Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur or the characters therein.

The Compromised Position

Perplexing was the best word Kilik could think of to describe his night with Siegfried. The monk tried not to let his feeling get in the way of his duty, but he was a repeat offender on that subject. He didn't know what he had been expecting from his boss, but so much anger wasn't on the list. Kilik's first thought was that the demon had something to do with it, but that didn't make sense. Nothing the demon had done in the last few hours had made much sense, in all honesty. Still, Kilik had been planning what he would say the entire car ride and he knew that he would have to go through with it. If he was going to be able to protect Siegfried from the demon, he would have to be honest about a few things that he had been hoping he wouldn't have to tell the other man. There were things- so many things- he didn't want Siegfried to know. Fate seemed to have other plans. Fate always had other plans.

At the point when Kilik knew it was time to say something, he had opened with asking if Siegfried even believed. Whatever had made the German change his stance and address the demon as a serious thing was a blessing. Maxi was the next easiest thing to talk about; the perfect way to set up what he was getting at. It would serve to give a frame of reference. One side of the scale. The events at Ravensharp showed the other side. The dangerous side of purification. That was the moment Kilik was not looking forward to. He didn't want to tell Siegfried about the other blade- Soul Calibur- but the price of omitting was taking the blame and the weight of what happened on his shoulders. It wasn't something Kilik was fond of, but he knew that it would sound better than fighting one evil blade with a not-evil blade that bore stunning resemblance to the first evil blade. The part where Siegfried had stopped him had been a surprise, but it was one that Kilik was thankful for. He didn't want to think about that moment and he wanted even less to talk about it with his boss.

Somehow, things had gotten easier after that. Siegfried seemed to have decided that he was sick of being upset over whatever it was he had been upset about- which Kilik honestly couldn't figure out, but that it had something to do with his boss' firm statement of not loving him was obvious enough. That had hurt. Kilik didn't let too many into his heart. Zhang He. Xiba. Xanlian. Maxi. Siegfried. Of everyone he had known in his life, those were the only five to make the list. Two of them had been stolen from him by the evil blade. He didn't want to lose another. At the same time, Kilik was not going to push the subject in the hopes of forcing Siegfried to feel anything for him. It was not his place to do that to the other man. Instead, he had focused on watching the things out the window and choosing what he was going to say whenever they started talking. Siegfried moved on from whatever had been upsetting him, so Kilik decided that he would do so as well. Just ignore the pain from that moment. Ignore the anger from Siegfried's words that cut and stung with implications that Kilik didn't care or, worse, that he wanted the demon around. That he didn't want to help Siegfried. It wasn't like that. There were reasons- so many reasons- for what made Kilik do the things he had done. Somehow, he got the feeling that Siegfried would understand none of them and accept even less.

Those moments were done. They had passed. Siegfried was moving on and Kilik was not going to be the one to dwell on it. Instead, he focused on making flowers. It was a trick that Maxi had shown him, and Kilik had found since that day that it did wonders on calming him when he needed it. That said, he was not above pretending that the German had never said anything in the car and that the blonde haired, blue eyed, strong enough to not be completely taken by the demon, understands his humor and throws words back at him, warm and safe feeling in a way Kilik can't understand in words man across from him might understand- return-thethings that Kilik felt. The brunette even went so far as to make each of them a flower. His method of giving it to his boss was less than gentle or romantic, but Siegfried didn't seem the type to need that. Kilik wasn't good at those types of things anyway.

By the time they had actually ordered food- another salad for Kilik and another mostly raw burger for Siegfried- neither of them were frowning. Neither of them were angry. The monk wasn't sure how that had happened, but he was glad for it. Their talk would have to be finished eventually, and he still had to speak with the demon, but if they could do it without being angry, it would be easier to get through.

By the time they had finished eating and the plates had been cleared away, the sun was starting to sink beneath the horizon and the diner was almost emptied of patrons. It hadn't been particularly busy when they had first come in, but in the time it took them to eat they ended up being one of three tables left in the entire establishment. It was always interesting how wait-staff acted in a mostly empty restaurant. Conversations were louder than they would have been and things that usually would not have happened did. That played a large part in why the oddly enjoyable quiet that had settled between the two men was suddenly shattered by a loud pop of air and an explosion of neon green over the side of Kilik's head. In the immediate instant after the incident, both Siegfried and Kilik were completely still. Of the two, Siegfried was the first to recover; it started with a slow grin that spilled into laughter at the surprised look on Kilik's face.

Chocolate brown eyes blinked once, twice... three times, and his mouth opened, closed, opened again to finally ask, "...what was that?"

"Oh my God!" Their waiter ran over, long bony hands covering his face in embarrassment, "I am so sorry! I totally did not mean to do that! I thought the safety was on!"

"Uh..." was Kilik's intelligent response as he gingerly touched his face then pulled his fingers back to look at them and the green paint on there.

After a couple tries, Siegfried was able to get one word out between laughs, "Paintball!"

