It was less than two days later when Doctor Ni returned to his office to stop in shock in his doorway. Goku. In his private office. In tears. Again. Patting his pockets didn't turn up a handkerchief this time, and so the doctor gave an internal sigh, then crossed the room, closing the door behind him. Goku was sitting on the edge of Ni's cot, face in his hands, shoulders heaving. Slowly and gently, Ni sank to his knees beside the boy and pressed one hand to the tousled brown mane. Goku shook, then lifted his head, and Ni realised the depth of his error.
The youth hadn't been weeping. He'd been muffling vicious snarls and curses in the skin of his palms. His golden eyes were cold and empty, and predatory enough to cause an icy finger to slide down Ni's spine.
"Goku, what's wrong?" He watched the youth struggle to form words, and his fear intensified. Had the Minus Wave woken the Seiten Taisei whilst Goku was wearing his limiter? A hint of the Goku he knew swam through those golden eyes, and the youth finally replied, with a crispness and precision Ni had never heard before in his tone.
"Does the Lady Lirin have the right to chose her own friends?" Ni blinked.
"What? I don't understand." Whenhad those words last passed his lips? Ni felt that the young man he had rested his hand upon was a totally different man to the one he knew. He saw Goku struggle for language, for the human words to explain, and the cold finger against Ni's spine was back – and it had brought friends.
"Prince Kougaiji-" and Ni had never heard that title voiced with such hatred "-came to my yard today and ordered Lirin away." Goku took a breath. "Not ordered, but... he treated her with such... disrespect-!" The young man was actually grinding his teeth. "I followed them for a little while, and over heard the Prince telling her that she wasn't to train with me, not to see me any more." Another breath. "Kougaiji then proceeded to confine her to her room, and placed guards on the doors." More teeth grinding. "How dare he?" Goku looked almost ready to tear someone's throat out with his teeth. Uncomfortably realising that his neck was on a level with Goku's mouth, he hesitantly slid the hand resting on Goku's head down to his shoulder. The young man turned his head and Ni was frozen by the barely-restrained violence dancing in the molten gold of Goku's eyes.
"What should I do, Doctor? You usually have good advice for me." Those eyes hooded for a brief moment. "I can take Kougaiji in a fight." Nothing but simple confidence in that statement. "But he will still be Lirin's brother after I beat him to a bloody pulp." Goku spoke those words with relish. Ni thought fast.
"Are you more angry with Kougaiji or Lirin, for doing as he said?" Goku growled. He actually growled.
"Lirin should honour her brother and do as he says." Goku's lip curled in a vicious sneer. "That doesn't give him the right to be an ass and dictate to her."
"Then perhaps I should have a word with Lord Kougaiji," he found himself saying. Wait, what? Ni shrieked in the privacy of his own thoughts.
"And what would you say?" Goku crooned as he lifted his hand to grasp Ni's slender wrist.
"That would be between the prince and I," Ni managed to say in his usual lazy manner. It wasn't long, and it was a lifetime before Goku let him go. "I agree it is not for the prince to decide who the lady considers a friend. And you will go to the yard behind the kitchen and chop wood." He forced a stern tone into his voice. "And don't go through the kitchen, either." As he watched, those golden eyes slid closed. "We both know you'll get distracted." This was spoken as an affectionate scold. Goku opened his eyes again, and the youth Ni knew was back. Yet Goku gave a smile that was sadder than usual.
"Alright," Goku agreed, with a gusty sigh. He and Ni rose together, and they stood, less than a foot between them. "When will you speak to the Prince?"
"As soon as I can. I do have work to do, you know." That dangerous something swirled in Goku's eyes, but only for a moment.
"Alright," Goku repeated. Then he was gone, the door closing softly behind him. Ni staggered to a chair and dropped into it, fumbling for his cigarettes. He lit one while staring at the door and seeing that look in Goku's eyes. He'd seen the boy in battle before, but the light that had been shining through those eyes had been a desire to kill. And every second Goku's flesh was in contact with Ni's, the doctor was vulnerable. Ni closed his eyes as he took a deep drag from his smoke, leaning back and resting his hands behind his head and his feet up on the desk. In his own, personal lotus position, Ni allowed himself to think back on the little encounter.
For some reason, Goku was going through a stage of demon adolescence, where youkai males were emotionally volatile and extremely predatory. From what he'd observed from the years he'd spent in Houtou Castle, it was the duty of the youth's male clan members to channel the tempers into something other than violence – say, domestic service. Ni allowed a small smile to come and go. But why was Goku going through it? Sure, physically, he looked to be the right age. What did Gyokumen Koshu's clan call it? Yearlings, that was it. The yearling changes, and they lasted for anywhere up to two years. A tiny shake of his head. For the moment, his only concern was channelling Goku's sure-to-grow temper into non-destructive tasks – and perhaps some more fun destructive ones.
