Bleed the Tears

by D-chan

Warnings: demons, language, darkness, rape, abuse, shounen ai/yaoi/slash (boy/boy relationships), shotacon (male/male relationships involving one or more young boys)

Chapter Five

It was one of the last things Raanan expected, to be woken so early in the morning with a rude but not rough tug on his arm. A hand was quickly clapped over his mouth before he could even suck in the air to speak. In the dim room lighting Raanan could see a pair of excited brown eyes.

Out of all the demons he knew on a first-name basis, Naolin was the only one that would grab him like that and grin at him. He tugged insistently. Wary of waking Soushou -- who seemed to be resting surprisingly peacefully -- Raanan allowed himself to be dragged. However, once the door had shut behind him, he dared to hiss around the hand over his mouth, "What are you doing?" At least, he was pretty sure that's what it came out like.

Naolin just grinned. "I wanted to play. So let's go!"

The boy shook his head. Defying Naolin wasn't a right he, as an underling, had. However, he was much more fearful of getting in trouble with Soushou. If the demon lord wouldn't hesitate to use his powers against someone he himself claimed to be a close friend, how could it possible be beneath him to harm the one in his charge?

Naolin saw the smaller demon's vehement denial and just continued to smile. "Don't worry about Soushou. He won't mind! C'mon!" He tugged on Raanan's arm.

"No-- don't!" Raanan protested, trying to twist his arm free and get away. He did manage to tear loose, but the act caused him to stumble back on his bad ankle, wince, trip, and fall soundly to the floor. His chains clattered loudly and Raanan found himself both wishing Soushou had heard and praying that he hadn't.

Shaking his head and pulling the boy back to his feet, Naolin urged him. "Come on, it'll just be for a couple hours! Soushou's been really busy lately, so he'll be asleep for a little while longer. I promise you won't get in trouble with him!"

The internal struggle was something fierce, but in the end Raanan allowed himself to be dragged down the twisting hallways, only dimly hearing the hyperactive demon's cheerful chatter. It must have been very early in the morning, or Naolin chose only obscure routes, because Raanan didn't see anyone else up and about.

Raanan thought Naolin might lead him to a kitchen, the fighting room, somewhere a lot of mischief could be caused... but that turned out not to be the case at all.

His first reaction was a too-loud but irrepressible, "What is this place?"

Naolin grinned. "A swimming pool."

Edgy, Raanan backed up a step, feeling no shame in showing this little weakness to Naolin. After all, there was no point in pretending he didn't have any fears. "A... pool...?"

"Yeah." Right there, not caring that he was in the presence of an underling and that such an act was usually prohibited unless sexual actions were to follow, Naolin began to strip himself of his clothing, dropping them in a careless pile on the ground. "You can swim, right?"

Raanan tried to control a dirty look; wouldn't it be obvious if he could swim or not? He still had his chains and shackles on, every last one of them! But all he could work out was a hesitant, "Um..."

"What's with you?" Naolin asked before he suddenly seemed to catch on. "Oh... the chains, right?" The brunette closed his eyes to refrain from glaring, but he could still hear Naolin giggling. "Well, looks like not having any locks has an advantage, huh? They can't weigh you down!"

"No," Raanan said quietly, clenching his eyelids in a desperate attempt to calm himself. His hands balled into fists, quickly unclenching when the sharp nails started to poke his flesh. "Some can swim even with the locks. They're stronger."

"Physically," the older demon agreed without missing a beat. Raanan finally opened his eyes, half exasperated to find Naolin still grinning. "At least come into the shallow end!"

That was fine; Raanan just hated the deep water. Simply looking at it sent chills through him, the depths reminding him how especially weak he was with his chains weighing him down, his lack of muscle aiding in his slow demise...

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Raanan went to the edge of the pool, sliding into the shallow end until his feet touched the floor's semi-rough surface. The water just barely reached his thighs there, but he was so accustomed to being naked that doing any deeper would have felt odd.

Naolin didn't seem satisfied with that. "Aw, come in deeper," he coaxed. "You can't play in the shallowest parts! There's not enough water to splash with!" As though to make his point he swiped his arm over the surface of the water, sending a spray of water to Raanan's face.

