#but because we were never slow enough to let the poison spread. instead we infect everything

[mistyechoes]

did you know? love is real and its all around you. its inside of you and you cant get rid of it sorry. like a poison but nice poison. but still poison. it will rot you and everyone else when they take it away. just the same as losing all the trees and the flowers and the rivers and the seas. yet those aren't poison, not in their world. do trees love? do their roots spread in hopes of reaching the stem of a lonely little flower sitting by a carved stone? and yet they stay rooted in the dirt. loves funny like that, i suppose. unshakeable, immovable, unstoppable poison and it tastes so sweet and bitter and salty all at once. yet i strain for its petrichor in the midst of motor fog. the blurs not caused by wind smudge the poison into dirt. its the worms now, and the trees, and the flowers, and the rivers, and the seas, and they're all listening because they wanted to love but we didn't understand it. their love wasn't poison because there wasn't anything to lose. and yet we are surrounded by the corpses of what once could have loved us, too.

[darkmindsotome]

Sun and Secrets

Fandom: Love365 Masquerade Kiss  

Pairing: Kei Soejima x MC

Word count: 3,448

Warning: NSFW Smut

Written by: darkmindsotome

Tagging @voltage-vixen as requested. Prompt #2 and 3: Applying sunscreen and Untying a bikini top.

Darkmindsotome Masterlist

---

Sun and Secrets

One of the best things about having a boyfriend who is friends with someone that owns resorts is the fantastic locations that suddenly become available for you to take last-minute vacations in. It was also one of the drawbacks as The Resort King has a penchant for asking for payment in strange ways.

Sighing to myself I look at the small camera Kazuomi had pushed into my hands after I asked him to help with suggesting somewhere to take Kei. It filled me with a nostalgic sensation as his voice in my head told me that he would help on the condition I be sure to take lots of pictures for him.

I really didn’t know how to respond to that as it felt one step too far into the whole voyeuristic scene than I was comfortable with and I knew full well my boyfriend would be against our time together being exposed, even if it was by one of his best friends.  

“We are on vacation and you are already sighing like that?” A cute English accent came from behind me. I swear this guy materialises out of thin air sometimes. Casually dropping the camera back into my suitcase, I turned to see Kei looking at me. His face was a mask of concern but I didn’t miss the playfulness in his eyes. “We came all the way here, have a whole island to ourselves and you are still not happy.”

He shook his head in mock exasperation. His soft blonde hair rippled in the breeze from the open doors that had an unprecedented view of pure white sand and impossibly blue sea. The questions remained in my mind, how long had he been standing there and how much has he actually seen?

“I am happy, I am here with you after all I wasn’t sighing because I was upset.” I replied masking how startled he had made me.

Ever since we first met this man had proved he was observant, calculating and able to predict with accuracy what was on my mind. It made my job more of a challenge than I had ever experienced before and being his girlfriend now instead of the agent sent to spy on him didn’t change the game between us much. Our jobs still meant we had secrets from each other, but it was still unnerving how few I could keep from Kei.

“Oh? You know how I feel about lies.” He came close enough to me to hook one finger under my chin tilting my head so our eyes were locked.

His crystalline gaze had a bottomless depth that easily held me in place. Elegant alabaster fingers traced the contours of my body, his touch was so slight it sent goosebumps over my skin. His perfectly crafted movements led his free hand to my neck where it rested as my pulse grew louder in my ears with the exacting pressure of his grip.

My eyes fluttered shut with the familiar chill that was him. Even in a tropical climate, he maintained his own low body temperature, it really was like he lived in a bubble of his own protected atmosphere.

He traced the artery in my neck with a single finger, giving the choker he had given me a small tug. My heart jumped as I instinctively reacted to his every move. What I once found to be suffocating had become comforting, his particular slow poison had truly infected my system.

“… Kei.” His name comes out as a breathless whisper on my lips.

“Look at me.” Opening my eyes as commanded, his sweet exotic scent that was like religious incense filled my senses. Those amber glass eyes reflected only me as they drew closer and his lips connected with mine.

“Mhm!”

It was a kiss designed to silence me. One meant to remove all thoughts and ideas, turning my mind into a blissfully blank slate that could only be coloured by him. He wanted my full attention, commanded I gave it. In return I reciprocated his kiss, giving in to his desire with a silent prayer that this wouldn’t end. As it turns out it was a prayer that was to go unanswered after he removed himself from me drawing back slowly. He left just enough of a gap between us that I could still feel him without either of us actually touching. He was a masterful tease.

“Did you find your swimsuit?”

“What?” My senses were returning to me and I only just partly caught that he was even talking to me. He didn’t miss a beat in breaking out in that knowing smile of his that told me he was thoroughly enjoying the look of euphoric fog that was probably causing me to have a funny expression on my face.

“That’s what you were coming in to find, wasn’t it? Or were you up to something? I know how sneaky you are.” He leant close just to whisper that last part. His breath ghosting over my nape as his lips brushing against my ear lobe turned my goosebumps into a widespread tinkle all over my body. As turned on as I was, I was also more than aware of what would happen if he looked in the bag on the bed.

“No! I was just looking for it.” Before he could get a better look, I called on my experience as a spy and put on a performance of coltishness. I was banking on it helping to get him to give up looking for clues that would satisfy his own curiosity.

“Alright I’ll leave you to get changed then I was just making some iced tea anyway.” Kei shrugged and left the room. I breathed a sigh of relief aware that I still couldn’t really let my guard down as he seemed to have given up far too quickly. 

Truth be told I had considered going with a one-piece that had a pattern exposing sections of skin and then discovered this cute bikini and given up on it. Kei always gave me dresses that were of course his preferred colour, black. They all, however, followed a very feminine and classically vintage pattern.

Running my fingers over the fabric of the bikini top, the black ruffles caught my fingers as I adjusted the strings and tied them behind my back and neck creating the halter top. The same ruffle design was on the bikini bottoms and I tied the strings in bows on my hips completing the look.

