#dark reader insert

He loved the way you smelled, though those strange sprays you coated your body with were a bit much for his liking. He preferred your natural scent, the one you always tried to mask for whatever reason, the one that differentiated you from the rest of the herd. He could pick it out from anywhere at any time no matter how far from him you strayed, but it would become especially pungent when you were worked up or excited. He relished those moments, pleased to get a whiff of it through the artificial cover of stinking flowers and fruits. Heady and ambrosial, he would bask in your natural essence, inhaling it deeply as if he were receiving a treat.

He also loved the way you sounded, though your words made no sense to him. All the people that surrounded him seemed to make the same kinds of noises, their lips forming sounds that he was sure held all manner of meaning, but none of it he was privy to. Not that it mattered to him really. Different forms of communication suited him much better than spoken word ever could anyway, and despite the lack of common speech he shared with his new peers, he got by just fine. When Pickle bared his teeth or showed open pleasure, those that were nearby seemed to understand him all the same, so there had never been much need to put thought into their dialogue.

… That was, until he met you. It frustrated him sometimes, when you would speak to him with words he could not comprehend. When you talked with a smile he could assume he did something pleasing, or at the very least you weren’t upset, but when you would frown and raise your voice… What exactly was upsetting you? If it was something he did he wanted to correct it right away, your pretty smile suited you much better than a grumpy frown did. He’d do just about anything to keep it on your face forever, if only he knew the words to say or understood the specific requests you spoke to make that happen. The sounds that spilled from your throat… What praises and admonishments was he missing? What words could he say back to keep you smiling, laughing, happy? He wanted to know, struggled to know, but the language barrier was just too great, leaving him distraught and guessing.

When you spoke to other people (other men particularly) and they understood you perfectly, chuckling and nodding, responding to you in kind… It upset him. Who were they to communicate with you so freely? Who were they to speak with you so openly, when all he could seem to get across was rudimentary ideas and feelings? Even if he loved to hear the cadence of your voice, the lack of understanding and the annoyance these mysterious conversations caused was something he couldn’t quite shake.

But even with all the adoration he felt for you, there was one, and only one, thing he didn’t love about you- your tears.

In his era, cries from your mate meant one of a small handful of things. They were hurt and/or scared, there was a threat nearby and they needed protection, or they simply needed their mates help with something. Regardless of which of these options may have brought on the tears, it was always very easy to figure out what the situation was and for the other party to act accordingly.

But each time you cried was a conundrum. You never seemed to shed just a few tears, throwing your heart into full on wailing at the top of your lungs each time your eyes began to remotely water. Whenever this would occur he would momentarily panic, scooping your perturbed body up to force you against his chest, desperate in his attempt to ascertain a cause of concern that would bring you to this state, one that he could never seem to find. He’d turn your body around this way and that, scouring every inch of you with his eyes and hands to check and see if he could pinpoint any wounds or blood. But while you thrashed and fought as he carried out his inspection, his hands always came back clean, and you never seemed to show particular distress when he pressed down on any given area of your body (save for your more private areas, but you always put up a fuss with those). He’d investigate your surrounding area, prowling for anyone or anything that may have scared you or caused alarm, but found nary a soul or item out of place that could have caused you such distress.

That only left the third option- that you were looking to him for help. But help with what? He had already secured you in the safest place he could find, nestling you far away from any potential threats or creatures that could cause you harm. Though he knew you were not a fan of the dank, malodorous, stone underbelly of the village, it was something you would have to get used to. Keeping you elsewhere was simply too risky. Besides, this area was familiar to him, being not unlike some of the cave dwellings of his old home. And with the pathways being so straightforward and long, he could easily monitor surrounding activity and hide you away should someone show up to cause problems (not that anyone would, most seemed to ignore this place entirely, which was another one of its many appeals).

The paths also snaked deep underground, with exits leading rather far out from the more bustling areas of civilization. It made it easy to hunt and gather, so he had no problems providing you with food, clothing, bedding-anything at all you may need he brought to you, and he was happy to do so. He took honor in being your provider, your lover, your mate.

You were safe, you were cared for, and you were loved by him. He showed it in every way he could, serving and providing in ways that went above and beyond what any other potential partner could do for you. Down here in the depths, he shielded you from all that may have hurt you in your old life. Maybe he didn’t understand your speech, but he could clearly see the toll living with the others above ground was taking on you. Each slump of your shoulder and sigh from your lips was recorded in his memory, the weary look you often wore as you pushed yourself harder than necessary haunted his thoughts until he was pushed into action. Every man whose misplaced comments made you scowl had met a grisly end by his hands, assuring they would never bother you again. Every stress of your old life had been removed, all of the agonies of your previous day to day a thing of the past.

Now the only thing you had to focus on was being a good mate to him- a skill you already excelled at by simply existing. You had no need to be sad, you were perfect, and he was doing all he could to show you this.

So why? Why did you always cry?

Even now as he was buried deep inside of you, the pleasure of feeling you stretch to accommodate his massive size so intense he could barely maintain his sanity, tears continued to spill freely from your eyes.  There was absolutely no reason for them- you were always such a good girl for him, bringing him pleasure and joy he scarcely believed was achievable. If anything you should be proud about how well you take him, about how incredibly good you were making him feel, about how flawless you were as his mate. He loved you, he adored you, he would do any and everything for you, and he planned on doing so until his dying day.

Yet still, you cried.

He couldn’t keep them from happening, and he couldn’t think of any other way to stop them, so the least he could do is try and staunch them for a bit. Holding your face still between his hands, he laved his rough tongue slowly over the apples of your cheeks, passing over your tightly clenched eyes in an attempt to cleanse you of your malaise. Time and time again he lapped at your face like a mother lion cleaning it’s cub, moving from the left cheek to the right cheek in quick succession to drink up as many of your salty tears as he could.

Eventually it seemed to work, or at least it caused your upset sobbing to turn into little more than gentle mewling. Maybe you were just doing this to appease him, or perhaps you were finally sharing in the immense pleasure he had been experiencing, overshadowing whatever negative feelings caused you to cry to begin with. Regardless, the tears were trickling to a standstill, and while they weren’t completely quelled, seeing them diminish caused him to smile brightly. He could consider this a victory.

But as he stared down at your tear stained face, moist and red from a mixture of his saliva and your own upset, he couldn’t deny that there wasn’t a charm to witnessing you in such a state. As he picked up his pace, reaching a particularly sweet spot inside of you, you began to scream out, overcome with the intensity of it all. Once more water seeped into your eyes, and he watched mesmerized as fat tears slid down your face, accompanied by whimpers each time his brutal pacing brushed your core. The way your tears accented your ecstasy, adding to the breath taking view only he would ever have the delight of seeing, he couldn’t find himself hating your cries any longer.

Maybe he had been misguided this whole time, realizing now that this may just be another special attribute of yours. He was starting to understand you better, and felt a fool for being so mistaken for so long. Your cries were unique, acting as a sign of immense happiness, not distress. He laughed slightly at his own blunder, it wouldn’t be the first time he had misunderstood you, but this certainly was the most ridiculous miscommunication.

Morning light glows from behind the curtains and you blink a few times as your brain wakes up. You look over to your husband, Charles, and give him a peck on the cheek.

“Good morning,” He groans.

You smile and slide your hand over his chest and down his abdomen.

“Well, you’re naughty this morning,” He chuckles.

He rolls to his side and grabs your face, pulling you toward him and kissing you aggressively. His other hand snakes down your body and finds your clit, circling it slowly. You push your hips into his hand and he moves his fingers faster. A moan escapes you  as his fingers dip into your cunt, expertly finding that spot that makes you sing. Within minutes you’re coming around his fingers. He watches you hungrily, sinking his finger in deeper and groaning as he reaches his own climax.

“You’re perfect,” He whispers in your ear.

You smile and close your eyes for a second before rolling out of bed.

“Eggs?” you ask, watching from the doorway as he stretches his tight leg muscles.

“Sounds perfect.”

Charles comes in just as you finish plating everything. He stops at the table and pulls a paper from his lap, opening it and finding something to read. You put the eggs down in front of him and he pulls you down, giving you a kiss.

“Why do you have to be so beautiful?” He asks.

You give a playful smile and shrug while turning away, feigning surprise when he lands a playful slap on your ass. You sit across from him and sip your coffee, studying his concentrated face as he reads his paper. Intelligence is the first thing that attracted you to him, He’s always reading something, always thinking. It was all luck, finding such a smart and caring husband. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you.

The door opens and you don’t have to look to know who it is. Wolverine.

“You just got back,” you whine.

“Disaster doesn't tend to check the calendar for a convenient time,” He replies, following Logan out to talk to him. You try to hear from the table but their voices are muffled. Charles comes back and you frown as you take in the apologetic look on his face.

“I could help,” you say hopefully. You know it’s not safe for you, you weren't born like him, don’t have powers. Still something inside you wants desperately to go with him and help save the world. He grabs your hand and pulls you down into a long kiss.

“No.”  His tone is harsh and you jump a little.  “I’m sorry, I know how much you hate waiting here. It’s just not safe.”

You stand, taking your plate to the kitchen and rinse it off, refusing to look at him. He pushes up behind you grabbing your arm and you turn to him wiping away a tear.

“Come home, I need you,” you try to smile but end up pouting.

“Always, my dear.”  

The yard is littered with mutants, you watch them mobilize and quickly leave together. It’s suddenly quiet and you sit at the window watching the breeze move leaves around the yard. It’s a beautiful day, it would be so nice to take a walk. It’s not safe when he’s away. It’s what you agreed to when you married him, the constant fear. It’s worth it to be with him, you’ve never loved someone so much.

It’s so nice though and you just want a little fresh air. You look around and open the door, walking into the yard. It’s not a big deal, just a little walk. You make your way through the grass and stop suddenly when you notice something sticking up from the dirt. You bring your hand to the object and feel electricity run through your fingertips as something pulls up through the dirt. A little white bow. You stare at it for several minutes and stuff it in your pocket before heading back inside.

You’re not sure why you don’t just throw it away, why you walk straight to your bathroom and hide it on the top shelf. It feels important, like it’s something special and needs to be kept.

After a few hours you forget about the little bow and by the time night falls the only thought on your mind is Charles. You’re too worried to sleep so you sit on the couch and read a book. The door opens and you look up expectantly.

“You should have gone to bed,” Charles chastises.

“You know I can’t sleep when you’re gone.”

He pulls you into a long kiss and your anxiety melts away.

You wake up halfway through the night screaming. He brings you into a hug and shushes you.

“Just a nightmare,” He whispers as you cry into his chest. He holds you until you’re asleep but the nightmare comes again, and again, and again. You’re always running from someone, so scared.  You eventually get up, make coffee and watch the sun rise.

“You ok?” Charles says from behind you.

“Yeah, I had to be up early this morning anyway. We have that breakfast with Jean and Scott.”

“You can go back to bed, I’ll handle breakfast,” He says and you shake your head.

“I already have two cups of coffee in me,” you smile.

He moves over to you and you look at his face. It’s stern, he’s angry about something.

“I got an alert, you went outside while I was away.”

“Just for a moment,” you say.

“You know you aren’t allowed to go outside alone.”

“I think that rule is a little over the top, I was only outside for a second,” you argue.

“Look at me.” you look into his eyes and his face drops into a disapproving glare.”You agreed to this when we got married, you know how important this is to me and what I’m willing to do to keep you safe.”

you shake slightly and look down again and he grabs your hand, holding it painfully tight.

“Do not leave this house without permission again or there will be consequences.”

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,” you whisper. You did agree to it, you’re wrong to push back on the rule.

His features relax and he places his hands on your waist, rubbing circles with his thumb.

“I love you,” He says.

“I love you too,” you smile.

He leaves you alone and you look back out the window. You agreed to this, to him. You agreed to obey all his rules for your safety, gave up control and your life is better for it. So why do you feel so trapped right now?

The coffee doesn’t help as much as you would like and you find yourself yawning throughout breakfast.

“Tired?” Jean asks.

“Nightmares,” you smile sadly.

Jean and Scott share a look and you glance between them.

“Is there something wrong?” You ask.

“Of course not,” Jean says “Hey, you were going to lend me a book.”

You nod and walk with Jean across the room.

“Charles says you left the house yesterday?”

You pull a book off the shelf.

“I already apologized, I won’t do it again,” you say.

“You didn’t find anything outside did you?”

You think of the little bow hidden in the bathroom and something inside you tells you to lie.

“No, I just breathed in some fresh air and stepped back in,” you say.

Jean looks at you with suspicion and you shift your eyes away.

You look over at Charles and Scott talking across the room. They smile at you and you give a small smile back. You’re lucky, you tell yourself. Great friends, amazing husband. You’re happy.

“So I was thinking we could go somewhere fancy for our anniversary,” Charles mentions as you brush your teeth.

A frown starts forming against your will, you forgot about your anniversary.

“We could do something more casual,” He tries again.

“No it’s just... nevermind.”

“What?”

You shake your head and look in the mirror. It’s silly but you can’t remember what you did for your last anniversary or even how long you’ve been married. You think it’s been four years but maybe it’s three? Or five? Time doesn’t really matter when you’re with someone you love, you decide.

“Answer me,” He demands, pulling you from your thoughts.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t remember what we did for our last one. It’s dumb.”

He smiles and pulls you toward him, grabbing the back of your head and kissing your cheek.

“I don’t think we even made it out of the house last time. Ordered pizza in,” he whispers.

A memory of pizza and marathon sex comes to the front of your memory and you smile.

“Oh yeah, that was fun. A fancy dinner sounds good this time, It’s been a while since we went out.”

“I’ll make a reservation,” He smirks.

You wake up the middle of the night from another nightmare. It’s been a week now and they keep getting worse. They always go the same way, in your house at the living room window looking out. A monster starts chasing you and you climb out the window and run for your life.

You get up and go to the window from your dreams, looking out shaking your head in frustration. Something feels wrong but you can’t put your finger on it. You feel like you’re going crazy, it’s like you know there’s an important meeting scheduled but can’t remember where it is or who it’s with. You look around the room for clues and your wedding album catches your eye. You look through the photos smiling as you remember the day, then you see one that makes you stop. Something about it…

It slides out of the album easily, like it’s been taken out many times before and you turn it over. ‘Didn’t happen: leg’ is scrawled across the back and you quickly slide the photo back in and stare at it. It’s small but there’s a slight inconsistency beside your leg in the photo. You start turning over more photos to find more notes and descriptions of tiny mistakes throughout the album. Beeping comes from your watch and you look down to see a heart rate alert. You take deep breaths as you put the album away and stand in the quiet room.

“What are you doing up?” Charles calls from the bedroom and you jump.

“Just a drink of water,” you call back, grabbing a glass of water and walking back to bed.

A present arrives for you, a big red bow on top. You untie it and look inside finding a diamond bracelet.

“Do you like it?” Charles asks.

“It’s beautiful,” You reply.

He’s always so thoughtful, checking your internet searches to find what you’ve been looking at. He’s really the perfect husband. Your life is so perfect.

The bracelet feels heavy on your arm as you walk to the bathroom to start preparing for your date, taking a shower and applying makeup. You grab your bottle of foundation and notice it’s almost empty. It’s ok because you have another bottle. You reach onto the top shelf and feel something soft. The bow. Your nightmare flashes through your mind and you take the bow with you to the living room window. Something is off, really off. It’s right there, so close, a few minutes and you’ll remember, you know you will.

“What are you holding?” Charles asks, his voice hard. He’s angry, but why?

You shake your head and he sighs.

“How many times are we going to do this huh?” he says, clicking his tongue. A look of contempt solidifies on his face and it starts coming back.

Your nightmare flashes through your mind again and this time you can make out the monster. It’s him, Charles. The photos, they were faked. None of this is real.

“You’re not my husband…. What did you do to my mind?”

“Walk away from the window baby, we don’t have to keep doing this.”

Tears start forming. You’ve had this conversation before many times. It was all a lie, he kidnapped you. You had thought you found a family with them, they gave you a home when you ran away. He took one look at you and decided you were his and everyone just… went along with it.

“Let me go.”

“We’re happy together darling.”

“I hate to break it to you, darling, but If you have to change someone's memories for them to date you it’s not a happy relationship.” you start getting angry, or really, your actual personality comes back. He took everything from you, made you so small. You’ve never been small, always fought. He’s taken away the very thing that makes you you.

“I deserve it after everything I’ve done, everything I’ve lost.”

“But I don’t deserve it. You took everything! My freedom,” you look at your hands “My powers,” you cry, realizing how he made you forget everything you can do. He kept you in this home, treated you like a fragile doll. You’re not fragile.

You reach for the window unlocking it with ease, your muscles remembering the motion.

“You know I’ll always catch you. Even if you somehow get out of our yard there’s no way to hide from me.” He puts a finger to his temple.

“Magneto.” You say simply, the threat obvious in your tone. His nostrils flare.

“You wouldn’t.”

You would.

“I’ll always run and one day I’ll get away. If It means going back to Erik I will.”

“He abused you, beat you.”

“So do you.”

“I punish when I have to because I love you, it’s not abuse.”

“Erik said the same thing,” you roll your eyes “You’re so alike, two sides of the same coin. At least with Erik I was aware of the abuse. You hit me and then make me happy about it, make me thank you.”

He moves toward you, lip curling into a sneer.

“Close that window and come here.”

“You took my memories, messed with my mind,” you yell.

“Only because you can’t ever just obey, it’s always a fight with you. Show me you can behave and you can keep them.”

You start climbing out the window and his voice gets louder.

“Don’t you dare run from me, not again,” He yells.

You run, just like every other time, and just like every time you don’t make it far before he stops you, making you barely able to move. You fight it and sparks fly though your fingers ad you reach for the ground. It’s like meeting an old friend, the earth whispers to you and you cry, not wanting to lose them again. You give your bracelet to the earth and it pulls it under for you. They won’t find it, not even if they dig for it. The earth will keep it safe and give it back to you when you’re ready again.

You’re suddenly pulled up and carried inside. Logan deposits you on the bed and Charles gives him a nod of gratitude. Charles leans over you and you give him the most loathsome look you can muster, still barely able to move. He holds your head and closes his eyes briefly.

‘I hate you’ you think over and over again.

“You just need more time,” He replies, wiping a tear from your cheek as you lose consciousness.

You shoot up and look around your room.

“Are you ok?” Charles asks.

“Yeah, I have a headache is all,” you reply

He pulls you back down to the bed and kisses your cheek.

“Why don’t you just rest today darling, I’ll get you some pain killers.”

You nod, so happy to have such a loving and thoughtful husband. Your life is so perfect.

You look over and see a little piece of wallpaper coming up at the edge. A feeling washes over you, telling you to peel back the wallpaper. Beeps start coming from your wrist, warning you of your heart rate and you take deep breaths.

Something is off.

———————————

At least until he’d pulled you from a burning building, many people over the years had placed their hands over his mark while flying, but it hadn’t felt like this before, searing pain followed by soothing coolness, and even if Jor-El hadn’t explained it to him, Clark would have known you were his on the spot.

Everything in him vibrated with the need to make you his, to claim you. On Krypton, this wouldn’t have been a problem; his mate would have felt the same, but here on earth, relationships had to be built. Once you were safely back on the ground, it took more strength than Clark thought he possessed to release you, and it took even more strength to keep from frying the EMT, who wrapped a blanket around your shoulders.

As you watched superman fly off, you had no idea how much your life was going to change, and how badly you’d wish it didn’t.

Clark had thought he’d have more control then what he did, as it turns out it was harder to fight his Kryptonian instincts than he’d realized. At first, he’d settled for watching you, his periscopic and x-ray vision making this an easy task. Some days when he was feeling extraordinarily brave, he’d sneak into your apartment and just be surrounded by your life.

While Clark was there, he’d decided to use his time to find out whatever he could about you; that way, when the two of you got married, he could have everything on the farm perfect. His mother would have been so happy to meet you, but she’d passed away last year and would never get the chance to.

Clark shook off the sadness that thought brought; he’d found his soulmate he needed everything to be absolutely perfect for your first meeting, but before that, he’d have to get rid of that waste of space you called a husband.

After the man died in what the police would rule a tragic accident, you’d start going to a grief counseling group, one that Clark would take full advantage in joining, the death of his mother was still a fresh wound, after all, this would be a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Clark had just started talking about how his parents met, his father was getting his degree in agriculture, and his mother had been going to law school because of her parents wishes. Some man in a fancy suit interrupted Clark to say, “You can get a degree in farming.” In the most condescending tone, Clark had ever heard.

Clark was about to say something when you chimed in, “You’re the kind of person who thinks you can plant corn in the same soil every year, and it’ll be perfectly fine, aren’t you? Well, jokes on you, there’s some legitimate science that goes into farming.” The group counselor got everything back on track after that, Clark finished his story about his parents

When the group was over, you’d came up to him and started talking, “I’m sorry about Robert he can be a real jerk sometimes, but he’s lost someone just like the rest of us. I shouldn’t have lost my temper with him honestly,” You said, rubbing the back of your neck nervously.

Clark remembered the man’s story. It had been just over a year ago when his little sister who’d been attending Central City University had called him really freaked out and said she was coming back to Metropolis but on her way she’d died in a tragic car accident. The girl’s body had been so charred that they could only identify her by a necklace her brother had given her.

Clark thought it sounded similar to the story of how Barry brought his wife home, just a much more gruesome version, really all Flash had done was liberate the girl from years of unnecessary struggle. What really was the point in getting her doctorate when the young little thing wasn’t going to be able to use it anyways. Berry had been taking excellent care of her; she was even about to give birth to their first child soon. Clark still thought it was a bit too early for that, Berry’s wife had yet had time to properly adjust to married life, but who was he to judge.

What did it matter anyway when her brother had given Clark the perfect point to insert himself into your life? Over the next year, the two of you got to know each other better, and Clark couldn’t be happier, at least he thought so until one day when you’d kissed him.

The rain had suddenly just started pouring down, and the two of you were hiding under an awning of a local café, giggling like mad, and then you grabbed onto his tie and pulled him down to your level. When you pressed your lips against his, Clarks heart soared. Clark wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you right up against him with strength you didn’t know he possessed. You smiled against his lips, happy for the first time since your husband died. If only you knew where this would end.

Three months later, he pulled you onto a rooftop, removed his glasses, and jumped off the edge. “Clark,” you’d screamed as you started running over to where he ledge, only to have him land in front of you. “You’re,” You gulped.

“Superman,” Clark said finishing your sentence. You ran like hell, you cared for Clark, and you were grateful to superman, who was well apparently also Clark, but you couldn’t lose anyone else like you had your husband. So, you decided to lose Clark now, while he was still alive, and your heart would only ache because of a breakup and not a funeral.

You cried yourself to sleep that night.

You woke up in a strange place to the sound of a rooster crowing, you felt your heart in your throat, and then Clark walked in and started acting like you’d been married for years and refusing to acknowledge when you’d tried talking sense into him.

You’d learned to play along, but he’d never truly broke you, and years later, a few days before Jon was five, you ran as fast and far as you could. Part of you felt guilty for leaving Jon behind, but he was just like his father; you could see it already.

You knew you couldn’t run forever, so somehow, you’d ended up standing in front of the hall of Justice waiting for the league. It was a dumb plan, who would even know if they’d believe you, but they couldn’t approve of Clark kidnaping a woman and forcing her to have a kid.

You’d been relieved when batman brought you back into the members-only part of the hall, they believed you or were at least taking your allegations seriously. You didn’t realize what a mistake it would be to go to Clark’s friends until Bruce stabbed you in the neck with a tranquilizer.

You wanted to cry when you woke up tied to a support beam in the Kent farms storm cellar. You’d been so close to freedom, why did you think that the Justice League didn’t know about you.

Clark came down into the cellar later that night with dinner in tow, and when he asked you why you ran away, you spit in his face, you were done playing the docile little housewife. For years you’d bent to this man’s will even having a child you didn’t want, well no more.

Clark didn’t bring you food for three days after that, and in those days, the only reason Clark came down was to let you use the bucket in the corner he’d been calling your bathroom, still you’d held firm. You’d lost track of time, but after nearly two years had passed in that damn cellar, you spotted it hiding in the corner.

A rusty knife lay buried under buckets of what was probably the lead paint Clark had used to make sure Jon couldn’t see in here. You’d been fraying your ropes against the beam since Clark had brought you breakfast, and once it was a hair away from braking, you waited until you were sure Clark wasn’t coming back for a while.

Once you were sure, Clark wasn’t going to come back; you snapped your rope and ran over to the knife. No matter how heavy the blade felt in your hand, you were under no illusions of being able to take down superman. If you couldn’t have your freedom by running away, you’d take it another way, you thought as you closed your eyes and pressed the blade to your throat.

When Clark came back to the cellar with your dinner, he couldn’t believe what he saw, his soulmate was lifelessly laying on the floor surrounded by her own blood.

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@idkmanicantenglish​

“Well, go ahead,” Strade was the first to speak, his lazy drawl and splayed out body contradicting heavily with the frenzied look in his eye, “What are you waiting for?”

Ren nodded beside him eagerly, “Go ahead, (name)! I opened mine earlier because I was too excited to wait,” he chuckled a little, a small, bashful blush illuminating his cheeks, “And um, there’s a few for you in there from me so… I hope you like them.”

Your eyes traveled from the men, down to the presents. You swallowed thickly, overwhelmed by their façade of innocence, violated by their unblinking stares.

“I-I’m sorry, I just um… Wasn’t really expecting… this…”

It wasn’t a lie, the last thing you could have predicted was a present, let alone multiple. You figured maybe Ren would get you something (he had the luxury of internet access, something you were yet to be trusted with), but it wasn’t even within the realm of fantasy that you may receive anything from Strade. The only thing you dared hope for was a small reprieve from the abuse he inflicted daily, but even that seemed too farfetched to hope for.

“Well, I say you deserve it,” Strade spoke, the calm cadence of his voice still clashing with the gleam in his eye, “what’s Christmas without presents, after all? So go ahead, open them.”

You hesitated for a moment before finally reaching a shaky hand towards the closet gift on the table. Your body was moving mechanically, and though your fear was palpable, you forced your demeanor to remain composed as you pulled the small box into your lap. Your fingers carefully tore through the thin paper, dreading revealing the mystery that shiny paper shielded you from.

And as the paper fell away piece by piece, you were shocked to find that the box contained… slippers.

You stared at them for a moment, dumbfounded. Of all the things in the world that could have been waiting inside that box, to receive something so innocuous and normal was beyond perplexing.

And the gifts continued this way. You unwrapped package after package of clothing, perfumes and toiletries, stuffed animals and snacks. Each new item bewildered you just as much as the last, leaving you feeling like all this was just the lead up of  a joke, one you felt like you were the punch line for.

 As if the gifts themselves weren’t mind boggling enough, the quantity and quality of them were just as shocking. Brand names and fancy, high end packaging stared back at you with nearly each ripped wrapping, a small slap in the face with each revelation.

It left a pit in your stomach. Not even your own parents would gift you some of these things, so why were you being treated this way by a homicidal maniac and his companion? To make matters even worse, most of the gift you actually liked. Definite thought was put into each present, unnerving you most of all. You didn’t want them to know your likes and dislikes, and you certainly didn’t want them to be so familiar with you that they could easily pick out things you may desire. It felt borderline offensive that they were able to peg you so well, like you had been wrenched open and all the hidden parts of yourself you had been hiding had been forced out in the open, secrets uncovered you wished to remain hidden.

Heebie jeebies aside, such normalcy left you scratching your head. You had an intense urge to inspect each and every item to make sure the clothes weren’t secretly lined with razors, or the stuffed animals weren’t just cute ways to conceal knives, but you contained yourself. No use in setting them off when things were going surprisingly well.

You kept yourself neutral as you thanked them, neither over eager or ungrateful as you graciously accepted the offerings. Ren beamed in recognition each time you mentioned him, delighted by the simplest praise. Strade remained nonchalant, leaning back as he leered at you with that unnerving smile he always so proudly donned on his face.

When the present pile had come to an end, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over you. You felt like you had made it out of a vary harrowing journey without so much as a scratch, and felt quite accomplished for doing so.

However, before you could feel the weight truly lifted from your shoulders, any sense of triumph quickly flew out the door as Strade slowly leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His beady eyes drilled holes through you, delighting in the apprehension his subtle shift caused you. Your blood turned to ice as he gave you a lopsided grin, his words coming out drawn out and slow, as if he were speaking to a child.

