Chapter Three: Fields of Flowers

Something was wrong with the boy. It was clear and very evident as he just stood in front of him with a gaze that said nothing was fine and it will never be fine. Endless tragedy - it was embedded in the blue irises much like his own. The boy seemed to be reliving an old nightmare - bitter and sorrowful. It gave the hint of laying uselessly on a cot while the scent of dank sweat and hot humidity was heavy in the air. Traumatic life that could never be understood if it was not experienced as well. It gave the hint of... helplessness...

Akira watched the boy's eyes swim with more dark emotions for awhile more before there was a sudden halt with regards to the feelings that was very evident in the boy. One moment, there was vulnerability and the next, it was gone - a mask of ice replacing it for a second before serenity took place. Akira's heartbeat lessened considerably once he saw the expression of calmness then his pulse grew in speed again as the boy bowed his dark head before him.

What was... wrong with the boy?

Before he knew it though, the boy slowly walked away from him, as if his mind wasn't in the present, and stopped a few feet away. There had been a stagger in his steps. It seemed as if he could barely walk. He was losing his balance quickly and before Akira knew it, he was right before the boy once again, catching him before he fell to the wooden floor. The young whore was light on his arms and he could not help but wonder - briefly - why that was so. But that thought quickly faded as he heaved the boy on his arms, almost cradling him. He looked into the boy's face and saw that Kaede's eyes were half-lidded, barely able to see anything now. Kaede was clearly sick or ill. Something had happened earlier on and Akira felt a tightness in his stomach as he had a sinking suspicion of what it was.

"Hey..." Akira spoke, in a gentle tone - the way some brothers spoke to each other, or friends perhaps. The boy looked up but not at him. Kaede seemed to look through him, his eyes focused only on the glow of sunlight and shadows playing on the ceiling up above.

The swordsman was forced to look up too but saw nothing but a common occurrence of everyday - that of shadows and light - and he sighed, glancing to his side where an open window gave the sight of the back of the mansion. It was the sight of a small lake, a garden and the numerous trees whose crevices in between leaves served as gateway for sunlight to pour towards the ground and towards the lake. Akira decided that maybe the outdoors would be a proper place for the boy to rest and get some fresh air.

Carefully, he walked along the shining mahogany hallways with his light burden, giving no more attention to the decorations that littered the place this time. His steps were controlled, barely heard against the wooden floor. His pace was mild, not quick so as not to jolt the seemingly hurt boy, yet not slow as well. He saw the view of an open sliding paper-panelled door and as he came closer, he stepped through them. He was meticulous when he stepped down the raised edge of the house's floor and into the grassy ground - obviously for the boy - and he did not even mind that he was without his slippers as he stepped outside. It could wait. It was only a few dirt that would cling to him now - dirt that would be cleansed when he would bathe later on anyway. What was important was...

The young man almost pursed his lips once that thought entered his mind. As a swordsman, the most important thing was protecting his lord. That was all. There was no sense in trying to do anything else even though sometimes, the urge was so high for him. Finally, as he nearly reached the edge of the lake, he stopped. There was a large Ailanthus tree right near the water and he slowly knelt down, placing the boy down and arranging him to sit against the tree trunk. The boy seemed to snap out of his reverie finally as he winced when his backside connected to the ground. He took a deep breath though, and tried to relax himself, slowly looking up at him. There was silent inquiry in the boy's eyes but whatever he thought, he did not voice out. Akira settled on the grassy ground right in front of the boy and watched him. For a moment, they just looked at each other.

A swordsman. Born to fight with honour and wield a sword. Trained to be a man.

A whore. Born to open his legs for any man willing to pay for him. Never to be a man.

