Ai No Kusabi Fan Fiction ❯ Fates Intertwined ❯ Sixteen Months in Captivity ( Chapter 1 )

Fates Intertwined: Sixteen Months in Captivity

By

Kiix

 

Word Count: 4000

Date Completed July 1, 2008

 

Daryl hovered around the doorway to the kitchen not for the first time unsure of what to do. Before Riki, he had no problems tending to the needs and wants of the Great Blondie in residence. He could anticipate Iason because...well, because Iason was just like one of those mechanical guardians. The schedule was set for the week and posted on the First Day evening. There was never any deviation. Meals were to be prepared and on the table at precise times. Dinner parties were held almost every other week. The inevitable clean up afterwards wasn't something that he sorely missed but having all those Blondies gathered in one place just made his heart thump a little harder and his pride in his Syndicate Boss and therefore his own position as the Boss' furniture swelled. But that was before. That was before Riki the Dark invaded the heart and mind of the Great Blondie. Daryl looked down at his wringing hands and forced himself to stop it. That was before the dark mongrel from the slum called Ceres devoured the shining bright Blondie's soul.

 

Iason.

 

Not that he was prone to gossip, but even other furniture was commenting on the changes in Lord Mink. As was his duty, he defended his master but secretly, he liked how the tall Blondie was now. Professionally, from a furniture's point of view, the changes to Lord Mink were a nightmare. Privately. He had never seen Iason smile before. Not the polite gestures that ambassador's and other Blondies received, but a genuine emotion filled smile. All because of the mongrel.

 

Since Raoul's visit so many months ago, Daryl watched his Master pick up the responsibilities he had shrugged off. The Blondie still dressed impeccably, was groomed gloriously and performed his duties to Amoi admirably - if the vids and reports were to be believed. Lord Am didn't return with dire consequences as he had hinted at; however…

 

Daryl gnawed on the bottom of his lip. However, at home, Lord Mink was a wreck. Daryl winced as his stomach splashed agony around inside his gut again. Right now, the face of Tanagura was sprawled in his chair before the hearth disheveled and reeking of too much alcohol, painkillers and…Jupiter forbade it…sex. Even after the most furious scrubbing it seemed like the scent or aura hung onto the Blondie's every being. Daryl didn't know how the rest of Lord's Mink's compatriots missed it. You could only ignore so much…even for a Blondie.

 

Iason had just returned from work and still the remains of the morning indulgence seemed to hang upon him like a funeral shroud. Couldn't the rest of the Blondie elite see the…decadence that was wearing Iason Mink down. Daryl shivered and shook that image from his mind. Master Iason was just worn out.

 

Playing the role of the face of Amoi and Juptier's golden son while balancing the defiance of all of Juptier's strictures was too much. Something was going to break. Daryl held a hand to his stomach. Something was going to break and he feared it would be his beautiful Blondie master.

 

There was a thump as a bowl slipped out of the refrigerator and other jars went sliding across the floor. Daryl turned to find the source of all of Iason's misery eating his way through the groceries. Again. You would think that the mongrel had some sort of parasite or something in his stomach. The way that this boy packed away food was scandalous.

 

“Riki.” He turned on his heel and almost fainted. The creamy custard he had worked so hard at getting the right texture was spread across the lower chin of the…what. The closest thing to a friend that he had?

 

“This is good.”

 

“That was for dessert.”

 

“Oh, so it was for me anyways eh?” Riki grinned back wiping the mess that clung to his face with the back of his hand then proceeded to lick it up with a sweep of long pink tongue. “You know the goldfish doesn't eat sweets.”

 

“Don't call him that. Still, MASTER Iason expects dessert on the table.”

 

“I STILL get to eat it.”

 

Daryl sighed and proceeded to forcibly take the bowl from the pet's hand. “That is neither here or there at this point in time.”

 

“You like me, don't cha.” Daryl swung around and rolled his eyes. So this was what the cult of personality was.

 

“Again, that is neither here or there.”