“Myyy look at that,” he sneered, “so many nice things for our (Name)! She must have some very generous admirers. It’s obvious she’s the favorite, not a single one of those boxes were for you or me, Ren!”

The weight of your situation suddenly crashed down around you. Of course these gifts wouldn’t come without some horrible caveat-you were an idiot for even thinking you would get away with this scot free.

You tried to calm yourself with the fact that Strade most likely wouldn’t go through all the hassle of spending all this money on someone he planned to kill shortly after. What would be the point? But that thought birthed an even worse fear, the expectation of getting something back in return. There wasn’t a chance in hell that you would be able to provide him a physical gift, a fact Strade was intimately aware of. That left you with one option- he was looking for reciprocation through different means.

You swallowed hard, your hands shaking as you clasped them in your lap, struggling with how to word the imminent question you had.

“Do you want… I mean, should I get you something in return?”

You hated how small your voice sounded, dreading the response your words may garner. A shiver rocked you as the smile on Strade’s face spread, his arms spreading out in a dramatic shrug as he shook his head with a laugh.

“No no, please! The only thing I want in return is for you to thoroughly enjoy your gifts, nothing else is needed. Your delight is a gift in and of itself.”

His words did little to help your dwindling nerves. A sudden harsh clap of his hands made your heart skip a beat, his body pivoting to face Ren with a sadistic smile.

“I almost forgot,” he exclaimed, his voice taking a dangerous edge, “we have one more very special surprise for our girl, don’t we?”

Your attention darted to Ren, hoping for a sign of assurance from him. The beatskin started to squirm a bit in his seat, pulling nervously at the hem of his oversized sweater. He looked over at you with lidded eyes, a dangerous gleam in them that you knew was a terrible precursor of the pain to come. 

Ren’s breathing had grown unsteady, the blush that had engulfed his face becoming so vibrant you could almost feel its heat from where you sat. While there was nervousness to his demeanor, he couldn’t quite mask the hints of his exhilaration from peeking through. The guileless enthusiasm was hard to face, causing you to avert your gaze, your heart sinking deeper. Ren was no saint himself, but he was all you had in this hell that masqueraded as a normal, middle class home. He was supposed to have your back (and often times did) in moments like these, but it appeared his demons won this round. The thrill radiating from him over your oncoming misery was perceptible. You were on your own with whatever lay ahead.

With a jerk of Strades head, Ren bounded off the couch to another room, the sound of subtle clanging reaching your ears as he dug around out of sight. You careened your body, hoping to maybe get a peek of whatever the hell Ren had ran so jubilantly to acquire, but you immediately stopped once you heard a chuckle rumble from Strade’s chest.

“My my~,” he purred, the sound causing an instinctive shiver, “so eager this morning (name)! I can only hope you keep that up once you see what the surprise actually is, hm?”

Before you had a chance to respond, Ren barreled back into the room, slightly out of breath and clutching some sort of metallic, chain linked contraption in is hand.

“Sorry,” he lightly huffed, handing the item in question to Strade, “I hid it really well so it took a moment to get.”

Once it was in his grasp, Strade turned to you, holding out the item so you could finally view it in all its glory.

It was a new collar-a dog training collar, to be precise. This one however had been modified, the spikes lining the interior of the collar, while typically coated with a thick, squishy plastic to as not to hurt the dog in their training stage, were missing their protection. The metal nubs that the plastic encased were also typically dull and rounded on most training collars, meant to poke and prod instead of maim and hurt. You would not be getting that manner of gentle encouragement it seemed, your body tensing as you stared at each harshly pointed spike. The needle like protrusions glistened so brilliantly in the overhead light it almost appeared as if the collar was made of diamonds.

You sat perfectly still, in a complete daze as Strade approached you and swiftly released the thick electric collar from around your neck. The cool air hit your sweat drenched flesh, giving you a chill. While it was nice to be without the weight of that vile contraption, the freedom was only momentary as he clasped your new chain links into place across your throat. Though it was much more delicate than your previous collar, for some reason it felt much heavier than its bulky electric counterpart.

You winced as he gave the leash a small pull, grinning when a sharp, shocked cry fell past your lips. The needles hadn’t broken the skin yet, but the action did make you become keenly aware of just much damage they could cause with very minimal effort. The delicate nature of your current standing was looking bleaker with each passing second, uncontrollable shivers wracking your body as you eyed Strade fiddling carelessly with your leash. He seemed pleased by the attention his minor ministrations were awarding him, humored by the pain he could bring you with a mere flick of his wrist.

“I-it looks pretty on you, (Name),” Ren stuttered, a nervous smile complimenting the red of his cheeks, “Kind of dainty, like a fancy necklace. It really suits you.”

“It is pretty, isn’t it?” Strade jeered, fingering the chains that hung heavy around your neck, “I considered one for you too Ren, I didn’t want to make you jealous, you know? But then I figured hell, if I get this for (Name) Ren’ll probably enjoy this just as much as I do, so it’s already a two for one deal.”

Giving your cheek a few mild slaps, Strade turned his gaze towards Ren, “I trust that you’ll take good care of (Name) if I’m ever out and about and you want to have some special fun with her. A little pet time for my pet would do him some good, I think.”

The flippant insinuation made bile rise in the back of your throat.

“Now,” Strade pulled tighter on the leash, prompting you to rise to your feet and stand before the men. He lifted the chain above his head, laughing as you rose to tiptoes to avoid gouging your neck, “What do we say after we receive such a nice present, hmmm~?”

“Thank you,” you choked the words through your indignation, the spikes scratching uncomfortably against your skin as you did so. After several seconds of your balancing act, Strade lowered his hand, granting you the ability to stand normally. You released the breath you were holding, thankful that for at least this moment, you escaped agony.

“So ein gutes Mädchen für mich,” he cooed condescendingly, patting your head as if you were an actual dog, “you are really making me proud! But the fun isn’t over yet, in fact, this is just the first part of your special surprise,” his eyes widened at your obvious despair, “Aren’t you lucky?”

Without further ado he stomped past you, leash gripped tightly in his hand as he led your further into the house. While there was more leeway to the leash than anticipated, you still hustled to follow after him, fearful of the barbs encircling your throat. His whistled as he walked, his demeanor so exuberant that for a moment you felt he might start skipping. Ren trailed behind you, following closely in your footsteps.

It didn’t take long for you to catch on to where you were headed. As you came to stop before the thick, iron door that separated the rest of the house from the hell-hole that was the basement, tidal wave of fear washed over you. Strade took a deep breath, relishing all that was too come, immersed in the anticipation he was undoubtedly feeling. He turned to you and smiled, and you fought to keep a grip on your sanity. Feeling feint, your eyes flicked from him, back to the imposing door. Your heart was banging so violently in your chest from the sheer amount of terror that was coursing through your veins that you worried you may pass out.

How many people had met cruel, agonizing fates down those stairs? How many gallons of blood had dripped down the walls, pooled on the floor, snaked through the drains? How many anguished screams had reverberated off those sound proof walls?

You began to panic as Strade opened the door with ease, wasting no time making his way down. You hadn’t been to the basement since Strade had kidnapped you many months ago and you had hoped it would be a place that you never found yourself in again. It relieved you when Strade had forbid you and Ren from stepping foot down there, one of the few orders he gave that you were actually happy to oblige. Strade only took people to the basement for one reason and one reason only, and the fact that he was so pleasantly dragging you down there right now did not bode well for you in the slightest.

“W-wait,” you called out nervously, grabbing at the chain leash in an attempt to stop his descent. “W-why are we going down here?”

“Because it’s where the rest of your present is,” he answered as if it were obvious, a tinge of annoyance in his voice as he shot you a pointed look, “Now come on.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but a gentle touch on your shoulder stopped you.

“It’s ok, (Name),” Ren’s voice sounded softly in your ear. You could tell he was doing his best to sound reassuring. “We are allowed down there today, Strade said we could as a special treat for Christmas. It’s OK, I promise,” he gave your shoulder a small squeeze, before planting a fleeting kiss to your cheek, “I’ll be with you the whole time.”

His words did little to assuage the overwhelming terror you were feeling, sinking its claws deep in your battered soul, holding you in a death grip. You were past the point of a panic attack, now fearing a heart attack may be what does you in. At this point you wondered if that would be a mercy over whatever awaited you down there.

Forced breathes rattled from your lungs, erratic and strained as you stared into Strade’s expectant eyes, knowing his patience was rapidly diminishing. As much as you wanted to get whatever was coming over with, your legs lost the ability to move, your body denying every command your brain was giving to take the first step.

Hesitating a moment too long elicited a brutal tug from Strade, effectively ending your indecision as you were sent tumbling down after him. You whimpered as you felt the barbs of the collar tear into your flesh. Small rivulets of blood snaked from each fresh wound, dripping down your shoulders, back, and chest to strain the collar of your shirt. As a rare act of mercy, Strade caught you, his thick arm acting as a barrier between you and the concrete you were plummeting head first towards.  For once you were thankful to be within the monster’s grasp, a sore chest and aching shoulder from where he grabbed you were far better than any injury you would have attained from the fall.

Consumed by a rush of adrenaline from the tumble, you neglected to realize your hands had latched to Strade’s arm like a lifeline. Embarrassment flooded you, quickly prompting you to release your hold on him. He laughed at the flush on your cheeks, your body jostling along with the rumble of his chest. His hand relinquished its grip on your shoulder, leaving behind angry red fingerprints, as if he had seared your flesh with a mere touch. His newly freed hand moved to tangle itself in your hair, eliciting a whimper as his nails dug into your scalp. Each place his body made contact with yours felt like it was burning.

Without warning, he roughly brought the side of your head to his lips, the stubble of his cheeks scratching your skin as he smashed his face against yours, taking in a deep breath. Excited puffs of breath tickled your ear as he spoke.

 “Hurry up now,” his voice was gruff, but the words came out in a sing-song manner, “Don’t start misbehaving now, it would be a total bummer if you had to miss out on this, (Name)~”

With a wistful sigh he released his hold, leaving your momentarily reeling as you stumbled back, trying to reclaim your baring’s. Strade didn’t give much of a chance to do so, continuing on his way with another yank of the leash, forcing you to scramble after him once more.

Your body gave an involuntary shiver as your feet touched the chilly concrete floor. Strade flipped the lights, causing you to recoil at the sudden brightness. Your eyes grew watery as they struggled to adjust, but when they finally did you wished more than ever you could have just remained in the dark.

Though you hadn’t been in the basement since the week of your capture, everything was just as you remembered it. Horrible memories flooded your mind as you took in your surroundings, your brain assaulted by flashbacks of months prior. All the same home appliances and tools still lined the back wall, typically innocent devices most people used for repair jobs and building projects that no one would take a second glance at were this a normal basement. In Strades hands however, they became tools of destruction and torment, capable of the vilest atrocities.

You heard the loud whirring of the freezer off to the side before you saw it, the outdated device still valiantly chugging away as it preserved god knows what on its rickety inner shelves. The noise it spewed was so grating you wondered why he didn’t just replace the damn thing, or at least try and fix it. Near it stood the work table that housed his buzzsaw, looming ominously as it waited patiently for its next use (whether that be for flesh or for wood, who was to say?).

Witnessing these normally mundane items again made your chest hurt, a deep, indescribable level of horror spreading through every inch of your body as you struggled to reacclimate yourself. You were sure this place would haunt you as long as you lived, whether you stood in it or not didn’t matter.

Your throat went dry as you stared at the dark stains that littered the floor, remnants of various human’s bodily fluids. Blood, vomit, piss, and everything else that may leak from a human corpse was so continuous and abundant that there was no hope of the marks ever diminishing. Something told you Strade didn’t seem to mind, however. If anything, seeing those stains probably brought him some level of happiness, acting as pleasant little reminders of all the slaughter he had committed, a trophy for the lives he had stolen.

And there, smack dab in the middle of the basement stood the support beam he had tied you to, effectively barring your escape from this place. Witnessing it again was bad enough, but as your eyes locked onto it your heart started racing once more, your terror hitting unprecedented levels at the realization that there was a body there, tied up and trapped just as you once were.

At first you thought maybe you were hallucinating, seeing some phantom version of yourself your mind had conjured under the extreme stress you were facing. But as you continued to stare, noticing the slight rise and fall of their chest, hearing the small wheezes coming from their direction with each motion, it became apparent they were no figment of your imagination. Long hair fell from their slumped head, obscuring your vision of their face, but judging by what you could see of their body they looked to be around your age, similar to your build. You couldn’t help but wonder if you shared other features, had the same eye color, or maybe a similar facial structure.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Strade picked them because they reminded him of you.

Witnessing another human in this state made your stomach turn. It wasn’t so long ago that you were in that exact situation, and seeing them there helpless and oblivious to what lay before them filled you with the distressing urge to try and rescue them. If you could only run to them, untie their bindings and embrace them, let them know you were there for them and that they would be ok… Stupidly wisheful thinking, but maybe a miracle could still happen and that sweet lie would come true…

You shook your head slightly, dispelling the thought. No, it was all a tragic pipe dream, the fact they were here meant they were as good as dead and there wasn’t a damn thing you could do to stop that.

“Hey!”

Strade barked, breaking you from the spell you were under. You jumped to attention, your wide eyes turning to him to give him your full attention. His scowl lessened at your recognition, “I know it’s all very exciting (Name), but pay attention when I am talking to you, alright?”

“Sorry,” your mouth barely formed the word, spitting it out so fast you wondered if it was even understandable. You were still in shock from being in such a terrible place, your brain lost in a fog as it struggled to comprehend why you were here, what Strade wanted of you, who that person on the floor was, and if you would make it through the day.

He sighed before stepping closer to you, irritation still lingering in his features. You fought every urge telling you to bolt, your body jolting as he gently patted your cheeks. After a few soft pats to garner your attention his strong hands continued to cup your cheeks, cradling your face in his palms. His skin was warm, the sweat from his hand moistening your skin as his thumb traced absentminded circles across scars he had created.

“Strip.”

The command didn’t register at first, making him lose patience. As you stood stock still his brows began to knit, foot tapping a bit as he waited for you to comply. After several seconds of inactivity on your end, he snapped his fingers in realization, his expression relaxing as something donned on him.

“Oh wait, it’s probably hard with the collar, right? Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.”

From an unseen back holster, he brandished an imposing hunting knife, one that you would remember anywhere. It was the same one he tormented you the day he met you, the feel of it on your skin seared into your memory for all eternity. It had done a brilliant job keeping you at bay when he first imprisoned you, serving him well as the main tool that broke you.

Seeing it again was all too overwhelming, all too horribly familiar. Your body quaked, tears starting to flood your eyes, making your vision waver. Your lips moved, your throat struggling to speak, fighting to come up with something, anything that may stop him from using it on you. But ultimately there was nothing you could force out, so you just stood there blankly, flapping your lips in a failed attempt at self-preservation.

“What’s wrong?” Strade pouted, pulling at your collar, forcing you closer to him. You could barely feel the pain through your terror. “If you have something to say, you should say it. Or are you just so thrilled by all this that you can’t form a coherent thought,” he tutted, “Ah, I know the feeling well (Name), but don’t suddenly go mute on me! I want to fully enjoy all of your reactions, so don’t hold back. Think of it as your gift to me.” You shivered as he placed the knife under your shirt, cutting away haphazardly at the thin fabric, uncaring that he was nicking your flesh in the process.

With his body so near, the only sound you could focus on was Strade’s labored, rasping breathes as they rattled from his throat. He blithely ripped what was left of your clothing from your body, leaving it discarded in torn heaps on the ground. Thankfully he spared your underwear, but as his fingers languidly played with the strap of your bra, you wondered if he wouldn’t also reconsider letting you keep what remained of your decency.

“Tonight will be so good, meine Haustier,” his voice sounded hoarse, thick with anticipation as he hovered over you, nuzzling his face into your hair, “… This reminds me a lot of the night I brought you home. Maybe I am just feeling nostalgic, having you down here with me again, but it’s hard not to get wrapped up in such fond memories.”

He chuckled, “I’m thankful I was able to reel myself in back then and keep you, no matter how much I wanted to do otherwise.” He pointed his knife to the unconscious body on the floor, “This one I brought here today won’t be nearly as fun as you were, so I don’t want you to feel jealous, alright? You’re where you are for a reason, just as they are where they are for a reason. Mein Liebchen, I’m so glad I can share this moment with you...”

He pressed in closer to you, an unmistakable bulge in his pants grazing the exposed flesh of your leg as he did so. You both shuddered at the brief contact, though his reaction was for reasons far different than your own.

“This intimacy is nice, don’t you think? Sharing your passions with those close to you is what meaningful relationships are allllll about.”

He pulled away from you slightly, pressing the blade of his knife under your chin. Wincing at the briefest of contact with the blade, you raised your head to avoid slicing of your chin, stopping once you were eye to eye with Strade. Your noses nearly touched as he took in the features of your face, smiling at the sheer horror reflected in your eyes.

“And I want to remind you just how passionate I can be~”

He spun you around, giving you an abrupt shove. Unable to keep your balance you fell forward, your knees colliding with the stony floor. A hiss of pain slipped past your lips at the contact as Strade kneeled down next to you, tangling his fingers once more in your hair. With a sharp yank, he pulled your head up, directing your attention to the far corner of the room.

With his guidance, your gaze landed on something new.  A cage you couldn’t recall ever seeing filled your took up a sizable chunk of the side wall, making you wonder how you missed see it to begin with. How he got such an unwieldy contraption down the stairs previously without your notice was also lost on you. The thing looked far too heavy for one person to easily transport, even if it came in pieces.

It looked incredibly sturdy, each side comprised of thick, imposing iron bars. The cage was moderately sized- large enough for people to sit in, but not so large that it would be a comfortable arrangement. At a glance, it seemed to be made for a dog, but the girth of the bars and thick padlock on the door were completely unnecessary features for a canine, even the largest and most aggressive dog breeds wouldn’t need something so robust to keep them contained. Strade must have had it special made, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who it was made for. You clenched your fists, fighting the queasiness that this new facet of the day brought to the table. You knew the cage shouldn’t have surprised you as much as it did, but you couldn’t help but be a bit addled by it. You briefly wondered if there was a limit to how much he would spend to fuel his sick intentions.

The cage sat off to the side, out of the way of the main walkway and slightly hidden behind the stairs so that it wasn’t immediately noticeable, but it was still close enough to the rest of the rooms fixtures that anyone trapped inside would have a clear view or what was happening around them. Which you figured was the point. What better seat for an unwilling audience?

“I originally bought this for Ren, but he was much easier to house train then you were.” Strade laughed, removing his hand from your hair to clap you on the shoulder. He turned his gaze to Ren who stood by the cage expectantly, waiting to fulfill his role in the nights unfolding misery. “Why don’t you show her inside, Ren? Get yourselves all comfy for the show.”

With a quick nod, Ren scampered in before you, giving you just enough room to squeeze in beside him. Nestling in, he turned to you with a strange mix of fear and anticipation in his eyes, patting the area next to you with a small smile on his lips.

“Come in, (Name),” he looked up at you through his lashes, bashful despite the situation he willingly crawled into, “There’s plenty of room.”

Strade gave you no opportunity to refute his invitation, dragging you along the floor by the collar until you arrived at the cages entrance. You gagged as the spikes dug into your flesh, your fingers attempting to find purchase and pull them out. But your grip kept slipping, the blood that coated each metallic link making it impossible to pry away.

At the entrance, Strade quickly unlatched your adjoining leash, pushing the side of his foot against your ass to shove you into the cage, treating you much the same way you would a misbehaving dog. He slammed the door behind you the moment your limbs were barely through the door, preventing you from backtracking. He hastily secured the huge padlock after he did so, effectively trapping you and Ren inside.

“I know you’ll watch, but I can’t trust her,” Strade spoke to Ren, kneeling down so that he was eye level with the two of you, “Latch her collar to the top bar, I want her focused.”

Ren was quick to follow orders, contorting himself around you so he could bind you to the cage. Part of you hoped he would show mercy, sneakily attaching the collar to a lower bar on the cage to give you more breathing room. As you felt the spikes dig farther into your skin that dream dashed from your mind. You choked back a sob as you heard the clasp click into place behind you, Ren planting a fleeting kiss to the top of your head as he did so, his way of begging forgiveness for the pain he was helping inflict

Sitting with your back completely straight, you kept your legs tucked under you, the full weight of your body supported by your knees. The slightest bit of slouching, leaning, or turning your head would plunge the spikes into your already torn up neck, amplifying your suffering. Locked into place, you were left with no choice but to sit at attention.

Maybe you could have unclasped the collar yourself for a bit of reprieve, you were sure after some blind fumbling you could figure out how to free yourself. But stuck behind a formidable lock with Strade on the other side, what would be the point? There was no place for you to run to, and if you disobeyed Strade at this point you were a sitting duck. A heavy sense of resignation settled in your soul. You no longer fought the tears that came to your eyes, letting them freely dribble down your checks to land in soft drops on your lap.

With no hope of escape, that left you with one option to get through this-endure.

“Überraschung,” Strade exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he stared down at you with wild, manic eyes. “What a sight this is! I must say (Name), even though your overall your obedience has improved, you still have quite the rebellious streak, don’t you?” He leaned down to get a better view of you, breathing deeply as his face began turning red from excitement, “Not that I don’t like when you get feisty, training and domesticating wild animals is something I take great pleasure in after all. But I have to say, seeing you like this?” He released an elongated, low whistle. “Schön. Keeping you has been worth it for moments like this. You really are a treat, behavioral issues and all.”

He exhaled as he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes never once leaving yours. “This is good, natural even. You belong here, (Name). Chained up like that… You’re right where you are supposed to be.”

His words were shaky, his composure slipping as his tongue trailed his bottom lip. The flush of his cheeks was now also creeping down his neck, ardent lust seeping from his expression. You shivered. Were it not for these bars separating you, you loathed to think what atrocities he would commit against you in this amped up state.

You bit back the retort that threatened to spill from your quivering jaw, biting so hard on your bottom lip you tasted blood. You hated him, loathed him with your entirety, but you also understood that one misspoken word was all it would take for you to be swapped with whatever unfortunate soul was tied to that pole. Despite it all, you still wanted to live. Clinging to the hope that someday you would get the chance to leave this place behind and return to the life that was stolen from you.

Making your freedom a reality was your daily affirmation you repeated to yourself, the one thing that truly kept you going. You made a promise to yourself that Strade would someday turn into nothing more than a horrible nightmare, a dirty smear in your past, and you very much intended to keep that promise. You would someday live out the rest of your life happy and safe, surrounded by friends and family, people you loved and who would love you in turn. Maybe you would even get married, have a kid or two.

Part of you knew thinking that way was foolish, and it usually caused you more despair than bringing you any true peace. But even if it was a silly dream, it was all you had. Strade has already stolen everything else, so you clung to your dream as your only salvation, relying on it as a means of survival.  

You had to make it through this, you had to get away and rebuild yourself from the shattered pieces Strade had broken you into. Not just for yourself, but for everyone he had ever murdered and brutalized. It was the only way you could beat him. It was the only way you could win.

“Well, no point in making any of us wait any longer,” Strade announced as he turned on his heel, making his way over to the slumped form in the center of the room. Your heart went out to them as he directed his full attention their way, staring down at them with a crazed, bloodthirsty smile. “This is pretty new for me too, ya know? Usually this is ‘me’ time, moments I can work and enjoy myself with the new friends I bring in in peace. But having a live audience? That’s sure gonna add some thrill to this.”

He turned his attention back towards you and Ren, his face glowing in excitement. “And I figured what the hell! It’s Christmas, right? Why be greedy when I can share in the celebration!  Ren already loves watching my little home movies, so I thought, ‘why not do a special live performance for my two favorite individuals?’”

Your body lurched in horror as Strade abruptly kicked his hostage square in the stomach, the force of it waking them with an agonized groan. You gasped as they coughed in pain, spit and blood sputtering from their mouth as slowly they came to. You watched on in morbid silence, a frown spreading across your lips when as you noticed the dawning horror that came over them. They were no longer in an ignorant fog of sleep, fully aware now that something truly dreadful was about to happen to them. 

Terrified recognition filled their eyes when they landed on Strade. Instantly they started to cry, whimper and plead, leaving you to wonder just how badly things went down between the two of them before you all ended up down here.

Trembles wracked your body, each quiver faintly clanging the metal of your collar against the cage. How you yearned to deafen your ears, gouge out your eyes, or will yourself away from what was unfolding before you. The mere thought of witnessing the oncoming torture, reliving your own capture through this doomed sod…  it was all too much. If given the opportunity, you would have done anything to flee and hide.

But there was no running from this. You couldn’t turn away. You couldn’t do anything at all.

“Hey buddy, calm down!” Strade spoke in a light hearted manner, invading the captive’s personal space as he crouched down in front of them. “Don’t you know it’s Christmas? Since you were looking so sad all alone at that bar last night I decided to play the role of Santa and give you a little gift! I took you in out of the goodness of my heart, because no one deserves to be alone on the holiday, right? And look,” He roughly grabbed their chin, forcing their tear stained face towards your cage, “I even brought friends to assure you wouldn’t be lonely! Pretty thoughtful of me, huh?”

You averted your stare as soon as they made eye contact, unable to stand the sheer hopelessness reflected in their forlorn gaze. Their whimpering and pleading continued, unfettered by the dialogue Strade was droning on. The desperation in their voice as they tried to reason with the most unreasonable man on the planet was making your skin crawl, irritation setting your face into a scowl. Couldn’t they see how amped up Strade was? Were they really so deluded to think their incessant begging would do them any favors? Did they not realize their cries were just exciting him more?

Eventually, you squeezed your eyes closed, wanting a break from it all even for a few seconds. Their naivety was driving you insane- a cruel reminder of the person you once were.

Suddenly, an ear splitting scream pieced the air, causing your eyes to fly open. The blood in your veins turned to ice as you saw Strade’s signature knife protruding from the captive’s leg, his hand still wrapped firmly around the handle, wriggling it further into their meat. The blade was buried deep, deep enough to cause true damage, and the blood that gushed from the new wound quickly gathered in a morbid puddle beneath their legs. If left unattended, you were sure they may bleed out, dying in slow agony.

“Oops, maybe I went a bit too deep there,” Strade nonchalantly spoke, pulling the knife carelessly from their leg. They released another sharp cry at the blades exit, squirming in pain and misery as blood sputtered from the gash. Strade continued to speak, unfettered by the gore that splashed against his leg, “But you weren’t listening very well when I was trying to talk earlier, so hopefully that’ll help you focus. I’ll try and be more mindful though, don’t wanna do too much too soon. You’re the star of the show today buddy, can’t have you dipping out on us before we even get started.”

Strade cut a piece of fabric from their victim’s shirt, tying it sloppily around the gaping wound he inflicted. It wasn’t placed as a means to help them so much as a way to help staunch the bleeding to keep them lucid for as long as possible. If there was one thing Strade hated, it was his fun being prematurely cut short.

“Well,” Strade slapped his knees, lifting himself up to his full height, “Usually I like to get to know you a little better before we get to this point, but what with my special guests and all, we don’t have as much time as I would have liked to become acquainted.”

Your eyes trailed Strade as he walked over to a tripod sitting off to the side. Your eyes widened as he reached for it, setting it up with skilled expertise as he had done so many times before. His captive stared blankly at the camera, clearly confused as to what awaited them. You couldn’t decide if their ignorance was a tragedy or a godsend. If they knew this was their final moment of relative peace before their violent end… Would they try an appreciate it, or would that just bring them more dismay?

After the main camera was set up to his liking, he made his way towards you and Ren. You stiffened at he approached, a new spike of anxiety rising within you as he fiddled with something in his pocket. It was your turn for confusion now, staring in perplexion as he pulled out another small camera, setting it up so that it faced your cage. After some finagling to get it just right, the small red light on it turned green.

“There we go,” Strade smiled, tying his signature bandana around his mouth after he completed his setup, his wide eyes gleaming with cruel intent, “Figured the viewers at home deserved a little special something, too. Smile for the camera you two!”

Shame flushed your exposed body as you did all you could to avoid looking into the camera’s nebulous, black lens. You curled yourself up as much as physically possible, revolted by the realization that other sickos were tuning in, getting off to an impending murder and your humiliation. How many people were on the other side of that small orb, desperately waiting for Strade to begin so they could scratch their fucked up itch? How many pairs of eyes were roving over your barely clothed, bloody body right now, pleased for such an enticing appetizer before they dug into the main course? You didn’t know what disgusted you more, Strade himself or the fact that he had enough ‘fans’ out there that were of a similar mindset, who avidly watched and supported him enough that he could live comfortably off live-streaming his slaughters.

