Part II: The Basement
Author: Scarlet Kozi
When I regained consciousness, I felt very strange.
The first thing that hit me was dizziness. My head was slightly muddled, as though under a great cloud, and I felt very confused even before I opened my eyes. At first I just let out a small groan, and the last of the pain in my head finally disappeared, much to my relief. Then, sleepily I tried to remember what had happened.
I opened my eyes, and immediately caught my breath.
Was I still in the studio? But� this didn�t look like the studio at all! I found that my point of view was from the ground, and when I shifted slightly I realized that I was laying on the middle of a cold, smooth floor. Pushing myself upright on one elbow, I quickly looked around.
The room was large, but very dim, save for the faint glow from some candles on tall dark-looking candelabrums positioned here and there. There were no windows, and the walls and ceiling were formidably gray and without decoration. Mostly, the place was empty, but there was a single barred door across the room, and a heavy bed with an iron frame on the opposite wall. On the wall just next to me, chains hung down from rings that had been bolted in, and more chains were strewn across the bed from the metal headboard. I knew that there must have been a light control in here someplace, for the ceiling had electric lights, but they weren�t on and I couldn�t see a switch.
I stared at everything around me for a moment. Then, shivering, the coldness started to sink in, and I wondered why. Finally, I looked down at myself�
WHAT? Where were my clothes? Every article of my clothing, even the one or two rings that I�d been wearing over my gloves, had been removed from my person. It wasn�t surprising, then, that I was cold, because my body was completely bare. I gasped and wrapped my arms around myself, shocked.
�I�m� naked��
I realized that something was touching my neck a moment later, betraying my conviction that I was indeed truly naked. I reached up and felt at my throat, and my fingers brushed something that I was stunned I hadn�t noticed before.
There was what felt like a collar around my neck, made of silver metal and black leather. Because the frame was metal, it was impossible for me to even pull at, and it was fastened around my throat so that I could breathe, but I couldn�t escape it. A ring jutted out from one side of the collar, and dangling from it was a long, heavy silver chain that I now held in my hand, staring at it. �How did I get this?� I wondered silently. I was starting to panic again.
Then I heard footsteps that made me flinch, along with the clanging and barring of the door again. I looked up. The three of them had walked in. Them? What were they doing here?
Mana stood in the center of them. He was casually posed with his hand on his hip and his chin tilted upwards as he gazed at me suggestively, almost coyly turning his slender body to the side from me. His long hair was glossy and soft-looking, and fell to the small of his back with some bangs over his forehead. His skin was powdered white, his droopy eyes made up with blue and black liner and mascara, and his lips were glossed over blue, as usual. He was dressed in a small body-hugging black vinyl dress with silver spikes and ornaments� and when he moved the right way, I suddenly became aware of the fact that he was wearing nothing underneath.
I stared at him before the others, from the floor. I wasn�t sure whether I should be shocked that Mana was actually smiling at me, even if so slightly, or that the smile was frightening.
To Mana�s right, kneeling on the floor, was K�zi. It seemed as though he had been standing up before, but perhaps Mana had nudged him to his knees. He was not flirtatious at all, and was crouching there silently, his blank eyes upon the floor. They had been upon me at first, I could tell, but when I even started to glance in his direction, as usual, he looked away. He was wearing thigh-high black vinyl boots and a smooth, tight black corset, but nothing else. His hips, behind, shoulders, arms, and� anatomy� were bare, making me feel as though I should have looked away. His elaborate tattoo over his arms and part of his shoulders was visible now. His hair was dyed a dark red color, some slightly long pieces framing the sharp but beautiful lines of his face. His eyes were lined in black also, accented with red, and there was crimson lipstick on his lips.
I swallowed very hard, wondering why he seemed almost as timid as me, not nearly as sensual or proud as Mana. Then my eyes traveled left.
Yu~ki was on Mana�s other side, standing tall. At first he seemed just as lustful as Mana when he looked at me, with his large slightly-made-up eyes conveying some new emotion. His own black hair was a bit longer and naturally curly, giving him a lion-like look as though he had a long mane. He was wearing less makeup than the other two, but enough to make his face seem starkly pale in contrast to his dark, thickly framed eyes and light, shapely lips. He was dressed in black vinyl also, needless to say.
