Author's Notes: Hello! Long time no see, eh? I blame school and my complete and utter insecurity over how to continue this story. I don’t know whether to make a separate story about what happened with Seraphim and all (it seems a bit strange to write a prequel after having written the sequel... does that make sense???), or if I should put a few chapter revealing what happened into Insincere Saints itself. If I write a separate story (or maybe even two) that means I can go into detail about everything. If I reveal everything in Insincere Saints, I can still go into detail about everything, but it means that Insincere Saints will have lots of chapters. I’m just so confused...

Kain: You’re confused?! I’ve been castrated, how do you think I’m feeling right now?!?!

Moumo: Aw, well, but you’ll be all right in the end. Or maybe you won’t. MUWHAHAHAHAHAA!!! Ahem. Well, anyway, here’s the next chapter and what a chapter it is! Blood, lust, romance, death and pretty boys! All the necessary ingredients for a good story! Not that I’m saying my story is any good, but that’s beside the point. Where was I? o.o;;;

Oh yes, I remember now. Someone dies in this chapter!! Actually, a lot of someones die in this chapter, so you're warned; this ain’t a happy chapter (so what’s new?). I’m expecting more reviews saying I’m evil, so that should give you a clue of what this chapter is like. And considering your reactions to Kain’s becoming a eunuch...

Oh boy, you’re all going to hate me. o.o;;;

Capitulus IX: Deus Mortuus Est

(Chapter Nine: God Is Dead)

Alister purred like the happy little kitten he felt like at the moment and snuggled closer to the warm, hard body lying next to him in the god awfully big bed. Arc was sleeping on his stomach, breathing heavily, one leg between Alister’s and an arm thrown carelessly over the albino’s chest. There was still a thin sheen of sweat on the black-haired man’s body, but as the skin cooled down the sweat disappeared and goose bumps appeared. Unlike Arc, Alister was still very much awake after their rough bout of sex; as an incubus, Alister lived off human energy which he could gain in two ways: having sex with humans, or eating humans. Arc wasn’t exactly human, but Alister could still feed off his energy and since Arc was as horny as he was, sex was the way Alister fed off him.

Sex usually left his partners completely drained, which meant he had to wait a while for the second round. It also meant that he was left all alone, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. Alister didn’t like to think too deeply about things; somehow, he always ended up being depressed, hating the world and especially hating himself. Considering the ‘cheerful’ nature of the recent events around Kain, Alister tried to find a way to distract himself before he’d lose the – remotely – cheerful and satisfied mood he always had after sex.

He reached out to touch the long, flowing, raven hair of the person sleeping beside him almost reverently. Arc’s hair was longer than Alister’s and it was also slightly curly when it got wet. It reached to just past Arc’s buttocks like a wave of silk, because it really did feel like silk sliding through your hands; it was just as cool and smooth as silk was. Alister supposed one of the perks of being a god was that everything about you, from your eyelashes to your little toe, was perfect. He grimaced. Perfect didn’t always mean perfectly beautiful, as most people thought; there was also perfectly ugly. Arc’s true form proved that.

He ran his hand over Arc’s back, brushing away the hair and feeling strong muscles, wrapped in skin as smooth as marble yet softer and warmer and much darker. His eyes went to Arc’s face and saw the eyelashes resting against olive skin, hiding the hauntingly green eyes from view. Saw the straight nose and the mouth that was always wide and sensual and smiling, as if everything in life was amusing. Beautiful.

And Arc knew it, too. Everything about the way he presented himself to the world – in clothes that were so tight they seemed to fit like a second skin or clothes that were so common and boring they enhanced his natural beauty – spoke of a strong awareness of sexuality and charm. Arc went through the world with a see me-want me-touch me-fuck me-mentality and he made sure to flaunt it in the faces of all he came across, leaving a lasting impression.

They were very alike, Arc and Alister, but there was one big difference: Arc knew when to be subtle; Alister hardly even knew the word. This difference was mainly because they were two beings whose nature was lustful, only they handled it in very different ways. Arc had to use his charm to woo beautiful young boys and girls into his bed, Alister had but to project his own lust to someone, to have them begging and fighting for his touch.

Despite that difference, they could get along very well and usually sought out each other’s company, either to have sex or to prowl the streets for someone to warm their beds with. One problem while prowling was that they had the same taste, though Arc usually went for the younger ones and Alister for the older and more experienced people. They weren’t the kind to share, not even with friends, which Alister thought was rather odd, since both he and Arc weren’t exactly known to be monogamous. A pained look crossed the albino’s face. Oh, they were certainly not monogamous and that had gotten them into deep trouble in the past.

Painful memories of a man with long red hair and cold blue eyes threatened to overwhelm him and he shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. He raised his head from the bed when he heard the door open and he began to grin when he saw who was standing in the doorway, looking at him like they wanted nothing more than to throw him off the top of a skyscraper – not that it would kill him, but seeing his body collide with the pavement would be satisfying. “Well, hello, Arashi,” he purred. “You’re looking well today.”

Arashi’s nearly white eyes went from Alister to Arc and then back. His hands clenched to fists at his sides and a vein in his temple began to throb, as he tried to keep his temper at bay but found it hard to do so with Alister grinning triumphantly at him.

Alister wrapped a lock of Arc’s hair around his index finger and raised a defiant eyebrow at Arashi. “Won’t you join us?” the albino purred. He threw a lazy look at Arc and chuckled softly. “You’ll have to wait a while, though; I think I wore Arc out, the poor guy.” He grabbed Arc’s nearest hand and brought it to his mouth. Slowly, deliberately making eye contact with Arashi, he first swirled his tongue around one of Arc’s long, slender fingers, before sucking it into his mouth. His eyes began to sparkle with mischief when he saw his actions had the desired effect on Arashi; the boy’s shorts seemed to be getting a wee bit tight, but he tried very hard not to show it to Alister. The albino smirked around Arc’s finger, before letting it slip from his mouth with a ‘pop’. “He’s quite tasty, you know?” he said with a wink. “Do you want a bite? I don’t mind sharing this time.”