After some brief adjustments (apparently your camera wasn’t focused enough, the ‘fans’ were complaining about not having a clear shot of ‘the bitch’s stupid, sniveling face’), Strade eventually made his way back over to the main camera, flicking it on and checking the feed on a nearby laptop to make sure everything was looking as it should. Once he was satisfied, he hopped in front of the camera, the jovial smile on his face noticeable even behind his mask.

“Frohe Weihnachten an alle! Oh wait,” he fished around in a drawer beneath his laptop, eventually yielding a slightly wrinkled Santa’s hat that he plopped gleefully upon his head. “That’s better! How is everyone doing this fine, festive holiday?”

Strade’s eyes scanned over the chat, laughing here and there as he read peoples responses. “I see you all noticed the new edition to the party. Ren, (Name), why don’t you give the nice people watching at home a smile?”

Refusing to acknowledge his deluded request, you kept your eyes to the floor, focusing on anything else but the situation you were in. Your legs ached from your balancing act, the impression of the cold cage bars long since deeply engraved in your skin. You grimaced when you tried to reposition them, the bastard could have at least thrown a towel in here for you.

Strade responded to a few more ‘questions’ before releasing a low whistle. “Hey now,” he chided, his voice holding a warning edge to it “I’m happy to share my cute pets with you, but some things only I get to see, yeah? Get your minds out of the gutter, the requests for the day aren’t for them, they’re for our latest catch.”

Strade scratched the back of his head, looking towards you with an amused twinkle in his eye.  “I think you two may be a bigger hit then our new friend! A little rude to our guest, but I can’t say I blame the masses.” He gave an exaggerated shrug, laughing a bit as he shook his head. “But enough talk. Let’s get this party started, shall we?”

He made his way over to his tool wall, his finger trailing the varying allotment of devices he owned. He stopped briefly, looking back towards the camera with lidded eyes. “So what are you guys feeling? Should we bust out our old friend the drill, or maybe something a bit more colorful, like the new handsaw I purchased the other day?”

The captive began to struggle with renewed intensity against their binds, thrashing about in a final attempt of escape. Their cries for help turned into wailing screeches, screaming and cursing as loud as they could muster in the hope that someone would magically hear them and come to their rescue. You hissed under your breath angrily, wishing they had never been caught, wishing they could spend Christmas with their family, wishing they would just shut up, wishing this would all end.

“Ohhh, we got a lively one~” Strade purred, grabbing a tomahawk off a nearby hook as he eyed chat, “and I agree with the majority here, it’s best to start off slow. Let’s begin with some little stuff and work up to the main event, really taking our time to enjoy this wonderful moment together.” He eyed the tool in his hand, picking at a remainder of a price tag that stuck stubbornly to the handle. “You may not believe me, but I only purchased this little guy to help with some pesky overgrowth in my yard, not to use on my company. Guess it can’t hurt to test out its sharpness and strength beforehand though, can it?”

Your heart palpitated as Strade stalked his way over to his cornered victim, mutely praying that some act of god would occur that would keep them from being decimated. He towered over them, thoughtfully musing on where he wanted to begin, what part of their body he wanted to mutilate first. He absent mindedly tossed the tomahawk from one hand to the next as he considered his plan of attack, sizing up his prey as if they were nothing more than a slab of meat. You struggled briefly against your binding in last ditch effort to shield yourself you from the ‘show’. But like a cruel child jabbing their fingers into you when you weren’t paying them enough attention to them, the spikes gave you a torturous reminder of the position you had been assigned to play in this performance.

Oddly enough, the stab of the protrusions didn’t hurt nearly as much as they did before. Maybe your body was adapting to the cruelties Strade subjugated it to, or maybe you were finally becoming desensitized to everything you had been forced to experience.  Maybe someday it would get to the point where you could be completely unfeeling, like a robot just going through the motions as Strade lived out his wicked life, you forcefully in tow. It was almost a comforting thought, whatever adjustments your body and soul had to make to assure your continued survival, so be it.

However, if the pit forming in your stomach and sweat drenching your brow as you watched Strade inch closure and closure to his victim was any indicator, you were sure something inside of you would always hold on to amity, reminding you just how painfully human you were, heart-breaking empathy and all.

‘I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry,’ you chanted in your head, fresh tears carving slick trails down your cheeks when Strade kick their leg, digging the heel of their boot harshly into their stab wound. Bright red bloomed around the fabric covering the wound, their screams growing gravelly the longer they strained their vocal cords. You did your best to hold back the worst of your sobs, rogue sniffles and hiccups escaping despite your best efforts. If there was an afterlife, you hoped that theirs was full of nothing but warmth, peace, and all the things they love. It was the least they deserved for this.

You were vaguely aware of Ren repositioning himself next to you, his head nestling against your shoulder as he wrapped his arms around you, shielding you slightly in an almost protective manner. Pressed so close, you could feel that he was shivering, his heart beating a mile a minute as it thrummed against your skin. Whether it was from fear, excitement, or both, you were unable to say.

Strade turned around, giving you one last mirthful glance as he readied his tomahawk over the toes of his captive’s right foot.  Though they squirmed intensely, he held a death grip on the limb, keeping them from breaking free. “Make sure to pay close attention now,” desire radiated from his demeanor, voice husky as narrowed eyes briefly roved your restrained form “and don’t feel too neglected over there, I’ll make sure to save some of the fun juuust for you once I finish with our pal over here.”

His eyes darted to the camera, shooting it a look of mock sympathy “For my eyes only of course, you all understand right? Thank you for being here friends, and Frohe Weihnachten für mich!~”

He slammed the blade down. A blood curdling scream erupted from the center of the room as their toes disconnected from the rest of their foot, signaling the beginning of their end.

You snorted, “Thank you, but I think I am a far cry from that. I can barely do half the basic strikes correctly, let alone consider myself a martial artist.” You smiled at him, “Sorry, but looks like you are gonna be stuck with me as a pupil for quite some time.”

His grin grew, “Well I think you sell yourself short, but I won’t lie to myself and say I’m not happy to hear it. I’d be lonely with you off going off kicking ass in other parts of the dojo without me by your side.” He finished his sentence with a coy wink.

You were glad your face was already red from exertion, otherwise the red tint of your cheeks would have been painfully obvious to the man before you.  

You had been more or less living with the Orochi family since you left your apartment. After coming clean to your brother’s over what their father had done to you, it was universally decided that this was the best option. Staying with Baki was inviting more run-ins with the ogre, and living with Jack and his drug dependency would only cause you more duress.  Neither brother was keen on causing more upsets in your life after what you had been through.

Both men furious when you first broke the situation down to them. You weaved your tale in between sobs, nearly incoherent with how much you were wheezing and blubbering. Looking at their intense expressions through teary eyes, you weren’t even sure you were getting your point across to them. Your outburst felt infantile and your vulnerability with them embarrassed you greatly, but once you started you couldn’t stop.

“He forced himself on you?” Jack was the first to comment on your confession, the malice in his voice thick as he spoke. “Yurjiro Hanma broke into your living space and molested you?”

It was worded as a question, but there was no hint of doubt in Jack’s voice.  His lip curled into a snarl, meaty hands squeezing into tight fists by his side. His breathing grew labored as he shot up from his seated position. “I’m going to fucking kill him,” he seethed, “It’s not enough that he destroys our lives, now he is getting his kicks fucking up our sister? He’s dead.”

You shrank under Jack’s intensity, wringing your sweat ridden hands in your laps. Even as you relayed the horrible truth, you were unsure if this was the right thing to do. Could you truly predict the repercussions of this confession? Watching your brothers visibly tense as you tattled about Yujiro, the oppressive anger that radiated from Jack that grew with each word spoken… You couldn’t help but feel that this could lead nowhere good.

You were beginning to wish you kept your mouth shut.

“I just…” Baki stared at you, a look of shock on his face, “Yujiro did that to you? The night you came home from my place?”

After a nod of confirmation, he spoke through gritted teeth, “If I would have known… If I would have fucking known he was here waiting for you…”

A heavy silence fell over the three of you as a sense of tremendous unease lingered in the confining apartment walls. Each word spoke on the matter made you relive the scenario over again, making you feel pitiful and weak, unable to do anything but cry and cause your siblings to fret over you. You should have never heaped this burden on their shoulders. Your brothers had their own lives and problems to worry about without you adding to their issues. It was selfish, and seeing them ruminate over you in deep concern left you drowning in your guilt.

You never much cared for fighting, but in the moment you wished more than anything you had the strength they had.  If only you were strong enough to handle this on your own, things would never have arrived at this point.

Even still, it felt like a weight had been lifted off your chest. Through the grime of what was done to you, you found an ounce of peace in knowing that your brothers had your back in this, even if you were against an insurmountable force. You were no longer alone.

“P-please,” your voice warbled out to them, “Please don’t go after him. Please…” Even more tears flooded your eyes, “I don’t know what I would do if he killed you.”

Both men glanced at each other, their anger waning slightly hearing the heartache in your voice. After they came to an unspoken agreement, Baki latched his arms around your shoulders, pulling you into a tight hug.

“I should have never let you walk home alone,” the vibrations from his voice buzzed in your ear, “If I had been there… (Name), I am so sorry. This will never happen again, I’ll make sure of it.”

“WE’LL make sure of it,” Jack cut in, kneeling down to better face you, “We both let you down by not protecting you from this, so I’ll be damned if I let him corner you again.”

You shook your head slightly, wiping the tears from your eyes. “It’s not your fault. Please, don’t blame yourselves for this. There was… I mean, there is no real way to stop him, is there? Even with how strong the two of you are,” you leaned in harder against Baki, “he’ll do what he wants. He’d rip through us all and not care in the slightest.”

“It won’t happen.” Baki’s voice sounded resolute as he latched on tighter, pulling you in even closer. “That will never happen. I don’t care if I have to chain you to me, he’ll never get close to you again, at least not without me there to protect you.”

Jack cracked a smile, “It’s like you took the words right out of my mouth. He’s tries anymore shit and he’ll be getting his fair share of hell from me as well.”

You smiled at your brothers, bottom lip quivering as you pulled away from Baki.

“Thank you,” you sniffled, “Thank you so much. I love you guys.” You inhaled sharply, “And I’m sorry I kept this from you.”

Jack placed his hand on your head, enveloping the entire crown. He tousled your hair, shooting you a lop-sided smile.

“There is no need for an apology. What else are brothers for?”

~

That was nearly eleven months ago.

Almost an entire year had gone by since that day, and in that time so many things had changed. After deliberation it was decided staying with the Orochi’s was the safest option for you. Not only were you already familiar with them, having known Doppo since Baki became acquainted with him, but Doppo was a ‘friend’ of sorts to Yujiro. Or at the very least, he was someone the ogre mildly respected. Even if he was a brute, Yujiro had a level of decorum and was not in the market to show rudeness to those he deemed worthy of his acquaintance.

This ultimately meant that out of anyplace, the Shinshinkai dojo was one of the safest places you could conceivably stay. And honestly, you were fine just staying in the dojo itself. There were plenty of unoccupied beds for if anyone got injured and needed to rest, a fully stocked kitchen, plenty of showers and changing rooms, it was near a train station so you could still make it to work, and best of all no matter what time it was, there were always people nearby.

Yet this didn’t sit right with Doppo, and it wasn’t long before he began to insist that you stay with him and his wife at his house. You politely declined several times, not wanting to cause any upheaval to their daily lives. But Doppo wouldn’t take no for an answer, and he kept pushing until you finally gave in.

Your reception into their home was warm, Natsue introducing herself with a tight hug the moment you made it past their front door. She showed you around their beautiful and charmingly antiquated home, the whole time gushing about how excited she was to have a girl in their house (turns out though she undeniably loved her son, she always wanted a daughter of her own), and how with such a big house things could get lonely, but now it would no longer be an issue.

Realizing you may be with them for the long haul, you did what you could to help around their house. Whatever chores needed done, you were on it. Though they said it wasn’t necessary, you helped with groceries and cooking as well, and set aside some money each month as a form of rent. It was always a struggle to give it to them, but you were adamant about not taking advantage of their hospitality and your stubbornness always won in the end.

And for months, you remained happy with them in their home. Each time you sat down to dinner, or were greeted after coming home from work, you realized a bit forlornly that this must be what having a true family felt like. The sense of harmony and belonging you felt in their company was unlike anything you had ever felt with your own family, and you treasured each moment you spent in their presence.

Yet still, things weren’t perfect. You hadn’t forgotten in the slightest why you were in this position to begin with. As long as Yujiro was still an issue, your safety and freedom was on the line. You would often wonder if you would have to worry about this the rest of your life, relying on the kindness and protection of others to live with a modicum of normalcy. That niggling question ate away at you ceaselessly, upsetting you greatly.

It didn’t matter how many times you were told otherwise, you simply couldn’t shake the feeling of being a burden. It was ridiculous that you had to stay locked up in a literal complex of fighters to feel even remotely safe, and even still you worried what would happen if Yujiro showed up. To make matters worse, someone had to accompany you to and from work and errands, keeping watch until you safely made it in and out of buildings. You felt like a child, weak and without autonomy, and that planted seeds of rage within you.

For this reason, you approached Katsumi to train you.

You were worried he would tease you, seeing as you weren’t the most athletic person in the world and your familiarity with any form of martial arts went little beyond what you saw in your brother’s matches. However he was delighted when you shyly breached the topic, lighting up like a Christmas tree before the request even fully left your lips.

“Of course I’ll help train you,” he laughed, “I’d love too! Not to gloat or anything, but you couldn’t have picked a better teacher. Once I’m done with you, you’ll be a true force of nature.”

You weren’t delusional, you knew there was no way you could ever put a dent in Yujiro let alone hope to defeat him. But waiting around like a sitting duck wasn’t ideal either, so you knew you had to act unless you wanted to be stuck slinking around in fear for the rest of your life. Leeching off people for protection was not how you wanted to be spending the rest of your days.

And besides, at the very least learning basic defense made you feel better. Maybe you could never take on Yujiro Hanma (or really anyone else in the dojo, for that matter), but hopefully any other bozo trying to mess with you on the street had another thing coming.

~

Katsumi placed his hand on the small of your back, the gentle touch drawing you back to the present.

“You alright (name),” he spoke evenly, giving your back a small rub “I didn’t push you too hard, did I?”

You shook your head, “No of course not! Sorry for zoning out, I just kinda got lost in thought for a minute.”

He frowned, “I hope those thought’s didn’t include Yujiro, did they?”

You cursed Katsumi’s intuitive nature, your body jerking at the sound of that monsters name. Months later, and even a mention of that bastard still made your skin crawl.

Noting this, Katsumi sighed deeply, “If that asshole even so much as sticks one toe on Shinshinkai property, he’s gonna have the entire force of the dojo on him, and I will be leading the charge.” He smiled at you warmly, his arm moving to snake around your shoulders, “Besides, I wasn’t just being nice when I said you are improving. You pack a bite now, so if he tries to pull anymore shit with you he has it coming to him one way or another.”

You smiled at Katsumi, instantly eased by his words and the feel of his warm, strong body pressed to your side. “You’re right. Thank you for the reminder, teach.”

“Anytime, you are my favorite pupil after all.” He playfully shook you, getting you to move with him towards the exit. “Now I don’t know about you, but I worked up an appetite. Let’s get cleaned up and we’ll go out someplace. You pick, it’ll be my treat.”

~

“Are you sure you are going to be alright?”

His words were followed with a heavy sigh. His hands rested on his hips, muscled body lurching slightly with the bounce of his foot. Dark eyes scrutinized you as he stood in the doorway, packed bags sprawled at his feet.  

“Yes Katsu,” you laughed teasingly, “I’m sure I can manage a week on my own in a fortified bunker surrounded by only the best that shinshinkai has to offer, though it will be terribly hard to get by without my favorite eye candy to ogle at.”

He fought a smirk tugging at his lips, his composure winning over your playful remark. “You’re real cute, but I’m not kidding around right now. Doppo will be gone too, so if anything were to happen while we’re gone…”

You walked closer to him, your smile softening, “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been with you guys just over a year at this point and nothing bad has happened to me in that time. Nothing will happen either, even if you go on your trip.” His stern expression didn’t waiver after your assurances, causing you to let out a heavy sigh, “I’ll be safe here, and if necessary Baki and Jack are never too far away. I want you to go on this trip and have fun, you deserve this.”

His anxiety finally relented, a soft smile tugging at his lips as his shoulders relaxed. The warmth in his eyes as they held you made your heart flutter, his expression making you want to contradict yourself and jump into his arms, beg him to stay with you.

You had only been official with Katsumi a few months and though you knew it may be silly to think such a way, you couldn’t help but feel like he was the one for you. For quite a while you had pushed your burgeoning crush on him to the side, convincing yourself the time he spent with you and how he treated you was just him being nice and that he treated everyone that way. All the places he took you, little things he bought for you, alone time he set aside for you, were just him being friendly and nothing more. Every action Katsumi did was just him being a good friend after your life had been turned upside down.

Needless to say, you were the only one truly shocked when he confessed his feelings for you. Apparently the dojo (including his father) had been egging him on for months to just confess to you already, get it over with before one of them did it for him. The confession only took him so long because he had also convinced himself that you weren’t really that interested in him, only agreeing to spend time with him as a thank you to his family for taking you in.

It was funny how love worked sometimes.

You gave some pushback at his initial proposal to be his girl. Not because you didn’t want it, but because even with all the time that had passed without a peep from Yujiro, you were still concerned. What horrible thing may he do if he found out you had a significant other, you wondered? And would it be worse if he knew it was the son of Doppo you had chosen to be intimate with?

But none of that fazed Katsumi, and the more he assuaged your concerns the more you realized that Yujiro be damned, this was a happiness you truly wanted and deserved. You could spend your whole life worrying and dwelling on what ifs and maybes, or you could let yourself live and be with the person your heart yearned for.

You became official that very day.

And now, here you were. This would be the first time since you started dating Katsumi that you would be away from each other for an elongated amount of time, leaving you both feeling a mix of antsy and excited. There was an important mixed-martial arts summit being held a few cities over that Doppo and Katsumi were invited to attend and lead a workshop. It was an honor to even be invited, let alone host an event there, and the whole dojo was buzzing with anticipation at the recognition. You too were thrilled, knowing firsthand the blood sweat and tears the Orochi family breathed into their craft and had spent their whole lives perfecting. In your eyes, the least they deserved was a moment’s recognition.

But for Katsumi the joy of this honor was marred by other concerns, namely you. This summit was strictly an admittance through invitation only event, and since the attendees only included martial artists, it made sense that your name was not on the guest list. He had begged the host of the event to make an exception, but they were resolute. The little karate you had learned from Katsumi couldn’t qualify you to get you in, so you had to stay behind.

Worry wore heavy on his features whenever the topic of leaving you behind was mentioned. After pledging himself as your personal body guard the past few months, it was no simple feat for him to just neglect this self-imposed duty. No amount of reassurance on your end could curtail this either, all your efforts and reminders that you would still be housed in a dojo of hundreds of seasoned fighters falling on deaf ears.

But you persisted, imposing on him the importance of going to this event for not just him, but the entirety of the dojo. If he stuck behind and missed out on such an opportunity because of you, you wouldn’t be able to forgive him, let alone yourself. You weren’t going to let lingering paranoia rob him of his moment.

In the end you were victorious, and now the time for departure had finally arrived.

Giving him a soft shove towards the door, you stared up at him with a bright smile. “Go and make us proud, Katsumi. I’ll be waiting here on baited breath to hear all about your tales of heroism after you best all your foes in the arena.”

He gave a sharp laugh, “I thought I was going to a fighting expo, not a gladiator tournament.” He stared down at you with soft eyes before scooping your into his tight embrace, “I’ll go, and I will make you proud, but every moment I’m there I will be counting down the seconds until I get to hold you again.”

He finished by planting a firm, lingering kiss on your lips. You melted into him, wrapping your arms around his neck to pull yourself closer. “I’ll miss you too,” you spoke in between kisses, “And when you come back, I will give you a return befitting of champion~.”

~

Katsumi had only been gone for roughly an hour, and already you felt a bit lost.

You had taken the day off to bid him farewell, but now that he and nearly half the dojo had departed, you were left wandering the mostly empty halls looking for little things to do here and there to keep you preoccupied.

After some pondering, you had finally settled on clearing out some of the old storage rooms in the facility. You were no stranger to helping out at Shinshinkai, it had become a secondary home to you after all. And as such, you had compiled busy work lists here and there for moments just like this, storage room cleaning being at the top of said lists.

The back store room was the worst offender. Years of built up equipment and boxes were compacted floor to ceiling in the moderately sized room, packed so full it blocked out most of the light from the ceiling fluorescents. It was the farthest storage room from any of the training halls, so everything inside the boxes had long since been abandoned. Old paraphernalia and appliances that had been replaced by newer and better models resided forgotten in the packages, with no use other than to take up space. It was tedious work, but after around three and a half hours you had made a real dent in the mess. You were left with two full flat beds, one full of donations of equipment that could be used elsewhere, and another full of broken and worn out items that needed to be carted to the trash.

Deciding to handle the latter first, you pushed the overflowing cart out the back door. Quite proud of yourself for not knocking over a single item after you had squeezed your way through the small door, you proceeding to make your way across the parking lot to the dumpster that sat on the far end.

It was then that a jet black car rushed in front of you, effectively cutting you off.

Riddled with confusion, you stared blankly at your reflection in its shiny veneer. You heard the engine cut, and began to grow annoyed. They had stopped right in front of you, parking in an area that wasn’t even a parking spot, in a lot that was almost entirely empty. There was no way they didn’t see you coming either, as you were hauling a small mountain of trash in your wake.

You huffed, and made a move to maneuver around whoever this self-important, luxury car driving jack ass was, when one of the passenger doors opened.

It felt as if the world had come to a crashing halt as your eyes landed upon the man who exited the vehicle.

Wild red hair was the first thing you saw, creeping up slowly from behind the vehicle until his tanned face came into view. Dark sunglasses adorned him, covering his eyes completely as his head swiveled your way. It was a mercy that the black lenses kept you from seeing the way his shone upon seeing you. Dramatic eyebrows creased slightly as he stood to his full height, the only sign of annoyance on his otherwise passive face. A dreadful grin smeared across his lips as his attention focused fully your way. He slung an arm lazily over the side of the car door, staring down as nose at you in the most condescending pose you had ever seen.

“Well here she is,” he jeered, “My (name). I can see they are putting you to work. Are you enjoying trash duty?”

“What are you doing here?”

You were surprised you found words, let alone the ability to speak them. As if you had been electrocuted, your entire body had short circuited and was now unresponsive and numb. All you could do was stand there dumbly, immobilized by this unfortunate turn of events.

His smile grew as he shook his head, lazily removing his sunglasses so he could peer at you unobscured.

“It’s it obvious?” he snorted, speaking as if his appearance was the most natural thing in the world. He flicked his head to someone else in the car, and on cue Strydum stepped from the opposite side of the car. He stood to the side as he offered his hand to you, beckoning you to enter the vehicle. Unlike Yujiro, he refused to make eye contact.

“We’re here to pick you up.”

~

Discomfort wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the situation you had found yourself in.

Sandwiched between the two men, you focused on making yourself as small as possible, doing your best to not have a limb graze either Yujiro or Strydum. With such imposing figures flanking you on either side, there was little room in the back seat to begin with, so trying to remain distantly spaced from either person was taking skill and constantly vigilance. Both men’s bodies were still as stone, but you were thankful that Strydum at least was trying to give you as much space as possible. Yujiro seemed perfectly content to splay himself out as much as he could, not giving a shit whose comfort he may be disrupting.

“… Where are we going?” You finally worked up the courage to ask, a slight shake in your voice. After nearly 30 minutes of driving, it was pretty apparent neither party was going to tell you on their own.

“That’s actually-“

Strydum began to speak, but was instantly hushed by a sharp glare from the ogre. “Well… That’s classified for right now Miss (name).”

“You’ll find out for yourself soon enough,” Yujiro grunted, shooting a cocky half smile your way. “Relax, you aren’t being kidnapped. Think of this as a family vacation.”

You held off on commenting that forcing someone into your vehicle against their will and whisking them off to god knows where was the definition of kidnapping. Fighting back your mounting nerves, you stared at your fidgety hands as they quaked under the force of your clench.

“I can’t just up and leave,” you countered, “People will be looking for me if I don’t tell them I’m heading out. “

“What are you, a baby?” Yujiro sneered. Your shoulders slouched at his gripe. “You’re an adult woman, you don’t need to ask permission to go out or alert anyone when you are spending time with your own father.”

Silence fell over the vehicle as you sniffled, struggling to hold back tears. You should have been smart and had someone help you with organizing. All that work was too much for one person anyway, you were sure someone on duty or getting done with practice would have been happy to help you. Hell, even Baki or Jack would have come if you asked, granted they were free for the day.

If only you hadn’t been stupid and let your guard down.

But now, here you were, stuck in the absolute worst position you could be in. With no idea what the final destination may be and no conceivable exit route, you felt helplessly trapped. There weren’t very many outcomes to this endeavor that you could imagine happening, and of those few outcomes none of them were anything pleasant, or in your favor.

“Now keep your mouth shut and enjoy the trip,” Yujiro finished, adjusting his body into a more comfortable position. “It’s not often I treat people to entire vacations, so it would be wise to not be a little bitch and show me some appreciation.”

Your heart plummeted at his thinly veiled threat. Blood trickled from your palms as your nails bit into the tender flesh, snaking across your skin to stain the fabric of your pants. Though your hands throbbed in pain, you squeezed them tighter. The pain at least distracted you, gave you something to focus on besides your impending doom.

~

Your final destination was not at all what you had in mind.

After just over two hours of extremely tense travel, you arrived at some manor of gated resort. You were nowhere near any kind of tropics, but if you woke up here with no recollection of where you were, it could have fooled you. A cobbled path lead to an elaborate oasis, the entryway lined with palm trees and fat hibiscus flowers in varying vibrant shades. A large fountain greeted you by the entrance, playful marble dolphins spewing cascades of water through their blow holes and snouts, which trickled down into the clear blue pools that waited below. Even the wind around this place seemed tropical, the cooling breeze carrying hints of coconut and sea water.

Judging by the red carpet reception as soon as your car pulled up to the entryway, followed by the forced, nervous smiles all the employees were donning as you exited the vehicle, you had an inkling this was a joint Yujiro had been to previously, possibly even frequented. You felt on edge for the bellboy stumbling beside you, his anxiety palpable as he fought to remain composed and professional in Yujiro’s presence. You considered helping him with the luggage, but ultimately decided against it. That would probably make the poor kid more of a target than anything.

You were lead inside to an equally grand looking reception area, simple yet elegant architecture housing a large seating area that overlooked a vast pool, which seemed to be the gem of the resort. From what you could see, they went above and beyond to make it look like a mini beach, sandy shore and palm trees included. Subtle waves lapped up on the sand (most likely controlled by machinery hidden in the rock forms surrounding the pool), making a perfect imitation of the real thing. The entire area was blocked off from the rest of the world by a huge rock structure that was no doubt manmade, but was just as convincing as the rest of the décor. A gentle waterfall spilled down the center of it, twin water slides nestled somewhere in back exiting out through holes in the rocks on either side. From up on the overlook, you could see the tops of the cities buildings peaking up in the foreground, but down below you were sure nothing about the city was noticeable at all.

This place was no doubt a vacation hot spot, and you were surprised that you had never heard of it prior with it being so close to home. However, what was even more surprising was that the place was completely barren save for yourself, Yujiro, Strydum, and the staff. It wasn’t necessarily the prime time for vacation, yet you figured such a lavish place would have some amount of guests at any given time.

“It’s wonderful to have you as a guest again sir,” a man spoke behind you. You turned to him slightly, coming to the quick conclusion based on his attire and the way he carried himself, that he must have been the owner. He seemed calm save for the slow wringing of his hands, and sweaty forehead that shone in the overhead lights glow. “I took extra care to make sure everything was to your specifications. All other guests have vacated, leaving the entire facility open to solely you and your companions.”

Yujiro grumbled, “Good. Take her to her room.”

And just like that, you were whisked away once more.