 

Riki plopped himself down on the cleaned counter and swung his legs back and forth as he sucked at his hands and fingers making sure that every inch of sweetness was lapped up. “How could you do this everyday, D?”

 

Daryl rolled his eyes. He hated Riki's new name for him. Still it was better than, “Hey you, furniture boy.” Daryl took the time to shove the bowl back into the fridge. He turned and glanced back out into the room. Iason was still in the same position only this time he seemed to hold his forehead in the palm of his hand. Headaches were becoming a common place thing. That wasn't good.

 

“Yo….it's me, talking to you”

 

There was the biggest headache of all trying to look all innocent and…what…non-petable? Since that talk with Lord Am, Riki got the run of the place, except for the balcony. That was still off limits. Daryl hoped it would stay off limits by Master Iason's command of the pet ring. Even when Riki was first brought here, thin but wiry, Daryl couldn't manhandle him. A-class pets were easy to boss around. Especially when the pet knew that the furniture was going to outlast them. You needed more than just threats with the dark haired mongrel from Ceres. Katze had stopped by one afternoon, at Iason's suggestion of course, and had showed Daryl some maneuvers, of course all the while, stressing that he had to demonstrate just how to do them. To show that while they hurt, those holds did no lasting damage. Having his face imbedded into the marble tile of the great hall was not fun and Katze had seemed to take a little too much joy in doing it.

 

“D? You're thinking of a certain ass of a redhead again.”

 

Daryl pivoted on his heel and glared at the offending pet. Riki just laughed. “You like him….” He made kissy noises in the air. “I thought you looked too comfortable pinned to the floor underneath him. Ha! There it is.”

 

Daryl felt his face just flush crimson.

 

“I don't know where the hell that bastard got that scar on his face, but he's out of your league, D. Katze runs the black market. You don't get to be the head of the black market by demonstrating choke holds without really choking someone. You cross him. He'll fuck you up hard and leave you bleeding in the street, which I've personally seen him do a couple of times. If you think you're up to it, I think the redheaded ass likes you too.”

 

Another tide of crimson swept up Daryl's face. “I doubt that Katze will be in my sphere of influence long enough for me to get noticed.” Daryl returned as the timer for the quail rang. There was to be a guest for dinner tonight. Who is was, Master Iason hadn't informed him. As it was just another plate, it was probably Lord Am. Since that talk, Raoul had not been dropping by as he used to. When they did meet it wasn't as friendly an atmosphere as it used to be—even if Riki made himself scarce. There was just too much of the mongrel spread about the place no matter how much Daryl tried to clean up.

 

Daryl held a hand to his stomach and then reached over and pulled out a couple of low dose opiates out of the forbidden drawer. Forbidden drawer That hadn't lasted long. He still hadn't gotten around to replacing the broken lock. He took down a heavy scarlet globet and poured fresh water. He turned and held them out for Riki.

 

“I'm fine.”

 

Daryl rolled his eyes, “Master Iason has a headache. These are for him. You should go to take these to him now.”

 

“He's here? Really?” Riki jumped off the corner and peered around the side of kitchen divider. “When the hell did he get back? I never got shocked or anything.”

 

That just showed how much Iason was out of sorts. He may have given the mongrel the run of the house, but he insisted on being greeted upon his return home. Since he was Head of the Syndicate, Jupiter only knew when he would make it back to the penthouse. Sometimes it was the middle of the night and Daryl would awaken to the most unearthly howls...which were usually immediately followed by groans and grunts and other noises that didn't belong in a Blondie household. Even holding a pillow over his head didn't block out the sounds of Blondie ecstasy.

 

“Take these.”

 

Not that Daryl would ever voice it but Riki could be as vain as the most high class pet. Maybe more so because all his life he had been told that he looked like crap and garbage like him should just blow away in the wind. You kind of take that to heart when you hear it all the time. However, when your garbage looks fascinate the most powerful of men, you get to revise your opinion of yourself and primp a little. Daryl turned away with a slight smile on his face. The mongrel turned and used the bottom of a hanging pan as a makeshift mirror. He teased his hair then made a couple of turns of his head to check his face for custard then took the drugs and water into the main hall.

