Chapter 4
Earned Partnership
"Say it!" The boy's head flew back as his father hit him once again. The gleam in the man's eyes showed just how much he enjoyed screwing with his children's minds, and it made Kuroune sick.
"Never..." The black haired demon whispered.
"NOW! Or I'll kill you just like I killed your sister."
Kuroune froze, his heart aching. It had been four years since his sister's death, but it still was fresh in his memory. The remembrance had another effect on him, it brought him the courage to stand up to his father while his brothers cowered in the corner. "You wouldn't dare kill me father, who else would you screw? You killed Sesui and mother left a year ago-"the boy was slammed face first into the floor.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that, Kuroune." His father's warm breath filled his ear as he spoke in low tones, a warning that he wasn't playing around any more. "Now say it. Call me master."
"I'll NEVER call anyone master." The weight on Kuroune's back suddenly lifted as his father got up and opened a chest. Kuroune heard his brothers whimper, but he didn't move. Whatever punishment his father had, he'd deal with. He was sick of living like this, sick of his father's abuse.
The sound reached his ears before he felt it, a strong stinging sensation on his back told him what weapon his father had chosen. Repeatedly his father whipped him, tearing the clothes off his back and cutting into his flesh. The winged demon buried his face into the floor as his hands balled into fists. He wouldn't cry out, giving his father the satisfaction of hearing him scream would be just as bad as calling him master. In the short gaps between the lashings Kuroune curled his wings to his back, trying to keep them from being hit as best as he could. They were one of the most sensitive spots on his body, tears filled his eyes whenever one was stroke by the relentless whipping.
After a long period of time passed, when blood pooled under Kuroune's chin, the whipping stopped. His back suddenly felt very cool as the small amount of breeze coming through the window brushed over the blood on his back. A rough hand gripped his hair as he was jerked to his knees. He hissed, the blood fell from his back and onto his calves in a torrent, but the sheer amount of pain in just getting up almost made him black out.
His father leaned down, his face less than an inch away from Kuroune's. "Your mine. Don't forget that. I will take your life when it pleases me and I will do what ever I want to your body for as long as you live. You're a weakling compared to me, there's nothing you can do to make that any better." Kuroune fell forward as his father let go of his hair. "Come on boys, let's leave Kuroune alone for a bit..." As his brothers shuffled out, heads down, their father knelt in front of his son and licked at his back. "Mmm.. Your blood... I'll have to taste more of it later. Rest while you can Kuroune, I'll be back to have my other pleasure in a few hours. Until then," he leaned down to whisper into the child's ear once again, "enjoy the screams of your worthless brothers as I give them to my friends... My hungry friends."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A warmth spreading through out his back brought the winged demon slowly to consciousness. He was lying on his stomach, arms stretched out before him and dangling a little off the soft thing he laid on. As Kuroune peeled open an eye, he took in his surroundings. The soft thing he was laying on was a fur comforter on a bed that was three times as big as his. Candles and luminescent flowers were all around the room, as well as a painting of someone in white flowing robes. A vase filled with roses was to his right on the night stand, the strong scent wafting to his nose. The warmth spread slowly from the top of his shoulders and down to his rear, then lingered on his side wound. Kuroune lifted himself onto one elbow and looked back as something was jerked out of his line of sight.
"Lay back down." Kurama commanded in soft tones as he lightly pressed on Kuroune's shoulder blades.
"Why are we in your bedroom?" The winged demon asked suspiciously.
"Feh, because my room is closer to the training cavern than yours."
"Is that all?"
"All what? Look, if I wanted you in my bed I would have had you here a long time before now Kuroune. Besides, you're too hurt to do anything remotely pleasing... Now lay back down."
Slightly miffed at Kurama, but for what reason he didn't know, Kuroune laid back down. "Whatever... Could you at least tell me what you're doing with out hearing your snide remarks?"
The youko sighed loudly then took in a deep breath, trying to control his temper. "The cuts on your chest and stomach have already been treated and are almost finished healing, so I'm working on your back. Which happened to catch the worst of the lashes. The wound on your side is the deepest... If it had been a few inches either way, you might have been in worse shape than you are in now." Kuroune nodded to himself, his kidneys were about an inch away from where the slash began and the rest of his entrails would have suffered if the wound had been further forward on to his stomach. Slipping out of his thoughts he tilted his head so that the kitsune's actions were more visible. Taking a red piece of cloth he soaked it into a basin filled with water, squeezing out the excess water when the cloth was soaked thoroughly. In a gentleness that Kurama only showed on his plants and the food he prepared, he wiped the cloth over Kuroune's wounds. "This has a special combination of herbs that not only promote healing, but accelerate it." He tossed the cloth into the basin, then laid back. It was then that Kuroune noticed the kitsune still had the same bloodied robes on as before. The usually light toned skin looked even paler than usual, his tail tip was the only part of him that visibly moved.