The same bell hop who struggled under Yujiro’s overwhelming aura was the one to lead the way, and seemed more than happy to do so. He was like a different person when it was just the two of you, chatty and congenial, he spoke so quickly and passionately about the hotel retreat and all it had to offer, you could comment little more than an occasional ‘wow’ or ‘mhm’ before he spoke up again.

After an elevator ride and a trek through several hallways, you had arrived at your destination.

You held your breath as the bell boy opened the door, ushering you into the suite. It was impressively large, looking like it was meant for an entire family and not just an individual. In fact, the suite was maybe even larger than your previous apartment, complete with a small kitchen area and a dining section to match. A huge four post bed sat against the wall, adorned with plush sheets and pillows in a subdued red shade, trimmed with gold. There was a roomy balcony that over looked the pool, offering quite the view of the city that you couldn’t see from the main entrance.

A welcome gift sat on an island near the eating area, ornately decorated with bright packaging and colorful balloons. Various (no doubt expensive) alcohol bottles and snacks popped up amongst the wrappings, lying in wait for your consumption. The bell boy was quick to place the luggage atop the bed luggage that was definitely not your own. This would normally make you concerned that perhaps someone was planning to share the room with you, were it not for the obnoxiously bright pink shade of the suitcase in question. It was not something you could picture Yujiro Hanma using, not even as some sort of joke.

“Is it to your liking?”

You were startled back to reality by the bell hops question. “Oh, yes, it’s super nice.” You took another quick look around, stepping further into the suite. “It’s very big too…”

“Indeed it is,” he beamed at you, “It will be very relaxing, I hope, to have so much room to yourself.”

You sighed in relief, “So, I will be in here on my own then?”

He nodded, “Yes. Mister Hanma has the room at the opposite end of the hall. Mister Strydum will be right next door to you.”

His words put you at ease. You didn’t want to be here at all, if you could leave right now without repercussions you would be gone in a heartbeat.  But since you were essentially trapped, the best outcome you could think of was having a room to yourself with a buffer of Strydum in between you and wherever Yujiro was staying.

“It’s nice, you know.” The bell boy spoke, a small smile on his face. His voice sounded the slightest bit dreamy.

“…Pardon?” You questioned, shooting him a quizzical look.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” the boy appeared flustered, a red hue coming to his cheeks, “I meant it’s kind of nice knowing that someone as scary as Mister Hanma has such a kind wife. I was really worried you would be as intimidating as he is!”

The boy finished with a laugh, but you were so struck by his words that you were momentarily left speechless. When you found the ability to respond, you couldn’t help but voice your dissatisfaction with his statement.

“His wife?” Is that what these people thought you were? You shivered, the mere thought of someone else viewing you as Yujiro Hanma’s spouse made your blood boil.

“Yes,” it was his turn to seem confused, “You are Missus Hanma, are you not? That’s what the guest list stated at least. It’s a bit weird to have wife and husband staying in a different room, but-“

“I am NOT his wife,” your words were sharp, “I don’t know who told you that, but it’s incorrect. Please get your records straight.”

You felt a tinge of remorse when you saw the bell hop shrink in on himself. “Of course miss, I apologize. I didn’t mean to offend you. Please forget I said anything, and I hope you enjoy your stay.”

With a quick bow, he fled the room, closing the door briskly behind him.

If only you could strangle the ogre with your own two hands.

After hearing his feet rapidly retreat down the hall, you realized you were completely alone for the first time since encountering Yujiro. You had left your phone at the dojo, not intending nor expecting to be spirited away to resort the moment you set foot outside. You cautiously eyed the bedside table to see if an in room phone was provided, but the wooden surface was barren. You sighed heavily, even if there was a phone you could use, you weren’t sure if you could trust it to not be bugged.

You slowly and meticulously made a sweep of the suite, attempting to see if you could spot any camera’s or potential listening devices. The search came up empty, but you were unable to find much comfort in that fact knowing that Yuujiro Hanma would be staying just down the hall from you. Unease once more crept over you, growing by the moment. It was not a good thing, being stuck in his presence with no conceivable escape route in an unknown area, but at the very least you knew where he was. Yet still, this resort seemed massive, and keeping tabs on him at all times sounded exhausting, if not impossible. Who knows when you may unwittingly bump into him once you leave this room?

Making your way to the extravagant bed, you noted the suitcase the bellhop had brought in was nestled amongst the pillowy comforter. You tentatively opened the zipper, finding several days’ worth of clothing tucked neatly inside. None of it was your own clothes, but as you pulled each item out piece by piece you discovered that all of it was sized perfectly for you, from the flannel pajamas to the concerningly skimpy bikini.

You flung yourself down on the bed, closing your eyes as its plushness enveloped you. This vacation was going to be a nightmare.

~

For the next two days you stayed holed up in your hotel room. The first 24hours of the stay was hell, as you remained awake through the night in a constant state of fear that your room would be broken into. It was silly, but your barricaded the door with every piece of furniture you were able to move, barring off the entrance in an attempt to protect yourself from the ogre.

The first full day at the resort preceded much the same, with you remaining locked up in your room in a state of constant, jitter inducing, anxiety over what was going to happen next. You had mulled for hours over why he could have possibly brought you here, the thought plaguing your mind until you felt it would drive you insane. There was no way there could be a peaceful outcome to all this, but at the same time, why hadn’t he made a move? The only people who had come by till this point had been room service and Strydum to check on you. What was Yujiro’s purpose for waiting?

Finally, on the third day, he made a brief appearance.

“I’ll be gone for the day.” His rumbling voice outside your door alarmed you, as you hadn’t even heard someone come down the hall. You rushed to the door to press yourself against the furniture surrounding it. Your malnourished, worn out frame offered little protective power against the monster that lurked outside. You were running on little, if any, sleep, and the food you were able to force down your throat the past few days could only be considered snack food. You were a wreck, and as your shaky arms pushed with what little might they held, you felt yourself worsening.

It pissed you off, all the effort Katsumi put into your training felt squandered. You should be better than this.

“I’ll back tomorrow. Respond if you hear me.”

“O-okay?” You stuttered, bracing yourself for his next command.

But that command never came, and after several minutes of heavy silence you began to wonder if he was still out there at all. You tentatively stepped towards the intercom system that was mounted on the wall next to the door, your only means of communication with the outside world for these past few days.

A chirpy, cheerful feminine voice responded when you answered the call. You grimaced, her voice coming through much louder than you wanted.  As softly as you could while still being heard, you asked if Yujiro had indeed left the establishment, not fully believing you could be that lucky. The chipper voice stated that he had departed with Strydum just moments before you had dialed down.

A great wave of relief rushed over your body as you thanked her for the news. Part of you still didn’t trust that you were in relative safety, but why would she lie? Besides, she sounded a bit pleased to be out of his presence as well.

This was an opportunity you wouldn’t squander.

After a much needed nap, you worked up the courage to explore your surroundings.  Slowly you crept through the halls of the barren resort, peeking in at the varying saunas, suites, and indoor pools. The entire building was gorgeous, and you couldn’t help but feel a little enchanted as you made your way through themed tiki bars and a vibrant, noisy arcade. The place even had its own bowling alley and a small, personal movie theater which played a constant stream of classic movies from all over the world.

However the outdoor pool was the most impressive by far. Seeing the elaborate setup through the window was already incredible, but standing amongst it was something else entirely. It truly felt as if you had been picked up and planted in some far away tropical paradise, where your only concerns were basking in the sun and splashing in the warm salt water.

A staff member was quick to approach you when you made your way outside, offering you an assortment of fruity drinks and tasty treats to sate your palate. Your first reaction was to decline his offer, not wanting to be too much of a bother to the lone man working the bar. But your stomach grumbled in retaliation, something he picked up on with a hearty laugh. With a smile he assured you he would have something out quickly, on the house of course.

A swell of happiness bloomed inside you as you ate at the bar. The man was jovial, and a good conversationalist. You were pleased to be able to speak with another human, shoot the shit and find out a little about what had been going on in the world since you had been cut off the past few days.  When you went to leave, you thanked him for his trouble which garnered another laugh as he reminded you that you were no trouble at all, seeing that you were the only patron they currently had.

A small frown graced your lips as you made your way back to the pseudo beach, slurping on the remnants of the drink the man had prepared for you. Not only had Yujiro cleared the place, but he himself wasn’t utilizing any of the resorts features?

… Was this all just for you?

You shook your head quickly, immediately dispelling the thought. It was impossible for a self-centered monster that had spent your entire life abusing you in every way imaginable to ever be able to do something so selfless and giving.

No, there was something else he wanted from all this, and you’d be damned if you gave it to him so easily.

~

On the fourth and fifth day, Yujiro was still nowhere to be seen.

With the ‘all clear’ provided to you by the front desk staff, you decided to let loose a little. What was the harm? If Yujiro wanted to spend the money to clear out such a lavish place so you could have the run of it, mine as well indulge.

And as you did just that, you couldn’t deny that you weren’t having a good time. You felt a bit like a celebrity, wandering the lone venues of such a lavish establishment, people at your beck and call to assist in anyway needed at all hours of the day (not that you exploited their service, but it was pretty satisfying to know everyone was there just for you). The staff seemed to enjoy it as well, with only one guest to provide for they had plenty of downtime to relax and focus on long neglected projects.

This serene dream life followed you up until the evening of the sixth day, when as you laid sprawled out by the poolside, musing over just how long this ‘vacation’ was going to last, a shadow fell over your form.

“Oh, I’m still doing well! Thank you for checking-“

Fully expecting to find a member of hotel staff coming to check on you, your words died in your throat as your eyes instead locked with Yujiro’s, a slightly amused expression lighting his face. You bolted upright, your hand lashing out like a whip to grab hold of your towel. You nervously fumbled as you attempted to wrap it around your bikini-clad body, granting a chuckle from the man before you.

“Enjoying yourself?” Yujiro leered, causing your cheeks to burn a deep crimson, “It sure looks like you are.”

“Yeah well,” you cleared your throat, struggling to gain some manner of composure, “When you are randomly granted a week away at a resort and left to your own devices, eventually you’ll come out and explore.”

He snorted, “Funny, you didn’t seem too keen on exploring while I was here.”

‘I wonder why?’ You wanted to retort, but bit your tongue. Even in this open area with staff nearby, you in no way felt comfortable being in this man’s company, let alone talking back to him.

When he got no reply from you he sighed, “Hurry up and get dressed in something nicer than that.” He accented his words with a nod towards your swimsuit. “Meet me in the lobby in an hour.”

With no further ado, he turned on his heel and began to walk away. Dumbfounded, you stared at his descending back for several seconds before you called out to him.

“Wait, what are you talking about? What is going on?” you raised your voice, but it did little to slow his stride. He didn’t even turn his head in acknowledgement.

“I’m giving you more opportunities to explore,” He called back condescendingly, “Don’t be late.”

~

For the following hour, you were on edge.

You felt as if your body was mechanical, a machine programmed to follow Yujiro’s order. And follow his orders it did, for as soon as he left you immediately went upstairs, showered, and picked some clothes out for whatever it was he had planned for you.

With the remaining time you had, you paced the room, gnawing your nails to nubs. Nothing could calm your stewing mind as it conjured all manner of dreadful scenarios that could be awaiting you.

You weren’t naïve enough to believe this was Yujiro showing you kindness, or a way for him to make amends for the horrible things he had done to you prior. This was an act, a way to butter you up and get your guard down.  

…You just couldn’t of the life of you figure out why.

Yujiro was never a man who cared to put any effort into being empathetic or affable towards others, you either respected him or you didn’t, either meant little to him. In fact, you weren’t even sure he had the ability to harbor any gregarious, selfless traits. So why go to these lengths to go against his nature? Why not just take whatever it is he wanted?

You considered making a break for it. In the days you spent here, potential exits were one of the first things you scoped out. But concern gnawed at you, if you were to make a break for it what would Yujiro do in retaliation? Would he take his frustration out on the staff, accuse them of being complicit in your escape? The thought of these kind people potentially being harmed because of your cowardice left a sour taste in your mouth.

That is to say if you even COULD escape. Surely he had figured that thought would have crossed your mind, and prepared accordingly. There was no Baki, Jack, or Katsumi here to protect you, and you sure as hell hadn’t gone through enough training to escape the ogre if he was in pursuit. The rage he would feel over you even attempting such a thing… It wasn’t something you wanted to consider.

You sighed heavily, giving yourself one last weary glance in the mirror before marching off to whatever fate awaited you.

~

“There you are,” Yujiro acknowledged you as soon as you entered the foyer, “If nothing else, you are punctual.”

You decided to shrug off the brusque comment and instead focus on how dressed up he was. His hair was tousled gently, framing his face in a look that was both masculine and sophisticated. His suit fit him perfectly, hugging each muscle to accentuate his toned form, letting you know just how fit he was beneath his suit. His red dress shirt (slightly unbuttoned) added a pop of color to the otherwise Jet black ensemble, the only other deviation being the silver of his cufflinks. Now directly in his presence, you could smell his cologne wafting off him, your skin crawling with the memories the scent conjured.

He was dressed to the nines, and loath as you were to admit it, he looked very handsome.

As you stood opposite him in your jeans and t-shirt you were sure you looked as out of place as you felt, a thin layer of sweat beginning to collect on the back of your neck. Was there a reason he looked so put together? All he asked was for you to meet him in the lobby, there were no connotations that you should arrive in anything fancy.

“What the hell are you wearing,” he brow creased as he gave you a once over, “Couldn’t you have put more effort into your appearance? There was dress amongst the clothes brought for you.”

A burning blush lit your face as images of that risqué’ abomination flitted through your mind. With so little fabric to it, you first mistook is for a swimsuit. “You never mentioned this was going to be a dress up occasion…”

Yujiro sneered, “I figured you would be smart enough to pick up on that on your own, but I guess that was asking too much of you.” Your body sagged at his admonishment, but he was quick in changing the topic, “Never mind that now, just follow me. We don’t have far to go.”

You chased after him as he strode off, making his way to a section of the hotel you had not previously explored. You had figured the small hall behind the welcome desk only lead to an employee area, maybe security, but not anything for guests. You hesitated for a moment to cross the threshold between lobby and backrooms, but as Yujiro continued his steady stride all employees in his path moved aside to let him through, so you figured you were OK follow suit. You gave a polite nod to the sheepish staff as you ducked in after him, each step feeling riskier than the last.

The narrow hallway stretched on much longer than you imagined it would. The air as you traveled to the back grew chill, and the soft padding of the carpet under your feet masked your footsteps, making the trek eerily quiet. Yurjiro’s broad back blocked most of your view, but not enough that you didn’t notice where you were headed.

A lone elevator marked the end of the hallway, and beside it stood a man dressed in a bellhop outfit. His arm was outstretched and head slightly bowed as he beckoned the two of you into its open doors.

“Welcome Sir and Madam,” He spoke in a pleasant voice. There was a benign smile tugging at his lips, but his lack of eye contact did little to help your mounting nerves. “Everything has been set to your specifications and is awaiting you up top, when you are ready.”

Yujiro gave the man no acknowledgment as he entered the open elevator, jerking his head your way as sign for you to follow. You acquiesced, taking a few tentative steps inside before immediately turning your back to him, dreading the moment the doors would shut and lock you inside. As far as elevators go, the one you found yourself in was surprisingly capacious, but Yujiro had a way of making even the most open spaces feel constricting.

You positioned yourself near the front, as close to the exit as possible. The sliding doors of the elevator felt as if they closed in slow motion, your breathing growing a bit heavier when they fully came together. As the car lurched into motion, a soft jazz melody began playing through the speaker. It was the only sound to pierce the otherwise silent cabin.

It would have been comical in another setting, this man’s massive form hulking over your quivering one, the anxiety in the air permeated by the soft sounds of cheesy elevator music. However, being the one stuck in said situation and knowing just how dangerous this brief moment was didn’t make you feel much like laughing.  

You glanced at Yujiro’s reflection in the metallic surface of door, a look of sheer and total boredom plastered on his features. Your mind was whirring. Even though he appeared nonchalant you weren’t so much of an idiot to drop your guard around him, especially when in a confined space.  His eyes flicked to yours in the reflection, “What are you gawking at?” He grunted in your direction, making your body instantly tense.

You averted your gaze swallowing before choking out, “It’s nothing.”

You heard him hum behind you, a precursor to something more he wanted to say. You were thankful that the elevator had finally reached its destination, the doors rolling open to reveal the surprise Yujiro had waiting for you.

Your eyes widened as you took in the sight before you. The entire top floor of the hotel had been converted into a spacious luxury suite, set up to host all manner of swanky events. It was decked out with furniture fancier than you had ever seen before, plush love seats and chairs scattered about that looked so fresh they most likely had never been sat in. Large buffet tables lined the far back of the room, teasing you with scents of something tantalizing emanating from the contents that were being warmed atop them. A few taller standing tables were dotted in between the long tables, topped with stacks of plates and silverware for feasting.

Glittering streamers in silver and gold were draped over the tops of the bountiful windows in swooping strands, and bunches of balloons arched over the entryways for a whimsical and fun entrance to this magnificent room. A soft, upbeat tune played through hidden speakers, and the light of the setting sun that washed the entire room in a pink glow gave it a sort of gentle ambiance.

A smaller, lone table sat in the middle of it all. It was out of place both in its size and how ornately decorated it was compared to the others. Whereas the rest of the room was modestly tasteful in its trimmings, this table for two was packed with various exotic flowers and multiple candles, fine china plates heaped with some manner of intricate and savory looking cuisine. You couldn’t quite make out what it was from where you stood, but it nevertheless succeeded in making your mouth water.

The room was clearly set up for some manner of party, but you and Yujiro were the only two people here. Where you early for something? Seeing it all granted you some relief, if you could hang on for just a bit longer, it was apparent more people were bound to show up.

Though still in a fog of utter confusion, you found yourself smiling. “It’s pretty.” You whispered, taking a few more steps inside. You hadn’t made it far past the threshold when Yujiro stormed by, nearly knocking you over in his hustle.

“It’s a bunch of pompous pageantry bullshit.” He spat, taking in the surroundings. “He said it would be decorated, but what are they, children?”

You stared after him, his shoulders slightly hunched as he stuffed his hands deeply into his pockets. You wanted desperately to know what you were about to be subjected to, but you found the uncertainty more bearable then partaking in conversation with the man that dragged you here, so your lips remained sealed.

“Whatever,” he sighed, making his way towards the small table in the center of the room, unceremoniously plopping himself down in the chair furthest from you. He crossed his arms across his chest and you straightened your posture as his sharp eyes shot your way. “You just gonna stand there all night? Get over here.”

Your limbs quaked as you hurriedly hobbled his way, being mindful not to trip over yourself in the process. Arriving at the table, you pulled out the chair, your eyes choosing to fixate on the spread before you to avoid Yujiro’s piercing gaze. No sooner had you sat down then he spoke again.

“Nothing to say about this nice meal I am providing you, huh?” he grumbled, “And why are you refusing to look at me? What would your mother say right now if she saw you treating your father like this?”

Your head snapped his way, anger beginning to bubble in the pit of your stomach. Any retort you may have mustered withered once your gaze landed on his stern expression, your words dying before they even reached your lips. It enraged you when you saw the brief flash of victory in his eyes. Mentioning her was a low blow, but an effective one, and you fell for it as easily as he pictured you would.

“There she is,” a mocking smirk spread across his face, “I shouldn’t have to say this, but you seem slow on the uptake today so I’ll help you out- Your next step is a ‘thank you’.”

“I don’t even get what all this is,” you mumbled as you looked into his expectant eyes. Your gaze flicked across the room before coming back to him, “… Is this a party? Are more people coming?”

“There will be a party,” he grabbed his fork and knife and set to work at the feast before him, “But that’s another matter. This is a dinner a father provided for his daughter, and it’s the only thing you should be concerning yourself with right now. The chef’s put in a lot of effort for you. Don’t disgrace them by continuing to turn your nose up at it.”

Expecting more of an explanation, you found yourself left wanting as he proceeded in eating, not so much as casting you another glance. Your brain delved deeper into a haze of befuddlement, ten thousand questions whirling in your brain as you stared blankly at the full course Michelin star level meal before you.

This whole charade eluded you, and you had long since grown tired of playing Yujiro’s mind games.  

You had remembered Baki once mentioning inviting over Yujiro for dinner in an attempt to get to know him better, but at the time the mere thought of it was so outlandish that you couldn’t help but laugh at the suggestion. Yujiro may be Baki’s father in title and blood, but he would never be a father-figure in practice. For the man who had the world at his fingertips, what point was there in putting an effort towards bonding when every person in his life was expendable? Any children he produced were all either experiments or mistakes, if there wasn’t something there to impress him your life meant less than dirt to him.

This was a concrete fact about Yujiro Hanma, a truth that was widely known and universally accepted. But if that were so, then why were you now sitting opposite from him feeling like some sort of main character in a romance novel? Why were you swept off your feet and awarded nothing but the finest luxuries, when in actuality you should mean nothing to this man? You had no concrete relation to him like Baki or Jack did, and there was absolutely nothing about your life that you could imagine would intrigue him into wanting to know more, let alone put forth this amount of effort.

A shiver passed through you as your mind traveled to the night in your apartment. His hands pulling the clothes from your body, his lips smashed against yours… It was something you couldn’t forget no matter how hard you tried. Even so, such a vile memory seemed little more than a bad dream right now. If Yujiro was looking for sex he could have anyone in the world, take anyone in the world. Heaven knows enough people were willing to be his partner, your own mother included. How many stories had Baki told you about his own mother, practically a slave in her devotion to Yujiro?

So again, why you? Why here? Why all this?

Deciding that you had spent enough time pushing the food around your plate (it was only a matter of time before Yujiro made some smart aleck comment about how ungrateful you were being, anyway), you began to slowly have at the meal before you. You held back a gasp after taking your first bite, the taste so incredible that you were sure you had never encountered something so delicious in all your life. You quickly made your way around the plate sampling everything it had to offer, each item more delectable then the next. Preoccupied with the joy the feast brought you, you couldn’t help but let out a small titter of appreciation, garnering a snort of amusement from the ogre.

For a brief moment, you directed your gaze back to Yujiro. His eyes were holding fast to your form, peering at you over the rim of his wine glass as he took a swig. Red tinged your cheeks when he placed the glass down, a smile you could almost describe as warm lighting his face as he watched every move you made.  

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach as you turned away, focusing again on your meal.  You had no desire to dwell on what such a look could mean.

~

The dinner carried on, the only conversation shared between the two of you being the clinking of silverware and sounds of eating. You had relaxed quite a bit since the elevator ride, but not enough that you felt peace. Hyper vigilance permeated your every motion, a constant awareness of Yujiro and his proximity from you kept your palms sweaty, your limbs jittery.

Opposite you, Yujiro remained unflappable. Long since done with his meal, he now casually took drinks from a cup of coffee, his gaze focused past you to the windows that compromised most of the walls, providing a clear view of cityscape that surrounded you.

“You’ve been training.”

You stopped mid bite, casting him a cautious glare. He hadn’t spoken to you since you had started eating, but it wasn’t the abruptness of his question that startled you as much as the subject matter. He smirked, “I can see it in your arms, the muscles have more definition then they did before. Judging by how firmly you are holding that knife I can see your grip strength has improved as well.”

You swallowed, giving a shaky sigh. “I guess I have been working out some… More than I ever have before, at least. I’m surprised you noticed.”

Yujiro frowned, “You’re still pathetically weak, but the work you have done is at least noticeable. It’s more effort than most people would put forth.”

Unsure of how to take the off-handed compliment, you simply nodded, scooting your plate to the side as you finished your own meal.

“Who trained you?”

His words made you freeze. Though well acquainted with the Orochi family, you hesitated in speaking. You didn’t want to tell him about your private affairs, least of all involving people Yujiro knew and ran in the same circles with. The last thing you wanted is the ogre getting pissed over the company you have been keeping and taking out that misguided rage on Doppo or Katsumi.

Katsumi… Your heart started to beat violently in your chest at the thought of him. From the moment you had entered his family’s care he had gone out of his way to make you feel comfortable, protected, and safe. When you were at your lowest, he offered sincere kindness and affection. You closed your eyes, the smile he graced you with just before you parted dancing through your head. You loved him, and he loved you. And since he was always around to protect you, it was now only right that you protect him.

“Baki helped a lot,” you averted your eyes from Yujiro, choosing to look out at the scenery yourself. The sun had long since set, the town beneath you littered in sparkling lights of differing colors and intensities, “Jack helped, too. They wanted me to know at least enough to defend myself.”

The explanation sounded stupid as soon as it left your lips. You nibbled gently on your bottom lip, waiting for Yujiro’s sharp laugh to make a mockery of your explanation. However there was only silence, which was eventually followed by an elongated hum.

“I see.”

He took a sip of his coffee, and you released a held breath, thankful that he didn’t try and pry more of an explanation out of you. It was never ideal to bring up your siblings, but since they were both embroiled in this who mess of a family affair anyway, you figured there was little harm in throwing their names around this once.

Yujiro stood, the legs of his chair screeching as they dragged across the shiny floor. You went on alert as he passed you by, relaxing only after you heard his steps receding far past you. You turned around to monitor him, finding his back turned your way. His hands were back in his pockets as he scanned the city below, dark streets now solely illuminated by overhead glow of tall buildings and scattered street lights.

“Come here.”

It was an order that was spoken softer than you were used to, but demanding none the less. You pushed off the table, your entire body vibrating with a nervous energy as you made your way towards him. Dinner had ended, but what was to come after? You gave a quick look behind you in a hopeless search for any type of outside interference, finding nothing.  The negative thoughts bubbling to the surface you tried to dispel with reason. More people WERE to be coming soon, Yujiro had even stated so himself. Whatever he had planned, whatever was about to transpire, you would only need to make it through until other people showed up.

Distancing yourself with a wide girth, you stopped once you were at his side. Your eyes followed his to the hustle and bustle below you, getting a front row seat to every happening the city had to offer.

It was the time of night where people were coming and going, either settling in or just getting started. Below you a small crowd of men and women exited a bar, tripping over themselves as they threw their heads back in laughter. They only had a short distance to travel before they all ducked into another bar not two doors down from the one they had just left.  Down the road a man was leaning out his car window, the redness in his face denoting his anger. He was screaming something you had no hope of hearing to the other car that had just cut him off.

Even full of angry drivers and clumsy drunks, you were taken with how charming the city seemed as you peeked down on its activity from above. Awash in an array of bright lights and colors, multitudes of bodies all with their own stories were living out their evenings as you remained a distant bystander. You felt like a spirit, or maybe a very weak god, with a whole world below to peek at, bearing witness to all its secrets, but never to interact with it.

You desperately wished it was Katsumi by your side staring at this scene with you. His welcoming arms would envelope you as he pointed people and places out that he found interesting. You shivered as you imagined his breath on your ear as he pulled you snuggly against him, whispering jokes and flirty innuendos until you were both giggling messes. If this whole trip wasn’t eternally marred by Yujiro’s presence, you would beg Katsumi to clear up some time so you could come back and enjoy it with him.

“Have you ever been to this side of city before?”

Your eyes darted to look at Yujiro, but his attention was still fully focused on the town beneath you. “I don’t get out this way much, but I think I have been here once or twice. “ You responded as you took a small step forward to get a better look at a group of oblivious tourists fumbling as they sought directions from locals, causing you to smile.

He grunted, “If you’ve been here before why are you so wide eyed? With how raptly you are staring you’d think a damn parade was coursing through the streets.” You blushed fiercely, embarrassed by how invested he was in your actions. How could someone that didn’t seem to be paying that much attention be so astute of your every move?

“Not much has changed in the past year, same streets, same buildings, same people.” He frowned, “If anything has changed, you could say people have grown more pretentious, flaunting money and status they don’t actually have.” He raised his hand, pointing off in the distance with a grimace. “And that ostentatious heap of shit may be the worst offender. “

You followed his outstretched finger till your eyes landed on a large domed building. Vivid, white, and brightly lit, it stood out amongst the taller buildings, a pure beacon amongst a mass of towering grey. It was definitely the newest building to be added to an ever growing city, and you could tell they put money and effort into making it eye catching.

In response to the flagrant contempt Yujiro had for this building, you simply nodded.  Judging by its shape the building seemed to be some manner of indoor amphitheater or coliseum. “It does stand out compared to the other buildings…” you squinted, noticing quite a few bodies coming and going from the building in question. “It looks like some kind of event may be going on there right now, actually.”

