I'm so sorry for the delay in updating. Thanks so much to those who left comments and reviews. I'm very grateful for the support and encouragement for this overlong oversexed story.
I'd like to thank Gengkotsuya, who has provided much inspiration with dialogue, a particular scene, theories and insights - and reminding me what my story is about. Thanks too to Amethyst Hunter for her helpful comments.
Muraki-kun has done a couple of pencil portraits of Muraki and Tsuzuki - unrelated to this story, but very cute. Miss Kittin has done a seriously sexy artwork of semi-nude Tsuzuki. You can find them at my site.
Tsuzuki didn't smile back. "I'm not a traitor." He took the glass and finished off the wine in one long swallow. "And you must be out of your mind to think I'd turn on EnmaDaiOh-sama and betray my colleagues at the Shoukanka."
"Why do you assume your fellow shinigami will align themselves with Enma? Do you not consider them to be 'friends'? Surely if they are worthy of the title, they will at least assess the merit of your claim before deciding their loyalties."
"Merit? You think I have merit?" Tsuzuki shook his head. "You insult me one moment then flatter me the next. You have to make up your mind."
"As you must make up yours," Muraki retorted. "Decisions cannot be put on hold forever. If you choose the path of inaction, the buffeting winds of fate and circumstance will trap you into a decision from which you cannot escape." Muraki braced his elbows on the sides of the tub. "Is this what you want? To be tossed through the air like a drifting sakura petal, helpless and directionless, without any control over your future?"
Tsuzuki thought of the sakura trees in Meifu, their branches weighed down with hundreds of blossoms, and the delicate petals that kept falling day after day, month after month. Year after year.
"We are all sakura petals, Muraki. Every one of us."
"But most of us are not petals by choice." Muraki's icy gaze raked over Tsuzuki. "Most of us strive to make something of ourselves, and fight tooth and nail to hold onto what we hold dear. Many prize the gift of life most of all. This was what drew me to surgery as a career. Death had taken so much from me already - and I wanted revenge. In my youthful idealism, I thought I could battle death with a scalpel and sutures." He snorted to himself, his gaze lowered. "My naivete during that time sickens me now."
Tsuzuki watched sadly. "It's not sickening, Muraki."
"You know nothing about being a doctor."
"Maybe so, but I've always thought being a doctor must be the most selfless and noble of all the occupations." He placed the glass on the side of the tub before clasping his hands around his knees under the water. "You help people when they are at their most vulnerable. You have the knowledge and skill to ease their suffering, and give them hope. You...you even have the power to save a life!"
Muraki let out a short sharp laugh. "Hah! Doctors are not miracle workers--"
"Not all the time, I know - but there are times when you do make a difference - a big difference." Tsuzuki leaned forward as he warmed to his topic. "Remember Norata-san's daughter, the girl who waited on us at the ramen restaurant?" He smiled at Muraki's look of surprise. "She and her family will always be grateful to you for operating on her, ne? You changed her fate. You helped that petal of life cling a little more tightly to the tree. That's an achievement to be proud of."
"Is it?" Muraki stared at Tsuzuki, eyes wide. "Do you realise this is the first time you have properly complimented me. This truly is a night of many firsts."
Tsuzuki flushed. "It's...it's just the truth."
"Thank you...but your praise is misguided." Muraki scooped up a handful of bath water and let it run through his fingers. The clasp of the silver mesh bracelet tinkled with his movements. "She must take anticoagulation medication to thin her blood for the rest of her life - the same chemical used in rat poison, but a life-saving treatment for her. However, it comes with dangerous side-effects. She can never take part in physical contact sports because she risks a life-threatening haemorrhage in the event of any physical trauma. She must never fall pregnant on this treatment because it causes gross deformities in the developing foetus. She must keep a careful watch on what she eats, for changes in her diet can affect the degree of anticoagulation. If her blood is too thin, her risk of bleeding is greater. If her blood is not thin enough, she risks blood clots on the valve prosthesis. Even the valve I placed within her may cause problems - bacteria can lodge on the prosthesis to cause life-threatening infective endocarditis."
"Oh." Tsuzuki's enthusiasm was crushed. "I didn't know."
Muraki's stern features softened a little. "You are not a doctor - how are you to know?"
"Does she know all this? Does her family?"
"Yes. All these things and more were explained to them. She lives for now...but she will never lead the carefree life of a healthy young woman. She has merely traded one set of problems for another."
"I guess it's too much to expect her to be completely well," Tsuzuki conceded. "But did you see their joy and gratitude when Norata-san and his family welcomed you to their restaurant? They aren't going to let some event that may or may not happen in the future mar their happiness now. And why should they? Worrying won't change anything." Tsuzuki leaned closer to look Muraki in the eye. "You know what your problem is, Muraki? You're a pessimist. You're so accustomed to seeing the human body crumbling under disease you forget it can undergo repair and regeneration. If it simply fell apart all the time, you'd be out of a job."
Muraki went still. "Regeneration," he repeated. His voice was hushed in reverence. "Palingenesia. Rebirth." He looked at Tsuzuki strangely. "You are partly correct about humans, Tsuzuki-san. Some tissues maintain regenerative potential throughout life: liver, skin, hair, mucous membranes. But most cells lose this potential in adulthood. At best, we can slow the arrow of time but we cannot stop or reverse its course. At least, not on our own." He held up his wrist to reveal the silver bracelet. "This is one blessing your shikigami can never give me, ne?"
"No one can dispense eternal life to a single entity." Tsuzuki remembered Genbu's words. "All living things must die in order for the world to remain in balance. We're all part of the great cycle of life. Even when we die, new life comes forth from our remains. It's just like..."
The memory came to him, sharp and clear. He was with his mother and sister in the summer garden with the wilting tulips.
The flowers may be dead, but the plants haven't finished their cycle yet. We must wait until the leaves have withered too. Only then will the bulbs return their life-giving nutrients to the soil for new plants to use.
He smiled to himself, treasuring the little fact. Generous, unselfish tulips. Another reason he liked them.
Across the tub, Muraki watched him like a hawk. "Like what?"
"Tulips," he said. "I just remembered something."
"A happy memory?"
"Yeah. My mother did a lot of gardening. My sister and I helped her." He smiled, still caught up in nostalgia. "Some of the happiest moments of my life were spent outdoors, watching plants sprout and grow and blossom--"
"And die?"
Jarred out of his reverie, Tsuzuki refused to be perturbed. "All things die, Muraki. Nothing lives forever."
"But did it not break your heart as a little boy to see your plants ravaged by insects and fungi, to have them frozen by frost and parched by heat? Did you ever wish you could reverse the damage and regenerate them anew? To bring the dead to life - freeze time in its tracks and send it scurrying backwards to do your bidding - did you ever long for such a power?"
Of course he did - and not only for the sake of the plants he loved. "That's impossible. There's no point in wishing for what cannot be."
"Look who's the pessimist now," Muraki mocked. "Would you rather sit and watch the universe descend into chaos? Or perhaps that is what you truly desire. After all, you are a God of Death. Isn't rampant disorder the ultimate death?"
"What do you mean 'sit and watch'? What do you expect me to do about it? My shikigami can't fix this! The flow of time is beyond the control of all beings, physical or spiritual!" Tsuzuki stopped to wrestle his emotions under control, then continued in a calmer tone of voice. "That's why we have the Kiseki. Souls who have outlived their time in the world of the living need to be escorted back to Meifu. A shinigami's job is to maintain the balance between all things in the physical world."
