Ai No Kusabi Fan Fiction ❯ The Flaw in Flawessness ❯ Chapter 1

The Flaw in Flawlessness: A year in Iason's arms
By
Kiix

Word Count: 3105

Date Complete: July 31, 2007

There was a trend moving toward the exotic and it was something desirable as there had been a slow down in the pet market but as usual; Iason had taken it too far. Again. Raoul sighed when he saw the black haired, darkened skinned mongrel sitting at the punishment post. He could not even pretend that this mongrel was….well a pet.

“Iason, really. Of all the pets raised in the labs or coming in from off world, you couldn't find one better than this Ceres dog?”

“Really Raoul. I do not come into your house and insult your taste in furniture.”

“This is the reason you have been called out by Jupiter. This is the reason that I am visiting you in my official capacity and what I am seeing does not bode well for you, Iason.”

“This is my pet, Riki.” At the sound of his name, the black haired mongrel jangled his chains and huddled closer to post. “Riki, do you need correction so soon?”

The young man rolled over and settled into first pose; the reluctance he showed was just enough to show his defiance but not enough to really call him on it. If one was lenient. Which Iason never was up until about eleven months ago. Raoul glanced at his friend amazed that this mutt wasn't going to be punished for this insolence. Iason would have, if even a hint of a sneer was shown, high ranking elites broken down to the lowest possible level.

But there was a noticeable change in the cool platinum Blondie Head of the Syndicate. A big enough change in personality that even simple elite employees had seen it. Raoul had noticed it but had refrained from mentioning anything. Iason had a history of going through episodes but…emotional distress? Raoul narrowed his eyes. No it wasn't that, but Iason was prone to go through a short periods of change. However it never lasted more than a few weeks. This time he had changed for almost a year and this was the cause for Jupiter's summons.

“It's been almost year. Get rid of him.”

“No.” The reply was simple and uncompromising.

“I am not asking as your friend Iason. I am here under Jupiter's orders. You represent Tanagura to the outer worlds. Your household should reflect the status of Jupiter's envoy.”

“My Riki tarnishes the whole of Amoi? I think not. I have not taken him to trade shows or shown him around. There is no need for this….concern.”

“You should have a pet on your leash at these functions.”

“My pet is not ready to be shown.”

“That is all the reason why, you should have a new one. A real one. One who has been through the Academy and knows his position.”

 

 

“Is this all that this visit is about? I do not have a show pet? Then I will get another pet to fill this requirement.”

“I will make arrangements to dispose of the mongrel.”

“I am not getting rid of my Riki. I will get another pet for showing purposes. Actually it might do Riki good to see how a pet should behave.”

There was a cough from the post. Raoul watched as Iason took a sip of wine and stared over at the mongrel. Those sharp blue eyes watched the mongrel until the dark head ducked down and broke the stare. There was a gleam there in the head Blondie's eye that was only there when he was contemplating a puzzling problem.

Raoul jumped to his feet. The sheer expression of shock on his face was enough to draw a chuckle out of Mink's lips. “Tell me you are not doing….THAT with a mongrel.”

“Doing That? What are you twelve, Raoul?”

“Sexual liaisons are forbidden.”

“He is a pet.”

“Blondie's don't use pets like that. It's expected of the lower classes but not us.”

“He is special. He is a Mongrel, a non-citizen. Normal pet regulations do not apply to him. If normal regulations do not apply; nothing is forbidden.”

“You are staking your professional life on word play? You want Jupiter to slap you down.”

“Riki is my pet. He will always be my pet. If I engage in sexual congress with him within the confines of my household, it is no one's business. Especially Jupiter's or yours.”

“Iason!”

“Now, if you want to continue this evening as my friend, you are welcome to stay and dine with me. If not, you know where the door is, Am.”

“You're kicking me out?”

“I would never be so crass. I am asking you to stay and enjoy my company. If you cannot, go somewhere else. Daryl!”

The brown haired youth scurried from the kitchen and bowed gracefully. “Sir?”

“Are you staying?”

“I cannot.”

“Escort, Raoul out, Daryl.”

“Iason! I will have to report this attitude to Jupiter.”

“I am doing nothing wrong, Raoul. My position is not compromised by my home life. It should not be Jupiter's concern.”

“If you were someone else, I would agree with you. If you were another Blondie it wouldn't matter, but you are Jupiter's Liaison, her favorite. She will have no other rival for your affections.”

“She” is a computer.”

“A sentient being.”

“Wires and electronic data.”

“She is jealous of your mongrel pet. You have never had a pet longer than eight months. You are risking her wrath. You know what happens to Blondies who disappoint her. That is how you got to be Head to begin with.”

“I understand that you are next in line if something were to happen to me.” Iason carefully took a sip of his wine.

“Iason!” Raoul stood up and stalked toward the punishment post. “This mongrel is not worth it. I don't want your position. I am not the people person you are. The Blondies are talking. Surely you have heard them. You cannot isolate yourself so much that even you cannot hear what your peers are saying.”