“I hate you!” Arashi snarled, his cheeks turning red. “You bitch!!” The youth stomped through the room, tearing and pulling at the drapes that hung from the ceiling, and disappeared in the bathroom, pulling the door closed with a loud bang.

The noise woke Arc from his exhausted sleep. The black-haired man grunted and opened one eye, which glared sleepily at Alister. “Wuwazzatnoise?” Arc mumbled, his voice hoarse.

“Nothing,” Alister said sweetly. “Go back to sleep.” Arc gave him a suspicious look, seeing the mischief through Alister’s innocent façade. Then he shrugged and closed his eyes, his breathing becoming heavy once again. Alister grinned and gave Arc’s ass a nice, hard slap. Arc opened one eye to glare at him, then closed it and turned his head away from Alister while muttering something about horny albinos not being able to keep their hands off him.

“Can’t help it; you’re so tasty,” Alister said, even though he knew Arc had fallen asleep again. He looked at the hand he was still holding and his mouth began to water at the sight of the dark, olive skin. ‘I really am a hopeless horn dog,’ Alister thought as he began to lick the inside of Arc’s elbow, knowing it to be a sensitive spot. His tongue traced a wet path from Arc’s elbow to his shoulder, where it drew circles on the smooth skin before Alister placed his lips against the skin and sucked hard, until he had left a dark and rather large bruise.

Arc groaned and stirred. “Leave me alone, I’m tired,” he mumbled, making a half-hearted attempt to push Alister away. Alister ignored him and began to suck on his earlobe, while his hand crept down Arc’s body to cup one nether cheek and give it a good squeeze. “All right, all right, I’ll get up, all ready.” Arc swatted the hand away from his ass and pushed himself up on all fours. “You just don’t know when to leave a guy alone, do you? You slut,” he said, glaring down at the albino who lay sprawled beneath him.

Alister’s expression was one of pure wounded innocence. “You’re so cruel,” the albino sniffed, pouting theatrically. It almost hurt to keep himself from smiling, so he gave in to the urge and grinned from ear to ear. “I wanted to get you ‘up’, all right,” he said, slipping a hand between Arc’s legs, “but I don’t want you to ‘up and leave’.” His eyes sparkled with mischief.

“You’re hopeless,” Arc said, rolling his eyes.

“Isn’t that why you love me?” Alister batted his eyelashes at Arc and pretended to blush, but pretending to be an innocent virgin didn’t really work when your hand was on another man’s penis and doing things most virgins didn’t even dream of doing.

Arc grinned and planted a wet, sloppy kiss on Alister’s nose. “No, it’s why you love yourself,” he said. He petted Alister’s taut stomach, slipping the tip of his little finger into the albino’s belly button and smiling when it made Alister squirm. “Come on, let go of me so I can get dressed.”

Alister pouted. “Don’t you wanna play?” he asked in a kiddy voice, giving Arc his best, sickeningly sweet and innocent puppy look. He growled when Arc shook his head and tried to move away, and as punishment he gave the important part of Arc’s anatomy in his hand a none-too-gentle squeeze. “If you move away, I’ll tear it off,” he threatened. “That actually sounds like a good idea, you know; then I’ll have something to play with.”

“There are at least three dozen vibrators under my bed you can play with,” Arc said, wincing when Alister squeezed him again.

“Yeah, but I don’t know where those have been.” Actually, he knew exactly where those things had been, which was why he’d never use them. “Don’t be such a spoilsport, Arc!”

“Alister, let go… I’m going to check on Kain.” The albino’s eyes filled with compassion and understanding, emotions that the incubus rarely displayed, and he released Arc immediately. Arc crawled to the edge of the bed and swung his legs over the edge, then bent over to grab his clothes off the floor.

Yasuo had given them a reasonable explanation for Kain’s loss of masculinity, but Arc, being a phallus deity, was still profoundly disturbed by what had happened to the blonde boy. Angels were androgynous creatures, so they had nothing that could indicate a gender; meaning no nipples, no genitals and no anus. Somehow Kain’s angelic power had been triggered and because his body believed it was the body of an angel, it got rid of all things that could hint at a gender. According to Yasuo, everything would be fine once Kain had learned to control his powers. Despite those comforting words and Yasuo’s unique ability to make anyone feel comfortable, Kain hadn’t looked like he felt reassured and that worried Arc.

Arc put on a plain white shirt and only closed the button in the middle, so that the shirt exposed a lot of his belly and chest. He slipped into black pants that clung to his legs like a second skin and closed the zipper, but didn’t bother with the button.

Alister rolled onto his stomach to watch Arc dress, and then raised an eyebrow when he saw what the black-haired man was wearing. “If you’re just going to ‘check on Kain’, then why does your outfit scream ‘Just bend me over and have your wicked way with me’?” he asked. Arc sent him a lecherous grin over his shoulder, making the answer so obvious it made Alister roll his eyes. “And you call me a slut.”

“Well, I figured that since the boy needs something to cheer him up, what better way to do it than by giving him some good old-fashioned tender, love and care,” Arc said as he brushed his bangs out of his face. A hint of mischief crept into his eyes. “But if you don’t think that’ll work, I’ve got another idea involving Kain laughing his ass off at you wearing a lovely pink baby doll.”

“No!” Alister blushed beet red. “No more pink, Arc! Do you hear me?!”

“Pity,” Arc said. “Pink clashes so wonderfully with your eyes.” He laughed when Alister called him several less-than-flattering names and walked to the door. “You be good while I’m gone, you hear me? Go play with Arashi, or something.”

Alister’s head shot up. “Splendid idea! I think I’ll do just that.”

