Kaga and the beast
Kal Kally
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Disclaimer: HnG is not mine. Kaga is not mine. Akira is not mine. Hikaru is not mine.
Summary: Ogata had to give one of his children to the hideous beast as compensation for the mistake that he made. Would the chosen child have the strength to bear the beast's cruelty and capture his heart?
Warning: AU, Yaoi
A/N: Please review…
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Chapter 2: Of unforgivable crime and huge silhouettes
Delicious and expensive food filled the table, so plentiful that one could be surfeited just by looking at them. There was enough wine and cigarettes for perhaps a whole village. Too busying in drinking, Kaga didn't hear the conversation that took place behind the half-closed door. If he had, he wouldn't have been so relaxing.
"Move a little. I can't see him."
"Now, see him now?"
"How terrible!"
"Yeah, there hasn't been such a bad human staying here in all those 1000 years!"
"Of course! There wasn't anybody not fleeing after seeing our beast, and people who were told about this castle usually didn't dare to come near this forest! He was the first human staying here anyway."
"Should we let him see the Prince?"
"Definitely not. We must find a way to kick him out of here!"
At the same moment, Kaga lifted the glass of wine to his lips and thought idly. "This place is fantastic. It's a waste leaving here. I'll deal with the beast later. No need to hurry."
"Hey, those at the door!" He called.
"Oh no, he heard us!" Someone squeaked.
"Of course." Kaga said, amused. "Who wouldn't hear you if you decided to scream out your conversation? Anyway, bring me a shougi board."
"Shougi...?" Someone shrieked, someone gasped like he had just experienced the worst nightmare of his life.
"Yes, Shougi. Bring it here."
"Ahhhhhhh!!" There was a series of screams and sounds of footsteps running away.
Kaga just shrugged and returned to his sake. "Too bad. You people should quit Go and learn Shougi. Don't walk further into the wrong path."
But it seemed that there wasn't even a mouse there to receive Kaga's precious advice.
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Days passed. Kaga continued to spend his "peaceful" time at the castle. He did miss his old life and his everyday fight, but this luxury life did have its charm.
However, the beast's invisible followers didn't seem to like their guest much. One day, in a secret room, a secret bookshelf moved on its own to reveal a secret passage leading to another secret room. There were sobs and sounds of someone bursting in, then the shelf moved back to its old place.
"Hey, stop crying, Tsutsui-san. He forced you again?" Someone asked.
"Y...es." 'Tsutsui-san' answered between sobs.
"That bastard! How could he!!" Someone else cried. "How dare he force poor Tsutsui? He's weak, and he's even invisible!"
"Right, Akari. Tsutsui is weak and can't fight back. He has no chance against that monster. But doesn't that make him an easy target? Besides, invisibility can't stop him. Tsutsui can still touch, right?"
"That bastard forced me last night too!" The girl moaned. "And I'm even more delicate than Tsutsui-san!"
"Not if you can throw stones to others' heads!"
"Mitani! You know it was because of--"
The soft voice that had been crying before brought back a short silence. "Mitani! Akari!" A pause. "Please return to the topic, ne."
"He even harassed me!" A new voice grumbled.
"Me too."
"Mitani? How come? And why are you blushing?"
"He tricked me..." 'Mitani' trailed off. "For me to be tricked..."
Soft giggled. "So finally there's someone that can tame you."
"Shut up!"
"Please, everyone." 'Tsutsui' sighed. "It would be better if we focus on finding away to stop this dirty and dishonorable act."
"Good point." The others said in unison. "That bastard has no right to harass us like that."
"This has gone too far. Tsutsui-san is the fifth victim of this week, I heard so from the others. And today is just Tuesday." The girl said seriously. "This is a crime. Physical wounds can always heal, but emotional wounds will stay forever."
"Then how can we kick him out? I don't want to go anywhere near him, he might force me again!"
"Just like the last time we scared off his dad?"
"Good idea!"
"So we'll part now and tell other servants."
Footsteps went out of the secret rooms, then all stopped at the same time.
"Tsutsui-san! What the hell are you doing there with that book?"