Mana and Yu~ki gazed steadily at me from where they stood with ravenous eyes.
I gulped immediately a second time and felt my fingers clench so tightly, as I held myself off the ground, that my knuckles must have been turning white. I couldn�t believe what was seeing. Could I have been dreaming? I was still consumed with confusion.
Yu~ki�s eyes searched me over now, moving from my face. "He looks good�"
"Mmm." Mana nodded and observed me also, more speculatively now. "You know, he has a lot of the qualities that I admire in a man. He�s pale, he�s slender, he�s graceful� and he�s elegant, too." He smiled a bit. "Kanpeki na. He was a good choice, Yu~ki."
I was surprised that I could form words, when I said, "What�s going on?"
Yu~ki started to come forward, slinking towards me, pushing his hair over his shoulder with his eyes on me the entire time, and he didn�t respond yet. He looked just as intimidating as he had to me in the past at times, but this was even more difficult for me to face. Mana just watched him as he crossed the room, K�zi bringing his eyes up to glance at him also. When Yu~ki was just in front of me, he stopped.
I gaped at him and then looked away quickly, embarrassed. After all, what he was wearing didn�t leave much to the imagination. This was surreal. He was my friend, or as close as he would ever get to being my friend, and here we were� I couldn�t describe the slice of fear that cut through me.
Yu~ki reached down, and to my surprised, grabbed ahold of my chain, coiling it around his fist. Then he jerked suddenly and pulled up, causing me to gasp. I struggled to my knees, then to my feet, coughing. The collar served to cut off my air as well as dig into my skin, apparently, and it was painful. Once I was standing, I tried to turn away so that Yu~ki couldn�t see my naked body, but there wasn�t any way to turn so that all parts of me were hidden.
Yu~ki stared deep into my eyes for a moment. I recognized uncertainly that he was fighting some temptation or struggle so that he could stay civil. The thought had never crossed my mind that Yu~ki, let alone any of them, desired me. But now, I saw a hard, long-suffering lust in his eyes.
"Klaha," he said, releasing the chain, putting his hands on my shoulders.
I jumped at the touch on my bare skin and backed up. But Yu~ki found the chain and jerked me forward again, looking annoyed. I stifled a cry. I was so confused! What was going ON? Why were they doing this to me? What did they intend to do? I�d never been in a room with chains or things like this before. I might have been a little na�ve when it came to this sort of thing, but I could tell that there was definitely something wrong here.
When I looked up again, I saw that Yu~ki was even closer to me now. He pressed his body up against mine, and as he gazed into my face, he lifted his hand. I traced its path warily with my eyes, until it rested upon my cheek.
"Did we scare you?" he murmured in a throaty voice. "You�re not thinking about leaving� are you?"
I stared at him. "What�s going on?" I could only repeat.
Yu~ki started to stroke my cheek a bit, as though not really paying attention to me myself or my words so much as my body, as his eyes roved up and down it absently, making me feel self-conscious. "You look afraid."
"C-Confused�" I briefly lied. I was terrified. "Where am I?"
"The basement of the studio. You never knew we had this down here, did you?"
I could only dumbly shake my head.
Yu~ki smiled at me. It wasn�t a smile that I was used to seeing, especially from a member of the same gender. I had always been a little attracted to men as well as women, but I had much more experience with women. I never thought of this as odd, since I never thought about it at all before now. To avoid the oppressive silence, I swallowed again and asked, "What�s� happening?"
Yu~ki looked at me as though it was obvious. "Silly Klaha� This is your initiation."
"My initiation?" I repeated softly.
Mana�s voice drifted over Yu~ki�s shoulder, and Yu~ki moved aside so that Mana and I could see each other. "We have come to a very important conclusion, Klaha. We�ve decided after recording with you and spending time with you that we cannot deny your talent."
My heart leapt, and I almost forgot for a moment that I was naked, with a collar and chain around my neck, in a cold dark basement, with three vinyl-glad young men who I�d thought were good acquaintances. My eyes were blind even looking at Mana�s face as this sank in, merely because of the importance of these words to me. "Then�"
"We�re almost certain that we want you to become our new vocalist." Mana paused. "But we don�t want to take any unnecessary chances."
I blinked unsurely. "Unnecessary chances?"
