Born to be Broken
Disclaimer: It's not mine. Which is a shame because then I could sue the writers of the manga for making Akito a – wait, what am I saying? There is no Fruits Basket manga. Just the anime. Where Akito is a guy. And a hot one at that.
Note: Well folks at long last, here it is. The longest chapter EVA. Sorry, I was meant to get it to you all sooner than this but having an eight year old computer causes some problems when it comes to doing anything. Seriously; the screen is half the size it used to be and most of the time my work just refuses to save. I've lost this chapter 3 times already so have some pity for me! I've done my best! (Sad puppy eyes.) BTW, the song that appears later in this fic was written by my good friend Hash. She has contributed two songs to this fic already and thus deserves a word of thanks. Thankyou Hash! (Waves)
Now onto the reviewer wanking- Uh, I mean thanking:
Chibi-nezumi: Glad that you have a lethal addiction to my fic! Here's another chapter to pump yourself with. Don't take it all in one hit. And I'm glad that you too have washed your hands of the evil FB manga. That doesn't exist. And Akito is not a girl. He's just a very girly guy. (Hisses at FB manga writers who are sitting in a circle sharing a very suspicious looking stove pipe) Yaoi rules!
Demeter1: I'm trying to keep Akito as in character as possible, which means all the negative and positive sides of his personality, whether this makes the reviewers love him or hate him. And for the record, there is no chpt.97. In fact, there is no Fruits Basket manga. And Akito isn't a girl. THESE ARE ALL LIES. And by all means, feel free to give Akito many hugs that never end. Just as long as you leave some for me! I suppose Kureno and Ayame have ended up as the characters that everyone is attached to, but I personally feel that Akito is the driving force of the fic. It's difficult trying to make him change without being too goochy about it. There won't be any grand speeches of life and how great it is or anything. (A la Tohru) It will be a more subtle change. I hope. (Sweatdrops)
I've never actually read the Monster manga. What's it like? Oh and the guy on the tape may or may not be the bane. That's for me to know and for you to figure out. The stranger does wove Akito a wot. That's about all I can say for now!
Unfortunately, Akito will not be in this chapter. Ritsu won't be either. However, he has a big part in the next chapter, as of course Akitty does, so do not fear! But I have the Gure/Aya fans breathing down my neck right now for some hot loving and I can't keep them and their pointy weapons at bay much longer. Hope you enjoy the next chapter! More Akitty next time, sorry!
foxgrl: (Glomphs back) Another update! Late, I'll admit but here it is! (Dances around Ulala style) You like my fic? Yay, I'm so happy! Gimme a kiss! (Puckers up and leans toward foxgrl) Hey! Where'd you go?
Rubberboots: No need to apologize! It's a reviewer's job to help a writer correct their work, so I'm glad you pointed that out for me. Since reading your review I have thus edited chapter four and put in the corrections you suggested. That's what I get for using a French translator off of the net, huh? One of my friends is actually a French student so I promise I will get her to edit any French I henceforth submit! Thank you for pointing that out to me and hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Cole'sLover: I'm happy you're enjoying my fic! Mystery/horror is my favorite genre and it doesn't get much attention in fanfiction sites, so it was a real challenge I set for myself! As for the plot twist, I'm making alterations all the time so it's a bit of a mystery for me too! Ultimately though, I just hope readers will find it intriguing. I think my writings boorish and anal to be honest but anyway, I'm not the one who has to read it! Uh... you know what I mean. I promise I will keep writing as well as I am able to, ma'am! (Salutes)
Moondoom: I like you. (Hugs) You liked The Game we Play and this fic too! I like how you noticed that the same thing is plaguing Akito and Ayame. Any idea why this might be? I'm interested in hearing my reader's own theories on the matter! Chapter 8 did answer a lot of questions but this one makes up for it by presenting a hell of a lot more. I'm evil like that.
Akito controlled his anger towards Ayame mostly because he's internally breaking down. Physically and mentally he doesn't have the strength anymore to fuel his big temper tantrums.
You're the only reviewer so far to refer back to Chpt 1 and I'm so glad you did! In Ayame's dream, the guy he saw may or may not be the 'bane.' The guy on the tape may or may not be coming back to get his revenge. I'm not confirming or denying anything. Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out! I have to save some of my plot twists.
It has been long in waiting but the lemon has finally landed in your laps. It is down the bottom of the page. (Watches Moondoom hastily scroll) Hey... don't forget the rest of the chapter too...
Purple Witchy Angel: (Curls up in a crying, quivering ball) I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm a bad, bad person! (Beats self over head with PS2) To my credit I did make a note last chapter explaining that due to length restrictions the lemon would have to go in this chapter, in order to get the attention it deserved! Don't hate me! It's down the bottom of the page, see?! (Points to the lemon scene in which a squillion Aya/Gure fans are crowded around, crawling over each other to read that.) Please don't be mad! I'm sorry! Here, let me lick this speck of dust off of your shoe! (Licks PWP's boots.)
duos-deathscythe: (Crawls from PWP's feet and throws herself at duos-deathscythes) Forgive me! I didn't mean to jump to conclusions like that, it's just I'm paranoid by nature and made a rash (and incorrect) assumption. I apologize for my asshat-iness. Riceball? (Holds out tray of sake riceballs as an apology) Anyhoo – Silent Words is an AWESOME fic! I love it! (Though Akitty was mean, at least he was a boy.) I can't wait till you update! I want to see Gure nurse poor little Aya back into health!
Hakudoshi-chan: Is my fanfic spooky? I hope so! I'm trying to make it scary but I don't know how well I am doing so. Thanks for saying it is cool, but in this chapter I'll be trying to heat things up a little! BTW, the lemons down the bottom of the page. (Points again)
Lucescuro: (Giggles along with Lucescuro) I don't imagine that Kureno is very sarcastic by nature but that line just needed to be said. Is the guy on the video the 'bane'? Well that's for me to know – (gets whacked by all readers) WAAAH!! I'm sorry! I have to let you all figure it out for yourselves or else it's no fun! I should have made a bigger point about Kureno being one of the elders. RANDOM INFO! – Kureno became an elder through default. His father Nori had him instated as the elder of the servants and ritual. Nori makes an appearance in the next chapter, just on a note. The Angel necklace has importance later in the fic, but not for a while yet. Kureno's just holding onto it for now. (Examines Lucescuro's pasta) Hmm – maybe if you added some Tabasco to the sauce it wouldn't taste so sweet? Or black pepper? Sorry, I'm a terrible cook! Worse than Yuki!
Oh and Shu: Sorry! In the last chapter you asked where you could find more of my stuff and the site didn't come up when I answered you. I have 2 fics up at adult-fanfiction. net. Sorry about that!
N E way, next chapter a hoy! Try not to read it too quickly or you'll choke on the fluff!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - SS - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Darkness... a thousand fragments of past memories blurring into focus before fading back into the blackness again. Brief glimpses only, never lasting, unable to grasp a hold of them for any longer to even determine what they were. Short glances of the child he had been, all those years ago. As a teenager, frolicking about the halls of school with Hatori and Shigure at his side.
Darker days; the day he had turned Yuki away from him, not wanting to even acknowledge his little brothers existence. Lovers he had cheated on or who cheated on him. Long days spent living in the Sohma estate; gazing up at the surrounding walls and wondering what it was like to live outside of them, free from the eyes of the family. The family whose eyes were always watching him, waiting for the chance when he would slip their expectations of him.
It had happened once, once many years ago... the darkness blending seamlessly into the memory of a room, sealed from light. Behind a door, down one of the long hallways of the house had grown up in. A room he hated had never stopped hating.
It was a cold room... dark and cold. Even in his dream of memory, Ayame was unable to free himself from the feeling that permeated his tiny body all of sixteen years ago. Why his subconscious mind had allowed this memory to linger he did not know, but try as he might he was unable to writhe from it's grasp. He didn't want to see it again. He didn't want to be reminded...
"He cannot be trusted around the baby!" A woman's voice accused from outside the locked door. That child... that snake! We must have been fooling ourselves, to even think that he could be. We should have known better then to have taken chances with Yuki; a child of the rat..."
The ten-year-old Ayame inched up from his kneeled position beside the door, trying to peer out into the hallway beyond. Through the keyhole he caught glimpses of people moving past, a group of women fussing over a tightly wrapped bundle held in the arms of a man.
The baby within the bundle none other then his brother Yuki; the newest addition to the Sohma clan.
"Is it true that he dropped him?" Another woman asked, her eyes raking scathingly over the door as though trying to spy the cowering youth beyond. "It's strange though, whatever the case. The rat and the snake, born of the same mother? Peculiar. I would highly doubt the likeliness of the brothers to ever be close."
"Still... I'm sure Yuki will do us all very proud!" The Man declared cheerfully, running his hand over the crown of the baby's head. "I can't say just how happy his mother and I am; that we've been blessed with a child of the rat! He's bound to be as special as those who came before him. Even if Ayame is not."
Perhaps it had been those words that had really been the coldness he had felt that day. Locked in that room, watching the family he loved through the space of a rusty keyhole, as they celebrated the birth of his baby brother. He'd already been forgotten about so quickly.
He hadn't dropped Yuki on purpose; that had been an accident. But he had been locked away as punishment into the coldest room of the house, one that was prone to drafts, despite all his protests. He was not to be let out until dinnertime, six hours away.
Ayame felt cold jealousy rage in his gut, jealousy at the tiny infant he had only ever held once. The infant named Yuki Sohma, who now took up all his parents time and attention. A solitary yellow eye glistened through the keyhole, moist with tears before retreating back into darkness. As quickly as it had come, the feelings of envy evaporated and now more then anything, it was loneliness he felt. Was this how it was going to be from this day forth? Living in the smaller shadow of his wonderful baby brother, simply because he was the rat? Why should it have to be that way? Why-
Ayame sneezed, the sound echoing around the tiny room. It was so cold in there and his bare feet were freezing. What made it so much worse, was that the cold was enough to make him uncomfortable, but not enough to make him transform. He pulled his robes around his body, tucking his arms into the luxurious length of the sleeves trying to restore the feeling into his hands. He wanted to be warm.
"Aya?"
- - - - - -f- - - - - - -
"Aya? Are you all right?"
Ayame jumped at the sound of Shigure's voice and smiled back at him reassuringly. He had been procrastinating again, losing himself to the insistent train of his thoughts as he once had many months before. That memory was so vivid... it haunted his mind in a way that no other memory ever had. As such, the more he tried to focus on it, the more it successfully eluded his grasp, slipping away into the farthest recess of his mind like shadows into the night.
Shigure's concerned brown eyes sought out Ayame's and he reached over to lightly touch his arm. "Is your head starting to hurt again? Wanna take a break?"
Truth be it, Ayame's head did ache but it was not from the throb of the abrasion to his skull. It ached from something else... something much better concealed, that sought to suppress his thoughts. He winced at the sudden throbbing pain and pinched the bridge of his nose as though this might somehow help.
"No, it's fine Gure..." He said, forcing a wide grin onto his face. "I was just... thinking about something that happened a long time ago. You know, nothing important!"
Shigure bit his lip as though he wished to further press the issue but Ayame was having none of it. With an audacious smile, he waved his finger in the dog's face and suddenly took off at a sprint along the path, urging him to follow. This game seemed sort of childish to the author, but he indulged his lover's wishes and pursued him through the trees, their laughter ringing out amongst the patchwork of light that remained across the ground.
The air was still marginally warm as the pair made their way back to Shigure's house and the sun was taking it's sweet time setting, so the walk was marginally enjoyable. Despite the injuries to his head and face Ayame seemed to have regained some of his usual gusto and was trotting along the worn woodland path energetically, encouraging Shigure to keep pace.
"Slowpoke!" He teased, pinching the inu's cheek as he rounded a corner behind him. "You need to get out and exercise some more, Gure! Heaven's above you are most unfit! You keep up all this couch potato behaviour and you're not going to be able to fit into that cute little school girls outfit I have on order for you!"
The novelist pulled his face into what he hoped passed as being suitably aghast and posed as sexily as he could, hands on hips and chest thrust out.
"Oh Aya! How could you say such a thing!" He cried, slapping his backside deftly. "What with my manly curves, chiseled abs and these spectacular buns of steel, there is nothing in your shop that I would not be able to fit into! I am hurt by the mere suggestion!"
Ayame hung his head. "I'm sorry Shigure. How will I ever make it up to you? Should you punish me?" He sounded just a tad too eager at this.
Shigure apparently thought the same thing. "Well... we'll just see later. Back in the comfort of my room and it's four walls. Though I suppose that wall's in my house don't really constitute for much..."
"They are quite the luxury Shiggy." Ayame said sagely, reaching down to tentatively take his lover's hand. When Shigure didn't pull away, he only then proceeded to link his fingers through his. "With the exception of our strangely blanked out crash Gure, I thoroughly enjoyed our happy picnic! What about you? Was the food to your tastes?"
