It had been nearly a month since Ayato had been taken captive in Yamada Castle. It was a gilded cage, and he wondered how much longer it would be before the Grand Duke tried to seduce him; Feed him to the komodo dragons or worse, take him by force.
He also couldn't help but wonder what on earth his friends had done after he was taken, he doubted that they were successful in taking the diamond. Grand Duke Taro Yamada would have exploded in a rage if that had been the case. That and his friends would already be dead. Were they already dead without him knowing? Had they somehow escaped?
Ayato still cursed himself every day for not talking his friends out of what they were planning.
His new room was more lavish than anything he had ever seen, but it did not change the face that it was a prison. The first few days had been spent weeping and screaming after he realised that it was not all some terrible nightmare. He had curled up on the bed, despair racking his very being.
His friends were probably dead. Images of his friends dead in the woods, tied up and downed in the sea or down in the lower basement riddled his mind. The tears did not stop coming. He never noticed that Taro Yamada would sometimes peak in to look at him, curious as to why he was making such a fuss.
Takahashi had mentioned something about the experience being traumatising, he figured that his head butler was probably right.
Ayato had not eaten at all that day, not for lack of trying however. Every time he ate, he threw up. The Grand Duke had soothed him as his stomach emptied what little was left in it. Pushing him away was a bad idea after remembering what had happened down in the main hall. He involuntarily tensed up whenever the other boy touched him.
Worse still, Ayato found himself both terrified and entranced by the young Grand Duke. The night he had been dragged to the main hall was still a very vivid memory despite still being slightly sedated at the point. He had watched as the three guards that had captured him were dropped into a pit where Taro's starved Komodo Dragons were waiting for their dinner. The sounds that echoed through the halls that night had not yet left his mind.
He had been quick to realise that he would much rather obey the Grand Duke than end up as food for his beloved pets. That was not the last time that someone ended up as dinner for the dragons…
Some poor servant had been caught looking Ayato up and down as if he wanted a certain something from him. He had been called into the hall to find the servant battered, bleeding and placed on the same area where the drop to Taro's pets was.
"My sweet moth..." Taro had called for him, gesturing him over to kneel beside him. A satin cushion was laid under him so his knees did not suffer. Taro leaned towards his guest "This servant of mine claims that you were trying to come onto him..." Taro explained. An icy chill fell down Ayato's spine, as he went to reply Taro stopped him, placing a finger on Ayato's lips.
"You need not fear my darling. I had my butlers watching you the whole time while you were outside my quarters. I know you did not come onto him, but I thought that I had better make you aware of this. In case anyone else dares to ensnare you in their trap…" He placed his hand under Ayato's chin once more, this time it felt more gentle. He still quivered under the touch.
Taro smiled as he reached down and picked up Ayato bridal style. Ayato had been wearing the same purple t-shirt and black jeans with black socks that day. The night he was placed onto his bed by Taro, he realised that there was no point in struggling. Instead he curled up, hiding his tear stained face in Taro's shoulder without realising when the tearing of skin and bone started once more.
Instead of laughing like he had last time, Taro gave comforting hushes to Ayato who was still shaking like a leaf from the noises. The screams of those guards from the night he was captured still haunted him in his dreams…
Then, Ayato became ill.
He had awoken one morning to a raging temperature and terrible stomach pain. Taro had entered the bedroom and realised that something was wrong immediately. He called for his head butler and his personal doctor.
The doctor checked up on Ayato before coming to a logical conclusion.
"His body had undergone a severe amount of stress. That and he hasn't eaten as much as he should. This has probably caused his immune system to not work as well as it normally would. I would recommend rest, medicine and decent food.. He needs to recover some strength before he leaves the room again."
Taro had been on hand all to day to help him. Ayato wanted nothing more than to be left alone, but he was too weak to talk like alone tell someone to go away. The touches were gentle, Taro helped feed him the soup that had been prepared for him. He had been tender, something Ayato had not expected.