"We don�t intend to rush into anything. We have made mistakes before. Camui Gackt was an excellent singer, a talented lyricist, and as you most certainly observed, he did marvelous things for us as a band. But we didn�t have a firm enough grasp on him, and he slipped away from us, abandoned us after a time." His eyes conveyed his disapproval, perhaps even muffled pain. "We can�t let that happen again."
I shook my head, confused and almost frustrated. "I still don�t understand. Why am I here?"
Yu~ki gazed steadily at me. "Your training," he said simply.
This didn�t make things any more clear. I stared at the three of them, my eyes going from one to the other to ask for more explanation, because inwardly, I was afraid. Of them. Even more so now than before. What had they done to me? Why had they given me chloroform? How long had I been asleep, and why had they taken off my clothes and put a collar, of all things, on me? Why had they taken me down here? What were they thinking? I just couldn�t piece it all together.
Yu~ki continued to caress my shoulder, his fingertips rubbing the skin almost harshly as he gazed darkly at me. "As Mana said, we have to make certain that, if accepted into the band, you would allow us to command you for the best interests of Malice Mizer, no matter how we would go about doing that. We have to know that you would never leave us."
I glanced at him. "But I would never leave Malice Mizer!" I wanted too much to be in it.
"How do we know that?" Mana cocked an eyebrow at me, almost curiously, almost suspiciously. "Your talent is great, but we have no real reassurance that you�ll be ours forever. We want to make sure that you possess a good understanding of us, that you truly know us, for you cannot become one of us if you don�t. You can�t receive our leadership if you don�t know how to tolerate it."
He cast a glance at K�zi now, perhaps a warning one, a reminding one, as he ran his fingers over K�zi�s hair. A brief look of something like annoyance crossed K�zi�s face, but luckily it was hidden from Mana�s view. K�zi said nothing and looked down, and so, Mana�s eyes returned to me. "And all of these problems will be resolved with today�s events."
"H-How?"
Yu~ki spoke again, tilting his head to eye me sideways with an expression that was both licentious and piercing. "We�re going to teach you what you have to do, and see if you can satisfy us." His tone was always so quiet, almost soft, but alarming to me nonetheless.
�Satisfy them?� I only thought in shock. Immediately I realized the implications. And it all made sense. Everything became clear.
My blood ran cold. Why hadn�t I figured this out before? How could I have been so ignorant? I looked around at everything in the room quickly again, with wide horrified eyes, as though I was just now seeing the chains, the whips, and the candles scattered around, for the first time. I reached up and fidgeted with my collar, trying to deny that my fingers were trembling. And when I gazed at them again, I scanned them rapidly with fear, because of their clothing, their bare skin, their eyes� the unfamiliarity of it all. This was too much for me.
I�d never expected them to want me to do THAT! I wanted to join the band more than anything, but the idea of this kind of trial never entered into my thoughts. This was� perverted. Nothing like what I was used to. And I couldn�t deny that I was attracted to all three of them, but I had never entertained those thoughts before without guilt. I couldn�t imagine this, and wouldn�t have been able to no matter who was involved, if not them. Sex was one thing, but sex coupled with pain was another entirely. It was frightening to me. I only stared at them, and then I found the voice to speak.
"You mean, you want me to� to�" I couldn�t finish the sentence. "To do this, only to decide whether you want me to be your singer?"
"It�s not that simple��
What? K�zi had finally spoken, and I was startled. Even Mana and Yu~ki looked at K�zi with apparent surprise, as though they had not expected him to talk at all. Then they almost looked suspicious, waiting, thinking that he would say something he shouldn�t, or wasn�t supposed to.
He was not looking at me. He was still staring down at the ground, but more out of discomfort than timidity. His voice was nearly bitter. "This is more than that. It�s actual training. Mana-sama and Yu~ki-sama need to know that everyone they bring into the band loves them� and can tolerate the way they show their own love, by dominating. This is how they do that." He sounded as though he was reciting a speech that had been beaten into his head, time after time. "I should know."
"You�?" I wasn�t sure what he meant.
Yu~ki spoke before K�zi could open his mouth again. "He is our slave too." He sized me up, his hands still upon me. "Like you�ll be. He was our first slave. Mana met him before he met me, and by the time I came along, K�zi already belonged to Mana. I merely became their partner, and because I was a much more obedient lover than K�zi, Mana allowed me to join his level, and I became K�zi�s master also. K�zi has yet to show complete obedience, although it�s been years� but in any case, it all worked out the way it has."
