Less than five seconds after Ni Jianyi had entered Gyokumen Koshu's suite of rooms, he was sinking to one knee and bowing his head. The look on the Lady's face screamed someone was going to be on the wrong end of her temper, and, with his run of luck of late, it was going to be him. The silence grew thick, and after a while, he ventured speech.
"I came as you requested, my Lady." More like a command, actually, but the dark haired doctor wasn't going to quibble, especially with the mood Lady Gyokumen was in.
"Look at me," Gyokumen hissed abruptly, and, against his better judgement, Ni raised his head. Gyokumen Koshu was holding her favourite whip, and stroking her clawed fingers through the multitude of braided leather thongs that dangled from the thick handle. Yes, someone was going to be on the receiving end of her temper tonight. "I've been feeling neglected, Ni. And that's not good." No, no it definitely wasn't. A lesser man might have broken out in a cold sweat, by Ni let a crooked smile, one filled with sexual innuendo, curve his lips.
"I'm injured, my Lady, if you could possibly think-" The whip was hissing through the air and biting into the flesh of his upper arm and back before he could finish.
"You're not injured." Gyokumen Koshu's voice was thick with scorn and loaded with threat. "Not yet." Ni forced himself not to clutch at his arm and tried to think. What was driving the woman's rage?
"May I ask what I've done to displease you so, my Lady?" Lady Gyokumen stalked across the room and stood behind him, and the whip fell again, squarely across his back this time. He had a moment to be grateful that there were several layers of clothing between his skin and the whip, before he had to concentrate on what the demon woman was saying.
"You're ignoring me for that... for that... thing! That boy!" The whip fell again, and again, and now he was beginning to feel its bite. "They're all laughing behind my back, saying that you're bedding that boy because I'm not enough for you!" Now she was putting her strength behind the blows, and he could hear the fabric of his coat tearing. Kougaiji, you clever little son of a bitch, Ni thought.
"You are more than enough for any man, my Lady," he gasped, as a particularly powerful impact sent him sprawling forwards. Only a quick movement of his arms stopped his face from smashing into the stone floor. "You've been hearing lies from those who are jealous of you, of what I am to you. How can I prove my loyalty?" The whipping paused, and he watched slippered feet cross into his field of view. One elegantly covered foot extended and pressed beneath his chin, forcing his head up.
"Prove your loyalty? I can think of a few ways, Ni. What if I told you to kill him, right now?" Ni didn't hesitate.
"I would do as you command, my Lady." He swallowed, then took a chance. "But I would remiss in my duties if I didn't remind you that he's a good tool to get you what you need." Gyokumen Koshu was so very easy to read, and he watched a host of thoughts flicker over her face. He tried the smile again. "He is nothing to me. You are... everything."
"Is that right?" she asked, a pout she probably considered sexy on her angular face. The hand not holding the whip shifted to the sash holding her robe closed, and she slowly unbound it, allowing it and her robe to fall to the stones. "Prove it." Used to the demon woman's lightening fast shifts in mood, Ni didn't rise, just crawled across the floor to tell her with his tongue, his hands and his cock what she needed to hear.
Much later, when Gyokumen Koshu had fallen into a sated sleep, Ni slid his pants back on, clenching his teeth against the pain when the claw marks in his thighs brushed against the cloth. He gathered the other pieces of his ruined clothing and let himself out, ignoring the smug smiles on the faces of the guards stationed outside the doors to Lady Gyokumen's inner sanctum. He himself was smugly pleased to hear the gasps when they caught sight of his back. She'd not released her grip on the whip for the entire session, and his back was a testimony to her anger and skill with the lash. Thankfully, the blood was almost dry now, and the woman had not used her full strength after the initial assault.
He ghosted through the silent castle, keeping to the shadows out of habit. It was after nights like this Ni seriously considered killing Lady Gyokumen, but he always came to his senses. What was a little blood and skin, compared to the possibility of succeeding in resurrection? Gyumaoh would be his guinea pig – he had much larger plans for the ability to bring back the dead than some paltry demon king, and he needed Gyokumen Koshu to keep the residents of Houtou Castle in line whilst he experimented. After all, as far as they knew, Ni was just another human. His smile was sour as he slipped through his own door. One day, though, , he thought, I'll teach you just who you've been playing with, bitch. And I can garantee you won't survive the education.