I marvelled at how well the simple design hugged my curves. It was one thing trying it on in a store and another thing to wear it on a trip. I left my sarong draped over the edge of the bed deciding against wearing it and checked my reflection in the mirror one last time hoping Kei would love this style as much as I did. *

Kei was lounging on one of the chairs outside when I found him. The shadow of the palm leaf umbrella casting shadows over him. He was wearing a pair of shorts with an open shirt and had a book in hand quietly reading. When he noticed my arrival, he placed it down next to him and gave me a heated stare.

“I thought you would have gone for a one-piece.” Kei said leaning back even more into the shadows. It was at times like this his Princely mask slipped allowing me to catch a glimpse of that Devil inside.

“You not like this? I thought it was cute.” I pretended not to notice, evading his charms by giving a small twirl on the spot.

“It is and very exposed. Come here I’ll help you put some of this on.” Kei reached out for a bottle of sunscreen he had placed next to the jug of iced tea on the small table by the chair. Standing up he held out his hand as if he were asking for a dance, my traitorous heart still fluttered every time he did that.

“Thank you.” Having no reason to refuse I placed my hand in his allowing myself to be guided by him to the chair.

As I sat down, he brought my hand to his mouth and set gentle kisses across my fingers all the while his upturned eyes never left me. I was caught between the icy chill of his touch and the lingering warmth of his body still present on the chair beneath me.

“Now then.” He hummed with pleasure, pulling my hand towards him as he placed his other arm over my shoulder.

As Kei brought his body slowly closer my own naturally tilted flat against the chair. Every reflex I had as an agent should have been telling me this was wrong, but when it was Kei his particular brand of dominance was more a declaration of how things were meant to be rather than a show of imposing force.

There was always a way out, an escape from his clutches. He did, however, have this way of making you feel like this was where he had always been. It lulled you into an inability to do anything but simply follow his orders. It was something I had come to crave about this man. He hovered over me unmoving, pinning me beneath him easily with no effort at all.

He popped the cap on the bottle in his hands and cold white cream dripped against my flushed skin. His hand began moving in circles against my stomach as he rubbed it in, spreading it with the same polite dedication he showed when removing my stockings.

“Er… Kei?” When he said he was going to help this was not what I thought at all. My question met a blank look of complete indifference as he responded to me.

“Mhm?”

“I can do that part myself.” I lightly protested.

Watching him as he silently tended to me made me feel shameful as if I were witnessing something completely innocent and I was the only one to have such lustful thoughts. Knowing Kei as I do now, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to discover that all of my inner turmoil was part of his devilish plan.

“You wish to take away one of my privileges as your boyfriend? How cruel.” His hands slipped under the bottom of the bikini top his fingers brushing over my breasts causing me to moan and wriggle at his touch.

“Mmm…”

“Lay still for me.” He pinched my nipples in unison, my back arched from the chair. As he continued on his path of fondling and simultaneously coated me in SPF I found myself unable to move. His command was a weighty desire I wished to fulfil. “I simply cannot tolerate your beautiful skin becoming damaged. I’ll have to be sure to be very thorough.”

As I focused on the one hand still reaching up to cup my breast I became lost in his eyes now tinted dark with lust. His temperature was rising I could smell his sweet scent stronger now, sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh it was taking my senses from me. Covering them, coating them in his poison. I completely missed his other hand as it found itself poised at the apex of my thighs. The heel of his hand pressed and rubbed against the fabric and his fingers traced the outline of my entrance so close yet so far from the desired interaction and friction I wanted.

“Ahhhh…”

“Are you going to tell me now?” His honeyed voice was in my ear making me tremble more as he continued his attack.

“Tell you?” My question was met with him pinching my nipple and rolling it between his fingers. His hot breath was like fire as it scorched my neck where he sighed against it.

“Such a bad girl. Did you think I would forget? You have been harbouring thoughts of someone else haven’t you?” He retracted his hands from me causing me to let out a mewl in protest.

I knew this was something to do with earlier, I knew he had given up and left the bedroom to quickly for something not to be bugging him. His head was cast down and away from me, the mood from second ago became lost in the tropical wind. I sat up and moved closer to him, chasing him. My pulse picked up this time in a panic as I chased his hands with my own, desperate to get him to see whatever he was thinking had a reasonable explanation.

“Someone else? Kei I wouldn’t – AH!” I found myself pushed back down this time face first as my wrists we held over my head. I could feel his legs resting either side of my hips straddling me. For someone who typically didn’t take an interest in keeping fit, he was fast and agile. I could have thrown him off but I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to hurt him.

“I told you I don’t care for lies. Your body is so honest perhaps it would be quicker asking it.” His voice had taken on a gravelly tone. I knew he was fighting between his devil and himself right now. Even if he was slowly learning, it still hurt that he felt the need to hold back with me.

Still pinning my hands over my head he trailed kisses down my spine hitting every node of vertebrae as he went. I moved under him as he ground his hips into my ass revealing exactly how turned on he was.

“Mmm, Mhm… oh, God!”

“Well?” He persisted in his questioning. I swear sometimes he can be so god damned single-minded on things.

“I wasn’t thinking of someone else there’s only you.” I protested as his mouth latched on to the choker giving it a tug causing my breath to hitch at the sudden restriction on my throat.

“Really? So a certain interfering friend didn’t say something to you before we left?” I was all too aware of his lips as they trailed along the length of precious metal around my neck. I felt a faint tug at my hips and knew he had untied the bottom half of my bikini. The fresh air catching me and my arousal caused me to blush. What I didn’t notice was my top had also been liberated, until he began to wind it around my wrists.

“How did you? Oh jeez!” I cried out as he yanked on the restraints.

“You were huddled together talking so closely it was all I could do to stop myself pulling you apart.” This was Kei emotional. A man who showed none usually and even less self-awareness. This was the man I loved struggling with what he had never felt before. I felt myself shudder under him the pleasure of knowing I was trapped in his web. A slave to his desire to control, possess, dominate completely.

“He’s your friend. Kazuomi wouldn’t –” I writhed as he blew trails of air over my skin unwilling to touch me for the time being.

“You don’t know him like I do I wouldn’t let my guard down around him so much if I were you.” Kei’s voice was firm. He didn’t normally raise his voice so this display shocked me.

“I don’t think it’s him I need to worry about right now.”

