This is a fun chapter, I think. I like it anyway. Satoshi finally gets to confront Daisuke and.. ooh, look at that, we get to find out (sort of) why he hates his father so much. I won't spoil it for you, though. Enjoy!
Doreiku: XDD, it is a tempting idea, but sadly, that's not quite why he hates him. XDD, and I doubt that will happen in this fic, but there might be a nice, smutty oneshot in the future. O.o.. I don't know, I don't think I'm good with anything more than two people, though x-x, then again, I don't think I'm all that great with two people. Thanks for reviewing!
Black Ice Phoenix Wolf: XD (obeys the fluffiness) Thanks for reviewing!
Untitled: Argentine is quite fun, I just hope I'm not making him too OOC.. sadly, he won't be in this chapter, and I haven't figured out a real role for him in the fic, yet, but I assure you, sooner or later he will have one. Thanks for reviewing!
"Here, this has got to be the place," Satoshi thought, surveying the large house. He sighed to himself and hesitantly walked up to the door, knocking on it loudly. Everyone he had asked said that the boy he was looking for did indeed belong to the boy that owned this house.
The door swung open and blue eyes ran over the form on the other side. Krad looked back, quirking an eyebrow, "What do you want?"
"I wish to speak to Dark-san," the blue-haired boy informed him.
"Dark-sama isn't available right now," the blonde nearly sneered, "He's in the shower."
Satoshi quirked an eyebrow, "I can wait."
"You can also go fu-"
"Krad-kun, now what did Dark tell you about being rude to guests?" Emiko chimed in from the hallway. She joined the two boys and smiled at Satoshi, "Come on in, Dark will be out momentarily."
"Thank you," the guest nodded to her, casting a cold gaze to Krad as he passed him on his way inside.
"So what do you need to speak with my son about?" the blonde wondered as she led Satoshi into the living room.
He sat when she motioned to the couch, "So this is his mother? Odd, slave owners usually don't live with their parents. Or perhaps she's his slave as well." It wasn't totally uncommon for a slave owner to own members of their family. "I need to speak with him about a slave," he informed her.
"Oh? I don't think Dark will sell any of his, he gets rather attached to them. He even picks his favorite every year and gives them a silk ribbon. Sort of an amnesty thing, so that they can't be sold off for a whole year. Though, Krad has always gotten it every year that I can remember."
"Krad, the boy that answered the door?" Satoshi idly wondered what was so wonderful about a foul-mouthed, rude slave.
Emiko nodded, "He's Dark's favorite by far, for... several reasons." She didn't necessarily want to delve into her son's rather active sex life with a stranger.
An eyebrow raised at this, "I see..." Then, an idea hit, "Perhaps you can tell me a bit about this boy I'm here to see."
"Hm?" She tilted her head to the side, "Maybe, what does he look like?"
"He has messy red hair and red eyes, and is a bit on the short side, his name is-"
"Ooh!" she cut him off, "You mean that cute new boy? Daisuke, right?"
Satoshi blinked, caught off guard, "Yes." So Daisuke was here, no question about it.
The woman nodded excitedly, "Dark seems to have taken a liking to him as well, though it has made Krad a bit jealous."
This disturbed the blue-haired boy a bit-- Krad didn't seem the safe type to make jealous. The two remained silent until a door was heard, somewhere upstairs, opening and closing. Two boys were talking quietly, one much more quiet than the other. Emiko smiled and disappeared from sight, her voice temporarily mingling with with the deeper of the boy's voices.
"There's a boy here to see you, dear."
"Hm? What does he want?"
"Well, I think it's about..." Emiko trailed off, and Satoshi imagined she was motioning to Daisuke, who must be with Dark.
"That means Daisuke was in the shower with that pervert," the bespectacled boy thought to himself, narrowing his eyes slightly, "Who does he think he is touching Daisuke like that? The damn pig." He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. His anger had always been one of his more fearsome aspects and his streak of cruel vengeance didn't help. Daisuke, his closest and oldest friend, had been the only one to be able to fully relax him when he got angered. And now... "Now he's...now he belongs to that unworthy, low, dirty pie-"
"Satoshi?" the redhead's voice broke through his train of thought, as it always had.