After a few more moments of curious staring, it was the boy who turned his head first, either feeling uneasy from the attention or just being respectful. He bowed his head lowly in an act of apology. "I'm sorry, Lord Akira. I was just..." Whatever excuse he had was cut off as he felt hands on his shoulders, pushing against them gently and making him straighten his torso. He peered up from beneath dark lashes and long black bangs to see that the young man was smiling at him. Just a moment earlier, he had been reliving quickly his distant past as provoked by the swordsman's eyes, and now the man was smiling at him. An odd man, the swordsman - he now regarded him as in his mind. Thiis was yet another weird man who had a strange hobby. To smile... what was it for? It changed nothing in the world.

"Are you okay?" Akira asked as he stared down at the younger boy. There was a certain urge for him to do something ambitious but he couldn't distinguish it. Shaking his head internally at that, he only focused on the boy. Up close, right now, with the sunlight through leaves dancing on the boy's pale face, he noticed him now. There was something seemingly special about him... something extraordinary...

First of all, it was the features that drew people to this youngster. It was the most convenient to notice. The boy was attractive enough to be spoken about by various men he'd encountered before - men who saw him in lust or just appreciation. Akira, however, could not help but see something else.

"Lord Akira," The boy began to answer the question directed to him. "Yes, I'm fine. You really shouldn't worry about me. Now... is there something that you need, my lord? Lunch... perhaps?" He tilted his head to the side slightly and there was almost challenge to his eyes. "Or do you seek my services?"

Akira frowned slightly. His smile faded to give way to a brief second of darkness. The boy just proposed his services and the first thing that went into his mind was the boy's age. Fourteen years young - an age where he should just be discovering these things instead of having his past infused with them. It was a sad tragedy really.

"I'm sorry..." Kaede spoke immediately as he saw the frown. Mechanically, he instructed his actions and words to seem apologetic as he bowed his head once more. The young man's hands seemed heavy on his thin shoulders. "I did not mean to offend you, my lord. Please forgive me..."

"Not at all!" the swordsman said before he sighed. "Lift your head. I'm not that special for you to give so much respect to..."

"But, my lord..."

"No, it's okay..."

Slowly, Kaede nodded his head before he looked up at the young man once again, trying to ignore the colour of the eyes. It was the same colour as his own and also, the same colour as his family's murderer. The mere shade brought about his traumatic memories to resurface and he strived hard to control himself from reacting with haste; so instead of looking at the eyes, he watched instead the features of the face. He realized something. The young man wasn't that much older than him. Perhaps seventeen years old or eighteen - he wasn't sure. This was a swordsman, a person he should have become had it not been for that unforgettable day when he was five years old. He would never be like this man. He would never wield a sword and protect a lord so as to make his family and his country proud. Instead, he was this boy trapped in a brothel, with admirers who came from far away, lining up in procession just to thrust their lust into his flesh. The man in front of him had honour. He didn't.

Trying to rid those bitter thoughts from his mind, he watched the young man again. Aside from being young, the man's features were above average in attractiveness. Kaede knew this enough as he saw many kinds of men in his life - from the ugliest to the more handsome. This man could fit the description as handsome... and strong... and muscular as proved by the tall frame and the sleeves that were pushed up from his wrists to his elbows because of the heat, revealing his hard forearms. This was a man who trained constantly... A /man/.

As he continued to just look, the swordsman chose that time to remove the two long swords away from his sash, place them on the ground, and just sit on the grass just like the younger boy. The green grass clung to their bare feet as they just sat in silence for awhile, watching absently the lake. On the lake, leaves from various trees fell almost one at a time, between intervals, touching the water gently. The leaf that connected with a point of the lake caused a ripple - circular rings to appear before it echoed further to larger rings around them. It took a few seconds before the leaf either sunk or just floated, depending on its mass.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, the swordsman once again turned to the young whore. His eyes hinted sympathy. In his mind, questions had rained down in a flood and he wanted to ask them all - although he really didn't like to be tactless.

"You were the one who was being... used..." He started, feeling something squeezing his chest briefly. His voice was deep yet gentle, like the flapping of an eagle's wings - strength and delicacy combined. He could smell faintly the scent of fragrant soap and he realized that it came from the boy - the boy had just bathed, after all. "In that room earlier on. A healer was rushing in the hallways. In one room, there came the stench of blood... and..." For some strange reason, he could not speak the rest. Was it because it was just a boy in his presence? It was absurd reasoning. This boy knew about it perhaps longer than he had.