“You still have the ability to talk back? I really can’t be doing my job properly.” A hand snaked up under my arm and settled on my neck, encouraging me to expose it to him as he attacked me with blistering kisses, peppering them along the side of it. As he inched his other hand between my legs over my hip, the hand at my throat moved. His fingers filling me up from both ends at once.  

“Mmph!”

“Tell me.” His voice sounded like a desperate plea as he worked his hands faster in different patterns expertly destroying me. “You’re my good girl, aren’t you? So… tell me.”

He pulled his fingers from my mouth the moist tips tracing their outline. I relented the information I had if for no other reason other than to try to free him from whatever images his imagination had conjured.

“He just wanted some holiday photos.”

“Oh? Shall I take some now?” His weight was still pressed over me like a blanket while the fingers that were inside me produced a familiar small camera. 

“What did you!?” My eyes blew wide with shock.

“It’s a stunning view. What do you say? Shall I snap a few pictures for him now?” Kei gave a dark chuckle playfully angling the camera in my direction. I felt completely exposed, more so with the lens pointed at me than I did laying in the open-air tied up beneath him.

“No!”

“No? Is that not what you had planned on doing anyway?” He was teasing me. He had to be. The refined English gentleman seemed a million miles away from the demon currently with me.

“No! I didn’t really want to. I don’t want him to see –” I moved my arms unable to loosen the tight bindings above me.

“What a coincidence because neither do I.” Kei tossed the small camera away towards the ocean before he began drawing patterns over my skin with his fingers. “Our time alone is our time. I truly hate it when another man is on your mind. First HIM and now my friend. Are you doing it on purpose to provoke me?”

“No! I told you there is only you. You are the only one on my mind Kei. When I’m not with you I’m always thinking of you.” I was relieved to finally be free of the burden of that little secret. 

I knew he would probably never forgive Boss for before, but I didn't want him to start worrying about his friends too. I should have said what had happened sooner, clearly, Kei is not the only one still learning to adjust to this relationship. My training as a self-sufficient elite agent would be harder to shift than I first thought.

“How much more are you planning on making me suffer?” Kei asks as if he were in pain. 

I tried to get a better look at him only to see him in the act of stripping away his own clothes. The sunlight glistened off of his gloriously white porcelain skin. The scars on his arms fell under the shadows cast by the umbrella above. In my temporary freedom while he removed his shorts I rolled on to my back. The sight of me still bound was reflected in Kei’s eyes as clearly as if they were mirrors.

Without waiting any longer he climbed back on top of me. His face buried into my heaving chest as he gave a few pumps to his own arousal with his own hand. He kissed and sucked on the skin between my breasts before bringing himself up and supplying a passionate biting kiss. As his tongue slipped past my lips he entered me, filling me up, finally joining us together.

*

I have no idea how long we spent making love. We alternated between a ferocious need to slow temptation and sensual desire. Our bodies rocking together in union finding our own harmony in chaos.

I felt blissfully happy and completely boneless like jelly afterwards. Kei was unwilling to let me leave and in a change of pace, that felt out of character, wrapped an arm around my shoulders locking me to his side on the chair.

“Did I go too hard on you?” He ran his hand through my hair. The soft sensation felt great after the pounding our bodies had just taken.

“No, I’m ok.” Turning my head I nuzzled into his palm, a move that brought a smile to his face. I really loved that look.

He had picked up his glass of iced tea that was now lacking in the ice department. I watched his tilted the glass and swallowed the chilled amber liquid. A faint smell of lemon from the tea mixed with our combined scent.

“Thirsty?” Kei enquired noticing my gaze on the glass. I nodded before I had a mind to do otherwise and saw the devilish smile of his a fraction too late. His lips covered mine and the refreshing tea that was in his mouth filled mine.

“Mhm…”

Something tells me this is going to be on hell of a vacation. Not that I was going to complain, as someone once told me the road to Paradise beings in Hell.

---

[nekolatte]

Rating: Explicit Fandoms: Castlevania (Netflix Series) Relationship: Alucard/Trevor Belmont Chapter: 1 of ?? Summary: Trevor and Alucard play a game. The longer it goes on, the more neither is sure who’s losing.

“You need to stop taking blood from Sypha.” Alucard took his time to lift his head and make eye contact with Trevor, gaze piercing in a way that still set the last Belmont heir on edge. But he no longer stiffened and prepared for a fight, able to keep a neutral expression through their clipped interactions, despite the childish quips that always came to mind. “Is she ill?” There was genuine concern in Alucard’s tone, and Trevor wanted to punch him in the face for acting something close to human. It was irritating. “No, but she can be, easily. You know this.” There had been so much arguing that first night, with Alucard playing both sides, because he was spineless that way. Human enough to care, but vampire enough to need the stable food source. In the end, Sypha and Alucard decided she would cut herself and let the blood spill into a cup for their resident vampire to feed. No danger of poison, of Alucard taking more than he needed, or of her accidentally becoming ensnared in his wiles. Which Trevor argued that, yes, it definitely was a thing. And Alucard, the bastard, refused to comment. Only, Sypha was getting used to the pain, and cut just a bit deeper than before to fill the cup quicker each time. No one else seemed to notice, but Trevor did. Each cut risked infection, considering their lifestyle, and each careless swipe could spill more than intended. Sypha needed to remember what the pain felt like, and for that she needed to stop doing it. But Alucard still needed to feed. “Then what, Belmont, do you propose we do?” If it was up to Trevor, and Trevor alone, Alucard could fuck right off and die in a hole somewhere. But he had considered the problem, and hadn’t just barged into Alucard’s quiet hour of contemplation for his lively company. “There was word of mouth, once, of a vampire coven that fed primarily off the blood of animals.” He paused and waited for a reaction, but Alucard merely blinked at him in that eerie way of his. Then again, everything Alucard did was eerie. Except this was worse, as Trevor was forced to stand there and wait for any sign of understanding in the vampire’s stupidly placid face. Seconds trickled, and Trevor grew annoyed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut. “Do you knowー” “I am well aware of the implications you are making, Belmont.” Now Alucard looked bored, golden eyes rolling ever so slightly, because such an act was uncouth for a gentleman of his stature to ever do. Or whatever went on in that head of his. Probably nothing but posh and pomp. “But what I was waiting for was a concrete plan. Even you must be aware of the fate of those vampires.” Trevor shrugged, not really caring. “I’m not saying take up the lifestyle, but Sypha needs a break.” “Did she say this herself,” and Alucard folded one long leg over the other, abandoning his book in favor of the conversation. Which seemed to amuse him, if the tilt to his tone was anything to go by, “or have you taken it upon yourself to control her decisions for her? You should be well aware, far better than I, what her opinions on that would be.” Oh, Trevor was well aware that this could all blow up in his face. Maybe even literally. But Sypha was bull-headed and stubborn. Only someone with reckless ambition would go searching through prophesied-guarded tunnels alone. She could have taken at least one person to help keep watch for any dangers, even if they didn’t have the powers she hadー but what had she done instead? If Trevor was going to be forced as the voice of reason in this ridiculous group, then he was going to take it seriously. “I know what she’ll think, but her irritation with me is the least of my concerns. The Speakers spoke of three, not two and one scholar too weak to stand. You’ve seen the careless way she’s been getting.” Alucard pursed his lips, and Trevor knew he was making leeway. “Though I still have my doubts, she believes you would never bleed her dry. So if she hears this from you, she will be more likely to listen and reason it’s the wisest choice for the time being. When the scars fade, and she wants to support you again, I won’t comment on it.” For a breathless, stretching moment, Alucard seemed more statue than man, staring at Trevor as one would an anomaly they didn’t particularity understand. His head tilted one way, and his hair fell in slow, rolling waves off his shoulder. It caught the sunlight and glistened, and for a momentary lapse, Trevor imagined slipping his fingers through the strands. He glared at the vampire in disdain when Alucard smirked, as if having seen the thought personally. For all Trevor knew, he hadー who the hell knew what kind of powers the son of Dracula could have; he certainly wasn’t forthcoming about them. “You’ve actually put thought into this…” “Don’t sound so fucking surprised.” Alucard laughed, amused, and waved the comment away. He turned to the window, giving Trevor a view of his exposed neck.