Ni dumped his blood stained shirt, coat and tie in the rubbish bin, and attempted to touch the wounds on his back, wincing when the slices in his skin pulled. A trickle of warm blood warned him that it was a stupid idea. Lady Gyokumen had hurt him worse in the past, but at this moment, he couldn't remember any of those times. Stripping off his pants, he stepped into his rusty shower and turned the water on. Ni's breath hissed between his teeth as he turned his back to the cold spray and watched as the pink tinged water sluiced away down the drain. When the water finally ran clear, Ni turned the water off and got out, gingerly patting himself dry. Tying the towel around his waist, he returned to his room and pulled out his stash of medical supplies. It was a very large box, and was loaded with several pills, powders and lotions of his own devising. The sour smile was back as he thought once again that Gyokumen Koshu was a mixed blessing – he'd never have invented some of this stuff if the lady didn't enjoy the most violent of pleasures.
He'd taken a powerful pain killer and doctored the bites at his throat and the claw wounds on his legs when there was a tap at his door, followed by the sound of it opening. Ni bared his teeth and spun, ready to share his anger at the intrusion, but his voice died in his throat when he saw the expression on Goku's face. Shock, dismay, horror, anger... All of them were in those huge golden eyes. Goku stepped inside and closed the door behind him. They stood in silence for a while before Goku spoke.
"Who did that to you? Are you alright?" Ni turned away and picked up a jar of salve.
"I'm fine." How to tell him to get out? "I'm not in the mood for company right now. Please go." He was surprised when Goku crossed the room and plucked the salve from his fingers. The aroma of the salve filled his nostrils as Goku began to tentatively smooth the cool cream across his back.
"Can you sit down? I can't reach." Feeling hesitant and slightly high from the pain killer, Ni straddled a chair, and Goku continued to cover his raw skin in salve. "Will you tell me who did this to you?"
"Why?" Ni was genuinely curious. There was no answer as Goku's hands went lower, and so he repeated the question.
"You're my friend," the youth replied slowly. "I want to stop you being hurt again." There was something else there, something unspoken. Ni turned in the chair to study him. Goku was blushing.
"You can't stop it happening again," Ni said, an unaccustomed gentleness in his voice. "This is Lady Gyokumen's handiwork. The lady..." He searched for the right words. "She wasn't pleased with my recent performance."
"Gyokumen Koshu did this?" Goku's voice was high with surprise. "But... But... Why would she punish you?" Wondering what reaction he'd get, Ni answered with the truth.
"She heard some rumours. Rumours about you and I, actually, that we were sleeping together." Interesting, , Ni thought, watching Goku's face go crimson. The youth obviously had made the distinction between sleeping in the same bed and having sex.
"But... But..." Goku stammered again. "Why would she care?" Not a question about why she'd believe the rumours, but why would she care if they were true.
"Because I've been her lover for a while now, and the lady has quite a jealous streak." Goku paled, then flushed again so fast Ni wondered if he was going to keel over from all the blood rushing to his face.
"Oh," was all the brunette said as he busied himself capping the jar of salve and returning it to the box, avoiding eye contact for all he was worth. "I should... You should rest. I should go." Ni reached out, grasping Goku's wrist as the youth turned to leave.
"Thank you for the help," Ni said, sliding his fingers down and along Goku's hand. "I appreciate it." Goku mumbled something, his face flaming once more, then he fled. As Ni rose and shed the towel, sprawling on his belly on his narrow cot, he grinned. Well, isn't that interesting, he mused to himself as he bunched the pillow up between his forearms and closed his eyes. As Ni drifted off to sleep, his thoughts weren't on Gyokumen Koshu and the pain she'd caused him, but the little hitch he'd heard in Goku's breathing when he'd stroked the youth's hand. How very interesting indeed.
A/N: Y'know, my brain just won't give up on the whole Ni/Goku thing... Please R&R, as I've said before it makes me very happy. -YN