Iason set his glass firmly on the table. “I do not concern myself with the petty rumors that the Blondies indulge in about me. If I did, I would not be able to function as Head.”

“That is why I am here, Iason. Jupiter has noticed that you are not functioning properly. Your absentee rate has risen over the last year. You have skipped business functions, or sent a representative that was a slap in the face to those wanting to do business with us. Maybe you find your home life, more of a concern than your role as Jupiter's Envoy?”

Iason bowed his head in his friend's direction in concession. He had begun to find his home life more important than those business matters that had seemed so crucial previously. “What do you want, Raoul?”

“I want what Jupiter wants. I want Iason Mink, Head of the Syndicate back. Get rid of what is distracting you…if it's that poor excuse for a pet, then sell him.”

Iason shook his head so his hair flipped forward over his shoulders. Raoul couldn't believe that his superior…his mentor and friend looked so disheveled, ever. “Riki is not up for further discussion. Tell me, Raoul, as Jupiter seems to have taken a liking to you, what would appease? A business coupe? An increase in sales?”

“The Head of the Syndicate fulfilling his duties. There is a trade conference with a number of out world pet trading partners in two days. You should be there…with a suitable pet.” Raoul sighed, “This is not about you, Iason. It is about the face of Jupiter and the well being of Amoi.”

“And if I say that Riki is essential to by well being?”

“We Blondies serve Jupiter. You are not so special to disregard that. Do not make her scorn you, Iason. I would be her hammer of justice, and the nail would be your head. I would rather not have to destroy you.”

“That is not something I look forward to either, my friend. We should play pool. It has been a while since we did something so mundane.”

“The fault was not my own.”

“I will admit that. I will be at the conference, suitably attired and with a suitable pet. You can assure Jupiter, I have been suitably chastised.”

“That is not what Jupiter requested.”

“Riki is mine. He will always be mine. He is not tamed to my hand yet, so I cannot show him as a pet should be. I will get a pet trainer in my employ. I wanted the challenge of bringing my mongrel to heel on my own, however, this is taking longer than I anticipated.”

“Be flawless, Iason. You were once. That is the only thing that Jupiter requests that you be so again.”

“Flawlessness is a difficult burden to bear.”

“You carried it before.”

“Have you stopped to think that is why I need my Ceres mongrel?” Raoul looked shocked, “I am Jupiter's well trained dog. Have you thought that this pure bred dog needs a smaller mongrel, someone not so pure, not so refined, to dominate, to own in order to bear the burden of being Jupiter's greatest creation?”

“But to indulge in the most strict taboo…”

“As you said, Raoul, it is only rumor. I have always been the product of rumor. That is another reason, why you would fail if I were to be replaced. You cannot ignore gossip. You have never been able to. That is why I ended our…special friendship back at the Academy. I saw how the whispers were wearing you down. You should have more faith in me, Raoul. I will see you at work tomorrow. Good night.”

Daryl lead the slightly smaller Blondie to the outer door. “Does he know what he's doing?” Daryl kept his eyes low. Blondies did not talk to furniture. They did not question another's property about household affairs. It was just beyond the pale.

Raoul sighed and took his cloak. “That pet of his, will be his ruination, Daryl. It must be hard to watch a great man fall from grace. It's killing me and I'm miles away from him.” Daryl fastened the catch and Raoul spun out of the penthouse in a swirl of golden hair and a shock of verdant green.

Daryl locked the penthouse door behind the departed Blondie and hurried back into the Great room. “He has gone, Sir.”

“Raoul….dear, dear Raoul. So it comes to this. Threats and pleas. Daryl, set the table for two.”

Two? He bowed his head and scurried off back toward the kitchens. He almost walked into the kitchen divider when he glanced back to see the Great Iason Mink fall to his knees before the mongrel pet at the punishment post. For a moment, Daryl thought his Master had fallen ill…just for a moment.

The Blondie reached out and pulled the dark haired man toward him for a kiss. Daryl turned away. His master was fine.

Iason inwardly sighed heavily. The little mongrel trembled beneath his touch. It didn't take a petometer to register the state of his arousal. He trailed his hand down the convulsing throat. He let the back of his hand move down the sternum over the quivering stomach. His index finger gently prodded his pet's navel, thrusting shallowly into the cavity, mimicking his fondest desire for the black haired youth. The chains rattled. But he didn't pull away. Riki didn't participate or encourage, but he didn't pull away. One long hard year had gotten them to this point.

Riki didn't encourage. Riki didn't entice. Riki didn't start the initiative but he didn't bite. He didn't swear openly at least. The spark that he had almost crushed six month previously was back. It burned but it was a well maintained flame now. Iason knew how to fan it to make it burn for him. He only used the pet ring now as discipline. Arousal was an easy thing to get from the boy.

His glares and silent defiance didn't mask the fact that his body wanted Tanagura's golden boy. He could lie about that. He wouldn't dare lie about it.

