From here onwards, things will get exciting and a little too dramatic (or serious, whichever you prefer). I hope you'll like this chapter like the previous ones. By far, the Tomo scenes are still my favorites.

Princess-of-doctors: Well, I'm still updating this fiction, and since I'm all into the story, I might still update this one more than the others. Haha. I'm just giving a fair warning in case I failed to update this story one day.

Obsessed Dreamer: I wouldn't say the last scene was out of desire, though. It's a really really long story before the characters end up who they are now. Since this is a retelling, the motivations behind the characters are a little different from Yuu Watase's. :D

Khryztinne: I dunno if lime counts as M… Was the last chapter for M? Haha. Do tell me if this chapter deserves a mature rating so I can change the classifications.

Disclaimer: FY is not mine.

Beginning of Torture

By Slavedriver2008

AN INVOLUNTARY SHIVER crept through the princess's spine and she awoke with a start. Darkness filled the tent and it took her awhile before she recognized where she was. She pulled the cloth that covered her naked and battered body. It was thick and heavy, a familiar texture she touched once. She slowly sat up and looked at the bruises on her arms and legs. Shards of glass were on the carpeted ground and dried blood clotted on her skin.

A tear fell from her eye when she remembered what happened. He abused her, the pain in her body proved so. Even when she lost consciousness, he did not spare mercy. She pulled the cloth closer, wrapping it around her, sobbing. At the middle of the blue cloth was a dragon, the ones normally stitched on a shogun's cape. It made her cry louder.

Why did he do such a thing? As a princess, not one of the men in the palace touched her. Even when she received gifts from the shogun, they would flatten their palms so when she picked the gift, their skins would not touch. It was customary for a princess to remain clean and untouched, unless she entered the harem. Her heart broke. He was like the commanders who took advantage of weak girls and boys as compensation for serving the country.

She briefly remembered the feel of his hands, calloused by training with swords. The memory brought disgust and she winced, the tears falling faster on the cloth, reminiscent of last night's rain. But the thing that ushered her thoughts into revulsion was the way she responded to his mouth. She covered her face with the cape and stifled another cry. Her body betrayed her and in exchange, she loathed herself more than she loathed him.

The flap of the tent opened slowly and she looked up, pushing herself to the thick wall. The shogun entered with a stern face, staring in blue expressionless eyes. Nakago let go of the flap and darkness filled the tent. Footsteps came closer and Yui's hair prickled when he crouched forward, kneeling and eyeing her intently.

"Please don't come closer," she whispered, trembling, embracing herself.

"I need my cape," he said and she stifled a cry. She covered her mouth to stop herself but it was futile, he heard her. He knew how scared she was, how awful she felt after last night. He reached out a hand and she moved away, fear filling her. Before he could touch her, scuffling sounds came from the supposed door of the tent.

"Nakago-sama, I have reports from Soi-sama!" one of the soldiers called. Nakago turned slightly, placing his closed fist on the ground.

"Speak," he ordered. The soldier began to read the message from the other side of the tent.

"She already has the boy and they are on their way to Shinryu. If we leave today, we shall meet them in Eisei in two days," the man called and Yui's eyes widened.

"Shinji…" she whispered and Nakago turned, smirking. A sole blue pearl necklace peeked from his robe and Yui's skin prickled when he gave her his full attention.

"You are dismissed. Prepare your horses, we will leave soon," he ordered and the soldier scampered off, leaving them in silence.

He stared at her and she looked back, anger evident in her eyes. She hated him for everything and yet… A tear fell from her eye. When she looked at him, she saw the Ayuru she met and fancied. Why was she feeling this way?

"Are you going to kill me…?" she asked, tears falling continuously from her big blue orbs.

"The Emperor wants to see you alive, Yui-sama. It is my duty to do whatever he pleases," he answered and Yui bit her lip to control the involuntary trembling of her body. He stood up and threw her a robe. Yui stood up, fists closed.

"Why did you do it?" she screamed, struggling to fight back the cries from her mouth. "Did the Emperor order you as well?" she asked venomously and he turned his head slightly toward her direction, not meeting her gaze.

"No," he said and Yui's eyes widened. "It was my revenge."

"I—I didn't do anything to you!" she screamed. It pained her to know that he defiled her with his own consent. If the new Emperor ordered him, she would have understood. What? She covered her mouth, surprised at the trail of thoughts she had been nursing.

"Your father did. It is only fitting that you repay me his debt," he said. Nakago slowly turned around, hate pooling in his blue eyes. "In case you failed to notice, I am a Hin." Yui gasped and he smirked. "You, the highest woman in the court… How does it feel to be… used… by someone from a lowly tribe…?"

