Character(s): Sanada Ryo, Anubisu, Naaza, Rajura, Shuten
Warning(s): Beating/whipping, blood and violence, captivity, hinted/unrequired lust, hinted one-sided attraction
Whiplashes
"Well, well, well," Anubisu muttered as he watched a couple of Youja drag Rekka no Ryo into a courtyard, a furious Shuten following them with one of the most thunderous expression the Yami Masho had seen on the redhead's face in nearly a hundred years. "What do we have here?"
"Pain for the Trooper," Naaza snorted, leaning against a pillar nearby. Anubisu gave him a fleeting glance before focusing again on the scene bellow. "Looks like he earned himself yet another flogging."
Nothing unusual, per se. It happened nearly every couple of days, whenever Shuten's latest toy got on his nerves, and he decided to 'correct his attitude' – which never truly worked. The Trooper showed an amazing ability at handling the pain and keeping a fighting spirit, which Anubisu would have found admirable if it hadn't found it just as annoying.
Not that he minded someone resisting Shuten, of course; their pseudo 'leader' was far too arrogant and he didn't need extra ego. No, what Anubisu minded was how often Shuten was left pissing and ranting about their prisoner's 'disrespect' in the other Masho's earshot for the whole day when he was unhappy.
"And what did Rekka do to enrage Shuten so much this time, exactly?" he mused aloud as he watched the guards tie up the teenager by the arms to a long pole while Shuten watched and snarled something he couldn't make out at this distance.
He couldn't hear Rekka's answer either, but Anubisu sure saw the way the black-haired youth snapped back, blue eyes glaring at Shuten fiercely even as he was stripped down to his waist. In Shuten's hands, a whip cracked. Hmph. If Shuten was bringing out the whip directly instead of the cane, then the Trooper must truly have overstepped.
"Oh, you'll like that," Rajura chuckled as he appeared from thin air on Anubisu's left, nearly making the Yami Masho flinch at the proximity. "Dear Shuten tried to kiss Rekka, again – and the boy promptly kneed him in the balls. Thrice," he said gleefully, to which the two other Masho laughed.
"Oh, I wish I had seen it," Naaza cackled madly.
"Well done," Anubisu chuckled darkly as he watched Shuten snap the whip to the ground once, twice, before raising it to use on the Trooper. "The boy has guts, I'll give him that. But one has to wonder if he isn't a glutton for punishment, given how easily he gets on Shuten's nerves," he noted.
Bellow them, Rekka screamed as a first red strip appeared on his back.
"Shuten is an idiot who cannot understand being refused, especially when he has developed feelings," Naaza commented idly as he came nearer to assist to the Trooper's punishment.
"You mean he's acting like a little boy pulling on a girl's pigtails," Rajura noted, his eye glancing toward Naaza, who just shrugged. "Honestly, if he hopes to make the Trooper relent and have him crawl to his bed, he'd better find other means than brute force displays and intimidation. Clearly, it doesn't work."
"Clearly not," Anubisu nodded along, pensive.
None of them really wanted to poke at the mess that was Shuten's obsession for Rekka no Ryo, but they weren't blind, and while none of them really approved, none of them was stepping in either. Let Shuten do what he wanted with his captive, was the general consensus. What they were observing was just fascinating and the most entertainment they had had in half a century, seeing those clashes of wills as Rekka resisted and Shuten acted… like an idiot with a superiority complex who just didn't understand what 'no' meant.
At least he wasn't forcing the issue, the Yami Masho thought with a frown of distaste. Shuten wanted Rekka, that was plain to see, but not to the point he wanted the youth in his bed unwillingly. That was the Oni Masho's saving grace, Anubisu supposed, small as it was. He would ask, and Rekka would systematically refuse him, and Shuten would leave things as it… unless Rekka got 'physical' in his refusal, in which case Shuten grew particularly annoyed and saw that the defiant youth was punished for his troubles.
Like today.
Granted, Anubisu understood Shuten's rage here; if he had gotten hit in the balls three times in a row, he'd be pissed too. Rekka HAD earned the beating he was being handed.
Anubisu wondered, though, how much longer Shuten's resolve not to lay a finger on Rekka in a sexual manner against his will would last if the youth continued to resist the Oni Masho's piss-poor attempts at 'seduction'. And he also wondered what he, Anubisu, would do if Shuten finally snapped and decided that Rekka's continuous refusals were to be ignored at long last.
Much as he didn't want to admit it, Anubisu still had some morals to himself, and sex with an unwilling participant… Well, it threaded on the things he still found unacceptable. Naaza and Rajura never discussed it openly with him but given the way Naaza kept scowling behind Shuten's back, Anubisu supposed the Doku Masho was just unimpressed with the concept of rape as Anubisu was.
All three Masho watched in silence as Shuten's arm rose and went down, the whip cracking along Rekka's back. Blood flew as more and more red marks started to crisscross the youth's back.
"… that's twenty lashes already," Naaza frowned slightly, some of his amusement fading as he grasped the balcony's barrier. "How many does he intend to give the boy?"