"Man's essence?" The boy continued. His eyes were blank, like that of a dead child or a defeated warrior. Truly this boy could not be defeated yet! But Akira saw the hint of it. He saw it... Endless and boundless... Never-ending blackness of an existence. It was something he could barely comprehend yet sympathized with, at least. He will never know the pain that the boy had but...

Kaede wanted to look away. But he knew that if he did that, his actions would be rash and suspicious. He didn't want to see what was in those eyes who had the same colour of his own. The man was looking at him with pity. It was clear enough amidst the bright sunlight that rained down through the trees above. He couldn't stand seeing yet another man looking at him as if he was a helpless child because in the back of his mind, he knew that he could be easily be considered as that... or even less than that...

"Your lips has a small abrasion." Akira suddenly said, as if to say that one observation was to state that the boy was with further damage - a subject that they could not discuss.

"Also from earlier on." Kaede just nodded.

"A violent man... You seem used to handling men like him." The swordsman, for some reason, really wanted to know who it was. It was impulsive but then again, he was impulsive sometimes.

The boy nodded without sound.

"I hope you heal soon. You were obviously injured in your... er... other areas as well..."

"I'm well enough, my lord."

Akira wondered at that statement for one moment before he realized with silent shock what it meant. It was a subtle way of offering himself again, wasn't it? What drove this /child/ to these extremes? It was horrible... This era was so horrible sometimes...

"You shouldn't be living this life." He stated, feeling the tiredness of the boy from the youth's mere gaze. He saw serenity that was fake. What he really saw was exhaustion. When the boy said nothing, he could not help but reach up with one hand and touch the young face. The skin of the cheek was gentle and he marvelled silently at how a male could have these attributes. A beautiful young boy... A beauty whose soul was massacred again and again. Who had allowed this?

As his callused hand held the boy's cheek, the boy only looked at him, as if waiting for something. Did the boy think he was going to advance on him? Did this /child/ think he was going to... The mere thought caused bile to churn in his stomach. He was not some mundane man who cared only for pleasures of the flesh! He was more than that! But this boy... /expected/ him to just... just...

Akira closed his eyes for a few short seconds before he cracked them open yet again, catching the brief confusion flicker on the boy's eyes. That's right. He was not like most men. He was a weird man who had a different personality than all the other men the boy had met before. He was different. Akira moved his hand slowly across the pale gentle face before he dropped that palm on his lap, the other hand moving away from the boy's clothed shoulder as well. The boy was obviously confused at his actions. Akira watched him - in silent pity for him - before he sighed in futility. So what if he saw these things? So what if he saw that the boy had a suffering soul? He could do nothing... The boy would live here the rest of his life, serving various strange men with his body even while he did not want to... And he, Akira, would continue his life protecting his lord Hirohito Koichiro.

Two separate worlds...

Two distant places...

It was as if there was a wall of hard glass between them. They could see each other through the glass but they could never connect. This was their fates... But though Akira hardly believed in fate, who could go against the fate that had been dictated by the shogun himself? So many questions that would remain in the silence of their voices - questions that, when spoken, could get them in serious trouble. Desecrating the shogun's name by merely questioning him, the loyalists would say.

Finally, the moment of looking at each other in silence ended. For they were not alone anymore. Another had just entered the garden by the small lake where they sat and Akira turned his head slowly, causing the younger boy to follow his actions - although in a more graceful and discreet manner. Trained.

The swordsman noticed it for the first time. This was a small beautiful garden by the lake. Around them were various flowers in full bloom from the cloud-like Poppies to the blossoming Roses in various colours. A slight breeze was flowing with its fingers combing through the plants, the soft green grass and the flowers, causing a burst of sweet aroma to fill the air. Akira reached up to run his hand through his sweat-damped spiky hair and saw that along the stone pathway that came from the mansion, a familiar person was approaching them.