Said boy looked up and red and blue melted together as their eyes met. The two stared at each other for what felt like forever to both boys before Dark spoke, breaking their concentration, "Who is this?" he murmured to Daisuke.
"My name is Satoshi Hiwatari," the guest announced, slightly annoyed at Dark, "I'm plenty capable of answering questions myself, thank you."
Dark quirked an eyebrow, "Of course you are. Alright, then, Hiwatari-kun," he said, a mocking tingle in his voice, "What brings you by?"
"Me," the redhead this time answered. It seemed the two answered questions only directed at the other. Daisuke shrunk back slightly as Dark turned his intense gaze on him, "I mean... at least I think so..."
Satoshi's icy eyes narrowed even further, "Yes, I wish to speak with Daisuke," he said firmly, "Alone."
"Hm...yeah, alright," Dark conceded, easily. He leaned down and placed a kiss on Daisuke's cheek, earning a blush from the young boy and another glare from Satoshi. "Remember what I told you, hm?" When his slave nodded his agreement, Dark waved a hand to the pair and left them to converse alone.
"How did you find me?" Daisuke wondered, looking to his old friend.
"I asked around," the slave owner told him, not saying much else but instead looking the boy up and down several times over.
"Um, Satoshi-kun? Is everything alright?" The redhead shifted slightly under his friend's gaze-- it was like he was being sized up for something.
"Are you alright?" the bluenette asked, a small frown tugging at his lips.
Daisuke blinked, "Me? I'm fine, of course." To emphasize his point, he gave a bright smile that would have been hard to fake. Besides, the Daisuke he knew would have never lied to him.
The only question was if this was truly the Daisuke he knew or not. He nodded slightly, "Dai-chan, I want you to come back with me."
"Come...back with you?"
"Yes, to my home. I want you to stay with me." Satoshi's frown deepened when his young friend hesitated, "I miss you."
"I know, I miss you, too," the redhead whispered, shaking his head, "But, Dark-sama-"
"He means more to you now?" the cool-toned boy asked.
"That's not it," Daisuke said quickly-- the last thing he wanted was for Satoshi to think he didn't matter.
"Then what?"
"I...just now, today, Dark-sama..." The fiery boy bit his lip, trailing off and looking away.
This angered the beast inside the elder boy, "What did he do to you? Daisuke? Answer me." When the messy red locks of hair shook a negative, Satoshi stood from his seat and strode over to his friend, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Satoshi, stop," Daisuke whispered, wincing as the grip on his shoulders tightened.
"Tell me what he did to you," Satoshi repeated, both anger and fear lacing his voice.
"He didn't do anything," the tanned boy insisted, "He just... told me something..."
"What?"
"It's..." Daisuke frowned, "It's not really any of your business..." He knew then that he and Satoshi had grown way too far apart over the years.
"Daisuke," Satoshi sighed, running a hand through the messy red hair, "I don't care what he's told you or how he's threatened you..."
"He hasn't threatened me!" Daisuke interrupted, not quite yelling, but more of a desperate whine to make his old friend understand.
"I want you to come back with me," he continued, looking back down to the smaller boy.
"I can't," the red-eyed boy frowned.
"What did he tell you?" Daisuke looked up to see his friend's intense stare burrowing into him. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and recalled the events that took place not an hour ago.
Flashback
"I wonder if this bath is going to be like last time," Daisuke thought as he made his way toward the bathroom. He recalled his previous meeting with his master in the bathroom, and while it had been a pleasant one, it had also been uncomfortable. Something also reminded Daisuke that he had neither seen nor spoken to Dark much between that incident and this one.
As he entered the bathroom, he found that billows of steam were already rising from the tub, making the air very humid and dense. It was so thick he could barely see, and wondered how cold it had to have been in there previously for this much steam to come from simple hot water.
"Close the door, you're letting all the heat out," Dark ordered, already having stripped and submerged himself in the blistering water. Daisuke obeyed and shut the door, slowly sliding his shirt off and dropping it on the floor. As Dark watched him, he chuckled softly, "What's the hesitation?" he wondered, "It's not like this is the first time we've bathed together."