"Are you okay?"
"What do you care?" Kurama half growled. The winged demon winced as he sat up and inched his way toward the silver youko. "Tch, the slash on your side will reopen if you keep wiggling like that. Lay back down."
"Just shut up for a minute." Kuroune mumbled as he carefully began to undo the blood soaked sash. A few times his hands slipped on the wet material, knocking into the area where Kuroune's scythe sliced. Kurama turned his head to the left, laying his right arm across his eyes so the other demon didn't see him wince.
"You don't have to do that. I'll heal on my own." The stubborn kitsune grumbled.
"Heh, isn't that what partners are for? Besides, it's my fault if it ended up deeper than I intended... Even though it was your stupid idea that got us both hurt. I suppose I'll have to learn to deal with that annoying part of you, for a little while at least."
"Feh... A very little while. You're more trouble than your worth."
"So are you." Kuroune shot back, finally getting the knot loose enough to undo it. He slid his hand beneath the robe near the kitsune's chest, gliding it down the smooth skin as he opened the robe as carefully as he could. Some of the tattered edges stuck to the scabbing wound, making Kurama twitch in pain as Kuroune accidently pulled on them. "Don't move..." Inch by inch the dark haired demon pulled up the robe, occasionally picking out pieces of the robe from places in the wound that hadn't started to heal on it's own. The kitsune stayed very still through Kuroune's attentions to his wound, moving his arm so he could watch the winged demon work. Once all the of the wound was exposed, Kuroune grabbed the cloth and started to wipe at the surrounding area, working his way to the center.
Kurama sucked in a quick breath as the cold liquid hit parts of his skin that felt afire with pain. "Stop. You won't do it right."
Kuroune paused, looking up. "How is this complicated enough to get wrong? I just soak the wound with the herb water, right?" Peering a little more closely at the youko, Kuroune frowned and returned the cloth to the basin. The paleness of the youko didn't add up with the gash. While it was long, the edges were cut cleanly and the wound wasn't very deep. There was a chance it could be infected, but the symptoms wouldn't appear so quickly and his skin wasn't hot to the touch. Kuroune wracked his brain, trying to think of a reason when one suddenly sprang into his mind. There was no way a simple combination with herbs could heal him quickly as he had. "Your ki... Idoit! Why did you exhaust your ki to heal me when you have an open wound too?"
Kurama smirked, "it'd be pointless to have gone through all that trouble and then kill off my partner. Compared to yours, my little cut was nothing."
"Stupid..." Kuroune shook his head and mumbled as he wiped at the wound, sending a steady stream of his ki into the gash. Normally when ever he tried to heal himself, all that would be achieved was a headache and a slightly smaller wound. Kurama was right, the combination of herb water and ki the wound did start to shrink. It was nearly gone when the kitsune grabbed Kuroune's wrist and jerked it away from the slash. Kurama showed just how much better he felt by grabbing Kuroune's shoulders and flipping him on to his back. "What-"
"Shut up, I was just making sure I didn't pull you back down too roughly and open that slash on your flank." The kitsune released his shoulders before laying back down on his side. "There, better?" Kuroune's head spun as he laid beside Kurama on the soft fur. "If you're not used to having that much fine tunning done to your ki, then you shouldn't do so much at once Kuroune."
The room seemed to be spinning very fast as Kuroune clutched at the fur, closing his eyes. He hadn't even noticed that he had expelled that much ki. Even the little bit of pressure on his wound caused by laying on his back hurt like hell, so he shifted his wings and body to lay facing the kitsune, his eyes still shut. "Hehe, bet I'm the first to make it into your bed and fall asleep before messing around with you."
Fingers grazed over his cheek then followed his jaw line, where they stayed just under the tip of his chin. "That could change," Kurama whispered, sweeping his lips across Kuroune's.
The black haired demon didn't know how to answer, the lack of energy was rapidly effecting his ability to function, let alone stay awake. He wanted to push Kurama away, to brush aside the delicate grip the kitsune had on his chin, but he was afraid he'd end up smacking himself in the head. Kuroune could just imagine the amount of snickering that would come from the annoying kitsune. "Stop it," was all he could finagle out of his failing senses.