Water got in his eyes; it burned more than it should have. Rubbing at his eyes, Raanan tried to regain his bearings, spitting out the water that had gotten into his mouth. It tasted odd. If Naolin hadn't been in the pool with him, Raanan would have suspected the demon was trying to kill him with this odd substance. His vision grew blurry. Raanan tried to focus but whatever was in the water just made his eyes sting even more.

Naolin was saying something, but Raanan wasn't paying attention. Something had caught his eye, making him turn to see. Down on the other side of the deep end, behind Naolin, was a demon. Raanan's breath caught; the dark clothes, the piercing eyes... the piercing blue eyes.

And brown hair.

Another unnatural birth...

"Raanan?" Naolin's voice sounded distant, but it was enough to help him focus on the older demon. Something akin to concern drew the older demon's eyebrows down. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just..." Raanan glanced up, ready to point out the stranger, but saw nothing. He blinked, his arm half raised, but the figure didn't reappear. Curious, Naolin followed his gaze then looked back at the boy, smiling.

"What?" he asked. "Did you see something?"

Raanan blinked, now completely baffled. Surely he'd just seen someone there! Even with his vision a bit hazy, there had been no mistaking it-- he'd seen a demon just like him. It wasn't him; the hair was much too short and something had glittered on the other figure, like maybe it'd had jewelry adorning it.

Slowly, he said, "Say, Naolin... is there another demon like me around here?"

The other demon blinked. "Like you?"

"You know..." Raanan gestured to himself. "With brown hair. But with blue eyes, not green."

Naolin shook his head. "Nope. You're the only weirdo I've ever seen."

"But--"

"It might have been the herbs," Naolin suggested. At the boy's puzzled look, he explained. "They put herbs in the pools because most demons like it. Some of them hallucinate, though, because of the weird effects certain herbs can have." He grinned, splashing the boy again; this time Raanan was able to cover his face. "That's some weird illusion, though! Never heard anyone see something like that. Usually it's just weird colours and shapes and stuff."

Raanan nodded, but he was uncertain. It hadn't seemed like an illusion to him; something didn't fit... or perhaps he was just too eager to believe that he wasn't the only oddly-coloured demon around.

Geez, he thought. Letting something like that carry me away... it's too much to hope for.

Suddenly, without warning, he felt a violent jerk on his ankles. He yelped, his head nearly smacking the side of the pool as he was yanked underwater. Raanan choked, able to make out a pair of amused, delighted brown eyes before the hands clasping him let go. Sputtering and coughing, he managed to break the surface just in time to hear Naolin come up as well and say, "You looked so moody. Lighten up a bit! Even Soushou wasn't that down when he was an underling!"

Wiping at his burning eyes, the retort came before Raanan realized what he was doing. "You could have killed me!"

Laughing, Naolin said, "Nah, I couldn't do that even if I tried." At Raanan's questioning look, he said rather cheerfully, "I'm a lover, not a killer."

He was completely insane. "If you must know, the phrase is I'm a lover, not a fighter," Raanan mumbled, still rubbing his eyes. Having caught his breath and humiliation (after all, yelling at a higher demon was normally a big mistake) Raanan edged back toward the edge of the pool. Right as he did so a hand touched his head; he jumped and turned, surprised to find Soushou crouching by the pool's edge.

"There you are," he said calmly. "You shouldn't have run off like that, Raanan."

"I wanted to take him swimming," Naolin said helpfully. "Don't get mad at him, Soushou."

The demon lord's eyes opened, gray eyes sans pupils falling in the general area around the younger demon. "Naolin," Soushou said gently, "I don't have that short a fuse."

Raanan closed his eyes, feeling his face burn. Even with Naolin pulling on him, he really should have waken his master up. Despite Soushou's words, Raanan anticipated a harsher punishment in private. He bowed his head, staring at the water rippling around his legs, unable to even summon the words to apologize.

"Let's go back, Raanan," Soushou was saying. "You're completely soaked now, aren't you?" Raanan could only nod, not trusting himself to speak as he climbed out of the water. Liquid pooled where he stood, dripping.

Naolin looked disappointed. "Bye, Raanan." Again, Raanan could only nod.

He wordlessly followed Soushou back through the corridors, trying not to notice the looks of contempt the few demons they passed showed. He did glance up once, seeing one in particular dressed in dark clothes, chains, several piercings...