Muraki waved the words aside. "Don't parrot the EnmaCho party line to me. Balance is a myth put forward by those who hold the reins of power. Survival is a dynamic war for limited resources. When the opponents are evenly matched, there is the illusion of harmony and equilibrium. But in the battle between Meifu and Makai, the demon world, nothing could be further from the truth: Meifu is ascendant, Makai on the wane. So much for maintaining the delicate 'balance.' But there is one hope...one shining hope." From under the water, Muraki nudged Tsuzuki's calf with his foot.
Quickly Tsuzuki shifted away. "What hope?"
"Rebirth. The promise of eternal life issuing forth from the devouring void." Muraki smiled at Tsuzuki's puzzled look. "Humans are not the only beings interested in regeneration. There are many who wish to learn how to master this power for their own purposes. Tell me, how many aspects of elemental magic do you know of?"
"Aspects? I know four types: Fire, Water, Earth, and Metal that combines the power of Wind."
"Yes, these are the four known aspects of the original primordial energy - the formless chaos that existed at the dawn of time. Each is governed by a powerful celestial god that embodies each element in its purest form: Suzaku, Genbu, Souryuu, Byakko. You know this, of course - these four are yours to command." He lifted a brow. "But did you know of a fifth?"
"I know that traditional medicine refers to a five-element system to understand and treat illness. Some ancient texts explain the world in term of five elements or phases. But shikigami only fall into four elemental types."
"Ahhh. That is because this fifth aspect is different to the others. There is no benevolent god bequeathing it to the masses, for this is an occult element that has yet to be tapped. It holds power that is anathema to shikigami, irrespective of element type, for it consumes all the other energy types within itself. All shikigami are impotent against it. Disorder can be undone; entropy can be reversed. The arrow of time can be spun in a whole new direction." He leaned forward. "Using this energy, one can create order from chaos. True regeneration is possible - and with it, eternal life."
"I've never heard of such a thing," Tsuzuki scoffed. "My shikigami have never spoken of it--"
"And why should they? Why would they want to reveal this weakness to their master?" Muraki challenged. "Of course they will keep it secret from you."
"If this power is great enough to defeat a shikigami, why aren't other spirits using it?"
"Because they are too foolish to see what is right in front of them. There is none so blind as those who refuse to see." Muraki's voice was a silken sneer. "This energy is not like the others - it is not found in pure form. It lies scattered like the stars across the heavens. But if someone learned how to gather it, distil it, harness it - can you imagine the power they would have at their fingertips? Your shikigami - the spirits that created the physical world - would be enslaved to a new master. This person would have unlimited power over all the worlds, physical and spiritual, as well as the power of eternal life!"
Tsuzuki pondered this. The power of regeneration would end human misery and suffering, but it came at too high a price. People had to die to maintain the balance of all things. If people lived forever, how could new life survive and prosper? And the idea of anyone harming his shikigami, draining their power, angered him. His shikigami had placed their faith in him by accepting him as master. He would not abuse their trust.
"So you're continuing your crazy quest for eternal life. I should have known. Well, I know nothing about this power - this fifth 'aspect' you're after. You're not going to get anywhere by coming to me."
"Really? Are you sure you have never seen such a power at work, Tsuzuki-san?" Muraki's eyes glittered, and his false eye began to glow. "A dark power so impenetrable it could nullify a shikigami's pure energy?"
The power that protected him and Hisoka from Touda's black flames...
No. It couldn't be. He refused to believe it.
"If it's untapped by demons, then I have nothing to worry about," he replied quickly. "No demon has ever used this elemental energy in battle--"
"Of course not. Didn't you know? Demons are the weakest of all the spirits. Dependent on borrowed Fire alone, they cannot call on the infinite elemental power of a shikigami. Neither do they have an omnipotent entity bequeathing them power. Why else do you think demons prey on human souls as they do?" His thin lips curled in disgust. "They eat like savages because they are starving. They have no Kiseki to order from, no shinigami to wait on them. They must hunt for sustenance on their own."
Tsuzuki looked at him for a long time. "Do you feel sorry for demons?"
Muraki snorted. "Not at all. This is what they deserve. This is the fate they have chosen for themselves - parasites feeding on humanity's underbelly when Meifu deigns to lower the defensive wards."
"You mean...Meifu permits demons to enter the world of the living?"
"Yes, as agreed in the 'treaty' between Enma and Ashitarote. There is a strict roster in place detailing demon names, times, regions they may frequent, their duration of stay, the methods by which they may feed." Muraki chuckled. "It is policed by demons too. It is very much like an Immigration Department in this world, as bureaucratic and hierarchical as any government department. Since Ashitarote has made himself Enma's lapdog, this institution is effectively answerable to EnmaCho. Despicable, ne? And to think demons once sought to be rulers of the afterlife."
Tsuzuki had suspected something like this for a long time. The demon hierarchy was a lot more disorganised and secretive than JuOhCho, but there was a definite chain of command with a military-style ranking system. To maintain a truce with the demon world, concessions were necessary. Tolerating the activities of a few demons was the price EnmaCho paid to keep the peace between Meifu and the demon world.
He thought of Hisoka, cursed after witnessing a demonic sacrifice ritual. He looked across at Muraki, with his false eye and cryptic smile, trapped within his demonic covenant. Two ruined lives.
And there were more who had died at Muraki's hand. All these wrecked lives were the price of EnmaCho's truce with demons. To Tsuzuki, the price was already too high. But it was not a lowly shinigami's job to question EnmaCho policy.
Tsuzuki rested his forearms on his knees. "Despite what you say, you don't despise all demons. You took in the cat, ne?"
"No man is an island." Muraki poured wine again. "I thought a pet could provide companionship."
"Not any pet - a trapped demon. And you freely call on demons to do your bidding." Tsuzuki shook his head when Muraki offered him the glass. "I thought to summon a demon you needed to draw a magical circle and pentagram to protect yourself from harm, and offer a sacrifice to win its favour. But all you do is invoke their name and they manifest themselves instantly to fight on your behalf. Even Saagatanus - he wanted to attack you at first, but you subdued him with your gaze." A note of wistful awe crept into his voice. "I've never seen anyone do anything like that."
Muraki sipped his wine. "He saw the name of whom I serve. He was humbled by the greatness he read there."
"No, he recognised you." Or what you've become. "It was you he called 'immeasurable light.'"
"Like all demons, Saagatanus has lived in the ignorance of darkness for too long." Muraki swirled the wine in its glass, his gaze hooded. "To this pathetic dog, any light would appear immeasurable."
Tsuzuki bit his lip. Knowing a demon's title or rank wasn't the same as knowing its name...but it was a start.
"Muraki, are you familiar with the Christian Bible?"
"A little." His grey gaze held Tsuzuki's over the rim of the glass. "Why do you ask?"
"In the Bible...there's a title given to one who bears light." Tsuzuki swallowed. His throat felt dry. "I want you to tell me...if that title applies to you."
Muraki took another sip. "Very well."
Tsuzuki couldn't say it. The implications if he were proved right were too horrible to contemplate. The name reverberated within his mind. The syllables were trapped in his throat.
"Are you sure you don't want more wine? Perhaps it will loosen your tongue--"
"I'm getting to it!" Tsuzuki gathered his determination, and steeled himself for the worst. "Lucifer," he whispered.
Nothing happened, apart from the lift of Muraki's brows.
"Lucifer," he repeated, this time with conviction. "Lucifer the light-bearer."
Muraki's face fell. Suddenly he looked tired and weary...and old.
"Is that your title? Am I right?" When Muraki remained mute, Tsuzuki knelt forward, his earlier desire to avoid Muraki forgotten. "Tell me!"
Muraki lowered his gaze. "My patients usually call me 'sensei' or 'doctor.' But historically speaking, 'doctor' is inaccurate. The Western surgical profession has its origins in the humble barber." He swirled the wine in his glass and inhaled the bouquet. "Therefore, the correct title should be 'mister'--"
"Muraki!" Tsuzuki lunged forward to yank the glass from Muraki's lips. "Answer my question! Answer it now! That's an order!"
