The servants continued to walk in and when it looked light the chains would never end in came what Hisoka could only assume was their presents. If Hisoka was completely honest with himself he would admit that he really was not all that angry with his father, but he wasn't honest with himself. "What are we supposed to do with them?" He asked with a frown. His ears flicked back and forth as did his tail. The two nekos were young, looked too young in fact and the emotions he continued to feel off of them were weird. His question seemed to spark something in one of them and he had to steel himself to keep from passing out right there. Those emotions were so strong and so painful.
"Whatever you want. They're yours." His father said as he handed each of his sons a chain. That meant that one of them was closer to him and Hisoka felt the ache in his head grow even stronger. Some twist of fate had left him with the one that seemed to feel things ten times stronger than any normal neko. That was just his luck. "Now, go enjoy your birthday. You'll be summoned when it is time to get ready for the ball." With that their father took his mother's arm and walked out of the room. Hisoka hissed once he was sure his father was well out of range and quickly dropped the chain. He needed to put some distance between himself and this present.
"Hisoka?" The concern in his brother's voice was evident and Hisoka found that for once in his life he was grateful he had troubles reading Tatsumi with his strange powers. Concern, fear, pain, rejection, they were all so strong in the air that Hisoka felt like he could reach out and touch it. All of them coming from one person. He put his hands to his head and closed his eyes trying to keep his bearings. It would cause him to lose face if these two saw him pass out for no apparent reason.
"I'm fine." He snapped back at Tatsumi trying to stand up straight. If he swayed he knew his argument would be completely destroyed. "Come." Stubbornly he straightened and walked to the door barking the order at the slave still standing in the middle of the floor. Instantly he felt the rejection disappear. It felt like a punch in the gut, but he didn't let it faze him as he walked down the hall. Instead he focused on the sound the chain made as it scrapped along the floors behind the slave. It helped him get a handle on everything and distracted him slightly. He quickly made his way to his room and walked over to the window. Somehow he needed to clear his mind. "Sit." He hissed at the neko feeling him enter the room. It shocked him to hear him drop down to the floor right where he was. Hisoka was grateful that the slave had been trained since there was no spark of fear at the command just an immediate obedience.
What was he going to do with the other? That was the new task at hand. Emotions were still strong, but without the others around he was fairly certain he could handle it, at least for the moment. He could feel those innocent eyes on him watching his movements. It didn't take him long to figure out that the other was trying to find out if he would be sent back. As if Hisoka could defy his father like that. Not only would his mother go ballistic, but the last time he had 'dishonored' his father he'd been whipped and there was a threat of it being a public one the next time. No, Hisoka didn't have the guts to do that. "What's your name?" He asked with a snap. The neko startled slightly at the sudden break in silence.
"Tsuzuki, Master." His eyes dropped to the floor and he kept his head low. Green ones scanned him again. The thin clothing didn't look to be very warm especially with him sitting on the cold stone, but it didn't seem to be bothering him. He frowned to himself. Curiosity began to poke at the edges of his thoughts and he realized that it wasn't his own. The other wanted to know what had caused his new master problems earlier. He hoped it wasn't him. This caused Hisoka to frown. It wasn't a front and inwardly the slave was plotting revenge he would never seek. His compliance wasn't even feigned or tinged with fear, it simply was.
"How did you end up in the slave house?" His own curiosity took over. How could someone accept that his life wasn't his own so completely? Every servant and slave in the palace harbored some hope of freedom, no matter how deep in the subconscious it was, and yet here this slave had absolutely no hope.
"I can't remember, Master. I've been there ever since I remember." Hisoka's eye twitched hearing the almost childlike voice. That would explain the lack of hope, slavery was all he had known. Now, however, he had another question.
"How old are you?" He barked the question staying on the seat by the window. Tsuzuki didn't even shift on the floor. It was a bit annoying. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Immediately those violet eyes shot up to his face.
"I'm sorry, Master. I became an adult three years ago." The answer shocked Hisoka and he growled about to call the other on his lie. He stopped himself realizing one thing, his powers hadn't picked up the lie. This immature childlike neko was older than him? That had to be impossible. Ignoring the fact that he seemed to feel everything else ten times stronger than anyone else he assumed he must have missed the feeling.
"Did you lie to someone at the house? Is that why your cheek is bruising? I'm surprised they didn't whip you on the spot for lying." This caused Tsuzuki to shift as he sat and Hisoka smirked internally. He'd caught the lie and had cause the other to squirm. Good. That would make up for the emotions and the fact that somehow this servant seemed to get under his skin.
