And here's that second chapter I promised! God I'm tired!
As fortune( or misfortune as Izaya thought of it) would have it, the Emperor invited Izaya to join him late the next evening in his private quarters. When the servant had first prompted her with this request, sitting opposite of Tamahome with their lunches between each other, Izaya had opened her mouth to refuse. She'd heard the many rumors about his love life, or rather his harem of women hidden within the palace walls. Meeting with the man at night in private went against every instinct that she had. However, she remembered the conversation that she had had the night before with Nakago. It was that thought alone that caused her to shut her mouth without speaking. Growling under her breath, her fingers clenched around the chopsticks in her hands.
And grudgingly, she agreed.
When the time came for her to meet with him, one of the evening servants came to get her from the room. Following after her, Izaya dragged her feet as much as possible. Distracting the both of them with conversation, questions, and odd ball objects she pointed out, when they reached the Emperor's private quarters the priestess of Seiryu felt as though she should've ran off to look at things. She couldn't help feeling as though they had reached the room far too quickly as the servant informed the Emperor of her entry.
" Ah! Yes! Come in, come in, Lady Izaya!" he welcomed her with open arms as she stepped inside. The instant she got a look at him she wrinkled her nose. Dressed in a red robe with gold designs ingrained it in, a bit of his curly chest hair peaked out from above the folds. Smiling broadly at her, he strode towards. When he attempted to put his arm around her shoulder, Izaya had bowed at the waist to avoid him.
"My Lord." she replied, placing herself opposite of him and acting as though she were giving him the proper respect. Waving the servant away, the door shut and Izaya was left alone in the room with the Emperor.
It looked as though the room hadn't been used very much recently. The bookshelf that was set into the wall just above the desk was lined up perfectly, a fine layer of dust collecting over the small collection of unopened tomes. There was nothing on the desk expect for a jade statue of a dragon, its front clay raised up and jaw slacked, leaving sharp fangs visible within its light green mouth, a set of brushes, ink, and an ink stone. All of these writing utensils were clean and looked completely untouched. The bed looked as unperturbed as the desk. All of the sheets were clean and wrinkle free, the drapes hanging from the posts drooping at just the right spots, the rounded parts of it set perfectly. In fact, the only thing that looked to have been moved in the least was the table set, and that was only because one of the chairs had been pulled away and twisted so that it faced the door instead of its partner on the opposite side of the table.
" Please, make yourself at home, Lady Izaya," Izaya fought down the urge to snort at these words, " it has been some time she we last talked." Moving smoothly, the Emperor took a seat in the out turned chair. Frowning, Izaya stuck close to the door, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall just next to it, placing the back of one of her feet against the wood paneling.
" Since you showed me your library, I think." Izaya provided for him, with holding the word "only" from the sentence only with a strong force of will.
" Yes," he agreed, raising his brows at her, keeping that smile painted across his face, " for a moment there, I was beginning to think that you avoiding me."
Oh? He'd noticed that had he?
" Oh, no, no!" she insisted, waving her hands in front of herself. " It wasn't anything like that! I've been terribly busy lately, what with searching for the Seiryu warriors and preventing the Suzaku warriors from obtaining Suzaku before we can gather everyone, I've been at my wits end. That's without mentioning my other duties as priestess, it's rather miraculous that I still find time to bath some days." A bit of glee shot through her chest when the Emperor's face contorted at her choice of words. Waving her hand at him, she couldn't help adding. " You understand, I'm sure."
" Of course." his agreement came with a strained tone of voice and the way his mouth was spread across his face made the smile on it appear painful. Standing up, the Kuto leader moved his hands behind his back, taking a few paces closer to where she was. His eyes were focused on the door as if it were a window to the outside and the entire time, Izaya focused her eyes on him. Narrowing them for a second, she took in the details of his bulky form.
It wasn't so much that she felt threatened by him, she'd had enough contact with big biker types and frat boys for the size to be un-intimidating in her eyes. What had her so focused on him was something she couldn't quite put her finger on. There was something off about the man, she could feel it, but the why and how of it were as clear as mud.
" Has Nakago been keeping you up to date about our preparations for the war?" Smirking, Izaya hummed affirmation lifting her back off the wall and standing up straight.
" He manages to make the time to inform me of what's happening through his own busy schedule," she replied, " there are a lot of men under his command, I suppose there is never a dull moment in the day for him." The Emperor hummed.
" He has been groomed into a fine general," he affirmed, adding, " far different from what he used to be as a child." These words had immediately captured Izaya. When she noticed her forward lean and intent focus on the older man, the priestess of Seiryu cursed herself inwardly and forced herself to look disengaged. Though, by the look that the Kuto leader was sending her from the corners of his eyes, she had the feeling she had been too late to hide it from him.
