VII –Akai Hana (Red Flower)
There was a knock on the door, and Kajimoto went to answer it. Opening it, he told the person, "Sorry, I'm not free right now…"
"It's okay. I wanted to talk to you," replied the newcomer.
Kajimoto shrugged. "Okay, come in."
"Thanks." A tall man with dark blue hair to his shoulders and eyes of the same color behind frameless spectacles stepped into the room. "Good evening to both Tanakas…" He paused, noticing the presence of Gakuto and Hiyoshi. "Who are these two? Are they newbies?"
The amethyst-eyed brunette looked troubled. "Well…"
Gakuto stepped forward. "Yes, we are," he said, slightly defiantly. "We just came."
"I see. Kajimoto, would you happen to be free later tonight?" inquired the tall man, turning away from the redhead. Gakuto's eyes narrowed; he hated being dismissed so easily…
Hiyoshi gripped his friend's shoulder warningly, and Gakuto subsided – for the moment.
"Well…" Kajimoto seemed ill at ease. "I'm really sorry, Oshitari-san, but with these two…"
The man – so this was Oshitari – gave a crooked smile and patted the slim brunette on the shoulder. "It's fine. How about I take one of them instead?" His eyes held a wicked glint. "I can take care of one and train him up for you…"
Gakuto bristled. Kami-sama, this guy is so patronizing!
"If they're okay with it, I don't mind," said Kajimoto slowly. "But… are you sure, Oshitari-san? They are new and all."
"No, no, it's perfectly fine. Have they been assigned rooms yet?" When Kajimoto shook his head, Oshitari continued, "Could we borrow a spare, then?"
Before the brunette could reply, one of the twins spoke up. "Mizuki and Atsushi haven't been around for a while."
"Yeah, maybe you could try using Atsushi's. Mizuki can be such a prima donna," added the other twin.
Kajimoto shrugged. "There you go. Which one will you take?"
The dark blue eyes roved over them, inspecting them like livestock. Gakuto gritted his teeth. Arrogant bastard…
"I think the redhead might be interesting. What's your name, little one?" Oshitari addressed him, still with that half-teasing, crooked smile.
Resisting the urge to slap that smile clear across the city, Gakuto folded his arms and glared at the taller man. "Gakuto."
"Gakuto, is it? I'm Yuushi. Come along, now." He took hold of Gakuto's elbow and practically dragged him out of the room.
Atsushi's room was the mirror image of Kajimoto's, though what personal items present were of course different. It seemed to have been vacated for a few days, but it wasn't as though there was a film of dust over the floor or anything; just a general air of absence that hung about it. Gakuto didn't really know how to describe it, but it was there.
"Hmm… so this is Atsushi's room, eh? I've never been here," commented Oshitari – Yuushi, Gakuto corrected himself mentally. "Mizuki favors him, but I've always preferred Kajimoto. Then again, it's nothing personal… the girls' side has some interesting people, too…"
Gakuto tried not to gape like an idiot. Talk like this might make him uncomfortable, but it was nothing to Yuushi. For some reason, he recalled the way his sisters talked about their favorite hairdressers and actors. Perhaps, for people like Yuushi, prostitution was just another job in the service or entertainment industry.
Suddenly he realized that Yuushi was watching him. He quickly looked up, meeting the tall man's dark blue eyes. "Something the matter?" inquired Yuushi.
"No," said Gakuto immediately. Yuushi's eyes lingered, waiting for him to answer truthfully; he knew that Gakuto was simply being prideful.
Gakuto blushed and looked away, remembering why they were here in the first place. "Well… I mean, you know I'm new and everything, so I don't exactly know what's going on. But you were the one who asked for me, so it'd be your own fault, okay?" He looked up now, eyes blazing with defiance.
Yuushi's expression was unreadable. "You're scared, aren't you?"