Shigure looked over at his silver haired lover and smiled warmly, giving his hand an extra affectionate squeeze. "Everything was to my tastes." He said, causing Ayame's face to break out into a wide smile. It really was so adorable how this man put so much stock on Shigure's opinions. It seemed that in everything he did, he did so with the only thought in mind of making Shigure happy. It had only really become noticeable to him in the past two months, the time they had spent together as a couple. From things such as broken doors, to even cutting his hair. Ayame now leapt to the challenge, straining to be of some assistance in whatever task Shigure needed done. It was adorable, really.
"You really liked everything?" Ayame asked and let out a deep sigh of relief. "Well, I mean, of course you liked everything! I worked hard to make that food you know and such diligent effort should always be rewarded by the most absolute gratitude and praise! But – I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried about your reaction, Shiggy. After all – you've been eating Tohru's cooking for so long that anything after that would only be a let down and-"
Shigure silenced him with a kiss. "Ayame – I enjoyed lunch very much." He said, laughing at his friend's stunned expression. The tailor sighed and placed his hands on the center of Shigure's chest, rubbing the subtle curves of the shirt gently.
"I love it when you kiss me like that..." He crooned, pressing the bridge of his nose to Shigure's cheek. The novelist grinned and raised an eyebrow.
"Aya... you like it when I kiss you any old way."
"Hmm... good point."
Ayame sank his lips against the thinner, yet delectable ones of his companion, hungrily clutching the side of his face with his hand as he felt the other man's arms go around him. Dear God he was so in love right now... he loved Shigure so much it was almost embarrassing and even the most humiliating aspect of his compassion he would not have been able to flaunt enough. Kissing him now, Ayame felt like he just couldn't touch enough of him at once to satisfy his desire. He cupped Shigure's lips roughly between his own sucking on them and fetching his tongue around the upper ridge of his mouth. His free hand looped up around the novelist's back and clutched at the broad indent between his shoulders. Soon Ayame felt himself stretching up on the tips of his toes as the elevation of their passion threatened to tip the two of them over. He desperately lapped at Shigure's lips even as the other man broke the kiss, panting heavily, his face flushed.
"Ayame... what was that all about...?" He chuckled, softly stroking his friends' heaving back. Ayame brushed their lips together once more, wishing there were some way he could bury himself between those two pink pillars and never resurface. Kissing Shigure was as addictive as any drug that could ever have been made. The dependency he had on his touch and his taste didn't seem natural but it made him feel good. It made him feel alive.
Ayame smiled and flicked Shigure's nose. "I was under the impression that you were reason enough, Shigure..." He said seductively, trailing his hands down to the inu's waist at the same time. There had once been a point in his life in which Ayame had never considered the possibility that Shigure would one day be his and his alone. This was a decadent luxury of which he admittedly loved to indulge in as selfishly as he was able. And yet, Ayame was aware that he wasn't alone in his love for the dark haired dog of the zodiac. That was very clear. In some ways Akito's pining for Shigure reminded Ayame of himself those many months ago. He could understand the loss Akito must have been feeling, the futility that his desire had come to, the utter hopelessness of it all. And this frightened Ayame. Frightened him that he could understand how the mind of someone like Akito worked and yet he could not make neither heads nor tails of his little brother's behaviour. The one whom he wanted to forge a bond with. It was most irritating.
'Oh God, Shigure...' He thought as he tightened his arms around the other man's neck. 'You're the only thing that makes sense to me right now... ... you and my shop that is. Everything else is just utterly ridiculous!'
He pulled away from his lover abruptly, clenching his eyes shut as a sharp pain seared from beyond them. The sudden spasm of discomfort brought with it a jarring decent of deleted memory and he clutched his face, expressing the agony in a low moan. Shigure pulled him close by the elbows and placed a hand over the crown of his head, nursing the injury. His expression was a downward arrow of empathy.
"We should have stayed at the Main House," He reasoned, stroking Ayame's back with his free hand. "I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have let you walk all the way back to my place. Not like this."
"It's not that, Gure –" The snake insisted, rubbing at his forehead as though this might placate his plunging thoughts. He could feel the memories returning to him, as vivid and authentic as they had been since he'd chosen to forget them. The memories of his childhood, the one he'd managed to leave behind him. And the reason why he had done so... the darkness of the Punishment room... the cold impenetrable void of nothingness. It was there in his mind... locked in the deepest darkest recess he had been able to squeeze it into. Buried in the blackness that was as despicable as itself.
The light from the keyhole illuminated the thick red lining on the Punishment Room floor. Ayame brushed over it with his fingers, trying to see whether the substance with which it had been drawn would come off on his hand. It felt sticky. It stained his fingertips.
Why did the room smell so much like blood?
The boy scuttled back against the wall, holding his head in his hands, trying to keep his terror at bay. In fear, it was as though the very substance of his memories could be forced from his mind if he wished it hard enough.
Then the words came to him; the words the woman had sung so long ago. The song of the night, of Dark Adaptation. In the indiscernible darkness, would he ever come to adjust, to see the scarlet symbol beneath his feet?
"In the smothering blanket of night, this misty blue light
The dark makes no sense; I can't see your face
Changing your features, become one of us
Loose yourself...
The beautiful skull in the sky
Leering down at us
Breathing down our necks
Chewing –knawing on our souls
Giving me heart burns of anxiety and sorrow
Watching the world
Teeter on the brink
Of total annihilation
Where is your god now?
Because once it's over, I can't breathe anymore
Won't live anymore
This can't go on anymore
It has to end with us
Where are they now, the one's who said they care?
The one's who vowed to drag you through this life
Kicking and screaming
They've gone, their tears mingling with the salt underground
To form this ocean, where I can't swim
What right do they have to decide who will consume
What is left of this hell?
We live in a broken world
With shattered hearts
Discoveries from the past, intentions left to fester
And a hand colored scarlet, bathing in your wounds
Take the clock and spin it sideways
Decide now all of you
Whose side are you on?"
- -
"I'm just trying to remember..." Ayame murmured tapping his fingers against Shigure's chest. "When I was only a boy. Back to those days they locked me within the Punishment Room. You remember, Gure?"
The inu's lip curled dangerously. "It's hard to forget such cruelty."
Ayame nodded solemnly. "Shigure... you knew about the Punishment Room... and you came to see me whenever I was locked inside. But, I don't think you ever really understood how horrible that room was. Locked away from light, from human contact. It was... suffocating." He swallowed dryly and tried to hold back tears. "Half the time, I didn't understand why they would lock me in there. What I had done to deserve something so horrible. And what happened to me in that room... I forced it out of my memory. I tried to forget, lest the horror be burnt into my mind for an eternity."
By now Shigure had grown uneasy. His usually cheerful friend sounded so grim and serious, which was far outside his usual range. It made Shigure uncomfortable and the security the pair of them usually maintained in their witty hi-jinks was one of the only things that kept him grounded within the dreary Sohma family. He had been thinking that only earlier this day. What had gone so drastically wrong?
"What happened to you Ayame?" He asked in some apprehension.
The snake's eyes were hollow, his bottom lip pressed tightly between his upper row of teeth. There was something that can only be described as concealed horror, reflected in his eyes.
"I saw them..." He whispered.
The bonds tightened around his wrists, pulling his arms back hard against the bounds of their sockets, tearing into his delicate skin. Ayame bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood as his head smacked into the wall behind him. The dark figure's circled him; hand's clasped to one another's as they sang something in thick rapid Japanese. Their eyes obscured beneath layers of thick black hair gave him no indication of their emotions nor their intentions. As cold as robots and just as calculating these people whispered their dark words, circling him... always circling hour after hour. Four similar robed figures stood to each side of the wall Ayame was tied to, hands clasped around a thick length of rope. They too chanted and at the end of every verse, they drew those ropes tighter and tied them off. The ropes were anchored to Ayame's wrists, his ankles and his neck. The force from each tug smashed his head back against the wall, drew his limbs to the edge of their limits until at last, the bones would pop, the skin would tear, and he would die.
Torn to pieces.
"Saw who, Aya? 'Them' who?"
"I don't know what they were Shigure..." Ayame whimpered, his eyes seemingly focused on something just beyond his shoulder. Something he gazed at in rigid horror, something painted against his memories. "They just... were."
Out of the shadows another figure materialized, a white light glowing from beneath it's hood where a person's face would normally be. Its breath stank of death and its voice rang from within its chest like glass scraped against the expanse of a chalkboard. Ayame shuddered against his bounds; blood mingled with sweat and saliva as its voice reached his ears and clawed right within them.
"I see things that other people don't see Gure. I think Akito see's them too..."
"See's what?"
Ayame's whole body was shuddering at this point as the memories rushed back in merciless torrents. When he had been corrupted by his fever, the night before he and Shigure became lover's, he had dreamt of the lost memory. The memory of a premonition he had when he had been a child. It was there now, in his mind. More clear than ever before.
"You are ours to kill Ayame Sohma..." It hissed as the robed figure's tugged mercilessly on those ropes again. "In our darkness, you are ours to kill... scream and create our music. Bleed and quench our thirst. Die... and give us life..."
As it said this, two clawed hands extended from the sleeves of its robes and gripped the hem of its hood pulling it back. Light flooded forth from that black space and then Ayame did scream. And what music it was... what music it was...
Ayame's body gave a final, withering shudder in Shigure's arms as he pushed the memories back. He didn't want to see anymore. Couldn't see anymore. In the inescapable fear that his mind imposed upon him, Ayame found his eternal sanctuary in Shigure's embrace, leaning his head against his and pressing the length of their bodies together. In all manners of nightmares and memories, it had always been Shigure and Shigure alone that had been able to comfort him. To save him in a manner of speaking.
"Did I ever tell you the story about the snake wife, Shigure?" He asked suddenly.
The inu shook his head and Ayame took this as an invitation to extend further.
"It's basically a story my mother would tell me to forego falling asleep in just any old place. I can assure you, it certainly did the trick! The story goes that once upon a time there was a monk who was in service of a High Priest. He was a normal man; proud and hardworking. He had a wonderful wife and many vivacious children that looked up to, and admired him.
On one summer's afternoon, the monk accompanied his master to the Mii temple. Whilst the High Priest went about his rituals, dallying around in the mirrors and water of the temple, the monk himself grew a bit sleepy, just standing around in the sun. It was a hot day after all, Gure; you know how it is! Anyway, the monk decided that he would take a nap whilst he waited for his master to finish his priestly business and so he settled down in a concealed corner of the temple hallway and fell asleep. He had a dream that a striking woman visited him whom seduced and made love to him. The sensation of the dream was so wild and intense that the monk climaxed in his sleep. Do you know what he found when he awoke, Gure?"
"That he had a Hell of a lot of washing to do?"
Ayame laughed. "Well... yes! But that's not what drew his attention right away! When he awoke, the monk was startled to find a rather large snake lying by his side-"
"I am not liking the direction this story is taking..."
"The man's clothes were soaked in his own... well, you know, but what surprised the man most was that the snake was lying belly up with it's mouth wide open! Imagine that! More to the monk's shock, he found that the snake had his semen in his mouth. The visage of the beautiful maiden had been nothing more than a snake and he had made love to it in his sleep, causing the poor serpent to choke and die. How sad!
The man was afraid that he had killed off some sort of ancient snake goddess, so he secretly washed himself in the temple water and never told another living soul as long as he lived. Nothing more come of this bizarre encounter but until this day, I am very cautious about where I park my fanny before I doze off!"
There was a long silence.
Shigure finally blinked and twisted his mouth out of the wide gaping grimace it had been set into.
"Aya...?"
"Mmm-hmm?"
"Did that story have... any relevant point to – well - anything at all?!"
Ayame smiled and shrugged. "Maybe! Maybe not. I was just trying to change this dreary depressive mood that was hanging so adamantly above our heads!" He waved a hand in the air as though to indicate where the malevolent cloud of depression once may have been. "Actually the idea of the story was to show the snake's nature for what it could be at its most negative. It was supposed to dissuade me from becoming a cock-sucking whore I suppose. See Gure? Bad thing's happen to slut's like me!"
Shigure's eye's saddened and he shook his head. "Don't say things like that Aya. I won't ever let you choke and die on my semen!" He mentally went over what he just said and slapped a hand against his forehead. "Only you could make me say something like that without having any purposefully dirty intentions."
Ayame smiled a little sadly and placed a hand against Shigure's cheek, meeting his eyes.
"Sweetheart..." He said. "You know how they all look down on me in the Main House. Next to Lucky Kyou, I'm the most despised member of those that are cursed. That story was told to me over and over again, to remind me just what it was I could never become. Something sexual. All I ever wanted was to be with you and that was the sin that drove them to despise me, to drive me out. I was taught that my passion for another man would be my undoing. That story used to scare me so much. They painted it on the walls of the Punishment Room and even in the darkness, I could not ignore the implications of what was to be if I was to ever shake free of those constrictions they placed on me. Should I have let them Shigure, they would have caged me the way they tried to cage Yuki." He hung his head in guilt, his long hair swaying in the breeze. "That was part of the reason I turned Yuki away all those years ago. Why I was so cruel to him. When I was finally free of their teachings and condemnations, they drew my brother into the web. And when he reached out for me, in that very second... I felt as though he would draw me back into it. I hate myself for that! That stupidity! That very same cowardice I still have today in such abundance! The thought of Yuki suffering more than I did, it is the greatest shame of my life Gure. My greatest punishment is to live with the guilt of knowing that I gave him up to the life that I had been unable to handle myself! I'm the worst person I've ever known and I hate myself for it!"