As he lowered his feet to the floor, Ni allowed himself a grin, seeing the paper he would write for MMM (Magic, Medicine, Mechanics magazine). Demonic Adolescence: Societal Causation Versus Genetic Components. The grin faded to a self-mocking smirk as he forced himself to face what he'd felt during the encounter. Genuine fear and shock, and he'd also felt a stirring of a long forgotten emotion, helplessness, in the face of Goku's rage and proximity. The unexpected one was the lust that had crackled through his body and set his nerves on fire from the moment he'd locked eyes with Goku and seen that look. He'd not felt something like that since... For a very long time, anyway. Ni curled his lip in derision, then rose to his feet, stubbing out his smoke and lighting another. He better have a little talk with Kougaiji now.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
He'd placed himself just so, mostly hidden in shadow in the corridor the Prince was passing through. "A moment of your time, your Highness?" Ni purred out of the dark. He was gratified by Kougaiji stopping, his clawed hands balling into fists.
"And what would you have to say to me?" Ni ignored Kougaiji's posturing.
"I have a great many things I could... say to you, Highness," the doctor returned suggestively, leaning his shoulders against the wall behind him. Kougaiji's eyes slid down his body for a split second before he averted his gaze. Interesting, Ni noted, filing the reaction away for future use. "I've been made to understand that you've place Lady Lirin under guard, and forbidden her from seeing Goku." Kougaiji's eyes narrowed. Ni waved one hand through the air between them. "You know how servants gossip, my prince," he said in an oily tone. "I came to make certain that this was not the case. Lady Gyokumen would be very unhappy if it was."
"And why is that?" Kougaiji spat, his fangs gleaming suddenly in the subdued hallway light.
"Why, the lady wishes my plans for Goku to succeed. I believe it amuses her. I would hate to have to report to her that you are being an obstruction, my prince." Ni hooded his gaze. "I would also add that this sudden protection of your sister could be seen as... inappropriate." He paused for just the right amount of time. "You wouldn't want any... improper... rumours to start, would you, Highness?" Kougaiji took a few, fast steps towards Ni, his clenched fists raising in anger. A moment later, Kougaiji's hands were splayed on the walls above Ni Jianyi's shoulders and he was looming over the slightly shorter man.
"You wouldn't dare," the prince hissed through gritted teeth.
"I wouldn't dare what, my prince?" Ni murmured, tilting his head a fraction. It took Kougaiji a moment to realise that he was within kissing distance, and he pulled back, a sneer on his face.
"If you used such filthy tactics, I wouldn't hesitate to respond. The whole castle would be in an uproar about the doctor and his ward." Ni smiled lecherously.
"What makes you think I'd care?" he asked, leaning a little closer. "I don't have much of a reputation, prince, nobody cares what or who I do." He breathed the next words against Kougaiji's mouth. "But you've got one. And Lirin does, too." For less than a heartbeat Ni's mouth was pressed, light as a feather, against Kougaiji's full, luscious lips, then the prince jumped backwards with a cry of disgust. Kougaiji scrubbed the back of one hand against his mouth in a childish fashion, and Ni smiled inwardly, a smile that spread to an internal grin as the prince processed what he'd said. The crimson-maned demon froze.
"You couldn't. You wouldn't. Not with Goku." The prince seemed almost stricken by the thoughts that had crossed his mind. Ni allowed his mental grin to curve his lips as his eyes twinkled lecherously, but he did not answer. "You're a disgusting pervert, NI Jianyi." The grin became a leer.
"I'd say that's my business, isn't it, my prince? As the matter of who she calls friends is Lady Lirin's."
"Why do you care?" Kougaiji burst out. Ni studied the demon prince for a moment.
"The... experiment... is moving into uncharted territory. I would rather not have Goku... upset at this present time." Kougaiji bared his fangs again. Ni slid away from the wall and stepped further back into the darkness. "Although, really, it shouldn't be a concern to me. It's not me he wanted to kill for restricting his access to Lirin."
"I'll accept any challenge he wants to make!" Kougaiji snarled.
"Are you certain, my prince? The temper of a yearling shouldn't be dismissed so easily, should it?" Once again, Kougaiji froze, emotions flying across his face and through his eyes. The sourest smile that Ni had ever seen on Kougaiji's face was twisting the prince's lips when he spoke again.
"If he truly is a yearling, I find myself almost wishing you were bedding him. Your screams of pain as he tore you apart would be wonderful to hear." The prince turned on his heel and stalked off. Ni leaned against the wall again and lit a cigarette. You know what, my darling brat prince? I'm almost wishing the same damn thing.
Another A/N: The magazine title (MMM) is from a fanfic by despina_moon called A Cautionary Tale, an author at whom's feet I worship for that little gem.