A single daggerー it wouldn’t be enough to kill, not right away, but certainly weaken him quickly enough to pull another dagger and stab it through the vampire’s heart. Trevor turned off that part of his brain for now. “I cannot live on animal blood alone, or else we will be back at the prophesied two and the one too weak to stand. I have a…proposition.” Trevor cringed at what was to come, because it was obvious, but he could remain ignorant for just a moment longer. “And what would that be?” Alucard’s eyes wandered across their shared room at the roadside inn they stopped at for the afternoon. They would be heading out soonー to fight and help who they couldー but for now they rested and recuperated. They planned their next move in finding Dracula’s castle. In Sypha’s case: she was downstairs with other occupants of the inn, helping spread the knowledge of how to protect oneself from Dracula’s horde, adding encouragement and hope with every other word. Trevor was meant to be there alongside her, supporting her silently. Because while the Belmonts were still, technically, excommunicated, there wasn’t a doubt in anyone’s mind that he knew how to fight and drive away these monsters. The people may not like him, and he made no effort to change that, but they believed in his abilities. And it irritated Trevor that Alucard did nothing but read while he was forced to mingle. But he knew, intellectually, Alucard was searching for the castle in text and tomes. A hint. A guiding point they could follow, instead of wandering all across Wallachia with no real heading. That didn’t mean Trevor still didn’t think it was lazy of him to stay in the room, leisurely and lounging. “Have you played chess before, Belmont?” Trevor was so taken aback by the question he took an actual step back, blinking in confusion at the vampire as if he materialized from nothing, though Trevor was well aware he had been staring at angular features, cascading hair, and soft, sweeping lashes the entire time. As if having been caught doing something he shouldn’t, a blush threatened to form across his cheeks. It was only through sheer force of willpower and lack of shame did Trevor hold back. “Uh…” he responded eloquently, and Alucard chuckledー a predatory glint in his eyes. “Come on, Belmont. Let’s play; I’ll even teach you.” His voice was like smoky, warm tendrils, and Trevor regained enough of his scattered brain to frown. “Every time you win, I will drink your animal’s blood without complaint. Everytime I win, I drink from you. Directly. I will be kind enough to allow you to choose where I bite.” Trevor wanted to explain to Alucard how incredibly stupid, and rude, the vampire wasー but managed to refrain. Only just. He set both palms on his hips, a cocksure grin on his stubbled face. “Sure, how hard can it be?”

[anchoredtether]

Title: Bandages

Author/Artist: AnchoredTether

Rating: Explicit [graphic depictions of violence, major character death, dark themes, discussion of suicide, graphic/disturbing imagery]

Series: Vengeful Retribution

Chapter: 4/?

Spoiler-free Summary:  Rokurou thought nothing had changed until he felt something he could only describe as innately human. Velvet swore she felt a warmth, a luxury she was certain she would never feel again after her humanity died. It seemed even daemons could change.