By now he was on the brink of tears and Shigure wrapped him up, whispering soothing words that had no real name or meaning. The novelist had never seen the true reach of his friend's self-loathing, the anger he internally hid under a mass of over compensating confidence. Half the things he had just admitted, he had never even known about and Shigure had known him his whole life. This bothered him. That and the disturbing words Ayame had been speaking only moments before.
He wondered if his lover was going insane. If the nightmares had tainted his mind and thrown it into disarray. One thing was for sure; Ayame was becoming something that was nothing like the person he used to be. His sorrow was escalating to a level that was deeply brutal and unforgiving and Shigure had to wonder just how long he would be able to deal with it.
And what really hurt was that this inertia only appeared after the two of them had come together. Wasn't this a time to be happy?
Shigure felt Ayame stiffen in his arms and draw back from him a little. He wondered whether the tailor was having head pains again, when he noticed that the silver haired man's eyes were focused on the patch of woods behind him. Shigure took the hint and turned.
A man was standing there watching them. At least, Shigure supposed that it was a man. It was a little hard to tell under all those layers of earthy brown robes he was wrapped in. The figure was at least six feet tall with the robes' hood pulled low over his brow, obscuring his eyes and most of his long rust colored bangs. The visible mouth was drawn into a slightly mocking smile, as though he found something about the situation privately amusing. Ayame grasped Shigure's hand firmly and gave it a gentle tug.
"Let's go Gure." He urged, giving the stranger a timid, fleeting look. He waved cheerfully as the pair continued on their way, walking briskly in that stereotypical 'Obscure-man-possibly-stalker-on-my-tail-and-I-don't-have-my-pepper-spray' sort of fashion. Their pace only increased when they heard the man step onto the path behind them and follow at a leisurely walk.
"Shigure... he's going to rape me..." Ayame whimpered, tears streaming down his face. "Why, oh why didn't I take up that Meu-Tai class when Mine signed up for it last month?"
"One month of Meu-tai is not going to make you all that threatening, Aya." The inu chuckled, though he too was obviously concerned by the figure tailing them. "Just act like you don't notice and maybe he'll back off. Or better yet, talk louder so that he'll realize you're a man!"
He got kicked in the shin for his troubles.
A medium range, accented voice from behind them made both men pause in their actions.
"Akito, I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time?" The stranger said.
Ayame looked around, wondering whether Akito had followed them into the woods unbeknown to his and Shigure's knowledge. When his search failed to bring up even the smallest glimpse of the dark haired family master, he considered that the scary stalker must have been addressing them. Ayame turned his head slightly over his shoulder and frowned.
"You've got us mistaken for someone else, sir. Neither one of us is Akito. And I'm deeply insulted that you didn't recognize me for who I was immediately." He said tartly, putting his hands on his hips.
"Uh – I hate to be the one to point out that you are not exactly an international celebrity, Aya." Shigure piped up, sweatdropping. "And for that matter, didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers? You could be kidnapped!"
"That's what my mother was hoping." Ayame confirmed with a good-hearted chuckle. He turned to face the stranger. "You can find Akito at the Sohma Main House. Just head up that path there and you should come across it in no time. I'd love to do my civil duty and escort you there myself, but I'm afraid I have a splitting headache and the impending prospect of a back massage, so I'm sure you'll understand if we part company here and now!"
Ayame concluded this with a nervous chuckle and grabbed Shigure's hand, whispering quickly into his ear. "Run away before he hits us over the head with a broken bottle and drags us into a ditch!"
"I don't think that's quite what's going to hap-" Shigure started to say, but the rest of the sentence was yanked back into his throat as Ayame tugged him ruthlessly around the next corner. Satisfied that he had lost their potential rapist, Ayame turned to go on his way when he came face to face with the cloaked man himself who had somehow materialized in the path ahead of them. He uttered a shrill cry of shock and jumped back with what he felt was admirable agility.
The man slowly shook his head. "I don't wish to speak to the family master. I wish to speak to you, Akito."
"How did you -?!"
"Just one moment. Is that too much to ask?"
Ayame took a deep breath and tried to make himself appear intimidating and masculine. Well, as masculine as you could look with long beautiful hair and a purple kimono with thigh high splits. He put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow scrupulously.
"I don't know what you're getting at sir, but I'm not Akito. That's the family master's name. My name's Ayame. I run a clothes shop of the same name. Perhaps you've heard of it? I design specially made garments that bring men's fantasies to life! I have a brochure if you'd like to take a look for yourself?"
"Now's not the time for a sale's pitch, Aya." Shigure said nervously.
The platinum haired man nodded in agreement. "Quite right Shigure. Quite right. Now – if you wish to speak to Akito, you can find him in that direction." He extended his finger along the path from which they came. "I however, am going home in that direction." Finger now pointing in the direction of Shigure's house. "And if you don't mind, you are currently standing between me and my destination. So, if I have succeeded in making myself perfectly clear, me and my faithful companion, would very much like to continue on our way. If you would kindly step aside?"
The stranger took a long step forward. "If you would allow me just a minute to explain-"
By this point Shigure had grown aggravated. It usually took a lot to wind him up and this man was doing just that. Ayame didn't need this sort of shit when he was feeling as bad as he was! With a protective growl, Shigure reached out and pulled Ayame back, putting his own body between his lover and the stranger.
"Look mister, he doesn't want to speak to you. And if you continue to harass us, I'll have you reported!" He threatened. Ayame quivered in boyish glee, wondering why being intimidating and masculine came so easily to Shigure. Must be an uke thing.
The stranger seemed amused. "Oh...? Will you just?" He took another step forward. "To whom I ask might you report me? A chipmunk? A passing bird? It may just have evaded your notice, Shigure but we're in the middle of the woods. Ain't no one here but the three of us."
Ayame could sense the malignant undertones in that peculiar voice and decided that enough was enough.
"Shigure be careful." He whispered, taking the inu's arm and glaring at the robed man reproachfully. "Mister, we'll be on our way. If you wish to talk to me, I suggest making a call to my shop or house, like a normal person."
With that being said, Ayame plucked up his courage and plunged roughly past the stranger, pulling Shigure with him. They walked brusquely toward Shigure's house, keeping as close to one another as was possible. It was not as thought both men together were not a suitable match for the robed one, but they had to take into consideration that you couldn't just jump to conclusions and start beating innocent (yet creepy) bystanders over the head with a tree branch. That sort of thing could get you sued. Also, the man was considerably taller than the both of them. It would have been an ugly confrontation at best.
After a minute or so, Ayame conceded to the fact that the stranger was not going to go away. He was traipsing along behind them like some adamant horny fanboy and whilst Ayame could not blame him if he was merely scoping out their rather adorable asses, he did not approve of the man's threatening manner. Not in the slightest. What if he followed them home and crawled into Tohru's room late at night? Or even worse; Yuki's! He wasn't particularly worried about Kyou; he'd seen how capable the boy was at dealing with unwanted bed guests.
But still, enough was enough! Ayame wasn't a temperamental person by nature, but when he became agitated enough, there was something truly snake about him.
You piss off a snake and they bite you.
Ayame lost his temper.
"What's your problem?!" He yelled, spinning around and violently yanking his arm free of Shigure. The inu almost fell on his butt in shock. "Didn't I make it clear that I'm not interested in talking to you?! Take a hint! And stop staring at my ass, I could feel you practically burning holes through it."
Whilst Shigure struggled to regain his composure, the stranger seemed less intimidated by the snake's sudden outburst. He paused and gathered his thoughts; thumb set on his chin.
"This is more important than what you may or may not be interested in, Akito. And just for the record, I wasn't staring at your ass that hard."
Ayame ignored the last comment. "God dammit, you're mistaken! I told you – my name is Ayame! Akito is the family master. How many times do I have to say it before it sinks in?!"
The stranger was firm. "I am not mistaken. But – if it will make you feel better, I will call you Ayame as you wish." He raised his hands gently, in a gesture that implied Ayame was to relax. "I don't mean to alarm you but –"
"Oh we're way past that point mister." The tailor said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Please..." The man was persuasive; he gave him that much. "Just allow me a few minutes to explain. I promise it will be worth your time."
"My time is valuable." Ayame said pompously. "People pay good money for my time. And I highly doubt some fascinating yarn about an age-old end of the world prophecy is worth a few extra minutes of back rub. So if you don't mind, you can find some other delusional suckers to join your campaign to gather followers but as for me, I'm going home to my massage. Come on Shigure, let's go."
The inu nodded in repressed awe at his friend's suddenly much more aggressive attitude and allowed himself to be lead away meekly by the hand. The stranger's voice rose in tempo.
"Akito!" He cried.
"I'm going to scream!" Ayame threatened, just a little over the borderline of being marginally frustrated. He was wasting time better spent on bonding with Yuki, tormenting Kyou, flirting with Tohru and ... well... everything else he could be doing with Shigure. The robed man curled his lip.
"If you scream, who exactly is going to hear?" He wondered.
"Do you really want to take the chance that someone will?" Shigure asked, facing him.
The strange man sighed irritably. "I cannot stress how important it is that you hear me out." He sighed heavily, as though weighed down by some great pressure. "You're just as stubborn as she was..." The last part was barely audible.
Ayame was annoyed. He realized that he was not going to easily evade this conversation and thus decided that the only alternative was to end it as quickly as possible. That and... he was now strangely intrigued. The man didn't seem that threatening. Maybe he'd humor him for a while longer.
"She' who? What are you talking about?" He invited.
The stranger seemed surprised at Ayame's ignorance. He visibly straightened. "You mean to say you don't know?" He paused as though waiting for Ayame to correct himself. "Seriously?"
"Know what?" Ayame ventured, sounding quite peevish at this point. Damn, he was sacrificing a back rub for this shit
"About Arata." This was obviously supposed to mean something to Ayame and the robed man appeared shocked when the expression of understanding failed to dawn on the snake's face. He stumbled for words, a heightened anger circulating from within him. "The way's in which I could describe that witch! It's not polite for civil company... particularly not for yours I might add."
Ayame was confused. "Uh... why should I care? I don't have much to do with the Main House. It's not as though Arata and I are close, you know?"
"Unfortunate. Considering that she is your mother and all."
The tailor visibly drew back from the stranger, his eyes widening in disbelief. He felt the sudden burgeoning desire to either laugh or choke on his own breath, and neither came. He found all he could do was stare.
"What?!" He gasped.
The stranger sighed as though something he disapproved of had come to past. He seemed ironically disgusted. "They... didn't tell you." He concluded, shaking his head. "I would have thought they'd at least tell you the truth before now. Figures... your parents have always been like that when it came to you. Not so much for your intemperate little rat of a brother-"
Ayame advanced angrily, his fist clenched. "You stop right there!"
The stranger lightly raised both hands to show he meant no offense. "Okay." He said casually and started nonchalantly pacing back and forth across the path. Shigure moved to Ayame's side and gently cupped his fist between his hands, pulled it down to his side. "Your parent's really didn't tell you anything?"
Ayame groaned and waved his free hand about despondently. "Anything about what?! I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well your past, of course." The robed one said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The past fragmented by darkness and lonely days spent locked within that room you despise with all your heart." He pointed a finger at him. "The room of the scarlet symbol, the stain that you were never able to see. The Punishment Room."
"I'm more than aware of my past, thankyou very much." Ayame snapped a little more harshly then he intended. The stranger shook his head.
"Not the true past. The past surrounding your birth and... the reason you see what it is you see in your dreams."
Ayame felt it. Felt his own eyes slant down to the thinnest sliver of green, within his pupil. Though nothing physically changed about him, he could have sworn that everything suddenly grew darker, that the clouds whipped across the sky like busy Tokyo traffic. As though the season's turned in a matter of seconds.
As though he became a different person altogether.
"It is the beginning that you are witnessing." The stranger continued. "And you witness furthermore of that which is to come. Do you wonder why it is that you cannot go one night without these nightmares invading your sleep?"
Ayame's voice quivered in the sheathe of a whisper. A barely inaudible shine over the confusion he couldn't wrench himself from.
"How do you know that?" He asked, swallowing heavily. " – Who are you?"
The strange man ignored his question, intent on finishing his overly pretentious speech of cryptic foreshadowing.
"It was foretold since the moment of your birth. Though you are not the one whom was fated to endure the full weight of the zodiac curse – nevertheless, the curse has touched you, because you were allowed to live."
Shigure frowned. "Allowed to ... – to live?" He clenched his teeth and made a threatening fist at the stranger. "What in God's name does that mean? What nonsense are you spewing? 'Allowed to live' – what the fuck?!"
"You don't understand." The stranger said solemnly.
"I don't wanna freakin' understand, you psychopath! Now listen – you know about our curse... I want a name. Why has an outsider been allowed to keep our secrets?"