"No, Master." A swell of anger surged through Hisoka. He let out a low growl and he could feel the fear spike in the slave. "I was pulled off the stage and couldn't stop from making a noise. I was hit for speaking out of turn, Master." Instantly the eyes were lowered and he bowed low to the ground.
"It seems you didn't learn your lesson the first time." Hisoka shot right back knowing he hadn't asked for the true explanation. Another squirm and the overwhelming feeling to cry filled Hisoka's chest. "I-I'm sorry, Master." Tsuzuki's small voice was choked and he knew the other was trying not to cry. Great. He'd just bullied a child, at least mentally. What kind of king was he going to become?
"Fine. Just don't do it again." He turned away to look out the window not able to meet those big eyes should they be filled with tears. This was just great. He already had enough problems and now he'd gotten a child to take care of. One that could incapacitate him at any moment with just a thought. He was such a weakling. "Don't leave this room." He needed to talk to Tatsumi about this.
"M-master . . . " The catch in the voice was evident and Hisoka knew that things wouldn't be as easy as he had thought. With a light hiss he turned narrowed eyes to Tsuzuki. "H-his highness ordered me to remain at your side for the day." Just great. Flicking his ears in annoyance Hisoka headed to the door.
"Fine!" He snapped then jerked up the chain. Completely ignoring the swell of emotions he stalked down the hall dragging a stumbling Tsuzuki after him. His powers led him straight to his brother's room. Without trying to calm down he knocked roughly on the door. "Tatsumi!" He could feel Tsuzuki's fear radiate through every fiber of his being, but right now he didn't care. When the door opened he shoved the chain at Tatsumi with a growl. He just knew his ears were flat and his hair was bristling. "Take it."
"Why?" Tatsumi asked opening the door wider to allow him in. His hand was on the chain and he guided Tsuzuki into the room. He had him sit down by the blond one then turned to Hisoka. Immediately he felt white hot anger pierce through his body. The blond slave's body was tense as he tried his hardest to keep in his spot. He could feel the tug to both hug Tsuzuki and an intense hatred for himself and knew that it was the other. So Tatsumi's had a bit more fire than most of the slaves he had met. It was well concealed and hidden in his subconscious.
"He can't keep control of his emotions." Hisoka growled as an explanation then bit back a groan as he felt the emotions from both of the slaves swell. Complete hatred and overwhelming guilt finally tipped him over the edge and everything went black
--
Watari followed the tug of the chain and into the room. He had heard rumors about the princes, but the second he caught sight of them he knew that the rumors hadn't done them justice. They were absolutely stunning and he felt like it was a mere honor to even have been considered as their gift much less be chosen. He was stunned hearing the disgusted voice. "What are we supposed to do with them?" It wasn't like he had heard worse comments, but on the trip he had relayed the descriptions of the princes to Tsuzuki and the kings representative had explained which one would go to which prince. This mean that Tsuzuki knew Prince Hisoka was destined to have him and he was unhappy with him. It would kill his friend to think that.
"Whatever you want. They're yours." The king explained with a dismissive voice. Watari repressed a shudder that wanted to wrack his body at the thought of what he had truly meant. His eyes traveled up to watch all of them. He kept his head low hoping none of them caught him watching them. At first he had been watching Hisoka to make sure his friend would really be okay with this master, but when his chain was handed to the other prince he found his eyes couldn't stray from his new master's form. Prince Tatsumi seemed to radiate power and authority. Even without his training Watari was certain he would listen to any order the neko would give. It scared him a little since there was little the prince could do and not get away with it.
He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard the deep voice of his new master filled with concern. He felt like he would melt right then and there as he heard the voice. It wasn't directed at him and the snap from the other prince let him really see what was going on. The blond prince seemed to be struggling against something. It was odd and Watari wondered what it could possibly be. The room was relatively quiet and yet it looked like he was hearing a loud noise. His ears were flat and his tail was swaying frantically. He couldn't watch anymore when the prince ordered Tsuzuki to follow him and stormed out of the room. There was a silent prayer that Tsuzuki would be all right with this master. He heard a sigh then looked over to his new master.
"I wish he wouldn't do that . . ." He could tell that his master had spoken mostly to himself, but his ears flicked in curiosity. So he knew what had happened, at least in part. There was a hint of concern in his features that led Watari to think he didn't knew the entire story, but he knew a lot more than Watari did. Finally those deep blue eyes focused on him. Watari's knees felt weak, but he managed to remain upright. "Come on." He said as he guided him along with the chain Watari followed trying to start to draw a map in his head. The king had ordered him to remain at Tatsumi's side so he was sure he didn't really need a map, but he never knew if he would need it in the future. Better safe than sorry. "What is your name?"