His already reddened cheeks flushed even darker. "No!" But for some reason he just couldn't meet those dark, dark eyes that saw through everything…
In two strides, Yuushi had crossed the room and was standing in front of him. He switched off the light and almost simultaneously pinned Gakuto to the door, lips descending to capture the smaller redhead's own.
Gakuto froze, eyes wide in surprise; everything had happened so fast. Yuushi's hands were pressing his shoulders to the door, making sure that he couldn't struggle; his own arms were sandwiched uselessly between their bodies as the blunette ravished his mouth… Yuushi stepped forward, putting a leg between Gakuto's such that his thigh pressed against the smaller man's groin, and the redhead gasped in pain and surprise.
The blunette drew away, just long enough to capture both of Gakuto's hands and pull them upwards. He pinned them against the door before bending to kiss the redhead again, his free hand undoing Gakuto's shirt buttons with uncanny swiftness, then gliding sinuously across the newly exposed skin. Gakuto writhed, arching under the sensory overload…
Yuushi very kindly broke the kiss to let Gakuto breathe, his fathomless eyes glinting down at the smaller male. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Bastard," panted Gakuto, forgetting that this person was not only a noble but also in complete control of the situation at the moment.
In reply, Yuushi suddenly flipped the redhead around so that Gakuto was now facing the door with his back to the blunette. His free hand descended to work at Gakuto's belt buckle, making the redhead gasp and struggle with renewed energy. "You –"
"Say my name," whispered the blunette, breath warming Gakuto's ear. The smaller redhead shuddered, still unwilling to give up, but Yuushi's nimble fingers had already made quick work of the belt and undone Gakuto's pants.
"…Yuushi," the smaller redhead gritted out. Gakuto knew his face was probably the same shade as his hair by now; he felt so humiliated by this patronizing asshole of a nobleman…
He could feel the taller man grinning behind him. "Again." This time, Yuushi bit his ear, sending sharp thrills down his spine.
Gakuto cringed, biting down hard on his lower lip. "Yuushi…!"
"Good." Barely had he registered the word when he found himself facing Yuushi again, though his hands were still pinned high above his head.
The blunette's eyes were like endless pools of darkness in which, if one were not careful, one would drown… Gakuto licked his lips, calling saliva to his suddenly dry mouth.
Yuushi seemed content to simply watch the flushed and breathless redhead. "By the way, have I mentioned that your hair is nice? I don't think I've ever seen quite such a shade before… Mulberry, I believe they call it."
"Shut up," muttered Gakuto. This is just so unfair. Why am I sitting here more than half-naked with a raging hard-on while he stays so calm and composed?
The blunette just smiled. "You're cute, you know."
Gakuto would have blushed if he could have turned any redder than he already was. "Shut up," he repeated, looking away.
Yuushi leaned down and kissed him deeply, slowly tracing intricate patterns on Gakuto's exposed torso. "I don't want to."
"You're being unfair, you asshole," the redhead panted once he got back enough breath to talk.
"So I am." The taller man's lips were curved into a smirk. "What are you going to do about it?"
Gakuto tugged, unsuccessfully, at the iron grip on his hands. "Let me go!"
"No." Yuushi's eyes glinted darkly. "Use your mouth if you really want to divest me of my clothes."
"What?!" The redhead stared up, shocked. "That's disgusting!"
Yuushi shrugged. "Then I shall continue as I am – fully clothed."
"But I –" Gakuto stopped, cut off as the blunette's lips covered his own again. He barely managed to restrain a moan as the leg on which he balanced pressed even more insistently against his arousal. When Yuushi finally pulled away, he quickly spoke up. "Fine, I'll do it!"
It was harder than it seemed to undo a button using only your mouth, unable to even anchor the cloth with your hands. The first button came through after many failed attempts; the region was soaked with Gakuto's saliva. Once he had the trick, though, he made quick work of the rest.
