I had known Master would be angry if he found out about the secret and the bet. Any master would, and ours was more protective than most, which would probably add to his anger instead of detracting from it. Making the bet had been a calculated risk on my part. I hadn't anticipated that Master would take Quatre out so soon, or that Duo would have so quickly jumped to the conclusion he was gone. I also hadn't anticipated the pressure Master was put under to react to my miss-step by the presence of Duo and Wufei. I was, however, ready and willing to accept any punishment he deemed necessary for my actions. When he had led me into the slave's quarters, I had been anxious, but not afraid.
However the most unanticipated action of the night was when Duo, enraged by my punishment, attacked Master, landing a solid drop-kick that sent Master sprawling to the floor. Trowa and I reacted in the same instant, lunging at Duo and knocking him to the floor, where Trowa pinned his arms while I pinned his legs.
"Let me go! Damnit, Heero, you have to get out of here while you can! In a minute he's going to get up and flay you like a damn codfish! Go!"
"I..." said Master as he dizzily got back to his feet, holding his forehead, "had no intention of flaying anyone, and I'm still not going to hurt Heero. You, on the other hand, I'm going to gut like a fish!" Master growled, and I left Trowa to hold Duo while I attempted to intercept Master. I knew better than to enrage him further by trying to physically stop him, so I could only settle for latching onto his arm.
"Master, please, let's go tend to your wound," I asked him quietly and he hesitated. He was still frowning, but a little of the rage had seeped out of him, and after a moment he nodded to me. I was relieved, because it was perfectly justifiable and within his power for Master to do just as he promised to Duo. But, just as I didn't believe he would seriously injure me with my punishment, I didn't think he would actually kill Duo, either. Of course, that wasn't to day eh couldn't seriously injure him, which was something I wanted to avoid. After all, Duo was my responsibility.
"I can't believe that little punk!" Master hissed as he stormed into the bedroom as I closed the door, giving us some privacy.
"I'm sorry, Master, he is my responsibility. The fault is mine."
"Don't be ridiculous. You can't be held accountable for his every action. Besides, you're already in trouble. Speaking of which, that little stunt Shini pulled is not enough to get you out of your punishment."
"I admit that my actions were wrong and I will willingly accept any punishment you deem necessary to keep me from repeating my mistake," I told him as I took and icepack out of the cabinet and cracked it. He stared at me as I laid it over the bump on his forehead.
"If only Shinigami were a little more like you," he said wistfully, an amused half-smile on his face.
"But then he would not be Shinigami."
"He wouldn't be an idiotic punk, either."
"He was only trying to save me," I found myself defending. "Duo is not used to masters who do not enjoy punishing their slaves. He thought that you were going to seriously injure me."
Master looked contemplative for a moment, then nodded. "I hadn't thought of that, but I suppose you're right. Still, he had no right to push me like that."
"I agree completely. If he is ever to make a good slave, he needs more discipline."
"Well, I won't be bothered with it. He's only here for another few hours, anyway, then we can get back to our normal lives," Master said offhandedly as he turned to the mirror to inspect his face. I couldn't understand the strange pang I felt when Master said that. I felt somewhat bad that Duo had just risk so much in what he believed was saving my life, and now he was going to die and there was nothing I could do. But there was always the possibility that Duo would get picked up, because someone always wanted to buy Shinigami, so I really shouldn't have been feeling so bad about it.
"So, let's get your punishment over with," he said, putting aside the icepack. I refrained from reminding him that the longer he held it on the more effective it would be. The two seconds he had given it were nearly useless.
"Yes, Master," I said as he went to the closet and pulled something out of the top. I recognized it as the paddle he had first used on me, and realized he must have brought it from home. Realizing his intentions, I pulled down my shorts and set them aside. When he sat on the bed, I placed my self unresistantly across his lap.
Master was quick, thorough, and seemed to take as little joy in my punishment as I did. His cracks were hard, but not damaging. The punishment was 20 hits, which was more than most masters administered, but less than was required to harm me. I was not, after all, a normal slave. I had been trained to live with discomfort and pain, so my pain tolerance was high than most slave's. In my first punishment, Master had to administer well over two hundred hits harder than these to influence me. Based on that I decided the punishment was light, but enough for me to realize my mistake. A harsh warning, by my standards.