CHAPTER 04 --- BANDAGES

"Why are you so proud of your clan name if you hate your family so?" The thought was at the back of Velvet's mind as she observed how he said the name Rangetsu despite all the negative glimpses she understood about the samurai's family. "I never said I hated them." Rokurou protested. "And besides, wouldn't you be a little bit proud of your last name if you belonged to the world's most renown line of swordsmen?" He gave her a devilish grin. Velvet growled. "I- well… I guess." She shook her head. "But you want to kill your own brother. And he killed your mother. I'm not…I'm not judging, but that's not exactly what a happy loving family looks like. If you don't hate them, then…what is it…you feel towards them?" Rokurou let out a quiet exhale. He wanted to retort that she was asking an emotionally dead daemon about how he felt concerning his relatively emotionless family. "It's…hard to explain to someone who doesn't come from my culture. It's not so much a family, like what you know and have grown up in, as it is a clan. We're not brothers and sisters or sons and daughters - we're comrades. Like soldiers in a battalion, or wolves in a pack. Blood relation doesn't necessarily mean anything." "If you're supposed to be like comrades, why are you killing each other?" "It's just part of our training. Part of being a samurai. We fight all the time. But if one of us ends up killing another while training…" He shrugged his shoulders as if they were talking about something far more trivial. "Then the one who's dead simply wasn't strong enough. That's just how it is. The strong survive and become stronger while the weak perish and die." "That's…terrible." Her voice sounded dead even though she felt horrified inside. He shrugged again. "Not terrible, just….different." "No, it's terrible." Her tone was almost angry now. "Have you never known what it's like to be loved?" She looked as if she were surprised she asked the question, and quickly added, "Or what it's like for someone to even give a damn if you live or die?" He blinked a few times, taken aback by her question. "Attachment and sentiment are weaknesses that will only slow you down in battle. Mercenaries can't afford love. That's just the way it is." "Well I'm going to do what I can to change it!" She said furiously, her golden hues passionate in their fervor. "I care if you die, Rokurou! You're not just an ally to me, or a comrade, or a means to an end. And I'm certainly not tolerating you just because you're repaying your stupid debt!!" She shook her head at the ridiculousness of his promise. "I don't want you to die because you're my friend, Rokurou! And you better remember it!" She playfully, half not-so-playfully punched his shoulder to make sure her point came across to him. He threw his head back in a spirited laugh. "If you say so!" In a more serious tone, he looked down at her with a warmth in his amber hue. "Don't worry about me, Velvet. I'm sure you had a wonderful upbringing with your sister and brother full of love and selflessness, and you simply wish I could have had the same. I don't yearn for something like that because I've never known any better. All I've ever wanted was to be the best swordsman I could be. That's all that has really mattered to me. Everything else is secondary." Velvet lowered her eyes with a thoughtful hum in acknowledgment. There was still plenty about Rokurou she didn't understand and his daemonicy certainly didn't help her get any closer in most cases. Most of the time he couldn't remember his human life, and if he did, he couldn't remember any emotions tied to those memories. When she thought about it, Rokurou seemed lively and full of spirit on the surface, with his care-free attitude and bizarre enthusiasm. But when she saw him more clearly, broke past his comedic facade, Rokurou was empty… as if the curse of his daemonblight tore his very soul from his body. When she thought about it, she would always take her lack of taste and sense over his lack of feeling. Because at the end of the day, Velvet hated the pain she felt…but it made her feel alive. It reminded her that she was more than a monster, that she had to keep on fighting. The pain gave her a reason to live. ][ --- ][ "Uuuhhhhgggghhhwwwwuh." "Looks like the daemon finally rose from its grave." Morgrim said dully. "There ain't no grave can hold my body down." Rokurou said groggily as he made his way to sit across from the malak at the table. "Where the hell are we, anyway?" "We're still in Mierchio-" "Obviously." The cold might not have bothered him as much anymore, but it still cut like daggers into his open wounds. Morgrim looked annoyed at his interruption. "-in an abandoned house on the edge of town. Well, by abandoned I mean of humans. Nathaniel is a malak that lives here and has so kindly allowed us to hole up here by my persuasion of sharing a special curry recipe with him." "Wouldn't happen to be a java curry recipe?" He could smell it wafting - it was the only reason he hauled himself out of bed, which he was already starting to regret. If only if one of his friends who could heal were here - Laphicet, Eizen, Eleanor, or even Magilou - he never thought he'd desperately wish the witch were by his side. This Nathaniel character knew an amateur healing art, but it wasn't anything like what he became accustomed to over the past year. "You have a good nose." Morgrim said. "I take it you can still taste your food?" Rokurou nodded. "Is that a common side effect of daemonblight?" "It would appear so." Rokurou quickly learned he couldn't use his right arm for the time being - he had to eat his curry using his left. Luckily for the swordsman, he was pretty ambidextrous, so it wasn't an issue. Realizing the extent of his injuries was troublesome, however. "How far did your markings spread before you nearly died from that code red daemon?" Morgrim stirred him from his thoughts. Rokurou was silent a moment as he looked at the black burns that marred his body, barely showing between strands of bloodied bandages. "Down to my elbow, and some ways down my shoulder blade. I can't exactly look back there all that well." "It seems your wounds have stimulated the spread of your daemonblight…as if it's trying to heal you." "I noticed that. Well, more like I felt it." It was hard to describe, but he could feel the dark markings crawling down his torso, creeping into the claw marks like a poison infecting his bloodstream. It didn't cause any pain, but he could tell it was turning him less and less human. "Judging the damage done, how long would you reckon it'll take me to heal?" He tilted his head at the cat - no, nekomata - across from him. "I haven't seen anyone survive with wounds that bad." Nathaniel picked up, speaking from the kitchen. "I'd wager it'll take at least a while. I'm honestly surprised you could even get out of bed after only four days." Rokurou nearly choked on his curry. "Four days?? Then how long have I been here?" "This would be day six since you went out into the icefield." Morgrim answered. "Damn." He couldn't remember the last time he had an injury