The 'outsider' examined his nails. "Your temper bores me. And for the record, this 'outsider' has had more of a hand in this family, then you'll ever know, sonny. I kept its secrets, because few alone knew that I had learnt the secrets in the first place. Your mother for one." He said pointing at Ayame.
"I don't understand you!" The snake whined.
Shigure saw how upset his lover was getting and gently pulled him back, glaring daggers into the robed one. "You son of a bitch. Give me your name!"
There was a moment's hesitation and then the stranger dutifully raised his arms. "Englebird Humperdink the 3rd. You might want to remember that."
The two men stared and raised their eyebrows in comical unison. Shigure scratched his head.
"I... didn't get a word of that." He mumbled.
"Is that a real name?" Ayame asked innocently. Shigure battered him on top of the head.
"No, you daft fool! It's obviously not his real name! Who would have a name like Englebird Humperdink?! – Unless of course it was one of your alternate identities in school that is..."
The stranger chuckled silently into his hand. "Oh, find a sense of humor boys honestly. Of course that's not my real name. It's an alias. Quite a good one at that too, wouldn't you say?" He leaned toward them cockily, placing his hand on his hip and leering with what was visible of his face. "Do you really think that I'm stupid enough to give you my real name? Please... if anything, have some respect for me, beyond the expectation that I retain a 2nd grade primary school wit."
Ayame ignored him. "What do you know about these dreams I'm having?" He frowned and took a step forward, much to Shigure's discomfort. "How could you possibly know? The only people who have heard about them are Shigure and Hatori."
"Don't ask me how I know." The stranger baited playfully.
Ayame bit. "Why?"
"It's... complicated."
"Complicated..." Ayame mused. "What – bullshit! You expect me to waste my valuable back massage time here when you can't even give me a straight answer?"
"Temper, temper." The stranger scolded, waving a finger. "Believe me, I know how surreal this all must seem. But right now, I need you to have just a little bit of faith."
"And why should I believe a word you tell me?" Ayame said snidely.
The robed man contemplated this for a moment and eventually came to the sound resolution of disinterest. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I cannot give you a reason to believe me." He admitted. "All I can tell you is that it is very important that you heed my words. I've been looking into the suspicious circumstances of the Sohma family. My discoveries have led me to adopt the secondary assignment of researching your past."
This was intriguing, though Ayame did his best not to seem too interested.
"Why mine in particular?" He asked, clapping his hands together in girlish glee. "To be honest, I'm a bit of a nobody in the Sohma clan, so I don't see why you would need to."
"You're not a nobody, Ayame." The man said, almost laughing in irony. "Don't you understand yet? Why they all look down their noses at you? Why they locked you in that darkness for hours at a time? See? They didn't disrespect you. They feared you. Feared your potential, what was inside of you that could be if you had only been allowed to open yourself up to it. That would awaken should their control over you slip. They ground you down – to keep you theirs. 'My-"
" – coils tighten and keep you my own." Ayame intervened, completing the quote. The stranger smiled a little savagely.
"Yes."
Ayame could not explain where he had plucked the memory of that. When he had heard the stranger speak the first word, the rest of it just seemed to spring to life within him. He thought back to the song that had come into his mind only minutes earlier, wishing he could rationalize just where it was that he had learnt such sorrowful words.
"With shattered hearts
Discoveries from the past, intentions left to fester
And a hand colored scarlet, bathing in your wounds"
Ayame felt water in his eyes and bit his lip, looking sidelong to the ground. His confusion was so great he felt physically ill.
"I don't get it..." He whispered. "None of this makes any sense. Tell me more! If you can help me to understand this, then please share with me what you know!"
The stranger seemed to be enjoying Ayame's turmoil in some darker sense. His pouty lips turned upward into the flicker of a cruel smile.
"You're not ready." He practically sang.
Ayame felt the sudden desire to ram his fist through that mocking face. To shatter it. He fought back his emotions, ashamed at the anger he could feel burning within his soul. It frightened him that he could get so infuriated.
"Who are you to judge that?!" He exclaimed to the stranger's turning back. The weirdo was walking into the woods, waving a hand casually over his shoulder as though nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. As if he were simply bidding two old friend's goodbye.
"If you were ready... you would not need me to tell you." The voice came, straying behind the emptiness where the stranger had only stood moments before.
"Wait!" Ayame yelled and was about the follow him when a sudden high-pitched rattling sound began to reverberate within his skull. It sounded like an entire orchestra of cicada's had taken up residence between his ears and each one was rubbing their legs together as hard as they were able. The pain was excruciating. It seemed to split his head in two. Ayame moaned and clutched his face, staggering onto his knees, as the agony became too much to handle. Little sobs leaked from between his lips.
"Aya?!" Shigure sounded really scared. He was leaning down, clutching Ayame's upper arm and trying to see into his tormented face. "Aya, what's wrong?!"
Above the cruel rattling intent on piercing through his skull at every angle, Ayame was able to lift his head to Shigure, only to have his vision blur and fade in and out. He groaned as the evening glow surmounting the woods, began to inexplicably fade in and out of a midnight oil blue and back again, into the ailing light. He thought he could hear someone screaming... calling someone's name. But no matter how hard he tried to focus on the voice, it refused to be found in the abnormal transition of the woods. Ayame grimaced and blinked back tears as the rattling noises mercifully began to fade away. Before it disappeared completely, he had a sudden flash into the oil blue realm – whatever it was.
He saw... the scarlet symbol. It was painted to the side of a tree, carved within the ridges of the wood. A circle, with a 14 point star in the center. And at each point, an animal of the Chinese Zodiac; including the estranged cat.
But there were 14.
There was one more... one he didn't recognize.
What was that?
"Aya? ...AYA!"
The blue ink faded away at the sound of Shigure's voice and with it the scarlet symbol. Though Ayame was curious about that forth point, he was not sad to see it go. Whimpering at the lingering pain, the snake slowly and carefully climbed to his feet, managing to stand with some assistance from Shigure. He swallowed deeply as bile rose in the back of his throat. Whatever world he had just seen inside of then was thick with the stink of blood. Old blood.
What the Hell was happening to him?
"Aya?" Shigure asked carefully and jumped as the good-natured tailor slammed his foot into a tree trunk. His forehead was creased from the pressure of his anger.
"I don't understand..." He whined and punched the tree again, hoping to alleviate some of his tension. He only managed to scrape the skin off of his knuckles. "I never understand!"
"Ayame..." Shigure's voice was soft and sympathetic. It allured Ayame to his arms once more and the pair embraced, squeezing each other beneath the darkening sky. "Aya, you're trembling... what the Hell's going on? ... Aya?"
"I wanna go home." The snake said, so heartbreakingly pitiful that Shigure wanted to squeeze him more the so tighter. Take me home Shigure... okay?"
Shigure glanced around uncertainly, as though to make sure that the stranger was not still anywhere in the prefecture. When he was certain that they were in the clear, he gave a small nod of affirmation.
"...Yeah, let's go."
SCENE CHANGE
The tall chestnut haired man leaned his back against the tree and sighed. He knew that he had been taking calculable risks, allowing the Sohma's to see him in the woods but at this point he was beyond caring. He'd spent seven years comatose, lost in the abominable darkness he despised with all his heart, dreaming of the face that would never see him with the same love again. For his sin, he had been shown the worst punishment, the most abominable cruelty of all. To be forgotten. For all those who had ever known and loved him, to forget that he ever even existed. To be extinguished into the cloud of infernal nothingness that was more absolute than death itself. And in that vapor, he had slept for the days, the months and the years, bleeding, trying to heal himself and then being forced back into his cruel placidity again and again. That sleep had been absolute and he could not awaken, not ever. Not unless someone willed him to return.
That time had come.
Even now he could feel the strength returning to his physical configuration, the essence of his withered soul replenishing each tear in his body that the will of his mind had been unable to salve. Slowly, but surely, the person he had once been was coming back.
Seven years he had been willing the astral cord of his consciousness to enter the Sohma grounds, hoping to reassert his presence once more within the hearts of those that sought to drive him out. Until now, his efforts had been futile. Utterly despondent.
Until this day.
The master had seen him. For the first time in seven years the master had seen him, whereupon before those dark eyes had grazed directly through him. The astral cord was a forthright extension of the mind and did not retain the persona of the one whom sent it. Using it whilst deep within a coma was little different from controlling a dream. Things happened outside of your own control. But the chestnut haired one was pleased. Three times he had made contact with the master and through this interaction he had led the boy to discover the chest. And once the clock on the chest ceased ticking... he became something of himself once more.
It was the servant who had set this whole thing in motion. He had found the Archon. And through that accumulation he was able to reach within the house of Sohma and make his influence known. How fortunate. Things were going much better than he had ever hoped.
Now perhaps... he would be able to see him again, with his own eyes, not the hallucinogenic eyes of the astral cord that could barely discern one living mass from a world of gray's, blacks and bloodstains. This physical reanimation gave him back what darkness had stolen from him almost a decade ago. What they had stolen.
Oh yes... how he was going to enjoy the bloody satisfaction of that.
But more important was that he go to the boy, the boy whom his destiny was inevitably tied to. It had only been in the time spent apart that he had stopped pretending to himself and openly confessed his desire. The desire to see the boy, to let the boy see him.
The man rested the crown of his head against the tree trunk and closed his still rather sore eyes. It wasn't too much longer now... soon he would be able to stop watching from afar. Soon... he would have that life returned to him. The life they had stolen with no intention of ever giving back.
A branch snapping underfoot disrupted the man's thoughts and he jerked into action. His sai were sheathed in the thin waistband of his cloak and he drew them as he leapt upward and horizontal, sinking one foot against the bark of the tree he had been leaning against. Though it had been some years since he had engaged in physical combat of this magnitude, instinct came through for him when it was most needed and he found it none too difficult to station his weight, observing the sharp gleam of dying sunlight off of his sai blades and swung his other leg up, pushing off from the trunk and swinging himself to face the disturbance. He threw himself forward, his right leg snapping around with the ferocity of a mythical dragon's tail and the sai's points extended. The intruder had other ideas however and met the blades with the two-foot length of steel carried in his right hand, blocking the harsh crescent moon kick with the side of his arm. The chestnut haired man swung his hips to the side and managed to land safely behind the intruder, digging the sai blades into the ground to keep from sliding. Once he was steady, he leapt to his feet and repositioned them defensively before his body, the needle sharp points extending from the space between his middle and ring fingers. The intruder slowly faced him, brown hair rustling in the light wind as he raised the small samurai sword horizontally at face height, gripping the long handle with both hands. There was no hint of an expression on his blandly handsome face, yet something in his eyes spoke volume's about the task he was unwilling to perform.
It was silent for a very long time. Both men waited for either to make the next move and neither did. At long last it was the intruder, who waveringly chose to speak, though it was clear he would have preferred to keep their stance purely impersonal.
" ... Why am I not surprised to find you here?" He said, his voice expressing as much rigidity as his pose. The robed one smiled in a maddeningly calm way. "Playing Peeping Tom are we?"
The chestnut continued to grin and reaffirmed his grip on the sai's handles, lightly shifting his weight on the balls of his feet.
"This coming from one whom gets his jollies by stalking people." He shot back, tossing his head. The hood of his robe continued to obscure the upper half of his face, despite the hasty movements of before. "My, my, my... and I was under the impression that you had... how did they put it again? Agoraphobia? Or is that just another of their half faciled lies?"
"We both know the reason I cannot go into wide open spaces." The other hissed. "I can barely stand being out here as it is. But – there are reason's that I stand here now, as is obvious. Your reflexes are still as good as ever I see, but your aim is poor. You would have broken your foot on my teeth had I allowed it to connect."
"I was aiming for your throat, silly boy."
"Silly boy, hmm? Well – I may be silly, but I still could have sliced through your kneecaps before you even registered my presence. Then you would be at my mercy."
The chestnut was grim. "I have grown accustomed to that humiliation, Kureno. And I will tell you now, that had circumstances been different, you would not have lived to see this day."
Kureno winced at the betrayal he heard in this man's voice but kept his guard up. Though he was certainly the better warrior of the two, the chestnut was impeccable for his ability to sight even the smallest glimmer in loss of self-control. And in so observing, he could cut you in two before you even had a chance to blink. It was best to be disinterested, despite how much it hurt inside.
"It was only fair that your blade cut as deep as I cut your heart." He whispered, drawing up the side of his sweater, revealing the scar on the right side of his abdomen. "I knew you were close when it began to itch this afternoon. And then I felt you draw yourself through the necklace I found."
"Did I frighten you, Ku-Ku-chan?"
"What game do you think you are playing, Bane?" Kureno asked, ignoring the chestnut's subtle jive. "Do you think I've forgotten what you said before they drove you out, just why it was you disappeared into these woods and why you are here now? Give me a break... I'm not as stupid as they are."
"Bane now is it? How impersonal. How appropriate." The one called Bane gave a presumptuous smile and spun the sai about on his fingers; hooking them back within his sheathes all in the one fluid movement. Kureno also holstered his sword after a moment's hesitation. "I assume that you found the tape then? Ah... and that's why you are here now, is it? The Termite Queen herself sent you, to protect the little spider. Loyal faithful Kureno... you are here to stop me, the loyal faithful Bane as you so diligently put it, from coming home. That's kind of mean you know. Don't you know I'm homesick?"