He recovered after a few days, something shifted in Ayato's mind but he was unsure as to exactly what it was.
Something that had come unexpectedly was the Grand Duke giving him gifts, showering him in whatever Ayato desired. He knew damn well that this was a ploy but at the same time, he couldn't recall the last time he had been given any meaningful gift. He had been presented with new clothes, tailor made to his size. He was given the best ginseng teas money could buy. Ayato constantly berated himself for becoming meek in the presence of the Grand Duke.
He should be planning to escape.
But whenever he thought about it, the despair would return. There was no way out.
"My little moth..." Taro often called him "As along as you do as I desire, I'll give you all you shall ever want or need...". For the moment, the most that Taro had asked from him was to reorganise his desk of books and papers into the way he liked it. Papers about estate management went into a blue leather book, finances was green leather and anything else was red leather.
He could feel the onyx eyes of the Grand Duke monitor his every move.
He was also quick to pick up on different speech or physical cues which signified the Grand Duke's mood. He had been good at that anyway but his senses sharpened since entering the castle. A smooth voice with a relaxed posture meant that he was in a good mood, tapping his finger meant that he was getting impatient, a cold tone or raised brow meant that you were in trouble.
He never needed to raise his voice to tell someone that they were in the shit. If he did raise it voice at all, the target of his wrath was completely screwed and would be dead by the end of the week (if not by the end of the day).
On one such day, while Ayato had been reorganising some of the items dotted around Taro's bedroom, a servant had entered the area with a pot of green tea. He was just about to move aside when the servant tripped on the rug and fell, the tea poured and scolded Ayato's leg. He screamed as the pain seared up his body.
Taro had been quick to tear off any clothes that had been touched by the water before rushing Ayato into a bath and commanded the maid on duty to pour cold water on the affected leg. The burning sensation was agony, he shook all over from the shock of the incident rather than the pain. The maid had been a kind girl with deep green hair and eyes, when Ayato came close to crying again she offered him her spare handkerchief. From the opulent marble bathroom, he could here the commotion outside.
The servant was pleading for forgiveness, blaming the carpet but it would do him no good as Ayato knew. "Drag him to the lower basement, he is to wait there until I decide what punishment he deserves" Taro had barked at his guards before the servant's cries could be heard fading down the hall.
The maid in the bathroom had made sure that there was a constant supply of cold water going down Ayato's leg until the head servant arrived to inspect it. "The burn may blister, but it seems unlikely at this point in time." He had concluded before Ayato was dried off and placed into Taro's bed to rest.
He had been given a purse of coin to the maid who had attended to Ayato. "You have done well" He commented before she bowed and left.
"You have been my guest here for over a month now..." Taro sat down on the bed beside him, stroking his hair "You've been very well behaved and yet you haven't told me if there is anything you want from me" He smiled, almost innocently, as he patted Ayato's head.
There was something that Ayato did want to know, but he was unsure if asking him would be helpful. He thought about it "I can see that there is something on your mind, little moth" The Grand Duke spoke again. Ayato took a deep breath.
"That night, when I was brought here… I can't recall properly what happened outside the castle. Was there anyone else… found?" He asked to his shame. Taro knew what he was talking about, he had seen Ayato become agitated if he thought that people was were laughing at him. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. Taro's mind started to whirl as his cruelty unfolded.
"You remember those… friends of yours. They came to the walls of the castle like I suspect you remember but..." He feigned concern, knowing Ayato would bite the bait "I don't think you should know what they did..."
That got Ayato pulling at the line "W-what do you mean by that, your grace?"'What the hell did they do?'
"Ayato… when you were being chased and sedated by my guards, they were laughing at you. Don't you remember?"
Everything slowed as he tried to think back to that night, Taro was known to be a manipulative, spiteful person but why had he sounded so concerned? He tore through the memories in his mind of that night and came to a horrifying conclusion.