"The way it has," I repeated.
"But that isn�t all." The way that Yu~ki was speaking now, in such a low tone, but with such feeling that I�d never heard from him before, was something I would need to get used to. "We know how much you want to join Malice Mizer. We know that if we refuse to let you, your entire world will come crashing down around you. You have no choice." He smiled, unmercifully.
Then he leaned forward and whispered in my ear, causing my heart to speed up a little bit. "We�re going to take you� again and again� force you to call out our names� make you scream over and over, with pain and pleasure� until you belong to us."
I just stared at him. How could I have never known that this side of Yu~ki lay dormant within him?
"And then we�ll know that you�re ours, so that we can feel assured that you won�t run from us. Once you become our possession� our helpless, obedient, loving possession� then you can join the band." He smiled again, condescendingly, as though he was speaking to a child. "Would you like that, Klaha-chan?"
I narrowed my eyes slightly, taking a breath. He had never called me that before. "Then� what you want is for me to become your� your slave."
Mana smiled too, pleased. "Exactly!"
I felt a very sudden conflicting of emotions. I still couldn�t get over my shock. I�d never even thought of the three of them quite in this light before! Even in my fantasies. These outfits, the dark cold basement, the sadomasochistic overtones� all of it was so erotic, and eerie. I had to admit that I was used to plain, conventional sex. I�d never even been with a man before. Of course, I�d seen the three of them use tricks like this in videos and stage performances, but never pictured them doing it seriously. It was just a silly gimmick, wasn�t it? Something to make the female fans content? But no, this was the truth� this was my fate. And I had never pictured that they would find a way to compromise me like this. They wanted to use me for their own pleasure, hurt me, until I was begging for mercy� or for more, whichever came first, in their minds. They wanted me to become nothing more than an animal, a slave.
My fear of them grew quickly. Now, they were actually threatening me. But even with the fear came curiosity that I wished I wasn�t feeling� curiosity because they were still so beautiful and intriguing to me, even now, just like they always had been. Their slender, shapely white forms were so perfect to my eyes. Even as I shivered anxiously, I became a little excited, especially with Yu~ki�s body heat so much closer than ever before.
And since Yu~ki was pressed against me, he noticed this immediately.
He halted and glanced down, seeing that my length was growing erect against his hip. He gazed at me as though surveying me, blinking, wondering in what looked to me like strange amusement how I could be aroused even when I found this situation confusing. Yu~ki leaned even harder against me, on purpose.
A little pained moan came out of me. I couldn�t help it. My eyes widened and I tried to back away. But Yu~ki held onto my chain, hampering my movement, and ground his hips against mine slightly.
"No," I whispered.
"Don�t you dare try to say no to me. It won�t work. You know, if you were K�zi, and K�zi said no to me, I�d beat him for it."
But no matter how much Yu~ki tried to intimidate me, he seemed delighted. He leaned forward and angled his head to get in under my ear and jaw, even as I flinched and stared at him. He wrapped one arm around my waist and used the other to pull on my chain, inching me forward though I told my feet to stop moving. He started to kiss and suck at my throat around the collar. His lips were so warm! So soft, too� deceptively, considering the restrained violence behind them as they nuzzled at my flesh.
I swallowed again, staring in disbelief over his shoulder at Mana and K�zi. Mana was watching, almost restless with his anticipation, whereas K�zi�s eyes were wide, and almost helpless, as though he wanted to say something but couldn�t.
"M� Matte yo!"
I barely found the strength to move as I said those words, in a much stronger voice than I had expected to come out of myself. I put my hands on Yu~ki�s arms and started to push him away. But even as I did so, I felt a needy aching in my abdomen and a vast confusion in my mind, because in truth, I�d always admired their beauty even though they unnerved me so much. But no, I couldn�t succumb to them� never, not like this! I�d never done this sort of thing before, and had never planned to. I averted my eyes and tried to move away.
Yu~ki was a bit breathless as he frowned at me, annoyed. "Nan desu ka?"
