Hisoka tugged at his collar more than pissed off as he looked around the room. He hated being dressed up in these stiff clothes his mother picked out. He hated crowds of people and worse of all he had been forced to eat more than twice what he usually ate at dinner. The prince was grumpy and now he had to deal with possible wives fawning all over him. To make things even worse just about everyone in the room was gushing over his birthday present. There had been several offers to buy time with him that Hisoka had politely declined (even if he had been screaming internally for them to back off). It didn't stop any of them from thinking or feeling things that made Hisoka's skin crawl. Tsuzuki however stood beside him completely oblivious to the attention being paid. He was polite and spoke when spoken to, although the second Hisoka said anything the other's attention would be solely focused on him. How did he end up with such an idiot? He continued to wonder to himself.
Across the room he could feel as much as see his brother's irritation with the attention his own present seemed to be getting. While he probably didn't recognize it Hisoka saw the anger was in order to protect the neko as much as it was the people continually bothering him. Hisoka couldn't help, but smirk internally at seeing his brother bond so quickly. Tatsumi had in general avoided other nekos because his social skills had never been the best. His interaction was limited to the people in the palace and his mother's family back in town. It was a bit fun to see his brother accept another into his life.
"Prince Hisoka, it is a pleasure to see you again." That voice caused him to bristle and it took everything in him not to turn around and hiss at the owner of the voice. Instead his grip on the chain tightened as the other hand curled into a fist. He turned to face the lord who never failed to appear, no matter how much Hisoka wished it.
"Lord Muraki." He managed to speak as though it wasn't through gritted teeth. However he could not keep his eyes from narrowing or the hair on his tail to bristle. Hisoka caught the worried look Tsuzuki sent his way, but ignored it. He might explain later when no one else was around.
"It is a pleasure to see you again. May I congratulate you on becoming an adult." There was that polite smile on his face that always made Hisoka want to rake his claws through the man's cheek. It hid thoughts that made the prince want to curl up in a ball and die. He had made it a quick routine to never ever touch the man. The last time he had he'd woken up to Tatsumi's worried features. "I see your father has an eye for presents. Maybe some day we can become better acquainted." Muraki's eyes turned to Tsuzuki and he reached a hand out to trail it along Tsuzuki's injured cheek. His mother had fussed over her own make up to hide the bruise and Tsuzuki, to his credit didn't even flinch when the hand made contact. Hisoka, on the other hand, bristled even more and he quickly jerked Tsuzuki away.
"You have your own entourage of slaves, you do not need to lay a hand on mine." He said in a growl. Everyone around took a few steps back. Hisoka knew his temper was famous and there were few that really wanted to be around when he lost his. It rivaled his mother's famous tantrums and the few times anyone had seen Tatsumi blow up at someone. Muraki, however, was undaunted and simply let his hand fall to his side.
"Of course, your highness. I wouldn't want to take what is yours." The smile on his face held other thoughts and Hisoka was just about to follow through with his own thoughts when a hand dropped to his shoulder.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Muraki." Tatsumi's icy voice broke through the roaring in Hisoka's ears and he took a calming breath. If there was one person who could stand up to Muraki it was his brother. The two of them had done some sparring when they grew up and while they were evenly matched somehow Tatsumi managed to come out on top every time. It may have been the fact that his brother hated Muraki almost as much as he did and Hisoka hadn't even mentioned to him the thoughts and feelings he had been receiving from the young lord.
"The pleasure is all mine, Prince Tatsumi. It has been quite a long time since the three of us were last together. I do miss the days we would play together." A few years ago Muraki had to return to his home. It seems another child of his father had appeared out of nowhere and his father had accepted him into the family. About two or three years later they had received word that both of Muraki's parents had been killed as well as his brother. Hisoka had no doubts about what had happened.
"Yes, quite a long time. Perhaps you and I should catch up later." The ice in his brother's voice could freeze anyone to the spot instantly, but Muraki simply smiled a bit wider. Hisoka bit back a hiss watching the two battle with their eyes and emotions. He could feel the fear from the onlookers, but focused on something else to keep from passing out.
"Yes, later. I am sure both of you have others to welcome. I'll see you later." Muraki said with a smile that reminded Hisoka of a cat catching a bird. He trailed his hand along Tsuzuki's arm before turning and walking off. Hisoka felt a surge or rage boil through him and tightened his hand on the chain.