Taro had been correct.
They had laughed as he was chased away.
They were laughing while he could have been murdered or brutalised.
Ayato clutched his head as his breathing got faster, his vision was blurring with the tears building up. His three best friends that he had grown up with in the orphanage had left him to die. His heart felt the agony as he did his best to stop himself from crying again. His head was pounding, longing to scream.
Then, Taro brought Ayato into a cuddle and whispered in his ear "You can cry, anyone would cry if their friends left them to die." The tears spewed down his reddened face as he sobbed uncontrollably. Taro said nothing, bringing Ayato's weeping frame into his chest. His shoulder would be wet from the tears but that didn't matter, another sinister grin made its way onto Taro's face.
It was alright, he would sooth his sad little moth for now…
That night, Ayato had fallen asleep in Taro's bed having curled up in the duvet. Taro had tucked Ayato into the thick duvet.
The Grand Duke was watching the fire as it roared and crackled with a certain image in hand. Ayato with his three 'friends'. Taro snorted, if they were really his friends when why hadn't they tried to save him? They could have tried to distract the guards at least…
Even if they had gotten away, Taro would have still found a way to claim his Ayato.
He took the photograph and tore it in two. The part of it featuring only Ayato, he placed to one side tenderly; the part with the three other young men, he chucked into the fire to watch it be consumed by the flames. He closed his eyes and the image of the three boys burning alive entered him mind.
He smiled with satisfaction. One of the boys had been very attached to Ayato, way too attached for Taro's liking. The one with the blue neck tie. In fact, he had seen the boy slip a glance towards Ayato's ass a couple of times which had nearly gotten him into a rage but that would not be an issue now.
Ayato was in his bed, Ayato was in his home and he would claim Ayato completely when the time came. Body and soul.
Taro had noticed something interesting about the boy he planned on claiming as his, he loved looking at the kimonos on display. On one occasion, he had watched Ayato look through the glass casing to use the reflection as a reference for how it would look on him. He would remember that.
Finally, he looked back at Ayato. He was sleeping so peacefully, so perfect. He was exactly what Taro had hoped for, a timid boy who knew better than to rebel against someone above him. Taro's gaze struggled as sleep took him.
Ayato found a present on his bed later that week: A purple kimono with a pattern that looked like the mountains around Buraza, Yamada Castle could be seen towards the bottom of it. A black and gold Obi was present too, pairing with a kanzashi resembling a wisteria. It looked like it had cost a lot of money, Ayato realised that Taro must have seen him fantasising about wearing one.
A note had been left on top of the present: 'Wear this tonight, I told the chefs to prepare your favourite. - T x'
He should have rejected it but something had started to creep into Ayato's mind since the revelation about what his 'friends' had done to him. The more he thought about it, he couldn't recall the last time they had done something for him rather than the other way round?
They were his 'best friends' and yet the tyrannical Grand Duke of Kyoto and Buraza had done more for his then they had. Worse yet, Ayato found that he wanted to wear it for his captor. Not out of fear but…
He couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was wilful obedience? He knew damn well that the Grand Duke was never going to let him go on his own accord so why shouldn't he take in whatever Taro gave to him and keep his eye fixed on him and himself alone?
He was rather enjoying the life of luxury.
Ayato had entered the extravagant dining hall, decked out in the rich kimono and all its accessories to the best of his ability. One of the maids, a sweet girl with dark blue hair and glasses called Mei, had offered to bring some of the silver Jewellery that the previous Grand Duchess owned. Of course, Ayato didn't want to step on any toes but the maid explained that she would speak with the head servant first.
He had selected a bracelet with sapphires set into it with the matching necklace. The metal was cold but it felt right wearing it. Taro was waiting at the table by the window when he had entered, the sake cup had slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. Those dark eyes scanned him head to toe, not a single item out of place.