"I answered you already." Muraki's chin lifted, his expression haughty once more. "You know my titles, but I doubt you will start addressing me properly."
"I'm talking about your title among demons! The promise of immeasurable light! The reason all demons listen to you! This...this is the true purpose of your covenant, isn't it? It's making you come to me so it can stay alive! We're both being manipulated by it! The only way we can stop it is by working together!"
Muraki hauled him close with his free hand. "You are right. Let's work together this very minute."
"Listen, dammit!" Tsuzuki forced his jaw up so they faced each other nose to nose. "Don't you see how it's using you? You've sold your soul to house this monster inside you! You were a doctor helping people, saving lives! You were doing good things to help the human race - all the things I wanted to do but never could!" The words tumbled from his lips, a flood of anguish he couldn't hold back any longer. "How could you squander everything? How could you turn your back on your training and hopes, on all the patients who put their trust in you? How could you relinquish your humanity without a second glance?"
"Relinquish my humanity? If only I could." Muraki's lips twisted. "Let me show you what it means to be human."
He closed his hand around the wineglass. It shattered within his fist.
Tsuzuki winced. Glass shards rained against his arm. Small pinpricks jabbed his chest and throat. He stared in horror as dark liquid dripped between the webs of Muraki's clenched fingers - the deep red-purple wine stained with bright red blood.
"See for yourself, Tsuzuki-san. See how easily a human sheds his blood. Our bodies are weak, fragile things." He opened his palm - it was covered in blood. "Do you want to know the real reason why my plan to bring Saki back to life failed?"
"You idiot! What the hell did you do that for?" He looked around wildly, grabbed a nearby facecloth, and tried to staunch the bleeding.
"Dissecting the fascia and muscle was easy enough," Muraki continued, indifferent to Tsuzuki's panic. "But the deeper tissues resisted my scalpel. Your major vessels and nerves wriggled about like worms, branching out to reconnect themselves, burrowing deeper inside your flesh, even tangling themselves around my blade and fingers."
"Never mind that!" Clumsily Tsuzuki folded Muraki's fingers into a fist around the material. "You're the doctor! Tell me what I'm supposed to do!"
"I never realised the extent of your recuperative powers. My grandfather's papers did not prepare me for such tenacious and vigorous proliferation. The anatomy was rearranging itself before my eyes - it became impossible for me to orient myself. I exchanged my scalpel for a meat cleaver - not that it helped. The additional trauma activated the regeneration of more tissues. Your entire body was healing before my eyes - like time in reverse..."
Tsuzuki swore to himself. This wasn't working. The facecloth was soaked; rivulets of blood trickled down Muraki's forearm into the frothy water of the spa bath. He knew next to nothing about first aid - a shinigami had no need for such knowledge.
But a shinigami could unlock the elemental magic of his shikigami.
He grabbed Muraki's other wrist, the one with the silver bracelet. "If you injure yourself like this again, you face the consequences of your own stupidity!"
"You accused me of relinquishing my humanity. I merely wanted to correct your misconception."
"You..." Tsuzuki pulled the facecloth free. There were multiple lacerations across the palm and fingers, all of them studded with sparkling slivers of glass. Blood welled up in the deeper palmar cuts.
Muraki didn't spare his hand a glance; he was more intrigued by Tsuzuki's alarm. "It will heal, but it will take weeks...possibly months. There will probably be areas of reduced or abnormal sensation - peripheral nerves regenerate much more slowly than other tissue."
Tsuzuki took firm hold of the silver bracelet on Muraki's other wrist. Imbued with Metal energy, it would obey him in the same way Byakko followed his commands. He closed his eyes and mentally recited the spell to unlock its power.
Preserver of kings and generals, brave warrior guarding the dead in their graves - protect the bearer of this amulet.
The bracelet glowed with a pure white radiance. Tsuzuki gripped it hard and directed the energy to its target. With his brow furrowed in concentration, he watched Muraki's face. The last thing he wanted to do was risk a burnout to Muraki's human physique. He was out of practice when it came to channelling power. The last person he'd used as a medium for channelling was Hisoka to fight the demon dragon OhRyu - and Tsuzuki had ended up carrying him to safety after Hisoka suffered an energy burnout.
Now he used this same technique to heal Muraki. The irony wasn't lost on him.
Muraki shivered, his eyes wide. "What are you..." He looked at his injured hand properly for the first time. The small superficial cuts on his fingers were fusing before his eyes. "It itches and aches. Ahh."
When Muraki tried to jerk both wrists free, Tsuzuki held them more tightly. "Our joined hands form a continuous circuit - this is the best way to channel power."
Muraki bent his forehead against Tsuzuki's shoulder. "The flesh...it moves of its own accord. I feel it pulling tight." He hissed, eyes screwed shut. "You are cruel. A doctor would use...local anaesthetic."
Tsuzuki spared him no sympathy. "Serves you right."
Muraki nipped his shoulder in spite, then lifted his head to watch the healing for himself.
The bleeding from Muraki's palm slowed to a trickle. A thick layer of blood clot, the same red-purple colour as the wine, covered his entire hand. Trapped within the sticky gelatinous layer were hundreds of tiny glass shards.
Focusing his own power, Tsuzuki made the shards and blood clot vanish. There, that was better. He made them rematerialise inside the wastebin by the vanity unit, where it fell with a muffled crunch.
"Wash the rest of the blood off." When Muraki simply stared, Tsuzuki became annoyed. "What? Must I do everything for you?"
"You're holding my other hand."
Tsuzuki released it, only to take hold of the injured hand and immerse it in the water. With careful fingers he rubbed at the coagulated blood to reveal intact skin. Only the deepest cut left a mark - a thread-like white scar down the lower half of Muraki's palm. He turned the hand over to inspect between the fingers, then let out a sigh of relief. It had worked.
"You healed me." Muraki bowed his head. "With your power you regenerated my decrepit human flesh."
"It was the energy in the bracelet. Can you move your fingers? Does your skin feel okay?"
"It feels as good as new." Muraki demonstrated by clasping Tsuzuki's face between his palms, and nuzzling his forehead. "As if time itself were wound back and disorder reversed."
"Time wasn't wound back. This is Byakko's power," Tsuzuki explained. He tried to extricate himself from Muraki's hold. "Metal's power protects and preserves. It can accelerate normal healing."
Muraki pulled him into his arms. "And you were the one who channelled this power through me." Tenderly he began to nibble Tsuzuki's ear.
"It was a one-off thing, idiot! I can't believe you did something so stupid! I thought a doctor would know better."
"Just as you protected me from demon attack, nourished me with your blood and essence, cleansed me with water - so tonight you have healed me. I am energised and renewed because of you."
"No! I'm not here to help you..." Tsuzuki's words trailed off; Muraki's mouth had found that sensitive spot behind his ear. "...in your twisted schemes..."
"Deny it all you like, but your actions tonight tell a different story." His hand stroked boldly down Tsuzuki's back to cup one lean buttock beneath the water. "I am yours - and you know it."
Tsuzuki's heart sank, even as his body began to respond. He felt like the biggest fool on earth, and Meifu...and probably the demon world. All his efforts to help Muraki break the covenant only strengthened Muraki's delusions about belonging to him. He had to do something to shatter that belief...something to prove his indifference.
"Let me feed again," Muraki murmured. "This time I'll take it slower so you can savour it properly." He squeezed the flexing muscle he held.
Tsuzuki shook his head, trembling. He made a half-hearted attempt to resist when Muraki caught his mouth in a wine-flavoured kiss.