"I know," Daisuke murmured.
"So what's the problem?"
Daisuke just shook his head and stripped down, slipping into the hot water. Memories from the previous incident in the bathroom rushed through his head and a blush came to his cheeks. Even though he acted embarrassed about it, in truth, he had enjoyed the closeness. It was the same closeness that he had felt with Satoshi so long ago.
Dark chuckled again and moved closer to the young boy, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into his lap, "Well, if you say so," he muttered, licking his cheek.
"Dark-sama..." Daisuke gasped as a hand found its way up his thigh.
"Will you tell me to stop?" the purple-haired teen wondered as his fingers inched closer to the sensitive skin of his member.
"Nn," the slave groaned as nimble fingers closed in around his shaft. In the reality of the situation, Daisuke had no right to tell Dark to stop, nor did he really want to. A little voice in the back of his head was begging him to ask, though, "Dark-sama?"
The fingernails were paused from digging in as violet orbs flickered to the younger boy, "Hm?"
"Is...is this the only reason you're close to me? Because you like...doing this to me?"
Dark blinked and tilted his head, "Why do you ask?"
Daisuke blushed and broke the eye contact, grateful that since the water had stopped running, the room was cooling off just a bit, "Well... I was just wondering, really," he confessed, "It doesn't seem like you keep me around for any other reason."
"You know, slave owners usually only keep slaves for this reason."
"I know." And he did, quite well. His previous master wasn't quite as noble as he wished to believe Dark was.
"So why would you think I was different?"
"You...seemed different than the rest," he managed to get out, though his head was bowed so lowly that he was only inches away from dunking his mess of red hair underwater.
"Oh?" Dark smirked, amused at the boy's behavior. He tilted his face up and cupped his cheek, "Well, I'll tell you flat out, I don't keep slaves for sex or anything like that." He chuckled at this, "Krad fulfills all of those needs."
"Is that why he's your favorite?" Daisuke blurted out.
Dark blinked again before shrugging, "Not quite. He's my favorite because he's fun, and not just in bed."
"Oh." One thing Daisuke was sure he wasn't was fun. "Then... why do you keep slaves?"
"Hm, that's an interesting question, actually." Dark closed his eyes, the hand that had been all too eager to pleasure the boy now resting limply on his thigh, "I think the reason is because I enjoy company, but I don't like strangers."
"So... you keep them around so you're not lonely?" That seemed innocent enough.
After a moment of thought, Dark nodded, "Yeah, pretty much... not having to clean is a plus, too." He shrugged and ruffled the mat of hair, "But I like you, you're fun, too, just in a different way."
Daisuke blinked, tilting his head, "How am I fun?" His master must really have an odd sense of fun. Then again, if he thought Krad was fun, maybe he did.
"Your reactions are amusing, and you act so innocent. It's endearing." At this, Daisuke flushed just slightly, which caused his owner to grin, "See? You blush over everything, you're like a virgin."
More blushing ensued, "I assure you, I'm far from it."
"Hm, so you're used?" He should have guessed, someone as cute as Daisuke would go fast to the pigs and slobs that kept people for sex.
"Used?" Daisuke thought, sighing. He didn't want Dark to think he was a whore or anything of the sort, which is exactly what it sounded like.
"Anyway, Daisuke," Dark spoke, passing the subject off with a shrug.
"Huh?" The small slave looked up, cocking his head to the side, "What is it?"
The confusion on his face grew more intense when Dark held up between his fingers a deep purple, silk ribbon. "Do you know what this is?"
"Um...a ribbon?" the younger boy asked, wondering how uneducated Dark thought he was.
"Mmhmm." The ribbon was set on the edge of the bathtub alongside the towels, "But it's a rather special ribbon. On my birthday every year, at midnight, I give this ribbon to someone-- one of my slaves who I think has been the most loyal and performed the best in all that I've asked of them. Also," he added, "my personal preference goes into play a bit, too."
Daisuke blinked and gave the silk material another glance, "Oh."
"Every year since I've had him, Krad has gotten the honor, hands down. Though," he chuckled, "that could just be because the rest are afraid what he might do to them if they receive it instead."