" Oh? Is that so?" taking a few steps, she turned her back to the Emperor, hoping to pull her composure back together while he couldn't see her face. " I wasn't aware that Nakago had grown up at the palace." shrugging her shoulders, she twisted herself back around. " You learn something new every day-" It was then that the older men leaped at her, catching the priestess completely by surprise.
Throwing her on the bed, the Emperor of Kuto pinned her down. Kissing at the nape of Izaya's neck, he held both her wrists with one hand while the other began to work at her clothes, attempting to pull her shirt up over her head. All the while she struggled against the man, squirming, straining her arms to try and break herself free of the old man. When one of her feet caught something that felt a bit too soft to be leg, Izaya stomped her foot down. The Emperor let out a howl and with as much force as she could muster, Izaya shoved the man off to the side of the bed. Scrambling, she hurriedly got her feet on the ground. Digging into her jean pockets, she flipped open her blade, though not fast enough. When she moved to point it at the Emperor, it was knocked from her hand, clattering to the floor. Lurching for it, she was brought to a grinding halt by the older man's tight grip around one of her wrists.
" Let go of me!" she snarled, yanking her arm in a vain attempt to break herself free of him. The Kuto leader's beady dark eyes glared.
" You'll pay for that, you little bitch!" he declared, dragging her closer to his body. " That little rebellious act might be cute to some people, but you will give me the respect that I deserve-!" Abruptly, Izaya spat in his face, some of her projectile saliva catching the man in the eye. Yelping, he withdrew, attempting to clean his eyes with one hand, his grip on her hand with the other loosening, but not lost. It was all that Izaya needed, and she ripped her arm from his hand while he was busy clearing her bodily fluid from his eyes. Rushing, her hand managed to clamp around the hilt of her dagger a second time. The Emperor grabbed this same arm a second later, giving it a hard twist. Yelping from the sharp pain that shot up her arm, Izaya dropped the blade and was slapped across the face.
" You WILL listen to me." he demanded of her, attempting to pull her back to the bed at the opposite side of the room. Dragging her feet, digging her heels into the floor boards, Izaya reached out, trying to get her dagger. Scowling, the Emperor threw her against the wall hard enough that a distinct thud could be heard when her body made contact with it. Once again, he had pinned her down, and she strained and struggled against him even more so then the first time. " You're willing to kill the EMPEROR?" he put emphasis on it as a sickening, smug grin came to his lip. For a second, Izaya stopped, glaring hotly into his eyes.
" Hell yes." she replied, and began struggling against him once more. The man's eyes widened and he tightened his grip around her injured wrist. It drew a short cry out of the girl, her body tensing.
" The hell you would!" he retorted in his shock. " I'm the head of this nation! You wouldn't be able to get out of this room alive if you killed me!" Izaya snorted.
" Yeah," she answered, squirming still, " but if its the likes of you, I think I'd rather die!" Shocked, the Kuto Emperor's face contorted and he pulled both of her hands together high over her head. Again, he held both of her hands by the wrists, freeing up his other hand to start working on her removing her pants; shirt laying long forgotten on the floor. " NOO! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! LET GO OF ME-!"
It was then that, suddenly, the door to the room opened. Stopping, the Emperor turned and Izaya didn't miss the chance, struggling again. Scowling, the Emperor had to return his focus to her in order to keep her under control. Unable to free herself, Izaya stilled, her eyes finally taking notice of the person who had interrupted the scene.
" Nakago. . ." his name slipped out of her mouth lightly and she stared at him with wide eyes. Even as she was, Izaya noticed something off about the general. His bright blue eyes gawked in a way that seemed almost void; as though he were both seeing what was happening before himself, but also not at the same time.
" What is it, Nakago?" the Emperor prompted, speaking leisurely, as though this happened everyday. Blinking, the prompted question seemed to bring Nakago back to the present. He looked at the Emperor and then at Izaya. She held his eyes for a few seconds.
Then, pooling up her strength, Izaya jerked her knee upward into the gut of the Emperor. Caught by surprise, the Kuto leader stumbled back from her, clenching his stomach and releasing Izaya. Landing on her feet, she ducked down, grabbing her dagger with her good hand while the older man's innards emptied themselves onto the floor. Once he'd begun to straighten, the priestess had been quick to turning the point the blade at the Emperor's throat. He froze instantly, eyes glued onto the blade that gleamed brightly up at him in the low light. Swiftly, Izaya snatched him by the collar of his robes.