Yui's feet gave way and she looked away, covering her mouth. A light laugh left him. A Hin touched her, took away the innocence she reserved for a future husband. They were the lowest creatures that walked Kutou, her handmaidens used to say. Only a man from a noble house can touch her, only a man with a higher distinction can do so. Yes, she was the highest woman in the court, her designation was even higher than the nobles and the magistrates. Was. It was a time long ago. She was nothing but a fallen royalty now, worse than what he was.

"Get dressed or I will drag you to Shinryu naked. My soldiers will see how I broke the esteemed princess of Kutou," he said sternly, in a mocking voice. He left the tent and Yui covered her face in shame.

When he was gone, Yui stood up, still trembling. She walked toward the mirror. Tears continued to fall from her eyes when she saw herself, battered and bruised. Her short hair was in disarray, cuts were on her cheeks, neck, shoulders. She gently fingered the semi-circle marks of teeth on her shoulder, the edges still swollen and fresh. It throbbed.

What would happen if she returned to Shinryu? There was nothing left for her. They would probably do what Nakago did to her. The thought made her heart break and she wanted to stop crying. But it left her anyway, partnered with an involuntary remorse that filled her heart. Her father was dead. No relative would take her in. The country she loved and valued was merely a land of people who betrayed her.

I will give you one piece of advice hime-sama. Never trust a man who has my hair and eyes…

The bard warned her about Nakago, did he not? But she didn't listen, she never took his words seriously. She had forgotten. She was reckless. She trusted him because he saved them. Once. And she trusted him with her life. She trusted him the way she trusted Kotoku and Shunkaku and Chuuin and Kaen. Kaen betrayed her as well. Her heart throbbed and her eyes saw a large piece of broken glass on her feet.

Yui sat down on the ground, picking up the sharp piece. It glimmered in the meager light, white that dissolved into numerous colors. A small laugh left her. It was beautiful. She always liked reflections on smooth surfaces, on water, on mirrors, on glass. The edges cut her still trembling fingers. It bled.

Trust but with a grain of salt…

"Trust…" she laughed lightly. "Trust doesn't exist, Father… There is only betrayal and revenge…" Another tear fell from her eye and it hit the shard of glass in her hand, dissolving into numerous smaller drops. Blood dripped from her palm but she did not loosen her hold of the glass. "…and hate…"

Instead, she placed it closer to the vein on her wrist. She quickly slashed the green lines near her palm and as pain throbbed through her body and blood spilled over her lying form, seeping through his cape, Yui smiled. Let death come. Let it wash away the pain and shame. Let it wash away the marks he left on her skin.

DARKNESS ENVELOPED THE hallway and the sun was peeking from the clouds, lining the fluffy sides with golden rays. It was an early time to be walking around the palace. But she can only take her walks in the shadows. Her father had forbidden her from going around the Imperial Palace, especially after her mother's delivery. Small footsteps sauntered through a familiar path, careful not to make noises that would wake the household.

Her mother was ill and the palace was in mourning. Yui could not understand why she could not see her anymore. Her brother was very little but he kept his eyes shut tight. It would take a few more waxing of the moon before she would realize what happened. By then, her father would succumb to a loneliness even she could not save him from.

The shogun Gi Koyuu was still in the borders of Sairou, fending off the rebels in the mountains. Yui liked Koyuu-sama. He always brings her goods from his travels and when he comes home, he would tell her stories of his youth, of the land he conquered for Kutou, and the wars he fought beside her father. Koyuu-sama was like a brother her father never had.

Her favorite story was when he got lost in the West and ended up in a lake of beautiful blue hues. It was where she met the most beautiful woman in the world. His dark eyes would glimmer whenever he described her beauty and a smile would grace his handsome but stern face.

"She has your eyes, beautiful and clear and pure," he would say in a loving tone. "And her hair was the color of the sun. When I saw her, I thought the goddess of the dawn had showed herself that night," he narrated.

When they parted she gave him a pearl he made into a necklace. The general showed it to her once. It was a beautiful pearl of blue, glistening indigo if bathed under too much light. He kept it near his heart. Because his heart, he said, only beats for her. But the general lost her and he spent the rest of his life looking, spending more days than usual in various areas to find his beloved. He never married but he adopted a son.

The girl smiled when she remembered the pearl. When she grew up, she will also give her beloved a pearl. It might not be as beautiful as the one Koyuu-sama wore around his neck, but it would make him remember her. The pearl was in her thoughts as she threaded the familiar path toward her father's room. The faint smell of blue flowers lingered in the air around her and she clutched the flowers near her nose to smell them. She would surprise the Emperor with flowers she picked from the garden and he would smile in return. Her mother's wish was for him to be happy.

Her ears heard a faint cry, a boy sobbing behind the opened door of her father's room. Was it the Emperor? But her father never cried. The voice grew louder, but still faint, as she stepped closer.

