Morpho Peleides von K-Cee ================================================================================ Kapitel 2: ----------- "Dress up, we're going to the Onsen."(1) A load of casual clothes was thrown into Kouyou's face and he huffed, pulling the different pieces of fabric - some underwear, a pair of boot cut jeans, and a simple, white tank top. The guy in the doorframe, with a strap of clothing over his nose (which Kouyou had wondered about from the first time he saw that blonde man) turned around and closed the door behind him. The brunette took a deep breath and climbed out of the huge, cozy bed. After all, he had to admit that he received better treatment than he had expected it when he came here. He got a spare bedroom for himself, he could call anybody and could go wherever he wanted - well, okay, admittedly when he went outside there'd always be a certain black van following him, but he didn't notice anything else. Dressing slowly, he spun his thoughts further. Kouyou still had no idea why they kept him here. Since they were Yakuza, he couldn't imagine they'd allow anybody to stay alive let alone treat them nicely if they saw no use in them or were able to trade that person's life for something more ‘valuable’. He could even say that, in a way, they cared about him and even sort of integrated him into their daily community life. They ate together for dinner - apparently the guy they called Gitei cooked for them - and sometimes the discussions involved simple, everyday belongings. Kouyou pulled the zipper of the loose jeans up when he heard a knock at the door. "You ready?", he heard another, familar voice, dark and soft - Matsumoto. "Yes, I am." The shorter blonde opened the door and shot a smile at Kouyou. "Let's go then." Out of all of them, Matsumoto seemed to be the most friendly and happy spirit, although he sometimes seemed to be overtaken by a deep sadness, as if swallowed by surrender. In those moments, his lips would purse, his forehead would be by a deep wrinkle of intense thinking, and he wouldn't say a word. Nonetheless, this sensitivity made him appear more human to Kouyou - compared to Suzuki or Gitei. Suzuki didn't say all that much throughout the day. When he saw no necessity to talk, he simply didn't - except some one-word-orders like "coffee" or "go". Only with Shiroyama around he seemed to really live. He spoke and all of a sudden his face and attitude would turn, completely opposite to the usual, into gentle features and kind gestures. Also, Shiroyama was a man who Kouyou still couldn't figure out wholly. In a way, he made the brunette angry: for keeping him here, for not telling him what they wanted with him, and for also telling his employees to follow suit - obviously - because he had tried to ask them about their use in him but they'd either change the topic or simply ignore him. Sighing, Kouyou slipped out of his room and into the hallway where the others were waiting. "You need ages to dress... like a girl.", Gitei chuckled and shouldered his messenger bag. They went down to the garage together where Suzuki started up one of the vans. "Where is Shiroyama..?", Kouyou asked. "He didn't feel well enough to come with us. He said he has some office work to do and ordered us to take you with us." "Uhn, okay..." Slowly, Kouyou slipped into one of the backseats, Gitei next to him, while Matsumoto climbed into the seat next to Suzuki in the front. The brunette didn't really know why, but without Shiroyama around he felt a little uncomfortable around these guys, since really, there was nobody to protect him (he even thought about being killed for a moment); but as he heard them talk about some of their random daily belongings, he felt a little relieved. Their talking helped to ease the tension. The travel went on for almost an hour, in which the tallest male had counted four or five Onsen they passed until he fell asleep at Gitei's shoulder without noticing. A soft touch on his cheek woke him up. "Time to wake up, honey, we're there." He glanced up at the other brunette and rubbed his eyes, nodding. The Onsen was small, and as far as Kouyou could see it, they were the only guests. He was sent in first and undressed slowly, slung one of the small towels around his waist, and stepped into the hot water. He relaxed a little until the door was pushed open again and Matsumoto stepped outside, looking at him strangely. "Huh? Didn't you wash yourself first? Or are you just quicker than me?" "Uhn, well...", Kouyou felt his cheeks flush a little in embarrassment in front of the other male, "..This is the first time I've been to an Onsen.. I just took a quick shower..." Matsumoto cracked a smile and reached out for Kouyou’s hand to help him out of the water. "We'll fix that." The taller male had to sit down on a little stool and Matsumoto poured a pot of water over his head before grabbing some soap. He felt a warm body behind him and then two hands that slowly caressed through his wet hair to wash it. He purred a little and closed his eyes while leaning into the