this bad… well, except the day I died. That wasn't exactly an encouraging comparison. "So safe to say at least another week or so?" His tone was utterly defeated. "I would advise longer, but knowing you, you'll probably leave before a week has passed." Rokurou growled. "Stop acting like you know me." "I knew your brother." "That doesn't mean anything." Morgrim gave a soft smirk, and it only made Rokurou more infuriated. ][ --- ][ "I've been wanting to thank you." Velvet said unexpectedly one night on the Van Eltia. She was perched along the railing, looking out at the ocean waves crested in moonlight, while Rokurou walked over to rest his arms against the wood and joined her in watching. He found he couldn't sleep and it seemed Velvet was the same. "For what?" He asked. "For keeping what I am a secret. You didn't have to." "What, for not telling everyone that you were actually a therion instead of just a daemon?" The rest of the crew just recently learned that Velvet was the therion for the earthpulse point at Titania, even though Rokurou knew from the beginning. "What difference would it have made?" He turned his head to look at her. "You only told everyone you were a daemon, so I figured you didn't want anyone to know the therion bit." He shrugged. "I didn't really understand what a therion was anyway." "Neither did I." She looked at him, her gaze serious yet kind. "But as we all journeyed together and learned the truth about therions and Innominat…I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't make some kind of connection and think aloud some kind of epiphany with all of this, revealing what I was." Rokurou gave her a sly grin. "You're giving me more credit than I'm worth. I'm no genius, Velvet." "You're cleverer than you think." She sighed, a sound of slight frustration. She made a half-hearted gesture with her hand. "Will you just accept my gratitude already?" He laughed. "Alright alright! You're welcome. It wasn't that big of a deal though." "It was to me." Her voice was soft, her eyes lost as she stared at her arms folded on top of her knees bent close to her chest. "You also never told anyone about what lies beneath my bandages." "Actually I told Magilou." Velvet perked up a bit, her eyes wide. "You-" "Joking." Rokurou gave a playful tilt of his head before letting out a snicker. "No, I never told anyone. It's your business. You've never told anyone how I got my markings, so technically we're even. I'm simply paying back the favor." "Why does everything have to come back to repaying debts with you?" "Every act of kindness in life is a favor or a debt. There's no in-between." "That's extremely black and white for someone who lives in shades of grey." Rokurou narrowed his eyes at her, although it wasn't threatening albeit more on the lines of curious. "It certainly is." Velvet could see the crimson markings on his face more easily in the darkness of night as they faintly glowed with an ominous light. His daemonic eye shone like a nocturnal predator, and she caught glimpses of its gaze as the wind shifted his bangs. Velvet frowned slightly, her brows furrowing in thought. "There's a lot we've entrusted with each other…" She mused, "And have yet to tell anyone else." Rokurou's gaze softened. He stopped leaning against the rails only to hoist himself to sit on them like a bench, facing out towards the ocean. Velvet was sitting along the rails horizontally so she faced his side. The conversation felt more personal now, as if they were both on the same level. "I vowed to aid you in your quest for revenge the day we met. It was only natural that I come to trust you in time." "But it wasn't for me." Her voice sounded surprised. "I showed you my weakness, my vulnerability…when I barely knew you." She scoffed the words as if reprimanding herself, her lips set in a frustrated scowl. "You were only a means to an end. I wasn't supposed to trust anyone if I was to go through with this. I shouldn't have let you follow me to begin with. And yet -" Rokurou raised a brow at her, patiently waiting for her to wring out her frustrations. She sighed. "I always told myself that I didn't need anyone. That I could avenge Laphi all on my own. That it had to be done by myself, and myself alone. Even if I died in the process, that was fine. So long as he was avenged, and then that way no one else had to suffer. No one else would suffer because of Artorious, and no one would have to suffer because of me. That's how I wanted things to happen." "But that's not how things happened." He offered her a downturned smirk. "It's a good thing you've entrusted an emotionless daemon then - you don't have to worry about me suffering because of you." He turned his head to look out at the ocean, but Velvet kept her gaze set upon him, her words catching in her throat. "I'm sorry." Was all she managed to say. "For what?" He asked again, this time keeping his eyes on the water. "I'm sorry you can't feel." She almost sounded angry. "There are times when I hate the pain in my heart and I wish I didn't have to feel anything, and I envy you and I wish that I could be void of emotions - that everything would be so much easier - but then I remember that those feelings are what remind me that I'm alive, that I'm more than a monster, that I have a purpose and I desire to fulfil it." She bit her lower lip to steady herself and keep her voice from wavering. She could feel tears threatening to make an appearance as her heart ached for the man sitting beside her. "You don't have that." Before Velvet could notice, Rokurou's hand was placed on top of her bandaged one. He still looked out at the sea with a thousand yard stare, but the grip of his hand expressed that he was paying close attention. "We all fight different battles, Velvet." His voice sounded far off, as if it weren't Rokurou speaking anymore. He wasn't his usual sarcastic or cynical self, and his voice had a dark streak of sobriety. "There are plenty of things which I lack. But there are plenty of things I do have…and that makes all the difference. I think the reason why I… why I admire your resolve and strength and passion… is because a part of me recognizes that I was once like you." He turned to look at her now, his amber and crimson hues resolute. "You may have lost your arm, but you have the bandages to cover it up. You may have lost your brother, but you've regained your sisterly love with Laphicet. And you may feel you have lost what makes you human, Velvet… but feeling sorrow for what I am? Proves you haven't." He angled his torso to better face her, taking both of his hands to hold her bandaged hand and arm. "You do well to hide it from the rest of the world, but I know what truly lies beneath these bandages." He held her arm so delicately, as if it would crumble beneath his grasp if he weren't too careful. "You're not a monster, Velvet. You didn't succumb to malevolence. You're a victim of circumstance. You're a veteran of suffering. I brought my curse upon myself. Yours was forced upon you. There is no need to feel sorry for me." She was quiet a moment, desperately wanting to retreat into