 

Riki wasn't as arrogant as he used to be. He knew he wasn't shoving the street attitude in the Blondies' face and he really should. This was the man who stole him right off the streets. This was the same one who chained him up, slapped a pet ring on his cock and locked him in a gilded cage. No, not a gilded cage, a fish bowl. Riki narrowed his eyes down at the blonde hair. That is what this place reminded him of. A fish bowl.

 

He had been in a couple of restaurants that were trying to be high class, well of higher standards, for Ceres. Bison, the old gang, had ripped off their suppliers and sold it back to the owners at triple the price. That had been a damn good score. Out of all the fancy plated crap, the thing that caught Riki's eye was a huge tank of water that held a single big fish. It was orange and spotted black and it swam with purpose. That fish was beautiful and it knew it. It knew when it was looked at and it ignored the viewer. Not long after that, the place was torched. Class never lasted long in Ceres. Riki had gone back and looked at the burnt out hull. The tank had been smashed. There was no sign of that goldfish. Someone must have ate it. That's why he called the master, a goldfish. It so reminded him of the distain that creature had for those who were entranced by its beauty. But it also reminded him that that goldfish lived in a tank…that he was always on display.

 

Riki walked carefully holding the tray with both hands. He stopped right beside the big man and looked down at him. You couldn't deny that the one thing Iason Mink embodied at a glance was beauty. Riki cocked his head and looked down at the fluttering eyelids. Those cold cruel eyes were covered over with skin the color of cream and lashes as faint as his hair. Those eyes could cut deeper than a guardian's whip. That day….that day the Blondie knelt before him and rested that golden head of hair against his dun and mottled skin, something happened…on `that' day. Those blue eyes changed from the harshest of winters to a bright and summer day. The mongrel didn't really know what to make of it. Yes, he still got ordered around. Yes he still got shocked into obedience but… the Blondie had found out that he liked dessert. There was dessert every night. While he had to sleep in Iason's bed, it was a pretty soft mattress and the cool silk was something he thought never to feel and then there was that pair of arms that held a strength he had come to... And that hair…

 

Riki shook off those feelings of distraction. Riki always had a sense around him that told him when he was under surveillance. Since he got to the fishbowl, that inner sense that had saved his bacon and Bison's tail over the years, had been in constant alarm, but now…it only kicked in when the Goldfish himself watched him. But it was a danger of a different sort. The little mongrel hadn't really figured out what the hell was going on but there was something.

 

His hands tightened on the tray because he wanted to reach out and touch that pale skin.

 

The Blondie's skin was so soft, like the most expensive pets Riki had been able to rent after a big score. Iason wouldn't like being compared to a pet, but if he could pick strangers up off the street, and hold them against their will over a year. He should be able to handle a little name calling.

 

Riki leaned over and inhaled the sweet scent that clung to the golden hair. That type of shampoo was only available to the Blondie Elite. Just that small bottle would have cost the equivalent of a year's rent back in Ceres. This just seemed to hammer home how far Riki was from his reality. That pale gold hair hung around him, caressing his face, neck and shoulders as the Blondie took `comfort' in his body. The strands would drape and caress as if they were another set of fingers, a sensual torment. Riki looked down into that face. Those blue eyes wouldn't blink when the Goldfish got his freak on. It was as if he were recording the experience to be replayed again and again.

 

Riki shivered. Who knew what the hell went on in a Blondie's head? They were made by a computer. For all he knew, the Blondie was recording a XXX-rated video as he pounded into him for playback later or to share with the other perverted Elites.

 

“Riki…” The mongrel started as his name was whispered across the most perfect lips he had ever kissed. Soft and warm. He had been surprised as hell the first time when the great Blondie had gone down on him but those lips were…

 

The door chime rang. Those blue eyes were revealed to be filled with pain when Iason focused on the door. Riki straightened up and cleared whatever expression he had on his face back to his Bison best -- distain and arrogance.