"I don't want to," Kurama whispered as he tilted Kuroune's head up, kissing the winged demon softly. "Though we will deal with this another time, when you're able to truly respond to my advances. Hn, it's more fun that way."
"Stupid nympho..." Were the last words Kuroune uttered before passing out.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Kurama was the first to awaken, his gaze falling on the demon sleeping peacefully beside him. He knew he'd have to tread carefully with this one, from what he could tell of Kuroune's dreams the beautiful demon was definitely touched, and then some, by the jaded-ness that spread through out the Makai. His realization of the evil this world held probably came at an early age, and came brutally from what the kitsune remembered of the poor demon crying out at night. It was something most demons would taunt another for, but Kurama found himself ignoring the shouts coming from Kuroune's room at night. He didn't know why he wouldn't tease the easily baited demon about something so simple... Kurama just chopped it up to already having enough things to taunt Kuroune with. Or maybe it was that he could slightly relate to those cries of horror. Not one demon didn't have their own horror stories, but they all kept such things to themselves.
Kuroune's rhythmic breathing almost put Kurama back to sleep as he looked over his new partner. First partner, Kurama silently amended that thought. Even if he had slept with more than his fair share of demons, he made sure none of them were ever around long enough to be considered anything special. Toys were toys, nothing more meant for them than being played with until they broke. For some reason, Kuroune was different. Any other demon would have sought him out in lust by now, or he would have grown tired of them and killed them at his leisure. The winged demon didn't covet any of the objects he was offered, and didn't try to steal anything that caught his attention. In fact, he seemed more preoccupied with the different food that was put in front of him and a story of past raids than anything else. Which meant he was trust worthy enough for Kurama, and someone that wouldn't loot his personal hoard.
Despite thinking through the possibilities hundreds of times, he couldn't predict what the some times moody demon would say or do. He thought Kuroune would have ignored the wound on Kurama's stomach, trying to knock the kitsune down a peg or two, or get even for the slashes all over his upper body. Instead, Kurama ended up being a few days away from being fully healed. The kitsune rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell he was getting himself into.
Earned Partnership
"Say it!" The boy's head flew back as his father hit him once again. The gleam in the man's eyes showed just how much he enjoyed screwing with his children's minds, and it made Kuroune sick.
"Never..." The black haired demon whispered.
"NOW! Or I'll kill you just like I killed your sister."
Kuroune froze, his heart aching. It had been four years since his sister's death, but it still was fresh in his memory. The remembrance had another effect on him, it brought him the courage to stand up to his father while his brothers cowered in the corner. "You wouldn't dare kill me father, who else would you screw? You killed Sesui and mother left a year ago-"the boy was slammed face first into the floor.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that, Kuroune." His father's warm breath filled his ear as he spoke in low tones, a warning that he wasn't playing around any more. "Now say it. Call me master."
"I'll NEVER call anyone master." The weight on Kuroune's back suddenly lifted as his father got up and opened a chest. Kuroune heard his brothers whimper, but he didn't move. Whatever punishment his father had, he'd deal with. He was sick of living like this, sick of his father's abuse.
The sound reached his ears before he felt it, a strong stinging sensation on his back told him what weapon his father had chosen. Repeatedly his father whipped him, tearing the clothes off his back and cutting into his flesh. The winged demon buried his face into the floor as his hands balled into fists. He wouldn't cry out, giving his father the satisfaction of hearing him scream would be just as bad as calling him master. In the short gaps between the lashings Kuroune curled his wings to his back, trying to keep them from being hit as best as he could. They were one of the most sensitive spots on his body, tears filled his eyes whenever one was stroke by the relentless whipping.
After a long period of time passed, when blood pooled under Kuroune's chin, the whipping stopped. His back suddenly felt very cool as the small amount of breeze coming through the window brushed over the blood on his back. A rough hand gripped his hair as he was jerked to his knees. He hissed, the blood fell from his back and onto his calves in a torrent, but the sheer amount of pain in just getting up almost made him black out.