Just as Arc pulled the door closed behind him, there was a loud string of curses coming from the bathroom and he chuckled softly. He hoped Arashi and Alister didn’t try to kill each other and ended up destroying the dormitory, because he would never forgive them if they ruined his beautiful, large, perfect-for-orgies-bed; he needed that thing. Sure, the floor was nice sometimes, but it was better when you had something soft to pound your lover into. Heheh.

It was the middle of the second period and almost all students were in their classrooms, leaving the apartment building almost completely empty. Arc boarded one of the elevators and made his way downstairs, wondering if Kain had done as Yasuo had advised and pretended nothing had happened. Kain didn’t seem like the type to obediently follow orders, which was one of the things Arc liked about him, but Kain also seemed like the type to do exactly what everyone told him not to do. While Arc would be the first to admit he had a weak spot for the stubborn defiant type, he was very worried Kain would do something stupid.

The elevator stopped and he stepped out of it, making his way to the glass doors of the apartment building. When he saw a large group of class-skipping girls standing and chatting excitedly in front of the glass doors, he stopped and looked at them for a long time, debating whether or not they were worth spending time on. He recognized most of the girls as Random Fangirls™, to be handled with caution and preferably avoided at all costs if he wanted to live to see another day. But one of the girls standing with her back towards him caught his eye.

It wasn’t hard to recognize her; she really stood out from the other girls, with her long hair that was dyed in all the colors of the rainbow and her army print, baggy pants. Murasaki Uranaishi, Veritas’s current number one precognitive and full-time stalker of pretty boys. Now it made sense why there were so many girls skipping class; the Random Fangirls™ practically followed Murasaki wherever she went, because she had something they wanted badly: pictures of naked boys.

Instead of using her ability to see the future for something productive like saving the world, Murasaki would rather ‘see’ when her next victim took a bath, a swim or a shower. After the prey’s location had been determined, Murasaki would start the hunt with the help of her two sidekicks: Mr. Polaroid camera and Mr. Digital camera. She’d always find a way to catch her prey in a state of undress and would take pictures before the poor boy even knew what was going on. The pictures always made their way into the school’s weekly newspaper and, understandably, this did not sit well with the victimized boys. But there were also those, like Arc and Alister, who thought it was hilarious.

And of course the fangirls would never miss an opportunity to see ‘their’ bishounen naked, so for a measly 2,222 yen, which was about 20 American dollars, the fangirls could buy a copy of a nude picture of their dream boy. Needless to say, Murasaki was making a lot of money.

She was also the only one of the selective group of people Arc called his friends, who had not been molested yet. That, Arc decided, had to change. Quietly he made his way over to the group of girls, signaling the few Random Fangirls™ who noticed him to be quiet. Of course the bubble-headed girls giggled, but Murasaki seemed to be too occupied by the horde of girls wanting the latest pictures of Haru to notice. Arc stopped behind Murasaki and reached out a hand, ready to grope her ass, when Murasaki suddenly spun around and slapped him hard across his face.

Arc staggered backwards, while the Random Fangirls™ gasped dramatically and then hurled themselves at Murasaki like a pack of wild hyenas.

“How dare you slap Arc-sama?!”

“Yeah, how dare you slap him!”

“Oh, Arc-sama! Are you all right?!”

“Don’t you dare slap him again, Murasaki, or we’ll hurt you real bad!!”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

“You betcha!”

“Uh-huh!!”

Murasaki rolled her eyes at the Random Fangirls’™ pathetic attempt to grow a backbone and shoved the pictures she hadn’t sold into her pocket. “Well, I guess that means you don’t want any pictures anymore,” she said with a slight smirk. The fangirls wailed and threw themselves at her feet, but Murasaki was inexorable. “Today’s sale is over. Go back to your classes before I tell the members of the student council that you’ve been skipping class. Oh wait, I am a member of the student council.” She grinned evilly, as the fangirls beat a hasty retreat, and then turned to look at Arc. Her grey-blue eyes laughed at him over the top of her square-shaped glasses. “You are so predictable.”

“You should be glad,” Arc said, “my predictability has saved your dignity.” He rubbed his sore cheek and frowned. “Could you avoid hitting my face next time? This is gonna leave a bruise.”

“Next time I’ll aim for your crotch.”

“I’ll rape you in your sleep and sell your baby to organ dealers,” Arc threatened.

Murasaki only grinned and fished a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket. “Join me outside for a smoke? I could sure use one.”

A feeling of apprehension came over Arc, as he followed Murasaki outside. If Murasaki needed a smoke, it most likely meant she had seen something bad happen in the future and couldn’t think of a gentle way to tell people.

As they sat down on the grass in front of the apartment building, Arc saw a figure in the distance sitting on the stairs leading up to the doors of the Addams family mansion and as he looked closer he saw it was Kain. “Listen, Mura-chan, I can’t talk to you for a long time,” he said. “No beating around the bush, you’ll have to tell me what you saw.”

Murasaki stared at the blades of grass in front of her and appeared not to have heard him, but Arc had seen her shoulders stiffen when he had talked to her. She took a long drag from her cigarette and let the smoke escape through her nostrils, before she answered him. “Last night I was laying out my tarot cards,” she began. “I’d had weird visions – well, they were weirder than usual, anyway – and I couldn’t make sense of them. Two cards kept appearing: the Tower and Judgement.”

“The Tower stands for unsettling and is connected with breaking down old structures, decline, misfortune and intervention from above.” She pointed at the sky above them. “Judgement stands for awakening and is connected with reward, enlightenment, rebirth and revealed insights. As you can see, these two are each other’s opposite, yet they also complement each other. Last night I didn’t know what they were trying to tell me.”

She took another drag from her cigarette. “I had a dream last night, in which the two cards appeared as well, but the dream was a bit clearer than my visions had been. I saw the two cards and behind each card stood a person. Behind the Tower there stood what I think was a man, with three pairs of blood red wings and long blonde hair. Behind Judgement stood a boy. That boy.” She pointed at Kain with her cigarette.

