Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ Shadows ❯ faith, part 1 ( Chapter 21 )

Shadows

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chapter 13

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faith, part 1

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Birman walked into Botan's study, two cups of coffee in her hands. She set one down in front of the wizard and made herself comfortable in his spare chair, sipping from the mug she'd brought for herself.

"Can I say that I'm surprised to find you here and not at Cassandra's? Don't tell me the spark is gone from the relationship already."

Looking up from his books, Botan spared a scowl for Birman before picking up his mug and gulping down half its contents. Birman winced in sympathy for what had to be his burned tongue, but the wizard didn't even flinch as he swallowed and then started to wave his mug around in the air.

"The spark is fine and dandy, thank you for asking. I'm here instead of there because I have a lot of work to do and little time to do it in. Besides making sure the wards are fine, I have to figure out a few new spells, be prepared to refine bound blood to use it in some of those spells, and half a dozen other things too. Add to that Omi's request for a weapon, and if I sleep more than a couple hours in the next several days, I'll be lucky." He finished off his coffee and slammed the mug back down on his desk.

Birman didn't take getting snapped at personally. She knew her friend was just venting off steam, and she allowed herself to be a target for that. Besides, she had reamed Botan the other day for not telling her about Aya and Yohji, and if Botan was willing to bark at her like this it meant he'd forgiven her for that chewing out. If he was still mad at her, she wouldn't have been able to cross his wards and get ranted at.

"Well then, I'll make sure to come with a pot of coffee the next time I stop by," she calmly remarked, earning a snort and a half smile from Botan. Leaning back in her chair, Birman raised an eyebrow and tapped her cup of coffee.

"A weapon for Omi? That's new. What is it going to be?"

Botan closed the book he'd been reading and rested his elbows on top of it. "I was hoping you could help me with that. Manx, Yohji and you were responsible for his weapons training. What is he good at?"

Thinking for a moment, Birman recalled her lessons with the crown prince. "He's very good at archery, extremely so. The Bowmaster even commented on it, saying that if he kept it up, Omi would be good enough to replace her when she retired. He can shoot anything with an arrow or dart, and has very good aim for throwing things. He's absolutely horrible with a sword or staff, though. His lessons with Manx often left the both of them in tears."

"Then a weapon like Masato's is out. That narrows things somewhat," Botan cryptically remarked as he jotted down a few notes on a piece of paper.

"Masato? Who is he?"

Blinking his eyes in puzzlement for a moment, Botan grimaced and sat back in his chair. "That's right, you were only asking about Aya, Yohji and Nagi the other day. Masato is a bound, Yohji's father to be exact, and Schuldig's mate now." The wizard smiled in contentment for a moment, making Birman narrow her eyes in suspicion. Her spies had reported that Botan hadn't returned home until rather late last night. He must have spent some time with his lover the night before rather than this morning.

"Another bound, eh? Gods, the capital is crawling with them, and I never suspected a damn thing." She fell silent for a moment, wondering just how many people she knew were really human. Bounds were much better at blending in than she'd have ever suspected. Maybe she should consider hiring more of them as spies.

"And Yohji's father to boot. What's this about his weapon?"

Botan let out a breath and smiled as he rubbed his chin. "It's a bracelet similar to Yohji's, which evidently is part of a set that Masato broke up to leave for his son. The metal turns into a staff or spear with but a thought, and will return to him on mental command. According to Masato, one of his ancestors received it from Kritiker's wizard during the Binding Wars."

"So Kudoh has ancestors in service to the royal family on both sides. Very interesting. Add to that the fact that Aya is a Fujimiya, and it's no wonder they're fighting for Shuuichi at the wedding."

"Yes. Though, not to burst your bubble, Birman, but I think the last thing they care about is the king. They have personal reasons for fighting. One of which I have to get back to working on, if you don't mind. I'm just about done writing the spell for tonight."

Taking the hint, Birman rose to her feet and crossed over to Botan's desk. She poured her half-cup of coffee into his empty one. "Then I better leave you in peace. I have one of my pages stationed outside your door; so if you need something, send her to me. I have a few matters to attend to, including a meeting with the king and Manx, but I'll try to make it for the spell casting tonight, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind, though Yohji might. Cass said he's still really pissed at you for what you did to him." Botan glared at her over his cup of coffee. "Didn't your mother ever teach you that blackmail is bad?"

"Botan… I refuse to let his skill and talent go to waste, and I can use someone like him. If Eto can plan a coup right here in the palace and my spies not discover a thing about it, I seriously need all the help I can get." Birman pursed her lips for a few seconds, pushing aside the feelings of inadequacy and frustration that had filled her ever since her discussion with Brad. "Besides, it's more than likely the king and Manx will discover Yohji and Aya's secret during the coming battle. It will be easier to protect them if I can honestly say that they work for me, and hence the Crown."

The man glared at her for a little longer then reluctantly nodded his head. "You have a point there. Just do our friendship and me a favor and stick with bribes instead of blackmail when you want me to do something for you. I'm a cheap whore for a bottle of decent whiskey."

"I know, and that's what I've always liked best about you, Botan." Birman winked at her friend and glided out the door. She could hear him chuckling as she closed it behind her and had to wipe the smile off her face as she turned to face the teenaged girl stationed in the hallway.

"I want you or another page to remain here at all times today. Report to me when the Royal Wizard leaves his quarters, but make sure that someone covers this station even while he's gone. You're authorized to fetch anything that he asks for immediately."

The girl bowed low to her and then straightened her back as if a board of wood was strapped to it. "Yes ma'am."

Nodding her head, Birman went on her way. She wasn't looking forward to the upcoming meetings, especially with Manx and Shuuichi. She wanted to warn those two of what would happen at the wedding, but the precog, Brad, had told her it would be a mistake if she did so. Birman sighed and shook her head. She'd just have to make plans on her own, consulting only with Botan and Brad, and pray that things went right. Immediately adding a stop at one of the many shrines located around the palace to her to-do list, Birman's lips curved into a wry smile. Nothing like an impending fight to restore one's faith and piety.

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Yohji brushed aside the hair on the back of Aya's neck and kissed the exposed skin, making his mate shiver and moan softly. Aya, lying on his stomach, lifted his head and opened his eyes to gaze blearily at Yohji.

"I'm going downstairs for some breakfast. I'll bring yours up to you."

Aya grunted, and after a brief kiss let his head fall back onto his pillow. Yohji tucked back the long strand of hair that was falling across Aya's face as he smiled and rose from the bed. He stretched for a moment before walking away from the bed to wash off and pull something on so he was decent enough to wander around the Koneko.

Damn but he felt good. Usually when he was on the receiving end of sex he was a little sore the next day, especially if it had been a while for that. One good thing about being a bound was that there had been very little pain involved last night, and none today. Yohji could get used to this.

He looked back at his mate after he picked up his blue robe. Aya was still tired from the sex last night, but Yohji wasn't sensing any pain from the man. There had only been one nightmare during the night, either because of Aya's exhaustion or the fact that Aya's subconscious had decided to give him a break from the hell he'd suffered. Considering what was on the agenda for tonight, Yohji didn't bother hoping that that had been the last of them -- not when Aya had to let Botan bleed him so soon after the last time it happened to him.

But with a bit of luck and some kindness from the gods, there would never be another worry about the Takatoris hurting Aya after tomorrow night. Once Aya-chan was free, there wouldn't be anything holding Aya, or Yohji, back from killing the bastards if they ever tried to hurt the redhead again. Yohji smiled as he thought of the approaching wedding and what he planned to do to Hirofumi and his immediate family.

Pulling his long hair back in a loose ponytail, Yohji quietly left the room. He hoped to fetch some breakfast for themselves before Aya suffered any bad dreams in his absence. Then it would be a quiet day spent in bed, enjoying each other's presence while they could. Aya wouldn't be much company for the next day or two, and once he healed they would have to start preparing for the upcoming battle.