herself, but at the same time she couldn't pull her arm away from him. She looked up to match his gaze. "You say you brought your curse upon yourself, and that your own malevolence is what turned you into a daemon…but you've also told me that you died…that you…" She wasn't sure how to phrase the words on how he lost half of his head the same way she lost her left arm. "…that the malevolence brought you back. It doesn't add up, Rokurou. Dying wasn't your fault just as much as losing my arm wasn't. Unless you…" Velvet bit her lip, grateful that she stopped voicing that train of thought - that Rokurou died on purpose. He briefly mentioned suicide once so she had no idea the extent of how it affected him. "No, it doesn't really add up." He explained, his voice bordering close to something sad. He was silent, looking down at Velvet's bandages, his thumb idly gracing over the back of her hand. "I died fighting Shigure. I mean, ultimately, he wasn't the cause of my death, but he might as well have been. We were fighting at Mount Killaraus when a blow from Shigure pushed me over the edge of a cliff. If the fall didn't kill me, the fact that half my head deteriorated from lava definitely did the job." At this point Rokurou noticed that Velvet had her right hand covering her mouth, her golden eyes narrowed in a mix of disgust and horror. He gave her an apologetic look, but before he could speak Velvet's voice came through softly muffled. "I'm fine. I'm just…trying to absorb this." He offered her an encouraging smile, and moved both of his hands to hold both of hers. He looked down at their joined hands and part of him was surprised Velvet hadn't slapped him or something. "It was still my malevolence that brought me back to life." He said softly. "In the act of dying, I was filled with hatred towards my brother. That hatred and desire to kill him was so strong it brought me back from the dead." He laughed. "So to answer your question, no, dying wasn't my fault. But coming back from the dead with the sole purpose of killing my brother, definitely was." "Maybe that's why you can't remember or feel anything." Velvet said suddenly. Her hands, which were acting like dead fish until now, gripped Rokurou's as if he were her lifeline. Her eyes shone in the moonlight with the light of an epiphany. "You lost half your brain. It's no wonder you can't remember anything from your human life. It's no wonder you can't feel emotion. You can't recall emotions, you can't remember what it meant to feel alive when you were human because half those memories are gone…" "Hmm…perhaps you're right. I never thought about it like that. It makes sense." "…There's probably no way to fix it either. Just like how I will never get my arm back." "Like I said, you have the bandages to cover it up." Rokurou tightened his grasp on her hands in return. "You haven't lost everything, Velvet. And I don't think any loss could ever truly extinguish your fire." Her head tilted slightly, as if she were trying to examine the samurai from a different angle. "And you may have lost your memory and your emotions…but you still haven't lost this." She released her right hand to place it over Rokurou's chest, directly where his heart lie. She could feel it beating, alive and strong. "You might not be able to feel things like shame and sympathy and nostalgia and envy and love…but you have such heart Rokurou, whether you've come to realize it or not." "…I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. That I can remember, that is." He was incredibly still, so still that Velvet thought he might be holding his breath. His eyes kept shifting ever so slightly, and it wasn't until he drew in closer that she realized where his gaze diverted in distraction. Without thinking Velvet pushed him away with the hand that was still on his chest… …and Rokurou fell overboard. "…SHIT." She lunged in after him, plunging into the turbulent ocean waves. She couldn't feel the temperature of the sea, but she could only imagine it must have been freezing. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU JUMP IN AFTER ME??" Rokurou yelled as he swam against the current towards the Van Eltia. Velvet realized he was mad at her for jumping in after him, not for shoving him off in the first place, and then understood how little she thought this through. "I - I DON'T KNOW, YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY SWIM AGAINST THESE WAVES!" She yelled back, now swimming alongside him towards the ship. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST THROW A ROPE TOWARDS ME OR SOMETHING?" "I DON'T KNOW I WASN'T THINKING!!" How could she be so rash? Why didn't she think to grab a lifeline instead of just jumping overboard? The samurai leaning in to kiss her really knocked her off her boat…literally. "WELL IT'D BE EASIER FOR YOU TO SWIM IF YOU DITCHED THE SWORD!" "I AM NEVER ABANDONING MY SWORD!!!!" Velvet growled in frustration. Why was he wearing it in the middle of the night anyway? Did he sleep with the damn thing? "I HAVE AN IDEA." "ENTERTAIN ME." Although she had never swam with her therion arm activated, Velvet figured she could fight against the rolling waves more effectively. The massive crimson claw engulfed her arm, and she said sternly, "GRAB ME." Rokurou raised a brow. "THAT'S ENTERTAINING." "SHUT UP." Even though Velvet should have been mad at him, the anger in her voice was only halfhearted and she was too preoccupied with fighting the ocean to properly snap at him. If the circumstances were different she would have probably struggled with hiding a snicker because, despite their situation, she found his response incredibly inappropriate and simultaneously hilarious. Contrary to his words, Rokurou wrapped his arms around her waist in an innocent manner, and Velvet clutched his torso with her right as her therion arm dug into the water, drawing them closer to the Van Eltia. When they made good distance, nearly reaching the back of the ship, Benwick appeared at the stern and had a line tossed to them. A few crew members, including Eizen, were gathered ready to pull Velvet and Rokurou up to safety. She insisted that he go up first since she could keep up with the strengthening tide, and once Rokurou was pulled up she grabbed the rope and ascended out of the water. Her left arm vaporized in black and crimson smoke to reveal her almost-human arm, and with a gasp Velvet saw her bandages were all but gone, revealing the rawness that she kept hidden from everyone. In a panic, she quickly wrapped the edge of her cape around her arm before she reached the top, and withdrew from the help the pirates offered as she stumbled off to the side, careful to keep her arm facing away from everyone. "What the hell happened, exactly." Eizen did not sound amused, his piercing stare appearing more ominous than usual. Velvet's lips parted to say something, she wasn't sure what, but Rokurou beat her to it. "Sorry, I was- well, am - increeeeedibly wasted, and somehow I tripped or somethin and…" He made a gesture with his hand, complete with a plummeting sound. "I guess I pulled Velvet in with me."