"Shut your stinking mouth!" Kureno roared, loosing control. His hand was on the sword handle in a matter of seconds. "You were the one that committed the sin and you were punished accordingly for it! Don't sling your tongue blade at me, condemning my cruelty! All I ever did was as required. As was my duty!"
"Easy does it Ku-Ku-chan. You don't want to blow a blood vessel."
"Do you have any idea the nightmares I've suffered since that day, knowing what I did?! Knowing the pain that I had caused? Not just you but our little boy too!" There was water in Kureno's eyes and he knew he was letting his guard drop. "Do you have any idea how that felt?! How it feels now, to live with that memory? I didn't want to help them but –"
"Bastard. You can bite your tongue right there."
The command effectively silenced Kureno and he took a step back at the furious red glow that seared him from beneath the chestnut's hood. The somewhat good natured personality that had been evident before had evaporated leaving something behind that was purely spiteful and angry. This frightened Kureno. He'd seen it before and seen the reach of its' mercy.
"Don't you even try to inspire sympathy on my behalf, because I couldn't give a damn how much you've suffered in the last seven years. That concern went with my compassion, after you stabbed me in the back." The Bane strode purposefully toward Kureno who pulled quickly to release the Katana. He found his hands crushed beneath the unbelievable strength of the chestnut, who pushed the sword back within it's sheathe and ripped the entire buckle from Kureno's side, tossing it over into a small copse of bushes. The elder lashed out with his left hand, trying to conquer the critical indent that was the temple, but the Bane caught him by the wrist and slammed him back against the trunk of the tree, sliding the entire length of his body up against his.
"That wasn't nice." He scolded, using his other hand to pin Kureno's left wrist to the trunk. "Listen; if you want to hear that I was punished well, then I can tell you with most astute clarity, that I was. The sanctioning imposed upon me for my sin left me alone in a world more cold then the winter of which my heart was suspended. To be forgotten by all those I had ever loved? Yes dear Susumu... I was punished very well." He stepped back, allowing his grip on Kureno to fall free. "Is that enough? Along with the memory you must retain of my mutilated body when you came to see me in that God forsaken Hell? To make sure that I slept... that the blood, the pus, the welts continued to ooze through the bandages for seven long years? That my tongue was forever struck from my mouth so that I might never raise my voice to tell those that I cared for how much I loved them?" At this he moved closer, leaning down to whisper into the rooster's ear. "Or... is that you just want to hear me say that I don't hate you for punishing me?"
Kureno hung his head. "If your feelings say that you should, then go by it. Although by truth you have no right to make judgements... I didn't want to help them but- ... I searched! As soon as I was well I looked everywhere for you! And when I found you lying in that hospital bed... torn from who you once were- do you know what I would have given to have taken your place? I would have given everything! If not for you, then for Akito!"
The Bane was grim. "Any particular reason?"
"You bastard." Kureno snapped, prodding him in the chest with one finger. "You know perfectly well why. I was with him from the moment he was born and you- only since the death of Tamiko. Yet it was you he loved. The elder's couldn't allow such a connection. It was hubris."
"Human." The Bane corrected. "Not hubris. Now... why is that you are here right now, Kureno? Do you mean to... kill me? Drive me away again? Or-" He turned and raised an eyebrow, though the expression was quite wasted from within the robe. " – another reason, perhaps?"
"I was sent to observe the grounds." Kureno said, choosing to ignore the capricious intention of the other's words. "After the master saw the tape, the elder's are quite uneasy, at the very least. They sent me because I am the only one whom remembers you that is your match." At this he lowered his head a little. "The other two have forgotten."
"What a waste." The Bane said, not caring. "Now they'll just have to live normal, happy, uneventful lives." He suddenly laughed. "Boy was that a contradiction! This is the Sohma family after all..."
Kureno nodded, adhering to the sincerity of the statement and not taking offence. After all... the man was technically part of the family. If not by blood then by... other means. He felt suddenly and briefly embarrassed however and wished for the security of the samurai sword that lay nonchalantly in the bushes to his left.
The Bane spoke again, following the lengthy silence. "No more threats to make? Just – 'Piss off and leave us alone?'"
"I would never quite phrase it like that but, in common comparison I must say – yes, that's the basic gist of it." Kureno straightened up as much as he could, trying to compensate his shorter height by making himself appear bold. It was difficult when the person you were trying to intimidate was packing two respectable sai and you were five or so feet away from your own weapon. "I'm going to make this very clear to you, asshole. You should not have woken up. Leave the Sohma family and don't ever come back. And I will make it even more clear to you that should you come within twelve feet of Akito Sohma, I will slice off each and every one of your limbs and tie your corpse to a tree for the beds to feast on." He leaned his face in close. "Do we comprehend that?"
The Bane considered for two seconds and then raised both his hands. "That seemed a little less polite then you were boasting yourself to be, but oh well. Au comprendé, capitaine! Sorry though, can't comply."
"Why the Hell not? Too stupid?"
"How harsh. And no, not too stupid. Just don't feel like listening to a chump like you, who is of less than equal or no importance, trying to boss me around. It goes against my reputation."
"This chump happens to be an elder, prick."
The Bane waved a finger. "I understand that you keep swearing at me to compensate for the fear you have of my boundless powers but really – you're starting to cause a rift between us."
Kureno smothered a scream of frustration. "You're still as big a jerk as I remember! After what you went through, I would have thought you'd change a little! Or at least grow up! Apparently I was wrong. Now – would you please just leave us in peace?! Go get a job or something and quite trying to worm your way back into Akito's life!"
His tone was commanding but there was something of a questioning air beneath his words. He wanted the Bane to take the situation as seriously as he was. More so, Kureno wanted an extension on his statement, a confirmation of his intentions or a denial.
The Bane sighed breathily as he picked a few stray leaves from Kureno's hair. The other man knew him too well, knew him well enough to know when he was lusting after someone. After all, he had once looked at him the very same way that he had been staring at Akito's window just moments before.
"I know my destiny. The destiny that Tamiko herself gave me." He sniffed, looking over Kureno's head, back towards the main house. Akito was not at the window but something about that circular framework reminded the Bane of what it was he desperately wanted to see again. Seven years... it was enough to tear his heart into pieces. "Tamiko trusted me to do as no other ever has. To free this family of its' curse. To free her child, so he would never have to know the same suffering that she did. Though by now of course, it is far too late for that."
Kureno laughed softly and shook his head. "Your fancy words don't fool me, you bastard. Never have, never will. I know what you are thinking when you look at that window." He walked over to lean against one of the trees and placed his hands on the cool bark. The sinking sun threw the main house into a violent array of shadows and glares. "Not that I cannot commend you for your taste ani. Akito is... beautiful. Just as you said. He has the beauty of his mother... and most of her temper as well. Needless to say, he is not the same boy you remember Bane. He is very sick... both mentally and physically. And he has grown cruel."
"My 'Kito?" The chestnut asked as he watched the soft-spoken rooster. "Susumu... why do you sound so sad?"
"I am sad for you..." Kureno whispered, leaning his head on the tree trunk. "For what you have to do my ani. My otooto. Your future and your past are both so sad and yet.. still you still have that same old smile I remember so well. That same old ignorance of the corruption of the human soul. It did not occur to you that Akito could become so tainted, could it? It did not occur to you that should you return you may find nothing at all to love about him. Nothing at all."
The chestnut shrugged. "What other choice do I have, Ku-Ku-chan? To live in misery, drown in my sorrow? All I can do is keep smiling, keep on loving. Do you think I lied on that tape when I said that I would never be ashamed or disappointed in Akito? Don't you get it? I love him. Unconditionally."
"You keep doing this and you'll be thrown back into Darkness." Kureno mumbled, looking downwards.
The words sent a shiver up the Bane's spin and he struggled not to let it show. Even in the warm evening sun, he suddenly felt cold all over as the memories of his turmoiltuous sleep and a pitch-black room reverberated within his mind. He shook his head as if to clear it and forced himself to smile.
"Nah! Who would throw this pretty face into a dark room where it couldn't be seen?" He asked in a pouty voice. When Kureno didn't answer he strode over to him and used his thumb to lift his chin. Forcing their eyes to meet. Kureno felt his resolve to end this confrontation as he had so violently planned waver, when he saw the face of the one whom had been forgotten. The face he had last seen torn and wrapped in layers of bloody bandages. "You know what I must do. You know I must give myself to Akito, body, mind and soul, ani. I am not afraid of tomorrow anymore or what the future has in store for me. You shouldn't have to be afraid for me."
Kureno was resilient beneath his gaze. "You know the penalty for returning here, Bane. Should you continue to do so, I will tell the elder's. Their punishment will be no less severe then if they caught you themselves. But you must not do this anymore. ... You must not put yourself in danger, not after going through so much already." His voice trembled. "I cannot bear the thought of seeing you broken again, not again. You are... too important..."
The Bane raised an eyebrow. "Too important to this family – or to you?"
Kureno pulled himself from his hands and turned to retrieve his sword from the bushes into which they had been cast. He slid the belt back around his waist and buckled it, pausing to rearrange his attire and then turning his head a little.
"I shouldn't have to say this but... don't fall in love with Sohma Akito." He said darkly, not meeting the other man's eyes. "There is nothing for the two of you but heartbreak."
There was a pregnant silence that extended on despite the million things the Bane wanted to say. His thoughts drifted away from him, escaping into thin air before he could pin them down with adequate words. What did Kureno know? What gave him the right to tell him what he could or could not do?! The chestnut lowered his head, so his long bangs further obscured his face, preventing Kureno from seeing the hot angry tears that burnt his eyes.
"What I do is my business..." He said in a thin, dangerous voice. "I've already lost seven years of my life and I will make the best of what I have left. You tell me not to come back as though I have no feelings at all, Susumu."
"That would imply that you were human." Kureno replied a little unkindly.
"How rude!" The Bane exclaimed.
"Do you have any idea the repercussions of your actions, should you return?" The rooster asked tenaciously. "I want you to understand that I know that I fucked you over royally back then. I was naive too and hadn't a clue what the elder's had planned for you."
The bane seemed ironically exasperated. "What did you expect?! A little slap on the bum?"
Kureno almost laughed at this. It was just the sort of thing he'd say. "I don't know what I expected but... certainly not a sanctioning as harsh as it was." He broke off as tears clouded his vision, he face collapsing in grief and the memory of horror. "God... if you had any idea the nightmares that haunted me from that day onwards. I well deserved them... and I'm sure they are only a fraction of the horror that you were put through. What I mean to say is... you have every right to exact your revenge upon me. To get even that is. To be angry, to hate me as passionately as you once loved me and I won't begrudge you that. Anything that you could do to me would be less than I deserve."
"How noble." The chestnut said sarcastically. "But why bother with all that 'getting-even' crap? You were as much a pawn as I was... I know what you're trying to do Susumu. And if you think that flaunting that moral card about in my face is going to make me recklessly charge you so you can stick me with that 2-foot swizzle stick, you can think again. Now get your hand off of the sword and turn around."
Kureno bit his lip angrily realizing he'd been caught out and released his grip on the Katana handle. He faced the bane. "We both know that your life has never been your own. Just as mine has never been. What the Hell's the point?"
There was a silence as the Bane considered. "That we do it. Regardless." He said at last.
A gust of wind sent the dead leaves of Autumn billowing past the two men, the rustling of it's husky breath seeming unnaturally loud to both as they stared each other down. Kureno swallowed deeply.
"Wont you turn and walk away?"
The bane shook his head. "I'm right where I need to be."
A further silence and Kureno could feel the sweat beading on his forehead, the sticky rankness of the saliva beneath his tongue. And the overcompensating wave of emotion that came with the knowledge of what he would have to do in order to make the bane understand just how serious this all was. Why he had to leave.
"You cannot come back." He said as forcefully as he could. "You are dead to us. Dead. Should you try to come back – I'll be the one to kill you this time."
The bane smiled grimly. "Ku-Ku-chan... you were the one that killed me the first time. You were there the day I 'died.' They completely broke me. In every way a man can possibly be broken, they broke me. I was punished because of the love I had for that boy... And in the darkness as I slept, that love kept me alive when it was illogical that I should keep breathing. None of the doctors or the nurses could understand it. They came day after day to change the bandages that soaked the bed beneath me in blood. I bled like the rain, Susumu. I bled like the rain in the days of war long since past. I bled more blood then there was blood in my veins and it was thought that nothing could keep me alive. Nothing. ... How foolish you all were. Tamiko's death was what kept me breathing in that godforsaken hell I was plunged into. When the pain became so great that I begged for release, that women was there on the far side of the shadows, pushing me back into this word. Again. And again. And again. You cannot understand the torment of my suffering, Kureno. When they switched off the life support I just wouldn't go. I just wouldn't die. I bled... I bleed until this day and I bleed for Akito! My life is not going to end before I have found some way of saving his! That is my reward!"