Even though he allowed me to create a slight distance between the two of us, he kept a fast grip on my chain and watched me with a raised brow, awaiting a detailed explanation from me. I wasn�t sure if I could give one. "Gomen," I murmured, shaking my head, "but� I can�t."
"And why not?"
"Because if I let you do this to me," I explained, trying carefully to avoid looking at any of them for the moment, "then I�ll be an object to you and nothing more. You�ll hurt me and abuse me, and use me as nothing but a sex toy. Not a serious vocalist. Even if you do decide to let me into the band, that�s all I�ll ever be to you. Please� I can�t do this."
Yu~ki�s expression was guarded. His eyes were remote and almost cold as he observed me yet again. Before I could look fully at him or even try to speak again, he pulled back his free hand.
He hit me so hard that I actually saw stars, little exploding lights dancing around the room.
I stumbled slightly to the side, my hand going to the side of my face as my mouth fell open. What was he doing? I half-heard the little shriek of voyeuristic pleasure that came from Mana, along with the little gasp of shock from K�zi, and now I could only stare at the far wall in astonishment and pain.
Then Yu~ki jerked the chain again, and I was painfully dragged to face him, staring fearfully at him. He looked angry with me. "You don�t know what you�re saying!" he snapped.
A moment passed. His lips curved in a smile again, but a dry one, as he snorted, calming visibly. "You�re new at this, after all. But if you say anything like that again, I�ll have to punish you and teach you the right way. And I won�t be so gentle about it." He composed himself fully. "It�s true that we�re going to treat you like an object. You ARE an object. And you will be our sex toy, our plaything. But you don�t understand. How else do you think you�re going to get into the band? This is how we keep ourselves going, how we stay together� how we become as perfect as everyone sees us as. It takes hard work. This is how, Klaha, we train you into perfection also. You will learn to give yourself completely to us. You have no choice. You are our slave."
With that, he pulled me against him, and it was now that his smile turned dangerous. He used his arm to hold my body flush on his, and although I struggled weakly, he overpowered me, having not only a height advantage but a strength advantage. His other hand buried itself in my hair, directing my face upwards. He kissed me hard, conveying his displeasure with me in his violence. It hurt! He sucked at the blood that had begun to ooze out of a corner of my mouth after the blow.
After a moment, he broke away from me and licked his lips. I was still stunned. "Your blood tastes good," he whispered to me. "I�ll have to draw more from you� later."
With that, he shoved me against the wall. He released my chain and spun me around so that I was facing the opposite direction, then gave me a great push, so that I lost all sense of balance. I crashed front-first into the wall, and I winced, dazed again. I tried to recover myself and move away from the wall� but then, I couldn�t.
Abruptly, Yu~ki was behind me, pushing me against the wall with his own body. I saw over my shoulder that he was giving me a penetrating stare that was impossible for me to read. "You think you can get away?" he whispered in my ear, his lips brushing my skin.
I shivered and tried to escape, but he was having none of it.
"Ah-ah-ah. You�re not going anywhere. Your training begins now, dorei-chan�"
What had he just called me? I realized suddenly that indeed, they were about to turn me into their slave, their whore, their toy� their slave. However, I didn�t know how to become their slave, anyone�s slave. This was all so bizarre to me. I�d never understood the idea of violence to show one�s love for someone else, since it never seemed possible before. This� This couldn�t be love. All I wanted now was to get out of here, and think this over, where I could cry alone�
But Yu~ki was pushed so firmly against my body that I could feel every curve, every firm and aroused curve of him, making me jump. He grabbed ahold of my falling wrists and placed my palms flat against the wall.
"M-Matte yo!" I protested a second time, stammering.
Suddenly I felt something digging into the back of my calf, and realized that Yu~ki was trying to knee my legs open. I gasped, suddenly jolting, and struggled again.
Mana�s voice interrupted. "Chotto, Yu~ki, not so fast. He hasn�t even fully realized what�s going on yet. He has to know what�s happening for us to teach him anything, remember? We made that mistake with Tetsu. Klaha has to understand before we can go too far."
Yu~ki exhaled a long sigh, as I trembled between him and the wall. "Oh, all right."