"If Father asks I stepped out for some air." Hisoka said through gritted teeth then stalked out of the hall dragging Tsuzuki with him. He made his way out to the garden and dropped the chain. "Sit." Pointing to a bench he ordered Tsuzuki then began pacing around the area trying to work off some of the anger. He felt like he needed a bath after being so close to Muraki. He wanted to scrub Tsuzuki down for having been touched by him. His eyes flicked over to the neko who was sitting on the bench squirming for some reason. Hisoka calmed down enough to speak without snapping. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm okay, Master" Tsuzuki said as he rubbed his arm. Hisoka frowned. Just looking at him he could tell something was wrong, that there was something the other was holding back. Staring him down might get him to break and give the answer he wanted to give. Emerald eyes refused to leave Tsuzuki and finally he saw the movement. Tsuzuki reached up and moved to rub his cheek then froze.
"Go on ahead. If we go back later I'll fix it." Hisoka said then went back to pacing. Instantly Tsuzuki's hand went to his face and he rubbed the cheek vigorously as if trying to clean something off. His ears were low as he then dusted the powder off of the shirt sleeve and his hand. Just from his movements Hisoka guessed that the other felt dirty after being touched. That was one thing they had in common. "That bastard thinks he's already king. I'm not going to marry him, no matter what Father thinks is best for the country." He hissed as he continued to pace around the garden. It was a small circle, but part of him somewhere didn't want to leave Tsuzuki's side for a moment, or to have him out of his sight.
"Master?" The concerned voice filtered through is angry thoughts and Hisoka glanced over toward Tsuzuki. Amethyst eyes that seemed to radiate concern were following his every movement. His ears flicked and his tail swayed before he muttered out that he was fine and continued to pace. After a few more minutes of pacing he looked up again to see that Tsuzuki's eyes hadn't drifted off of him nor had the concern died down any. Instead it seemed to have grown since he last looked over. Just great.
"I'm fine, idiot." Hisoka finally said grumbling under his breath. When the anger had dissipated enough that he thought he could deal with others he moved toward the door. "Come on. We need to cover that up again." Instantly Tsuzuki was right behind him and the prince had to count to stop himself from smiling. No matter what Tsuzuki seemed to gravitate toward whatever he said. He knew it was his training, but somehow Hisoka felt like at least Tsuzuki genuinely cared about him.
--
Watari had never in his life wanted to run away, but seeing all of the looks from the people in the crowd made him inch back to hide a bit behind his master. There were so many and they all seemed to have the same thing on their mind. His ears lowered and his tail curled protectively around himself as he inched away. It wasn't as though he hadn't been on display like this before, but for some reason it bothered him greatly to see this crowd react like this. Maybe it was because he was afraid he'd lose his new master to one of these or maybe it was a fear that his master would think of him as a profit. Whatever the reason Watari was terrified. He couldn't beg to leave either, part of his purpose was to be shown off today. Everything had him so freaked out that he couldn't hear his master talking to the others although something in Watari told him the prince was just as tense as he was although the reason was anger instead of fear.
A sudden pull to his chain pulled him out of his thoughts and he quickly caught up to his master who was stalking toward the other side of the room. Following the path they were traveling Watari caught sight of a lord speaking with the other prince. His eyes widened seeing the prince practically hissing at the man. Tsuzuki didn't look any better off. His friend looked like he was ready to bolt at any moment. That was, of course, until the man reached out to trail a hand along Tsuzuki's bruised cheek. Watari's blood boiled seeing the look on his friend's face. It was as if the other wanted to cry and cower behind his master, but obediently stood still. Suddenly Hisoka jerked him back pulling him safely behind his back and hissed at the man. Watari wanted to do so much more, but he followed at his master's pace and stayed in his place behind him.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Lord Muraki." Watari had never heard so much ice in that deep voice. It caused him to shiver. His eyes widened at the name and he realized part of the reason Tsuzuki had been so upset by the simple touch. When they had become adults the slave house had decided to withhold auctioning them off, but they did sell their time to lords or others with the right amount of money. It was a rule between them that they wouldn't talk about what happened with each other to avoid upsetting one another. There had only been two or three times that Watari had sorely wished they hadn't made that deal. Tsuzuki had come back quiet, with a broken look in his eyes and bruises on his body. In a few days he would go back to normal and it seemed like nothing had been wrong before, but the days before that were so hard to bear.
One night after Tsuzuki had been sent out Watari was woken to the sound of panic in the room. When he opened his eyes there was the entire medical team hovering around Tsuzuki's bed frantically working. He looked over and saw Tsuzuki laying there barely breathing. It was after that incident that the owner had refused that anyone ever be sent to the house of Muraki. Watari burned that name into his memory for further revenge. Watching the exchange he knew there was a history with the princes as well. Carefully so that no one would see Watari reached over and pet his friend's tail comfortingly. It was a silent reminder of his protection. He glanced over and saw Tsuzuki give him a very faint and obviously forced smile, but it showed his gratitude. Watari returned the smile with one of his own before Tsuzuki was pulled out of the room by Hisoka.