Yujiro glanced at you. You did your best not to flinch under his gaze, growing further unnerved as his disgruntled look morphed into a smirk.

“You’re right,” he spoke after some time, his eyes lazily drifting back to the building in question. “A tournament of sorts is taking place right now, as we speak.”

“A tournament,” you questioned, “… Is that where you have been these past few days?” It certainly would make sense. Yujiro could sniff out a fight a mile away, you were sure he was probably invited to be a special guest at many battles. It only stood to reason that if he was invited as a guest of honor, whoever was hosting would put him up in the nicest hotel in the area.

However, why you were brought along remained a mystery.

He erupted in laughter, “Hell no,” he bellowed out between laughs, “As if I would have any interest in that kind of beginner level bullshit. Those people aren’t fighters! They’re wannabe scum hoping to make some kind of fame off what little ‘skills’ they have.”

He turned to you then, his entire body pivoting until you were the focus of his attention.

“I’m not interested in that shit at all,” he leered, his eyes turning sharp, “But I thought you might be, seeing as it’s your boyfriend down there putting on a little show for all those losers.”

Your stomach fell to the floor. Yujiro had called it a tournament, but the more you thought on it, the more apparent the truth became. How many fighting events could be going on at the same time around the same area?  It had to be the event Katsumi was attending.

You shivered as the pieces continued to connect. You had told him not to worry, told him to focus on being the guest of honor, on hosting a special training course for the attendees. He was so excited to go, but felt so awful about leaving you behind. This whole time, you were so close to him, just blocks away.

Katsumi was down there right now, completely ignorant to the fact that all his worries had come true.

“Katsumi Orochi, huh?” Yurjiro’s taunting voice broke through the ringing in your ears. “All the decorations cluttering this place you asked about earlier? They’re for the Orochi family. Doppo failed to mention anything about housing my whore of a daughter last I spoke with him, but he was more than eager to tell me about this clownery his son was partaking in. He even told me they were coming to this very hotel to celebrate after his big performance, planned on picking up his son’s new girl to come along. I figured I would be a supportive father and help out, bring you here a little early.”

He laughed deeply, as if it were the funniest thing in the world, each rumbling chuckle breaking a part your world a bit more. “But really, he’s your pick out of all the options you have to procreate with? What is it with you and surrounding yourself with subpar men?” He sighed, “My little girl can do better than that.”

“Don’t say that,” your voice croaked, hands balling into fists at your side, “We aren’t-he isn’t...”

“Isn’t what, your boyfriend? The man you’ve been shacking up with and fucking? Hiding it now is pointless, (Name).” The repugnance was thick on his voice as he glared down at you, “I go out of my way to keep an eye on you and all you continue to do is disappoint me.”

It felt like you had been laid bare. Your chest had been torn open, and everything that you had guarded and held closely to your heart was gushing out. The dam had burst, and nothing was left to protect you from the incoming flood.

“Please, I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I don’t give a shit if you don’t want to talk about it.” The guttural timbre of his words made you quake in fear, and you found yourself unable to look his way as he took a step towards you. “And stop fucking lying to me. You’ve been keeping secrets from me, (name). And that was a very stupid move.”

He stopped directly in front of you, his aura all but suffocating you. Your body felt as it was made of lead, held down by the overwhelming power Yujiro exuded. With an ounce of courage, you met his fierce eyes, stone cold as they drank in your quivering form. The hair that framed his face swayed gently, a momentary shield against his potent stare.

“Now what do you have to say for yourself?”

A thousand thoughts flashed through your head in an instant. Should you yield to him and apologize for something that required no apology? Could you escape, hope that you had speed and dexterity on your side to worm your way past him? Maybe you should scream for help, but who would even come? And if they did, what stranger would go to bat against Yujiro Hanma for you? You were utterly trapped. He had you right where he wanted you, and now you had to deal with those consequences.

Even faced with the overwhelming odds, a spark in you began to flair. You were already in this position, and no matter what happened it had to be faced one way or another. Confrontation was imminent, and you refused to bow to him so easily.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” You spoke clearly, with a strength that surprised you, “You should be the one begging me for an apology.”

Suddenly, you were in the air, and then just a quickly you were on the floor. Your vision went momentarily black, breath coming back to your lungs through a violent, aching cough. It took a moment for your brain to catch up the fact that you had been thrown, your shirt nearly ripped from your body by the force of it. Judging by how far Yujiro was from your body, he had launched you several feet.

Your body was unsteady as you struggled to get to your feet, your view of the world coming to you in doubles. Yujiro was quick, coming upon you again in the blink of an eye as he slammed you back to the ground. His hand constricted around your neck, keeping you planted firmly against the floor. His palm was unnaturally warm as it pressed into your airway, your breathing coming in ragged and painful gasps. The fuzzy carpet beneath you offered little comfort as you writhed around, not quite plush enough to mask the hard ground beneath you. In the haze of pain you thought back to all Katsumi had taught you, every move that could potentially get you out of a situation like this.

Any attempts at self-defense you tried to execute against Yujiro were laughable. Each strike of your hand, kick of your leg, and swivel of your body landed flatly. Try as you might, every practiced motion you had worked so hard to perfect bounced right off the behemoth attacking you, not even causing a scuff. And with each failed attempt, you grew more manic, fretting when nothing was yielding the results it should. Practiced punches became unruly flails in an attempt to make any kind of mark on the monster looming above you.

“How cute, did Katsumi teach you that?” He chuckled darkly, “I think you are proving your own point, princess. Weak men can’t possibly lead or teach others in an effective manner. You would have been better off actually learning from Baki, though it wouldn’t change much in the long run.”

His finger tightened, halting your breathing entirely. Your eyes bulged as he leaned in, his words and smile equally menacing as he stared deeply into your eyes.

“You’re not a fighter (Name), and despite how you may feel on the matter, I did not bring you here to battle me. It would not be worth my time and you would be dead in an instant, don’t forget this.” His hand released your throat, causing you to choke on the air as it rushed back to your lungs. In a motion to swift to fight, he tore the scraps that remained of your shirt from your body, a shiver shooting through you at the exposure.

A cruel smile twisted across his lips, his face contorting from what was once a man’s into the demon you knew him to be.

“But you are suitable for other things,” He continued, his bestial eyes drinking in your battered form, lingering for a moment on the bruising he had left on your neck. “You are a beautiful woman who is ideal for breeding, and with a bit of attitude adjustment, could potentially even be a long term partner.”

Bile rose in your throat, your body flushing in equal parts anger and embarrassment as he continued, “Though it won’t do shit for you in any real fight, the training you received fortified your body. I’ll have to thank that boy the next time I see him, his efforts strengthened you enough handle what I’m about to put you through.”

Hearing his cruel taunts caused something inside of you to snap, agitation and upset permeating your every pore.

You weren’t going to let Yujiro have his way with you. You could not get away from him, you could not physically stop him, but you knew you could not let this moment proceed in the way it was headed. And since escape was not an option, the only other logical choice you could come up with to avoid this situation now, and in the future, was death.

Maybe it was in his plan already, but you needed to get the ogre to end your life before he completely destroyed what was left of it.

Your throat went dry as the thought crossed your mind. You didn’t want to die, you felt as if you had barely even begun to live. All the places you wanted to go and things you wanted to do. All the people you loved and who in turn loved you back, the thought of never seeing them again or achieving any of the things you had planned on in your short existence filled you with unimaginable grief. But what were your options? What could you do?

And if this was to be the end, you’d be damned if you passed without saying your final piece.

“You’re pathetic.”

Your voice was airy and broken, creaking from your lips so quietly you were surprised he heard you at all. Yujiro stiffened, his body statuesque as his eyes bore into yours. Briefly, you saw the edges of his hair begin to dance once more in the power of his immense aura.

“What?” His voice was domineering, the word forced past lips that had been plastered into a resentful sneer.

“All that power… And this is what it’s used for? You could have anything, BE anything, and yet here you are.” Tear snaked down your reddened cheeks, “Are you doing this because you are lonely? Because you have never known what it is like to have friends and every acquaintance you have ever had only stuck around out of fear or some sick fascination of you?”

You weren’t going to delude yourself, you knew what you were saying would only cause you pain. Yet even in his death grip, moments away from annihilation, you couldn’t help but feel like you had the upper hand. You would never beat Yujiro with might, but there was a chance you could beat him with the final say.

A sense of serenity washed over you, your blurry vision taking in his frigid features. He didn’t like what you were saying, that much was apparent, but nevertheless he was listening. All the words you kept bottled up for years were now overflowing, you couldn’t stop them now.

You took a shuddering breath, “You’re a nightmare, nothing more. The only thing you have is your horrible legacy, Yujiro Hanma. But no matter how much notoriety that has gained you, with time that too will fade. You’ll be beaten someday, and when the title of strongest has been is ripped away from you, you will truly be nothing.”

I just wish I could have lived long enough to see it.

You closed your eyes, anticipating the end. You were oddly at peace with the situation, finally coming to terms that there was nothing further that could be done. No matter how tragic, this was the only plausible escape from this man. Death was now unavoidable, and even though yours was guaranteed to be about as horrific as they come, you were able to speak your mind clearly at very end. Voicing your thoughts, digging your talons into Yujiro’s brain… You were happy with that final rebellion. Your last hope before your exit was that those words would grate on him until his dying day.

Your mind traveled to thoughts of your loved ones. Baki, Jack, Katsumi, they were sure to be heartbroken and enraged over this injustice. You had beat into their heads time and time again to not be rash when it came to Yujiro, to just avoid him altogether if possible. All that could be done now is pray they took your wishes to heart. It was bad enough you had to meet this end, but to die thinking you may be the trigger of a loved one’s gruesome murder by Yujiro’s hand was too much to contemplate.

A memory of your mother danced across your eyelids. She was once so lovely and full of life. Your younger days with her weren’t always ideal, but you knew she loved you with all that she was. If she knew that the two of you would end up this way, would she have made a different choice? Or was your destiny so intertwined with Yujiro at that point that you were doomed from the start?

Well, no use in worrying about it now.

Seconds turned to a minute and still you were breathing, your heart still valiantly pumping away. Part of you wanted to crack an eye open, see what the holdup was, but that would mean having to look at your violator, his visage being the last thing you ever see as you slipped away.

After some time, you felt his grip loosen. This was accompanied by a snort, which turned into a low, rumbling laugh. His hand fell away from your throat entirely, and the laughter grew and grew until it was unbearable.

You opened your eyes to see Yujiro hunched over, gripping his sides. As the guttural, cruel noise continued to rip from his chest he turned his attentions back your way.

“I bet you feel like a hero for that little dialogue, don’t you? And what, you thought if you pissed me off enough I was going to kill you?” He wheezed in between chuckles, “As if I would make your blatant disrespect so easily escapable! It’s fucking hilarious.”

His hand was quick to reattach itself to your neck, the speed and intensity of his grip making you gurgle. “You don’t deserve to die by my hands, you little bitch. You barely deserve my dick inside you, let alone the effort put into giving you pleasure.” He tutted down at you mockingly, “Such piss poor fucking manners must have come from your slut of a mother. But don’t worry, little girl. Daddy won’t stop until he’s turned you into a proper woman.”

He wasted no further time, latching his lips to yours, smothering you in hungry kiss. Your body grew taut, fresh waves of revulsion turning your blood to ice. His hand dug itself into the back of your head, smashing your face against his own. His thick fingers applied so much pressure you felt as if your skull may cave in, a dull headache starting to form as a byproduct of the pressure. His palm felt uncomfortably hot as it nestled the back of your head, keeping your in place.

You gasped as you felt a sharp pain on your bottom lip, a metallic taste pooling into your mouth. You could feel Yujiro smirk at your reaction, your lip still caught between his teeth as he pulled away slightly, his tongue languidly swiping over the wound he had inflicted.

Yujiro capitalized on your momentary shock, worming his tongue fully into your mouth. His mouth fought against yours wildly, the ferocity of his lips alone leaving your head spinning. His tongue lapped away at anything it could touch, the muscle so domineering you couldn’t reciprocate even if you wanted to. Though his hand was no longer at your throat, you felt yourself choking, completely at his mercy as he pulled you ever closer towards him.

It went beyond kissing-this man was devouring you.

He broke away, dropping you back to the ground. Panting, you grimaced as Yujiro grabbed your bra with both hands, ripping the fabric from your body with ease, as if he were a child tearing through wrapping paper. You attempted to grab his arm as he went to do the same for your pants, but he shot you a look so deadly it alone was enough to kill your small resistance.

In no time at all any article of clothing keeping you decent had been decimated, leaving you quivering and bare beneath him.

You trembled in shame as you stared up at the man above you, his appearance indescribable. The menacing vibe he put out was more potent than ever, yet there was a gleam in his eye that your mind had a hard time comprehending. As he drank in your nude form there was no hint of gloating, nor was there a leering smile gracing his face. Not even the angry scowl or a look of sheer apathy which his face typically defaulted to. All of the emotions you expected in this moment were entirely void from him.

In their stead, his face held a look of sheer reverence, and that frightened you much, much more.

His hands cupped your face much gentler than you ever could have imagined. You averted your gaze, unable to stand the strange look of admiration you saw within his eyes. You shuddered as his hands slowly traveled down, his calloused fingers gingerly outlining the curve of your shoulders, the bulge of your breast, and the dip of your waist. His motions were painfully slow, his feather light touch ticklish as he made his way to your thigh, a jolt coursing through you as he rubbed his large hands dangerously close to your entrance.

Unwillingly the tenseness in your body began to melt away as he continued. It was the gentlest any man had ever treated you, and it was being conducted by a beast whose hands had only ever brought you pain. The dissonance left your brain buzzing. You were in the worst position you could possibly imagine, so why… Why was he treating you so tenderly? And worse yet, why was your body starting to enjoy it?

He worked his way back up, this time stopping to admire your chest. His hands cupped and fondled, pinching lightly at your erect nipples. With the skill of an expert masseuse he worked your flesh, embarrassment flushing your body as his eyes stayed locked to your face, vigilant in taking note of what felt the best to you. You wiggled at his touches, wanting to simultaneously run for the hills and press further into him.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” His voice was calm as he moved his legs to straddle you, learning in until his lips were brushing your ear. “I can tell by how desperately you are trying to fight it. But after what a shit talking brat you have been I want you to say it.” He nibbled on your ear lobe, “Tell daddy just how good he’s making you feel.”

A cold sweat enveloped your body. Of course he was toying with you, treating you like a plaything to satiate his cruel desires. Everything he was doing was at his whim, every pleasant feeling he could coax from you another victory under his belt.

You couldn’t let him win.

“Please,” you whispered, “Please stop this. I don’t want any of this.”

“Hm, starting to learn our manners, are we?” He teased as his breath ghosted over the crook of your neck. “But you still have such an issue with lying. Foolish girl, right now I think I’m the one who knows the best about what you want.”

His hands stopped their gently ministrations, instead squeezing the meat of your chest so tightly you winced. Rearing his right hand back, he brought it down with loud slap against your breast, causing you to yelp in pain.

“If you don’t appreciate it the work I’m putting in here I’ll have to turn you into an honest woman by different means.”

He flung you around like a rag doll, scooping up your lower half until your legs were positioned on either of your shoulders. You panicked, wriggling with all your might to break free of his hold. His hands clasped themselves in an iron grip on each leg, pulling them apart with ease as you struggled to clench them shut. He lowered his torso until he was rested on his elbows, which helped alleviate the strain placed on your back, but still kept you locked in an uncomfortable, compromising situation. Tears began to prick your eyes as his breath fanned against your essence, shame blushing your body as he could now plainly see just how wet his simple touches had made you.

There was no build up before he plunged into you, thick tongue quick to snake past your folds and work its way inside. You cried out at the slimy intrusion, your hands shooting to grip Yujiro’s hair. Try as you might to push his head away, it only made his efforts more intense. His tongue delved deeper, slurping and sucking at you with a sickening squelch.

One of his hands broke away from your thigh, making its way to pay special attention to the nub at your entrance. Your body jerked as he made contact, the joint sensation of his tongue fucking you mixed with methodical rub of his thumb was quickly making you lose all reason. Your breathing got short as pleasure bloomed within you, mounting with each swirl of his tongue. He was ravenous in his consumption of you, and the harder he went the farther you lost yourself.

Your shoving hands loosened their grip, instead tugging gently to guide him closer. Legs that were once violently thrashing had begun to still, no longer desperate to crush the man between them. You cursed yourself as you felt your hips lifting, chasing the high that was moments away from being awarded by Yujiro’s lips. For a brief moment, your mind traveled to your mother. Had she been in this exact situation, feeling this same intense, all-encompassing feeling? The thought made you sick, disgusted with the realization that the same tactics that may have been used to ensnare your mother were now being used to entrap you.

But even those horrid thoughts couldn’t dispel the overflowing feeling that was seconds away from enveloping you. You despised Yujiro Hanma in a visceral way, more than you ever hated anyone or anything before, but it was hard to think of hate when you were on the precipice of sheer ecstasy.

Seconds before your nirvana was to be reached, he pulled himself away.

You bit back the whine that threatened to spill from your lips, but could not stop the way your body contorted his way as he detached from you, desperate in its search to feel release. Your face twisted into a scowl- if he had only let you come then maybe this torment would have been over sooner.

“I almost forgot this is supposed to be a learning experience.  I am afraid I have been far too lenient with you. I suppose that’s what happens when you are a father’s only daughter.”

You could barely focus on his words as he spoke, his voice taking an edge that contradicted his prior, gratifying interactions. The sensations you had felt left your mind cloudy, but not so much that you couldn’t feel the mounting hostility radiating from his body, hear the wrath reflected in his voice.

His face contorted into a sinister smile, “You act as if I am the cruel one, but here is my own daughter, barely giving me the time of day after all I have done for her. I think its high time daddy gets a little attention himself, don’t you?”

His hand twisted itself in your hair and pulled, dragging your body after him as he walked off towards a seating area. A searing pain emanated from your scalp as you screamed, kicking your legs out in hopes of finding your footing to relieve the strain. After a short stint, you were tossed roughly against a sofa, your head lulling back painfully against the couch cushion on impact. A steady, throbbing pain enveloped your brain, causing you to rub your temples for some manner of relief. Not too far from where you had landed, Yujiro prepared himself. You were vaguely aware of him loosening his pants, fully erect cock springing from the fabric.

“This is for being such a little bitch,” he spoke through gritted teeth, aligning himself so that his cock pressed against your pursed lips. The heady smell of his privates mixed with the smear of his precum nearly made you wretch, the tip of his cock pressed so firmly against you that it was beginning to seep into your mouth. You whimpered as he grabbed around your cheeks, squeezing until you had no choice but to yield, afraid that he would otherwise crush you.

“Show me what a good little hole you can be for me, princess.”

With no further warning, he began shoving his way inside. Your jaw ached at the sudden intrusion, your lips and throat burning as they stretched around him. A hiss passed his lips as he pressed further into the warmth of your mouth, his slower pace giving you a chance to truly experience his girth. You could feel every vein and ridge, taste the salt of his sweat as he dragged himself across your tongue. You gagged as he pressed into the back of your mouth, eyes watering as you suffocated around him. Gurgling on his length, you were worried that if he were to press in any further your jaw very well may break from the strain.

Drool dribbled down your chin as he stayed there a moment, eyes boring into you with an impassive stare. The lack of emotions made the whole situation even worse, he was destroying you in a way you weren’t sure you would ever be able to recover from and none of it mattered to him. Fresh tears stung your eyes as you stared up at him, your sobs making breathing even harder. The sniveling must have pleased him, as you felt his dick quiver inside you with each catch of your breath.

With a snap of his hips, his onslaught began. You braced yourself against the slam of his hips on your face, the coarse hairs of his crotch scratching incessantly against you, becoming moist with your saliva and tears. You shuddered in discomfort at the ceaseless smack of his balls against your chin, flinching each time he jabbed himself forcibly into the back of your throat. Your nails buried themselves into the thick of his thighs, using all your strength to shove in a shoddy attempt to disconnect from him. He gave a curt laugh at this and picked up the pace, cradling the back of your head with his hand to slam into you more violently, effectively keeping your mouth glued to his thick cock. Your screams of pain came out as muffled, weak whimpers.

After he grew bored with face fucking you he withdrew his length from your battered mouth, causing your to sputter and cough, gasping for air the second you were able. However there was no feeling of relief, as he had latched himself to your arm the instant he pulled away, tugging you in a quick jerk until you were lying on the couch you had moments before been leaning against.

Once more he slotted himself against you, a new wave of horror crashing over you at the pressure of his cock against your folds. Your legs shook and flailed as you tried to kick him away, but in your compromised state you were even less of a challenge to him than you had been previously. His unflinching grip on your legs kept you spread and at his mercy, a whine slipping from your lips as he began to force the head inside. The same uncaring look sat upon his face as he pierced your unprepared pussy, the stretch burning you the further he pressed in. Finding his aloofness unbearable to witness, you clamped your eyes shut. If you were strong enough, maybe you could pretend you were anywhere else, with anyone else, doing anything else.

As he fucked his way inside of you, a blinding white agony bloomed within you. Your body struggled to fit him, his bulk quickly overwhelming your smaller form. A weak cry fell past your parted lips as he leaned down, his body caging you in on all sides as he continued pressing ever further into you. You writhed in an effort to find any sort of relief from the intrusion, but as his chest pushed against yours, burying your body further into the plush of the sofa, you had to face the fact that there would be no relief. There was no escaping him, and that realization only amplified the pain.

He granted you no time to adjust to him, picking up his pace seconds after he was fully sheathed.  His hips beat violently against you, tearing into you with increasing ferocity. Growing tired of your blubbering, he pressed his lips to yours, effectively muffling your sobs. His lips were soft, tentative even, as they peppered your lips with languid, lingering kisses.

The scene was disarmingly tender. Yujiro stationed above you as he made love to you, kissing you in a way that could easily be misconstrued as romantic. Your arms wrapped around his neck giving the illusion that you wanted him closer, when truly you were just in a desperate search to cling to something to ground you.  If it wasn’t for the fact that his thrusts were punctuated by your distressed cries, blood trickling down your legs and staining his dick, it may even look like this was love.

He once more picked up speed. One of his hands traveled to your clit, your body shaking as he steadily rubbed against the nub. You were growing accustomed to Yujiro’s intrusion, and slowly you began to relax under the feel of his practiced fingers and stroke of his dick. The torture he was putting your body through grew more and more bearable until the discomfort melted away entirely, a much more enjoyable feeling taking its place in the pit of your stomach. Though you were apt to fight it tooth and nail, the longer he carried on the harder you found it to resist.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” His words sounded heavy as he breathed them into your ear, “It’s like you were made to fuck. I knew you would take me well once you stopped acting up. You’re being such a good girl now (name), you don’t have to hold back anymore. Tell me, are you feeling better than you ever felt before?”

You shook your head, your final stand against the mounting pleasure. He scoffed at the act of petulance, “Still being a brat, I see.”

Yujiro’s lips moved to your neck, sucking and biting the tender flesh as he pulled you tighter against his body. The fullness that was once overwhelming now felt perfect, disgruntled whines leaving your lips each time he pulled away. Your mind grew muddled, confusion making you lose your sense of self to the strong feeling of desire. Every conviction you had held firm to began to slip from your grasp, and even though you knew you would regret it, you no longer had the strength to fight back.

A pleased groan escaped your throat at a particularly aggressive thrust to your core, his dick hitting you deeper than any man ever had before. You pulled yourself closer against him, your legs splaying out farther to grant him all the access he needed to go deeper, conquer you freely. You shuddered as your walls fluttered around him, coercing him to use you as he saw fit. A prisoner to your own lust, you could barely recognize yourself as your wanton moans punctuated each of his motions.

He pulled himself from your neck, chuckling as he stared into your lidded gaze, “Awful cute you’re being right now, (name). I’d ask if this is the view Katsumi normally gets, but I doubt that little prick has the ability to make you feel this good.”

As he carried on you began to quiver, your orgasm steadily building as you rocked against him, chasing the high that was moments away. Your breath came in labored huffs as Yujiro once more spoke down to you, “You lied about that little worm Katsumi Orochi and you lied about how good you feel when I fuck you, but now look at you. Remember this feeling, (name). Remember who you belong to.”

A single tear slid down your cheek as his words rang clear through the fog of your mind. The distressing realization crashed down upon you. There was no more pretending, no more running. You would never, ever be free from Yujiro Hanma. He had won, and he would always come out the winner in the end.

However pleasure overcame your mortification, a garbled scream falling from your lips as you tumbled over the edge. Your body convulsed as he continued to ram into you, the overstimulation making you clutch to him tighter. In a haze of ecstasy you felt his hips stutter, a satisfied grunt rumbling from his chest as he spilled himself inside of you.

The following moments passed by in a surreal blur. He stayed inside of you after coming, his softening dick plugging you up as he cradled your battered and used body against him. Now that the act had concluded, exhaustion overcame you. Your breathing came ragged and unsteady as you draped a heavy arm across your eyes, no longer wanting to bear witness to the world around you.

After a few minutes of silence, he pulled out. You remained where you were, revulsion making you wince at the feeling of his fluids seeping from your core. Everywhere he had touched you burned. Your entire body throbbed, and the implications of finishing inside of you filled you with apprehension.

Maybe this moment was inescapable, but that didn’t stop you from feeling absolutely appalled at yourself.  The ogre you so despised had successfully made you his whore, and in that process you had found joy in it. You clenched your teeth, your jaw creaking from the pressure. You were disgusting. You were ruined. You would never be the same again.

The desire to spring from the sofa and run far away was strong. Nothing sounded better than bolting to the nearest shower to scrub and scrub and scrub until your skin was raw, cleansing yourself of any essence of the man who had brutalized you. But you knew that was just a pleasant daydream. You could bathe for the next ten thousand years and still feel him on you, inside you.  

A shiver passed over your nude body as the air conditioner kicked on, the sweat and fluids on your body amplifying the chill. Though you desperately wanted to, you were unable to move. Leaden by the events of the evening, you remained discarded and used right where Yujiro had left you.

If only you could disappear.

You heard Yujiro moving behind you, but had no strength to look his way. The rustle of fabric made you aware that he was redressing himself, raising your hope that your torture was finally at its end.

“Good luck feeling any kind of satisfaction from a cock that isn’t mine, sweetheart.” He spoke as he walked away, his voice booming through the large, empty room.  “And give my regards to your brothers and that boyfriend of yours. It was nice catching up with you, (name). I’ll work harder to make myself less of a stranger in your life from now on, I promise.”

The elevator dinged. You heard the doors open and close, the whir of the descending car taking him away from you. And just like that, he was gone.

When you were sure he was not coming back, a wail tore through your lungs, tears cascading freely down your red cheeks. The convulsions your tears brought served as a painful reminder of all you had endured, each vibration of your chest reigniting all the aches of the past hour. In an attempt to quell your sobs you bit into your bottom lips, the metallic tang of blood that trickled from your earlier wound mixing with the leftover taste of Yujiro.

Just as you had started to calm yourself, willing your body to move so you could clean yourself up and get the hell out of here, you heard the hum of the elevator once more come to life. You stilled in panic, listening as it crept closer and closer to the top floor suite. You heard muffled voices and laughter from within, and as it grew nearer your shoulders fell at the recognition of one of those voices.

Katsumi.

Another ding, followed by the sound of doors opening, jovial voices spilling out into the open room, punctuating the start of the start of a joyous party. It was the perfect way to conclude a successful fighting convention for the guest of honor and his party.

He was making his way towards a line of soldiers and survivors, and though the latter of the two outnumbered his battalion, they were far too broken to pose a threat. The group consisted of a varied mix of individuals, men and women, young and old, huddled together shoulder to shoulder. Most wept, while others remained silent and quivering. Held firmly in the soldiers grasps, none of the prisoners dared make eye contact with the approaching prince.

None save for you.

Wild was the only way he could describe you, ready to lunge at him the moment he took a step too close. Covered in blood, hair matted and tangled, outfit torn to shreds with gaping wounds peering out through the cracks, you were truly a sight to behold. It was obvious you had fought hard to earn your spot amongst the survivors, and judging by the more kempt look of your compatriots, you deserved it far more than they did.

While most of the prisoners shared a soldier keeping them in check, you had your own personal guard holding you under firm lockdown to prevent you from breaking free and causing issues. The soldier watching you seemed haggard, as if restraining someone as tiny as you had taken a great deal of effort. Zenos internally scoffed at the scene. There was no place for weakness in his battalion, he made note to exact due punishment later.