Kureno drew his sword at the same moment the bane released his sai. They stood poised in the manner of ancient samurai warriors preparing to cast one another into the abyss. Kureno's breath was labored.
"I cannot change the past." He said at last. "But for the resilience you have shown, I have nothing but admiration and respect for you."
"Oh yippee." The other said, rolling his eyes. "Respect and admiration constitute the loss of seven years that's for sure. Stuff a sock in your windpipe Kureno and let's resolve this. If that's what you want, we'll pursue this pointless debacle to its ultimate and final asinine resolution. Or – you can turn around, go home, make yourself a nice pot of tea and resign yourself to the fact that I'll be joining you at the table in a short while. ... Well? What's it going to be?"
In all honesty, Kureno would have much preferred to take this option. He was not a coward by nature, nor did he fear actually confronting the bane in a full on fight but – he had his instructions. And he was beginning to make some sense of things that made him fear what else was to happen should he allow this man to come back. It had already turned out so badly the first time...
"... You cannot come back." He repeated firmly.
The Bane slashed at the air aggressively, his expression prodigious.
"Don't you understand, Kureno?!" He cried in grievance. "I must come back! The influence of the past is already starting to spread beyond the elder's control. When Shoki's Festival comes about, it will be too late to stop her misery. They will die Kureno. She'll take them in her vengeance, to reclaim the lives that were taken from her!"
Kureno was confused. "What nonsense do you speak of?"
The bane was grim. "The ritual is fast approaching. Should it fail to be upheld, this family will be lost, as was the Shirotora. Should it fail... they will die."
"Who will die?" Kureno took a step forward. "Who will die and what ritual? This all sounds like crazy gibberish – though I shouldn't be surprised I suppose, considering who it is coming from."
"I'm not crazy." The bane insisted with anger. "I know of what I speak! This ritual, this curse is claiming the life of the Akito as we speak."
"The Akito...? You said 'they' will die."
It was somewhat sinister, the bane's next words. And Kureno felt the overwhelming desire to suddenly run far, far away as those red eyes glowed beneath the hood.
"Both the Akito's will die."
Silence.
"You still don't understand. That secret was torn by the other elder's I suppose." The bane sighed and brushed his chin with his forefinger. "In any event... I don't see how you could doubt the authenticity of my words. The Akito is coming into age and the others are starting to awaken. Such as I did. Don't you see that is how I was able to come back here, to awaken from my coma? You saw it; that clock on the outside of the chest."
Kureno thought back to the moment he and Akito had unveiled the box and discovered the plain numberless clock on the front of it. How it had sprung open when the second hand had reached the high rise of the face. It hadn't really fazed him all that much, despite the peculiarity of it. But now that he thought about it... there had to have been some reason for the clock's significance. Clocks tell the time. They can also be used as an alarm... to wake somebody up who is sleeping...
His heart stalled.
"I cast a spell on that time keeper..." The bane said as he registered the look of shock on Kureno's face. "The chest was to unlock on the very first day of the Misery. The day in which the yurei would be unleashed from their slumber. I too would awaken when that clock stopped, so that I could be here to protect you all."
"Yurei... do you mean ghosts?" Kureno asked, frowning.
The bane curled his lip. "No, I meant a fucking pixie. Of course I mean ghosts! You can't tell me that nothing peculiar, apart from the obvious, has happened today?"
Kureno considered. Before he had found the necklace, Akito had spoken words that were not his own and some sort of otherworldly smell had availed his senses. Then there had been the shadow of the necklace, Akito's cryptic injuries ... and Ayame...
His expression turned to anger. "Were you the one who did that to Ayame?!" He yelled.
The bane recoiled at his violent reaction. "Ayame? ... Do you mean the snake? I haven't seen him since seven years ago... ..." He paused momentarily and scratched his chin with the tip of his sai. "Did something happen to him?"
Again, Kureno stared at him, noting that there was something artificial in the way in which the bane phrased his words. As though he knew a little more about the situation then he was letting on. If so, Kureno chose to let him believe his ignorance. Sometimes this made things less complicated.
"He fell to submission of the snake spirit." He said after a while.
The bane nodded as though the answer was both appropriate and fitting. He casually regarded his sai and spun them once anti-clockwise on his fingers, then anti-clockwise, as though showing off. Kureno eyed them carefully.
"Are you ready to do this?"
The robed one smiled a little dangerously. "No." He said. "But come at me with everything you have, ani. Show me your power."
It was all he needed. In a matter of seconds, Kureno had repositioned the Katana before his face. In the flawless sheen of the blade he could see the reflection of the tree's behind him, the leaves bending slightly to the sway of the breeze. He was in sync with the world around him, noting each tiny aspect that might save or end his life.
"Show me your worth." He replied, with nary a waver of his voice.
He plunged forward, turning his body so that the point of the sword was aimed directly at the center of the Bane's chest, intent on a single killing strike. To be honest, Kureno would have been astounded if that individual move had connected. It was quick and lethal; an ordinary person would have been pressed to avoid it.
But the Bane was not ordinary. And he sure as Hell was not a person.
The light glinted off of the swords sharpened edge, running along the blade and racing the swiftly sprinting form of the robed figure as he cut along beside it, expertly evading the stroke. The Katana hit nothing but air. With impeccable reaction time, Kureno pivoted to the right, swinging the sword in a wide upward arc, slicing through the upper sleeve of the Bane's cloak. There was a small insignificant splash of blood against brown material, but no affirmation of pain from the individual himself. It was insufficient damage.
The chestnut landed lightly against the patterned floor of the forest and just as quickly, twisted to the left, bringing the same leg around to deliver a sharp series of snap kicks to Kureno's jaw. The rooster effectively blocked two with the flat end of his sword but the third connected, thrusting directly into the scratch marks adorning his neck. He coughed, fighting back the duplicate bursts of pain and launched himself forward, parrying and slicing. The Bane battered at the hard steel with each blade, backing off with barely the minimalist movement of each step. He was already in a defensive pose and Kureno had appropriately taken on the offensive style, which was familiar in context to the two men. Little had changed in the last seven years.
"Ninjitsu has always been something more to you, has it not Susumu?" The Bane asked with a maddening grin. Kureno ignored him. Had to ignore him or risk loosing the fight. "It was never something as simple as kicks and punches, as the callous removal of ones self from debilitating human emotions. Oh, you seem apathetic enough on the top but underneath it all, you are bursting with nothing but your emotions. Love, anger, envy, hurt, foolishness, self-doubt. Debilitating human sincerity that means little to nothing, of artificial self-congratulatory nature, which essentially boils down to the fact that you are nothing but a scared little boy, Kureno. Scared because you fear that you have missed out on so much in your life because you are bound to the life of the master. I can feel it in you. You are giving it all unto me, in order to defeat me. Now, in a moment when you should be free of constricting emotion you let it overrule you, because you have no alternative way of expressing it. You don't know how. You are as inept with your feelings as you have ever been, when it should be so simple to let them be seen. You must be very sad you've had to resign yourself to this life, mustn't you? Did you envy me that? That I was able to live the same life but free myself of the restrictions imposed upon us?"
It was becoming irritating. Kureno growled and kicked the Bane once in the mouth to silence him and then again from the opposite side to punish his tenacity. Blood splattered from the robed ones lips and left a speckled arrangement on the tree's surrounding them, like some sort of infant with a paint brush. He considered his wound for a moment and tentatively reached up to wipe the fluid from his lips. It glimmered lightly beneath the sun as he held it up and then pressed the fingertip back into his mouth, swallowing it.
"I hate it – " He began, his voice smooth and calm. " – when people make me bleed."
At this the true ninja within the Bane surfaced and his next attacks came swift and silently, placing him in the stance of offensive whilst Kureno merely attempted to keep up. Both men had been trained in the art of the old ways, the ancient art of ninjitsu with no outside influence from other modern day martial arts, but Kureno had always been the most astute of the pair. He had a great respect for the style and the manner of its' execution. He had always seen Bane as something of a mimic in the art; as though he dealt the blows with the manner of one whom could only improvise what he had learnt and never exchange them with the comfort of utmost perfection. But now, there was something different in his nature. The self-conscious expression of his every action had been replaced by the art of instinct. He had mocked Kureno for his eruption of emotions when it came to fighting and Kureno realized that this was exactly what he was doing. Each swipe of his sai, each twist, pirouette, kick, punch and turn was at the mercy of nothing but the Bane's raw emotions, each with the strength of cold, compassionless fury. It was a dangerous fighting style; in such a way that one may very well have invited insanity to penetrate the mind.
But it was working. For what the Bane lacked in skill, he made up for in ruthless predilection.
The robed one came at him with the sai again and Kureno barely had time to parry with his sword, dodging away as the needle point blades serrated an inch deep cut into the tree he had been backed up against. He was horrifyingly fast and deterrent in each feint and fast he made. At times he would clear the area of his upper torso, inviting Kureno in to take a slice at him and instantly he'd be batting the sword away with one blade and lunging for his eyes with the other. Though it was not to his nature to use such tactics in a fight, Kureno bit down on his moral ethics and dramatically threw himself to the ground, skidding along on his side. The move surprised the Bane who predictably turned to follow it and found himself with a face full of dried leaves and dirt. He quickly scrubbed at his eyes, trying to clear his vision before Kureno was back on his feet. The rooster took advantage of his momentary blindness and scissor-kicked his legs, causing the other man to fall over. At the very last moment, he tried to save himself and threw his arms back, thrusting the sai's points deep into the dirt and trying to flip backwards, using the knives as a leverage. Kureno had to admire his perseverance at that, but thought it to be a foolish tactic regardless. He simply exploded forwards and pinned the legs to the ground, preventing his assent and pointing the sword's tip directly against the other man's throat, all but scratching his larynx. He panted harshly as he smiled down at the Bane, eyes gleaming with triumph.
"So smart... yet you fall for such a stupid trick." The rooster teased, chuckling ever so mockingly. The Bane smiled back despondently.
"I guess I just expected something more from you." He made a differing 'who cares?' shrug and released his death grip on the sai. "That was my mistake, as per usual. To expect smart tactics from foolish people."
Kureno jabbed him roughly in the throat as a warning and suddenly found himself being pushed sideways before he had registered the seizure of power. Once more he was effectively relieved of his samurai sword which reclaimed residence in the bushes to the left. The Bane stared down at him and then, in a somewhat surprising move, drove his mouth down against his. Kureno collapsed, not used to the feeling of being kissed. It had been a long time since... well... But it seemed he hadn't forgotten. The minute sensitive pathways of the other man's mouth, opened his memories and he lost all sense of the anger he had been feeling, the adrenaline of their fight making use of itself in other more productive means. The Bane moaned from deep beneath their lips and stationed his hand on Kureno's waist, fishing it up beneath his sweater in order to touch the mottled flesh of his scar. Kureno found his own hand repeating the action, though it was harder to locate the identical wound beneath all those layers of robes. But once he had his fingers caressing that familiar dark skin he found himself at an utter loss of self-control. How long had it been since he had felt this? This physical intimacy with someone? With Uo he felt compassion and sensitivity, but he had never been able to afford anything more, less their secret be unveiled. This factor had never really bothered him, or so he thought. But now, as he felt the soft probing of that supple tongue against his lips and the hands that had only moments ago been trying to hurt him, he realized just how much he missed this.
'And that's just what you want isn't it, you asshole?' He silently accused as he parted his lips and allowed the Bane to gain entry into his mouth.
'And you're just as bad Kureno.' The voice came back, sounding ever so smug and superior. 'You don't seem to be struggling too much do you?'
The voice had a point.
"Gebobff!" He yelled shoving at the body on top of him. Well at least he tried to yell. But only a rather muffled sound escaped from the sides of his mouth that weren't currently plastered to the Banes.
"Hmph? Wab idj oo shff?" The other man, uh asked. He still hadn't taken his mouth away which made any sort of verbal communication between the pair difficult. Kureno finally managed to pop his lips free, sending a great thread of saliva over his chin. He grimaced and wiped it against the other man's shoulder.
"You bloody slobbery prick! I said Get Off!" He shouted, balling his hands into tight 'break your fucking nose' fists with all intention of exacting their purpose. The Bane wiped absently at the spittle on his robes and flashed a wide grin.
"Get off, you say? Why it would be my pleasure! Or more specifically, it will be yours!" He leered, creeping his hand up of Kureno's sweater and onto his chest. The rooster decided enough was enough and if he didn't remove the malignant bastard, he'd be begging him to fuck him on the forest floor and that was just embarrassing. So, he gently persuaded him to cease his incessant fondling with a polite tap between the eyes.
"OUCHIE!!" The Bane screeched, falling backwards onto his butt and rubbing his face. "Hey – couldn't you be a little more gentle?" He whined, tears streaming down his face.
Kureno rolled back slightly and jumped directly to his feet, dusting off the seat of his pants and wiping his mouth free of any excess saliva. His face was a darling shade of red.
"You don't listen to people if they don't first prompt you with pain." He explained, knowing full well that it was the truth. "I'm sorry Bane, but I cannot allow you to return to the Sohma family. I came here to stop you, not to make out with you."