Taro himself was also wearing purple, though a much darker hue of it. A deep purple long sleeved shirt with dark blue jeans and black shoes. The table had been decorated with wisterias around the plates of food: Salmon, swordfish steaks, A5 wagyu beef among others.
The Grand Duke walked over to Ayato and looked at the jewellery on him. "I-it looks better on you than I imagined" He stumbled slightly over his words. "You look gorgeous in that kimono, I knew you would. Purple was always your colour" Taro placed his hands onto Ayato's hips and pulled him close before placing a tender kiss onto the side of his neck.
Ayato felt the blush rise in his face, the kiss was hot and it sent pleasure down his back. Like an electric pulse ran through him.
"Who was the maid that suggested the jewellery?" Taro inquired as he ran his hand along the silver and sapphire necklace. "I believe it was the C class upper maid Mei your grace. She asked me if it would be appropriate and I gave your your permission as you said"
He nodded "She has a good eye for detail. Promote her to A class upper maid and designate her to serving Ayato only"
"Gladly, Your grace" The head servant stepped aside and Ayato was brought to the table. The lid was lifted of his plate and he had to stop himself from drooling all over the food. Fried chicken with parsley was elegantly placed around a small bowl of crème fraîche topped with more parsley. The taste was perfect.
"How did you find how what my favourite food was? I haven't been able to get any decent chicken for quite some time…" he winced mentally, recalling when he would eat a noodle pot five times a week to survive on the money he had.
Taro smiled "I may have sent someone down to the butchers, they said something about it being your favourite food and wondered where you had gone to." He decided not to tell Ayato that his 'friend' Seiyo had been asking around for him. Seiyo was now hidden away in the lower basement where they were… extracting information that would be useful for Taro.
Ayato was eating away happily while making sure that nothing dropped onto the kimono. For the first time, Taro felt something different to a sinister desire to take something as his even if it wasn't. Ayato had cried into his shoulder, he loved the flowers in the garden which Taro hadn't noticed before, he found nature beautiful and took anything that was gifted to him with real care. He supposed that his upbringing in the orphanage had moulded him into someone who was grateful for any blessing that came there way.
Ayato as such a lovely, hopeful boy, Taro almost considered it a shame that he had to destroy a part of that by telling him that his friends had left him for dead in the castle.
Almost.
Ayato was notably softer to him now rather than deathly afraid like when he had first been in the castle, he liked things that were soft. After the meal was done, he brought Ayato to his bedroom and stole a kiss from his lips.
For Ayato, it had been a surprise but it had felt like it was coming anyway. The warm salty taste on Taro's lips drew him deeper into the darkness. As if his lips had been tainted with something forbidden to draw him in. In any other circumstances, Ayato would have been repulsed. Fureddo had tried to kiss him when he was drunk once and Ayato had forced him away.
Now, he blushed as Taro held onto his hips. Ayato had then kissed Taro in return and that was the green light to take him into bed. Ayato was peppering kisses along Taro's shoulder and neck, he could also feel the erection that was poking into his hip. He started to unbutton the shirt that Taro was wearing, revealing his thin yet athletic frame. The sinful feeling was rushing his body, burning through every nerve but he loved it. His greedy desires coming out in full force.
Ayato was now on his knees, biting at Taro's belt as he unbuckled it.
"So, you're feisty when it comes to being fucked. You're a virgin, are you not? How could my innocent little moth turn into something so sultry..." Taro's cock flicked out of his trousers, Ayato stared in dumb wonder for a moment.
He devoured it, taking it in his mouth. Taro gasped loudly as he clutched the covers on his bed he was sat on. He let the pleasure of having his cock sucked on with such vigour wash over him. Ayato was a sight, taking his cock in his mouth while wearing his kimono. His head bobbed up and down with each suck. Then, Taro removed his cock from the warmth of Ayato's month.
"I'm not rushing this" He had said before pulling his lover over to him.