"Let's go." Tatsumi said as he led them in the opposite direction. Wateri wanted nothing more than to run after his friend and make sure he was all right, but instead he walked along behind his master. They made their way across the room and Watari looked up to see the king talking with a group of what looked like rather rich lords. At the sight of them the king threw an arm around Tatsumi's shoulders and pulled him over to the group.
"Finally ready to join the adult conversations are we?" He asked with a grin and Watari had to force himself not to cover his nose. The man reeked of alcohol. His ears lowered as he was forced closer when the man tugged Tatsumi. "Ah, did you all see my son's birthday present. A fine one isn't it? I want my boy to have the best. The rumors about this one were just too good to pass up. You like your present, don't you?" Watari felt the eyes on him again and he wanted to curl up and die. Part of him wished he could bury his face in his master's back to escape their looks.
"Yes, Father. Thank you for the gift." Tatsumi spoke and Watari thought he might have felt the same way seeing the other men there. At those words the king laughed and clapped his son on the back. Even Watari had to wince at the strength of it. He was sure if the king had done the same to Hisoka the prince would have folded in half. A quick glance proved that Tatsumi was all right. He must have been used to such treatment.
"Wonderful! I knew you would." The king finally released his hold on Tatsumi to drink down another cup of wine. "Come on, show it off. Bring him out from behind you so the others can see why I picked it." Begrudgingly Tatsumi led him out in front of him by the chain. Watari wanted to remain in the fear-filled position he was in, but he knew that would upset his master's father and he didn't want to get him in trouble. Slowly he uncurled and forced his ears to unflatten some. His tail swayed faintly as he bowed deeply to the men in front of him. He didn't say a word and waited a moment before bringing himself back to his full height.
Before the ball Tatsumi had put Watari in a set of his own clothes. They were a rich brown that his master had admitted made him look like he was glowing. Watari had felt uncomfortable at first wearing such nice clothing, but his master had assured him it was all right. Seeing the looks he was getting he was sure his master had chosen the right clothes for him to wear. It took everything in him not to shudder. "Father, would you mind if Hisoka and I left early? Most of the people left are here to see you and we didn't get back from visiting Chijou until rather late last night."
"Well, the ball was mostly for the two of you, but seeing as how you've stayed most of the night and it is your birthday I guess I could let you off. Make sure you two are up bright and early tomorrow for your lessons. If your teacher tells me either you or Hisoka are late again . . ." The king left the threat hanging, but it was obvious one Tatsumi had felt the wrath of before. He bowed his head low before turning back up to him.
"Of course, Father. Hisoka and I will be there on time." Watari quickly bowed deeply to the king and the men before he followed the prince out the door. They walked through a network of halls until Tatsumi stopped in front of one. He knocked and waited for an answer. When he didn't receive one he knocked again. "Hisoka?" He opened the door and Watari looked in to see the blond prince applying powder to Tsuzuki's injured cheek. It looked like he was trying to be as gentle as possible.
"We'll be there in a minute. I doubt Father wants him to show off this bruise." Hisoka muttered under his breath not even bothering to look up from his work. Watari was a bit worried that there was more he was trying to hide, but let it drop when he saw how much more relaxed Tsuzuki was.
"Don't worry about it. I talked Father into letting us go for the night. Just don't be late for our lessons tomorrow or he'll tan both our hides." At that Hisoka stopped his work then pulled back to look at Tatsumi. "I wasn't sure if Muraki had left or not, but I assumed you didn't want to encounter him again." His master explained and Watari looked over at Tsuzuki. The other tensed and his hand instantly went up to his arm before he forced himself to relax again.
"Thanks." Watari was sure the young prince had been distracted because in full view he began to rub the powder off of Tsuzuki's cheek delicately. In the silence of the room he could hear the faint purr of contentment from Tsuzuki. It brought a small smile to his face and he wiggled a bit at the sight. They were so damn cute. Something seemed to startle Hisoka and a blush rose to his face and he immediately jerked his hand back. Oh, Tatsumi had said his brother had special powers. He had probably picked up on Watari's thought. Ah well, it didn't matter. The cute moment was a sign of hope for his friend and that was all that mattered.
"Good night. Be sure to get a bath before going to bed. I won't hesitate to drag you straight out of bed to lessons." There was a smirk in Tatsumi's voice that made Watari almost giggle. He followed his master out of the room. The door closed behind him and he allowed himself a small giggle.
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I have about 1/2 of the fifth chapter written. Hopefully I can finish it tonight. If I don't get it done it will be there tomorrow.