 

Daryl rushed out of the kitchen toward the door. He glanced over at the chair and frowned. Riki had been standing there for five minutes. The door rang again. It was Lord Am.

 

“Master Iason?”

 

“It's just Raoul, let him in.” Iason closed his eyes and leaned his head back into the corner of the chair.

 

“Here.” Riki thrust the pills and glass of water forward.

 

“Thank you.” Iason took the pills, checked the dosage then swallowed them down, sipping at the tepid water. “How long where you staring at me?”

 

A flash of pink crossed the young man's face. “What makes you think I was staring at you? I got better things to do than…”

 

“Company is here, Riki. You know the rule.”

 

“I'm out of here.”

 

“No…Raoul is here to check on us. Be a good pet and kneel at my chair. Don't provoke him. He is here on business. Jupiter's business.” Iason lifted a hand to his forehead. “We have made an agreement, Pet. I have kept my word. Does the Bison Leader break his?”

 

Riki felt a flare of anger but a little stroke of the hand on the pet control ring of Iason's hand made the mongrel damp it down. He clenched his teeth together and lowered himself to his knees just as pain in the ass Blondie number two came into the room. Riki tensed as Iason's hand came down over the side of the chair and pet him. Actually PET him. He bowed his head and spread his legs so he was in the proper greeting position for A- class pets.

 

How dare Iason question is word? When you didn't have credits, your word was all you had down in the slums. Riki forced himself to uncurl his fists and lay his hands on his thighs.

 

“Good, pet.” Iason offered as he watched Daryl take Raoul's cloak. Fur lined, in the middle of summer, while they lived in the same building. With Raoul appearance was everything.

 

“Welcome, my friend. Daryl is everything prepared?”

 

“Yes, my Lord.”

 

“A drink first, Raoul?”

 

“Of course.” Iason felt the green eyed gaze sweep over him and settle on his dark haired pet. “He seems subdued; as do you, Iason. Are you ill?”

 

“Just a headache.”

 

“Shall I postpone my report to another day?”

 

“I have taken an opiate. The effects should be starting soon.”

 

“I think this might be best held another day.”

 

“Raoul.” Iason straightened in his chair. “I know that you have taken - let's say damage—from Jupiter because of the last report you gave her regarding me.”

 

“Security is lacking in confidentiality.”

 

“Blondies may be Jupiter's children, but we are still men and men talk, especially if there are whispers.”

 

“So you've heard whispers.”

 

“Just because I do not gossip, Raoul, doesn't mean I don't listen to it. If you can shift through all the chaff to find the kernel of truth, gossip can be a boon. I did not mean to cause you such distress, my friend.”

 

“You call me friend now?”

 

“I have always called you a friend.”

 

“Will you take a friend's advice?”

 

“Not if it involves getting rid of my pet.”

 

“Then how about a friend's concern.”

 

“Speak your mind, Raoul. You always do.”

 

“Only with you, Iason. Jupiter has indulged you your pet for a year. I can see that you have made progress with his training, however…all of Tanagura knows that you have a mongrel. They are petitioning Jupiter to make you show him. It would be wise to do that yourself rather than have those rabble turn Jupiter's ear. A few voices, can be ignored. A few hundred cannot.”

 

“My show pet was not enough?”

 

“You purchase a new A-class every month. You show the pet once then you discard it.”

 

“That was what you wished.”

 

Raoul shook his head. “What I want is irrelevant, you won't listen to me anyway.”

 

“Only with one aspect of my life.”

 

“Arrogance will get you censured, Iason.”

 

“I know.”

 

“Iason, do you know how hard it is to watch you destroy yourself…for a mongrel.”

 

“You do not have to watch, Raoul.”

 

“That's all I can do!” Raoul ducked his head forward and his golden hair swept forward hiding half his face. “Pet, leave us.”