"Delicious." Muraki allowed his fingerpads to tease the sensitive cleft of Tsuzuki's ass. "Now I am nourished, I can show you my true physical stamina."
"No..." Fierce longing rippled through Tsuzuki, terrifying him more than Muraki's words. If he gave in this time, he would have no shred of credibility left.
He clenched his jaw. Act like a master, lay down rules, behave with the same cold callous indifference as Muraki himself...
That was it!
"No more." He took hold of Muraki's hand and pulled it away. "Enough. I want to do something different. It's now my turn to...to feed from you!"
"Feed from me? In your current state, you need to release energy, not accumulate it."
Tsuzuki felt his entire face turn red. But Muraki's displeasure strengthened his resolve. It was time Muraki learned he couldn't have everything his own way.
"You call me selfish? What about you? I've had enough of your demands! I'm going to take back the energy you took from me!"
Muraki's lower lip curled. "Are you so greedy you cannot foresee the outcome of your gluttony? Or perhaps you enjoy the 'treatment' I must inflict on you afterwards. You always curl up in my arms like a babe when the growing pains start."
Tsuzuki quashed the excitement stirring within him. It was no time to be sidetracked. "Enough of your bragging. You said you were mine - now do as I say." He kept his voice low and firm, the same tone he used to summon his shikigami. "I order you to sit on the side of the bath and spread your legs."
Muraki didn't move. His slanted eyes narrowed into ominous slits.
"You aren't mine, are you? I knew it all along. Why create such a ridiculous lie in the--"
Without a word, Muraki braced his arms on either side of the bath and lifted himself up. Water droplets clung to his lean physique, making his skin glisten in the soft candlelight. Sitting on the bath gave him a formidable height advantage, for he now loomed over Tsuzuki, his gaze as haughty as an aristocratic lord eyeing a lowly subject. Between his bent knees, his cock pointed in Tsuzuki's direction at eye level, its semi-erect interest at odds with Muraki's remoteness.
Tsuzuki swallowed. Muraki was beautiful. Even the ugly false eye could not detract from his raw masculine beauty. The flaw only made him even more striking, adding a tragic dimension to his handsome severity.
But Tsuzuki knew he couldn't be distracted. Muraki had tricked him of his essence. He had to get it back.
That was the only reason he was doing this.
With his face still warm with embarrassment, he took hold of Muraki's knees and guided them further apart. There was a moment of resistance before Muraki obeyed. When Tsuzuki glanced up, he saw Muraki leaning back with arms braced behind him, his features cold.
Just like Metal. Metal appeared immovable and solid - until it was placed within the fire of a foundry furnace, and hammered and stretched and folded into the blade of a katana. Tsuzuki was no swordsmith but he knew he could provide the fire. His insides were already kindling with desire at the sight of Muraki's nude body. He would make Muraki sizzle and glow with the same heat too.
Tsuzuki knelt on the recessed seat and took hold of Muraki's erection. The cock stiffened in longing, lengthening in Tsuzuki's palm, welcoming his touch. Human, not metal.
Tsuzuki lowered his head. His mouth filled with saliva. His heart hammered wildly in his chest. The scent and warmth of Muraki's body surrounded him, cocooned him. He closed his eyes and took Muraki past his lips, over his tongue. The crown nudged his palate, twitching restlessly. Tsuzuki twisted his head and soothed it with lashes of his tongue.
On either side of him, Muraki's thighs were taut with tension. No entreaty or protest left his lips. The only sound in the room was the soothing gurgle of the spa bath.
Using one hand on Muraki's thigh for support, Tsuzuki guided the cock deeper. The light saltiness of flesh yielded to the musky taste of precome, making his mouth water. The taste of Muraki himself - the same taste denied to him a day ago. It was sharp and bitter, lingering on the back of his tongue. Like Muraki's tears, but stronger and richer.
Essence. The vital substance contained in all corporeal things. The source of life. And this belonged to Muraki.
Tsuzuki swallowed once, then again. He adored sweet desserts, but this was something else. Something to savour slowly with care, not devoured and forgotten. Holding the shaft in one hand to guide its entry, he allowed the crown to slide past his palate, along the back of his tongue. Deeper, and deeper...
The shaft grew within his mouth. The satin-smooth flesh against his lips was curving, lifting, hardening.
Audible above the gurgling sounds of the spa bath, Tsuzuki could hear Muraki's panting breaths. It blew across the nape of his neck and back, a gentle tickling that betrayed Muraki's growing arousal.
Shamelessly Tsuzuki nestled himself within the V of Muraki's thighs, his forehead nudging Muraki's abdomen. Who was he kidding with such teasing? He had never been a patient man - he was a glutton, not a gourmand. He swallowed down as much as he could, drinking the essence that oozed forth, encouraging more with the persistent gulp of his throat muscles. When the bulk became suffocating, he withdrew his mouth and used his fingers to milk Muraki's cock. When he had caught his breath, he returned to lap the liquid trickling from the crown and down his fingers, and resumed drinking with renewed frenzy.
Muraki exhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring. Not a sound left his tightly drawn lips.
Tsuzuki lifted his head to watch, his own breathing harsh. He kept jerking Muraki off with his intertwined fingers, refusing to allow him any reprieve. "Tell me the name of the demon...you made your covenant with."
"Tsuzuki-san." His voice was a husky rasp. "Tsuzuki-san..."
"Tell me the name! Or I'll drain you of your precious essence."
Muraki said nothing. When Tsuzuki swooped down to swallow his cock once more, he simply shuddered in mute pleasure and curled his fingers in Tsuzuki's damp hair - a man resigned to his fate.
Prowling restlessly by the doorway, the grey cat hissed at them.
Tsuzuki was too intent on his self-imposed task to notice. He focused on the feel of the flesh gliding in and out of his mouth, the scent, the taste, the velvet heat against his lips and tongue...every inch of it delicious. Shifting the angle of his mouth and drawing in his cheeks, he encouraged the cock against the inside of his cheek, then the back of his throat, shifting it playfully inside his mouth using the teasing nudge of his tongue.
Muraki wasn't listening either. His body was tensed against the tiled wall, his slitted gaze lifted up to the ceiling. When a particularly intense ripple of delight passed through him, his lips parted and his eyelids shut - all the better to appreciate Tsuzuki's efforts.
The cat eyed the pools of water on the bathroom floor. It tentatively placed one paw down before retreating in disgust. Lashing its tail, it let out a series of loud plaintive meows to attract their attention.
"Leave us be. Do not interrupt us." Muraki's voice was deep and husky, imbued with the throaty growl of arousal. "This is...as it should be. I am his...and he..."
Tsuzuki looked up, violet eyes alight with impatience. "I know what you are! You've taken enough from him already!" He gestured in the cat's direction with a sweep of his hand. The door slammed shut in the creature's stunned face.
Muraki looked at him, eyes wide. "Did you understand what it said?"
"I'm not the one who talks to animals." Holding the shaft in one hand, Tsuzuki lapped and nuzzled the crown of Muraki's cock with his lips.
"I didn't think...you minded an audience."
"You be quiet too. The only thing I want to hear from you is the name of your demon." He took Muraki's cock in his mouth.
"Tsuzuki-san..." Muraki bowed his head for a moment, jaw clenched. "Once...I would have gladly fed you." His words were indistinct and low, slurred by passion. "You could have feasted freely...drunk deep until you were quenched. I'd fill you again and again until you were intoxicated with me." He caressed Tsuzuki's hair with one hand, his gaze strangely tender. "Too late. There is nothing here - nothing left to drain."
Tsuzuki lifted his head. His lips were moist with saliva and precome. "The name, dammit! Tell me the name!"
