Kitten looks positively adorable curled up under the rag of a blanket Kuro had given him. Still sniffling occasionally and trying to hide his face between his shoulder and the floor. Attempting to mask how he is hurt even though Kuro had cracked open all his gooey emotional insides for the whole world to see. If he'd known he'd get this sort of reaction, he'd have had that conversation so much sooner. He can't believe he hadn't realized how fragile Kitten was when you pressed in the right spot.

Despite his original plans for the day, now that the sweet thing has cried himself out, Kuro isn't quite sure he is really ready to let him rest. How often would he get a chance to play with him when he was so vulnerable? Let him sleep and he'd awake with his guard back up, ready to snap his teeth and defend his hurts from Kuro's prying fingers, but right now, he is as emotionally weak as a new born kitten. Heh. Given the barest motivation he'd do anything he was told to.

When Kuro sets the bowl down beside him, Kitten's one visible eye quavers and shuts. Ahhh, he's playing coy. Like Kuro would let him off that easy. He drags him up by his fluffy hair.

Kitten makes a little mouse squeek of pain, then shivers as the blanket falls off his shoulders and exposes his skin to the cold air. Kuro had turned the temperature down to stop Kitten from sweating so much. Bathing hadn't exactly been a chore, there had been some quite fun aspects to it, but clean up afterward had been annoying. He'd like to drag the time out between baths if he could. Besides, Kitten's chilled skin reacted so beautifully to pain.

Kuro cuts the ropes holding his arms behind his back, then holds the small bowl up to his face. It is filled with what is probably the worst slop outside of a Galra cell, but Kitten hasn't had anything to eat since he stole him. The nasty stuff, as disgusting as it is, would fill his stomach, "Pose for me?" He asks. Tying him into position held appeal, but there was something about making Kitten cooperate with his photo shoots.

Kitten's arms hug his bare torso, looking away from the bowl as his stomach growls, "I'm not hungry." Oh that wouldn't do, starving kittens weren't nearly as perky and playful as well fed ones. On the other hand, he could just force food down his throat later. If Kitten really didn't want the carrot…

Kuro activates his arm and holds his fingertips just a centimeter away from the soft delicate skin under Kitten's chin, "Pose for me?" He asks again.

.

Kitten makes such a pretty model. Dead hopeless eyes, from where he checked out as soon as Kuro told him to unbutton his pants. Bruised imprints of Kuro's hands just barely legible between the other marks on his skin. Perfect obedience to how Kuro tells him to pose. He'd been right in his musings earlier, unzipping his pants and pulling them down just right made an appealing framing for his groin. Even better when he sucked on a few of his slender fingers.

Something was missing though. The pictures were all nice, had all the right elements, but they lacked a certain message that would push them over the edge…Oh, he knows exactly what will make this better.

Kuro leaves and returns a second later with the tiny tool he'd used to engrave Kitten's collar. The poor thing is so out of it, he doesn't even react until there is the first sizzle of burning flesh.

Kuro is forced to draw rather large to preserve quality, and occasionally he has stop to subdue Kitten again so he doesn't make him slip and ruin the whole thing, but when he's done, the kanji for 'Takashi' is etched clearly into his chest in bright red marks right above his heart. There, now his weaker self could have no doubts about who these photos were made for.

Kitten's reaction is also pleasing. As soon as Kuro gets off him, Kitten curls his hands protectively over his new brand. He peaks under them hesitantly and then gasps. Kitten doesn't speak the language himself, but Kuro remembers how the younger man had begged Shiro to teach him to write his name. He knows exactly what this symbolizes. Tears well up in his eyes once more.

Kuro restarts the photo shoot.

Note:

Some of this was stuff I wanted to bring up back during the bath but couldn't find a place for. Some of this is just stuff I've been thinking of since the camera was first brought up. And some of this was stuff suggested to me by one of the readers. All of it in that order.

By the way, either next chapter or the chapter after, I'm starting the rescue part of this story. Now's your last chance to suggest bad things that could happen to Keith while under Kuro's care.