Yohji was grateful to find the hallways and steps free of writhing couples today. He passed a few confused people on his way downstairs, and several more who were smiling with contentment. There were a few stares directed at his neck, which was sporting a couple dark bruises that he wore with pride. Whistling happily, Yohji wished the people good morning and made his way to the kitchen.

The moment he stepped inside the warm room, Jo set down the loaf of bread she'd just picked up and pointed an accusing finger in Yohji's direction. "You!"

"Me. How are you today, Jo?"

The middle-aged woman stormed up to Yohji and waved her finger in his face. "What the hell were you doing last night?"

Yohji smiled as he batted the finger away. "That wasn't me. Next time you see Masato, bitch _him_ out. He made Schu his mate last night, and considering how much a stubborn fool that man is, Schu made him work for that right. It's all their fault."

Jo hmphed and stalked over to the stove. "We're going to have to come up with some new policy for succubae-bounds if this keeps up. I won't have the guests going at it like sex addicts just because your kind get it in their heads to claim a life mate. Teela Myers was banging on the door this morning, demanding to know where her husband was. It wasn't a pretty sight when she caught him with the guest in room eight." Jo looked over her shoulder to glare at Yohji. "This is a respectable inn."

"I know, Jo. Hopefully there won't be any more matings going on here, at least not for a while. Now, is there any chance there's some food for Aya and me?"

"How is he feeling?" All traces of Jo's anger faded as she put on a kettle for hot water. Then she wiped her hands on her apron and approached Yohji. Jo smiled when she caught a glimpse of Yohji's neck and chuckled.

Running his fingers over the lovebites, Yohji smiled back at her. "Obviously, he's doing better, at least for now. I take it you heard about what's going to happen tonight?"

Nodding her head, Jo gave Yohji a sad look. "Mickey told me. Once Touya wakes up he'll go upstairs and clear some space in the attic." She reached out a hand to push back the collar of Yohji's robe, giving the bruises a better look. "I'll take a chance and say that you were obviously distracting Aya from his worries last night. It's nice to see you looking like you'd been the one mauled by a wild beast for once. Did you let him get any rest?"

Yohji rolled his eyes and snagged a muffin from the cooling rack near the stove. "You know, I've gotten much better about wearing him out all the time."

"I bet." Snorting in disbelief, Jo went back to the stove and picked up a few plates and bowls that were stacked beside it. In a few minutes she had a large tray filled with soup, rice, eggs and toast, along with some tea and coffee, ready for Yohji to take upstairs. Jo handed it to him and stepped back, her arms across her chest.

"Just remember, Yotan, that we're here for the two of you. Whatever Aya and you need, we'll do our best to make sure you have it. Including spreading the rumor of you being locked in your room with a set of twins so the two of you can have some quiet time today. Just please," Jo begged, her voice exasperated, "try to limit the nights like this past one for the next few months. The staff's gonna be spending the whole damn day cleaning the Koneko and changing sheets. I don't need this right now, not with all the people stopping by to eat and drink."

Yohji nodded his head and couldn't resist a teasing smile. "My word on it, Jo. I'll do my best to keep things as quiet as possible around here. But didn't you enjoy last night the least little bit?"

Jo returned his smile and winked. "You better believe I did, and so did Ichiro. However, our sex life is pretty damn alright on its own and doesn't need all this added excitement. Now get that food upstairs before it gets cold."

Laughing, Yohji did as he was bid. He was halfway down the hallway when he came across a familiar figure. Omi looked exhausted and was wearing the silliest grin on his face. Suddenly making the connection that the boy must have spent the night last evening, and considering what had happened to all the other patrons… Yohji shifted the tray to one hand and wrapped the free one around Omi's upper arm.

"Morning, Yotan."

"Yeah, whatever. Come here, chibi." He dragged Omi to a table and sat down, motioning for the younger blond to do the same. Omi sank down onto the bench and dazedly looked about the room.

"Have you seen Liss? I was supposed to return to the palace with her."

"She's probably upstairs with Jei still. What the hell happened last night, Omi? Please, oh please, tell me you were drunk again."

Omi smiled in a manner that completely dashed Yohji's hopes. "Oh fuck, you spent the night with Nagi, didn't you? Please tell me all that was involved was a mutual jerk-off session and a little necking. _Please_." Omi didn't just lose his virginity at the Koneko. Yohji would catch hell from Botan, Birman and Manx if that was the case, and he wasn't in the mood for that.

"I, we…" Omi blushed and stared down at the table.

Damn. Guess he better resign himself to being bitched out when those three found out about last night. Remembering that he'd never had that discussion with Omi, Yohji muttered under his breath and tugged on a lock of his hair. Dammit.

"Okay, the damage has been done, the only thing to do now is make sure nothing bad happened. Since I'm assuming you slept with Nagi, at least we don't have to worry about any royal bastards running about. Your family already has too many of them."

"Yohji!" Omi looked up from the table and glared at Yohji. "I did spend the night with Nagi, and everything went… fine." The boy's face grew that silly smile again, causing Yohji to roll his eyes.

"Okay, I know that you're not completely ignorant about sex, especially after last night." Yohji pressed his palms together and tried for a sage look, his mind desperate to recall what his mother had said to him when she'd discovered him having sex. Then he thought of a few things that he'd learned over the years and decided to share them too. Yohji cleared his throat.

"Here it is, the accumulated wisdom of Yohji Kudoh on matters related to sex: get your ass down to Botan's office and get a charm to prevent pregnancy, pronto." Omi started to glare again, but Yohji barreled on. "Always have lube on hand, especially if you're planning on screwing a guy. Unlike the stories I'm sure you've heard, you just can't substitute anything for that. Try to avoid sleeping with siblings or parents and their children, unless it's at the same time and they're both willing and the ones who suggested the idea."

He paused for a moment. "On second thought, just make that never. That can still backfire on you. Never lie to a person and say you love them just to get them into bed. Never believe a stranger when they tell you, `don't worry, this won't hurt a bit'. Always make sure you have a spare key if you're going to be chained up. Make the other person sleep in the wet spot, unless it's true love. Not everything is meant to be inserted in the human body, so use common sense. And finally, it's supposed to be fun, so stop if it isn't."

Omi sat there for a few seconds, obviously trying to digest those pearls of wisdom. Yohji knew he'd remember a few more later on, but that was a good start. He sipped his coffee and waited to be thanked.

"First off, I don't plan on sleeping with anyone other than Nagi, so while the lube comment is appreciated, the pregnancy one isn't." Omi swept his bangs to the side and glared at Yohji. "Despite those crazy stories Heero always tells about men getting pregnant, it's impossible. Secondly, I'm not as depraved or stupid as you, so I could have lived without some of that advice. I've suddenly lost any and all interest in knowing any details of your sexlife, Yohji. Ick." Omi shivered in either horror or disgust, Yohji wasn't sure which and didn't think he wanted to know.

Picking up his tray and standing up, Yohji sniffed and did some glaring of his own. "Fine then, I should have known better than to try to enlighten such a sybarite like yourself. I'll keep any and all advice about toys and techniques to myself. Your loss, chibi, and Nagi's too." Then Yohji just thought about what he'd just said and did some shivering himself, definitely in horror and disgust. Gah, thinking of Omi and Nagi having sex was even worse than imagining Schu and Masato going at it. There was no way in hell he was going to describe rimming to the young prince.

Ignoring Omi as the teen blew a raspberry at him, Yohji made his way back to his room. So much for the food being hot, but at least he had one less thing on his `to-do' list. Now, for a nice day spent in the company of the man he loved.

Yohji entered his room and found Aya sitting on the bed, wrapped in his scarlet robe and rubbing his eyes. The man looked so damn adorable. Yohji set the tray down on the nightstand and curled up on the bed. He reached for his lover, pulling him close and kissing him on the nose.

"You're so adorable. You do know that, don't you?"

Aya snarled and bared his sharp teeth. "No, I'm not."