"Tsuzuki-san," he whispered. "I am yours."
Tsuzuki cupped Muraki's balls and squeezed them until Muraki groaned. "Then I'll take you at your word - I'll make a living feast of your body - this body which belongs to me." He traced a prominent vein along the shaft using his tongue tip. "I'll feed off your energy...use you as you used your victims." He swallowed down the erection, greed overwhelming caution.
The bulk filling his mouth and throat, the way it twitched against his lips...it filled him with a deep primal satisfaction. He lashed it with his tongue, swallowed it with his throat, let the shaft slide against the slippery surface of inner cheek and tongue. This was his revenge for last night's torture, for those hours he'd writhed against the sheets while Muraki devoured him like a crazed succubus, and he was going to enjoy every minute.
He'd fantasised about devouring Muraki yesterday. The act of fellatio was the next best thing.
Above him, Muraki trembled, head arched back. His arms were braced by the tub to support himself. He lifted his pelvis up to guide his cock deep into Tsuzuki's mouth.
"We are two of a kind, you and I. Your ravenous appetite...an echo of mine. The parched emptiness that shrivels the soul...the empty fire that only burns itself out." He managed a strangled laugh. "There's no escape, ne? Even in the utopia of Enma's afterlife..." A soft growl left his throat - Tsuzuki's eager gulping threatened to break his willpower. He clutched Tsuzuki's hair, his breathing ragged. "This broken vessel is near empty. But if that is your wish--"
Tsuzuki wrenched himself away, gasping for breath. His brow was furrowed in a furious scowl, his eyes narrowed slits. Hunger and lust tore at his insides. The prickling heat sizzled along his shoulder blades.
Muraki's words, spoken in the husky and intimate tone of a lover, lacerated his soul with the blade of painful truth.
He couldn't do it. He wanted it so much.
Muraki sat hunched forward, head bent. Damp tendrils of silver hair fell over his brow. His cock arrowed up from the shadows between his thighs. Apart from his harsh breaths, he was silent.
"It's not my wish!" Tsuzuki spat out. He wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "I'm not like you. I have no interest in toying with a puppet."
"Really?" Despite his obvious discomfort, Muraki managed to sound amused. "Then why feed from me? What else could you hope to gain?"
Tsuzuki hung his head. He had been about to sink to Muraki's level without a second thought...and worst of all, Muraki knew. His humiliation was complete.
"You know the extent of my misdeeds. Do you think I could ever be shocked by yours? Put away your mask - there is no need of it here. Reveal your true form to me."
Could Muraki be right? Did he really have another form, an entirely different 'self'? His ability to use elemental Water to defeat Saagatanus and the prickling heat along his shoulder blades were signs of the changes occurring within him. He didn't understand what they meant, but he knew no good could come from them.
Then there was his lust for Muraki, a desire that defied his better judgement and overrode the loyalties to those he loved. At least hunger he could understand - this was the one physical affliction that burdened him even in the afterlife. He knew the best way to deal with hunger. Surely lust was no different. When he was full he would walk away - simple as that.
"I'll do it." With one hand on each side of the tub, Tsuzuki pushed himself up to a standing position. "On one condition."
Muraki's heavy-lidded gaze wandered over his chest, the flatness of his abdomen...and lower to more intimate areas. "Name it."
"I expect the same--" Tsuzuki swooped down to pin Muraki against the tiled wall. "--of you!" His mouth collided with a chiselled jaw before slanting across to initiate an open-mouthed kiss. Their legs tangled too, a chaotic mess of flexing muscle and bone.
Muraki's tongue lashed Tsuzuki's as he tasted himself. He plunged it deeper, along the roof of his mouth.
Tsuzuki shivered. Tongue, cock...he wasn't particular about what part of Muraki's body was in his mouth. He wanted it all. He only pulled away to catch his breath. "Reveal yourself..." He sucked Muraki's lower lip, then nipped his chin. "Human...demon...show me what you are."
"Yours." Muraki seized the back of his head and kissed him hard. He grabbed Tsuzuki around the waist, yanking him close. "I already told you."
Tsuzuki nearly overbalanced before he understood. Quickly he straddled Muraki's lap, his arms looping around broad shoulders, and opened his mouth to another greedy kiss. Saliva trickled between the corners of their joined lips. His hands roamed over Muraki's body. He caressed the severe planes of his face, ran his fingers along the long muscles of his throat and down his chest to linger where the racing heartbeat thudded against his ribcage. Surely Muraki was human - with all the magic in the world, no demon could manufacture a body as alive and beautiful as this.
Muraki suddenly grasped his knees, lifting them up so Tsuzuki's feet rested on the tiles behind him. The side of the bath formed a small platform wide enough to accommodate them both.
Surprised, Tsuzuki drew away - the position left him vulnerable, his legs spread apart with genitals exposed, his entire weight supported by Muraki's thighs. Muraki then slid him along his lap to bring their cocks together. Tsuzuki had to bend his knees with toes pressed against the wall, but the delicious friction made him forget the minor discomfort. Trembling with excitement, he writhed on Muraki's lap and grasped his shoulders for leverage, doing his best to rub himself against solid flesh.
Muraki stiffened, his teeth clenched. "Impatient...are we?" He gripped Tsuzuki by the waist to stop his movements.
Tsuzuki tightened his thighs around Muraki's torso, and gripped broad shoulders to anchor himself. Between their bodies, his cock swelled in pleasant anticipation.
"No finesse. No restraint." With his fingers spanning Tsuzuki's waist, Muraki dug his nails into Tsuzuki's flesh above the tight curve of each buttock. "No better than an adolescent jerking off." He slid one hand between their bodies to grab Tsuzuki's cock. "There...this will be enough for you."
Tsuzuki groaned. He bucked once, then subsided into quivering acquiescence. Muraki's grip was tight and fast, relentless, verging on cruel. The reverence and tenderness he'd shown in bringing Tsuzuki to his earlier climax was gone. Hot tears came to Tsuzuki's eyes. He rested his forehead against Muraki's shoulder to wipe them away. Between their bodies, he watched his cock bob up and down, the clenched hand slamming along the length of the shaft - visual reinforcement of Muraki's mastery over his trembling body. Trapped in the confines of Muraki's fist, his cock oozed precome in response to the rough handling, while his testicles ached with the sweetest torment.
This was the real Muraki. Domineering, demanding, ruthless to the core. He could never be a servant - his will and drive were too strong to be subdued by anyone.
"Is this all you are?" Muraki taunted against his ear. "Tell me who's the puppet now."
Tsuzuki rubbed his cheek against Muraki's and tightened his legs around him. Nothing Muraki said could diminish the jolts of pleasure vibrating through every nerve-ending, the sizzling heat scorching through his veins. Even the sound of his voice, seductively silken with an edge of derision, fuelled his arousal. He pressed kisses along the side of Muraki's neck to show his appreciation.
"Look at yourself." Muraki stroked faster, harder. "All your power...all your talent...and you dare to accuse me of squandering my abilities?"
Tsuzuki whimpered. So close. He was so close. His cock throbbed and ached so much...it was unbearable. His nails pressed into the bulk of powerful shoulder blades, a helpless spasmodic clenching timed with Muraki's fierce strokes.
"A coward afraid of his own shadow...you're the kind of person I despise most of all!" Without warning, he let go of Tsuzuki's cock and tried to shove him away.
"No!" Tsuzuki clung to him, refusing to let go. "Don't stop! Muraki, please..."
"You want to taste me, ne?" Muraki bared his teeth in a savage smile. "Then taste my disappointment. Suffer as I have. This is how it feels to be denied!"
"Muraki! You can't stop now! Please...I need this..."
Muraki pushed him away. "Stop it."