Rajura shrugged. "Beat me. Twenty-four, maybe?" He didn't look overly perturbed, but his eye had turned watchful. "The boy's body will not be able to take much more than that, not with Shuten doing the lashing."
They had all ended under Shuten's hand at one point and knew exactly how hard he could hit with a rod or a whip. And Rekka was both younger and less sturdy than they were in body, for all he had fire in his mind and soul…
"Is he even counting them?" Anubisu asked with a frown of his own as he watched Rekka's sagging form. The youth's body was growing limp despite the flinch and cry that kept escaping him each time the whip hit the flesh of his back. If it continued much longer, he had the feeling the boy was going to pass out from the pain. Maybe that was Shuten's actual aim?
"Twenty-nine," Naaza muttered under his breath. "Thirty. Thirty-one…"
They saw Shuten raise his arm again, readying himself for a thirty-second blow, when the redhead seemed to think better than that and let his arm back down. They couldn't see his face from there, but they saw how tense his shoulders were.
He stood immobile for nearly a solid minute before he took long strides toward Rekka and grabbed the youth by the hair, pulling his head back and telling him something in a low voice. Rekka's answer was to spit to the ground, making Shuten backhand him before stalking away, but not without barking an order at one of the nearby Youja.
Two others approached, both carrying buckets full of water they threw at Rekka's back, clearing part of the blood and soaking the teen, who screamed just as loudly as he had under the whip when it touched his wounds.
"Salted water," Naaza grimaced. "It's going to sting like hell."
"But it's as good a disinfectant as any," Rajura mused. His shoulders had grown laxer. "Well, guess the show is over."
"Not quite," Anubisu pointed out. "He still let Rekka tied to the post." That wasn't unusual; whenever he had to dish out punishment on the boy, Shuten could choose to bring him inside to heal him right away or leave him outside an hour or two, until his temper had calmed. Today, it seemed the Oni Masho had gone with the second option.
Naaza just shrugged. "He'll come to pick him soon enough. Two, three hours most, I'd say. Just how pissed can he be anyway? It's hardly the first time one of his flirts get him in the groin."
And they let it at that, going their separate ways to do whatever they were doing in their spare time.
Anubisu completely forgot about Rekka and the little scene of the morning until he passed through the same corridor and the same balcony nearly six hours later. His steps faltered and despite himself, he looked in the courtyard with a frown of genuine consternation. Rekka was still there, still tied to the same post, in the same position. The youth was leaning forward against the thick wood, arms stretched overhead, hair hanging limply around his face and hiding it from view while two Youja armed with naginata stood as guards on each side of the courtyard, never looking in the Trooper's direction.
"Well… Shuten is really pissed this time," he said out-loud in true surprise.
Ah, whatever, he shook his head, turning away. Perhaps the Oni Masho had decided to be particularly heavy-handed this time, to let the lesson sink in better. It was Shuten's style, the Yami Masho reasoned, trying to keep his mind off Rekka.
It was, sadly, easier said than done, for he came across Rajura some time later, who looked just as displeased.
"It seems that Shuten doesn't know how to play nice with his toys anymore," he commented as he passed by Anubisu, carrying an armload of books.
"… The Trooper is still in the courtyard?" the blue-haired man asked, uneasiness settling at the bottom of his stomach. That was over eight hours now… surely Shuten must have calmed down and was ready to provide the youth with some medical care?
That was the unspoken rule they had always operated on: if a prisoner was in your personal care, then you HAD to provide for him, at least to a minimum. Food and clothing were for you to handle. Punishments for misbehavior could be doled out at your leisure, but you HAD to make sure they would survive them.
For Shuten to just abandon Rekka so long after a flogging, which had already counted more blows than normal…
Rajura harrumphed and continued on his way without further comment, the bastard. Clearly, he disapproved but wasn't going to intervene himself.
Anubisu took several deep breaths, then turned on his heels and walked as fast as he dared to without breaking into an outright run.
The two guards were still standing at attention in the courtyard when he reached it, but Anubisu dismissed them with a gesture, walking briskly to the Trooper. Rekka's breathing was labored, he could hear it even from a distance.
The wounds on his back had stopped bleeding some time ago, but they stood red and puffed, the flesh inflamed. There were older bruises under it all, remnants of the previous beatings Rekka had taken for mouthing off at Shuten or trying to escape. The boy had to be in a tremendous amount of pain, Anubisu thought as he cupped one of Rekka's cheeks, making the boy turn his head to look at him.
A bleary blue eye caught his and Rekka blinked, weakly trying to make Anubisu release him, wincing as he arched his back to do so and was only rewarded with pain.
"Well, boy, you really overdid it this time, didn't you?" he grimaced as he took in the boy's general state. Some of Shuten's hits had landed (either accidentally or deliberately, it was hard to say at first glance) bellow Rekka's waist, with enough force to have drawn long tears through the fabric of his pants (jeans, if Anubisu remembered the modern word well), leaving gashes on his buttocks and thighs. Damn. He hoped no fabric had made it into the wound, least they'd have a risk of getting infected…
The boy just shook, but Anubisu didn't think it was from fear. No. Just plain old exhaustion and pain – and cold, too; the salted water the Youja had thrown at him had soaked him from head to toe and the chilly air hadn't helped him warm up even as he dried. His mouth was slightly open, and his lips parched from thirst. No surprise there, given how long he had been standing in the open.