"Mother… Mother…" a young boy's voice lingered and her heart ached. She wanted to see her mother too. Curious by nature, she touched the door and pushed it open.

A FAMILIAR POWER pulled her back to consciousness and she gasped for air when she opened her eyes. Sunshine golden hair tickled her face and Nakago's deep blue eyes probed into hers, widening when she finally regained consciousness. She coughed and squirmed as pain shot from her wrist to every part of her body. His mark glowed bright, blue light surrounding them like licking flames. He was heaving and she saw a sweat rolled at the side of his handsome and perfect face.

She lifted her hands to push him away but it lacked strength. She opened her mouth to breathe, choking as she took in more air. He leaned closer and her palms met the muscles on his naked chest.

"Get… off me…" she whispered with hardship. She doesn't need his chi to live. She doesn't want to live. She pulled away the bandages to open the wound and let blood flow from her body. Tears beaded her eyes from coughing. "Just let me die…" She choked again and she turned away. The bed made sounds as they struggled on top. "Ayuru…"

He pushed her hands away and cupped her face, hands stern as steel. Before she could move more, he devoured her protest with his mouth, warm and soft and aggressive. Everything in her revolted but his chi enveloped her again, wrapping a comfortable blanket of numerous undefined sensations around her body. She let out a moan when their tongues lapped together and her hands clutched the hair of his back when he started to trace her mouth, sensual slow movements that took away the life in her body and then returning it with vitality and strength. They thrashed on the bed, eager to feel each other's skins.

She lost control of her thoughts, her actions, her resolves. There was only him and her, their mouths and the breathtaking kiss, their bodies moving, emitting a power that glued them together as one. A loud moan left her as he trailed kisses on her neck, sucking the skin with ease, in desperate strokes that pushed her further and further into an unexplainable foreign feeling of bliss. Her nails dug on his broad muscular shoulder and her body, on a life of its own, arched to follow his mouth as it trailed down her burning flesh.

"Oh, Ayuru…" she whispered against her will, eyes closed tight.

His mouth landed on hers again, desperate and eager, not losing its passion, and she responded with enthusiasm. He was not gentle, she doesn't want him to be. Her fingers moved on its own, lining the muscles on his chest, fingering the tiny slabs on his abdomen, moving further down along strong powerful thighs. He moved away to breathe, long deep heaves like hers, pulling her hands up and nailing her to the bed. He looked intently as the mark on his forehead slowly faded.

Yui closed her eyes as the power left her, them, wonderfully slow, taking with it all the unexplainable desperation she felt with every touch, every movement of their bodies. She let sleep devour her before the blue light left completely, leaving a sweet sweet lingering taste in her mouth. In her slumber, a man was laughing from a far-away dream, in a mocking almost otherworldly tone, pleased at what they had done and will probably never do again in their unconfused states.

"Shit," Nakago cursed at the brief moment of insanity, looking at her pale sleeping form and wiping the remains of the night at the sides of his mouth.

THE PLAIN BLUE ceiling greeted Yui's puffy and tired eyes. Contrary to her eyes, she felt energized and very healthy and ready for a long day. Sunlight shone lightly on her face between the makeshift window and the sound of birds and rustling leaves filled her ears. She turned to the side of the soft blue bed, still sleepy. Her eyes widened when she saw Nakago sitting on a wooden chair, knees crossed, watching her enchanted dreamy face contort to a frown.

Yui sat up, pulling the covers to hide her nakedness from the man, who seemed to have seen more while she stretched on the bed right after waking up. Nakago's face was blank yet his eyes were fixed on her. The attention made her nervous and she turned her attention on anything inside the tent aside from him. But it was futile, he exuded an aura that demanded attention. Flushing, she looked down on the sheets and found a bandage wrapped around her left wrist. She lined the dark red mark and the skin underneath throbbed lightly.

"What happened…?" she whispered, trying to remember the events that took place before she ended up in his bed.

"Stupid girl, you tried to kill yourself," he answered sternly and she looked up, surprised. Recognition registered over her face and she frowned. She must have done something wrong to still wake up and feel very alive.

"You should have left me to die," she said softly.

It was easy to slash her wrist yet she still failed. She never did anything correctly, her mission; her desire to know the truth behind her father's death; her being a princess. She was a failure and the realization brought back an unbearable pain in her heart. Yui hated wallowing in self-pity. But at that instant, as she lined the dried blood on her wrist, she felt all the emotions she was never trained to feel. She always thought she was tough, but it was otherwise. She was lame and weak and easily assuaged.