“Sir,” one of the men spoke as he approached, imperial salute following his words, “We have cleared the area. There was some opposition, but it has been dealt with.”

Zenos’ masked face scoured the surrounding area, finding far too many of their own men’s bodies mixed in with the mongrels. “Dealt with you say, but it seems you had quite the time taking over one small village.”

The soldier addressing him stiffened. “… It’s true, my lord. They did put up more of a fight than was anticipated. There is no excuse for the amount of lives our side lost.”

“If you are aware of that then it should have been avoided,” his cold words made the soldier visibly uneasy, his weight now shifting unsteadily between his feet, “but that may be addressed later. I see we have some cornered animals in our midst.”

The man quickly nodded, relieved to have the heat taken off himself. He turned to the disheveled group, causing them to flinch at the recognition.  “These are the enemy survivors, all of them active members of the resistance. Some, once trained, we believe may make fine soldiers. The others can be used as slaves, in the pleasure quarters, or as bargaining chips. Should my lord will it, we can instead kill them.”

A jolt passed through the crowd, a wave of sheer terror and indignation flashing across their muddied, bruised faces. Even you, staunch as you remained, shuddered at the flippant words that spilled from his soldier’s lips. The lot of you was nothing in the face of the Garlean Empire, and it horrified you that you lived or died at the whim of one man.

He did consider ending you all, leaving your final moments to be filled with dread and the futility of your efforts. How fitting it would be to have the final thought to flit through your fading conscious be your own ineptitude, the frailty you exuded trying to preserve your own existence for a chance at freedom. Your subjugation was inevitable, but he supposed being spared watching the rest of your brethren and kin being torn down until they were all nothing but toiling and obedient pets, cannon fodder, or corpses could be considered a nicety.

Mere inches separated you from the crown prince, and he took a moment to fully take you in. The unrestrained malice and fear dancing in your wide eyes, the tightly clenched fists held in place at your side, the deep grimace that engulfed your entire face. Your body shook in the guard’s hold, each quake relaying how clearly upset you were to be ensnared in this situation. If he ordered them to let you go, what would you do? Attack him the moment you were given leeway, or would you crumble to your knees in despair?

Musing on it piqued his interest. Hunched over before him, you looked so insignificant. Shuddering as you glowered up at him, he could tell you were on the brink of collapse but were doing your very best to hide your feebleness from him.

Your animosity was palpable, the kind that only comes when someone is pushed far past their limit. Your home, your family, your friends, his men must have taken it all from you. And now that you were captured, the torment you faced was sure to be dragged on, only guaranteed to end with your gruesome and painful death.

Zenos wondered if you realized how lucky you were to have survived to this point. Like a phoenix, you had risen from the ash of your past life, born into a new life of combat and strife, forged by the hells of war. The situation that was forced upon you was a truly wonderful breeding ground, an opportunity to mold you into something extraordinary.

But was it enough? You certainly had the look of a mad dog about you, but to show the true colors of a feral beast you would require more time. You needed more experiences to break you, rebuild you into a seething vessel of hatred, an avatar of merciless revenge.

If the process didn’t destroy you, how much more interesting would you become?

A slow smile crept across his lips.

There was a woman next you, older than you by at least two decades. Her manic eyes kept flicking to you, her chapped hands violently wringing the tattered rags that once resembled a dress. She seemed worried for you, and judging by the way your eyes darted to her every so often, softening with each quick gaze, it was fair to say she was someone important to you. Was she your mother, or perhaps an aunt? She was too old to be a sibling, but too young to be a grandparent. Maybe just a kind older woman you took a shine to? It mattered not, her end would happen regardless of her relations.

Zenos lifted his hand languidly, stopping once it had pointed to the woman beside you. She grew pale as he singled her out, her knees knocking so hard he was surprised she still stood. His hand swept over the remaining people, indiscriminately landing on two other elderly captives. An intense wave of unease spread throughout you, accented by the intense quiet that fell over the small crowd.

His lips parted, the words spilling out in a bored admonishment, “These three are past their prime and have no further use in this world.”

You froze, your face twisting into a look of unadultered dread. You knew what was coming next.

“Kill them.”

Without further fanfare, the soldiers nearest each of the chosen drew their weapons and fired. Three bodies fell with a uniformed ‘thud’ to the ground. Fresh blood streaked across your cheek as your companion made her way to the ground. Screams erupted around you, broken and gasping for their stolen loved ones.

Though your mouth had fallen open in shock, no sound spilled out.

The look of anguish the spread across your face was so appealing that he almost considered praising you for it. Cold, agonized distress suited you just as much as bitter rage.

With a flick of his wrist, he continued doling out fates. “The two on the end look sturdy enough to be soldiers, the three in the middle can be tasked with menial labor, and that one over there I am sure can find work in the pleasure quarters.”

“And what of this one, sir?”

The guard holding you gave you a rough jostle, seeming to bring you to your senses. Your eyes traveled slowly from the body at your feet to Zenos himself, the heartbreak you were suffering flickering out as it was once more replaced with thrumming anger. You gritted your teeth, eyebrows cinching as your chest began to rise and fall with erratic breaths. You were doing all you could to keep yourself together, but the final thread holding you was stretching so thin…

Zenos took a step towards you, the motion putting you on alert. You must have been ready for a death order, trying to make peace with the fact that this is how it would all end for you. With another step he was upon you, his regal form hulking before you. Your eyes fixated on his concealed face, a tempest of emotions swirling within them.  

His hand reached out towards you, and though your eyes sparked with a look of apprehension, you remained still. He latched on to your chin, giving a small pleased hum as he felt your flesh quiver in his hold. Upon contact, your face twisted into a look of sheer disgust which he found quite amusing.

You winced as he jerked your head this way and that, assessing the different angles of your face. Even covered in grime you were lovely, surely in more peaceful times you were sought after amongst the rabble to wed. His eyes flicked over your body, taking in each curve and valley viewable to him, the cuts and bruises that littered your skin only made you look that much more appealing.

“This one will serve me directly.”

Your eyes widened, a moment of silence spreading amongst the soldiers as they cast each other sideways glances. “My lord, are you sure,” the man holding you finally broke the silence, “This one is… Well, they are a bit unruly sir.”

He held back a laugh at the blush that passed your cheeks, affronted by the soldier’s choice of words. He guessed unruly was not how you would choose to be described in this situation.

“I can see that,” Zenos spoke plainly, releasing your chin from his grasp, “However a new personal servant is needed since one has recently passed of old age. This woman is lively and can handle the strains of the job. She will be trained in the role, broken down as many times as it takes till she understands her place.” He turned his back towards you and began his departure, his dull tone calling back over his shoulder, “If she can’t adjust to the position I will kill her myself.”

“Then do it.”

He stopped in his tracks, your shaky words the first time he had the pleasure of hearing your voice.  

“I’d rather die than serve you.”

Your voice warbled, but your message was loud and clear. It was a declaration you wanted people to hear. Was it to try and inspire your fellow man that lined up beside you, maybe place an ounce of fight back into the shackled and broken? Perhaps it was an attempt to boost confidence in yourself? Maybe it was simply an act of rage-filled defiance towards the man who personally led the charge which slaughtered your kin, their blood still freshly smeared across your hands and chest.  

It struck him then that you looked beautiful like that, scowling and full of fury, soaked in the blood of your loved ones and enemies alike. It surprised him that a mere pest could hold such radiance, his attraction to you stupefying as he turned towards you, your crazed eyes boring straight through his mask, locking with his own.

“Silence,” the guard holding you gave you a violent shake, “How dare trash like you address Lord Zenos that way, you impudent-“

“Enough.”

Zenos lifted his hand, the sharp command causing both you and the guard to instantly still, your eyes quickly casting to the ground in dismay. He could practically hear your thoughts as he made his way back towards you. Surely this was your now end, there was no way the crown Prince of the empire would let such insolence stand. You would be made an example of, another death to add to the killing field.

The thought annoyed him. Why were you so eager to die when you showed such promise?

He towered before you, his armored hand once more latching to your chin, forcibly tilting your head until he held your watery, conflicted gaze. He could feel you vibrate with anxiety in his hold, your jaw clenched so tight your face had turned red.

“What is it about the battlefield that makes people like you want to throw them self into deaths embrace so carelessly, I wonder? Is it lack of faith, or the overwhelming fear of the odds being stacked against you? Is it the heartbreak over having your loved one cut down before you? Maybe you are just tired of the inadequacy, of being so powerless before true might?”

Your face morphed into a look of disdain, a fresh tear sliding down your cheek carved a clear path through the filth that had accumulated on you.

“Don’t you find it a waste? All that potential building up inside of you, mounting with each hopeless assault against your people… I can see it in your eyes. The hunger to strike me down right where I stand,” he tightened his grip, causing you to cringe, “It’s an admirable quality to have, even for a cur such as yourself.”

Abruptly he pulled away, your head lulling forward from the lack of support. Zenos turned on his heel, stepping away to carry on with the next order of business.

“You have your orders,” He called briskly over his shoulder, “Make sure they are carried out with haste.”

The soldiers nodded, immediately falling into action as Zenos began his departure. He glanced once more over his shoulder as you were dragged away. With the wind no longer in your sails you were much more malleable, putting up little to no fuss as the soldiers ushered you to your fate.

The boredom he had long been suffering from started to diminish as he considered the future. A smirk ghosted his lips as he turned forward, a low hum accentuating his hurried footsteps.

Taiju coming back into your life wasn’t something you could hide from your family forever. They would find out sooner or later that your late night outings and early morning risings weren’t always for school or study sessions with Tomoko (as if your slipping grades weren’t enough of a red flag). You decided early on it was best that you broke the news to them yourself, ascertaining it would cause a lot less grief then if they happened to hear it through the grapevine. When you worked up the courage to break the news to them, they were less than thrilled to hear the announcement.

They loved you, they trusted you, and they had the highest hopes for you. They had sacrificed so much of themselves to make sure you were safe and cared for. They raised you to make the correct choices and instilled in you from a young age the difference between good and bad, right and wrong.

That’s why the hurt was so raw when you peered into their eyes and saw such flagrant disappointment reflecting back at you. Taiju Shiba was definitely not the suitor they had hoped for. They expected you to do better.

But they were willing to push their discomfort aside to give Taiju another chance, which was more than you could have asked for. Elation filled you when you invited Taiju to dinner with your family, hopeful this would put to rest all the bad blood of the past and you could all move on. No more sneaking around, no more lying, no more threats and curses about your parents under Taiju’s breath. If you could just get them together and talking, even if the conversation wasn’t deep, a bond could be nurtured that could bloom into something wonderful.

How naïve you were back then.

The dinner was doomed to failure the moment the invitation left your lips, a quick nod and grunt the only affirmation the he had heard you at all. A few nights later, he arrived at your family house donned in his black dragon’s attire, tattooed chest bared beneath the loose fit of his robes. You pulled him aside the moment he stepped in the door to hurriedly ask why, of all things, he was wearing that. He knew your parents were big on appearances, and you had been harping for days about how delicate this entire event was. Your parent’s approval hinged on this one meal, and he chose to come in full on gang wear?

He responded by curtly telling you he had a meeting after this and there was no time to change afterwards, leaving it at that. There wasn’t a chance for a rebuttal as your mother turned the corner to greet him, the expression plastered to her face enough to make you want to crawl into a hole and disappear. Her lips pursed so tightly that the smile she attempted to give him looked almost comical.

To your parent’s credit, they gave him an earnest shot that evening. Asking Taiju how he had been and how his family was, what he had been up to in the interim of leaving and coming back. Unfortunately Taiju decided to take their niceties and harmless questioning as direct threats and interrogations, each response (if he even gave a response other than his sharp, hateful glower) was brusque, presumptuous, and condescending. You sat like a lump by Taiju’s side the entire meal, shoulders hunched, caving in on yourself. All the hard work you put in sticking up for Taiju, focusing on how he had changed and grown, how things weren’t the same as they used to be, were all escaping down the drain. Humiliation and hurt swirled turbulently within you, making the food you were forcing down your throat taste like ash.

Though the whole event only lasted around an hour, the disconcert you felt was endless. Taiju was successful in proving one thing to your parents that night, and that was that things definitely weren’t what they once were, they were now much worse.

Needless to say, that dinner was a cataclysmic failure.

As Taiju left your house that night he made sure to plant the most lascivious kiss he could upon your lips before making his way out the door, knowing full well your parents were mere feet away, watching. You had never seen your mother’s face pallor the way it had that evening. Your father was so befuddled that even though he was known for being an eloquent speaker, he found himself at a complete loss for words.

Mere minutes after he had left your home they had reached a unanimous decision: You were never to see Taiju Shiba ever again, and any attempt to do so would be firmly and swiftly shut down.

…And yet here you are now, in the home you share with him, getting dolled up to spend the rest of the evening basking in his presence.

Your doppelganger in the mirror was frowning.

Yes, it was better by far to keep up your incantation chanting and push all other thoughts out. If you could just get those words into your goddamn head and move on, wouldn’t things be so much better?

A defeated sigh escaped your reddened lips. It felt useless. Neither mantra nor distraction could stop how increasingly hollow you felt, like the entirety of your insides had been gutted and thrown in the trash.  More and more you felt like as if you existed outside yourself, experiencing things at a distance, no longer in tuned with your physical form.

The girl in this mirror may be you, but she’s fake. Just a shell of the actual you trying desperately to be what you once were.

The dress you had squeezed yourself into seemed far too mature for you, the dramatic split down the side and plunging neckline making you feel like you were going to some kind of charity ball for rich socialites, not your own birthday party. But Taiju picked it out because he wanted to see you in it, and if there was nothing else that had been engrained in your head these long months it was what Taiju wanted, Taiju got.

Taiju wanted you to be official. He wanted you to move in with him. He wanted you to sacrifice your life and time for him. He wanted you to replace the people in your life with the people in his life. He wanted you to realize you were his family now, that he loved you more than anyone else ever could or would, and that he was the best thing to ever happen to you.

Good on his end, all of his wishes having thus far come true.

Locked in the rampant gluttony of his dominion over you, pieces of your true self were shed bit by excruciating bit. You lied to your family, made excuses to your friends, and regurgitated apologies to your teachers and classmates for half assed assignments and missed school days.  And they ate that up, having no reason to doubt you. You were a good kid, a nice person, a student that was always prompt and never caused issues. What need would you have to lie?

However you can only force a smile so many times before people start to dig deeper.  It was only natural that time would chip away at the façade you had created, and your sister fancied herself a detective as she analyzed every word you spoke in hopes of uncovering some scandalous dirt.

You always had a somewhat rocky relationship with her, which you figured was pretty par for the course with most siblings. Sometimes you hated her and sometimes you loved her, she knew just how to get on every one of your nerves and at the same time would be the only person who truly understood what you were going through. So when things shifted in your life she was quick on the pickup, relentless in her search to find out what was really going on with you and this mysterious man from your past.

She didn’t have to stay in the dark long, as things around your household began to heat up in the days following the family dinner. Threatening notes showed up at your door and in your mail box, demands to see you penciled in an erratic, angry scrawl. When that ceased to have an effect, graffiti littered your walkway, choice words and lewd imagery that was just as bold and ostentatious as the man who orchestrated the vandalism. There was a tight leash around your neck which kept you from reaching out to Taiju for questioning, but even if you could you were doubtful the harassment would end.

Your sibling became personally affected when things became more physical, your father’s car becoming the victim to a late night keying. Though the damage was all cosmetic, it cost more to fix than the car was worth, setting the household back with the unplanned expense.  The keying caused your parent’s anxiety to teeter out of control, and thus an iron clad rule was brought into effect immediately.  You were by no means allowed to leave the house alone, and it was none other than your older sister who had been appointed as chaperone to be stuck constantly at your side.

At first she found it amusing. Her little sis who stayed out of the lime light as much as possible suddenly being center stage in a bizarre, tumultuous crime-esque drama was definitely something that was relative to her interests. Meek little (name) entering some kind of sordid relationship with a gang leader was icing on the cake. You couldn’t recall the last time she had spoken to you so much, her jaw continually flapping to ask about Taiju and his gang and your role within that gang. You wanted to pop her each time she leered at you with that teasing lilt in her voice, knowing full well you were in for another unescapable earful.

But it grew old fast, especially when this meant that instead of having her own social life she was stuck playing your bodyguard. Her light hearted jabs turned into heated barbs. Accusations and complaints that used to be hidden beneath her breathe were now spoken to you plainly. She was mad about being thrust into this position, and you became her punching bag of blame to help alleviate her displeasure.

Things can only bend so far before they break, and your sister was never known for being pliable. At some point she became convinced to the point of obsession that she could end all of this and put Taiju in his place, she just had to come up with the perfect plan first. As much as you advised her against this, it became her primary goal, and no amount of goading or assuring her that things would eventually die down satiated her desire to claim her old freedoms back as quickly as possible.

It had become commonplace to feel a presence follow behind you from school to home, and you had become an expert at ignoring it. Whoever they were, they never said anything to either you or your sibling, always making sure to keep several paces behind you. Far enough that they weren’t invading your personal space, but close enough that trying to make a break for it would be a bad idea. You hadn’t a clue who the silent enigma’s were, their faces covered in masks with hoods overcasting their eyes. All you knew was that they usually came in two’s, and though none of them were ever big enough to be Taiju himself, their Black Dragon attire made it apparent who they worked for.

On one particular evening something was off. You sister was grumpier than usual, and the force that was following you seemed more overwhelming than it typically did. It was a miracle that you made it home without incident, your sisters’ clenched fists and grit teeth blaring signs of how much she was struggling to keep herself in check on that slow walk home.

However, even as the threshold into your yard was crossed and the figures behind you began to depart, you sister’s discontent didn’t wane. Her anger would not be quenched that night by merely making it home, she needed the satisfaction of something more.

“Don’t you fucking losers have anything better to do?” She mockingly spat over her shoulder, halting the two figures in their tracks. “Isn’t following two girls home who have absolutely no interest in you or the shitty company you keep a little pathetic? Maybe you scumbags should get lost and go find a life.”

Pleasure lit her face after she spoke, the airing of her true feelings instantly alleviating some of her tension. However, the duo she had dissed was not the type to take trash talk lightly. Before she could take another step her progression was stopped by a sloppy, wet, mess colliding with the back of her head, the noisy squelch upon impact booming in the quietness of the evening. One of them must have been eating as they were walking, remains of a half-eaten burger and fries’ tangling in your siblings thick hair, condiments and what was left of a soda dripping down her neck to soil her clothing.

She seethed. Indignation coursed through her as their laughs echoed down the street, bringing her to her boiling point. Desperately you attempted to calm her and clean her up, spouting anything you could think of to convince her that you could handle this. Your words fell on deaf ears and she shoved you aside with a force that staggered you, knocking you to the ground

“This whole fiasco is your fucking fault,” she spat, violent eyes honing in on you prone form, “If you hadn’t become some gang leader’s whore we wouldn’t be in this mess right now! Do you even know how much this effecting mom, dad, and me? Do you even care, or are you so off in your own little mob princess fantasy that you’ve gone completely nuts?”

She cut you off before you could speak, “I don’t want to hear any more shit from you, and I refuse to live like this any longer. If no one else will do anything, I will.”

Bold words from a bold girl, her silhouette looked stalwart and assured as you stared after her retreating back that you almost believed that she could do something to end this.

But bravery goes hand in hand with stupidity, and your sister had definitely bit off more than she could chew when she took on the black dragons.

She didn’t make it home that night. You and your parents stayed up till the wee hours pacing and worrying, calling all of her friends and the local police department. No one had any information to provide, so you remained in the dark until early next morning when the cops were finally able to share some news.

You sister had been found by an early morning jogger crumpled up in an alley way, her body bruised and bleeding from a beating she withstood, most likely from multiple assailants. Her face was so mangled and puffy from bruising that it was hard to tell it was even your sister at all.

She spent the next several weeks in the hospital recovering, but each time you went to visit she refused to acknowledge your existence. You expected her to be mad, to go off on you and scream until she was hoarse about how much she hated you for causing this. But the cold silence she offered was far, far worse. She didn’t hate you so much as you simply no longer existed to her at all.

Your parents were at their wits end. Your sister was refusing your presence. In the span of a few short weeks, your family bond had been successfully destroyed. All you could do was watch as the people you loved broke down, morphing in to strung-out, anxious husks of who they once were.

It was ultimately your decision to move out and seek shelter with Taiju, which looking back now must have been his plan from the get-go. The longer you stayed under your families lock and key, the worse things would become. They mauled your sister, what would stop them from going after you father or mother next? What if they didn’t stop at just beating them? And what could you do to stop them, other than give them what they wanted?

The day you left home you sobbed nonstop as Taiju rampantly tore through your bedroom. Your parents had finally gone back to work after all the frenzy had died down a bit, weary yet trusting that locking you up alone in the house would be okay. Taiju utilized this time to making his daring ‘rescue’, springing into action the moment their car had left the driveway.

At first he left the packing up to you, but when your shaky limbs weren’t moving fast enough for his liking, he pushed you aside to haphazardly chuck clothing and other belongings in whatever bags and suitcases he could find. He was frenzied, a violent mix of excited, triumphant, and pissed off as he stormed his way through your room, showing very little regard of your property and your feelings when he ripped through memories and trampled over your possessions. The choked cries agitated him, and he warned you more than once to shut up or he would give you something to cry about. Luckily for you, he was so busy tearing your life apart that his words remained nothing more than exasperated threats.

Once he had accumulated adequate supplies for your indefinite stay, he proceeded to usher you out of the house with a haste you found gratuitous. Noticing your reluctance to leave he sighed, placing your bags down so he could provide you his undivided attention.

Catching your chin in a light pinch, he jerked your head up so that your watery eyes met his observant glare. “I know this is upsetting to you, but even you agreed this is for the best. I’ve gone long enough without you by my side, every second spent in this house is a waste.”

You could tell by the timbre of his voice that he was trying to sound understanding, but the impatient giddiness he was feeling at having you so closely within his grasp was bleeding through. The manic gleam as his feline eyes drank you in was making you feel ill, like you were a farm animal being lead to slaughter.

“You’re my family now, and I take care of what’s mine.” His voice was low as his hand fell to the base of your neck. Strong, thick fingers pressing tenderly into your skin pulled you forward until his lips were grazing your ear. “My good girl just has to let me take care of her. Somebody else could get hurt otherwise, and you don’t want that do you baby?”

You phone buzzed violently in your hand, dragging you back to reality. Starring down, Koko’s name illuminated your screen. After a moment’s hesitation, you answered his call.

“Hey Princess,” Koko’s voice chided, “You almost ready in there? The carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin at this point.”

“Sorry,” your voice was clipped as you responded, “If it was my choice I wouldn’t be wearing the most complicated dress in the world.”

He laughed, “Come on now, I’m sure it can’t be that hard to navigate. The boss wouldn’t pick something he can’t rip off you easily.” You could almost feel the smug smile on his face as his words made you blush furiously.

A heavy sigh came through the speaker, “Anyway, try and keep in mind that if we’re too late it’s not you that is going to fall under Prince Charming’s wrath for this, and I’d like to spend the night in my own bed and not a hospital.  I’m sure you look beautiful. Please, come out here soon.”

The phone clicked and you gave your own elongated sigh. With one last look in the mirror, you headed out the door.

You paused for a brief moment after you arrived outside, staring down the steps at the man who awaited you. Koko hadn’t noticed you yet and was in the midst of furiously punching away at his phone, looking positively disgruntled with his cinched brow and grimace. You knew he had to be making up excuse after excuse to Taiju over why you were running behind. You huffed in guilt. Koko wasn’t wrong when he spoke earlier. It was his ass that was on the line the longer you loitered, even though you were the one completely at fault.

“Sorry again,” you piped up, drawing the man’s instant attention. He puffed a rouge strand of hair out his eyes as he flicked them over you. His demeanor relaxed, shoulders instantly losing their tightness as he flung open the car door he had previously been leaning against. You eyed the vehicle with a slight frown, unsure of whom it belonged to or if Koko even had a normal driving license to be operating it.

Then again, you learned early on that with most things that involved the black dragons, it was better to not know the origin of them.

As you descended down the stairs you were met with a whistle, a wolfish grin spreading over Koko’s face as he awaited you at the bottom. “There’s the princess,” he teased, doing a slight flourish when you grew near, “Looking as lovely as I presumed you would.”

“Yeah,” you looked away, discomfort mounting the longer his eyes took you in, “Thank you.”

“Shouldn’t you be a little more excited?”  He snorted, moving aside to grant you access into the awaiting vehicle, “It’s your birthday after all, and your knight in shining armor is going so hard at pleasing you today.”

“Can you cut it out with the fairytale metaphors,” you grumbled, “It’s not like I’m ungrateful. This is all just...”

“A lot?”

You gave a small nod of agreeance. It was eerie how conscientious he could be sometimes.

You relationship with Koko was complicated, to say the least. There were days when you absolutely despised him, your brain going feral at the sight of his stupid smug grin and teasing eyes. The familiarity he approached you with never ceased to make you cringe, as if he were entitled to your companionship and confidence simply because you were his leaders’ significant other. Often times you felt just as trapped by him as you did Taiju, the raven haired boys’ awareness that your social circle had been drastically cut down to Taiju’s family and the black dragons was a huge driving force in your awkward, forced companionship. With all your friends and family gone, who else did you have to turn for camaraderie?

Inupi was around as well, of course (Taiju wouldn’t let you step foot out of the house without at least himself or one of those two nearby), but there was something about the way Koko glued himself to you, taking a vested interest that Inupi did not. For both Koko’s sake and your own, you played dumb to that interest, knowing full well nothing good could come of it.

But for each moment of torment with Koko, there were also times when he supported you, stood up for you even, and on days when it felt like no one else was in your court you couldn’t deny that that was much appreciated. If you were being honest with yourself, you weren’t even sure if you would have been able to survive meeting all of Taiju’s men for the first time without Koko by your side.

Countless rows of men stood before you, identically bowed at 90 degree angles. Their backs reflecting the logo of the black dragons were turned to the sky, causing what little moonlight filtered down from the clouds to reflect off the bright white of the lettering.

They spoke in unison, their voices rumbling together to form a great roar. ‘Too loud’ your brain warned, eyes flicking wildly around the darkened shrine they had assembled before, ‘Far too loud for a place of worship at this time of night.’

Every word Taiju spoke was responded to promptly, the mass of men showing nothing but the utmost respect for their leader. Taiju’s reluctance to explain the darker aspects of his life were quick to dissipate after you had moved in. He had mentioned the Black Dragons prior of course, but the true extent of his involvement and the crimes they committed was all still fresh news to you. You guess he figured it best to make sure you were properly secured before airing out all his dirty laundry.

And this was an induction for you, of sorts. Despite being adamant in your voicing of wanting as little to do with his gang as possible, Taiju was an expert at countering. It was hard to fight the fact that by being his girlfriend you had defaulted into being a member of the Black Dragon regardless of how you felt on the matter, and as such, needed to attend at least one of the meetings to formally introduce yourself.

You stood slightly behind Taiju as he spoke, who was mid-explaining your significance in this world that had been thrust upon you. It felt unreal, like you were outside your body piloting someone else. Your joints were simultaneously stiff and like jello, your constitution so weak that if the wind gusted too strong you were sure you’d blow away with it. A steady thrum of nausea had been flopping in your stomach the entirety of Taiju’s speech. So many eyes trained on you, so many souls weighing your worth, judging your appearance. It was making your head spin.

You only became aware that Taiju’s speech had ended when he placed a chaste kiss on the crown of your head. He whispered in your ear what you thought might have been encouragement, but could have just as easily been an admonishment. With the state you were in, it was a wonder you could function at all, let alone recognize someone was speaking to you. He guided you towards Koko and you followed without putting up a fuss, happy to see that your legs could still move properly, and even happier to be out of the spotlight.

With a few barked orders you were left alone with Koko as Inupi trailed after Taiju. You felt anxious as you watched Taiju become engulfed in the sea of men, nerves eating you as your protection and lifeline slipped father away. The flood of people began to trickle closer your way, and you couldn’t help but grip on to Koko coat as you heard a few curious whispers and felt rogue glances directed your way. A chill passed through you. Getting lost in a mass of delinquents was not what you were looking to achieve tonight, and even if the company by your side was not much better, at the very least he was someone you knew.