It was not the manger. It was not the ninja Toru who the swordsman had just recently glimpsed at earlier on during breakfast. It was not a servant too for this man wore not common clothes. This man who walked with confident strides towards them was wearing a light white yukata - clothing that was very appealing right about now to Akira. The clothing contrasted greatly with his skin tone as his face and body shined a golden bronze. The man was tall and built, with broad shoulders and well-defined muscles evident even with his loose clothing. He was a politician the swordsman knew of and talked with a few times when they saw each other in the Emperor's palace. Akira had known even then that this man came to this brothel often - this man who had first told him about the boy-whore who sat near him now. The man was Maki Shinichi. He was a regular customer of Kaede for so many years now.

"Hello, Akira-san." Maki bowed his head slightly in greeting before giving Kaede a small smile - the kind that hinted a secret. Kaede bowed his head in return. The politician looked back at Akira. "It's interesting to see you here... when, for years, I have been trying to pull you to come here and always, you had refused. You've met my Kaede, I see. From the way you were looking at him, it seemed as if you were analyzing him. Complex but pretty, I know. Such a gem." He smiled.

Akira nodded his head in agreement before remembering his manners quickly. "Maki-san, won't you sit with us? We are merely on the grassy ground yet it does feel good to the senses - especially on this very hot day."

Maki laughed as he sat. "It's only hot because you have not bathed and changed yet. You are here with Hirohito-san, are you not? You have your swords ready and you wear clothes that you use when you are working and protecting your lord. You came here to rest and relax, did you not? What are you doing?" He crossed one leg - thigh and leg close together - while the other leg was raised, resting against his chest. It was the posture of relaxation on a hot summer afternoon such as this one. His hair was wet and tiny droplets of water still clung on to his bronze skin. He had obviously just finished his bath.

"I'll do that later maybe."

"Later? After the Firefly-gazing festival? I recommend before. If you're into ladies complementing you while they pour sake for you and serve you your choice of meal, do that. I won't be staying the night. After dinner, I need to depart for Edo . I'm just here to bid my farewell to Kaede..." Maki turned his head to his right where Kaede sat quietly, eyes lowered to the ground and pale thin hands resting on his folded legs, and reached out to pat the boy's thighs. The hand then explored further, parting the folds of the kimono below the hip area - causing some of the forbidden flesh of the inner thighs to be exposed. He began caressing the soft texture, his tongue slowly darting out of his mouth to lick his suddenly-dry lips. He could already taste Kaede's scent - his flavour, his lips... But Maki controlled himself.

Akira averted his eyes. It was beautiful, every inch of that boy, but... He looked instead at the lake, finding a lily pod floating on the surface, right near where a lotus was beginning to bloom. A Firefly-gazing festival tonight? The lake would look so lovely as, in the darkness, only the moon, the stars and the fireflies would light it. Surely, there would be lots of entertainment from the geishas and lots of food as well. And of course, he will bathe and change before that festival. He smiled faintly and looked on back at Kaede, wondering at what the boy would do later on. He wanted to ask him but it was somehow nicer to wait and see - and be surprised. It was more interesting that way.

"The flowers... They smell so sweet, don't they, Kaede?" Maki had already paid for the boy. Their trysts usually started like this. Today, he'd have him until sunset when he'd have to get ready for dinner, a brief time at the festival to greet acquaintances and friends, then ride a carriage to Edo to settle a dispute over land between two lords. Maki continued his one-sided talk after Kaede acknowledged him with a brief nod. "I remember that day clearly as if it was yesterday. But the scent of the flowers that day differs from now. The spring flowers were blooming then. Sakura petals raining like snow all around you. You were like an angel..."

For some strange reason, Akira suddenly had a suspicion that this was going to lead to something... He somehow felt as if he should not be here - that Kaede should not be made to serve /yet another/ after being damaged heavily just earlier on. He wanted to say something - anything - but what right did he have?