"Yeah," the kid squeaked out from behind his hands, still very embarrassed. "I compete and I was showing off my new gun and I thought the safety was on... but it wasn't."

"Clearly," the monk said with a sigh. He didn't have to have heard that phrase before to know that paintball involved shooting paint at each other, or to wonder why anyone would find that enjoyable. With a sigh, Kilik stood and said, "Don't worry about it. Accidents happen. I'm going to go try to wash this off."

He could hear Siegfried, sounding way too happy about what just happened for Kilik's liking, talking to the kid and reassuring him that it was fine. And hilarious. Brown eyes rolled at that.

The bathroom smelt like heavy disinfectants. The tiles on the floor and walls were bleached white. So was the counter. Of the two sinks there, one was dripping a steady stream of water and the other was off. Both had shiny metal faucets. It would have been too neat to be a public restroom if it weren't for the soap dispenser between the two sinks that was slowly dripping liquid soap into the small puddle of the stuff that had collected on the counter or the fact that they were out of paper towels. It seemed to be some kind of conspiracy of restaurants to always be out of paper towels.

With a sigh, the Asian man turned the dripping faucet on all the way, leaned over, and stuck his head under the running water. It was cold enough to send a shiver down his spine. Neon green paint mingled with water and swirled down the drain. Kilik didn't lift his head out of the water until he felt enough time had passed for it to all be gone.

A look in the mirror revealed that there was still paint clinging to his hair and a little left on his face. With a sigh, the Asian man pumped some soap into his hand and started rubbing it in his hair and on the parts of his face that still had paint. Once he was satisfied that there was enough soap to get the job done, he leaned over to run water over his face again. He had to keep his eyes closed that time to keep soap from getting in them and stinging. It wasn't especially comfortable, but that didn't much matter.

The sound of someone entering the bathroom was ignored. They could either deal with that fact that there was a guy washing neon green off of himself in the sink or they could leave. Kilik didn't care which happened. It really wasn't his problem. His problems included a demon he didn't quite understand, a blond who didn't return his feelings, two sentient blades trying to take his body, a drunkard room mate, a kid from his past who hated him, and the remaining paint on his head. Of them all, the paint was the easiest to deal with and quite possibly the only one he could really do anything about without second guessing himself or having to think about feelings. That, in and of itself, was kind of sad.

The footsteps of the other man in the bathroom were heavy and stopped right behind him. Before Kilik could get up and turn around- with some snarky comment about whether or not this man has seen anyone bathe in a sink before- a large hand fell upon his back, pinning him down. Kilik braced his hands on the counter and tried to push his torso up. When it didn't work, he tried harder. Frantically.

He didn't need to hear the deep chuckle behind him to know who it was behind him, keeping his head under the running water. The only consolation Kilik could find in the situation was that he wasn't being drowned. At least there was that.

There was a sudden heat along the monk's spine as the demon leaned over him to murmur into his ear, "I think I like you like this." This was followed by him reaching forward with his free hand and turning the water off.

Kilik growled, trying to push himself up despite the hopelessness in it.

"No, no," the demon tsked in his ear, pushing down harder with his hand. It made the monk's chest hurt, and they both knew it. They both knew that, if he wanted to, the demon could push down hard enough that things would start breaking. If he applied enough pressure and never let up, Kilik's lungs wouldn't have room to expand. He wouldn't be able to breath. The monk stilled. He could feel a chuckle, deeper than anything he had ever heard from Siegfried, vibrating all through his body from their closeness and each word as the demon purred out, "Good boy."

"What do you want?" the smaller of the two growled out. He may have been in a more vulnerable position but he sure as shit didn't like it and everything he could do to make that apparent was good enough for the time being.

His tone earned him a chuckle from the demon, "Don't ruin this moment by talking, worm, unless you have something to say that I'll appreciate."

Nightmare was still draped over him. If what Kilik felt pressing against his backside was any indication, the other man was very happy with things. A shiver ran through the small frame of the Asian at that. It wasn't excitement. It was fear. Somehow, he got the feeling Nightmare knew that and liked it better than he would if it was wanted attention. The fear was probably why the demon hadn't pulled the chunk of his taint to the surface and forced Kilik to be more open to the situation.

"You know," the demon continued casually, as though he wasn't pinning a very unwilling monk to the counter of a public restroom, "Listening to the two of you is so boring. If I didn't plan on using you against each other, I wouldn't bother allowing it."

The brunette rolled his eyes at that, his annoyance making the fear easier to push aside, "Telling your enemy your plans now? Sloppy, even for a demon."

More pressure forced onto his frame was the response, along with another chuckle he could feel vibrating through his frame. Nightmare gave a small tsk and murmured, "I know you'll keep yourself from hurting this one whether you know I'll use it against you or not. Besides," the word was followed by a sharp and immediate pain as Nightmare bit down on Kilik's ear. It made the monk's breath catch in his throat as a spark seemed to shoot through his spine. He had to hold back any responses at that. The demon must have known, because he chuckled while continuing, "You're going to be my servant before this little story plays out completely. My new body, even."