Arc nodded; he had expected something like that and it did make sense that his beautiful Seraph would be connected to the Tower and Kain to Judgement. “Is there anything else you’ve seen?” he asked.

Murasaki nodded, not taking her eyes off Kain. “Something’s going to happen today,” she said softly. “I had a vision this morning. There were no images this time, only these sentences written on a wall in blood:

‘‘You must kill him,’ said the man, ‘only then can he and I be together once more.’

‘What of the others?’ said the woman. ‘They will try to protect him.’

‘I don’t care what you do to them,’ said the man.’” Murasaki looked up and Arc saw her eyes were wide with fear.

“‘I do have one request,’ said the man. ‘I want you to bring me the head of the reincarnation of the Greek god.’

‘So it will be done,’ said the woman.’”

“Zanobi,” Arc growled. Of course that bastard hadn’t given him the satisfaction of really dying; he had just put up an act, knowing it would scar Kain forever. The irony of the situation didn’t escape Arc; Zanobi was neither living nor dead, and the man’s name was Latin for ‘scarcely alive’.

“There’s something else,” Murasaki said. “During that vision I had the strange feeling that the woman had the body of a bird. I know it sounds strange, but I’m pretty sure she had the body of a bird. Call it a woman’s intuition.”

Arc had been around women for too long to take their intuition lightly. “Thanks, Mura-chan,” he said.

Murasaki snorted. “Thanks for what? I know you, Arc. Now that you’ve heard what I’ve said you’ll be brooding for the rest of the day.”

“Thanks anyway,” Arc said. He gave her a reassuring smile and reached out to pinch her cheek. As soon as his skin touched hers, Murasaki convulsed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her cigarette fell from her hand and into the grass and was forgotten. Arc cursed as he held Murasaki while she was having a vision. It had better be a good vision this time, because after hearing that Zanobi had sent the Harpies after him and Kain he needed some good news to cheer him up.

As soon as it had begun, it stopped and Murasaki became still. Her eyes became normal and her cheeks returned to their normal rosy color. Actually, her cheeks usually weren’t this bright red. “What is it? What did you see?” Arc asked. Murasaki gave him a long, hard look over the top of her glasses, then blushed beet red and began to giggle like a maniac. Arc raised an eyebrow at the girl, wondering if she had been hanging around the Random Fangirls™ for too long. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently shook her. “Murasaki, have you gone cuckoo? Tell me what you saw!”

Still giggling like she had lost her marbles and blushing like a virgin, Murasaki freed herself from Arc’s grasp and stood up. She began to run back to the apartment building, but stopped to giggle over her shoulder. “Let’s just say… I’ve had my share of yaoi for the rest of the year.”

Arc’s jaw dropped. “You saw two men have sex?!” he shouted, as Murasaki began to run again. “Murasaki, tell me! Did you see me and Kain?! Were we having sex?!!”

“You’ll find out soon enough!” Murasaki sang, before disappearing into the apartment building.

“‘Soon’ is a relative concept!” Arc snarled. “Bitch!” At moments like these he wished he could call down a rain of lightning bolts and strike Murasaki dead – after she’d told him who it was she had seen having sex. Considering Murasaki was one of the few girls he could stand to be around for longer than five minutes without feeling the need to go on a killing spree, it was no wonder he preferred boys.

After letting out a deep sigh, he stood up and stretched out like a cat, feeling the wind caress the bared skin of his chest and stomach like a lover. He caught a scent on the wind, a scent that caused a familiar tightening in his nether region; the scent of a virgin. Considering his constant hunger for sex, it wasn’t strange that most people thought he was connected to the incubi and succubae. Indeed, the Latin word that was used to describe the satyrs was ‘incubi’, the singular form being ‘incubus’.

Arc licked his lips and began to make his way to the Addams family mansion, never taking his eyes off the golden-haired boy sitting on the stairs in front of the building. Murasaki’s vision and dream had made more sense to him than to the precognitive, because Murasaki hadn’t a clue who and what the Seraph was, or what Harpies were and what they could do.

Arc shuddered when he thought about what the Harpies could do to Kain. Those stupid women were under the impression that if they had the Seraph’s child, the child would be so powerful that the Harpies would become unstoppable and could bring misery and death to the entire world. Little did they know that angels were very infertile – if they had been fertile, Yasuo would have enough children by now to populate China. Twice.

But the Harpies didn’t know, so they continued to try and rape the Seraph. Arc’s mouth became a thin line in his face. He would have to make the Harpies pay for attempting to rape Kain, because he couldn’t stand the thought of someone but him touching Kain so intimately against the blond boy’s wishes. And he knew, as he picked up his pace, that when the Harpies realized they couldn’t have the Seraph’s baby, they’d try to kill him.

And Zanobi was just the kind of bastard to inform the Harpies that having an angel’s child was impossible.

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs of the Addams family mansion and looked down at the boy sitting on the bottom step. Kain’s shoulders were hunched, the boy’s arms were wrapped protectively around his stomach and his head rested against his knees. His entire being radiated misery. The blonde boy looked up when Arc’s shadow fell over him. His eyes widened when he saw Arc and his cheeks, wet with tears, became pink. “Hey, babe,” Arc said, winking.

“Hi,” Kain said shyly. His entire face was pink now.

“Mind if I join you?” Arc asked. Kain shook his head wildly. Arc grinned and sat down on the step beside Kain with his legs spread wide and he noticed with more than a little satisfaction that Kain’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head when they fell on his open shirt and pants. “So, I see you're skipping P.E.,” Arc said.

“Um... yeah,” Kain said softly. He looked at his feet and rubbed his arms. “Makoto showed me the outfit we have to wear for P.E. The shorts were so short you could see that… um… he wasn’t wearing anything under them.” And it would be very easy for someone to see that certain parts of the male body were missing, if Kain would wear the shorts.