Maki paused in his talk to suddenly look at Akira, recognizing something. He smiled in understanding. "You feel it wrong, Akira-san? To admire the beauty of this boy? How do you admire beauty anyway? He's a doll. You can either look at him for a long time and still see the same beauty over and over... or you could see his expressions twist and turn in the throes of pleasure or pain - depending on how you do it. His utter abandon. A celestial creature writhing underneath you as you claim heaven and possess it - again and again." He shrugged. "Never mind. Anyway... there is a lesson in all of this, is there not?"

The swordsman almost snorted. He gazed at the still-bowed head of Kaede and wondered what the boy must be thinking now, hearing two men talking about him as if he was nothing more than a possession - which actually was the truth. But still. There was the fact that the boy was human. Human like the rest of them. "And what is it then, Maki-san?" The politician's hand was still on the boy's inner thighs, squeezing - once in a while - the milky white flesh. His eyes were gleaming. Was this an artful moment for him then? Maki saw meaning when there was no meaning. Fact: Maki was going to rape Kaede. Again. Like every other man who had taken Kaede before. Because the infamous boy-whore Kaede never did give his consent to anyone. He was forced  by threat, circumstance, fear and desperation... Always forced. No one had ever made love to the blue-eyed beauty...

"The lesson, of course, is that everyone has a place in life." Maki said it as casually as if it was the law of nature. It opposed Akira's belief for the swordsman was an observer - one who saw the hardships of this country - and wanted, despite his status as a government lackey's bodyguard, something better for the people of Japan. No more death perhaps? It was so easy to dream but dreamers remained dreamers all throughout their lives in this era. There were little opportunities to make visions a reality. And so to think that everyone did not necessarily have a place in life... Like this young boy who was declared to be a whore from far too early in his life... It was a dream to set him free, was it not? Always a caged bird, this beautiful boy.

"Maki-san..." He wanted to explain that such a philosophy was narrow-minded, a disease that Japan suffered from in this time and age. He wanted to discuss new governments and policies in the west - that which he had learned earlier in his life. But old dogs rarely learn new tricks. It was futile.

"Like this child, this boy..." Maki held the boy's thigh a little more tightly, causing the boy to look up for a moment, meeting his eyes. There was nothing but passivity and silence there, like it had always been. It made Akira wonder what type of person the whore was if he was allowed more freedom to interact as if there was no barriers between him and another person he communicated with. "Akira-san, life is strange, don't you think? Like a carriage's wheels... or the flight of a bird. You aren't always winning. Kaede here... As a small child, he used to be in a rich and influential family. Now, he is alone, a slave. He is the Shogun's jester, easy to laugh at even in his pain."

Kaede stiffened at those words but said nothing as usual, hearing them before.

"Did I hurt you, boy?" The politician ceased his touches. "I heard about it. They informed me that you were not a hundred percent physically okay. Minami-san yet again, isn't that right?"

"Yes, my lord." the boy answered the second question, hoping he could get away with ignoring the first.

Maki stood. "You should try him at least once, Akira-san." He smiled. "Men flock to taste his beauty at least once in their lives. Peasants save money and leave their wives for one night just to enjoy the heaven within his body. There would be no regret at all. Try him tonight. If you're shy, I'll even ask the manager for you. If not him then any other woman in this estate. But I truly recommend him. He is simply the best." He turned to Kaede, a hand outstretched. The boy placed his white palm on Maki's bronze one and he was helped to stand. He whispered to the boy's ear. "Until sunset, my dear."

The swordsman watched the two stand and stood up himself. He knew what was going to happen and he just dreaded what was to come. Again? For the boy... again? The boy was not even healed yet! He tried not to think of how this boy's life had been when he was but a small child. Akira bowed his head slightly, trying to hide the confusion to this... injustice that he saw. "It was nice seeing you here, Maki-san."

Maki nodded his head. "It was also wonderful seeing you here. I will see you later... Right after I'm done with him. He will have a performance tonight too. It's something I can't miss before I leave." He turned, arm encircling around the boy's waist. "Let's go, Kaede."