touch. The blonde chuckled again. "What's so damn funny?" Kouyou tried to shoot a glare behind him but could only capture the shape of the other's tattooed shoulder and some wet strands of bleached hair. "You're cute. You purr like a kitten." The door swung open again and Suzuki and Gitei walked in. Another rush of cold water made his vision blur but Kouyou could still see the almost naked frames of the other two men from the corner of his eyes. Suzuki sat down on the stool next to him and huffed. "Ruki, come here.", he said and closed his eyes for a moment. Ruki..? "I told you to stop calling me that!", Matsumoto snorted but walked over to the taller blonde to wash his back. "And I told you I don't give a flying fuck about that." Kouyou glanced at the colorful shapes of the tattoo on Suzuki's back and, as far as he could tell, they pictured a tiger, flames, and next to it the word ???^ - "stubbornness". "He hates it when people stare at his back.", Gitei ripped him out of his thoughts as he sat down behind Kouyou and traced a line between his shoulder blades with his index finger before he grabbed some soap and a wet washcloth to wash the taller's back. "Do you also have one..?" ,he dared to ask and heard Gitei chuckle. "Of course." "Can I see it?" "When I've finished washing you, pretty." "Why..-" Again, he heard a low chuckle. "I see, you have a lot of questions but I'm not the one to answer anything. You should talk to Shiroyama about your belongings." Kouyou nodded and kept silent as he threw another glance over to the other two. "Is the bruise still there?", Suzuki asked. "Yeah but it's almost gone.", Matsumoto answered in a whisper and gently traced a line over the reddened spot that seemed to have been a hematoma some time ago. He smiled. "I told you that wouldn't last long..." - he leant in and kissed the spot. "I know.. Thank you." Kouyou gulped and turned his head away. He felt like he had shamelessly witnessed an intimate moment between the other two. Cool water trickled down his back as Gitei emptied the bucket over it and finally set everything aside. "Finished. Let's go inside then!" - and he clapped his hands. Kouyou followed them inside the tub and now could also see the others' tattoos clearly: Matsumoto's shoulders were covered by a winged skull and on his lower back was the word - "intention" - written; on Gitei's back was a crane and some lotus flowers, more of a feminine picture than he had expected it, besides that the word - "watcher". "Stop staring at me already!", he suddenly heard the smallest say and a small splash of hot water hit his face that forced him to close his eyes. "Gomen na~", he laughed and wiped his face. He hadn't noticed that he had been staring right through the other while thinking. "I was in thoughts." "I see." - he saw the other grin and lean back against the tub's side. "You know, yesterday, we had a little conversation with Aoi about you." "Aoi..?" "Yes, Shiroyama-san." "Uhum." "He said he wants you in our family maybe." Kouyou blinked a few times. Family? A bunch of people who killed, dealt with drugs, were tattooed like prisoners, and were all styled like some strange kids from the streets of Harajuku - and they called it a family? He swallowed and glanced at the others again. "And that means..?" "It means you'll go through some training and some tests and then you'll work with us." --- "I see, we think on the same wavelength.", I smiled and continued tapping the pen with my free hand on the notepad in front of me. "Well, I'll call you later when there's certain information. Bye." I hung up and clapped my cell phone closed before letting go of the pen and lifting my arms, stretching my back. My thoughts wandered to my employees again and I smiled. Obviously, they were having an enjoyable time at the Onsen, since none of them had called me yet and they still hadn't come back. I was happy I could grant them some free time they truly deserved, even if that meant I had to stay home to take care of the daily business. I heard the stone path in the front yard crunch and stood up to await them at the front door - even if earlier as expected. "Welcome home.", I said and smiled but got pushed aside roughly by a brunette who stomped along the corridor and, after disappearing into his bedroom, slamming the door shut. Suzuki lit a cigarette - not a good sign. "What's wrong? Why is he frowning? Did you do anything to hi-" "That guy fucking pisses me off!", Suzuki barked and took a long drag from his cancer stick. "We told him about taking him into our family and all he did was ramble about it! The whole fucking way back! And when I told him to shut the fuck up he'd glare at me and cross his arms and frown like some stupid little school chick! Seriously, Aoi, we can't -" "Calm down.", I said and put my index finger on his lips to make him shut up. He huffed and turned away, still smoking - literally. "What did you tell him, guys?", I asked again and turned to face Matsumoto and Gitei this time. "We told him about our conversation and that we