Arc threw his head back and laughed. “That’s our little Makoto,” he snickered. “He’s an exhibitionist at heart.” He saw Kain’s miserable attempt at a smile and became a bit more serious. “Don’t worry,” he said, wrapping his left arm around Kain’s shoulder and pulling the blonde boy closer. “You heard what Yasuo said, your body’s simply turning back to its angelic form. It’s natural for angels to be androgynous.”

“It doesn’t feel natural,” Kain said softly. He sighed and rested his head against Arc’s shoulder, letting himself be comforted by the black-haired man’s presence. He had been so depressed this morning that nothing could cheer him up. Haru and Makoto had been worried about him and asked him what was the matter, but he was too embarrassed to tell them what was wrong with him.

He saw and felt everything different now that there wasn’t a hair on his body and his skin was as smooth as porcelain, and he found it difficult to adjust to the new sensations. But everything was better now that Arc was with him. Kain closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “… Yasuo said that he’ll teach me how to control my powers,” he said softly. “Is that okay with you?”

“You don’t have to ask my permission,” Arc said, a little amused.

“I just thought... since you’re enemies...”

“Yasuo and I aren’t enemies, we’ve never been enemies.” His smile was grim. “He just does what God tells him to do.”

Kain raised his head. “That’s why I don’t want to be an angel,” he said. “I don’t want to obey His orders like a good little lapdog.” To his surprise, Arc glared at him.

“God isn’t the Great Dictator He is in the Bible,” Arc said, “so you can just forget everything you’ve heard about Him.” His look softened a little and he smiled. “He’s not exactly my best friend, quite the contrary actually, but He’s nothing like people say. I’m not the right person to tell you about that stuff, though. You’ll have to ask Yasuo when he’s training you.”

“Weren’t you supposed to let me figure out everything on my own?” Kain asked, still a bit angry about that conversation.

Arc shrugged. “We figured that would be best, yeah, but I’m beginning to doubt that decision, especially after what happened today.” He looked at Kain in a way that made the butterflies in Kain’s stomach flutter, and ran his hand through the boy’s hair. “I don’t want to see you as sad and confused as today again.”

Kain’s face felt so hot he wouldn’t be surprised if there was steam coming out of his ears. “I-I-I... um... I-I,” he stuttered.

“Shut up and let me kiss you,” Arc said huskily. He wrapped his left arm around Kain’s waist and used his grip on the blond boy’s shoulder to pull him closer. As he looked into Kain’s eyes, those wide, golden eyes, he briefly wondered what the purpose of the slit pupils was. Was it so that Kain would always be recognized as a demon? At the moment he didn’t care – who would when they had a beautiful boy in their lap?

Purring like a cat, Arc brushed his lips against Kain’s, relishing in the feel and taste of them. They were so very soft, and Arc could still taste the cinnamon buns Kain had for breakfast. “Hmm, tasty,” he purred, licking his lips. Kain blushed and opened his mouth to reply, giving Arc the opportunity he had been waiting for. He slanted his mouth over Kain’s and slipped his tongue past the soft lips, muffling Kain’s squeak of surprise.

Arc used his tongue to explore Kain’s mouth, touching gums and teeth, and pushed against Kain’s tongue with his own, trying to coax the blonde boy into responding. He groaned when Kain began to kiss back, shyly at first, but quickly becoming more confident. Kain wrapped his arms around Arc’s neck and pulled the black-haired man closer, moaning softly.

For a few minutes the two were lost in their own world, hearing only the sounds of their wet kisses and their hearts beating together – and not the clicks of Murasaki’s digital camera. Then they were rudely shaken awake by a shriek.

“SENPAI!! Get your hands off my roommate!!”

Kain and Arc broke apart with a smack and stared at Haru, who was standing in front of them wearing his P.E. shirt and shorts, and looking less than pleased. “I can’t believe you, senpai!” he said. “I leave Kain-kun alone for five minutes and you’re already raping him!”

Kain's complexion rivaled that of a tomato. “Really, Haru, it’s okay...”

Haru grabbed Kain’s arm and tried to pull his roommate off Arc’s lap, but the black-haired man’s hold on Kain’s waist and shoulder wouldn’t budge. The purple-haired boy glared at Arc and growled, “Let him go, senpai.”

“No! Get your own!” Arc growled back, tightening his arms around Kain. He paused, having a glaring contest with Haru, and then grinned. “But, if you really want me to leave Kain alone, you could be the nice roommate and offer your own body to me to save him,” he said.

“That’s disgusting, senpai! You’d even have sex with Makoto if you could, wouldn’t you?!”

“Yes, but Makoto’s so sexy... the paedophile in me just wouldn’t be able to resist.” Arc’s grin became impossibly big, until he was literally grinning from ear to ear. “Has anyone ever told you how sexy you look in those shorts? I can see part of your ass.”

Haru exploded. “I am going to fry your balls and make you eat them!!”

“No, thanks; I’m a vegan,” Arc purred, dodging a vicious kick from the purple-haired boy.

Haru snarled and yanked Kain from Arc’s grasp. He held his roommate by his shoulders as he looked closely for any signs of hickeys or love bites. “Are you alright, Kain-kun? Is your dignity saved? Are you still a virgin?”

“Um… yeah…”

“Ah, good. I wasn’t too late, then.” Haru placed his hands on his hips, and Kain couldn’t help but notice how short the shorts were. The blonde boy had the sudden, nearly uncontrollable urge to run his tongue up Haru’s thighs, to see if they were as tasty as he thought they were. ‘Dammit, Kain, get a hold of yourself!’ he thought, blushing.