Mindful of all the times he'd been bitten lately, Yohji wisely decided not to pursue the matter. Aya was indeed adorable, at least when he wasn't in a bad mood, but from now on he'd keep that opinion to himself.

"So, I see someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe some food will make you a little less grouchy." He held out a cup of tea to Aya, who immediately accepted it and settled back against the bed's headboard. Aya sipped the tea until it was gone then turned his attention to the food. Glad that he didn't need to urge Aya to eat, Yohji curled up next to him and started to eat too. There were one or two snarls over the toast, the only sounds they made during breakfast, and soon the food and drink were all gone.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Aya purred softly and snuggled closer to Yohji, resting his head against his shoulder. Yohji smiled and rested his head atop Aya's. Gods, he couldn't get over how his lover's moods could shift so suddenly, from grouchy to loving to furious and back again. It felt sometimes that Aya himself was confused about the mood swings, that he was trying to `feel' his way through a situation and was floundering about confusedly.

"So, what do you want to do today? It's just the two of us, all alone since Jo and the others are going to cover for us. Want to have some fun?" Yohji waggled his brows at Aya, who started to frown and then hit him with a pillow.

"What happened to you learning to control your appetite?"

Batting away the pillow, Yohji pulled Aya against his chest and held him there, despite the smaller man's struggles. "I have learned to control it. Why does everyone think that all I want to do is pounce on you?"

"Maybe because that's all you do," Aya retorted.

Yohji smiled and tilted his head to the side, exposing his bruised neck. "Not always. Remember, you did the pouncing last night."

Aya stared at him, his burgeoning temper crumbling apart under a flash of lust. He leaned forward to kiss Yohji's neck, sharp teeth scraping against his bruised skin then soft lips pressing against and soothing the area. Yohji sighed in contentment and shifted down on the bed until he was half lying with Aya on his chest.

His mate pulled away and looked at him with heavy lidded eyes. Yohji stared back at him, happy and determined to forget about what would happen later tonight. At the moment he had Aya in his arms and that was enough.

"You don't look adorable now, you look so damned sexy."

"Hmph." Aya rubbed his cheek along Yohji's chest and closed his eyes. He draped his body more comfortably over Yohji's and started to purr again.

"You going back to sleep?"

"Why? Is there something else you wanted to do?" Aya opened his eyes and looked up at Yohji, his face inscrutable. Yohji had the sudden insight that if he didn't feel Aya's emotions and know that the man loved him, and that Aya was filled with curiosity and not annoyance at the moment, he would have no clue of figuring Aya out, which would drive him mad. Yohji liked knowing what made people tick, while Aya seemed to want to hide all his thoughts and emotions inside. Talk about opposites attracting. Yohji hoped that his mate moved beyond that once he was free of his masters.

Deciding to try and open his mate up a little, Yohji smiled at him and asked a question he'd been wondering about for the past couple weeks. "So, Aya, what can you do?"

Aya blinked at Yohji in confusion. "What?"

"What can you do?" Yohji yanked on an eartail, earning himself a scowl. "If Schu is successful tomorrow night, and believe me when I say that man can steal anything that he sets his mind on, you'll be spending the next few years here at the Koneko. We need to find a job for you. So, what are you good at?"

Snatching back his eartail, Aya sat up, straddling Yohji's waist. He appeared to think for a moment then mumbled a word.

"What was that, love?"

"I… can take care of the garden. Like I've been doing."

Yohji smiled and ran his hands up and down Aya's thighs, pushing up the red silk more and more with each pass. He might not intend to do any feeding at the moment, but he did so love the feel of Aya's skin. Later on he'd need some energy to help sustain him for the next couple days, but right now he was just enjoying having Aya close to him and being able to touch him.

"There's that, but I think we need to find you something else to do or as soon as you're done weeding and pruning I'll be constantly dragging you over to our lavender patch to be ravished."

Grunting, Aya glared at Yohji and trapped his hands before they reached too high. "What do you suggest?"

Oh, having Aya keep his bed nice and warm all the time came to mind, but Yohji had the sneaking suspicion he'd be hit for mentioning that. One thing was for sure now; Aya was definitely comfortable enough around him to hit him back… or bite him.

"Well, I think you working the door is out, unless we can convince you somehow that `order something or leave' isn't a proper greeting." Aya's eyes narrowed in anger and he growled slightly, but Yohji ignored the display of temper and forced himself to not smile. "We need to work on your manners."

"I have manners," Aya huffed. "My father…." The man fell silent, and Yohji could feel the pain that filled Aya. A part of him wanted to just cuddle Aya close and soothe away the hurt, but this happened almost all the time he brought up something connected to Aya's past. Besides the little Aya had told him the one day when he'd confessed about why he was here in the capital, he'd said almost nothing about his family. Yohji could understand why the man would want to avoid talking about his past with the Takatoris, but Aya needed to get over this. He couldn't just pretend that his life had started when he'd walked into the Koneko.

"Your father taught you manners? Really? So a former lord thought it was entirely appropriate to scowl at strangers and tell them to leave? I'll have to pass that on to Omi."

Aya's glare went up a notch, causing Yohji to chuckle nervously and carefully remove his arms from Aya's immediate biting range, especially when the redhead bared his teeth.

"He was a good teacher, and I do have manners. I use them all the time."

Someone was a bit delusional. "Aya, I hate to break it to you, but not speaking to people is not a way of being polite. Sure you say `thank you' and `please' to the staff and a few friends, but that's about all you say to them. We need to work on making you a bit more civil."

"This, from a man whose idea of being `civil' is to ask a person if they want to have sex instead of forcing them with compulsion," Aya hissed. "Being polite doesn't mean screwing everyone who walks into the Koneko!"

Reminding himself that Aya was under a bit of stress, and that he should be ecstatic that the former stray wasn't afraid to show his temper around him, Yohji swallowed a growl and counted to ten. Hadn't he been thinking last night that Aya was showing the beginnings of a vindictive streak, at least in regards to him? Well, he had definite confirmation now. Lucky him.

"Listen you little idiot, I `compelled' you to sleep with me one time. One fucking time! And that really wasn't intentional." When Aya opened his mouth and started hissing, Yohji yanked on an eartail. He'd have preferred putting his hand over Aya's mouth to keep him quiet, but didn't think he'd keep all his fingers if he did that.

"Masato was trying to teach me how to use my talent, and you came in all pissy. Hell, it was obvious that you were still upset about our fight earlier in the day, so I decided to try the new trick out on you and maybe put you in a better mood. I didn't think it would work quite that well!" Yohji forced himself not to think about the bout of sex that had followed. Gods… if he was human he'd still be sore from Aya riding him like that, so demanding and needy.

Shaking his head, Yohji continued. "Once I did it, I figured you'd kill me when I stopped, so I just… dammit, didn't we settle this fight already?"

"If you ever do that to me again, I'll toss you out the window, Kudoh." Aya liberated his eartail and climbed off Yohji before storming over to the window seat, detouring to grab a book along the way. "Buck naked and bleeding."

"That would just make more work for you then, Aya sweetie. Think of the poor, crushed rosebushes," Yohji retorted.

Violet eyes that had darkened to indigo scowled at him. Yohji had to admit that Aya was perfecting the disturbing looks to a frightening intensity. "I plan on making sure you land on those damn rosebushes. It would be worth the sacrifice to see you picking thorns out of your ass for a whole month."

Yohji snarled, well and truly warmed up for the fight now. "Keep being such a stubborn idiot and those thorns will be the only thing in my ass." Then he thought about what he'd just said and couldn't help but laugh out loud. His sudden change in temperament caught Aya off guard, and the man just stared at him while Yohji laughed uncontrollably for several minutes.

When the fit came to an end, Yohji wiped his wet eyes and smiled at his mate. "Aya… gods you frustrate and confuse the hell out of me. Did you just hear what I said? You've driven me so crazy that I'm denying myself sex. Me, the pervert extraordinaire."