 

Riki tensed. He hadn't wanted to kneel subservient at Iason's chair and listen to this stuck up Blondie belittle me. He was also struck that he didn't want Raoul to be alone with Iason. That little bit of information floated back to the surface that once Iason and Raoul had a special friendship. Jealousy? Why the hell would he feel jealousy? Over a Blondie. Over a kidnapper. Over a rapist. Yes, this was jealousy. It was a hard swift blade right to the midsection. He had been jealous with Guy and his wandering ways before they became exclusive pairing partners.

 

Iason's touch on his head startled him. “You may go to your room, pet.”

 

Before Raoul showed up, Riki could have been happy to get the hell out of the way. Now. He didn't want to leave Iason alone with that other Blondie.

 

“You have been good, my Pet. Do not taint your record this week with this little bit of rebellion.” There was that voice. The steel and authority that brooked no defiance.

 

Riki looked up and saw those same icy blue eyes. He was confused. Whatever expression he had on his face melted the harshness away from those blue orbs. Yes, he was here against his will. Yes, the sex had been horrible but now it was unlike anything he had back home but….but… He was startled again as Iason cupped his cheek. His dark eyes met blue.

 

Velvet covered the steel now. “Riki, go to your room. Darryl will bring your dinner to you. Be good, pet.”

Iason watched the play of emotions cross his mongrel's face. It might have only been for a heartbeat or two but it had been there. The Bison armor came down hard and fast. Riki rose with quick roll to his feet and he drew himself up to his full height. His head still only barely crested Raoul's shoulder. In Ceres, attitude would take you places. In Tanagura, a challenge to a Blondie would mean…Iason blinked as Riki bowed his head at Raoul then sauntered back towards the kitchen.

 

The two Blondies looked at each other. Raoul's green eyes were puzzled and a little angry. Iason took the water goblet and took another drink, not because he wanted to, but to hide his smile. Yes, he had a mongrel for a pet. Maybe he had picked him up and brought him home on a whim, but the benefits he garnered was worth the headaches he was plagued with now. Beautiful Riki. Defiant Riki. Vulgar Riki. Honest Riki. Obedience of a sort was there and that is what Raoul had just gotten a taste of. Life as Jupiter's chosen son had been a burden. Iason had shouldered the load as was expected because that is what he knew he had to do. Riki provided a different burden but Iason knew that he could never regard the little black mongrel with compliancy.

 

“Let us eat. I've had Darryl prepare your favorite meal.” Iason stood and gestured Raoul to the dining room.

 

Riki the Dark. Iason knew the little pet called him goldfish behind his back. The Blondie found it amusing and was impressed that his pet could see through the artifice of Eos. Yes, Iason would agree that he was on display in a glass bowl, but with his little dark mongrel - he could rest in the slight shade that only Riki could provide when all the attention was focused on his dark antics. Raoul turned back to say something and Iason watched as Daryl shoved a silver bowl into his pet's hands and shooed him out of the kitchen. Riki bounced down the hall with his coveted dessert treat. Iason felt the opiate draw the pain in his head away as he gestured Raoul to take a seat at the formal dining table. He could now be the entertainer for Jupiter's envoy.

 

Iason would never give up his little mongrel no matter how many entreaties Raoul made to him. He took solace that the confusion in the dark eyes of his love was that he was finally making progress into his pet's affections.

 

A goldfish and a guppy. Together on display for all the world to see and discuss but it didn't matter in the least. A goldfish and a guppy shared the same bowl and therefore the same fate. Iason smiled as he poured the wine. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

 

* * *

 

AN:

 

I find it difficult to write fanfiction because the characters are not mine and I don't want to mess with the establishment. I plan on trying to cover the three years missing in the anime but…as you can see it's taking a while. When Iason & Riki finally pop back to the surface of my muse, I'll add more to Abduction but my original writing is going like gangbusters and I am juggling three current stories along with ANK. So bear with me…eventually I'll get this done. (big sigh, don't hold your breath)

 

Later

Kiix