"I'm finding. It must be written somewhere in this damn book that FORCING OTHERS TO PLAY SHOUGI IS AGAINST THE LAW!!"
"Shhhh..."
"Shhhh..."
"Shhhh..."
"Don't make him suspect us."
"But I don't want to touch those Shougi things again!" Tsutsui wailed.
The others just sighed.
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That evening, for some reasons, all the servants in the castle disappeared without trace. They didn't leave traces when they walked around anyway, but ignoring Kaga's order was something unforgivable.
By midnight, Kaga was ready to kill someone. The servants didn't serve his dinner and didn't prepare his bath. It was a crime! He stormed around angrily, searching for the invisible people. God helped them for they would definitely feel his burning wrath!
Just as he got to the main hall, he felt a cold wind rustling his clothes. The flames on numerous candles danced their madly dance and the air turned thicker with mystery and danger.
There was something behind him. Kaga swirled back. He thought he saw some movement, but maybe it was just some hallucination created by the twisting flames of candles.
But something was different. Was it the way the flames danced wilder and became some shapeless mass bending to each other, twisting and burning? Or was it the unknown dread slowly slipped into him, as his instinct screamed at him that something was about to happen?
Kaga tensed; something flickered at the beginning of a hallway. He frowned, his hand tightened on his gun.
Suddenly, a roar shattered the silence, making the whole castle tremble. The earth trembled too with constant noise like some giant creature was walking closer. On the wall near that hallway appeared the silhouette of a huge beast approaching.
"Human!" The beast stopped and growled. "Your kinds are not welcomed here. Leave immediately or feel my wrath!"
Kaga startled at the beast's size, but being the brave man that he was, he advanced. "You were the one that invited me here. Don't think you can just order me around." He blinked. Didn't the beast just step back?
"Don't provoke me, human. This land is my property. Leave, or pay the price." The beast snarled; even though its silhouette continued to step back.
Curiosity sprang in him. Kaga approached the beast with his gun ready in his hand. Suddenly he heard a shriek, followed by a series of small cries. And the beast... fled?
Curiosity and excitement built up to the point that his body tensed with anticipation. Kaga started to chase after the beast. Its silhouette got smaller and smaller as the gap between them decreased. Finally, when he turned into the hallway, the earlier giant silhouette became only a human-sized shadow slipping into a room. The door closed behind it, followed by a clicking sound.
So that was it, Kaga smirked. He knocked on the door and sing-songed. "Checkmate! Come out now, you huge beast."
No one answered, which angered Kaga. He kicked at the door hard. "Get out now!"
Still silence. Kaga got mad. No one had ever dared to challenge him. How dare this stupid door stand on his way now? No matter how hard he kicked and punched it, it was still starring down on him mockingly. His anger started to boil; Kaga took out his gun and shot at the lock twice. And kicked the door open.
Finally, the rebellious door had been conquered.
Kaga waved his fan, satisfied. He was always the best of the best. It cost exactly 10 minutes. If it had been Shougi, it would have taken him only 5 minutes. The door was lucky that it got 5 more minutes of life!
There were some muffled, terrified whimpers in a corner of the room. They reminded Kaga of his motive to break into this room. He lit up a candle and looked closer into the corner. His breath got caught in his throat as his eyes landed on a strange creature he had never seen.
In front of him was the infamous beast, the beast that had cast terror upon the town's people for centuries. This was the beast whose cruelty exceeded every other creature of its kind.
That beast was now trembling in fear, hunching in a corner, looking so small and vulnerable in its attempt to make it look smaller. It had a delicate, slender body with two pet ears on its head and a tail curling around its waist. Its hair was the combination of yellow and black. A hairy coat half slid off its shoulder, revealing the smooth, pale skin under a loose shirt. Maybe the coat was originally used for causing effect for the silhouette.
The beast gazed up, then quickly looked down, hugging itself tighter. Kaga met its eyes for only a second, but in that single second; the beast had taken his heart away.
He licked his lips without knowing it. The beast didn't look hideous at all. In fact, it looked so damn sexy and cute!
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TBC