“You made it through,” Koko stated, making no move to pull away, “Despite the fact that you looked like you were going to burst into tears the whole time.” When his attempts at light-hearted teasing had no effect he frowned, lowering his voice until only you could hear it, “You can relax now, (name). It’s over, all right?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just not used to all of this,” you mumbled in reply, trying your hardest not to stare at anyone surrounding you. It was not lost on you that nearly every other individual in the crowd dwarfed you in size and stature. There were only men familiar with fighting on a daily basis in your midst, and in the event something happened and they turned on you, you wouldn’t stand a chance. "Any one of the people could kill me in an instant.”

He laughed, causing you to shoot him a look. They angry gleam in your eyes only seemed to widen his smile.

"Well, I guess you're right about that, wouldn’t take much to beat down a little pipsqueak like you. If Taiju wasn’t in the picture I would say you would be in a world of trouble here, smack dab in the middle of all this.” He spread out his arms, reminding you of a used car salesman trying to hype up his unimpressive lot. “But that’s not the case, and no one here is dumb enough to try and fuck with the boss’ property.”

You weren’t wild with being described as ‘property’, but were left with no time to voice your qualms when you felt him drew himself nearer, pushing into you in a way you could only describe as invasive. The press of your bodies now bordering on scandalous, you broke out in a cold sweat. If Taiju saw the way Koko had positioned himself beside you, if his fierce eyes were to hone in on the way his guard captain’s lips hovered so close to your ear in this moment, you weren’t so sure he would make it out alive.

Koko’s dark eyes were lidded as he stared down at you, a brief flash of something wild and desperate passing through them as his words tumbled from his smirking lips.

“Besides, I’m here for you too, aren’t? It’s not just Taiju they’d have to go through to get to you, princess.”

A light touch against your back pulled you to your senses, and you glanced over to see Koko shaking his head. “I’m sure you already know this, but now is not the time to take a breather. You’re a tough girl who’s gotten past worse moments than this. You can make it through one dinner, yeah?”

You weren’t sure what made you want to wretch more, the coddling tone of his voice, or the warmth of his hand on the small of your back.

“Now hurry and get it. I lied to the boss and said we left ten minutes ago, so we are going to have to really haul ass.”

~

You watched through the window as the car pulled up to the restaurant. Taiju had been waiting out front, and now that he was fully in view you could see he was dressed just as nicely as you were. Donned in a tailored suit you had never seen before with his hair slicked back out of his face, he looked positively dashing. You couldn’t help but feel taken by how fetching he appeared, a swooning sensation overtaking you the longer you took him in. The deep blue of his suit and stark white of his shirt made him look mature and dignified, and the sparse statement jewelry on his hands and neck truly pulled the entire look together.  You would agree whole heartedly with Koko’s early ‘prince charming’ statement if it weren’t for the positively peeved aura that permeated his entire form.

Taiju’s eyes were mere slits, holding a murderous glint as they bore into Koko. Judging by how entirely unamused he appeared he must have been standing outside for a while, and you knew you’d have a lot of damage control to do because of that. Arms folded impatiently across his broad, puffed out chest with a scowl chiseled deeply into his stern face, he looked the very definition of furious. Even other patrons made sure to avoid his path, lest they do something to trigger his rage.

It was cute in a way, seeing him standing watch out front grumpily as he anticipated your arrival. It would be a sweet gesture if it remained just that, a little bit of grumpiness and not a threat that someone was going to be pulverized if he waited a moment longer.

Deciding it was best to spare Koko Taiju’s wrath, you exited the vehicle as quickly as possible. When Taiju’s attention was drawn to you his murderous demeanor shifted, a slow smile spreading across his lips as he looked you over. “Damn baby,” he spoke a bit breathlessly, hungry eyes roving your dolled up form, “you look fucking gorgeous. I was getting pissed off waiting for Koko’s slow ass to bring you here, but seeing you now it was worth the wait. If I wasn’t a stronger man I don’t think you would be making it through this dinner in one piece.”

You withheld a shiver, laughing off his heavy advance, “It would be a shame if I didn’t get to see the birthday surprise you had planned for me though, wouldn’t it?”

He smiled at you devilishly, offering an outstretched hand.

“I guess you make a valid point. I’ll try and be on my best behavior, but no guarantees.”

You approached him with measured steps, still a bit wobbly on the heel’s you had yet to get fully used to. Your clammy hand clasped his, and he began to lead you inside.

“Let’s go,” he smiled down at you, “the others are waiting.”

~

The restaurant Taiju had picked for your birthday dinner was a place you had never dined at previously, and as you made your way to the back party room, it was clear why.

Opulent didn’t begin to cover this place. As you strode past the other diners in their expensive designer suits and luxurious dresses, sipping the finest wines from crystal glasses and nibbling at exotic cuisine you had never tasted, let alone knew how to pronounce, you felt very much out of place. But there was confidence in Taiju’s steps as he led you, an air of showmanship as he paraded you past the rows of aquariums that lined the walls and snaked between the guests. The aquatic animals in their enclosed environment appeared much like how you felt, out of place and trapped.

He was speaking to you, something about how this place was one of his favorites, but the lights were dimmed for ambience and your steps were unsure as you struggled to keep Taiju’s rapid pace. Your brain could only be occupied with approaching this situation a literal step at a time, your downcast eyes keeping close watch of the terrain to help prevent slipping and creating a scene. You wouldn’t want to be the one to upset Taiju’s party, even if it was supposed to be ‘your day’. The only thing you wanted out of all this was for it to go just as Taiju had planned. If everything met his expectations, at least the day had the potential to be peaceful.

A breathe of relief escaped you when you made it to the party room without incident. Taiju opened the heavy mahogany door for you, sweeping you inside with a firm hand on your rear. You bit back a yelp when he tightly squeezed, a chuckle rumbling through his throat at the red that flushed over your cheeks.

“The birthday girl finally appears.”

Your attention was drawn to the center of the room, where a lone square table made of the same rich wood as the door stood. It was illuminated by a single ornate chandelier that hung over the center, casting an invitingly warm glow over the two bodies that sat waiting for your arrival.

You smiled at the familiar faces of Hakkai and Yuzuha, your first genuine smile of the entire day. “Sorry I’m late. I had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction.”

Yuzuha laughed, “Yeah, with that ensemble it isn’t hard to see why.”

From the corner of your eye you saw Taiju lurch, prompting you to rush your next words to halt any brewing drama. “It’s the price of beauty I guess,” You smiled, slowly making your way to the table, “I would hate to show up to such a nice place looking like a street urchin.”

She cracked a mischievous smile, “You didn’t have to come looking like a full on debutante either, though. Were you scared the paparazzi would catch your bad side?”

Her words were nothing more than playful banter between friends, this you were well aware of. But you knew Yuzuha was also aware of how critical her older brother was of the interactions you shared with her, never taking kindly to commentary that could even remotely be considered criticism of yourself or your relationship with him.

“Show some damn respect, Yuzuha.” Taiju growled, pulling out the empty chair next to Hakkai so that you could take a seat. “The last thing she wants to hear on her birthday is your bullshit.”

“It’s called sarcasm,” she retorted, shooting him a pointed look, “Sorry for joking around with my friend, I’ll make sure to speak like a robot from here on out so I don’t upset anybody.”

Before Taiju could respond, you placed your hand on his arm, calming him. “It’s alright Taiju, I took no offense. Besides, late birthday girls deserve to be a little picked on for taking time out of such a lovely occasion. I’m surprised Hakkai didn’t chime in as well.”

You had grown accustomed to being a bumper between the siblings, an intermediary force to lessen the blow of Taiju’s fits. Most of the time it worked, but there was a fine line to it. More than a few occasions had occurred where his anger had gone past the point of gentle words and soothing touches, and when it became uncontrollable there was little that could be done other than pray it would subside quickly.

More often than not Yuzuha was on the receiving end of these assaults, and whether she provoked Taiju herself or if she was acting as a shield for their little brother, she would always get the worst of his violent tendencies.

When you first entered the family dynamic it was hard to grasp the severity of the abuse he inflicted on his siblings. At first you were just privy to the aftermath, watching Hakkai limp by you in the hallway, a puffy black bruise blossoming around Yuzuha’s eye. You believed the wounds must have come from elsewhere originally, aware that Hakkai was embroiled in gang life just as his brother was. Yuzuha clung to him like glue and probably ended up in a fight now and again by association. The few times you tried to breach the topic they were never at liberty to go into much detail, and after repeated question dodging, you dropped the topic entirely. If they wanted to open up about their issues to you, they would do it at their own speed.

… Which wasn’t to say it didn’t bother you, seeing them in pain and unwilling to tell you why. Since you aligned yourself with Taiju you had become especially close to both siblings, seeing as they were the only people left that you trusted to openly communicate and confide in. Though it did also occur to you that maybe they didn’t think of you as being that tight knit, and it could be that they just didn’t WANT to confide in you. They had good manners, and though you hoped it wasn’t the case, it was entirely likely that maybe they saw you as nothing more than an extended stay guest they were obligated to be polite to, and that was as far as their feelings extended.

Regardless of what the story behind their injuries was, at the start of your tenure in their home you truly believed Taiju had no hand in their abuse. There had to be some other explanation to it, no big brother who says he loves his siblings would treat them in such a violent manner. Even if they did have a tendency to have verbal battles, that wasn’t proof of any physical altercation. Hell, how many times had you and your own sister got into heated fights without laying a single hand on one another?

The first time you witnessed the abuse Taiju inflicted on his siblings in person is a moment you don’t think you’ll ever quite forget. You can recall it as clear as the day it happened, the burn in your leg muscles as you rushed to Yuzuhas side, your whole body moving on auto pilot to come to her aid. At that point her face was already bloody, bruises forming on her arms from where Taiju was grabbing her.  You called out to him, but he was so consumed in his manic fury that your words didn’t register. Unsure of what else to do, your grabbed his reared back arm, hoping to stop his onslaught.

All it did was redirect his blow.

His fist connected just below your eye left eye, the force of the blow knocking you to the ground.  Despite the fact that she was right next to you, Yuzuha’s scream sounded distant as you sat on the floor, knocked to your ass in a total daze. Blood began to trickle down your cheek, and the shock of what had just occurred hit you so hard that it took several moments to even register the pain. When it came, it was excruciating.

“Fucking Christ,” he seethed, pulling you up roughly by your neck. Your body quaked in his grasp, the tears cascading down your cheeks mixing with the blood of your fresh wound. It splattered on to his hand, your shirt, the floor. “I guess I have to teach you a lesson about what happens when you interrupt my business, don’t I baby?”

It only took a few more blows for you to black out from the pain.

After you woke up that night, he was so gentle with you. There was a tangible discord between the intense pain of your wounds and the warmth of his caress. In the space of passing out and coming too, you had been cleaned up, bathed and bandaged, and now were wrapped in the softest blanket ever created, ice pack held to your face by Taiju’s hand as his other arm kept you close beside him.

He didn’t apologize. In fact, he admonished you. All you could do was listen numbly while he spoke, verbally scolding you as a parent would a child.

You caused this damage to your body. You made him hurt you. If only you could have been good and stayed in your lane. If only you would have behaved. Why did you get in the way? Why did you do this?

The whole time you listened, you couldn’t bring yourself to voice the question hammering in your head.

Why did HE do this?

“You look very nice.”

Hakkai’s soft voice called out beside you, breaking you free from your morbid thoughts.

“This is our first year getting to celebrate your birthday with you,” he smiled awkwardly, “I’m glad to be here with you. It’s cool that we get to spend this special day with you, I mean. Uh…”

You could see the gears in his head turning, obviously trying hard to come up with some topic of conversation that wouldn’t inadvertently piss someone off and further sour a day that was supposed to be in honor of you. Hakkai’s subtle thoughtfulness was something that you found endearing, and you found yourself cracking a smile at the comical amount of vexation on his face.

“Thank you,” you giggled, “I’m glad you are here too. This spacious room would feel very empty with just Taiju and me in it.”

The gratitude you felt was no joke. The party room was cut off from the rest of the establishment, eerily stifling with how secluded it felt. You could barely hear the bustle of the kitchen right next door, let alone the noise of the other patrons.  If it weren’t for Hakkai and Yuzuha, you were sure you’d feel even more imprisoned than you normally did.

“It sure is big,” Yuzuha joined the conversation as her eyes scanned the area, “It could fit a whole bunch of people. You should have let her invite more people, made it an actual party. “

‘No,’ you stiffened, ‘don’t go there.’

“It’s her birthday after all,” Yuzuha carried on nonchalantly, uncaring of the mounting tension in the room, “I’m sure she had some other people in mind she wanted to bring today.”

“Maybe you should shut your mouth instead of talking about shit you know nothing about.” Taiju snarled, casting a vehement look her way. “The people who care about her the most are in this room.”

He spoke with finality, but Yuzuha wasn’t willing to end the conversation with that. “She misses her friends, you know.” She snipped at her brother. “That one girl… Tomoko was it? She still tries to call the house, even to this day!”

There was a pang in your heart at the mention of her name. It was true. Every so often you’d see her name flash across the call ID of the home phone (your cell number had long since changed, only the people Taiju deemed fit knowing the new number), and an urge like no other would possess you to pick up as soon as you’d see those letters brighten the screen.

But each time your hand would reach for the receiver, you’d stop, memories of what had been done to your family overwhelming you. Taiju had told you before that if she became a ‘problem’ to him, he would have no qualms with forcing her out of the picture.

He couldn’t ruin her too. You wouldn’t be able to bear it.

The icy terror that griped you over this threat inspired you to take your own precautionary actions. At first you lied to her about your sudden disappearance, telling her that everything was fine, you were just busy. Throwing excuses at her left and right that you had spent hours honing in hopes they were believable enough to slip past her radar. You had the perfect answer for why you were missing so much school, why you didn’t live at home anymore, why you were constantly with Taiju, why you couldn’t see her anymore.

When pre-crafted excuses stopped working, she became more persistent. She stopped wasting time getting answers from you, instead opting to confront Taiju directly. She accused him of brainwashing and kidnapping you, pointing all the blame of your absences and what had happened to your family towards him.

If she hadn’t given him these verbal lashings in the halls of your school while others stood witness, you were positive the same fate that befell your sister would have also been granted to her as well.

Watching her fight for you so valiantly shattered your heart in a way it never had previously, a sickening realization clutching you in an unrelenting squeeze. No amount of distancing yourself from Tomoko or promising to never see her again would keep your friend safe. She wouldn’t back down in her fight to get you back, and neither would Taiju in his fight to keep you. And if it came down to her power versus his, there was no question of who the victor would be.

It was clear what had to be done. You had to try and break her, because if you didn’t, Taiju certainly would.

You convinced Taiju to let you see her alone under the guise of fake anger, successfully getting him to believe that you were so disgusted with how she treated him that you wanted to make it explicitly clear to her that you wanted her out of your life for good. With his blessing, you took her on in Taiju’s stead, spitting every volatile thing her way you could think of. Every fight you ever had had been unearthed, long forgotten grudges dug up to use as the fuel to your fire. To add insult to injury, all of the insecurities that had ever plagued her you spat back in her face, stomping not just her heart but her self-esteem into the ground. Vile words cascaded in an endless, horrible strand from your lips, acting as a double edged sword. They were tearing apart not just Tomoko, but you as well.

After your heated screaming match, you both left as sobbing, broken messes. For that you were almost thankful, taking one look at your fucked up state was all Taiju needed to believe Tomoko would never be a problem again, no further acting needed.

But Tomoko was too smart for your bullshit, she always had been. So she kept trying and trying and trying to reach you. She never stopped, and you knew she never would.

If some miracle were to happen in the future and you could make your way back to her, you knew you would never be able to repay her or make things right. Your friendship was shattered by your own two hands, and no matter how much work you put into correcting your errors or how unceasing Tomoko’s forgiveness was, none of it mattered. You made your choice, and you would never deserve the unconditional love Tomoko provided.

“She has more than enough friends here.” Taiju spoke plainly, taking a swig of his drink. “Besides, that girl is a fucking bitch. You saw how (name) looked the last time they saw each other. I bet she’s just trying to act friendly so she can hurt her again.”

“It’s in the past,” you cleared your throat, your mediator skills kicking in once more, “I’m just happy to be surrounded by you guys today.” You turned your attention fully to Taiju, making sure to give credit where he was expecting it to be due. “Thank you so much for this beautiful party, Taiju. I’ve never been treated to something so nice.”

The mechanical words caused a pleased smile to bloom across Taiju’s face. Nothing could light up this man’s demeanor like your subservience.

“Anything for you, baby.”

~

The meal itself went surprisingly well.

Sure, there was a squabble here and there. Yuzuha occasionally mentioning something that ticked Taiju off, or Hakkai’s mannerisms sparking a snide comment or two did affect the soiree, but overall it was nice. The dinner seemed comfortingly normal, like you were just an average family without any grudges that was sitting down to enjoy each other’s presence.

How you wished it could have stayed that way.

You weren’t even sure how it started, but a minor disagreement between the siblings had grown from heated words to full on yelling. Initially it embarrassed you more than anything, the atmosphere of this upscale restaurant no place for a scene, private room or not. You tried in vain to get Taiju’s attention, but even speaking to him in as sweet a tone you could only got a sharp command to shut your mouth as he carried on his tirade.

Clanging dishware startled you, drawing your attention to Taiju as he pushed off the table. He loomed over your seated forms, eyes shooting daggers at Hakkai who shifted nervously in his seat beside you.

“What the fuck did you say,” Taiju’s voice was low, a threatening tone to it that he reserved for when you really crossed the line with him. You could feel the anxiety radiating off Hakkai, his clenched hands shaking in his lap. Too afraid to make eye contact, his gaze bore holes in the table before him.

Like a whip, Taiju’s hand snatched at his younger brother’s collar, his reach across the table knocking a cup to the floor. It shattered upon impact, bits of glass and remaining liquid coating your leg and foot. Apprehension kept you from cleaning the mess instantly, a slight grimace on your face as a chunk of glass wedged itself between the strap of your sandal as you scooted your foot away.

A heavy silence hung in the air as both men remained frozen in place. Glancing up at Taiju, you noticed his breath coming unsteady while his grip remained firm on his brother. Something dangerous danced in his eyes as he took in Hakkai, who had leaned himself uncomfortably up against the table. The younger boy’s legs bent at an awkward angle to take some of the strain off his neck, a terrified look of uncertainty on his face as his brain struggled for a solution to get out of the debacle he found himself locked in.

Your mind raced for something to say or do that would end this as calmly and with as little blood as possible, but Yuzuha beat you to the punch. Ever Hakkai’s protector, she couldn’t stand to see her brother in this position any longer.

She stood, defiantly latching herself to the arm that held Hakkai in place. There was fire in her eyes, a built up rage that was threatening to spill any moment. You prayed you would suddenly manifest some manner of telepathic communication to try and dissuade her from the action she was set on making. As much as you didn’t want Hakkai to go home with a black eye, you knew there was nothing Yuzuha or yourself could possibly do or say at this point to save him. The attempt itself was already damning enough.

“He said you were ruining (name)’s birthday,” her words were brusque, umbrage seeping from her every pore, “And he’s fucking right. Your entire presence for the past ten years has done nothing but cause pain and misery for all of us. You didn’t just mess up her birthday. You messed up her entire life, asshole.”

In an instant, Yuzuha was on the floor.

The speed at which it occurred left you all momentarily stunned. Hakkai, suddenly free from Taiju’s hold, collapsed down on the table. This in turn caused more dishes to fall to the floor, one of which shattered near the fallen Yuzuha. You felt like your body had turned to stone as the scene played out in before you. The image of Taiju towering above his sister, his hand secured tightly around her collar as it just had her brother, keeping her in place. His fist connected once, twice, a third time. Her lip bust open, blood gushing out profusely with each strike. Yellow bruising began to creep around her eye after the fourth hit. She was trying to shield herself, one hand locked in a fruitless struggle to escape his grip, the other doing its best to block herself from the incoming blows. Worming around the floor, bits of broken glass pierced her flesh, red trickles marring her bare legs.

It took Hakkai speaking to draw you from your haze. Unsure of what he even said, the desperate rasp in his voice drew you back to the earth and all the horror that came with it. Raising yourself on unsteady legs, you knocked your chair aside as you stumbled your way towards Taiju. Faltering for a moment when you reached him, visions of the last time you attempted to separate Taiju from Yuzuha on playback in your head as you stood behind them.

But with her face in your direct line of sight becoming bloodier by the moment, you decided no longer cared what happened to you. It would be worth it if you could save her.

You flung yourself around his torso, burying your face into his broad back. You felt the coarse fabric of his suit moisten from your tears, your arms trembling with a mix of fear, adrenaline, and desire to redirect his attention. Squeezing as hard as you could, your body rocked with small sobs.

“Please,” you pleaded, “Please Taiju, stop. I know you are doing this to stand up for me, but please…”

Taiju stilled in your hold, and the seconds that ticked by were excruciating. No one spoke, only the sound of Yuzuha’s labored breathing and your soft cries disrupting the tense atmosphere. Slowly you began to feel Taiju’s tense muscles relax in your embrace, and you all but breathed a sigh of relief when he released his hold on Yuzuha, her beaten body falling unceremoniously to the floor.

“Baby,” he sighed, pulling his body back to its full height.  He swiveled in your loosened hold until he faced you, his large hands finding purchase on your tear soaked face. His thumb grazed beneath your eyes, wiping away the tears the continued to spill.  “You’re being far too lenient here, you know when they run their mouths-“

Taiju stopped mid-sentence, his eyes sharpening as they looked off slightly behind you. Your body grew taut as you felt his grip on your face tighten, worry seeping into you that maybe Hakkai had done something behind you to once more ignite his rage.

“You’re bleeding.”

It took you a moment to process the words, your own gaze finally glancing downward to see a small trail of blood had followed you from your seat. Now aware of it, your foot began to throb in pain. The glass that had slipped in previously had embedded itself deep within your skin, the gash staining the entire left side of your once pristine white sandal in a bright crimson.

“I’m sorry, I must have stepped on glass,” you sniffled, sitting yourself down in the chair Taiju had previously occupied to better assess the wound, “I’ll pay more attention next time.”

Taiju grunted, kneeling down in front of you so he could assist. “You need to be more careful,” he scolded, but his voice held no true bite to it. He grabbed an unused tablecloth, dunking it in what remained of his ice water on the table. “Let me see it.”

You removed your hands to give him a better view, taking the chance to check on the siblings. Yuzuha had made it to her feet and was rubbing carefully at her eyes, attempting to remove any evidence of tears. Hakkai hovered around her, doing his best to dab at her wounds without causing more pain.

With a quick jerk, Taiju pulled the glass shard from your foot, causing you to wince. He immediately applied the washcloth to soak up the new blood that had started to pour out, but the pressure he exerted was more than necessary, adding to the discomfort. It hurt, and Taiju was tactless in how he was tending to you, but it seemed an insult to be bothered by it when Yuzuha was just a few feet away in such a demolished state.

“Hakkai,” Taiju snapped over his shoulder, drawing all three of your attention, “Go get the waiter, let him know we had a little accident and need some help with cleanup.”

Hakkai nodded, giving his sister one last look before heading on his way.

“Yuzuha,” Taiju grumbled in irritation, “Go clean up before we go home, I don’t want you bleeding all over the car.”

She lingered a moment before moving, as if she didn’t truly believe she was getting off so easily. But when Taiju kept his attentions on you she made her way to the door.

“Wait.”

She halted, her hand frozen on the handle just as she was to make her escape. Your heart rate quickened, wanting nothing more than for her to just make it out of this godforsaken room without any further incident.

“You need to apologize to (Name),” his voice was stern, “Apologize for ruining her birthday.”

Your eyes snapped to Taiju, momentarily speechless over the absurdity of his statement. You didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at situation, but you knew you shouldn’t be surprised. This wasn’t Taiju dodging responsibility or trying to play dumb. This was Taiju earnestly believing his deluded words.

This was Taiju showing his love for you.

You shivered, your body suddenly feeling extremely cold.

Yuzuha turned her head, dull eyes meeting yours as she pulled the door open.

“Sorry (name). I’m really, really sorry.”

~

“… Yuzuha?”

You knocked gingerly on the bathroom door, calling out as you did. The drive home felt as if it stretched on forever, everyone planted to their seats in complete silence. Even the gregarious cab driver made nary a bit of conversation, his words lost in the tense atmosphere. It was no wonder that as soon as you made it back, Yuzuha had dashed inside and holed up straight away in the bathroom to properly address her injuries.

It also didn’t shock you when there was no response to your knock. If you were in her shoes, you were certain the last person you would want to see would be yourself. But still, you worried for her and couldn’t help but feel immense guilt over how the night had gone down. If there was anything you could do to right this, you wanted to do it and then some.

Considering relenting after a few failed attempts, a soft voice called out to from inside before you could step away. “It’s unlocked, you can come in.” A click followed her words, letting you know the lock had been released.

With her permission, you opened the door just enough to squeeze inside, closing it quietly behind you. Taiju had told you not to bother checking on her, so you lied and told him you were going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. It was lucky that the rooms were adjacent to each other, if you heard him coming to check on you it meant you could slink out quickly.

“Hey,” Yuzuha said plainly as you entered. Her back was turned to you, but she met your eyes in the mirror she was facing. “I’m surprised he let you come see me, what with me instigating such a scene and all.”

She spoke jokingly, but there was sadness in her voice. Yuzuha was one of the strongest people you had ever met, but the state of her family cut into her deeper than she let on. When things got really horrible, or events happened that truly shook her, you could see just how much it affected her peeking through the cracks. She couldn’t be a stone statue all the time, no matter how much she wished otherwise.

“He didn’t,” you responded with an equally pathetic smile, “I lied and said I was getting some water. I shouldn’t stay here long.”

“Ah,” she responded with a sigh, “Figures. But it’s a shame. I really wanted to enjoy this day with you.”

You felt tears prick your eyes at the honesty of her words. Her voice sounded so defeated, her body sagging from a mix of pain and exhaustion. Your eyes slowly inspected her, noting that she had already bandaged up all her cuts. Her hand pressed an ice pack into her face, completely engulfing the left side of it. Yuzuha was so young, yet looking at her now she looked as if she lived multiple consecutive life times in a row, the weight of it all mounting on her as it steadily crushed her alive.

How much longer until all of this turmoil completely consumed her?

“I’m so sorry Yuzuha,” You choked on your words, holding the tears that threated to spill at bay. “You don’t deserve any of this.”

Her eye found yours once more in the reflection, despondency reflected within it.

“Yeah,” she breathed a shuddering breath, “Neither do you.”

~

“That took a while.”

There was an accusatory tone to his voice that would typically set you on edge, but with state you left Yuzuha in fresh on your mind, you paid little attention to him. Warmth still enveloped you from the embrace you shared with his sister moments prior, your shoulder slightly damp from the tears she finally had the freedom to let lose. It was haunting, the way her arms gripped you like a lifeline, clinging desperately to your affection.

“Sorry,” you mumbled absent mindedly, “I’m a little slow because of my foot.”

Which wasn’t a total lie, the wound on your foot did slow you down and the shoddy, excessive wrap job didn’t help either. You figured maybe Taiju was overcompensating when he did it, attempting to make up for how rough he had gone at the cut earlier.

When you entered your shared bedroom he was already splayed out on the bed. Stripped from his fancy dinner attire, all he wore now were his boxers, the rest of his body on display. The jet black of his tattoos was a sharp contrast to the paleness of his skin, the way the lines dipped and curved against his muscles a thing of mesmerizing beauty. He leaned back on his arms, golden eyes staring down his nose at you as he followed your movement from the entrance to the vanity across the room. His legs were spread, feet lazily hanging off the side of the bed, and the boxers he wore were pulled down dangerously low, sitting right beneath his hips, just on the cusp of indecency. Though there was a slight frown on his lips he appeared relaxed, pleased even. He finally had you alone.

As much as it embarrassed to admit, it still made you anxious seeing him this way, and he knew this. The man seemed to live for the blush that bloomed across your body when he’d undress for you, eating it up entirely with a hungry smirk on his lips. He loved it almost as much as he loved seeing you in compromising situations.

He had no qualms forcing what he wanted from you in any situation, and it was a given that this applied to the bedroom as well. He believed implicitly that it was his divine right to see and have all of you whenever and wherever he desired, and if you wouldn’t freely give that to him, then he would simply take it. You know he preferred when you were compliant, treasuring the moments where he could convince himself you were a willing participant in his actions, but there was also a certain thrill he’d feel when you would do a minor act of rebellion. The way his breath would shudder when you’d try and push his groping hands away or the slight upturn of his lips when your limbs would tangle around yourself in a weak effort to hide your nude form. He’d always fuck you the hardest when you’d try and deny him, feeling immense satisfaction as he carved an indelible feeling of his ownership inside of your core.