“You heard everything that was said?”

He gritted his teeth but nodded.

“Then you must understand this.” Iason cupped his pet's heat in the palm of his hand. “Your life is in my hands.” Iason began to stroke his Riki through the small pet fashionable shorts. Iason smiled as the chains rattled and Riki caught at his lapels as his hips thrust up towards his Master. “And, listen my pet. Open your eyes and look at me. Riki!”

The dark eyes were glazed with desire. Riki would deny that he got pleasure out of this joining. That spark of defiance was so crucial to what make the mongrel so appealing. If the color of the sky was blue, the mongrel would emphatically say it was black. “It is a dangerous game we have played, and we have played far longer than I thought we would be allowed. I defy my Maker for you Riki. She has made her demands and I have refused her. My life is now in your hands.”

“I cannot let you go. You are a vital part of me. To lose you would be to lose an irreplaceable organ. Take away my heart and I will die. I will be of no use to anyone.”

“What do you mean?”

Iason caught Riki's chains and dragged them forward. “These…keep you here. If I take them off you would run as far as you could. To your death. Runaway pets are severely disciplined as examples to other pets. I have marked you mine, Riki…and you are mine forever.”

“There are parts we have to play in this world. You need to play the well trained pet. You need to be obedient and respectful and everything one would expect of a pet owned by Iason Mink. In the outside world. Here, within these walls, you can wail and rant and carry on like the mongrel you are…but only within these walls. I will grant you that much freedom, my Pet.”

“That isn't freedom.”

“It is more freedom that I have ever known, my Riki. I must play the dutiful son. I must look to be the pinnacle of all of Amoi. I must wear this mask everywhere with everyone. Raoul was once a close friend.”

“You fucked him like a pet.”

“Yes…and he, as you so eloquently put it, fucked me. Even then, Jupiter's hand was on me, raising me up to her expectations. Raoul fell by the wayside long ago. I thought I could remove my mask within the confines of my own home…Jupiter's inquiry has proven than assumption false.” Iason leaned in and pressed his forehead against the smaller man. “It is only with you that I am, who I want to be. I cannot go back to what I was before.”

Riki looked up into those big blue orbs. They weren't that cold now. Since that moonlit night so many months ago when he was caught `dancing' on the balcony, the ice of that gaze had faded. Since that night, Riki woke sprawled on or next to that large perfectly proportioned body every morning. If he woke before the Master, he just stared at the features that made his heart beat faster. Iason could still be a mean bastard when he thought he had been crossed or deliberately provoked but for the most part this new less icy Blondie took his place.

“Flawless.”

“I am flawed, my pet. I am a beautiful vase, lovely to behold. I know what I look like in the eyes of others. But if that vase was perfect, it would give a clear ring of purpose when pinged with a finger. It is hidden, but I am cracked. I give a dull thud. I can be decorative and I can serve, but my resolve has been shaken. If I was truly Jupiter's best son, I would not need a Mongrel in my bed.”

Daryl came back from kitchen and cleared his throat. “Dinner is ready, Master.”

Iason reached out and released the cuffs and collar from Riki's wrists and throat. He pulled the smaller man to his feet. “Within these walls, I give you the freedom to be Riki, the Ceres dog -- within reason. In return…” Iason leaned down and pressed another chaste kiss on Riki's lips. Iason closed his eyes. He wanted some form of participation. A moan was forced into his mouth as the Mongrel tapped his closed mouth with his tongue. Iason gasped and Riki's flicked the tip of his tongue at the roof of Iason's mouth. Iason canted his head to the right and dragged his pet closer. Tongues slid along each other. Iason swallowed another of Riki's moans then broke the kiss.

“In return for this, I want the freedom of your arms.”

Iason paused and found himself holding his breath as he waited for Riki's answer.

“Do I get regular clothes?”

“If you wish, but you are still my Pet and will behave accordingly before guests.”

There was a long, long pause. Daryl came back out into the Great Hall to see what was keeping them. He almost dropped the wine bottle he was carrying. Riki picked up Iason's hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a chaste kiss to the back of his hand. Daryl bit back the impulse to dance with glee. This was the very first overture that the mongrel was making to ward Iason after almost a full year.

If that was shocking, the sight of a Blondie resting his head on the narrow shoulder of a black haired youth as that youth pulled him closer was just numbing. The wine bottle slipped out of his hands and tipped on the floor, spilling the dark red liquid across the marble floor. Daryl cursed and dropped to his knees frantically wiping at the widening sea of crimson.

“Flawed.” Riki's whisper carried over to the furniture's ears and he frowned as he cleaned up the mess littering the floor. He didn't know what that meant. He flicked his eyes back to his Master who still knelt before the Ceres Mongrel with his head on his shoulder, the golden trails of Blondie locks cascaded all around them. While it looked comforting, Daryl knew that nothing good could come from this.

Even a castrate knew it was foolish to fall in love with a pet.