Tsuzuki went mad. He squirmed and writhed against Muraki like a crazed snake, pleading with his body. He clawed Muraki's back over and over, punishing him with his nails.
"You think I'd reveal myself to a fool like you?" Muraki clawed him back, unmoved by his frustration. When Tsuzuki tried to kiss him, he turned his face away and laughed.
Incensed beyond reason, Tsuzuki nipped sharply at one bejewelled earlobe, then sank his teeth into Muraki's shoulder. Warm liquid filled his mouth, along with a rich metallic saltiness. The fragrance was sweeter than any flower he had encountered in the land of the living or Meifu.
Muraki froze. He didn't move. He didn't breathe.
Tsuzuki withdrew, lips covered in blood. He stared at the gaping wound midway along Muraki's shoulder. Blood oozed freely from small teeth-like lacerations to pool into the hollow of his throat and trickle down his chest.
"Well, well." Muraki slumped against the tiles and chuckled. "Maybe there is hope for you after all."
Monster! Monster! You're not human!
Your violet eyes...the eyes of a bloodthirsty creature.
Lust and rage drained out of Tsuzuki to leave behind a hollow emptiness.
Muraki tilted his head to one side, then winced as the movement pulled the wound further apart. "For so long you have gone hungry, ne? Others thought you greedy because they didn't understand what you needed...and you sublimated your urges to live among them."
"You planned this. You knew I'd..."
Every insult, all the ugly names - every one of them true. Self-revulsion filled him.
Tsuzuki tried to extricate himself from Muraki's lap, but Muraki held him in place and stroked his cheek. "I want to see you as you truly are, free of the confines of a century's repression. You want this, ne? Why do you hold back? My body, my blood - all of it is yours."
Tsuzuki tried to wipe the blood from his mouth. "Not like you," he whispered. "I'm not like you."
Muraki pulled his hands away and kissed him full on the lips. He lapped at the drying blood, relishing the flavour. "You are more, much more. Your flesh is the ultimate food, your blood the finest drink. Human and demon alike are drawn to you because of it. Why else do you think so many shikigami call you master?" He kissed Tsuzuki again, his tongue teasing out Tsuzuki's own. "You let me partake of you. You did not cast me away in my hour of need. Now I will do the same." Seizing Tsuzuki's head, he pushed his face into the wound. "Take this. This is my body and blood. Partake of this and be saved. As you now live within me, so I will live within you. There is no need to go without any longer."
Up close, small yellow fat globules spilled out from the bite mark. One segment of skin formed a loose flap over the wound. Beneath it was the shiny silver casing of tendon sheaths and red muscle. Thick blood continued to ooze.
The fragrance of Muraki's blood filled his nostrils. Overwhelming sweetness. The dried blood was souring in his mouth, but there was fresh blood here...as much as he could ever want.
Muraki's flesh. The flesh he'd dreamed of biting, tasting...all his for the taking.
Tsuzuki clenched his jaw. Revenge had already been served in Kyoto. There was no reason to shed Muraki's blood again. This was one desire he could never indulge.
Instead he took hold of the bracelet around Muraki's wrist. He unlocked its magic for the second time that night. Before his eyes, the flaps of skin began to flatten and pull together. The fat globules retreated within the wound. The oozing blood slowed to a trickle.
"You are stubborn beyond belief. Only a masochist would continue to ignore such proof of his true desire." Muraki snorted, his thin lips tightening in displeasure. "And only a sadist would make the healing process so acutely painful."
"It takes one to know one," Tsuzuki retorted.
He took a handful of water and poured it over the bloodstained skin. The ends of the wound were knitted together into a dark reddish crescent of scar tissue. At one corner the wound gaped open and wept serous fluid. Within his fingers, Muraki's bracelet felt cold and empty - drained of Byakko's Metal energy.
Tsuzuki squeezed the bracelet one last time, then let go. This was the best he could do. He was merely a shinigami tenured to EnmaDaiOh, dependent on his shikigami for his power. If Muraki sought the power of true regeneration, he had come to the wrong person.
"You fool," Muraki chided. "You reject me now, but one day you will accept me."
"Shut up. I'm not sinking to your level."
"There is no fighting a hunger as strong as this. The longer you deprive yourself, the greater the desire to feed. You think that gnawing ache in your stomach is for food and drink prepared by human hands? For how many years have you gorged yourself on the victuals of mortals without fulfilment?"
Tsuzuki didn't answer - he suspected Muraki already knew. As a child, he had learnt to live with hunger - although his mother made enough money to put food on the table, he had always wanted more. As a shinigami, he often splurged on lavish restaurant banquets and hearty drinking sessions that kept his expense accounts in the red.
It was never enough - but it would have to do.
"A shinigami doesn't have to feed to survive." Tsuzuki picked up the wine bottle and eyed the label. "And I'd rather drink your wine than your blood any day." He took a swig from the bottle. The warmth filled his stomach. The alcohol went to his head, making him elated and dizzy.
Muraki pulled it from his lips. "You glutton. Drink it like that and you appreciate nothing."
"It still tastes as good from the bottle."
Muraki took a sip himself. A trickle of red liquid fell along his jaw and down his neck to rest in the hollow above his collarbone - a little below the healing bite mark.
Tsuzuki watched its path with greedy eyes.
"It's better from the glass," Muraki announced when he was done. "This is a clumsy way to drink." He smiled when he saw the direction of Tsuzuki's gaze. "Don't let it go to waste." He lifted his jaw invitingly. "If you prefer wine to blood, so be it for now. You would not be the first."
"No." Tsuzuki reached down to grasp Muraki's cock. "I'll find other ways to satisfy myself." The flesh filled his palm, encouraging him to continue. "Ways you might find more to your liking, ne?"
Muraki's gaze smouldered, even as his lips curled. "You become more brazen each day." He pushed Tsuzuki's ankles off the tub edge and nudged him to his feet. "To bed now. You are cleansed already. We have no need of this bath any longer."
After drying themselves, they entered the bedroom to find the cat waiting for them on the bed, tail curling and uncurling restlessly. It jumped down to brush against Muraki's legs, winding itself around him again and again. It hissed when it saw Tsuzuki, then quickly retreated to a corner of the room.
"It's very possessive of you, isn't it? I think that's why I first assumed you were the servant."
Muraki looked up from the nightstand drawer, an enigmatic smile on his lips. "Servants come in many shapes and sizes, Tsuzuki-san." He was warming the lubricant in his fingers. "Come to bed."
Tsuzuki didn't obey at once. The anticipation of having Muraki inside him warred with other urges. "I want to feed from you first...providing it doesn't endanger you."
"Energise me once more with your essence, then you can safely take your fill." Muraki's silver eyes glowed with fondness as he pulled the sheets aside and lay on the bed. "You are concerned for me, ne? That's why you hold back."
"Don't delude yourself. I uphold the Kiseki, the book of the dead. As long as your name is not read from its pages, I have no authority to inflict serious physical harm on you." Tsuzuki sat on the edge of the bed, his expression serious. "But I promise you this: the moment JuOhCho summons you to Meifu, I will hold nothing back. I will do everything in my power to bring you to judgement!"
"I know. I'm counting on it." Muraki's tone was reassuring and oddly comforting. "But for now, you must come to me." He pulled Tsuzuki down into his arms. "Feel how much I need you. I am yours."
Tsuzuki couldn't breathe. Lean-muscled heat enveloped him, binding him tight, suffocating him. This was Muraki's need: a desire so fierce it threatened to destroy what it craved.
But he wasn't afraid. Thanks to his inhumanly perfect body, he'd been the target of bullies and demons, and relegated to the dubious status of Meifu's longest-serving active shinigami. He knew his body could withstand Muraki's violence...which left him free to enjoy his passion.