"I have told Shinryu about your return. I always keep my word," was his terse reply. The shogun stood up as Yui rubbed the pain in her neck. From the sides of her eyes she could see his cape flapping and moving behind him, emphasizing a swagger that made him all the more attractive. "Get dressed. We have been delayed for a day, now we depart for the capital."

"What—What are these?" she can't help but ask as her fingers touched small dried wounds on her neck, little drops that spread at the side and continued toward the valley between her breasts. Did mosquitoes bite her last night?

"Marks of my mouth," he answered, smirking. She looked up, surprised. She blushed immediately and he chuckled. "If you spread your legs, you'll probably see more." Her cheeks brightened and she fisted the blanket, eyeing him murderously.

"You… hentai," she whispered with distaste. He smiled, showing off perfect white teeth, fascinated at the reactions on her face.

"Get dressed. We'll have more time in the evening," Nakago teased, further aggravating the heat on her face. He turned toward the door while she continued to stare at him, angry and flustered and mortified.

"One day I will kill you," it rolled off her tongue easily.

"I'll wait." He smirked, raising an eyebrow as a sign of mockery. "If you can…"

The flap closed behind him and Yui hit the bed with closed fist. She threw the pillows and the blanket in fury. At the back of her head she can hear him laughing. Yui palmed her face and stilled, trying to stabilize her breathing. She wanted to scream, to throw a fit, to stomp her feet on the ground. But she was no longer a little girl and even if she does those immature gestures, he will not follow her command. He will probably push her to this damn bed and do what he pleased to make her shut up. Her skin prickled at the thought. No, she can't let him touch her again. Once was enough—twice if he indeed took advantage of her last night. She cursed. Why can't she remember anything after she slashed her wrist?

Still confused, Yui walked toward the basin of water. The mirror was gone as well as the pieces of glass on the floor. If she wanted to slash her wrist again, she'll have to break the porcelain. But doing so would solicit unwanted attention. She was still deep in thoughts as she washed her face. She should have stabbed her heart instead or slash the vein on her neck. She patted her face dry. She was a coward to choose the slow way. True warriors stab their stomachs when they kill themselves.

By the time Nakago returned to the tent, she was already dressed in a white robe. He walked toward her and tied her hands together, an act that made her roll her eyes. He noticed her reaction but said nothing. After tying her tight, he dragged her out of the tent into the high morning sun. Yui's eyes widened at the sight of hundreds of soldiers, eyeing her as the shogun pulled her toward the horses.

The men did not stop ogling even when Nakago pulled her into his horse and wrapped his arms around her, holding the reins and slightly hiding her from the prying eyes. She focused her attention on the mane of the horse, heart beating mad.

"Nakago-sama, the troop is ready to leave on your orders," a man with chinky eyes and a vicious face said. The hair on Yui's back prickled at the sound of his voice. His dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and he looked as if wanting her dead.

"We will depart. Give the orders, Tenkou," Nakago stated and the man bowed. He then turned toward the army, giving out orders. "Hold tight," he whispered on her ear. Unlike his hands, his breath was warm. "If you fall, I won't stop my horse to pick you up." Yui's stomach clenched.

"Between you and the horses' hooves, it's an easy choice."

"Don't test my patience princess. My soldiers will not be as nice as I am," he stated sternly and she knew she had offended him in some way.

"Nice?" she mocked. "Oh, I almost forgot. You are too nice you took advantage of a helpless girl. The last two nights had proven that," she stated with disgust.

"I was nice these last nights. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I will make sure you get more than the marks on your neck," he whispered softly and Yui felt cold. "I will break you again and again… like a whore that you will soon become." Yui breathed out anger and tears misted at the sides of her eyes.

"You're a monster…" she managed to whisper, voice breaking.

"I wouldn't be shogun if I'm not," he stated distastefully. "Imagine what your father had to do to become Emperor." Yui turned to him but he had moved away and pulled the reins of the horse. They sped off toward the capital, not saying more.

CHARACTER INFOCUS

Yui Hongou – Princess of Kutou and the remaining member of the Hongou house, the ruling clan. Her father was assassinated in his chamber, triggering the start of what would be called The Dragon Wars. She was dubbed as the Holy One but her role in the story remained unclear. The family's mark is a dragon wrapped around a silver ring. Her mark is a blue forget-me-not.

Ayuru Gi – Otherwise known as the warrior Nakago. He is the adopted son of General Koyuu. He left the military in his teens to look for the Blue Flower, a flower that supposedly grants immortality based on a Hin legend. The reasons for his return were kept in secret but he became shogun immediately after returning to the army. A complex character, his mark is a blue-eyed falcon.

A/N: The scenes between Nakago and Yui might sound abrupt but believe me, it's going along in tune with my timetable. Haha. I also want to try writing a chapter with just the two of them so I'll know if there's indeed chemistry. Do tell me what you think!