" Look me in the eyes!" Izaya snarled, lifting the knife higher, pushing it closer to the man's throat. A small gasp came out of him and he quickly did as he was told. Forcefully, she shook him, glaring.
When she spoke next, her voice contained such a harshness to it that it was palpable.
" If you EVER try something like this again! If you every touch me or even so much as look in my direction again, I swear that I will make you wish I had had the kindness to slice your throat wide open here and now!" Turning the dagger, giving it an upward angle, she hollered. " ARE WE CLEAR?" Stiffly, the Emperor nodded his head over at over again. Then, she spat into his face a second time and shoved him back as hard as she could muster. He dropped to the floor like a load of led bricks, a shivering mound of flesh and bone.
Spinning on her heels, Izaya headed to where Nakago was standing in the door frame of the room. She passed him without making eye contact.
" NAKAGO! We're leaving!" With that last command, she strode away. As ordered, the military man followed after her, sliding the door shut behind them.
It was a silent procession in the halls of the palace after that. Izaya kept a swift, long stride, as though she were running late for a very important appointment. She kept herself a single stride ahead of Nakago all the while. However, even from behind her, the military captain could she her down turned head. Swinging around one corner, she came to an abrupt halt. She didn't look back at Nakago, holding her ground, the hand not clamped around the dagger clenched into a tight fist.
" You can go now." she said, voice toneless and unreadable. There was a short pause. Then, reaching out, Nakago touched her shoulder. A jolt ran up Izaya's spine and she jerked away from him, spinning around to face him. For a second, she held his stern face with one of her own, eyes holding the determination glare.
After that second, however, moisture entered her eyes and broke free down her cheeks. Blinking, as though unsure of just what had happened, she wiped the tears away with a furious hand and continued to glare up at Nakago. It didn't do a thing; more tears trailing down her face after the first were gone. Then, unable to ignore the tears, Izaya turned her gaze to the wall.
" Dammit!" she swore, trying to remove every tear from her face which was a futile effort. " God dammit!" Bracing herself against the wall, she lowered her head even more as though trying to hide the already obvious from the general.
Suddenly, Nakago grabbed her up off of her feet. She yelped at the abrupt action and reflexively tightened her grip on Nakago's bright blue cape to keep from tumbling to the ground. Not to say that Nakago himself would've dropped her, as he held her bridal style in his arms. Shifting the loose ends of the blue clothe slung over his shoulder, Nakago covered her almost completely exposed top before beginning to walk down the hall. Gray eyes glanced up at him, searching for some sort of answer to these actions. Izaya's searching gaze was given nothing in return; Nakago's gaze focused forwards on the hallway, his irises never once drifting down to where she clung to his chest. After a few seconds, she let her head rest against the breast plate of his armor, tears trailing down her face. The redness of her rubbing only half covered the flush that colored her cheeks. While holding her, Nakago felt her quaking. He said nothing about it; nothing about her quiet sobs as he moved briskly through the halls.
Reaching her room, Nakago set her down on her bed, grabbing one of the spare chairs in the room and placing it beside her bed. As he settled down, he heard Izaya muttering furiously to herself.
" Fucking-" she growled, the tears finally clearing away from her face and staying off of it.
" Izaya." Nakago spoke up and the girl looked up into his face slowly. Reaching out, he took her hand, grasping it tightly with his own. " It's alright." squeezing her hand, he said. " It's alright now, Izaya." For a few seconds, she held his eyes, blank faced. Then, when she seemed to register what it was that he was saying to her, she gave a wry smile, squeezing his hand back in return. Lowering her gaze where his hand held to her's, Izaya shook her head.
" This is embarrassing." she mumbled, running her free arm under her nose and sniffling once. Still shaking her head, she took a very deep breath of air into her lungs and exhaled slowly.
What she did next, however, caught Nakago's attention.
Lifting the hand he had around hers, Izaya touched her lips to the back of his hand; a gentle kiss. Staring, he allowed her to take this same hand and nuzzle it against her cheek.
" Thank you, Nakago." she murmured the words, her breath falling warm against his knuckles. Then, just like that, she moved their hands away once again and lifted her eyes and gaze into his face steadily once more. There was a sparkle in her eyes still from the forming tears, but the smile that was on her face was the most honest that Nakago had ever encountered so far from Izaya. The face she wore was sweet; he might have even considered using the word "innocent" though he knew her too well to actually say that. It was enough that he turned his head away, unable to keep eye contact with her. With one final squeeze of his hand, she gently loosened her grasp and let Nakago's hand slip away from her own. Quietly, she pulled back the blankets off her bed and crawled under them, yanking the end of it so that it covered all of her from the neck down.