Tsuzuki clutched a muscular shoulder branded with his scratches, and hid his smile in the curve of Muraki's long throat.
Watson ran. He stumbled over rocks and roots, through shrubs and bushes. Without his candlestick, it would be near impossible for him to make the journey to Hakushaku's mansion.
Yet he kept running. He didn't need a destination. Anywhere away from EnmaDaiOh's residence would do.
The white rabbit sleeps, and yet he does not sleep...
It meant nothing to Watson. Or the guards, judging by their reaction.
But the letter was not for their eyes. Why did they believe they could read, let alone comprehend, the private correspondence between two of the most powerful entities in Meifu? Their derogatory comments about Hakushaku-sama were even more puzzling. Was his master held in such low esteem by the members of EnmaDaiOh's court? Watson knew some were envious of his master's lavish lifestyle, but they usually kept their thoughts to themselves.
To Watson, such lack of discipline was incomprehensible. Hakushaku-sama would never tolerate such insolence.
But those guards, like most of the beings in Meifu, were ignorant of his privileged status. By serving the guardian overseeing the candles of human lives, Watson effectively outranked most of EnmaDaiOh's courtiers. He bore more responsibility on his small shoulders than they held in their little finger...or feather or claw. EnmaDaiOh's followers took on a wide range of exotic forms.
But tonight Watson was ashamed, for he had failed to carry out his duty. He wouldn't fail a second time if he could help it. He knew he had to tell his master the bad news and await his punishment.
The fragrance of the sakura blossoms surrounded him, heady and overpowering. Watson looked up at the thin gauzy moonlight bisected by tree branches waving overhead. A strong wind blew the blossoms up into his face and rained more from the trees.
He didn't see the tree root before him. He tumbled to the ground face first, his head taking the brunt of the weight. Stars filled his vision. His head spun so much he thought it would fly off his shoulders. The pain was everywhere.
After several seconds, he tried to lift his head. The spinning was so bad he let it fall on the ground again. With his small arms he tried to push himself up. They trembled so much he gave up. All he wanted to do was rest.
Hakushaku-sama...forgive me.
A blizzard of sakura blossoms fell around him, over him. They blanketed his weary limbs, his aching body, and his grotesque head.
His one good eye drifted shut. Darkness surrounded him - a strange sensation after living among candles for so many centuries. It was frightening. It was liberating. In the dark, there was nothing left to do.
"Tsk, tsk. Watson, don't tell me you're sleeping on the job? How uncharacteristic of you."
Watson's one eye snapped open. "Ha-Hakushaku-sama? You are here?"
A dark figure loomed over him, blocking the moonlight. "But of course. It is a master's responsibility to protect his property, ne? It would be a dereliction of my duty to allow one who bears my mark to come to harm." Gloved hands brushed away the petals and lifted him up. "You summoned me with your last remaining strength. How could I ignore your call? Besides, I wanted you to make me some of your delicious tea."
Even in his pain, Watson remembered his manners. "Yes, Hakushaku-sama. But...I have bad news. I failed to give your letter to EnmaDaiOh-sama--"
Hakushaku chuckled. "If you believe you failed, then you didn't listen to my instructions. The letter is of no consequence. I asked you to convey the message - and you completed your task with flying colours. I expect the entire court to be abuzz with the news of your visit. The message will be relayed to EnmaDaiOh's ears soon enough."
"Oh." Watson was relieved. "I am glad, Hakushaku-sama."
"As I am too." Hakushaku patted Watson's head. "Now, let us return home. That unusual candle flame you pointed out is burning most brightly. I want to see one of these brilliant flare-ups for myself."
Lying on his back, legs apart, Tsuzuki twisted white sheets in his hands. Alcohol sang in his bloodstream, dulling his resistance. Combined with Muraki's expertise at fellatio, Tsuzuki knew he didn't have a hope.
But he tried his best under the circumstances.
"Muraki...ahhh...I want..."
Muraki tightened his lips around Tsuzuki's cock. He sucked in his cheeks to increase the friction. With one hand he pushed Tsuzuki's knee to his chest to open him up; with the other he cupped the aching testicles and stroked the sensitive perineal skin behind them. Now and then he let his nails catch on the skin.
Tsuzuki whimpered softly each time it happened. He arched his head back, shoulders hunched, twisting against the bedding. "Please...let me be the one..."
The suction intensified, a wet tightness so sweet it brought tears to Tsuzuki's eyes. He listened to the slick wet noises of Muraki's mouth and their heavy breathing as they struggled against each other.
He turned to look at the wardrobe mirror. He locked eyes with a helpless stranger: tousled dark hair, flushed skin, heavy-lidded violet eyes, chest heaving as he gasped for air. The mirror wasn't wide enough to show Muraki's reflection...but Tsuzuki didn't need to see what he was doing. He already felt so much...too much.
He tangled his fingers in Muraki's silken hair. "Listen...it's my turn."
Muraki hummed softly. It sent exquisite vibrations along Tsuzuki's cock to radiate through his entire body, a deep thrumming that crumbled his resolve and left him a trembling wreck. With one foot braced on the mattress, he tried to arch his hips and push more of himself into the welcoming haven of Muraki's mouth.
Muraki hummed once more, a low sound of amused satisfaction. He slid his lubricated fingers inside, stroking and stretching. He twisted his head to swallow more of Tsuzuki's cock.
Tsuzuki gasped. His cock twitched and swelled in Muraki's mouth. His entire body was as taut as a violin string, every muscle trembling with anticipation, every nerve-ending singing with pleasure. To be so close to another orgasm in such a short time...he never knew it was so easy. Driven by Muraki's manipulations and the eager response of his body, he thrust and squeezed, his pelvis rocking back and forth on the bed, revelling in the dual sensations.
Muraki went into overdrive. He swallowed again and again, gulping down the precome that filled his mouth. His tongue whipped along the shaft, urging Tsuzuki on to climax. He pushed his fingers deeper within Tsuzuki's trembling body, preparing him for another joining they both knew well.
Tsuzuki thrashed his head from side to side. He had to withstand this. He had to hold on. "My turn...Muraki...ohhhh..."
Muraki lifted his head. "Your turn?" he growled. He bit the flesh of Tsuzuki's inner thigh, leaving a red-purple mark. "To you this is an indulgence - for me this is life! I must feed!"
"You said we were alike. The same hunger...the same desire. You wanted me to...to partake of you..."
"So I did. But the first feeding must follow time-honoured ritual. Consumption of body and blood...takes precedence over other methods, no matter how enjoyable." He lifted Tsuzuki's knees over his shoulders. His cock slid against the lubricated cleft of Tsuzuki's ass. He lowered himself atop Tsuzuki, blanketing him, smothering him. "If you're too stubborn to accept my flesh and blood...then we're back where we started."
Tsuzuki couldn't breathe. His genitals ached, pressed up hard against the unyielding bulk of Muraki's torso. The muscles of his ass quivered in anticipation of what would come next. Muraki's features filled his entire vision: the furrowed sweat-damp brow, the false eye aglow, glistening thin lips curved in a feral smile.
"You want it, ne? I can see it in your eyes, your pupils so dilated they swallow up the light. You look so beautiful when you're in full arousal, waiting for me to fuck you." His entire body was hunched, muscles coiled in preparation to strike. "Behold your disgraceful gluttony. You renounce the gift of ultimate communion...for this?"
His entry was sudden and deep - a welcome bolt of pleasure-pain that galvanised Tsuzuki's body into shuddering life.
"If you seek debasement...instead of consecration...let me be the one to do it!"
The abrupt withdrawal was worse. Deprived of sensation, Tsuzuki clutched him close and arched his body in desperate appeal.