Strong arms pushed against the force holding him down, but Kilik found he still could not move. It didn't seem to matter how hard he tried, so he tried harder. It was ineffectual. "No!" the Chinese orphan growled, "You figured out what I've done to keep from being Soul Calibur's vessel; what makes you think you're going to be any more successful, demon?!"

"Ask your room mate."

Kilik froze, eyes wide. "He's off limits," the monk growled. He couldn't properly glare at the demon, so he settled for glaring up at the mirror as best he could from his position. He had been avoiding looking at the glass until that point, not wanting to see the scene the two of them made. It was beyond disgraceful to be stuck in that situation.

"You don't make that choice," the demon hissed into his ear. "He made that choice long before I had this body to play with." Nightmare spoke lowly, and Kilik had to wonder if Siegfreid's voice would have been able to hit such a pitch without the demon's influence, "He told me a very interesting story while you were hiding in the shower, monk. Do you want to know that it was about?"

No. Kilik didn't want to know. Part of him already had it figured out. He didn't know if he could stand to hear it said out loud. His eyes shut as though that would somehow change anything. "You're lying!" His anger showed in his voice and the way his body tensed, "Maxi has nothing to do with any of this! He never has and he never will!"

That made Nightmare laugh; a deep and threatening sound that rolled through Kilik's body and echoed in the part of his soul that answered to its dark master. He pushed down on Kilik's back with one hand and grabbed the Asian's soft brown hair in the other, forcing his head to turn. "I enjoyed the sight of you watching me behind you," the demon growled. "Look at me!" Despite himself, Kilik's eyes opened and glared at the reflection that looked so much like Siegfried, but wasn't. It was as though there was another outline laid over the German, thin and transparent, of something old and horrible. A reflection of the beast. It was grinning at him. "There we go." His grip on Kilik's hair loosened as he cooed at his captive, "Good boy. Now stay quiet and listen."

Kilik's only response was to glare up at the figure behind him. There wasn't much else to do at the moment. He could have purified the demon, but he didn't want to hurt Siegfried. That fact alone was detrimental to his mission. It also put him in more danger than his instincts of self-preservation should have allowed. Angry brown eyes glared into the glass of the mirror, daring the demon with his gaze to say anything.

Nightmare wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "Now," he began, the laughter dancing in his voice, "I've got a story for my good little monk. Your room mate is more than he appears to be. He hails from Japan and is the son of a murdered man. He was hired to watch over you. Protect you. One day, they said they would contact him. Tell him where to lead you. They just needed to find me first. Do you understand?"

It felt as though his heart had stopped beating. Or maybe it had shattered? Kilik couldn't have been sure. His chest hurt while managing to feel numb and his mind couldn't comprehend it. Push the emotion back. Deal with it later. Facts first. It was a coping mechanism. "No," Kilik answered, voice soft. "That doesn't make sense." He sounded as empty as he suddenly felt. Years. He had spent years with his room mate. He had been so grateful! So ashamed of his inability to repay Maxi for the kindness he had shown to some Chinese runt he had never met before! "We don't lie to each other like that."

The phrase drew a sharp bark of laughter from the demon that made Kilik's breath catch in his throat. "Oh?" Nightmare gave the monk's soft brown hair a sharp tug, "You never told him about the temple or the blood on your hands! You never told him who that woman you visited in the crazy house was! You never told him about me! You did nothing but lie to him!"

"No!" Kilik yelled back, trying to push himself up once more. It was as useless as it had been before.

"Lying by omission is still lying!" the demon hissed. That it was coming from Siegfried's mouth, using his voice, made it worse for the captive monk. "Not that he was any better! He was going to lead you to them so they could sacrifice you to me!" A dark grin that made Kilik shiver overtook Siegfried's face as the demon purred, "Not that I would mind being inside of you..." He was pressing his hips against Kilik's ass, letting the other man know just how happy he was to be there. He gave a low chuckle, knowing that the darkness in the smaller man reacted to the affections of the master. Too bad Kilik had the self control to keep it from showing on his face or in his body.

That's when it made sense. Maxi was many things, but Kilik knew that he wasn't as cold-hearted as the demon made him out to be. The other man simply did not have that kind of darkness within him. The way he looked when he talked about family... how he worried for Kilik's safey... "...they're threatening his family..." the monk whispered in sudden realization.

"So I've heard," Nightmare grinned, "And you aren't going to let him suffer through the loss of his family, are you? You're too fond of him for that." He nibbled at the monk's ear, enjoying the surprised gasp the action earned him. "This body can't hold me forever. We both know this. Siegfried will probably know it when he starts to whither and die. You don't want that and you don't want Maxi to get hurt."

Kilik's throat suddenly felt dry. He couldn't stop the small tremors that shivered through his form. He didn't want to hear the words he knew were coming. He had spent his life trying to avoid becoming the puppet of one blade; to become the puppet of another... His mouth opened, suddenly feeling as though he couldn't quite get enough air.

"That's right," Nightmare purred. "I believe you and I should have a little talk about our future together."