"So.. what's so special about it? Just status?" Though, that idea in itself was laughable-- a slave with status.
"And amnesty," Dark nodded, "For the entire year, you can't be sold off."
"So when's your birthday?" Daisuke wondered, watching as Dark stood and grabbed a fluffy black towel to dry off with.
"In one month," the purple-haired bishie told him, handing him his own towel as he wrung out his hair.
"I don't have much of a chance, then," Daisuke thought.
"There's also one other thing, though," Dark spoke, tugging on fresh clothes, "When I hand out the ribbon, the next day whoever I have the most distaste for is sold."
Daisuke stared for a moment, a numb shock going through his body, "I...could get sold?" When he thought about it, wouldn't he be the one most likely to? He was the newest and had had the least chance to get on Dark's good side. Then again, his master had mentioned he liked Daisuke.
"Well, come on, your clothes aren't going to put themselves on." Daisuke nodded slightly and once the two were fully clothed, they ventured out into the hallway.
End Flashback
The redhead looked up to his old friend, "So... that's why I can't go with you. If I ask and he says no... he'll sell me for sure."
"Then I'll buy you," Satoshi said, giving Daisuke a hard look.
A chill ran down the smaller boy's spine, "I'd be your slave?"
"Come on," the bluenette muttered, wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist, "You know I wouldn't treat you like one."
"I know," Daisuke sighed, "but..."
"But what?"
"I...I like it here with Dark-sama, he's nice." Red eyes were cast down to the floor as Satoshi frowned once more.
"So you want to stay here," he concluded, "You're choosing him over me."
"No, that's not-!"
"Save it," Satoshi cut him off, stepping back from him, "It seems my father accomplished his goal of separating us," he muttered to himself. He looked up to hurt and confused eyes, "Goodbye, Niwa-kun."
"Sa...toshi..." Unable to think of anything to say to keep his friend from leaving, Daisuke hung his head as the bespectacled boy left the living room and headed towards the front door.
---
"Reunions not all they're cracked up to be?" Krad chuckled as the guest opened the door to the outside world.
"It's none of your business," Satoshi remarked bitterly.
"Well, it's not," the blonde agreed, leaning against the wall, "But what if I told you I could make sure Dark-sama sold the kid?"
Icy blue eyes snapped toward the grinning teen, "And if I say I have no interest in your proposition?"
"Then I'd say you're a liar," Krad remarked, his smirk broadening, "You want Daisuke-kun back, right? If Dark sells him, you could buy him easily. Perhaps even arrange a private sale so that you'd be assured of getting him."
"Where do you benefit from this?" the Hiwatari boy wondered.
"Let me worry about myself," the golden-eyed boy told him.
"And what do you want in exchange?" Satoshi knew the kind of person this boy was and they never did anything for free.
Krad just chuckled, "Oh, don't worry, I'm getting everything I want."
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't." An honest enough answer.
"Then why would I agree?"
"Because you're desperate. Either do it or don't, but if you don't, Dark may never sell the boy." Krad grinned as he saw the younger boy mull the proposition over in his head.
"I don't want Daisuke hurt," he stated, locking eyes with the psycho.
"You can't always have everything you want," Krad informed him, "Besides, I won't hurt him in any way that he hasn't been hurt before."
"Don't you dare touch him," Satoshi growled, balling his fists up and narrowing his cold gaze.
The taller boy waved a hand, "Alright, alright... that's no fun, but I suppose I can lean a little in your favor."
Convinced he had a decent deal worked out for himself, Satoshi nodded, regaining his composure, "Then it seems we have an agreement."
"Lovely. I'll see you in a month, then." The grin on his face only grew wider as the front door shut behind the slave owner, "Hm, should I have told him I don't keep my word?" he wondered, heading toward a certain redhead's room. He chuckled, "Nah."
Uh oh, Satoshi made a no-no. Doesn't he know you don't cooperate with the enemy? And Krad is most definitely the enemy... but such a hot one... I'd cooperate, too. Oh dear, so now what will he do to poor Daisuke? Guess you'll just have to wait and find out. Hope you enjoyed!