It was over quickly, and master allowed me to get up. My butt was red and aching, but it wasn't as bad as the first time, and not nearly as bad as some of the other punishments I had been given. Still, when Master rubbed his knuckles over my backside I couldn't help but hiss in pain.
"Heh. A little sore, I see. Why don't you go hop in the bathtub, see if a cool bath doesn't take the sting away. I'll see if I don't have some lotion to keep it from being sore for tonight," he said, even as he followed me into the bathroom, where he rolled up his sleeves and set the bath water to a cool but not cold temperature. He didn't leave as I watched the bathtub fill, but sat on the rim instead. "Despite this... transgression, you've been a model slave the past few weeks. I can only hope that this is a one time mishap, and that it won't happen again."
"I will not betray your trust again, Master," I said, and meant it. The look on his face, the look of angry accusation, was too much for me.
"Good. Then there's only one question left; what exactly did you bet?" he asked.
I couldn't seem to bring the words out of my mouth, because I new he'd be angry again. To bet with something I didn't rightfully own... to give away Master's property... would he sell me for that? I had betrayed his trust by keeping secrets from him, but this... was this a betrayal of loyalty? I didn't want to see that disappointed look in his eyes again, but to lie and be found out would only hurt my cause more. It was a lie by omission that got me here in the first place. I stared into the quickly filling water, wondering what to do.
"Heero?" he asked, and I could hesitate no longer.
"I bet the jewelry you bought me. Please forgive me, I..."
"That's good."
"W-what?"
"I was worried that you bet something important, like your body," he said. I tried to find the lie in his face, but there was no hint of falsity in him. So he was... serious? "Don't look so surprised. You didn't think I'd be that upset by losing a little bit of jewelry, did you? After all, I can always buy you more, and I did give it to you. If you want to bet it, that's your business."
"But... I... I mean, a slave can't own anything. I bet your property."
"Hm. But I own you as well, correct? So if you bet yourself, that would be betting property that is much more valuable to me than those petty trinkets I bought you. You're still not allowed to do it again, though. Betting is a horrible habit to get into. It makes far to many fights and losses," he told me. I agreed, nodding my head as I turned off the water. I had seen many slaves get into fights over lost or won bets.
"Yes, Master. But I should tell you, I didn't lose. I bet that Quatre would be unharmed, and he is."
"Oh, so what did you win?"
"Shinigami promised to behave himself at the party tonight," I said, gently easing my sore bottom into the cool water of the tub. Master tipped his head back and laughed.
"Well, I suppose that's punishment enough for him, then. He promised to be on his best behavior, huh? We'd better take full advantage of this, though I'm not sure his best behavior is up to the standards of sewer rat society. Ah, well, I suppose it'll seem a feat to simply have Shinigami there without drugs. He... What the hell?" Master wondered as there was suddenly a ruckus in the other room. "Finish your bath," he instructed as we heard Trowa and Duo exchange harsh words outside the door, "I'll handle this. Be quick, we don't want to be late for the party," he said, then stormed out the door to deal with Duo. I could only hope Duo submitted quietly, for Master was still angry about the kick he had received earlier.
My hopes seemed in vain, though, as angry words were exchanged outside the door. A moment later, there was a smacking sound and a thud as someone hit the floor. I could only hope it was Duo, because if it wasn't and if Duo had hit Trowa or Master again, there was nothing I could do to keep him from being returned. Duo was wearing on Master's patience without the violence.
I finished my bath quickly and, although I had only been in the water a few minutes, my backside felt good enough for me to put my shorts on and hastily leave the bedroom.
The den was surprisingly quiet, for I had thought Duo would still be fighting with Master. But, instead, the braided boy was sitting sullenly in the plush chair, another dark bruise forming on his face. I let out a sigh of relief that he had allowed himself to be quelled so easily.
"Heero!" he said, jumping up and running to me. Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei had also been sitting in the living room, and Master had been in the kitchen preparing tea. Now all four sets of eyes turned to me, though Master's went back to his tea a moment later. Duo ran up to my side and grabbed my arm, looking me over thoroughly. Finding nothing externally wrong with me, he growled, "What did he do?"