Aya cocked his head to the side, and slowly his eyes lightened as a smile spread across his lips. "That is unthinkable for you." They smiled at each other for a moment then Aya sat back against some pillows and opened his book.

Content to let the matter rest for the time being, Yohji laid back down on the bed. Something told him there would be a lot of fights in their future, but the idea didn't faze him any. At least he could manage to pry Aya out of his shell long enough to be yelled at. Hopefully later he could work on the make up sex. But rubbing his hand over a bite mark from yesterday, Yohji figured he'd proceed a bit cautiously on that front. Aya's teeth were damn sharp and the man wasn't afraid to use them. Maybe after he taught his lover some manners Yohji could convince him that it wasn't very nice to bite, unless one's lover asked him to do so.

*******

Teddy gingerly sat down at the bench in the kitchen, trying to smile through a yawn as Koyu handed him a cup of coffee and a scone. His lover looked as tired as he felt, but Teddy wasn't really complaining about his exhaustion. Considering how much fun the two of them had had last night, he didn't think Koyu was complaining either. Nibbling for a minute on the pastry, he leaned an elbow against the table and wearily surveyed his family.

"So, is anyone going to tell me what was in the wine last night?"

"It wasn't the wine. It was a damn succubae-bound," Jo barked as she set down a platter of scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese.

Mickey, his cup of coffee halfway to his mouth, stopped in amazement. "That was those two again? I thought Yohji and Aya had already mated. Don't tell me they can keep doing things like that again and again."

"Mick, are you possibly complaining about last night? About all that wonderful, passionate sex? You're no brother of mine," Teddy commented. The older man just sighed, picked up a scone, and tossed it at him. Koyu caught it and started to break it apart, sending Teddy a wink as he popped the pieces of scone into his mouth.

"What I'm complaining about is the fact that the Koneko is going to be declared a fertility temple if this keeps up! I might have enjoyed myself last night along with the rest of you," Mickey paused to look at Kira, who was half asleep at the table and smiling dreamily, "…but I don't want to have to start charging for the rooms by the hour. I'll have to explain that to Yohji later today."

Jo snorted from her end of the table. "It wasn't Yohji's fault last night, at least not according to him. This time it was Masato and Schu. Seems they are mates as well, so that means all succubae-bounds that we are aware of who are staying here are accounted for. Considering the fact that Yohji hasn't tried to kill any strangers lately, I'll assume him and his father are the only ones present in the inn and heave a sigh of relief. But we _have_ to come up with some sort of policy regarding their kind. There is no way in hell I'm going to let last night occur on a monthly basis."

"You're no fun, Jo," Teddy pouted. When the woman glared at him, he smiled in the way that always made Jo huff and smile back at him, her anger forgotten. "Ah well, at least Koyu and I got to experience something like that once in our lives. I'm jealous that you guys had the honors twice."

"Teddy, you spent too much time with Yotan while growing up; I'm more convinced of that with each passing year." Kira smiled at the tongue he stuck out at her. "And I'll wait to see if you want history to repeat itself after you spend the day helping me to change all the Koneko's beds. Gods, the laundry service is going to love us for another huge order."

Mickey's face paled, and Teddy swallowed a laugh as he surmised what his brother was thinking about. Most likely how much the sheets were going to cost him. He shook his head and entwined his fingers with Koyu's, giving his lover's hand a squeeze.

"I take it you spoke to Yohji today, Jo. What are his plans until this evening?"

Jo pushed her plate of food away from her and frowned. "He's going to spend the time with Aya, which I don't blame him for in the slightest. We're to spread the rumor that he's busy `sleeping' with a few fellow hedonists."

Koyu smiled and glanced at Teddy for a moment. "After last night, I don't think anyone will doubt that story. First off, Lilla ended up with the Guard Toshi, and no one will doubt that Yohji didn't get a wink of sleep all night long. Not with so many willing lovers here pining for him. They'll figure he's resting after one hell of an orgy."

"Instead of curled up in bed with Aya. Speaking of whom, there's no stopping the rumor about him and Kikyou being lovers. I think the damn Guard is behind them."

Making a face at Mickey's news, Teddy picked up his mug and turned it around in his hands. "I've heard a few of them. This one merchant was going on and on about all the gifts Kikyou sent Aya, and that Aya has obviously dumped Yohji for the man since he's going to be the next Captain. Made me sick to hear it. As if Aya would ever do something like that, especially after…" Especially after what had happened to the redhead last week, which had him still flinching in Teddy, Koyu and Mickey's presences.

"The rumors do present a problem," Koyu quietly commented after a painful silence. When Teddy and everyone else at the table turned to look at him questioningly, the Harper shrugged his shoulders. "First we helped spread the rumors that Yohji broke up with Aya for Lilla. Now, after last night, there will be rumors that Yohji broke up with her as well and people will wait to see who he sleeps with next. Add to that the belief that Aya and Kikyou are lovers… And what's going to happen after the royal wedding? I don't believe that Yohji and Aya will pretend to be apart after that, not when Yohji's clearly suffering from the lies and separation. People are going to experience a bad case of whiplash from trying keep who's going out with who straight in their minds."

"I never thought about that… just about keeping Aya safe. Huhn." Jo sipped her coffee, her eyes distant as she considered the latest problem. Teddy gripped his mug tightly, telling himself he could smack Koyu for adding to their worries later on.

Kira spoke as she poured everyone more coffee. "At least the presents have stopped coming here. Maybe the rumors about Aya and Kikyou will die down because of that."

"I doubt it," Koyu muttered. "You didn't see the Guard in the garden the other day. If you want my humble opinion, I'd say the man is obsessed with Aya. The only reason the presents have probably stopped is because Aya was clearly upset about them and with Kikyou. No, I don't think we've seen the last of him."

Growling in a manner that would have made Yohji proud, Teddy gave in to his impulse. The trouble with Harpers was they had to pick and pick at things, worrying them to death. Koyu was going to cause him to go grey before he turned thirty, Teddy just knew it.

As his lover yelped in pain, Teddy scowled at no one in particular. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, Yohji is mine to torment. I'm not going to let a disowned nobleman irritate him more than me."

*******

Munching on an apple as he walked into the garden, Nagi inhaled the fragrant air. It seemed to have rained at some point last night, and he'd been unaware of the fact. A blush crept up his cheeks as he thought about what had distracted him. Taking a last bite of the apple, Nagi tossed the core into a bush and walked around.

He came across Jei as he walked towards the west wall, the older bound tossing knives at an old pear tree. The blades unerringly struck a small knot over and over again, making Nagi wonder how Jei could be on target with only one eye. Shouldn't he have lousy depth perception?

"I lost the eye over thirty years ago. You could say that I've had more than enough time to adjust to the loss, and that my other senses help to make up for the lack."

"I thought you were a flesh gaki-bound and not a soul one," Nagi commented coldly as he leaned against an elm tree. Jei just smiled at him and flipped one of his blades in the air, catching it with ease. Using his talent, Nagi recalled the blades stuck in the tree and buried them at the scarred man's feet.

"Thanks. Useful talent that you have." He bent down to retrieve the knives, making them disappear in an instant. Even though Nagi had been watching him he couldn't say with much confidence where the blades had been hidden.

Jei chuckled again. "As for me guessing what you were thinking, I've seen that look a lot over the past few decades whenever someone spies me practicing. If I were human I'd probably not be able to manage the aim, but as a bound…" The older man shrugged his shoulders.

As bounds, they weren't limited to the same things that humans were. For a moment Nagi wondered what it felt like to be so weak and fragile. Even before his powers developed he'd always healed pretty quickly and had been able to bear up under all the beatings better than the other children his age. If he'd been born human he'd probably have died years before he'd met Aya.

"So, two succubae-bound matings in two moons. That's something for the history books."

Jei's voice shook Nagi from his thoughts, and as he glanced at his compatriot he couldn't help but blush again. Which, of course, caused the man to chuckle some more.