The kimono was the first thing to come off, Ayato stood slightly awkwardly in his nakedness as Taro ran his hand down Ayatos back. The feeling forced a sigh from Ayato's lips. His below began to twitch.
"Why are you all shy now?" Taro queried "You are mine to possess. My sexy little plaything, you're trying to be good for me, aren't you?" The older boy bit into Ayato's shoulder, making him moan.
Taro pressed him into the wall before shedding himself of his clothes until just the jeans were on, with his chest pinned into the wall; Ayato couldn't help but look behind him, Taro had pressed himself up against him with his hot member placed just by his entrance. Taro was riddling him with kisses and love bites while the stiffness was twitching by his entrance. He pushed himself in slightly, letting the sensation wrap around his bellend. Ayato couldn't help but feel flustered and forced himself out of Taro's gasp before popping himself on the bed.
He propped his ass up purposely as if to say 'Are you going to take me or not?'
"You're so impatient my little moth, you're so desperate for me. Aren't you?" He reached for a tube and a blindfold. Ayato turned around and closed his eyes, then a coldish feeling could be felt around his entrance. The black silk blindfold was placed over his eyes, he felt another silk ribbon tie up his hands in front of him. The lube rubbed against him again and Ayato was so close to pressing his ass down onto it, then it stopped and a long hot feeling penetrated him.
Taro went crazy for the one under him and was now taking it out on his ass as Ayato held onto the bed and lost himself in this naughty feeling. It wasn't long before Ayato was panting with that stiffness ramming itself in and out of him. Taro was taking everything in: every twitch, every sigh, every moan and plea.
Desire burned with no end in sight.
He pulled his cock out, flipped Ayato onto his back before forcing himself back in. Hearing Ayato's loud gasp as the cock entered him again with pleasure had nearly made him cum in the moment. He knew it wouldn't be long but he still went for it hard. The sound of skin slapping floated in the air, Ayato spilt his pleasure on himself just before Taro dumped his love inside Ayato.
The two had fallen asleep very satisfied after cleaning themselves…
It was now six months since Ayato was taken into Yamada Castle and he was pretty much second only to Taro himself on authority within the castle walls. Taro fucked him senseless every night now, Ayato was always willing to let Taro claim him. Where? It didn't matter.
In the bedroom, out in the garden, in the halls, even the dungeon below the main castle was fair game. He learnt that Taro had a thing for Ayato being tied or chained up. He supposed that the thought of the other person being helpless but willing was a huge turn on for him.
In his throne room, Taro had demanded a seduce chaise be designed for Ayato to sit and lie in when people was dragged into the main hall. The resulting chaise was purple and silver in colour, a perfect contrast to Taro's golden jewelled throne. The head of the seat was place so that Taro could reach over and run his fingers through Ayato's hair.
More often than not, Ayato would purposely wear a kimono or a silk nightgown to lay down on the chair; showing a part of his legs every now and again, knowing that Taro would be hounding him for sexual attention afterwards. One time, another servant had dared to try look up Ayato's nakedness, even went as far as to try to touch him. It resulted in said servant immediately being thrown to the komodo dragons like the last one. Taro had then pulled Ayato over on the golden throne, dragged him onto his lap and roughly fucked him there.
Ayato paid no attention to the screams of the servant being eaten.
Perhaps the most drastic change to Ayato, however, was how ruthless he had become. A class upper maid Mei was the only one of the servants whom he actually trusted, he had been the one that got her promoted so of course she was going to be loyal to him. Everyone else was collateral and could be removed if they caused him trouble.
On one occasion, some lousy butler had accidentally spilt red wine onto his light blue kimono. Ayato had viciously berated the servant to the point that Taro entered the room. "He spilt the wine on kimono your grace kindly gifted me" Ayato acted like he was becoming increasingly distressed "He's making it look like I'm not looking after the things you gift me! I always look after them, he ruined it!"