His father leaned down, his face less than an inch away from Kuroune's. "Your mine. Don't forget that. I will take your life when it pleases me and I will do what ever I want to your body for as long as you live. You're a weakling compared to me, there's nothing you can do to make that any better." Kuroune fell forward as his father let go of his hair. "Come on boys, let's leave Kuroune alone for a bit..." As his brothers shuffled out, heads down, their father knelt in front of his son and licked at his back. "Mmm.. Your blood... I'll have to taste more of it later. Rest while you can Kuroune, I'll be back to have my other pleasure in a few hours. Until then," he leaned down to whisper into the child's ear once again, "enjoy the screams of your worthless brothers as I give them to my friends... My hungry friends."
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A warmth spreading through out his back brought the winged demon slowly to consciousness. He was lying on his stomach, arms stretched out before him and dangling a little off the soft thing he laid on. As Kuroune peeled open an eye, he took in his surroundings. The soft thing he was laying on was a fur comforter on a bed that was three times as big as his. Candles and luminescent flowers were all around the room, as well as a painting of someone in white flowing robes. A vase filled with roses was to his right on the night stand, the strong scent wafting to his nose. The warmth spread slowly from the top of his shoulders and down to his rear, then lingered on his side wound. Kuroune lifted himself onto one elbow and looked back as something was jerked out of his line of sight.
"Lay back down." Kurama commanded in soft tones as he lightly pressed on Kuroune's shoulder blades.
"Why are we in your bedroom?" The winged demon asked suspiciously.
"Feh, because my room is closer to the training cavern than yours."
"Is that all?"
"All what? Look, if I wanted you in my bed I would have had you here a long time before now Kuroune. Besides, you're too hurt to do anything remotely pleasing... Now lay back down."
Slightly miffed at Kurama, but for what reason he didn't know, Kuroune laid back down. "Whatever... Could you at least tell me what you're doing with out hearing your snide remarks?"
The youko sighed loudly then took in a deep breath, trying to control his temper. "The cuts on your chest and stomach have already been treated and are almost finished healing, so I'm working on your back. Which happened to catch the worst of the lashes. The wound on your side is the deepest... If it had been a few inches either way, you might have been in worse shape than you are in now." Kuroune nodded to himself, his kidneys were about an inch away from where the slash began and the rest of his entrails would have suffered if the wound had been further forward on to his stomach. Slipping out of his thoughts he tilted his head so that the kitsune's actions were more visible. Taking a red piece of cloth he soaked it into a basin filled with water, squeezing out the excess water when the cloth was soaked thoroughly. In a gentleness that Kurama only showed on his plants and the food he prepared, he wiped the cloth over Kuroune's wounds. "This has a special combination of herbs that not only promote healing, but accelerate it." He tossed the cloth into the basin, then laid back. It was then that Kuroune noticed the kitsune still had the same bloodied robes on as before. The usually light toned skin looked even paler than usual, his tail tip was the only part of him that visibly moved.
"Are you okay?"
"What do you care?" Kurama half growled. The winged demon winced as he sat up and inched his way toward the silver youko. "Tch, the slash on your side will reopen if you keep wiggling like that. Lay back down."
"Just shut up for a minute." Kuroune mumbled as he carefully began to undo the blood soaked sash. A few times his hands slipped on the wet material, knocking into the area where Kuroune's scythe sliced. Kurama turned his head to the left, laying his right arm across his eyes so the other demon didn't see him wince.
"You don't have to do that. I'll heal on my own." The stubborn kitsune grumbled.
"Heh, isn't that what partners are for? Besides, it's my fault if it ended up deeper than I intended... Even though it was your stupid idea that got us both hurt. I suppose I'll have to learn to deal with that annoying part of you, for a little while at least."
"Feh... A very little while. You're more trouble than your worth."
"So are you." Kuroune shot back, finally getting the knot loose enough to undo it. He slid his hand beneath the robe near the kitsune's chest, gliding it down the smooth skin as he opened the robe as carefully as he could. Some of the tattered edges stuck to the scabbing wound, making Kurama twitch in pain as Kuroune accidently pulled on them. "Don't move..." Inch by inch the dark haired demon pulled up the robe, occasionally picking out pieces of the robe from places in the wound that hadn't started to heal on it's own. The kitsune stayed very still through Kuroune's attentions to his wound, moving his arm so he could watch the winged demon work. Once all the of the wound was exposed, Kuroune grabbed the cloth and started to wipe at the surrounding area, working his way to the center.
Kurama sucked in a quick breath as the cold liquid hit parts of his skin that felt afire with pain. "Stop. You won't do it right."