"Something tells me the young prince wasn't drunk this time, even though he didn't leave until about an hour ago with Liss. Tell me, did you bleed your first time?"

Idly using his power to pick Jei up and turn him upside down, dangling a few feet off the ground, Nagi frowned at the older man. "Don't be crude."

"Not to you, at least. Nice to see that Aya isn't the only one growing a spine." Jei smiled at him and then batted his eye. "I've learned my lesson. Could you put me down now, pretty please?"

Doing just that, Nagi warily eyed Jei for a moment, wondering if the man was going to retaliate against him. Instead, Jei sat down on the ground and patted the grass beside him, gesturing for Nagi to join him. He did so, warily.

Jei made a knife appear out of nowhere, encased in a sheath, and handed it to him. "Here, keep this on you at all times. Later on I'll teach you how to throw it, but right now I'm too tired for a proper lesson. That Guard is a regular wildcat." He smiled in bliss.

"So you've said," Nagi drolly remarked as he accepted the gift. "Why do I need this? I have my power to protect me."

A sad look crossed Jei's face, instantly replaced with disapproval. "Because you can't always use your power, not without causing more trouble than it's worth. Haven't you learned that yet from Aya? He prevents himself from calling on the shadows when it's clear he wants to, like with that Guard the other day. There are times when it's not wise to reveal what you are.

"Keep the knife on you at all times. Believe it or not, it's a hell of a lot easier to explain why you sliced some guy's throat with it instead of explaining how he got smashed into a ball the size of a human head."

Nagi had the impression that Jei was speaking from personal experience and resolved that he had to make some new friends. An over-sexed succubae-bound, an icy precog and a blood-thirsty lunatic left a lot to be desired in the way of companionship. Things were bad enough that his best friend was a kage, someone most people would run screaming in terror from. Too bad they would never know that Aya was the sane one of the bunch.

"I'll try to keep that in mind. Thank you for your offer, but Aya can teach me how to fight."

Jei suddenly looked away, and Nagi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Is there something wrong with that idea, Jei?"

"Nah, just that he won't exactly be able to teach you much for the next few days, and I want you to learn a few things before the upcoming battle. Afterwards… I don't think Yohji is going to let Aya out of his bed for a week or two. Let me start teaching you and he can always take over later."

That made sense, so Nagi lowered his hackles and turned his attention to the knife. The metal was finished so as not to gleam in the light, and Nagi's powers revealed that it was a solid piece of steel with no flaws. It was a very good weapon.

"Maybe Omi could teach me something. He always carries a couple knives on him."

"Smart kid. He could probably teach you some good tricks, considering you're both on the small side." When Nagi glared at him Jei smiled, his lips covering his fangs. "That wasn't an insult. I've seen a girl half your size take down a man like Mickey with just a few knives. She taught me a few nasty tricks that have saved my skin a time or two."

Nagi nodded his head and pulled the knife from the sheath, testing its edge. It took him a moment to realize that he'd just sliced open his thumb, and figured that meant it was sharp enough.

"It will be weird, relying on something like this. I didn't have my powers until four years ago, but I can't remember what my life felt like without them. Do you feel the same way?"

"I guess it's a little different for my kind, Nags. I have my claws, fangs, enhanced speed and strength to rely on, not mere thoughts. I could slice someone open so easily without the aid of a weapon," Jei flexed his claws, the long nails sliding several inches from their sheaths, "but… I don't know, it's easier sometimes to use weapons. It makes it less personal, gives me a touch of control over the madness. Sometimes that's all that saves me from losing myself to my demon side forever."

"Aya's like that when he creates his shadow weapons. He focuses more on how he was trained to fight than on the fact that he's wielding his power. I've never seen him lose himself to his shinigami side, though Yohji said that happened the other day." Nagi felt a bit of guilt that his supernatural soul seemed much more integrated with his human one than the bounds around him. He wondered if that was because his nature came from a human merging with an elemental spirit and not a demon of some sort.

Jei sheathed his claws and started to chew on his bottom lip. "Yeah, I heard about that too, from Koyu and Teddy. He's not like the rest of us, Nags. He's all demon, held at bay by the human emotions he's been taught to feel. I doubt Aya has ever really given himself over to his true nature, or the Takatoris would most likely be dead and there'd be another legend of a kage self destructing over a loved one. This upcoming fight should be interesting, because if it's as bad as Crawford and Cass are predicting, Aya won't be able to hold back."

Shivering with fear and apprehension, Nagi pressed the sheathed blade against his chest. "Jei… could you do something for me?" He didn't like asking the man for a favor, but Jei had seemed to go out of his way to look after and adopt Nagi. Only two other people had done that for him before, and Nagi was swallowing his pride for one of their sakes.

"Sure, Nags."

Grimacing slightly at the annoying nickname, Nagi stared down at the grass between his crossed legs. "Watch out for Omi during the fight. I'll be at Aya's back, so I won't be able to keep a close eye on him. I… I don't want anything to happen to Omi."

Silent for a few heartbeats, Jei eventually nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on him." He smiled without humor at the joke. "Don't worry about the prince, I'll do my best to see that he survives. Just focus on Aya. All this will be for nothing if he dies."

"Thank you." Feeling a bit better all of a sudden, Nagi rose to his feet. He was still hungry and wanted to take a nice long soak before talking to Aya.

Jei grabbed his hand before he could start walking away. "Listen, Nagi, and don't get mad at me. I know I told you to have your fun with the human, but I get the impression it's gone farther than that. Be careful, okay? Omi seems like a great person, but never forget that he's not one of us. He'll grow old and die before you know it, or waste away from some disease."

He glared at the man, but Jei ignored the dirty look. "All I'm trying to say is, before you take this any farther, make sure you're willing to accept the pain with the pleasure. Humans can break our hearts into thousands of pieces. Make sure he's worth it."

"And if he is?" Nagi's voice was cold, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Then accept the fact that he'll break your heart and enjoy what time you have with him." At his stunned expression, Jei smiled. "Not what you were suspecting, were you? You should know better by now. I won't tell you who to love or how stupid it is to do so if you really feel that strongly about someone, but I can offer a little advice. Might not be what the others would tell you, but…" Jei shrugged his shoulders. "You two look happy together. If you think he's worth the pain, I'll keep him safe so you can build all the good memories you'll need to keep you sane when he's gone. My word on it." Then the bound let him go and fell back onto the grass, gazing up at the cloudy sky.

Whispering his thanks, Nagi headed back to the Koneko.

*******

Schuldig groaned and slowly opened his eyes. The reason why he felt so damn tired and sore was resting half on top of him, pinning him to the damp mattress. A brief mental scan revealed that Masato was dead to the world, dreaming pleasant dreams of the two of them doing pretty much what they'd done all night long.

"Bastard. I'm the one who was drained dry, not you," Schuldig muttered. He lay still for a moment, startled at how good it felt to have his mate draped over his back, Masato's breath hitting the back of his neck. It made him forget his pains and irritation.

Fuck, Masato was his mate. Schuldig groaned and pressed his face against his pillow. He had a fucking mate, one he'd given into last night. Dammit, why had he issued that challenge? `Make me'. What an idiot he was. Apparently twenty-three years of living with Yohji hadn't taught him a damn thing. Obviously the blond had gotten his love of challenges from his father.

Still, as grumpy as he was over the fact that Fate was dictating his life once again, Schuldig felt a smile curve his lips. The past couple weeks had been filled with envy towards Yohji and Aya, of feeling left out. Well, somehow he doubted he'd ever feel that way again. Not with a stubborn, persistent idiot as his mate. The mere memory of how demanding he'd been last night had Schuldig purring. Well, if he had to have a mate, why not make the man work hard for it? And that was exactly Masato had done, with such delicious results….

"Hmm, you're purring. Thinking good thoughts?" Masato nuzzled the back of Schuldig's neck, making him shiver in pleasure.