"Watari, Master." He answered immediately his eyes turning to see if his master was facing him. He wasn't, but the guiding chain was gentle as if he reallly didn't want to hurt him. His master opened the door to a room and a the first look inside confirmed it was a bedroom. Watari assumed it was the prince's and took a moment to memorize the look before he walked inside. That was when Tatsumi turned to him. His master released the chain from the collar and tossed it aside. He wasn't as vocal as Hisoka and Watari hoped his new master liked him. Suddenly a robe was thrown at him. He scrambled to catch it and keep it from falling on the floor with only his reflexes.
"Change out of those clothes." Without hesitation Watari removed the sheer robes he had changed into before. Knowing they were nicer than most of the clothes he had been allowed to wear he folded them up setting them on a chair. He pulled on the robe his master had tossed him. It took some work, but he managed to finally get his tail into the hole in the robe made for it. Most of the clothes he wore simply had a slit where his tail rested so eventually the two halves of the cloth would settle on either side of his tail. He found he liked that better than this, but would do whatever his master commanded.
When Watari looked up he saw that his master's back was to him and the door had been closed. This puzzled him. He belonged to Tatsumi so why wouldn't the prince look at him? After trying to hazard a guess as to what was going on he realized he was waiting for something. Hesitantly, not used to speaking out of turn, he spoke up. "M-master? I'm finished." Instantly the prince turned back around. Those deep blue eyes scanned him and he felt as if he had become a puddle on the floor. Something about those eyes just made him want to turn into mush in his arms. He was startled by a loud knock on the door. How long had he stood there just staring at his master? Tatsumi opened the door and Watari saw a chain thrust into his hand. "Take it." Watari watched as Tatsumi led Tsuzuki inside sitting him down beside Watari motioning for him to sit. When Watari sat down it took everything in there not to hiss and growl. His friend looked completely miserable with his ears low and his tail curled around him. He couldn't even listen to the excuses knowing only that this person had hurt someone who couldn't and wouldn't defend himself.
"Hisoka!" The startled shout pulled him out of his anger and he looked up just in time to see his master catch Hisoka as he fell to the floor. Tsuzuki lurched forward as if he had to stop himself from moving in to catch Hisoka himself. While both of their masters were preoccupied he set a comforting hand on Tsuzuki's. It was only for a second, but he knew it was all he could do to help his friend. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" Tatsumi sighed as he laid his brother on the bed. After he turned to face the two slaves sitting on the floor. "What am I going to do? Neither of you know spells I assume." Tsuzuki bowed his head low shaking his head. Watari knew he felt too awful to speak. However he glanced up testing his master for what his reaction could be.
"I know a few, Master." His voice was small as he hesitantly spoke up. Spells has always fascinated him so when he was taking out the garbage in the slave house and saw the book he had taken advantage of the situation. It wasn't against the law for a slave to know spells, but most masters frowned on it since it made them more at risk. "W-what sort of spell do you need?" Keeping his head low Watari didn't want to risk seeing anger in those ocean blue orbs.
"A mental barrier spell." Watari closed his eyes scanning his memory to go through all of the spells he knew. After a moment he hazard a look up at his master. He saw a glint of something, but he didn't feel quite as worried about his secret knowledge. Slowly he nodded his head. "I know one, Master." Tsuzuki's eyes widened and he looked over at Watari the hope nearly dripping out of them.
"Good. Cast it on . . ." He looked over at Tsuzuki with a question in his eyes. Knowing his friend Watari spoke for him. "Tsuzuki, Master." The prince nodded slowly. "Cast it on Tsuzuki then." Watari bowed his head and obediently did as he was told. He placed the spell on Tsuzuki then looked up. A hand reached out and pet Watari. He was a bit startled having never been rewarded for anything he did. His ears lowered a bit and he bit back a purr.
"Thank you." Tatsumi looked over at Tsuzuki and pet him gently. "He shouldn't be as upset now. Sometimes he gets this way." Watari blinked a bit and watched Tsuzuki shift nervously. He wasn't used to such treatment and Watari knew he was worried that his new master hated him already. "Go on ahead and sit by the bed." Tsuzuki quickly got up scrambling over to the bed with the chain dragging along behind him. He sat down and didn't move an inch his eyes watching his new master. "Watari, come with me."
With one last look to Tsuzuki Watari got up and followed the prince out of the room. He didn't know where they were going, but the neko was nervous. How would his new master take his knowledge of spells? His ears were low and his tail looped around his stomach as he followed his master down the hall.