Kuroune paused, looking up. "How is this complicated enough to get wrong? I just soak the wound with the herb water, right?" Peering a little more closely at the youko, Kuroune frowned and returned the cloth to the basin. The paleness of the youko didn't add up with the gash. While it was long, the edges were cut cleanly and the wound wasn't very deep. There was a chance it could be infected, but the symptoms wouldn't appear so quickly and his skin wasn't hot to the touch. Kuroune wracked his brain, trying to think of a reason when one suddenly sprang into his mind. There was no way a simple combination with herbs could heal him quickly as he had. "Your ki... Idoit! Why did you exhaust your ki to heal me when you have an open wound too?"
Kurama smirked, "it'd be pointless to have gone through all that trouble and then kill off my partner. Compared to yours, my little cut was nothing."
"Stupid..." Kuroune shook his head and mumbled as he wiped at the wound, sending a steady stream of his ki into the gash. Normally when ever he tried to heal himself, all that would be achieved was a headache and a slightly smaller wound. Kurama was right, the combination of herb water and ki the wound did start to shrink. It was nearly gone when the kitsune grabbed Kuroune's wrist and jerked it away from the slash. Kurama showed just how much better he felt by grabbing Kuroune's shoulders and flipping him on to his back. "What-"
"Shut up, I was just making sure I didn't pull you back down too roughly and open that slash on your flank." The kitsune released his shoulders before laying back down on his side. "There, better?" Kuroune's head spun as he laid beside Kurama on the soft fur. "If you're not used to having that much fine tunning done to your ki, then you shouldn't do so much at once Kuroune."
The room seemed to be spinning very fast as Kuroune clutched at the fur, closing his eyes. He hadn't even noticed that he had expelled that much ki. Even the little bit of pressure on his wound caused by laying on his back hurt like hell, so he shifted his wings and body to lay facing the kitsune, his eyes still shut. "Hehe, bet I'm the first to make it into your bed and fall asleep before messing around with you."
Fingers grazed over his cheek then followed his jaw line, where they stayed just under the tip of his chin. "That could change," Kurama whispered, sweeping his lips across Kuroune's.
The black haired demon didn't know how to answer, the lack of energy was rapidly effecting his ability to function, let alone stay awake. He wanted to push Kurama away, to brush aside the delicate grip the kitsune had on his chin, but he was afraid he'd end up smacking himself in the head. Kuroune could just imagine the amount of snickering that would come from the annoying kitsune. "Stop it," was all he could finagle out of his failing senses.
"I don't want to," Kurama whispered as he tilted Kuroune's head up, kissing the winged demon softly. "Though we will deal with this another time, when you're able to truly respond to my advances. Hn, it's more fun that way."
"Stupid nympho..." Were the last words Kuroune uttered before passing out.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Kurama was the first to awaken, his gaze falling on the demon sleeping peacefully beside him. He knew he'd have to tread carefully with this one, from what he could tell of Kuroune's dreams the beautiful demon was definitely touched, and then some, by the jaded-ness that spread through out the Makai. His realization of the evil this world held probably came at an early age, and came brutally from what the kitsune remembered of the poor demon crying out at night. It was something most demons would taunt another for, but Kurama found himself ignoring the shouts coming from Kuroune's room at night. He didn't know why he wouldn't tease the easily baited demon about something so simple... Kurama just chopped it up to already having enough things to taunt Kuroune with. Or maybe it was that he could slightly relate to those cries of horror. Not one demon didn't have their own horror stories, but they all kept such things to themselves.
Kuroune's rhythmic breathing almost put Kurama back to sleep as he looked over his new partner. First partner, Kurama silently amended that thought. Even if he had slept with more than his fair share of demons, he made sure none of them were ever around long enough to be considered anything special. Toys were toys, nothing more meant for them than being played with until they broke. For some reason, Kuroune was different. Any other demon would have sought him out in lust by now, or he would have grown tired of them and killed them at his leisure. The winged demon didn't covet any of the objects he was offered, and didn't try to steal anything that caught his attention. In fact, he seemed more preoccupied with the different food that was put in front of him and a story of past raids than anything else. Which meant he was trust worthy enough for Kurama, and someone that wouldn't loot his personal hoard.
Despite thinking through the possibilities hundreds of times, he couldn't predict what the some times moody demon would say or do. He thought Kuroune would have ignored the wound on Kurama's stomach, trying to knock the kitsune down a peg or two, or get even for the slashes all over his upper body. Instead, Kurama ended up being a few days away from being fully healed. The kitsune rolled his eyes, wondering what the hell he was getting himself into.