<I was just thinking about how you had to be all bossy last night.> He rolled over to face Masato. <Don't get the idea that you can do things like that again whenever you feel like it. I won't go so easy on you the next time.> He ran his unsheathed claws along Masato's neck, gently scratching the golden skin. His mate had to understand that while last night had been about bound nature responding to challenges, Schuldig wasn't going to just let Masato swamp him with his power whenever he felt like it. Next time Masato tried the compulsion on him, Schuldig wasn't going to give in or just scratch him lightly.

Masato bent his head down until their noses touched and Schuldig almost went cross-eyed staring into the man's hazel eyes. "All I wanted last night was for you to be my mate. Now that I have you…." He bent his head down and kissed Schuldig rather thoroughly, leaving him gasping after a few minutes. "I look forward to many, many fights, and I'll make you this promise. Don't use your power on me, and I won't use the compulsion on you ever again."

Not crazy with the idea of not being able to use his power to get his way, Schuldig pouted for a moment. But Masato's thought of how sexy he looked when he did that restored Schuldig's faith that he wouldn't need his telepathy to get whatever he wanted from the man. Oh, he was going to have some serious fun wrapping the older bound around his finger.

"I don't think I like the look on your face at the moment," Masato said, an anxious frown marring his handsome face.

Schuldig smiled wickedly, the grin growing bigger when he caught the other man's thought that the current smile was even worse than the previous look. "I accept your conditions. Now let's seal it with a kiss."

Grunting, Masato reluctantly did just that, all the while wondering what the hell he'd just gotten himself into. Schuldig laughed inside his head as he thought of all the fun that lay in store for him. Poor Masato, he didn't stand a chance.

*******

Aya sighed in contentment as he tossed a leg over Yohji's and rested his head on the man's chest. He felt a bit tired and extremely relaxed at the moment, and would give anything to remain like this for a long time to come.

"Well, that should help keep me fed for a couple days," Yohji purred as he combed his fingers through Aya's hair. "I might even need to take a nap to recover."

Flicking his finger across one of Yohji's nipples, Aya inwardly smiled when his lover sucked in a lungful of air at the light caress. "Then take one." He hoped that he'd been able to keep his voice smooth and neutral. Aya guessed not when Yohji tugged on one of his eartails and lifted his head to look down at him, a slight frown on his face.

"You going to join me?"

"No, I'm going to be sleeping enough the next few days." That time there had definitely been some emotion in his voice, bitterness at that, and Yohji frowned some more. Aya reminded himself that no matter how blank he kept his face or voice, Yohji could feel his emotions. There were a few disadvantages to this whole mate concept. If he tried blocking Yohji from his emotions now, the man would definitely know something was wrong.

"Aya… you really don't have to do this. Maybe Schuldig could mess with Masafumi and Reiji's minds on the day of the wedding and make them forget all about using the sphere against you."

"But their deaths would still free the soul gaki inside, and Aya-chan would be dead forever. I'm doing it, Yohji." Aya waited for his lover to continue, to press the issue and insist that Aya needed to be kept safe, but Yohji fell silent. It seemed someone had learned something from their fights yesterday.

Too bad Yohji hadn't learned anything from the one earlier. They had spent some peaceful time together, Aya reading his book and Yohji lost in his thoughts, and suddenly out of the blue the older man had started to ask him about his family. Yohji had told a few stories about his mother when Aya didn't say a word, and then had really started to pester Aya.

He'd finally told Yohji about a few incidents just to get the man to leave him alone, but Yohji had kept pressing him. The blond had this ridiculous idea that Aya needed to talk about the past. He didn't. There was no way Aya would ever forget anything about his family or the years spent in the Takatoris' hands, and he didn't see the sense in talking about what had happened to him.

So he'd started to snap at Yohji and had returned his attention back to his book, only to be told that while it was very childish, Yohji thought Aya was so adorable when he sulked. Sulked. Aya did not sulk. It wasn't in his nature to do something like that. Brood, possibly yes, but he didn't sulk or pout. And his teeth gritted together every time Yohji called him adorable.

Which had led to the beginning of another fight, and before he knew it Aya was on the bed kissing Yohji silent. He didn't think there was any compulsion involved this time, though Yohji had felt rather happy and smug about something, but Aya hadn't been about to argue over the results, not when his lover had been too preoccupied to pester him with questions, and the sex…

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you, Aya?"

Aya lifted his head and gazed at Yohji trying to figure out what the man was talking about. Yohji smiled and grabbed him by both eartails this time, hauling Aya up for a deep kiss. Their tongues battled for a few minutes before Aya pulled away, out of breath and reminding himself that as much as he wanted to return the recent favor and have Yohji under him, driven just as wild with pleasure as he'd been a short while ago, that he couldn't spare the energy at the moment.

Yohji smiled, the expression full of lust and smugness, and traced his finger along Aya's bottom lip. "You're thinking about fucking me right now, aren't you? Wasn't that enough for you just now? I've never heard you yell like that and thought I'd done a pretty good job. But maybe I'm slipping in my old age."

"Hn. You're the inexhaustible pervert, Yohji," Aya snapped as he batted his mate's finger aside. "Stop confusing the two of us."

"Maybe I'm wearing off on you, love." Aya shuddered at the idea. The last thing he needed was to turn out like Yohji. The two of them would never be able to leave the bed to attend the wedding, or anything else.

"I don't believe I want to know what you were just thinking, the emotions were bad enough. And I've the idea that I was insulted in some way." Yohji flicked an eartail along Aya's cheek. "So why don't you make it up to me and tell me what your favorite color is, and what you wanted to be when you were a kid. Hmm?"

Aya sighed and didn't waste the energy to free his eartail. Yohji would just snatch it back or grab the other one. Why the man had to play with the damn things was beyond Aya's ken. Maybe he should just grow out all of his hair and drive Yohji wild with having all that hair to play with.

"Why are you asking all these silly questions today? Can't we just relax until this evening?"

Yohji shook his head, his eyes echoing the sudden sadness that had overwhelmed him. "Love, we don't have that much more time to ask these `silly questions'. After tonight… there won't be any time."

"They can wait until after the wedding," Aya whispered, his right hand rubbing Yohji's chest in a soothing manner.

"No, I want to ask them now. I don't know much about you, Aya, besides the hell you've been through. Once the fighting is over and you're free, we have a long life ahead of us. I want to know more about you when we start it other than you like to read and eat sweet things, and that if I nibble on the spot right under your ears you purr and arch your back. Most long-term relationships are based on something more than sex, Aya." Yohji exhaled sharply and entwined the eartail around his fingers.

"I know I love you and need you, there's no doubt about that in my heart or mind. I know you feel the same about me. But I want to know all I can about you and share everything about me with you. We're mates, Aya, and just because we're bound together doesn't mean we don't have to work at making each other happy. If you don't speak up about things, like me not treating you as an equal, I'll never know why I'm making you miserable."

Aya closed his eyes. For the past twelve years the only one he'd had to talk to had been Nagi, and that had been just for the last few of them. Even then, Nagi and he didn't need to talk about these things; it had been enough just to be there for each other. What Yohji was proposing was an intimacy that scared him. He was a kage, he was supposed to be alone and not depend on anyone. Why couldn't Yohji see that?

"You're not listening to a word I said again, are you? Gods, Aya, all I want is for you to be happy. We've got centuries ahead of us to live, can't you forget the pain for once?"

"Then what the hell am I, Yohji? What has there been for me besides pain?" Aya snarled, his hands clenching into fists. Yohji couldn't understand, and never would be able to. He'd lived a life free of pain for the most part, and had been protected from harm. Yohji was blessed with having tons of good memories that he wanted to share, with knowing what was his favorite holiday and color because he'd had a normal life. Aya didn't have a fucking clue what `normal' even was.

It was clear that Yohji was angry, Aya could feel the man's emotions. But all the older bound did was close his eyes for a few seconds and sigh. "Aya, you have to move beyond your past. I don't expect you to do that right away, but you have to at least fucking try! You say you trust me, and I believe you do. So let me in, dammit. Stop being some cold mythological creature and _live_. Within a week you'll be free, can't you be the least bit excited and hopeful about that?"