You had already donned your own pajamas, but in your rush to check on Yuzuha had left yourself adorned in all your accessories. You were in the process of taking off your most recent acquirement; a stunning gemstone necklace Taiju had gifted you at dinner just before shit hit the fan. Noticing your struggle with the small clasp, Taiju rolled himself off the bed, proceeding to make his way towards you.

“Let me.”

You stopped fumbling with the dainty chain, your hands instead moving your hair out of the way so that he could finish the task. His fingers felt cold as they ghosted your neck, goosebumps dotting your arms at the feather light touches mixed with slight gusts of his breath. The necklace sparkled in a dazzling array as he lifted it off you, placing it with care on the dresser beside him. You pushed aside nagging thoughts of how many carats it may be, how he could afford such a thing, or where the hell you could ever wear something so extravagant.

“Your foot doesn’t hurt too badly, does it?” He asked as he turned back your way, serious concern lacing his voice.

‘It’s nothing compared to what you did to your sister’ you mused briefly, but shook the thought from your mind, shooting him a small smile instead.

“It feels a lot better now. I just don’t want to put too much pressure on it.”

He nodded, taking a step forward. His thick arms snaked around your stomach, pulling your back against his bare chest. He planted a prolonged kiss to the top of your head, eyes never once leaving yours in the vanities reflection. Once it concluded, he sighed, resting his chin on the top of your head.

“If only Hakkai and Yuzuha didn’t fuck tonight up,” his arms circled you tighter, “I had everything planned perfectly, went through hell to get that reservation months in advance, and they still couldn’t fucking act right.” He scoffed, “Just one night, all I wanted was one night where we could enjoy each other’s company and have some fun on your special day.”

He sighed again, sounding truly disgruntled. “It’s embarrassing. I taught them better than that.”

Removing the last of your jewelry, you smiled up at him as sincerely as you could.

“It’s alright, I still had a good time. Thank you, Taiju. It was a nice birthday.”

He returned your smile, planting another kiss atop your head. His arms moved from your torso, hands traveling to your arms. You heard him inhale behind you, his eyes drifting closed as he slowly moved his hands up your arms, stopping to rest them heavily upon your shoulders.

“A nice birthday huh,” he leaned down, his voice low as he whispered huskily into your ear, “But I can make it much better, baby.”

His hands slid the thing straps of your tank top off your shoulders, the loose fabric instantly working to fall off your chest. You shuddered, hoping that maybe the events of the night would have been enough to deter how the night was to inevitably end. Your body still ached from the night before, and seeing his scuffed knuckles reflecting back in the mirror as they began to fondle your now bare breasts only made you think of Yuzuha alone in the bathroom, sobbing and in pain. Was the blood that flecked them his or was it a remnant of her?

“Taiju, I’m tired,” You spoke gently, not wanting to make him mad. You shifted in an attempt to shrug off his feverish hands, but it only made his ministrations more determined. His growing erection was now pressed snuggly against your ass, and he relinquished one of his hands to pull your waist further into it, enjoying the friction with a purr.

His mouth latched to your neck, hot, sloppy, kisses littering the delicate flesh. You whimpered. Between his mouth and his hands, you didn’t know how your neck was ever without bruises.

He broke away momentarily, eyes flashing open to meet your gaze in the mirror. A devilish grin curled on his lips, expression dripping with lust as a dark chuckle rumbled from his throat.

“Well then,” he growled, arms swiftly scoping you up in a bridal carry as he turned towards the awaiting bed.  “I guess I’ll just have to wake you up.”

~

You weren’t sure what time it was.

At some point, you had awoken in the night. Discombobulated from your fitful sleep, it took a few moments for you to get your bearings. Your check was pressed into Taiju’s chest, your body rising and falling slowly with his breathing. His heart was beating steadily in your ear, the gentle consistent thump of it reminding you of a metronome. Maybe it was in a sense, seeing as Taiju had a hand pressed to the back of your head that kept you firmly in place atop of him and unable to see the clock. Maybe this is how you should count the time as you force yourself back to sleep.

And oh, how you wished you could get there soon. You were exhausted mentally and physically, every inch of your body begging for rest. You hurt too, the awkward position you had been pressed into not helping in the slightest, every bruise and ache of the day and nights liaison amplified by your unnatural posture. You shifted slightly, attempting to at least move the bottom half of your body to try and achieve some semblance of comfort. Alas, that only reminded you of the sticky mess that had pooled between your legs prior, what was left over from multiple orgasms Taiju had coaxed from your body, his own release a part of the mix.

“You awake?”

His voice startled you, knocking all previous feelings of sleepiness out the window.

“I’m sorry,” you responded, voice groggy from slumber, “Did I wake you?”

He chuckled, “No, I’ve been awake. I was watching you sleep.”

For a moment you were thankful for your uncomfortable position, knowing it prevented him from seeing the blush of embarrassment that illuminated your cheeks.

Silence fell over the two of you once more. Your eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the room, picking up things that had been obscured previously. Taiju moved a bit, finally sating your curiosity about the time as the bold red letters flashed 4:09AM you way. In a blink, it changed to 4:10.

His change in position ended up being more comfortable for you as well, and you took the chance to shimmy around a bit until you found a good spot to nestle into. He kept his hand on your head, keeping your from roaming too far. After you had relocated, he languidly began to cart his fingers through your hair, and you found yourself relaxing at his touch. The sleep that had previously eluded you was sneaking its way back, your eyes growing heavy as you focused once more on the soft beating in his chest. As they began to flutter closed, he spoke to you once more.

“(Name)?” He spoke in little more than a whisper, as if he were checking to see if you had fallen back to sleep or not.

“Hm?” you hummed in response, fighting back sleep a bit longer to hear what he had to say.

A moment passed before he spoke again, causing you to think maybe he was the one who actually ended up falling asleep. However his words were clear when he spoke them, a question being posed that you were not expecting him to ask.

“Do you remember when we first met?”

You laughed a bit. Was this a test? “I hope you aren’t trying to make fun of me for forgetting the first time around, I thought I apologized enough for that already.”

“I’m not,” he was quick to respond, and there was a melancholy resonance to his voice that made you perk up, “… It’s just… Do you remember what you said? The very first time we met in that play house?”

You were fully alert now, intrigued by the line of questioning. Taiju was not someone who hesitated about anything, and yet here he was, sounding almost nervous as he asked such an innocuous thing.

“Um,” you stalled, granting your brain some time to remember that far back. “I’m sure I told you that I thought you were cool, and I thanked you for saving me.”

He gave a short laugh, “You did say those things, but you also said something that stuck with me more than that.”

“Yeah, what was that?”

“You said you were lucky… lucky that you met me.”

Hearing him say those words transported you right back to childhood. Sitting scrunched up in the playhouse, smiling like a bashful idiot up at Taiju. Despite the circumstances, you couldn’t help but smile at the nostalgia.

“No one had ever said that to me before.”

The smile fled from your face, the shake in Taiju’s voice freezing you in place. He sounded to the point of tears, but you were so stricken by the sudden passion in his words that you dared not try to confirm.

“Not one person in my life had ever been happy like that to see me,” he continued, struggling to keep his emotions in check. “No one ever said it was lucky that I was around. My mom… She was dying. Every day she got worse and worse. I had to watch her waste away, and if I went to dad needing help with anything, he pushed me aside. Said he was too busy taking care of everyone and everything else, that he didn’t have time to spend on me when his world was coming down around him. I was just in his way.”

You were silent as he continued, body stilled. Afraid that if you even made one small move, the moment would be over.

“Yuzuha and Hakkai… Fuck, they were just kids, you know? I mean so was I, but Hakkai was like a fucking baby. They had no idea what was going on. They tried to go to dad too, but he just wasn’t around. They were lost and they had no one to turn to, no one except me.”

He took in a shaky breath, “So I did what I could as the newly appointed man of the house. I did my best to protect them and help them, but God they just… They wouldn’t listen to me. They didn’t understand that I was helping, so I had to try and make them understand. But even then, they wouldn’t take me seriously unless I got physical.”

“Somewhere along the line everything just got so fucked up. I didn’t have anyone to turn to. Not even my own family wanted me around. My mother was dead. My father was gone. Hakkai and Yuzuha avoided me. Everyone I thought was my friend had jumped ship, telling me I had become mean, that I wasn’t fun to be around anymore. I had no one.”

His hand stopped, falling in place once more to cradle your head. In the brief silence, you continued to listen to the dull thud of his heart.

“Then I met you. And you told me with your bright eyes and big smile that you were lucky, lucky to have someone like me in your life. I couldn’t stop thinking about that, about you. Every time your face came to mind my chest ached. I wanted to see you again so bad, I wanted to know everything about you and be with you all the time. Everyone told me I was being ridiculous, that it was some dumb little crush I’d be over in no time. But my desire to be near you never stopped.  As time passed my feelings only grew, and even from that young age I knew that I would love you for the rest of my life.”

You felt Taiju shift beneath you, a deep breath escaping his lungs. When he spoke again, tiredness had crept into his words. Snuggled against him, you could feel his body relax beneath you as he began to drift away.

“God put me through hell, and for the longest time I didn’t understand why,” his speech was slurred with sleep, and knew it wouldn’t be much longer before it fully claimed him. “But when I met you I understood. It was to meet you. You are my angel, (name). You said I was your hero, but I want you to know that you saved me too.  I love you so fucking much that sometimes I don’t even know how to handle it.”

“(Name)…” His words were breathy, spoken right on the precipice of a dream, “Do you still feel that way? Do you still feel lucky that I found you?”

He was gone before you could respond.

~

Going to Black Dragon meetings was starting to be the bane of your existence.

You weren’t even sure why you had to attend, Taiju never let you listen in on what they discussed or have any say in the gang’s activity. Not that you actually wanted that kind of involvement, but sitting around off to the side for hours on end wasn’t your idea of fun either. And if you had to be there anyway, you would prefer at least some form of stimulation.

On top of your mandatory attendance and lack of purpose, he forbade you from interacting with anyone while you were there (excluding your normal entourage of Koko and Inupi, of course). You barely knew the other people in Taiju’s gang and figured it best to keep it that way, but the lack of correspondence with others  further increased your boredom. As soon as the two of you showed up he’d go stash you to the side, keeping you within view but away from the action. You felt like a decorative tea cup placed in a china shelf, something that was nice to look at but not to be touched.

You sighed forlornly, chin cradled in your palm as it rest against your knee. You had asked before why your presence at these things were necessary, but just as with every other time you questioned Taiju’s decisions, it didn’t end so well for you (if he even chose to answer you at all).

“Here.”

Something cold nudged your arm, making the hairs stand on end. Your eyes traveled up to the culprit, Inupi, who had just come back from his trek to the vending machine.

You took the drink from him with a ‘thanks’ as he sat himself next you on the dilapidated shrine step. Your back hurt from being hunched over on the stoop so long, and your ass was cold from the jagged concrete. As you sipped your beverage, your eyes passed over the mob of men several feet away from you who were engrossed in a deep discussion, no doubt in your mind that it was about something unsavory.

“How much longer do you think it’s gonna be?” You absentmindedly asked the boy beside you, your eyes locking onto Taiju’s large back in the distance. His blue hair danced wildly in the cool night breeze, a bright beacon amongst a sea of black.

“Hopefully soon,” he sighed, leaning back casually on one hand while his own drink was perched in the other. “I have to wake up early tomorrow for some bullshit make-up exam.”

You shot a wry smile at him, “And here I thought you were valedictorian material.”

He snorted, hiding his smile as he took a swig of his drink. “Who says I’m not? Tests are bullshit ways to measure intelligence anyway.”

Though Koko was usually your allotted babysitter, Inupi was the one to hold that honor tonight, and for that you were thankful. Inupi wasn’t much of a talker, least of all to you, and he certainly wasn’t one to openly bare his soul to people. But in the past few weeks he had slowly become accustomed to your presence and through the time you spent together a sort of bond had formed. It wasn’t deep enough to be considered friendship, but maybe it was headed in that direction.

Honestly you expected the conversation to end there, the rest of the meeting to be spent with the two of you side by side in silence enjoying your respective beverages in peace. But as you felt him continually fidget beside you, you couldn’t help but be a little on edge. Of all people, Inupi was always one of the more collected members of Taiju’s gang. Even under pressure he remained stoic, so it couldn’t help but alarm you to see him so uncomfortable in such a lax setting.

“… Is something wrong?” You questioned tentatively. Things were cool between the two of you, but you still didn’t want to cause any upset. The question seemed innocent enough to you, but around so many volatile people you were never quite sure what was overstepping your boundaries.

“No,” he was quick to reply, his voice flat despite his jitters. “It’s nothing.”

You hummed in acknowledgement, the noise eaten up by sound of the wind.

“It’s just…”

You glanced his way, observing that his eyes were set firmly in place, glaring fiercely off into the distance. You followed his gaze, ascertaining it had honed in on the two top dogs of the Black Dragons, Taiju and Koko.

He sighed, sounding almost irritated. “It’s stupid, never mind.”

Your brows furrowed, “It isn’t that stupid if it’s bothering you this much.” You stared back down to the half empty can in your hands, the lingering cold causing your fingers to go slightly numb. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, though.”

Another beat of silence passed.

“…I just wondered what your dreams were.”

Your head snapped his way, noting an almost imperceptible blush had befallen his cheeks.

“I told you it was stupid,” he grumbled, refusing to make eye contact. “I don’t know… It’s just something I have been thinking about a lot recently. People’s goals, what the hope to achieve, what they want out of life and what they are working towards, shit like that.”

“It’s none of my business,” his eyes lifted, falling back to the men before him. “But I can’t shake it. The fact that some people’s dreams will never get realized no matter how hard they work. They bleed themselves dry and work themselves to the bone for some shiny, encompassing obsession. They just keep digging the hole deeper hoping to strike gold at the bottom, only to find more dirt.”

He shifted, his eyes meeting yours, “Those are the type of people that drag everyone around them down there with them to get stuck in the mud. And the people caught in that crossfire… they don’t really get to dream anymore. And if they do, it just hurts them.”

You remained silent, ruminating over his words. He breathed deeply, hanging his head in a defeated manner.

“I thought maybe it was getting better,” he spoke softly, as if he were telling you a terrible secret. You could barely hear him over the sounds of the meeting ending in the distance, causing you to lean in a bit to catch his words, “But if anything its getting worse. You should be careful (name). It’s not just Taiju that wants to swallow you whole.”

The iciness of Inupi’s words pressed in around you, mingling with the cool gusts that rocked the overhead tree branches this way and that. You wrapped your goose bump riddled arms around yourself for consolation as another thick gust of wind ripped through the air, the ferocity of it causing you to clutch yourself tighter. A sudden threat of tears made your eyes clamp shut, hoping to keep them from forcing out.

“Dreams, huh?” Despite trying to sound light hearted, the words came out sounding disjointed and broken. “I haven’t thought about those in a long time.”

Inupi lifted himself, turning his head to you one last time before making his way towards the others. “That’s probably for the best. Maybe that’s the only real way to get through all this.”

As he began making his way toward the crowd, you knew you were supposed to follow. But your body had become rigid, perched like a stone deity at the base of the derelict shrine. No one came to tend this forgotten space anymore, the saisen box eternally empty and the paint long since chipped away. It’s only company now was delinquents, ghosts, and people like yourself trapped somewhere between the two.

Your heavy eyes shifted focus to the slowly dispersing crowd, a chill coursing down your spine when they landed on Taiju and Koko.

Both sets of eyes were watching your every move.

~

“Oh my God.”

The words escaped you through an airy, bewildered gasp at the sight that stood before you.

Maybe it was a childish thing to think, but you could never picture Taiju ever losing. The entire time you had known him he had been an unhuman beacon of strength and power, undefeatable against anyone who dare cross his path.

So why was he hunched over before you, dangling limply between Inupi and Koko like a wet piece of clothing hung up to try? Deep black and purple splotches dotted his body, weaving in and out of his tattoos like a child sloppily trying to color within the lines. His hair hung down over his face, obscuring your view, but with the way the two men flanking him were struggling you realized he must have passed out and was just dead weight they were supporting.

You ushered them inside, hurriedly tossing pillows aside to make room for his body on the couch. After he had been positioned on the cushions you could truly ascertain the beating he had endured, and you felt your heart stutter as you assessed the damages. As if the bruises weren’t bad enough, you were sickened to see blood pooling from an open stab wound near his abdomen. Raw flesh stained the brightest red you had ever seen consumed your field of vision, mocking your belief that the man this had happened to was invincible. Tears blurred your vision as somewhere in the background you heard Inupi try and explain that the stab wound wasn’t too bad-it had missed his vitals-it was far shallower than it appeared.

Though he was unconscious, the pain etched into Taiju’s furrowed brow told you all you needed to know. Your eyes weren’t deceiving you, he really had lost. For the first time in his life Taiju Shiba had entered an altercation that he did not come out on top of and this was the after math of his actions.

The scene was too surreal. You had never seen Taiju in physical pain before, taking some of the hardest blows imaginable head on and reacting to them with nothing but a cruel smirk on his face. It made you wonder if whatever had occurred tonight at the church was more than just the average gang tussle.

Inupi and Koko helped you clean him up. You were thankful to have them around, not sure what you would have done had Inupi not had been able to stitch him back together. Despite being surrounded by it, gore had never been your strong suit. Other than gathering supplies, cleaning affected areas, and applying ice and bandages, you felt useless as you watched Taiju writhe around in a restless sleep, moaning in discomfort with each healing application. At some point his hand found yours and squeezed so hard you thought he may break it. Your bones groaned under the pressure, but you squeezed it back to let him know you were there, using your free hand to wipe the gathering sweat from his forehead.

When things calmed down, Koko pulled you to the side while Inupi finished up with Taiju. His face was grim when he stopped in the dimly lit hall, and now that your initial shock had faded it was clear to see that he also hadn’t made it out of the scuffle without taking blows.

“(Name)…” he sighed, contemplating how to proceed. His focus darted from you to Taiju in the next room over, his frown deepening each time he spotted his fallen boss. His eyes were a stormy mix of resentment and disappointment as they passed over his disheveled form, scoffing before he directed his full attentions your way. “It’s time to jump ship.”

Despite his tempestuous nature, his words came out surprisingly clear, ringing through the air like a bell. “With Taiju falling, the Black Dragons are done for. We need to get out of here before things get worse.”

His words caused a whiplash, leaving you dumbfounded that someone who had always appeared so loyal would say something so frank. You had expected an explanation, or at bare minimum, a rundown of what transpired from when Taiju kissed you goodbye at the door, to when they dragged him home. Who did he fight? Did it happen at the church, or did they jump him before he got there or after he left? Was that gang still looking for him? Would they come back to try and finish the job?

A few hours ago Yuzuha ran off without offering an explanation either, and she hadn’t answered your texts or calls the entire night. For that matter, neither did Hakkai. Were the two of them involved and were they okay? Did they know the state their brother was in, or were are they fucked up worse than he was somewhere?

You mind whirred with questions, your body teetering as the severity of this situation hit you. Someone out there was stronger than the indomitable Taiju Shiba, and if they had the strength to bring him down then what was stopping them from coming back for the kill? If some provoked, hot-tempered monster of a gang boss tore down your door right now there would be no way you could protect Taiju, let alone yourself. You felt tears burn your eyes, your breath coming out in ragged gasps as your hand gripped your chest. Your brain screamed to try and call Hakkai and Yuzuha again, but the dread filled thought that they may not be alive to answer kept you glued in place.

Your duress had not gone unnoticed, and it took you a moment to realize that Koko had pulled you into his chest, wrapping you close in a constraining embrace. Your breath caught as you felt him stroke your hair, soft murmurs of affirmation pressed against your ear. His arm snaked around your back, the heat of his body scorching as his fingers left angry red indents in your flesh.

His presence was nothing but a burden to you already overwhelmed form.

Bile rose in the back of your throat. This wasn’t a friend trying to comfort you in a time of need. This was an opportunist trying to strike his claim.

“I know this is scary,” he whispered, his breathing labored, “but I need you to go grab what you can. We can’t stay here any longer, (name). It’s over now.”

With all the strength remaining within you, you shoved him away, both parties tripping a bit as distance was created. The confusion and hurt that engulfed his expression was temporary, quickly replaced with annoyance. A scowl rested on his lips as you confronted him.

“What the hell happened,” you cried, a tear streaking down your cheek. “Who did this to Taiju? Where are Hakkai and Yuzuha? And what do you mean it’s over? Koko, what the fuck happened tonight?”

After a moment’s contemplation, he relented. You listened aptly as he explained how the night progressed, from escorting Taiju to his yearly Christmas Eve pilgrimage, to dragging his broken body back home. He explained Toman’s interference and how Yuzuha had stabbed her older brother with the intent to kill. Much like your own sister, she had finally reached a point where she would no longer idly stand by and let Taiju do as he pleased.

Much to your relief, Koko did explain that both she and Hakkai, though a little roughed up, were fine and safe with Toman’s inner circle. You weren’t the keenest on its members, but you had met a few through your association with Hakkai and they seemed an amiable enough sort, even if they were Taiju’s enemy. It put you at ease to know the sibling were with them, and it consoled you to know the chance of Hakkai’s gang coming back for Taiju was slim to none.

Koko concluded his retelling by explaining how the arrival of Toman’s leader had spelled the conclusion of the fight, his appearance ultimately put a stop to Taiju. With their boss’ resounding defeat, the end the Black Dragons as you know it had been solidified.

You listened numbly to the entire sordid tale. The shock of Taiju’s bloodied body on the couch wasn’t waning, and now that you knew all that transpired, a tremendous ache had bloomed in your core. All this planning, scheming, and unrest was going on under your nose without you even realizing it. Yuzuha had planned to kill Taiju, and she damn well almost did judging by the oozing wound you just helped patch up. A whole gang war erupted right down the street from you all while you sat around at home, none the wiser.

Yuzuha, Hakkai, Taiju… None of them may have returned from that.

“(Name),” Koko’s voice broke through to you, a sickening sweet tinge to it. You realized then he was touching you again, this time more gently, his fingers trailing up and down the length of arm. “I’ll keep you safe. Now that Taiju has been taken down, you’ll come with Inupi and me. We’ll leave before Taiju gets up-“

“Shut the fuck up Koko.”

The bite in your tone halted his motions, his expression dancing between agitation and shock as you ripped yourself from his grasp.

“If you want to leave, then leave. In fact, that’s probably for the best. You know where the door is, see yourself out.”

His hand tightened into a fist, body vibrating as he withheld his rage.

“Don’t you see,” he spoke through clenched teeth, “Don’t you see all the shit I did for you? Me, personally, not that abusive shithead you were cradling so lovingly in your arms minutes ago.” His eyes traveled to Taiju before falling back to you. “I know he took the credit for half the shit I did, but who do you think supported you these past years? Your home, the food you ate, the clothes on your back… you really think this asshole knew how to make all that happen?”

He took another step towards you, “I supported you, ME. I took care of you and protected you, I provided for you, I sheltered you as best I fucking could from this monster and his violent mood swings, and still… still you pick him over me?”

There was desperation in his voice as he pleaded with you, watery eyes giving you a glimpse of his breaking heart.

“So that gives you a right to my love,” you croaked out, the broken words tumbling from your lips, “I don’t recall ever asking for you to do any of that for me Koko, but I guess I owe you now, huh? Does that make me your property, just like I’m Taiju’s?”

You noticed him flinch, the ice in your words plastering a scowl on his lips. His body grew stiff as you took an unsteady step his way. “And that’s what everyone wants right, to be the one to own it all? The power, the money, the people, all of it should be yours to do as you see fit, that’s what all this is about right? Who gives a shit what the actual human beings involved feel or want?”

You held his gaze, matching his intensity. The room was thick with tension, and your knees were knocking so violently you felt as if you would crumble any second.

Still, you held your ground.

“I never wanted this to happen to anybody. I didn’t want anybody to get hurt, but that’s all that seems to happen anymore.” You took a shuddering breath, “And idiotic as I may be, I’m not leaving Taiju while he’s like this. I… want to be by his side. That’s my decision.”

He stared at you with hard eyes as the seconds crept by. You heard Inupi shuffle in the other room until he came into view, tentatively making his way over to Koko. He placed a hand on his friends shoulder, shooting him a knowing look that caused the dark haired boy’s body to slightly deflate.

“It looks like I’ve upset you. Sorry, that wasn’t my intention.” He turned on his heel, motioning for inupi to follow as he made his way towards the exit. He stopped briefly at the threshold, pivoting his head your way one last time.

“I won’t bother you again, but I want you to remember one thing,” there was a waver in his eyes as turned around once more, “I don’t own you, but Taiju doesn’t either.”

The door clicked softly as they left, leaving you utterly alone.

You made your way back to Taiju, fretting over what to do next. You debated calling an ambulance, but realized if Koko and Inupi went through the trouble of dragging him all the way home there was probably a good reason they didn’t take him to the hospital to begin with. Taiju had no friends to call now that the Black Dragons had apparently disbanded, and Hakki and Yuzuha were going through their own trials. You alone were now tasked with being Taiju’s savior.

You were vaguely aware that you were pacing, constant motion matching the onslaught of thoughts that fretted your brain, worrying about all that could go wrong.  What if the stab was deeper than you thought, or you didn’t clean it well enough and it got infected? What if there was some other wound you missed, or damage happened internally that you weren’t aware of?

A cold sweat pooled on your brow. What would you do if Taiju died?

“You stayed.”

His voice fell through the crack of his lips, small and fragmented. You were at his side in an instant, crouching on your knees beside where his head lay. He lifted his shaky hand to find purchase on your skin, his grip felt unsteady and cold as it grazed your face. Your expression softened. This was the first time in your life that you had ever seen him vulnerable.

“You could have gone with them, but you stayed with me.”

He attempted to raise his torso, but you placed your hands on his shoulder to slowly guide him back down. Gently reprimanding him, you sat yourself on the far end of the couch and gingerly repositioned his head so that it was nestled in your lap.

“Of course I stayed,” you murmured, softly carding your fingers through his messy hair, “I wouldn’t be much of a guardian angel if I left you like this, would I?” His lips upturned at your words, letting out a relieved breath. “But Taiju… Why didn’t you tell me things had gotten like this? I had no idea… I didn’t realize… If I had known, I wouldn’t have let you leave…”

You tripped over your words, a fresh batch of tears dribbling down your face to land upon his. You squeezed your eyes shut in an attempt to staunch them, embarrassed that Taiju was the one so badly hurt, yet you were the one sobbing.

“I’m sorry.”

Your eyes shot open, surprised to hear the words directed your way.  Glancing down at the man in your lap, you saw that he was crying too.

“I really fucked up, didn’t I?” He nestled his face against your stomach, and you realized that even in this battered state, maybe he was embarrassed too. “With the black dragons, with Yuzuha and Hakkai, with you… I feel like I’m losing everything all over again.”

He winced when he tried to roll on his side, the wound near his back a fresh reminder of the night’s failures.

“…Maybe somethings were lost,” you spoke slowly, “And things have definitely changed. But it doesn’t have to be for the worse, and it doesn’t mean that you are going to face it alone. Even if you lost this time and really messed up … I’m so glad you made it home to me Taiju.”

He turned his attentions back your way, intense emotions wavering in his tear stained eyes.

“I am too, baby.”

There was something in the way his voice wavered, how his eyes continued to stare up at you with a vulnerability you never imagined Taiju could exhibit. Your heart was breaking the longer you held him. With strained effort he lifted his arms once more, placing his hands lightly on your cheeks as if he were holding something incredibly fragile. He gently rubbed a tear away as it streaked across your face, his eyes drinking in your features as you stared down at him.

“You know, with the light shining behind you like that, you really do look like an angel, (name).”

Despite the tremendous pain he was in, a genuine smile graced his lips.

Taiju had hurt you more times then you could count and in ways you would never wish on anybody. There was toxicity dripping from every facet of your relationship with him. It wasn’t right, you couldn’t even call it good, but in that moment as you nestled his wet face in your arms, you realized that you loved him so much that you really didn’t care. Maybe he had broken you down to this point, forcing his affections onto you until you caved, but it was true.