Gluttony – That which Leads to Overindulgence
Warning: As I mentioned in the opening notes, this chapter has a lot more dark themes/strong sexual references.
It was 10:30PM, and the Blue and Red duo was ready to roll. Standing in front of the marble building, the two walked side-by-side and approached the two guards positioned at the door. Munakata took a deep breath as swiped his finger across the ID scanner. If it failed to recognize him, then their plan would collapse into ruin within mere seconds.
The screen then blinked with a message: 'Saitou Kentarou – Authorization Accepted.'
"Welcome back, Saitou-sama. Please enjoy yourself tonight," the taller of the guards said as he bowed.
As the two stepped into the Garden of Eden, they were amazed at the interior's beauty. It was as if they stepped into another world entirely. Especially for Misaki, he had never gone to any formal event ever in his life.
"Yata-kun, don't forget to stay in character no matter what you see or hear," Reisi whispered quietly.
Earlier, as the two were preparing to leave, Awashima tried to give a run-down on how to act feminine and seductive.
"Haaaa!? There's no fucking way I can do any of that!" Misaki shouted, as he blushed from head to toe.
As a lover of Munakata—or Saitou in this case, he was expected to cling affectionately and act mysterious and playful. Not to speak unless spoken to, the crow would be completely obedient to his master and do whatever he commanded. Definitely not something Misaki could ever do in his life willingly.
Gritting his teeth hard, the Red clansman hissed, "I got it."
Not even making it half way across the room, the two heard a voice call out to them, "Ken! Long time no see man. Sheesh, where've you been?"
A blond man who appeared to be in his early twenties walked over to the duo.
"Yeah man. I've been busy with shit. You know pops gets on my case about stupid stuff."
The little vanguard jumped a bit in surprise. Even if it were in Saitou's voice, he could never imagine that a stick in the mud like the Blue King could speak and act so informally.
"Haha, yeah dude. My old geezer caught me with some chick last night, and he flipped shit. Anyway, who's the cutie you brought tonight?" The blond man stared at Yata lustfully.
"Oh, him? Yeah, let's just say I picked him up somewhere," Reisi said as he opened Misaki's coat just enough to expose the golden ring around his neck.
"Ooohhh, got it. You gonna go there tonight?"
"Actually, we're planning to go there right now."
"Really? Well, I'll see you down there later tonight. You should let me have a go with your little cutie then." With another lustful glance, the blond licked his lips and said, "I promise I won't fuck him hard enough to break him...well I'll at least try not to."
As the man left the two, the crow was trembling from anger. It took all of his strength to not just let his aura loose and burn the man to oblivion. "What kind of sick fucks say this kind of shit? I want to beat that fucking douchebag into a bloody pulp," the chestnut-haired man thought as he burned in rage.
"Yata-kun, you did a good job holding it in. Let us move onward," Munakata said softly.
The two walked out into the garden and followed the path, searching for the fountain that Kentarou had mentioned to them. Finally, they had found a large fountain hidden away from view with a maze of bushes and plant life. As Yata looked at the fountain he said, "An apple tree?"
"The Tree of Knowledge. It originates from a story about the first two humans in existence—Adam and Eve. The two were tempted by an evil serpent and ate an apple from the tree, even though they were forbidden to. In the end, it led to them being exiled out of the Garden of Eden…hence paradise was lost."
The Blue King reached out at the one apple that appeared slightly different than the rest. He pulled down on the statue, and sure enough, it triggered a spiral staircase to appear below them.
"…What the fuck…" Misaki was bewildered by the contraption.
With a hand extended, the captain of Scepter 4 turned to the little vanguard and said, "Shall we descend?"
As the two arrived at the bottom, they saw a long, dark corridor with a dim red light at the end of it. When they approached the light, they saw a door with two guards standing in front of it. Swiping his finger past the authorization, the two guards opened the door. "Can I take your coats before you go in, gentlemen?"
"Yes, please."
The chestnut-haired man instantly shivered as he felt a cool breeze against his scantily clad body. He could not understand why he had to wear such a stupid get-up…until he walked through the doors. It was a very dark lounge with only red lights scattered across. There were people of all ages, including elderly men.
There was only one word that stood out to Misaki as he stood within the main room: disgusting.
About twenty feet to their right was a massive orgy of people allowing their lust and sexual desires overcome them. Men with women, men with men, and women with women, there was no distinction within the mass of bodies grinding against each other. The loud moans and cries echoed throughout the room as they would take turns exchanging partners, do their business, and then move onto another. The filthy smell of sex penetrated the air, making the little crow feel nauseous. He began to feel a bit dizzy and weak until he felt the Blue clansman pull the vanguard's body against his.
"Yata-kun, are you doing alright? You appear to be sweating a lot."
"I'm fine. Let's just hurry up and find Saru."
The amber-eyed man continued to walk further into the room, assuming that the worst was over…but it wasn't. As they persisted onward, the two could see a lot more disturbing scenes. There were two females, probably no older than twenty, taking turns injecting each other with heroin. There were two middle-aged sitting across the table from them, waiting for the two to finish.
The number of people with golden rings around their necks and wrists began to increase as the various, perverse kinks and fetishes appeared from the darkness. It began with basic bondage and S&M play, but progressively, it became more violent. Misaki could see people being whipped, beaten, and cut. There were mixes of painful cries among the pleasured ones. There were teenage girls and boys—all with the golden collars around them, being tied down and abused by men of all ages.
The smells, sights, and sounds were too much for the crow. This wasn't what he was expecting at all. He figured he could just bust into Paradise Lost, quickly kick some asses, and then save Saru. The amount of corruption before him was overwhelming, and the Red clansman felt his knees give out.
However, before he collapsed to the ground, he felt two strong arms lift him up and hold him against his chest. "Yata-kun, are you okay?"
The realization of it all hit him like a ten-ton weight falling upon his body. He realized that this could be what is happening to Saruhiko right at this very moment. Misaki couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his face. He felt so ashamed and weak, crying in a man's arms and acting so helpless. "I don't get it…how can people do this to each other…Saru…Saruhiko…please be alright…"
The Blue King stood there silently for a minute before speaking. "The human mind is a fascinating thing. It can be so innocent and gentle, but in-turn it can be evil and violent. It is okay to have desires—all humans do have them, but when someone lets desire be the controller over themselves, they become enslaved by it for the rest of their lives. The constant need to satisfy and then overindulging in things develops into a vicious cycle that will eventually lead to their demise."
"…I don't get it though, Blue King. How can you look at this stuff and still remain so composed?"
Still holding the smaller man in his arms, Reisi continued walking onward. "As a member of the enforcement department, I end up seeing a lot of crimes like this on a frequent basis. Although some could argue that I'm simply jaded to it all, I would rather describe it as something more meaningful. It gives me more determination to fulfill my duty in order to prevent things like this from ever occurring. I am committed to use all of my power to protect the people I care for. Is this not the same way for you when you think about Fushimi-kun?"
Misaki began to blush as he nodded. The crow began to feel the fire return within his heart. His resolve to save his best friend became like an indestructible wall. No matter what happened from here on, he would not let it crumble down. "Damn…I guess the Blue King can be cool once in a while too," the amber-eyed man thought.
"Alright! Let's go find our shitty monkey and kick some asses!"