With that, he released me. He backed away from me first, but yanked me with him before I could fall down. I was facing my captors again, both of them, and K�zi, who I wasn�t sure whether I could classify him as a captor. If Yu~ki had said that he was a slave too� First I stumbled, then I looked up, seeing Yu~ki�s face, which was unsympathetic. He told me without any emotion at all, "Face front. Mana wants to take a look at you too."
I slowly lifted my eyes and saw that, over K�zi�s shoulder, Mana was smiling again, looking at me lustfully.
When he came towards me, he pulled K�zi along with him. Shooting another little look at Mana�s unsuspecting back, K�zi allowed himself to be drawn to his feet. It almost seemed as though K�zi was able to read Mana�s mind, and know exactly what Mana wanted him to do, for K�zi stood on one side of Yu~ki, whereas Mana took up his position on the other. Mana�s and Yu~ki�s eyes traveled up and down my naked form, and again, I felt incredibly self-conscious. I wanted to tell them to stop staring at me.
Mana and Yu~ki glanced at each other, and both of them nodded. Then Mana prodded at K�zi. "We�re going to restrain him now. K�zi-chan, you get his right arm."
"Hai, Mana-sama."
I blinked, at first not even realizing what was going to happen, only concentrating on the way that K�zi had addressed Mana. So submissively! But it almost seemed as though K�zi had been their friend, as well as their slave, for so long� Perhaps it wasn�t the same anymore. Nonetheless he played his role convincingly, and surrendered to Mana�s command. Of course, I rarely heard K�zi speak, but still, he had never sounded quite like this, and had never addressed Mana as anything other than just Mana, Mana-chan, or Mana-san when he was joking� at least when I could hear.
I didn�t have much time to think about it. The three of them came towards me, and scared, I began to unsteadily turn with hopes to run. But K�zi took my right arm carefully, as Mana had ordered, and Yu~ki my left, and they held me between them. I couldn�t move, even though I tried to fight them. Mana came forward and stood directly before me.
Now I resorted to pleading with them. "Let me go. Please�" Were they even listening to me?
"Why, what�s all the fuss about, my sweet dorei-chan?" Mana was calling me that too, then. He smiled at me and leaned forward, taking my chin in his hand. He pressed his lips against mine before I could blink, and now he was the one to engage me in a heated kiss. A small moan came out of my mouth, more distressed than pleasured so early on. I was helpless to escape him. As he kissed me, his hand drifted down and curled around my length. It was so sudden that I let out a small squeaking sound, which was embarrassing, being so different from the usual low deepness of my voice.
Mana�s smile was more sadistic now as he pulled back. "You like that, don�t you?"
I bit my lip, refusing to answer while I tried to gather my thoughts.
He frowned now, instead of smiling. "You�re only making me cause you more pain." He tightened his grip. "How is that? Do you like that? It hurts, doesn�t it? Tell me that it hurts, dorei-chan."
I gasped, feeling my face contort. "M-Mana-san! Stop it�"
Abruptly he released me. I felt relieved for a moment when his hand let go of the erection that I was trying to will away, but I let my guard down. I wasn�t expecting Mana to slap me, and when he did, it shocked me. It still stung, even though it wasn�t as hard as Yu~ki�s blow. I staggered, fortunate that K�zi and Yu~ki were holding me in place, even though K�zi�s half of the restraint felt a bit weak, as though he was surprised or irritated that Mana had hit me.
Mana grabbed my chin again, forcing me to look at him. "Rather impertinent, ne?" he whispered softly, so close to my face, but his breath was scentless. "You just won�t learn, will you? You forget how much control we have over you. You are our slave. We are your masters. Your training has begun. Don�t you see? If you keep making mistakes like this and refusing to let yourself be taught, then I�ll just have to keep punishing you!" A pause. "And that is no way to address me!"
Confused, I was starting to feel dizzy. "N-Nani�?"
"Mana-sama," he hissed into my ear, biting at my earlobe. "Don�t be so insolent! Learn from K�zi. At least he knows what to call his master."
I didn�t want to say it, not really, but my throat worked on its own. "M-Mana-sama�" I whimpered.
"Good." He licked his lips once, withdrawing, and moved back. "K�zi-chan," he merely said�
---to be continued---
GLOSSARY
kanpeki na: perfect
matte yo: wait
nani: what
gomen: I�m sorry
dorei-chan: "slave"
chotto: just a moment
To be continued
To the next part