"What a shame..." The Bane pouted. "It was my failsafe plan and it failed! How could it? It was foolproof!"
"Because I'm 26 years old and I'm don't think with my penis all the time like most guys." Kureno said as way of excuse. He picked up the Bane's sai from the ground and twirled them about his fingers. "I could have killed you right here and now." He said pleasantly, extending the blades to the other man's chin. "But – I understand the need for mercy and I know the pain you have suffered already. For that, I have compassion and I will let you walk away with but that. Take what regret you have at ever being involved with this family and leave us. That is all I ask."
"And if I have no regrets?" The Bane asked quietly.
Kureno was grim. "Then you are truly stupid and I pity you for it." He paused to check his watch. "I will leave you now, with what I have told you. Take a hint and push off. Go and live a normal life, have a bunch of kids, get a moderate well paying job and forget you ever knew me, Akito or the Sohma's. Take the mercy that is your life and the scar's of yesterday and be grateful for what you have now. At this moment. I have nothing more to say."
With that he dropped the sai at the Bane's feet, retrieved his sword and disappeared into the embrace of the trees, indicating that the confrontation had come to a close. The robed one considered Kureno's words for a moment and decided to humor him, at least in part. He would make himself scarce until his ability's had fully regenerated and then...
He risked one last glance upward to the circular window that hid Akito's room. His entire being ached with the knowing that he was so close to seeing him again and yet at the same time, he was still so many miles away.
'Just give me a little longer...' He thought, wishing Akito could hear those words. 'It's not too long now...'
SCENE CHANGE
"I think if we had given them half the chance Gure, those kids would have been scolding us until dawn!" Ayame exclaimed, perching himself on the lip of the bathtub and giving a haughty toss of his head. "Honestly! My parent's are less anal then the two of them, and that should be telling you something!"
Shigure chuckled as he sank the plug into the plughole and twisted the taps on, watching the steady flow of water crash down onto the porcelain curl of the tub. Ayame scootched away from the edge to avoid getting his already thoroughly abused kimono splattered.
"Well... we did get home late after having an accident. They were just concerned, in their pubescent hormonal way." Ayame simply shrugged and crossed his arms; eyes set on the far side of the bathroom. "Seems like you're in a bad mood, Aya." The novelist ventured, stepping away from the tub and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist. Ayame sighed tiredly and rested back into his chest, his forehead pressed to Shigure's cheek. "It was Akito, wasn't it? He's got you riled..."
"Not riled Shigure... just plain humiliated..." Ayame trailed his fingernails along the novelist's jaw line, stroking the arm around his waist with his free hand. "I'm just disgusted you had to see me like that... I'm glad Yuki didn't. ... I'm truly a coward Gure..."
"You're not a coward." Shigure insisted, using both hands to force Ayame to meet his eyes. They seemed to want to look anywhere else except his own. "That was a frightening situation. Akito may be young, but he pretty much makes up for lack of age with a violent temper that no one would want to be on the receiving end of. It's never been directed at me fortunately, but I've seen how it affects others. It's terrifying."
Ayame knew perfectly well why Shigure had never been on the receiving end of Akito's aggression. The hissed accusations that the boy had whispered in his ear before they had left the Main House still remained with him. It was obvious how he felt for the dark haired inu of the zodiac. And obvious too how he felt about Ayame for gaining Shigure's love.
'All's fair,' Ayame thought gazing fondly into the brown eyes of his lover and feeling himself smile. 'After all I went through to get here I'll be damned if I'll let Akito screw it up for us now.'
Shigure returned the smile and leaned forward closing the space between their lips and pulling Ayame into the sweetest kiss imaginable. Wholesome and involving, but free from the passionate entangling of their tongues. An innocent first love kiss; the kind that spoke of summers long past and the taste of strawberry's. Ayame moaned into his friend's mouth and slid his arms up over Shigure's shoulders and around his neck. Ah bliss... this was the way it was meant to be. In moment's free from the nightmares, the apparitions and the anger of bitter family master's, he could feel this contented happiness and drift on it into a cloud filled tomorrow, swathed in a love he never thought imaginable. That was what Shigure could give him that no one else had ever been able to.
Their lips fell apart and Ayame brushed them together again, never wanted to separate from his lover, not even for a moment. Perhaps he had grown a tad dependent on Shigure, clingy and needy in the two months since they had been together. The nightmares had done that to him and he worried constantly that Shigure would soon protest to the amount of time they spent together. But so far... it hadn't happened. He prayed it never would.
"I had an amazing time today..." He said, rubbing his hands into the inward slope of Shigure's collarbone. "Well, you know. Apart from the whole crash thing-mi-whoo."
"How do you suppose we managed that?" Shigure pondered, trailing one hand down the inward sway of Ayame's back. His partner shrugged, seemingly disinterested.
"I'm not sure Shigure! Strange but we mustn't forget what foolhardy vagabonds we are! I'm just sorry that my poor sweet baby suffered the brunt of my bad driving..."
Shigure waved a hand. "Aya! Please don't embarrass me like that! I'm perfectly fine, it was only a little bump on the head!"
"I meant the car Shigure."
Predictably, Shigure took a swipe at his head and Ayame ducked the blow, getting quite good at anticipating when a smacking was coming his way. Laughing, he looped his arm about his boyfriend's waist and swung up behind him, wrapping him up and nuzzling his cheek from behind. This role reversal in the pseudo gender roles they played took Shigure momentarily by surprise. But he quickly relaxed, wary not to offend Ayame as he had earlier that day. Their fingers intertwined and danced along the thin folds of Shigure's shirt that withheld his flat stomach from sight. Feeling quite in the mood, Ayame pecked the space behind his lover's ear, eliciting a gentle moan in response.
"Before we start heading down the path of no return... Aya – " He gasped as Ayame turned his attention to the shell of his ear, snatching the lobe between his teeth and nibbling on it. "Tell me... just what suicidal tendencies gripped you in those very moments where you felt compelled my beloved little snake, to pounce Ninja style, on our poor unsuspecting family master?"
Ayame promptly spat out his ear.
"Aya?"
"Shigure, I would like to forget about it. If you do not mind." There was something cold and artificial in Ayame's voice. Like a snake hiss it was an imminent warning of what would happen if the subject was further pursued. And knowing his best friend like he did, Shigure was aware it meant the seriousness of what the topic warranted and danger or not, it was best pursued before it became poison. He turned his head to meet Ayame's eyes.
"Uh, uh, uh- no you don't!" The snake declared, pushing his fingers against Shigure's mouth. "I know what those big puppy dog eyes mean and I am telling you here and now that the topic is not open to discussion! I don't want to think about it right now. All I want to think of right now is you, your lips and where I want them. Is that too much to ask?"
"Aya..." Shigure began and he was rewarded for his persistence with a smack on the bum. Ayame made a most bodacious grin and smacked him once more. "OW! Geez..."
"That was for your tenor," the snake explained, pulling him close with a dowey-eyed expression. "If it suits you, we can discuss it tomorrow. But it suits me right now, to not want to talk about it. Should you fail to honor this agreement, there will be consequences. Are we clear?"
"Yeah, yeah we're clear. Ow..." Shigure rubbed his butt and winked back over his shoulder. "Gotta admit though, the threat of a spanking doesn't exactly discourage me from misbehaving Aya."
"I should hope not!" The snake laughed tracing one long finger from the top of Shigure's spine all the way down his back and pausing just before the curve of his buttocks. He leaned close to whisper in his ear. "I want you to make me feel good tonight Shigure. I want to forget about what happened earlier – all I want to think about, is you. Shigure... Shigure..." His voice escalated in lust as he softly caressed Shigure's butt, giving him a slight pinch on one cheek as he trailed his hand around and moved to stand before him. Shigure's eyes were heavy with desire, dripping with a honey dew passion as Ayame's long fingers set to work on his shirt buttons. He drew back, pulling Ayame with him and managed to find the bath taps. He twisted them off and returned his hands to the lovelier task of trailing down the divine slope of Ayame's back. There they found their mark around each buttock and with the weight divested upon the tight muscle, Shigure lifted Ayame up and the snake secured his legs around his chest, clinging to him as a python to a branch. The novelist carried his lover over to the bathroom bench where he quickly divested him of what had started the day as a clean designer kimono. It was divulged of much of it's former glory, rolled into a ball and tossed into the nearest available corner but Shigure was far more invested in the creature beneath it to care for the garment's dignity. He trailed his hand down the center of Ayame's slim chest, noting the obvious absence of any markings against the tender ashen skin. All the inflections caused by the accident had been isolated to above the neck alone. Ayame pressed the heels of his hands against the bench and lifted his bottom up, indicating that Shigure was to take his boxers off. The inu obliged dutifully and stretched the sides of the black boxers out, freeing Ayame's hips and sliding the undergarment down his long slender legs, tugging them away at the feet. Ayame was already semi-aroused, his eager cock begging for attention from the slight curl of silver hair between his legs. Shigure lowered himself down onto his knee's, leaning forward and grasping the taut length in the cup of one hand. It felt hot and tight as he lowered his mouth to perform the task the snake had been hoping for.
Ayame arched his back willingly as Shigure kissed the tip of his erection, rubbing his hand down the base of the length at the same time. He felt it twitch beneath his touch and kissed the end again, flicking his tongue over the head and licking with teasing intentions. Shigure looked up at Ayame's face to see that the other man was watching his actions. Encouraged, Shigure set his mouth around the very tip of Ayame's cock, licking at the wet slit and eliciting a sharp moan from his lover in response. Shigure's mouth felt so warm, his lips skimming the tight skin and then the lulling wave of his tongue as it probed along the hard shaft. The inu rested his hand on Ayame's inside thigh, rubbing the soft indent with his thumb as he relaxed his throat muscles, pulling Ayame even further within.
"Shigure!" The snake groaned, tilting his head back and sliding his tongue shut. He gently rolled his pelvis, panting at the friction he got from either side of Shigure's tight throat. The novelist focused on controlling his gag reflexes as he suckled the firm shaft from beneath, curling his tongue about it and tickling it lightly with the very tip. By this point, Ayame was consciously trying to keep himself from screaming as the control over his thrusts evaporated. Shigure could feel him coming close and gave one hard suck and slowly drew his mouth off of Ayame's penis. The snake whimpered as the compression of his lovers' throat disappeared and secured Shigure around the chest with his legs pulled him close.
"Gure... please...." He whispered, almost sobbing with the desperate need. The want. Pre-cum leaked from the tip of his cock, smearing across Shigure's shirt. The inu smiled and leaned close, gently entrusting his tongue to within the confines of the other man's mouth. It was then Ayame noticed the warmth spreading across his skin and realized that Shigure was washing him with a soapy cloth. That's right... he had run some soapy water in the sink before he'd drawn the bath. Ayame crooned and leaned back, allowing Shigure to trail that soft material over his skin, leaving behind a trail of sparkling soap bubbles. At one point, the novelist lifted his friend's leg and run the cloth up Ayame's thigh, over his buttock, then down teasingly to circle the outline of his groin.
"You are a cruel man, Shigure Sohma." The tailor managed to gasp, after his lover had rinsed him off. Shigure just smiled and gave him another kiss.
"All part of my evil plan..." He whispered, licking the slight upward curve of Ayame's smirk. The snake's hands darted forward and he scrabbled his nails desperately against the shirt he had so meticulously picked out for him that morning, wanting nothing more then to tear the god damned thing in half.
"Off." He insisted, tugging at the collar with much insistence. Shigure chuckled at his impatience and languorously took his time carefully unhooking the buttons and peeling the shirt off of his shoulders. By then, Ayame had turned his hormonal attentions to his pants and was yanking at the belt buckle as though tearing it off may have magically resulted in Shigure's trousers falling down. The novelist decided it was cruel to torture him anymore and made short work of his pants and boxers. Ayame smiled.
"You're getting the hang of it now!" He said with a great deal of satisfaction, picking the cloth out of the sink and wringing it out seductively. Shigure raised his eyebrows enticingly and stood straight and tall, his hands hanging at his side. Ayame leaned forward on the bench, trailing the damp cloth down his lovers' chest in one smooth stroke, then straight back up, lovingly caressing the other man's long neck. Shigure sighed and caught Ayame's hand in his own, kissing his fingers desperately as though it were the last time he would ever do so. The cloth fell to the floor as Shigure moved close and hooked his arms beneath Ayame's knees, the other arm framing his shoulders. He then carried him over to the bath, abandoning the hygienic soaping and rinsing. Hey, it wasn't like anyone was going to risk using the water after they had been in it. To Ayame, he felt sort of like a bride being carried into her new house just after the wedding had concluded. A buck-naked bride with a very painful arousal at that, but a bride non the less.
"Tell me if it's too hot." Shigure said, dunking Ayame's toes into the bath water without any warning. The tailor waggled his toes a little and nodded perkily.