Nakago moved to stand up. However, Izaya quickly snatched his sleeve, drawing his eyes back down onto her. She avoided his eyes and was silent for a second.
" Could you- stay here for tonight?" she murmured, face reddened even more so then before. Nakago didn't say anything, and she glanced up at him, shy suddenly.
" I was planning on it, " he stated, raising a brow as he added, " but I would like to remove my armor if it's all the same to you, Lady Izaya?" A smirk crossed his lips when her face turned an even darker shade of red. Quickly, she let go of his sleeve and spun around, facing away from him. She didn't say anything and when Nakago looked, he could see her ears were as red as the rest of her face had been. It earned snickers from him. Nakago returned to the chair he'd placed beside her bed once he'd set his armor to the side of the room. Izaya never turned back around to face him and with the time, her ears had ceased to appear red. So much time passed in silence that, if Izaya hadn't spoken up when she did, he would've guessed that she'd fallen asleep.
" Neh, neh, Nakago?" she said, voice muffled a little as she remained turned away from him at that time. There was a long pause after that. Too long, Nakago recognized the space in time as out of place with her usual continuation of speaking when she got his attention like that. Frowning, he grunted, showing that he had heard her words and waited for her to go on. His responce was met with only silence.
" Lady Izaya?" he prompted softly, seeing her shoulders snap tightly. After a second, Izaya let them relax and gave a gentle hum in return.
" Ah, sorry," she apologized, still not turning towards him as she spoke, " I was just thinking that if I could make one of those wishes right now, I'd wish that this palace was at the top of the tallest mountain in Kuto." a short giggled followed her words, and Nakago raised a brow, watching her. " Then I could drop the Emperor off of the mountaintop!" Her frame shook with her laughter. Snorting, Nakago crossed his arms.
" What a wasteful wish." he stated, voice tone flat. Izaya laughed more, nodding her head
" True. There are easier ways of killing a man." she agreed, her light voice tone darkening and lowering as she added. " Besides, there would be plenty of other people in my world that I'd like to do the same thing to." As Nakago watched her, he saw her shrink further down under the covers, adjusting her body position as though she thought he was trying to sneak a peak at her expression as she lay there. Her grip tightened on the blanket as she spoke again.
" With how I reacted, you might be surprised to find that I've been in situations like that a handful of times before." There's a pause, and after a bit of time, a long sigh fell out of Izaya. " Can't say its always been men either, now that I think about it." shaking her head, she gave soft snort. " The ladies can be quite forceful if you're not careful, neh?" she got no answer back for this prompted question, but she didn't seem to care if she got one or not, chuckling amiably as she always seemed to do. It dropped off into a sullen sigh not long after though, and another silence fell between them, both of them very still.
Turning over onto her back, Izaya lay her forearm over her eyes, keeping Nakago from making contact with his icy blue gaze. " God, I'm so tired." then there was another long pause, one where Izaya simply lay there, tugging gently at the blankets so that they rested against her collar bone, her arms clumping it up over her middle. She never moved her forearm away from her eyes.
" Then you should sleep." he answered her after a long stretch of time had passed. Snorted, she raised her arm high enough to send a glare at the military general. He held her gaze steadily with his own and eventually her mouth parted into a smile. Izaya only started talking again once she'd replaced her forearm over her eyes.
" You know that's not what I meant." she pointed out, shaking her head. " Sometimes I really wonder if you understand a word that comes out of my mouth, Nakago."
" I understand." his respond was so prompt that Izaya raised her arm and gazed at him. One of her brows was raised at first, but it quickly fell as she looked at Nakago. The expression on Nakago's face was one that gave away absolutely nothing. With his mouth drawn tight and his shoulders held, strong as stone, Nakago captured her gray eyes with his blue ones. Izaya's starting inquisitive look, however, slowly dropped, twisting as though she were concerned for Nakago's well being. She was taking something from him; her facial changes might have been in response to a story to an on looker. However, the general was as still and silent as a statue. After a long time, Izaya finally broke eye contact. Turning towards him this time, she dragged the blankets over her shoulders, covering herself from the neck down.
" Neh, neh, Nakago-?" the general shushed her.
" Sleep." he insisted, voice firm though as he placed his hand over her eyes the touch was gentle. " It will do you good."~~~~~~~~~~~
That chapter, my friends, is why I rated this T and considered rating it M (among other reasons). NAKAGO TO THE RESCUE! XD Read, love, REVIEW PLEASE! I appreciate any kind of feed back, though I prefer encouragement over flames!