Yuushi let Gakuto's hands slide down the door so that the redhead could bend to reach the buttons lower at the stomach level. Gakuto, meanwhile, allowed himself a few accidental licks of the blunette's skin as he worked. The tense, twitching muscles of Yuushi's torso were clear evidence of their effect, and Gakuto smiled, pleased with himself.
When all the buttons were undone, Yuushi released the redhead's hands and picked him up bodily, carrying him to the bed and tossing him there. "Now that all that's out of the way…"
Yukimura chuckled behind Yanagi's head. "Renji, I never knew you were such a pervert. Couldn't you have given them some privacy?"
"Machines, no matter how advanced, cannot carry out their job if they're not switched on," said the data master by way of reply. "Oshitari might let something interesting slip while Mukahi is with him. Data is there to be collected."
The blunette shrugged. "Fine with me. Is Akaya's party safe yet?"
Yanagi flipped through several screens on his monitor. "Yes, I believe they have re-entered the forest outside the walls." He listened to his earpiece for a moment, then pressed a button. "Disperse through the different districts, all of you. You still have police on your tail," he said clearly. Releasing the button, he flipped through his many screens again. "Atsushi…" he muttered, under his breath. "Why is that familiar?"
Obviously Yanagi was very caught up in his work, and Yukimura would have to find other sources of entertainment. Picking up his cell phone, he dialed Niou's number.
"Escaped?!" roared Sanada. "What do you mean, escaped? Are you so incompetent that the moment I give you five hours of free rein, you let the most important human evidence of this case walk out of prison just like that?!"
"Technically speaking, he did not walk. He ran," corrected Inui. "The break-in was discovered in time for us to catch images of the perpetrators. I must insist that you return so that we can identify them."
"That is what you're worried about?!" demanded Sanada, rolling out of bed and stumbling to the washroom. "Inui, if you were not so important to – no," he cut himself off, "that will not help us in any way." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Very well, Inui. By the time I arrive at the headquarters, I expect the guards in charge of Marui, as well as those responsible for the palace's security, to be suitably disciplined. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," replied the data master at once. "It shall be seen to immediately."
Sanada sighed, setting aside his cell phone to wash his face and clean up before wearily making his way back into the bedroom to dress. Opening the door, he saw that his wife was sitting up in the bed, sightless eyes turned towards him. "Dear, did something bad happen?"
It was clearly a rhetorical question, since she must have heard quite a bit of his very loud exchange with Inui, but Sanada still answered her. "Yes. I'll need to return to the headquarters straightaway."
She smiled serenely. "I see. Shall I prepare dinner for you tonight?"
No matter how often he reminded her that they employed servants for a reason, she still insisted on making his meals herself, despite the fact that she was both blind and wheelchair-bound. "No, I probably won't be coming home tonight."
"Okay." She stretched a hand towards him, and he squeezed it gently. "Do your best."
"I will." It was their standard way of saying goodbye. As soon as it was over, he hurried out of the house.
It was raining. Shaking out his umbrella, he wondered, not for the first time, why he had left Yukimura for Oshitari Yuuki.
Yes, their marriage had been arranged by their families when they were still toddlers, but few such marriages still took place in this modern age. Yuuki, the Oshitari family's firstborn, Yuushi's older sister, had been born blind, and lost the use of her legs after a terrible accident when she was ten. Apart from political connections to the Oshitaris, there was really no good reason to marry her – she couldn't even conceive or bear children. Even though she was undoubtedly a beauty, she couldn't possibly compare to Yukimura, who was at least equally as beautiful.
Oshitari Yuuki, the angel, they called her. What kind of angel was blind and lame? She'd earned her title through her serene beauty, unshakable calm, constant smile, endless patience and innate kindness towards all and sundry. Yet Sanada was sure that Yukimura would have fulfilled several of those conditions as well. He'd always been the Angel, to him, to Yanagi, Niou, Yagyuu, even Marui. Yukimura was an angel – beautiful, calm, patient, kind… but the problem was that when Yukimura fell ill, he lost all of that and became a holy terror.