Muraki held him down. "Be still." His false eye flared to triumphant life. "If that is your wish...so be it." He bowed his head over Tsuzuki's chest, an odd gesture of supplication that hid his face. Drops of his sweat fell on Tsuzuki's own heated skin. "I am yours. Remember..."
Tsuzuki convulsed under waves of sizzling sensation. His prostate let out a shower of sparks as Muraki found that perfect spot again and again. The angle, the position...the perfection of it left Tsuzuki trembling and panting, pinned to the mattress by Muraki's weight.
Was this what Muraki intended: to punish him with such exquisite pleasure until he went mad?
Between shaky breaths, Tsuzuki tried to speak. "Not...debasement. This too...is a gift." He squeezed Muraki's cock, accentuating the wet friction binding them together. "I'm not ashamed...to want this...to need this. Why...are you?"
Muraki exhaled sharply, but didn't speak. His head was bent, shoulders hunched - a beast of burden chained to erotic service.
With slitted reptilian-like eyes, Tsuzuki watched Muraki rise and fall over him. He adapted his own movements to match Muraki's rhythm: relaxing as he drove in, tightening as he slid out. "This connection...is special. The seeds of intimacy...and belonging...all sown here. The darkest hunger, the most depraved urges...we can release them here. Together."
"Together." Muraki lowered his gaze, his false eye glowing a little. "I like the sound of that, Tsuzuki-san." He reached between their straining bodies to oil Tsuzuki's cock with a mixture of lubricant and precome. "I like the sound of that very much."
Tsuzuki trembled. "For someone who claims sex...is a mere biological drive...you're very good at it."
"Thank you. I aim to please." He clenched his fist around the erection until Tsuzuki gasped.
"Mu-Muraki..."
"Together is good...but not enough." Muraki withdrew, and hauled his legs down. "On your hands and knees. Now...while I can still hold on."
Facing the headboard, Tsuzuki quivered as Muraki drove into him once more and jerked him off with one hand. Muraki's improved staying power combined with the deeper thrusts afforded by this new position pleased Tsuzuki very much. He clutched the sheets, and lowered himself to his elbows - all the better to withstand the vigorous bliss of Muraki's stroking and fucking - and the thrill of being alive in human skin.
"Yes...perfect." With his tongue loosened by wine, Tsuzuki no longer hid his enjoyment. "This...this feels perfect, Muraki. Ahhh. Why reject your humanity...when it can bring...such perfect pleasure?"
"Not enough..." Muraki's voice was a thick growl. "I want more...more...more." He matched deeds to his words, thrusting steadily into Tsuzuki's willing body.
"What more...is there?" Tsuzuki rubbed his forehead against the sheets to wipe away the sweat. "This is the ultimate pleasure...the most intense bonding...the act of creating new life."
"Really?" Muraki chuckled. "Is there something you're not telling me...about yourself?"
"Not with me. But with a woman...you could find a degree of immortality. Your own descendants...the recycling of your own genetic material...isn't that a type of regeneration?" The insight came to him with sudden clarity. "The goal you seek...doesn't reside in Meifu...or the demon world..." Tsuzuki swallowed as a particularly effective thrust made his cock harden in Muraki's milking fist. "It's right here...in your humanity..."
"You mean here?" Muraki murmured. "Or here?" He tilted his hips, altering the angle of entry each time. He used the hardness of Tsuzuki's cock twitching in his grip to assess his performance. "Mmm...maybe here."
"Ahhh..." Tsuzuki cleared his throat. "Damn you. Not what I meant."
"If you can talk...I must increase my efforts."
Tsuzuki fell silent, apart from steady gasping breaths of physical exertion. No words could express how good this felt. Rocking on the bed, moving together in perfect unison, Tsuzuki shut his eyes to focus on more pressing needs. Almost there - he could feel it. Aching and throbbing, his entire body burning up, he pressed his flushed face into the sheets.
"Don't hide." Muraki pulled Tsuzuki against him, chest to back. "You must never hide from me again. When you ignore me...when you fail to acknowledge me...you have no idea of my torment." He withdrew from Tsuzuki to collapse on the mattress, knees upraised.
"Muraki!" Still trembling on all fours, Tsuzuki was bereft. He couldn't take this agony alone...not when the cure was within such easy reach. "Do you enjoy torturing us both? You're not done yet either!"
"I know. Remember this feeling...for this is a fraction of what I feel when you neglect me." He laughed and laughed like a madman, and clutched the root of his erection to ease its ache. "Ahh, I must have you again. Come sit."
Tsuzuki scrambled to him. Kneeling astride Muraki's groin, he cried out and clung to strong arms for support. Hard bursts of pleasure tore through him, all the more sweeter and sharper after their brief separation. He met Muraki's vicious pelvic thrusts with joyful defiance - rising and falling in time like a child seated on the erotic version of a playground see-saw.
"Tsuzuki-san..." Muraki's false eye glowed. Using his feet to support his weight, he lifted his hips off the mattress to pound himself into Tsuzuki. "Take it...this 'humanity' you prize so much! I give it up for you!"
"Muraki...yesss..."
Beneath him, Muraki stiffened and arched one last time. The final thrust was deep, so deep Tsuzuki cried out again and clutched Muraki's shoulders to stop himself pitching forward. His cock jerked to attention...but it wasn't enough to make him climax. Tsuzuki began to jerk himself off until Muraki seized his wrist.
"This privilege...is mine. I need...to feed." Muraki guided Tsuzuki up until his cock slid free.
Tsuzuki whimpered softly at the withdrawal.
"Come here." Muraki pulled Tsuzuki closer until he straddled Muraki's chest. His erection nudged Muraki's jaw.
Braced on his knees, arms outstretched behind him to prop up his exhausted body, Tsuzuki froze.
Muraki had expended his energy. He was weakened once more, along with the demon he harboured. That was it - mission accomplished.
Leave now! Forget your discomfort - you'll get over it! Don't submit to him again like this!
It wouldn't take much to injure Muraki now. By sitting atop him he could crush the air from Muraki's lungs. His thighs could lock around Muraki's neck to asphyxiate him. Trapped beneath him, Muraki was helpless.
Muraki's nails dug into his hips as he guided him forward again. His lips were cool and ticklish along the underside of Tsuzuki's testicles. The taut velvet-soft skin fascinated him - he nibbled at them with the fastidious refinement of a gourmand tasting a delicacy.
Tsuzuki's cock twitched to life. But he couldn't move. Suspended by Muraki's arms and his own rock-hard thighs, his arms trembling to hold his weight, he suddenly felt as weak as a kitten.This delicate ticklish pleasure melted his muscles into mush.
Muraki lapped the underside of Tsuzuki's cock. His lips curled in devilish amusement.
With a sinking awareness, Tsuzuki realised exactly who was the helpless one.
Muraki shoved a pillow under his head, then grasped Tsuzuki's buttocks once more. He guided Tsuzuki's pelvis closer, and opened his mouth.
Tsuzuki couldn't resist. With hips thrust out, he had no choice but to accept Muraki's ravenous mouth feasting on him. Tsuzuki leaned back, thighs trembling to support himself, head thrown back in helpless abandon - his entire body a taut arc of obedience to a higher power, one priming him to the point of ultimate capitulation.
When at last the explosion came, Tsuzuki imagined he was soaring straight into the white-hot rays of the sun.
In the privacy of Hakushaku's bedroom within the Hall of Candles, the candle with the violet flame took pride of place in an ornate brass candleholder over the granite mantelpiece. The flame dimmed to a faint ember for a full minute, then flared into a bright plume several metres high.
Watching from his bed, Hakushaku clapped and laughed, well pleased with his new source of entertainment.