decided to put him through some tests and then make him a family member. I don't know why but he freaked out." --- I softly knocked at the wooden door of Kouyou's bedroom. "STAY THE FUCK OUT!", I heard him yell but stepped inside anyway. "I told you to stay out.", he repeated, frowning; I captured his slim figure laying crumbled on top of the bed. "Since this is my house, I'll go wherever I please.", I replied and sat down on the bed next to him, putting the cup of tea on the nightstand before I petted his still wet hair."You’ll catch a cold, Kouyou." "Who are you to care?", he spat and closed his eyes again. "Well,", I started and crossed my legs, "you'll be part of our family soon, so of course I care." "I won't." "What is your problem then?" "I won't fucking kill anyone!", he repeated for the umpteenth time that day and turned around to glare at me. "Who said you'd have to?", I asked and lifted both of my eyebrows, "We don't kill as long as we don't need to. We ain't psychos or anything." "..." I leant to the side and took the cup of tea, handing it to him. "You'll catch a cold."," I repeated and stood up to get a towel from the closet. He sat upright now and took a slow sip from the hot liquid as I knelt down behind him to start drying his hair. I saw him close his eyes and he leant a little against me as I massaged his scalp with the towel. I saw his eyebrows furrow a little, and suddenly his face became a little distressed. His eyes opened again and wandered through the dim lit room, searching for something he wouldn't find here yet - shelter, something familiar, something that reminded him of home maybe. And it was then that I realized how much fear must have been in his head. He was in a place - not as a prisoner, but still alone - full of people coming and going and didn't know anyone. A place he shared no memories with. A place he had been brought to like he had maybe been brought to the brothel some years ago: anonymous, alone, and against his will. Of course he had agreed to come with me when I had asked him in the back of the Blue Room but by now I was sure he had been too shocked to realize what he had put himself into. The shock - I was sure - came from killing Makamoto. I had seen the expression on his face and I had seen it on many other men's faces before. The shock of watching how suddenly a life could end; of watching how a single, small bullet could end a lifeline, erase a person from the world just like that. The expression on Matsumoto's face had been the same, many years ago, and even Suzuki... even if he didn't look like it now, he had been taking it to heart. "You know you cannot go elsewhere." "Of course I can.", he snapped back and I could see his lips tremble a little as he took a shaky breath. "Where do you plan to go, hm? Back into the brothel you came from? You can't." "I can still go to my family." "Don't lie to me, Kou. I already know you don't have any family left. We did some research about you." - he tensed a little, and I captured his slender form with my arms, putting the towel aside - "I bought you, you know. Actually, you're mine now and I could do whatever I want with you. I could send you back into the hell of prostitution or I could make you my personal prince, just as I please. And all I ask from you is one simple thing: obeying." I planted a kiss on the crook of his neck. His teeth were clenched so hard that his jaw trembled, his hands clutched around the cup of tea and goosebumps wandered down his neck. "Do you want me to send you to hell?",I whispered into his ear and bit the lobe. "No...",he breathed and closed his eyes, the corners sparkling with tears which were close to being forced out by the memories. "Will you obey then?" "Yes..." He shook with a sob and finally started to cry. "Don't cry baby, there's no need to be afraid anymore." It took him a while to steady himself again - time in which his hands clung onto my arms that still lay around his shivering frame, my head heavy gainst the side of his neck. "Make me your prince...", he sobbed one last time, then he wiped his face and turned around to look at me with his watery eyes. "I will.",I replied and smiled, brushing the honey hair out of his reddened face.A beauty like you deserves a podium to sit on all the time, not the pit of a dirty hole." " I saw his jaw clench a little as he swallowed the tears, then he moved forward to catch my lips with his own. His lips were plush and their movements so slow and sensual that it made me wonder, if he had ever kissed one of his "customers" like this, or if he had spared this treasure for a special moment - if so, I could call myself more than a lucky bastard. His hands cupped my cheeks as he continued and leant further into me, my back now resting against the headboard of the bed. "Make me your prince...", he repeated in a whisper against my lips. And I understood. - - - (1) Onsen - hot spring (2) Gitei - a person that isn't a younger brother by birth but became one (e.g. by adotion) Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)