That made Sanada feel ashamed. It was small of him to abandon someone just because his illusions had been crushed. Hadn't he promised Yukimura so many times, to protect him, to love him even if the world turned its back to them? And then, when the time came to prove his words, he had turned tail and escaped, hiding behind the flimsy excuse of an arranged marriage.
Had he only been promising to protect that angelic façade, to love that earthbound angel that he'd thought Yukimura was? Was that it? Was that why he'd left when the façade shattered, when the angel lost his halo and grew horns? In the first place, did Yukimura actually change from angel to demon? His memory was foggy; he'd tried so often and so hard to block off those memories that now they were blurred and indistinct.
What if these were all lies he'd been telling himself over the years, to justify himself, until he now believed them to be the truth?
No, that couldn't be. The memory of Yukimura screaming and throwing things at him was real. It had to be real.
Sanada rubbed his temples with a sigh. He didn't feel remotely ready for work. All the energy he had possessed when Inui had called him seemed to have drained away.
If it wasn't real…
It had to. He would have to believe that it was.
If…
Saeki dropped noiselessly from the trees, noting that his companions still had yet to find their way back to the Fuji compound. Kirihara was taking Marui to a hideout somewhere in the city, while Itt-chan and Ryou had made their escape via alternative routes to shake off their pursuers.
The blue-eyed ninja was most worried for Ryou, who had been the last to get over the walls and who had most probably been sighted. After considering for a moment, he let the thought go. Ryou would return. He was, after all, a highly skilled master of stealth.
A nearly inaudible rustle and a soft rush of air preceded the arrival of Itt-chan, who dropped to the ground next to his captain, a shadow among shadows. He peeled off his mask. "Ryou?"
"Not yet," answered Saeki. "Go ahead; I'll wait for him." Itt-chan nodded and vanished into the night. The other ninja settled down to wait.
An hour passed, then another. Saeki sat bolt upright, making himself as uncomfortable as possible so as not to fall asleep. His worries for Ryou had returned, and he wondered whether he should slip out and look for him. If the police had him, Ryou would crush the pill they all kept in the corner of their mouths when they went on missions and commit suicide before they could interrogate him, but Saeki didn't like the thought of losing one of his closest friends.
Halfway through the third hour, when the sky was lit by the grey light of false dawn, Ryou leapt down from the trees. His eyes were frenzied; when he ripped off his mask, Saeki saw that his face was much paler than usual, almost ghostly in the dim light. "What happened?"
The younger male tossed his long dark hair impatiently. "Oh, they chased me around for a bit near the docks until I gave them the slip around the central Ring. Those grenades are useful. But that's not important," he interrupted himself, frowning more deeply than Saeki had seen in years. "Atsushi!"
"Atsushi?" repeated Saeki, confused.
"Yes, Atsushi! My twin! Don't you dare tell me you've forgotten him!" raged Ryou. "I found him!"
"Where?" asked the other ninja, eyes wide in surprise.
"In the palace brothels!"
A/N: There! Hope this has made up for the previous chappie, though it is a bit shorter than it should've been :-X It just felt like a good point to end at... Anyways, I had a lot of fun with the Dirty Pair XD kinda got carried away there… hope you liked it! Also, we meet Sanada's (OC) wife for the first time… what do you think of her? I didn't want to use the canon girls because, well, SanadaXSakuno or SanadaXAn is just plain weird, let alone that $%$*& Tomoka. And there's more Sanada-denialism here… that somehow pops up randomly for no reason O.o
By the way, I'm really happy with all the alert-plus-ing and favorite-ing going on and thanks to you all for your support, but it'd be really nice if you could tell me why you've chosen to alert-plus or favorite this fic (or me, as an author). I mean, if you like it enough to favorite, I'd want to know what you liked so that I can work on it more. So… do feedback. I think it's only fair, and I try to carry out this policy as best as I can.
Please Review!
s