Rekka made for a pathetic sight, far off the usually defiant boy they kept facing.
And the look didn't suit him, Anubisu thought as he reached for the manacles tying the boy to the pole and released the lock. Rekka fell forward with a whimper, legs folding under him even as Anubisu reached for him to grab him by the waist and steady him. "There, there," he tutted. "I got you."
Technically, Anubisu thought as he threw the boy over his shoulder, holding him by the legs to keep him steady, he shouldn't do that. Shuten was supposed to be the one to handle the issue, since it was HIS captive, HIS punishment, HIS choices as to how to treat the Trooper's wounds – or not to.
But Shuten was off the Kami knew where, probably sulking over his inability to get Rekka to agree to a romp between the sheets, or drinking himself into a stupor due to his growing lack of control, Anubisu grumbled to himself. He had noticed the Masho's reserve of sake had decreased a lot, recently, and he didn't think it was just Naaza wanting to get intoxicated again.
The boy needed to be treated, Anubisu repeated to himself as he carried Rekka through the corridors until they reached his quarters. It was common sense. They were supposed to keep him alive, and if he developed a fever, that would be much harder to do.
The youth made a token effort at freeing himself, wriggling a little, but a hand pressed against one of his leg's wounds had calmed him down quickly.
With accustomed gestures, Anubisu laid the boy on the floor, mindful of making him lie on his front and went to rummage through one of his chests. "Let's see what I have," he mumbled to himself, side-eyeing the boy at regular interval to make sure he was going nowhere. Thankfully, Rekka was smart enough to know when to stay quiet and still and didn't move from the spot Anubisu had left him on. That, or he was too exhausted to move, which was just if not more likely.
Anubisu grabbed a couple of bandages he always kept for emergencies, a flask of vinegar-based disinfectant he generally used for himself (stung like hell, but very efficient), a pair of tweezers, squares of fabric he used as towels and a cup and a large bowl. With sure gestures he quickly filled both with water from a brock before he came to kneel at the boy's side.
Slowly, he maneuvered the youth's body to turn him to the side, offering the cup of water without comment. Rekka reached for it with trembling hands and drunk greedily until it was empty, after which he went back to lie on his front.
"Going to gloat, Masho?" Rekka asked in a low, tired voice, not bothering to look at Anubisu. He had hidden his face in his arms and didn't seem inclined to move.
"Perhaps later," Anubisu answered evenly, taking note of offering more water to the boy once he'd have treated him. His throat still sounded parched. "For now, let's see to that back of yours. I'm going to have to remove your pants," he added after pausing. Rekka's shoulders tensed briefly with a whimper, but he relaxed almost immediately.
"Yes, I suppose you'll have to," he mumbled. "Well… at least you're not the one who's usually trying to get into them." His face turned enough that Anubisu caught the edges of a joyless smile. "Guess that'll make Shuten extra furious…"
Good to know the boy could still joke, the Yami Masho supposed. He didn't sound overly worried about Anubisu undressing him but then again, Shuten was the only one who was aggressive with the boy and who showed clear desires to lie with him. In those circumstances, Anubisu could see how him and the two other Masho could be seen as 'safer' options. But if the boy thought that Shuten was the only one with designs on him, he was mistaken.
Naaza, for one, wouldn't hesitate to snatch him if given the chance, especially if it meant pissing Shuten by claiming the prize the Oni Masho wanted for himself. And Anubisu himself wouldn't be unopposed to having the fiery youth as a bed partner, if he so desired…
But he had better control than that, he thought resolutely.
What would it look like, if he criticized Shuten for his lack of control while doing the same thing?
"Oh, most likely," Anubisu chuckled darkly in answer to the boy's words as he made for Rekka's waist and started to pull down the fabric after making sure the pants were unbuttoned and unzipped (they were; the button had been torn already and Anubisu wondered if it was also Shuten's doing; most likely, yes). Carefully, he laid the fabric to the side and hummed as he saw the extend of the damages on Rekka's skin.
It was less serious than he had feared, thankfully. The pants had kept the worst of the hits away, though Anubisu would still have to disinfect each wound individually. First, though, he was going to have to clean the boy from the dry blood.
"Better clench your teeth, boy," he advised. "It's going to be unpleasant."
Rekka snorted. "Somehow, I'm not surprised," he replied dryly before burying his forehead against his arms again, already bracing himself for whatever Anubisu was about to do. "Do your worse, Masho."
"Oh, child," Anubisu smirked as he soaked a square of fabric. "I could do a lot worse to you than dressing your wounds, and you'd best not forget it."
Still, that's all he did that night; clean and disinfect the wounds and dress them, listening to each pained whimper of the Trooper and watching him flinch every time he was touched, all while thinking about how he was going to yell at Shuten the next time he saw the Oni Masho.
Because if the man wouldn't take better care of his toys, as Rajura had put it, then Anubisu wasn't above stealing them from him…
End