"Nothing, Duo, I'm fine," I snapped, strangely embarrassed about telling the other slaves that I had been paddled by Master.
"Damnit!" Duo hissed, and seemed strangely uptight for me being the one who was punished, "Tell me what he did!" he growled again, and I could tell wasn't going to leave me alone. I looked over to Master, who nodded his assent, then back to Duo. I leaned over to Duo's ear and whispered what had happened to him. The other seemed dying with suspense as Duo's eyes went wide.
"He spanked you!" he blurted, the angry energy draining out of him as he laughed. "Hell, that's not a punishment, that's a reward!" he said, and I hoped the others didn't agree. I didn't want them to think of Master as a weakling, Wufei especially.
"Not all of us are so crude," Wufei remarked snidely. "I'm sure the embarrassment alone is worth twice the punishment," he said, relieving me of my worries.
"Embarrassment-shmarassment! How the hell can you be embarrassed about a spankin' when you're walkin' around nekkid all the time?"
"Enough," Master silenced before the two could get into a real argument. "You all need to get ready for the party. Duo, I've been told that you will be obedient tonight as part of a lost bet, so you'll be coming as well. Quatre, this is the last party, and you've been recovering very well, so you may come as well if you like. Wufei, Trowa, suit up. We have to leave in half an hour."
Everyone hurried to get their costumes, because half an hour was a very short amount of time for the complicated costumes and makeup worn at Collar. Trowa and Quatre took their costumes and went to the master bedroom to put them on. Wufei took his into the master bathroom, which left Duo and I alone in the slave's quarters. As we dressed, Duo seemed nervous, and kept glancing at me. I knew that if I allowed him enough time, he would tell me what was wrong on his own, and he didn't disappoint me.
"Heero, I wanted to tell you... I mean, I'm sorry I got so nosey about... about your... punishment. It's just... when I heard the water running... I thought..." he said, then hesitated, stumbling for words. He seemed to be on the verge of giving up, so I prompted him a bit.
"Thought what, Duo?"
"I thought... you know..."
"Know what?" I asked again, losing patience.
"I thought he was gonna hold you down, under the water, as a punishment. You know, an almost drowning."
"Duo, that's insane. Master's not like that. Why would you even think... Did... Did someone do that to you?" I asked, but he wouldn't answer. Still, the fact that he couldn't seem to look me in the eye said enough. Shinigami was said to be one of the worst slaves, but also one of the most popular. He was a challenge, so Master's went great lengths to try to break him. I was horrified that something like that had been done to Duo, but not surprised. He was, despite everything else, Shinigami. "Duo, Master would never do that," I told him, pulling his chin so that he would face me. Another thought struck me. "Is that why you fought the bath so hard?" I wondered, remembering the fight to get him into the bathtub on his first day here.
"Yeah," he admitted with a sigh, "I guess... I guess I'm a little bit phobic now. Pretty stupid, huh? Being afraid of a damn bathtub."
"Humans learn to fear what injures them. It can't be helped. I'm sure, however, that Master would have been much more gentle and understanding if you had told us what was wrong."
"Yeah, tell you what's wrong so you can use it against me later," he said bitterly, pulling away from me. "I don't even know why I'm telling you all this damn stuff. I am an idiot. I mean, hell, I barely know you!"
"But you do trust me," I said evenly, knowing it was true. "You wouldn't have admitted this if you didn't."
"Yeah... well... you're one of a kind, 'Ro. 'S probably not a conniving bone in your body, but not everybody's as nice as you are."
"Master is."
"I sincerely doubt that, or he wouldn't be a master," he replied, the bitterness returning to his tone. I took his face in my hands and forced him to look at me again.
"He is kind, and being a master is hard for him. Just give him a chance tonight, at the party. You did promise you'd behave."
"Fine," he said, sighing and looking like he'd rather be sucked into a vacuum than listen to master. "You know, you're a pretty good negotiator," he said, the sly smile returning to his face. He zipped up the last of his costume, and we were ready to go.