While the servant didn't end up as komodo dragon feed like Ayato had hoped, he did receive twenty five lashes for ruining something so expensive.
The most shocking revelation of all was when his old friend Seiyo had been dragged into the main hall.
On this occasion, he had chosen to wear the red and gold kimono that Taro had bought him. He put the rose kanzashi into his hair before being guided to the hall by Mei, like a maid guiding an Oiran. The maid was a sweet girl, Ayato was coming to genuinely like her. He had sat down in a way that Taro would be able to see his legs slightly. That was before Seiyo was brought into the hall.
Ayato had leapt up and stormed down the steps to punch Seiyo hard enough that he was certain the bone in his nose had fractured.
"W-what the? Who are you?!" He had spluttered before Ayato got down to his knees.
"Do you really not remember me? Is that how little I meant to you after all those years?"
Seiyo's jaw dropped. It was Ayato, but why on earth was he wearing a kimono? Why was he looking at him like that? Why was he being so harsh? Why the hell had he hit him?
"Ayato? I thought you were dead!"
"No, I'm here. But It would not have surprised me if you had wished I was dead" He hissed before ascending the steps back to his chaise. Seiyo looked to be in bad condition, with burn marks all over him and he was thinner than Ayato remembered. Taro had clearly gotten to him first, Ayato no longer cared.
"How did you survive? We looked everywhere for you!"
Taro laughed in Seiyo's face "You didn't look hard enough then, did you? Did you never think that it was in the castle?" Those black eyes burned themselves into Seiyo's very being.
From torturing Seiyo, he had learnt some very valuable information. Firstly, the young man named Fureddo had desperately searched for Ayato; even going as far as to successfully break into the dungeon to look for him. Of course, Ayato was in the holding cells at the time and in the main hall when Fureddo finally found the holding cell.
Taro knew of the break in, but he decided to let the man go knowing that being unable to find Ayato would break him enough. Besides, at that point Ayato had not given himself over to him and he had to be careful.
Enpitsu too had looked for Ayato in the woods with no luck. The three had actually scurried away back home and wept for their taken friend, Fureddo in particular was distraught and had taken to drinking. That was how Taro found out that Fureddo held a massive crush on Ayato.
'Too bad for you'Taro could feel himself saying in his mind as if Fureddo was in front of him 'You couldn't treat him right, as he deserved so now he belongs to me. He will be my Grand Duchess. He will never forgive you'
Seiyo had been out in Buraza Harbour, looking for Ayato when he had been grabbed into a van and knocked out. The dungeons had been horrifying to stay in, with mice as regular guests. He had been stripped naked and beaten several times for information until the Grand Duke came in with a candle and allowed the flame to burn away at the skin it licked.
He had thought that Ayato was surely dead after the experience, only to be shocked out of his wits by Ayato in the blood red and gold kimono. He was sat up by the Grand Duke who glared down at Seiyo as if he were a piece of dog shit in the rug.
"You survived by giving yourself to him?! You know what he has done to people Ayato, why?"
"I didn't just give myself to him Seiyo" Ayato started angrily "But if that's how you want to put it, fine! You were the ones who left me for dead when I was chased by those guards, the three of your could have helped me!"
"How? Then all of us would have been killed"
"Then leaving me to die was the plan? That's it?" Ayato was fiercely angry but this was hurting him "Leave to die while you get away with that diamond? Then you have the audacity to try and shame me for what I've done to survive?!"
Before Seiyo could say anything more, he was thrown into the centre of the room. Taro stood up and spoke calmly "Cut his throat"
"NO!" Ayato yelled. Seiyo thought for just a moment that he would be saved…
"Feed him to the dragons, They haven't had fresh dinner for a while my love" Ayato placed his hand on Taro's chest. With attention like that, how could he say no to his beloved Ayato…
The last thing Seiyo would ever recall through the agony of being consumed by the dragons was Ayato's betrayal...