"I'll be free if we're lucky, Yohji." Aya knew that he wasn't an optimist, but he didn't think he was being overly cynical by being cautious. "You act like we'll definitely win. There's no guarantee that we will. Even Cass and Crawford say that it's just the most _likely_ future. That doesn't sound very definite to me."

Yohji growled for a moment. "You… gods, you're a stubborn ass. It's called `faith' Aya. You believe in something, and by doing so you help it to come about. How can you fight to win when you think you're going to lose?"

Aya swallowed, his throat suddenly seeming very tight. "I'm fighting, Yohji. Isn't that enough?" It was hard enough for him to do that much, when his reasons for fighting were based on fragile promises and dreams.

"Stubborn. Miserable, angsty, stubborn damn cat." Yohji bent his head to kiss Aya on the nose. "You're such a handful, I'll have you know. I see I have my job cut out for me. But I'll teach you how to have faith yet." He snorted and let his head fall back against the pillows.

Wondering if they'd been fighting again or not, and if the matter had been settled, Aya observed Yohji warily for a few minutes before relaxing against his mate again. He was a touch tired, and despite his earlier words he was seriously debating a quick nap before dinner. It felt so nice to lie beside Yohji and feel safe for a while. It was pleasant enough to make Aya hope that the blond was right about what lay ahead of them after the wedding.

"So, what is your favorite color? And don't you dare say black. You're too damn morbid for words, Aya."

Baring his teeth, Aya looked about for a bit of Yohji's flesh he could sink them into. Could the man not shut up for five minutes? At least `morbid' was better than `adorable,' he thought, as he spied Yohji's shoulder.

*******

Yuushi bit back on a curse when he caught sight of Liss. The woman actually had teeth marks on her throat and was walking with a pronounced limp.

"Were you attacked or something? Who did this to you? They're dead."

The woman graced him with a saucy smile and shook her head. "Gods, you better not touch the man responsible or I'll kill you. What happened to me was the best night of sex in my life." She stretched her arms over her head, wincing slightly before she let them fall back down and straightened her long blue coat. "Someone spiked the beer at the Koneko again. If the first time hadn't happened before he showed up, I'd blame Teddy Kudoh for it. Well, make that thank him and find out what the hell he's using for an aphrodisiac."

Wondering how they'd drifted onto this topic, Yuushi sighed and started walking towards the armory. Toshi was on duty there, and Liss and he were to go `liberate' a few things. If they slowly took the weapons and armor they'd need for the wedding a few at a time, it was more likely no one would notice they were missing until too late.

"Maybe the Guards should investigate who really is behind this. It's not safe to use spells like that just for a practical joke."

"Well, considering about a whole cadre of the Guards was at the Koneko last night and enjoyed the benefits of the spell, I don't think they see it as a great crime being committed. Though we do have our suspicions about who's behind it."

Yuushi looked back at Liss, waiting for her answer. He knew he wasn't going to like it by the way she was grinning.

"Well, you've heard the rumors about how Kikyou's been sniffing around Yohji's lover, Aya, haven't you?" When he nodded his head Liss continued. "We think Kikyou's behind the aphrodisiacs. He was at the Koneko when it first happened, and then it happens again right after he makes a public move on Aya. He's probably trying to get Aya all hot and bothered for him."

"Some of the greatest investigative minds in the whole country, and that's what you've come up with?" Yuushi reminded himself why he was putting his neck on the line with these people. He had to be crazy. "I'm so proud."

Liss gave him the finger then dropped her hand as they came across a group of nobles. They remained quiet until they were once again alone.

"Yuushi, have you given any more thought about including Ken Hidaka in… whatever the hell we're doing? He's a good man, and a great fighter."

Yuushi shook his head. "He's also very likely to confess the whole affair to Manx or Birman. I agree that he's a good Guard, but he's always played by the rules. I can remember several fights he got into with Kudoh over his insistence on seeing things as either black or white. We're too much in the grey area to take that risk."

"Damn. I hate lying to my partner, especially when he asked me last night if something was going on. He's a good guy, and we could use him on our side. But, you do have a point."

"He was asking questions?" Yuushi glanced at Liss, his brows furrowed with worry. They couldn't risk anyone finding out what they were planning, or it would all be for nothing.

Liss held her hands up and furiously shook her head back and forth. "No, no, it's not like that. He was just asking what a couple others and me were talking about. Ken may not look like it, but he's pretty smart. We'll have to be more careful around him if we can't include him in what we're doing."

"Then be more careful. I don't need to remind you that if anyone finds out about our plans, we could all be killed." More than likely the majority of them would die the day of the wedding anyway, but Yuushi wouldn't dwell on that or he'd be too guilt ridden to function. Everyone knew what they were getting into, and knew their duty.

"I will be. Don't worry, he's been really distracted by something today, I doubt he'll give the conversation another thought."

Yuushi grunted as he hurried down the hall. Maybe he should have Reiichi keep an eye on Hidaka. At this point in the game, they couldn't be too careful.

*******

Yohji rubbed Aya's shoulders as they stared out the bedroom window at the garden. Aya allowed the touch, not even flinching as he'd taken to doing the past couple days when Yohji touched him there. Humming quietly, Yohji let one of his hands drop down to Aya's waist and slid his other one around the front of his lover's chest, holding him closely against his body.

"Hmm, the fireflies are out. It's a little early for them, don't you think?"

"I guess so." Aya paused for a moment, and after swallowing resumed speaking. "Aya-chan and I used to chase them until they went away for the night. My father had bought us these glass cages for them, but we had to let them go before we went to bed." Aya's voice held a distant quality to it and was heavy with sadness.

"Schu and I would try to catch them, but Teddy would chase after us to prevent it and made Mickey help him. We never managed to catch more than a few a night, and I can't tell you how many times we got grounded for getting fed up with the damn brat and tossing him into the pond. Huhn, one time he even swallowed a carp. Mom was furious at us for that one; she'd paid a lot of money for it since it was a tri-color. It would have been real pretty if it had lived long enough to grow up."

Smiling a bit at the happy memories, Yohji buried his face in Aya's hair and breathed in the scent of roses. In a few minutes someone would let them know that Botan was ready upstairs. Then they'd go to the attic and Aya would give the damn wizard his blood.

Dammit, why was it when he'd spent most of the day trying to get Aya to forget about his pain and suffering that it had to end with more of the same? Yohji knew Aya would be in agony in a short while, and he had no hope of preventing that from happening. But the sacrifice had to be made in hopes of putting things like this behind them forever. That was all that kept Yohji from treating Aya like a `doll' and tying the man to the bed to keep him here. Not that his chances for survival would be very good once Aya got free. No, the man wouldn't appreciate being treated that way, Yohji understood that now. Also, Aya wouldn't appreciate anything that kept him from saving his precious sister. Yohji wanted the girl freed too, just so he could have Aya to himself.

Only he could be jealous of a dead girl, but he was. As long as Aya-chan's soul was trapped, Aya would think of her welfare before his own. Yohji couldn't handle much more of that, not without being reduced to trying to shake some sense into the idiot. Which would lead to Aya siccing the shadows on him and Nagi tossing him through a wall. Those weren't very pleasant prospects.

"When this is over, I want for us to go down there and spend the whole night chasing the silly things. We'll bribe Nagi and Jei to sit on Mickey and Teddy while we catch every damn firefly we see. Then we'll let them loose in Teddy's room. How does that sound?"

Aya leaned back against him and sighed. "…A part of me cringes each time you make plans for the future. I can't help but think that we're testing Fate by doing that."

"It's not testing Fate, Aya. It's having faith that Fate won't play us false. We deserve a break, a chance for happiness, and all we're doing is asking for our fair share. Testing Fate would be to expect Reiji and his sons to come down with food poisoning and die the day before the wedding. It's utterly ridiculous to plan on something like that and begging for disappointment."