Akira watched them go, confusion giving way to bitterness, sympathy and... something indistinguishable. What was the boy's reaction, he wondered. He took note of the possessive arm around Kaede's waist and he frowned. Maki was not a person he thoroughly respected but they were comrades in arms, both serving the same government. For some reason, his view of him had lessened, just because he saw him here, hiring the boy as a tool for several hours - without consideration for his health. If he had been Maki! If he had been Maki, he would delve into the boy's personality - be interested in things other than physsical and sexual gratification. Kaede was a person too! If he was Kaede... If he...

It was futile. There was no purpose for these thoughts, Akira knew. So what? He could do nothing. Who knows if the boy had even come to enjoy these sessions? Why did he follow Maki so willingly? Had he become a puppet of the shogun, his pride lost long ago? Was it too late for an honourable spirit to be honed inside himself? Or what if... what if there was something hidden underneath the layers? Something that could shock so many people if they found out?

Somehow, Akira wanted to know.

***

He'd known. From the moment he smelt the blood and saw the lifeless bodies of his step brothers and sisters, he'd known that normality would never come back to his life. From the time he'd screamed in horror, trying to be restrained by his mother, he knew that the pain experienced then would always play a major role in his existence. Watching the man that was now the shogun of his country, he saw rough hands clawing against his mother, tearing her clothes off, parting her legs and... violating her. He saw the man thrust his manhood inside his mother, heard his grunts, heard her moans of pain. He heard his father's pleads then witnessed as the sword struck him, making his decapitated head roll on the ground towards his tiny feet. He smelt nothing but rot and sin from then on.

After the horse ride away from his burning home, he'd been taken to the Emperor's Palace, forced to bow before the regal man who turned over his destiny to the shogun. Then he'd been forced to prostate before the shogun - the same man who'd massacred his family. The punishment for being the son of a man who was opposing the government was to experience pain that would make his father's spirit never rest. Because he was deemed as beautiful, he was assigned to a brothel, to serve men by the hour even at an early age when he barely understood what was said to him. But that was not before he'd been pushed inside a room inside the palace, where he saw a man waiting - never suspecting that it was not one man who was going to take his virginity, but rather, there had been all the bakufu leaders, waiting for when they could taste one of their opponent's son. It had been merciless that he never blacked out before, during or after they accosted him cruelly.

It had started in that room. He couldn't really know how many men had been inside. They were all tall and old, with eager hands and malicious smiles. He remembered mostly that he had been set free in the flower garden and it had been spring. It was a game they were all going to play. He was told to run. The first man to catch him had the rights to him and until that man was finished, no one could interfere. And then another man took over, then another and another. It was a procession of evil men, baptizing him into his life of sin and degradation. Sakura petals had rained down like snow all around him as he gazed at heaven, eyes watery and cheeks wet with never-ending tears. He remembered calling out to the gods or to any being who was willing to listen even as they continued to massacre his innocence. No one ever aided him. Amidst the beautiful sunshine, the clear sky, the sakura that was creating an effect that hinted a paradise of a garden... Amidst the beauty, he learned what hell felt like.

The last man who took him had been none other than a politician called Maki Shinichi. It was the man who had talked to him while he was being cleansed and healed by the servants.

"What is your name?" Maki whispered gently as if he had not just used the boy like so many others did. He saw the boy flinch in fear at the sight of him and he just shook his head, one hand reaching out to run a dark hand through the boy's silken hair. "You're afraid. I see it in your eyes and in your actions. In your beautiful blue eyes... You share the eyes of the shogun, did you know?"

The boy closed his eyes, wondering that if he imagined and dreamed and wished hard enough, he could wake up from this nightmare and that his mother would be there to soothe him. No such thing happened.

"You will be sent to a brothel tomorrow morning. There will be more of what you had just experienced earlier on. As long as you're beautiful, this kind of life would never end for you. That is the fault of your beauty."