Apparently Arc found Haru just as irresistible; the black-haired man snuck up behind Haru, grinning like the Cheshire cat, reached out his hand and pinched one pale nether cheek. Haru squeaked and jumped in the air, his hands reaching for his sore butt. “Wow, what a nice bubble butt you have!” Arc purred.

What Haru said then would have even made Alister blush like a virgin, but it didn’t seem to affect Arc very much. The black-haired man dodged a few blows and kicks that would no doubt have left him as genderless as Kain, and then grabbed Kain around his waist, whispering, “Come into the forest with me.”

“Yes,” Kain whispered back. He found Arc’s hand and clutched it tightly, letting himself be drawn away from Haru, who was still shouting threats, and into the forest. The trees closed in around them, and Haru’s last warning ran out behind them.

“Kain-kun had better still be a virgin when you get back, senpai!!”

“Unfortunately, he will be,” Arc mumbled, locking eyes with Kain as he led him to the darkest part of the forest for some alone time.

“Get out, get out! GET OUT!!!!!”

Alister laughed out loud, even though he was being thrown onto his bare ass. Arashi snarled at him one last time, and then slammed the door of the dormitory closed.

On any normal day Alister would have been very insulted to be thrown out of someone’s room, but today was not any normal day; he’d just had explosive sex with a very enthusiastic boy – even though Arashi had pretended he was being raped – and today was his birthday. Not that anyone would remember and send him presents – how could they, when he hadn’t told them it was his birthday? – but birthdays were always good excuses to stuff himself with candy and cakes, the only real loves in his life.

Whistling a merry tune, Alister made his way to the apartment he shared with Kuro, scarring a few poor, unfortunate first-years with his nakedness. He was still snickering because of their shocked faces when he reached the apartment. Ah, corrupting the innocents was so much fun!

Kuro was sitting on his bed reading a magazine, and looked up when Alister entered the room. The black-haired man rolled his eyes when he saw Alister was in his birthday suit – literally – and let out a deep sigh. “Shall I call the nice gentlemen in white suits?” he asked. “The look on your face is that of a man who has spent the night raping babies in the town through which he ran naked, traumatizing the people.”

Alister grinned. “Not babies, just Arc and Arashi,” he said proudly.

Kuro rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his smile. “Like that isn’t illegal in some countries in the world,” he said. His face darkened suddenly and his smile disappeared. “Do you consider me your friend, diabolus?”

Alister was stunned into silence for a few moments and simply blinked stupidly at Kuro. Then he frowned and scratched the back of his head. “Uh… I guess so. You like to pump me full of lead and let me screw your brains out, I like to slit your throat and screw your brains out… I guess that makes us friends. Why’d you ask?”

“Aren’t friends supposed to tell each other important dates? Such as birthdays, for instance.”

“How’d you know it’s my birthday?”

Kuro pointed at Alister’s bed, on the other side of the room. On top of the sheets stood a basket filled with all kinds of colorful candy. Next to it laid a thin book with a dark red bow on top. “Those presents were here when I -” Kuro was cut off by a loud, girly squeal, a rush of air, and suddenly found his lap full of cuddly, grateful, naked albino.

“Oh Kuro, thank you, thank you, thank you!!” Alister hugged Kuro as tightly as he could, while purring and rubbing his cheek against the young man’s chest. “Thank you! I wuv you sooo much!!”

Kuro was painfully aware of the fact that the only thing separating Alister’s delectable ass from his – entirely inappropriate – erection, were his thin boxers – which were being stretched to their limit. God damn human hormones! “I… They’re not from me!” he said quickly, unsuccessfully trying to push Alister from his lap.

Alister pulled back a little, so he could look Kuro in his eyes. “No?”

“Err… no.”

“Then who sent them?!”

“Why don’t you go over there and see for yourself? AND STOP BOUNCING ON MY LAP, FOR GOD’S SAKE!!”

“I’m sorry, Kuro, but I’m just so excited! I got presents!!”

Kuro thought it was very unnerving to see Alister, bad boy extraordinaire, excited as a little boy because he’d got a birthday present. And yet, it was also encouraging, for the albino’s relapse to the young boy he once was could mean that there was a chance of saving him. God willing, they’d save him.

“Presents! Presents! Presents!!”

“GOD DAMN YOU! EITHER FUCK ME OR STOP BOUNCING ON MY LAP!”

A few minutes and hot sex later Alister walked out of the building in what Arc had dubbed his “shotacon outfit”; a pair of bright red gym shorts. Nothing else. It wasn’t just because of all the attention aimed at his ass and legs that Alister liked to wear the shorts; they were also very comfortable. He usually only wore the shorts inside, because for some strange reason, seeing a half naked albino scarred people’s psyches. And the shorts didn’t exactly protect his sensitive skin against the harmful rays of the sun.

But today was different. Today his skin could go to Hell for all he cared; he wanted to give into his exhibitionism a little. Besides, it was 25 degrees Celsius in the shade and his leather cat suits wouldn’t do anything to help cool him off.

He licked his lips, tasting the sweetness of the candy he’d consumed (read: wolfed down). He made his way across the lawn in front of the Addams family mansion and kept on walking until he reached the edge of the forest. By the time he reached the first trees, his skin was already burning. He frowned. “Should have put on some tanning lotion,” he mumbled.

He lay down in the shade of an old oak, rolled onto his stomach and flipped open the book. Though he didn’t like to admit it, even to himself, he was already madly in love with the book. It was written down beautifully, with large gothic letters, and was beautifully illustrated. The Ugly Duckling had always been his favorite fairy tale and though he had about sixty different versions of the story, this one would definitely be the most cherished from now on.

Time passed unnoticed for the albino, fascinated as he was by the fairy tale. He suddenly was aware that someone was standing behind him and had been standing there staring at him for quite a while. He rolled onto his back and leaned on his elbows. “I had a feeling it was you,” he said.