"You're crazy, Yohji. I think I'm just realizing that." But Aya gave him the ghost of a smile and rested his head on Yohji's rather sore shoulder. The one his damn cat kept mistaking for a chew toy.

"They say the gods smile on the insane, because it's no sense being nasty to poor buggers who can't appreciate their sick sense of humor." He kissed Aya gently on the side of his neck, provoking a purr from the man. They resumed staring at the garden, quietly counting the fireflies.

When they'd reached forty-seven there was a knock on the door. Nagi slid inside as they turned around, a solemn look on his face. That was nothing new, really. It seemed whenever Yohji saw the boy he was either solemn or pissed at him over something.

"He's ready. Are you sure you want to do this, Aya?"

As much as the little demon could irritate him, Yohji had to admit he actually liked Nagi, just for that comment alone. It was nice to know that someone else annoyed Aya just as much as he did by being so overprotective, though Aya didn't bite Nagi. Probably because the boy tasted lousy. Guess it was his own damn fault he was so scrumptious. Though Yohji was giving more and more thought to filing down Aya's teeth with each bite.

"I'm. Sure." Aya's voice was pure ice there, and Yohji was hard pressed not to shiver in response. The smaller man walked over to the door and paused before a stunned Nagi. Aya shook his head and pushed on the boy's shoulder, indicating that he should lead the way. Nagi grasped Aya's hand and squeezed it for a second before complying.

Yohji decided the little demon had a good idea and clasped one of Aya's hands in his when he caught up with his lover. Aya squeezed it almost painfully, and Yohji could sense the man's apprehension. He sent a little strength to Aya, trying to bolster him and remind him that he wasn't in this alone. Yohji would be by his side the whole time, sharing his pain.

*******

"You really don't have to do this, you know," Yohji commented as he brushed back Aya's bangs.

Leaning forward to rest against his love for a moment, Aya closed his eyes and breathed in Yohji's scent. This time he didn't become angry at hearing those words yet again. He knew agony awaited him on the other side of the attic door, but he had to go through with this. Aya-chan had to be rescued if he wanted any chance at a future of happiness and freedom. Yohji knew that too, but was just trying to spare him more pain.

"Yes, I do." Once Aya-chan was free the pain would disappear. Aya stepped away from Yohji, but continued to hold one of the man's hands in his, and pushed open the door. Everyone was in the large room waiting for them, and the spell couldn't be cast without his blood. Aya wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Omi called out a greeting to them as soon as the three of them entered the attic, but only Yohji and Nagi responded. All of Aya's attention was on the sight before him.

Aya looked across the candlelit attic, noting first the vast space and then the numerous stacks of books piled near the eastern wall. The area smelled like oiled wood, paper and leather, with a hint of cedar and herbs. The north side of the attic was clear of clutter and had been swept clean. Various pillows were scattered about the floor. In the middle of the open space was a circle of white and blue, with arcane markings and obscure kanji scattered about its circumference. Blue, white, green and red candles were at the cardinal points, and in the center of the circle a glass sphere rested on a blue pillow. Aya could sense the circle's magic, its power making his skin crawl.

Botan stepped away from the circle and nodded his head at Aya. "Everything's all ready for the spell. Aya, I'm sorry but I need to gather your blood now."

Aya closed his eyes and dipped his head minutely. Yohji's arms around him tightened and his mate nuzzled his neck, a reassuring presence that helped to still the painful flood of memories that swamped Aya: memories of him standing in Masafumi's studio, Tot and Schoen holding his arms steady for the wizard to cut them. He shivered in remembered pain. Aya forced himself to step closer to the circle.

Yohji slowly lowered him to the floor, supporting Aya's body and holding him close. When they were seated on some pillows Aya began to roll up his sleeves, proud of how his hands weren't shaking. Nagi and Omi settled at his side, both boys quiet and solemn.

"I thought to just bleed the one arm," Botan commented quietly.

"Do both, it will make it quicker," Aya tersely replied. When his sleeves were up he looked at the wizard, who held a knife in his trembling hand, and sighed. Aya looked around until he saw Jei standing in the shadows a few feet away. He made eye contact with the scarred man.

"Can you…"

Jei nodded his head and pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against. "I'll make the cuts. Probably have more experience than… Botan at that and won't botch it up. Just try not to look too delicious or I might mistake you for a steak."

Unable to smile, Aya appreciated the joke none-the-less. Botan gratefully stepped out of the way to allow the scowling bound to take his place, and as he approached, Jei seemed to pull a knife out of thin air. After glaring at the wizard for a moment, he knelt in front of Aya and reached for his left arm first. Aya flinched at his touch.

"I'm here, cat," Yohji breathed in Aya's ear, and then he started to nibble on Aya's neck. The caress was a welcome distraction from the sudden line of fire and pain that spread across Aya's left arm. Yohji held him tighter as the right arm was cut, and both limbs were next stationed over silver bowls provided by Botan.

Everyone was quiet, and the sound of dripping blood seemed abnormally loud to Aya's ears. Cursing softly, Yohji began to hum a song, breaking apart the hated sound. He held Aya with an arm around his waist and another around his upper chest.

Feeling the blood flowing from his veins, Aya closed his eyes and had the shadows form hooks to keep the wounds open. He didn't want them to keep closing and needing to be recut, even though Jei had done a very good job in the first place. If Masafumi let one of his women make the cuts, Aya's arms usually ended up butchered from their attention. Tot in particular liked to cut him to the bone.

He was shivering again, from both mental and physical pain. The shivering didn't stop as the minutes ticked by and Aya grew colder and colder. He kept waiting for the abuse to start, for someone to strike or cut at him, but all that happened was Yohji holding him close and continuing to hum. No one else spoke or moved.

The world was becoming a distant blur when Aya heard Yohji speak. "How much more, dammit? You must have enough by now. Aya's so damn cold." Hands started to rub along his body, causing Aya to moan and try to jerk away. He remembered the feel of Hirofumi's hands on his skin the last time he'd been bled.

"Shh, cat, it's me. I won't hurt you." Energy started to trickle into Aya, helping him to push back the greyness that was clouding his senses, but not enough to stop the pain that spread through his body. Aya groaned at the sensation of his bound physiology forcing oxygen and nutrient deprived organs to keep working. It felt like thousands of fiery needles burrowing deep inside him.

"Dammit, Botan. How much more?"

"Just another minute, Yohji. I'd rather take a little more than I need than to not have enough for my spells. I only want to bleed Aya once." Someone's hand other than Yohji's touched Aya's skin, making him snarl weakly. Botan immediately apologized and shifted away from Aya.

The agony continued as Aya's heartbeat slowed, having less and less blood to pump through his veins. He slumped in Yohji's arms, no longer able to stay upright.

"There, that's enough. Aya, let go of the hooks. You can let the wounds close now."

Yohji patted his face, pouring energy into Aya with each touch. Breathing in deeply, Aya willed the shadows away. Nagi immediately seized his wrists and gently wiped them clean before rubbing ointment on them and bandaging them. Aya's head lolled against Yohji's shoulder, his eyes half-closed as he tried with difficulty to stay conscious. Part of him wanted to retreat away from the pain, but Aya willed himself to remain awake for the spell. He needed to do one more thing tonight. Yohji's energy helped him remain aware.

"Never again, Aya. I'm never going to watch or feel this happen to you again." Yohji's voice was hoarse as he cradled Aya in his arms, keeping his touches light to spare Aya pain. He could feel Yohji's emotions and knew that his mate was suffering along with him. Unable to speak, Aya just closed his eyes for a few seconds. A kiss was pressed against his forehead.

"I'm going to start now. Aya, I'll need you to focus on your sister at one point during the spell, so please try to remain awake."

Aya forced his eyes open so he could watch Botan perform the spell that would help free his sister. The faint hope stirred inside him that maybe this would have to be one of the last sacrifices he made for the girl, that soon they both could be free. All this pain had to have been for something.

*******

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