Kaede panicked and opened his eyes wide, his head shaking in fear. "Please! Please... Please no more! I want to see my mother, please!" More tears welled up in his eyes. He pleaded. He needed to see his mother. He did not want to believe her dead even though he saw... her lifeless eyes closing and her chest ceasing to rise and fall so as to breathe and live. He cried some more until he was silent again, his naked body motionless on the pristine white sheets placed on top of the futon. The room smelled of eucalyptus. The healers continued to wrap bandages around his wounds and injuries. Some of the men had been too rough.

"Why..." the boy whispered in a small and agonized voice. "Why am I here?"

"Because your father committed treason against the mighty shogun."

"But what fault did I have? I don't understand you... Why am /I/ here? Why...?" He curled more to himself and winced as large hands lifted him from the futon. A servant made him stand but he had no energy to support himself. The servant held him while he was slowly being dressed in a white silk kimono.

"Because you are your father's child." Maki answered as if it was that simple. "And because you are beautiful. From today on, your beauty will be appreciated by anyone who can afford, me included. I will always make sure to watch you." The boy could not help but weep again - for his fate and for his tragedy. "Always, child...

"Always."

***

"The day is hot, isn't it?" Maki slid the sliding door shut behind him as he watched the taut back of Kaede, the immaculate body covered by a clingy green silk kimono. Maki knew that Kaede looked his best without clothes on. "Why don't you take off your clothes?"

Kaede heard the words and did what was requested of him. His hands rested on the knot of the sash wrapped around his waist and he slowly undid it. His eyes were focussed on the mahogany wall of this expensive second floor bedroom. With his fingers, he unknotted the sash until it came loose. He folded it neatly first before placing it on the floor. The kimono loosened and without manipulation, the silk slid down his ivory shoulders slightly.

"How long had it been since I last visited you, Kaede?" Maki smiled as he approached the slightly smaller boy. His hands reached out to touch the bared shoulders. "You've grown taller once again. It amazes me to watch you grow up. Tell me... did you miss me at all?"

The boy said nothing for awhile, already feeling violated, then sighed internally. This was just a small game they had always played. Apparently, since first raping him, Maki Shinichi had developed some fondness for him. And the politician had always been here, never abandoning him - in such a twisted way. He instructed his voice to sound pleasant. "Of course, my lord. You are the client I am most familiar with. Of course I missed you." He felt Maki coming closer and tentatively, he rested his back against the strong muscular chest of the politician.

"My lord? You sound so formal." Maki snorted then chuckled quietly. "Call me what you have always called me... The person I have become after /he/ had gone away."

Kaede closed his eyes before answering in futility.

"Father."

Maki smiled wider before turning the boy around, looking into the sapphire eyes. He held his breath. "As I have told you nearly a decade ago... You define perfection. And right now, you are mine." His lips plundered the boy's and another of their reunions began to occur. Pushing his tongue inside the boy's mouth, he held on to Kaede's back securely while moving the both of them towards the futon. Maki parted slowly from their kiss so that he could slowly push the kimono off the boy's arms and body. The green silk kimono fell in a heap on the wooden floor. Maki watched the perfect nakedness of Kaede as the light from the early afternoon sun shined on it. He felt himself getting fully erect.

"Tell me what will happen now."

Kaede almost smirked in madness if he was that sort of person, then tilted his head slightly as if it was a gesture that said that he was amused by all of this. "I would either lie down or go on my hands and knees. Either way, you would place your hands on my hips and tease me and taunt me before pushing your hard cock inside me. And I would moan for you because you like hearing me at your mercy. Our bodies would unite yet again as has been our custom for nine years now. And I would be reminded of the past that we share."

"And?" Maki raised a brow. He turned Kaede around so that they boy was facing the other way then guided him to go on to his hands and knees.

The boy sighed softly as he looked blankly at the mahogany wall once again, palms and knees resting on the softness of the futon underneath him. The golden afternoon sun was in his eyes so he closed them. He parted his legs all the more, an invitation for Maki to conquer him. He could smell Maki's manhood staining the air as he heard the sound of clothes shuffling. He did not have to look back to see the politician taking off his garments. Soon, large hands were resting on the curve of his buttocks. He was caressed at first before a finger found his puckered entrance.