Yasuo smiled at him. The black-eyed man was standing right in front of Alister, hands clasped together in front of him. “Did you put on tanning lotion?” he asked. “Your thighs are turning red.”

Alister grinned and spread his legs wide, knowing Yasuo could see his ‘package’ now. “Staring at my thighs, were you?” he purred seductively.

“Yes,” Yasuo said.

“D’oh!” Alister snickered and slapped himself against his forehead. Even after living with his horny boyfriend for over two millennia, Yasuo still hadn’t a clue about sexual innuendos and such. Sexual jokes were completely lost on him and he didn’t understand why humans blushed when they talked about sex. Alister and Arc still died from laughter when they thought about that one time when a man had rubbed himself against Yasuo’s ass in the crowded subway and Yasuo had shocked everyone by calmly asking the man if he could keep his penis to himself.

Alister picked up the book and stood up.

“Do you like your present?” Yasuo asked, glancing at the book in Alister’s pale hand. “I know how much you love The Ugly Duckling.”

Alister frowned and shrugged, trying to appear indifferent. “It’s okay, I guess,” he mumbled. “A bit of a worthless present, though; once I’ve read it, it’ll become boring.”

Yasuo chuckled, unconvinced. “Is that why you’ve been reading the book three times in a row in the past half hour?” he asked.

Alister flushed and looked away. “Don’t worry; I’ll throw it away in a minute,” he snarled.

“Really? What a pity.” Yasuo snatched the book from Alister’s hand with a movement faster than even the incubus could see. The black-haired man’s eyes were twinkling with mischief, which, Alister knew, was not a good thing; angels tended to have a rather sadistic sense of humor. “If you don’t like the book,” Yasuo said, “I’ll just give it to someone who does. I think Makoto-kun likes fairy tales.”

“NO!” Alister made a grab for the book, but Yasuo held it just out of his reach. “Yasuo, you gave it to me! It’s mine now!”

“But you don’t like it.” Yasuo held the book high above his head, chuckling as he dodged Alister’s grabbing hands. “I wouldn’t want to bother you by forcing you to keep it because it’s impolite to refuse a birthday present,” he said.

“Yasuo!” Alister was pouting now. He jumped, making another futile attempt to grab the book – his book. “Come on, give it back!”

Yasuo took a quick step back. “Why? I thought you didn’t like it.”

“GIVE IT!” Alister snatched the book from Yasuo’s hand and clutched it to his chest. “Asshole!” he hissed, indignant. Stupid, annoying bugger, teasing Alister like that. How long would it take for his slow brains to catch up with the fact that Alister was no longer a little boy? He should treat Alister like an adult!

“I will, if you stop behaving like a spoiled brat.”

“DON’T READ MY MIND!!”

“Alister…” Yasuo’s voice was all seriousness now.

“Hm?” Alister looked up when Yasuo took a step closer. “What?” he asked, eyeing the taller man suspiciously.

Yasuo sighed deeply and cupped Alister’s face, noting with sadness that it made the albino start. “How many times do I have to tell you?” he said. “You’re no ugly duckling.”

For a few moments Alister could only stare at him, shocked that Yasuo knew him so well. Then he threw his head back and laughed. “No, I’m no ugly duckling anymore; I’ve already grown into a beautiful swan!”

“I mean it.” Yasuo regarded him so seriously that Alister blushed and averted his eyes. A minute went by as neither of them said anything. Yasuo took the time to look carefully at Alister; it wasn’t often that he had the opportunity to do it and he missed just looking at the albino.

Alister’s skin was so frail and thin that when Yasuo looked closer, he could see the blood running through the blue veins under the albino’s skin. Yasuo missed having to protect that china doll skin, missed having to shield the sensitive eyes from the sun. Alister wouldn’t let Yasuo protect him now; it made the albino feel weak.

“You should get inside,” he told the albino. “A few more minutes outside and even the skin on your head will get sun burnt.”

“Right.” Alister pushed Yasuo’s hands away, glad that the silence was broken. He didn’t like it when Yasuo looked at him with such melancholy; it made him feel guilty for causing it.

Just like Yasuo, Alister longed for old times as well. He wanted to be a little boy again, to amuse Yasuo by chasing the chickens all over the yard; by always finding a way to get rid of his clothes and run naked through the streets. He wanted to hear Yasuo talk about the stars and the gods – not because he was interested in them, but because it was soothing to hear Yasuo’s gentle voice. He wanted to have luxurious banquets and make fun of the senators. He wanted to play gladiator with general Flavius and see the man flirt with Yasuo. But most of all, he wanted to love Yasuo the way he could when he was a little boy – innocently.

Yasuo staggered back when Alister gave him an unexpected, brutal shove. “God damn you,” the albino hissed. “I hate you so fucking much.” He bowed his head, so that his hair covered his face; Yasuo wouldn’t be able to see his tears that way. “I hate you for making me love you.” For a few moments it was silent. Then Alister felt a hand cup the back of his hand gently and pull him closer to the warmth of Yasuo’s body.

“I want to undo it all,” Yasuo whispered in Alister’s ear, before pressing his face against the albino’s hair. “I want to undo the rape of your body and soul, I want to hold you, protect you, take you away from everything that can harm you.” His breath hitched. “Everyone be damned, I just want you.”

Alister sobbed and he clutched Yasuo’s shirt with his free hand. He began to tremble when he felt Yasuo’s tongue against his skin, licking away his tears. Angels never cried; they got pissed off and murderous instead, so tears were something strange to them. Alister moaned softly and nuzzled Yasuo’s jaw. The demon inside of him was screaming. It wanted – it needed – to touch and be touched. All he had to do was push that button that made everyone want him, whether they were gay or straight or just hated his guts. But all those previous times he had tried to seduce Yasuo hadn’t been successful; Yasuo had an iron will and had turned him down every time.