Her brows were furrowed incredulously as he explained. With his hair wet and slicked back, and the strange explanation he gave, almost made him appear like a completely different person. The swordsman wasn't a scant drunk. She knew him well enough to tell, and she would have been able to smell the sake when his lips were dangerously close to hers… She shook her head, regaining her serious composure. "It was a blur." She said with a dismissive gesture of her hand. "Sorry to bother everyone." Not only did Rokurou's lie cover up the fact that it was Velvet's fault for pushing him in, but also hid her blunder of jumping in after him with no means of saving him. "Either way, you two need to get thawed." Eizen said. "I'll go get you two dry clothes." Benwick cut in and dashed off. "Even if you can't feel it Velvet," The malak continued, "I can tell you're hitting the first stages of hypothermia." Suddenly Rokurou was flanked along Velvet's right side, grabbing her bicep still hidden beneath her cloak. "Don't worry, we'll go into the kitchen and get a fire going." "You're wasted, Rokurou. I don't think you should be lighting fires." "Aeh, the salt water sobered me up. We'll be fine." He turned to give Eizen a reassuring look. "It's my fault we got in this mess, so it's only proper I make the amends." The malak sighed. "At least let me start the fire. I don't want you accidentally setting the ship ablaze." ][ --- ][ ][ music ][ When they reached the kitchen, Eizen got working on setting logs into the hearth and starting the arte. Rokurou stated, a little too loudly, "Velvet, can you hold my sword for a sec?" "Whhhat?" Her eyes were wide. She was wondering if he slept with the damn sword only moments ago, and now he was wanting her to hold it?? She clumsily grasped the massive sword with her right hand, and he was making a weird face at her, his eyes doing a strange twitching - then she realized he was trying to wink at her. Clearly Rokurou lacked in the winking skill. Having half his face daemonized only made his attempt look even weirder. "OH." Was all she could say. With her cape still wrapped around her arm, she held the sword horizontally with both arms in a way so that it effectively covered her left arm without it being too suspicious. Rokurou unsuspectingly started to peel off his upper layers, which would have been impossible without taking off the sword first anyway. He was covering for her in more ways than she could possibly repay him. Benwick came in with a dry change of clothes for the both of them, and insisted he worked on making a hot soup to help warm them up. Neither of them could object since they reached the stage where they stopped shivering. "Be glad you can't feel it." Rokurou sighed. "I guess in this instance it's a blessing." Velvet mused. There was a silent agreement between the four of them when Rokurou and Velvet took the dry clothes and went off into separate corners to change, that Benwick and Eizen turned their backs while making the soup. While Velvet was clumsily pulling off her pants and leggings, she heard a soft whistle from Rokurou and a moment later a roll of medical bandages landed near her feet. She quickly snatched the roll as if it were gold, and hastily started wrapping up the abomination that was her left arm. She kept it wrapped to hide it from the world, but in truth it was mostly because she couldn't stand to look at it. Once her arm was properly covered, she made a grunt of annoyance. She spoke just loud enough for him to hear. "I hope you weren't looking to throw that." Granted, her hair was long enough that he wouldn't have even seen her exposed rear, but the thought of him looking at her nude made her flustered. "I'm a swordsman, Vel." He said in an equally quiet tone. "Even when I'm drunk I can hit targets without looking. Usually." She was slightly surprised that she was smiling. She mused on the fact that he just called her 'Vel' - she wasn't sure how she felt about the nickname and what it was supposed to mean. Once they were both clothed, they sat as close to the fire as they possibly could, and to each other. Velvet thought it was strange to see Rokurou wearing normal clothes, but he probably thought the same of her. They sat with their backs facing the fire, both wrapped up in thick blankets, and with the yaksha on her left side, she could only see the blackened side of his face. It was strange to think she came to know him so well that she could now read the emotion in his scarlet eye. "I've never been this cold before." His words were slurred and slower than usual. "If we wanted to warm up faster," Her words came out slowly as well, as if she were in a daze. "It would be better for us to get naked and heat up each other." Rokurou turned his head to fully look at her, his face scrunched up as if he were thinking too hard. "Joking." Velvet jabbed, although the word came out dully. "That only works if one of you doesn't have hypothermia." Eizen broke in. "I'm certainly not going to volunteer." "I was joking, Eizen." She waved her hand at him drunkenly. "I don't think we have it that bad." He let out an amused laugh. "If you say so. The soup is almost ready." ][ --- ][ After they ate a serving of soup (several for Rokurou) and their hair was mostly dry, the two of them were left in the kitchen as Benwick and Eizen returned to bed. Velvet was leaning into Rokurou's chest, his arm wrapped around her, and somehow her right hand found way to join with his left. Normally Velvet would have started reprimanding herself for getting into this kind of position with a man, but she tried to justify it with the hypothermia. It was just the hypothermia speaking, the instinct for want of warmth. "I'm sorry." "For what?" Her voice was tired, and sounded more like a statement than a question. "For trying to kiss you." A silence stretched thickly between them. The attempt to kiss her nearly evaded her mind - she was too preoccupied with surviving. With a sudden stab in her heart, Velvet wondered how long her life was preoccupied with merely surviving and fulfilling her brother's vengeance. When did Rokurou first fall in love with her? How long had she been oblivious? She knew he wouldn't have pulled a stunt like tonight on a whim. She said so herself, Rokurou had heart. He wouldn't have tried to kiss her unless it had meaning. When she saw Stormhowl glinting in the corner from reflected firelight, her eyes watered. Never leave your lifeline in the hands of another. Although Rokurou technically still had his daggers on his person, he treated that sword as if it held his very soul in its sheath. He gave it up to Velvet in order to help her hide the aberrations of her arm. She didn't realize how out of character that was for him until the hypothermia had faded. "Thank you." She said softly, her voice wavering. "For trying to kiss you?" Velvet elbowed his ribs. "No. For…for covering me." In more ways than one. "It's nothing." He said simply. "It's not nothing, it's-" "No, it's nothing." Rokurou said decisively. "Supporting you is no burden to me. In fact, I wish there was more I could do. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay that debt I owe you." "It all comes down to that debt, it would seem." "It's become more than just a debt, Vel." There was that nickname again. She angled her head to look up at him, her heart skipping a beat when she looked into his crimson and amber eyes. When did it become more than just a debt? When exactly did Rokurou change from an indebted samurai to someone who desired to always serve and remain at her side? When was he no longer a mere companion but instead became an invaluable partner? She couldn't imagine facing Artorious without him. She couldn't even think about what she would do with her life after the fact, and imagining it without Rokurou somehow felt…meaningless. She drew up the courage as she straightened her back to properly look at him as she asked, "When…when did it become more than just a debt?" "…When you said you'd care if I die." Rokurou claimed he couldn't feel emotion like he used to, but Velvet could have sworn his eyes were filled with it.  While showing him her bandages when they were still strangers was a vulnerability to her, this was Rokurou's. She had never seen him so vulnerable before - didn't even know he could be. "My whole life I was a number. The sixth son. A hired mercenary. Simply the next swordsman who had survived. I've never had anyone care if I died. Hell…not even I cared if I died." His right arm which was wrapped around her moved to entwine with her left arm, until he laced his fingers with her bandages. "I don't know how you did it Velvet, and I commend you for achieving the impossible…" He exhaled slowly, his lips turning into a sad smile. "…You gave someone who wanted to die a reason to live." Velvet's gaze softened, her lips parting ever so slightly. She saw the pain in his eyes and heard the suffering in his voice, and couldn't help but feel that she was seeing him in a completely different light. She pulled herself close, watching the firelight dance dangerously in his eyes, and hesitating for only the briefest of moments, moved to press her lips against his. She felt the conviction of his reason, and Velvet was moved by the amount of meaning in his kiss. After so many years of darkness, neither of them had ever felt so alive.