"Not too cold, not too hot – Just right!" He declared as Shigure lowered him gently into the water. He sat up straight and splashed a bit of water over the side at him. "Too bad if it was hot though, Gure! You could have burnt my poor little tootsies to a crisp! Then how could I play footsies with you late at night? You see Gure, you really need to think before you ac-"
"Oh shut up." The inu said, climbing into the bath behind Ayame. He rested back against the white porcelain curve and made a gesture for the tailor to scoot back. Ayame shook his hair out, the longer bits straying across the water's surface and made a jerky gesture with his thumb.
"I think someone's forgetting they owe me a back rub."
Shigure had forgotten, but he didn't let on that he did. Sliding both his legs around Ayame's submerged form; he pulled himself in close, rubbed his hands together and set them down on his lovers' shoulders. He began rubbing in earnest, working out the knots he could feel moving beneath the skin. Ayame moaned appreciatively and pulled his legs up tight against his chest, resting his head on his knees.
"Ah... love ya Shiggy..." He said in a mixture of pain and pleasure. The inu just smiled and moved his hands down a little, rubbing the worn heels in ever widening circles. The water gently lapped around them, rising only as high as the center of their chests. Shigure could see every detail of Ayame's smooth perfect body, lengthened and distorted in some places, his pale skin shining with wetness. He loved it when they bathed together.
Ayame made a little noise as Shigure's hands descended lower into the water, rubbing the smooth indent of his waist. With his back free, Shigure took the opportunity to lay a line of kisses down the curved spine, trailing down and then up again to tease the back of Ayame's neck. The snake crooned wickedly.
"Oh you are a naughty boy Gure..." He whimpered, dipping his hand into the water and running it up Shigure's leg to his pelvis. The fingers moved tantalizingly close to their goal and only then to stray away. Shigure's own hands abandoned their work on Ayame's hips and moved around to slide between milk white thighs. Ayame groaned and rocked his pelvis upwards, trying to direct his touch to where it was most wanted.
"Shigure... please..." He begged, pushing his buttocks back to grind against Shigure's hardened manhood. Now, Shigure was not a cruel man by nature, but he liked to see Ayame pleading for him to touch him. Empowered by this, he consented to his lovers' desire and used one hand to gently spread his legs apart, delving the other within the confines of his loins. Ayame gasped and cried 'Yes!' as the long fingers wrapped around his throbbing desire, tugging it with long, agonizing strokes. Shigure maintained a rhythm that was impossible for Ayame to follow, skilled as he was in this particular field of foreplay. He stroked Ayame slowly one second, pulling on his aching manhood until his fingers squeezed over the sensitive head and then alternatively moving quickly the next second, pumping forward and back with the cup of his fist. The effect was that Ayame was quickly drawn towards the edge and then it was cruelly withheld longer. His back arched in ecstasy as he rode out the waves of euphoria stirring from his groin. He was moaning like he hadn't had sex in years, grasping Shigure's knees and yelping at the ceiling. Their lips fell together and Ayame thrust his tongue enthusiastically within the hot caverns of his lovers' mouth, exploring every well known crease and crevice. Shigure ducked his tongue into the space behind Ayame's bottom teeth, massaging his tongue from below. Their bodies trembled with the urgent need to extinguish the plume of lust spiraling upwards to arouse every joint and patch of skin.
"Shigure..." Ayame panted against his lips. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this..."
The novelist understood immediately and released his hold on Ayame's cock, helping his lover to spin around and position himself over his waist. Ayame slid his wet chest up against Shigure's, gazing into his florid face and gently securing his bottom lip between his teeth. As he sucked, they moved their pelvises into perfect alignment and Ayame relaxed the muscles in his ass, allowing Shigure to slide inside of him without much difficulty. He sat up, burying the other's man's cock even deeper and placed his hands on his chest. His eyes were shut.
"Make me feel better Gure..." He begged as Shigure grasped his waist between his hands. Ayame bucked hard, setting the rhythm of their lovemaking and looked down into the eyes of the man he was in love with. Shigure responded exceptionally, thrusting into him and moaning at the friction when Ayame tightened the muscles in his ass as hard as he could, riding the rise and falls of the other man's pelvis. Sex had a way of helping him forget, to put behind the things that caused him pain. That made him ache inside.
"You. Are. A. Slut." Akito had said.
I am a slut, Ayame realized. I'm dependent on sex to make me feel alive. To get me through the hard times. Even before Shigure I would just find it in whoever was available, just to qualm the inadequacies I felt within myself. For how I failed Yuki, how I failed my parents... how I failed myself...
"Denounce the whorish life you've lived."
"Stupid snake!! You stupid, brainless, pathetic, waste of space! That's what you are!"
"That's what I am."
Ayame nipped gently at Shigure's neck, securing the flesh tightly and sucking hard at it with each thrust into him. The tailor pushed down upon his lover as hard as he was able, trying to elicit pain within himself; burning hot pain, to counter the horrible misery inside of his soul. That agony that couldn't be erased, only blotted out by each shift of the other man's hard erection as he tightened himself up as much as was possible. And when the stabbing sting came, he was grateful for it and reached out for more, for the pain to overwhelm the internal void of emptiness he was feeling. He pulled the skin tightly between his teeth and then released it with a sharp 'twock' noise. The skin on Shigure's neck had gone a dark red; a mark that undoubtedly would become a hickey. Ayame kissed the spot tenderly and then trailed his mouth down to encase one of Shigure's nipples in his mouth. The inu moaned appreciatively and slid his hands onto Ayame's ass, squeezing each buttock tightly and controlling the rolls of his pelvis. The bath water splashed up over the sides of the tub, cascading down the white porcelain in an ethereal beauty that rivaled the sway of Ayame's hair.
The snake moved his mouth to Shigure's other nipple and bit it cheekily, tweezing the other one between his finger as he did. The novelist moaned and gave an extra enthusiastic thrust that felt to Ayame as though he was being split up the middle. The pain was delicious and excruciating and he yelped as it registered within him. Shigure did not seem to differentiate the sounds Ayame made during sex and did not notice that this was a cry of pain, not of ecstasy. He ran his hand up over the snake's slender back, sliding the far side of his fingers down the feminine sway of his spine. Ayame shivered in response and secured Shigure's lips in his own, wrapping his arms around the broad width of his lovers shoulders and bucking forward and back in a violent rhythm.
Shigure's feet kicked out at the sides of the tub as he lifted them to rest on the very lip, sliding his back down further. Ayame hissed and closed his eyes as he felt the sublime euphoria as his prostate was brushed. It raced up through him in unforgiving waves and he felt himself smile and sigh, wishing it were possible to lose himself to this happiness forever. He felt rather then saw Shigure lean up and then the novelist kissed his eyelids, cupping the rise of his chin with one hand. Ayame loved it when Shigure lavished this kindness upon him; when he touched him like he was the only person he had ever touched before. Every time they kissed, every time they touched, it was as though Shigure invoked the passion in every love scene of every romance novel he had ever written. Each moment shared between them was as beautiful as the Sakura Zensen – the Cherry Blossom Front. Through the warm wind of the coming spring, Shigure secured his lover in his arms and carried him through the soft rain of petals, pausing to catch them upon his hand and slide them between Ayame's lips. That was the beauty of their love; even now when all Ayame desired from his friend, his lover, was something hard and real, to make him forget his internal struggles. To remind him that he was still human and he could still hurt in the exact same way.
That he was still the same old Ayame Sohma. The slut.
"That's what I am."
Ayame gasped as he felt a tightening heat gather in his loins and arched his back as he climaxed, spilling his seed into the warm water around them. Not having yet reached his own release, Shigure continued to fuck him and Ayame continued to moan at the precision of his dips as they brushed his prostate. Even to his own ears he sounded like a whore.
'No wonder Akito said those words to me...' He thought, digging his nails into the tanned skin of Shigure's chest. Pale ashen tone against caramel colored flesh. 'I am a sickening creature. I'm so weak and stupid. Everything I've done with my life, I've been so happy to achieve so much. I'm with the man I love. I have a job I'm very proud of, friends who support and laugh with me. Sometimes at me. I'm working on tying bonds with Yuki...
And yet... despite all of this I feel... empty. Perhaps more empty then Akito feels...'
"Ah... Aya..." Shigure moaned, rubbing his hand against the platinum haired man's inside thigh. The pleasure came and Ayame moaned in response, feeling Shigure shiver beneath his arms and then, with a sharp tilt of his head and pelvis, released inside of him. Ayame purred as the hot essence of his lover filled him and lowered his head, placing a kiss on Shigure's panting lips, stealing the necessary breath away. He eventually pulled free wrapped his arms around Shigure's waist, leaning his head against the curved wall of his chest and listening to his heart dance to that passionate beat. Shigure's eyes were closed in contentment and he rested his chin in the tailor's damp hair, pressing one hand to the back of his neck with the other stroking his spine with the tips of his fingers alone. He whispered his voice so soft it was little more than a whisper.
"I love you Ayame..." He said. The snake's eyes flickered open, wondering whether he had heard correctly. Shigure had never openly said the 'L' word to him before, usually preferring a more subtle method of expressing his affection.
"Gure-"
"I love you Ayame." The inu repeated, tracing invisible shapes along Ayame's back, weaving through the small water droplets like a traveler through the tree's of the woods. "I'd do anything to make you happy... but... if I won't ever fuck you like that again, do you hear? If some part of you feels better about yourself now then, that is fine. But – I'm not with you so that we can extinguish our pent up emotions in angry sex, Aya. Do you understand? That's why God gave us mouths you know? So we can tell people what is bothering us."
That's when the tears started to run down Ayame's face. He bit back a sob and clutched Shigure's chest with his nails, trying to choke off his emotions effectively. Not to turn into the weak, sniveling mess as before. He didn't want Shigure to ever see him like that again.
"Aya?"
The snake coughed and whimpered. "I'm not a slut Shigure-" His shoulders shook and he clamped his eyes shut, wishing he could block off his emotions just as effectively. "Shi-gu-re.... I'm not- I'm not a slut! I'm not a slut, I'm not!!"
"Oh darling..." Shigure soothed, placing his arms around his friends' shoulders and nursing the crown of his head. He rocked him gently in the warm water, whispering a soft 'Shh' here and there. "Oh sweetheart... it's all right. You're not a slut, do you hear me? Hmm?" He forced Ayame to meet his eyes, to witness the truth in the dark of each calming orb. Ayame could feel the love there, as easily as he was able to see the moon on a clear night. More so, he could see the respect Shigure had for him. The reason he had for him.
'You see me through the Sakura Zensen, Shigure,' Ayame thought as his lover pulled him close, murmuring words of comfort and reassurance. 'You see my face through the petals of the Cherry Blossoms, as pure and undulated as the romances of your idealic love stories. I love that innocence about you Gure. I love that you choose to see me through the sky of petals, not beyond them.'
Ayame sighed and slid his eyes shut, his long silver hair fanning through the water around them.
- - - - - - - - - - - SC - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Akito slid the tape into the top drawer, into the space beside the picture of his sacred mother. Her cold eyes gazed up at him, seeming to scold him silently as he replaced his boxer shorts over top of his two only treasures. The birds feather was still clutched in his palm. He lifted his pillow and placed the feather down upon the mattress, putting the pillow back over top of it. Akito had read somewhere that doing so with objects might invoke dreams, visions of the person whom touched the object at some point. Though he was not a superstitious man by nature, Akito felt there was no harm in giving it a try. He sighed tiredly and ran a hand through his ebony hair, as dark and decadent as the crisp night sky. He doesn't know that I am watching him. He isn't even aware of my presence, though we pass one another in the hallways every day. How I ache to selfishly languish this fire inside of me and just secure the boy in my arms, brush aside the strands of his long, dark bangs and secure him in my eyes. Akito... your name is so sacred to me. You are the beauty of your mother and the divine supplement of God's tears whence she drank upon giving birth to you. There is none worthy of my love, the way in which you are deserving. How I dream of showering you in the breath of my lips, to see you smile as my hands take you in the dance of my fingertips. I know how lonely you are – your hunger for the love of those men; those unworthy men who are not here for you when you are in need of them.
But I am here. Can't you see?
I see you, wherever you may go, whatever you might see. My eyes don't stray. I watch you now as you shed those robes from the lithe frame of your angelic body, fabric caressing the decadent length of your perfect ivory legs. I can feel my body swelling, aching to reach out and claim you – be the first to take you. I know the pain you suffered at the hands of Minoru, that idiot doctor. Were it not for his hand you would not fear the touch of my own, my love. I know I can make you sigh your love for me, to see your euphoric smile as I make love to you.
What marks upon your back? How cruel it is that you have suffered so! My love... fear not. This loneliness will not avail us for long. How I long for you – to finally step free from the shadows and let you see me for the lover that I can be. I know you'll smile.
Akito...
Akito felt like he was being watched. He pulled on the light kimono he wore to bed and quickly glanced to the doorway as he sanctioned the cord around his waist. The door was closed. No one was there.
Note: Yes I know I said Akito wouldn't be in this chapter, but I added this at the last minute. And no, that creepy stalker monologue was not my self insertation in the story. Really. ... It wasn't. (Sweatdrops) N E way, puh-lease review! Please! Me wanna lots of reviews! ... Or some would be nice. Next chapter on it's way soon. Though I need to take a bit of a break. This was a long motherfucker.