Yasuo brushed his thumbs over Alister’s cheeks and then began to pull back, but stopped when he saw the look in the albino’s eyes. He knew that, when Alister closed his eyes and pulled Yasuo’s head down, he should stop the albino; he couldn’t do this, not with Alister. But he wanted to, even though he didn’t like it and it made him feel sick.

He knew he should pull back, because what they were about to do was so terribly wrong. But it was stronger than he was. The hot, boiling feeling inside of him that he had always been able to control wanted out, it was tired of always holding back and having to control itself, when all it wanted was to burst free. But it was wrong, Yasuo knew that.

Alister felt the struggle within Yasuo; felt the heart beat wildly against the bars of the cage it was kept prison in, felt the cold, rational angel mind wrap itself around the cage in a desperate attempt to keep the heart locked up. The albino whimpered. “Please, don’t push me away again,” he pleaded in Latin. “Please, Yahziel.” And before the mind would become the victor of the inner battle, as it always was, Alister stood on the tips of his toes and kissed Yasuo on his mouth.

At the first touch of Alister’s lips, Yasuo felt something inside of him burst with an immense amount of pain. He felt sharp, painful stings in the place where he knew his heart was and that dreaded human emotion he had come to be so familiar with over the past two millennia was rearing its ugly head again; it was guilt.

No, no, he wanted to scream, we can’t do this, we can’t! But his hands, initially raised to push Alister away, firmly grabbed milky hips and pulled the albino closer, and his mouth, which should have uttered words of rejection, only opened so that his tongue could explore Alister’s hot mouth.

Alister sighed and opened his mouth without resisting. His one hand was trapped between his and Yasuo’s stomachs and the other hung limply by his side, still loosely clutching his birthday present. Beneath his fingers he felt the strong muscles of Yasuo’s stomach flex when the black-haired man tilted his head to one side, so that he could better reach the back of Alister’s throat with his tongue.

While Yasuo didn’t understand anything about the human attitude towards sex, that didn’t mean he was completely unfamiliar with sexual intercourse and foreplay – how could he be, when he knew people like Alister, Arc and Flavius? His hands glided from Alister’s hips to his mid-thighs and then back up again, stopping at the curve where buttocks and legs joined. Alister jumped up a little and wrapped his legs around Yasuo’s waist. Yasuo groaned when the albino’s thighs tightened around him, trapping him against the albino’s body, groin to groin.

“Haa… aah… hnn…” Alister broke the kiss for a moment to catch his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip to prevent himself from screaming, when Yasuo latched his mouth onto his neck and began to suck. “Hnn… Oh yesss, I love that,” he panted. The demon inside of him was roaring now; it had sensed a prey and wanted to go for the kill. Alister began to tremble when Yasuo began to roll his hips against the albino’s, fast enough to stimulate but not fast enough to satisfy. “Don’t tease,” Alister moaned.

Yasuo grinned, ferally, and it sent shivers up and down Alister’s spine. “Oh, but you love to be teased,” he purred. His black eyes danced with mirth as his hands slipped into the red shorts and cupped Alister’s firm buttocks. When one of Yasuo’s fingers slowly began to draw circles on the sensitive skin between Alister’s butt cheeks, goose bumps broke out all over Alister’s skin and he began to shake.

The book fell from the albino’s limp fingers and was forgotten. Alister wrapped both his arms around Yasuo’s neck and held on for dear life, while Yasuo wrapped his lips around one of Alister’s hard, pink nipples and began to play with it. “Ah! Yasuo!”

“Well, of all the times to wake up and smell the pheromones… it had to be today! Hi hi! Don’t you just love the irony of the situation?!”

Alister grunted when Yasuo unceremoniously dropped him onto the ground. He sat there limply under the tree and tried to catch his breath, while Yasuo turned beet red and tried to straighten out his clothes without looking like he’d just been about to do the nasty with one of his students. “God dammit,” Alister cursed, slamming a fist into the ground.

“Shorts,” Yasuo coughed, pointedly trying to look everywhere but at Alister.

“Oh, fuck you,” Alister snapped. “She’s seen dicks before.” He knew his shorts didn’t do anything to keep his erection in, but right now all he cared about was kicking Murasaki’s ass until she would never be able to sit again. They had been so close, so incredibly close, and then that little bitch had to come and ruin everything! “You’d better have a good reason for interrupting us,” he hissed.

Tears were streaming over Murasaki’s cheeks, but they weren’t tears of joy. Instead of answering Alister, the girl turned her eyes to the sky. “God!” she screamed. “You sadistic bastard! I bet you’re enjoying this, huh? Yeah, I can hear you, laughing your ass off! You sick fuck!”

“Has she gone insane?” Yasuo asked softly.

Alister harrumphed. “She’s never been sane to begin with,” he grunted. It didn’t surprise Alister that the girl wasn’t one hundred percent sane; precognitives always went mad sooner or later. Ironically, they were usually better off if it happened sooner. He focused on the girl’s tear-streaked face. “Murasaki? Is something wrong?”

Murasaki grinned goofily and shrugged. “Oh no, the problem’s that everything’s going just the way it should,” she giggled. “Kain’s dead and that means everything’s just perfect!”

To be continued...

Author’s Notes: Oh, I’m really ashamed of myself for taking so long to update and then leaving you hanging like that! But this chapter was the longest chapter so far and there was kissing and angsting, so…

Kain: I DIE?!! I FUCKING DIE?!?!?!?!!

Moumo: Um… yeah… But this isn’t the end, not by a long shot! You’re an angel, so where do you think you’re going now?

Kain: … Heaven?

Moumo: Yeah… if you’d been a good angel. Next chapter: Hell’s Angels. (omg, fear teh crappy title!!!!11!!one!!1 XD)

(Or maybe, since I’m such an indecisive little bitch, the chapter will have a different title.)

(And the next chapter will probably be finished somewhere near August. Yes, I suck. Permission to kick my ass. gets kicked to death)