"And, Kaede?"

"And... And you would drive your thickness inside me again and again and I would love you for it - almost never wanting you to stop... Father..."

Maki grinned before thrusting two fingers at once into the forever tight ring. "You pleasure me in every way, you know that?" The answer was a gasp as Kaede grabbed the sheets underneath him. "More?"

Kaede pressed back to meet the thick fingers. "More."

"You are such a whore, you know that?" But Maki still obliged, adding three more fingers to the two that was already embedded inside. He stretched the ring, opening and closing his hand's fingers. While he stretched it, he used the other hand's two fingers to gain entry. Those two fingers swirled around inside the crevice, causing Kaede to moan. "What's that, Kaede?"

"Put it in... Put it in, F-father..." The common words that the older man wanted to hear from him always. It was a ritual he was used to now. "Put your long and thick cock inside me. Come inside me... Please..."

"You like it, Kaede? You like it when I put it inside you?" Slowly, he pulled out his probing fingers. Maki smiled as he held on to Kaede's hips. He watched the long white body underneath him, admiring the slender frame, the lines, the hint of where the spine gracefully supported the back... the swan neck, the glossy liquid marble hair and the soft moans that were meant to please him.

"Please..."

And of course, he obliged.

Like he always did.

***

"Hello."

The little boy looked up slowly, apprehensive immediately. He saw a tall dark-skinned man looking down at him. The man was smiling, as if wanting to be friendly to him. The boy had seen those kinds of smiles a hundred times before.

"I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Maki. Maki Shinichi. I used to know your father."

Immediately, the child's eyes widened, and he obviously wanted to ask so many questions. But he said nothing, trained only to speak when spoken to. He dreaded it when he was punished. If he did not do what he was supposed to, he was sent to a lower class brothel where a dozen men would flock towards him for a low price.

"You can speak, I know. I was told. Why are you a silent child?"

"I... I'm not... I'm sorry..." The boy lowered his eyes in shame, knowing that this man knew his father, and therefore knew that his father's honour had been slashed once again. It was his fault why that was so...

"Sorry? Sorry for what? Can you tell me?"

The boy slowly shook his head. "It... It's nothing, my lord."

Maki cocked his head to the side before coming closer to the boy. They were in a garden full of red tulips. He slowly knelt on the grass, facing the boy. "You don't remember me, do you?"

The boy tried to concentrate on the man's face but he did not find him in his memory. "N... no... I'm sorry, sir..." He slowly lowered his eyes again.

But the man did not hit him or accost him for his supposed blunder. He was not punished. Maki merely smiled softly as he lifted the boy's chin. "Would you like to have a new father?"

He blinked once, twice, in confusion. The boy did not understand.

"Kaede... that is your name, I know. Now that your father is gone, would you like to have someone take care of you? I want to be your father..."

The boy knew better than to hope. "But, my lord... I am only a slave. And what's more... it is the shogun who owns me and does what he pleases with me... I can not be bought."

"No, perhaps not but... Even in this place, you can still have a father, can you not? And I offer myself for that position."

Kaede slowly looked away.

"Call me father from this day on." Maki said in a soft fatherly voice. "And now... let's play a game..."

The boy immediately panicked, hearing that. He stood slowly, backing up until his body hit the trunk of a tree. A few small flowers had been crushed by his bare feet. Maki stood also, coming nearer to him.

"I want you to run, Kaede. Run away from me. Because once I catch you..."

Kaede ran immediately - ran to hide, to pray silently but desperately to the gods even if he knew that there was no god.

"...I will have you..." Maki smiled. "My child."

<There is no god.> the boy's mind chanted again and again. <No god, no god... no salvation... no saviour through all of this. God, help me! Help me!>

<Please help me...>

"You're not very good at running and hiding, aren't you?"

<Help me...>

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