Brown hair and blue eyes...

Raanan's eyes widened. He quickly looked at Soushou to see if he'd noticed, but when he looked back the figure was gone.

Naolin had to be lying. That was no illusion.

Trying to keep his questions on hold, Raanan managed to wait until they were back in the demon lord's chambers. The moment Soushou shut the door, the older demon turned as though ready to say something, but Raanan couldn't contain himself any longer. "Soushou-- have you ever seen anyone around here like me?"

His master tilted his head slightly, expression unchanging. "No."

Raanan stared, feeling frustration build. How could Soushou have not noticed? He was dead certain that was absolutely not a hallucination; he'd seen it twice, and in good detail. No fuzzy edges, no distortions, nothing. "You and Naolin, both of you--!" He clamped a hand over his mouth, horrified at his second outburst.

Soushou didn't seem fazed. "What about us?" When the boy said nothing, Raanan felt a gentle but insistent push in the back of his mind. Wincing, he explained about the demon he had seen in the pool.

Soushou took the news calmly, so calmly it was beginning to get to Raanan. How could he act so unsurprised all the time? What would it take to shock him?

After a few long moments of contemplation, Soushou finally spoke. What he said startled the boy. "You really can't tell?"

Raanan blinked, now puzzled. "Can't tell what?"

A small sigh escaped the grey-eyed demon. "Raanan, I haven't seen anyone like you because I can't see anything, not even you. Especially not you."

Blind.

The realization first came as an icy shock, proceeded by a numbing sensation, before embarrassment. Raanan couldn't help but stare, the pieces finally falling into place: why Ena had told him to speak instead of just make gestures, why Soushou's hands always seemed to trail over something, why his empathy was so surprisingly strong, why he couldn't read... it made sense now. Raanan berated himself for not having seen it before. All signs had pointed to it!

When he finally, reluctantly looked up to face his master, he saw a very faint smile on the other demon's face; it was as though Soushou were amused. "You seem surprised."

"... yeah."

Simply nodding, Soushou's smile faded. He walked over to one of the double-door closets, his pale hands trailing over the wood until he found a knob and pulled. "I figured," he said quietly, "that you might want something to wear."

Raanan shook his head, paused, and then spoke. "No, not really."

He had the feeling that if he had been able to see, Soushou would have looked back at him. "I really wish you wouldn't lie so much." The boy flushed a bit. "I know the law, but I also know that it would be better for you to adjust to wearing clothes now. It'll be hard enough once you're old enough and have to."

So he planned on breaking the boy in a bit early-- that or get him in trouble. Raanan didn't dare speak against his idea, but he did say carefully, "But it's against the law for underlings--"

"I know the law as well as you do, and maybe even better," Soushou interrupted, his voice still infuriatingly mild. "It'll be okay in my room, though. And if I can make up a special circumstance elsewhere, I will." He seemed to find something he wanted, because he pulled it out and, amazingly, managed to toss it right to Raanan. "This will do, for starters."

Raanan caught it; it was thick and soft, like cotton. He stared at it for a moment before reluctantly pulling the sweater over his head. It was far too big for him; it fell over one of his shoulders, the hem brushing near his knees and his hands completely hidden. Feeling awkward, Raanan pulled the chains out over it. The lack of metal against his skin was also strange, though not entirely unwelcome; it could be horribly painful if the chains pinched you while sleeping.

"Will it do?" Soushou asked.

Raanan nodded, did a double take, and remembered to speak. "Yes, sir."

"Raanan."

He winced at the warning tone. "Yes, Soushou."

The older demon seemed satisfied. "Good. You're making good progress. It may be much to hope for, but perhaps you'll be able to trust me before I release you."

Once the words would have given him relief-- relief Raanan was surprised and alarmed to find not coming as quickly or as intensely. He just looked down, toying with a chain from his collar.

Somehow knowing that Soushou was blind made him feel better; more relaxed. Oh, yes, there was no doubt the demon lord was still very powerful, but he had a weakness-- a physical weakness that should have crippled him worse than Raanan, but that didn't seem to be the case. It made him recall Naolin's words, that Soushou had been through worse than Raanan, having to live with a handicap that couldn't be reversed. It made Raanan feel better-- and marginally guilty because of it.

