to the boy that any of the finery Yu had surrounded him with.
When they were done, they piled a bunch of rugs, pillows and blankets in the music room, and laid down side-by-side speaking of what they would do the next day until sleep claimed them. All in all, it was the perfect end to cap the day.
Later that night, Kaito was lying facing the row of mats that served as a wall, stopping the night's chill from entering the room. He knew them to be closed, and yet now as he laid dreaming, one of them was partly rolled up, and he could glimpse a wavering silvery flame moving among the shadowed plants in the garden. It parted into a scattering of twinkling, fluttering lights around a dancing figure. The opalescent lights reflected on the figure's body, like sunrays traveling under the surface of a clear pool of water. Kaito suddenly felt weightless, as if floating, even as he knew himself heavy and immobilized by sleep. He felt a desperate need to reach out and take the figure in his arms, but his arms and legs failed to respond. The rhythm of the dance seemed to be punctuated by the throbbing of his head as he struggled with the cage of his own body. He longed to cry out, to call the figure to his side, but his throat was closed and useless. The figure continued its dance, slipping gently into the shadows, and Kaito fell deeper into sleep, sluggish and incoherent images dissolving slowly in his mind.
By the time he awoke, the next day, Gakupo was already up, making breakfast in the kitchen, and Kaito pushed aside the dream without a second thought.