He shivered a bit, realizing he was still cold and wet. Raanan shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should open his mouth and ask for a towel, but the door nearly slamming open startled him.

"Yo, Soushou," Donovan said, peering in but not stepping across the threshold. "Inari's looking for you."

"How nice for her," Soushou said quietly.

The taller demon looked amused. "She says she wants to challenge you. Don't you want to accept?"

"No." Raanan looked up from the floor, startled to hear the cold, flat tone in his master's voice. "I've declined once and I'll do it again. She can find someone else to play with."

"Why don't you--" Raanan clamped his mouth shut too late, his eyes flickering to Donovan wearily. Donovan just looked back, one eyebrow raised. Whether it was in amusement or disbelief, Raanan didn't know.

Soushou didn't answer, but when Donovan spoke it wasn't to pester him about this mysterious Inari. "Soushou, could I borrow your pet for a while?"

The gray-eyed demon's expression remained blank. "Why?"

"Just to talk," Donovan said easily. "Just to ask him a few things. I promise it won't take long."

Raanan winced, panicking. Donovan was a demon lord, one nearly -- or perhaps just -- as powerful as his master. Soushou and Naolin may have been setting off different vibes lately, but he was far from ready to trust anyone but himself even now.

As though sensing his discomfort, Soushou spoke up. "I'd rather you didn't. Naolin decided to take him swimming and he hasn't had the opportunity to dry yet. Perhaps some other time."

Smirking, Donovan nodded. He didn't seem to buy the excuse, but maybe he wasn't supposed to. "All right. Later, then." He paused to flash Raanan a strange smile before leaving. The boy shivered again, and not just from cold this time.

There was a soft rustle indicating Soushou had taken a seat on the bed. Blinking, Raanan remembered his earlier question before turning to his master. "Why...?"

Soushou tilted his head slightly. "I felt your nervousness, so I assumed you didn't want to go."

Frowning and shaking his head, Raanan tried again. "No, not that... I mean... why don't you want to fight Inari?"

"She's Lady Inari to you," Soushou said gently. "Do you trust me yet?"

He should have been used to the change of subject by now, but it still took Raanan aback. He opened his mouth to say no, he didn't, but something stopped him. For some reason he just remembered how gently Soushou had touched his head in the pool, how despite Raanan's worries he hadn't gotten truly angry with the boy for letting Naolin drag him off.

When nothing was said for a good minute or so, Soushou said, "Well, I believe that makes us even, don't you?" Raanan shrugged uncomfortably, fidgeting in place. "Now if we're done with this conversation, I'll make sure we both get something for breakfast."

Raanan nodded, waiting until Soushou had walked past him and out the door before he practically collapsed to the floor, shaking. Weird, he thought, weakly pushing obscuring bangs from his eyes. How can he make me so tense and scared without even trying? Just... weird...

It was only her second time being used for more than a few hours at a time and it made her excited. She was only eight years old but was already on her way to receiving her second lock. It must have been because of how simply sweet and adorably she looked. Her first owner had been a male, a heavily pedophilic man who found her youth and cuteness charming. He'd never touched her really, aside from putting her hair in pretty pigtails that she was now very fond of, and maybe he'd kissed her a few times, but that was it.

She could only hope it would be someone like the last man. He'd been fun and had been only too happy to give her the first lock. She wore it proudly on her front chain, showing it off to any and everyone that could see it.

She was lead down an unfamiliar maze of hallways-- but then, the hallways were always unfamiliar to underlings. There were spells and talismans to take care of that.

Strangely enough, however, she was being lead to the hospital ward. She'd only been there once when her first master had broken his arm in a fight but somehow wasn't happy to be there again. It wasn't that the place scared her... but suddenly seeing that very familiar door gave her the strangest cold chill.

She had a feeling this master was going to be very different. And minutes later she was proven right. Lying on a bed before her was a demoness, one who didn't look too happy. It made her cringe, especially when the woman said sharply, "Come here."

She obeyed, moving forward. The woman stared at her a moment before relaxing, her voice softening. "You'll do fine."

I'll do fine? At what...?

"Listen carefully," the woman said quietly. "Because this job I'm going to give you is very, very important..."